#This is in place of a new lightning rod chapter I guess

[ceiling-karasu]

The pictures I made for the Sunchal and Bocho night sentries story.

Edit: AO3 link here, since I was reaching character limit for a Tumblr post.

Part one

Part Two

Part Three

[codenamehazard]

.:New Poison Revealed:.

Chapter 28: New Poison Revealed

[TRIGGER WARNING: MENTIONS OF DEATH AND MONSTERS]

Hey guys! I just looked at the chapter number and holy hell I didn't expect that I would be at chapter 28 with the big 3-0 milestone peeking around the corner. It is still forever mind-boggling how all of this stared as a one-shot that I wasn't even planning on writing out.

And thanks to your support of my mad ramblings in fanfic form, that one-shot grew into something I couldn't imagine in my wildest dreams. So, thank you all for reading.

A special thank you goes out to @rogueshadeaux. She has given me so much, her friendship, her encouragement, her mentorship, I dare say if it wasn't for her encouraging me to throw my metaphorical hat in the ring, chapter 1 would have never been written. She is also a brilliant writer and her story will grab you by the throat and chokeslam you into the ground with feels. Please give InFAMOUS: Erosion a read when you're done here.

Another thanks to Rogue for letting me borrow her twins.

Enough of my rambling, let's jump in!

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How much time has passed since I peeked on the two builders playing with legos? I have no idea, and at this moment I don’t give an iota of a damn as an infuriating sight dares to walk out of the Quiet Room and into my line of sight.

That fucking tin-can carrying Kestrel like she was some princess in a god-damn fairy tale. It’s gag-worthy.

My eye twitches and my blood seethes in my veins as Coyote gently places the passed out bird onto a sleeping cot before tucking her in, for god’s sake… As if this couldn’t get anymore saccharine sweet.

“Poor girl’s out steel cold. Fell asleep on the floor.” The shiny fucker pipes up for probably the first time in I don’t give a shit. I’m not paying much attention as my mind is going in several different directions at once. I’m still confused as all hell as why seeing Kestrel and Coyote playing with god-damn legos like good friends was making me look at the younger man like he was a lightning rod, now this?! This was bringing back some urges from my Empire City days. His face is looking more and more punchable by the second, but why?!?

Why is this enraging me so much?! Why is every dark urge in my head screaming at me to kill this man?!?  Why am I giving so much of a shit about who does what kind gestures to her?!? 

We. Hate. Each-other.

I’m struggling not to bear my teeth and growl at Coyote when the bay doors open and out comes the black haired woman… Crow, was it? It’s the only other name that doesn’t have a face to it aside from the absolutely ridiculous ones. Her arrival snaps me out of my murderous fury and draws my eyes to her.

“Okay guys.” She starts. “I need to know exactly what went down with Pangolin, beginning and end. There are other Misfit groups out there and the Defense Teams need to know what’s going on. It’ll also help me dial in Pangolin’s treatment.”

Mako starts giving a play by play of what went down out there, I’m half-paying attention as rage is still boiling hot when I remembered something that had been bugging me for a while. I remember Jean saying something about an “anti-corrodium” or some nonsense like that, it’s something that needed answers.

“Hey, uhm… Crow, was it?” I jump in and ask when there’s a break in the convo, she turns her head with a “hm?” and a tilt of her head. “What in the hell is Corrodium?” The raven-haired woman blinks at me and raises an eyebrow before looking at Mako.

“D- Did you not tell him about Corrodium…?” Crow questions Mako with a pointed look, she throws her hands up defensively. “We really didn’t have a lot of time between the chaos that broke out when we first picked him up, Kes trying to complete her project, the Summoner and now this!” Great, another goddamn thing that nobody fucking told me about, though Mako does have a point about things being a roller coaster ride from the beginning to now, kinda hard to squeeze in a Wildlands 101, so I guess I can let it slide…. For now, anyway.

I can see the woman pinch the bridge of her nose and let out an irritated sigh before looking at the two of us.

 “Okay, let’s all get something to eat before I go hangry bitch on both of you.” Crow grumbles while looking at Mako with a glare.

“Yeah, I’m not sure when we last ate.” Mako murmurs while rubbing the back of her head. ”Coyote can keep an eye on sleeping beauty over there.” Hold the god-damn phone!! Tin-man’s gonna be watching Kes?! “Though we should be sure to bring her back a couple of funnel cakes, she’s going to be ravenous when she wakes up.” My eye twitches as I glare at Mako. Did she really suggest that?! The fire in my chest flares hot again at that thought and the train-wreck in my head starts back up again. 

“It should be me watching her, not him.” The devil on my shoulder hisses in my ear, it shocks the ever loving shit out of me. Why did I think that?? Why do I care who watches her?! Why do I give a damn?! WHY?!?

I open my mouth to protest, but my stomach tells a different story as it growls obnoxiously loud at the thought of carnival food, causing the girls to look at me with amusement. I feel a bit of heat tinge my cheeks as I grumble and rub the back of my head.

“Well, I think that decides that.” Mako hums with a smile and I roll my eyes, but I follow the two women outside, leaving Kes behind with Coyote… Much to my bewildering chagrin.

Some funnel cake does sound really good at the moment, maybe a churro or two.

I shield my eyes from the blinding sun as we step outside of the hospital into a literal carnival, so many colors every which way, with tents and rides and holy shit there’s just so much to look at, so much to explore and climb.

“So, Corrodium.” Crow hums as we head off to what I can guess is this city’s Junk Food Alley. “To put it as simply as possible, Corrodium is basically Conduit poison. The parasitic bastard child of lead and some kind of anti-rayacite. It’s so dangerous, it’s commonly called “Conduit’s Bane” around here.”

“Uh-huh, that’s nice and all but that don’t tell me much.” I huff in irritation, Crow gives me an aggravated look as the tips of her raven locks seem to melt and liquify into water.

Oh fuck, she’s a Water Conduit…

“I was getting to that.”  She hisses in annoyance before taking a deep breath.

“The reason it’s so feared and you should have been warned about from the very beginning….” Crow gives Mako a heated glare. “Is because of its effects. If a Conduit is even so much as exposed to it, it weakens them greatly. However, it becomes so much more dangerous if it’s injected, like through a bite or a sting. It royally fucks them up, corrupting their bodies and powers.” I bring my hand to my chin and rub the stubble on it, my mind processing all of this. This brings questions into my head, why didn’t anyone tell me? I mean, I get that the chaos me joining the party caused did turn everything on its head, but nobody said anything at all. Were the Misfits just so used to this being common knowledge that it just slipped their mind?

“Corrodium Poisoning can be treated with various Ray Field Radiation treatments and Rayacite infusions, but there’s no real silver bullet cure-all for this.” She continues. “Every treatment plan has to be tailored to the patient's unique biology and power signature and they have to remain under constant surveillance until everything is flushed out completely.” Jesus, sounds like Pango’s gonna be stuck in the hospital for a good while.

“You guys were extremely lucky that you got Pangolin in when you did.” Crow points out with a worried look. “If you had been even a second later, then Pangolin’s prognosis would have been really grim.” The seriousness gives me pause, now I’m really starting to wonder why nobody said anything about this shit before.

She continues, going into medical jargon that I couldn’t really understand much, so my mind starts to wander and look at all the new sights around me.

Good God, saying that this is a city that the circus took over is just the tip of the iceberg. Tents stood tall, with the three-pointed one dwarfing the rest, so many colors, so many sounds and smells. There were stands with souvenirs and rigged games, rides that looked like Mad Max had a field day constructing them out of rusted scrap and old buildings and…

Holy shit, is that one of those Slingshot rides?? Without a cage?? I watch the ride release the ball in between the springs and literally launch whatever poor son of a bitch was in there, sending him sky high! Good thing Conduits don’t go splat from high places… Still hurts like a bitch if you botch the landing though.

The sound of screaming catches my attention as I… That’s a big-ass roller coaster…. And an Ice Conduit is skating on the track while being chased by the train??? It takes all of my willpower to not galavant off to go ride the rides… Besides, bad idea to go climbing on an empty stomach.

I make a mental note to hit these rides up before we leave.

“That reminds me…” I murmur when I hear a lull in Crow’s medical jargon. “You said Corrodium has a power weakening effect when a Conduit’s exposed to it, but when the Misfits and I fought those Blink Scorpion bastards, my powers were fine and it seemed like everyone else’s was fine too… What’s that all about?”

“Corrodium… It’s a very nasty and very adaptive metal.” Crow answers with a soft hum. “The properties of that stuff can vary depending on what form the Conduit is exposed to. The Corrodium in Blink Scorpion venom? The energy produced messes with a Conduit’s perception, making them appear that they’re teleporting around.” Well, that explains why I could still detect them with Radar Pulse.

“The power weakening effect is most prominent in metallic Corrodium, be it raw or refined.” Refined? That’s not good. Metals don’t just start being refined for shits and giggles, there’s always a reason. Something like this shit being refined? I smell trouble, but I put a pin in it for the time being, more questions to be asked.

“And Pangolin?” I mention. “What would have happened if we didn’t make it in time?” I notice Mako’s face go an off color and Crow’s head lower as she sighs.

“Best case…? His powers either weaken greatly or he loses them outright. Everything. Worst case….” She licks her lips to wet them and her eyes narrow. “He dies from the poisoning or he becomes… One of them….”

“One of them.” 

That thought, it echoes in my head like a scream in an auditorium. An ice-cold chill shoots down my spine as everything starts to sink in. I had thought death by RFI was the worst way for a Conduit to go, memories of that fateful day flicker in my head as I remember the searing agony of my own body being torn asunder from the inside out by that damned machine before Zeke used the Amp to free me from its clutches… And that thing wasn’t even fully charged.

At least the RFI would have killed cleanly. This Corrodium shit? It makes the RFI look like a bullet to the head, quick, painless and gets the job done.

Not only can this metal poison strip a Conduit of their power as a best case scenario… It turns them into literal monsters in the worst case. God… And that’s what was happening to Pangolin. He was slowly dying right before everyone’s eyes.

The weight of this situation, not just in the here and now, but what this means for everyone… It sits in my stomach like a lead weight. I can feel the color drain from my face and my empty stomach curl in on itself, making me want to throw up what little contents it had. Before I know it, Mako and Crow are guiding me to the nearest bench, fearing I might faint. Flickers of Trish flash in my head as the raven-haired woman has me sit down. My mind reels from it all.

I put my hand to my mouth as I try to digest everything… God, now I truly understand why Dove was so beside himself and why Kestrel went completely nuclear when she was given permission to drop her mask. Every second they weren’t in the hospital was a second closer to Pangolin’s end. To the death of a big brother and their leader… And they were helpless to stop it.

“Has… Has anyone… Survived after the window shut…?” I ask breathlessly as Crow hands me a bottle of water, no doubt one she poured on the fly. I eagerly take the bottle and drink it down in hopes of calming myself some. The Water Conduit shakes her head before speaking.

“Honestly… Not really.” She murmurs with slight hesitation. “It’s only happened twice and if I’m to be frank, a lot of us in the medical group here in Tri-Point chalked them up to either miracles or dumb luck as even they didn’t come out completely unscathed.” Two? Hmm… Might be worth looking into who those two are.

“We have the brightest minds among us studying these two cases to see what made the difference for them, what allowed them to keep their humanity.” They won’t be the only ones looking into them now.

I stare off into the distance as I sit on the bench, my mind racing a mile a minute. This… This is just so much for me to process, especially after all the chaos that unfolded not that long before. A brand new metal… One that can spell the death or zombiefication of all of Conduit-kind. New fears begin to form as my brain starts creating what ifs. What would happen if I became exposed to that crap? Would it rob me of all of my powers? What if I had gotten stung? What manner of horrors would I be subjected to or worse… What would that shit turn me into? The fear that trumped them all, however, is this.

If a bunch of rag-tag survivor types know about it, then who else knows?

These guys, as tough and creative as they are, don't have access to state-of-the-art tech or vast information pools… And if these guys know about Corrodium… Then it’s an absolute guarantee that certain other parties have known about it far longer than the Wildlanders have. How long has this Pandora’s box been open? It has to have been a long time since there was a refined version of it made. Long enough for it to be made into things.

This could be something that could spell disaster. Something that would make even the Ray Field Plague look like a sniffle.

Something that could truly kill us all.

[bellatrixobsessed1]

Ten Sides (Part 33)

I don’t exactly know how to tag this but a warning on this chapter as I feel like some of the language can be unsettling for mental abuse survivors and, though the chapter doesn’t contain sexual harassment, some of the language might be similar? Maybe the best way to but it would be to say that there’s a CW for objectification. 

Normally tears don’t come easily to her, not when she has to induce them herself. It only takes thinking back to the not so distant past to coax them forward. She hates the feeling of his hand on hers as he leads her down the hall. She worries that she is appearing too lucid so she lets herself stumble. The man sighs deeply as though she is an inconvenience. As though that isn’t exactly what he wants. “This way he mumbles.”

She knows the way, he has forced her to walk it so many times now. She knows the way though she hasn’t been down this hall in ages. She didn’t expect to have such a visceral reaction to trekking it once again. It comes like nausea. Her stomach drops and her throat runs dry. This time when she shakes it isn’t drug induced.

He chuckles, “keep walking, it isn’t that hard, we’re almost there.”

Which is all the more reason to come to a standstill but she lets him drag her into the room regardless. He leads her to the surgical table, she can smell the vines, their musky, freshwater odor. It leaves her stomach heaving. Agni, she hates the smell of sea plants...

“Get yourself comfortable.”

He knows well that the chill of the table’s metals offer no comfort at all.

“Since you’ve been a good girl, we won’t use the straps today.”

She waits for him to turn before letting out her sigh of relief. She lays herself back upon the table, staring at the ceiling. The same ceiling she’d been forced to stare at before. She shudders, feeling entirely queasy. For a moment she wonders why she is doing this to herself. For a moment she forgets that this is the only thing that will drive the nightmares from her mind once and for all.

Control. She will let old scenarios play themselves out. They will end the way that she wants them too.

They will if she can stave off the panic that comes with such familiar discomforts. A tear slips from her eye. She hadn’t meant for it to do so.

“You’re pretty when you cry.” He purrs as he fixes the first vine to her forehead. “Do you know that?”

And he will be pretty when he is a smear of blood on the floor.

“You’re better off this way. Trust me, you are. You’re more likable when you’re mindless.” He drums his fingers upon the side of her head. “When I’m done with you I’ll let you go back to your friends. I’m sure that they’ll appreciate my work; they’ll find you much more agreeable.”

It shouldn’t, but somehow it still stings. She realizes then, that she has made a mistake. She has made progress, sure. She has begun to rebuild old friendships and make new ones. But, Agni, she is still riddled with her own innate insecurities and the man has seen enough of her mind to exploit those.

If only she could reassure herself that he is wrong beyond a simple awareness that, even if he isn’t, that she’d rather be resented for her stubborn and unlovable personality than to have it wiped clean to make room for an uncannily sugary one. At least if she is unlikable, she knows that she is still Azula through and through.

“Don’t look so forlorn.” Sangyul chuckles. “You aren’t complete yet. But don’t worry, you will be. I’ll fix you.”  

Her breath hitches in her throat. She needs someone to fix her but, spirits, not him. She needs to fix herself. She will fix herself.

“Now I’ve watched the Avatar do this many times and I think that I’ve found a way to use electricity to activate the vines without the Avatar’s help.” He declares. “We’re going to test that on you. I anticipate this hurting.”

She goes tense.

“If you don’t squirm too much, we won’t need the restraints.” He pushes her back onto the table.

She wonders if she should put a stop to this now. But no. No, that wouldn’t be good enough to drive off the nightmares… She can’t keep her breathing level not when lightning sizzles on his fingertips. She hadn’t realized that he was a lightning bender. She hadn’t realized that he could bend at all. Thank Agni, he doesn’t know that she can also bend again.

The lightning surges through the vines, it tickles her head in the most bitingly unpleasant way. She gives an involuntary whimper and his lips curl into a wicked grin. She closes her eyes and works the current away from her head. She hasn’t exactly mastered redirection yet--it still stings terribly. And the vines on her head glow. He sends a few more bolts before withdrawing a long thin metal stick with a clay handle.

“See, this is going to help me guide the electricity. In theory, the lightning will do for me what the Avatar could do with spirit energy…” He mumbles.  He presses the stick to her forehead and drags the current along. The sensation is tingling, agonizingly so. She can feel tiny fingers of lightning touching the strings of her mind.

She closes her eyes. Eyes that water reflexively. The charge dancing in her mind is much more chaotic than Aang’s touch. When he had entered her mind he had entered with clarity, purpose, the ability to gauge how the colors of her aura were reacting to him. The electrical charge has no such ability. It is erratic, touching the fearful muted blue strands of her aura and dying them an even duller grey a sad grey--the result is anxiety inducing. It bounces back and strikes a different strand green. Guilt and self loathing trickles in.

She squeezes her eyes tighter. Her breathing becoming increasingly erratic. She needs control. She needs to take it back. The electricity has none of the guilt and compassion that Aang had, had. Aang...he no longer needs to touch the threads to dye them shades of red and pink. She takes several deep breaths. It is hard to relax with currents running through her mind, harder still with an enemy in such close proximity and damn near impossible with her mind left so vulnerable. But her mind is still hers. She lets herself burrow back in her mind, retreat into a familiar place. She can hear the rush of water as it slaps against the side of the boat, can feel the wind tugging at her hair. Mostly she can feel the flame of her chakra lapping at her belly, hear it crackling in her ears… It is hers, her chakra, her fire, her mind...

The lightning dances around in her head, but it doesn’t reach any further. It no longer corrupts. It can’t corrupt. Sangyul withdraws the metal rod and steps back. Her body jerks and convulses. Only twice--maybe it has been jerking this whole time. She isn’t sure.

“Now sit up.” He demands.

Dizzy, pained, she obeys. She tries to shake the daze from her head. Spirits, it hurts so terribly. Sangyul brushes a curtain of her hair out of her face. “Good girl.” He comments again. Her ears are ringing. “Now stand.”

She isn’t ready to stand, she thinks that her legs will buckle if she tries.

“Stand.” He growls.

She forces herself to her feet. It takes everything she has to remain upright. “Now,” Sangyul smiles. “Your hair has gotten quite long again…”

She swallows, her stomach lurches. Her tears are very real now and it only seems to delight him more. She knows what he is going to ask of her next. He presses a blade into her palm, it nips her skin and several dots of blood blossom upon it. But this time when she raises the blade, it won’t be to her own face where her scar is tingling with more fury than ever.

.oOo.

He finds her in the corner of the room, legs drawn up to her chest, cheeks stained with tears. Aang stoops down and touches her cheek, she doesn’t move an inch. Her eyes are hollow, dim. He takes her hand, her bloody hand and squeezes it. He runs his free hand over her locks. Locks that are clumped together with drying blood. It is smeared upon her face, her chest. It soaked through her shirt.

“Azula?”

She looks up, wordlessly. Her lips part.

He knew that this whole thing was a bad idea.

She souches forward and he expects her to begin crying into his shoulder. But she doesn’t, despite the soft tremors of her body, she remains quiet. He rubs her back as he takes the blade from her hand.

“Aang, what’s going on?”  Zuko asks.

“It’s over.” Aang replies as he hoists Azula upright. She holds her own weight but still leans very heavily into him. “Sangyul is…” He gestures to the body. Its throat is carved into a smirk as wide as the one that never had a chance to leave his arrogant face.

“Is Azula okay?”

“Azula is fine.” She grumbles.

Zuko clears his throat, “I guess I should have asked you directly, huh?”

Aang squeezes her tighter. “Are you sure that you’re okay you just...you know…”

“Killed a man.” She elaborates. “He needed to die, Avatar. I just…” She pulls back and seems to study his face.

He is fairly certain that he knows what she is looking for and he won’t let her find it; he is afraid but he fights to keep it out of his eyes. He knows what else she is looking for, “I love you, Azula.” His lips brush against her ear.

She swallows and finally she returns his hug. Holding her feels like holding a dragon; dangerous, unpredictable. Unstable. He wishes that he wasn’t afraid.

She won’t hurt him. He knows that she won’t and so he scoops her into his arms. “Are you ready to go home?”

“I can walk on my own, Avatar.”

He wants to remind her that she just went through some sort of hell. Wants to tell her that it isn’t a good idea. But he can’t, not here. Not in this room. “Is that what you want to do?”

She nods.

It is instinctual to ask her if she is sure. But he remembers what she had requested quite a while ago and he resists. Instead he offers, “if you get tired of walking, let me know.”

She nods again. He has a pretty decent feeling that she will end up letting him carry her at least part of the way to the airships.

“I’ll send the imperial firebenders to make the rest of the arrests and I’ll meet you on the airships.” He glances at Azula. “Take care of her, please.”

“She can take care of herself.” Aang replies. He just hopes that she’ll let him help for a change. Her hand tightening around his is it’s own reassurance.

[ecclecticentities]

To Be A Hero ~ 1

Chapter One: A Close Match

Bakugou x Fem!OC

Wordcount: 2.4kish 👀

Summary: The battle between Bakugou and the unknown opponent comes to an end but who actually won and who the eff are they?

A/N: I’m still mucking round with this idea but have a decent idea of where it’s going. Let me know what you think and reblog if you like it! 

Bakugou's hair was wet against his forehead when he starting to wake up. He kept his eyes shut as he assessed his surroundings via his other senses to know where he was and what was happening. He was damp, still in his hero costume but his gauntlets had been taken off. It smelt like chemicals, cleaning...no not cleaning, medicine. He must have gone down during the battle. It was quiet, a slight murmur of machines and people talking in another room. He was inside. In Recovery Girl's office. A groan beside him. He wasn't alone. Bakugou groaned himself as he reached up and ran his fingers through his hair. His body was stiff after the fight and the memories of what had happened began to flood through him.

Rain was pouring over them, luckily those in the stands were protected by the covers of the stadium. His hair fell over the tops of his eyes slightly and he struggled to see more than ten feet in front of him. He'd figured out three facts about them so far.

They were female with a standard athletic build. Clearly active with flexibility and fast reflexes. He'd figured that out after several attempts at a full frontal attack where they were easily able to counteract his attacks.

That was another thing he'd learned. By being that close he was able to take a close look at their hero costume. They weren't in his class, and he didn't recognise them from 3-B. So he had no intel on who they were or what their quirk was. But from their costume alone it too him they weren't mutated, they didn't have a creation quirk like Ponytail or a hardening quirk like Shitty Hair. They wore a a similar helmet to Tape Face without the tape cutter thing, do they have a name? Off topic. It was gold and had wings on the ear pieces on either side with a black face. He couldn't see their face. The rest of their costume was simple, a white long sleeve shirt that stopped at their waist, its a crop top with a back brace, that's where they kept the STUPID FUCKING METAL RODS THAT THEY'RE ALLOWED FOR SOME FUCKING REASON THAT HAS TO BE CHEATING. Gold decorative arm braces and bracelets on their wrists to match the helmet, gross. Black cargo pants with gold winged black combat boots to match the rest of the get up. But their quirk clearly had nothing to do with flight.

Their quirk? Well he hadn't actually learnt that yet. His theories though? Two options, first, they were stupid and quirkless and this was a joke punishment for something he did from Aizawa. Second option was that it had something to do with the lightning, they were able to conjure it and aim it where they wanted but they hadn't hit him yet thankfully. But that was stupid it was probably the first option, so why the fuck won't they quit if this is a joke.

"You ready to give up!" He yelled through the storm, thunder was heard from behind them as they walked closer to them, the rods held tightly in their hands as Bakugou readied his stance.

"Babe I'm just getting started," said the female voice. Blue lightning wound around the rods from their arms and down to the ground. "Why? You need a break?" There was a smirk in her tone even though he couldn't see it and he couldn't help but feel some sort of familiarity to the figure in front of him.

"Not even close," he said before launching towards them.

They jumped towards each other, Bakugou's gaunlets lit up with his explosions as lightning rippled from his oppositions rods and arms.

"WOAH LIGHTNING!" Midoriya yelled as he continued to write everything he saw of the new hero in training in front of him. He'd never witnessed a lightning quirk before, not anything like this. None of them had. This was new, a stranger who came in a looked to match Bakugou in fight and energy.

"Shinso how could you keep them from us! Their skills are on par with Bakugou look at those reflexes they must train constantly! That's so manly!" Kirishima yelled, the rest of the classes on their feet cheering on both fighters with 'woo's and 'ahh's.

Shinso stayed quiet in his seat as he watched his friend fight. They knew each other closely, had fought against and trained beside one another for a year now with their own teachers outside of the normal UA training. He worried what this meant, he knew the end goal, he knew the backstory but never thought they would try to get into the hero course this late into their time here at UA. Was there even enough time? Sure they had the skills in one on one battles but being a hero was so much more than that. Shinso learnt that before he'd even gotten into the course, he remembered back to his own qualifying that Aizawa had put him through. The team battles against Vlad's class and how much he had realised he didn't know in that one day. He was so far behind and had worked so hard to catch up but he was still scraping through in some parts even now. How did they expect to make it?

Lightning struck beside Bakugou as he leaped back from his opponent, somehow they always knew where he was, where he was coming from. He couldn't escape it, it's like they had eyes on the back of their head! He could feel his body losing energy, his breathing heavy as threw fist after fist and a kick towards them. They were matched, he'd realised that early, but there was no way their stamina matched. By the heavy breathing of his opponent worse than his he knew they didn't have much longer. One massive explosion at full force would easily do it.

He had to be wary of their defences, one rod had flown away earlier but they still had one left, so a fake was the best way to do it. Distract their attention with one explosion and then come from the side for the stronger blow to hit them out of the ring and end this. Simple, to the point and there was no way it could fail.

It didn't fail. But it wasn't completely successful either. It seems both fighters had come to the same conclusion. Both had reflexes that were similarly matched. They counter attacks were also something to be wary off. Bakugou was able to multitask in fights but through his blast his visibility was limited, add the torrential rain on top and it was even worse. The next time he came at them with an explosion was their opportunity for their own attack.

Bakugou's right hand came down at them with an explosion, their rod lifted to block it as they hit on another. His left hand came from underneath where his opponent had left their body exposed and he hit them in the side with an explosion bigger than his first. At the same time though as they had gone flying into the pillar at the edge of the arena lightning had struck by his landing spot and the shot had thrown him the opposite way hitting his own concrete pillar on the edge.

That was the last thing he'd remembered. They'd both expended their quirks and the blow back caused them to pass out. But surely he won right? His hit first so like, he won the battle. Take that Aizawa your lil prank punishment didn't work, I'm still on top.

Bakugou opened his eyes to the room around him. He was right in his guessing earlier, he was in Recovery Girl's office on a bed where he'd obviously been taken straight form the arena. He sat up slowly, ready to leave this godforsaken place and head back to class to face his victory when he looked to the bed next to him.

Still asleep lay his opposition. He could see her face now, soft and calm as she still slept, her hair plated but falling out as it fell against the pillow and Bakugou had to stop himself from reaching out to the scar on her face from jaw to forehead. It crossed just past her eye, a lightning strike similar to the ones he'd witnessed close up from her own hand. Maybe she was like Kiri, dumb enough to hit herself with her own quirk.

Kinda pretty though..."still a loser extra" he muttered under his breath. She shuffled in the bed, a hand coming up to rub at her eyes as she woke up and saw Bakugou staring down at her as he stood awkwardly between their beds.

A small yelp before she shot up out of the bed and down onto the ground on the other side out of his sight.

"What the fuck was that?" He said walking towards the door.

"WAIT!" She called out and he stopped in the doorway.

"What?!" Let me leave.

"Do you see my helmet?" She asked with her head down at the floor, her back to him. Bakugou looked around the room and couldn't see the golden helmet until he peered into the office and it sat on the a desk by the nurses.

"It's out here, get it yourself." He answered walking out into the offices towards the door to the hallway.

"Please can you just chuck it at me like I do not care I just can't go out and get it if there are people out there."

As he walked past the desk he picked up the helmet from the desk. It was sturdy, barely even marked from their fight par from some dirt and threw it through the door onto the bed beside her. A small 'phew' came from the room but Bakugou was already out the door. "Dumb extra."

"That was AMAZING!" The class was in awe at the fight they had witnessed, just like all of them during the day it showed the true potential and talent of their fellow student. But unlike the others it introduced them to someone they had no idea about. Someone who gave Bakugou Katsuki a run for his money.

"Who were though?" Mina asked.

"Who cares I want to know who won!" Kaminari exclaimed but the class was already being shushed for a debrief by their sensei.

"Everyone shut up." He deadpanned.

"Can we at least know who they were!"

"Are they joining us like Shinso did?!"

"Can I tell them now Shouta?!" Hizashi Yamada a.k.a Present Mic was practically pouncing next to Aizawa who merely pinched the bridge of his nose and sat down.

"Sure."

"SATSUKA YAMADA. QUIRK: THUNDERSTORM. SHE CAN CREATE THUNDERSTORMS AS LONG AS THERE IS MOISTURE IN THE AIR AND THE RAIN ALLOWS HER TO SEE MOVEMENT THROUGH THE STORM. WATCH OUT FOR THOSE LIGHTNING STRIKES BECAUSE IN HER STORMS THEY CAN DEFINITELY HIT TWICE!"

Present Mic, the announcer for UA with his own radio show used his best voice for the quirk announcement of the mystery student. He'd never admit he'd practiced it several times in his head beforehand but that's neither here nor there.

The class erupted in 'wow's and 'awe's excitement running through them at the introduction to new competition. They may be in their final year but the excitement of new quirks and people to train with was one that will always get these students heroes into overdrive.

"Alright now that that's out of the way, let's debrief the day."

"Aizawa sensei, I have a question?!" Todoroki piped up from next to Iida and Midoriya. "If I'm not mistaken, she has the same last name as Present Mic, is she a relation of yours?"

"Hey yea! You're right Todo!" Mina exclaimed, "IS SHE YOUR SECRET LOVE CHILD!"

"Phew, I wish!"

"Hizashi shut up."

"She's family, but not my daughter kids." The hero replied, hoping that would give the class enough of an answer to shut them up.

Satsuka quickly pulled the helmet back over her head and stumbled in a hurry out the door of Recovery Girl's office. Her arms ached from overusing her quirk. Bakugou had really made her work for it but she supposed that was the point. She was there to prove herself to Aizawa and the entirety of Class 3-A. She deserved to be there. No matter what. Even if it was late if she was able to learn even a little from this year that still gave her an advantage to become a hero. And that was the goal.

"You're a lot slower out of class." The deep voice spoke through the quiet of the hallway as she steadied herself, the door closing behind her. "Clumsy too."

Bakugou stepped off the wall opposite her and took lazy steps down the hallway, slight puddles following his foot prints from his soaking costume.

"Now who the fuck are you?" He stopped and looked over her shoulder. Her helmet was back on, he could read any expression on her face and that irked him.

"Satsuka Yamada, I was a guest to training today as a part of my training with Present Mic." She stayed in her spot in the middle of the hall and he mumbled something under his breath that she couldn't make out.

"Yamada...?"

"I'm not his kid, we're family."

"Must be nice being favoured by a pro." He sneered and turned back towards the hall in front of him, his feet moving before he could even think about it.

Satsuka cringed at his comment. That was the one opinion she didn't want people to have about her. But Bakugou couldn't help but think it. No wonder she didn't sit right with him even in the fight. She hasn't worked nearly as hard as him to get where she is. She's just another favoured idiot. Like Deku or Half n half. They had pros in their corners before they even started. Like Shinso she thought that just because a pro thought she was special she could come into his class and think she's top shit. Not on his watch.

"That won't make you a hero." He called back to her before turning the corner and out of her sight.

Previous Chapter ~ Next Chapter

[jaxsteamblog]

A Series of Confessions Chapter 8

Me, tossing another flower on Hayley Foster’s shrine: thank you for your abundant blessings.

Read Chapter 7

When Zuko went out to meet Katara later, he still had no idea what to tell her. She was waiting for him on a small footpath, a large bag hanging from her shoulder.

“Ready?” She asked.

“What’s all that for?” Zuko asked, gesturing toward the bag.

Katara gripped the strap with both hands and smiled at him. “You’ll see.”

The footpath took them to the back of the palace grounds and Zuko looked around to keep himself from staring at her. The moon had risen hours ago, but now as the sun pulled the orange light out of the sky, it was more vibrant. It wasn’t very large or extraordinarily bright, but Katara still had a bounce in her step for every full moon.

Hearing her pace quicken as her shoes crunched the rocks underfoot, Zuko suddenly realized where they were headed.

“Are we going to the hot springs?” He asked.

“This works better if we’re in water and I’m not walking into a turtleduck pond.” Katara replied, spinning around to look at him. Zuko smiled, but it faded as she turned back.

There was a vast cavern system under the palace, carved and molded by lavabenders from generations ago. A few of the rooms were protected by magma, but one enterprising bender decided to cultivate a pocket closer to the surface in order to make a hot spring. Zuko had occasionally wondered if he should ask Aang if that had been a Sozin or a Roku decision.

The spring wasn’t used often. None of the royal family was socially permitted to bathe in such a manner, and no minister would dare. Mai hadn’t been interested, equating it to sitting in soup.

Only his friends seemed to be excited about it and Zuko didn’t visit unless he was with them.

It meant this part of the palace was also fairly secluded.

Reaching the small building that housed changing rooms, Zuko and Katara slipped into their respective rooms. In the small chamber, Zuko was glad for the lack of a mirror. But just on the other side of the thin wooden wall, he could hear the shifting of fabric. Burning, Zuko looked down at the ground as he took off his shirt, focusing as he folded it.

Zuko stepped out wearing a pair of shorts, pushing his hair out of his face. He had been pushing off a haircut and it was becoming unmanageable.

Katara walked out next, still tying up her hair. She had upgraded her wraps for a Fire Nation suit that did just about the same. She looked over at him, her eyes glancing up and down.

“Your hair is getting long.” She said.

“Yeah I-” Zuko started as he ran his hand through it.

“You’re getting back to your tea shop days.” Katara interrupted, letting go of her hair and smiling at him.

Zuko smiled weakly back.

“I guess.” He said and Katara gestured for him to follow her.

“Let’s go.” She said.

The spring was split in two, to separate people on the vague concept of gender, but that never stopped them. Katara walked into the men’s side and Zuko trailed after her.

“Okay, start floating Fire Lord.” Katara said as she moved further into the spring.

Zuko obeyed, getting into the warm water and rolling onto his back. Swimming leisurely, he watched the violet sky move like a blanket over him. The stars had started to come out.

“Now, basically what I’m going to do is turn a lot of this water into healing water.” Katara said while she grabbed his shoulder, pulling Zuko closer.

“But.” Zuko said sharply and put a hand to his abdomen.

Katara laid her hand gently on top.

“Lightning does something I can’t undo.” She said softly before removing her hand. “Trust me, I’ve tried.”

Zuko frowned as he put his hand back in the water.

“I’d think you’d be more interested in this.” Katara said while she walked to stand at his head, tapping the scarred side of his face.

“It’s grown on me.” Zuko mumbled. “Well, we’re not thinking about that anyway. Close your eyes.” Katara said and Zuko again obeyed.

He closed his eyes and immediately was aware of the strong mineral scent of the water.

“While I get started, start thinking of your happy thought.” She went on and Zuko took in a deep breath.

At this moment, if he couldn’t consider himself happy, he was at least content. Zuko could feel Katara standing at his head, and was acutely aware of her presence. She acted like a divining rod for his memories.

He remembered Ba Sing Se and the tea shop. Zuko had been happy there, but it all fell apart when Azula showed up. Katara had been the one to tell her he was there, and she had apologized for not stepping in herself.

But Zuko wasn’t sure that would have been better, as he also remembered Jet taking matters into his own hands.

Still, Katara had listened to him in the catacombs. Though he made sure to drive that into the ground.

“Happy thoughts, Zuko.” Katara chided. Zuko took in another deep breath.

Five years had passed since the end of the war. They were adults now, with lives that weren’t dictated by destiny or fate. Sokka had taken up painting, and was considered a savant for his ability to paint mirror images. Suki used to meet regularly with Aang in order to write a biography of Kyoshi, and now worked to visit the places the former Avatar described. Toph loved the Foggy Swamp and often disappeared amongst the roots for weeks at a time. And Aang was, of course, leading the new iteration of Air Acolytes.

Katara was drawn to knowledge, soaking in it and collecting it in vast reservoirs. She had studied for a time under a teacher in Ba Sing Se, but spent her time traveling with Aang to learn something new.

It was a pastime Zuko shared, and he often found himself perusing various libraries or shops for a book to send her.

They wrote to each other then, sometimes short notes and sometimes exchanging treatises on what they were reading.

“At least you’re relaxing now.” Katara said lightly.

She introduced him to other types of philosophy. There was a concept that life was a wheel, that everything was connected, and that everyone owed each other the blessings of the divine life they all contained. Zuko appreciated the sentiment, but couldn’t bring it into his own life.

Though he certainly felt like he owed some debts.

Hadn’t he decided long ago that he would give his life for her?

It hit him like a lightning bolt and Zuko gasped as he sank in the water. Thrashing about, Katara grabbed him firmly under his arms, yanking him out. Sputtering and choking, Katara smacked her hand on his back to urge out whatever water he attempted to inhale.

“What was that? It was just starting to work.” She said.

“It’s nothing.” Zuko said hoarsely, pushing away from her.

“Did you at least find your happy thought?” Katara asked.

Holding his throat, Zuko turned. He wished he had choked as the words came up with a cough.

“It’s always been you.”

[pilot-boi]

Five Injuries Hidden: Chapter Seven

Moving Forward

Moving forward was never easy when you were so set in your ways. But with help, maybe his friends could keep Jaune from moving backwards.

AO3 LINK

For a moment he simply…

Existed.

Drifted in that murky place between sleep and consciousness.

Jaune!

Breathed.

Yo...awake!

The world swam in a way he never thought it could, all blurred and rushed together. As if…

Was he underwater?

Jaune?

Nonono, Jaune, don't-!

Panic slammed into him like a speeding truck, and suddenly he was coughing and coughing he couldn't breathe where did the air go?!

Jaune, listen, please! Breathe with me okay? Feel that?" Something, someone, grabbed his cold hand with their own warm one, placing it…. It on…. On their chest? Taking deep, exaggerated breaths. "Yeah, that's me. That's it… that's it, just breathe Jaune. You're just fine, Jaune, just please breath…"

Taking gulps of air, his weakened hand finally managed to grab hold of the person that was supporting him. The world finally, finally stopped swimming, revealing a darkened hospital room with his little brother's familiar brilliant, hazel eyes peering at him worriedly.

Quietly panting, Jaune furrowed his brows. Wh..what happened? Why was he in a hospital bed…?

And why did Oscar have that achingly familiar haunted look in his eyes as his gaze seemed to drink in the sight of his friend alive, not dead and dying and screaming, oh the screams-

"You almost died." Oscar suddenly answered, his voice wavering and shattering Jaune's thoughts. Something like anger flared in the boy's eyes, but… but, no, it…. it ran deeper than that.

There was fear in his little brother's eyes.

Fear of loss.

Fear of losing his big brother.

Fear of losing him.

Jaune's heart shattered. Before he could offer anything, before he could even open his mouth, Oscar barreled on.

"You can't- you can't do that to me, to any of us! You idiot, did you even think of what you dying would do to your friends? To your family?!" Oscar ranted through the tears that threatened to stream down his face, voice catching and stumbling over the words.

Far from done, he stabbed a finger at his big brother. Jaune absently noted that Oscar's hand was shaking, the rest of his mind struggling to process everything else.

"Did you think that we wouldn't be devastated? That we would be better off without you?!" Oscar didn't even let Jaune answer, "Because we wouldn't!"

"We wouldn't," he repeated, panting, as if, if he had to make anything clear, it would be that. The righteous fury seemed to waver, his livid expression slowly crumbling into something far more vulnerable.

Oscar at this moment had never looked younger.

He hiccuped as he tried to fight the sobs that would not be stopped no matter how many times he went to scrub the tears away.

Sometimes it was easy for Jaune to forget that Oscar had just been thrown into this, and that he wasn’t even old enough to really attend one of the academies. And honestly, with how everything was going and Ozpin on top of everything, who knew if Oscar would last that long. Or even be himself by then.

Every instinct screamed at Jaune to fix this, make this right, no matter what it took-

Oscar stiffened as he felt arms, familiar arms, weakly shift to hug him, before simply giving in to his tears and hugging Jaune back as tightly as he could without hurting him.

Too close.

That had been too close…

--------

Jaune had been thoroughly chewed out in the passing hours.

The poor nurses had all but given up at this point trying to enforce the rule of "one visitor at a time" as the others had stormed the room.

No one even dared try to stop Nora on a warpath. Not with that look in her cutting stormy sea eyes. Reports would say that lightning had crackled off of her as she raged at the bed-bound knight.

And those reports would be understating things.

Oscar looked smugly satisfied off in his corner as she all but physically shook her leader, hissing seething words and threats that if he ever pulled something like this again she would kill him if whatever else didn't first, revive him, and then kill him again.

No one had any doubt that she would follow through on those threats.

Her piece said, she wrapped Jaune up in a firm hug. Something silent passed between them, and Jaune buried his face into her shoulder. 

And if his shoulders shook with finally released sobs, then nobody commented.

The others soon came in, all clamoring and scolding and all silently reassuring themselves that their friend was here and alive and…and while not necessarily okay, not yet, not by a long shot, he had the chance to become so.

And that's all they really could have asked for.

--------

Two weeks later…

"Jaune, I swear to the gods, if I find you on your feet without at least your crutches one more time-"

"But Rubyyyy, it's so boring sitting around all day!"

"Well then maybe next time don’t tromp around for hours with a freaking iron rod sticking out of your leg!!” they heard Nora shriek.

Ren and Yang glanced at each other, Ren fondly rolling his eyes and shaking his head as Yang quietly snickered. Yep, things were, slowly but surely, going back to normal.

Qrow peeked out from the kitchen, looking mildly concerned but wholly unsurprised. "They at it again?"

Oscar groaned, burying his face into one of the throw pillows on the couch. "Jaune doesn't seem to understand that he almost lost a leg," he grumbled. "He shouldn't even be thinking of walking, let alone training."

"It is good to see our friend back to his old self again," Ren commented wryly.

A moment of heavy silence passed, memories of that first week forcing their way to the forefront of their minds…

...The less said about that week, the better.

"How long do you think it'll take for Jaune to try and secretly train again?" Yang asked as he forced a grin that looked almost genuine as he tried to break the grim silence that had fallen over them.

It seemed to have become a common thing as of late.

Yang snorted. "I give it an hour or two unsupervised."

Weiss ruefully shook her head, "Honestly, it is completely illogical to be pushing himself this hard right now."

"That's Jaune for you," Blake sighed, settling onto the couch beside Oscar.

Grumbling, Yang plopped down on the floor beside them, resting her back against the couch. "Has he always been this self sacrificing, or is this a new thing? Because I feel like he's either gotten worse…. Or he's just gotten sloppy at hiding it."

"A mix of both, if I'm being perfectly honest."

The teens collectively glanced up to see Ruby returning from the knight's room. She shrugged, and continued, "It wasn’t always this bad, but since the Fall..."

She crossed her arms, going for the look of ease to cover up that fact she was hugging herself at the memories dragging themselves to the surface. Memories of long, cold nights as her friend slaved away in training when he thought they couldn’t see. 

Memories of them finding their friend going hungry in those stretches of forest when there wasn’t a village in sight, always passing up the food so they could be a little more full.

Jaune crying, screaming at Cinder from across the room, charging into a fight he couldn’t possibly win...

Ruby mentally shook herself, dragging herself back from the depths of her memories. "...but yeah. He's definitely gotten worse since Beacon. And I guess that makes it a little harder to hide, the levels and extents he goes to now..."

There was a moment of silent agreement.

"We can't let this happen again," Oscar murmured into the yet again silent room.

No one needed clarification to what 'this' was.

"Yeah, but how are we supposed to stop him? Sloppy hiding or not, we still never suspected a thing until we found him almost dead." Yang replied, her frustration and fear and worry all spilling into her words unbidden.

Blake nudged her with a foot. "Well, this time we know to look for it. This time we're ready for him to do these sorts of things."

Ren gave a determined nod of agreement as he added, "I have been going over his behaviors and reactions over the last few months." His expression grew serious. "It appears that our friend has a very bad habit of avoiding medical checks."

"Not anymore." Ruby declared, her tone final, and her hands on her hips. "I don't care if it's a paper-cut, we will know about it after every mission… I am not going to lose another friend to these kinds of self-sacrificing stunts."

The others voiced their full-hearted agreements-

Thump!

Oh, not again….

"Jaune!" Nora yelped from the other room. “Stay in the freaking bed, before I am forced to knock you out to make sure!”

Ren winced, and got smoothly to his feet. “I should probably check on that,” he said. Wouldn’t want Nora injuring him in some misplaced sense of protection.

Jaune wasn’t get hurt again on his watch.

[justjessame]

The Deal Chapter 67

The storm rolled in while Mom was still at Hilltop. A gorgeous, wonderful storm that crashed in, but we had ample warning. Judith had asked if we could move the slumber party to my house, but I shook my head and told her that Mom’s house was better, if only because I was getting updates from the community, and the people seemed happier to speak to me there, than at my house.

I knew, before Mom left, that Rosita had been harmed, which made Siddiq going with her an even better idea than we first thought. Aaron was off, without Michonne’s knowledge I knew, working with Jesus on getting into better fighting shape. A part of him still wanted to be able to recruit new people to our community. The loss of Eric, coupled with his role as a father, made him want better for us. And I had a suspicion that Jesus and Aaron were wrestling with more than just their urge to fight, if the way Aaron blushed when I asked him how his studies were coming was any indication.

Eugene was probably with Rosita, but with no word on him, I forced back worry. I wondered, as Jude and RJ and I snuggled on the couch with a book and a promise from me that I wouldn’t make the stories too scary (RJ didn’t love the scary stuff, and I couldn’t fault him for that either), if Rosita and Siddiq were going to tell Gabe about their after hours activities? I knew, from some of Negan’s share sessions, that he’d heard it too. The whispered conversations, the sidelong glances, there were moments, I thought, reading the book that RJ had picked while letting my mind wander, that Alexandria had the feeling of becoming Melrose Place.

I had no idea how much was changing outside the house that I sat in with my little sister and brother. No clue, just yet, of what darkness was slowly coming closer as the storm crashed around us. The whispers, the chill of fear, I’d grown so used to them that they were no longer a divining rod for the danger facing a loved one. It seemed constant, whether Judith was beside me or not, even during the peace that we’d managed since Negan was locked away. And so, as I felt the cold fingers of warning creep up my spine, I shook it off and ignored it because if there was one simple truth I’d learned since the beginning of all the madness so long ago, it was that there was no safety, no peace, only pockets of easiness like the eye of a storm, before the next strike of lightning and the boom of thunder followed.

I woke up in my bed, later that night, darkness still all around and had to take a few beats to remember that I wasn’t in MY bed. I was in the bed that lived in Mom’s house. One hand was on RJ’s tiny body, feeling the reassuring rise and fall of his breathing and the serenity of his warmth, but the other, which had been tucked around Judith’s body was empty. Her side of the bed was cool to the touch and I felt my fear ratchet up. We’d gone to sleep, after the storm was dying down, and both of my siblings had been curled up on either side of me.

Lying there, thinking about my next course of action, I worried that I’d lose my mind, but I heard it. I tiny squeak on the staircase, and thought that must mean that she’d gone downstairs for a drink of water. Careful to get up and not wake up RJ, I stepped out of bed and opened the door. And there, in the dim light of the half moon, stood Negan.

I wasn’t sure which one of us was more shocked. Him or me, honestly, but my eyes were wide and his were, well resigned.

“Jessi-” It was a breath, clearly he wasn’t sure how alone we were, but I noticed that he had Judith’s compass around his neck and I knew.

I shook my head and smiled at the floor. “You’re leaving.” I sounded as resigned as he looked.

“I have to know, Jessi,” he took a step toward me, but I surprised him by taking a step back. “I have to see-” he sighed. “That cage, sweetheart, it’s driving me insane.”

I snorted softly. “Even with my visits? I guess I should be happy, it took longer this time.” My eyes met his. “Go, Negan.” I started to turn back to join RJ in bed again, but his fingers on my elbow stopped me. “I’m not enough, am I?” I should have known, somewhere deep inside I probably did know, but the realization always sucks.

“It’s not that, Jessi, God it was never that.” The fingers of his other hand tilted my head up so I could face him fully. “I just- I’d ask you to go with me, but I know that-”

“I can’t,” shaking my head and whispering. “Because I have to make sure that they’re safe, Negan.”

“I know that, sweetheart, but I can’t stay here.” He sighed, his fingers brushing my skin and touching my lips. “I promise you this, Jessica Grimes, I will find you again. And we WILL be together, but first I have to find us that place.”

Another soft snort from me. “You sound like Dad,” his eyes widened at that. “That elusive safe place, utopia.” I shook my head again. “Don’t make promises you can’t keep, Negan.” I let my hand cover his where it was cupping my cheek. “Be safe, and-”

His lips met mine and I felt like dying. Not suicidal, not wishing for death, but actual dying. He was saying goodbye, but using his kiss to remind me that he did love me, and he truly believed that we’d end up together. Who would have guessed that Negan of all people would be so delusional about the dangers of our world?

When he pulled away his eyes were locked on mine. “This is NOT goodbye, Jessi, do you hear me.” A nod from me and then he started back down the stairs. “I do promise, and sweetheart, I plan on keeping that one.”

Judith was back beside me in bed after morning had fully dawned. I could feel the chill of her skin, and I knew that she hadn’t been in the house. I had searched, after Negan was gone, but hadn’t found her inside. I heard her sigh, and turned to face her.

“He’s gone,” I nodded. “He promised not to hurt anyone, not even if they hurt him, Jessi, but he lied.” My confusion must have been obvious. “He hurt you, didn’t he?” Oh.

“Negan,” I considered my words, having always been as truthful as possible with her. “He can’t stand being caged, Jude, so he had to go.”

“No,” she sounded so sure and calm. “He didn’t have to go. He has you, and he tells you he loves you all the time, but he just walked away.” She looked indignant and irritated. “I let him, though, and-”

“It’s ok,” I cuddled into her, knowing we had a little time before RJ was up and raring to go. “You didn’t make it worse for me, Jude.” I brushed her hair back from her face. “I let him go too.”

Trying to get through the normal morning routines and NOT worry about Negan out on his own in the wild world that he hadn’t been free in for too long to keep me comfortable about his chances, wasn’t as easy as anyone would assume. Not even with my experience and the truth of our world reminding me that nothing was guaranteed. If anything, the reality made it harder.

I couldn’t be sure that Daryl would live day to day on his own at his shabby camp by the river, and he’d been out for far longer than Negan had, and had far more experience living off the land. These were the thoughts that kept intruding as I put together RJ and Judith’s breakfast. I felt her eyes on my back, but as though we’d come to a mutual understanding, neither of us were willing to speak about it again, not now.

It doesn’t take long. Breakfast is barely finished when the first alarm is raised. And I knew, even before the first knock came, that they would come to me first. Even if I hadn’t been staying in Mom’s house, even if I wasn’t Rick Grimes’ daughter, they’d come to me, because they all knew how I felt about Negan.

Judith, a far better actress than me, offered to help search. While I swore that I had no idea that he’d escaped, or HOW he’d escaped, since I had only visited the OUTSIDE of his prison the day before, Judith got dressed and ready to go. I knew I should tell her not to go, but I also knew that even if she’d promised to shoot him the next time she saw him, he’d be safer if she found him than anyone else.

“I have to stay with RJ,” I told the suspicious eyes that were watching me as RJ wrapped himself around my knees. “I promised Mom.” Nods, but the clear look of distrust in their eyes told me more than anything else. “Why would I help him leave?” I finally snapped. “Since having him HERE means that I get to be WITH him, helping him go would be stupid, wouldn’t you think?” I reached down for RJ. “I hope you find him,” and that was true of Judith at least.

Judith did find him, but not before all hell seemed to break loose for the rest of our world. Mom returned, and everything was a flurry of news and irritation and frustration. Negan escaping was almost the least upsetting thing that could have happened.

Jesus is dead. I feel a rush of pain at the loss of a man who was far too kind for this world, even if he had brought Negan and his people to my dad’s attention. I wonder how Aaron is taking it. Since I’m getting the news from Mom, I know he must have gone to his daughter’s side. Comfort from the unconditional love of a child is unbeatable, I would know.

There’s a prisoner in Hilltop, a member new group of badness that seems to actually use the hordes to make their attacks. And not in the same way that Negan used them for guarding the Sanctuary. And Daryl, Mom mentions with a look in my eyes that tells me more than words ever could, is in charge or learning more from the prisoner. I feel a rush of fear and terror at what tactics Daryl will use to get what our people need to keep safe.

Negan’s return is almost anti-climatic. Mom, I can see, is shocked that I don’t want to go and speak to him. Questions and a suspicion in her eyes that I shake off. Offering to take RJ with me for the afternoon, since she plans on confronting the Council after what she considers their duplicity and backstabbing, she nods, but I know the conversation isn’t over.

Judith finds me, playing with RJ on my porch, and I wait to hear what she feels like sharing. Taking a seat on the top step, she watches while RJ runs around the porch trying to grab and catch the ball I was rolling around for him.

“He was coming back on his own,” she offers, and I tilt my head to show her I’m listening. “He knows I was right, Jessi, that there’s nothing out there now, not for him.” Nodding and clapping as RJ catches the ball on the first go this time, I wait for whatever else she wants to share. “He told me he promised you-”

I chuckle as my baby brother launches himself at me and tackles me onto my back. “People promise a lot of things, Jude, you know that.” I know she knew it, she’d shared Carl’s letter he wrote to her with me. “Promises mean nothing without actions.”

“And he’s back, Jessi,” I was wiggling under RJ’s attempts to tickle me into submission. “He’s back and he’s right there-” I didn’t have to look to know she was pointing at his cell. “He loves you.”

“Oh, Jude,” I sit up, holding RJ’s now squirming body as I tickle him back. “I wish that was enough.”

[lisatelramor]

Be a Better Me Ch 9

One more left after this!

Chapter 9

“Do you go to school?” Conan asks Kaito.

Kaito, in disguise as a young woman just for the fun of it (and for practice because skills need constant upkeep), smiles. “Of course I go to school.”

“And yet you happen to show on a day that only my school is closed for water damage.” His little kid friends are arguing about something on the other end of the playground. Conan watches them like he’s just waiting for them to remember he exists and drag him into whatever their scheming is. Scheming being the accurate term because Haibara Ai is part of that group and anything that makes her smirk, Kaito has learned, isn’t nearly as fun for the person on the other end of that look.

“I haven’t seen you in a while.”

“There was a heist a week ago.”

“And you kicked a soccer ball at me. That’s hardly communication.”

“You could just show up to Agasa’s.”

Kaito hums. “And how often are you actually there?”

“Okay, fair point. But you could talk to Haibara.”

“You say that like she isn’t terrifying.” Ai had a habit of updating him about what new things she figured out about Kaito’s body—both human and robotic—which hardly endeared her to him. He’d developed a habit of trying to avoid her whenever he actually had to drop in to Agasa’s place because being told in detail how your body replicated synthetic blood from what you ate is not pleasant conversation. Nor was the fact that she’d actually been studying Kaito’s corpse even though he doesn’t want her to. Kaito really doesn’t care how it’s not decomposing or what’s keeping the brain alive; it’s something he doesn’t want to think about.

“Oh, she is terrifying. That’s all part of being her friend.”

“Is she friends with any of you?” Kaito asks because from the bits he’s gotten out of them, Ai is the person who made the poison that changed Conan. And she’s older than Shinichi and Kaito both. He doesn’t know what to make of her, and all the more reason to avoid her.

“Yes,” Conan says. “She cares, and it’s not just guilt. She cares for the kids, and she at least tolerates me.” He smirks back at Ai as she lifts an eyebrow their direction. Conan makes a quick ring around his eye with his finger and thumb and the eyebrow lowers.

“Hey. Way to rat a guy out.”

“Please, she’d realize who you were a few minutes into talking with you if she came over here. She’s scary perceptive about that kind of thing.”

“It’s probably the PTSD hypervigilance,” Kaito grumbles.

Conan kicks him in the shin and Kaito swears under his breath.

“Your bony feet are a weapon.”

“I know,” Conan says. “C’mon, let’s go rope the kids into something before they spring something on us.”

“What, you expect me to join you?” Kaito asks. “I’m just a passing young woman enjoying a conversation.”

“Well you’re going to be a young woman playing with some kids.” Conan grabs Kaito’s hand and pulls, and it’s follow or be knocked sideways on his modest high heels. Brat.

It’s a good think Kaito doesn’t mind children.

o*O*o

Conan is at Agasa’s place when Kaito next shows up, the Kirin’s Horn heist fresh in his mind. It’s clearly still on Conan’s mind too because he glares at Kaito when he enters the room.

“You!” Conan growls.

“Me!” Kaito says, trying not to feel intimidated. It’s actually pretty hard since he knows intimately just how hard Conan can kick.

“You’re a jerk.”

“Agreed,” Ai says from her place on the sofa, book in hand.

“For knocking you out?” Kaito says. “All’s fair at heists, or did I miss a memo?”

“I am going to sic the police on you so hard next time,” Conan says.

“You got off lucky this time.”

“You chloroformed me.”

“Originally,” Kaito says, “it was going to be a Taser.”

Both Ai and Conan give him horrified looks.

“Oi, not like a full strength one! I don’t want to kill you.” Kaito scrubs the back of his neck and goes to sit on the couch that isn’t currently full of not-children with a grudge at the moment. “I was testing a lower power version and everything, and by testing, I mean I Tasered myself. Fun fact: robots and electricity apparently don’t mix.”

“Oh my god, what did you do?” Conan asks still horrified, but also morbidly curious.

“I, er, might have shorted something out temporarily. And temporarily disrupted some of my bio-synthetic processes.”

“Meaning you almost died,” Ai says with the level tone of a scientist making an observation. “You’re an idiot.”

“Oi, It’s not like I could have known how I’d react. Most things I handle like a human.” Kaito wrinkles his nose at her. “Hakuba already gave me a riot act on doing dangerous shit without supervision so I don’t need to hear it from you.”

“Still an idiot. Also, don’t Taser Kudo, we still don’t know how much the toxin has harmed his heart.”

Kaito blinks and Conan grimaces.

“I thought you said it was fine,” Conan says.

“I said I didn’t notice any signs of problems, but that doesn’t mean it’s fine. The change feels like a heart attack, and that’s probably significant.”

“Noted,” Kaito says. “I’d feel bad if I actually killed you.”

Conan looks unimpressed. “Wow, such strong feelings.”

Kaito rolls his eyes. “I’d be devastated if I killed anyone, that doesn’t make you special.”

“And I thought our friendship meant something,” Conan says, deadpan.

Kaito snickers.

“Are you here for a reason or did you just so happen to feel social?” Ai asks.

“A little of column A, a little of column B,” Kaito says with an airy wave of his hand. “Catch up on Beika news, visit one of my favorite detectives and his lovely scientist friend,  run a scan to triple check I really didn’t short anything out with all the electricity going on the other day…”

“Get to the lab, idiot,” Ai says setting her book aside. “Agasa-hakase isn’t here today, so you’ll have to have me as a lab tech.”

“Joy.” Ai always has a way of leaving Kaito uncomfortable.

“I could leave you to struggle on your own.”

“No, no, the help is appreciated. I can’t do full body scans all on my lonesome.” Kaito stretches. “Any new murders since we last saw each other, Tantei-kun?”

“A drowning and an onsen murder actually.”

Kaito pauses. “…Was the drowning at the onsen or are these two separate murders?”

Conan looks at him with too-old eyes. “Which do you think?”

“You have terrible luck, did you know that?”

“I’m very aware.”

“He’s still on my shit list for the onsen murder,” Ai says, already prepping the lab with efficiency.

“Wow, what did he do?” Kaito drags a chair to the best position for a body scan.

“He ran into the women’s baths.”

“You’d just found a dead body!” Conan sputters. “You got your revenge already! It wasn’t like I was even paying attention to you!”

“I’m not that quick to forgive.”

Kaito snorts. “You’re lucky it wasn’t my friend Aoko. She tends to hit first, question later.”

“Speaking from experience?” Ai asks.

“Lots of it. I mean I have it coming, but still. It’s best for my self-preservation that I’ve mostly outgrown flipping her skirt.”

Both Ai and Conan give him identical disgusted grimaces. “You deserve any head trauma you get from that,” Ai says.

“Fair enough. I don’t really get why it’s such a big deal to so many people though, honestly. Bodies are bodies.”

“You’re the one that used underwear to distract me in the Black Star heist,” Conan says.

“To distract you yeah, but it’s more funny to me than distracting?” Kaito shrugs. “To be honest I think that’s something that changed since I became…like this. I can remember feeling… things… but those sort of thought skew toward the romantic rather than the physical these days.”

“While that makes me want to pick apart your brain,” Ai says in that bland, terrifying way of hers, “I need you to hold still so I can take the scan.”

Kaito gives her a mocking little salute and makes like a statue. Ai positions the machine around him in multiple angles until she’s satisfied.

“If you don’t feel that, what’s with all the attempts at kissing people?” Conan grumbles. People, meaning Ran, Kaito guesses.

“Kissing is nice,” Kaito says when Ai will let him move again. “Not that I’ve done much of it. I thought you realized by now I’m a lot more show than not when I’m Kid. Or in general really.” He doesn’t pretend too much around them these days and that’s kind of nice. It’s also more than a bit unnerving whenever he stops and considers that he’s being vulnerable, but it’s probably worth it in the long run. He’s been told a lot lately that honesty and openness make for stronger friendships. “Half of all that is just to mess with you.”

“Oi. Do you want a soccer ball to the face?”

Kaito snickers. “You have to admit, you make the best panicked faces.”

“I hope Ran punches you next time.”

“I’d deserve it,” Kaito agrees cheerfully.

“Well,” Ai says, “I’m not seeing anything obvious, but I’ll go over the scans in detail and get back to you. In the meantime, look out for anything off and don’t play lightning rod.”

“There goes that fantasy of hang gliding in a thunder storm,” Kaito says.

“I know you’re joking,” Conan says, “but sometimes it’s honestly hard to tell.”

“You wouldn’t find it cool to be in the sky with lightning flashing around?”

“No. Not at all. I’m not suicidal.”

Kaito sighs dramatically. “It would be like being one with nature.”

“Right up until you’re electrocuted or blown into a tree.”

“Maybe. Eh, I need to change things up more. I’ve been using the glider more lately and it’s getting predictable. Though to be fair, it’s faster than the balloons I used to use.”

Conan wrinkles his nose. “Balloons?”

“They don’t rely on wind or a specific height to power them,” Kaito says reasonably. “They’re slow though, and can burst. Which isn’t the best once guns come into play.”

“Right. Don’t tell me your plans.”

“You’re going to wonder next heist whether I’ll be using the glider at all, or if I’ll use it just because I said I shouldn’t,” Kaito says with a wink.

“Still hate you.” Conan has that grumpy-but-reluctantly-fond expression on and Kaito’s counting it as a win. Conan’s only pretending to be annoyed on principle.

“Kuroba,” Ai says cutting into the banter. “Could I talk to you alone for a moment?”

“Yes?” Kaito tilts his head to try and glimpse what Ai’s doing, but it doesn’t give any hints for what she wants. Nor does a glance at Conan. Conan shrugs in a way that could mean ‘who knows’ or maybe also ‘good luck’ before wandering out. Kaito’s pretty sure he’s outside the door eavesdropping because that’s standard detective nosiness, but Kaito’s not going to be the one to call him out on that. He’d be doing the same thing.

“Is there something wrong with the scan?” Kaito asks when Ai’s silent a bit too long.

“No,” she says. “I will have to go over it closer just to make sure, but that’s not what this is about.” She spins around in her chair and pins Kaito with a look that is just as sharp as any of the detectives’ stares. Kaito tries not to fidget under the weight of it. “You’re aware I’ve been studying your body.”

Any remnants of Kaito’s light mood crash and burn. “I’m aware.”

“You’re also aware that I created the poison that shrunk Kudo and myself.”

“Conan might have mentioned it.”

Ai folds her hands in her lap. It should look relaxed, but it’s somehow as unsettling as if she steepled her fingers like some kind of cartoon villain. “The chamber holding your body contains an oxygenated gas that, along with some injected substance that I’ve gotten traces of in blood, halts cellular degeneration. It works as a perfect preservative, and along with a very mild electric pulse, is preserving the body’s brain. The body is dead, but it’s been preserved at the exact moment of death. From what I can assess, the cause of death is a stopped heart. The substance injected as the preservative also slowed the heart to the point of death. He would have been aware,” Ai says mercilessly, “that he was dying, but unable to fight it. The chamber would have finished the process.”

She takes a breath. “I’m creating an antidote,” she says. “For Kudo. Personally I have no interest in returning to my former age and identity, but Kudo still has a life and people to return to. In allowing me to look at how your body was preserved, you’ve actually helped me make a few steps toward that goal. It’s not the same science as the apoptoxin, but there were similarities that helped flesh out my notes.”

“So you’re closer to helping Conan be Kudo and my body’s still very dead,” Kaito says. “Great. Why did you need to tell me this?”

Ai’s lips pinch for a moment. “Your body can’t be revived by restarting its heart and lungs no matter how intact they are because of the substance injected in it. And that substance can’t be filtered reliably out. But…”

“But what?” Kaito asks. He’s tempted to fling himself from the chair and leave, but something about her hesitation makes him stay a little longer.

“There’s a chance I could add to it and induce a similar effect as the apoptoxin. The most likely outcome of this would be that the body dies properly and for good. But,” Ai says softly, “there’s a small chance that it reacts the way Kudo and I did and it reverts back to a younger age. An age that’s also revivable because the toxin has run its course.”

Kaito stares. Kaito—the human Kaito—could be saved. Oh, it has to be an infinitesimally small chance of it happening, but it’s that much of a percent more than the rest of eternity spent in a glass box. And, as she said, it could kill him dead. But at least Kaito would actually be dead instead of in limbo.

But if it worked and Kaito’s body becomes a child again, what will that mean for him, the very-much-not-human Kaito? The Kaito that stole his face and stole his life and everyone he loves. Something between terror and jealousy twists in his gut. If the body gets to live, he’ll be the real Kaito again and Kaito won’t be anything.

And yet… Kaito knows that this body doesn’t have many years in it. Statistically speaking, technology doesn’t outlast a human body. A computer is lucky to get four years before something major breaks down. For Kaito’s experimental body… He’ll be lucky to get four years. He has no back-up of his brain, no depository of memories that he can add to on the off chance something goes wrong. He could probably ask Ai, Agasa, and Hakuba to collaborate on one just in case, but then again, he’s not sure he wants that either. That he could die and be replaced by a saved version of himself with gaps in memory… he doesn’t like the idea any more than the real Kaito will like it. So if this is the only shot he has, he might as well give a chance to the human Kaito. That way when he does degrade and become obsolete, they’d maybe have human Kaito still. There would be gaps left, but not as devastating of ones.

It isn’t just his choice to make though, no matter that it is his human body.

“Can I think about it?” Kaito asks, tense as a strung piano wire and doing terribly at hiding it.

“Take all the time you need,” Ai says. “It’s not something I can do overnight, and the body isn’t going anywhere. I just needed to tell you that it’s an option.”

Kaito nods. He needs to leave. He doesn’t want to look like he’s fleeing though. “Thanks for telling me. I should go make a phone call.”

He hears Ai murmur, “Don’t thank me yet,” under her breath as he turns and walks in a deceptively calm manner toward the door. He’s not fooling anyone.

There’s skittering as Conan sprinting away, but that’s fine. He can know about it, it’s not like it makes a difference. Kaito doesn’t even acknowledge Conan’s terrible attempt to look like he’s been watching television the whole time, instead walking straight for the door.

o*O*o

“Hey.” The online call connects with Kaito sitting surrounded by his fifteen doves, their soft feathers and voices soothing the tiny part of himself that kept whirling in panic.

“Kaito,” his mother says, surprised. It’s not their usual day to talk, and he’s only on voice call, not video. He doesn’t want to see what kind of expression she might make. “Is something wrong? You don’t need me to come home do you?”

As nice as it would be to have another of her visits, he won’t ask that of her. “I can’t just call?” he says lightly.

“Of course you can,” Chikage says. Warmly, like when she brushes his hair away from his forehead or gives him little side hugs when they cross into each other’s space. “You don’t ‘just call’ though.”

“Maybe I should,” Kaito says. She would appreciate a son that reached out more. But he’d appreciate her being here more. They’re both independent people, but they’re also social people and he understands. He understands why she needs to travel and see new things and reconnect with old friends. He just doesn’t always like it.

“I’d appreciate it in the future,” Chikage says, “but what did you call for now?”

“An offer was made. About Kaito.”

A beat of silence on the other end as she registers him using his own name. “What kind of offer?” she asks a lot more hesitant than a second ago. They never did talk about the body.

Maybe they should have. It’s so much easier to ignore elephants in the room than to dwell on them. “There’s a procedure Haibara Ai could do. I don’t know the numbers or science on it, but there’s a small chance she could get him alive again. There’d be side effects—” like losing a decade in age “—but he’d be Kaito and alive and human.”

“And what’s the rest of the chances?”

“It’d kill him,” Kaito says quietly. “Completely not just whatever not-death he’s in now. Being honest, it’s a lot higher percentage that he’d die than live from the sound of it, but…”

“I couldn’t kill him,” Chikage says. “I thought about it, like a coma patient on life support at a hospital, but…”

“But he’s not brain dead,” Kaito says with understanding. “I thought about it too. Not all for good reasons.” He doesn’t poke the minefield of jealousy and conflicting feelings of personhood. That way lies depression spirals. “It’s not really right to leave him like that forever though, is it?”

“No.” Chikage sighs. “A really small percentage?” she says, longing.

“Terribly small,” Kaito says. “Haibara didn’t sound confident that it would work. Still, it’d be like him—us—to leave that kind of thing to chance and play the impossible odds.”

He listens to Chikage’s breathing as she thinks, picturing her sitting in some cheesy themed hotel room with a late dinner in the form of hotel catering and the casual chaos of her suitcases slowly taking over the room. Or maybe it is still neat because Chikage reached the point of getting annoyed with clutter and put it all away until the cycle repeated. Either way she’s probably sitting on her bed with her toes tucked under the covers to keep her feet warm like she does at home when they watch movies together.

Kaito misses her terribly sometimes.

One of his doves flutters on his shoulder, right up against his neck all warm and grounding and alive. He pets her, feeling her feathers fluff and settle, her tiny body leaning into his touch.

“If it works, how will we explain two of you?” Chikage asks finally.

“If it works, he probably won’t be able to slip back into his old life, the side effects would make that impossible, and even if they didn’t, he has over a year of life and growth that never happened.” Kaito scratches the feathers along his dove’s neck. “Maybe he could go be with you. At least until he’s recovered and all. He’s… probably not going to like me much.”

“You mean you wouldn’t be your own best friend?” Chikage jokes. It’s a very weak joke, but he gives her points for trying.

“Considering how I reacted to the other robot that tried to steal our life, no.”

“…We’d make things work. If we got him back, we’d figure out a way to make it all work out.”

“Yeah.”

“It wouldn’t make me love you less,” Chikage says hitting to the heart of his fears in all of this. “You’d both be Kaito. I have enough love to go around.”

“I know. Thanks, Kaa-san.” He curls a little tighter and another bird lands on his back like that will get her pettings instead of Kaito trying not to move and dislodge her. “So.”

“I think you should try,” Chikage says. “It’s probably not going to work, but…”

“It’s resolution,” Kaito says.

“Yes.”

The dove on Kaito’s back flutters away but the one on his shoulder stays cuddled close. “Do you want to be here when…?”

Chikage is quiet long enough for Kaito to worry that the call has dropped. “I should be there,” she says, which isn’t really an answer.

“I’ll let you know when Haibara thinks she has things down to try it. You can decide then.”

“Thank you, Kaito.”

Kaito hums and lets her transition the topic to something else, something lighter and not involving death at all.

[lilacmoon83]

Lightning in a Bottle

Also on Fanfiction.net and A03

Chapter 5: Next To Me

The Next Morning

Emma stood up and shook hands with the Captain.

"Thanks for the desk work...I think it will help keep my mind busy," she said. Graham nodded.

"You're welcome, but I'm serious about the psych evaluation. I shouldn't even be letting you do paperwork yet," he warned. She nodded.

"I already made an appointment for tomorrow," she promised. He smiled.

"Good…" he said, as she left his office and went to find her desk, only to see Killian waiting for her there.

"Hey…" she greeted.

"Care to explain this?" he muttered, as he showed her a video. She sighed, as it was clearly of her, her brother, and Margaret last night.

"It's complicated…" she said.

"It's a felony and the three of you are bloody lucky that I caught this one," he hissed.

"Are you going to arrest us?" Emma asked and he sighed.

"No...we're going over there and I'm going to hopefully smooth this over with the owner. Then you hope he doesn't decide to press charges, because then it will be out of my hands," he replied. She nodded numbly and followed him out to his car.

"So...Margaret must be over the moon with your brother and her son back," he mentioned. He knew that would get a smile from her and he was right.

"Yeah...she's walking on air and they just fell right back into place like perfect puzzle pieces," she said wistfully. He sighed.

"But we didn't…" he murmured.

"You're married...and that's great. I'm glad you were able to move on and be happy," she said, but there was nothing convincing behind her words.

"So...any idea what happened up there in the sky?" he asked curiously. She shook her head.

"No...just some bad turbulence for a few minutes and then somehow it was five years later for everyone else but us," she answered.

"And you don't...feel different?" he prodded. She side eyed him.

"What are you asking me?" she questioned.

"I just can't see you committing a felony to release a couple of dogs. And David and Margaret either," he mentioned.

"I guess we had a gut feeling. I'm not sure I could explain it if I wanted to, which I don't," she replied.

"Try Em...this isn't like you. You may look the same...but there's something different about you," he prodded.

"What do you want me to say?" she snapped at him and then sighed, as he parked and they got out of the car.

"You think things are different for you?" she asked.

"For you...it's five years later and you moved on...which is great. But me? It's still five years ago and the death of one of our friends is still fresh! I still killed her! But at least I still had you and my job...but now I don't even have that! So spare me the lecture about what you have lost!" she cried.

"You didn't kill Lily…" he admonished.

"She's dead because of me! Why do I get to come back and she doesn't?!" Emma cried and was about to continue her tirade when she heard the voice again.

"Set them free!" the voice pleaded and she put a hand to her temple. He sighed.

"Just stay here...I'm going to see if I can smooth this over with the owner," he said, as he went inside the shop, which appeared to be some kind of auto repair business.

"SET THEM FREE!" the voice pleaded loudly. She growled and followed Killian inside. While he talked to the owner, she looked around and followed the pleading voice. She trekked through the scrap yard and found the dogs sitting in front of a shed.

"SET THEM FREE!" the voice pleaded again and she noticed a lock on the shed. Picking up a crowbar, she began to beat the lock with it, just as Killian and the owner hurried up to her.

"Emma...what the hell are you doing?" he asked, as the lock broke and the door swung open. He was stunned to see the two missing girls that were the subject of his case. Emma looked up in time to see the owner with a metal rod in his hand.

"Killian!" she warned, as he turned and tackled the man, before he could hit him. While he cuffed him, Emma knelt down in front of the poor girls and motioned them out.

"It's okay...you're safe now…" she promised.

~*~

Margaret dismissed her third graders for recess and made her way to the teacher's lounge. The moment she walked in, some of her colleagues stared at her and stopped talking. She wasn't surprised though. Her family was, unfortunately, all over the news. She rolled her eyes and took her lunch out of the fridge and grabbed a bottle of water, before making her way back to her classroom.

"Gossip on ladies...don't let me interrupt," she said. Honestly, she didn't want to hear their theories or have them asking if David was different somehow. She had heard it all lately and didn't care. He was back and that was that mattered to her. As she sat down at her desk and opened the paper bag, she found a note inside. She unfolded the paper and almost melted right there. It was a love note from her husband, just like he used to do and happy tears slipped down her cheeks. She picked up her phone and sent him a text.

"I can't wait to get home to you too. Being apart from you now is even more unbearable," she texted to him.

"I promise I'm not going anywhere this time, my darling. I love you so much," he texted back.

"Love you too, my Prince Charming," she texted back to him, as she ate quickly before her students returned.

~*~

Regina entered the meeting room that afternoon and tried to ignore all the gawking stares, as she took her seat.

"Thank you for joining us, Regina. I can't tell you how wonderful it is to have you here," Archie said. She managed a smile and nodded, as he began the meeting.

"Okay...our first contention for the trials is Henry Nolan. And unfortunately, based on his birth date, he is too old for the treatment to be effective. I move that we deny him," one of the nurse's involved on the board said. Regina couldn't remember her name, but she had quite a reputation around this hospital for being a cold witch and had rightfully earned herself the moniker of Nurse Ratched.

"Excuse me...but I strongly suggest that we consider Henry Nolan for this treatment. The treatment that is based on my research," she interjected.

"Forgive me, Dr. Mills...but the treatment works best for those in the age range of six to eleven years," Dr. Hopper interjected.

"And Henry Nolan is still ten, despite what his birth date says. He was on the plane with me and you wouldn't even have this treatment if not for my research. You're going to admit him to the program," Regina demanded, silencing the room.

"Whatever you believe...I know there is a reason I came back. This little boy wouldn't even be here if he hadn't been on the plane. That could very well be the reason that I came back. To save him and I'm going to do it," she . Hopper swallowed and looked around the room nervously.

"If there are no objections...then we will admit Henry Nolan to the treatment program," Archie said and no one objected. Regina showed a pleased smirk, as the meeting continued.

~*~

David got out of the car that afternoon and trekked onto the soccer field, watching his daughter's game. His eyes misted a bit as he thought about all that he had missed in her life. He watched her in amazement, seeing so much of his wife in her that it made him want to cry happy tears. He noticed the attention from some of the other gawking parents and kept separate from them, choosing to watch from under a tree in the near distance. The last thing he wanted to do was make this more awkward for Olive than it already was. The coach called a timeout and his daughter, the rebel that she was, opted to run over to him instead of huddle with her team. Something her coach didn't look happy about at all.

"Dad…" she said, as she gave him a hug.

"What are you doing way over here?" she asked.

"I kind of attract a lot of attention these days. I didn't want to make things weirder for you than they already are," he replied. But she shook her head.

"Dad...I don't care what other people think, especially other nosy parents," Olive said, humbling him.

"I just feel like I let you down...and I hate it," he admitted.

"You didn't let me down," she assured.

"It was hard when you were gone...really hard, but what happened to you wasn't your fault," she added. He nodded.

"You're right...and I'm back now, I won't be missing anymore of my little girl's life and when things get hard...I'll be here for you now," he promised, as they shared a hug. The coach blew the whistle and she hurried back to the field. He smiled, as he had felt her presence a moment ago and turned to her.

"Been there long?" he asked. She smiled at him.

"Long enough to see my little girl happy to have her father back," she replied.

"I know...I just can't help but feel guilty. I know I didn't do any of this on purpose, but it doesn't change what you and Olive went through," he said.

"No...it doesn't, but you're back now and while it doesn't change what we went through...it makes it all worth it," she replied.

"The love we share...I know it's once in a lifetime. It's like lightning in a bottle," she said.

"When I lost you, it was beyond the most devastating thing that I have ever faced and it was compounded by losing my son and my best friend too. I was shattered," she admitted and he felt devastated by that.

"But then you came back. I know we don't know how, but I don't care. You found me again, like you always do and everyone else may be gossiping about the how and why…" she said, as she rolled her eyes. They were clearly the hot topic of discussion among the other parents.

"Or gawking at me like I'm an alien," he deadpanned. She smirked and slipped her arms around his neck, squashing any daylight between them.

"Well handsome, if you are an alien...you can probe me anytime, baby," she purred. His eyes widened and he looked at her in surprise, as she gave him a naughty smirk.

"Mrs. Nolan...I think that's the naughtiest, dirtiest thing I've ever heard you say," he said, as he looked at her with need in his eyes.

"You haven't seen naughty or dirty yet," she promised, as they swayed together. There was no music, but then they never needed any. They always made their own.

"Seriously though...let's not waste anymore time with regrets, because all I care about is that I got you back," she said, as she teared up.

"Because when you were gone...I would have done absolutely anything to feel your arms around me again, like they are now," she choked. He pressed his forehead against hers and then drew her lips into a passionate kiss. She sniffed, as their lips parted and he gently wiped a tear away from her cheek with his thumb.

"Then waste anymore time we won't," he promised, as he kissed her again, with wanton, smoldering passion and lifted her off her feet, before spinning her around. When their lips finally parted, she looked up at him with a dreamy stare and could still see the stars behind her eyes.

"Might as well give all the other parents something to talk about," he said slyly. She smirked and hooked her hand on his elbow, as she leaned her head against his arm. He smiled at her and slung his arm possessively around her waist, as they went to sit in the bleachers.

~*~

"Good work, as usual Rogers…" Graham said, as they shook hands. It was all over the news. Killian Rogers had found the missing girls and rescued them from a predator just in time. Killian had done the right thing and confessed to Graham that it had been her hunch that led them to the girls, but since so much suspicion was swirling around Emma already, being that she was a returned passenger, that part had been omitted from the press. Seeing her at the precinct had already raised questions with the reporters and they could all get in a lot of hot water since she wasn't even cleared to work yet. She didn't want the credit or attention anyway though. She was just glad that the children were safe, even if the voice that had helped her and she was terrified of it or rather what it might mean.

As he came out of the Captain's office, she made herself scarce, but he found her at her desk anyway.

"What you did...you saved those girls from unimaginable horror. How did you know?" he asked.

"I don't know...just a feeling," she answered vaguely.

"Emma…" he started to protest.

"I can't explain it...because even I don't know," she cut him off and he stared at her for a moment.

"You still take my breath away," he admitted. She took a sharp intake of breath at that, but then pursed her lips and walked away. He was married and they were over. It didn't matter if there were feelings there. He had moved on and now she had to figure out how to do the same.

~*~

Just as Olive's game was ending, they had gotten a call from Dr. Mills, asking them all to come to the hospital. So they had rushed there and Robert met them there with Henry. And they had heard three words that gave them a burst of hope. He was approved. He was approved to start the treatment right away. Regina promised to take good care of him and he was led into the treatment room. He was hooked up to the machine administering the treatment, while she looked on. She gave him an encouraging smile and that eased his fears, as he smiled back. This was it. She was sure of it. This was why she had come back. To save this little boy. As he went back to looking at his tablet, she stepped out to face his anxious parents.

"How is he?" Margaret asked, as they jumped up and descended upon her. She smiled kindly.

"He is doing well and responding very well so far. It's a bit early to know...but things are very encouraging," she replied. David smiled, as he picked her and spun her around.

"Thank you...thank you so much," he said, as he shook her hand profusely.

"It's my pleasure...believe me," she said, just as Emma arrived.

"Hey Em...it's working. Henry's responding to the treatment!" Margaret gushed, bringing a smile to the blonde's face and they hugged.

"That's incredible…" she said, as she hugged her niece too.

"Is everything okay with you?" Margaret asked, noticing her pensive look.

"Uh...yeah, it might be easier to explain if I just show you," she said, as they exchanged a glance and followed her to the lobby. The story was still all over the television and they recognized the place where they had released those dogs from the night before.

"You...you found those missing girls," Margaret realized.

"The voice...those dogs. That's where the girls were?" David asked.

"Yeah...I heard the voice again when Killian took me back there to try and smooth things over with the owner and it...led me to them," she admitted quietly, stunning them all.

"Wow…" Olive said in awe. But Emma didn't seem to share that sentiment.

"What is this?" she asked fearfully.

"I don't know...but we keep it quiet. We don't want the government to get wind of it," David urged.

"He's right...but we shouldn't be afraid of this," Margaret interjected and they looked at her with scrutiny.

"MM...it's a voice in our heads," Emma reminded her.

"I know...but this voice just saved two little girls," she said, as she put her arm around Olive.

"This voice is perhaps what brought our world back to us," she said, as she shared a smile with her daughter.

"Mom is right," Olive agreed.

"And even though Ollie and I aren't hearing this voice...we're all in this together," Margaret said. They smiled.

"Together," David agreed, as they joined hands and Emma rolled her eyes playfully.

"Together...but hopefully this was it," she said. But she knew it wasn't...and that night they would find out that it had only just begun…

~*~

Mr. Gold stared at the large screen with detailed photos of all the passengers.

"So...what does your so-called expertise tell you about what happened to that plane?" Vance questioned. Gold smirked.

"Oh, I don't know those answers yet, dearie...but our world has changed. The impossible is now possible, which means the scope of what's to come will be unprecedented," Gold stated.

"That has to be the most vague, cryptic load of bull I've ever heard," Vance commented, making Gold give him a pleased smirk.

"I've been told I have a gift for such," he quipped and the other man rolled his eyes. His eyes focused on the Nolans. Yes...they were definitely the ones to watch in this. And he was very hopeful that they would lead him to what he was missing.

~*~

The Nolan house was dead quiet and the clock read two-thirty a.m. David and Margaret were sound asleep, spooned together, beneath their sheets. Normally, after making love as they had earlier, they both would have slept deeply through the night. But something woke David up in the dead of night and in turn woke his wife after a few minutes.

"Babe?" she called in a sleepy voice, as she noticed he was sitting up in bed. She covered her unclothed body with the sheet and sat up beside him. Gently, she put her hands on his arm and rested her chin on his shoulder.

"What is it?" she asked.

"I...I don't know. It's not a voice this time...just a feeling. It feels like I have to go somewhere," he replied. She nodded and started getting out of bed. He sighed in exasperation.

"MM...we can't just follow this thing, whatever it is, every time this happens. We don't even know what this is," he admonished.

"You're right...we don't, but if it did bring you back to me, then we need to listen to it, David," she argued. He sighed.

"I know the math guy in you is telling you that this is all illogical, but for a numbers guy, we also know that you have an incredible amount of faith in love and things that you can't explain," she said. He smiled wistfully.

"Our love...it's beyond the norm. I've always known that," he agreed, as she got dressed.

"Besides, since when have we ever turned down an adventure together?" she asked coyly, as she watched him pull on his clothes. He smirked at her, as he pulled his pants on and started buttoning his shirt.

"Walks on the beach...picnics in the park...boring math conferences...not exactly adventures," he teased. She slid her arms around his neck.

"Everything is an adventure with you...and I love it all. Even the unknown...like this," she promised. He smiled, feeling humbled by her love once again.

"Okay...but seriously that math conference was torture. No husband should have ever put his wife through that," he joked. She giggled.

"Well, if I remember...you did make it up to me. Many times," she said in a sultry tone.

"I did," he agreed, as she took his hand and they walked out of the bedroom.

"Besides...it actually wasn't that bad," she mentioned.

"Lies...some of those guys were the biggest nerds to ever walk the earth," he joked. She smiled up at him.

"Yeah...but there was this one Professor that was a total babe," she said playfully.

"Really?" he asked.

"Mmmhmm...he was so hot, especially when he put his glasses on and he wore this tight shirt over some very nice muscles and pants over an ass that was to die for. I swear...all the females in the lecture hall were drooling all over themselves," she replied and he chuckled.

"So not a nerd?" he asked.

"Oh he's a nerd...but a really hot nerd that made math sexy," she replied.

"Sexy math...said no one ever," he joked, as they heard Emma coming up from the basement and they shifted back to the task at hand.

"Let me guess...you have a feeling that you need to be somewhere," he said. She nodded.

"What is this?" she asked with trepidation. They exchanged a glance.

"We don't know yet, but we're going to figure it out together," Margaret promised, as they quietly left the house.

~*~

Vance flipped through more passenger files and scrubbed a hand over his tired face. Their science experts had all kinds of theories and they were all over his head. Black holes, time travel, extra terrestrials...at this point, nothing was off the table really.

"Sir…" one of his subordinates said, as he came into the room.

"What is it?" he asked.

"There's something happening at the terminal where the plane is. They just called and said some passengers are gathering there," he reported. Vance looked at Gold and they stood up, as they made their way out to take a car there.

~*~

David parked their SUV and they were stunned to see many other passengers had shown up at the gates that led to the tarmac, where the plane sat. He counted about twenty other passengers and one of them was even Dr. Regina Mills from the hospital. They exchanged a glance and the three of them got out. David took Margaret's hand and Margaret took Emma's hand, as the three of them walked toward the gates, congregating with the other passengers. Margaret may not have been on the plane, but this plane had brought back three of the most important people in her life to her. She was just as much involved in this as they were, because of her soul mate-like connection with her husband. And once they were gathered there at the gate, suddenly the plane exploded, stunning them all. Margaret gasped and David put his arms around her, holding her close. She looked up at him and their eyes met. Whatever was going on had just gotten much deeper than they could have imagined...

[1stunseeliefaelass]

Darksiders Arthurian Tales Revisited

Chapter 7: Shadows of Paranoia

Death then suddenly remembered Ale and quickly rushes over to her. She opens her eyes and sweetly says, "Guess my spell was taking too long?"

Death only hugged her, "Next time you travel, you're getting teleported. Especially if you're meeting me. And no going alone next time."

"Of course Atan, I'm sorry for worrying you so. I promise you I'm fine. Aside from my cheek stinging I'm ok." Ale assures him whilst gently stroking his head.

Death groaned in embarrassment, "I would ask why you didn't see the warning signs, but given your circumstances it's understandable."

"Well the vines were warning me that something was off, but I wasn't sure about it. I should've listened to them." Ale explains softly.

"You think?" Death questioned a bit sarcastically before continuing, "Anyway, who are you two, how are you doing, and why were you helping?"

Gregory then gave his introductions, "Name's Brewheim, Gregory Brewheim. I own a tavern in a town several kilometers that way.", he then gestured to the road behind him.

"And you?" Death inquired of C.

"C. Gregory's my adoptive Dad. I work at his tavern, but occasionally go on contracts." C explains simply.

Death gave a strange look, "C? Strange name is that short for anything?"

"Maybe, I dunno. It's the only name I've ever known."

"Where you heading off too?"

"To Lord Vortigern's home. He's my Dad's patron and often buys various alcohols from Gregory." C explains.

"I'm also a micro brewer, C's also helped to deal with some of the pests out here." Gregory says.

"Hilarious, I just came from there." Death states chuckling.

"Talk about a coincidence huh? Although our wagon is currently closed off..." C tells him.

"What seems to be the problem?"

C and Gregory then both pointed at the massive trees in front and behind their wagon. Well tree and tree half.

"Ah right....uhmm...." Death attempts to say before thinking on what he can do whilst looking around him. He then turns Harvester into a massive crowbar without the hook, making it essentially a rod with a flat end. From there he lodges it under the tree half and begins trying to move tree. Lifting and shifting it to get it out of the way. Course War and Strife came on by just in time to see his attempt.

"What are you doing?" Strife questioned.

"Moving a tree."

"I thought we were fighting something." War stated a slight bit disappointed.

"If you two COULD HELP ME OUT HERE." Death growled at them.

"Uh right." War nodded before helping out.

Strife only helped out after he was sure he could do so without breaking his back. Being the leanest of the brothers. He then notices the full tree behind the wagon,

"Ok what the hell happened here?"

"Wendigo. One sent by Uther." Death stated simply.

"A Wendigo? I thought those things were in North America? Wait a minute you're pulling something aren't you? Please tell me you're joking." Strife pled with him.

Death sighed, "Believe me I wish I was, but just ask our unfortunate Mother. Who had the misfortune of having walked alongside this thing."

Strife then ran over to Ale, "You alright Ma, what happened?"

"I just traveled with him but didn't realize what he was until it nearly ate me. I'd hate to know what would've happened if Death hadn't come sooner." Ale explained whilst still shivering a tiny bit.

"Why the hell was it calling for Death? Why was it using you?"

"It was asking about him at first. And the way it asked set me off. I tried being vague, but it wasn't enough to stop him from grabbing me. I was just supposed to be a meal, simple as that. But then I tried calling your brother, and it noticed that I did. That's when Death learned of what happened from the beast." Ale explains softly.

Death sighed as Strife looked his way, "Why the hell was it after you?"

"Like I said, Uther. Sent it to...kill me. Chose one hell of a way of doing it."

Ale looked a bit ashamed but Strife reassured her, "Hey Ma, it's ok. Just doing what you naturally do, which is good. He just was able to manipulate that."

"Do you think he was lying when thanking me for the food I'd given him? Or was he just manipulating me more?" Ale inquired.

"Was the food warm?"

"I always carry warm food in my crystal Atan." Ale informed him.

"Then his reactions were genuine. He did enjoy them. Next time, listen to your vines."

"Believe me I shall after this. Thank you Atan." Ale stated softly.

"Why the hell you even out this far anyway?"

Death piped up, "I called her, and she asked if she should come. I agreed, but I wouldn't have done it if I had known what would happen."

"Speaking of that Atan, do you still want to talk?"

Death looked her way and thought for a moment before sighing, "When we get to Vortigern's, which is far safer than out here. Now if you don't mind, help us out Strife!"

"Indeed, if you'd be so inclined as to help us out it'd be GREATLY appreciated brother." War added.

"Yeah yeah yeah. War I have an idea..."

"Aw crap." Death muttered his breath.

"...I need you to ignite Chaoseater into it's lightning mode."

War did so with Death shaking his head, realizing what Strife was doing, "Everybody behind the other trees!"

Gregory then books it and shouts to Strife, "Ye better not blow up my damn cart!"

"Don't worry, if everything goes according to plan, it'll all go in that direction." Strife explains pointing off to south end of the road. "Now stab the tree."

"Oh crap, now I see where this is going." War says backing away.

Strife in turn asked Death to put his scythes on either side of the tree whilst in lightning mode, then prepared a lightning shot and fired, hitting Chaoseater. Through that act, a chain reaction is caused, that blows up the tree. Sending pieces flying everywhere. One barely misses Death, Strife also narrowly avoided one, War blocked most of the big ones, the tiny ones tink off his armor. The cart, somehow was not hit by any of that. But does tiny tree pieces on it now. Gregory actually surprised everyone by grabbing a piece that flew at his head like it was nothing.

Gregory looks at everyone's slacked jaws and shrugs, "What?" He then chucks the wood aside, "At least my cart's still alright."

War and Death then looked at Strife, who's hair was now standing on end. Both shared a halted laugh and Strife looked their way in return, "What you going on about?"

"Has your hair always been standing up like that? Or is just me?" Death asked stifling laughter.

Strife then checked his hair, "Wait what the....you assholes!"

Both brothers began dying at that. Causing Strife to get more angry. Course Ale came up and smacked him upside the head, "First off, language.", then upon giving Death and War the same treatment, "Secondly that's for picking on your brother."

"Sorry Ma."

Death meanwhile said, "I'm a grown adult. Was that really necessary?"

"You weren't acting like it." Ale says.

Death grumbled a bit but apologized all the same, "Sorry Ceise."

Ale then looked at War, "And you?"

"Sorry, Ale."

She nodded at that and the group all hopped into the wagon to leave. Death however paused and looked around, feeling uneasy all of a sudden. As if he were being watched by someone.

"Yo, you good?" Strife questioned him.

"Yeah just...worried. Not entirely sure if it's dead or not."

"Mmhmm, well whatever the case will be, let's head back to safety ok?"

"Yes."

The group then finally headed away with Gregory happy to see his engineering wasn't messed up either. As the cart still purred like a kitten. "Good, now let's everybody going without being attacked."

Before long they all arrived and Death had the sudden urge to hurry inside. He wasn't sure why, but something was really freaking him out. Ale picked up on that and came in as Death started checking every window and began to see a shadow moving in the forest. Constantly keeping up with him as he moved around the house. Ale noted the vines' explanation of things and quickly came up to him, placing a hand on his arm, "Atan?"

Jolting he told her, "Hhaagh! Don't sneak on me like that please."

"Sorry Atan, are you alright? The vines say you look as though you've seen a ghost. If not something worse."

"I think it followed us." Death stated softly.

"The Wendigo?"

"Yeah."

Ale looks but as always sees nothing. But trusts Death's judgment either way. She begins stroking his back gently as his breathing ever so quietly begins picking up. Suddenly Death saw the shadow recede and sighs with relief.

"I hope that thing is just going away for now. I don't like being watched."

Ale continued to stroke him, "I know Atan, perhaps we could talk now? In a room you feel safest in?"

"The attic, it doesn't have a window so..."

"Ah. Then that's where we'll go." Ale stated following him there.

Upon reaching the attic, Death shut the door and sighed deeply, "This has been a little intense hasn't it?"

"Quite." Ale said calmly.

"How's the cheek doing?"

"It doesn't sting anymore Atan, no worries." Ale assured him.

He then begins to make small chat that slowly turns into a more serious conversation. He began discussing why he was so worried about his dreams again, with Ale grasping his hand for this part, "I'm afraid of what it'll do to me. All of that, coming crashing in. That it'd leave me a wreck, just like I was when I came home that night."

"Atan, you'll always have your family at your side. You also have that new friend of yours correct? The girl you shared this painful secret with?"

"Uh yeah...I wonder where she is right now."

Morgen was in her room playing with Fuzzball by her window whilst reading. Suddenly a moving shadow caught her eye. She looks out and sees it staring directly at her. Getting creeped out she takes Fuzzball and hurries from the room in a brisk walk. Course when reaching the next window, she sees it's also there, still staring hungrily. Morgen picked up her pace the more she saw it, squeezing Fuzzball by accident in her panic as she fled around the house. Finally reaching the attic and attempting to open the door. Only to find it locked. She then banged on the door and in a panic yelled, ",Please whoever's in there open the door! Please!"

"Uh ok." Death quickly replied before doing so. He was thus met with Morgen barreling into him, shaking with terror.

"There's something out there, it's following my every move. I can't shake the feeling that it's after me." Morgen quickly says in rapid succession.

"A, ease your tension on Fuzzball. B, tell me what you saw?"

Morgen quickly loosened her grip on the poor rodent before saying just as fast, "A shadow, with hungry eyes staring at me. It's in the woods."

"Did it have antlers?"

"Yes it did!" Morgen shouted in her panic.

Death then cautiously placed his arms around her, figuring maybe that would work. As he'd seen men doing it to women to calm them before, "Relax relax relax, we're fine it's not going to enter. Uther's probably going to keep that thing away from Vortigern's home for now. We're all safe, you're safe."

"Forgive me Death, but....oh this is going to sound so strange I'm sure, but might you...continue holding me like this? Just, perhaps a bit closer as well?" Morgen requested of him.

"Uhm....ok." Death told her before obliging.

Meanwhile the Wendigo was pissed at not being able to enter the grounds. It sent a mental attack in the form of Lilith's voice behind him, "Hello sweet boy."

Death quickly turned around in pure fear, breathing fast and heavy. Then Morgen hears something next, her Mother's voice in her ear, "Come to me. I'm just outside, come to me."

"No no that can't be, you're dead! I saw you buried! No!" Ale shouted before Death grabbed her wrists as she thrashed about.

"Ceise! Ceise!" Death shouted before hearing his brother Absalom's voice next, "I'm just outside brother, come to me." Death the growled, beginning to see what was happening. He walked outside the attic, intent on facing the creature. Finding a balcony he opened it's doors and shouted out, "REVEAL YOURSELF COWARD! ENOUGH OF YOUR MIND GAMES!"

Suddenly he saw a body walking into the grounds. A dead corpse walking around as if it hadn't been decaying for years, possibly eons.

"What the? Wendigos aren't able to do that, what the hell are you?"

Death then hears Crom's voice, "Something that used to be better, but now extremely hostile, feral." Death froze at hearing that voice, and it continued, "I used to be......nevermind that....why don't we have a chat? Shall we?"

Death growled, "Stop using that voice."

It taunted him, "Have a problem with it, Horseman?"

Death then heard the true Crom, "Well then, I guess I did leave an impression from our last few times. You do realize I can end this with ease right? It doesn't me take me long to kill such a creature. Just let me take control, I'll handle the rest."

"No."

"Don't be so stubborn about it. You need me in order to finish this." Crom insisted.

"No I don't."

"Do you wish to be haunted? Do you wish to be continuously attacked?"

"Anything is better than you right now." Death growled at him.

"Well then, if you want to have it like that, go on ahead. Be stubborn about it. But if you need help, I'll be in your mirror."

With that Crom stopped talking, leaving Death alone to deal with this new threat. Death after a moment of quiet, noticed the undead being felt off.

"Is that Abyssal energy?"

Merlin then spoke up behind him, "Not exactly. That's uh...Dream energy actually. If you use it properly you can technically put a mind into a body, and a spirit into a vessel."

Death then looked at him weird, "Wait what? Dream energy?"

"Yeah."

"From the Dream Realm?" Death inquired further.

"Yeah. This Wendigo's something else isn't he?" Merlin questioned.

"Yeah he is. How do we fight something like this? The same way you would fight any Wendigo? Or something else entirely?"

"I can always check my archives. But for now, we'll just have to keep everyone from falling for it's traps." Merlin explained.

Death only nodded, "I'll try my best."

Merlin then teleported to his archives, leaving Death to deal with the undead freaks. He does so slowly, but doesn't leave the grounds as he makes his way to them. They immediately turn hostile upon seeing Death, and begin to fight tactically. Some fight like expert swordsman, some like various spearmen, they were using anything a soldier may use aside from guns. He begins to pick each one off, even summoning ghouls to try and ease his current workload. Luckily despite their higher intelligence, these undead beasts for all their energies, weren't very effective fighters. Death's strength in this case was enough to dispell this crowd, and his magic helped to control it all the better. He then looked around for the Wendigo, finding a shadow. Only for it dispell when he gets closer. Death then realizes it was another taunt, and a mind game on top of that. Growling he went back inside to warn everyone, "The Wendigo can summon undead!"

This gets everyone's attention and they all gather around to hear what he knows now. Death explains his most recent discovery and fight whilst also telling them that Merlin was trying to find more information. He then warned everyone to disregard any voices inside their heads that either beg for help, try and order them outside, or ask them to do anything until further notice. After this speech was done, Vortigern sighed, "Great. I'll make sure to keep an eye on my girls. Morgen, you gonna be alright? Do you need anything?"

"I think I'll be fine for now, but thank you Uncle. Let's try and work on dinner to keep us busy. We can let the girls help as well, and I'll make sure little Arthur remains with me for now. Everyone can help pitch in for dinner tonight, that way we're all occupied and can see each other."

"Right. And if anymore of the undead come out, me and Strife will be out picking them off. Unless you want to go out there Fury?" Death stated.

"Eh I'm a better fighter than a cook, you know this." Fury reminded him.

"Yeah, I do." Death expressed while nodding.

Fury then follows her older brothers and watches out the nearest window with them. Meanwhile everyone else begins to work on dinner. War isn't entirely sure what to do at first, but Ale gives him guidance where she can. Happy to give help in anyway. Morgen observed her a moment and could start to see why Death viewed her as a Mother. Even if her small size was a bit comical when compared to her adoptive family. Barrcus and Mina managed most of the cooking but made sure nothing went wrong alongside Ale. Ale couldn't catch every mistake after all. Vortigern meanwhile used this time to bond with his daughters and teach them some valuable things. Especially while some may view cooking as a 'woman's job', in truth anyone can do it with enough patience and dedication. Showing the girls this by making a perfect dumpling. They then mimicked it whilst he watched them with pride. Course he did have to help them a teensie bit, but they were happy nonetheless. Morgen in the meantime kept an eye on Arthur, only helping with the occasional thing so that Arthur couldn't get hurt by accident.

Finally after a couple of hours, that felt like an entire day, the zombies suddenly ceased coming. The Wendigo finally stopped summoning them as his master was unconvinced of their effectiveness. Death could still sense it, and scanned the woods for any sign of it. Strife and Fury however could smell the food and let him know.

"Ah, I'm starting to starve. And these things ain't coming anymore. So might as well go get something to eat." Strife remarked.

"Yeah, I doubt we'll see them return. At least for now. Let's try and rest up a tad before getting back to this tedious folly hmm?" Fury added.

Death shook his head, "Are you sure you wanna do that? I can still sense it out there. There's no idea of knowing what this thing will do next."

"You can think on an empty stomach, now come on. Or do I need get Ma in order to pull you in?"

Death laughs, "Whatever.", but does finally follow whilst muttering under his breath, "Whistle-blower."

"Oh as if you're not a snitch either?" Strife asked sarcastically.

Both brothers then chuckled a bit at each other before Fury hollered, "Hey get your asses moving before War and I beat you to it!"

They both then hurried in, not about to be outdone by their younger siblings. Luckily Ale was able to keep War waiting for his three elder siblings before he started eating anything. The food was all brought from the kitchen to the dining hall, with Mina shouting to Death, Strife, and Fury that they'd gone there. With that everyone was finally seated and ready to eat up.

"So Morgen, have you found any proper suitors for yourself?" Vortigern asked her curiously.

Morgen nearly chocked on her drink but after a short coughing fit it sorted itself out, "Uncle...don't you think it's a bit early to be thinking about suitors and marriage for me? Given how things have been for me?"

"What do you mean by that?"

"Wait....no one....explained?" Morgen inquired cautiously."

"Explained what exactly?" Vortigern wondered whilst looking at Barrcus.

Barrcus held his head in his hand, "Aw crap. Maybe we shouldn't discuss this with your daughters in the room."

Mina sees him motion for her to take the girls outside the room, but not to leave them alone either. Once she leaves with Anna and Elaine, Barrcus begins the explanation. He goes into as much detail as he's comfortable with, which is ultimately not much. However it does paint a good enough picture. Vortigern's confusion slowly becomes horror, then turns to anger at the end of it all. He eyed Barrcus for a bit, almost blaming him. Barrcus meanwhile held his head a bit more shamefully, despite having been unable to do anything to prevent the horrors. As Uther made sure of that in some way or another. Morgen noticed her Uncle looking angry and in a moment of pent up rage escaping she shouted to Vortigern, "I won't have you blaming him for this! He did all he could for me and you know it! Uther prevented his every attempt to help me!"

Vortigern actually looks at her surprised, as normally she was rather docile. Even as a knight she was more of a peacekeeper than a fighter. Cautiously he questioned her, "Where was this all this time? When did you get your bark?"

Morgen jolted a slight bit and actually looked a bit hurt by that, "What are you....what are you saying? Was I always just....a meek girl to you?"

Sighing Vortigern told her, "After your Mother died, you went silent. You wouldn't talk that much, about anything. If you had told me then what Barrcus here has just told me, I may have been able to do something about it. It hurts me, that you didn't tell me. That you didn't let me know at all, at any time. It wounds me almost, it breaks my heart."

Death then retorted, "Funny how an abuser can keep their victim silent. He could've threatened Barrcus or Mina, to make sure she stayed silent. Hell could've possibly threatened your life."

Vortigern shook his head, "I doubt he would've threatened to harm me, he's still my brother."

"My older brother beat me on several occasions." Death fired back.

"Yeah, and he tried to kill me on several others. I was a toddler during his first attempt." Strife adds.

Meanwhile Mina hears Igraine in her ear, and the girls hear their Momma. Mina instantly knows what's wrong and quickly hugs the girls close to her. "Don't listen girls! That's not yrr Mother! Don't listen!"

Anna and Elaine however continued to beg Mina to let them go so that Daddy wouldn't be so sad anymore. That he wouldn't have to be lonely anymore. In a last ditch effort to keep the girls safe when they suddenly escape her grasp, Mina begins singing. The girls actually stop dead in their tracks, turning back towards Mina. Her eyes began to glow, her voice gained an echo, her body grew taller, and from under her skirt came a fox's tail. She also had a pair of spindly wings with small membranes on their ends that looked like autumn leaves. Her song captivated the girls long enough for her to coax them away. She began backing away slowly, and making sure the girls followed her with each step. However, she didn't realize where she was backing up. And Mina soon ended up in full view of everyone else, shocking them as she slowly walked backwards before hitting a pillar that finally stopped her.

Barrcus rushed over to stop her, "Mina! Look at yourself!"

Death meanwhile then noticed the Wendigo's shadow's eyes were glowing too, "Shit. Barrcus get her to stop! It's listening!"

Barrcus looked back to see the Wendigo's head cocked up and to the side for once, as if listening to Mina, "Continue singing Mina."

The Wendigo began swaying a bit, as did its shadow. The shadow the began to partially dissipate, the onslaught from the creature ending for now. Once the shadow receded, Barrcus finally told Mina, "Good work, now rest my love." With that he cast a sleep spell on her for the moment. Barrcus then attempted to carry her, doing his best. He doesn't care if it throws his back out, he's damn well doing it. Meanwhile Anna and Elaine are a bit dazed and scared. They quickly run to their Papa and hug him. Morgen takes the time to walk away, feeling truly worthless after hearing such things from her Uncle. Death noticed she'd barely touched her food and decided to bring it to her. But really it was just an excuse to go check on her, one Strife called him out on,

"Bro, what you doing?"

"Bringing her dinner, she didn't finish."

"Right?" Strife remarked sarcastically.

"It's the truth isn't it?"

"Not the whole truth man, I can see it just by the way you walk."

Death grumbled before walking away, annoyed at Strife for doing that. Upon reaching Morgen's door he gently rapped his knuckles on it, "You forgot to finish your meal."

"I find my appetite to be.....lessened suddenly." Morgen replied trying not to let any voice cracks slip.

"Well I haven't exactly finished mine either. Mind letting me in?"

Morgen sighed before opening the door slightly, "Why are you here? And don't say it's to make sure I finish dinner."

Death in turn sighed as well, "I think you need someone to talk to, and that's usually better done with food in your system."

Morgen let a silent chuckle out before finally letting him in, "At least you understand, and thank you for defending me like that. Lesser men wouldn't have in that moment I dare say."

"Your Uncle is worried, but unfortunately doesn't know what to say. Or rather the right things to say."

"You've got that right. Such nerve honestly. He just doesn't get it, how easy it was for Uther to do what he did. How much it destroyed me bit by bit each time. How many times I 'complied' and stayed quiet because fear of someone I loved dying stayed my tongue. To be told that....I should've said something if I wanted help from him sooner? It makes me feel so....so...." Morgen ranted before suddenly kicking a chest in her frustration.

"Kicking furniture isn't going to help anything, but however trying to explain your side of things might help him understand. Barrcus didn't exactly paint the best picture either so...", Death expressed to her.

"Oh don't even get me STARTED, with what he was doing in regards to Barrcus. His eyes said it all, he blames Barrcus for what happened even though it WASN'T HIS FAULT AT ALL!" Morgen shouted as the aura of serenity around her suddenly began to drop.

Death quickly informed her, "You're may want to try calming down. You may cause a bit of a.....your aura's dropping. It's becoming a bit more chaotic."

"I AM CALM." Morgen insisted with gritted teeth as she began wincing. Clearly she was holding something back, and having trouble doing it.

"What else happened, for all those years? What else did he do?" Death asked hoping it might calm her down and give her extra catharsis.

Morgen began explaining more of what happened to her. From the occasional hidden slaps behind the scenes, to even him actively preventing her from having a love life. The botched attempts at trying to get her breastfeed her own baby brother. And then some. All of it she laid bare to Death in her anger and frustration. However as time went on her anger subsided and instead she fell into a chair sobbing towards the end. Overwhelmed by her emotions and feelings of worthlessness. Death then sat beside Morgen and tenderly began to stroke her back,

"Wish I had the proper words to say right now. This is definitely...rivaling Lilith on so many levels."

"I can....think of something better, if you don't mind...." Morgen said between sobs.

"You do realize that you will have to Vortigern right? About what Uther was doing. It'll break his heart but, he does need to hear it. It will help him, as well as helping you. You felt better after telling Barrcus and Mina, after telling me, right?"

"Of course....." Morgen replied softly.

"Then you're going to have to tell him. Whether it's tonight or some other time."

Morgen sighed before finally wiping at her eyes, "You know....you truly have good wisdom. Behind all that brooding sarcasm that is, hmhm...."

Death cocks his head, "Seriously?"

Morgen then snickers a bit at that, and surprises Death with a hug, "Thank you, for all you've been doing for me. You're truly a good man, and don't you forget it either."

Death sighed, "If Ale has anything to do with it, I won't."

The two then began eating together and chatting for the most part. Doing all they could to better each other's moods. Morgen at one point even inquired if Death had any particular animals he wasn't fond of for one reason or another.

"Small dog breeds for one. Sure they're....'cute' and all, but they're so annoying. And tropical birds, their colors often make me dizzy and they're incredibly LOUD. And Irukandji, tiny little insignificant creatures that become really annoying when they touch you. Doesn't help that they're see through."

"So what is an Irukandji exactly? Aside from how you've creatively described it." Morgen questioned him.

"It's the smallest of species of jellyfish, and it's a type of box jellyfish. They also have.....uhm ahem sorry....." Death expresses a bit embarrassed at geeking out.

Morgen snickered, "I don't mind you know. It just goes to show how well traveled you are. I'm sure you probably have many locations you enjoy."

"There are few worlds that aren't annoying, to say the least." Death stated simply whilst reclining in his seat.

"What would you say your favorites were?" Morgen asks curiously.

Death gave her a look, "That's a bit of a difficult question isn't it?"

"Well just tell me of a few that you liked. I enjoy learning about other places, if only I could actually visit them." Morgen tells him.

"The realm of the Makers is a start. Beautiful, it's lush, and the buildings all look like works of art. And the Makers are themselves not that bad of company."

"I've heard a few stories, but they're usually brief at best. What stories do you have of their realm?" Morgen pressed.

Death from there explains his occasional visits there. Whether it was a council mission, for armor, or for plain fun. He even tells her of how it's one the better realms for riding a horse for the hell of it, "The breeze is pleasant, the fields wipe and open, has plenty of good game."

"Sounds marvelous, though I imagine your views of Heaven are a bit, mixed at best." Morgen remarks.

"Everybody there is a judgemental, hypocritical asshole. There's a reason why Angels get the nickname 'Pigeon'. They talk a lot of crap, they shit on everything and everyone, and they act all high and mighty about everything. They've even called me a 'Heathen' on multiple occasions." Death expresses with rising annoyance.

[porkchop-ao3]

A Thrill I’ve Never Known (Chapter 9)

We Loved Once And True

Tagging along with Arty so he can meet Mary, I feel like this one’s pretty short.

(All chapters tagged with #ATINK and also posted on Ao3, username PorkChop)

-

I woke up very early, everyone else was still fast asleep, probably suffering from the night of heavy drinking that I'd slept through. I gingerly sat up and scooted out from my spot between Mary-Beth and Karen, standing up and stretching. I figured I'd brew the coffee since I had no idea when Pearson would be able to rise. I set to work, moving on autopilot with my freshly woken mind blank and calm. As I waited for the coffee to be ready I started feeling more alert, remembering the mood I'd been in when I went to bed.

Of course, things always seemed a little better after a night's sleep, but I still felt nauseated at the memory of seeing Abigail's face. She didn't seem angry, but her face had been worryingly indifferent, like she was hiding her true feelings. I couldn't escape the worry that she hated me.

I poured myself a cup of coffee and sat down at the table near Pearson's station. I'd known right from the start that I couldn't stay long at the camp. I'd been alone for far too long and integrating into large group like this one wasn't a good idea; all it'd do is leave me dependant and vulnerable, even more vulnerable than when I was alone. I just had to figure out a way to get myself sorted, build up my inventory again. I needed weapons, I needed a tent and I needed my horse. As soon as I had those things, I'd bid these fine people farewell and move on from the whole thing, taking a lesson from it.

“'Morning. You're up early,” I was startled by the voice coming up behind me. “Relax, you're real jumpy.”

Arthur's hair was a little messy and he was just wearing his pants over the top of his union suit. He was missing his shirt but his gun belt was hanging from his hips already, and that was something that caught my attention.

“I’m sorry, it's just so quiet out here. I uh, I turned in early,” I said, turning back around and staring at my coffee. I heard him get a cupful for himself and tensed up when he sat down in the seat opposite me.

“Not a lover of parties?” He asked. I shrugged my shoulders and nonchalantly patted the plaits still pinned to my head; I'd slept with my hair still up and it probably looked a state.

“I didn't mind it. I was just tired,” I told him. Tired, and sick of thinking.

“I'm sorry if we kept you up,” he said, and I saw him place a little box of biscuits on the table, opening them up. He took one, then pushed them towards me. With a grateful nod, I took one for myself.

“No, you didn't. It was actually pretty easy to fall asleep, I guess because here I don't have to worry about waking up to some undesirable standing over me; whether that be human or animal,” I admitted, braving a peek at him. His hair looked neater, and I thought he must've smoothed it out when I wasn't looking.

Suddenly I felt even more self-conscious about my own appearance. I bit into my biscuit and tried to swallow those thoughts along with it.

“That's right. You'll be safe here, we all look out for each other,” he smiled at me and I couldn't help but notice how attractive he looked, still a little sleepy, his voice sounding deeper than usual, a bit of his firm chest exposed between the buttons of his union suit. I sighed quietly and looked away.

“How did you sleep?” I asked, stroking my finger up and down the side of my cup. The metal was dented and I traced the dip absentmindedly.

“Not well, 's why I'm up. I was planning on going to see Mary, and I've been working myself up over it. It's been a long time…�� he breathed, eyes settling on my finger. I stopped moving it.

“I wish I had something better to say than; you'll be fine. You will be, but I know how empty those words can seem,” I said softly and he nodded in appreciation.

“Thank you," he said. "Have you thought about if you're coming with me?”

I bit my bottom lip, staring at his hands; his first and middle finger were quickly drumming against the side of his cup one after another, over and over.

“I'll come, if you'd like me to. If it'd bring you a little comfort,” I looked to his eyes to see him exhale in relief.

“Like I said, having someone with me's likely to stop me from going off, gallivanting…” he trailed off, frowning to himself. “I need to keep my feet on the ground, right now. For Dutch and everyone else.”

“Well then I'd better join you,” I nodded, finishing my biscuit.

“Thank you,” he said sincerely, looking me in the eye. His hand reached across the table a bit, stopping short of my arm when I looked away far too quickly and unnaturally; I could feel heat rising to my face.

Why did he have to be so dang attractive, and why couldn't I just act normal?

-

I changed into my new pants, tucking my blouse into them and fastening my belt tight to hug them to my waist. I also stole a look at myself in Molly's hand mirror and to my relief, my hair didn't actually look too bad after sleeping on it. It'd been done tight and proper, and so it'd kept its shape with just a few fly-aways that I managed to smooth down with my hand and a splash of water.

I met with Arthur again near his horse, which was saddled and ready to go. He mounted it, speaking softly to it and patting its neck. Seeing someone being affectionate with their horse always brought a smile to my face, and always made me miss Rayna.

“You ready? You can ride up here with me,” he patted the spot behind him and I gulped as I stepped forwards. With no excuse to ride sidesaddle, I climbed up and sat forward behind him, taking his hand for support. His hand was hot and his palm felt calloused, it was strong and held mine tightly, he wasn't shy about it.

I felt something real strong pumping through my veins as I settled into place behind him, my thighs up against his hips, my chest against his back. I worried he could feel my heart beating with our proximity, and with my shaky hands I held onto his waist, trying my damnedest to ignore the rush that was making me feel like I'd just been hooked up to a lightning rod. Arthur seemed as cool as ever, tugging on the reins to turn his horse as he started trotting out of camp.

We were gone before anyone else had woken up, and for that I was grateful. Nobody could see my face, which was surely deep red. I realised I blushed so much around Arthur, he must've noticed by then, I could only hope he just thought it was my regular complexion. Though it might as well be, with how often it happened…

“We're heading towards Valentine. She said she was stopping in a house over there,” he explained as we rode. As we picked up the pace, I had to hold on tighter to him. “I'll just go in and speak with her and if you'd just wait on the horse for me, I'd appreciate it. Jet's a good boy, he'll look after you,” he added, patting his horse again.

“Alright, I hope everything goes well with you two,” I told him. I was sincere but it sounded so empty and dull the way I said it. He thanked me anyway.

“Afterwards I'll buy us breakfast as a thank you.”

“You don't have to do that. All I'm doing is sitting on your horse,” I laughed.

“I'm starving and you must be too, we're getting breakfast,” he told me with finality that I didn't argue with. “And I appreciate you doing this, it might seem like a small thing to you, but,” he didn't finish his sentence and I felt his chest expand with a large breath.

We came up to a house and Arthur slowed down, looking around.

“I think this is the place,” he mumbled, mainly to himself. He stopped the horse by the fence that surrounded the property and got down, having to lean back into me so he could swing his leg over. He felt so solid against me, like such a man, and I found myself picturing what he'd look like under that union suit I saw him in earlier.

Gosh. I needed to calm down and start showing the man some respect.

“I don't plan on being long, there's a rifle on my horse if you see me doing something stupid,” he looked sheepish and adjusted his hat on his head.

I chuckled. “Like what?”

“Like getting too close,” he muttered, turning and half jogging up to the house.

I watched him as he knocked on the door, and my hand flinched for the rifle he'd mentioned when I saw him take a step back, raising his hands. There was a woman pointing a gun at him.

That's Mary?!

I didn't know what I should do, but luckily it seemed like Arthur had things under control, and a moment later the woman went back inside. It was a few seconds before someone else came out.

Oh, that's Mary.

I squinted as I tried to get a good look at her, completely forgetting my manners in favour of curiosity. My mouth went dry when I noticed just how beautiful she was; like unreal, perfect beauty. No wonder Arthur was so nervous to see her again, and I wasn't surprised that someone like her would've gone for someone like him. They certainly made an attractive couple.

I jumped when Mary's eyes met mine, and I sat back a little, turning my head away so it didn't look like I was seconds away from getting the binoculars out. She said something and Arthur looked over his shoulder at me. I felt a little sick, honestly, not knowing what they were saying. Was he telling her the truth? That I was just some poor girl tagging along with the gang after her life was stolen from under her? Or was he misleading her, choosing his words carefully so she could draw her own conclusions? He did say that it might make things easier if she thought he'd moved on. I honestly didn't know which I'd prefer, though I did wonder if she'd believe that Arthur and I were anything more than acquaintances. I'd be one heck of a downgrade, that's for sure.

She really was beautiful, and I was looking at her from a distance. I shuddered to think how she looked up close, I'd probably never look in a mirror again. I looked away from them, giving them their privacy, instead opting to play with Jet's mane. I ran my fingers through it, gently undoing any tangles, then separated out three strands. I knew very little about braiding, just that there were three strands involved, but every time I'd watched my mother do it I'd quickly lost track of what she did with them.

I tried twisting the three strands together in various ways; weaving one strand between the other two, wrapping the outside strands around the middle strand one by one, weaving the outside strands under the middle strand one by one- oh. Wait, that didn't look too bad! I kept at it, repeating the process slowly but surely down to the end of Jet's mane. By the time I was finished I had an uneven, wiggly looking, messy braid. But it was the first braid I'd ever managed! I smiled to myself, and thought about telling Mary-Beth when we got back. I could show her and ask if I'd done it correctly.

The braid had killed some time and when I looked back up at Arthur, he was standing a little distance away from Mary on the porch. His face looked conflicted and Mary was wringing her hands together. Eventually Arthur shook his head, said a few parting words, before stepping down from the porch and heading back towards me. I scooted backwards, giving him enough room to mount up in front of me. Arthur wordlessly got on, the only sound he made being his clicking at the horse to get it moving. I looked back at Mary as we rode away; she was standing with her arms crossed, watching us leave.

[atopearth]

Final Fantasy X-2 HD Remaster Part 1 - Chapter 1 & 2 on YRP’s Adventures

I still think that for all the dress spheres, only the main ones (including the songstress) had effort put into it because I remember the rest being pretty ugly lmao. . Anyway! Always happy to see Rikku. Not too fond of her costume since she’s barely wearing anything LOL, but I guess it suits her despite that. Leblanc the thief dancing in the form of Yuna is still weird lol, I know she took her garment grid but does that make her take on her face etc too?? Lol, I never understood that. I always find it so funny to go touch the crouched Yuna wearing the moogle costume to heal your HP/MP hahaha. I remember everything about the introduction so not much to say besides, I wonder when Yuna learnt to use a gun? Still think Yuna’s Gunner costume is like female Tidus, but I guess since the focus of FFX-2 is her seeing a sphere of Shuyin thinking it’s Tidus so she goes around looking for similar spheres to see if she can somehow find him again, it’s a very fitting costume haha. Brother learning their language to communicate better with Yuna is so cute. Anyway, let’s see if I enjoy FFX-2! I don’t remember much about it but I remember thinking it was okay…hahaha.

I still remember the running after and beating Leblanc to the top of the Mt Gagazet ruin in a limited amount of time! I remember thinking it was so annoying because I was so lost the first time I did it, and the timer being annoying didn’t help hahaha. Think I missed one item but whatever, I got there with like plenty of time to spare XD The most memorable optional visit is definitely the Luca one, I think it’s so funny to see Yuna’s perspective of the beginning, since she had to hide in a moogle costume whilst Rikku and Paine dealt with Leblanc the thief haha. Yuna’s so expressive in her moogle costume that it was pretty funny. Dona and Barthello in Luca are as meh as usual, never been fond of Dona haha. Running through Mi'ihen highroad was dangg tiring though, so many battles loll, the encounter rate is high. Oh well, I guess I learn my skills that way.

I remember visiting the Youth League headquarters and talking to Maechen, he gives a nice little background on what happened in these two years and how the Youth League came to be so it’s worth a listen even if it’s a bit long. Considering that Clasko enjoyed taking care of chocobos, I’m not sure why he’s playing tour guide here, at least he follows us along on the airship after? LOL when he asks if he can come along and the no option is “sorry loser”, so mean hahahaha. I also remember the mission at the Moonflow where you have to protect the hypello from bandits! I remember failing in the past hahahaah, I guess I’m better now since I did it on the first try?

Gippal was and will always be my favourite new guy in FFX-2, Nooj and Baralai have always been pretty meh to me. Gippal is funny, cool and pretty cute. I guess alike others, I would ship him with Rikku hahaha. As the leader of the machine faction, he’s doing a lot of good for Spira as well since he’s helping to improve their lives, such as fixing the lightning rods in the Thunder Plains so that we’ll never need to dodge lightning ever again hahaha! I still remember Macalania Woods very well because I really love how ethereal it all looks and since Tidus and Yuna had their scene here, it’s hard to not think it’s a beautiful place. So really, thinking about how the Fayth not being here anymore is causing the woods to slowly die is just so saddening. It only adds to the sadness to see the once proud Guado be left scattered everywhere, hiding in Macalania and other places after not being able to fend off the Ronsos that came for revenge. Considering how much the Guado did in support for Seymour, it’s difficult to not hate them, nevertheless it’s still sad though.

The Calm Lands seem even more vast now, so many mini games but yeah omg, that publicity campaign for one of the companies there, I remember that! I remember thinking it was so annoying lol. Had to track my footsteps and go back to all the places I went to, just to talk to all these people to get those publicity points zzzz. Argent it is btw! Seeing Kimahri as elder is really nice, too bad his job is difficult so it’s hard to get the approval of everyone there, but he’s trying so I’m happy. Wakka and Lulu expecting a baby is all I remember about Besaid haha. It was bad of Yuna to leave without telling anyone but I think it was the right choice, it was about time Yuna got the freedom she could never have and explore the world she saved. I remember silly Wakka hoping to find a sphere of his parents so that he could see how he should act as a father, but really, he just needs to act how he thinks he should and learn from there, no one knows how to be a parent from the start.

Lol, Yuna and them were so happy to steal that awesome sphere from both New Yevon and the Youth League and then felt bad so decided to return it to one of them? Okay lol. I’d definitely choose to give it back to the Youth League, so thankfully you have to choose them to get the 100% completion. I mean, New Yevon just continues to hide things all the time, like all these spheres etc, how do they want people to trust them? Well, Beclem (the guy that lets you play gunners gauntlet) is such an ass, no respect for the person that brought about the Eternal Calm, actually, he’s got no basic respect for even her as a person, zzzz. Otherwise, gunners gauntlet is a pretty fun game, I’m not bothered to get the points but it’s cool to shoot fiends with different bullets haha. Shelinda being a reporter now is very fascinating… Considering that she’s left the temples because she didn’t want to be ordered around like a slave anymore, why does she still wear her temple garments? Where’s her makeover lol. Seeing Calli (the girl that was excited for the Calm in FFX on the Mi'ihen highroad) was nice, just because it really shows that time has passed and people had the room to grow up doing what they want. Not sure if chocobo rights are best argued by saying we should get to ride them throughout the highroad since I feel like they should roam free but okay lol. At least the chocobo catching game was a bit fun, seeing it surrender was so cute but saddening lol.

If Yuna really joined the Youth League and got a Yunie Squad, that would be so funny loll. But really, as a high summoner and the person who brought the Calm, I’d agree that she should stay as neutral as possible but side more with the Youth League just because they really do have Spira’s best interests at heart. Not sure what Tobli’s concert is for but if I get the profits, sure thing! Easy way of earning 12,500 gil, yay! The data seller at Guadosalam is cool too! Got 70,000 gil for selling the data to the right person! Could have kept restarting to hopefully get the 100,000 gil but I was too lazy hahaha. As for the Thunder Plains mini games with calibrating the towers though? I hated that, I remember the pain so well lmao. I could only do 6 towers and gave up lolol. Could probably do 7 but if I can’t do all 10 to get the ribbon, why bother? Hahaha, sorry my reaction speed and hand eye coordination just isn’t that great lol. I also want to preserve my sanity. We even got Tobli the musicians at Macalania! Really, Tobli, what are you even doing lmao. Still sad to see them talk about how Macalania Woods is nearing its end since the Fayth are gone… Seriously though, everyone needs help lol, even Clasko deciding to open up a chocobo branch needs YRP to clean out the monster arena and catch chocobos for him lmao. I really wonder what Clasko really did as a soldier if he can’t even clean up some fiends though…🤔 Oh well, whatever, as long as he’s happy lol.

Alike Yuna, seeing Zanarkand as a tourist spot never sat well with me, so if pairing up monkeys can make them multiply and cause a monkey problem that will prevent people from coming, I guess it’s good? Lol, nah, I don’t like the idea of Zanarkand filled with monkeys either lmao, can’t they just label it as a historical site to be preserved? Sigh. Lmao at the way Yuna holds the monkey when you’re pairing them up though, it’s like the Lion King🤣🤣 Seeing that YRP quite blatantly stole the Leblanc syndicate uniforms (and spheres!) at every encounter, you’d think Ormi and Logos would strengthen their security on the premises but nope, YRP easily infiltrates! Also, kinda disappointed in Yuna dipping in the hot spring on Ronso sacred grounds, Kimahri trusted her to understand that so I didn’t think she’d be like the Leblanc goons and do such a thing as well, so yeah… Anyway, Leblanc is so smitten with Nooj, I wonder if he likes her at all? Are they together? That massage game was weird though lolll, I swear FFX-2 has the weirdest mini games to complete. How would I know which part Leblanc wants me to massage?!? Yes, I kept cracking her bones LOL. Anyway, just wanted to say that I’m glad I don’t write walkthroughs because I’ve been steamrolling through these boss battles so I don’t even know what they really do lmao. Paine as a Festivalist, Rikku as a Psychic and Yuna as a Songstress is the team I’ve been levelling and it easily deals with everything besides any instant kill moves lol.

Hmmm so there’s some sort of machina at the bottom of Bevelle called Vegnagun that could destroy all of Spira… Wouldn’t it suck if Yuna brought the Eternal Calm but then they all get killed by this machine? Lol. At least Nooj is aware and hopes to disassemble it before anything happens, guess Gippal might give him a hand? Not sure what Baralai’s objectives are right now though~ I see, so Baralai thinks that Vegnagun is too dangerous and shouldn’t be touched, so he’s stopping everyone from approaching, which is fair enough, what if it activates because you come close or whatever, very risky. Otherwise, underground Bevelle was pretty annoying with all the jumping, operating machines in different ways to get chests, kinda confusing but I guess it’s probably worth it? Lol, always good to get a ribbon! Anyway, fighting Dark Bahamut was kinda saddening, not the way we wanted Yuna to see aeons again, since it wanted to kill them etc. I wonder what happened to Vegnagun and Nooj and Baralai? Where did they all go?

[unexpectedreylo]

What’s With Star Wars Fandom Anyway?

Last week I posted this piece on the condescending attitudes of BNFs, bloggers, and professional fanboys toward Reylos and fans of romance in general.  

This got me thinking on the long-time sense of discomfort I have had with other Star Wars fans for many, many years.  Long before the prequels or Reylo or bizarre petitions against movies.  Don’t get me wrong.  I’ve also met a lot of terrific people, some of which have been friends for decades.  But the level of discourse, especially on social media, has reached a nadir.  It’s honestly the worst I’ve ever seen.

Some of it reflects where society is as a whole.  Social media was meant to connect people but it’s created tribes and turned friends and families into mortal enemies.  Total strangers feel comfortable being cruel to other strangers.  People seek validation and dopamine hits from “likes.”  Even I’m guilty of this!  

Some of it reflects what’s terrible about nerd/geek culture.  On the one hand, my entry into the world of fan fiction and zines in the ‘90s was a welcome change from the are-you-cool-enough world of indie/alternative that I was in beforehand.  On the other hand there was an element of “yes but are you as much of a fan as I am” that is too prevalent today.  As anyone who has read “Misery” knows, fan passion can easily be warped into something destructive, especially when things don’t go the way the fan wants.  I used to call fellow fans like that Annie Wilkeses and joke about hoping George Lucas’s car never crashes in front of their houses. (I guess I should say that now about Rian Johnson, Kathleen Kennedy, and J.J. Abrams.)  Nerds generally make perfect the enemy of very good, pretty good, or just good.  If it’s not a face melting experience it’s the worst thing ever.

Some of it though is because of what Star Wars has been specifically.  Star Wars has always had tremendous mainstream success, which means it’s always been open to all kinds of people, on a global level. Yet there’s always been a subset of moviegoers, people like you or me, who are very passionate about it.  This gives Star Wars an easy entry to a particular cult within a larger more casual fan base.  This cult has all of the problems of other cultish things along with a large variety of people with a large variety of views, beliefs, lifestyles, etc. who are involved in it.  

The other thing I’ve come to realize is that many Star Wars fans look to the saga as comfort food they want served their way, not as art.  The only logical conclusion I can come to after 41 years of loving Star Wars and 26 years of observing fandom is that what many fans want is safe, easy, predictable, and familiar, not what’s challenging.  There’s a reason why the second chapter in every trilogy so far ends up with the lowest box office of the three.  It’s always the chapter that says, “You think you know Star Wars?  You think you know what’s going to happen next?  Guess what?  You don’t.”  Nothing symbolized this better than the camera panning upward instead of down to an inverted Naboo royal starship at the beginning of AOTC, a ship that then descends into fog on Coruscant.  Even the hallowed TESB left people perplexed with its unexpected twists and its cliffhanger ending.  Today it’s regarded differently precisely because it took chances, yet so did AOTC and TLJ.  I’ll get to why TESB today doesn’t get the same backlash dumped on the latter two films in a minute.

I believe there is a reason why TFA is the way it is and why it seemed that Lucas’s ideas for the ST didn’t seem to manifest much until TLJ.  Abrams and company KNEW there was a backlash against TPM was because it didn’t feel familiar enough to Gen-X fans.  No, it’s not because of kid Anakin or even Jar Jar.  They were excuses, lightning rods for reasons people can’t or don’t want to articulate.  TFA had a huge advantage in that it had the OT3 back while TPM had an entirely new cast, Yoda and droids aside.  It carefully made sure its setting looked enough like the OT to be comforting to those fans of the old school.  Some of the new characters were easy to place in missing slots:  Rey was like young Luke, Kylo Ren was like Darth Vader, Snoke was like the Emperor, Man Kanata like Yoda, etc..  A lot of it was lighthearted and funny.  And it worked.  Not everyone was thrilled with it.  I had criticisms of  the film at the time.  Eventually a slow burn backlash developed, mostly accusing TFA of being unoriginal and making Rey a Mary Sue, but it wasn’t anything on the scale of hysterics that I saw with the prequels and with TLJ.

Why do many Star Wars fans demand “comfort food?”  It has to do with the first film and the way it presents a galaxy in black and white, where good and evil are identifiable and its sense of deep familiarity in spite of its setting due to its expert use of archetypes and tropes.  I’m not criticizing this at all.  It is at the heart of ANH’s brilliance and charm.  It was released at time when America really needed to believe in itself again after the chaotic ‘60s and early ‘70s.  To a generation of latch key kids and broken homes, it also provided comfort, clarity, certainty, and adults to look up to.  Don’t believe me?  Why the freakout then over Luke’s portrayal in TLJ?  A lot of people my age, myself included, put them up on a pedestal.  Naturally a film that provides those things will attract people who seek them out.  The Star Wars saga has moved away from those stark differences in the other films but there’s still a clear morality.  

As I had previously noted, TESB initially made some people scratch their heads.  But it became the cool kid at the table years later.  Why is that?  Sure some of it was Gen-Xers who had become accustomed to darker entertainment, antiheroes, irony, and cynicism having retro respect for a blockbuster movie that didn't have a happy ending.  But I think it’s also because of familiarity.  When you watch a movie 75 times it’s not quite so shocking anymore.  Instead it becomes that album where you know every song by heart, even every bridge and chord change.  It’s part of your DNA.  I think this may be a reason, though not the sole reason, why it seems the prequels are gaining more respect.  After 13-19 years, they’ve become familiar too.  And to many fans, familiar is better than scary and unknown, which is what watching any new Star Wars movie for the first time is like.  

This is why TLJ really threw them for a loop.  They thought TFA made it clear what was going to happen next:  Kylo was going to be even badder, Rey was going to train and find out she’s either a Skywalker or a Kenobi so that justifies her existence, Snoke was going to be revealed as someone really important, Rey was going to hook up with Finn or maybe we’ll get something even more “progressive” with a gay romance, and Luke was going to return as his lovable old self.  And none of that happened.  Instead of just saying, “Okay, I guess I was off then,” they revolt online as though Lucasfilm is going to listen to a social media mob.  They also attack other fans who aren’t on the hate bandwagon along with them.

The problem is there’s little anyone can do about it.  The good news is they make up a small portion of the Star Wars moviegoing public and Lucasfilm knows as much as they complain, they will still show up for their fix.

[crazygirlsworldofbooks]

Review: The Wife

“To know something, he argued, was not the same as to be certain beyond all doubt. And to believe something was definitely not the same as to know it.” 

Book: The Wife

Author: Alafair Burke

My Rating: ✯✯✯✯ (4 Stars)

Read: November 7, 2021

Synopsis: 

SOON TO BE A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE His Scandal Her Secret From New York Times bestselling author Alafair Burke, a stunning domestic thriller in the vein of Behind Closed Doors and The Woman in Cabin 10—in which a woman must make the impossible choice between defending her husband and saving herself. When Angela met Jason Powell while catering a dinner party in East Hampton, she assumed their romance would be a short-lived fling, like so many relationships between locals and summer visitors. To her surprise, Jason, a brilliant economics professor at NYU, had other plans, and they married the following summer. For Angela, the marriage turned out to be a chance to reboot her life. She and her son were finally able to move out of her mother’s home to Manhattan, where no one knew about her tragic past. Six years later, thanks to a bestselling book and a growing media career, Jason has become a cultural lightning rod, placing Angela near the spotlight she worked so carefully to avoid. When a college intern makes an accusation against Jason, and another woman, Kerry Lynch, comes forward with an even more troubling allegation, their perfect life begins to unravel. Jason insists he is innocent, and Angela believes him. But when Kerry disappears, Angela is forced to take a closer look—at both the man she married and the women she chose not to believe. This much-anticipated follow-up to Burke’s Edgar-nominated The Ex asks how far a wife will go to protect the man she loves: Will she stand by his side, even if he drags her down with him?

My Review:

I have been meaning to read an Alafair Burke novel for quite some time, since I have seen my favorite YouTuber (Audrey from Chapters and Converse) talk about her, and I am so glad that I finally did! I chose this book at random through my books-that-I-already-own-on-my-shelf wheel and am so glad that I did! It didn’t completely blow me away but it was a very strong and solid court procedural type of thriller, where we try to figure out the truth amidst “he-said, she-said”. I haven’t read that many court type of novels and they’re definitely not my favorite but I really enjoyed this book and was pretty invested in the story. 

To begin with, The Wife is about this woman, Angela, who’s famous husband gets accused of sexual assault by a young intern. When he gets accused of something even more sinister, Angela has to chose whether to stand behind her man or put herself and her son first and keep her own secrets safe. I haven’t read that many law procedural novels and wasn’t sure how I was going to feel going into this but I definitely liked it. I would say that this particular trope in thrillers and mysteries isn’t my absolute favorite but I still had a fun time reading it. I thought the pacing could’ve been a little faster to add a little more shock value to the story but it wasn’t bad by any means. I prefer my novels to have a lot more twists and turns than this one had but I thought it was very well written and even though I was able to guess the ending halfway through the book, there were minor twists that I didn’t guess or see coming whatsoever. In all, it wasn’t bad.

Further on, the characterization was okay. It wasn’t particularly memorable and the characters didn’t resonate with me all that much but it was fun to be shocked by the actions of this woman who made absolutely no sense to me and whom is still a mystery because of the actions that she took and the way that she chose to act in particular situations. I thought that we could have gone more in depth into her psyche, especially given her tragic background but even so, I enjoyed getting to know this complicated woman and peeling the layers, one at a time. Nothing extraordinary but enjoyable nonetheless. 

Finally, the writing style is what resonated with me the most in this novel. It propelled me forward and made me keep reading, even when I wasn’t the most intrigued as to what was happening in the book. As I have stated multiple times, I love writing that is precise and to the point, without being choppy, and that is what I found to be the case in this book. I could picture things as they were happening and the author didn’t go into too much description, for which I am grateful because that can to be a little too much in my opinion.

In conclusion, even though this book isn’t one of my favorite court procedural mysteries of all time, it’s not a bad one, especially for beginners to the genre, who are still trying to see if that whole trope is for them or not. Also, it’s a relatively quick read so I would give it a try if you’re curious and the synopsis catches your interest.

[some-guy-writes]

FTB Ch 1.

50 Tungsten Bullets Chapter 1: Fifty

Summary | Next

“Who did you get this from?” Jeebs asked.

Spiv leaned on the pawner’s counter. “Who?” he smirked. ”Ain’t no ‘who.’ Found it ourselves, old man. Though, I might be willing to part with the where for something extra.” 

“I ain’t that old.”

“Twenty years my senior at least,” Spiv snickered. “Makes you old in my book.”

Truth be told, Spiv wasn’t sure as to the exact age of Mr. Jeebs. Looked just as wrinkled and grumpy as he did the day Spiv tried to steal the shoes off his feet as a kid. Spiv got caught and beat till he was seeing stars. But by the fourth attempt, Jeebs sat him down with some lukewarm soup and taught him how to make an honest living. Well, a more honest living.

Jeebs stared at the immaculate metal cylinder with a solemn glare. He didn’t even bother responding with one of his famous ten K curses. The device was silver in color, with a gold tint and despite the dim sunlight peeking through the cracks in Jeeb’s shack, it lit up the room as if being struck by mid day. Fifty thousand kollars, easy. Spiv hadn’t the foggiest what the thing he found was, but old world tech like that would fetch a pretty penny from collectors. He brought it to Jeebs because, fuck, even he got a little sentimental at times. Spiv figured it’d only be right for Jeebs to make the first offer. 

“Put it back,” Jeebs spoke without looking up. 

“Sun bake your brain while I’ve been gone?” Spiv pushed off the ancient dead wood table and paced in a circle. “Shit, Jeebs. My crew almost died a dozen times over to get that thing to town and now you’re saying put it back? This could really change things for us if we find the right buyer.” 

“Ain’t gonna be no buyers, put it back,” Jeebs growled. 

“Old man, I got nothing but respect for you. You’ve done a lot for us over the years, but now you’re talkin’ about taking money out of our pocket.” 

Spiv reached for the device. Jeebs slammed his hand down on its casing with such force that it knocked a crystal on the shelf behind him to the floor, shattering in a myriad of iridescent colors. 

“Take it past Yonder’s Mountain, to the bunker where you found it, and put it back.”

“How’d you-”

Jeebs eyes burned beneath droopy lids and a thick brow. “Because I’m the one who put it there.”

“You couldn’t have,” Spiv stammered. “The hull was sealed for centuries. We checked the logs.”

“User authenticated,” a synthesized voice spoke from the device. There was a hiss as white fog seeped out. A panel popped open to reveal a hollow interior. 

Spiv’s eyes bulged like a rock rabbit that’s been left dead two days on a dirt road. “Shit… You’re an old worlder. One the immortals.” 

“Ain’t all that. Can still die, same as any of you. Just don’t get any older is all.”

Spiv’s gaze drifted back to the capsule. Jeebs turned it around so he could see. Inside was a massive revolver and a single shell with a name on it. Gun like that put everything in the crew’s arsenal to shame. Probably put everything in the whole town of Bakersville to shame.

“It’s my gun,” Jeebs said. “Hideo model 12 hybrid, fifty cal. Made to fire tungsten rounds with ionized neon core. Could punch a hole the size of my fist in a tank from a quarter mile off. And that casing is from when I shot the man who killed my wife.”

“You could buy all of Bakersville with that thing. Fuckn’ shit.”

Jeebs looked away. “And all it cost me was two tickets to Fluorescent.”

“Bull crap,” Spiv laughed. “Old man Jeebs living it up with the rich folks on Fluorescent? I can’t even picture it.”

“It’s the truth. Would have been. If, well...”

“Sorry about your wife.”

“No need to trouble yourself,” Jeebs said, rubbing his nose. “Happened before your great great grandaddy could piss himself.”

“Why leave the gun in the ground?”

“Killed two dozen men with that thing. Didn’t want to be reminded of the kind of man it made me. Stuck it in a casimir vacuum chamber and left it at my wife’s grave.”

A minute of silence passed between them. Jeebs refused to look at the capsule. Spiv couldn’t look away. 

“What does it take? To become immortal, that is,” Spiv asked. 

Jeebs let out a sigh. “Wouldn't tell a soul even if I knew. Wars were fought over that question. Wouldn’t want to be the cause of the next.” 

“Does that mean you’re the last one left? Thought all the immortals were rounded up and killed off in the last conflict.”

“No, not all. They just keep a low profile, like me. Can’t be having any more joining the club neither. Just pray that you never meet one. Seen what happens when people live long enough to lose their humanity.”

Spiv took a deep breath, resting his hands behind his head. “Could just as easily turn you in and buy a ticket to Fluorescent myself.” 

“Do what you will,” Jeebs spoke. “You’re a good kid. Wouldn’t want my head to pay for nobody else’s trip to Flour. But I won’t be goin’ easy. Last thing my wife said to me before she died was to live a long and beautiful life. And I don’t intend to let her know how cruel that was to say.”

Spiv cracked a smile. “Wouldn’t dream of throwing my father off a cliff to save my own skin. Might never met him, but you’re sure as hell the closest thing I’ve got.”

Jeebs wiped his eyes. “Don’t say shit like that. Might even make this ol’ life worth living.”

“But what about the gun? Even if I put it back, someone else is just gonna come along and find it.”

“I know.” Jeebs said. “Just get it out of my sight. It’s yours. Spent too much time remembering things I’d hoped to forget.”

“Ey, Spiv,” a wary voice spoke from behind. 

“Well if it ain’t lil’ Kit,” Jeebs chuckled. “Still think you’re better off runin’ with Spiv than workin’ the brothel with your mum.”

“Fuck off, Jeebs. But seriously,“ she said, tugging at Spiv’s arm. “We gotta go. Like right now.”

Spiv glared at her. “What’d you do?”

“I got kinda bored waiting and I mighta scammed a few shady pricks. Now let’s go!”

“Weren’t wearing black masks, were they?” Spiv asked. 

“Yeah. Why?”

“Fuck, Kit! That’s the Faceless Gang from the down south. I warned you about them. Those fuckers will straight up kill you. Like chopped up into little bits and fed to livestock kinda dead.” 

Kit chewed on her cheek. “...Well that’s even more reason why we need to go.”

“Take the door out back,” Jeebs said. Right as the one in the front was knocked clean off its hinges by a large, black boot. 

Spiv scooped up the capsule and bolted. “Find the crew and skip,” he said to Kit as they crept out of the shack. “Not the usual place. Second cave past the landfill. Got it?”

“Yeah. What about you?”

“I’m staying for a bit. Gotta see if old man Jeebs needs my help.”

Kit nodded. She pulled her scarf around her face and dashed off. Like lightning on a sunny day the kids used to call her, and for good reason. Spiv breathed a little easier. Ice cube’s chance in winter on Sebrum anyone’d catch Kit when she got going. 

Spiv peaked between shelves filled with Jeeb’s junk. Just enough to see a cloaked figure in all black strutting towards the old man, an intimidating gun at his hip. 

“Lookin’ for a little roach that ran away with my money,” the stranger said. “Wouldn’t happened to seen where it went, would you pawn man?”

The man in black spoke through some sort of filter. His voice sounded distorted, robotic, like that of the AI in Jeeb’s capsule. 

“Don’t do business with roaches.” Jeebs eyed the man from where he sat. “If you’re here to buy or sell, then we can talk.” 

The man in black stepped closer and put both hands on the counter. “Well I’ll be. You are the spittin’ image of the man that killed the ol’ boss Joey Iron Rod. Grandaddy o’ yours? Grandaddy’s granddaddy?”

“Wouldn’t know nothin’ ‘bout it.”

“Nah. ‘Cause I know for fact the fuck never made spawn. You are the man that killed Joey Iron Rod. Woulda thought time’d do my work for me. Guess the only way to make sure a job is done is to do it yourself, right?” the stranger laughed.

“Might have a point there. Figured the rest of you immortal cunts got blown up in the wars with the rest.” Jeebs reached for a shotgun under his desk.

“Nah see, the old old gang made it through the wars alright. Hid out in the desert, got by. ‘Course, really should be thanking you. Made picking them off myself a whole lot easier.” The stranger leaned in closer. “Let you in on a secret. Reason my gang wear’s masks is so I’ll always be on top. Just gotta purge a couple cunts and call myself something new. ‘Course, now that you know, I’ma have to kill you.”

“Best move your failed fetal acohol abortion ass along,” Jeebs said. “This is my town. Been here forty years. Anything happens to me, posse of thirty to three hundred be after you.”

The man in black stepped away, turning his back, arms raised in a V. “Town might be yours, but the whole world of Sebrum is mine. I am its god. Its immortal ruler. Anyone who stands against my rule will be-”

Before the stranger could finish his sentence, Jeebs landed two rounds of buckshot in his back. The man stumbled from the impact, but he just laughed. 

“Gonna need more than that to kill me,” the man in black spoke. 

That voice made Spiv the coldest he’d ever felt. Tasting ice once when he was seven was now in second place. He swallowed, hard and dry.

The stranger rolled up a dark sleeve. Underneath was a metal arm. It gleamed like the capsule Spiv clutched in his hands. 

“While you been playing shop keep, I’ve been quite productive with my time,” the stranger said, admiring his body. “Took a few generations of scavengers to collect all this. Enough old world tech to make that ol’ cyborg Joey Iron Rod green with envy. Count yourself honoured. You’re the first to see this hand in the better part of a century.” 

He raised his palm to Jeebs.

Jeebs shoved another two rounds in his gun and took aim.

“Your wife screamed bloody murder as Joey split ‘er in two with his iron rod,” the man in black chuckled. “Thought I’d let you know, for when you meet ‘er again.”

There was a soft wine as capacitors discharged. A red light shined from the stranger’s hand, bathing the shop in blood red. Jeebs fired two shots.

Spiv blinked. The next thing he knew, the shack was in flames and Jeebs was on the ground in two pieces. Spiv shook. He’d feared for his life many a time before, but nothing quite compared to this. He wasn’t one to heed monsters. That was, until seeing one in metal flesh. 

The man in black strutted out the way he came, whistling to himself. Spiv wanted to go after him. Wanted to take him from behind and smash his deranged face in. But Spiv was scared. So scared. Too scared to move. He crawled out of the rubble, capsule in hand, tears in his eyes and a tremble in his step. 

It was night when Spiv returned to Jeeb’s shack. The poor thing was looted to completion in hours and the rest burned to the ground. A few people stood around a mound out front with a stone on top. Under normal circumstances, if someone fucked with this town, there’d be a posse after them in no time flat, for better or for worse. How places kept their peace and independence. Nothing like that tonight. By now, everyone had heard the rumors of what the Faceless Gang did to Westbrook Oasis a few miles south. Rumors Spiv was certain to be true. 

Spiv adjusted his belt. He wasn’t used to the weight of fifty tungsten rounds quite yet. Cost him one thousand kollars each. His hand went to the cloth wrapped revolver resting in a holster at his side. The barrel alone nearly reached his knee. He pulled his hat a little lower, spat and walked off into the night. Word was the Faceless Gang was headed up to Jepsum. As luck would have it, so was he. 

[stimmypaw]

stimmypaw reads Shattered Sky, a late tumblr post

I just, forgot to post this for some reason. It’s me writing my thoughts on the third book of A Vision Of Shadows, I also did that with the first and second ones! Very full of spoilers, enjoy!

Omg.....meet Darktail's Kinnies... someone should name their wc kin server that its a great name, most of them seem to have wc names tho I thought he was a whole gang?? Did more of them get wc names or have already than we knew???

Oh no I barely got to see echosong :c I hope the others are okay, frecklewish is a wonderful name

Chapter one they already have all of the clans going 2 fight???? This absolutely won't go well and that terrifies me

Onestar realized Darktail has a beautiful voice :/ and he feels bad battling him /j

Yup just as I expected, awful loss. Plus Twigpaw was sure her sister was gonna kill her which killed Me

Alderheart parent mode

YASSSS ITS TIME FOR SKYCLAAANNNNNN

obviously the clans are pissed why the hell did they have this as a secret bro!!! why?? bramblestar was just ashamed now firestar???? bro WHY i seriously need to read firestar’s quest I just don’t get it

scenes of elders being cared for by apprentices is always so comforting, seeing it being interrupted and taken from violetpaw feels awful

WHO THE FUCK IS THISTLE he isn’t in the allegiances??????????????????? HELLO ah okay the rogues are showing up slowly ok

Violetpaw did a u-turn to her character here it seems?? She didn't find the elders were lecturing her at first, was Darktail's lil speech about how she was brave enough to convince her they are wrong??? A few compliments couldn't possibly be enough for that. Plus again she is seeing Darktail brutally murder someone and how despite seemingly treating each other nicely these cats are ready to betray each other anytime. Surely this would be enough for her to feel like the elders are still right and she can't trust these cats???

Hope she doesn't start seeing this violence as normal

I'm so sorry for blossomfall I can't believe she got with thornclaw of all cats

LIONBLAZE JAYFEATHER CINDERHEART AND TAWNYPELT, ALL JUST CASUALLY LISTENING TO GOSSIP. ABSOLUTELY SCANDALOUS I LOVE THEM

I love like how the book will take breaks every now and then to show for a millisecond ivypool being mad at tigerheart or vice versa and dovewing looking at tigerheart or vice versa and have the POV go "wonder what thats all about" and just proceed with the plot. Wonderful

Twigpaw :c

"A "mrrow" of welcome" has got to be my favorite line on this book

The cats complain there's already enough plots going on.

Whitewing is a very nice background cat and I appreciate her. But God Omen of the Stars only proved Starclan is just a bunch of old dead cats and that can be both good and terrible. Her argument is needed tho.

The others have a point tho, how can they leave the clan with less cats right now? I guess they would come back with more but what if they're not strong enough to defend themselves? A lot of trouble could happen with Skyclan coming as is to the territories and its understandable for the cats to be concerned

Violetpaw and Needletail cope with trauma as best they can and thats not a lot

I hope Violetpaw at least realizes how fucked up it is that they are scared of their leader who is supposedly their kin and the one who they should be the most loyal to

Oh Boy kittypets!

I love kittypets so much they're always fun. Darktail is so creepy tho I read some quotes he said to my girlfriend and she said he sounded like GLaDOS and yeah he's creepy I can feel it without Violetpaw agreeing with me that she's scared of what will happen next. Where did Darktail get that blood thing????

I like Zelda. She seems to be Violetpaw's age I hope she is so they can kiss. ALSO THIS IS KINDA LIKE MENTORING??? Violetpaw should get a warrior name

TWIGPAW PUT A PILLOW UNDER HER BLANKET SO NO ONE WOULD NOTICE SHE LEFT AHAHAHHA I bet she went to find Skyclan didn't she

PURDY

NOOOOOOO PURDYYY NOOOOOOOOOOOO NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

my gf said indigestion can sometimes have those effects on a cat if its really bad i didn't know that

PURDY CANT BE GONE PLEAS

I am SO sad I knew this was coming and I hated it terrible awful

I never saw a vigil so sweet. We Are All Love Purdy.

OH RIGHT TWIGPAW GSGWHAHAH

I appreciate no one is annoyed or pissed theyre all just worried, I am too

Apparently Alderheart and Bramblestar disagree lot? They seem to get along great though. And uh I guess Bramblestar doesn't always take his advice but, that doesn't mean much they like talk about stuff and Bramblestar forms conclusions taking in consideration the stuff his son said and all. Idk, feels like a weird statement Twigpaw something tells me the Erins are failing to send a message somewhere

Fuck I hope someone finds twigpaw soon, her adventure has been fun but I'm terrified for her

Violetpaw seems to be having a hard time too, not only is everything awful and terrible plus we had a time skip of a few days so who knows what happened to Twigpaw. Anyways Violetpaw having to care for Needletail like a mentor is like a young teen having to care for a young adult's mental health and that always sucks for the kid, there's not much else that can be done though Needletail probably doesn't want to worry

Violetpaw :C

This is so sad and terrible, I wish Violetpaw could be with Twigpaw right now she wouldn't be starclan knows where if they were just together!!! I hope the other cats don't start saying nonsense about Violetpaw now. She's scared she won't be accepted in Thunderclan and doesn't see herself as worthy of acceptance, and feels responsible for her older friend. I'm :CC

PAGGDHAHAHA Zelda is a trash cat and I love her

Violetpaw is suffering so much and Darktail is absolutely brainwashing her ass and she can't understand how he is to blame for everything.

Oh boy when she does.

This is such a good story God im like very tired and in need of sleep but I can't stop reading

Oh God so much has happened, this is so terrible, I love that Mothwing and Alderheart are hanging out tho I forgot what a fun character she can be!!!

Thinking about how so much would be easier since book 1 if Onestar agreed to lend a helping paw. Thinking about the begging dying bodies piling up at his door. Thinking about onestar.

Oh scratch what I said earlier guys WHEN VIOLETPAW FINDS OUT DARKTAIL KILLED DAWNPELT OH BOY

Its terrible knowing dawnpelt isn't there and like, so far thinking she was in thunderclan, only to have thunderclan cats wonder if she's in shadowclan like oh God oh fuckle this is IT

I feel so bad for Loki and Zelda :c I would give them treats

What the fuck Darktail

Holy shit Darktail

I am noticing like, cats making seriously spot on assumptions of things that happened out of small information and idk if that really isn't realistic and just a way to make cats realize things or if I'm just too autistic to relate

I'm so glad the medicine cats treat anxiety. Last time I remember that happening was the prophecy begins but I might be forgetting somethin

The fear these cats have of the clans ending feels so real I am absolutely terrified for them and I love it

It doesn't make sense for twigpaw 2 die so I'm not buying it but wow this hurts

Violetpaw time

I am itching for them to find skyclan so bad

Violetpaw you're not Squirrelpaw or Leafpaw in the new prophecy you wouldn't have felt if Twigpaw died :P

Bro Needletail :c I miss when she was a wild free creature

This prisoner smuggling deal is so fun I am absolutely excited about everyone's plans, it can't all go well so soon though.

TWIGPAW YESSSS BABY I MISSED YOU

Twigpaw lactose intolerant moment

omg she had a vision

Vision cat be nice 2 my baby she is dying

TWIGPAW FOUND SKYCLAN YESSSS YES YES YES

OMG......HAWKWING.....AAAAAAA THATS HER DAD BRO SHE FOUND HER DAD IM YESSSS YEAYESYESYEYD

This is so good im so happy

This is so awful I'm so sad WHERES THE CLAN CATS they were supposed to show up when they were asleep right????? Fuck!!!

This is so scary

NEEDWETAIL IM

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Violetpaw definitely could have used a better friend at times, but God was Needletail good im so sad

Bramblestar: alderheart we need a point of view from thunderclan of what's happening so you're coming to the battle

OMG THEY DID IT!!!! I DID NOT EXPECT THAT WROW VERY NICE

Oh this is so exciting, how will they get Windclan back????

Twigpaw baby you always had your place here

I think they should both go to Skyclan but I understand if Twigpaw is indecisive she has always had a good life in Thunderclan.

Nononono Rowanstar, Scourge is the villain from the The Prophecy Begins here, your guy is named Darktail

Ominousnestar

I have been vaguely spoiled about Onestar being related to Darktail but I have no clue how

I can see Onestar's, Smoke's and Darktail's designs rotating in my mind its beautiful

I'm loving this story this is so cool

You dare challenge the warrior cats Fandom?

SKYCLAN, DROP YOUR CATS

RIVERCLAN, GET THE BUCKET

WINDCLAN, GRAB YOUR LEAFBLOWERS

THUNDERCLAN, GRAB YOUR LIGHTNING RODS

SHADOWCLAN, IDK MAN SAY BOO OR SOMETHING AHHAHA

I'm glad this is the prophecy this series really is Tumblr vs 4chan

Oh my god

This is so surreal

What an astounding battle wow and what an ending

I loved it

That was so so good

Everything here was fantastic, looking back its hard to believe they managed to fit so much plot into one book and like the pacing was Very Good this was just good writing wow? The development of Darktail, everything with Onestar, very fun I was on the edge of my seat through the whole thing it was incredibly fun. I’m very excited for what’s to come too, I worry it probably won’t be as fun and exciting as this since they already got rid of the biggest threat, unless they get another, but still like I really wanna know what’s gonna happen with Skyclan! And Violetpaw and Twigpaw!!!! How will the clans cope with all this loss and receive a new clan in the territories??? There’s a lot of good build up that I don’t know if it will live up to all that happened so far, but I think it can be very good and I’m excited, lots ahead of us!!! Oh boy!!