#another situation involving the head cannon??….. why yes I did | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

technowoah · 3 years ago

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THESEUS - a dsmp story ( DreamSMP x Queen!Reader)

CHAPTER FOUR : LOOK ‘EM IN THE EYE AIM NO HIGHER, SUMMON ALL THE COURAGE YOU REQUIRE THEN COUNT!

Chapter Summary: Wilbur makes a proposition, Tommy finally gets his fight, warning shots are fired and the bomb that was planted finally went off.

pairing: c!wilbur x queen!reader

an// tbh im not that happy with this one, I hope yall like it! but hopefully Ill like chapter 6 lol

⚠︎ swearing, dsmp spoliers(?), angst, fighting, minor blood mention, not proofread. Y/N/N = your nickname

word count: 5.1k

THESEUS MASTERLIST

"Are you sure you want to do this because Tommy is a good fighter!"

"He's also good at being annoying, so you'll die either way."

"SHUT UP YOU TWO!"

Currently Tommy and You were by a small lake in L'Manburg facing each other with swords and guns. Fundy and Tubbo were belittling Tommy on the sidelines. Tubbo was trying to convince the both of them not to do this so they wouldn't get hurt badly before the actual war begins. Wilbur was standing in between the two and Eret nervously standing off to the side with Tubbo and Fundy.

When You arrived you explained to the three people who were there, Tubbo, Fundy, and Wilbur, that Tommy and you were going to fight that day. Tubbo and Fundy were not for that idea at all, but Wilbur approved it. After a while of thinking and conversation of course he agreed.

Eret and Tommy arrived at L'Manburg as well and apparently Tommy already told Eret that he was fighting his wife.

"You know what Eret? I'm gonna fight your wife today! Yeah it'll be a good fight, don't worry I wont hurt her that badly."

Of course Eret did not want this duel to happen and tried to convince Wilbur to not let the two do this to one another. He was concerned about the task and hand yes, but You getting hurt or even worse, killed was not a thing he wanted not needed. Tommy was a loose cannon, he worked on impulse. You were basically fighting a bull while wearing all red.

Wilbur had pulled You aside for the second time this week and started to have a conversation with you again. It was a needed conversation so when Wilbur grabbed her arm.and pulled her away you didn't hesitate this time. As the two talked in the distance you heard Fundy yelling at Tommy about the dangers of fighting You at a time like this. Your mind was all over the place at this point.

"You know how this works?" Wilbur looked at You and Tommy.

"Yes!"

"Yes I do"

You knew what was going to happen. They both had 6 bullets in their gun, if they use all of their bullets they can use their swords instead. You were in your head at this moment. Wilbur was explaining how this duel would work to Tubbo, while You contemplated whether to waste youshot by shooting in the sky or aiming at Tommy's foot. you didn't want to hurt him at all, they had a war coming soon so hurting Tommy would not help L'Manburg. Then again, when was helping L'Manburg a part of your mission?

You snapped out of your mind and saw Tommy glaring daggers at her. He looked harmless.

"I am going to beat you." Tommy said in a voice that can be only compared to a robot.

"You wish!" You scoffed and smiled, smiled which made Tommy scoff and look away.

Wilbur spoke over the two, "ALRIGHT! You two will be back to back facing away from each other, then take ten paces. When I say "fire" you two will fire and shoot and fight until one is damaged and cannot battle anymore or until I call a draw. Understand?"

"Yes Wilbur!" Tommy exclaimed.

"Of course." You calmly said.

"Alright" Wilbur agreed and motioned for the two to turn away from each other.

They had both touched backs and You had taken a huge deep breath.

The dilemma in your head was still spinning. Whether to shoot him or to shoot into the air. you would be a coward wouldn't you?

"You scared?" Tommy taunted you.

"No. Just getting ready to beat your ass."

"HA! That's not gonna happen. You're all talk."

"We'll see about that." Wilbur spoke, inserting himself into their conversation.

Wilbur had stepped back towards the group of men who sat and were watching the whole duel. There was tension in the air, they all could feel it. They all thought this was a bad idea, You thought this was a bad idea. What if this tore the whole plan apart will they ever get to-

"READY? ONE!"

They both took a step.

Aim to the sky or aim towards Tommy?

"TWO!"

Where would you aim?

"THREE!"

What would happen if Tommy ended up dead?

"FOUR!"

Would Dream be happy?

"FIVE!"

If you aim towards the sky. Tommy might shoot. you would be an open target.

"SIX!"

It would be over right? If you aim at the sky?

"SEVEN!"

Tommy.

"EIGHT!"

Up in the air.

"NINE!"

How can this end?

The sky? Tommy? Where does the bullet go?

Where do you go?

"NUMBER TEN PACES, FIRE!"

*bang!*

Tommy's eyes widened and You stood my ground.

"She shot her pistol towards the sky?!" Tubbo shouted.

Wilbur stood there with a smirk and Eret let out a sigh of relief and immediately relaxed. Tommy didn't shoot his gun at all; he looked like a deer caught in the headlights. This was the right way.

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

"I want you to shoot into the sky." Wilbur had taken you to an uninhabited part of the wall to talk.

"Why?"

Wilbur had sighed and looked over to where Tommy was gloating to Eret about dueling his wife.

He pinched the bridge of his nose, "Tommy is rather impulsive. He does things without thinking or with any concern for consequence. He says things without thinking too, as you've seen firsthand."

You nodded and laughed before Wilbur kept talking.

"I want him to hesitate. I want him to think for once. I know he wants to fight right now, he's riled up because of the battle. I expect him to shoot, but I hope that he won't. He won't." Wilbur seemed to be convincing himself this was a good idea.

"That's reassuring." You replied sarcastically.

Wilbur rolled his eyes, "I believe he won't kill you nor harm you. At least that's the plan. I care for him. He's a good fighter and he should be able to see his opponent before going all ape shit."

"I get it. I want to do this, but you said he works on impulse. What if he shoots?" You continued to worry.

"I'm here. And uh- Fundy is great at healing. We have healing potions in the van as well. You will not die on my watch. We need you for the war."

You nodded and continued to stare into Wilbur's brown eyes waiting for another comment from his mouth.

"Do this for me please? For us?"

You opened your mouth to speak, but Wilbur sighed before continuing his statement,

"You don't have to do this. I should've said that first. I understand that death is scary, believe me I don't want to die either. So I can figure out another way to get to Tommy if you are uncomfortable with this."

This time it wasn't a forced situation. He was literally giving you a huge way out, an open path, but you already agreed to fight before. It wasn't like you were put into this without paths to take. you had options. Now that potions were involved and there are spectators that can act as doctors eased your nerves just slightly. you can do this.

"Or were you planning on shooting Tommy anyways?"

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

You looked towards Wilbur and smiled warmly at him and he returned your same smile.

"WHAT THE FUCK?! YOU MADE ME LOOK LIKE THE BAD GUY! YOU-"

"I didn't even call it a draw yet Tommy. You can still fight-"

"It's clear that my opponent doesn't want this. If I did, I would be more of a bad guy than I already am now." Tommy dropped his gun to the green grass underneath his feet.

You followed suit, dropping your gun onto the grass below you. You walked towards Tommy trying to find the right words at this moment. He had his head hung low looking at the gun that laid in the lush grass in front of him. You had walked towards him and put a hand on his shoulder and he began to tense up at the friendly gesture.

"Tommy, you're not a bad guy. You did the right thing at that moment. You're neutral really, if you would've shot me then yeah you would be considered "the bad guy". But in reality, there is no such thing as good or bad, there are just people with different morals." You whispered that last part and Tommy seemed to reluctantly understand, still sticking to his main idea of him being a bad guy.

He was really stubborn, which made it harder for you to make him feel better.

"This is what I wanted Tommy! I wanted you to hesitate before you shot her." Wilbur tried to pick his spirits up by revealing his plan.

"THEN WHAT IF I SHOT HER?!"

"you would've been fine. Plus you weren't going to brutally damage or kill Y/N right?"

Tommy stuttered a little bit before speaking, explaining himself.

"No I wasn't! My goal was at least to scare her, or graze you with my bullet." Tommy rushed.

"What if you slipped up and hit Y/N instead?" Tubbo came into the conversation leading Fundy and Eret with him.

"Then I would feel incredibly horrible that I hurt an ally." Tommy said while hanging his head. "I understand, Wilbur, I understand what today's duel was for." Tommy continued.

"To be honest, this was a last minute decision! I talked to Y/N before and we both decided it was a good idea for you. Especially when a war is coming up."

"Mhm. I am okay now. I've learned, and I just hope that I can transfer this into the war." Tommy seemed relieved, but also not wanting to learn his lesson. It was bad to assume, but it sounded like he wanted to get this lecture over with.

Wilbur humed while turning away satisfied with what happened today. He walked towards the HTO van with Fundy following suit leaving Tommy and you standing next to each other still recovering from what just happened. Eret and Tubbo were standing a few feet away from them making small glances to the two making sure they are okay.

"I still hate you." Tommy grumbled.

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

The five citizens were sitting in the meeting room making potions with the brewing machines or doing their own thing at the moment. Wilbur didn't have anything planned for today except for making many potions for battle. You were helping with potions as well. you were more skilled at potion making than battle. you can hold yourself down and maybe kill someone, but you don't recommend for herself to do that.

"Wow Y/N/N you're making potions so much faster than I am. Teach me your secrets!" Tubbo exclaimed.

"What did you call me?" You asked The boy softly.

"What do you mean? I called you Y/N/N." Tubbo said, confused.

Has Dream ever called you Y/N/N before because it seems like you've never been called that before. Tubbo was still looking quizzically at you waiting for an answer.

"I don't think I've been called Y/N/N before." You answered.

"Y/N might be uncomfortable with that." Wilbur joined into their conversation.

"Oh! I'm sorry! If that made you-"

"I'm okay! You can call me Y/N/N'' You said while waving your hands to dismiss the situation.

"Good! I thought I was being a creep or something." Tubbo laughed.

"Y/N/N HELP ME OUT WITH THESE POTIONS WILL YA?" Tommy shouted from across the room.

"Okay you don't get to call me Y/N/N."

Tommy huffed, "If my best friend can call you Y/N/N I will too!"

"Okay children settle down." Eret said while looking up from the book he was writing.

There was another pause until Fundy had spoken.

"Today seemed like a good day huh? Even though it isn't over so far, so good eh?" Fundy tried making conversation after writing whatever enchantments in his book.

"Yes it was so far! Very surprising today." Tubbo agreed with Fundy.

"Tommy and You gave me a heart attack today. I wouldn't consider this a good day so far." Eret exhaled jokingly. He seemed in good spirits today.

"I'm sorry I gave my husband a heart attack." You taunted.

"But seriously that scared me. Thank goodness nothing happened to the both of you. I wouldn't know what I would do." Eret continued.

"You would live." You said bluntly, staring at him.

Eret nodded at you, sending a small smile your way.

"You would've been a good fighter. Have you fought before?" Fundy inquired.

"I have fought before! I've been trained as well, I'm more into the sneaky side of things, and making potions like I am now." You cheerfully explained.

"Sneaky things?" Wilbur asked.

Your eyes widened slightly before maintaining your composure. you forgot that Wilbur was still on youtail. He thinks that You is still suspicious, so of course when you said that he would jump on the opportunity to interrogate her.

"You could be a spy for us! Maybe spy on Dream and George!" Tubbo exclaimed.

Oh the irony.

Wilbur hummed, "Maybe, that would be interesting. We could get information and they wouldn't turn her down."

"It would be too late anyways if they've seen you here so it would be a major red flag if you showed up there trying to join their team." Eret spoke up, still concentrating on writing enchantments with Fundy.

Thank God that Eret was here, You would be stumbling for the right words and then eventually blowing their cover. you had this happen too many times. They are almost to the end you have to pull back.

"True. You're right!" Wilbur agreed. "Plus we've been more productive since you two came back."

Eret and you both nodded in agreement and went back to doing their tasks.

Tubbo and You were standing together on one side of the room making potions and talking to one another until Tubbo made a quiet gasp.

You looked at him and followed his line of gaze until you saw them again. It was Sapnap and Dream on the top of the new, enlarged L'Manburg walls. Dream pulled back his hand and whipped something toward the van. It looked metal and shiny as it bounced harshly in the grass.

Sapnap then pulled out a bow and arrow and Dream had set it on fire. Sapnap launched the arrow into the walls and it landed by the machine that Dream had thrown. The grass around the arrow caught on fire as well, not making a huge fire but enough to scare the two.

"WILBUR! You have a gift!" Tubbo said as he rushed out of the van and You watched carefully through the window so the two wouldn't do anything to the boy.

"Where did he go?!" Wilbur yelled.

"He went outside to grab the metal thing Dream and Sapnap threw." You said keeping an eye on Tubbo as he came back into the van.

Wilbur rushed towards the window where Aryia was stationed and looked towards the top of the wall where Dream and Sapnap were. Dream took one last final glance at the two in the window then turned away to jump down the wall with Sapnap following suit.

"Guys you might want to take a look at this." Tubbo said while placing the metal thing, which was an old answering machine, on the table.

Wilbur sighed, clearly exhausted with everything that had been going on. He sat down on the edge of the table. Tubbo pressed play on the machine and the recording started.

"Tommy, and Wilbur, and the rest of L'Man-child-burg. We are at war. There is no mercy. We have burned down Tubbo's house, we have planted TNT cannons around your land, we have cobblestone walled the outside, we have shot one warning shot inside your walls. WE HAVE NO MERCY, NO MERCY FOR YOU! We will burn down your houses! We will kill everything inside your walls and we will take back the land that is rightfully ours. If you do not surrender I WANT TO SEE WHITE FLAGS! WHITE FLAGS OUTSIDE YOUR BASE BY TOMORROW AT DAWN, OR YOU ARE DEAD!"

*beep~*

There was a long beep until Tubbo shut off the recorded message. Everyone was silent looking at each other for the next move. Everyone either had a face of anger or one of concern. Eventually everyone turned to Wilbur who had his head down, his hair slightly covering his eyes in a thinking pose. We were waiting for a response from the leader, but it didn't seem like anyone had a response to this situation.

"Hey lets just-"

"Grab me a book and a pen" Wilbur spoke.

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

It's been about an hour since we last received the message. The sun has gone down and they are all still sitting around the meeting table.

"What do we get? What's the report?" Wilbur asked.

Tommy started, "Okay so here's the situation, the ‘Dream boys' they're on the roof, they've already killed me and Tubbo once, they feel like they got their power. Their egos are up-"

"They've taken it all." Tubbo added.

"I don't know man, what do you think we've got to do now? Ultimately you're the leader here." Tommy asked the older man.

Wilbur paused before speaking, "I think, the element of surprise is needed. We can't go in just guns blazing."

"My son, how are you doing?" Wilbur asked Fundy.

Fundy stuttered before speaking, "I could've been better."

Wilbur smiled then opened the book he had been writing in for the past hour.

"Before we go into battle though-

"WORDS OVER WEAPONS MY FRIEND!" Tommy interrupted Wilbur

"My gents and m'lady, may I read you the Declaration of Independence?"

Wilbur had started to read through the Declaration complementing the writers who wrote lines in the book. He began reading the main parts of the book.

"When in the course of human events it becomes necessary for-"

"Wilbur" Tommy interrupted Wilbur again

"Yes what, what?" Wilbur asked annoyed

"They're surrounding us, Wilbur."

Tommy stood up looking out of the window at the many fiery arrows making their way towards the van and making the grass around the van catch on small fires.

From inside the van it looked like rain from hell. All the fears you once had came flooding back into your mind. you put herself right in front of the greatest fighters, and assassins in the kingdom and you might not make it out alive.

Wilbur started to head out of the door trying to face his opponents. They all were putting themselves out there exiting the van as fast as they could like a huge target. Speaking of target, an arrow shot by Sapnap landed too close for comfort next to Wilbur. He seemed un phased at this.

"They're not the best shot." Wilbur turned his back on the archers and stood in the doorway to the group inside.

Wilbur began to yell at the archers, "Gentlemen how are you!?"

"Good!" Dream replied bluntly.

Surprisingly they could hear both of each other.

"Do you like the view of our nation!?" Wilbur asked as he smirked.

"Oh God!" Tubbo exclaimed, worried because of the taunting Wilbur was doing.

"We might be a little out gunned here gentlemen." Eret said softly to the others while placing a hand on your shoulder in a comforting way.

"I thought this was a trailer park!" Dream shouted back.

"Very funny, listen. It seems like you've gained the upper hand in people! We will meet you in the field, but on our own terms!" Wilbur concluded.

"YEAH!" Tommy shouted at the archers hyping Wilbur up.

The rest laughed at Tommy's antics trying to keep it together.

"Please stop making things worse!" Tubbo laughed.

Another arrow was shot at Wilbur's feet. He was clearly stunned by this, turning to the rest of the L'Manburgians he spoke to them.

"We armor up gents." Wilbur said, walking away.

Just as he walked away Tommy followed Wilbur outside of the van and then an arrow was shot into Tommy's bicep by George. Tommy yelled in anger and in pain, and the rest followed suit yelling in shock. Tommy clutched the arm that the arrow had found its way into, he tried to keep it together as he fell to his knees. You rushed to Tommy's side trying to take the arrow out carefully and heal him. He kept on shielding his arm away from you and kept babbling incoherent nonsense about “leaving him alone” too.

"It's okay! I'm fine! I'm fine! Don't worry!" Tommy kept shouting.

"You're not fine Tommy, let me help!" You yelled and he finally succumbed to you.

You slowly pulled out the arrow and used bandages that Eret had rushed to give you to wrap around his arm carefully. Throughout this whole process Tommy had a face of discomfort and pain until you had successfully bandaged his upper arm so no blood would seep through. Later on you would have to tend to his wounds more delicately.

"Just stay inside!" Fundy yelled in a hurried tone and was angry at the fact someone had already gotten hurt.

This would've been the outcome of the duel if you hadn't followed Wilbur's orders. Either way he would've been injured. Of course they would go for Tommy. Wilbur's right hand man. It was bound to happen.

You and the rest of the men were clad in netherite or diamond armor and they surrounded Wilbur waiting for another order.

"Tommy I'm putting you in charge of this army." Wilbur said.

Your eyes widened. Didn't Wilbur just say he acted on impulse. This was a bad idea. you were going to die at the hands of the people who gave this opportunity to you.

Wilbur continued, "No matter what happens during this war, no matter who wins and who loses. Just remember that we're on the right side of history."

You have heard that before. What side of history was you on? They have rubbed off on you of course, but with different morals coming from both sides, whose morals do you fit with? If you die, will you be painted in the wrong manner? Are you on the right side as you stand with Eret and Fundy in L'Manburg? Is there even a right side?

"Up the walls we go!" Tommy exclaimed as the group climbed the ladder over the walls.

Your heart was pounding as Tommy led the way towards their next destination. This was going to be very interesting.

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

Tommy led us to the destination where the other warriors were on top of a small tower looking down on the L'Manburgians.

"God- whatever we do, don't go up the tower." Tubbo exhaled.

"We have to get them down to our level. We have to get them to come down on their own accord." Wilbur commanded.

"Those bastards." Tommy said as an arrow made of fire was shot precisely onto the ground.

The floor began to rumble as the ground cracked and smoke began to rise beneath you revealing the red, fiery TNT that blew up from beneath them breaking the very ground and dirt they stood on making everyone lose their balance. Everyone started screaming, scrambling to get away from the constant chain of TNT slipping and falling on the debris, and the crevices that formed. You had started to run faster,and faster, sometimes you fell to your knees because of the ground shaking and breaking underneath you. You couldn’t look back but you heard screaming and you could only hope and pray no one fell into the big canyon the TNT made behind you. Your mind was not catching up your feet as you blindly followed Tommy into his own home, cutting around the whole kingdom. The rest followed close behind making their way into the house.

Their clothes were tattered and dirty, singes from the fire were on their war uniforms and armor. As they scrambled for safety the arrows kept coming, hitting the house and the ground outside of it. You felt like this was it for you, your first friends, your enemies shooting arrows of fire at you through your so-called enemies house. You had to stay alive though, keep up the act, but right now you didn't really have to keep an act up because you were actually scared for your life.

The grass in front of Tommy's house was burning while the men gave Tommy all of their arrows. Wilbur commanded them to hail them with arrows. Arrows began burning through the walls breaking into their safe haven. To escape this situation Wibur had told all of them to scatter and make it harder for the archers to shoot them. They all did just that, playing on the defensive dodging the arrows that were hurled towards their way.

Eventually the archers jumped off of the tower retreating towards a nearby river. The L'Manburgians currently had the high ground and You started shooting with arrows purposefully missing so you wouldn't hurt them.

"They are heading to Ponk's tower!" Tommy shouted.

You looked up to one of the highest towers in the kingdom. Damn.

"In that case we need to start heading towards Ponk's tower!" Tubbo yelled, ceasing his arrows trying to get the rest of them to follow his lead.

The men followed Tommy through his shortcuts to get to the base of Ponk's tower faster. Fundy went forward shooting at the others at the base of the tower. You, Eret, Tommy and Tubbo followed Fundy and started shooting and dodging as well.

For now they have retreated towards the walls of L'Manburg hiding slightly below the top. Wilbur was there at first then the rest of the groups followed. The arrows couldn't reach them and the boys cheerfully pointed that fact out. Soon they had started slowly retreating as the sun went down in the distance. You sighed and cheered with the rest of the men that they finally stopped fire. Your heart still beating fast you looked behind you towards Eret sending each other a knowing glance.

The rest were cheering and complimenting each other until Eret spoke up.

"Gentlemen, I think we need to go back to our home." Eret said.

"I think you're right, Eret." Tommy agreed happily.

They made their way back to L'Manburg into the night with Tommy leading them for the last time tonight. Tommy and Wilbur were playfully bickering through the whole walk back to L'Manburg. It was a fun time filled with laughter and it was much needed after that whole war. Even though they all were beaten and tattered with burn marks and scratches, they kept smiling. It's crazy to think about.

The fun ended for you as they reached their destination. The extended walls of L'Manburg were in their sights and your heart rate picked up even more than it had before. This is the end.

"Gentlemen in L'Manburg I have a secret weapon." Eret says, sparking a new conversation.

"What is it?" You asked playing dumb.

"What is it?" Wilbur asked asked as well

"A secret weapon!?" Tubbo exclaimed.

"I feel like Eret is just going to pull out a giant missile." Fundy joked around and your breath hitched. If only they knew.

"But seriously, what do you mean you got a secret weapon?" Tommy spoke fast.

"I've been grinding for equipment, I've been grinding materials." Eret said not to give it away.

"Show us please!" Tommy exclaimed as they all entered L'Manburg once more today.

You joined in as well, "I haven't seen any of this show us Eret!"

You hated lying to them.

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

"This is the final control room for you too!" Dream yelled with excitement showing the beautiful dark room.

The chests were empty, there was a button on top of a podium, and there was a secret room where Dream and the rest would be hiding after the war. The plan was simple enough on paper. The two countries would fight until sun down and then Eret would lead the L'Manburgians to the final control room where he would press the button and then The citizens of L'Manburg would be killed and a life would be taken from them.

Dream has taught You about the life limit. Everyone in the kingdom had three lives and if all three lives were taken, there is no coming back. you felt weary taking away someone's life.

"This is where the battle will end." Dream said calmly

Currently it was just Eret and You with Dream. Dream kept explaining the mechanics of the room while they both listened. You kept slipping in and out of your mind at the moment.

This would be the end, he said. It will all come to an end and you will finally find your place in the huge kingdom. you can finally have closure. It will all come to an end.

"You two are on the right side of history, don't worry. Cause if you do this you'll be doing the kingdom a huge favor."

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

"This way." Eret led the group into the final control room.

The men were astonished about the huge tunnel entrance to the room. They continue to rush down the tunnel to catch up to Eret.

"I'm excited to show you!" Eret cheerfully said as he walked. "They will never suspect a thing!"

They all ended up in the final control room. You made sure to stand next to Eret making sure that they stayed together. you knew where to leave and when the button was pressed but you had a few minutes to play it off.

"WHAT?"

"This is so cool!"

"What is this place?!"

"There's nothing in the chests." Wilbur said bluntly, as he turned to us still crouching because he opened the chests.

"Eret?" Tubbo asked.

Eret pressed the button and then the wall behind Wilbur opened and revealed Dream, Sapnap, George and Punz. The men started to scream in shock. They were getting attacked. Blood was being spilled and fire was burning down the whole final control room. Eret grabbed your hand pulling you to a secret wall, opening it to reveal stairs that led out of the final control room trying to protect you from getting hurt.

The L'Manburgians fought anyone they saw, but the others knew who specifically to kill. As the L'Manburgians fought for their lives you heard Wilbur yell out over all of the chaos.

"A TRAITOR! GET OUT GET OUT!"

Were you a traitor? Yes you were. They died. The fire around their bodies began to calm as their murders stood over their bodies breathing heavily. There was an orange and purple tint to the room. It looked unreal. This was it. Their bodies began to glow a light blue color and disintegrate showing that one of their lives was taken that day. This was the closure you wanted, but why did it feel like an unfinished symphony? Like it reached the climax of the song then ended.

It's over

Eret saluted to their disintegrating bodies and you followed suit.

"Down with the revolution boys! It was never meant to be."

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

Wilbur's POV

"Eret how could you?" We sat on the burnt grass of L'Manburg waiting for one another to show up from being killed.

This was what I suspected from the beginning. Sadly this is what I suspected from the beginning.

"Hey where's Y/N?!" Tubbo whipped his head frantically looking for her.

"They were a traitor as well." Fundy said sadly.

Tommy and Eret were facing each other. Tommy in L'Manburg's walls and Eret standing a few feet outside of them. It was a beautiful picture at this moment, very symbolic.

Tubbo was talking to Eret in a distraught voice before Tommy had interrupted him. "Eret listen to me! And I mean this in the nicest way possible. You fucked up." Tommy said harshly to Eret.

Eret only smirked at this like the madman he is and spoke around him, "farewell gentlemen." And he left us in our ruins.

I had such high hopes for the two of them. Especially Y/N. I knew they were trying to find their home, their place in this huge world. Maybe they'll find it with Dream. That's not what I would've wanted, but they might want to stay there. they'll be back, they'll find their home soon.

"We'll meet again. I know you."

taglist: @hi-imuwu

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kingwuko · 3 years ago

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Wuko in the Comics: Ruins of the Empire, Book 1 part 2

Welcome to my series of posts discussing Wuko in the Comics. In this post I'll continue to discuss RotE Book 1. There are some... interesting moments in the second half of this comic, including a very famous line that all but confirms canon Wuko.

Plot Summary

Fearing that Guan will use violence to stop the election, the Krew decides to bring Kuvira along with them to Gaoling, hoping that she can talk him down. When they come face-to-face with Guan, however, they discover he does not intend to use violence, but will run in Gaoling’s election. The Krew decides the best solution is to find another candidate with enough public support to defeat Guan fair and square; and they decide to ask Toph to run. It is revealed, however, that Guan does not intend to win fair and square. He’s planning to brainwash Gaoling’s citizens to vote for him.

Major Plot points in the second half of Book 1

We start off right away with the Sauna Scene. Everyone looks excellent. The ladies' sauna wear is lovely. Mako and Bolin have their classic swim suits seen in season 1. Wu is literally just wearing a towel. I found myself googling saunas and steam baths to see if it’s normal to wear swimsuits or just a towel, and everything I read said pretty much anything goes as long as you are comfortable, but I do find it interesting that everyone wears swimsuits except Wu. Maybe because he does steam baths more often and he’s just more comfortable in that setting? He seems pretty confident and not at all shy. I don’t have anything analytical to say about it, I just think it’s an interesting detail, that he doesn’t seem to have any hang-ups about being nearly naked around Mako his friends.

They are discussing Guan’s militaristic movement toward Gaoling, and tossing ideas around to handle the situation. Mako not-so-helpfully suggests using force with the united forces which Zhu Li shoots down right away, not wanting to escalate the situation. Wu agrees and wants to find a peaceful resolution. Korra, remembering her conversation with Kuvira, thinks she has the answer. She proposes bringing Kuvira along to Gaoling, which NOBODY is happy about. Asami is upset because she made it clear earlier she does not want to be in the same room as Kuvira, Bolin is distressed because Kuvira nearly had him killed when he defected from her inner circle, Mako points out that he nearly lost his arm taking down the mech, Zhu Li says she invaded republic city, Asami reminds everyone that Kuvira killed her father, and Wu boldly declares that we can’t forget she ruined his coronation… He quickly reads the room and apologises (character growth?).

Korra acknowledges everyone’s concerns and points out that she truly believes Kuvira can be an ally- she was their ally when Zaheer was trying to kill her and the airbenders; and when her spirit vine weapon ripped open a new portal to the spirit world, Kuvira thought she had died and Korra believes that changed her. Bolin points out that Kuvira is very persuasive and may have a good shot at convincing Guan to stand down. Everyone is convinced and declares their support for the plan.

Zhu Li orders Kuvira’s release and Korra brings her onto the airship taking them all to Gaoling. And, I’m sorry, this frame is like, the bitchiest collective look from Mako, Wu, Bolin and Pabu. I just love it.

They initially plan to restrain her, but decide it’s pointless when Kuvira points out if she wanted to escape that she would have already. They arrive at Gaoling and there’s no sign of Guan and his army. Kuvira is certain he’ll be there, and points out that she needs to change so she doesn’t meet with him looking like a prisoner.

Korra and Wu go to meet with the election candidates. Their portraits are on the wall and it’s revealed that the candidates are both elderly magistrates who have been working in the local government for a long time. They are practically indistinguishable from each other, which causes Korra concern. Wu isn’t happy about it either, he was hoping the elections would bring in new leaders to take the earth kingdom in a new direction. Instead, it looks like nothing will change in Gaoling or the rest of the earth kingdom if things play out the same way. They are both disappointed but Korra is optimistic that this is the first election and over things will improve as they iron out the political kinks

Back in the flying machine, they give Kuvira an outfit of Asami’s that is…. Like I can’t put it into words. I’ve never seen asami wear it and that is a shame. The word that comes to mind is “Dapper”. Like is we saw Asami wearing it when they first introduced her character literally everyone would have predicted Cannon Korrasami and immeadiately said “yup Asami’s gay straight women don’t dress like that”. Slacks, a collared long sleeve shirt, with a grey vest over top. Just like, amazing. I am so disappointed we never saw Asami wear this. Someone point me to a fanart of Asami in this outfit that canonically belongs to her please.

Guan arrives and Kuvira tries to talk to him, which goes about as well as you’d expect. So she tries to appeal directly to his troops and urges them to surrender, and they all say in unison “Hail Commander Guan!”. So Kuvira decides to challenge Guan and beats the crap out of him in a punch that looks like something directly out of a WWII propaganda poster or something.

Kuvira is literally about to kill him by bending the metal collar around his neck when suddenly Asami electrocutes her with some device she had hidden in the belt she gave Kuvira.

Once Mako and Bolin drag Kuvira away, Korra attempts to reason with Guan and tells him she won’t let him interfere with the election. Guan then reveals he has no intention of interfering- he plans on running in the election! He immediately turns in all the necessary paperwork to be on the ballot. He informs the Krew that soon, all the upcoming elections will have Earth Empire representatives running and once they have power in every territory, no one will question the Earth Empire's right to rule.

They reconvene back on the airship, where Kuvira is detained in the platinum box. They explain to Kuvira that she was wrong to provoke him, but right that he is an excellent strategist. Mako then tells Wu that he should just call off the election. Wu replies “Mako, you know I love you, but I’m trying to encourage democracy. I can’t just go around canceling elections because I don’t like one of the candidates. We need to see how this plays out”

…

Yes. “Mako, you know I love you”

…

We’ll discuss that at length in a bit.

They decide the best path forward is to find a new candidate who is popular enough to beat Guan. Korra excitedly suggests Toph. Which, like, wouldn’t have been the first person to come to mind for me, but I guess she’s the only person they know who is originally from Goaling? But everyone seems on board, except presumably Toph because she doesn't like to get involved in worldly affairs… So Korra announces they will just have to convince her!!

We then cut to Guan's encampment, where he is discussing Kuvira’s actions with a Doctor Sheng, observing that Kuvira just isn’t the same, and that the Avatar has corrupted her mind. The doctor suggests they “recalibrate” Kuvira’s mind and leads him into a structure where she shows him their latest “recruits'. We then see Goaling citizens tied up in chairs with devices on their heads. They are being brainwashed to vote for Guan! Yikes!

Mako and Wu Scenes

The Sauna scene

The meeting that took place in the sauna was at the behest of Wu. He said he was very stressed out so he couldn’t miss his steam bath. I know there are lots of jokes about Wu being high maintenance because he needs his spa days or whatever, but he is in a highly stressful situation right now and we know that self care is essential to maintain one’s mental health and in order to perform one’s job well. I think this was an interesting way to weave together his seemingly superficial hobbies with his new maturity and responsibility. I really loved this scene for that (though seeing all the hot people in sauna-wear is a bonus).

Also there is a recurring thing where Mako is just offering the worst advice to Korra. He wants the United Republic, a completely separate Nation from the Earth Kingdom, to just.. March into another country and ‘enforce’ their democratic process??? Like…. If you know anything about world history and current events we know that is awful and wouldn’t be received well and would be a recipe for political instability and long term conflict. Thank goodness everyone is like Mako no. I’m pointing this out because, as much as we think of Wu as being immature, irresponsible, whatever, the reality is that he has a level head while Mako is actually giving the irresponsible solutions here. It’s a really interesting evolution from the infamous Wu meltdown scene where Mako was the voice of reason, but here things have reversed.

Also, I want to point out the moment where Wu backs down after he adds his grievance to the list everyone is giving (She ruined my coordination!), it’s kind of played for laughs but like… Wu has a totally valid reason to be upset on par with everyone else, considering Kuvira had him drugged and kidnapped…. Why wouldn’t he have said that? Well, the simple and obvious answer is- the writers wanted to make a “Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking” joke. But since us fans like to give depths to the characters that they deserve, maybe Wu is genuinely traumatized and just doesn’t want to bring it up. And maybe everyone knows he’s traumatized and doesn't want to bring it up, because no one else is like “Wu, did you forget she had you drugged and kidnapped???” They just give him a look and he’s like “LOL oops sorry should have said my thing first!!” maybe Team Avatar understands that it was a really scary moment for him and they just let him shield himself with humor.

I know it isn’t isn’t exactly a strong Wuko moment, but the bitchy look that Moko, Bolin, Wu and Pabu give to Kuvira in the airship breathed life into me for some reason. I’m loving how they look like a group of mean girls who were just badmouthing Kuvira before she walked in. I think they were having a nice bonding moment before this.

Mako, you know I love you

Ok. So after Mako casually mentions just calling off the election, Wu flat out says “I love you” to Mako. This is a line us Wuko shippers just DIE for. The full line is as follows:

Mako: I say you call off the vote, at least for now. Make it impossible for Guan to win

Wu: Mako, you know I love you, but I’m trying to encourage democracy. I can’t just go around cancelling elections because I don’t like one of the candidates. We need to let this play out.

So. Like, what the heck are we supposed to make of this?

I’m not going to dig too deep and force my own interpretations and headcanons onto you. This I love you could mean a number of different things. I just want to pose some rhetorical questions about it and the context to give us all some things to think about.

Is Wu flirting? Does Mako actually know that Wu loves him? Is this an extension of Wu’s many other instances of flirting with complimenting Mako (on par with ‘my big tough guy” while staring at his ass)? Has Wu said “I love you” to Mako before? How many times has Wu said “Mako I love you” before? Is this evidence of them actually being in a romantic relationship during this comic? Or is it evidence of romantic tension building? Is Mako just totally oblivious to the fact that Wu said I love you? Or did he hear it and his brain blue-screened from the shock of being blatantly told I love you? Has Wu just gotten fed up that Mako seems oblivious to all his previous flirtations and he just decided to up the ante? Does Mako love Wu back?!

Lots of questions. Lots of interpretations. But (as far as I remember) Mako has only said I love you to two people- his brother and Korra (I don’t think he said I love you to Asami but I could be wrong). And if you’ve read this you know that Mako’s relationship with Wu is not brotherly. We’ve never heard “I love you” from Wu toward anyone else that I can recall so I don’t think he makes a habit of throwing the phrase around lightly. Also, worth noting: Literally no one reacts to the casual “I love you”. Everyone just goes on with the conversation at hand. The next frame that we see of Wu and Mako’s faces together, Mako is SMILING at Wu.

So like, he’s clearly not uncomfortable with being told that Wu loves him. And no one else is uncomfortable with it either. So what gives? Are they together? Are they flirting? Is everyone else just like “yup Wu said I love you Mako nothing out of the ordinary here because it’s painfully obvious Wu is into Mako, let's move on, nothing to see here”?

Wu and Korra

One thing I LOVE about these comics is the friendship between Korra and Wu. During the series, Korra tolerated Wu, warming up to him a bit at the very end when he told her his plan to abdicate. But through these comics there seems to be a comfortable familiarity between them. A bit of teasing, loads of moral support, and not a hint of her (or anyone) being super annoyed by him. He also doesn’t hit on her or anyone else except Mako, which is a very refreshing character growth because it was very tiresome to watch him objectify women in the animated series.

Korra and Wu spend a good amount of time together as she accompanies him to Gaoling’s city hall. They seem very comfortable with each other, comfortable enough that the writers included a fart joke.

Korra reassures Wu when he expresses worry about the election being pointless, she steps forward somewhat protectively when Guan shows up- the entire scene with Guan, Korra is standing between him and Wu.

Basically I bring this up because I genuinely love the idea that Korra and Wu are close and friendly, that they have moved on from his cringy behavior from the series (I like to think he apologized to both her and Asami?)

What this means for Wuko

If you are writing fic or just coming up with headcanon, there are two ways to look at the scenes. Either they are in a relationship, or they aren’t. You could easily just say they are in a relationship and are being quiet about it, because they aren’t ready to be fully public, or maybe because they are still figuring things out, or they are waiting for Wu to abdicate and move back to Republic City, etc. “You know I love you” is such an easy piece of canon content to make this your headcanon.

Likewise, one could say they are Not Together right now. Pre-relationship, if you will. Maybe they’ve danced around the idea, discussed feelings without actually getting together. Or maybe they are still clueless that there is a potential for a relationship. Wu might be putting out feelers to see how Mako responds to his flirtations. Mako might be wondering if he’s misinterpreting Wu’s affectionate touches and words. Lots of romantic tension, pining, each wondering if the other one has any feelings.

I also love the idea that Wu and Korra are friends and have discussed or will discuss Mako and Wu’s feelings for him.

So, in summary, Wu loves Mako. It’s canon. It’s right there in black and white. Make of it what you will!

Next post I will discuss Wuko in the first half of RotE Book 2. Wu goes on a life-changing field trip with Korra to meet Toph and confront a swamp-vision of his Late Great Aunt, while Mako gets captured and brainwashed by Guan. Wu and Mako are not together during these scenes but there will be lots of wonderful Wu backstory along with plenty of angst potential from the brainwashing storyline.

Wuko in Turf Wars

Wuko in RotE part 1

#Wuko #Wuko in the Comics #RotE #Mako #Prince Wu

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cheekygreenty · 3 years ago

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Little Witch - Part 14

The Darkling x Reader

You felt fine after dinner, the food quickly replenishing your dwindled physique, but you didn't go back to work. You took Aleksander's advice and took the rest of the day to rest and take your mind off the countless tasks you had. There was one thing you needed to do though and that was thank Zoya for today.

She didn't have to do any of it, in fact, you believed she hated you from the minute you interrupted Aleksander's meeting. You were told by a servant she was out training Inferni's and so you made your way down to the Etherialki training grounds. She stood there, the image of a goddess. Her dark hair fell down her blue kefta in defined curls, collecting small snowflakes.

There was no indication she'd been involved in a deadly attack a mere 4 hours ago. Saints, I think I have a crush on Zoya. Nevertheless, you walked over to her, calling out her name to grab her attention.

'Deputy, how are you feeling?' She looked worried yet relieved to see you standing in front of her on both of your legs.

'Y/N will do Zoya.'

'Alright then'

'Thank you for today. I don't know what came over me.'

'We all have our moments. Some of us just hide them better' You couldn't tell whether that was a dig at you or not.

'You're an amazing soldier Zoya. I'm very impressed'

'Well I didn't just sleep my way to the top if that's what you're implying.' She turned her addicting gaze away from you, studying the young Infernis.

'I beg your pardon?' You were taken aback.

'How's your leg?' She tried to change the topic but you weren't ready to.

'What do you mean Zoya, spit it out.'

'You know what I mean Y/N.' Why was she avoiding the conversation if she brought it up in the first place?

'Are you and Gener-' Is this another thing he had lied to me about? You vaguely remember thinking the two had been involved when you seen them in the same room but it passed quickly, surely he would have told you, especially if it was with one of his most trusted Grisha? The thought was another painful blow to your gut. They just kept on coming. You couldn't finish your sentence for she already answered it.

'No.'

'Zoya'

'Not anymore... Alina is here now' The strong feisty woman was gone now, in her place was a hurt and rejected woman. You were old enough to see it, you had been her before, hell you were her now. You looked at her striking beauty, thought about her incredible skills, and then stupidly compared yourself to her. If he rejected her, you're next. Your silence must have comforted her more than words could, for she shrugged her shoulders and said

'He keeps saying she's his equal, the day to his night' His equal. That's what Alina said.

'You don't need anyone Zoya. I can promise you you'll amount to great things on your own.' Despite the hurt you felt, you focused on her.

'Well as of right now I'm stuck to skiff trips and when you request me' You eyed her inquisitively 'Our dear General's doings.' she admitted.

'What gave you such an honor' you teased.

'I got into a riff with the precious Sun-Summoner after she vexed me.' She shut her eyes tightly as if trying to forget the memory.

'She doesn't strike me as the vexing type-' Your conversation was quickly interrupted when an Inferni accidentally set alight more than just the mannequin and Zoya scrambled to put it out, scolding the boy in the process.

'I'll leave you to it then'

You walked away, hurt and on the verge of tears. You needed to speak to Aleksander, you were sick of him lying to you but you were even more tired of feeling that severe urge to cry every time you thought about him. You came here to do your job and to show everyone you had your powers under control, yet all you've done so far is the opposite. Saints be damned you would walk away from your position because of a complicated relationship, you were better than that. But you also recognized that if you confronted Aleksander about all of this, he would either have to tell you about his plans for Alina or lie again, and you knew he would lie. It was a vicious cycle, one that wouldn't end. It was heartbreaking knowing that the man who claimed to never stop loving you could lie to you so easily.

You were right to question your trust in him, he never gave you a reason not to.

***

He was sitting at his desk, back turned towards you. You hesitated, the thought of running out the door and locking yourself in your room sounding pretty attractive. Maybe a good cry will fix this.

'Y/N I thought I told you to rest' He spoke calmly, his hand never dropping the pen. You shut the doors, not wanting the guards outside to hear what you were about to say. This made him turn around.

'We need to talk'

He dropped the pen and paper and stood up, indicating he was all ears. You glued your eyes to his knowing your vulnerability peeked through but you didn't care to hide it.

'What are your plans for me, Aleksander?'

He cocked his head to the side, confused. 'What?'

'Why keep me around when Alina is here?'

You were never the jealous kind, but you came to realize this wasn't jealousy. It was disappointment and aching after being away from him for almost a century. You had built up this life in your head, one where everything was perfect and Aleksander hadn't changed but you raised the bar too high. The bad parts of Aleksander faded away with each year and the best parts of him enhanced in your mind. You had forgotten what he was truly like, plus coming to terms with the fact that he lived a seemingly happy life while you were gone stung a bit too. With each day, the disappointment turned into hurt and anger.

'Y/N I already told you, I have a plan.'

'So you expect me to watch you and Alina fawn over each other while I stay in the shadows being a dutiful Second in Command? I may be loyal but I'm not going to blindly follow along Aleksander, not anymore.' It's making me miserable.

His hands reached out for you but you moved away. 'You know I love you Y/N' He said as if the foolish statement would make your worries and anger melt away.

'Then act like it'

'It's not that simple.'

'It never is, is it?' You bitterly laughed. What's the point of loving somebody if you're not willing to do everything to make them stop hurting?

'Why won't you tell me?' Your voice was a whisper he barely registered. 'Do you not trust me? Cause I'll admit it right now, I may love you, but I don't trust you Aleksander.'

Your admission hit him like a pile of bricks. He was brought back to when you first met, your shaking body radiating hostility as you rode in the carriage with him. He tried to assure you you were safe, you were one of his Grisha now, but you were having none of it. You didn't trust anybody for months after you arrived in the Little Palace, especially him and right now, it was all back to square one.

'Have I really given you that many reasons to not trust me?' It had been so long since he had somebody to care for and love that he forgot how to act around you. Perhaps he was back to square one too.

'Yes. Your sly comments about killing the King and finding the stag, your relationship with Alina, even with Zoya- Aleksander you're lying to me every day and you think I'll still be compliant. I'm not the same Y/N you remember.'

'You know what I want Y/N. You've always known'

'I do, but I need to know how you're going to do it all. How can I be supportive when I don't know what the hell is going on around me. A goodnight kiss every now and then won't fix this if you're doing the same to somebody else'

'Is this what this is? Your way of saying I'm fucking my Sun-Summoner on the side?'

'I never said that. All I wanted to know was why I'm not in on the plan that's supposed to give us more power. Is it because I'm a loose cannon, are you scared of what I'll do if I won't agree with you?'

You were sure of one thing; while you were gone nobody dared to disagree with the Darkling and he had grown to get used to it. Power corrupts, resistance humbles.

Somehow you still held your composure, albeit it was difficult. Aleksander however, was losing his temperate demeanor. He was pacing the lengths of the room and his hand had brushed through his hair countless times, the image of someone who was backed into a corner they couldn't get out of.

'I haven't told you because I don't want you to get burned. If it goes wrong it would be good to have some of us not hanged for treason would it not?' Bullshit. He must've forgotten you had the power of a heartrenderer. Aleksander was lying right through his teeth.

'You and I both know that's not true. If history is any indication then they'll turn on all Grisha.'

'And you'll be here to make sure they don't.' He tried to reason but you let out a loud laugh.

'Up until 2 weeks ago you didn't even consider giving me my old post back, do you really expect me to believe you changed your strategy in a matter of days?'

He stayed silent and settled against his desk. His crossed arms showed he was in no mood to discuss any further but you weren't done. He was going to tell you everything whether he liked it or not. You were sick of being kept in the dark. You had your title of Deputy back now, yet you still had no idea what truly went on and had no real sway against the top-ranking Grisha who no doubt were in on the plans. Power corrupts, resistance humbles, and you were done being humbled.

'Aleksander don't make me force it out of you' As soon as the words left your mouth you tried to find some part of you that regretted them but came up empty-handed.

His head whipped around with whiplash speed. You could see the internal battle going on behind his eyes of whether you would actually make do on your threat. You didn't know whether it was empty or whether you actually would do it but it was tempting.

'You said you changed, but I don't think you did' He retorted, eyeing you up and down with a look of displeasure. The situation was a shift from the usual, this time he was the one losing control and spiraling whereas you were the perfect example of a calm before the storm. The Little Witch he had grown to love and worship.

'I'm stronger, I can be stronger. I am limitless' You prided yourself on the restraint you'd shown thus far. You were in a palace full of Grisha, of Healers, a Tailor, a Sun-Summoner yet you didn't make any moves to take anything. The old Y/N wouldn't hesitate to take what wasn't hers. Maybe that's why you would burn out, lose as you gained. This time you knew how to do it properly, how to be an Elemental who yielded it all.

'Your quench for power is contending mine, Sweet Y/N.' For the second time in your life, you saw fear in Aleksander's eyes. He always had a feeling you yearned to have a stronger grasp of the Second-Army and for so long, even now, you tried to lie to yourself and deny it. But deep down some voices always whispered 'it's only right to have a leader who represents them all'.

'Wrong. I already have it, I just need to use it.' You raised your hands slowly, showing him you meant what you said. I'm really doing this. Your heart dropped when his raised too. He's willing to hurt me to protect his lies.

'There's no going back from this' You felt weirdly ready. Although you had never used your Grisha powers against Aleksander in a fight, you had a hefty slice of hope in you that you could overpower him. You had what he had and more.

'Y/N stop this.'

'Why? So that you'll lie to me again? Make me the other woman? It's inevitable that it comes to this' Your heart picked up in speed as your breathing became rapid. The influx of power at your fingertips itched to get out and make itself useful and containing it was painful.

Shadows pooled on the ground and around your feet yet you didn't know who they belonged to. Technically they're all his, I just know how to control them.

Panic shot through you as you felt a tendril of the black nothingness grasp around your wrist. No. You let yourself go, snapping the shackle and mirroring it on him. He had never experienced cruelty at the hands of his own power until now and was completely powerless as the black restraints rendered him useless. You concentrated on his pulse, soothing it to its normal rate then into a slow hum, relaxing his mind. This all felt so wrong yet so right.

'I'm feeling merciful today. When you feel up to it, tell me everything, or else I promise I won't hesitate Aleksander. We're the same in that manner.'

You watched as he gathered himself, anger rising onto his face. His moves were rigid and stiff despite your previous soothing.

'Time is ticking' Before he could say another word, you left the defeated Darkling, instilled with a sudden sense of pride.

______

Part 15

Here's my masterlist where you can find previous parts of this series!

Taglist (Tell me if u want to be added to the Little Witch taglist!)

@theonelittleone @searching-for-gallifrey @0-artemis @lostysworld @xceafh @fire-in-her-veinz @patdsinner33 @cleverzonkwombatsludge @wizardwheezes @aleksanderwh0r3 @tomhollandisabae @hotleaf-juice @justmesadgirl @exo-1204 @houseofdupree @oberonpascal @eireduchess

#shadow and bone #the darkling #grisha #imagine #the darkling x reader #ben barnes #alexander #alexander morozova #fanfic #alina starkov #general kirigan x reader #zoya nazyanelsky

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guigz1-coldwar · 3 years ago

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'An savior' : an new chapter for "The woman with an strange name" is out !

Chapter Summary : After helping the gunsmith to make an delivery to 'Fort Hollister', Bell is returning to Redemption with him before the end of the day.....and the invitation to Adler's place.....

To read it on AO3, click here !

Taglist : @snowgoldwaylon , @clxudtea , @efingart , @smokeywhalee (If anyone want to be added, feel free to tell me, same thing for my main fic "Redemption of an Spirit in an Cold War')

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She did what she had to do but she never thought about what will happen during that protection of the gunsmith's wagon to deliver boxes filled with either guns, ammo or both at the same time to the US Army fort connected to Adler's gang. To say that in two days, she killed 3 person in legitimate defense....it was looking like the city of Redemption was maybe going to face more events like this that could change everything but for the moment, it wasn't the time to think about it.

It took almost more than 10 minutes for the soldiers to take out every box from the wagon and it was 10 long minutes for Bell & Woods, surrounded by walls & soldiers that were still curious about her presence here. Then, the two could finally breath freely as they were authorized to go away, leaving the fort behind them to go back to Redemption, an bit exhausted from the events of the day but for Bell, the day wasn't really over....she still has to go to that invitation with the sheriff to see the mayor....

"Woods." Bell started, wanting to have an talk with the gunsmith as they were at 1 kilometer from the city, she was curious about something that she heard about in the fort. Of course, she was still armed with the Winchester 1886 he gave her in case.

"Yes, miss ?" He said, looking in front of him at his seat, focused on making the wagon arrive at its destination.

"I have heard something about you in that fort that is making me curious." She told him directly, causing him to make an questioning face. "I heard the commander calling you 'Sergeant Woods'." She added, her eyes on her rifle before looking back at him. "You were in the army ?"

"Of course, I was." He replied, not sure if he needed to be proud or not about his service in the army. "I served in the army for almost 10 years and I resigned an year ago." He continued, giving her more infos about himself.

"I can see that war wasn't something to be proud of." Bell stated, seeing his face going slower to not be too proud of the army....must be the state of the army they saw back in the fort doing that.... "Why did you resign ?" She demanded.

"I was having enough about been ordered to do this, do that, you know." He responded as Bell was already knowing what he was talking about, Woods wasn't the man to like authority of his superiors and his voice....it was sure saying the truth. "It was at the end of the Spanish-American War that I resigned before coming here."

"You were born in here, maybe ?" She questioned but he shook his head.

"No, I was born in Philadelphia but I didn't want to return over there, it had changed too much, that civilization." He claimed, preferring the Old West than the modern technology except if it was about guns...there, he was liking it, the only exception...."And also because I wanted to stay with my friends : Lawrence & Alex." He added.

"The priest and the doctor ?" He nodded to her question, revealing two others veterans at her eyes.

"Yes, we were friends back in the days but war did change us : Mason had an troubled past so he became an priest to try to change things & Sims became an doctor, still staying in his domain like me." He expressed, an little smile on his face as the wagon was arriving in the city limits on an side road. "What about you ?" He asked her as for him, he was the one wanting to know now.

"I don't know if I can talk about this." She whispered as this subject was hard for her to talk about.

"Come on, I told you about me, talk about you." He pressed her to talk as the wagon was coming near his shop.

"Maybe later but not now." She affirmed again her opinion as Woods finally stopped the wagon in front of his armory, ending the ride back here. The two got off the wagon without any talks and they entered his shop, looking not sure to talk about this anymore.

"So, thank you again for helping me." He thanked again as she was putting the Winchester on the counter but he gestured to her. "No, you can keep it if you want, it's your reward." He explained, putting the rifle back in her hands even if she didn't have any holstler for an gun like that with her.

"I don't know..." She chuckled, checking her rifle in her hands before nodding, taking it with her. "I will buy something for it tomorrow to hold it and some bullets along it." She said, an smile on her face as she hold the rifle with her right hand by its cannon.

"You will not have to pay it, I can offer it to you." He proposed to her about that.

"If you want but only tomorrow, I've got an invitation to honor." She announced to him but on his face, it was looking that he was aware of the situation about her, Adler & the sheriff.

"Yes, I heard of it, Adler invitating you & old Lazar to his house...that's an first." He exclaimed, going back on the other side of the counter to face her, biting her lips to think about the leader here, invitating an friend and an stranger to his house. "Anyway, I hope that you're good now."

"Yeah, I'm good." She confirmed before she decided that it was time to maybe go and leave him alone, her task now done with him. "Well, I'm leaving you now, good day, Woods." She make an sign with her hat to him as he salute her as he didn't wear any hat before she left the shop.

She didn't receive any money but that wasn't something she wanted actually, an talk was just all she wanted and adding to that, she received another gun from him : an Winchester 1886. It was almost making her the most armed person in town with 4 guns on her : two semi-automatic pistols, an revolver and now an repeater rifle. But she preferred to not have too much on her, she was good with her pistols & revolver for the moment.

At first, she decided to return to her hotel room, saluting the sheriff still at his porch along the way, to put her rifle in it, not wanting to keep it when she will have to go to the mayor's house, she knows that her guns are maybe going to be confiscated by Adler's men. Once she put it back on the only chair in the room, she didn't know what she could possibly do after helping the gunsmith to make his delivery.

Now, she didn't want to kill anyone else as her last job involved her to kill 2 mexicans thieves and she couldn't go back to the sheriff, preferring to talk to him once the two were ready to go to the mayor's house and like he said, there were other person in town than him. There were either the priest, Alex Mason or the doctor, Lawrence Sims to go talk to....she went for the second option as she wanted to know how was her horse for the moment.

"Doctor !" She started after arriving near the stables where she saw him working, the door were widely open and she entered the stables, seeing him near the box her horse 'Butterfly' was.

"Oh, hello, miss Bell !" He saluted her as he was cleaning the gloves he was wearing, removing them to shook hands with her. "I'm surprised to see you here." He claimed after the shake of hands.

"I wanted to know how my horse was." She told him clearly, gesturing to the box he was near before she arrived here.

"Your horse is fine with me." He explained, gesturing to her to follow him near the box where she could see her horse, still laid down but looking better than last day. "I gave her more meds and she's looking better but I think that she should stay here for an few days." He continued, crossing his arms on the box's door, an smile on Bell's face to see her horse.

"So, I have to stay here for an few more days...." She whispered, putting her hands on the door too. "That doesn't really bother me to be honest." She revealed to him, remembering the sad nodding he did with the sheriff an day ago.

"Really ? I thought that you were an bit disturbed by that ?" She shook his head to him.

"That's okay, I met fine people in town that make me pass the time." She affirmed, her eyes looking outside the stables and removing her hands from the door.

"Yeah, I saw that you came into help with Woods earlier." He said, also removing his arms from the box to look at her. "How did it goes by the way ?" He asked her.

"It went fine if we don't count the fact that we got attacked by an group of mexicans." She replied, not sure about how she could feel about them despite their attentions. "You know anything about that ?" She demanded from him even if she wasn't sure if he was going to give an answer to her.

"Not so much but I heard things from the few Adler's guys that come to get heal." He expressed, moving away to lean against an barrel as Bell was staying at her place, her full attention on him. "They said that the gang was having troubles with an mexican gang in the south." He declared, getting Bell's curiosity to the max.

"Adler's gang seems to be at war with them, according to what I heard from the soldiers in the fort." She recited, mentioning the few talks she was able to catch in that fort from the soldiers that was passing near her when she was still on that wagon. "To change, I heard that you, the priest & Woods were old buddies from war, is that true ?" She changed the subject, seeing Sims wasn't so comfortable with talking about Adler.

"That's true, miss." He responded in an low voice, taking an ledger in his hands to check something. "We were in the US Army and our last war we did....."

"Was the Spanish-American War." She completed, cutting him gently as his eyes went wide at hearing her. "Woods told me about it, said you were the best in your domain." She admitted, causing an little smile to appear on his face.

"Woods been Woods." He scoffed, putting the ledger away back on that barrel to walk near the stables doors, soon followed by Bell. "He did tell you why we installed ourselves here ?" He questioned her and she nodded despite that Woods didn't really tell her much.

"He said that he didn't want to return to the East." She said, leaning herself against the door frame.

"Yeah but also because the sheriff, the old Lazar, I'm an friend of him so we all decided to install ourselves here to be with him." He responded to her, giving more informations about how three old veterans decided to live in Arizona in that city. "Guess that it was the good choice even with everything that happened."

"Yes, seeing this city like that isn't very enjoying." She proclaimed, looking outside, seeing the few people walking on the main road, the few wagons and also, the armed men making patrols around the streets. "How long this is happening ?"

"Been months that we all live under occupation, an few days after we got here." Sims replied, crossing his arms, also looking outside. "We could have run away but we preferred to stay despite Adler ruling the city." He added.

"You did an good choice, maybe." She suggested as living under that state wasn't an lot pleasant to do but then....her eyes were focused on someone that was passing through the street with an red dress....Miss Park....she was walking alone with an little umbrella and even of the rules....Bell couldn't remove her eyes off her.

"Are you looking to her ?" Sims asked, seeing Bell almost in her thoughts and knowing that she was having her eyes on the only person it's forbidden to look.

"Well....yeah, I'm looking at her." She answered, not even ashamed of doing so, looking back at him for an second. "It's not because there's an rule about her that we can't resist to look at her." She exclaimed, giving her thought about that stupid rule in place but then, she could see miss Park getting diverted on her way by two men behind her between two building....something was off..."Uhm....I have to go, thanks an lot, Sims." She told him, making an sign with her hat.

"I do what I need to do, goodbye miss Bell." He saluted her, going back inside the stables as Bell was slowly walking into the main street.

She knew that something was off when she saw this two men behind miss Park, they weren't looking like Adler's men to her, very different and it was looking like an kidnapping, having seen the men holding each of miss Park's arms to get in an alley between 2 buildings. She looked around her, seeing no armed men from Adler around, meaning that she needed to do the job and to maybe help miss Park. She arrived near the alley they took, preparing her two pistols below her elbows.

"Hey, let me go !" Bell could hear Park's voice in the alley as she peaked her head to discover the two men, looking like undercovers mexicans, holding her with her back on the wall.

"Cállate, chica ! [Shut up, woman !]" One of the mexicans ordered, putting his hand on her mouth to avoid her to scream for help.

"Karla la necesita para un rescate, ten cuidado. [Karla needs her for an ransom, watch out.]" The other mexican warned to his friends, giving more informations about the situation about Adler's tensions with the said-mexicans to Bell. "Debemos llevarla sin ruido y sin lastimarla. [We need to take her without an noise and without hurting her.]" He added, Bell understanding everything as she was taking her two Modele 1899 in hands.

"Claro, pero nos lo pondrá más difícil si sigue moviéndose. [Of course but she's going to complicate the job if she doesn't stop moving.]" The first mexican expressed as he was trying to stop miss Park to move too much away from him but it was then time for Bell....

"Let her go !" Bell intervened inside the alley, aiming at the two mexicans with her guns and making them almost jumpscare from their spot, the first mexican still holding miss Park against the wall.

"Gonzalez, es una chica. [Gonzalez, it's an girl.]" The second mexican chuckled, his hand on the grip of his revolver and unadvertantly reveal the first mexican name.

"Vete, no es tu problema, chica.[Go away, that's not your problem.]" Gonzalez demanded, his voice trembling to be hold at gunpoint.

" ¡Tendrás problemas si no la dejas ir! [You will have problems if you don't let her go !]" Bell spoke up, using an perfect spanish accent to them, taking an step forwards slowly to advance to them. her two Modele 1899 aiming at each mexican.

" Hablas buen español, cual es tu nombre ? [You speaking well spanish, what's your name ?]" Gonzalez asked, his hands still on miss Park's mouth and her left shoulder as his friend was still frightened, his hand on his holstler.

"Me llamo Bell ! [My name is Bell !]" She replied, taking another step arriving at almost 2 meters from the group. "I'm not repeating myself, let her go !" She asked again, returing to english, pulling the hammer of her pistols down, ready to shoot both.

"¡Ven y tómalo! [Come get her !]" Gonzalez exclaimed, making an sign to his friend to attack while he was keeping miss Park away

"As you wish." Bell scoffed as the mexican was starting to charge at but the only thing he received was an punch from her with her pistol still in her right hand, causing the mexican to fall behind him on an wall. She got her left pistol back on her holstler, keeping her right one in her hand, moving to attack the mexican against the wall.

"Putà ! [Bitch !]" Gonzalez shouted, seeing his friend getting overpowered by an woman until suddenly, he screamed in pain, miss Park deciding to bite his hand that was covering her mouth, making him fall on his ass, holding his hand in pain before getting ready to pull out his revolver until....

"Don't think about it, friend !" An voice came behind him, revealing the sheriff Azoulay himself before he punched in the voice, breaking his nose and then, moving quickly to take Gonzalez's revolver off his holstler.

"Sheriff, what are you doing here ?" Bell questioned him as he finished with the mexican, throwing him aside next to Gonzalez.

"I saw you following miss Park and I knew that there were something wrong so I decided to see what was going on." He responded, moving to take the other mexican's gun in his hand as miss Park was taking an deep breath aside.

"You're alright, miss Park ?" Bell was the one to ask that question, worried about her.

"Yeah...I'm alright, thank you, miss." She replied, relieved to have been saved by these two person as Bell offered her hand, an bit trembling in front of miss Park in person.

"I'm Bell." She whispered in an low voice, blushing to be honest.

"I'm...Helen Park, thank you both to having save me." She said, bringing an smile on Bell's face as the two shook hands, the sheriff keeping the two mexicans on the ground.

"It's miss Bell that did the work, miss Park." The sheriff told her, not wanting to share the honors as he was just here to help, it was Bell who managed to get this situation to end better. "No need to thank me." He added before Bell moved to get next to him, still blushing from talking to miss Park.

" Dile a tu jefe que no buscamos problemas con la señora llamada Bell y sus amigas.[Tell your boss to not search troubles with the lady called Bell and her friends.]" Bell ordered to Gonzalez, still holding his nose in pain who nodded.

"Si, senora Bell.[Yes, miss Bell.]" Gonzalez chuckled, seeing the deadly glare on his face as his friend were slowly getting up along with him, scared by her and the sheriff.

"Ve o te la regalamos a Adler. [Go or we're giving you away to Adler.]" Bell threatened and the two mexicans nodded, quickly fleeing away out of the alley in fear, leaving the trio alone in it before suddenly, out of nowhere, Bell could feel lips on her left cheek, discovering miss Park making an little kiss to her, blushing to the maximum she could.

"Thank you, miss Bell. You're an real savior for me." Miss Park expressed, full of joice before she start to leave the alley too, to return to the mayor's house as she needed to do and when she left, Bell's eyes never got off her, still stunned by that kind of move from her, even the sheriff couldn't believe it, making an tap on Bell's shoulder to pull her out of her thoughts....

"Wow, it seems that she like you....it's time for our invitation to go to Adler's house."

#cod bocw #cod cold war #cod black ops cold war #cod cw #call of duty cold war #cod bell #fem!bell #helen park #eleazar azoulay

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rivenchu · 4 years ago

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Detective Observations 1

Well @mintyfrosty did it again and now we have 1920s Detective AU and just.. *grabby hands* I didn’t even know I wanted this til it showed up on my dash!

Anyway way, here’s Scene 1 of 3 that sprung up out. Hope you like~

The sun hadn't been up for more than a few hours and already he was being called into the captain's office. He'd turned his last several cases in a timely manner, hadn't rocked the boat, so what reason could there be? Probably not a good one, and he lived by his gut's feeling.

But directly disobeying would be worse, it was never a good idea to willingly throw yourself on Terrance's bad side.

Right braced himself as he pushed open the door. He noted someone was to his left, ignored them and walked right up to the desk to stare at the chief.

"Good, Right. Was wonderin' when ya'd stroll in." The chief grinned and pushed his hat back as he looked up. Oh, the good detective looked like he was in snit, he must've already guessed what was about to happen.

One terse nod from Right and Terrance leaned back in his chair. Keeping things moving was his job and he wanted to see this play out.

"I know you've been working alone for awhile, and I've allowed it out of respect." The chief started, "But it's gone on long enough."

Right narrowed his eyes and growled. No, he'd chased off any partner they assigned to him. He didn't want another after... after... what happened. He was fine alone.

"Reginald is one of the best in the business. He'll be your partner." Leaning back Terrance wiggled a pen in his hand as he smiled. If he could solve two minor problems with this one move he'd treat himself to lunch for being so gosh darn brilliant.

The chief smiled serenely up at the detective when he slammed both hands down on the desk and swore. Spiraling off into a rant about he didn't need a partner, was doing good work on his own, surely he could leave him be to keep working well like he had been.

Reginald fidgeted in the back of the office. He thought he had been doing good lately. Sure he spent most of the time at his desk, but many of the detectives used him to consult on their tough cases. He helped so many get solved by pointing his thoughts or what should get investigated on.

Why the chief felt he needed to team up and get his 'short scrawny self outta the office' was beyond him. He'd given up at trying to understand how Terrance worked, the man veered between idiot and genius in the same day. Sometimes he managed both at the same time, especially if he was leading a raid.

Right glanced over his shoulder at his supposed partner and narrowed is eyes further. No. He hadn't bothered to look at the time he walked in and he didn't want that one. He knew of rumors around the office as much as he wished they didn't try to pull him in for gossip. Honestly there were a few officers that were worse then the gaggle of gossiping grandmas in his neighborhood.

Reginald sighed and hoped this would be over soon, he was swamped. The day had started off plesatly enough, and now he was stuck in a loud awkward situation that no one wanted except the chief. He was about to ask if he could leave to get a drink when the unthinkable happened.

How dare. How dare his mustache was insulted, it had taken him years to get it to it's current magnificence. Marching forward Reginald glared up at the taller man. Curse Terrance for only seeming to pick the tallest and the strongest. Reginald knew he wasn't short but he felt like it some days.

"What makes you think that I want to be stuck with you ?" Jabbing his finger up at the detective Reginald jutted his chin forward, "You're a loose cannon who disappears for days at time without a word to anyone."

"Well you both seem to know enough about each other already." Tucking the pen behind his ear Terrance clapped his hands once for attention. When both fell silent he picked up a toothpick and stuck it in his mouth jovially. This was a good start to his day.

"Right, you can't keep having a double office to yourself, Reginald I expect you to move in by the end of the day." The chief slammed his hand down as the arguments started up and he raised an eyebrow at the officers as he dropped his smile. "Boys my decision is final, now leave."

Wiggling the toothpick around Terrance watched the pair sullenly leave.

He'd finally say Right wasn't alone so the higher ups would stop bothering him about it. He'd get to plan more things his way with Reginald out of the office. Hopefully Right, their best fighter, would manage to keep Reginald, thier worst fighter alive. Yes, he would be treating himself to a great lunch.

Right had made a point to leave soon after the... partnering. Reginald wad skulked into the room with a box of his things and he wasn't going to watch the string bean unpack his things onto a desk that wasn't his.

He had things he could do to take him out of the office. Leads to question, perps to track, diners to eat at.

He managed to go two days without touching foot back to the office. It was early enough the sun wasn't up and the place was empty. Perfect, he could drop off the two cases he solved, grab a couple more and disappear for a few more days.

Why was his office light on?

Opening the door quietly he shot a flat look the the occupied desk. The box was only half unpacked, but the desk was covered in folders and papers. The interloper was fast asleep and drooling over the cover of a folder.

Rolling his eyes Right walked over ad picked up a folder. There must have been ten cases worth of work on the lieutenant's desk, no one could do that much.

Except it wasn't his case.

Eyebrows raising he recognized the name of a colleague. The guy had a good habit of solving things but... it was obvious from this he should go question the family more.

Flipping a page he saw a note scrawled with that very suggestion, and then another to check alley across the street. The darkest place, easiest to ambush with a dumpster for disposal. Better hurry because trash was coming up in two days.

Come to think of it when asked to look over something he did see this particular handwriting often but didn't read them since he was asked pointed questions. Honestly he thought it was a low ranked officer taking notes or doing simple checks.

Curious now Right leaned against the desk and began to flip through more. Lot of familiar detective names he was seeing, some missing obvious leads they should be following up on. Thoroughly feeling unimpressed with his fellow detectives right now he put the stack back down.

The other side of the desk held a few more folders, ones the other hadn't gotten to yet. He shouldn't let himself get sidetracked, he still had to drop off his own work to the chief. Walking over to his desk he began to gather his cases.

The door slammed open, "Up and attem boys! Early bird gets the work ad you're the earliest we got today!" Terrance dropped his foot back down to the ground and surveyed the room. He'd startled both but... oh not again.

"Damn it Reggie, I told you to go home last night. You're going to burn out at this rate." Pinching his nose he glared at the embarrassed lietenant as he peeled a paper off his face. Fishing around his pocket he pulled out a few dollars and dropped them on the desk. "Get breakfast before you visit the scene kid, I know you didn't eat dinner."

Ducking his head Reginald nodded. He had meant to go, but the other detectives had come to visit, commiserate with him about losing his own office, and asked for help with a few cases. Some had been more involved than he thought and time had slipped away from him.

"Right, make sure he doesn't stay tonight." Terrance sighed and questioned his decision to pair them up. He was going to give it two weeks minimum to see how things shake out.

"Oh, and take him with you when you go Right, have a coffee, then head to 31st and 45th. Police will be expecting you both." The chief absently waved off the two idiots and walked out of the room.

The room fell silent as the door swung shut.

Gathering his cases Right sighed before he turned around to face the... other his was going to be stuck with all day.

"You were going to leave me here after getting more work, weren't' you?" Reginald had swiveled his chair to watch the detective with the most peeved he could manage.

"Mmmhmm." That had been the plan and Right knew there was no point to lying.

The blunt agreement seemed to take the wind out of the lieutenant's sails as he deflated and rubbed a hand over his face.

"Fine, let's get this over with." Swiping the money from his desk Reginald stood up and threw his coat on. Technically he was the higher ranked one and should lead, but it was early, he was tired and still muzzy from the abrupt awakening. Gesturing to the door in the traditional 'after you' he raised his eyebrows at the detective, they had places to go after all.

Right merely blinked. He had expected the other to pull rank immediately and take charge.

Marching out the detective dropped the completed cases in Terrance's bin outside his office and walked towards the stairs after they both grabbed some supplies. Out in the parking lot he made a beeline to his car to claim the driver side. Again he was surprised when the other just... let him.

"Something on the way okay?" Right finally spoke up. He'd already danced the line with the chief but he wasn't going to push more than he already had. He liked his job to stay even if... it was hard sometimes.

He got a curt nod in return.

Most places weren't open yet, when he pulled to the side of the road in front of one of the few places that did look open the parking lot was full. Someone had to stay in the car.

"Got a thermos?" Reginald finally spoke up as he cracked open the car door and stepped outside.

Right had meant to fill it at the station before he left. He knew the coffee bit wasn't a serious order but he liked his morning beverage. The thermos he handed over was a simple silver and green, but it served him well.

"Let me guess, black as midnight?" Leaning against the doorframe Reginald reached out to take it. A ghost of a smirk flashed over his face when the other nodded. Yes, many of the manly men at the office drank it that way. He'd rather not touch the stuff, but sometimes in a pinch he had to.

Ghastly stuff, not even milk and sugar could save it.

Watching the lieutenant walk away Right sighed and leaned back in his chair. Tapping a finger against the wheel he watched the traffic, checked the gas level, and saw the horizon starting to brighten finally. The sun hadn't even come up yet.

It was going to be a long day.

When Reginald emerged he handed the green thermos over before climbing into the car. He tucked his own flask (thank god they had tea even if it was oversteeped) between his feet and started on breakfast.

Right raised an eyebrow at just an egg on toast. No wonder the other got called scrawny if he thought that was a meal.

Unscrewing the top the detective took a hesitant sniff. Smelled like a standard dark roast...

"No I didn't spit in it." Reginald snorted. "I've got to get to know you before I can decide not to like you properly." He took another bite and looked out the window at the even busier diner.

Right shook his head and screwed it back on. Yeah, he could understand that. He just didn't want a partner right now, nothing against the lieutenant as a person.

Checking his mirrors and then turning his head to look the detective pulled back out on the road. He waited til the breakfast was almost done, "Might want to check your mustache before we get there."

Reginald choked down the last bite and shot the other a look. Reaching into his jacket he pulled out a small mirror and gasped. The left side was fraying and uneven from the right. No doubt the result of falling asleep on it, why hadn't that thought crossed his mind to check this morning.

Swearing Reginald fished out his emergency wax for the dire repair. "You let me walk into the diner like that?!" He shot a incredulous look over at the detective. Really. How could you?

Right found himself snickering despite himself.

#here we go #this is the 3rd fic I have open and all are very Copperright flavoured right now #I wanna write more but I need to finish the freaking 'Robin Hood' shippy chapter first #Surprisngly I had fun with Terrance #I think I want to write him more for this AU #Self absorbed to get what he wants #smart enough to stay on top so he can keep doing it

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fanfictionaries · 4 years ago

Text

Oh So Many Years: Ch. 17 - Chasing Pirates

Pairing: Hermione Granger x Fred Weasley

Summary:

Fred receives another letter from Angelina and must face some tough questions from George.

Hermione struggles with her want to keep Harry informed, but is happy things are finally back to normal with Ron and Fred -- but are they really? And how will she cope with some unsettling news?

Warnings: Swearing, Death, Smut/18+ NSFW

Author’s Note:

We’ve got internet babies!!!

As always, please, please, please feel free to like, comment, and reblog. I LOVE interacting with you all!!

Masterlist

<<<Chapter 16

In your message you said, you were goin' to bed,

But I'm not done with the night. So I stayed up and read, but your words in my head, Got me mixed up so I turned out the light.

And I, don't know how, to slow it down. My mind's racing from chasing pirates.

Fred figured it was just his luck that in the confusion of everyone running from his mother, he ended up in his bedroom with George and Hermione. He also figured it was just his luck he was too angry with his twin brother to censor his words.

“Are you fucking kidding me George?” Fred seethed, trying to keep his voice down as they were in fact still hiding from their mother.

“Oh lighten—”

“No! No, I will not just lighten up! Why?! What was going on in that evil little skull of yours?” Fred’s hand tightened on the towel around his waist as he paced back and forth. He was angry. Angrier than he had ever been at his brother, which was saying something because he’d never actually been cross with George before. Sure, he’d been miffed and on the odd occasion annoyed by his twin brother, and vice versa of course, but never like this. No, he was well and truly pissed off. Which meant this was entirely new territory for the both of them as Fred tried to manage his emotional tirade and George tried to manage Fred.

“Well, I—”

“You know how things are with Angelina right now and you knew how I felt and then you had to go and do this? I mean, why would you—they—”

“Fred—”

“—especially after what I told you this morning. I mean, I know we’re in it for a laugh and all most of the time, and to be fair this was quite funny. If it were anyone else, it would’ve been a real gut buster. But come on. This was just cheap!”

“Fred—”

“And to include Ginny in it? What? Did you tell her?”

“FRED!” George whispered harshly, putting a stop to Fred’s pacing, and clamping his hand over his brother’s mouth. At first, Fred’s instinct was to rip George’s hand off of his mouth and continue his rant. He was upset. Therefore, he was entitled to as much whinging and scolding as he pleased.

But then he saw George’s eyes flicker to a very confused and sheepish looking Hermione sitting on the edge of George’s bed and that instinct vanished. His eyes grew wide, realizing only then that he’d been freely ranting about Hermione and himself with the girl in question sitting right there. Fucking arsing balls, Fred cursed in his head. How much had he said? Enough to give anything away or only enough to make himself seem like a raving lunatic? He thought about subtly asking George but didn’t get the chance.

Their mother’s angry footsteps sounded from the top of the stairs followed by her equally angry voice, “Someone had better come out here and face me or I’ll be knocking down every single door in this hallway.”

Fred’s head swung from his brother to the door and back. “You have to go out!” Fred whispered in a panic.

“Me? Why me?” asked George.

Fred looked down at his towel-clad body pointedly and then to Hermione who was still sans shirt. “First of all, you owe us. Second, I wonder how mum will feel when she finds Hermione in here with us like this,” said Fred.

George’s face contorted in conflict as the pros and cons of taking the blame for waking up Walburga once again, or having their mother find a half-naked girl in their room. Finally he gave a sort of whiny sigh.

He was just shy of opening their bedroom door when he turned and pointed a finger in Fred and Hermione’s direction. “I want you two to know that I’m doing this out of the kindness of my heart and that by going out here I’m fully proving my remorse for this afternoon’s prank.”

“Just go!” Hermione squeaked, shifting uncomfortably, and holding her arms tightly across her chest.

George took a deep breath and squared his shoulders before opening the heavy oak door with flourish and slamming it behind him quickly. “Mum! You’re looking lovely this afternoon,” said George, his voice muffled as he now stood in the hallway.

“I should have known—” she sounded aggravated and slightly defeated, thought Fred “—let’s go. You’re going to help me shut that old bag up and then I think the basement closet needs de-spidering, George Weasley.”

“Come now mum, surely by now you’d be able to tell that I’m Fred.”

Fred sighed, shaking his head, and smiling against his better judgement. Leave it to George to have the last laugh. “Wanker…” Fred mumbled as he crossed the room to his dresser. He dug into one of the drawers and pulled out an old shirt. Throwing it in Hermione’s direction, he politely averted his eyes and began to grab clothes for himself.

“I didn’t know you were a Puddlemere United fan.”

“What?” Fred turned, her comment catching him off guard. While it was a Puddlemere United shirt, you couldn’t know that unless you were familiar with the navy-blue colour and golden crossed bulrushes.

“Puddlemere United,” Hermione repeated, staring strangely at his hand, and then looking away with a slight blush. Fred look to his hand to find that he was still grasping a pair of striped, blue pants. He turned around again, grabbing a pair of trousers – a brand of muggle jeans Lee had turned him and George onto – before grabbing a clean white shirt.

“Yeah. George is a bit more of a Falmouth Falcons fan, but I’ve always preferred Puddlemere. I didn’t know you knew anything about quidditch.”

Hermione let out a snort that while rude, Fred found to be quite endearing. “Please, you can’t be friends with Ron and Harry and not know at least a little bit about quidditch. I’ve read Quidditch Through the Ages at least five times.”

“Never would have guessed it from the vacant expression you get on your face every time it’s brought up,” Fred laughed, pulling his shirt over his head. The cotton material felt nice and light in the warm room.

“That’s because it’s usually Ron going on and on about the Chudley Cannons or how much the Slytherin house team sucks. The same story gets a bit boring over time. Now, if he wanted to talk about the history of quidditch rules and legislature, or the statistical odds of certain teams winning or losing, I might chime in.

“Just when I thought I had you figured out, ‘Mione.” Fred turned but paused, looking between the clothes in his hand and Hermione staring at him once again. While he certainly wasn’t shy, he didn’t really fancy Hermione getting a full view of his…full frontal for a second time that day. Especially when she hadn’t seemed all too cheery about it the first time. “Do you mind?”

“Oh! Um, of course—” Hermione turned, covering her eyes with her hands “—sorry.”

“S’alright,” Fred laughed. Something about Hermione’s embarrassment made him feel a whole lot better about the situation. “You know, I guess I was right.”

“About what?” asked Hermione, still facing the other way as Fred zipped up his trousers.

“Last summer when I guessed you were trying to see me and George naked.”

“Oh piss off!” Hermione cried, the tremor of a laugh in the back of her throat.

If Fred weren’t trying to tease her to make himself feel more comfortable, he probably would have gaped in pure delight that Hermione Granger had just told him to piss off. But, he was, so instead he continued, “You know if you really wanted to get a look, you just had to ask. I’m taken, but George would probably say yes…and Ron,” Fred hesitated to say the last part. The words had come to the tip of his tongue without him even trying, giving him pause to wonder why his brain was at all interested in what Hermione thought of seeing Ron naked. Because you fancy her, you daft git, scoffed the little voice in his head. Ah yes, there was that he supposed.

Hermione made a disgruntled sound, “Yes, I suppose that’s why Ginny was involved. She probably told George all about how she thinks Ron has a crush on me.”

“You can uncover your eyes now. I’m all decent.” Fred crossed the room and settled himself onto his bed, crossing his arms behind his head.

“Are you sure?” asked Hermione in a teasing manner. “I’ve been burned twice already today. I’m not quite sure I’m ready for a third time.”

“Shut up. You’re fine,” Fred laughed, throwing a pillow at the bookish girl.

“Oof,” Hermione grunted, the pillow knocking her to the side but making her laugh all the same. She brought her hands down, hugging the pillow to her chest.

“And how do you feel about that?” Fred asked Hermione, trying to make his voice sound as casual as possible.

“About what?” she questioned, running her hands over her mussed hair.

“You know, about Ron liking you or whatever.”

“Honestly?” Hermione asked, sounding like it was a topic she was entirely tired of talking about.

Fred perked up at this, watching Hermione crawl up George’s bed until she was parallel with him.

“I’d rather he didn’t,” sighed Hermione, tucking her legs underneath her and scrunching her nose in the way that made Fred’s stomach flip. He watched as his shirt hung on her frame, engulfing her upper half and the top part of her legs. If he didn’t know already that she was wearing shorts, he could have easily assumed she was in nothing but her knickers and his shirt. Merlin, he really needed to stop giving her his clothes if this was the direction his brain was going to go every time. He looked away, down at his hands that he’d moved to his lap, now laced together by the fingers.

“Why? Holding out for someone else?” It was more of a joke than a serious question really – a call back to her hesitancy to accept Viktor Krum’s invitation to the Yule ball. In fact when Fred said it, it was in such a sardonic tone that he never even considered that he might be hitting the nail directly on the head. Fred’s heart gave a sort of leap in his chest when she didn’t answer right away. He expected her to tell him off, or throw a pillow at his head, but instead there was silence.

Looking up he was surprised to see Hermione had gone slightly pale, mouth open and eyes wide in panic. “I—”

Before the girl could answer a tap at the window pulled their attention. Fred hopped off his bed and walked to the window where the same stately owl he’d seen a few days prior sat on the ledge. His stomach gave a strange pull as he realized who the owl was most likely for and from. He wasn’t prepared for the harsh wave of heat that washed over him when he opened the window. It felt like it had gotten at least five degrees hotter outside. How could it possibly be any hotter? Fred wondered, taking the letter from the owl, and closing the old window tightly as it flew off into the sun-hazed sky.

He held the letter addressed to himself in sweat-slicked hands. Glancing at Hermione who now looked curiously in his direction, Fred thought for a moment that he should perhaps open it later. That way he wouldn’t have any questioning looks, or expectant faces. On the other hand though, the curiosity was killing him. He had not written Angelina back since the last time she wrote. Truthfully, the letter didn’t feel like it warranted a response and of course he’d been quite busy with the troublesome distraction that currently sat in the room with him. He’d picked up a quill a few times since but staring at the blank page he felt at a loss for words. What should he write? All things currently of interest in his life felt quite shady and untoward and everything else felt inconsequential. Finally, he decided to just get it over with quickly.

The envelope only tore a little as he opened it carefully before sliding out a letter that was pleasantly longer than the last one he’d received from his girlfriend.

Dear Fred,

I finally got to reading the rest of your letters. I’m sorry to hear that your summer isn’t going as fun as you’d hoped. Where exactly are you anyways? From your letters it sounds like you’re in London. Why didn’t you tell me you had family there, you wanker? I would have made you visit them one of these past summers and we could have hung out. London has a lot of cool spots – wish I were there to show you around, but camp lasts all summer long. I guess the only upside to that, is I don’t have to listen to my mother whing on and on about my chores or my clothes or whatever else she’s decided to have a go at for the week.

Fred laughed lightly at the mention of Mrs. Johnson. Angelina had been in a tense war with her mother for the past two years. She swore up and down that her mother was unhappy with anything she did, no matter what. Fred could relate to that. The two of them often swapped stories about their mothers’ disapproval and the wild things they’d done to stir up trouble in their families. He remembered the amount of begging Angelina had had to do that past spring in order to convince her mother to let her go to the summer-long camp. Mrs. Johnson wasn’t too pleased with how athletically inclined Angelina was – convinced that her daughter should be a bit more proper. Secretly, Fred figured Mrs. Johnson finally relented to Angelina’s request just to have an end to the constant badgering.

Have you thought about taking the day off? You’re 17 now and you’ve got all those galleons from Harry (lucky bastard). Surely you and George could sneak off to Diagon Alley for the day or even muggle London! I can give you a list of places if you’d like.

Things are still busy here.

A large drop of smeared ink painted the parchment after the last sentence, as if she’d spent a long time contemplating on what to say next, allowing the ink to drop from her quill before messily attempting to clean it up.

Oliver’s been helping me a lot these past few weeks and it’s actually been pretty great! I know what you’re thinking, how can I possibly be surviving? Don’t get me wrong, he’s still obsessed with the game in that overly intense way, but he’s not nearly as bad as he was in school. Turns out when he’s not consumed by winning the house cup, he’s quite a cool bloke.

I’m making a lot of new friends as well! There are some guys from Ilvermorny here, the American school. They’re quite loud and brash – it reminds me of you.

Anyway, I should probably wrap this up. Oliver’s promised to show me and a couple other people some defensive techniques he’s learned from Puddlemere.

Best,

Angelina

P.S. – There’s something I need to tell you once we’re back at Hogwarts.

Fred was left with a sour taste in his mouth. What could Angelina possibly have to tell him that she couldn’t have written in a letter? And what was this whole business with Oliver being a ‘cool bloke’? Up until that point he’d only ever heard Angelina talk about how much she hated him. He was a crazy, obsessive, misogynistic pig – she’d said it at least a thousand times over. Especially in the times that Oliver disregarded the women on the team and referred to them all as ‘men’ or ‘guys’. And what about those guys from Ilvermorny? What were a bunch of Americans doing in England anyways? Didn’t they have quidditch camps in the states? Lastly, there was the fact that she’d signed it ‘best’ and not ‘yours’. It was a small thing, but she always wrote ‘yours’, even when they weren’t dating.

“Who’s it from?”

Hermione’s voice startled Fred. So immersed in the letter and his thoughts of Angelina and Oliver and guys from Ilvermorny, he’d completely forgotten she was still there.

Fred cleared his throat, “Angelina.”

“Is everything alright?” asked Hermione, furrowing her brow, and staring hard at the letter in his hand.

“Of course, why wouldn’t it be?” Fred’s voice came out high and crackly, making him feel foolish and completely invalidating his statement that everything was alright.

“Well…it’s just that you’ve been frowning at that letter for about five minutes now and earlier—” she took a deep breath “—earlier you said something to George about Angelina. It sounded a bit like it was something unpleasant.”

“Oh…you caught that?” Hermione Granger had to be the most annoyingly astute witch he’d ever met.

Hermione nodded and stood from the bed, crossing the room to stand before him. She looked nervous, like she was using all her courage to say her next words, “Do you want to—”

“Hey!” The door to the room opened and Ginny and Ron came barrelling through. “The coast is clear. Mum’s got George cleaning out spiders in the basement,” said Ron, now fully clothed and looking a bit pink around the ears as he avoided looking directly at Hermione.

“I just know he’s going to lord that over my head,” sighed Ginny, leaning against the wall and crossing her legs at the ankle. “The whole thing was his idea anyways. Seems fair that he should take the brunt of the punishment.”

“You still haven’t dealt with the punishment you’ll be getting from me Ginevra,” bit Hermione, sending a disapproving look at the younger girl.

“Oh come on, Hermione. You know I only had the best intentions. S’not my fault George mucked it up and you had to see Fred’s bits as well,” said Ginny, pulling a face.

“I very much would have preferred to see no one’s bits.”

“Can you please stop calling them ‘bits’?” asked Ron, frowning. Fred had to agree with his little brother. There was something incredibly emasculating about the word.

“Men—” Ginny rolled her eyes “—such fragile egos. Come on, I think there’s some lemonade in the kitchen and I’m parched. It’s so bloody hot!”

Ginny pushed off the wall and sauntered out of the room followed closely by Ron. Hermione hesitated for a moment, looking up at Fred and then back down at the letter in his hand. Fred quickly folded the letter and shoved it in his pocket. It probably wasn’t the best moment to get into him and Angelina anyways.

“Come on, best not to keep them waiting,” he said and made his way out of the room and down towards the kitchen.

Fred didn’t see George again until dinner. His twin had emerged from the basement closet looking incredibly tired and slightly squeamish. This pleased Fred immensely as he still felt like George’s full punishment hadn’t been served. When everyone had sat themselves down at the long table for their meal, Fred made sure to put as much space between them and Hermione as possible. He needed to have a proper conversation with his brother about that afternoon. Thankfully, they had a few extra guests from the Order and so it was easy to do.

“So, you didn’t tell Ginny about me liking Hermione then?” Fred whispered as he piled potatoes onto his plate.

“Oh so now you’re ready to have a civil conversation?” asked George tiredly, taking the potatoes from him and serving himself as well.

“Oi, don’t get cheeky with me. You’re still the yob who started this.”

“You’re right, sorry—” George passed the bowl of potatoes to the wizard beside him who was currently in a deep conversation about transportation restrictions with their father “—no. I didn’t tell her. I thought she already knew but turns out she was talking about Ron. Classic case of miscommunication.”

Fred nodded. “Mmm, well that’s good at least. What were you thinking though mate? You couldn’t possibly think locking me in the bathroom with Hermione was a good idea.”

“I just thought it would be good to get you two alone together. You know, force you to actually have an open and honest conversation about how you feel,” mumbled George, cutting his ham into little pieces.

“And me being naked was supposed to aid in that?” Fred raised an eyebrow, reaching across the table and snagging a roll.

George looked down at his plate, suppressing a very pleased expression. “Thought it couldn’t hurt. You two looked very cosy this morning. Figured all you needed was a bit of provocation to get the subject flowing,” George admitted.

“You’re an idiot,” Fred whispered, laughing lightly, and shaking his head. While still quite displeased with his twin, he couldn’t dismiss the humour of the situation. “What makes you think Hermione and I don’t talk already?”

The question seemed to catch George off guard.

“What? You thought all those times we were working in our classroom and reading in the library, we were sitting there in silence?” Fred questioned hypothetically.

“Well, you certainly couldn’t have been saying anything of substance. Otherwise you’d both have finally admitted your feelings for each other.”

Fred let out a long breath. “Georgie, you know you’re my favourite person in the whole world—” Fred started.

“I’m touched, Freddie.” George brought a hand up to his heart.

“—some would say I even love you like a brother,” Fred went on.

“Not sure I could say the same, sorry.”

“But, at the end of the day I am in a relationship with Angelina. It wouldn’t be fair to her if I were to go behind her back with Hermione. And Hermione—”

“You can’t still tell me you think she likes Ron—”

“No. Actually she told me the exact opposite earlier this afternoon,” Fred confessed, trying not to focus on the way his heart lifted a little at the thought. “But it doesn’t mean she likes me either. Hermione is a nice girl. She deserves a hell of a lot better than me and even if she did like me, well like I said. That wouldn’t be fair to Angelina.”

“Is it fair to Angelina though for you to keep going out with her when you fancy someone else?” challenged George, bringing his voice to barely a whisper as they both leaned in to make their conversation more private.

“I… —” Fred struggled with the words “—it’s complicated. I still fancy Angelina too. It’s not like I’m dating her for nothing. She’s great. She’s one of my best friends, she’s tough, she’s fit, she loves quidditch, and we’ve known each other forever. I can’t just…I can’t just give that up because I also fancy someone else.”

“Do you fancy Angelina though?”

“What?”

“Do you actually fancy Angelina.”

“I just said I did, didn’t I?” Fred felt lost. What was George getting at?

“Yes, but you just listed things you like about her. Things most blokes like about her. Bloody hell, things I like about her – no offence. But, and correct me if I’m wrong, aren’t relationships supposed to be a bit deeper or some emotional crap like that? You know, something a bit more than just ‘we’re mates, and she lets me shag her’?”

“I…well on that logic then how do you know it’s not just the same thing with Hermione?”

“Are you shagging Hermione?” George asked, eyebrows raising high.

“No, but the idea doesn’t sound half bad. What if it’s more of a ‘we’re mates, and I want to shag her’ situation?” Fred took a large bite of his dinner roll and reached forward to grab his glass of pumpkin juice.

“Honestly, Freddie? That’s a bit out of my wheelhouse. But you should probably figure that out. Sooner rather than later,” said George lightly before taking a mouthful of stewed carrots.

Fred swallowed the bite of roll and scoffed into his glass. “Thanks for that. Great advice,” he said sarcastically before drinking deeply from his cup.

George grabbed his own glass and raised it lightly before answering, “Better advice than you get anywhere else. Cheers, mate.”

Dear Harry,

How’s your summer going? I hope your aunt and uncle aren’t being too horrible.

I really wish you were here. Maybe then Ron would have someone else to play chess with. You know how horrible I am at it…

I’m sure you’ve been reading the Daily Prophet and by now you’re aware of what they’re saying about you. I’m not really supposed to say anything but, I feel like you should

Dear Harry,

I hope your summer’s going better than mine. I know I haven’t said much in my last couple of letters but it’s only because I’m not allowed.

I really wish that I

Harry,

I know I’m not supposed to say anything, but I think that’s rubbish. I think you deserve to know that you’re not alone. Despite the lack of action from the ministry, I want you to know that there are people out there taking this seriously.

When you get here, you’ll understand.

Hermione crossed out her third attempt at writing Harry before crumpling the parchment and throwing it angrily in the bin beside her. This is impossible, she thought forlornly. She’d been having an internal battle for the past two weeks on whether she should follow Dumbledore’s instructions or go with her gut. Every fibre of her being wanted to tell Harry what was going on, to let him know that he wasn’t alone in this fight. But her foolish and incessant need to follow directions and stay out of trouble stopped her every time. Professor Dumbledore was a wise man. He was smart. Most importantly, he knew a lot more about what was going on than she did. So, it would make sense for her to keep her nose out of all of this and simply follow his lead. But despite her headmaster’s in-depth knowledge on most things, Hermione knew one thing to be true. He didn’t know Harry Potter nearly as well as she did.

Professor Dumbledore had insisted that they needn’t worry Harry on the comings and going of the Order and the efforts being put in place against a now fully risen dark lord. He needed time to heal from what happened the previous year with Cedric Diggory. That was all well and nice except that if you knew Harry at all, then you knew that he never stopped worrying. He was definitely the suffer in silence, woe is me, martyr type and usually the only thing that did stop him from worrying and obsessing was action. Harry Potter needed control, or he’d go insane. Usually this control came in two different forms. The first was distraction. If he couldn’t have direct control of a situation he’d resort to quidditch or flying or something else physical to take his mind off whatever it was. The second was involvement. Harry wouldn’t stop until he’d solved the mystery, and everything was put right in his mind. That’s why they hadn’t ceased their research first year until they figured out the secret to the philosopher’s stone. Or why their second year had ended in Harry fighting a basilisk underneath the school. Or why he’d declared to kill Sirius Black himself when he’d found out what he thought to be the truth of his parent’s deaths.

But Hermione knew that Harry, currently locked in the confines of his aunt and uncle’s muggle neighbourhood, was unable to do either and so she was certain the only thing he’d been doing the past month was stewing in internal misery. The fact that he’d neglected to respond to her and Ron’s letters thus far, not even their birthday wishes, only proved her theory right.

Dumbledore may be an expert on the innerworkings of the ministry, but Hermione was an expert on the innerworkings of Harry Potter. So, surely it would be best if she told him something. She had to be able to get some sort of message to him that wouldn’t reveal too much if intercepted by the ministry or Voldemort’s people. Just something that would quell the frustration that was surely rising in her best friend.

However, the right words simply were not coming to her yet, so she rested her quill back down on the table and corked her ink bottle firmly, before moving to her bed and sitting down huffily. She needed to focus on something else or before she knew it she’d turn into Harry.

Picking up the small ball of yarn and worn wooden knitting needles on her bed, Hermione started in on her practice. Recently she’d taken up knitting as both a hobby and a way to further her work with the Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare. This came entirely from an event that took place a week prior when she’d simultaneously met Kreacher and seen the horror that was the Black family’s legacy of house elves.

“What ARE those?!” Hermione screamed, jumping back, and toppling into Ron who had been following her into the fourth-floor study.

They had been tasked with cleaning out the old Black patriarch’s study.

“Bloody hell, Hermione. What?!” yelled Ron, catching her in his arms and putting her right on her feet.

But Hermione ignored his question, too overwhelmed by the sickening sight before her. On the wall, sitting above the bookshelves opposite the stately mahogany desk were the heads of house elves mounted to the wall. They hung stuffed, pale, and lifeless like common animals on display. It made her sick.

“Oh that is twisted,” said Ron, having now entered the room and seen what had made Hermione scream.

“I—why—who would do something like this?” Hermione asked, torn between her inability to stomach the sight of the house elves’ severed heads, and the sheer shock of it keeping her eyes glued to them.

“That would be my dear mother again, I’m afraid,” came Sirius’ voice. Hermione imagined he must have been nearby, most likely visiting Buckbeak in the attic, heard her scream, and came to investigate.

“This is disgusting…this is barbaric. How could anyone do something like this?” she asked, feeling tears begin to well in her eyes.

“You’d be surprised. It’s an old practice in pureblood families, not really done anymore, but at one time house elves saw it as a badge of honour to have themselves commemorated like this after they died—” Sirius strolled into the room, looking up at the mounted heads, hands casually in his pockets “—I never cared for it though. Absolutely refuse to do it for Kreacher when he finally croaks.”

“Kreacher?—” Hermione was finally able to pull her gaze away from the elves to look at Sirius “—you mean there’s a house elf here?”

“Course there is!” cried Sirius in surprise, tone laced with a bitter edge.

“Don’t worry Hermione. He doesn’t do any of the cooking or cleaning or anything like that,” interjected Ron in a reassuring manner that did very little to actually reassure her.

“How did I not know about this?” she asked, feeling overwhelmed and dazed.

“Well, my mum always said a good house elf was one that got the job done but was rarely seen. Can’t say that’s very true of Kreacher though. He clearly only holds up half of that statement. In fact—” Sirius, turned looking about the empty study around him “—Kreacher!”

With a pop, a small little house elf popped into existence before him. He was different than the house elves Hermione had seen before. He seemed older, more haggard, and dirty. His nose was long and droopy, and the cloth he wore for clothes was so dirty, it looked to be more filth than it was material. Kreacher sneered nastily up at his master and then around the room, spotting Ron and Hermione. Hermione didn’t think it was possible, but his expression turned even nastier once he saw them.

“Filthy mudblood, blood-traitors alike. Tarnishing my mistress’s house like this,” mumbled the little house elf and catching Hermione completely off guard. You’d think the words would hurt less after hearing them so much in the last four years, but they held a fresh sting every time. The only thing that had changed was her ability to better mask the hurt she felt.

“Give it a rest you vile little thing,” grimaced Sirius, surprising Hermione even more than Kreacher’s words.

Ever since she’d arrived at Grimmauld Place, she’d acknowledged that Sirius held a certain disdain to his childhood home. However, she had yet to experience the level of contempt the older wizard held for the house elf before him.

“Of course Master Black. Kreacher is sorry. What can Kreacher do for you?” responded Kreacher in a mocking tone. The words, while objectively respectful, held no trace of true respect whatsoever.

“Yes, I’m sure you are,” said Sirius sarcastically. “I need you to dispose of these disgusting relics immediately.” Sirius pointed up at the row of heads, looking as disgusted as Hermione still felt about both them, and the behaviour of the two individuals before her.

“No! Those are mistress’s! Kreacher refuses,” cried the old house elf in outrage.

“It was not a request, you disgusting beast. I am your master, and I am ordering you to take those vile things down and throw them away. Do you understand me?” spat Sirius, crossing his arms, and glaring down at Kreacher.

“Yes master Black. Of course.”

Hermione had been in such a shock after that that she had left the room and retreated to the kitchen. While she truly needed a cup of tea to calm her nerves, it was still too hot and so she’d allowed Ron to pour her a glass of pumpkin juice as she processed the event. Sure, the things Kreacher said were horrible and hurtful, but look at the way Sirius treated him! Maybe if Kreacher was met with a little kindness, he wouldn’t feel the need to be so mean. And the heads…she didn’t even know where to begin with the heads…

It was at that moment, that Hermione formulated a plan. The house elves clearly needed a way out, whether they knew it or not. So, that afternoon she’d gone to Mrs. Weasley to borrow knitting supplies and get a few lessons.

“Hey Hermione, have you seen Fred and George?” Ron’s voice from the doorway, brought Hermione’s attention away from the complicated mess of yarn in her hands. She’d gotten her knit and purl stitches confused and was currently trying to figure out which direction her yarn was supposed to be facing. Looks like she needed more practice.

“Why would I know where they are?” she asked, frowning back down at her work, and cursing under her breath. A few of her stitches had slipped off her needles.

Ron gave a short laugh, snorting through his nose. “Come on Hermione. You spend more time with them these days than anyone else.”

“I’m—”

“Don’t give me that ‘I’m helping them with their schoolwork’ excuse, Hermione. I’m not thick. You’re helping them with their inventions aren’t you,” said Ron, crossing the room and leaning against one of the posts of Ginny’s bed.

“Just a little,” Hermione admitted sheepishly. There was no point in lying to Ron about it now.

“I knew it!” Ron cried enthusiastically. “Are you also helping fund them? They seem to have a lot more money these days than not.”

“No, I’m not, but I’ve actually been wondering the same thing!” said Hermione with equal fervour. The last she’d heard, the two of them were still trying to get their money back from Ludo Bagman. Perhaps her suggestion of blackmail the previous year had finally worked. Though if it did, she didn’t want to know anything about it.

“Hmm, strange,” Ron commented, staring down at the heap of yarn in her hands in confusion. He was probably wondering what she could possibly be making, but thankfully he was kind enough to not make any comments. “You know helping those two is going to become a conflict of interest when you become a Prefect, right?”

“What makes you think I’m going to make Prefect?”

Ron snorted once again. “Come on Hermione, are you telling me you’ve thought there was any other alternative.”

Hermione felt her cheeks heat up in embarrassment. As much as she tried to keep a level of humility to her, she had to admit that the notion that any other Gryffindor girl in their year would be chosen for Prefect felt preposterous. This was something she’d been working towards since first year.

“I don’t help them that much. Mostly it’s just a bunch of reading their notes and telling them where their magic is wrong. Nothing wrong with that – it’s educational really,” she half lied.

“Oh yeah. Educational,” Ron snickered, pushing off from the bedpost and walking towards the door. “Well if you do see them, tell them mum’s looking for them.”

“Will do—” Hermione went to return to her knitting but stopped, looking up at his retreating figure “—wait, where are you off to then?”

Ron turned, leaning in the doorframe now. “Professor Lupin’s downstairs. I convinced him to teach me how to play chess.”

“But you already know how to play chess…” Hermione gave him a wry smile.

“Yeah, but he doesn’t know that. I’ve bet Sirius ten sickles I can go at least four games before he realizes I’m hustling him,” said Ron, a large grin spreading across his freckled face.

Hermione let out a small laugh and shook her head before saying, “I swear, you get more and more like Fred and George every day.”

“Those wankers? Absolutely not.”

And with that, Ron disappeared into the hallway, a little more pep in his step than usual. A smile remained plastered on Hermione’s face for long after Ron had left. She felt warm and content in the way only a cheerful and easy encounter with a friend could leave you feeling. Her and Ron had settled into an unspoken understanding after the mortifying bathroom encounter. Of course neither of them spoke of it, both choosing to act as though it had never happened. In a strange way, it was almost as if they needed the uncomfortable situation to become comfortable with each other again. Ron seemed less dopey and more relaxed around her, and as a result Ginny stopped talking about Ron’s feelings for her.

The same sentiment went for twins. It was as if the little bit of chaos was all the group needed to fall back once again into the comfortable friendships that had existed before. Hermione still felt her stomach flip and heartrate increase every time Fred entered a room or brushed past her too closely in the hallway, but she tried to ignore that as much as possible. That was her problem after all, not anyone else’s. And most of all she didn’t want to ruin her friendship with Fred over her stupid crush.

They had grown closer than ever over the past two weeks. Most likely due to their new tradition of late nights in the library of Grimmauld Place. When everyone had retired for the night, tucked in snuggly in their beds, Hermione and Fred would slip from their sheets and reconvene on the old couch of the library, till late in the night. They discussed Fred’s inventions, their interests, and their lives. It usually ended in some kind of debate, but Hermione always found herself laughing in the end. She’d never been able to talk so freely with anyone. It was both a blessing and a curse.

When her yarn had tangled for the fifth time, Hermione sighed and gave up. Instead, she opted to make her way down to the kitchen for a snack. Dinner was soon, but she’d missed tea that afternoon and was feeling too peckish to wait.

“Checkmate,” said Ron proudly as he stared smugly at the rumpled wizard sitting across from him at the kitchen table.

“Hi Professor,” Hermione greeted, eyeing a plate of Chelsea buns on the kitchen counter.

“Hello Hermione,” said Professor Lupin tiredly, his head balanced in his hands as he stared in bewilderment at the chess board in front of him. Sirius sat beside his old friend, snickering silently into his hand.

Hermione suppressed her negative emotions towards the suave, long-haired wizard. Seeing the way he treated Kreacher had left her less than pleased with him.

“You swear you’ve never played before?” Professor Lupin questioned Ron suspiciously.

Ron shook his head in mock innocence and Hermione had to turn away in hide her smile.

She grabbed a bun, taking a large bite out of it and sitting down at the table beside Ron to watch him square off with their old teacher again. The pair had gotten through exactly five and a half games before Professor Lupin had declared in frustration that there was no way Ron had never played wizard’s chess before.

Everyone in the room burst into laughter at that point, the twins and Ginny having wandered into the kitchen and joined in on the fun knowing full well that Ron was better at wizard’s chess than anyone they’d ever met. After that Professor Lupin refused to play anymore games, but Sirius and George stepped up to try and beat Ron in a combined effort.

Ron had just managed to corner their queen when Mr. Weasley came striding into the room with purpose.

“Hey dad!” Ginny greeted cheerfully. But her good humour melted away when her father ignored her greeting.

Arthur Weasley looked worried. Worried and frantic. Hermione had only ever seen that expression on his face once before – at the Quidditch World Cup.

“Remus, Sirius, emergency Order meeting now. Where’s Molly?”

“She’s upstairs I think, shall I go get her?” asked Sirius.

“No, I’ll go. Other members should be arriving soon, have them meet in the dining room.”

Hermione, Ron, Ginny, Fred, and George were all ushered out of the kitchen shortly after that. None of their pleas to stay or questions were acquiesced or answered of course. So instead, they opted to sit at the top of the stairs and gleam as much information as they could from the members that entered headquarters. Hermione assumed it must be serious. Ron told her that they had never had an emergency meeting like this before. This fact was only solidified in her mind when Dumbledore arrived looking quite grave, his long robes billowing behind him as he stormed down the entry hall and disappeared through the doorway to the dining room. Professor Snape was with him, a fact that caught Hermione by surprise.

“Professor Snape is in the Order?” she asked George sitting next to her.

He nodded and whispered back, “Unfortunately. The slimy git only comes around every once in a while. Always thought he’d be on the other side, but if Dumbledore trusts him, then he must know something we don’t.”

“It’s clear he knows a lot of things we don’t,” said Hermione, beginning to worry the inside of her bottom lip. It had to be Harry. Something this serious and this panicked always had to do with Harry.

That suspicion was confirmed a few hours later at dinner when Mr. Weasley told them that Harry had been accused of underage magic by the ministry earlier that night. Apparently, the ministry had tried to expel him outright, but Professor Dumbledore had insisted on a trial before they went to such extreme punishment. Hermione was more concerned as to why Harry needed to use magic at all than the thought of him being expelled. Apparently he had produced a patronus in front of a muggle. There was only one reason Harry would produce a patronus – dementors. Dementors in a muggle suburb? Now that was cause for concern on many levels.

Hermione ate very little at dinner, too consumed by the problem at hand. The ministry had complete control of the dementors. Only they could dispatch dementors away from Azkaban. Was this the Minister’s way of getting rid of Harry? To easily solve their problem of him? If this didn’t work, what else would they do? What lengths would they go to silence Albus Dumbledore and Harry Potter?

A little voice in the back of her head proposed that perhaps Harry had gone looking for trouble that night. Or worked himself up so much that he imagined the dementors and tried to play the hero. Guiltily she thought of the half-finished unsent letters in the garbage bin in her room and wondered if this would have happened if she hadn’t been too meek to break the rules and give her best friend a glimmer of hope.

All these thoughts and questions stuck with her well into the night. Lying in bed, staring up at the darkness of the ceiling above, sleep evaded her worse than ever before. Sitting up, Hermione peaked over at Ginny’s snoring form in the bed beside hers and slipped from the covers. She padded silently out of the room, down the hall, and down the stairs to the library. While the days events had been out of the ordinary, Hermione hoped that her and Fred’s tradition would remain, and she would find him in the library. The urge to talk to him itched at the back of her head fervently.

However, when she got to library, she found the door cracked and the whispered voices of Professor Lupin and Sirius drifted out. Hermione held her breath, turning away from the door and tiptoeing back towards the stairs. She didn’t need to listen in on their conversation to know they were most like talking about Harry. Once back on the third floor, Hermione found herself at a standstill. She should go back to bed. It was no use wandering the dark and grim house at night when she was already out of sorts. However, instead of making her way to her own bed, Hermione found herself walking not to her door, but Fred and George’s. Like an invisible pull at her centre, she gravitated towards it like a planet in orbit.

Not bothering to knock considering the late hour, Hermione quietly opened the door and slipped inside. She walked silently to Fred’s bed and found him sound asleep. She’d never seen him asleep before – up until that point she didn’t think she could be any more handsome than he already was, but up until that point she’d never seen him blissfully gone to the world.

As if sensing her presence, his eyes opened, blinking slowly as he took in her presence.

“’Mione? I thought you’d gone to bed. Went looking for you earlier but Black and Lupin were in the library,” he whispered, his voice low and gravelly.

“I can’t sleep…”

They stared at each other in the dark for what felt like ages. It was as if they were experiencing group thought, both of them teetering on the edge of a decision they were both unsure of. Hermione should go back to her own room. She shouldn’t be sneaking into the room of a boy who had a girlfriend. She should be—

“Get in,” Fred whispered, lifting the covers, and pushing them both of the edge.

Hermione didn’t need to be told twice. She slipped into the covers, burying herself deeply into their warmth. It had been a heatwave for the past two weeks, but the house felt colder that night than it ever had.

“Merlin, your feet are freezing,” Fred whispered when Hermione’s feet accidentally brushed his own.

Hermione moved them away quickly. “Sorry,” she whispered back in embarrassment.

Fred surprised her by reaching down and hook his hand around the back of her leg and pulling her feet flush with his own. “Give ‘em here,” he grumbled before releasing her leg and settling back into the mattress with a deep sigh.

Hermione smiled into the darkness and rolled over onto her side. She kept a safe distance of propriety between them, making sure the only thing touching was their feet. Her head fell heavy on the pillow and for the first time that night she was able to relax.

“Fred?” she whispered tentatively.

“What?” came the soft sound of Fred’s voice back.

“Thank you.”

Fred didn’t answer, instead he shifted, and Hermione felt his hand fall atop hers, gripping it tightly. It took barely minutes for Hermione to fall asleep to the firm and grounding feel of Fred’s thumb rubbing the delicate skin on the back of her hand.

Chapter 18>>>

Taglist:

@theworldisugly-22

@aoonai

@sjh-07-10

@is-it-madness

@i-d-e-g-a-f

#fremione #fred x hermione #harry potter #fanfic #fanfiction #slow burn #fred weasley #hermione granger

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itsbenedict · 3 years ago

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Two-Faced Jewel: Session 9

The Slaying of the Bobbledragon

A half-elf conwoman (and the moth tasked with keeping her out of trouble) travel the Jewel in search of, uh, whatever a fashionable accessory is pointing them at. [Campaign log]

Since slaying a serial-killer dragon is a little outside the party's expertise, they're off to Cauterdale to enlist the aid of the Deathseekers' Guild! Having gotten a good night's sleep at a druid village, and not eaten, they're ready to take on, uh...

Well, some sort of very large monster that Zero kindly drew for me.

In the morning, they rather uneventfully get up and get back on the road, thanking the villagers for their hospitality. And the remainder of the trip to Cauterdale is likewise brief and uneventful, right up until the fire.

Saelhen du Fishercrown: the what Benedict I. (GM): The fire.

Yeah, the forest and the road up ahead are ablaze, sort of blocking passage. The dirt road isn't actively on fire, but the trees on both sides are, making it pretty risky to proceed. The team opts to send Oyobi up ahead to scout the situation- and pretty soon she comes back with a report. Apparently, just past the visible fireline, the forest is totally burned down- just charred stumps as far as she could see, right up to the city walls. The fire itself is just, like, 10 meters wide or so, so it's totally something they could just dash through.

It takes some Animal Handling checks to coax the giraffes through, and the ones that balk get them and their riders a little bit of chip damage from heat and smoke inhalation, but the party is pretty much able to push through to the blasted wasteland of charred tree stumps surrounding Cauterdale.

They notice a few people in strange armor in the distance, doing something near the fire- from the seemingly controlled nature of this burn and the name of the town, they conclude that those are fire squads doing this deliberately, and don't get involved. It's a fine conclusion, and the party begins walking the remaining mile to the city.

As they approach, they notice... a little ways off from the main gates, something is attacking the city walls. Guards atop the walls are manning some sort of huge harpoon guns, and they seem to have already slain several of the... whatever these things are. The remaining one, though, seems larger and more resilient than the others, continuing its assault despite the several harpoons already lodged in its flesh.

What they see is a huge reptilian monster. It's probably not a dragon- no wings, and it doesn't appear to be using a breath weapon- but it's the size of a dragon, with tiny arms, headbutting the metal walls of the town repeatedly.

Orluthe makes his Nature roll to recognize this thing- he's heard of them before. They're called "bobbledragons"- some sort of deformed mutant offshoot of true dragons, incapable of speech or flight or magic but still possessed of monstrous strength and durability.

Luckily, the bobbledragon doesn't seem to be in between them and the main gate- the fight is far enough away that they could potentially just walk up and head into town, assuming they'll open the gates during a situation like this. Hell, they don't even need to open the gates- if the guards just drop a rope, they should be able to just climb over. That seems like a decent plan, so Saelhen and Looseleaf begin working together to draft a use of the Message spell to ask the guards to help them inside.

Then they notice that I've been moving Oyobi's token on the map in the direction of the fight.

Oyobi, blinded by bloodlust and/or extra-credit-in-Severe-Zoology-lust, is determined to help fell the bobbledragon. Their attempts at persuasion fail, and Oyobi, undeterred, continues to charge the giant fucking T-rex that is making huge dents in the walls of a city.

As Oyobi runs for it, and as the party follows behind in hopes of stopping her from making a terrible mistake, the bobbledragon jumps and seizes one of the guards on the wall in its jaws, demonstrating its +10 4d12+7 bite attack by immediately oneshotting its victim.

Looseleaf: oh god we're all going to die. you're using the real t-rex statblock. that thing is challenge eight. it is made for a party of four level eight adventurers, so either we are all going to die here, or the guards are going to show us why they are professional fighters and we are students. Benedict I. (GM): "Shit! It can jump!" "No!" The guards seem upset.

Not promising.

Looseleaf: This thing does sufficient damage to oneshot any of us with a perfectly mediocre hit. Looseleaf right now is kind of thoroughly convinced that Oyobi is actually literally about to die. In that light, Looseleaf is going to message Oyobi again. And she is not going to get any closer. Actually, she's going to back off, put distance between herself and the monster. [Oyobi that thing is going to bite you in half get back here you are going to die.] Benedict I. (GM): Roll Persuasion! DC 20 again. -Looseleaf: 17 / PERSUASION (1)- Oyobi Yamatake: [I'M GONNA LIVE FOREVER!!!]

So... that's a bust, and Oyobi finally reaches the dragon and begins her assault. Miraculously, her flying leap hits, and she digs her sword in... for thirteen damage.

The guards return fire against the bobbledragon, and one of the harpoons catches it in the chest- but it doesn't go down, and the second harpoon- manned by just one guard, after his partner got crunched- misses. Another guard, without a cannon, throws a spear- and gets not only a critical hit, but a max damage critical hit, spearing the thing right in the eye.

youtube

...for eleven damage, because these are ordinary CR 1/8 Guards, but still!

Saelhen tries to distract the bobbledragon so Oyobi can run and hide, but... her arrow goes wide, and Oyobi isn't interested in running and hiding anyway. The bobbledragon, targeting whatever did the most damage to it recently with its bite attack, jumps and bites the whole damn harpoon gun out of the guard tower, leaving the guards without heavy weaponry.

And then with its tail, it tries to slap the insect that just stung it in the rear.

...and rolls a 3, meaning Oyobi gracefully backflips over the attack and strikes a dramatic pose.

Looseleaf: God, she did not deserve that dodge. She got so fucking lucky there. Saelhen du Fishercrown: she really didn't Oyobi Yamatake: "When you get to Dragon Hell, tell them Oyobi Yamatake sent you!!"

Looseleaf, in the interest of communicating to Oyobi how much danger she's in, makes use of an upgrade to her Rend Spirit attack she learned while studying Lumiere's notes on pain. With Painread, she can get some feedback back from something whose spirit she disrupts, and figure out exactly how bad a shape it's in. She does so (dealing a cool 16 damage as she does), and learns how huge this thing's remaining hit point pool is, so she can tell Oyobi how unlikely she is to survive long enough to take it down.

...It, uh, it was already pretty hurt when they arrived, and it, um, has nine hit points left. And it's Oyobi's turn.

Oyobi Yamatake: Oyobi dashes forwards, Naruto-runs up to the T-rex's throat, and does a spinning leap that slashes open its jugular. It roars, and the roar swiftly fades off as its breath escapes. Saelhen du Fishercrown: God dammit, Oyobi. Oyobi Yamatake: "YES! YES! B-S-U! B-S-U! B-S-U!" "THAT is how it's DONE!" She is jumping up and down, doing a celebratory dance, the works. "Flawlessed the boss! Hell yeah!"

Yeah, so... I had kind of been planning on her getting oneshot and laid up in the hospital, as a sort of character growth thing and also keeping her out of the way of certain events in town, but, uh... the dice... didn't exactly... share my priorities.

With the bobbledragon slain, and Oyobi doing an extremely obnoxious victory dance, the rest of the party springs into action to stabilize the guard who was used as a chew toy. Thanks to his plate armor, he hasn't lost much blood, but he's got more broken bones than not, and his prognosis wouldn't be good... if it weren't for the healer's kits Looseleaf had the foresight to buy for everyone. Saelhen stabilizes him, and Orluthe calls on his goddess to Lay On Hands to save the guard's life.

Then there's this guy- the captain of the guard, who fought in the battle with a fancy crossbow that shot flaming bolts. He demands to know who the party is, seeming kind of annoyed that they rewarded weakness by saving the guard's life.

Benedict I. (GM): He looks down at your medical kit. "Y'know, all of my men are prepared to fight and die for our home. You really want to take away this man's glory?" The injured guard looks up. "Uh, sir, I- it's fine, actually..." "Feh." Looseleaf: This guy immediately seems like a bad boss. Saelhen du Fishercrown: Oh, he's ridiculous. Okay, that changes the tenor of this conversation somewhat! "...I apologize, sir," says Saelhen, bowing to the guard on his stretcher, "if I have diminished your victory with my carelessness."

And rather than give this guy any more of the time of day, Saelhen asks the random guard his name. (And then I have to give him one and make him a character, whoops.)

Medd Cutter here is thankful for Saelhen's assistance saving his life, and Saelhen pledges to remember his heroism. The commander feels- by design- somewhat left out of the heroism-remembering, and declares that he is REX SCAR, and Saelhen kind of blows him off. He's not happy, but...

Captain Scar is still the sort of person who is very impressed with anyone who rolls up and kills a bobbledragon just because they felt like it, and despite Saelhen's calculated snub, tries to get buddy-buddy with the group of obviously very powerful people who just arrived. He decides to help them through customs without going through the usual processes, much to the chagrin of...

...Long-Tongue, Cauterdale Customs and Border Inspection Officer of Cauterdale, who's very loquacious and wordy and redundantly repeats what she says in different words to phrase things differently in a somewhat unnecessary fashion for no real reason. Rex bullies his way past her, but Saelhen- as another snub, and just to be... nice? (What's her game...?), hands her the 300-page history of the de la Surplus family as collateral for a deferred border inspection.

Inside the walls, Cauterdale is a very crowded place. It's like 80% slum, choked with buildings constructed of a patchwork of scrap metal and discarded siding, without much wood to speak of. The streets are narrow and bustling, and the general vibe around the place is impatient.

The remaining guards escorting them (Rex went off someplace) inform them, when questioned, that the town indeed burns down the forest around them- since they're near the jungle, horrible dangerous things tend to come out of the trees to attack them, and their harpoon defenses are most effective when they can see their attackers coming from a mile away, with no obstructions. Looseleaf asks if bobbledragon attacks are common.

Benedict I. (GM): Another guard shakes his head. "No, that one was pretty crazy. Usually it's just the giant spiders, or the giant mosquitoes, or the mushroom demons." "We've had a few bobbledragons before, but that was like, four at once." Looseleaf: "Oh gods there's already giant spiders?!" "We're not even at- I thought this was a pine forest still!" Benedict I. (GM): "No, that's usually after it rains," Medd says. Looseleaf: Looseleaf casts Druidcraft. Please tell me it's not going to rain. Benedict I. (GM): Nope! Clear skies for now. "Whoa, cool." Looseleaf:"Thank the gods of sea and sky and weather and everything even tangentially related to weather," she says. "No rain." "I hope it never rains, ever again." Benedict I. (GM): "Haha, better stay away from..." "Wait, where are you headed?" Saelhen du Fishercrown: "The rainforest," adds Saelhen, mildly. Looseleaf: "Ttttthunderbrush, and yes I know that place is crawling with spiders NOERU SHUT UP,"

Then Looseleaf asks about what they're there for- the Deathseekers' Guild. Unfortunately, the guards tell them that the Deathseekers... probably still exist, but they're like, a weird secret club of old people who think they're too cool to join the guard. They give them a couple leads- apparently the Temple of Andra keeps tabs on them, and also a guard by the name of Mags was the last to see them as they were recently seen leaving the city.

The team splits up- Looseleaf and Orluthe head for the temple, and Oyobi and Saelhen head for the guardhouse to talk to Mags. (Vayen... is still gone, after vanishing as soon as the bobbledragon fight started.) The latter group does their thing next session, so...

After dropping off their rental giraffes, they head inside to meet...

This guy, working the reception desk. He seems to be made of rock, and when he talks he rumbles.

As Looseleaf explains their dilemma and their need for Deathseekers, this guy takes a keen interest in their plight. He's very "hmmmm, iiiiiinteresting, oh i see, you don't say?" about the whole thing, making a very normal interaction seem as ominous as possible.

He tells her that the Deathseekers, to his knowledge, should be back in the city from their unspecified errand inside two days, and offers to take a message.

Looseleaf: "I don't suppose they're looking for a green dragon, are they?" Benedict I. (GM): This guy's smile keeps getting wider. It's kind of creepy. "Hm? What makes you say that?"

As she explains about the dragon, he offers her and Orluthe a candy from a bowl on the desk. After some hemming and hawing out-of-character because the creepy rock man is offering you suspicious candy, they eventually opt to have some, because really, Looseleaf isn't suspicious of this guy. Hers is lemon-flavored. It's tasty.

Then, as she describes the empty tower with the corpse of the torture wizard in it, this guy's demeanor changes suddenly from "creepy wry amusement" to "genuine concern". He tries to put on a poker face, but him having a poker face when he's until now been all creepy-friendly chewing the scenery... stands out. He gives her a strong assurance that the Deathseekers will handle this problem for her.

Benedict I. (GM): "I... thank you, for this information." Looseleaf: "You're welcome. Please, uh, make sure that the Deathseekers get this information as quickly as possible. The dragon eats a corpse a week and there's only three corpses left in the tower, there's a very real deadline on this." Benedict I. (GM): [rolling 1d20+4] (Insight) 17+4 = 21 Looseleaf: Belatedly, Looseleaf realizes she's made a mistake. Benedict I. (GM): "You say... the dragon eats three corpses a week?" "Only three corpses left in the tower?" Looseleaf: Namely: Looseleaf has no good reason to know the fact that the dragon eats a corpse a week. Since she's never met the dragon. Benedict I. (GM): "Curious information." "How did you come across it?" Looseleaf: "Uh, erm, uh." Shit.

Looseleaf opts to tell the truth about Arnie, to avoid spinning a dangerous web of lies for herself- after all, Arnie's not worth lying for. She does describe him in as sympathetic terms as she can, though, and asks this guy not to harm him if possible- she doesn't want to break her word to Arnie if she can help it.

Benedict I. (GM): He takes a moment to process this. "...Very well." "My people will be the soul of discretion." "I thank you very much for your generous contribution to the Ecumene of Understanding."

Looseleaf notices that something is wrong.

This guy is the receptionist. He's not a bishop or anything. He's not even wearing priestly vestments- just a nice suit. And he's speaking as though he's in a position of power- "my people", he says.

And after considering various possibilities, she tries something. A shot in the dark, but...

And the way Looseleaf plays this, is... "quit acting like you don't know what I'm talking about, c'mon, the jig is up". She takes out the letter she found in Lumiere's tower and shows it off, as proof!

And this guy keeps denying it, and getting increasingly more panicked, and looking nervously over at Orluthe, and asking her to please stop, shh shh shh shh, and it's when he begs her to have a conversation with him in private please that she makes the connection. If this guy is affiliated with Lumiere, who's apparently affiliated with some sort of secret conspiracy that's affiliated with some sort of deific usurpation... he maybe doesn't want to have that conversation in front of a cleric.

Looseleaf:"Okay, Orluthe, uhm. Sorry, so," Looseleaf whispers into Orluthe's ear. "Long story short, turns out my sister, who left my village way before I did, ended up falling into some kind of magical secret society. The kind of secret society with Hal Lumiere, i.e. 'the torture wizard who came up with all those pain knives that we all got stabbed a lot with', was apparently a very active member of." Benedict I. (GM):Oh my god, um. Looseleaf: "So, uh, I'm kinda freaking out about that, right now, but if my hunches are right then I'm the sister of someone important in their organization?" Benedict I. (GM): As you start whispering, he tries to interrupt. "Please do not say things to him!" "Please let us speak in private!!" Looseleaf: Oh he's freaked out now huh. "Anyways that's why I am actually indeed going to speak, with this guy, in private," Looseleaf finishes. "And if I don't show up in a half-hour or so, then things have probably gone lopsided." "In which case you should find everyone else and tell them to, I dunno, come save me or whatever." "You got all that?" Benedict I. (GM): The rock man looks distraught. Orluthe Chokorov: "I, uh... think so? This is really... I'm not sure it's safe..."

With a good Persuasion roll, Orluthe agrees to stay behind, and the rock man leads Looseleaf into a backroom whose doors and walls seem warded heavily with some sort of abjuration magic. A secret saferoom.

The man describes the problem: the gods don't know that they exist, or didn't until Looseleaf went and told a cleric of Diamode that they existed. Clerics, in this setting, channel divinity literally- their gods come into their heads to do magic for them, meaning anything a cleric knows is something a god can know, if they care to check.

Benedict I. (GM): "Because if the next time Diamode is in that kid, if she goes looking for that memory..." "I mean, she might not. And you didn't mention anything about our aims, so she might consider it beneath her notice." "But that, right there? That was nearly game over." "And I can't just kill you, because if I did, Yomi would end me." Looseleaf: "Yeah, I'm not incredibly foolish, I haven't actually shown anybody else Yomi's letter." "Nobody knows that Lumiere was involved with... deicidal blasphemy." "That's what this is about, right? Thereabouts, in terms of sheer magnitude and hubris?" Benedict I. (GM): He sighs. "It's not like that." "At least, it's not all like that." "The Project is... fractious." "The less you know about the project, the less you're able to carelessly blurt out about the project your cleric friends, or to anyone who tries reading your mind or tricks you into a Zone of Truth..." "The safer we all are." "With as much as you know, you're already dangerous. It'd be best for us- and you- if you dropped this. Never spoke of it to anyone."

Looseleaf points out that it's good that she found the letter, because that tower was sitting abandoned for a year- anyone could've walked in and read it, since it was lying on a bookcase in the open.

This is somehow not taken as good news- when he finds out that the letter could've potentially been read by anyone, that there was a security breach for a year...

Looseleaf: "Look, my man, next time you want to send a letter, by the way, use... use some encoding." "Don't just write things in plaintext like a chump, by the gods." Benedict I. (GM): "He was supposed to burn after reading." Saelhen du Fishercrown: he's too dead for that! Benedict I. (GM): "Wait, you said it was... out in the open?" "But he's dead?" "Either he was an idiot, or... someone else opened his mail." "Except... Yomi should've hand-delivered it, so..." "...well. We'll definitely look into it."

He brings up sending for someone to do memory magic to handle the breach- but he realizes he can't have that done to Looseleaf, because Diamode would notice if someone tampered with her cleric's memories, and someone needs to still know what's up so they can keep Orluthe away from the truth. (Plus, she figures she'd notice the inconsistencies and end up sleuthing it out again.)

Looseleaf asks if Yomi is doing well, and gets... that she's intense, and powerful, and she probably thinks she's "doing well", but... he doesn't know about happy.

Lastly, he shows Looseleaf a symbol- a blank circle, with the elvish character 人 drawn underneath. The symbols of gods are typically circles with a design inside- so the meaning of this and its relationship to the nature of the Project is fairly easy to infer.

Benedict I. (GM): "If you need to prove to someone you're in the know, without blurting out a bunch of dangerous details, this is the mark." He then eats the paper and the graphite stick he used to draw it.

Next time: Saelhen and Oyobi grill the guard Mags for information on the Deathseekers, and connections are made with powerful individuals.

#tfj log #twofaced jewel

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gabba-gool-cool · 4 years ago

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Remembrance

Chapter One: A flash

Notes: This is a new DabiHawks thing im starting, and yes it will be ChildhoodFriends!AU because that is adorable, cannon can bite me :) Enjoy the story!

Warnings: Yelling, mention of death (not a character in the series), and mention of not eating food (skip this post if you need to, i promise its okay, be safe!)

this work is also posted to my Ao3!

Not many people know this, but Dabi loves to read. He almost always has a new book with him, he rips through them so quick. Ever since he was a little boy, he loved getting immersed into his favorite author’s universes. His favorite as a child were the Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe. He always wondered what turkish delight tasted like and always checked every closet in his house every day as a child, just to see if maybe, just maybe... Nope, just mom’s coats.

He must have read that series a million times by the time he was eleven years old. His mother loved this about him, and she loved to ignite his fire for reading by suggesting new books and taking him to the book shop every other Sunday afternoon. Her favorite shop to take him to was called Philosopher’s Phosphor. It sold many books, old and new. The little shop also sold homemade jewelry by the two old women who ran the place who Dabi’s mother referred to as Janice and Edith.

The shop was always the perfect temperature, not too hot and not too cold. All around the shop there was comfortable seating. Pillows and blankets, books all over. Everyone who came it would always stay for at least an hour at a time, just sitting reading, and if you asked nicely, Janice loved brewing homemade tea, at no cost, of course. You could choose to sit and read every book in the shop if you wished, or you could buy and bring home the books, it was up to you. Janice and Edith would always accept any and all book donations, and always marked down their book prices so anyone could buy. And to answer your question, why of course all of the jewelry is handmade, beautifully made by Edith, they are having a sale, would you like this ring? It would match well with your beautiful skin tone.

Dabi loved asking the old women questions about books like, how were they made? How did they get to the shop? How did you pick which books to put on each shelf? However, his most common question was “what should i read next?” Which would lead to the two old women getting up and taking Dabi’s little hand through the warmly lit shop. They would show him to fantasies, mysteries, thrillers, adventures, and even some graphic novels. He loved everything the women showed him, he would always come back with his mother, every other Sunday without fail, to see the little old ladies that would show him a whole new universe to fall into.

They were always holding hands, and always so gentle to one another, as well as all of the customers, but... that was a long time ago. That shop was burned down, the old ladies aren't there anymore, and Dabi hasn't been to that shop in probably... how old was he again? He doesn't know. However, what he does know is that right now Shigaraki will not stop talking... as always.

“Well maybe he wouldn't have had to die if he didn't have had the audacity to be a little bitch!” Shigaraki’s voiced strained. Shigaraki was stood up, hands out stretched to really make his point. He was talking, of course, about a man he decided to murder on a whim just last night. It wasn’t apart of the mission, the man was just walking home, and the poor soul ended up accidentally bumping and slightly tripping the leader of the League of Villains.

“Tomura, he was crying because he was about to die, most people don't like the idea of dying. Shocker! I know...” Spinner rolled his eyes. He respected Shigaraki, but only because Stain did as well. This doesn't mean that Shigaraki cant get on his nerves sometimes. It bothered Spinner how easily Shigaraki could just up and kill someone for seemingly, no reason. If it wasn't for a good cause, if the person wasn't in your way, if the person wasn't the target, then what was the point of killing them? Its honestly just cruel, and in Spinner’s head, kind of disgusting.

Everyone in the League of Villains has, will, and would kill, but not all of them have the same boundaries or rules they go by. This can and has led to many arguments, just like the one that was about to ensue between Spinner and Shigaraki. As the voices of the Stain fanboy and Handyman began to rise, so did Dabi’s body from his stool at the bar. Dabi was sure that the argument wouldn’t end in a casualty so he didn’t have any need to be here.

Dabi hated yelling anyways, it always got on his nerves. Whether it be him yelling or someone else, he hated it. Not that he really could yell too much himself, his voice nowadays became hoarse and worn by simply talking too much. That's why his normal speaking voice was actually quite soft and generally pretty quiet. He didn’t mean for his voice to be that way, but years of smoking and over usage of his quirk kind of completely destroyed his vocal chords. Either way, he saw no point in yelling. You can get any point across just fine without yelling, sometimes you just need a weapon, but that of course depends on the person and situation he supposed.

The old floorboards in the back of the bar slowly creaked under each of Dabi’s steps. From the bar, there was a side door, which led to a hallway, which led to some stairs, which led to a basement living room, which led to everyone elses rooms. Well, at least the core members of the league’s rooms. It was nice, having a space for himself. The last time he had a room to himself was probably when he was still a little boy.

Dabi opened his bedroom door.

The whole house was very traditional, so in turn, so was his room. He didn't have many toys, so his favorite thing to do was play pretend with his brother and his sister. He would set up whole scenes with his siblings. Sometimes the scenes were from tv, and some were completely from his and his sibling’s imaginations.

His sister was always the doctor or the nurse, she loved Recovery Girl. In fact, Dabi remembers how every time Recovery Girl came on the news, she would always make a little squeal and her little feet would pitter patter in one place in excitement. He always found it funny how his brother ended up being the doctor in the family, now that they were older. His brother, meanwhile, loved being the villain. He loved making up a cool bad guy name and backstory, sometimes even costumes if Mom got involved. His brother would make up impossible, evil machines that could rearrange your guts or make you super tiny, or even super big! Dabi’s brother was always very creative.

This left Dabi playing the hero, and he loved it. He would put on a cape, and save mom from his brother’s evil clutches alongside his sister who would give him magic healing and strength “potions” that was actually just little jars filled with handsoap and sometimes random cleaning supplies that was on the cleaning lady’s supply cart. The chairs would become big rocks to jump from, the couch would become a “safe zone”, and the bathtub would become the ocean. The whole house morphed into their own imaginary world. It was wonderful, until...

Dabi’s room now was barren. It has a bed, a bookshelf and a desk. It’s all he really needed, he supposed. The shelf had three mystery books that he picked up on a mission a couple weeks ago. They were “okay” in his opinion. He hated how quickly he called the so-called “plot twists”, but least the characters were somewhat entertaining. However, there was a slight romance in one of the books, which was very poorly written, it got to the point where he ended up just dropping the book entirely.

The book in his jacket was one of the Dark Tower series by Stephen King, the book series was different from King’s other works in that it was less of a horror novel than it was an adventure series. It reminded him slightly of the books he read when he was younger. He used to prefer adventures and fantasy, but now that he was older, his favorite genre was mysteries. He did indulge in horror novels whenever he happened by one though, he liked a good thriller.

Turning on the light in his room, it gave off a dim light. He needed to change the blub, but he sure it would be fine for at least a little while. Then, it flickered, oh no... and then again, please dont... and finally, with a low buzz and a pop, the light was out.

“Fuck... okay.” he slowly murmured to himself. Slowly dragging his hand down his face in frustration.

He had no idea when he would be able to replace that lightbulb. He had no cash, and he knew for a fact that the league didn't just have some extra lightbulbs laying around, not to mention extra food.

Damn... his stomach rumbled slightly. Dabi doesn't remember the last time he ate an actual meal, and he doesn't want to remember either. So, since he couldn't get food now or for awhile, he decided to distract himself, as he always did.

Slowly he stalked over to the small window that peeked outside the base. The walls were tall and thick, and he was pretty sure he was the only one with a window downstairs, as tiny as it was. He slowly took off the little tapestry he had hung up to cover the window for privacy. Of course, he couldn't imagine any one peeking through a little basement window so low to the ground, but you never know. Also, Dabi quite enjoyed his privacy, thank you very much. The tapestry blended red, to purple, and then blue in the background with a black silhouette of a dolphin and waves in the foreground. It was an odd little thing, but Dabi enjoyed it nonetheless.

As he gently folded the tiny piece of fabric and set it on his desk, he looked back into his room. Surprisingly, that little window let in quite a bit of light. He silently thanked the window as he plopped down on to his mattress that laid on the ground. Then, he pulled out his book from his big inner pocket on his long jacket, and finally began to read, feeling the thoughts of food slowly drift from mind.

It could've been hours, minutes, or even seconds, Dabi doesn't really know, until he finally snapped his head up from his book and looked to the window. He quickly shot up and went up to the window. He looked left, and then right, and then over again. Huh... that's odd... he could’ve sworn he saw a flash of red right outside of his window.

#dabi #touya todoroki #touya #hawks #takami keigo #dabihawks #hawks x dabi #keigo x touya #keigo #shigaraki #spinner #league of villains

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leebrontide · 4 years ago

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Shit I do when I’m not writing, pt 7

I take back everything I said to the contrary- this- THIS is the most ridiculous pre-writing tool I have.

Goddamn Pinterest wedding boards.

It’s so absurd I almost didn’t even do a post on them. But I found myself referring back to them tonight, so I figured- I’ll be honest and cop to it.

I don’t write contemporary adult romance. I write scifi YA. That’s what makes this so absurd. I know how the series ends and there will be no epilogue showing that all these teen couples are married or together or raising babies decades later. Nothing in the cannon will ever mandate that the relationships in the stories are for forever.

But here’s why I do it. I am writing coming-of-age stories. Which makes it useful to think, at length, about what sort of life I’m setting these characters up for. Where are they headed? Where are their families headed? What does their grief and trauma and willingness to commit look like, down the line?

Weddings are so interesting because they are a place where a couple is encourage to materially and symbolically reflect their values, their priorities, their wants and, yes, their aesthetics. They involve a couple- often with family of origin and chosen family close by- negotiating, problem-solving, and making declarations.

Who has a big society affair and who has an at-home cozy dinner? How are missing members commemorated? How are communities and faith included? How old are they? How are their dynamic and their romance represented?

Thinking about what a couple might settle into over a long period helps me think about what they most love and admire and appreciate about each other. How do they fight? About what? How do they support each other? How do they communicate? What are the points of exciting tension? Where are they comfortable and easy?

So I do these then I am, as I am tonight, trying to work out the dynamics of a romance. I think part of the reason I did this is that I DID marry who I was in love with in highschool. So I saw first hand how tendencies and situations that started in our teens carried over into our weddings. And we were engaged for a long time and had many conversations about wedding planning (we also had multiple weddings so that’s a tale for another day).

Anyways, the point of this is not so much “you should do a wedding board” as it is “use the things you know well and care about as a lens to explore and flesh out your characters and their relationships.”

I would love to hear other things you all use as lenses in that way.

#nanowrimo #nanowrimo prep #shit I do when I'm not writing #WIP #writing romance

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masked-buffoon · 4 years ago

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Chapter 2: Twisted (Part 1)

Warnings: violence

Author notes: let’s start chapter 2! Do you think there is not enough warnings...? That’s because it’s only the beginning...

My arm was trembling and my vision was blurred, results of my tiring way of life and days spent without being able to sleep while training to become a proper mafioso. Never had I been so exhausted, even when living in the slums. As a consequence, I could barely see the target in front of me, and lamely missed the last bullet of my gun — my last chance to be rewarded by the executive Dazai Osamu. When I heard his footsteps coming toward me, I already knew what would happen, and braced myself for the upcoming pain. As expected, his hand flew fast and hit my cheek without holding back. The strength of the blow made me lose my balance and sent me to the ground like a lifeless chiffon doll. I felt heat coming from my swelling flesh, and rubbed my cheek in a desperate attempt to calm the pain down, my head spinning and making my fatigue much worse. The coldness of my fingers did appease the burning sensation of the bruise, but they soon were not enough anymore. That was the recurrent ending of my training everyday.

"Don't expect to survive if you can't even bear this slap." Dazai-san curtly said, looking down at me "Now, stand up. Quick. And do it again."

The wall was the best support I could find to lean on my trembling legs. How long...? How long could I endure this training without dying...?

When I had arrived in the Port Mafia, after willingly following Dazai-san, that day, I had been given everything. With his playful smile, he had shown me the shabby room I would use as an apartment, saying it was just a temporary situation, and had even bothered taking my measurements to provide me with new clothes. Noting I was hungry, he had offered me a meal, before showing me around the headquarters so I could familiarise with my new surroundings. The first night, he had even offered to cancel my ability, thinking I could perhaps have my first taste of sleep if the thoughts haunting my mind could quieten. He had touched my shoulder, and I had fallen asleep a minute after. He had been nice to me. So nice I had completely dropped my guard and had not predicted the hellish situation I would find myself into the very next day.

"It is simple." Had he declared with a grin "If I consider your training successful, I'll reward you with sleep. But if you disappoint me the slightest... I don't need to tell you about your condition, do I~?"

I had thought, perhaps, that with some training, I could easily shoot an immobile target. I had already killed two people with a gun, and he had told me I had potential. However, his training involved fighting against him, and he was unbeatable. Perhaps with more strength and more rest I could at least throw my fists toward his chest, but in my state, it was pointless. It appeared more like a punishment than a training, and instead of truly focusing on my skills, I would end up suffering from his kicks and strikes endlessly, wishing he would end our session. I thus failed training every day, and had not gotten any sleep since I had entered the organisation. Sometimes, I wondered what utility he could find in mercilessly sending me to the ground. Was there a reason? There had to be, I always convinced myself, without much conviction. I believed he resembled a child cruelly torturing an insect for the sake of playing, except I was the insect and Dazai-san was a child prodigy of the underworld.

An implied rule, a silent precept of the underground organisation was putting any pride aside as soon as one became a member. Mafiosi were dogs serving the interests of the Boss, replaceable pawns he could move on his chessboard and sacrifice any time he saw fit. The only ones worthy of being respected as human beings were the five executives assisting the Boss in his decisions, counselling him, but still obeying his every orders. Their power, in terms of politics, equalled the parliament's; they reigned upon the world of mafias and illicit trading. I had that luck that many newbies did not have, which was working under direct orders of an executive. In that sense, I was not a mafioso, but Dazai-san's protege, a person who had some importance in the organisation, which granted me protection against being used as mere cannon fodder. I had heard he had another protege named Akutagawa, but I had never seen him... Did he suffer as much as I did? Even so, despite fearing him and resenting him for making me suffer so unjustly, I could not help respecting my superior, for it could not be denied that he had both strength and intelligent. He was incredibly manipulative, easily read people's intentions and established strategies which never failed, and that, in a way, forced my admiration for him. I was conflicted. I wanted to hate him, because who would not detest a ruthless man who looked down onto his subordinates' lives? His dearest wish, I had come to understand it, was to die. He was bored of the world, tired of living and absolutely annoyed by human beings, whom he toyed with all too easily. I had already taken part of his torture sessions with prisoners, and had been completely taken aback by his efficiency. He never used any tool, and never dirtied his hands. Instead, his best weapon was his tongue, which he cleverly employed to make his victim confess, in less than ten minutes. Psychological torture... I believed it was worse than physical one.

I was barely stable on my legs, but a powerful kick sent me back toward the wall. This time, I did not have any willpower to stand up anymore. I was exhausted, my whole body hurt, and this headache had come back despite my pain relievers and other pills I took every time to relieve my suffering. It was enough. Why did he not kill me, so we could end this game of torture...?

"There is something I hate." He crushed my shoulder, earning a wince from me "Being wrong. When I foresee one's potential, I like for that person not to disappoint me. You are a letdown, and you frustrate me. I should just send you back to the auctions."

"I... I cannot..." I coughed.

Dazai-san grabbed my collar, pulling me toward him forcefully, and I was obliged to stare at his single, menacing eyes. He was terrifying. My instinct recognised him as a threat, and I yearned to run away from him.

"Stand up. Face me. That target has not suffered a single damage since the beginning of the training, and it has been four damn hours!" He barked aggressively "What are you here for?!"

"I... I..." Tears started swelling in my eyes "Will..."

He dropped me harshly on the ground, sending me his deadliest glare.

"Tomorrow, I will leave for a mission. You'd better improve during this week without me." He threatened, turning around.

"Yes Dazai-sa —"

I was interrupted by a powerful cough. Whatever the cause was, I doubted it came from the training; my executive was rough, but he had never caused any internal haemorrhage — for now. Actually, my cough was different from anything I could have experienced before; it felt as though my lungs were coming out, along with my other organs. And I could not stop. Months spent in the shallows had, without a doubt, altered my health, but... Why did it feel as though my body was rejecting itself...? Why did it feel as though it was casting my life away...? I took a deep breath, trying to calm down and regain composure, but the blood on my palm was enough to alarm me. Why...? I had done a checkup when arriving at the headquarters, and I was not sick...

"Ogawa-kun?" He glanced back at me.

I hid my hand behind my back, raising my eyes at him.

"Yes, Dazai-san...?"

"Nothing. I'll see you in a week." He left.

I sighed, wiping the blood away from my hand with a tissue. I would not want him to take advantage of this new weakness, would I?

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#bsd #bsd oc #bsd fanfic #bsd dazai #bsd imagines #port mafia #bungo stray dogs #bungou stray dogs #bungou stray dogs oc

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currentfandomkick · 5 years ago

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Bio! Dad Strange Part 5

Some paris update again with more Rogue shenanigans. Heads up, this is more a ‘i decided everyone can be complex and get along somewhat so im altering character dynamics from cannon to my prefrence’

When Marinette and Max and Nino ended up in Chloe’s class the trio made a simple pack on sight—aviod her at all costs.

Why?

Max is fairly certain Marinette is some type of meta. Fairly. She’s still the only person on his level close to his age, so he isnt saying anything.

Nino doesnt share this suspicion, but she’s close with Sabrina, who’s dad keeps checking in on him and Marinette’s family way more than the other stidents at Dupont. Nino doesnt like this, and by proxy, Chloe is horrible.

Marinette thinks Chloe and Sabrina could out her and aviods them to prevent this.

Their teacher sees this and decides to ignore the mandate to keep Max and Marinette And Chloe and Sabrina as science partners in every situation by switching things up.

Max hates working with Chloe—she keeps foddling and talking about fashion when its chemistry class. Focus on the lesson you heathen

Marinette works well with Sabrina (both organized) but she is extremely uncomfortabke with this as Raincomprix starts asking her for help on cases out in the open. Woth science and she has to fake not knowing about them. He takes forever to catch on that her mom doesnt know, and would be pissed if she knew.

Raincomprix then uses his daughter as an inbetween for his and marinette’s joint ‘solve the coldcase’ game. Sabrina gets involved to practice english and science, and finds out she’s good at finding overlooked clues.

As you can guess, this leads to Sabrina and Chloe joining the group.

Marinette and chloe talk fashion sometimes, Chloe critics her color pallettes and stitches. Also her choice to use rogues as inspiration becuase “arent they bad guys?”

“Eh? I think theyre just bad at getting the help they need.”

“Didnt joker kill people?”

“That was mostly mr. J. Easy mistake.”

“...okay...”

This curbs a decent amount of Chloe’s bullyign early on. Chloe is not borderline meta in this, just fixated on fashion to an insane degree—she knows everything about all aspects of the industry but cant design from scratch. Her mom looks down on her for this.

Chloe is also how the group know of ‘adrikins’ who is her prince and will marry her someday or be her forever family, uncertain which.

Alix gets along well with chloe as she needs someone to be salty with when Kim is being an idiot and Marinette is too nice and it goes over Max’s head and Nino is... there is some doubt if he’s scared of Kim or just really respects him.

Sabrina and Max cannot be left alone under any circumstances though. They will try to outsmart each other. Sabrina via legal things, Max via facts and trivia. Marinette is used as their buffer, much to her frustration as she does have designing to do guys!

Kim is showing signs of a crush. Marinette has not noticed as has a secret identity to keep, rogue family to manage from another country, other people’s secret identites to keep (she blames Tim.) so many languages to learn and practice and to top it off, friends to keep from killing each other during school. She has a lot on her plate, ok?

So that summer was more rogue sheneigans and dodging heroes while being herself and forcing her Father to cook with her—mostly Great Uncle Wang’s recipes.

“I am being bossed around by a child. In my own kitchen.”

“You were the one that claimed me as yours. I demand compensation in bonding time.”

“Uh, Mr. Smith was it? My neice suggested a aimple soup seeing as you are a... novice.”

This lead to an oddity for the Science Rogues—Mr. Freeze, Scarecrow, Strange and Riddler—getting into cooking wars. Only the RKC knew how and Not one of them would spill, only looking at Marinette who was smiling as she said “my great uncle did that!”

This also left the four with less plotting to destroy gotham time. It worked out for the most part.

If she got bored (and she does) she visits Ivy and helps out in the greenhouse or her the wayne’s gardens. Rose now has her own plants sprawling about gotham (marinette dropped fast grow seeds) so she can escape the Greenhouse and move about Gotham without mama bear Ivy trying to take over the city while looking for her teen-appearing child.

Frost was busy with college and so was Ghoul, so she hung out more with Puzzles due to proximity. Puzzles got it in his head to prank Hero Stalker and Batman. Marinette tried to talk him out of it, she did.

It failed. And somehow it was a night with Batgirl and Nightwing/old Robin trying to help Batman with his grief over the last robin who died. The new robin had yet to be revealed, but she noticed hero stalker was more motivated lately. She knew she couldnt stop him—he’s a year older than her and probably rich. (And she’s not supposed to exist...)

So Puzzles pretends to be Riddler and lures them into an old tv set. They were not expecting it to be a hideout for a gang.

And if Marinette was in an old Harley Quinn outfit with a hammer her size to match, well... disguise?

Harley realized what was happening when she checked the groupchat and no one knew where they pair was until Rose was pestered for a bit to have her plants check.

They went into a drug den and the batfam was with them. Fuck.

Puzzles and her get out of there when the realize what’s up. Why? Guns and not being invulnerable.

Marinette is worried though and hides and may hit one of the armed men hard enough to fly across the room.

Puzzles stares at her. She flies to tackle him and grumbles about sunlight messing with her meds again.

Nightwing caught that, realizes who knock off harley is, and guns for the kids. Only there are more goons now and—shit. Where did the kids go?

Batfam took down the gang.

Harley is seen in her car a few blocks away with... are those kids? It trends on social media that Harley has a daughter who’s grounded for messing amwith gangs.

The Council meets to scold Marinette and try to get the story straight.

Dent snorts when he finds out they were just going to silly string the batfam and slime them on camera. The camera was busted in the fight though...

Hero stalker freaks out about the whole thing and tells the pair off. “You almost died!”

“He said my dad was dumb! It was a matter of honor!”

Hero stalker is Done with Puzzles and tries to talk sense into Marinette, who says its her job to keep him from dying, ok?

Hero Stalker/Tim is upset but kind of gets it from watching Batman. Sometimes your partner does dumb things and you have to keep them safe y going along with the dumb thing.

Riddler puts them in a puzzle maze for a week. Marinette figures it out and goes in and out of it to make it look like she’s still trapped.

Strange rolls his eyes as yes, this is his daughter. Yes, she is smarter than Riddler.

Ed Nygma the other hand is keeping Puzzles grounded for another week. He lets Marinette visit to check up on his and Riddler’s states since they share a body and all.

Harley is still lecturing Marinette and gets her to agree shell at least tell Rose when something is up from then on.

Rose puts a plant on marinette. I am not joking, she puts a vine on marinette’s arm to keep her safe and make her take her meds since “you cant fly otherwise nets. And put in your earplugs!”

At somepoint there may be a case of music master making an appearance, but idk if it should be marinette is immune due to earplugs or marinette gets dragged into being seen by the league AND rogues at once and they bith try to grab a very freaked out Marinette who flies back to france where Max is mid-panic since she needs someone to talk to and uh, she figures he knows most of it so, help. She needs logic and hers is shot at the moment.

Next time we get more of a quick fic on marinette’s training with Zsasz as a kid.

#maribat #maribat au #bio!dad strange #bio!dad au #marinette strange dupain cheng #marinette strange dupain cheng part 5 #my au #my ideas

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willow-salix · 5 years ago

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OK, this is random and silly, but also a bit mushy, not really my usual thing at all, but I felt the need for a squishy Virgil and to let you all awwww. This is my offering for this week's #fabfivefeb that the lovely @gumnut-logic is hosting. Enjoy.

"Duck…duck…duck...duck….GOOSE!" The young boy slammed his hand down on Selene's head, packing a powerful punch for one so small. The boy shot off like he'd been fired from a cannon to the cheering of his schoolmates.

"Selene, you gotta run!" Gordon bellowed. It took Selene a second to scramble to her feet but then she took off, running the perimeter of the circle.

"No! This isn't Baseball, you don't need a home run!" Alan laughed so hard he actually fell backwards out of the circle.

"Chase him!"

She changed course and raced after her attacker, who was as slippery as a greased eel and dodged around her, easily avoiding her.

"Catch him!" Virgil yelled encouragingly.

"I'm trying!" The young boy slipped out of her grasp and threw himself down into her vacated spot.

"Home!" he smiled triumphantly.

"Heck, I missed," she threw up her hands in mock disappointment, "I guess I'll just have to sit out." She didn't get more than two paces before she was called back.

"Sel, you can't leave, that's not how the game works," Virgil grinned from his spot on the ground, where he was sitting cross legged, just like everyone else.

"I can't?"

"Nope," Alan chimed in.

"THIS GAME MAKES NO SENSE! Why do we even have ducks and geese, what's that all about?"

"Haven't you ever played this before?" Gordon looks horrified.

"No! I never played that at school."

"What did you play then?" A little girl asked her.

"We played lots of other games, I suppose one of the closest to this is British Bulldog."

"What's that?" a smaller boy who had been looking incredibly bored, suddenly sat up and took notice.

"Yeah, I've never heard of that one," Gordon admitted.

"Can we play it now?" a smaller girl asked.

"I… I guess so, I mean, I don't see why not."

"How does it work?"

"Well, the aim of the game is to run from one side to another, without getting caught, kids are only allowed to do touch tagging, adults are fair game. We start off with four people in the middle who have to catch and tag as many people as possible, the ones that get tagged join the catchers in the middle. We run back and forth until one person is left that makes it safely to the other side."

"That sounds fun," Alan grinned, "I'm in!"

EARLIER THAT DAY

"Once again I want to thank you all for doing this, and apologise for not being able to attend myself, we had a minor disaster with Hyper2, nothing to worry about, just a small acceleration problem," Tycho Reeves' hologram floated above the instrument panel of Thunderbird Two where John usually appeared.

"Acceleration problem? I'm not going to have to shoot down another tube am I? We didn't bring Four."

"No, no, it's not that type of problem," Tycho assured them. "The issue is that as soon as we reach full acceleration she starts to go backwards. We think the safety cut off Brains designed is working a little too well."

Selene heard Alan's muffled snort of laughter behind her but managed not to join in, unfortunately Gordon wasn't so disciplined.

Tycho cleared his throat before continuing.

"As I explained to Scott, the school is counted as a low income area and so it's helped by the charity I patron. They are doing heros week and International Rescue was the most written about people. The competition was held over three schools in the district and the essay that was chosen belongs to a boy named Will."

They all nodded, having read the brief.

"I've scheduled you in for two hours but the school is more than happy for you to stay as long as you like, the kids especially would like you to have lunch with them if possible."

"I'm always up for lunch," Gordon said, having managed to gain control of his laughter.

"We'll stay as long as we can," Virgil promised, "but if an emergency comes in, we'll have to go."

"Wouldn't expect anything less," Tycho smiled, cutting the feed with a goodbye nod.

"This is going to be so much fun!" Alan cheered.

"This is going to be hell," Selene groaned.

"You didn't have to come," Virgil pointed out gently. "I don't know why you're making such a fuss, you're great with kids."

"I had to, I couldn't leave all the girls to the mercy of all your testosterone, they had to know that girls can be part of a team too. But I'm still allowed to make a fuss," Selene grumbled.

"We aren't."

"You're boys, it's common knowledge that boys have a hidden inner child that's always bursting to get out."

"I resent that remark," Gordon mock huffed.

"Plus," Selene continued as if he had never spoken, "you aren't the ones with a womb that your Grandma is determined to guilt into popping out great-grandchildren."

"Would that be so bad?" Virgil asked innocently and she could already see the images he was imagining from the little smile forming on his face.

"Yes! With all that Tracy super sperm, I'd have a herd in a year! You guys don't just stop at one."

Alan choked, Gordon laughed so hard that no sound came out, just a wheeze like asthmatic bagpipes.

"Bit dramatic, don't you think?" Virgil's eyebrow arched but his lips twitched as he held back a grin.

"Not really. But, we talked about it and neither of us feel even remotely ready to think about anything like that, it's just not the right time. Honestly, I don't know if it will ever be the right time or if we'd even want any, at the moment we don't. Much the same as we aren't getting married to please everyone else, I'm not popping out kids for any reason other than us wanting them either."

"Fair enough," he nodded, seeing her point. "You know, Dad used to go to schools and talk to the kids about being an Astronaut. One time he came to the school that Scott and I were at and it was so weird to see all our classmates going crazy over his stories, stories we'd heard a million times before and thought were rather boring. To them he was Jeff Tracy, Astronaut, but to us he was just Dad, the slightly goofy guy that made us do our homework and gave us chores to do around the house."

"Do you think that Dad will want to do it again after we bring him home?" Alan asked, not remembering anything that Virgil was talking about. Selene reached over to take his hand, giving it a little squeeze.

"Oh I'm sure he will," Virgil smiled fondly, "that was the only time that people thought he was cool, he'd never give up a chance to tell impressionable kids all about space."

Gordon laughed. "He got John and Alan but never managed with me, I prefer to keep my sights set a little lower and wetter."

"Boy, do not be saying stuff like that in front of the kids," Selene warned as Alan sniggered beside her.

"I just meant-"

"We know what you meant," Virgil laughed.

"Well I'm just going to shut up if I'm going to keep getting picked on!"

They lapsed into silence until the school playing field came into view, the only place big enough to land. There was already a crowd of children and teachers waiting to greet them.

"Wow, that's a lot of kids," Alan's eyes grew wider as he looked out of the window to the field below. "Can we handle that many?"

"Luckily we won't have to, we're doing a talk to everyone in the school hall, and then going to hang out with the winner and his class," Virgil assured him.

"So only say, thirty kids, not 300?"

"Yep."

Alan nodded. "That we can handle."

Virgil brought the big craft down softly on the grass, and even the soundproofing of Two couldn't drown out the cheers and excited screams of the children.

"Here we go," Gordon gulped as they walked down into the belly of the craft to make their appearance.

***

"And remember the golden rule, be safe, be careful, and be kind. Those in need of help aren't just the ones in danger, they are the ones being bullied, being hurt, or in a sad situation. There are some things in life that people can't help and there are some that they can, and you are the next generation of International Rescue Agents, it's your job to make sure that you help as many people as you can," Virgil smiled, looking around at the rapt faces of the kids.

" You don't have to be big to be a help, " Alan chimed in.

" You don't have to be super strong," Gordon continued.

" You don't even have to be a boy, " Selene added to the cheers of a number of girls in the audience. "You don't have to be an action man to help someone, sometimes the help that people really need is to know they have a friend, someone to have their back and to stand with them when they need it. Emotional support is just as important as physical support."

"Wherever you go, whatever adventures you go on, remember to always think things through and plan for your safety. It can be a big, dangerous world out there and taking risks makes it all the more likely that you'll end up in trouble. Always play safe," Gordon instructed, reiterating the lessons they had just gone over involving safety in the water, out in nature and even in the city and towns. Danger was everywhere, they knew that better than anyone and knew that a situation could turn deadly in a matter of seconds if you weren't fully prepared. They had instructed them on how to make themselves as safe as possible if they did get into trouble, how to call for help and what to do while waiting for help to arrive. Now they were making sure that their lessons had hit home and wrapping up the talk.

"Always carry your phone," Alan continued to drum in their words of caution, "and never be afraid to ask for help, because there is always someone willing to step up. It could be the police, the fire service, paramedics, mountain rescue, the coastguard or even us."

"We aren't the hero's, we're just the ones that use the equipment and knowledge we have to the best of our abilities, and you can too. You can be a hero, you don't need a Thunderbird, you just need a good heart and to be a good friend," Virgil concluded. "Thanks for listening to us today, remember what we said, and together we can all make the world a better place.

The teachers started clapping first, then the children joined in. Selene watched her boys visibly relax as they finished, not really used to public speaking.

The principal joined them at the front of the hall and thanked them for their time.

"Are there any questions for International Rescue before we finish and go back to our lessons?"

A sea of hands shot up and Principal Jones waited patiently for them to pick a few children.

Virgil scanned the little faces, the waving arms and the zeroed in, pointing to a smaller boy sitting on the end of a row, who startled and looked around to make sure that it was actually him who had been picked. He was clearly very nervous and not used to being noticed, but he sat up straighter, his voice growing louder as he gained confidence.

"Hi, my name is Jason, I just wanted to ask-"

"Speak up, Jason, we can't hear you," a teacher called encouragingly.

Jason took a deep breath and spoke again, this time a little louder. "How did you guys get so big, big enough to help people? Were you ever smaller, like me?"

"Alan's still small," Gordon quipped, earning himself a glare from his brother.

"Believe it or not, we were all small at your age," Virgil answered, ignoring his brothers.

"Even you?"

"Even me."

"So I won't stay this small forever?"

"Hey, there's nothing wrong with being smaller," Alan insisted. "You don't measure a person's worth on how big they are, but on what they do. You don't have to be big to be brave."

"Jason will never be brave or big then," a voice called out from the other end of the row.

Jason hung his head, looking down at his shoes, clearly embarrassed.

"Hey, that's not a very nice thing to say, Jacob," Principal Jones called out. "We don't bully people here, were you not listening to a word these nice people said?"

"Sorry Principal Jones," Jacob called back, sounding a little less cocky and a little more contrite.

Virgil was off before anyone realised he was moving, coming to a stop beside Jason's seat. He hunkered down, getting as close to the boys level as he could.

"Don't ever let anyone tell you that you can't be brave, OK?" He was speaking directly to the boy but his deep voice carried across the hall with little effort, making sure that everyone heard him.

"But it's true, I'm not brave."

"Sure you are, you're talking to us now aren't you? That's brave."

Jason didn't answer.

"There's nothing wrong with being quiet, you know. Not everyone has to be loud and the center of attention."

"But how will I ever be a Thunderbird if I can't be brave and talk to people?"

"I know it's hard, but you don't have to talk to people face to face to be brave or to help people."

"I don't?"

"No, our brother is much like you, he doesn't like to be around many people or to talk to them if he can help it, but he still spends all day, every day helping people."

"How does he do that?"

Virgil smiled. "He listens. And sometimes that's all people need, to know that there is someone out there that cares enough to listen for those that need help. We couldn't do our job without him."

Jason appeared to think about this for a few moments before he nodded. "OK, I'll do that, I'll listen to people and make sure they get help if they need it."

"Good plan," Virgil hauled himself to his feet, patting the boy gently on the shoulder before joining the others once again.

"Are there any more questions?" Principal Jones asked and once again what looked like a million hands shot up into the air.

"It's going to be a long day," Gordon whispered to Selene in a side whisper.

***

"So, everyone clear on the rules?" Selene called over the noise of almost forty excited kids and three grown men who were just as loud.

She, Gordon, Will and a little girl named Mandy were lined up in the center of the games area, while Virgil, Alan and the rest of the children stood in a pack in front of them.

"On your marks, get set, GO!" their teacher yelled, blowing a whistle. The kids surged forwards, Virgil and Alan running with them.

Selene managed to tap two gently on the shoulder, Gordon tagged four and Will and Mandy tagged one each before the rest made it to the other side and safety.

The eight tagged children joined them in the middle, spreading out to form a line of defense.

"We've got them now!" Gordon crowed as the whistle blew again. This time he only caught two and Selene didn't manage one. They were slippery little buggers who could duck and dive better than Kayo.

Third round and Gordon leapt on a screaming Alan, bringing him down to the ground in a tangle of limbs. Selene went after Virgil but missed.

Fifth round and they had all but three children and Virgil in the center, ready to rumble.

"Team, we've made it this far, we've done our best, no matter what happens next, no matter who wins or who falls, we're all winners!" Virgil's rousing speech was met with whoops from his team mates as they exchanged high fives then prepared to run. The whistle blew and they sprang forward.

Two were caught instantly and joined the ranks of the catchers, one dodged past three kids and dived between Selene's legs only to be tagged by Gordon who was protecting her rear. That left…

Alan broke away from the pack and chased after Virgil who was running full pelt, trying to reach the end of the line and dodge around the edge, unable to plow through the middle.

With a battle cry that sounded like a strangled baboon, Alan leapt onto his brother's back.

"Bundle!" he screamed and a gaggle of kids rushed to his aid.

They swarmed Virgil, some grabbing onto his legs, others hanging off his arm as he fought valiantly to keep moving. Technically he had lost the second Alan had landed on his back, but they were clearly having too much fun to stop.

Virgil continued his attempt to walk but eventually he had to give in and admit defeat.

Declaring Virgil the winner, the kids teacher pried a few enthusiastic kids off his leg, although he asked her to leave the little girl who had hold of his hand and was refusing to let go.

It was a tired but happy group of children who waved goodbye to their heros an hour later.

Selene sat back in her chair with an exhausted sigh, Alan beside her. It didn't take long for his eyes to droop shut and his head to come to rest on her shoulder.

She pulled out her phone and started to flick through the pictures she'd taken. There was Gordon making faces with a couple of boys, there was Will reading out his prize winning essay, Alan pointing out various planets and constellations on a map to a number of enthralled kids and last Virgil. The little girl who wouldn't let go of his hand now perched on his lap, hugging his arm as he sat on an impossibly small chair that looked like it was about to buckle any second, a ring of starstruck children sitting on the floor in front of him while he told them stories of their rescues.

Selene had always known that he was an amazing big brother, just like Scott was but for different reasons. Scott was the one that would leap to your defense and want to pummel whoever had hurt his sibling, but he had a devilish streak that surfaced now and then. Virgil always had his brothers backs, he was always there, ready to lend a hand and help them out of any situation, he was the solid, comforting presence that soothed your fears and made everything better. Seeing him with the kids had given her a glimpse of what he must have been like with Alan and Gordon when they were younger and it made her love him all the more.

She hadn't said anything while they had been speaking of children, but one of the reasons she and John were so dead set against kids at that moment in time was because John, as well as the others, knew only too well just how hard it was to grow up missing a parent, and for Alan he'd done it twice. They led dangerous lives and the thought of one of them possibly not making it home to their children one day wasn't something they wanted to think about. But now, seeing how they were with the kids at the school, Selene knew that any child she had would have the most wonderful family to look out for them, with four amazing uncles, a kick ass Auntie in Kayo, a tough as nails Grandma and hopefully a Grandfather that would adore them.

#virgil tracy #alan tracy #gordon tracy #thunderbirds #thunderbirds are go #thunderbirds fanfiction #thunderbirds 2015 #TAG #fabfivefeb

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entering-mymind · 5 years ago

Text

Chapter 8 - The Redemption

This is the eighth episode of the series where I have inserted my OC character (Mando’s daughter) into the Disneyplus television show. With her addition I believe this helps the viewers understand the choices Mando makes in the series. Would love to hear feedback! I do not own these characters and the story and dialogue goes to the respected credit of the screenwriters and creators of the show.

The two Scout troopers sped their way back to the city when they stopped and radioed their fellow comrade.

“Speeder bikes have arrived at the checkpoint with the asset awaiting confirmation,” the first trooper said over his comms when the child began squirming in his satchel, giving the trooper no choice but to punch it, “Knock it off. Waiting for confirmation to continue into town,” he ended.

“That’s a go to proceed, but I advise you to double-check,” the operator began, “The Moff just touched down and already took out a squad of local troopers.”

The two Scout troopers glanced at each other in shock.

“Standing by,” the first trooper replied.

“Did he just say that Gideon killed his own men?” the second trooper questioned.

“Oh, who knows? These guys like to lay down the law when they first arrive into town. You know how it is,” the first trooper pointed out as the child stirred again when the trooper hit it once more, “I said, shut up, geez.”

“What is that thing anyways?” the second trooper asked.

“Uh, I don’t know. Maybe Moff wants to eat it. I don’t ask questions.”

“Can I see it?”

“Did you not just hear that Moff Gideon killed a dozen of his own troopers just to make a point,” the first trooper reminded.

“Okay.”

“I get that point. Do you get the point?”

“Yes.”

“Okay.”

Becoming bored the second trooper decided to practice shooting his blaster but couldn’t hit, for the life of him, the item in the ground. Believing his comrade was inadequate, the first trooper also took out his weapon to hit the target but even he could not hit it.

Baffled the first trooper shook his gun to his ear believing the weapon was the issue, not him. Realizing their target practice was useless they put their blasters away when the second trooper made a recommendation.

“Should we offer that thing some water?”

“You just wanna look at it,” the first trooper pointed out.

“So what? You got to see it.”

“Barely. I mean, I grabbed it up off the ground and I stuffed it in the sack.”

“It’s more than I got to see,” the second trooper pouted.

“Look, I’m not taking it out of this bag until I deliver it to the Moff.”

“Fine.”

“Okay. Stop asking.”

The two Scout troopers got off their bikes and stretched their legs when the first trooper radioed again, “Let me check on this thing. This is crazy. Any update yet?”

“That’s a negative. Still waiting on confirmation. He just killed an officer for interrupting him, so this might take a while,” the operator informed.

“Thank you. Standing by still. Unbelievable,” the first trooper sighed along with his comrade.

“Hey, how long has it been since that thing moved?” the second trooper questioned.

“I don’t know, like a minute of two. Don’t worry.”

“Uh, it’s been way longer than a minute.”

“Oh my God,” the first trooper was getting annoyed.

“Shouldn’t we check and see if it’s still alive? You hit it pretty hard.”

“You just wanna see it.”

“We should check and see if it’s hurt. The last thing you want is to give Gideon a bag and have him open it and find whatever is dead,” the second trooper suggested.

“Okay, okay, look,” the first trooper opened the satchel to revel the coherent child,” Here you go. See? Take a peak. Everything’s fine.”

“What is that,” the second trooper began poking the child with his finger.

“I don’t know. It’s a pet or something.”

“A pet? I thought you ,” but the child quickly bite the finger of the second trooper sending him in yelps.

In anger the second trooper vigorously punched the satchel making the child yip in pain.

“Serves you right,” the first trooper stated when IG-11 approached.

“Stop that,” the droid commanded.

“Identify yourself,” the first trooper ordered when both raised their blasters.

“I am IG-11. I am this child’s nurse droid and require that you remand him to me immediately.”

“A nurse droid? I thought it was a hunter. Aren’t IGs usually hunters?” the second trooper stated.

“Yeah, well, evidently this one’s a nurse. I’m sorry, nurse, but you’re gonna have to get out of here,” the first trooper ordered.

IG-11 made his way towards the troopers as did they when the first trooper shot at IG-11 point blank and still missed.

“Are you refusing my request?” IG-11 asked.

“No, I’m telling you to get out of here,” but the droid responded by snapping the first troopers arm and power driving him into the ground.

IG-11 then disarmed the second trooper and then smashed him into his speeder bike repeatedly. The droid then mounted the other bike, powering it up when obtaining the sack and revealing the child, “That was unpleasant. I’m sorry you had to see that,” IG-11 apologized to the child when he sped off towards the city.

* * *

Gideon stood fierce with his troopers positioned neatly behind him ready to go into battle with the wave of his hand. Trapped, Karga, Mando, his daughter, and Cara all looked to each other for a plan when Cara spoke first.

“Is there another way out?” she questioned to Karga since this was the Guild’s establishment.

“No, that’s it,” Karga informed.

“What about the sewers?” young Mando suggested to her father.

“Sewers?” Karga questioned.

“The Mandalorians have a covert down in the sewers,” Mando revealed, “If we can get down there, they can help us escape.”

“Yeah, sewers are good,” Cara said with hope.

“Checking for access points,” Mando pressed a few buttons on his gauntlet when he began scanning with his visor.

“What the hell are they waiting for?” Cara speculated when she witnessed what the troopers were assembling, “Hold up. They’re setting up an E-Web.”

“It’s over,” Karga declared.

“I found the sewer vent,” Mando stated seeing the access point hidden behind a booth.

“Let’s get out of here,” young Mando insisted when her, Cara, and Mando ran at the sewers location dismantling the area in order to expose their escape route. Mando and Cara gripped at the grate but it wasn’t budging.

“The cannon is assembled,” Karga stated seeing a trooper get behind the E-Web ready to fire at will, “How long until the vent is cleared?”

“Blow it,” Cara suggested.

“I’m out of charges,” Mando informed.

“Maybe I could…” but young Mando was cut off.

“No!” Mando enforced.

“Get out of the way,” Cara shouted when she picked up her blaster and started shooting rapidly, but the grate barely cracked.

“Your astute panic suggests that you understand your situation,” Gideon spoke, “I would prefer to avoid any further violence and encourage a moment of consideration. Members of my escort have completed assembly of an E-Web heavy repeating blaster. If you are unfamiliar with this weapon, I am sure that Republican Shock Trooper Carasynthia Dune of Alderaan will advise you that she has witnessed many of her ranks vaporize mid-descent facing the predecessor of this particular model.”

“Or perhaps the disgraced Magistrate Greef Karga should search the wisdom of his years and urge you to lay down your arms and come outside. The structure you are trapped in will be razed in short order and your storied lives will come to an unceremonious end. But maybe not from the latest information given to me,” Gideon said cryptic.

“I am speaking to you Mandalorian hunter, Din Djarin. I am sure you have heard the songs of the Seige of Mandalore when gunships outfitted with similar ordnance laid waste to fields of Mandalorian recruits in the Night of a Thousand Tears, but let us not dwell on the past when we should be looking to the future with our kin.”

By Gideon’s last word he knew what was to come and looked at his daughter in fear.

“You sure do have a tendency for stealing children who are property of the Empire, Din. First the girl and now the child,” Gideon revealed.

“What did he say?” young Mando asked through an escaped breath.

“It wasn’t clear to me at first, where I found it odd that the only bounty hunter in the Guild would deny missions on Tolarian. Why avoid a planet unless you have something to hide. You did an amazing job concealing her from me for fifteen years, but your caution was what made you slip,” Gideon addressed.

“What is he saying? I don’t understand what he is saying?” young Mando was starting to panic when Mando went to her placing his hands on her shoulders.

“I can only guess what you named the asset since Anara never got the chance to tell you. Which I’m sure you can guess it was I who shot her down in that alley,” Gideon reminded Mando, “Ah, of course,” he thought and then came to a conclusion, “Who wouldn’t name a newly adopted child after the first woman a boy never stops loving; his mother. So, Osa,” Gideon addressed young Mando, “How does it feel to finally learn the truth?”

“He’s lying, he’s lying, you’re my father,” young Mando screamed but Mando stayed silent.

“What do you purpose?” Karga shouted at Gideon.

“Reasonable negotiation,” Gideon replied.

“What assurance do you offer?”

“If you’re asking if you can trust me, you cannot. Just as you betrayed our business arrangement, I would gladly break any promise and watch you die at my hand. Or who knows maybe Osa will do that for me,” Gideon stated ecstatic of his accomplishment with her abilities.

With this address, Cara could see objects taking life and the floor beneath them slightly quake, “Mando, calm her,” Cara briefly whispered when Gideon continued talking.

“The assurance I give is this: I will act in my own self-interest which at this time involves your cooperation and benefit. I want both assets back in my possession by nightfall, if not then I will have the E-Web cannon open fire and I will dissect Osa’s body instead,” Gideon ended when he headed back to his ship followed by his Death Troopers.

* * *

“I say we hear him out,” Karga bluntly said without thinking, “Is it true Mando?”

But he wasn’t paying attention to anyone else but Osa.

“You are my father, right?” she said through a tight chest.

“Search your feelings, what do they tell you?” Mando asked wanting her to come to the ultimate conclusion.

“What does that mean? It’s a simple question. Are you or are you not,” young Mando stressed through tears.

“I am your father no matter what, but I need you to give me the vile and syringe,” Mando out stretched his hand seeing the unraveling events. Hesitantly Osa caved and gave Mando what he wanted.

“I’m really sorry kiddo on what you’re going through but the minute we open that door, we’re dead,” Cara informed.

“We’re dead if we don’t,” Karga said, “At least out there, we’ve got a shot.”

“That’s easy for you to say. I’m a Rebel Shock Trooper. They’ll upload me to a Mind Flayer,” Cara said.

“Those aren’t real. That was just war time propaganda,” Karga informed.

“I don’t care to find out. I’m shooting my way out of here.”

“We need to know who we’re up against.”

“I know who he is, its Moff Gideon,” Mando declared.

“No, he can’t be. Moff Gideon was executed for war crimes and experimentation,” Cara clarified but then realized now why Gideon wanted the child and young Mando so bad.

“It’s him. He knows about us and our names,” Mando informed.

“So, what does that prove?” Karga asked.

“Our names are only spoken within the Tribe, never revealed to outsiders, I haven’t heard my name spoken from an outsider since I was a child,” Mando stated.

“On Mandalore?” Karga asked.

“We were not born on Mandalore.”

“But you’re both Mandalorians.”

“Mandalorian isn’t a race,” Cara said.

“It’s a Creed,” Mando confirmed, “I was a Foundling. They raised me in a Fighting Corps. I was treated as one of their own. When I came of age I was sworn to the Creed just like Osa was. The only record of my family name was in the registers of Mandalore. Moff Gideon was an ISB officer during the purge and later was Moff of Tolarian where Osa was given to me at the age of three. That’s how I know it’s him,” Mando said looking over at his daughter who stood frozen while locked in a deadpan stare.

“So Osa’s the reason why you never took jobs on Tolarian?” Karga questioned.

“I wasn’t sure if I had been marked, so I never went back in order to ensure her safety, but Gideon says he needs us, which might mean the child got away safely plus Osa is with us. I was worried when the Ugnaught didn’t respond but if they captured the kid we’d already be dead,” Mando declared.

“Ummm you might want to rethink your statement,” Cara said while pointing to Osa who suddenly fell to her knees hunched over.

“What’s wrong with her?” Karga asked when he noticed a cup floating in front of his face. Perplexed he tapped at the object when the cup flung in the opposite direction, hitting other free floating objects.

“Osa!” Mando screamed about to get the syringe ready when she glared up and raised her hand.

“No!” Osa knew what he was going to do and froze Mando mid-step.

“What are you doing?” Mando questioned through clenched teeth unable to move his body.

“Finally getting control,” Osa declared when she forced Mando, unwillingly, to the ground with her abilities.

Mando tried to fight off the hold that the invisible force had on him, but was unsuccessful. His body contorted to the floor when Osa slide him to a corner of the cantina pinning him to the wall.

Cara discretely reached for her weapon, just wanting to hit Osa in the armor to distract her, but Cara’s motives were revealed. Osa rose to her knees and noticed Cara’s actions, Osa pointed her other hand at Cara and performed the same motion, forcing Cara to the ground and sliding her in the exact corner Mando was pinned to. Seeing both their fates, Karga put his hands up in surrender when all Osa did was nod her head in the same direction her other two hostages were kept.

Complying, Karga sat next to Mando when Osa rose to her feet in a stagger and looked at them in sadness. It appeared Osa was gaining control over her episode and transferred the hold she had on Cara to the exact same hand where she held Mando, she grunted in pain by feeling the force surge through her body and knew the time had come.

“Osa, please, Mi Pequeno, let us go. We have to fight together,” Mando said broken and afraid of what his daughter was going to do.

“No, this time I’m going at it alone,” young Mando approached the shot out window, one hand still pointed at the three when her other hand extended towards the band of troopers, ready to release havoc.

* * *

Seeing an individual draw near, the Stormtroopers were unclear of what to do, put this person down or engage against Gideon’s orders? Some of the troopers raised their weapons for a scare tactic but they were the ones that should have been afraid.

Like an instinct, Osa listened to what the energy inside of her told her. She focused on all the tiny shards of glass scattered on the floor and picked them up with her mind. As if she was a ticking time bomb she could feel the energy wanting to release from her core. Osa would use this to her advantage in order to add extra strength to the glass so it could easily pierce through the trooper’s armor, taking them out.

Finally the moment arise when she let out a bellowing scream, more out of anger than from not being in control. Like a bomb exploding, the troopers didn’t know what hit them as they were punctured by glass and blown off their feet. With the massive blow, the TIE-fighter was propelled backwards and banged itself into an adjacent building.

With the lose of her consciousness, Mando and Cara were immediately released from Osa’s hold, but Karga still sat there frozen as if he had now been pinned by her abilities.

Mando instantly went to his daughter’s aid while Cara witnessed the destruction but was lost for words. Believing they were out of the woods, Cara peered from the window when back up troopers moved in taking a shot.

“Get down!” Cara exclaimed but the trooper’s attention quickly turned to something fast approaching, a speeder bike with IG-11 and the child occupying it drew near coming to their rescue as well.

Throughout the droids journey through the city it took out the surrounding troopers making them scatter. Knowing they would have to get in on the fight, Mando positioned his daughter out of harms way when he ordered Cara to cover him.

Quickly complying Cara hopped on a table rapidly firing her weapon at the new swarms of troopers while Mando instructed her to protect Osa. Cara nodded in approval when Karga and Mando left the cantina to join in on the, now even, fight.

The two held up their own where Mando saw IG-11 being hit several times and going down with the child secured around its chest. Mando wouldn’t lose anyone today and saw the E-Web cannon unoccupied. Seizing his opportunity Mando picked up the heavy artillery and began rapidly firing anything in white or black armor.

Giddy with glee, Cara chuckled and continued firing her own blaster when the door to the cantina was blown open, sending Cara flying to the ground. The sound of the blast got everyone’s attention realizing the cantina had been breached.

Cara immediately collected her weapon trying to keep out of view from the impeding Death Troopers entering the cantina. Just about to round the corner and take her shot, Cara was pulled back from a conscious Osa as the Death Troopers opened fire.

The two pressed their backs against the bar when Cara waited for an opening from the troopers fire. She peered around the corner ready to take aim but was grazed in the arm.

“Ah!’ Cara shouted slamming herself against the bar.

“Are you alright?” Osa was about to tend to Cara’s wound but she suggested something else.

“I’m okay, can you throw them or disarm them somehow?”

“I can try but I need a visual,” Osa stated when she caught a reverse glimpse of the troopers helmets in a wine glass, the reflection reveled an exposed pipe located in the ceiling above them.

Immediately Osa concentrated on the heavy steel above the Death Troopers dropping it on them with a smack and taking them out of commission. Relieved that they were, for now, out of harms way, Osa approached the window to see how their team was doing when she saw Gideon walk towards Mando who wasn’t aware of his exposure.

In surprise, Mando was hit in the back by Gideon’s blast but the Beskar held up, getting Mando’s attention he turned the cannon right at Gideon ready to end him, but Gideon struck first. With one shot Gideon hit the fuel tank, which operated the cannons fire power, engulfing Mando in flames and blasting him into the air several feet and onto his back, going lifeless.

“DAD!” Osa shouted in a frantic, hopping out of the cantina window and straight for her father.

Karga and IG-11 saw Osa and covered her as more troopers began to encircle them. Osa made it to Mando putting her hands underneath his shoulders and trying to lift him, but he was too heavy for her. She immediately fell to the ground with Mando in her arms when blaster fire was directed their way. Without hesitation Osa covered her father’s body with her own absorbing the shots with her armor.

“Obtain the asset,” Gideon pointed at Osa when a team of troopers headed her way.

Seeing the ranks collapse, Cara exited the cantina and shouted for Karga and IG-11 to cover her as she made her way towards the Mandalorians.

“I can’t carry him,” Osa said defeated.

“It’s okay. I’ll get him to safety, here,” Cara handed Osa her blaster signaling for her to take out the advancing troopers.

Cara put her arms underneath Mando’s shoulders and dragged him inside the cantina, the rest followed but was ambushed from another team.

“Stay with me, buddy. We’re gonna get you out of here,” Cara said trying to encourage Mando when Karga dove in as IG-11 and Osa continued firing, taking out as many troopers as they could.

Karga headed for the sewer grate and questioned Cara, “This is our only path out. Can you clear it?”

But her attention was solely on Mando, “Stay with me.”

“I’m not gonna make it,” Mando responded through a strained voice.

“Shut up. You just got your bell rung. You’ll be fine,” she said shaky.

“Please, protect my daughter and the child, she won’t leave me, you have to convince her,” Mando said when Cara removed her hand from behind Mando’s helmet, which was covered in his blood.

“I’m gonna need to take this thing off,” Cara said in certainty.

“No,” he gripped Cara’s hands, preventing her from removing his helmet, “You make sure the children are safe. Osa knows the way in the sewers, once you get to the Mandalorian covert you give my daughter this,” Mando dug underneath his tunic and revealed a necklace with a Mythosaur emblem attached to the end, it seemed symbolic.

“No, you give it to her yourself,” Cara declared when IG-11 entered along with Osa who locked the secondary door behind them.

IG-11 set the child down and confronted Karga who he was unfamiliar with, “If you go near this child, I will have no choice but to kill you,” the droid threatened.

“I understand. Can you do anything to move the grate?” Karga asked in panic.

“Yes, of course.”

“Oh, I love IG units,” Karga praised as IG-11 began welding through the metal.

“Papi!” Osa shouted running at Mando and falling to her knees. She started to look him over when she glared at Cara and noticed her bloody hand, “No, no, no,” Osa said in distress, “IG I need you to scan my dad.”

“Osa,” Mando stressed her name trying to get her to focus on him.

“IG-11, now!” she screamed, rattling the building’s structure.

“Osa, look at me,” Mando placed his hand on the side of her helmet as if he was caressing her cheek and turned her to face him.

Cara could sense a last goodbye and didn’t want to ruin their intimate father/daughter moment.

“Osa, please, you must leave me,” Mando instructed.

“No, I won’t, I can’t. I don’t care, I’ve searched my feelings. You’re my father. You will always be my father,” Osa rested her head on his chest and he placed a hand on her helmet when a burst of flames erupted through the cantina window.

Everyone took cover realizing they were losing time where IG-11 was still chiseling away at the grate.

“You know this is the way,” Mando began raising his daughter’s head, “I can hold them back long enough for you and everyone to escape. Here,” Mando handed Osa the Mythosaur emblem, “You have earned your independence and the title, now you are the Mandalorian,” Mando said proudly.

“No, I won’t leave you,” Osa declared when the cantina door burst open and more flames erupted.

Upon entry, one single Flame Trooper stood in the doorway ready to incinerate the place to the ground. The trooper raised his flame thrower, not giving anyone time to protect themselves when he ignited a ball of flames.

Everyone stared at their demise as Osa would die a warrior’s death at her father’s side when the child, heroically, stepped in front with both hands stretched out. With one flick of his wrist, the child propelled the ball of flames back onto the trooper, igniting an explosion and sending the trooper out of the cantina engulfed in his own fire. In exhaustion the child fell into unconsciousness when IG-11 kicked open the sewer grate.

“Come on! It’s open, let’s go!” Karga informed.

“Go,” Mando tried to convince his daughter.

“We have to move! Now!” Karga shouted.

“I have an idea,” Osa said releasing her grip on her father’s hand.

She went and picked up the child cradling him in her arms, Osa approached Cara placing him in the satchel and then handing it to her gently.

“Take him and this,” Osa gave the emblem as well.

“I’m not leaving both of you,” Cara stated.

“You’re not. My father won’t remove his helmet around others, but he will around me. IG-11 I need you to run a medical diagnostic on him while I go over the plan with Cara,” Osa instructed.

“Of course,” IG-11 said and walked over to Mando kneeling in front of him.

“Do it,” Mando suggested.

“Do what, your daughter has instructed me to run a medical diagnostic on you,” IG-11 informed.

“Don’t bother. I know my fate. Just get it over with. I’d rather you kill me than some Imp.”

“I told you. I am no longer a hunter. I am a nurse droid.”

“IGs are all hunters.”

“Not this one. I was reprogrammed by the late Ugnaught named Kuiil. I need to remove your helmet if I am to diagnosis you,” IG-11 placed its hand underneath Mando’s helmet when he pulled his blaster on the droid.

“Try it and I’ll kill you. It is forbidden. No living thing has seen me without my helmet since I was sworn back into the Creed,” Mando revealed briefly reliving the tender moment he shared with Anara when he glanced over looking at his pride and joy.

* * *

“The sewers can be very confusing,” Osa started, “If I’m visualizing my whereabouts correct, in order to reach the covert you must head straight and then turn right. You will have to make a left at the third corridor and then at the fork you must go left, now this is where it gets tricky.”

“Aren’t you going to lead us?” Karga questioned.

“Yes, okay scratch that, just head straight until you can’t go any further and then turn right. I’ll meet you there.”

“Promise me you’ll both be there,” Cara said.

“You have my word,” Osa swore and then watched Karga, Cara, and the child leave the cantina.

She sighed in sadness and then turned to see her father’s blaster pointed at IG-11, “Papi, no, don’t,” Osa put her hand on the weapon signaling for him to lower it.

Surprisingly he complied and just gazed at his daughter in taking her image for one last time, but she had other intentions. Without thought Osa removed her gloves believing this would give her additional assistance to heal her father.

“What are you doing?” Mando was slowly fading.

“I’m going to heal you, but I need IG-11 to run a diagnostic on your head so I know where to concentrate, which means I will have to remove your helmet. You’re not going to try and shoot me too?” Osa attempted to joke but could sense the light slipping from her father.

Mando tried to chuckle when Osa placed her hand underneath his helmet and clicked it open. Slowly she lifted it off not wanting to cause him further damage or discomfort. Osa placed his helmet beside her and looked upon her father’s face, which she hadn’t seen in almost a year.

He was still very handsome, even through all the blood that stained his skin and ran from his nose. She smiled wide while glaring at his round face that had stubble slowly growing back, his brown hair –that had a touch of white on the sides- was disgruntled and drenched in sweat while it slightly curled at the ends. His brown eyes beamed with pride up at her and glistened over, believing this would be his last image of his daughter and he didn’t want it to be of her helmet.

“Let me look at you,” Mando said through a shaky voice.

“But it’s not my date of existence,” Osa assured.

“No, it’s not,” Mando replied not caring.

Without hesitation Osa immediately clicked her helmet open revealing similar features he possessed but feminine. Osa couldn’t understand how she could not be Din Djarin’s daughter, she had both his hair and eye color, the same quirk of the ends of her hair curling from the humidity, to even sharing the shape of his nose and jawline.

Immediate tears filled her eyes when she removed her father’s glove and placed his actual hand finally on her cheek, absorbing his touch and smelling his skin. Din wasted no time and finally caressed her cheek, in taking the smoothness of her skin with his thumb while feeling her tears rain from her chocolate eyes.

Osa smiled into his palm and then placed it on the ground so she could dig her face into the crook of his neck, slightly crying. Din put his hand into her hair truly embracing her closer when he placed his nose beside her head. There, right above her ear, was always a distinct smell she always possessed.

He remembered when Osa was little and would fall asleep in his arms, he would rest his nose in that exact spot inhaling her scent; Anara’s scent, the only trait she inherited from her mother. He would brush Osa’s hair out from her face, hoping to relax her from the horrid nightmares that invaded her dreams. He would even hum a tune that he remembered his mother use to sing to him as a child, in order to bring his daughter solace.

Even now, Din wanted to brush his hand through her hair and hum the melody in order to bring her closure, but Osa quickly rose and noticed the touch of white coloring the sides of his hair. She went and smoothed the area with her thumb showcasing a half smile.

“Oh no, I hope this isn’t due to me,” pointing out how stressful she had made his life.

“Never, Mi Pequeno, just getting old,” Din replied finally seeing her fully smile; his smile.

In reaction he smiled back reaching for her once again when she didn’t waste the chance, kissed his palm and then placed his hand on her cheek. Realizing time was of the essence, Osa set her father’s arm down and instructed IG-11 to run the medical diagnostic. The droid ignited a red beam and scanned from the top of Din’s head to the bottom of his chest.

“He has suffered severe damage to his central processing unit,” IG-11 informed.

“English please,” Osa declared confused.

“His cerbal matter is fried,” IG-11 tried to be funny.

“I don’t speak medical.”

“He means by brain,” Din clarified.

“I tried a joke. It is meant to put everyone at ease,” IG-11 clarified.

“We will need to reprogram your sense of humor later,” Osa stated when she nodded her head for encouragement to herself and placed her hands under her father’s head, “IG-11 once I heal him still spray him with bacta incase I can not close the wound. It’s just me this time. Okay, here we go.”

Osa secured her hands behind her father’s head and closed her eyes, sensing the injury, seeing the injury, and then willing it to heal by transferring her source of energy into him. Through her touch she began propelling her own essence into her father, sending him in discomfort because it was happening faster than his body could handle.

He closed his eyes, concentrating not to pass out when the blood on his face started to retract up his nostril and reenter the cuts on his face when even those sealed. Osa was deep in concentration, deeper than she had ever expected to go and saw the very thing her father always kept hidden from her; the memory of when he received her.

The event played out like a film, she could see through his eyes, the commotion of chaos, and dead Stormtroopers lining the alley. There in the distance a woman stood, mouthing words he couldn’t hear, she prevented his advancement with a hand of warning when she was gunned down. The memory continued rapidly as it imprinted within her mind, but the overload was too much when Osa dropped to the ground unconscious, unable to register the rest. Once her hold on him was released, Din opened his eyes and breathed heavy, exhausted and yet rejuvenated at the same time.

Seeing this as his cue, IG-11 sprayed the bacta ointment on the back of Din’s head when he suddenly realized Osa was not in his sight. Faster than he expected, Din sat up, noticing his daughter’s body twisted and not moving.

“Osa,” Din got to his knees and cradled her head in his hands, noticing the exact same white that painted the sides of his hair now colored hers, “What happened?”

Din caught a glimpse of his reflection in his helmet noticing a completely healed face and a full head of brown hair. He brushed the white with his thumb on Osa’s head hoping to smear the color out, but it had become permanent.

“I must run another diagnostic on you to make sure you have healed completely,” IG-11 declared.

“I’m not worried about me, scan my daughter now!” Din commanded and the droid complied.

IG-11 performed the exact same scan as he did with Din, from the top of her head ending at the bottom of her chest, “She is completely healthy, just depleted, the reason for her unconsciousness.”

“But how did she receive the white from my hair?”

“It appears the only logical answer would be is she absorbed some of the years you already lived.”

“You’re suggesting she de-aged me by taking years off from my life and absorbing them herself?” Din questioned in anger.

“Yes.”

“How do I take them back?” he shouted in frustration.

“I believe you can not because you do not possess abilities like her.”

Din exasperated in sadness, he brushed Osa’s hair away from her face and kissed her forehead, he then placed his own forehead on hers feeling defeated because it was his duty to protect her, not the other way around.

Understanding there was nothing he could do, Din reassembled both their armor and helmets ready to rejoin the others in the sewers.

* * *

Cara, Karga, and the child waited, becoming a bit impatient, Cara was starting to get worried when she heard loud clanking footsteps draw near. Around the corner they noticed a light shine as Mando had his helmet flashlight illuminated. He staggered a bit due to carrying Osa in his arms.

Cara approached in concern, “What happened to her? Are you alright?”

“We’re both fine, she’s just unconscious,” Mando informed.

“Will she recover soon?”

“I hope so,” when everyone moved out.

All five of them walked aimlessly through the tunnels and became frustrated.

“Do you know which way to go Mando?” Karga asked.

“No, I don’t know these tunnels like Osa. I’ve only entered from the bazaar.”

“Well, if we get the smell of sulfur and we follow it, it’ll lead us up to the plains where the river flows,” Karga suggested as everyone continued walking.

“If we keep this up the Imps will catch us before we make it to the ship. We need the Mandalorians to escort us to safety,” Mando stated.

“Ugh, this place is a maze. What did Osa say before? Go straight and then turn right, then at the third corridor turn left,” Cara began going through the instructions Osa briefly laid out, “There was something about at the fork we go left.”

“Which we did, but then she said after that is where it becomes tricky,” Karga chimed in.

“Tricky is right.”

“Wait, I think I know where we are,” Mando was starting to get his bearings because these corridors was where the younglings liked to play hide and seek, and the place he would always find his daughter, “We’re close, turn here.”

Everyone followed Mando when they rounded one more corner and then stepped down into an abandoned area that was only occupied by a pile of battle scorned Mandalorian helmets and armor. Shocked and then saddened, Mando slowly approached and knelt before his fallen comrades. He placed Osa in front of him when he picked up an empty helmet analyzing the damage and who use to wear it.

Slowly Cara drew near afraid of Mando’s reaction when she suggested that they leave.

“You go. Take the ship. I can’t leave it this way. Did you know about this?” Mando turned to Karga, “Is this the work of your bounty hunters?” his voice became angry.

“No. When you and the kiddo left the system and took the prize, the fighting ended and the hunters just melted away. You know how it is? They’re mercenaries. They’re not zealots,” Karga explained.

“Did you do this? Did you?” Mando laid Osa down when he rose to his feet digging his finger into Karga’s chest and getting into his face.

“No!” Karga shouted back.

“It was not his fault,” the female Armorer exclaimed while stepping out of the Armory, “With your daughter’s pleas we revealed ourselves. We knew what could happen if we left the covert,” The Armorer approached the pile, “The Imperials arrived shortly thereafter. This is what resulted,” she glared at the armor also in sadness.

“Did any survive?” Mando questioned and put Osa back in his arms.

“I hope so. Some may have escaped off-world,” she began placing the armor into a bin.

“Come with us,” Mando suggested.

“No. I will not abandon this place until I have salvaged what remains. What happened to your daughter?”

“She is unconscious.”

“Why?”

Confused Mando believed everyone knew of her episodes, “You know why.”

“Hmm, I know more than what you think,” the Armorer said cryptic and then pushed the bin into the Armory.

“Wait,” Mando rushed after her as everyone else followed.

Mando handed Osa to IG-11 so he could pursue the conversation more freely.

“All these years and you’ve known something about her?” Mando started but the Armorer was busy melting down a chest plate and began her own topic.

“Show me the one whose safety deemed such destruction,” the Armorer commanded when Cara unfolded the satchel the child was kept in reveling it, “This is the one that both of you hunted, then you saved?”

“Yes. But it helped save me as well,” Mando reminded.

“From the Mudhorn?”

“Yes.”

“It looks helpless just like when your daughter was small, but we all witnessed what she can do.”

“He can do the same and move things with his mind, tell me what you know,” Mando was getting frustrated, “For fifteen years I have searched for answers to help her, so she wouldn’t live in fear of herself and this whole time you have been with holding necessary information.”

“Silence your tongue, unlike yourself I am a descendent from Mandalore so I know the stories of which have been passed down from our history. What I can reveal is the songs of eons past tell of battles between Mandalore the Great, and an order of sorcerers called Jedi that fought with such powers like hers and what you compare with the child.”

“The Jedi, are they an enemy? Is that why you never revealed these stories in order to protect her?”

“Yes and no. Their kinds were enemies, but Osa and this child are not. Just as you were given Osa, by Creed, the child is also in your care.”

“You wish me to train the child?”

“It is too weak. It would die. You have no choice. You must reunite it with its own kind.”

“Where?”

“This, you must determine.”

“You expect me to search the galaxy for the home of this creature and deliver it to a race of enemy sorcerers?”

“You did for your daughter, besides it appears these two are more connected then meets the eye. She will most likely benefit as well. This is the way.”

“Hey, these tunnels will be swarming with Imps in a matter of minutes. We should at least discuss an escape plan,” Cara informed with a hint of panic.

“If you follow the descending tunnel, it will lead you to the underground river. It flows downstream toward the lava flats,” the Armorer instructed.

“I think we should go,” Karga said.

“I’m staying. I need to help her and Osa needs time to heal,” Mando declared.

“You must go. These children are in your care, by Creed, until they have reached their day of independence or reunited with their own kind you are their father. This is the way,” the Armorer finished what she had been forging in the fire and turned to Mando, “You have earned your Signet,” in her design she forged a skeleton in the Mudhorn’s shape and welded it on his right pauldron, “Never have we had a clan of three, lead them well.”

“Thank you. I will and wear this with honor,” Mando said with sincerity.

“We should go,” Karga stated.

“IG, please guard the outer hallway. A scouting party draws near,” the Armorer said when IG-11 handed Karga the unconscious Osa and exited the Armory.

“I have one more gift for your journey,” the Armorer began, “Have you trained in the Rising Phoenix?”

“When I was a boy, yes,” Mando declared.

“Then this will make you complete,” the Armorer held out a jetpack Mando previously desired.

“Thank you.”

“When the time is right you will begin your drills. Until you know it, it will not listen to your commands.”

“I understand,” suddenly a wave of blaster fire and screams could be heard when IG-11 came back.

“You are protected,” the droid clarified.

“More will come. You must go,” the Armorer said.

“Come with us,” Mando hoped.

“My place is here,” she reminded, “Restock your munitions.”

IG-11 took Osa back from Karga when Mando began replenishing his depleted artillery.

“IG, also carry this for Din Djarin until he is ready to wear it. Now go. Down to the river and across the plains. Be safe on your journey,” the Armorer ended.

“Thank you,” Mando replied as everyone left and headed for the riverbank.

* * *

The armorer sat on her knees with her welding tools crossed in front of her chest, a team of Stormtoopers entered her sanctuary uninvited as they commanded to know the whereabouts of the criminals. She sat in silence contemplating which one to take out first when the decision was made for her by the trooper, who clanked his blaster against her helmet, demanded to know where they were.

Like a striking snake, she wielded her tools with fierce blows, smashing metal against armor taking out her assailants with ease. Their blasters didn’t even graze her Beskar due to her quick reflexes and combat skills. She stood in victory as her attackers lay on the floor where they belonged.

* * *

It didn’t take long until they reached the lava river when they came upon a large gondola powered by an R2 unit. Upon inspection the boat didn’t seem in good shape plus the ferry droid seemed unoperational as Mando pointed out.

“Yeah, but if we push the boat out, we can get it to float downstream. Come on,” Karga suggested and began pushing but the boat didn’t move.

“Looks old. Will it take the heat?” Mando questioned for their safety.

“You got a better idea?” Karga said frustrated.

“Guess not,” Mando realized when him and Karga started to push but the boat would not budge.

In agitation Mando kicked the boat and grabbed a pole hoping to lodge the gondola free. Karga and Mando began their tactic again but Cara had a different solution.

“You guys mind getting out of the way?” she said while holding the child in one hand and her blaster gun in the other.

Immediately Karga and Mando moved as she opened rapid fire freeing the boat from being cemented to the edge.

“Good job,” Karga complimented when everyone climbed aboard as it began floating down stream.

“Watch your feet. It’s molten lava,” IG-11 informed while placing Osa down.

“No kidding,” Mando sarcastically said under his breath while checking on his daughter who would have most likely made that comment, “Come on Osa, wake up,” he put his hand on the side of her helmet a bit concerned why she was still unconscious.

Granted the child still seemed depleted from stopping the fireball, it was only logical that Osa was still unconscious because she had healed a massive injury in his head, plus took off years from his life, which meant she absorbed them, possibly even aging herself up.

Suddenly a beeping occurred getting everyone’s attention, drawing their blasters as they watched the R2 ferry droid thrive with life. It broke through the hardened lava that had encased it, revealing arms and legs as it extended to a standing position with a stick ready to steer its passengers.

“I don’t suppose anybody here speaks droid?” Mando asked.

“I believe he is asking where we would like to go,” IG-11 chimed in.

“Down river. To the lava flat,” Karga instructed.

With this the droid complied happily chirping while rowing them down the lava bank. The ride wasn’t long when Karga spotted the opening.

“That’s it. We’re free,” Karga said in enthusiasm.

Mando stepped forward igniting his heat sensor on his visor, spotting a team of Stormtroopers awaiting their arrival.

“No, we’re not. Stormtroopers. They’re flanking the mouth of the tunnel. It looks like an entire platoon. They must know we’re coming,” Mando informed.

“Stop the boat,” Cara demanded, “Hey droid, I said stop the boat. Hey I’m talking to you, I said stop,” Cara approached the droid and blasted its dome clean off.

“We’re still moving,” Karga said.

“Looks like we fight,” Cara stated.

“There are too many,” Mando declared.

“Then what do you suggest? Both of our strongest defenses are decommissioned,” Cara pointed to the child and Osa, “I can’t surrender,” she added.

“They will not be satisfied with anything less than the child,” IG-11 began, “This is unacceptable. I will eliminate the enemy and you will escape.”

“You don’t have that kind of firepower, pal,” Mando reminded, “You wouldn’t even get to daylight.”

“That is not my objective,” IG-11 said.

“We’re getting close. Saddle up,” Cara handed the child back to IG-11 when she moved to the front of the boat prepping for battle.

“I still have the security protocols from my manufacturer. If my designs are compromised I must self-destruct,” IG-11 informed.

“What are you talking about?” Mando asked walking up to the droid.

“I am not permitted to be captured. I must be destroyed,” IG-11 said.

“Are we gonna keep talking or get out of here?” Karga declared.

“I can no longer carry this for you,” IG-11 set down Mando’s jetpack, “Nor can I watch over the child.”

“Wait. You can’t self-destruct. Your base command is to watch the child. That supersedes your manufacturer’s protocol, right? Right?” Mando tried to find a loophole for the droid.

“This is correct,” IG-11 confirmed.

“Good. Now, grab a blaster and help us shoot our way out.”

“Victory through combat is impossible. We will be captured. Your children will be lost. Sadly, there is no scenario where the child is saved, in which I survive.”

“Listen, you’re not going anywhere. We need you. Let’s just come up with a…,” but Mando was cut off.

“Please tell me the child will be safe in your care. If you do so, I can default to my secondary command.”

“But you’ll be destroyed.”

“And you will live, and I will have served my purpose.”

“No. We need you,” Mando’s voice almost broke.

“There is nothing to be sad about. I have never been alive,” IG-11 informed.

“I’m not sad,” Mando tried to pass off.

“Yes, you are. I’m a nurse droid. I’ve analyzed your voice.”

IG-11 handed the child to Mando when the droid stroked the tip of the child’s ear with care, without thought IG-11 stepped into the lava river and walked towards the mouth of the tunnel, its legs slowly disintegrating from the intense heat, but he proceeded forward in determination.

* * *

The troopers stood fierce, blasters drawn, ready to take out their assailants when IG-11 emerged from the tunnel and spoke a warning, “Manufacturer’s protocol dictates I can not be captured,” a plate slide down from its chest revealing the thermal detonator already activated, “I must be destroyed,” when IG-11 exploded taking out all the troopers with him.

Slowly the boat glided forward revealing the destruction IG-11 left behind, no trooper survived where only fire burned. Cara had her gun drawn ready in case for a second wave but none followed.

All was quiet when suddenly the sound of a TIE-Fighter soared overhead as Cara stated the obvious, “Moff Gideon!”

Everyone drew their blasters firing at the ship but their firepower did not penetrate the fighter’s steel.

“He missed,” Karga said.

“He won’t next time,” Mando informed.

“Our blasters are useless against him,” Cara pointed out.

“Can you wake up the kiddo? Or let’s make the baby do the magic hand thing. Come on, baby! Do the magic hand thing,” Karga held up his hand displaying three fingers hoping the child would understand but it only waved back at him in glee, “I’m out of ideas.”

“I’m not,” Mando said determined.

“Here he comes,” Cara shouted raising her weapon when Mando strapped on his jetpack.

Gideon approached head on, ready to take them all out, assets or no assets, when he blasted his cannon fire but Mando shot straight into the sky. Immediately Mando released his grappling hook, strapping onto the TIE-fighter and igniting his jetpack so as to get a firm grip.

Mando landed on top of the fighter, getting a visual on Gideon inside trying to blast his way through but the shields held up. With one turn of his wheel, Mando lost his hold and was flung onto the fighter’s wing. Desperately he held on for dear life, grabbing a thermal detonator but the wind pushed it out of his hand.

Gideon attempted a few more maneuvers but Mando was able to secure his last detonator and released his grip. Instantly a rapid beeping informed Gideon of the device but it was to late. The detonator exploded sending the fighter into a wielding spiral and crashing in the distance. Falling hard and fast, Mando ignited his jetpack allowing him to ease into his landing.

“That was impressive, Mando. Very impressive,” Karga complimented, “It looks like both your Guild rates have just gone up.” Mando tilted his head hoping Karga would receive the hint, “Sorry not the kiddos, her secret is safe,” Karga stated.

“Any more Stormtroopers?” Mando asked.

“I think we cleaned up the town,” Cara said in confidence, “I’m thinking of staying around just to be sure.”

“You’re staying here?” Mando questioned with bafflement.

“Well why not? Nevarro is a very fine planet. And now that the scum and villainy have been washed away, it’s very respectable again,” Karga informed.

“As a bounty hunter hive?” Mando asked.

“Some of my favorite people are bounty hunters. And perhaps, this specimen of a solider might consider joining our ranks,” Karga tried smooth talking Cara.

“Yeah. I’ve got some clerical concerns regarding my chain code,” she informed.

“And if you would agree to become my enforcer, clerical concerns would be the least of your worries,” Karga hoped he was convincing her, “But you, my friend, you and your daughter will be welcomed back into the Guild with open arms. So go off and enjoy yourself. And when you’re ready to return, you will have the pick of all quarries,” Karga stated in honesty.

“I’m afraid I have more pressing matters at hand,” Mando said taking the child from Cara and moving towards his daughter.

“Take care of them,” Cara said with sincerity.

“Or maybe, they’ll take care of you,” Karga spoke hypothetically.

Mando strapped the child to his chest, double checking he was secure when he picked up his daughter in his arms, curling her body close. Mando ignited his jetpack and rose into the sky while Karga and Cara watched them fade into the distance.

Once Mando reached the ship he placed Osa in her bed hoping she would awaken soon. He placed his hand on the side of her helmet gazing at her with affection when Mando placed the child next to her.

“Do you think you can awaken her?” Mando asked the child but it only stared back at him, snuggling up next to her.

Realizing he gave it a shot Mando knew he had one last thing to do. In honor, Mando buried Kuiil creating a rock grave and placing Kuiil’s headgear and goggles as his marker, forever leaving Kuiil’s legacy behind.

Mando went back to check on his children and noticed the child was gnawing on something, “What do you got there?” Mando reached for the item and realized it was the Mythasour emblem, “I didn’t think I’d see this again or either of you,” Mando spoke while pondering over so much.

“Why don’t you hang onto that until she wakes up,” he handed the emblem back to the child when it started suckling on it again, “Can you keep her company?” Mando asked as the child snuggled back up against Osa, drifting off to sleep himself. Mando smiled and placed a blanket over the two when he went to the cockpit, fired up the Razor Crest and headed into the vast darkness of space.

* * *

At the crash site Jawas had already began collecting parts to sell. They rummaged through vigorously trying to find all the best parts when suddenly a crackling startled them. A bright flame sparked but then was replaced with a saber, colored black, cutting through the TIE-fighter’s steal creating a path of escape. Once freed, out stepped a furious Gideon searching for his assailants, with no luck he climbed to the top of his destroyed fighter, cape billowing in the wind, and gripped in his hand was the Mandalore sacred relic that had united the clans; the dark saber.

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