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ayamari-no-goshi · 4 years ago

Text

Verboten 9 | (T)

ff.net | AO3

Fandom: Danny Phantom (DP)

Summary: AU. When Danny was five years old, he went missing for 2 weeks. In the years that follow, his family tried to make sense of what happened, only for the truth to be discovered years later.

Warnings: rated T for violence, mentions of death, language. Be prepared for some very weird things

Chapter warning: discussions of death and injuries

Parings: Danny/Sam

Notes: originally uploaded to Ff.net. Cross-posted to AO3 and tumblr. This fic is very heavily inspired by folklore surrounding mysterious wilderness disappearances

Chapter 9

"So, did Frostbite tell you that there are other people from our school here?"

Danny raised an eyebrow at Tucker's question. His friends were working on catching him up to speed on what happened after he collapsed. It was fairly straightforward as they were taken to a different room to do a quick medical examination to make sure there were no injuries or signs of changes. Once Frostbite's medics were satisfied, they were given warmer clothes as lands of the Far Frozen were similar to those of the article circle. According to the Far Frozen, the clothes were kept in case they needed to temporarily house any humans they found.

Unfortunately, the one aspect of hospitality the Far Frozen could not provide was food. Not only was it difficult for them to procure, it was also easy for it to get contaminated. As such, they did not want to risk providing Sam and Tucker any form of food in case it triggered a change in them. Luckily, Sam still has some granola with her which she shared with Tucker, who whined about there not being meat available for a good ten minutes.

"Yeah, apparently Dash, Paulina, and that group were all taken right around the same time we were," Tucker continued.

"Was it Plasmius?" Danny held his breath as he waited for the response.

"No, it was someone else," Sam responded as she played with the hem of her jacket sleeve. "Frostbite said it was someone name Aragon or some of his followers. And as much as I don't like them, I don't think anyone should have been forced to deal with what they have."

"Should I ask?"

Sam shook her head. "Frostbite won't even let us go in the room while his medics work. They're apparently really messed up, and at least one of them is missing part of their arm. As much as I hate to say it, we might have gotten lucky that it was Plasmius that found us."

"That is a creepy thought, but I think Sam is right about that," Tucker agreed. "Although Frostbite didn't want to explain it to us, we got enough to know that they were targeted for their blood."

An icy chill passed, which was worsened by the lights signaling his switching of forms, passed through Danny's body as he tried to process what Tucker told him. If it bothered his friends, they hide it well. "What do you mean?"

"We're not really sure. Plasmius said something about it too, but both him and Frostbite didn't go into any detail. Sam said she thought she heard something about it?" He glanced towards the goth, who appeared to be deep in thought.

"Yeah, I think there are old legends about it," she eventually replied. "I can't recall the story, and even if I could, I wouldn't be able to tell you if there was any truth to it."

Danny just nodded. "What about Mikey? We saw him get taken too, right?" When his friends wouldn't meet his eyes, he grew concerned. "Guys? What happened?"

"Mikey… he… he didn't make it," Tucker admitted. "Some of Frostbite's men did find him, but, that other ghost, Youngblood, already…"

"What about his body? His family should at least be able to bury him."

"Danny… there isn't a body." Tucker's voice trembled as he spoke. Although they hadn't been close friends, Tucker still considered him one. "When he was found… they said he was now little more than a ghost designed to be another's doll. There was no signs of emotion or personality."

"Frostbite didn't want to tell us that," Sam continued, "but, we pestered one of the medics enough to let it slip. They said it was one of the worst fates a kidnapped human can endure."

"That… that's really messed up." Danny fell silent as he thought about Mikey's family, and how they would never be able to get closure. With a jolt, he realized just how worried his own family had to be. They nearly lost him twice before, but now, he wasn't even certain if he could return the third time.

With his body in a weird in between state, Frostbite had no idea whether or not he could return to the world of the living as ghosts could not remain there for long. There were so many questions. Would he remain like this? Would his human side eventually disappear? Did he still need to eat like a human? Could he still bleed? It was just as frightening as it was frustrating.

There had also been concerns whether or not he should be anywhere near his friends, but Tucker and Sam refused to remain separated from him. Although they were told the same thing Danny had been, they were being supportive of him. If his unintentional switching of forms was bothering them, they were hiding it very well. They also far more scared for him than by him which was extremely comforting.

A knock on the door was the only warning the three got before Frostbite reentered the room. "Good news," he announced as he approached them, "we have gotten reports there will soon be a portal opening near where you were originally abducted. Sam, Tucker, you and your classmates will be able to return home."

Excitement flashed across Tucker's face for a moment before it fell. "But what about Danny?"

"Ah, until we can verify he can safely return to your world, he is more than welcome to remain here." After the ghost glanced at Danny, he gave a reassuring smile. "However, we should find out soon. Before we even had a chance to contact our allies, we received a message from Master Clockwork."

"Clockwork?" Danny and his friends questioned.

Frostbite nodded reverently. "Master Clockwork is an ancient and solitary ghost of great power. It has been many years since his last contact, so we were very surprised when he reached out to us."

"So why now?" Skepticism colored Sam's voice. "If it's been that long, what's so special about Danny's situation to make him suddenly want to interact with others?"

"To be honest, I am unsure. While it is rare for him to contact others, we are uncertain if that is from his own desires or due to the Observants. Perhaps it is a combination of both." Frostbite gave them a gentle smile. "Sam and Tucker, it is almost time for the portal to open. Please prepare your things."

"No way! I'm not leaving here unless Danny's with us!"

As much as he appreciated Sam's declaration, he knew he needed to try to change her mind. "Thanks, Sam, but I think you and Tucker should go home while you have the chance."

Although Tucker sent him an understanding smile, Sam just glared at him. "And just leave you here? The last time we were separated, something weird happened to you. I don't want something to happen, and we never see you again."

"Sam, can't you tell Danny's worried?" Tucker placed a hand on her shoulder. "Whatever happened to him, he doesn't want to have happen to us."

"Thanks for the translation, Tuck. I also want to know you'll be far away from this place and safe," Danny walked over to his friend and gave him a quick hug before he turned to Sam and placed a quick peck on her cheek. "I'll find my way home. I promise. And, Sam? After this is all over, I'll treat you to that new restaurant you've been eying."

Sam's lip quivered as she tried to keep her emotions in check. "Are you finally asking me out?" Even her voice shook. After Tucker agreed with him, her fight had disappeared. "If you bail, I'm going to hunt you down."

"I wouldn't have it any other way."

Frostbite then escorted his friends out of the room while allowed Danny to collapse back on the medical bed. If he was honest, he didn't want to be alone, but it was too dangerous for his friends to stay by his side. He couldn't keep them safe, and the longer they remained by his side in the world of the dead, the more chances the world had to alter them.

Before Sam and Tucker were allowed in to see him, Frostbite explained the change could be caused by anything. Food and drink was the most common. It didn't matter if it was offered by a friendly or malicious ghost or simply found by a wayward human as it was too different from what was found in the world of the living. Some ghosts could purposely trigger the change. Frostbite was hesitant to explain how, but it almost sounded like they passed on an illness or curse. To make matters worse, simply being around ghosts or in the world of the dead too long could also trigger it.

He sighed as he waited for Frostbite to return. This world was toxic to humans, so he was it was him and not them staying behind.

….

Sam remained silent during the journey with the Far Frozen. She and Tucker were sitting in the rear of what appeared to be some sort of large sleigh which was pulled by strange glowing creatures which vaguely resembled huskies. Two of Frostbite's people were steering the sleigh while two more held on to the back and stood on the foot boards.

Across from her and Tucker sat an unconscious Kwan, Star, and Paulina. They did look terrible. All three had bandages and gauze on their faces, and bruises were forming on clear skin. Dash and the others were on a different sleigh which was following behind them.

As much as she hated to admit it, she was glad she never encountered the same ghost as the A-listers. Sure, Plasmius was creepy and potentially dangerous, but he never outright harmed them. However, she did admit that seemed directly related to his desire to keep Danny.

She sighed as her thoughts flickered back to him. He still seemed like the same person when he waved goodbye to her and Tucker, but she was scared that wouldn't be the case for much longer. No one knew whether or not Danny would stay like that, or if it was possible for his situation to worsen or reverse. If it worsened, did that mean he wouldn't be Danny anymore?

Frostbite mentioned he had once been human, but he could barely remember how he used to be. And if she heard correctly while Plasmius was talking to himself, memories were sometimes affected during the process of becoming a ghost. If that happened, would he still remember them? Would he still have the same personality? Would he act more like the ghosts who hurt the A-listers? She kept trying to push away those fears and remain positive, but every time she remembered his inhumanly green eyes, they came back.

Tucker tried to distract her by pointing out things on their journey. Even with everything, she had to admit the strange scenery was something else. The sky was still a strange mix of green and purple. There were floating islands in the distance and occasionally floating doors. If she looked downwards, there was some sort of ground and occasionally what appeared to be rivers and forests. However, she also sometimes caught sight of unsettling shadows which seemed to duck out of sight if she stared at them too long.

After Tucker mentioned the shadows, the two tried to convince themselves the shadows were nothing of concern. However, that idea was quickly pushed aside when they caught sight of the yetis steering the sleigh pointing at some of them before conversing in hushed tones. Before Sam could make up her mind on whether or not to ask if they needed to be concerned, the sleigh violently served to the side.

"What the f…?" Before Sam could finish, a barrage of green lights rained down on their right.

"Look!" Tucker pointed at something above them. "How much do you want to bet that they're not friendly?"

She glanced up to see what appeared to be a black carriage drawn by black pegasi with flaming manes. There was a flaming figure standing on the driver's seat brandishing a sword in one hand while firing the green light from the other. The sight would have been so wickedly cool if one of the yetis riding on their sleigh hadn't have thrown up some sort of bluish shield. It took her a moment to realize it was ice.

She wasn't expecting the green lights to cause explosions when they hit the ice shield. After one blew a hole in the shield which allowed another to damage part of their sleigh, she and Tucker huddled together in the center. Somehow, the A-listers remained unconscious. "Must be nice," she angrily muttered.

"Hang on, children!" one of the driving yetis told them as they directed the sleigh towards a nearby floating island which appeared to have a large forest on it.

The landing was rough. The sleigh bounced a few times before it began sliding over the rocky terrain of the island as it headed towards the ghostly forest. The ride remained turbulent as the yetis dodged around trees and rocks. Green lights and explosions followed them.

After several tense minutes, the sleigh finally came to a stop. Sam and Tucker shakily tried to stand, but the yetis told them to stay put and remain silent. Other than their breathing, Sam was unable to hear any other noise. Eventually, she whispered, "Tucker, do you see that?" as a strange green glow appeared deep within the forest.

"Yeah… I really hope that's nothing more than a ghostly firefly." Tucker's hope was quickly dashed as more lights began appearing, and as they drew closed, they almost looked like skeletons.

"Brace yourselves!" one of the yetis suddenly yelled before the sleigh jolted forward. However, it never had a chance to move forward. Before Sam could figure out what happened, she and Tucker were picked up by one of the yetis, who then ran into the forest. The A-listers were grabbed by the others. Sam had just enough time to get a glimpse of an army of glowing skeletons overtaking the sleigh before the sight disappeared behind a tree.

The yeti did not stop until the trees began to thin, and it wasn't a gentle stop. The ghost basically skid to a stop before placing Sam and Tucker down and instructing them to stay behind him. Sam peaked around the ghost, to see the flaming figure from the carriage standing in front of them. It wore black armor.

The figure brandished its claymore at them. "Hand over the humans. My liege is in need of them."

=================================

Regarding the Aragon reference: I was debating between him and Pandora, and ultimately choose him due to his status as a villain in the series.

As previously mentioned, per Greek mythology, ghosts needed blood to regain their sense of self. Which is why she was considered. However, there is an old story in southeastern Europe that I almost forgot about until was trying to double check something and was reminded of it. It falls into the weird gray area between ghosts, zombies, and vampires seen a lot in that region for centuries. They have creatures which start out as shadows and then slowly gaining a proper form which resembled what they had in life as they consume blood over a 40 day period. Once they reach 'maturity', those creatures have bodies which resemble what they did when they were alive and no longer have to return to the grave at dawn. As such, my brain went, "I'm using that."

If you're interested, I know one of the traditions translates them to "Howlers" or "Screamers" as they are known to pace an area during that 40 day period, kind of like weird listless zombies, and make strange noises. However, these tales do vary between countries and even villages so it may be difficult to find.

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saiilorstars · 5 years ago

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Stars Dance

Ch. 16: The Imaginary Fairy Tale Man

Fandom: Doctor Who

Pairing: 11th Doctor x Original Female Character

~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~

Chapter summary: Big Bang Two is coming! The Doctor’s plans will hopefully restore the world and give Avalon and Amy their rightful lives back but before that, of course, Avalon remembers what else she’s forgotten.

(Previous chapters)

Fairy Tale Memoirs (Companion story)

Amelia Pond was knelt down on the side of her bed, praying just like she tended to do every night as of late. "Dear Santa, thank you for the dolls and pencils and the fish. It's Easter now, so I hope I didn't wake you. But honest, it is an emergency. There's a crack in my wall..." she opened one eye to look at the crack on her bedroom wall. Even just looking at it gave her a tingle on her back, a scary tingle. "Aunt Sharon says it's just an ordinary crack, but... I know it's not-"

"-cos it's not," another voice cut into Amelia's prayer. "There's voices on the other side. So, it's not a regular crack."

Amelia opened both her eyes to look at her friend, Avalon Reynolds, sitting on her bed and brushing a Barbie doll's hair. "Then how come you don't back me up when I tell aunt Sharon?"

Avalon put the Barbie doll down and looked at the crack. She tilted her head at it, letting her curly ginger locks fall to one side. "Because we're just kids. No one is going to believe that the crack isn't normal. My parents don't."

"But you're their little girl," Amelia insisted, "The only girl they've got, only child. Maybe if you kept insisting," Amelia sighed.

"They think it's another story," Avalon returned her attention to her Barbie. She didn't bother about the crack anymore because every time she brought it up, her parents told her to leave it alone. A stupid crack wasn't worth the lectures about keeping a low profile and it definitely wasn't worth the time-outs. So what if there were voices behind the crack - they weren't getting out anyways.

The sound of a gushing wind interrupted little Avalon's thoughts and made both girls hurry to the window. They looked out to the garden and saw nothing outside.

Amelia looked up at the moon in the sky and frowned. "Do you ever feel like something's missing up there?" she asked.

"Dunno," Avalon shrugged, looking up to the empty sky. Only the moon was there to illuminate the darkness. "I think there needs to be stars up there. Like the Star cults. Something is missing and barely anyone realizes it," she moved back to Amelia's bed and resumed brushing the Barbie doll's hair.

Amelia looked between the empty sky and Avalon, more inclined to believe her friend than anyone else as Avalon always had a knack for saying the right things when no one else could.

But then again, everyone also thought Avalon just made stories up a lot. She liked fairy tales, so maybe the stars were part of her fantasy worlds.

~ 0 ~

A couple days later, Amelia was once again forced to see a psychiatrist due to her belief in stars. Her aunt Sharon had, had enough and called in the woman, Christine, to try and get some sense into Amelia.

Right now, Christine was studying a painting Amelia had made of the night sky, "It's a lovely painting, Amelia. And what are all these?" she pointed at the yellow stars on Amelia's painting.

"Stars," Amelia shrugged.

Her aunt Sharon, who sat beside Christine, bowed her head with a deep sigh, "Oh, Amelia!"

Christine made a motion with her hand for Sharon to calm, "Tell you what, shall we go outside?" she suggested to them.

The two adult women brought Amelia to the backyard where they made her look up at the sky.

"What do you see, Amelia?" Christine asked her.

"The moon," she saw the big, bright gray moon lighting up the dark sky.

"And what else?"

"Just the dark."

"But no stars," Christine made sure to emphasize that, "If there were stars up there, we'd be able to see them, wouldn't we? Amelia, look at me," she turned Amelia to face her, "You know this is all just a story, don't you? You know there's no such thing as stars."

"But my friend Avalon says it could be!" Amelia shook her head and went inside the house, irritated that no one understood her like Avalon did.

After being sent to bed, Amelia laid on her bed and listened to her aunt and Christine talking about her 'issue'. Amelia got out of bed and made her way to the staircase, staying just at the top where she could hear the adults talking clearer.

"It's quite common, actually. Throughout history, people have talked about stars in the sky," Christine was saying, "God knows where it comes from."

"I just don't want her growing up and joining one of those Star Cults," Sharon said back, "I don't like that Avalon Reynolds very much. She keeps putting these crazy ideas in Amelia's head," she sighed.

Amelia frowned when she heard her aunt speaking about Avalon. No one seemed to like the fact that Avalon was different than other little girls. She said odd things, Amelia was the first to admit, but it wasn't automatically bad. Avalon did make some sense when it came to the stars and the cracks. Amelia knew Avalon had to be right in some sense, and that's why she continued being friends despite the reluctance of everyone else.

Just as Amelia moved to return to her bedroom, she heard something at the front door and saw a slip of paper being skid through the letter slot on the door. Amelia ran down the stairs and picked up the paper off the floor, seeing it was a brochure for the National Museum. She opened it up and saw one of the attractions of the museum, a Pandorica box or something, had been circled in red ink. And, on the back, Amelia saw a note reading, 'Come along, Pond' for her.

~ 0 ~

As much as Amelia had insisted to Avalon that they should both go to the museum together and see who and what had requested for Amelia to go, Avalon refused. She knew Amelia's aunt didn't really like her that much and preferred to stay away for the day. So, Amelia had gone to the National Museum with her aunt and had gone straight to the Pandorica room where the box laid in all its glory. She'd managed to slip away from her aunt and saw another note on the Pandorica, also written in the same red ink from the brochure, telling her to stick around. She ended up hiding in a nearby exhibit, successfully avoiding her aunt who had been searching for her all over the museum, going as far as making an announcement over the tannoy of the building to get her to come out.

When it was safe to come out, Amelia emerged from the exhibit she'd been hiding in and headed back into the Pandorica room. She went under the cord around the box and removed the note left for her. She placed a palm on the box and looked at it, gasping when he started glowing a bright green. She quickly moved back as the box started opening up. She covered her eyes as a blinding white light took over the room.

Once the light died down, Amelia looked again just as the box finished opening and came face to face with her older self, "Okay, kid. This is where it gets complicated," Amy took a breath.

~ 0 ~

In the Past...

Rory, the Plastic Centurion who'd managed to stay alive after the fiasco with other soldiers, had opened up the Pandorica with the Doctor's screwdriver, given to him by a future Doctor.

"How did you do that?" the current Doctor was staring at Rory in amazement.

"You gave me this," Rory waved the screwdriver in his hand.

"No, I didn't," the Doctor stepped out of the Pandorica and pulled out his own screwdriver to show he wasn't lying.

"You did. Look at it."

The Doctor held his screwdriver to the one Rory held and both men flinched as the two screwdrivers sparked, "Temporal energy. Same screwdriver, at different points in its own time stream. Which means it was me who gave it to you," the Doctor smiled, "Me from the future. I've got a future, that's nice," his eyes wandered behind Rory to see the remains of the enemies that'd locked him up, "That's not," he pointed at a Dalek.

"Yeah," Rory had ignored the creatures as they were a bit spooky, "What are they?"

"History has collapsed. Whole races have been deleted from existence. These are just like after-images. Echoes, fossils in time. The footprints of the never-were."

"Er, what does that mean?"

"Total event collapse. The universe literally never happened."

"So, how can we be here? What's keeping us safe?"

"Nothing," the Doctor shrugged as he took a better look around the room, "Eye of the storm, that's all. We're just the last light to go out. Amy. Where's Amy?"

~ 0 ~

Rory had brought the Doctor to Amy's body above ground, a blanket covering her, "I killed her," he shuddered a breath at his words. He hadn't meant to, it was literally in his programming to do so. He was Rory now, he was, but what ever had brought him back had been in control and that was what forced him to shoot...and unfortunately Amy had payed the price.

"Oh, Rory," the Doctor sighed, not too surprised of it.

"Doctor, what am I?" Rory dared to ask, needing to know what made him shoot his own fiancee.

"You're a Nestene duplicate. A lump of plastic with delusions of humanity," the Doctor started using the screwdriver on Amy to check for her vitals.

"But I'm Rory now. Whatever was happening, it's stopped. I'm Rory!"

"That's software talking."

Rory rolled his eyes, "Can you help her?" he moved closer, "Is there anything you can do?"

"Yeah, probably, if I had the time," the Doctor shrugged as he stood up, taking a

step over Amy's body.

"The time!?" Rory watched the man move away from them.

"All of creation has just been wiped from the sky. Do you know how many lives now never happened?" the Doctor continued his charade of indifference, "All the people who never lived? Your girlfriend isn't more important than the whole universe."

Rory marched over and whipped the Doctor around to give him a punch in the face, satisfied to see the alien knocked to the ground, "She is to me!" he shouted.

The Doctor just laughed as he stood back up, rubbing his face where he'd been punched, "Welcome back, Rory Williams! Sorry, had to be sure. Hell of a gun-arm you're packing there. Right, we need to get her downstairs. And take that look off your plastic face. You're getting married in the morning!"

Together, they'd brought Amy down the Pandorica and placed her inside the box, the screwdriver Rory had been given by the future Doctor tucked in her front pocket as had been instructed.

"So you've got a plan, then?" Rory hoped as he watched the final restrains lock on Amy.

"Bit of a plan, yeah. Memories are more powerful than you think, and Amy Pond is not an ordinary girl. Grew up with a time crack in her wall. The universe pouring through her dreams every night. The Nestenes took a memory print of her and got more than they bargained for. Like you. Not just your face, but your heart and your soul," the Doctor put his hands on either side of Amy's face and closed his eyes for a moment, "I'm leaving her a message for when she wakes up, so she knows what's happening," once finished, he stepped back and locked the ginger girl in the Pandorica.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Rory nearly pushed him again, "What are you doing?"

"Saving her," the Doctor stopped him before he did anything rash, "This is the ultimate prison. You can't even escape by dying. It forces you to stay alive."

"But she's already dead," Rory frowned.

"Mostly dead. The Pandorica can stasis-lock her that way. All it needs is a scan of her living DNA and it'll restore her."

"Where's it going to get that?"

The Doctor checked his watch, "In about 2,000 years."

"She's going to be in that box for 2,000 years?!" Rory nearly fell forwards at the answer, "What!?"

"Yeah, but we're taking a shortcut. River's vortex manipulator," the Doctor had pulled out a manipulator from River's bag and was strapping it on to his wrist, "Rubbish way to time travel, but the universe is tiny now. We'll be fine."

"So the future's still there, then?" Rory tried to wrap his mind around this wonky plan, "Our world?"

"A version of it. Not quite the one you know. Earth alone in the sky. Let's go and have a look," the Doctor held his arm out for Rory, the manipulator set to go, "You put your hand there. Don't worry, should be safe."

"That's not what I'm worried about."

The Doctor looked at the Pandorica and sighed, "She'll be fine. Nothing can get into this box."

"You got in there."

"Well, there's only one of me. I counted."

Rory couldn't find it in him to leave Amy alone and so shook his head, "This box needs a guard. I killed the last one."

"No. Rory, no. Don't even think about it," the Doctor pointed as the human moved towards the box again.

"She'll be all alone," Rory tried to say.

"She won't feel it!"

"You bet she won't!"

"2,000 years, Rory," the Doctor reminded, "You won't even sleep, you'd be conscious every second. It would drive you mad."

"Will she be safer if I stay?" Rory looked at him, dead serious, "Look me in the eye and tell me she wouldn't be safer."

"Rory..."

"Answer me!"

"Yes," the Doctor finally gave the answer, "Obviously."

"Then how could I leave her?"

"Why do you have to be so...human?" the Doctor bowed his head, not upset simply fascinated of the matter.

"Because right now, I'm not," Rory answered and walked to the other side of the Pandorica. The Doctor gave up and started setting up the manipulator.

"Listen to me. This is the last bit of advice you're going to get in a very long time. You're living plastic, but not immortal," he began his warnings, "I have no idea how long you'll last. And you're not indestructible. Stay away from heat and radio signals when they come along. You can't heal, or repair yourself. Any damage is permanent. So, for God's sake, however bored you get, stay out of..." but he disappeared before he could finish his sentence.

Rory picked up his helmet and put it on, taking his sword from its place and held it to his side as he began his long vigil.

~ 0 ~

The Doctor appeared right in the middle of a fiasco concerning a Dalek and two gingers, "Trouble..." he finished his sentence, "Oh!" he looked back to see two Ponds, "Two of you?" he mused, "Complicated."

"Exterminate! 'Weapons systems restoring," the Dalek ahead of them was coming closer to the Pandorica room.

'Come along, Ponds," the Doctor took both gingers by the hand and ran to hiding by the Pandorica box.

"Exterminate!"

The Doctor stopped at an alcove display and nearly fell on a mannequin. He picked up a falling fez and put it on.

"What are we doing?" Amy looked around, hoping to find another way out before the Dalek caught them.

"Running into a dead end, where I'll have a brilliant plan, that basically involves not being in one," the Doctor grinned.

"What's going on?" a watchman called, the group able to see a bit of a torch shining into the room.

The Doctor and the Ponds moved to hide behind the Pandorica, "Get out of here," he told Amy, "Go! Just run!" but the ginger woman refused to go anywhere.

"Drop the device," the Dalek turned on the watchman.

"It's not a weapon," the Doctor called to them before the watchman was hurt, "Scan it. It's not a weapon, and you don't have the power to waste!"

"Scans indicate intruder unarmed."

The watchman scoffed, "Do you think?" he dropped his torch and held his hand out, his index fingers opening down to reveal a gun that fired on the Dalek's eyestalk.

"Vision impaired! Vision... "

The watchman stepped into the Pandorica room where the group was able to see it was RORY.

"Amy?" he breathed at the sight of her as she and the others came around the box.

"Rory!" Amy ran straight to him, nearly knocking him down with her hug.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry, I couldn't help it. It just happened," Rory started apologizing as the ginger clung to him.

"Oh, Shut up," Amy rolled her eyes and kissed him.

"Yeah, shut up, cos we've got to go," the Doctor came up to them and sighed when they kept kissing, "Come on!"

Rory pulled away and smiled at Amy, "I waited. 2,000 years, I waited for you."

"No, still shut up," Amy resumed their kiss.

"And break! And breathe!" the Doctor nearly flapped his arms to get their attention back, "Well, somebody didn't get out much for 2,000 years," he muttered in the end.

Amelia tugged on his sleeve, "I'm thirsty," she frowned, "Can I get a drink?"

The Doctor let out a big breath, "Oh, it's all mouths today, isn't it?!" he put the fez he'd taken on her head but she shoved it back to him, still waiting for her drink. He shook his head and looked back at the Dalek, "The light! The light from the Pandorica, it must have hit the Dalek," the Dalek started moving its weapon, "Out! Out! Out!" he took Amelia's hand and pushed the snogging pair in front of them out into the hallway.

He and Rory closed the door and the Doctor pulled out his screwdriver to keep it locked, "So, 2,000 years. How did you do?" he genuinely wondered as he glanced at Rory.

"Kept out of trouble," Rory shrugged.

"Oh," the Doctor realized he still had the fez and placed it back on his head, "How?"

"Unsuccessfully," Rory walked to Amy. The Doctor nodded and picked up a nearby mop for the doors, "The mop!" Rory made him jump, "That's how you looked all those years ago when you gave me the sonic."

"Ah! Well, no time to lose then," the Doctor used the manipulator and disappeared. A couple seconds later he reappeared to put the mop through the door handles as another lock and then disappeared once again.

"How can he do that?" Amelia blinked as the man kept disappearing and coming back, "Is he magic?"

The Doctor finally appeared again and ran for the stairs, "Right, let's go then. Wait! Now I don't have the sonic, I just gave it to Rory 2,000 years ago," and off he went again. Seconds later he reappeared and reached over to Amy and pulled out his screwdriver from her pocket, "Off we go! No, hang on," he moved to Amelia, "How did you know to come here?" Amelia took out the museum brochure and held it out for him, "Ah, my handwriting. OK!" the Doctor ran for the stands of brochures then to a desk across, getting everything he needed for the note and disappeared. He reappeared moments later with a drink for Amelia, "There you go, drink up!" he handed it to her then continued his way up the stairs.

'What is that?" Amy shook her head, a bit dizzy after that.

"Vortex manipulator...cheap and nasty time travel," the Doctor shrugged, "Very bad for you. I'm trying to give it up."

"Where are we going?"

"The roof."

Suddenly, they saw another flash of light where another Doctor appeared at the top of the stairs, his jacket smoking and skin charcoiled. He toppled down the stairs until he came to a stop beside the current Doctor. Quickly, the current Doctor used his screwdriver on him while the humans rushed to them.

"Doctor, it's you. How can it be you?" Rory looked between both aliens.

"Doctor, is that you?" Amy was hesitant to accept such a thing.

"Yeah, it's me," the Doctor put away his screwdriver, "Me from the future."

The future Doctor snapped open his eyes and grabbed the current Doctor, whispering something in his ear before falling to the floor again, unconscious.

Amy's eyes widened as she saw the action, "Are you...I mean, is he...is he dead?"

The Doctor remained silent for a moment, "What?" he shook his head to snap himself out and stood up, "Yes, yes. Of course he's dead. Right, I've got 12 minutes, that's good," he started up the stairs again.

"12 minutes to live?" Amy stopped him again, "How is that good?"

"You can do loads in 12 minutes... suck a mint, buy a sledge, have a fast bath. Come on, the roof!"

"We can't leave you here, dead," Rory frowned.

"Oh, good! Are you in charge now? So, tell me, what are we going to do about Amelia?" the Doctor looked at where Amelia had originally been at, only her drink left on the floor as evidence.

However, the two humans didn't seem to understand she was gone forever as they started down the stairs searching for her.

"Where did she go?" Amy frowned and looked back at the Doctor.

"Amelia?" Rory shouted for the girl.

"There is no Amelia. From now on, there never was," the Doctor informed, making both look back, "History is still collapsing."

"How can I be here, if she's not?" Amy gestured to herself, as if doubting his words.

"You're an anomaly. We all are. We're all hanging on at the eye of the storm, but the eye is closing, and if we don't do something, reality will never have happened. Today, just dying is a result. Now, come on!"

~ 0 ~

Eventually, the group made it up to the roof where it was visibly daylight now. Amy looked around as if she was being tricked, "How did morning happen?" she questioned.

"History is shrinking. Is anybody listening to me?" the Doctor rolled his eyes as he headed for a satellite dish, "Universe is collapsing. We don't have much time left."

"What are you doing?" Rory raised an eyebrow as the Doctor pulled the dish off its place with the screwdriver.

"Looking for the TARDIS."

"But the TARDIS exploded."

"OK, then. I'm looking for an exploding TARDIS," the Doctor rolled his eyes again at his technicality and moved to the edge of the roof.

"I don't understand," Amy followed him, "So, the TARDIS blew up and took the universe with it. Why would it do that? How?"

"Good question for another day," the Doctor raised the dish up to the sky, "But for now... total event collapse means that every star in the universe never happened. Not one of them ever shone. So, if all the stars that ever were are gone...what is that?" he made both humans look at a fireball in the sky. Both Amy and Rory exchanged quick, confused glances before looking at the Doctor again. "Like I said, I'm looking for an exploding TARDIS."

"But that's the sun," Rory blinked, though now he wasn't so sure that's what it was.

"Is it? Here's the noise that 'sun' is making right now," the Doctor amplified the light noises to make them see it was the TARDIS. "That's my TARDIS burning up. That's what's been keeping the Earth warm."

Rory listened closer and shook his head, "Doctor, there's something else. There's a voice-er, scream."

The Doctor frowned and adjusted the settings of his screwdriver to get a better sound.

"I can't hear anything," Amy tapped her ears.

"Trust the plastic," Rory nodded.

Then they heard the voice Rory was talking about, all recognizing it instantaneously, "Fairy Tale Man, where are you?" Avalon kept asking on a loop before screaming.

"That's Ava!" Rory nearly shouted, "Doctor, that is Ava and she is not here! Where is she!?"

"The emergency protocols..." the Doctor gasped lightly. He hated himself for not realizing it sooner. "The TARDIS has sealed off the control room and put Avalon and River into a time loop to save them. They're right at the heart of the explosion."

Of course that's where Avalon would be, right where the action was happening. He would roll his eyes at how typical that was if he didn't feel himself panicking from head to toe. First of all, he was supposed to keep her away from River and that clearly wasn't happening right now. Second of all, she was literally in the middle of an explosion. That's nowhere near what he promised her she would see if she came along with him. You promised her she and her sister would travel together and you failed in that too. He did. But he wouldn't let Avalon follow in Lena's fate. He long ago made that promise to himself and he would make sure to fulfill no matter what.

He needed to go pick her up right now.

~ 0 ~

River connected wires on the console, ignoring the sparks and small explosions as best as she could. Time was of the essence and she needed to her and Avalon out of this mess. When she thought the work was more or less done, she looked up and gave a nod to Avalon. "Try it Avalon!"

Avalon swallowed hard and dashed towards the doors. She didn't know what the hell was going on but she trusted River, despite the Doctor's clear reservations about her. She flung the doors open only to come face to face with a stone wall. Her heart dropped. "Fairy Tale Man, where are you?" she stepped back and turned around in time to see River attempting one more try on the console before it exploded with a bright light. Avalon screamed from its might.

The loop started over again and Avalon once more ran for the doors after River gave her the go. Only this time, the Doctor appeared in front of the doors. "Any princess in need of saving?" he looked around like nothing was going on.

Avalon gave a hearty laugh at the sight of him. She ran towards him, jumping to hug him. "You came!"

"Always will," he reassured her for future references. "Are you okay? Nothing hurts?"

"I'm fine!" Avalon pulled away but kept her arms looped around his neck as if he would disappear in that second.

River smiled at them from the console. "You're late!" she cut through their moment to point out.

"Oh, criticism!" the Doctor rolled his eyes. "I was a little tied up. Well, trapped actually. I tried my best! Now c'mon!" River left the console in a sprint. "Hang on, please!"

"Avalon's taking care of that," River made a gesture to Avalon's arms around the Doctor's neck, giving them both a teasing grin. It was actually quite amusing the way they both shared the same blushes. How they got into sync like that, River would never understand.

The three soon disappeared and re-appeared on the rooftop where Amy and Rory waited.

"Amy! And the plastic Centurion?" River eyed the pair curiously.

"Rory!" Avalon ran up to her best friend and hugged him, "My Rory! You're my best friend!" she laughed.

"And there's no one else you've, uh...remembered?" Rory pulled away, happy to see her alright but there was still that blank face on Avalon that just didn't settle with him. How could she forget Lena like this?

"Why do you ask?" Avalon stepped back and looked at the others, noticing a similar expression on each of their faces, "What is it?"

"Nothing," the Doctor answered while looking at Rory, nearly forcing him to stay away from the topic of Lena.

Rory frowned, disagreeing with the Doctor's decision. Lena was Avalon's sister, she deserved to be remembered at the least!

River sensed the tension growing between the group and stepped in between them, "Right then, I have questions," she tried distracting, "But number one is this: what in the name of sanity have you got on your head?" she pointed at the red rez the Doctor wore on his head.

"It's a fez. I wear a fez now. Fezes are cool," the Doctor grinned happily.

River looked at Avalon with a smirk, silently agreeing on what was going to happen next. Avalon snatched the fez from the Doctor's head and threw it into the sky where it was shot and destroyed by River.

"Oh!" the Doctor pouted, his head feeling lonely now.

"Next time can I shoot?" Avalon asked River, already eyeing River's blaster with plans.

"Exterminate!" the group turned to see the Dalek they'd left now hovering on the side of the building.

The Doctor forgot about his fez and hurried the others back to the stairwell entrance, "Run, run, move, move. Go! Come on!" after covering everyone with the satellite dish, the Dalek firing as soon as it had the chance, the Doctor was the last to climb down to the stairwell.

"Doctor, come on," River hurried as she kept an aim on the hatch, the others just behind her.

"Shh. It's moving away, finding another way in," the Doctor quieted her down after using the screwdriver to lock the hatch. He jumped down, "It needs to restore its power before it can attack again. Now, that means we've got exactly four and a half minutes before it's at lethal capacity."

"How do you know that?" Avalon followed him down the stairs.

"Because that's when it's due to kill me."

"Kill you?" Avalon and River looked at each other with confusion while Amy and Rory simply sighed behind them.

"What do you mean, 'kill' you?" Avalon insisted seeing as the Doctor had made more of a haste down the stairs, "Oi!" she called.

"Oh, shut up, never mind," he waved her off, unaware of the glare she now had on him, "How can that Dalek even exist?" they entered a hallway, "It was erased from time and then it came back. How?"

"You said the light from the Pandorica..." Rory reminded but was cut off.

"It's not a light, it's a restoration field, but never mind. Call it a light. That light brought Amy back, but how could it bring back a Dalek when the Daleks have never existed?"

"Okay, tell us," Amy motioned with a hand for him to keep going, no one surprised he'd just been playing the moment even more.

"When the TARDIS blew up, it caused a total event collapse. A time explosion. It blasted every atom in every moment of the universe. Except..."

"Except inside the Pandorica."

"The perfect prison. Inside it, perfectly preserved, a few billion atoms of the universe as it was. In theory, you could extrapolate the whole universe from a single one of them, like cloning a body from a single cell. And we've got the bumper family pack."

"No, too fast, I'm not getting it," Rory made a face.

The Doctor sighed and turned back for a moment, "The box contains a memory of the universe, and the light transmits the memory. And that's how we're going to do it."

"Do what, exactly?" Avalon crossed her arms, sharing the misunderstanding with Rory.

"Relight the fire. Reboot the universe. Come on!" the Doctor exclaimed and continued down the hallway.

River, who'd understood perfectly the 'plan', hurried after him, "Doctor, you're being completely ridiculous. The Pandorica partially restored one Dalek. If it can't even reboot a single life form properly, how will it reboot the whole of reality?"

"What if we give it a moment of infinite power?" the Doctor shrugged, "Transmit the light from the Pandorica to every particle of space and time simultaneously?"

"Well, that would be lovely, dear, but we can't, because it's completely impossible!"

"Ah, no, you see, it's not," he tapped her on the forehead, "It's almost completely impossible. One spark is all we need."

"For what?"

"Big Bang Two!" he cheered, "Now listen..." he didn't get the chance to explain the plan in the detail as the Dalek had reappeared and shot him from the back.

"Exterminate! Exterminate!" the Dalek headed for them.

The Doctor had collapsed to the floor in the smokey appearance Amy and Rory had seen twelve minutes ago. Rory made sure everyone else was behind him as he shot the Dalek once more in the eyestalk, draining its energy for another while.

"What do we do?" Avalon knelt beside River, scared out of her mind. "Is he going to do that face-change thing?"

"Not enough energy hit him for that," River assured her, "Doctor, it's me, River. Can you hear me? What is it? What do you need?"

The Doctor didn't answer anyone, instead reaching to his manipulator on his wrist and activating it, disappearing from the group.

"Where did he go?" River looked around, "Damn it, he could be anywhere."

Amy shook her head as the two women stood up, "He went downstairs. 12 minutes ago."

"Show me!"

"River, he died."

"If he died he wouldn't have randomly gone twelve minutes into the past," Avalon refused to believe any such thing involving the Doctor's death. That just wasn't possible. "Clearly, he had a plan that didn't involve telling any of us."

"Systems restoring! You will be exterminated!" the Dalek began to stir again.

"Oh shut up!" Avalon turned to the blasted Dalek in anger.

"Not the time, Ava," Rory quickly stopped her before her temper grew, "We've got to move. That thing's coming back to life."

"Well someone's got to shoot that thing dead," Avalon glared at the creature.

"All of you go to the Doctor," River instructed them, "I'll be right with you."

"What are you going to do?" Avalon looked back at her.

"Exactly what it deserves," River nodded for them to all leave.

Avalon sighed but let Amy and Rory lead her towards the Pandorica room. Upon seeing the Doctor's body not on the stairs as had been twelve minutes ago, Amy and Rory started searching for the missing alien.

"What's going on?" Avalon frowned, coming up behind them and seeing only a jacket on the floor.

"He's moved," Rory explained and ran down the remaining steps, "How could he have moved? He was dead! Doctor? Doctor!"

"But he was dead!" Amy exclaimed.

"Like I said, he must have lied," Avalon rolled her eyes and moved down the remaining steps as well. "That's like one of his rules, remember?"

"No, he was dead, we saw him," Amy insisted, but Avalon shook her head in refusal.

"Who told you that?" River joined them, looking calm as ever despite having blasted a Dalek to pieces seconds ago.

"He did."

"Rule one. The Doctor lies."

"Told you," Avalon told Amy with a hint of triumph lacing her tone. "So, where's the Dalek?"

"It died," she answered darkly and entered the exhibit hall leading to the Pandorica room.

They could all see the Doctor sitting inside the Pandorica box, unconscious they assumed. They ran into the room and River went straight to the Doctor to check what exactly he'd been doing.

"Why did he tell us he was dead?" Rory frowned, not appreciating they'd been crudely lied to.

"A diversion," Avalon sighed, "Told you," she looked at them, "How is it that I figured that out in less than ten minutes when you've been here longer than I have? As long as the Dalek was chasing us, he could work down here."

"Doctor, can you hear me?" River was asking the Doctor, clapping his face repeatedly to get a response form him. "What were you doing?"

"What's happening?" Rory looked up at the small window above them when the room became lighted with yellow and orange from the 'fireball' in the sky.

"Reality's collapsing," River called to them, "It's speeding up. Look at this room."

The trio looked around and saw every single display was empty.

"Where did everything go?" Amy frowned.

"History is being erased. Time is running out," River sighed and focused on the Doctor again, "Doctor, what were you doing? Tell us! Doctor?"

"Big... Bang... Two," he slowly came around.

"The Big Bang is the beginning of the universe," Avalon relayed, "Is that supposed to be like the 'reboot' thing you were talking about?" he slowly nodded, "Is that even possible?" she frowned.

"Oh!" the answer came from River, "Oh, that's good," she started to smile.

"What?" Amy asked.

"The TARDIS is still burning. It's exploding at every point in history. If you threw the Pandorica into the explosion, right into the heart of the fire..."

"Then what?"

"Then let there be light. The light from the Pandorica would explode everywhere at once, just like he said."

"That would work?" Avalon raised an eyebrow, "That would bring everything back?"

"A restoration field, powered by an exploding TARDIS, happening at every moment in history. Oh, that's brilliant. It might even work!" River let a small laugh and took out the Doctor's screwdriver, "He's wired the vortex manipulator to the rest of the box."

"Why?" Rory asked.

"So he can take it with him," River realized and looked back at the Doctor, still barely unconscious, "He's going to fly the Pandorica into the heart of the explosion."

~ 0 ~

After being sent out of the Pandorica room so the Doctor could finish his work in the Pandorica box, the human faction started witnessing even more displays being emptied out by collapsing time. While Amy and Rory comforted each other, Avalon stood to the side in deep thought. Eventually, Rory noticed and felt like he could nearly guess why she was so silent and thoughtful.

"Ava," Rory quietly called, leaving Amy for just a moment. He knew that the Doctor said not to tell Avalon anything but she had the right to know, and he wouldn't feel right about hiding poor Lena from her twin sister.

Avalon looked over at him, "I still can't believe you're back," she admitted with a small smile.

"You and me both," he agreed and they shared a small laugh. He glanced at Avalon for a minute, debating one last time whether or not he should go through with it and tell her the truth.

"You know, now I understand why my journal had those empty lines in the middle of my writing," she beat him to it, "I kept thinking and thinking of why I would do something like that: leave blank lines in my pages. I knew I was forgetting something and that something turned out to be you," she looked at him again, her smile brightening, "Why Vincent said he was sorry for my losses," Rory gave him a look for that, "I met Vincent Van Gogh a while back. I also met Zelda Sayre Fitzgerald. I knew I forgot something...and I guess my mind was trying to give me some clues."

"But...wait a minute," Rory also caught another word, "Van Gogh said 'losses'," he watched Avalon stiffen at that, knowing she'd finally realized it too, "Meaning you didn't...lose just...me."

"No, but..." Avalon blinked, "The blank lines...those were because of you..." she turned to him, "...they had to be..." but as she studied the face Rory had she knew he was hiding something from her, "...Rory? What's going on?"

"Ava, I'm really sorry," Rory sighed.

"What's going on?" Avalon asked again and when she didn't get an answer she walked up to Amy, "Amy, do you know what Rory's been hiding?"

"What?" Amy raised an eyebrow, "No, I just...I just got him back," she reminded, "How could I know a secret of his?"

"Rory Arthur Williams you tell me what's going on right now!" Avalon stomped her foot and glared at her plastic best friend.

Rory turned to both gingers and took a deep breath, the words he was about to speak would surely cause some problems...

~ 0 ~

River emerged from the Pandorica room to gather two gingers but instead found Avalon with red eyes, barely able to stand, and Amy near to tears. River marched up to them and with hands on her hip, "What's going on here?"

"It's my fault," Rory sighed, unhappy with the results but knowing that in a long run it was better.

River shook her head, "Amy, Avalon, the Doctor wanted to talk to both of you, but..."

Avalon didn't wait for her to finish and stalked into the Pandorica room.

"Avalon!" Amy tried to go after her but was kept back by Rory, "We can't-"

"Just...just let her talk first," he pleaded, "She deserves to know."

"What happened?" River questioned again.

"Fine," Amy huffed and moved up to River, "Why don't you tell us what happens here instead?" she said to River, "Big Bang Two? What happens to us?"

River sighed, "We all wake up where we ought to be. None of this ever happens and we don't remember it."

"River... tell me he comes back, too."

"The Doctor will be the heart of the explosion," River looked down.

"So?"

"So all the cracks in time will close, but he'll be on the wrong side...trapped in the never-space, the void between the worlds. All memory of him will be purged from the universe. He will never have been born."

"Oh...that's it?" Amy swallowed hard, barely managing a sarcastic tone.

"I'm sorry," was all River could say.

~ 0 ~

Avalon gradually slowed as she walked towards the Pandorica. The Doctor noticed her expression and knew it wasn't because of him, and the only other thing that could make her react like that would be...

"Her name was Lena," Avalon said quietly, her voice shaking with each step she took. "She was my twin sister and I...I can't even remember her," Avalon stopped before him, her eyes ready to spill fresh new tears, "Rory told me all about her and I can't remember anything."

"Subconsciously you did," he tried to help, "The strawberry hot chocolate, that was her favorite drink."

"Oh, goody, I remembered her favorite drink but not her," she gritted her teeth, "I still can't remember her. And do you know what's the worst thing? That I knew, I knew that I'd forgotten something and I've had memories but I can't actually see her! I can't see her! Why? Amy has zero idea who Lena is, she never had any idea that she'd forgotten someone...but I did. I knew that I forgot Rory, and I knew that I'd forgotten Lena...why?"

"I really wish I knew, Ava," the Doctor honestly said, lamenting the fact he would probably never understand what gave Avalon that ability. "I don't know why your subconscious fought harder. It's like you said the first night you came with me: your brain is wired differently."

"Ruddy brain," Avalon muttered bitterly. She folded her arms over her chest.

"Beautiful, intelligent brain!"

Avalon rolled her eyes at him. "No time for compliments here! I want to remember Lena, I want...I want to remember all the times we shared. She existed and she deserves to be remembered."

"I've got news for you, Avalon Reynolds. Would you like to hear it?" the Doctor knew that despite her feelings, she wouldn't resist not hearing what he had to say.

"...what is it?"

He smiled weakly at her. "You're going to see Lena again. My sweet baby sister is going to be alive again."

"How?"

"Big Bang," he whispered with a small cheerful tone, actually making Avalon chuckle a little.

"How, though? What are you physically going to do here?" Avalon's eyes studied the wires he'd connected from his manipulator to the Pandorica. It looked rather painful and he already seemed so weak.

"He's going to take the Pandorica into the exploding TARDIS and seal every crack up while leaving himself stuck on the wrong side," Amy entered the room.

"What?" Avalon frowned, looking at Amy as she joined her.

"Such a 'you' thing to do by the way," Amy looked at the Doctor with a sigh.

"But you can't do that," Avalon shook her head at him, "I want Lena back but...I don't want to lose you either."

"Well, isn't that nice to hear," the Doctor smiled, "Am I finally a friend?"

"What?" Avalon laughed in a confused manner, "What kind of question is that? You were always a friend. I mean, you were Amy's 'imaginary friend'," the two gingers shared a moment of laughter at their childhood ideas, "And you were the Fairy Tale Man for me. I, actually, um, wrote short stories about you..." she blushed with embarrassment.

"Yeah, I read them," Amy muttered.

Avalon's mouth dropped open, "What!?" she turned to Amy, "How dare you!?"

"We were ten, give it up," Amy rolled her eyes.

"Well," Avalon huffed and crossed her arms, "And here I thought I had friends who respected privacy."

Amy rolled her eyes again, "Yeah, yeah, ten years old," she emphasized their young age then sighed, "Anyways," she looked at the Doctor again, "What Avalon was trying to say was that we don't want to lose you."

"And I'm touched, I really am," the Doctor nodded. At least he knew that he'd completed his little challenge with Avalon and became a true friend; and, he felt very happy about it, "However, there are some things you've yet to see. Example number one, Amy: your house was too big. That big, empty house. And just you."

"And Aunt Sharon," she reminded, seeing no relevancy in it.

"Where were your mum and dad? Where was... everybody who lived in that big house?"

"I lost my Mum and Dad."

"How? What happened to them? Where did they go?"

"I... I don't..." Amy began faltering the more she thought about her parents. She looked at Avalon for help, seeing as they'd known each other since they were in diapers nearly, "...Avalon?"

"I don't, I don't remember," Avalon shrugged as she thought as well, "I just remember..." she closed her eyes, focusing hard.

"It's OK. Don't panic," the Doctor said to them, "It's not your fault."

"I don't even remember," Amy gasped at the realization.

"There was a crack in time in the wall of your bedroom and it's been eating away at your life for a long time now. Amy Pond, all alone in that house. The girl who didn't make sense. How could I resist?"

"How could I just forget?"

"Nothing is ever forgotten, not really. But you have to try."

The ground started shaking underneath them. River ran into the room urgently, "Doctor! It's speeding up!"

Amy returned the Doctor's screwdriver into his pocket and sighed.

"There's going to be a very big bang. Big Bang Two," the Doctor began, "Try and remember your family and they'll be there. And, maybe even remember my baby sister?"

"How can I remember them if they never existed?" Amy looked at Avalon, "You'd be better at this than me!"

"You're special, Amy," the Doctor assured, "That crack in your wall, all that time, the universe pouring into your head. You brought Rory back...you can bring everyone else back, too. You just remember, and they'll be there."

"You won't," Amy countered, taking Avalon's hand and backing away from him.

"That's not any better," Avalon added.

"You'll have your families back," he smiled, "You won't need your imaginary friend nor a Fairy Tale Man any more. Avalon Reynolds, Amy Pond... crying over me, eh? Guess what?"

"What?" both gingers sniffled.

"Gotcha!"

The Pandorica closed and began glowing until it launched into the sky.

"Back! Get back!" River pulled both gingers into a corner of the room with Rory, all gathering together as the shaking increased. A couple seconds later River received a message from the Doctor in her communicator, "It's from the Doctor."

"What does it say?" Avalon peered over.

"Geronimo."

The room was taken over by a bright, white light...

~ 0 ~

Amy fluttered her eyes open to a bright morning. She slowly sat up and looked around her room, looking around the mess she had in it with her imaginary friend dolls and drawings. She really ought to clean that up seeing as she was about to get...

"Morning!" her mother, Tabetha, came into the room holding a breakfast tray in hand.

Amy, startled, looked at her with wide eyes, "You're my mum. Oh, my God, you're my mum."

"Well, of course I'm your mum. What's the matter with you?" Tabetha shook off her daughter's oddness for the moment, "And this is your breakfast, which your father made, so feel free to tip it out of the window if it's an atrocity. Downstairs, 10 minutes? Big day!" she cheered and hurried on out.

"Of course she's my mum. Why is that surprising?" Amy whispered to herself before jumping out of bed.

She ran down the stairs towards the living room where she was hearing a set of low mutters. It was her...father.

"Ah, Amelia. I fear I may have been using the same joke book as the best man," Augustus Pond turned to her with genuine concern.

"You're my tiny little dad!" Amy laughed and hurried up to hug him.

"Amelia, why are you behaving as if you've never seen us before?" Tabetha entered the room with confusion.

"I don't know. It's just..." but Amy laughed again and hugged them both.

~ 0 ~

Rory was brushing his teeth when he heard his phone ringing. He quickly answered, "Hello!"

"Do you feel like you've forgotten something really important?" Amy got straight to the point.

"Yep!"

"Do you feel like there's a great big thing in your head, and you feel like you should remember it, but you can't?"

"Yep!"

"Are you just saying yes cos you're scared of me?"

"Yep."

Amy rolled her eyes, "I love you."

"Yep," Rory shook his head, "I mean, I love you too!"

"I'm going to call Avalon, she'll understand!"

"Yep," Rory nodded, still with no idea what the conversation was about.

Amy shook her head and laughed before hanging up. She hung up and redialed again for the Reynolds', she would've dialed for Avalon's cellphone, but...she'd been punished.

She and Mel needed to stop getting into so much trouble.

~ 0 ~

"Hello?" a young, fourteen year old boy answered the phone.

"Gavin? Is Avalon around?" Amy asked.

"Yeah," Gavin picked at an orange strand of hair refusing to stay off his forehead. He kept blowing on it, prompting Amy to snap his name out.

"Gavin, pass the phone to Avalon!"

"Aren't you getting married?"

"Well, not if people won't take my phone call serious and just talk to me!" huffed Amy over the line.

Gavin pulled the phone from his ear and made a face. "You're weird, Amy. AVALON!"

~ 0 ~

Avalon was still in her pajamas with a robe on when her brother called for her. But she ignored it as she quietly tip-toed towards a room with an open door. She poked her head inside and saw a small brunette standing in front of a mirror with a salmon-pink dress on.

"Avalon, what is it?" Lena Reynolds turned to her with her hands on her hips.

Avalon felt the air leave her lungs at the sight of her twin sister. "Oh Lena!" She ran inside the room and hugged Lena so very tight. "Lena!"

"What...what is it?" Lena blinked with genuine confusion, still hugging her twin back however.

"You're my twin!" Avalon pulled away to look Lena over, "My smaller, serene twin!"

Lena laughed of confusion and shrugged, "Guess...I am," she looked at Avalon with concern, "Are you alright?" she put a hand on Avalon's forehead, "You haven't been writing too much in the journal of yours? I told you to go to sleep early last night!"

"Not this time," Avalon chuckled.

"Avalon!" Gavin ran inside the room holding the landline phone in his hand, "It's Amy!"

"Amy?" Avalon looked at Lena, "Isn't she getting married in about two hours?"

Lena nodded, "That was the rumor."

Avalon laughed and hugged her again, taking the phone and rushing off to her own room. Gavin frowned and looked at his other big sister, "What's wrong with her? She's weirder than usual."

"Don't be rude," Lena turned him around and walked him out of her room. "Now go finish getting ready."

"Yeah, yeah," the boy rolled his eyes and went on.

~ 0 ~

"Don't you feel like there's something missing?" Amy was asking Avalon while the ginger-twin ran a hand through her fairy tale books in her bookshelf.

"I get you," Avalon confessed as she pulled out one of her books, that of Sleeping Beauty in its French version - La Belle au bois dormant - by Charles Perrault, "Something at the tip of your tongue but never there," she skimmed through the pages of her book. Though it was French, she'd forced herself to learn what was on the pages. She could read it fluently.

"Yeah," Amy sighed, glad to know that once again Avalon understood her, "But no one understands!"

Avalon scoffed, "They all think you're crazy, Amy. I wouldn't insist to them."

"Yeah...I should go," Amy sighed again, "As always, thanks for understanding."

"No worries, see you later," Avalon hung up and chucked the phone to her bed.

She closed her book and stared at it for another moment, understanding completely what Amy had been talking about. She'd had the same sensations but being who she was no one ever believed her in the town. For that, she preferred to talk about it either to Amy and/or write it in her journal. She glanced at a small pile of papers on her desk and sighed. She would've stuck them in her journal but her journal was filled up now, no more space for anything...and she wasn't going to buy a new one. It was the last thing she had of her mother after all.

Instead, she returned her book to the shelf and headed for her salmon-pink dress that hung on her closet door, a maid of honor didn't get ready in just ten minutes, no!

~ 0 ~

The Reynolds sat at a table not too far from the bride and groom (and their families) in the reception room. They'd just finished hearing the speech from Rory's best man and were about to listen to Amy's father's, Augustus, speech.

"Sorry, everyone. I'll be another two minutes. I'm just reviewing certain aspects," Augustus apologized and sat down to review his speech, the rest of the guests laughing at his actions.

"Your father, Amelia, will be the absolute death of me. Unless, of course, I strike pre-emptively," Tabetha sighed.

Amy laughed at their antics but stopped when she saw a woman with brown hair walking by the windows of the reception giving her a look. It was kind of familiar but Amy wasn't sure why. Still, her body reacted faster than her mind and before Amy knew it, she had stood up.

"Amy? You OK?" Rory looked up at her.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm..." Amy shook her head and sat down again, "...fine."

"Right. Er... You're crying," Rory pointed.

"So I am. Why am I doing that?"

"Because you're happy, probably. Happy Mrs Rory. Happy, happy, happy."

Amy rubbed her face again as she felt more tears, "No. I'm sad. I'm really, really sad."

"Great," Rory sighed, not the way to start a marriage!

"Why am I sad?" Amy wondered then noticed a book in front of Rory, "What's that?"

"Oh, er, someone left it for you. A woman," Rory handed her the book.

"But what is it?" Amy took the book and studied it, putting more thought into it than Rory had apparently.

"It's a book."

"It's blank," Amy showed him a couple pages that were indeed blank.

"It's a present," Rory thought he was stating the obvious here.

"But why?"

"Well, you know the old saying. The old... wedding... thing. Huh?" Rory tried to make sense of it but failed miserably, "Amy?"

Augustus stood up with an apologetic smile, "Ready now. Sorry about that. Last-minute adjustments to certain aspects. Now then, it hardly seems a year..."

Amy didn't pay attention to what was going on as she was beginning to remember things...things she had no idea what they were. She studied a nearby guest wearing a red bowtie and then another guest with blue braces. Amy felt a tear stroll down her face and it fell to the book's cover.

"Shut up, Dad!" Amy abruptly stood up, ending her father's speech.

"Amy?" Rory reached for her hand.

"Amelia?" Augustus frowned.

"Sorry, but shut up, please!" Amy begged them as she took a deep breath, "There's someone missing...someone important. Someone so, so important."

"Amy, what's wrong?" Rory moved to stand but she shook her head and continued to talk.

"No one understands, except Avalon," Amy pointed at her ginger friend, all eyes moving to Avalon in a snap, "I had an imaginary friend when I was kid," and then went the sighs of her parents, "And my friend Avalon, she wrote about him."

"And it was meant to be a secret," Avalon said through gritted teeth, giving Amy a look that said to shut up. She didn't care if Amy was the bride, she would punch her.

"The raggedy Doctor," Amy insisted, "My raggedy Doctor. And Avalon's fairy tale man, but he wasn't imaginary. He was real. You know he was," Amy looked around, more determined than ever, "I remember you! I remember! I brought the others back, I can bring you home, too. Raggedy man, I remember you, and you are late for my wedding!"

In the silence around the room, Rory and the twins noticed their glasses clinking against each other as the ground underneath shook, the chandelier swaying above.

"I found you. I found you in words, like you knew I would," Amy continued, not about to give up, especially when the wind started picking and the faint noises of the TARDIS began to grow audible, "That's why you told me the story...the brand new, ancient blue box. Oh, clever. Very clever."

"Amy, what is it?" Rory, still confused, looked all around.

"Avalon..." Lena whispered, slightly frightened.

"It's the Fairy Tale Man," Avalon began smiling as the TARDIS materialized in the middle of the dance floor. "It's my Fairy Tale Man..."

"Something old. Something new. Something borrowed. Something blue," Amy laughed.

"It's the Doctor!" Rory remembered now as the box was now fully visible, unaware that Amy had climbed over their table and was heading for the TARDIS, "How did we forget the Doctor? I was plastic. I died in an underground cave..." He saw the looks he got for the last bit and added, quietly, "Long story."

Lena blinked when she started to remember as well, "I died," she frowned.

"I met Mary Costa," Avalon recalled. "And Zelda Sayre Fitzgerald."

"You did what?" their father, who sat across them, raised his eyebrows at the knowledge he was hearing.

Both sisters looked back at him with sweet smiles, "Nothing, Daddy," they said together.

"You're both weird," Gavin muttered, earning himself identical glares from his sisters.

Amy was knocking, or pounding, on the TARDIS doors calling for the alien inside, "OK, Doctor. Did I surprise you this time?"

The door opened and out came the Doctor, dressed in a top hat with a white tie and tails, a large, loose white scarf draped over his shoulders, "Er, yeah. Completely astonished. Never expected that. How lucky I happened to be wearing this old thing," he stepped out for everyone to see him, "Hello, everyone. I'm Amy's imaginary friend, but I came anyway," he shook hands with a flabbergasted Augustus Pond, "Oh, and a Fairy Tale Man," he waved at the Reynolds, specifically giving a wink to Avalon.

She smiled in return.

"You absolutely, definitely may kiss the bride," Amy strode for the Doctor, pulling his attention back to the bigger picture.

"Amy!" the twins exclaimed as they stood up from their seats.

The Doctor placed a finger on Amy's lips and grinned, "Amelia! From now on, I shall be leaving the... kissing duties to the brand new Mr Pond," he shook Rory's hand as the man came to join them.

"No, I'm not Mr Pond. That's not how it works," Rory began to argue.

"Yeah, it is," the Doctor nodded.

"Yeah, it is," Rory mumbled with acceptance.

"Big brother!" Lena rushed up to hug the Doctor.

The Doctor, upon remembering her (thankfully rewritten) fate, hugged her back instantaneously. "Baby sister! Thank goodness you're okay now," he kissed her head and hugged her just a bit longer. "And happy, and...gorgeous by the way," Lena chuckled, "Alive and happy, just like you should be."

"I can't believe I forgot about everything," Lena pulled away and looked at Avalon, "I called you crazy for all those stories you wrote."

"Is there anyone who didn't read my stories?" Avalon huffed.

"Me," Rory raised his hand, succeeding in making her laugh.

"Of course," she had to smile at him.

"And me," the Doctor added with a cheeky grin, "Though maybe I could take a small peek...?"

"No," she said, though the Doctor swore he could see a small blush on her cheeks that made him even more curious about those stories, "But I'm glad to have you back," she moved on up and hugged him.

"Right then, everyone," he cleared his throat and pulled away from Avalon to look back at the guests, "I'll move my box. You're going to need the space," he rushed into the TARDIS and looked back, "I only came for the dancing," he smirked and went off.

The remaining group looked at each others with smiles as they felt the wind of the TARDIS dematerializing hit them, simply happy to be together again.

~ 0 ~

Later that night, each companion got to see just how good of a dancer the Doctor was. Amy was first up on the dance floor and as she did her best, normal dancing to Queen's "Crazy Little Thing Called Love", she had no idea what the Doctor was doing.

"You're terrible! That is embarrassing!" she accused, but the Doctor didn't seem to care. He thought he was doing just fine.

After that the Doctor started showing off his 'moves' for the children who were eager to learn how to dance like him, "That's it. That's good. Keep it loose!"

"Teach me!" Lena came over to join them, the Doctor more than happy to show his baby sister just how to dance. It was her turn after all!

~ 0 ~

The music had slowed down and provided the best setting for the new couple. Mostly everyone was at the dance floor, accompanying Amy and Rory for the moment... almost everyone. The Doctor was happily watching his friends dance when Lena slowly came up to him.

"Big brother, can I talk to you for a second?" the seriousness in her face indicated to the Doctor there was something deeply bothering her.

"Of course," he agreed and followed her to a more quiet place.

~ 0 ~

Avalon would've enjoyed the dancing if someone that day had bothered to take her out. Since that failed, she decided to leave the party for a moment just to get some fresh air. The ballroom was a bit stuffy anyways. As she walked out of the ballroom, however, she started to hear weird noises from a distance. It sounded like a gurgle, actually, but not a regular gurgle. She would've ignored it but she also got the feeling that something was watching her.

"Hello?" she called out. She stopped when she heard a crunching of leaves on the ground. "If this is one of you stupid kids trying to scare me, I will get you," she warned and stepped into a small sitting area. Her eyes nearly popped out of her head when she saw not a child, but a gray alien in a black suit. "O-o-oh my God…" she stumbled back a couple steps and hit a tree's bark. "Wh-what are you…?"

The alien tilted is large head to the side, raising one of its tentacle-like hands and pointing a long finger at her. "You tried to hide from the Silence but we have found you," its raspy voice filled the area.

"D-doctor!" she started to call out.

The lone creature directed its other hand to the bench where a rolled up paper sat. Avalon followed the gaze and, unfortunately, forgot the creature altogether.

"Avalon?" she heard the Doctor call her name and she quickly turned around.

"Avalon are you out here?" Lena then called.

Avalon blinked slowly and rubbed the side of her head. She looked around and spotted the rolled up letter again on the bench. She walked over to it and picked it up. Without hesitation, she ripped off the small red ribbon keeping it folded and scanned its contents.

"There you are!" Lena's exclaim startled the ginger but by that time she had already finished reading the letter.

"Was it my imagination or were you calling my name?" the Doctor was making a face as he tried to decide whether or not the call had been real. There was too much going on to be sure.

Avalon looked at them with a sly smile. "Mm, I'm curious to see what dreams you've been having of me, Fairy Tale Man."

The Doctor sputtered with a red face, making her laugh. "That's not funny!"

"Ahem," Lena calmly cleared her throat. "Avalon, there was something we wanted to talk to you about."

"Oh? The both of you?" Avalon raised an eyebrow, a suspicious swirl sitting in her eyes.

Lena nodded her head. "Mhm. It's actually quite simple, really. I'm not going to travel with the Doctor anymore." Avalon blinked pretty face at first, surprised by the sudden decision. "But I want you to continue doing so."

"Um...excuse me?" Avalon turned her attention to the Doctor to see what he had to say on the matter.

"Lena's good at making points, Ava," the Doctor cleared his throat, prepared to receive snaps and shouts for agreeing with the choice Lena made.

"Sorry, the both of you want me to leave my sister behind? Why on Earth would I ever do that!?"

"Because it's high time you stopped taking care of me and start living your life," Lena had the answer within the second. She was adamant this time to get the point across Avalon's head. "I'm sick, yes, but it is a controlled illness and I have doctors to take care of me. You have put your life on hold for me and the rest of our family for far too long. It stops today. We are all grown up, Avalon. It's time to let go."

Avalon was nothing short but stunned to hear Lena say all that. "I don't...I...Lena?"

Lena raised her head, clearly determined. "I'm not going to travel anymore because I don't feel like it's where I belong."

"Even though I've said she's always welcomed," the Doctor added and Lena nodded in acknowledgment.

"This is the choice I had made before I died in that other time line. The TARDIS is amazing but...it's just not my place," Lena reiterated. "But it's yours, Avalon. I know it is. So you go and you travel...and send me a postcard every now and then."

Avalon was hurt, of course she was, and Lena saw it. The ginger saddened up as a consequence and when she spoke, her next words were apologetic. "I didn't mean to annoy you, Lena-"

"Avalon, it's not that-"

"I just don't want to lose you like we lost Mum," Avalon lowered her arms still holding the letter she found. "I love you Lena, and I never want anything to happen to you."

Lena smiled and walked up to her sister to give her the biggest hug possible. "I know that, silly. You have a very big heart and from now on I'm going to make sure that its content. Truly content." She pulled away to meet Avalon's gaze. "I talked to Dad about it and he's on board."

"I guess there's no choice then, huh?" Avalon lightly chuckled. "Is that alright with you, Doctor?"

The man was already smiling. "I have a few places we could try…"

The idea of travelling made Avalon swell with excitement. It was something she'd always wanted to do but because of her family's situation she never got to live out. Now, now it was different, but there was also something else that might be pushing her to accept Lena's command.

"Okay then," she finally agreed out loud. "But now I'd like a word with you, Doctor."

The Doctor's face fell and his entire body stiffened. "Am I in trouble?"

"Well, you blew up the world but then put it back together so no, you're not. But I just need to tell you something."

Lena was all smiling because her plan worked. "I'll leave you then!" she happily returned to the ballroom.

Avalon watched her sister disappear into the building before deciding to speak again. Without a word, she held out the folded letter to the Doctor.

His eyes flickered from her to the paper and in no time was confused. "Am I...am I supposed to take it?" she nodded her head. "It's for me?"

"Uh, no, it's for me...apparently," Avalon watched him finally take it and unroll it.

'Dear Avalon, I know this is strange and probably confusing but it is imperious that you listen to me. You must remain with the Doctor for your own safety. Bad things are coming, and they will be coming for you and all your friends.'

The Doctor's mouth closed and opened several times, much to Avalon's amusement, as he failed to understand where this message got off giving such an obscure warning. "Where did you get this?"

"I just found it on the bench!" Avalon gestured to the dusty, white bench behind her. "It was right there!"

"Did you see anybody, then?"

"Does it look like I saw anybody?"

The Doctor frowned and rolled the letter back up. "Okay, well, we can't jump to any conclusions about this. It could just be someone playing a trick."

"It's got to be," Avalon crossed her arms. "I mean, it doesn't make sense, does it?"

The Doctor could tell that despite her calm exterior, there was an inkling of fear starting inside her. "Just...for the time being, I think it is best if you come along with me."

"But what if it's not?" she asked, her eyes briefly flickering to the ballroom. "What if they come for my family?"

"Listen, by the looks of it, their main point was to get to you...we're just along for the ride," the Doctor did not make her feel better and he knew it. He walked up to her and comfortingly rubbed her arms. "We'll figure if this is just a trick or not. Trust me, okay?"

"Okay," she nodded. It wasn't a very difficult thing to trust in him, after all. She felt safe with him no matter what.

The Doctor smiled at her and startled her by taking her hand. "Would you like to dance?" It didn't appear that she believed him because she looked around like he'd been asking someone else. "I meant you, red," the Doctor laughed. "I've danced with everyone except for you...though Rory didn't seem to like it very much."

Avalon snickered. "I bet he didn't."

"Complete the set, then?"

Avalon's smile faded a little as she sighed. "Um, listen…" she slowly took her hand from his. "I think it's no secret that a lot of Amy's family disapproves of me, um...I'd rather not be the center of their attention."

"But I thought Avalon Reynolds just didn't care?" the Doctor playfully scrutinized her face.

"I don't," she agreed, "But this is Amy and Rory's day. I'm not ruining it just to make a point."

"C'mon, I think they know you enough not to care. Dance?" he took her hand again. "Don't worry, I can teach you how."

That made Avalon laugh a genuine, teasing laugh. It made the Doctor smile as he pulled them towards the ballroom.

Since it was a slow dance, Avalon found herself a bit nervous as she took position for a dance. She'd danced to regular music in clubs with Mels and Amy, (when they'd sneak in with fake ID's), but never actual slow dances. Like she said before, no one ever asked her for fear of the talks from people so she'd never had the chance for a proper dance.

"I don't..." she became even more nervous as she thought more on it.

"I don't hear any talks," the Doctor whispered to her as they started to sway to the music.

"Give them a couple of minutes, they'll come up with something," she kept her gaze down, "They did for you earlier."

"Oh, I bet they did," the Doctor smirked, not at all perturbed with it, "But I was having fun, so I don't care in the least."

Avalon looked up and smiled a bit, teasing actually, "You did look ridiculous, though. I just want that to be clear. I need it to be clear."

"Ridiculously fun, though," he corrected.

She rolled her eyes, "Call it whatever you like, but it was ridiculous. Kids are going to be dancing that stupid dance you taught them for months!"

"I'll be glad to give them more lessons."

"No you will not," she shook her head, chuckling to herself.

"Look at that, you've forgotten your nervousness and the 'talks' of the people," the Doctor 'discreetly' smirked about it.

"Guess I did," she acknowledged, "You're good at distracting, you know. And not that bad of a slow dancer, I'm shocked."

"Well, there's a lot you don't know about me either," he tapped her nose and smiled back.

"Guess I don't..." she acknowledged it without a thought. A couple moments passed in silence until Avalon looked up at him and smiled, "I never said..."

"Said what?" the Doctor blinked, genuinely confused.

"You did impress me. Since the first trip I took with you...you got me," she smiled so genuinely the Doctor had no idea what to do nor say. There was a strange feeling in the pit of his stomach, but a good kind. "I am so impressed by you, Doctor."

"I...thank you..." the Doctor cleared his throat, more awkwardly than he would have liked. Why couldn't he get himself together!?

"And, I'd also like to thank you, for real this time, for giving me the opportunity to travel with my sister."

The Doctor nodded his response and smiled, "A chance to travel with the Ponds and Reynolds? How can I possibly give that up?"

She blushed without realizing it and moved to rest her head on his shoulder, never even thinking about the murmurs of the guests anymore. She felt quite content where she was.

~ 0 ~

Upon seeing the Reynolds regathering for a final talk on what would be happening over the next couple months, the Doctor took opportunity to quietly slip out of the reception room. He wanted get back to the TARDIS to get a little bit of work done with the mysterious enemy that had taken over the entire box when Avalon and River were inside. He figured it would be good to get a head-start before Avalon joined him. He admitted that he was a bit excited to have a companion that would be sticking around for a while. He was certain the Ponds would want some time along as newlyweds anyways.

"Did you dance?" a voice startled him out of his thoughts. He turned around to see River standing a couple feet from him, "Well, you always dance at weddings, don't you?"

"You tell me," he challenged.

"Spoilers," she smirked.

He sighed and pulled out her journal then handed it back to her, "The writing's all back, but I didn't peek."

"Thank you."

The Doctor also took out her vortex manipulator for her, "Are you married, River?" he suddenly wondered.

"Are you asking?" she mused as she put the manipulator on her wrist.

"Yes."

He blinked, "No, hang on. Did you think I was asking you to marry me, o- o-or asking if you were married?"

"Idiot," she murmured and sighed, "Someone's not gonna be very happy if she learns about this."

"Who?"

"Spoilers," she shrugged.

The Doctor sighed, "River...who are you?"

"You're going to find out very soon now," she conceded, swallowing hard, "And I'm sorry, but that's when everything changes."

She reached for her manipulator but the Doctor stopped her with a call. He pulled out the folded letter Avalon had found and waved it in the air. "Did you write this?"

For a second, there was a brief falter in River, but if it had been real it'd been wiped away in the next second. "Me? Messing with the timeline? You told me never to."

"River…" the Doctor was not playing jokes.

"I must be going," River waved and activated her manipulator, disappearing in a flash.

"That woman..." He wouldn't even bother with that right now. He unlocked the TARDIS, stepping inside and dancing his way up to the console.

He didn't get much work started when he heard the doors reopening and looked up to see Amy walking in, "Oi! Where are you off to?" she called, "Finished dancing with Avalon yet?" she smirked.

"Shut up," the Doctor pointed without looking at her.

"Oh c'mon, we haven't even had a snog in the shrubbery yet," she teased just as the doors re-opened.

"Amy!" Rory gave the call.

"Just one last tease," she laughed.

"That'll be the day," Avalon entered behind Rory, with Lena, "The day Amy Pond, er Williams, stops flirting will be the end of the world."

"Oi, says the biggest flirt in the universe," Amy scoffed.

"Am not," Avalon frowned.

"Are too!"

"Anyways," Lena covered Avalon's mouth while Rory did the same to Amy, "Big brother, I asked my Dad if I could take one trip with you and he said it was fine. Can I come?"

"My baby sister is asking if she can come?" the Doctor let out a small laugh, "C'mon, Lena, you can stay forever if you'd like!"

Lena smiled softly, "No, I think I'll be fine with one trip," she nodded.

Lena made it clear now that she was not content with the traveling about and danger. It just wasn't her style. Of course, it didn't mean she wanted to give it up completely. She'd grown to love the Doctor as a true 'big brother' and never wanted to give him up. She was simply going to take trips sporadically.

"So, where exactly are we going?" Avalon pushed Lena's hand from her mouth.

"Was actually planning on getting some work done..." the Doctor began but Rory cut him off.

"You just saved the whole of space and time. Take the evening off. Maybe a bit of tomorrow."

"I'm with Rory," Amy nodded.

"Space and time isn't safe yet. The TARDIS exploded for a reason. Something drew the TARDIS to this particular date, and blew it up," the Doctor reminded and headed over to the ringing phone, "Why? And why now? The Silence, whatever it is, is still out there, and I have to...excuse me a moment," he answered the call, "Hello. Oh! Hello. I'm sorry, this is a very bad line. No, but that's not possible. She was sealed into the Seventh Obelisk. I was at the prayer meeting. Well, no, I get that it's important. An Egyptian goddess loose on the Orient Express…in space! Give us a mo," he looked up at the group, "Sorry, something's come up. This will have to be goodbye. Ava, you ready to go?"

"Let's see, I've got my twin, my best friend and my flirty friend," Avalon nodded, "Definitely ready."

"Off we go!" Lena cheered and pulled Avalon up to the console, "With newlyweds, that'll be interesting."

"And fun," Rory added, making them all laugh.

The Doctor looked at them all and beamed, picking up the phone again and speaking into it, "Don't worry about a thing, Your Majesty. We're on our way," and the TARDIS was off for the newest of adventures.

~ 0 ~ 0 ~ 0 ~ 0 ~ 0 ~

A/N: I am SO happy to write in Lena again, she really is the sweet OC of my batch!! Aaaaand so starts the letter business...yikes. :)

#doctor who #11th doctor #ocappreciation #ocapp #doctor who fics #11th doctor fics #dw imagine #dw imagines #11th doctor imagine #11th doctor imagines #doctor who imagines #doctor who imagine #amy pond #rory williams #river song #oc: Avalon Reynolds #oc: Lena Reynolds #fic: stars dance

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fandom-oracle · 4 years ago

Text

to die upon a kiss

title: to die upon a kiss fandom: heroes of olympus, percy jackson and the olympians. characters: jason grace, octavian, dakota, gwendolyn, bobby, several backrgound characters from camp jupiter, one mention of reyna. relationships: jason/octavian tws: potential gore, somewhat graphic depictions of death and injuries (posting this because @petiri thought it was good and who am I to disobey the roman prequel overlords)

He closed his eyes, hands instinctively moving to cover his forehead in a strange amalgam of shame, frustration, and fear. He closed the map that laid on the unadorned wooden table he’d just been resting his arms on, mustering up the courage to face the circle of nine other people in front of him.

Ida stared back at him, calm as she always was. Jason could recall the centurion of the Second Cohort since he was a child. She was some five years older than him, member of one of New Rome’s older clans. A descendant of Luna, even. All he could think of was the taste of the blueberry ice cream they always went for after the training sessions she’d put him on since he was ten, a memory somehow more intense than all the times he’d been made to cough up blood. Larry, her fellow centurion, put his hand on her shoulder, but Jason suspected it was more for his own sake than hers.

Hank and Marcus were older than the rest of them, in their mid-twenties, and Jason vaguely remembered that Hank was planning on running for senator next year. Their presence gave the younger centurions little comfort, they’d always been rather distant, acting as if their eyes were covered by fog, and it frustrated him to look up at them and realize truly how little they saw. Looking at Leila’s confident smile gave Jason some warmth, but he knew all too well she was faking it; like she did when they’d worked together in his first war games and they just knew the fourth and fifth were going to lose.

Dakota should’ve been there too, though everyone knew he was off getting drunk with the cadets, and Jason couldn’t fault him for that. Instead, Michael Kahale’s handsome face looked back at him from the far corner of the room, but Jason only had eyes for the boy to the left of him.

Looking at Octavian like that made Jason’s breath hitch for a second, and he’d fought his hardest not to scream out of his lungs for him to go away. The idea of a single cut on his skin, painting the pale marble red, felt like a punch to Jason’s guts. He didn’t say anything, though. Octavian wouldn’t appreciate that, and Jason understood why. They were members of the Twelfth Legion, and were well aware that death was a possibility when they’d made that choice.

Was it really fair? A part of Jason would ask. They were innocent little kids playing dress up last year. They weren’t soldiers, they couldn’t have known it would turn out like this.

He stifled these thoughts. Fairness was irrelevant.

-----

He’d be lying to himself if he said his decision to have Octavian’s troops complement his column wasn’t a little self serving, but looking at him as he bled on the otherwise beautiful garden of the Hesperides, he had never been less remorseful.

Octavian had left the formation with a number of members of the First Cohort to take out a the skirmishers at strategic spots in the pathway to the top of Mount Othrys, in order to minimize the number of infantry deaths and especially to avoid compromising Michael Kahale’s and Marcus’ testudo shield formations making their way to the Titans’ throne room. The main infantry column caught up to them and Jason, leading it, came across the bleeding bodies of Octavian and three others of his men.

“Gwen!” He shouted, and she left the formation to attend to him. “Take over my spot, I’ve got to take care of something. Just remember to steer clear of Ladon and the Tree.”

“Okay, Grace!” She assented, running to the front of the column and leading it, which left Jason free to concern himself with the wounded.

“Get out of here, Jason.” Octavian’s voice was quiet, and he’d been wounded in the outer thigh. “You have more important things to worry about than the four of us.”

Jason ignored him, wrapping a severed piece of his sleeve onto the wound. He wasn’t particularly good at first aid, but thankfully the bleeding wasn’t too hard to tend to.

“Can you walk?” He looked into Octavian’s dark eyes, trying his hardest to ignore the look of murder he was being given. He then looked toward the other three wounded legionnaires. Marilyn, Carl, and Julius, he recalled.

“Octavian’s right.” Marilyn said, wiping blood off of her hands on the black walls of the nightmarish fortress. “We’ll be fine, we took out all of their ambushers. You’re too important to die here.”

He felt himself get a little flustered, which was wildly inappropriate given the context they were in. Part of him knew she was right; as the son of Jupiter, he might be the only one with the firepower to destroy the Titans’ throne and sever their connection to the mortal realm. It was the job they went here to do. The job Octavian had damn nearly sacrificed his life to ensure he was able to do.

But that didn’t mean he had to feel good about it. Jason hated the thought of being spared or given special treatment due to his… father. Just the thought of the word made him almost wince.

“Plus, Octavian got hit the worst. I can walk, and Marilyn too. Carl took an arrow to his foot and passed out. He’s out of commission but he’s going to live.” Julius, a son of Mars, stated nonchalantly, which did little to alleviate Jason’s guilt. He was bleeding a lot from his side, but it did seem like a superficial cut, and Marilyn’s eye had gotten stabbed, but she’d managed to bandage it herself.

So this is what we’ve turned to? He pondered in guilt. They shouldn’t be here.

“I think it might be for the best.” Jason tried to rationalize his actions, hoping that none of them would notice his true motivations for wanting to stick around. “For some reason, the signal corps haven’t caught wind of any Titans guarding the fortress. Their security has been weirdly lax, and I’m starting to suspect they’re either being worn thin at the flanks or they might have been keeping most of their security at the throne room. Strange strategy, but it would make sense for them to underestimate us. Regardless, I think the infantry’s going to take the brunt of their attack. It might be best for me to sneak in and rejoin the formation at the top.”

He let out a breath he hadn’t even noticed he was holding, relieved that Julius and Marilyn seemed to accept his excuse and went ahead of him inside the gates of the fortress’ third floor. The truth is, if he was going to die, he might as well die fighting besides Octavian, whose he’d flung across his back carefully.

He was surprised how little he weighed. Octavian was a talented fighter, it’d never have occurred to jason he was so thin.

“Seriously, you asshole.” Octavian huffed, still out of breath. “At least let me walk on my own. You’re going to get both of us killed like this!”

Jason put him down, and the boy seemed to compose himself enough to walk despite his injury. The pair was soon engulfed by the oppressive shadows of the Titans’ lair, the only noise around them being the steps of Julian and Marilyn about three yards ahead of them. The corridor they were in was narrow, though tall, and they could stand beside each other, if a little too close. The exposed skin of Jason’s now sleeveless arm brushing against that of Octavian’s sending an electric sensation across his body, almost dwarfing the dreadful smell of blood, sweak, poisonous fumes and wet stone that surrounded them.

He took Octavian’s hand on his own, and sensed the boy get stiff, though he couldn’t see him.

“Not here.” Octavian said, sounding outwardly annoyed, though Jason knew him well enough to recognize the longing underneath his words. “Not now.”

Jason didn’t argue, and instead, they kept walking, catching up to Marilyn and Julian, who were acting as pickets. Fortunately, all they ran into was a handful of dracaena that were easily taken down, two of which by Octavian himself. As Jason’s eyes adjusted to the darkness, he was entranced by how he’d confidently thrust his gladius upon the monster, how the blood stained the clothes he was wearing under his armor and even his blonde hair was covered with little wisps of red that almost looked like a twisted version of a halo.

He didn’t know wether to be horrified or mesmerized.

After about half an hour of small skirmishes that they managed to make out of mostly unscathed, Bobby, one of Jason’s oldest friends, appeared in a corridor, bleeding out from his stomach. He’d been acting as a signal corps, carrying messages across the battlefield.

“Jason!” He shouted with the little strength he had left, then soberly delivered the message that would become his last words. “The front column managed to break through the gates to the throne room. They’re fighting the titan Krios; Kahale’s troops have managed to reach them, but Hank’s are still stuck fighting an offensive phalanx. Commander Gwendolyn is request that all troops rendezvous at the main hall ASAP.”

And with that, he closed his eyes, breathing becoming more ragged by the second.

“Bobby.” Jason commanded with a calm he did not feel. “Stay with us, Bobby!”

“He’s dying.” Octavian said, Julius and Marilyn nodding in return. “There’s nothing you can do, you heard him. Let’s go, we’re almost at the throne room.”

“I’m not letting him die!” He yelled in return, grateful for the dark that still obscured his glistening eyes, though he didn’t bother fighting Octavian’s pragmatism.

“Julius, you take the left, and Marilyn, you go right: warn any leftover troops to drop what they’re doing and try to make it to the throne room. If we can secure a victory there, this whole place will collapse anyway. Go!” Jason grimaced at the ease with which the words came to him.

-----

“We’re here” Octavian said, though Jason had no idea how he knew that. Was it his gift of prophecy? It didn’t matter. The collapsed floor let through just enough moonlight that Jason could see cracks through Octavian’s emotionless façade. His eyes were tearing up too, and Jason couldn’t stop himself from putting his hands across Octavian’s face.

“We’re going to be okay.” Jason tried to believe in his own words. “We’re going to be alright. And tomorrow, we’ll be back in New Rome, and we’ll be listening to Dakota getting drunk and embellishing the stories of what happened, and, and Reyna grunting whenever anyone tries to ask about her heroics. And... and…”

“Shut up, Jason.” Octavian took him by the collar of the shirt underneath his breastplate, kissing him like there was no tomorrow, and for all they knew there might not be. Jason tried not to look dumbfounded as a result, but he yearned to take refuge in his arms instead of walking to what might be his death.

“I need to go.” Jason said, poorly disguising a mournful tone.

“Are you coming back?” Octavian raised an eyebrow, refusing to betray his true fears. Jason thought it amusing, and for a small second, he flashed a smile, brimming of a confidence he didn’t have that things would be alright.

“For you?” Jason said, entlanging their hands together. “Always.”

#roman prequel time babey #jason grace #octavian heroes of olympus #heroes of olympus #percy jackon and the olympians #jason/octavian

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princeasimdiya12 · 5 years ago

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The Waves of Determination; Nejire-Chan’s Origins

Hey MHA fandom. So this is something I don’t normally do but I want to try my hand at it. I want to give some headcanons for Nejire Hadou and how she became a hero. As you can already imagine, Nejire is very underutilized compared to her guy friends who have received more character development over their pasts, quirks and their desires to be heroes. It doesn’t feel fair to me that Nejire is often left out and barely acknowledged, from both Horikoshi and the fandom. So I kinda wanted to throw some ideas on what led to Nejire becoming a hero. They’ll be under the read more and if you have any thoughts or ideas of your own, you’re more than welcome to reblog this with your comments.

With that said, I hope you enjoy this interpretation of how Nejire became the Best Friend Hero: Nejire-Chan.

To begin, Nejire was an incredibly smart girl who did not enjoy socializing with others.

She was a brilliant A student who focused primarily on her studies and getting the best marks.

Just like her present self, she constantly asked questions about the different subjects that were taught in order to understand them better. Questions relating to why certain historical events happened. What was the best way to solve a given equation. How many cities make up Japan.

She was incredibly passionate when it came to studying and would not be deterred from solving any problem.

The same could not be said when it came to interacting with her peers.

While her classmates saw her as cool, smart and cute, their invitations to befriend her were often met with blunt rejections. She always felt that they weren’t worth bonding with due to their different interests. She was more focused on her studies and solving everything while the others were focused on playing pretend or talking about TV shows.

Such interests weren’t for her.

When she first discovered her quirk, her friends and classmates praised her for how powerful it was.

“That’s so cool Nejire!” “Look how far those energy waves went!” “She’s gonna be a great hero when she grows up!” “Definitely!” “One of the coolest heroes ever!”

But at the time, Nejire didn’t want to be a hero.

She had no use for a destructive quirk like Wave Motion. It wasn’t going to help her with her studies or become a better student. What could she possibly learn from blasting things with her hands? For her, it was an unnecessary quirk.

Nejire continued on her childhood years with her studies and believing that her peers were of no interest.

Until one fateful day…

When she was only 10 and out shopping with her parents at the mall, a villain with a giant themed quirk attacked the plaza. Everyone scattered in fear as the walls and ceiling collapsed from the destruction of the villain. Nejire ended up being separated from her family and ended up secluded in a ruined area of the mall. Chunks of concrete scattered all around, with gloomy shadows surrounding the place. Nejire was all alone in an unstable place as tremors and explosions could be heard in the background. But despite this disastrous environment, there was one thing that stood out most to her.

The sound of crying.

Following the noise, she came across a little girl hiding next to a bent over pillar. She was around Nejire’s age with short brown hair and tears in her eyes. She too was separated from her parents during the attack and didn’t know what to do. Feeling upset over the situation, the little girl could only wallow in despair as the world around her continued to break apart. Nejire knew they couldn’t just stay here forever and that they needed to move before more debris could hinder them.

And on that day, Nejire found herself doing two things that she never would have imagined herself doing.

The first thing? She looked at the girl in tears, laid her eyes on the white kitten on her T-shirt and asked her:

“Do you like cute things?”

“W-w-w-what?”

“Do you like cute things? Like that kitty?”

The girl nodded. Nejire asked another question. “What other cute things do you like?” Slowly but surely, the girl began to state all the cute animals she enjoyed. Then Nejire asked, “Do you have any pets like that?” And the girl answered. Little by little, the girl became more focused on the questions that she started to calm down and was briefly distracted by the blue haired girl. Once she was up on her feet, Nejire told her that it’ll be best for them to move forward so they won’t be trapped anymore and the girl nodded in agreement. But before they left, the girl asked her own question.

“What’s you’re name?”

“My name is...Nejire. Nejire Hadou.”

“Nice to meet you Nejire. My name is Yuyu Haya.”

And so the girls were off. Making their way through the darkened ruins of the mall, they carefully walked through keeping close eyes on the walls and ceiling above them. The noises of the battle can be heard faintly so they knew that it was still dangerous to navigate the mall. Nejire was able to find a map that provided directions to the nearest exit and followed through with the safest routes. Suddenly an explosion went off resulting in more debris falling from the ceiling. The girls moved quickly as to avoid being caught. Until they found themselves cornered and with chunks of concrete about to fall on them. Yuyu could only tremble in fear as the concrete began to fall on them.

There were two things that Nejire ended up doing that day that she thought she’d never have to do. The second thing? Using her quirk to protect another person.

Using all of her might, she stretched out her arms, aimed at the falling chunks, and activated her Wave Motion quirk. In an instant, two bright yellow rays shot out of her hands and impacted on the debris. Since Nejire never used her quirk, she struggled to keep the debris away from them. But with Yuyu and her lives on the line, she knew she needed to power through. Putting in more effort, she focused more energy into the rays and shot through the debris. Nejire breathed heavily, relieved that her quirk was able to help them out. And Yuyu was in total awe over her magnificent display in power. She no longer felt any traces of fear or despair after witnessing the blue hair girl save them. But the nightmare was far from over as they were still trapped and with more debris falling from the sky. Luckily for them, Nejire was willing to try out her quirk and what she can do with it.

With blast after blast, Nejire and Yuyu were able to power through the ruins much quicker than before. As Nejire blasted everything in front of her, Yuyu would be her eyes as she watched over everything that could be a potential threat or danger to them. Some time later, they would find themselves the exit to the mall and to the safety of the outside world. The battle had ended with the gigantic villain being arrested while the crowds of civilians were trying to reunite with each other. And to their relief, they found both of their parents who were in tears of relief after seeing their daughters safe and covered in dust. Yuyu hugged her parents and openly gushed about how cool Nejire was, how thankful she was to have found her and used her super cool quirk to save them as they made their escape. Nejire’s parents could only gleam over how proud they were for their daughter’s noble actions. Nejire herself was relieved that all ended well, but one last thing completely caught her by surprise.

“Thank you for being my hero and my friend, Nejire-Chan!”

While Nejire ended up doing two things that she never imagined herself doing, she was taken back by the two things Yuyu referred to her as that Nejire never thought of herself as. A hero. And a friend. And after everything that had happened, being a hero and a friend wasn’t as bad as she initially believed it to be.

When she came back to her class, she was surprised to see her whole class cheer for her. They heard from a news report about a blue haired girl who survived through the destruction of a mall during the attack and saved another girl in the process. Her classmates were impressed by her valiant performance and thought she was really cool. And to Nejire, it did feel pretty cool. Maybe there could be some benefits to making friends and her new quirk.

While she continued her studies as she advanced from year to year, Nejire would take the time to get to know her classmates. Her questions started with simple things such as their favorite subjects or how they prefer to study. She would ask her array of questions and would be surprised by the insightful and creative answers that she would receive from each of them. When she realized the bounty of information that can be found, she began using random questions hoping for peculiar answers. What was their favorite color. How long can they hold their breath. What do they like to do during the rainy season. There was never a dull moment and every piece made Nejire wow in amazement. While she may have earned a new reputation for herself as a bubbly airhead, she wasn’t bothered by it as she ended up receiving new information that piqued her interest.

When it came to her quirk, she began to practice it as much as possible. She was already naturally strong with her quirk, but she learned how she could also make her waves reach greater lengths than before. How her waves can not only be used to blast things but to also capture enemies and even levitate herself to great heights. There was definitely so much she could learn from her quirk the more she practiced.

Nejire would eventually find herself making her way to U.A. By keeping up with her academics and studies, she proved to be an inquisitive expert in the battle field. Her questions towards her comrades would allow her to understand their own quirks and abilities. She would then formulate the best strategies in taking down foes or accomplishing a mission using everyone’s talents. With her friendly personality and her effective strategies, Nejire proved to be a likable leader that would guide them to victory. She would soon become one of the top students at U.A. and would become acquainted with Mirio Togata and Tamaki Amajiki. In quick time, the three became great friends and would become the Big Three of their generation.

With her inquisitive nature, her powerful quirk, and a friendly personality, Nejire Hadou would be on her way to being a talented hero in her own right. One who could solve any problem by looking at all the angles. One who many in need could turn to during times of darkness, for her compassionate aura and bright energy waves would cut through the darkness in an instant. Nejire Hadou would be recognized and beloved by all as the Hero who can befriend anyone during times of crisis and despair, who can make the darkness vanish with her brilliant mind and bright waves of friendship: Nejire-Chan.

#my hero academia #boku no hero academia #nejire hadou #nejire hado #mha #bnha #yuyu haya #mirio togata #tamaki amajiki #headcanon #fanfiction #i'm also open to constructive criticism over anything I've written here

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fandom-collective-writers · 6 years ago

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Requested by: @groovysciencekid Author: @xathia-89 Words: 1553 Fandom: Asra/The Arcana Warnings: SMUT SMUT SMUT SMUT (you were warned)

It was impossible to believe that this was the same Vesuvia that had been the one wrecked by the plague twice, and by the return of the Count Lucio, and more importantly the Major Arcana. Everything was so colourful, and there was a large feeling of relief and celebration was a requirement. Nadia had certainly outdone herself in the swift organisation of the masquerade to try and overwrite the chaos of the previous one. All of the rooms were filled with interesting things as I flitted into the ballroom. I loved to dance, much to my partner’s amusement, though I had lost him on the way.

“Saskia,” a voice attracted my attention, and I could see who it was behind the mask without a problem.

“Ilya!” I scolded as I was then swept onto the dancefloor in one fluid movement, his arm firmly around my waist as his other held my hand. My dress swirled around both of our legs, my partner had chosen it on purpose for when we were to dance, though our friend had now apparently stolen the first song from him. “You know exactly what Asra will say,” I couldn’t help but smile as we twirled around the floor, flitting amongst all the other dancers with ease. I had forgotten that Julian certainly didn’t have two left feet, just an inability to cook anything as I was spun elegantly in time with the music that had seemed to come from nowhere.

Then another set of arms slid around my waist in the middle of another spin that had me leave Ilya’s side and pulled me into someone else’s routine. Asra’s white fluffy hair was a standout feature from any angle as my head was tilted backwards slightly over his arm before I was immediately whisked off to the other side of the floor in his arms. He had the slightest of pouts on his lips whilst I caught a glimpse of Ilya’s smirk from the opposite side of the floor. He had intended completely on riling up the male magician. I couldn’t help but laugh and smile up at the love of my life as the song then came to an end. I couldn’t hold back my amusement whilst I was swiftly escorted out of the crowd and towards the doors. Asra’s arm was firmly around my waist, not giving me or anyone else a chance to steal me away for a mere second. Nadia and Portia spotted us from the balcony and waved with knowing smiles after seeing the little show from the boys, I only had the chance to return it briefly before I was pulled down a corridor.

My laughter was irritating Asra. He was getting more insistent as we passed the crowds and rooms, tantalizing smells of the food and drinks wafting through though I was never allowed to linger to see any more than a passing glimpse.

I don’t think that he truly appreciated all of the small kisses I kept pulling him down for. Our relationship had been a chaotic circle from the beginning, and it was taking some getting used to that we weren’t in the middle of danger and had to live each moment to its fullest. I would twist out of his grasp at any opportunity, stealing food and drinks from passing waiters who were coming from the kitchens and smiled before I was dragged further and further away from the partying masses.

Our room was in a far tower of the palace. Nadia had given us the illusion of privacy since we were numerous floors clear of the masquerade. My partner was breathing hard through his nose, I could hear him exhaling sharply as the door was unlocked, and I was pushed through with a strength I hadn’t felt from the magician before.

His kiss was hot and dominating. I heard the door lock again behind us before I was pulled back into my lover’s strong arms. His tongue demanding entrance and obedience as I gasped at feeling his fingers trailing along my bare back already, my clothing was long gone and forgotten as it started to pool towards my feet. Asra’s lips moved down my neck, guiding me as he began to overwhelm my senses. He was determined to make his mark it felt, I could feel his teeth and tongue sucking and nipping at my throat. And then a dark growl rumbling from his throat as the last of my dress hit the floor. I stepped out of my shoes on automation, leaving myself naked to my partner as his hands began to snake from my waist. His fingers were creeping up my back, keeping me pressed against him before I was shoved backwards onto the bed.

I had never seen the heated expression on Asra’s face as I had done at this point. I could feel my heat pooling between my legs as his clothes just seemed to disappear from him. His toned body pushing mine flat against the bed as I could barely breathe due to all the excitement resting on my chest. His lips and teeth were grazing over my throat, pausing only to suck my skin in harshly and leave his mark before slowly moving towards my breasts. My wrists were pinned to the bed either side of my head, though that didn’t stop me arching my back off the sheets and into his mouth.

His eyes glared at me as I dared to try and direct him. I was definitely in for a lesson by the dark expression on his face. And I was going to keep pushing him.

A smirk graced my features as I thrust my hips up, my slit brushing his cock. I knew I was already soaked from the show of dominance, and despite his size, it would take no effort to slide his whole length in.

“I saw the way Ilya was looking at you,” he was warning me, pulling my wrists above my head as they were both pinned under one hand. “And you know exactly how he feels about you, and what that does to me,” his voice was low, and sending shivers down my spine as my thigh was lifted from the bed. I had allowed him to manipulate me into his preferred position and had tied some fabrics around my wrists to stop me from touching him.

A smirk graced his tanned features, before my back reactively arched off the bed. A gasp escaping from me before I could catch it. Asra was certainly enjoying himself and had plunged his whole cock into my gushing cunt. My leg was bent at the knee and was pinned as close to my chest as my flexibility would allow for. I had no way of covering myself, not that I felt the need at that precise moment in time. I wanted my lover to completely ruin me as his cock spent what felt like hours slowly dragging out of my pussy, making sure that my clit was being teased by his fingers in the process. His head was tilted to the side, watching me for each minute detail and twitch I made before thrusting his cock straight back in before I could figure out what was going on.

“You’re absolutely soaked,” he was chuntering to himself, making sure I couldn’t close myself off from him as his hips slammed into mine.

I cried out as he bit down hard on my shoulder, sucking the skin in and knowing that it would be highly visible in my usual attire never mind the revealing dress I was flitting about in before this point. He was demonstrating a point to me and to the world.

“Please Asra,” I groaned, I could feel the dam getting closer to bursting.

“No,” he grunted. His fingers were grinding against my clit relentlessly, my cunt contracting tightly around his throbbing cock. “You don’t get to until I say you can,” he was panting and wouldn’t be able to hold off for much longer.

“Please Asra,” I was begging, thrusting and tilting my hips up eagerly to meet his. “You know I never do this for anyone else,” I gasped, trying to spread my legs for him. “You’re the only one,” I whimpered, teetering on the edge of sheer bliss.

“I best be,” I heard before everything crashed down around me. My whole body was bathed in my pleasure, my back arching off the bed as I felt Asra thrust awkwardly in. His cum deep in me as my pussy spasmed around his cock, milking him desperately for every drop he had as my nails broke the skin on my palms.

Our sticky, sweaty bodies were tangled with each other, which made me giggle as Asra lifted his gaze to shoot me a glare. He purposely wriggled his hips around before pulling out of me, watching my expressions of complaint with a smug grin.

“We should get a bath,” I breathlessly laughed, collapsed still back against the bed. “We stink of sex.”

“Mm, not necessarily a bad thing,” Asra pondered, and then wrapped his arms around me from behind, gnashing his teeth together playfully over my shoulder. “It would give an appropriate message out to anyone who dares to try anything.”

“You’re impossible,” I giggled, nuzzling the magician in content happiness, making no attempt to move out of his embrace.

#smut #asra #arcana #the arcana #the arcane

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pocket-luv101 · 5 years ago

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Dramatic Blond || Part 1

Fandom: Servamp Ships: LawLicht (main), KuroMahi (side) Characters: Hyde, Licht, Kuro, Mahiru, Lily

Summary: Hyde enrolls in Juilliard to win back his ex. But then he meets Licht who helps him discover a new dream. He will become a famous actor and show his ex that he’s someone serious. (Legally Blonde AU)

A/N: The musical was much better than I thought it would be and it inspired me to make this. I thought it would be a fun challenge to write an AU.

(Part 1) || Part 2 || Part 3 || Part 4

“Hyde, you need to rethink your relationship with Ayato. You two have been dating for a few years now but it’s clear that you’re more serious than he is. This is the third time he stood you up in a week.” Kuro sat on the porch with his brother. He wanted his brother to be happy and he could only see Ayato breaking Hyde’s heart. Unfortunately, Hyde was a hopeless romantic.

While Kuro was the oldest, he rarely pried into his siblings’ lives. He thought it was best to let them be free to make their own choices. He refused to let someone hurt his brother though. “You have your whole life in front of you, Hyde. After you get your Bachelor’s degree, you’re free to do whatever you want. You can help with the family business or backpack through Europe. Just don’t waste your time on something troublesome. Love isn’t everything.”

“You can say all that because you’ve never been in love before.” He brushed Kuro’s words aside. Hyde thought that he was being overprotective. He dated Ayato throughout high school and most of university so he thought they were both serious about their relationship. He had been distant recently but Hyde still had faith in him. “Last week, I saw him buy a ring. I think he’s going to propose to me soon.”

Kuro fell silent and he wished that he was better with words. He tried his best though. “Look, I don’t want you to get your hopes up with this guy. Isn’t there something else you want to pursue? What about all those dreams you had when you were a kid? I remember you had a lot of fun ones. You said you wanted to open a petting zoo filled with cute hedgehogs.”

“I was six when I said that.” Hyde reminded him with a chuckle. He had to admit that he let go of many of his dreams throughout their relationship. Ayato would ask him to focus more and more on him. He didn’t want to think all that time and his emotions were wasted on nothing.

The door opened behind them and they turned around to see Lily poke his head out. He had a hesitant expression as he told them, “Ayato is in front of the gate. He said he wanted to talk to you, Hyde, but I didn’t know if I should let him in. Should I tell him to come back tomorrow?”

“You should’ve told me that he was here sooner, Lily! He probably wants to apologize for missing our date. Open the gate for him. You two go back inside and let me talk to him alone.” Hyde jumped to his feet and raced down the steps. He ignored the worried look Lily had and the way Kuro shook his head. As he reached the bottom, Ayato’s car stopped in front of their home.

He felt both hopeful and nervous as Ayato stepped out of his expensive car. Hyde didn’t want those emotions to reflect in his smile and he managed to hide it. He leaned against the hood of the car and faced Ayato. “Did something come up to make you late for our date? The concert already started but we might be able to catch the second half.”

“I don’t think we’ll be able to make it to the concert. I still wanted to see you tonight and talk with you, Hyde. You look great tonight.” Ayato started and took his hand. Hyde thought of the ring he saw him buy and his hopes rose. He didn’t drop onto his knee like he expected him to. “I want you to know that you’re a great guy and anyone would be lucky to date you.”

Ayato let go of his hand and placed his hands in his pockets. “I’ve been thinking of my future. You know that I want to be a singer like my parents. After I graduate, I will go to Juilliard. I need to be serious. That’s why we should break up.”

“What?” Hyde yelled. “I thought you were going to propose to me. I saw you buy a ring!”

“I bought a ring for myself since I received a letter from Juilliard.” He said and Hyde’s head began to spin. “I thought you knew we weren’t something serious. I considered marrying you since you’re from an affluent and rich family but it won’t work out. It’s better for my career if I marry someone serious. We had a lot of fun but it’s time to focus on my career. Goodbye, Hyde.”

Hyde was too shocked to react and he stood still while Ayato patted his shoulder. He could only watch him drive away. Kuro moved to stand next to him and lightly pulled on his arm. “Are you okay, Hyde? Let’s go back inside and get you hot chocolate. You’ll move on and find someone better.”

“Hyde, I said I would support whatever you choose to do after you finish college. Are you sure you want to go to The Juilliard School of the Performing Arts though?” Kuro asked him as he walked through the hall with his brother. He wouldn’t be so reluctant if Hyde didn’t enroll in the school for the sake of a man. The siblings couldn’t dissuade him. “This place is competitive.”

“They already accepted me into the school. All those years I would sneak a peek at my Christmas presents and then act surprised turned out to be good practise for this. I’m a good actor, aren’t I, Nii-san?” Hyde chuckled. They walked down the hall of an apartment building near the school. Kuro offered to help him move his things into his new home. “This is my suite.”

They stopped in front of the door and he placed his boxes on the ground to take out his keys. He was confused when he couldn’t unlock the door. Hyde wondered if the landlord had given him the wrong key. The brothers didn’t notice someone walk towards them. He gasped when someone kicked his back and he fell forward into the door. He turned around to see a stranger glaring at him.

“What are you doing in front of my door?” The man said with a distrustful scowl. He didn’t wait for Hyde’s reply before he accused him, “It looks like you’re trying to break into my apartment, Demon. You have ten seconds to run away before I kick you again. This time, I won’t hold back.”

“That was you holding back? You look like an angel but you have one nasty kick.” Hyde groaned and rubbed the spot he kicked. He was certain that he would have a bruise there. He took out his lease agreement to prove that he lived in the building. As the man skimmed it, Hyde told him: “I just moved in. Do you live here as well?”

“I live in 205, the apartment you were trying to open. This lease says your apartment number is 206. That’s next door, Stupid Hedgehog.” Licht lightly tapped his knuckles against the apartment number hanging between their doors. Due to the placement, people would often confuse the apartment’s number. “Didn’t the landlord tell you that the room number is to the door’s right?”

Hyde shook his head and made Licht groan. He told himself that there was nothing he could do if it was a simple misunderstanding. Licht already had a headache and he wanted nothing more than to collapse on his couch. Since he missed the bus, he had to walk for an hour to return home. He gestured for Hyde to step aside so he could go into his apartment.

“Um, I think my key is stuck.” Hyde sent Licht a sheepish smile.

“Great.” He hoped Mahiru’s shop was open so he could rest there while he waited for a locksmith. Licht took out his phone to check the time. His stomach growled and he was reminded that he hadn’t eaten yet.

“I’ll pay for the locksmith.” Hyde offered. He took out the spare key the landlord gave him and opened his door. He felt guilty for locking Licht out of his home. “I’m sorry, Angel Cakes. Do you want to wait in my apartment? We have Chinese. Since we’re neighbours now, this is a great opportunity to get to know each other. My name is Hyde Lawless Servamp.”

“Licht Jekylland Todoroki.” He introduced himself and shook the hand Hyde held out to him. He had to admit that he had a charming smile for a demon but he knew better than to enter the apartment of a man he barely knew. Licht wasn’t one for pity or handouts either. He brushed aside his offer and said, “It’s alright, I can stay with a friend.”

Hyde nodded to him and walked into his apartment. He left the door open as he carried his luggage into the room. The apartment that was already furnished and he placed one of his bags on the couch. Licht’s eyes widened the moment he spotted a large, elaborate hedgehog cage. He pushed his way past the two and raced to adorable animal. “Hello, Mr. Harinezumi!”

“Did you just squeak like a hedgehog, Lichtan?” Hyde started to laugh and he hugged his stomach. He dodged the kick he aimed at his head and stepped back. Licht glared at him for a few minutes but his attention was quickly stolen by the pet hedgehog scratching on the bar. His face softened and Hyde thought it was intriguing how his expression changed so quickly.

“I named him Dr. Jekyll. Do you know how to pet a hedgehog without being pricked?” Hyde stood next to him and gently took the hedgehog out of the cage. Licht could see how gentle and careful he was with the small creature. He knelt next to him and rubbed his finger over the hedgehog’s forehead.

Licht accidentally dropped his satchel on the floor and a few books fell out. Hyde helped him gather the textbooks and he noticed that they were mostly for music history. They also appeared to be old and used. He handed it back to Licht and asked, “Are you going to Juilliard as well? I’m in the Fine Arts. It looks like we’re the same age so we might be classmates.”

“I’m pursuing my Master of Music so I doubt we have any classes together. I plan to become a brilliant pianist and spread my music to the world.” He said confidently. Hyde couldn’t tell if Licht was joking or if he truly believed that he was an angel. He smiled and played along with him. He picked up his hedgehog again and held it close to Licht’s face.

“Dr. Jekyll really likes you. It must be your angelic light.” He said playfully but Licht nodded with a proud smile. From his reaction, Hyde guessed that Licht truly believed that he was an angel. He chuckled softly and thought that it would be interesting being neighbours with him. He only turned away when Kuro placed a suitcase next to the door and spoke to him.

“This is the last bag. I brought in everything while you were talking with your new friends. You owe me lunch for all this work. My back hurts now,” Kuro groaned and rubbed his shoulders. He brought in the bags while Hyde talked with Licht because it looked like they were having fun. He hoped that meeting new people would help his brother move on from his ex.

With that thought, Kuro lied: “I got a call from the office so I need to go. Text me if something comes up. Goodbye, Hyde.”

“Are you sure you don’t want to a slice of the pizza?” He asked and Kuro shook his head. They waved to each other as he left the apartment. Hyde took the pizza box and held it out to Licht. “It looks like I’m sharing this with you tonight, Angel Cakes.”

Hyde stared at his phone but Ayato hadn’t replied to his texts. Last night, he spoke with his ex-boyfriend and they agreed to meet on a bench on campus. He was excited to see him again and mend their relationship. He spent his last year in college working hard so he could enter Juilliard. Ayato said his family wanted him to be with a celebrity so he would become an actor.

“He’s an hour late…” After dating him for years, Hyde knew that meant Ayato had stood him up once more. A heavy sigh escaped him. His class didn’t start for another hour so he didn’t know what he should do. He spotted a small music store across the street and he jumped to his feet. As he walked into the store, a sunny bell chimed.

“Good morning. Is there a particular instrument you’re looking for? I’ll be happy to help you.” A brunette behind the counter greeted him with a warm smile. “My name is Mahiru and I own this humble, little shop. If you’re a new music student at Juilliard, I hope you’ll find everything you need here.”

“I’m in the Fine Arts but I want to buy a CD of classical music for studying. It makes babies smarter so hopefully it will help me too. Admittedly, I don’t know much so can you help me find a good one?” Mahiru nodded before he led him to a rack of CDs. Hyde glanced around the shop and then he pointed to a guitar hanging on the wall. “That acoustic guitar looks cool.”

“Guys hoping to pick up people with the acoustic guitar has kept my shop open for years.” Mahiru joked and took down the guitar. He strummed a few cords and it was clear that he was skilled. His brown eyes also held a hint of nostalgia. “When I was a teenager, I fell for that act. That guy broke my heart but he helped me discover how much I love music.”

“Break ups are hard.” Hyde signed. Mahiru had seen many people enter his shop and he recognized the heartache in his red eyes. He couldn’t help but feel sympathetic.

Mahiru replaced the guitar on the wall before he selected a CD from the rack. He slipped the disk into a CD player and a hopeful tune filled the shop. “This song helped me during my breakup and it might do the same for you. It’s on the house. Hyde, we’re strangers so it might not be my place to give you advice. I just want you to know that you’ll move on and find someone else.”

“But I don’t want someone else!” He argued and then he went to tell him about Ayato. Mahiru knew that Hyde likely needed someone to vent to so he simply nodded along to his story. Once he was finished, he slumped into a chair. “We were supposed to meet earlier but he didn’t show up.”

“Maybe that’s for the best.” Mahiru said softly. He bit his lower lip and tried to think of the best wording. “From what you’ve told me, Ayato doesn’t seem like the best guy for you. He sounds like an asshole. He might not be physically abusive but he has been very selfish in your relationship. You’ll lose yourself if you stay with Ayato.”

He could see that Hyde was still uncertain. He took out a map of the campus and circled a performance hall. Mahiru handed Hyde the map and the CD. He said, “There’s a small concert playing at ten tonight. It’s free and you should go. Maybe the performance will help you find a better dream than Ayato.”

“I thought Mahiru said that this was a concert.” Hyde looked through the small window on the door. The room was dark and he couldn’t see anyone inside. He placed his hand on the door handle and he found that it was unlocked. He opened the door slightly and a beautiful song flowed out of the room. He walked into the room and followed the alluring song.

On the stage, Licht was playing the piano. He told him that he played the piano but he never imagined that he would be so talented. The music enchanted him and held him spellbound until the whole world disappeared around them. Different emotions overwhelmed him as he listened to the passionate song. He stood still as the song slowed and faded away.

Licht yawned and stretched his arms over his head. The music room was closed after hours but Licht would sneak inside to practise the piano. He looked up and his eyes met Hyde’s. He hadn’t heard him enter and he was surprised to see him. He quickly gathered his things and then stood. “What are you doing here, Shit Rat? We’ll both be in trouble if someone catches… Are you crying?”

Hyde touched his cheek and he realized that there were tears on his cheek. Licht took out a napkin and handed it to him. He mumbled a thank you and wiped away the tears. It was embarrassing to cry in front of a man he only knew for a few days. He tried to mask how he felt and joked, “You play like an angel, Lichtan! You’re already a master so why are you here? Was that Für Elise?”

“Yes, it was.” He nodded but he was suspicious that Hyde merely wondered into the room. Mahiru was the only person who knew that he practised after hours. He wouldn’t tell someone unless there was a good reason. He looked into his red eyes and he saw a flame that had died long ago. Hyde was a good actor so Licht almost didn’t notice the slight shake in his laughter.

“Mahiru told me that there was a concert here and it could inspire me to find a new dream. You really are something amazing, Angel Cakes. What is it like to be so passionate and talented? I entered Juilliard but I’m not serious about art or music.” Hyde laughed at himself and Licht appeared confused. He briefly told him about Ayato. “I came here for love but it’s not working out well.”

“Wait, you came here to follow a man and Juilliard was just part of that plan? The admission rate is less than ten percent.” Licht was shocked by Hyde’s motivation for enrolling into the school. “So, instead of pursuing your own dream, you dropped everything for a selfish man. That’s the weirdest reason I have ever heard. Is that what you told the admission office during your interview?”

“Oh, why did you enroll then?” Hyde shot back.

Licht’s back straightened and he met his eyes. He didn’t try to hide his pride. “I was raised by a single mother and the men who repeatedly broke her heart. Each time someone walked out on us, I would play the piano to make her smile. It’s my dream to do the same for people around the world. I have sacrificed a lot and I worked myself to the bone to get where I am now.”

“It sounds like you have a chip on your shoulder.” He playfully tapped Licht’s shoulder. When he looked down, Hyde flicked his forehead. Licht scowled at him and Hyde lightly brushed his fingers over the spot he flicked. “That little chip will turn into a boulder if you keep dwelling on it, Angel Cakes.”

“A boulder can either drag you down or be used to crush demons. When you’re not born into privilege, you need to work twice as hard. We weren’t rich enough to own a piano so I would play the piano displayed in the mall. I worked two jobs in addition to my classes. But, in the end, all that work will be worthwhile when I have my first recital and see my mother in the front row.”

It was clear that Licht was close to his mother and cared for her deeply. “That’s sweet, Lichtan.”

“No, that’s the chip on my shoulder.” Licht corrected him. He mimicked Hyde’s earlier action and lightly slapped his shoulder. “Everyone has one. I suggest you use yours as motivation, Shit Rat. Dreams are what separate us so tell me about yours. You don’t deserve to be in this school unless you’re driven and working towards something.”

“You know how to rub salt into my wounds, don’t you, Angel Babe?” Hyde sat on the piano bench and drummed his fingers over the keys. “I’ve been coasting by in school and I didn’t make a backup plan for my future. I wouldn’t know what I would do, anyways. I thought a ring on my finger would be all I need. It’s a little late to find a new dream now.”

“You truly are a hopeless hedgehog. Do I need to point out the obvious to you? You can start here! The school accepted you so they must’ve recognized something in you.” Licht placed his hand next to Hyde’s on the keys and played a chord. “Of all the programs in Juilliard, you chose acting so you must have a slight interest in. Follow that instinct and see if it leads you to a new dream.”

“I like Shakespeare and have some of his plays memorized already.” Hyde gently took Licht’s hand and smiled at him. He lightly kissed his fingertips. “I’ll follow thee and make heaven of hell to die upon the hand I love so well.”

“Save the Shakespeare for a casting director, Shit Rat.” Licht took his hand back and lightly slapped his chest. “Let’s head back home. It’s late.”

#servamp #lawlicht #greed pair #servamp hyde #licht jekylland todoroki #servamp kuro #servamp snow lily #mahiru shirota #fanfiction #kuromahi will be in the next chapter

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robininthelabyrinth · 6 years ago

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Fic: Nocturne (26/30) - Ao3 Link

Fandom: Final Fantasy XV Pairings: Mostly Gen

Summary: In which Cor Leonis loses his temper, accidentally acquires a kid, and tries to single-handedly dismantle the Lucian immigration system – and that’s before he and his lawyers find out about this Prophecy business. If the Astrals think Cor’s going to let his kid’s best friend die without a fight, they’ve gotten the wrong cheetah ‘taur.

(a young adult novel set in @kickingshoes’ ‘taur AU)

—————————————————————————————— ——————————————————————————————

Sylvia staggers out of the cave, shading her eyes against the light of the winter sun - her fur covered in pieces of rock and dust, her hooves slipping a little on the slick volcanic rock underneath.

She looks up.

Niflheim airships fill the sky, their banners unfurled and flapping in the breeze.

It's a more familiar sight than Sylvia would like to admit. She's pretended for years that Tenebrae was an equal power to Niflheim, or at least that Niflheim was nothing more a distant overlord when her powers of self-delusion failed her: Tenebrae was hers, to rule and to care for, and she thought that she could preserve their quality of life that way. To be sure, Niflheim came often, and she received them with grace and dignity, as a monarch to an emperor.

It was a lie, of course.

Niflheim showed her that lie when they pulled the leash tight at last, spurred on by Chancellor Izunia's quest to destroy the line of Lucis and the Oracle.

They came into her country and attacked her in her own home, and all the stories she'd spun to herself – that they wouldn't dare pay her such an affront lest the people rise up in defense of their Oracle – dissolved into the mist they always were, ground down under the heels of Niflheim's MT soldiers, who cared nothing for whether anyone would rise up and would never permit it to happen anyway, no matter how high the cost.

And so Sylvia sees the Niflheim ships in the air, and she remembers the day they came to Tenebrae with their armies of mechanical monsters, wielding sword and gun and flame, and she stares at them blankly, unmoving, even as the bellies of the ships open up and their payload of bombs begins to fall.

"Watch out!" someone calls, and then Sylvia is falling very ignominiously onto her side as someone barrels into her, knocking her over a ridge just as a bomb hits the place where she was just standing.

She coughs and wipes the dust upended by the explosion out of her eyes, and sees –

"Counsel Scientia?! What are you doing here?!"

"I'm an ibex," Scientia says briskly. "When we saw the bombing start, we came up here, quick as we could, and I can climb mountains faster than all the rest. Good thing, too, what with you standing around gawking like an idiot."

Sylvia opens her mouth to say something cutting in return – she is absolutely intolerable, this Scientia – and then abruptly realizes the terrible truth. "You just saved my life."

"Think nothing of it," Scientia says, blinking a little owlishly from behind her glasses – she clearly hadn't thought about it either, and seems equally horrified by the idea of a life debt between them. "I'm sure you'll have ample opportunity to repay the favor soon enough, as I am entirely without any martial abilities whatsoever."

"You – you can't fight? At all?"

"I'm a lawyer," Scientia says, sounding aggravated. "Jokes about my ability to eviscerate someone using only my sharp tongue aside, the closest I've ever gotten to murder is when I consider bludgeoning co-counsel with their own overstuffed binders."

"Then why are you even here?!" Sylvia demands.

Scientia looks at her like she's stupid – a not uncommon look on her face, and likely the reason that Sylvia developed such an immediate antipathy upon meeting her in person – and says, "Because of Luna, of course. You hardly think I'd let a few magitek soldiers stand in my way if she was in danger, would you?"

Sylvia recalls the massed army at the base of the mountain, but then her own instincts hit her with the force of one of Niflheim's bombs and she starts struggling back up to her hooves. "Lunafreya – Ravus – they were in the cave – it was collapsing – did they make it out?"

"No," Scientia says, looking around. "I don't see them. Did you see if they were merely stuck, or if there was some more space in there for them go?"

"What sort of question is that?"

"A useful one. Stop panicking and think."

Sylvia forces herself to remember those last few moments inside, hazy and confused – leaping to the side to only just avoid a falling rock, Ravus charging forward at full speed, Luna falling backwards, her eyes going wide as her hooves slipped and she began to slide –

"There was a tunnel, further in," she says, opening her eyes – she hadn't realized she'd shut them. "They all fell down the tunnel: Lunafreya, and Ravus, and Prince Noctis."

"Good."

"Good?!"

"They're probably alive then, aren't they?" Scientia points out. She's as calm as ever, the cold fish. Nothing ever moves her. It drives Sylvia up the wall. "Better than the alternative."

"You realize they're alone in there," Sylvia points out. "Facing who-knows-what."

"I'm well aware of that," Scientia snaps. Honestly snaps, which is something of a surprise; Sylvia is accustomed to the other woman being utterly unflappable. "But Luna is fifteen and well-trained, and Prince Ravus is now seventeen and presumably equally well-trained. They are quite capable of escaping this alive. We will simply have to hope for the best, because there's nothing else to do about it."

Sylvia studies her for a moment, taken aback by Scientia’s highly uncharacteristic vehemence. "You really do care quite deeply about Lunafreya."

It's not that she didn't know it, really, but it hadn't ever really seemed that important in comparison to her own need to get her suddenly too-adult, suddenly distant baby back.

"Of course I do," Scientia says stiffly. "Neither of us are particularly effusive individuals, you and I, but it would be a mistake to think that my reticence is due to a lack of emotion rather than a desire not to interfere with your reunion, however many mistakes you seem determined to make."

"Mistakes!" Sylvia exclaims, her sympathy evaporating. "What mistakes –"

"Ladies!" Cor shouts. "Maybe now is not the time!"

They turn downhill in his direction, both of them scowling and ready to shout at him for his interference, and then they see the MT armies from the bottom of the hill charging up at them.

"Oh dear," Scientia says. "Sylvia, that opportunity to return the favor appears to have arrived."

Sylvia summons her Trident into her hands, secretly relieved that it comes as swiftly as always despite her gift of it to Prince Noctis.

"That may indeed be the case," she says, stepping in front of Scientia. She might not like the 'taur, but she will certainly protect her.

Besides, even putting aside her duty as the Oracle to defend the lives of innocent ‘taurs, there is always the fact that Scientia, having known Lunafreya these past five years, might actually have some insight into her daughter – or, for instance, into the background of that lovely jackrabbit that showed up at the last minute and insisted on joining the back-up army on the grounds that her girlfriend was going ahead with the royal party.

Given Luna's earlier mention and the extremely low chance that Aulea has abruptly developed a taste for barely-turned-eighteen-year-olds, Sylvia suspects she knows who the relevant girlfriend in question is.

"Say,” she says, “earlier, when you were listing off characteristics to ensure the survival of the children, you mentioned that both Luna and Ravus are well-trained. Wouldn't it be more correct to also mention Noctis?"

"Noctis is trained," Scientia says. "The addition of the phrase 'well' may be less than entirely appropriate, given his overwhelming inclination towards sloth."

"Sadly, as much as I adore him, I'm forced to agree," Aulea interjects, coming up from behind them. She's holding a gun very confidently. "Come this way, Regis and I found a ridge that will give us the high ground without losing visibility. If we can get a break through the fighting, we'll signal the Niflheim ships and try to see if we can get a ceasefire – it appears that the MTs have started attacking both sides."

Sylvia glances up. It takes her a second to see clearly, but she confirms that there is fighting aboard the Niflheim ships, the largely 'taur pilots and crew fighting with the on-board MT troops that appear to have turned on them.

Given the stories Sylvia has heard – and Regis has confirmed – regarding how MTs are formed, it suddenly makes sense why the Accursed teamed up with Niflheim. It wasn't just to spread the Starscourge, but to do so in the most efficient way possible. And now it appears that Niflheim, falling for his promises of power, quite literally built him an army.

They probably should have thought of that before betraying him, Sylvia thinks spitefully, before reminding herself that the interests of her people – and peace – come first, and therefore that she should pray that the ceasefire is successful rather than for the ruin of the yet-loyal soldiers of Niflheim.

It just might take a while before she really believes that. The memory of her violated house remains very near to her hearts.

"Aren't you concerned, then?" Sylvia asks Aulea, gesturing for Scientia to go first and covering her tail as she hops easily up the mountain. "About Noctis, I mean? If he's not well-trained?"

"Well," Aulea says wryly. "I mostly comfort myself by reminding myself that Noctis can summon Astrals now. That helps a remarkable amount."

"What do you mean, your summoning powers don't work?" Ravus demands, glaring at Noctis as if that's going to change the answer.

Luna glares at him. “Ravus, this isn’t helping,” she says shortly. “And if it matters, I can’t seem to use my abilities, either.”

Ravus immediately goes concerned. “You can’t? Are you well, does it –”

“I’m fine,” she hisses. “Noctis, how are you doing?”

“I’m okay, other than my magic being cut off,” Noctis says, very carefully not interjecting himself into the argument. He’s staring firmly at a blank wall, actually. They must be making a terrible scene. “I can’t even summon a basic sword right now.”

“Maybe it has something to do with this place,” Luna suggests. “Or some trap that Ardyn set up.”

The fact that the place where they have fallen is clearly not the further extension of a cavern suggests the latter, in fact. Luna's not sure how Ardyn intended to get them to fall backwards through a wall into that particular hole in the ground, but slick volcanic rock had quickly given way to the even slicker slide of sheer metals and plastics, and they'd slid all the way down some sort of ventilation shaft until they'd reached the bottom where – luckily – the gigantic fan with its shear-like arms wasn't working.

Couldn't be working, in fact: it was rusted solid, half-eaten away, and covered in dust.

But it'd been easy enough to duck through the fan and then for Ravus to kick his way through the opening on the other side, and they were able to exit the shaft through the narrow doorway shaped like a thin vertical rectangle rather than the more traditional square. It's a good thing none of them have particularly sizeable hindquarters or they would’ve had trouble fitting through.

Beyond the doorway was what was immediately recognizable, at least to Luna, as some sort of laboratory, even if there wasn't any equipment in the hallway they were standing in - linoleum tiles, blank-washed walls, dull yet perfectly even lighting suggesting the use of a local generator, a certain sense of sterility that makes her expect to see people in white coats or possible hazmat suits wandering around.

The only thing that's strange about it is how much dust there is. Dust, and cracks, and even intrepid but very strange-looking plants making their way through the walls, somehow, even this far down into a volcano.

This place, Luna concludes, is very old – and long abandoned.

"Even if it is a trap, we should go and find Ifrit," Noctis says.

"And what makes you think he'll be here?" Ravus asks scornfully. "Given that the boar-god is dead and –"

"A lab makes sense," Noctis interrupts. His back is unusually straight and he looks Ravus in the eyes. There’s something reminiscent of his father in the way he looks now, older than his ten years, and the way that Ravus falls silent in the face of that gaze. "Given that the remaining copy of Ifrit’s memory is supposed to be located in deep storage. This is as deep as it gets without going into the ocean. We need to find the computer banks."

"Because you think the Astrals are actually computer programs," Ravus says, rallying once more. It's clear from his tone that he thinks that Noctis' shocking discovery – which caused even most adults Luna knew to decide to put the implications aside and not think too hard about them – is not even worthy of consideration. "Right. The literal gods that we worship. Of course; how could I forget?"

Ravus clearly never believes anyone about anything, so perhaps it's reasonable that he also doubts Noctis about this.

Reasonable, but still infuriating.

Is it just Ravus, or are all seventeen-year-old boys this obnoxious?

"Ravus," Luna says tightly. "Noctis discovered that fact from – no, you know what? Never mind. You won’t believe me anyway, so why don’t you just shut up? Noctis and I will go exploring. You can stay here if you like."

"I'm not staying back here while you go into danger," Ravus snaps.

"Suit yourself," Luna says icily. "Come along, Noctis. Where to first?"

"Oh, boy, this is going to be so much fun," Noctis mumbles, his back returning to its habitual slouch as the aura of force he had for a few seconds there fades away. He doesn't appear to be very sincere, which isn't entirely in keeping with his usual approach to adventure - though Luna supposes it makes sense, given how much he dislikes intra-family fighting. "Okay, let's try going to the left first."

They check through the window of each door they pass by, but it's almost all the same – desks mostly rotted away, lab equipment of some arcane variety, mostly dials and measuring equipment insofar as Luna recognizes it, and where there are computers, they are clearly inoperable.

"Everything here is ancient," Noctis marvels. "It's like one of those horror video games, where at any turn something might jump out and –"

"Noctis," Luna says. "Not helpful."

Even if she'd been maybe-kinda-sorta thinking the same thing.

Iggy likes horror games, he feels that they have more 'depth' than other video games, and the game play is rather mesmerizing...especially when Luna's doing homework in the same room...

"The maps on the walls indicate that we're heading deeper into the facility," Ravus says. "Rather than doing the intelligent thing and heading out."

"Given how everything is rusting away to dust, you're being awfully presumptuous in assuming there even is a way out," Luna says archly. "Maybe if we go to those doors, the only thing we'll find will be the skeletons of the people who tried desperately and unsuccessfully to escape before the end."

"Lunafreya," Ravus says. "That is not helpful."

Noctis shoots her a thumbs up from behind Ravus' back.

Luna hides a smirk and takes a step over to the next window, intending on a brief scan before moving on – they stopped bothering with any in-depth sort of review fairly early on – and then she sees it and freezes.

The other two continue walking for another taurlength, then realize they're leaving her behind.

"Luna?" Ravus asks. "Did you find something?"

"Are they skeletons?" Noctis asks interestedly.

"No," Luna says. "Worse."

She pushes open the door and walks inside to better inspect the item that caught her interest.

"Is that what caught your attention?" Ravus says, standing by the door to hold it open as Noctis peers in over his back. "Really, Lunafreya? It's an item of furniture."

"Yes," Luna says solemnly, inspecting it with no little sense of wonder. "It is."

"What is it, though?" Noctis asks. "It's like a chair, just way too small. You can barely fit your hindquarters into it – you can't, actually. If you put your hindquarters in it, your forelegs would need to be standing up; if you put your forepaws in it, your hindquarters would be on the floor...some sort of medical assistive device, maybe? Like when people break their hindleg and need to wheel around?"

"No, Noctis," Luna says. "Your first guess was right: this is a chair."

"Why, exactly, are we devoting time to an inadequately made chair?" Ravus asks.

"It's perfectly adequate," Luna says. "If the person sitting in it doesn't have hindquarters."

"Doesn't have – what are you talking about –"

"Oh!" Noctis exclaims, interrupting Ravus. His eyes are wide. "Luna, you can't mean – a chair for humans?"

"It would explain how old everything is," Luna points out. "A human laboratory, from the days of Solheim, left abandoned after the Great Astral War –"

"They would have abandoned it when Ifrit was laid to rest here," Ravus says. His face is a little pale. "That explains why all the doors are so narrow - a human is about the same length as they are width around, so there's no consideration of someone trying to go through the door sideways or having large hind-quarters. Luna – the historical relevance of such a discovery – not to mention what diseases might be here, locked away in these walls like a tomb –"

"I'm a healer, remember?"

"One who can’t use her powers right now," Ravus points out. "And even if you could, you can't heal everything, or else –"

He cuts himself off, but Luna knows what he was going to say.

Or else you would have healed me by now.

"I am trying my hardest, you know," she says resentfully. "It's not that easy –"

"I know you are," he says, holding up a hand. "Nothing else ever crossed my mind, not for a second."

Luna considers his face, which seems sincere, and decides that she'll be appeased, just this once. After all, he's her brother and he's scared, she knows that. "Well, anyway," she says, shaking her head and heading back to the door. "I don't think there's anything more to – oh, Ramuh! There's a map in here!"

"So?" Noctis says, blinking at her. "There's been a map every half-hallway."

"This one's labelled – no, don't come in! Someone needs to hold the door in case it locks automatically."

Ravus has already come inside, but Noctis catches the door. "I've got it," he says. "Is there a computer bank?"

"It's not labelled," Ravus says with a frown.

"Yes, it is," Luna says. "See those raised bumps? That's the language for the blind."

"Wouldn't it have changed over the years?"

"Probably," Luna says, crestfallen. "But it's worth a try."

She runs her fingers over the words. They're not quite in any language she recognizes – though if she thinks of them as letters, instead of words, and thinks of her lessons in pre-Solheim dialects (thank you, Mr. Tenebrius, for all those boring ancient pottery lectures! Something Luna never thought she'd ever say!) – and then she has it.

"This one!" she points. "It says 'back'-something – or, uh, possibly hide-something, maybe tail, it's not always that easy to tell – anyway, I think it means that it's the computer room because the next word is 'server' – or maybe waiter – but assuming it's 'server' as in 'computer server', then that's what we're looking for."

"It's several floors down," Ravus says with a frown. "Isn't that a bad idea in a horror movie, going down?"

Luna hides a grin. Now even Ravus is doing it.

“At least we’re not splitting up,” Noctis points out.

Ravus makes a face.

Thus agreed, they march down the corridor to the stairwell – they don’t even bother checking the dusty elevator banks, which everyone unanimously agrees is an obvious death trap – and head down to the sublevels.

“Is it just me, or are we getting warmer?” Noctis asks. "Like - literally warmer, not metaphorically."

“It’s not just you,” Luna agrees, wiping some sweat off her brow. “Maybe that’s a good sign?”

“Or simply a sign that we’re heading down a volcano,” Ravus says gloomily.

He’s not necessarily wrong.

The computer room, when they find it, is absolutely massive – and, unlike the majority of lab, unmistakably alive.

“Okay,” Noctis says after a moment of staring at the rows and rows and rows of gigantic black-metal machines, each glowing with dozens of pinpricks of red light, the whole room humming with power, “now I’m officially creeped.”

“At least we found…something?” Luna offers. She’s creeped, too.

“Well, we should go inside – ouch!”

“Noctis!”

“I’m okay,” Noctis says, sticking his fingers into his mouth. “The doorway just gave me an electric shock when I tried to go through it.”

Luna turns her attention to the doorway, frowning. She reaches out and tries to put her hand through the door, feeling a little foolish as she does, and feeling decidedly less foolish when her hand hits some sort of invisible barrier that promptly gives her a sharp shock when she tries to go further in. “Ouch!”

“Maybe we should consult the warning signs,” Ravus says dryly; he’s come up from behind Luna without her noticing and is standing right next to her. He nods at the wall, which has a sign with a number of unrecognizable designs on it.

And at least one very recognizable design that apparently no one bothered to change in all the centuries since Solheim: a small circle with three fans going out to form an invisible outer circle.

“Radiation warning,” Luna says, shivering. “That’s why there’s a shield, I guess?”

“It feels almost like magic,” Noctis offers, frowning at the deceptively open door. “The wall, I mean. It feels like – well, it feels like when the Kingsglaive make their walls. A bit. Or like the Wall. Except a lot more hostile, somehow?”

“We should get out of here,” Ravus says. He seems upset, all of a sudden. “Let’s go.”

“I mean, I guess –”

There’s a sound from down the hallway.

They all look at each other.

“Follow the sound?” Noctis suggests, looking doubtful.

“I don’t see what our alternative is,” Luna says. “Except maybe running away in terror, which sounds more and more appealing every second.”

“Let’s go see what it is,” Ravus says, and marches off.

Luna has no idea what’s gotten into him that's suddenly made him so ready for action, but she hurries up into a trot and catches up to him, with Noctis loping along at her side.

The hallway is long and lit by the same dull generator-powered light as the rest of the facility, but even so Luna can tell that the door at the very end of the hallway contains a much brighter red light – so bright, in fact, that they can see the glow all around the windowless door.

It also gets noticeably hotter as they move closer to that room.

“Do you think this might be where Ifrit is?” Noctis asks. “He is the god of fire. Was the god of fire? What tense do you use for a dead god?”

“Is,” Luna says. “Shiva uses ‘is’, even though her original incarnated body is still lying dead in Ghorovas Rift.”

“Are you still in contact with Gentiana?” Ravus asks, side-eying her a little.

Luna flushes. “Only sometimes,” she says primly. “And we don’t talk about her being Shiva.”

Gentiana’s rule, but one that Luna’s more than happy to follow. Every once in a while she remembers that she’s gossiping about her relationship developments (the Crowe v. Cindy debate! Crowe eventually finding a new girlfriend back on Galahd, thereby solving that problem! Cindy inviting Luna for a midnight ride and Luna stressing out for hours if it was a date or not! The sheer excitement of finding out that yes, in fact, it was a date! Finally ‘tauring up and asking Cindy to be her girlfriend! Agreeing that they're going to stick to kissing for now until Luna feels more ready!) with an actual goddess and she gets weirded out by it all, but she refuses to give it up. Gentiana is too good a confidant, and anyway, Gentiana seems to enjoy it just as much.

Still weird to think about, which is why Luna firmly doesn’t whenever possible.

“Should we go inside?” Noctis asks, gnawing at his lower lip and staring at the door with the red light and the heat.

“I don’t think we have a choice at this point,” Luna says, but she doesn’t move. None of them do; they just stand there and stare at the door.

After a few seconds, Noctis audibly gulps and takes a step forward, reaching for the door.

“Wait!” Ravus exclaims. He reaches into his jacket pocket and pulls out one of his gloves. “Use this – the door handle might be hot.”

“Thanks. Good idea.” Noctis takes one glove and uses it to gingerly wrap around the door handle, then he pulls it open.

There’s an unexpected pull, as if of wind, and they all stumble straight into the room, even Noctis, and the door swings ominously shut behind them. It’s a vast room, filled with computer stations and laboratory equipment, and at the end of the room there is a giant set of thick metal doors with the radiation symbol painted on them.

And sitting before them all, there he is: Ifrit, the Infernian, in all of his towering glory.

The boar-god isn’t as large as some of the other Astrals have been when they manifested, but he still towers over the three of them, a dozen feet tall and nearly as long, a massive presence that dominates the room even as he reclines in an equally massive throne surrounded by flame.

“Oh,” Luna says, trying not to gulp. She’s faced Astrals before, but they don’t normally have an expression of such blank indifference on their face. Still, she’s the Oracle, and speaking to the Astrals is her duty. She steps forward. “Infernian,” she calls. “We have come, Oracle and Chosen King –” To be, she mentally adds. “– and we seek an audience with you.”

“You entered my domain,” he says, and his face suddenly twitches to the side, twisting into a terrible snarl of rage before returning to its uninterested expression. “You are invaders – you are here to steal -”

Steal?

“We’re not here to steal anything,” Luna says quickly. “We’re –”

“You cannot have them,” Ifrit says, his booming voice easily overriding hers. “No one may have them. The forbidden weapons were locked away and banned, and no living being may access them.”

“Weapons?” Ravus asks. "What weapons?"

“No one may have them,” Ifrit says again. He’s not speaking to them, Luna realizes; he’s reciting some long-ago speech, set like a hound to watch for intruders without discrimination – reduced, perhaps, to the unthinking computer program he was once long ago. What a terrible fate for a living creature, no matter how mechanical their origin. “You have come to steal them, and for this you will die.”

“No,” Luna says. “You don’t understand, we’re here to seek the Covenant –”

Ravus tackles her to the floor just in time for the burst of flame to explode over her head.

“Noctis!” she shouts, but Noctis has also taken cover behind one of the computer stations in the room.

“I’m okay!” he shouts back. “Luna – these forbidden weapons he's talking about – do you think he means the nukes? The ones that nearly destroyed the world? They’re here?”

“That would explain the radiation symbol,” Luna says, scooting herself back behind one of the other computer stations, Ravus scrambling to join her. That’s absolutely horrifying – she’d always thought they were gone, somehow – and she really hopes Noctis is wrong, but she thinks he’s probably right.

She peers around the side of the station. Ifrit is still sitting there, but his face keeps changing: initially calm and indifferent, then metamorphosing into terrible rage for a split second, then returning to the original state.

Rage…

That reminds her. Titan, too, had been struggling with rage – here, though, there is no struggle. Ifrit is consumed by rage, but cannot control himself, the rage breaking free at random intervals even without any impetus.

“He’s been corrupted with the Starscourge,” Luna calls, even as Noctis scrambles from one computer station to another as Ifrit throws flame at the one he had been at before. “Much worse than Titan was. He won’t listen to us – I don’t think he even can anymore.”

“We still have to get that Covenant,” Noctis calls back. His face is white. “The MTs outside...”

An army. And Lucis had brought its own army, too, and with Luna and Ravus and Noctis missing, their parents would almost certainly order an attack.

There would be battle, and with battle – death. So much death.

And all for nothing, if they do not succeed here.

“We have to get it,” she agrees, and stands up.

“What are you doing?” Ravus demands.

“What I need to,” she says, and grabs one of the weird human chairs and throws it right at Ifrit.

After all, there are many different ways of defeating an Astral to obtain the mark of their Covenant – and one of those ways is the obvious.

“Oh for the love of – here, use this at the very least,” Ravus says, pushing a long knife into her hand. He has another in his own; he must have smuggled them in his jacket. “I’ll keep an eye on Noctis; he’s hopeless.”

Noctis has started throwing whatever he can get his hands on – usually broken computer parts – at Ifrit, and missing half the time.

“You’re – letting me do this on my own?” Luna asks, a little stupidly.

“I should’ve listened to you,” Ravus tells her. “About – everything. I should’ve given you that respect. And part of that respect is knowing that if my baby sister can wipe the floor with me in the middle of a temper tantrum, Ifrit won’t know what hit him.”

Amazing, really, how Ravus can be simultaneously so incredibly awesome but also annoying at the same time.

Must be a brother thing.

“Go save Noctis from his own laziness,” Luna says, beaming at Ravus. “I’m on Ifrit.”

She rounds the other side of the computer station – Ifrit is snarling at Noctis, who finally managed to score a direct hit, pegging the Astral in the head with a spare microscope – and charges into Ifrit’s blind spot, slashing with the knife and then leaping away just in time, his burst of flame very nearly singeing her small tuft of a tail.

Ravus goes in from the other side as Ifrit turns to her, slashing down low and aiming for his forelegs, and Ifrit’s seated position interferes with his attempt to dodge. Ravus falls back at once. “Now, Noctis!”

Noctis jumps up from behind the computer station and heaves something large and metallic over his head.

It hits Ifrit dead in the chest, causing the Astral to rear backwards, shake his head, and then – worryingly – rise up from his throne.

“This is going to go badly very quickly,” Luna shouts. “We can’t get his Covenant until he’s defeated – we can’t talk to him as long as he’s corrupted by the Starscourge, and my healing abilities aren’t working!”

“We need to get to his memory!” Noctis shouts back.

“What does that mean?” Ravus asks, grabbing Noctis and pulling him out of the (quite literal) line of fire.

“The computer banks! They’re the only other thing in this whole complex that’s still active, and he’s an AI, remember? If we purge his memory and restart, we might be able to talk to a non-corrupted version of him!”

“But we can’t enter the computer banks!” Luna points out, then notices that Ravus has gone still. “Ravus, duck!”

He dodges, just barely missing the missile of flame Ifrit sends out with a wave of his hand.

“You can’t lose attention like that,” Luna scolds, ducking behind a computer station. "We're in the middle of a fight, you know, it's dangerous to -"

“I can do it,” Ravus says.

“No, you can’t, that’s what I’m saying –”

“No, the computer banks,” he says, crouching down behind the same station as her, with Noctis at his side. “I can enter them.”

“What?” Noctis and Luna chorus together.

“I tried it, earlier,” Ravus says. “I could put my hand through, where neither of you could, but when I did, my veins turned…black.”

Noctis looks confused, but Luna gets it immediately. “The Starscourge.”

“I’m infected,” Ravus confirms. “That room – I think it’s infected, too, somehow. That’s why it would let me in, but not you: you’re too pure.” He swallows. "I can go and restart the system."

"But if your hand turned black, then whatever's in that room is aggravating the Starscourge already in your system," Luna protests. "And without my abilities to heal you – and who knows where Mom is –"

"I know," Ravus says. "It's okay. I'll do it anyway." He smiles shakily. "We're at war, right? For the future?"

Luna hugs him. "You come back right away," she says fiercely in his ear. "Right away, and we'll find our way out of this place, and we'll heal you. You got that? Don't you dare die on me."

He just hugs her back. "Keep an eye on Noctis, will you?"

"I can –" Noctis starts, but then Ravus hands him the knife and it looks like it hits Noctis all at once, the fact that they might die here. "Oh."

"Good luck," Ravus says, and then he's gone.

"Noctis, we've got to keep Ifrit distracted so he doesn't notice what Ravus is doing," Luna says. She can't think about the fact that her brother - her brother, who she's finally made up with, who she adores and forgives and wants back at her side already - is going off into such terrible danger. She can't, or else she's going to get fried - and she'd really rather not be fried 'taur. "That's our job, you and me. Okay?"

Noctis nods. "Got it."

"Let's go!"

#final fantasy xv #ffxv #lunafreya nox fleuret #ravus nox fleuret #noctis lucis caelum #sylva nox fleuret #apollonia scientia #cor leonis #aulea lucis caelum #my fic #nocturne

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batboysimagine · 7 years ago

Text

Half Life (Damian Wayne x Reader)

A/N: Sorry, more angst! I promise something fluffy will be next! (I might break this promise if I finish Joyride part 5 fast enough, actually lolololol) Damian is 16, so is the reader!I really like writing angst whoops. Also I’m really mean to Damian

Request: “Damian sister angst? Where she's also a hero please!!”

Warnings: Aaaaaaaaaangst, angst angst angst

Tagging: @solis200213 @pinkwitch21 @tigeragathe @gokusanfan @just-a-girl-maybe @queen-of-all-the-fandoms @holywinchesterness @hyp-oh-critical @batty4dc @battybe-my-writing @neverlandprincessjaz

“Everything will be okay.”

It wasn’t supposed to be like this. This mission was supposed to have been easy. Simple recon. That was supposed to be it, but of course, in true Gotham style, things got complicated.

It was you, Damian, and Bruce on patrol that night. Snow coated the streets, falling from the inky-black sky in white flecks and whirling in the wind. And Damian Wayne was about to lose his mind.

“Everything will be okay,” you repeated in an attempt to assure your brother, although you knew it wasn’t true. You were trapped inside, completely surrounded by solid concrete, and as it stood, you were due to be blown to bits in mere minutes.

“We will get you out!” he insisted over the comms, trying to think of something, anything that could save you. He felt like a complete imbecile. How had he not seen such a simple trap coming? For god’s sake, a false panel in the floor should have been obvious to him. But he’d been careless. Inobservant. And this was the cost. You were the cost. He was searching desperately for some way to get the floor to open up again so he could pull you out, but he found nothing.

“Father!” he called out to Bruce, tears welling up in his eyes despite his attempts to stay calm. The clock was running down. One minute.

“Robin, we have to get out of here now,” Bruce insisted, though he was still working at a way to deactivate the lock on the floor panel.

“No!” he protested loudly, tears beginning to fall. “We can still save her!”

Forty-Five seconds.

“Robin…” Bruce warned hesitantly, not allowing the panic to set in. God, he wanted to save you, but he’d be damned before he let both of his children die.

“Father, please,” Damian begged, his voice breaking as he looked to his father for help. His heart was beating faster than he knew was possible.

Thirty seconds.

Bruce looked down for a short moment before looking back up at Damian, sorrowful resolve evident, even behind the cowl. He’d regret this for the rest of his life, but he’d chosen this life. He’d chosen every hard decision he’d ever had to make. “We have to go.”

“No!” Damian screamed, his voice breaking into a higher pitch once again.

“Damian, please,” Bruce begged, their roles suddenly reversed.

Twenty seconds.

There wasn’t time for begging anymore, and Bruce had made his choice. He grabbed Damian, rushing forward and out of the building and out into the snow.

“No!” Damian screamed yet again, struggling in Bruce’s arms as he fought to get away.

Fifteen seconds.

Bruce dropped Damian in the snow, and the boy could only watch in horror as he saw something move from inside the building.

The floor panel had opened.

Ten seconds.

“(Y/N)!” Damian cried as he saw you grapple out of the small chamber and turn to face him.

Five seconds.

He scrambled up as you reached your hand out, stumbling forward towards the wide doorway. Towards your brother.

He ran as fast as his shaking legs could carry him, ignoring Bruce, who was yelling for him to stop. He was so close. He just needed a few more seconds to reach you. He could hear you speaking, he was so close.

“Damia-”

There was a deafening roar as Damian was thrown violently back, his surroundings suddenly transforming into a series of rapidly shifting blurs. He was winded as he hit the ground and rolled through the snow, the sky and the ground cycling across his vision as he tumbled.

The moment he came to a stop he was back on his feet and staggering towards the fiery remains of the building, his vision spinning in a tangled mess of black and white and fiery orange.

Ash rained down, mixing with the snow and staining it a dingy grey.

His vision cleared, though it was still tunneling, as he ran into the remnants of the blast, not caring about the leftover tongues of flame that licked at his skin, or the boiling heat that seemed to burn every inch of his skin.

Adrenaline coursed through his veins as he threw pieces of debris aside to try to find her. She had to be alive. She had to be. His ears were ringing as he tossed a charred beam to the side, freezing at the sight of what was under it.

His sister. His twin. Bloodied and barely recognizable.

Damian dropped to his knees with a strangled cry of disbelief, sending a cloud of ash into the air around him. “(Y/N)...” he whispered, barely able to hear himself over the crackling flames and the howling wind and the ringing in his ears.

“(Y/N)!” he repeated, yelling this time, tears obscuring his vision. He pulled her body into his arms, staring down at her burnt and disfigured face. “(Y/N), please.”

He felt a presence behind him, but didn’t bother to look and see who it was. He knew it was Bruce.

His father slowly knelt beside him, and for a moment Damian thought that he was calm. Then he saw the way that his jaw was shaking, and the way his trembling hands betrayed the grief he truly felt.

��No,” Bruce murmured, reaching a shaking hand to touch the side of her face. “No.”

“Father,” Damian choked out, looking to Bruce as the tears began to fall from behind the mask. “If we had stayed…” She might still be alive right now.

Bruce didn’t respond as he stared down at his daughter’s body, the sight burning into his mind. He knew that from now on this would be what he saw behind his eyelids. This would be what plagued him when he closed his eyes to sleep. “We should get back,” he whispered, barely able to keep his voice even. “Dick will be waiting for us.”

Damian swallowed hard, giving a small nod and standing, her body still in his arms.

They set off for the manor, travelling back in heavy silence, Damian letting out stifled sobs every few minutes as they moved through the snow.

From that moment on, everything felt like a blurred fever dream to Damian. The shock and sorrow on Dick’s face as they entered the cave barely registered to him. He couldn’t seem to look away from her body as Dick rushed over, saying something he couldn’t bother to listen to. It was so strangely hazy, and the outside world seemed to play in front of him like a silent film as his thoughts consumed him. He could have saved her. If he’d just stayed for five more seconds, then everything could have been okay. She’d be standing with him and everything would be okay. And he’d pull her into a hug and he’d tell her he was sorry. He’d tell her to be more careful. He’d tell her that next time he’d be more cautious.

Damian snapped back to reality as he realized she was being taken from him. Dick was trying to pull her body away from him. “No!” he cried out, recoiling, holding her closer to him and standing defensively, tears still streaking down his face.

“Damian, please,” Dick pleaded gently, reaching his hand out towards his younger brother.

“You can’t take her!” Damian yelled at him, misdirected rage mixing in with the flurry of emotions that coursed through him.

“She’s gone, Dami,” Dick chided, fighting back his own emotions in order to stay calm in front of Damian. “Please set her down so we can at least clean-” he had to stop to draw in a deep breath, on the verge of tears. “So we can clean her up for a funeral.”

Damian shook his head, eyes wide as he backed away from Dick. “No… She’s not! We can save her! I can take her to the Lazarus Pit! I can-”

“Damian,” Bruce cut him off sternly. “Do you really want that? Do you really want to bring her back just for her to suffer?”

“I- No, but-”

“It’s not an option,” Bruce asserted, though suddenly he sounded more weary, more broken than angry or stern.

Damian’s shoulders slumped as he looked down at her in bitter defeat. He allowed Dick to approach him and take her body from his arms. Once she’d been lifted, he stumbled backwards, collapsing down onto the floor.

This marked the beginning of a season of sorrow.

The following days passed in a blurred haze, and Damian wasn’t sure he’d really processed what had happened. He still felt like he’d turn to see her at his side at any given moment. But deep down he knew. The house felt empty to him, and he’d pass by her room, hoping to hear her playing her music from the other side of the door.

It was the morning of the funeral, and Damian was wearing a black suit and a blank expression. He stood in her room for the first time since before she had been ripped away from him. Since before she had died.

It looked exactly as she had left it. There were books on her nightstand that were opened to the pages she’d left them on, just waiting to be finished.

Tears welled up in his eyes as he looked at the posters on her walls and the objects on her furniture, all of which reminded him of his precious sister. For a moment it felt like she was still there. Like nothing had changed. Standing there, in her untouched room, felt like living in a snapshot of her life where things were still okay.

“Damian,” he heard Dick call him softly from the doorway.

He wiped at his eyes, brushing away the tears and turning to face Dick, his expression once again becoming dull and lifeless.

“It’s time to go,” his brother told him, gesturing for him to come. His face was seemingly blank, though his eyes shone with despair.

Damian nodded, walking towards Dick, eyes glued to the floor as he followed his brother out to the car.

The funeral was held in a church, and Damian was supposed to be giving her eulogy. He was supposed to have something prepared, though he had found he couldn’t bring himself to do it. Writing her eulogy would be admitting that she was truly gone. And he refused to do it.

So there he stood by her casket, facing rows of people he didn’t know who were waiting for a speech he hadn’t written.

He felt anger rise to his chest as he took in their pitying looks. How long had he even been standing there? His eyes were wide and he felt like a deer in the headlights. He looked over to Dick, who was giving him a concerned stare. What was he supposed to say? What was he supposed to say to these people? That he’d just lost the only person who’d been with him his whole life? That there was a chunk that had been ripped out of his soul? That every second he felt like he was bleeding? He knew he had to say something.

Nothing. There were no words. There was nothing he could say. He looked over to Dick again, who nodded encouragingly. He looked back out into the pews, where he only found more pity.

“She was my sister. And she was the most amazing person I knew.” He looked down at the stone floor, unable to muster up the energy to say anything more. He stepped down from the podium, tears welling up in his eyes and beginning to fall freely as he returned to his seat.

He didn’t pay attention to the rest of the funeral. Soon the memorial service was over and guests were free to mull around and spread their synthetic compassion.

He ignored them all. He ignored every person who approached him offering condolences that he knew were insincere. None of it mattered anymore now that she was gone. Nothing mattered.

He sat before her gravestone which was by Bruce’s parents’, staring blankly at her name, which was engraved into the stone along with her epitaph. Rest peacefully, dear sister.

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walters-tampon-string · 8 years ago

Text

Trust

Fandom: Durarara!!

Rating: K +

Warnings: Sex is mentioned but it’s nothing explicit. Like, it doesn’t even move this in the Teen rating.

Characters: Orihara Izaya, Heiwajima Shizuo

Relationships: Orihara Izaya/Heiwajima Shizuo (Shizaya)

Description: Trust takes a long time to build. Shizuo and Izaya know this fact all too well.

It had taken six months before Shizuo Heiwajima finally trusted Izaya Orihara to enter his apartment. Before that time, whenever the two of them would decide to “meet up”, they would always go over to Izaya’s place. He’d made sure it stayed this way, always giving some excuse on why they couldn’t possibly head to his apartment, even if it happened to be much closer than Izaya’s. Stuff like “I don’t need your flea smell stinking up my apartment” or “Your place has a comfier bed than mine.”

Izaya would always give him a look before simply shrugging or jabbing some kind of insult at him and leading the way to his apartment. Shizuo knew the flea probably hadn’t ever fallen for any of the stuff he said. He had always been a terrible liar and Izaya had always been way too good at reading people for his own good. Shizuo was pretty sure that Izaya knew the real reason he didn’t want him anywhere near his apartment. That reason being he didn’t trust the flea at all.

Could anyone really blame him though? Izaya had made it a habit of his to make Shizuo’s life a living hell whenever he could. This was the same man who’d been willing to send mobs after him and had even sent him to jail once just for shits and giggles. Who knew how much the bastard would be willing to go just for a laugh? He didn’t let the fact that they occasionally fucked every now and then fool him into thinking that their relationship still wasn’t frayed and alit with animosity. He knew realistically, Izaya probably already knew where he lived but it was the principle of it all. He didn’t want his home destroyed or looted from by some random mobsters who thought they were tough shit. But one day, he caved. He blamed it on the fact that he was tired for once after work. It had been a busier and rougher and more annoying day than usual and he didn’t have the energy to really do anything other than go home and collapse on his bed when he went home. He blamed the exhaustion on why he didn’t chase Izaya off when he came flouncing over to “meet up” and why he didn’t shake him off. He just wanted to go home and if that meant letting Izaya trot home with him instead of walking over to the city over, then so be it. Consequences be damned.

He remembered the flea had actually given a look of surprise when they stopped in front of the door of his apartment, like the bastard had never expected this kind of outcome in a million years. Thankfully, the flea was smart enough to keep his mouth shut and not make any snide comments, which Shizuo had been grateful for. Even despite his tiredness and his willingness to let Izaya in without complaint, he still felt somewhat antsy, especially when he saw Izaya’s vermillion-red eyes observing and scanning every nook and cranny of the apartment, no doubt mentally cataloguing everything. Shizuo reminded himself to calm down and not say anything.If he was too open about his distrust, he basically left himself open to Izaya’s mockery. So, he simply hurried into his bedroom, Izaya trotting after him in the hopes of perhaps convincing him to do their usual meet up activities.

Nothing bad ever occurred to his apartment. Izaya never sent a group of thugs to wreck the place or anything fucked up like that, which Shizuo couldn’t help but feel immensely relieved by. The worst he ever got from the flea was the bastard complaining about how shitty his apartment was in comparison to his. This was annoying, but a whole lot more tolerable.

In fact, the knowledge that Izaya hadn’t stepped over his one act of trust is what gave Shizuo that first spark of hope that this… thing they had going on actually had a chance of moving forward, as schmaltzy as that sounded.

He apparently hadn’t been the only one in this little thing who had trust issues. It had taken ten months into their relationship before Izaya finally fell asleep by himself without having to make sure that Shizuo fell asleep first. The flea had done a good job at covering this little secret up. It had been very subtle.

At the beginning, there had been none of this sleeping in one's bed thing. No, it had been more like they would meet up, fuck, and then the other would collect their shit and promptly leave. But as time went on, it became more customary for one to stay and hang around just a little while longer. They still hadn’t reached sleeping at the others houses, but they certainly were in no hurry either. It used to be one of them had to have an excuse on why they were still hanging around - they had to take a shower, wanted to eat breakfast, had some stuff to do, etc. - but eventually even that rule eventually disappeared. The night Shizuo decided he would stay and sleep, the two of them hadn’t even had a conversation about it. They just did it.

But it seemed even though Izaya wasn’t vocally uncomfortable with Shizuo sleeping at his place… it seemed that extension of trust didn’t extend completely.

Shizuo blamed that part of the reason he hadn’t noticed at first (besides his lack of observance at times) was due to the fact that usually, the flea didn’t go to bed anyway. The flea was a night owl by nature and always seemed to have work of some kind to tend too… so he usually was spending the night working while Shizuo was actually being a normal human being and going to bed at a reasonable hour. He sometimes wondered if the flea’s bloodstream consisted only of caffeine… and that was how the bastard was able to pull so many all-nighters or late nights in a row and still be peppy, annoying, and energetic as always during the day.

Once, Shizuo had forced Izaya to try and sleep with him… only to immediately regret it. He didn’t know if it was simply due to pent up energy or if Izaya had insomnia or was just being annoying… but Izaya had made that night a hellhole. Not only did the louse squirm and wriggle the whole entire time, which had been distracting, but he had kept jabbing him with his pokey elbows and frigid feet. By the end of it all, neither of the them had gotten any sleep and both had been annoyed at each other the rest of the day - Izaya being annoyed due to how much work he apparently missed because of Shizuo’s barbarism and Shizuo annoyed because he never felt more tired than he had that day. So he was fine with letting the flea expend his energy and go to sleep when ready.

However, despite popular belief, even the great Izaya got tired eventually. The nights when Izaya was clearly bone-tired and was willing to curl up with him was when Shizuo began to notice. The flea would get comfortable and stand still and breathe silently… but Shizuo could see that the bastard wouldn’t be lulling himself to sleep. Instead, he would just lay in silence… occasionally glancing at Shizuo only to look away quickly if he saw Shizuo was still awake, trying to pretend like he hadn’t done that little move. Shizuo would always be confused but didn’t question it, figuring Izaya would brush it off with some unsatisfying or stupid answer and honestly… he wanted to sleep.

He didn’t even get the satisfaction of seeing Izaya asleep in the morning. The informant always woke up incredibly early and somehow managed to slip away silent as a phantom. He couldn’t help but wonder why the flea seemed so bothered about being in the same bed as him, until one day it hit him. The flea didn’t trust him.

All the times Izaya had been unexplainably awake when he was clearly dead tired was just the flea biding his time, patiently waiting for him to fall asleep before he did.

He’d gotten so angry at that revelation that he had immediately wanted to march over to the flea’s apartment and deck him across the face. Unfortunately, work had him trapped so he was forced to vent some of his frustration out on one of Tom-san’s more uncooperative clients. Even he knew that he had probably punched the guy a little than necessary even before Tom chided him about it, but he couldn’t bring himself to care all that much. He was too pissed off and worried about his own problems to worry about the sake of some loser, and besides the guy wasn’t dead judging by the way he was moaning, so it was fine.

Mixed in with that bubbling hot anger was a bit of hurt (though he’d never admit it), as it only confirmed his thoughts that even with all the time they spent together, Izaya still thought he was an untrustworthy monster. After all, what did you call a person who Izaya thought would be willing to kill him in his sleep?

His anger simmered all the way through work and all the way back to Izaya’s apartment. He was sure his anger showed clearly on his face given the way many of the citizens of Ikebukuro and Shinjuku seemed to make a point of scuttling away from him as they saw him approaching, but he still felt the need to emphasize it and let the flea and everyone know. So when he reached the flea’s doorway, he proceeded to kick the thing open with a heavy crash, probably putting a decent sized hole in Izaya’s wall with the doorknob. Good. Much to his petulant joy, Izaya flinched at the loud noise, before glaring at him as he said, “Any reason for the sudden barbarism, Shizu-chan?”

When Shizuo angrily ground out that he figured out Izaya’s little ploy, he watched as the flea’s eyes actually widened for a fraction of a second, exposing him for a moment before he put the calm mask back on. The flea had let out a soft sigh through his nose, and deflated a little like a balloon. For a moment, Shizuo actually thought the bastard was being remorseful, but he supposed the resulting disappointment was his fault for thinking Izaya was capable of such a human emotion. Instead the flea bit out, “My Shizu-chan, you actually managed to impress me. I didn’t think a single-minded protozoan such as yourself would be so observant. I guess I can take comfort in the fact that I am not just a simple fuck toy to you as previously believed…”

Shizuo had been about to fling Izaya’s dining table at him in anger. He really had been. The flea’s words, as always, were covered in barbs and were purposely intended to cause hurt and make Shizuo angry enough to regress once more. It was the same old schtick repeating itself once more. But that table never got thrown.. Mainly because right as Shizuo was moving to grab it, Izaya deflated like a balloon and ran a hand through his hair, dismissively waving his free hand in the air as he said, “As funny as it is that I might have actually potentially hurt your feelings, beast, I can assure you that my reluctance to sleep with you is not solely because of you, Shizu-chan.” He let out a derisive snort, chucking, “As if I’d be afraid of you…”

Shizuo decided for the sake of his own blood pressure not to get too pissed off about the condescending tone as he said, “No? Then what the hell is it then, flea?”

He thought the flea would do his annoying little habit of talking in circles and avoiding the topic like he had a tendency to do when things got a little personal, but he surprised Shizuo by simply shrugging and said, “My job doesn’t allow one to sleep comfortably next to people, Shizu-chan. Even someone of your meager intelligence should know that, neh? Mix that with insomnia and a busy work schedule and sleep doesn’t come easy for me. Call my lack of willingness to sleep next to you ‘residue paranoia’ from the job like Shinra does, I don’t care. Either way, the result is the same.”

Shizuo could understand where Izaya came from to a degree. He really did. He knew Izaya’s job got him tangling with nasty people. People who would be willing to off anyone if it meant they got to line their pockets with a few extra dollars by the end of the day. He also knew that Izaya probably had a whole list of people who would be glad to see him dead and mangled on the streets. Hell, only months ago, Shizuo had been one of those people. If he were to really think about it, he knew Izaya’s paranoia in the grand scheme of things was not too out of place.

But damn it, a relationship was supposed to be grounded in trust and even if he could see Izaya’s rationale, that didn’t mean he had to be happy and accept it.

Despite his feelings on the subject, what could he do about it? He’d tried to trick Izaya into falling asleep first, but his body always seemed to betray him, either falling asleep first or he just couldn’t play the part of a sleeping person convincing enough for Izaya. The only other thing he could really imagine doing was knocking the flea out to get him to actually go to sleep first… but he doubted that would make Izaya eager to sleep with him or trust him for that matter. So he just grudgingly accepted the fact that Izaya was going to need time and waited.

It had taken a while, but one day, it finally happened. The two of them had been lying naked in bed, basking in the afterglow of their bedroom activities, occasionally idly chatting about something or giving each other lazy kisses. Izaya had softly asked him what he wanted for dinner tomorrow (he had taken to letting Izaya cook for him seeing as the flea was a much better cook than he was and hadn’t attempted to poison him yet…), and Shizuo had answered back… only to get no response back. This surprised him as usually Izaya would always spring on the opportunity to lecture him on his unhealthy diet, but the flea was docilely quiet. He looked down to see what was going on, and he nearly had a heart attack when he saw Izaya softly sleeping next to him, head lying on Shizuo’s chest. He had immediately froze, fearing any slight movement would be enough to jolt Izaya from sleep and ruin this little moment. He didn’t know if Izaya purposely fell asleep next to him or had simply been so tired that he drifted off on his own accord, but he didn’t care. All he knew was that he was not waking him up.

So, moving as gently as he could, he made sure that he himself got in a comfortable position, aiming to go to sleep himself, feeling overly-giddy at the fact that Izaya was actually curled up next to him. Despite his fear of waking the flea up, he couldn’t resist the urge to gently wrap his arm around the flea’s waist and gently resting his chin on top of the flea’s head, letting soft black hair brush against his cheek. He fell asleep soon after, and when he woke up, he was delighted to see Izaya awake in his arms, still pressed against him and not commenting on the fact that they had fallen asleep together. Shizuo knew better than to mention it either. The two of them just enjoyed the moment and since then, Izaya would occasionally fall asleep next to him if he was tired enough.

For the next few months, they kept extending their trust of the other to whole new levels. Two months after the sleeping incident, the two of them gave each other keys to the others apartment. Another month later, they were actually giving each other gifts on the holidays without shame or asking first. Four months after that, they were opening up to each other way more than they had before, not being afraid to let out more personal details. For Shizuo, that last one was easier than it was for Izaya, who still was very guarded… but Shizuo knew that sometimes it took time for Izaya to get comfortable with things and he was just going to have to be patient.

The biggest moniker finally came though one day, as they were on the couch watching some news report about yet another weirdo in Ikebukuro doing something strange, Shizuo felt Izaya tap at his wrist. Looking down at the pest, he saw Izaya looking almost bashful. That was a sight he never thought he would ever see in his lifetime. He was about to question, when Izaya suddenly spit it out.

“Shizu-chan… I want you to move in with me.”

Shizuo himself found himself knocked into silence for a moment, watching as a blush suddenly colored Izaya’s face and the flea ducked his head to hide it, tacking on, “Because honestly, Shizu-chan’s apartment is so small and the bed is going to wreck my spine…” But Shizuo knew the flea was just trying to cover up his embarrassment.

He was sure if he allowed it, Izaya would’ve babbled on more and more about this or that, but thankfully, Shizuo was there to shut him up. Wrapping his arm around the flea’s waist, he tugged the flea over and crashed his mouth into his, which Izaya gasped in pleasure at. Shizuo pulled away from the kiss to breathe, “Of course I will move in with you, you fucking idiot.”

He had to say, the excitement that glinted in Izaya’s eyes made him look way too cute for his own good.

It had taken them quite a while to get to this point. Trust wasn’t an easy thing to build, after all. But Shizuo was proud of how far they came… and he had to say, he was excited for the future to come.

#shizaya #drrr!#durarara #durarara!!#durarara!#shizuo heiwajima #heiwajima shizuo #orihara izaya #izaya orihara #fanfiction #ashs writing

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