#also Percy: ah ah safety first. need help with that?

[blank-house]

Does Percy wear an apron when he cooks or does he free ball it

Free balls! Though he’d wear an apron if he invites someone in the kitchen with him. Gives him the excuse to get their hands/his hands on them. For safety reasons of course :)

[ottpopfic]

“It's okay,” Katie croaks, taking her godfather's hand in hers, both their palms slippery with blood. Jason's unfocused eyes train on her face, brow pinched with concern “I got it from here. You can go to him”

---

Leo and Jason are the first to pass of the seven

When Katie comes to she knows immediately that Uncle Leo is dead

Some possessed someone has been targeting safehouses, very monster of the week. The Bomb Shelter, a backyard fallout shelter turned house show venue that acts as a temple to Ah-Pa in Cincinnati, has been tracking them after a failed uprising. They had gotten an IM from Alania, the daughter of Iris who runs the place, that the group was heading north after the failed attempt. 

They hadn't been worried. If the assailants barely touched The Bomb Shelter, a five-person operation where two members were fully mortal, The Way Station should be fine. 

At least until the oncoming force got their hands on a fucking trebuchet

They didn't get much warning, just a feeling and then a sound as she and Uncle Leo locked eyes and knew . Katie had enough time to scale up a chunk of curved sheet metal to kick over their two current apprentices before Uncle Leo tackled her to the floor as the wall and rose window exploded in 

The large flaming barrel full of stones the opposition hits them with only does some of the damage, the rest of it is the equipment in the WorkShop going up on its own. They have both magical and mortal machinery and raw materials, a lot of which when combined wrong are a hazard on their own. The major issue is that the projectile hits the dust catcher’s receptacle, once it goes up it's all over. The fireball it creates shoots through the vents and into the other equipment, bypassing the safety enchantments and creating a multitude of explosions sending shrapnel flying in all directions

Katie knows her godfather is dead in three ways. First she feels it, his soul downstairs. He's blocking the line of traffic like a dickhead, waiting, she knows exactly for who. The older she gets the easier things are to feel in the upside down, and someone so close to her is a simple feat

The second is that his body is still on top of her. He's too cold, like his internal flame fled with him leaving Uncle Leo at a regular mortal body temperature. She can also see that he's dead, there are multiple giant shrapnel wounds from where he protected her with his body, and way too much blood. He's also not breathing, or moving, or anything. Festus is standing over them both, about the size of a horse as Katie likes to shrink him down so he can hang inside, blasting fire whenever anyone or anything gets close 

The third is that the Way Station is in her head like never before. Ever since moving here it's been a pickle in the back of her mind, a feeling here an emotion there. Now it's speaking full sentences, Katie can feel every want and need. If she weren't so out of it it would be overwhelming 

She can see Uncle Jason from where she lies prone on the floor under the wreckage. He's holding his own against multiple flying enemies, but even the Pontifex Maximus Valdez Son of Jupiter can't help his age. Katie's dads are in their seventies now, and it shows

Uncle Jason is injured, he has arrows sticking out of his back and a nasty gash on his left arm and chest, but he's still going. Katie gets the impression that he knows he's not making it out of this battle and he's just trying to take out as many infiltrators as he can before he falls, fighting like the wounded and cornered animal he is. Every movement is filled with rage and desperation, using his powers without care for the consequences. It would be terrifying if she wasn't still struggling to consciousness

Katie doesn't think she could ever be scared of any of her dads, not the way other people tend to be. Big shows of power are the norm for her, and she knows they would never ever hurt her. But if she was going to be, this is the closest. Uncle Jason fights like he has nothing to lose, like he's lost it all already. The electricity that pours off of him is rolling and visible, half alive on its own. And where Uncle Jason usually fights with this dignity, a trained poise and finesse, have been replaced by this feralness as he's full-on taking people out with his teeth

It's hard to watch, but Katie is also feeling super out of it in a way she can't place

You have a concussion the Way Station informs her, that makes sense 

Are our apprentices okay? She asks back

The apprentices are alive

Are there any dead?

There are three dead

Are you counting Uncle Jason?

Yes

Who's the third

Cirro  

Oh

Katie has always liked the cloud nymph, she had joined the Way Station only a little before Katie was found. She was a wonderful kind hearted spirit, always there to lend an ear and an excellent baker, she will be missed

Uncle Jason staggers after he takes out the last attacker, trying to balance for a second before his sword clatters from his hand and he collapses to the floor. Festus makes a wounded heartbroken keen above her but keeps his post

You need to get up the Way Station tells her It will be worse if you don't. You have things to do

She does have things to do

Katie rolls over, using her arms to drag herself out from under Uncle Leo’s body. It hurts , every movement hurts but she keeps going, ignoring Festus’s worried whining and pulling herself over the wreckage toward where Uncle Jason lays barely breathing

When she finally crawls her way to him he's almost dead. One of the arrows went through a lung, his breathing wet and ragged. She couldn't save him even if she wanted to, not with his age and injury and the amount of blood he's lost, but he needs to go he needs to be with Uncle Leo

They have to go together . If they don't go together their cycle will start again, storm or fire, and their souls won't survive it a second time. Dieing for each other, pulling each other out of the underworld over and over, it has bound their souls together more than any prophecy ever could. There is no one without the other now

“It's okay,” Katie croaks, taking her godfather's hand in hers, both the palms slippery with blood. His unfocused eyes train on her face, brow pinched with concern “I got it from here. You can go to him”

She holds his hand until he passes, it doesn't take long. He can't talk, but she knows he tells her he loves her, she loves him too. She waits until she can feel her goddad’s meet, they head for Aunt Styx together. They have already paid for the passage many times over, she doesn't need to worry

It's okay, they are together

It takes her a moment to hull herself to her feet, her body feels fuzzy and far away, but she stumbles to the hole in the wall all the same. Katie has always been able to see things that are super small, never needing the magnifying lenses others do to do the same work she does. But sometimes, if she works really hard at it, she can see things far away like she's looking through her binoculars

It's a trebuchet, like they knew it was, all outfitted to the nines and surrounded by monsters and lackeys. The man in charge, possessed as he is, is decked in golden armor like the king he is trying to become. Katie has always needed a line of sight to use her powers, but she feels the Way Station helping push her visuals, she can see all the details

The man's mouth is open as he yells an order, she can see all of his teeth. She lets her magic take hold of a back tooth, the twelve-year molar her medical training tells her, and then makes it grow. The screaming and the loss of the view of the bone as the man clutches his head in his hands doesn't change anything, her magic holds on tight, scaling the tooth up and up until it erupts out of the side of the man's face, the sharp roots of the molar puncturing his brain and exploding out his skull.

When she lets go of the tooth to move on to the second-in-command it starts to shrink back to its original size on its own. That's how it's always worked with organic living things, even if he's not exactly living anymore with the side of his head blown open and his shredded brain falling out. Inanimate objects keep their scale when she's done with them, living things don't, it's not a big deal. Katie uses her powers to grab the second-in-command’s tongue as the woman screams in horror, giving her the same treatment. it's hard to tell if she suffocates first or dies from her jaw and cranium being ripped apart and then off her neck by the sheer size the muscle reaches

She kills four more people this way before her wife gets to her, wrapping both arms around her waist and pulling her from the hole in the side of the building. Katie feels even more lightheaded with the break in the connection, in a far-off way she realizes her nose is bleeding and that's probably bad. An over extent of her powers or a reaction to her injuries, she can't tell

Festus is back too, hot on her wife's heels like he went to get her himself and supporting some of the blond’s weight

“I gotta, I gotta” Katie is mumbling, she can still see some of their attackers. Most are dead or in some kind of retreat, but she can't be sure

“Katie you gotta stop ” Lettie insists, pulling her so she can't see out of the side of the building anymore. Festus helps by pushing Katie with his body, corralling them like a sheepdog

“But I gotta, ” The Way Station is pushing her to continue, it's so angry and miserable and it wants them to not only leave and never come back but pay for what they have done and who they have taken

“Please baby,” Lettie turns her in her arms so she can see her face. There's a gnarly cut through her left eyebrow that is still slowly trickling blood into her eye and she is covered in dust and dirt and detritus, her beautiful blond ringlet curls matted down with mud and debris “Please Katie your hurt, and Jason and Leo-”

“It okay,” she tells her wife, eyes unfocused as they both slide to the floor “It's okay they went together”

“Katie-”

“They had to go together” she's desperate for Lettie to understand, bloody hands clutching at the blond’s ripped dress “It would start again if they didn't go together, but they went together so they're okay”

Lettie has this look she recognizes, but it's not one she's used to having directed at herself. It's the one people give Papi sometimes he does big underworld magic, or when Dad uses his plague powers, like for the first time her wife is scared of her “Katie that's not-”

“The Way Station says I have a concussion” Katie pushes on. 

“It's talking to you?”

“Yeah”

“Oh sweetheart ” 

Lettie pulls her into her lap, the blond bracing her back against the bricks and Festus. Katie can hear her saying something about calling her dads, then Lettie is swiping her thumb through the trail of blood from her still bleeding nose and wiping it across the coin charm on her necklace. Katie can hear her secretary Janet’s voice, then a very panicked Papi, but it feels far away like she listening through cotton. 

“C’mon baby, stay with me” Lettie prompts, papping Katie’s cheek, but it's hard to stay focused. Now that she's not concentrating on defending her home, information from the Way Station is streaming through her head unfiltered. There are forty-five broken windows not including the rose window which they have destroyed 78% of and over 50% of the roof garden is unsalvageable and they have lost six of the fruit trees also there's a water leak that is affecting the mortal structure below and at least one load-bearing wall is at risk of collapse as well as every resident is injured in some way and the infirmary is already at capacity and she's being fed the exact location of every inhabitant in real time some of who are trapped in some way and she needs to go help them right now

Suddenly Dad’s face is swimming into view, his warm hands holding the sides of Katie’s face so he can inspect her. She can feel his vitalkinesis slam through her hard, no gentle rev-up or bedside manor, right into triage mode. 

“Papi shouldn't shadow travel like that,” she slurs out, they are getting too old to be hopping about willie-nillie especially with carry-ons

“Think that's the least of your concerns right now sweetpea.” Dad tells her, in full doctor mode

“We have five that are in critical care and three dead,” she recites, somehow her disaster training coming through first

“Uh-huh?” Dad lets go of one side of her face to scale up his med kit and dig around “Tell me what else is wrong”

“Two of the critical are still under ruble we gotta-”

“Your Papi is on that, tell me what's broken”

“Mark has a broken clavicle and -”

“No, tell me about the building’s damage”

“The garden and main room are the worst, but we got structural damage on both our side and mortal side.” That's easier, not as raw. It's painful to track the people but the hard statistics of the infrastructure feel more neutral “The stair creation enchantment has been damaged we will need to gather the right supplies to fix it, I don't know if we have enough crab blood”

Dad is tying something on her right leg, the one that was trapped under Uncle Leo and the shrapnel of the exploded WorkShop. That's not right, she just has a concussion  

“Wa’s goin’ on,” she asks, she still can't really feel her body right. She tries to pitch forward to see what Dad is doing down there  “Wa’s wrong”

“Don't look baby,” Lettie tells her, putting a gentle hand on Katie's forehead so she can't look down. It holds her against her wife’s shoulder, Katie can feel how there is blood on her hands too. Festus puts his big warm metal head in her lap, helping keep her still

“Keep her talking,” Dad says to Lettie over her shoulder and starts in on a hymn 

“C’mon Kat-Bird, how many bricks do we need to replace?” Lettie prompts, the number comes instantly into her brain 

Lettie keeps her talking like that, gentle questions about the state of the building that the Way Station gladly feeds to her. Now that Katie isn't in fight or flight anymore she can feel the full loopiness of her concussion, making her sluggish and dazed. The only thing that’s sharp in her mind is what the Way Station is informing her, all hard facts.

When her godfathers reach the other end of the river Katie bursts into tears. She has to be in shock or something, because one moment she's barely aware of her surroundings and the next she's so wracked with grief that she just can't take it

“ They crossed ,” Katie sobs. She feels Lettie pulling her closer, her wife pressing a kiss into her hair as her own tears drop onto Katie’s ruined shirt. Festus lets out a mournful whine

Papi slides up to them a moment later. His expression is pained from feeling it himself and winded like he ran to them. The second Katie locks eyes with him she starts crying harder

“They went together ,” she tells him through her tears

“I know Pippi ,” Papi reassures, putting his arms around Lettie’s shoulders so he can hold the two of them “You did good”

Katie just cries, the closest members of her family holding each other tight, yet two people short. 

“I got her as stable as I can here,” Dad eventually tells them “Let's get to the Infirmary, Georgie is gathering everyone there and I don't think the floor is sound”

They don't let Katie stand, Papi scoops her up bridal style with an old man grunt, careful around her legs. Festus helps Lettie get up by giving her his neck and shoulders to haul herself up with

“But we gotta-” Katie tries to argue, still crying and loopy even as she tucks her face into Papi’s shoulder 

“It's okay, the others are coming to help,” Dad says

“Who?” Lettie asks following behind, Festus helping support most of her weight 

“ Everyone ”

[halcyon-writings]

continuing the herald!reader verse bc i got sucked into tlvom/cr and now here we are

i am sad bc we didn't get a winter's crest episode so i am writing a small snippet (it's also just slightly leaning towards romance but ultimately not the main stay of this fic, you can see it as platonic or romantic either way)

first post here

-

Delilah’s notes lie in front of you on your lap. Old texts accompanied by what you guessed was her recent add-ins scribbled in the margins filled the page. There were sketches of skulls and other totems of the whispered one accompanying them. Magic curls around your fingers as it flips the pages for you, you didn’t want to risk tearing it with how worn the book looked.

The more you read the further you grew horrified. The way she held no qualms over unleashing a potentially world-ending thing and the fact that she seemed even gleeful made you angry. (You resist the urge to shudder at the memory of her calling you its herald.)

A knock at the door makes you jump, and quickly you shut the book and hide beneath the mattress of your room; pretending to take one of the unfolded blankets that lie on it into your hands like you were making your bed.

The knock sounds again.

“It’s open!” you call, raising up the blanket as you bring the corners together. Simultaneously you're trying to steady your breathing so you didn't look like you were caught doing something you weren't supposed to.

The door opens just a little more forcefully than needed, with a loud creak of the wood making you wince just slightly.

A sheepish Percival stands behind it, entering the bedroom you were given in order to rest up after the ordeal with the Briarwoods. Sleeping on a comfortable bed for the past few days was much appreciated after being away from the keep for so long.

"Good morning," you greet, finishing in folding the blanket and leaving it on the corner of the bed, "Did you sleep alright?"

"Ah, yes, ahem, I have," you quirk an eyebrow at his stammering. surprised that Percy, of all people, is stammering out his words for some reason.

You give him a curious glance, "Is everything alright?"

"Perfectly in order, the preparations for the festival are well underway and-"

You suddenly gasp, startling both yourself and Percy, "Oh no, I completely forgot I was going to help Keeper Yennen with the some final preparations today. You don't think she's still waiting is she?" You worry at your lip, serves you right for staying up as you read over the notes. Helping the holy woman completely split your mind.

"Oh god, I'm sorry Percy, here I am rambling in front of you, did you need anything?"

At this, Percy smiles, or at least tries to in his own Percy-unique way. But then he shakes his head, "Not right now anyway, but I could accompany you to the square, I know we've only been in Whitestone for a few days but I feel like it was focused more on recovery and resting."

You can't help but feel a little embarrassed because he was right. You all hadn't really had time to explore the city in between making sure none of the Briarwoods lackeys remained to threaten the tentative safety of the city again.

So you put on your coat, already changed into much more appropriate clothing for the day, as well as your gloves. You both step out into the chilly day.

(Percy offers you his arm after you nearly slip, and you hold it with a near iron grip, failing to notice the flustered tint to his ears).

Thankfully, the city of Whitestone seems to just be waking up now too. And wake up it did!

A few stalls lining up on the Main Street, vendors that had received word of Whitestone’s safer atmosphere gladly coming to help in what way they could, along with a few tourists they brought along. Locals who had recognized you quickly approached with grateful looks. One elderly woman took your hands into her own, gently giving them a squeeze and then hugging you tightly (if you looked misty-eyes after that, Percy didn’t say anything).

Children were peering at you curiously, bursting into giggles as your magic gently sparked like small fire crackers safely before them. They seemed to look at Percy with as much awe too. Too young to truly understand who he was but knowing he was why it was no longer dark and gloomy.

You look at Percy from the corner of your eye and see his shoulders relaxed for the first time in a long time. The corners of your eyes crinkle as you grin.

“What are you smiling at?” He jests.

“You.”

Your answer takes him aback, which causes you to laugh. “To think just about a week ago we were fighting off the undead to free this city and now here we are, enjoying Winter’s Crest.”

He hums, “Yes. I... I almost can’t believe it.” Something in his voice sounds sad, but free, in a way that the grief that had been shrouding him for so long could weigh him down so heavily now, but now lifted because he had been able to avenge his family.

Your free hand reaches up and gives his arm a squeeze, “I think they’d be really proud of you, Percy.” It didn’t take much to realize who “they” were.

He swallows, and nods.

You both continue on your way to meet Keeper Yennen, the city of Whitestone still waking up and preparing for the festival.

-

“Are you sure this is no issue for you?” Percy’s expression seems almost troubled.

Your hands are raised before you, decorations floating upwards to the Sun Tree, where bodies had previously been left to serve as “demonstrations” finally being removed and laid to rest, tying slowly around the branches. Blue and white ribbons along with some fresh flowers (courtesy of Keyleth) were added alongside them, in honor of their memories.

You turn your head to meet his look, while still assisting the team decorators, “Percival. When I said I could, I meant it. It’s nothing strenuous, so there’s nothing to worry about.”

“Fine, but do let me know if you begin to feel fatigued,” He huffs.

You nod with some laughter, “Alright.”

The decorations are fastened by those waiting in the trees, and with a flick or two more of your wrists, the decorations that were a bit too high to reach previously were now easily fastened.

"Besides, I can't be too tired, when I know I'm being treated to the VIP tour treatment by the Lord of Whitestone himself," You grin, "I'm sure that's a rare opportunity in of itself."

Percy laughs, looking abashed, but he doesn't seem to disagree with your words.

"Well, when you're done, we can continue the tour."

This time it's your turn to laugh.

Arm in arm with him once more, you both continue your "tour" through Whitestone, the joys of the Winter's Crest festival accompanied by your friends enjoyment through the different games and entertainment, any doubts about what you had found in Delilah's notes began to fade from your mind.

[rose-vanderan]

Percy and the small Hunter

Rating: G (General)

Characters: Percy Weasley and Harry Potter

Word Count: 2,653

Summary: Harry calls Percy into 12 Grimmauld Place, Harry's now dubbed "Sanctuary", because he needed his assistance regarding some news about a specific little girl nicknamed "Hunter."

Notes: This is a one-shot based on the world building fanfiction I published titled "You'll Be Safe" in which Harry Potter revamps 12 Grimmauld Place in an orphanage and safe place for werewolves to get help and access to safehouses and Wolfsbane potion.

This is posted on AO3 under the same name (”Percy and the small Hunter” by Curious_Feline)

A small audible pop was heard from behind a wooden fence line, concealing the red haired man from any muggles on this particular London residential street. Percy strode out from behind it, traveling down the sidewalk heading towards the now familiar, no longer concealed, “sanctuary” as Harry had dubbed it. He walked up the worn steps, opening the front door, ignoring the obnoxious doorbell that no one bothered removing. The interior of Grimmauld place was bustling with life. He could hear a few pairs of children, giggling and laughing, as he glanced around observing the two pairs of potential parents checking in with one of the assistants. He politely greeted them as he passed, heading upstairs keeping note of the small boy peering over the banister with a mischievous smile.

Percy nearly toppled himself backwards as he reached over and grabbed the small boy before he fell over the bannister as the child had tried to drop what looked like a bright orange and purple water balloon on one of the teenagers that occupied Grimmauld Place as she passed underneath. Percy took a moment to keep his grasp on his nerves, looking up at the ceiling and taking a deep breath, still holding the boy. He gently placed the boy back on the ground and then gave a quick lesson on safety, that the boy surprisingly seemed to listen to. Percy chalk that up as him simply being scared out of his wits, as he almost dropped and got a concussion. The boy had stretched out his arms and Percy crouched to accept the hug the boy wanted. He paused there for a few brief moments, waiting on the small boy to be the one to let go first. Percy knew that some of the children needed the extra affection and had no issue waiting the extra moments, as he knew that it meant more than people realize for them.

Percy watched as the boy let go, watching him turn around after one of the other kids called after him, and rushed off to join them. Percy placed his hands on his knees and raised himself back up to his full height before turning to head towards his destination. He reached a closed wooden door and raised his hand to briefly knock on it in a solid pattern of four. He listened closely for the signal from Harry inside before he entered, closing the door behind him. The room before him stood brightly lit by the window off on the far wall, adorned with multiple bookshelves, and a centered oak desk behind which was the man in question. Harry looked to be glancing over various documents, his dark unruly hair now growing longer pulled into a ponytail. Harry pushed his glasses up on the bridge of his nose, the gravity causing them to slip down before he glanced up at Percy.

“You know you don’t have to knock, Percy. I knew you were coming over, you could’ve just walked in.” Harry said, leaning back in his chair, arms resting on the arms.

“I was just making sure you weren’t in the middle of something. Also I know about Ron bursting in here all the time.” Percy replied.

“Ah, yeah” Harry chuckled “He just slams the door open, announcing himself half the time if he remembers. Usually he just starts talking about whatever and getting a few sentences in before realizing I’m looking at him like he’s lost his head.”

Percy gave a small smile at the image before raising his hand in a dismissive wave. “Sorry, I guess it is just a habit. Well at least I didn’t scare you. Yet anyhow.”

“Yet.” Harry retorted, “Let me just finish this before I continue. They keep hounding me about how important and how dire it is for him to finish it in a timely manner.” Harry grinned, his voice indicating dripping sarcasm as he leaned forward, grabbing a hold of different papers on his desk to glance over. He made a noise indicating he had found what he was looking for after only a brief few moments before he made a quick signature, setting it on the growing stack of papers on the right side of his desk. Harry pushed back his chair and stood before he proceeded to start stretching, indicating how long he stayed hunched over his desk.

“You remember Logan?” Harry asks, glancing his gaze towards Percy, stretching his arm across his chest.

“One of the younger werewolves that got taken in?” Percy asked, more out of clarification that curiosity. He remembered how Logan was one of the first werewolf children that got taken into Grimmauld Place, something that caused an uproar in the wizarding community. Article after article got written regarding how “dangerous” that Potter boy was going to be around a child if he thinks a werewolf child should be allowed near others. The articles quickly stopped after the amount of people immediately jumping to his defense, especially Remus Lupin one of the awarded heroes following the end of the Second War. Harry stayed livid about the articles for a few months following that incident.

“Yes well you know the kid he always sticks around? The older kid with the scruffy blonde hair? Even though it’s clear that both of them seem to get on each other's bloody nerves?” Harry asked, with a hint of laughter in his voice.

Percy nodded, remember the child everyone had nicknamed Hunter, because they always seemed to sneak around Grimmauld Place being light as a feather on their feet. Another reason they adopted the nickname was because they enjoyed being perched on top of various furniture pieces around the house, taking to try to pop out to scare some of the adults as they passed. It worked a few times on Harry.

“She has relayed some information to me about some changes I will be making to her paperwork.” Harry said, taking in how quickly the information had crossed and processed through his mind.

“Oh, I’m happy for her.” Percy smiled but added, “Why did you feel the need to tell me privately? Surely you could’ve told me with the rest of the staff?”

Harry gave an awkward laugh before rubbing the back of his neck, not meeting Percy’s eye contact. Percy raised his eyebrow.

“Oh...uh…” Harry tried to say but eventually cleared his throat. “I don’t know how to say this without sounding....”

Percy understood. He startled Harry because he actually laughed. It was short but still caught him off guard.

“Harry, you’re fine. You want me to talk to her because I’d understand what she’d be going through to a degree and you just want her to be comfortable.” Percy helpfully filled in.

Harry let out a relieved sigh and tried to replace his awkward posture.

“I’m sorry, I just didn’t want to….” Harry trailed off again but caught himself before the awkward silence ate him alive. “Well, she’s in the library if you could go and make her feel more comfortable.”

“Of course.” Percy said, and with that took his leave.

He walked out the room taking himself up another flight of stairs, landing on the third floor. He made his way down the hallway to the cracked oak near the end of the hall. He glanced inside and saw Hunter perched on the back of the couch, reading some thick hardback book. She glanced up upon hearing the door slowly creak open, and she slid her bookmark onto the page before plopping the book down onto the cushion of the couch. Logan was engrossing himself what looked like homework his rotated tutor had probably supplied him. Logan tapped the pencil on the coffee table he sat in front of, as he had placed himself on the floor, and didn’t appear to have bothered to acknowledge Percy.

“I didn’t think we’d have you for another week or so,” Hunter said, which caused Logan to look up but only briefly to notice Percy entered the room.

“Harry asked me to stop by,” Percy began before he moved himself closer to her. "It’s come to my attention that we should reintroduce ourselves.” Percy extended his hand out towards her, gesturing for a handshake, “Percival Ignatius Weasley and you are, my dear?”

Hunter’s smile grew wider with the passing second before she extended her hand to shake his, the excitement showing in her enthusiasm. “Paige!” She exclaimed happily, and she threw her grin towards Logan who looked up towards them.

“Oh great, now she’s going to go around introducing herself to everyone in her. I’m going to end up sick of the name before she’s even had it for a month.” Logan replied, a hint of sarcasm in his voice, before dogging the book Paige reached down and chucked towards him.

“Hey it’s alright.” Percy said going over and picked up the book from the floor, watching as Paige crossed her arms across her chest sticking her tongue out towards Logan who returned the same. Percy shook his head and smiled to himself. Paige stopped herself abruptly as she turned towards Percy, her head cocked to one side.

“Wait.” She said, almost a little too loudly, “Is this why Harry asked you to come here?”

Percy placed the book back onto the couch where she originally placed the book, although more carefully. He looked up at her from his slightly slouched position, before nodded and straightened himself.

“Are you like me?” She asked curiosity peaking, starting to lean forward clinging onto the back of the couch.

“Not exactly.” He said with a small chuckle.

Logan let out a laugh that actually startled Percy, almost in the same way that Percy startled Harry earlier. The pair of them both looked down at Logan at the same time, Percy with a confused expression while Paige looked annoyed. Logan had let out a harsh breathe before he settled into quieter giggles. He glanced up at both of them and grinned at Percy.

“What?” Logan asked, his eyebrow raised, his voice full of mischief “It makes a lot of sense now.” When Percy continued to look confused and Logan saw Paige roll her eyes, crossing her arms, he continued. “There’s no way your parents named you Percival Ignatius. It makes sense now knowing that you picked the name yourself”

“Ignore him!” Paige said defensively, watching as Percy shook his head. She didn’t notice that Percy was trying to repress his shaking laughter.

“I didn’t say it was a bad name!” Logan defended, tossing a crumpled up ball of paper at her that she easily dodge.

“Kids, kids, it’s alright.” Percy said, putting up both hands in a mock show to separate the two. “He’s not the first person to comment on my naming choice. My brothers got that honor. Besides my father actually wanted to use the name Percival but never got the opportunity.”

“Don’t you have like six siblings?” Logan asked, oblivious to the weight of the question.

“Five, now.” Percy corrected, and it stung a little at how common he said it was that it was starting to feel like habit to automatically correct others. He quickly caught himself before the silence became deafening so he changed the subject back. “Besides they had a long list of potential names and decided on others instead. I’m happy to have chosen a name my father liked and wanted.”

Logan took that answer and nodded, before returning to his papers lying on the table in front of him. Paige had climbed off the back edge of the sofa she had perched herself on, climbing down onto the couch cushion. She stood standing on the couch as she looked up at Percy.

“I happen to like the name, Percy.” She declared with a grin, placing her hands on her hips leaning around Percy to shoot a dirty look at Logan. Percy smiled down at her, his arms now crossed a motion he didn’t even realize he had done.

“Thank you, Paige.” He gave a nod to indicate politely for her to get off the couch, which she obeyed, before he sat down. She took the seat beside him, after he had made the gesture for her to join him. “I’m going to bring a close friend over tomorrow. She has more information for your specific situation than but we’ll both help you, along with Harry, however you need it.”

Percy didn’t see how quickly she moved, as she moved in a flash, but the next thing he knew she was hugging him. Her face buried into his traveling robes, he didn’t realize he was still wearing, as she started shaking softly as she cried. He gently rubbed her back, making soft calming noises, trying to reassure her that she’s safe and okay. She pulled back and rubbed her eyes, looking up at him, sniffling quietly.

“Thank you” She said softly, almost like a whisper that Percy struggled to hear. Percy smiled down at her and hugged her, wrapping his arms around her, giving a small kiss to the top of her head. He pulled back and rubbed the sides of her arms, watching as she beamed up at him. Realization dawned over her face and she shot up off the couch. Percy and Logan both looked startled at her abrupt movement, she rushed over to the door to the library before turning her head backward towards them both. “I’ll be back, I need to go thank Harry too!”

Percy smiled, watching her rush off out the door to go downstairs. Paige got out the door before she made a noise of surprise. The two left in the room, quickly realized Harry had been outside the door, listening as it sounded as though he almost toppled over as she rushed to hug him. Logan who had cleared his throat before glancing over at Percy, causing him to look over at the boy. He looked to be hesitant to say something and after a few moments he finally did.

“Thank you,” Logan said quietly, “...for helping Paige. She’s been scared to tell anyone.” Logan shifted uncomfortably, showing that he was unsure of how to approach this, not meeting Percy’s eyes. “I only want her to be happy and you’ve definitely helped her a lot.” Logan glanced back up at Percy, getting the courage to make eye contact, his face starting to flush.

Percy smiled, reaching over and placing a hand on his shoulder. “She’s lucky to have someone like you. You’ve helped her a lot too.” Percy told him.

Logan suppressed a smile that was threatening to spread across his face before he cleared his throat again and returned his attention back down to his papers. “You uh...You should probably go help Harry because she might not let go of him anytime soon.” Logan told him, picking up his pencil and started to tap it absentmindedly on the table.

Percy reached his hand over a gave him a small pat on his upper back, the small smile still showing on his face, probably part of the reason Logan refused to look back up, pink spreading over his cheeks as he gets flustered easily from affectionate conversations. Percy leaned back and raised himself from his seat and headed towards the door. Percy turned his head back towards Logan, trying to ignore the noises of children clambering up the stairs to jump on top of Harry, by the sounds of it.

“Let me know if you need anything, okay?” He called back towards Logan. Logan didn’t glance up, just choosing to raise his thumb in the air as a sign of acknowledgement, but Percy saw the smile that crept its way onto Logan’s face. Percy didn’t expect Grimmauld Place to mean as much as it did to him, but he’ll always be here to help out in any way he can.

[sockablock]

I KNOW MY PROMPT! Per the thing I sent you in DM: Mighty Nein x Vox Machina fighting some eldritch deity tigether that swaps their powers mid-battle with who their players play. Percival de Rolo, the man who would be atheist if the gods were not so clearly real, needs to literally pick a god and /pray/.

it’s wild how long it’s taken me to do this and also you’ll need this post for context (tweaked just slightly by yours truly)

—

Of course, they’d been warned that reality would be thin here.

Essek had told them all, at length, that usage of the beacon would likely thrust them into a world slightly different from theirs, and Allura had repeated, again and again, that nothing about the Chained Oblivion would make sense. It was the manifestation—the primordial source of delusion—and as powerful as any of them were, they would still be at the mercy of its maddening effects.

Which was why, when the battle finally began, when the abyss started seeping into the Prime Material Plane and the first broken chain lashed out of the empty dark, when the threads of probability started curling, swirling, cocooning around them with the one strand where this was possible—

—well, it really shouldn’t have been all that surprising when Keyleth just swung her staff upside Tharizdun’s skull.

What passed for its skull, anyway.

And then Vex’s arrows crackled with necrotic energy and for a second, Percy could’ve sworn she’d spouted wings. Grog lunged forward and a sword was in his hands, icy-blue, mist in the air, and the supposed monk from that other motley crew suddenly thrust out and called lightning from the sky. The hands of their wizard now glowed with the Everlight, and their aasimar fighter, or whatever she was, had suddenly called forth a hail of thorny vines. And as Percy looked down at his own palms, he realized suddenly that his gun felt foreign, and clumsy, and wrong.

His fingers fumbled against the catch and the safety of knowing, the security of understanding, was slipping rapidly, terrifyingly from his mind.

He looked around desperately, then dodged another chain that lashed out towards him, slicing through the night.

Or did he? And did it actually miss, or had it tried to hit the mirage now at his side, a flickering, shifting, image of himself, a perfect copy, one he didn’t know how he made—

A sorcerer, then, he quickly decided. Or, perhaps, some kind of warlo—

This time, the chain didn’t miss, striking directly at his chest. But his arm was up before he could even shout, and strapped to his elbow, clutched in his hand, was a silver shield, shining bright—

A paladin? Oh, gods, not the—the gods.

But he didn’t have a chance to groan any louder, because more of the abyss was pouring through, now. Their allies—the united forces of two continents—were still keeping the demons at bay, but the longer that Tharizdun could exist, the angrier they got, the more distorted their minds, the worse the probability that they’d lose this fight—

The light of the Luxon flickered, and Percy knew he had no time to waste.

He threw himself back into the battle, kicking scorched grass up as he ran. His eyes darted across the other fighters—a goblin, a firbolg, but who had his guns? Who had he switched with, where was his power—

And then, he saw it, in the hands of a blue tiefling. Bad News had somehow found its way into her grasp, and she was crouched behind a boulder, looking confused but understanding, eyes focused and breathing low. Percy desperately had to wrack his mind, and through the confusion and the twisting and the blood, inhaled, focused, remembered—

The….Traveler?

He jerked around another writhing chain, ducked behind a half-fallen tree to ask.

“Is that you?” he hissed, under his breath. “Ah…Traveler? Are you out there? I could—gods, I could use the help!”

Dirt and ash flew past his face. The sharp smell of blood filled the air.

Something warm pressed into his chest.

Frantically, Percy threw the axe aside. His fingers dug below his coat and after a second of desperate rifling, they clutched around something hard and he thrust his hand back into the night—

The symbol of a doorway, reflecting the light of a thousand different realities, all in one.

The image was…oddly familiar.

And then, he heard Vex’ahlia cry out. His head shot above the charred bark and he swiveled around, saw her stumble, saw a sword in her hand that he’d never seen before and saw her teeth grit, saw a chain rise—

He ran forward, cried, “Vex! Watch out!”    

A burst of holy light exploded around his wife, enveloping her with a blazing, green glow. He watched, steps faltering, as her wounds began to close, as her posture straightened, her lips grinned, eyes narrowed—

She was back in the fight before Percy could recover. Of course she was, and her next strike was brutal—

He took a deep breath, steadied himself. 

“T-Traveler?” he tried. “Was that…you?”

A voice, lilting, and soft and—

“Of course. Can’t have her falling, not now.”

—oddly, oddly familiar.

His eyes went wide. He whirled around.

“Artagan? Is that—is that you?!”    

—

Ko-fi in bio✨ | Finished 5k fic prompts right here! 💜 Requests Are CLOSED!

[adarlingwrites]

Absolution

Summary:

noun: formal release from guilt, obligation, or punishment

The Capital Wasteland lauded the Lone Wanderer as a hero, a Messiah, a savior who's willing to give her life for the Good Fight. Beyond the legends, the propaganda, and the mythification that surrounded her legacy, there is only one person who knew her bare soul. She gave him his absolution, and now he will fight for hers.

III

September 17, 2277.

From her reaction to Ahzrukhal’s murder alone, I had a hunch that she’s different from my previous employers.

“I assume Ahzrukhal wasn’t very high on your list of favorite people?” my new employer comments, eyes still fixated on the stump where Ahzrukhal’s head used to be.

“Ahzrukhal was an evil bastard. As long as he held my contract, I was honor bound to do as he commanded. Now, you are now my employer, which freed me to rid the world of that disgusting rat,” I tell her, to which she smirked. “And now, for good or ill, I serve you.”

“You won’t have to throw drunks over the balcony or make young women land on their asses without good reason, I promise you that.”

In secret, I held on to that promise.

Half past midnight, my new mistress and I sit at one of the tables in the Ninth Circle while Ahzrukhal’s body starts catching flies. She skims through my contract, and tucks it away under her Pip-Boy glove. Onlookers were staring, but no one dared approach me, the tall, intimidating ghoul with a shotgun, and the smoothskin girl with a Gauss rifle who holds my leash.

“Right! First order of business. My name is Percy Zhou,” she introduces herself, and extends a small, gloved hand. I stare at it at the moment, trying to read any discomfort or disgust on my mistress’ face, and when she raises an eyebrow, I grasp it, and she gives my hand a shake. I couldn’t help but notice how large my hands are in contrast to hers. I let go as soon as I could; it wasn’t unpleasant. Not a lot of employers would go out of their way to touch me, and I am not used to it.

“Can I ask you something?”

“If conversation is what you wish, then I shall provide it.”

“So formal…” she chuckles. “So, is your name really pronounced ‘Sh’aron, or is it ‘Kh’aron, like in those old mythology books?”

No one has pronounced my name like that in quite the long time. When a barely literate raider boss acquired my contract years ago, he started to pronounce my name as ‘Sh’aron out of mockery. It stuck. At my new mistress’ pronunciation of my name, however, my brain is starting to itch again, but the need to respond to her holds me back. “You can call me whatever you prefer, mistress.”

“Don’t call me mistress, please.”

Please. A word employers never use. Coming out of her mouth, it felt strange.

“Anyway, if I start calling you Mr. Dreamboat, you wouldn’t object?”

I snort, despite myself. The reaction elicited a giggle from my new mistress and she waves her hand. My previous employers, Ahzrukhal included, laughed at me, not with me. “Ah, so you have a sense of humor,” she laughs, pushing her glasses into her face. “I’m kidding, don’t worry.”

“Charming.” It came out of my mouth dry and flat.

“I’ll start calling you ‘Kh’aron, then.”

Percy starts digging in her pack and produces two sticks of bubblegum. She unwraps and starts chewing on one of them, and offers one to me. I took it partly to stay in her good graces, and partly because I have been eating nothing but disgusting mole rat meat for quite some time, courtesy of my previous employer, of course. The last time I had sugar... I still had skin.

“Charon,” my mistress calls my attention. She is showing me a map on her Pip Boy.

“This,” she starts, pointing to a waypoint on the map, “is the Museum of Technology. It’s right across us, but getting there isn’t a walk in the park. Unlike ghouls, Super Mutants don’t ignore humans out in the open.” I nod in response.

“Which is why I wore my sneaking suit for the occasion. I don’t want to engage in a direct gunfight. It’s too dark, and my eyes suck. Are you any good at stealth?”

“I am proficient,” I respond.

“Perfect. Anything else that you’re good at that we can use to our advantage?”

“Aside from firearms, I am trained in handling explosives.”

“Great,” she exclaims, and her small hand disappears into her pack once more. She hands me three frag grenades. “I was planning to sell these to Tulip. You can hold on to them.”

I nod, storing the grenades away. “Also, I’d like you to provide me cover fire in case we get detected and this bad boy fails to take down the muties,” she adds, motioning to her Gauss rifle, and I nod. How did a kid like her get her hands on a powerful weapon anyway?

She then starts briefing me on our objective. A satellite dish. Seems simple enough.

When she started a damn treasure hunt in the museum, however, things got more interesting than I previously anticipated. Percy picks off the mutants with her rifle, and scouts forward. She sees the museum terminals and decides to tinker with them. The next thing I knew, I was tailing her around while she hunted for more terminals. My mistress, deep in concentration, stares at numbers at a terminal, muttering something about prime numbers as the green glow reflects on her glasses. At the moment, I was annoyed, but when we found a key in the safe, I was astounded to see a missile launcher inside the gun locker it unlocks. In poor condition, but it’s a fucking missile launcher nonetheless.

At that point, I stopped questioning myself how my mistress can get her hands on valuable loot. She’s thorough. I respect that.

As soon as we finished looting, we proceeded with the mission as normal. We acquired the dish, and what was supposed to be a simple task of locating the Washington Monument to replace the old one turned out more complicated when one of the big green bastards spotted us when the missile launcher rustled against the satellite dish.

“Here we go,” Percy yells, rolling behind a barricade. “I’ll snipe. Cover me.”

One. Two. Three. The mutants start falling. One with a sledgehammer is heading to her blind spot and I finished that one with my shotgun. Four. As my mistress was reloading, one of the mutants threw a grenade to draw us out. Faster than I can think, my reflexes kicked in, and I tackled my mistress, covering her body.

I can barely hear my name as my ears rang, but I can clearly hear the distress in my mistress’ voice. She slips from underneath me and retrieves her rifle while I lie face first in the dirt.

Five. The last mutant fell. I got on my hands and knees and I felt a small hand grasp my bicep, forcing me to sit.

“Shit. Shit. Charon, are you okay?”

I nod. “Are you injured?” I ask her back.

“Shit, big guy, don’t worry about me, you’re the one who’s bleeding” she curses, looking at my back. “You have shrapnel all over you.”

“Your safety takes priority. I can withstand the pain.”

“Bullshit. Once we arrive at the monument, I’m patching you up first before we do anything else,” she insisted, pulling me up and wrapping an arm around my waist as we walked all the way to the monument.

“That is not necessary.”

She ignored me.

As we arrived, the Brotherhood soldier standing at the gate almost opened fire at me if it wasn’t for Percy waving her arms. Percy sets me down near the radio, and starts rummaging her pack for medical supplies, yelling at any gawkers to give her and her patient some privacy.

“This is not necessary, mistress,” I tell her, and she rolls her eyes at me.

“What did I tell you about calling me ‘mistress?’”

“I apologize. I will not call you mistress again, ma’am.”

Percy groaned, throwing her hands up in the air. “Hey. Stop. I’m not used to being addressed as a superior, and it’s making me uncomfortable,” she starts, taking a bottle of antiseptic and giving it a good shake. Taking off her gloves, she splashes them all over her hands.

“I’m asking you to adjust to my methods. In this partnership, we are equals. Got it?”

“The contract dictates that we are not.”

Percy pauses. “It does?”

“Yes.”

My mistress lets out an exasperated groan. “Jesus, dad is right. I need to read contracts before agreeing to them…” she mumbles to herself. “Let’s sort it out later. Take your shirt off.”

Complying, I shed my shoulder pads and stripped from the waist up. My back is revealed to her, along with all the scars, peeling skin, and my protruding spine. I can feel Percy’s gaze as she kneeled behind me. She wasn’t making any movement, or talking.

“Is there something wrong?”

Soft fingers press on old scars, tracing an old whip mark. “Who did this to you?”

Her voice came out as a cracked whisper. Tension started to boil in my head. “If my mistress wishes to find out, I will do my best to recall.”

“You don’t- you don’t remember?”

“No.”

“I won’t press any further. My mistake,” she whispers, apologetic, and she finally moves again. “Hold still, big guy.”

Through clenched teeth, I let out a grunt when she started to pull the bits of shrapnel from my back. “Some of these wounds need stitches. We have no anaesthetic, sorry. Tell me if the pain is too much.”

“How I feel is irrelevant.”

“How you feel concerns me,” she insists. “You said that my safety takes priority, yes?”

“...yes.”

“Then,” she continues, plunging the needle in my ruined skin. “How can you focus on protecting me if you are injured? Or ill? Or in pain?”

“I am trained to withstand great injury and pain. My main objective is ensuring your protection regardless of my physical condition,” I grit through my teeth, and exhaling in relief when I feel her sew the wound shut. “And you did. I’m just returning the favor. Just let me fuss over you, big guy. It won’t hurt either of us,” she argues, her breath warm against my nape, and I hoped she didn’t notice the goosebumps I had on what’s left of my skin.

I stopped arguing with her at that point. She is different from my previous employers indeed.

Percy injects me with stimpaks, then moves in front of me and turns on her Pip-Boy light. “I’m just gonna check for a concussion.” She shines it in my eyes and everything is white.

“I was training to be a doctor before I was forced to leave the vault, you know,” she tells me, then she turns off the light. My vision readjusted to the rising sun, its rays hitting her eyes through the holes in the building, her irises shifting from almost black to a vibrant brown. They remind me of chocolate, a rare treat from pre-war days.

“Your pupils are dilating and constricting equally, so no brain injury. I think. How are you feeling?” she asks me, and I look away, not daring to meet her eyes.

“Better.”

“No headaches or pain?”

“None.”

“Good. Get dressed and rest up, I’ll install the dish.”

I didn’t respond. I didn’t feel the need to.

When she returned, she had a smile on her face and her bun had come undone from the wind up the tower. She slumps next to me and opens a bottle of Nuka-Cola from her pack. After taking a swig, she passes the bottle to me.

“What a day. Let’s rest for awhile here,” she tells me, rolling her joints.

“Certainly.”

“Help yourself to whatever food we still have in the pack,” Percy half speaks, half-yawns. “I’ll take a nap. Wake me up in thirty minutes?”

“As you wish.”

Thirty minutes passed, but I didn’t touch any of her food, content on drinking the sugary drink in hand. I gently shake her awake. When she wakes up, she blinks a few times at me, smiles, and she runs her fingers through her hair, sticky and matted from her sweat. “I should probably get a haircut. Let’s get to Underworld. Snowflake offered to do it for free.”

After resting for a few more minutes, we stood up, collected our gear, and I followed her. While walking back to Underworld, she turns on her radio, and Galaxy News Radio comes in clear as day.

“People of the Capital Wasteland, you can hear meeeee! Yeeeaa haaaa!!! You can't stop the signal, baby! That's right, from Megaton to Girdershade, Paradise Falls to the Republic of Dave, we are coming to you loud and proud, in a special live report! ”

Percy beams and laughs. “That Three Dog is quite the character, huh?”

“But Three Dog? You're in that cool radio studio in D.C. How do you know I can hear you, all the way out here in the ass end of nowhere? Because of the kid from Vault 101, that's how! That gal actually managed to repair our antenna relay. But get this, she wasn’t acting alone! Sources say that a tall, dark, and scary ghoul was accompanying Miss 101 as she braved through the super mutants in downtown DC. Who is this mysterious ghoul? Hired muscle? A slave? A friend? Whoever he may be, the Ranger of the Wastes is safer with him around, so cheers to him too. Now, the two of you, hurry over to GNR. We have a lot to talk about!”

I doubt the last statement.

As we approached Underworld, Willow is nowhere to be found. Something’s wrong, and Percy feels it too, turning off her radio.

“Charon. Willow’s missing. And it’s too quiet.”

“There may be danger here,” I tell her, placing my body defensively in front of her as we approach the entrance.

The doors swung open, and Doc Barrows stood there, along with Willow and a few other residents, pointing their guns at us.

“We need to talk.”

[chain-unchained]

June 17

(Just a heads up, this is entirely a filler chapter with Ashe, Sebastian and Sam-- and this is where I reeeaally start taking creative liberties with the game systems.)

“Ugh, it’s too hot to practice…” Sam groaned, as he and Sebastian walked away from Alex’s ice cream stand, cones of creamy frozen goodness in hand. “And it’s too hot to do anything else today...”

“You say the same thing every year.” Sebastian pointed out, raising a brow at Sam’s drama. “Why don’t you ever ask for an air conditioner for your birthday present? Or just save up and buy one yourself?”

Sam’s expression became quite sheepish. “Well… I know how expensive they can be, especially when it starts heating up, so I’d feel bad asking Mom to spend that kind of money.” He admitted, hastily licking up a trail of melted chocolate ice cream as it ran down the side of his cone. “And my paychecks aren’t usually that big, y’know? With what I have left after giving half to Mom for rent, I’d have to spend a whole year saving to afford one. It’s like…” He gestured with his hands, “I can either be a penny-pinching miser for something that I’ll only use for a couple of months a year, or I can have fun with my money and spend it on stuff I’ll actually use all the time, like strings for my guitar or a new amp.”

“Or you could work more than once a week.” Sebastian was deadpan in his delivery, crushing his friend just a little; it was a playful jest, of course, one meant in good fun. “Even if you picked up just one extra shift every week, it’d give you more to work with.”

“Yeah, I know…” Sam hung his head a little in defeat. “Can you blame me, though? I don’t want to work at that awful place! Even if it does have air conditioning, it’s not worth it. I don’t know how Shane puts up with Morris for forty hours a week, every week.” He looked thoughtful as he took a bite, using his tongue to lick up some that got on his upper lip. “Y’know, speaking of Shane… he seems different lately. Like, he seems more… I dunno, clear-headed? Maybe it’s just me, but…”

Sebastian ran his tongue around his own ice cream to keep it from melting too quickly. “He’s stopped ordering beer when he comes to the saloon on Fridays.” He pointed out, much to Sam’s surprise. “… You didn’t notice because you never turn around when we’re playing pool.”

“Cos the last time I turned around, you hit the 8-ball into the back of my head.” Sam pouted a little; amongst their little friend group, he was definitely the most oblivious. “I wonder if he’s trying to stop drinking. If so, that’s gotta take some serious willpower.”

“Why don’t you ask Ashe and find out?” Sebastian pointed over Sam’s shoulder. “He’s right over there.” It was pretty common knowledge in town at that point that Ashe and Shane were close, so it made sense to ask a question like that of him rather than going directly to the source.

“Huh?” Sam turned around and followed Sebastian’s finger; sure enough, Ashe was heading up through the north of town, past Harvey’s and Pierre’s and up towards the mountains where the Carpenter’s was. To their surprise, he was carrying quite a large, empty burlap sack, with a pickaxe strapped across his back. “Oh, good idea. Hey, Ashe! Ashe!”

Faintly hearing his name being called, Ashe paused, looking back over his shoulder curiously. “Oh! Hey guys!” He turned around and waved, waiting as Sam and Sebastian made their way towards him. “Happy birthday Sam~ I was actually heading to the mines to get a birthday present for you.”

“Aw, that’s real nice of you.” Sam was touched by his thoughtfulness, but he couldn’t help but be concerned. “Aren’t the mines dangerous, though? I wouldn’t want you to get hurt on account of me.”

“I dunno, I bet it’s a lot of fun to go exploring in them.” Sebastian shrugged his shoulders a little. “It’s got to be more exciting than anything else you can do here in town.”

Ashe just smiled, adjusting the strap of the sack slung across him. “It can be a little dangerous, but there’s a rescue team on standby in case things go wrong. Even though they’re technically Joja employees, they’re really nice. And it’s really exciting to see what you can find down there~” An idea struck him, making him press his palms together in delight. “I know! If you guys don’t have anything else to do, why don’t you come to the mines with me? I bet we could find a whole vein of valuable gems.”

The two taller males could practically see the gold coins dancing in Ashe’s eyes at the notion. “Well… I mean, it’s better than anything else we could have thought of.” Sam admitted, glancing over to see Sebastian’s own eyes glinting a little. He knew his best friend hated the mundanity of life in Pelican Town, and was probably extremely keen on the idea. “The mines have gotta be cooler than out here, right?”

“Oh, definitely.” Ashe nodded enthusiastically. “The mines stay super cool—sometimes a little too cold, but that’s when you get warmed up with some mining~”

That was enough to sell the still-reluctant Sam, whose ice cream at that point had already half-melted from the humid heat around them. “Alright, count me in. What about you, Seb?”

“Definitely.” Sebastian tossed what was left of his ice cream into the nearest trash bin as the three of them began up the path towards the north; on their way there, they passed Robin, who was on her way to Pierre’s for Caroline’s weekly aerobics class. They played off their passing casually, as Robin would definitely protest them heading into the mines if she knew what they were up to—even though she was a mother only to Sebastian, she had that motherly ability to cow any unruly teenagers if she felt like they were doing something dangerous. Since she had only just left for the class (the class that Jodi also went to every week), that gave them a solid three hours to explore before their folks got suspicious.

Right off the bat, the interior of the mines was noticeably cooler—it was easily a ten to twenty degree difference, making the trio sigh in relief. Having never really been inside the mines before, Sebastian and Sam were surprised to see a sort of ‘base camp’ setup right past the entrance—it was a small setup, to be true, with a little first aid station and a portable restroom. Usually the rescue team was comprised of two Joja employees, but that day only one was present, a mousy ginger-haired girl with huge glasses.

“Hi Ellie~” Ashe greeted as the three of them approached; the sudden sound of his voice made the meek girl practically jump out of her skin, having been so absorbed in the book she was reading that she hadn’t heard them enter the cave. “Are you working alone today?”

“A-Ah, hello Ashe…” Hastily, Ellie put down the book and fixed her now lopsided glasses, thoroughly flustered by that point. “Y-Yes, it’s just me today. You know h-how it is during the week…” Looking to the unfamiliar young men with Ashe, she asked hesitantly, “A-Are these your friends?”

“Mmhm.” Gesturing to Sebastian and Sam, Ashe introduced, “This is Sebastian, and this is Sam.”

“Hey, nice to meetcha.” Sam greeted with a friendly smile, while Sebastian raised his hand in hello. “So uh, how does this whole setup go exactly?”

Ellie got to her feet. “W-Well… You sign your name into this logbook, just so we have a record of you coming in should anything happen.” She gestured to the crate with said book on it. “Th-then we get you fitted with some safety gear and weapons, and you go off and… do your thing.” She seemed to recall something and looked to Ashe. “U-Unfortunately, you’ll have to stick with the left path; P-Percy signed in a-about an hour ago and reserved the right path for the day.”

“Drat.” Ashe scuffed the toe of his boot into the ground with a pout. “The right path is always loaded… Oh well, it can’t be helped.” It always felt like his rival was one step ahead of him; just when he thought he was catching up, Percy managed to widen the gap between them even further. “… The mines split off into two different directions.” He explained to his friends, who both looked slightly puzzled.

“F-From what we can tell,” Ellie added as she retrieved some safety gear for them to put on, “the left path is from the hey-day of the mining operation; the right path was started when the left path started running out of resources, but due to a cave-in, the whole operation was shut down before much p-progress was made, hence why it tends to be more resource-rich. B-But I’m sure you’ll be able to find plenty all the same.”

She helped the boys into the gear—nothing too grand or complex, considering it was a setup that Joja realistically made very little money on and thus had no incentive to do anything more. Helmets with headlamps, gloves, some rather dull-bladed swords. She did give Sebastian and Sam their own pickaxes, before strapping what seemed to be some kind of monitoring devices to their wrists. “Sh-Should anything happen, these alarms will send a signal to me to come get you guys. B-Be safe in there, and good luck.”

“Thanks, Ellie~” Ashe smiled merrily and proceeded onward, with Sebastian and Sam quick to follow; the path into the mines was straightforward for a short distance, before it diverted sharply into two distinct paths like a forking road. “I still can’t believe Percy beat us here.” He couldn’t help but pout, giving the right path a longing look before he led the two to the left.

“Are you really so strapped for money that you need those resources to sell?” Sebastian asked as he too came to walk beside Ashe.

“Well, not really…” Ashe admitted meekly; suddenly, a fire lit up in his eyes, and he pumped his fists in determination. “But the more money I make, the more I can improve the farm, which means more money, which means more improvements! I absolutely, absolutely, absolutely have to make my farm better than Percy’s.”

Sebastian and Sam shared a look around the short male. “Why is that so important?” Sam couldn’t help but inquire slowly. It just seemed so out of character for Ashe to be so money-hungry and so competitive, when usually he was one of the friendliest folks in town.

“…” Ashe’s arms fell to his sides. “Because if I don’t, Joja will take grandpa’s farmland and turn it into factories.” He murmured, his shoulders slumping as he came to a stop.

“Joja will—wait, come again?” Sam’s eyes nearly bugged out of his head. “Seriously?!”  

“Mmhm.” It was all Ashe could do to simply nod his head in confirmation, leaving Sebastian and Sam somewhat speechless. “I can’t let that happen. I won’t let that happen. So…” He clenched his fists for a moment, before thrusting his finger outward dramatically. “That’s why I will build a farm better than anyone’s ever seen before! And to do that, I need lots and loootsa G, so let’s get to mining!”  

It was such an abrupt about-face that it practically gave the boys whiplash. They’d had no idea of the kind of pressure that Ashe was under, but it wasn’t exactly their fault; despite how nosy the farmer could be, he was pretty tight-lipped about himself and his goings-on at the farm, as though he preferred to endure his burdens all alone. Whatever the reason was, Sam and Sebastian had gained some pretty horrific insight into just how depraved Joja was.

“What gives them the right to try and take your grandpa’s farmland?” Sam tried to press, jogging to keep up with Ashe who had picked up a quick pace in search of treasures. “That can’t be legal, they can’t just take what doesn’t belong to them cos they feel like it. And I knew Percy was kind of an ass, but I didn’t think he was a Joja stooge.”  

“It’s a long story.” Ashe seemed perfectly content to leave things at that, smiling that carefree smile of his as he marched resolutely onward. “We’re starting to get kind of deep now, so we might end up seeing a few slimes here and there. They’re harmless—actually, they’re really cute and squishy, and they seem to like attention. Sometimes, they even lead me to where a good ore vein is~”

Clearly, the boys weren’t going to get much more than that out of him; one of Ashe’s more deserved reputations was of his unyielding stubbornness. “… Wait, slimes?” Sebastian repeated, as what Ashe had just said sunk into his brain. “You mean like, the kind you fight in Dragon Quest?”

“Yup.” Ashe looked over his shoulder and grinned. “In fact, I’d say the ones in here are way cuter.”

Almost as if on cue, a little green blob bounced into view from around a large jagged boulder, its little antenna swaying too and fro as it merrily went along its way. “Oh, there’s one now!”

Completely startled by this revelation—that creatures much like the ones they’d slain in video games existed in their world, in these mines not far from town—Sam let out a startled yelp, tripping over his own feet in his haste to step back; he was, of course, horrified when dozens of the little round blobby beings popped out of nowhere and swarmed them, drawn from their hiding spots by the sound of activity and voices. Just as Ashe had said, they were completely harmless, simply bouncing uselessly off of their legs like a thrown pillow or stuffed animal would.

“…. Is this real life right now?” Sebastian crouched down and dangled one by its squishy skin; it felt kind of like mochi without the rice flour coating. The slime wriggled and squirmed a little, looking up at Sebastian with an expression of overt curiosity mixed with a desire to be freed.

The sound of Sam’s raucous laughter filled the mine; Ashe and Sebastian looked down to see the slimes practically converging on him, jumping and crawling all over him as he tried in vain to push them off. “I-It tickles when they move!!!” He wheezed, the weight of all the slimes on his upper body pinning him to the rocky ground. “D-Don’t just st-stand there! HALP!”

“Welp, RIP Sam.” Sebastian tossed the slime he was holding into the slime-pile and began to walk. “He lived a good life.”

“If we find a neat gemstone we’ll be sure to leave it on your grave~” Ashe chimed as he traipsed off with Sebastian.

“H-Hey, where are you guys going?!” Sam sputtered, his eyes nearly bugging out of his head once more—before another slime happily squished onto his face.

Of course, they went back once the joke had run its course, if only out of pity for the guy who seemed completely incapable of getting the slimes off for fear of hurting them. It was a good introduction to what the mines were like, though, especially once Ashe told them that the only threat slimes posed was thanks to their tendency to swarm like that—it was easy to get into some real trouble if there were other monsters lurking about.

 “Oh yeah, I completely forgot.” Sam suddenly recalled their original reason for wanting to talk to Ashe some time later, as they were chipping away at a vein of silver ore—it wasn’t a gemstone, sure, but silver was still valuable in its own right. “We wanted to ask you something, Ashe.”

“You wanted to ask him something.” Sebastian corrected as he gave Sam a pointed look. “Don’t drag me into your nosiness.”

Ashe swung his pickaxe hard enough to chip a good chunk from the vein. “Me?” He asked, giving Sam an inquisitive look as he knelt down to pick the chunk from the ground. “What is it?”

“Is there something going on with Shane?” Sam wiped a bead of sweat from his face with his shoulder and leaned against the handle of his pickaxe as he spoke. “He seems different than usual, and we noticed that—” A small pebble struck him in the back of the head; he jerked his head around to see Sebastian casually sifting through a pile of chipped fragments, humming in that kind of ‘innocent’ way that was a dead giveaway that he had chucked it. “…. Sebastian noticed that he stopped ordering drinks at the bar. We figured asking him directly wouldn’t work out too well, and you’re one of the people he’s closest to, so…”

“I just want to clarify that I have no part in this.” Sebastian announced bluntly, leaning around his friend to give Ashe a dead serious expression. “Sam was the one who wanted to stick his nose in Shane’s business.”

“Dude, why are you trying to throw me under the bus?!” Sam whipped around again to fume at his friend. “Admit it, you’re curious as hell too! Otherwise you wouldn’t have said anything in the first place! And why are you acting like it’s such a big deal, anyway? It’s a small town, everyone knows everyone’s business eventually!”

As Sam ranted, Sebastian looked away with a smirk and cleaned some dust out of his ear with his pinky finger; it was way too much fun to rile up his friend like that, especially since Sam had the tendency to go way over the top as he was then. “Methinks the lady doth protest too much.”

“What does that even mean?!” Sam threw his hands up in defeat.

The sound of Ashe giggling brought Sam’s energy back down; the two looked towards the farmer and found him nearly doubled over with repressed laughter. “It’s not a big deal, guys.” He managed to giggle out, straightening up and wiping a tear from his eye; he was almost jealous of the kind of friendship that they had with one another, the kind where you could sit and insult one another for hours just to see who could come up with the most creative shit talk. “Shane decided to quit drinking, that’s all.”

It was the confirmation that they had suspected, but to hear it was still a surprise, considering how much of a beer hound Shane had been up until that point. “Damn. What do you mean, it’s not a big deal?” Sam asked. “That’s kind of huge for him, isn’t it?”

“Of course it is.” Picking up his pickaxe again, Ashe gave it another good swing, sending bits and pieces of rock and silver everywhere. “But I… I think he’s kind of embarrassed about it. He said the last thing he wants is for the whole town to start bringing up how glad they are that he’s not a drunkard anymore. He just wants everything else to stay the same…” Another swing revealed little flecks of red embedded in the rock, and he set the pickaxe aside to crouch down and get a closer look. “Change can be really scary, so having something normal to cling to can make it less scary… right?”

Sam and Sebastian exchanged a look. “A match made in heaven.” Sam stated with a sage nod of his head.

“I can already hear the wedding bells ringing.” Sebastian agreed, making Ashe’s face turn red.

“H-Hey, what do you mean by that?” He demanded, becoming quite flustered by their casual comments. “It’s not like that with us at all. We’re just good friends. Besides, Shane… Shane needs to focus on getting better. Something like that would just get in the way. Yeah, it would just distract him from his recovery!”

His adamant protests and excuses made both males snicker. “The lady really doth protest too much now.” Sebastian teased with a smirk. “Oh, calm down and listen.” He added, when he saw that Ashe was getting even more worked up than Sam had been a few moments ago.

“Think about it.” Sam took the opportunity to sit down beside Ashe for a break, gesturing for the smaller male to join him as Sebastian did the same. “Shane’s been set in his way for years and years, right? Everyone in town knew what a bad place he was in; we just didn’t know how to get him to see that. But then you showed up, a total stranger, and within just a few months Shane decides that he’s gonna call it quits with booze. Now why would he do that for someone he hasn’t known for very long, and not for the people he’s lived with for years?”

Ashe didn’t say anything for a moment as he pulled his knees up to his chest. “… I didn’t have anything to do with that.” He insisted emphatically, once he had given some thought to what he wanted to say. “All I did was pester him until we were friends...”

Even as he said the words, he knew deep down that he was lying to himself. If that were really true, then why was he letting all of this bother him so much? “….” Catching the look that the two were giving him, he quickly added, “E-Even if what you’re getting at is true, there’s no chance anything would happen with us. Absolutely zero. Shane isn’t into guys, and surely it’d make people in town feel uncomfortable…”

“How do you know he’s not into guys?” Sebastian dug around in his pocket for his pack of cigarettes. “Did he ever say that, or are you just assuming?”

“…. It’s a pretty safe assumption.” Ashe mumbled, his face only turning redder.

“Thought so.” The flame of Sebastian’s lighter lit up the space for a moment, followed by the sound of the end of the cigarette smouldering as Sebastian took a drag on it.

“We’re not trying to embarrass you or make you uncomfortable.” Sam assured Ashe as the farmer buried his face in his hands. “We’re really not—”

“Oh I am.” Sebastian corrected, earning himself a smack on the shoulder from his best friend.

“—We just wanna help you out a little.” Sam continued, after giving Sebastian one hell of a stink eye. “You’re our friend, after all. And it’s pretty obvious how much you care for the guy, and how much he cares for you.”

For a long moment again, Ashe didn’t say anything. It felt strange, to have the ‘because we’re friends’ card played against himself for a change. “… I don’t want to ruin what we already have.” He finally murmured, resting his chin against his knees; for once, none of his characteristic bubbliness was present. “And it would feel like I’m just taking advantage of him when he’s vulnerable… I really appreciate what you guys are trying to say, but…” He lifted his head up and looked to each of them in turn, putting on the best, most convincing smile that he could. “I’m really happy with letting things stay the way they are~”

It was painfully obvious what a lie that was. But before either Sebastian or Sam could say anything more, they felt a faint rumble in the ground. “Uhh… that wasn’t me.” Was the first thing that Sam could think to say as the three of them looked around for the source.

“I think we’d actually die of oxygen depravation if it was you.” Sebastian quickly snuffed out his cigarette. “It was probably a minor earthquake or something—” That explanation began to fall apart as another rumble, then another still followed, each growing slightly stronger than the last. “… Ashe, should we be worried?”

“Uhh, maybe?” Ashe scrambled to his feet and cranked up the light on his headlamp as he looked around; a rumble strong enough to nearly knock him over seemed to come from the direction of where they had been coming from. Slowly, all three of them turned their heads to look, their headlamps illuminating upon a massive, deep purple slime as it came to loom over them—unlike the little ones they had encountered before, this one glared down at them with terrifying eyes, its little deely-bopper antennae swaying back and forth in agitation.

“I-Is this one harmless too?” Sam stammered as he and Sebastian also hastily got to their feet, staring up with jaws hanging slightly at the monstrosity before them. “What the hell even is it?”

Ashe swallowed nervously. “S-Slime EX.” He answered, suddenly finding his mouth quite dry. “And, uh… it’s not harmless. If it squishes you, it’s game over.”

Sebastian could picture what being crushed by that thing would be like—moist, heavy, suffocating, and thoroughly unpleasant. Definitely something to avoid at all costs. “Any advice on how to deal with it?”

“Yeah.” Ashe grabbed onto each of their arms and began to backpedal, practically throwing them in the opposite direction of the slime as he shouted, “RUN!”

That was it, they were all done. Screaming at the top of their lungs, the boys fled, with the enraged slime giving chase—it could move pretty damn fast for a squishy amorphous blob. “This is not how I want to go out, man!” Sam wheezed, pumping his arms as hard as he could to get some more momentum in his running. “I’m too young! I haven’t even had a girlfriend yet!!”

“Less bitching, more running!” Sebastian barked to his friend, glancing over his shoulder to see the slime gaining on them and zipping ahead of the two in order to ensure his survival. “Sorry guys! Survival of the fittest, you understand!”

“IF THIS THING DOESN’T KILL YOU THEN I WILL, SEB!” Sam shook his fist after his friend. “YOU ASSHOLE!”

 Collapsed in a big heap, the three began to try and catch their breath; somehow, they’d managed to outrun that thing, though at the expense of going much deeper into the mineshaft than they probably should have. “I-I actually want to die right now.” Sebastian groaned, resting his sweaty face in his hand as he leaned against Sam for support. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d done that much physical activity.

On Sam’s other side, Ashe too leaned against him, his head tilted back and his eyes closed as he clutched at his chest. Compared to the other two, he was much more winded, but all of them were too caught up in what had just happened to notice.

“I-I can’t believe… we got away…” Sam coughed, sliding down against the wall he was slumped against; as he did so, he felt something pointy dig into the small of his back, making him yelp and quickly sit back up.

Ashe too straightened up, fanning himself with his hand and doing his best to calm his racing heart. “I’m so sorry, guys.” He apologized, his entire body beginning to shake now that the danger had passed and his adrenaline was wearing off. “Th-that was really dangerous… I-I shouldn’t have brought you here.”

“Wh-what are you apologizing for?” Sebastian shook his head and leaned forward to look at Ashe from around Sam. “We knew the risks from the start. It’s not like you twisted our arms into it; we came with because we were bored.”

“Still….” Ashe let out a long, heavy breath. “I guess I wouldn’t feel as bad if we’d managed to find anything more than a few chunks of silver.” He admitted. “It just feels like this was a big letdown.”

“Are you kidding?” Sam managed to laugh as he got some of the wind back in his lungs. “We got to explore a place we’d normally never go to, we got to see real life monsters, we found some silver, and we almost died! This was the most fun I’ve had in a long time.” For once, Sebastian agreed with his friend, nodding his head as Ashe looked between the two. “… Okay seriously, what the hell keeps poking me?!”

Finally fed up with the sharp jabbing pain in his back, Sam emphatically pushed the two off of him and twisted around to see just what it was. It took a few seconds before his brain registered what he saw, and when it did, his jaw practically hit the floor. “Uhhhh….”

“Whoa…”/ “Holy shit.” Ashe and Sebastian both uttered simultaneously, crowding around Sam as they looked upon a huge vein of jade; what had been poking Sam in the back was a chunk of the gemstone that jutted out from the rest. They had actually just hit paydirt by complete accident. When the revelation sank in, they all shared a long look, before they busted out laughing in disbelief.

They were still laughing and joking about their unreal luck when they finally returned to the front of the cave, hauling the sack filled with jade as it was too heavy to carry properly at that point; what was really the icing on the cake was the look that Percy gave them as they passed, as he had came out from the right path mere moments before them with a much smaller trove.

“Thanks for suggesting that we come with you today, Ashe.” Sebastian thanked, as they emerged out into the furnace that was the outside.

“Yeah, seriously. Thanks!” Sam agreed with the most ecstatic grin. “Man, even splitting what we got three ways, this is gonna be worth like five paychecks~ I’ll be able to get that AC for sure!”

Relieved that things had worked out, Ashe laughed happily. “I should be the one thanking you guys.” He insisted with a merry smile. “If you hadn’t come with, I wouldn’t have made out with much of anything today—”

“Ahem.”

The unmistakeable sound of a displeased mother clearing her throat killed the jovial mood in an instant; to the boys’ horror, Robin and Jodi were waiting for them, both wearing the kind of ‘you’re in so much trouble’ expression that struck fear into the hearts of even grown men. In all the excitement, the three of them had completely lost track of how long they had been in the mines.

“…. Well, it was nice knowing you two!” Ashe suddenly broke away from them, monkey-climbing up the hill to their left up to where Linus’ tent was pitched as he made his grand escape. “I’ll be sure to leave flowers on your graves!”

“ASHE, YOU LITTLE—GET BACK HERE AND SHARE IN THE MISERY!!!” Sam raged, as Sebastian just tugged a cigarette out from the pack in his pocket and lit it, already resigned to his fate. The haul was totally worth getting into trouble for, and if it weren’t for Ashe, they wouldn’t have had arguably the best time of their lives. So just this once, he could get away with it.  

[celtics534]

Natural Chapter 13

As promised, chapter 13! We’re at the tail end of this tale. Only a few chapters left! But don’t think about that now, because I have a great chapter for you to read today 😊

Also read on: FF.net or AO3

“Come on, Ginny!” Vance Froye chanted, his hands resting on Ginny’s forearms. “Just a little longer.” Ginny held the quaffle sized ball between her wrists, her left side shaking violently.

Harry watched from one of the corners of the room, his hands locked together over his mouth as if praying. Hell, maybe he was praying. After three months, Ginny’s body had healed all visible wounds of her accident, but the hidden scars still plagued her.

She had become mobile quickly enough, her leg and arm mended in a jiffy. It was her hand that seemed unable to heal. The entirety of it had been broken. Her thumb and wrist, in particular, had been smashed into bone fragments. Now, after many months of grueling physical therapy, Ginny had recovered most of her functions.

However, it wasn’t only her motor abilities that had been affected. Ginny’s memory had taken a hit. It wasn’t as bad as it could have been, Rhodes had reminded Harry over and over again. This was true; she still knew all the important people in her life...but she struggled to remember select events.

“Ah!” Ginny screamed, enraged, as the ball fell to the floor for the fifth time that session.

“That was good, Ginny!” Froye encouraged, releasing her arms. “You held it for a minute longer this time!”

Ginny closed her eyes, her chest rising and falling slowly. Harry knew this was a technique she used to calm herself. He had seen it a lot in the last few months.

“Why don’t you go get us some water, Vance?” Harry pushed himself off the wall as he made his way over to the still-silent Ginny.

Vance gave Harry a grateful look. He had been the victim of more than one of Ginny’s curses over the past two months.

Harry stopped right in front of Ginny, giving her a moment to register his presence. She had two moods when she struggled with something: Murder any human near her, or accept a little (very little) comfort from him. The tell-tale sign of the former was if her eyes remained closed. Ginny had some of the most intense looks, and after spending so much time observing her, Harry had become an expert on reading her emotions through a simple glance. When her eyes stayed shut, there was no way to understand her thoughts.

This time, however, she opened her eyes and Harry could read the devastation plain as day. It had been a hard few months. Between being unable to remember things she knew she should and her left hand being uncooperative, Ginny was in a state of permanent disarray.

Harry moved in close, his hand cupping the back of her neck as he pressed their foreheads together. “It’s just you and me, love.”      

Instantly, Ginny’s body started to shake with sobs. She wrapped her arms around his body, her hands coming up to his shoulders, as her head moved to press into the cotton of his shirt. Harry could feel the wetness from her tears.

“I just… Why?” Ginny’s voice cracked.

There were many ways to take that question. Why had this happened to her? Why was she still struggling to recover? Why wasn’t magic helping her to heal? Harry didn't have the answer to any of them. Instead of trying to come up with any sort of pitiful rationale, he held her closer to his chest, praying it would be enough for now.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

“Have you thought about the wedding, dear?” Ginny’s mother asked casually as she took a sip from her drink.

Ginny wanted to sigh. Here she goes again. It had been three and a half months since her… accident...and her mother had been asking about her future nuptials for the past two and a half. “Mum, I’ve told you. I want to wait until I have full use of my hand again.”

“But why? Your hand isn’t really required to get married.”

“Uh… I’m literally giving my hand to Harry. That’s what a wedding is about.”

Molly huffed out an annoyed breath. “You know what I meant, Ginny. Why are you waiting?” Her stare became intense. “Do you not want to marry Harry anymore?”

“What?!” Ginny was honestly shocked her mother had even jumped to that conclusion. “Of course I want to marry him.”

“Then why do you keep postponing it?”

“I… I just.” She didn’t know how to explain it to her mother. Really, it was hard to explain to herself. “I want to be me when I walk down the aisle.”

“Who else would you be?” Molly was confused, just like Ginny knew she would be.

“With my… injury.” Ginny looked down at her left hand that was currently in a black brace. “I just don’t feel like me.”

Molly was silent for a moment, an eternity to Ginny, before she spoke again. “Ginny, what are you afraid of?”

It was a question her mother had asked her numerous times as a child. At first, the answer had been about the dark. Back then, Molly had soothed her daughter's worries by shining her lit wand into every corner of her bedroom, saying she scared the monsters away. Next, Ginny had been frightened of her brothers leaving for Hogwarts and forgetting who their sister was. Fortunately, the very next night, Ginny had received letters from Bill, Charlie, and Percy; each detailing how much they missed their “favorite sister” and how they couldn’t wait to take her swimming in the pond during the summer holidays.

It had been a long time since Molly had asked her that question, but even after all this time, the mere thought still made Ginny want to seek comfort by crawling into her mother’s arms.

“What if I never recover?” Her voice was a whisper. Ginny hadn’t said it out loud before that moment, no matter how many times it popped into her head. No, it was too much to think about, let alone say.

Molly placed her drink on the stand beside her large armchair and moved to sit next to Ginny on the sofa. Her arms wrapped around Ginny’s shoulders, and just like that Ginny was engulfed in a tight embrace. It was just like all those times as a child, when the world had become too much. Molly’s arms became a form of safety, one of a kind.

“You will, my love.” Molly rubbed her back in slow even circles. “You will, and I know because I know you.” She hesitated before asking, ”Have you talked to Harry about this?”

Ginny shook her head, unwanted tears springing in her eyes.

“And why not?” Molly’s tone wasn’t accusing. It was a simple question that allowed Ginny to answer without fear of prosecution.

“He would feel guilty.”

“Why do you think that?”

Ginny took a painful breath. “He seems guilty about everything lately. He feels guilty every time he has to go to practice. I can see it in his eyes. He looks so…” She didn’t quite know the correct word, if she was being honest with herself.

Remembering the way Harry had looked at her that morning before he went off for weight training fuelled her frustration, changing her tone. “And he’s been tip-toeing around anything that has to do with Quidditch! He’ll come home with a bruise on his shoulder and when I ask about it and he’ll just say it happened at practice. That’s not how that works! He's supposed to go into detail about the wanker who hit him!”

Molly had leaned back halfway through Ginny’s rant to better to see the annoyance in her daughter’s expression. She waited until Ginny finished, the latter’s breath coming in sharp intakes.

“It sounds to me like Harry doesn’t want to make you sad about not being able to play yourself.”

Logically, in the back of Ginny’s mind, she knew that. She knew Harry was just trying to be considerate. But for fuck's sake! She was mad! If she wanted to complain about Harry, then she fucking would!

Ginny pushed to her feet and started pacing on the worn rug. “I don’t need him to dodge talking about things! We’ve never been cautious about what we’ve said to one another, so why does he think now should be any different? Full disclosure and all that!”

“Aren’t you holding back from him?”

That stopped Ginny midstep. She turned to look at her mother. Molly was watching at her with a too innocent look.

“What?”

Molly tilted her head slightly to the left. “Well, you did say you haven't told Harry about your fear of being unable to fully recover, right?”

“No one likes a know-it-all, Mum,” Ginny growled, but it did have the intended effect. Her boiling rage lessened to a simmer. Her mother remained silent but that small, smug smile stayed settled on her lips as Ginny came back to rest on the sofa.

“Now, what are you going to do?” Molly asked, her hand coming to rub Ginny’s knee.

“I should go talk to Harry,” Ginny begrudgingly admitted.

“You should.” Her mother nodded. “You two have a great relationship and I would hate for it to falter because you don't share how you feel.”

“You’re right.”

“I know I am, and I’m also right about setting a date for the wedding.”

Ginny rolled her eyes but smiled.    

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Harry rested his head on the kitchen table, hoping his pounding headache would just go away. Practice had been one of the least successful he’d ever had. He’d struggled to keep up with drills Devlin called. It wasn’t because he was unfit to perform the task, no he was just too tired.

Over the past three months, Harry’s sleep schedule had taken a dramatic hit. It didn’t make logical sense, but every night since Ginny had come home from hospital Harry would lay awake just to hear her breathe.  

He hadn’t admitted it to anyone, but Ginny getting hurt had scared him more than anything else. It had been like his heart had been ripped from his chest and thrown far away. The said organ had returned (once Ginny was out of the woods), but it had been bruised and beaten.

Because of that, he had become cautious with Ginny. He wasn’t exactly dodging her, but he had a ridiculous urge to keep her wrapped in Muggle bubble wrap. He knew that wasn’t practical, for multiple reasons, but his logical side raged war with his heart.

Harry lifted his head at the sound of the Floo igniting. Ginny smoothly exited the grate, brushing soot off her shoulders. As if they were polar sides of a magnet, their eyes locked.

“Hey.” Harry sounded no better than a frog. He cleared his throat. “How was your day?”

“We need to talk.” Ginny’s focus stayed on him as she positioned herself in the chair across him.

Cold dread washed over him. That was not a sentence Harry wanted to hear come from Ginny’s mouth. If the words ‘it’s not you, it’s me,’ mixed into this talk, he would actually scream.

He kept his voice calm. “Okay. What about?”

Ginny’s hand came across the table to take his. “Everything.” She moved his palm to her lips. “Harry, we’re walking on eggshells.”

As much as he hated it admit it, she was right. They had both been cautious. On more than one occasion, Harry had to stop himself from hovering over her (something he knew she despised). Not to mention how little he talked about practice. He just didn’t want her to think about how much she missed the Harpies and then, in turn, push herself too hard to get back. And Ginny, well...she’d cut herself off mid-sentence numerous times, leading him to believe that she had been dodging certain topics too.

Harry lowered his eyes, his chin dropping to his chest. “I know.”

Ginny used their joined hands to tilt his chin back up so their eyes met. “So, let's fix it. You tell me what's been bothering you, and I’ll tell you what's been perturbing me.”

“So the emotional version of ‘I’ll show you mine, if you show me yours’?”

That did it. That broke the through the thickness between them. Ginny laughed, a real laugh, which Harry hadn’t heard in far too long.

“I love you.” He took his turn to kiss her hand.

Ginny smiled at him. “Don’t get sappy yet, Potter. We’ve got a lot to talk about.”

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

“So, how have you two been?” Lily asked, her green eyes flickering between Harry and Ginny.

Ginny glanced at her future mother-in-law before turning back to Harry. His eyes were waiting for hers, and the glint behind his glasses made her stomach flutter. “We’re good.”

Lily’s body sagged in relief. “Oh, I’m glad. And what about your hand, Ginny?”

Again, Ginny looked at the subject of Lily’s question before answering. “I’m able to hold small items for extended periods of time.”

James nodded. “That’s great! When I was injured it took me almost a year to get full function back.”

Ginny felt her brow furrow. “You were hurt?” She looked at Harry, who seemed just as confused as she felt.

“Yeah, back in my first year with the Finches. They were worried I’d never get back on a broom, but I showed them.” James’ smile was soft, but his eyes shone with pride. “Just like you will.”

No words came to Ginny’s mind. She could never express how much these two people had come to mean to her; Lily and James had really become a second pair of parents for her.

Harry’s arm came to rest over the back of her chair. His thumb rubbing slow comforting circles on her shoulder. Ginny swallowed the lump in her throat. “Thank you, James.”

He waved off her thanks. “I only speak the truth, but I am curious.” He leaned slightly forward. “Have you gained those last few memories?”

Ginny sighed. As far as she could tell, she had gained ninety-nine percent of her memory back, along with her motor skills, but she constantly felt like she was missing something. Ever since the accident, she and numerous people had discussed important moments between them. With a little prompting, memories would come flooding back… but no matter how many times she and Harry discussed it, Ginny couldn’t remember their first kiss.  

It really shouldn’t be such a big deal. Ginny still knew who Harry was and the millions of reasons why she loved him. And yet… their first kiss was something she wanted to remember.  

No, fucking damn it! She would not let any of those dark thoughts ruin her current good mood.

“No, I’m still struggling,” Ginny admitted. Harry’s body shifted closer, allowing her to take comfort in his warmth if she needed it.

James nodded, and the look of understanding on his face slowly morphed sly smirk. “Well, I’m sure Harry here will be more than happy to refresh your memory of some of your more-- intimate -- moments.”

There was stunned silence. Lily shook her head. Harry turned beet red while Ginny felt her face heat up as well, except that she was holding in her laughter. It took ten seconds for Ginny to break, her chuckles joined by James. And eventually by Harry.  

Lily rolled her eyes, but her smile said everything. “Who wants some cake?”

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Ginny rested her back against the headboard, her hand moving slowly through Harry’s hair as he lay across her legs. His eyes were closed, making her uncertain if he was sleeping or not. They had spent the day in bed, which after so long of feeling disconnected seemed heavenly to Ginny. They hadn’t done anything. Well, not nothing, but they’d been rather content just being with one another.

She flexed her left hand that held her book loosely to the side. Her ability to hold onto items had recovered to ninety-nine percent range, according to her physical therapist. And really, after four months of hard work and emotional tribulation, Ginny was more than happy at ninety-nine percent. Especially because she was returning for a real practice for the first time since her accident on Monday. She had to assume that this contributed to her tranquil mindset. “Ginny?” Harry’s voice was quiet, yet strong. As if he had been on the brink of sleep.  

“Hmm?” She kept lightly brushing his hair, loving the way it felt between her fingers.

“Marry me?”

That was not what she had been expecting. Her left hand dropped the book while her right hand stilled in the center of his head. “I already planned on doing that. Remember, the proposal on the beach, going back to the hotel room?” She moved her left hand in his face and wriggled her fingers showing off her ring. “And I thought I was the one that had the memory issues.”

Harry sat up, pulling her fingers from his hair, and twisted to look at her. “I mean today, like right now.”

If this were one of the cartoons Harry had shown her, Ginny’s jaw would have been on the floor. “Wh- right now?”

He nodded. “Right now.”

“Harry, what’s gotten into you?” The way he was looking at her…

How could he make her feel like the rest of the world didn’t exist with just one look?

“Nothing. I’ve been thinking about this all day.”

“All day?” Ginny quirked a brow. “I didn’t take your mind off this notion even for a second?”

Harry’s smile became dirty. “Oh, I did get distracted, but it always came back to the main point.” He kissed her. “I want to be your husband, and I don’t want to wait any longer.”

It wasn’t often Harry took charge in this capacity. He never really demanded anything of anyone. No, he was the kind of man to apologize when you walked into him. But Ginny’d be damned if she didn’t admit in charge Harry was fucking sexy.

Their eyes stayed locked in a silent battle. Ginny knew her mother would murder her if they got married without the family there. Hell, Lily would help dispose of the bodies. And yet…

“Yes.”

[connorstolltheshow-blog]

Breaking Ice and Locks

Connor needs some medical attention whilst he makes a new friend, Lina.

Connor woke up in the infirmary. He hadn’t expected to get so hurt on his arrival, but he was happy that there were at least nurses around to help him out. The last face he saw was Percy’s, damn had he got old. Well actually, they were all getting old. He looked around him, taking in the surroundings. With a groggy groan, he called out to the girl who sat on the bed next to her. “You seem grand.” He said with a laugh, flinching as his body hurt. “Better than I’m going anyway.”

Lina looks over at the man who called over to her. She was getting her wound checked out, the nurse clicking her tongue at her. She seemed to need stitches to make sure that it would stay closed. “Got stabbed with a spear during a cave in. What about you?” She said casually. She wasn’t sure who he was but he was definitely new. “You’re not from New Rome.”

“A cave in sounds horrible.” He shuddered, remembering the brief time of the Labyrinth. “Also, stab wounds suck.” Connor hadn’t really been stabbed before, just scratches and gashes. “No, not from New Rome. I’m actually here visiting.” He said, wincing as he moved to make himself more comfortable. “Who stabbed you?”

“We got out after a few hours, but it wasn’t great. It was kind of eye opening in a way,” Lina replied not overly bothered by the whole cave in situation. She hated how it happened but she couldn’t change anything. “Why would you visit in the middle of a war?” She couldn’t fathom the idea that he would pop in at a time like this. “Don’t know. Happened while the cave was collapsing.”

Connor returned to the center of his bed and looked up at the ceiling. “I didn’t know there was a war going on. Nobody knows I guess.” He shrugged. He was becoming restless and with a sigh he tried to sit up. A few moans later, he was sitting upright on the side of the Infirmary bed. “Sounds terrible to be honest. Accidental stabs. Gross.” He slid off his bed onto his feet and his knees almost buckled beneath him, but he refused to give in. “As for me, I’m brand new.” He life through the pain, wanting to be released from hospital and go find Percy.

“Well, someone better tell them. Maybe we’ll even get reinforcements if we do,” Lina said lightly, even though she did want the reinforcements, she knew that a good amount of those from Half Blood were younger than those who lived in New Rome. They didn’t need more kids fighting this war. “It was even grosser when we had to burn the wound closed using gunpowder. Fun fact, flesh doesn’t smell good when it’s burnt.” She looked at him with her eyebrows raised. “Get back into bed. They’ll make you stay here longer if you don’t.”

Connor shrugged. “If the Greeks come here, who’s going to protect Camp?” It was a simple reason, and he knew that way too many of the kids there had already been in one war too many. He remembered the losses from previous wars, he didn’t want people to go through that. “I’m here now, so I may as well help.” He took the others advice and sat back down into the bed, but refusing to lay back down, swinging his legs off the edge of the bed. “As for flesh being burnt, I know.” He winced, remembering the smell too clearly for his liking. “What were you doing in the cave in the first place?”

“Better them there anyway. Children shouldn’t be near here until things are safe again. They’re younger there, aren’t they?” Lina asked, curiously. She had never been there, she never planned to go. “What happened to you that had you burning flesh?” She was oddly curious about the whole situation. “We took the imperial gold mine from the Romans for a moment.”

“Yeah,” He pursed his lips, “They pretty much are. I’m one of the eldest there now,and I’m not that old anyway.” Connor said with a shrug. It had always been that way, bringing in young kids to safety, and finding it hard to leave as the years pass. Although it had become rather loney, being older meant you found it harder to relate to this kids. “Oh, I’ve never had to burn my own flesh, but I’m smelt it before on the battlefield, defending Olympus, the attack on Camp Half-Blood, nasty stuff.” His eyes lit up, actually, if you looked into them, you’d probably see a small twinkle in them. “A whole Imperial gold mine? Here?” His imagination ran wild with the things he’d be able to buy by selling that gold. “Where?”

“Yeah, well I’m considered pretty young here, at twenty six. So we sincerely don’t need anymore kids on the battlefield. Got enough teenagers getting hurt out there.” Lina had seen so many teenagers laying down their lives for this. She knew she had done the same at their age, but now it made her feel ill. “I had smelt it before too, battlefields, but knowing it’s your own flesh makes it kind of worse.” She said, thinking back to how she had thrown up right after she had gotten it done. Her eyes narrowed at him,”No. The cave in has taken out a main entrance, the entire system could be unstable, not to mention swarming with Romans.”

“Oh, no. Not that I wanted to go, I was just wondering. We don’t have a mine back at camp, so I’m interested, that’s all.” Connor lied with a weak smile. “Hm, so you’re from New Rome then? A Roman on the Greeks side? That’s pretty interesting. Aren’t you afraid of what would happen after the war?” As much as she has helped the Greek forces, he doubted she could go back to her old life and still be accepted wholesomely. “Do you come from a position of power?” He asked, there was something about her that made him think she was a leader of some sort. Damn, he really should have done some more research before coming over. “I’m Connor by the way, Connor Stoll.”

Lina’s eyes were narrowed on him,”Okay. If your curiosity takes you there, know you’re probably going to get arrested by the Romans.” She didn’t need anyone near that cave, not when they had lost so many people just a little while ago. “Yeah, I was in the Legion for eleven years before defecting. I was the centurion of the fourth.” She shrugged, her face emotionless, but her shoulders tense. “I won’t get my job back, my career in politics and the Legion is over, I’m not trusted anymore with them. I’ll have to figure something else out. I’m sure the potion shop needs someone to work there.” She didn’t want to give up teaching, she wanted to keep helping, but at this point it was looking rather unlikely. “Kolina Valla. Call me Lina.”

“I’ve been arrested once already.” Connor sighed, “Not even a minute in a new city and I already have a criminal record.” He couldn’t help but laugh. “I’m sure I can take care of myself, unless they devise a new way to keep me in prison that doesn’t include locks.” Hopefully they wouldn’t realize he couldn’t unlock cursed locks. Or perhaps they already knew due to their own children of Mercury. “Ah, a Centurion. You’re speaking to a camp counselor, same thing.” He shrugged. It was in a way but it also wasn’t the same at all. “A potion shop doesn’t sound terrible, I guess that means you’re a child of the goddess of magic?” He asked curiously. “Nice to meet you Lina.”

“Everyone on this side has a record, I mean even Blossom’s been arrested before and she pets chipmunks for fun. So you’re not in bad company.” Lina said lightly. “You know how to pick locks? Always wanted to learn how to do that. Probably would have come in handy when they had me in cuffs.” Honestly, things would have gone so differently, if she had been out of the power cuffs. “I mean, in the way we take care of younger people, but I was also in charge of a large amount of the army New Rome had.” Camp counselor didn’t really match up to centurion in Lina’s mind. “Trivia, yes. Things could be worse than working in a potion shop. Might work on breaking cursed objects too, who knows?”

Connor grinned at that, petting chipmunks for fun. “Yes, I do know how, but that’s not what I did.” He shrugged. He had learnt to pick locks a long time ago, second nature now, but luckily his father had granted him with a gift. “I can unlock them without even touching them, just need a little concentration, that’s all.” He listened to her explain Centurion, he, along with Travis, had led their cabin in the battle of manhattan and the attack of camp half-blood. They just didn’t have official war armour or heavy military training. Connor furrowed his eyebrows, he hated having to know the different counterparts for the gods, now it sounded like he was going to have to remember who was who again. “Hey, maybe I could help you with the cursed objects part. I can uncurse cursed locks, but it’s pretty difficult.”

“Well, Blossom lead a rally about Greek Pride and peace. So of course, the backward government that New Rome is decided to punish her for it. The chipmunk petting wasn’t why she got arrested” Lina was still rather annoyed about Blossom getting arrested. She was annoyed about how Blossom was treated in general. “Want to teach me how to? They always put me in power inhibitors so I can’t even use my magic to get them off.” She tilted her head at him, now that was interesting. “I haven’t heard of that before, I’d love to see what extent that goes to. I wonder how powerful the curses can be and you still open them.”

“I could probably pick locks in my sleep, teaching someone how to do it though, I’m not sure if I’ll be able to.” Connor paused, “but I’ll definitely try. Power inhibitors sounds like a pain in the ass.” He didn’t have many powers like children of Hecate or Trivia, but if he did, he’d hate to have them stolen from him. “We can try, although we could probably only do one cursed lock a day.” It took so much from him, with Travis around, it was easier. But right now, he’d have to do it on his own, which, he was capable of doing.

“I’m pretty good at picking things up,” Lina assured him, even though she had the vague feeling that picking a lock was going to be harder than she expected. She’d always used her magic for that type of thing. At least while she was on bed rest, she’d have something to do. “It’s like someone taking away a limb, a part of me was missing when I had them on. It lasts for a little while too. You don’t get it back right away.” She subconsciously rubbed her wrists, thinking over the feeling again. “I enjoy working with curses and cursed objects, so that is quite an interesting power you have.”

“Thank you.” Connor said with a grin and a nod, just as he did so, a nurse walked in and scolded him for sitting up. He groaned and lay back down into the bed as the nurse did a few checks. “I guess the lock picking skills workshop is going to have to wait until I’m released from here.” He rolled his eyes as the nurse said that his medication might make him feel drowsy. “They always say that, but I honestly never feel any difference.” He said to his new friend. As the words came out his mouth, his eyelids felt heavy. “Aw shit, this stuff is like edibles, they doesn’t do anything until they hears you talking shit about them.” He said, finding it harder and harder to stay awake. “I -- It was nice meeting you though, I’ll see you around.” And with that, he fell into medical induced sleep, which was probably better for his health, he wouldn’t have been able to keep himself in bed if they hadn’t knocked him out.

[la-knight]

Books I Read in 2018: Aru Shah and the End of Time by Roshani Chokshi

“Maybe that's why superheroes wore capes. Maybe they weren't capes at all, but safety blankets, like the one Aru kept at the bottom of her bed and pulled up under her chin before she went to sleep. Maybe superheroes just tied their blankies around their necks so they'd have a little bit of comfort wherever they went. Because honestly? Saving the world was scary. No harm admitting that.”

“It is not failure to fail.”

“This is what we get for thinking that scaley orange skin and fake hair could keep that former demon out of elected office.

“You are the Daughter of Death," hissed Aru. "You don't walk into a telephone pole because of a boy.”

“Aru was twelve years old. Even she knew that half the time she didn't know what she was doing.”

Twelve-year-old Aru Shah has a tendency to stretch the truth in order to fit in at school. While her classmates are jetting off to family vacations in exotic locales, she'll be spending her autumn break at home, in the Museum of Ancient Indian Art and Culture, waiting for her mom to return from her latest archeological trip. Is it any wonder that Aru makes up stories about being royalty, traveling to Paris, and having a chauffeur? One day, three schoolmates show up at Aru's doorstep to catch her in a lie. They don't believe her claim that the museum's Lamp of Bharata is cursed, and they dare Aru to prove it. Just a quick light, Aru thinks. Then she can get herself out of this mess and never ever fib again. But lighting the lamp has dire consequences. She unwittingly frees the Sleeper, an ancient demon whose duty it is to awaken the God of Destruction. Her classmates and beloved mother are frozen in time, and it's up to Aru to save them. The only way to stop the demon is to find the reincarnations of the five legendary Pandava brothers, protagonists of the Hindu epic poem, the Mahabharata, and journey through the Kingdom of Death. But how is one girl in Spider-Man pajamas supposed to do all that

------------

I first heard about Roshani Chokshi when her novel The Star-Touched Queen debuted back in like 2016. The elevator pitch I’d heard for it was “Hades and Persephone but with Indian mythology.” I’m a HUGE sucker for Hades & Persephone, always have been. So of course I snatched that up, and fell in love with Maya, with the beautifully lyrical and poetic prose, and with Roshani Chokshi’s way of painting her different worlds. Out of the four books she has out right now, I only have one left to read (A Crown of Wishes). She’s brilliant, and when I found out she was expanding to Middle-Grade, I knew I had to see what was up with her newest book

So what can I say about Aru-Shah and the End of Time? Well, some people might compare it to Percy Jackson - it’s a somewhat similar concept, the children of gods fighting monsters to save the world. Probably why Aru Shah is the first book from Rick Riordan’s new imprint from Disney Hyperion (the man is doing the Lord’s work, not gonna lie). But if I were to compare Aru Shah and the End of Time to Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief...it’s better. It’s SO MUCH better (no offense, Rick).

See, I like Percy. I like the series and I like him. But the first book was a bit shallow. To be fair, it came out at a time when middle-grade was still fighting to be allowed to hold the same depths as some of the “more risque” YA of the time, like having queer characters, or characters with mental health issues, or what have you. At the time PJ:LT came out, most middle-grade fantasies weren’t allowed to have that kind of stuff. Thankfully Rick Riordan helped pave the way for publishers to realize, oh, shoot, middle-grade can have a lot of the same depth as YA, holy gosh (other helpers in the cause are Tahereh Mafi and JK Rowling, although more points go to Ms. Mafi). So why is Aru Shah better than Percy Jackson?

It’s deeper. It’s richer. It’s more diverse. Some of you might think, well of course it’s more diverse, it’s Indian mythology. No, no, no. You don’t understand. It’s amazing. We have two Indian girls teaming up to save the world, one with extreme anxiety and OCD who wants to be a doctor, who casually mentions her gay hero brother without it being a big deal. We have a series set up to put together a team of five young Indian women who fight monsters and save the world. 

There’s a former villain who learns to love, who does honor to the two female leads. The tasks and challenges are clever and fun, with a touch of whimsy but still as action-packed and engaging as any adventure in Artemis Fowl or Harry Potter. We have a girl from a single-parent home who’s always wanted more of a family, and she gets one - as soon as Aru meets Mini, one of the other reborn Pandavas, they start calling each other “sister” and vow never to turn their backs on each other. There’s a brief moment where this is put to the test, but the girls get over it and reconcile easily.

One of the best things about Aru, the character, is how accepting she is of Mini after they meet. Mini can be a little high-maintenance, and at first Aru’s a little exasperated, but it doesn’t take long for her to realize Mini has severe OCD (instead of high-fives, they bump elbows) and anxiety. In fact, Mini’s a lot like me. And while sometimes Mini will say something and Aru will be like, “Wait, really?” after a minute she’s just like, “Okay, sure. If that’s what you need.” 

When they pull off some daring-dos near the end of the book, Aru offers her elbow for a bump without having to be reminded of the no-hands rule. Even better, Mini doesn’t just decide to high-five Aru at the end. She’s still OCD, still freaks out over germs, and Aru doesn’t mind. And while Mini does sometimes panic, Aru is mostly very understanding and helps her get through her panic attacks. When Mini expresses fear that Aru will abandon her because of her anxiety and “other flaws,” Aru not only promises she won’t, but puts a spin on it that helps sooth Mini’s fears (Aru gets hung up about this and wonders if she’s lying; I’ll touch on that near the end).

The villains were interesting, the mythology is fairly new which means explanations can be provided in a fun way and it’s not stuff we readers have been told ten million times. I was honestly surprised by the identity of Aru and Mini’s fathers (who aren’t their biological fathers; these Indian gods imbued the girls’ souls with...soul DNA? That’s not what they call it, I just don’t know if I can explain it any other way). Also, as a fan of The Star-Touched Queen, I had to wonder - did Maya have anything to do with Mini’s powers?

You know how in Percy Jackson the kids get neat doo-dads that turn into magical stuff? Like a pen into a sword, Thalia’s bracelet into that one shield, Luke’s winged sneakers, blah blah? Aru gets a golden tennis ball and Mini gets a purple compact. Not a big deal? Ah ha, au contraire. Those items are the glamoured belongings of the god of thunder and the god of death, and they’re actually pretty cool - but also pretty!

This book is just...fun. It’s SO FUN. The monsters are new, the tasks are original, the characters are cute, and I loved it.

Let’s talk about the thing I love most: Aru Shah. Roshani Chokshi has the interesting ability to create characters that are basically me. Not physically, not according to age or race, but with Night, with Maya, and now with Aru, she creates female leads who speak to me on a fundamental level. 

This time, it’s Aru, who’s basically Loki from Loki: Agent of Asgard except female instead of genderfluid, 12 years old, and Indian. In L:AoA, there’s a scene in the final bindup where Loki indentifies themself (first in femme-presenting form, then in masc-presenting form) as the moon goddess, the god of stories. Aru is the personification of that. 

Something that gets said a lot in the book is, “You’re a liar, Aru Shah.” But she’s not. She’s a storyteller, a world-changer, someone who refuses to view the world as bleak and terrible and uses the gift of words to make it better for herself and the people she’s loves. She’s an optimist who fights with words and thinks fast on her feet. She’s a daughter of Lord Indra the Thunderer and a reincarnation of the greatest of the Pandava Brothers. She’s the moon goddess, the god of stories, someone I would’ve idolized (or possibly gotten a crush on) if I’d read this as a kid, and I love her. I will follow her to the end.

Also she better get as many books as Percy did (so like...15 books).

There were only two complaints, really. One, Aru was rather preoccupied with boogers (it came up like 5 times). I mean, I know she’s a tween, but still. Two, I saw the plot twist with her dad coming from a mile away.

Plot: ¾ star Characterization: 1 star World Building: 1 star Word Choice: ¾ star Realism: 1 star 

- ¼ star for copious snot (ew)

+ ¼ star for positive portrayal of a character with anxiety and OCD

+ ¼ star for having a 12-year-old girl in Spider-Man pajamas saving the world, okay? 

In total: 4.75/5 stars

Would I Buy It: I did! Now I need the next one!

Would I Recommend It: READ THIS BOOK, PEOPLE!!! It’s so cute, seriously.

I was asked to tag @magic-in-every-book so here’s my Aru review! :)

All pics were stock photos manipulated by me in Photoshop or in the public domain. Except the painting of the Pandavas. That’s from Wikipedia.

[alien-rainbow]

By Your Side Until My Death (7/?)

Chapter 7: Deep In The Meadow

Available on AO3

Princess Artemis, the eldest daughter of the kingdom of Olympus is to be married to her childhood nightmare. In a land where anything remotely magical is banned, Zoë fears for her and Ladon's life but knows that she could never leave the princess's side if she tried. Magical beings, a forbidden romance, family secrets, and safety for magic all wait beyond the kingdom's borders.

- 3rd person, will be completed eventually, teen, not completed, Zartemis

Artemis woke to the sound of Zoë's voice ordering the others on the dragon that this is where they needed to land. The princess sat up and gazed across the grounds that were still covered in moonlight. The forest was green and lush, and surprisingly quiet.

The large dragon landed on the ground with an ungraceful thunk that rattled the surrounding area. Zoë then slid quickly off the back of the dragon and called into the forest. Soon after their names were called. The to woman stepped into the clearing. Both Reyna and Thalia looked shocked to see the golden dragon but made no comment about it and chose instead to interrogate Zoë for information. While they were doing that Artemis sat up and followed Zoë's lead and slipped from the dragon's back while not waking her sister.

On the ground, she could see her surroundings more clearly. Everything seemed to glow with magic and seemed to alive. Like if you really wanted to you could touch it and use it. Artemis ran her hand along with the bark of one of the tree's closets to her. The bark was soft underneath her fingertips and seemed to glow more when she touched them. The grass had the same effect and seemed to glow the more pressure you put on it.

Armies could not have fathomed its beauty, she had heard tales, read books, and seen quick sketches but nothing more. People always described the forest as alive and ready to kill you but this felt calm and free. Like you would never be alone because the magic that flowed through this place was real and held the place together in warm arms.

"Your highness?" Artemis heard Zoë's voice behind her snapping her out of her trance.

"We are no longer in the palace Zoë, you need not call me that," Artemis said turning to smile at her friends. Thalia and Reyna stood behind Zoë with their hands positioned on their swords. Seeing Thalia with a sword was uncommon, to say the least. Thalia favored her spear and shield over all else. She still had the two items strapped to her back in an awkward position. Reyna used just a sward but was terrifying to come face to face with.

"Then Artemis, are you feeling alright?" Artemis nodded and locked back into the deep forest in the opposite direction of her friends. They were in a small clearing that was bearly big enough to hold the golden dragon. Artemis was about to turn away when she something racing towards them.

When the creature arrived in the clearing Artemis could see it was a horse. The caramel-colored stallion shook out its charcoal mane letting out a proud winy as he trotted fearlessly up to the dragon. The dark girl, Hazle slid from the dragon and over to the hours before taking a lump of... gold? Out of her pocket and feeding it to the horse.  

"Did you miss me?" The horse shook its head gratefully and took a step back from the short girl snorting at the question. "I'll get a ride back with Arion, does anyone want to come with?" At the question all the people still seated on the dragon quickly shook their heads, a few turned a little green.

"Be careful," the one with glasses said as Hazle lifted herself onto the beings bareback. She nodded to him the spoke to the horse and they were off. Artemis could now tell why some of them looked sick. The horse ran faster than anything the princess had seen before.

"What was that?" Thalia asked still looking in the forest which had now swallowed up the girl and horse.

"An Assero creature," Annabeth stated, and after seeing the blank looks on their faces she continued. "assero in Latin means to claim, to defend, to appropriate, to attach, or to join too. The animals are like spirit or soul guides. Or platonic soulmates. Everyone has one but it's the creature's decision to make themselves known to you. They also chose when and if ever to tell you their name. They are different for each person, and usually, come when you need them most." Annabeth then smiled before continuing. "Mine found me when I ran away from home."

"So everyone in the world has one?" Reyna asked astonished.

"Yes, everyone with magic is born with one. And technically, we are all magic, some just have close to none or chose to hate and ignore it. An Assero pair is made up of an Assero mortal and Assero creature"

"What is your animal?" a new voice chimed in. All eyes turned to see that Athena had finally woken up. The girl started intensely at Annabeth expecting an answer. "Do you know their name?"

"Yes I have met mine, I do not know his real name but everyone calls him Bobbito, meaning small Bob. He looks like a small saber tooth tiger, but is quite nice to everyone." Annabeth said smiling even more at the thought of the small cat.

"But how did you know?" Athena asked leaning towards the blond girl with suspicions eyes.

"They always talk to you the first time, you have a connection with them and they may talk to you again, and well, you, ah-, you just know, " She said shrugging. Athena tilted her head to the side giving the taller girl a look hoping that she would continue. But before Annabeth could continue, a loud hissy snarl filled the surrounding air.

One of the teens let out a curse before yelling to them to get on the dragon if they wanted to live.

"What is that?" Anthea demanded.

"One of the oldest and powerful dragons that still live around here, and he does not like visitors," Nico said as he reached out a hand to help pull the three on. But Zoë hadn't moved from where she was standing.

"Zoë, we should go," Artemis said grabbing her friend's hand pulling her towards the smaller dragon.

"He won't hurt us, he won't hurt me ," Zoë said quietly turning to look at Artemis. "I promise Ladon won't hurt us."

"Are you sure that the thing trampling through the forest is Ladon?"

"Yes, I know him, he won't hurt us, please don't leave, trust me," Zoë said turning to look deeply into the younger girl's eyes.

"Okay, I trust you," Artemis said turning to the sound of the dragon tramping through the words keeping her hand intertwined with Zoë's. Neith seemed to want to pull away.

"What are you guys doing! Your gonna get melted into a pile of sizzling mush!" Leo shouted. Seconds later the dragon broke through the top of the trees flatting some of the greenery in the process. The dragon's serpentine body was thicker than a booster rocket, and his bright scales shimmer like hot copper. He smelled of acid most likely because of the poisonous gas that streamed from his mouth and nostrils. But the actual liquid that the dragon was capable of spiting was worse. Artemis had seen first had the burns that the poison could cause.  

But the worst part was the huge dragon's heads, where about sixty necks should have been, There were only angry read scards and seeped the top of the lumps. The huge dragon let out another shriek that caused Festus to back up flapping wildly. Ladon could sit on the golden dragon and crunch him if he so pleased.  

"Ladon," Zoë said letting go of Artemis's hand and stepping forward towards the dragon causing the people behind her to start screaming at her to come back. "We won't hurt you," Zoë said softly. The dragon seemed to calm down at hearing and seeing Zoë. He brought his head down to her and breathed in her scent. After confirming it was her, he brought a few of his heads down to wrap around the girl and pull her away from the others.

Zoë laughed and said something else to the dragon that caused him to look up and stare at the group with unblinking eyes. After a minute of staring at the group, Lando pulled away and allowed Zoë to walk back to Artemis.

"He doesn't like people getting too close," Zoë said looking past Artemis as the group on top of the dragon whose all wore shocked expressions. "He wants them to leave him alone but he won't hurt anyone."

"How did you do that?" Percy asked breaking the two out of their world.

 "I've known Ladon almost my whole life, he would never hurt me. I just had to explain the situation."

"You, talked to him?" Will said shocked, "Just like, walked up to him and asked him not to kill us, and he listened?"

"Yes? Why is that so shocking?" Zoë asked though not letting the others see how confused and uncomfortable with the attention she was. But Artemis grew up with her and could read her like a book.

"Dragons will only ever listen to their Assero mortal, and even then... they don't back down easily," Annabeth stated not moving from her spot beside Percy.

"Ladon's my Assero..." Zoë mumbled turning to look back at the huge dragon. He responded by bringing a few of the remaining heads up to Zoë to nuzzle her. After a few minutes of stunned silence, a voice broke the trance.  

"So, do you want to camp with up and learn more about who you are?" Artemis saw that it was the tiny pale kid that had spoken. He appeared to be sixteen, the same as Will, though the ravenett was significantly shorter.

"Who we are ?" Reyna asked slowly turning to look at Thalia who stood next to her with her spear still out.

He looked at the women still on the ground then shrugged and said simply, "Magic."

------------------------------

Okay so let me clarify, Assero creatures are animals or mythical beings that are platonic soulmates/familiar/BFF/Spirt guides for mortal creatures which are called Assero Mortals.

Example (Annabeth): "My Assero is a cat I named Bobbito because he has yet to talk to me." They are magic and could be 1,000 years old or 7. Assero pairs share a connection/bond and can tell when the other needs them, though it's like 90% of the time the Assero creature popping up and being like "You good my dude?" Some are more friendly and interactive like Bobbito and Pipers. Some are more mysterious and antisocial like Bianca's and Artemis's

[nsschaintale]

Link 6: Justice For Some

Chaintale Extra

Chain Link: The Fallen Royal Scientist

Link 6: Justice For Some

It had been several years since the last human had fallen and things seemed to be calm. The Underground has seen some changes over the years including the induction of a new leader of the Royal Guard. A competition has taken place as the previous leader Keldin was retiring due to family and looking for a replacement. The one who came out on top was Ketju Acheris. With her strength and determination, she managed to outlast the other monsters and become the new Head of the Royal Guard. This had also inspired the younger monsters to join up and train hard so they might one day take over, should she do the same thing. This includes Catena himself, who enthusiastically trains at every waking hour in hopes of taking that position. Tether is happy that his younger brother got something to look forward to, even if it has him on wit's end with worry at the thought of a human who might come down and do harm to everyone. At least with the Royal Guard around, he shouldn't have much to worry about. Now about Gadwyn, Tether was noticing something off about him. Knowing that the Project Barrier Break is two humans away from completion, he had always wondered why he had come home late nearly every night or early morning. He always chalked it up to work holding the scientist at the laboratory, but even he would at least try to come home to rest. Perhaps he's using the lab beds? That's what he figured, but there was this nagging feeling that there was something else. Especially when he caught a strange look on his father's face a few times while coming across him. Remembering what Gadwyn told him and Catena years prior, Tether started to think that his father has a plan outside of the project and it may have to do with his hatred towards humans as evidenced by Percy's cruel death. Feeling like he's overthinking things, Tether got ready to meet his father at the lab for work. Apparently, there's news of a new intern joining up and he had to go meet them with the others. Tether spotted Gadwyn and the group near the elevator, standing by a chubby yellow lizard girl with her two front teeth poking out from her snout, and wearing black half-framed glasses, a white blouse with pink ruffles on the seams of the collar, sleeves, and bottom, a yellow line on the sleeves, a gold bracelet, and khaki cuffed capris. She had on a chain lanyard that has her photo ID that has “INTERN” on it.

Gadwyn: Everyone, I'd like you to meet Kusari Allori. She will be interning here for the time being.

Kusari (adjusts her glasses): H-Hi, it's nice to m-meet you all. (gives a little bow)

Gadwyn: You can do introductions on your own time, but for now, we need to begin our tasks for today. Tether!

Tether (jolts): Guh, yeah?!

Gadwyn: You will be helping Miss Kusari out by giving her a tour of the facility. Once done, bring her to us so we can teach her about the project.

Tether: Yes sir...

Once everyone dispersed to their places, Tether and Kusari began the tour by heading north of the elevator.

(Tether and Kusari walked down the hall past a few blank screen panels and entered the resting area where three rows of three beds are present; a pair of ficus plants are seen in the far bottom left corner, a small clock is hung on the right side of the doorway, and a panel with green lit letters are seen)

Tether: This is pretty self-explanatory, this room is where we sleep at if we're too tired to go home after working. It happens a lot.

Kusari: Won't they get disturbed while sleeping?

Tether: It depends if you're a heavy sleeper.

(Tether and Kusari exits the resting area and makes their way further past it, arriving at the mirror room; three full-body mirrors have two blank panels between them and five more mirrors are at the opposite end; across the first three mirror is a long empty table)

Tether: This is the mirror room. ...I actually have no idea what they do in here.

Kusari: Um, maybe it's for checking to see if your clothes are all right?

Tether (shrugs): I dunno. Maybe.

(Tether and Kusari exits the mirror room and heads up into the hall leading to the central laboratory; they arrive at the observatory of the central lab room where it has a large balcony area walled off by safety windows and double doors leading into the laboratory)

Tether: That's the central laboratory. It's where all of our experiments take place. Those of us not involved in the project can observe from the outside. Looks like they're about to start another experiment. You'll get to see it closer if you join us after your internship.

Kusari: Okay.

(Tether and Kusari exits the observatory and goes right, entering the fan room; past the blank panel is three rows of 8 giant fans and a control switch)

Tether: This is the fan room. It basically keeps the lab cool through the ventilation, since it's in a hot place.

Kusari: O-Of course!

(Tether and Kusari leave the fan room and walk past the lab; they arrive at the shower area, three separate doors has a male symbol on the first door, a question mark on the second door, and a female symbol on the third door)

Tether: This is the shower area. Men on the left, women on the right, unknown in the center. Plenty of showers inside. They're rarely used but again, they're here in case someone gets stuck here.

(Tether and Kusari leave the shower area and they arrive at the extraction machine; it's a large steel machine that looks like an ant's head in design, four pipes rise into the ceiling and two additional ones connect from the sides of the eyesockets to the mandibles; a large section of the floor is missing and they can see the rest of the lab on the lower level; a blank panel and a door is seen on the left side)

Tether: This is the extraction machine. We've caught some humans over the years, so we used this to extract essences from their Souls.

Kusari: Sounds dangerous...

Tether: To the humans, yeah. To us, I don't know. I've never messed with it myself.

Kusari: Why is part of the floor missing?

Tether: The machine lowers into the lab below when in use.

Kusari: Oh. (walks over to the edge and spots two monsters working on the machinery below before joining Tether again)

(Tether and Kusari entered the room by the machine and on the opposite wall of the room, they see a TV stand with a CRT TV on top, a shelf underneath with a VCR machine, and flanking the setup are two bookshelves, filled with books and VHS tapes)

Tether: This is the TV room. Nothing too interesting about it.

Kusari (walks up to the bookshelves): Hmm... What are these?

Tether (follows): Those video tapes? I'm not sure. I've never watched them, but Dr. Gadwyn said one of them inspired part of the Project.

Kusari: Oh! I-It must've been something amazing to do something like that.

Tether: Must be.

(Tether and Kusari exits the TV room and walks past the machine, arriving at the break room; the floor is blue tiled, 6 square tables are arranged with two pairs lined up to make two parallel rectangles and the other two are in opposite corners; five grey refrigerators line the back wall, the center one flanked by two blank panels and the fridge closest to them has a microwave in the wall by it)

Tether: This is where we take breaks. Plenty of fridges to put stuff in. Just.. (sighs in disgust) ..make sure you don't accidentally leave any food and side experiments in them.

Kusari: ...I...take it you know from experience...?

Tether (squints): Yeeaaah.... I may not have a nose, but the sensation of being near it was just.... (shivers in disgust)

Kusari: How b-bad was it....?

Tether: The entire facility was shut down for a week just to remove the fridge and clean the very spot it was on, then a month just make sure nothing was contaminated. Pa- uh, Dr. Gadwyn was absolutely livid during that time. I couldn't get the sensation out of my mind for a week, it was gods-awful.

Kusari: Th-That does sound awful!

Tether: Ugh, it was. We were all busy at the time for the project, so I figure someone left something in there and forgot it. Although....forgetting something for a year isn't exac-

Kusari: A YEAR?! How has no one noticed that?! Did no one check any of the fridges during that time?

Teher: I'm still wondering that myself... Come on, we better get moving.

Kusari: Urgh...

(Tether and Kusari backtracked to the elevator and went left; they arrive at the door to the power room and entered; it's a wide area where at the opposite end, a tall machine is hooked up to 9 pipes and the lights on the two headlights, the container, and the panel are glowing a soft red)

Tether: This is the power room. It may not look like much, but it's what keeps the place running using the energy  gathered at the Core.

Kusari: Oooh... (walks up to the machine) Is there something in there?

Tether: I don't know. I never really go near it.

Kusari (backs away): Ah! M-Maybe I shouldn't go near it th-then..

(Tether and Kusari leave the power room and arrive at the infirmary area; to the left side of the five doors present are three sinks and the right side of the fifth door is a blank panel; the doors lead into rooms with medical beds and equipment)

Tether: This is the infirmary area where we take Fallen monsters into individual rooms and try to revive them.. Luckily, we don't use this place as much, but it's here just in case.

(Tether and Kusari went back to the elevator and went south; they arrive at what looks like a makeshift morgue, the right wall has several metal drawers with different labels on the front; the labels have the ID code for the humans marked; they stopped in front of the drawers)

Tether: This is... I guess this is where we've been keeping the human bodies...

Kusari: L-Like...actual human bodies, or...

Tether: Yep...

Kusari: ..They're actually in there...?

Tether (pulls open the drawer labeled “KI06”; the body of Kindel lay on the platform): This one's the last one captured.

Kusari: Whoa... (adjusts her glasses) This is what a human looks like?

Tether: There's different ones. (opens the drawers one by one, hesitating on PE05; pulls open the drawer)

Kusari: Oh, whoa! You're right! Th-There are different ones. Although... They look smaller than I imagined...

Tether: We suspect that they're younger versions of humans, kids maybe, but they did show powers stronger than our own.

Kusari: Ah, I heard! I remember hearing rumors of a monster helping a human years ago. Pretty silly, right?

Tether: Yeah, it is... (stares at Percy's body for a moment before closing the drawers)

(Tether and Kusari returned to the elevator and went up to the lobby)

Tether: Of course, you've seen the lobby. It's where the families and visitors of the scientists come to. There's a little play area for the kids to stay if their parents don't have babysitters.

Kusari: Oh, that's cute. (sees a multiple-eyed monster approach her and Tether)

Multi-eyed Monster: Ah, young Tether, it has been a long while. You've grown up handsomely.

Tether: Ah, Ms. Bakersol, it really has been a while. Kusari, this is Ms. Bakersol.

Kusari: Hello.

Ms. Bakersol: Ah, you're a new face, hello! Are you here for a tour?

Kusari: Oh, y-yes, I'll be interning in the lab soon.

Ms. Bakersol: How lovely! I hope Tether isn't causing too much trouble.

Kusari: Eh?

Ms. Bakersol: He used to be a little troublemaker, but I'm glad he's found something to focus on.

Tether: M-Ms. Bakersol...!

Ms. Bakersol: Ahohoho! Ah, how is your brother? Is he doing well?

Tether: Yep. Still doing basic training and errand work, but he's getting up there.

Kusari: Brother?

Tether: Yeah, younger. His name's Catena. He's a trainee in the Royal Guard.

Kusari: Oh wow! Wait, the Royal Guard, the one Ketju leads now?

Tether: The one and only. Why?

Kusari (blushing): O-Oh, nothing! Just wondering!

Tether: …?

Ms. Bakersol: Well, I won't keep you two long. I got some little ones to watch over. (a few eyes turn to look behind her at a little Loox Eyewalker monster) Ethan, what did I say about not sharing?

Ethan (startled then glances around sheepishly): To not do it again.

Ms. Bakersol: Yes, now play nice. (turns eyes back to Tether and Kusari except one) Ah, anyway, I'll let you return to your tour. Have fun and a pleasure meeting you, Ms. Kusari. Have a good time, Tether. (returns to the play area)

Kusari: Th-Thank you. ...You were a troublemaker?

Tether (flustered): W-We should go to the Core, yea?

Kusari: … (giggles)

(Tether and Kusari left the building towards a tall elevator north of the crossroad, going to Level R3; they were greeted by a few monsters who were leaving the Core as they crossed the bridge and reached the lit entrance; once through and after taking the elevator, they went left and arrive at the Core)

Tether: Welcome to the Core.

He had heard that the Core had sections that are interchangeable in order to confuse humans, and the duo got a demonstration of such a thing. Kusari was worried about the liquid running below the area, but Tether explained that it's a form of geothermal energy that is converted into electrical energy that powers the entire Underground. The safety railings along the paths are there to keep everyone from accidentally falling into the liquid. They noticed huge blocks of ice falling into it and Tether mentioned how the ice keeps the liquid cool. Kusari asked where the ice came from, and Tether had notice someone in Snowdin throwing ice into the river, so he assumed that was where the ice came from.

Tether: Now that that's done, let's head back so you can start your interning.

Kusari: Okay. Th-Thank you for the tour.

Tether: No problem.

(Tether and Kusari return to the lab; sees Gadwyn)

Gadwyn: Ah, there you are. I take it the tour went well?

Kusari: Yes sir! This place is really interesting!

Gadwyn: I appreciate your enthusiasm, Miss Kusari. For the time being, you'll be running errands for us, so there are some areas that are off-limits.

Kusari: Ah, I-I was wondering why there were places Tether didn't take me.

Tether: Yeah, can't take the new ones to them. Safety reasons.

Kusari: Oh, that makes sense.

Gadwyn: Right, well, let's get you set up for your first set of tasks for today.

Kusari: Yes sir!

Gadwyn: Tether, we've prepared for our next round of experiments to begin. (turns away) I expect you to be there.

Tether: Yes, sir...

Kusari: ….?

The next few weeks were spent by the scientists in conducting experiments and Kusari running errands. As Kusari was on her way to deliver some documents to Gadwyn, an alarm sounded.

Kusari (almost drops the folder): Wh-What is that?!

Scientist1: It's the alarm!

Scientist2: A human has come!

Kusari: A human? Ah, that must mean it'll end up like the others Tether showed me... (sees Gadwyn walking by) Oh, it's Dr. Gad- (sees a strange look on his face, like a twisted grin) That....was strange.

This human in particular is a dangerous one. Her green eyes were flaring in ferocity as she raced throughout the underground. She spouted demands as she faced the monsters. When she was chased by Darius, she managed to shoot him in the leg, taking him down. She was able to get through Snowdin into Waterfall, running into Ketju. Ketju faced the girl and told her that she must give her Soul up so the monsters can go free. The girl, Judy as she gave her name, answered Ketju with a shot, taking her left eye out. While Ketju writhed on the ground in pain, Judy made her escape to Hotland. This put the monsters in the lobby into a panic and they all went into the main lab area to hide until she passed through. Judy looked around to find the monsters, but found nothing and moved on. She continued on and ran into two Royal Guard soldiers. She faced off against them, firing a shot at one of them and escaping deeper into Hotland. She met Kæde and fired a warning shot, hitting a spider in the process. She managed to get far enough to enter the Core and felt like she was getting close until she heard the sound of wind pulsating. A large magic circle appeared before her and rings of chains pulsed around it a few times before Gadwyn appeared within, a Soul container tied to his hip.

Gadwyn (steps away from the circle as it vanishes): A pleasure to meet you, human, but I'm afraid your journey ends here. If you would be so kind as to give up your Soul-

Judy: Never! Now tell me where the missing children are!

Gadwyn: Oh? And why do you care?

Judy: Because their families need them back, and justice will be served to you monsters!

Gadwyn stared at Judy for a while before he scoffed at the answer.

Gadwyn: Justice, you say? (chuckles darkly) Funny you should say that. You say that justice will be served for the humans, but what about our justice?

Judy: Your justice? The monsters' justice?

Gadwyn: Yes. The humans attacked us first and took so much from us. Took many of our friends and loved ones. Took the life of a monster prince who only wanted to return the body of a human to the surface. Took away our hopes and dreams. Betrayed us all...

Judy: Well, what about the missing children? They did nothing wrong! I'm sure they only want to see what's down here!

Gadwyn: Really? I've no idea of what became of the monsters in the Ruins when the little boy arrived, but explain to me why a young girl punched her way through the snow fields, taking out any monster who faced her?

Judy: Because the monsters attacked her!

Gadwyn: The girl in the tutu who tried to buy her freedom with the truth of harming a monster?

Judy: I...well-

Gadwyn: The bespectacled boy who used his words to trick monsters to his side?

Judy: That's just-

Gadwyn: Or the boy whom I've heard ate a monster?

Judy: Guh, but that could be a rumor!

Gadwyn: A rumor? Oh, I'm afraid you're wrong. It may not look like it, but there are many eyes in the Ruins and one certain spider queen who has connections...

Judy: But-

Gadwyn: In addition! There are also the humans from centuries prior that were once our friends, but turned against us. Therefore, humans like you are not to be trusted. I almost lost one of my sons to one. I lost my beloved wife to the Seven Magicians from years ago. (muttering under his breath) Mu anamchara Alysída... (glares at Judy) Tell me, after hearing what I've said.. How does it feel to be an enemy of ours?

Judy: I... How am I an enemy to them? They're the ones who are our enemy! They know where the kids are, keeping them trapped for so long. Yet he says the humans harmed them first. That's not right, the monsters are the bad guys and bad guys need to be punished with swift justice! …..But if the humans really did do those things... (stares at Gadwyn) ...Is he like a hero to the monsters and am I...the bad guy...? (shakes her head) No, that's not righ-

Gadwyn: It appears that you are lost in thought. Allow me to give you a choice. Surrender your Soul and I'll help return your body to the surface. Refuse, and I'll have it removed by force. What say you?

Judy (aims her gun at him): I chose neither. (shoots at him)

Gadwyn (sidesteps, dodging the bullet): I'll ask again. What say you to my options? (approaches her calmly)

Judy (checks her gun, seeing no bullets in the chamber): Darn it, I'm out!

Gadwyn: You're out of bullets, it seems.

Judy (aims her gun): I gotta try...

Gadwyn (stops a few feet away): Human, don't make this hard for yourself. You do realize- (senses something) This feeling.... Magic? (notices something glowing inside the barrel) What is that?

Judy: Take this! (pulls the trigger)

To the duo's surprise, a bullet of yellow light shot at Gadwyn, grazing his right arm and startling him.

Gadwyn (grabs his arm): AAAGH!

Judy: Oh... OH! I did that? (gasp) Let me try it again!

Gadwyn (enraged; a pair of dark blue chain decals appear on his face, one running up the right side of his skull from his eye and one down on the left side from his eye to his mouth): You damned hell spawn, you've made your choice. (lifts his hand above his head) Vester!!

(a large lupine skull with a pair of wavy horns and chains attached to them appeared beside Gadwyn)

Judy (aims her gun at the skull): What-

Gadwyn (levels his hand with his glasses; closes his hand into a fist): Fire.

The pain Judy felt as the blast let loose by the skull hit her was immeasurable. Her screams were drowned out by the roar of the blast. Once it was over, Judy was on the ground, burned and bleeding. She didn't want to join the five children who fell before her. She was determined to live. Even through her pain, Judy aimed her gun. Even through her agony, she pulled the trigger.

Nothing happened.

She was really out of bullets.

And out of life.

Gadwyn (shivering): …...... (gasps sharply) I... (clears his throat and straightens himself up) That was...Well. I hope I didn't go too overboard. (looks at his grazed arm) That magic bullet she shot.... Could it be that-

CoreRoyalGuard1: Dr. Gadwyn!

CRG2: Are you all right!?

Gadwyn: Yes, I'm fine. It's just a scratch.

CRG2 (grimaces at Gadwyn's wound): Are you sure?

Gadwyn: Yes. (looks at Judy's body) Hmm, hopefully, we can get something from this one. (sees the yellow Soul rise from the body as he detaches the container from the chain; captures the Soul in it and stares at it, a crooked smile gracing his face) Just one more and-

CRG1: Sir?

Gadwyn (jolts): …..Right. One of you help carry the body to the laboratory, please. Carefully.

CRG1 (looks at the body then at his partner): You wanna do it?

CRG2: I'm not touching it.

CRG1: Well, I don't wanna either-

Gadwyn (glaring): Gentlemen.

CRG2: R-Right! (hurriedly picks up Judy's body with caution)

The trio made their way back to the lab through Gadwyn's teleportation circle. During this, the monsters in the lab had calmed down from nearly encountering Judy. As the monsters talked among themselves and leaving the main lab, the scientists were preparing for the arrival of Gadwyn and the body.

Kusari: Th-That was so close! We almost got attacked by that human! I hope D-Dr. Gadwyn is okay, right, Tether? …..  (looks around not seeing him) Tether? (walks off to find him, meeting another scientist)

Scientist: Oh! Kusari, Dr. Gadwyn just arrived and wants everyone to meet him in the lab.

Kusari: Okay! I'm g-gonna find Tether and tell him! (rushes off to find Tether; finds him in the morgue looking at a body) Eh? (watches him from outside of the door) What's he doing?

Tether (looking at Percy's body): Another human got caught just now... Just one more and we monsters will be free.... That would've been nice...if there was another way for us to go back to the surface without killin' anyone.. (looks away for a moment before looking at Percy's face again) If only Papa didn't kill you, you could've helped us tell our story like you wanted, the truth of the war... You could've...We could've returned home...to the surface... (sighs) When we get out of here, I hope King Kette will allow me to bury you somewhere, rather than have you locked up in this place. (moves a few loose strands of hair from Percy's face) I think it's time for me to go. I really don't want to leave, but I'll have to let you back in now. (moves to push Percy's drawer back in the locker; gets startled by Kusari's presence and the sounds of monsters moving around somewhere in the lab) Aah! H-How long were you there!?

Kusari: Eep!! S-S-Sorry! I was coming t-to get you because Dr. Gadwyn w-wanted everyone to meet up with him!

Tether: Ooh... I'll, um, be there...

Kusari: Eh?

Tether: What?

Kusari: Y-You have tears... You're crying for the human?

Tether: Huh? (rubs his sleeve over his eyes and looks at it, seeing blotches and smudges of wet spots on it) Ah... (roughly rubs his eyes and holds his arm behind his back) That's, uh, I had something in my eyesockets..

Kusari: Are you sure? You were talking to that human- (covers her mouth)

Tether: …...You heard that much...huh..?

Kusari: …. (nods) Yes, s-sorry...

Tether: ...It's fine. (looks back at Percy) His name's Percival.

Kusari: Oh? Did you name...him?

Tether: No, he already had that name. I don't know the others' true names since they were only labeled by their Soul Trait, like Percy's is PE05 for Perseverance.

Kusari (approaches the body, stopping by Tether): So, the humans have names?

Tether: Pretty much.

Kusari: What's special about this one?

Tether: He.......was the first human friend I had, as far as I remember...

Kusari (surprised): R-Really?

Tether: Yeah. Met him in the snow fields. I couldn't really place it, but I felt compelled to help him. Dr. Gadwyn told me that he could've had the ability to brainwash others, but I didn't feel any sort of magic being used on me that would cause that.

Kusari: Then...t-the rumors about the monster helping the human was...

Tether: Yeah, it was me...

Kusari: Oh.... Do you know why he came down here?

Tether: To learn about our history. He also found out that it was the humans that started the war years ago, not us. He was going to return to the surface and show others his findings. Even made a promise to do so. But....

Kusari: He got killed...

Tether: Choked to death. Saw it happen on the monitor.

Kusari: ….He sounds like a nice human.

Tether: ..He was. His words felt genuine. I felt like I could trust him. And it seemed like the humans only know one side of the story. If Percy was alive, he would be trying to convince people that we're not as bad as they thought. But at this rate.... (pushes the drawer close) ...they're likely to be closed-minded...

Kusari: Oh...

Scientist: Oh, there you two are! Dr. Gadwyn's looking for you two!

Kusari: Oh, were we gone that long?! W-We're coming! (rushes out with the scientist)

Tether (follows Kusari before stopping by the door; looks back at the locker): ….Sleep well... (leaves)

Once the duo managed to meet up with Gadwyn and the other scientists, they were promptly reprimanded for being late. Afterwards, Kusari was sent off to do errands and Tether stayed to help with the experiments. Judy's body was covered in burns and open wounds from Vester's shrapnel-laced blast. The group had to salvage as much of her as possible, but they did learn how injuries like what she has could be made. As they studied her body, there was a commotion in the main lobby.

Gadwyn: What in the Underground is going on?

When he and the group arrived in the lobby, they saw Ketju and Darius being wheeled into the ER area.

Tether: What the hell?

Kusari: Ketju!

Gadwyn: …..Right. Any healers that are present, please go tend to Lady Ketju and Darius immediately.

Kalina: Right away! (rushes off after the monsters taking Ketju and Darius)

Tether: I hope they'll be all right. Looks pretty serious. (glances at Kusari; notices her shivering) Kusari?

Kusari: …..

Tether (looks at Kusari): ...Kusari?

Kusari (has a worried, panicked look on her face): ….

Tether (touches her shoulder): Kusari-

Kusari (jolts): AAAAAH!! …..Uh...I-I'm gonna w-wait by the d-door.... (rushes off to wait by Ketju's room)

Tether: ….That was odd.

With Kalina and the other healing monsters' power, they were able to heal the wounds on Darius and Ketju. While Darius's leg wound has healed all the way, Ketju ended up having surgery. A few hours later, it was done. Even with healing magic, Ketju's left eye was gone, so there was no choice but to cover her injury up until it healed enough for her to wear an eye patch. Once done, Kusari was let in to see Ketju.

Kusari: Your eye....

Ketju (hesitantly touches her bandage): Yeah...I didn't think that human was that tough.... Judy, was it? It got a good shot at me... What happened to it?

Tether: She's being used in our experiments.. Well, her Soul, mainly.

Ketju: She, huh? So they got her? I'll have to be more vigilant and teach the others to be more careful...

Kusari: Y-You should rest, though!

Ketju: Yeah, I know. The others will be worried. Can you let them know I'm okay?

Kusari: S-Sure!

Ketju: Oh, I thought I saw Darius when I-

Darius (runs in): Lady Ketju!?

Ketju: There he is.

Darius (ears drooping as he approaches Ketju's bed): Are you all right? Ah! Your eye!

Ketju: Yeah, it sucks, but I'll live. Are you all right?

Darius: Yes, ma'am! Thanks to the healers here, my leg's feeling better!

Ketju: That's great!

Darius: I'm gonna tell the others you're okay! (rushes out)

Ketju: Darius and the sisters are a nice bunch. They really warmed up to me when I took over for Mr. Keldin. But man, if I ever see that human again, I'll ki-

Gadwyn (walks in): That won't be necessary, Lady Ketju.

Ketju: Dr. Gadwyn? Nice seeing you here. You said “That won't be necessary”. What, going after the human?

Gadwyn: Yes, as she had been dealt with.

Ketju: So you captured her. That's good. I'll need to take her to-

Gadwyn: That won't be necessary either.

Ketju: Buh, what does that mean?! What, did you kill her  or something?

Gadwyn: Yes.

(silence)

Ketju: Ah...how?

Gadwyn (adjusts his glasses): With my weapon, of course. She shot at me, so I blasted her away. Very effective, but not one I'd use on a whim.

Ketju: That's some weapon you must have. Looking at you, I wouldn't have guessed you could fight.

Gadwyn: Looks can be deceiving, Lady Ketju. (heads to the door and stops by Tether) You'll never know what kind of person you'll meet until you get to know them. (side-glances at Tether) For better or worse.

Tether (slightly glares at Gadwyn before looking away): …..

Gadwyn (turns to Ketju): I must return to the experiment room to resume the tests. Good day and rest well. Tether, Kusari, come along once you're done. (leaves)

Tether: ….

Ketju: Yikes, was he always like that?

Tether: No. Not at the beginning, but....things in our past happened and...I don't think he's gotten over them. He throws himself into his work, more now than before. I've wondered what changed... Oh, I was wondering-

Catena (runs in): LADY KETJU, ARE YOU ALL RIGHT?!

Tether: And there he is.

Ketju: Y-Yeah, I am. Just lost an eye, but still alive.

Catena: THANK GOODNESS! EVERYONE WAS WONDERING WHERE YOU WERE AND GOT WORRIED! I'LL GO TELL THE OTHERS THAT YOU'RE OKAY! (sees Tether and Kusari) HI TETHER, HI NEW PERSON!

Kusari: I, uh, hi? I-I'm Kusari Allori.

Catena: NICE TO MEET YOU, KUSARI! I SEE YOU'VE MET MY BROTHER!

Kusari: Y-Yes, he's given me a tour of the area! Wait... Brother... Oh! So you're the brother Tether told me about!

Catena: SO HE DID!

Ketju: Huh, so you're Catena's brother. He always talked about you. Like, a lot.

Tether: Really? And I thought I was the one who always doted on him.

Catena: WELL, OF COURSE I GOTTA TALK ABOUT MY BEST BIG BROTHER IN THE UNDERGROUND!

Tether: Nah, the best big little brother has gotta be you, Cats.

Catena: Nyeh heh heh.

Kusari: Wait, Catena's the younger brother? I thought he was the older one. Y-You know...because of how tall he is..?

Catena: WE GET THAT A LOT, BUT NOPE! I'M A FEW HUNDRED YEARS YOUNGER THAN HIM!

Kusari: Whoa..

Ketju: Heh, that's pretty cool. If you two are brothers, then who are-

(door opens; Gadwyn and Kalina enters)

Gadwyn (looks around): ….I see you're still becoming acquainted with each other.

Ketju: Oh, back again, Dr. Gadwyn?

Gadwyn: Yes, just passing by with Kalina and letting her know you're up and chatting.

Ketju: Ah. Yeah, I got to meet Catena's brother for the first time.

Gadwyn: Well, I hope my sons aren't causing too much trouble as you're needing to rest?

Ketju: Nah, it's all- wait, sons?

Tether: You didn't notice?

Ketju: I mean... Catena looks a little more like him. You look like a different skeleton.

Tether: Trust us, we're all part of the same family, even if it seems... (glares at Gadwyn a little) ..different.

Gadwyn: …..Right. Well... (turns to Tether and Kusari) As I stated before, after you two are done, Tether, I want you to report to the central laboratory immediately. We will be resuming the experiments on JU07 and the Justice Soul. (heads to the door and stops; glancing back) And please refrain from making any side trips. (leaves)

Tether: …..

Catena: W-WELL, I'M GONNA GO LET THE OTHERS KNOW YOU'RE OKAY, LADY KETJU! GET WELL SOON! (dashes out the door)

Ketju (shivers): That was strange. Did it get tense all of a sudden?

Tether: Anyway, I guess visiting time is over?

Kalina: Yes, I'll be tending to Ketju's wound for a while, so I won't be joining up for the rest of the experiment for now.

Kusari (sighs in relief): Thank you.

Ketju: Yeah, thanks.

Kalina: No problem. You and Tether should hurry along before Dr. Gadwyn gets angry.

Kusari: Ah, y-yes! (hurries out the door)

Tether: …..Ketju.

Ketju: Yeah?

Tether: You were wondering how I look different from...Papa and Catena, yeah?

Ketju: Oh, uh, yeah, but-

Tether: I would guess it's from my mother. Papa told us about her. How she lived, how she loved....and how she died. (scratches the back of his skull) Sorry about that. It's been some time since I thought about it. (shrugs) I better move on then. Don't wanna deal with his crap the rest of the day. Nice meeting you, though, and thanks for taking care of Catena.

Ketju: Welcome..? (watches Tether leave) Huh, his mom must've had a really nice smile if he looked like her, right? (looks at Kalina; notices a confused look on her face) Dr. Kalina?

Kalina (flinches): Uh huh?

Ketju: ...You all right?

Kalina: Oh, uh, yes, of course, I'm fine! Let me...change the bandages out. (unwraps the bandages)

Ketju: …....So...how many more left?

Kalina: Huh?

Ketju: Of the human Souls, how many do we need?

Kalina: ….One more. (removes the pad and examines the wound)

Ketju: I see. We're getting close to freedom, huh. You guys are doing great.

Kalina: Thanks. Hmm.. Your wound's healing well, but it looks like you'll be left without a left eye. You'll have to wear an eye patch to protect it.

Ketju: Huh, all right. Hope it's a cool one!

For the rest of the day, Ketju rested while her injury healed. Meanwhile, more experiments were being conducted by Dr. Gadwyn and his team and Kusari continued her errands. They had a few failures, but they managed to come up with a combination to test out. This took them most of the day, so they decided to take a break before resuming.

Tether (reading over his notes while heading towards the break room): ...Seems to require a little of everything, but until we get the last Soul-

Valin: I just don't get what Gadwyn is up to. He's been acting strange lately.

Tether (stops outside the entrance; see Valin standing by the coffee machine and Minki moving to the fridge): ?

Minki (taking out his lunch from the fridge): Right? It's like he's become obsessed with how the experiments turn out. (closes the door) I know we're getting close to completing the project, but he makes it look like it's a life-or-death thing. (sits down at a table)

Valin: I mean, a lot of us did die down here, but not in the way he makes it feel like. (sips his coffee) It must be something to do with his wife.

Minki: His wife?

Valin: Yeah. That's right, you weren't with us when it happened. It was centuries ago, but Gadwyn developed a hatred for humans since she almost turned to dust. He pretty much snapped the neck of one a long time ago.

Minki: Yikes, really?

Valin: Yeah. PE05, I believe. Guess it tried to brainwash one of his sons, the eldest one, I think.

Minki: Tether?

Valin: Yeah! I'm curious as to how that human did it.

Minki: Wish we could've seen what the humans could do before taking their Souls.

Valin: Yeah. But hopefully the one we chose won't have an adverse reaction to the concoction. It'll be devastating if it didn't work.

Tether: ….. (steps in and goes to the fridge to get his lunch) Hey, guys.

Valin (flinches): !

Minki: Oh, hey, Tether! Joining us for break?

Tether: Nah, I'm gonna be meeting up with Dr. Gadwyn to discuss something. Maybe next time. (leaves)

Minki: All right. (turns to Valin) Valin?

Valin: Uh, yeah?

Minki: You looked scared, what's up?

Valin: Ah, n-nothing. I better go...do some tests.

Minki: But it's not time to go back yet.

Valin: Yeah, but I wasn't...uh..feeling hungry much. See you later, Minki. (dumps his coffee in the sink and rushes out)

Minki: …. (eats their sandwich) That was weird.

Tether (standing outside the opposite end of the break room; a written sentence showing “Almost turned to dust. Mom?” is seen): …..What did he mean by that...?

Once the break was over, everyone returned to their duties. They were able to gather enough Justice essence for testing before deciding to transfer it to King Kette. But when they were about to put the Soul back into the portable container, it managed to make its escape.

Valin: Ah!

Minki: Whoa!

Gadwyn: Don't let it escape!!

The group were making grabs at the Soul, but it kept shooting yellow bullets at everyone. Distracted, it was caught by Gadwyn's gloved hands.

Gadwyn: Got you, you little pest! (sees a glowing light peeking through his hands) What is-

Without warning, an explosion shot out from the backs of Gadwyn's hands. The Justice Soul blasted a hole in them to escape, and as it did, Gadwyn crumbled to the ground, screaming and writhing in pain.

Toroast: Dr. Gadwyn!!

Tether: PAPA!! (crouches by Gadwyn) Are you all right!?

Gadwyn (holding his hands under his arms): Forget about me! Catch the Soul!!

Minki: We're trying! (dodging the bullets) Ah!

Kalina (walks in and sees the commotion): What on earth!?

Valin: Close the door, you're gonna let it out!!

Kalina (sees the Soul flying towards her): Aaah! (shuts the door quickly as she ducks from the flying Soul; rushes over to Gadwyn) What happened!?

Toroast: I can't reach it!

Tether: Tch. (watches the Soul flying around as Minki, Valin, and Toroast try to catch it without getting hit by the bullets; looks back at Gadwyn getting treated by Kalina; has a thought) Maybe...I gotta try it! (holds his right hand out)

Kalina: Tether?

Gadwyn: What is he doing? Don't just sit there, help them!

Tether: I hope this works... Focus on the target.. (watches the Soul)...and... (his right eye glows an indigo purple and an indigo chain decal runs to his mouth and to the back of his skull; his hand glows and a loud PING sound rings out; the Soul is caught in a chain ring, glowing indigo) Ngh...got it!

Everyone was stunned at the sight. So much so, they almost forgot to contain the elusive violent Soul.

Tether: Gh..guys, get the thing....  (holds his wrist and he struggles to keep his hold on it) I don't know how long I can...

Minki: Ah! (grabs the portable containment device and rushes up to the Soul, catching and locking it inside)

Tether (deactivates his power, sighing heavily): Glad that's over.... Ah. Papa! (scoots over to Gadwyn) Are you all right?!

Gadwyn: I'm fine. But my hands....

Kalina (helps Tether get Gadwyn up to his feet): We're going to have to fix your hands up quickly. Come on!

Gadwyn: Damn it all!

(Kusari gets close to the door but jumps back when it swings open; sees Kalina and Tether helping Gadwyn to the ER area)

Kusari: Wh-What happened!?

Tether: There was an accident. The others'll fill you in.

Kusari: Wha?? (enters the laboratory; sees various bullet holes and smoking bullet marks on the walls, monitor, and floor; a few items were knocked over or broken; Valin and Toroast were sitting on the floor and Minki was sitting on a chair)

Minki: Kusari.

Kusari: I just saw Miss Kalina and Tether with Dr. Gadwyn!

Minki: Yeah, the Justice Soul tried to escape while we were preparing to send it off to King Kette. It was a disaster... Blasted holes into Gadwyn's hands when he caught it.

Kusari: Oh no! Will he be all right?

Toroast: We hope so. But Tether, he was amazing! He manage to catch it with his magic!

Kusari: He did?

Valin: Yeah, I wonder where he learned how to do that?

Kusari: Maybe he learned it from someone?

Valin: Maybe! If it wasn't for him, things would've gotten worse!

Minki: Ah, we better get to fixing this while Dr. Gadwyn gets healed.

Kusari: Oh, l-let me help!

As Kusari, Valin, Minki, and Toroast fixed up the lab, Tether sat outside the ER, hands clasped and left knee bouncing while waiting for the news. He had noticed his father's arm wound before, and now this injury with the hands. The longer he doesn't hear anything about Gadwyn, the more worried he got. This went on for a few hours as the skeleton went from just sitting to pacing back and forth. A few times, he saw the healers run by him from the ER to elsewhere, but with no news of the scientist's condition. By the time Kusari joined up with him with the other scientists, Kalina stepped out of the room.

Tether (stands up quickly): So?! Is he all right!?

Kalina: He is, thankfully. But...

Tether: But?

Kalina: ...It'll be some time before he can use his hands again. The blast from the Soul was so severe that we had to cauterize the holes-

Tether: Holes?

Kalina: Yes, he has holes in his hands now, and it's likely that they'll remain that way. We tried to find what's left of his hand bones, but with no luck.

Kusari: Ah, that's why you came back into the lab.

Kalina: Yes.

Tether: Can we see him?

Kalina: Not right now. When we told him what happened to his hands, he nearly flew into a rage, so we had to sedate him. I'll keep an eye on him and let you know when he awakens.

Tether: Okay...

Kalina: Of course, he did say for you guys to continue the experiments even if he's out of commission, so...

Tether (scoffs): Of course he did.. Thanks, Kalina.

Kalina: No problem. (walks back into the room)

Kusari: At least we know he's all right, but poor Dr. Gadwyn.

Tether: Eh, he may not look it, but he's tough.

Kusari: That's right, he took on a human, right?

Tether: Yeah. (sighs) I guess we gotta get moving. Don't wanna look like we're slacking off.

The rest of the night sees the scientists continuing the experiments until it was time to go home. Tether had stayed at the lab until Catena came by to check on Ketju when he heard about what happened to Gadwyn. This put the tall skeleton into a panic until Tether fully explained the situation.

Catena: THANK GOODNESS FOR THAT, BUT IT'S STILL WORRYING! WILL HE EVER USE HIS HANDS AGAIN?

Tether: I'm not really sure, to be honest. I know he won't be too happy about being away from his work.

Catena: WELL, I THINK HE NEEDS THE REST, WHAT WITH ALL OF THIS SCIENCE-Y STUFF YOU'RE DOING! EVEN THOUGH, THIS ISN'T REALLY THE WAY TO GO ABOUT IT.

Tether: Yeah. Oh, and uh, thanks for teaching me that Soul-catching skill. It really came in handy.

Catena: AH, SO YOU GOT TO USE IT! YOU'RE WELCOME! IT WAS SOMETHING WE LEARNED IN OUR TRAINING, SO I'M GLAD TO HEAR IT WORKED! I GOTTA TELL KETJU THE GREAT NEWS!

Kalina (walks out of the room): Hmm, oh? Ah, you're both here. I was going to contact you.

Tether: How is he?

Kalina: He just woke up. He'll be groggy, but still capable of speaking. (steps aside) Go ahead.

The brothers thanked her and entered the room, seeing Gadwyn lying in bed with a slight scowl on his face. To say that he looked unhappy about his predicament was an understatement.

Catena (rushes to Gadwyn's side): DAD! ARE YOU ALL RIGHT?

Gadwyn: Yes, yes, of course. At least... (moves his bandaged hands a little) ...most of me is okay. (glares) That damned Soul....thinks it got the last laugh. HA! I'm alive and the human's not.

Tether: Well, seeing as you're okay, we'll leave-

Gadwyn: You're all continuing the experiments, correct?

Tether: I- Yeah?

Gadwyn: Good. (sits himself up) I'll come and check on the progress.

Catena (pushes Gadwyn back to the bed): NO, YOU SHOULDN'T! YOU SHOULD LEAVE THAT TO TETHER AND THE SCIENTISTS! THEY CAN DO THOSE THINGS WHILE YOU REST!

Gadwyn: Nonsense. (tries to force himself against Catena's hand) I'm not going to let this keep me down.

Catena (uses the Soul Catch ability on Gadwyn and pushes him back down): NO, YOU MUST REST!

Gadwyn (struggling): I- What?! (stops) Ah, so this is what Tether used to stop that Soul.

Catena: OH, YES! WE WERE TAUGHT THIS IN THE ROYAL GUARD TRAINING!

Gadwyn: Well then. ...All right, you've convinced me. But do teach me that when I get released. It looks to prove quite useful.

Catena: OF COURSE! UNTIL THEN, GET YOUR REST AND GET BETTER!

Gadwyn: I will.

Tether: ...

Gadwyn promised that much, but his mind was still on his work. When Kalina went to check on him later that night, he was already awake.

Kalina: Oh, you're awake! I'm just about to-

Gadwyn: Kalina.

Kalina: Yes, Doctor?

Gadwyn: I want you to do a favor for me.

Kalina: Oh, yes. What would you like me to do?

Gadwyn: Follow my instructions precisely. I want you to get three vials of the Justice essence and take them to my house.

Kalina: What-

Gadwyn: Behind my house, there's a small building. I'll give you the key to it. (carefully digs in his top and pulls out a silver key connected to a silver chain necklace; takes it off and hands it to her) Don't lose it.

Kalina: But-

Gadwyn: Put them in the second drawer in the table on the left side of the room.

Kalina: Why do you need those?

Gadwyn: Don't..question it. Just follow those instructions. And whatever you do, don't let your curiosity get the better of you. And DO NOT LET MY SONS SEE YOU. They should be asleep or getting ready to sleep by now.

Kalina: I...Is this why you've been-

Gadwyn: Kalina, I can only trust you with this. Please do this for me.

Kalina: …..Yes, Doctor. Let me at least check your hands.

Gadwyn: Thank you...

After Kalina gave Gadwyn his checkup, she began to do Gadwyn's favor. She kept wondering why he would ask such a thing of her, but she had figured it had something to do with the scientist's behavior over the years. That twisted glee in the project being so close to being finished. Once she entered the lab, she went straight to drawing out the essences. Three vials she took and carefully placed in her bag. Kalina soon made her way out of the lab and to the River Person's location.

Kalina (climbs onto the boat and sits down): To Snowdin, please.

River Person: Tra la la. And we're off.

(the boat drifts from Hotland through Waterfall)

River Person: Tra la la. How would spiders wear pants with so many legs? Tra la la.

Kalina: Uh...

Kalina, and maybe many other monsters, could never understand the River Person's random musings. Before she could answer, they arrived at Snowdin. She made her way towards the house and looked for the building.

Kalina: Around the back... (sees a small building when going to the back; approaches the door) Ah! There it is. ….What could he be hiding in here? (enters the building) Huh, I thought this would be for his house.

She opened her way in, entering what looks like a small laboratory. To the left, there is a long white table attached to the wall, where it was covered with cork boards, whiteboards, a large flat screen computer monitor with a white keyboard, and papers neatly stacked on the right corner area of the table and pinned all over the boards. Next to the table was a tall, four drawer filing cabinet, across from it was a tall covered item that had a dim pulsating light, like something was on standby, and the opposite wall had a more cleaner table. She noticed various diagrams and charts that she didn't recognize from the experiments. Kalina wanted to look at them further, but she promised to not be too curious and went on with her task.

Kalina: Second drawer... Ah! (opens it; sees various empty vials that have traces of Soul essences and a red notebook) What? These are...Soul essences? (lays the full vials in the drawer and picks up a vial that has purple liquid in it) He's been taking extra ones? Is he testing something-

(a cracked groan is heard)

Kalina (drops the vial back in the drawer and slams it shut): Oh geez... What was that...?

(the groan is heard again)

Kalina (ears flatten in fear): H...Hello...?

???: Uuuh...aahahah.....

Kalina: It's....coming from...that covered thing...?

???: G.....G...uuh....G..uuh....

Kalina (shivering; slowly approaches the covered item): He..llo...?

???: …..

Kalina: Is..someone-

???: GuuuAAAAAAAAAAA!!!

Kalina: AAAAH!!! (trips over the rolling chair and falls while moving backward) Aaah! (scrambles to her feet and runs out of the building)

The fear that went through Kalina drove her to run, but not before remembering to lock the place down. She struggled with the key even if it was the only one she had. She can slightly hear the cracked groaning from behind the door, which sent her running again. Tether was jolted awake by this, which prompted him to look out his window.

Tether: What was that..? (looks around, sees nothing out of the ordinary) Hmm... Must be the neighborhood kids again. (gets back under the covers and goes to sleep)

As Tether went back to sleep and Kalina was speeding her way back to Hotland, neither of them heard the guttural sounds of the thing behind the veiled object in the back of the mini laboratory. Even the one word it managed to say...

???: G...aaa..d...y....

  TO BE CONTINUED

[two-friends-read-hp]

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

CHAPTER FOUR: The Leaky Cauldron

I wonder what kind of weird things get ordered at the Leaky Cauldron, like the raw liver for this person who suspiciously looks like a hag

It’s very cool that he could finish his homework in the ice-cream parlour, and even cooler that Florean Fortescue himself could actually help him out

The free sundaes every half hour don’t hurt either lol, what a sweet guy

So does buying things like lunascopes and a glass ball with the galaxy in it render lunar charts and astronomy class useless? Or is it just like, using a calculator or something? Like, you could use it if you wanted to but also you could just do it manually and it will take longer… is it like that?

Ohh they mentioned the world cup! And the Irish team! I never noticed that before

‘Unbreakable Braking Charm’ lol

THE INVISIBLE BOOK OF INVISIBILITY. HOW WOULD YOU EVEN READ THAT. I suppose the Monster Book of Monsters is no better, but at least there’s a trick to it

Gosh of course Sirius had to pick an animal form that was also a death-omen, otherwise where would we put all the misunderstandings in this book

Also, I can imagine that when he was in school, he just hid in the shadows and waited for people he didn’t like to see him lol

Ah! The mirror talks back! Jeez!

Oh yeah I forgot! This was the first time he was on the run from the Ministry! Except the Ministry only wanted to protect him this time, not kill him

Oooh Ron and Hermione were alone at the ice-cream parlour? Hmmmm interesting……………..

‘Mind you, they’d have to dig me up first, because Mum would’ve killed me.’ Love Mrs. Weasley

Yay they all get to go to the station together!

Also I just realised that Dumbledore was probably not keeping tabs on Harry after he ran away because he wasn’t keeping tabs on him last year, when he was locked in his room and almost starved to death; I think he’d have definitely not been happy had he known something like that had happened

‘Are you planning to eat or sleep at all this year, Hermione?’ Lol I snorted

Hmm Scabbers is looking thinner than usual and there’s a definite droop to his whiskers? I wonder why… intriguing…

Lol I like these skipping rats, they know what’s up

Aww crookshanks… what kind of a name is crookshanks though lol

Lol Fred and George always make me laugh

Don’t be so rude to Percy! Let him be!!

Hmm they’re giving them Ministry cars for no real reason? Hmmmm Mr. Weasley’s ears turned red, just like Ron, when he’s under pressure? Interesting…

Yeah, how do they usually get to the station? The Weasleys I mean?

It’s interesting that Molly isn’t as scared as Arthur is about Harry’s safety until this point, when Arthur’s explaining how dangerous it really is now that Sirius has escaped, but I understand now that she was protecting him from the truth because she didn’t want him to be frightened by it. Arthur has a point though… Harry needs to know why he needs to stay safe

I wonder what it must have been like to first read these words… that Sirius was actually after Harry. I had already seen the movie of this at this point so I knew of the biggest things that happened, so reading this book was more of a recap with more information than anything else really, still loved it though because of all the stuff about the magical world that I didn’t know about, and the fact that I didn’t know who the ‘who’ was in you-know-who. Part of the reason I started reading this book was because I wanted to be cool and know all the info lol

Also, Molly and Arthur should be more careful about what they discuss, especially since they’re in a fairly public place where anyone could be passing by!

Aww Black lost everything… and has brooded on that for twelve years…

‘“I’m not going to be murdered,” Harry said out loud. “That’s the spirit, dear,” said his mirror sleepily.’ lol

Chapter 5

[subin1009-blog]

To the seven + Nico + Thalia: Favourite God?

*Olympus* *Gods watch Hephaestus TV*

Apollo: Ooooooh! Interesting question. YO HEPHAESTUS

Hephaestus: YEAH

Apollo: STILL GOT THAT LIE DETECTOR THING?

Hephaestus: YEAH, WHY?

Apollo: Round up the Olympians, we're paying the kids a little visit

*Camp Half-Blood*

Percy: I -

*Gods appear*

Zeus: We heard the question and were curious

Aphrodite: YO HADES! GET YO ASS UP HERE!

Hades: Wazgoinon? I just got Cerberus to sleep

Aphrodite: Look at the question

Hades: Oooh, torture! My favorite

Jupiter: Hephaestus, my Greek friend here, has a lie detector

Hephaestus: Sup

Jupiter: Jason, you first

Jason: *sweats* Um...

Hades: We have all eternity

Jason: Jupiter

• beep • beep • beep •

Jason: Fine! It's Poseidon

Hades: *hands Poseidon 100 sand dollars*

Jupiter: *single tear rolls down cheek* Juno I need a hug

Juno: Not happening. You cheated on me to have him

Jupiter: She was pretty

Juno: And I'm not?

Jupiter: For my own safety, I'm not answering that

Juno: *glares*

Poseidon: That's one for Team Fish! *fist bumps Jason* Percy?

Percy: Hestia

Hestia: *waves* I got noticed *dances*

Poseidon: B-B-But Team Fish

Percy: My opinion dude

Poseidon: Fine! I see how it is *sniffs*

Athena: My daughter will make the wise choice

Annabeth: *glares at Hera* definitely not that cow over there

Hera: *flicks hair* *sticks nose in the air*

Annabeth: Honestly, I'm a subscriber to Team Fish

Poseidon: YUSH! TEAM FISH FTW! See, your girlfriend likes me

Percy: *shrugs*

Annabeth: *high fives Poseidon* Group photo?

Nyx: *from Tartarus* DON'T TRUST A GROUP PHOTO FROM HER

Team Fish: *group photo*

Zeus: Wait! My Roman self forgot about my Greek kid! What's her name? Tia? Make the Greeks proud Tia

Thalia: THALIA

Zeus: *looks hopeful* what's your answer Leah?

Thalia: *roles eyes* obviously my bestie

Zeus: *leans forward hopefully*

Thalia: Artemis

Zeus: *looks at Hera upset*

Hera: She was also an extramarital affair WITH THE SAME WOMAN!!!

Zeus: You're mean

Artemis: YASSS!!! All the single ladies all the single ladies all the single ladies all the single ladies! Now put your hands up

Hunters: *puts hands in the air* *dance off with Artemis*

Aphrodite: *looks on disgusted* Piper?

Piper: Unlike Jason, I won't try to spare your feelings. I'm Team Fish all the way

Aphrodite: Why is everyone choosing Poseidon?

Piper: 'cause the dude's real chill

Poseidon: Eeeeeyyyyyy *starts conga with Team Fish*

Pluto: Hazel?

Hazel: Um, sorry, but Hecate

Hecate: It's a kind of magic

Hazel: What are you singing?

Hecate: Queen

Hazel: The Queen does songs now?

Hecate: No, it's a band

Hazel: The Queen's a band now?

Hecate: No, not a band as in a rubber band! Ugh, it's like the Chicken Nuggets all over again

Hazel: How can a chicken be a nugget?!

Hecate: Come with me. I need to show you YouTube

Hazel: I don't have a tube

Hecate: Ugh, come on!

Everyone: . . .

Frank: I know the feel

Mars: Ah, Frank. You haven't answered

Frank: Fudge

Everyone:

Frank: Excuse my language

Everyone:

Frank: Ok... Did I d cross the line?

Everyone:

Frank: I'm just gonna answer the question. Sorry dad but everyone already knows it's Apollo

Apollo: Because I'm awesome and hot!

Artemis: *calls from distance* no your not

Apollo: Yes I am

Artemis: Not

Apollo: Am

Artemis: Not

Apollo: AM

Artemis: NOT

Zeus: WILL YOU TWO STOP BICKERING

Apollo and Artemis: NO

Zeus: I'M WARNING YOU

Apollo and Artemis: And your massive group of friends is going to help you

Zeus: I have feelings you know!

Apollo and Artemis: We know

Zeus: Why is everybody being so mean today?

Hephaestus: I'm surprised my son has managed to stay quiet so long

Leo: *playing on games console*

Hephaestus: OMG IS THAT MARIO KART ON GAME CUBE???

Leo: Yes

Hephaestus: WHERE'S THE SECOND CONTROLLER? NEVER MIND, I'LL MAKE ONE

Leo: And that's why you're my favorite God

Hephaestus: See, my son's loyal

Hades: It's just you, Nico

Nico: Team Fish *joins conga line*

Hades: Fine, your banned from seeing Cerberus for a week and I'm cutting off your shadowtravel allowance for the week

Nico: *shrugs*

Poseidon: WHOOP!

Percy: I thought water wasn't your type

Nico: No, I said YOU'RE not my type

Leo: Ooh, sick burn bro

Percy: *sniffs*