#WHY are they all dark purple like they're soaked in Void darkness

[elizabethrobertajones]

MEGA 6.4 MSQ SPOILERS

By the way they have had the means to purify a dragon the whole time, and they're very silly for not employing it.

Tada. *jazz hands*

[titanicfreija]

Subclasses

"Guardian. Sunny."

"Empress!"

"Hoi."

"I have more questions about the Light."

"Alrighty."

"Why do you have the preference to solar alignment?"

"... Can I use the w-word?"

"... No."

"Aww, come on!"

"If it kills you, I will change the rules."

"Ugh! Fiiiine! Shut up, it's not funny. I don't know. It feels the most natural. Comfortable, safe. I'm good at using it without thinking too much about it, which isn't true of the others. We all have our things. I like the grenades, the way the fires shape when they're thrown. The hammer feels nice and solid and the impact goes all the way up my arm and into my core, you know how that one is, you have a hammer."

"I do."

"Yeah, I hear it, you know exactly what I mean. Actually, just that. That feeling, but all over. And wa.... Uh. Hotter. Shut up!"

"It's just so funny!"

"I see. Do the others have sensations as well?"

"Oh yeah. Absolutely. Which one first?"

"Void, I believe the purple one is called."

"Alright... These might all just be me, I know we all have our preferences and I'm pretty sure being true makes the unpleasant sensations stop-- but so. Void is.... empty? Like... To line myself up with it, I have to kind of forget myself and then call up an outline? And the outline holds that thing I'm forgetting?"

".... this may be the first time you've lost me."

"Aww! I liked you understanding me! Sunny's a jerk about it sometimes."

"Continue. We will reestablish the communication."

"Hm... So, you ever been hungry? I mean I know you have but that feeling before it hurts, after you've started working, and you notice that hollow pit in your... Wherever you put food, it is a stomach, right? I forget you're an alien. Non humanoid."

"These are familiar sensations. Continue."

"Good! Alrighty, so, that. But... Take that hollow feeling and stretch it out of your wherever, ours is in the middle, but stretch that around you and let go of the ends so that they free-float into the nothing around you so you're covered in nothing until it soaks in and you're nothing."

"A sense of absence. Hmph."

"Nice! Yes! Like being... Well, remembering you're space dust."

"Hmph!"

"So that's what lining up with Void feels like. I don't like it, but sending that nothing into stuff and making it implode is fun. Swallowing the impact of enemy attack by wrapping it around myself. I'll run it in Iron Banner for the bubble shield too, it's more useful."

"Hmph! And the electricity? Arc?"

"Ugh."

"You do not like arc."

"It itches! It's all crawling in my lungs and makes my stomach twist and my legs all twitchy and I get so fucking hyper--and I know you both think I'm hyper already, but that's just it, I get that much worse."

"Hmph!"

"I'll say exactly one good thing about it-- running feels good. The flow when I can get moving, I just wanna stay moving like that. You can feel every cell in your body moving with you, heart going, blood, air, all of it. I guess that's how arc feels all the time for the people who use it all the time, but the moment I have to stop, it starts itching all over again."

"Hmph. You also use the Darkness,."

"Uh. Strand, sometimes? But not stasis."

"Oh?"

"Strand feels... Eh. Like... I don't know, I guess it just feels like being. A little more than nothing, cos I'm still there, but I'm just one more thing in a sea of things. It's kind of boring. Even using it feels like not much, like I'm pulling loose strings on cloth. The effect is huge but I'm really not doing much."

"Do you find stasis too cold?"

"Kinda? It's too... Still. If arc speeds me up, stasis slows me down. In the right hands, it's a glacier in the whole, massive unstoppable way. But I don't like that inch at a time shit. I don't like the chill, you're right, but it's not even a chill so much as it sucks the heat out of me and everything around me. Anti-warm. If void is emptiness, stasis is a vacuum. You still exist but you're pinned by nothingness. Out in open space without any protection. Plus I hate the way it feels to use. It's like being a hammer instead of using one. And I mean that in a, you-don't-even-have-legs, you-are-the-block-of-metal-on-a-stick way. And you have to move yourself by sheer force of will against all inertia and friction."

"Ha!"

"You like that one? Sunny did, too. Made the joke when I picked my hammer back up after my stint with it."

"Did you hesitate at all to use the Darkness?"

"Uh... I'd be lying if I said yes. As much as I want to. Obviously everyone said not to do it, but at the time I was fresh, I hardly responded to my name fresh, I was just answering a distress call in the middle of nowhere. Didn't even know that guy was a big deal until Sunny said something. And like I said, everyone said not to, but the only reason I really hesitated at all was because they kept fucking with Sunny, but then the only way to get that to stop was to figure out how to stop it myself. So I went ahead. And the meditation and new way of thinking was good for me, but I missed my fire. Took my lessons and went home. How I usually do with new things."

"That was a relief to find out. It worried me, how deep she got. Turns out she just does that."

"Ugh. We got her name from one of our arguments. Sort of. I was sweet talking after one. I suck up no matter who won, she pretends to hate it. We argued because I wanted to mess with it and she was begging me to stop. But after one, I called her Sunbeam. I called her my Sunbeam, said she lit my way, could keep me warm until I returned to the Light, something like that. She melted. She was mad at how mad she wasn't. I'm still proud of it, too. I wish I remembered it better."

"She can be so sweet and then other times I want to just beat her head in."

"I can't remember exactly how the conversation went, but Sunny picked her name out of Sunbeam and we kept it."

"Hmph. Sunny, why do you prefer the void?"

"--The shields just make sense!"

"--The shields just make sense, she said it every day for months and then every other day for a year longer, before she finally gave in and let me have my flame in peace."

"Oh?"

"She used Void for about six weeks."

"She likes the shields because they stop or slow the incoming damage, but unlike my fire, the damage stays done. Before it breaks, I'm supposed to be beating my way out to reposition, recharge and do it again. I can do it, but if I screw up, I don't recover well and I usually die. I don't know how those other guys do it. I've heard them say the same thing about me, though. They like the sunspots, but it's just not the same."

"Hmph!"

~

@annieruok94

[evandarya]

Pearls and Pomegranates

Chapter 3

{Read on AO3}{Chapter 2}

Tim paced around the room that Wisp had led him to. It was about the size of his living room at the penthouse apartment he had been living in. It was separated into two by a folding screen that partially blocked the bed from view. Closest to the door was a sitting area with a loveseat and two chairs surrounding an unlit fireplace. Against the wall was a bookshelf with a few books written in a language he didn't recognize. Next to the bookshelf underneath a window was a rolltop writing desk stocked with paper and pens. Tim looked out the window and into a green and purple void dotted with doors. Directly under his window was a courtyard of sorts. A large white fountain sat in the middle of a maze of bushes and strange flowers. 

Behind the partition was a large bed with a deep blue canopy and matching bedclothes made of some kind of silk. In the sleeping area were two doors, one led to a large, mostly empty closet, and the other led to a large bathroom with a soaking tub and shower. Tim eyed the soaking tub longingly. He knew a warm soak would be great for his aching muscles and sprained ankle, but he didn't have any clean clothes to change into. The thought of putting his sweaty, dirty clothes, or even just his under armor, back on after a soak sounded awful. He would if he had to, but not right now.

After he explored the room he checked the door. It was unlocked. He hadn't been told not to leave the room. Tim checked the desk and grabbed some paper and a pen, intending to make a map. He could find his way back to the kitchen and throne room, but the castle was huge and he'd like to not get lost.

Tim walked down the corridor silently. He was always good at being quiet, but training with Batman and Lady Shiva had made him an expert. Probably not as good as Phantom, whose feet barely ever touched the ground, but good enough for his own purposes. So Tim went down the hallway on silent feet, trying every door he came across. They were all locked. 

He made his way to the kitchen and tilted his head, he could hear voices up ahead. Tim made his way to a fork in the hallway. One way would bring him to the throne room, and the other would lead him toward the voices. Tim headed toward the voices. 

"Have Skulker or Wulf returned?" That was Phantom's voice. 

"No, not yet." A female voice said. Her voice was rough but had a bit of a musical lilt. "They didn't want to go."

"No one does." This voice was nasally and sounded young. "Especially when you won't even tell us why it's necessary." 

Tim had reached the room the voices were coming from. From the gap in the door, he could see just a sliver of the room. A large table was set up in the center with glowing green islands of all different shapes and sizes floating above it. Tim could see two figures, a girl with flaming blue hair and a guitar strapped to her back, and a monochromatic teen that looked like a nerd plucked from a B movie from the 1950s. Tim supposed these must be Phantoms generals.

"I received word of activity on the other side," Phantom spoke again. "A cult trying to free Pariah Dark and summon him to the mortal plane." 

"What!" Both of the generals exclaimed. 

"Can they do that?" The blue-haired woman asked.

"They're close. They have the sigil, the sacrifice, and the date. Who knows how long they've been trying this? If they hadn't been interrupted this time, they may have succeeded." 

"Interrupted by who?" The 50's boy asked.

"By a couple of Robins." Phantom finally came into view, looking out the crack in the door, right at Tim. "You can come in, little birdie." 

Tim hesitated before pushing the door open and stepping into what was probably a war room. The generals turned to face him. "I didn't mean to intrude," Tim said.

"Ooh, who's this?" The blue-haired woman asked, floating down to his level. "Have you finally got a boyfriend?"

"Red Robin is going to be my guest for a while,” Phantom said. “And I expect him to be treated as such.” 

“Don’t get your royal tights in a twist, baby pop; I always treat guests well.” the girl said, extending a hand out to him. “The name’s Ember,  and that’s Poindexter.” Tim took her hand. It was so warm he could feel it through his glove. “It’s a shame Phantom doesn’t want to date; you’re a cute one. At least, I think you are under that mask.” Ember traced the edge of his mask with a finger. It took everything in him not to back away under the scrutiny. 

“Don’t you have a boyfriend?” Poindexter asked from where he floated. 

“He doesn’t own me; I can look,” Ember said, floating around behind him. Tim turned to keep an eye on her. 

“Ember,” Phantom said, floating in front of her, “don’t objectify my guests.” 

“You never let me have any fun.” Ember pouted before floating off.

“I’m sorry about her,” Phantom turned to him. “Did you need something?” 

“Not really. I just wanted to get my bearings.” Tim held up the half-finished map he had been making. 

“If you want to see the place, I would be glad to give you a tour after the scouts check in,” Phantom said. 

“After Skulker and Wulf check in, you have a meeting with Queen Dorathea,” Poindexter said, “and Frostbite has been asking to see you.” 

Phantom winced. “I forgot about Dora,” he whispered. “Don’t tell her I said that, she’d never let it go.” 

“I should probably head back to my room,” Tim said. Phantom was busy and he shouldn’t have been eavesdropping in the first place. 

“You should soak, it will help your foot.” 

“Yeah, I thought that, too, but I don’t have any clean clothes to change into,” Tim said.

Phantom’s eyes travel up and down his body before a green flush spread across his cheeks. “I’m sorry, I didn’t even think about that.” 

“It’s okay, I can—” 

“No, it’s not okay. I have some clothes you can wear until I can have Dora’s tailors make you some.” Phantom said, floating up into the air. “Ember, Dex,” he called. The two ghosts turned from where they were pretending to hold a conversation. “Send Wisp to get me when Skulker or Wulf get back.” 

“Shouldn’t you wait—.” Poindexter started but he was cut off by Ember

“Of course! Take care of your guest, Phantom, we’ll let you know as soon as they get back.”

Phantom nodded and floated out of the room with Tim following closely behind. 

***

Phantom led him back up towards where his bedroom was located and opened the locked door next to his. This room was much bigger than his. A bookshelf took up most of the wall adjoining his room. It was loaded down with books, loose papers, and a model spacecraft made from ice. Where Tim had a sitting area, Phantom had a workbench. Tim was surprised to see scrap metal and a soldering iron set up. Phantom had gone past the bookshelf and work area to open a large wardrobe. 

“Is this your room?” he asked, glancing around. Phantom’s room lacked a privacy screen between the living area and the sleeping area, but the room was spacious enough that it didn’t feel crowded. The bed itself was huge, larger than any bed Tim had seen before. On the wall the bed was pushed up against was a mural of the night sky. Tim could pick out different constellations and stars. “This is beautiful.” 

“Thanks, it took me weeks,” Phantom said, dumping an armload of clothes on the bed. “You should see it in the dark, the stars glow.” 

“You painted this?” Tim asked, studying the painting with new eyes. 

“Frostbite said a creative hobby was a good way to deal with the stress of kingship,” Phantom said. He held out a pair of blue jeans toward Tim. “See if these will fit you, they should be about your size.” 

Tim took the pants and held them against him. They should fit around the hips, but they would be a little long in the legs. “They should do fine.” 

“Okay.” Phantom picked some more pairs of jeans out of the wardrobe as well as some t-shirts and pajama pants. “I don’t have any fresh underwear, but I’ll be sure to ask the tailors.” 

Tim blushed at possibly having to go commando, but it wasn’t the worst thing in the world. “I hate to put the tailors out like this.” 

Phantom laughed at that. “Trust me, they are going to be delighted to have a human to make clothes for. Most ghosts don’t need custom-made clothes.” The ghost handed him a stack of neatly folded clothes. “Where did Wisp put you? I’ll walk you back to your room.” 

“Next door, actually,” Tim said, nodding his head toward his room. Phantom’s gaze trailed to the adjoining wall and the green flush took over his face again. 

“Ah. I see.” 

“Is there something wrong with that?”

“No, it’s just…That’s the concubine’s chambers.” Phantom said, his face turning more green in what Tim was realizing was his version of a blush. It was kind of cute. “It has direct access to my room.” As if to prove his point Phantom floated to the bookshelf and pushed in a book. A part of the wall pressed in and swung open, revealing Tim’s room. “You can lock it, or I can move you somewhere else if you don’t feel comfortable with this.” 

Tim debated it. The king having direct access to his room was a bit unnerving; but… “Do the other rooms have a soaking tub?” 

“No, actually, my room and the concubine’s chambers are the only ones with en-suite bathrooms,” Phantom said. 

“Then I’ll stay here, you said I could lock it?” 

Phantom blushed again but showed him how to lock the passage between the two rooms. He explained that the castle had been made for him by the yetis and no one had ever stayed in the concubine chambers before. Before long, Wisp appeared to alert Phantom that his scouts had returned. He bid Tim goodnight and encouraged him to seek him out if he needed anything before leaving through the door. Tim watched him go before shutting and locking the door and ensuring the passage to Phantom’s room was locked. He fished a pair of pajama pants and a NASA shirt out of the pile Phantom had lent him and took them with him to the bathroom. It was time he checked out that soaking tub. 

***

Tim sunk down into the hot water. There must be something unearthly about the water. For one, it felt thicker than normal water. For two, it glowed slightly green when disturbed, like there were bio-luminescent algae in the water even though it was crystal clear. For three, as soon as he put his injured ankle into the water it had gone from a dull throb to an ache and the longer he sat soaking in the tub, the better his body felt. His sore muscles were soothed and even the place he hit his head when he fell in the throne room felt better. It was as if the waters were healing him. 

Why would waters in the land of the dead heal the living? Tim glanced over to the sink where he had put the clothes Phantom had lent him. Why would Phantom have clothes in his wardrobe? Questions circled Tim’s head until he sunk fully under the water. He was here for six months, he’d figure out what was going on.