#and we’re playing russian roulette but i’m the only casualty

[nyxtactic]

Lowkey scared for the next 19 Days update cause it can go a few ways

Blessed with more happy tianshan.

We focus more on what’s happening with ZhanYi and hopefully start to build on their relationship.

Absolutely everything goes to hell once again and I finally have that mental break down thats been teetering on the edge.

What’s everyones thoughts? Theories? Deepest darkest fear? Hows your mental health?

[thelordstears]

Oh I wrote more, what a surprise

"You can't spark a revolution without a flame. And where there is flame, there is casualty, where there is casualty, there is history.” - Corvenstain Bonstellos

“ If I am the enemy of the world for fixing it through violence so be it. May I be remembered as a conqueror despite my efforts to destroy broken dynasties and might I be remembered as a villain for killing those who're damned by their actions.” - Corvenstain Bonstellos

“I can not fight for peace because it isn't what I strive for. Freedom was never once peaceful. Do you think the African Americans who were enslaved earned freedom through peaceful means? Abraham Lincoln had to wage war on his own country to free them. Nothing good is done through peace. Good things come out of harsh circumstances.” - Corvenstain Bonestellos

"Time don't stop for no man woman nor child, so I certainly ain't gon' stop for no man who only wants ta see me fall. The game was rigged from the start, spose that means I oughta cheat, just like them. I got all my cards in the deck, every single one of em wild, because in a wild world, you gon' need some wild, wild cards.” - Scow Witson

“ When life fucks you over, you oughta fuck it back twenty times as hard, cuz your demons ain't gon' take a break, they aren't the hare, and you ain't the slow and steady tortoise. You're a human, so act like it and face your demons god damn snarlin'.” - Scow Witson

“ I'm a demon of a man, shotgun trained on those who wish me nothin' but death. I ain't gon' pretend I'm a good man, I'm a shark swimmin' towards the scent a tangy iron and blood, because my demons bleed, and so they can fucking die, eh?” - Scow Witson

"I can feel teeth sink into my soul, because these days I'm nothing but a feast of misery and bone trodden pathways.” - Roxane Vanderburg

“ I'm holy in the sense that I'll die for my sins. I'll be crucified for everything I've done, but when you fear for your life, you'll do anything to keep it.” - Roxane Vanderburg

“ These days I'm just a ghost, because every piece of pain consumes me and turns me into a relic of the past. If an archeologist dug me up he'd consider me a fossil. Because I am nothing but my past.” - Roxane Vanderburg

“ I'm a man who plays games with people's lives, I'm the gamemaster, the Monopoly man, stealing from a bank of lost souls.” - David Faim

“ One day I shall be nothing but flesh and bone buried in a casket of pearl or pinewood. But before I'm buried beneath the soil, I shall be a man who holds fate in his hands and plays games that lead to fatality. I roll on snake eyes and I could perceive it as faith wanting two bullets in a man's skull. I could land on six and poke six holes into a man's stomach, because that's what the die landed on. “ - David Faim

“ I waged a war on my heart, and I lost it.” - David Faim

"You believe the seers write your destiny. But how do you not see that they have shackled you to a destiny that is not your own? If my fate was in the hands of what I could not see, I would write my own." - David Faim

"In theory if the seers are something to be believed in, if they are not another myth, which I find highly unlikely. They wrote a tale of pain for me in 1990, a boy of eighteen so distraught by the loss of the only family he ever had. They should fear me, because if I discover they are a reality, then I will make them a fiction and cut the strings of fate and become fate itself. You can not control my destiny, for it is not written in the stars nor the threads of a mistresses yarn. For what is fate to someone who doesn't believe?" - David Faim

"Fate itself does not follow the laws of mortality." - David Faim

"I see the reflection of another in my eyes.' - David Faim

“ How can I hope in a world that makes you lick it off of daggers?”  - Hanzo Sabian

“A man once told me I was a victim on his board of sacrificial pawns and knights with blood soaked blades. And I ask the question, am I the pawn, or the knight? Because this dagger of mine is so covered in blood I can't help but weep, but I've also made sacrifices of self.” - Hanzo Sabian

“ I'm on a board playing against a man who controls my fate, I wish to call a stalemate, end this game in a draw, but all I can ever do is be the Queen's Gambit, because in his eyes, I'm just a sacrifice.” - Hanzo Sabian

“My mistakes never cost my life, only other's.” - Hanzo Sabian

"I'm broken, and I don't got the tools to fix that. How is it, that in all my years I've never acquired the means to patch myself up? I can fix up old houses, build a tree house for my sons, but somehow, I can't fix myself.” - Shane Hoffs

“ Somedays I'm dancing with the sun, and other's I have a bottle of barebones whiskey in my hand, and all I can do is remember the past.” - Shane Hoffs

“ Do you really think, the shadows are a friend of yours? They hide you from untrained eyes, but I know what lurks in the night, for it is me.” - Luther Woolhaun

“ I am a hunter, I've hunted every kind of animal thinkable, I've gunned down giraffes in the savannah, defended myself against a lioness with only a dagger and my wit, and I've fought in war, and thus I've hunted men of honor.” - Luther Woolhaun

"The destination ain't worth the damn price, so what am I doing in the struggle of the path?” - Denis Polmer

“ So I'll raise a glass to my past, because all it ever was is poison against my damn lip.” - Denis Polmer

“ This city I roam is a graveyard of bone trodden railroad tracks and corrupt gardens of wickedness.” - Callum Valstone

“ We're crushed underneath the boots of the powerful, they say flowers grow back once stomped on, but when the boot stays, the flower can never spring from the soil without being crushed all over again.” - Callum Valstone

“ How am I to trust anyone, when even preacher's speak with crooked tongues?” - Callum Valstone

”I’m myself, and there’s something unholy about that.” - Sadri Sabian

“ No sun could melt this Arctic storm inside my heart, I'm so cold, that even the brave who'd climb Everest would freeze when walking a mile in my shoes.” - Sadri Sabian

“ I am a fairy tale, but not one re-written for children to laugh at, I am the crows pecking at Anastasia and Drizella, I am Pinocchio hanging from the strings that brought him to life, and I am the dagger that plunged into the Little Mermaid's heart upon being given a difficult choice. I am the dark ending to beloved stories.” - Sadri Sabian

"The less I reveal, the more you wonder what made me who I am. You ask more questions, I flip on your intrigue switch, and leave it on until I decide it so that you get too know one piece of the broken puzzle you'd call my life." - Sadri Sabian

"You'll never know what's best for you. All you can do is hope your choices lead to the right path.” - Solomon Bones

“ When all you can do is cry, remember the moments where you could laugh. Because those memories, are strength. They're fuel that keeps you alive.” - Solomon Bones

“ My brother is my hero, really. He doesn't wear a cape, he doesn't have laser eyes, and he can't fly. He wears scars and burdens, but he also wears a golden heart on his sleeve.” - Solomon Bones

“ Isiah is a strange man, but that doesn't make him a bad one. He's built for this world, his soul wiser than one could ever possibly imagine. It takes such a deep pain to be so deeply wise, and my heart hurts, knowing that he's been through so much. But I know my heart beats for him, and I'll always dance underneath the sun, just to feel warmth upon my skin as we twist and twirl through life with a perpetual smile on our lips.” - Mardeca Blackfall

“ I'm a lioness baring her fangs pouncing on those who do me wrong, a huntress in a world where all I can do is stain my paws red.” - Kadlin Paulson

“ I have scars that cut deep into my soul, but I am strong, I am a warrior of Valhalla, and one day the Valkyries shall claim me, but today is not that day. I have battles yet to fight and victories yet to claim.” - Kadlin Paulson

“ I bare my fangs and pounce into battle, I am no coward and so I shall not cower.” - Kadlin Paulson

“ I've lived through so much, but the tale of the little man is never written in the pages of history, they only ever reside in the pages of his mind.” - Marv Callemritz

“ She is no Countess Bathory, for all we know Elizabeth Bathory was a victim of falsehoods and corrupt politicians. For all we know, she could've been a scared little girl. But Tilda is no scared little girl, she wears savagery as a gown, she dances before me in all of my pain, and she haunts my mind.” - Marv Callemritz

“ My life is a battlefield, just as the Civil War, I wage war upon myself. Because I must conquer these demons that reside inside of me, and find a way to rise despite the war I wage being against the man in the mirror. I must make a revolution of oneself, and instead of dumping boxes of tea into the ocean, I must cast my fear off the side of this haunted ship of my cruel, cruel past.” - Marv Callemritz

“ By God, history is a warning and we ignored it.” - Marv Callemritz

"You're not the fantasies of your mind, kid." - Marv Callemritz

"I could play a game of Russian roulette with six bullets in the chamber and still I'd win, after all, six regrets doesn't change the amount of men dead, only the mind set of the man who watched six bullets fly and saw six good men die.” - Osbourne Smithens

“ My mother is a sweet woman, but she couldn't catch me on my fall from Heaven. I slammed into the concrete of reality, realizing I can't be a scared little boy. I have to be everything my brother put on death's row.” - Osbourne Smithens

“ They say to catch a killer, you have to think like one, analyze their every move and walk a thousand miles in their shoes. So I took a walk inside the man who scarred me's mind, and you know what? I've become a monster, just like him.” - Osbourne Smithens

“ I will not rest until that man is dead, he can run, he can hide, but he can't outrun his past. Because I am, his past. And I am the only bullet left in his revolver of secrets." - Osbourne Smithens

"I'm wrapped in crimson bullet casings and sins. I suppose all I am is an empty magazine to an AK 47, because all I hear is the ricochet of death.” - Scarletta Bonewhistle 

“ I could give you a thousand metaphors, or tell you a thousand lies, but none of it would let you know how I feel, only I know that torture, I suppose.” - Drew Dreadful

“ It's almost as if my mind is the atom bomb, destroying the very man who lets it continue existing. I guess as Robert J. Oppenheimer said, I have become death, destroyer of worlds. But the only world I ever destroyed was my own, because I can't let myself live in the world everyone wants me to see.” - Drew Dreadful

"I am nature's excuse to be violent. I can not find the beauty in the trees when I've seen them crashing onto soldiers and catch fire from an enemies spark, I can not see the river run clear when I've watched men fall into the stream and color it red with the paint that spilled from their veins. I can never know the beauty of the world, when I've always been shown it's ugliness.” - Max Caldiph

“ My life has been an ashy torment of a whisper ever since I was sixteen and stepped into the mines I would soon discover were hell on Earth. Three chipper young'uns stepped into those mines on a dare from foolish boys, and three broken souls would walk out.” - Max Caldiph

“ You could see everything I've been through if you saw the scars I wear on the face I hide.” - Max Caldiph

"I'm a travesty of myself, I present who I am in such a distorted way, that not a soul could believe this is who I truly am. But alas, I look in the mirror, and I see my own worst enemy staring back.” - Armen Barrowmore

“ Ya know, an old friend of mine told me I was falling, and asked why I stand at the edge and leap, after all these years, I think I finally have an answer. Because in all this pain, in all this wickedness I've seen, it's better to jump into freezing waters and wrap yourself in a thick coat of ice to protect yourself from those who seek to shatter you.” - Armen Barrowmore

“ I'm not strong enough to be a hero, so I might as well be a villain, even if it's only in my own damn story.” - Armen Barrowmore

“ She's everything I never knew I needed, the way her eyes sparkle in the madness, I don't know how she makes chaos look so damn beautiful, but she does, by God she does. She's my warrior, she'd fight for me any day, and I'd fight side by side with her. Because this love is worth fighting for, we've fought, struggled, but by God have we always loved a lot louder than we've ever hurt.” - Lucille Ramaswami

“ I've let this world crush me, been caught in a riptide of bad decisions and seen the pale red moon shine against my back as I lifted a brick and ended my first damn life.” - Lucille Ramaswami

"I am a revolution, my heartbeat is a war cry, and so long as I'm still standing, darkness has won. Look around, the darkness outweighs the stars these days and the blood spilt is mostly human, the world is broken, and we're in shambles looking for a purpose, so why not find glory in death? Why not show the world you are no cattle to be plucked out of the fence, you're the bob cat that stalks the mountains and drags livestock into it's little corner of blood and bones and makes death your home.” - Velzwakem Boncoat

“ Behold the truest form of nature, blood soaking the fields.” - Velzwakem Boncoat

“ I follow the law of combat, it's kill or be killed, and I'm just not ready to die.” - Velzwakem Boncoat

"Ze black vaters of my heart capsize ze capability too feel anything but hatred. And yet, Lucille clears ze river, and finds a vay to drag me to ze shores of love.” - Marlene Dayvrack

“ I have had blood on my hands since ze age of thirteen, a hired gun because all I vas made to be, vas a killer. But here I am, cocking my AK-47 for justice instead of greed.” - Marlene Dayvrack

“ I have found family, and though zey are not by blood, zey are ze only family I have ever known. Zey'd swim through shark infested vaters to save me from myself, light a candle in ze dark to show me light peaks through ze cracks, and zey taught me, ze vounds are vere ze light seeps through. Izn't it beautiful? To find strength in other's?” - Marlene Dayvrack

"Not all light equates to holiness, after all, even the flames of Hell emits a pale glow. You can hold onto the light all you wish, cling to the street lights as if they'd save you from a man who wanted you dead, but the stars implode, and not even they have the power to stop it.” - Sam Dellwotfire

“ I could give you lies, I could tell you a thousand stories that aren't truthful, but all I can say, really, is I lost my light, and so I plummeted into the dark.” - Sam Dellwotfire

“ I'd say I have regret on my mind, but I pushed it away and accepted who I am, because if I'm being honest, regret only brought me pain, so why let myself feel pain when it's all I've known? I'd rather cause it, because in a sense, I'm powerful, and that's addicting." - Sam Dellwotfire

"I've changed many times through the years. Not all change is good, but it is inevitable." - Sam Dellwotfire

"Life in all it's simplicity is often to complex for a simple mind to bear. So I suppose life is easy for one who doesn't know what it is to become more than someone following the path given to them." - Sam Dellwotfire

"The past tarnishes the present, more often than not." - Sam Dellwotfire

"These days, science is a sin." - Olympus Woods

"I am doomed to be the last one standing. And if I am not, perhaps the world will spin in a direction that sheds light on the atrocity that is I. I have walked a lie, and so I shall become one." - Olympus Woods

"I've already lost my humanity, so all I have left is immortality. Even if I die, I am immortalized in the sense that I am remembered, all the best things end, all the worst things crumble to ash and dust. And perhaps I was never meant to be of bad intent, or a man of wicked science, but alas it is what I've become. I bound just behind the sun, but never touch it, because if I did I would burn alive and become nothing but ashes in the crimson sunset." - Olympus Woods

"I could blame God, I could blame fate or existence itself. But I am to blame, and perhaps that is what makes me continue. Because if I dared turn to face my shadow, I'd become it." - Olympus Woods

"I've never fought. All I've done is lose, but I call it winning because it boosts the goal I've set in my mind. In theory I could win if I just took a chance and leapt towards fate on a mere one percent chance." - Olympus Woods

"Feeling often leads to tragedy. All my life I've dedicated to wiping emotion from my slate, and yet I find I can give other's my wish, but never can I hold it." - Olympus Woods

"I fear change, because it's all I've ever done. I am an everchanging beast, and all change has ever brought me is sorrow." - Olympus Woods

"Rosabella, you romanticize me in such ways that could not be possible. You believe in me, but belief will get you nowhere when I do not believe I can change." - Olympus Woods

"I have marked my back with many a scar for this country. For my Government I became a soldier of the dark, spinning tales of sin for the damned of this country. And yet, they spun me the exact same damn tale in favor." - Earl Mumford

"I can succeed, just not in the tasks you give me. I fear if I let myself regret even more, my lungs would fail to keep the black waters from crawling up my throat and drowning me from the inside out." - Madam Stephanie Rose

"I'm a sin wrapped inside of trickery and black blood." - Richmond Venwokebridge

"Lost are the pieces I wish I had. But I suppose we don't always get what we want, and I have to learn to accept that." - Pablo Havelock

"When one fears for their life, they give away their darkest secrets." - Tilda Hawsberry

"No one acts like that. Not even on a stage." - Hermann Pastel

"I'm a survivor. But how can I be proud of that when so many other's don't hold that title?" - Hermione Vallwing

"The King can wail, beg and confess. But that never stopped him from swinging my mother from the gallows, and so it shan't stop me." - Magenta Starwidth

"Well then.. looks like we're damned.. on Earth." - Abraham Carlson

"I find it kinda funny, that people will damn someone for what their mind did to them. You condemn the person, yet forget it's the mind that's the villain." - Lilah Smith

"Don't let yourself become so ensnared in a person that them hurting you, would shatter your perception of trust." - Lilah Smith

"You can't fall trick to their schemes, you can't just surrender your dreams too those whom spin nightmares." - Lilah Smith

"Glory was never found in death, only life." - Russell Cormellius

"We are victims of a world that burns before us due to the hatred we let go wild." - Salvador Boardman

"I will never fear the world, I will instead fear what the world holds." - Salvador Boardman

"The world will never favor you. We're all the same in the eyes of the stars." - Corrie Vendowoft

"One can never understand the complexity of love. It's a rarity to find a love so whole and complete that it leaves you star struck, looking for any reason to hold onto the one you've found." - Lizbeth Samwick

"My best'a intentions have gone up in damn smoke." - Chase North

"Difference 'tween me and a preacher, Roman, is I leave it up to God to forgive you. Cause my bullet's got your damn name on it." - Chase North

"The ashes of my soul stand before me, and all they do is crumble between gloved fingers." - Victor Hughes

“ Oh broken soldier of my past, doth thou know it is someone else dancing before the stage? Doth thou know I am but behind the curtain, wondering oh why won't you save me? Why would you condemn me without once trying too show me salvation? But no, I'm just somebody else, a shadow of the angel you once called brother." - Victor Hughes

"Us humans are vile beasts. We rip and tear at each other's hides knowing it was but choice of our own too grow claws when we were always meant to have but hands barren of a beasts tool for survival." - Victor Hughes

"No sleep works through this tired mind, there's sparks in my head, perhaps one might call me insane? But no. There's a very thin line between insanity and being broken. And yet I walk upon the rope, knowing one day it shall wrap around my neck and watch me swing." - Victor Hughes

"I cracked the halls in my mind simply so I may hide as the feeble house around me collapsed. In my head I hear a million conversations, and yet one voice." - Victor Hughes

"If you hold onto the smallest of good moments, even.. a butterfly landing on your finger, or.. when your mother would cook your favorite meal, you'll realize it isn't the darkness that has a hold on us, we can't dwell on the past and expect the future to be any better. I've learned to carry on through all the bullshit." - Lilly Van Velk

"I shall dance with my demons, let them take lead, and when they think of themselves in charge, I shall make them bleed." - Timotheus Naziger

"I am as lost as Alice, as mad as the Hatter, as confused as the Rabbit, as wise as the caterpillar, I am Wonderland, all mixed into one mind." - Timotheus Naziger

"My deepest pain does not make me a warrior, it just makes me.. broken." - Angelica Hippens

"I don't grieve what happened.. I grieve what didn't." - Grant Filepen

"My demons destroyed me in the most beautiful of ways, for I loved them, and what you love, often is the most prepossessing of undoing's. It is in what we cherish we find our darkest of desires, for too save what you love, you would end what you do not." - Vessemir Hussane

"I'm no hero, mate, I'm just a broken man, wearing the tattered cape of a dead man." - Abraham Vanfelt

"Blood is a finnicky thing ta stain your pages. It can be your own, it can be an enemies, it can be a friends, a lover, a father a son. It doesn't discriminate. No matter the purpose of it upon your pages. We're all sinners friend, some of us just accept it. We all have demons, some of us just feed them." - Bill Duster

" All my life, I've looked for the sun, but once I held it in my hands, it's burn was too hot ta the touch. And I was consumed by the very flame I thought my salvation." - Buddy Duster

"When pain is all I know, I tip my hat ta the stars, and tell 'em ta guide me through the dark." - Ellen Duster

"The sound of my heart poundin' tells me I'm still alive. The tinge of pain in my bones tells me I'm still breathin', and the twist in my heart tells me my heart ain't broke yet." - Ellen Duster

"I have lived a life of partial luxury, and I know you say, "You've only known small amounts of suffering, and you think you understand pain?" And yes, I would understand pain. For it only has to be dealt in small amounts too be understood." - Katrice Foltick

" I charge into battle with reckless abandon, I raise my rifle, yet forgot it is I who shall taste the dark, not the one whom falls inta the dirt." - Natasha Law

"We do not decide our fate, but we do decide who we are." - Rando Ballsy

"The world told unto me a thousand lies, so I told unto it my a thousand truths. It told me I would live in sin, so I told it I would live in tranquility. It told me the darkness was my ally, so I simply said light was my friend, and the sun was my lover." - Rando Ballsy

"For when the wind is howlin', and my pain is soarin', that's when I know I am whole. For I can stand in the rain, and remember it is too drink, not too drown. So oh fallen brother's of mine, I'm doing the best I can, and I can only hope, I'm not doin' what you'd do, but doin' what I would."  - Alonzo Graves

"As I stand here, rememberin' my brothers whom have fallen, I wonder what it is they'd do now? What would Sandusky do if he was in my shoes? What would Joseph do if he was walking my miles? What would Mike say if it was he who had too inspire? What is it Nathaniel would do if he was the one breakin'?" - Alonzo Graves

"Time and time again I drag myself to her, she is but nicotine upon my lip. She is but my addiction. And yet she is no mortal, she is no real woman, she is simply the cold in which I stand when warmth is but one step forward, and yet I take two steps back." - Hoshino Akinori

"There was but a time I grew so close with the darkness that she touched my skin, but oh, she marked me with sin. I grew so far into the dark, that she simply gave me warmth in the fires she knew would consume this cold soul." - Hoshino Akinori

"Delusions lead to sin, and sin leads to damnation. So why dance in a bitter delusion when you know it leads to hell?" - Roman Hemlock

"I'm a strange mix of corrupt and lawful." - Karstellonius Alexander

"The torch was not past down to me, and yet still I felt it's burn." - Cadencia Malrosa

"My reflection is a twisted variant of me. How am I ever to find peace if I'm trapped in a web of the lack of a sane mind?" - Mack Morfellos

"I leave the forgiveness of me up ta God, cause my enemies don't deserve the word mercy in their vocabulary." - Jeffrey Newhunt

"They put us in boxes and expect us to stay put. No living creature ever stayed inside a maze." - Wyatt Demouchett

"The secrets I hold have never tarnished me. Only other's." - Samuel Javencrocks

"Believe me, or don't, either way my story is one written in the devil's book." - Warren Shanaghost 

  "I ain't so scared of others, really. Just myself." - Friella Beckenheimer 

  "Give me a penny for my thoughts, and a drink for my memories." - Vector Beckenheimer 

“We're sinners by design, but whoever said one can't stray from the path?" - O'Neil Morikstead

"Sometimes our darker side writes our story, and if you see that little bastard writin', take the quill from 'is hands, and start writin' your own tale instead." - Frank Smilowitz 

 "As my lungs filled with water I realized I had lived a life full of regret, and then I pulled myself outta the water, and I started again. Cause if I can realize I'm filled ta the brim with sin, I can stop myself in my tracks, and turn the other damn direction." - Frank Smilowitz 

"When we're young we see the world through a dreamers eyes, but why do we sell those dreams when we grow?" - Michelle Smilowitz

"I'm screamin' out loud, can you hear me now monster above my cell? You can run, you can hide, but you forgot too build your arc before the storm. What's the storm? Oh she's brewin' just under your floorboards, and she's sick of being the secret you keep in this broken home. You tore into my heart and forgot I had claws, I'm screamin' loud monster, so build that arc, before it's too damn late. Cause the flood is comin' to your gates."  - Michelle Smilowitz

"I have lived my life in a cage, I'm far from home, I've sent a message of blood and bone.. hoping you know what it means. My love if you get this, come and rescue me in the dark, my son, if you get this, please find me, let your heart guide you forth through the dark, dear mother, if you hear this, please know it is not your fault that I am lost, and oh father, if you get this, please know you were never broken, you were just a hero hiding behind a thin mask." - Michelle Smilowitz

"You say faith is what keeps me alive, but it was not strong enough, but hate drove me forward, hate kept this heart pumping. Faith is not enough too keep us alive in the dark. It's a tiny spark, but hate is a wildfire that rages through out the dark and singes our souls." - Fiend Masters

"In all chaos there is calculation, you can not tell me God didn't create evil, he created all, did he not? So there was a method to his madness.. and it was all made within the span of three days. On the first day, tranquility was made upon these lands, the trees, the bird who sung.. on the second day God created the storm.. and on the third and final day, God would make his first mistake, making a life sentient." - Holland Gursoch 

[oreasa]

Summary:

Rip has far more time travel experience than his thirteen years on the Waverider. He had a life before the Time Masters, and it was time to call on someone from that life. After staging a prison break, the Legends learn time travel really is a family affair.

Chapter 1: Prison Break

Rip sat in his study while the team was off trying to save Salvation.  They were no doubt causing more problems than they were solving, but he had far greater concerns at the moment.  The Time Masters’ hunters were closing in.  It was only a matter of time before they were found.  As much as he didn’t want to bring her into this, he was going to need her now more than ever.  Bringing Her on board would risk attracting His attention.  Rip knew if He found out what happened to them after Manhattan, he would fight that much harder to prevent it, and that would risk Jonas never existing. That was not a chance he was willing to take lightly, but when backed into this corner, it seems he has no choice.  “Gideon, pull up the blueprints for Stormgate.  It appears we’ll need to make a visit soon.”

“Yes, Captain.” A set of blueprints began to load on the console as his team returned to the ship with an angry Jonah Hex in tow.  It seems his plans would have to wait for a bit.

“Mr. Snart, Mr. Rory, if you’ll follow me, I have something I’d like you to work on,” Rip requested as the team returned to the Waverider after their shootout with the hunters.  The plans to Stormgate were still displayed on the console when they arrived on the main deck.  “This is Stormgate, a highly secure inter-galactic prison.  Our final recruit resides there for the moment.”

“And you need us to break the lucky con out.” Snart leans against the console, “But why now?  Why didn’t we pick them up from the start?”

Rip sighs taking a moment, “Because I didn’t want to bring her unless it was absolutely necessary.  You may be world renowned criminals, but she is known through the the galaxy.  If out for too long, she will certainly attract more unwanted attention than we already have.  With the Omega protocol in place, it’s a risk we need to take to have her in our corner.”

“So, she’s flashy.  Does she have a name?” Snart asks as he begins zooming on the blueprints with Mick leaning over the other side, studying as well.  “Knowing who we’re breaking out is such a minor detail.”

“Her name is River Song, and I’m sure she’ll be eager to help with our little crusade.  How much prep time do you think you’ll need?”

“Depends on how quiet you want this to go down.  We can make this quick and loud, or we can be clean and precise.”

“I’ll leave that up to you.  This is your area of expertise, after all.  Just please, keep the casualties to a minimum.  If you can handle this part, Gideon and I need to start tracking the Pilgrim before we all vanish from existence.” Rip answers before leaving the room to the resident criminals for their planning.

The plan was coming together nicely despite the interruptions.  Stopping to rescue Mick and Sara’s younger selves had set them back a bit, but they had what they believed was a pretty solid plan.  It wasn’t the best plan Snart had ever had, but he had run jobs with worse odds.  They were as ready for this job as they ever would be.  

Sara had just come back from the cargo hold when Gideon informed them the Pilgrim had disguised her movements.  Snart tuned out Ray’s babbling while Rip explained the importance of remaining calm. “Look, the important thing is not to panic.”

“Somebody’s playing Russian Roulette with our younger selves. Why would we panic?” Jax interrupted.

“Well, there are a few exceptions. Kendra’s ability to reincarnate means it would do the Pilgrim no good to target her. And as a former Time Master, to remove me from history would be quite dangerous to the timeline,” Rip explains further before his attention is drawn to Snart behind him.

“Well, that’s convenient.”

“And what’s that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing. It just occurs to me you’ve never told us about your past, Rip. And I don’t trust a man with secrets.”

“Look, the less information you have to offer on me, the less valuable you are to our now numerous enemies.”

“Like I said, convenient.”

“Are they fighting?” Sara steps closer to the monitor at the back of the room. “This is not a fight. It’s merely an exchange of ideas.”

“No, not you. Them!” Sara declared, heading for the cargo hold as Mick chuckled.

Rip runs a hand across his face in exasperation, “That’s just great.  Now, Mr. Snart, as much as I would love to keep this information compartmentalized, that is going to be very difficult as soon as River is brought on board. So, please tell me that you are close to having a plan together for our little prison break.”

“Better,” Snart strides over to face Rip head on. “We’re ready as soon as you can spare us, right Mick?”

“That’s right.” Mick gets up to stand by his partner’s side. “I just need my old Chronos suit.”

Rip lets out a sigh of relief at this information. “You’ll find it in the armory. Gideon, prepare a course for the jumpship.”

“Yes, Captain,” came the AI's reply as Mick headed to the armory for his suit, and Snart left for the jumpship.  The plan was fairly simple.  Mick had been to Stormgate before as Chronos to drop off his first capture’s under their control.  The Time Masters had wanted to test him and his obedience before they set him loose on his former teammates.  According to Mick, the guards there weren’t very bright and would easily believe him when he said Snart was his most recent target ready for imprisonment.  Stormgate was mostly an automated facility. So once they were in, it would come down to blasting their way through the few guards they encountered and freeing River from her cell. The tricky part would be opening her cell.

It turns out they didn’t need to worry about getting into her cell at all. Once they were past the first round of guards, they found a woman in what could only be called a store room going through box after box hunting for something.  Snart recognized her from the file Rip had given them. “River Song?”

The woman spun around in a flash, aiming a pistol she must have lifted off of a guard at them. “Who wants to know?”

“Leonard Snart.” He nods towards his partner, “Mick Rory.  We were told you needed a ride out of this place.”

Her eyes narrow at the two strangers in suspicion, “And just who told you that?”

“Our captain, the ‘Last Centurion,’ whatever that means.  Now, we need to move before more guards show up.”  The title must have meant something to her because she immediately lowered her weapon, and went back to the boxes.

“Relax, we have another five minutes before the rest of them can get here from the other side of the facility.  Besides, I need to find something before we can go.”

“Look, lady, whatever it is, it can’t be that important you’d risk--” Snart was cut off as River slapped something onto her wrist.

“There, now we can go.” She wisps past them, “Now, where are you parked, darlings?”

Mick smirks before they catch up with her, “I like this one, Boss. She’s got spunk.”

The ride back to the Waverider goes smoothly.  It seems River’s escapes are so common the staff no longer tries to chase her when she steps out anymore.  A fact that does not fail to amuse the two rogues.

“Captain, Mr. Snart and Mr. Rory have returned with Miss Song.” Gideon announces as the three of them board the ship.

“Excellent,” Rip actually smiles once the three of them come into view.  He meets River halfway across the room when she wraps him in a hug.

“Hello, Dad.” River beams brightly.

“Dad?!”

The exclamations of Jax and Professor Stein are ignored as Rip places his hand’s on River’s shoulders, grinning. “Hello, River. How would you like to help me save the lives of your mother and little brother?”

“Ooh, I have a baby brother now? How exciting!” River squeals before turning serious, “What do you need me to--” She stops short as she hears a familiar voice coming closer.

“Alright, I just left baby Snart with little me and Rory. Who’s -- Mom?!” Sara stops suddenly, a look of confusion on her face.

“Oh. Hi, baby-girl. What are you doing here?” River smiles looking between Sara and Rip who is looking between the pair.

“River, what did you do? Or is it going to do?”

“Oh, spoilers, Daddy.”

[ptvff]

title: russian roulette. chapter #: one. characters featured: tony perry, aspen bang, austin carlile, tristan bang. summary: after being reunited with a man she swore she never wanted to see EVER again, aspen is positive that her life absolutely sucks. it doesn’t help that she has to work around him for an entire summer. but at the very least, she has a special talent that consists of ignoring people as if they don’t even exist. notes: ehhh. why not post this? i’ve had finished for months now.  previous chapters: i.

I tried my absolute best to take my mind off of Tony. The last thing I wanted was to give him the pleasure of ruining my whole year. I felt like such a fucking idiot. How did I not recognize him? Aside from all the new tattoos, he looked exactly the same as he did in high school. Maybe it was the fact that I hadn't thought about him in so long. I was just another notch in his bedpost and he was just another stupid mistake of mine. "Are you okay, Aspen?" Mia asked quietly, dragging me out of my suffocating thoughts. I shrugged as I flipped through the pages on my clipboard. "To the front," I said loud enough to carry all the way to the back of the bus. Without another word needed, the band quickly collected on the couch surrounding the front of the bus. Some looked groggy like they had just woken up, others looked like they hadn't slept in days. I leaned back against the kitchenette counter. "Gavin, Jean, and Nolan..." I read off of the paper, "you guys have an interview with AP at their tent at three o'clock. Make sure to be twenty minutes early and on your best behavior." The boys nodded in understanding. "Iris, you have an interview with Girls that Rock at four twenty. Just like I told the guys, be there twenty minutes early." As expected, Iris nodded. "And last but not least, Tristan, you're filming a guitar lesson with Guitar World at two thirty. You're going to be meeting the guys in the mess hall at two ten. Got it?" "Aye aye, cap'n," he saluted me cheesily. "You guys go on at six on the Van's stage. As I always ask of you... please show up twenty-five minutes before showtime to ensure a smooth and casualty free performance. Am I understood?" A chorus of different responses sounded before everyone dispersed to return to whatever it was that they were doing before. I sucked in a deep breath, allowing my eyes to fall shut for a few seconds before checking off beside all of their schedules for the day. This was my way of reminding myself that I let everyone know about the things they were supposed to attend. "Time to trade spots with Nia," I mumbled, more so to myself, before grabbing a bottle of water out of the mini fridge and exiting the air conditioned bus. A groan sounded in my throat as I drug myself towards the main grounds, eyes scanning the merch tents to find the one that belonged to Up @ Night. It was in the same spot as always, in between the Of Mice & Men tent and the Pierce the Veil tent, two bands I knew absolutely nothing about. I found it pretty funny, my lack of knowledge on the whole band thing. Before Tristan had expressed his interest in pursuing alternative music, I had never even delved into the genre. As a student of nuclear medicine... it wasn't like I had time for music anyways. Even now that I worked closely with bands, I still didn't have much time to check out the other bands. I was either babysitting the band or making sure everyone was doing precisely what they were hired to do. Which they usually weren't, more often than not. "You're released!" I exclaimed, placing my bottled water on the table and then slamming my hands dramatically. Nia practically shot up, eyes wide, embarrassed that I had caught her in the midst of falling asleep. She scratched at the back of her neck, walking around the table to exit before grabbing the clipboard from me. "Oh, Aspen, you're my lifesaver!" Nia chewed on the inside of her cheek as she leaned into me. "The girls have been extra wild with their questions today. They tried to ask if Tristan and Gavin care about age and just..." She pressed her fingers against her temple. "It's been a mess, I was trying my best not to be mean." I couldn't help but laugh, delicate fingers covering my mouth as I walked around the table to sit down underneath the tent. "I just agree with anything said by fans. It sells the fantasy and makes us more money." Nia nodded, "I'll try to remember that." I waved goodbye to her and leaned back in my seat, not having to wait too long for the first fan to approach. She was a teenage fan, bright blue hair, and wide eyes as they wandered along the table's set up. I smiled lightly, "you look a little overwhelmed right now." She flinched, almost startled that I had spoken to her. "You're Tristan's older sister..." "I sure am." I said with a grin. "It must be amazing. He's so talented." "He also forgets to flush the toilet and always leaves the seat up," her face turned beet red, "we all have our faults." She pointed at one of the many shirts Nia had folded neatly on the table. The first shirt Up @ Night had ever produced. A set of deep blue eyes with dark bags underneath them and the words 'Up @ Night' slithering through them. "What size, honey?" I questioned, getting up to lean over the boxes. "A small, but uh-"

I paused, "yes?" "Do they shrink in the wash?" I shook my head. "We use the good kind of t-shirts. You won't have to worry about squeezing on a youth large after one wash." I heard a group of guys laugh out loud at my words in the next tent over, temptation to glance over was at an all time high but instead, I just fished through the box for a size small. I handed the shirt over to the fan and she gave me the fifteen dollars, dropping a couple bucks in the tip jar. "Enjoy your day, okay?" I told her genuinely as cradled the shirt against her chest. I expected her to bounce away once the shirt was in her possession but instead she stood awkwardly at the side of the tent. "Need anything else?" She nodded eagerly. "Can I have a picture?" Regardless of how many times people asked, taking pictures with fans of my brother's band wasn't something I was entirely used to. "Of course," I walked around the table and took the phone from her outstretched hand. "Hey, tattoo guy. C'mere." One of the guys that was seated underneath the Of Mice & Men tent, clearly the most tattooed, pointed at himself before coming out and over to me. I handed him the girl's phone, "please take a picture of us." He gave me a curt nod and I quickly wrapped my arm around the girl's shoulder, putting on the widest smile I could possibly muster. After the familiar iPhone flash reached my eyes, I retracted my arm, watching as the girl forced out a quick 'I love you' at the tattoo'd male, and scampered away in the opposite direction. I held my hand out to him, "haven't seen you around yet. I'm Aspen." He smiled, entirely too charming, and shook my hand. "I'm Austin, I know who you are though, Nolan and I are buddies." I raised an eyebrow in his direction, to which he quickly shook his head, hands waving defensively. "No, not buddies like that... we're good friends." I laughed, "just making sure! Nolan told me he was staying away from romance this Warped. Last year's tour didn't end well." "Trust me, I know all about it." He leaned against one of the tent's poles, his smile only growing bigger. "What I don't know all about is... you. Wanna know something funny?" I shook my head, mischievous smile plastered on my mouth. "No, not really." He rolled his eyes playfully. "Anyways, most of the people on this tour talk, it's like high school all over again. We know almost everyone except for the newbies, of course. But no one knows much about you except that you're the 'bitch in charge', not my words, Jean said that." "Good, I like it that way. I want the attention solely on Tristan and the band. I'm more about the behind the scenes work. I'm around to solidify my job as his annoying older sister. He can't ever get rid of me." Austin chuckled, shoulders shaking and corners of his eyes crinkling, he played with the hair on the back of his neck before opening his mouth to say something. Only to get caught off by someone approaching him from behind, he waved excitedly, leaning over to greet the other equally tattoo'd male. The smile I wore on my face immediately dropped when I recognized that it was Tony, once again... back to ruin my life... again... "Hey, Ton, this is Aspen, have you guys me-" I cut him off quickly, hand held up in annoyance, "yeah, we've met." I cleared my throat, "anyways, I gotta get back to working and shit. Nice to meet you, Austin. Hope I catch you around often." I gave him a friendly pat on his arm and turned back to the band's tent, not sparing a single glance in Tony's direction. I felt like a fucking idiot. Allowing something that took place so long ago to have such a negative effect on my mood. I should've been over it by now. I should've dealt with the pain when it first happened instead of pretending like it never happened. I should've never went up into Allison's room with Tony... but I was young and naive. It was a lesson learned well. I crossed my arms over my chest, staring straight ahead, probably looking as if someone shit in my cereal. Out of curiosity, I glanced to the side watching as crowds of teens surrounded the Of Mice & Men and Pierce the Veil tent. In the midst of the horde I could faintly make out Austin and Tony, basking in the attention they were receiving. It wasn't until someone approached my table that I snapped out of it, pursing my lips as Tristan plopped down on the lawn chair placed next to mine. "How's it going, sis?" I grimaced, "peachy fucking keen." "Yikes, who pissed you off?" I pointed faintly at Tony to which Tristan just laughed. "Tony? What he do to you?" I grit my teeth and played with the hem of my shirt, sighing as I leaned my head back against my chair. "I sort of used to date him." That made Tristan's body tense as he leaned closer to me curiously. I didn't want to delve any further than that but I knew it wasn't something I could push past. Not with Tristan. "Remember that year I fell really behind in school? When I couldn't sleep? Couldn't eat?" My vision was slowly drawn to his distant figure. "That was him." Tristan scoffed, leaning back in his seat. "Motherfucker..." He shook his head, chuckling in absolute disbelief. "What a small world..." "Small fucking world." I replied, tucking some of my hair behind my ears. "Want me and the guys to jump him?" He asked, the smirk on his face revealing that he wasn't quite joking about it. I shook my head, "nah, fuck him. I'm over it." "And I thought he was a cool guy. We used to jam together a lot." I cocked an eyebrow at him, "he in that Pierce the Veil band or something?" Tristan nodded. "Yeah." "I'm glad he made himself into someone worth knowing. He wasn't shit when we were younger. He was that kind of guy that hung around parties, got high and blackout drunk, passed out, and then did it all over the next day." But I still loved him. That much I couldn't say out loud. Chewing on my thumbnail as I fell victim to my almost impeccable memory. We dated for no more than two months but I felt so much in that short amount of time. There was no doubt in my mind that he was my first love. I was just a simple girl who spent all of her time with her head in the books. The party where I met him was the first I ever attended. That party changed absolutely everything for me. "That shit must have really fucked you up, Aspen." "What?" Tristan pointed at my face, "you were staring off into the distance with this hurt expression on your face. Shit almost made me cry for a second." I rolled my eyes and pretended to throw something at him, causing his body to flinch in reaction. He got up suddenly, cracking his knuckles as he exited the tent. I stood up, "Tristan... where are you going?" "To beat his ass, duh." He responded with a small wink, speed-walking towards the Pierce the Veil tent. I plopped back down onto the chair, rubbing at my temples. "When the hell is that kid going to grow up," I grumbled to myself.