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duhragonball · 4 years ago

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Hellsing Liveblog Ch. 51-56

This is the “Seras Coming of Age” part of Hellsing, but the chapters are all one-off titles: “Last Mission”, “Get Away”, “Yaksa”, “The Man I Love”, “Ogre Battle”, and “Angelous,”

Last time, Zorin Blitz’s company invaded the Hellsing HQ, and Seras managed to kill them all except for Zorin herself, and then she used her psychic whammy, forcing Seras to relive some traumatic moment. We saw one of the Wild Geese get this same treatment, and he briefly saw his dead daughter before Zorin killed him. As for Seras, she relives the deaths of her parents. Years ago, two guys barged into their home and shot them. The circumstances aren’t entirely clear, but they must have had some forewarning, since Seras’ mom hid her in a closet and told her not to come out no matter what. But when she saw what they did to them, Seras became so enraged that she attackedthe men and stabbed one in the eye with a fork.

The other guy shot Seras, and while she must have survived, she remembers laying on the floor as the guy she stabbed decides to rape her mother. I’m not even sure “rape” is the right word, since she was already dead, but the guy doesn’t care because the body is “still warm.” You’d think he’d be too upset about losing an eye, but maybe he’s high on cocaine or something.

I don’t think you need me to tell you this, gentle reader, but hol-ee shit this dark. We knew Seras’ parents died when she was young, and it wouldn’t be hard to speculate that they died in some violent crime, but Seras watched it happen, and she stabbed a dude in the face, only to get shot herself, and she watched her mother’s body getting molested before she passed out.

And this gives us some insight into what Alucard saw in her that night in Cheddar. There, Seras was surrounded by ghouls, many of them her comrades in the police department, and a vampire who promised to rape her before drinking her blood. Alucard found it remarkable how she persevered in this horror, but now we see that may not even be the worst thing that ever happened to her. It’s not even the first time she got shot!

And from the earlier flashback we saw, Seras was hellbound to become a police officer like her father. After a trauma like this, it’s amazing that she’d want anything to do with the police, since those men killed her father for digging “too deep” into whatever they were involved in. But Seras quietly, defiantly chose to follow in her father’s footsteps, only to suffer a similar fate.

Because, let’s not forget, Seras is dead. She died in Cheddar, because Alucard had to shoot through her to kill the vampire who had taken her hostage. Then she agreed to become a vampire like him, and join the Hellsing Organization. Once more, she has quietly, defiantly, chosen to carry on in this life of public service.

But none of that matters to Zorin Blitz. She just wanted to dredge up all this trauma to keep Seras preoccupied long enough for Zorin to do this...

Oh, also she lopped off Seras’ left arm, but I liked this impalement panel better.

On top of that, Zorin slashes Seras’ eyes, which was pretty gruesome and shocking. When I started watching the Hellsing Ultimate OVA, I couldn’t wait to see what happened next, so I trawled YouTube for clips of Seras, so I had a pretty good idea where the character was headed, and noticed that late-story Seras was missing a left arm. So Zorin cutting it off didn’t surprise me much, but everything else she did to her was a surprise.

Then, just as Zorin seems to be ready to finish Seras off, Pip Bernadotte gets the drop on her and whacks her with the butt of his rifle. Machine gun? Semiautomatic? I don’t know from guns. He hits her with it, is my point. Then he shoots her with a different gun to put the exclamation point on it.

There’s two other guys left in the Wild Geese, and they toss smoke grenades to cover Pip as he tries to carry Seras to safety, but he’s wounded, and then a Millennium soldier wakes up and shoots him in the thighs. Was that guy playing possum? The Geese take him out, and Pip even makes it back to them, but I’m not sure what good that does anybody. Then Zorin gets back up and cuts him down with her scythe. I don’t think she chops him in half or anything, but he’s not getting back up again, that’s for sure.

Seras calls out to him, and he steals another kiss. I guess he forgot about the last time, because he acts like he “finally” managed to do this. Then he asks Seras to drink his blood, which will allow her to win. I guess someone must have explained enough vampire lore to Pip for him to have figured this out. Maybe Seras herself told him how it worked, which makes it doubly-meaningful for him to say this to her now.

And Seras starts wailing with grief, before Zorin finally mocks her for it, calling Pip an insect. I’ve seen a few people poke fun at this scene, because it’s kind of weird for Zorin to just stand by while Pip and Seras have this final moment together, but Zorin’s a sadist. Much of what she’s done in these past several chapters has been about reveling in her enemies’ suffering. She took her sweet time with Seras earlier, which was the only reason Pip managed to help her, and now she’s taking her sweet time again, like she’s enjoying this drama.

So Zorin uses her psychic whammy again, but this time it doesn’t work on Seras. Maybe because Seras is already in the middle of a terrible trauma in the here and now. She couldn’t do anything to avenge her parents back then, and she was powerless against the Cheddar Priest, but this time? This time she knows exactly what to do.

VENIT AEVUS ILLE, O MESSIAH, O MESSIAH

YUDULIYA-VELE YUDULIYA-VELE

EN ESE MOMENTO ZORIN BLITZ SINTIO EL VERDADERO TERROR.

So yeah, this rocks. The anime version does this cool thing where all the blood soaks up into her clothes and stains them red. Maybe the manga was going for the same thing, but it’s harder to tell in black and white. I find it kind of strange how Seras’ eyes grow back, but her left arm does not. I’m pretty sure she could reform her arm, but chooses not to. Instead, she’s got this black ectoplasm-y thing, like the same black stuff that Alucard uses when he’s not holding back as much.

Then Seras starts slaughtering Zorin’s men. Didn’t she already kill them all? Yeah, but there’s more. The anime tries to cover for this by having Zorin explain that some “late arrivals” showed up. Well, they did have to enter the building single file to get past the mines, so it makes sense that Zorin would keep some in reserve in case there were more traps inside.

Seras is my favorite character in this whole thing, and since these pages of her kickin’ ass speak for themselves, I guess I’ll talk about why I like her so much. I’m pretty sure I saw a cosplay photo of her on tumblr, and I found the design intriguing. She’s a vampire, but dressed in something like a military uniform, kind of like the “Bridge Bunnies” in Macross. I looked up Seras to find out what she was from, and I was like “Oh, Hellsing was the show Team Four Star has been abridging, I guess I need to watch that anyway so I can watch the Abridged version and get the jokes.”

Mostly, I just like the idea of a vampire with a very professional mentality, as opposed to the whole Lost Boys/What We Do in the Shadows/Buffy kind of aesthetic. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but we see that sort of thing all the time. I’ve also seen a lot of “reluctant” vampires in my time. Vampires who try to avoid doing any vampire stuff, or going about their business like the vampirism is just this inconvenient obstacle. Hellsing presents this other option, where vampires like Alucard are used for the purpose of anti-vampire countermeasures. He’s been turned into a weapon, but he’s basically just Dracula with a fresh coat of paint. Seras is more firmly rooted in the concept. Alucard was a vampire who became a sort of cop, and Seras is a cop who became a vampire.

And while I liked the idea of Seras being like “Oh, well I didn’t want to be a vampire but I’ll try to make the best of it”, I quickly found out that she wasn’t just a cop with pointy teeth. There’s moments where she can be scary and creepy too. “Sir, yes sir, my Master.” It sums her up very neatly. This is a vampire who can be polite and respectful and professional, but she can also get very deep into the more horrific aspects of this thing. She’s got layers. Zorin Blitz tried to peel them back, and look how that’s working out for her.

Once the rank and file goons are dealt with, Seras goes after Blitz, and just wrecks her shit. Blitz tries to punch Seras in the face and it does nothing. Seras just bites all her fingers off and spits ‘em out. Then she announces that she refuses to drink Zorin’s blood, not a single drop. This is important, because Seras was always reluctant to drink blood. She said she feared that drinking blood would mean the end of something inside of her, but now she’s crossed that Rubicon. One might suspect that she’d suddenly want to drink more blood, but no. She drank Pip’s as a means to an end. Zorin’s blood would serve no higher purpose, and I think there’s an implication that she doesn’t want to dishonor Pip’s sacrifice. Desperate, Zorin tries to use her power on Seras a third time, and then this happens:

Okay, so at first Zorin sees Seras’ memories, like before, but now there’s all this stuff from Pip’s memories, and then Warrant Officer Shrodinger, of all people, shows up. Zorin is confused by this, but he explains that he’s “everywhere and nowhere,” which means he can appear in this psychic vision just as easily as he can teleport between Brazil and England.

Schrodinger is here to pass along a message from the Major. See, Zorin disobeyed his orders, and he would normally punish her for this, but he and the Doctor are busy with a “most interesting toy”, so they’ll just leave it to Seras to take care of punishing Zorin.

Yesterday, I think I figured out what Zorin’s disobedience was. Before I was confused because she didn’t start attacking until Seras opened fire on her blimp, and that only happened because Seras was shooting at the rockets fired by the Major. Everything that Zorin did afterwards could be considered a matter of self-defense, but therein lies the problem. Namely, what was Zorin’s blimp doing in the line of fire to begin with?

Because once Seras shot her down, everything Zorin did next was sort of her only option. She pretty much had to attack the mansion, and brave its defenses, whatever those happened to be. And the Major knew that this was a big unknown. He warned Zorin about Seras Victoria and while he didn’t seem to know exactly what her abilities were, he regarded her as an “arch-enemy” on the same level as Alucard. That’s why he wanted Zorin to hold off and wait for the rocket attack. It was intended to probe the mansion’s defenses, and once it became clear that they had anti-aircraft guns, and that Seras was eagle-eyed enough to shoot down their rockets, then the Major could have ordered Zorin to find a different way.

But instead she was too close and gave Seras a target, which precipitated everything else, up to and including this:

Yeah, Seras just drags Zorin across the walls until her whole head smears apart. Cool!

With Zorin dead, Seras delcares her intention to take the fight to the enemy, and the last three Wild Geese salute her before she leaves. One way or another, they realize that Pip has become a part of Seras now, and they pay their last respects to him through her.

Then Seras flies toward London, using her left arm-thing to make cool bat wings. And this is a good illustration of what Seras is all about. Once, she might have been horrified at the thought of doing something like this, but now she sees it as a way to carry on with her duty. This was what Alucard had been trying to get her to understand, but sometimes you just have to work these things out in your own way. Seras is about utility, and now that she has a use for these vampiric powers, she’s finally prepared to embrace them as her own.

In London, Schrodinger reports back to the Major and informs him of Zorin Blitz’s death. He’s not surprised, and even declares “our ruin has begun”. Schrodinger points out that he’s leading everyone, friend and foe alike, into destruction, and the Major simply observes that this is war. Millennium didn’t come to London to win, they came to London to fight.

Then the Ninth Crusade shows up. Recall that, earlier, Enrico Maxwell organized a military response to deal with the Millennium invasion of London, but he hasn’t come here to save the civilian population. Instead, he’s treating them as enemies, just like the Nazi vampires. Somehow, there’s still living people in the city, and as dawn approaches, they see Maxwell’s helicopters putting off some sort of light show. I don’t know what you call this, but the people on the ground think it’s angels, and then Maxwell orders his men to open fire.

I want to point out that the newly promoted Archbishop Maxwell is riding into this battle in a special truck with a glass box for him to sit in. He’s surrounded by microphones so he can address his troops and the people below. Also the truck is hanging from a helicopter. It’s stupid and pointless and over-the-top, so naturally the Major is highly impressed with Maxwell’s style.

#2021hellsingliveblog #hellsing #seras victoria #pip bernadotte #zorin blitz #the major #warrant officer shrodinger #enrico maxwell

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gale-dragon-writer · 4 years ago

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Beware the Blue Rose that the Marionette Holds: Prologue, Major Threats Identified.

11 different computer monitors played 11 different images at the same time, illuminating the dark area they occupied. A figure in blue stood in front of the monitors. "Analysis of Hawkmoth is complete," the figure in blue stated coldly before saying, "Despite his constant plagues to the City of Paris, his threat level to the mission is a maximum of 6%. There is a chance that he might be of some assistance to the mission if the circumstances are right." The monitor with the image of Hawkmoth was turned off. The figure in blue then says as their focus lands on a monitor with an image of Rena Rouge and says, “Analysis of this hero is complete. The threat level is a maximum of 16%.”

“An illusionist with a threat level of 16%? That’s pretty low, what’s the reason for that?” Another voice asked. The voice belonged to a figure with elongated limbs. In one of the arms was a redheaded doll.

The figure in blue didn’t even look up from the monitors when they said, “This Rena Rouge has been inactive for 3 months. The likelihood of her interfering in the mission is low, the 16% is in case she returns to action. I have already compiled a countermeasure if it were to happen."

"Good to know," the elongated figure said taking a step over to the monitors and then asking, "And the Threat Risk for the others? Do you have enough information on those New Ones?"

The figure in blue didn't break their gaze from the monitors when they said, "New heroes? They are just Queen Bee, Ryuko, Carapace with new outfits and new hero identities apparently."

The elongated figure couldn't help but say, "Wait, you mean that Annabella Bee, Arashi, and Green Snapper are just-"

"Therefore I have enough data on them to calculate that their threat risk to the mission is 23%, 27%, and 25%. Countermeasures for them have already been created," The figure in blue stated coldly.

The elongated figure sighed before saying, "Riiiiight, you can see through Glamours, so that's how you know that they're the same people. I can understand Queen Bee and Ryuko's motive for a new hero persona but what's Carapace's?"

"Unimportant to us, it is of no use to the mission," The figure in blue stated coldly before moving onto Bunnyx and Viperion as they turned off the monitors for the Bee, Dragon, and Turtle holders. "Despite the Time Traveling aspects of these two, their threat level is 34%," they stated before holding up a sealed envelope when adding, "Countermeasures for them have already have been established." The envelope was then tucked into the dress' pocket of the figure in blue.

The elongated figure couldn't help but say, "That was quick," as the monitors with Bunnyx and Viperion were turned off. "And these last four? Ladybug, Chat Noir, Roi Singe, and Pegasus."

"They have over 50% threat risk to the mission," the figure in blue stated before dimming two of the monitors and adding, "These two pose the highest risk to the mission, 85% and 91% respectively."

"Them?" the elongated figure vocalized before saying and they folded their arms together while still holding the doll, "I expected the Monkey to be the problematic one, considering how random it is."

"The countermeasure to nullify our highest treats has been formalized. We must implement them as soon as possible so we may start our mission," the figure in blue stated coldly.

The elongated figure smirked when saying, "Alright," as they looked behind them to see figures in the dark, eyes reflecting what little light was glowing in the room. "Tell us the plan. I'm sure that my Puppets are eager to get a little action," the elongated figure said with a smirk.

~}i{~

Marinette let out a visible shutter. It felt like someone poured ice water down her spine.

"Mari? You alright, dudette?" Nino asked the bluette when he saw her shutter.

Marinette glanced around her family's bakery to see what would cause her to get such a feeling. "I just... Felt something...." the bluette said as she looked around, both inside and what she could see outside. When she saw nothing out of the ordinary, she shrugged it off and returned to the conversation at hand. "Okay, so everyone is in agreement that Sabrina would make a good Rooster for the play?" Marinette asked the group she was with.

She, Nino, Adrien, Kagami, Luka, Kim, Max, Alix, and Chloe were going over new potential holders for the other Miraculous. They're using the cover as a play to talk about all this in the open.

Everyone nodded before Luka said, "You think Juleka can play the Tiger in the play? I think she would be good playing that part and it could give her a confidence boost."

Kim couldn't help but say, "Long as Rose gets the part of the Pig."

"Kim," Max said in a scolding matter.

The tall teen replied, "What? According to the script, the Pig is an energetically cheerful person and is the best friend with the Tiger. Don't you think Rose would be perfect for that part?" As everyone thought it over, they couldn't help but agree with that.

Adrien looked over the list when he said, "Okay, so we have Ivan for the Ox, Mylène for the Mouse, Sabrina for the Rooster, Juleka for the Tiger, Rose for the Pig, and Nath for the Sheep. I think we have a good cast so far, but does anyone have anyone else who would be good for this play?"

Kagami was the one to say, "May I suggest my classmate Marc? I believe he would make a good cast member."

Chloe asked, "For which part?"

Kagami looked over the list of "Characters" before she said, "Perhaps either the Fox or the Dog. Though I think the Fox would suit him better than the Dog."

Alix couldn't help but smile when she said, "Sounds good to me! But now we have an open part but no good candidates for it."

Max pushed his glasses up when he suggested, "What about Ondine? I'm surprised Kim hasn't suggested her yet."

Kim waved his hands defensively when he said as his cheeks tinted pink, "I was thinking, but not for the Dog. Plus only Max has met her so I'm not sure if they would like her for the play or not." Max chuckled at his friend's reaction.

The Miraculous Team continued their talk, unaware of the dangers that were soon to come.

~}i{~

To Be Continued...

~}i{~

@princess-of-the-corner

@agent-numbuh-227

#miraculous ladybug #ml fanfiction #ml fic #miraculous luka #miraculous max #miraculous marinette #miraculous adrien #miraculous kagami #miraculous chloe #miraculous kim #miraculous alix #miraculous nino #Miraculous oc #miraculous holders

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four-loose-screws · 4 years ago

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FE4 Suzuki Novelization Translation (Gen II) - Chapter 9

If you would like to start from the beginning, read a missed part, etc., click here!

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Chapter 9 - Dragon Knight Arion

T/W: Mention of likely one-sided romantic feelings between adopted siblings.

Ever since the child hunt was carried out at Grutia Castle, many of the citizens had come to see Seliph and his soldiers as a liberation army.

The same people also spread the news that General Hannibal's son had been taken hostage. His name was Coirpre, and he'd been entrusted to Luthecia Castle's General Disler.

"Let's save the hostage!" Seliph said. "If we do that, the general may respond with a ceasefire."

It was the liberation army's fundamental policy to avoid pointless battles as much as possible, and Hannibal's army was also very powerful, so reaching a conclusion without fighting him was the best possible option.

But to get to Luthecia Castle, they would have to get past Hannibal's army, which was stationed in front of Kapathogia Castle.

"Does anyone know of a road we can take that will allow us to avoid being seen by Hannibal's army?” Seliph asked.

The villagers took him into the mountains behind Kapathogia Castle, where hunters were using the land as their hunting grounds.

According to the hunters, if they avoided General Hannibal's army and traveled on the foot to the base of the mountains, there was a road that circumvented the castle.

"Alright, let's take that road!" Seliph exclaimed.

Since the rescue mission was to be a surprise attack from beginning to end, it was best to only let a few people go, so they narrowed the group down to Seliph, Ares, and finally, Fee, who would act as a flying column.

The problem was the countermeasure in case of Hannibal's army attacking before the rescue had been completed.

"I have a Sleep Staff. Whoever I use it on will sleep for four to five days straight." Lana said.

"I didn't know there was such a useful spell! Why haven't you used it until now?"

"The staff will break after one use, so I didn’t want to use it until we were in a desperate situation…"

Shanan was chosen to lead the army while they were gone.

With the hunters as their guides, Seliph and the others headed out.

They traveled west in a straight line, then turned south at the foot of the mountains. That area was wooded, so they didn't have to worry about being seen by enemies.

The forest cleared when they neared the castle.

"Starting from here, we'll have to climb into the mountains a bit."

The path was steep, and they couldn't make much progress on foot.

Fee gave a report every day on what she observed from the skies.

On the evening of the fourth day since they'd set out, they made it to the backside of the castle.

"Up until this point, we haven't run into any enemies at all. But tomorrow, I suspect some will be flying around in this area, so I will go ahead to Luthecia Castle." Fee said, then turned west and flew away.

"What should we do? It may take a toll on our bodies, but it would be safest to travel behind the castle tonight because we'd be able to get past it very quickly."

They of course thought it best to follow the hunters' suggestion, and started moving again without taking time to rest.

The hunters were right. Because they were following right along a steep mountain, there were areas where they had to walk almost right against the castle wall. However, the soldiers didn't think anyone would ever pass through such an area, so they were able to safely make it through.

"For the last stretch, we should travel south. We'll soon come out to the main road that leads to Luthecia."

"Thank you. You might have saved a lot of lives by helping us. How can we repay you?"

"We don't need repayment. But…"

"But?"

"If you can, please save the children that were taken away to Miletos."

"Understood. We'll try as hard as we can. ...No way, are those children…"

"No, none of them are mine. But my sister's son was taken. He's a smart, cute kid, yet they had the gall to do something so terrible to him!"

When they arrived at the main road, they could see that Hannibal's army, located to the north, had begun to move. Though Seliph and the others did not know it, Hannibal knew that King Travant had deployed, and ordered his own army to attack.

"If the king himself has gone to battle, then we have no choice. All units, attack!"

However, Hannibal's army was made up entirely of infantry units, so they didn't make it in time to fight alongside Travant. By the time they neared Meath Castle, the dragon knight unit the king led was already completely destroyed.

Lana turned towards Hannibal's army and waved the Sleep Staff.

Hannibal, marching in the center of his army's formation, was enveloped by a white, heavy cloud. However, that didn't mean that the sleep magic affected everyone. The soldiers outside of its range remained loyal to their orders and continued their attack. Shannan and the rest of the liberation army had no choice but to fight them without stopping.

"Lana said that the sleep spell will last for four to five days. The others must come back with the rescued hostage by then."

Because they'd heard that the distance between Kapathogia Castle and Luthecia Castle would take two days to travel, they only had a small margin of leeway.

Seliph and Ares did not take any breaks aside from allowing their horses time to rest, continuing onward.

In the evening two days later, they'd come so far that they could see Luthecia Castle. Fee had arrived earlier, and came to report on the situation at the castle.

"There's hardly any soldiers here. I'm pretty sure there's just a front line and those rounded up to protect the main building."

"Then let's attack tomorrow at dawn. Fee, you fly over the castle wall, and open the gate. After that, we'll storm the castle."

With the plan for their surprise attack decided, Seliph and Ares got a full night's sleep for the first time in a long time.

The surprise attack was a success. General Disler was killed by Ares and Mystletainn the moment he came out of his bedroom in a panic.

The other soldiers were mostly still in bed. By the time they woke up, the general was already dead, and upon hearing that news, they surrendered.

They found Coirpre in the dungeon. He'd been treated more like a prisoner than a hostage. From what they'd heard the villagers say, they'd gotten the feeling that General Disler had a bad reputation.

Coirpre was still young, but already very proper and polite.

"I am Coirpre, General Hannibal's son. My father stated that he wanted a ceasefire with the liberation army, but King Travant misunderstood that, and took me as a hostage. So I beg of you! Please take me to my father! I want to convince him to stop fighting!"

Of course, that had been the reason for their surprise attack in Luthecia Castle. Seliph entrusted Ares to keep watch over the castle, and immediately left with Fee, taking Coirpre towards Kapathogia Castle.

Along the way, they saw a single dragon knight flying towards them. Fee readied a counterattack, but the dragon knight did not try to start a fight.

"You are Prince Seliph, yes? I am Altena, daughter of Quan of Leonster."

The dragon knight landed next to Seliph, dismounted her dragon, and greeted him.

"Oh, so you're Prince Leif's sister! He told me about you."

"My brother's story was true. Since I have learned the truth, I can't fight against you any longer. I too am a descendant of a Crusader. Please allow me to join the liberation army."

"Of course, with pleasure! Prince Leif will probably be happy as well when he hears the news.”

"I just have one request. Arion… No, Prince Arion. I don't want you to fight him. His way of thinking is completely different from the empire's."

"Even if you ask, I can't stop that from happening, though I don't want to fight Prince Arion, either. If only he'd made you the mediator of a ceasefire. Nothing would be better than that."

The liberation army met General Hannibal near Kapathogia Castle. He'd just woken up, and had left the battlefield to return to the castle and order all the soldiers there to deploy.

The moment he saw his son, he was surprised. But when he heard everything from Coirpre, he approached Seliph, and said, "I'd like to thank you for saving my son."

"General Hannibal, we are only fighting those who agree with the ideas of the empire. I've heard that you are also against the child hunts, and that King Travant is already dead. Why would we fight against each other any longer? Please end this battle. And, if possible, I want you to fight the empire with us. You are called "The Shield of Thracia." We are still young, so please be beside us to guide us."

"If you insist, then I have no choice but to accept. So long as you don’t mind fighting with an old man like me, then I will devote my strength to you. I'd also like you to add my son to your army. He probably told you this already, but I took him in and raised him. When I found him, he had a staff that seemed to have a long history. When he's old enough, we will learn the meaning of it. Seliph, I happily entrust him to you."

General Hannibal's remaining soldiers also joined them.

The liberation army, now even stronger, gathered in Luthecia Castle to capture Bishop Judah's Gruthia Castle.

At the same time, they received word that a large imperial cavalier unit had crossed the Miletos-Thracian border.

At the strategy meeting, Altena suggested that it would be the best course of action to settle that fight first.

"I know the terrain of that area very well. The road leading from the border to Luthecia Castle that the cavalier unit can take is a thin mountain path. How about Fee and I meet the enemies halfway, and reduce their numbers? If we swoop down to attack, then use that force to fly over the mountains, they won't be able to counterattack at all."

"That's a great idea, Lady Altena!" Hannibal agreed to the plan right away.

"Because the enemies are calvary, they'll attack by taking turns. If we reduce their numbers by even just a little bit, it will make things that much easier for the rest of the army."

When she’d joined the liberation army in Isaach, Fee was still just a trainee pegasus knight. However, after fighting in battle over the span of a year, she'd evolved into a seasoned falcon knight. She couldn't compete with Altena, who wielded a Holy Weapon, but her flying and combat skills certainly weren't inferior to Altena's.

The enemy cavaliers were worried by the two flying soldier's attacks. Because they didn't know when they would be attacked, their paranoia grew stronger and stronger without end. And even when they were attacked, they only had a split second to react, so there was no way for them to counterattack. No matter how well-trained they were, all they could do was take damage in a one-sided battle, causing their morale to drop.

Once they were off the mountain road, the spirited imperial soldiers were no more. It wasn't just their numbers that had decreased. Their exhaustion and drop in morale was even greater.

The battle was as good as decided the moment they saw the main force of the liberation army spreading out and waiting for their arrival.

While the liberation army was marching towards Grutia Castle, Arion was in Thracia Castle, proposing a ceasefire over and over again. However, not a single soul agreed with him.

Several powerful iron ballistae were set up at Grutia Castle, however, the unit that was supposed to protect them was not there.

The liberation army's calvary entered the edge of the ballistae's range, then charged at full speed ahead. Their goal was to move as quickly as possible and lower their chances of getting hit by the ballistae's bolts.

Within the blink of an eye, they trampled the ballisticians, and captured Grutia Castle.

As if they had been waiting for that to happen, three dragon knight units flew from Thracia Castle and towards them all at once.

When Hannibal saw them, he turned pale. "That is the Three-Headed Dragon formation."

"What is that? This 'Three-Headed Dragon.'"

"Those units are each targeting Meath, Kapathogia, and Luthecia, a formation they call the 'Three-Headed Dragon.' They utilize it when an enemy is targeting Thracia and has gathered together too many of their troops in one place, and they wish to launch a counterattack all at once. Prince Arion practiced it many times."

"I'll defend Meath!" Altena said. "Lana should have a Warp Staff. I want to get to Meath as soon as possible."

"Will you be okay on your own?"

"If we divide our numbers up too much, the main army will probably come attack us here. For now, I will protect Meath!"

"Let's do as Princess Altena says." Hannibal agreed. "I'll protect Kapathogia. I want those remaining to head for Luthecia and intercept the enemy unit headed there. When we do, that's where the real battle should begin. If we take out their commander, the subordinates will surely change course. In other words, they won't continue moving towards Luthecia. And if we defeat them entirely, they'll want the others to come reinforce them. Until then, Lady Altena and I will take care of those other enemies."

The fight went exactly as Hannibal had predicted. When the dragon knight unit headed for Luthecia saw Fee trying to intercept them, they turned towards Grutia Castle to fight the liberation army.

Once she'd lured the dragon knight unit a good distance away and defeated them, Fee and several cavaliers turned towards Kapathogia to provide reinforcements there.

Hannibal wielded a flame sword and fought the oncoming dragon knights. Though he suffered several wounds, he did not lose even the slightest bit of energy. He was able to hold out until reinforcements came, just as he'd promised.

The day had come for Arion and his dragon knight unit to fight.

This was his response to Altena's final letter:

"As a warrior of Thracia, I cannot consider a ceasefire after you've killed this many of my soldiers. You too should know that very well. Now, I wait for the day of our final battle. From the beginning, I have thought not about whether we will win or lose, but that, as a warrior, my acts are not an embarrassment. Still, do not hold back. Tell Lord Seliph to come at us with everything he’s got."

Seliph said in response, "Thank you. Tomorrow, the last battle will finally begin. It may be difficult for you to fight, so you should stay on the rear line."

Altena did as Seliph suggested, and did not go out to the front line, instead flying high in the sky from the rear.

Even though the liberation army was fighting against the once great Thracian Dragon Knights, their numbers had already been so greatly reduced that the battle proceeded to go in the liberation army's favor.

Then, she saw a single dragon flying towards her.

"It's Big Brother." She realized it in an instant. "He's going to try to fight me."

Though she had Gáe Bolg, she knew that she was no match for Arion and Gungnir. At best, the fight would end in a tie.

'I will die by his hand.'

A sweet memory filled her heart.

When she'd stood up to Travant, she'd pictured her ideals in her mind, but never thought things would end up like this. For a moment, she worried that it was all her fault.

'What will become of Thracia now?'

She had no memory of Leonster. Thracia was her one and only home.

'Perhaps dying by his hand is the greatest end for me.’

She raised Gáe Bolg and yelled, "Let's do this, Brother!"

The two dragons flew towards each other in a straight line, with their opponent on their right side, as if they were in a jousting match.

As the distance between them shrank, Altena could see clearly the face of the man she loved. She could also see the sparkling tip of Gungnir, aiming straight for her.

'Watch my final attack!'

When they crossed paths, she thrust Gáe Bolg forward.

She felt resistance ripple through her arm.

However...

What about the attack aimed for her? Where was the blow from her beloved that was supposed to lead her to a sweet death?

She was in a state of total shock, but her eyes moved and laid upon her beloved's dragon, hurtling towards the ground.

"Brother!"

His dragon fell into a forest, and she lost sight of them.

"Brother!"

She burst into tears.

The battle was already over, but Altena did not return to land. She continued to fly through the skies, thinking of Arion.

No matter how many tears fell, they did not cease, continuing to stream down her face.

But, eventually, the time came and her tears to dry up.

And it was then that she understood the reason why her beloved did not strike her with Gungnir.

'Brother, you ordered me to live, right? I understand. I will live. I will fulfill my duty as the inheritor to Gáe Bolg. If that is what you wish, then that is what I will do. But, my life is terrible. All of my dreams have been crushed… The moment you were gone, I knew for sure. That for a long, long time, deep within the bottom of my heart, I've wanted you to hold me in your arms. Why did you give me that dream? And then go so nobly all by yourself…'

Altena soon landed at Thracia Castle.

Her tear stains had already vanished.

In their place was nothing but the face of Lance Knight Njörun's descendant.

#fire emblem #fe #fe4 #genealogy of the holy war #nintendo #super nintendo #snes #famicom #super famicom #seliph #japan #japanese #translation #novel #light novel #fe4 suzuki novelization translation

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megabadbunny · 5 years ago

Text

Cartography and Ritual Observation

In all the time that she plotted and worked and strove for a happy ending, Rose realizes, she had planned for all manner of contingencies and failures. She never actually figured out what she would do if she succeeded. (She never actually planned to be happy.)

* lemon-free version on fanfiction.net *

***

She never expected to see the Doctor in her universe, in her living room, in her flat. Yet, here he is.

(Here they both are.)

The Doctor is eager to inspect everything the moment they get in from Norway, peeking inside Rose’s bedrooms and her bath, opening the refrigerator and cabinet doors, inspecting the light fixtures, overturning the few knickknacks she has accumulated in her time here. His fingers glide over everything; impossibly, Rose has almost forgotten how much he sees with his hands. He listens to her house tour with rapt attention and she can see him filing every detail of her home away.

Rose doesn’t keep much food in the cottage, so she orders some takeaway and pretends to eat it while the Doctor tucks in. She’s too unsettled to eat properly, for reasons she can’t quite explain. She turns on the telly and they watch it for a bit—it’s a “documentary” on aliens, naturally—and Rose tries not to think about the weirdness of this situation, the mundane bizarreness or strange normalcy of it all, while she plucks out and eats all of the shrimp in her fried rice. The Doctor keeps up a running commentary on the film’s inaccuracies and Rose smiles, remembering how they used to do this on the TARDIS just a few years ago.

It’s almost disturbing, how easy it is for Rose to pretend that everything’s all right—except it isn’t pretend at all, is it? Everything is all right, just not the sort of all right she’d imagined, not the kind she’d planned and worked and hoped for. But her dislike of having decisions made on her behalf (yet again) notwithstanding, she can’t deny that she ended up with a pretty good deal. A fantastic deal, even; she got everything she wanted, and more besides—the Doctor, with her, and her family and her friends and her home, and the promise of adventures in the TARDIS once more, all in the same universe again. Which, as brilliant as it is, still doesn’t answer the question niggling in the background-noise of her consciousness, growing ever-louder by the minute:

What now?

For the first time in four years, the next step is completely unknown. It’s as if, upon arriving at her destination, someone ripped the guidebook out of Rose’s hands and set it on fire right in front of her. There’s no longer any map, no itinerary, no plan. And how the fuck is Rose supposed to deal with that?

Rose’s hands long to fidget, but she forces them still, locks her leg to keep her foot from tapping impatiently. She’s doing a magnificent job, she thinks, of looking like a normal person, one who isn’t about to vibrate right out of her skin with the utter need to just get up and complete the next step of the plan already. Whatever that next step may be.

Glancing sidelong at the Doctor, Rose wonders what, besides factual inaccuracies about aliens, might be going through his head right now. If he feels Rose’s gaze heavy on him, he doesn’t say, too busy glowering at the images of the Great Pyramid of Giza flashing across the telly because according to the documentary, humans only could have built the Pyramid with the help of aliens, but according to the alien in the room, that’s a bunch of hogwash, and all that business was 100% ancient Egypt, 100% of the time; I didn’t offer so much as a tidbit of advice on the construction, only popped by long enough to nab a snack from Khufu’s coronation, you can’t beat a pomegranate grown in the cradle of the Nile. At any rate, he doesn’t look worried about plans or the future, or indeed, anything that happened fewer than 4500 years ago. Rose wonders if she should snuggle up to him, for the simple comfort of it and also just because she can, just like she used to. She remembers when she would tuck in close on the settee in the TARDIS library under the feeble pretense of being cold; the Doctor would tut at her cold hands and feet and snag her a blanket, toss it over her. But he wouldn’t make her move. He’d still wrap an arm around her shoulders, wouldn’t budge if she nestled against his side.

(She had always wondered, then, how long the sense of normalcy would last if she had leaned up to press a kiss to his throat or his cheek or his mouth, if she had tried something more. She never found out. She never did try.)

They watch another film after that, and another, and finally, just when Rose is starting to wonder if he won’t need sleep to speak of in this body either, the Doctor stretches and lets out a yawn.

“I’m a bit knackered,” he announces. “But I suppose a metacrisis-regeneration will do that to you.”

After the two of them wash up for the night, there’s a brief, awkward question of which bedroom he’ll sleep in. But before Rose has to make a decision—put him in the spare room, or offer to share hers? Would offering the spare room make her seem cold and aloof, would offering her room make him feel claustrophobic?—the Doctor opens the door of the guest bed, deciding for her.

“Well,” says Rose, only a little awkwardly. But before she can say Good night, the Doctor surprises her by reaching out and pulling her in for a kiss.

It’s a very short kiss, but Rose’s brain still goes fuzzy and she’s warm everywhere he touches her, heat blossoming from his mouth, from his fingers on her shoulders, sliding down into her belly. He pulls her in close, her chest against his, and he’s so much warmer than before, so warm she can feel the heat of him even through both of their shirts. His lips part in millimeters and she can taste peppermint on his breath, the not-unpleasant reminders of toothpaste mingling with his own oh-so-human traces, working in gentle countermeasure to the softness of his lips, and the peppermint and the hormones and the warmth of him flood her mind like a pleasant buzzing fog. It’s a short kiss, yes, but her toes curl anyway and her heart races in her chest. She tells herself that it’s probably only because it’s been a while since anyone’s kissed her quite like this.

(She won’t admit that no one’s ever kissed her quite like this.)

Afterward, the Doctor pulls her into a hug. A proper hug. Arms wrapping around her body, bringing her toward him like gravity. Holding her snug and tight. Her own arms encircle him before she can even think to stop. It’s an automatic process. Touching the Doctor is still so engrained in her system, it’s right up there with breathing and blinking.

“Sorry,” he exhales into her hair, and he sounds almost out of breath—that’s a first. “It’s just—I’ve wanted to do that for ages.”

Rose can feel his heart hammering against hers. Fluttering like a creature in a cage. (A cage built for two.)

Should she invite him into her room? Is that what he wants? Is that what she wants? Is this part of the plan, now?

(What do they do, now?)

“Rose?” asks the Doctor. “Are you all right?”

Rose hesitates. She isn’t totally sure of the answer, and even if she was, she doesn’t know if she feels levelheaded enough to deliver it right now. But she can see that, despite his casual and placid demeanor all evening, now the Doctor is incredibly tense, concerned, even; she can spot it in the purse of his lips and the furrow of his brow, feel it in the rigidity of his hands on her arms.

Something eases up a little in her shoulders. He’s better at hiding it, but he’s just as nervous as she is, isn’t he? And probably feels just as lost, too.

“This isn’t really what either of us had in mind, is it?” Rose realizes aloud.

The Doctor frowns. “What do you mean?”

“I mean...it’s not like either of us woke up the other day deciding to come back to this universe. And I can’t imagine you planned for your metacrisis-thing to happen.”

“That last one’s true enough,” says the Doctor, scratching his neck uncomfortably. “But, erm. As for the former. I had already made a decision about where I’d end up, regardless of what the other me decided.”

“You wanted to come back here?”

“Given the circumstances, yes.”

When Rose doesn’t reply, just furrows her brow in confusion, the Doctor averts his gaze. “I wasn’t so concerned about the specific location,” he says, slowly. He swallows hard. “All I knew—all I know—is that where you are, that’s where I want to be. Knew it from the second I woke up in this body. I just want to be with you.”

Rose stares at him, mouth parted in surprise.

“Only—only if that’s what you want too,” the Doctor stutters, cheeks flushing pink.

“I do,” says Rose, a small smile tugging at the corners of her mouth as something goes fluttery in her stomach and warmth suffuses her from head to toe. “Of course I do. But I—it’s been a long few years, right? So I might need a minute, to get my thoughts and feelings and everything in order. Okay?”

“Yeah, of course,” the Doctor replies quickly. “Naturally. Makes sense. Completely.” Suddenly jittery, he steps back, hands fluttering about frantically in search of something to do before depositing themselves firmly in his pockets. “Totally understandable, imminently relatable. Molto bene. Hunky-dory. Bleh, not hunky-dory, never hunky-dory, what a dreadful-sounding phrase, please feel free to erase it from your memory immediately. But of course, take all the time you need, Rose, however long you need, I’ve got all the time in the world—well, I’ve got a good sixty years—well, could be fifty, with the way Donna’s cholesterol is going, and thanks for that, Donna—but then again, could be longer, depends on how things go with the baby TARDIS and whether anyone or anyplace in this universe has got any Werinian lipid stabilizers—but please, yeah, take whatever time you need, Rose, that’s fine by me, absolutely top-notch, spiffy, even—”

“Doctor, wait,” blurts out Rose, grabbing the Doctor by the elbow before he can sprint off to goodness-knows-where. “You don’t have to swan off.”

“I was not,” says the Doctor, who looks very much like he may bolt into the next dimension at any second, “going to swan off. Or duck off. Or goose off. Or any-other-sort-of-waterfowl-off, for that matter.”

“Sure you weren’t,” Rose teases him, smiling weakly.

“I was merely adhering to my promise of, you know. Being considerate and giving you what you need, and all that.”

“Yeah, except I asked for time,” says Rose. Her smile deepens. “Not space.”

“Right,” says the Doctor.

“An important distinction, don’t you think?”

Something about him seems to loosen just a little bit. “Very important.”

Rose grabs his hand, squeezing it reassuringly, just to make absolutely certain he knows where she stands, and feels immensely relieved when he squeezes her fingers in response. But not half a moment passes before Rose has to stifle a yawn of her own.

“All right, then,” she says quietly, almost shyly. “See you tomorrow?”

“Yeah,” he says, his voice soft.

“Good night, Doctor.”

He beams down at her. “Good night, Rose.”

***

Tomorrow, of course, ends up being something of a loose concept, because tomorrow is full of exciting things like Rose sleeping in (until past noon, somehow), Jackie and Tony bursting into the cottage (because it’s after noon, Rose, you haven’t stayed in that late in ages, are you dead?), Tony being so terribly excited to meet the Doctor that he wets himself just a little bit (The Oncoming Storm meets The Oncoming Piddle), and Jackie announcing that it’s time for a trip to the shops (they need to buy the Doctor things now that he’s human and here and forever).

“All right, but let’s keep it a short trip,” Rose tells her mum as the four of them head out the door. “Just for the basics.”

“Oh, of course,” Jackie replies, waving her hand dismissively. “Only the essentials.”

“One hour,” Rose says.

“Whatever you say, sweetheart,” Jackie calls over her shoulder.

Naturally, one hour becomes two becomes five.

It’s about as weird as Rose anticipated, or rather, as weird as Rose would have anticipated, if she’d ever thought of such a thing. She half-expects the Doctor to bound away at any moment, impatient with the quaint little Earth shops and their decidedly terrestrial wares, but he seems content to poke around, to good-naturedly ignore all of Jackie’s fashion suggestions, to answer all of Tony’s many strange four-year-old’s questions. Rose keeps to herself for the most part—it’s only sort-of on-purpose, there are all sorts of feelings crawling around under her skin and she isn’t sure what to do with them—and she trails behind the rest of the group, hanging back, watching.

Her mum, Tony, the Doctor. In the same universe. In a shop together. Picking out socks and deodorant and hair gel. Years of dimension-hopping and traveling all of time and space have somehow failed to prepare Rose for how very weird this is.

Not bad, of course. But weird. Probably weird for him, too, Rose reminds herself.

“Awful quiet,” Jackie remarks at an upscale suit shop, her voice low so that only Rose can hear. She rifles through a clothing rack and pulls out a suit jacket (in blue, not brown; she’s cottoned on quickly).

“How d’you mean?” Rose asks.

Tilting her head, Jackie holds the jacket out at arm’s length, surveying the garment and the Doctor in the same glance. The jacket’s skinny, but not as skinny as he is. “Thought you’d be bouncing off the walls, the both of you,” Jackie explains. “That, or tangled up in the bedsheets.”

Rose groans. “Oh my god, Mum.”

“Don’t give me that. I know how it is. Lose the man you love, spend years pining after him, finally find a parallel version of him in an alternate universe. Bound to be some celebratory shagging, isn’t there?” Jackie replaces the jacket on the rack and grabs a different one. “Especially when he keeps wearing those tight trousers. You buying what he’s selling, or what?”

Rose closes her eyes and prays for mercy. “Mum, I’m pretty sure he can hear us.”

Both of them glance across the store to check, but the Doctor seems absorbed in the necktie display, smiling when Tony points to a tie in a shade of nearly-TARDIS-blue.

“Nah,” Jackie sniffs. “Even his hearing isn’t that good, I reckon.”

As soon as she turns away, the Doctor looks up at Rose with a wink.

(Is she imagining things, or did it suddenly get a few degrees warmer in the shop?)

***

Days pass and he hasn’t kissed her again since that first night. But to be fair, she hasn’t kissed him again, either. Rose knows it’s only because they’re each trying to respect each other’s space or personal boundaries or sensitivities or whatever, which is quite frankly silly, given that in their time together before, neither of them seemed to really know what boundaries were, much less how to respect or enforce them.

Well, that isn’t quite true, she supposes. There were plenty of boundaries that they never crossed. It just didn’t feel so obvious before.

Take, for example, nighttime habits. On the TARDIS, each night they weren’t assisting some planetside uprising (or stewing in an alien prison for assisting in said planetside uprising), there was a distinct ritual: Rose would plop down on the jumpseat or the library settee or a pallet of cushions on the engine-room floor, reading a book or trashy mag or painting her nails or simply lounging about while the Doctor researched or tinkered or plotted. Rose would often have a snack with her as well, which the Doctor would insist he wasn’t interested in, but would ultimately eat half of. Lulled into relaxation by the TARDIS’ gentle hum, Rose would eventually doze off, at which time the Doctor would quietly rouse her and remind her to go to bed. After a bout of protesting that she wasn’t really that tired (punctuated with a deep and satisfying yawn that made the Doctor raise an eyebrow in amusement), Rose would then sleepily stumble-shuffle down to the hall to her room, scrub her face and brush her teeth, and go to bed. Neither of them would see the other until the morning (or sometimes the very early morning, on days where the Doctor excitedly burst into her room without warning and subsequently had a pillow chucked at his head), and that was it. That was the ritual, with all of its implicit steps and rules and boundaries. Hands could be held, food could be shared, cuddles could be had, but certain things were not discussed, other certain things were overlooked, and each night Rose went to bed alone. It didn’t need to be spoken or thought about; it just fell into place, a river following its own daily flow. It’s much the same, now, except there’s no hand-holding and no cuddling and no touching at all, just daily business, time together in the evenings, and then separate beds in separate rooms. This is the new ritual, it seems; this is the new plan.

This explains how a whole week passes before Rose decides she has to do something about the Doctor’s nightmares.

Wrenched awake by the sounds of shouting (again, same as the previous six nights), Rose waits just long enough for her heart to stop pounding before she throws off her duvet and pads down the hall, to the spare room where the Doctor sleeps. She presses her ear to the door, listening for any additional signs of agitation, and only spares half a thought for boundaries when he cries out again in the dark and suddenly she’s pushing the door open and climbing into the bed, time and space and rules be damned. Slipping beneath the bedclothes, Rose snuggles up behind the Doctor as he hyperventilates in his sleep, snaking a hand over his stomach and ribs and chest, pulling them both close. He awakens with a jolt and a gasp, grabbing Rose’s hand with a grip like a vice.

Rose freezes, feeling the Doctor tense to stone beneath her hand and arm. She wonders if he’s angry at her, if he’s embarrassed, if she did the wrong thing, if she should have waited to come up with a better plan.

“Rose?” asks the Doctor quietly, his voice rough.

“Yeah, Doctor,” she replies in a whisper. “I’m here.”

A few moments pass in thick silence before the Doctor relaxes, sinking back down into the mattress. He loosens his death-grip on Rose’s hand, but doesn’t let go entirely; instead he tugs, just a little, until Rose snuggles in closer, cushioning herself to him completely and eliminating even the thought of space between them. Her cheek pressed against his shoulderblades, her chest to his spine, Rose can feel the precise moment he slips back into sleep, his breaths expanding and evening out into liquid slow smoothness.

He doesn’t move her hand from his chest, and it’s a long time before he lets her hand go.

Probably they should just start going to bed together, but this all becomes part of the new ritual—go about their daily business (together), stay up late (together), wash up (at the same time), go to bed (separate beds, in separate rooms), awaken at the sound of nightmares ripping the calm night air (from down the hall), climb into his bed and go to sleep (next to him), wake up (alone). It’s another rule they both follow; the Doctor may need more sleep now, but he still needs less sleep than Rose does, overall, so she isn’t too surprised that each morning she awakes in it, his bed is empty. Until one morning it isn’t.

Honey-warm light drips in lazily through the gap between drapes and Rose realizes, her eyes slowly sliding open, that for once, she isn’t entangled in a mess of bedsheets, but rather, she seems to be intertwined with rather a solid fellow-human-shaped thing. One may even go so far as to say that she is, in fact, tangled up in the limbs of a fellow human. Probably she should slip out before he wakes, do what she can to preserve this boundary she’s drawn, but she hesitates, her breath warm and trapped between her face and the Doctor’s chest. Her legs are twined with his and her arms are wrapped around his torso and one hand, the cheeky little thing, has snuck up the back of his sleep-shirt, so her palm is pressed flat against warm, pliant skin.

It’s nice, all cuddled and close like this, pressed together in their blanket-cocoon. It’s very nice. But Rose suspects it’s breaking the rules; she asked for time, so that means she’s got no right to be touching him now, like this. Besides, there’s no indication that he’s interested in anything beyond hugging, or holding hands, or the occasional wayward kiss. He could very well be totally asexual, for all Rose knows. And if that’s the case, she doesn’t want him to feel pushed, or pressured. So she pulls her hand down, hoping that a slow, gentle motion won’t disturb him, but that’s almost worse than if she’d just whipped her hand out straightaway, because now it probably feels like she’s stroking him, which, not that she minds, but what if he does? Nevermind that when she glances down (oh, that’s a mistake) she can see that his shirt has ridden up in the night to expose an entire agonizing expanse of rarely-before-seen skin, stretched thin over his hipbone and smooth over his stomach and smattered with a sparse scattering of hair leading southward, and warmth blossoms between Rose’s legs at the thought of her fingertips tracing a line down, down, down, over his flank and his hip and straight to his—

His breathing has gone shallow. He’s awake now. With Rose’s face pressed to his chest, her lips right over his heart, and her hand still half up his shirt. And with one of his legs sandwiched between hers, there’s no way he can’t feel the heat of her.

Fuck.

“Sorry,” Rose whispers anyway, because she feels like she should. She shifts in a halfhearted attempt to extricate herself from the Doctor. “I’m sorry, I just woke up like this—I didn’t mean to—”

“No, no, you’re fine,” the Doctor stutters. “I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable.”

Rose laughs. “I was afraid I was making you uncomfortable.”

“Well, I appreciate the consideration, but I don’t think that’s something you need to worry about.”

Brow pinched in confusion, Rose shifts in the bed, extricating herself from the Doctor just enough that she can scoot up to his eye level. “Really?” she says.

He nods. “Really.”

“Oh,” says Rose, suddenly breathless, thinking of the Doctor’s wink in the shop the other day. Her hand has stilled on his lower back, near the waistband of his pyjama-bottoms and she can’t decide if she should keep moving away or if she should slip a finger beneath the elastic and see what happens next, sod the rules.

“I’m not in any particular rush,” the Doctor says, as if he can hear what she’s thinking. Or maybe it’s just that evident on her face. “I said I’d give you time, and I meant it. For whatever you need.”

Rose smiles at him. “You know just what to say to a girl, don’t you?”

“Well, it helps to have one buzzing about in your DNA.”

Rose abandons his waistband in favor of fisting her hand in the back of his shirt, squeezing him in a hug as she buries her face against his chest.

“Thank you,” she says.

He doesn’t say anything, but hugs her tightly in reply.

***

It’s Tony’s birthday party—hard to believe he’s five years old, now, feels like just yesterday that Rose was visiting him and her mum in the maternity ward and marveling over the downy-softness of his sweet little baby head—and he has decided, with all the solemnity a small child can muster, that he wants a proper garden party, something fancy and grown-up, all suits and ties and dresses and pumps. (Rose has a sneaking suspicion about the correlation of this interest in suits and the sudden arrival of the Doctor in this universe; she keeps it to herself, but can’t hide her smile when she asks Tony what he’d like for his birthday, and his immediate response includes a pair of his own red Chucks.) Of course, once the day arrives, after the cake and biscuits and presents and fancy-proper-adult-party have worn out their novelty, Tony decides he wants to play a game of hide-and-go-seek. And naturally, he starts by tagging the biggest child present.

“You’re it!” he shouts, slapping the Doctor on the leg before he and the other children run off laughing and screaming.

The Doctor glances up at Rose in question, a half-eaten treat in one hand. “I’m what?” he asks incredulously around a mouthful of biscuit.

“You’re it,” Rose laughs. When the Doctor just raises an eyebrow, confused, Rose laughs even more. “You know. You’re the one that finds all the children hiding. Haven’t you ever played hide-and-go-seek before?”

“Well, of course I have, but it’s called different things in different places, isn’t it? Not to mention it’s been several centuries and just a few planets since then.”

“At least you look good for your age,” Rose teases.

“I do, don’t I?”

“Oh, yeah. Barely have any wrinkles or grey hair or anything.”

The Doctor mock-glowers at her. “Rose Tyler. I most assuredly do not have any ‘wrinkles, or grey hair, or anything’ anywhere on my person.”

“What about the freckles?”

“Those are hardly indicative of old age. And besides, everyone knows freckles are charming. Like a bunch of little kisses from the sun, just kissing you all over.”

“Has the sun been kissing you all over, then?” asks Rose, her tongue peeking out playfully between her teeth. “Should I be jealous?”

The Doctor’s eyebrows pique with surprise as Rose registers the implications of what she just said. She begs herself not to blush.

“Just to clarify: for this particular hypothetical, are you asking if you should be jealous of me,” the Doctor asks slowly, a grin playing across his lips—and a smug grin, at that!—“or if you should be jealous of the sun?”

Huh. It’s been a little while, but Rose is fairly certain she’s being flirted-with.

“You’re a smart lad,” she says, grabbing the biscuit out of his hand. “You’ll figure it out,” she tells him, offering her own smug grin as she eats her stolen treat.

“Mr. Doctor!” shouts Tony from across the garden, drawing Rose and the Doctor’s attention to where he has decided to hide in a very obvious spot. “Come find us!”

Turning back to Rose, the Doctor clears his throat. “So I should, erm,” he says, gesturing over his shoulder toward where all the children ran off, and have the tips of his ears gone pink? “Probably go put the seek in hide-and-go-seek, right?”

“Right,” Rose says. “They’re not gonna find themselves, after all.”

“Well, it’s a good thing they’ve got me, then, isn’t it?”

“A very good thing,” says Rose, smiling.

The Doctor beams at her for just a second before darting off in search of all the children, pretending to carefully examine every nook and cranny in the garden, even those that children couldn’t possibly ever hide in, ignoring the titters of laughter that float his way from all of the poorly-hiding five-and-six-year-olds.

(He catches Rose watching him a few moments later and shoots her another wink across the garden. Cheeky bastard.)

An hour or so later, as the sun is setting and the sky darkening, the party has begun to wind down, and the staff has begun cleaning the mess away. (It still feels surreal, the staff, and the mansion and the money and the not-having-to-worry-about-every-penny, but it’s a good sort of surreal after twenty years of scraping by, and the staff are very well paid.) As Jackie and Pete start the goodbye negotiations with other sets of attending parents, Rose sets off in search of Tony and the Doctor, to lure them back to the mansion with the promise of dinner. She pokes around the poolside and the trees and the flowerbed, and has just come round the old shed when something seizes her by the shoulder and tries to pull.

With a blink Rose’s UNIT-honed instincts take over and she grabs her assailant’s hand and arm and lunges to the ground, yanking him bodily over her shoulder. He hits the grass in front of her with a solid thwack and Rose springs back, hands held defensively between her and the Doctor, just in case he—

Oh. Ah. The Doctor.

“What the hell was that?” Rose demands.

“What the hell was that?” he hisses back at her, staring up at her with wide eyes.

“Sorry, sorry,” Rose splutters. “Are you—”

She doesn’t have a chance to say Okay because the Doctor has already scrambled up from the ground to grab her once again (by the hand, from the front, this time, where she can see him coming) and he’s pulling her up to the shed with him, throwing open the doors so he can draw them both inside. It’s a tight squeeze, the two of them in there with all the old tools and tarps and equipment, but the Doctor closes the doors behind them anyway. Rose starts to ask what on earth’s gotten into him but the Doctor cuts her off with a finger held to his lips.

“Rose?” asks Tony’s voice, a few meters off to their right somewhere. “Mr. Doctor?”

Rose rolls her eyes. She opens her mouth to say that playtime is over now, ta, but before she can say anything, the Doctor switches his hand from his mouth to hers, putting his finger to her lips and stoppering her words. Normally, Rose might bat him away or grimace in irritation at him hushing her up like this, but right now, with these invisible lines drawn between them, heightening every touch to something near-electric, all Rose can think about is his finger against her mouth and his other hand still grasping hers. And as close as they’re standing, Rose notices (just like she used to back then) just how good the Doctor smells. It isn’t quite the same as before; there’s the slightest tang of sweat that never used to be there, but not in a bad way. He still smells like him, and he still smells good. (Christ, he smells good.)

The pitter-patter of little feet in the grass nearby isn’t quite enough to pull Rose out of her thoughts, though she knows it means Tony is close, and therefore close to finding them. But even if the stakes are so different now (no physical danger here, not unless the Doctor decides to surprise-attack her again), she can’t help but recall all the other times like this, the two of them holding close in a dangerous situation, before. Rose thinks of hiding from palace guards and harrowing space station escapes and prison breaks with held hands and held breaths and pounding hearts and god, she wants to kiss the Doctor so badly, she really, really does. So maybe she should, Rose thinks as the Doctor’s gaze drops from her eyes to her mouth, where his finger rests. Maybe she should just pull his hand away and push up onto the balls of her feet and press her lips against his and kiss him. Maybe it doesn’t matter that they still haven’t properly talked yet. Maybe it doesn’t matter that this dirty dingy old shed is possibly the least romantic setting she could have chosen. Maybe she should snog the everloving daylights out of him regardless. Maybe—

“Rose,” says the Doctor, his voice low, his eyes locked on hers. He leans forward, and Rose’s pulse races in her throat as his lips brush against her ear.

“Run for your life,” he whispers.

“Found you!” Tony shrieks, tossing open the shed doors. Shouting in mock-fear, the Doctor cinches his grasp on Rose’s hand and yanks her out of the shed before Tony can tag either one of them, pulling her along in a run. Rose stumbles at first, taken by surprise, not to mention that she’s still wearing her pumps. But the Doctor is laughing like a madman, pulling her along as he sprints with seemingly no effort whatsoever, and it feels just utterly glorious to be running again after weeks without and soon Rose is kicking off her pumps to better keep up with him, relishing the stretch and burn in her lungs and calves and thighs. Tony giggles and yells behind them and the Doctor laughs and whoops next to her and he’s still clutching her hand and the wind whips her hair and air expands her lungs and happiness swells in her chest and spreads to her head until she feels giddy with the rush of it and it’s been weeks since Rose grinned this hard or felt this good, it’s been months, it’s been years.

“Run for your life!” the Doctor shouts, and Rose laughs.

***

Rose may not have foreseen the Doctor returning to this universe with her, and thus may not have been able to plan for such an event, but some things still just make sense and fall into place naturally, and the Doctor working with UNIT is one such thing. (Working with, mind, not for; it’s an important distinction, he insists, and Rose rolls her eyes but plays along.) Thus it’s in the breakroom for the Applied Sciences department that Rose finds the Doctor late one night, dozing on the couch after a long day of research and alien negotiations.

Biting her lip, Rose watches him, taking a moment to appreciate this rare unguarded view. The Doctor has always looked youthful with this face, but right now, he looks young, downright vulnerable, head bowed and specs slipping down his nose and lips parted ever so slightly as he sleeps. Pale blue light from the breakroom telly bathes his face in ghostly hues, reflecting in his glasses, but it doesn’t seem to bother him. Something warm swells almost uncomfortably in Rose’s chest; this may not be exactly what she was working for all these years, but damn it, he’s wonderful, and he’s beautiful, and he’s here. With her. The enormity of such a massive thought in such a quiet moment is enough to make her head spin.

Biting her lip, Rose checks the clock. It’s nearly midnight. She’s more than ready to go home, but she sort of hates to disturb the Doctor right now. There are a few more things she can do, she decides, before she rouses him and they go home. Let him sleep for a few minutes longer, she thinks.

Rose has just turned to leave the breakroom when his hand reaches out to wrap around hers.

“’Lo,” murmurs the Doctor, his voice thick with sleep. “Time to head out?”

Rose smiles. “In a minute. You can close your eyes again.”

“Nah, I’m not tired,” says the Doctor, sitting up with a great yawn.

Rose piques an eyebrow in suspicion, her smile deepening. It is immensely gratifying to be on the opposite end of this conversation for once.

“…maybe I’m a little bit tired,” the Doctor admits.

“Just a little bit,” Rose teases.

“Only the littlest of bits,” says the Doctor, yawning again. With his free hand he reaches up beneath his specs, rubbing at his eyes. “Just give me a moment and I’ll be good to go. Yeah?”

“All right,” says Rose, moving to leave.

He still hasn’t let go of her.

“Did you want me to wait?” Rose asks.

“Only if you like,” he says casually—a little too casually, Rose thinks—so she nods, plunking down in the break room’s old comfy armchair, her fingers still twined with the Doctor’s. While they’re waiting, Rose figures she might as well watch some telly, but whatever the Doctor’s got playing looks dreadfully boring, not to mention so quiet she can barely hear it. So Rose reaches for the remote, only for the Doctor to pull it away at the last second.

Rose’s lips twitch. “Do you mind?” she asks.

“Do I mind what?” he asks, eyes trained forward on the telly.

“Do you mind if I change the channel?”

The Doctor shrugs. “Have at it.”

Maybe it was a misunderstanding, Rose reasons. He was asleep just a moment ago, after all. Probably he’s just not thinking. She reaches for the remote again.

He pulls it out of her reach again.

Rose’s eyes narrow. Her fingers drum on her thigh. Tap-tap-tap.

(Is he messing with her?)

She pretends to settle back in the chair, wriggling her bum comfortably into the cushions. He places the remote on the sofa arm between them. He rests his hand mere centimeters away. After a moment, Rose can tell he’s relaxed a little, sees the tension easing from his arm and neck.

After another moment, Rose pounces.

She dives across the furniture and naturally he’s too quick for her once again, snatching up the remote just as Rose’s fingertips glance against it.

(He is messing with her.)

(This, of course, means war.)

Rose pushes up on her knees and reaches one arm out as far as it will go, holding on first to the chair-arm and then the Doctor’s shoulder for balance, and he holds the remote just out of reach. His arms are longer than hers and he knows it and he’s using it to his advantage, the bastard. He just sits there with a slowly-spreading smug grin on his face, pretending to watch the telly even with Rose’s arm waving madly in front of his face. With every swipe of her hand, he just holds the remote further and further away, until his arm is fully extended and Rose is practically falling out of her chair. And when Rose jumps up, thinking she’ll just catch him from the other side, he switches hands, chuckling quietly to himself.

The urge to laugh bubbles up in Rose’s gut, but she pushes it down. She doesn’t have time for laughter. She only has time for vengeance.

With a quiet hmmph! she sits back down, trapping the Doctor between her body and the sofa-arm. The Doctor opens his mouth to protest and Rose takes full advantage of his tiny slip in concentration, throwing one leg over his lap in a deep lunge while her hand strains toward her prize.

Close—! She can practically feel her fingernails scraping the plastic casing, she’s so close—

—until the Doctor’s free hand grabs her by the waist and pulls her back, hard.

Rose can’t help laughing now, and he’s laughing too, both at her and with her, while she struggles against him, pushing at him with her chest pressed into his shoulder and thigh slung across his lap. (Damn, but he’s stronger than he looks; of course, so is she, but she has no desire to prove herself by harming him. The other day was a close enough call.) Writhing in his grip, Rose makes one last valiant effort, her hand straining desperately to close itself around his wrist or his shirtsleeve, maybe yank his arm closer, before he finally manages to pull her away, and she falls back with a solid thump.

“You unbelievable ass,” Rose laughs, pushing her hair away from her face.

“Me?” the Doctor asks innocently. “I was just sitting here, minding my own business, when I was assaulted—”

“I’ll show you ‘assaulted’,” Rose mutters under her breath, but she’s still grinning.

“—and then you decided to crawl all over my body like it’s some kind of sentient obstacle course!”

“Oi,” Rose chuckles, moving to stand up, “It’s not my fault you’re all arms and legs and—”

Her thigh brushes over his lap as she moves, and she freezes. Over the last few years she hasn’t had much chance to accrue what one would label a wealth of experience in the matter, but she’s fairly certain she just accidentally touched something that was neither a hand nor a leg nor a part that’s traditionally considered public touching material. And she might not be an expert, but she doesn’t think it’s typically quite that, well, hard, either.

Oh. Oh.

Rose feels like she should flush with embarrassment, or jump back and pretend nothing’s happening (observe the ritual, adhere to the boundaries, stick to the plan), but she can’t seem to move, stuck in partial suspension above the Doctor. His face is eye level with her chest, which he seems adamantly unfocused on, eyelashes fluttering just a little too rapidly, and oh my, but she’s suddenly noticing just how warm they both are, how short her skirt is, how his thighs are bracketed by hers, just how much they’ve been touching each other this whole time.

The Doctor swallows, his Adam’s apple bobbing with the force of it. “Yes, erm,” he says quietly, and is he blushing? “I see you found my mobile,” he lies, his voice surprisingly calm.

“Your mobile,” Rose repeats.

“Yep. My mobile.”

“Right,” Rose nods. She points at the coffee table behind her, at the Doctor’s phone lying there. “That mobile?”

The Doctor closes his eyes. Rose can almost hear him silently cursing himself. “Yep. That’d be the one.”

“Of course,” Rose laughs. “So, you don’t feel anything when I…?”

“Nope,” the Doctor rushes.

Rose arches an eyebrow at him.

He sighs in frustration. “I used to have much better control over this sort of thing, you know,” he complains. “Now it’s all…misfiring synapses and…signals shooting all over the place willy-nilly, and, and, quite frankly ridiculous hormones.”

“Tell me about it,” Rose teases.

The Doctor chuckles under his breath, unable to meet her eyes. His hand is still snug against her waist, hasn’t left its spot where he pulled her down, and she can feel the warmth of him through her shirt, feel his fingers curling against her. Rose wonders if he’s even aware of doing it, and he must be, because a second later, his hand moves, spasming like he burned it. His hand settles awkwardly on the sofa next to him and Rose watches as he determinedly looks at anything but her.

God. He must be mortified.

She knows she should back away. She should. And yet…well, she notices he’s not exactly trying to get away, either.

“Do you want me to move?” she asks anyway, because she should.

The Doctor thinks about it for a second. “Interesting choice of words, move,” he says slowly. “Sort of…different connotations, aren’t there? Multi-layered word. Several different meanings.”

Rose grins. “Which one do you mean?”

He swallows again. He still can’t meet her eyes. “Erm,” he says. Followed by, “Well.” He looks like he’s thinking about it. Trying to decide. Rose thinks maybe she should help him with the process. (She’s never been afraid to cheat just a little.)

Rose eases forward until she’s straddling him, bookending his hips with her knees. She’s careful to leave some space between their bodies, just in case he changes his mind, just in case this isn’t what he wants. She can tell by the rise and fall of his chest that his breathing has sped up. She feels his thighs tense beneath her.

It never occurred to her that she could affect him quite like this. The prospect of it all is giving her a rush, hormones fizzing together in her head like a potent cocktail. Like a drug.

(They still need to talk about all these things, Rose knows.

So. She’ll talk.)

“Which one did you mean?” she asks again, conversationally, like none of it means anything. Like she isn’t sitting in his lap, feeling the faint predictions of arousal in her own body now, stirring somewhere low in her abdomen. She’s so sure she knows, almost entirely certain she can predict what he wants, but she needs to hear it. Needs to make sure she’s not taking advantage of him, that this isn’t just his fresh new human body reacting without his permission.

His fingers nervously tap the cushions next to him. He starts to ask her something, stops, glances over at the breakroom door. It’s still open, Rose realizes, and anyone in the lab could hear them. Well, it’s only Ripley in the lab, this late at night, and it’s doubtful he’s heard anything up to this point, but if their volume increases at all, he’s going to get an earful.

Rose reaches for the remote control, pulls it easily out of the Doctor’s hand.

“Was this all part of the game, then?” the Doctor asks, amusement bleeding through his nervousness.

Smiling, Rose turns around and aims the remote at the telly, turning up the volume just loud enough to mask any suspicious noises that may arise out of the room. When she turns back to the Doctor, he’s finally looking up at her face, making proper eye contact now. He doesn’t look away this time.

He looks so open and wide-eyed and pretty and god, Rose just really wants to fuck him.

“Do you want me to move,” Rose starts, sliding forward in his lap until their hips meet, her skirt rucking up around her hips until her legs are almost entirely exposed, “like this?”

Their faces are quite close now, close enough that they could kiss, if they wanted. And Rose does want. So that’s the next step of the plan. Rose does exactly that, leaning forward to press a kiss next to his lips, on his jaw, near his ear. She arches her hips into his and hears a soft breath escape him, watches in her peripheral vision as his eyes shutter closed. She does it again, until she can feel him pressing into her through her pants. His hands fly up to her hips but he doesn’t move against her.

“Doctor,” Rose breathes, her lips grazing the shell of his ear, “you need to tell me if you want me to keep going, or if you want me to stop.”

“Don’t stop,” he murmurs. “Please.”

“All right, since you asked so nicely.”

The Doctor lets out a half-laugh at that, but the sound ends in a hum when Rose starts rolling her hips against him again. She sets up a slow and steady rhythm that she knows is going to drive them both mad, even with all of these layers between them. Rose wants to look at his face, wants to see his guard slipping, but he ducks his head. He plants feather-light kisses while they move, dotting her neck and throat and collarbone with a touch that’s so faint, it simultaneously makes Rose want to squirm away and squirm closer for more. She opts for the latter, pressing into him until their chests touch and she can feel his heart hammering against her stomach. She can feel the exact size and shape of him through her pants, hot and hard and just begging for release. He still doesn’t meet her thrusts, but his hands settle on her hips, fingers skirting the edge of her waistband.

It’s been quite some time since anyone has touched Rose like this, anyone that wasn’t her anyway, and even taking that into account, it’s been a while; it doesn’t take long for her body to start crying out for more. His hold on her hips is too gentle, his kisses too light, his movements too careful. She can’t tell if he’s afraid of chasing her away or if he genuinely just doesn’t feel the same urgency she does. It feels like every single fiber of her existence is straining for him and a needy ache is growing between her thighs and she just really wants friction and heat and more and now.

“I’m heading out,” Ripley’s voice calls from the lab, startling them both. The Doctor gives a jump beneath Rose. She claps her hand over his mouth before he can make any noise. Both of them freeze, adrenaline pumping through their veins. Rose waits with bated breath for the sounds of Ripley approaching.

“Have a good night!” Ripley shouts, still in the lab.

“Thanks, you too!” Rose replies. She is supremely pleased with how normal and not at all out-of-breath she sounds.

The lights in the lab go dim, clicking out one-by-one. The breakroom plunges into darkness. Only the telly remains on, casting shadow-shapes that flicker gently over the room, voices and music shockingly loud in the quiet. Rose listens closely for the sounds of the lab door closing and locking after.

Once Ripley is well and truly gone, the Doctor relaxes a little. He heaves a sigh of relief, his breath warm against Rose’s palm. He looks up at Rose like he’s asking her what happens next.

She moves her hand out of the way and replaces it with a kiss.

The Doctor is surprised, but he warms up to the idea quickly, his lips moving against hers. He almost seems perfectly content with the close-lipped kiss, languorous and slow as it is, but his grip on her hips tightens just a little bit and he arches into her just a fraction. The sensation makes Rose’s head swim and her body flush with anticipation and want.

But it isn’t enough. Rose doesn’t need him calm and slow. She needs to see him out-of-control—needs to see him wanting her. Needs him to know how badly she wants him.

She hits the “off” button on the remote, cutting off the noise from the telly, and she scoots back just far enough that her fingers have space to unbutton the Doctor’s trousers.

“Close your eyes,” she says, brushing her lips against his jaw. “And keep them closed.”

The Doctor opens his mouth like he might protest, but he doesn’t. He licks his lips, nods, and complies.

Once Rose is certain his eyes are properly closed, no movement beneath to indicate that he’s peeking, she kisses him again, a little harder this time, and she unzips his fly, as quickly as she can without getting him caught. She strokes him through his pants, watches his brow furrow and his teeth flash as he bites his lower lip. His breaths leave his mouth with a ragged edge to them; he’s trying to breathe evenly, possibly trying to engage a bypass system he no longer has while he tries desperately not to thrust into her hand.

Good. Better.

Still not enough.

Rose hooks her fingers over the edge of his waistband and pulls it down, carefully. She edges back as she goes until she can extend one leg behind her, then the other, lowering herself to her knees on the floor.

The Doctor, eyes still closed, frowns. “Rose...?”

She leans forward and takes his cock in her mouth.

A strangled gasp tears out of him and his entire body goes stiff. Rose quickly pins down his hips with her hands and takes him in as far as she can, hollowing her cheeks. She swirls her tongue around him, applying as much pressure as she can muster. She can tell he wants to thrust, can feel it in the way he trembles; she rubs circles against his exposed hips, urging him to relax as much as he can. She moves her head up and down, slowly at first, torturing him just a little bit before she picks up speed, moving one hand to stroke whatever expanse isn’t covered by her mouth.

His hands fist helplessly in the cushions beside him. Rose looks up to find his head thrown back, teeth biting into his plump lower lip hard enough that it’s gone white. She redoubles her efforts. She hums around him, pressing her tongue firmly over where he’s most sensitive. At that, he starts panting, his stomach muscles pumping overtime with the effort of it.

Rose has never seen him like this before, never watched all the rules slip away like this, and the sight of him, gasping and desperate and so, so close to breaking, is enough to make her grow ridiculously wet and needy. She rubs her thighs together for any shred of friction she can get. A series of strained noises escapes him and that only makes it worse, so she tightens her lips around him, tightens and swallows.

“Rose,” the Doctor gasps, “Rose—ah. Stop. Stop. Let me—please—”

She ceases moving the moment the message reaches her brain and she releases him with a wet pop, sits up straight to ask him what he wants, and he leans over and shows her: framing her face in both hands, he presses his lips to hers in a punishing kiss. He urges her mouth open and his tongue slides over hers, and there it is, there’s that sense of urgency she was looking for. As his tongue explores her mouth, she wonders what he tastes there, what’s more overwhelming, the bare traces of him or the taste of her arousal—whatever it is, it stirs a moan deep in his throat and suddenly he’s pulling her up and back into his lap.

He’s still hard beneath her and in the midst of her increasingly intoxicating head-fog, Rose thinks that must be terribly uncomfortable. Rose moves to help him, to finish what she started, but he stops her. His grip on her wrist is surprisingly firm. “Not yet, please,” he says hoarsely between kisses. He holds her close with one hand while the other snakes up under her skirt, skating over her inner thigh on its way to her pants. Fingers press into her through warm, soaked cotton.

“Ah,” the Doctor mutters to himself, as if he’s just now realizing something. “Yes, that’s very—you’re really quite—”

His words fade to a satisfied hum as his fingers explore the edge of her pants, slipping under, gliding over slick skin. His strokes, gentle at first, grow firmer. Rose’s eyes fall closed at the sensation. She presses into his hand, hips tilting forward and drawing back in time with the motions of his fingers, and she lets out a whimper when he grazes over her clit. The pressure sends pleasure spiraling through her and she chases after that feeling, rocking her hips and fucking his hand until she’s so wet she thinks she might explode from need. He slips a finger inside her and she bites down on a moan.

She can feel the Doctor’s gaze on her face, gauging her reactions. A delicious thrill shivers through her but no, that won’t do, that won’t do at all, not when she’s still desperate to see him come undone.

Pulling herself up by the back of the sofa, she tries to sit up on her knees, starts to push down at her knickers. She lets out a surprised little yelp when the Doctor stops her, grabbing her hip with his free hand. At first she worries that maybe this isn’t what he wants after all, maybe he doesn’t want things to progress any further, but when he pushes her knickers to the side, she realizes that’s not true at all—he just doesn’t want her to move away from him, not even to take off her pants. He doesn’t want to wait. Which is brilliant, because Rose doesn’t want to wait anymore, either. She slides back down until she can feel the tip of his cock nudging at her, and, shifting her hips just so, she sinks down onto him, slickly, taking him in as far as she can.

The Doctor grits out a groan, his eyes losing focus, lips parting just the tiniest bit. Rose can’t help the grin that spreads across her face at that. (Can’t help the gasp that leaves her when she pushes down just a little bit more, taking him further in, the two of them sliding together deliciously.) She takes advantage of the breach in his defenses, leaning forward for another kiss and slipping her tongue along the seam of his mouth. She tilts her hips back and forth, drawing up and pushing down and pushing just a little further each time until he’s fully sheathed inside her, easing the swollen ache between her legs. When her muscles clench around his cock, she feels him tense beneath her, his legs and stomach going rigid while his brow furrows in concentration.

“Just relax,” Rose murmurs against his lips.

“Seems unlikely at this juncture,” the Doctor laughs weakly.

Grinning, Rose clutches at the Doctor’s back, nails digging into his shirts and his skin as she increases her pace and pressure, rocking her hips up and down and just losing herself in the heat and the wet and the friction of it all. For a bloke who has almost certainly never had sex—not in this fresh new body with all its sensitive new nerve endings—he is holding out magnificently, lasting far longer than Rose would have imagined. She thinks, maybe, as she feels her climax building, as the warm-tickle-yes-yes-yes builds low in her belly, that he must have held onto some truly extraordinary Time Lord willpower. Or, the thought dawns on her…

She slows her movement, hips grinding almost to a still. “Have you been practicing?” she whispers in his ear.

“What?” he asks, distracted, his voice strained and ridiculously breathy.

Rose sinks back down inch-by-inch and feels rather than hears the groan rumbling in the Doctor’s chest. “You’re holding out remarkably well, especially for the circumstances,” she says. “Have you been practicing? Touching yourself?”

When he doesn’t answer, his Adam’s apple bobbing nervously, Rose nips at the pulse point beneath his ear, her tongue darting out to taste his salty-sweet skin. She slides a hand between them and rubs at where they’re joined. As her fingers ring the base of his cock, stroking him, the Doctor’s head lolls back on the couch, his eyes slamming shut.

“Yes,” he gasps out, like the admission pains him.

Rose rewards him by sliding her hips up and down, her movements agonizingly slow as she torments them both. “What do you think about?”

“What do you think?” the Doctor asks with another strained laugh. When Rose stops moving, his eyes open again and his gaze meets hers.

“You,” he confesses, panting. “Just you.”

Rose smiles and presses a hard kiss to his mouth the instant the words leave him. One of his hands flies up to grasp her by the jaw, suddenly possessive, claiming, and Rose’s lips part without hesitation as he plunders her mouth with his tongue and finally (finally) starts to move, arching up into her. She rocks against him and he meets her measure-for-measure, thrust-for-thrust. No longer content as a passive player, the Doctor slips his hands under Rose’s shirt and pushes it up over her breasts, planting kisses on every inch of skin he can reach. His thumbs circle and tease her nipples until they’re peaked and straining through the thin fabric of her bra.

Her climax quickly begins to build up again, warmth blooming through her; she’s close, she’s close, she’s so close, dancing right on the edge, pleasure rippling through her body in waves. She slides her hand back between them again, teasing her clit with fingers slippery with sweat and sex. As her muscles flutter desperately, clenching tight around him once more, the Doctor pumps his hips harder, his breaths leaving with a moan. He grasps her by the back of the head and pulls her down for one more kiss, his fingers tangling in her hair. When he bites her lower lip, flooding her with pain and warmth, Rose shudders and breaks around him and he swallows her cries. She strokes him and fucks him through her own climax into his, where he breaks the kiss in favor of burying his face in the join of her neck and shoulder, shouting as he spasms and empties into her.

Their movements slow and still until they’re both motionless, panting in the quiet dark. The Doctor winds his arms around Rose in a lazy embrace, his face still buried against her shoulder. His specs are digging into her almost uncomfortably but she doesn’t say anything, hugs him about the neck and idly strokes his sweat-dampened hair instead.

Her brain is mostly empty except for a very pleasant hazy hum. She hopes the same is true for him. Still, there’s that nagging little thought cropping up, quieter than usual, but still there, as always: What’s next?

“Are you, erm,” she tries to ask amidst shuddering breaths. “How are you doing?”

“Dunno yet,” is the muffled reply. “I’ll tell you when my legs stop feeling like jelly.”

Rose chuckles and kisses the side of his head.

They end up taking the train home, or as close to home as they can get, anyway. It’s the first time Rose has been on a train in years; she decides this is to blame for why her legs are so much wibblier than usual, why she has to shift her stance and cling to the pole so much harder than before. It’s certainly got nothing to do with the pleasantly warm soreness throbbing between her legs, certainly nothing to do with the source of said soreness.

Of course, the Doctor doesn’t seem to be having any trouble staying upright at all, jelly-leg comments notwithstanding. Of course he doesn’t.

“So,” Rose says, casually. “Not a fan of blow jobs, hm?”

It is incredibly satisfying to see him wavering just a little, his grasp tightening on the pole. “Huh?” he asks, very intelligently.

“You stopped me, earlier. You know. When I had you in my mouth.”

“Erm, well,” says the Doctor, scratching the back of his neck while flushing as brilliant a carnation-pink as Rose has ever seen. “Yes, I suppose I did.”

“Why?”

The Doctor glances down at the floor, as if he finds it suddenly fascinating. “Just wanted to hold you, is all,” he murmurs.

Something in Rose’s stomach feels almost unbearably fluttery and tender at that, but before she has a chance to reply, the train gives a lurch, jostling her. She braces herself against the Doctor, one hand on the pole while the other snakes beneath his jacket, grabbing a fistful of shirt. Strictly for balance reasons, of course. It’s got nothing to do with what he just said, or the fact that she’s so very glad to be on this train with him, or how very much she loves him, or the fact that she’s planning to kiss him again.

(It’s a good plan. Very good. The best she’s ever had, possibly.)

Rose pushes onto her tiptoes to press a kiss to the Doctor’s cheek. He’s warm, beneath her lips; warm from blushing, and other things too, maybe. She kisses him again, lower, and again, on the corner of his mouth, and this time he turns his head to catch her lips with his. It’s slower than the other kisses they’ve shared, and softer. Rose has to hide her face against his chest, after, to counteract the overwhelming sweetness swelling between her lungs.

There are still things they need to discuss, of course. Big things. Big, important things. But they can wait a little while longer.

Well, most of them can, anyway.

“I’m glad you’re here with me,” Rose says quietly, to the Doctor’s chest.

He rests his head against hers, exhaling slowly. “Me, too.”

***

#ficandchips #tentoo x rose #tentoorose #tentoo/rose #anti turning of the tide #rose tyler #metacrisis doctor #tentoo #warning: here be lemons #here there be lemons what i wrote LITERAL YEARS AGO #poor lemons have been moldering for like FOUR YEARS????#??????????#because originally this was part of a super duper angsty post-JE fic i was working on off and on for a long time #but as much as i really liked some parts of it--it was ultimately too draining to write #because even though i likes me some angst as much as the next salty mean bitch #i do ultimately want these two idiots to get together #i can handle a fair amount of angst with rose and tenth doctor mach i but after an initial bout of angst #i'm ready for her and metacrisis doc to be happy together #even if they've got external shit to deal with -- i want them to be happy together #so instead i've just been reappropriating my favorite bits here and there--incorporating them into other works #a big chunk of it was incorporated into/transformed into 'something of the wolf'#other bits and pieces have been incorporated into the rewriting of 'in lovers meeting' (formerly 'hitchhiker's map')#and other bits have been retooled and expanded-upon to present this here fic #i'm just happy some of this writing is finally seeing the light of day dammit #:D #mbb fic

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nemurui-a · 5 years ago

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@yikeen / x.

he can only do so much as to swipe his tongue on the pad of his finger before he’s even able to turn the book’s page. ferdinand came in, and naturally, he does what he knows best: command attention. not that claude minds. being a sight for sore eyes is good enough for some, but ferdinand isn’t limited to a delicately crafted face——— he’s full of surprises. today included. and when he mentions a rumor, claude already knows what to expect.

‘‘ sometimes i am. sometimes she courts me. 𝗂𝗍’𝗌 𝖺 𝗆𝗎𝗍𝗎𝖺𝗅 𝖺𝗀𝗋𝖾𝖾𝗆𝖾𝗇𝗍, ’’ he clarifies smoothly, closing the book and setting his elbow on it. ‘‘ come now, ferdinand ! is there a rule about it on the book of nobles among nobles ? i don’t think so. ’’ ( there might be, actually, but it doesn’t matter ). ‘‘ besides, people are suckers for these sorts of things. the stalls light up immediately at the promise of a wedding. is that not a noble thing to do ? bring joy to the masses ? something to look forward to ? ’’ claude pretends to seriously question, beckoning ferdinand to sit next to him. and when he does, hesitantly so, he continues.

‘‘ but never mind that. you said you hope these rumors to be false, did you not ? i wonder why that might be ? ’’ to emphasize his curiosity, he cants his head to the side, stray lock of hair swaying as well. ‘‘ is it perhaps, oh, i don’t know, because you’re jealous ? ’’ at his pause, claude licks his lips. ‘‘ don’t be shy, ferdinand. it’s not on the aegir bloodline. fess up, is it hilda you fancy ? ’’ and then, he smiles. ‘‘ 𝗼𝗿 𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝘁 𝗺𝗲 ? if so, my deepest apologies. you’re harder to read than i thought ! ’’ standing up without any precedent, he tucks the book under his arm, and pats ferdinand on the arm, gently. and before he saunters off, says, ‘‘ i’ll take your feelings into consideration next time. 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐬 𝐢𝐭 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐛𝐞 𝐮𝐬 𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐟𝐢𝐭𝐬. think about it, von aegir. ’’

ferdinand likes to think himself a patient man. but : there is a specific kind of disrespect that he does not tolerate whatsoever, and it rings like an alarm along the lines of claude von riegan. for him to even consider that an adequate explanation ... ferdinand wonders if claude will recognize his own mistake when hindsight, or ferdinand himself, makes it clear. “ and even now, you attempt to insinuate that such behavior is acceptable for nobility ? ” he shakes his head, frown deepening. “ i would expect this kind of behavior from hilda, but really, i thought better of you. ” call it double standards, call it resigned acceptance : but he refuses to call it quits with claude.

it takes all his discipline not to snatch the book out of claude’s hand when his lack of remorse becomes clear. how fortunate, then, that claude closes the book of his own volition before ferdinand could do anything lest he offend ... ah, lesser sensibilities. and his own, at it, considering it defied all teachings he received as a child, even as it aligned with the actions of his own father. ferdinand entertains a passing thought about apples and trees. oh, but he cannot afford to be distracted, claude being the renowned strategist he is. nonetheless, he takes the seat as indicated, wondering if even this meager action was included within calculations. ferdinand has never been much for scheming.

“ insincere joy is fleeting and may cause more harm than good, you must know this. so i have to wonder, what are you playing at, von riegan ? ”

“ i -- you -- what are you implying ? ” in hindsight, his own this time, ferdinand now sees it : he’s been played. it is not yet the end of the battle, however, and far be it from him to hand over an easy surrender. ferdinand may not be a scheming person, but he has gone against the best of them and survived. only a fool would ignore the signs of defeat without a countermeasure. he reaches out to grab claude’s arm, effectively preventing him from leaving the room. “ do i fancy you ? ” the echoes of a distant feeling of a crush, he draws it back into himself. “ perhaps so. then, i suppose there is nothing to lose by merely asking. would you assent to, ” he scrunches his nose in distaste for the phrase, “ going out with me, claude von riegan ? ”

#❪ ferdinand. ❫ ic.#yikeen #i don't want to talk about this

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cutepresea · 5 years ago

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4-8 A Light That Pierces the Clouds: Miku’s Battle

Again, sorry for the spam. This will be it for now. Parts 9-15 will come later.

If you want to blacklist these, you can use either the tag #a light that pierces the clouds for just this event, or #xdu event scripts or #xdu scripts

Reminder that these are copied straight from XD Unlimited itself, so any grammatical weirdness, mistranslations, and/or mischaracterizations are not my doing.

Miku Kohinata: (Hibiki...)

Hibiki Tachibana (flashback): "Psh! Get out of the way!"

Miku Kohinata (flashback): "Huh? Ahh!"

Miku Kohinata: (She must have been protecting me.)

Miku Kohinata: "I knew Hibiki hasn't changed. I want to talk to her more. No, I have to..."

Genjuro Kazanari: "Thank you for all for gathering. Let's start discussing some countermeasures for the Karma Noise." [1]

Tsubasa Kazanari: "Where's Kohinata?"

Maria: "She has some business to tend to. Something very important."

Chris Yukine: "That's right."

Tsubasa Kazanari: "Is that so?"

Genjuro Kazanari: "First off, I want to parse what we know about the Karma Noise. Tell us what you know again."

Maria: "Sure. That Karma Noise is--"

Genjuro Kazanari: "I see. This may be a bit more difficult than I'd imagined."

Maria: "There isn't much we can do here. The most we wielders can do are combo attacks or win through attrition."

Tsubasa Kazanari: "Wait, when you say here... Do you mean that there are other methods?"

Chris Yukine: "Something like that. We also have S2CA and Ignite."

Tsubasa Kazanari: "What are those? Why can't they be used?"

Chris Yukine: "S2CA combines Superb Songs while Ignite utilizes the berserk state."

Maria: "To use S2CA, you'll need a certain girl who specializes in joining hands together."

Tsubasa Kazanari: "So that means we need the Hibiki Tachibana from your world?"

Maria: "That's right. And currently, she's in no condition to fight."

Chris Yukine: "It'd be nice if the idiot here could do it, but it's impossible to pull off without some practice."

Maria: "Right. And she may be fundamentally different from our Hibiki. That's why this method can't be used."

Tsubasa Kazanari: "What about Ignite? Though I must say, that "berserk state" sounds pretty ominous."

Chris Yukine: "Our Gears have this thing called an Ignite Module."

Genjuro Kazanari: "An Ignite Module, you say?"

Maria: "With the magic blade Dáinsleif as a core, it triggers an artificial berserk state, converting it into power."

Maria: "But against the Karma Noise's curse, it'll cause the wielder to go truly berserk. It's a double-edged sword."

Genjuro Kazanari: "So you're saying that teamwork is the only effective method?"

Tsubasa Kazanari: "In that case, we will just have to join forces. With us three plus Kohinata, that's four wielders who can--"

Chris Yukine: "We already saw that that wasn't enough last time."

Maria: "Yeah. We can make up for it a little through teamwork, but it'll be difficult without Hibiki's help."

Chris Yukine: "We'd be better off having over wielders, that's for sure."

Genjuro Kazanari: "Sure, it would be beneficial if we could get her to work with us, but..."

Tsubasa Kazanari: "But we can't know whether she'll cooperate or not. I don't think this is a good idea."

Genjuro Kazanari: "Tsubasa..."

Tsubasa Kazanari: "If better teamwork defeats the Karma Noise, I'll do everything in my power to improve. Will you help me?"

Chris Yukine: "Of course we will."

Maria: "Well, it's all we can do right now."

Maria: "I think things are starting to take shape."

Chris Yukine: "It's not a bad idea, is it? Though then again, we're two people short."

Tsubasa Kazanari: "......"

Maria: "What's the matter, Tsubasa?"

Tsubasa Kazanari: "Is it really possible to work together with Hibiki Tachibana? I'm still a bit hesitant..."

Maria: "What makes you say that?"

Tsubasa Kazanari: "We've crossed paths in the battlefield numerous times. I've tried to convince her to join Section 2 before."

Tsubasa Kazanari: "She just always says she doesn't care. All she does is appear when there's Noise and do her own thing."

Tsubasa Kazanari: "I don't know what she's thinking, and I highly doubt we can work together toward a common goal."

Tsubasa Kazanari: "And to think someone like that is wielding Gungnir. I mean..."

Chris Yukine: "She's just upfront, that's all. And a dumbass."

Maria: "Yeah. I think that's just who she is."

Tsubasa Kazanari: "But that's Hibiki Tachibana in your world. It doesn't necessarily mean she's the same as the one here."

Maria: "I'm not so sure. Gjallarhorn links to branches of a bigger river, but it doesn't affect that river's flow."

Maria: "That's why there shouldn't be major differences in their personalities and preferences. At least for now."

Chris Yukine: "There're loads of small differences in every world. Some have Gears, some don't. Sometimes people are gone."

Maria: "I was surprised seeing how different she is from the Hibiki I know, but maybe they are essentially the same."

Maria: "I was saved by how upfront she is."

Chris Yukine: "...Me too."

Tsubasa Kazanari: "I hope that's the case... But how do you plan on convincing her to work with us?"

Maria: "We'll let the expert deal with that."

Chris Yukine: "Yeah. She's the perfect one to deal with that idiot."

Tsubasa Kazanari: "Expert?"

Maria: "Yes. Her best friend is hard at work as we speak."

Hibiki Tachibana: "Hmph! Hah!"

Hibiki Tachibana: "...What? What do you want?"

Miku Kohinata: "I'm sorry. Is this a bad time?"

Hibiki Tachibana: "You're just like the others. Why do you keep showing up? Who do you think you are to me?"

Miku Kohinata: "Oh, right. I haven't explained yet."

Miku Kohinata: (I think parallel worlds and Gjallarhorn are top secret, but... No, if I lied, she wouldn't trust me" [2]

Miku Kohinata: "Um, we're--"

Hibiki Tachibana: "A different me from a different world..."

Miku Kohinata: "Yeah. I know it must be hard to take in..."

Hibiki Tachibana: "...Whatever."

Hibiki Tachibana: "If you've got nothing else to say, go away. You're distracting."

Miku Kohinata: "Um, Hibiki, I was hoping we could talk some more."

Hibiki Tachibana: "I have nothing to say to you."

Miku Kohinata: "Please don't say that. During that fight the other day, you protected me, right?"

Hibiki Tachibana: "Me? Protect you?"

Miku Kohinata: "Yeah, you did. That's why I want to thank you."

Hibiki Tachibana: "That wasn't my intention. Don't get the wrong idea."

Miku Kohinata: "No, you did protect me."

Hibiki Tachibana: "Don't assume things. I twas just a coincidence. No need to thank me for that."

Miku Kohinata: "Even so, nothing changes the fact that you helped me Hibiki, so... Thank you."

Hibiki Tachibana: "...Whatever."

Miku Kohinata: "Huh? Hibiki, where are you going?"

Hibiki Tachibana: "I'm going home. Don't follow me."

Hibiki Tachibana: "What the hell's up with her?"

Miku Kohinata (flashback): "Even so, nothing changes the fact that you helped me Hibiki, so... Thank you."

Hibiki Tachibana: (Me... Help her? That's impossible. I don't help people.)

Hibiki Tachibana: "Helping... Psh, as if I'd do that."

Hibiki Tachibana: (No one's ever helped me, so why would I help anyone else? I never have and never will.)

Hibiki Tachibana: (What is this feeling... My chest feels weird...)

Hibiki Tachibana: "No, it doesn't hurt, though. Something as stupid as this could never make my heart ache."

Hibiki Tachibana: (I don't need anyone else because I'll end up alone anyway. I should've been alone from the start.)

Hibiki Tachibana: "It's the Noise... I have to stop them!"

Maria: "There were only regular Noise this time."

Chris Yukine: "I just wish that stupid Noise would come straight to us so we could just be done with it."

Maria: "...Do you think she'll cooperate?"

Chris Yukine: "Considering how the last fight went, not yet."

Miku Kohinata: "Hey, umm... Can I ask you something?"

Chris Yukine: "What's up?"

Miku Kohinata: "When we fought that Karma Noise, I thought Hibiki protected me."

Chris Yukine: "You think so?"

Miku Kohinata: "Yeah... It looked like she was leading the Noise so that their attacks didn't damage the city."

Maria: "She was doing that?"

Miku Kohinata: "That's why I think Hibiki's still Hibiki. Maybe it's all subconscious, but she tried to protect everyone."

Miku Kohinata: "That's what I thought at least... But what do you think?"

Chris Yukine: "You're overthinking it, aren't you? I understand how you feel about her protecting you..."

Miku Kohinata: "But if that was the Hibiki I know..."

Maria: "Perhaps. But we still can't say for sure yet."

Miku Kohinata: "...I guess, you're right."

Maria: "But it goes without saying that you know her the best and share the strongest bond."

Maria: "That's why I'm going to respect your judgement."

Miku Kohinata: "Maria-san..."

Chris Yukine: "I will, too. You do know that idiot the best."

Miku Kohinata: "Chris... Thank you both."

Genjuro Kazanari: "I took the data from the Karma Noise you fought to adjust the simulator. Give it a whirl."

Tsubasa Kazanari: "Thank you so much, Commander Kazanari."

Genjuro Kazanari: "Don't mention it. This is the least I could do."

Chris Yukine: "...W-Wait! You did the adjustments?!"

Genjuro Kazanari: "I did... Why the surprise?"

Miku Kohinata: "I didn't know you could do that..."

Maria: "Wait. The Commander Kazanari we know is actually quite adept at fighting..."

Tsubasa Kazanari: "He's a fighter, you say?"

Genjuro Kazanari: "I do know some basic self defense, but I have no other martial arts knowledge."

Genjuro Kazanari: "This might not make up for it, but when it comes to handling machinery, I'm your man."

Genjuro Kazanari: "I watch a lot of sci-fi movies to gain inspiration for all kinds of inventions. I also own lots of patents."

Chris Yukine: "Y-You do?! You're kidding me!"

Miku Kohinata: "I guess there ARE lots of differences between worlds..."

Maria: "Sci-fi movies?"

Maria: (In our world, the Commander likes to watch action movies.)

Maria: (In the world with Kanade Amo, I heard Commander Kazanari was big into mystery... Wait!)

Maria: "No, that can't be right... It can't be... right?"

Chris Yukine: "What's wrong?"

Maria: "It's nothing..."

Tsubasa Kazanari: "The simulator's been updated for us. How about we hop in for some training?"

Miku Kohinata: "Yeah, let's do that."

Genjuro Kazanari: "Looks like it needs a little tuning."

Maria: "Yeah. I think the real thing was much stronger."

Chris Yukine: "I feel we're lacking something big. I thought our teamwork was on point, though..."

Miku Kohinata: "I'm sorry. If only I was stronger..."

Tsubasa Kazanari: "It's not your fault, Kohinata. None of us are strong enough."

Miku Kohinata: "But I'm the most inexperienced amongst the wielders."

Tsubasa Kazanari: "If you're going to say that, then I have the smallest output..."

Maria: "Enough trying to one up each other in weaknesses. None of us are strong enough. We need more firepower."

Chris Yukine: "Looks like we're going to have to get her to cooperate after all."

Maria: "I think you're right."

Tsubasa Kazanari: "Hey, how about we carry on training some more? I think there's still more we can do."

Miku Kohinata: "Oh... I'm sorry. I..."

Maria: "It's fine. Go ahead. There's a job only you can do."

Chris Yukine: "Good luck in convincing that idiot."

Tsubasa Kazanari: "I'm sorry I couldn't help more."

Miku Kohinata: "That's not true. Now I'd better get going."

Genjuro Kazanari: "Miku-kun's gone, so I'll take this lull to analyze the data and make some more improvements."

Genjuro Kazanari: "If you need it, you're free to use this simulator as much as you wish."

Chris Yukine: "It's just the three of us now. What do you want to do? I wouldn't mind continuing."

Maria: "I think we should work on our teamwork."

Tsubasa Kazanari: "In that case... I have a favor to ask."

Chris Yukine: "What?"

Tsubasa Kazanari: "I want to know more about the power of your Ignite Module, since it's apparently able to beat Karma Noise."

Maria: "I don't mind telling you about it, but Ignite isn't really the ideal way to counter the Karma Noise."

Tsubasa Kazanari: "That doesn't matter. It pains me to say, but I don't feel like I'm using my Gear to its full potential."

Tsubasa Kazanari: "I want to know what potential, what power, Ame no Habakiri has so that I can become stronger."

Maria: "Ignite uses another relic as its core, so strictly speaking, it's not only your Gear's potential."

Chris Yukine: "But the Gear itself outputs the berserk power, so it's still relevant. Let me show you!"

Maria: "Hey! Are you seriously just going to use it like that?"

Chris Yukine: "Those simulated Noise battles weren't doing it for me, anyhow. Let's show off what we can really do!"

Tsubasa Kazanari: "Thank you, I really appreciate it!"

Chris Yukine: "Ignite Module! Drawn Blade!"

Maria: "Oh well... Ignite Module! Drawn Blade!"

Tsubasa Kazanari: "That output was amazing! So that's the power of going berserk..."

Maria: "Yeah. This is one of the Symphogear's functions. It's a controlled state of berserk power."

Tsubasa Kazanari: "You said that it's a double-edged sword, but why? Is it something to do with the Karma Noise's curse?"

Maria: "The Ignite Module uses a fragment of the magic sword Dáinsleif."

Maria: "Dáinsleif's curse and the Karma Noise's curse both amplify a person's destructive impulses."

Maria: "And when the two curses overlap, it creates an uncontrollable destructive impulse that drowns out your will."

Chris Yukine: "In other words, using it in front of the Karma Noise will make you go truly berserk, so we can't use it."

Tsubasa Kazanari: "That's unfortunate... You have this power, yet you can't use it."

Chris Yukine: "Yep. If we could use it freely, the Karma Noise would be nothing!"

Tsubasa Kazanari: "Is that true?"

Maria: "I wouldn't go that far, but they would be easier to fight, that's for sure."

Tsubasa Kazanari: "......"

Chris Yukine: "What's wrong? Why'd you go all quiet all of a sudden?"

Tsubasa Kazanari: "I want you to use that power to spar with me."

Maria: "Are you serious? This may be training, but you could get hurt... Or worse."

Tsubasa Kazanari: "I don't mind. As the guardian and sword of this world, I must become stronger."

Maria: "Very well then. Let's do this."

Tsubasa Kazanari: "Thank you. You too, Yukine."

Chris Yukine: "Are you sure? A two vs one fight is kinda..."

Tsubasa Kazanari: "I'd rather it be tough. The higher the hurdle, the more effort I'll have to put in."

Tsubasa Kazanari: "As the sole wielder of Section 2, and as the blade of this world, I will become stronger!"

Chris Yukine: "You better not blame me for whatever happens!"

Miku Kohinata: "So you're here again..."

Hibiki Tachibana: "......"

Miku Kohinata: "Do you like the forest?"

Hibiki Tachibana: "......"

Miku Kohinata: "There's something I want to ask of you, Hibiki."

Hibiki Tachibana: "Huh?"

Miku Kohinata: "I want to fight alongside you, Hibiki, so that we can take on that Karma Noise."

HIbiki Tachibana: "...We're already fighting them."

Miku Kohinata: "That's not it. We're doing separate things. I want us to work together."

Miku Kohinata: "We can't defeat that Karma Noise by ourselves. We need your help, Hibiki."

Hibiki Tachibana: "Help? From me?"

Miku Kohinata: "Yeah. If we all joined together, I'm sure--"

Hibiki Tachibana: "In that case, how about you make me?"

Miku Kohinata: "...Huh? Hibiki?"

Hibiki Tachibana: "Balwisyall nescell gungnir tron."

Hibiki Tachibana: "I'm not cooperating with anyone. If you want me to, then you'll have to do it by force."

Notes:

[1] There's an extra "for" in this line. "Thank you all for gathering."

[2] They switched between parentheses and quotation marks in this line

#senki zesshou symphogear xd unlimited #symphogear xd unlimited #senki zesshou symphogear #symphogear #a light that pierces the clouds #xdu event scripts #xdu scripts

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purpleswans1 · 5 years ago

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Another Stray Kid

The Villain Month prompt is “rescue,” but it doesn’t have much of a focus on villains so I won’t be tagging it for the event. Still a part of my Villain!Izuku AU. Content warning for references to kidnapping. BTW, if you ever see something that i should tag and haven’t tagged, feel free to call me out on it so I can improve.

Read also on FF and AO3

Kota may hate heroes, but he hates these villains even more. He hated Shigaraki, that crusty bastard who locked him up in a lonely house and only took him anywhere to basically parade around his little league. He hated Mr. Compress, who would turn him into a ball when he acted out. He hated the Nomus, with their blank stares and lack of agency.

But most of all, he hated Muscular, the villain who’d not only killed his parents, but had dragged him to these villains when that hero-wannabe summer camp was attacked. If Muscular wasn’t around, not only would his parents still be alive, but he wouldn’t be stuck in this house filled with villains.

Kota was lonely and scared. He never thought he’d miss Aunt Shino, but he’d happily go back with the Wild Wild Pussycats to get out of this place.

Soon after Muscular had dragged him through a dark portal, that creep Shigaraki -- the supposed leader of this group -- took Kota to a new house and locked him in. Shigaraki kept trying to tell Kota it was “his home now” and that he should consider Shigaraki his “new big brother.” Like he had some obsession with playing family.

As if Kota would be siblings with that creep.

They left Kota alone for most of the day, which was a small blessing. Still, they left him in that creepy house with nothing to do. There were a ridiculous number of video games around, but Kota had never been interested in those. He didn’t have his phone, and the only computer he could find was locked with a password. The only things he could find that were remotely interesting were the books in his room.

It was clear that someone else had stayed in the room they’d dumped Kota in. There was a decent collection of boys clothes ranging from childish play clothes to formal suits. There were several sizes with the smallest tucked away in boxes in the back of the closet, so someone had stayed here long enough to grow out of old clothes. The stuff in the bottom box fit Kota, but were a little loose.

Kota tried not to wonder what had happened to the last person who stayed in this room.

Whoever that person was, they had to be smart. Some of the book were at a very high grade level, and even the ones Koda could read had a more advanced vocabulary. There were a few textbooks, including a college-level math book. Kota didn’t even try to look at that one; math had never been his favorite subject.

The most interesting things he found were the notebooks. There were over a dozen of them, numbered starting with #5. They consisted of quirk analysis, mostly of notable heroes and villains. It covered their abilities, strengths, weaknesses, typical operations, areas of influence, and potential countermeasures. A few even had a short history section or psychological analysis. The sections on Shigaraki, Kurogiri, and some person called “All For One” were the most detailed and were included in every notebook, sometimes with new information added.

Reading those sections were really useful. Kota now knew that Kurogiri was responsible for all the quick travel, and although he wouldn’t do anything against the league’s interest he could be reasoned with. Shigaraki was a massive video game nerd, which at least explained all the games in the house and why he kept calling Kota “player 2.” The information on his quirk was scary, but did explain why he was always grabbing things with his pinky raised.

In notebook number 8, Kota found a section on the hero duo Water Hose. He didn’t dare try to read it, instead turning the page to a section on Moonfish. He did the same when he ran across the Wild Wild Pussycat’s section.

After nearly 2 months in the house with nothing else to do, Kota was almost through with the last notebook. He knew way more information on heroes than he cared to, but he also knew more about the villains. Most of the coutermesures described in the notebook weren’t practical (sticking a pen between Shigarki’s fingers, really?) but he was able to analyze his situation a lot better. Maybe he’d find an opportunity to escape one of these days.

Shigaraki banged open the door to Kota’s room. “Hey kid, you ready to go?”

Kota glared at Shigaraki. He may understand the villain better now, but that didn’t change the fact that Kota hated his guts. “Where are we going?”

Shigaraki scratched his neck. The notebook author had noticed this as well, and explained it meant he was feeling a strong emotion, usually anger. “I’ve got a meeting with a rival and potential ally.”

“Why are you taking me then?” Kota couldn’t find a pattern to when Shigaraki took him out. It wasn’t very often, but when he did take Kota out it was like he was parading a prized pet.

“Don’t question me,” Shigaraki said. “Kurogiri is waiting for us in the living room.”

Knowing it was pointless to argue further, Kota just grabbed the notebook he was reading and followed Shigaraki.

Kurogiri was waiting for them. The portal opened into a park Kota didn’t recognize. He could see the roof of buildings less than a kilometer away, so they were still in a city.

Seeing all the nature around him made Kota miss Aunt Shino’s mountain lodge, but he pushed that thought away.

Mr. Compress walked up to Shigaraki. “You really think he’ll come?”

“Yes,” Shigarki said. “Izuku may be going through a rebellious stage, but he’s my brother. Even when I’d yell at him and disintegrate his stuff, he’d always come crawling back to make up in time.”

Izuku? Kota wondered. If he’s Shigaraki’s brother, could he be the one who used to stay in my room and wrote those notebooks?

Kurogiri materialized behind Shigaraki. “I hope you two are able to make up. You’re stronger together than either of you are apart.”

Shigaraki scowled. “I’m not the one who left, you know.”

“True, but you have to be the one to invite him back,” Kurogiri said.

This was shocking. Kurogiri is actually giving Shigaraki instructions? Kota had thought the warp villain deferred to Shigaraki in everything.

Mr. Compress held up his hand. “Wait. I can hear something.”

There was a rustle coming from the bushes on the other side of the park. Three figures broke out of the darkness and walked towards Shigaraki and the others. Kota couldn’t make out many of these people's details, but he could infer some things from their outlines. The one on the left was wearing a hood and had his hands in his pockets. The one on the right was a girl with short hair and something bulky attached to each leg. The one in the middle was plain-looking, but since he was leading the group he was probably the most powerful.

“Izuku,” Shigaraki said.

The trio stopped a short distance from Shigaraki. “Tomura,” the one in the middle -- Izuku? -- replied.

Shigaraki scratched his neck again. “I suppose congratulations are in order. For humiliating Endeavour, the current #1 hero. It wasn’t as impressive as Sensei’s fight with All Might, but still had a massive effect on the heroes.”

Izuku shrugged. “It’s not that hard if you just take the time to plan.”

Shigaraki’s scratching increased in intensity. “I want you back, Izuku.”

“I’m sorry, what was that?”

“I want you to come back to the League of Villains,” Shigaraki said with gritted teeth.

Izuku didn’t say anything for a while. “Why should I?”

“What?”

“Why should I come back? I’ve got a pretty good thing going. I’ve got my own group and we’ve already made a name for ourselves without relying on Sensei.”

Shigaraki grit his teeth. “You know we’re stronger together.”

Izuku laughed. “Let me guess, Kurogiri told you to say that? Or are you just parroting something you heard from Sensei years ago?”

Kota couldn’t help himself, he broke out laughing. He’d been so terrified of Shigaraki, but this guys was just dragging him through the mud!

Izuku shifted slightly. “Who’s the kid?”

“Hm? Oh, this is Kota,” Shigaraki explained. “I picked him up a while back. With you gone, I needed a new player 2, you know? I figured he’s so young, I could just raise him the same way Sensei raised the two of us.”

Kota really didn’t like the sound of that. He still didn’t understand what Shigaraki needed a player 2 for, but he didn’t want to be “raised” by this villain.

The hooded figure on the left leaned over to Izuku and whispered something in his ear. Izuku shifted again and motioned to his allies.

“You really don’t understand me at all, do you Tomura-nii?” Izuku said. “I hated staying with Sensei. The only reason I didn’t leave was because I had no choice. The only reason I tried so hard to please him was because I wanted my own quirk. The only reason I got along with you was because I sympathized with you.”

“You brat!” Tomura yelled.

“I may be a brat, but at least I’m a brat with a purpose. Which is more than I can say for you.” Izuku walked forward, but passed right by Shigaraki. He stopped in front of Kota. “Hey there, Kota, is it?”

Kota looked up. The dark still masked the majority of Izuku’s features, but green eyes pierced through the shadows. An encouraging smile was barely visible in such low light, but Kota could still make it out.

“Do you want to be here?” Izuku asked.

Kota shook his head. “No way! I hate them! I’m only here because that bastard Muscular grabbed me and Shigaraki has been keeping me locked up in his house!”

“You- You ungrateful little... “ Shigaraki raged.

“I understand, Kota.” Izuku kneeled down so he was eye-level with Kota. He leaned in and whispered, “Would you like me to get you away from them?”

Kota didn’t even stop to consider the possibilities. He just nodded. Wetness clouded his already limited vision, though Kota couldn’t figure out why he could be crying.

“I’m sorry Tomura, but I won’t be returning to the league with you,” Izuku said, not taking his eyes off Kota. “I have my own teammates relying on me, and I won’t force them to join with you. Not to mention, you and I just have completely different values. You want to destroy the world, but I want it to be rebuilt as a better place.” Slowly, Izuku inched his right hand down to fiddle with something on his thigh. “Plus, I’m not interested in in kidnapping kids, only in helping them get out of bad situations.”

Izuku turned around, pulled a gun out, and shot Mr. Compress in the thigh. As Compress fell, Izuku wrapped his free hand around Kota’s waist and picked him up.

“Elemental, subdue with right only. Comet, pickup with payload.” Izuku shouted, spinning around.

Shigaraki ran at Izuku and Kota, his hand outstretched to attack. “Don’t you dare!”

Suddenly, a wall of ice spread across the ground, trapping Shigaraki, Mr. Compress, and Kurogiri. Compress was only able to struggle weakly, but Shigaraki touched the ice and started disintegrating it with his quirk.

Before Kota could worry what would happen when Shigaraki broke out, the girl that came with Izuku flew -- as in, actually flew in the air -- towards him. Something slapped Kota’s head, and a few seconds later he was moving faster than he thought possible without a vehicle. The wind was harsh on his face, so he buried it in Izuku’s chest and focused on getting his breathing under control.

About a minute later, Izuku spoke over the wind. “This should be far enough, Uraraka. Set us down.”

The wind and speed bot stopped. Izuku loosened his grip on Kota, allowing the boy to drop on scratchy turf grass. They’d landed in a soccer field. Kota realized he felt a lot heavier than he did while flying.

The girl was standing a few feet away. “I’m proud of you, you know.”

Izuku raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean Uraraka?”

“You didn’t give into Shigaraki. You stood your ground and told him how you really feel.” The girl -- Uraraka -- explained.

“That isn’t much in the grand scheme of things.”

“Maybe, but the Izuku I met a year ago would’ve given into Tomura’s demands. I like this Izuku better. He stands up for himself and what he wants.”

Izuku was silent for a while. “I just didn’t want another kid to get trapped in this life like I was.”

“Still, it’s impressive, considering how much of a pushover you used to be.”

Someone new walked up to Izuku and Uraraka. It was the hooded guy, the third member of Izuku’s group. “I left them encased in thick ice, especially the warp villain. He’s got an airhole, but Shigaraki is going to have to destroy ice a meter thick to get him out.”

“Good. That should keep him busy long enough for us to figure out what to do next.” Izuku turned to Kota. “We can take you to a police station or hero agency around here. They should be able to get you to your family.”

Kota didn’t like the sound of that. “Don’t do that! The heroes won’t be able to protect me from Shigaraki or Muscular. They weren’t able to do so the first time.”

Izuku looked confused. “Don’t you want to be with your family again?”

“Mom and Dad are dead. They were heroes, and Muscular killed them. The only family I have is Aunt Shino, but she’s a stupid hero too. When the League came, she and all the other pros where to concerned protecting the wannabe heroes that they didn’t notice when I disappeared!”

All three of the others stared at Kota in shock.

Tears were clouding Kota’s vision again. He wiped them away. “I hate heroes, and quirks too. Everyone is just fighting and killing each other for no reason. I hate those league jerks ‘cause Muscular killed my parents and Shigaraki tried to kidnap me. Nobody came for me, nobody saved me, except for you guys. Please, don’t make me go back to the heroes!”

The hooded guy pushed back his hood, revealing hair that was half red, half white. “Well, Mandalay did say he has hated heroes ever since his parents died.”

Kota stared at him. “Wait, weren’t you one of those hero wannabes at the camp?”

Shoto Todoroki smirked. “Let’s just say i had a change of heart.”

“You know, a kid that hates heroes would fit in well with a group of villains,” Uraraka said.

Izuku, however, continued to frown. “Dabi will get on my case if I bring home another stray kid.”

“I’ll handle Dabi. He listens to me,” Shoto said. “Besides, I’m pretty sure he only does stuff like that to play devil’s advocate.”

Izuku sighed. “Fine! You guys win. Kota, would you like to stay with us?”

Kota wanted to jump for joy. “Yes! Yes, please, take me with you! You’re the first people I’ve met who understand me.”

Izuku smiled. “Well,come along then. It’s a bit of a walk to the house from here. Oh, just so you’re aware, we’re also taking care of a girl your age named Eri. I’m sure you’ll get along…”

And so, Kota followed behind his rescuers, some of the first people he’d met that he didn’t have a reason to hate.

#mha villain au #kota izumi #bnha #my hero academia #boku no hero academia #kidnap tw #guns tw #violence tw #myfanfic

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edupliancee · 5 years ago

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Guidance for Preparing the Workplace for Coronavirus (COVID-19)

Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a respiratory disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus. It started from China and now becomes a global concern that is taking away many lives throughout the Globe. Everyone must pay attention and follow to what government and health agencies are guiding. As we know that as of now there is no medicine prepared against this Virus so it is better to follow what intrusions are given to be safe. COVID-19 is affecting the world in many ways and above all is affecting the lives and Economy of the countries. A countermeasure lockdown is announced across many countries to save the life of people and stop this deadly virus. To lessen the effect one must be prepared to know how to deal and prepare the workplace.

How a COVID-19 Outbreak Could Affect Workplaces

1. Absenteeism: Workers could be absent because they are sick or are in a fear to get infected.

2. Change in shopping pattern: Consumer demand for items related to infection prevention like sanitizer, tissue, a mask is likely to increase, while other goods may decline.

3. Interrupted delivery: Due to the high demand for commerce and effected supply chain facility there might be delay or cancellation with or without notification.

Develop an infectious disease preparedness and response plan if one does not already exist.

Develop some guidelines and plans that are to be followed to be safe against COVID-19. Such considerations may include:

Non-occupational risk factors at home and in community settings,

Controls necessary to address those risks. Follow federal and state, local, tribal, and/or territorial (SLTT) recommendations regarding the development of contingency plans for situations that may arise as a result of outbreaks, such as:

The need for social distancing, staggered work shifts, downsizing operations, delivering services remotely, and other exposure-reducing measures.

Guidelines and plans should also consider steps that an employer can implement to minimize the risk of COVID-19 in the workplace.

Initially, we need to focus on basic hygiene and some basic etiquette. Encourage respiratory etiquette, including covering coughs and sneezes. The employer must guide employees about basic hygiene and the use of Personal protective equipment. Promote frequent and thorough hand washing, including by providing workers, customers, and worksite visitors with a place to wash their hands. If soap and running water are not immediately available, provide alcohol-based hand rubs containing at least 60% alcohol. Also, ask workers to stay at home if they are sick or any of the members are sick and have symptoms of COVID-19. The employer must focus on daily cleaning and disinfecting of surface, machinery and other elements of the work environment and must maintain social distancing among employs. Every employee must be equipped with proper PPE like masks, gloves, and sanitizer or covered with plastic sneezing guard. Installing high-efficiency air filters or increasing ventilation rates in the work environment can be the most cost-effective solution to implement.

Administrative control can be implemented to get better safety. Administrative controls are changes in work policy or procedures to reduce or minimize exposure to a hazard. Minimizing contact among workers, clients, and customers by replacing face-to-face meetings with virtual communications and implementing telework if feasible. By reducing the workforce by making them work on alternate days or extra shifts so that chances for infection can be reduced and distance can be maintained among them. Providing Proper and update to date information and training to employees will also help to fight COVID-19, additionally, by training workers who need to use protecting clothing and equipment how to put it on, use/wear it, and take it off correctly. Training material should be easy to understand and available in the appropriate language and literacy level for all workers.

For detailed information, you can Buy Value Pack or you can get in touch with our team, by calling on official toll-free helpline no: +1-(844) 810-1151 or drop your queries to – [email protected].

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okuraiani · 6 years ago

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Ikemen Revolution – Oliver Knight Route Part 2

I thought about it and since I already started translating the route (even though it’s a lot of work), I think I will continue with it. Of course, I don’t want to spoil the fun for anyone so remember that you’re reading this at your own risk. There will also be lines that might seem exceptionally strange because I struggled with either vocabulary, grammar or both. So please just ignore that and keep on reading.

And I also want to note that I will take this translation (however inaccurate it may be) down if I’m asked to, and will maybe replace them with short summaries about what’s happening.

PART 2 CHAPTER 1

[Oliver] “Put more force into sweeping the floor, stupid.”

[Alice] “I got it, so stop calling me stupid already, little Oliver.”

[Oliver] “I’ll think about it, if calling an idiot stupid is going to be forbidden by law.” “Also, the next time you call me little, better remember that the furniture will also be cleaned by you.”

(I knew it. Even though he’s cute, he’s so not cute at all!)

[Oliver] “Instead, you can pay with your body. How about it?”

[Alice] “Do you understand what you are saying!?”

[Oliver] “If I didn’t, I wouldn’t say it, would I?” “First of all, how about you show me what you’ve got?”

(I really thought he was being a precocious brat.)

But Oliver had only ordered me to clean up the stuff scattered in the garage.

[Alice] ”I’m relieved, though. That paying with my body meant to clean up...”

[Oliver] “Just what beside manual labor did you think it would mean?”

[Alice] “I won’t tell!”

Oliver, sitting in a chair and crossing his legs, laughed through his nose.

[Oliver] “Even if without my outer appearance like this, I’m not into brats. Especially not into careless little girls.”

(This kid is really nothing like a child at all.)

Annoyed I grabbed the broom’s handle tightly.

[Alice] “Even though you are only a kid, you are teasing adults.”

[Oliver] “Only a kid’?” “So if I was an adult it would be fine to tease you?”

[Alice] “Be it child or adult, I don’t like to be teased.” “But, if it were an adult, I’d dislike it a little less.”

[Oliver] “Oh, is that so?”

Oliver grins boldly, but his eyes aren’t smiling.

(Wha— What’s with that smile?)

A faint urge to escape running through me, I stepped backwards with small steps, when—

[Blanc] “Alice, you are late, so we came to get you.”

[Fenrir] “Alice, how is Oliver?”

I blinked at Fenrir and Blanc as they entered the garage.

[Fenrir] “Rather, what are you doing, holding a broom?”

[Alice] “There is a profound reason to this...”

[Oliver] “Uh-huh, profound.”

[Blanc] “Oliver, you can’t let a guest clean up for you.”

Gently taking the broom from my hands, Blanc places it in a corner.

[Blanc] “Really now, forcing a lady to do manual labor...”

[Oliver] “Where’s there a lady in here?”

[Alice] ”I swear to God...”

[Oliver] “Leaving that aside, Fenrir, do you have request?”

(I’ve been downright ignored!)

[Fenrir] “That shortens the talk alright.”

While enduring the gloomy feeling spreading in my heart, Fenrir hands Oliver a sheet of paper.

[Fenrir] “Can you take care of this?”

PART 2 CHAPTER 2

[Fenrir] “Can you take care of this?”

[Oliver] “So it’s a written request.”

With a small sigh Oliver looks down at the letter that was passed to him.

[Oliver] ”A weapon to invalidate magic...”

[Fenrir] “I’d like you to make it as a request from the Black Army.”

[Alice] ”Huh?”

(... Make... A weapon?) (... Oliver will?)

[Blanc] “Here you go, Alice. It’s a specially made black tea with a pinch of freshly picked herbs.”

[Alice] ”Thank you very much!”

At Blanc’s suggestion, we four sit around the table to have tea. However, the inside of my head was occupied with what I heard earlier.

[Oliver] “What are you staring at people’s faces for?”

[Alice] ”Well, you know... Oliver, are you really building weapons?”

[Oliver] “Of course. It’s my job after all.”

As he answers indifferently, Fenrir lightly claps Oliver’s shoulder.

[Fenrir] “I told you he is a genius inventor, didn’t I?” “In the first place, it was also Oliver who made my favorite gun.”

[Alice] “So it’s like that! Oliver really is amazing.”

[Oliver] ”Don’t compliment me as if I were a brat.”

Oliver turned his face away in a huff and my eyes fell on the written request on top of the table.

[Oliver] ”I have received various requests so far, but a weapon to invalidate magic is quite the challenge.”

[Fenrir] “There’s nothing we can do! Lately, scouts from the Black Army took hold of some strange information.”

[Oliver] “Strange?”

[Fenrir] “They say that recently the Red Army is buying up a large quantity of magic crystals.”

(Magic crystals... If I remember correctly, they are stones for using magic.)

In this world, anyone who possesses magic crystals can use magic. However, magic crystals are like batteries. If the stored up magic is used, they become nothing more than simple stones. Also, even though everyone can buy magic crystals, those with great magical power also cost an enormous amount of money.

[Fenrir] “So we held a war council the other day, but...”

PART 2 CHAPTER 3

[Fenrir] “So we held a war council the other day, but...”

-FLASHBACK

[Sirius] “They probably plan to launch a magic surprise attack once the war begins.”

[Luka] “Since they have many funds to waste, the magic crystals won’t run out so easily.”

[Seth] “Won’t it be really bad if we don’t have a countermeasure for that?”

[Ray] “You’re right. That’s why I have a proposal—”

-FLASHBACK END

[Oliver] “So the weapon to invalidate magic is the King’s suggestion.”

[Fenrir] “Yup. We have Alice with us, but if they attack from various points, there’s not much she can do.” “Even before that, we have no intention to let Alice stand on the battlefield.”

[Blanc] “Of course that’s how it should be. Including a lady into a war strategy is absolutely out of question.”

(Even then, everyone in the Black Army is so kind.)

[Oliver] “I have no idea how to make a weapon that invalidates magic.” “I will do the best I can, though.”

[Fenrir] “Awright, thanks a bunch!”

[Oliver] “However...”

Oliver turned a very meaningful gaze towards me.

[Alice] “Wha— What is it?”

[Oliver] ”Thanks to a certain someone who broke the inventions that are due soon, I not able to start developing the weapon immediately.”

[Alice] “Uh...”

(My chest really hurts!)

[Oliver] “Recently, request are coming in one after another, too. If you include doing detailed work, getting started will be delayed even more.”

[Blanc] “But since we don’t know when the Red Army might start attacking, isn’t Fenrir’s request more urgent?”

[Fenrir] “That’s true. But, well, what will be, will be.”

Fenrir laughed ingeniously, making no attempt to blame me.

(But this is partly also my responsibility, right?) (For the Black Army and as an apology to Oliver, what I can do is...) (I know!)

[Alice] “Hey, if I lend you a hand, Oliver, do you think you can get a bit faster to making it?”

PART 2 CHAPTER 4

[Alice] “Hey, if I lend you a hand, Oliver, do you think you will be a bit faster to making it?”

[Oliver] “Excuse me?”

[Alice] “Cleaning, office work, I will do absolutely anything!”

[Oliver] “Are you trying to tell me... that you’ll become my assistant?”

[Alice] ”That’s right.”

I thought it was a good suggestion, but Oliver’s face clouded over.

[Oliver] “You must be joking.”

[Alice] “Not at all. I still haven’t worked enough to compensate for your inventions, right?” “Moreover, if there is something I can do to help the Black Army, then I want to do it.”

(I think I can at least help if it’s odd jobs.)

[Oliver] “I don’t need someone who will be useless in a workshop.”

[Alice] “ You won’t know if I am useless or not, if we don’t try it.”

[Oliver] “No need. I already know you can’t do it. You’re an idiot after all.”

[Alice] “Calling me stupid again...”

[Blanc] “But, Oliver, didn’t you say that you wanted an assistant?”

[Alice] “Oh, really! Is that so?”

Interrupting Blanc’s words without hesitation, Oliver glares at him bitterly.

[Oliver] “...this damn talkative old rabbit.”

[Blanc] “Isn’t it fine? If Alice comes over, you will also be able to concentrate on your inventions.”

[Oliver] “That’s not the problem here.”

(I wonder why he is so stubbornly refusing?)

A: “Don’t tell me you are shy?” B: “Do you dislike me that much?” C: “I will come over, even if you don’t like it.”

[Alice] ”Even if you don’t like it, I will come over every day!”

[Oliver] “That’s some oversimplified way of thinking, stupid girl.”

(I already can’t count anymore how often he has called me stupid today alone.)

While staring at me, Oliver let out a small sigh as if resigning.

[Oliver] “Cradle is a much more dangerous place than you think.” “Don’t thoughtlessly go about.”

PART 2 CHAPTER 5

[Oliver] ”If you safely want to return to the Land of Reason, hole yourself up in the barracks.”

(But that’s...)

[Alice] ”Oliver, could it be you’re worried for me?”

[Oliver] ”I’m not worried. It’s a mere warning, you half-wit.”

(He’s insulting me like usual, but if he says that much I understand all the same.) (I thought he is just a cheeky kid, but he also has an unexpectedly cute side to him.)

Due to that newly discovered side, I couldn’t help but smile.

[Oliver] “Don’t make such a dumb face.”

[Alice] ”I’m not. Thank you for worrying about me.” “I heard that the Central Quarter is a neutral zone, though.” “Fighting is supposed to be prohibited here, so I guess it isn’t that dangerous!”

[Oliver] “You’re saying that because you don’t know anything—”

[Alice] “Also, I can’t hole myself up in the barracks just because it’s dangerous.” “I want to properly return the kindness the Black Army has shown me.”

[Oliver] “... ...”

(I’m not saying this with some kind of half-baked resolution.)

When I tell him my feelings without stepping back, Oliver smiled, frowning.

[Oliver] “Even for a credulous person, if you go that far, you’re only being an idiot.”

(Wow, so he can also smile like that.)

[Fenrir] “Oliver, I’d also like to ask you.”

[Oliver] ”What?”

[Blanc] “Fenrir, you don’t mind?”

[Fenrir] “Not at all! Above all, it would be boring for her to seclude herself in the barracks even though she came to Cradle, right?” “Of course, we’ll properly drop her off and pick her up. So, how is it, if we escort her?”

(Fenrir...)

Having even such a reliable backup, Oliver’s stubborn behavior crumbles.

[Oliver] “...Whatever. You’ll want to quit soon either way.” “I’ll give it a try and see you if you really are useful.”

[Alice] ”Thank you!”

(Thank god, with this he may be able to quickly make the weapon.)

[Oliver] “However, there is a condition.”

[Alice] ”A condition?”

#Ikemen Revolution #Ikemen Kakumei #Oliver Knight #Main Route #Oliver's Route #Quick Translation #Sketchy Translation #Translation Attempt #IkeRev Spoiler

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esotericworld · 6 years ago

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CRISPR news always feels like an incredible movie unfolding... only its real life.

This story mentions efforts by the CIA, DARPA, and even the JASONS to tackle the threats that CRISPR technology could potentially impose. Source: https://www.technologyreview.com/s/613309/the-search-for-the-kryptonite-that-can-stop-crispr/ Read the full story at the link^ I tried to pull the synopsis here, but the entire story is fascinating. “In September 2016, Jennifer Doudna called a new colleague named Kyle Watters to her office. By then, the University of California, Berkeley, biochemist was famous as the coinventor of CRISPR. The invention of the fast and versatile tool to edit genes had vaulted her to global notoriety and to considerable wealth. She was the founder of several startup companies and had collected millions in science-prize money.

Ominously, though, as Doudna has recounted, she was haunted by a dream in which Adolf Hitler appeared, holding a pen and paper, requesting a copy of the CRISPR recipe. What horrible purpose could Hitler have? Doudna, in her retellings of her dream, didn’t say...

… if scientists learn to deliver gene editors inside people’s bodies, what’s to stop a madman, terrorist, or state from employing CRISPR to cause harm? People imagine personalized attacks that would strike only at certain ethnic groups or super soldiers edited to feel no pain…

…in 2016, the US intelligence agencies had designated gene editing as a potential weapon of mass destruction. That September, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) had jumped in, putting out a call for new ways to control or reverse the effects of gene-editing technology. The program, called Safe Genes, would end up with a budget of more than $65 million, making it one of the largest sources of cash for CRISPR research, aside from biotech startups developing new genetic treatments. One problem, as DARPA saw it, was the lack of any easy-to-use countermeasure, undo button, or antidote for CRISPR. And the more powerful gene editing becomes, the more we might need one—in case of a lab accident, or worse. As UC Berkeley put it in a 2017 press release after Doudna, with Watters’s help, claimed part of the big DARPA contract, the university intended to build tools to counter bioterrorism threats including “weapons employing CRISPR itself.”

CRISPR weapons? We’ll leave it to your imagination exactly what one could look like. What is safe to say, though, is that DARPA has asked Doudna and others to start looking into prophylactic treatments or even pills you could take to stop gene editing, just the way you can swallow antibiotics if you’ve gotten an anthrax letter in the mail. Scientists under Doudna’s project say they are set to begin initial tests on mice to see if the rodents can be made immune to CRISPR editors. Anti-CRISPR By the time Doudna drafted her proposal to DARPA, other scientists already had one big clue for how to stop CRISPR. In the ancient struggle between bacteria and the viruses called phage that infect them, phage had developed their own antidotes to CRISPR. In fact, their genomes, it’s been found, harbor the ability to produce what is essentially CRISPR kryptonite—small proteins exquisitely tuned by evolution to disable the gene-editing tool. Scientists call these molecules “anti-CRISPRs.”…

The number of labs studying such defenses is smaller than the number working with CRISPR. But anti-CRISPR is becoming a booming field in its own right. More than 40 anti-CRISPR proteins have already been found, many by Doudna’s lab. Other teams are having early success locating conventional chemicals that can inhibit CRISPR as well. Today, Amit Choudhary of Harvard Medical School, in Boston, also with funding from DARPA, reported he had found two drugs that prevent gene-editing when mixed with human cells.… A biosurprise The advent of the CRISPR tool starting in mid-2012 surprised scientists. Essentially overnight, ham-fisted ways of genetic engineering were replaced by a cheap, versatile, and programmable means of changing DNA inside any living thing. Forecasters whose job was to anticipate new dangers “totally missed” CRISPR, says Renee Wegrzyn, the biodefense scientist who runs DARPA’s program. The humbling failure to see the future quickly morphed into a “critical urgent issue for national security.”

That’s because researchers, doctors, and startups backed by venture capitalists began a race to learn how to deploy CRISPR inside plants, animals, and humans, using viruses, injections, nanoparticles, or electrical shocks. And the better they got at it, the more realistic some sort of novel biothreat could become… In her talk, Wegrzyn said the danger of CRISPR was obvious from how scientists were already using gene-editing to make mice sick by snipping important genes. “I don’t think you need to be a biosecurity expert to recognize that there is a need for scrutiny when you look at a tool that can both cure and cause disease,” she told the California gathering. “If we need to shut down a gene editor immediately, we just don’t know how to do this.”

There’s still no agreement about how dangerous CRISPR could be in the wrong hands. “Red team” exercises sponsored by the Central Intelligence Agency over the summer of 2016, where a group of analysts called the Jasons were asked to dream up their worst ideas, didn’t settle the question. Later, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine, at the request of the Department of Defense, produced an entire ranking of possible threats from synthetic biology, putting CRISPR weapons toward the middle of the pack. The military said it saw no imminent danger to soldiers.

Doudna agrees that CRISPR’s dangers should not be overblown. “I get these questions a lot about CRISPR systems and nefarious uses, and my feeling is that I am no more or less worried about CRISPR than other things. Someone could synthesize the smallpox virus,” she says. Similarly, while her research may lead to an eventual gene-editing antidote, her lab’s work with anti-CRISPRs is mainly addressing fundamental biological questions. “I am still at step one,” she says. “How do these work?”

Others, though, worry the risks are already apparent and that antidotes can’t come soon enough. For instance, some scientists have sought to prevent public discussion of specific CRISPR studies, or even delete mention of them from the internet, presumably to allow scientists more time to develop countermeasures. “The general prevailing attitude is not to give people nightmare fuel while we are actively looking for answers. There’s always a concern about an early freak-out,” says Doudna’s former collaborator Watters, who in 2018 authored a review of gene editing’s implications for biosecurity.… Schoeniger, who leads the Sandia effort, says soon his lab will instruct the mice to edit themselves but will also give them a shot of anti-CRISPR molecules, to see if the process is blocked. “Anti-CRISPR works well in nature, and we are trying to see if it works well in animals,” he says. Schoeniger believes there is a “significant risk of accidental exposure” to CRISPR agents. As a large industry leaps up around the editing tool, CRISPR is being formulated into gene therapies, injections, ointments, and food, which raises the chance of a laboratory accident. Even a secret bioweapons program is more likely to release a designer germ by accident than it is to launch an attack. “As people use this in bigger and bigger amounts, there is an increased chance of people coming into contact, of getting stabbed or sprayed,” he says. “And if I get a mutagen sprayed in my eyes, it would be nice to stop it.”… Source: https://www.technologyreview.com/s/613309/the-search-for-the-kryptonite-that-can-stop-crispr/

#CRISPR #DARPA #CIA #JASONS #Science #technology #biology #future #weapon #antidote #biosecurity

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duhragonball · 4 years ago

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[FIC] Luffa: The Legendary Super Saiyan (144/?)

Disclaimer: This story features characters and concepts based on Dragon Ball, which is a trademark of Bird Studio/Shueisha and Toei Animation. This is an unauthorized work, and no profit is being made on this work by me. This story is copyright of me. Download if you like, but please don’t archive it without my permission. Don’t be shy.

Continuity Note: This story takes place about 1000 years before 66 years after the events of Dragon Ball Z.

[3 November, Age 762. Earth.]

"Luffa! Can you hear me? This is Trunks, calling from the Time Nest!"

"I was wondering when you'd call," Luffa said. "I was starting to wonder if this earpiece you gave me got damaged while I was fighting Nappa."

"You did fine with him," Trunks said. "Gohan and Krillin survived, so history is back on course, but your mission isn't over yet. My father... Vegeta, he's still possessed by that purple energy. You'll have to help Goku defeat him to finish the job."

"Help him?" Luffa asked. She had been standing on a rock formation for several minutes, observing their battle from a respectful distance. "First of all, Kakarot seems to be doing just fine on his own. Second, I wouldn't think of dishonoring him by interfering in his battle. That goes for your father, too. We may be enemies in this situation, but we're all Saiyans here."

"Luffa, you don't understand. Someone already interfered in this battle by altering history. Our job is to balance the scales and put things back to normal. I understand that you don't like the idea of double-teaming an opponent, but it's the only way to restore the timeline."

Luffa didn't budge. Overhead, Son Goku and Vegeta were battling through the air, and their blows sounded like thunderclaps whenever they connected.

"You weren't kidding about Kakarot's training in the afterlife," Luffa said. She pulled a chunk of Saibaman out of her pocket and took a bite while she watched. "He's improved a lot since Raditz. It looks like he leapfrogged Nappa while he was at it. And without Nappa to get in the way, your dad shouldn't be too much trouble."

"You're wrong," Trunks said, his voice growing more desperate. "Luffa, I know how this battle is supposed to play out. My father has an ace in the hole. You must have noticed by now. He's got a tail, but Goku doesn't!"

"So what?" Luffa asked. "He'd need the light of Earth's full moon to transform into a giant ape, and the sun hasn't even gone down yet!"

"He doesn't need the moon!" Trunks cried, "he can make his own--"

"Wait a minute," Luffa said before he could finish. "What the hell is he doing up there?"

High above, Vegeta was ranting and raving about how he was willing to destroy the entire planet to win his fight with Goku. Luffa could sense his energy building, and he brought his hands together on the left side of his chest. At the same time, she could sense Goku increasing his own ki to prepare a countermeasure. But this climactic struggle wasn't what had Luffa's attention. She floated up into the air to get a better look at Vegeta's posture.

"Luffa, you've got to do something!" Trunks pleaded through the earpiece. "Goku barely managed to deflect this attack before, but with that dark energy multiplying my father's power, he won't stand a chance!"

But she wasn't listening to him anymore. All around her, the skies trembled from the intensity of power Goku and Vegeta were preparing to fire at one another, but Luffa paid no attention to this either. She simply flew straight towards Vegeta, and just as she reached him, he launched his attack.

"Gallick Gun!" he screamed as he hurled a column of purple light down at the Earth below. Goku responded in kind with his own energy beam, similar to the Gallick Gun, but clearly distinct. Luffa ignored him completely.

"Hey!" she shouted at Vegeta. "Are you making fun of me?!"

"Wh-what?!" Vegeta gasped as he finally noticed her approach.

Luffa held up her hands to match Vegeta's pose. "Don't screw with me, you royalist trash! I never learned how to do the Galick Gun 'properly', and here you are imitating my style! Right in front of me!"

"That's absurd!" Vegeta growled. "This technique has been in my family for centuries! I've never seen you before in my life. Tch! Why am I arguing with you at a time like this? Who the hell are you?"

"Who am I?! I'm the lady that's gonna tear you out of frame!"

"Begone, woman, before I--! No! No!"

It was this distraction that gave Goku the opening he needed. Luffa sensed a sudden surge of ki energy from below, and Vegeta's Gallick Gun was overwhelmed. In mere moments, Vegeta found himself on the defensive, and finally he was engulfed in Goku's bright blue beam, which launched him higher and higher into the atmosphere.

"Damn youuuuuuuuuuuuuu!" Vegeta screamed.

Luffa watched him disappear into the stratosphere and extended the middle fingers of both hands to express her farewells.

"O... okay?" said Trunks through the earpiece. "I guess that's one way to do it."

"So is that it?" Luffa said, finally responding to Trunks. "Wait, is he supposed to die in this battle? Were you born before or after this happened?"

"That isn't the problem!" Trunks said. "He's going to roll off of that Kamehameha wave--"

"Kamayhammy-what?"

"The blast Goku just shot at him!" Trunks said.

"Hey, don't get mad at me for not knowing all this stuff," Luffa shouted. "You're the one who wanted me to beat up your dad."

"He's... going... to come back... and transform into a giant ape," Trunks insisted. "You need to keep Goku alive until the others can help--"

"I keep telling you, he doesn't need any help," Luffa said. "And neither do I. After taking a hit like that, Vegeta won't have enough power left to... wait, what is that?"

Luffa's had once been the Legendary Super Saiyan, but her power had been severely limited after an incredible battle on Planet Nagaoka. She had no idea whether this change was permanent, but she had resolved to carry on at least as far as she could to help Trunks. But the problem was more than just a loss of power. Whatever had happened to Luffa had also affected her ki perception as well. And this was a more dangerous affliction, since she wasn't aware of it. Vegeta rocketed back to the battlefield like a rogue comet, completely catching her off-guard.

"You two bastards have pushed me far enough!" Vegeta roared. "As much as the form disgusts me, I can't think of a better way to finish you than to crush you both as a giant ape!"

Luffa was surprised by his speedy return, but she recovered quickly. "Nice try, idiot. It'll be at least an hour before it's dark enough for the moonlight to work, and I can beat you into the ground long before then!"

"Moonlight?" Goku asked. Luffa knew little about the man, except that he had lived most of his life on Earth, cut off from Saiyan-kind. She was beginning to suspect that didn't even know he was a Saiyan until his brother Raditz invaded.

"Oh, yes, you thought you were very clever, Kakarot." Vegeta snarled. "You destroyed this planet's moon so we wouldn't be able to use it against you. Too bad for you that I have other ways to transform."

With that, Vegeta began to yell. He raised his right hand over his head, and curled his fingers as though grasping at the air. Then a globe of ki energy appeared in his hand, and he made a fiendish grin.

"What the hell is he doing?" Luffa asked Trunks. "He put a big chunk of his ki into that, but he can't hit us both with one attack. Is he trying to blow up the planet again?"

"I already told you--" Trunks tried to explain, but Vegeta beat him to it.

"Burst open and mix!" Vegeta shouted as he launched the energy ball into the sky. Luffa expected it to explode, or to fly back down and attack either Goku or herself. Instead, it diffused into the air, and a curious glow appeared...

"It's artificial moonlight!" Trunks shouted through the earpiece. "If you look at it, you'll turn into a giant ape!"

But Luffa already knew. She could sense Vegeta's power rising as the Oozaru transformation took hold. Nearby, Goku didn't change at all. He had no tail, and he also seemed to have no idea what Saiyans could change this way. As for Luffa herself, she could tell Trunks was still talking, and she could hear Vegeta gloating, but she couldn't make out the words over the pounding rhythm of her own heart.

Real or fake, the light Vegeta had created was all Luffa could see. She could feel herself beginning to change. It was that... tightness in her skin, the sensation that always seemed to come just before her body violently expanded in size. Just like the last time.

On Nagaoka.

When her body nearly tore itself apart!

A chill ran through her entire body, and she made a strange noise that might have been described as a wail. And then, just as she felt the effects of the moonlight taking hold, she shut her eyes tightly and averted her gaze. She wasn't entirely sure of her actions. It was like her body was acting without her. Like dropping a hot potato before feeling the heat.

"No!" she gasped. "No!"

"Luffa, what's happening out there?" Trunks asked.

"Nothing! I'm fine!" Luffa lied. She reached for the earpiece to remove it, or at least turn it off. But her hands were trembling too badly for her to get a proper grip. In her frustration, she fired a small ki blast at the side of her head and fried the device. She smelled burnt hair and electronics, but not burnt flesh, so she was satisfied that she still had at least some control over herself.

"It's all in your head, you coward!" she snarled as she tucked her hands under her shoulders. It didn't help. She was shaking all over now. It wasn't just the Golden Ape transformation on Nagaoka that haunted her. She found herself recalling the Tikosi Hiveworld as well. There, the insectoid scientists of the Tikosi conducted cruel experiments on her. One in particular was designed to trigger her Giant Ape transformation, only to cancel it partway. They would turn her back and forth, or simply leave her suspended between forms. She thought she had worked past that trauma, but Vegeta had proven otherwise.

Not far away, she could sense Vegeta chasing after Son Goku. Trunks had told her that the mission depended on her keeping him alive. Instead, she found herself running in the other direction, desperate to get control over herself. As she moved, she fired wildly in the direction of the false moon, but it didn't seem to do any good. Vegeta's technique was a substitute for a genuine moon. It only made sense that it couldn't be destroyed as easily as the real thing. She crouched on the ground and cursed herself for lying down in a fetal position while she took stock of her situation.

"Shouldn't have blasted my own ear like that," she grumbled between rapid breaths. "But at least the other one still works. And I can open my damn eyes as long as I keep my back to that light. That's easy, right? So why won't I open my eyes? Oh, you know why not, dammit! Dammit!"

She wished that her wife was here. It had taken so long for her to go to Zatte when these episodes happened, and sometimes Luffa wasn't sure Zatte had been able to help much, but at least it had been better than gutting it out alone, and this was worse than just about any nightmare she'd had. But Zatte was gone, maybe forever. Just like Dr. Topsas, and all of her other friends, and her parents, and her son... And it wasn't difficult to blame herself for that situation. She had been too weak, too afraid, and too unworthy, and so she had lost them all, one by one. And now Trunks was learning that lesson just like everyone else. All that mattered about her was the Super Saiyan, and that was over now. Without that thing, she was nothing special, just a woman teetering on the brink of madness.

Instinctively, she curled her tail between her legs, and felt its fur in her still-trembling hands. In her darkest hours, Luffa had taken solace in her tail, both for the Saiyan pride it represented, and for the intensive effort she had put into training it as a child. From a young age, she had believed that if she could overcome the weakness in her tail, she could rise above any other obstacle. It was why she had taken such offense at Saiyans like King Rehval, who encouraged their people to amputate their tails. She could hear Goku's agonized screams, even at this distance. Vegeta had kept his tail, and it was clear which one of them had made the right decision.

There was a simple solution to her problem. Luffa could cut off her tail, here, and now, and then she could fight Vegeta without worrying about the fake moon. It wouldn't be that difficult. One sharp twist and it would all be over. It would hurt, but she had suffered far worse pain in her short lifetime. It would betray her Saiyan pride, but Luffa didn't have much of that left anymore. Rehval had shown her just how despicable the Saiyan race could truly be, and Raditz had shown her that there were even lower depths they could sink to. Was this why Goku and Trunks had no tail? Had they learned the same painful lesson that Luffa was contemplating now?

Goku's howls grew louder, and Luffa's fear began to give way to rage. She wanted Vegeta to pay for this humiliation, and if mutilating herself got the job done, then maybe it was worth it. And then she heard another scream.

It was Vegeta. She could barely sense any power from Goku at all, but he had used what little he had to fire a parting shot.

"Hah!" she whispered through clenched teeth. "Kakarot, you dog."

Luffa rose to her feet.

*******

"My eye! How dare you!" Vegeta roared.

At the ape's feet, Goku lay broken and defeated, but still defiant.

"Heh! Somethin' for ya to remember me by," he gasped.

Vegeta raised his massive paw to crush his enemy, but then he cried out in pain once again. When he turned to see who had attacked him, he couldn't help but laugh.

"You again!" he chuckled. "And here I thought you had lost your will to fight, woman! Maybe you have. If you transformed yourself the way I have, then you might stand a chance. But it looks like you've come here to die instead!"

Luffa pointed her hand at him, still keeping her eyes shut. Her tail waved behind her back. "I don't need the Oozaru form to beat you down, Vegeta," she said. "Maybe I'll take out your other eye and finish what Kakarot started."

"You filthy scumbag!" Vegeta snarled. "You dare to challenge me, but you're too frightened of the moonlight to even open your eyes! When I'm through with you, I'll make what I did to Kakarot seem quick and painless!"

Luffa waved her hand to encourage him to attack. "Kill me if you think you can kill me," she said darkly. "It's your only chance."

He rushed towards her, just as Luffa expected him to. The fear had not subsided, nor had the trembling in her body, but Luffa still had enough in her to keep the Giant Ape busy. She dodged his blows, and while she couldn't see which of his eyes was injured, it was easy enough to deduce it from his movements. Luffa made sure to stay on his blind side and fired as many ki blasts into his flank as she could muster.

It wasn't about beating him. She would if she could, but she knew the goal now had to be to stall him. From Trunks' perspective, this battle was history, and it had already been fought and won without Luffa's involvement. All she had to do was keep Vegeta too occupied to kill anyone that he wasn't supposed to. All she had to do was counteract the dark energy that still churned inside of him. Luffa could sense this on top of his Saiyan power, and she knew that this alien power was her true enemy.

As she ducked and dodged, she fought to overcome her terror. It was just like it had been with Nappa. Each time he hit her, she felt herself getting stronger. Against Vegeta, she doubted that she could survive many of his attacks, so she focused on mental strength instead. Each blow he failed to land was a boost for her confidence.

This was the wisdom she had gained from her tail. This was why she couldn't cut it off, even now, when it made all the sense in the world. As a little girl, she had forced herself to overcome her weakness. Not all at once, like some brazen Super Saiyan smashing her way through entire armies, but one step at a time. She would survive this Vegeta, and then she would overcome him, and then she would surpass him. That was the way of her people. Maybe they had all forgotten, but she still remembered.

And she always would.

*******

[February 25, Age 850. Toki Toki City.]

Luffa returned to the Time Nest victorious, but badly hurt. In the unadulterated history, the fateful battle between Goku and Vegeta was a mismatch to begin with. Between the dark energy amplifying Vegeta's strength, and Luffa's mysteriously diminished power, restoring the timeline had proven just as tricky.

"I'm just glad that fat guy with the sword showed up when he did," Luffa grumbled as she wiped the blood off her face. "Your dad's one stubborn bastard, that's for sure."

"I'm sorry. I should have retrieved you from the time jump," Trunks said. He reached out to help Luffa up off the floor.

She nearly waved him off, but thought better of it and accepted his help. It wasn't because she wanted it, but she suddenly realized how little she knew about Trunks, or this world he had dragged her into. Helping him had been almost automatic for her, after years of diving headlong into adventures as a Super Saiyan, but the fight with Vegeta and Nappa had forced her to admit that those days were behind her, at least for the time being. This new situation called for a more cautious approach. She wasn't sure she could trust Trunks, but it might work to her favor to get him to think he could trust her.

"Thanks," she said, hoping that it sounded sincere.

"It's the least I can do," Trunks said. "I wish I could join you on these missions, but I need to stay here in case I get a bead on whoever's behind this."

"Don't worry about me," Luffa said. "I may look pretty banged up, but I got a lot out of that last scrap just now. My power isn't back to normal yet, but with a few more fights like that one, and I'll be ready for anything."

"It's not that," Trunks said. "You were chosen by Shenron, so I know you can handle it. It's just... well, I wouldn't mind fighting with my father one more time, even if it's on opposite sides."

"I wouldn't know," Luffa mumbled. She had killed her own father long ago, and found the experience disappointingly anticlimactic. She wasn't sure if she envied Trunks or pitied him.

He led her out of the Time Vault, but before they could leave the Time Nest, he heard a noise from above, and they looked up to find a large bird soaring in the upper reaches of the Time Nest. It suddenly occurred to Luffa that the entire structure of this place resembled an enormous birdcage floating in some sort of green cosmic haze.

Then they heard the click of heels on the cobblestone road that connected the Time Vault to the portal leading to the city, and they looked down to see someone walking towards them. It was a woman, even shorter than Luffa, with mauve skin and coral pink hair. Her clothes were similar to Luffa's compression shirt and baggy pants, but over this she wore a purple jacket with a yellow sash tied around the waist. The cut of the jacket was unusual, as the lower section billowed out around her lower legs, almost like a dress. The upper section stopped at her torso and wrapped loosely about her arms, exposing her shoulders completely. Her neck-length hair was styled in a way that revealed her pointed ears and a pair of large yellow gems that hung from her lobes.

"He-loooooo!" she said cheerfully. As Trunks nervously returned her greeting, she noticed Luffa, and waved to her.

"Er, this is the Master of the Time Nest," Trunks explained. "She's the Supreme Kai of Time, and a very important person."

As he said all of this, the Kai stood behind him and began posing and making silly faces. Luffa had no idea how to take this.

"Kai," Luffa said. "I've heard about them before. They're like the kami, who oversee different planets, right?"

"Sort of," Trunks said. "Only the Kais are on a level above that. And the Supreme Kais are higher still. She manages the flow of time throughout the entire universe, keeping a close eye on history and protecting it."

As he said this, the bird that had been circling above them chose this moment to alight on the Supreme Kai of Time's head. It was at this moment Luffa noticed that the bird was about the same size as the Kai. Before she could ask what the bird was called, the Kai angrily shooed it off of her head and started scolding it like a child. The bird cooed in reply, and it was impossible to tell if it understood her words or not.

Luffa looked at Trunks, who seemed even more confused, if such a thing was possible.

"Well, like I said, she's an important person. Just trust me..." he said with an awkward chuckle.

Luffa shrugged and nodded indifferently. When it became clear that the Kai was no longer paying attention to them, Trunks resumed escorting Luffa to the city.

*******

Luffa's second visit to the hospital was much shorter than the first. The Namekian healer, Pulmon, rejuvenated her just as quickly as before, and this time she didn't need to sleep. After her discharge, she and Trunks began to roam the walkways of Toki Toki City

"I'm still waiting to hear back from Admin about your quarters," Trunks said. "It's probably going to take a while to get you back home. The Dragon Balls won't reactivate for at least six months, and that's assuming we won't need them for some other crisis."

"Don't worry about it," Luffa said. "I... I don't really have any pressing business waiting for me. Besides, I can always take a spaceship."

"We, uh, don't really have those here," Trunks said.

"You can travel through time, but not space?"

"Pretty much," Trunks said. "The Supreme Kai of Time created Toki Toki City as a base for the Time Patrol. Most of us are from Earth, and Earth is pretty isolated from the rest of the universe."

"That's pretty much what Pulmon told me about his own people," Luffa said. "I was asking him about The Camelian Empire, trying to get a handle on how far it is from Earth, but he said he'd never heard of it."

"The Camelian Empire?" Trunks said. "I've never heard of it either. Is that where you're from?"

"No," Luffa said. "I was born in interstellar space. Never spent too much time in one place. I lived on a few planets for a while, but none of them were what you'd call landmarks. But Camelia's a big deal, with a lot of star systems under their control. If I knew where that was in relation to Earth, I could get my bearings. But it's starting to sound like this is a pretty isolated part of the galaxy, or maybe a whole other galaxy."

"We'll get to the bottom of this, Luffa," Trunks said. "But I appreciate you helping us out in the meantime."

"Don't mention it," Luffa said. "You've got Saiyan blood yourself. So you know I'd go stir crazy without some action. What I don't understand is how even the Saiyans I've been fighting could be so different from the ones I know," Luffa said. "Nappa claimed that your father was the result of generations of breeding, like he was this ultimate warrior, but he wasn't that strong. If my ki wasn't all out of whack, I could have taken care of them both without any trouble. So what was he bragging about?"

"Well, my father was the strongest Saiyan of that era," Trunks said. "From what I've heard, back on Planet Vegeta--"

"Yeah, Nappa mentioned a Planet named after your old man," Luffa said. "I've never heard of it. It's like there was this whole other population of Saiyans completely cut off from mine, with their own kings. Could this be connected to whoever's been changing history?"

"Hmm... Well, it's not impossible," Trunks said. "But the temporal incursions we've been seeing are all confined to a fairly recent period, a few decades at most. I think the enemy would have to go back pretty far to change the Saiyan homeworld. On the other hand, I've gotta admit, I know a lot more about time travel than Saiyan history. Wait a minute... of course!"

"What is it?" Luffa asked.

Trunks drove his left fist against his right palm as he spoke. "I should have thought of this before," he said. "We have a research division in the Time Patrol. One of them could probably clear this up for us. They might even be able to track down some planets you're familiar with."

"Perfect," Luffa said. "Where do we find these guys?"

Before Trunks could answer, there was a beeping noise from inside the sleeve of his jacket. He held up his left hand to reveal a wristwatch communicator.

"It's the Supreme Kai of Time," Trunks said. "She must have discovered another change in history." He touched a button on the face of his watch and said: "This is Trunks. Go ahead."

"What's the big idea walking out on me while I was dealing with Tokitoki?" replied the agitated voice on the other end of the call. "That's extremely disrespectful, you know!"

"I--! I'm sorry!" Trunks said. "I just... it seemed like you were busy, and I needed to see to Luffa's injuries and--"

"What sort of example does that set for a new recruit, huh? Did you even think of that? Look, just get back here, okay? I need to show you something!"

"R-right!" Trunks said. He switched off the transmission and hung his head. "I need to go," he said with a sigh. "It sounds like something important. At least, I hope it is..."

Luffa began to crack her knuckles. "If it's another mission, that suits me just fine," she said. "I need to blow off some steam."

"No, if she didn't want me to come alone, she would have said so," Trunks said. "And this might just be a waste of time. You can talk to someone at the Research building while I handle this." He pointed to a box-shaped building in the distance. "Number 731. You can't miss it. Just tell them I sent you. You can find me at the Time Nest when you're finished."

With that, he turned and ran, leaving Luffa by herself. She shrugged, and made her way to the structure. As she approached, she stared at the large glyphs on its wall and tried to memorize them for future reference.

*******

The inside of the Time Patrol Research Corps building looked completely different from the high-tech exterior. The walls were stone and ceramic tile, and the lighting was produced by a series of long tubes that hung from electrical fixtures on the ceiling. Along the halls were wooden doors with square glass window panes. As Luffa couldn't read the room numbers or the placards, she simply peeked into each window, looking for an unlocked office with someone inside. When she finally found one, she couldn't see anyone through the window, but she could hear voices from within. She took five steps inside, and discovered a man and a woman leaned up against a desk, making out.

"Whoa!" Luffa said as she averted her gaze.

"Uh! Can I help you?" the man blurted out awkwardly.

"Right! Yes!" the woman added. "Can I help you? Um, also?"

They were fully dressed, but Luffa was unsettled enough that she held up her arm, as though afraid to look directly at them. "I... I need a historian?" she said. "Someone who specializes in Saiyan history, maybe?"

"Oh! Um... well I'm a dietitian," the man said.

"I don't actually work here," the woman said. "I'm with maintenance. Here to fix..."

"The wiring."

"Right! Yeah, the wiring. I should... really get back to that."

"Look, I just need to know where your history department is," Luffa said, "and I'll let you get back to... whatever you were doing."

"Dewar's still here, isn't he?" the woman asked.

"Probably. He almost never leaves his office. He's down in the basement. Room Number 034."

"Look, let's just assume I can't read," Luffa said. She didn't particularly want either of them to show her where to go, but she didn't want to waste time either.

"It's the room with the foil on the window," the man said. "You can't miss it."

Luffa muttered a few words of gratitude and shut the door behind her. Two minutes later, she stood before an identical door in an identical hallway, only this one was underground, and the door had aluminum foil covering the window. She could hear people talking and laughing inside. Having lost a good deal of patience, she didn't bother knocking, and simply walked right in.

She found an alien inside, sitting in an old leather office chair. He looked mostly humanoid, save for a thick tail that he had threaded between the back of the chair and the seat. His feet were propped up on a bookshelf. They looked like the toes of a bird, or some sort of dinosaur. His hairless head had an odd shape to it, like a nut with a slight point at the top. And his skin was a pale blue color. He didn't even notice Luffa's entrance. His attention was firmly on a small video monitor that was sitting on top of a file cabinet.

"Ha! That's what you get, Queen Trowel! Next time, listen to your advisers instead of cutting out their tongues! Huh? Hah?"

He cupped his hand over one of the rimmed holes on the sides of his head and leaned closer to the screen. "What was that, Your Majesty? You say there won't be a next time, because Sergeant Prunshir shot you a hundred times? Ohhhhh! Who could have seen that coming? Heh heh heh!"

"Are you Dewar or not?" Luffa asked, startling the alien. In his excitment, he dropped the box of snacks he was holding.

"Holy crap," he yelled, gasping at the chest of his tank top. "Oi, what's the big idea? The sign on the door says 'Do Not Disturb', doesn't it? Can't you read?"

"No, I can't," Luffa said.

"Oh." He put his thumb on his chin and considered the door behind Luffa. "Maybe I should look into a pictogram. Something with a picture of a guy knocking, because apparently nobody knows how to do that anymore!"

"Oh, I know how to knock," Luffa said, "I just don't care. I need a historian. Trunks sent me here."

"Trunks?!" he asked. "Welllllll now, this just got very interesting. The big shot Time Patrollers don't usually call down here for us little old researchers." He reached for a holster that was lying haphazardly across his desk, and as he stood up to wrap it around his waist, his tail snaked into one of the desk drawers and produced a pistol.

"What's the gun for?" Luffa asked.

"What isn't it for?" Dewar said as he held it up and admired the craftsmanship of it. "I'm nowhere near as strong as Trunks, but I've done a few field missions from time to time. Never let it be said that Dewar, pride of the Research Corps, can't hold his own in a fight. But it never hurts to have a little insurance, eh?"

"Pride of the...? They stuck you in the basement," Luffa grumbled. "Look, this isn't a field mission, at least not yet. I just needed to pick your brain for a minute." She pointed at the monitor he had been watching. "Maybe you can pull up some images from history, like whatever you're working on here."

"Oh, that?" Dewar said with a chuckle. He reached out with his tail and pressed the "off" button with the very tip. "This is just a TV set. I was watching some old dramas from Ryno VII."

Luffa put her hand over her face and shook her head.

"What?" he asked. "It's an important window into their culture!"

"I need to talk to someone about Saiyan history," Luffa said. "Do you know anything about that?"

"Saiyans? Wellllll now, the plot thickens, eh? Let me just get my notes and I'll join you both at the Time Nest."

"No," Luffa said. "Just you and me. For now. I mean... Trunks has a lot going on, right? No need to pull him away from what he's doing."

"Hmm, I guess he is a pretty busy guy. Fine, where's your quarters?"

"I don't have a room assignment," Luffa said. "I don't know what the holdup is."

Dewar threw his hands up. "Those dopes in Admin!" he said. "Always taking their sweet time. Looks like I'll have to bail them out again!"

Before Luffa could ask what he meant, he reached into the pocket of his jeans and withdrew a device that looked like a large pen. He then powered up a computer terminal in the corner, and plugged the pen into an access port on the side.

"What are you doing?" Luffa asked.

"Admin goes through all these silly algorithms to assign living quarters," Dewar explained. "It's all a lot of nonsense. Somebody tried to rig it to match roommates by blood types, which only slows things down. Fortunately, I, er, acquired a master access fob a while back. Oh, I told myself I'd only use it in an emergency, but the bureaucratic wheels turn so damn slow, and there's so many poor souls like yourself who cry out for help. I can't just leave you on the streets, now can I? What did you say your name was?"

"Luffa," she groaned.

"Ah, nice name. Haven't heard that one before, but very Saiyan. There we are! See? Now this was exactly what I was talking about. They've got a dozen openings, but they're waiting on results from some personality quiz that you probably didn't even know you were supposed to take! Wellllll now, I'll just fix that. Favorite food...? Cup noodle, of course. Tree you identify with...? Redwood sounds good."

"What's a redwood?" Luffa asked.

Dewar shrugged without looking up from his work. "Never seen one before, but I'm guessing they're red. And... blood type is XJ3. A minute to process the data, annnnnnnd... Bingo!"

He snapped his fingers and looked back to Luffa. "Piece of cake! Come on, Luffa, let's take a look at your new home at..." He looked back at the screen to read the address, and his mood quickly deflated. "Oh... oh nooo..."

"What is it?" Luffa asked.

"Er, nothing! Nothing to worry about!" he said cheerfully. "I just noticed that you've got a roommate! Nothing to worry about. I'm sure you'll get along just fine. Jayncho's a little anti-social, but once you get to know her, she's a really nice lady! Heh heh! Uh... yes."

He shut off his computer and gestured for Luffa to follow him out of the office. As she followed, Luffa noticed that he was still carrying his sidearm...

NEXT: Fitting In.

#dragon ball #fanfiction #lssjluffafic #luffa #trunks #vegeta #goku #dewar #chronoa #toki toki #toki toki city #earth

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razieltwelve · 6 years ago

Text

Tea (Final Rose)

“Thank you,” Winter murmured as she took a moment to savour the aroma of the team. “This is excellent.”

Vanille shrugged. “I’m not really into tea, but Lumina is.” She patted the can of energy drink on her side of the table affectionately. “I usually go for something stronger.”

“Of course.” Winter was tempted to make a remark about the potential consequences of overdosing on energy drinks, but Vanille was undoubtedly aware of all the possibilities and had already developed countermeasures. “Thank you for seeing me at such short notice.”

“Heh.” Vanille grinned and then took a big bite of her sandwich. “You’re Jimmy’s protege. I can take some time out of my day for you. So… what brings you all the way to Beacon? It must be important if you came to see me in person. Plus, you haven’t even seen Weiss yet.”

“I intend to visit my sister shortly, but this is a matter of considerable importance.” Winter took one more sip of her tea. Perfect. “Atlas recently came into possession of intelligence regarding some… untoward behaviour by one of our elite research teams.”

“It’s not Hope,” Vanille said. “If he was ever going to do something unsanctioned, he’d never get caught. He’s too smart for that. So who is it, and what have they done?”

Winter frowned. “The research team in question is led by one of our more… eccentric scientists. I believe you are familiar with Dr Moreau.”

Vanille grimaced. “You could say that.” She opened her can of energy drink and took a long swig out of it. “I’ll say this. That guy is possibly the greatest geneticist in the world.”

“Better than you?” Winter asked. “Really?”

“Well… he could be if he wasn’t also completely insane and totally without anything even vaguely resembling a moral compass.” Vanille shook her head. “We did some research together, years back. I’ll be honest. He really is brilliant. I’ve never met anyone who could understand my ideas on genetics as well as he could, but he’s got tunnel vision. It blunts his effectiveness and stops him from seeing how he could incorporate ideas from other fields.” She laughed. “He also has no concept of good and evil. He’ll do anything if he thinks it can advance his research, and the question of collateral damage isn’t even something he considers.” Her eyes narrowed. “He wanted copies of my research into the genetic matrices of Fang and Lightning. I told him, in no uncertain terms, that if he ever attempted to get that information, I would kill him.”

“I see.” Winter was not surprised. She’d met Dr Moreau before. He had demanded samples of her genetic matrix, as well as Weiss’s, so he could ‘improve’ the Schnee hereditary Semblance. He had only ceased his ridiculous demands when General Ironwood had reminded him that he was treading on thin ice as it was. “I’m not surprised.”

“So what’s he done now?” Vanille asked. “He fell off the map years ago, and I assumed your superiors were making use of him. Insanity aside, he is brilliant, and he could do a lot of good if someone found a way to channel his obsession constructively.”

“That was our intent,” Winter replied. “However, as I said, I have recently come into intelligence that demands a response. How familiar are you with Grimm hybridisation research?”

The happy-go-lucky smile on Vanille’s face vanished. "Are you telling me that someone authorised that sort of research? It couldn’t have been Jimmy. He’s a stick in the mud, but he’s not an idiot. He’s got integrity too. He’d never let anyone under his command do something like that. Who was it?”

Winter gulped. With her excellent Aura senses, she could tell how mad Vanille was. “I am not under liberty to tell you.”

“I’ll find out.” Vanille growled. “And accidents do happen.” She took finished her energy drink and then crushed the can. “What did he do? What did that crazy bastard do?”

“Several years ago,” Winter began. “Dr Moreau was given command of a remote research facility. He was tasked with studying Grimm genetics. The intent was to develop a viral agent of some kind that could be used against the Grimm. However, the facility recently went dark.” Winter took a deep breath. “We have reason to believe that Dr Moreau has been deceiving Atlas Military High Command. We now believe that he has been investigating Grimm hybridisation using both human and Faunus subjects. There is some suggestion that he was, at least partially, successful.”

Vanille growled. “Why is he still breathing?”

“The research facility is not only remote… it is a hardened facility that was originally designed as a possible fall back location for High Command.” Winter paused. “It is not possible to breach using conventional weaponry, and Professor Estheim tells me that even your Solaris system may be incapable of destroying the facility.”

“I see.” Vanille folded her hands together on the table. “So what do you intend to do?”

“My team and several others are being deployed to breach the facility, take Dr Moreau into custody, retrieve any relevant research, and then destroy the facility.”

“And you want me to help you?”

“Your assistance would be appreciated.” Winter took a moment to measure her words. “We need to know what we’re up against. We know that Dr Moreau discussed some of his more… controversial ideas with you. If you can tell us anything…” She sipped her tea. “And we would also like you to coordinate with Professor Estheim with regards to technical support. Any… equipment you have that might help would also be appreciated.”

“I’ll see what I can do.” Vanille got up. “Follow me. I kept everything that Dr Moreau and I discussed. It’s nightmare fuel, but if he really has tried to implement some of his ideas. You need to see it.” The redhead sighed. “I should have killed him when I had the chance.”

#final rose #fanfiction #winter schnee #oerba dia vanille

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talesofgrandia-blog · 5 years ago

Text

Foul Gunplay

A small little incident among the Bomirian Facilities. But it also seemed that an infiltration mission had gone awry due to a bounty hunter. May bullets fly. Oddly enough this being an early one, this is a rather long one.

This tale begins in the southern Tarnkan city of Province. It's a small bustling city as it is directly next to a portal to the Core. Making Province a strong merchant town. But just like quite a few merchant towns from the old world, it is also a centerplace for underhanded dealings and secret meetings. Even some members of the Tarnkan government council enlist secret operations. Unless things get botched, most people across all worlds do not know anything about these operations unless it gets brought up to the high council on the core. And right now, the high council has its eyes distracted as they are currently keeping an eye on Bomire.

The town of Province is bustling as usual on a fifth moon day. That would be equivalent to a Thursday on Earth.

And whilst in the town, you could hear much conversations of harder and heated arguments as to fairness of trade or transaction. Merchants tend to learn to hold their ground on making offers, doing this most of the time reels in the desired transaction. Here, the game that is played is 'how badly do you want it'. But progressively some of that rustle and bustle is silenced to some loud stomping and the sound of a bit of clunking metal.

Down these streets walked something odd. Not many have seen it before. But it looked like a suit of armor, almost too small to not fit anyone in it. The classic military coloring of it made some cower in fear, and some salute in respect. He seems to be just marching, but knows exactly where he is going as he heads directly to the large busy tavern towards the center of town. Where anyone can get a drink, or pick a fight, there was always something to do in Province.

Entering the tavern isn't homely. There were a few drunks littering the front, either passed out or beaten to a pulp. A lovely welcome, as the clunks begin to enter the door. The entire floor starts to go quiet. Well accept for a few ex-soldiers who had been there.

“Well. Lookey here fellas, that bucket of bolts they told us about showed up here. Of all places.” A man would break the silence. His body battle worn, missing an eye and a leg, which has been replaced with a prosthetic. He had gotten his four other friends' attention looking to the metal man. All with similar wounds and scars. And they had seemed offended by this man's prescense in the tavern. And a few of them stand from the table they were at. Looks like they were here to play cards, but something else has come up.

“How does it feel Williams? To be the only one in the squad to get the special treatment. When we were all banged up bad from that suicide mission.”

“Yea. And you get all that gear. And what do we get?! Full fucking discharge with no pay. Not even recognition for that op!”

“The branch screwed us and only you get the better of it. What the fuck Williams?!”

The metal man. Obviously recognized as Neil Williams, would stop in his stride. Staring back at them with his still human eyes. There is a light where his mouth used to be, and it glows as he speaks, his new voice comes from a thought to audio communicator. So he does say the very words he's thinking. And the tone from it sounds breathy, but the words can be easily determined.

“I can understand your anger. But I did not choose this. Hell. Damien, you of all people should know that I am supposed to be dead. We were all valuable units after that op. I know that. Why do you think that I took the explosive inside, as it detonated early?! I should be dead. There is no way you can change the choice the branch had made to give me this....body.”

The men just look at him angered, but begin to cool off. One of them sighing.

“Aye. You got a point. If you hadn't went in there on behalf of us. We wouldn't be standing here now would we? But why Neil? Why keep this?”

Neil was getting ready to start heading to the back. He walks to a door, stopping at the doorway and looking back.

“Because, with this second chance. I can continue the fight. “

The other men just nod at this true soldier, before going back to their card game.

“He's on a never ending mission. Since he doesn't know his objective anymore.”

Old war buddies aside, Neil had other things to tend to. He was called to that tavern from his commanding officer. It is odd for him to have to come out here. But he has his suspicions as he heads to the back room. Seeing his officer in casuals who immediately greets him on entry.

“Glad you could make it Neil. This is of utmost importance.”

“Uhhh. Sir. If it's so important. Why drag me all the way out here?”

The officer sits down in a chair at the lone table in the room. Getting Neil to shut the door. “You have a weapon on you?”

“Always.”

“Good, I have a horrible feeling, but I have to tell you this here and now. It's a new task, given by the high council. You know everyone has been on edge about Bomire right?” The officer lights up a cigar. Neil told him how cliché that is, but the officer doesn't care since he smokes cigars anyway.

“I can understand everyone is on edge about it. Those eggheads have started getting shifty.” Neil stays standing, his arms cross in front of him. “I hear that the councilwoman of Launa wants nothing more than to put a stop to Bomire's biological research.”

The officer chuckles. “When I look into that woman's eyes, I can already tell there's a large reason she would want that. But I'll leave that as a side note for now. Now for the job at hand.” The officer stands up again and lays down a schematic of an array of bomirian research facilities. About three of them. “We've gotten intel that Bomire is working on some sort of artificial teleportal. Not quite like the ones already placed by Aldraea herself.”

“What makes this one so different.”

“The advantage Williams, this teleportal from what we understand, is remote and can open at any desired location. Meaning Bomire can have a way to steal things from other worlds for their 'research'.”

Neil looks at the schematic, looks like three buildings in a circular pattern. The officer explains, “These are the main research and data buildings, they are located near the center of the facility we will drop you off at. The computer with best access to the files is located here towards the south end.”

“And what do you want me to do. Destroy what they have built already? Don't you think the council will shut this down?”

The officer looks at him, taking another puff of the cigar. “Actually no. If we were planning a demolition, we would've sent a team. But this one we are sending you alone. And we think that even if the council intervenes, they will go through with their project in secret. And we are taking it upon ourselves to get preemptive. We need you to get a copy of their current data, schematics and everything. That way if what I fear does actually happen. We have an easier way to make countermeasures to it.”

Neil takes the facility schematic paper. “Alright. I'm sure I can get in and out with that data. I'll go ahead and head over now. Be ready to get Cree on the other end.”

The officer chuckles, “Admit it Williams, you have the hots for that chick.”

“Only on a business basis. Nothing further.”

“Whatever you say metal head, you have emotions under there and you know it.”

It's not long before Neil leaves the tavern. And exiting the town via a hoverbike. But what he and his CO does not know. Is that there were ears inside that room. And it transmitted long distance to someone. A wild card that no one had even considered.

“....we are being preemptive on this one. We need that data.”

A click of a button turns on the recording.

“So. The cheeky ones need some data from the eggheads. If I beat this metal head to it. I might be able to get a nice chunk for it. Hehe.”

A slim hoverbike drives off to the southern portal to the core. From there it's faster to get to Bomire.

Neil waits for a night phase on Bomire. Hiding his motorbike in some of the shrubbery, the camouflage on it would make it blend in so well. As he waits he messes with his equipment, prepping his rifle and pistol. And making the final detail, hooking up and making sure his severely long range connection to headquarters. Making sure that Cree is on the other line.

Diane Cree is her name. A knowledgeable girl from Launa, who decided to serve Tarnk, and had risen through the ranks pretty fast. And she is the only person that Neil trusts on the other end of the line.

Cree on her end has a series of monitors to help keep an eye on Neil's position, situation, and condition. Neil can't exactly feel what injuries he sustains much anymore.

“Cree, you there?”

“I hear you loud and clear metalhead. I have all your readings up and going already.”

“Metalhead? I think the CO is wearing off on you. Or is that for earlier?”

A few clicks on a keyboard in front of her, and Cree brings up readings of surroundings and nearby scans up to a hundred yards around Neil.

“Oh what. The canceling our date? I can get over it. One of these days I'm going to get you to relax. All these ops are probably not good for that brain of yours.”

“Alright you considerate flower girl. I'll keep it in mind. I'm about to head in. Anything ahead?”

Cree scans through the radar. “Good timing tex. You are clear. But be careful. I am getting at least one reading in the room where your objective is. There are some surrounding patrols but they seem to be leaving. Those vents are big enough to fit your metal butt into them.”

Neil holsters his pistol starting to head into the building. Using a new clinging technology he is able to climb up the smooth sides of the building, making his way to an outward vent shaft opening.

The grate on the vent crumbles like butter in Neil's metal grasp, tossing it behind him and it falls with a splash into the swampy muck below. The vent was industrial sized, making it large enough for Neil to fit inside. It takes him a moment to even out his weight so he doesn't make a bunch of noise. A couple of times he had to stop moving to let Bomirian security by without making any noise as well.

The small maze of ventilation did lead Neil to his objective. And Cree sounds up on his silent communicator. “This is odd. That one reading is still in there. Be careful Neil.”

“Don't worry. I got this.” Neil removes the ceiling grate slowly. Bringing it upward instead of dropping it down as he slowly lowers himself down. Without a rope to help him with that, he drops down making a noisy bang on his landing. And immediately pointing his pistol towards this other figure who stands behind screens that are showing a progress bar titled “File copy progress.”

This other figure wore an outfit different from the scientists and security. It was mainly red. A blondish white ponytail hung below a dark sharpshooter's cap. His outfit from seeing it from behind, was a long red jacket, in which its tailcoat bore a golden emblem of a raven.

Neil sounds out to the target.

“Stop right there.”

The figure ignores him for a second. The progress bar on the screen slowly going up as the figure turned his head to somewhat look towards Neil. “Why stop now? I'm almost done.”

Neil gets this suspicion, he remembers that raven emblem and knows exactly where that came from. “Why would someone from Wayland House want this data?”

The other man chuckles. Quite loudly while turning around fully to look at Neil. His attire was somewhat proper, wearing what looked like a vest and tie. He wore two leather belts, each one with a gun holstered onto it. He had yet another gun holstered in a shoulder holster, and even from the distance that Neil was at, he could see that the gun on the man's shoulder was much larger than the ones holstered on his belts. The man's sleeves were short and he had fingerless gloves on his hands. “What can I say. I can't get rid of family. And they don't want this data. They don't even know about it.” The man would smirk at the robotic man, who just urges on the questions, still pointing his pistol with an itching trigger finger.

Soon the man takes off his hat and bows to the robot. Speaking in an accent that sounded a mix from New Jersey and British, but it was natural. “But let me not forget to introduce myself. My name is Torma Wayland. Sixth brother in the seventh generation of Wayland House.” He puts the hat back on. “Well. That would be my title if I did not get disowned when I went to do my own thing.”

Through Neil's communicator, Cree has already gotten some info on Torma. And is telling it to Neil. “Torma Wayland. Wanted on four of six worlds. Went rouge from his family at the age of twenty-five. Is now a mercenary for hire. Neil, this guy is bad news. He's only in our system because we've dealt with him before. In other words, he's killed at least five others that are just as skilled as you are. Proceed with extreme caution. Being from Wayland House, he has countermeasures to your exo.”

Neil returns with a retaliation. “Well it seems I'll get two for the price of one. I'll get this data and bring in one of Grandia's most wanted.”

Torma turns back to the computer for a second. “Most wanted. Sir I am utterly flattered that I have the chance to be public enemy number one” The progress bar completes and he ejects a data chip. Turning back to Neil and showing it to him. “But right now. You're too late. I have the data for a more, business purpose.” Torma unholsters his large pistol, pointing it at the computer and firing a couple of rounds, destroying the computer. “Woops, and now it looks like I'm now the only one with a copy of the data.”

Outside the room, in the main security office, guards are immediately alerted by the gun's sound and the abrupt shutdown of a technology department computer. A few orders are shouted and a small squad of armed guards starts running toward the room where Torma and Neil are at. These blips on the radar cause Cree to warn Neil.

“Neil. That alerted security. Multiple armed hostiles are heading to your location now. You need to get out soon.”

Neil's eyes show the shock of Torma destroying the computer. “Then hand it over and we can all go away happy.”

Torma then points his large pistol at Neil, standing at a sideways sharpshooter stance. “Sorry, unless I get what I want from this. Which is a lot of money. I won't be happy. This data for a remote teleportal design will sell nicely.”

“I said I am NOT leaving without that data. And I will pry it from your hands if I have to.” Neil gets to resting his finger on the trigger.

“Is that a challenge soldier boy? I will make my leave. But it looks like I won't be until I show you why you Tarnkan types shouldn't mess with me. But first. We should get a little privacy.” And just after those words, the revolving chamber on Torma's gun lights up in strange symbols as a ring of those same symbols appear around his gun. And Neil has figured out the countermeasures Cree was talking about.

“Sorcery?! With a gun?! How is that possible? Wait....” His HUD scans Torma's gun. Scans showing normal parts and major parts made of a different metal. A metal that the Wayland family uses to forge all magi focuses for their family. “Runic Carbonite?! That's how you're able to do that!”

Neil had done those scans as Torma points his gun at one of the doors to the room. These were the automatic sliding doors. Equipped with bulletproof glass on them. Torma aims and lets out a word. “Cetro!” He fires his gun, and what fires looks like little bolts of electricity that fly at high speed. Hitting the control panels of the doors with such high impact they break and are short circuited. Torma does this to the other door as well. This causes the locking mechanisms on the doors to close and stay that way with now no way to open them from the outside. Torma chuckles again walking toward the doors as the guards just get there. The guards angered on the other side, and Torma just waves. Looking back to Neil. “There we are. Nice and quiet.”

“Good. Now I can get loud.” Neil already begins to fire his pistol at Torma, who uses quick reaction to run to the side behind a nearby pillar. This room was huge, it needed three pillars to support it. The rest of the room was filled with worktables and desks. Tactical combat is what gets Neil to duck behind the pillar next to him. Engaging his tactical HUD with the recording for Cree on a seperate screen. Who still calls out to him.

“Neil. Please. The data might be gone. He has the means to destroy you. Evac and extract already.”

“Sorry Cree. This guy is going to be a problem if I don't take care of him Now.”

On the other side of the room. Torma sees a bullet hole in the tailcoat of his jacket. Just missing the raven emblem. He then pulls out his holstered guns from his belts. One was a revolver with powerful bullets. And the other a lower calibur and quick loading pistol.

“You know that's rude to shoot a man in the back.” He stands up. A small clicking of his guns priming could be heard. “They say shooting a man in his back removes all pride and courage he had before he hits the ground. I'm not going to let that happen to me, metal man.”

Neil speaks before peeking out from his cover. “Sorry if I'm not the polite type. I have my orders.” A chunk of the edge of the pillar disappears making Neil draw back in cover quickly, as Torma fired a near perfectly accurate shot and hit the pillar. Torma then says, “Then it looks nigh to fix our differences here. The only good soldier....is a dead one.”

Neil swerves out of cover, pulling out his automatic rifle. And fires some rounds swerving Torma's pillar. The two diving to cover across from each other behind a couple of worktables. Torma pulls out his large revolver again. And manually spins the revolving chamber.

“I don't see this going anywhere fast. So I'm going to make it such.”

“Then be an honest man Wayland!”

Neil raises from his cover at about the same time as Torma. The revolving chamber of Torma's revolver having a glowing ring around it, and as even calls the word “Firon”

They both fire at the same time. Both guns causing a bang so loud it can be heard throughout the complex. Torma's gun shoots a large burst of fire that flies like a rocket at Neil, aimed square in the chest. Neil's pistol fires a large calibur shell, aimed at Torma's leg.

Torma's shot explodes on contact with Neil. Creating a small explosion that sends him and a couple of desks flying backward. Cree's screens blaring with alarms of significant damage to Neil's systems. “Left side gyro failing. Agile system hydraulics dropping. Neil, get out of there! You cannot fight this guy right now!”

Neil's shot pierces Torma's leg. Dropping the gun mage to a knee and crippling him. “Damn. You actually hit me. I don't like that.” Neil is against the opposite wall. Unable to move as a couple of limb gyros have failed. The endoskeleton twitching as he tries to move it. Cree going to town on the keyboard. “Damn damn damn damn. Hold on Neil. I won't let some bounty hunter take you down. Initiating emergency repair nanos.” After these commands, the innerworks of Neil's exo releases a small swarm of nanobots to repair the damage that is making him immobile. Allowing him to slowly stand. But Torma aims his two smaller guns at him. “Oi! I hate cheating nanobots. Alright you clunk!” Torma brings up only the small revolver, standing slowly himself. He can't move so well with a hole in his leg. So he takes aim.

Neil gets to standing, his exo still twitching slightly with evidence of his innerworkings malfunctioning. Torma takes aim putting his hand behind the hammer of his small revolver.

“Sorry junkhead. I'm going to have to put you down. You might be an issue for me later. You put up a nice fight thought. I'll give ya that much.”

Neil holds up his weapon once more, shakingly. “A fight that I can keep going through. This soldier isn't going down that easy.”

Cree begins to yell at him. “Neil. Haven't you been fucking listening?! You can't win this fight right now!!” Neil doesn't respond to Cree at all right now. Being too focused on the action ahead. Cree begins to have a slight panic attack. Activating those nanobots was the most she could do right now.

Torma's face twinges as he gets a little angered. Growling in his stance. “Then let me show you how easy it is. Be lucky if you make it out of here alive.”

At this time. The security on the outside is trying to find a way to bypass the damage Torma caused to the doors to get them open. It will take a long time and for scientists they are too stupid to go around to the other corridor.

Torma focuses for a moment. Then with quick motions using his hand on the hammer of his revolver. Unloading the revolver onto Neil, and dealing serious impacting damage to Neil's arms, legs, the center of his chest, and his face where his mouth would be. The damage of this causes his systems to lock up again and prevents Neil from being able to speak now.

Cree can only watch as her screens show more malfunctions and system failures. And the disconnect from his vocals. She starts to try and think. Working on the keyboards in front of her trying to look for a different solution.

Torma stands overlooking Neil. “Now. It seems you won't be any problem to me now. So if you excuse me. I'll be on my way. Don't wait up.” Torma readjusts his apparel. And with a slight limp he heads to the center of the room. And uses a grappling hook to raise himself to the vent that Neil entered from. And the security of Bomire still working on the doors. Unable to find anything that can bridge the connection, they go to call a technician to figure out what he can do.

Back at Tarnk headquarters, Cree is messing around with settings and console commands. Inputting something to make the Nanos spread around and repair Neil's body widespread now. Putting more focus on the limbs of his exo, which has sustained quite a bit of damage that will take a bit of repair at base. “Come on come on. Neil. If you can hear me. I won't be able to get your vocals going from here. The field repair will get you up and moving. And hopefully not a moment too soon..”

It takes a bit, but the nanos do their work. Neil gaining control of the limbs once more. He rolls over so that he can stand up much easier. Having to move slowly, a strong headache coming on as pain ensues. Lighting up Cree's screens again. “Holy crap. Neil. You need to stay calm. Focus on something. This is not good for your brain.”

Neil holds his head, waiting for the pain to stop. He actually thinks of Cree and his old crew, and soon the headache calms down. He looks around. Unable to talk to Cree makes him go to instinctual investigation while he has time. His exo is moving slow and clunky as the nanos do their work, he walks around. Some items did survive the fire fight, but mainly it was one console with about four screens connected to it.

Walking up to this console it showed live feeds from somewhere in the facility. A dome structure with four sealed doors. The structure had plant life inside. It seems that there is nothing out of the ordinary. But as Neil was about to look away, on the screen a large flower back centered in the room seems to open on its own. And Neil gets shocked to see that inside of this flower looks like a body of a woman. This is a susceptible amount of data. He lets his HUD camera record this. And even Cree can see it. She is at a loss for words, but remembers that Neil needs to get out of there. She looks upon the map. “Alright metalhead. Time to toughen up. There are guys at each entrance to that room. And according to the readings I'm getting. They're going to open up the middle one in a moment. You're too damaged to go through that vent again. Looks like its time to fight your way out. Gunho buddy. Just like that cargo raid.”

Neil complies. Having ready his assault rifle. By the time they get the door open Neil is semi repaired as he barges through the door as it opens. Firing upon the security, killing two and wounding one as he starts running towards his escape. Cree leads him using the blueprints as he makes his leave from the building that had been set to high alert, beating the front door as it closes. This mission was a failure. But Neil did get away with some useful info.

A good distance away. At the small Bomirian community of Rustial, a small slightly slummy northern community at the mercy of The Facility. Torma is huddled down in a small bunker. This was one of his safehouses where he goes to heal himself up. “Blasted robots. The damn metalhead managed to target me. Hmmm. Maybe he's not a whole robot. Interesting.” He holds up the chip with the data in front of him. After gawking at his prize again, he returns to finish closing up his leg wound. And is actually curious if he'll run into Neil again later down the road.

#Sn3ky's writing

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