#ch: the royal parrot

[wizxrdpendrxgon]

from FROM THE MAKERS OF “TWO-MOM ENERGY DRINK,” IT’S “LET YOUR FATHER DIE ENERGY DRINK by Daniel M. Lavery and Cecilia Corrigan

[teezersfics]

Journey To Wonderland

˚‧｡⋆⋆｡‧˚masterlist˚‧｡⋆⋆｡‧˚

Genere : Fantasy, Royalty, Pirate

Pairing : Secret

Ch.5 / Ch.6 / Ch.7

Chapter 6 : The Story

With every coming day, you are taking your trainings from the seniors and mainly helping with the navigation. You seem to have started developing friendships with many people on the ship, but it's quiet hard to gain seniors trusts yet, San has been your friend from first day, Wooyoung next. But it is most hardest to even hold the conversation with Seonghwa and Jongho, they seem a little too tough. And Captain, its a very distant case. He hasn't spoken to you after your first encounter. He eventually strolls around the ship and whenever you both spot each other, you try to give him a smile but he just gives you judgemental look or a short stare. It makes you feel like you've done something gravely wrong and he is judging you for that. Lately, you have also felt like someone has been watching you, it's just a feeling, when you scan around, you spot no one around you.

But, you are also quiet enjoying your time on the ship. Some days ago you also met Captain's dear pet, a very cute and talkative Parrot, who likes to mimic all the seniors. So far he has been making all the seniors embarrassed by saying silly things in their voices. His name is Crescent, and the story behind this is that he was found by Captain on the crescent moon night. But he was in very badly injured condition. Captain bought him to the ship and got him treated with the help of Yunho. The Captain also gave Crescent a collar made of gold and gems embedded on it with the bird's name craved on it. This made him look like a Royal Parrot. Since then Crescent has also been helping Captain perform tasks like delivering and carrying some urgent messages. No matter how far Crescent goes, he eventually finds his way back to the ship, no matter wherever the ship may be. He is also very intelligent.

And recently he has for sure gained liking towards you. He surprises you with suddenly sitting on your head or shoulder and sulks when you don't pet him. He does not speak alot but eventually teases any crewmate passing by. He also tells you if he wants anything. When Wooyoung saw your and Crescent first interaction, he was shocked because, Crescent's initial interaction with Wooyoung was just Crescent biting him whenever Wooyoung approached Crescent. Wooyoung also said that Cresent never easily trust any people. If Cresent like anyone that means that person passed the trust check. On the ship, Cresent's judgement is considered second important after the Captain.

So far it's been all good. But most of the crew is curious about Wonderland and all the things that happen inside Wonderland. And so, to clear everyone's doubts there is going to be a secret story session tonight after dinner. You are extremely excited for the night, to know more about the Wonderlands secrets. All the new crewmates and the other who are excited to know about Wonderland are all secretly invited to the session but keeping this away from the Captain and Seonghwa. Even though its kept a secret from them, its sure that they will eventually know about this. Nothing remains a secret on this ship for a long time.

But, on the other hand this session is beneficial for all the crew to know what they are going to get themselves into. After this, they can decide whether they want to join Captain into the Wonderland or not. Many information about Wonderland will be shared which not every other person knows. The fact that the Navigator, Yeosang will be leading the session while other seniors will help him fill in the any missing details of the story.

And the night finally comes. After dinner all of the interested crewmates are gathered in one of the reserved store room on the stern of the ship. Doors closed, all of the crewmates sitting in circle with candles in the middle. Everyone is so curious and excited for the story to start. All the seniors sitting at one side, while everyone else listening like the curious audiences.

________________________

“So, it all starts from actually long time ago, when the XCARS, the Gods of different powers and possessing the ability to give any supernatural powers to any common person of their wish. The RAVENS who were the devil's possessing the dark powers, the powers that can destroy the whole universe, declared the war against the XCARS. But, the XCARS we only 5 in number whereas the RAVENS were a massive clan of brainwashed people. At that time the XCARS asked for the help from all the Kimgdoms on the earth. They asked for the Army of the Soldiers as much as possible. And humans decided to help. The XCARS blessed all those soldiers and the royalties with some powers that would help them win the war easily. With the help of human soldiers, the XCARS did win the war, and all the RAVENS were sent to the most gruesome and horrendous place in the hell for what they did over many years. After winning the war, the XCARS decides to let the soldiers and the royalties have all the powers. But then they started misusing the powers. They started using those powers for their own satisfaction and own benefit. The people grew more and more greedy and was fighting among themselves. So before going to reside back in the Cloud Palace, the XCARS took back all the powers that was granted to the humans.

But the XCARS knew that humans has done alot for them. Especially all the Kings who lend them their soldiers. So they really wanted to do something for them, for humans. But they also knee that humans were greedy. If humans get anything easily, they simply crave for more and more, and there is no end or limits to humans desire. So they had to give humans something that they gain with their hardwork, by this, humans could realise the joy of getting the award that they have worked hard for. That's why they gifted with Rufescent Gem. One of the most beautiful gem in the world. Its Reddish in colour and during full moon it changes its colour, to remind the War that was won by the XCARS on full moon night. This gem is available in every part of this earth, but you will get it only if you work hard to find it.

But,the twist is you can't sell the stone to anyone because once a person finds it, it will glow only if he possess the stone. If he tries to sell it to anyone it will lose its abilities. So because of this, the person who wants to posses the stone, has to work hard for it.

But, for the royals, they decided to awards them with something big. The XCARS knew that if they let the Royals have some powers, they might rule their kingdom with more ease and with the intention of making their kingdom a better place to live for anyone. And…..they also knew that if they are granted the powers easily, they might again turn on the wrong path. That's why they gifted the earth with Wonderland. Where, by completing all the tasks, the Royals can wish for any power of their desire.”

“That sounds easy, then why does very less number of Kings has ever survived the Wonderland? There should have been more, right?” One of the curious crewmate asks.

Yeosang starts again.

“It's not as easy as it looks. The Wonderland does not consist of any simple games that any child can play. Even many trained King's and Warriors can not complete the game. The Kings who were greedy for power has never returned from the Wonderland and those who actually wanted to dp something for the betterment of their kingdom and their subjects, won the games and were granted with powers. The Wonderland has specific rules that the players need to follow. The game can be completed only if the rules are followed.”

“Then, is there any information of the rules of the games??” Another crewmate asks.

This time, San answers. “No, there is no specific information about the rules. Some people has even contacted with the only 3 King's that has ever survived the Wonderland. But, the Wonderland put the restrictions on the winners ti not to tell the specifications of the games. If the rules are leaked, there will be consequences for the winner.”

As San is done with his explanation he gestures Yeosang to continue further story.

“But, some basic information and rules are available for us to know.

1- The people entering the Wonderland should be from the Royal family. Commoners are not granted the entry in Wonderland.

2- Only one Kingdom can enter the Wonderland and play at a time. If another kingdom tries to enter Wonderland forcefully while other is playing, there would be clash of energies and the trespassing kingdom will be thrown out. If the Wonderland restricts you entry, you should understand that another one is playing.

3-There are tem gems that you have to acquire by playing ten games. The same player cannot play the games again and again. 9 different players have to play the initial 9 games by their own, other can help and support them from far. And the 10th and the last, game is the group game. It fully depends on the trust, coordination, control, understanding and all other aspects that are required for the group to win. By winning each game, you can retrieve a gem at the end of it. Later on you go back to the start of Wonderland and submit all the ten gems in some sort of sockets.

4- After submitting the gems, the players who actually played can wish for any power they desire. And when asked for the power the players should also tell the reason behind having that power. The reasons should be genuine. No ill intentions.

5- After the powers are granted, the winners slowly starts to see the changes. They slowly starts to realise their powers. The Wonderland not only gifts the players but all their kingdom, with some little things. The kingdom can also visibly realise the changes. The Wonderland also watched over the Winner after they have returned to their kingdom, it watches if the winners are using their powers for good or not. Wonderland is not just a place, it's an entity itself. It can speak and also watch.

This is the most information we could gather till now.”

There is a pause. Everyone is still processing the new information. Recalling all the rules again, to asks their doubts. And, one raise his hand to ask the question.

“What if, these rules are broken? Are there any consequences?”

The answer to this question is on Yeosang's tongue, but he contemplates whether to tell everyone or not. But he has to, the crewmates should know what they are getting themselves into.

He continues.

“Yes, there are consequences. And the best I can do to explain the consequences is to tell you all the <Tale Of Ynitasia>”

Here, the another story starts. As he spells the name, you have goosebumps over your body. You don't know why, but there is this feeling in the pit of your stomach, something strange feeling that you cannot figure out. You have actually heard some light news about Ynitasia, but never heard the actual story. Your already curious self, becomes more curious for some reason.

“You All must have heard about Ynitasia at least once in life. One of the most spoken Kingdom on the earth. Let's start from beginning when Ynitasia was at it's peak. Ynitasia was one of the most looked up to Kingdom in the east. It had the most skilled warriors, rich commoners and even richer Royals. It is said that there were no beggars on that land. Also having the best resources available, best constructions, most amazing sea techniques, clever cultivation and most importantly a happy and welcoming kingdom. Ynitasia was also the possessor of the world's most expensive and rarest gem, MARILEAN. A ‘Marine’ stone which was ‘Cerulean’ in colour. That's where it gets its name from. Ynitasia had everything a successful kingdom needed. But one day the king decided to go to Wonderland to make his kingdom even more efficient and by possessing All those powers, Ynitasia would've become the best Kingdom all over the world.”

“But, here is where it all starts. The king suddenly decides to go to Wonderland but he did not have the team that required enough preparation and mental and physical training. They did everything in haste. The king did enter the Wonderland and won some games, each game, he grew more and more greedy for the powers, he was blinded, but in one game he lost, he couldn't complete the game. That brought him out of his rage and overconfidence. He couldn't bear it, he wasn't ready to face the consequences and he forcefully tried to get out of the Wonderland. In that rush, he lost his and his crewmates life. All of them were dead. The king also took his daughter, Princess of Ynitasia with him, because she insisted. She was just a teenage girl. He was so confident that he would return back, that he took the risk of taking the only princess of Ynitasia with him. They lost her too. The only rightful heir.”

There is a pause.

“The day King died, that night everything changed for Ynitasia. That day was the worst day ever for them, the worst that could happen to anyone. The flowers died, the houses made of marble and expensive wood, turned into mud houses, with creepers surrounding them, the Palace was all surrounded with creepers and mush, the walls became cracked, the expensive clothes that the people were wearing became torn from places, people lost most of the wealth that they had, sickness started taking over people of Ynitasia. The dark gloom surrounded the island of Ynitasia. Ynitasia was cursed by Wonderland. Seeing this, there was chaos in the whole kingdom. The King's wife couldn't believe that it was true, that the king died. No one was ready to believe. At that time, the second rightful heir to the throne, King's brother's son. Prince of Ynitasia, he couldn't resist. He decided to go out and search for the King and his father. He took some of his friends, warriors and other experts from the kingdom. At that time the Prince was also just 16 years old. Sudden after what happened, he felt responsible for all the things. He felt that he should set things right. He set the sail to Wonderland, but some days later, some broken parts of the ship washed up on the shore of the Ynitasia from the direction where the prince went to. The people and Queen waited for some more days, but no sign of the Prince. A storm shortly hit Ynitasia after that incident and everyone considered that they also lost the Prince in that storm. Ynitasia was broken, they lost all of their hope. Their hope to stand back again, was all broken.”

“After some days, Ynitasia received a scroll, it magically appeared on the porch of the Palace. It read, that the king died in Ynitasia, but nothing about the Prince. It confirmed the death of King. Wonderland also said that, if the next rightful heir or any other kingdom plays in the name of Ynitasia and wins, Ynitasia would come back to its glory. As their successor sets the foot on the land of Ynitasia, everything would suddenly change, it would all become like before. The kingdom would also need to crown that person as the King or Queen of Ynitasia. This would completely eliminate the curse on Ynitasia making it as joyous as before. But, that day never came for Ynitasia. It's believed that the Queen does manages the things in Ynitasia now, but she is sick and still mourning and waiting that someday the king would return with Prince, Princess and the warriors.”

“What happened to Ynitasia was brutal and they are still in that misery. The gloom still surrounds Ynitasia. Nobody knows when they will be free from the curse. If nobody wins for Ynitasia, it will continue to live in that curse forever.”

There is pin drop silence in the room. Everyone feels something after listening to the story. Some are deep in thought, some are confused, some feel bad for Ynitasia, some are terrified after listening to the brutality of Wonderland. Every crew's decision depends upon how they take in the story.

“If you want to see if what happened to Ynitasia is real or not, then in two days we are going to pass by that kingdom. You can see it for yourself.” Yunho instructs.

Wooyoung starts with next instructions,

“Well, one more important thing that we have to tell. Before going to Wonderland, we will stop on an island or restock a d stuff. Before that you have to take decision whether to follow eight of us, into the Wonderland or not. Because only 10 people will be playing this game, and if we win, only 10 of us will have the benefit. There are chances, we might lose some of our crew in the Wonderland, even we can lose our life. But we are ready to face everything in Wonderland to win. We are so determined to win, because we want to bring good to Ignim, turn that land, into a non-pirare zone, make it safe for trading with other lands, start many facilities for people and children to make living efficient. We can't dream to have all of the luxuries like another big kingdoms, but we can start from basics. Slowly slowly providing and spreading the amenities all over Ignim and slowly opening it up for people of other land. We want people to think more of Ignim than just a Pirate land. We want to welcome people into our land and gradually end pirating. It might take some time but we know, the right way of persuasion can change people's mind. This is what we are so desperate for. At the end, it's your decision.”

The way he speaks about their dreams for Ignim, just feels your heart with somewhat pride and motivation. If you guide them, they can get step closer to achieve their dream and you will be somewhat part of it. You have to do it, not only for yourself but them too.

As you thought that today's story session is over and now it's time to go to bed, a crewmate raises his hand out of no where for a last question

“But master, you said that only Royals have entry in the Wonderland. Then, how is Wonderland going to grant us entry when no one among us is a Royal?”

There is a chorus of “ohhhh"s from all the crewmates as this question really makes everyone think.

Mingi smirks, as if he was prepared for this question. With a sigh he says,

“We have a solution for that-”

Chapter 7 : Face Off

[casbooks]

Books of 2023

Book 53 of 2023

Title: ANOTHER DAY DOWNRANGE, Two Tours Flying Chinooks in Vietnam Authors: Robert Patterson

Tags: ACH-47 Guns-A-Go-Go Chinook, Actor - John "The Duke" Wayne (Marion Robert Morrison), AH-1 Cobra, AUS ADF AA Australian Army, AUS ADF Australian Defence Force, AUS Australia, B-52 Stratofortress, CH-34 Choctaw, CH-47 Chinook, CH-54 Tarhe, EOD, F-100 Super Sabre, FAC, KHM Cambodia, KOR Korea, LAO Lam Son 719 (1971) (Vietnam War), LAO Laos, M113 APC, Movie - The Green Berets, NZ New Zealand, NZ NZDF NZA New Zealand Army, NZ NZDF Royal New Zealand Defence Force, O-1 Bird Dog, OH-23 Raven, OV-1 Mohawk, Pilatus Porter, US Bob Hope (Entertainer), US CIA Central Intelligence Agency, US MSTS Military Sea Transportation Service, US MSTS USNS Corpus Christi Bay (T-ARVH-1), US President Richard M. Nixon, US USA 147th Assault Support Helicopter Company, US USA 147th Assault Support Helicopter Company - Hillclimbers, US USA 177th Aviation Co, US USA 1st Armored Division, US USA 1st Aviation Brigade, US USA 205th Assault Support Helicopter Company, US USA 205th Assault Support Helicopter Company - Geronimos, US USA 213th Assault Support Helicopter Company, US USA 213th Assault Support Helicopter Company - Blackcats, US USA 271th Assault Support Helicopter Company, US USA 271th Assault Support Helicopter Company - Inkeepers, US USA 4th Infantry Regiment, US USA 4th Infantry Regiment - 2/14, US USA 73rd Surveliance Aircraft Company, US USA 74th Reconnaissance Airplane Co (RAC), US USA 8th Army, US USA 90th Replacement Bn, US USA 9th ID, US USA ACV Air Cushion Vehicles, US USA Fort Benning GA, US USA Fort Benning GA - OCS, US USA Fort Hood TX, US USA Fort Rucker AL, US USA Fort Rucker AL - Hanchey Army Air Field, US USA Fort Stewart GA, US USA Fort Wolters TX (1963-1973), US USA United States Army, US USA USSF Green Berets, US USA USSF Special Forces, US USAF Eglin Air Force Base FL, US USMC 3rd Force Recon Co, US USMC United States Marine Corps, US USMC VMF-124, US USMC VMF-221, US USN HA(L)-3 Seawolves, US USN MSC Military Sealift Command, US USN PACV Patrol Air Cushion Vehicle, US USN United States Navy, US USO United Service Organizations, VNM Can Tho, VNM Cau Mau Peninsula, VNM Chi Lang, VNM CIA Air America (1950-1976) (Vietnam War), VNM Cu Chi, VNM Dong Son, VNM Dong Tam, VNM DRV NVA North Vietnamese Army, VNM DRV VC Viet Cong, VNM FSB Pace (Vietnam War), VNM Highway 22B, VNM Ho Chi Minh Trail (Vietnam War), VNM III Corps (Vietnam War), VNM IV Corps (Vietnam War), VNM Long Binh, VNM Long Binh Post - Plantation - II Field Force HQ (Vietnam War), VNM Long Binh Post (Vietnam War), VNM Mekong Delta, VNM My Phouc Tay Special Forces Camp (Vietnam War), VNM Nui Ba Den (Black Virgin Mountain), VNM Nui Dat, VNM Operation Arc Light (1965-1973) (Vietnam War), VNM Parrots Beak, VNM Phu Loi, VNM Poulo Obi Island, VNM Poulo Obi Island - USN Radar Station (Vietnam War), VNM RVN ARVN Army of the Republic of Vietnam, VNM RVN ARVN RF/PF Regional Forces/Popular Forces (Vietnam War), VNM RVN ARVN Vietnamese Rangers - Biet Dong Quan, VNM RVN General Duong Van Minh (Big Minh), VNM RVN SVNAF South Vietnamese Air Force, VNM Saigon, VNM Saigon - Hotel 3 Helicopter Pad, VNM Saigon - Independence Palace, VNM Tan Binh Forest, VNM Tan Son Nhut Air Base, VNM Tay Ninh, VNM U Minh Forest, VNM US MACV Advisory Teams (Vietnam War), VNM US USA AAE Army Aviation Element (Vietnam War), VNM US USA Phu Loi Air Base (Vietnam War), VNM US USN MRF Mobile Riverine Force (Vietnam War), VNM US USN TF 117 MRF Mobile Riverine Force (Vietnam War), VNM Vietnam, VNM Vietnam War (1955-1975), VNM Vinh Long, VNM Vung Tau, VNM Xuan Loc Rating: ★★★ Subject: Books.Military.20th-21st Century.Asia.Vietnam War.Aviation.US Army.Helos.Cargo

Description: This is not a diary like normal diaries, nor is it a history; it is a personal record of the helicopter war in Vietnam as I knew it, Depending upon the branch of service, type of unit, missions flown, and the area of Vietnam where missions were flown, one could surely find different accounts of what the helicopter war in Vietnam was like. Much of what I have read concerning the helicopter war coming of age in Vietnam says little about contribution of the CH-47 Chinook. Having seen it first hand during the war, I know that this aircraft’s contributions were tremendous. If you doubt it, look at what a workhorse the CH-47 was In Iraq and still is in Afghanistan as I write this. The Army learned that craft in Vietnam. At its peak deployment, there were (22) CH47 units and 750 Chinooks being used in Vietnam, both with the U.S. Army and the South Vietnamese Air Force (VNAF). About 200 aircraft (27%) were lost in combat or due to operational accidents. I had then, and I still have now, the greatest respect for the aircrews, ground crews, and the support personnel who kept the CH-47 units in the fight.

Review: This was an ok book, kind of a slog to read through. I find that months afterwards though, I still think about some of the things I learned in this book, some of the things said, and those tidbits will stay with me for a very long time. For that reason alone, I do recommend checking out Patterson's story flying Chinooks because it's a story that isn't told by many and the info does give you a better nuanced look at what these pilots did vs the gunships, scouts, and slicks.

[echoes-of-the-clockwork]

Book Four: War (Gladiolus x Reader) Chapter Nineteen

The three remaining members of the royal retinue are sitting in the dining car. Ignis and Gladio sat at a table, Noctis sat at the bar by himself. Biggs addresses them over the loudspeaker. "Oi! Uh-attention all passengers! We're on our way to our final destination in the imperial capital. Enjoy the ride. I'll be in touch if anything comes up." Biggs ceases his address, the loudspeaker deactivating.

Gladio glanced out the window, his arms littered with goosebumps. "Look at all that snow. No wonder it's so cold in here."

"We must be approaching the Glacian's cadaver," Ignis informed the shield.

"Won't be a blessing if all we got's a body."

"Let us hope we pass through the gorge without incident."

"It's what's after the gorge I'm worried about," Gladio shared his thoughts.

Noctis overheard the conversation before standing up from the bar. He gradually made his way over the door leading to the next car, but he froze when feeling the train shake slightly. Unbeknownst to him, the locomotive began barreling through large chunks of ice that have formed over the tracks, causing the front of the train to start icing up.

When the train's brakes bring it screeching to a halt, Noctis gripped the counter of the bar to keep him from falling.

Gladio looked around in puzzlement. "I wonder what it could be this time."

Just then, Biggs addresses them over the loudspeaker once more. "Attention, eh!"

"Yeah?" Noctis responded.

"You may have noticed we've stopped. As for the cause... Outside, ya think?"

"We'll take a look."

The prince begins to head outside. Gladio climbs out of the booth with a grunt. "Hope it's just a quick snow-shoveling job."

"Indeed," Ignis agreed. The shield and tactician follow after Noctis.

Outside, the raven-haired boy has his arms wrapped around himself in an attempt to stave off the cold. "It's freezing!"

"Better keep moving to stay warm," Gladio advised.

Although unable to see, Ignis could feel the unnatural coldness of the blizzard. "The Glacian did this."

Noctis' eyes narrowed as he stared into the distance. Through the blizzard, he could see Shiva's lifeless body. "I think I can see her."

"It's a shame. She's lying dead." Gladio could feel his teeth threatening to clatter. "Damn, it's cold!"

"Let's clean up out here, warm up in there."

"Better make this snappy."

Suddenly, the trio is attacked by several daemons. They quickly dispose of the creatures, dispelling their weapons. Noctis stands outside the train trying to catch his breath. From the doorway to get back onboard, Gladio leans out and calls to him. "Hey, Noct! You'd better get in here. Something's not right." He goes back inside and guides Ignis through the train. "C'mon, Iggy."

Noctis begins to follow them inside. Just as he's about to walk up the steps to get inside, he sees Ardyn walk past him, already onboard the train. The prince was taken aback at seeing the man. "No way." He sprints up the stairs and pursues the chancellor. "You! Hold it! That son of a bitch."

He follows Ardyn into the train car where Gladio and Ignis were headed to find it filled with mist and cold air. "What the hell?" Noctis muttered. Making his way into the next car, he opens the door to be buffeted by snow and cold winds. He can make out Ardyn's silhouette at the other end of the car and pushed through the cold. Wrapping his arms around himself, Noctis struggles through each step to keep advancing. "Stop! Stop, dammit! Where are they? Where's Prompto? What'd you do to (Y/n)?"

"Oh, there you are!" Ardyn acted surprised even though he knew the prince had been following him. "I'm worried about your friends. They've fallen and they can't get up. Why not lend them a hand?"

Noctis manages to get a few feet from Ardyn. Beyond him, he can see Ignis and Gladio on the floor. They were both covered in ice.

"A coldness that can only be hers," Ardyn said.

The boy falls to his knees, his vision beginning to blur. Managing to lift his head, he takes notice of a person in the doorway past Ignis and Gladio. He recognized the woman as Gentiana.

Ardyn turns and realizes she's there as well. His expression momentarily becomes one of surprise, then nonchalant. He watched her as she begins walking towards them. "Ahh, the face you wore the day you-"

Gentiana touches her finger to her lips, then touches Ardyn's lips. The chancellor's entire body turned to ice. Strolling past the frozen man, she then walks up to Noctis. "Let it now be done...as promised to the Oracle." She gestures widely with her arms and floats into the air before being obscured by a flash of blue and white light. As the light fades, the form of Shiva has taken Gentiana's place.

Noctis flabbergasted at the discovery. "Gentiana-it's you. You're the Glacian. Wha-"

"O King of Kings, restore Light unto the world." Gentiana raises her hands and conjures Lunafreya's trident. She hands it to Noctis who leans forward and grasps it. The two are enveloped in another flash of light. When the light dissipates, Gentiana is gone and the blizzard that was enveloping the train car ceased.

Noctis walks up to the frozen Ardyn, conjures the Trident of the Oracle, and shatters the chancellor's frozen body with the weapon. "Damn you." He then loses his balance and stumbles to his downed friends. "Hey. Wake up."

Gladio was the first to awaken. He looked around, confused. "The hell happened?"

"I saw the Glacian. It's okay, she's gone now. You guys check on our drivers," Noctis explained.

"Got it." The shield turns to Ignis, who woke up right after him, and places his hand on his shoulder. "You good?"

Ignis nodded. "Yes, I'm fine. Let's go."

Noctis remains on the floor for a moment as they leave. After a few minutes, he gets to his feet and makes his way through the next train car. When he did, he realizes he's not alone. The moment he turns around, he finds Ardyn standing a few feet away.

"I feel I've earned the right to call you Noct. For a moment I felt death's chill wind, such is the might of the gods. But then, I remembered I'm immortal. Such is my blessing and curse. Your attack hurt me, nevertheless..." The chancellor feigned a wounded expression before it transformed into a fierce scowl. His voice also becomes something of a growl. "My feelings at least."

Ardyn falls silent for a moment before continuing. "And after all the memories we've shared. Remember this?" He reveals what's in his hand. It was one of Prompto's guns. He pointing it at Noctis. "Ah, I should have asked if you remember him. Truly a blast from the past, nay?" The man casually walks up to Noctis and places the side of the gun against the boy's chest. He tries to grab it, but Ardyn pulls it out of his reach and turns away. "Ah, ah, ah! You mustn't take what's not yours."

"Where is he?!" Noctis demanded angrily.

""He"?" Ardyn parroted before turning back to face the raven-haired boy. "The little gunman's a short shot away." He raises his finger and points.

"Where?" Noctis, once again, commanded.

"Where else but Gralea, the seat of the empire? I'm sure he'll be delighted to see you. And you might even find your Crystal. With all these daemons about, you could certainly use it. But do be wary for I've acquired quite a gem that will turn the tides in my favor. A second Crystal lost to the passage of time. A splendid gift, if I were to speak from the heart."

Noctis' eyes widen in horror when realizing who he was talking about. "(Y/n)..."

"A rose with many thorns, that one," Ardyn chuckled. He walks towards the boy, deliberately pushing past him before coming to a halt. "Off you go, then. I wouldn't want to keep you from your friends." He raises his hand, in which he is holding a small device. He presses a button on the device with his thumb, then leaves without another word.

Noctis stares after Ardyn, gritting his teeth. He remained in the car for a short while before heading to the dining car. There, he found found Gladio and Ignis sitting at one of the booths and joined them. He sat down and told them what Ardyn had shared with him moments ago.

Ignis was perplexed as to how Ardyn would obtain the power of the second Crystal due to its location. "How would the chancellor succeed in claiming the power of Vanaheim's Crystal? Did (Y/n) not mention it lies at the depths of the sea?"

"I was kinda confused, too," Noctis confessed.

Gladio, on the other hand, knew exactly how he was going to do it. "(Y/n)'s got a shard of the Crystal embedded in her chest. It's how she's still able to use the Crystal's power."

"Isn't that a little dangerous?"

"Very, but it's how her people would wield the Crystal's power." The shield glanced out the window. "This train better move faster if that really is the bastard's plan."

"Something the matter?" Noctis asked.

"If he wants that shard from (Y/n), he'll have to kill her for it."

Just then, a figure manifested in the dining car. Noctis was the first out of his seat when recognizing it was Death. "Hey!" He shouted as her body crumpled to the floor. Kneeling beside her, he noticed the large gash across her body that reached from her left shoulder to her right hip. There was so much blood. Noctis provided a potion and was able to stop the bleeding, but it wasn't enough to heal the entire wound. "What happened to you?"

"Th-That bastard of a ch-chancellor...has done the unspeakable," Death managed to say. "H-He's fused War with...the dullahan..."

Gladio couldn't believe what the Horseman was saying. "What?"

"The dullahan is f-feeding off her. It's only...a matter of t-time before...it consumes her entirely. Not even I c-could stand against it with how...powerful it's become."

"That...doesn't sound good," Noctis muttered.

"Where was this thing?" Gladio pried.

"Zegnautus Keep..." Death mumbled.

"Zegnautus Keep?" Noctis reiterated.

"An imperial megafortress said to be impregnable," Ignis clarified.

"With Prompto, (Y/n), and the Crystal inside it," the raven-haired boy added.

"What goes in, must come out," Gladio declared.

Noctis looked back down at the injured Horseman when realizing she fell silent. He noticed she wasn't breathing, eyes widening. He patted his pockets in search of another potion, but he couldn't find one. "Dammit...!" He glanced at her just in time to see the wound beginning to mend. He watched in awe as the injury healed, not even leaving behind a scar. When she opened her golden eyes, he gazed into them. "You okay?"

Death nodded with a sigh. "Fine." She pushed herself up into a sitting position. "Thanks for the potion. It helped a lot."

"Yeah. No problem." Noctis helped her up off the floor.

"I'm heading back to the Keep," she said.

"After what that thing did to you?"

"Yes. I need to find Famine and tell her what's happening."

"Hold on," Gladio spoke up, stopping the girl from vanishing. "Is there a way of separating (Y/n) from that damned thing?"

"Brute force will be the only way. I tried, but it's gonna take more than one person," Death answered.

"We'll get her back," the shield proclaimed.

Noctis nodded in agreement. "Yeah. (Y/n)'s still gotta teach me some of her cool tricks."

"Indeed. Her teachings have been wondrous for Noct," Ignis added.

"I appreciate your help, everyone," she smiled at them. "Please, be careful." With those final words, she was gone.

Noctis returned to his seat with a sigh of relief. For a moment, he'd forgotten the sable-haired girl was immortal. However, his thoughts were cleared of the girl when his shield asked, "So, are we buying this story that the Crystal can purge daemons?"

"The proof is in the purging, but it does stand to reason. We've observed that as the nights have grown longer, the daemon hordes have grown stronger. If they are in fact averse to the Crystal's Light, it could save not only Lucis, but the world," Ignis answered.

"We'll find out once we take it back," Noctis said.

Suddenly, the train comes screeching to a halt. The trio braces themselves to avoid any injuries. "The hell?" Gladio growled.

"What is it?" Ignis asked.

"My guess? Something to sidetrack us."

The three get up and move into the cabin car. As they walk past the series of large windows, they all suddenly crack and the train car shakes. "What now?" The shield groaned.

The loudspeaker comes to life and Biggs speaks to them. "City's trying to keep us out...with the daemons."

At that moment, small imp-like daemons known as snagas begin swarming across the windows. "Whoa-whoa," Gladio gaped in shock at the sheer amount of daemons.

Biggs speaks over the loudspeaker again. "Gotta run! Don't worry about us."

One of the daemons busts through the glass and lands in front of Noctis and the others. He holds out his hand to tell Gladio to move back, then attempts to conjure a weapon into his hand. "Let's get to work..." When his sword didn't appear in his hand, he was utterly confused.

Gladio noticed the boy's bewilderment. "What's wrong?"

"The weapons...they're stuck!"

Gladio's attention was drawn back to the snaga when seeing it move. "Get back!" He pulls Noctis away from the now charging daemon and kicks it in the face.

"Run!" Ignis shouted.

As the tactician retreats, Gladio pats Noctis' shoulder. "C'mon, move it!"

The three run as fast as they can through the train. Moving from car to car, they dodge the daemons threatening to kill them.

When they passed through the cabin car, Gladio took a short detour to their room. He entered, grabbed (Y/n)'s blade, and left. "Noct, here!" He tossed the crimson-bladed sword towards the younger boy.

Noctis caught the weapon with ease, but he was shocked at how heavy it was. He recognized the blade as War's and didn't hesitate to slice through a few daemons that jumped in their path as they continued to the rear of the train.

As the three enter another car, more daemons took chase. "Only a matter of time before we run out of room to run!" Ignis bellowed.

"Got a better idea?" Noctis asked, slicing through another daemon.

"We trade the train for the Regalia!"

"C'mon!" Gladio hollered.

"On my way!" Noctis replied. He caught up with his companions and cut down a couple more enemies.

"Noct! The freight car!" Ignis yelled

"Keep moving!"

After a long, treacherous struggle through the train, the trio make it to the Regalia located in the freight car. Noctis gets into the driver's seat while Gladio gets in the passenger's seat and Ignis in the back. "Strap in," Noctis said.

"Gun it!" Gladio yelled.

Noctis drives the Regalia out of the freight car and onto the train tracks. As they rode down the tracks, an automated message rings out.

"Threat upgraded. Activating level 4 security measures. Sealing all gates."

Hearing the announcement, they could see the gates beginning to lower in the distance. Noctis drove as fast as the Regalia could go. He drives the car through a tunnel and onto a tracks bridge in the city. While racing down the bridge, an artillery shell suddenly strikes near the car, causing a small explosion.

Ignis was startled and bewildered by the sudden explosion. "What was that?!"

"They're trying to blow us off the tracks," Noctis calmly replied.

Artillery continues striking around the Regalia. One after another, they begin hitting their mark. In the distance, an imperial drop ship can be seen falling out of the sky. More artillery strikes the Regalia, causing a flame to ignite. Noctis gripped the steering wheel tightly. "You can do it, girl. You can get through this."

As the Regalia closes in on the gate, several more artillery strikes land directly on the car. The moment the car makes it through the rapidly closing gate, another strike lands square on the vehicle, briefly engulfing it in flame.

Noctis brings the car to a screeching halt on the other side of the gate near the debris of a train car that stretches across the width of the bridge, one end propped up above the tracks. The Regalia now sits sizzling on the tracks, all its windows shattered.

Noctis, Ignis, and Gladio get out of the car and begin to walk away from the destroyed vehicle. The raven-haired boy turns to look back at the car with a somber expression, recalling a memory from childhood of his father stepping out of the car and embracing him. "Dad... Thanks for everything."

After a moment, Gladio speaks up. "Are we seriously marching into the capital with only one sword?"

"And with no assurances the Crystal can beat back the daemon hordes," Ignis added.

"Guess we'll find out the hard way. No turning back now, right?"

Noctis gripped (Y/n)'s sword tighter. "No way in hell. Let's go."

[spootz-writes]

The Emperor’s Walls (Ch. 5: The Flower of Hope and Faith)

When the emperor received news from the alchemist regarding the materials to fix the walls, the immediately deployed a small army of soldiers (led by Jackal the Handyman, of course) to rectify the damage. Part of his duties as the ruler of Rikkai is to protect and care for his people, and that is what he intends to do. His cape floated magnificently behind him as he rode his trotting horse along the streets of the town with the Data Master beside him.

Emperor Sanada assessed his kingdom’s peace while his companion stopped to make small friendly chats with the citizens along the way. After some moments, the emperor realized that the master was not next to him after asking a question that wasn’t answered automatically. There was a high probability that the man in question must have entered the bookshop they had passed by earlier. Shrugging his shoulder, the emperor flicked the bridle on his horse and continued on his own. The Data Master would probably finish venturing the bookstore by the time he finished his rounds and may meet up with him back at the castle later.

A small quaint cottage came into view and he urged Fuurinkazan forward in that direction. He noticed a figure was tending to the plants in the garden when he was within conversation range. Although the huge sun ha covered the person’s face, he didn’t need to be told twice about that person’s name. “Caretaker,” he stopped by the fence between them and called out to the gardener.

The said title turned around and flashed a sunny smile at his visitor. “Oh hello, my lord,” Yukimura the Caretaker greeted, dropping down to a knee to pay respect to his ruler. “Are you on your rounds today?” he asked, receiving a small grunt as an answer. “I heard about the wall - well, everyone on the streets knew about it since it is a big deal. Have actions to fix it already started?”

The man on the horse nodded before replying, “I’ve sent the Handyman out with a few others this morning. The hole should be fixed by tomorrow.”

The gardener’s expression turned solemn, and a flash of regret passed his face. “I suppose that is good. But… won’t you, I mean, what if-” he slowly spoke but stopped abruptly when his lord held out his hand to signal a stop.

“I have heard that plenty of times and I do not wish to hear it again. If you know what is best for you, that nonsensical idea will never come up again.” Fearing to anger his lord, the gardener nodded and obliged to his request. “The poor Handyman, he did not sign for this job,” he sympathized with Alchemist Marui’s assistant in question, thus concluding the topic. He then looked around to find inspiration for a conversation topic.

That was when his azure eyes landed on the royal four-legged beast.

Chewing.

He shrieked and ran towards the horse while flapping his hands in a shooing motion. “Get that horse away from my flowers!” he shouted.

Emperor Sanada looked down from his saddle of the said horse to witness the unforgivable crime of consuming the Caretaker’s precious plants. “Tarundoru!” he roared at Fuurinkazan and pulled at his reins to distance the stallion from the plants.

Caretaker Yukimura heaved a sigh of relief at the survival of his marigold plants from the horse’s gastric juice. He slumped forward and fell back on his bottom, running his sleeve to catch his sweat on his forehead. 

“My apologies for his behavior,” said his lord, “I was not aware that he was capable of doing that.” 

The gardener shook his head, slowly picking himself up and dusting his pants. “If Fuurinkazan likes my plants a lot, I humbly present you this flower instead.” He walked over to a bush further in the garden and came back soon with a plant in his hand. “It’s an iris,” he informed.

Emperor Sanada inspected his gift: a symmetrical six-lobed purple flower separated into two parts: three petals and three slightly longer sepals. The petals are all adorned with bright yellow veining lines. “Thank you,” he told the man.

“You should hurry back now, Master Yanagi must be waiting for you.“ came the reply.

The emperor nodded and steered his steed towards the castle. “Have a good day then,” he greeted and urged the horse forward. Eventually, he found the Data Master waiting for him by the castle main gates and he moved towards him. His new companion eyed the gift in his hand. “It’s an iris,” he parroted what was told to him.

“I see,” came the response, “courage, hope, and faith huh?“ Master Yanagi noted. The edge of his lips curled into a gentle smile. “Certainly the things you need right now,“ he said in his all-knowing tone. He then trotted on ahead of the emperor, leaving the ruler to his thoughts.

[fluffy-marshmallow-heart]

Drake's Diary ch.26 -I Like Me Better

The Royal Romance canon from Drake's POV

Words: 5415

This one got a bit away from me, so I'm sorry it's kinda long...I do hope it's worth it :)

Also, the song "I Like Me Better" by Lauv just kept repeating itself over and over in my head while writing this. In fact, it can probably be applied to several upcoming chapters.

 Master List (Catch Up Here)

Drake sighs, looking around this high-end jewelry store looking for present for Liam. New York City…it was just as big and glamourous as he remembered. He has mixed feelings about this city that Emma calls home…but at the very least, he should be able to find a good wedding gift for Liam here. After all, the city has everything. Surely there must be something Liam is lacking…. right?

  He walks around the cases, admiring wrist watches, pocket watches, necklaces…then his eyes fall on the glittering display of diamond engagement rings. He swallows, hard. There’s no way he can ever afford one of these, and only one woman he desperately wants to give one to. A sales clerk came over to him with a bright smile.

“Is there anything you would like to see closer?”

All of them.

He cleared his throat, his eyes landing on one in particular.

“Ah, excellent choice. You have exquisite taste.” The clerk removes one with a simple white gold band and a princess cut diamond that stands on its own, sparkling brighter than all the rest.

“Wow, that’s…”

“It’s 10 carats, it’s a D on the GIA scale, also IF in quality, which makes it a very rare, very sought-after diamond. You really won’t find one better, except maybe for a higher carat, which I can show you a few of those as well…”

“Drake?”

Drake jumped so high in the air, he was suddenly at a different case altogether. Holy shit, holy shit, holy shit, God, what is she doing here? How does she appear everywhere I wind up?? Okay, pull it together, Walker and she’ll never know what you were just dreaming about.

“Oh, hey, Rose.” Can she hear my heart thumping right now? It seems louder than normal…

“What are you doing here?”

He shrugged nonchalantly. “It’s a store. Anyone can go into a store.”

She rose an eyebrow. “Sure, but you’re the last person I expected to see looking at necklaces that require a down payment.”

After casting a quick glance around the mostly-empty store, he gave an apologetic look to the clerk that was showing him the ring, and she winked, quickly replacing it and walking away completely unseen by Emma.

And now she thinks I’m actually proposing to Rose. Shit.

 Seeing that he was now indeed in front of a case of necklaces, he sighs, half in relief, and half in frustration. “Alright, you caught me. I’m looking for a wedding gift for Liam.”

“In a jewelry store?”

“What? You don’t think he’d want one of those?” He scanned the case quickly and pointed to the first piece he saw that was not completely feminine, a gold medallion covered in so many gems that the gold is barely visible.

He could tell Emma was trying to smother a laugh. “You want to give Liam a medallion? Liam isn’t a pirate.”

He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. “Too much?”

“Oh, not if you’re also getting him a galleon and a parrot and an eye patch…”

“I can barely afford this medallion.” Drake broke in.

Which is code for there’s not a chance in hell I’ll ever afford that, or anything else in this store.

“Then, yeah. It’s a bit much.” Emma patted him on the shoulder.

He nodded, not surprised in the slightest that coming into this store was a bad idea, for multiple reasons. “Hmm…Back to the drawing board. So, did you just come here to shoot down my gift ideas, or are you looking for something?”

He watched her face fall. “I’m supposed to pick up Madeleine’s wedding ring.”

His mouth fell open. “Wow. That’s cold, even for her.”

What a fucking bitch. I already knew she was a bitch…well everyone knows she’s a bitch…but damn, she is definitely a bitch.

The jeweler waves her over to the counter. When she gives him Madeleine’s name, he rushes off and returns with a small box containing simple gold band.

Huh. “That’s it? I was expecting something more…”

“Elaborate?” She guessed.

“I was going to say pretentious.”

“I think it’s lovely. Simple, yet elegant. You’ve got to hand it to Madeleine. She’s always stylish.”

He saw the way she was looking at the ring longingly, detecting a note of sadness in her voice, and his heart dropped a bit.

Say something. “Shouldn’t it be covered in…I don’t know…diamonds?”

Now she broke into a smile. “You’re thinking engagement rings. Those are usually the sparkly ones.” She pointed over to the counter he had originally been at when she walked in.

“….Right.” He studies the ring avoiding eye contact with the sales clerk he originally spoke to, his expression going somber. “I guess their wedding’s coming up pretty fast.”

“Yeah…”

There’s that sad look again. She’s really upset about Liam marrying. God, my heart feels like it’s breaking right now. Stupid me, imagining for even one second that I would ever get a chance to marry her.

Taking a deep breath, he decided to put all that behind him. “We’ll find Tariq soon, Rose. We have to.”

“If we do, what will that mean for…us?”

Like I said in the beginning, there is no us.

Drake doesn’t quite meet her eyes when he replies. “It’ll be good news for you and Liam. You’ve had to live with this hanging over you for long enough.”

She gently placed her hand over his, curling their fingers around each other’s. “That’s not what I asked, Drake. Once my name is cleared…I can be with whoever I want.”

That’s true but…we all know who you’ll pick. Your face just said it all.

“I…I guess that depends on what you want, then, Rose.” He rubs the back of his neck, glancing around the store once again. “If you’re done here, do you want to give me a hand with Liam’s gift? He’s my best friend. I want to get him something good, but I think I’m in over my head here.”

A slow smile spread across her face. “Drake…are you inviting me on a shopping trip?”

“Don’t make me regret it.” He groaned.

“What I meant is, I would be honored to accompany you.”

“Come on then.” She follows him out the door. They try the pet store…

Emma grimaced. “I don’t know…”

Drake holds the yellow Labrador puppy in his hands out to her, its tail wagging. “Come on, Rose. Liam has always loved dogs.”

“Do you really want to make a puppy live with Madeleine?”

Good point. Didn’t think of that.

He slowly lowers the puppy back into its pen. “You’re safer here, pal.”

They try the furniture store. Almost as soon as Drake walks in, he spots the most perfect, leather, manly chair he’s ever seen in his life. He grinned walking right over to it. “This is it, Rose. A deluxe recliner, dual cup holders, over fifty massage settings…”

“Really? I’m sure Liam owns plenty of chairs.” She said skeptically.

He gave her a Look. “You’ve clearly never sat on the Cordonian throne. Let’s just say Liam’s gonna need back support after sitting on that thing.”

She laughed. “I’m not even going to ask how you know that…and I think we can do better than a dad’s dream chair.”

A dad’s dream chair?? What am I coming to??

Drake heaves himself out of the recliner, sighing.

“Unless you want it.” She teased.

“Nah. I’m not shipping that thing back to Cordonia.” But maybe there is one similar back home. Just can’t let anyone know I own a dad’s chair. Ever. At least, not until I’m actually a dad, but first…Gotta get the girl.

Not really paying attention he walked into the next store, shaking his thoughts of being married and having children.

“The hardware store? Seriously?”

Drake stares wistfully at a plasma cutter at the back of the shop. I mean, there could have been worse stores to walk blindly into…I guess.

“What would you even use that for? What would Liam use that for?”

Think, idiot, think.  “Engraving…medals? Come on, it’s a tool. Every guy appreciates a handy power tool…”

His gaze fell to her lips as she bit her bottom one. “Drake…it’s adorable how bad you are at this.”

He shook his head smiling ruefully. “I don’t know if I should take that as a compliment.”

“I’m just glad I was here to witness this.”

“That makes one of us.” He frowned. I’m really making myself look like a complete idiot today.

She put her hand in the crook of his arm, nodding towards the door. “Come on. You look like you need a break.”

She leads Drake out of the store and to a bench down the block. They both slump onto it, exhausted.  He groaned. “Trying to find a present for this wedding is like torture.”

“I take it you’re not a fan of the usual wedding traditions.”

Drake runs his fingers through his hair, sighing. “I’ve got nothing against tradition. But there are nice, simple ceremonies, and then there are international engagement tours.”

She gave a soft smile. “So what would your ‘simple’ wedding look like?”

My wedding?

He gives her a thoughtful look. “Should I ask why you’re asking…” Not like it would even matter, I’d probably make myself look like a fool no matter what she says.

She winked. “Let’s just say I’m curious.”

He blushed and looked down at the ground. “I guess it’d be something small. A short reception and a ceremony, just a few friends and family…”

“Luckily, you only have a few friends and family.” She swatted his arm playfully.

He rolled his eyes. “Ha ha, Rose.”

She tapped her chin thoughtfully. “Let me guess. Your ring bearer would be…Little Bartie.”

Bartie…oh my…what a brilliant idea. And she thought of it…as though she’s thought of it before…“Huh. I hadn’t really thought about it, but you know…That’d be great.” He found himself grinning from ear to ear, and hers seemed to match.

“Imagine him in a tiny suit!” She squealed.

“Heh. Yeah, Savannah would be over the moon.”

“What about the best man? I vote for Liam. I bet he’d throw you the perfect bachelor party. Barbecue and stiff drinks galore. And he’d be good at speeches…He’d never embarrass you.” She pointed out.

He found himself completely mesmerized by the way her eyes were shining…and he had a strange feeling her smile had nothing to do with Liam, and everything to do with his idea of a small wedding. Hell, this is the first time anyone has ever asked what I want. “Hmm. Liam is a strong contender.”

Her eyes flit down to his lips. “That leaves one question. Who are you marrying in this scenario?”

Dare I imagine her walking down the aisle towards me?

“…Is it me?”

His eyebrows shot up. Goddamn it, how does she do that??

 “I…” A slight blush to his cheeks as he looks at her, half smiling, half surprised. Alright. I’ll bite.

 “Are you proposing to me, Rose?” He asked, his voice thick with desire.

She looks at him knowingly. “Trust me, if I were, you’d know.”

Of that I have no doubt. But until then…

“Then maybe that’s a question for another time.” He nudged her shoulder. “Enough daydreaming for now. I still need a present for Liam.” He sighs. “Liam has always been there for me, and…well, you know him. He always gives the perfect gifts.”

She chuckled. “It’s like his superpower.”

He nodded. “I just wanted to return the favor for once. But I’m stumped.”

“Relax, Drake. You just need to remember the secret to finding a good present. The secret is picking something unique to you.”

“If I get him whiskey, he’d probably laugh. Hell, I’d have to laugh at myself.”

She laughed heartily. “No, no. What I mean is, you know Liam better than anyone. You’ve been through thick and thin together. Anyone can get him something he’d enjoy, but what’d something you know he’d really appreciate?”

“I don’t know wh…” He breaks off suddenly, his gaze falling across something metallic in the window of a nearby antique store. Perfect.  “Wait. I’ve got it.” He leaps up from the bench and ducks into the store, picking up the object he’d noticed, an antique compass. This is beyond perfect. He quickly cashes out, then hurries back over to Emma, grinning. “This is what I’m giving Liam.”

She furrowed her eyebrows. “It’s neat, but…why a compass? Are you worried Liam will get lost in the wilds of Cordonia?”

He shook his head. “He’s always had guards and royal staff around, so he’s never needed a compass. But they can’t always be there for him. Even I can’t always be there for him. If he’s ever out on his own, or if he ever feels like he’s losing his way, I thought it might be a nice reminder.”

Her gaze softened. “I get the feeling you’re talking about more than cardinal directions.”

Drake shifts his weight back and forth, glancing down at the compass. “Constantine was a decent king for years, but by the time he retired, he’d lost sight of what really mattered. Look at everything he put you and Liam through. I don’t ever want that to happen to Liam. So, I thought he could use a compass to follow. Something to remind him to stay true to what he believes in. What do you think? Too cheesy?”

She was looking at him with her intense gaze, the one he’s become so familiar with, the one that makes him actually think that at the end of all this, he will be the one she chooses. His heart flutters under that gaze and his future is full of possibilities he’d always been afraid to dream of.

“Drake…You’re a thoughtful guy under that gruff exterior.”

You would know. You bring it out in me.  “I’m just trying to look out for Liam.”

“I know, Drake. That’s what people who care about their friends do. Liam will love it.”

“I hope so.” He carefully tucks the compass into his pocket and lets out a huge sigh of relief. “Thank god that’s over with.”

She laughed, the sound of it ringing like a bell. “Now we just have to get through this United Nations party.”

Actually….. “It’s not until tonight. Why don’t we unwind for a bit? We just endured an eternity of shopping. I think we’ve earned it.”

She bit her lip again, a hint of a smile on her mouth. “Hmm. It could be fun to show you around the neighborhood…Sign me up for some relaxation!”

I love that she never says no. When it works to my advantage.

“That’s what I’m talking about. What’s our first stop?”

But Emma’s not even looking at him, and he follows Emma’s gaze and freezes, seeing an outfit in a neighboring shop window.

She grabs his arm in excitement “Oh. My. God. I promise I’ll get you a drink after we try one more store.”

Uh-uh. No way. “That is not happening.”

“All you have to do is try it on. Pleeease.” She begged

Oh god, she’s begging. I just….I can’t fight that!

“The things I do for your amusement.” He grumbles, following her into the store. The clerk brings him over to the changing room, and then brings the outfit. He puts it on and stares at himself in the floor to ceiling mirror.

Gotta admit…lookin good, Walker. And it’s not like she’ll ever let me walk out of here without it so…what’s that term? Flaunt it if you got it? Or is that for breasts? Butts? Ugh, who cares.

 He emerges a few minutes later in a dark red Henley, grey slacks, and to complete the outfit, sunglasses.

She whistled. “You’ve never looked hotter.”

His jaw dropped at her cat calling him. “You…you like this kind of thing?”

“I’m just saying it’s pretty flattering.” She runs a finger down his muscular chest.

Drake stretches experimentally. He frowns down at the Henley shirt. “It’s…comfy. I’ll give it that. I’ll buy this getup if you make good on that drink you promised me.”

“Deal. I know just the spot.” She announced proudly.

He nodded and went to the register, paying a bit more than he ever expected he would on clothes. But the look on Emma’s face…she looked like she could eat me up. And I would definitely let her.

She leads Drake through the mazelike streets to a familiar door…and into her old bar.

He looks around, his eyes widening in recognition. “Hey, I remember this place.”

“I haven’t been here since that night at Liam’s bachelor party. My old bar…at least it hasn’t burned down without me.”

He gave her a curious look. “Heh. Some things never change.”

“Yeah. Although there might be a few new wine stains on those cushions…”

A stifled yawn comes from behind the counter as the server comes strolling out of the kitchen, as if having all the time in the world.

“Good afternoon. Are you two looking for a tab—Oh my god. Emma???”

“Daniel!!!!” Emma ran up to him and practically knocked him over in a bear hug.

What the hell? Who the hell is this??

But they were only talking amongst themselves now. “What the heck happened to you? You just up and left!”

“It’s a long story…”

“You could’ve called! Or texted!”

“My cell phone coverage has been kind of limited in Cordonia…”

“You should probably switch plans.” Drake broke in, determined to find out who this guy was and why Emma was so excited to see him.

The guy just nodded and turned back to Emma. “Well, I’m glad you’re okay. You look like you’re doing good”

Again, what the hell?

“Oh! I’m Daniel, by the way.” He holds his hand out to Drake.

Finally getting somewhere. Drake reaches out his own hand to introduce himself, fully planning on giving a very hard, very firm, handshake, make this ‘Daniel’ know he’s not intimidated. But before getting his chance…

“This is Drake…my hot date.” Emma wrapped her arms around Drake’s waist, catching him off-guard and immediately answering the question of whether Daniel was a threat.

He swallowed hard. “Uh…”

“You always did have good taste.” Daniel raked his eyes up and down Drake’s body and suddenly Drake knew why Daniel was not a threat.

“We’re not…I mean, I would…Nevermind.” No need to explain. I’m her hot date. Just go with it.

“Please follow me to the most romantic spot in the house!” Daniel escorts them to a booth that’s identical to all the others, except for a messy heart someone has carved into the table.

They were getting situated as a sharp voice rang out. “Daniel, what are you doing out there? I’ve got a sink full of dirty dishes that aren’t going to wash themselves.”

“We’ve got customers, boss! Look who just stopped by!”

The man steps out of the kitchen, wiping his hands on an apron. He frowns at Drake, then squints at Emma, until his eyes slowly widen in recognition. “You. I hope you’re not here looking to collect a paycheck. You walked out on me with only a day’s notice! On a Saturday!”

A third time. What the hell?

“Hey, watch your tone. That’s no way to talk to a customer.” Drake growled

“She used to work for me. I’ll talk to her however I like.”

Oh no he didn’t. What a prick.

“Really? You want to mess with a member of the Cordonian royal court?” Drake argued.

The manager freezes. “She’s…what?”

Emma leveled the man with her gaze. “It’s okay, Drake…I’m sure he wouldn’t insult a noblewoman on purpose. Right?”

Drake smirked as the man started fumbling nervously over his words. “Sorry, miss…err, madam. Err…milady?”

“Emma’s fine.” She told him

“I um, won’t disturb you any further. Enjoy your drinks.” He hastily retreats back to the kitchen.

Daniel speaks first. “Sorry about the boss. I wish I could say he’s having a bad day, but he’s just…like that. Can I get you two something to drink?”

“One whiskey. Neat.”

“The house special.” Emma winked.

“Coming right up!” He walks over to the bar and returns with their drinks a minute later, before leaving them to privacy.

Drake turned back to Emma and met a very curious expression on her face. “What happened back there, Drake? I never thought I’d see you play the noble card.”

His own expression turned sheepish. “Yeah, well, after everything the court has put you through, I figure you might as well get some use out of it. Courtly privilege is good at keeping jerks away…unless those jerks are also nobles.”

“I’ll remember that loophole.”

They both take a moment to enjoy their drinks, glancing around the mostly empty establishment.

The corners of Drake’s mouth turned up. “Heh. The last time we were here I thought you were just another waitress at another bar.”

“I thought you all were my last chance for a Saturday night tip.”

Drake raises his glass to her, grinning slightly. “I guess we’ve come a long way.”

A mischievous glint appeared in her eyes. “From strangers to…lovers?”

“We haven’t…” He trails off, swallowing hard, his heart pounding.

“No. But am I just a friend to you?” She was looking at him intensely again, he could tell she wanted him to say something, to agree, to do…anything. But he was tongue tied, because the truth was…she was never just a friend to him. And despite that fact, I’m still trying to push her away. Because I know it’s just a matter of time before she’s gone. Or….am I really just scared that she will actually choose me over Liam? No one’s ever done that before, and truthfully…it scares the shit out of me.  So, in reply, he clinks his glass against hers, trying to hide a smile.

Time to turn the conversation. “So, what was it like working here? Your old boss almost makes Olivia look warm and fuzzy.”

She looked around, a far off look on her face. “Honestly…it paid the bills. I didn’t love it, but if I hadn’t taken this job, I wouldn’t be where I am today.”

He looked at her skeptically. “Right back in the same bar?”

She rolled her eyes. “Yeah, but this time I don’t have to serve the drinks. What about you? I’ve never heard any classic Drake work stories.”

“I don’t have a lot of them.”

“Then just give me the highlights. Best and worst jobs you’ve ever had!”

Drake takes another sip from his glass while he thinks. “Hmm. Best job was probably the summer I spent working in the royal stables.”

“You? A stable hand? That sounds like something out of a steamy romance novel. The handsome commoner with a heart of gold, mucking out the stables at the royal castle…”

What? I swear, only she would come with this stuff.

“My heart is made of…whatever hearts are made of, thank you very much.” He retorted.

She rose an eyebrow. “That’s exactly what the handsome commoner would say.”

He shook his head, smiling. “Sure, Rose.”

“So, what was your worst job?”

Ha. Can’t wait for this reaction. “Oh, that’s easy. The time Maxwell paid me to DJ one of his dance parties.”

“He had to pay you to DJ a party? Really?”

He blinked. “A Maxwell party. I sure as hell wasn’t going to do it for free. It took me days to get all the glitter off of me. And the music out of my head.”

“Too much fun for you to handle?” She asked sarcastically.

Drake looks at her with a haunted expression, shaking his head. “Glitter doesn’t belong in drinks, Rose. That’s a hill I’m willing to die on.” He tosses back the last of his whiskey.

“Looks like our drinks are running low.” She was eyeing their empty glasses.

“Then it’s probably time to get going. We have a party to be at.” Another boring diplomatic party where I have to pretend I’m not madly in love with this woman.

Emma waves Daniel over, and he hands her the bill. She leaves a twenty dollar bill next to her glass.

“Whoa. Feeling generous?” He was legitimately surprised by how much she left.

She shrugged. “It’s hard to earn tips on quiet days like this. He could use the cash.”

“What about him?”  Drake nods at the door to the kitchen, where her former manager is peeking out at the two of them. When he notices them looking, he clears his throat and ducks behind the doorframe.

Emma chuckled to herself as she wrote something on a napkin. “I’ll leave him a note that says…It doesn’t cost you anything to be nice.”

“Heh. Maybe he’ll take the hint.”

“Are you leaving already?” Drake looked up to see a crestfallen Daniel.

“Sorry, Daniel, but we have a party to get to.”

Daniel’s face fell. “Well, maybe I’ll see you around sometime. Take care of yourself, Emma.”

“You too.” She gave him one last hug.

The manager barked from behind the wall. “Daniel, if you’re done shooting the breeze with our customers, that pile of dishes isn’t getting any cleaner!”

“…I’ll try.” Daniel grimaced, then head to the back of the bar.

“Come on, Drake. I know a shortcut that’ll get us back to the hotel in plenty of time.”

The sun has set by the time they leave the bar. She leads Drake to a pathway where the city’s lights glisten along the waterfront. He found himself chatting about her other miscellaneous odd jobs she had, her first apartment, her first roommate. He listened to everything she said, completely captivated at the way she lit up around him. When it was just the two of them, she could be just Emma, and it was obvious how much she liked that. Drake completely understands. It’s hard trying to impress the world, and he was glad he didn’t need to. Hell, he didn’t even need to impress her, they were just naturally drawn to each other. Everything about them was natural, and as he realized they’d been walking quite a while, he realized something else. Maybe…just maybe…she will choose me. This day has been amazing. Our whole friends to lovers relationship has been amazing. She’s amazing, and hell, I feel amazing when I’m with her. She has officially knocked down every single one of my walls.  I’m not going to fight this anymore. I just want to pull her in.

She stopped abruptly, and Drake looked around in confusion. “You sure this is a shortcut?”

She shrugged innocently. “Shortcuts are allowed to be scenic.”

“Heh. There’s a lot more to this place than I thought.”

“What do you mean?” She asked curiously.

“Liam’s bachelor party…I mean, his original one…was my first time in New York City. The movies don’t really do it justice. I mean, it’s big and noisy, but I like that people aren’t afraid to tell you what they think.”

“It’s all part of our New Yorker charm.” She laid her head on his shoulder, and he gently rested his head on top of hers.

“Thanks for taking me out here, Rose. I really needed a breather.” And around you I can breathe.

“Of course. I wanted to show you the most romantic view of the city.”

He lifted his head and turned to face the water. It was nice but…not the typical spot someone would think of. “This place? Not, I don’t know, the top of the Empire State Building?”

“A romantic view isn’t about where you’re standing. It’s about who you’re with.”

His breath hitches and he turns away from the waterfront to look at Emma and smiles softly. “Not a bad view.”

He holds his hand out to her, and she accepts it with a smile. Their fingers interlace, and Drake was overcome with a sensation he was unfamiliar with, yet he knows he’s felt it before, and with her. He kept trying to place his finger on it, but the words just wouldn’t form, and before long, they arrive at their hotel, situated right along the waterfront. Drake sighs. “Wish we could just stay out here instead of hanging out with a bunch of politicians.”

“Well, we still have a few minutes before we need to get ready.”

He slid his eyes in her direction. “What were you thinking?”

She took his other hand with her free one, and turned him to face her, as she stepped into his space. “I was thinking…about kissing you.”

Butterflies erupted in his stomach. “Rose…”

“Is that a no?” Undeniable sadness flashed in her eyes, and he let go of one of her hands, bringing it to gently cup her cheek in his palm.

“No.” He said softly. “Just…I don’t know what the hell you see in a guy like me. But I don’t want to question my luck. Not anymore.” He eliminates the space between them in an instant, his lips meeting hers in a desperate kiss. He pours everything into that kiss, all the emotions he’s been holding back from her, and when he pulls back to catch his breath, they’re both smiling.

She’s looking at him dreamily, and damn, he could get lost in those eyes. “Drake…Anyone would be lucky to be with you. But I’m especially lucky.”

He grins again. “I…I don’t know about that, Rose. But I’m glad you think so.”

He pulls her in by the small of her back, capturing her lips once again as she runs her hands through his hair, kissing her deeply. Again, and again they kiss, the world around them fading away, and Drake kept smiling all throughout, which caused her to smile as well, and he thought his heart may burst from happiness.

Eventually, reality sinks in and he pulls away, sighing. “If someone sees us like this, that could really complicate things for you, Rose. I don’t want to get you into another mess when you’re so close to clearing your name.”

“I don’t care what people think.” She told him boldly, and he gave a half hearted smile.

“Yeah, but I do. I could never forgive myself if I mess things up for you, Rose.”

Emma looks back at him doubtfully, but Drake doesn’t miss the glimmer of hope that remains in her eyes. “When this is over, then?”

When this is over…Shit, it’s almost here. Our new reality, whatever that may be.

Drake paces over to the railing and leans against it, searching for the right words. “I guess when this is over, you’ll finally be free to choose, Rose…” Just be honest with her. She’ll understand.

He took a breath. “And maybe some part of me is scared of that. I can’t offer you half as much as Liam could. Hell, I don’t know what I can offer you. But when the time comes…when those photos aren’t hanging over your head anymore…” He walks back over to her again, searching her eyes. “I’ll still be here.”

I’ll always be yours.

“So, we’ll talk then?” She whispered.

He leaned down and kissed her gently. “I’d like that. But right now, we’re about to be late to this party.”

She smiled at him now, and he smiled back, relieved that she understood he’s not going anywhere, that he is all in.

“You going to be okay in there?” She asked.

“Heh. After staring at gifts all afternoon, I didn’t think I could make through another highbrow get-together, but now…I guess some, err, time with you was all I needed.”

“I wouldn’t say no to more time alone with you.” She ruffled his hair and he ducked away, laughing.

“Maybe another night.”

“You know where to find me.”

Jesus, she’s got the fuck me now eyes going. I need to go.

“I’ll see you at the party, Rose. I don’t want to risk showing up to the United Nations in…this.” He gestured to his outfit.

“Good idea. I wouldn’t want your death on my conscience.” She teased.

Throwing caution to the wind, he drew her in for one last searing kiss, leaving them both breathless, before heading to their separate rooms.

As Drake looks for different clothes, he suddenly remembered what that feeling was that he’d had earlier in the night. He’d almost forgotten about it, but as he folded the Henley shirt, he found himself smiling yet again, because he remembered why that feeling belonged with her. Home.

  @annekebbphotography @carabeth @gardeningourmet @eileendannie @alesana45 @thequeenofcronuts @zigortega4life @drakewalkerfantasy

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@notoriouscs @agent-bossypants @flowerpowell

@hrhdes @drakewalkerisreal @akrenich @feartheendlesssummer @moonlightgem7 @i-miss-trr @noey718-blog @snyggflicka @rhymesmenagerie @gibbles82 ​ @i-only-signed-up-for-fanfiction @be-still-my-aching-heart @crookedslimecreatorpasta @whenyourheartskipsabeat @katedrakeohd @drakensworld

[superwolfiestar]

Partners in Time Ch.1

Mushroom Kingdom Past…….

At Boy Princess Donald's Castle, younger Scrooge welcoming two familiar friends. These friends around 7 years old and the other one, around 5.

The small red rooster wore a red shirt sleeves, with blue jean overalls with his tail sticking out and the pants are short, on his feet are two blue shoes and on his head is a red hat with a red P in a white circle on the brim of his hat. Finally, the green parrot had green fur, a dark green shirt, navy blue jean overall with his blue and red tail sticking out and the pants are short, dark green shoes with white stock that have two red lines going across. On his head was a green hat with a green J in a white circle on the brim of his hat.

They were, of course, Panchito and Jose in their young appearances. They approached Young Scrooge McDuck and he greeted:

"Oho! Young Masters Panchito and Jose! I anxiously await your arrival!"

"Let me guess; the Boy Princess Donald and Princess Della wants to play with us again, right?" Young Panchito guessed.

"Yes, indeed, Boy Princess is crave playmate unlike his twin older sister, I'm afraid. Sometimes, he’s rather…tantrum. I can't tell you how he missed you two so much ever since you two played with him last time!"

"Yeah, I can totally imagine that…" Young Jose said embarrassed.

"Their Royal Highnesses is waiting for you two at the throne room. Please go to him at once!"

"We're on it, McDuck!" Young Panchito replied with a smile.

The duo walked in the halls of the castle until they finally reached the throne room. There, they saw that the floor was filled with toys that belonged to the Young Boy Princess and Young Princess Della. Speaking of which, They can see the Young Pink and Yellow twin Duck, of around 6 years old sitting in the tiny chair playing his tea party on the small pink elegant table with his dolls sitting on the chairs while Princess Della is playing.

Young Boy Princess wearing his pink satin evening gown that has frills at the trim beautiful, adorable puffy little sleeves, and a tiered ruffle skirt in two colors of pink for all the prettiness. And a faux cyan jewel. There's even a tulle petticoat with a glittery satin hemline ruffle. Underneath his dress, he wears a white petticoat, white stockings, white knee-length pantalettes, red ruby sparkle strapped Mary Jane shoes and the crown looks like real gold,

Young Princess Della wore knee-length rich shiny bright yellow satin fabric with bright orange accents. The neck is trimmed with a white scalloped neckline and sleeves, there are bright orange poofs on the side at the waist, bright orange trim along the hemline, the back opens with a zipper, and there is a sash that ties in the back at the waist for a better fit. The sequin green button in the front center of the chest. Underneath her dress was a white petticoat, on her feet was a flat orange shoe with white stockings. On her head was a golden crown, two shape of daisy flowers on the front and back of the crown while the two red jewel on the left and right side.

"Hey Guys! We're here!" Young Panchito called playfully.

The Young royalties heard his call and cheered, seeing that his best friends have finally arrived to play. With that, Young Jose went to play with Young Boy Princess Donald while Young Panchito and Young Princess Della building tower.

After that, they began building a tower with the toy cubes. They worked together to finish it. Then, Young Panchito picks up a toy mallet and whacks the tower, demolishing it.

"Bam! Bam! Bam!" Young Panchito hits the tower until it demolishes.

"Heh heh heh, you sure wanted to destroy that tower, huh?" Young Jose chuckled.

"Yep! When I grow up, I really want to wield a heavy hammer to break everything in my path!" Young Panchito exclaimed.

"A heavy hammer? Are you sure you'll be able to wield one?" Young Princess Della asked.

"Mmhm! Trust me, you guys!" Young Panchito nodded.

"Well, for now on, it's better for you to use a toy mallet, because normal hammers are too dangerous for you, you know." Young Boy Princess Donald said.

"I know that." Young Panchito replied.

"BWAH HA HA HA!" suddenly, a familiar laugh came out of nowhere.

"Hey! That laugh…!" Young Panchito hissed as he and the three of them stood up.

Just then, a kid who’s a same size as Young Panchito, wearing an orange shirt, navy green shirt pant, two black waistband on both side of his wrist, a sliver chain on his left side, a shell with a small spike in it. It was Young Zeus. He jumped down from the ceiling and snatched Young Boy Princess in front of their eyes!

"WAAAAAH!" Young Boy Princess Donald wailed as Young Zeus grab his wrist and hurting his arm tightly.

"DONALD!" Young Jose cried out. "Why, you…!" He growled at Young Zeus.

"BWAH HA HA HA!" Young Zeus laughed evilly. "I, Prince Zeus, am taking Boy Princess Donald with me! You all can scram you baby!"

"Absolute nonsense!" Young Scrooge McDuckcame into the room and glared at Young Zeus. "I rather think that you'll do NO SUCH THING! EN GARDE!"

However, Young Zeus shot out flames from his mouth, burning Young Scrooge's mushroom cap before he faints.

"BWAH HA HA HA!" Young Zeus laughed.

"Scrooge!" Young Jose, Young Princess Della and Young Boy Princess except Young Panchito cried out as Young Jose and Young Princess Della went to the downed Young Scrooge. Young Panchito, angered that his enemy had not only stolen Young Boy Princess Donald but also burned Young Scrooge, went in front of Young Zeus and stood in his fighting stance.

"Your turn, Super Diaper Bro!" Young Zeus smirked at him.

"I don't think so!" Young Panchito growled and jumped over the flames when Young Zeus tried to burn him next.

"Oh no! How dare you!" Young Zeus shouted like a frustrated child while stomping his foot.

Young Panchito took the chance and stomped Young Zeusr's head, leaving him dazed, and…

"Yoink!" Young Panchito taunted playfully as he kick Young Zeus's forehead managed to knock Young Boy Princess Donald off of him. Young Jose came in and caught him in time before he hit the ground.

"What the?! Hey!"

"Phhbbbttt!" Young Panchito blew raspberry to him.

"GRRR!" Young Zeus growled.

"Finish him, Panchito!" Both Young Jose and Young Della grinned.

"Okey Dokey!" Young Panchito grinned back and does one more stomp at Young Zeus's head, defeating him.

"Urgh… Blaagh…" Young Zeus gagged as he tumbles on the ground. "I'm… I'm a PRINCE! I can't lose to you! Bluuuuuuurgh…”

"Woohoo! I did it!" Young Panchito cheered happily.

"Hurrays! Great job, Panchito!" Young Jose appraised while Young Princess Della giggling.

"Looks like you were able to beat Zeus without Jose help!" Young Boy Princess Donald exclaimed.

"Yeah! But, still… It bothers me how Zeus always comes to crash the party at the worst possible time." Young Panchito rolled his eyes.

Suddenly, some strange noises came in and the castle shook a bit with the windows showing a rainbow limbo, catching everyone's attention.

"Wait… What was that?" Young Panchito questioned, looking around.

*BOOOOOOOM!*

All of a sudden, a loud crash was heard from outside, and the whole castle shook violently with pieces of debris falling from the ceiling, startling everyone!

"GAAAAH! WHAT'S HAPPENING?!" Young Jose shouted in panic.

Outside, four UFOs blasting the Mushroom castle's walls, destroying them. Then, the four UFOs flew off, alongside another one.

However, the clouds above opened up, revealing dozens of UFOs! All of them were making their way to the castle…

It seems that the past is in trouble…

[hellaoldfander86]

The Grey Mage’s Quest Ch.17

Word Count: 1834

Tags/Warnings: None

Chapter 17: Back to Normal

Patton was getting concerned.

“What if Roman was unable to find the reversal agent?” Patton says with a worried frown, “It has been so long!”

Karybdis sips from his canteen. “If anyone could get the reversal agent, it would be Prince Roman. He would not give up.”

“No, he would not,” Logan states, crossing his arms. “He feels responsible for our well being. It is his realm. He would want to finally be able to rectify our situation.”

“You would be correct there, calculator watch.” A familiar voice says, stepping into the light of the glowing orbs. A smiling, normal sized Prince Roman stands before them. “There is someone I would like you to meet. Especially you, mage. She has some choice words for you.”

“She?” The stunned mage parrots before realizing that the others have left, and hurries to catch up to the group.

The group enters the cave, and as Patton enters behind Roman, a black and purple shape bounces into his arms, which turns out to be a now normal sized Virgil. “I know we said as soon as we were both normal, but I had to at least get one Super Dad hug.” The anxious side says as Patton looks at the purple and black clad side in his large arms, and lifts him a bit more so Virgil could hug him around the neck, and wraps all of his arms around the anxious sides body and gives him a light squeeze.

“How was that, kiddo?” The paternal side asks.

“Not bad. I prefer your normal hugs though.”

Patton chuckles and sets Virgil down, then notices the red-haired woman smiling at them.

Roman clears his throat. “Logan, Patton, Karybdis. This is Metis Mnemosyne Decima. You may have heard me refer to her as the Dragon Witch.”

“Wow! You didn’t tell me that she was so pretty!” Patton chirps with a megawatt smile

“I see we have a charmer in the Lord of Morality,” Metty says with a smile as she walks over to the new arrivals. “Lord of Intelligence, it is good to finally meet you. Roman has spoken of you often.”

Logan crosses his arms. “Probably when he was upset about something I did. It is a pleasure to meet you, also.”

Metty stops in front of Karybdis and crosses her arms. “You.” She fixes the mage in a green-eyed stare. “What possessed you to do this to them?”

The mage shrank back from the rage being directed point-blank at him. “I w-wanted to g-get the reversal agent to help th-those afflicted by chaos magic.” He stutters while dropping his eyes down to the floor.

“By subjecting the Crown Prince and the High Lords to magic that had a RUMOURED reversal agent? What if the rumor was false? They would have been stuck! You have no idea of the damage that could have caused!” Metty seethed at the mage.

“M-my contact with the Mages Collective said that the information was solid. I ha-ad every belief that the rumor was indeed fact.” Karybdis muttered to the floor.

Metty hummed in thought. “When did your plan to force the Prince himself to help you come about?”

“I saw them in the clearing and the idea came to me. After I had moved them I had to get fresh chaos water since what I had was old and unstable. Ever since they took the potions I have been ashamed of myself for doing such an underhanded thing, to My Prince of all people! And when I realized who was also involved, my shame was hundredfold. I only pray that someday they will forgive me.” Karybdis says, looking up into Mettys eyes.

Metty's luminous eyes narrowed. “That remains to be seen. I am sure his highness will let you know. I now know the how and the why. Now the Prince, the Lords and I have business to conclude. I thank you for helping them get here, but now I must send you away. I will take charge of their safety now. Goodbye.” She flicks her wrist and the mage disappears in a swirl of black and green smoke.

Metty holds up a hand at the gasp of surprise Patton emitted. “Do not worry. I sent him home, along with his wagon. He is fine. Except I unashamedly stole these.” And she points at the table and a bowl full of Roulettes appears. “I was unaware these were in season. A pleasant surprise. I will have my staff check all known berry patches around my keep now. Speaking of my keep..”

A wave of her hand and the group is suddenly in a well-appointed room with a fire in the hearth and a large, polished table and sturdy chairs in the center, with a chandelier of glowing orbs over the table. The room had beautiful tapestries on the stone walls and more glowing light orbs within the wall sconces. The bowl of Roulettes appear on the table, and two cups appear next to the bowl.

“I only use that cave on the occasion that I want some alone time. This is much better.” Metty sighs.

“I am sure you are eager to return to normal.” Metty picks up the cups and offers one to Patton and the other to Logan. “This will do the trick.” She steps back and smiles.

Patton looks down at Virgil, who nods his head vigorously. He looks down one last time at his large, muscular form. “Well, back to being just plain old dad. Thank goodness.” He then drinks the liquid in the cup quickly and sets the cup down on the table. “At least it wasn’t gross like the other potions,”  he thinks as a warmth radiates from his stomach, and a bright light forces him to close his eyes. An odd feeling, like traveling in an elevator going down causes him to step back when the feeling suddenly stops. The paternal side feels hands on his shoulders, and he opens his eyes to see that he is the same size as Virgil as the anxious side pulls him into a hug. “You are still Super Dad. Inside.” The anxious side whispers into Patton's ear as the moral sides two arms wrap around and squeeze.

Patton pulls back and looks into Virgil’s eyes. “Wait. Your eyes are still purple. A deep purple.”

Virgil looks back at the moral side. “And yours are blue. Not as bright, but still blue. Princey?” The anxious side looks over at the royal side.

Roman looks at the anxious side. “Mine will most likely be a dark shade of red. It must be a side-effect of being changed by the magic. We can have something personal charmed to change the color of our eyes back to brown when we wear it.” Virgil looks Roman in the eyes. “Yep. A deep red. Could even pass as brown in a pinch.”

They all look over to Logan, who hasn’t taken the reversal agent yet. “I don’t know how this is going to work. I don’t know if I am physically able to drink this. Am I stuck like this?” The logical side seems to be beginning to panic, Virgil can feel Logan’s fear prickling along his arms.

Metty moves to stand in front of the panicking logical side and curls her hands around Logan’s. “Magic made you like this. Magic will return you to normal. Do not think about it, just drink it. Magic will find a way. If I have to douse you with the reversal agent, I will, regardless of the limited quantity. Either way, you will return to normal, it is of the utmost priority.”

Logan looks Metty in the eyes, then looks at the others, who have gathered around him. Roman and Virgil have put hands on his shoulders, and look at him with small smiles. Patton takes Metty’s place in front of him as she steps away, and puts his hands over Logan’s hands holding the cup with the reversal agent “You can do it, Lo.” He whispers, “For Thomas.”

“For Thomas.” The logical side whispers. Logan brings the cup up to his lips and tips the contents into his mouth. To his surprise, the contents do not flow back out because of a lack of an esophagus. He closes his eyes, and suddenly he feels a sensation that he hasn’t felt in a week. Warmth. It glows within him, warming his core, and flows to his extremities.  He flexes his fingers, then he feels the sensation of someone holding his hand, and hands on his shoulders. He suddenly feels the need for oxygen, and he lets out a gasp as he begins to breathe. He opens his eyes, and everyone is still around him, smiling. He looks at his hands. His HUMAN hands. And smiles. “Magic finds a way.” he murmurs and is suddenly hugged by Patton.

“I told you,” Metty says with a chuckle. “I think dinner is long overdue, let me be your hostess for your last meal in the Imagination. I have a story to tell, and I think you all will be interested in it, not just His Highness.”

“I think that is a fine idea,” Roman says while giving Logan’s shoulder a squeeze. “I haven’t been to your keep before, plus I think Logan still wants to try the Roulettes.”

The three other sides agree, and Metty nods and pulls on a cord on the wall. Servants come in with trays of food, and Metty waves her hand and place settings appear on the table. “Let us dine, then we will enjoy the Roulettes for dessert.” She says as she takes her seat at the head of the table, and Roman and Logan take seats on one side, Patton and Virgil on the other.

The sides enjoy the meal immensely, especially Logan, who hasn’t eaten in a week, and proclaims that the mage was wrong, he was actually hungry when he changed back, but not as much as he would be if he had gone the entire week without food. The dishes were cleared away, and the Roulettes are left where everyone could reach them easily.

Logan is the first to grab one, and looks at it with his deep blue eyes and pops it into his mouth and gets a confused look on his face. “Cantaloupe?” He murmurs. Everyone chuckles at the logical sides confusion.

“You said you had a tale to tell. Please tell us.” Roman says, sitting back in his chair, holding a glass of lemon-infused water, popping a Roulette into his mouth.

“Yes. It is time to tell the tale.” Metty says as she takes a sip of her own water, and stands up. She plucks a Roulette out of the bowl and eats it thoughtfully. “Are you aware of what the realm has been going through?”

“No, I have not. Please tell me. I need to know what has happened.” The royal side says, all business.

Chapter 18

[littlemisskookie]

Ready or Not: Epilogue

Ready Or Not: Prologue Ch 1 Ch 2 Ch 3 Epilogue Characters Ship: Taehyung | Reader Description: BattleRoyale!AU | A class’s field trip turns out to be a battle to the death. Warnings: Death Word Count: 1,956 A/N: Character list to be out soon.

Jisu clung to the bags, holding them tight against her chest as she ran past the row of soldiers and outside of the building. Her heart stopped the minute that her name was called. Both Yeseul and Dongwoo were called before her. Dongwoo she was confident in. He at least could manage to get serious when certain matters were at hand. This was one of them. Yeseul, however, she knew wouldn't make it. Yeseul had a weak heart, both figuratively and literally.

Instead of running straight into the woods, she clung to the sides of the building, running along the walls. Logically, most of the other kids would get into the woods. Not many would think of going around the other side. Besides, it might buy her some time to see what she was working with in her bag.

Once she felt as though she were in a decent place far enough from her competition, she swung the bags down, rolling back her aching shoulders as she dropped to her knees. Unzipping it, she shuffled through the supplies of food and water, finally coming to what she assumed would be her weapon. A taser.

One good zap to someone with a heart condition and it might do. However, as a weapon, it would be what her peers called 'lame'. She wondered which ones got the good stuff.

"Jisu? Jisu!"

Jisu turned around, eyes wide as she pointed the taser in the direction of the voice. Dongwoo soon emerged, a relieved smile on his face.

Jisu stared at him blankly. "How'd you know I'd be here?"

"Knowing you, you'd think rationally and logically, and want to be away from as many people as possible. I've known you for years, Jisu. There's no way in hell you'd run into the woods with our newly formed maniacs," Dongwoo grinned.

"You're not going to kill me, are you?" Jisu asked quietly, the blood draining from her face even as she said it.

Dongwoo's eyes widened. "What? No!"

She sighed in relief. "Good."

"Did you see what they did with Y/N? How does she know them?" Dongwoo asked, sitting down.

"No clue. I mean, trust me, I knew she was off- not from just her one blue eye since no one can control that. I mean everyone knew she was different- I just don't think anyone knew how different," Jisu confesses.

"You said it," Dongwoo sighed. A look of sadness crosses his face. "I ran into Jiwoo at the entrance. He had a crossbow and was shooting down a lot of the people who entered. Let me pass because we're friends. I guess he ran out of arrows or ran away or died- no clue- by the time you came out. But he told me that Yeseul... He let her go, you know because no one would hurt Yeseul- but she died from a heart attack before she really even got to start. I don't know if it's true but... I think it is."

Jisu froze, her body stiff. "Oh... Oh God," she said. She felt something rise up in her throat, a bitter taste that she hadn't tasted in quite a while. Bile. She gets on all fours as she coughs it up, vomiting on the patch of grass in front of her. Dongwoo grimaced but rubbed her back, trying to comfort her as she let it all out. It wasn't until her arms stopped trembling and stomach lurching that she sat back down again.

"All done?" Dongwoo asked, recoiling his touch from her.

She wiped the leftover spit and puke from her chin with the back of her hand. "Yeah, I am- I-I've just been holding that back since we woke up."

"I know what you mean," he confessed, frowning.

"I don't know how you're so calm. I'm shaking," she said.

"I guess I'm still in disbelief or shock. It hasn't entered my system yet. I don't want it to, quite honestly," he guessed.

"Lucky you. Yeseul is dead and we probably are too," Jisu said pessimistically.

"Hey, don't say that! Look, I'm sure we'll find a way. I'm positive of it! You've got a- what is this?"

"A taser, dumbass," Jisu rolled her eyes.

"There's Jisu," Dongwoo grinned. "But yeah, that would be able to work I'm sure. If you could sneak up behind the person and get a good jab at their neck."

"I don't want to think about that," she grimaced. "What do you have anyway?"

"Dunno, haven't checked. I've been looking for you." As he says it, he turns over to his bag, unzipping it and looking through. An elated smile spreads across his face as he picks up a gun. "Sweet! Now, this is useful?"

Jisu wasn't so keen. "I dunno... Dongwoo, you realize you'd have to use that to kill one of our classmates, right?"

His smile drops immediately. "I... yeah. I know. But there's nothing we can do though. It's either kill or be killed. And I don't want to be killed."

Jisu was silent.

"C'mon, Jisu. You don't want to be killed, do you?" Dongwoo asked. "I've gotta hear you say it so that I know you're with me on this."

"I don't want to be killed," Jisu parroted.

"That's my girl."

Jisu locked eyes with him, her face solemn. "But I'm not too keen on killing, either."

"I know. Neither am I. But we don't have a choice," Dongwoo reasons. "Think of Yeseul. She wouldn't want us to die, would she?"

"You're forgetting there can be only one survivor," she reminds him.

"I know that. Look, if we're alive by the last ten or five, we split so that we don't have to kill each other."

"That's morbid," Jisu cringed. "And if we're the last two?"

Dongwoo looked her in the eye, unsure of what to say. "Let's just hope that doesn't happen."

Jisu pressed her lips together, knowing it'd be a good idea not to press on the matter further. Eventually, the two of them hauled their bags over their shoulders, trudging along to find a suitable place to keep shelter.

A muffled scream awoke Jisu during the night. She rolled over on the grass, shooting up to see a shadowy figure over Dongwoo, a katana sticking out of him. The intruder yanked the blade out, taking a few steps back.

Before they can attack, however, Jisu grabs for the gun she had stashed under the bag, cocking it and pointing it at the intruder. "Who are you? Say it or I'll shoot?"

"Do you really have to ask?" Your voice was clear as crystal, and it was calm.

Jisu's blood drained from her face. "Y/N... How could you?"

"It's part of Battle Royale. How could I not?" you said simply.

Jisu stumbled to her feet, squinting her eyes to adjust to the darkness. God, she should've known Dongwoo would fall asleep on his shift. "You did this before, haven't you?"

"What makes you think that?" Jisu could hear the smile in your voice.

"You're too calm about the situation. Like you've done it before. Not to mention how Ki said he was rooting for you, and how friendly you seemed with one of the soldiers."

"My my my, I've got a stalker it seems."

"So it's true?"

"I guess," you shrugged your shoulders.

"Then why are you here? Shouldn't you have left? Why would you play this game again?" Jisu asked, hands shaking.

"You act as though it's my choice," you said. "They forced me into it. If I win this one, I'll be free. People of your type never really win- they may survive, but they break eventually. No one really gets to go home."

"What?" Jisu's face paled. "But they said they'd let us go! We'd be free!"

"You think a government that has kids kill each other would have a problem with lying?" You laugh at that last part. "And from what I was told, you were supposed to be smart."

"I am smart!" Jisu defended, blood rushing to her cheeks.

"Then why don't you notice the blade that's about to gut you?" Jisu looked down quickly, noticing your katana a mere inch from her belly. She had been so focused on keeping her gun aimed at you that she didn't even notice.

You were quick to swipe at her, kicking the gun out of her hand as you lunged forward. The blade pierced through the skin, weaving between flesh and organs to settle in her abdomen. Jisu stilled, and soon she could taste the blood as it rushed from the back of her throat to her parted lips.

You yanked the blade from her, watching as she fell to her knees before you. It was almost as though she were bowing to a ruler, begging for forgiveness. Or more accurately, someone praying at an altar. Whatever it was, it surely felt as though it were cementing you as her superior.

You raised your foot, pressing the sole of your shoe against the top of her head and quickly kicking it down, letting her face plant into the dirt as you kept her in place, your foot firm at the back of her head.

"You know... That boy had feelings for you. I noticed. He wouldn't have killed you," you said quietly. "I don't know if you liked him back... But I suspect you did deep down. You looked at him the same way I used to look at someone. The same way he looked at me."

You trail the tip of the blade along her back, settling between her shoulder blades. "But I suppose all things must come to an end."

Those were the last words Jisu heard before you plunged it once again through her body, and soon she finally died out.

You huffed, sighing to yourself as you sat down, wiping the sweat off your forehead. You had... what, ten more to go? They gave you an assignment, and these two weren't your first kills of the day. Too bad that the kids in this class were much quicker to dying than yours were. Whatever, you were sure you'd manage.

You rummaged through their bags, looking to see if they had anything worthwhile. Soon enough, you pulled out a small taser.

Your thoughts were instantly drawn to him, and you stare at it, wondering if it were the same thing. Tears begin to well up in your eyes, prickling at the corners of your eyes as they turned glassy. You press it to your lips, offering a chaste peck to the metal.

There wasn't a day that you didn't think about Taehyung. You were convinced thoroughly that he was the only man who could ever truly love you. He knew exactly what you were and accepted it.

And now you'd never get that again.

You hear footsteps in the distance, and wipe away the tears you didn't even know were running down your face. Taking a deep breath and standing up, you ready yourself for your next kill.

Now wasn't the time for crying over the events from a year ago. You needed to get over what had happened and move on- otherwise, you'd be mentally stuck on this island for all of eternity. Even you knew that. This time there wasn't so much of a rush to get anyone home other than yourself. You would only hope the easy kills weren't all taken up so that you'd finally reach your end goal that Ki and the rest had set out for you. Then you'd finally go home- and by God, if they held you back again, they'd be the next on your list.

You had suffered so many heartaches and alterations mentally that you were just a shell of what could've been. But did that matter? No. In fact, if anything it was closer to being an advantage. At least in this game. You had to remember despite all of that, however, you had only become stronger. When it came down to it, you'd still live.

And the only way to truly live is to move on.

[eyesonworldcultures]

Museum of the Dog

New York’s New Museum of the Dog Is Serving Canine Realness Extravaganza

The American Kennel Club’s Museum of the Dog is now open to the public at 101 Park Avenue, New York City.

Maud Earl, “Ch. Nunsoe Duc de la Terrace of Blakeen” (1935), oil on board  

There are dogs on Instagram who make more money than you. Some have modeling contracts and sponsorship deals; others have even won acting awards. Research also indicates that canines have a proverbial leg up on felines, eclipsing them in online searches as early as 2014. And despite what the sudden arrival of cat cafés across New York might imply, the city boasts a dog population that’s 20% higher than their whiskered colleagues, according to data from a 2012 NYECD study.

It should therefore come as no surprise that New York now boasts a two-story museum in midtown devoted to dogs. The galleries are stuffed to the brim with oodles of poodles and painted Pomeranians. But are these artworks worthy of, say, Pugcasso — or are they just plain Shih Tzu?

Returning to the city after a 30-year stint in the suburbs of St. Louis, Missouri, the American Kennel Club’s Museum of the Dog toes the line between brilliant and banal. As the recent parent of my own fur baby (shameless plug), I have little reason to reject an opportunity to bask in the cuteness of a few dozen portraits of good boys and girls. But the art critic within me expects much more from a museum than images of moody poodles by the seashore. Rest assured, there are a handful of bright spots in the AKC’s art collection, but the current curatorial program is overwrought in its emphasis on dog gravitas and regality.

Perhaps this is an overcorrection set against the art history of dogs, which often fails to give pups the same opportunities that kittens have. Certainly, there are no dog masterpieces on par with something like Édouard Manet’s “Olympia” (1863), which features a very prickly (and symbolically charged) black cat. And major museums have planned no paeans to canines on the same scale as something like the Brooklyn Museum’s long-term exhibition, Divine Felines: Cats of Ancient Egypt. Art criticism, too, is a cat’s game with many writers pushing this whiskered agenda forward.

The Museum of the Dog has a taste for overly serious portraiture. Black terriers sit upright on their cushiony thrones while bloodhounds bathe in the chiaroscuro light of a watery hunting scene. Attention to the macabre in dog portraiture began in earnest in the 19th century, when the genre got its biggest boost from Queen Victoria. Throughout her lifetime, the monarch owned 10 dogs in addition to Shetland ponies, goats, and parrots. (Keep in mind, this list is nothing to Queen Elizabeth II’s cohort of 30 corgis since rising to the throne in 1952.) Paintings of the former queen’s pets were so widely circulated that they became the subject of parody. George Henry Hall’s 1849 painting “The Levee” refers to the ritual attendance of King Louis XIV’s court to the French ruler’s morning waking; nevertheless, the composition mimics Sir Edwin Landseer’s 1838 portrait of Queen Victoria’s animals, titled “Her Majesty’s Favourite Pets.” Subtle with its humor, Hall’s portrait ridicules the pomp and circumstance of royalty by casting spaniels and greyhounds in the roles of nobility. With puffed chests and anxious looks, the dogs’ obvious impatience lampoons the self-stifling traditions of the royal class.

Scattered throughout the museum are crowd-pleasing technological diversions like an augmented realty game of fetch with a cartoon dog. Upon first arriving to the museum, most visitors will likely head straight for the touch-screen monolith that matches your photo with the dog breed you most resemble. (The program identified me as a German Pinscher, which it describes as “vivacious” among other adjectives. Dear reader, under no uncertain terms has anyone ever described me as “vivacious.”)

Evolutionary biology teaches us that dogs are the descendants of wolves. Artists in the late 19th century increasingly featured canines in their hunting scenes as symbolic of man’s connection to the wild decades after the Industrial Revolution polluted the land and enticed rural villagers to the cityscape for factory jobs. With that context in mind, Richard Ansdell’s “Highland Tod, Fox Hunter” (1859) makes a lot more sense. The painting includes a garrison of 14 dogs and nine humans traveling through what appear to be the Scottish Highlands. A visual encyclopedia of the era’s most popular British breeds, the work features collies, hounds, and terriers. More dramatic is the artist’s 1865 painting of an enormous mastiff, called “The Poacher.” Here, a man wrestles to control his giant dog, having just fallen on a sack of slain birds and rabbits. The mastiff looks into the distance with bleary eyes as his owner sternly grips his collar.

Richard Ansdell, “Highland Tod, Fox Hunter” (1859), oil on canvas

Elsewhere though, the museum reminds us how humans have engineered dogs for centuries. Where would the American Kennel Club be, after all, if it wasn’t for these canine eugenics projects that have resulted in hundreds of different breeds? (The organization officially recognizes  only 192 dog breeds from an estimated 340 known throughout the world.) On the museum’s second floor are two paintings hung together for the sake of juxtaposition: “Ch. Nornay Sadler” (1940) by Edwin Megargee and “The Totteridge XI,” (1897) by Arthur Wardle. The latter work depicts a smooth fox terrier with anatomical precision, making the dog an ideal of the breed. The painting below depicts nearly a dozen other fox terriers, all imperfect attempts at achieving the perfection displayed above.

Christine Merrill, “Millie on the South Lawn” (1990), oil on board

Still, I have hope that the museum will use its new square footage to execute more ambitious exhibitions in the future. Where are William Wegman’s Weimaraner photographs? What happened to Picasso’s adopted dog, Lump. And we need shows devoted to presidential dogs. (A portrait of George HW Bush’s English Springer Spaniel is here, but what about Lyndon B. Johnson’s beagle or Barack Obama’s Portuguese Water Dog?) Throw this strange side of political history a bone!

[wizxrdpendrxgon]

Antoine Lafayette

“My name is Antoine Lafayette, son of Claude Lafayette and heir to the governorship of the Isle of Féerie, and I think I may know your mothers.”

(Halcyon character aesthetics 3/?)

[worldhotelvideo]

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[omarboulakjar]

9to5Toys Lunch Break: Powerbeats3 Wireless Earphones $120, WD 2TB Portable HDD $65, Logi#Tech MX Master $60, more

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[superwolfiestar]

Across Another Dimension Ch. 49

It was a normal beautiful sunset afternoon, the people are driving, walking, laughing, and going to stores and stores. The children are playing in the wonderful playground in the park. The criminals are running the way from police.

It was a regular day in the city of Duckburg, nothing had gone wrong. Everything is normal, no evil, no monster, and nothing. Until…..

*BOOOOM!*

All of a sudden, meteor cannonballs were shot from an airship, knocking down one of the buildings in the city, catching the citizens by surprise!

Soon, more and more airships arrived, still shooting more meteor cannonballs at the city from the portal that’s right above the mansion. Then, the evil minions jump off the airship and began chasing the citizens. Everyone began to panic and did their best to dodge the meteors as they ran away from the attacker. Some were forced to get out of their home while other where dragging out of the building. They gather all of everyone to the center of the city.

The main airship stops right in front of the citizens, and the King and his son stand at its deck.

"Attention everyone of this dimension!" The King starts to speak to the people. "You courtly invited to the wonderful wedding of the year." A sinister laugh arose from the king. The people gasped at this, terrified.

“I cannot wait to get married the love of my life.”

Meanwhile back in the Mushroom Kingdom, the gang need to plan to get the portal machine. They were now sneaking up on the edge of tree, hiding behind a tree and bushes and saw two Beagles guarding the machine.

"The beagles..." Jose whimpered. "I hate them..." he then whispered to the other Jose. "So, what's your plan for getting' past those two?"

"Live bait." Panchito whispered back.

"Good idea," Jose smiled before realizing. "Hey..."

"Come on, Jose, you and the others Panchito have to create a diversion." Jose whispered.

"What do you want me to do?" Jose replied incredulously. "Dress up in drag and do the hula?"

Everyone smirked as if that's what they all had in mind.

"Oh, this is going to be very entertaining." Dewey smirked.

The guards were protecting the machine and then, hear the drum beating, they turn their head to see where that drum coming. they saw a green parrot dress in the hula costume.

Jose:

Luau.

If you're hungry for a hunk of fat and juicy meat

Eat my buddy here because he is a treat!

Panchito hid his eyes with both his hands. He looked at his embarrassed green Brazil’s parrot and to himself back and forth.

Jose:

Come on down and dine

On this tasty swine

All you have to do is get in line

Are ya achin'?

Panchito popped his head up.

Panchito:

Yup yup yup!

Jose:

For some bacon?

Panchito

Yup yup yup!

Jose:

He's a big pig!

Panchito:

Yup yup yup!

Jose

You can be a big pig too!

OY! Jose's cheeks turned slightly pink. Then, they started to run away as the guards began chasing after them leaving their post.

The gang ran toward the machine, Professor Gyro turn off the machine and the portal in the sky close.

“Well, the portal is gone but we still age to save Donald and the other Donald!” Scrooge exclaimed.

“Don’t worry, we will save them. But first, we need to take the portal somewhere else!” Professor Gyro told everyone as he ordered Storkules to carry the heavy machine and take it somewhere else so the guards won’t follow them.

“Quickly! We must hide inside the castle!”

Back in Duckburg, the people were pushing inside the chapel by force. Inside the chapel. The chapel was decorated with beautiful white roses, the people were seated in the seat.

Five guards are guards the chapel entrance to make sure no one will ever escape.

In the white airship. King Zeus and Doofus was getting ready for the wedding. His servants were helping adjusting the entire of the white suit, cleaning the dust off of it, and polishing his white shoes.

King Zeus fixed his big bow as he looked at the tall mirror. “Am I handsome or what?” He smirks.

Then, one of the servants rushed in the chamber with a frightened look on his face. “King Zeus, King Zeus!!!”

King Zeus let out annoying sigh as he turned to face him. “What is it?” He rowl.

“It’s the ducks!” He address the king. “They’re hysterical!!!”

“What!!!” Gasped the King.

In the boy bride chamber, a bunch of pretty objects were thrown at them, they were hit by them and ran out of the crazy sight.

*BONK!*

*SPLAT!*

*WHAP!*

Two ducks thrown whatever they could possibly find to hit at them.

“You’re highness! You must calm down!” One of the servants try to calm the situation. But was hit by a bottle of hairspray.

“We will NOT marrying a MANIACAL, FIEND, like KING ZEUS!!!” Boy Princess Donald reply.

“Fiend? Where?” The sound of the heartbroken voice came from the chamber entrance. Two duck know who that voice belongs too.

They turn to face to the King of Darkness.

“You!” Donald exclaimed, “I will simply will NOT marry you!” He barks at the King.

“Come now, my precious!” King Zeus smiled and took his hand, placing a kiss to the back of it as he looked straight to Donald, it. “You’ll learn to love me!”

Donald snapped his hand out as he wipes it. “Don’t touch me!!!”

Donald and Boy Princess Donald both look at them angrily. They will not married him. King Zeus groan at them. And hate that they are forced to wear a wedding dress.

Boy Princess Donald was wearing a wedding dress. The top was going straight across his chest with champagne lining on the top going around. There are white poofs on the side at the waist with champagne lining, champagne lining trim along above the hemline. A white ribbon wrap around his waist and make into a beautiful white bow.

On both of his arms was a long white opera gloves with champagne lining around on the top of the glove.

On his head was a tiara, it looks a lot like his original crown except the tiara one have oval shape on the top and it sparkly with glitter. A beautiful two tier of waltz timeless veil made of soft and sheer soft tulle with pearls shatter around and trimmed all around in ribbon edge.

And around his neck, was a white ribbon choker with glittering royal blue cabochon pendant meant to look like Boy Princess Donald’s pendant.

Donald was also wearing a wedding dress too. A sweetheart neckline bodice with attached champagne ribbon band (fully boned) is one piece with huge bow on the back while the tulle ivory Underskirt is a fully gathered six yards. There is a three-tiered layered tulle petticoat underneath supported by a five row crinoline (hoopskirt.)es. On his chest was a bodice jewel.

Just like the boy Princess, both of his arms was a long white opera gloves with champagne lining around on the top of the glove.

In his head was a crown, unlikely Boy Princess Donald wedding tiara, this crown is basically a same crown that Boy Princess Doanld wore on his head, except that this crown have beauty small sticker crystals and pearls around the crown and behind the crown is a beautiful one tier of wedding veil. This wedding veil is made of soft illusion tulle and has a raw cut straight bottom edge with rounded corners.

"I need a hypnotist…" All of the sudden, a tall black beagle dog dress in the blue wizard attire suddenly appears. "Did somebody say Hypnotist?" he said.

"Ah, Black Art Beagle." The King said to him.

"My dear lord." Black Art Beagle bow his head. King Zeus give him a creepy smile. "Do your thing, and I will pay you."

“Yes my lord, as you wish.” Black Art Beagle step forward to two boy brides as Donald stood in front of Boy Princess to protect whatever that magical guy is going to do. They look at the wizard as he waved his magic golden wand.

"ABRACADABRA!" A dusty flew into their as they feel strange as the magic hit him. Suddenly their eyes color change to green.

"King Zeus, my love. I worship the ground you walk on. I love you. From the bottom of my heart." said a Both hypnotic Donald and Boy Princess Donald as the King pay the Black Art Beagle with a golden coins.

"Excellent work! Now, my dear, the ceremony is about to start, shall we?" King Zeus snap his figure and suddenly in both of their hands was a beautiful bouquet.

In Boy Princess Donald hand was a beautiful small cascade wedding bouquet which is made of silk flowers: blue and Ivory rose buds, of white accent flowers and greenery. The handle is wrapped and decorated with ivory satin ribbon. A beautiful huge blue bow completes the design.

While in Donald hand was a beautiful small cascade wedding bouquet about the same size as Boy Princess Donald bouquet. A baby pink and cream/ivory brides teardrop bouquet is made with quality artificial roses, greenery, crystal stems and gypsophila. The handle is wrapped and decorated with ivory satin ribbon. A beautiful huge pink bow completes the design.

"We may," Both of them took his hand as they exited the room and head to the chapel where the ceremony is held at.

Back the Mushroom World, Professor Gyro try so hard to find their dimensional home.

“Come on, come on!!!” He groans.

“Well you hurry up!” Scrooge became inpatients already, they need to save them and stop King Zeus.

Panchito and Jose came back from running by the guards. “Well?” The red Mexican rooster ask.

“No luck.” Princess Della sigh.

Finally, the portal open to the ground of Scrooge McDuck.

“Great! Come on everyone! Let go crash that wedding!” The Super Caballeros jump in followed by everyone else expect Professor Gyro and his interns. The machine suddenly blow up as everyone managed to get inside.

“Good luck everyone!!!” Professor Gyro wished them the best of luck.

[superwolfiestar]

Across Another Dimension Ch.46

"This'll mess with your head: All you guys hard work to collect all of the Rainbow Crystal Star. Well done, everyone!" Professor Gyro announced beatifically as they all stood in front of his gigantic machine thingamajig.

Gyro was surprised. "Wow!"

"I thought that would've lasted time I saw it again!" Jose gasped with wide eyes.

"Crazy stuff," commented Panchito.

Boy Princess was smiling widely. "At least we pulled through okay!" He said.

"It was tiring…" Donald quietly talked.

“Enough rattling on about your crazy adventure? I guess we'd better get your friend back then." said Professor Gyro.

"Okay, do it then!" Donald demanded.

Professor Gyro shook his head once more. "Of course, your friends are really important.

“Professor Gyro, the machine is ready.” His intern told him as Professor Gyro thank him and told him to turn the machine. His intern did as he was told. He turned the machine on.

He prepared the machine to turn Jose back to normal. So, anyway, the machine actually worked in reverse when doing so.

In the end, the green parrot burst out of the machine and Panchito and Donald blasted into by the individuals. The three caballeros collapsed to the ground and Jose dropped to the ground in a dizzy manner, eyes rolling while they saw Stars.

"Jose" Donald got to his feet, a tear rolling down his cheeks as he gazed at his second lover who was no longer stuck in the horrible painting.

"JOSEY!" Panchito jumped towards the green parrot and tackled him with a hug and kisses while he was still on the ground in a dazed manner. Donald hugged him tightly while Jose was staring at him.

"G-Guys…!" Jose exclaimed, returning the duck and rooster embrace. "You two actually saved me?"

Donald nodded his head. "I sure did with the help of all our dear friends and my family!"

Jose broke into a smile and chuckled, kisses both of their beaks. "Good work, you two! I'm proud of you! You all can tell me all about your adventure when we get back our dimensional home!" Jose got to his feet and helped them up as well.

"Oh, we will, Jose!" Panchito beamed at him.

Jose was about to ask where they were when Boy Princess Donald began to ask Jose if he have the purple sharp.

"What in the world?" Jose gawked to see another Donald.

"It's a long story!" Donald told the green parrot, shrugging his shoulders.

Jose blinked as he reply the royal duck back with a nodded.

Boy Princess and the Super Caballeros, who had been watching everything, and joined in on their laughter, happy and everything about how things turned out.

Professor Gyro then began to say to them. “I hate to disturb this happy reunions but first we have to put all of the Rainbow Crystal Star Sharp pieces back together!"

"Fine…" Donald sighed, pulling out a bag that have all of the pieces inside. Then handed all of the sharps to Professor Gyro. The Sharp then started to glow shine like a sun, all of the piece then started to flow up in the air. One by one, all of the pieces started to put back together. As the last piece was put it back in, it started to glow brighter this time. It almost blinding everyone in the laboratory. Then all of the bright are gone, the sharps have finally become the legendary Rainbow Crystal Star. The Rainbow Crystal Star slowly glow down a bit and landed on Professor Gyro hands.

“Oh my Mushroom.” Princess Della gasp in sight. “The legendary Rainbow Crystal Star.”

“It is.” Professor Gyro nodded at her. “Since we got the pieces back together, we will finish the machine. In the meantime, why don’t you just wait until we are done and then you all will go back home to your dimensional world.

“Hey why don’t we throw a farewell party at my Castle?” Boy Princess suggests. “This will be the last time we will ever see each other, how about a farewell party so we will remember this wonderful adventure we have.”

Everyone in the room started to agree with his royal highness. They then started to head to the Mushroom Castle for the celebration.

In an unknown place, the three beagle gang stood in front of their king, sitting on their knees. Brawling their eyes out as they told that they have failed to collect all of the sharps.

“F-for give us my lord!” The skinny beagle cried out.

“We have failed you!”

“Those pesky heroes got them all!”

Their king stare at his fellow minions, instead of begging angry at them, he gave him a wicked smile. “Good work you three.”

“Huh?” They all love at him in shock. “W-What did you mean by that? Why are you happy? Why aren’t you angry or be mad at us? We haven't completed our mission you gave us.”

“True but that wasn’t the case.” The King reply. “All I need is for you all to spy on them to make sure they have gathered all of the sharps they collect. Since they did. You three have completed the task. For your reward, I will give you three 100,000 coins. Good job you three.” He threw a bag of coins in front of them, inside was a bunch of real golden coins in there.

The three Beagles gasp at this wonderful sight as they thank their king and leave the throne room.

His son walk up toward him. “Father,” he said. “Everything is in order. And I hack into Professor Gyro laboratory security cameras and they finally put all of the sharps back together now. But I think you might watch this and it’s quite shocking.”

Doofus handed the video to him and show the footage. When King Zeus review the footage, what he saw shocked him was that there are two identical ducks that look like that they are twins. When they realize that the other duck wasn’t from here in. Instead, that duck and the other are from another dimension. And that give King Zeus a new idea.

“Let go son, we need to get your boy mama.” He got up from his throne. “Not wait… TWO boy mamas. Come on son, we need to get ready and head to my dear airship.”

[superwolfiestar]

Across Another Dimension Ch.39

"Hold on, you-you're Emily De Claire, the fiancée of William Gracey." Huey declared, surprising the ghost and his friend. "Wow, you're just as lovely now as you were alive."

"My, what a little gentleman you are young duck." Emily said with a kind smile, which made the guys melt and girls including Donald and Boy Princess Donald huff. "So, you are the ones that William has taken onto his tour, how was your time here in our humble mansion?"

"Despite our "gracious" host leaving us to fend for ourselves, this place is actually quite the attraction." Princess Della said admirably.

"I'm glad that you're all having some fun; makes me remember the fun times I had with the Gracey's when I was alive. Now, even with all the happy haunts, it feels so lonely. I love William, I really do, but I wish that there would be more to what we have, like becoming a mother and father."

The way Emily spoke made the group felt heart-broken for the spirit of the Ghost Host's once bride-to-be, it would even make them cry if she wanted to. She and William must have really loved each other if she wish to have children with him. The group could feel for her since they each cared for their families and they meant everything to them. They don’t know about her expect Huey whose he knew too well of the tale of Emily's story, which was the most tragic and quite the tear-jerker, and understood that it must've been torture for her to remember such events.

"I'm so sorry about that, you would have been a wonderful and excellent mother." Boy Princess Donald encouraged with a caring smile.

"Thank you, your royal highness, but there are children in this mansion, most are orphanages. I love them all and I treat them as my own and that has all came and went, you need not worry about I." Emily replied with a voice that reminded the group of their own respective mothers. "So, how is it that such gentlemen and women like yourselves find your way into the mansion?"

"Well madam.” Panchito address. “You see we are looking for the purple sharp piece in order to put all the piece back together to form a Rainbow Crystal Star. You see, our friends here came from another dimension and want to go home. Professor Gyro told us about this Rainbow Crystal Star and he need it to power up his machine and help them get back home.” The Super Caballeros explain the situation to her.

“Oh dear,” Emily gasp. “Well, I am I know where that sharp is.”

The gang lift their faces up like the Christmas tree.

“But.”

When they hear a word “but”, they know that something isn’t good. “You see that green parrot sir found the sharp, we are afraid and terrified of what he will do with it. We have no choice but to trap him in the painting. But unfortunately, the purple sharp is also inside the painting with that green bird.” The ghost deer bride told the gang.

Suddenly, it hit Panchito and Donald...

"Wait a minute," Panchito said, his voice much lower now. "Green parrot…?”

“Green bird…?”

Donald and Panchito began to gasp in shock and look at each other.

"It was Jose!!!" both of them said in unison. The gang and the ghost bride look at these two.

“That green parrot you are talking about is our friend Jose! He must somehow found the sharp and he was curious!” Panchito and Donald ran back to the portrait that Jose was trap in. “Please you must free Jose!” Donald beg the ghost bride to free his another lover.

“I’m afraid I can’t,” she reply. “No one had ever set free from the portrait. We alway do that unless someone try to steal or rob something from us.” Emily explain to them. “But perhap Madame Leota could help us to free your friend.”

“Well then, what are we all waiting for amigos?” Panchito speak out to them. “Let go to Madame Leota, Emily. Would you be so kind to lead us to Madame Leota? Por favor?” The red Mexican rooster ask politely to the ghost deer bride.

“Certainly, I shall compained you all to Madame Leota. Please, everyone. Follow me.” She began leaving the attic and leading them to Madame Leota room. Only a light to see where they are going was a poorly lit candle. They all left the attic while Panchito and Donald told Storkules to carefully carrying the portrait for them since it was heavy and he’s happy accept his task. He carefully carrying the portrait underneath his right side arm.

The whole gang and the ghost deer bride left the attic. Duckworth was the last one to get out as he close door shut but the door wasn’t fully shut. He shrugged thinking the attic is completely empty expect that is fill with old stuff back in the olden day and no one was in there. He went off with the other to go to Madame Leota to help them free Jose. But, Unknown to everyone, one ghost saw the whole thing. A wicked smile appear on her face.

“Well, it seen that one forgot to close the door.” She let out a small wicked laugh. She began to approach the open door.

“Here come the bride.”