#Why is Drew's wedding ring visible from this distance?

[bgn846]

The Niflheim Experiment Chapter 5

After five hours in the car Gladio was about to go crazy.  He needed a break, everyone had been taking power naps, but sleeping in a cramped car was not comfortable.  Ravus had not relinquished his driving seat since the episode at the abandoned farm house.  Content to stare ahead and ignore all of them, Ravus drove on.  Spacing out as the trees flew by, Gladio didn’t do much, until a small green sign caught his attention in the distance.  When they got close enough to read it he was barely able to contain his excitement.  It said one thing, Insomnia 60 MI.

“Okay time to switch.” Aranea announced.

“I will be driving through to the city.” Ravus replied sternly.

“Do you want to draw attention on purpose?” She sighed.  “Switch with Loqi.”

“Why would me driving draw attention?”

Groaning loudly Aranea leaned over the console and stared at Ravus, even though he didn’t look back.  “You have snow white hair, and you aren’t old.  You scowl at everything, and your eyes are freaky when you look directly into them.”

“There is nothing wrong with my eyes!” Ravus shot back.

“Sure,” Aranea drawled out, “care to explain why one of them seems to be a different color than the other?”

“I was born like that,” he huffed.

“Well, that’s great, but you shouldn’t be the first person someone has to talk to if we get pulled over.”

“Why exactly is Loqi better?”

“He’s blond and not whatever white witch color you’ve got going.  He also knows how to smile.” She finished leaning back into her seat.

When Ravus pulled off to the side Gladio was shocked.  Luna remained silent during the exchange; it seemed she was still pissed at her brother for his behavior earlier. Taking the opportunity to stretch Gladio carefully got out of the car.  Everyone else had the same idea and lolled about, not talking.  They could wander off unlike Gladio, who still needed something to lean on otherwise he’d fall over.    

Boots scraping across the dirt drew his attention as Gladio pondered the idea of driving the car himself.  He could operate one in his current condition, though he was a little worried he might fall asleep staring at the dashed lines on the road whizzing by.  Deciding that was a bad idea he turned to who had approached.

“I’m not sure whether to be grateful or upset,” Ravus sighed, “no one is talking to me.”

“I’ll still talk to you.” Gladio offered with a small shrug.    

Ravus hummed and took a deep breath.  “When do you think you’ll have a moment to discuss our conversation with Luna?”

Gladio faltered, he wanted to talk with Luna, only without the others listening.  “I was sorta wanting to talk to her in private.”

“I can understand that.  Anything to keep Aranea and Loqi from offering their two cents would be most beneficial.”

“Are you alright with Loqi driving?  You’re not gonna make a stink are you?” Gladio asked with worry.

Curling his lips Ravus looked put out.  “Aranea makes a valid argument as to why I shouldn’t be behind the wheel.  I’m still sitting up front though, just in case.”  He added with an air of authority.

Gladio was about to add more when Luna and Aranea walked over.  Luna hopped into the backseat and waited in the middle patiently.  “Guess that’s my cue to become one with the side of the door again.” Gladio weakly announced.  True to Ravus’ word, he did indeed sit in the front passenger seat.  Aranea had tried to make an argument about why it should be her, but one deathly glare from Ravus and she gave up.  She was obviously tired and didn’t want to deal with his antics.  

Loqi drove well and kept quiet as they inched closer to insomnia.   Luna had fallen asleep on Gladio’s shoulder and seemed peaceful enough. When the wall appeared ahead of them in the distance Loqi finally broke his silence.

“How are we going to get through this?  I mean do we need papers, are we on vacation?”

“We’re going to a friend’s wedding.” Ravus offered succinctly.

“Who’s?!” Loqi blurted.

“It’s the best explanation for our odd parings.  Brother and sister, an aunt, a bratty nephew, and a 3rd cousin simply traveling together.”

“Who’s the bratty nephew?” Aranea asked with curiosity.

“Loqi of course,” announced Ravus with little preamble.  “Gladio is the only dark haired person among us, so he can’t be directly from the family.”

Gladio had his mouth open to join in, but decided against it.  Things were already strange enough.  For once no one disagreed, and when Loqi slowed down to talk with the guard he spun a perfectly believable story.  It looked like it was working until the man turned and went back into the guard hut.  The imposing gate in front of them remained closed.

“What’s going on?” Loqi asked.

“I dunno if they’ll let us in without ID’s.” Gladio lamented.

“If you say who you are then the chances of us getting sold out by the traitor become that much greater,” huffed Aranea.

“It might be a chance we have to take; otherwise we’ll be stuck out here.”

“How long is the drive to the citadel from the gate?” Loqi pondered.

“Nearly thirty minutes, if there’s no traffic.”

“Shit, the dude’s coming back, everybody shut up!” Loqi ordered.

They all listened as the guard explained that proper ID was required to enter the city, plus verification from the person they were visiting.  Thinking fast Gladio leaned forward to try and see the man through the window.  “I’m sorry we messed up the process sir,” he began humbly, “is there any chance we can call our uncle and have you speak with him?”

The guard frowned and was clearly debating the idea.  “I still need to see ID from you all,” he announced.  “Call your uncle and let me speak with him while you gather your documents.”

Before Gladio could reply a phone was thrust in his hand. Aranea stared at him with worry and Ravus, who’s phone he was currently holding, merely looked bored.  Licking his lips he held it out briefly for Ravus to unlock so he could dial.    Praying that someone would answer Gladio let the phone ring longer than normal.  Right as he was about to give up the line connected.

“Hello?” Came the pleasant response.

Hoping he could convey enough details in a short period of time Gladio launched into his speech. “Hey Uncle Jared!  It’s your nephew Gladio.” He could hear the sudden gasp on the other end and pushed forward ignoring it. “We’re all stuck at the wall trying to get in for the wedding!  Do you think you could talk to the guard and explain the situation?  I mean I would hate to miss the opportunity to surprise Iris on her big day, just cause we couldn’t make it to the venue!”

Gladio waited with baited breath, hoping that Jared wouldn’t launch into a million and one questions. Thankfully the man simply uttered a weak affirmation and went silent.  Leaning forward once again Gladio handed the phone off to the guard.  They all watched as he ambled off a few feet away to talk.

“Do you all have ID?” Gladio asked quickly.

“Yeah I had Loqi make us all fake ones right before we left.”

“Luna too?”  Gladio queried as he watched Aranea go wide eyed for a moment and shake her head.

“I’ve got one for my sister.” Ravus interjected.

“Why the h--.”

“We can’t waste time with that right now,” Gladio hastily replied, “I don’t have an ID!”

“You don’t carry one around with you in your wallet?” Aranea frowned, “That’s weird.”

“I don’t have my wallet!” Gladio all but shouted as he warily watched the guard, who was still talking to Jared.

Aranea went to response but suddenly looked rather guilty.  “Yeah, sorry about that, you do have your wallet.  It’s been in the trunk the whole time.”  Gladio didn’t have time to respond as Aranea quickly launched into another round of discussion. “We also made you a fake ID as well; there is no point in using your real one now.  That guard will call it in immediately.”

The flurry of activity that came next left Gladio in shock.  He had no idea what Jared had told the man as the phone had been handed back, already disconnected.  Their ID’s were reviewed and the contents of the trunk were checked.  After five minutes the heavy metal gate was opened and they were waved through.

“Should I call him back?”

“His phone was probably tapped.”  Loqi supplied.  “I wouldn’t”

“Who was that anyway?” Luna piped in with curiosity.

“Jared, our housekeeper. What if he calls back, should I answer?”

“No!” Loqi interjected quickly. “Though, why did you call him of all people?”

“I can’t call my dad or anyone else at the citadel they’d be overheard talking.  I thought maybe Jared might have a little more privacy at the house.  I’m also hoping he only tells my dad I called.   That might help us when we arrive.”  

As they continued on, the wooded area near the wall gradually faded out to reveal the city.  The people and traffic increased as they neared the city center.  Unable to keep quiet for any longer Gladio blurted what was on his mind.  “How did we get through with all your weapons?”

This time it was Luna who spoke up. “They retrofitted the car before we left, to hide them in the undercarriage.  You were sleeping so you didn’t notice.”

“We may need to retrieve them before we reach the citadel,” Ravus announced. “That phone call had to have alerted someone to our presence in the city, even if this Jared only alerted your father.”

“It’ll be damn near impossible to get into the citadel if we show up visibly armed!” Gladio huffed as he leaned back into the seat.   “Shouldn’t we come up with a plan to get inside first?”

Aranea spoke up before the others could respond. “We risk the traitor moving first so we have to act now and see how far we get.”

“This is stupid, I’ll get taken away to the doctor’s and you’ll all get locked up, except Luna,” sighed Gladio in frustration.  “I thought you all had this worked out?” He fumed.

“We do have it worked out!” Ravus shouted. “We knew it would be trouble trying to gain entry so the best choice was to show up unexpected.”

“Unexpected is one thing,” Gladio snarled, “uncoordinated is quite another.”

“Can we stop fighting?” Luna begged.  “Gladio please, they’ve been trying to work things out, trust me.  You’ve been passed out for most, if not all of the conversations.”

“Didn’t you all think that it might be helpful to get an insider opinion?  Nobody believed I have anything of value to add?”

“There wasn’t time!” Ravus enthused as he briefly turned to face him.  “Gladio, time is not on our side, you must know this.  The traitor has to know what we are up to and now their suspicions have been confirmed.”

“You don’t know that!  Jared’s phone might not have been tapped.”

“Come on big guy, you know that isn’t how it works.  Think ahead.” Loqi quipped.

“So we seriously have no other choice but to go driving up to the gate?”

“The traitor will act, no matter what we do.” Ravus added solemnly.   “It’s best we make an appearance and work to shed light on the truth of the matter.”

“If we’re going into a trap I still don’t see why I can’t call my dad.”

“What if the traitor acts and makes an attempt on the king all because we called ahead.”

“You didn’t care about Regis yesterday I don’t see why you’re so concerned now.” Gladio grumbled.

Ravus growled in response and hit the side of the door with his fist.  “Pull over! We’re dropping Gladio off.  Then you can call whomever you like.”

“No!” Luna shouted.  “That’s not fair!  If you leave him I’m staying with Gladio.”

“Like hell you are!” Ravus yelled.  “I didn’t risk everything just to leave you behind on the six damned street!”

The car fell into silence after Ravus’ outburst.  Loqi even seemed startled by the turn of events, and simply drove on with his hands white knuckled on the steering wheel.  Gladio was paying attention to the route and was surprised when Loqi kept making all the correct turns to get them to the citadel.  Maybe they had planned something while he’d been recovering.

Now, all he wanted to do was get away from them all and see his family.  The tension had reached an all-time high and Gladio didn’t know what would happen when they reached the main gate.

“I want my pole arm.” Aranea firmly announced once the towers of citadel came into view.

“How are you going to hide it inside the vehicle?” Gladio asked with worry.

“It breaks down, I’ll leave it on the floor boards until I need it.”

That didn’t sound very promising.  Aranea was already planning on fighting.  Gladio couldn’t do anything to stop her; he still had no strength and was too weak to access the armiger.  Choosing to stay silent he sank further into the seat and started to fret.

No one else offered any comments or arguments so Loqi pulled over into a nearly empty parking lot after a minute.  He put the car in park and waited as Aranea removed their weapons from underneath.  Ravus got out and retrieved his sword.  It fit neatly in between the seat and center console.  Aranea true to her word dismantled her weapon and placed it on the floor boards.  Once everyone was back inside and the doors were all slammed shut Loqi drove off again.  Gladio could feel his heart hammering as they approached the citadel.  What had seemed like an impossible dream was becoming reality.  However, the outcome wasn’t guaranteed and he was getting scared that something truly horrible might happen.  

The looming shadow of the building soon engulfed the car as they got closer.  Loqi somehow knew to avoid the main gate and instead went to the service entrance.  Luna had been correct, they’d been planning ahead.  Gladio didn’t realize he was shaking until the car turned down the access road.  Soon there would be no turning back.

Loqi already had the window rolled down when he drove up.   Leaning down to catch a glimpse of the guard revealed Gladio didn’t know him.   That was either going to be a blessing or a curse.  Before Gladio could register what was happening Loqi had begun talking to the man.

“We demand an audience with the king.  We are seeking asylum from Niflheim.  Please inform his majesty that we are traveling with the prince’s shield Gladiolus Amicitia.”  Loqi moved slightly and indicated behind him in the back seat.

The guard leaned down and blinked slowly.  “ID’s please.” He croaked out after a second.

Gladio could tell from Ravus’ shocked expression that they weren’t expecting that response. Loqi cleared his throat and clumsily went to grab the stack of documents they’d already compiled from the check point at the wall.   The guard took them and disappeared into this little hut.  

“There is no way in hell they are gonna just open the gate for us.” Loqi breathed out tersely.

“What if they do? Then what?” Gladio asked.  He knew there was a second gate to get through after this one.  The security system in place included a moat of sorts around the perimeter.  Two tall fences with barbed wire atop running alongside each other.   The middle section had a single lane access road.  This was their first obstacle.    

Aranea answered after a beat, “you tell them we rescued you and not to kill us.”

“I don’t know if tha --.”

“Shut up he’s coming back!” Ravus hissed.

The guard came up and handed the documents back.  “You’ve been cleared to go through, please wait at the second gate for an escort.”   The man said nothing further and simply walked away as the heavy metal door in front of them suddenly began ratcheting open.

“Do I go in?” Loqi asked quietly.  “Once this gate closes behind us escape becomes exponentially harder.”          

“We can’t very well drive away now Loqi,” Ravus grumbled.  “The next gate is right there anyway, let’s go see if they will let us in.”

“Fine.” Loqi replied with a frown.  The car slowly crawled forward and jostled as it went over the speed bump at the gate.  “Shit, they have the traffic spikes installed under here.  I can’t go back even if I tried, the tires would pop.”

“Just drive forward and stop panicking.”  Aranea ordered.

“I’m not panicking!” Loqi hissed.  “I’m merely working to plan our escape should it be needed.  They’ve even got concrete barriers up on either side.”

“Not everywhere,” Luna offered as she pointed to a missing section on their right.”    

“Something’s wrong,” announced Ravus. “Where are the other guards, I don’t see any other people at this next gate.”

“They said there would be an escort though,” Luna commented with concern.  “Why would he lie?”

“If it was a trap.” Aranea groaned.

Loqi suddenly became very animated. “No, no, no it can’t be!” He uttered in shock.  “That can’t be true.  There is no way that asshole is him.”

“What are you going on about?” Ravus insisted as he leaned over to stare out the window at what Loqi was looking at.

“Gladio!  How far does this no man’s land between the gates stretch?!” Loqi asked hurriedly.

“Up to the main gate about 800 yards away, why?” Gladio didn’t get an answer as Loqi violently threw the car into reverse.  They were all thrown forward as he gunned the engine.  “What are you doing?!” Gladio shouted.

“I saw him!” Loqi screamed. “The other fucking bad guy, I fucking saw him!” He was frantic as he maneuvered the car away from the gate house.

“We can’t go back! The spikes will wreck the tires.”  Aranea yelled.

“I’m not going straight back!” Loqi spit out as he turned sharply to fit in between gap in the barriers Luna had noticed earlier.

Gladio was about to tell him he was crazy when movement behind the guard tower caught his attention. The hulking figure of the captain of the guard soon came into view.  “That’s captain Drautos he’s a good guy!” tried Gladio as he held onto the seat.

“He’s a captain?!” Loqi wailed, “Dear six no wonder you all didn’t notice.”

“He’s not a bad guy!” Gladio yelled again.

“That’s Glauca! He’s the ultimate bad guy!”

“Guys they have a car and are chasing us!” Aranea exclaimed with wide eyes while pointing out the window.

Loqi hadn’t noticed since he was facing the wrong way to drive.  He turned and yelled loudly.  The car jerked as he worked to maintain control.  Spinning around once more he began driving faster.  “We need to get the hell outta here, he’s gonna murder us all.”

“How do you know it’s him?!” Ravus asked as he worked his sword out from in between the seat.

“I know I saw him once talking to the emperor!” Loqi breathed out in a rush.  “It was an accident, he had his helmet off, and it didn’t click until I saw him now.  But that’s not important right now guys!  Help me get outta here!”  

Gladio was thinking fast, it’d been a long time since he’d been out on this side of the citadel.  The next gate Loqi was speedily approaching would have the same traffic spikes.  Maybe if they got into the main grounds they could get to the king before Drautos got to them. He was about to offer up the idea when a blue flash off to the side caught his attention.

It was actually two blue flashes, one slightly behind the other.   Gladio recognized the first blue blur as the slightly hunched form of his friend.  The crown prince of Lucis was currently warping like a madman towards their car.

“Aranea open your door!” Gladio demanded.

“Wha?”

“Just do it!!” He yelled.

Thankfully she wrenched the door open just in time.  The prince had managed to clear the fence and was now next to the car.  Gladio could see him struggling to keep up.  Consecutive warps were exhausting and he was surprised Noct was still able to stay with them.  Leaning back out of the way proved the right choice as a sword came whizzing by his head as second later.  

The overwhelming surge of emotion that hit Gladio next was surreal.   There, trembling in his arms and sprawled across the seat was Noct, in the flesh and blood.  Without a second thought he hugged him fiercely.   The prince wasn’t able to communicate clearly but he at least was able to hug back.

“Th--thought you were dead!” Noct managed to gasp in between breaths as he rested limply in Gladio’s arms.

“I’m okay.” He choked out. The heartfelt moment was immediately shattered when Ravus shouted a frantic warning.  Gladio barely had time to react when the car swerved violently and slammed into something.   Holding onto Noct with one arm, he reached out and hugged Luna close with the other.  Gladio was disoriented and could only do what he knew best.

Shield.    

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[elmidol]

The Fractures of War

Three Blind Tooke Part Three Death is an Art

Read on AO3

Warnings: needles/blood drawn, a twisted sort of love

Three Blind Tooke

 Part Three: Death is an Art

 Chapter Forty-Four: The Fractures of War

 Death cannot part

What is deepest in my heart.

So though you left me there alone,

I waited forever to welcome you home.

 Miscalculations were quickly becoming your area of expertise. The two Resistance ships were not joined by others. Furthermore, they settled on either side of you without attempting to attack the TIE in which Kylo remained. The Force user did not so much as twitch. His lax disposition was not due to arrogance. The voice of the pilot from the ship to your right caught you off-guard. You had expected Poe Dameron or another of the Wing Commanders. Anyone other than Rey. The young woman addressed the man by his title and name, to which he responded in kind: Master Rey of the Knights of Ren. Her previous reactions to his death had been far too genuine, or else you may have suspected she had all along known he was alive. Paired with the nervous utterance of her name from Finn, it was easy enough to deduce that she had felt him use the Force on you. Rey was familiar with the allure of the Dark side. You had been the one to push her away from the Supreme Leader.

 Fear crept into you the moment Kylo Ren extended an invitation to the two. His desire to speak with Rey on the Star Destroyer, the fact that he was holding fire, made you grateful for Finn’s presence. She was there to keep him grounded. Rey could not have requested Luke Skywalker to join her. That would had resulted in death.

 If you aren’t careful, you’ll enjoy it.

 Kylo Ren was visibly communicating with the Star Destroyer. Two TIEs had already deployed following the arrival of Rey and Finn. No one fired though. He would be informing those on the bridge that they were guests. A snort escaped you, one that earned a tilted head from the masked man. He could communicate with multiple ships at once, and he had not ended contact with you. It made you feel sick to your stomach. The moment that he gestured with his hand for Rey to head for the Star Destroyer, she obliged. Your eyes tracked her movements then those of Finn as he followed after her. Neither you nor Kylo Ren budged from your positions. The two Resistance ships entered the Star Destroyer, disappearing from your view.

 Due to his hatred for Luke Skywalker, he would never return to the Light, not while his uncle survived. That did not equate to an inability to work along with select individuals from the Resistance. Taking out Supreme Leader Armitage Hux, who clearly maintained a working relationship with Phasma, was a top priority for both parties. This was the gray area. Rey knew it. She had realized it before you did.

 Rey had felt Kylo Ren use the Force without feeling you die. His toying with you, it had an additional layer. Not a mere pawn. A symbol. A flag of temporary truce to the one with whom he had once shared a Force bond. They had trained together in your front yard on Naboo. Understood each other.

 Enjoyment had several definitions the same as respect. It did not equate to agreement.

 Silently you reflected on those who had passed senselessly away in the attack by Kylo Ren and his team of TIEs. Your hand on the controls, you flew your X-wing along the exact same trail that Rey’s ship had taken to the Star Destroyer. It would not be the flagship though the Supreme Leader was present. Ren operated differently than that. His enemies would not be granted access to his full arsenal. They would be blindsided by his flagship when the time came. That was how wars were won. It was how he had perished at the hands of Armitage and Phasma.

 An unwilling guest once more.

 There was no white armor. Any individual that had formerly been a stormtrooper—Finn’s reactions to some of the faces was proof enough that some had been—wore different uniforms or armor. The shades were similar to those of the other First Order. Blacks and reds. As he exited his ship, you noticed Kylo was cloaked in an outfit that was inspired by both the robes he had worn when first you had been captured and the clothing he had worn during your marriage. The robes were a deep red. The cape a dark gray. You turned away from him to inspect the crimson and black uniforms of his officers and soldiers. His technicians.

 Your attention was all at once ripped back from them to his face as Kylo Ren removed his helmet. His flesh was darker than it had been before. A bit tanned, as though he had been on a planet such as Jakku or Tatooine. The wound you had seen on his face when he had died had healed. His eyes were sightless. Your back hit the exterior of your ship, your gelatin-like legs failing to support your weight. That he was alive now hit you in full. It had a greater punch to it than the bite of the cuffs that were used to secure your arms behind your back.

 Rey and Finn did not have restraints. Though they frowned at your treatment, they were wise enough to hold their tongues. The Supreme Leader had promised safety and that the two of them were be permitted to leave once the meeting ended. Your fate remained to be seen.

 Struggling against your bindings was not an option for you. There was a lack of willpower to dedicate energy to such a task. The Supreme Leader of this faction of the First Order was someone you had not wanted to watch die. He had though. He had perished in your arms, and you were plagued with the fact that his revival meant you were again torn. You had become a Resistance fighter all over again, which meant that this man was more your enemy than he had been at the moment of his death. You should have felt no hesitation to strike him. Stars, he had just killed the your comrades. Right in front of you.

 The band of your wedding ring burned your finger, although this you attributed to a mental affliction rather than a factual, bodily injury.

 Kylo Ren had not yet addressed you since you had arrived aboard the Star Destroyer. His silence towards you continued, although you were aware that his order to summon Urvno to the bridge was due to your presence. You were escorted by four armed guards, whereas Rey and Finn had only a single guard each. Two of the Knights of Ren. Kylo Ren was behind them. He could easily striked through them with his lightsaber if he so wished—the Knights would deflect any attack Rey or Finn attempted to execute. Those guarding you could easily turn their weapons upon your allies. It was a wise, strategic arrangement.

 Rey failed to conceal a spark of curiosity that flooded her. Her head turned repeatedly. She inspected the crew with more than her eyes. Finn mimicked her, although his actions were less random. These men and women had once been his allies. Several of them recognized him from more than just a traitor poster or whatever the First Order had distributed when he had defected. Finn’s behavior you understood immediately. It was not until you arrived at the bridge and Rey spoke that you better understood hers. Several of the former stormtroopers and even a handful of the officers were Force sensitives.

 It made sense, really. Their abilities would have been ignored by Snoke. Now that Kylo Ren required an army to not only control the galaxy but to eliminate the other half of the First Order, he would train them. On top of that, Skywalker was training others. More than just Rey.

 “Major Peavey,” Kylo Ren said in greeting to a man who strolled up to him. A former Imperial perhaps. He might have despised Armitage Hux and chosen to join Ren due to that. Or maybe that had nothing to do with it. Whatever the case, Peavey tore his eyes away from Rey and Finn then worked to conceal his surprise. “Make the jump.”

 It would not be to anywhere revealing. A means of ensuring more Resistance or even First Order vessels did not interrupt this meeting. Peavey gave the order as Kylo turned to Rey. Your view of them was obscured by the bodies of two of the guards. They shoved you into a corner, down onto a makeshift seat. Their hands were rough. Fingers digging into you so that the miniscule padding offered by your jacket would do no good to guard against future bruising. You held in your grunts as best you good. There would be no satisfaction for them.

 When a noise did at last escape you, it was in unison with the arrival of Urvno. The man’s gasp of surprise nearly drowned out the light ah that hissed out along with your breath. The Supreme Leader’s head dipped towards the left. He said nothing. Did nothing more than alter how he stood. Yet the guards instantly stiffened and drew away from you. The physician recovered from his surprise. He eliminated the distance between you, and set the bag he had brought with him on the ground by your feet. His hands delved into his bag. He withdrew a needle.

 You were stunned. Your confusion grew as he worked to draw blood from you. One of the former stormtroopers worked open your vest and unzipped your jacket. It was pushed backwards, the arm of your shirt yanked away. The angle was awkward given the restraints. Yet Urvno made do without complaint. He had worked in stranger circumstances—Kylo eating you out in his presence first and foremost in your memory. Rey stepped in your direction. Two of the guards raised their blasters, ready to fire her way. It was doubtful that their blasts would hit; she would be able to deflect or stop them. Although, you reasoned, Ren would freeze them first. He would not chance damage to the consoles. The Supreme Leader ran his hand along the hilt of his weapon. This was what prompted Rey to freeze. Finn’s gaze traveled from you to Rey to Ren and back.

 “Why are you taking her blood?”

 Even before he spoke, you suspected that he would be forthcoming with her. She had failed to explicitly renounce her position as his Mater of the Knights of Ren. There remained the chance that she would rejoin him. Kylo Ren would also not want the situation to escalate to where a fight did break out.

 “In the past it was used in the creation of an amulet. That was how I prevented Skywalker from sensing my return as I drained the lives of others to heal.” You felt sick to your stomach. It was yet another reason why Urvno had been made to keep you alive. “Blood from one that I love. Blood from one that I hate.” He bent his fingers, and the chain that held Snoke’s ashes twitched. You could easily picture the smirk that would be on Kylo’s face. He had been present for the disposal of Snoke’s body. Whatever the amulet was, it had either been on his person or with the medics—maybe with Urvno—when he had died there in your arms. All they had to do was get his heart to start beating, enough to where he could use his Force abilities. The Dark side… draining the lives of others to heal himself. Who had he killed? His own allies? His enemies? Both?

 Did it even matter!?

 “She’s going to leave with us when this is done.” There was no room for an argument with how Rey had phrased her words, with the confidence with which she had spoken them. The Supreme Leader crossed the two fingers he had previously used to toy with the chain. It twisted, tight around your throat. It was not quite choking you, and you knew that it wouldn’t. His words echoed within your head. Blood from one that I love. Present tense. It had been a strange relief to know that the mixed emotions you felt were mutual. “You’re angry that she killed you, but—”

 “Oh.” It was a laugh. Finn reached for Rey’s wrist, and she stepped backwards into him, their hips brushing together. There were no words needed. Though certainly Rey and Finn could not know all that had transpired, it was now apparent to them that you had been innocent. Hurt flashed over the features of the young woman. The bond that you had been blocking out seemed to jump to life. Regret was flooding through her. Guilt. Frustration. Hurt. She wished you would have told her. Yet she also understood it on some level, the importance of the lie. It was how she had coped with the truth of her family.

 There were shared smirks and other expressions of amusement amongst the bridge crew. They had known the truth. It was obvious; for them to abandon Supreme Leader Hux in favor of following Supreme Leader Kylo Ren, the betrayal would have become common knowledge amongst those in the First Order. It pleased them that the Resistance was working with misinformation. This knowledge solidified the suspicions they had housed, that the Resistance did not know of Ren’s survival. He had successfully tricked Luke Skywalker, legendary Jedi Master. Since several of the gathered individuals here had newly discovered Force sensitivity, they gained confidence in themselves through their leader, who also served as mentor.

 Urvno dabbed at the area of flesh that the needle had pierced. The scent of bacta drew you out of your thoughts. The jump through hyperspace did not cause any change in behavior. Rey walked around Kylo Ren, who made no move to stop her now that she had gathered enough confidence to approach you. The female Force user knelt on one knee. You noticed that she had the lanvarok with her. A snort escaped you. She was so well armed, and here you were the one restrained. Because, you knew, you were the one who would have shot at one of the consoles without a moment’s hesitation. Reckless behavior, really. Always so blinded by emotions. The irony was that you were also the one who would instantaneously melt if the Supreme Leader touched you.

 It was not you that he touched. Kylo Ren had transferred his attention off of Rey, and was considering the once-stormtrooper. Finn squared his shoulders, however turned when the Darkside Force user started to walk behind him. He would not give his back to his enemy, especially one who had cut through his spine with a lightsaber. Finn’s fingers curled towards his palms. You had to give him credit for holding back a flinch when his enemy placed the tips of three fingers to his sternum.

 “I thought as much.” The current angle allowed you to see the smirk spread. “I felt it on Jakku... Skywalker has been training you.”

 In front of you, Rey clenched her jaw. She had hoped against all odds that this would go unnoticed. Urvno placed the vials of blood into a metal container, packed away his things, and walked towards the exit without saying a word to you. He had not bothered to fix your clothing. Rey did so, her hands making quick work of the task. Simultaneous to all of this, Kylo had broken contact with Finn in favor of addressing one of the bridge personnel, ordering that information was brought up on a display visible to Finn, Rey, and you. It was data that the Resistance had not been in possession of despite the fact that Luke, Leia, and Rey had felt the deaths when Supreme Leader Hux had attacked the planets prior to announcing himself.

 Those planets had had a higher concentration of suspected Force sensitives living together than most others. The cities that had been attacked housed the majority. The culling of Force sensitives had not started with the civilians either. Under Snoke, any stormtrooper suspected of having powers in the Force had been monitored yet ignored. Their abilities never developed. Now that Armitage Hux was in charge, he wanted to limit those numbers. He would still have the ysalamir, or so you strongly suspected. It was no wonder so many from the First Order had joined Ren. And now it further explained why Kylo Ren was allowing Rey to meet with him.

 While he wanted to wipe out the Resistance in the end, Supreme Leader Kylo Ren valued the Force and those who could wield it.

 “So… The First Order is hunting Force sensitives, and the Second Order is recruiting them.” Your teasing would have been more effective had you not slurred your words. You slumped where you sat, narrowed your eyes, and read through portions of the data for a second time. Your comment had earned you a few glares, and you proudly endured them.

 Finn was in appreciation of your humor. “We could be the Third Order.”

 “Sign me up.” Rey’s face was taking on a red hue. You knew that it was not out of anger. The young woman was not doing well with all of the eyes on her. Waiting to see if she would join in on the inappropriate humor. Lives were at stake. But that was war. And this was how you mentally and emotionally survived it. “Our slogan can be Because the third’s time the charm.” You and Finn shared a laugh. Yours trailed off as you swayed, unable to catch yourself with either of your hands. Your shoulder hit against the guard on your right. He shoved you back into place none-the-bit gently.

 It was as you were sobering that it dawned on you how different your behavior had been just then from the past...how long? That had been the you that Kylo Ren had never fully seen, not in person like this. He had not heard her either. Here he could never see that part of you. Only listen. You fought the growing urge to look his way. What was his reaction? Or did he have full control over his facial features?

 You tugged at your restraints for the first time for want of something, anything at all, to do. The mood between you and Finn was calmer, more sober. The pair of you considered the data as well as what it meant. Supreme Leader Hux had made it clear with Starkiller that he was capable of creating powerful weapons. The Force could only do so much against such a weapon. If he were somehow able to replicate it… And he would use that to hunt the Resistance and Kylo’s faction.

 “Hux has the majority of the ships…the weapons… That’s why you’re willing to use us.” No response. Only when Rey asked is that true did the Supreme Leader speak. He addressed her.

 That stung. A blow to your pride.

 “Fine.” Your shoulders rose and fell with your huff. Again did you tug your wrists in an attempt to pull them further apart. There was no misconception that you would succeed. The bindings would hold. The effort aggravated your arm, and it made you feel sick to your stomach. All of the stress, the emotions you were holding back due to the deaths of your allies, and having your blood taken from you—it was taking its toll.

 Kylo Ren was not ignoring you completely. “She’s in no condition to fly.” You closed your eyes to stop your surroundings from spinning. Rey commented that she would take you in her ship. You grit your teeth at that. Your X-wing could be repaired. If it was left here, that was one less ship the Resistance had. You protested your condition. A lie that everyone could see through. You were fine, or so you slurred out. Reopening your eyes, you caught Peavey’s smile. It was mirrored on so many of the faces around you. Another reason for keeping you bound. Poor circulation. He was purposely ensuring that you could not fly. He wanted your ship. Another trophy. Maybe to make up for the one that had gotten away.

 The man had never been the easiest person to read. You understood his true motivations only a fraction of the time. That was not to say you didn’t guess. Such as how you were guessing the reasons he had had you, Rey, and Finn board the Star Destroyer rather than transfer the data. To gauge the reactions. To toy with the idea of bringing Rey back under his wing eventually. To confirm Finn’s abilities in the Force. Definitely to have some of your blood taken for future use. Now your ship. Your X-wing, which would have intel on the Resistance that the First Order technicians could dig up if given enough time. Nothing too valuable...except for possible coordinates.

 You better understood why it was that Peavey grinned now whenever he glanced your way. You had been dealt a losing hand by his superior. Because of this you wanted to utter out the words I hate you with all the bitterness that you could muster. The problem? You couldn’t muster up any, and the words refused to leave you at any rate. You were still shaken over the fact that he was alive.

 Please. Don’t leave me alone.

 You had begged him to stay with you when he had been dying. Your teeth noisily clattered together, prompting you to clench your jaw tightly. The nausea swam through you again. It was stronger. You sucked around nothing then regretted the decision. Shook your head. Squeezed your eyes closed.

 “I’ll take her with me,” Rey repeated. Along with her voice, there were the sounds of footsteps drawing nearer. Two sets. One you recognized as Finn’s. The other… The other did not stop until its owner was directly in front of you. The restraints gave an audible groan followed by a click. They fell away. Your arms sagged forward, blood pulsing through them as they, painfully, began to liven. Rey placed a hand on the front of your shoulder, nudging you backwards. Your back hit the wall. The momentum made you gag. Had Kylo Ren been reaching for you?

 It was not the Supreme Leader who argued with Rey now, but Finn. “Her condition will worsen. She needs rest. You know her body can’t handle…” The frustration that welled up within you was half yours and half hers. The bond was strengthened now that you were not blocking her out. She might have been ensuring the connection remained due to Ren’s presence. She worried for you, could feel your own concern.

 Though your body was in much better condition after going through several medical treatments with the Resistance, there remained numerous weaknesses. You still tired more easily than before you had been injured. When it came to common illnesses, your resistance was down which meant a physician monitored you more closely, plus you had been given several booster vaccinations. One of the most frustrating things for you was that, as Finn had implied, your body did not handle nausea well. It sent you spiraling downwards if you were not given time to recover. Aggravating the vertigo, which would most definitely occur in the cockpit of the X-wing that Rey would fly with you as passenger, could leave you out of commission for longer than the Resistance could afford. Or, at least, longer than what you would deem acceptable.

 The anti-nausea medications that worked for you had the unfortunate side effects of making you drowsy. That would not be an issue if you flew with Rey, although it did circle back to your reluctance to leave your X-wing behind. Plus you had not brought any with you. Why would you? It had been a training exercise. You had not been planning to go into battle. Had certainly not stopped to consider that Kylo Ren would make his way back into your life like this.

 Stubborn tooke.

 The memory of that line as you recognized that you were too stubborn to ask your enemy, who was also your husband, for the drug. He could summon Urvno in an instant. There was the possibility of rejection. To initiate physical contact would be to lose the challenge that had begun; the both of you were reluctant to touch the other first. Though there did remain that possibility that Rey had thwarted Ren’s attempt. There was no winning, you reminded yourself.

 Without opening your eyes, you shifted around Rey’s hand and moved forward. The darkness provided by your eyelids failed to eliminate the sensation that all around you spun with those movements. You rested your forehead on Kylo Ren’s shoulder. Breathed in his scent. Marveled over how familiar it was. Wished that he would reciprocate. The war would resume later; why couldn’t he hold onto you for but a minute?

 “Supernova,” he said quietly, utilizing your new nickname, the one that marked you as an accepted member of the Resistance. It made your heart clench to know that you were no longer tooke to him. Your body shuddered against him. You were not his little tooke anymore. The words of the Knight who had joined Rey crashed over you.

 Death had parted you. It did not matter for how long or the cause of that death.

 A rich chuckle rang out, its sound preceded by other noises of amusement from those on the bridge. You mistook them for mockery, and started to pull away. All of your suspicions were proven correct. You seemed to melt against him the moment he placed a hand on the small of your back.

 “The First—”

 “Don’t call yourself the First Order,” you said, interrupting him though this may have been rude. “That… It’s filled with lies and prejudice and chaos. Is that really what you want?”

 You could accept that he did not agree with the New Republic or the Resistance. No longer could you understand him following the ideals of the First Order. All of the genocide. The culling of Force users and aliens alike. Anything nonhuman viewed as lesser. Was that truly what this man desired?

 “And what would you have us call ourselves?” That was Peavey speaking. He definitely clung to the xenophobia, being the former Imperial that he was.

 You tilted back your head and allowed your eyes to open a fraction. It was hard to look up into Kylo Ren’s face knowing that he couldn’t stare at you in return. He had always been so expressive.

 “The Order of Ren,” Finn said. It was the way that he said it and the smirk on Kylo’s face that had you wondering about how the Force connected all living beings. “You already renamed it.”

 “I did.” It was a reminder that Kylo Ren was intelligent enough to not show all his pieces at once. The name alone only said so much. It did not reveal their ideology as you had hoped it would.

 The Knights of Ren had increased in number with the new Force sensitives, and they had been joined by the officers of Ren. They clearly did not agree with the First Order. But what were they fighting for? What had they killed your allies for?

 “She misses you.” The words left unbidden from your lips. The Supreme Leader frowned. The hand that was on your back curled, bunching up the material of your vest and jacket as he clenched your clothing in his fist. The phrase come back was on the tip of your tongue. You did not speak it. It was obvious that he could not join the Resistance. All of his war crimes, all of the people who feared and hated him. “Was it my fault?” That he remained away after he had captured you. That he had fallen further and further into the darkness.

 “No.” His hand flattened, his anger leaving him the moment he understood your train of thought. “I do not need saving, Supernova.” There was the silent implication that everyone else did. At least, that you, Rey, and Finn did. Those with the Force, those who followed the Resistance or the First Order. The galaxy as a whole. He wanted to save it, although you did not know from what. “Rey.”

 “Yes?” You could hear her step forward. Those from the Order that had been guarding you made room for her. The young woman was being cautious. For good reason, you thought as you clenched your teeth when the man spoke next: the X-wing or you? He was not going to give up whatever bits of information he could pull from your ship. It was a wise move, something that you would have personally pushed for the Resistance to do if your positions were switched. That did not mean you liked it. “You already know the answer to that.” Rey did not bite back all of her irritation, however she was able to mostly maintain her composure. It was cruel of Ren to remind the three of you that he held most of the cards in this situation.

 It was equally cruel that he dipped his chin and rested his lips against your forehead without kissing you. You wanted him to kiss you. You did not want him to kiss you. You felt so nauseated that you again closed your eyes. He shifted the hand from your back up to cradle your head. Tendrils began to explore, not so painful this time. He was not working to read your memories. He instead spoke to you so that no one else could hear him.

 You shine so brightly, tooke.

 Your stomach did a flip. It took all of your remaining strength to hold in the sob of relief. You could simultaneously exist outside of him and with him. It was different than before he had died, as though he had learned something in death. You wanted to ask him what it had been like, what he had felt. Because, even if he hadn’t been able to see anything, he could hear and feel. He could learn. What had been there on the other side for him?

 You remembered begging him to not die and leave you there alone. Kylo Ren remembered this as well.

 We’re connected… You were my other fate, did you forget?

 It was strange but also it made sense. Kylo Ren no longer wanted you to die—devouring you was something completely different. He wanted both of his fates to find success. How would that be possible? It was all so...complicated.

 “You’re always a step ahead,” you whispered without hiding your annoyance.

 “Yes. I am.”

 You hated it, but did not have the energy to fight him. Supreme Leader Kylo Ren gave the order to summon Urvno, who would bring anti-nausea medication. Rey and Finn’s ships would be refueled. The technicians could begin work on yours immediately. He would not follow you, not this time. Due to Armitage Hux, Kylo had need of the Resistance’s temporary survival. Your success was not the success of the Resistance. Complicated, you repeated in your head. You wondered what he would do with the information from your X-wing and with the blood that Urvno had taken from you. Wondered this without asking as the medication was administered, as you slowly became drowsy. Wondered what the Supreme Leader’s bridge crew thought as he let you continue to relax against him. Then remembered, right before you drifted off, that this was not new to them, that they had previously been exposed to the connection. They probably knew more than you did.

 So frustrating.

[hannahmcne]

Mal vs Uma

https://archiveofourown.org/works/19425943/chapters/47893888Mal tripped on the last stair and barely caught herself as she hurried out of sight of the guests. Upstairs, there was a tiled veranda with a balcony extending out over the snowy slopes of the hill the wedding party had rented. She ripped the crown and a few small locks of hair out as she practically collapsed against the balcony, heart pounding and head spinning. Then she examined the champagne glass tactfully. She raised it to her lips with a shaking hand, forced her throat open and downed the entire glass in one fell swoop. Immediately, her stomach rejected the foul, rancid-tasting liquid. She leaned over the balcony as her stomach rushed back up her throat in protest, praying no one from the ballroom noticed.

Someone's cool hands brushed her hair back as she groaned. She batted the person's hands away. "Mm fine, Evie," She grumbled.

"Evie?" A cruel, cackling voice laughed. Mal's eyes snapped to attention. She turned her head around and found herself taking five steps away to put distance between her and the person who'd appeared at her side. They were dressed in mostly black, with skull appliqué hanging from her ears and embroidered into a scarf she had coiled around her neck. Dark teal braids hung down to her waistline in thousands of thin, shrimp-smelling twists. A very long knife was sheathed at her side as if it were a sword, and she was fiddling with a ring on her finger in the shape of a silver octopus as she chuckled at Mal's bewildered expression.

"Uma!" Mal gaped like a fish, which was irony if nothing else. "What – How did you – Why are you here?"

Uma hummed as she leaned over the balcony to glance at where Mal had just thrown up. "Nice one, princess. Are you sick?"

Mal wrapped her arms around herself defensively as she glanced at the knife at Uma's side. "Sick of you showing up to ruin my royal events, sure," She grumbled. "What are you doing here?"

Uma laughed. "You got the Isle, then the king, and now Auradon. I am not going to be stuck with your… leftovers anymore." She cocked her head at the items in Mal's hands. "Nice crown," She complimented. "Belle's?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Mal hissed.

Uma laughed. "Well, aren't you feisty for a cornered girl? Tell me, Mal, aren't you curious at all how I got in here?"

Mal hesitated and glanced around the circumference of the balcony for clues. She glanced over the balcony and suddenly realized what was amiss.

"The guards," she mumbled. "All of the north-side guards are missing."

"They'll come back around in the morning," Uma laughed. "Sleeping spell. More your mother's specialty, but it works well enough for me."

She unsheathed her knife and took a step to her left, towards the ballroom, blocking Mal's escape route. Mal leaned against the balcony again, arms shaking. Her stomach was churning again, and suddenly it felt like her worst fears were coming to life. She was sick, incapacitated, and had nowhere or way to run. Trapped. She curled a hand around her belly as tears filled her eyes. Curse this small cell clump for all the pain it was about to cause. If only she weren't susceptible to panic attacks. If only she didn't have to worry about being sick or hiding that she wasn't drinking or needing medicine.

"Ben knows where I am," Mal gasped. "He's coming with things for me. He'll be here soon."

"Then I'll be fast," Uma laughed. "What's Beasty-Boy bringing you? More champagne?"

Mal's hands clenched into fists as she guarded her front carefully. Uma took a step forward and Mal's spine hit the balcony. Uma examined her stance – it was clear that it was delicious to her; seeing Mal with nowhere to run. Then, her face contorted into a frown, and then reverted back into a devilish smirk.

"Oh, is that what this is?" Uma laughed suddenly. "He knocked you up? Before your wedding?"

Mal stumbled and her shoes slipped underneath her feet. "No!" She denied though Uma wasn't going to be fooled.

"What happened to Princey?" Uma cackled. "I thought he was all about standards and everything." She ran a finger down the blade of her long, silver knife. "Imagine if Auradon knew about that."

Mal grit her teeth, planted her feet, and straightened up. "Uma," she hissed through her teeth, "if you kill me, you'll have killed the reigning queen of Auradon. That's an act of treason. Ben will have you executed for it. You can't run when everyone in Auradon will know about it."

"If that's the only card you have to play, you're less prepared than I was expecting," Uma told her, looking absolutely gleeful.

Mal set her champagne glass down on the balcony, along with the crown. She swallowed and straightened up. "I could still burn you alive any day."

Uma threw back her head in hysterical laughter. "Hasn't anyone told you?" She laughed. "Ah, there are so many problems with that plan I can't begin to explain how dumb you are! Palace life has made you weak, Mal. But go on, burn the building down with all of your citizens and guests inside. Maybe Ben will have returned by then, and he'll be baked too. And all your cameras are still rolling, letting everyone in Auradon know how happy the royal family is, so I'm sure Auradon will be pleased to see the queen performing such drastic, evil magic on the eve of her coronation. I wonder if the palace could recover from the riots?" Uma chuckled and then gestured to the area around her. "Not to mention your other… incapacities."

"I am not incapable," Mal insisted, eyes flashing. "Out of practice, but not incapable."

"Go on, then," Uma gestured to the area around them. "I honestly want to see you try."

A crash sounded from inside the room. Harry and Gil appeared, stalking towards her with long swords drawn. Mal swallowed hard and felt her fist light on fire. She braced her body and went on the defensive, guarding her face carefully with her flaming fists.

Uma looked genuinely impressed she'd been able to manage the feat. "Impressive," She murmured as Harry and Gil approached her from behind. "How long can you keep it up?"

As if Uma's words had triggered something within her, Mal's fists flared and sputtered. For half a second, she felt the heat, real and painful on her hand, and she yelped and waved it out as a feeling like tingles ran up and down her frame. Uma laughed, turning to Harry and Gil and gesturing at Mal as if she were some sort of freak show.

"She's pregnant," Uma told her comrades through laughter. "No more magic, at least for a while."

"What?" Mal sputtered, twisting her hands back and forth as evil grins spread across Harry and Gil's faces.

"Don't 'cha know?" Harry slurred, tapping his sword on the ground as he inched close to Mal. "Pregnant woman can't work with magic. It turns out… horribly, for the mom."

Mal stared at them, her old foes, for a few seconds, and then abruptly kicked Uma back into Gil and Harry. The three went down, and Mal jumped over their heads. Harry snatched her ankle in midair and she slammed, face-first, into the ground. Something in her face broke.

Behind her, Harry raised his sword. He brought it down towards her leg, and Mal kicked out and into his hand. The sword went flying as Harry let out a yell. Mal turned, seized Gil, and wretched his sword out of his hand. She made to bring it down on Harry's arm, and Harry released her.

Uma made it to her feet, seizing Harry's sword and leaping towards Mal before Mal could get up off the floor. She locked swords with Mal using one hand and then braced the knife above Mal's left eyebrow. "Long shall she reign," Uma hissed.

Mal kicked Uma in the stomach, sending her sprawling across the floor. She pushed herself to her feet, and a fist came flying into her vision. Her head was knocked back on impact, and her ears started ringing. She coughed, and spat out a mouthful of blood, swinging wildly. Another fist connected with the right side of her head and then the fleshy part of her arm before she watched in slow motion as a boot landed in the center of her chest and sent her sprawling out on the floor again.

Another flash of silver signified that a sword was coming down on her head. She blocked it, pushed herself back up, and caught Harry's next right hook with her free hand as it came. She slammed her forehead onto his to daze him and then pushed him back into Uma as she came back with sword and knife waving in precise, deadly patterns. Then she turned and dodged one kick, one punch from Gil before she dropped her sword and stepped on it to keep any of the pirates from grabbing it back. She punched Gil straight in his chin, right over where his father's stupid 'swell cleft' was visible. She used the foot not holding her sword down to kick him in the stomach as he fell back, and then turned to snatch up her sword as Uma made a slash towards her neck.

She stopped Uma's attack with a parry and used her elbow to lock under Uma's shoulder, keeping her from wielding the knife. Harry was getting up, looking slightly dazed, but not down yet. She just had to take out Uma, and-

Gil kicked her feet out from under her.

Mal crumpled to the ground as the large, strong man seized her hands and pulled the sword out of them. Uma stomped down on her feet, twisting the heels at horrible angles on her joints. Mal let out a scream, and the music stopped inside the ballroom. She started to yell, but Harry jumped up and drew his fist back. He slammed his knuckles into her jaw, making her see stars in a way she hadn't in a very, very long time. The next target was her neck, and then he stood tall and stomped down on her chest. She felt something snap. He crouched back down and slammed his fist into her midsection, completely stealing her breath away before he seized her legs.

Uma released her feet and together Gil and Harry hefted her into the air. Mal couldn't breathe as her lungs refused to constrict. They swung her one way, then the other, and then launched her frame towards the ballroom. She flew through the air and slammed into the banister guarding the stairs with her stomach taking most of the blow. Guests looked up, gasping in horror as she coughed up a mouthful of blood onto the ground twenty feet below her.

For several seconds, no one moved. No one knew what was going on. Mal was bleeding, her dress had blood and mud on it from where she'd been kicked, her crown was gone, sitting back on the balcony, and she was struggling for breath as Uma advanced behind her.

She braced her hand on the banister and turned away from the crowd, leaning heavily on the metal as her feet slid uselessly beneath her. She couldn't get them to straighten up. More gasps ran through the crowd as Uma appeared, and she heard Jay let out a: "Let's go!"

Harry jumped past Uma and snatched the back of Mal's head. He ripped her neck back and braced the sword Mal had lost at her neck. "No one move!" He bellowed. The room froze. Mal looked down at everyone and saw people staring in silence with their hands poised over their mouths. Jay, Carlos, and Doug were all poised at the base of the steps, frozen as they watched Harry pull Mal's head back further and further. She swallowed and felt a dribble of blood run down to her collar.

"Harry," She whispered hoarsely. "I can't breathe."

"I don't know why you thought that was the goal," Harry hissed.

Mal looked across the room and saw Ben standing with his eyes wide and his hands poised in the air and let out a breath. Blood continued spilling from her nose and her neck, and she could taste even more of the coppery substance in her mouth.

"Out of the way, Harry," Uma commanded, wiping her brow and brandishing her knife as she stepped forward. Harry carefully kept his sword raised above Mal's head as Uma let the second lethal weapon clatter to the floor. Mal kept a hold on the banister for balance as Gil picked up the sword and went to the top of the staircase that her friends were poised at the base of, ready to fend them off. Uma balled up her fist and gave a swift right hook to the side of Mal's head. Her neck snapped back, and she almost flew off the banister. Jay flinched forward a little, and Harry raised his sword threateningly.

So here she was, slumped against the banister with her back to the room, holding on with both hands, bleeding and bruised as her frame shook. Uma raised the knife above her head. "God bless the Queen of Auradon," She spat in a crazed tone. "Long shall she reign!" And there was a flash of silver, and Mal felt something incredibly warm in her stomach. She let out a short yell as the crowd screamed below and people began to rush for the exits, all except for Jay, Doug, and Carlos. They rushed up the stairs and tried to dodge around Gil as he slashed to keep them back.

Mal looked down and observed the hilt sticking out of her stomach. She felt something die inside her – literally, not figuratively. She could feel that the knife had gone all the way through her abdomen, breaking through the skin on her back. And for now, it didn't hurt. It only felt incredibly, incredibly warm. Then Uma twisted the knife, and Mal screamed. Pain. Everything was pain.

She twisted the knife clockwise about halfway around a full circle, then pressed her foot to Mal's chest and yanked it back out. The metal came away red, slicked wet with her blood. Mal slumped into the railing.

"Stop it!" Jay yelled, slamming his fist into Gil's chest. The son of Gaston didn't budge, but Harry took his sword and rushed over to help him.

"Guards, guards!" Someone screamed at the back of the room. Blue-clothed people were streaming into the room. Lonnie, in a flurry of pink and orange, rushed up the stairs with two swords in her hand. She slashed, and blood spilled to the floor as her sword sliced through Gil's forearm. The pirates were quickly on the retreat.

Uma held up her knife, took a firm hold of Mal's hair, and drew a slit across her throat. Mal held her breath as she waited for the gurgling sound that would tell her that her artery had been sliced, but there was none. Uma, apparently, didn't know how to slit throats.

The pirate girl waved cheerily at Mal. "Ta-ta!" She bid the queen farewell, and then, hooking her hands under Mal's hips, hefted her over the railing.

She crashed onto the ballroom floor in a heap of bloody lace and tangled hair. Harry, Gil, and Uma began to retreat to the balcony. Her friends started to follow, but one of the guards yelled: "Halt! Ready, aim, fire!"

A barrage of gunshots rang over her head as everyone leaped off the stairs. Mal heard a yell, and then a shout, and then all was silent. The ballroom was mostly empty aside from the last few guests who were too frozen to move.

"Out of the way!" Ben yelled from the back of the room. She felt his hands land on her broken body and let out a cry as he rolled her onto his back. His hands roamed her body as she felt the presences of people gathering around. The world seemed awfully dark. Ben's hand covered the wound on her stomach as blood gushed out in a grotesque manner like someone was squeezing jelly out of a bag.

"Ben," She whispered.

"You're going to be okay," Ben whispered. "Everything will be okay."

"Ben," Mal mumbled. "It's gone." She felt the blood rushing up her battered esophagus and coughed up a bunch of thick, red liquid.

Ben's hand fell limp on her sides. "Yeah, I know," He whispered. "I felt it too."

Mal saw movement out of the corner of her eye. Someone in the crowd was scooping up three colorful, bead-sized items off the floor.

She curled her fist around his elbow and pulled as much as she had strength too. "Ben," She whispered. "I'm dying."

Ben wrapped his arms underneath her shoulders, supporting her head as he leaned down. His mouth pressed against hers, though he remained tight-lipped and there was almost no passion.

"Is she breathing?" Someone yelled.

Mal had her eyes closed, so she couldn't see anyone's reactions when she began to heal a little, but she heard everyone fall silent as the warmth in her belly lessened a little. Her back slid back into place. He kept his lips on hers, breathing through his nose until abruptly they started seeing stars. He let her go, and together they examined her. She had not healed, or, at least not all the way. She'd only been stayed from the edge of death. The blood was flowing less, her neck, back, and nose had fixed, but she could still feel the internal damage and the broken rib that Harry had kicked in.

Ben ran his hands over the oozing wound, ripped off his jacket, and pressed it to her abdomen. Mal focused on breathing in and out as Jay removed his coat, rolled it up, and slid onto the floor. Together, he and Ben carefully lifted her head and slid the jacket underneath his neck. Mal coughed when they moved her chest too much and blood appeared in her mouth. Her throat, she realized, felt incredibly, incredibly dry.

"Has an ambulance been called?" Jay whispered to Ben, who grit his teeth.

"I don't know, can you check?" He whispered back. Jay nodded and jumped to his feet.

"Can… can I have some water?" Mal whispered.

Ben shook his head. "I'm sorry, I don't think you can until we, um, take care of you." He let out another breath and leaned down to give True Love's Kiss another try. Mal let her eyes drift closed again. She felt small, small lacerations fix themselves in her stomach, but the gaping wound was apparently too much for the magical kiss.

Blood seeped out from under her in a perfect red puddle. Guests took a few steps back as the smell grew worse. One of Ben's hands continued holding his jacket to her gushing wound as the other felt down her arm until his warm fingers brushed her cold ones, and they both squeezed each other's hands tightly. He finally gave up, sitting back and kissing her fingertips instead, one by one.

"Help is on the way," Jay announced, crouching down again and smoothing Mal's hair over. "Why didn't True Love's Kiss heal her?"

"It did what it could," Ben sighed. "But even magic has limits. True Love's Kiss… just can't be expected to keep a person alive in situations like this."

Mal glanced around at the crowds and then squeezed her eyes closed. She clasped Ben's hand to hers and took a few deep breaths. Shouts came from above, on the balcony. Harry was escorted down, swearing up a blue cloud as two guards held his hands behind his back. When he saw Mal, he glared. "She's still alive?" He yelled. "Just die, already, you witch!"

The guards turned him away sharply. Two more guards escorted Uma down the stairs. She'd been shot through the cheek, and so her mouth was full of cloth. She sent a scathing glare to Mal as the soldiers marched her away. Then, finally, a procession carried a third person, whose body was completely limp, down the stairs. Gil, the son of Gaston, had been shot through the chest and was dead.

Ben pressed another kiss to her to keep healing her as much as he could, but the more he tried the less happened, and he knew it.

"Is she pregnant?" Someone blurted out from the sidelines. Everyone's heads snapped to the person who'd spoken; a girl with long, curly hair and a magazine pass. She was holding out three colorful pills in her hands. She pointed to them. "King Ben dropped these. This one is a prenatal vitamin." She pointed to the middle-sized one. The other two were the anxiety relief pills he'd been bringing her. Mal looked up at Ben, who straightened up in shock and looked on the floor all around him. That reaction all but constituted the conclusion: yes, those were hers. Yes, she was pregnant.

Jay looked at Ben incredulously. "She's pregnant?" He gasped, and then looked down at Mal. "We've got to – we have to-"

"She's not!" Ben snapped and covered up his face. "Someone stop the cameras. How much longer until the ambulance is here?"

"How far along is she?" One of the guests gasped. "Is the child legitimate?"

"That's why this whole thing happened so soon!" another one of the dignitaries called out. "You were trying to hide it!"

"No, no," Ben denied fervently. "No, we already had the plans in place long before-"

"She is?" Jane gasped, covering her mouth. "So soon?"

Belle crossed her arms. "This is the national security you were talking about?" She frowned.

"She's not pregnant," Ben shouted, pulling at his hair. "By God, can't you people just shut up for five minutes? She was just thrown into a balcony, stabbed, and then dropped twenty feet. Do you really think she could still be pregnant after all of that? Use your brains; the baby is dead."

"What about these other two?" The magazine girl asked, still pointing at her hand. "I looked these up – they're high-end anxiety and depression treatments! Why's she taking these?"

Mal watched Evie cover her mouth with two hands. Ben ran his free hand through her hair, staring at her, and she got the feeling he was about to take a blow for her.

"They're mine!" He announced, lying through his teeth. "Believe it or not, running a kingdom isn't always planning parties and trying to keep people from attacking your wife." Mal squeezed his hand tightly and gave him a look that said: "You don't have to do that."

Ben leaned down to kiss her again and finally, the sounds of sirens were heard around the building. Blue and yellow lights flashed across the walls. He kept his mouth by her ear and squeezed her hand so hard the blood flow stopped. "You didn't have to do that," She whispered. Beside her, Jay flinched, and she knew she hadn't been quiet enough.

"It'll look better," Ben whispered. "And listen, I can't go with you in the car to the hospital, but I swear I'll meet you there. Everything will be fine. Okay?"

Mal reached up and touched his face. Her hand was bloody and left red fingerprints behind. She could hear car doors slamming outside. "Ben, I'm sorry," She whispered. She wasn't talking about the blood or about the horrible evening.

Ben let out a heavy breath. "It's okay," He assured her. "Next time, we'll plan it. Everything will be fine."

The doors to the ballroom banged open and soldiers streamed in. "Where is she?" Paramedics yelled. The guests turned and rose the call up. As the emergency officials rushed over, Ben leaned down to kiss Mal again. He kept his lips on hers as long as he could as paramedics lifted his jacket off her, examined the wound, and began to pull him off of her. "Your Majesty, we need to move her. Step out of the way, please," They directed.

Ben got to his feet with the help of Jay and Carlos. His knees were soaked through. The paramedics moved Mal onto a stretcher. A large amount of blood remained on the floor, spreading now that there wasn't anything there to help soak it up. Guards stepped close to Ben, putting hands on his shoulders as the paramedics drew close. Ben waved them aside a little. "I'm going to follow them out to the car. You can follow me if you need, but please call ahead and make sure the palace limo is running. I want to follow them to the hospital." He started walking alongside the stretcher. All ten of his emergency escort guards followed him. Mal's standard five, plus her new ten, were marching around them, clearing a path for the paramedics as they hurried out the length of the ballroom, down the driveway leading up the hill to the building, and into the ambulance. As they began to raise Mal into the vehicle, Ben wrung his hands.

"I'm her true love," He told them. "If you would let me, can I kiss her one last time before she gets in? It might help."

Paramedics shook their heads. "She has blood on her mouth," They told him. "And we need to make sure her airway is clear and fix her internal bleeding as soon as possible."

Ben nodded sadly, and his guards made him take several steps back as two of Mal's armed guards helped load Mal into the ambulance, and then climbed up alongside them. All of her other eight guards would follow her in a separate car.

Mal kept her eyes on Ben until the doors shut. They rushed around in the small space, pulling on an oxygen mask, flashing a blinking light in her eyes, and then carefully inserting a needle into her arm. Someone male waved at her to get her attention. "Can you hear me?" He called. Mal nodded. He gave a thumbs up. "I want you to relax a little, lean your head back, and then focus on my hand." He held up a fist in her field of vision. "We're going to count to three together. I'll do it out loud, and you'll do it in your head." Again, Mal nodded. "One…" The man started, holding out a finger.

The car started to move, meaning that her guards were all loaded up in their car. One of the rules was the emergency services weren't allowed to remove the royals from their premises without their guards.

"Two," The man continued, holding out two fingers above her head now.

She didn't like all the palace rules. She used to mess them up all the time. She used to break down in her room and cry because there was so much to remember… so many rules.

She watched the paramedic mouth the word 'Three,' but couldn't hear it. Her ears were ringing. He waved a hand over her head in a concluding manner and she closed her eyes, falling fast into slumber.

From It’ll Be Us (https://archiveofourown.org/works/19425943/chapters/47893888)

[ashlynncoy-blog]

Misfire: Critical Condition Part XX

Due to some computer craziness, you’re getting the final chapter early. There’s something going on with my OneDrive not syncing properly and there’s every chance I’m going to lose the last several days worth of writing when I close Word to try and fix the issue.

When the question became, “risk losing the chapter forever and having to write/edit/rewrite it again” versus “or just post it now” NOW won.

So folx, here’s the final installment of Critical Condition. I’ll be back soon (for some values of soon) with the next multichapter, tentatively titled Repair and Recovery. And more Misfire-verse vignettes from the movies (Bail leading the mission to Jabba’s palace! Han asking Breha for her ring! Luke teaching Leia about The Force! Han and Leia on that first trip to Alderaan!) are coming, too.

Enjoy the last chapter. And if you do, PRETTY PLEASE leave me a comment <3

Han wasn’t sure whether to laugh or to groan at the sea of faces watching through Leia’s office windows as she crossed her private landing platform and joined him in his speeder.

“I wasn’t expecting an audience,” he said as she climbed onto the seat beside him.

“They’re curious,” she said. “I came to work a little dressed up, and then I canceled dinner with Threkin Horm, so…”

“Wait,” Han interrupted her, “The work dinner you canceled to come out with me tonight was with Horm?”

“It was,” she replied.

Han smiled at her and shook his head. Of all the New Republic officials who had championed Leia’s possible match with Isolder, Horm had perhaps been the loudest. Han hated the man. The fact that he was the person Leia had canceled on in order to make this dinner happen was deliciously good news.

“Stang, princess,” he said, “this night’s already getting’ good and we haven’t even left your office yet.” He turned and waved at the row of gawkers as he pulled the speeder off the platform and into the traffic lane. “And I’m glad you dressed up,” he added, “I got us a table at Ayrii.”

“Ayrii?” Leia repeated. That was an interesting development. A new-ish restaurant at the pinnacle of one of the Senate District’s highest spires, Ayrii had, in the months since the Hapans had first arrived with their proposals, become the most fashionable place for New Republic movers-and-shakers to see and be seen. And she was pretty sure Han’s ability to reserve a table on one day’s notice had everything to do with her canceled business dinner. They were normally booked up months in advance.

What she wasn’t sure about was whether he’d decided on Ayrii because he was determined for the two of them to be seen in public together as soon as possible or if it was more a grand gesture on his part to show he could fit into her world. Either way, she was happy she’d be able to have the sandfish with vegetables she’d been craving after all.

It was a short drive mostly upwards from Leia’s office to the restaurant’s receiving platform where the valet driods took over the pilot’s seat whie Han went around to help Leia out of the speeder.

“I really am glad you dressed up,” he said, taking a long look at the blush-colored jumpsuit with silver bugle beads cascading from the shoulders she’d chosen for the evening, “you look amazing.”

“You’re looking pretty good yourself,” Leia replied with a nod at his freshly pressed Class A’s as she took his arm and walked with him into the restaurant.

Ayrii was situated in the top floors of a spire tall enough to have an unobstructed view of the sun setting over the mountains in the distance. Tables were arranged in semi-circles facing the stories-tall windows and the service staff was trained to deliver all food abd beverage items from behind—never interrupting the diners’ views. The table Han had reserved for them was on the main level, just to the right of the center of the room. It was one of the restaurant’s better tables, and once upon a time Leia might have wondered if he’d dropped her name in order to get it. But the maitre’d’s obvious reverence to General Solo when they’d arrived was enough to remind her she was dining with one of the New Republic’s most decorated military officers. There was every chance he’d scored a choice table on his own merits entirely.

A repulsor-driven droid met them at the table with two generous flutes of crystal clear sparkling wine and Leia couldn’t help her smile as they clinked glasses and took a sip. Han had barely set his glass back down when his face suddenly went serious.

“Han?” Leia asked, “What is it?”

But he didn’t answer. He was up and gone before she’d finished the question, dashing into the center of the polished floor, flipping their table on its side as he went.

“Get down!” he shouted at everyone at once—but turning his head to direct the order mostly toward Leia.

It was then she saw what was happening. Han reached to the floor and snatched up a silvery orb that had tumbled into view.

A thermal detonator.

He grabbed the thing and, without the slightest pause, tossed it with all his might toward the sunset in the distance. The bomb flew through the open window, detonating just as it cleared the last row of tables.

Leia was barely aware of the explosion and its fallout, hearing the screams of her fellow patrons and of the chaos that was erupting on all sides of her. Her attention was solely focused on Han. It was a familiar feeling—covering him in a firefight—it felt like the old days, and it felt kind of good. Han was scanning the room for the source of the detonator when a blaster bolt barely missed his right boot.

Leia drew her blaster from its hidden holster above her boot and followed the shot’s trajectory upward. The shooter was easy to spot, he was the one being in the whole place, other than Han and Leia, who was not visibly panicking. She fired off two shots, taking the shooter down but drawing fire from an associate somewhere she hadn’t seen. His shot got the table in front of Leia; splinters flew toward her as Han fired off one in his direction, jumping back behind the table beside Leia for cover.

Han’s shot seemed to have done the trick. No further blasterfire erupted, but the chaos was enough without it. Tables were being overturned, dished shattering on the stone floors, beings shouting and running in all directions and a bevy of very confused serving droids buzzing about trying to repair the damage caused by the fracas.

“You brought your blaster to dinner?” Han asked, still scanning the crowd for signs of trouble.

“I’m the heir to the throne of Alderaan and a very high-profile official of the New Republic government,” Leia replied, her back to him, covering her side of the room in a posture she coulnd’t help but notice they’d fallen back into unconsciously. “And we’re still in a state of active warfare with the Empire. It was this” she said then, gesturing with her blaster in his direction, “or agree to a bodyguard.”

“Who probably wouldn’t’ve been as good as shot,” he said.

“And you’re one to talk!” she added, “seeing as you also brought a blaster to dinner.”

“Yeah,” Han allowed, obviously reaching, “Well…. I’m a General in the New Republic Military, and I was having dinner with the heir to the throne of Alderaan and a very high profile official of the New Republic government, and….”

Leia couldn’t help herself. She dropped her defensive posture and turned to face him, laughing harder than was probably proper.

Han looked back at her, smiling. Whatever had amused her, he was thankful for it. There had been a time when he’d have given anything to see that sparkle in her eyes again.

“We’re quite the pair—aren’t we, princess?” he asked, shaking his head at the absurdity of the situation. He’d tried to take her out for a nice dinner in an upscale place to try and set the tone for a possible new relationship, and it had taken a violent attack to get them back on the same page.

Leia turned to fully face him and took his hands.

“We’re a good team,” she replied, “always have been—ever since I ordered you into that garbage chute.”

Han shook his head and laughed. It seemed like a million years since that day on the Death Star. He was pretty sure he’d loved her even then. And he was more than certain he’d loved her a little more every day since—even through the months when he’d have given anything to have forgotten he’d ever met her.

“So what’s next?” he asked. “Where do we go from here?”

Leia’s eyes began to glisten.

“I didn’t have a chance to ask you,” she said, “how did it go today? Did the Falcon pass her spaceworthiness trials?”

“Yeah,” Han replied, “she can fly. Why? You wanna go somewhere?”

Leia’s lower lip was trembling and a tear fell to her cheek as she brought her hands to his face.

“What if I were to say,” she said, “start your engines, flyboy. Take me to Alderaan; we’ll elope in the palace garden and figure the rest out tomorrow.”

Han leaned in, reached around to pull her face to his and kissed her, hard.

“Not a chance, sweetheart,” he said when he leaned away.

Leia pulled back farther. There was a pit in her stomach and she couln’t think of anything to say. She’d been so sure he’d be on the same page. Having this moment between the two of them had felt like going back in time—she’d been sure he’d gone there with her.

“Han,” she began, trying her damndest to get a hold of the tremor in her voice. She couldn’t help but notice he was still smiling.

Han shook his head.

“Listen sweetheart,” he said, “after everything we’ve all gone through, there is no way we’re going to cheat your mother out of the chance to throw the royal wedding of her dreams. But if you want to go home right now and tell her to start drawing up the guest list….”

Leia leaned forward and kissed him again. Of all the sweet, unexpected things for him to have said, that might have been the sweetest and most unexpected. He’d joked before about wanting a big wedding, but she’d always thought he hadn’t been serious. But if what he wanted was a Royal wedding with all the pomp and circumstance, then that was the least she could give him. She pulled back from the kiss just enough to look him in the eye. She had to catch her breath before giving him her answer. She nodded her head and squeezed his hands as she answered,

“I do.”

THE END

[star-trekkin-across-theuniverse]

Cover You in Oil, pt24

Word Count: 3501 Tags: @outside-the-government, @yourtropegirl @to-pick-ourselves-up-7, @ghostssss, @rampant-salamander, @saysay125, @sistasarah-sallysaidso @shewhorunswithfandoms, @flirtswithdanger @supermoonpanda @rayleyanns @anyakinamidala

Sally sagged into Tony, a strangled scream escaping her as she lost consciousness. Tony stepped back, adjusting his hold on her until he had her securely.

“A little help here?” Tony asked, looking over his shoulder to Steve. Steve stood frozen in place, gaze locked on Bucky. “Steve?”

“Buck?” Steve’s eyes narrowed. Bucky nodded slowly. “You know who you are this time?”

“Go help Stark, Stevie. We’ll talk later,” Bucky replied. Steve’s head snapped over to Tony, who was carefully lowering Sally to the snow. He covered the distance in a few steps and looked between Natasha and Tony for answers.

“She took two bullets. Superficial, but painful. She was managing, I don’t know what happened,” Natasha reported.

“She just dropped,” Tony shook his head. “I don’t get it.”

“Shock,” Steve nodded. “Let’s get her down this mountain and to medical.”

“Tony?” Sally’s voice was faint. She reached up and touched his cheek. “It is you.” The relief in her voice was overwhelming, and Tony swallowed thickly.

“I’m here, princess,” he reassured her. Sally smiled weakly and tried to focus her gaze on him.

“Actually, I’m now a queen.” Her laugh was barely there, and the effort caused a fit of coughing.

“Well then, Your Eminence, let’s get you to medical.” Tony scooped her into his arms and started down the mountain. Sally sucked in a ragged breath and laid her head on his shoulder, closing her eyes.

She must have lost consciousness because when she wakened she was in a hyperbaric chamber. Her hands went up to the glass in a panic, thinking she’d somehow been found and spirited away by Victor. A gentle tap on the glass to her left stopped her and she looked over. Tony waved, a forced smile on his face. She pressed her hand to the glass and waited until his own covered hers on the outside. He looked worried. And exhausted. There were deep bags etched under his eyes, and he was pale, like he hadn’t been sleeping. Sally noticed a bandage peeking out from under his t-shirt sleeve. Her brow furrowed and she tapped the glass pointing at it.

“What happened?” She asked, unsure if he could hear her.

“I told you, when your mark vanished, I developed blisters like I’d been burned,” Tony responded. He sounded like he was talking underwater. “It was just a protective dressing, until we met up with you.”

“And then what happened?” Sally asked. Tony smirked and pulled the dressing off. The band of words around his arm was raw and red, swollen along the sloppy letters.

“It had faded as it was healing. Now it’s dark again. But it’s nothing like yours,” Tony tapped the glass and pointed to her leg. Sally tried to move so she could see it, but the chamber was too tight.

“Get me out of here?” She asked. Tony nodded, and pressed a few buttons on the side of the unit. The glass hissed and drew back, freeing her. She pushed herself to sitting slowly, and then shifted the hospital gown to look at the spot on her leg that had once held her soulmark. She gasped. Instead of the smooth, bare skin that had been the result of Victor’s attempt to brainwash her, Tony’s familiar handwriting wound around her thigh again, angry red spreading from the letters. But the words were different. Sally traced her finger along them in confusion.

“What is this?” She asked, looking up at Tony. Tony smiled.

“I think once you get used to it, you’ll prefer it,” Tony said. “I think it must be what I said when I finally made it to you.”

“I thought I would never see you again. I thought I would die without you. You’re finally safe.” Sally read the words, wonder in her voice. She looked up at Tony with tears in her eyes. “Your words?”

“I’m pretty sure they are. My arm stopped hurting as soon as we were together again,” Tony nodded.

Sally traced her finger across them again, and noticed that she could feel the thick tight scar tissue from her first soulmark under the new words. She closed her eyes, and followed the ridge of tissue, almost able to see the letters under her fingertips. “Do you suppose anyone else has ever had two marks from the same person?”

Tony shook his head. “I somehow doubt it.” Sally reached for his hand and pulled it against her thigh, forcing his fingers along the scarring where her first mark had been.

“Old,” she said, and then slid his hand on to the visible words. “And new.”

“One way or another, Sally, it’s your thigh, and it’s distracting,” Tony smirked. Sally laughed and shrugged.

“Unfortunately, this little glass tube is only big enough for me,” she teased. “Maybe I could be moved to a bigger bed?”

“I’m going to go attempt to make a compelling argument about the healing power of touch,” Tony winked. “How’s that sound?”

“I’ll be anticipating your success,” Sally smiled, and suddenly felt the need to blink back tears again. She dashed them away, flushing. Tony leaned forward and kissed her cheek, smoothing the tears off with his thumb.

“Don’t cry,” he ordered. “You’re safe. You’re safe, and you didn’t even need me to save you. You figured it out on your own, and you made it back to me.”

“I didn’t do it on my own –“ Sally protested.

“You did. You found Bucky, somehow won him over and when your instincts told you to get gone, you were able to rally him and a bunch of people who don’t even know you to help you get out. Self-reliance isn’t about doing everything on your own, it’s about knowing how to create a team to help you reach your goals,” Tony interrupted.

“A lesson you must have learned from Steve,” Sally laughed. “Because that was not Tony Stark talking to me just now.”

“Maybe the boy scout is wearing off on me,” Tony scowled. “But he’s right. You made that escape happen.”

Sally forced a smile and nodded, ending the conversation. She sat up straight and pushed Tony upright by the shoulder. “Go find me a bigger bed. I want to take a nap, and I don’t want to wake up alone.”

“As you wish, Your Holiness,” Tony winked.

“It’s actually Majesty, and if you decide to call me that, I will give you your ring back,” Sally warned. “I’m not feeling like I want to be teased about what happened with Victor.”

“Bigger bed,” Tony nodded and stepped out of the room. Within moments, Bucky slipped in.

“Tony doesn’t want me to tell you, but Victor has already contacted the American Embassy in Budapest to demand your return,” Bucky opened. Sally’s eye widened. “No, don’t worry, the ambassador was already aware of the situation. And was not interested in, oh shit, how did he put it? Entertaining the behavioural manipulations of someone with the emotional capacity of a four-year-old.”

Sally barked out a laugh. “Is there any way to know if the coronation is legally binding?”

“Within Latveria, it is absolute. You are their empress and queen until death or abdication,” Bucky explained. “And even abdication is questionable.”

“Outside Latveria?”

“Victor’s government isn’t so much recognized as tolerated. The EU would be just as happy to see the lands that make up Latveria rolled into Romania or Hungary,” Bucky explained. “Of course, that’s not on any official legal documents. Victor’s claim to the throne and title are tenuous at best. Which makes yours even more questionable. With one possible strengthening exception.”

“Oh?”

“Well, first, there was that weird wording at the end of the coronation. If he had the herald pronounce you married, you have the same claim to the throne that he does.” Bucky was thinking out loud for Sally’s benefit.

“How do we find out if he had the herald marry us?” Sally pressed.

“I’m not sure,” Bucky shook his head. “My guess is that there will be some sort of supporting documentation that Victor will present?”

“Wait, I don’t understand. You said first. What is second? And why would whatever is second make my claim more valid than Victor’s?” Sally’s brow furrowed in confusion. Bucky smirked.

“He was never crowned,” Bucky arched one eyebrow and winked. Sally blinked slowly. “Seriously. The guy named himself ruler of Latveria. But never actually bothered with the coronation. He probably thought he didn’t need to because he would never have any real competition for the throne after he eliminated all the Latverian competition.”

“Why did he make me empress then?” Sally asked, her voice a little shrill.

“For whatever reason, he didn’t see you as competition, but a companion,” Bucky shrugged. Sally scoffed.

“Bucky,” she started. “There is no way that maniac actually loves me. There has to be more to this.”

“I don’t disagree,” he nodded.

“Well, why were you there?” She pressed.

“It was a good place to lay low. I’d seen Victor in action before and didn’t really trust him and for whatever reason, I just felt like I needed to be there,” Bucky explained. “I really don’t know what it was, other than a deep feeling that I should stick around.”

“Must be the hero in you,” Sally winked. Bucky rolled his eyes.

“I’m hardly a hero. I have seventy years of decidedly non-heroic behaviour to answer for.” His voice was gravelly, and sounded pained. Sally reached for his hand and covered it with her own.

“You look a lot like you might be my hero right now,” she pointed out. He let out a short, hard bark of laughter.

“Well, don’t let your fella find out you feel that way,” he winked, his jovial mood restored. Sally laughed.

“Oh please,” she snorted. “He knows he has nothing to worry about.”

“Well, except for your husband,” Bucky teased.

“That can be annulled, you know,” Sally said thoughtfully. “It’s just a matter of figuring out if the ceremony included a wedding, and then going to court to say it wasn’t consensual. Right?”

“The problem is finding a court to hear your case,” Bucky nodded. “There are no courts in Latveria. Victor is pretty medieval. He hears all judicial cases. So you’re looking at finding an international court that would recognize the case.”

“If an international court won’t recognize the case at all, that send a pretty strong message that the marriage isn’t valid, doesn’t it?” Sally asked. She was so focused on her conversation with Bucky that she didn’t notice Tony at the door.

“What marriage?” He was pale, and Sally could tell he was battling with whether or not to stay or go. In her few experiences with Tony, she was expecting him to disappear into the depths of whatever building they were in, but she wasn’t in any shape to follow. She held up her hand and waved him over to the seat Bucky was sitting in.

“Sit,” she demanded. “Bucky can find another chair?”

“I was actually coming to move you to a different room.” Tony’s words were tight. Sally sat up and swung her legs to the edge of the bed, holding out a hand to him for assistance. He stayed at the door, arms folded across his chest. When Bucky moved to help her, he pushed past, glaring at the other man. He took Sally’s hand wordlessly, sliding his free hand across her back to support her as he led her out of the room and down the hall to the new room. Bucky followed, a few steps behind them, and waited at the door while Tony helped settle her into bed.

“You’d said you wanted a nap, Sally,” Bucky offered. “Would you like me to come back later to help sort this out with Tony?”

“We’re fine,” Tony snapped. Bucky ignored his comment and looked at Sally.

“Yeah. Maybe give me a couple hours?” Sally nodded. “I’ll need your help sorting through all the weird and keeping it straight. Have you had a chance to sit down with Steve yet?”

“Briefly,” Bucky nodded. “This will give me a better chance though. Just let me know when you want me to come back.” He pulled the door shut as he left, giving Sally a significant look. Protective, maybe, she thought. Tony sat down on the edge of the bed.

“Married?”

“Don’t be a jackass, Tony,” Sally snapped. “You know you’re the only person I want to marry, so don’t dance around this. Ask me what you want to ask. Don’t play games.”

“I’m not playing games, Sally,” he snapped back. “Tell me what the fuck happened?”

“I told you the best way for us to get away was after to coronation. Bucky and I went over the ceremony with a fine tooth comb to make sure it was a safe choice. Victor’s herald sprung some new wording on us right at the end, and I think pronounced us married,” she explained.

“What?” His voice cracked.

“I don’t think there’s a legal leg to stand on, Tony,” Sally pursed her lips in thought. “First, there’s the issue of consent. I didn’t say I do. But then I’m also carrying on with another man.”

“What?” Tony’s face was getting redder and redder.

“You, you idiot. I’m carrying on with you,” Sally laughed. “Honestly, honey.” She took his hands in hers and rubbed her thumbs along the back of his knuckles. His skin was rougher than she remembered. She brought one of his hands to her mouth, and kissed it.

“I thought –“

“You should probably try stopping that. It’s a terrible pastime,” Sally teased. “Our bond is so strong, Tony. So strong that he tried to brainwash me into believing I loved him. And it didn’t work. He tried to make me forget you existed, and it didn’t work. So why would I carry on with anyone other than you?” The stress in Tony’s face melted away with her words and he slipped all the way onto the bed, sliding an arm around her shoulder and pulling her against his chest.

“I don’t deserve you,” he whispered into her hair.

“True,” she nodded against his chest. “You deserve so much more.”

Sally sat up, gasping, clawing at the air above her. She must have screamed because Tony immediately enclosed her in his arm and rocked her into his chest.

“It’s okay. You’re safe,” he murmured into her hair. He kept repeating it until her breathing returned to normal. She looked up at him, blinking back tears.

“I’m sorry –“

“For what?” Tony interrupted, shaking his head. “Don’t.”

“I don’t remember,” she trailed off. She looked down at her hands and blinked slowly. “I was having a nightmare, I think?”

“You’re at the complex in upstate New York. We moved you out of medical about six hours ago so that you and I could bunk together at your request. Your vital signs have been stable since we met up with you, but you did give me a scare when your mark came back,” Tony reoriented her, his words quiet.

“Did I have any x-rays done?” Sally asked. Tony nodded.

“Yeah, Barnes insisted we check your hips and femurs. No signs of any fracture, break or repair,” Tony explained. “But Barnes said the technology is suitably advanced enough, as far as he is aware, that traditional x-rays might not work. We had Dr. Cho take a deeper look. There was never a break or fracture. There was a little degeneration in the hips, which she said was completely normal given your lifestyle and age, and when you were in the cradle, that was repaired.”

“The cradle?” Sally asked, brow furrowed.

“The tube you were in is a modified hyperbaric chamber that can reconstruct tissue. You went in with a probable fractured femur, but when we couldn’t find anything wrong, I went ahead and repaired some damage that might have caused arthritic pain in the future,” Dr. Cho explained as she walked into the room. “You look well, considering your ordeal.”

“How bad should I look?” Sally laughed. “Apparently there was nothing wrong with me.”

“The cradle found signs of damage from whatever interference had caused the removal of your soulmark. It couldn’t regenerate that mark, but given that your new mark lies directly on top of it, you probably wouldn’t want that. Some of your pain receptors in your hip and thigh were altered in order to cause pain that would feel like a break healing,” Dr. Cho offered.

“Did you fix that?” Sally asked.

“I did,” Dr. Cho nodded. “You should be full recovered, physiologically.”

“Thank you,” Sally smiled. Dr. Cho’s stern features warmed.

“You’re very welcome.” She turned to Tony. “I’m needed back at my lab as soon as possible. I’m confident that Sally is well enough that I no longer need to be here.”

“Thank you for coming, Helen,” Tony nodded. “Pepper –“

“Already has me sorted,” she cut him off and smiled at Sally one more time before leaving the room.

“I feel like I need to get up and go for a walk and see if my legs feel any different,” Sally commented. Tony rose and offered her a hand. She took it and pushed to her feet tentatively. There was no pain. She took a hesitant step forward and concentrated on where the pain in her leg had been. There was nothing. She smiled and pushed up to her tiptoes, noting the continued absence of pain. Finally, she let go of Tony’s hand and jumped. She held her breath as her feet met the floor, waiting for the familiar knifing pain to shoot back up her leg, and broke into a wide smile when there was no discomfort at all.

“I think it’s Thai night. Can I give you a tour of the building, and offer you some dinner?” Tony asked. Sally smiled.

“Let me take a shower first?” She nodded. Tony smirked.

“As your responsible decision maker for health care issues, I’m going to have to insist on assisting you,” he leered. Sally laughed and leaned against him.

“I’m not going to put up a fight,” she admitted. “I’m still feeling tired. It’ll be nice to have someone to scrub my back.”

The water was hot against her shoulders, and the contrast between it and the cool air of the bathroom caused a wave of gooseflesh to crawl up her arms. She shivered in pleasure and tilted her head back under the showerhead, water coursing over the crown of her head and down her back. She was nearly reluctant to have Tony step in behind her, wanting to guard the sensations of the shower to herself. Until he started the scrub her back with a lathered washcloth. Then she was all about sharing the shower with him. She groaned and leaned into his hands and was met with a low chuckle from Tony.

“You like that?” He murmured, grazing his lips across her shoulders. Sally leaned against him, nodding silently. The crash of emotions that washed across her every time his skin touched hers was almost too much for her to bear. She blinked back tears, hoping the water across her face would obscure them.

“I missed you,” she managed. Tony slipped an arm around her waist and pulled her close against his chest, dipping his head over her shoulder to kiss her cheek.

“I was lost without you,” he admitted, and reached up to dash away her tears. “Don’t cry, Sal. We’re back together.”

“I’m being stupid, I know,” she started. “I just –“

“You never need to apologize, Sally,” Tony chided. “When have I ever apologized? I’m not ever going to start, so maybe you need to see that you have nothing to apologize for either. Ever.”

“But –“

“Sally.” His tone was chastising, even as his arms were warm around her. “I mean it. Don’t apologize for your tears. Don’t try to justify them or excuse them. I’m gratified that you love me so much. God knows I don’t deserve it.”

“Shut up,” she laughed. She pulled away and turned to face him. “No wonder we’re together, we’re both a couple of idiots.” She pressed her lips against his chastely, and stepped back into his arms.

“A couple of idiots standing in the shower, not getting clean,” Tony countered. Sally nodded.

“That is also true. We could be getting dirty,” she winked. Tony shook his head.

“Let’s make sure you’re one hundred percent first. I missed you. A lot. I don’t want to break you so soon after getting you back,” he smirked. Sally rolled her eyes.

“Who’s to say I wouldn’t break you?” She slid a hand down his hip and leaned forward to nibble his collarbone. Sally’s stomach growled and Tony pulled away laughing.

“How about we revisit this after dinner?” He offered. Sally flushed and nodded. “Turn around, let me finish your back.”

[guardianofreaks]

Luna, Sam and the Van Diagram

Figured as long as I was off my medication might as well take advantage of it. First fanfiction in along time. Loud House fic set two weeks after L is for Love

Luna sat at a table shaded by an old oak at the far side of the school yard. It had been two weeks since she had left the anonymous letter in Sam’s locker and she had yet to take any further action. From her position she could see Sam with her friends but the tree provided just enough cover to block Luna  from their view. She drummed absent mindedly oh the table trying to think of any possible way to move forward. Her musical idols weren’t much help as there relationships had a habit of ending badly Sid and Nancy, Curt and Kourtney and of course Mick and Keith. A shy smile crept onto her face as she saw Sam burst out laughing, she had the most adorable laugh it followed by a pang of jealousy wishing she were the one making Sam laugh.

“Lunes” she said to herself “you’ll never be able to ask her out if you don’t raise yourself from this funk.” She nearly jumped out of her skin as a second voice replied to her. “I concur with your evaluation older sibling.” Her head snapped to  where she was surprised to find her younger sister Lisa had joined her as if manifesting from the void. “Lisa what are you doing here chanelling Lucy shouldn’t you be at your own school?” Lisa adjusting her glasses nodded, “There was a professor whose theories I take umbrage with giving a guest lesson to a senior science class today so I got special permission to attend and school him as it were.” A malicious grin spread across Lisa’s face as she spoke. “However returning to my previous comment I surmise that the blonde with the turquoise streak you’ve been observing so intently is the recent object of your affection?” Luna lay her face down on the table if it had been any of her other siblings she might deny it but there was no use trying to get anything past Lisa. She sighed and replied “yeah that’s her, Sam, but she’s way out of my league I don’t stand a chance.”

 Lisa nodded in a not unsympathetic way; she opened her back pack pulling out a binder and her pencil case. “While human courtship may be outside my wheelhouse and I count myself lucky based on the anecdotal evidence I have read and observed in yourself and our older siblings that I have some time before I enter the hormonal nightmare that  is puberty. I’ve always found the scientific method to be helpful in organizing thought and and plotting strategy.”

Luna raised her face from the table to see what her brainy younger sister was doing “Sorry dude a lot of that went over my head I think.” Lisa had taken a piece of paper from her binder and was using a compass to draw two intersecting circles. When she complete them she wrote Luna’s name in one and Sam’s in the other. When Lisa had finished to her own satisfaction she looked up “I assume you’re familiar with the van diagram but for the sake of clarity it is a diagram used for comparing and contrasting two separate things in this case you and Sam. Luna nodded along thankful for the explanation, with possible exception of pyrotechnics which Chunk was enthusiastically tutoring her in science wasn’t her strongest subject.

"Okay so what do you two have in common?"Lisa asked pencil at the ready. Luna smiled a bit relaxing. "Well we’re both musicians, we share a lot of the same classes, we have a lot of the same friends.” The list continued for some time, Lisa diligently creating a bullet point list that quickly expanded outside of the intersection between the two circles. Lisa cut Luna off “We’ve compiled enough data for that section, now what are your differences?” Luna stopped and furrowed her brow for a moment. “Well I guess I have more siblings then she does.” Lisa nodded adding this to each circle.“ When Luna didn’t continue on her own Lisa prompted her​ "continue.” Luna shook her head “I don’t know maybe she doesn’t like me." 

Lisa shook her head in disagreement "Of course she likes you you can be quite charismatic and are well respected in your social circle for your musical talent.” Luna blushed looking down at the table “I know she likes me dude, I don’t know if she like likes me or even if she would.”

Lisa nodded understanding dawning upon her, set down her pencil “Yes as an intangible attraction is harder to determine through supposition, and the Van Diagram does tend to deal with facts.” Luna began to lie her face back upon the table but was interrupted “however it is not the only tool in my proverbial science kit.”

Luna watched as her sister flipped the piece of paper and retrieved her compass and began to draw again “The bell curve,” indicating her competed work “Can be used to suppose normal and abhorrent behavior to predict the most likely probabilities.”

She continued drawing two stars on the opposing sides of the curve then named one positive and the other negative. Indicating the two stars “Each end of the curve represents an extreme in this case how Sam might react to you asking her on a date.” Luna nodded not quite seeing where Lisa was going. Indicating the negative star Lisa began again “let’s imagine you ask her out and she reacts negatively the worst possible outcome is she metaphorically rips out your heart and shreds it into tiny pieces humiliating you to your peer group and causing deep and lasting emotional scars in your psyche leading you to drop out of school becoming involved heavy narcotic use and touring substandard venues playing grunge music for other disaffected individuals and eventually an early demise.”

Luna stared at Lisa bug eyes her own worst case scenarios having been far less dramatic. “However as you find yourself infatuated with her it leads me to believe that she doesn’t exhibit psychotic tendencies leading me to believe this out come is highly unlikely correct?” Luna just nodded.

“Then I suppose she won’t make a good candidate for my research into abhorrent human psychology but I digress.” She gestured to the second star, marked positive. “Now let’s suppose you ask her out and she reacts in a positive extreme. She confesses she has her own deep feelings of attraction to you and she drops to her knee and proposes with a family ring you are wed leading to the formation of a super duo leading to acquisitions if wealth and fame, early retirements and assuming science hasn’t progressed to the point of human female cross conception then you adopt two point there children and live in a state of familial bliss.”

Again Luna eyes were visibly wide and she could only muster “dude, jeez.” Lisa continued uninterrupted “However as you have yet to ascertain if she even likes you and as she has not made her own advances this is as equally unlikely as the first.”

Lisa picked up her pencil again and drew two more stars equal distance from each other near the bottom of the curve. “With the two extremes eliminated it leaves us with the two more likely outcomes. One you ask her out and she’s says no and if she was ever worthy of my sister’s affection she lets you down easy and you remain friends yes there may be some friction but you’ll get past it.”

“On the other hand she may say yes you’ll go on a date and discover whether the relationship has merit to go forward.” Luna nodded then leaned down and hugged her little sister but her shoulders still sagged “Thanks Lisa I think I understood everything you said and it all makes sense but there’s still the part where I have to ask her out and I don’t know if can see from it." 

Lisa shrugged "The only thing lacking from the equation is courage and you Luna are not a girl who lacks courage. I’ve seen you get up and rock dozens of crowds I believe in you but if you need something extra.” Lisa reached into her lunch box and pulled out a ziplock bag full of cookies. “I made these myself and my research has found that very few people dislike cookies.”

Luna laughed and took the bag of cookies. “Maybe you’re right Lisa, you know I’ve always known you were the smartest person I know but sometimes I forget your also very wise.” Luna took a few of the small cookies and popped them in her mouth then said “you also make great cookies.” Looking over at Sam she sighed “well I guess there’s no time like the present.”

Luna tussled Lisa’s hair and began the long walk to Sam’s table. As she walked her thoughts began to swarm. What if Sam laughed and said no; no she fired back Sam wasn’t like that Lisa was right. But was she brave enough; heck yes she was, she was Luna Loud she’d played in front of Mick Swaegger!.“ Upon finally reaching Sam’s table Luna gathered her courage and said "Hey Sam can I talk to you alone for a minute?” Sam looked away from her friends and nodded “Sure no problem.” She got up from the table and nodded to her friends that she’d see them later.

The two walked​ away from the table to a quieter​ part of the yard suddenly Luna’s anxieties started to gang up on her, words were starting to abandon her. Sam look at her awkwardly “so was there something​ you wanted to tell me?” Luna shoved her hands in her pockets and then felt something in her pocket. She pulled out the bag of cookies. “Ugh yeah my sister made some cookies do you want some.” Sam accepted the bag of cookies and took a few. Luna felt so lame cookies really? Sam ate the ones she’d taken “there good cookies but was that all you didn’t want to share with the others?”

Lisa fumbled with the words in her head “ I also wanted to s-say.” Suddenly out of nowhere she felt a wave of calm was over her and the words started to follow like water. “I also wanted to tell you that since the first time I saw you play I’ve thought you were the coolest cutest girl I’ve ever known and that I was wondering if you’d like to go on a date.” Sam stared at​ her for as moment before popping another cookie. Luna suddenly realized what she’d just said and slapped her hand across hey mouth then said “oh  jeez I have no idea why I just said that I mean it’s all true but I didn’t mean to come off like such a twit.”

Sam kept chewing the cookies and Luna had no idea what she was thinking she grimaced and looked down “Forget I said anything your obvs way out of my league and I’d rather just be friends, that’s not true but it’s better then not being friends at all.” Luna started to turn and leave cursing herself internally when she felt Sam reach out and grab her by the wrist.

Luna looked back and Sam smiled. “Luna I think you’re awesome and out of my league as well but.” Luna’s heart​ started to swell then cringed on the last word. Sam squeezed her arm harder and then said “it’s just someone left a note in my locker and” Luna started to feel herself blushing even “Oh I left that,it was dumb all my siblings decided to send ourcrushes  letters and I was too scared to sign mine.”

Sam smiled “Are you kidding I loved the way you wrote it with song lyrics, Mick Swaegger isn’t my favourite but …” Sam let go of Lunas wrist and it  was her turn to cover  her own mouth “I’m so sorry I don’t know why I  said that I know you love him and I love that about you but sometimes I think he’s overrated please don’t hate me.”

Sam continued to babble “ I mean I don’t really like cookies either but I like that you gave them me, jeez why can’t I stop talking. The traumatic Mick revelation aside the wheels in Luna’s brain started cranking she looked over to where Lisa was sitting and even at a distance she could tell that there was innocent smile plastered on her sisters​ face was anything but, and a suspicous twinkle in her eye.

Luna smacked the cookies out of Sam’s hand then stomped them into the ground. "I’m so dumb I should have known Lisa would have put something in the cookies I’m such a Luan to fall for it.” Sam looked at Luna confused “What’s going on.” Luna shook her head “My sister Lisa is a child genius and she’s always experimenting on us, she must have put something in the cookies so I wouldn’t chicken out, I’m so getting her back.”

Luna waved to Lisa and Sam looked over as well then asked “Can I help we could call it a date?” Luna nodded smiling deviously “it’s so on.”

Suddenly the lunch bell rang Sam looked at Luna and offered her hand. Luna smiled taking it as they headed back to class and quickly Luna said “the effects will probably wear off soon but probably best we not say anything until then.”

 Sam pulled an imaginary zipper closed across her lips with her other hand and then they left for class hand in hand.

Back at the lunch table Lisa set down a pair of mini-binoculars and pulled a notebook out of her back pack. It was entitled subject Luna Loud. She opened it to the first available blank page and began to write. Courage is fleeting but amobarbital in the correct unsustained dose seems to compensate nicely.

[singlebecauseofthechocobros]

Eyes Wide Open

So it has been nearly a year since I have updated this fict, but after re-reading it and seeing all the errors, I went ahead and fixed them and updated the text. I’m either going to do the same for Chapter Two or trash it and post something else now that I know where I kind of want this story to go. Anyway here’s the updated version!

You admired the consistency of the waves, crashing along the Galdin Quay coastline. They came in meeting the shore at such grace it was mesmerizing to watch. Walking along the beach you breathed in the salty air and felt a moment of rare bliss. The sun was up, the sky was blue, and you felt at peace; which was ironic since you were on the hunt for a rather large Daemon.  Like the waves, the monster and Daemon population was on the rise and yet no one knew why.  Being a hunter, business had never been better, but even you began to wonder what was happening.  It was during a pit stop in Hammerhead where you heard that a rather large Iron Giant was reigning terror along the coast of Galdin Quay.  You had been a hunter for a years but had been on your own for about six. When you realized you could do something with your magic you decided to make a living off of it. And I didn’t take long for people all over Lucis to call to you for help. Your reputation spread and since then you’ve been constantly busy.

Taking a seat near the water you watched as the sun began to set. “Not long now.” You thought to yourself. The Galdin Quay restaurant was off in the distance. It looked small from where you were sitting and you could hardly make out any faces. You made sure to walk far along the beach so that this battle wouldn’t put anyone in harm’s way.  You noticed that the top of your boots were wearing down. A few scuffs here and there but the color thankfully had not faded. Black boots, Black jeans, a black long-sleeved shirt, and a black corset was your outfit of choice since the color helped you blend into the darkness and blood didn’t show up so bad on the fabric. The corset protected your abdomen and held a couple of your weapons: Two daggers, a gun on your hip, bullets in the pockets, a sword hanging at your side, and a bow that you hung across your back. Your (Y/H/C) was pulled back into a braid and you sat playing with a necklace you never took off. It was a small golden pendant with the letter “A” engraved in the middle. You rubbed the charm over and over again as if trying to mentally remember every little thing about it; shape, size, indentions, and feeling.

You sat in the sand playing with your charm for a while as the sun began to disappear into the horizon. The sky was a dark blue now except for bits of orange and purple hues on the water. A rumble off in the distance caught your attention. You could see a large black car pulling in to the parking lot, trying to find a spot amongst the other vehicles. You observed the figures of four people getting out but that was the only thing you could see. Between the darkness and the distance, only their silhouettes were somewhat visible. Suddenly you saw what seemed to be a camera flash come from one of the figures.

“Psh. Tourists,” you scoffed. Yet you continued to watch the individuals walk towards the pier. You could see them heading to the restaurant and wondered what they were going to do. Were they going to eat? Or maybe have a nice weekend retreat? You always asked yourself these kinds of questions when you people watched. You wondered what each life was like and wondered if yours could have ever been as simple.

Looking back out to the water the sun was gone now and the only light on the water was that from the restaurant and the moon. Even with the faint sound of the music coming from the restaurant everything was quiet.

Sanding up you brushed the sand off of you. You wandered around the area hoping to draw out the beast. While Daemons were very active on the roads drawing them out in other places was not always as easy. You were told that the Iron Giant had been very active recently so you were wondering what was taking so long.

And that was when you heard it; a scream coming from behind you in the direction of the fishing pier.

“Shit,” you cursed. Drawing out your bow you aimed for the creature. You were a good hundred plus yards down from where the giant had summoned. Rather than aiming your arrow straight ahead you aimed it up into the air. “Okay if I do this just right I should be able to land either right next to him or on him.” You said to yourself. Taking aim you drew your shot back and released a shaky breath

“Fire,” you whispered.

The arrow was off as were you. Using your teleportation magic you could send yourself flying with your arrow or any of your weapons for that matter.  Within seconds you landed just feet from the beast, his back to you. A woman ahead of him was lying unconscious while a man hovered over her. The beast slowly began to raise his massive sword and the man looked up in utter fear, cradling the women in his arms. Grabbing another arrow you strung your bow and prepared to shoot.

“Hey,” you shouted at the beast. With his arms completely raised, ready to swing he turned his head to see where the voice had come from. The second you could see the right side of his face, you let the arrow go. The Giant dropped his blade and grasped the side of his cheek where you had struck. While he was distracted, you ran around him to the man on the ground. “You need to go!” You yelled at him. Nodding his head he tried to drag the unconscious woman with him but his strength was merely not there. Turning back to face the enemy, the Giant was grabbing back for his sword. He let out a loud howl and redirected his attention from the man to you.

“Aww did I mess up your pretty face?” You spoke tauntingly. You turned back and waved a hand over the man and women next to you. They evaporated into the air and appeared on the ground of the parking lot.

“Now where were we,” you asked fiercely.  The Giant barreled at you with his sword above him. You rolled out the way just as his blade struck the sand. You tried to draw another arrow but the creature moved much faster than you anticipated. He swung again but this time he held his sword completely parallel to himself catching you off guard and sending you flying.  You handed in the sand with a thud. Lifting your head you watched as he sprinted at you again.

“Oh no, this isn’t that easy,” you said, and you sent a fire ball flying at the creature. He was up in flames within seconds and you could smell the burning of his flesh. You stood up clutching your rib cage. “Yep something is definitely broken” you thought to yourself.  However the pain you felt was not going to stop you. Grabbing your daggers you ran towards the beast and slid under him, slashing the back of his legs. He immediately crumpled to the ground. Getting up you quickly turned back around and ran back to the giant. Jumping up you used your daggers to scale the creatures back. He tried to reach behind him and grab you but to no avail.

“This was fun but I’m afraid the entertainment ends now,” you shouted at him.  The monster continued to thrash but you grabbed the sword off your hip and shoved it into the Iron Giants neck up into his skull. As soon as you did this you kicked yourself off of the dead creature and watched as his body fell to the ground and began to disappear into the air.

You stood over the spot where the monster had been, taking a second to breath.  Reaching down you picked up your two daggers that fell out of the beasts back as he vanished and you put them back into their holsters. The sword was back on your hip and you turned to go help the man and women you had sent to the parking lot. You were stopped in your tracks though.

The whole pier leading up to the bar was full of onlookers who had watched the whole battle take place. A couple of them started to clap but most just looked in awe. Eyeing over to the parking lot you saw three men standing around the couple. One was squatting next to the shaken man and talking to him while the others were staring at you. A tall muscular fella was towering over the couple while his blonde friend put a camera up to his face. Suddenly a flash went off. You blinked, trying to refocus your eyes since they were now seeing spots from the flash.

Gathering yourself and regaining your sight, you made your way over to the group of strangers. You ambled up the steps to where the male almost victim was sitting, ignoring the other men standing around you.

Bending down you spoke softly to the couple, “I’m sorry for the abrupt teleport. Are you both alright?”

“Don’t apologize!” The man said quickly, “You saved our lives. I don’t know how to repay you!”

You gave him a soft smile, “Sir I don’t expect anything from anyone.” You looked to the woman who was lying in this man’s arms and noticed her wedding ring. “Is your wife alright?”

Before the man could speak the stranger squatting down next to the couple spoke up, “She seems to have passed out due to the stress of the situation.” He seemed to have some sort of accent making him sound rather refined. Looking over to him you met his green eyes. They were hiding behind a pair of glasses which sat perfectly on his face. His facial features were well defined and his hair was spiked up giving his features a slim appearance.  

Looking back to the woman you brought your hand over her forehead. Closing your eyes you felt energy run down your arm and warm your palm. Opening your eyes you could see the faint red glow illuminating upon the woman’s face. This lasted for about thirty seconds till you pulled your hand away.  

“I transferred some of my energy to her. Being in that situation took a lot out of her but she should be fine.”

“Oh thank you so much miss!” The woman’s husband cried.

You stood up, turned around and began to walk away. You had pretty good people skills when you needed to use them, but you didn’t enjoy small talk or getting to know anyone. You were descending down the steps when a gruff voice spoke up.

“Hey wait a second!”

You stopped and turned around. It was muscle man. Up close he was even larger looking; not only in height but his body itself was massive. His black hair was slicked back and out of his face but not in a way that appeared neat or tidy. You could see the outline of his muscles under her shirt and knew this guy had to be some sort of body guard. But the question was, for who?

Wasting no time you replied, “It’s been a second.” And you continued out on to the beach.

“Hey seriously! Wait up!” This time it wasn’t muscle man’s voice, nor was it the bespectacled man with the accent. You turned around and crossed your arms over your chest. The blonde haired boy with the camera was jogging after you. He was skinny but also had some definition to him. When he got up close you could see that freckles cover most of his face, particularly around and across the bridge of his nose.

His two friends didn’t jog, but sauntered up to the two of you. You were a little aggravated now. You wanted to get back to camp and heal yourself. Your ribcage now was starting to hurt more than before since the adrenaline had worn off.

“How did you do that,” the blonde boy asked you.

“Do what,” you questioned incredulously.  

“Take down the Giant alone! That was super impressive,” he spoke in admiration.  

You shrugged my shoulder, “I just can. I didn’t think it was something difficult to do.”

“Well how did you use magic?” Muscles asked. “Do you serve the royal family?”

“How I get my magic is my business and no one else’s,” you replied.

The man narrowed his eyes at you, probably unappreciative of the curt response, “That’s fine. Your business is your own but maybe you can help us.”

You raised an eyebrow wondering what kind of help these three seemingly capable men could need. “Depends on what you need help with,” you spoke.

“We’re looking for someone.” said the one with the glasses. He pushed his specs up the bridge of his nose and brought his hands behind his back. He looked and seemed very well mannered.

“What you want me to find them for you,” you inquired..

“No we have to find them ourselves,” said specs, “But were wondering if you’ve seen them perhaps?”

“Do you have a name?”

“Yeah, we do.” This time the voice came from behind the three men. Walking up to the group was another guy. He was a little taller than the blonde but not as tall as the other two. He was in all black and his black hair fell around his face. When he got closer you began to recognize him. He looked exactly like the boy you had spent your younger days with back when Insomnia was your home.  

“Noctis,” You whispered, your face contorting into a confused expression.

“Hey Y/N.” The prince said, “It’s been awhile.”