#cause like. we busted our skull and hes taking care of us anyway.

[moonsaver]

What if i wrote something for the yandere visual novel prescription: love. What then.

[fictionplumis]

I see your “Roche is secretly a half-elf” and raise you “Shrodingers Roche”. 

Half the things he does is just so Aen Seidhe that when it gets to the point where he’s forced to cooperate with the Socia’tael for the benefit of everyone, like we all want to happen, the elves are just like, “Okay, he has to have Elder Blood. Humans aren’t normally like that, especially humans like him, who revel in violence, murder, and bloodshed. I mean, he doesn’t know who his father is, so...” 

And then Roche turns around and says or does something that contradicts the theory completely and all the elves throw their hands up like, “Nope, he’s a dh’oine.”

-- Roche likes being up high places, both because there’s a tactical advantage but also because he just does. He’s a Blue Stripe, he knows how to climb a tree like a Squirrel, and yes, sometimes he will do it just to sit in the damn tree because at least there he has some peace and quiet sometimes and can observe the surrounding area better. 

-- He hates jumping through the branches chasing down some Socia’tael member who won’t do the decent thing and just let themselves be shot from the trees by a crossbow or come down themselves to get their asses handed to them in a proper fight. Fuck that. He will drag that elf from the tree by their ankle on sheer principal to kill them on the ground. You know, the only sensible place to fight. 

-- He’s really good with a bow. Ves is better than him with a crossbow and is quickly catching up to his skill with a regular bow, but for the moment he can still outshoot her if they’re both using traditional bows. His aim is also damn good with a crossbow for a human, Ves is just better. 

-- Hates using a bow. Just fucking hates it. Iorveth or someone will preach about the benefits a bow has over a crossbow and Roche will go, “Oh yes, well my opionion is,” then he flips the bird and leaves to go shoot shit with his crossbow. But of course he would rather use a sword, or a knife, or just straight up start fucking people up with his mace because who needs poise or grace when you can just bust their skull in with a mace? 

-- When he explained how the Blue Stripes were so hard to ambush without Roche figuring out their location seconds before the ambush, what he describes sounds oddly like he’s tuning into the feeling of the forest. He claims it’s a feeling, like the trees are holding their breath, like there’s a charge in the atmosphere, a drop of pressure on a beautiful sunny day before a bad storm. And what human can feel the natural world around them that strongly and not have a drop of Elder Blood there? 

--Then they watch him pass up five different medicinal herbs on his way to pick some poison mushrooms that aren’t deadly if cooked, but will cause mild stomach pains nonetheless. And Roche is like, “It’s fine, because it’s food that doesn’t kill anyone and doesn’t cut into our rations. Who cares about some mild abdominal cramping? Ves goes through that once a cycle and she’s fine. My unit never complained about them before besides the one person who died before we realized we needed to cook them, but no one liked him anyway.” 

-- He likes looking up at the stars, which Iorveth found particularly endearing. Of course, as a Commander and someone who travels a lot, Roche would need to know how to navigate by them, but laying on his back at night looking up at them twinkling overhead isn’t navigating, and Roche even knows some of the lore behind the constellations, even if the lore he knows is heavily changed to fit human beliefs when they had once been elven stories. 

-- Roche can identify the Guiding Star and knows that it’s part of a ladle, but he doesn’t get how it’s a ladle. He can’t see the ladle. He finds the star because he recognizes the pattern of the other stars around it but they don’t look like a fucking ladle. And he knows those three stars over there are the belt of a hunter but that does NOT look like a hunter with a bow. He cannot for the life of him understand how some people saw those dots in the sky and went, “Ah yes, that looks like an archneas.” Don’t try to show him and point it out star by star, don’t try to draw him a picture and explain it, he won’t get it. He doesn’t see it. He thinks people that do are a little touched in the head. 

-- His ears are sensitive. 

-- He claims that’s pretty normal for humans and they aren’t even slightly pointy.

-- When he wants to, he can move incredibly silent and blend in well with the forest despite being bright fucking blue. There is a kind of grace about him, too. All of those things are too well done for most skilled humans.

-- He’s big. He’s bulky. He has to try at being silent. Body hair. Also he would rather not fight with grace, he’d rather just wail on someone with his fists and taste blood in his mouth.

-- He rarely dreams, and when he does, they’re intense. 

-- All the dreams he has can easily be explained by PTSD. 

-- Roche does actually find peace in being in nature. When he’s alone. When he’s not looking over his shoulder for threats. And he’s very good at just being in the middle of the woods and doing things. It’s something he never admits to anyone because it just never really comes up. 

-- If given the choice between being in the middle of the woods, or in a city with a fucking bed and roof over his head, he’ll pick the bed ANY DAY. 

-- He’s actually a very clean person if given the choice. He likes baths, especially hot baths because they ease his aching muscles. And he prefers his clothing looking nice and neat, like he just stepped out of the Vizima palace. 

-- He doesn’t complain about going weeks covered in blood, sweat, dirt, shit, and gods only know what else. He’ll complain about having to scrub it off his clothes, though. 

-- He’s fucking TOUGH. For a human, he’s survived some extreme shit and kept on trucking. He can take a fall, he can take a hit, he can nearly be burned alive by a dragon and then buried under half a foot of rubble and get up and be pissed off that his uniform is scorched and he broke three ribs. Socia’tael have seen him take arrows and just keep coming. 

--  He aches a lot. Muscles, joints, especially his wrists from using a sword. All that jumping after the Socia’tael and fighting his way out of every situation has taken a real toll on his body. He often wears compression gloves under his studded ones to help with the pain. He claims that age is a factor because he’s not a young man anymore, but Elder Blood would staved that off for a bit longer. Time will tell on that one, whether is pain his lifestyle or age, and if he lives long enough for his age to give much of a hint.

-- And a random thing that screws up the whole idea he might have Elder Blood, this poor man can’t carry tune for shit. Can’t even hum on key. He’s fucking awful and so he just WON’T because his biggest weakness is doing something minorly embarrassing. 

So the question becomes, is Roche a half-elf, a weird human, or are humans just sometimes like that? Until they know for sure, all are equally likely and valid.

[arotechno]

The Heartless: Chapter 19

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Chapter XIX: in which hope is the thing with feathers

A dull sense of sorrow hung over Petra and I as we reversed course back to Verdigris, swirling like a black hole in my chest. The tree branches seemed to hang heavier than before, standing stark and gray despite their new growth. The air between us felt thicker than it ever had, and we spent many of our waking hours in tense silence. Petra’s aura had changed since we had last seen each other; she was more cautious, not so bold and brazen as she had been less than a year ago. Whereas in the past I always saw a glimmer of Basil’s childlike wonder and innocence when I looked in her eyes, now I could only see myself, and it made my stomach churn with guilt.

“Supposedly there’s some sort of provisional government in place right now,” Petra informed me glumly while we made camp one night.

“Yeah?” I glanced over at her from where I was preparing the fire. “You know anything about it?”

Petra shook her head.

“It’s only temporary anyway,” she lamented. “I’m sure that before we know it, things will be back to the way they were before. It’s not like anybody but us knows what actually happened.”

The pessimism was new, I noted. I chose not to press her for more information, and the conversation died out for the rest of the night.

Another day, Petra stalked through the woods alongside me with her shoulders hunched and fists clenched at her sides. She was noticeably on edge, jumping onto the defensive at every rustle of the bushes or passing shadow of an animal. The agonized way with which she carried herself was horrifyingly familiar. And again—there was that nagging pit of guilt swirling uncontrollably in my stomach that screamed you caused this.

“Petra,” I blurted at one point, startling her out of her own head. She glared up at me, but there was no fire in it at all.

“You know none of what happened is your fault, right?” I asked gently. “This is all on me. You did everything you could, and you saved a lot of lives that day.”

While it didn’t completely dissipate, the tension in Petra’s shoulders seemed to soften, if only just a bit. She kicked at a stray pebble in the dirt and shrugged.

“I don’t really think it’s your fault, either,” she admitted, “in retrospect. I was mad that you didn’t come back for months; I thought you just did your damage and disappeared, like you didn’t care.”

“I wanted to come back,” I insisted. “I had a gaping wound in my chest!”

“I know that now,” Petra shot back. “So, I’m not mad. I know who the real enemy is and has always been, trust me. It’s just a lot, for me to process.”

“Believe me when I tell you I understand that completely,” I huffed.

“You know…” Petra shoved her hands into her pockets. “After all this time you still never told me what happened. With Basil, when you were little.”

I shrugged.

“Well, it’s his story,” I pointed out. “If you want to know so bad, ask him yourself.”

 “Do you think he would tell me?”

“Probably not.”

Petra sputtered indignantly and shoved me to the side, grumbling to herself with her arms crossed over her chest. But she didn’t press any further, and the silence that dropped into the gap was warmer than the one that had come before.

A beat passed, and then Petra teasingly asked, “So, can I see the scar?”

"Huh?” I did a double-take and glanced down at her. The playful smirk on her face and the faint flicker of tenacity in her eyes, however infuriating, soothed the swirling unease in my gut just a little.

“What? No.” I shook my head vigorously and turned front.

Petra bust out laughing, bright and clear. I smiled to myself.

Yeah, we’d be alright.

 * * *

  Unsurprisingly, Basil was stunned beyond belief to open the front door and find that I had returned so soon. He joked something like, “When I said you’d be back, I didn’t mean right away,” but something in the way he glanced between Petra and I told me he knew something had gone terribly wrong.

Frida welcomed us both with open arms, and once we had introductions out of the way, Petra and I relayed the story over bowls of soup that we barely touched. The entire time, I felt like I was going to be sick with guilt—this must have been evident on my face, as I could feel Basil eyeing me from across the table even as Petra prattled on and her words turned to cotton in my ears.

“Ace?” Petra beckoned, jostling me out of my stupor with her elbow. “Are you okay?”

My stomach lurched. I sucked in a deep breath and looked over; her expression was tight, brow furrowed. My hands were shaking, so I quickly hid them under the table. Basil’s eyes bore holes in my skull. Frida was at the kitchen counter, cleaning up.

“Yeah, I’m alright,” I replied unconvincingly. “Don’t worry about me, Petra.”

“No thank you, I think I will continue to worry about you.”

“Hey,” Basil called softly from the other side of the table. I looked up to meet his eyes, soft with concern.

“I feel awful and we’re talking about people I don’t know. I can only imagine how much you’ve been bottling up,” he said. “It’s okay to grieve, Ace. I promise.”

Petra reached under the table and slid one of her hands into mine, and that was all it took. Something in my chest ripped open and everything came gushing out all at once until I was sobbing myself raw and ragged in the middle of Frida’s kitchen, with Petra squeezing my hand and Basil rubbing gently at the space between my shoulder blades. Frida wiped my face as I wept, and the three of them remained there beside me without judgment as the grief spilled out of me, until I finally stopped crying and asked Frida if she could make me some tea.

 * * *

  Petra and I returned to our old tricks, helping neighbors with chores in exchange for other favors, or sometimes for nothing at all. Our preferred pastime was working in the community garden, and that spring, we planted several new beds and committed ourselves to single-handedly repairing the weather-worn fence to keep the animals out.

“Do you think the others are okay?” Petra wondered aloud one afternoon, holding a fence stake in place while I hammered it into the ground with another piece of wood.

I paused my hammering and replied, “I would hope so.”

“I worry about them,” Petra mused. “I wonder what Amistadia is like now.”

“To be honest, I’d be scared to find out,” I admitted, straightening up and stretching my shoulders. “I guess I’m still a coward.”

Petra frowned, looking at me curiously.

Then, she said, “You were never a coward,” and did not elaborate as she walked away to grab another wooden stake from the pile.

I often wondered idly about Esther, and whether she’d found peace, and Knife Boy, and whether he’d found what he was looking for. Sometimes, I even thought about Swallow’s Point, and Carita and Marcus and the rest, and wondered if they, too, could change. The nightmares never fully went away, but they became more manageable, and the pangs of grief and guilt I’d been amassing for years slowly faded to a dull ache.

We planted a small herb garden at the back of the garden plot, and I privately dedicated it to Bertrand. It was an apology and a thank you all at once.

As the spring wore on, something akin to hope sprouted wings in my chest and refused to die. Petra and I could be happy here, in Verdigris. And in the summer, we could make raspberry pie, and we could learn to build a new home for ourselves from scratch, and some day, after we had long returned to dust, nobody would ever have to feel like we had felt ever again. It was a faint hope, but it was something, and it slotted itself strong and steady between my ribs.

[minijenn]

Universe Falls Chapter 79

Ayyyyyy its here fam, the chapter right before RMD is finally done which means I’m ALMOST ALMOST THERE AHAHAHHAHAHAH IM SO FUCKIN HYPE! But for now, enjoy this fucking preliminary angstfest, which I also really like even if it is a teeny tiny lil chapter. Just as well since RMD are all boutta be fucking monsters in terms of length. Anyway enjoy!

Previous: https://minijenn.tumblr.com/post/618035050504732672/universe-falls-chapter-78

***

Chapter 79: Alone on the Lake

TN XBAVUSA SUL ZUSALLZF GSL ZLZBKX IFK AJUWLK DPNZ BWMSL LUZ OACM HV YW KLKHXJ GGBZ EKBIJK?

“Ok, Lapis, we’re almost there!”

“I think I’m starting to guess the surprise, you two,” Lapis noted with a small smile, still keeping her aquatic wings wrapped over her eyes as she followed Steven and Mabel’s enthusiastic lead. 

“Your eyes are supposed to be closed!��� Steven reminded brightly. 

“Sorry,” Lapis chuckled, following his instructions this time as the pair continued to guide her onward. “Are you still back there, Dipper?” she called, glancing over her shoulder behind her, though keeping her eyes shut all the while. 

“Hm?” Dipper looked up, his hands shoved away in his pockets as he kept pace quite a bit behind the trio as they traveled down the dock. “Oh, uh, yeah, I’m here.”

“Mind telling me where we’re going?” the blue Gem continued addressing him with a small, playful smile. “I have an idea, but these two aren’t giving me any hints.”

“Cause that would be cheating!” Mabel pointed out, resolute. “And it would ruin the surprise.”

“Speaking of surprises, wait here just a second.” Steven and Mabel both relinquished their holds on Lapis’ hands, running over to join Greg and Stan near the edge of the dock before unveiling what they had in store for the day. “Surprise!”

Lapis let her wings retract, opening her eyes to see something that she didn’t really know what to make of at first. The wide lay of Lake Gravity Falls spread out before the group from the small dock they were all on, its murky waters dully glistening in the mid-morning sun. And resting on that lake, tethered to a post, was a moderately large boat, one that looked rather fancy and modern, aside from the bizarre, out of place skull and crossbone flags draping from its sides and hanging from its flagpole. 

“We bought a boat!” Steven proclaimed excitedly. 

“Correction, we rented a boat,” Greg chimed in. “I may be rich, but buying a boat would be going a bit… overboard!”

“Ugh, please someone make him stop,” Stan groaned insincerely. “He’s been making lame boat puns ever since we picked this thing up from the rental place. I’d fire him for them… if he still worked for me.”

“What can I say, Mr. Pines?” Greg let out a small chuckle. “I just keep reeling ‘em in!”

Steven and Mabel were quick to join in on the former rock star’s amused laughter, and though it took Stan a moment, he ultimately folded with a bit of a wry smirk himself. “Uh… what’s with the pirate theme?” Dipper spoke up as he looked over the boat. 

“Er, the rental place was out of the “Family Friendly Day On the Lake” boat package,” Greg explained. “All they had left was the “A Pirate’s Life for Me” package, which is really just those flags. Oh, and I think there’s a stuffed parrot and a set of decorative swords on board.”

“There’s also a bunch of peg legs, pirate hats, and eye patches stored under one of the seats,” Stan added dryly. “So, ya know, you kids can knock yourselves out with those.”

“Ooo!” Steven mused, intrigued. 

“I call the eye patch!” Mabel quipped, raising her hand.

“Oh no, ya don’t,” Stan pulled said eye patch out of his pocket and slipped it on. “I already beat ya to it, pumpkin.”

“Aw, dang it! Not again!”

“Steven, Dipper, Mabel,” Lapis spoke up, glancing over at Stan and Greg, somewhat confused. “Who are these people?”

“Ah, Greg Universe,” Greg introduced himself, holding out a hand for her to shake. “You, uh, busted up my van trying to use the lake to fly back to your homeworld?”

“Lapis Lazuli,” the blue Gem offered him a somewhat awkward smile though she didn’t return his handshake. “Nice to meet you.”

“And Lapis, you remember Grunkle Stan, right?” Mabel asked as she came to stand alongside the conman. 

“Oh right!” Lapis nodded. “You’re the guy who looks like Ford, but isn’t Ford.”

“Ugh, if I had a nickel for every time I heard that one when I was a kid...” Stan rolled his eyes, disgruntled. 

“That’s ‘cause Grunkle Stan and Grunkle Ford are twins,” Mabel informed the blue Gem with a smile as she suddenly pulled Dipper close beside her. “Just like me and Dipper!”

“Ugh, Mabel! Knock it off!” Dipper huffed in annoyance as he quickly pulled away from her. He paid no mind to the curious looks the others were sending his way as a result of his sudden harshness as he instead went to take a seat at the far edge of the dock instead. 

“Aw, c’mon, bro-bro, I was just… aw, ok…” Mabel sighed in quiet defeat as she watched him sullenly walk away.

“Yeesh, he’s acting even more Dippery than usual,” Stan remarked bluntly before oblivious moving on. “Anyway, we’d better get a move on. The ice in that treasure chest-shaped cooler on deck is only gonna keep those sandwiches cold for so long.”

“Good point,” Greg agreed, trailing after the conman. “Let’s get the boat started.”

As the pair headed aboard the rented vessel, everyone else hung back on the dock for a bit, particularly Lapis as she hardly even seemed to be focused on the boat at all. “What’s going on with Dipper?” she asked Steven and Mabel with newfound concern. “He seems… upset about something.”

“I don’t know…” Steven frowned. “Yesterday he seemed so excited about our plans to bring you out here to spend the day with you, Lapis, but now…”

“I-I think I might know what’s up,” Mabel said, glancing down apprehensively. “Last night I overheard him talking in his sleep--which he only really does when he’s having a nightmare--a-and it must have been a pretty bad one cause he said something about… a-about you know who…”

“No,” Lapis shook her head, confused. “Who?”

“Oooh…” Steven immediately understood, however, his expression quickly turning grave. “Again? I thought he stopped having those kinds of nightmares after we put up the unicorn shield around the shack.”

“The what?” the blue Gem tried interjecting once more, completely out of the loop.

“Yeah, well… you know Bill,” Mabel said, her tone and expression both taking on an air of disdain. “He never quits, even when he really should. And if he can’t mess with us for real anymore, I guess dreams are the next best thing for him.”

“Wait, slow down,” Lapis said, putting her hands up. “What are you guys talking about? Who’s this Bill person? Someone who’s been messing with Dipper?”

“Messing with all of us, actually…” Steven rubbed his arm. “He’s this really powerful, really mean demon who we’ve been fighting against all summer. We’ve been up against him a bunch of times, but the worst was when he-” The young Gem stopped short at this, particularly as he met the sight of Mabel silently shaking her head, her lips pressed in a thin line and her eyes wide with worry. Steven was quick to understand her intent, however, when he happened to glance between Lapis, who was looking to him with expectant curiosity, and Dipper, who was still sitting alone, forlorn as he stared into the lake from the edge of the dock. “Uh… h-he, um…” Steven stammered, unsure of how to explain exactly what had happened what felt like ages ago now. Especially to Lapis, of all Gems, who cared so much for Dipper and had, at least in some way, been the very driving force for him striking the dangerous deal with the dream demon that he had back then. A deal that was clearly still leaving it’s heavy, painful mark on him, even long after it had ended. 

“L-long story short,” Mabel cut in just in time with a brief, largely safe explanation. “Bill tricked Dipper into making a deal with him that went pretty sour pretty fast and it, uh… m-may or may not almost got him, um… k-killed,” she winced, a familiar pang of guilt filling her as she so much as said the dreadful word. 

“W-what?!” Lapis exclaimed, aptly alarmed. 

“O-oh, but don’t worry! It didn’t actually, o-of course,” Steven rushed to interject. “A-and my healing powers helped patch up everything else‒eventually. So, everything’s fine now! W-well… almost everything…” The young Gem frowned as he looked in Dipper’s direction himself, wishing there was more he could do to help heal what was an entirely different kind of wound now. 

“B-but, I don’t understand,” Lapis shook her head, her expression awash in immense worry. “Why would Dipper make a deal like that anyway? Even if he was tricked, I know he’s smarter than to fall for something like that.”

Steven and Mabel exchanged an uncertain glance at this, knowing that the last thing Lapis needed was to know exactly why Dipper had taken a chance on such a risky bargain in the first place. “Uh… w-who can say?” Mabel shrugged, forcing out a harsh, fake chuckle. “It doesn’t really matter anymore anyway since it’s all said and done and we can forget about it and move on with our lives! S-so instead of talking about all that depressing junk, let’s talk about something way more fun instead! Like this boat! What do you think about it, Lapis?”

“Oh, uh… it’s… nice,” Lapis said somewhat absently as she finally pulled her gaze away from Dipper. “But... I don’t know…”

“Look, Lapis,” Steven took a deep, steadying breath, noticing the hesitation in the blue Gem as she turned her attention to the lake in particular. “We know you spent a really long time fused with Jasper at the bottom of the lake, but… you’re not Malachite anymore. And water is part of who you are. You can’t let one bad experience take that away from you!”

“It was more than one…” Lapis sighed, crossing her arms. 

“Well… maybe we can turn all those bad times around and make a brand-new good time instead!” Mabel encouraged warmly. “We promise that this is gonna be the most fun you’ve ever had!”

“Thank you, but I… I don’t deserve this…” Lapis shook her head fretfully. 

“Of course you do!” Steven insisted. “We even named her Lil’ Lappy!” He nodded over to the boat, where Stan and Greg were attempting to tape a banner with this new name to the side of the boat, only for it to slightly slip off to reveal the vessel’s true title: the S.S. Misery”. 

Despite this, Lapis was unable to hold back a snort of an amused laugh at such a ridiculous sight, one that told just how hard the kids were working to put all this together for her. “Ok, I’ll give it a chance. But just one.”

“That’s the spirit!” Mabel beamed. “Now c’mon! We better get on board before Grunkle Stan hogs the rest of that super cool pirate gear to himself!”

“Too late!” Stan called from on deck, clad in the eyepatch, captain’s hat, and fake peg leg alike. 

Even so, Mabel and Steven hurried on ahead to climb aboard, though Lapis stayed behind, largely so she could go over to join Dipper as he remained at the edge of the dock. Along the way, she couldn’t help but let her thoughts wander, both to the deepest concern for the boy himself, and quiet, yet fledgling fury for the mysterious demon who had apparently put him through so much lingering distress. “H-Hey,” she greeted him as casually as she could manage, despite all this. “Aren’t you coming along?”

“Oh! Y-yeah,” Dipper was quick to stand, though he made no move to go over to the boat as he offered Lapis a concerned glance instead. “Are… are you sure you’re ok with this? I tried telling them that taking you out on the lake might not be… the best idea, considering… well…”

“N-no, it’s ok,” Lapis assured him with a small smile. “I think it’s really… sweet that you guys went to all the trouble to put all this together for me. Even if it might be a bit… too much.”

“It’s always too much when Steven and Mabel are involved,” Dipper finally let out a small chuckle, one that set Lapis’ worries to ease as she hoped that maybe he wasn’t as upset as he seemed. At least for now. 

“Need a lift?” she asked, summoning her wings as she extended a hand out to him. 

“Sure.” With this, Lapis easily swept Dipper up off the dock, giving him an easy landing on board the boat alongside Steven and Mabel before she came down to join them herself. 

“How do I say it again, Mr. Pines?” Greg’s voice echoed from the ship’s intercom on the bridge. “Mighties?”

“It’s ‘maties’, Greg,” Stan deadpanned, not realizing the mic was already on either. 

“Got it; maties,” Greg actually turned to the intercom so he could properly address the group on deck. “Uh, ahoy, maties! Are ya scurvy land-lovers-”

“Landlubbers,” Stan corrected once more. 

“...What the hey is a lubber?”

“Ugh, gimme that!” the conman promptly took over the intercom at this. “What he’s trying to say is, are you all ready to take off or not?” 

“Aye, aye, captain!” Mabel and Steven proclaimed in unison, both of them presenting dramatic salutes. 

“...Yes,” Lapis said simply as Dipper nodded his agreement as well. 

“Good,” Stan said simply, hanging up the intercom line. “You do know how to work this tub, don’t you, Greg?”

“Uh… w-well… It can’t be that tricky…” Greg looked over the ship’s rather complicated control deck, though he did manage to find its starting clutch. “Aha! Full speed ahea-” The former rock star was abruptly cut off as the entire boat jolted hard as it began to take off, knocking everyone on board about. However, as it did, the force of the vessel’s abrupt movement suddenly ripped the post it was tethered to, one that neither Greg nor Stan had thought to untie it from before climbing aboard. “Aw, geez…” Greg shuddered upon glancing back to see the post skimming behind the boat as it ventured out onto the open lake. “You think anyone will notice?”

“You better hope no one does,” Stan remarked. “Trust me, Greg, you do not want a run-in with lake police. I learned that the hard way…”

Despite the pleasant, late summer weather, not too many other boats were out on the water, meaning the group largely had the lake all to themselves. As soon as the boat had settled into a more relaxed pace out near the center of the water, Lapis and the kids went to join Greg and Stan up in the bridge, largely to inquire about the wooden post still lagging behind the ship. 

“Yeah, I-I think I did a number on that deck,” Greg scratched the back of his neck awkwardly. “Maybe someone else should take a shot at being captain instead…”

“Ya think?” Stan deadpanned. 

“What do you say-” Greg grinned as he took his captain’s hat off and turned it over to Lapis instead. “Captain Lazuli?”

“I-I shouldn’t…” Lapis winced fretfully. 

“Go for it, Lapis!” Steven encouraged. 

“Yeah! You’ll make a great captain!” Mabel chimed in enthusiastically. “You can even use this spare eyepatch I stole from Grunkle Stan when he wasn’t looking!”

“Wha-” Stan took pause, reaching near his eye to find that his eye patch wasn’t covering it anymore. “When did you-”

“Don’t put me in charge!” Lapis suddenly snapped, agitated. She drew in a small, anxious gasp as she realized just how intense her refusal had been, to the point that all three of the kids were sending concerned looks her way. 

“Lapis…?” Dipper spoke up, by far the most worried of the already very worried trio. And as soon as Lapis caught his concerned gaze, she made a very rushed effort at righting herself, more for his sake than anyone else’s. 

“Oh, uh… s-sorry,” the blue Gem shook her head to clear it. “I mean… y-you shouldn’t trust me with the boat.”

“Uh, that’s ok,” Steven said, trying to brighten the tense mood once more. “Don’t worry about it. We can all be first mates, so there’s no pressure. Only fun stuff today!”

Lapis nodded, allayed by this plan, even if she was still discreetly trying not to pay too much mind to the wide lay of the lake all around them. “Lapis, you can still wear the hat if you want,” Greg held said hat out to her again. 

“Thanks,” Lapis smiled. “But I’m not putting that on my body.”

“What about the eye patch?” Mabel asked, eagerly offering it to the blue Gem until Stan intercepted it instead. 

“Give me that!” he swiped the patch, proudly placing it over his eye once more. “Ah, now that’s better.”

“Ok, everyone,” Greg grinned, putting the captain’s hat back on as he took the boat’s wheel once again. “Let’s set a course for fun!”

Though Lake Gravity Falls was quite sizable, it was still a rather small lake compared to the boat itself, which was why there really weren’t too many places it could go upon it. Still, that hardly stopped the small group aboard from enjoying themselves in whatever ways they could. They snacked on their small stash of cold cut sandwiches alongside a bottle of sparkling orange juice served in fancy glasses (a ritual Lapis didn’t quite understand and didn’t really know how to indulge in even as everyone else did). Still, Lapis watched on the sidelines as Steven and Mabel engaged in a pretend “pirate duel” with the decorative swords on deck (a duel Greg was quick to put a nervous stop to when he realized the swords, however dull they might have been, were still made of actual metal). After that, they all took a break to lounge out on the boat’s open deck, soaking in the rays of the warm summer sun, though most of the while, though Lapis found herself preoccupied with two other completely different sights instead. The first was the lake, its calm, quiet, cerulean waters practically taunting her with thoughts of the dark, empty prison she knew lay just beneath them. But then there was Dipper, who was hardly engaging in the activities Mabel and Steven had planned as he instead leaned against the boat’s railing to stare out at the lake himself. Lapis took a break from “sunbathing” to join him, hoping to ask him more about what Steven and Mabel had only hinted at before. And yet, before she could get as much as a hello out, the aforementioned pair rushed over to pull them both back into more of the “fun” they had in store. 

That next bout of fun was up on the bridge, namely in the form of the ship’s pull horn. Though Lapis didn’t understand the appeal at first, she quickly did upon giving it a small, experimental tug, only for the horn to loudly blare out, echoing across the entire lake. The blue Gem couldn’t help but be completely charmed by the rather grating noise, letting out a full, genuine laugh as she pulled on the horn over and over again, much to the kids’ delight and Stan and Greg’s chagrin. Even Dipper couldn’t help but muster a small, warm chuckle upon seeing just how much Lapis seemed to be enjoying herself through something so simple, even if it wasn’t the easiest on the ears.

After about an hour or so, the nearly-nonstop bellowing of the horn finally fell silent, a relieving change of pace for Stan and Greg in particular as they continued fishing off the far side of the boat. “Oh thank god, they finally stopped,” the conman let out a sigh of relief as he uncovered his ears. “I thought I was gonna go deaf. Well, even more deaf,” he said, tapping his hearing aid. 

Greg let out an amused laugh at this, though as he did, he happened to notice Lapis and the kids coming down from the bridge to join them. “Oh, hey, you guys!” he greeted them with a smile. “Finally get enough of that horn?”

“...WHAT?!” Steven shouted obliviously, his ears still still blaring with the lingering noise of the horn. 

“What are you doing?” Lapis asked, curiously eyeing the pairs’ fishing rods.

“Catching fish,” Greg explained, casting his line out into the water once more. 

“Or at least we’re trying to,” Stan grumbled, boredly leaning against the railing. “Those suckers just aren’t biting today…”

“Oh, maybe I can help!” Lapis volunteered, her tone surprisingly eager. Taking in a deep breath, she easily connected with the body of water before her, calling upon a massive swath of it just below the surface. Everyone else watched in apt awe as she easily pulled that swath up, an immense mass of water rising up into the air just above them, one that encased more fish than they could have ever hoped to catch swimming inside. 

“Whoa…” Dipper said, quite impressed. “Lapis, that’s amazing!”

The blue Gem practically beamed upon hearing this, more than happy to meet the bright smile he was sending her way. A smile that she unquestionably treasured, yet unfortunately hadn’t seen enough of today, as much as she wished she had. 

“That’s a pretty… uh, fancy way of catching fish…” Greg noted with a bit of a nervous chuckle. 

“Fancy?” Stan scoffed. “Pfft, some might call it overkill.”

“Grunkle Stan!” Mabel chastised, hoping that the conman’s rather callous remark didn’t offend the blue Gem. 

“That’s ‘cause Lapis is supa strong!” Steven proclaimed with a dramatic flex. 

“Well, uh… I appreciate the gesture,” Greg said, trying to be as tactful as he could. “But I-I think it would be safer to stick to the old-fashioned way of doing it…”

“Oh, uh… sure.” Flustered, Lapis was quick to pull her “catch” back down into the lake itself, creating a sizable wave in the process, one that shook the entire boat before the water settled itself back down. “So… how do you fish the old-fashioned way?”

“Oh, it’s pretty simple,” Greg reeled his line back in so he could demonstrate. “You start with a rod, and you put a hook at the end of your line. And then, when you feel a nibble, you reel it in. And there it is; you’ve caught yourself a fish to eat!”

“Or to sell if you manage to catch a peppermint angelfish or a freshwater polka dot stingray,” Stan piped up. “Those kinda puppies will land you the big bucks, whether you’re sellin’ em legally or not‒n-not that I would know.”

“But why would a fish ever bite a hook?” Lapis asked, confused. 

“You got to bait it,” Greg said, reaching into his nearby tackle box. “Put something on it you know it wants, like a worm or a $20 bill.”

“Now that’s my kind of bait!” Stan grinned greedily. 

“We’ll keep that in mind the next time we need to fish you out of a lake, Mr. Pines,” Greg chuckled alongside Steven and Mabel. At the same time, he cast his baited line out into the lake to properly show Lapis how fishing was usually done.

And like how fishing usually went, the group ended up waiting quite some time for even a nibble to become apparent. Stan had all but fallen asleep in his sunchair, his own fishing pole completely forgotten as Greg minded them both instead. Lapis and the kids lazily leaned against the boat’s railing, keeping an eye on the water, even if there was no sign of any sort of underlying fish to be found. 

“So when does the fish part happen?” Lapis asked boredly. 

“Well, sometimes it isn’t about the fish you keep, but the company you catch,” Greg said with a sly wink, though none of the others really caught his drift. At that exact moment, however, a sharp, sudden pull on his fishing pole caught the former rock star’s attention instead. “Whoa! I got a bite!” Greg tightened his grip on the fishing rod as whatever it had caught began to pull aggressively against it. “Lapis, here! Give it a try!” he offered the blue Gem the pole, and though she had her reservations, she took it. 

“Like this?” she asked, starting to reel the line in. 

“You got it!” Greg grinned as the kids crowded close to watch. “Looks like it’s a big one!”

Lapis set her focus on her rod as she continued to steadily reel it in, though whatever was on the hook quickly tugged hard on the line, abruptly yanking the blue Gem forward along with it. Lapis stumbled forward, but fortunately everyone else was quick to respond, calling out to her in concern as they hurried to help hold her steady so she could keep the struggle going. 

“Y-You got this, Lapis!” Steven encouraged with a loud grunt as he and Mabel clung onto the straining blue Gem. “Reel it in!”

“It’s… pulling… so hard!” Lapis shouted, pulling back against the unseen fish or force that she was so, so close to landing. So very close to the surface, yet still so far away. 

Just as Malachite had been all that time. 

Lapis gasped just as the fishing rod suddenly snapped under the immense pressure completely. Its other half flew into the water as whatever it had caught got away, leaving everyone to run to the side of the boat to see if they could catch so much as even a glimpse of it. Lapis in particular kept a close eye on the lake as it calmed once more, her sudden panic starting to die down as she realized the only reflection she saw on the water was her own. 

“Dang it, Greg!” Stan fussed as he finally awakened from his brief nap. “We weren’t supposed to break any of these!”

“Yeah…” Greg winced as he looked over the broken rod. “Looks like this pole rental just turned into a pole purchase. But, you did a great job tangling with that beast, Lapis.”

“Yeah! I totally thought you had it!” Mabel added, hands on her hips. 

“B-but don’t worry about the one that got away,” Steven encouraged with a small smile. 

Lapis simply returned their praise with a terse, unreadable nod as she realized that their party was now one short for some reason. Mostly since that missing one among them had quietly slipped away long before her fight against that unknown catch had even begun. 

“Welp, that’s my adventure quota for the day,” Greg concluded as he began putting the tackle box away. “I’ll be at the controls. Holler if you need me.”

“And I’ll be raiding that cooler to see if there’s any of that fancy orange juice left,” Stan said as he also began to head out. “Fishing’s thirsty work; it’s got me parched.”

“But Grunkle Stan, you were just napping most of the time,” Mabel pointed out. 

“Yeah, well napping’s thirsty work too.” 

With the adults heading off to their own devices, Mabel and Steven were more than ready to keep their excitable plans for the day going, even if fishing had gone somewhat awry. “Ok, Lapis, what do you…” Steven trailed off as they both realized the blue Gem had also stepped away at some point. “Lapis?”

For her part, Lapis had returned to the main deck, where it didn’t take her very long to find Dipper. He sat on one of the lounge chairs, his chin perched against his hands as he silently watched the dark clouds that were starting to roll in over the lake. And as the blue Gem slowly came to take a seat alongside him, she noticed just how tense and apprehensive his expression really was. She had every reason to suspect why that was, and couldn’t help but feel guilty that she hadn’t done more to try and change that. Though still, she figured now was better late than never.

“Dipper?” Lapis spoke up, finally breaking him out of whatever thoughts he had been distracted by. 

“Oh! Lapis!” he started, quickly turning to her as he put on a clearly fake smile. “H-how’d fishing go?”

“It… went…” the blue Gem glanced down. “Why’d you leave?”

“Ah, I-I… just wanted a little peace and quiet, is all,” Dipper said, offering an excuse Lapis could see right through the moment he said it.

“Oh,” she replied, though this time, she refused to simply leave it there. “Dipper, a-are… are you all right?”

“What?” Dipper blinked, caught off guard by the question. “Y-yeah, of course I’m all right. Why wouldn’t I be? Are you all right, Lapis?”

Lapis flinched, not wanting to face such an inquiry, especially as she accidentally stole another small glance toward the lake once more. “I-I… l-let’s focus on you instead,” she countered as evenly as she could. “You’ve been so quiet all day. I know something’s wrong-” she hesitated, not wanting to give specifics about how or what she knew just yet. “So… if you want to tell me about it, then I-”

“No!” Dipper said, a bit too fast and a bit too forcefully. “I-I… I mean, it’s… seriously nothing, Lapis. You don’t have to worry about it. It’s really not important.”

“It’s important to me,” Lapis said earnestly, knowing, practically feeling that he was lying to her. “If something’s bothering you, then… maybe there’s some I can help somehow. I want to help.”

For a moment, the most Dipper could do was look to her in disbelief before he shook his head almost bitterly. “Lapis, I-I appreciate it, but really, I don’t need any help. Besides, today isn’t supposed to be about me; this whole lake trip was supposed to be to help you.”

“B-but I don’t deserve help!” Lapis argued far more fiercely than she had meant to. “Everyone’s so worried about making me feel better, but we should be worrying about you! Especially after what you went through!”

“After what I-” Dipper stopped short at this, confused. “Lapis, what are you talking about?”

The blue Gem faltered at this, knowing that the last thing she wanted to do was openly bring up what was obviously such a painful memory, but she couldn’t help herself. He needed to know just how much he needed this. “T-the deal, Dipper! I’m talking about the deal you made with t-that… that Bill guy that almost got you killed!”

Dipper froze, completely taken aback, upon hearing Lapis mention that terrible deal. A deal he’d done all he could to keep her from finding out about ever since she returned, for more reasons than one. “W-what… h-how do you know about-”

Before he could even get another stunned word out, the entire boat was suddenly rocked as something seemed to crash hard into the side of it below the surface of the water. Just as the ship seemed to settle once more, it took another heavy hit, one that nearly knocked Dipper and Lapis off their feet completely as they wondered to themselves about what was happening. 

Mabel and Steven wondered the same thing as they took a detour on their way back to the main deck to stop by the bride to check in with Stan and Greg. “I-is everything ok, First Mate Dad?” Steven asked, concerned. 

“Shh!” Greg quieted, glancing up from the boat manual he’d been pouring over. “You hear that?”

The group paused to listen for any further disruption below the boat, but strangely, they were only met with silence on all sides. “Uh… no?” Mabel frowned, confused. 

“Maybe whatever it was is gone now,” Steven theorized. 

“Well, at least that’s one good thing,” Greg sighed. “I think something’s wrong with the boat.”

“Augh!” Stan growled, trying his hardest to move the boat’s otherwise stiff wheel. “Nope, something’s definitely wrong with the boat. The rudder won’t move for anything. Something down there must be throwing it off.”

Mabel let out a sharp, dramatic gasp at this. “Maybe it’s the Gobblewonker!”

“Or Mr. McGucket’s Gobblewonker robot!” Steven added just as zealously. 

“Would you two pipe down?” Stan rolled his eyes as he began fiddling with the ship’s control panel. “It’s not a robot or some stupid lake monster. We probably just hit a rock or something. What’s that manual of yours have to say, Greg?”

“I-it’s really not any help,” the former rock star frowned as he flipped through the book. “It’s mostly just advice on sun tanning and what crackers go with caviar!”

“Well, what crackers go with caviar?” Steven asked. 

“Water crackers!”

“Ayyyy!” the pair exclaimed, exchanging a set of wry, playful grins. The levity was immediately broken, however as the boat violently shook once more, this time accompanied by a small, yet prominent explosion from somewhere inside the ship itself. The group wasted no time in rushing down to the boat’s small engine room, though as soon as Greg pried open the hatch, thick, dark smoke immediately started pouring out from it. 

“Oh, crud! The engine!” Greg exclaimed, distraught. “I-I don’t know anything about fixing an engine! Do you, Mr. Pines?”

“Er… I can take a swing at trying, but I can’t make any promises,” Stan said as he began looking over the busted engine. “But either way, we’re gonna be out here for a while…”

Mabel and Steven exchanged a fretful glance upon hearing this, but all the same, they left the pair to work on the engine so they could relay the unfortunate message to the boat’s other two passengers. In the aftermath of the explosion and how it shook but the boat once again, Lapis was in the midst of helping Dipper back up onto his feet, checking over him to make sure he was unharmed as Steven and Mabel arrived. 

“Uh, guys?” the young Gem spoke up. “We have some… not-so-great news. There’s trouble with the engine and… it looks like we’re stuck out here for now…”

“Great…” Dipper muttered as Lapis let out a low, disappointed sigh. “As if anything else could go wrong today…”

“W-well, let’s try to look on the bright side!” Mabel chimed in. “At least it’s not raining!” Almost at that exact moment, however, raindrops began sprinkling down from the dark, dreary skies above, growing more steady with each passing second. “...How did I do that…?” Mabel wondered, amazed by her apt timing. 

“I-I’m sorry!” Steven professed to Lapis in particular. “This whole thing is our fault! We just wanted you to have fun, but everything’s turned into a mess. We shouldn’t have made you come on this trip…”

“No,” Lapis spoke up, her tone cold as she turned to face the side of the ship. “It’s my fault. I’m the one to blame.”

“What?” the young Gem shook his head. “No, it’s not-”

“I’m really trying to enjoy it out here, but… I can’t stop thinking about being fused as Malachite,” Lapis confessed, not even noticing Dipper tense up beside her at the mere mention of the twisted fusion. “How I used all my strength to hold her down in the lake, and how I was always battling against Jasper to keep her bound to me…”

“Lapis…” Steven began, though Dipper was quick to interject before he could say anything else. 

“W-what does any of that even matter anymore?!” he countered harshly, clearly agitated by the mere discussion alone. “That’s all over now! Malachite’s gone. You don’t have to be with Jasper ever again!”

“T-that’s not it…” Lapis said quietly, shame filling her expression as she finally glanced back at the kids behind her to reveal the horrible truth. “I… I miss her…”

“What?!” All three of the kids exclaimed, shocked by the very thought. 

“W-we were fused for so long…” the blue Gem practically whispered, shaken as she wrapped her arms around herself tightly. 

“But… she’s terrible!” Steven protested anxiously. 

“I’m terrible!” Lapis argued, fully turning to the trio. “I did horrible things! I left Ford behind on Homeworld! I stole the lake! Go on! Tell me I’m wrong!”

Steven and Mabel were more than prepared to try and do exactly that, but once again, Dipper beat them both to the chase on a seemingly different tangent entirely. “You miss her…” he began, letting out a bitter scoff as he did. “Even after everything she put you through, after everything she did?! After everything I did to try to help you?!”

“Dipper-” Lapis tried to counter, though he was far too incensed to back down now. 

“I know what you went through was awful, I get that. But you have no idea what I put myself through to just to get you back!” he practically shouted, outraged that she’d make light of all the sacrifices he’d made by so much as hinting that she wanted to go back to what he’d only barely managed to help rescue her from. “I was ready to do nothing else but sit on the shore for the rest of the summer waiting for you! I stayed awake for nights on end trying to figure out a way to help you! I risked my life several times against Malachite and you did basically nothing to stop her! And worst of all, you asked me about that deal I made with Bill earlier? Well, you wanna know why I even did that in the first place?”

“Dipper, stop-” Mabel tried to interject, especially as she noticed the growing, fearful alarm in Lapis’ eyes brought on by his outburst. Yet even so, he kept going with the truth he could no longer keep buried under the surface, even for as horrible as it was. 

“For you, Lapis!” he finished, tears starting to brim in his eyes even against his immense fury. “I nearly lost my body, my life‒all because I wanted to save you! And what do you want, even after all that? To go back to being with Jasper, back to being Malachite, like the rest of us‒like I don’t even matter!” 

For a moment, the most Lapis could do in response to such a harsh accusation was remorsefully accept it, largely because she had no idea how to argue against it. Because really, if all that was indeed true, if Dipper really had almost lost so much in a last-ditch effort to help her, then that was just another reason--perhaps the very worst of all--on the already substantial list as to why she didn’t deserve any sort of kindness or support at all after every terrible thing she’d done. 

Once again, Steven and Mabel wanted to speak up to try and ease the heavily palpable tension between the pair, yet before they could, that tension was broken altogether by the boat heavily jolting once more. This time, however, the steady tremors didn’t stop as something heavy latched onto the ship’s anchor chain, lurching the entire vessel to the side as something, or rather someone, began to climb up it. For a few breathless, uncertain seconds, the group on board glanced around frantically, unsure of what was happening. That is, until that someone finally reached the deck itself, the last Gem any of them could have expected--or wanted--to see: Jasper. 

The orange Gem easily heaved herself onto the boat, ignoring the shared gasps of shock from everyone else as she rose to properly stand, a wide, almost demented grin spread across her face as she set her sights on Lapis in particular. “Finally,” she said, a burst of heavy thunder crashing over the lake at the exact same time. “I thought I’d never catch up to you!”

“J-Jasper…” Lapis barely managed to choke, though at the same time, she instinctively held a protective arm in front of the trio of kids behind her. “You… you’ve been following us?”

“I’ve been following you,” Jasper’s menacing grin deepened as she took a bold step forward.

Lapis flinched back in apt fear at this, though Steven was the first to step forward, his shield already formed over his arm. “Stay back!” he shouted bravely as he came to stand between the two Gems. Likewise, Mabel brazenly joined him, even without her grappling hook (which she hadn’t brought along on the trip) in hand. Dipper, on the other hand, hung back behind Lapis, taking a small step backward as he watched the frightening situation unfold carefully, quietly. Just out of Jasper’s notice all the while.

For her part, Jasper let out a twisted, amused laugh as she glanced down at the young pair before her haughtily. “This dulled-down version of Rose Quartz works for you now? Along with one of her dumb human pets?” she sneered callously as she nodded back up to Lapis. “You’re pointing that shield the wrong way. She’s the one you should be afraid of.”

“T-that’s not true,” Lapis tried to protest, though there was no conviction behind her words. 

“You can’t lie to me,” Jasper asserted. “I’ve seen what you’re capable of. I thought I was a brute, but you… you’re a monster.”

Lapis froze, terror filling her entire form, though it was hardly aimed at Jasper. Instead, it was fear reserved solely for herself, for what she knew she could do, what she had done. Fear that what the orange Gem had just said was true; that she really was a monster after all. “I-I…”  she trailed off, unsure of how to argue against that blatant truth. Even if Steven and Mabel were more than ready to do that for her. 

“You don’t know what you’re talking about!” Mabel defended, resolute. 

“Yeah! Lapis doesn’t want anything to do with you!” Steven added just as firmly as he held his shield steady.

Jasper let out a severe, aggravated growl at this show of resistance, one that she didn’t hesitate to remove from her path through sheer force alone. “This is between US!” she shouted, brutally lashing out at the pair. Fortunately, Steven’s shield took the brunt of the heavy blow, but it was still enough to send them both flying across the deck, resulting in them roughly landing quite a ways behind the orange Gem. 

“Steven! Mabel!” Lapis anxiously called, aptly alarmed. Likewise, Dipper nearly made his first move to join the confrontation, though he stopped short upon seeing that Steven and Mabel were largely fine, if not a bit disoriented from the attack. 

At the same time, Jasper stopped Lapis in her tracks, tightly grabbing her by the wrist with both hands as she fell to her knees before the blue Gem. And then, she looked up to her manically, almost desperately even as she made her horrific proposal. “Let’s be Malachite again!”

Needless to say, Lapis was completely caught off guard by such a bizarre, demented request as she practically felt the orange Gem’s obvious madness from the tightness of her clinging grip alone. “Why… why would you want that?!” she dared to ask, unable to imagine why anyone would willingly, eagerly desire to go back to being chained down and trapped like Jasper had been with her. 

“I was wrong about fusion!” the orange Gem professed with an unhinged smile. “You made me understand! Malachite was bigger and stronger than both of us! We could fly!”

“L-Lapis!” Steven shouted as he began to help Mabel back up. “Don’t listen to her!”

“Stay out of this!” Jasper barked back at him as she stood once more. 

At the same time, Lapis shook her head incredulously, her thoughts racing far too fast for her to even try to keep up with any of them. “I… I was terrible to you…” she began, her voice shaking just as much as her entire body was. “I liked taking everything out on you. I needed to‒I hated you! Malachite hated existing so much! It was bad!”

“I-it’ll be better this time!” Jasper argued, taking her hands once more, even as she tried to pull them away. “I’ve changed! You’ve changed me! I’m the only one who can handle your kind of power! Together, we’ll be unstoppable!”

Somewhere in the distance, thunder echoed off the lake once more, though Lapis barely heard it as she let Jasper take her hands once more. Time seemed to slow to a crawl as everything else grew hazy and distant, save for the orange Gem and what she was trying to promise her, what she was trying to get from her. And for the briefest of moments, that offer, that plea, almost sounded tantalizing. Because if Jasper was right about anything, it was that Malachite was powerful, that she had felt powerful while they were together. That, for the first time in centuries of being trapped and lost and alone, she had felt strong, she had felt like she had actually been in control of something, even if that something was a twisted, self-loathing mess of a fusion. It was an appeasing kind of control, even if it came at the expense of someone else and even herself. And for the briefest, tiniest of moments, she honestly considered taking that control for herself once more. 

And yet…

“And what do you want, even after all that?” Dipper had asked her just moments ago, tears in his eyes and anger in his voice. Anger that made complete and perfect sense, all things considered. “To go back to being with Jasper, back to being Malachite, like the rest of us‒like I don’t even matter!” 

 Is that what she wanted? Did she really want to tear herself away from people who she genuinely cared about, who cared about her in return‒people like Dipper and Mabel and Steven‒just to go back to someone she unquestionably, deeply hated like Jasper? Was whatever kind of demented control she had as Malachite really worth it to betray their trust, to turn away from their kindness, to do the very thing Dipper had accused her of by making his own sacrifices for her completely meaningless in the end?

All it took was the smallest of glances at Steven and Mabel far ahead of her, and perhaps most importantly of all, the most discreet look at Dipper still standing behind her, for Lapis to make the choice she knew she’d always stand by from here on out. Because she knew, above all else, what truly mattered to  her most of all. 

“No!” she exclaimed firmly, tearing her hands out of Jasper’s as she glared up at her bravely. 

“What?” Jasper hissed, narrowing her eyes down at the blue Gem. 

“What we had wasn’t healthy!” Lapis said, resolved and unshaken. “I never want to feel like I felt with you. Never again! So just go!”

“But Lapis!” Jasper tried to argue, though she didn’t get very far before someone else stepped in between her and the blue Gem instead. 

“She said no,” Dipper began coldly, sending a relentless glare up at the much larger orange Gem as he came to stand protectively in front of Lapis. “So leave her alone!”

“Dipper… I…” Lapis trailed off, unsure of what to say. Yet even so, Dipper briefly glanced back at her with a small, assuring smile, one that carried the promise that he was on her side, no matter what happened.

Briefly, genuine surprise filled Jasper’s expression at this intrusion, until sharp, sweeping rage rushed in to take the place of that surprise instead. “You again…” she growled hatefully, recognizing the continually interloping human before her immediately. “You always have to come to her rescue, don’t you? You may have ruined Malachite for me before, but I’m not about to let you take her away from me this time!”

In an instant, Jasper latched out, though this time, it wasn’t toward Lapis. Instead, she abruptly grabbed Dipper by the arm and roughly yanked him toward her, pulling him out of Lapis’ reach even as she made a panicked, yet failed attempt at saving him. Of course, from the very moment Jasper latched onto him, Dipper began struggling against her heavy hold, though all his attempts to pull away and free himself did little against the orange Gem’s immense strength as she found a way to turn the tables on Lapis completely. “Listen, Lapis, you “care” about this human, right?” she asked, sending a disgusted, disgruntled nod down at Dipper as he beat against her arm with his free hand as hard as he could. An effort that she easily ignored, despite how desperate it was. 

“L-leave him alone!” Lapis begged, her hands held up in tight, shaking fists as she looked between Dipper and Jasper anxiously. “Please, Jasper, this is just between you and me. He isn’t part of this. Let him go!” 

“I’d say he is part of this since he’s the reason you even agreed to fuse with me in the first place! And he’s gonna be the reason why we fuse again,” Jasper retorted, tightening her grip on Dipper’s arm to the point that it felt like it was going to snap right in two. Lapis winced as she heard him let out a small, involuntary cry of pain, one that shook her to her very core, especially as Jasper continued her cruel demands. “Either you form Malachite with me right here, right now, or…”

“O-or what?” Lapis practically whispered, her eyes wide with terror all the while.

“Or I take your precious human here somewhere you’ll never be able to find him,” Jasper finished, her tone deadly serious. 

“Dipper!” Steven and Mabel both exclaimed, aptly horrified upon hearing this. Without hesitation, they both acted on the same beat, joining hands as they prepared to form Maven so they could take Jasper head-on and save him. And yet, just before they could, Dipper managed to glance back at them, the fear in his expression obvious, though something else was there too. A certain sort of steadiness that came paired with him putting a silent hand up to stop them, almost as if he was sending them the unspoken message that he had a plan. Which, by all accounts, he did, especially as he noticed one of the decorative swords that had fallen by the wayside earlier lying on the ground just a few feet away from him. 

“I… you… you can’t do that to him!” Lapis shouted at Jasper, furious yet deeply afraid all at the same time. 

“I can, and I will,” Jasper coldly assured. “It’s either gonna be you, Lapis, or your human. Your choice.”

By this point, Lapis was nearly on the verge of tears as she glanced down mournfully. Because without even thinking twice, she knew what she had to do. She had already made the choice against becoming Malachite again on her own volition, out of her own desire to. But if it was for Dipper, if it could keep him safe now just as she had once thought it had before, then she would gladly, readily make that choice to give up her freedom again for him. For him, she’d do just about anything.

“O-ok…” Lapis whispered softly, sadly, as she prepared to return to the prison she’d hoped she’d never see again. “I… I’ll fuse with you.”

“Perfect,” Jasper said with a beaming, leering grin. Lapis simply closed her eyes as Jasper extended her free hand out to her once more, and yet just before it could reach the blue Gem, her approach was brought to a literal swift stop. 

It happened in an instant so quick that Jasper didn’t even catch it until after it happened. A blade that was otherwise completely dull came down on her hand with such a great amount of force behind it that it sliced through her wrist completely. Her hand instantly vanished into particles of the light her form was composed of, and as she let out a startled gasp by the unexpected amputation, her other hand just so happened to release its firm hold on her captive that had done this to her in the first place. 

Jasper only briefly paid any attention to her now stub of a wrist as she instead noticed Dipper, now free and armed with one of the decorative swords, taking his place between her and Lapis once more. The orange Gem glared daggers down at him, but Dipper met her ire evenly with his blade in hand, ready to use it in an instant if need be. “You will never, ever fuse with Lapis again,” he told her, his tone icy and unyielding. “Not as long as I’m around to help her.”

Jasper let out a loud, infuriated shout at this, her helmet forming over her head as she easily reformed her missing hand. “Then I guess that means it’s time to get rid of you ONCE AND FOR ALL!” she yelled, raising her head to bring down a vicious attack. Yet it was one that never landed, even though Dipper was brazely ready to face. For instead, at that very moment, Lapis reacted to rush to his rescue instead, throwing her hand up swiftly into the air. Along with the movement, a massive, powerful fist of water also burst through the boat itself, breaking through the boards just under the orange Gem’s feet before striking her hard. The incredible force of the blow was more than enough to send Jasper flying, not just off of the boat, but away from the lake entirely as she was helplessly flung far away into the surrounding forest. Her threatening presence gone for now, but hardly forgotten. 

In the immediate, newfound peace that followed, Dipper let out the breath he hadn’t even realized he’d been holding in as he lowered his sword and turned to Lapis with a small, relieved smile. “Lapis, that was-”

She immediately cut him off as she swiftly pulled him into a tight, protective embrace, her form still trembling with remnant terror as she rushed to check over him. “Are you ok? Did she hurt you?” she asked him frantically, holding his face in her hands so she could inspect it for any sort of injuries. 

“N-no, I… I’m fine,” he assured her, placing a comforting hand against her arm. Lapis responded by loosening her grip on him, letting out a small, tired sigh though she hardly returned his allayed smile. 

“Dipper!” Almost out of nowhere, the pair was caught off guard as Mabel suddenly crashed into Dipper, wrapping him up in a tight, elated hug. “What you just did was totally awesome! I mean, cutting off Jasper’s hand? That was like the most metal thing I think you’ve ever done, bro-bro!”

“Heh, thanks,” Dipper chuckled somewhat bashfully. 

“And Lapis, you were amazing too!” Steven chimed in brightly, beaming at the blue Gem. “The way you stood up to Jasper was so brave! Not to mention how you sent her packing at the end there.”

“Yeah…” Lapis frowned, glancing away in shame. “Brave…”

“I-is everyone all right?!” Greg called as he and Stan turned the corner to arrive on the main deck. They were quickly met with a surprising sight, however, as they noticed the gaping hole in the center of the vessel, one that was quickly causing it to sink lower and lower into the water with each passing second. 

“Geez, I probably could have fixed the engine in like, an hour or two,” Stan remarked, hands on his hips. “You kids didn’t have to go and just trash the thing like this.”

“W-wha… what happened?” Greg asked, aptly distraught by the irreparable damage. 

“Uh… It’s… kind of a long story,” Steven said, leading the way to the highest edge of the boat. Lapis was quick to create another large hand of solid water, one that most everyone was easily able to fit on for the ride back to shore. The blue Gem stopped Dipper short of hopping on it however, as she instead silently offered him a different mode of transportation as she summoned her aquatic wings instead. He took the hint and climbed on her back, holding on as she took flight and guided the watery hand she’d made for the others across the lake, leaving the now abandoned, defunct vessel behind as it sunk into the water entirely. 

“I guess I bought a boat after all,” Greg sighed as he watched the boat disappear below the depths. 

“Yeah, one you can’t even use,” Stan remarked. “What a ripoff! Oh well, at least I managed to snag the treasure chest-shaped cooler on our way out.” He grinned, holding up said cooler for everyone to see. 

“Ooo, well that’s better than nothing, right, Dad?” Steven said with a small grin. 

“Yeah… I guess it is,” Greg agreed, fondly ruffling his son’s hair. 

It didn’t take long for Lapis to get everyone safely back to the dock they’d started from, though instead of landing upon it herself, she instead took flight once more with Dipper in tow. “Huh, I wonder where they’re going,” Mabel said as she watched them take to the skies. “Maybe we should follow them? Just to make sure they’re ok?”

“...I think they’ll be fine,” Steven assured, keeping his sights set on the pair as well. “Looks like they just need some time to themselves.”

At the same time, Dipper couldn’t help but glance back at the dock they were leaving behind from his spot on Lapis’ back. Instead, she seemed to be taking him up toward the falls above the lake, something that couldn’t help but confuse him given her relative silence since the boat had sunk. “Lapis, what’s going on? Where are we going?” he finally asked her a moment later. 

“...We need to talk,” was all the blue Gem said as she kept going, not even bothering to so much as even look back at him. The rest of the flight was steeped in silence on both sides, even as they arrived at the top of the waterfall cliff. Yet almost as soon as Lapis set Dipper down on solid ground, that silence swiftly, suddenly came to an end. 

The moment Lapis landed, she was quick to turn to face him, her manner and tone quite severe, even though the underlying hints of fear and worry were clear in both as she spoke adamantly. “What in the world were you thinking, Dipper?” she asked. “What you did back there… Standing up to Jasper like that… you could have gotten yourself killed!”

“W-what was I thinking?” Dipper countered in disbelief at such a question. “I was thinking about how I was willing to do whatever I had to to keep you from fusing with her again! You’d already told her no, but then, when she threatened me, it was like suddenly none of that even mattered anymore!”

“It didn’t matter!” Lapis shot back fiercely. “Why don’t you understand that all that matters to me is keeping you safe?! Why else do you think I even fused with her in the first place?!”

“Oh, so what Jasper said is true, then?” he countered angrily. “The only reason you became Malachite to begin with was because of me, right?!”

“Ye--no!” she quickly corrected herself. “No, of course that’s not true! I… I just…” she sighed, bitterly. “I fused with Jasper because I thought it was the only way I could keep her as far away from you as possible. That’s why I was ready to do the same thing again today. I… I don’t want you to get hurt; I never wanted that…”

“Well, it’s way too late for that,” he scoffed coldly, crossing his arms as he turned away from. “When you fused with her, when you trapped yourself at the bottom of the lake, it did hurt me…” He paused, shaking his head remorsefully as he tried his hardest to fight back tears. “It hurt me so, so much because I knew, right from the very beginning, that it was all my fault. You were gone, a-and I missed you, and you were just down there suffering non-stop and… and I couldn’t do anything to help you. A-and every time I tried… I… things always just got even worse…”

For what seemed like ages, Lapis was silent as she watched Dipper take a solemn seat on the edge of the cliff. Not knowing what else to do, she joined him, waiting an hesitant moment or two before posing a question she knew she shouldn’t even ask. “W-what actually happened?” she began slowly. “W-with that Bill guy, I mean. Steven and Mabel told me a little, a-about how he tricked you into making a deal to help me, but… I don’t know much else outside of that.”

Dipper let out a long, weary sigh, placing his face in his hands as he finally decided to come clean. “It was stupid…” he muttered crossly. “I was stupid. He promised he’d help me figure out a way to save you in exchange for a puppet. But what he didn’t tell me was that I was actually the puppet he had in mind. So he stole my body, took it for a joy ride, intentionally hurt it--practically killed it, and nearly did the same to Mabel and Steven too until they barely managed to kick him out of it so I could take it back. But even then, i-it’s taken me a really long time to recover, both inside and out. Sometimes I wonder if I ever really will at all” 

Lapis didn’t initially say a word in response to this tale of incredible woe as she let it sink in, along with the heavy wave of guilt that came along with it. “Y-you… went through all of that… because of me…” she said, her voice barely a whisper, though it was heavy with shame all the same. 

“N-no, Lapis, I… I shouldn’t have said that earlier,” Dipper quickly countered. “I-I didn’t mean it, I was just upset-”

“And you have every right to be!” Lapis interrupted sharply. “You were right, Dipper; you did so much to try and help me, a-and what did I do? I nearly went and fused with Jasper all over again like it was nothing!”

“But you were going to do it for me,” he retorted firmly. “And that’s not nothing.” Unsure of what else to say, he sighed once more, lying back to lay in the grass as his feet dangled over the edge of the cliff. It didn’t take Lapis to join him, and for a long, quiet, almost peaceful moment, the pair rested in silence, watching as the stormy clouds above began to clear out for sunny skies once more. “Isn’t that messed up?” Dipper finally said with a small, yet bittersweet laugh. “How we both put ourselves through something so terrible just so we could try to help each other?”

“Yeah…” Lapis muttered fretfully. “It is…”

“Maybe… maybe that’s not how this is supposed to be,” Dipper continued, his tone sincere. “There’s gotta be better ways to protect your friends out there than losing your body to a psychotic demon or trapping yourself in an unstable fusion deep below a lake.”

“Well, if there is, I’d love to hear it,” the blue Gem remarked as she rested her hands behind her head.

“...Sword fighting was what helped me,” Dipper said as he sat up once more. “It gave me a better way to keep the people I care about safe, a-and best of all, it finally helped me feel safe again when I wasn’t sure if I ever world. So… maybe we just need to find something like that for you too.”

“We could always start with fishing,” Lapis joked, eliciting a small, warm laugh from Dipper that she couldn’t help but join in on. Once the beat of much-needed levity passed, however, there were still hints of worry lingering in the air between them. 

“Lapis…” Dipper began earnestly. “Are you alright after… well, everything?”

“Yeah,” the blue Gem nodded as she properly sat up herself. “I think I’ll be ok. What about you? Steven and Mabel mentioned something about you having… ‘nightmares’?”

“Oh, those…” Dipper frowned, wishing that the pair hadn’t been so presumptive, even if they were correct. “They’re just… I-I… I don’t know where they’re coming from. I mean, Bill is a dream demon so I guess it makes sense that he keeps showing up in my dreams, but, it’s not like he can really do anything since Grunkle Ford and I put that barrier up to keep him from getting into the shack. Still, I-I don’t know, it’s just… weird. Nobody’s even heard anything from Bill in a really long time and now suddenly, right out of nowhere, he keeps popping up in my nightmares again when he hasn’t in weeks? I know I’m probably wrong‒I hope I’m wrong, but… I can’t help but feel like something really… bad is about to happen soon…”

“Well, if this ‘Bill Cipher’ does show up trying to hurt you again,” Lapis began with a hint of firm resolve in her tone. “Then you better believe I’ll make sure he never gets the chance to again. He won’t mess with you again, not as long as I’m around.”

Dipper couldn’t help but smile upon hearing this, knowing that this comforting promise essentially echoed his own to the blue Gem. And perhaps, if the need ever arose again, then they could both find better ways to keep those promises than they had before, in the hopes that they would never need to be so cruelly separated as they’d been before ever again. 

A beat of gentle, contented silence passed between the pair just as the late afternoon sun started to set beyond the distant cliffs. It cast a bright, almost golden glow upon the waters of the lake far below them, a lake that had once been a place of such strife for them both, but now, only seemed to radiate peace and tranquility instead. “You know,” Dipper said with a soft, easy smile as he enjoyed the view. “The lake really is beautiful from up here.”

“Yeah,” Lapis earnestly agreed as she gently, affectionately ruffled his hair. She had no doubts she’d always treasure moments like these, because even if they’d been so hard fought for by sacrifices and guilt and grief on both of their ends, they were moments they’d finally managed to somehow win at long, long last. “It is.”

Next:

[toasttz]

From the Tabletop X

Shit yeah! I'm totally alive! It's not that our games stopped or anything (though our D&D GM was ready to throw it all at the wall, he has decided to soldier on). Just that I've gotten wrapped up in other things. Like, uh, GM'ing! Yeah, remember, like, a year ago when I started this series and mentioned I really like Shadowrun? We kicked off a Shadowrun 5e game! So, today's special 10th-ennial extravaganza will be Shadowrun talk time, or me at the opposite side of the table. To begin, our players' runners: Troppo - an Australian who ventured to Seattle in search of work once a military injury (several lost fingers) had him on a medical discharge. His role in the party is infiltrator. Which gives him license to trivialize otherwise-challenging moments in my campaign by stealth-killing all the enemies I made for them. Later ends up dating a Johnson after a particular run. Still active as of this writing. Then there's Big Iron - our street sammy. An ex-cop who was put on indefinite administrative leave when she became known as Knight Errant's personal walking PR disaster - effectively the sixth world's version of the Demolition Man. However, as part of the conditions of this arrangement, she had to be on-call when KE needed her for anything. She became a runner to make ends meet and kind of became the Team Mom. And lastly is Clockwork. Clockwork is a decker who runs hot or cold - either hyper-compotent and hacking the planet, or getting thwarted by an OSHA-compliant stairwell (not joking about this) with no inbetweens. Rare flashes of brilliance illuminated the short and underwhelming career of a runner who, as of the most recent update, was sent to the hospital because his overweight girlfriend sat on his face. As the GM, I refuse to issue apologies or excuses. Mostly because, God damn man, you could've done SO MUCH BETTER! Oh yeah, I realize there is a canon runner named Clockwork. Well, we didn't know that going into it, so he got to fly under the radar on that. If he had actually hung in there, I planned on having the canon Clockwork troll him at some point. So, to start, we're all new and Sixth World is out of reach at the time (and debuting late at our local shops), so I decide to pitch the classic: a Stuffer Shack run. Seattle, 2080, early nostril-freezing early January. Big Iron goes into said Stuffer Shack, getting herself some snacks and condoms (in order not to look "lame"). The boy at the counter sleepily rings her up, just in time for Troppo - Spider-Manning his way up to a rooftop in order to eye a gang of elves acting shifty outside the store. This leads to the first glitch of the game - the elves glitch in their attempt to notice Spider-Troppo. Elf 3: Whoa! Look! That pigeon is fat! Elf 4: Who cares?! Focus! Troppo: Troppo sits in silence to watch these crazy elves, taking only minor offense at being called a fat pigeon. One of the elves goes around the side to start hacking the security (which isn't exactly top-notch), and the other three enter and declare themselves the "Daggerbacks" - an elven supremacy movement looking to expand the glorious empire of Tir Tangaire (and sucking at it). Big Iron attempted to take the high road and offered them a chance to reconsider this terrible decision, but they scoff at the offer and a shootout ensues. This goes poorly for the elves (and would've gone worse for them, had I properly read about how this system handles damage! Shadowrun is a ruthlessly kill-y system!) as Big Iron sends the three scattering, one diving for cover, one wounded who slumps into a wall, and the leader with a baseball-sized hole in his torso, blown backwards into the store's front door. He is then grabbed by a colossal, Troll hand, which firmly affixes to his head, causing him to drop his firearm in defeat. The owner of the hand is Oscar, a former coworker of Big Iron who "just so happened to be in the neighborhood" at the time and lent a hand in arresting them. Oh yeah, and Clockwork traced their network activity and arrived at the scene in the nick of too late. Troppo ultimately intimidated their decker into absolute surrender, lifting a coupon for "SUSHI RAINBOW - NOW WITH REAL FISH!" and his deck off him in the process, causing him to flee - claiming to never really care about the Tir - without deck but with soiled pants. The firefight inside dies down not long after. Cashier: You shot it, you bought it! Big Iron: Now's not the time! By sheer coincidence, the other elves had SUSHI RAINBOW coupons on them as well - my subtle shove towards a meet-up place. Big Iron and Troppo meet en route, having established they did work together in the past. Before long, we were all together, meeting at SUSHI RAINBOW, its owners being Japanese immigrants, Yoshi and Rinko Watanabe and their gyaru daughter, Honoka. Since we were playing with few players than normally constitutes a full runner team, I made a few NPCs to help fill any niches that needed addressing. Honoka was a technomancer and had skills like auto mechanic and gunsmith. And, due to an amusing typo (AKA: Clockwork's persistent illiteracy), a new team of runners was born: "Hey, guys! Someone's biting my runner handle!" complained Friend Octopus. "You really need to change it, dude," Observed Radical Larry. "You're one to talk," sighed Sexy Penguin. "All of you, shut up and focus. This bomb isn't gonna defuse itself and if it goes off, we'll lose the entire shipment of irridium discs!" scolds their leader, Disco Panda. Anyways, back in Seattle, we learn Yoshi and Rinko are retired runners who still have contacts throughout the city. Rinko agrees to bring the runners on on a regular basis, provided they assist with a little issue that's been plaguing them for a while: The Silver Knives. A gang of over-the-hill mostly-mages, who are going around and harassing people as of late in the area. I learned many of the foibles of GMs that day. On account the first leg of the run (a shoot-up down a narrow corridor/alleyway) was trivialized by Troppo Spider-Troppo'ing down on them and assassinating them. For reference, I use the dice that came in the Sixth World Beginner's Box - cuz they're super cool - and these geezers were glitching left and right. So, having made complete work of that, the runners got to the main event - a raid on their warehouse compound (where they would be paid for each of the gang necklaces of each head they popped) and were assigned an NPC shaman, Fallen Snow, an Amerindian Shaman who had a... very special master spirit. I used Shark from the core book as the basis and... well... Go to Youtube, and search for "Lumpy Touch Movie Sonic". Once again, as GM, I never make apologies. Except in one run. But that was only half my fault. Fucking stairs, man. Not even once. Well, I underestimated them again and, though the gangers had a numbers advantage, Troppo and Fallen Snow were stealth/assassin builds and Clockwork was given the rival in the form of the 1337 H@X0R, an elderly, experienced hacker who was learning computers before the previous Great Crash, well up to 2080. Fallen Snow then reveals her spirit as Wendigo (full name: Wendigo of the North), who proceeds to beat the hell out of and then subsequently eats the gangers as they go. Now, a small excerpt from our game: "Snow thrusts her arms out to the side as she glows dimly, as two disproportionately long, clawed hands extend up, then out, landing on the ground and pushes up a lumbering, terrifyingly large spirit. Its head is clad in a goat's skull, but its eyes still seem to bulge and protrude from the sockets, as if they are being squeezed. It has a massive set of jaws and ever-convulsing skin that paradoxically seems to hang limp off the spirit's frame. "HEY GUIYS!" the spirit announces itself in an echoing, unearthly voice, "I'm STARVIN' over here!" “Jesus fuck, Snow,” Troppo says under his breath, without taking his eyes off the sprawling enemies. "Wendigo. By our contract. Kill the Silver Knives. Oh, and don't swallow their necklaces. We need those," Snow demands. "Does that mean... WHAT I THINK IT MEANS?!" the spirit cackles. Snow sighs, rolls her eyes, and replies, "Yes. You may eat them. Don't belabor the point. We're in a hurry and outnumbered," “Jesus FUCK, Snow,” Troppo repeats, with greater emphasis this time. Clockwork gasps "Holy shit" Snow rests her eyes for a moment with a sigh. "When gangers killed my family... my magical 'spark' ignited. And I screamed for anything that would give me revenge. And I summoned a Spirit of Hunger," "OH BOY OH BOY, YOU GUYS! It's like a buffet line! Sure, the meat's tough and been under the heat lamp too long, but there's SO MUCH TO TRY!" Wendigo guffaws as his legs manifest and he rises to his full height. After Clockwork used his gun to off a guy in meatspace, Wendigo even pried, "Are you gonna eat that?!" with a sadistic laugh. Clockwork won (narrowly), just in time for the BOSS FIGHT to stomp in - a cybered-up ork with raw strength to spare. When he threw Wendigo across the warehouse, even Big Iron strongly considered the better part of valor. Boss: Well, well, well... I go out for one night on the town with the missus and I come back to find everyone in my branch has kicked their damn oxygen habit... Troppo: Well, to be fair, it's a bad habit to have. Everyone who has it eventually ends up dead. Boss: Too true. Too true. Especially in this day and age. So, you busted up my joint. Least I can do is tell you my call sign. Y'er, uh, runners, yeah? You got call signs, I wager. Mine, when I was a young man, was Wrecking Ball Big Iron: GET SOME, GRANDAD! (Proceeds to open fire wildly). Wrecking Ball: (Dodges, much to the team's horror). The old way it is, then. This was not a fight I had any intention of making easy on them. Hell, I was even going to give them the chance to use social combat to escape. But Big Iron cast the first stone and thus, the battle was underway. But with a bit of teamwork - and a review of how armor works in the game - they were able to beat him - and obtain a specially ranked insignia off his necklace with a color ranking - a green jewel. Rinko paid the team handsomely. The team then got the chance to go back to SUSHI RAINBOW and rest a while. Not long after, I assigned their next run - in what would come to be known as the COFFEE RUN. Join us there as we also DRAW DICKS ON MUSEUM WALLS! And meet a SUPERHERO TEAM! See you there!

[kiara-carrera]

“Did they hurt you?” for whoever you want!!

Prompt #94: “Did they hurt you?” — Petejo

author’s note: have i been working on this for like eighty years since you sent in this ask? yes. why did it take this long? honestly, who knows.

If there was one aspect of being a superhero that Joelle Sommers didn’t care for — besides her hero name, she was going to go to the grave hating what the Daily Bugle had branded her all those months ago — it was the asshole, petty criminals that she was forced to take down. Sure, Reappear had gotten into the swing of being one of the two reigning heroes in Queens alongside her partner slash boyfriend Spider-Man, but that didn’t mean some of the guys they deal with weren’t total assholes.

Being Queens’s resident friendly neighborhood crime fighting super-losers meant that most of the time, they weren’t dealing with the big leagues. They weren’t going to class during the day to battle the Vultures of the world at night. Usually, it was just neighborhood based bank robbers and drug smugglers and the occasional annoying crime lord who had a few too many connections to weird laboratories that were bordering along the lines mad scientist. It made Jo roll her eyes. Peter got a little too ecstatic with it sometimes, but to be fair, he’d always been a little bit more cut out for the hero thing than she was. But that was beside point.

Tonight had been all about busting a group of petty thieves who may or may not have been totally trying to ship weapons to some of the bigger threats in the area. It had been going relatively well, Peter and Jo relying on Karen and Milo respectively to do some preliminary scouting and recon before they threw themselves in the field. It was supposed to be simple. Drop in, Reappear keeps them on their toes, maybe knock a few of them out, and then Spidey webs them up for the police. Cops show up, they say a few words about the endeavor, maybe the bad guy says something about meddling kids because when is their life not a reenactment of a Scooby Doo episode, and then they leave. Stop for a slice of pizza and then spend the rest of the night hanging out on the fire escape.

It was standard procedure between them.

You know, until they realized that they greatly underestimated the number of bad guys that were creeping in the warehouse. Like, we thought there were four but there were fifteen altogether sort of underestimated.

It wasn’t like Peter and Joelle weren’t capable of taking on fifteen bad guys, but like…maybe not all at once would have been nice? It’s just that when you have two high school sophomores — super powered or not — taking on fifteen grown men with weapons, nothing really went smoothly. The element of surprise had originally been on Spider-Man and Reappear’s sides, but that all quickly went to shit when they did a quick head count.

God, Jo would bet her whole life that Daredevil didn’t have to deal with this bullshit over in the Kitchen.

Anyways, despite that minor roadblock, things had been going swimmingly for the most part. Peter had dropped in quickly, delivering some really cheesy and corny line before webbing up a few guns and guys. Jo had appeared only seconds later, giving a sarcastic remark, teleporting to the bad guys other side when they made a reach for her, before harshly hitting them in the head. Bodies were quickly dropping to the floor unconscious or entirely stuck together with whatever Peter’s web fluid was made of, the group of men quickly dwindling.

When they were down to a very small, very manageable group, they managed to get the jump on Joelle. Apparently, her normally impeccable timing with teleporting out of the way before getting hit was wearing down just a tad what with the whole fifteen bad guys instead of four ordeal.

That being said, when she went to fake out the first bad guy, she ended up screwing herself over. His elbow had made contact with her arm, causing her to stumble into the path of his friend. The second one’s fist had managed to clip her head at the last possible second and while she still managed to teleport away from him, she landed in a completely different spot then she had intended to, crumpling to the ground in a pathetic heap as a searing pain radiated over her skull.

“Fucking hell,” she moaned, her voice thick with pain. She could make out the sound of Peter yelling, either to her or at the idiots who managed to take her down a peg, but she blocked that out. Rolling over onto her side slowly, letting out a pained hiss as she bit out, “Milo? On a scale of one to ten, how fucked am I?”

In only a few seconds, her Tony Stark approved (and occasionally Dax Gonzalez hacked) AI replied. “Initial scans don’t detect any permanent any damage. Presence of a concussion is unlikely, although you may experience headache like symptoms for quite a bit. Perhaps an ibuprofen would be sufficient at masking the pain?”

“I don’t suppose this suit has a super secret med dispenser?”

“That’s a negative.”

“Perfect,” she muttered out through gritted teeth.

A couple of yells, groans, and thwip sounds later, she felt someone looming over her. Wincing when she forced her eyes open, Jo could see the blurry image of her boyfriend crouched over her, face more than likely contorted in concern under the mask of his suit. Blinking a few times, Jo craned her neck to see both guys that had hit her webbed up agains the back wall.

“Nice job, Spider-Loser,” she croaked out, causing the eyes on the suit to constrict as Peter peered down at her.

“I thought we said we weren’t going to call me that anymore,” Peter whined, effectively sounding like an upset three year old.

Jo tried to shake her head, but only groaned, her hand darting to hold the side of her head as if that was going to make any difference. Lowly, she replied, “We discussed no such thing.”

Peter sighed, but moved on nonetheless. “Did they hurt you?”

“Dumb and Dumber over there?” Peter nodded. “Oh yeah, definitely. Asshole clipped my forehead before I could jump out of there.”

Another sigh. “C’mon, we should go. Karen said the cops are on their way anyways, so we should be fine leaving them here.”

“You know Jameson’s gonna be on our asses in the Bugle if we hero and dash again,” Jo replied, managing a small chuckle through her lips.

Peter shrugged. She was certain if the mask wasn’t covering his face, his usual boyish smile would be tugging at his lips. “He’s just gonna call us menaces to the city either way,” he told her, helping her to her feet. He managed to maneuver her to sling her arms around his shoulders and once he’s certain she won’t let go of him, he nodded at her. “And besides, you probably need an ice pack or something.”

“And pizza?”

Raising his free arm up towards the skylight he’d burst in through earlier, web shooter aimed at the ready, he laughs. “Definitely pizza.”

[welcometothepenumbra]

JUNO STEEL AND THE PROMISED LAND (PART TWO)

SOUND: RAIN. TRAIN ARRIVES, CREAKS TO A STOP. DOOR CLANKS OPEN.

CONDUCTOR: Ah, good evening, Traveler. And welcome… to The Penumbra. Take your seat, please, take your seat.

MUSIC: STARTS.

SOUND: DOOR CLANKS SHUT.

The junction lies just ahead, Traveler. If you’ll allow me just a moment.

SOUND: TRAIN WHISTLE.

(CHUCKLES) Well, next stop? Hyperion City.

SOUND: TRAIN MOVING.

Somewhere down here lies the Free Dome, a promised paradise built by the greatest geniuses of the past. It is a patient place which has waited hundreds of years to be found, but that wait ends today.

Two P.I.s, the mayor, and a gangster-for-hire are on their way to this hidden treasure now. They know where it is; they know how to get there; but the Free Dome has waited hundreds of years to prepare for these visitors, and nobody knows what it will do when they find it.

SOUND: TRAIN BRAKES. DOOR CLANKS OPEN, RAIN.

Our next stop: Juno Steel and the Promised Land.

ALL SOUNDS: FADE OUT.

***

JUNO: What the hell…? Why’s it so goddamn dar—?

Where am I, even?

SOUND: ECHOING FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING.

Heels, is that– Pilot? Theia, night-vision mode.

…Theia?

Don’t try anything, Pereyra! I’m armed and you’re out of your element!

SOUND: FOOTSTEPS STOP.

PETER NUREYEV: Oh, Juno. I know we’ve grown apart, but far enough to shoot me? (CHUCKLES) No, I don’t think so.

SOUND: MATCH LIGHTS.

JUNO: Nureyev?!

NUREYEV: Hm? “Nuh-ray-yev”? No, I don’t think I recall that name. I move between monikers so quickly – it’s difficult to remember them all.

JUNO: But… it’s you. It’s you, right? Peter Nureyev.

NUREYEV: I remember a heist about, let’s say, a decade into my career. A bank job. I’d done everything necessary to get myself into their system as an armored hauler driver named Leon Prince, and all that was left was the hand-off. Drive to the bank, show the paperwork, then drive away with all their money – they do the thieving for me. And it worked swimmingly, until the man in charge of the transfer looked at the paperwork, looked at me, and said, “Leon Prince! It’s been years! Don’t you remember me? From back in Guan Yu?”

JUNO: What? Why– why does… damn it, that sounds familiar, too.

NUREYEV: It seemed I had used the same alias eight years previous, on the other side of the galaxy… and I had completely forgotten both the name and the man I’d used as an alibi, apparently. It took so long to shake him, too. Ugh. I tell you, Juno, banks are more trouble than they’re worth. And they hardly keep anything on hand anyway.

JUNO: You didn’t rob that bank. That case… I-I solved that case. Three years ago. That’s why it seemed familiar.

NUREYEV: As familiar as I look, yes? And yet I don’t recall ever meeting you before.

JUNO: You just said my name.

NUREYEV: I said a name. It was someone I thought you resembled, but… you couldn’t possibly be him. You’re just… a has-been. A cyclops that thinks he’s a private eye.

JUNO: The hell are you talking about?

Whatever. Get your yuks out now, Nureyev—

NUREYEV: Who?

JUNO: —because I’m not gonna be a has-been for much longer, you hear me? I’m about to bust the mayor of this goddamn city, and once I get the stuff they’re after, life’s never gonna be the same again. Nobody’s ever gonna get hurt the way Pilot’s trying to hurt them. I’m onto big things, Nureyev. It’s all gonna be worth it.

NUREYEV: It certainly seems that way. Just as you seem to be Juno Steel. And yet.

JUNO: Damn it, stop talking in riddles! I am Juno Steel!

NUREYEV: No. You aren’t. I saw something in Juno Steel. Something impressive. And being that I myself am quite impressive that makes him impressive, too. But you? (CHUCKLES) You’re a dog.

JUNO: What?!

NUREYEV: No. Even less dignified than that. A dog allows a collar only onto his neck, but you? You’ve fashioned yours in your brain, and the leash runs out your eye.

JUNO: Stop it, Nureyev…

NUREYEV: I’m not certain how much clearer I can be about this. I am not Peter Nureyev.

JUNO: Of course you are! Knock it off!

NUREYEV: Juno, where are you?

JUNO: The… subway. That pod, on the way to the Free Dome. Trying to bag Pilot and the Piranha.

NUREYEV: And who is with you?

JUNO: You, obviously…

Strong. I-I came down with… where the hell’s Alessandra?

This isn’t the pod, is it? And it’s not the Free Dome, either. This is just…

NUREYEV: A dream.

JUNO: A… dream…

Nureyev, I feel like I messed up. I can’t decide. I-I just keep thinking about that night, and there was this second in the doorway, and it lasted so long I feel like part of me’s still there, and—

NUREYEV: This is all very sweet, dear detective, but we both know this isn’t the time.

JUNO: I… I-I—

NUREYEV: Shh.

SOUND: FOOTSTEPS. KISSING.

And this, I think, is where we part.

JUNO: Nureyev, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, I just keep hurting people one after the other and I just have to think it’s all for something, y’know? It’s all gonna be worth it, and I feel like I just keep digging myself deeper because the last time I got in this bad that’s when you—

NUREYEV: Shh. Listen! Pull yourself together. You’re about to step into that big, mean world and you have to match its meanness if you want to survive.

JUNO: Yeah… Yeah, sure, yeah.

NUREYEV: I’ve only two suggestions before you go. And I want you to listen carefully, now.

First: in Polaris Park, nothing is as it seems.

JUNO: But I’m not in Polaris—

NUREYEV: And second: mind the cake on your way down.

JUNO: What?

SOUND: RUSTLE, GRUNTS, STUMBLING FOOTSTEPS.

JUNO: Whooaaoooooaaaaaaaaaa—

NUREYEV: Farewell, Juno! And happy birthday!

VOICE 4: (OVERLAPPING WITH NUREYEV) Happy birthday, little monsters.

Just remember, Benzaiten, if you want to get mad at anyone, Ma’s not where you should start. Some kids get to celebrate their birthdays. And what do we celebrate instead?

That’s right. We celebrate the day Juno ruined everything. The day he just… handed our lives away because someone said ‘please.’ And why’d he do it? (CHUCKLES) ‘Cause your twin brother’s about as smart as a sack of bricks that got hit over the head with another sack of bricks.

PIRANHA: (DISTANT, OVERLAPPING WITH ABOVE) You don’t shut him up, Big-Eyes, and I’ll pop a hole in his mouth won’t ever close.

VOICE 4 (SARAH STEEL): And we never… let him… forget it.

STRONG: (DISTANT, OVERLAPPING WITH ABOVE) Steel!

SOUND: DISTANT SLAP.

Steel, come on… (GRUNTS)

SOUND: DISTANT SLAP.

Juno!

JUNO: Ahhhhhhhhhh!

SOUND: SLAP. ELEVATOR MUSIC CUTS IN.

PIRANHA: That’s more like it. Can barely hear the game with all this goddamn screaming…

PEREYRA: Don’t you have any manners, P.I.? So much noise when we’re all locked in this little tube.

STRONG: You’re the one with the gun on him.

PEREYRA: Then it sounds like he’d really better listen to me, doesn’t it? (CHUCKLES)

Doesn’t anyone wear a watch anymore? What time is it?

STRONG: For the fourth time, I do. It’s two AM.

PEREYRA: Two AM… so we’ve been down here… That can’t be right. Your watch is off.

STRONG: This is a thermonuclear timepiece, Solar Military issue. This wouldn’t go off if you wore it into a black hole, Mx. Mayor. And I should know. I’ve done it.

PEREYRA: Two AM! It’s election day up there and I’m in some mobile coffin a hundred miles underground?

PIRANHA: For someone pissing and moaning about noise you sure are makin’ a lot of it, Pilot.

PEREYRA: (SIGHS) Whatever. I’ll still take the win. I gave them the Pereyra School for Future Pilots; I gave them the Sparkhouse Stadium; I gave them jobs and parks and a police force worth a damn, and who knows how much else. I’ll win. And meanwhile… bigger and better things. But don’t think you’re off the hook, buddy. You got us into this. You get to fix it.

PIRANHA: I did? You were just as antsy to get down here—

PEREYRA: Shut up. I don’t care. Shut. Up. (SIGHS) I just. Need you. To fix this. Now. Hmm?

PIRANHA: (SIGHS) Well, P.I.? You’ve been pretty quiet since you woke up from that little nappy. Gets a gal to wondering what’s rolling around in that thick skull of yours, see?

JUNO (NARRATOR): What’s rolling around in my skull, huh?

A lot, honestly. It’s had a lot of time to roll. (SIGHS)

MUSIC: STARTS.

Three days. It had been three days since we got on that stupid pod heading towards the Free Dome, and the doors sealed us in here tight as sardines in a binder. Because Erin Marshall D’Arc, the founder of the Free Dome? Her whole thing about safety? Turns out she meant it. We found that out within the first five minutes of our ride, three days ago, when her message said this:

SOUND: STATIC.

ERIN (FROM SPEAKER): For your safety, the pod doors will not open again until we arrive at the Free Dome. This patch of subterranean desert is a common breeding ground for undercrows, and until we find a way to redirect them peacefully, the only way to guarantee your survival is to cover you from all sides at all times and filter your air supply for their microscopic spawn.

In rare cases, subterranean radiation can cause underground brainswell, and so the music you’re hearing has been scientifically engineered to calm your nerves. It cannot be changed. Regular meals will be served that should cover all of your nutritional needs. We care about your health, neighbor. Thank you.

SOUND: STATIC ENDS.

JUNO (NARRATOR): The “regular meals” looked like a mummy’s instant breakfast, ancient, all mold and sand and dust. Luckily for Pilot, the Piranha, and I, Strong came prepared for everything. As she proved within seconds of opening our first century-old meal, when she took four rations out of that big backpack of hers.

SOUND: UNZIPPING.

PIRANHA: Look at you, Big-Eyes. Got an answer for everything.

STRONG: Yeah, well, in general I’d really rather not die. I have enough food in here for two people, two weeks.

MUSIC: ENDS.

PEREYRA: Two weeks! (LAUGHING) Hope all that back strain’s worth it to you, buddy. We’re not gonna be down here two weeks.

(CHEWING) Hey, that’s actually not bad. Hand me another.

STRONG: We’ll have to stretch them out. These aren’t snacks, they’re—

PEREYRA: We’re not going to be down here for two weeks.

SOUND: GUN COCKING.

So why don’t you just give me another?

JUNO: Just give them another, Alessandra. They’re not gonna listen.

STRONG: …Fine.

SOUND: RUSTLING.

PILOT: What service! You want one?

PIRANHA: I think I’ll wait.

PEREYRA: Suit yourself. (CHEWING)

JUNO (NARRATOR): Strong watched the two of them warily – the Piranha tapping on a little radio in her ear, Pilot tapping a heel to D’Arc’s awful music. They were too far away for her to reach before the lasers started flying, so instead she leaned over to me and whispered:

STRONG: Undercrows have been extinct for three hundred years.

JUNO (NARRATOR): I was about to whisper something back. Something like, “thanks for the bird fact,” or, “what?” when Pilot spat crumbs across the pod at us.

PEREYRA: (GARBLED) Hey now, hey now… (SWALLOWS) No need for secrets. Why don’t you tell the whole class what you two troublemakers are thinking about, hm?

STRONG: I was just telling him that I have some first aid supplies in here, too. I’d like to bandage the burn on his hand so it doesn’t get infected.

PEREYRA: Hmm.

STRONG: He’s no use to you if he’s dead.

PIRANHA: That ain’t true. If he’s dead you can cut him up into pieces easy, no struggle, and then use them on pressure plates or something—

STRONG: Let me rephrase that: the only reason I’m not coming over there and breaking both of your necks right now is that he’s too hurt to outrun your laser. So if he dies, I’m no use to you, and then you’ve lost your insurance.

PEREYRA: (CHUCKLES) I like the confidence. I really do.

You. Go bandage him.

PIRANHA: Me?!

PEREYRA: She’ll tell you how to do it. And I don’t like them next to one another. So from now on, I think you two… spread out a little. And I’d better not see any more whispering. No secrets from the State, alright? (CHUCKLES)

JUNO (NARRATOR): Strong didn’t get another chance to tell me what she meant. And so that’s been stuck in my head ever since: why the hell did we care how long ago undercrows died off?

Extinct predators. Spoiled food. The Theia shorting out on me again. A pod that had been moving for three days when you could drive across Mars in two. The Free Domers. Long-dead voices on the intercom.

SOUND: ELECTRONIC BUZZES & BLIPS.

VOICE 1 (FROM SPEAKER): You have to listen. I don’t have time, can’t figure out how to delete these. I’m no good at this – not like them. Please, go away, just go—

SOUND: BUZZING ENDS.

JUNO (NARRATOR): My name’s Juno Steel. I’m a private eye, and right now I’m… uhhh, pretty confused, honestly?

But, any-anyway, back to where we were: 2 AM. Election day. The Piranha was bored and looking for a chew toy and there I was, ready for chomping.

PIRANHA: Shy, huh? You a little scared, P.I.? Maybe someone oughta hold your hand through this tough time, see?

JUNO: (PAINED GROAN)

PIRANHA: (CACKLES)

STRONG: Ugh… We’ll have to disinfect and reapply… again.

JUNO: I just woke up! You can’t give a lady three seconds to collect himself?

PEREYRA: Some of us don’t get to sleep. Some of us have been awake for three days, babysitting a couple nosy P.I.s who don’t know how to mind their own business.

PIRANHA: Every one of my watches has been twice as long as yours, Pilot. You’ve slept nearly six hours a night.

PEREYRA: I said some of us. I never said it was me.

PIRANHA: You lousy—!

SOUND: JINGLE PLAYS.

PEREYRA: Shhh!

(LAUGHING) That’s it! Another Free Domer message! We must be there!

SOUND: STATIC.

ERIN (FROM SPEAKER): Thank you for your patience, my new neighbors. We’ve built this pod with the greatest technology available to us, and we hope you’ve been impressed by the speed of your travel. You are nearly halfway across the surface of Mars!

PIRANHA: My car coulda lapped this stupid planet twice by now.

PEREYRA: Shh!

ERIN (FROM SPEAKER): The Free Dome is close, now. Once you pass through the hive of Death millipedes you’ll be safe to get out. In just two short hours—

PEREYRA: Two hours!

ERIN (FROM SPEAKER): —we’ll arrive, and you’ll be home at last.

SOUND: JINGLE AGAIN.

PEREYRA: Come on… come on, Pilot, two hours is nothing… You’ve waited forty years for this, you’re about to get there, you know you’re about to get there…

SOUND: INTERCOM BLIP. STATIC.

STRONG: What’s that?

MARSHALL (FROM SPEAKER): Yeah, sorry, Ma. But no. Grab onto something, neighbors. Or don’t.

SOUND: LOUD WHOOSHING & SCRAPING.

JUNO, STRONG, PEREYRA, PIRANHA: Whoa!

SOUND: BOOM.

MARSHALL: This is where you get off. Now start walking.

SOUND: STATIC ENDS. PNEUMATIC HISS.

JUNO (NARRATOR): The doors opened for the first time in three days, and… well, the place on the other side was pretty much where you’d assume something called a “Death millipede” lived.

It was an old underground tunnel, the walls pocked and spongy, stalactites dripping with something thick and silvery. People had built things down here, signs and lights and tracks, but the radiation had clearly done damage even this deep below the surface. Fixtures corroded. Tracks like time had taken a blowtorch to ‘em.

For just a second I had an image I couldn’t shake of… myself, looking like one of those signs; melting and shapeless and burnt. I tried to shake it out, but it was sticky. Just like whatever the hell was clinging to those stalactites.

JUNO: (MOANS)

PIRANHA: Alright, you heard spooky voice number two. And if you see one of them Death millipedes D’Arc was talking about, you tell me, see? Been meaning to get some new decorations for the pad, and a monster head’s my kinda style.

STRONG: Good luck with that. Death millipedes have been extinct for two hundred years.

JUNO (NARRATOR): Strong pointed two sharp eyes at mine. That was supposed to mean something, but… I didn’t know what.

PEREYRA: D’Arc must have driven them out. Some people are born to do the impossible, like build a legendary city, or kill a species of deathless insects, or discover a legendary city and win an election on the same day. For example.

PIRANHA: You two, go ahead. I want a buffer just in case some big bug decides to grab a snack, see?

SOUND: FOOTSTEPS.

JUNO: Wow, it’s dark down here. Does that map you stole say anything about this?

PEREYRA: It’s a straight hallway. You don’t need a map.

JUNO: Yeah, but if it says “here there be nuclear dragons” on it that’s info that might be helpful.

PIRANHA: It was a map of the subway system, and now we’re way the hell away from the subway system. Guess you’ll just have to be careful.

SOUND: INTERCOM BLIP. STATIC.

MARSHALL (FROM SPEAKER): So, you’re probably wondering why I stopped you out in these irradiated badlands, with all the oogidies and the boogidies waiting to getcha. I’ve got three answers for that. Answer one: it’s none of your business. Two: my testing materials have got to last a long time, forever probably, and it’ll help wear and tear if less of you make it to them. Three: it’s still none of your goddamn business.

Anyway, the tests. Listen, I know I’m pretty hard on the old lady, and that’s not one hundred percent fair. The whole Free Dome idea was hers, and so was the tech. She was pretty smart, for an idiot. But the management? Your whole thing is that the world’s a train wreck, so you open up a new city and just let anybody who wants walk in?

That’s not a new world. That’s not utopia. That’s the old one, all over again. Just smaller. So you’ve got to be choosy. And that’s what these tests are for, alright? Making sure we let the right ones in. Only the best, the brightest, the smartest for paradise. And everyone else rots in the belly of some undercrow.

So turn back if you want. I’m not going to go easy on you. Marshall out.

SOUND: STATIC ENDS.

STRONG: Extinct for three hundred years.

PIRANHA: You just said two hundred.

PEREYRA: Why should I care how long ago a bunch of subterranean chickens died? You heard him. We’re going the right way. Now find his testing facility.

JUNO (NARRATOR): It was just a few minutes ahead of us: the Free Domer Testing Facility, a big lumpy bulge on top of two thin, rusty legs, like a bad wisdom tooth rotting in the gums of Mars.

Marshall D’Arc had some words for us as soon as we stepped inside.

SOUND: INTERCOM BLIP. STATIC.

MARSHALL (FROM SPEAKER): Alright, there’s gonna be… three tests. Three seems like a good number. That’s usually how this goes, right? And this is how they’re gonna go: first—

SOUND: INTERCOM BLIP.

—one’s a test to see how generous you are.

JUNO: What the hell?

MARSHALL (FROM SPEAKER): You want in? You gotta have a sense of charity. Not like that weasel Malvin, I swear if you’re listening to this, Mal, I’m gonna tear your—

SOUND: INTERCOM BLIP.

—and second—

SOUND: INTERCOM BLIP.

(GARBLED) —what is this, second? Uh, Test of Faith, how about that? (CHEWING) Listen to whatever I say. Somebody’s got to. Somebody should.

SOUND: INTERCOM BLIP.

—and third—

SOUND: INTERCOM BLIP.

—not third, this is first, even before the first first one, which was a test of, I don’t know, how smart you are, which you already passed ‘cause you got here. Or whatever.

SOUND: PAUSE. INTERCOM BLIP.

—that’s probably got you quaking in your boots now, doesn’t it? Thought you could just walk in and own the place, huh? Well nothin’s free, chump, so prove you’re great enough for the greatest city in the galaxy. Marshall out.

SOUND: STATIC ENDS.

STRONG: What.

PEREYRA: I… I can’t believe it. We’re here! (LAUGHS) The secret laboratory of the Free Domers… we’re here. I found it. Little Pilot Pereyra, flying around with their head in the clouds, grew up and found… this.

Now move it. I’ve waited too long for this already.

PIRANHA: You heard the elected official, ladies. Move it.

SOUND: FOOTSTEPS.

JUNO (NARRATOR): We started in a reception hall that didn’t look prepared to receive anybody. There were portrait frames on the walls, but most of them were empty, and the ones that weren’t just showed family photos. A mom and her son – the D’Arcs, probably. The kid all grown up, moody, wild-eyed. The only full portrait in the room had the face scratched out – and they didn’t look like Erin or Marshall.

There was a lot in here that didn’t line up, is my point. I wanted to compare notes with Strong about it, but… we weren’t exactly about to get a private moment.

JUNO: So, uh… what was up with that weird recording from before? Didn’t sound like interference to me. Practically sounded… I don’t know, like different people.

STRONG: Yes, it’s definitely not as simple as the stories make it out to be.

PEREYRA: (SNORTS) Incredible. We’re here, and you’re still trying to disprove this place?

STRONG: Sounds like someone’s sensitive. Don’t you care that this testing center looks… unfinished?

PEREYRA: See, this is what I mean. Do you hear this, buddy?

PIRANHA: Huh? No, wasn’t payin’ attention. Tryin’ to catch the big game on my radio. What?

PEREYRA: (SIGHS) Nevermind. I’ve known people like you two my entire life. People who will do mental backflips just to throw out the evidence right in front of them.

STRONG: (SIGHS) And what is right in front of us, Mx. Pereyra?

PEREYRA: If you actually thought about it, you’d realize it would be more concerning if this testing center were perfect and polished. How about that? If the D’Arcs spent all their time on the tests, they couldn’t have spent that time on the Dome tech. If this place is a little broken down, you know what that shows? Priorities.

STRONG: That’s assuming there is Dome tech.

PEREYRA: Of course there’s—!

SOUND: INTERCOM BLIP. STATIC.

MARSHALL (FROM SPEAKER): Alright, you made it. Test of Charity. We’re gonna come out swinging with this one, alright? You’re gonna get a little gift if you complete it. Besides not dying, followed by a lifetime in paradise, I mean. I know. Marshall’s so generous with you.

So what’s it? Let’s find out. Show me what’s behind door number the-only-door-here! Dramatic reveal!

SOUND: HISS, LOW RUMBLE. STATIC ENDS.

JUNO, STRONG, PEREYRA: Whoaaaaaah.

PIRANHA: Huh.

JUNO (NARRATOR): It was… a Dome. Basically.

A shimmering circle of plasma hovering high above, the surface twisting and wiggling in the air. Like, uh… a-a Dome.

You never go a day on Mars without seeing that shining plasma. Sure, you can drive across the planet, but even with a radiation-shielded car, those trips have to be fast. And if you go to look at the sky you can’t do it for more than a few hours before things start gettin’… bad. Like, hallucinate-and-then-fry-your-skin-off kind of bad.

So that means every morning, whether you’re in Hyperion, or Olympus Mons, or Valles Marineris, when you look outside you see a Dome all around you. Sometimes just a tint on the blue and the clouds, but always there. It becomes the sky to you. And seeing one here, so far underground… it was like seeing a bubble of sky where sky didn’t belong.

SOUND: INTERCOM BLIP. STATIC.

MARSHALL (FROM SPEAKER): This is it. The Dome tech Mom cooked up. Not the whole thing, obviously, just a free sample, but… still. Something worth fighting for, don’t you think? So let’s see how bad you want it. Marshall out.

SOUND: STATIC ENDS.

PEREYRA: Out of my way.

SOUND: FOOTSTEPS.

PIRANHA: Ey, uh, Pilot? Didn’t we bring these two along to go ahead for us?

PEREYRA: This monitor has something written on it in their code. Give me the codex.

PIRANHA: Hey, you asked for it…

SOUND: ELECTRONIC BEEPS.

PEREYRA: “Press here to begin… the Test of Charity.”

SOUND: BEEP. RUMBLING, GEAR WHIRRING.

JUNO: Huh. I guess it did say “chairity.”

STRONG: Yeah, that’s what they said.

JUNO: No, I mean, chair–ity. ‘Cause– ‘cause it’s just a chair. Whatever.

PEREYRA: The monitor says something else now…

SOUND: ELECTRONIC BEEPS.

“Anyone who wishes to enter the Free Dome must be generous, and give more of themselves than they can afford. So sit upon this Chair of Charity and give to us from your blood. Get it? Chair-ity. Like a chair.”

JUNO: Aw, it was funnier when I said it.

PIRANHA: Those are IVs in the armrests… Wonder how much I could get one of these things for…

SOUND: ELECTRONIC BEEPS.

PEREYRA: “If your gift is adequate, you will be given the Dome. If not… you get nothing. Marshall out.”

Keep your gun on them. I’m taking the test.

PIRANHA: What?! Pilot, this is the whole reason we brought them along, ain’t it?

STRONG: I’m not complaining.

JUNO: Yeah, I am good over here.

PEREYRA: If a test is all that’s left between me and the Dome tech, I’m taking the test. So just– just watch them. I’m strapping in.

SOUND: FOOTSTEPS. BUCKLES CLICK. DRILL WHIRRING.

(PAINED HISS) There. It’s in.

PIRANHA: What’s the monitor say now?

SOUND: ELECTRONIC BEEPS.

PEREYRA: There’s a keypad, and above that… “Select how much blood you will give.”

STRONG: Standard donation is about three hundred fifty milliliters.

What? I give a lot of blood.

PEREYRA: I know that. You think I’ve been mayor this long without showing up to a few blood drives and pretending to donate? This isn’t asking in milliliters. It’s asking in liters.

STRONG: It wants you to give a liter of blood?

JUNO: Ugh.

PIRANHA: Eh, probably more.

JUNO: Ughhh.

PEREYRA: How do you figure?

PIRANHA: Well depending on size, an adult human body’s got somewhere between four-point-five and six-point-squat liters of blood in it, see? That’s just an average, though – met a lady once who claimed to have ten, but I’m pretty sure she was full of it. Lookin’ at you, Pilot, I’m guessing you’ve got… enh, five-point-six, maybe five-point-seven liters in you. You can lose about thirty-five percent of that before you croak – forty if you’re quick – so that means they could reasonably be lookin’ for anywhere up to, eh, let’s say two liters or so.

What? I take a lot of blood.

JUNO: Ughhhh. (GAGGING)

PEREYRA: There’s a pretty big difference between three hundred fifty milliliters and two liters.

PIRANHA: Yeah, well, I ain’t the one who got in the chair.

PEREYRA: (SIGHS) Okay, it must be all here for a reason… the old Verificationist streams always talked about how only the smartest would find the Free Dome… This is a riddle. Which means the clues are nearby. He didn’t want to let in anyone who wasn’t smart enough.

JUNO: Ah, right, the old “chair-that-steals-your-blood” chestnut.

PEREYRA: I still have my gun on you, P.I. Take this seriously. So start examining the machine. Tell me what you see, and—

SOUND: ALARM BEEPS.

STRONG: What’s that?

JUNO: Uh, Pilot? The machine is, uh…

SOUND: WHIRRS. BUBBLING.

PEREYRA: It’s… activated! But, I didn’t start it!

(GRUNTS) Don’t just stand there! Do something!

PIRANHA: Gimme a second.

PEREYRA: For what?

PIRANHA: I told you, I’m listening to the big game and it just got pretty dramatic, see?

PEREYRA: It’s already taken a fourth of a liter!

PIRANHA: I wanna hear the score!

SOUND: BLASTER SHOT. GLASS SHATTERS.

Whoa!

PEREYRA: Now.

PIRANHA: Alright, alright, sheesh…

Hey, you. Use that, uh, what’s it called, Spectrum cybernetic and scan this trap. And do it now, unless you wanna get ventilated.

JUNO: What?

How’d you know about my eye?

PIRANHA: Last time I beat you you only had one. Now you got two. I always got good marks in math.

JUNO: You didn’t just say cybernetic. You said ‘Spectrum.’ That’s the brand.

PEREYRA: I’m sure when you lose as many pieces of face as she has, you learn a lot about prosthetics. Just do it! And if you give me the wrong information, P.I., I’ll make you spill enough blood for all four of us. Do you understand?

JUNO: Sounds like I don’t have a choice either way.

THEIA: Scanning electromagnetic frequencies.

SOUND: ELECTRONIC HUM.

JUNO (NARRATOR): I’d done something like this before in the Fortezza, when I was scanning down the Proctor’s test. But this one looked a little more… sophisticated.

The tubing that came out of that thing was like a spider web, crisscrossed and twisted into a pattern so complex I could barely follow it. I tried to trace the line from Pilot’s wrist down into the chair, the floor, and lost it. From their wrist to the chair, and lost it. My head was killing me.

PEREYRA: I’ve already lost half a liter, P.I. Hurry it up!

JUNO (NARRATOR): Then it hit me: the tubing was complicated, but the stuff inside it? Not so much.

SOUND: HAPPY THEIA BEEP.

THEIA: Request received. Activating heat scanner.

JUNO (NARRATOR): And then I saw it: Pilot’s blood, flowing down the piping into the floor below. It had already begun to collect inside a canister down there – and that was my clue. The canister was small, already half-filled. And if I strained, I swore I could just barely make out the writing on the side.

PEREYRA: One liter! Move it, P.I.!

JUNO: It holds one-point-five liters! The thing can only hold one-point-five liters, Pilot, so stop it there!

PEREYRA: Finally.

SOUND: BEEPS.

(PANTING)

PIRANHA: You alright, Pereyra?

PEREYRA: I’m fine. Of course I’m fine. They wouldn’t kill me. I’ve been studying them since I was in training heels. I know what they want. I’m who they’re waiting for. (PANTING) Now come on, Dome. Come to Pilot.

SOUND: INTERCOM BLIP. STATIC.

MARSHALL (FROM SPEAKER): ENNNNNNH! Too stingy, neighbor! Now get out.

SOUND: WHIRR. THUD.

PEREYRA: Oof!

MARSHALL (FROM SPEAKER): (CACKLING) I hear it only takes a few months for blood to regenerate. Why not stick around and try again then? Marshall out.

SOUND: STATIC ENDS.

PIRANHA: Big-Eyes.

SOUND: GUN COCKING.

Bandage their arm. Now, see?

STRONG: Uh… right.

PEREYRA: You. P.I.

JUNO: Hey, listen, I told you exactly what I—

PEREYRA: You think you can stop me, don’t you? You think one dirty trick is gonna stop Pilot Pereyra from getting to the Free Dome. From getting what I’ve been working at for forty. Years.

(SPITS) What do you know about real work? You got picked up by Ramses O’Flaherty! I could choke you with all the silver spoons you’ve got crammed in your mouth!

JUNO: What?! Wait, h-how did you know—

STRONG: You’ve been working for who?

PEREYRA: Of course I know who you work for. I know everyone who gets in my way. I don’t care who you are, but I know you work for Ramses, and that makes you a threat. But I’ve dealt with bigger fish than you. I’ve been doing it since I was ten years old, the first time I caught one of those Verificationist streams. A dream, they called it. Kid’s stuff. But I knew. I knew a city that could take everything from you in a second couldn’t be all there was. That there had to be something better.

STRONG: That’s… sweet?

PEREYRA: And I knew I was going to find that best place, and I was going to sell it to the highest bidder, and nobody could ever take anything from me ever again.

STRONG: Less sweet.

JUNO: Listen, Pilot, I’m not gonna say I’m on your side, ‘cause I’m definitely, like, the opposite of that, but it’s not like I had anything—

PEREYRA: Have you been listening to a word I’ve said? You got in my way. Now I use you. Squeeze every last drop I can get out of you. And then… you die on Pilot’s time.

(CHUCKLES) You. Put him in the chair.

JUNO: What?

PIRANHA: (LAUGHS) Now you’re talkin’ my language! C’mere, P.I.—

STRONG: You don’t touch him or I’ll—

PEREYRA: Or you’ll nothing.

SOUND: GUN COCKING.

You’re gonna keep bandaging me, and that’s all you’re gonna do, unless you want the inside of your skull to know what a laser feels like.

What are you waiting for? I want you to strap him in and tell that thing to take as much blood as it wants. Take all of it. Take more.

PIRANHA: You heard the mayor. Let’s strap you in, eh? (GRUNTS)

JUNO: Oof!

SOUND: WHIRRING. BUTTON CLICKS.

PIRANHA: There we go.

JUNO: Let me go, damn it! Let me… wow, you’re strong.

PEREYRA: Stop squirming or I kill her, and it’ll be all your fault. (CHUCKLES) And I know you can’t stand that thought, can you? That’s why you’re working for Ramses. Idealist suckers always run in packs. (LAUGHS)

PIRANHA: (BIG, LONG LAUGH)

PEREYRA: (CLEARS THROAT) Buddy.

Buddy! It wasn’t that funny!

PIRANHA: Oh, I think you’re sellin’ yourself short, Pilot.

PEREYRA: Just activate the chair, already.

PIRANHA: You got it!

Lessee, here… howsabout a little exam, see?

SOUND: DRILL WHIRRING.

Let’s call it… Biology 101.

JUNO: What…? Wh-what did you say?

PIRANHA: How many liters of blood does the human body got? Is the answer A, one liter…

SOUND: BEEP. ALARM BEEPS.

JUNO: Aghh! Knock it off. What are you trying to pull?

SOUND: BUBBLING.

PIRANHA: B, two liters…

SOUND: BEEP.

STRONG: (GROWLS)

JUNO: Agghhh!

PIRANHA: C, two point five liters…

SOUND: BEEPS.

JUNO: (PAINED GROANS)

PEREYRA: That’s more like it.

PIRANHA: Or D…

SOUND: BEEPS.

…all of the above.

JUNO: (PAINED GROANS)

STRONG: God damn it, this is cruel!

PIRANHA: I know.

JUNO (NARRATOR): You know… I’ve had plenty of times when I wanted to go out exactly like this. Fighting some big evil, burning up in a blaze of glory. Hell, I’d tried to pull it seven months ago, even if it didn’t take. So I was used to the feeling that was supposed to come next.

Resignation. The thought that, hell, what’s it matter? You can’t know you’re dead if you’re dead. You can’t know the world’s gone to hell, either. You can’t tell anything, and there’s peace in that.

But not this time. This time I didn’t hear that voice telling me it’d all be easier if I just let it happen. Instead I got pissed.

THEIA: Scanning potential escape routes.

JUNO (NARRATOR): I was mad. Real mad, mad at the Piranha, at Pilot, at Marshall D’Arc, at Peter Nureyev, at death itself. And I wasn’t gonna die this angry. I wasn’t.

The Piranha knew something she wasn’t telling me, and she was loving it, and I couldn’t die until I knew what it was. Strong was stuck with these two maniacs, and I couldn’t die until we’d done our work together. Ramses was still up there, campaigning his old heart out, and I couldn’t die until I saw the city he’d build. And Sarah Steel was in her coffin and in my blood, and I couldn’t die until I proved to everyone that I was better than her.

MUSIC: STARTS.

THEIA: Caution: blood loss detected at. Critical levels. Recommended course of action: give up.

JUNO: What?

THEIA: —control. Temporarily. To the Theia Spectrum.

JUNO (NARRATOR): I was woozy. The world was going gray. I strained against the armrests, looked everywhere I could for some kind of way out, but… I was stuck.

THEIA: User permissions needed to enact escape protocol with highest chance of success. Do I have your permission. User Juno Steel?

JUNO: (QUIETLY) You’ve got whatever permissions you want. Just don’t let me die!

PIRANHA: Muttering to himself! Blood leaves the brain first, see?

THEIA: Permissions received. Enacting escape protocol. For your safety, user muscular control has been. Temporarily deactivated.

SOUND: POWERING DOWN.

JUNO (NARRATOR): There was an electric pulse, spreading from my eye socket, and suddenly, I couldn’t move.

I was breathing, my heart was beating, I could still feel everything. But my arms and legs were locked in place, stiff as wood.

SOUND: HEARTBEAT.

THEIA: Increasing blood flow to source of blood loss. Accelerating heart rate. Do not. Relax.

JUNO (NARRATOR): I felt like I was spinning into a whirlpool, getting flushed down some great celestial toilet. I strained as hard as I could, but I couldn’t fight my own muscles. I was frozen from the inside out. My vision began to fade.

PEREYRA: Goodnight, buddy. You’re a real hero. (CHUCKLES)

THEIA: Do not. Relax. I repeat. Do not. Relax.

JUNO (NARRATOR): I didn’t want to die. I still had things to do. I’d hurt too many people and I hadn’t done enough good to justify it yet. I didn’t want to die.

And then, somewhere in the distance, I heard this:

SOUND: DING. HEARTBEAT STOPS.

PEREYRA: What?

SOUND: INTERCOM BLIP. STATIC.

MARSHALL (FROM SPEAKER): Congratulations. You’re a very generous idiot. Here’s the Dome… and here’s your blood back, weirdo.

Just do me a favor: if you feel like you’re gonna bite the big one, show yourself out, alright? We’re already behind schedule without cleaning up your carcass. Marshall out.

SOUND: STATIC ENDS. BUBBLING.

PEREYRA: Just where do you think you’re going?

MUSIC: ENDS.

STRONG: To check if he’s alive. The human body wasn’t exactly built for high-speed dialysis.

PEREYRA: You can check in a minute. Help me up.

STRONG: He just lost nearly half his blood.

PEREYRA: Help me up now or I’ll make it stay lost.

STRONG: …Fine.

PEREYRA: Good. Now bring me to him. I want that.

SOUND: FOOTSTEPS.

JUNO (NARRATOR): My head swam. I felt the machine pumping warmth into me. I felt another pulse from my eye socket.

SOUND: HAPPY THEIA BEEP.

THEIA: User muscle control. Reactivated. Thank you for using the Theia Spectrum.

PEREYRA: That’s more like it. I think this day is finally turning around. (CHUCKLES) The Dome… it’s in my hands. I always knew it would be one day. And now… (LAUGHS)

JUNO (NARRATOR): Strong pulled out her bandages and leaned in to me. When the machine finished recycling my blood, she started wrapping cloth around my arm – and when she leaned in close enough, she whispered:

STRONG: (QUIETLY) I’m proud of you, Steel.

JUNO: Why?

STRONG: You didn’t die. You didn’t let go. And that’s the hardest thing there is.

Nice work, P.I.

JUNO: (MOANS)

STRONG: What was that?

JUNO: Undercrows… why?

STRONG: Shh. We probably only have a second before they catch on.

MUSIC: STARTS.

Each of the D’Arcs said they saw something that was extinct before they were born. I don’t hold much stock in signs that say “Beware of Dinosaur,” either.

JUNO: But… why?

STRONG: You know what being under all this radioactive sand too long does to you? Drives you crazy. Makes you see things.

JUNO: But the Dome’s real… Pilot’s got it.

STRONG: Pilot’s got something.

But… nothing down here’s been that easy. And I don’t know, Juno. If they were hallucinating these extinct predators… how long were they down here for? And what else did they hallucinate?

JUNO (NARRATOR): I looked over her shoulder at Pilot, glowing like a demigod in the light of that Dome. And suddenly I got it stuck in my head again: “In Polaris Park, nothing is as it seems.”

That thought made my skin crawl. Because every person Juno Steel has ever been, the P.I., the cop, the punk who asked too many questions, they’ve always been about figuring out what things really are: pulling off the mask and seeing the face underneath. But here, this lost city beneath the sands, this secret tech, this runaway mayor and their gangster – I felt like I’d been pulling off masks for months and I still didn’t know if I was at the face yet.

Just got to keep pulling, I thought. We were close, now, close to what had to be the end… and I was going to see the truth of this mystery if it killed me.

MUSIC: ENDS.

***

SOUND: TRAIN MOVING, MUSIC.

CONDUCTOR: If you’ve enjoyed this tale, please consider donating to The Penumbra on Patreon. Our artists work tirelessly to bring you these stories, and if you have the means, we hope you will support our efforts. Every dollar helps. You can find that page at patreon.com/thepenumbrapodcast. If you support us on Patreon at the $10 level or higher, you’ll receive access to commentary tracks like this one, from actors Joshua Ilon, Kat Buckingham, and Simon Moody, and co-creator Sophie Kaner:

SOUND: TRAIN STOPS, DOOR SLIDES OPEN, RAIN.

SOPHIE: (LAUGHING) Looking back—

JOSHUA: Benzaiten.

SOPHIE: —I did not put enough weight on that cartoon that I hadn’t been aware of.

SOUND: LAUGHTER.

KAT: My, I wasn’t involved with the writing of this, so my biggest regret, for this episode, is that his nickname isn’t Bent. Bent Steel.

JOSHUA: Oh.

KAT: That’s what I want.

SOUND: GROANS.

SIMON: Oh, come on.

KAT: What? Nobody else was thinking it?

SIMON: (LAUGHING) That’s so good!

SOPHIE: And, we get to learn one more thing about Ben, that we didn’t get to know before…

JOSHUA: He’s a Taurus.

SOUND: LAUGHTER.

And so is Juno, ‘cause they’re twins!

SOPHIE: They’re twins!

SOUND: DOOR SLIDES SHUT.

CONDUCTOR: You can also support The Penumbra by liking us on Facebook, following us on Twitter @thepenumbrapod, following us on Tumblr @thepenumbrapodcast, telling your friends about us, telling your friends to tell their friends about us, and especially by rating and reviewing our podcast on iTunes. Every rating, comment, and kind word spreads our stories further and inspires us to keep creating more and better tales to come.

We would like to give special thanks to all who support us on Patreon, but especially to Vron, Charlie Spiegel, Minchowski, Jaimie Gunter, and the Princess and the Scrivener for their incredibly generous contributions per episode. Thank you.

This tale, Juno Steel and the Promised Land, was told by the following people: Joshua Ilon as Juno Steel, Kat Buckingham as Alessandra Strong, Simon Moody as Mayor Pilot Pereyra, Sophie Kaner as the Piranha, Noah Simes as Peter Nureyev, and Kiki Samko as Sarah Steel.

This tale also featured: Lauren Shippen of The Bright Sessions as Erin Marshall D’Arc, Zach Valenti of Wolf 359 as Marshall Erin D’Arc, and Rich Wentworth of Hadron Gospel Hour as the mysterious voice in the walls.

On staff at The Penumbra: Kevin Vibert is our lead writer and recording engineer. Sophie Kaner is our director and sound designer. Grahame Turner is our script editor. Noah Simes is our production manager. Alice Chung is our designer and financial manager. Kat Buckingham is our publicity director. Original music by Ryan Vibert. Promotional art by Mikaela Buckley.

The Penumbra is created and produced by Sophie Kaner and Kevin Vibert.

I’m afraid this is the end of the line for today, dear Traveler. We hope you will ride with The Penumbra again soon.

ALL SOUNDS: FADE OUT.

[emperor-uncarnate]

My Personal Take on a Sonic Movie

Somehow I knew I’d eventually end up doing something like this. With mixed feelings on the new trailer I had to ask myself what I would do if faced with the task of putting together a Sonic movie myself. Grab a chili dog because this might be a long read:

Before I get started, know that I’d make it fully animated. I am of the belief that some things just cannot translate to live action without losing too much of what makes them cool. Sonic with his weird little outfit, chunky cones of quills, and single giant eyeball can’t not be cartoonish. No two ways about it.

The film opens with some small animals hanging out in Green Hill Zone just doing what they do. Seems peaceful enough until a large Badnik swoops in and swallows up some of the unsuspecting critters. The menacing robot is about to haul its animal prisoners away when a blue blur rushes to their rescue. Sonic triumphantly chases the Badnik down, wrecks it, and frees the captured animals trapped inside. After showcasing what his great speed is capable of, the chase/fight scene leaves Sonic at a vantage point from which he can see where the animals were being taken: Robotropolis... aaand... title screen. 

Cut to a bustling urban area styled to look like 90′s San Francisco. People are out and about living their lives under a summer sun. No trace of animal life in sight besides pigeons and pets. This is where we’re introduced to our human lead who we’re going to call Chris (because I don’t care to put thought into it and he can be named after Sonic X’s Chris or Christian Whitehead) who is spending his morning getting ready for work. He can still be played by James Marsden, that’s fine. Anyway Chris meticulously puts himself together for the day in a suit and tie, indicating he’s a real clean-cut, straight-laced guy. The news on his television playing in the background is going on and on about one Doctor Ivo Robotnik and the rapid expanse of his empire. Robotnik is established by the broadcast as a genius inventor of artificial intelligence and advanced robotics who defected from the human civilization to begin his own fully-mechanical one.

Chris heads off to work where we learn he is an agent of the Guardian Unit of Nations (G.U.N.) and is being briefed for a mission with his covert team. With Robotnik’s growing forces posing a threat to the human population, G.U.N. intends to infiltrate one of Robotnik’s island settlements and figure out what he’s up to. Disguised as a team of nature photographers, Chris and his fellow agents travel to the series of islands Robotnik controls and begins their search for one of his secret laboratories. 

It isn’t long before Chris’ team is ambushed by a squad of Robotnik’s mechanical soldiers. The agents are easily subdued and captured by the more heavily-armed robots but Sonic arrives in time to save Chris. Though the rest of his team is captured, Chris is rescued and passes out from exhaustion or getting hit in the head or whatever.

He wakes up some time later to discover a small two-tailed fox watching over him. Initially startled to discover an anthropomorphic creature speaking English, Chris explains he did know about talking animals existing outside of the human civilization but he’d just never met one before. So yeah, this isn’t a story about Sonic traveling to the real human world or of a real human traveling to Sonic’s world; this is a place where animal people and people-people already exist together but almost never cross paths mostly due to geography. Humans have their cities while the hedgehogs and foxes and whatever else live in the wilderness or in small communities. 

Sonic the Hedgehog and Miles “Tails” Prower introduce themselves. Although Sonic was the one to actually rescue Chris it was Tails who got Sonic to stick around and wait to make sure Chris woke up alright. Sonic’s attitude comes across as impatient, not really caring much about Chris and instead desiring to speed off and continue his mission. Tails, however, is curious and compassionate to Chris who turns out to be banged up but well enough to walk. 

Chris is given the chance to introduce himself too but chooses not to reveal he’s actually a G.U.N. agent. He keeps up the charade that he’s just a simple photographer and it turns out to be a safe call: As it happens, Sonic and Tails are not crazy about G.U.N. and its methods. The two accuse G.U.N. of polluting the environment and stealing land from their animal friends. This gives us the sense that while G.U.N. isn’t villainous like Robotnik, it is in no way an ally of nature. Chris feels guilty as he’d never considered what the humans were doing that negatively affected the animal folk around the world. 

When Chris learns Sonic and Tails mean to go after Robotnik he offers to join them on their journey. Sonic resists, not wanting to be slowed down by a human, but Chris convinces them he needs to find out what Robotnik is up to so he can warn his fellow humans. Tails uses his little brother ability to guilt trip his honor-bound big brother Sonic into accepting Chris and the three set off together. Since Chris can’t move like a supersonic hedgehog or a flying fox they head towards Sonic and Tails’ home where another mode of transportation awaits them.

Meanwhile, Robotnik makes his grand entrance and introduces himself to the squad of undercover G.U.N. agents his foot soldiers captured earlier. The agents assure Robotnik holding them for ransom will be fruitless but the scheming villain states he has more significant plans for them. The scene ends with an attendant of the flamboyant doctor informing him “another one has been located.” You might be thinking that’s referring to a Chaos Emerald and to that I say ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Back to Sonic and company as they encounter some lesser Badniks... this is where your Crabmeats and your Buzz Bombers come in. Sonic and Tails bust them up (though Tails lags behind a little and is upset he needed Sonic to pick up the slack) and free the animals sealed within, getting Chris to ask why Robotnik would create such machines. The duo expresses that it is because Robotnik (who Sonic mockingly refers to as “Eggman”) must be looking for something and that sending Badniks out into the world is his way to find it. This is when we learn of Robotnik’s roboticization technology that changes animals into robot animals. This scene also serves to show a little more of how Sonic and Chris’ personalities clash; Sonic is carefree, hasty, and won’t hesitate to poke fun at Chris as he struggles to keep up. Sonic’s teasing Chris to speed up while Chris is advising Sonic to slow down now and again.

Eventually the trio makes it to the small hanger that houses the Tornado. They intend to use the rocket-boosted biplane to make way to Robotnik’s hidden lab (though Sonic reiterates he’d prefer running) but they are cut off by an obnoxious intruder. Knuckles the Echidna causes a ruckus outside that prompts a quick tussle with Sonic. The blue hedgehog’s speed clashes with the almost comically formidable strength of the red echidna while they argue. Apparently Sonic’s conflict with the Badnik at the very beginning of the movie drew Knuckles’ attention away from the Master Emerald, a hulking jewel of immeasurable importance he was supposed to be protecting, and it is stolen by an unknown thief as a result. Sonic insists it was Knuckles’ own fault for not keeping a closer eye on the Master Emerald but the thick-skulled echidna won’t listen. While they both believe Robotnik to be the culprit it doesn’t stop them from trading blows.

They slug it out until a new Badnik arrives and interrupts them with whirring chainsaws and blazing flamethrowers. This destructive robot clearly made for deforestation puts up a good fight but is ultimately taken down by Team Sonic thanks to Tails’ engineering prowess coming through in the clutch. Between that and getting a closer look at the Tornado, Chris is impressed that such a young fox could have such an impressive intellect. He notes that it is not common knowledge among humans that the animal folk could be so smart. Apparently the humans see the animal people as more animal than people, but this isn’t news to Team Sonic. It seems they’d always been disregarded by humankind or otherwise seen as uncivilized. What racists.

Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, and Chris talk things out and piece together some information to get an idea of what Robotnik’s after: the Chaos Emeralds. According to Knuckles there are six Chaos Emeralds that are linked to the Master Emerald and they contain mysterious powers even Knuckles himself isn’t aware of. Chris notes that Robotnik’s recent increase in military fortitude may be due to his possession of one or more of these Chaos Emeralds as power sources. 

When Knuckles says he might know the location of a Chaos Emerald, the gang decides to split up. The Tornado was conveniently damaged in the fight against the last Badnik so Tails and Chris stay behind to repair it. Sonic and Knuckles volunteer to head into the mountains with the hopes of recovering a Chaos Emerald from a temple there.  Elsewhere, Doctor Robotnik gazes down at the five Chaos Emeralds it turns out he’s already collected. He sends a group of Badniks to the mountains to recover the sixth Chaos Emerald he’s located (not knowing Sonic and Knuckles are already on their way there) while he gathers his G.U.N. prisoners for an experiment. Here he reveals his roboticization machine had previously only worked on animals but its latest iteration could also affect humans. Robotnik activates the machine and the G.U.N. agents are painfully converted into subservient robots one by one.

Tails and Chris have some downtime they spend venting. Tails is discouraged because he’s not as good a fighter and still needs Sonic to protect him. Chris reminds Tails that one, he’s still a child and will become stronger as he grows up more, and two, that his brains are a much more valuable asset anyway. Then Chris himself gripes about Sonic being right about him needing to loosen up, and Tails tells him it’s not so bad to wing it and take risks sometimes. It’d be cool if this was also where Tails got to telling Chris about how he first met Sonic. You know, for exposition. 

Cut to the mountains where we get an opportunity to see the fun ways Sonic and Knuckles travel up the steep cliffs using their powers. They’ll also have a chance to fight the big ass flying Badnik Robotnik sent before they do indeed find a Chaos Emerald, perhaps one that’s not green. I want Sonic to ask something like “if it’s an Emerald, why isn’t it green?” so Knuckles can say “not all sapphires are blue” or something to that effect. I imagine Knuckles to be a little dense but not unintelligent, if that makes any sense.

Sonic and Knuckles return to find Robotnik himself patiently waiting for them. Having already ensnared Tails and Chris, Robotnik offers their freedom in exchange for the last Chaos Emerald. Knuckles accuses Robotnik of stealing the Master Emerald, which he scoffs at and denies. Robotnik also announces that he knows Chris is really a G.U.N. agent, much to the surprise of Team Sonic. I think this scene should also briefly address Sonic and Robotnik’s dealings in the past: Sonic’s destroyed some of Robotnik’s machines before this moment but he’s never gotten the chance to battle Robotnik himself. As it stands, Sonic’s barely on the mad doctor’s radar and he’s presently seen only as a minimal threat.

After agreeing to the exchange and getting Tails and Chris back, Sonic makes a reckless move to go after the Chaos Emerald and runs straight into a trap. Robotnik captures Sonic and ferries him and the last Chaos Emerald back to Robotropolis while Tails and Knuckles are left with Chris. Tails feels hopeless without Sonic around and Knuckles won’t trust Chris since he was outed as a secret G.U.N. agent. All seems lost until Chris admits his guilt and apologizes in an emotional rant. He promises that if they can beat Robotnik he’ll do whatever it takes to get humankind to be more environmentally not shitty to the animal folk. The genuine nature of his speech sways both Tails and Knuckles who fire up the Tornado and get ready for action. The three of them are dead set on getting Sonic back and keeping Robotnik from using the Chaos Emeralds. The forests and jungles slowly turn to wastelands which in turn become rusted industrial parks as far as the eye can see. The Tornado zooms into the polluted skies of Robotnik’s manmade nation using some stealth modifications Chris was able to put in place. The spy tech begins to fail as they get close, however, and Robotnik scrambles a pack of fighters to shoot them down upon noticing them. Tails and Knuckles hold them off in some aerial combat while Chris crash lands the Tornado into the heart of Robotnik’s lair. 

Sonic is in locked in some kind of sciencey tube (which is busy scanning his DNA and designing Metal Sonic... but we’ll save that for the sequel) until he’s broken out and the four heroes are reunited. Robotnik defends the six Chaos Emeralds he’s collected and villain-monologues his plans to use them with his roboticization machine to turn everyone on the planet into robots. Perhaps Robotnik will rant a little about the shortcomings of organic existence and why he believes machines will be the superior form of life on the planet, yadda yadda.

Getting Sonic free is a small victory but now the quartet of protagonists is cornered by Robotnik and the roboticized G.U.N. agents. Chris reminds Sonic he can’t destroy the robot agents if there’s any chance they can be transformed back into flesh and blood, causing Sonic to have to learn his lesson and not rush without thinking into scrapping them. He takes some of Chris’ advice from earlier in the movie and coordinates rounding the agents up in a slower, safer fashion... somehow. Doesn’t matter, the point is that Sonic learns something over the course of the movie. Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles start fighting Robotnik as he pilots a giant mech suit resembling a modernized Death Egg Robot. Tails tinkers with something (insert ‘tiny character with giant guns gag’ here), Knuckles smashes shit, and Sonic literally runs circles around the thing but they can’t fend off such an imposing boss for long. This is where Chris takes Sonic’s advice and attempts to do something uncharacteristically heedless and batshit crazy to win. I’m thinking he gets hold of the contraption containing the Chaos Emeralds and flings it at the Death Egg Robot, causing them to become unstable and explode. The six Chaos Emeralds scatter to the winds in a big rainbow burst that starts causing the whole place to go down in flames. Actually, wait, make it so Knuckles catches one Chaos Emerald (for later).

The roboticized agents regain their free will with the core of Robotropolis failing and board a transport being hotwired by Tails. Chris falls down an opening in the floor into an abyss but Sonic swipes the Chaos Emerald from Knuckles and takes off at full speed to catch him. The Chaos Emerald glows and Sonic’s speed increases to the point where he looks like he’s boosting. He manages to be fast enough to reach Chris and save him from falling to his demise but they both wind up being trapped by the remainder of the building’s collapse. Sonic and Chris close their eyes as they’re about to be crushed but open them to find they’ve been magically transported to safety. They look down to see the Chaos Emerald’s glow fade and can only assume its power was what saved their lives. 

In the aftermath of the battle, Tails is using the Chaos Emerald in Team Sonic’s inventory to track the other ones. Sonic, Knuckles, and Chris are rebuilding the Tornado’s hangar. Sonic is glad to know the roboticized agents are underway to be returned to normal. Knuckles laments the Master Emerald was nowhere to be found in the ruins of Robotropolis. Chris is explaining what action he’ll take upon his return to G.U.N. headquarters that will improve relations between human and animal kind. Team Sonic is cool with that gesture and they thank Chris as their new (and respected) ally. 

Chili dogs is what’s for dinner and everything seems swell until Tails suddenly draws everyone’s attention to his tracking device. According to its data, there aren’t five Chaos Emeralds left to find but six. There were seven Chaos Emeralds total all along but neither Knuckles nor Robotnik knew that (this is our hint at Super Sonic’s appearance in the sequel and a reference to the fact that there were only six Chaos Emeralds in the first game).

Speaking of sequel, the last scene before the credits will be Doctor Robotnik miraculously aboard a space station hidden in shadow. The station is under construction and resembles a Death Egg in progress. Very Revenge of the Sith. His assistant will say something something and with a crazed look in his eye he’ll be like “No, from now on... call me Eggman” and embrace Sonic’s name for him. This will mark a shift in his motivation moving forward: the only thing he wants next to world domination itself is defeating that pesky blue hedgehog.

But yeah, there’s got to be an after credits scene, right? Cut to the Master Emerald being carted away by none other than Nack the Weasel (Fang the Sniper if you’re nasty). 

I imagine the sequel will have Team Sonic reuniting with Chris and a newly introduced Amy Rose (the classic design) to storm the Death Egg and take on Eggman once again. Sonic will have a high-speed duel with Metal Sonic while Tails and Knuckles square off against Nack, who has been hired by Eggman. Metal Sonic uses the Master Emerald to become a raging monster but Sonic uses the seven Chaos Emeralds to become Super Sonic and whoop Metal’s ass. I guess during all this Chris will tango with Eggman himself in some kind of human versus human fight (which somehow seems blasphemous in Sonic media). Amy’s there for comic relief. I’m gonna stop myself here before I do a whole ‘nother one of these hypothetical story posts. And then a third one following the events of Sonic Adventure. And a fourth one following Sonic Adventure 2. 

THE END

[eliniei]

Those Hard Days - Chapter 1

Summary: Rae’s brother always made sure she was tough as nails. But when her father flips her world upside down, will she find that there’s a limit on how strong she can be?

Warnings: Rape/Non-con (non-graphic, fade-to-black), child abuse, underage drinking, underage smoking, drug use, violence, major character death

A/N: Welcome to the start of my Outsiders fic! I hope that you enjoy it :) This prologue is a completely new addition to the story (there will be an epilogue too, and possibly a midpoint). It is in a different POV than the rest of the story-but I think it really makes sense. Good luck!

AO3: here Fanfiction.net: 

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Chapter 1 - Prologue

Look, I ain’t here cause I wanna be, ya know? I don’t like talkin’ to people ‘bout our problems, but the court ordered that I do this...and if I don’t try, I gotta keep comin’ til I do. So, I ain’t gonna hassle ya. I’ll tell ya what ya wanna know and I’ll start from the beginning.

Thanks, but no. I don’t smoke. Is that really somethin’ you should be askin’ a teenager?

I know you wanna know about my life- and my brother’s too. It ain’t been easy, I’ll tell you that. I know you wanna know about...well, what happened and how I ended up in this situation.

Yeah, I know I’m gonna have to start acknowledging it by name. This is only the first session, ain’t it? Give me a little time, huh? Shit.

Oh, sorry. I’ll try to hold my tongue.

Anyway.

Nothin’ ever went right in my brother’s life- or mine, either, obviously. I mean, I'm sittin’ here with a dead friend, a dead brother, and probably a mountain of problems.

I don’t remember much about my early childhood. I know that my father wasn’t always a drunk drug addict. Dally told me at the beginning he was real nice. I dunno why that changed or when it changed, but I guess it did. My earliest memory is of when I was three and he'd already done his changing. My brother was five. He’d already been knocked around enough to be angry. Real angry.

But he always took those beatings willingly if it meant that I didn't. He promised our mother he’d protect me. He-he always did, as best he could.

I-I’m okay. It’s just still...really fresh. I still can't believe he’s...Yeah.

No, I-I ain't sure if he ever did to Dally what he did to me. Sometimes, I thought my brother would drop hints, ya know? But he never came out and said it. He never...wanted to talk about it when I asked. That just wasn’t his way. Maybe if he had, he would...

What?

Oh, yeah. He beat the shit out of my mother, too. She was always apologizin' to us. Thinkin’ back on it now, it was real heartbreakin’. I can't remember a time when mom didn't have a black eye.

We lived in New York at the time and when Dally was seven he started dealin’ for the big kings. I ain’t got any idea why they’d let a little kid deal for ‘em. Maybe because they thought the cops would overlook him? Who knows, but he was good. It took three years for the fuzz to finally catch him and he got arrested, but by that time, he was hard as hell, workin’ on the streets for so long. They didn’t charge him- prob'ly thought he didn't realize what he was doin’. He knew, though. He hated school, but he was smart.

Two years later, when I was ten, our mother died.

It’s funny you should ask that. I can’t say for sure how it happened. I just remember dad comin’ home, spooked to hell, tellin’ us to pack our bags. I’m sure he thought about leavin’ us behind. I dunno why he didn’t.

Dal was pretty sure he’d done it, but there wasn’t enough proof to convict him. Either that or dad got mixed up with the wrong people and mom paid the price. I wouldn't be surprised either way. There was no funeral. No mention of her after that. Dad made sure of that.

He told us we moved to Tulsa to keep us outta trouble. Funny, ain't it?

Time went on. Dally definitely didn’t keep outta trouble for long. If you’ve seen his arrest record, you’d know that. I'd like to think he did a good job at raisin’ me, though.

Oh, yeah. He made sure I kept up with school. Didn't want me to smoke. Drink in moderation and only ‘round people I trusted. If I'd ever been in trouble with the cops, I'm sure he woulda beat my head in. Not really, ya know, but I definitely woulda ended up with an earful. I think he didn't want me to end up like him. He wanted me tough, smart- but not hard.

We met the Curtis's not long after we moved here. Their parents took us in and treated us like their own. They fed us- and even sometimes clothed us. The boys accepted us right away. It felt nice to have a family who cared whether we had a bed to sleep in at night. We'd been on our own for so long, we forgot what love felt like.

Well, yeah, of course Dally loved me. I loved him, too. Still do. But if you knew him, you'd know he didn't show it in the normal ways. I mean, he gave me a switchblade for my thirteenth birthday for Christ sake. Kinda like a right-of-passage? But, ya know, growing up in our neighborhood it was more of a necessity.

Anyway, when the Shepards came along less than a year later, that was the end of Dal's good-boy streak. He always made sure I stayed outta trouble, though, even if Curly Shepard was my best friend. And then there was the accident that killed Mr. And Mrs. Curtis. Dal took it pretty hard. He-he went a little wild.

I wanna be clear, though- Dally never went back to dealin’. I think that was one thing Mr. and Mrs. Curtis were able to beat into his thick skull. He really didn’t like disappointing them, even in death. But, he still didn’t stay on the right side of the law unless he was at the rodeo. We needed the money. Pretty much every spare cent of what dad brought back when to booze or heroin.

Dally… Had a certain reputation, I know, but he always did right by me.

A few months back, he got picked up and went to a correctional for a while. He didn’t do it-

Don’t you look at me like that. I know my brother. The fuzz just wanted to bust him for somethin’, so they did. It was the first time he’d actually been gone for more than a few days- and, well, dad decided to turn to me to get his anger out.

I started goin’ to the Curtis's house for a while. Y'know, stayin’ there overnight. Dad didn't like that. He-he knew what happened, with their parents and all. He threatened to tell the state all kinds of things--like, uh, Darry was on drugs and gettin’ drunk at parties every night…

I don't understand why he didn't give a rat's ass-uh, sorry-about Dally not comin’ home, but the second I didn't, he lost his fu-damn mind.

I was scared, though, ya know? I didn't want the boys to get split up just because I couldn't handle gettin’ knocked around a bit. I mean, Dally’d been gettin’ it for years, right?

Why didn't I go to the state about my father? You're kiddin’ me, right?

You heard what the social worker said, right? They wanted to ship me off to some family I don't even remember back in New York and I couldn’t come back ‘til I turn eighteen. I didn't want to leave my friends, or my brother.

In the end, though, I guess it didn't matter, huh? In the end I couldn’t take it and I’m in this whole mess because I tried to run away.

I-I know that ya want the story.

Please just let me-this is really hard. Just give me a minute, yeah?

I know, deep breaths.

Okay, I’m ready.

[p-artsypants]

Arcadia or Bust (3)

FF.net | AO3 

At 8 pm, Jim rose from the bed. He had got his full 40 minutes of sleep, and then spent the rest of the night holding Claire as she slept. At one point, she had begun to shake and whimper in a nightmare. He simply snuggled her closer, nuzzling her neck and kissed her cheek. Eventually she fell back to sleep and remained that way.

When he rose, she groaned and he tucked her in snuggly.

“It’s dark out now, so I’m going to go see about that truck. I’m taking your phone. Just keep sleeping, okay?”

“Hmmm....” She hummed.

Though he had told her this, he still wrote a note, figuring she would remember little of what was said.

He dressed, poking holes in his hood for his horns, and made sure the maximum amount of skin was covered as possible. Then he took one key for the room and left.

Using the pictures Claire had taken, Jim was able to clumsily navigate his way back to the house. It was evening, of course, but people still milled around. Some people gave him sideways looks, but most didn’t even notice.

An old man sat on the porch, smoking a cig.

Jim stood at the wire fence, nervous. “Uh, hello sir?”

“Evenin’,” replied the old man.

“Is this your truck for sale?”

“Sure is,” he said, dragging on his cig. “Who’s askin’?”

“My name is Jim Lake Jr., sir. I’m interested.”

“Why you look like a demon, boy?”

Jim swallowed, “sorry, I just came from the Horror Convention down at the Showboat Hotel.”

The man switched his cig over to the other side of his mouth. “You got a license? How old are you, anyway?”

“I’m 16, sir. And yeah, I have my license right here.” He took it from his wallet.

The man flicked his cig on the driveway and then made his way over to the fence. He took the license and studied it.

“From California, huh? What’re you doing all the way here?”

Jim had been practicing his story, and came up with a pretty convincing half-truth. “My friends and I really like to hike, and we decided to hike our way over here for the horror convention. On the way, we found this really cool, big quartz, and we want to take it home. It’s just too heavy for a wagon or wheelbarrow.”

The man was quiet, thinking. “How heavy are we talkin’?”

“Like, a thousand pounds? It took four of us to lift it.” He glanced at the vehicle. “Can that truck lift that?”

The old man chortled, “can she lift that?! Of course she can! Used to lift V16 engine blocks.”

Jim smiled, assuming that was a good thing. “Um, if you don’t mind me asking…why is it for sale? And only 2,000?”

The man walked over to the truck, patting it fondly. It looked a bit like Señor Uhl’s Susanna. “Oh, she runs okay. She doesn’t have a muffler, the air doesn’t work, and neither does the radio. She shakes sometimes. Leaks oil sometimes, but she’ll get you where you need to go.” He frowned in Jim’s general direction. “I slipped a disc a few months back and they fused my spine. I have a hard time gettin’ in ‘er these days. So my son convinced me to just use my wife’s car…I’m too old to need this old thing anyways.”

Jim looked at the man with pity.

“Do your parents know about this?”

“Well, they know what I’m up to, but they don’t know I’m trying to purchase a truck.”

“Call ‘em. I ain’t selling you anything until I know that I ain’t gonna have to deal with this later.”

“Oh, sure, right. Of course.” Jim cleared his throat and took out Claire’s phone, calling his mom.

“Hi Honey! How’s the trip? Are you on your way back yet?”

“Not just yet, mom. By the way, you’re on speaker. So you remember that costume contest we entered?”

“Costume contest?”

“Yeah, you know, the one I made the Troll costume for.”

“Oh! Yes! Right, duh! How did it go?”

“I won first prize! 5,000 bucks!”

“Oh Jim! That’s wonderful! I’m so happy to hear that!”

“So, second part...you know that quartz we found?”

“Yes?”

“Well, we were trying to figure out a way to carry it, and we found a truck that’s 2,000 bucks. I’m talking to the owner right now, and he just wants to make sure it’s approved by you.”

“So you’re driving back?”

“At least Claire and I. Not sure who else.”

“Well, it’s fine by me. It might be beneficial for your new job here, after all.”

“My new job?”

“Construction, the market is going to need all the hands they can get.”

“Oh, yeah! Good point.”

The old man spoke, “excuse me, Mrs…?”

“Dr. Lake.”

“Dr. Lake, so I have you expressed permission to sell my car over to your son?”

“Yes, that’s fine. I give Jim permission to sign my name for me.”

“He’s got insurance?”

“Yes sir, he’s covered.”

“Alright,” the man nodded. “That’s all I wanted to know.”

“Thank you,” said Barbara, “for making sure he was safe.”

“Well, my son did something like this back in the day, and I almost had a heart attack when he came home.”

“Well, I’m sure I would have been more confused than anything. Thanks again!”

“Bye mom, love you.”

“Bye kiddo!”

The man took out his own phone, a track phone, and dialed a number. “I’m calling my son, he said he’d help me with the paper work and all that.”

“Oh I see.” Jim nodded.

As the man chatted with his son, Jim sent a text over to Toby.

Dude I forgot to tell you, but we found the heartstone! It’s kind of small, so we’re bringing it back. We’re going to see if it can revive the old heartstone.

The response was almost instant.

Claire?

No, it’s Jim.

JIIIIIMMMMBBBBOOOOOOO!!!! DDDUUUUDDDDEEEEE!!!!!

That’s too many extra letters and exclamation points, Tobes.

I’M LITERALLY SCREAMING RIGHT NOW. ARRRGH IS CONCERNED. BUT I DONT CARE BECAUSE YOU’RE COMING HOME SOON!!!

Yep, and I’m working on getting a truck for the stone, so it might only be a week or so.

THIS IS THE BEST DAY EVERRR!!!! At the end there was a string of emojis, featuring ‘100’, fire, okay hand sign, crying face, and a trumpet.

I’m glad I texted. You probably would have screamed my ear off.

I can’t help it! I’m just so excited! Then the phone vibrated as a long series of texts came from Toby.

Dude.

I totally forgot.

No.

I’m going to keep it a surprise.

Oh but it’s so good.

You have no idea.

The greatest thing ever happened.

Did Darcy say yes when you proposed to her?

There was a pause.

The second greatest thing happened.

Jim sent a laughing emoji.

But I’m not telling you, because it’s way to good to be true.

Alright, if you say so. I won’t bug you about it, because I know how you crack under pressure.

Thanks man. Cause it is reaalllyyy great. And we’ll start cleaning up Troll market. I mean, more than what we have.

At this point, the old man had finished his conversation with his son. “So,” he began. “Troy is going to be a little bit. I was wondering if you’d be willing to help me with something in the meantime?”

“Oh, sure?”

—

“You got it? You sure?”

“Yeah, I got it. Where do you want it?” Jim had his arms full with a huge tube TV. The man said it hadn’t worked in years and the Mrs. asked him to get rid of it. Problem was, it was a tad heavy.

The elder climbed the basement stairs at a snails pace, Jim standing behind him. He led him out the the road, and had him sit it out at the curb.

“That wasn’t too bad, was it?”

With his troll strength, it was nothing. But had Jim been his old noodle self, he wouldn’t have been able to lift it on his own. “Oh no, it was fine.”

“I got something else, if you’re up for it.”

“Whatever you need.” Jim replied with a smile.

Two bikes, a stereo system, and an hefty particle board cabinet. All without breaking a sweat.

“Alright, I think I’ve taken advantage of you enough for one day.”

“Oh, it was no trouble at all.”

The man grinned. Then he took out another cig and made his way over to sit on his porch. “So, that’s not actually makeup, is it?”

Jim looked at him, wide eyed. “Um, I don’t know—“

“Boy, you dead lifted a 250 pound television and carried it up a flight of stairs like it was nothing. Not to mention that cabinet! And at 16?”

“I…just workout a lot?”

The man wasn’t buying it. He huffed smoke out. “Son, you should know not to lie to your elders.”

It was New Jersey. What were the chances he was going to see this man again? “Alright, you got me. I’m not exactly human.”

“Are ya a demon?”

“What? No, no, no.” Jim waved his hands in front of him. “I’m a troll—er, half troll.”

The man nodded, not saying much until finally. “Just as long as I ain’t doin’ business with the devil.”

—

Despite the comfort of the bed, Claire was wracked with nightmares. It was so realistic and horrific, she didn’t even know it was a nightmare at first.

Morgana played a significant role. The she-witch had Jim by the horns, and lifted him from the ground.

“You want him back, don’t you? The boy you once knew. The human.”

Claire shook her head. “No! No! Leave him alone!”

“Silly girl, I know your deepest thoughts. I will tear this gruesome, ugly shell away, and return what once was…”

It was inhumane. Morgana pulled at his horns, ripping him apart from the scalp. He screamed violently as blood trickled down his face and chest. His fingers curled into hooks as his skull came into view.

He continued to look at her with his bloodshot blue eyes. “Why Claire?! Why can’t you just love me?!”

“I do! I do love you, Jim!! I’m sorry!”

And just like that, she was in her living room, gasping for breath.

Everything was gray and dingy. Dust hung, suspended in the air. A strange woman with black hair and hunting green eyes sat on the couch, sipping tea.

“Ah, there you are darling. I wondered when we’d connect.”

Claire swore she had never seen her before, but her voice…

“Who...are you?”

“Do you not recognize me? Oh, but I suppose you wouldn’t, being that my armor is packed away. Little use for it here in the shadow realm.”

“Wait, if we’re in—then that means you’re—“

“Morgan La Fey. It’s nice to see you again, child.”

“But—! How are you—?”

“You seemed surprised. After all, you only trapped me in here.”

Claire paced. “This can’t be happening! I pushed you out of my mind! You can’t—this isn’t real!”

“Of course it isn’t.” She answered simply. “This is happening inside your head. I’m not going to hurt you or any of your friends.”

“Then why—?”

“Can’t a poor, lonely, old witch have a decent conversation with someone?”

“The last time we talked, you possessed my body. I almost got killed!”

“All in the past! All in the past.”

Not really, but Claire just glared at her.

“I’d actually like to thank you, Claire.”

“Thank me?”

“Yes. You see, when Merlin trapped me, he put me in a stasis so that I could stew in my anger. I built so much up that once I was free, it consumed me. Now that I’m here in my own vast and beautiful world, where Merlin can’t hurt me, I find peace in my soul.”

That was befuddling. “But...you’re evil?”

The woman smiled. “Is that what Merlin told you?”

“I mean, yeah. But you also possessed my body and tried to kill my boyfriend...as well as plunge the world into darkness, and you nearly destroyed my home.”

“Well, when you say it like that.” Morgan set her tea on the coffee table and leaned back in her seat, “may I tell my side of the story?”

Claire relaxed a tad, and fell into the seat opposite of Morgana.

“Have you heard of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round table?”

“Of course, who hasn’t?”

“Arthur was my brother.”

“And…Merlin trained him, right?”

“More like, Merlin thrust him into a role he was not prepared for. Much like your beloved Trollhunter. Arthur was just a child when he was chosen to be king, likewise, I was a young woman when I apprenticed under Merlin.”

Claire leaned forward a bit, now ridiculously curious.

“My brother did a great many things in his life, as the legends all tell. But he met an early end, and I buried him. Merlin was nowhere to be found. When I returned, my brother’s sword had been taken and melted down and Merlin declared that I was the last ingredient in a concoction that would help the world. I was still grieving the loss of my brother at the time, and paid little attention to his inane ideas. While I slept, he cut off my hand.” She held up her emerald prosthetic. “Never given a choice. I didn’t even know what that potion was. My master betrayed me.”

Clear sadness held Morgan’s face as she stared at her hand. Claire witnessed this, and felt the sadness in herself. Then she shook her head, and told herself that this was Morgana, the mistress of Shadows.

Morgan clenched her fist. “I was beyond angry. And I turned to the Gum-Gums as a means to my retribution. I promised Gunmar the Black, an appalling and dense creature, a way to create night eternal. And then I blessed him with the Decimaar blade, a sword that could strip the freewill of any living being. For a great many years, we waged war against the humans and Merlin’s Trollhunters. Until Deya the Deliverer cast Gunmar into the Killahead bridge, and Merlin froze me within the Heartstone.”

Claire looked down at her feet, feeling guilty, since she felt pity for this evil witch.

“I tell you this, because I want you to know…I was once good. I was like you, pure in heart, full of love for my little brother and a dashing boy. But Merlin corrupted me. It was innocent enough at first…teaching me spells…helping me in my rose garden…then he turned my focus to him and his honeyed words. I fell in love with him.”

That was unexpected. “But he’s so…”

“Old? He wasn’t always. I aged better than he did.” Morgan picked up her tea and sipped again. “He taught me everything he knew, pushing past the limitations of morality, and into dark magic. I wanted to impress him. But the more I studied, the more he rebuked me. Love turned into jealousy, then bitterness, and then burning hatred. I stewed in my hatred for years, centuries, until nothing but cruelness and malice remained. That is what you saw when you fought me and banished me here.”

Claire sat up, clenching her fists in her lap. “It’s only been a month since then, for all I know—“

“Time works differently in here.” Morgan clarified. “You should know. What may have been a month out on the surface world, may have been years in here.”

“But you spent centuries in stasis…”

Morgan smiled. “Now you’re catching on. This realm…is my own creation.” In a grand gesture with her hands, the room stretched and transformed, turning into windows with stone walls. A temple remained when all was said and done.

“Wow…”

“And as such, I can make of it as I wish. I am queen here, and all powerful. Once you destroyed my Skathe-Hrün, it was like a bucket of water crashed upon my heart. My rage, my hatred…it vanished. I was left with this…emptiness. But as time went on, the realization that I would never see Merlin again sunk in, and I felt lighter. I started to feel like my old self. My soul has been stained, that is undeniable. I have done evil things, but I think I can still do good.”

“Like what?”

“I would like to mentor you, in the cosmic arts.”

It was almost sudden. Jim, true, human Jim leaned in the front door, and met her eyes. He spoke softly. “It’s dark out now, so I’m going to go see about that truck. I’m taking your phone. Just keep sleeping, okay?”

At his voice, the world went hazy for a moment as she responded with a hum that echoed in the room.

“You see,” said Morgan. “You’re still sleeping in your hotel room. I promise not to hold you too long. Though you can wake up, when you want to.”

Claire shook her head in disbelief. “Why…why me?”

“Because you wielded my Skathe-Hrün. You and I were connected, briefly. And even now, in your darkest nightmares, I can find you. Because you appear here, in the shadow realm.” The room began to shrink back down to the living room it was before. “And, as I said before, you remind me of myself, before I fell.”

Claire stared at the woman, studying her. She seemed calm and collected, no ounce of violence in her stature.

“Merlin is a jerk…” she finally said.

“That he is.” Morgan replied. “Which is the other reason I am reaching out to you. Even if you turn down my offer, I beg you…don’t follow in Merlin’s footsteps. He’s selfish and pig-headed. He thinks he can do no wrong, and cares little for his actions.”

Claire remembered his attitude toward Jim’s transformation. He never once apologized for it, and expected everyone to thank him for turning him into, what is essentially, a monster.

“I see within you, the need to do good. So I can teach you healing spells, illusion spells, say nothing of necromancy and soul trapping. I will teach you what you need to know to help you’re Trollhunter.”

Claire furrowed her brows. She did like the idea of helping Jim.

“I still don’t know…”

Morgana raised to her feet, and came over to Claire, gently touching her cheek. “I understand your reservations. Take time to decide.”

“I’m still trying to figure out why. Why do you want to do this?”

Morgan shrugged, a truly defeated look on her face. “Would you believe that I’m bored?”

Claire said nothing.

“Incudo. It means ‘to forge’. With it, you can mend something of metal back together. Whether it be armor, or a sword, or what ever. Speak it backwards, Oducni, and you will undo a forged piece.” Morgan walked back to her chair. “There, I leave you with a simple spell. It can be deadly, if used cunningly. Or harmless. It’s up to you. Now, it’s getting late. You should awake.”

And once again, Claire was gasping for breath. But this time, she was alone in her hotel room.  

[wingedhuntress]

prompt time!! maybe something where Lance goes down on a mission and everyone thinks he's been hit, but when they can't find a wound they start to freak until he wakes up and tells them he's had a migraine since he woke up? :O

@taylor-tut Thanks for the prompt! I realized this would probably fit better with a ground battle scene, not a space battle scene? But I was already halfway through, so there was no going back.

This is my first drabble! I whipped this thing out instead of doing homework like a good child. Shame on me. Enjoy, and maybe let me know what you think!

When the alarm went off, Lance shot to his feet in a panic. At first he thought the pounding in his head was simply from the blood rushing to his feet, but as he gripped the wall to steady himself, the pain remained. He tried blinking it away, and got another spike of pain for his trouble, as if a mini demon in his brain was hitting his left eye from within.

“Paladins!” Allura’s voice boomed out of the loudspeakers, causing Lance to cry out and cover his ears. The princess’ voice still made it past his hands as she continued, “We are under attack! The Galra found our location.” Lance turned to lean back against the wall, wincing. “Get to your lions!”

In the silence that followed Allura’s announcement, Lance tried to steady his breathing. He knew that he needed to get out there and help his team. What if they need Voltron? The easiest way to defeat the fleet would be to bust through the enemy with Voltron’s sword, right? Yeah, Lance knew he needed to go, but the small demon in his head was banging on his skull with a rock, now just above his left eye.

Taking a deep breath, Lance pushed off the wall and stumbled toward his closet to grab his gear. With the lights off it was difficult to slip into, but he knew from experience the pain would be much worse with them on.

After a too-long equipping time, although it was impressive given his condition, Lance shoved his helmet on and attempted to run from the room. That became an instant no-no, as the world spun a bit when he pushed off and the moment the door opened he was met with blinding lights. With a small yelp, he stumbled into the wall and clung to it while he closed his eyes. When he squinted, he could see the telltale blurry line stretching across his vision, telling him without a doubt that this was a migraine. If that demon was angry before, it was downright livid now.

Somehow, via stumbling against the wall and keeping his eyes squinted, Lance made it to Blue’s hangar. Once within range, he felt her curl around his mind happily before abruptly recoiling with concern, as if she needed to step away in order to look at him properly. Her whines filled his head, making the pain ever-worse.

“Blue, angel, please quiet down,” Lance said aloud, flinching away. The whines quieted, and turned into waves of concern and question. “I’m okay,” he told her as he made his way towards the cockpit, “I just have a little headache. Promise I’ll take care of it after.”

Despite his reassurances, Lance didn’t fail to notice that Blue’s interior lights were lower than he’d ever seen them before, and her machinery was especially quiet. He felt himself smile at the thoughtfulness of his lion.

As he sat in his chair, he flipped on the coms, which turned out to be a bad idea. Shouts of battle pierced his eardrums, making him see stars. He clenched his jaw to avoid whimpering into the mic.

“Where’s Lance?” Keith’s voice punctured through the cacophony of voices. Some concerned ‘I don’t knows’ followed before they were forced to focus back on the task at hand. Lance needed to get out there and help them.

With as little as a thought from Lance, Blue took off. Lance tried to assist, because the lions really weren’t made to fly well without their pilot, but found himself needing to close his eyes more often than not.

Upon exiting the hangar and gathering his voice, Lance spoke into the comms. “Sorry I’m late guys! Where do you need me?” Grumbled words reached his ears but he couldn’t focus enough to process them. His eyes watered as he looked out into space, locating the team spread out and the only things standing between the Galra fleet and the castleship. He nudged his thruster and Blue took the initiative to join her sisters.

“Good, Lance,” Shiro spoke up, “we need to hold the fleet off until Allura is able to get up a wormhole.” Lance felt himself nodding, not quite realizing that Shiro couldn’t see him. The black paladin continued anyway. “We need to make sure the fighters are out of commision so they can’t follow us through the wormhole.”

Briefly, Lance was curious why only the fighters mattered, but his brain demon wasn’t about to let him think about anything other than his skull caving in. He managed a grunted “okay” before everyone was wrapped back into the battle.

If not for Blue, Lance would have been blasted into oblivion by now. His girl danced out of danger and returned fire as much as she could, but she was still a machine. A loving, beautiful machine, but one that required an equally competent pilot.

Lance was severely lacking at the moment, especially as they bobbed and weaved throughout the Galra fleet, surrounded by noise, motion, and bright lights.  A particularly hard hit sent Lance’s head back against his headrest in a flash of pain. He may have shouted, but he couldn’t be sure, and he thought he could hear some voices but they all just hurt and he didn’t understand.

Lance’s head was heavy and swimming by the time Blue started pulling back towards the castle-ship. He realized he must have missed something, some order from Shiro, but Blue seemed to know what to do. He attempted to help, but a soft purr from Blue had his hands dropping to his sides, and his chin to his chest.

Something was hitting his face and sending flares of pain up into his temple. Combined with the loud voices surrounding him on all sides, he didn’t think his mind demon could get any more active. With a groan, he opened his eyes and was proved wrong. Lights always made the migraines worse.

“Gah,” He said eloquently as he raised his arm up to shield his eyes. The voices paused, before coming back tenfold. Lance could barely hear himself say, “No… Stop…” before he felt like he was going to pass out again. This pain was too much. He hadn’t had a migraine this bad since he was a child.

The person hitting his face, which was actually more gentle cheek patting, turned out to be Keith. He was also the only one close enough and quiet enough to hear Lance at all. “Guys,” he said as he stared into Lance’s face. When they didn’t stop talking, he spoke louder. “Guys, stop talking!” A whimper escaped Lance, but quickly dissipated when the noise disappeared. Tears were beginning to build in his eyes, but there was nothing for it. The silence helped, but he’d been in pain all morning and just wanted to sleep.

The hands on his cheeks used their thumbs to wipe away the tears making tracks down his face. “Lance,” Keith spoke softly, as if speaking to a scared animal, “Are you injured? Did you get hit?” Lance didn’t reply immediately, needed a second to comprehend the question, before minutely shaking his head. The hands on his cheeks moved to cup his chin instead, as Keith tried again. “What’s wrong?”

Lance had to fight to speak. His jaw felt like a direct line to the pressure in his head, so he made an effort to move it as little as possible. He gathered his strength, just to whisper, “Migraine”.

At first he was worried no one heard him and he’d have to say it again, but soon he heard various sympathetic noises. Keith seemed to take a moment of relief, knowing Lance wasn’t seriously injured, before asking, “How bad? Can you walk back to your room with me?”

Lance didn’t take as long to answer that one. The idea of walking made his evil mind demon go hysteric. He shrunk back into his seat and shook his head once again. “It’s bad,” he mumbled to no one in particular. At this, Keith seemed to make his mind up about something, and he gently ran a hand through Lance’s hair as he stood up and began giving quiet orders to the team. Lance took this as his que to tune out, but only got to do so for a minute; Hunk was scooping him up in his arms and carrying him out of Blue.

His sweet, considerate friend had even taken off his favorite headband in order to drape it over Lance’s eyes and protect him from the bright hallway lights. Lance tried to find the words to thank him, but Hunk seemed to see it in his face. “You’re welcome,” he murmured from above Lance’s head, “and don’t worry, we’ll take care of you now.”

Ten minutes later found Lance in the main lounge, laying with his head on Keith’s lap and his body completely buried in blankets. He just finished the soup Hunk made him, drank the water and took the medicine Shiro handed over, and changed into the pajamas Pidge fetched from his room. While he wasn’t able to focus too much, he was pretty sure the entire team was setting up bedding on the floor in the middle of the couches, slumber-party style. They were all going to stay close until his headache was gone, and he couldn’t be more glad. His space family was going out of their way just for him, and that alone seemed to make his little migraine demon easier to deal with.

[activatingaggro]

SIPARA NZINGA | 8.3 sweeps / 18 years old

off the western coast of hamavet, the farthest continent

(6,161 words)

There's bubbles still in your flaps when the gate opens, and you can finally step out.

The first hall that Wilcox leads you down is surreal! It's not so much a building, as it is a dome: the walls are curved high above you, high enough that her horns aren't even scraping the ceiling, and they're glass all the way through. You can see the water outside, sloshing against the glass, and the fish trudging through it. (Floating? Swimming?) There's goosebumps pricking on your skin from the air down here, but when you place your hand against the glass, it's even colder.

"Come along now, miss," Wilcox says, and you startle, turn on your heel to follow.

When ID had told you that he had a proposition for you, you hadn't quite trusted him! You and him.. well, you're complicated, right now, that's the problem. He lied to you. He lied to you, and abandoned you, and he didn't care enough to fix it, not for an entire half-sweep. And what's an apology to fucking that? You'd cried over him, for fuck's sake, and you'd made Pheres deal with it, for perigees and perigees.

.. but a half-sweep isn't too long, when the two of you'll live for at least three dozen of 'em. That's what he keeps reminding you, each time you start to snarl. And how're you supposed to stay mad, when he gives you opportunities like this? Proposition, he said, but this's a fucking favour, more like. "There's a fuschia looking for geneticists, my little hellion," he'd told you, all coy over the husktop, just this side of cloying, "and she's under the Queenpin's thumb, so I could get you in. It's research, ashmote, and more technology than you've ever seen in one place. Isn't this the sort of thing you do?"

You'd been a little suspicious, but how were you supposed to say no to that? Research! Actual research, in a field where they needed you, and where you could work with people for the first time - properly, without having to hide what you know, or how you learned it. You don't know much about ID's boss, but you know plenty about his business. And what's one gray-eyed pupa's education source, when everyone here was probably illegal as fuck?

Illegal, or fuschia.

He hadn't mentioned Wilcox was so tall, though. Or that she was quite this fuschia.

"This is the main lab," she tells you now, peering back over her shoulder. You don't like looking at her, much! ID loves seadwellers, but you've always been with Pheres: there's something about the way their skin moves that makes your skin crawl. It's too dull in spots where it ought to be bright! The fat's too thick, in all the places it shouldn't be at all. And when she smiles at you, it wrinkles her cheeks, and right under her eyes, and nowhere else.

Her pink eyes.

"I think you'll like it. I enjoyed the work that, ah, monseiur Comedy sent our way. You work on helminths?"

She's really, really tall.

"I read your papers," she prompts.

"Yeah -" There's an octopus on the wall, watching you through the glass as you walk through the next hall. There's seadwellers everywhere, clustered together at the tables, and.. there's only ten or so, scattered throughout the room, but this is more than you've ever seen in one place before. You draw your arms in closer, and if you're half-cuddling your bag, fuck anyone that'd look twice. "Um. Wait, nah, girl, soz. I work with, like, ectoparasites! Annelids, mostly. My base stock was, like, nereididae, originally, but I bred 'em to be calcified, and ---"

BT: <))) I told Wilcox I don't need help > So she sent you anyway <

BT: <))) Charming > She's wasting everyone's time <

AA: loool.

AA: mb you don't need help, bb. mb you need   G U I D A N C E. >;}

BT: <))) HA >

BT: <))) Of course > Why wouldn't I need help from a hemoanon <

BT: <))) Sweeps of education > But all of that blunts in the face of .

BT: <))) What > Bootleg schoolfeeds? <

AA: bb, pls.

AA: it's stolen orn fucking bust.

BT: <))) Of course > What was I thinking? <

BT: <))) Empress fucking forbid it's not illegal <

BT: <))) Because the rest of this isn't bad enough <

BT: <))) I'm in the lab > If you fuck up my prototype <

BT: <))) I'm feeding you to it >

"And who," she drawls, peering at you over her nose, "are you?"

Rostik Taalik is a lot of things. She's the only other landdweller here, for starters, even with the fins behind her ears. She's the only person your size, with barely four inches on you. She's one of the only folks your age, and she’s got the longest eyelashes you’ve ever seen on a troll.

And all of that means she's your designated lab partner for the night, as you decided when you walked in. Unfortunately, as it turns out, she's also a huge bulge munch.

"Fuuhao," you drawl right back, spite so thick that it feels like it ought to catch on your tongue. Your eyes are gray and your horns are capped for the night, the blunted edges of the round-end chafing at your skull each time you move, but you're not a lowblood, right now, and you're not going to let some upstart indigo start acting like she's got anything above you. "We spoke online, nookmunch. Now, scoot over, I'm sitting down here."

"Wilcox said you're working on pupation. And I'm supposed to help out." The device she's been staring at is big enough that it takes up a whole corner of the room. It looks sort of like a recuperacoon, if someone made a coon out of sopor: it's ridged like one, with the gentle fall and rise of any healthy device, but the sides are slick with slime that seeps out of it with every passing second, sliding towards the vents on the ground with the careless viscosity of pudding.

When you touch it, the slime clings in strings to your palm when you tug it away.

"Brilliant," Taalik says from behind you, dry. "Should I wait while you lick it?"

"Nah, dude, hard pass on that shit." You wipe off your hand on your pants, then turn to face her.

She's got purple all the way through her eyes already, and more jewelry in her face than you'd see in a tongue. She's playing with the ring in her lip as she watches you, eyes half-lidded, and thank god she's one of those folks who can't hide shit: her ears are round, her face is finned, but she's low enough that she doesn't make your skin crawl, like the fish, and her contempt's clear.

You might be in gray, but you know that look. She's already making up her mind on what caste you are, and how she feels about that.

Well, fuck her. She wants to make decisions? So are you.

"So, like, lemme see if I've got this straight. You want to, like -" You wish you had gum to chew! But your fangs are too sharp for that shit: the last time you'd stolen a pack from Laledy and tried it, you'd half slit your tongue. So you settle for shoving your thumbs into your pants, horns down just to show her how much you don't fucking care. "Start a second pupation, yeah? Crack us open, scrape out the bits, and start it over. But slight problem there, dude. You gonna breed up new new imaginal discs? 'cause we're kinda all out."

"And if you don't have those -"

She clicks her tongue at you, then flips her braids over her shoulder. "Congratulations. You've read a book.” She curls her lip at you, all contempt, and.. you should be focusing on that, but her lipliner’s tighter than you’ve ever managed. You’re not sure if you’re impressed, or if you hate it. “But obviously not enough, because you're still behind. We can insert that shit with viral carriers, dumbass. Set it up however they want. Venomsacks, broader shoulders, a bigger rack, different chrome - it's all in the research notes. Or did Wilcox not share that?"

"I've read the book, dude." You should pop her, honestly! Establish dominance the old-fashioned way: flip the laptop, that coffee, and the table right onto her lap, and see if she's still going to sass you after that. But you don't want to start a fight in the middle of the lab on your third night here. "But never mind all of the spy shit."

(The spy shit. You can't believe you're in coon with a bunch of seadweller fucking rebels.. and this girl.)

"What about the disks for the rest of you? How the fuck are you gonna keep the bits that you want coming back properly?"

"Never mind. Did Wilcox send you to waste my time?" She looks like a land-dweller, but when she blinks at you, languid, it's like watching one of the fish. The way she does it is all fucking wrong. "Because," she says, flat, turning her attention back to her husktop, "that's shit we've already got covered. When you enter the cocoon, it'll pick up on your pre-coded disks."

"You mean the ones that melted in the second instar?" you mock, flipping your ears forward, and she looks back up.

AA: tweet tweet, mothernfuckern.

AA: do i gotta lay out, like, birndseed to get you to come out? bc if so: n/n/n, soz, am not doing it.

AA: you get shitty old brneadcrnumbs like evernyone else, and you will fucking like it.

LB: how could I refuse with that kind of an offering

LB: what’s going on?

AA: ty, ty. i knew you'd fucking love it.

AA: i'm tlking to ppl who arne kind of yrn ppl. i mean, not rnly, they'rne all fucking fish? but they'rne   Y RN   P E O P L E   kind of ppl.

AA: so i was wonderning if you can gimme any deets?

AA: and i'll give you deets back, ofc. >:}

LB: you’ll have to give deets to get deets tbh

LB: my kind of fish people doesn’t give me a lot to work with

AA: jfc, dude.

AA: 'kay, bettern way of putting it. >:}

AA: have you hearnd anything abt a nearn-tyrnian doing, like, rnesearnch? igenetics rnesearnch?

LB: hmm

LB: I think I know who you’re talking about

LB: been tapping up pre-ascension scientists for something or other right?

AA: lol, y.

LB: what do you need on her?

AA: uhhh. idk, dude, yrn the infotrnoll.

AA: how about..

AA: how likely is she gonna trny to shove me in a cocoon? >:}

AA: is that a thing that, like, ppl arne sayin'?

LB: she’s tapping you?

AA; lmfao, n.

AA: she tapped me like, a week ago.

LB:

LB: and you’re asking me this now

AA: looool.

AA: yeah, well, bettern now than nevern, rnight?

AA: she's a fish, i ain't exactly, like, supern wornrnied, herne. so chillll. i've filleted bettern folks than hern. >:}

AA: and i got info forn you in exchange, so, like, don't  F U S S.

AA: how would you feel if you could just totes change yrn face?

LB: ok well I haven’t heard of anyone getting ganked and so far everyone I know of has responded to quads

LB: but also no one has left

LB: does Hadean even know where you are

AA: 'kay, cool.

AA: that's abt all i need to know, lmao. like, i'm prnetty surne nobodies bailed, bc this is fucking wicked?

AA: but y, wanted to check. >:}

AA: and ofc he doesssssss.

AA: wtf kinda q is that?

LB: idk he seems like he’d be a little freaked out about you doing shit on a seadweller’s turf

LB: it’s a little different than taking a fish down in the ring

LB: do you have an escape plan?

AA: loool.

AA: he prnobs is, lbrn.

AA: but w/e, he trnusts me to handle my shit, and i trnust him to handle his.

LB: what will you do if things go bad?

AA: dude, i'm yrn doctorn, yrn not mine. dnw abt it, 'kay?

AA: but fwiw, i totes have a rnoute alrneady planned.

AA: and if anything goes 2spoopy4me, i will pop down a vent, get out into the shipbay, and follow the sewage outlet all the way back up top.

AA: nbddd. evernyone else herne is like, fucking six footerns, and it's a squeeze forn   M E.

LB: i might not be your doctor but this isn't medical. you did say that she was more my people

LB: and maybe delete your actual plan. are you sure things are encrypted on your end of things

AA: y, y. i'm just sayin' i know what i'm doing, losern. >:}

AA: and ofccccc.

AA: this entirne convo's deleting off my end aftern this shuts, dnw.

LB: what sort of stuff is she working on anyway?

AA: evernybody herne's into genetics. and fixing shit.

AA: like, she gave us a full hourn long goddamn lecturne on abt how grn8 it would be if we could just F I X ppl, instead of culling them.

LB: is there one big project you're working on or a bunch of smaller ones

AA: bunch of tiny ones. but they all feed into one big one.

AA: even tho idk if ppl arne rnealising that yet, lmao.

AA: wtfevernnn, waderns arne fucking dumb. >:}

LB: is everyone else there a seadweller?

LB: also do you know what the big project is yet

AA: y, me and m arne the only airnsacks.

AA: and y. loool.

AA:

AA: how would you feel if you could just totes change yrn face?

AA: it's that. >:}

LB: oh huh

LB: definitely useful

LB: literally no way the empire would like that

LB: also whose m

AA: the othern airnsack herne, brnah.

AA: so therne's yrn info. tyvm forn yrns, yrn aid has been apprneciated.

AA: we cool?

LB: yeah sure

LB: be safe

AA: loool. you too.

AA: don't get locked in any morne basements, bb.

You’ll give props where props are due. When you hit Taalik, she barely flinches. She just pauses, rubbing her jaw like she’s more shocked than anything else, and watches you.

It takes a moment to swallow the snarl trying to rip all the way out of your throat. But you manage to keep it down to nothing more than a rattle. “I’d, like, say now you apologise,” you sniff, “but obvs your lusus didn’t raise you properly, so what-the-fuck-ever.”

“And what,” she says, her fingers still resting on the pale spot on her jaw, “am I apologising for?”

If you’d had more time, you should've gone for her nose.

(But it’s a cute nose. You don’t want to break it, mostly, not until she starts talking.)

“We’ll just pay off the lowbloods,” you mock, “and get them to test it. Like - are you for real? You’re just going to pluck some poor kids off the street, and turn them into - like - fucking labrats?”

“Would you rather we didn’t pay them?” She finally lets go of her jaw, and part of you wants to bolt back when she steps in. She’s indigo. Even if she wasn’t high enough to make your skin crawl, there’s something uncanny about her, and the way she moves. The way she smiles, on the rare occasions you’ve wrestled one out of her.

(Dry, mean, at everyone else’s expense - but still a smile.)

Taalik’s the best out of everyone in this lab. She’s the only other landdweller, and when you’re surrounded by gills.. well, that’s worth more than just chrome, isn’t it? But you’ve watched when her sleeves slide up, taken in the tight coils of her arms when she’s getting annoyed enough to start snatching things.  She might be the only one you want to deal with..

But that doesn’t mean you want her in your space. She’s still indigo, and you’re pretty sure she could make a fair try at ripping you in two.

.. but that doesn’t mean you’ll flinch, either, as she steps in close. “No, I want you to be decent,” you snap, tossing your curls, and you let your shoulder clip her as you stride past. There’s a whuff of something that might be a laugh behind you, but you’re going to fucking ignore that. “C’mon. If we’re gonna start planning for test subjects, anyway, dude, we ought to do it right. Pay some olives - if we want this to work on everyone, we might as well start with the median, anyway..”

AA: pheeeeeern.

AA: wtf do you do when someone's rneally, rneally cute.

AA: but also, like, yrn prnetty surne they'rne legit 100% chaotic evil.

RS: / mmm / my assumption / personally / has always been to pile them /

RS: / but i think hadean might have some objections to that /

AA: hey!

AA: fuck off, i'm chaotic neutrnal at best, tyvm.

At the end of the second week, everything goes to fucking hell.

Pulling an all-day work session had been kind of dumb. If Hadean was here, he would've hauled you forcibly to your 'coon after the first six hours - but he isn't here, and you've got to take advantage of that. When Taalik had drifted off to sleep, you'd kept working with half a mind of impressing her.

Or, no - not impressing her. Proving her right! She's been leaning on you more and more over the last two weeks, and last night, she'd asked you if you knew how to set up a time-released enzyme package.

By the time you'd found out you didn't, it was too late to ask for help, and the only thing that mattered was fucking doing it. If the sun was up by the time you managed, who cared? You'd done it.

And now you were going to haul back coffee and waffles before she woke up, so you could hold it over her in the best kind of way.

Or, at least, that was the plan. There's voices drifting out of the cafeteria when you come up near, which's unusual enough to make you pause.

"I still think this is unneccessary," Wilcox says, and there's something strange enough about her voice that you stop mid-step. The hall's empty, but the door to the cafeteria's open, as always. And it doesn't sound like it's full. "You're not really allowed to be in here, you know?"

There ought to be the clank of forks and plates by this point. Or at least the rip of the nasty protein bars that half of the fish down here eat. Instead, when you flip your ears forward..

Under the whispers, someone's crying.

"Don't worry!" someone else says, and it's a new voice that you haven't heard before. Temasekian, part of your pan pings, helpful, but that's strange: everyone here's further north than that, and you're the last person that Wilcox hauled in. The gates, as she told the lot of you, had closed, and her party had been assembled. Every project had a team. All you had to do now was make them work. "Warrants procured, lah. Nothing illegal here!" A beat. "Hope there's nothing illegal," they - she - teases, and there's amusement soaking her words like salt. "Right, yeah?"

"I don't think you'll believe me if I say no."

"Probably not~!" There's a thump. You should turn and bolt. You should be burrowing deep into the vents now, and heading straight for the dockyard. You should be doing a lot of things, but it feels like your feet are lead.

Not quite lead. You can take a step forward, silent as a mouse, and when you do, around the doorframe, Wilcox comes into view. There's a girl standing in front of her, her hair shining as bright as bone in the dim of the room. Her horns are long enough that they're framing Wilcox's neck, for all that her head's ducked down. If she moved too suddenly, or turned her head, they could slice right into the skin, easy as butter.

Maybe that's why Wilcox has her fins pinned back, for the first time you've seen her. "There's really no need for that," Wilcox tries again, brisk, as the girl steps away. The lighting in the cafeteria is poor, as always: it's been a joke for longer than you've been here that it ought to be replaced, but half of the seadwellers were born in the depths, and they'd objected. (You don't know why you're thinking of this now. You don't know why you're still standing here.)

The lighting is poor, but when Wilcox shifts, it hits her wrists, and the cuffs shine red.

Farther out of sight, there's a shuffle of feet. Then a thud, and a shriek.

The girl pivots to look. You sink into the shadows, your pumpbiscuit racing, but her eyes slide right past you, off into a distance you can't see. "Hey!" she says, and at the same time, Wilcox surges forward, fins flaring out.

Then someone wails. You recognise her voice: Hoshio, you think, the one with the fins shaped like the summer sun. "Wrong answer," someone else says, light. Their voice's deeper than the white-haired girls. "Sorry, sweetheart! Want to try again?"

"Hdijah!" the girl snaps. "Be nice! Royalty!"

You turn on your heel, and bolt.

Taalik's awake when you slide the door open. (Slide, not slam: if everyone's in the cafeteria, well, the two of you've been overlooked. No point in drawing attention in, now.) She's half-sprawled over your desk, shoulders slouched, her braids half-out of the twist she'd pulled them into.

"What's going on?" she asks, barely looking up. She's got such a long neck! Every time you look at it, you think she ought to have gills there, but the skin's smooth as the skin of her hands.

"Imps."

"Really. Did Falric finally succeed in summoning demons? Or did you just get into the mind honey?" She drags her finger across the screen. The video scrolls forward. The girl is saying something peppily about mascara, and eyeliner, and the best way to repel an auspistice with both --

So you slap your palm down in the center of it, and Taalik jerks her head up so quickly, you think she's going to bite you. If it was anyone else, she'd have hissed at you. As is, she just stares, eyelashes fanning over her eyes, like she thinks that makes her look unimpressed. "I should break your hand for that," she says, but she doesn't so much as move. "What, Fuuhao?"

"Imperials," you say, slowly, "are in the facility, and they arrested Wilcox, and they snapped Hoshio's arm. Like, she doesn't fucking have one, anymore. So what d'you think they're gonna do to me and you?"

She considers you for a moment. Then she sighs, pushes back her chair in a scrape of metal on metal. "Well. You better go, then. Like hell they'll do anything to me." She's so brisk. "But you?" Side-long, she looks at you. "No point in hanging around."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You've got dirt in your veins, dumbass. Are we really going to argue about that?" She's bustling along, even as you're sidling back towards the bathroom. There's a vent you'd scoped out there, the first night. It's just big enough for you to fit into, if you duck your horns, and you'd spent an hour each night since then tracking it to the shipyard, and counting how many steps it takes. You hadn't had the opportunity to try it, yet, but. It can't be too hard. You know you'll fit.

It just won't be pleasant, but when you think of going back into the hallway -

You won't. Better the vents.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm leaving," you say instead, cracking the door.

She's shoving things into the bag, but she looks up. The look isn’t quite a smile! It’s more.. a curl of her lips, all dry and brittle, like that’s the only way she knows how to. "Try not to die."

That's about as friendly as you're going to get, you think.

The scramble through the vents is about as cramped as you expect. But if you keep your horns down, at least, they don't scrape, and there's enough clunks and sighs of machinery that no one thinks to look up.

AA: ico.

AA: are you here?

AA: because i kind of

AA: aw, shit.

AA: everything’s kind of fucked up right now, and i really, really could use some help.

You’re halfway across the shipbay when the door crashes open, and the girl saunters in.

(Not the girl. Nanako Bonjou, ID had told you, words rattling across the front of your screen so quickly that you’d barely had time to read them. Twelve sweeps, oliveblood with strong telekinesis, IPC --

Where’s the rest of her battery, sweetheart? Because fuck her, you’re going to have to worry about the rest of that, and at least some of them ought to be sick --)

“Où es-tu?” Nanako calls out. “Où es-tu, ma petit souris? Montre-toi! Montre-toi, où que tu sois!”

The ground is dry under foot, and you’ve had sweeps of practice. The first thing you’d done, back in the room, was strip off your boots: now you’re down to socks, and when you launch yourself across the pavement, it’s as silent as you can manage. Her ears are flat, inflexible little things! She can’t hear you, if you try hard enough.

If you can keep your pumpbiscuit from giving you away. It’s pounding like a drum, so loud that you can barely here her off in the distance. All you want to do is get to the sewage outlet, but that’s out in the open, right where she can see it. Right now, she doesn’t know you’re here.

So you dive underneath one of the ships, instead, wriggling and kicking. The metal scrapes at your skin, and you have to slow down so that it doesn’t tear. What if they spot the blood, and try to catalogue it? What if your name comes up? You’ve never paid that much attention to science. You don’t know what they could do with a piece of hair, or a scrape of skin, or blood --

Fear is hard. You’ve never been one to be afraid of anything, not really, and if you hadn’t spent so much time calming Pheres down, you’re not sure you’d recognise the way your hands are going clammy, or the tightness in your chest. But this girl could kill you.

This girl will kill you, if she can. Taalik’s an indigo. The rest of the scientists are all violets -

- and her partner had still snapped Hoshio’s arm like it was so much tinder.

What’s a neck, compared to that?

“Sounis,” Nanako sings, and you can see her boots as they step by. You don’t breathe. Your phone is on silent, but you don’t dare to check it: ID’s advice had been for you to get the fuck out, and not wait for him to do something to help you.

(”You’ve gone and buried yourself under a ton of saltwater, darling,” he’d said, distressed: “I’m going to try, but I just don’t know what you want me to do, here!”)

(Like he hadn’t been the one to tell you about this.)

(It’s not fair to cling to his coat-tails: you’re not seven anymore, and he’s not your quadrant. But part of you’s resentful all the same.)

THat’s fine, though. You’ll make it be fine. You haven’t relied on ID in a half-sweep: you don’t need him now, not when it’s just you and a single girl in the bay. You’ll fight her yourself, if you need to, and with that thought, you slink out from under the ship enough to look.

When you peer out, she’s standing in front of the sewer outlet, just waiting.

That’s fine.

You don’t know much about ships. But you know enough to recognise a HMS Starbruiser when you see it, after all the nights Riccin spent trying to explain them to you. “They’re the fucking best,” she’d told you, practically curling in on herself from enthusiasm, “and they’re pure magnesium, girl, that’s the best part about it. Pure fucking - you can’t get better than that, in terms of weight, in terms of goddamn quality.” They were so expensive that the two of you’d barely been able to understand the price, back when she’d finally gone and found a listing online. And then, barely a perigee later, they’d all been recalled.

Except this one, apparently. There’s a fuel line, right above your head, brushing against your ears. When you sidle back and give it a yank, just hard enough for your prosthetic to stir, the line gives.

Another yank, and it gives.

The spray of gas hitting the ground sounds like thunder in the silence of the hall. She must hear it. She has to. So you’re sidling back before it’s even hit the ground, and as soon as you’re back on your feet, you lean forward and give the back of the ship a shove. The fangs of your prosthetic biting in stings, more than it should after two weeks of healing. You can almost feel the siphon of blood as it pulls in -

- but it’s worth it, because a moment later, when you shove the ship again, the brake snaps somewhere underneath it. It lurches forward, uneasily at first, but with the minor slope of the ground rapidly giving it momentum. You’ve only got a second to fumble your lighter out of your pocket. A flick of the switch, then you toss it over your shoulder, hands shaking.

You don’t stay to watch. You’re already bolting when there’s a sizzle behind you, and then, a scarce second later, you feel the heat as the fuel line catches fire.

It’s when the ship’s hull catches fire that you hear it, though: the crackle of metal catching flame, and the shriek of the bolts, already beginning to protest under the new heat. Ducking behind a new ship, there’s a shriek and crumple of metal behind you, loud enough that it makes your soundflaps pin.

But you have to keep moving. There’s another ship that you give a shove, hard enough that it leaves you shaking, but it’s sliding right towards the flaming mess in the center. The air’s full of smoke already, black and billowing up at your feet, not at all deterred by the shriek of the sprinklers above flicking on. The smoke tickles at your lungs. It burns at your throat, and pulling your shirt over your nose doesn’t do anything to stop it. Pulling up the hood of your jacket helps a little, but not much.

It’s fine, you remind yourself. You’re not going to be here long, and the fish inside the labs -

- well, if they’re still alive, you hope you didn’t just blow up their ship.

(You hope Taalik’ll be fine. “Try not to die,” she’d told you, and you didn’t even think to say anything back.)

There’s crates along the side of the shipbay. You duck into those, and now.. all you have to do is wait. So you count to sixty, hidden neatly behind the cargo, and try to breathe in through your mouth. The girl will have bolted for the ships. IPC agent, ID had said, and an expensive model like a Starbruiser - well, it’s got to have been hers, doesn’t it?

And even if it isn’t, there’s six tons of water above you, and more below. A single crack in the frame of this place will drown the lot of you, from the fuschia on down. She’s a telekinetic. She’s probably securing a net over the flames even right now, siphoning out the oxygen and snuffing them before anything can blow.

It’s been sixty seconds. She has to. And in the meanwhile, the smoke’s burning all the way through your lungs, and you know the sort of damage that does. The sort of shit you’re probably breathing in.

(You didn’t get away from the explosion as quickly as you should’ve, you think. Your flaps hurt. Your bulbs hurt. Your body hurts, in a way you can’t tell if it’s from blood loss, or the explosion, and that’s doing nothing to stop the frantic patter of your heart.)

She’s going to be at the ship, and you have to go, you have to go now. So you take a shaky breath, you duck out of your hiding place, and you make for the sewage outlet.

She’s not there. It’s clear, and there’s a weight off your shoulders. The air is full of smoke, and your body aches, and she’s going to kill you if she finds you, but - she didn’t. She isn’t going to. And you’re half-way into the pipe when something snatches you by the back of the neck, and hauls you out.

There’s a burn on her cheek, shining a sickly green in the light. Her eyes are red, red as the cuffs around Wilcox’s wrist, and you’re twisting to swing a fist right in her face before you’ve even processed who you’re looking at.

It’s like punching a wall. You shriek, pulling away from her, curling your arm in on yourself, and she just sighs, shaking her head. There’s a thousand warning notes flashing in front of your eyes, wailing about damage, and the fangs of your prosthetic are sinking in, tighter and tighter, to try and fix it.

“Merci, ma sounis,” she scolds you. There’s soot on her nose. The edges of her hairs are burned black, frayed in the dark. “Hadn’t run, wouldn’t have chased, yeah? But you ran! And you broke things. Friend built ship! What supposed to say? Rebel blew it up? Shame on you.”

You want to say something witty. All that comes out is a snarl, instead, but all of your thrashing isn’t doing anything to free you: it’s like being held by iron, and the only result you get is an exasperated cluck. “Aah. How old you? Seven? Wilcox all wrong, wrong, wrong, shouldn’t be done. Should’ve known better. Bad enough, pulling guppies in.”

“Can no do nothing about guppies. But mice?” She shakes her head, sending the white locks flying. “Sorry,” she says, and maybe it’s even real. You don’t care. There’s brown crowding your eyes, blocked only by the way you keep blinking, and you - you don’t even know why you’re bothering, honestly. She’s going to cull you, and you don’t know what you’re going to do, and you didn’t tell Hadean, and you didn’t tell Pheres, and -

"Sorry,” she says again, and draws her hand back again. This time, you can’t exactly stop her, not with your prosthetic shattered. All you can do is thrash, but a heel to the gut doesn’t do anything - your leg bounces off of her psi like armor, and her grip is iron. Your hood falls back. All you can do is pin your ears back, and hiss.

(You’re going to die, and nobody is ever going to know.)

But when your hood falls, her face blanches. “Poivre?” she breathes, and then she takes a step back. A moment later, she seems to realise you’re still in her hand: she drops your collar, as quick as she’d snatched you up, and when you land on your feet, already staggering back, she doesn’t try to follow you.Her face’s as pale as her hair.  Only for a moment, though, and then there’s green flooding her cheeks, all at once. Her hand falls. Your pumpbiscuit is pounding like a drum, too loud for you to make out more than the shapes of the words that she’s saying.But there’s a hand on her mouth, and when your hiss fades into a cough, wet and raspy even past the thump of your blood, just like that, something in her crumples.She doesn’t turn away from you. She just takes a step back, and then another, her eyes taking you in like she’s seeing you for the first time.You’re missing something, here. You should figure it out - but all you can think about is the outlet, right behind her. When you take a shaky step towards it, one hand on your throat, she doesn’t move. And even the second doesn’t illict a reaction.So you dive into the pipe, instead, and run.

[moonlightxarcher]

Selene’s Log, Day Three (Part Two)

Update, 10:15 am.

“With a crazy start like that, ya might think thingzz would die down, but on our way to look for this Ilima guy, Selene ran into thizz group of Alolan Meowth cauzzing big trouble!” The Dex’s screen lights up with the footage of a trio of dark-furred Meowth swiping money and other items from the locals, dashing off through the maze-like grass-lined fences around town. Roto’s camera pans over to Selene, whose eyes have narrowed in a determined glare. “Between her arrowzz and Strix’zz Leafage,” the Dex continues narrating, the footage shifting to show the trainer and Pokemon in question brandishing their weapons of choice and loosing their attacks, “They managed to box those feline thievezz in! But the darnedest thing happened-” A white blur dashes through Roto’s view, slamming into the side of one of the Meowth, its form smashing into a nearby tree and crumpling on the ground.

Roto scrambles to get a better shot, Selene running into the frame with Strix hot on her heels, and they all lay eyes on a regal looking dog with shaggy white fur. “This Furfrou here was apparently a bit of a local vigilante of sortzz, though not so much of an illegal vigilante, I guess, since the police officers we spoke to didn’t consider its actionzz criminal. Anyway, Selene and this Furfrou struck up a partnership, since, see, after they all beat up those Meowth, they found some Team Skull Emblemzz craved into the collars they wore. Neither Selene, nor Furfrou wanted to let those hooliganzz get away with causing more trouble, so they decided to handle them together.” Roto displays a few stills he captured of the two high-fiving and investigating the surrounding streets. 

The scene shifts to the front of a Malasada Shop, where a pair of Team Skull Grunts are seen harassing a guy at the entrance. The white blur of the Furfrou dashes into view, knocking one of the Grunts on their and interrupting the conversation. It’s the usual shit you get with petty thieves, claiming that it ain’t their fault that they have to do this sorta stuff. Nonetheless, Selene and Furfrou battle the Grunts, on the condition that they can face her two on one if they agree to come with her to turn themselves in if they lose. 

“Safe to say, Selene and Furfrou kicked their buttzz all the way back to their mommazz!” The Dex chuckles mechanically, amused grins flashing on his screen. The footage shifts to the researcher and the dog taking the Grunts to the local police department and the Grunts getting cuffed. “With that all taken care of,” Roto continues, the scene shifting to another angle as the Fufrou rolls a Pokeball towards Selene with her nose. “We got another member of the team! Turnz out Furfrou enjoyed working with Selene so much that she wanted to stick around permanently. Besides, there’s plenty of other Team Skull Gruntzz out there to take down, right? Can’t be locked up in one town.” 

Furfrou’s data flashes up on screen.

Name: Lupa

Gender: Female

Nature: Modest

Characteristic: Strongly defiant

“Ya know that Ilima guy we were looking for? Turns out he wazz watching the whole thing! He wanted a tazzte of the power Selene had to offer and challenged her to a battle. It...” The footage plays out, with Ilima having the upper hand practically the entire time, despite having only a Yungoos and a Smeargle compared to Selene’s five equally potent teammates. Selene does pull through in the end, with Strix getting a clutch critical hit on Leafage to knock out her foe’s Smeargle, but it came incredibly close. “...didn’t go azz well as she’d expected.” 

“So, even though Ilima cleared her to attempt hizz Trial in the Verdant Cavern, she wasn’t exactly keen on fighting another foe that strong without doing some sincere training of her own.” A small montage of footage plays out, with Selene and her teammates taking on various Trainers and wild Pokemon around Hau’oli City. “We even caught another team member- our sixth!” the Dex adds excitedly, practically fast-forwarding the footage in his enthusiasm to reach the part of the clip where they took on a lazy Drowzee relaxing against the base of a berry tree. 

As Selene and her team members test out various attacks against the slumbering Hypnosis Pokemon, her annoyed mutters can be heard as she scoffs off to the side, “How is this thing taking our blows so well? It must have Snorlax blood with how bulky the damn thing is...” 

“She did manage to capture the Drowzee... after a while.” Roto sighs as the scene shifts to a single unbroken Pokeball surrounded by four others shattered around the tree. The lone ball shakes thrice and then clicks. The Drowzee’s data flashes up on screen.

Name: Baku

Gender: Male

Nature: Lax

Characteristic: Sturdy body

“We’re lucky he doezzn’t seem to mind helping uzz out after we interrupted hizz nap. That Baku is pretty strong, I’d hate to be on hizz bad side. Maybe he doezz have some Snorlax in him, could explain the appetite too. Never seen a Pokemon that small eat thrice their own body weight in berriezz.” The Dex shivers slightly, beeping lowly. 

“Later that night, me and Selene were heading back to the Pokemon Center to heal up the team when she ran into Lillie. I’ll let her take it from here...”

---

Update, 9:34 pm.

Lillie’s frantic voice called out to Selene as she ran towards them, nearly falling to her knees and panting when she reached them. “I... can’t... I can’t find her. I... I lost Nebby!” The girl looks near tears, which Selene promptly wipes off with her thumb. 

The smallest smile cracks her impassive face as she mutters softly, “Then we will just have to find her. Where did you last see her?” she asks, wanting to get straight to business and forgo excessive crying. 

Lillie nods and points toward the north exist. “Just outside of town. We were going to gather berries from some of the trees out there, and I thought I put her back in my bag after we did, but when I got back to the Center in town, she was nowhere to be seen!” She seems about to break into tears again, but manages to calm herself down enough. 

Selene scratches her chin, seemingly wondering how to approach this, when Roto pipes up, his red arm-like appendage falling into frame as he raises his equivalent of a hand. “Oo! I have an idea. How bout we split up! Me and Selene will head up Route 2, and you can check in town. Nebby mighta came back here after she got separated from you, right? So we should check both placezz.”

“That sounds like a plan,” Selene nods, azure eyes darting to Lillie to see what she was thinking about this.

The younger blonde seemed to hesitate for a second, but she nodded, her eyes narrowed in determination. “Right! I’ll see if I can find Professor Kukui or Captain Ilima. They might be able to help too.”

And off they run.

A slightly shaky cam captures Selene as she runs off, searching for any signs of the spacey cloud Pokemon known as Nebby. Strix doesn’t seem to have much luck either, as each time Selene calls out for a status check, she receives a single hoot- negative, nothing so far. This wild Swanna chase goes on for awhile before Strix perks up, her head swiveled toward the neighboring cemetery. “Did you hear something?” Selene calls out, her owl cooing in affirmation. 

Roto follows them, the camera panning around to catch a beautiful view of the full moon hanging at just the right point above the tombstones to coat them in a pale, effervescent glow. It was beautiful, even her could admit that. As they close in, the noise Strix heard can be picked up by the Dex and Selene- a twinkling coo like falling stars.

“Nebby!” Selene’s eyes go wide at that, and she darts off through the maze of graves and fences towards the back end, her Dex floating not too far behind her. Finally, the camera lands square on the little space cloud, dancing and cooing as she plays with a nocturnal bat Pokemon. 

“Well, hello little ones,” coos Selene, reaching out to pat the heads of both the Zubat and Nebby. Part of her wished to admonish them for worrying herself and Lillie, but they looked so cute playing together she couldn’t help herself. “Were you taking care of our Nebby for us, Zubat-chan?” she asks, gently scratching the blind Pokemon beneath her chin.

She receives a happy low shriek in response, the little Poison/Flying Type nuzzling into her touch. Selene smiles softly. “I will take that as a yes.” 

Several calm moments pass, the group gathered there merely taking in the cool night breeze. Though Roto does capture an odd moment where Nebby busts her head against Selene’s arm, and the researcher looked a bit more... startled than normal. “Roto-san?” she mutters lowly, tossing her head over her shoulder toward the floating Dex. “Did you... Never mind. Let’s take her home.”

He still catches her barely audible mumble- “I thought... I heard someone say thank you...”

---

“We brought Nebby back to Kukui’zz lab, where Lillie thanked uzz both profuzzely. Selene tried to be all modezzt about it, but I think she shoulda taken a bit more pride in what she did! She helped a friend find someone dear to her, that means a lot!” Multiple thumbs-up flash on screen. “Not that we didn’t get anything out of it. Nebby’zz new friend didn’t want to leave, so she decided to stick with uzz!” He shows a small clip of the Zubat clinging to Selene’s arm before she gets the idea and taps her head with a Pokeball.

Zubat’s data flashes on screen.

Name: Carmilla 

Gender: Female

Nature: Docile

Characteristic: Mischievous

“Lookzz like that the lazzt of the log for tonight. Selene wanted me to procezz some of the footage while she got situated in her cot. I think I’ll power down for the night and hit the hay myzzelf.”

End Day Three.

[meredith-alexandra-jane-blog]

My Immortal: Beauty and the Beast Version- Chapter 2

Chapter 2:

Summary:

More insanity ensues, prepz and byythches!

AN: Stop flaming! if u flam it menz u a prep or a poser! Da only reason the Beast swor is cuz he had a hedache ok on top of dat he was mad at dem 4 having sexx! PS im not updating umtil I get 5 good revoiws!

The Beast made Gaston and I follow him. He kept shouting at us angrily.

"You ludacris fools!" he shouted.

I started to cry tears of blood down my pallid face. Gaston comforted me. When we went back to the castle the Beast took us to a clock named Cogsworth and a teapot named Mrs. Potts both who were both looking very angry.

"They were having homosexual relations in MY FOREST!" he yelled in a furious voice.

"Why did you do such a thing, you mediocre dunces?" asked Clocksworth.

"How dare you?" demanded Mrs. Teapot. "In front of the children?" She covered her teacup grandson's eyes. (sorry, her son)

And then Gaston shrieked. "BECAUSE I LOVE HIM!"

Everyone was quiet. The Beast and Mrs. Teapot looked mad but Clocksworth said. "Fine. Very well. You may go up and find rooms."

We went in and a sexxy candleabrum named Loomiere yelled out to us. "BE OUR GUEST!"

"Gaston, have you considered the idea that this castle may be goffik and haunted?" I asked him.

"Don't lose your nerve, LeFou. Can't you see that it is, mon amour? It is as beautiful and goffik as ME." Gaston said.

And my boyfriend was right! The castle was dark and goffik! And so romantic because Gaston was there with me.

We went upstairs while the talking objects glared at us.

"Are you okay, LeFou?"

"Yeah. I guess," I lied. I went to a fancy bedroom and brushed my teeth and my hair and changed into a long, black, frock coat 1700's style with red lace all around it and black high heel boots to make me look taller. When I came out...

Gaston was standing in front of the bathroom, and he was singing 'I just wanna live' by Gentille Charlotte. I was so flattered. We hugged and kissed. After that, we said good night and he reluctantly went back to his room.

AN: shjt up prepz ok? PS I wnot update ubtil u gibe me goood revows!

The next day I woke up in the fancy castle bedroom. I put on black breeches that was all ripped around the end and a matching top with red skulls all around it and high heeled boots that were black. I put on two pairs of skull earrings, and two crosses in my ears. I spray painted my hair with purple.

(Madame de Goffik Garderobe the famous singer lived here and she helped me get all these kewl accessories! Stanley u jealous huh?)

In the great hall, I ate some Count Chocula cereal with blood instead of milk-

(AN: NO, I won't- I can't do that to LeFou! I love my gay son. I will not have him drinking this much blood.)

I had milk with cereal and a glass of more milk to help me grow tall and strong like Gaston. Suddenly someone bumped into me. And all the milk spilled over my top.

"You bastard!" I shouted angrily.

I regretted saying it when I looked up because I was looking into the pale white face of a gothic boy with long blonde hair with red streaks in it. He was wearing so much eyeliner that I was going down his face and he was wearing black lipstick. He was wearing red contact lenses just like Gaston's. He had a manly stubble on his chin. He had a sexy English accent. He looked exactly like Dan Stevens. He was so sexy that my body went all hot when I saw him kind of like an erection only-yeah I'm a man so maybe I did, shuddup that's private you sicko.

"I'm so sorry," he said in a shy voice.

"That's all right. What's your name?" I questioned.

"My name's Prince Adam, though most call me Beast these days," he grumbled.

"Why?" I exclaimed.

He looked nervous for a second, then I think he started to make up a lie. I'm not a fool. He may, in fact, be that Beast who invited us here and he transforms back and forth, but let's just pretend I'm stupid and I don't know.

"Because I like the taste of Vampire blood." he giggled.

"Well I am a werewolf." I confessed.

"Really?" he whimpered.

"Yeah." I howled. Then, Adam growled sexily.

We sat down to talk for a while. Then Gaston came up behind me and said he had a surprise for me and so I went away with him.

Gaston and I held our pale white hands with black nail polish as we went upstairs.

I waved to Beasty. Dark misery was in his depressed eyes. I guess he was jealous of me that I was going out with Gaston. Anyway I went upstairs excitedly with Gaston. We went into his room and locked the door. Then...

We started frenching passively (because we're Frenchmen, u dumb preps!) and we took off each others clothes enthusiastically. He felt me up before I took off my breeches. I took off my black leather top and he took off his tight breeches. We went on the bed and started making out naked and then he put his boy's thingy in (censored) and we HAD SEX. (c is dat stupid?)

"Oh, Gaston, Gaston!" I screamed while getting an orgasm when all of a sudden I saw a tattoo I had never seen before on Gaston's arm. It was a black heart with an arrow through it. On it in bloody gothic writing were the words...Vampire!

I was so angry.

"You bastard!" I shouted angrily, jumping out of the bed.

"No! No! But you don't understand!" Gaston pleaded. But I knew too much.

"No, you frcking idiot!" I shouted. "You probably have AIDs anyway!"

I put on my clothes all huffily and then I stomped out. Gaston ran out even though he was naked. He had a really big you-know-what but I was too mad to care. I stomped out and did so until I was in Beasty's classroom where he was having a lesson with Clocksworth and some other people.

"BEASTY ADAM, YOU MOTHERFCKER!" I yelled.

AN: stop flassing ok? if u do den ur a prep!

Everyone in the class stared at me and then Gaston came into the room even though he was naked and started begging me to take him back.

"LeFou, it's not what you think!" Gaston screamed sadly.

My friend, B'loody Beauty Belle, smiled at me understatedly. She flipped her long waste-length gothic brown-with-red-streaks hair and opened her crimson eyes like blood that she was wearing contact lenses on. She had pale white skin that she was wearing white makeup on. Hermione was kidnapped when she was born-

(wait- I meant Belle not Hermione! They both look like Emma Watson so dont judg me 4 beeing confuzzed u dum prepz!)

Her real parents are vampires, but Voldebeast (who is the Undead Father of Beasty) killed her mother by causing her to have the same disease his wife (Adam's Maman) died of.

She still has nightmares about her mother dying when she was a baby and she is very haunted and depressed.

"What is it that you desire, you ridiculous dimwit!" Clocksworth demeaned angrily in his cold voice but I ignored him.

"Beasty, I can't believe you cheated on me with Gaston!" I shouted at him. Everyone gasped.

B'loody Belle started to cry tears of blood and despair, because Beasty is her boyfriend.

{GASTON'S POV:} "I don't know why LeFou was so mad at me. I had went out with Beasty for a while (he's bi in case you haven't figured that out) but then he broke my heart. He dumped me because he liked Belle when she was a stupid preppy fcker before she turned kewl and goffik and became known as B'loody Beauty Belle. He had gone through horrible problems, and now he was extremely gothic because he kept transforming back and forth between a hairy Beasty and that preppy fcker Prince Adam. (Haha, like I would hang out with a prep.)" {END OF GASTON'S POV, BACK TO LEFOU'S}

"But I'm not going out with Gaston anymore!" said Beasty.

"Yeah, fcking right!" Fck off, you bastard!" I screamed. I ran out of the room and into Beasty's wolf-infested forest where I lost my virility to Gaston and then I started to bust into tears.

AN: Stop flaming ok! I dntn wach da hole Disney movie! itz nut my folt if the Beast swers! besuizds I SED HE HAD A HEDACHE! and da reson clock doesn't lik adam is coz he's christian and beasty is a setanist! MCR ROX!

I was so mad and sad. I couldn't believe Gaston for cheating on me. I began to cry against the tree where I did it with Gaston.

Then, all of a suddenly, an horrible Beast (not Beasty cuz he's all cute and furry) with red eyes and no nose started flying towards me! He didn't have a nose (basicaly like Voldebeast in the movie-oh wait we hardly saw Adam's evil father 'cept in a song flashback can't remember if he had a nose then but this is what he transformed into after his Death as an Undead, u preps!) He had all black fur but it was obvious he wasn't gothic. It was...Voldebeast!

"No!" I shouted in a scared voice but then Voldebeast shouted "Impérieux!" and I couldn't run away.

"Courbé-Shanks!" I shouted at him. Voldebeast fell off his flying candlestick and started to scream. I felt bad for him (because I'm LeFou and I have a heart) so I stopped.

"LeFou." he yelled. "Thou must kill Beasty Adam!"

I thought about Beasty with his sexah blue eyes and his gothic blonde with red-streaks hair and how his face looks like Dan Stevens. I remembered that Gaston had said I didn't understand, so I thought, what if Gaston went out with Beasty before I went out with him and they broke up?

"No, Voldebeast!" I shouted back.

Voldebeast gave me a gun. "No! Please!" I begged. "I don't know how to shoot a gun! Gaston is the best hunter! He never misses a shot, I'm merely his hunting assistant, you see!"

"Thou must!" he yelled. "If thou does not, then I shall kill thy beloved Gaston!"

Mon Dieu! I hated myself for mentioning Gaston. I can't help it. I talk about him all the time because I love him and I can't go an hour without saying his name.

I wanted to cry more depressed tears in front of this monster, but I am not weak. I'm frcking LeFou! I showed him my sassy side by sticking out my middle finger and flipping him the bird.

"It's never gonna happen! Besides, I could probably assume that he's sneaking up on you right this moment. Most likely, he is aiming for your LIVER!" I exclaimed bravely.

Voldebeast got a dude-ur-so-pathetic look on his face. (It was exactly like the face his son Adam made in the movie when he saw the old hag Agathe in the castle.) "If you doth not kill Beasty, then thou know what will happen to Gaston!" he shouted. Then he flew away angry on his flying candlestick.

I was so scared and mad I didn't know what to do. Suddenly Gaston came into the woods. (I was right. He was aiming for his liver, but the monster flew away too fast.)

"Gaston!" I said. "You almost got him!" I said, to bolster his ego.

"Hi!" he said back but his face was all sad. He was wearing white foundation and messy eyeliner and looked kind of like a pentagram (geddit?) between Dan Stevens in the movie and Luke Evans.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

"No." he answered.

"I'm sorry I got all mad at you but I thought you cheated on me," I expelled.

That's okay, he said all depressed and we went back to his school called Porc-Verrues, making out.

[antisocial-otaku]

Glowing Skull Analysis

I don’t know how I still have the will to analyse this crappy season, but here I am.

The glowing skull has been driving me utterly crazy since 1st of January and I trully want to figure out what is about.

I’ve been talking with @lookingforawaybacktonarnia​, @monikakrasnorada​, @loveteaelephants​, @goodmythicalmail​ and @sherchemistlock​ about it but even then we can’t come to a final conclusion, so I’d love to know what your opinion is.

I watched the whole season again (yes, I suffered again watching that thing) and I compiled all the dialogue we can hear while the skull is shown, either glowing or not. Also, I specified if the two lamps in that wall are on or off as it may be important, cause we can see them turning off and on in some scenes, and it makes no sense. I added numbers to each scene so you can see how the skull looks in the pic I attach at the end. You can click here if you want to see it right now. (right click, open new window if my tumblr behaves stupid) Just search for the same number.

This is gonna be long, but mostly because of the dialogues, you can skip to the end to see my conclussions, but if you want to look if there’s any conection between the dialogues and the skull glowing, you can read them.

THE SIX THATCHERS:

1.      Minute 13:10  ➤ GLOWING. Lestrade comes in and explains  them the “Charlie” case (two lamps on)

- Lestrade: “The son who was in tibet, DNA all checks out.”[…] “Night of the party the car is empty. Then a week later… the dead boy is found at the wheel.”   - John: “The seats?”  - Sherlock: “Yes, the car seats.” - Lestrade: “Yeah, Right…” - John: “theres’s something else” - Lestrade: “Yes please.”  - Sherlock: “One condition.” - Lestrade: “Okay.”   - Sherlock: “Take all the credit”  - Lestrade: “Yeah, you say that, and then John blogs about it, and you get all the credit anyway. Which makes me look like some kind of prima Donna who insists on getting credit for something he didn’t do. So, you take all the glory, thank you. Just solve the bloody thing will you? it’s driving me nuts.”

2.       Minute 25:09  ➤  GLOWING. Sherlock talks to the client who wants to know why his wife left him. (two lamps on)

- Sherlock: “Now, you haven’t always been in life insurance, have you? You started out in manual labour. Oh, don’t bother being astonished. Your right hand’s almost an entire size bigger than your left.” - Client: “Oh, I was a carpenter, like my dad.”[…] “How the hell… Yes, E-cigarettes.” - Sherlock: “But you’re convinced you can give up, so…You don’t want to buy a pipe, because that means you’re not serious about quitting.” - John: “Yeah? It’s been there since 9:00 this morning.” - Sherlock: “Has it? Where were you?” - Client: “What about my girlfriend?” - Sherlock: “What?” - Client: “You said I had an ex.” - Sherlock: “You’ve got a Japanese tattoo in the crook of your elbow in the name akako.” - Client: “But surely that means I want to forget her, not that I’m indifferent.”[…] “I thought you’d done something clever. Oh, no. No, but now you’ve explained it. It’s dead simple, innit?” […] “what do you mean?” - Sherlock: “Have you ever wondered if your wife was a little bit out of your league?” […] “This drug will then render the president entirely susceptible to the will of that new master.” - Client: “What?” - Sherlock: “Moriarty will then use the president as a pawn . tipping the balance in favour of a first-strike policy against Russia.” - Client: “I don’t. Just the bras.” - John: “So. What’s this all about, then?” - Sherlock: “Having fun”

(continuation) Lestrade showing them the Thatcher bust. - Lestrade: “Oh, I think you’ll like it.”  “Different part of town.” “What’s wrong? I thought you’d be pleased.” 

- Sherlock: “I am pleased.” - Lestrade: “You don’t look pleased.”

3.       Minute 42:15 ➤  GLOWING. Sherlock with AGRA USB in Baker Street (two lamps on) - Sherlock: “Well?” - Lestrade: “He can’t have got far. We’ll have him in a bit.” - Sherlock: “I very much doubt it.” - Lestrade: “Why?” - Sherlock: “Because I think he used to work with Mary.”

 4.       Minute 6:48 ➤ NO GLOWING. Sherlock is with a client who killed his brother cause of amnesia. (two lamps on)

- Sherlock: “The heart medication you are taking is known to cause bouts of amnesia.” 

- Client: “Yes, I think so. Why?”

THE LYING DETECTIVE:

5.       Minute 12:30 ➤  GLOWING. Faith scene (two lamps on)  

- Faith: “I don’t understand.” […]  “How?” […] “So, what do you think? My case”

The next scene was hard to write down so sorry if it’s hard to follow, you can look at the pics, they can help.

 Sherlock walking on Baker Street walls : 

GLOWING:

 6.       Sherlock walking on Baker Street walls:

Minute 26:00 ➤  Just arrived at Baker Street (we can only see the left lamp on) - Wiggins: “They found your address. They brought you here.” (lamps off)  

 7.       Minute 26:03 ➤  Sherlock disoriented

- Wiggins: “You’ve had too much. And that’s me saying it.” (lamps off)   Minute 26:27 - Sherlock: “They’re always poor, and lonely, and strange. But those are only the ones we catch.” “But if you are rich, and powerful, and necessary…” “Anyone.” “What if you had the compulsion to kill and money? What then?” Minute 26:36 ➤  Sherlock spinning. (two lamps off)

 8.       NOT GLOWING : 

- Minute 26:21 ➤  Sherlock starts walking on the Wall. (two lamps off)   - Minute 26:48 ➤  Sherlock   falls into the sofa (two lamps off, right lamp possition changes when the skull is not glowing.)

 9.      Minute 1:02:02 ➤   BLACK skull, only time we see it like that. (Two lamps on, and there’s a third on too.)

- John: “What are you doing?” - Mycroft: “Why fixate on culverton Smith?” - Mrs. Hudson: “What are these dreadful people doing in my house?” - Mycroft: “My brother has embarked  in a programme of self-destruction” - Mrs. Hudson: “What’s on his mind? And you’ve had all this time? You’re so funny, you are! Poor old Sherlock, always going on about you. I mean he knows you’re an idiot, But that’s okay, ‘cause you are a lovely doctor. But he has no idea what an idiot you are! You want to know what’s bothering Sherlock? Easiest thing in the world, anyone can do it.” […] “Well, what does he do with anything he can’t answer, John? Every time.” - John: “He stabs it” - Mrs. Hudson: “And that’s his departed wife.”

10.     Minute 1:20:34 ➤  GLOWING. John says he cheated on Mary. (two lamps on)

- John: “I cheated on you, Mary.”

 11.   Minute 1:23:19 ➤  GLOWING. John and Sherlock are going to get cake (Lamp off, we can only see the right one) 

- John: “What. What is it? What’s wrong?” - Sherlock: “Isn’t that right, Mary?”

 THE FINAL PROBLEM:

12.      Minute 7:47 ➤  NOT GLOWING: Mycroft in Baker Street (two lamps on)

- Mrs. Hudson: “ You have to sit in the chair” - Mycroft: “So, what happens now? Are you going to make deductions?”[…]“The roads we walk have demons beneath. And yours have been waiting for a very long time.”[…] “I used, at discreet intervals, potential trigger words to update myself as to your mental condition.”[…] “Seven years between myself and Sherlock, one year between Sherlock and Eurus.”[…]“She was incandescent, even then.”

13.      Minute 16:21 ➤  GLOWING. Mycroft explains what the grenade is. (two lamps on)

- Mycroft: “It’s a DX-707. I’ve authorised the purchase of quite a number of these.”[…]“The motion sensor has activated.  If any of us move, the grenade will detonate. Assuming walls of reasonable strength. I am moved to wonder if the cafe below is open.” […] “ We have a maximum of three seconds to vacate the blast radius.” […] “Yes, agreed.”

14.     Minute 18:28 ➤  GLOWING. (not sure though, I think when is off it looks more Brown-ish like in number 12).  Running away from the grenade. (two lamps off)  you can see how the lamps suddently are off in here)

15.     Minute 1:27:27  ➤ GLOWING. Sherlock and John together in Baker Street.

16.     Minute 1:27:38//1:28:00  ➤  GLOWING. When we see the cases they’re working on. (left lamp on, we can see it only in the ventriloquist one.)

- Mary narrating: “there is always one last hope.” “like they’ve always been there, and they always will.”

17.     Minute 14:38 Continuation of 12 (sorry I didn’t notice this one before and had to put it in the end.) ➤  GLOWING. 

- Mycroft: “This is the story I told our parents to spare them further pain, and to account for the absence of an identifiable body.”[…] “The depth of Eurus’s psychosis and the extent of her abilities couldn’t hope to be contained in any ordinary institution. Uncle Rudi took care of things. There’s a place called Sherrinford. An island. It’s a secure and very secretive installation whose sole purpose is to contain what we call the uncontainables.”

 CONCLUSIONS:

-    The state of the skull seems bound to Sherlock ➤  The only moment in which Sherlock is NOT in the room is when the skull is black.  I love John’s MP theory but this moment here and the fact that we see the skull in the 3 episodes is what makes me be not 100% sure about that theory.

-   Connection between skull and drugs ➤  The only episode in which we can see the skull trully blue is in TLD, the only one in which TS12 is named. Also Baker Street kichen’s (where Sherlock has drugs) colour is similar to the one of the skull. Also we are shown TD12 illuminated.

-   Connection between skull and MP  ➤ Arwel said on Twitter the skull is like the base sliding in HLV, that happens when Sherlock is entering/is in MP  (you can see the whole tweet Exchange in here) Also, if you look at the moment in number 5, you can see how John seems not the be present (just the balloon), first he dissapears and then we are shown only the balloon while John speaks (27:42) and yes, the skull is glowing. Another moment with an MP feel is when Sherlock walks in Baker Street walls, the skull starts glowing when he starts walking on the walls, and then when he falls into the sofa stops glowing.

-    The sentences they say while we see the skull glowing, together, make no sense, so it seems we can rule it out. (if anyone find any kind of code in the sentences please tell me) -  Also, @monikakrasnorada thought about the skull as a CT Scan, you can read it here 

-   Talking to @goodmythicalmail she told me she thinks is it’s linked to how close Sherlock is to dying / his depth into the dream.

If you have any other theory or if you have something else to back up the ones above, just reply to this post. ^^ (also please tell me if there’s any mistake cause my brain is off after writing all this.)

Tags below the cut

@jawnlock-is-real @sherchemistlock @inevitably-johnlocked @shawleyleres @jenna221b @tjlcisthenewsexy @lookingforawaybacktonarnia @aamapolaa @loveteaelephants @goodmythicalmail @the-7-percent-solution @teaandqueerbaiting @welovethebeekeeper @swimmingfeelsinajohnlockianpool @themanandthemachine @worriesconstantly @kimbiablue

[beccas-a-cipher]

A Magiclica At Last

Originally posted: 37 August, 2018

Kaiston was my OTP and I’m hoping it’s still alive by the time this plot is over

Still wondering is Kai will have consequences for being exposed to the White Stone as a Spero/Cipher because I feel like that was kind of brushed under the carpet

This comes directly from season 1 episode 22, versus most of these that are supposed to be general events and don't directly correlate to an episode.

Kai groaned again as another wave of insufferable pain washed through his body.

Everything is going wrong... he thought to himself.

There had just been an explosion somewhere nearby, no doubt the Spero putting their plan into action. He cursed himself for falling ill at the perfectly wrong moment.

"Chase, you go see what that was about. Ivy, can you keep working on that remedy?" Quinston sprung into leader mode.

Chase nodded and in a flash of yellow was gone.

"Q-Quinston, I'll be fine-" Kai sucked in air as another spike shot through his entire body. "You need to stop them, before they get the White Stone-"

The green-eyed Magiclica dropped to his knee beside the Spero boy. His eyes were filled with concern, telling Kai he was his biggest priority when he shouldn't be.

"No. You're most certainly not fine. And I'm going to stay here, with you, until you're better and not in any sort of pain, okay?" He gently grabbed Kai's hand, sending pins and needles up his arm, although he didn't show it.

Another wave started. Kai moaned in agony and scrunched his entire face. He needs to go...

"Any time now, Ivy!" Quinston called, panic slowly starting to creep into his voice.

"Working on it!" She replied, mixing a potion as fast as she could. Ivy whipped around and kneeled next to Kai, gently holding a beaker to his lips. Kai disliked his position at the moment, but considering his predicament he decided to just drink what was given to him.

"Anything?" Quinston asked. Kai still felt the dull thud of pain in his entire being, but it wasn't quite so unbearable as before.

"A little..." he sighed. "Thanks... Ivy, right?" He looked up and gave the Magiclica girl a quick smile. She hesitantly waved back. I wouldn't blame her.

"What happened?" Quinston demanded, worry woven into his voice.

Kai sighed. "Something's combating the demone scuro in my body-" they both gasped. Kai shrugged. "It's how a Spero gets their powers. Normally it doesn't effect us too much, except when we over-exert our powers. But I..." he cut himself off, not sure how to explain that the Spero has gotten this close to the White Stone, so much that he had actually touched the artifact.

"You what?" Ivy continued. Kai grimaced.

"The first time Ichiro took Melissa-"

"When they used you as a distraction," Quinston added.

Ivy growled. "Yeah, thanks for that. You nearly got me expelled!" She pointed an accusing finger at the Spero.

Kai grimaced. "Yeah, sorry about that... I didn't want to, I swear! Anyway, when that happened, the Spero actually got through the security and to where the White Stone was stored."

Ivy gasped again while Quinston mouthed something monosyllabic.

"I-Ichiro threatened Melissa that he would hurt her friends if she didn't break the ward. He asked me to bring her to the podium, a-and... I may or may not have touched the Stone once the ward was broken," the sky-eyed boy finished. The Magiclicas were silent for a moment.

"So... you actually touched the White Stone," Ivy repeated. Kai nodded.

"Do you know what this means? Magiclicas first came into existence when they touched the White Stone! That's how they gained their special powers!"

"Yeah, and now its powers don't like my powers," Kai snapped. The dull thud of pain was starting to come back, and he knew he didn't have much more time before he would he in trouble.

Quinston's expression grew concerned and Ivy's confused as they watched Kai squeeze his eyes right and fall back to a kneeling position.

"I-it's w-wearing off..." He panted, the exertion to right the pain kicking in again.

"Hold on, Kai, we'll get you some more potion. Ivy think you can-"

"That was the last of the lavender in this garden. The plant was already dying that I got it from. That might be why this lasted so short," Ivy stated grimly.

Kai grimaced as the pain washed over him again. Quinston was truly starting to panic, although Kai thought it was a stupid waste of energy over him.

"G-go s-stop the S-Spero! I don't matter! T-The Stone does!" The sky-eyed boy pleaded to the green-eyed.

Quinston shook his head. "I said I'm staying with you. Ivy, see if there's anything you can do to help out there, alright? I'll take care of this,"

Ivy hesitated. "You sure?"

"Positive."

She nodded. "I'll be back when I can to help out." Then she was parting the plants with her powers and running through the tunnel.

"Why?" Kai asked finally. Why me? Why do you care so darn much about ME? I should be your arch nemesis; not the guy you throw your life away for. This isn't right, but it feels like it. These were the type of thoughts that went through his head every time he was with the green-eyed wonder that was before him.

Quinston chuckled. "You know, if there's one thing that I've learned in this school year, it's that the COM and all this about Magiclicas being better than Ciphers and that the Spero are bad people, it can all go be buried in a hole because none of it is true. The White Stone can be thrown in there too for all I care." He was kneeling in front of Kai now, once again holding the tan boy's hands and making a rush of feelings and emotions flow throughout his body.

We shouldn't be doing this, Kai hated his mind's rationality at the moment. He needs to help his people, not me.

Oh why can't I get what he's trying to say through my thick skull without any self-doubt.

Suddenly a new wave of insanity struck Kai. He heard himself scream and Quinston desperately asking what happened. Kai has the last thought to try and reassure his crush he would be fine before he totally blacked out.

It was quiet when Kai came to. There was no screaming or explosions in the distance, no night creatures or falling leaves to make the night seem alive. He opened his eyes to find himself in a tall, open room with a few other empty beds in it and a plant in the corner. He slowly swung his legs over the side of the bed.

"H-Hello...?" Kai called nervously. This certainly wasn't the Spero hideout, and if he wasn't there, then where was he? And what trouble was he going to get into for being here?

A door opened on the side of the room. Kai jumped as a man in a white collared shirt and a tie walked in, reading his clipboard intently. Kai froze.

Maybe if I don't move, he won't see me.

Unfortunately, that didn't work. The man happened to look up and made eye contact with the Spero.

"You're up," he noted. Kai stiffly waved.

The man sighed and chuckled. "Good, good. I'm sure you're confused as to where you are?"

Kai made a gesture with his hand. "I was just thinking about that, yes."

"You're in the Everston infirmary," the man stated. Kai stiffened.

I'm so screwed.

"You somehow managed to get possessed by a demone scuro in the woods. Although the effects on a Cipher are mostly unknown, on a Magiclica they're known to drive a person insane. You're lucky Mister O'Kouzlo found you when he did," the man continued. Kai was confused. I'm technically a Cipher though?

"Um, sir, I think you might be mistaken. I'm not a Magiclica..." Kai trailed off, knowing he was probably busted and about to be arrested and was going to live out the rest of his life in prison.

The man had an odd smirk on his face. "Are you sure? Because from all the readings we could get while you were out, it says you're a Magiclica," he said with a hint of humor. "That's why the demone scuro was causing you so much pain, correct? Luckily I know how to deal with them and was able to purge it from your body. You're... free now." The man winked before walking through a portal that just appeared and warping away.

Meanwhile, Kai was both shocked and shook. That man clearly knew what Kai really was. But he didn't call me out? Kai had a feeling Quinston had something to do with this. The thought of him made butterflies erupt in his stomach, much to his annoyance. He was also starving, so it really wasn't a great combination.

At the end of the bed was a table that conveniently had a maroon hoodie and a pair of basic jeans that were much more appropriate for going out than in a Spero uniform or anything else that was probably around here. Once Kai was changed he threw the old uniform in a trash can and hoped it was sent to the incinerator before leaving the infirmary and entering the main hall of Everston. He had only been here a few times, and never on any truthful intentions.

A bell rang throughout the school, and in a matter of seconds Kai was swarmed by kids his age in Everston uniforms leaving their classrooms and heading for the exit doors. It felt odd to be here without any wrong to do, surrounded by kids who were too busy trying to go home than to worry if this boy that wasn't dressed like them was actually a Spero.

Something tugged the back of Kai's mind. He glanced down to find his hand glowing four different colors: red, yellow, blue, and green- but not in a way he had ever seen before.

"What the-" he breathed and waved his hand around randomly. The tug at the back of his mind was stronger now, telling him to turn around and see wha my was behind him.

So Kai did, and somehow managed to meet the green eyes that made his heart go on overdrive.

Kai and Quinston stared at each other, before the brunette Magiclica pushed his way through the crowd and immediately threw his arms around the redhead.

"KAI! You're alright! I was so worried about you," Quinston breathed, gently cupping Kai's face with his smooth touch that brought fire to Kai's face.

"Q-Quinston, we're in public," the sky-eyed boy said with a laugh.

The green-eyed boy laughed." "Who cares? I'm just glad you're here, with me," he glanced down, a smile painted across his lips and a blush across his cheeks (as if Kai wasn't a red mess already.)

Kai was the first to break away. "What happened? I-I shouldn't be here, I'm going to get caught-"

Quinston hushed him. "It's alright. Mister Foley, one of the teachers here, he helped out on that night. He tried helping Melissa when the Spero were about to find her and he cured you. He knows everything, but he's going to keep it all a secret."

Kai blinked. "Everything? Are you sure that's a-"

"I doesn't matter anyway. You're not a Spero anymore, if you don't want to be. He got rid the the demone scuro that was conflicting with the White Stone. If that's the only thing that was keeping you, you can cut the ties, right here, right now." Quinston sounded so sure of everything like he always did. Maybe it was just a Magiclica thing, Kai thought, or it maybe it was something special that only Quinston possessed to make everything seem like it was going to be fine.

Kai took a deep breath. "You know, I think that's something I'd really like." He and Quinston shared a smile and a look, both thinking and feeling the same thing: that they were going to be okay and figure this out, together.

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Word count: 2050