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madaqueue · 11 months ago

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eternally, yours

chapter 8 | patience

synopsis: 'forever' is a peculiar concept - how can something persist, unchanged, throughout time? when our bodies halt their aging, do our minds continue to evolve? do our hearts? choso was comfortable with his version of forever, one of solitary loneliness; that is, until he meets you. forced to confront the harsh realities of being human, the fragility of life, his definition of 'forever' changes as he stares down the barrel of eternity.

pairing: vampire!choso kamo x f!reader

themes/content: non-curse modern au. fluff, angst, smut. language, pet names (baby, angel, love), mentions of death/loss, blood drinking, depictions of motor vehicle accident. switch!choso, fingering, p in v (cowgirl). 18+, MDNI

word count: 5.4k

a/n: fun fact the last scene of this chapter is what inspired me to write this series hahahaha i can't believe we've already made it this far!!!! yeehaw

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You had never much cared for flowers. What was the purpose, after all? To rip something from the ground, taking away what it needs to survive, simply for your own pleasure? Melding the forces of nature to your own selfish desires?

And yet, in spring, you find yourself surrounded by bouquets, handpicked by cold fingers on Choso’s route to your apartment. Small daisies and flushed lilacs begin to fill your home, yet this time, they don’t seem to wilt quite as quickly as they had in the past. Maybe the act of his devotion, the quiet walks through heavy rain, wet soil lining the sidewalks, truly was protective after all, his love life-sustaining.

The days continue to lengthen, sun beaming through the increasingly sparse clouds. On the first truly warm day of spring, you and Choso take the opportunity and bring Megumi and Yuji into the woods, visiting the lakehouse Sukuna had offhand mentioned to his younger brother a few times. Despite their near-incessant arguing, you think they must nevertheless care about each other - after all, they couldn’t have lived this long together without something tying them together, right?

As Choso’s car pulls up the gravel driveway, the cabin blends into the surrounding trees, the wooden beams forming into an A-frame peak, stark against the blue sky overhead. Sukuna never struck you as someone who enjoyed connecting with nature, which is perhaps why everything inside is covered in a thin layer of dust, swirling in the sunlight filtering in through the windows as you open the door.

Megumi and Yuji immediately take off running, scouring to find the ideal bedroom as you and Choso haul luggage inside. “Dibs on the bunk beds!” their excited screams echo from upstairs as you make your way inside.

The first floor is utterly gorgeous, high ceilings constructed in oak planks, a fireplace tucked into the corner of the living room, overlooking the fully-stocked kitchen despite the fact that it seems like no one had visited here in years. Sturdy wooden steps lead the way upstairs, presumably where the bedrooms are situated, a large balcony overlooking the dining table.

Pulling your body into his, Choso’s arms encompass you. “Think we should let ‘em have the bunk beds?” he smirks.

“I dunno, I kinda like being on the top bunk,” you giggle, “it makes me feel tall.”

His deep laugh fills the space as footsteps pound upstairs, presumably from Megumi and Yuji racing through the unfamiliar space. Suddenly, it hits you: this feels like home. You and Choso here together, in the safety of a novel space, with your brothers playing upstairs: it’s everything you ever wanted.

Before you can complete the thought, the two boys appear before you, nearly slipping as they run down the stairs. Dressed in their swim trunks, they grab at your hands, desperately trying to pull you outside.

“C’moooon, let’s go to the lake!” Yuji whines.

“I wanna swim!” Megumi echoes, tugging at your arm.

“Give us a few minutes to get ready, okay guys?” you chuckle as Choso lugs your bags upstairs into the remaining master bedroom.

Once inside, he immediately locates the attached bathroom before stashing a small red and white cooler inside, the contents softly rustling against the foam interior. He prides himself on separating the dark parts of his life from you, hoping to avoid having your light cast upon them. Locking the door, he opens it quietly, listening for any sign of you from downstairs. His fingers wrap around the familiar plastic of a blood bag, crinkling in his grasp. Just as he lifts it to his lips, your voice calls from outside.

“Cho, I’m gonna get changed and meet the boys outside - they’re a little eager to get out there,” you laugh.

“Sounds good, be down in a minute,” he calls, desperately trying to hide the waver in his voice.

The bag rustles in his shaky hands as he hears you rummage through the suitcases. Upon finding your swimsuit, he waits for your footsteps to fade away as you return downstairs and outside.

Finally alone, his attention returns to his meal. Just a precaution, he reasons, a way for him to ensure an internal peace today without having to worry about you seeing him for what he truly is. Fangs piercing the bag, he gulps the sanguine fluid down his throat, his body automatically relaxing as it courses through his veins.

Quickly wiping any remnants from his lips, he hides the cooler once again before digging through his suitcase and pulling on swim trunks to join you outside.

The sun shines brightly overhead, warming your skin as you saunter down the stone stairs towards Megumi and Yuji playing in the sand next to the dock. Before long, the sliding glass door from the cabin hits your ears as you turn to face Choso.

A smile immediately graces his face as he sees you, absolutely glowing under the golden hues above. His cheeks threaten to flush as his eyes trail lower over your body, perfectly outlined in your bikini. Get yourself together, he thinks to himself, shoving down his impure thoughts. But god, when he finally meets you by the beach, the scent of vanilla lingering on your skin as you stand beside him, you look absolutely tantalizing, his body suddenly uncomfortably hot.

An idea flashes across his mind despite the lust that clouds it. “Race you guys into the lake!” he shouts, garnering the attention of Megumi and Yuji who had been wrestling nearby. The patter of footsteps fills your ears as the three of them careen towards the lake, leaping off the edge of the dock. Each splash is met with a scream as the cold water hits their senses, giggles taking over in their place as the shock settles.

“I beat you!” Yuji yells.

“Nuh uh, I won!” Megumi retorts.

Choso easily picks up the boys in turn, tossing them high into the air before they land back into the water. Excited shrieks fill the tranquil forest before Choso turns to you, a devilish glimmer behind his eyes. “I don’t know who won, but I know someone who definitely lost.”

Your younger brothers giggle, dramatic “ooooh’s” leaving their throats as he hoists himself out of the water and onto the dock.

“No, no, no!” you yell, but your efforts are futile - Choso’s arms wrap around you, pulling you against his damp skin, before he tosses you into the air.

The water hits your skin, its icy tendrils covering you as you’re submerged under it. Breaching the surface, a loud splash echoes through the air before another cold wave hits you. Choso resurfaces a moment later, shaking out his dark hair and splashing you and your brothers from where you float in the lake.

It’s easy to be here with Choso, with your brothers. The sun eventually warms fatigue into your skin, drawing you all from the water and to the beach. Evening settles as Megumi and Yuji traverse into the woods to scavenge sticks for a bonfire, leaving you and Choso to collect marshmallows and chocolate from inside.

Upon reconvening, the boys dump armfulls of twigs into the fire pit before Choso pulls out a small box of matches. Flicking it against the rocks, it ignites into small sparks. There’s a momentary hesitation in his muscles as the flames glimmer against his irises, illuminating the midnight pools behind them. It’s brief, but you catch the way he tenses before tossing it into the pile, sparking the bonfire.

“Alright, s’mores time,” he weakly chuckles, an attempt to diffuse the swirl of emotions bubbling inside him.

Seating himself on the ground a few feet away, you let the boys tear open the bag of marshmallows and eat them raw as you plop down next to him, the sand digging into your thighs.

It’s just a second, he swears, but when the wood collapses under its own weight he flinches. Memories of that night flood back - the house collapsing, the smoke in his lungs. It feels like he’s choking.

But your hand rubbing along his spine tethers him, pulling him back to the surface of his memories.

“You okay?” Your voice is clear, cutting through the blackened fog in his mind.

You’re here. You’re okay. You’re safe.

Finally, he takes in a full breath of air, his ribs expanding easily. “Y-yeah, sorry,” he mutters, unable to meet your gaze. His thumbs rub together nervously before resting his head on your shoulder, dark hair still slightly damp from the lake against the t-shirt (or rather, his t-shirt) hanging loosely off your body.

Intertwining your fingers with his, you gently squeeze his hand, his skin unsurprisingly cool despite the heat of the fire nearby.

You’re here. You’re okay. You’re safe.

Before long, the boys’ screams grow quiet as they rest against each other in the sand, nearly asleep from the hours in the warm summer sun. Picking Megumi from the ground, he rests his head on your neck as Choso carries Yuji on his back up the stairs. After tucking them into their respective bunk beds, the two of you return outside.

The fire now dwindles, embers twinkling against the dark sky, your path illuminated only by the soft glow of the moon above.

Choso’s eyes cover your body as you walk past him: the plush of your thighs, the swell of your chest underneath his shirt, your hair perfectly unstyled. Again, he feels the familiar ache within his bones. He craves you.

Being out in the sun does wear on him. He’s told you before it’s like the pounding in your skull right before a headache, or the total-body soreness after running a marathon. He’s always described it as exhausting in a physical sense, but held back the more psychological strain it places on him. Maybe that’s why he’s unable to hold himself back now, as though the poison of indulgence was finally beginning to wear against his cells, the only antidote being you.

As the sand shifts beneath your feet, carrying you around the fire, he can’t resist any longer: cool hands reach out and grab your hips, pulling you into his lap. The heat of the fire absorbed into the cloth of his t-shirt, the material now warm as you rest your chest against his.

“Do you have any idea how beautiful you are?” he murmurs, his voice low and gruff. Visions of you flash through his mind - you in that sinful bikini, you in nothing but his shirt, you below him, eyes closed and lips parted, mewling nothing but chants of his name.

The words, of course, go straight to your ego - unfortunately, he was just a little too fun to tease. “Oh yeah?” Rolling your hips forward slightly, you rub against his now-dry swim trunks, the material gliding beneath you. “Tell me, Cho.”

He groans your name, cheeks already flushing from the minimal stimulation. Desire builds inside him, eating away at the walls of his control. He needs you. “S-so beautiful,” he stammers as his hands snake beneath your shirt, your skin still warm beneath his palms. Trailing upwards, they grope at your perfect tits beneath the small triangles of your swimsuit top, gently kneading the supple flesh in his palms.

Feeling his cock twitch beneath you, you continue grinding against him, forcing a sharp inhale from his lungs. Burying his head into your shoulder, he weakly thrusts up into you, desperate for any source of friction. “H-hah,” he pants, “do you see what you do to me?”

The sound of your giggle is bright despite the darkness pooling around you as you trace your fingers to the back of his neck, gently carding them through his hair, currently down and cascading over his shoulders. “I dunno, Cho, I can’t see too much with those shorts still on you.”

And you don’t think you’ve ever seen him move so fast in your life. In one swift motion, he rips them down below his hips, his cock hitting his stomach before settling in the air. Saliva collects in your mouth at the sight of him, flushed pink tip and veins catching the dwindling light of the fire.

Your body, too, knows it needs him. Instinctively, your fingers trail down his chest before wrapping around his base, twitching in your palm. He’s practically shaking against you as you slowly, slowly stroke up his length.

“Much better,” you coo. Pumping your fist up, your thumb swipes below his tip, smearing the precum that had been leaking down as he shudders.

It’s sweet how little it takes to get him so needy.

“Aw, what’s wrong baby, you’re shivering - are you cold?” you tease as he begins trembling beneath you.

“Y-you - fuck - you know that’s not it,” he manages to huff out. At this point, he’s grinding up into you, his hips desperately trying to match your pace, pleading for more, more, more.

“Then what is it, Cho? C’mon baby, use your words.” A sly grin tugs at your lips - it’s just too easy. Your motions speed up, wrist twisting as you glide up and down his length, grip tightening slightly as you reach his tip, in just the way you know makes his head feel fuzzy.

“Nngh - just - shit - you’re gonna make me lose control if you keep going,” he barely chokes out, his waist bucking into the air, only held down by your weight on his lap. And he knows it, too, his thoughts beginning to cloud, already lust-drunk just from your hand.

He’s never been quite sure what it is about you that drives him so crazy, so far from his own humanity. Yet, it’s easy for you, reducing him to pure animalistic need with just your touch, sometimes just your fucking scent enough to hurl him into the depths of his own hellish desires.

His words should have been a warning, but the alarms his body sends off fall on deaf ears as your motions never slow, your own hedonism beginning to get the better of you, too. The little whines and pleas leaving his lips are too sweet, leading you further and further for just another taste.

Rubbing your thighs together, it does little to quell the warmth pooling inside you. Choso was always so collected, especially with you - maybe it was being out in the sun all day, maybe it was how you purposely wore your most revealing bikini, maybe he was just growing too taut under the ropes of his restraint - but you want to see what he’ll do, to drag him to the precipice of his control.

When your lips make contact with the skin of his neck, your teeth biting down just hard enough, that’s all it takes. With a sudden inhale, the sting of your canines attempting to pierce his flesh, the fight within him dies - he has absolutely, and utterly, lost.

The cool summer air hits your heat as he tears your swimsuit bottoms off, falling to shreds in the sand beside you. “S-shit, sorry,” he mutters into your skin, but makes no move to stop.

Then his hand hurriedly traces down your body, landing between your legs. “So fuckin’ wet,” he mumbles, mostly to himself, as his thumb roughly circles your clit. “You seriously - fuck - this turned on just from teasing me?”

Before you can respond with some sarcastic quip, one finger enters your core, then two. A moan bubbles past your lips as he curls his fingertips towards you, hitting the gummy spot inside that pulls you closer and closer and closer. “Need you to cum f’me, need it s’bad,” he slurs. Oh, he’s gone.

“C-Cho,” you whine as you come undone around his fingers.

Before you can come down from your high, he’s already moving. A low growl rumbles from his throat as he lifts you up slightly, your thoughts still too cloudy to realize what he’s doing until the stretch in your core is suddenly amplified. His tip presses past the first ring of muscles inside you as he whines. “Relax for me baby, please, need t’be inside you.”

Suddenly, his hands are on your hips, a bruisingly tight grip as he allows gravity to pull you down. When he bottoms out inside you, his head falls forward, buried into your shoulder.

“Too big, Cho, t-too big,” you cry, your body on fire from the way he completely fills you.

“It’s okay, love, y’can take it,” he coos - for your sake as much as his. “Please baby, please take it, be good for me, yeah?”

And you do - your walls perfectly meld around him, warmth enveloping and coursing through his body. It’s so, so fucking hot, sweat beginning to collect on his forehead.

Your head spins as the firm grip on your waist is suddenly being used to lift you up. With one swift motion, he drops you all the way back down his length. Up and down, each thrust knocks the wind from your lungs, soft repeats of “ah ah ah” forced from your throat each time your thighs crash against his pelvis.

“Can’t stop baby, fuck, need you,” he breathes, voice husky and dripping in desire. “Need you so bad, need you so, so bad.”

His abs flex and relax with each thrust under the slowly-ruining cloth of his t-shirt. Your skin is so soft in his grasp, his short nails digging small crescents into the plush of your hips. Your hands, meanwhile, are weakly holding onto his shoulders, yet they provide no stability whatsoever. It’s rough and desperate and exactly what he needed.

Fucking himself up on you, hoisting your entire body into the air before letting you fall back against him, your eyes roll back each time your skin crashes against his. When his hips begin to thrust up in pace, he somehow reaches impossibly deeper, tip bumping into your cervix having your jaw loosely dropping open.

“Cho, nngh, s’good,” you mindlessly babble. By this point your head is too clouded in pleasure to really process the words, letting him completely manhandle you.

“Shh, angel,” he purrs, “you’re bein’ too loud, gonna wake everybody up.” And in that sentence, a more cognisant person could tell that he’s just as gone as you are - Megumi and Yuji are fast asleep and too far away to hear you, but neither of you pay attention to that little fact right now. “Gotta - hah - quiet that pretty lil’ mouth of yours.”

Just as your lips begin to form into a faux pout, two fingers are shoved past them. The wet sound of your cunt covers the slight gags as he presses against your tongue, your taste still lingering on his skin. “T-there ya go,” he pants, “much better.”

It’s easy to forget sometimes just how strong he is, but as he easily maneuvers you up his cock like you’re weightless, it’s all too apparent. Just how much does he hold himself back?

His mind is swimming in pleasure, too afraid to lift his head from your neck for fear he would abandon any last shred of control. A sound that could only be described as a whimper leaves his lips as your tongue swirls around his digits, his motions momentarily stuttering.

It’s all too much, your walls begin to flutter around him as he ruts into you.

Parting your lips, saliva begins to collect at the corners of your mouth around his fingers as you mumble. “M’close, hah, m’gonna-”

“I know angel, I know,” he breathes. Placing featherlight kisses along your neck, only serving to further tease himself at this point, it’s a harsh contrast to the rough slapping of his balls against you. “Me too, gonna - shit - gonna fill y’up baby, yeah?”

The question is more rhetorical than anything, knowing you’re unable to answer with his fingers between your lips. Moans of your name fill the quiet air, drool beginning to dribble down your chin as he shoves further into your mouth, the arm around your waist tightening as he angles his hips ever so slightly, just enough to hit the spot inside you that sends you over the edge.

With one final thrust, you lose yourself, the waves of euphoria nearly drowning you as your body shakes in his hold. Choso follows shortly after, his cock twitching as thick ropes of cum shoot into you.

As his hips finally still, he rests both his hands on your thighs, his touch now purposefully tender. The embers behind you softly flicker across his face, concern painted on it as his eyebrows furrow, the dark tattoo along his nose stretched with his cheeks pulling down into a frown.

Did he hurt you? He’s not sure he could forgive himself if the lapse in his judgement, the weakness of his resolve, caused you any harm. He knew it was a bad idea, he tried to warn you, to hold himself back, but it’s so hard when you’re so fucking perfect. He should have been stronger, should have stopped, should have been more patient, more in control.

“Are you okay?” he pants, chest heaving as he desperately sucks in air.

All you can do is nod, pupils wide and eyes glassy as you pull his head from your shoulder. Even when he loses himself, he’s still so gentle, so careful with you. He would never hurt you, even after dragging himself to the limits of his restraint. He will always keep you safe. Placing a gentle kiss to his lips, his entire body continues to tremble beneath you as a lazy smile graces his face.

“L-love you s’much,” he slurs, still clouded in the ecstasy of your body and now comforted by the warm blanket of your wellbeing.

You giggle again, light and airy as always. “Love you too,” you breathe, pressing chaste pecks across his flushed cheeks.

Resting your forehead against his, you allow a moment to pass, the sound of waves lapping against the shore filling the peaceful darkness. Then, he easily carries you upstairs, helping you shower the sand and sin from your bodies before settling into bed. The sheets are soft against your skin before he interrupts the silence by rustling the blankets as he sits up.

One part of his body’s desires were satiated with yours, but there’s another part - a darker part - that still hungers.

“I’ll be right back, baby,” he hums, gently placing his lips to your forehead.

“Where are you going?”

There’s a sweetness to your voice, an innocence he can’t ignore, something he can’t bring himself to lie to. He hesitates for a moment before crumbling.

“I…I have to feed.”

His stomach drops as the words leave his throat, the seconds before you respond dragging on into a painful eternity. Every time he mentions his past, his true nature, he expects you to hate him, to reject him, to fear him. But when you simply tilt your head, there’s no malice behind your gaze - no, just curiosity.

“Can I watch?”

It takes him aback at first. Truthfully, you aren’t sure why you ask, but you can feel the pressure he places on himself, the desire to be some perfect version of ‘human.’ It weighs on him, and you hope this can lessen some of the burden, if even just a little, for you to see him as he truly is.

“Are you…sure?”

When you nod, a soft hum of affirmation, he can’t quite place the disgust he feels inside himself. Why doesn’t he want you to see?

When he doesn’t move, the muscles of his shoulders tightening as he stands in place, you continue. “If you don’t want me to, that’s okay too-”

“No, it’s not that.” Seating himself next to you, the bed bows under his weight. Sometimes, you do forget how big he is, how strong. “It’s just…” he trails off, “I don’t want you to see me differently.”

“Cho, I would never-”

“You know I’m not human. Sometimes it’s easier to ignore than others, but I’m not. I want to be, I want it so bad, but in seeing me do this, you won’t be able to forget it ever again. When you watch this, it’ll change you, it’ll change how you view me.”

Taking in a clear breath, you rub your hand across his back in reassurance. “Maybe it will.”

His entire body tenses, glancing at you from the corner of his eyes.

“Maybe it will change how I see you - but maybe I want that. I want to see you, the real you, the true you. I’ve never been scared of you, I’ve never hated you or seen you as anything less than the love of my life. And this…this is just a part of that life.”

Dropping his gaze to his lap, his head lowers, dark locks covering his eyes. A soft puff of air escapes his lips before they curl into a hesitant smile. “Okay,” he sighs, “if you’re sure.”

Reaching your hands into his, you squeeze them. “I’m sure.”

Silently, he rises, feet softly padding to the bathroom. When he reemerges, a red and white cooler hangs from his palm. He returns to his seat next to you on the bed, opening the container and revealing dark maroon bags carefully lined up in its interior.

The translucent plastic folds under the gentle grasp of his fingertips as he brings it to his lips. Locking eyes with you, the flames of fear behind his irises dull as you smile.

“I love you,” you hum, intertwining your fingers with his. And you do.

And it’s carnal.

But not violent.

He’s patient as his fangs poke through the plastic, his eyelashes fluttering shut as he drinks. It’s surprisingly quiet, the only sound a soft crinkling as the fluid drains from the bag.

When it’s completely empty, he breathes a sigh of relief, the static hanging around his body suddenly absent. You can feel it, too, the calmness spreading over him, the wrinkles of worry smoothing out.

Setting the empty bag into the cooler, he wipes the back of his palm against his mouth, removing any last trace of blood from it.

You’re not sure what draws you to do it - perhaps it’s seeing something so personal, so private, having glimpsed into the part of himself he loathes the most - but before you know it, you’re leaning forward, your lips crashing against his.

He tenses for a moment, afraid of what you’ll think, afraid of how you’ll react, before your tongue swipes against his. Eyes fluttering closed once again, he sighs into you, lips parting as you deepen the kiss.

There’s an unmistakable metallic taste lingering, but you don’t seem to mind - it’s so perfectly him.

He’s here. He’s at peace. You love him.

༝ ˚ ｡⋆ ༝ ˚ ｡⋆

You’ve always reminded Choso of the moon. Maybe that’s why he feels so calm under its gaze, as though it were you in the sky smiling down upon him, watching over him, patiently guiding him home. Home to you.

He wants to show you how he sees you, how beautiful you are in his eyes. As perfect as the moon.

Bringing you away from the city tonight, he hopes he’s finally found a way to do it. Your back lays upon the cool grass of the field, head resting against his chest as his fingers lazily draw circles along the small of your back.

“I’ve never seen so many stars,” you hum, gaze scanning the sky. “It’s beautiful.”

In the darkness away from the light of civilization, you can make out new constellations, entire galaxies reflected in the space above you. It doesn’t make you feel small, no - you feel connected. Every atom, every second in the universe’s creation led you to this moment, to be here, with Choso, with the love of your life.

It hits you, then, just how much time he’s lived, how much of the world he’s experienced. Squeezing your arms around his torso, you pull yourself further into him.

“You know,” he begins, and even though you can’t see his smile, you can hear it, “there were a lot of theories about the stars before we understood them the way we do now, before we could see them with telescopes and technology.”

Tilting your neck, your eyes land on his face, his black irises glowing in wonder as he focuses overhead.

“Oh yeah? Like what?”

He grins so softly, so endearingly excited to share pieces of his past with you.

“Well, one of them was that the darkness was a blanket over the sky. The sun was always there, but just covered up at night. The stars, then, were holes poked in the blanket that let us see the brightness through them.”

Humming, you pause for a moment. “I like that idea. It feels…safe.” Pressing a gentle kiss to the top of your head, he allows you to continue. “It’s nice to think that the sun is always there, always protecting everything. Even when you can’t see its light, it’s only temporary. It will always come back.”

His hands run up and down your back slowly, tickling along your spine. “It’ll always come back.”

The drive back to the city is peaceful. The wind rushes through your hair, head resting against your palm next to the open car window. Music crackles from the speakers of Choso’s car, your other hand intertwined with his over the center console.

“Do you remember what you were doing a year ago tonight?” he asks, his low voice gently breaking the comfortable silence.

You shake your head, turning your attention to him.

“You brought Megumi into the hospital - it was the first time I saw you.”

Warmth spreads across your face, heart fluttering in your chest. Your cheeks push up into a grin, overtaken in adoration. “I thought you didn’t keep track of dates, Cho.”

That sweet smile begins to spread across his face as he shrugs, eyes still focused on the road ahead to not give away his own nervousness - even after all this time, you still fluster him so easily. “I guess I met someone worth remembering them for.”

And you think you melt right there on the spot - not from the humid air rushing past you, no, but from the tenderness warming his words.

He’s here. He’s at peace. You love him.

“I can’t believe it’s been a year since we met,” you hum to yourself, your voice quiet enough to nearly be lost in the buzzing background of the summer night.

He sighs contentedly. “It’s been the best year of my life.”

With a squeeze of his hand, you giggle. “And that’s saying something, because you’ve lived a lot of them.”

“Oh, are you calling me old now?” he chuckles - a sound you think you’ll never grow tired of, a proof of his happiness.

“Wouldn’t dream of it,” you smirk. Settling your laughter, your gaze meets his. “I love you, Cho.”

“I love you too, angel,” he hums, the dark circles beneath his eyes seemingly lighter as they crinkle.

Suddenly, everything goes white.

The sound of metal scraping fills the silence.

Then everything hurts.

Your body feels like it’s on fire, every muscle torn and burning.

There’s the smell of smoke in the air.

Choso’s voice calls out from…somewhere. Your vision is blurry as it settles on the scene around you: his hands hooked under your shoulders as he tugs you from the car, its shape mangled around another vehicle.

“Help! Somebody fucking help,” Choso cries into the darkness, his voice hoarse from screaming.

Glancing down, his attention locks on you. “Hey, hey, you’re okay, it’s okay,” he whispers. Something cool falls on your cheek - is he…crying? He must be, but you can’t quite make it out. “Stay with me, okay? I got you.”

Stroking your cheek with his thumb, it leaves a damp trail of blood along your skin - is it yours? You can’t tell.

“Somebody do something!” He’s yelling again, you realize. You’ve never heard his voice so loud, so broken.

He’s rocking your body in his grasp, but you can’t feel it, everything is too far away. You’re sure you’d be in pain, though. You’re sure it should hurt, but you don’t feel anything.

Just as your vision begins to fade into darkness, you hear his voice one last time:

“Do you want me to save you?”

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dramaticallytotal · 4 months ago

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E-Scope Mystery Solutionists Headcanons: Part One

Idea Post

• Eva is a hardcore skeptic, Izzy and Owen are hardcore believers, and Noah is the guy who believes, but there has to be real proof. He is the debunker. He is also never upset if the ghost or monster they are investigating is real or not.

• Noah is the one who drives the van and he hates it but it's better than Izzy who always drives like they are being chased by the cops or something or Owen who gets distracted too easily or Eva who has mild road rage.

• Noah still has his utility belt in this au because he loves being prepared.

• Izzy is the one who plans the traps for the most part. The more elaborate, the better, and somehow they work. Noah's traps are always simple and always work, and he and Izzy flip a coin if they can't decide who gets to set a trap or if one of them didn't call dibs first.

• Eva has tried to punch every single "ghost" or "monster" they've come across.

• Sometimes they don't make it to a town or are only staying for a night and camp in the van. (The van itself is pretty tricked up because of Izzy and Noah.)

• When they arrived in New Orleans, Louisiana, they already encountered many mysteries, which was thanks to them being so popular now, and they were paid for their work, which was wild. They had been nonstop for like a week.

First, there was the fake medium lady who was hustling people out of their money. Then there was the giant bat vampire thing, which was actually a cover for a jewelry thief. Oh, and the ghost captain of the abandoned ship casino who was hunting for some abandoned valuables that were rumored to be hidden on the ship. Of course, they couldn't forget the giant freaking crawdad monster who was attacking a craw dad in a can food factory who ended up being the owner's jealous older brother out to ruin his brother's business.

• They decided to try one more building/house before leaving, and while Izzy searched for a place on the guidebook they had bought, Owen begged them to go to a popular farmers market. No one could say no to the big guy, so they did.

• Which is where they met Chris, which really should have been the biggest clue for Noah because the man did not look the type to set foot anywhere near a market of any kind unless it was designer. But Izzy and Owen had looked so excited about the thought of a haunted island, and Noah and Eva didn't have the heart to rain on their parade.

• Though not before Noah researched the place in the vans database. The number of disappearances unnerved him but not his friends as the thought it meant they had a big mystery on their hands. They didn't know anyone in the city, but maybe Noah hacked into local servers to see if there was any information on the disappearances and saw that a private detective duo had been hired to look into an old disappearance on Moonscar Island. It wasn't hard for Noah to track the detectives and saw how they were looking around.

He didn't want to alert the police and be accused of it being a prank or something, so he sent a timed message to the lead detective, Detective Apodaca, that if they weren't checked into the hotel he was sending the information of in a week's time to know they had gone to Moonscar Island. He made sure to do his best to convince the detective that they lived on a schedule, and if they missed the check-in, something happened. He set the message to send the next afternoon.

• Courtney panicked when she saw the message. She wished the person who had sent it had sent it in real time so she could convince them not to go, but at the same time, she was happy Alejandro wasn't on that creepy island alone even if the group of people didn't know he was a private detective.

• The ferry ride was uneventful except for Nana scaring what had to he the biggest catfish Noah had ever seen, and then Owen tried to catch said catfish to eat. This man who looked really damn similar to Chris except shorter and a redhead got mad at Nana and Owen for scaring the catfish away. Chris had just laughed and explained that that was his cousin Jerd, and he had been hunting that certain catfish for years.

• Speaking of the ferry ride....the ferry man who was introduced as Chef felt off to Noah too. There was just something about him that Noah didn't trust, but it was yet another thing he pushed down so as not to ruin his friend' adventure. Though he and Eva noted it down just in case anything went south.

• They all carry a weapon or multiple!

Eva carries brass knuckles and a baton.

Izzy carries a tazer (one she rigged herself), a spoon (the is deceptively sharp), and pepper spray.

Owen carries a hunting knife.

Noah carries a couple of knives, a tazer, pepper spray, and a device he rigged to emit a specific high-pitched sound that, when heard, causes someone to pass out. That one is really for emergencies only.

• Alejandro freaked out when he saw a van follong Chris and Chef to the front of the mansion. He had already been there a couple of months and had found nothing of note for his investigation, but when he saw the van, he immediately clocked that these people must be new victims. The island had the occasional guests, but those were planned, and they were workers who came to help harvest the Moonscar Island Peppers for the markets since the plantation was too big for Alejandro to maintain himself and harvest himself.

So seeing the van had him on high alert.

•....his alertness may have broken a little at the sight of the absolutely beautiful boy who climbed out of the drivers seat of the gaudy van. He was in an impossibly soft looking burnt orange sweater with dark maroon overalls and these brown hiking boots. The red frames sunglasses completed the look, and Alejandro was but a weak man when he saw those pouty lips purse further into a pout.

• If his pout was a thing of beauty, then his mysterious boy's smile was a thing of art. And the fact it was the golden retriever of the group who made him smile made Alejandro melt.

• Wait.....golden retriever!? Did Chris even mention the absurd amount of cats this place had!? Was the mysterious beautiful boy gonna get kicked out for the dog!?

Maybe that was for the best, but Alejandro would be so very sad not to see his face in closer detail.

• Noah refused to take off his shades because they maybe allowed him to observe the piece of absolute eye candy that was the gardener before he forced himself to snap into focus. They had a mystery to solve, and if the hunk of a man turned out to be completely innocent in this mess them maybe Noah would focus back on him.

• Noah was none too pleased that he had to room with Owen. He loved the guy, but he hated sharing a room with him. He was even more displeased because it was obvious that the mansion had more than enough rooms that staying in one alone could and should have been an option.

Then he found out the gardener, Alejandro, was made to stay in the guest house instead of the main house, and Noah's assessment of the owners was cemented. They were narcissistic assholes.

• Alejandro fell face first into the dirt because he tripped over a large pot when he saw Noah wearing regular glasses that also happened to have red frames like his sunglasses and his slightly longer hair in a small ponytail.

• The ghost in the mirror had intrigued Noah, and he really wanted to take it apart, but his mama and sisters raised him with manners, so he asked before doing so. He may not have gotten permission, but he asked, and he did it when no one was around and put it back together with no one, none the wiser! Win win.

• Next weird thing to happen to Noah would be him levitating....yeah... there was no way to debunk that, and maybe it was Karma for wrecking the kitchen wall, but hey. Proof!! Now he was excited!

• Noah's little excited smile had Alejandro swooning whilst simultaneously freaking out over the fact his little zorro was FLOATING!!

• Izzy got pissed that she wasn't the one to be levitated.

#total drama world tour #tdwt #td alejandro #alenoah #td noah #total drama #td izzy #td owen #td eva #td courtney #scooby doo au #e scope mysery solutionists au

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paynomindtotheinsanity · 1 year ago

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I love how this could apply to literally every scene in that chapter lol. He's such a mess.

Also the COLORS AHHHHH

@paynomindtotheinsanity

Chapter 19 of "Your Eyes Are Red" got Dib like...

#your eyes are red #invader zim fanfiction #invader zim au #vampire dib #not my art #look at this crazy boy

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ellipsistories · 5 months ago

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me: I'm gonna plan and write an entire slow burn, with a long time frame and a bunch of chapters

My brain: hey what about a modern au but with spellcasting and like, vampire elements

Me: ...OK fine au notes let's go.

Worldbuilding

People have varying amounts of innate magical talent.

Magic is everywhere.

There are all sorts of magic types and spells. Spells are usually incantation-based.

Everyone is human, at least mostly.

The university is not on Motunui but on a larger island which is part of a chain or cluster, close to the mainland. There are ferries available, however.

Moana is a college student. She's a political science major, as she stands to inherit Motunui's chiefdom, and is on the rowing team. She shares a freshman physics lab with Loto.

Loto is also a college student, but is already an accomplished engineer and model boat builder. She works part-time maintaining, repairing, and designing boats at the local marina three days a week, and fulfills model boat commissions another three days. She's known locally for keeping to herself in her standalone studio apartment and befriending a flock of crows that follows her around.

Maui is a popular influence, world-class athlete, and minor celebrity, but will drop everything for his adopted sisters. He drives a minivan for no apparent reason, at least when he's around.

Moni is a storyteller and children's librarian.

Kele is still a farmer, and still as grumpy as ever.

Tui is the hardworking matai of Motunui. His main concerns are preserving his people's way of life in the face of modernization and the wellbeing of his family.

Sina, while not officially employed in the local government, often supports and aids her husband, taking on whatever minutiae she can while raising Simea. Fortunately,

Gramma Tala is alive! Modern medicine amirite? She is a storyteller, a prominent advocate for maintaining the old ways while allowing for change, Moana's confidante and Simea's favorite minder. She has a driver's license.

Matangi is a research scientist and occasional performer. She has two cars thanks to an out-of-court settlement with Nalo, a chic violet sports car and a jeep that always smells faintly of guano. Moana calls her when she requires transportation and utmost discretion.

Tamatoa is an expert appraiser and collector turned influencer. There's a popular theory that he and Maui are exes, even though Maui keeps showing up to pride in aroace blue and orange.

Nalo is in prison and considerably poorer. Matangi really went after him for all he was worth without even stepping foot in a courtroom.

Te Fiti is an environmental scientist and conservationist.

Plot Part One

Loto is getting by. She works and studies and goes to the GP and checks in with the social worker and avoids going out when she can, but it's a new semester and she has to attend her physics lab in person. Also in that lab section is Moana, someone she knows of from the boat shop as an unusually friendly canoe racer.

Moana could've sworn that Loto from the boat shop was like, high school age, but here she is in freshman physics. Moana knows her as shy and secretive, but Loto accidentally started infodumping to her one time and Moana was intrigued. She's gonna sit with her and try to befriend her.

First group project and Moana basically calls dibs on Loto, who has no idea how to refuse and kind of doesn't want to? But she shouldn't she shouldn't she shouldn't

From there Moana figures out just how alone Loto is and worms her way into her life. Loto doesn't really know how to stop it, and she swings between trying anyways and letting it happen. Moana remains determined, even past the end of the semester.

They get closer, and closer, and closer, and “like” turns to “love platonically.”

Loto wakes up one day with a killer migraine.

Ask questions, share theories, point out your favorite bits, do literally anything and I will be happy. I know there's probably not much to say yet but there will be things later.

#my writing #sort of #disney moana #moana 2 #moana #moana fanfiction #moana waialiki #moana loto #shipshipping #moana x loto #fanfiction #To clarify that slow burn and this are two separate things #this is meant to be a light-hearted side quest while aka is in the works #spellcasting au

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werecat1234 · 1 month ago

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Multiverse Madness Chapter Fifty Nine

Red hadn't been having that bad of a day, all things considered. Him and his bro were in the Omega Timeline, hiding out from their whole damn AU after Asgore made that agreement with Nightmare's team, and uh... well, this was the best day they'd had in a long while. After what happened with Undyne, Edge had been devastated, of course; hell, she'd been his best friend! Edge had been down in the dumps for a long while, but he was having a better day than he had been, and Red counted that as one hell of a damn victory. Red heard Edge talk in his sleep about getting revenge for Undyne, about taking the fight to them, but it was risky.

If they revealed they were hiding out from their AU, they would be exiled forever, probably sentenced to death by Asgore, and viewed as cowards. It was safer to be missing than a traitor, because while Red would fight his AU for his brother and vice versa, they would both lose. Core had gotten them set up in a version of their house, Doomfanger had called dibs on several spots already, and... safety wise they were good. Morale wise.... not so much. Red was currently lounging on the patched up, old couch in the living room, when he heard a knock at the door.

"SANS! GET THE DOOR!" Edge shouted as Red was getting up.

"i'm already gettin' it! ya don't gotta yell at me!" Red snapped back.

"DON'T YOU SASS ME, BROTHER!" Edge yelled.

"i wasn't sassin' ya, boss!" Red groaned, walking over to the door and opening it, seeing Dream standing there, looking.... oh my god.

Red burst out laughing, grabbing onto the doorframe with his gloved hands to hold himself up. Dream was standing there, wearing black with spikes on his shoulders and on the sleeve cuffs, looking like a teenage goth dork, and he even had the black nail polish to fit the ensemble. The 'Cemetery Goth' written on the front in bright purple cursive font... that just sent Red over the edge, just as much as Dream's pissed off face did. Red looked past Dream to see Reality standing a bit away, visibly restraining himself from laughing. Red had met the good version of Nightmare a bit ago, when they'd heard about Undyne from Dream, and all in all, he was a pretty good kid.

"dream- what- what the hell are ya wearin'?!" Red couldn't help but ask, and Dream sighed.

"it was error's idea..." Dream sighed, "can i come in?"

"damn, i thought you were goth, not vamp." Red snickered, and Dream was confused.

"huh?" Dream asked.

"vampires have to ask for permission before entering someone's house." Reality explained, and Red snorted.

"oh..." Dream nodded.

"heh, yeah, you dorks can come in." Red permitted, stepping aside so that they could enter. Dream and Reality walked in, and Red called out, "aye, boss! come 'n say hi!"

"YOU KNOW I HATE WHEN YOU CALL ME THA- DREAM?!" Edge exclaimed as he poked his skull around the corner, having been in the kitchen making lasagna.

"hi, edge..." Dream greeted with a small wave.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU WEARING?! YOU LOOK LIKE MY BROTHER WHEN HE WAS A TEENAGER!" Edge questioned, and Red flushed... well, red.

Damnit, he'd forgotten all about that...

"error thought it would be funny." Dream explained with a sigh.

"and it is." Red smirked.

"it totally is." Reality snickered, Dream smiling a bit.

"GO AHEAD AND HAVE A SEAT, YOU TWO! I JUST FINISHED MAKING DINNER BECAUSE MY BROTHER IS TOO LAZY TO DO SO!" Edge invited.

"aye! nuh uh! i can cook, ya just don't like it when i do!" Red glared.

"BECAUSE YOUR FOOD IS WORSE THAN AN UNDERTALE SANS'S, AND THEIR COOKING IS NOTORIOUS FOR BEING DISGUSTING!" Edge told him.

"in your opinion!" Red responded.

"IN DOOMFANGER'S AS WELL! SHE TOOK THE FOOD FROM MY PLATE AND PUT IT IN HER LITTER BOX!" Edge pointed out, crossing his arms.

"because she hates me!" Red huffed, rolling his eyelight.

"THE KITCHEN HATES YOU! YOU CAN'T EVEN OPEN A CAN WITHOUT MAKING THE CONTENTS INEDIBLE!" Edge smirked, and Red growled, "DREAM, REALITY, YOU HAVE NOTHING TO FEAR FOR YOUR MEAL! I CAN GUARANTEE IT WON'T COME TO LIFE AND TRY TO EAT YOU!"

"one time..." Red grumbled, crossing his arms with a huff.

"wait, that can happen??" Reality questioned with wide eye sockets, and Red sighed.

"yes... somehow..." Red sighed.

"IT CAN INDEED! MY BROTHER COULD STOP NIGHTMARE WITH A BURGER!" Edge grinned.

"hey!" Red snapped, Reality laughing a little.

"hey, if it works, let's get him in a kitchen." Reality smirked, "end the war."

". . . what brought you two by, anyways?" Red asked, subtly changing the subject.

"well, umm... we've come to ask you if you wanted to do something." Dream said, "you don't have to, but the others agreed it would be a good offer to make."

"WHAT'S THE OFFER?" Edge questioned.

"there's an au being attacked, and an underfell au is doing the attacking for nightmare. him and his team have been working on something, but we don't know what it is, and we were hoping you could help us find out." Dream informed.

"so ya want us to infiltrate the siege, takin' their places?" Red asked, eye sockets widening a bit, "huh... that's actually a good plan. what about our emotions?"

"nightmare and shattered aren't there, so you have nothing to worry about that. just... try not to be caught, and there's spy gear you can use too, so we can teleport you out if needed." Reality informed.

"I SAY WE DO IT. FOR UNDYNE." Edge spoke up, and Dream looked down.

"i'm still sorry for your loss." Dream said.

"IT WASN'T YOUR FAULT, IT WAS THAT SHATTERED BASTARD'S. IF WE UNCOVER THEIR SCHEMES, WE CAN AVENGE HER!" Edge smirked.

"if that's what you wanna do, bro, i'm with ya." Red nodded.

"you're sure about this?" Dream asked.

"dream, buddy, listen. undyne's dead cuz 'a this. we gott avenge her somehow, and she'd want us to take the fight to these guys, so that's what we'll do. 'nuff sittin' around on our coccyges, let's kick some tailbone." Red punched one hand into his other palm, fingers grabbing his fist.

"IS THERE A SIGNAL FOR US TO RETREAT?" Edge questioned.

"sci has some gear for you guys to use with hidden cameras, and geno will be there with him to teleport you both out if something happens." Reality informed.

"that could work... . . . if we get caught, we can fight these guys, right?" Red asked.

"depends on who it is. the murder time trio are dangerous, do not fight them, cross can overwrite you and if he does that all of this is a bust, fell isn't too bad, just uh... he's probably the least dangerous on nightmare's team, all things considered. then there's violet i think his name was, he's on shattered's team and he's not too big of a threat compared to the others, he's like your brother but.. i dunno, extremely evil and psychotic? as for if you encounter ink...." Reality trailed off, exchanging glances with Dream, "get out of there immediately."

"ey, we could make ourselves beat 'im up! wouldn't be too hard!" Red insisted.

"that's not what we're worried about." Dream sighed, "you haven't seen him, red. once you do, you'd be caught off guard, and odds are you would die."

"DON'T UNDERESTIMATE US, DREAM!" Edge told him, "WE COULD HANDLE OURSELVES!"

"edge, red, listen to me. ink was- is still the guardian of aus. he's immortal, he's soulless so blue magic doesn't work, and even if you could hurt him, he can still kill you easily. you don't stand a chance, and he will kill you. i don't enjoy saying this about him, but... he is very dangerous, you two. he killed undyne, and if you want to avenge her, you need to stay alive and help us get him back." Dream responded, "the blame for undyne's death isn't on ink, he's just being used as a weapon. the real blame lies with shattered."

"whose coccyx we're gonna kick." Reality added, "well, dream is the main one who can make much of a dent, but uh.. yeah, you know what i mean. i can piss of nightmare and keep him busy, that's about it."

"how's it work, anyways? i mean, from what we know, you've got the last positive apple from your world, but your powers are negativity based?" Red was confused, and he'd been trying to figure it out ever since he heard about it.

"well, it's not that i can't utilize positivity, i just don't know how. i'm still the guardian of negativity, just a... i dunno, different kind? like i can calm someone down and absorb their negativity as power into myself like he can, but i don't know how to use positivity. it doesn't hurt me or anything, i just don't know how to wield it." Reality explained.

"i'm sure you'll figure it out as an instinct or somethin' durin' an epic battle." Red said.

"YOU WATCH TOO MUCH ANIME, BROTHER." Edge sighed.

"it ain't just anime that does it! it's shown all the time!" Red snapped.

"IN ANIME." Edge smirked.

"outside it too!" Red glared.

"WHERE? IN MANGA? THAT'S STILL ANIME, SANS." Edge huffed.

"no!-" Red started, but Dream got between them.

"guys, please?" Dream requested, and Red burst out laughing from a skeleton in a goth outfit breaking up bickering, and a moment later, Edge followed suit.

"sorry, sorry, coffin dodger! raincheck on dinner, let's go kick some a-" Red was cut off as Reality teleported him and Edge in a plume of black smoke, "-ss... damnit, ya cut me off."

"sorry." Reality apologized insincerely, and Red looked around at where he was.

He recognized his surroundings after a few moments, seeing he was in a lab, but it was different from Alphys', and when he saw some of the posters on the walls, he knew exactly where he was. Heh, it'd been a while...

"'ey, sci!" Red called out, and he saw the skeleton poke his skull around a corner.

"red, hey! it's been a while!" Sci greeted, going back around the corner, grabbing something before walking back over with two briefcases.

"me an' paps are goin' full mission impossible." Red snickered, "an' we might get to kick some tailbone!"

"i heard! i assumed you would accept the proposal, so i started getting everything ready for when you arrived. reality, the au they're going to, can you sense who's there?" Sci asked.

"hang on..." Reality shut his eye sockets, concentrated, and he clenched his jaw, "as far as i can tell, bill's there, and... crap. there's dust, horror, killer, and someone else."

"those three are rather... problematic." Sci sighed, "i still haven't gotten all of the paint off of the lights from ink breaking them out..."

"WAIT, WHAT HAPPENED?" Edge questioned, probably as surprised as Red felt.

"a while ago, killer, dust, and horror were captured to try and find out more about what happened to ink. unfortunately, they didn't know much, just guesses, and ink showed up and broke them out of their cells since i forgot to block him out of the au. i truly hope for your sakes that ink isn't present." Sci shuddered.

"yeah, he's uhh... he's done worse than jailbreak unfortunately." Red sighed, and he saw Edge's hands clench into fists.

"i assumed as much." Sci sighed, and he put the briefcases on a table, opening them and revealing some wires, small black earbuds, and small pieces of plastic in gray foam molds, "the covert listening device-"

"ya mean the wire?" Red asked.

". . . yes, the wire. that gets wrapped around your ribs, the earbuds go inside your auditory canals, and the contacts go in your eye sockets." Sci informed, gesturing to the pieces of plastic.

"it uncomfortable?" Red questioned.

". . . probably?" Sci shrugged, "it's a good thing you're only doing this once."

"awesome..." Red sighed sarcastically.

There was a flicker of white pixels, and Geno appeared, looking around before saying, "sorry i'm late. i'm not interrupting anything, am i?"

Geno smirked as he asked the question, and Sci grumbled, "no, you're not. you just can't let that go, can you?"

"nope." Geno denied, and Red looked between them in confusion.

"what?" Red asked.

"nothing!" Sci said hurriedly, "just geno mentioning something that we agreed not to discuss further!"

A black blob appeared in the corner, forming into a version of Gaster, and he tilted his cracked skull at them.

"👎⚐ ✋ ☟✌✞☜ ☝☼✌☠👎😐✋👎💧 ✡☜❄✍" (Do I have grandkids yet?) The Gaster asked, and Red's eye sockets went wide in bewilderment.

"what?!" Red exclaimed.

"dad!" Geno and Sci both snapped.

"☠✌☼👍✋💧💧✋💧❄✋👍📪 💧☜☹☞📫💧☟✋🏱🏱✋☠☝ 💧✋☠☠☜☼💧❞" (Narcissistic, self-shipping sinners ~) The Gaster snickered before vanishing.

". . . what the hell?" Red asked.

"a-anyways!" Sci spoke up, cheekbones bright blue, and he pushed the briefcases towards him and Edge before running down the hall.

Geno sighed, pinching the bridge of his nasal cavity, and he muttered, "at least it's not as bad as whatever the hell's going on with knife and murder..."

"wait, what?" Red questioned.

Murder and him were pretty close, and from how much Murder ranted about Knife, he knew the skeleton hated Knife's nonexistent guts. Hell, on several occasions, they'd started brawls all over the Omega Timeline since he'd gotten here, including in his own front yard after Murder dropped by to visit for a bit. Sure, Murder was a masochist, but Red didn't take him for the type of guy to get into a relationship with someone he hated, much less a version of himself.

"well, after something happened that i do not want to talk about, ever, i found out that knife and murder kissed from dream, who was freaking the hell out about it, and now i'm still freaking out." Geno explained, and Red's jaw dropped.

"what?!" Reality yelled, Red flinching as the skeleton spoke up suddenly and abruptly.

He'd kinda forgotten the guy was there...

"yeah, i... i still don't understand it." Geno sighed.

Red was quiet, and then his gaping jaw turned into a wide grin, and he chuckled, "heh heh heh heh heh! oh the blackmail i have on 'im now! murder hates that guy!"

Red had known Murder for a long while, and they were relatively close. Red had met him and Famine back when they'd been on speaking terms, or well, had still been friends. He wasn't all too close with Murder, since dirty brother killer and all, but Murder had redeemed himself, and Red knew Murder hadn't had any other options. He didn't hate Murder for what he did, he just hated that he had to do it.

At least he'd turned his life around, even if Famine still wouldn't forgive him, despite Red trying to coerce the skeleton into giving his previous friend another chance, but it was a lost cause. The fact that Murder had something going on with Knife, though.... Damn. Red almost thought of it as a way of Murder trying to get Famine jealous, but that quickly went out the window, as Famine would just hate Murder more, but still... . . . The Omega Timeline was filled with drama from those three, and it was better than any soap opera, or a bunch of Mettatons competing for an acting role. Now that was peak cinema.

". . . I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH THIS." Edge mentioned, and Red snickered.

"use it for blackmail to avoid crises!" Red winked.

"AH WELL, GOOD ENOUGH." Edge sighed.

They started gearing up after that, getting the wire wrapped around their ribs, the earbuds secured in their ear canals, and the contacts in their eye sockets, and damn was it uncomfortable. He only had one in because his eyelight melted the other one a bit and it had to be removed, but it was still unpleasant. It wouldn't be for long, though, and they would be able to help stop these guys and get some revenge for Undyne. His brother definitely needed that much.

"you guys ready?" Geno asked as Sci came back, getting a laptop set up, ignoring the teasing smirk Geno was giving him that was still confusing Red.

"yeah, let's blow this popsicle stand." Red nodded, Geno muttering something that made Sci tackle him, and Geno laughed as he teleported Red and Edge out of the lab.

When Red looked around, he saw they were on the surface, with the moon high in the sky, which was suffering from mild light pollution and some actual pollution, but some stars were still visible. They were on a rooftop, and Red could see some Underfell monsters down below, sending attacks at the residents of this timeline. Not all of them hit, just some, and they weren't lethal.

Red knew Underfell timelines, especially due to being a part of one. Underfell monsters didn't just miss, they kept you alive because they wanted you alive, not because they couldn't kill or injure you. It made sense, in a way. They couldn't be negative if they were dead, and the Underfell monsters were probably under orders to terrorize, not kill. They probably weren't all too happy about the arrangement, but they probably didn't have a choice, knowing how Underfell Asgores could be.

"can you still hear us?" Sci's voice asked in Red's ear canal.

"yeah, loud 'n clear, doc. where're we headin'?" Red responded, mumbling quietly.

"well, first you need to find the versions of you here and incapacitate them, and then geno can drop them off somewhere. from there, just... gather information from some of this universe's assailants. me and geno will be watching the whole time." Sci instructed, and Red looked around.

He couldn't see anything at first glance, but he knew he didn't need to, not when if there was one thing Underfell Sanses and Papyruses had in common, it was the bickering.

"SANS, I SWEAR!" Red heard in the distance, "GET OFF YOUR TAILBONE AND DO SOMETHING USEFUL!" Red looked over at Edge, and they nodded at each other before heading to the source of the arguing.

"oh i'm sooo sorry i don't wanna traumatize these poor suckers!" Was the response that Papyrus got, "th' only reason i'm even here is 'cuzza bein' ordered to! you can have all the damn fun ya want, but i'm stayin' outta it."

"YOU DON'T HAVE THAT OPTION, NITWIT! IF YOU'RE FOUND TO BE SLACKING OFF, WHO KNOWS WHAT COULD HAPPEN! THE KING'S BEEN LOOKING FOR A REASON TO FINISH YOU OFF, SO DON'T GIVE HIM ONE!" The Papyrus countered, "ALL YOU NEED TO DO IS TERRORIZE THESE PATHETIC PEOPLE! IT'S KILL OR BE KILLED, YOU KNOW THAT!"

"yeah, but y'know what else?" The Sans asked.

"WHAT?" The Papyrus questioned, and Red and Edge reached their location, looking down at the bickering skeletons in an alleyway.

"between everyone else participatin', me skippin' don't really matter."

"YES IT DOES! HONESTLY, BROTHER! DO YOU WANT TO PISS THOSE GUYS OFF? HUH?? KING ASGORE MAY BE SCARY, BUT THOSE OTHER VERSIONS OF YOU... SANS, I DON'T KNOW IF THEY WOULD ALLOW YOU TO SLACK OFF WITHOUT DIRE CONSEQUENCES. THEY CAN READ EXPRESSIONS JUST AS WELL AS YOU CAN, THEY WOULD KNOW, AND IF THEY KNEW, YOU COULD GET HURT OR WORSE!"

"look, i saw that other version 'a me! i'm not endin' up like him, a'ight?!"

Other version?... Wait, was there a version of Red working for Nightmare willingly? If he knew himself, which he did, he wouldn't go out of his way to hurt people like that. Hell! His world was kill or be killed, yes, but Red didn't like killing without being attacked first. Papyrus had one hell of an LV, but Red... he didn't like the idea of attacking unprovoked, which made him wonder exactly why he was doing this.

". . . YES, I KNOW, BUT YOU WOULDN'T. I SAW HIM TOO, AND I DON'T LIKE IT EITHER, BUT YOU WOULD NOT END UP LIKE HIM. HE DIDN'T HAVE A BROTHER AS GREAT AND EVIL SUCH AS MYSELF TO WATCH OVER HIM, NOT IF HE ENDED UP LIKE THAT."

Red looked over at Edge, seeing if he was thinking what he was. Maybe they didn't have to knock these guys out, they could just swap places with them, and they probably wouldn't mind all too much... Probably. Or they got attacked and dealt with them, either way. Edge nodded at him, seeming to come to the same conclusion, and Red teleported down.

"'ey, i might have a solution for ya." Red spoke up, their gazes snapping to him, Gaster Blasters and red bones already being summoned, "woah woah woah! sheesh, chillax! i don't wanna fight, you two!"

The other version of him looked him over, and he held up his hand, "he's tellin' the truth. he ain't here for a fight."

"THEN WHAT DOES HE WANT?" The other Papyrus questioned.

"WE WANT TO TRADE PLACES WITH YOU." Edge spoke up, landing at the other end of the alley, "WE'RE HERE TO GET INFORMATION REGARDING THESE EVIL VERSIONS OF OUR BROTHERS, AND WHILE WE DID HAVE INTENTIONS OF FIGHTING YOU," Red pinched the bridge of his nasal cavity, "WE DON'T NEED TO DO THAT. AN ALLY CAN TELEPORT YOU OUT OF HERE, AND WE CAN GATHER OUR INFORMATION."

". . . KNOCK US OUT, IT'LL LOOK BETTER." The other Papyrus instructed.

"what?!" Red and the other Sans exclaimed.

"YES, YES! IT'LL LOOK LIKE WE PUT UP A VALIANT FIGHT BUT LOST, HENCE GETTING US OUT OF FURTHER TROUBLE ONCE YOU'RE CAUGHT! AS SANS IS A HORRIBLE ACTOR." The Papyrus explained.

"oh screw you! you are the horrible actors!" Red snapped.

"WE ARE NOT!" Edge glared.

"yes ya are!" The other Sans sighed in exasperation.

"AND YOU'RE SO MUCH BETTER?! YOU NEVER ACT! . . . DO YOU?" The other Papyrus questioned.

". . . 'ey, you wanna knock me out yet?" The Sans asked Red, who nodded, punching the side of his skull and knocking him out, using just enough force to avoid causing serious harm.

Edge knocked out the other Papyrus a moment later, hitting him on the side of his skull, and the two of them used blue magic to put them in a dumpster, closing the lids on them.

"well, i didn't expect for that to happen." Sci mused.

"your mom didn't expect for that to happen." Red mumbled with a snicker.

"what?" Sci asked, and Red could hear Geno laughing, and he smirked as he saw Edge sigh, pinching the bridge of his nasal cavity.

"nothin', nothin'." Red chuckled, and he started walking out of the alley, Edge following behind him.

Red paused as he saw someone poking their skull around a corner, seemingly another version of him. They looked... almost like a puppet? Their body looked like a Sans's, but there was clear stitch marks on their forehead and legs. They had light purple button eyelights, headphones with ghosts on the sides of them. They had a white coat, shirt, gloves, and scarf, the coat dripping down on the sides and having a purple hood, and they were wearing white boots with purple soles. They blinked at them curiously, waving a little, and they seemed nervous.

"tear? what is it?" Another voice questioned, looking around the corner.

It was another Sans variant, with a light gray sleeveless turtleneck, white poncho with three large stars on the front, which glowed yellow, and the poncho had a fluffy black hood. He was wearing dark gray pants with knee-high black boots, and his eye sockets were empty.

"uh... hi?" Red greeted, "we're not with the bad guys, if that's what you're worried about."

"wait a minute... that's tear and paper crane! it's been a minute since i've seen those two!" Geno said over the coms.

"another christmas party thing?" Sci questioned.

"yeah. one where blue didn't spike the damn punch." Geno muttered, "i'm gonna miss that."

"hey, i saw swap downing a bottle of vodka with murder the other day, you'd be surprised." Reality mentioned.

Swap? Who was that?

"wait what?!" Geno and Sci exclaimed.

"oh my god..." Red sighed.

"well, murder had a bottle of water, swap had the vodka, but still." Reality audibly shrugged, "then knife was in the background chugging a thing of whiskey, taunting murder about how he wanted a drink, and it ended in a fist fight.... wait was it even a fist fight considering they kissed? what the actual hell is their relationship?"

"a fun one, probably." Someone else spoke up, and he heard a curse.

"reaper!!" Geno yelled.

"OH MY GOD, THIS IS SUPPOSED TO BE FOR A MISSION. WE CAN DISCUSS THIS LATER." Edge snapped.

"damn, it was just gettin' good, boss." Red sighed.

"sorry. as you were. shutting off the microphone for now." Sci informed, and the line went quiet.

"uh... who were you talking to?" Paper Crane asked.

"y'know geno?" Red questioned.

"yeah. . . . ok yeah, that makes more sense..." Paper Crane laughed a bit, "so, umm... we overheard your conversation with those other yous... . . . would you like some help?"

"you wanna help with this?" Red asked, surprised.

"well, i don't exactly like what these guys are doing, and i want to help stop them. i was just bringing tear here so they could get some lunch when the attack started. i haven't seen them do this before, but now that i'm seeing it... maybe we could help you?" Paper Crane offered.

"we aren't really fighters, but we could help you get information?" Tear offered, still seeming nervous.

"that... would work, i think. yeah." Red nodded, "but ya don't gotta endanger yourself."

"he won't be. go ahead and show them, tear!" Paper Crane prompted, and Tear faded out of sight.

"i'm not houdini, but i have my own vanishing act." Tear attempted to joke, having not moved, and Paper Crane laughed a bit.

"yeah, that... that could work." Red said after a moment, a bit surprised by the ability.

"we'll let you know if we find anything." Paper Crane informed, and Tear turned visible, nodding again, and the two teleported away.

"HEY! YOU TWO!" Red flinched as he heard someone yelling, and he looked behind him to see some guards in the street, "QUIT SLACKING OFF!"

"right, sorry!" Red apologized, and after glancing up at his brother, who nodded, they fell into the part.

Red didn't like what came next. He had to fire attacks at others, but he ensured they missed, and he saw Edge doing the same. Eventually, he saw the sources of this whole damn problem a bit further ahead on their current street. Dust he recognized, and there was other versions of Knife and Famine.

It was kinda odd, seeing the three of them getting along and not trying to injure each other. Hell, Murder and Famine had barely talked in forever, much less gotten along. Knife and Murder was touch and go, between them trying to kill each other, somewhat getting along, and... whatever the hell else they were doing. Red decided to not ask questions about that until he saw them again, then he could go what the hell.

Another big difference between them was that while Famine, Knife, and Murder naturally had a pretty damn intimidating aura around each of them... it did not compare to the auras around these three. LV usually gave people some pretty intense auras, but this was just... wow. It was terrifying, even more-so than the last time. Just Dust looking at him sent a sharp chill down his spine, like those glowing red eyelights were piercing into his soul and ripping it apart just from a glance.

The other two, Killer and Horror, well... they weren't nearly as bad. Well, they were both intimidating, but something about Dust was terrifying. Maybe it was because Murder was the most stable one out of him, Knife, and Famine, and now here Dust was, with an LV so high it made Red feel sick to his nonexistent stomach. The three skeletons didn't pay them much attention, just glancing before going back to their conversation.

"BROTHER?" Edge whispered.

"yeah?" Red responded quietly.

"DON'T PISS YOURSELF." Edge smirked.

"oh screw you." Red hissed, voice hushed.

Red headed down a side alley, Edge following after him, and he summoned some attacks at nothing to make it seem like they were terrorizing people, when in reality he only might've startled some mice. After taking a long way around, Red teleported him and Edge up to a rooftop with some bushes along the edges, the two of them looking between the branches and leaves. When monsters got high up in LV, or were just paranoid like most Horrortale Sanses, Famine being a prime example, they became hyper-aware of others. When it came to LV, they had a sixth-sense of where someone was, like their magic was helping them find more targets, and with paranoia it was the same thing, but they could tell they were being watched. The LV part had a range, and it could be evaded if someone was far enough away, and the paranoia part... well, they were naturally paranoid, they often made false calls.

Red saw Killer vanish after a moment, and he whispered, "geno, where the hell'd he go?"

"going off of his code... wait, that can't be right... why would he go to hotland?" Geno responded after the coms clicked back to life.

Hotland?

Red saw Killer reappear a moment later, meeting up with his teammates again, and he narrowed his eye sockets in suspicion, "ey paps, wait here." Red whispered before teleporting to Hotland.

He could visualize Hotland well enough to get to where he needed to, and he was able to successfully reach the location. It was mostly abandoned, as the monsters were all free from the Underground now, and not many of them stuck around in Hotland, not when they had Hawaii and a bunch of other places to go to that had volcanoes, heat, and lava. Red looked around at the Core, and he teleported over to it, looking around for anything out of the ordinary. Killer could've gone anywhere, be it Alphys's lab or somewhere else, but the Core was a good place to start, considering how it powered the Underground in pretty much every AU.

"wait, what's that?" Sci asked suddenly, and Red looked back where his eyelight had glanced over, and he saw something small between some pipes.

It was a small, metal device with a blinking red light in the middle of it, and Red looked at it in confusion, "what the hell is that?"

"that... doesn't look normal, but there's a possibility that it could be something from this au." Sci said, and Red heard motion from behind him.

His reflexes were quick, and he summoned a Gaster Blaster, aiming it, only to pause as he saw Tear hide behind Paper Crane, and he winced. Damnit. He got rid of the attack, feeling a bit bad about scaring them.

"sorry, sorry. reflex." Red apologized.

"it's ok...." Tear replied, "have you found anything out yet?"

"i don't really know for sure, but geno told me through these coms we have hooked up that he saw one of their codes come here, and he was only here for a hot sec." Red answered, "i'm boutta check the lab next."

"tear was just there, and they didn't see anything." Paper Crane informed, "what do you think he was doing here?"

"no clue, but it probably wasn't good." Red sighed.

"i'm sure we'll find ou-" Paper Crane started, only for those three stars on his poncho to turn red, and he grew nervous, "i'm so sorry, but i have to go! i wish we could help out more, but we can't stay! i hope you find answers as to what they're doing!"

"wai-!" Red started, only for the two to vanish, and he cursed under his breath before teleporting back to Edge.

He was quickly met with blue magic being used on his soul, and he winced as he was slammed onto the rooftop. He bit back a curse, looking up and half-expecting to see one of the Darks there, or even Edge and have this all be one damn joke, but nope. It was seemingly the Sans of this timeline, looking like a Classic, and he looked pissed, his left eye socket having a cyan eyelight in it. Crap.

"woah, woah, woah! wait a sec!" Red started, whispering, holding his hands up, "i'm not the bad guy here!"

"yeah right." The Sans rolled his eyelight, looking unconvinced, "as if."

"BROTHER, YOU SAW THAT OTHER ME'S EXPRESSION, HE MIGHT BE TELLING THE TRUTH!" This AU's Papyrus spoke up, Edge standing next to him, not looking pleased about this.

"I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU LET YOURSELF GET CAUGHT, SANS. YOU SHOULD BE ASHAMED OF YOURSELF." Edge remarked.

"oh screw you! you got caught, too!" Red snapped quietly, "and would ya two keep your voices down? there's three psychopaths down in the streets, and i don't want 'em findin' us. look, we're on the same side, alright?"

"why should i believe you?" The Sans asked, crossing his arms.

"because, just- look, you an' i both know expressions, ok? look at mine. what's it tell ya?" Red questioned, and the Sans observed him for a moment.

". . ." The Sans was quiet.

"SANS, I BELIEVE THEY'RE TELLING THE TRUTH. YOU SAW THEM, THEY PURPOSELY AVOIDED HURTING OTHERS, AND YOU SAID THEY DIDN'T LOOK HAPPY ATTACKING IN THE FIRST PLACE." The Papyrus vouched for him.

"paps, bro, i know ya wanna believe 'em, but we can't. we can't just trust these guys, not after what the rest of their timeline did." The Sans responded.

"that ain't our timeline, ok? we're from another one like it, an' we're undercover tryin' to figure out how to stop these jerks." Red informed, mildly annoyed.

"well, isn't that good to know?~" Red froze as he heard a voice like Knife's but also not like it, and he whipped his skull around, seeing Killer looking down at them from a higher up rooftop.

"crap." Red cursed under his breath, watching the skeleton jump down, landing in a crouch on the rooftop they were currently on.

The Sans stopped using blue magic on Red's skull as he moved to stand in front of his brother defensively, and Red quickly pushed himself up, placing himself between Killer and them.

"dust thought there was somethin' off about you." Killer smirked, "good to see that he was right. you guys aren't as quiet as you think you are, y'know?"

"clearly, otherwise you wouldn't've freakin' found us." Red muttered through gritted teeth, and Killer snickered.

"you're a fun one, i'll give you that. wish you wouldn't have been stupid enough to side with dream." Killer hummed, slipping his knife out of his pocket, the edge turning glowing red, and his theme started up.

"i'm not the stupid one here, pal." Red retorted, "i'm not workin' for your boss."

"and you're gonna regret that decision for the short rest of your life." Killer responded.

Red heard Edge pushing past the other Sans and Papyrus, standing next to him, "IT WON'T BE ENDING SOON IF I HAVE ANYTHING TO SAY ABOUT IT. BROTHER, DON'T YOU DARE TRY AND PLAY THE HERO AND PROTECT ME, OR I'LL KILL YOU MYSELF."

"at least that guy won't kill me by lecturin' me ta death!" Red shot back.

"OH PLEASE! THAT'S IF I TORTURE YOU BEFORE I KILL YOU!" Edge audibly rolled his nonexistent eyelights.

Red started to respond, only for Killer to cut him off, "what is it with underfell sanses and papyruses bickering constantly?"

"distracting you, duh." Red smirked, summoning a Gaster Blaster above Killer and firing it down at him.

Killer dodged the blast, summoning and firing sharp bones at the four of them, Red and the Sans of this timeline bringing up a white and red bone shield to block the attacks, and he looked back at him, asking, "believe me now?!"

"for now!" The Sans responded, "we can't fight this guy!"

"i wouldn't be worried about just him." Another voice spoke up, Red freezing for a second time as he looked to his left, seeing Dust teleporting to the edge of the rooftop, "i thought your face said something wasn't right..."

"red, do you need me to teleport you two?" Geno asked over the coms.

"no, i can't ditch these two." Red whispered, just loud enough Geno could hear it.

"WE AREN'T AFRAID OF YOU!" Edge informed, probably lying through his teeth.

"you should be." Dust informed, Gaster Blasters that looked like Red's, just with Dust's eyelights, forming, and Red clenched his jaw.

Red understood the implications of that very well. Dust was showing that he'd killed a version of Red before, and he would have no problems with doing so again. Red knew he didn't stand a chance here, not against these guys, who could dust an AU without breaking a sweat. While Red grew wary, Edge grew pissed, which commonly ended in disaster.

"run, bruhs!" Red heard Epic yell, the black, white, and purple clad skeleton dropping down between the four of them, Killer, and Dust.

"aye! we can handle ourselves!" Red snapped.

"not against them you don't." Delta informed, teleporting next to Epic, Color soon to follow, "you two need to get out of here, now."

"red, edge, listen to them!" Sci yelled hastily, sounding worried, "do not engage them! you will lose!"

"LET'S GO!" Edge yelled after a moment, grabbing the Papyrus's hand, and he started running.

Red grabbed this Sans's hand too, and he started running to keep up with his brother, despite being a bit slower, pulling this AU's Sans with him to keep up. Red could feel something on the top of the other skeleton's hand, like a... metal plate, almost. Red didn't ask about it, focusing on running while the five, going on six skeletons once Horror joined in duked it out behind them, explosions echoing through the area. He and Edge still needed to get out of here, yes, but Red wasn't about to ditch these two bozos in order to save his own and his brother coccyges. He wasn't a coward.

Eventually, they made it to a safe spot, far enough away from the fighting to where they wouldn't be located easily, and they took the opportunity to catch their breaths. Edge and the Papyrus of this timeline weren't horribly out of breath, while Red and the Sans from this timeline were panting like dogs. He really needed to lay off the mustard, damn. He heard the Papyrus's breathing quicken, and he assumed it was because he was out of shape and finally showing it, but when Red looked closer? The Papyrus was having a panic attack, and the Sans hurried over to him, Red letting go of his hand.

"paps, hey, paps it's ok." The Sans reassured, reaching up and putting his hands on his brother's shoulders.

Red could see the Sans's left eyelight glowing a mix of blue and purple, and he saw the Papyrus's glowing a mix of purple and orange. Red hadn't seen any versions of him or his brother do this before, and he was honestly wondering what the deal with it was. It seemed to calm the Papyrus down, but he was still a bit shaken up.

"W︎E︎ N︎E︎E︎D︎ T︎O︎ G︎O︎ B︎A︎C︎K︎ F︎O︎R︎ T︎H︎E︎M︎,︎ T︎H︎E︎Y︎ C︎O︎U︎L︎D︎ G︎E︎T︎ H︎U︎R︎T︎!︎" The Papyrus exclaimed.

"those three have it covered, trust me." Red informed, "one's immortal and the other's almost impossible to kill. they can handle those guys, we... don't stand much chance."

"MY BROTHER IS TELLING THE TRUTH. WHILE THOSE THREE CAN BE ANNOYING, THEY CAN HOLD THEIR OWN IN A FIGHT. WE WOULD JUST GET IN THEIR WAY." Edge added.

"see? they'll be ok, paps." The Sans told his brother.

"I STILL WANT TO HELP THEM!" The Papyrus said.

"look, that guy with the red eyelights? he can hijack your attacks, ok? if we tried to help, we'd just get ourselves or them hurt." Red sighed, "running away from that fight is how we help."

"HIJACKING ATTACKS?... BUT... THAT'S IMPOSSIBLE..." The Papyrus muttered.

"flying and teleporting should be impossible too." The Sans mentioned, "but we can still do it. for that guy to take control over others' attacks, it ain't all that far-fetched."

"I STILL HATE JUST LEAVING THEM THERE..." The Papyrus frowned, a few tears in his eye sockets.

"i know, but we didn't have a choice. those guys are no joke, paps. like that edgy me said, getting away is how we help them." The Sans told him.

"THEN MAYBE I COULD TRY TALKING WITH THEM?" The Papyrus asked.

"yeahhhhhhh no, that won't work." Red informed, "it's been tried, and it never works."

"MAYBE THEY WEREN'T AS GREAT AS ME??" The Papyrus questioned.

"look, i understand ya wanna help, an' ya wanna stop those guys, but trust me, you can't. the greatest thing ya can do is ride this out, ok?" Red said.

"paps, him and asgore went out on that trip to the wood, remember? in that one cottage? we could ask if we could stay with them for a bit?" The Sans suggested.

"BUT WHAT ABOUT UNDYNE AND EVERYONE ELSE?" The Papyrus asked.

"i'm sure they can take care of themselves, and i can try and track them down, if they didn't have the same idea i did. i'm sure they'll be ok." The Sans reassured, "let's just... let's just get to those two, ok?"

Red could tell from the Sans's expression that he wasn't sure that they would be ok, and he was focused on saving his brother above the rest of them, which Red could honestly understand. In his timeline, him and his brother looked after each other to avoid letting the other get dusted, and more often than not it meant neglecting others' safety in order to protect each other. Sure, they had friends and what not, but they prioritized each other. Even if they threatened to kill each other, that would never happen, and they both knew it.

It was lighthearted teasing for them, and they didn't show affection in any way other than sending jabs at each other, and occasionally reassuring each other when they really couldn't keep their crap together. Those times were few and far between, as both of them were emotionally constipated, but they still cared about each other. They just had a tough love thing going on because of their AU, but to be honest, Red wouldn't prefer it any other way.

"OK..." The Papyrus relented, and the Sans looked back at Red.

"hey, uh... sorry for attacking you earlier, pal." He apologized.

"eh, don't worry 'bout it. i woulda done the same." Red shrugged him off.

"you would've attacked yourself?" The Sans asked, and Red rolled his eyelight.

"ha ha, very funny, wise guy." Red grumbled.

Some explosions in the distance got a bit louder, and Red cursed quietly under his breath.

"we'll see you guys around maybe?" The Sans said, looking between them.

"yeah, maybe. ya see another version of us, it won't be us, though. next time we see ya... i dunno, ya got a codeword or somethin' i should use to let ya know it's us?" Red questioned.

"hmmm... what about saying i'm the legendary fartmaster?" The Sans responded with a snicker, and Red snorted while both Papyruses groaned.

"I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU TWO ARE THIS CHILDISH." Edge groaned.

"an' i can't believe you're such a killjoy." Red countered.

"HOW DARE YOU?! I JUST SO HAPPEN TO BE THE LIFE OF THE PARTY!" Edge snapped as the Sans and Papyrus teleported away.

"which party? the killjoy party?" Red smirked.

"WHY YOU LITTLE-!" Edge started, but they were both teleported in a glitching white blip, reappearing back in Sci's lab, where Edge proceeded to curse him out, much to Red's humor.

They hadn't gotten the information they'd been sent there for, aside from that weird device on the Core that might be normal to the timeline, but at least that was something that could be looked into. Besides, something told Red that that minor discovery could be leading to something big.

Bill was lounging on a sofa he'd created on a rooftop, the sofa a plush yellow, and he was eating popcorn while looking over the city, which was filled with explosions and screams. It was music to his nonexistent ears, and he looked over as Axe teleported over. It was his first mission, and he wasn't doing too horrible. He'd been with Horror for a while before they split off to different parts of the city, and splitting up the Murder Time Trio was a stupid decision, and Bill didn't want to have to deal with half of the city by himself.

Could he? Yes, very easily, but doing it alone was so boring! At least, it was until he saw Fresh in the distance, along with the Bad Time Trio. Bill knew Axe wouldn't be able to fight Stretch, not with how emotional he still was about his brother, so Bill decided to make sure Axe didn't freeze up.

"Axe, take the 90s nightmare. I've got the other three." Bill informed, and then he saw Reaper teleport by them, and he cursed under his breath, "And I've got a call to make."

Bill reached into his pocket and grabbed his phone, unlocking the screen before tapping on a contact, raising the device to his nonexistent ear.

"Hello?"

"Jiiiiinnxxx, hey! Listen, your old buddy Reaper's here, not sure if you wanna-" Jinx teleported next to him, "-show up... Cool..."

Jinx hung up the phone, a smile on their face, "I was wondering when I'd get another call. It's been a while, hehe!"

"Yeah, I figured you'd enjoy the invite." Bill smirked.

"I do!" Jinx summoned their stolen scythe, and they vanished, appearing down by Reaper a moment later, slashing it at his neck and causing him to duck down to dodge it.

Bill used blue magic on the soul in Fresh's eye socket to fling him towards Axe, and he himself started fighting the Bad Time Trio. They outnumbered him, but he was far more powerful than them. Axe could handle Fresh fine, it wasn't like the parasite would kill him or anything, after all. The fighting went on for a while, with Bill making the Bad Time Trio put up one hell of a fight.

Could he disassemble their molecules? Yes. Why wasn't he? It was no fun. Besides, they weren't even here for the reasons the Stars thought they were. And yes, readers, I'm leaving it at that! You're not getting anything out of me! One thing that caught his attention, absentmindedly sending rapid attacks at Stretch, Story, and Karma, was how he saw Core Frisk appear over by Fresh after Axe got blown up by some of those damn exploding Furbies, and he looked out of a triangular-shaped hole in a wall, splitting his attention between the two scenes. Core had someone with them; an Axetale Aliza.. crap.

"Sans, please, listen to me. This isn't the way to do this." Core started, "It's not too late."

"don't even start that spiel with me! i don't care who you are, but i don't wanna hear it. everything i had is gone." Axe snapped.

"Not everything. Sans, Frisk wouldn't want you to-" Core began, only to be cut off.

"frisk is gone too! she never came back, she was just gone!"

"Not all of her... She died in a car crash with my father, but she never stopped trying to find a way to free all of you. She... she wrote about you so much. They're right, my mom wouldn't want to see you like this. She wouldn't want to see you doing this." Aliza told him.

". . . what?...." Axe sounded speechless, taking a step back, "you-"

"Yeah..." Aliza nodded, "She cared so much about you, Sans. No one believed her when she said you existed, but you did. She even made it in her will that I stay with you if she passed away, but no one believed her. You were- are a good person, and you don't need to do this. This isn't you."

Bill couldn't see Axe's face due to where the hole in the wall was, but he saw Axe's skull tilt down, and Core continued, "Listen, you don't need to work for Nightmare. You can come to the Omega Timeline. There's plenty of room and food there, and you can stay there instead of returning to your timeline. You don't need to hurt anyone, I promise you."

". . ." Axe was quiet, "it's not that simple."

"Why not?" Core asked.

"because! look, after... something happened that i don't wanna talk about, much less think about, they offered me a place to stay. even if i didn't wanna terrorize people, they still offered me somewhere to stay. the last two weeks have been hell, and they helped me out for no reason other than wanting to help. nothin' was in it for them, and they knew it. they did it because i was- am one of them. i'm not ditching them, not a chance." Axe responded, "nightmare himself helped me out, every night, for the last two weeks. nothing was in it for him, and he still did it."

Heh, Nightmare was good.

"Sans, listen to me. You don't need to work for him just because of that, ok?" Core said, "I understand they helped you, which is.. honestly a very big surprise for me, but just because they helped you doesn't mean you have to help them hurt others. Please, come to the Omega Timeline and give this up. You were listed as Aliza's guardian when her mother passed away. You can have a fresh start there, meet others who have gone through what you did, find people who relate to you and people you can count on."

". . . i already did." Was Axe's response, and he summoned his axe.

Bill kept watching as he resumed paying more attention to the fight he was currently in, dodging several attacks as his split concentration allowed Story to get close, and they started using their knife attacks on him, Karma helping with his Gaster Blaster. Bill dodged them, watching one of the blasts fly past his skull, towards where Axe, Core Frisk, and Aliza were, and he saw it hit a billboard on the rooftop, which broke it. The billboard went tumbling down, and he watched as Axe used blue magic on Aliza's soul, pulling her out of the way just in time as it hit. Core Frisk would be fine, they couldn't die. Bill looked through the triangular hole in the wall again, watching the rooftop collapse, and they fell through the hole. Bill cursed quietly, and he teleported there, looking through the debris. He moved some large pieces, engulfing them in a blue glow as he effortlessly moved them, and after a few moments, he found a ribcage-like structure. Axe was in the middle, holding Aliza, who had a bleeding head wound but was otherwise ok, aside from being unconscious... and maybe that broken leg, considering the angle it was bent at.

"The kid ok?" Bill asked, and Axe nodded.

"yeah, she'll be alright. we gotta get her to the infirmary though." Axe responded, and Bill nodded, calling Killer.

"yeah? kinda busy right now, bill!" Killer responded over the phone, explosions going off.

"Yeah, well we gotta go! Daybreak placed?" Bill questioned.

"yeah." Killer confirmed, "dust, watch out!"

"thanks!" Dust yelled in the distance on Killer's end.

"Then we can leave, we did what we needed to. Meet us back at the infirmary, I'll explain everything there, and no, me and Axe aren't hurt." Bill told him, and he hung up before teleporting him and Axe there.

He had to make it seem like he actually cared about Axe and that kid, after all.

Discord server: https://discord.gg/wQfvxyEuvj

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paynomindtotheinsanity · 5 months ago

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Slightly less spicy version of the bug being down bad for Vampire Dib

#clothes version in case the shirtless one was too spicy for you #invader zim au #your eyes are red #invader zim fanfiction #vampire dib #zadr #invader zim #invader zim fanart #invader zim zadr #doodle

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restingwithineywa · 17 days ago

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Vampire AU | Riverside horrors

Jake stared at the collections of bones.

He had been for the last twenty minutes, crouched down, and eyeing each one carefully. A whole ass skeleton of cleaned bones was laid out from what he had learned was his kill. He had first dibs for his selection for that and he had taken good portions of the hide too which he wanted to make into something. But the bones…

It was a big decision for his place in the boneshaper’s ring. The ribs were massive, as were the leg bones and the skull too was just…freaking huge. He had looked through it once, picking a few up, feeling the weight, turning them then setting them back. Repeat.

His eye was drawn to one of the back legs. He walked slowly over to them, looking at the right leg tibia and femur for the longest of moments, aware of Hukinli's eyes on him the entire time. The Femur was the bigger of the bones, more bone to work with but… Sturmbeest were no small creatures. Creating something from a big bone was more decorative than practical.

Jake wanted something practical than just something to stand and look pretty. He wanted something to be useful for him. He could make a weapon like he had made Morgan his knife. He was proud of it and knew he could make another… but a weapon? No. it didn’t sit right that the thing he’d make would be a weapon.

No. A tool would be far better suited.

He ran his hand down the drying bone for the longest moment before he picked up the large, but thinner bone of the tibia and turned directly to the master shaper and headed straight towards her with it. It felt… right. Big enough for enough space but nothing too big for impractical uses.

She watched him place it down before she nodded critically.

“<Next week, you will start your project with Tsyra. We’re still working through a lot of bones to start your rite so soon after the Great Hunt.>”

“<What preparations should I start?>”

“<Nothing yet, only ensure your bone shaping tools are sharp and whole..>”

Jake nodded, his mind running over his tools for a moment. “<Okay>”

The tools he had, Jake left to double-check the quality of them, laying them out across his hide pouch that unravelled out and he picked each small chisel up at a time. None of it was metal tools, some gifted over his time in the bone shaping ring that steadily replaced the borrowed ones but others he had made himself also made from bone. Some of the bone was strengthened with resin or supported by wooden handles.

Most of his, he noted were still in good condition. He set aside a few small chisels and awls that’d need closer attention to that were blunter or had a crack in. He couldn’t afford to have them break on him, especially during a ritual.

“<You have chosen?>” Neytiri’s voice echoed softly before she appeared beside him, peering at his tools. “<I thought you it was a camp day for you>”

“<Hukinli requested for me to come down for the choosing. I picked a good one.>” Jake grinned a little.

“<Have you decided what you’ll make?>”

Jake hummed, non-committal. “<A tool. The bone itself would make an excellent handle for it. I picked the back tibia. The talioang was just out of adolescence, it’s bone is a little smaller than a fully mature talioang. Small enough to be a handle of sorts once I’ve thinned it down.>” He explained. “<Hukinli said that all the preparations I need to do for now are my tools, but… I want to design what I want to make>”

Neytiri’s hand slapped him lightly over his ear, making a tisked sound. “<That’s the preparation that has not been approved of, Jake.>” She chided softly, “<Your skill will serve you well, but if it is anything like the trials of other areas, Eywa will guide you on the final creation. An idea is one thing, but this is also a spiritual quest that goes hand-in-hand with the rites of the bones.>”

Jake pouted a little but she had a point that he couldn’t refute. “Damn”

Neytiri hummed, pleased that he wasn’t arguing about that. “<Are you busy tomorrow?>”

“<I’m not too sure, I’ll do my chores at Hometree with the humans as usual But I’m planning to do a sweep with the others at the valley, see what we’ll be working with in case the other group won't move about the Valley.>”

Neytiri perked up. “<I wish to join.>”

Jake nodded. “<Certainly. I plan to take lots of photographs and Castro wants to put a proper map together of the land so we can get an idea in mind of how our people are going to live there if they wish to move on.>”

Neytiri remained quiet for a moment, looking deep in thought for a moment before she nodded once. “<When we flew above it, I couldn’t deny its beauty. A much longer stay would be… pleasing.>”

Indeed. He was looking forward to that. He picked up one of his hand chisels and began to sharpen it. He had plenty of time, after all, they all did.

After letting his avatar rest at camp when the afternoon was drawing in for the night, Jake was glad to cater to his needs, shower and eat before Conner rolled in with a yawn and a bag on his front which revealed to be wrapped food which was deposited into the mini fridge’s, except one.

“I spoke to Frankie earlier,” Conner announced, joining Jake as he finished up his plate. “He’s going to be making contact with Westguard to establish a dead drop soon.”

Jake’s interest was piqued. “They got a list?”

“Yes, Zeke’s put in a request for one of his spare avatars which is the riskiest of all the things people have put down.”

It didn’t take a genius to figure that, really. A little impracticable but… Jake understood the man’s desire.

“Nor is Zeke the only one. Murphy wants his spare as well since his first died in gestation on the way. Selfridge didn’t want to waste money growing the second, despite the spares being there for that exact reason.”

“How exactly are they planning to grow them?” Jake asked because they only had a tank.

“They stole the tanks left behind, so… all they’d need is avatar growth supplements that they can trade for.”

Oh, so they were sorted then. Honestly, Jake hadn’t checked how many tanks there were to start off with but he had known, minimum, there was at least one.

“Well, as long as they have fun and don’t get us into shit…” He allowed. “Though I suppose that’ll help us in the long run. Unexpected numbers or, unexpected avatars.”

“Yeah, I suppose.” Conner ran a hand through his auburn locks. “Now, can you roll a little around the corner, I can’t get past.”

Jake nodded, rolling himself back and changing his seat, allowing Conner to wheel himself past to the microwave and toss it in.

Conner ate in silence once it was reheated and wheeled back towards his bed once he was done. Jake took the plates to wash and drain before he found himself digging out a familiar jewellery box and returned to the table and tipped out the content.

Jake eyed his collections of seeds but he found what he was looking for easily.

A small sachet of blueberry seeds. Fifty of them, if Tommy’s handwriting was correct and most likely.

Bloobs, Jake used to call them. Their mother always used to put them in Tommy’s pancakes since he liked them… he had never been fond of them before. They were always a little sour or bitter...or just soggy. Maybe they’d be better here? Eywa had worked wonders with the other fruits after all.

Jake set the pack aside for Nadine or Jerome to germinate later. He flicked through the other seed bags before he plucked out the cocoa bean. There was no way that he was ready to plant any tree-based plants, but on the basis that it’d have to produce a tree first before they’d bear fruit, but it takes years… this was not a place for cocoa trees. Biome-wise, at least. He should probably check the other camps or the Valley group if they had suitable locations; at least that seemed more proactive for their future ability to make chocolate.

He nearly jumped out of his skin with a swear when something cold and metallic grabbed his ear lobe, almost jabbing his elbow into Nadine’s gut before he realised. She laughed and let go. Conner sniggered at the far end of the shack.

“Fuck you…” Jake groaned, running a hand through his locks of hair.

“How’d the bone picking go?” Nadine asked.

“Good, actually. I sharpened and repaired my tools today, so sorry for not coming back sooner.”

Nadine waved it off. “For an important cause. Now, I heard you plan to go to the Valley, I want to join you. For the most part, I can ferry supplies. There are a few things people want back and Gate’s especially wants a shack to be used for his risky business. So a big delivery is probably most efficient.”

“Neytiri’s tagging along.”

Nadine snorted softly, “Why don’t you two take some time together? Explore…”

Jake tossed a seed back at her lightly. “I’m going to bed,” He grinned, “Tomorrow’s gonna be a long day.”

The next morning, after completing some PT stretches and trying to relieve a painful kink out of his back unsuccessfully, he downed some painkillers and his breakfast wrap ad linked up with a heavy sign and joined the others in his avatar for his second breakfast, the same wrap, just bigger.

Jake saddled up Bob with a few extra pouches, putting in more Ikran treats and food in that Bob was trying to crane his neck to get to. He stroked his neck fondly and pulled on his rider’s mask and took to the air.

N’deh joined him in the air, happily whizzing about, even doing a fancy roll before falling back sheepishly after almost flying into the branch of the Sister Tree.

“Skxawng!” Jake called after him with a grin.

He caught up with him when they landed at Hometree, letting the two find a place to settle in the branches and head down the spiral

“<You’re very chirpy cheerful>”

N’deh just chuckled, nodding. “<It has been a pleasant week. The people have renewed sights upon me and… they respect that.>”

“<I’m happy for you, man.>”

N’deh’s smile never left his face. “<I’m going to the mother loom. Enjoy your trip>”

Jake watched him go off, his steps lighter in his wake before he surveyed the sites. Eytukan was occupied with a group of hunters, Ming among them with her bow and arrow, painted up.

Humans milled about in clumps in each section of the tree. Kendra looked to be sorting shit between each of the groups and helping more generically than sitting at a ring. He could see a group of gatherers, with a handful of humans go off for the morning run.

He couldn’t see Neytiri but he had to assume she was put onto a morning patrol or was with her mother.

So a typical day. He could wait for her return and get stuff done.

He went to assist with paint making; not his typical go-to either but he noticed Zeke among them, dressed down into shorts and his mask filer across his bare back but with the paint that looked to be covering, it was less personal choice and more of a professional choice to not ruin his clothes.

Jake was set into grinding fiddlehead into a fine powder which soon yielded a vibrant red pigment which was added to egg yolk, missed with water and a splash of vinegar which acted as a binder and preserver. He poured the paint into a small ceramic cup once it was verified by the lead artisan of its quality.

It took a few hours before they had a sizeable amount created and various colours in jars and he was pleased with the results, distantly watching the gatherer’s return with full baskets but he paid them little heed.

“<Do you always use egg and vinegar?>” Jake asked cursorily, washing his hands.

“<No, extracted wax is also used but that is often reserved for our more ceremonious paints.>” Pxì'um answered, “<Take the paint to Rasek, he’s got his apprentices that will need paint.”

Jake nodded, taking the woven tray and headed towards Rasek’s ring of weavers, working on what looked to be an Ikran harness for Kan'ani.

“<Pxì'um’s said you needed this?>” Jake offered, setting the tray down.

“<Thank you, Jakesully>” Rasek nodded.

Jake was about to start making his way up to find Neytiri when he heard shouting. Angry shouting that didn’t belong in Hometree. Eytukan also seemed to have noticed and rose up to his feet so Jake hurriedly went in search of the source.

The voices got louder by the far root, just shy of the Pa’li pens and those in the area looked uncertain on getting involved. His brow pulled in as he realised the raised voices were Kung and Alejandra and he hurried closer to see the two were very close together, Alexandrea’s pointed finger nearly touching Kung’s mask. Marcus looked to be pink-cheeked, arms pulled in and almost…embarrassed.

However, Alejandra’s next word silenced Jake’s interjection.

“—and let me be clear, that it shouldn’t damn well take your daughter sudden drop and stop to see the rest of us as human fucking beings that exist!”

Kung recoiled sharply from Alejandra as if she had been readily slapped before rage washed over her face. With no hesitation, the major stepped straight into Alejandra’s space within the next heartbeat and punched her fist straight into the miner’s chest, hard enough to wind her. Castrol dropped to the dirt with a heavy grunt. Then Kung abruptly turned and stormed away to the Pa’li pens, demanding someone take her back to camp. Unshed tears in her eyes.

No one stopped her, Jake's mind reeled a little, mostly in surprise at the callousness and the unnecessary jab to a very delicate wound.

Castro remained on her back, hands on her gut and groaning.

Kung was pulled up onto the back of a Pa’li ridden by Kxìtsru, an elder animal tamer who clearly heard enough of the emotion in the alien language to know Kung needed him to return her home to grieve.

“What the actual fuck, Castro,” Jake said, displeased as he stalked over to her. A few of the humans looked uncertain, hovering around still.

Castrol cracked over her eyes, finally able to suck in heavy breaths. “Fuck.” Her voice rasped.

“Did you really just prod the dead-child card? Do you know how fucked up that is?” Jake pressed, hands on his hips, nearly glaring down at her.

Castro swallowed, not glowering. She knew she fucked up “I-I know…”

“What the hell was this little spat about?”

Marcus now looking shocked, swallowed uneasily and stepped close to speaking, his voice more hushed. “I slept with Kung a few times the last couple of days and… there was a misunderstanding.”

Jake paused, letting his mind process that and examine the outcome and the most likely mess because there was no doubt that there was a lot going on that he didn’t know. But it was more than just two humans sleeping together, a miner and the former head of MineOps, who was also a former Major also opened up a power imbalance between the two. Out here, there was freedom still but there had to be those thoughts at the back of their minds. Given how Marcus looked embarrassed… it seemed to say a lot too.

“One of you thought it was just sex and the other thought it was an opening for a relationship?” He guessed, making Marcus’s cheeks darken in confirmation. “And why, prey tell did you bring up Kung’s eldest? Just to spite the woman?”

Castro’s arms remained around her middle, groaning as she staggered up with a wince of pain. “I think she cracked something.”

“Uh-Hu, now back to the question.”

“Because…” Castro started, glowering a little up at him now, “She should have been kinder in letting Marcus down. He’s more than just someone to fuck when the urge hits. He’s a person. She was like that before; people were her tools for work and pleasure.”

“Marcus, did you ask Castro to get involved?” Jake asked. Around him, thankfully, the humans began to get back to task and leave them to it and more quickly at his hard stare.

Marcus hesitated a little. “I… I was just venting…”

So that was a no.

“You owe Kung an apology for what you said, Castro,” Jake said, not allowing it to be negotiable.

Castro gave a thumbs up but hastily began making her way towards the spiral. Marcus followed her quickly to help her get there.

Jake went to find Bree, mostly to let her know what had happened. She wasn’t hard to find, happily settled with a woodshaper, Nulak, who was showing her how to process Pandoran bamboo; more advanced carving techniques and polish to seal it and protect it. Bree looked very chipper.

“Hello, Bree,” Jake called, pulling their attention.

“Sup, Jake” Bree called, barely looking up. “Mind waiting for what you’re about to tell me, in a groove here?”

“No.”

Bree looked up with a frown.

“Your mother suckered Castro in the gut.”

Bree’s face fell before she sighed deeply as if the news wasn’t surprising. “Ma left?”

“Yeah.”

Bree let out a slow breath. “I’ll go back in about an hour, give Ma some time to cool down…”

“Castro said some very sensitive things in the argument.” Jake tried because as much as he could see her logic given Kung’s macho attitude, she clearly would need her daughter. “About Raina.”

Bree’s eyes widened before narrowed. “Where is Castro?” she abandoned the bamboo into Nulak’s hand, on her feet.

“She’s being handled and you don’t need to hurt her.” Jake stepped in front as she went to brush past. “She knows she fucked up.”

Bree glared up at him. “Good, because I will make sure that my departed twin sister is never a reference on her lips again.” Bree was a small, delicate teenager, but the way she spoke was so soft and almost sing-songy that honestly… creeped him out a little as she became very calm and returned to the wood shaping.

Oh, calm anger. That wasn’t good. Dangerous territory for someone to be in, victim-wise at least. Plotting.

Jake watched, uncertain if talking Bree down was wise or not because the girl had brains and a very, very active imagination. If the girl was plotting revenge, she was going to find a way to succeed so… he made the decision to head quickly up the spiral and straight to Mo’at’s den. The cover was down over the door, so he knocked on the frame and waited.

“<Who is it?>” Mo’at asked.

“<Jake. Just… as a heads up, Bree is actively plotting revenge against Castro for the shit she pulled>”

There was a pause. Before the cover moved and Mo’at’s head appeared in the gap. Inside, he could just about see Castro without a shirt, facing away so he saw nothing but the fact her ribs wrapped and the distinct scent of herbs that he was familiar with; painkiller and anti-inflammatory.

“<I’ll ward her attempt away from Hometree.>” Mo’at said, not willing to tolerate that here but it gave Jake the insight that petty revenge was allowed outside of the peace of Hometree. Wasn’t hard to figure out; Mo’at knew too well the pain and loss of a child to have zero tolerance of that being weaponised for spite.

Jake nodded. “<Not sure if it’s physical or psychological but best be prepared for both.>”

“<I understand>”

Bree didn’t leave, but Jake moved and worked with tending to arrow shafts to remain close to watch her in the corner of his eye as the hour passed and it looked like she had simmered down, not that it meant much in the long-term. Castro didn’t appear, probably the wisest choice so he also has to assume she was put into making stuff with Mo’at until they were returned home.

After a moment, Bree pulled out her radio and spoke into it in Korean.

Bree watched the radio, waiting for the reply but there was nothing.

“eomma?”

Jake’s attention dropped from what he was doing as he picked up the note of concern in her tone.

“Ma, pick up.” Bree switched to English. “Elena?” She called through next after another click. “Can you talk to Ma, get her radio on? She’s not picking up”

There was a response within a few moments. “I don’t know how useful I am for that given she’s at Hometree.”

The alarm bells began to ring and Jake caught Kendra’s arm in passing, a basket of empty rope shuttles in her arms. “Go get Neytiri or Mo’at, something might be wrong.” He asked. Because if Kung hadn’t gotten back to their shack by now, something had gone wrong. It was a twenty-minute trip on the back of a Pa’li at a brisk pace and Kung would have pushed for speed, even when upset.

Kendra nodded, jogging off quickly.

Bree’s face drained of colour. “Elena, she left an hour ago in a Pa’li to come home.”

There was a moment of silence before there was another Radio echo. “Fuck.”

Jake moved ahead straight to Bree. “I’ll look for her.” He volunteered. “Where’s the major route you take from Hometree to your shack?”

“Southwest, cross the zìskrrmipaw river and past the two bounder brothers.” Bree said, “It’s the quickest route that our typical riders take when bringing us back. Who took Ma back>”

“Kxìtsru”

“He knows the route. He’d have gone that way.”

Thankfully, Mo’at made her appearance with Kendra, looking confused but serious, sensing the tension. Kendra hurried to find others.

“<Kung’s not made it back to her shack like we thought she did, she or Kxìtsru may have gotten hurt.>” Jake said swiftly, handing her his radio. “If it’s an emergency, we’ll radio it in for you to prepare.”

Mo’at eyed the device he handed her but recognised the need for advanced knowledge for an unknown situation. “<I’ll prepare the mats>”

Kendra returned with Jerome, Pendle and Marcus and surprisingly Tsu’tey who had his bow at the ready.

“<I’ll take a Pa’li with Pendle and Marcus, mind taking Kendra?>” Jerome said, hurrying away with two of them Jake nodded and nodded Kendra with him, clipping her radio into sight. It was a smart move to bring the humans along, just in case Kung had gotten herself stuck in a human-sized hole.

Tsu’tey followed him up the spiral and along the branches, before their Ikrans descended. Jake pulled Kendra up onto the saddle with him, keeping a hold of the back of her jeans to stabilise her as they flew off.

“Fucking hell, the winds bitter!” the woman hissed, the sound nearly dying between them.

Tsu’tey led the way, flying low to the trees, his eyes surveying the canopy before he chirped and dove towards the break in the trees where the river widened out. He saw the flash of a white vest on the bank before he too landed and jumped off, guiding Kendra down safety. Jake ran to the river edge, Tsu’tey’s bow was suddenly striking him in the chest, stopping him from going further with the sharp sting.

“<No, Jakesully!>” Tsu’tey’s voice was sharp and commanding and worse of all, alarmed.

Jake’s eyes widened in horror as he saw three fallen bodies from the bank. Downstream was the Pa’li, its head caught under the flow of the river as its body was caught and held by large rocks. Kxìtsru was next lying on his side, half in the water and obviously had passed to Eywa by the paleness of his skin and how his yellow eyes had clouded over.

Kung was lying in the shallow far side on her back, her mask smashed, her jaw open, her lips coated in bubbled saliva, her eyes closed and blood seeped out from small glass cuts but the worst amount of blood came from a large barb sticking out from her ribs and soaking into her tank.

Jake soon realised that the other bodies were being crawled over by a large insect of sorts, kinda like an eight-legged scorpion with a barb and no pincers. Kxìtsru looked to have a barb sticking out from his right bicep and hip. The Direhorse had several along its rear leg and backside.

Yet, Atokirina were floating about, one settled on Kung’s chest, and one knee that was bent under her. One had hovered by the deceased elder that floated off and away with no troubles in the world now that they were here.

From a passing glance, the bridge used to cross this river was a dead log; strikes down its side looked like the Pa’li had slipped from dead bark collapsing under its hooves.

“Fuck!” Kendra cried as she saw the horrible sight. “Oh…fucking shit..!”

“<We need to get them out>”

“<No.>” Tsu’tey commanded sharply, “<You cannot enter, those barbs are filled with lethal toxins. The insect is called a syeha’fmongyu. Mo’at had studied these creatures often but they’re water-based insects that live in small colonies along rivers and underground systems. If not immediately treated, it’s a painful but fast death. They’re common in seasons of water abundance. They do not like being threatened and will protect their colonies with little mercy. We keep children away when we notice their mating season has spurred them to rest in still waters. Herbal repellent is used to keep our waters clear and to keep them migrating downstream if they so happen to get as far as Hometree’s River.>”

“<How do we get them out?>” Jake pushed Tsu’tey’s bow from his chest.

Tsu’tey looked a little lost, staring at the impossibility of the situation. None of them could enter the river to retrieve them; not without risking themselves but they couldn’t leave the bodies there either.

Fuck.

Masterlist

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