#and soon their gonna learn that and it’s gonna be EoS ending all over again

[acourtofquestions]

Chapter 55 of Tower of Dawn😭

[gumnut-logic]

Five times Virgil tackled loopy family members, and one time they tackled him (Part Three)

Part One | Part Two | Part Three

This bit definitely didn’t stay below 1000 words, in fact it doubled it clocking in at 2240 words, in fact. This is still @the-original-sineater​ ‘s fault.

I stalled on this one for a few days and ended up struggling with it. Many thanks to all of you who helped me with it at various times. It was very annoying. Particular thanks to @the-original-sineater​ @janetm74​ and @tsarinatorment​ who bore the brunt of my whinging today, but I know there were others. Thank you for putting up with me :D Hopefully the next bit will be easier (I’m gonna run out of holidays soon, drat it).

Just a heads up, that despite the picture above there is no ship in this fic. Just Tracy siblings having crap thrown at them again. I have posted parts of this before, but here it is in its entirety so I can finally get rid of it :D

I hope you enjoy it :D

-o-o-o-

Virgil relaxed back and listened to the music.

It was a rare moment. Sure, it was still a formal affair, he was decked out in his suit and tie, but the atmosphere was gentle with carpet and soft furnishings and only a murmur of clientele as a backdrop to the classical piano being played in the lounge. He could close his eyes and just soak it all in.

“Wakey, wakey, Tank-man. You’re not going to get a date sleeping on the clock.”

Virgil opened one eye and glared at his fish brother. Gordon was grinning at him from across the table, a smirking Penelope on one arm. He was still sporting a cane, but he was mobile. Virgil had a timer on him though and would drag him off that leg if he had to.

But in the meantime…he dipped his head in acknowledgement at Penny, he had manners after all, before turning again to Gordon. He rolled his eyes and closed them again, leaning back further in the soft upholstery of the lounge. “I’m not fishing, Fish.”

“Then how do you ever expect to get caught?”

Virgil didn’t even bother to answer. He was happy with the moment to rest. All his family was safe. Those that weren’t here, were on the Island. No rescues, just friends and a quiet night out.

Scott was around somewhere, probably similarly engaged as Gordon, though likely with a less familiar lady.

Kayo was here, too, mingling here abouts, dressed to the nines as much as he was.

John was back on the Island. Virgil had backed his vote to stay home.

He swallowed, past words still echoing through memory. John hardly remembered anything of the incident and had been horrified to learn he was responsible for all the bruises Virgil was sporting.

Scott and Alan arrived on Five that day to find Virgil and John still floating in each other’s embrace. John was barely conscious, his head on Virgil’s shoulder. The medscanner had been obtained and reassurance was the result. John was exhausted, but would be fine with some painkillers, clean air and rest.

Scott’s words had been ever so taut when that same medscanner had been used on Virgil. Bed rest had been the prescription in his case as well.

So, while Alan and Brains tore Five apart enough to discover that not only had a fragment of the meteor punctured a thruster propellant tank and the inner hull, but snafu’d the sensor network in the process, John and Virgil had each other’s company on the Island for the next few days, uninterrupted, with plenty of time to talk. There had been late night movies and simple companionship. Virgil had even fallen asleep on his brother’s shoulder at one point.

Eventually John had returned to orbit, but over the last several weeks, he had been dropping down to the Island more often.

And he always made a point of finding Virgil and farewelling him before he left.

Virgil mentally shook himself. He’d sworn Eos to secrecy as soon as he could, once Brains had reinstated her ability to speak, and he hadn’t told John exactly what he’d said. His brother was horrified enough at the bruises and his handling of Eos. He didn’t need to know anything further.

So Virgil kept the words to himself.

But he shouldn’t be thinking about that right now. He should be tuned into the music and enjoying the lovely skill the pianist had with this new composer.

He drifted for a moment before sneakily opening one eye to make sure Gordon had wandered off.

Which he had. Cane or no, Virgil spotted him swaying to the gentle music with Penny on the dance floor.

He couldn’t help but smile.

Alan was with John – Virgil wasn’t the only one his usually-in-orbit brother was making extra time for. There was no doubt some kind of stargazing or video game tournament happening on the Kermadec Ridge tonight.

So Gordon, Penny, Scott and Kayo were his companions.

Kayo had almost been eager to attend…which meant this had to be more than just some party Penny had invited them to. But Virgil didn’t have the energy to care.

He closed his eyes and let the music and murmuring carry him away.

He was almost asleep when a body collided with both him and the couch he was sitting on, almost landing in his lap.

His hands automatically reached out to stabilise the person responsible before he had even opened his eyes.

His fingers caught in sequins.

What?

“Viiiiiiiirgiiiiiiiiiil…..”

He must have been more asleep than he thought, because that voice, the sequins and the body writhing up against him did not compute.

A brain blink later and he realised that yes, he did have his sister in his arms. “Kayo?”

She leant back across his lap and stretched like a cat. “Heeeeey, Viiiiirgiiiiil. Whatcha doin’?”

Words failed him a moment. Kayo was dressed in a lovely African print wrap dress, embroidery involving the sequins scattered across the bodice and down across one hip. She looked wonderful. Perfect for any red carpet.

Except now she was draped over his lap and her slipper feet were in the air…

He hurriedly nudged her wandering leg down to prevent the bar from getting an eyeful. “Kayo, what are you doing?”

She let off a laugh. “Relaxing. Just what the Commander ordered.” She frowned up at him. “You were sleeping. No sleeping on the job.” She shook an admonishing finger in his face. “’S not safe.”

Her leg wandered into the air again, prompting raised eyebrows and stares from a very well-dressed couple as they walked past towards the dance floor.

Virgil hurriedly pushed her leg back down again and levered her upright with one arm.

She pouted at him. “You’re no fun.”

He stared at her, his brain short-circuiting at her totally uncharacteristic behaviour as much as switching immediately into medic mode. “Kayo, what’s wrong?”

She smiled at him, reached over and tweaked his nose. “Not a thing, big cuddly brother of mine.” When he didn’t immediately respond, likely due to shock, she continued. “Oh, c’mon, Viiiiirg. Have some fun. Be more like Scottieeeeee.” She waved an arm around and nearly conked him on the side of the head.

He caught her arm and managed to take her pulse as she grinned blearily at him. “How are you feeling?”

“I feel great!” She bounced off his lap and stood up, swaying a little.

Virgil’s brain shifted gear and he hit his collar comms. “Scott, we have a situation.”

Before his brother could respond, Kayo’s eyes widened. “Oh, no you don’t!” And she turned and ran. Or tried to, wobbling between the tables towards the bar.

Virgil jumped off the lounge and followed her, his mind rifling through what could have caused her to act like this. Kayo did not drink, certainly not off the Island, so that only left several terrifying options he really didn’t want to think about.

He caught up with her just in time to stop her falling and bashing her head on the bar. “Kayo, c’mon, honey, this isn’t right.”

She struggled a little and he earned himself an elbow in the gut for his efforts. The fact he wasn’t on the floor out cold made it even more worrying.

“You told on me! You always spoil everything.”

He clung to her. Even drugged – his heart missed a beat – she was formidable. But he was strong and as long as he didn’t let go…

She stopped resisting and glared up at him defiantly. “You goody-two-shoes! You’re not always right!”

Next thing he knew he was on the floor, the world spinning drunkenly around him.

It took him a second to orient himself as a concerned waiter hovered and the music stopped.

Damn it, he had been enjoying that.

Kayo.

He sat up, against the protests of the waiter. The world wobbled and he realised he was leaking blood from somewhere…oh, his nose.

Great.

He pushed himself to his feet.

“Woah, big guy, what the hell.” Gordon grabbed him on one side and Penny on the other.

Her grip was as strong as Gordon’s.

“Kayo, I think she’s been drugged. Did you see her?”

Gone was the party from Gordon’s expression and in its place, ever the professional. A flash of worry dissolved under his mask. “No.” A breath. “But we will find her.” A beat as his little brother frowned at him. “You got him, Penny?”

“Yes, go and find her, Gordon. I will look after Virgil.”

“FAB.” And his brother vanished talking into his collar, no doubt to Scott.

“Let’s sit you down, Virgil, and get that nose attended to.” She drew him towards a chair.

But he resisted, stumbling as he set his footing. “I’m okay. We need to find Kayo.” His thoughts were spinning as much as the planet. Someone had done this to Kayo.

Who?

And how?

“Virgil!” Penny glared and tugged him towards a chair. “Sit down before you fall down.”

He gently shook her off. “I’ll live. We need to find Kayo.” He swallowed. “And whoever did this to her.”

Penny’s lips thinned and Virgil put everything into his expression. If Penny wanted to stop him, she was fully capable. If there was one thing he could say about the women in his life, it was that they were capable. Very capable.

There was steel in those blue eyes and he watched as her decision was made. Without another word, she pulled her compact out of her dress purse and flicked it open. “Parker, we have a situation. I need you on site.”

“Yes, m’lady.”

She snapped it shut and pinned Virgil with her eyes. “We will locate Kayo. You will stay with Parker.”

Before he could object, she handed him a napkin. “Clean yourself up, Virgil. We have certain standards, after all.”

Arching an eyebrow at her, he pushed the napkin to his nose, and nodded just once, in case the world decided to escape him again.

Parker appeared as if out of nowhere, his glare between Virgil and Penny, concern and curiosity itself. But then Scott reported in Kayo’s location.

‘Staying with Parker’ was a concept immediately forgotten.

Hurrying out the back of the restaurant, he found Kayo cornered up against a brick wall at the end of the alley, and his two brothers facing her, blocking any obvious route of escape.

Scott was doing his best to calm their sister down, but she was obviously pissed. His big brother was holding up his hand as if to placate her.

It wasn’t working. Her dress was catching the rough brick wall as she moved, rocking from one foot to the other like a cornered animal. There was a scattering of sequins at her feet.

She snarled at Scott. “You’re not the boss of me!” She caught sight of Virgil and immediately her glare turned to him. “Look at what you did! I thought you were the safe one. The caring one. The one I could talk to.”

Virgil frowned. “We all care about you, Kayo. You know that.” He took a small step forward, both hands out to his sides showing he wasn’t armed and he meant her no harm.

The glance he received from Scott was full of worry, but there was hope there. Scott took a minuscule step back, signalling the change in lead.

As ever, they worked as one.

Virgil turned his full focus towards his sister and took another step forward. “Kayo, you can always speak to any of us. We’re your brothers. We love you.”

Her eyes darted between the three of them. “I know.”

“Then let us help you.” He took another step. He could almost reach her.

And suddenly she was in his arms sobbing. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

He held her tight, his eyes catching Scott’s. This was so unlike his sister. “It’s okay. You’re safe now.” He rubbed her back gently.

Scott’s lips thinned and the worry turned inevitably to anger. A glance at Gordon and Virgil found similar there.

“Hon, how about we go home?” He would fly them himself. He had never seen her this vulnerable.

Wet, peridot eyes looked up at him and she nodded once before returning her head to his shoulder. He blinked in surprise.

Somewhere in the back of his mind the big brother he was flared in anger equal to Scott and Gordon’s. Whoever did this to their sister was going to be found…and likely regret living if he knew his brothers.

But Virgil’s job was to look after Kayo.

He drew her closer, and after her first stumbling step, leant down and lifted her into his arms.

Part of him expected protest and possibly bruises, but she only snuggled into his shoulder closer.

His lips thinned and he touched a kiss to her hair.

Scott and Gordon escorted him to their car and he bundled her in, joining her, he was not surprised when Parker kicked out their driver and took that place himself.

As they drove away, Kayo curled into his side and his arm pulled her even closer, his medic eyes not leaving her for a moment. Grandma would know what to do. If a hospital was needed, that was why he had Thunderbird Two at his disposal. For now, he would take her home.

Whoever did this would regret it. His brothers would see to that.

And Virgil could only agree.

-o-o-o-

Next

[echoes-of-the-clockwork]

Book One: Gold (Prompto x Reader) Chapter V

Once back in Lestallum, the group reported to Talcott and Jared about their finds. As they were about to leave the Leville, Noctis experiences another headache. In order to dissect the source of his headaches, they decided to take a closer look at the Disc of Cauthess from the outlook. When they arrived, they ran into two familiar faces.

"What a coincidence," the auburn-haired man smiled eerily at the group.

Gladio crosses his arms. "I'm not so sure it is."

The man strolled up to them, leaving his spiky-haired companion behind. He came to a stop in front of (Y/n). "Oh, my. You must be the lovely maiden my dear companion spoke of. A pleasure to meet your acquaintance, my dear." He bowed politely before trying to reach out and grab her hand. However, Prompto reached out and pulled the girl away from him before the man could touch her.

"You know this guy?" The spirit whispered to the blonde.

"We kinda had a run-in with him in Galdin Quay," Prompto answered.

The auburn-haired man was unfazed by the marksman's reaction and decided to back away, changing the subject in the process. "Aren't nursery rhymes curious things? Like this one: "From the deep, the Archaean calls... Yet on deaf ears, the gods' tongue falls, The King made to kneel, in pain, he crawls.""

Prompto, who now stood in front of (Y/n), asked, "So how do we keep him on his feet?"

"You need only heed the call. Visit the Archaean and hear his plea." He spun around to face them, his smile never wavering. "We can take you."

Prompto looked around at his friends. "We in?"

Noctis was unsure of the men and didn't trust either of them. "I don't know."

"We take a ride..." The sharpshooter began.

"...but watch our backs," Gladio finished.

"Fair enough," Ignis said.

Noctis agreed with his friends. "Let's do it."

(Y/n) hadn't been paying attention to their conversation. Her golden eyes were focused on the familiar spiky-haired man who she had met yesterday. She never got his name, but there's no way she could forget his appearance. She was torn from her thoughts when Prompto shook her shoulder. Looking away from the emerald-eyed man, she stared into the blonde's cerulean eyes. "Huh?"

"You okay?" Prompto asked. He glanced at the man who had yet to speak, then back at the girl. "Isn't that the guy from yesterday?"

"It is..." She was even more suspicious of him than the auburn-haired man. She didn't trust either of them, but respected the boys' decision to allow them to be their escort for a short time.

The auburn-haired man smiles and begins walking toward the car park with his companion by his side. "I'm not one to stand on ceremony, but such an occasion calls for an introduction. Please, call me "Ardyn." And this..." He gestures to the man beside him. "Is Callyx. He's a dear old friend of mine. Come with us to the car park. That's where I left my automobile. She's a dear old thing. Pales next to your Regalia, but she's never let me down. So we take two vehicles-a convoy of sorts. Shall we?"

When arriving at Ardyn's car, the auburn-haired man turned to face the group. "All set?"

"Let's get this over with," Noctis sighed.

"Allow me to do the honor of assigning your driver... I choose you!" Ardyn pointed at the raven-haired boy.

"Fine by me."

"I do have one final request," Callyx spoke up with his smooth voice. His emerald eyes focused on (Y/n). "Your car will be cramped with five people. The lady should ride with us."

"No way!" Prompto shouted. "(Y/n)'s staying with us."

"Yeah. We're not gonna let her go with you two," Noctis replied.

"I only wish to speak with her on our drive over to the Disc." Callyx lifted his t-shirt up a little ways to reveal the jade gemstone embedded in his abdomen.

The spirit gasped at the sight. "You're a guardian, too?"

He nodded. "Yeah."

"But your eyes..."

He smirked. "Contacts."

"Oh..."

He took a step closer to her, alerting the royal retinue. Prompto went to pull the girl back when Noctis moved to stand between the two spirits. Callyx noticed how tense the four boys were and raised his hands in surrender. "I'm not going to hurt her. There's something important I have to discuss with her."

"Then do it here and now," Gladio said with a faint growl.

(Y/n) broke free from Prompto's hold and stepped around Noctis to stand directly in front of Callyx. "What's so important that they can't hear it but your friend can?"

"Because I trust him and not your friends. If you don't ride with us, you'll never learn the truth about what the empire is planning."

Her mouth opened and closed. She wanted to say something, but she couldn't think of anything. If the information is important and the only cost was riding in their car, she would do it. "Fine. I'll ride with you."

"What?" Prompto gasped.

She casted a reassuring smile towards the blonde. "I'll be fine, Prom. If we can learn what the empire is doing, I'll ride with them."

"Are you certain of your decision, (Y/n)?" Ignis asked.

"Yes."

"B-But..." Prompto began.

Ardyn, however, interrupted him. "You drive your car, I drive mine, and the maiden comes with Callyx and I. With that decided, let us be off."

Prompto stared in shock, watching (Y/n) climb into the backseat of the red car alongside Callyx. He bit his tongue, deciding to hold himself back after seeing her resolve. Reluctantly, he got into the Regalia with his friends. Like a child, he pouted as he watched the red car leave the parking lot.

Outside of Lestallum, the two automobiles sat side by side. Ardyn glanced toward the boys inside the Regalia. "Just to be clear, this isn't a race, it is a chase. You're not to pass me. Lose sight of me, and you'll lose your way. And no tailgating. An accident would spoil the trip."

Noctis, who was behind the wheel, groaned. "All right, all right. Let's hit the road already."

"As you wish. Drive safely, now."

(Y/n) casted Prompto one last smile before they took off. After being a few minutes on the road, she looked over at her fellow spirit. "So, Callyx, what did you wanna tell me?"

The emerald-eyed man glanced at Ardyn for a split second before sighing. "How familiar are you with the conduit?"

"The first time I heard about it was from Noctis. Besides that, I know nothing about it."

"Well then, I guess an explanation is in order." Callyx combed a hand through his spiky black hair. "Centuries ago, there used to be seven Astrals. But all that changed when the seventh god disappeared. No one knows why and most of Eos has forgotten about him. The mighty Brahma, the creator of the universe, vanished without a trace. However, the conduit is rumored to be the only person who can hear and speak to Brahma. They are also the person the Astral has chosen to embody his power and act as his vessel in order to aid the True King."

"And what does this have to do with the empire?" (Y/n) inquired.

"The only beings possible of being the conduit are spirits. Humans are frail and unable to embody the power of an Astral. Our people are being targeted by the empire. They're slaughtering guardians left and right to prevent Brahma's return. I'm only telling you this because you need to know how much danger you are in. If you want to protect yourself, you need to find a safe place to hide. Leave those men and find a place to-"

"Oh, I don't think so," (Y/n) interrupted him. "Have you forgotten? Guardians are meant to protect those that gave them life. There's no way I'm going to leave Prompto to save my own skin. I care too much about him to leave him behind."

"You wouldn't be the first spirit to latch on to a human..." Callyx crossed his legs. "Then again, by the look on that boy's face, you mean a lot to him. Guess I'm kind of jealous."

"Is that all you wanted to tell me?" She sighed.

"Yeah..."

The conversation died. (Y/n) rested her arm on the door, cupping her chin with her palm. She glanced out at the passing scenery, admiring it to distract her from the two men in the car with her. She prayed to the Astrals this road trip would end soon.

A little ways behind the red vehicle was the Regalia. Noctis kept a good distance between them and Ardyn's car to prevent an accident. While the prince, Gladio, and Ignis were chatting away about the two mysterious men, Prompto stared at the car in front of them. His fingers tapped against his knee repeatedly, his leg shaking up and down. His right arm rested on top of the car door with his hand clenched in a fist and resting against his cheek.

When Gladio noticed the blonde's lengthy silence, he glanced at him. Seeing the sharpshooter's gaze locked on the car in front of them, he chuckled. "You that worried, blondie?"

"Of course I am!" Prompto yelled. "(Y/n)'s in a car with two weirdos! Not to mention, one of those weirdos tried to hit on her yesterday!"

"You're freaking out over nothing."

"Wha-no!"

"By the way (Y/n) carried herself in the grotto, I do believe she is quite capable of handling anything or anyone who dares cross her path," Ignis stated.

"I know she's strong, but that doesn't stop me from worrying about her..." Prompto muttered. He managed to look away from the car they were following and pulled out his camera. He scrolled through the various pictures he's taken of (Y/n) so far, admiring her beauty from every angle.

After spending 15 minutes scrolling through pictures, Prompto lifted his head and realized they were pulling over. He glanced around in confusion as they pulled into the Cauthess Coernix Station.

Noctis pulled the Regalia up beside Ardyn's car just as the man got out and asked, "What say we call it a day here?"

""What say" we continue on to Cauthess?" Gladio retorted as he and the other boys climbed out of the Regalia.

"The Archaean's not going anywhere."

"Neither are we, under your stewardship," Ignis replied.

"So we make camp...with Ardyn," Prompto groaned.

"Hell no," Noctis quipped.

"Might as well get the tent up," Gladio said.

Oh, I'm afraid Callyx and I have never really been ones for the outdoors. We shall foot the bill, so let us stay at the caravan over yonder," Ardyn stated.

(Y/n) turned her head towards the male spirit standing beside her. "You're a hunter. Don't you camp out a lot?"

"Yeah, but it doesn't mean I enjoy it," Callyx explained.

"That's... Okay, yeah. Good point."

"Will all of us even fit in the caravan?" Noctis asked.

"Only one way to find out," Ardyn smirked before walking off with his friend.

Once Ardyn and Callyx were gone, (Y/n) sauntered over to the boys. She placed a hand on her hip with a frown. "Can we talk somewhere in private?"

"Oh, no," Prompto gasped. He rushed over to the (h/c)-haired girl and grabbed her arms, shaking her back and forth. "What did they do to you?! Tell me, (Y/n)!"

"H-Hey, take it easy, Prom. They didn't do anything to me." She grabbed his arms to stop him from shaking her. "I just wanted to share with you all what Callyx had to say."

"Then shall we make for the caravan?" Ignis suggested.

"That'd be good."

They entered the caravan. Noctis and Prompto sat on the small wooden bench while Gladio and Ignis decided to stand. (Y/n) closed the door behind them and leaned against it. Wishing not to beat around the bush, she jumped straight to the point. "The empire's hunting down spirits and killing them."

"What?" Ignis gaped in shock.

"What do they hope to gain from that?" Gladio inquired.

"This conduit you heard about from the marshal... It can only be a guardian. Whoever this conduit is has the ability to hear and speak to the forgotten Astral and act as his vessel," she said. "By killing spirits, the empire hopes to stop Brahma from returning."

"Hold up," Noctis spoke up. "There's another Astral?"

"Brahma, the creator of the universe. He's known as the forgotten Astral. Not many know about him, but apparently the empire does."

"Can we really trust this information?" Gladio questioned.

"I...I'm not sure," she confessed. "I don't trust Callyx, but he genuinely looked worried about it when he spoke to me."

"If he is telling the truth, does that mean...?" Prompto gazed at the girl, worried for her safety. "Does that mean the empire will try to kill you?"

"Well..."

Noctis stood up. "Let them come. They're already crawling up our asses anyway."

"What more could they possibly do?" Ignis asked.

"We'll deal with any imperial bastards that cross our path just like we always do," Gladio claimed.

"Yeah!" Prompto cheered. "All of us are a team."

"Team?" (Y/n) parroted.

"Unless you wish not to be," Ignis stated.

"No, it's just..." She rubbed a hand up and down her arm. "I never expected you three to accept me so easily."

"We were all skeptical at first, but you proved yourself in the cave. I thought our whole groove would've been messed up with you around, but you proved me wrong." Gladio patted her on the shoulder. "You fit right in, short stuff."

"Sh-Short stuff...?" She glanced around at the boys before examining her appearance. "Am I really that short?"

"Well... Yeah," Prompto answered. "B-But that's okay!"

She looked away, unamused. "Ugh..."

(Y/n) excused herself and left the caravan. She wandered towards the rear of the convenience store before setting her gaze on the Celestial Crescent. She tilted her head in curiosity when hearing a faint mumbling.

...ui...

She blinked in shock when she could make out a portion of what the voice was saying. "I'm going crazy..."

"What're you talking about?"

(Y/n) tore her gaze away from the darkening sky and looked at Callyx, deciding to lie. "It's nothing, really. I thought the colors of the Celestial Crescent were changing for a second, but my mind was playing tricks on me." She didn't trust him even after he shared information about the empire.

Callyx took a quick glance at the sky before looking at the (h/c)-haired girl, his hands hidden behind his back. "Do you ever hear voices whenever you gaze upon the Celestial Crescent?"

"If you mean the voices in my head, then yes."

Callyx chortled. "That's not what I meant."

She put on a friendly façade. "I know. I'm just messing with you. To answer your question-no, I don't hear voices. Am I supposed to?"

He shook his head. "Not unless you're the conduit. Brahma's consciousness resides within those cluster of stars. He searches for the perfect vessel to regain his physical body, only speaking to the spirit he deems worthy."

"Do we have any idea what'll happen to the conduit once Brahma takes control of their body?"

"Who knows? Maybe they become an empty shell, maybe there are no side effects whatsoever." Callyx suddenly outstretched one of his hands to touch her shoulder, but he stopped mid-way when a familiar bubbly blonde came bounding over calling the girl's name. "Guess I'll give you two some time alone."

Prompto eyed Callyx suspiciously as he walked past him. When he was out of sight, he walked up to (Y/n). "I was kinda getting worried when you didn't come back. Everything okay, (Y/n)?"

"Mhmm," she hummed with a smile. "Everything's peachy."

"I thought you might've been worried about this whole conduit thing. I mean, it is kinda scary the empire is going around and just killing spirits. Are you sure you're doing okay?"

"Really, I'm fine. No need to worry, Prom."

Suddenly, Prompto wound his arms around her and hugged her tightly. He pressed his cheek against her (h/c) hair, frowning sorrowfully. "Y'know, you might be a better liar than me, but I can tell when you're really worried about something, (Y/n). You scrunch up your nose and furrow your brows. I find it kinda...cute."

She sighed, burying her face into his chest. She wound her arms around his torso and mumbled, "I am scared. Scared for my people, scared for me. There aren't many of us, which makes it even more frightening. I'm also scared I'm putting you and the others in even more danger."

Prompto hugged her smaller frame as tight as he could without hurting her. "Hey, don't worry 'bout us. We can handle ourselves. There's no way the empire could defeat us! And..." He nuzzled his nose in her hair, inhaling her gentle scent. "I-We won't let anything happen to you. I know you're supposed to be the one protecting me, but I wanna protect you too. If you were to vanish, I...I wouldn't know what to do."

A warm, gentle smile blossomed on the spirit's face. "I'll never disappear, Prom. Whenever you need me, I'll be there. Even when you don't need me, I'll be by your side. You're stuck with me forever."

Prompto smiled widely. "I wouldn't have it any other way." He fell silent for a moment before clearing his throat, arms remaining tightly wound around (Y/n). "Hey, u-um... After we're done with this Disc business, there's something really important I wanna tell you."

"You can't tell me now?" She inquired.

"Of course not! It's, uh...really important, but I still need a day to...come up with the right words. Think you can wait?"

"Do I really have any other choice?"

"Nope."

Previous Chapter || Next Chapter || Masterlist

[willow-salix]

Isolation update and this was based on two prompts by @eirabach and @cloudkicker09 for the irrelief challenge by @gumnut-logic. Big thanks to the amazing @avengedbiologist for the art collab!

Day 83 of Isolation on Tracy Island and our poor Virgil is still feeling a little tender . His back is a lot better but he’s still having to be careful how he’s sitting and so we’ve banned him from doing anything remotely strenuous. For Virg, this is hard. He’s usually quite happy to chill out for a few hours and do nothing but that’s when it's on his terms, not when he’s been ordered to stay put. Then he needs some bribery.

“OK,” I started, “what do you want? What’s gonna get you to stay put?”

He thought about it for a moment or two and then he dropped his bombshell.

“Couch day. If I have to stay put, so do you all.”

I glanced around at everyone else who nodded. They could do that.

“On one condition,” Virgil threw in. “You know those special things we ordered online a few weeks ago and were saving for Christmas?”

My mouth dropped in shock. “Oh, ohmigods! Are they here? Did they arrive?”

He nodded, grinning evilly. “Picked them up last supply run and hid them in my wardrobe.”

“Yessss! Can I go get them?”

He nodded again.

“Woohoo!” I ran off like I had Thunderbird Three up my butt.

“Why do I get the feeling that we’re going to hate this?” I heard John sigh as I left the room.

***

“I feel ridiculous,” John groaned, looking down at his outfit in obvious disgust.

“Nooo,” I assured him. “You look gorgeous!”

“Well I love mine!” Alan grinned, spinning around to look at his reflection in the window.

“Me too,” Gordon agreed, checking out his backside in another window. “Look at my little fin!”

“Mines a tad too short,” Scott pointed down where he was showing a good six inches of ankle and hairy calf below the cuffs.

“Mines so comfy,” Virgil moaned, snuggling deeper into the warm material.

“Mines actually kind of cool,” Kayo admitted. She looked as awesome as always, curled up like a cat in one of Alan’s bucket seats, her black and silver onesie fitted her like a glove and she was clearly revelling in the soft warmth it provided.

“I’m not putting the hood up,” John stated, thumping down on the couch and crossing his arms in protest.

“Oh come on, it’s so cosy,” Alan wheedled, having already tugged up the hood of his red onesie, the pointy top forming the nose cone of his Thunderbird.

Virgil and I had been rather bored, it had been late and we had stumbled across a fan site that had made its own International Rescue merchandise. A few clicks later and we had purchased one of every onesie they possessed and then found me a cute little halloween bat onesie so I could join in. I loved it and was currently flapping my wings excitedly.

Virgil's was, of course, big and green, the yellow trim and red cuffs looked great on him. His hood was rounded like Two’s nose and his arms had flaps of material that attached down to his sides to give him wings. The large lettering of Thunderbird Two straight down his sides completed the look.

Gordon’s was bright yellow with a red stripe around the middle and midway up his calves and he had a fin that started halfway down his back and reached right down to his butt, flaring out wider the lower it got. His also said Thunderbird Four down the sides.

Alan’s had a grey striped strip around his belly and back, a white collar and white cuffs and was just the cutest thing ever with Thunderbird Three running down his chest in white and with a white three on each ankle.

Scott’s was simply glorious, his hood sported a pointy red cone, two dark grey stripes circled his upper chest and back and his arms also had wings like Virgil’s. The lower legs (which was more just below the knee for him) were blue and the ankles and cuffs were the same dark grey as the stripes on his chest. Thunderbird One was written in white on his chest and he looked amazing. Clearly he thought so too if the poses he was striking were any indication.

John’s was a little more elaborate than the other boys and honestly I don’t completely blame him for his reaction. His hood had a soft, bendy circle hovering above it like a weird angel halo, made to represent Five’s gravity ring and was grey on the outside and red on the inside, which also had International Rescue written on it in white letters. His chest area was a puffy ball where the monitoring station would be, making him look like he had suddenly developed a massive beer belly. The legs were yellow and his ankles (it was a little short on him too) had two stiff panels that stuck out. I thought they were adorable, he hated them with the fiery passion of a thousand suns.

“Stop being so grumpy,” I told him, dropping down next to him and attempting to snuggle the bad mood out of him as we all prepared to watch Virgil’s movie of choice, La La Land, another musical but this was his day so we weren’t going to complain.

Drinks were gathered, snacks were shared out and everyone got comfy as the movie started. Surprisingly enough it wasn’t one that I’d watched before and I found it quite enjoyable although Alan and Gordon were clearly not impressed, come to think of it, neither were Kayo and Scott.

As soon as the movie ended all four of them made their escape, leaving John and I to keep Virgil company.

“This was not part of the deal,” Virgil yelled after them, they ignored him. “You have to at least keep your onesies on!” he ordered.

“Sorry about them,” I said, getting up to fetch him another drink and at his request, his sketchbook and pencils.”You just can’t trust family.”

“What am I, invisible?” John asked, batting at one side of the gravity ring that kept getting in his way.

“No, you’re awesome,” I answered.

“Suck up,” Virgil laughed, then winced when his back twinged.

“Will you sit still!” I ordered, plumping his pillow and settling him back.

“Is she always this bossy?”

“Hard to imagine, given how quiet she usually is, but yes,” John answered dryly, picking up his abandoned book. I smacked his shoulder in retaliation but still used him as a pillow as I located the magazine I’d been reading and went back to the article about vampires in Scotland.

We chilled quietly for around half an hour before a voice broke the silence.

“John, I’m bored.”

“You don’t get bored, EOS,” he replied, glancing over at her portable drive which he’d left on the coffee table. “At least you’re not supposed to.”

“It feels like I am. You told me that when someone has nothing left to do they get bored, that’s why you keep sending Alan out to collect space debris.”

Virgil sniggered.

“I have finished all the tasks you set for me and I have downloaded today’s statistics to your comm so now, I believe, I am bored.”

EOS had been brilliant in keeping Five running smoothly in between John’s daily visits in which he spent a few hours with her checking in on the world. Sometimes I went with him, or one of the others, but she had been alone for the majority of the time. We had grown used to checking in with her at night too, talking to her before we settled for the night and she often popped up with a question or two during the day.

With so little to do for International Rescue in the way of actually rescuing people she had taken to it upon herself to work her way through every encyclopedia that had ever been uploaded to the internet, to familiarize herself with customs and cultures around the world and, weirdest of all, pop culture and slang words. That had made for some interesting conversations, especially when the younger two got involved.

“What are you all doing to relieve your boredom?” she asked.

“Reading,” I answered, lifting my magazine to show her.

“Reading,” John answered, displaying his book.

“Drawing,” Virgil answered.

Her lights flickered for a few seconds.

“Reading I understand, if one wishes to gain knowledge then reading is an acceptable way to do so. But drawing serves no purpose.”

“Uh oh,” John muttered, ducking into his hood.

“Serves no purpose?” Virgil gasped, shocked to his very core by her words. “Of course it does.”

“It has no function.”

“It does!”

“Can we not argue about this?” I asked.

“I’m not arguing,” Virgil insisted. “I’m educating, is that OK?.”

“Anything that will keep her occupied,” John shrugged. EOS had taken to playing with the comms and the fire alarms when she had nothing to do, so we needed more to amuse her.

Virgil reached for the drive but groaned, his back protesting. I got up and fetched it for him, handing it over. He settled back against his cushions and set the drive on his shoulder like a weird parrot.

“Art,” he began, “can’t be broken down into functions and reasoning, art is about feeling.” He sketched a few lines on his pad. “Humans are complicated creatures; they all have different likes and dislikes, things that they love and things that they hate. Art, above all else, makes us feel, even if it's a negative emotion.”

Virgil had a lovely voice to listen to, soft and warm, you just couldn’t help but pay attention to everything he said. I put my magazine down and snuggled closer to John, settling like it was story time.

“Art comes in many forms, music, literature, photography, sculpting, cooking, anything and everything that is creative is a form of art. For as long as there has been humans, there has been art, humans have an inherent need to create, to make things, to leave their mark on the world in some way or another. Look at you.”

“What about me?” EOS asked, having been listening silently, her lights flickering thoughtfully.

“You evolved from game code that John created, you yourself are a form of art. And you yourself create things every day.”

“How do I?” EOS had been learning to emulate tone and expressions, putting them into her voice whenever she thought it was appropriate, it could be pretty hit or miss, but this time she sounded genuinely puzzled.

“You form pictures, you create charts, you correlate data and display it. That’s a form of art.”

“But that art has a purpose, it's to display information.”

“And so does all art, it can be pretty, it can be ugly, you might not understand it, but it will still make you feel something. That’s it’s purpose.”

“I still don’t understand.”

“People like to see pretty things, they make them feel better when they feel bad. Pictures can remind them of good things, paintings of people they love make them smile, pictures of places they have been to bring back memories of good things.”

“Why do you draw when you could just take a photograph? Drawings and paintings are not accurate, they are filled with inaccuracies.”

“Because some things can’t be captured with a photograph, they may not exist anywhere but in your own mind.”

“I cannot picture something that I have no reference for. If it does not exist it cannot be pictured.”

“Of course it can, things can't be simplified to if they can be referenced or not, you can paint emotions, you can play feelings, you can bake love. If what you are making makes you feel, or when you look at something, hear something, taste something or smell something, it can trigger emotions within you.”

“I’m not sure I understand, because I cannot feel.”

“Of course you can, you feel love, friendship, loneliness, you feel a lot and you’re learning more every day,” John assured her.

“But they are not art, I cannot picture those things,” EOS argued.

“I’ll show you what I mean,” Virgil assured her.

Virgil turned to a fresh sheet of paper and picked up his pencil.

“It’s human nature to create faces and pictures of things that we cannot see but that we interact with,” Virgil continued, his pencil flying over the page. “How do you two picture EOS?”

“I see her as a small girl, not too young because they are annoying,” I started, ignoring John’s snort of amusement, I can’t help it if I’m not a kiddy person. “Maybe around ten, eleven years old, a tween that can swing between moody and loving in an instant.”

“Accurate,” John agreed.

“I picture her with hair down to her shoulders maybe, sometimes in pigtails if she’s in a bratty mood.”

“I’m never bratty,” EOS argued petulantly.

"I beg to differ," John whispered to me.

“I see her hair as maybe a strawberry blonde, maybe somewhere between John and Gordon’s hair colour,” I continued, getting into my stride. Having had no part of her creation and no understanding of how code or computers of any kind worked all I had been able to do was assign her a face so I knew who I was talking to. Virgil was right, us humans always had to put a face to a voice. If we heard someone on the radio we would get an impression of who the voice could belong to, what the person speaking would look like and I had done exactly that.

“I’ve never really thought about it before, but I think she’d have green eyes,” John added, his eyes closed as if he were picturing her in his mind.

“With a cute little nose and a smattering of freckles just like Alan has,” I added.

“I sound quite pleasant,” EOS said thoughtfully.

“What clothes would you choose?” Virgil asked, still sketching.

“Since I live in Thunderbird Five, if I had a body to clothe I would need a suit like John’s.”

“Makes sense,” Virgil agreed, frowning slightly as he concentrated on his work.

“I think I would like a hairband like Kayo has,” EOS mused.

“Hairband, got it,” Virgil answered her, pencil moving back and forth in soft strokes a few more times. “OK, finished.” He turned his pad around for us to see.

“Oh, she’s adorable!” I squeaked. “She’s just how I pictured her.”

“She’s very cute,” John smiled. “Can I keep that?”

“Sure, I’ll colour it later for you.” Virgil turned the pad for EOS to see. “That’s you, EOS.”

“That’s me?”

“Well, it’s how we picture you. See, your body doesn’t exist, this face doesn’t exist, but it’s still in our heads. It’s how we see you and when we look at this, we feel happy and we feel love, because it’s you. Do you understand art now?”

“Yes,” her tone had changed from thoughtful to confident. “Yes I think I do.”

[littleoldrachel]

i am burned out (i smell of smoke)

okay, look. I wasn’t gonna post this until it was FINISHED because i am trying to learn to actually finish my wips. but. the world is sorta falling apart and i hope that maybe i can help even one person feel temporarily less anxious about it all. 

i wrote this for @gumnut-logic‘s birthday and am now over a month late, so! good! (so sorry nutty, you’re so incredible at blessing us with your words, i just wanted to do something nice for you since you’re so so good to us)

my love for virgil tracy + my silent lurking in this fandom have brought this about. i never thought i’d be writing thunderbirds fanfiction and yet. here we are (my father would be so disappointed in me).

this is my first time writing these characters, as will become painfully clear. pls be nice to me, i am fragile lol. i am horribly aware that my virg is probably too ‘floppy’ as per your post, nutty, so sorry in advance! this is me whumping your boy emotionally and mentally, but i’m gonna fix him, i swear! there are five parts (i have written the first three). 

virgil is always written as being very good at taking care of his mental health, and it occurred to me that some of the best people at this have had to learn to be that way, and so I guess this is an exploration of that? anyway, have some virgil aggressively loving his family. 

brains isn’t in this and kayo isn’t much either sorryyy. oh my GOd shut up, here you go:

i am burned out (i smell of smoke) [on ao3]

summary: in which virgil falls apart, learns how to put himself back together, and realises he doesn't have to do it alone.

word count: 2.8k ish (part 1/5)

warnings: mental health issues

timeline: i suppose this is set in early TAG verse?  jeff is missing and nobody is Coping Well.

happy belated birthday, nutty!! <3

i.

He isn’t quite sure where it began. Somewhere between three back-to-back rescues, pulling a child’s body from thick, black mud, and failing to reach the scientist before smoke ravaged her lungs, a weight settles in his chest that none of his usual coping mechanisms can shift. 

To say it’s been a hard week would be an understatement, but then again, they’ve had hard weeks before. Any time a rescue mission turns into a recovery mission, they all feel it - how can they not? - but this time, this time is different. 

Perhaps it was seeing the kid’s mother break down completely at the sight of such a small corpse. Perhaps it was the abuse hurled at him and his brothers by the scientist’s girlfriend for failing to rescue her soulmate in time. Perhaps it was sheer exhaustion and pain, perhaps it was feeling ribs break under the force of his CPR efforts, perhaps it was knowing that in spite of it all, it wasn’t enough. 

It’s like he can’t quite draw a full breath. Like his throat has half-closed and tears are creeping at the back of his eyes, but neither is willing to break the damn. It’s the heaviest kind of emptiness he’s ever known. 

And so Virgil forces it away - or if not away, then at least to one side - whilst he takes care of brothers who need to talk about the horrors they have just witnessed and the fresh guilt they now bear. He’ll take care of himself later (probably) and then he’ll finally be able to shift that god-awful weight on his lungs. It’s fine. 

*

Alan is easy enough to handle; Virgil’s pedestal will never be as high as Scott’s or John’s but he’s still Alan’s big brother, and Alan feeds on reassurance and praise. Virgil knows that both Scott and John will be in later to check on their youngest too, but for now, Alan needs him. 

“You did well today, kiddo,” Virgil says, leaning against the doorframe to Alan’s suite. His littlest brother is lying flat on his back staring up at the ceiling. 

Alan blinks slowly, twists to meet his eyes. Overly-bright cornflower blues meet steady browns and Virgil catches the tremble of Alan’s lower lip with an aching heart. 

“You did, Allie.” Virgil strides across the room and has Alan scooped into a hug within seconds. “All those people are gonna wake up tomorrow because of you.”

“It doesn’t feel like enough, Virg,” whispers Alan. “So many people didn’t make it.” 

“I know.”

(The weight on his chest and struggle to breathe will never let him forget it). 

Alan sighs, rests his head on his brother’s broad chest. “I just - I keep remembering her face. When she realised I couldn’t save her. I close my eyes and she’s just - there.” He closes his eyes and digs the heels of his palms into them.

He’s so young. It’s not the first time that Virgil has had doubts about forcing this responsibility on a teenager, but it is the first time Alan’s watched someone die in his arms and none of Virgil’s carefully crafted words will change that. Especially not now, whilst the pain is raw and jagged and demanding to be felt - no, Virgil and his brothers will be helping him to untangle this over the next few weeks.

“Wanna play something?” he asks instead. 

The response is less enthusiastic than usual, but soon Alan has a fragile smile on his lips as he thrashes Virgil’s Princess Peach with Waluigi (and so what if Virgil deliberately chooses the tracks he knows he’s shit at just to make Alan chuckle when he falls off Rainbow Road again?). 

*

His water-loving brother won’t be so easy (though of course, there’s nothing easy about watching someone so young trying to carry the weight of the world). Still, Gordon is at least predictable in his frustrated misery and rolls his eyes as he sees Virgil coming towards the pool with a towel in hand. 

“I’m not in the mood, Virg,” he calls, before hurling himself underwater and sinking to the bottom of the pool. 

It’s Virgil’s turn to roll his eyes, but he kicks off his shoes, sits on the poolside and dangles bare feet into the water, waiting. When Gordon finally emerges from the water, annoyance flickers across his face at the sight of his waiting brother, and he turns, kicking away from Virgil with a powerful breaststroke. 

Virgil waits until Gordon’s swum four lengths before speaking. “How are you doing?”

Gordon’s perfect rhythm barely falters as he grabs his brother’s leg and yanks, pulling Virgil into the pool and immediately swimming away. Virgil shakes the water from his hair, internally cursing his stubborn-ass younger brother and treads water until Gordon reaches his end of the pool again. 

“How many lengths is that?”

Gordon ignores him, switching fluidly into butterfly stroke and splashing away from him once more. 

Virgil can’t help but sigh; his limbs are aching and his chest is heavy and he wants nothing more than to curl up in bed. But his younger brother is hurting - emotionally, sure, judging by the way he’s slicing through the water like it’s done him wrong, but physically too if the minute winces are anything to go by. (And Virgil can’t stand it). 

The next time Gordon comes by, Virgil is ready. He seizes his brother around the middle, and bodily drags him to the edge of the pool. He doesn’t often use his size and strength against his brothers, but this time calls for it. Once out of the water, the fight goes out of Gordon, and he staggers, murmuring “ow, ow, ow, ow.”

“Come here, you idiot.” Virgil pulls Gordon into a shady spot by the loungers, and begins helping Gordon stretch out overworked muscles. Gordon hisses as Virgil presses down on his calf muscle. “Sorry, Gordo.”

“S’okay.” Gordon glares up at the sky. “Just stupid cramp.”

Rolling his eyes, Virgil shakes his head. “Yeah, that or the fact you’re reliving your Olympic training after having been up for forty-eight hours straight.”

“You know if you keep doing that, your face will get stuck.”

Virgil pulls a hideous face, then grins in response to Gordon’s laugh. It feels good to smile, it shifts the weight on his lungs the tiniest bit. 

“Flip over and I’ll do your back.”

“Virgil Tracy, you’re a goddamn saint,” Gordon declares, obediently flopping onto his stomach. 

There’s a pause whilst Virgil runs expert hands over the rock-like knots in Gordon’s back and Gordon melts into the mattress. When Virgil next speaks, his voice is gentle even as his hands dig in: “You know that punishing yourself isn’t going to bring them back.”

Gordon tenses then sighs. “Damnit, Virg. Can’t a guy get a massage without psychoanalysis?”

But his voice is a great deal lighter than it would have been even half an hour before.

*

His wrists are aching by the time he drags himself out to the cliff edge where Kayo likes to perch. 

His brothers have different uses for this particular stretch of rock: Scott likes to end his morning runs here by stretching in the breeze off the waters. For John, it’s a spectacular place to stargaze, not least because it’s so very quiet and dark up here. Gordon can often be found diving off these rocks, cheered on by Alan, much to the constant stress of their oldest brother, who attributes more than seventy percent of his grey hairs to this cause. 

For Kayo, it’s a watchpost. Her stormy eyes skim the horizon for non-existent threats, calculating, calm, controlled. And after a bad rescue (or three), she sits and waits for hours at a time, gazing into choppy waves and brilliant sunsets with the loneliest eyes Virgil has ever seen. He’s supposed to sit with Kayo in silence until she tells him what she needs from him, be it a hug, his presence, or just distance. 

This time, she makes it clear the moment he pads towards her, fading into the rocks like she was never even there. Distance, then.

*

John is possibly the hardest to handle of all his siblings, purely because he’s the hardest to get a hold of. John knows Virgil’s antics only too well, knows that a meaningful conversation about how he feels is coming, and has therefore made himself scarce. 

 Virgil sighs as John misses (read: rejects) his third call in a row. Two can play at that game, Jonny.

Instead, he dials straight through to EOS. 

She answers him immediately, as usual. “Virgil. I have been anticipating your call.”

“You have?”

“You have all had unsuccessful missions. You always call after missions with a body count.”

Virgil swallows, fresh guilt rising in his throat, and forces it back down. 

“Please can you put me through to John, EOS?”

“Of course, Virgil.”

Silence for a second, and then John’s hologram appears. His red-headed brother is studiously avoiding eye contact, hands darting over controls in an anxious pattern.

“This isn’t a good time, Virgil, I’m busy rerouting some calls to local emergency services, and-”

“John.”

“-and there’s a call from Tehran that really needs me, so if that’s all-”

“John.”

Silence. 

“How long since you last ate?” 

John’s eyes meet Virgil’s and he looks away at once. “Uh… this morning?”

“Negative,” EOS chimes in, “last intake was twenty-six hours ago.”

John’s jaw clenches. “Thanks, EOS.”

“John, you need to eat.”

“Smother Brother.”

“I’m serious.”

EOS pipes up again, “John also needs to rest. He has been operating for twice the recommended period of time.” 

John glowers, but says nothing.

“Don’t make me set Scott on you.”

“You wouldn’t.”

Virgil raises his eyebrows and John sighs loudly in frustration. “I will. I will. I just - thinking about food makes me feel nauseous. Like…” He swallows, looks away. “Like I’m eating mud.”

The sharp hurt in Virgil’s heart twinges violently and he wishes more than anything he could wrap John up in a bearhug and stop the world from hurting him. “What if I’m here whilst you try?” he asks softly.

Another sigh. “Fine. But only if you eat something too,” John says. “Don’t think I didn’t notice that your stomach was growling even louder than Two’s engines on the way home.”

“Smother Brother,” Virgil’s voice is hopelessly fond, even as he goes to make a sandwich that he can’t face eating (which for him, is a bad sign - he who has forced down Grandma’s inedible chilli through sheer willpower and love). The bread is hard and tasteless, the filling bitter. He chokes down a half slice, focusing instead on the fact that his younger brother is carefully chewing at his toasted bagel, eyelids heavy. Eventually, John’s shoulders slump, and his head lolls back into slumber.

His work here is done. 

Well, almost -

“Hey, EOS?”

“Yes, Virgil?” 

“Can you put that playlist I made him on a loop?”

“Of course, Virgil. Venus Bringer of Peace is now playing.”

There. 

*

His oldest brother is hurting. Virgil doesn’t need ESPN or whatever freaky connection Gordon and Alan accuse them of having to know that. 

There was a death toll, and therefore Scott will be hurting. Every life lost becomes a personal fault for the man, and nothing Virgil says or does will change that. They have this argument every two or three weeks, increasingly frequently as the months since their father’s disappearance have ticked into years. And he’s so very tired of rehashing the same words over again and again, he’s so tired of being utterly powerless against his brother’s borderline suicidal recklessness, he’s so tired of his uselessness in convincing Scott to stop treating his life like some replaceable trinket.

(So very, very tired).

And yet, Virgil stands in the doorway to his father’s office, bracing himself for yet another battle with his older brother.

Because taking care of the idealistic, brash, self-flagellating workaholic is what he does best - especially when said idealistic, brash, self-flagellating workaholic least wants it.

Scott is hunched over the desk, poring over debriefs with an almost-empty glass of something amber in his left hand. Virgil makes a mental note to re-encrypt the code to the drinks cabinet - Scott had cracked it far too quickly last time, but he doesn’t stand a chance against John…

“Hey, Scott,” he finally enters the room, but his brother doesn’t even spare him a glance. Virgil takes the seat opposite him - the one he used to sit in as his father waxed lyrical about his dream of an elite rescue organisation (it hurts) - and waits. 

After five or so minutes, Scott looks up blearily, blinking in surprise. “Virg? What are you - when did you-”

“It’s gone midnight, Scott. We agreed you wouldn’t do this anymore.”

A muscle in Scott’s jaw twitches. He’s wound tight from alcohol and stress, and it hurts Virgil to see it.  “I have to get this done.”

“Not at one am, you don’t.”

“Don’t start, Virg, you know debriefs are essential - you know I have to - to -”

“To what?” 

“What?”

“What do you mean?”

“What do you have to get done? What’s so important that it can’t wait till you’ve at least slept?”

Scott breaks - quicker than usual (thank you, whiskey) which is a relief, because Virgil’s energy is down to its last droplets; hell, it’ll be a miracle if he even makes it to his room after this. 

“To figure out where we fucked up! To explain to the fire services that we did fuck-all for their rescue efforts! To figure out why I wasn’t fast enough to get to those children! I have to - to know,” he flings himself to his feet and begins pacing. “Fifty-four people died today, that’s fifty-four lives we should have saved, and I have to know why we failed so it never happens again.” He slams both hands down on the table, scattering papers to the floor. His eyes are wild and slightly bloodshot, and Virgil’s heart aches for the pain in those cerulean blues. 

The fight leaves Virgil’s spirit, because for once, he’s having a hard time reconciling his own failings with the number of bodies he’s pulled from mud and rock today. Usually, he is the first to reassure his brothers that they did all they could. But on a day like today, with the weight of whatever-it-is on his chest, it’s just not good enough. 

But that doesn’t mean he’s going to leave Scott alone in his pain. 

“What can I do?” Virgil asks quietly, and Scott stares at him. 

A pause. “Just - just be here,” Scott allows at last, sinking back into his chair. 

“Always,” Virgil says, and he means it, even through the fog of this exhausted, low, heavy feeling. 

“You okay?” Scott says, looking him over with a frown, and Virgil curses internally, because of course, Scott notices what none of his other siblings have. 

“As much as any of us are right now,” Virgil answers, as honestly as he can. Scott clearly doesn’t quite believe him, because he keeps shooting Virgil surreptitious glances laden with concern, but he lets it go. Perhaps he too lacks the energy to fight him on this. 

(It’s not enough and Virgil knows it. It’s not enough to stop his brother from working himself into an early grave and it’s not enough to blame poor construction work for the collapse of a tower block when he should have been able to save them).

(He’s not enough). 

*

He’s exhausted. He had thought he was shattered before, but now - 

The heaviness in his chest is a gaping wide hole, and the edges are raw and ragged from trying to hold himself together. His throat closes and clogs, but the tears won’t come, even as misery wells inside of him.

He looks blankly at the piano he sometimes uses to pull himself back from edges like these - edges that plunge down, down, down into an abyss he daren’t explore. Only the tug in his chest isn’t there. The canvas on his easel remains blank, his paintbrush untouched. Hell, even the idea of a nice, hot shower has him cringing at the effort and self-care involved.

What the hell’s the matter with him? 

He can’t quite explain it, and for one usually so attuned to others’ emotions, this awful lowness is startling. Because it’s more than lowness, and it’s more than heaviness - it’s more like a complete absence of feeling, an emptiness that he doesn’t know how to name. 

Perhaps, it will shift in the morning. Perhaps, this is the consequence of pushing yourself to over-exhaustion and beyond, and then expelling what little energy remains to support your loved ones. Sleep will help, Virgil tells himself. Rest makes everything better, you will be better in the morning.

[ignis-scientia-estrogen-brigade]

Zines, Dawn of the Future Blitz, & Future ISEB Updates

One day I’ll have an update for my followers that’ll involve, you know, actual content. But in the famous words of Aragorn, “It is not this day.” ಥ‿ಥ I do, however, have a few tidbits of info I’ve accumulated over the past couple months that I’m overdue to share, so here are the deets:

~Zines~

Having grown frustrated with myself for learning about many awesome FFXV fanzines too late in the process to participate in, I vowed that 2019 would be the year I would finally apply for one. @cosmogonyzine was the first one brought to my attention, for which I promptly submitted my application; not long after, @everatyoursidezine showed up on my radar and—in an effort to increase my chances of landing any zine gig—I applied for that one too; I had barely hit the send button for my Ever At Your Side application before the mother of all Ignis zines, @sagefirezine, was announced—which, obviously, was a calling I simply could not ignore.

Hoping to get into at least one of the aforementioned zines, my applications ended up being accepting into all of them, which might sound like the world’s most thinly-veiled humblebrag except for the fact that the final due dates for each zine are all within two weeks of each other and I just spent a good chunk of my available drawing time eschewing responsibility and not working on anything while I was off on my little jaunt through Japan. But I’m back now, and despite having bit off a bit more than I can comfortably chew, I’ve been working diligently on delivering some exciting concepts for each zine. Here’s a little rundown of each one:

Cosmogony: Dawn of a New Age

Who: 12 artists & 12 writers

What: A zine focusing on the different eras of Eos, beginning with the Fall of Solheim and continuing through the Dawn of a New Age

When: Preorders open in June

Why: Without spilling any details, I’d like to thank the mods for accommodating my request and letting me draw what I draw best! :3

Ever At Your Side: A FFXV Friendship Fanzine

Who: 25 artists & 10 writers

What: A zine focusing on the theme of friendship in Final Fantasy XV

When: Preorders open in June

Why: This zine really spoke to me because of its appeal to shippers and non-shippers alike. Not only will I be contributing a full-sized piece to this zine, but I’ve volunteered to create a sticker sheet for it as well!

Sagefire: An Ignis Scientia Fanzine

Who: 25 artists, 5 writers, 5 cosplayers & 5 merchandise artists

What: A tribute zine dedicated solely to everyone’s favorite strategist

When: Preorders are currently open!

Why: ಠ_ಠ

~Dawn of the Future Blitz~

As if my April calendar wasn’t already scheduled down to the minute, I was tapped by @landscape-gonna​ to create an illustration for a fan blitz she is organizing; the blitz is planned for the same day the Dawn of the Future novel is due for release in Japan (April 25th), and participants include artists, modders, and cosplayers from around the globe. I can’t say more than that at the moment, but I suspect it will coincide with the big push from fans worldwide to send messages of thanks and gratitude to FFXV’s developers—you have until April 20th to fill out this form if you want to send you own message of thanks!

~Future ISEB Updates~

This is the part of my post where I try to predict what the future of this blog holds, which admittedly sounds a little despairing but I assure is not really that ominous—mostly I just want to get a feel for what you guys would like to see from me once I’ve wrapped up the last of my zine pieces in May.

It’s been quite a while since I’ve added any new merchandise to my store, so my first thought was a new set of acrylic charms. Enamel pins have also been on my mind for a while now, and I’ve gotten permission from at least one of the zines I’m in to sell prints of my own piece at a later date. I’m certainly open to other merch ideas (I’m not sure if the internet needs yet another Ignis daki, but if enough people clamored for one, I wouldn’t rule it out); I’m also considering doing a small run of my older Ignis charms, so feel free to sound off in the comments if that’s something you’d be interested in.

Other than that, you can still count on me for future Ignis sketches/drawings/content! ٩( ᐛ )و @dizzymoogle​ actually posed an interesting question on Twitter recently that has inspired me to possibly take up writing fanfiction again. Just as soon as I finish these zine pieces ;_;

Twitter || ISEB Store

[wreathedinscales]

idk i just wanted to give Nyx Ulric another ending. This takes place right after FFXV’s original ending.

Here is where the title comes from

One second, Nyx is staring at his last sunrise. The next, he’s hearing a familiar, changed voice calling, “Kings of Lucis…come to me!”

Then he’s hearing pain. Too much pain for one person, more than even Nyx and his deal had burned into him. The Prince’s scream stab Nyx’s ear with heated blades—he would’ve fought another war to stop it.

But it has to be done, doesn’t it. This is the gateway to that future Lunafreya had promised. Never mentioned this, though—probably for the best.

Where is he, anyway? There’s nothing but swirling colors of empty space. He’s sure he’s somewhere. Figures the afterlife doesn’t have a mother or sister waiting for him.

Does that mean Prince Noctis is dying?

It sounds like he is.

A whisper, exhausted, relieved: “It’s finally over.”

No one that young should have so much weight in their voice.

Nyx blinks, and a King appears before him. He’s dressed in a black suit and spotted with dirt. His eyes still glow with mauve power, clawing from his unshaven face. When he sees Nyx, he’s amused.

“Nyx Ulric, right?”

Nyx starts. Then he smiles and bows. “King Noctis. You’ve grown up, huh?”

How long has he been in—wherever this is?

Noctis scoffs a quiet laugh. “Yeah.”

Nyx looks around. “So. Don’t suppose you know anything about the afterlife? Would be nice to see my family.”

Noctis shakes his head. “This isn’t the afterlife.” The glow in his eyes finally fades, revealing dark circles. “Your life was absorbed into the Crystal.”

Nyx’s eyes widen. “This is the Crystal?”

“Yeah. I saw you—before. When I had to learn what I had to do. But you were far away. I don’t think you knew what was going on.”

Nyx shrugs. “I only remember the sun rising. And a whole lotta pain.”

Noctis nods slowly. “Yeah. I know the feeling.” He looks up. “The sun should be rising now. The Eternal Night is gone, along with the Scourge.”

“So we’re stuck here?”

Noctis smiles again. It’s nothing like the carefree, callous teen Nyx had known. Regis’ burden is in the curve of his lips and Eos’ burdens around his eyes.

“I think only one of us should be a martyr.”

Nyx purses his lips. “I didn’t fight to protect your city.”

“No. You protected the future.”

Noctis takes his hands and squeezes them tight. Holes are forming in his flesh.

Nyx will never forget the King’s face when he murmurs, “Thank you.”

Light, pure and beautiful, glows softly between them.

“A lot of time has passed,” Noctis says, looking at him while Nyx stares at the power between them, “but I think you’ll get back into the swing of things.”

Nyx’s head whips up. “Wha’d’you mean?”

Noctis’ smile never wavers. “I have a little bit of power left. And the Astrals kinda owe me one.”

Nyx’s heart leaps to his throat. “I—I made my peace, Your Majesty.”

“Nyx, you’re not dead.” Nyx jolts. “Just scattered in the Crystal.” The light travels up Nyx’s arms. “You should live the rest of your life first.”

“What about you?”

For one bare second, Noctis falters. Emotions gloss his eyes. Nyx finds himself aching at the sight.

Then it’s gone, replaced by another smile. “I don’t think I can leave.”

“What?”

“I’ve made my peace, Nyx. Besides, I’ve been in the Crystal before. My body’s definitely dead—I can’t go back.”

“Your Majesty—”

“I’ve said my goodbyes.”

Noctis presses their foreheads together and closes his eyes. “Walk tall.” He smirks, almost, almost looking like that young boy, “Hero.”

 Nyx wakes gasping on the steps of the throne room.

“Whoa!”

“Is that—?”

“What is it?”

Nyx sits up. He blinks. “Gladio? Ignis? And…Prompto, right?”

Prompto gasps. “Nyx Ulric knows my name!”

Ignis stiffens. “Nyx Ulric is supposed to be dead.”

“Uh, apparently not,” Nyx says, scratching behind his ear, “I was uh. Scattered or something, in the Crystal. But the King restored me.”

A hushed silence swallows the room.

“The King?” Ignis whispers.

Nyx stands, grim-faced. “He said his body was dead.”

Gladio raises his eyes. Nyx follows his gaze and stills.

Regis’ sword pins Noctis’s slumped form to the throne. As the sun rises, his blood drips from the blade. He’s in the same shape as Nyx had seen him earlier—dirty, unshaven—but so damn small.

“We were about to—take him off,” Gladio says hoarsely, “Then you showed up.”

Nyx swallows. “Right. Yeah.”

They walk up the steps like pall-bearers to a coffin. The closer they get, the more Nyx’s chest hurts.

I don’t think I can leave.

All this—saving the world, stopping the Scourge, and he doesn’t even get a happy ending.

“Guess I missed a lot,” Nyx says quietly.

“Yes,” Ignis replies, “We will tell you all we can.” He clears his throat. “But I think we should tell you now that Lady Lunafreya is dead.”

Nyx squeezes his eyes shut. Behind them, a woman, stern and wise, leaps recklessly from a ship. A woman who does—did not fear death because the Oracle’s power eats at her the way the Power of Kings must have eaten at Noctis. A strong princess who had to be strong because there was no alternative.

She was also a woman who would never give up on those she loved.

Nyx opens his eyes and smiles. “Then the King’s in good hands.”

If there’s anyone who can guide Noctis from the Crystal, it’s that damn stubborn Lady Lunafreya. They’ll both find happiness. They’ve done enough for the world anyway.

“Yeah,” Prompto rasps.

Together, Gladio and Nyx pull the sword from Noctis’ body, Ignis and Prompto steadying him. Nyx takes the sword. Gladio takes Noctis.

“What d’you think they’ll call his tomb?” Prompto asks.

“The Tomb of the Chosen, most likely,” Ignis says softly. He feels his way to Noctis’ head to settle it on Gladio’s shoulder, and Nyx finally gets a good look at his eyes.

“What happened?” he demands.

Ignis shakes his head. “It’s an old wound.”

The four of them harbor the King into the sun. The light seems caresses him. Looking at his face, Nyx almost hopes he’ll twitch and groan at being woken up. Always did that when Nyx threw open his curtains and told him he’d be escorting him to the Citadel.

“You’re not gonna actually bury him in a stuffy tomb, right?” Nyx asks.

Ignis ducks his head. “No. I think not. Perhaps by a river, where the fish are bountiful.”

“Or near the ocean,” Prompto croaks, forcing a laugh. “Plenty of fish there.”

Gladio holds his King tighter. “Galdin Quay?”

Prompto wipes his eyes. “Yeah. That sounds good.”

For now, they set Noctis on a nearby stone and resolve to call Cindy for a car. She’ll be able to maneuver one through the rubble.

Nyx places his hand on Noctis’ shoulder. Thank you. I hope you meet Lady Lunafreya soon.

Might be his imagination, but the dawn seems to shine brighter.

 “Noctis?”

The King’s head snaps up.

“Noctis.”

He turns around.

“Luna.”

She’s wearing her wedding dress. Tears gather in Noctis’ eyes.

“We don’t want to be late,” she says gently.

The sun is smiling.

[thunderbirdcarebear]

The Measure of a Man - Chapter 4

So a few people who’ve had this for proof reading and stuff may well be confused. Chapter 4 had reached 17 pages long and I still hadn’t finished so it’s been split. This seemed like a good place to do it anyway. So here’s chapter 4 and know that chapter 5 won’t be too far behind. Just not sure how far.

Chapter 1 / Chapter 2 / Chapter 3

Weeks turned into months. Never once did the Tracys stop looking for their missing father, but they all knew they had to continue on with their mission of International Rescue in his honour. Every person they saved, they did for Jeff. Every parent returned to children, every sibling returned to their family, every life that was not lost through their action was because they all knew that Jeff Tracy would not have wanted them to stop just because he was no longer with them. But that didn’t mean they stopped looking. While the majority of their focus was on the task at hand, there were sensors running in the background of their vehicles, looking for some trace of him wherever they went. There was always searching going on, whether directly through the deployment of a Thunderbird, or John’s incessant scanning.

“I thought I might find you here.”

Scott looked up to see his middle brother approaching, a travel mug clasped in one hand and a gentle smile on his face.

With a nod, Scott moved over a little so that Virgil could sit down next to him. “How exactly do you manage to climb up here without spilling the coffee?” he asked, taking the offered beverage.

Virgil chuckled. “I’ve gotten very good at climbing up here after you.” He looked out at the view around them. Scott’s favourite place was to sit on the wide ledge of Tracy peak, just above the treetops so the Pacific Ocean stretched as far as they could see in every direction. “Though I’m glad you’ve stopped flying all the way to the top.”

Scott smiled as he took a sip.

“So,” Virgil said, leaning back on his hands as he looked out. The sky was turning pinks and oranges as the sun lowered towards the horizon. “Wanna talk about it?” Even without looking back at him fully, Virgil was aware that Scott had looked away from him and was focusing on the lidded mug. “It’s alright. I got time.”

There was a sigh and the sound of the loose stones on the ledge being disturbed as Scott placed his cup down. “It was a close one today.”

“I know,” Virgil said, looking back round at him to see him examining his fingers. They’d only been home from Taipei a few hours but Scott had retreated straight up the peak once everyone was home and safe. He noticed the way his shoulders were hunched and he kept his gaze averted. “I gotta admit when I heard you over the comm. earlier I was worried.”

Scott nodded. “That moment when I realised the pack had been damaged by the heat from that dish…” He shook his head. “I should have kept my mouth shut. Just flown back to One as I was going to, but I realised it had been damaged and I just spoke without thinking.”

Virgil put his hand on his arm. “You have good instincts, Scott, and quick reflexes. Yes, I was worried, but then when I saw you on top of One I relaxed again.”

“Yeah,” he replied, quietly, looking back out at the horizon again.

“That’s not all, though, is it?” He watched as Scott seemed to shrink into himself a little. To most people, the gesture would go unnoticed, but to Virgil it was as obvious as if he’d curled up on the ground like a child. “It’s that guy, isn’t it? The Hood.”

Scott looked round at him. “Yeah,” he said, his voice little more than a whisper. He cleared his throat as he went on, his tone rising slightly. “It was like he was taunting us. I know he’s the one who was responsible for Dad’s crash! I know it!”

“I know, Scott,” Virgil agreed. “And I’m with you. We all are. But you need to come back home now. No more hiding up here and brooding every time a lead goes cold or comes back empty. Kayo brought him out of the shadows and right onto the GDF’s radar, so now they’re focusing resources on capturing him.”

A small smile managed to find its way onto the older brother’s face. “We’ll find him.”

“We will,” Virgil replied. “Now, come on. I think you’ve been up here long enough to get away with not having any meatloaf surprise.”

The small unsettled smile broadened into an easier one as Scott nodded once again.

With every rescue they carried out, they were all constantly on the lookout for any sign of their father, which was why, when Gordon had found that signal transponder, Scott had gotten his hopes up. He should have known that guy would have planted it there to pique their interest.

With a sigh, Scott shook off the thoughts. They now had the GDF convinced which meant a renewed search on their part too. Hopefully this would mean Jeff Tracy would be located soon.

He looked round at Virgil as he stood up. “Thanks, Virge,” he said.

“Anytime. But will you please stop assuming this is all on your shoulders? Let us help share the burden. We’re in this together, remember?”

“I know, Virgil, I know,” Scott responded.

“Good. Now, I assume I’ll be meeting you at the bottom?”

Scott looked over the edge. He wasn’t anywhere near the top of their little mountain island, but, similarly, they weren’t particularly low down either. “Hmm, do I feel like climbing down there?” he mused.

Virgil raised an eyebrow. “You’re gonna fly off, aren’t you?”

“I’d never fly off and leave you,” Scott said, smiling at him as he stepped off the ledge, hovering in the air in front of him. “How about I just follow you as you climb back down?”

“Fair enough,” Virgil said with a chuckle. He looked down, judging the best place to start his descent then slid himself off the ledge, his strong fingertips grasping the ledge as he began his steady climb back to the base.

Several weeks later, Virgil sat at his piano, his fingers drifting over the keys. He wasn’t really playing, wasn’t really focusing at all. His mind was wandering, thinking over all that had happened recently. So many rescues they’d had to attend. An undersea laboratory. That dislodged solar collector in Taipei. A space mine gone rogue. A reopened uranium mine. A sabotaged Fireflash. The widespread power cut in London. A runaway train. To name but a few. But it was the most recent one that was on his mind.

Alan had not long returned from his mission. Normally, the youngest Tracy would be chomping at the bit for a chance at a solo mission to space but when it’s your own brother you have to rescue… Well, Alan was understandably shaken up when he returned home.

A twitch of a digit and a note rang out louder than Virgil had anticipated, making him jump. He looked down at where his hand lay, the ‘E’ note still fading in his ears. E… Eos. She called herself Eos.

Only a few hours prior to Alan’s necessary sudden departure, this ‘Eos’ entity had impersonated their brother and convinced them all that there were no calls, that all was good in the world and nothing was amiss. He still felt a touch of guilt that they’d all been taken in by the subterfuge. How had none of them recognised that this wasn’t their brother? Why did it need to be a phrase so out of character before they noticed?

His fingers curled up into fists as his guilt became frustration that he’d been duped. Taking a deep breath, he reached out and closed the lid over the keys, protecting his precious instrument from the sudden need to bang his hands down on it in anger he felt at himself.

He got up and walked away, heading over to the other side of the room. The sun was setting, casting soft warm light over their garden and he could feel the gentle breeze as he approached the open windows.

“You alright?”

For the second time that evening, Virgil jumped at a sudden unexpected noise, though this time it wasn’t from an errant movement of his own.

“Whoa, sorry, Virgil,” Gordon said as he neared his immediately older brother. “I thought you’d heard me coming.”

Virgil shook his head. “No, I hadn’t.” He looked back out over the garden.

“John’s alright, you know,” Gordon said, standing next to him and looking outside.

“I know,” Virgil replied.

“But you’re still worried.” Gordon sighed as he sat down near the edge, his eyes scanning the view ahead of him. “I am too. But he is alright.”

“But what if we’d been too late?” Virgil asked, sitting next to him.

“Dude, you’re sounding like Scott. Isn’t it his job to worry and overthink everything?”

A small smile formed on Virgil’s lips. “He has been.”

“He’s not up the peak again, is he?”

“No, I think he’s with Alan. And I think that’s the only reason he’s not up the peak. Al was so shaken when he got back.”

“I know, I saw. He’s alright now though. They both are.”

Virgil nodded. “I know. Alan was brilliant up there and John has made a new friend. Okay, so said friend tried to kill him earlier, but…”

Gordon chuckled. “Well, from what I can gather, they’re gonna do each other a world of good. John won’t be alone up there anymore and she can learn from him.”

“Wow, Gordon, when did you become wise?”

“I always have been,” he said, leaning back on his hands and crossing his ankles on his outstretched legs. “I just choose not to flaunt it.”

“Right…” Virgil smiled at him, then returned his attention to the garden.

They sat together in comfortable silence for a while before Gordon looked round at Virgil again. “Virge?”

“Mmm?”

“Where do you think Eos came from?”

“John reckons the code was one he’d written years ago.”

“Yeah, but how did an old gaming code end up sentient?”

Virgil frowned. “Well, he did say the code evolved.”

“But how?” Gordon asked, drawing his legs closer to cross them underneath himself. “How does a computer code evolve into a sentient being like Eos is?”

“I wonder…” Virgil mused thoughtfully, his finger rubbing his chin.

“What?”

“Well, what if the code evolved because of John?”

“You mean he wrote some kind of evolution subroutine into it?”

“That sounded a bit technical for you, Gordon,” Virgil commented with another smile.

“I do know computer stuff,” he answered.

Virgil nodded. “Yeah, I know. But no, I don’t think it’s that at all. What if this has happened because of John’s ability?”

“You mean when he created that code he somehow wrote some of his ability into it?”

“Something like that,” Virgil said. “I’m not certain how his ability even works. It seems to be the most complex of all our abilities.”

“I’ll say,” Gordon agreed. “Flying, strength, breathing underwater or in any atmosphere… Okay, they’re not exactly normal traits but compared to his, ours are pretty basic.”

“When things have settled down, perhaps we can ask him,” Virgil suggested.

“Mmm, I think the last I’d heard after Eos had been throwing bagels at him, he was going to turn in.”

“Yeah, she did put him through the wringer a bit, didn’t she?”

“Uh huh. Turning up the gravity in the centrifuge? What’s that gonna do to him?”

Virgil shrugged. “I don’t know but it can’t be good for him. I’ll see if I can convince him to come back down for a check over soon.”

“Yeah, good luck with that one,” Gordon said, grinning.

Scott sat in Alan’s room, watching him pace back and forth. “Alan, you’re gonna wear a hole in the floor,” he said, realising, even as he said it, that that’s exactly what he did when he was stressing over something. Aside from flying up the peak that is. “You got there in time, John is fine.”

“But I was only just in time, Scott,” Alan said, stopping and looking at him. “He can’t survive without his air supply, not like…”

“Not like you, you mean,” Scott finished. “Believe me, I know how you feel. I frequently wish it’d been me in place of one of you when things have happened.”

A hand reached up to cover his forehead as Alan let out a long slow breath. “I only just got there, Scott.”

“Yes. I know. But only just getting there is still better than getting there only just too late. John is fine. You did an amazing job under very difficult circumstances and I’m proud of you, Alan.”

The young blond looked up at his oldest brother as he stood and approached him. “I mean it, I am. And Dad would be too.”

“You think so?” he asked hopefully.

“Seriously? You saved your brother’s life all by yourself, of course he would!”

“I didn’t really, John’s the one who convinced Eos to stand down,” Alan responded.

A smile crossed Scott’s face, his eyes softening as he looked at his youngest brother and placed a hand on his shoulder. “But John didn’t save himself from being trapped outside Five with no air. That was you. No one else, just you.”

Scott watched as Alan thought about that. “I guess so,” he replied slowly.

“No guessing, Alan, you were a true Tracy today.”

There was the smile that Scott had been trying to induce in his brother, that bright smile that starts off small and builds up until his whole face lights up.

“Now, no more worrying about the ‘almosts’ and ‘what ifs’. You got there, he’s safe and you did your job brilliantly.”

“Thanks, Scott,” Alan said, leaning forward and resting his head against Scott’s chest.

A small sigh and Scott wrapped his arms round him. “Anytime, Kiddo. Now go on. Try and get some rest. I got a report to write.”

“Alright,” Alan whispered, looking up at him as he stepped back.

Scott reached out and ruffled his hair, grinning as Alan swatted his hand away.

The following morning when Virgil walked into the kitchen, he wasn’t surprised to see Scott already there and by the look of him, he’d already finished his run.

“Morning,” Virgil greeted as he went to the coffee machine.

Scott raised his bottle of water as if in salute while he swallowed the mouthful he’d just taken. “Good morning,” he replied.

“Good run?”

“Mmm hmm,” the elder answered. “Right round the perimeter.”

“Hmm, I think your flying ability helps your running.”

“How do you know I’m not just fast?” Scott asked.

“Because it’s barely 0700, Scott. Now, unless you got up about two hours ago for your run, which I doubt, I reckon that ability of yours helps.”

Scott chuckled. “I’ve never really thought about it, to be honest,” he conceded. “Maybe it does a bit. But oh well. Yeah, it was a good run.”

“And the divide?” Virgil asked, referring to a rocky outcropping that split the beach around the back of the island. It was tall, made up of jagged rocks and started at the cliff face, reaching far out into the ocean.

“What about it?”

“Well, I tend to climb over it and I know for a fact that Gordon swims round it. Did you climb?”

Scott could tell by the smile on Virgil’s face as he sipped his freshly made coffee that he knew full well there was no climbing or swimming involved. “You know I love that jump.”

Virgil laughed. “Next time you go out on a full perimeter run, I want to come too. I want to see you jump it.”

“If you like,” Scott said, finishing his water with a smile as Gordon walked in from the garden. “Hey, how was your swim?”

“Refreshing,” Gordon replied. “The ocean is nice and cool today.”

Virgil smiled at him as he sat down with his breakfast before looking over at their elder brother. “Scott, Gordon and I were discussing what happened yesterday last night.”

“Mmm, I had to have a chat with Alan, too,” Scott said, sitting next to him.

“I know. But we were thinking we should see if we can convince John to come back down, even if it’s just for a day. You know, so we can check him over.”

“Hmm, you’re probably right.” Scott brushed a finger against his chin thoughtfully. “After everything that happened yesterday, oxygen deprivation, extreme gravity, being tossed around by the mooring claw-”

“He what?” Gordon spluttered, putting down his orange juice he’d just started drinking.

“I called him last night to see how he was doing with Eos. He genuinely seems to be alright having her up there but he did disclose some of the things that happened before we were aware of a problem.”

“Then we definitely need to get him to come back down,” Virgil reinforced.

Scott nodded. “I’ll get a shower and change then I’ll call him. Unless you want to do it?”

“If you like,” Virgil agreed.

“You want me to come down?” John said, frowning in confusion. “But why?”

“Did you actually just ask me that, John?” Virgil asked, folding his arms over his chest. “Think it through.”

“If this is anything to do with yesterday, I’m perfectly fine.” He admitted he felt a bit drained and stiff, but it was nothing that some painkillers wouldn’t resolve.

“We’d like to be certain, John. That was quite the ordeal you went through.”

John just shook his head. “I don’t need to come down, Virgil,” he insisted.

“Are you certain, John?”

Green eyes rose to meet one of the approaching camera units that now served as Eos’ eyes. “You’re siding with them?”

“I believe what I did to you was wrong and I could have damaged you. I believe I may in fact have damaged you and for that I am sorry.”

“It’s alright, Eos,” John said softly. “I’m not going to hold it against you.”

“Thank you, John, but I still agree with your brother.”

“I’m not going to win this one, am I?” he asked.

“No,” Virgil said, smiling.

John sighed and shook his head. “Alright, fine, I’ll come down, but-”

“I know, I know, it won’t be for long.”

“You know I find it easier to focus up here. Especially since we moved to the island.”

Virgil nodded. “I do know, John. But you know that we need all these systems down here, right? We’re not trying to keep you off base.”

“Of course I know that, Virgil. For one thing, I helped Brains to design the systems. It’s just that trying to keep my mind on my own systems with all the extra ones I’m not used to running at the same time…” He pinched the bridge of his nose, already concerned about the return. The gravity sickness he suffered due to being out of the atmosphere for too long was awful, but coupled with the white noise of all of Tracy Island’s systems, he frequently ended up with a migraine on his first day back. Even the microwave was a distraction he wasn’t used to.

“Want me to get the others to turn off all the non-essential systems?”

John lowered his hand and looked back at his immediately younger brother. “Would you?”

“Of course I will, John. I don’t want you to feel unwell if I can help it.”

“Thank you, Virgil,” he said, his posture relaxing just slightly at the prospect.

“Alright, see you soon. Give me ten minutes before you start your descent to make sure I’ve gotten to everyone and they’ve started shut down procedures.”

“FAB, Virgil.”

“Shall I initiate a time-delayed activation of the space elevator, John?” Eos asked, her camera lens dipping as she regarded him.

“Please. Ten minute delay from now. That’ll give me time to sort myself out.”

“What do you need to sort out, John?” the AI asked curiously.

“I need to transfer the systems scanning for distress signals and the early warning systems down to the hub in the villa, reroute the signal scanners so I don’t miss any leads that might point us to Dad’s whereabouts and put the station in sleep mode basically.”

“Sleep mode. Powering down to save resources by shutting off lights and life support until prior to your return.”

“Yeah, that’s pretty much it. Why waste power lighting and heating this place and pumping the air supply if there’s no one up here to benefit from it. The gravity ring will be halted too.”

“A sensible course of action,” Eos agreed.

John smiled at her then made his way towards his living area, adjusting what he needed to as he went simply by thinking about each system.

“John? I have some questions.”

“Go right ahead,” John said, entering his bedroom and taking a small case from beneath his bed. He had a few items he always took to and from Earth with each visit, including books and holophoto-displays.

“My first is what shall I do while you are gone?”

John looked up from unzipping the case. “Oh. Um, I, uh, I don’t know.” He frowned, thoughtfully. He’d never had to consider anything like this before. “I could leave the database running if you like. You can access it and do some research while I’m gone. When I get back I can go through your findings with you.”

“What do you recommend I research?”

“Hmm, well, I said I’d show you how good the world can be, so why not look up some good things?”

“Good things?”

“Kindness, love, family, a really nice cup of tea,” he suggested, not entirely sure.

“You suggest I should research caffeinated beverages?” Eos asked after a brief pause.

“You must have already started some research if you knew what tea is,” John pointed out.

“I looked it up as I was unsure how it was relevant.”

“It’s not really, I suppose, it’s just something I consider good. Everyone has different opinions. Perhaps you could start by looking through our family photo albums. There is a lot of good in there. You could always contact me on the island if you’re uncertain.”

“So I will start with looking up what it was like to grow up with your brothers?”

John chuckled. “Hopefully you’ll see that we were happy. For the most part we still are. We’re always there for each other and we support one another and we care about each other.”

“Alright John. I shall contact you with my thoughts if I may.”

“Good idea,” John said, returning his attention to his bedside table to retrieve his books. “You said you had questions, plural. Was there something else you wanted to ask?”

“How is it you can alter the systems here without a direct interface?”

John dropped his book and turned to face her. “I…” He rubbed the back of his neck. “I’m, well, I’m different to most people. Me, my brothers, Kayo, we’re all different to most people.”

“Because you can access the systems?”

“That’s unique to me, I think. We’ve all got different abilities. And, well, there are some people in the world who’d want to use us the way I was worried they’d want to use you. Our abilities make us special, I suppose, which some people would try to take advantage of to gain power.”

“I understand, John,” she said quietly. “Just as you said could happen with me, I agree could potentially happen with you. So, you say your abilities are all different?”

“Mmm hmm, my ability seems to be technological in nature. I’m pretty much linked to Thunderbird Five and I can access any of her systems just by thinking about them. I can pretty much access anything technological and interface with it, everything from a massive computer system like the Thunderbird Five control hub right down to a basic calculator.”

“Impressive, John,” Eos said. “And what of your brothers? Are their abilities similar?”

“Not really,” John said, sitting on the edge of his bed as he started explaining to his new friend everything his brothers and Kayo could do.

"What took you so long?” Virgil asked as John stepped out of the elevator.

John looked up at him. “I’m sorry, Eos was asking about you guys,” he replied, pinching the bridge of his nose.

“She’s curious,” Virgil commented, then put his hand on John’s shoulder. “Already?”

John nodded. “Is everything shut down?”

“Only the refrigerators are still running pretty much. Aside from the stuff in the hangars and the transmission receivers.”

The space monitor nodded again, sighing. “Alright,” he murmured.

“Come on, bed,” Virgil insisted, slipping an arm gently round his brother’s shoulder and guiding him towards his room. “We can check you over when you’ve gotten used to being back down here.”

“Thanks, Virgil.” He allowed himself to be steered into his bedroom and flopped down onto his bed, a hand covering his eyes as Virgil closed his blackout curtains.

“Anytime, John,” Virgil whispered, unplugging the digital clock by the bedside. “Want me to grab some painkillers?”

“Please,” John replied.

“Alright, I won’t be a minute.”

“Thank you,” John whispered sleepily.

Virgil smiled at him as he backed out, closing the door quietly behind him. He turned as he exited, walking straight into Alan.

“Whoa, Virge, watch where you’re going, Bro,” Alan said, staggering slightly. “It’s like walking into a wall with you.”

Virgil chuckled. “Sorry, Alan, you okay?”

“Yeah, I take it John’s back?”

“Mmm hmm.”

“You going for painkillers?”

“Yeah,” Virgil replied.

“Poor guy. It’s no wonder he’s always up there.”

“He deals better with only the systems he’s directly linked to than all the others we have operating,” Virgil reminded him.

“I know,” Alan said. “Oh! I forgot to turn my game console off!”

“Well, go! His headache is already worse than usual.”

With a concerned nod, Alan ran off back to his room as Virgil made his way down to the kitchen.

Upon entering, he saw Gordon and Scott sat at the table with Kayo. “Was that John we heard coming back?” Kayo asked.

“Uh huh,” Virgil said, heading towards the medicine cabinet. For the most part, they kept medications in their infirmary below ground in the hangars, but there was also a supply in the kitchen to ensure that the infirmary supply was kept fully stocked should an emergency arise.

“Oh dear, already?” Scott asked, watching him.

“I think that as well as his usual return to gravity groans as he calls them, coupled with the sensory overload of our systems, he’s also suffering with whatever happened to him yesterday.”

“You’re probably right,” Gordon said.

“Want me to take the meds to him?” Kayo asked. Virgil turned to face her after closing the cupboard. “I’m the logical choice, after all.”

“Oh? And what makes you say that?” Scott questioned curiously.

“I don’t need to open the door to get into his room, meaning I won’t let in any light if he’s suffering with photosensitivity.”

“He is,” Virgil said. “As soon as we got to his room, he laid down and covered his eyes so I closed the blackouts.”

“Then I go.”

“Makes sense, I guess,” Gordon agreed.

“Of course it does,” Kayo reasoned, taking the medication from Virgil and the glass of water he’d poured, and headed out of the room, leaving the three brothers looking at each other.

John lowered his hand from his eyes and looked around the darkened room. His head felt heavy but he was glad there was little light. He was used to the glow of his holographic systems, even the sunlight up on Five, but somehow the light through the atmosphere felt different to him. It was out of the ordinary and he didn’t like it at all.

Taking a deep breath, he held it for just a moment and released it slowly before frowning. He wasn’t alone anymore, he could hear someone else in his room.

“That you, Virgil?” he rasped quietly, not wanting to raise his voice much further. Perhaps his brother had returned while he’d had his eyes closed. But normally he’d have heard him enter. Feeling a little on edge, he eased himself more upright and looked around, his eyes struggling to adjust to the almost pitch darkness effected by the blackouts at his window. His shoulders sagged slightly as his aching mind finally caught up with him. “Oh. That’s you, isn’t it, Kayo?”

“You really are out of it if it took you that long to figure it out,” she murmured quietly, sitting down beside him on his bed.

“I’m not normally this bad,” he admitted. “Let me get the lamp.”

“Virgil unplugged everything in here earlier,” Kayo reminded him.

“Except the clock,” John said. “I felt him turn that off as I entered. He probably just missed that one.”

“It’s plugged in behind the unit, isn’t it? Easy to miss.”

“He’ll remember all the plugs eventually,” John mused, a hint of teasing in his soft voice.

“Perhaps,” Kayo said, putting the water down on the unit and reaching down to plug his lamp back in for him. “There you go.”

“Thank you,” he said, his mind focusing on the device. Soon, a small soft glow lit up just around the bed. “I can’t manage more than that I’m afraid.”

“That’s alright,” Kayo said. “Anyway, I brought you the painkillers and some water.”

“Thanks,” John repeated, taking them from her as she offered them. “By the way, how do you take things through walls with you?”

Kayo shrugged. “I’ve no idea,” she answered. “Not really thought about it, to be honest. But I guess I just have to be holding something for it to be able to pass through with me. I mean, it’s gotta work something like that. Otherwise I’d have trouble with my clothes every time.”

John spluttered on his water, having taken a sip to swallow the tablets as she’d spoken. “Oh, uh, yes, well… khmm…” With a slightly shaking hand, he put the glass down on the unit, trying to hide the colour rising in his cheeks.

Kayo smirked, laughing slightly. “Sorry, John, but it’s true.”

“Yes, well, I suppose that theory does sort of cover it.” He smiled awkwardly then glanced away, reaching out to take another sip of the water.

Her smirk softened into a fond smile. “Want me to bring you some more water?”

“I’ll be alright,” he replied, handing her the now-empty glass as she held out her hand for it. “I think I need to try and sleep off this headache and let my mind adjust to the change in system presence.”

“Alright,” she said, standing up. “I’ll leave you to it.”

“Thank you again, Kayo,” he said, laying back down.

“Anytime,” she said, watching as he reached down to unplug the lamp before retreating from the room.

“John, sit still,” Virgil admonished for possibly the fifth time in the space of half an hour.

“I’m sorry, but this isn’t exactly comfortable,” he replied with a frown. He was lying on a bed in their infirmary while Virgil and Brains checked him over, the paper lining crinkling beneath him and feeling horribly rough against the bare skin of his back. “The floor of the gravity ring is better than this thing.”

“Well, the paper is there for, uh, hygiene,” Brains pointed out. His focus remained on the data screen he was regarding before he finally turned back to his would-be patient. “There seems to be n-no permanent damage from your, uh, encounter yesterday.”

“Permanent damage?” Virgil asked, helping John sit back up.

“Well, the pressure caused by the heightened gravity will leave him feeling pretty m-muscle sore and there seems to be no lasting effects from the oxygen deprivation. He wasn’t deprived long enough for-for any damage.”

John reached for his shirt and pulled it back on as he listened to Brains. “I do feel quite achy,” he agreed, reaching up to cradle his forehead almost without thinking about it.

Virgil noticed and looked at Brains. “Are we finished with the systems?” he asked, aware that they’d been running almost constant scans on him since he entered the infirmary.

Brains looked up from his readings to look at the two men in front of him. “Huh? Oh, oh yeah. Sorry, John,” he replied, saving the information to John’s records before shutting it all down.

The astronaut smiled gratefully at them as he lowered his hand again. “I’m sorry you have to do this for me,” he said softly.

“These systems aren’t urgent,” Brains reminded him. “Better we turn them off than have you suf-suffering from sensory overload.”

John nodded. “And to think I used to struggle at school in the IT labs. In comparison, that was nothing!”

Virgil chuckled slightly. “You’ll get used to it again,” he reminded him. “I know you rarely stay down here more than a few days at a time, but the overload never lasts the whole time, does it?”

“You’re right,” John said. “I guess it’s like the equivalent of jetlag for my abilities or something. Or needing to be acclimatised.”

“Exactly. Now, come on. You need something to eat.”

“I’m not really hungry, Virgil,” John murmured, shying away slightly.

“You’re never really hungry, John, but still, you need to eat something.”

John sighed and slid off the bed. “Alright.”

Virgil smiled at him. “And anyway, once you start eating, you might find you were hungrier than you thought.”

“Maybe,” John said as he followed his younger brother out of the room.

[hellomisterriddle]

lmao

yall wanna see the honestly ridiculous amount of notes i made for the yuri on ice and final fantasy xv au/crossover thing that i’m definitely never gonna write but will share regardless

and by all means, if you’d like to write it yourself, go for it lol

(its a yoi in ffxv kinda thingy fyi--tho if someone writes a ffxv in yoi au HOLLA ATYA BOI I WANT I N)

Characters and Roles

Yuuri - The Prince

Viktor - The Oracle

Yuri (Aged up) - Ravus-Like Character/Sibling of Oracle

Phichit - Companion 1 (The best friend)

Sara- Companion 2 (The Strategist)

Michele- Companion 3 (The Brawn)

Minami or Emil (more leaning to Emil; can say he’s Michele’s BFF [or BF lmao whichever tbh])- Iris-Like Character

JJ (De-Aged) - Talcott

Jared/Jared-Like character???

Mila - The Commodore

Georgi - Biggs/Widge-Like Character

Yuuko & Takeshi - Cindy/Cid-Like Characters (They run the Garage in Hammerhead)

All other Characters will remain the same as in game.

Locations are the same

Lucis, Altissia, Niflhiem, ect

Yuuri Lucis Caelum is the crown prince and heir to the throne of Lucis. He and his companions are sent on a journey to Altissia to attend Yuuri’s wedding with Lord Viktor Nikiforov, the Oracle.

Themes

Final Fantasy XV’s themes revolve around Noctis growth from Prince to King. Learning how to become selfless and trusting of his companions and friends.

For Prince Yuuri’s themes, Yuuri would grow in confidence and personal strength. Yuuri is already selfless, but is not ready to rule an entire kingdom. He would learn to trust in his friends and himself, becoming a king in his own rite during his adventures.

Plot/Synopsis

Niflheim’s fake treaty and attack on Yuuri’s home has him scrambling to regroup with Minami(?) in Lestallum. He worries for the safety of his fiance, Viktor, until Vicchan arrives with word that Viktor is safe and in Altissia.

They continuously run into a stranger named Chris/Ardyn who helps them, but also appears to have ulterior motives.

Yuuri and his friends take on multiple quests across Eos, as well as venturing into the dungeons where the Royal Tombs lay. These are where Yuuri is confronted by his ancestors and gains their help in the fight to combat the darkness.

From Lestallum, the group must make way to Cape Caem, where they will use a boat that had belonged to Yuuri’s father, the King, to travel to Altissia.

At this point, Yuuri has already gained the alliance of Ramuh and Titan. In Altissia, the plan is to gain the trust of the Leviathan during the Rite, initiated by the Oracle. Yuuri struggles greatly in his battle with Leviathan. Occupied with battling the Leviathan, he is helpless as Viktor is stabbed by the nefarious Chris/Ardyn. Once he finally gains the goddess’ blessing, he is able to quickly administer a phoenix down to Viktor, saving his life, before he falls unconscious himself.

While Viktor was saved from death, he remains in a stasis coma. With the Oracle powers locked away until he awakens, the world becomes consumed in darkness, with daylight disappearing rapidly.

When he awakes days later, he is relieved to hear that Viktor lived, but horrified and wrecked with guilt upon hear that Sara has lost her leg in the battles around Altissia. He can’t look either of the twins in the eye and refuses to listen to anyone about his guilt, choosing to remain at Viktor’s bedside until they are forced to continue their journey. It puts a strain on the group as they continue on to the Imperial capital. Sara remains with the group, silently working through her pain, both physical and emotional. Michele is angered by Yuuri’s insistent silence and self imposed isolation.

Everything comes to a head after a particularly nasty daemon fight at a Royal tomb. Sara, fed up with the group tension, forces Yuuri to realize he had no right to sulk over Sara’s injury when Sara herself had no time to do so herself. The group's constant movement and journey prevented it. ..She is grateful for how much Yuuri cares, but is insistent that he get over it. She says she is strong and that she can handle whatever the empire may throw at her. When Yuuri tries to apologize, she stops him again, saying that a king will face countless situations just like hers and that his apologies will mean nothing if they do not follow by actions.

As protective as Michele is of Sara, he is relieved to see her spirit burn bright in these dark times. He too tells Yuuri that his actions will speak infinitely louder than his words, and that if he is truly sorry for Sara’s injury, then he must prove by taking down the empire and Chris/Ardyn.

Roused by the twins talks, Yuuri feels ready to head to the imperial capital. However, on the way there, Yuuri expresses and uncharacteristic bout of anger when he sees Chris/Ardyn on the train. He confronts him and is blinded by his rage. When he attacks Chris/Ardyn, it is revealed that it was actually Phichit, and that Yuuri had been fooled. When Chris/Ardyn and the daemons are dealt with for the time being, Yuuri is yet again subjected to incredible guilt for attacking and leaving Phichit behind. Before Yuuri can suffer an anxiety attack, he's forced into action as they enter the imperial city.

Upon their abrupt arrival, Yuuri is separated from the twins and forced to continue on his own. He finally realizes it’s time to confront his fears and wear the Ring of Lucis if he wants a fighting chance to find his friends and rescue Phichit.

He journey’s through the compound bravely, taking down all enemies in his way, desperate to find his friends and take back his home. When they are all finally reunited, Phichit reveals the secret that he himself was a test subject in the Niflheim labs. The friends reassure him that his origins do not matter to them and that their friendship can handle much more than that.

From then, the friends face many great enemies until Chris/Ardyn give Yuuri an ultimatum of either leaving the Crystal or his friends. Yuuri decides he has to trust his friends and do what’s best for his future kingdom.

Yuuri is taken by the Crystal where he slumber for ten long years, of which he spends in self reflection. When he finally reemerges he finds the world has become overtaken by darkness. Viktor had never awoken from his coma. When Yuuri asks about Viktor’s whereabouts, he finds out that both Viktor and his brother Yuri were forced into hiding and that they reside in Lestallum with just about everyone else in Lucis.

(Yuuri wonders if the visions of Viktor that he would see during his slumber were truly figments of his imagination.)

He is finally reunited with his friends in Hammerhead, where they tell him what has happened the past ten years. Sara has gained a prosthetic for her leg and hunts daemons frequently with Michele. Phichit also does his own hunting, and even made friends with some of the other hunters (Leo, Guang Hong, Seung-gil).

The friends have one last camp together before heading for Insomnia, where Yuuri must finally confront Chris/Ardyn who he learned is the immortal embodiment of darkness. With the help of the Gods and the Kings of Lucis, including his father, Yuuri is able to put an end to Chris/Ardyn and return the world to light. But Yuuri is unable to leave the fight unharmed. With the darkness finally destroyed, Yuuri returns the powers he burrowed and is forced into yet another slumber.

However, this time it does not last nearly as long. As he sleeps, he dreams and sees the Oracle and himself, together at last, with the blessings of the Gods. Viktor tells him that they will be together soon, once he arrives to Insomnia.

Yuri brings his brother to Insomnia at the insistences of the Crownguard, both for their further safety, and to finally bring the King and Oracle together. When brought together at last, they both awaken to see the other. While it may have been more than ten years since they had last physically seen the other, they have always been with the other in their times of deep slumber. The love the shared as children had only grown and evolved as they also did.

The wedding may have previously been for the treaty, but now it was for love.

King Yuuri and Lord Viktor wed, and with their marriage comes countless years of peace.

Other Stories

Sidestories of certain quests such as the chocobo quests, photo ops, frog catching, and daemon hunting. Dungeons as well!

Prequels of the four friends.

Prequel of Viktor and Yuuri as children

A possible AU where Lord Viktor was able to fight alongside Yuuri.

[cherryblossomcheesecake]

How Rare & Beautiful: Chapter 3 - A FFXV OC Fanfic

So, as I mentioned earlier in the preview that no longer exists, sorry for the two month wait. School was a killer, and ruined me both mentally and physically. And then exams finished up on the 25th, only for me to come down with the flu right after. It really sucked, and after a shit night of sleep, I finally managed to pull out a new chapter that's 2,641 words in total. God bless sudden inspiration. Now fair warning, we kinda get into Soo-Min's past life in this chapter, so bare with me. It's gonna be a slow process in revealing what her life was like. Also we finally get to see a bit of what Goryean culture looks like cuz I finally decided what I wanted to do after watching a bunch of movies and staring at a map of Eos for ages. Granted, this is only a brief look into their culture and history but once again, it will be more fully explored in the future. And side note, if you couldn't guess from the names, Goryeans i.e., Soo-Min and Myung-Hee, are a race in Eos based on Asian cultures, specifically Korean since I'm more familiar with that culture (and I kinda stole the name from their history too so there's that). Wow, I need to shut up now. I highly recommend listening to "one summer's day" on youtube as it complements this chapter and inspired it as well. WORD COUNT: 2,641 POSTED: 04.29.17 EDITED: 12.19.17

Master List Previous Chapter

One Summer's Day - Joe Hisaishi

In the past few days, I had grown accustomed to living with Aetius and Myung-Hee. My adoptive father would travel between the Citadel and our large apartment in the mornings and evenings for his duties in the Crownsguard. Myung-Hee had managed to take a small vacation from her role as one of the Prince's nannies to make my transition from the orphanage to their home easier.

My new mother made sure that every possible form of comfort was provided for me, anything from new clothes to collections of books on various subjects. She involved me in minor house chores to keep me busy in order for us to bond and assisted me in the history studies I had picked up in order to prepare to return to school.

However, my time with Myung-Hee was coming to a close as her short holiday was ending soon. I was aware of her worried glances when she believed I wasn't looking, and heard her and Aetius speaking after I had gone to bed. Myung-Hee was concerned that I wasn't ready to return to grade school, that I needed more time to catch up. But with both my adoptive parents working, it was impossible for me to remain at home on my own.

My parents deliberated on what to do for a few nights before Aetius proposed his idea to us at a rare family dinner.

"I was speaking with a few of the other Crownsguard and they suggested we hire a tutor and request that Soo-Min's lessons be held in the Citadel library. That way she will learn what she needs to and we don't have to worry about her safety."

Myung-Hee paused in her eating, as did I, looking towards Aetius with interest.

"Have you spoken with the council of this ideal? Soo-Min's afternoon studies would likely impede on the Prince's private lessons after he returns from his formal schooling." she countered, picking at the salad on her plate.

"The library is quite large; I'm sure they can both learn what they need to without disturbing each other. And besides, this is only temporary. Soo-Min just needs to catch up on a few things before she returns to normal grade school. Even if she does come in contact with the prince during her sessions, it would be good for her to know someone once she goes back to formal education, darling."

I quietly watched them speak back and forth, eyes flicking from one adult to the other. I was eager to start formal lessons again, but possibly running into the prince made me nervous as hell. Despite me being a full year older than him and then mentally 17 on top of that, I was still concerned about possibly meeting the future king of this world and blowing my cover.

Myung-Hee stared critically at her husband before sighing, "Speak to the council first, then we'll look for a tutor."

Aetius nodded before returning to his dinner, signaling the restart of our meal.

It was one of those evenings where I couldn't fall asleep. Myung-Hee and Aetius had gone to bed hours ago, putting me to bed like the eight year old I appeared to be. As I laid wide awake for hours, I eventually pulled myself from the comforts of my bed so I could look through the small amount of belongings that I had brought with me from the orphanage.

I carefully handled the worn-looking bird plush that was no doubt mine, but not at the same time. I handled all my items from the orphanage with the care of a stranger, not really considering them mine at all. There were worn plush toys that were clearly from this body's early childhood, tattered books filled with this world's nursery rhymes and fairy tales, and small bobbles that had obviously been collected due to curiosity.

I began to place them throughout my rather barren room, lining up the plushes along a bookshelf for safe keeping next to the books I had. I placed the small collection of knick-knacks that I had around the room on random surfaces, reaching into my bag and pulling them out one by one.

As I reached into the bag once again, my hand closed around something smooth and rectangular, making me look to my hand in confusion. However my frown swiftly became a grin as I recognised my old beat up phone, accompanied by it's USB charger. Thank God for small mercies.

I quickly held down the power button to see if it still worked, delighted at the appearance of a bright start up screen. My mood was only dampened by the bittersweet appearance of my phone's background; a photo of my family. I had just turned sixteen when the photo was taken, my mother appearing to be an older version of myself with our matching dark hair and eyes. My father only shared his smile with me, his pale eyes and blonde hair setting him apart from us just as much as his height. My eyes flick over their features before I power down my phone, saving the remaining battery life for the future, for when I need a reminder of what my mother's soft smile and my father's army hardened face looked like.

I placed the old phone behind some books on my shelf, concealing what remained of my past life from the people within my new life. I stared solemnly at the shelf for a few moments before crawling into bed and forcing myself into a state of sleep.

I woke early the following Monday morning, allowing Myung-Hee to dress me in a simple hanbok made of white and violet silk and tulle. She sat me down on a cushion in front of the apartment's couch, regaling to me the history and culture of the people we came from in her soft mother-tongue that was so similar to Korean, sharing the myths and legends of our lands as she began to sort out my dark tresses.

"We Goryeans are a mighty people, strong and wild like the sea we sail." Myung-Hee spoke, a reverent tone lacing her voice as she brushed my hair back from my face. "For many ages, ever since the Lady Leviathan granted us reign of the sea, our people have sailed the coasts of Eos and traded among the nations" she recounted, braiding sections of my hair and tying them off, "We laid claim to shores in the far east, and built our capitol city within a port there. Its beauty is unparalleled by the other kingdoms, untainted by the magic of the Six or the machinery of men, and preserved by our traditions and culture."

Myung-Hee began to twist the braids she had made upwards, careful fingers pinning them to the back of my head. "We have survived through the changes and trials of time by the guidance of our elected counsel of princesses; allowing the people to select who shall lead them through the ages, rather than be bound to a line of succession that could be corrupted." Myung-Hee reached for a small decorative pin, one made of ivory shaped into a lotus flower with a few red beads hanging from it. She slid it into the bun that the pinned braids had created, her hands coming to rest on my shoulders.

"You are apart of this legacy, and one day you will see the glory of our heritage. But for now, we must remain here until the world is safe enough for us to make the journey." my adoptive mother rose from her place on the couch, helping me up from the floor so I would not ruin my clothes. As she straightened out the skirt of my hanbok, Myung-Hee smiled affectionately at me, tapping my nose lightly before speaking once again.

"Now, I have a prince to attend to and you have a tutor to meet." she teased before prompting our leave from the apartment.

It was later in the afternoon when I found myself in the vast library of the Citadel, the prince's private tutor by my side. That in itself was a kind blessing from the king, who had believed that it would be good to socialize his son with me so we'd both have a familiar face at Insomnia Day School.

The tutor had deduced that I had managed to retain my math skills, and that my literature skills were beyond my grade level, which was no surprise to me. I had 17 years of formal education on my side. I only had issues with history and the basic politics we had been taught on the ongoing conflict with Niflheim; these two shortcomings clearly made me the ideal study partner for the prince in the king's mind.

I had begun learning about the surrounding lands and territories of the kingdom as well as others when the library door could be heard creaking open. My tutor paused in his lesson, waiting calmly for the prince to arrive.

He was a small thing, but adorable nonetheless. The prince's wide blue eyes were extremely expressive, obviously curious about my presence. He looked small for a seven year old, however when he grew up, he would most definately make up for any shortcomings with his looks.

I smiled lightly before offering a quiet, "Hello," as my greeting.

At my calm and rather simple acknowledgment of his presence, the prince smiled brightly and perking up like a puppy.

"Hi, I'm Noctis! What's your name?" I almost got whiplash at how quickly the prince—Noctis— spoke, scuttling up into the chair beside me and gazing at me curiously.

"Soo-Min. I'm Miss Han's daughter." I replied, watching as the younger boy lazily swung his legs over the edge of the chair.

"I didn't know Miss Han had a daughter..." Noctis mused quietly, tilting his head to the side, "So why are you being tutored by Nero? I don't think he's ever worked with someone else while teaching me."

I sighed as I stared at the table, getting my story together in my head.

"I hit my head a few weeks ago and couldn't remember anything when I woke up. I've thankfully been able to regain my math and literacy skills with a bit of practice but I'm having trouble remembering history and politics. My mother and father want to make sure I'm all caught up before I go back to formal school."

"So you get to be my study partner for a while?" is what the boy offered after thinking for awhile.

"Yeah, I guess so." I replied, smiling kindly at the boy. He gave me a wide toothy grin before our tutor called for our attention to finish my lesson so we could move on.

I could see myself coming to look forward to my afternoons with Noctis; the boy was so full of energy and looked around with such wonder that I hadn't experienced in so many years. The prince would talk about anything and everything, asking all sorts of questions about my time at the orphanage. I answered the best I could for the sweet boy, but often found myself giving vague answers or defaulting to the excuse that I was unable to remember.

I indulged him in his little games that he wished to play after the end of our lesson, running through the beautiful gardens of the citadel as we chased each other in a two person game of tag. I followed the little terror through the gardens, darting between rose bushes and hedges shaped into various creatures, the dart of black and cheerful laughter my only clues to where the boy had gotten off to.

I hiked up the skirt of my hanbok, chasing the shadow of the little prince through the maze of a garden. I soon became lost in the hedges, stopping to catch my breath as I looked around. I could faintly hear Noctis' calls from elsewhere in the garden, coming to a standstill as I calmed the beating of my heart, and the heaving of my chest.

I close my eyes, focusing on the space around me and the distant laughter of the young prince. A faint call of "Are you giving up already?" comes from the left area of the garden, sending me off at a near sprint as I wove my way between plants, determined to find the young prince.

I darted around a hedge, following the stone path of the gardens and collided with something much bigger and more solid than a plant.

Stumbling backwards, I almost fall on my ass before a hand grasps my shoulder and steadies me. I look upwards, startled by the assistance in remaining upright, my dark gaze meeting that of the aged green eyes of a man older than my adoptive parents.

"Are you alright, child?" the man asked, his voice rich and cultured as he knelt to my height.

I gazed uncertainly at the man before me, noticing another man lingering a step or two behind him. My brown eyes flicked between the two men before falling to the one in front of me.

"Yes, sir. I'm sorry for running into you, sir." I apologized, respectfully bowing my head to him, "I was chasing the prince in the game we were playing and didn't look where I was going."

The man kneeling before me let out a hearty chuckle, shaking his head lightly.

"Fear not child, you meant no harm. Now tell me, you would not happen to be Aetius and Myung-Hee's daughter, would you?" the man responded, curiosity colouring his voice as he regarded me. His companion had come to stand beside him, prompting me to scrutinize the pair carefully. Despite being within the Citadel gardens that were guarded by many Crownsguard, I still valued the good old practice of 'stranger danger' that my mother in my past life had instilled in me.

"I don't see how that concerns you, sir." I replied cautiously, stepping away from the men and allowing the hand to slip from my shoulder. My statement pulled a deep chuckle from the man who still stood tall, amusement glittering in his eyes.

"I do believe the girl has a point, your Majesty." his companion offered between puffs of laughter. My eyes widened as my gaze flew between the man now identified as the king, and his companion, no doubt one of his guard. The king looked towards the man with a small huff, looking rather disgruntled with his guard.

The sound of shoes on gravel came from down the path, turning our attention to the sight of Noctis sprinting towards us.

"Dad!" the dark haired prince yelled at the sight of his father in front of me. The king rose from his kneeling position, turning and bending in order to scoop up his son as he ran into his arms.

"Hello son. I was just getting acquainted with your new friend. Apparently your little game of chase in the gardens got her a bit lost." the king turned to me as he spoke to his son, offering a wink of good humor.

"Isn't Soo-Min great? You know, besides getting lost." Noctis replied with a laugh, looking to me with his midnight blue eyes full of delight.

"Indeed, son. Why don't we depart for the evening meal, so you and Soo-Min may regale your afternoon adventures to Clarus and I with full stomachs. I'm sure her mother would find it easier to collect her from the dining hall." Noctis' father offered, settling his son to rest on his forearm as he looked between us.

"That would be amazing, dad! Come on, Soo! We can tell dad and uncle Clarus all about what we did today, and I'm sure you'll like all the food. I know I do. Well besides the vegetables. Vegetables are gross." Noctis' displeasure for vegetables made me laugh as we began our departure from the garden, the prince carrying on in this manner until we were safely within the corridors of the citadel.

Next Chapter

[kp-reading-blog]

Dead of Summer: A Short Story by S.G. Basu

Dead of Summer is a short story by S.G. Basu is a short story from her KP world of The Eternity Prophecy. In this story you'll learn more about Steffen Pere and the things that make him tick!

If you want to check out here Kindle Press novel, click here.

About Dead of Summer

My name’s Roli. Everyone calls me a worthless squatter. I don’t care. I know I’m a hero.  My life changed the day I saw the Metal Man kill the oracle. Turns out that murder was just the tip of a huge conspiracy to fake the Eternity Prophecy. Turns out seeing the murder was the thread that untangled the awful plot.  I should be put on a pedestal then, right? No such luck. I’m still a squatter and still plenty worthless.  There’s one new thing in my life though. Fear. Lots and lots of it. I know one of these days the Metal Man’s gonna come and get me. Rip me to shreds like he did the oracle. Winning against the Metal Man might not be in my future but one thing I’m sure of—I’ll give him one hell of a fight.   

If only he'd show up . . . 

A Note from S.G. Basu

Ever wondered who’s the most pivotal character of The Eternity Prophecy? If you say it’s Leon or Mako or Bryanna, I’ll agree. All of them are absolutely necessary in unraveling of the conspiracy. No wonder all of them got their own chapters in the novel to tell their part of the story.  However, one person didn’t get the attention he deserves. That’s the spunky orphan Roli, the only witness to Leon’s murder. Come to think of it, if Roli hadn’t seen the murder and told Mako about it, Eos would likely have a different fate.  Since Roli was robbed of a voice in the novel, I decided to bring him back to life in this short story, The Dead of Summer. Here, he gets to tell you a bit about himself and gives you a peek into the Empire's state of affairs right after events in The Eternity Prophecy. The Dead of Summer is a quick, light read, with a sweet twist at the end that’ll leave you smiling.

Dead of Summer

Summer has never been my friend. Not now, not ever. But at least I’ve never had to fear for my life like I do now.

Second thoughts . . . that’s not quite true. You could say I was born fearing for my life.

Years ago—fourteen to be exact—on the night I came to be, the worst summer storm in centuries hit Ajokkan. There was no electricity for weeks, no running water, and thousands got sick or died. My poor mother, after the day-and-a-half-long labor I put her through, had to go all primitive in getting me out of her. It was one heck of a complicated birth. My life was on the line, hers as well. But both of us made it somehow. She lost so much blood in the ordeal that for the rest of her life she was barely a shadow of herself. I gained a loathing for the season that stayed ingrained in me since. 

I grew up hating the blazing suns, the long days, and having to wash the sweat off my shirt every evening. I’ve lived most of my life out on the streets. That’s where summers are really hard. Our winters are mild and the boarded-up abandoned houses work out fine as shelters. During the blazing Ajokkan summer though, things get a little tricky. I put up in the abandoned buildings during the night, but they turn into steaming hothouses during the day. So in between running errands, I have to secure a daytime resting spot—some shady corner that’s away from the local constabulary’s patrol route—to ease the daylight hours. The best spots always get taken early and most days I have to beg or fight or bribe someone into sharing their corner with me. But today I lucked out. I found an empty bench under the trees near the river. Weird! Usually, every spot in the area is taken by this time of day. 

We, squatters, are a populous bunch. So it follows, there’s a lot of competition over the few things that come free in Ajokkan, the capital of the magnificent Veloressian Empire of Twenty Three Stars. It’s a fantastic city with sights to see and riches to behold. It’s also got us, scores of homeless squatters. You can find us everywhere. The Empire calls us blight on beautiful Ajokkan. Sweet name, huh? 

Hearing that used to hurt a lot. It still stings a little, but I’m getting better at handling it. The thing is: it doesn’t matter what anyone calls us, as long as they don’t evict us from here. The eviction threats have grown more frequent lately, but I think it’s just talk. With all the drama going on with the Eternity prophecy, I doubt the Empire has time to bother us anytime soon. They are too busy covering up their involvement in faking the Eternity prophecy and bringing the real Adi Niappan back to the people. If they can find her.

“Hey, Roli!” someone calls my name. It makes me jump. I’ve been jittery lately. Ever since I watched the metal man rip the oracle apart near the old tree stump six months ago, it has been hard, especially during the day when I’m out in the open. I startle at every unexpected sound and the tiniest shadows scare the living daylights out of me. I’m definitely not the fearless Roli I used to be. 

This voice though, I recognize. It’s Lyka’s. It brings a smile to my face, like always.

Lyka’s another squatter, a red-haired, button-nosed girl I’ve been crushing on for as long as I can remember. She plonks down next to me and shuffles near. I want to tell myself my charm’s irresistible but I know the only reason she’s come closer is to get a bit of the shade covering me. When the two suns are nearly overhead like they are now, it’s pretty terrible out in the open. Lyka nudges me sharply and her brows dance. “You looked scared when I called. What’s going on?” 

I wish I could tell her, but I can’t. It’s a secret I’ve been guarding since the day I saw the oracle getting butchered. I can’t tell her that it was me . . . that murder of Oracle Leon Courtee I witnessed was key to finding out the Eternity prophecy was fake. I was the one who’d first heard of the real prophecy. If it hadn’t been for me, we’d still be worshipping a false Adi Niappan and waging a wrong war. I can’t tell Lyka how important I am or brag about my bravery and intelligence. So I simply shrug and pretend to be an idiot.

She fixes an accusing gaze on me. “You’re hiding something, Roli. You’ve been strange since . . . since the fake prophecy came out. Why can’t you tell me? I’m your oldest friend.”

She’s right about that. I’ve known Lyka since forever. Her family and mine were friends—our fathers worked at the old tannery and our houses were next to each other. We used to play together every day. It was good times. Even the summers were not as unbearable. 

Then the slump happened.

I was three when my father lost his job at the tannery. The man drowned his frustrations in alcohol and quickly graduated to the smoking dens. Before I could turn four, he was dead. At his funeral, a tiring affair at the public pyre in the scalding heat of summer, someone called me “bad luck Roli” and somehow the name sunk into my innocent head like a nail in butter. For years I believed I truly brought ill luck on my parents, that I was responsible for my mother being sick and my father, dead. 

I get life somewhat better now. I have to. A fourteen-year-old squatter in Ajokkan is far from a trusting child. I’m pretty sure my father was a coward. The sucker didn’t know how to fight back. What happened to us was less because of me and more because he gave up so easy.   

My mother lived a few more years after my father’s cowardly exit, but with the house forfeited and having to work through the day to barely make enough to keep our bellies full, I had known she’d not last long. I turned into a full-time squatter when she was gone, creeping into one abandoned house near the tannery and then another. I picked up survival skills—needed loads of it to find my way around town without drawing the attention of the constabularies—quickly. I was too young to get a job legally but scouting around for simple errands every day helped. At least it has never kept me wanting for food. 

“You’re thinking about useless shit again,” Lyka’s sharp voice cuts through thoughts, and yanks me out into the present. I unclench my fists and let go of the breath I’m holding. She’s right. There’s no point thinking about things I can’t change. 

I turn to look at Lyka. Strands of flaming red hair across her tanned forehead partially hide her bright green eyes. Her face is flushed, her lips slightly parted. A flutter comes to life in my stomach and I recognize that urge—I’ve known it long enough. I want to kiss her. I’d give anything to kiss her. But I can’t. I tuck my hands between my knees and fling a whip over my daydream. I’m a marked man, and I can’t drag Lyka into my mess. I force my eyes away from her mouth, an act Lyka doesn’t miss. Her lips twist into a small smile before I can turn attention away. 

“What’s going on with you, Lyka?” 

She gives me an amused look before a reply. “The usual,” she says, fanning herself with her right hand. “I heard someone’s looking for you.”

My heart jumps and I gulp to make it calm down again. That’s how I’ve been since the murder. Somehow I can’t stop thinking that the metal man who killed Leon will come for me someday. Even though they caught his helper, the master assassin was never found. I think he’s still out there, somewhere in Ajokkan. I think he’s watching me.

“W-who?” I manage a stutter. 

“Beni told me he didn’t see the man’s face,” Lyka replies with a shrug. Beni is the older of Lyka’s two brothers. “But he was asking for you by name. Gave Beni this.” 

Lyka pulls a piece of paper out of her pocket. It’s folded neatly into a small square. My fingers shake a little as I grab it. I have to squint hard to read the tiny letters that make up the short message.

Come see me at double-noon.

~Orin

My heart skips another beat. Orin is Makos’s nutty father. Mako, the Special Ops guy, is the one I told about the metal man and Leon’s murder. The whole Empire knows about Leon’s murder now, but Mako was the first. I believe Mako had something to do with exposing the fake prophecy. But I still can’t figure out how he did it. I’ve listened and looked in the newscasts. There’s no mention of Mako anywhere. And the thing is—I don’t see Mako around anymore. He’s gone. Disappeared. 

My take on it? I think the metal man killed Mako too. And I’m to blame. But what else could I’ve done? I just couldn’t forget Leon being murdered. I had to tell someone, and Mako was the best choice. He was Leon’s friend and being in the Imperial Special Ops, he knew how to handle assassins. So I thought. I thought he’d know how to get the metal man without getting killed by him first.

“Roli!” Lyka pokes me hard in the ribs. “You’re making that sad face again. What are you thinking?”

I can’t tell her. I can’t drag her into a dangerous assassin’s crosshairs. That’s the reason I haven’t visited Orin to inquire about his son. Because I don’t want the old man to get in trouble either. That’s the reason I always stick to crowded places now. If Mako couldn’t survive the metal man, what chance did I have against him?

“It’s nothing, Lyka,” I say.

Lyka crosses her arms and sighs loudly. Perhaps she notices the determination on my face or senses the reserve in my voice. She gets to her feet and dusts her sweaty shirt that clings stubbornly to her. Damn! Who knew getting my eyes off from her chest would be so hard? Luckily, I manage to look away before she notices. 

“I’ve to go, Roli. That bakery near the Archives is looking for helpers in their loading docks.”

I nod hastily, hoping she’d leave without asking any more questions but she doesn’t. Instead she points at the piece of paper in my hand. “Who’s Orin?” she demands.

“Just an old man I know.”

Lyka’s face twists. There’s pain in her eyes. “See you later then,” she says before leaving. I want to stop her, but I do what I have to—let her go. Gulping hard to rid the pain in my throat I tear my eyes away from her. 

A pang twists my stomach reminding me that’s I haven’t eaten in a while. It’s not like I don’t have coins to buy some food. What I don’t have is time to lose. The two suns—Yimma and Soren—are almost overhead. That’s as close to a double noon we’ll get anytime soon. It’s today. I have to meet Orin today, now. I jump to my feet and with a quick look around I set off across town toward Mako’s house.

The walk feels endless. Sweat pours down my forehead as I stare up at Mako’s front door. The rays of the two suns are trying to drill through my skull, but I know well that I’m sweating more out of fear than the heat. I’m afraid of what I’m going to find behind that door. I have thought about it all the way here and now that I’m about to face Orin, I can’t take the final few steps. He has found out about Mako, I think, my heart sinking like a rock in the water. The old man knows his only son is dead. Murdered by the metal man. Murdered because I told him about Leon. I did this. I took that blind old man’s sole support from him. I—

“So . . . this is it, huh?” 

I whirl around to find her smiling. She looks as if she has won the lottery for a whole month’s free food.

“Lyka? What are you doing here?” I demand, frowning. Glaring, you might say.

Her jubilant smile doesn’t fade. It doesn’t even waver. She points at Mako’s front door and raises an eyebrow at me.

“This where old man Orin lives?”

“W-what? No . . . that’s—”

I’m too slow to react and my stutter is a dead giveaway. She smirks and sprints up the stone staircase leading up to the red door.

“Lyka, wait!”

She’s already rapped by the time I run up to her. The door falls open in an instant. Orin’s smiling face pops out a moment before a blast of cool air hits my face and makes my skin tingle. My heart picks up pace. He’s smiling—maybe Mako is all right.

“You must be Orin,” Lyka says, flashing her light-up-a-room smile. “I’m Roli’s best friend, Lyka. I’m the one who got him your message. Can we come in? It’s so damn hot out here, your cool air is just what I need.”

“Lyka. Stop!”

But there’s no stopping that girl. Like the Goddess of War, red hair billowing like a halo around her face, twisting her arm free of my grip, Lyka steps past a bemused Orin and into Mako’s house. I rush after her into the dimly lit hallway, still hoping I can somehow get Lyka out of there. She can’t be part of this, she can’t know about the murdering metal man. 

“Who’re you?” Lyka’s voice, sharp and shaky at the end floats to my ears along with the click of the door closing behind me. 

I grab Lyka’s arm and pull her near before blinking desperately to make my eyes adjust to the dimness fast. I want to see who Lyka is speaking with, my heart doing wild flips. 

Mako! Could it be Mako? It has to be Mako.

It’s not. The man at the far end of the hallway, the one Lyka’s staring at, the one dressed in a long, brown robe is far too tall. And Mako didn’t look like this. This is a face from a nightmare—one that I’ve been living with for the last six months. His face is battered—an ugly lump of deep gashes, some stitched, and some filled with gleaming metal. His one eye, sunk deep under a swollen bulge of an eyelid, gleams at me across the room. The other, with some sort of instrument embedded in it, moves, no . . .  telescopes in and out as it focuses on my face. This isn’t Mako. It’s the hideous assassin I saw murdering Leon.

It’s the metal man. 

And now he has found me.

I scream. I tell Lyka to run while she can. Only no sound comes out of me. 

Orin whispers in my ear. “It’s all right, Roli. Sit,” he says, patting me on the shoulder. 

“He,” I manage a cracked whisper between gasps, “t-that man is a killer.”

“Sit.”

Sit? Mako’s father was nutty the last time I met him but this is bat-shit crazy. Maybe Mako’s death has done him in. 

We have to get out of here but Orin’s blocking the door. I try pushing him. Orin doesn’t budge. For an old man, he’s strong. The metal man had been standing quietly in the far corner, watching. Now he strides across the dim room. Toward us. His metal feet tinkling on the floor.

Tightening my grip on Lyka’s arm, I fall back another step.

“He killed the oracle. You friend Leon,” I scream at Orin. 

“I know,” Orin replies.

He knows? Then how can he be so calm about it? 

Questions buzz like trapped bees in my brain. Why did Orin call me here? What does the metal man want from me?

The metal man looms over us, his face—a lumpy mess of flesh and metal—so close that I can see every gash on it. 

“Please, please let Lyka go,” I plead, knowing it’s useless. But I have to try. “She knows nothing. Please.”

“I’m not hurting you, am I?” His voice is raspy and just as unpleasant as the rest of him. 

His words sink in slowly. That is true. He hasn’t laid a finger me. And I know I’d already be dead if he wanted me to. I’ve seen this man in action, I’ve seen him rip Oracle Leon Courtee to shreds. 

“I’m not here to hurt you.” He tilts his metal-entrusted head toward Lyka. “Or your friend.”

But if he doesn’t want me dead, what else can he want? 

Orin thumps my back. “He’s a friend, Roli. He’s helped Mako in the . . . fake prophecy business.”

“Sit down, Roli,” the metal man says. He points at the couch behind him. I know I don’t have a choice. 

“Can you at least let Lyka go?” I croak. 

“Shut up, Roli,” Lyka snaps, pulling her arm away for the second time today. Placing her arms on her hips, she flicks her head and tosses her hair. She does that when she’s mad as heck. “I don’t wanna go. I want to find out what you’ve been up to. What this is all about.”

Next to me, Orin chuckles. He winks when I frown at him. “I like your Lyka.” He wobbles over to Lyka, bows at her and smiles. “Young lady, welcome to the Order of Eternity. Together we shall protect the Adi Niappan from all evil. We will be her champions.” 

“Wait. What?” I blurt. Everyone knows the real Adi Niappan is missing. The Empire has been searching for her for months now. Orin doesn’t seem to hear me. He totters past Lyka toward the back of the house, but I yell my question at him regardless. “You know you have to have an Adi Niappan to protect before you can protect her, right?”

Orin turns back a little and winks again before disappearing behind a door. I turn to the one person who I suspect can explain. The metal man simply stares, his expression unreadable.

“Mako has her,” he says after a bit. 

My mouth falls open. It takes me a while to find words. “Has her?” 

“He’s keeping watch over her.” I hold my breath when he continues. “Order of Eternity is Orin’s. . . fancy name, but Mako does need help to keep the Adi Niappan safe. We called you here because I think you might assist with something—”

Lyka rushes forward. She holds her right hand up just the way you’d do when taking a sacred oath. “I’m in. I’ll do it. Whatever it is,” she says in one breath.

The metal man studies her for a while before turning toward me. He doesn’t have real eyes, let alone brows, so I can’t guess what he’s thinking. Doubts cloud my head, fear too. Protecting the Adi Niappan is a noble cause, the grandest cause a squatter like me might ever know. But how can I be on the same team with a killer? How can I ever un-see Leon’s murder? 

Lyka’s flushed face and her shining eyes tell a different story. She’s already pledged her loyalty and anyone who knows Lyka even a bit knows her promises are forever. But she has no idea what she’s getting into. I do. She’ll need me. I have to agree to this. For her. 

So I nod. Slowly. 

“What do we have to do?” I ask. 

“A lot of things,” Orin declares from the doorway behind which he had disappeared earlier. In his hand is a plate heaped with honeyed bread. My stomach lets out a pathetic growl stripping off my last bit of reserve. Orin sets the plate down on a table and makes a sweeping gesture with his arms. “But first, we eat.”

To hell with it! I dive in; the soft sweetness of the honeyed bread crushes my worries. Orin can be nuts but he’s one mean cook.

This will be one crazy summer, I know. Right now though, I’m gonna stop fearing. I’ll just eat. And be happy I’ve lived another day.

The Eternity Prophecy 

Check out The Eternity Prophecy, the world where Dead of Summer comes from!

Summer Solstice

One Summer Day short story is also featured in the Kindle Press Anthology Summer Solstice. You can get it from Instafreebie for free!

[echoes-of-the-clockwork]

Book Four: War (Gladiolus x Reader) Chapter Three

"Dammit!" (Y/n) cursed, jamming the crimson blade of her sword into the ground. She glared out across the surface of the large body of water located in the Alstor Slough. The corpses of catoblepases littered the lake, blood pouring from the massive wounds scattered across their bodies. Some were disemboweled while others had appendages torn clean off. The bunyips had claimed the catoblepases and left after feasting on their prey. There were no clear indicators of which direction the pack had went after their meal, leaving the Horseman with nothing more than a dead end.

"These damned things are smarter than they look," War hissed under her breath. Ares walked over toward his rider, nudging his muzzle against her cheek with a faint neigh. She reached up and stroked his muzzle with a sigh. "Thanks, buddy."

Ares neighed a second time, enjoying her gentle touch. The Horseman glanced at the corpses one last time before an idea came to mind. A few seconds ticked by and she suddenly felt a familiar presence manifest beside her. "What're you doing out this far, Pestilence?"

The ivory-haired girl smiled gently at her sister. "I simply wished to see how you were faring, but..." She saw the gruesome scene before her, which caused her smile to vanish. "That would be an ignorant question."

"How goes your hunt?" War asked.

"As well as yours. This draugr is quite bothersome and I've yet to locate it. My next destination is the Leide region."

The two girls fell silent for a few minutes. They still couldn't tear their eyes away from the large carcasses that littered the Alstor Slough. The monsters from the Inner Sanctum were much more powerful than daemons and the beasts indigenous to Eos.

Pestilence shattered the silence after more minutes ticked by. "I know you aren't fond of mortals, but maybe it'd be best if you traveled with Prince Noctis and his companions. With their excursions around Eos, locating the bunyips and dullahan may prove to be an easier task. You could also teach His Highness a few new tricks."

(Y/n)'s head snapped in Pestilence's direction. "You're kidding, right? There's no way in hell I'd travel with mortals."

"Oh, don't be like that. Traveling with them could also allow such distrust to be erased. You need to learn to trust others. I know it's difficult because of your past, but it's been centuries, War. You must overcome it."

"Come talk to me again once the person you loved stabs you in the back. Literally."

"What Gaius did was awful, but you must forget in order to move forward. I have come to terms with what happened in my previous life. It's time you do the same." Those were Pestilence's final words before she vanished.

The (e/c)-eyed girl stared at the spot her sister once stood before looking back towards the blood-tainted water. She leaned against Ares with a groan. "Why does she always have to be right...?"

Ares bobbed his head up and down with an energetic neigh. He nudged his muzzle against her crimson locks, urging her to do what Pestilence said.

Seeing her steed was in agreement with her sister, (Y/n) glared weakly at him. "You're my partner, not hers! Traitor..." Once again, Ares urged her by nudging her gently forward. The girl stopped him before he could push her into the water. "Okay! Okay! I'll head back! You gonna give me a lift or do you want me to exhaust myself by teleporting?"

The horse allowed his rider onto his back. Once she was ready, he took off in the direction of Cauthess Coernix Station where she had left Gladio only a few hours ago.

By the time she arrived back at the rest area, the sun was setting. She dismounted Ares, the horse vanishing in the blink of an eye. She looked around the rest area, her eyes landing on the group of boys as they enjoyed dinner together. However, she noticed their joyful mood dampen when Ardyn walked over and tried to spark up a conversation.

(Y/n) kept her distance until Ardyn sauntered off. When he was gone, she approached the boys. Before she could say anything, Prompto spotted her. "Hey, (Y/n)!"

All eyes fell on her when the blonde announced her presence. She remained level-headed, keeping her temper in-check. "Hi."

"Didn't expect to see you again so soon," Gladio said. "How goes the hunt?"

"Awful," she sighed. "The bunyips have fled from Alstor Slough, leaving behind the corpses of many catoblepases as evidence. However, that's all they left. I've no clue which direction they traveled in after their hearty feast."

"How dangerous are those things exactly?" Noctis wondered.

"Very. The man you gave a lift is lucky to still have his arms and legs."

"Damn..."

"If the hunt went bad, why're you back here?" Gladio inquired.

"Pestilence and I had a small conversation. She brought a few things to my attention and it's only because of her that I'm back here. She mentioned traveling with you four would prove to be beneficial in locating the bunyips and the dullahan." She glanced around at their faces before continuing. "I know you four probably don't like me in the slightest because I come across rude and cold, but I...hope you can look past my behavior and let me accompany you."

"That's...uh..." Prompto's voice trailed off.

"If it's too much, I understand. I'll give you some time to think about it."

"Wow. You're being nicer than usual," Noctis commented.

War was tempted to snap back, but held her tongue. "I'm trying to turn over a new leaf."

"If that's the case, I don't see why you can't join us. Maybe you'll even tell us why you can use the Crystal's power."

"Maybe..."

"I do believe your cooperation would be beneficial," Ignis stated.

"Aw, yeah! (Y/n)'s joinin' us!" Prompto cheered.

Gladio grinned and decided to push his luck. "Welcome to the team, firecracker."

She tried to smile, but it faltered slightly due to the nickname. "Thanks for having me."

After that, (Y/n) fell silent for the rest of the night. She wandered a little ways away from the caravan when Ardyn and the boys called it a night.

In the middle of the night, Gladio was startled awake by a nightmare. He wiped the sweat from his forehead with a heavy sigh before deciding to leave the caravan to get some fresh air.

Walking outside, he immediately spotted (Y/n) leaning against the side of the caravan. Her gaze was locked on the sky, but it was soon turned to him when the door closed behind him. "Never expected to see you up this early. It's only four in the morning."

"Yeah, well, it's a little difficult to sleep when a nightmare won't leave you alone," Gladio retorts.

"Be friendly..." War whispered to herself. She pushed herself off the caravan and asked, "Wanna...talk about it?"

The brute chuckled at her forced question. "You really are tryin' to be nice, aren't you?"

"Don't make fun of me," she hissed. Realizing her rising temper, she took a deep breath and exhaled. "I'm new to this friendly stuff. Give me a break..."

"Didn't you have friends in your previous life?"

"No," she blandly replied. "I was too busy with other things."

"Did those other things have to do with why you can do what Noct can?" He questioned.

"Yes. But there's no way in hell I'm telling you everything just yet. Earn my trust and I'll tell you." She combed a hand through her crimson locks. "Anyway, wanna talk about that nightmare or you just gonna keep making fun of my lack of friendliness?"

"Nah, I'm not a little kid. Besides, it's not like I could make sense of the nightmare myself. It was all over the place."

"As is with most dreams." She looked back up at the starry night sky. "But seriously, you should try to get some more sleep. You'll need every second you can get if you plan on going to the Disc tomorrow."

"Look at you being all caring," Gladio chortled. "It's weird."

"Shut it," she growled. "Would you rather I be a bitch 24/7? Because that can be arranged."

"Hell no."

"Good. Now get your ass back to bed."

"Yes, ma'am."

Gladio, once having cleared his head thanks to his conversation with War, went back into the caravan and crawled on to the couch to get some more sleep. Within a few minutes, he was fast asleep.

<-------------<<<<<

The following morning, the boys and their new companion left the rest area with Ardyn leading them to the barricade that prevented anyone from accessing the meteor directly. Along the way, the four boys conversed while (Y/n) remained silent. Although she was sandwiched in the middle between Ignis and Gladio, she wasn't bothered which surprised her.

Seeing as the Horseman had been silent ever since they left Cauthess Coernix Station, Prompto nervously tried to talk to her. "Hey, um, (Y/n)?"

The redhead's (e/c) gaze locked with his cerulean one. "Yeah?"

Hearing no sass or annoyance in her tone, he asked, "Would you like to see some awesome pics?"

Her brows furrowed. "Pics? What're those?"

"Y'know, pictures!" Prompto turned on his camera and handed it to her.

(Y/n) carefully handled the device she was unfamiliar with. She examined it with curiosity, wondering what it did. "What is this thing?"

"A camera," Prompto clarified.

"Don't tell me you've never seen one," Gladio said.

"Of course I haven't," she retorts with a slight hint of annoyance. "If I had, I wouldn't be asking."

"It takes pictures," the blonde stated. "They're like, uh...still images!"

"So they're like portraits, right?" She pondered.

"Something like that."

War followed Prompto's direction and was able to access the pictures. She scrolled through them, amazed at how many there were. Not only was she fascinated by the pictures, but also how such a device could change the appearance of a picture. "How fascinating," she mumbled with awe.

"It's just a camera," Gladio commented.

"Hey, it's not like...!" She sighed, calming herself. "Eos has changed significantly since my time. We didn't have any fancy technology like cameras. If we wanted portraits, we hired artists to paint them."

"Exactly when was your time on Eos?" Ignis asked.

(Y/n) lowered the camera. "Nearly a millennium ago. I am the oldest among the Horsemen." Her crimson locks formed a curtain around her face, concealing it. "The world truly has changed since then..." Combing her hair aside, she handed the camera back to Prompto, thanking him.

Before Gladio could ask his own question, they arrived at the barricade. Noctis glances at Ardyn and muttered under his breath, "Better not be a setup."

Ardyn had heard the prince and glanced at him. "Have I given you reason to doubt me?"

"You don't exactly inspire confidence," Prompto retorts.

"Yeah, not very straightforward," Gladio added.

Ardyn ignored their comments and called out, "Hello! It's me! Be so kind as to open up!" The gate opens, shocking the group.

Prompto stared in bewilderment. "Wow, that worked?"

"I may not look like much, but I do have some influence. Aren't you glad we came together? Your audience with divinity lies ahead."

"You're leaving?"

"I drop you at the Archaean's open door, and with that, bid you farewell." Ardyn drives away, leaving them.

Noctis drives the Regalia through the barricade as Gladio said, "I've met some weirdos..."

"I hope we never meet that one again," Ignis finished the shield's thought.

"Whoa! Little harsh there, don't you think?" Prompto inquired.

"Oh, please. That man, whoever he may be, even gave me the creeps," (Y/n) said.

After reaching the end of the path, everyone climbed out of the car. They spotted a narrow path ahead and decided to see where it led. Following it all the way to the end, they came across a ledge overlooking the meteor. Upon the ledge was an intricately carved stone sarcophagus. Prompto blinked in surprise. "Is that what I think it is?"

"Didn't expect to find a royal tomb here," Ignis commented.

"Would be a shame not to grab that power, eh, Highness?" Gladio asked Noctis.

"Let's grab it and go." Noctis walks up to the sarcophagus, holds out his hand, and acquires the royal arm residing within. After he claimed the weapon, the ground begins to shake. Prompto and Ignis fall down while Gladio, Noctis, and (Y/n) manage to keep themselves upright.

"Here we go again," Prompto whimpered.

"This one's huge!" Gladio shouted over the loud rumbling.

Ignis noticed the crumbling ground beneath Noctis, Gladio, and (Y/n). He yelled, "Get away! Quickly!"

Noctis' headache suddenly returns, bringing him down to one knee. He recovers as fast as he can and tries to run away from the crumbling ledge. He is unable to get far before the ground falls out from under his feet, dropping him against a slope where he slides down until he briefly lands on a small ledge below. Unfortunately, the boy quickly slides off the ledge and turns to try grabbing on. His desperate attempt to grab anything to stop his descent was futile.

Gladio, who was safe on another ledge, noticed the steep plummet Noctis was sliding towards. "Noct!"

(Y/n) was dangling from a narrow ledge when she heard the shield shout the boy's name. Looking down, she noticed the ravenette's dilemma and huffed in annoyance. "Dammit..." Summoning her sword, she released the ledge and plummeted downward. Tossing her blade, she warped just below Noctis and grabbed his wrist before he could fall out of reach. Jamming the blade into the rock, she halted their descent. Due to their combined weight, the blade was slowly slipping from the stone. Seeing they were in such a dangerous position, (Y/n) remained level-headed and addressed the boy. "Noctis, summon the weapon you can throw furthest. Throw it up to where Gladio is and warp."

Noctis glances up to where the brute was and noticed how far it was. "There's no way I can warp that far!"

"Yes, you can!" She hissed, her arms shaking. "If I can do it so can you! Besides, if you fall, I'll just catch you again."

He was still unsure, but trusted the Horseman's judgement. "All right, but what about you?"

"Did you already forget who I am?" War snapped. "Just hurry up and warp!"

Noctis summoned a dagger and tossed it as high up as he could. The short blade pierced the stone just below the ledge where Gladio was and he warped to it. The shield helped the prince up and over the ledge. Once Noctis was back on his feet, he and Gladio peered over the ledge at War. They both watched as her sword vanished, causing her to fall.

Before either one of them could shout her name, the Horseman's body vanished in a puff of smoke. She reappeared beside them, rolling her shoulder. "Let's get moving."

Just as the trio went to proceed forward, the Meteor begins to rise before them, revealing Titan, who has been holding the chunk of space debris on his back for many years. Noctis was bewildered at the sight. "What the-?"

Titan says something indecipherable in the language of the gods, but (Y/n) understood him clear as day. Of course, she remained silent knowing the god wasn't calling out to her. Her time as the chosen was cut short and now she was a nobody to the Astrals.

"Goddamn... This is the Archaean?" Noctis murmured as he gazed at Titan.

"Seems we woke the big guy up," Gladio said.

"He's trying to tell me something... But what?"

Prompto suddenly calls out from high above, grabbing the trio's attention. "Noct! You okay?"

Ignis also peered down at them with a sigh of relief. "Thank heavens you're safe. Is there a way back up?"

"No, but there's a path. Gonna see where it leads," Noctis replied.

"You two try to get down," Gladio stated.

"Very well. We'll look for a way. Be careful, now," Ignis advised.

"You, too," Noctis said.

"What? We're going where!?" Prompto shrieked.

The trio wandered down the path. As they did, Noctis' and Gladio's tempers were slowly rising with the heat. (Y/n) gritted her teeth, annoyed at the two. She kept her lips sealed, knowing she'd say something out of line and risk losing her chance to travel with them. Deciding to ignore them, she pushed past the two and walked ahead. She led them down the diverging path where a group of dynoaevis birds flew overhead.

Gladio noticed their strange behavior. "They're on edge-let's not ruffle their feathers any more."

"Um, try shutting your beak," Noctis groaned.

"Just offering sound advice."

"Yeah, like a parrot in my ear."

Unable to stand another second of it, (Y/n) snapped. She manifested a large fireball in her palm and threw it at the flock of birds. The flames fried the creatures' bodies, resulting in a rancid odor to waft through the area. Noctis and Gladio were flabbergasted at the suddenness of such a powerful spell and eyed the Horseman.

"Uh, (Y/n)?" Gladio called out to her. "You okay?"

War spun around, glaring daggers at the two. "No, I'm not okay. I'm annoyed. You two are acting like children in the middle of a dangerous situation. Excuse me if my sanity snaps all because you two are irritated and can't stop bickering with one another." She placed a hand on her hip. "There's a god trying to swat us like flies, or have you already forgotten?"

"Of course not," Noctis retorts.

"Then do as the bastard demands so we can make this quick," she growled.

His eyes narrowed. "What're you talking about?"

"You may not understand the language of the gods, but I can. The Archaean has led you to him directly so you can prove yourself. Do it and don't screw up or you will be crushed along with everyone else."

The prince's eyes widen. "You can understand him...?"

"That's not the point here! Both of you man up and get over this little spat you have going on! One person alone cannot stand against a god." Turning her back to them, she pressed onward. She heard them call her name, but she ignored them. "Why am I stuck with these two...?" She sighed.