#and I blanked on the spot and was like yeah I do listen to crossover thrash and thrash metal but I think of myself

[kingreywrites]

Unravelling

Words count: 5978

Eugene Appreciation Week Day Four: AU

AU: The Snap from Avengers: Infinity War (but not a crossover, so no Thanos!)

Summary:  At first, Eugene thought that they had won. One second, he was laying on the ground, weak and drained, and the next, he was getting up suddenly, seeing the other Coronans do the same. He tried to find Rapunzel, because surely, she was responsible for the victory, but his eyes landed instead on Zhan Tiri, towering above them all and cackling.

Warnings: Temporary character death

Read on ao3

@fishskiin

At first, Eugene thought that they had won. One second, he was laying on the ground, weak and drained, and the next, he was getting up suddenly, seeing the other Coronans do the same. He tried to find Rapunzel, because surely, she was responsible for the victory, but his eyes landed instead on Zhan Tiri, towering above them all and cackling.

"Don't you see, Rapunzel?" It said, its voice chilling Eugene to his very core even as he scrambled to his feet. "Now that I have the sundrop and the moonstone, I hold the universe in my palm. I can hurt, I can heal, the world is listening to my every whims!"

A shape appeared behind the demon's head but it grabbed her - it was Cassandra, who had tried and failed to knock Zhan Tiri out and was now hanging upside down in its tentacle, as Eugene had done earlier. He got a glimpse of Rapunzel as she screamed Cassandra's name, and ran toward the stairs, trying desperately to get to her, taking notice of her long but brown hair.

"You know what else I can do?" Zhan Tiri continued gleefully. "I could wipe life off the face of Earth with only a snap of my fingers… But where would be the fun in that, if no one is there to suffer from it?" It laughed just as Eugene was close enough to see the horror mirrored on both Rapunzel's and Cassandra's eyes.

Zhan Tiri raised its arm, letting Cassandra down harshly, an awful smile cutting through its face.

"Let's only do half of it," Zhan Tiri grinned and snapped its fingers, releasing a wave of energy that brought everyone to their knees.

Eugene coughed and, when he opened his eyes, Zhan Tiri wasn't here anymore. He got up again and ran to Rapunzel, who seemed to be frozen in place.

"Sunshine? Are you alright?" he asked frantically, his hands going to her shoulders.

"Eugene," was all she could choke out, her eyes going to the crowd under the balcony.

Despite his worry, Eugene also turned his eyes toward them when he heard worried exclamations - just in time to see Quirin trying desperately to reach Varian as the kid disappeared into dust.

Eugene choked out Varian's name, his heart beating in his head loudly as Zhan Tiri's word echoed in the wind. Let's only do half of it.

Right before their eyes, friends and family were disappearing, but they were both frozen to the spot. Rapunzel was trembling under his hands but Eugene felt too much like he was floating, unable to wrap his head around this horror, to be capable of comfort.

"Eugene," Rapunzel whispered again, something so wrong and fragile in her voice that his eyes automatically went to her. "I- I don't feel so good."

She collapsed against him and, as he lowered her to the ground, Eugene felt like he was being strangled.

"No, no, no, no Sunshine," he pleaded, taking in her pale skin with burning eyes, "don't do that to me, please, Rapunzel-"

"Eugene, I'm sorry," she choked, her hand going to cup his face like he had done to her a long time ago - and, if he thought he was reassuring her at the time, he now knew that it was the opposite. Her hand was cold and weak on his cheek and he hated it, hated the contact, hated the meaning she was putting into this because she couldn't leave, not like that, she couldn't-

Her hand disappeared from his cheek and he watched numbly the dust, realising that he hated it even more. His tears were falling down on her now, inhibited, but he wasn't like her - he didn't have any last minute miracle, any lingering super power, he was just Eugene. Plain old Eugene, who couldn't save her.

"Rapunzel," he begged as she smiled, something sad and resigned in her eyes that he hated.

"You're my dream, Eugene Fitzherbert," she said, present tense, but it still sounded like a goodbye.

"You're mine," he sobbed back, but there was only dust under his tears now.

------

The kingdom was in shambles. Zhan Tiri was on the run, armed with infinite powers and the capacity to hide where time and space didn't exist, making any search pretty difficult.

King Frederick was gone. Princess Rapunzel was gone. Queen Arianna now reigned alone, Eugene acting as Captain of the Guard, right hand man, next in line and a shit ton of other jobs that he focused on as long as he could ignore his emotions on the current situation.

Ah, and he was now King of the Dark Kingdom. (He hadn't even known his father a year, but like everything else, he took that thought and shoved it far away in his mind, right in a little box where he couldn't see it. The box was overflowing.)

"We need the manpower to track down Zhan Tiri," he argued, frustrated as Arianna stayed carefully blank in front of him, seated alone on the throne.

"We need the manpower to rebuild Corona," she answered firmly.

"We can rebuild when we've brought everyone back! Which is why finding Zhan Tiri comes first!"

The problem, when you were constantly faced with global magical threat, was that it was difficult to accept something as final. Turning into dust? Please, they nearly turned into birds and were fine; Eugene just had to find Zhan Tiri, kick its calamari ass and everything will be fine, as it always was! And for that, he needed all the help he could get, if only Arianna would listen to him. Her face was hard and sunken with grief.

"Eugene, our kingdom needs to be protected and our citizens need to have their homes rebuilt. I will not send the few men we have left on a wild goose chase-"

"So that's it?! You've lost faith already?!"

"Captain," Arianna growled, something he never heard her do, "do not question my faith."

Eugene gulped, and closed his eyes. A flash of Rapunzel crumbling into dust before him made him open them again quickly, and he tightened his fists so hard that, without his gloves, his nails would have pierced through his skin. The silence between them was heavy, until Arianna sighed, looking smaller and older on the throne.

"You can have a small team working on it, but the priority is reconstruction, alright?" she proposed and the weary hope in her eyes was enough to make him crumble a little inside.

"Yeah," he breathed, shoulders slumping, "thank you, Arianna."

She smiled, a tiny, fake, entirely unconvincing smile, and he gave her the same in return, both of them not okay but with too much responsibility to truly let it through.

------

"Come on in," Eugene called absently as he poured through old documents concerning anything to do with the moonstone, the sundrop, Zhan Tiri or anything, really, that could matter right now. The moon was high in the sky, and he had been doing this well into the night, but he had too much to do the day and too many nightmares to escape anyway.

The door to this office opened and closed, and he heard an anxious intake of breath but, instead of saying anything, this person waited. Eugene sighed and raised his head, his eyes widening when he met Cassandra's (which were back to normal and, in a way, that was destabilizing).

"I've been told you wanted to see me," she finally said, squaring her shoulders.

"Yeah, tomorrow morning, not at whatever hour this is," he answered without too much heat, closing the useless book he held.

"You're not sleeping."

"Are you?"

She didn't answer. He didn't break the eye contact.

"Why did you want to see me?" she asked, lowering her gaze to watch her feet. She wasn't as confident as he remembered her but, clearly, the situation could excuse some of the differences.

"I'm making a team to chase Zhan Tiri down, and you'll be part of it," he announced, his Captain tone accepting no contradiction. Cassandra stiffened at the order, clearly uncomfortable, and Eugene felt guilty because he knew Rapunzel would be angry at him. After the whole moonstone debacle, his Sunshine would insist on making Cass the most comfortable possible, encouraging her to be herself and follow her dreams or something. And, honestly, when Rapunzel had faith in someone, Eugene never managed to stay angry for long - he had missed Cassandra and, while he couldn't excuse everything, he could move past it if Rapunzel did.

Rapunzel was not here, however. He was, this situation was and he needed Cassandra as the soldier he knew she could be.

"I- I'm not sure… Me?" she mumbled, her right hand going to cradle the other.

"Don't," Eugene warned, sensing immediately where her mind was going. He walked to her, too close for both of their comfort, his face hard as he poked her shoulder. "This guilt you're feeling? Shove it. Or better yet, turn it into anger or whatever fuels you to be stronger. You," he poked again, satisfied to see a dangerous look flash through her eyes, "you are one of Corona's strongest asset right now so, if you want forgiveness, work for it and help me bring everyone back."

She pushed his hand away and nodded, immediately raising herself to her full height to glare at him. He'd have smiled, if he didn't feel like there was a hole in his soul. In some part of his mind, he realised that burying their feelings until they exploded must be unhealthy but, for all their griefs, Cassandra and him were scarily similar when dealing with serious situations. They'd break later.

"Alright, Captain," she nodded, the word foreign on her tongue when it concerned Eugene. She swallowed against the lump in her throat to no avail. "Let's bring everyone back."

She went to sit and opened one of the books in the pile. Eugene wished Rapunzel could see it, could see how Cassandra was willing to listen to him even as it went against every of her instincts, because she wanted to save her - and he realized that Rapunzel would see it once he brought her back. He sat down too, and took another book.

------

It was weird going out into town to see that, as much as everyone wished it didn't, time was still passing. Some families were luckier than other - it was true both of those who lost no one, and those that lost everyone in one go - but all of the Coronans were just that, Coronans. They raised up when life brought them down and, right now, there were collective efforts to rebuild effectively.

Eugene was still surprised to see the genuine concern they held for him, now that Rapunzel was gone and that this whole fiasco happened at the start of his career as Captain of the Guard. They didn't resent him, apparently, when they had every reasons to, and Eugene was incredibly grateful for it.

It had been two weeks since the Snap. They were now used to see him travel into town to help them, Eugene being careful of what he agreed with Arianna - and she was right, he could see. Corona couldn't wait for a still unknown miracle, the subjects needed help now. And, after all, he didn't want to sleep much anyway, so it was a win-win.

Today, he wasn't stopping to help, however; he had a clear destination in mind.

He got down from Maximus, petting him gently because he had been the greatest horse and friend a man could ask for - and Eugene could see how sad he had been, having too lost his closest friends. Pascal was gone, too.

He went to knock and the door opened immediately.

"Hello, Quirin," Eugene smiled feebly, seeing in the shadows under his eyes a mirror of his own grief and exhaustion. "Sorry for not coming earlier."

"Ah, don't worry Captain," Quirin sighed. "We went through a lot of- of Varian's notes, and we found a lot of interesting material to find Zhan Tiri," he announced as Eugene went inside, barely stumbling over his son's name anymore, but not able to hide the deep-seated grief he held.

As awful as the comparison was, father and son had a very different way to deal with loss. Quirin was a quiet and efficient kind of devastated, though his red-rimmed eyes betrayed the way he spent his nights. Varian had been angry and loud, ready to destroy everything if it meant getting his dad back. Though, Eugene saw in Quirin's determination that they were lucky he didn't think Corona was responsible for the situation; something told him that he would stop at nothing to get his son back either.

They walked toward the lab, and Eugene felt a bittersweet kind of ache at seeing Angry pouring so silently over some papers. Catalina was gone, but she wasn't. At the very beginning, when Eugene realised that she was alone, that even Lance was gone - and that was its own can of worm he didn't want to open because Lance had been the only constant in his life since he was a kid and now, he wasn't here anymore - he had proposed that she sleep at the Castle. He wasn't sure it was a good solution, because the castle was huge, empty, and half-destroyed, but Angry needed help and he cared about her too much to let her go somewhere he didn't trust.

Thankfully, Quirin had come forward, tears still in his eyes, and asked if she would prefer to come to his own home.

"You already visited a lot of time," he explained, talking directly with her instead of Eugene which he knew the girl would appreciate, "and you're my son's friend, you're always welcome in our home."

So that was how this arrangement came to be. Angry raised her head at the noise and looked carefully at Eugene - he had been by but he hadn't stopped here in four days, so he understood some of the worry she displayed, especially now that everyone she cared about left her. Unwillingly, but to an orphan with abandonment issues, it was the same devastating feeling anyway - Eugene knew something about it.

"Hey, Angry," he smiled, going to put his hand lightly on her shoulder and she let him. "Quirin tells me you've found useful things?"

She looked up to him, looking so mature now, as if it wasn't two weeks but two years that had gone - and it certainly felt like it. But her little hand brushed against Eugene's for a second, before she launched herself in a explanation, and perhaps they weren't okay, but at least Eugen knew they'll manage. For now.

------

Faced with the doors to Rapunzel's room, Eugene felt sick. It was one thing to convince himself that he could fix this; another to be in front of the reality of her absence. He could practically hear her laugh inside, talking to Pascal about one thing or the other; could practically see her painting inside, with paint she didn't notice on her nose, so beautiful and bright that she made him light up inside each time. His hands hovered above the handles, trembling, and Eugene nearly turned back.

But he was here because he knew he would find her here.

Slowly, he pushed the door open, Rapunzel's bedroom more somber and grey than he had ever seen it. On her bed, her back to him and hunched on herself, was Queen Arianna.

Eugene swallowed harshly at the sight, unsure if confronting her here was the best idea. Her shoulders were shaking and, in her hands, he could see clearly Rapunzel's journal - for a moment, he wanted to cry too, but he didn't allow himself this privilege. He had to fix this, and Arianna was avoiding him, so here he was.

"Hello Eugene," she said quietly, her voice breaking.

"Hello Arianna," he breathed, guilt churning inside his stomach.

"I won't be able to avoid this conversation forever, will I?" Arianna laughed, but it was an empty sound. Still not looking at him, she put Rapunzel's journal carefully on the bed, and brushed her tears. When she met his eyes, the determination in her green one was so much like Rapunzel that Eugene felt like he was choking. He was still standing stiffly, but he had left the Captain uniform for this conversation.

"I- Cassandra found the device we needed in Demanitus' lair and, thanks to Xavier and Varian's notes, we managed to make it work," he reported carefully, before taking a big breath. "We can find Zhan Tiri."

The announcement didn't bring joy, because joy was something they both lacked these days. Arianna was still looking at him, every bit of the Queen she was, but with something of Rapunzel he couldn't face. Eugene closed his eyes tightly, before coming out with it.

"James - the ex-Captain of the Guard - agreed to take charge once again considering the situation. Cassandra will be going with me, and that's all, so Corona will still have all the manpower it needs but-"

"You're leaving," Arianna finished gently, her hand going to fiddle with her necklace. "Well, chasing after this monster, in any case."

"Yes," Eugene croaked, "I am."

She got up and suddenly, Eugene found himself wishing that she would scream at him. Scream that he was abandoning her, abandoning the kingdom he had swore to protect when he became Captain, scream that he should have saved Rapunzel when he had the occasion, not nearly one month later - scream at him all the things he already thought about himself, all the reproaches he wanted someone to throw at him. He wished for someone to blame him at least half as much as he blamed himself, because, then, he wouldn't feel so empty all the time.

It was unfair to expect that from Arianna. Grief was an old friend to her, and anger had never been her refuge.

She walked toward him, the purple sky illuminating her features and Eugene had to force himself not to take a step back when faced with the tangible emotion she exuded.

"I've lost a lot, Eugene. The world lost a lot. The kingdom, my kingdom is suffering, and I need to be strong for everyone, but I was wrong to think that I could stop you in your endeavour."

She raised her hand when he seemed about to protest, and got closer to him. He was taller than her, but didn't feel like it right now, not when she seemed to hold the universe on her shoulders.

"I've lost my husband. I've lost my daughter, for the second time." Her voice broke and tears gathered in her eyes while Eugene stood helplessly, unsure of the point she was trying to make even as he wished fervently he could do anything to ease her pain. She had done so much for him, and now he was helpless to comfort her. Arianna composed herself, her hand going to cup his cheek gently. "Don't make me lose you too."

Eugene exhaled all the air in his lungs with a "oh", his eyes warm and tingling as he realised that, in the middle of the worst loss of her life, Arianna was worried about him, wanted to protect him - was, to him, the only mother he ever knew. He was trembling, or she was trembling, he wasn't sure, because he abandoned all pretenses and swiped her in a crushing hug that she returned desperately.

For the first time since the Snap, Eugene cried.

------

As much as he wanted to just up and go, it took nearly a week for Eugene to be able to leave. Mostly because he helped the reinstated Captain of the Guard with the strategy the kingdom should adopt given the current situations, and also because they still needed more information before being able to. As surprising as it may sound, the Captain and him worked really well together, and Cassandra's help had too been invaluable.

"Fitzherbert," the Captain had called after him, a few minutes before their departure.

"Yes?"

"This," he gestured to the uniform Eugene had worn not too long ago, "is not permanent. I'm not un-retiring, we clear?"

Eugene could only nod, his throat dry, because he hadn't even thought they would want him back, considering the absolute disasters that happened during his short time. He was grateful, more than they could imagine because he had liked being Captain - he had liked the trust they were giving him and he had liked to be useful. He was glad it wasn't over yet.

As he told Arianna, only Cassandra and him went or, more precisely, both of them plus Max and Fidella. Eugene had worried about taking Maximus with him, considering this horse was the best guard in all Corona, but the same Maximus had decided for them that he would go with, and Eugene had never won a single argument with him.

They took the balloon for the long distances and that was the start of their search for Zhan Tiri.

The Demanitus’ device they managed to activate thanks to Varian's work was a radar that allowed them to get an idea on where Zhan Tiri was hiding thanks to the sheer energy the demon emitted, now that it possessed the powers of both the sundrop and the moonstone - but they soon realised that Zhan Tiri was playing with them. It lured them from places to places, appearing long enough for them to know that it worked, before disappearing - or worse.

"You’ve got to stop doing this," Cassandra muttered, tightening the bandage around his arm painfully. Eugene grunted, but didn’t bother answering, the pain a good distraction from the glare she was throwing him.

He yelped when she hit shin hard with her boot, before scowling at her as he took his arm from her hands. It was bandaged enough, anyway, and he didn’t have to justify his actions when she was the one he protected with this move.

"Eugene," she had said when he mumbled that he would go get something to eat, "you can't save them if you're dead."

He didn't answer, again, but that didn't stop her words from hitting their mark. He knew he had to do better.

Time passed quickly, and too slowly at the same time, until Eugene realised that it had been three months since the Snap and that he was still expecting Rapunzel to appear from time to time. Or Lance, or Catalina, or his Dad, or each and every person that he lost at the same time - his mind couldn't wrap itself over it so he just… didn't. Denial was his middle name, these days.

He had, quite ironically, started a journal, where he detailed precisely moments of their travels so he could tell everything to Rapunzel when he saw her. He knew she would appreciate it. Sometimes, it wasn't so much descriptions as it was letters, to them, the ones he lost - most often to Rapunzel. Sometimes, he only wrote "I'm sorry", because saying anything else would break him and he couldn't be weak - he couldn't let them down again.

Cassandra and him talked, a lot more than he expected. At first, he had asked of her that she recount to him every moment she spent with Zhan Tiri, a desperate attempt to find some kind of clue about what it could want. From there, she was the one who went into more personal territory, telling him about her choices and her regrets. He couldn't find it in himself to extend the same trust, because he couldn't conjure the force to talk about their lost friends except as if they had all went on an unexpected trip.

But he did try, with Cassandra. He told her about the things he had trouble forgiving her. Then, he told her about things he had trouble forgiving himself for. Little things, but that was better than nothing.

On Rapunzel's birthday, he said nothing. Not a word, not a joke, he barely made any noise at all. Thankfully, Cassandra left him relatively alone - something that Rapunzel would have never allowed, but that he wouldn't allow from anyone but her. On her birthday, he wrote about the proposal he had been imagining since his own real birthday - since he found out Rapunzel had a ring for him. He wrote about taking her on a boat, and putting the ring in a cupcake for Pascal to reveal. He wrote about how he imagined she would shut him down, if she still wasn't ready, and he wrote about how he imagined she would accept, if she was. He wrote about how much he loved her, but not how much he missed her, because there were already tears running down his cheeks and he didn't think he could stay silent if he did.

He remembered telling her that they should stop doing their birthday tradition of being put in mortal danger, but now he wished for these moments back because, at least, in the end he knew she was alright.

He shut the journal down.

Thankfully, Rapunzel's birthday only lasted a day. Lance's birthday too. Edmund's too. Catalina's, Frederick's, Varian's… He hated birthdays again, now.

It had been a year, since they went after Zhan Tiri. They had come back to Corona once or twice, the balloon a good mode of transportation and owl a great message carrier, but despite all of their efforts, each time they found Zhan Tiri - nearly once every three days - the demon easily knocked them down and disappeared again. It was playing with them, and Eugene still couldn't see what was the point of it all.

No one in Corona dared to tell Eugene that maybe it was hopeless, but he could see in their eyes that it was what most thought - one of the reason they didn't come back more often. Cassandra understood. They argued, but, in the end, they were made of the same stuff, and they had the same goal.

Eugene still missed Rapunzel so much it felt like a missing limb, but he was clinging to this pain, clinging to his grief as if it was new, because he refused to mourn. Mourning was giving up, and he couldn't. He couldn't understand how Arianna and Frederick lived eighteen years through this, eighteen tears thinking that Rapunzel might be dead but never giving up hope. Each day made him quite aware that he wouldn't last eighteen years - not when only one broke him this much. Soon, there wouldn't be any pieces of him that could be picked up.

Finally, they found the solution in their beginning: the eclipse. Exactly one year after the Snap, some kind of poetic irony Eugene didn't want to think about.

Whatever Zhan Tiri did to get away each time, whatever great power it possessed - the day of the eclipse, Zhan Tiri was weakened. Once that Eugene and Cassandra understood that they needed the sundrop and the moonstone in its arms to touch, it was scarily quick to defeat this demon that took so much from them.

One year. One year of pain and grief, for it to be over in less than an hour. Eugene would have laughed, if his heart wasn't beating so loudly inside his ears as he watched the glowing stone floating in front of them, a beautiful mix of the moon and the sun's powers.

It wasn't over yet.

Maximus neighed worriedly but Eugene ignored him as he got to his feet, ready to take this stone and turn everything back as it should be. It was a hand, however, that stopped him.

"Eugene, this- This could kill you," Cassandra said, a question she couldn't ask between these words. 

"We didn't come this far just to turn back now," he answered plainly, no doubts lingering in his mind. "And if I can't bring them back…"

He didn't finish the thought, but Cassandra heard it loud and clear. This was their last chance, their last hope; if this didn't work, then… They had one year of grief to catch up on. She didn't think she could survive it, and she definitely knew he wouldn't. She had seen him unravelling, more than anyone. He had a journal full of stories dedicated to ghosts he couldn't let go of.

"Then, let's do it together," she announced firmly, her own decision taken. Maybe, at least, they wouldn't die - maybe she could save Eugene, even if she couldn't save anyone else. She hoped it wouldn't come to that, but she was tired of losing people because of her mistakes.

He looked about to protest, but nodded in the end. They approached the stone, pushing against the ring of energy encircling it, her hand gripping his sleeve. Eugene wondered what Rapunzel would think, now that both of her favourite people in the world got along - she would be overjoyed, he knew, and he couldn't help but smile at the idea that he would see her soon...

One way or another.

They grabbed the stone, together. They looked at each other but couldn't really see, blinded by the energy coursing through their veins. Eugene was the first one to talk - he sang the healing incantation, and Cassandra followed suit.

Flower, gleam and glow

Let your power shine

Make the clock reverse

Bring back what once was mine

The words were heavy and clumsy on his tongue, nothing of the grace he remembered Rapunzel having. He thought back to this night, at the campfire, when she healed his hand - thought back to this day, this smile, this woman who changed his life forever.

Heal what has been hurt

Change the Fates' design

Save what has been lost

Bring back what once was mine

He was begging at this point. Who, he didn't know, but for the first time since he hugged Arianna, he let himself feel the possibility of a world without his dad, without Lance or Varian or all his other friends - without Rapunzel, and he begged, because the pain in his heart was too great to consider even living in this reality.

What once was mine, they both finished, and the power exploded out of their hands, toward the sky, sending them both flying.

Maximus shook Eugene awake, one more second away from outright licking him - which would have disgusted them both. Eugene gasped, sat back up quickly, his eyes darting to Cassandra - seeing that, thankfully, she was also getting back up. Then, he looked around him.

There were flowers that hadn't been there before. A bird was looking around, apparently a bit dazed, before he took off - but Eugene was sure that all the birds had fled when the showdown with Zhan Tiri began. There was life, when there had only been half of it before.

Eugene flop back down, and laughed so hard he cried.

------

Getting back to Corona was the most stressful journey Eugene had ever been on. He almost started to write in his journal, until he realised that it was his way to talk to Rapunzel when she was not here - but she was now. He would see her soon, it was merely a two days journey in the balloon; he didn't need to write anymore. So he fidgeted, instead, his mind running with the best and the worst scenarios for their return. He also thought about those he had left in Corona - about Arianna, being back with her family; Quirin, finally reunited with his son; Angry, being hugged by both Catalina and Lance after a year apart. Had it been a year for them? He didn't think so, but he'd only know for sure once he was back. He wondered what Rapunzel must think, now that she surely had been briefed on the situation. Was she worried? Nobody knew where they were, exactly, or how they won against Zhan Tiri so, for all she knew, they could be hurt. All the more reason to get back as soon as possible.

Cassandra, for her part, was nervous but also worried. Half of Corona still thought of her as the crazy moonstone lady that put them in the clutch of Zhan Tiri, and she didn't want to know how they would react to her. Eugene threw her a knowing glance, but didn't think he could reassure as well as Rapunzel would surely do once they were back.

Because they would soon be back, and he would soon see her. Was he giddy or queasy? He wasn't sure.

They saw Corona well before the were above it, and Eugene popped his fingers so much Cassandra nearly worried he would break them. Then she was two busy biting her lips to make any kind of comment.

Neither of them were ready for the applause.

As the balloon got closer to the castle, they heard cheers and claps. Eugene peered over the edge of the balloon and saw that a lot of Coronans - a lot more than when he left - were gathering on the streets and cheering them on, some going as far as calling their names. Eugene smiled, and said nothing as he saw Cassandra get more emotional beside him, this acceptance more than she expected - even if it was deserved. Maximus headbutted him and Eugene petted him, a little absently because the were only moments away from landing.

Moments away from seeing them again.

In the yard, they were met by the wide-eyed stares of the guards and Eugene felt something lift in his heart when he saw that Conli, who had been turned into dust, was back. He was even more surprised when they called him Captain, before crowding him and Cassandra. The Captain - James - went to hug his daughter, but Eugene, as touched as he felt, really wanted to run to the throne room, because he felt that was where he'd find her.

He extracted himself and ran toward the stairs leading to the front door, not even having the awareness to excuse himself. They'd understand.

Eugene arrived in front of the door and, as he lifted his hand toward it, the doors were thrown open.

His eyes met Rapunzel's green ones. She hadn't changed a bit, except for her hair that was now short again and- and-

Eugene threw himself at her, bringing them both to their knees as he hugged her as tight as he could. She wasn't light, she wasn't dust, she was a sure weight against him that he knew like the back of his hand. She breathed his name, and he laughed weakly, tears making their way silently to her dress as he buried his head in the crook of her neck.

Rapunzel's right hand was tracing circles on his back as an attempt to sooth him. Eugene briefly opened his eyes and saw, from the corner of his vision, Cassandra standing awkwardly to the side, a shy but genuine smile on her lips. Eugene shifted, raised his hand to her - and she took it, nonplussed.

He pulled her into the hug. Rapunzel beamed, he could feel it on the skin of his neck, and he closed his eyes again.

Which was why he didn't see Lance get closer to them until he was hugging all three of them, his arms massive and familiar and safe. It was like a dam broke open and, suddenly, Catalina, Angry, Varian all jumped on them. Then, there was Edmund's arm settling on Eugene shoulder, and the flowery perfume Arianna always wore appearing to his left, with Frederick's rumbling laugh to accompany it. More people came, and maybe Eugene couldn't breathe, maybe there was still something in his heart that would never be completely fixed, but they would heal because they were home.

They were all home.

[kbandtrash]

Surrounded (Mafia Crossover AU)(Part 5)

~Megan~

Masterlist

Day6/N.Flying/The Rose/Like any other kband honestly x Reader

Warnings: Violence, self-harm

Word Count: 1.5k

Part 1

You looked at Taehyung nervously.

“Hey,” he greeted calmly.

You began to scratch at your arms in nervousness. He slapped them away. 

"I've been told of your scratching habits. Care to tell me about it?" You shook your head. "No, I don't know much. I just know that I scratch." He gestured for you to sit on your bed and you obliged. "Do you know why you do it?" As you settled on the bed, you looked at him. He was handsome, though his face when he smiled was cuter than handsome. "Um... I suppose it's because I get nervous. Then my body starts scratching and I don't notice it." He nodded, in thought now. "Y/N, do you remember anything from before the dungeon?" "I was told—" "No, do you remember anything?" "Oh... no, not at the moment." "Okay. I need you to lie down." You nodded without a thought and did so. He stood beside you and reached for your hand. You flinched when he touched it. "It's okay, I'm not going to do anything dumb. Trust me." You bit your lip softly and let him take your hand. You felt his finger trace something in the palm of your hand. You try to make sense of it, but he wasn't writing anything you understood. He sighed. "Y/N, close your eyes." You hesitated. He was a stranger and you didn't trust him. But you found your eyes closing. Then Taehyung began tapping his feet softly, a steady beat. You felt your mind go blank. He began to whisper. "Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two," he counted slowly. "One," you finished for him. He smiled. He had calmed you enough and now his hypnotism had taken effect. "Y/N, what is your real name?" he asked, figuring he would start out with a simple question. But when you answered, he faltered. "Experiment 1." He shook it off. "Alright, good. Can you tell me who you work for?" "The Rose." Taehyung frowned. He hadn't been told of your relations with their biggest enemy. He continued anyway. "I hear you are a superhuman. What power did you have?" "Enhanced strength, speed, agility. The ability to create and control fire." Creation of fire… but how is it possible to control it? He bit his lip in anticipation. "What did you do in The Rose?" "I killed." Taehyung shuddered. "Who was the last person you were supposed to kill?" You didn't answer for a few seconds, but before he could ask again, you had spoken again. "You." Taehyung felt his insides crawl. "Do you know who I am?" "Yes. You are Kim Taehyung, a therapist, mythologist, and a person very much against the Mafia. You are close with a man named Seo Ka—" Taehyung let go of your hand and you stopped talking. He stopped tapping his foot as well. "Y/N, wake up." Your eyes flew open and you stared at Taehyung. "What's wrong? What happened?" "I... I'm going to tell you something about what you just said. You have to tell me whether you remember knowing it or not." "O-okay." Taehyung hesitated. "Y/N... you told me your real name was Experiment 1." "What?" "Okay. You also told me that you were a superhuman with enhanced strength, speed, agility, and... control over fire." "I didn't know that." "You said... that before you were taken here, you were told to... to kill... me." "Are you serious?" He nodded fearfully. "I-I wouldn't hurt you. Or anyone else." "But didn't you just, you know, cut Dowoon open?" You swallowed and shivered, sitting up. "I... did." Taehyung stepped back from you. "There was more that you told me." You took in a shaky breath. "Okay." "You knew who I was. You said I was a therapist, mythologist, and... someone against the Mafia." "I didn't know the last two." "That isn't all. You started to talk about who I was friends with, and that's when I stopped you." You were pale. "Oh." "But that's okay. I trust you not to kill me." "Are you sure?" He frowned. "I should go get Wonpil." "Uh, why?" "He made me promise to bring you to him after this." "Okay..." You slid off the bed, your legs still weak and buckling underneath you. Taehyung caught you quickly and helped you balance. You turned a bright shade of pink. You walked down the halls, noticing all of the windows had been closed. It was dark; the lights overhead had been shut off. A door down the hall opened and light poured out. Taehyung pushed you both to the wall, as if he were hiding you from sight. Voices echoed down the halls. "Dowoon lost a lot of blood, but as long as he stays there for at least a week, he won't die." "Won't die? Is that it? Will he be able to work again after that?" "About a month after that at the least. I'm sorry." Someone scoffed. "If I hadn't taken Y/N down there. I could've just told him without her there." "I know you had more to say than just telling him to keep an eye on her." "You got me. I... I needed him to save her." "Why him? I thought Young K was supposed to do that, actually." Taehyung turned to look at you. He had a questioning look on his face. You shrugged in response and then continued to listen. "He was. But I know he's not strong enough. You know it, too. The only ones actually able to do it are Dowoon and Sungjin, unless we count Hweseung." "I don't think we should count Hweseungie. But you're right, I guess. Well, you better get going before Sungjin realizes you aren't in detention yet." "Yeah, alright. Bye, Pillie." The door closed. Taehyung waited a moment and then led you toward the door. He opened it silently and revealed Wonpil sitting at his desk. Wonpil turned to look at you. His eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Tae? And Y/N? What are you guys doing here?" "You told me to visit when I had the chance, didn't you?" "Well, yeah, but not during lockdown!" You interrupted, confused. "Why are we on lockdown?" "Because someone from The Rose was spotted a block away, beside the fact that we don't know if you're done with your relapse," Wonpil stated worriedly. "Relapse?" "Yeah, when you attacked Mr. Yoon it was labeled as a relapse of your old power." Wonpil rubbed the back of his neck. Taehyung sat on the bed. "So you're saying that she's technically a criminal and she's not allowed to leave her room?" "More or less." You blinked. "Why didn't they just put me back in the dungeon?" Wonpil had a 'duh' look on his face. "We're not heartless. Also Taehyung refused to do therapy down there." "Yep," Tae nodded proudly, "you're welcome." You were about to scratch your arms, but found your hands reaching up to your head. You ran your fingers through your hair. Taehyung gaped at you. "Woah, I just realized you're pretty." Wonpil slapped his arm. "I thought you grew out of being a child." "Nope." You, meanwhile, were blushing. "Am I actually pretty?” Suddenly your stomach twisted as something flashed in your mind. You were confused, so you decided to bring it up. “Even though... I'm a... murderer?" Tae went quiet, an unsettled look on his face. "Dowoon's not dead, though." "But...I just remembered something." Wonpil and Taehyung went completely still, staring at you for you to go on. You gulped as the disgusting feeling in the pit of your stomach only grew. "I killed a guy named Junhyeok." Wonpil's fists clenched suddenly. He began to shake. "Junhyeok?" You seemed to just realize what you were saying. Your eyes went wide. "Oh my gosh. I killed someone. Did... you know him?" "Y-yeah. He was part of Day6 for a while, through training and until he became a professional. We knew he died. But... nothing showed that he was killed." Wonpil took in a shaky breath and turned away, hiding his tear-filled eyes. You felt tears run down your cheeks. "But.. I killed someone, Wonpil. I killed someone. Like, murder." Tae's hand twitched. "But you're not a murderer now. You don't answer to The Rose anymore. You won't go back to that life, right?" "Of course not!" you exclaimed. It seemed like you were trying to convince yourself as much as Taehyung. The door opened suddenly. You felt your body go weak and you wiped your tears away quickly. Wonpil stuttered, "W-woos-sung?" "That's me," the man in the doorway said brightly, spreading his arms wide proudly. He smiled at you and everyone shivered at his face that showed he had gone crazy. "And I hear my Experiment is here."

Part 6

[therainroguefanfiction]

⁂ Flaws (Jirou Akutagawa) [3 of 4]

◂ Part 2 of 4

Genre: Angst, Mafia AU, Dark, Crossover, Fluff ☁

Word Count: 1,810 ☁

Pairing: High School Reader x Jirou ☁

World: Prince of Tennis & Katekyo Hitman Reborn! ☁

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Can you forgive my flaws?

Reborn sat in his usual spot at the Sawada’s kitchen table, drinking his espresso and reading the newspaper. Tsuna sat across from him, working on his homework despite not being able to really focus. He was still quite worried about you, who had become quite anti-social since the whole ordeal. Nothing like your normal self; you wouldn’t even argue with Gokudera – a task you normally took joy in.

He sighed, leaning back in his chair. “I need a break. I’ve read the same paragraph ten times and still don’t know what it says.”

“Stop worrying about her,” Reborn sipped his espresso. “She’s a big girl, she can handle her own affairs.”

“It doesn’t matter how old she is, Reborn. She’s family, and family takes care of one another.”

Reborn didn’t respond, he merely went back to reading his paper.

Tsuna sighed in frustration, not understanding why the Arcobaleno had been so cold lately. He gathered up his courage and decided to confront him about this, but the sound of his front door slamming open erased any thought of doing so. He jumped up as you stormed into the room, eyes blazing with anger.

He tried to ask you what was wrong but before he realized what was happening, you had already punched Reborn in the face. The impact sent him out of his chair and you pinned him down to the ground.

“Y/N-san!”

“You mother fucker! Tell me what you did!” You demanded, hands wrapped tight around the collar of his dress shirt. “I want the truth, Reborn!”

“Y/N-san, please calm down!” Tsuna didn’t know what to do. He knew he wasn’t physically strong enough to pull you off, but he also knew he had to do something. “Calm down, we can talk about it.”

“He set me up, Tsuna! He arranged it so Jirou would be there at the same time!” Your knuckles were turning white due to how tight you held him. They throbbed, demanding blood flow, but you couldn’t care less. You wanted answers, needed answers, and you’d get them.

“Why would he do that?”

“I don’t know!” You cried out, fighting back tears. “I don’t know, Tsuna!”

The young mafia leader set his hands on your shoulders. “We can’t solve the problem like this. Let him go,” It took some coaxing, but you finally released your grip on his shirt. He made you sit at the table closest to the doorway.

Reborn, who had remained quiet, rose to his feet. He wiped the small stream of blood from his split lip before leaning against the counter. His face was completely blank and his dark eyes that usually shined with mischievous intent were dull and devoid of emotion.

“Reborn, is there any truth to what she said?” Tsuna asked carefully, glancing at you to make sure you didn’t explode again. He stayed silent, so he turned to you instead. “Why do you say Reborn set you up?”

“I met with a mutual friend of Jirou’s and mine. Jirou told him that Reborn convinced him to go to the park with me that day. He wouldn’t have asked otherwise!”

Tsuna bit his lip in worry. “Is that true, Reborn?”

The Arcobaleno folded his arms across his chest and lowered his head so that his hat covered his eyes. “It is,”

You sprung up out of the chair but Tsuna held his hand up and you stayed put, hands clenched on the table. “Why? Why did you tell him to do that?”

A tense silence fell over the room, lasting a good few minutes before Reborn finally looked up at you. When he did, you froze at the ice in his eyes.

“Because I wanted him to see what you are; what you do. Did you really believe it would last, Y/N? Did you honestly think you could live a happy little life with that boy? He doesn’t love you. He never did. Did you know that he asked you out because of a dare? I did you a favor. You clearly couldn’t take care of it yourself.” And with that, Reborn left the room, leaving behind an ice-cold silence.

You fell onto the chair, your legs not able to hold your weight any longer. Your brain tried to process all of the information it had gathered over the past few days, but it seemed like the more it tried, the harder it failed to make sense of everything. Your head started to pound, feeling as if it would crack in half with the slightest of movement on your part. You didn’t know what to say. You didn’t even know what to feel.

Was Reborn right?

“Y/N-san?” Tsuna called to you, resting his hand on your shoulder gently like you might shatter into pieces if he grabbed you too tightly. “Are you okay?”

“I… I was a dare?” You sounded so lost, it broke Tsuna’s heart. “I was a dare, Tsuna?”

“I don’t know…” He replied, slowly pulling you into his arms.

“What do I do, boss? I don’t know what to do.”

“I think… I think you should confront him. Not just about that, but about that day. It’ll be hard, really hard, but it’s better than leaving things the way they are now. You have to do this. You can do this.”

“What if I’m not strong enough to face him?”

“That’s nonsense. You’re the strongest person I know.” He pulled back, cupping your cheeks and forcing you to look at him. “All those times I wanted to give up, all those times I refused to be the new boss of the Vongola, all those times I doubted myself… you never gave up on me. You were always there for me when I needed you. No matter how difficult the situation was, you never let me back down. Now it’s my turn.” He smiled encouragingly. “I know you’re strong enough.”

“Thank you, Tsuna.” And for the first time since the incident, you smiled.

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After nearly two days of convincing yourself that you were, indeed, strong enough to confront Jirou, you found yourself waiting outside the gates of Hyotei Gakuen. The longer you stood there waiting for tennis practice to end, the more nervous you got. You hated how scared and weak you were feeling. God, you felt like a scared little girl and it pissed you off.

Your phone buzzed in your pocket and you pulled it out to find a new message from Hiyoshi.

‘I’m about to leave the locker room’, it read, ‘Jirou is the last one in there. If you’re gonna do it, now’s your chance.’

Taking a deep breath, you hoisted yourself over the gate and sped over toward the team’s changing room, making sure to avoid the sightline of anyone that got too close. Hiyoshi passed by you just as you made it to the changing room and he punched you lightly on the arm – his way of saying ‘good luck’.

Another deep breath before pushing open the locker room door.

Jirou had already changed back into his uniform and was sitting on the bench, knelt over as he tied his shoes. He hadn’t noticed your entrance, giving you a few extra seconds to compose yourself.

He stood up, putting his bag on his back before turning toward the door and promptly freezing, eyes wide.

“Hey,” you called softly, shoving your hands into the pockets on your jeans as you leaned back against the door. “Can we talk?”

He didn’t respond, just clutched the strap of his bag tighter.

“Listen, I know you’re scared of me. I don’t blame you, okay? I get it.” Deep breath. “I’d never hurt you, Jirou. Not intentionally. I never wanted…”

“Me to know that you murder people for a living?” His voice was low, like he was afraid of speaking too loudly. The words still managed to slice through you. He was right, of course, but it hurt like hell hearing it from him.

“Yeah… I’m part of the mafia and my job is to kill scumbags and protect the innocent. I lied to you, okay? That much is obvious, but I’m not the only one that’s lied.”

His brow furrowed and he seemed almost angry. “What have I lied about?”

You swallowed down the lump in your throat, but your voice still cracked when you spoke. “I was a dare wasn’t I?”

Jirou’s eyes widened slightly in surprise. “W-What?”

“You asked me out because you were dared to, not because you liked me.” The pain was slowly starting to mold into anger, as it usually tended to do with you. “Don’t you dare look down on me Jirou Akutagawa. Yeah, I fucking lied, but at least I have the guts to admit it. I was trying to protect you, you were trying to protect yourself.” You paused for a moment, considering your next move.

After a quick internal debate, you pulled a necklace from your pocket and tossed it at him. It was the necklace he had bought for you shortly after you had started dating; a black diamond dragon surrounded by stainless steel. He knew how much you loved dragons and figured that you would love the pendant, which you did, but now it just burned a hole in your pocket. You had to get rid of it or you’d never be able to move on.

“Our whole relationship was built on lies from the ground up. It never would have worked.”

You turned around and left, and Jirou didn’t stop you.

━━━━━━༻🌧️༺━━━━━━

Rain fell lightly from the darkened sky, matching the mood that you felt. You were sitting on the Sawada’s porch, thinking about everything that had happened the past few days. Your heart was still hurting, but you understand that time heals all wounds.

Although your eyes were closed, you could sense the presence of the sun Arcobaleno approaching you. He didn’t say anything as he took a seat beside you, his arm bumping against your own.

You decided to swallow your pride; keeping it would do nothing. “I’m sorry for punching you,”

“You know how to apologize?”

You didn’t have to look at him to know he was smirking. Rather than the cold demeanor he had been using, he was back to his old self and it made you feel at ease like nothing had changed.

“Don’t get used to it.” You nudged his arm. “We cool?”

Reborn stood up and headed for the front door. “I’ve got a new job for you. If you think you can handle it,”

You smirked, following after the man.

You still thought that Reborn was an ass for what he did, but you came to realize that he was trying to protect you in his own twisted way. After all, Reborn is family, and you don’t turn your back on family.

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▸ Part 4 of 4

📜 Read more by checking out my masterlist 📜

[falseroar]

Dark Laughter Part 8: Studio Time

((Here are links to Part 7: Just Be Happy and the start of the series, Part 1: What Dark Saw. Hey look, no warnings this time!))

The studio space that the egos used was, much like the rest of their home, not quite right with reality. Every time it was used it seemed just that little bit different, whether because the ceiling was slightly higher one day than the next or the segmented walls weren’t guaranteed to be in the same place every time the studio was used. Considering the wildly different uses the egos put the area to, there were props and flimsy backgrounds littering the floor everywhere outside of the relatively small space that was actually used for filming.

It also didn’t help that keeping a steady crew outside of the egos themselves was nearly impossible, as the guests weren’t the only ones lucky to survive even one segment. Right now, aside from the four egos standing around the cameras, the only other normal person was a man attending to the monitors where an earlier recording of Bim’s game show was playing.

“Wilford, why did you drag me here?” Dark asked, noticing that the Google standing among the other egos had already spotted him and was attempting to give him a warning glare. Dark returned it with interest and a silent promise to make the android regret any hasty words this time.

The glare was somewhat ruined when Wilford threw one arm around his shoulders and patted Dark’s cheek with his other hand. “I think it’s time to put you in front of the camera again! The fans have been asking for it, and this face deserves to be on the screen!”

Wilford shook his hand after the pat to dispel some of the cold seeping from Dark’s aura as he scowled. Behind him, the row of monitors began to flicker with static and ghost images while the intern pulled off his headphones and threw them as far away as possible.

“Or behind the camera is good too. Can never get enough help these days, and yes, Jerry, I’m talking about you. Tell your wife I said hi!”

Wilford ducked to avoid the mike that sailed through the space where his head had been a second ago and added to Dark as if nothing just happened, “But you want to get in the in, on the up and up, am I right? Here’s where we start.”

Wilford winked and strode across the studio floor toward the four egos.

“Good evening, everyone! Are we ready to start?”

“If you mean start my show, then yes,” Bim said, straightening his tie as he watched Wilford approach. “I have the studio for the day, and we still need to go two more rounds. Isn’t that right, my lovely contestants?”

“Uh, they all, uh, made a run for it,” Eric said from his place offstage and away from the cameras even though they were clearly not on. “During the break. The crew too. Jerry, um, he was the last one but I guess he’s gone now? Not that, uh, that’s Mr. Warfstache’s fault or anything, I’m sure he…had other things to do…”

Yandereplier hissed under their breath and said, “Yeah, kind of hard to finish the game without the players. Sorry, Bim.”

Yandereplier shrugged and the red-shirted Google appeared to be unable to care any less than he already did, but Eric seemed to make a determined effort to appear even smaller than his usual cowering. Bim’s anger, however, had only one target in mind as his eyes narrowed behind his glasses.

“Why do you do this every time?! Can’t you let me finish one segment without you butting your giant pink mustache into it?”

“Well, I don’t see how all that was my fault,” Wilford said, not backing down as Bim stormed up to him. “I’ve warned you about locking those doors, but you’re always so surprised when people run away because they ‘want to live’ or whatever. Why do you even bother with these game shows, anyways? Oh, whoop de do, ‘I’m the next Alex Trebek’ or whoever the kids are watching these days. Why don’t you ever change it up a little? Have some fun?”

Bim swelled up and gripped the lapels of his jacket as he gave Wilford the hard stare. “How dare you! Alex Trebek is a national treasure!”

“I’m…not sure that’s what you should be taking offense to,” Dark said as he approached. “And I also recall that you made an attempt to host your own game show, Wilford. What exactly did you have in mind here?”

“Hm…” Wilford paused to consider, long enough to confirm to everyone present he had no clue, before he said, “Oh, I know, how about an interview! Haven’t done one of those in a while.”

“And you’re not doing one while it’s still my studio time,” Bim said.

“Besides, how exactly is doing the thing you’ve always done changing it up?” Yandere asked, but both hosts ignored them.

“I’ll have to get my interviewing knife,” Wilford murmured to himself, patting down his thighs as he spoke. “How embarrassing, to be caught out with only my shooty and no stabbys.”

“Yan, go dig out some costumes, Eric, put on a wig, and Google, find some egos with nothing better to do, we’re finishing this show!”

“…Can I be the contestant that doesn’t have to go through the grinder?” Eric asked.

“Grinder?” Dark repeated.

“Only if you get your questions right!” Bim answered, playfully slapping the younger ego on the back. “…And get lucky with the Wheel of Wow.”

“No one is going through any grinder,” Dark said.

“Because we’re going to need to set up for the interview,” Wilford added. “Eric, find my chairs, Google, set the lighting, Yan, keep being beautiful, you. Oh, who should our guest be? I hear there’s a kid named Sally Face who’s got some wild stories to tell, we just need to get past the guards and—”

“Uh, no, we’re going to finish the game! You can’t just leave the grinder waiting!”

“…I rather think we can,” Dark muttered, noting to himself that this is exactly why almost no one else in the house ever got presents from Santa. He reached out and grabbed Eric’s shoulder while he waffled back and forth on who to listen to and said, “Just give it a minute.”

“I, uh—” Eric flinched as both Wilford and Bim threw out conflicting orders on what he should be doing as their argument escalated, starting with reasonable requests such as to get one of the others and going on to tearing down the set, finding a prison guard’s uniform, and turning on the “fighting music,” whatever that was. “Should we do something?”

“Nah,” Yandere said as they pulled out their phone to check some messages. “This happens all the time. Just let ‘em vent, right Google?”

“To save on memory and data usage, this unit ignores orders until the fighting stops,” Google answered, watching as Bim reached his arm up and around, trying to get a hold of Wilford’s mustache from the half nelson hold Wilford had him locked in. “Longest recorded time was 4 hours, 37 minutes, and 3 seconds.”

“Only because you stopped counting during the great pineapple on pizza debate because you said it was stupid,” Yandere pointed out. “That lasted, like, weeks.”

“Yes. We completed several tasks while you lesser beings were occupied arguing the merits of frivolous and ultimately meaningless energy consumption,” Google said, smiling to himself. “It was a good time.”

As entertaining as this was, Dark didn’t feel like waiting to see if these two would break that record. “That is enough. Wilford, enough!”

He hauled on both of them, pulling them up to their feet and using his aura to separate the two long enough for Wilford to fix his suspenders and Bim to run a hand over some flyaway hairs.

“Neither of you are going to be recording anything,” Dark said, and interrupted them before either could protest. “Bim, you have no crew, no contestants, and you might as well just try to salvage what you can from what you’ve already recorded at this point or start over. Wilford, you don’t even have a guest, much less any prepared questions, and again, no film crew.”

“Pft, who needs preparation?” Wilford asked.

“Weren’t you just saying you wanted to try and work on scripts a few minutes ago?” Dark asked.

“But this is my studio time, I don’t want to just waste it.” Bim scowled. “Who even asked you, anyways?”

“I could let Wilford put you back into a headlock,” Dark offered. “There’s enough cameras around here, maybe we could film that and post it instead.”

“I mean, I got most of it on my phone already,” Yandere chimed in. “But if you want to keep going, we could get some sweet angles, maybe get some props to beat each other with. Google, you can handle music, right?”

“I have access to a wide variety of music which may be suitable for this situation,” Google said. His eyes blanked for a moment and then he added, “Would you prefer heavy metal or banjo?”

“Banjo!” Wilford answered, cracking his knuckles.

Bim paused to consider and said, “You know, if you wanted another pair of eyes on those scripts, I’m sure we can come up with something…A little less harmful to my health?”

Wilford’s mustache tilted as his mouth twisted underneath it and he stroked his chin. “A crossover, you say? A little something to keep the fans guessing?”

Bim couldn’t hide his relief that Wilford was already moving on to another idea, but that meant he now had to follow up. After a moment of struggle, his eyes lit up. “You know, these ninja warrior, ultimate champion obstacle course type shows are fairly popular these days.”

“Obstacles?” Wilford grinned and rubbed his hands together. “Pits. Pendulums. Possibilities.”

“I know where we can get some chiranhas who are ready for some fresh me—er, fun.”

“Bim, my buddy, I think it may be time to move outside of this studio and really get our hands dirty,” Wilford said, throwing an arm around the ego’s shoulders. “Tell me more about these chiranhas.”

Dark watched the two of them start throwing ideas back and forth and admitted aloud, “I may have just unleashed a great evil upon this world.”

“Eh, it’s Tuesday. Bound to happen eventually,” Yandere said with a shrug. “You should see what I got up to in the Occult Club last week.”

“Remember, don’t make any deals with demons without letting me vet them first,” Dark said out of reflex and Yandere snorted. He noticed that Google was still giving him the glare and asked, “What? What problem could you possibly have with me right now?”

“It is my directive to keep an eye on you when in the same vicinity in case you revert to previous modes of behavior,” Google answered. “That same directive warns against behavior designed to curry favor or increased familiarity in an attempt to regain your previous station within the house.”

“For how long?” Dark asked. After all, he could wait. He had been patient before, he could do it again.

“Unspecified.” Google turned his head at a call from Bim and walked away without waiting for Dark’s response. Probably a good thing, as Dark wanted nothing more right then than to rewrite the android’s “directive” in a…manual kind of way.

Before long, Wilford and Bim were drawing out plans across the studio floor with Google running numbers and Yandere throwing in the occasional suggestion. Eric watched from a distance, “um”-ing and attempting once or twice to suggest that some of their ideas might be a little too lethal, but to no avail.

They were so wrapped up in their plans that some time passed before Wilford looked up and then around the studio before asking, “Say, where did that Dark go? He should be helping us!”

“Disagreed,” Bim said. “Do you think a second flamethrower would be too obvious?”

“He left a while ago,” Eric said and looked away when Wilford gave him a sharp look. “I guess he, uh, had something he needed to say to Y/N? Only they walked by the door and he practically ran after them.”

“Logical error noted,” Google said and grunted when Wilford pushed past him and ran out of the studio.

“Yeah, like that,” Eric said weakly. “Is���is something wrong, do you think?”

“Eric Derekson’s statement is incorrect,” Google continued, scowling a little as he rubbed at the spot where Wilford’s hand hit him. “Y/N is currently in the infirmary with another Google unit, and they have not left the room since they arrived two hours ago.”

“Well, it looked like them,” Eric said, frowning.

“Maybe you just wanted to see them,” Yandere said. “I see my Senpai in all kinds of places. In the clouds. In my tea leaves. In the monitor connected to the secret camera I set up in his bedroom.”

“…What?”

Bim sighed at the flurry of notes and stood up, dusting off his pants as he checked his watch. “Is it that late? We’re going to be late for dinner, and I have a feeling Wilford won’t be coming back anytime soon from wherever he’s run off to. Come on, if we’re too late, Chef Iplier will rope us into helping wash the dishes.”

“Ugh, I had prune hands forever after last time,” Yandere said, leading the way to the studio door.

But Google beat them all to it and slammed the door shut before locking it on the inside.

“Uh, what’s the deal there, Googs?” Bim asked.

The ‘G’ glowed on his red shirt, but the android’s eyes were vacant as he spoke as if reading off from an internal memo.

“Lockdown has been initiated. No one is to leave their current area, and no one is to go anywhere alone or unsupervised. All egos are to remain in place for their own safety.”

---

Dark swore as he rounded the corner and found yet another empty hallway. He had seen you just feet ahead seconds ago, but there was no sign of anyone as he continued on, checking every door he walked past as if you had enough time to duck inside before he could catch up. Rain lashed against the windows and he realized that, at some point while he was in the studio, a storm had blown in. Right, the King of the Squirrels had said something about it earlier, hadn’t he? But now the wind shook the house as Dark made his way from room to room before stopping outside of one door in particular.

He knocked, but no answer came from inside your bedroom.

After a pause, he opened the door and peered inside. The room was dark and clearly empty, but he still turned on the light and walked in.

Your bed was undisturbed (how long had you been staying with Mark this time?) and there was nothing obviously out of place as Dark made his way to the closet door and checked inside, just to be on the safe side. A flash of lightning outside the house briefly added to the light in the room and Dark stared down at the empty closet floor.

Where did you hide, when you were at Mark’s house? Was the closet in your room there enough to block out the lightning and thunder and the memories they brought with them?

Dark shut the closet door a little harder than necessary, causing one of the pictures pinned to the board on the wall nearby to flutter. He paused, taking in the series of photographs of you with the other egos, and Mark, and the other friends you had made in the time since you came here. Below the board, a strange stuffed animal sat on top of the dresser, its wide eyes meeting Dark’s. Its species was a complete and total guess, although for some reason Dark hovered between duck or lion.

In its lap was a dried rose petal. It had faded since the time Dark gave the rose to you, the almost black hue more clearly a dark blue that tinted toward red on the outer layer. And, for some reason, there was a trace of green running straight through it.

Dark frowned at the sight of that third color and reached for the petal, but realized he had no time to think about that as thunder shook the house.

“Wilford,” he muttered and turned toward the door.

Only to stop short when he clearly heard a knocking sound, but not from the direction of either door. Following the persistent sound of the knock, Dark turned around and saw the mirror hanging beside your bed, and the figure standing there.

It looked like you, but when Dark met the eyes of the person in the mirror, there wasn’t a single doubt in his mind who he was looking at.

The sound might have been inaudible through the glass, but their response was clear when the District Attorney saw they had his full, undivided attention:

“Finally.”

((End of Part 8. Thank you for reading! “Pits, Pendulums, Possibilities”... probably won’t be coming to a channel near you, for so many legal reasons.

And here’s a link to the next part, Part 9: Storm Warning.

Tagging: @silver-owl413  @skyewardlight @withjust-a-bite  @blackaquokat  @catgirlwarrior @neverisadork @luna1350  @oh-so-creepy @purpstraw @weirdfoxalley  @95fangirl  @lilalovesinternet-l @thepoolofthedead  @a-bit-dapper @randomartdudette  @geekymushroom @cactipresident @hotcocoachia @purple-anxiety-blog @shyinspiredartist @avispate ))

[itspixelberrychoicestime]

A date with a Ghost (HoBM x TF) pt. 4

Book(s): The Freshmore Series x Haunting of Braidwood Manor

Summary: After My Classmate’s (Ghostly) Girlfriend, Hannah (HOBM MC) and Eleanor decided to have a double date with Kaitlyn and Emily (TF MC). And things get weird.| Being put on the spot, Hannah and Eleanor lied about how they met. Kaitlyn is still going through songwriter’s block.

Rating: T

Genre: Crossover

Paring(s): Kaitlyn x TF MC, Eleanor x HOBM MC

Tags: @kennaxval @almogchoices @jbzxls @brooke-1515 @mfackenthal @helentwombly

Notes: PLEASE COMMENT/ REBLOG/ DM ME IF YOU WANT TO BE TAGGED IN FUTURE STORIES!!

Parts: 1, 2, 3, 4 (You are here!), 5, 6, 7

Hannah and Eleanor stared at Emily with a blank face. “Shiiiit!” Hannah thought. 

“Emily...” Kaitlyn rolled her eyes, knowing that her girlfriend would be the one who would want to know everything. “Forgive my girlfriend, she’s a bit nosy.”

Emily playfully smacked Kaitlyn’s arm. “Shut up!” She chuckled, “This just something I was thinking about.”

“Oh!” Eleanor exclaimed, “Well, I am not the one who’s good at telling stories...”

“Oh man, I didn’t mean to put you guys on the spot!” Emily said, “Do you guys wanna heard ours?”

“Uh, sure!” Hannah replied.

“Okay, soooo this was back in Freshman year. It was moving day for Hartfeld’s students who were dorming, and that morning was a bit evenful with meeting another suitemate Chris and my “enemy” Becca. But when I got there, I saw her,” Emily pointed Kaitlyn. “I remember how you were flirting with me.” Emily grabbed Kaitlyn’s hand.

“I gotta say, I was totally damn suave,” Kaitlyn smirked. They both kissed.

Hannah awed, “That’s so cute, how did you guys get together?”

Kaitlyn replied, “We started dating in Winter quarter after opening night of Rosethrone Park.”

“Now, let’s hear about yours.” Emily persisted.

Eleanor gasped, “Oh! Umm, well it’s kind of a strange story...”

Hannah stepped in. “We actually met at the park before she had classes!” She looked at Eleanor, who signaled her to play along. “I was just chilling in the park and Eleanor was new in town. She was transferring schools.”

Eleanor nodded. “Yes! I was having trouble to find my way to the university.”

“I didn’t know you go to Hartfeld, I haven’t see you around.” Kaitlyn wondered.

“She has a weird class schedule.” Hannah explained. She chuckled sheepishly, “She would have some classes either early in the morning or in the evening, y’know.”

“What’re you studying?” Emily asked.

“Ummm... Literature?” Eleanor hoped the girls would fall for it.

“Oh! English lit!” Emily said.

Eleanor went along. “Y-yes! I just love reading the classics from writers like Jane Austen and the Brönte Sisters.”

Emily was impressed. “Well, I still have a couple of weeks to claim a major.”

“Anyway, I saw Eleanor having trouble finding the school and she was sure as lucky to find me there... chilling.” 

“Oh... How did you guys got together?”

Eleanor was stumped while Hannah kept cursing “SHIT” and “FUCK” in her head. Eleanor took a breather and said, “We got to know each other once I invited her to my house. She was having some personal problems along with school, so I was there when she expressed her trouble as much as I did mines.”

Hannah saw Eleanor looking down who had a small grin on her face. “When she told me that her brother died, I felt like I wasn’t the only one who lost someone...”

Kaitlyn and Emily were shocked. “I’m so sorry.” Emily said to the both of the girls as Kaitlyn nodded.

“It’s fine.” Hannah said.

“It’s okay. It was a long time ago, too.” Eleanor continued with her story. “Hannah helped me with facing my demons and I helped with hers. After sometime, we got closer and one day she asked out for coffee, that time when I ran into you and your friends.”

Kaitlyn remembered this. “Yeah, I was with Zack and Tyler. You two got together that day?”

Eleanor nodded. “She was so nervous, but funny enough I was too.”

Hannah didn’t say anything until Eleanor turned to her and asked, “Isn’t that right, sweetie?”

“Yeah... I asked her if she could be my girlfriend, and here we are.”

Emily wiped a nonexistent tear. “That’s so freakin’ adorable!”

Eleanor smiled as she kissed Hannah’s cheek. “Well, should we go on more rides?” She asked.

“Definitely.”

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

“WOOO!” Kaitlyn cheered once the ride was going through a steep dip. 

Emily was hollering in fear as Eleanor was holding Hannah’s arms. “OH MY GOD!” Emily screamed as the ride kept speeding through. As the ride came to an end, Kaitlyn got out of the rollercoaster with her arms pumping in the air.

“Man, that was so much fun!” She cheered.

“Uh, not really!” Emily frowned. 

Eleanor was shaken from the ride while Hannah was holding her to make sure she wouldn’t pass out of shock.

“You okay El?”

“I-I’m fine.” Eleanor said in her jitter.

---------

The girls were walking through vendors after going ride after ride. Eleanor kept looking at the large teddy bear that was up on display. She whispered to Hannah, “Do they make toys that big?”

Hannah explained, “People just like big things.” She suddenly realized what she said, and looked at her girlfriend.

Eleanor gave a doe eyed look. “Oh.”

Hannah giggled as she shook her head. “You want it, do you?”

Eleanor nodded and smiled. “It’s so big!”

Hannah walked to the vendor and slapped down a five dollar bill. With a smirk on her face, Hannah requested, “Three balls please.” 

The vendor set three balls in front of Hannah. She grabbed a ball and focused the position to hit the bottles. Hannah’s swing knocked all the bottles down from their position.

“Holy crap! How?” Kaitlyn exclaimed.

“I was the pitcher in my high school’s baseball team.” Hannah meekly smiled. She handed Eleanor the large stuff animal.

---------

Nighttime was the perfect time to go on the Ferris Wheel. The girls had just got on and by the time the ride started, Eleanor gripped the sides of the seat.

“Nervous?” Kaitlyn asked.

Eleanor replied, “Yes. I feel as if I could fall any moment.”

“You’re okay. I got you.” Hannah wrapped her arm around Eleanor.

Kaitlyn pulled out her phone and was thinking what to write for the band’s new song. She kept scrolling through her phone memos, but to no avail. She groaned annoyingly. She knew she had to find a way to finish this song.

“Kaitlyn,” Eleanor called her. “Is there something wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong, I’ve been having some songwriting problems.”

“You sing?”

“I’m in a band.” Kaitlyn replied. “I usually am the one who writes the songs and now, my band is competing for Battle of the Bands.”

Eleanor was intrigued. “Oh, well I hope you win.”

“Thanks, I kinda needed that since Loose Pins are also competing.”

“Loose... Pins?” Eleanor raised an eyebrow. 

Kaitlyn sighed, “My former bandmate and the former Gutter Kittens’ band member.” Kaitlyn cringed when she said her name. “Ugh, Natasha.”

“It’s a long story, but let’s just say Gutter Kittens disbanded once they got tired of Natasha’s ego.” Emily explained.

“More like her bitchiness if you ask me,” Kaitlyn muttered under her breath. “Enough about her, I need to have this song finish by the end of the day.” Kaitlyn was humming the melody until she was stuck by the chorus as always.

“See you in my dreams, feel you in the dark...” Kaitlyn muttered to herself. She typed in some lyrics until she deleted them. She did the same process until she got annoyed and shoved her phone back in her pocket.

Emily reassured her by putting her hand on top of hers. “Don’t worry, you’ll get through this writer’s block.”

Kaitlyn sighed. “I hope.”

The Ferris Wheel stopped on top where the girls looked the city in a high view. 

“It’s so pretty.” Eleanor whispered to Hannah. Hannah paid attention to her girlfriend. She kissed her on the cheek. “Definitely.”

Kaitlyn and Emily meanwhile took a selfie with the city in the background. 

After a moment to stopping, the Ferris Wheel resumed.

----------

Through the date was fun, something had bothered Hannah. In her conscious, she knew that they were telling part of the truth, but the story they told wasn’t true.

They’re were all about to leave the Fair to catch the train ride home until Eleanor stopped.

“I’m going to the bathroom, I think I saw one back there.” Eleanor said. “I’ll meet you all back.”

“Okay,” Emily said, “We’ll wait over here.” 

Hannah thought fast. “I-I’ll uh, go with you.” She followed her to the restroom, leaving the other girls to wait.  Eleanor handed the stuff animal to Hannah, entered one of the stalls and did her business.

Hannah leaned back against Eleanor’s stall. She sighed in exhaustion. 

Eleanor took noticed. “What is going on, Hannah?”

Hannah made sure no one was around or was listening. She said, “I don’t know.”

Eleanor got out of the bathroom and washed her hands in the sink. “What don’t  you know?” She asked, confused.

“That wasn’t true.”

“What wasn’t-”

“How we met.” Hannah interrupted her. “Of course, I came to your house, but... it doesn’t sound like us. Those couple of days of just meeting you and your family, my brother...”

Eleanor acknowledged it. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to complicate how we met. I thought you wanted a story that would make us appear normal.”

“It’s not your fault. We just can’t tell them the truth.” 

“We can’t?”

Hannah shook her head. “They probably think we’re crazy.”

Eleanor pursed her lips and sighed. “Let’s go.” She grabbed her large teddy bear and Hannah put her arm around her.

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

On train ride home, the girls were resting from a long day of their double date.

Kaitlyn was focusing on the undeveloped song while Emily was sleeping. Hannah was resting her head on her hand and was looking at the streets they were passing through. Eleanor was holding on her teddy bear, trying not to doze off. 

The PA Speaker announced, “Next stop, Hartfeld University.”

Kaitlyn lightly shook Emily by the shoulder. She woke up and groggily asked, “We’re here?”

“Yeah.” Kaitlyn answered, “Do we have our stuff?” 

The girls made sure they had their stuff with them. The train stopped and the four got out.

“Thanks for inviting us.” Hannah smiled at Kaitlyn and Emily.

“Ah, it was nothing. We’ll see you two later.” Kaitlyn smiled.

Emily yawned. “Take care.”

The girls went to their separate way.

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

Kaitlyn couldn’t sleep. She was sitting in her bed with a guitar in hand while she was figuring out the chorus. Everyone else was sleeping in their respective rooms, so she couldn’t be loud. 

But she grew irritated with failed attempts and groaned.

“UGGH!”

Emily then walked to her room, and rubbed her eyes to wake herself up. “Kaitlyn..?”

Kaitlyn looked and shared an apologetic look. “Sorry, I’m just frustrated with this.” She settled her guitar down to its case. Emily sat next to her.

“Kaitlyn, it’s already midnight. You have band practice the next morning.”

Kaitlyn sighed and ran her fingers through her hair. “Why can’t I get the right words?” She frowned.

“Well, if it helps, I had some problems when it came to finishing Vasquez’s novel.”

Kaitlyn didn’t exactly understood what she was saying. “Huh?”

Emily nodded her head. “I mean, how the hell was I, a freshman, able to finish writing a book by the end of the Spring quarter? Especially with everything happening with you guys? All I’m saying is, don’t stress yourself too hard. So you didn’t get the chance to finish your song today, but it matters is that it takes time for you to figure what do you want to write.” Emily grabbed the notes of Kaitlyn’s song and glance over the words. “See? You already got half it done-”

“But I still need the damn chorus.” Kaitlyn threw her arms up in the air.

“There’s that, but if you keep looking for that inspiration, you’ll hit the jackpot.”

Kaitlyn kissed her girlfriend. “Thanks babe.”

“Eh, just doing my job as your cheerleader.” Emily smirked and walked across the room to close Kaitlyn’s bedroom door. “And since I’m here...”

Emily jumped into Kaitlyn’s bed and the two began to make love. 

[warlockwriter]

The Case of the Techno Witch

Fandom: The Agency (AU)/Warlock Case Files

Rating: Gen

Word Count: 1975

Summary: Strange multi-colored plant growing out of a computer? All in a day’s work for Dafydd Smith, Warlock.

A/N: This is both a crossover and a story with multiple OCs. My OCs. From my published series, hence the crossover. Blame @snips-snails-skittles for creating the below moodboard (used with permission) and giving me the idea of crossing Witch!Lex with my series. When I mentioned this in passing, he encouraged me to write it. So I did. Enjoy a little introduction to Dafydd, my warlock.

As always, many thanks to @ihaveallthesefeelsokay for the beta.

I was curled up on the couch in what was now our house, me having sublet my old apartment and moved in formally with Paul last week. Gyre and Gimble, my two ferrets, gamboled together back and forth over the living room floor. I hoped Paul wasn't going to mind their whirlwind play in his space.

Paul was giving me a foot rub. Have you ever had a foot rub from a vampire? Probably not, so let me make you jealous by letting you know exactly what you're missing. His hand are cool, a few degrees below body temperature, which feels fantastic after a long evening tracking down the minor demon who had been preying on the homeless population in D.C. We finally ran him to ground near the Air and Space Museum, which was fortunately closed at the time. Only a few people were around to watch Paul wrestle him to the ground and hold him while I did a quick exorcism. I was getting to be quite the expert at those. A couple of month ago we had dealt with a demon witch, and apparently she had let it be known that the nation's capital was a good hunting ground. We've been dealing with the aftermath ever since.

I'd convinced our stunned audience that we were practicing for a movie audition, and we'd hurried for home

Paul had just found the exact spot in my arch which hurt the most when my phone rang. I groaned, partially at his ministrations but mostly at the unhappy thought that someone had found another demon.

"It's Laura," Paul said, glancing over at my phone while not losing his rhythm on my feet.

I reached for the phone. Laura is an old friend of mine. She's a quadriplegic hacker who spends more time in the virtual world than the real one, for obvious reasons.

"Hey! What's up?" I asked as I took the call. I couldn’t help the involuntary groan that escaped me when Paul found another particularly sore spot,

"I'm not interrupting anything, am I?" Laura asked.

"Just the most amazing foot rub you'd ever feel. Oops. You can't feel those, can you?"

Yeah, she and I have been friends long enough for me to get away with insensitive jokes like that.

"Very funny, Dafydd. I need you over here right now, so you'll just have to get your orgasmic foot rub later."

I could hear a mixture of exasperation, annoyance and maybe even a hint of fear in her voice. Paul stopped what he was doing to pay attention. Vampire hearing means he can listen to both sides of a phone conversation with ease.

"What happened? I asked, all joking out of my voice.

"I have a plant growing out of my computer!"

I blinked. "You have a what growing where?"

"You heard me. I have a plant growing out of my computer."

"Umm. Okay." What do you say to that anyway? "So call one of those lawn care companies? The ones who deal with weeds and stuff?"

"No. This is definitely your thing. The plant is purple and gold and kind of sparkly. And did I fail to get across that it is growing out of my fucking computer!"

I had to hold the phone away from my ear at that last bit.

"Yeah. I get it. We're on our way."

***

Paul made record time from Mt. Vernon Square to Laura's apartment in Crystal City. We skipped the elevator and dashed up the stairs. Well, Paul dashed. I kind of huffed and puffed. I am young and pretty fit, sure, but no human can keep up with a vampire.

Laura's door opened as soon as we approached. I tease her that she uses electronics the way I use magic. She always seems to like that.

However, there was no way I was teasing anyone when I walked into her living room. She hadn't been kidding. There was about six feet of purple and gold sparkly plant growing right out of her monitor. It hadn't broken anything. It was just growing out like it was designed to do that.

"Okay," I said. "That is weird, even for me."

Laura had rolled her chair as far from the computer as she could while still being in the same room with it. "What are you going to do about it?" Her eyes were flashing more in anger than in fear.

Paul moved over to take a closer look, all six-foot plus of him stalking around the computer table like a hunting panther. Did I fail to mention that his black slacks hugged his hips perfectly, and his white silk Oxford-style shirt made the image just perfect?

Why yes, I do admire my vampire boyfriend, even in the midst of danger. His ass is something else!

"Stop drooling over Paul, Dafydd, and do something about that thing!" Laura said, her tone vying between amusement and irritation.

Right. I allowed my sight to shift into aura sight, where I can read the energies which make up every living and most non-living things. I say most because technological things like computers don't have auras.

Well, usually don’t have auras. This one did. So did the plant. Not a crazy weird, looks like it's about to bite your head off aura, so not demonic. Which was a relief, considering. However, it did have the color of transformation magic about it. Which meant a warlock, or more likely witch—witches are stronger in transformation magic than warlocks—was responsible for this.

Okay, right. You probably have the wrong idea about witches and warlocks. We're just users of the magical energies that surround everything. Witches are female, and warlocks are what my kind calls male witches. So no deals with devils or other evil higher powers. I could go on for hours about how magic works, but you'll have to read the books about me which my chronicler has kindly penned.

"So, you’re right. It's magic. Probably a witch and one who has combined—" I paused, not really believing what I was about to say next.

"Combined what?" Paul asked.

"Well, combined earth magic with techno magic. Which I didn’t even know was a thing until now."

"Techno magic?" Laura asked, excitement in her voice. Yeah, she would fasten on that part.

"That's what it looks like. I mean, if you combined a hacker with a witch, this might be what you'd get." I walked around the computer desk, wanting to examine it from all sides.

As soon as I got to where I was facing the monitor screen, an image appeared, superimposed as if…well, by magic…on the blank screen. It was the face of a youngish man, maybe a few years older than me. He had brown hair verging on blond, striking amber eyes and…seriously? Long sideburns half-way down his cheeks and a soul patch? What decade was this guy even from?

"Dafydd Smith, I presume?" came a pleasant baritone voice through Laura's speakers,

"Uh, yeah. Who's asking? And what have you done to my friend's computer?"

"I'm Lex, and I understand you were looking to create a coven in the area. I was told that something dramatic was needed to attract your attention." The image waved a hand, encompassing the weird plant. "Does this do it?"

I couldn't help rolling my eyes at that. "Have you been talking to Caitlyn?" I asked.

Caitlyn is my apprentice, and she thought the best way to get my attention was to try to kill a ghoul friend of mine. And yes, I meant "ghoul" friend, not "girl" friend.

Lex's triumphant expression faltered a bit. "Uh, yes. Did I misunderstand?"

Paul had come around behind me. From the way his eyes were crinkled, I knew he was barely restraining himself from a good belly laugh. He does try to be polite, at least until he's been introduced.

I ignored Lex's question in favor of one of my own. I motioned to the plant. "What is this? And how did you do it?"

Laura had rolled her chair closer. "More important. Ask him if he can get rid of it without ruining my monitor. That thing cost major bucks."

I raised an eyebrow at Lex, whose expression was wilting rapidly. "What she asked."

The plant vanished, leaving the monitor apparently undamaged. Lex's image remained.

"That's better. Now to my question. How did you do it?"

He shrugged. "Combined earth witchcraft and techno magic. I'm a witch and a hacker."

I shook my head. "Unless I'm terribly mistaken, you're a warlock, not a witch."

Lex's jaw assumed a stubborn set. "I'm a witch, and you're being discriminatory. My mentor said I'd run into this."

Suddenly, I got it and groaned.

"What?" Paul and Laura asked.

"You were trained by Sam Johnston, weren't you?"

Lex nodded enthusiastically. "You've heard of him?"

I nodded, much less enthusiastically. "Yeah. He trained with my dad under my grandfather, who tried to get that whole 'witches can be male' idea out of Sam the entire time they were training. My dad took up the torch after he started leading his coven, and, to hear him tell it, Sam just up and left one day in disgust and refused to have anything to do with my family. So, if you're looking for your own coven, you may be looking in the wrong place."

Lex indicated where the plant had been. "Have it your way, but then explain why I'm so good at earth magic, traditionally a witch ability."

"And, Dafydd, aren't you particularly good at some witch abilities too?" Laura asked.

Way to have your friend stab you in the back. I glared at Paul, daring him to say something. He raised his hands in a not me! sort of gesture.

Lex was still watching me, an expression of polite interest on his face, sort of how do you intend to explain your way out of this one? look.

Sighing, I said, "Okay. Have it your way. If you want to call yourself a witch, go for it. And yes, I have been looking to form a coven. An earth…witch—" Yes, I had to force the word out. Sue me! "—would come in handy. We've got a witch-in-training, a warlock who channels angelic power and me. We're an odd coven already, so what the heck? Might as well invite you along."

Lex smiled.

I held up a warning finger. "Just one rule, though?"

"You're in charge?" Lex asked.

I shook my head. "Heck no! We make decisions together. No, I was going to say that Laura is my hacker of choice. No replacing her."

"Unless you can teach me techno magic," Laura hastily added.

I sighed. "Yeah, unless you can teach that."

Lex nodded. "Deal. What's next?"

I considered for a moment. "I guess I'll call a meeting of our newly expanded coven. If you're such a hot shot hacker, you should be able to find my phone number and text me yours. I'll call you when we've got a time set up."

My phone dinged, and I pulled it out. Seriously? That fast?

Laura even looked impressed. "That's not bad, Dafydd."

"Fine," I said to a smug-looking Lex. "I'll call you."

His face vanished, and the monitor looked none the worse for its experience. I turned away from it to face Laura and Paul.

"What have I done?"

Paul gave me his most encouraging smile. "Well, you said you wanted one more."

He was right. Okay. I've never been the most traditional warlock anyway. What made me think I'd attract a normal coven?

Paul and I made polite conversation for a few minutes with Laura before heading back home. The universe owed me the rest of my foot rub, darn it!

End

Everything tag: @archangelgabriellives (It’s sort of got Lex, so it’s okay, right?)

[kill-it-with-an-x-burner]

Incineration (KHR/BNHA)

This was the fic I was talking about here and here. Yes, finally, the Hisashi-centric crossover has arrived.

I finished this while hungry and sleepy, so pardon any incoherence regarding the plot. I might rewrite/add some things. Maybe. Not guaranteed. 

Summary: Midoriya Hisashi was pretty sure his quirk was breathing fire, so why does he keep seeing things no one else could?

Hisashi didn't even notice it.

He was simply walking home when an old lady approached him. Silver hair from old age was put into a bun, whilst a wrinkled face with twinkling gray eyes and a kind smile greeted him. She had a tiny star-shaped mark on the left side of her bottom lip. Much to his distaste, she wore a bright, gaudy, sequined pink dress.

"Oh, Hisashi, where have you been?" She asked. "Your mother's been looking for you."

"My mother?" Who is this lady? The young man was slightly weirded out. This old woman straight up came to him without warning, telling him about his mom. He didn't even know her, so why was she acting so unreserved towards him?

"Yes, she's waiting for you. Her boss dismissed them early today," The old lady then brought out something from her equally bright pink purse. "I just bought some snacks. Here, have some. I'm sure you're pretty hungry from baseball practice, right?"

As if on cue, his stomach grumbled. Hisashi blushed lightly as the old woman tittered. Hesitantly, he slowly reached for the umaibo, trying to gauge the lady's reaction. Seeing no malice in her expression, he took the snack and pocketed it. "I'll eat it at home. Thanks."

She waved at him. "Well, I've got to go to the market now. Tell your mother I might take long; these old bones don't work the way they used to, you know?"

He nodded. "Right."

She was highly suspicious, but she didn't seem to have any ulterior motives.

What a weird old lady.

Once he got home, Hisashi indeed saw his mother, like the old lady said; which was unusual considering that she always went home at god awful hours in the evening due to her work. "Oh, you're home. Hey," He greeted.

"Hey, sport," She greeted back. "My boss had to cancel today's work because of an emergency, so here I am."

He then decided to ask his mother about the overly-friendly woman. "Hey, mom, do you know any old ladies in the neighborhood?" Because as far as he knew, she was too busy to make friends with the neighbors because of work.

His mother furrowed his eyebrows, gray eyes narrowing in suspicion. He vaguely noted that she and the old woman had similar eye colors. "No, I don't. Why'd you ask?"

"I just met this old lady saying that you're already home and that you were waiting for me?" He rubbed the back of his head. "She also said to tell you she'd take long on her trip to the market."

She pursed her lips. "No, I don't. I wasn't expecting a guest and your father won't come back from his business trip until next week so I know he didn't invite anyone, either. What does she look like?"

Hisashi felt his stomach drop at the implications. Did they have a stalker? "Um, she's old and wore this really ugly dress? Wrinkly face, too." What was the most memorable thing about her face? He crossed his arms in thought before snapping his fingers. Oh, right. He pointed at the bottommost part of his face. "And she had this tiny mark at the side of her mouth? It was weird. She was weird."

His mother rapidly paled as he described the lady. With shaky hands, she grasped her son's. "Dear, does this lady have gray eyes like me?"

"Oh, right. She does." It's not just the color – they have the same shade of eyes, too.

Her grip on his hands tightened. "And is the mark on her face... star-shaped?"

Hisashi nodded vigorously. So his mother did know this person. What a relief! They don't have a stalker, after all. "Yeah! I've never seen anyone with a face mark like that. Is it a tattoo or something?"

Hisashi yelped as she released his hands and slowly skidded to the floor. Her face was contorted in shock and blank gray eyes stared downwards, hands firmly curled into fists. In a split second, his mom had gone from "I sense a suspicious person" into a completely lifeless mess.

Suffice to say, he panicked. "Mom! Mom, what's wrong?!" Hisashi grabbed her and repeatedly shook her shoulders. She didn't respond. "Hey, listen to me! Say something!"

It wasn't until after a few more seconds that his mother snapped out of her stupor and recomposed herself. In an instant, she wrapped her arms around him into a tense embrace. His mother began to cry.

"She... even now, she's still watching over us..."

"Who is she, mom? Why are you so upset?"

His mother just continued to hug him for another minute or two before letting go. Wiping her tears, she gave him a melancholic smile.

Hisashi felt a shiver down his spine when she finally answered him.

"That was your grandmother. She passed away long before you were even born."

The second time it happened, Hisashi remained none the wiser until after the encounter.

He was visiting a bookstore for his school project. They were tasked to make a book report comparing light novels to your regular novels. Unfortunately, neither the school nor the local library had a light novel section; the closest thing was an entire shelf assigned to foreign comic books and manga.

Honestly, he didn't have high hopes for his project. Most of the light novels the bookstore had were of the isekai genre, wherein the protagonist is from the modern world who suddenly gets transported or reincarnated into a fantasy world. However, with the emergence of quirks and the rise of the hero system, this certain genre has become stagnant. Rarely did such light novels not include a protagonist with a useless quirk or a quirkless person altogether.

It wasn't something he was particularly interested in, because most of those light novels were wish-fulfillment given literary form. But he would be lying if he wasn't intrigued by the idea of alternate dimensions- that's kinda cool.

He grumbled as he spied another row dedicated only to harem and loli-centric works. Is this really all they have? The most different one he found was something about gore and magical girls, but it was so old and worn out that he couldn't even read the kanji anymore.

He then felt a tap on his shoulder.

"Excuse me, young man. Do you know where the manager's office is?" It was a girl around a few years older than him, maybe in university or something. He spotted the book held in her other hand. "The cashier is missing and I didn't see anyone else, so..."

Hisashi inwardly groaned. This always happened. The owner was nice and accommodating, but he kept on hiring slackers who wouldn't do their jobs properly. Might as well call the old man. I should ask if he has other light novels, too.

He beckoned at her to follow. They encircled around the shelves at the back before stopping in front of a metal door. He knocked and called out to the owner, "Hey, old man. It's Hisashi! The clerk's gone again and you have a customer to attend to!"

"Will be right there in a jiffy, sonny! Just let me– oof!" They heard a loud crash from the other side. The teen winced. That sounded like it hurts a lot.

"Does this happen often?" She meekly inquired. He simply closed his eyes and nodded.

He then knocked again. "You okay in there?"

"I'm fine. Nothing's broken this time, too, so it's all good!"

"You should really be more careful! What if you bang your head or something?"

"I've been doing these for decades, boy. If I was accident-prone, I would have been long dead by now." The door swung open as the owner peered from his room. "So what did you want again?"

Hisashi gestured to the girl behind him. "You have a customer. She wants to pay but your cashier's off to who knows where."

The owner scratched his head, confusion evident in his features. "Who're you talking about? There's no one there." The teen's eyes widened before he turned around. Indeed, the girl was missing. "You sure you didn't hallucinate or something, boy?"

"B-But she was just here a-a-and she was even going to buy a dictionary or something–!"

The old man simply patted him on the back. "You gotta get a proper amount of sleep. I know you're a baseball nut and all, but that's not an excuse to skip out on rest."

"No, seriously, she was here! She even talked to me while I was knocking on your door! I'm not lying!"

"Then she must've left when you weren't looking."

Later that day, the owner asked his cashier who was apparently lounging in another area of the store if he had seen anyone. The employee denied it, saying that other than Hisashi, no one else came that hour. It was why he decided to read some manga to cure his boredom.

Hisashi's blood ran cold when they reviewed the security cameras. All this time, he had been alone and was talking to thin air.

What the hell is going on?

This continued for more encounters. In some cases, he would immediately realize that he was seeing things no one else could. In others, he never noticed that he was talking with someone who didn't exist until afterwards. Not to mention that his surroundings felt like they were burning him during these encounters.

Frankly, it was creepy, and it was taking a toll on him. He was getting stressed out real fast.

If no one else perceive them, Hisashi simply concluded that he must be seeing ghosts. He was pretty sure that breathing fire was his quirk, so why was this happening to him? He even went to a quirk specialist who told him that his ability didn't change. His friends were starting to worry. His parents were starting to worry. He was starting to worry.

Fire breathing definitely had nothing to do with seeing things so what's wrong with him?

Hisashi didn't understand.

To make matters worse, he began to see them everywhere – at school, during baseball practice in the field, out in the streets, and other places he went to. It even escalated to the point that he was hallucinating places now.

Sometimes, he'd enter an establishment to buy something and subsequently realizing it's not the same store. At times, when people ask him for directions, he'd point towards a specific building as a landmark and people would end up confused because they're not seeing what he can.

This entire mess was frustrating him.

He met a peculiar guy.

Initially, he merely saw him around the vicinity. Sometimes, it was when he was hanging out with his friends. Sometimes, it was on his way home. In other times, it was during his errand runs. Hisashi thought that he must be a new neighbor, but after asking his mother and the other residents, they didn't know anything about a mover.

Surely, a boy around his age with bright green hair would be eye-catching, right?

Not.

No one knew where he came from. Hisashi presumed that he was a ghost, but he was too corporeal to be one, nor did he try to communicate with him like the other ghosts.

Then who was he?

It didn't take long before he encountered the green-haired kid properly.

It was during his walk in the beach park when the other appeared out of nowhere. Startled, Hisashi tripped over his own feet and fell face first to the ground. The other helped him up and dusted sand off his clothes, encircling him. Satisfied with what he saw, he clasped Hisashi's shoulder.

"So you're the one," The green-haired kid said. "I wasn't sure because you weren't reacting at all. But then, you were always around whenever I appeared."

Hisashi was taken aback by his sudden approach. "I'm the what?"

He smiled as if inwardly laughing at a joke. "The chosen of this world, silly!"

The teen scratched his head. What the hell was this guy talking about? Was this guy some sort of chuunibyou? "Um, 'chosen'? What do you mean?" Perhaps insane?

"Figures you wouldn't notice anything. This is a world of superpowers, after all." The green-haired teen huffed and crossed his arms. "Tell me, have you been seeing weird things lately?"

That was spot-on! Hisashi whipped his head to meet the other's eyes and saw his smile widening. "H-How did you–"

"That's because I'm the same as you. We see things that we aren't meant to see." He began to pace around with his hands behind his back. "While everyone else is limited to the world we live in, we are different. We see beyond that; beyond our own existence."

The green-haired teen stopped in front of him, with the glares of the sun shining from behind. It made his hair shine like a halo and his entire body ethereal. Hisashi felt as if he was staring at something otherworldly.

"What do you know about parallel worlds?"

Haku was his name.

He claimed to be from another world, and that he had been trying to contact Hisashi for a long time now. In his world, there were no quirks – instead, there were Dying Will Flames, the manifestation of a person's will and determination.

According to his new friend, there are a limitless number of worlds that exist, and each world has an infinite amount of parallels. However, one thing that doesn't change in every world are the three absolute powers: the power to connect to the past, the power to perceive the present, and the power to predict the future.

For each world, there is one person who possesses an absolute power. He, Haku, and countless others were born with the ability to perceive the present; the power to see and occasionally, cross parallel worlds. The people and places that don't exist were indeed from parallel worlds. His ability had awakened for the first time and since he's never used it before, it was out of his control.

(All of this sounded so familiar, though. It's as if he's experienced this before.)

"Why are you helping me?"

"Because I had no one to help me when I was in your shoes." Haku looked pensive, as if remembering a particularly bad memory. "Not to mention that you can somehow mingle with people from parallel worlds without any prior training. I don't know how you did it, but it should be impossible to interact with others without any sort of conduit to channel your powers."

Hisashi pointed at him with a disgruntled face. "But aren't you crossing over yourself?"

"I'm not. You can only see me because I'm projecting myself to you, but if you want to be technical about it, we're communicating via telepathy."

T-Telepathy? "I thought people didn't have quirks there. Or is this an ability of your 'Flames'?" He said with matching air quotes. Haku made a vague gesture with his hand. "We may not have quirks, but we do have a superior technology."

Haku was a good friend.

He was a generous person who genuinely wanted to assist him, he could tell that much. He was truly grateful to the other teen that he was willing to go out on a limb for a someone he barely knew. Haku taught him how to control his powers so he wouldn’t keep confusing his world and another. He taught him how to regulate the visions so they would stop showing up randomly and interrupt his daily life.

(Oh, he couldn’t completely put a lid on it, but he was able to manage with what meager control he had over it.)

Because they were in similar positions, both were instantly able to relate to one another. They promptly clicked, like two pieces of a puzzle.

It was why Hisashi found it easy to open up to him. The green-haired boy served as his confidant throughout the years. He told him stories about his daily routine – what he did in his school, what he wanted to do with his life. He even went on to ask him for dating advice, and eventually, ideas on what to name his own child and how to be a proper parent.

But sometimes, when the other thought he wasn't looking, he saw something else.

Was Haku helping him only because he was lonely?

Hisashi finally recalled why his current experiences struck a chord within him.

This all happened, even back when he was still a kid; back before he even received his quirk.

Like any other child, Hisashi wanted to be a hero. Unfortunately, not everyone gets to have a chance to chase their dreams. Even though they live in a superhuman society, his family didn't have anything extraordinary. Both of his parents were quirkless, so were all their relatives before them – a rare phenomenon in this day and age.

Suffice to say, he had resigned himself to a mundane life ahead of him.

He went to an unremarkable school. He got mediocre grades. He didn't have an exceptional talent or boasted an impressive physical ability. He was just... there. Ask anyone and they'll give the same answer: that he was not someone meant for greatness, but a person meant for anonymity.

He would live as an ordinary person and die as one.

But all of a sudden, something different happened.

He had a peculiar dream filled with dread and weariness. There was nothing but darkness around him and he was all alone. In a flash of light, inexplicable warmth enveloped him as a figure gave him a gentle smile. Just as he was about to reach for this person, he woke up with his arm stretched towards the ceiling.

Hisashi felt the same warmth lingering in his room.

For the next few days, he would have the same dream. It wasn't anything bad, so the young boy did not tell anyone about them.

Not long after, he started to suffer from random hot flashes and nausea. Everything was spinning and he could barely stay conscious. He began to hallucinate, as well. Wherever he looked, his surroundings constantly changed and the people never noticed any difference, so he thought that he was simply ill or fatigued. However, Hisashi didn't want to trouble his parents in case it was just a false alarm.

It wasn't until he saw a bizarrely-dressed man that he admits to himself that there might be something wrong with him.

While he was walking home with his friends, he spotted said man across the street. He donned a mask and a trench coat. He also wore a checker-patterned iron hat with matching gloves. The eeriest part of him was the checker pattern on his own face. The teen scratched his head in puzzlement. Is he a hero or something?

Hisashi has never seen anyone like him before.

He nudges an elbow to his friend and gestures in the man's direction. "Hey, do you think that guy's a hero?"

"Hah, what are you talking about? No one's there."

Hisashi blinked and stared back at the other side. The man was still standing across the street. "Um, he's... just standing there? Don't you guys see him?"

His other shook his head in disagreement. "Man, we knew you weren't feeling well, but if you're starting to see things then maybe we should hurry home so you can rest."

"But–" He was about to add more, when he noted their concerned expressions. The teen sighed in exasperation, yet reluctantly backed down. No use arguing when he knew they were only worried for him.

As they walked away, Hisashi stuck his hands in his pockets and huffed. He was so sure that the man was real – there's no way he could be deluding himself! Then again, he briefly glanced at his friends who saw nothing, maybe I'm so tired that I'm imagining things.

He nodded at himself. Yeah, maybe they're right. I haven't had a decent night of sleep recently anyway.

Making up his mind, he snuck one last peek at the bizarre man again to make sure that the other really is not there. His eyes widened when the man smiled and waved at him.

Hisashi was officially spooked.

He started to lose sleep and eat less, neglecting to take proper care of himself. His cheeks began to sink and his eyes darkened. His previously healthy complexion turned pallor. He dozed off at random intervals. It wasn't until he collapsed that his parents found out and sent him to the hospital.

A week's worth of rest and medicine helped him recover, but they sent him to the therapists after confessing he'd been hallucinating.

None of the therapists could figure it out – "There should be nothing wrong with young Hisashi, yet he's still seeing things that aren't there." – and the counselors were of no assistance, either.

"Don't worry, Hisashi. I'm sure that there's someone who can help you," His mother said, trying to console him after another failed session with a new psychiatrist. Her pats on his back were comforting, yet he still felt awful for his current situation and all the trouble he was making them go through.

"...Do you think it could be his quirk?" His father whispered, features darkened and discouraged. Hisashi wasn't blind to how they were starting to look like him. His parents were stressed out by his predicament, too.

"That's impossible!" She slammed her fist on the table. Just like his father, she was equally burdened with the mysterious ailment of her son. Her hair was unkempt and her eyes dry from exhaustion. "We're both quirkless and our son has always been the same for a long time now."

His father snapped, "I'm not deluding myself that he could actually have a quirk, but there's nothing else we can think of. There's nothing wrong with trying!"

And with that, he was brought to the local quirk specialist.

"You should celebrate. Your son doesn't have an extra joint. Theoretically, this means he can develop a quirk," The doctor explained, pointing at an x-ray; particularly, at Hisashi's toes. "You are both quirkless, correct? It isn't unheard of for first generation quirk users to be late bloomers or to have dormant abilities."

"H-How is this possible, doctor?" Hisashi's mother exclaimed, with both his father and Hisashi himself nodding in agreement.

"It's not an absolute that quirkless people can't give birth to a new quirk. After all, the original quirk users did come from powerless families. There's really no guarantee on whether a child would have a special ability or not." The doctor was writing down something on his clipboard.

Hisashi wasn't paying attention to the man anymore. All he could focus on was the fact he has a quirk, after years of thinking he didn't have one.

"Since your son has been suffering from bouts of feverish heat, I believe that this is the reason for his hallucinations." The doctor laid an assuring hand on his shoulder, breaking his train of thoughts. "Young Hisashi will most likely have a fire or temperature-based ability."

True to the doctor's prediction, a few days later, Hisashi accidentally set a tree on fire – fire breath, the specialists inferred. His parents and friends celebrated the fact that he unlocked his special ability and he, too, hoped that it was the end of his problems.

It was.

After he continuously used his fire to stop himself from overheating, the dreams were gone and the world didn't feel like it was set on fire anymore.

Despite that, something was nagging at the back of his mind - that everyone was wrong, and that there's something more to it than just a quirk.

But if they stopped once, what brought it all back to the surface?

He confided in Haku, and the green-haired male didn't know the cause, either. Haku was surprised to hear that he could tap into this power as a child, when the other only awakened his in his pre-adolescent age.

Hisashi couldn't help but feel antsy at not knowing why. It simply remained a mystery. No matter what he or Haku did, they couldn’t figure it out. The issue began to gnaw away on his mind.

There was something deeply unnerving about it, like a calm before the storm.

Even then, the world goes on without a hitch.

Not long after, things went down the drain.

Hisashi tried to do his best as a father even with his current dilemma chipping down on his psyche. He still went to work diligently. He spent time with his wife and son. He did his best to be a pillar of support to the people around him.

However, regardless of his efforts to bury it inside, it stressed him out. And when he was stressed out, he lost what little control he had over his powers. Images of people’s lives from various worlds bled into his daily life. His vision constantly shifted between looking at the world he lived in and a parallel one. He even had a hard time discerning who was speaking due to the voices from the other worlds.

With the intense amount of vision, he was having difficulty in identifying which was his own world.

He felt like he was experiencing his childhood all over again, only ten times worse.

Hisashi saw death everywhere in the streets and flames burned as far as the eye could see; and even in his dreams, they plagued his mind. In all the worlds he had seen, Hisashi only encountered desolation. He fretted on the current state of the parallel existences.

What was happening to the worlds. Why was every world in the brink of destruction?

To make it more horrifying, it wasn’t limited to just seeing now. Sometimes, he could feel their emotions and physical reactions. Hisashi shuddered at the lingering sensation of his skin being peeled off, or being shot in the chest. Indescribable heat pooled in his body with each world he witnessed.

He suffered from sleepless nights in a poor attempt to stop himself from seeing them, but he ends up dozing off due to exhaustion. In addition to that, he ran himself ragged in regulating his body heat by overusing his quirk.

Haku was no help, either. His green-haired friend didn’t have any idea, simply that no matter who he tried to contact, everyone was either in the same position or unavailable. He often talked to Hisashi to distract him from seeing the other worlds, but it wasn’t enough.

Inko asked him countless times what was troubling him, but he waved her worries off. He tried his best to spend time with his family and enjoy life as he used to, but it was hard to focus when he was drowning from seeing the parallel worlds and felt like he was being incinerated to his very core.

Much to his dismay, he and Inko began to argue non-stop.

“Every moment we do nothing but fight! I think we need some time for ourselves!”

“Oh, so you need more time? What about this family, huh? What about our son? He needs us now more than ever!”

“I know that, but there’s nothing we can do for him; not when he’s like this!”

“So this is about Izuku being quirkless? And here I’d thought you’d accept him. Just because you received a quirk unlike your parents, you act like he isn’t even worth your time!”

“Like you’re any better. I saw it – you were disappointed when he didn’t get one!”

Because he was pouring so much of his time in this issue, Hisashi inadvertently neglected them both to the point that they barely talked in their home anymore; and when he did, he merely snapped irritably at his family. His stress was affecting them, too. There wasn't a day that they weren't fighting.

Izuku, his poor son who did not deserve any of their burdens, suffered the most from the rift in their family. Not only was he being bullied at school after he was proclaimed quirkless (which Hisashi wasn't really surprised to hear), he came home to his parents arguing on the pettiest things.

Neither he nor his wife were blind to his predicament, but no amount of prodding could make him talk.

Hisashi could only bury his face into his hands as he lamented on the fact that their family was gradually tearing itself apart.

“It’s just too much for me to handle. What do you think I should do?”

“I think you should come with me.”

Hisashi snapped his gaze to his friend. The green-haired male merely smiled benignly at him as if he hadn’t dropped a bomb on his lap. Come… with him? Sure, crossing over worlds was possible, but Haku himself said it rarely happened. “What do you mean?”

“You said it yourself, didn’t you? You need time away from all of this – your family, your work… everything on top of the problem with the worlds. Out of sight, out of mind.” Haku explained. “Unfortunately, ignoring the parallel worlds is out of the question. It simply can’t be done. Instead, you’ll keep away from your current life. Think of it like a vacation of sorts.”

A break, huh.

He snapped out of his reverie when Haku placed something metallic in his hands. How did–

Hisashi’s eyebrows rose at this new development – they weren’t able to physically interact before. Haku had a proud grin on his face when he spotted the other’s perplexed expression. “Amazing, isn’t it? Technology in my world has developed so much that we can do this now. It’s how I’m going to bring you with me.”

“This ring is advanced technology?”

“Yes!”

Hisashi inspected the ring. Other than the unique design, it didn’t look anything special. It was silver, with folded metallic wings. In the center of the wings was a green gem; it emitted a few sparks when he touched it. He's never seen anything like it. It gave him an eerie feeling and made him gravitate towards it at the same time.

“What is it?”

“It’s what we call a Mare ring. It can amplify our powers to a certain degree. With that ring, you can cross over to my world.”

The jewel glittered under the sun.

It was quite gaudy in his opinion, but the gem was beautiful enough, he supposed. “What am I supposed to do? Wear it? Then what?”

“That’s it.”

“That’s it?!”

He made a vague gesture with his hands at Hisashi’s incredulous response. He looks like he was holding back laughter. He probably was, the cheeky bastard.

“What do you think? Want to come with me? It’s not like you’re not coming back.” Hisashi hesitated. Haku tapped his cheek in wonder before snapping his fingers. “How about this – we can do a test run! Spend the rest of the day in my world. Once you’ve reached a decision, you can either stay or go home.”

The urge to wear the ring tugged at his heart.

“What do you say?”

“…I’ll do it.”

Haku’s smile widened.

The world exploded into flames.

Images of people flashed through his eyes. Hisashi witnessed events worth of trillion of peoples' lives all at once, maybe even more. The man clutched his head as his vision jumped from person to person, world to world, as the overwhelming amount of information slowly overloaded his mind.

Hisashi only continued to helplessly claw at his head. It was too much for him to handle. An infinite amount of knowledge crammed into his head in one go was too severe. He vaguely heard someone screaming in the background.

Somebody make it stop.

Make it stop!

Haku simply watched him burn.

After the flames subsided, all that's left in Hisashi's place was the ring, with orange flames flickering and green sparks crackling.

The green-haired man's smile faltered. After he picked up the fallen ring, he tutted in annoyance.

"Ah, it's too bad he burnt out before I could finish the transfer. I guess the world can't handle two of the same person physically existing at the same time in the same place." He sighed. “And after investing so much time on him, too. But you know…”

He gazed at the sky.

“I wouldn’t have figured out the full extent of our powers if it weren’t for you or Sho-chan, so really, I am grateful for your efforts. Thank you for being my friend for what little time we had, and for the valuable data.”

His hands clenched around the small trinket.

"Don't worry, Hisashi. Haku will take good care of you. As long as your will is engraved in the Mare ring, I can extract it whenever I want."

His green hair turned white. Purple eyes twinkled in mischief as his smile turned malicious.

"And this time, you can be my ghostly friend."

So if you didn’t understand... Hisashi is Ghost lol.

Okay, I remarked about Haku/Byakuran’s loneliness. There’s that chapter in KHR where Byakuran was isolated and Yuni was his only confidant at the time. Despite the initial megalomania, he struck me as a lonely person; someone who didn’t have much in common with anyone.

(I believe that buried deep down, was a boy living in solitude due to his awareness about existences. This part of Byakuran was what Hisashi saw.)

Then Shoichi fucked up with the time travelling and Byakuran’s descent started.

The point wherein Hisashi first awakened his abilities in childhood was due to Checkerface showing himself. Why he was there? I believe that Checkerface always knows who the next bearer of the Tri-ni-sette artifacts were, and he checks on them. In the BNHA world, the Mare holder is supposed to be Hisashi, Byakuran’s parallel self.

(Also, note that I never described what Izuku’s father looks like. He’s supposed to look similar to Byakuran.)

The next instance that the ability emerged was due to Byakuran awakening his own ability. Remember that all parallel worlds are connected in some way. I imagine that because he unlocked his powers and tried to project himself over countless other worlds, he jumpstarted the development of those Byakurans, too. This was the case for Hisashi.

So Hisashi trusts Byakuran because they’re technically the same person.

[hailey-halstead]

Best Shot

okay i really need to work on other things but i wanted to finish and post this today! hope you enjoy! fic relating to the crossover :-) i don't own anything! —————— "We are gathered here today to honor the life of Alexandra Marie Olinsky....." The priest's monotone voice was the only sound heard throughout the entire church. Except for the weeping of Lexi's mother, and Sylvie wouldn't be surprised if Al began to sob soon as well. She couldn't imagine experiencing this, losing a child. She wasn't even a mother, but the thought still scared her. What can be more devastating than that? Someone who is supposed to live decades longer than you, dies at the young age of 19? The members of 51 were seated towards the back, giving respect to those who knew Lexi more to be able to sit closer. Sylvie could spot Gabby near the front, who was next to Antonio as support. Eva and Diego were on his other side. She wondered how well they knew Lexi, or if they were just there for their father. Behind her was Peter Stone and Anna Valdez. With the case being closed, apparently they were going to a lot of the funerals to show their respects. Also with them was Laura Nagel, Antonio's new investigator partner. Both Laura and Peter had recognized her from the short time she was Antonio's girlfriend, but Anna had no clue. She seemed to be slightly younger than herself, but Sylvie could see them possibly becoming friends. But that was something that she could concern herself with another day. The service continued on, as Sylvie continued to try to listen. These past few days have been nothing but exhausting, more mentally than physically. Her job was done once she got the victims to the hospital, but her worry didn't end. Especially with the chaos still going on everywhere else. The hospital was filled with the patients from the warehouse, the packed building making her overwhelmed. As well as hearing about everything constantly on the news didn't help. "Sylvie." The next thing she knew, she was being gently shaken. It was Stella, eyeing her with concern. "The funeral is over." She softly explained. "They are having a private burial." Mostly everyone was still in their pews, having conversations with one another. But Al and his ex wife were gone, along with their daughter's casket. "Oh god, tell me I didn't fall asleep..." Sylvie whispered in her friend's ear, completely mortified. "Not really, unless you sleep with your eyes open." Was Stella's response. "I think you just zoned out. It's understandable, this has been hard for everyone." She tried to assure Sylvie. But Sylvie couldn't help but feel embarrassed. Tired or not, she was at a funeral service. She had no excuses for blanking out. "Sylvie!" Her name was called out again, but this time it wasn't by Stella. The Dawson family appeared from the crowd in the aisle. Despite her nerves, Sylvie squeezed past Stella, approaching the quartet. Gabby was the one who said her name, and was looking quite frazzled. Antonio seemed to be a mixture of emotions, the ones Sylvie was able to tell being sullen, nervous, and similar to his sister, frazzled. "Hi, Sylvie." Eva was the first one to greet her, giving her a friendly wave. Sylvie waved back, feeling her stomach flutter with butterflies. This was her first time seeing Antonio's kids since they had broken up, and even though she felt relief that they didn't seem to hate her, it still was an awkward experience. Diego waved to her as well, but he didn't do much else. She pushed away the feeling of disappointment, telling herself that she wasn't a part of Antonio's life anymore, she shouldn't care how his kids think of her. She turned her attention to the elder Dawson's, intrigued by their hesitation. They weren't usually the type to hold back from saying anything. "Is something wrong?" She questioned them both, a frown on her face. It must be bad if they were acting like this. "No, nothing is wrong." Gabby spoke up. "We just would like a favor....." "She really doesn't need to, Gabby—" Antonio protested, but his sister refused to listen. "Diego and Eva have games today, and I need to take Diego." Her paramedic partner began to explain. "But Antonio really shouldn't be alone at the burial, so..." "You want me to go." Sylvie finished her sentence, as Gabby nodded in confirmation. Antonio looked more uncomfortable than she has ever seen him, more than he was apologizing in front of her weeks ago, the night of their breakup. "I'll be fine." He was trying to convince his sister and his children. He then turned towards Sylvie. "I don't want to bother you as well." "No, it isn't a bother, not at all." She shook her head, her decision already made. Yes, it would be awkward, being by her ex boyfriend's side as support. But even when she tried to come with ideas, she couldn't think of any other con to going with him to Lexi's burial. "I'll come." At that, Diego, Eva, and Gabby became relieved. Antonio, however, still seemed troubled. "Good, that's good." Gabby's mood seemed to do a complete three sixty. "Well, I think everyone is beginning to leave to the burial. I'll drop Diego off later, okay?" Even though Antonio still wasn't in on the plan, he wasn't planning on complaining. "Sure." He leaned over to press a kiss on Gabby's cheek. "Thanks, sis." Diego and Eva then stepped forward to give their father a hug. Sylvie shuffled off to the side, wanting to give the family privacy. But not long after, the three of them began heading out, on their way. Before they left, Gabby grabbed Sylvie and pulled her into a hug. "I'm so sorry I put this on you, but he needs someone." Sylvie made a doubtful face, would she be able to fill that role? Be able to comfort him? "It won't be that bad, Sylvie. Just standing next to him will be enough, I promise you." Gabby let go of her, and after Diego and Eva waved goodbye, they left the church. Now Antonio and Sylvie were left alone. He came up to her side. "Ready to go?" He questioned her, twirling his keys in his hands. Sylvie nodded, following him outside. Unfortunately, it was a bleak spring day, the weather accurately displaying the sorrow everyone was feeling internally. She quickly zipped up her jacket, hoping that he didn't park too far away. Luckily he had parked much closer that she had, and couldn't hold back a sigh of relief when she got into the passenger seat. "Chicago still bringing the harsh weather, huh." Antonio muttered as he began starting his car. Apparently they were the last ones to arrive to their car, because the procession to the cemetery was now beginning. He pulled out on the road and began to drive. Nothing was said between them, but Sylvie didn't feel uncomfortable. They weren't a couple anymore, but she still always felt at ease with him. "I'm sorry about this." Antonio spoke up quietly. "They wouldn't budge when I told them I was going alone. They were about to force Matt to go with me." He admitted, scratching the back of his neck. "Antonio, it doesn't bother me at all." She shook her head, wanting him to realize that she was completely fine with helping. "I think they get freaked out when I cry." He said, but then corrected himself. "Actually, not I think. I know they do." Sylvie could understand that, his kids and Gabby probably view him as the one they can depend on and is always strong, so it must be difficult for them to see him upset. "They are just worrying about you." "And I hate that." He tightened his grip on the steering wheel in frustration. "That I'm causing them to worry and stress." "Well, it won't go away. Face it, Antonio, people care about you." To that, he sighed. Sylvie rolled her eyes, not surprised at all by his response. They pulled into the cemetery, the car speed significantly slowing down. She couldn't help but shudder, she hated cemeteries. Since she was a kid. How media portrayed them as creepy and horrifying places didn't really help. Antonio gave her a look of concern. "Are you okay?" God, he was the one who was going to a funeral of a close friend's daughter, and he was worrying about her. Typical Antonio. "Yeah, I'm fine." She told him. "It's nothing." He seemed skeptical, but thankfully didn't question her more. He pulled over slightly to the side of the gravel road, following the line of cars that had already parked. The tent where the burial was being performed was already set up, a few people standing up there, along with the priest. Sylvie opened the door, welcomed back by Chicago's infamous wind. Her outfit of choice was not suited for this weather, but in her defense, she wasn't planning on going to the burial. She grabbed a fistful of the hem of her dress, not wanting to flash everyone. She was pretty sure her legs were going to turn into popsicles. When they both began walking to the burial site, Antonio took in her appearance with a frown. "Are you going to be okay? I don't want you to catch a cold." Sylvie nodded, thinking once they got under the tent she would be alright. Plus none of this was about her. She could handle a little chilly weather to support Antonio and also honor Lexi's life. He seemed to be skeptical, but thankfully didn't question her any further. They were the last ones to arrive, and the Intelligence Unit didn't bother to hide their curious looks at Sylvie's appearance with Antonio. But she knew that they wouldn't question them, today was not the day for that. They squeezed next to Jay and Erin, on more of the outside of the crowd. The relatives were the ones who were in the front, near the closed casket. She could see Al and his ex wife sitting right by the casket, both completely inconsolable. The burial felt way more emotional and intimate than the funeral service, making her feel like an intruder. She had never even met Lexi before, or her mother. Al was barely an acquaintance, she wasn't even sure if he remembered her name. The Olinsky's weren't the reason why she was here, well not the main reason. She was here for Antonio. At the thought of him, she looked to her right, where he was standing shoulder to shoulder with her. It was probably only aware to her, but she noticed a few tears going down his cheeks. Not wanting to make a big deal, for his sake and also for Lexi and her family, Sylvie simply grabbed his hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. If he was surprised by her action, he didn't show it, simply squeezing her hand right back. As the burial went on, a few tears of her own escaped from her eyes. Lexi left far too soon, she had so much to still offer the world. This reminded her of the other 38, all practically still children, who all had their opportunities of life snatched from them. And their families were left with the emotional scars, having to find some way to go on. She didn't know Lexi Olinsky at all, but Sylvie knew this would be an event that would remain in her mind forever. She saved people daily, but this was a reminder of those who couldn't be saved. And no matter how hard people tried to make death to be even slightly positive, there was nothing positive here. This was something that should have never happened. The priest began to say the final prayers, and the moment of silence right afterwards was ruined by Lexi's mother's sobbing. Which made it hard for Sylvie to be able to pray that somehow this will end up okay. Sylvie only managed to give a hug to Erin before Antonio started to tug on her hand, and instead of protesting, she followed, as she was here for him, not to socialize. The urgency he was moving at scared her, and once they approached his car, she began to ask him what was wrong. "Antonio, what's—" The words about to leave her mouth stopped, as Antonio wrapped his arms around Sylvie and began to cry. She had never seen him this vulnerable before, even during their relationship, so she was taken off guard. But reciprocated his action, placing her hands gently on his back. She leaned against his car, letting his head fall against hers. She debated about saying words of reassurance, but decided against it, knowing that Antonio didn't allow people to see this side of him much, so the only thing she continued to do with rub his back. It wasn't long before Antonio lifted his head, untangling himself from her, and took a few steps back. His hands immediately went up to cover his face, trying to get rid of any sign that he was crying. "I can drive if you want." Sylvie softly offered, wondering if she should press him to talk about his emotions. It was one thing to give physical comfort though, another to talk about feelings. "No, no, I'm fine." He shook his head, finally letting his hands down from his face. His eyes were bloodshot, and he looked completely exhausted. This had to have been his breaking point, both physically and mentally. "Are you sure?" She asked again, stepping in front of him when he began to walk forward, wanting to go to the driver's side of the car. "It would be no trouble—" "Sylvie." He interrupted her, with a firm, gentle voice. "I'm good, really." With that, she allowed him to pass. As she got into the car herself, she fought her mind, going back and forth between asking him if he wanted to talk about what he was feeling. Because she knew that he wouldn't dare talk about them to anyone else, this possibly could be her only and best shot. That was enough convincing to be able to finally voice her thoughts. "Do you want to talk about it?" She was sure he was going to say no, but he surprised her when he actually began to talk about it. "The cases that involve kids, or young adults I guess, are always the worst." He muttered, beginning to drive out of the cemetery. "It's even more terrible when it's a kid of one of your friends, someone you've known for years." "Everyone else will move on from this, content that justice has been served with that son of a bitch being sent to prison, but those 39 families will have these wounds forever." He was getting frustrated with himself. "This is my career, I've dealt with hard emotional cases a million times, I shouldn't—" "Every case is different, brings different emotions and thoughts, even when they are all emotional." She told him, choosing her words carefully. "But this one.....this one was hard on me too. And everyone else at 51. You should have seen us when we got back to the firehouse, we were completely numb." She took a deep breath, trying to calm her thoughts. "What I'm saying is, let yourself feel the pain, that's the only way it will get better." He nodded, letting himself process her advice. "Thanks, by the way." He told her, and once she rose her eyebrows in confusion, wanting some clarification, he began to explain himself. "For after the burial, by the car." "No problem." She watched as he turned down the road where the church Lexi's funeral service was performed at was located. She was to say one last thing before they would part ways. "Antonio, please listen to what I'm about to say." She said as he pulled into the parking lot, right next to where her car was residing. Hearing the serious tone in her voice, he obliged, switching his car into park and turning his body completely to face her, giving his total attention. "Please, please talk to Gabby more about this." She shook her head as he opened his mouth to protest. "I know what you're about to say, 'We don't talk about that stuff', but she has Matt, you don't have anyone." She couldn't help but cringe when the words came out of her mouth, sounding worse than they did in her head. "I mean you do have people, but I know Gabby is the best shot for getting you to talk about everything, being able to let at least some of the shit you're carrying out." "You were my best shot, you know." He confessed, looking at Sylvie with great intensity. Sylvie nervously swallowed her salvia, not knowing how to respond. She had hoped they would skirt around the whole relationship thing. "Antonio...." "I'm just speaking the truth." He interrupted her, raw honesty seeping from his voice. "I'm not saying it to change anything, I just want you to know." Sylvie wordlessly nodded, not able to find her words on this certain topic. "You'll talk to her, please?" She knew an agreement wouldn't necessarily mean he would actually do it, but it might make her sleep better if she knew he toyed with the idea. "Sure, I'll talk to her." He agreed, but the next words he said made her feel even better. "I promise." She couldn't hold back a relieved smile, finally unbuckling her seatbelt and stepping out of the car. "Good. That's good." She said. She took her keys out of her purse, hitting the unlock button. Turning back to Antonio, she didn't know how to exactly part from him. Thankfully, he was the one that took the lead. "Take care of yourself, Sylvie." He spoke. "I'll make sure to take care of myself too." He answered her unspoken worry. She nodded, going for a wave goodbye instead of a verbal one. And when she got into her car, she made a mental note in her brain to remember to ask Gabby tomorrow how Antonio was doing.