#anyways back to the topic at hand the concept of interdimensional and time travel in pokemon is soo cool and interesting to me

[springtrappd]

it is genuinely difficult for me to even attempt to summarise the jargon-heavy ramblings that is Trying To Explain Esoteric Religions in a post about five nights at freddy's. like i've thought about doing this before and stopped every time because there's like, fifty years of history there and the thought of trying to explain emanation to a thirteen-year-old makes me want to re-enroll in high school so i can drop out again. but as a brief example

yeag

like. i'm not a ufo guy. (i think you can guess what brand of pseudoscience haunts my creative process.) but the fact that "what if ufos are actually interdimensional travellers briefly phasing into our plane of existence" is a real theory (that my mother........ believes.............)(she also thinks they're demons. no i don't know why. no i am not going to ask) is a bit. Telling. i would say.

the tldr is that once you open your mind to one fringe idea, you kinda leave the door open for all of its relatives to come on in? and also it is incredibly easy to just... replace the mystical Almighty with the (slightly less mystical) extraterrestrial Almighty -- because they are, functionally, the same thing; they are an otherworldly force that exists on a different playing field to humanity, an awesome ideal we must aspire to reach; they are the guiding hand watching us through history, the paternalistic guardians waiting to bring us home, the ones who shall judge us for our failures. ufo-based religions simply replace the metaphorical heavens with literal ones. you can touch the stars no more than you can touch an angel.

(wanna acknowledge that this is also all very christocentric, but that's because these religions are; they ape the language and aesthetics and concepts of eastern religions, yeah, but in their appropriation they reinterpret them into something entirely new. And that new thing just so happens to be "what if Gnosticism was overtly racist")

so anyway yeah i think the topics of ufology and spiritualism are inherently linked, and this would've been especially so back in the 70-80s. which we care about because this is a five nights at freddy's blog and that is when afton would've been kicking around with it. and i think any exposure to conspiratorial shit like, at all would've sent him down the rabbit hole of occultism -- which isn't necessarily a bad thing?

like, if you go with the idea that fnaf4 was him experimenting on kids -- that's backyard psychology experiments, not tests of The Spirit™️. yeah yeah frights has talbert studying agony fuckin' whatever, he both isn't afton and explicitly comes after him on the timeline. there's nothing in the games (or fuck, even in afton's many... many speeches) to indicate that that stuff was necessarily spiritual to him. and what i'm leading into here is a thing i think most people get wrong about afton, which is that he only gets metaphysical after charlie dies.

it's kinda undeniable that he was always thinking about it -- you don't make something like the funtimes without it haunting you the way batshit metaphysics haunts me -- but he doesn't get his modus operandi until after charlie dies... and the puppet gets back up. (SECRET OF THE MIMIC HAVING NOT YET RELEASED ON THE 22/03/2025) it's only after the bite victim and the crying child kick the bucket that he pivots away from the fear fixation towards the focus on life (and the expression of it) -- likely because it gave him an answer to his own fears. (remember: control is the point. power is simply a tool he uses to take it.)

so you can make the argument that if nothing had gone wrong, afton would've been able to explore his... neuroses interests in less destructive ways. kinda hard to do it without the catalyst, right? but i think that's also missing The Point, which is that it was never the murder that was the catalyst -- it was always afton himself.

afton chose to neglect his kids. afton chose to distance himself from everyone. afton chose to kill his best friend's kid. afton chose to deceive his best friend. afton chose all of it. they are his choices, regardless of his reasons for making them -- and they are choices made because of who afton was as a person: an emotionally volatile coward with a dozen different complexes that he insisted on taking out on others rather than processing in literally any other way.

and as i must always remind everyone: spring bonnie (the truest face of afton) thinks of what he's doing as an expression of love -- an expression of love that he learnt from henry. "your father loved and now i have loved" etc etc.

(and henry chose to neglect his kids. henry chose to distance himself from everyone. henry chose to ignore his best friend's actions. henry chose to build what he did. and this is why henry chooses to hate himself, regardless of his reasons for making them: because he sees his choices and finds them lacking.) (afton hates himself as much as he loves henry because he loves himself as much as he hates henry; henry loves afton as much as he hates himself and henry hates afton because he cannot love himself. the galvanising force behind henry's despair is not his anger at being slighted, it is his fury over the harm afton brought to innocents. it's one thing to hurt him; it's another thing to hurt those he loves. this is the key difference between them.)

so: the tragedy of fnaf is that no matter what path he took, afton was always going to implode -- and he was always going to insist on taking out as many people as he could with him (and preferably his loves ones, see the whole love thing). it's less of a question of "would he" and more "how big would the scale be?" and the answer is "the population of a small town" so y'know maybe the whole ufospotting thing is exactly up his alley, actually

Anyway. hope you enjoyed whatever the fuck this stream of consciousness was. i have barely edited any of this. consider this me reaffirming my commitment to write up that analysis of remnant eventually. and a plea for help i guess, that too

If nothing bad* happened to his kids william would gotten into ufology instead of spiritualism

i have incredibly bad news about what ufology is adjacent to and how deeply the historic ties run between esoteric spiritualism and conspiracy theory culture as we know it today, anon

[darkanachronism]

Keziah Mason Meets the Whateley’s

"Who 're yew an' what're yew doin' in my lab?"  Wilbur demanded, looking down at the old woman.

"Depends," she started, "on why you smell like Yuggoth."

~~~~~

What’s this, me posting writing on main?  More likely then you think.  Anyways have the Lovecraft crossover no one asked for. 

Wilbur had been preparing the shed for some time now.  He didn't have to yet, but he would eventually with Twin getting as big as it was.  

For now though, he just wanted a bit of space.  A little respite from his mother, from his brother.  From the Byhakee it had upstairs.

Just a quiet place to read, to write, to study.  

Admittedly it was a rather sad little makeshift lab, but it was his nonetheless.  The chairs and tables fit him, he barely had to stoop to get in the door, yes this was as comfortable as he could hope to get.  

Wilbur was just about to enter with another armful of books when he heard a crash from inside.

The crash, and accompanying string of curse words belonged to an old woman stumbling out of a corner, tripping over a pile of books and face planting onto the floor.

Keziah Mason has taken a wrong turn on her trip back to Arkham.  Something she immediately decided not to tell anyone about, in a rush or not this was an amateur mistake.  

She rolled onto her back and cussed again.  Being fairly certain she'd heard some bone or other make a noise it shouldn't.  And took in her surroundings, digging in the pockets of her robe for something to throw at whoever owned the place.  

The door creaked open and Keziah was staring down the barrel of a revolver.  

Fuck.

"Who 're yew an' what're yew doin' in my lab?"  Wilbur demanded, looking down at the old woman.  She looked harmless.  

So did lots of things.

Keziah blinked in surprise, trying to take in all of the massive figure that loomed above her, to place the unearthly stink that came off him, and come up with an answer to his questions all at once.  

"Depends," she started, "on why you smell like Yuggoth."

She managed two out of three, and to stall for time on the third. The gun lowered just a little, Wilbur's brows furrowing in surprise.  Not the answer he’d been expecting. Or for that matter one he’d accept.

"I’ll answer yew once yew answer me seein’ as I asked first an' I've got the gun."

No point in distracting himself.

"Both valid points.  I'm Keziah Mason, and I took a wrong turn.  Now you."  

Cryptic and sort of a non answer, but in certain circles her name preceded her, and in others bothering to explain that you were not just a common burglar but an fiendishly intelligent witch who could use her knowledge of advanced physics and arcane secrets to travel long distances via interdimensional shortcuts, well that sort of talk was just as likely to earn you a bullet as keeping quiet.  Even if the man towering above her could barely pass for human himself.  

" 's just how I smell is all."  He answered her first question.  "And I'm Wilbur Whateley."  She hadn’t asked for a name, but it seemed polite to give one.

Whateley, of course, everything clicked into place.

“Yog-Sothoth’s kid then?”  She asked quirking a wiry brow.  She’d expected more...Tentacles?  Maybe a tail or something.  Still, something around the eyes put her in mind of the fathomless space beyond spaces.  

The revolver dropped to Wilbur's side as he tried to puzzle through how to respond to being called out so casually.  He nodded.  Not sure what else to do.

"Help an old lady up would you?"  

Wilbur did, hauling Keziah rather artlessly to her feet, still baffled into silence.

"How'd yew know that?"

Keziah shrugged. “Your family’s been at this for a while.  Honestly I’m surprised things lined up."

"Yeah, guess et were a bit 've wurk on granpa's part."  Wilbur trailed off mumbling, scratching the back of his neck and looking around for something else to discuss.  The topic of his conception was awkward, he imagined that was one of the few things he had in common with any other teenager.

"Sorry, didn't catch that.  Tinnitus."  Keziah said, adding the explanation with a grimace.  It was a small price to pay for visiting The Court of course, but a deuced nuisance most of the time.  

"Uhh, Nuthin'."  Wilbur said, before changing the topic abruptly.

"Yew still didn’t explain why yer here."  

"Told you I took a wrong turn.”  She was trying to sound casual, but perhaps came off as a tiny bit defensive.  “Just a tiny miscalculation on my part.  We are in New England aren’t we?"

"Dunnich."

Keziah pulled a face and Wilbur laughed.

"Take et yew've visited before?"  

"Not if I can help it.  Is it still as painfully backwoods as it was in...1786?"  

Wilbur quirked a brow, sure, she looked old, but not that old.

"Nah, et's wurse."  

"You poor thing."  Keziah patted him on the arm, it was about all she could reach.

The condescension wasn't appreciated, nor was the physical contact, Wilbur pulled away from that, but since she evidently loathed Dunwich, he let it slide.

"Where were yew tryin' t' get then?"

"Arkham."

"That ain’t far,” Wilbur started helpfully.  “Yew culd take our horse, Long as yew return et."  

It’s not that he was a particularly generous man, he had no natural inclination to help a stranger out.  But it wasn’t as if he was planning to ride anywhere any time soon.

Keziah chuckled.  

"Thanks for the offer, but I can get there faster."  Keziah glanced around the makeshift magical laboratory, looking for something.  

"Do you have some graph paper I could borrow?"  She asked after a moment.  

"Uh, yeah I c-" Wilbur was cut off by a tentative knock on the half opened door.  

"Wilbur, dinner's rea-," Lavnia called out, opening the door as she did so.  Ordinarily she wouldn't but in like that, Wilbur had been so insistent on his privacy lately.  But he’d left it ajar, so she didn’t see any harm.

She paused mid step to stare. In what world did Wilbur have company?  And how had she missed the woman showing up in the first place.  

"Who's yer friend?" .

Wilbur looked between the two and stepped out of the way to make introductions.

"Uh, hi Ma, this is-"

"Keziah Mason.  One of Nyarlathotep's Thousand Favoured."  she said, brushing past Wilbur and offering the other woman a hand to shake.  No need to be cagey about who she was now.  

Lavinia very quickly wiped her hands on her skirts before accepting, clearly flustered by the title drop.  

"I'm Lavinia Whateley, pleased t' meet yew."  

Wilbur wasn't half so impressed, actually he had to wonder what she did to earn the Crawling Chaos' attention.  Or if she wasn't just full of shit like so many magicians turned out to be.

 "I'm sure it's mutual.  Don't let you keep you from Dinner though, I was just about to leave."

"Yew dun half tew, ef yew dun want. I mean, yew culd stay fer diner ef yew'd lak.  We dun often have guests, 'specially 'un so destingished."  

Wilbur winced at his mother's gushing and hand wringing.  She was special enough in her own right that she shouldn't be tripping over herself to impress some witch who couldn’t even keep her angles right.  

Admittedly Wilbur’s understanding of interdimensional travel and the mathematics involved in them were shaky at best. But he could make an educated guess as to what a wrong turn meant.  

Keziah considered the invitation, taking a quick look at each of the Whateley’s to guess at how much of an intrusion she’d be before answering.

“Why not, I don’t really need to be back until Sunday.”  She gave a casual shrug.

Lavinia positively beamed when the older woman accepted her invitation.  A reaction that made Keziah question the other woman’s sanity just a bit.  

“Well, house es this way ef yew tew want t’ follow me.  Sorry ‘bout the house bein’ in a state, et’s ain’t usually this much ‘ve a mess.”  Lavinia gestured for the other two to do just that, before backing out of the door way.  

Wilbur let Keziah go out ahead of him and locked up behind the trio.  

Dinner at the Whateley house was usually an awkward affair, consisting of strained attempts at small talk from Lavinia and increasingly successful attempts to avoid that small talk on Wilbur’s part.  So a third party was appreciated, and it really didn’t take much to set Keziah off.   

An idle question about how exactly she knew the Whateley’s from Lavinia prompted wild stories about Wilbur’s great great grandparents, questions about Yuggoth from Wilbur earned an even more energetic response.  All the while Keziah displayed the kind of table manners that startled even Wilbur.   

It was increasingly difficult to imagine the hunched old woman tearing into a drumstick with clawed hands and trying to explain the Dho Formula through a mouthful of chicken rubbing elbows with The Outer Gods, acting as a messenger for Nyarlathotep himself.  

But she did know things.  Gods did she know things.  His grandpa has known some and read some, and Wilbur had done his best with that meager tutelage and a plethora of crumbling books.  But Keziah, she rattled off facts and incantations and corrections to his magical theory like other people talked about the weather.   

The conversation was beyond Lavinia’s grasp, she nodded when she thought it was appropriate.  And was quickly forgotten by the other two.  She didn’t mind though.  It was a rare treat to see Wilbur so animated.   

Dinner ended with everyone in a good mood, Lavinia offered to clear up and let the other two retreat to Wilbur’s lab, Keziah still had to work out exactly where she’d gone wrong in her calculations earlier, and Wilbur was eager for a crash course traveling the space between spaces.

“Don’t worry kid, I’ll work slow so you can keep up.”  

The teasing earned her a sour look.  Even as Wilbur bent over the desk to see what she was working on.  

“I’m sure I’ll manage just fine, I’m sharper ‘en most folks.”

“So am I.”  

If Keziah made things a little unnecessarily complicated just to show off who could blame her.  Wilbur was a nice enough kid.  But she couldn’t let him think he was smart just because his dad knew absolutely everything there was to know.  

Still, she helped.  More than slaving over his books alone could.  And after some untold hours.  Keziah stood up, stretching and cracking her back and knuckles as she did.  

“I think that’s enough for the night.  I’ve got to get back to Arkham, and I really hate to travel when I’m tired.”  

Wilbur looked down at her with a frown.  

“S’pose ef yew’ve got tew.  Like ma said, yew can come back whenever yew like.  Jus’ use a door next time.”  

Keziah let out a low scoff and rolled her eyes.  “Absolutely not kid, doors are for people with no imagination.”  

She traced a quick sign in the air,  lines lingering that glowed a shade no human eyes could really appreciate, and without another word Keziah stepped through the corner of Wilbur’s laboratory and was presumably back in Arkham.  The space she just occupied tilting strangely before folding in and righting itself.  

Wilbur stared and wished he’d had his better eyes out to watch that.  Probably would have been quite impressive to see in five dimensions.

[perspective-series]

Zapped Perspective (9)

By: @arc852 and @hiddendreamer67

Warnings: Mention of treating people like pets and feeling helpless

First Chapter || Previous Chapter || Next Chapter

——————————————————————————————————–

 Patton closed the door behind him with a soft thud, moving into the living room to see Logan on the couch, the TV turned on. He smiled at the borrower. “Hey, Logan. Have a good day?” The past couple of days had played out like this. Patton would go to school and Logan would be here alone, doing whatever he wanted.

“It was… fine.” Logan lied. Boring would be a more accurate term. Even if Logan had spent days at home before, it wasn’t the same. He could often occupy his own mind for hours without even bothering to stop and feed himself, so why did it feel so different in this dimension? What was missing?

 “That’s...good.” Patton said, shifting his feet slightly. He could tell Logan was lying but honestly? He couldn’t blame him. They were both...going through things. That thing being never being able to see your best friend ever again. 

 “Uh, how does dinner sound? I was thinking about ordering out tonight.” He set his bag down near the coffee table. “Do you like pizza?”

Logan’s heart panged, remembering how often Roman would order pizza and Logan would scold him for its unhealthy qualities and Roman would just try to shush him by telling Logan it was delicious and then when Logan would argue that’s not a valid argument he’d ruffle Logan up until his clothes were all tousled and he was an unamused mess but perhaps secretly just a little amused and maybe also a pizza lover at heart…

“Yes.” Logan’s answer was a bit strained, his throat feeling tighter than normal.

 Patton sent Logan a concerned look but nodded. “Okay, I’ll be right back then. Gotta go order it. You good with pepperoni?” Patton asked, already taking out his phone.

“Yes, that’s… it’s fine.” Logan felt strange, almost as though he was missing the ritual itself despite not being a strictly necessary step to consuming pizza. Not to mention, if it was Patton’s decision to purchase pizza in his own home Logan was in no position to lecture him otherwise in the first place.

 “Okay, then I’ll be right back.” Patton left the room for a moment to order the pizza. Once he was given the ‘be there in thirty minutes!’ he hung up and met Logan back in the living room. He took a seat next to him on the couch. “So...er, what were you watching?” He asked, trying to make some conversation.

“Oh, ah…” Logan’s face flushed, feeling a bit silly. “...Disney.”

 “Oh!” Patton lit up. Finally something they could talk about. “You like Disney? Those are some of my favorite movies!”

“I do not particularly enjoy them.” Logan corrected, feeling even more foolish. “They are just- familiar. Roman is quite enthralled with the franchise.”

 “Oh…” Well, there went that topic. He sighed. “I’m...I’m sorry, Logan. I know how much you miss him.” Just like how much Patton missed Virgil.

Logan gave a wooden nod. “It is… fine. The two of you are quite similar. I’m certain I can adjust.”

 Patton bit his lip, laughing a little. “Heh, you and Virgil aren’t too different either. I mean, other than the not minding humans part and the not wanting to go in the walls but you do remind me of him in some ways.” Patton admitted.

“How so?” Logan asked, giving a curious tilt to his head.

 “Well...you both kind of keep to yourselves a bit. You’re both more reserved. And you both get this cute embarrassed blush on your faces…” Patton trailed off, looking away. Geez, talking about Virgil had been a bad idea. He wiped away his tears.

“What? I- I do not blush!” Logan protested, his cheeks turning red as the borrower became both embarrassed and confused. Did Patton require verbal assurances or physical contact at this point in time? But Logan was not certain how to provide the first in this instance, and Patton had yet to pick him up. An upset Roman was often known to cradle Logan to his chest.

 Patton took in a deep breath, standing up. “Sorry, Logan. I just...I miss him.” 

“Where are you going?” Logan asked, feeling as though he had failed at the thought of Patton leaving him alone again.

 “Just...to the bathroom to get cleaned up. Don’t want to answer the door with tear tracks on my face, ya know?” He joked sadly before heading down the hall into the bathroom.

“...oh.” Logan watched the human leave, wondering with a pang in his chest why Patton hadn’t sought comfort with him. The fact that he may be a bit in need of comfort himself was entirely irrelevant.

 Patton splashed water in his face, letting out a small sigh. He had to come to terms with the fact that Virgil was...gone. But he couldn’t. He didn’t want to give up...but they had already tried everything they could have. Patton didn’t know what else to do.

 There was a knock on the front door and Patton quickly dried his face before running to answer the door. He paid and placed the pizza in the kitchen before going to get Logan. “Alright, pizza is here.” He said, giving Logan a smile.

“Wonderful.” Logan stood up, looking unsure what to do with himself. “I… apologize for upsetting you earlier.”

 “Oh no, no, it’s not your fault. It’s just...hard. And I know it is for both of us.” Patton sighed. “I don’t want to give up on seeing Virgil again...but I’m starting to think we have to…”

Logan had known this from the beginning. The odds of a second instance of interdimensional travel between two individuals was infinitesimal. Why could his emotions not understand that?

 “A-Anyway, I’m sure with time it’ll get...better. Hopefully.” He mumbled the last bit. “Anyway, pizza?” He asked, hesitantly offering Logan a hand.

Logan took almost no time to climb on, wanting to get away from this line of conversation as quickly as possible.

 Patton was slow and careful as he brought Logan to the kitchen, quickly letting him off onto the table before dishing out some slices of pizza.

“Thank you.” Logan murmured, sitting near his own plate.

 Patton nodded, taking a bite of his slice. “So...did you want to do anything after dinner? We could, uh, watch a movie or something?” Patton asked.

Logan considered this. The idea of a movie night sounded quite enjoyable, but then he remembered that the activity with Patton was a different experience. Patton would often sit on one end of the couch, leaving the rest to Logan. Isolated on a sea of fabric, as if he was watching alone.

“I think the concept of doing something together sounds acceptable.” Logan answered cautiously.

 Patton paused, slowly lowering his slice of pizza. “Huh? What do you mean?” He asked, confused.

“It seems, from my perspective, that when you suggest activities ‘together’, they are not actually completed as a partnership.” Logan explained.

 Patton frowned, fully setting down his pizza. “I don’t think I understand, kiddo. How are we not doing things together? We’re both present, aren’t we?”

“But you’re so distant!” Logan protested. “For sitting in the same room, it is figuratively equivalent to being across an archipelago.”

 Patton blinked. “A...A what?” He shook his head. “I’m...I’m just trying to give you some space. I don’t want you to feel like I’m hovering over you constantly or looming or anything like that.” Virgil, especially in the beginning, had told him off many times for doing such things. Well, told off was a bit strong...more like quietly asked if Patton could give him space. Which Patton was happy to do.

“I know.” Logan huffed, because he did. He understood Patton’s reasoning, and while it should have been appreciated, it was merely frustrating. “I understand that you are attempting to be respectful, and I understand that the nature of your relationship is inherently different than mine with Roman, but…” Logan rubbed at his arm, almost imagining the phantom touch there to be not his own. “I think I have been missing that particular sense of normalcy.”

 “O-Oh…” Patton looked down, taking Logan’s words in. “So...you want me to be closer to you?” Patton asked, thinking he might understand.

Logan flushed a bit pink, feeling silly as he got closer to spelling it out. “Yes, I would prefer that.” Logan murmured, his head down.

 Patton nodded. “O-Okay, okay yeah, then we can try that. If that will make all this a bit...easier to deal with.” Patton wanted Logan to be comfortable of course. “Just let me know if I overstep my boundaries, okay?”

“Naturally.” Logan agreed.

 “Okay, great!” Patton finished off his slice of pizza, before turning back to Logan. “Ready to watch a movie?” He asked, offering his hand to Logan.

Logan nodded, a bit nervous but also hesitantly excited this would be more pleasant than previous encounters as he climbed on.

 Patton carefully carried Logan over to the couch, biting his lip before setting him down on the arm of the couch. He then went over to his collection of movies. “Did you have anything in mind you wanted to watch?” Patton asked.

Logan blinked, looking at where he had been set down. Close. Not close enough. “I do not have a preference.”

 Patton nodded and decided to put on a pixar movie. Monsters Inc to be more specific. He had no doubt Logan had seen it already, if the things he knew about Roman were true but hopefully Logan didn’t mind. 

 He grabbed the remote before sitting right up against the side of the couch, his arm touching the arm rest where Logan sat. He bit his lip, hoping this was the closeness Logan had been hoping for and that he wasn’t overstepping.

Logan grit his teeth, knowing that it wasn’t enough but feeling ashamed for his desire to ask for more. Logan was being foolish. Patton had already offered his home to Logan; it clearly made the human uncomfortable to touch a borrower, and it was selfish of Logan to ask him to participate in such an activity because of some distant longing for a relationship in a dimension that was no longer accessible.

 Patton was about to play the movie but a glance over at Logan told him that something was wrong. “Logan? Is everything okay? Am I...Am I too close? I can scoot away a bit if that will help.”

“No!” Logan assured him, a bit too quickly. Now he was most certainly red in the face. “No, ah, slightly the....opposite, actually.”

 “Opposite?” Patton asked, head tilted. “But...we’re already as close as we can get.” Again, Patton was pressed against the arm rest, which Logan was on top of. Patton didn’t know how to get any closer.

“I do not intend to make you uncomfortable.” Logan began to explain, feeling as though he wished to be just about anywhere else. “But in...my realm, I must admit I have grown used to a certain amount of physical contact. I understand if this is unacceptable, and I am certain I can grow accustomed otherwise, but that was my intention in my earlier, ah, confession.”

 “Oh. Oh!” Patton’s eyes widened in realization. “You want me to-yeah! No, that’s um, no problem!” Patton bit his lip. “I mean...It’s a bit surprising but I suppose it makes sense, where you’re from.”

Logan flushed, giving a slight nod and not trusting himself to speak, too embarrassed to make eye contact.

 “I just...Virgil is not a huge contact person and I’ve grown used to him. He also told me to act the same if I happened upon any other borrower.” Patton explained. “But, yeah, we can try this, if you want. Um…did you want to sit on my shoulder? Or somewhere else?” Patton asked, unsure where to go from here.

“Yes, I’ve...that’s an acceptable position.” Logan agreed, having sat there countless times before. “And I understand Virgil’s line of reasoning, and I don’t consider myself to be a particularly touchy person by nature either, but it seems I have grown used to Roman’s countless advances despite my own whims.”

 Patton offered his hand but tilted his head. “Wait...is Roman, er...grabby?”

“Yes, he can be.” Logan answered, climbing on. 

 Patton thought about Virgil and then this new information about Roman as he lifted Logan up to his shoulder. “Oh no…”

“Oh no?” Logan repeated, before the pieces clicked into place to follow Patton’s line of reasoning. “Oh, no, I did not mean to cause you alarm. Roman is not inherently ‘grabby’ as an individual, he often knows to be respectful. I meant that because we have known each other for an extended period of time there is a level of understood consent between us. Roman will often do things like pick me up when I’ve been reading too long to force me to take a break, or he doesn’t feel the need to ask permission to grab me if we’re merely traveling from room to room.”

 “Oh...that’s-that’s good then. Sorry, I know based on what you’ve said that Roman is nice I just...I’m worried about Virgil. He doesn’t really like the whole, picking him up thing. He prefers to get around on his own. Which is why it’s still taking some getting used to, offering you a hand and everything.” Patton admitted.

“Yes, I inferred that.” Logan noted, climbing over onto Patton’s shoulder and settling in.

 Patton tried his best not to tense as Logan finally climbed onto his shoulder. It was a strange feeling, that was for sure. “Um...comfy up there?” He asked.

Logan cautiously leaned against Patton’s neck, noticing how tense the muscles beneath him had gone. “Are you alright?”

 Patton went to nod before thinking that might be a bad idea. “Uh, yeah, just...I’m not used to the feeling.” Patton admitted.

Logan almost chuckled, remembering how despite his excitement to have a tiny, Roman had been very unprepared and reacted in a similar way. “I will attempt to make it more comfortable for you.” Logan decided to squirm as little as possible.

 “Thanks.” Patton said with a small smile. “Ready to watch the movie?”

“Indeed.” Logan agreed, finding comfort in the familiar feeling of warmth around him as he was gently moved by the sensation of Patton’s breathing. “...thank you, Patton.”

 Patton smiled, the feeling was still strange, of course, but it was...nice to know that Logan was there. “Of course, Logan.” He pressed play on the movie and settled in.

***

 As the credits rolled, Patton focused his attention back at the weight on his shoulder. Not that he had ever ignored it. “Logan?” He asked softly, in case Logan was asleep.

Logan blinked, having gotten content enough to lose focus. “Hmm?”

 Patton chuckled. “Well, you sound just about ready for bed.” Patton was feeling much the same.

“I...am a bit drowsy.” Logan admitted, rubbing at his eyes and sitting up with a stretch. 

 Patton lifted up his hand, offering it to Logan. “Then I think it’s time to call it a night.”

“Sounds satisfactory.” Logan agreed, climbing into Patton’s offered palm.

 Once Logan was on his hand, Patton stood up, making his way to his room. “I...I enjoyed tonight. And I think I get what you meant before, about the other stuff we did together not really being...together.” Patton felt the difference between them.

“I am relieved to hear that.” Logan gave him a shy smile. “I shall admit, I was concerned that you were only being accommodating and I was being needy in my request.”

 “Not at all! I really did enjoy it and...I’m looking forward to doing it again.” Patton grinned, before setting Logan down on the nightstand, where is makeshift bed lay.

Logan nodded, feeling relieved by the prospect of an improved future. It still would not equate to time spent with Roman… but it was likely as close as he would receive, and it was a start. Logan should consider himself grateful.

 Patton climbed into bed. “Goodnight, Logan.” He said, before reaching over and turning off the light.

“Goodnight, Patton.” Logan echoed, closing his eyes and drifting off to sleep.

[rainsonata]

Doppelgänger 1/15

Chapter 01: Another World

Fandom/Pairing: Elsword; none Rating: K+ Word Count: 5,624

Summary: It was like looking into a mirror. What happens when one’s reflection talks back and throws uncomfortable questions? El Search Party struggles to find entrance into the Demon Realm, but Dominator has a plan. 

AO3 Link / FF.NET Link

— [Chapter 01] [Chapter 02] [Chapter 03] [Chapter 04] [Chapter 05] [Chapter 06] [Chapter 07] [Chapter 08] [Chapter 09] [Chapter 10] [Chapter 11] [Chapter 12] [Chapter 13] [Chapter 14] [Chapter 15] —  

Class Notes:

Canon Path: Knight Emperor, Aether Sage, Daybreaker, Rage Hearts, Code: Esencia, Comet Crusader, Apsara, Empire Sword, Doom Bringer, Ishtar and Chevalier (Innocent), Bluhen   

Alternate Path: Rune Slayer, Oz Sorcerer, Anemos, Furious Blade, Code: Ultimate, Fatal Phantom, Devi, Flame Lord, Dominator, Timonia and Abysser (Catastrophe), Richter

Rune Master

Once the El Search Party parted away from the ruins of the ancient capital for their next destination, everything was starting to look blue. It gave the Rune Master a headache to how everything down to the soil had traces of cyan, the color of toothpaste and hurt his eyes. Due to the influence of the El, it was difficult to tell if night time came because the forest glowed regardless of what time of the day it was. He was going to lose Richter at this rate because the trees were the same shade as the priest’s hair.   

The El’s presence attracted monsters and anyone else that wanted it for personal gain, including the corrupted monsters that were once Henir’s followers. Their numbers ever-growing, it felt wrong to leave them to the El Masters despite being told it to. Running away from the enemies didn’t sit well for Rune, but half of his friends wanted to visit the demon realm. For different reasons, but at least they had a common interest, which was all that mattered because it was better than sitting around and waiting to see what the enemies next objective would be. At least until they figured out how to reach Demon Realm.   

“What is this?” Abysser asked. The demon squinted at the strange device, plated in black material similar to the Henir monsters they fought in Elrianode. Blue light flickered through the minuscule windows covering its sides and shone as his teammate tinkered with its coding. “This machine you claim to work...”

“Of course it will,” A man in white didn’t look up from his machines, his gaze glued to holographic screens that never seemed to run out of power. Legs crossed, Dominator kept his balance sitting on Dynamo and hummed as he worked. “I figured out the basis of how it functions. All we need now are new coordinates.”

“That’s great!” Rune was impressed by to how quick his friends were in utilizing the little material they had in Elrianode. Rubbing his hands together, he grinned, “See? That didn’t take long!”

“Who are you trying to convince?” A woman dressed in purple kicked her shoes for ruffled frills to shimmer under the night sky. Oz watched her breaths evaporate into the cold air and ran her hand through her hair with an exaggerated sigh, “You’re the one rushing to leave.”

Rune’s cheeks flushed to the same shade of red as his hair, glancing down and avoiding looking at Oz, who was definitely snickering over his embarrassment. What did the Oz Sorcerer know about what went through his mind? The El may have increased his powers, but being close to a powerful energy source left static in the air that made Rune self-aware of his powers and feared setting something ablaze if he wasn’t careful. He huffed and maturely stuck out his tongue at the dark mage before turning his head to look at the device in Dominator’s hand.  

“How does this work?” Flame scratched the back of her neck, “Say it again for some of us to understand.” 

“It was once connected to the Heart of Henir and will take us straight to the Demon Realm,” Dominator wasn’t fazed by the Flame Lord’s uncertainty. One could say he was beaming on the concept of potential interdimensional traveling, too eager on the new discovery to be bothered by small questions. He chuckled, “No need to thank me.”

Flame had her knuckles placed under her chin for support, a thoughtful expression on her face. Rune could see the wires turning as his sister processed the new information and accepted the explanation with a nod.  

“And this will transport all of us?” Blade asked.   

“Where is this sudden skepticism coming from?” Dominator looked up from the screens to see the mercenary gingerly tapping the surface with his Nasod arm. “Are you doubting my perfect plan?”

“Last machine,” the Furious Blade deadpanned. “Bugs.” (1)

“You remembered that?” Dominator covered his mouth, but Rune could hear the amusement in his voice. “Anyway, that’s in the past. Things will be different this time.”  

“What machine?” Rune asked. How come Blade got to tinker with Dominator’s inventions while he was pushed out for ‘messing with important data’ when he tried to break into the scientist’s lab? He leaned over to see numbers and letters running across Dominator’s screen, too quickly for anyone aside from the scientist to understand them.

“It was supposed to kill mosqui-”

“If it could transport enough monsters to fight us, it can handle a dozen of us.” Fatal Phantom said with nervous laughter. “How long will it be until it’s done setting up?”

“As soon as you all stop talking and let me work.” Dominator complained, but the effect was lost in a smile as if pleased by the sudden attention by his teammates. Scanning over the screens for last-minute adjustments, he mumbled to himself, “What else?”     

“Elsword,” a male voice called. “There you are.” 

“Ain!” Rune spun to see a blue-haired man in white robes with a somber expression. Spreading his arms in a gestural hug, he exclaimed, “I was starting to think I lost you back there with the Elrianode monsters!”

“You remembered me,” Richter blinked, as if the celestial couldn’t believe it.

“Of course I do,” Rune frowned at his friend’s statement, confused to why that surprised the priest.

Richter has been bringing up that topic more lately - memories, missions, whether or not he would be remembered. He thought after near corruption from Henir and apologizing to Timoria in Elrianode, Richter would be more at peace with himself. Quiet as ever, Richter didn’t express it, but his eyes crinkled to Rune wrapped his arms around his friend into a tight hug to let him know the redhead was there for him.   

A pair of mechanical wings came into view from Rune’s peripheral vision, drawing his attention to see Code: Ultimate with Moby and Remy. Arms to her side, the Nasod queen’s forehead was framed by a black helmet matching with the rest of her armor, wings folded in to make space for Rune to approach his teammate. Cold and stoic, her face betrayed little as the knight searched for answers to why Ultimate looked so stern.   

“Heya, Eve.” Rune chirped and let go of Richter. “Are you here to remind me about something?”

“Yes,” Ultimate said. Side eying Dominator, who was still mumbling numbers to himself, she placed a hand over Rune’s shoulder and nodded to Richter. “If you mind, we need to talk. Away from everyone.”

“Both of you?” Rune was flabbergasted when she ushered him to the side, closer to the edge of the woods where the party chose as their new resting area. His hands growing warm at thought of what could have nudged Ultimate and Richter to team up. “What is it?”

It must be serious if they confronted him on an individual basis, was it about Demon Realm? But why Ultimate too? She had no reason to be affected by demons, but it was Richter that worried Rune. The priest was surprisingly impulsive around demons as evident when he lost control in Feita and disappeared. Richter retained his composure since then, but after what happened between him and Timoria last week…   

“The El has been temporarily restored because of your interference.” Light flickered in her eyes, but Ultimate blinked and it was gone, “It’s stable for now, but there isn’t much time for us to find a new source before that it becomes unstable again. When entering the Demon Realm, it’s best that you let us take care of the demons.”    

“Huh?” Rune tilted his head to the side.

“Consult us,” Richter said. “Think before you act.” 

Rune opened his mouth in protest, “If this is because of Solace.”

“It’s because you do things without telling us first,” Ultimate snapped. “You discarded yourself without considering the consequences or how the rest of the group would respond. I won’t hesitate in fighting if you fail to reassess yourself next time.”

Spears drew out from Ultimate, long blades emerging from her back and pointing at Rune to make her point. He snapped his mouth shut at first sign of anger from the Nasod queen, grumbling as he did so, feeling Richter’s daggers drilled into the back of his head.      

“You wouldn’t hurt me, would you Eve?” Rune gave her the best puppy eyes he could make, searching for hints of joking or sarcasm from Ultimate, only to see cold ones staring back.

“We have alchemists on our team to keep you alive.” Richter said, yet Rune found little reassurance in those words. 

It was naive to believe what Rune did would be dropped in a matter of weeks, but it stung that the more stoic of his friends showed strong emotions. Richter’s disappointment was like a sharp blade through his chest, feeling guilty if the celestial had nothing to say and mouthed an incohesive phrase in an unfamiliar tongue.

Uh oh… The priest must be furious if he was swearing in another language.

“What are you guys doing?” Anemos appeared between them. Pulling Rune away from Ultimate, who still had her weapons out, the elf groaned. “We’re about to depart and you three are fighting?”

Withdrawing her spears, Ultimate lowered her head. “I apologize. I won’t let this happen again.”

Rubbed his temples, Rune interjected. “It’s nothing. Tell Add we’ll be ready in a bit.”

Unconvinced, Anemos had her hands on her hips. “Just don’t lose your heads over petty fights.”

“I’ll make sure Elsword is safe,” Richter promised the elf.

What happened to the threats on keeping him alive, speared or not by Ultimate? Sparks emitted from Rune’s fingertips at the earliest signs of annoyance, a newfound emotion as of lately. He could take care of himself fine! It was clear that his friends were worried for his safety, but he didn’t need to be coddled like a child. Maybe it was a bit of pride on his part, but it served as an aching reminder to how far he had to grow if he wanted to be taken seriously.

Rune sighed. Nothing will be accomplished if he didn’t keep pushing forward like he always did. No use in dwelling over small things like pride. It wasn’t his style. Guilt surfaced once he recognized the sadness in Ultimate’s features.         

“I don’t think you realize the effect you have on people,” she uttered. “That’s why I’m upset.” 

That snapped Rune out of his trance and looked at Ultimate in distraught. He had known her for years since they have met in Altera, but this was the closest thing she had come to admitting her emotions out in the open. Confusion hazed his mind as he swallowed down the guilt.

“Now I do,” Rune admitted. “That’s why I’m trying to make up for everything.”

“You don’t need to change,” Richter said. “Stay the way you are.”

Looking at the two, Rune smiled. Their words held weight, but their expressions and body language told another story. Tense from his impulsive decisions, yet they stayed because they trusted him and fussed over him. He had underestimated how much his friends valued him. How he be blind?

A pair of purple cat ears poked from the side of a small bush. Rune blinked and turned his head again, but there was nothing. His paranoia told him it was another corrupted monster, but sneaking around was out of character. Rune sighed and rested his chest over the base of his sword. 

“Thanks, guys.” Rune said with a smile, “Let’s get going before everyone wonders where we went.”

 Comet Crusader

Cannon laid down by his side, Crusader leaned over and wiped the edges clean with a cloth until it shone. Black soot and ashes smeared over his hands and some fell on his white armor. It was a routine for the guardian of Hamel, one that required diligence to make sure he reached all the corners and sides of the cannon. The destroyer was easily taller than him, but creating and testing new functions to stay up to date with their fighting situation kept Crusader on his toes.

“Chung?”

He looked up to see a man glancing over at him with concern. Wearing a collared shirt with long sleeves cuffed at the end, Cavalier’s hair was tied into a thin ponytail trailing behind the half-demon. Balancing on one hand was a blue tray with a tea kettle and pristine teacups in a neat stack of twos or threes. If Cavalier hasn’t spoken up, Crusader wouldn’t have heard the butler approach him. 

“Did you get any sleep?” Cavalier frowned, “You look exhausted.”

Wiping his brow, Crusader laughed. “Hardly. Thanks for worrying about me.”

Setting the tea tray onto the grass, Cavalier offered him a cup. “Would you care to join me for tea then?”

Crusader nodded.

Using the tea tray for a flat surface, Cavalier held the tea kettle up and carefully poured a cup to offer to Crusader before pouring one for himself. The butler followed the younger male as he grabbed the sugar bowl to drop a couple of sugar cubes into his tea. White clouds turned into mist inside his cup as Crusader stirred the contents with a spoon. Its aromatic smell invited him to take a sip.   

It wasn’t the first time he had Lanox tea. Apsara’s herbal teas had a sharp and bitter taste that reminded him of the earth on summer mornings, but Cavalier’s had a clean yet sweet taste at first sip. He let the light and spicy aftertaste linger on the tip of his tongue as the butler spoke.

“You’re committed,” Cavalier eyed the destroyer on the ground. “You should be resting.”

“Ain healed me,” Crusader grew defensive. 

“Even magic can’t heal scars.”     

Small tugs and stinging sensations strained his muscles at a moment’s movement with Crusader setting his teacup down on the tray to pause. With limited resources, potions and elixirs exclusive were weaker and took longer to heal injuries that once recovered within hours. Injuries weren’t new for him, especially with stronger enemies waiting for them at every turn, but it pained him in know he was dragging the team down for being hurt. 

Burnt marks over his chest were from Nephilim Lord. They were clean cuts, making them easier to clean and bandage every few hours, but the pain inflicted held a constant icy burn over the days he spent healing. He knew the Lord of Spirit Asylum was influenced during the attack, but bitterness lingered as an afterthought. Once again, someone or something reached their goal before they did. How much longer could they do this until the gap between them and their enemies was too much?

“I’m not angry at you,” Cavalier said with kindness. “It was a tough battle against Nephilim Lord. You’re not the only one that got hurt.”

“I know,” Crusader stared at the crimson mist hovering over their campsite. “This really is the Demon Realm… Everything here is different than what we’ve encountered before.” 

Demon Realm, or as the dark elves dubbed it as Varnimyr had contrasts. Red mist against blue trees and there were numerous moons instead of the suns Elrianode had. Eternal nights overtook the region with many of its inhabitants using their body or external means to brighten the dark forest with fluorescent light. They have found a way to flourish with limited resources. 

Crusader had found his strength in recent battles against stronger enemies the longer he fought, but was it enough to withstand future enemies? Far from the El’s influence, his powers have weakened and to his astonishment, Cavalier and Ishtar were affected as well.     

“I suppose it’s different than what we’re used to,” Cavalier agreed. “But that didn’t stop us in Elysion or Elrianode, did it? We sorted out the misunderstanding with Nephilim Lord and are closer to our goal than before.” 

Crusader wasn’t one to ponder over his friends’ histories out of respect, but with Cavalier, it was hard not to be curious, if not wary. What was a human like Cavalier doing with a former demon queen and what could have happened to have them act as one unit? Their fighting style synchronized in a way that couldn’t have been achieved without magic involved, leaving much to Crusader’s imagination to why or how.

No, that was none of his business! The El Search Party were at their most vulnerable in a place outside their comfort. Those two have stayed long enough to have plenty of opportunities to backstab them if that was their intention. He needed to have faith in the Knight Emperor’s judgment in letting Cavalier and Ishtar be a part of their group. However, no amount of loyalty in his closest friend could undo the ongoing suspicion he had on a pair of demons, even if one of them was half demon.     

“You’re right, it’s too late to have doubts after coming this far.” Crusader was apologetic. “I’m sorry for taking up your time to attend to my needs.”

Cavalier said, “I need to be here for my friends too. You don’t need to apologize.”

“I guess so,” Crusader broke into an awkward smile. “Where’s Lu?”

Taking his cup in one hand, he held it to his eye level. A unique design of intricate lines cut into the edges to form into flowers native to Lanox, it was a true work of art. He admired the effort his teammate had put into making tea in enemy territory when they should be rushing back to Elrianode to report their findings to the El Masters.

The butler sighed, “Still asleep. It’s been a long week for all of us. I won’t bother her.”

“There you are!”

Purple hair obscured his view with color matching eyes narrowed with displeasure. Cheeks puffed out and bright pink, a look of distraught as Aether Sage folded her arms inward to hug herself. The white jacket she wore slide over her shoulders and the bow on her collar was uncharacteristically uneven today. One might think the woman was hit by a hurricane by the two strands of hair standing over her roots with the rest of her hair in a mess of disarray.  

“Have you seen Elsword?” Aether asked out of breath. “He’s gone!”

Rubbing his chin, Cavalier shook his head sullenly. “He offered to help me with the chores this morning, but I saw him just an hour ago. Have you checked his tent?”  

She sighed. “I told him not to move around after that fight. Why doesn’t he ever listen?” 

“Let me go look for him,” Cavalier said. “He might be training with Raven again. Why don’t you and Chung search the surrounding areas?”

Lowering his cup onto a tea plate, Cavalier set it down to grab a platter of pastries over to his left. Croissants, fruit tarts, and bread rolls stacked on top of one another with slices of preserved meat in between. Placing inside a small cloth bag for storage, it was enough food to last them for a few meals.  

“You don’t think he’s going to be gone for that long, do you?” Alarm rose in Aether’s voice in response to seeing what was meant to be their rations. “He’s been fine before.”

“We are in Demon Realm,” Crusader placed his hand on his destroyer for support to stand up. Quiet grunts escaped from his lips as he struggled to find his footing, leaning against his weapon. “Even with the dark elves on our side, demons are waiting for us.”

“I know that,” Aether snapped. “That idiot better not do something stupid again.”

One moon hung over his shoulder with light soaking into their path as he and Aether walked past their campsite in search for their missing teammate. Radiant colors danced off the fungi and fauna lining up the dirt road, glowing faintly in time to the chilling breeze sending shivers down his skin. An eerie silence occupied alongside their heavy footsteps with quiet sighs and breathing from either of them. With better luck, maybe Cavalier could find Knight before they had to consider researching past familiar territory.      

“Was there something you needed Elsword for?” Crusader asked.   

“I was going to check his bandages,” she said. “Ain can’t always be there for him.”  

Blinking a few times, he looked at her in confusion. “I suppose so. Did he say anything about where he went?” 

“Elsword said he needed to talk to the dark elves again,” Aether groaned. “That was this morning. He should have been back by now, but his stuff is still gone. He needs to stop acting like he’s alone in this, we’re here too!”  

“I don’t think that’s why he does things alone.”

“What do you know what about Elsword thinks?” She was hard-pressed to let Crusader back down, demanding answers and glaring at the guardian of Hamel.

Despite knowing her for years, it surprised Crusader to see the mage initiate interactions with Knight, who often buried her head into books with a sandwich in hand outside of battles. What brought on the sudden change in tune? After rescuing Knight from the El, something happened to make Aether stay close, her attention always drawn back to the redhead. Harsh words from before softened into mild comments on Knight needed to look after himself more. Her tough exterior always wavered to reveal a gentler side for her friends as evident when she approached Crusader to help. She was stubborn about showing her emotions, but she didn’t let her pride stop her from seeking help. It was something Crusader admired about the mage.      

If Knight went back to talk to the dark elves, he couldn’t be far, but the village’s location remained unknown. Unless he had gone back to talk to Edith, the dark elf elder who granted them an ear to listen to their side of the story after the El Search party was caught by their sentry guardians. Were the dark elves still there? Crusader saw the tents waiting for them in a distance. What could be on Knight’s mind to seek the dark elves first instead of his friends?

“What am I doing losing my temper with you? You’re not Elsword.” Aether rubbed her temples, “I shouldn’t have said any of that. It’s just frustrating feeling like he left us again.”

“Well, he does what he thinks is right, even if it means going through demons.” Crusader chuckled, “We’ll catch up to him.”

“Then we better hurry,” she tugged on her white gloves to tighten them with her stuff between her arms. “I don’t want to look like a fool because he did all the fighting without us.”

Striking her staff overhead, water danced across her feet from the puddles and morning dew, lifting her feet to leap as the stream turned into solid ice. Awe and wonder stole Crusader’s concentration as Aether landed on her feet and slid over the frozen path with her hair flying from behind. Thin layers of frost brushed over the ice in powdered snow, water droplets surfacing before freezing again from the cold air. Flowered patterns overlapped as Aether slid forward to form a path with magic emitting from her staff.  

Mud mixed with thin layers of ice made it difficult for Crusader to skate without losing his balance. Aether didn’t seem to notice his struggle and was already several meters ahead with her head held up high. Following after his teammate, all Crusader could do was to make sure he wouldn’t lose the mage in the fog.

  Flame Lord

“I’m back!”

Out of breath, Rune waved his arm over his head, red hair mopped over his head in disarray not unlike a bushfire. Walking from behind him were Richter and Ultimate, maintaining stoic expressions on smooth features as the first hint that they weren’t of human origin. Their walking movements had the same grace as angels. Anemos was the last to appear with her arms crossed with mild frustration from the way she bit into her inner cheek. Did something happen back there without her knowledge?     

“Took you long enough,” Dominator scoffed. He tucked his bangs behind his left ear, only for it fall back and cover his eye again. “If you walk off again, we’re leaving you behind.”

“That won’t be necessary,” Ultimate gave the scientist a cold glare. 

Attentive and precise in the smallest details, the care Dominator placed into a device that wasn’t of his creation impressed the Flame Lord. It reminded her of the kind of care she placed into cleaning her claymore in between battles. According to Dynamo, it has been over an hour since Dominator made adjustments to stabilize it. There was something mesmerizing in watching him work with something Flame had little understanding of.  

Half of the El Search Party grew restless from the wait and drifted away in groups of twos and threes. Phantom sat on the floor to clean his phantom shooters. Blade and Abysser recounted their supplies in preparation for the upcoming journey, a quiet discussion among themselves with Timoria giving them tips on rationing food. Devi said little, but the Haan warrior held a steady gaze when their eyes met.  

“Do we all have to hold it to activate it?” Flame asked. From what Blade had told her, an earlier invention held a similar function as to what Dominator was currently working on.  

The scientist’s brows rose, “It should work as long as we’re all touching each other while one of us holds the device.” 

“So we should hold hands,” Rune grabbed the scientist’s arm and cheered. “I’ll be your partner!”

“Don’t decide things for me without my permission!” Dominator protested.

Flame’s heart fluttered as Dynamo blinked pink (“It’s magenta!” Dominator huffed.), her skin patched with sweat not because of the sparks threatening to escape from her warm palms. They were doing it. Demon Realm was minutes away from their reach.

Entering the strange dimension demons considered to be home was something she had anticipated for years. It was a strategic decision to initiate their attack on the source of their troubles in Elrios. Yet her heart couldn’t stop racing on the idea of threading into enemy territory with limited resources. Timoria was a demon, but how useful could her knowledge be if they were going to be outnumbered? Learning the mechanics on how the place functioned, its origins, and going there was surreal for the fire knight. 

“Add, the machine.” Flame breathed. Turning her head over to the rest of their party, she cried. “Grab someone’s hand and don’t let go!”

Quick to act, Phantom searched for Dominator’s hand with his silver shooters hanging off his belt and his arm extended. Ultimate followed suit and let Timoria and Abysser hold hands with the rest of the El Search Party. Blade was with Anemos and Richter, hands hooked together to form into a chain behind them. At the end of the long line was Oz, standing her ground as the gravel around them hovered from the earth shaking. Black gloved hands grabbed Flame’s with no hesitance, a familiar grip leaving little surprise in seeing Devi next to her. 

Flashing light burned her retinas as Flame struggled to keep them open in search for red hair. Concern was as foreign of a concept as raisin cookies were to Timoria, but it was a strong emotion driving the ‘what ifs’ running through her head. Flame reached for Rune’s hand in the blind. Gravity pressed against them as static encaved the group and lifted them off their feet. Fear latched onto Flame’s subconscious with the knight struggling to not to fall over with nothing to grab onto. Her fingers slipped from Devi’s grasp and gasped.  

Everything stopped. Her weight brought her back to earth with the Flame Lord crash landing with her face first. Bleh! Demon dirt!

Her sides hurt when Flame rolled over with her elbows on the floor. She dug her hands into dry crumbled soil, a dusty brown tinted with red. She took deep breaths. The rustic foreign landscape reminded her of Lanox, but the humidity was that of Feita. Mist hovered over the blue and purple-hued grass, or was it because it was nighttime with two (no, three!) moons overhead. Demon Realm looked different than what she imagined.

Strong and steady, claymore maintained its balance as Flame drew out her weapon, a black blade bearing markings in gold writing. Flame held her guard up with her legs spread apart with claymore in one hand and fire building up in her other. Gold sparks flared up and burst into flames from her blade at the feeling to someone tapping her on the shoulder.

They were faster and twirled to disarm her, pulling claymore away and grabbing her arms, pinning the fire user and bearing tiny fangs into a wide grin.   

“Looks like Add’s plan worked.” Devi balanced claymore with her fingertips before tossing it back to its owner. “Did I surprise you?”

“I could have burned you!” Flame protested. 

Devi giggled, “Hopefully that’ll be the last time we do that.”               

It took Flame a moment to force her temperature down to stop the heat from traveling up to her face and leaving her tongue-tied on being snuck on by Devi. Black bangs obscured one side of Devi’s face with the back of her hair was tied into a tight bun by a multitude of hairpins. The longer ends of her dress fanned out to touch the ground.    

“Where are you going?”

“Anywhere but here,” Flame tucked claymore back to its strap. She strained her eyes for Oz’s iconic pointed hat or Richter’s radiant aura shining like a lighthouse between the misty terrain. Timoria and Abysser could avoid arousing trouble because they were demons, but what about the others? She held faith in her friends to stay hidden until they were reunited, but where was Rune? He wasn’t one to keep a low profile for long.

“You’re eager to fight,” Devi said with glee. She took Flame’s hand, “Your hands are getting hot.”   

“I’m not,” Flame felt sick. She needed to find Dominator and give the scientist a talk for alternative traveling methods that didn’t make her want to throw back whatever Furious Blade made for lunch. “Have you seen anyone else from our group?” 

“No.” Concern graced her pale features, “What’s putting you on the edge?”

“Nothing,” Flame clenched her fists. “Let’s find everyone and go.”

“Do you really think this will be resolved that quickly?” Devi asked with no humor in a dark chuckle. “Our poor luck won’t let that happen.”

Blue light flashed across the sky like fireworks and rained overhead. Fire whistled and burst into violent flames for all to see, trees trembled and tectonic plates shifted to loosen the soil from beneath. She struggled to keep her footing as she charged to the chaos, covering her face and coughing. The smoke and fire made it hard to breathe. Each step grew heavy as she dragged her foot over to where she heard voices. Flame didn’t check to see if Devi was behind her. 

Between a grove of trees were monsters with extra limbs and moved around mechanically, but they were too fluid and organic like to be a machine. Blue web-like veins etched through their bodies and illuminated the destruction they left behind. How did the Elrianode monsters follow them into Demon Realm?

Orange light blazed from behind, Devi throwing herself through the air and her spear pierced into a Skin Splitter. Blood blotted out from the monster through its armored skin with an inhuman screech. Mutated monsters crawled around them and hissed in response to the hot fumes created from Flame’s palms, all of them disintegrating into ashes from the contact of her fire. Runes showered over the monsters to set ablaze. 

“Sis!”

Rune’s voice rang over the chaos. Scars decorated his exposed skin with the redhead beaming.

“Elsword!” Flame cried.

Behind him was a creature that towered over most humans and had a multitude of long appendages as limbs to support its weight. Glossed armor-plated around its “shoulders” if that was what one would call them and had half a dozen eyes moving and blinking all at once. Metallic appendages shot out and curled around Rune’s arms and legs, pinning him to the ground and limiting his movement. His pupils were dilated with the beast reflecting off the lights of his eyes.

Flame raced to find a way to climb onto the monster and pull her brother out, but someone else beat her to it.

A harsh breeze picked up, two shadows in the form of Timoria and Abysser appeared to slam their bodies against the Spatio Reaper and causing it to tumble, putting out the fire hazard created by the Sieghart siblings. Silver bullets hit the creature in the chest just below from where Rune was positioned. A young man in plated armor pursued after the creature with pistols at his arsenal. Anemos and Phantom Phantom!          

“Ignis...” Fire enclaved around the red knight. “Crusher!”  

Fireballs hit the Spatio Reaper’s exterior, melting away a thin layer of its armor and dripping out an unnatural blue liquid from its pores. Attacking it did little to slow down its sluggish but persistent movements that caused the ground to shudder while Rune squirmed in its grasp.

“No!” Flame choked on blood and saliva. Her legs were heavy lifting them and forcing herself to stay upright. Smoke and fire hindered her vision. Where was it taking Rune? “Must keep going…”

Her eyelids grew heavy and everything faded to black.

 Notes:

“Bugs.” (1) - Raven was sent back in time in his webtoon “Company” Double Crow when he touched Add’s invention designed to kill mosquitoes by sending them back in time. Yes, Add invented such a thing. 

Author Notes: Please like and reblog! Leave a comment or tag your lovely thoughts! I've been so excited to write this fic and make it work to write 24+ characters interacting with each other. I had fun writing from everyone's different perspectives and hope to upload the next chapter by next month or so. Thank you @dezimaton for beta reading!