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charlottes-writing-corner · 2 years ago

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Untethered

2. The Scent of Smoke on the Breeze

Three and a half years before present day

Sora flopped onto the futon in her apartment, letting out a long, exasperated breath. Another concert opener, another meet and greet afterward with her small but loyal fanbase… and another night alone in this tiny apartment. Sure, she had a roof over her head and food in the fridge, she had a record label, she had a CD on the market and another in the works, she could get gigs… but everything seemed stalled out. She could still only afford this tiny place, she still had never put on a solo show… she was pretty sure she had met every one of her fans in the city she lived in multiple times. And it wasn't for lack of trying - she was working her illusory tail off! But she still came back exhausted to this tiny place. She still couldn’t squeeze real medical transition into the budget either… she just had to rely on her illusions and her voice. But she could still see the real shape of her body, her real face…

"I'm living as myself…" she murmured to the ceiling. "I'm officially an idol… Is this really it? Is this all I can muster? But…" She rolled over and buried her head in her pillow. "Even with my illusions, doesn't becoming more famous put me at a higher risk for someone from Laterano recognizing me? My agency can't protect me from that… Aughhh!” She rolled onto her back again, staring at the ceiling with a knot in her throat. “What am I supposed to do…?”

As if in answer, there was a knock at her door. She raised an eyebrow; it was almost one in the morning after the concert finally wrapped up. Who would be knocking now…? She got out of bed and crept over to the door, wary in case it was someone sketchy, and looked through the peephole… but there was no one there.

Someone pulling a prank? she thought. She cracked the door open and didn't immediately see anyone… until her gaze drifted downward.

“‘Sup,” the sunglass-wearing penguin at her doorstep greeted.

Even in Sora’s tired state, she didn’t need much time to recognize who was standing before her. “You’re… Emperor? The music producer?”

“I know,” he replied. “Mind if I come in?”

“O-oh, sure!” She stepped aside. “Sorry there’s not much space to sit…” Emperor shrugged and sat across from the futon. She blinked, wondering if she had actually just fallen asleep and was drifting into dreams right now. “S-so… What brings you here? Er, I-I don’t mean to sound rude or anything!”

“Easy, kid,” he said as she took a seat across from him. “I’m doin’ some scouting, y’see. Traveling around, hitting up concerts, trying to get the drop on new talent before anybody else does. Even just among MSR, competition’s fuckin’ steep. Things’ve been getting stale just focusing on my own music and the peeps that cross my desk on their own.”

“You’re kidding…” Sora breathed, her heart racing. “You’re saying you were at the concert tonight?”

“Sure was,” he said with a nod. “Now, realest possible talk: I don’t know shit when it comes to the idol scene. Is your music good, is it derivative? Fucked if I know. But what I do know is the other acts from tonight are already spoken for, I thought your set was pretty tight, and I know some other producers who actually know what they’re talking about. And I wouldn’t mind having one a’ them owe me a favor for bringing them a juicy new piece of talent.”

He offered her a flipper and continued: “I ain’t gonna make a promise that ain’t mine to keep, but I can offer this much: ride over to Lungmen with me, and I’ll make some introductions. From there, it’s up to you, but I’ll comp you a room in the meantime. Gotta be worth taking a chance to break from all this, right?”

Even though Sora wasn’t the one speaking, she still felt like she needed to catch her breath. This was almost a dream scenario, and Emperor had just… waltzed in and presented it like it was nothing. “Mister Emperor-”

“Please, just Emperor is fine. Or Big E, I’ve been called that before.”

“Eheh… Okay, Emperor. Are… are you really sure? You’re willing to take a chance on me?”

“You don’t get anywhere in life not taking chances. I don’t look for peeps who are already perfect - I look for potential. You got that in spades. So yeah, I’m sure.”

Sora’s face grew into a smile, and she almost worried her halo was glowing bright enough to be seen under her Lupo facade. She took his flipper in her hand.

***

The rest, one might say, was history. Her Yanese was a little rusty, but Sora met with one of Emperor’s fellow producers, gave her an impromptu performance, and seemed to catch her attention. This one had an odd methodology; since Sora already had a foothold in the industry, even if it wasn’t an especially stable one, she had her put on a few guerrilla performances in various points in Lungmen, low tech and not widely advertised, just to gauge her ability to sing, dance and command an audience on her own. And while Sora was nervous about performing this way… her producer seemed quite happy with the results. She was able to draw in interested onlookers each time, and a handful of them even recognized Sora’s music.

So after a few of those, the producer bought Sora’s contract from her old agency, shredded it, and signed her on for a brand new one with Monster Siren Records.

Sora exited the MSR headquarters with a skip in her step. It was hard to believe, but she was finally starting to make it. Broken out of the little leagues and into the real arena. And the first thing her agent had done after starting arrangements for her first album to be re-released was to schedule a true debut concert. Not having her just be the opening act for the person people really wanted to see - no, a concert just for her. But this was only the door finally opening; she had to keep pushing herself if she was going to walk through it and keep going.

But as she made her way back towards her apartment… something seemed off. A strange tingle on the back of her neck, as though she was being watched. She chanced a look behind her, but the streets were fairly busy; if someone was following her specifically for some reason, she couldn’t pick them out of the crowd. But the path ahead to get back home was less populated… maybe it wouldn’t hurt to linger in the crowd a little, grab a drink perhaps? Hopefully, if she really was being tailed, she could lose her follower in the crowd. And if she was just being paranoid, well… better safe than sorry.

She got an iced tea from a street stall and made herself as inconspicuous as she could, taking a moment to scan over the crowd. She didn’t see anyone who looked shady exactly, couldn’t see anyone looking right at her… but it was hard to pick anybody out of the crowd.

Finishing off her drink, she sighed to herself and stood. Nothing for it. She wasn’t far from home now, she would make it back just fine. She adjusted her jacket, pulled up the collar, and set off again.

“It is you, isn’t it?” a voice asked from behind her. Sora winced - so much for sneaking away. She considered quickening her pace, but her follower hurriedly caught up and got ahead of her, cutting her off. Cutting off her escape.

“Sora, right? I almost didn’t think it was you at first - I saw you when you were crossing the street a little way back - and I had to be sure… I saw you at a couple of your street concerts, do you remember? I shook your hand last time!”

This guy sure liked the sound of his own voice. “Maybe, I’ve shaken a lot of hands these past few days…”

“Ah, I just knew from the first time I heard you, there was something there…” He wasn’t really listening to her at all, was she? Just talking at her. “And now we bump into each other in the street, in a city this big? It’s fate!”

“I wouldn’t exactly call it ‘bumping into each other,’” Sora murmured. She took a step back, but he matched step with her. He wasn’t right in her face, but if she had to run, would she be able to get enough distance…?

“Eh, minor detail! The point is, we’re together now, right where we were meant to be… You’re new to Lungmen anyway, right? You’d need a guide, a bodyguard maybe… I can picture it now~”

Sora took another nervous step back, but someone else stepped up from behind her, positioning their tall, strong frame between her and the stalker. Dark hair trailed a few inches past their shoulders, intercut with a little bit of red, and a fluffy Lupo tail hung still and controlled behind them. A still-sheathed katana rested in one hand, a second still at their belt.

“You’re done,” the figure said. Sora’s eyes widened a little bit more in interest. Her voice… Was she trans, too?

“The hell are you?” the guy asked, hand hovering worryingly near his pocket. “You trying to lure her somewhere?!”

“Look, I don’t want to make a mess here,” she calmly replied. “‘Specially not in front of her. Just get lost.”

“Sora, I don’t like the look of this guy-”

“She’s a girl, jerk!” Sora shot back. The Lupo’s tail flipped up in response to that, but she didn’t show any other reaction.

“Whatever! She’s dangerous!” The stalker pulled a knife. “Go on, draw that sword! I can take you! Watch, Sora, I’m up to the job of protecting you!”

“I don’t need to draw steel to deal with trash like you,” she dryly taunted, followed by what sounded like a Siracusan insult.

“All right, asshole!” He gripped his knife and rushed forward, but the Lupo didn’t flinch. As he drew closer, she gripped her sheathed sword and jabbed her attacker in the stomach, doubling him over immediately. She closed the distance, following up with an elbow to the ribs, and bringing up the butt of her sword to smash him in the chin. And if that weren’t enough, a tingle of electricity rippled through the air as she unleashed some sort of arts. Utterly stunned, the attacker flopped backwards onto the ground.

The Lupo straightened, and the utterly defeated stalker rose to his hands and knees shakily before scrambling away in fear. She gave him one last crack on the back with her sword as she went, just for good measure. Her hand moved to her pocket and pulled out a cigarette, but she seemed to think twice about lighting it up here, and she put it back. She turned very slightly back toward Sora but almost seemed… reluctant to look right at her.

“Are you okay?” she asked.

Sora offered her a smile. “I am now. Thank you… Can I ask your name?”

“Oh, it’s…”

“Oh there you are, Texas!” another voice greeted. Sora turned and tried not to flinch as a red-haired Sankta strolled past with a smile, but seemingly no recognition. “You ran off on me!”

“Sorry,” the Lupo replied. She turned to Sora. She was beautiful… “Y-yeah, it’s Texas. And this is Exusiai, they’re a friend and coworker of mine.”

They? Sora noted. Another Sankta who wasn’t cis…? Just who were these two?

“Hey…” Exusiai started, looking at Sora with a curious flicker of the halo, “isn’t this…?”

“I wasn’t going to bring that up…” Texas grumbled. “I just got done chasing off an obsessive fan, she doesn’t need me fangirling over her next…”

Sora giggled and took a step closer. “Don’t worry, you’re not like him. I can tell… So you’re a fan, too?”

Her tail flipped back and forth a little. “Yeah, I am. I almost didn’t believe it was really you at first when I saw you from a distance… I’m just glad I was able to get over here in time.”

“Me too…” Sora replied with a warm smile. This girl, Texas… she could just roll up like that, bring down that stalker like it was nothing, and the idea of boasting about it or even making the slightest move that could come off as overbearing seemed to be the furthest thing from her mind. She just saved a life and seemed to have no desire for any kind of repayment, or even praise. And she really was so pretty… Sora could feel her heart racing.

“Oh! So, um, if you’re a fan, how about an exclusive bit of early info?” Texas’s ear twitched in interest. “I actually just switched talent agencies recently, been doing a few low-key shows to get my foot in the door here in Lungmen…”

“I heard rumors about that,” Texas said. “So it was true… Damn, can’t believe I missed those.”

“Oh, they’re nothing compared to what comes next! I’m actually doing a re-debut concert next month!”

Texas’s eyebrows raised. “Really?” She turned to Exusiai. “You think the boss would forward me the money for that? I mean, I’m still paying him off for… everything.”

“Oh, that won’t do!” Sora said. She reached into her bag for a little something her producer had given her earlier that evening. Finding what she was looking for, she handed them to Texas with a grin. Texas’s tail thrashed behind her as she realized what she was looking at.

“Front row seats?” She looked at Sora in disbelief. “Are you serious…?”

“Least I could do!” Sora was beaming, hopefully only metaphorically. “My manager gave me those to give to friends, but I don’t really know many other people in Lungmen yet… Can’t think of anyone who deserves them more!”

Texas turned to Exusiai hopefully. “You’re in, right?”

“Of course!” they replied with a cheery grin. “I’ll admit, miss Sora, I hadn’t listened to your music before I met Tex here, but I’m not gonna say no to a live show! She talks all the time about listening to your music on the way here.”

“Exu…” Texas murmured.

“Oh? Did you come here from far away?” Sora didn’t exactly want to end the conversation just yet… and it seemed like Texas didn’t really want that, either.

“A bit,” she admitted. “Siracusa. I… left home in a hurry, let’s leave it at that. Didn’t get to bring much, but I had some of your music on my phone. Not sure I would have made it all the way to Lungmen without that…”

“And she barely made it here as it stands,” Exusiai chimed in.

“Really…?” Sora asked, feeling her heart speed up even more. “It was the same for me…”

“Right!” Texas replied, showing a bit of excitement now. “Where The Road Ends, right?”

“That’s right! A song about following a voice away from a home that doesn’t feel like home anymore… I had to leave in a hurry, too. And I was given the courage to do it by an idol I like, too!” God, she was blushing so much. These two… Texas especially, she could barely take her eyes off of the tall, strong Lupo. Quickly re-gathering herself, she decided to push it just a little bit further: “Well keep an ear out; when I perform that song at the concert… this time, it’s for you~”

Texas’s tail thrashed again, her eyes wide. “I’ll be ready!” Was this flirting? Was it even a good idea to try and flirt? Idols weren’t supposed to do that… yet Sora couldn’t think of much else.

“Hate to break this up,” Exusiai said, a hand on their hip, “but I know me and Tex have to report back, and I’m sure you wanna get home too… do you need us to walk you home?”

“O-oh, no, that’s okay!” Sora replied. As nice as it would be… she didn’t really need to push her luck here. The professional part of her brain realized that if she was seen walking around with these two armed strangers, it might cause PR problems. Plus, would that come off as desperate…? “My place is just around the corner, I’ll be okay.”

“Mm,” Texas murmured. Sora could tell she was worried, but she didn’t try to argue. “Just… stay safe, okay? Call Penguin Logistics if you need anything, one of us will come running.”

“Okay!” Penguin Logistics… Wasn’t that one of Emperor’s side businesses? She tucked that information away for later as she and Texas regretfully parted ways, and she headed back on the path home.

Only when she walked away did her heart finally begin to calm, but the warmth was still there. Who was that girl, really…? And idly, she wondered if she should cook up another illusion appearance for walking around town, to avoid being recognized. She wasn’t that well known yet, but if things went well, she would only get more famous, and encounters like that would be more of a risk… Cautus, perhaps?

#arknights #arknights fic #my wrting #sora (arknights)#emperor (arknights)#texas (arknights)#Exusiai (ArKnights)

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novantinuum · 4 years ago

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Fandom: Steven Universe

Rating: Teen Audiences

Words: 6.3K~

Summary: In another world, he doesn’t have his mother’s sword or shield to hide behind when Bismuth lands her strike. The bubble pops.

Steven falls apart.

Chapter summary: In which freedom is a future worth fighting for.

Finally finished this chapter, yay! I promise I throw canon off a ravine entirely next chapter, I just needed to set up some stuff. Hopefully the Ruby POV makes things somewhat fresh.

If you read this and enjoy, I’d greatly appreciate your support through reblogs here, or kudos/comments on AO3. Thank you! <3

____

Chapter 13: system/REBOOT, Part 1

The whole mission is Garnet’s idea.

By this point, they’ve known about Homeworld’s rushed Beta Kindergarten project for about fifty years. Frankly, its composition leaves much to be desired. The area is rich in the iron and silicon deposits necessary to produce a strong batch of quartzes, but the foundation they incubated all their new soldiers within is red clay cemented sandstone; it’s soft, and in constant danger of erosion. According to all the rebellion’s peridots, many of them top Homeworld kindergarteners before their eventual defection, this type of stone is critically unfit for Gem production. It can’t compress the inclusions of injector fluid at the correct pressure, can’t reliably bar the excess from draining through the porous material. As a result many of the individually incubated sites are predicted to ‘weep’ and lose critical volume, which will inevitably cause the emergent quartzes to be ‘off-color’ in some fashion. Some may be under regulation height, some may exhibit crystal twinning, some may be incapable of standard abilities like shapeshifting or weapon summoning, so on and so forth.

As a fellow off-color herself, Garnet carries a deep empathy for all those who are forsaken and unwanted. She can foresee the dire fate of these Beta Gems creeping over the dawning horizon even without the benefit of future vision, can foresee that despite all of these soldiers’ loyal programming, they’re ultimately cursed to be eliminated within the cruel machine of Homeworld. One day beyond the battlefield, the so-called Great Diamond Authority will see no further use in their existence, and then they’ll be purged. Harvested for scrap. Trapped within a myriad of Gem-powered objects. Crushed and used within their drop ships for fuel.

It’s pure tyranny.

Thus, she refuses to let their cruelty stand without a just fight. They have to give these Gems a chance beyond Homeworld’s rule, because abandoning them would be abandoning everything that their brave rebellion stands for, that she stands for. She refuses to stand powerless and idle in the face of a Diamond’s commands like the Sapphire and Ruby she once was, refuses to let another tragedy slip by without at least attempting to mend its damage. She is Garnet, she is freedom, and she is love.

And deep within her core, she believes these soon-to-emerge soldiers deserve the same opportunity for renewal and hope as any other Crystal Gem.

For all Ruby’s aware, a whole geological era could have passed between that fateful moment she first set eyes on Jasper and the shards-late arrival of Amethyst and the others. All three of them duck behind the low rock formations she’s hiding in the shade of, Steven still breathing heavily from the no-doubt harried and concerned exertion of their sprint towards her. Hard light coursing from the gem in her palm to all other extremities at random intervals amidst crackling cinders of immobilizing terror, (she’s almost surprised her form isn’t flickering at this point), she desperately attempts to babble an explanation. She’ll admit— it’s not a particularly coherent one. Ask her mere minutes later, and there’s little chance she’ll be able to repeat what she said. Heck, she’s not confident about her words now, in the heat of the moment. It’s probably something about holes, something about injector scrap, about all those Gem monsters, a-and—

"Whoa, what the heck!” Amethyst blessedly interrupts, raising her head above the rocks and pointing across the clearing at the orange and red striped quartz diligently prowling the area like a true squadron leader. “Jasper’s here, too? Did everyone decide to skip on over to Beta today, or somethin’?!”

Peridot’s face scrunches in confusion as she regards her former mission partner. “What is she doing?”

“She’s got all those corrupted Gems in cages,” Steven murmurs with realization, a tiny spark of outrage lighting up behind his eyes on those creatures’ behalf. “They’re not even bubbled, they’re just… trapped, and scared!”

Ruby brings her fist to her mouth, nervously nibbling at her fingers for a moment to anchor herself back to this present. Above all else, ignoring every thread of trepidation and insecurity she bears, there’s one burning question that pulses at her core with an unmatched luminosity about this whole scenario:

“B-but why would she want so many corrupted Gems in the first place? Doesn’t she know she can’t tame them?”

The purple quartz growls, the fringe of her hair casting a dark and menacing shadow over her features as she tilts her head down and glares at her self-proclaimed rival. “I don’t think she knows nothin’.”

And as— instinctively, mistakenly, running off of over five thousand years of deep engrained habit— she attempts to open her third eye towards the winding tributaries of potential futures they may soon find themselves wading through and fails, it slowly dawns on her just how isolated and lost they all are, without Sapphire’s sight. Without her love.

“Neither do I…” she says softly, her stature shrinking in the throes of that suffocating inadequacy. Riding an abrupt wave of frustration, she slams her foot into the coarse dirt, gripping thick chunks of her coily hair between her fingers. “Aughhh, this is a terrible time to not have future vision!” she huffs, spitting out each word staccato.

“Pipe down!” Jasper hollers at the poor corrupted Gem cornered in the distance as she kicks one of the bars of its cage, her booming voice easily reverberating off the cliffs’ curvature.

All four of them can’t help but bite back their gasps upon this clamoring startle. Peeking her head just above the rim of the rocky outcropping, Ruby watches the fur covered quartz visibly shrink back at the soldier’s command. Jasper continues, her unwavering act of confidence currently undeterred by this reaction.

“You take orders from me now. You used to be a quartz too, didn’t you? What happened to you?”

Utterly failing to comprehend any of her words in this vulnerable, animalistic state, the corrupted Gem merely snaps its fangs at the bars, and then tilts its head sideways to begin chewing on one of them. Jasper scoffs, her lips rising in a mild sneer. Taking the risk to edge closer, she continues to verbally berate the poor thing, talking the same sort of smack Ruby’s former Homeworld commanding officer, Condor Agate, used to dish out. Ruby grinds her teeth together so hard as she watches this display that the pressure and heat alone might be enough to form a brand new batch of Gems. Jasper even finds a moment to rope Amethyst into her insults, which almost has the stone in question summoning her whip in pure unfiltered fury. It’s only Steven and Peridot’s quick clutch on her shoulders that holds her back from steamrolling into the clearing with zero preparation and potentially making a terrible mistake. Still, she’s gotta admit, the temptation to whoop this Homeworld brute’s butt right this minute is devilishly hard to resist.

Ruby growls, one of her gauntlets emerging into existence on her clenched fist with a burst of light. “Oh-hoh, do I wanna launch this baby right into her dumb, chalky face…!”

“But maybe first we should go back to the temple and grab reinforcements?” Peridot whispers hastily, whirling around to face her. Panic visibly tightens its grip on her form with each passing second.

She pauses a moment to let the logic of this suggestion sink in, gaze hardened, and self-consciously aware of how her fellow Gems are (wrongfully) looking towards her as their leader in this chaos. What options do they even have? They can choose to fight, that’s one. They could disengage. They could retreat to Beach City and seek backup. If they were truly desperate, they could surrender. (Although she’s not confident Jasper would gracefully accept anyone’s defeat, not until it ended with their poofed— maybe even shattered— gemstones littering the coarse sand.)

As the gears are still pirouetting in her mind, she turns towards Steven, who nods in vehement agreement of Peridot’s strategy, his mouth stretched thin.

Sighing with frustration, she loosens her grip, recalling how even Garnet was barely able to match up with Jasper’s might. “Yeah, you’re right. She’d beat us into the dirt without Pearl or Sapphire.”

“Okay, so far we got three votes for retreat,” he says, holding up the appropriate number of digits as a visual. “Amethyst?”

In sync, the trio turn towards where the quartz just stood and find nothing but faint granules of recently upended dust filtering through a beam of sunlight. Both Peridot and Steven let out a fearful squeak at her absence.

“W-where is she?” the former Homeworld technician cries, craning her neck over the top of the rock formation to try and secure a visual.

“Up there!” Steven exclaims under his breath, pointing at a ridge a good ten feet above them that crosses from the arched entrance of this natural amphitheater all the way to the other side where Jasper stands, her back still turned to them.

Following the path of his index finger, Ruby catches a flash of purple, black and lavender stealthily advancing along the narrow rim towards the very soldier who reportedly poofed her with a single strike about a week back. The light sustaining her form nearly drains from all her limbs and rushes back to her gem.

“Oh, shards no…”

Stars above, what the hell is her problem? she thinks, her mind riding in a narrow track between exacerbated vexation and dread. Does she have a death wish, or something?? Surely the last place a rational person would choose to run is directly into the arms of the Gem who clobbered them into a senseless cloud at their last meeting. Surely a rational person would instead choose to retreat and regroup. However, as she glumly reflects upon the dour happenings of the past few days, Amethyst’s actions prove she’s currently unable to think rationally about Jasper or any other kind of conflict. She’s been markedly sullen at everyone around her ever since she first got her butt whooped. Obsessed with her private training sprees. Emotionally stand-offish. Prone to making rash decisions, like letting her mouth run off at poor hapless Steven about matters that aren’t his fault, or slashing her whip right at people’s feet to push them away, or… or rushing directly towards Jasper in an enclosed space with little to no backup just because she’s desperate to show her up for the sake of her own self-worth, or whatever.

And Ruby gets it, to an extent. She understands how cripplingly powerless it can feel to be written off as ‘the weak one,’ as nothing but an expendable. She understands the vivid temptation to let one’s anger drive such antagonistic confrontations. However, she’d also like to believe that she carries enough self respect in this gem to not throw herself right on an enemy’s anvil. Whether or not Amethyst possesses the same level of restraint is another question entirely. She flexes nervous, twitchy fingers at her side as she watches her dear friend creep further along the rim, ever closer to what she fears will be her unquestionable demise.

With the corrupted Gem’s racket still occupying Jasper’s undivided attention, Amethyst leaps from the cliff’s edge and into the clearing, pulling her whip from her gem in midair. The moment her toes touch the ground again, she slashes its barbed ends at the bars of the cage, right next to the quartz soldier’s hand. Jasper yanks her digits back. Her entire body snaps tense upon this disruption. Watching from behind their rocky cover, Ruby, Steven, and Peridot bite back the urge to gasp in shock.

“HEY!” Amethyst yells, lowering on her haunches right behind her opponent.

Now, there’s obviously no way to prove it without somehow obtaining intimate knowledge of her headspace, but upon external observation, Ruby swears that this big, buff Beta Kindergarten quartz is masking surprise. The sentiment is visible in the alignment of her shoulders, lifted high and tight against her neck. It’s visible in her narrow stance, light years away from the proper form of a soldier expecting battle. Flexing her thick, dexterous fingers at her side, she makes a blatant show of puffing out her chest before she turns to face her challenger, an almost predatory smile curving upwards on her lips as she regards her.

“You back away from her,” Amethyst hisses, nodding towards the Gem in the cage.

Jasper lets out a hearty chuckle. “Oh-hoh, what do we have here? You finally decide to crawl back for a rematch, runt?”

She grits her teeth, tightening her fist around the pommel of her weapon. “That’s right. I’m back, and I’mma wipe you all over these cliffs!”

“Perfect,” her opponent practically purrs, cracking her knuckles in anticipation. “I’ve been needing a light warmup.”

Rose approves her mission without question, when she first brings her the idea. Of course she would, in retrospect— the hidden diamond she was.

Garnet takes forty of her fellow soldiers and friends with her to the Beta Kindergarten. They don’t wield any weapons. These Gems are brand new, stepping into the light for the very first time. There’s no need to threaten them; all she wants is to peacefully talk, to introduce them to the concept of freedom, of choosing their own path beyond the Diamonds’ rule.

At the time, all she wanted was to follow her beloved leader’s example and choose peace and harmony over subjugation and brutality.

But with the bitter truths they know now, and reflecting upon the horrid atrocities they themselves participated in amidst the war… despite Rose’s self-proclaimed ‘pacifism,’ despite the shaky justifications of their cause being different than Homeworld’s brand of violence... she’s increasingly unsure if any of them ever had a choice.

Tragically, it only takes mere seconds for the initial triumphant beats of Amethyst’s war against Jasper to devolve into a one-sided thrashing.

With a mighty, almost frenzied yell, Amethyst moves one foot forward for counterbalance and slings the weighted, barbed tip of her weapon directly at her opponent’s face. Jasper catches it midair, mere inches from her gem. An arrogant smile paints her visage. After winding the whip’s end around her hand, she yanks its user towards her with a snap of her wrist, swings her in a wide arc, and effortlessly slams her into the nearest cliff wall, blowing up a huge plume of pulverized rock and dust. It all happens so fast that the rest of the party barely has any time to react. As the rubble settles, Ruby finally spots her friend amidst the chaos, collapsed on hands and knees in the dirt. The poor Gem’s hands are nearly trembling as she vies to rise to her feet again, vies to stand her ground and keep fighting.

There’s only one thing she knows for sure, watching all this: if hard light were consumable rather than indelible, she would quite literally be chipping away at her knuckles with her teeth by now.

His expression blown wide with fear, Steven breaks their communal silence to holler Amethyst’s name. Hands flexing in and out of fists, he darts away from their hiding spot. And they tried to stop him, they really did— it’s simply that he’s far too nimble for either of them to catch in time.

“Steven!” Peridot cries, trying and failing to grab his hand to hold him back.

“Steven, no!” Ruby yells, arms outstretched, as he sprints into the clearing— entirely blowing any remaining amount of cover the three of them had, placing his gem at Jasper’s mercy, and causing a thousand living nightmares to flood into her consciousness in but a millisecond. “Come back!!”

“Wait! Wait,” he gasps, waving his arms wildly to catch the larger quartz’s attention as he passes into the center of this natural coliseum, firmly planting himself at Amethyst’s side. “Stop! We don’t need to do this!”

Giving a growl that would rival that of a corrupted Gem’s, Ruby clenches her fingers around thick coils of her hair at either side of her head and yanks. “Aughh, why does nobody listen to me when I’m short??”

A faint trail of glowing embers marks a record of her path as she leaves Peridot by their rocky outcropping and storms right into the open after him. Oh, hoh, hoh— that boy can disobey her clear, simple orders all he wants, but in his folly he’s forgetting one very important fact: rubies are stubborn Gems. And she’ll fight to protect him from the crossfire of Jasper’s hubris and Amethyst’s self-destruction even if that means braving her deepest terrors to run out there and drag him back to safety herself.

(Ideally, she’d be able to drag Amethyst with her out of the thunderdome as well, but she’s also quite the stubborn one. So try as she may, that’s not likely to happen.)

Ruby strides towards the middle of the clearing and defiantly plants her feet in the sterile soil right in front of Steven, and adjacent to Amethyst. She summons her gauntlets, her features twisting in a scowl. “Stand down and let them go!” she shouts up at that bulky orange quartz with all the Garnet-like confidence she can muster. “This is not a Homeworld controlled planet!”

“Steven, Ruby, get out of here!” Amethyst hisses under her breath, her battle-ready stance solidifying with a strange mixture of apprehension and anger as she regards the two of them.

“No!” she shoots back, tugging at her arm. “Come on, you know I can’t just leave you here.”

Jasper’s molten amber eyes narrow, her steely gaze colliding right into her.

“ You,” she says, enunciated as sharp as a dagger. “One half of that vile war machine.”

“War machine?!” Steven cries, distraught by the very implication. “She’s not a war machine! Garnet fuses for love!”

“Yeah!” Ruby jabs her fist in the air loud and proud.

The Homeworld warrior scoffs, seemingly not impressed by their display of solidarity. She folds her arms solid across the Yellow Diamond insignia emblazoned upon her chest and steps closer to address her directly. “And where’s this love now?” she spits, mockingly stooping to her level.

And despite the faint, triumphant memories of her last incursion with this quartz, (well… Garnet’s last incursion), she can’t help but cower in her presence, can’t help but crumble like the deficient sandstone of this very kindergarten under the cruel, personalized precision of her blunt words. Because... she’s right. Because that’s the whole problem, the pulsing heart of life’s cruel game. Fusion offered her a tantalizing taste of freedom, a glimpse of a reality where, together, a lowly guard and her sapphire could achieve literally anything through the strength of their love!— but that world feels like nothing more but an unobtainable mirage now. She’s absolutely useless on her own, just some pathetic waste of resources! No authority, no power, no wisdom of foresight— she brings nothing to the Crystal Gems’ cause. She never did. It was always her. Tears bead at her widening eyes, her gauntleted fists already beginning to tremble at her sides.

“I-I…”

“Where’s any of your power now?” Jasper continues as she raises back to her full height, lifting both open hands towards the empty, cloud-streaked skies. She throws her head back as she offers them all a bright, boastful chuckle. “To think I used to view you traitors as a threat, but now even your disgraceful cause is falling apart, isn’t it… Rose?”

Still standing a step behind her, Steven’s immediate reply brims with tones of frustration. “I’m not—“

“But you’re wrong!” a high, familiar voice urgently calls out from behind them all.

This whole messy confrontation breaks to a halt as everyone turns to gape at the lone Gem poking her head out above the rocky outcropping. Peridot gasps at the sudden influx of attention, and hastily ducks for cover again.

“What are YOU doing here?” Jasper growls with annoyance, grinding one of her feet in the dirt as if inwardly hoping she could shift the very earth they stand on and finally gain the advantage of surprise once more.

“I-I…” the green Gem stammers, slowly creeping out from her hiding spot, summoning newfound confidence as she lays her eyes on each and every one of her friends. “I’m here because our cause hasn’t fallen apart! We live on Earth to be free, to learn new things about ourselves. Like how I can bend metal to my bidding!” she exclaims, tossing enthusiastic fists into the air.

On the cliff face over twenty feet away, a skinny length of metal from one of the injector’s legs slips from the device, falls straight down, and noisily clatters as it collides against the rocky soil. Amethyst facepalms. Meanwhile, Jasper appears so underwhelmed by this display that in any other circumstance, her glazed-over expression could be comedic.

Peridot briefly scowls at her botched handiwork. “And sure,” she shrugs, nodding towards that shard of metal, “nothing’s ever perfect here, but together, we work to help and support each other, just like we’re supporting Amethyst now. Isn’t that freedom worth fighting for?”

A few beats pass as the heart of this proclamation sinks in, the ticking seconds seeing Steven beam in pride at his friend’s progression since the beginning of her stay on Earth, and Jasper’s features scrunch inwards in an almost sour manner. Between the stifling roots of her own despair, even Ruby herself can’t help but feel a little uplifted by this hopeful sentiment. It’s a well-timed salve to an old burn, a naive yet ultimately truthful promise of lighthearted days to come. After all, hasn’t her time as a Crystal Gem taught her by now that no circumstance is permanent? That a single unifying cause can collapse empires like a wildfire, can continually reshape one’s entire understanding of existence? Her gauntleted hands shift at her side as a new spark of timid confidence ignites at her core. What was she thinking, letting this brute of a quartz tower over her and define the very pillars of her own story? She’s better than this. For the very sake of her friends she has to be!

But alas, before this newfound bravery can see its hour of triumph on this secluded battlefield, she finds herself once again cast aside by one of the very friends she’s vying to protect.

Amethyst growls in frustration at their continued presence, and summons her weapon. “UGH, you GUYS!” She slashes its barbed tips against the cliff face right above Peridot, not close enough to hit her, but certainly with enough force that it spooks her into diving behind the low rock formation again. Scowling, she then turns and plucks an actively protesting Steven right off the ground. “Get out of here!” she yells, tossing him back towards the clearing’s entrance. “This isn’t your fight!”

Ruby gives a sharp yelp as she just barely leaps backwards to dodge the business end of her whip, swinging low in a vain attempt to tangle up her feet. “Hey—!”

“It’s just you and me, Jasper,” the purple quartz breathes heavily, and abruptly whirls around to jab her finger towards her opponent. “ONE-ON-ONE!”

Silently, a consenting smirk riding over her lips, the taller Gem summons her ramming helmet in a glittering flash of light.

The mission is— in the terms of the brave humans they sometimes fight alongside— a bloodbath.

When they first warped in, Garnet only expected to find a small handful of disoriented jaspers, citrines, and carnelians roaming about. Gems they could talk to. Gems they could reason with, just as Rose reasoned with her fellow quartzes at the very start of this bold rebellion. Instead, what emerges soon after their arrival is more shocking and unpredictable than any future Garnet could’ve ever visualized.

Bursting from the very heart of this slapdash, rushed Kindergarten, despite every single locational and structural disadvantage this place stacks against one’s favor, is Her.

The strongest, most perfectly formed jasper she’s ever laid eyes on. She’s seven feet tall, built as solid as diamond, her flawlessly faceted gemstone gleaming bright and proud in the rising sun. She wastes no time in following the miserable orders the Great Diamond Authority cruelly embedded deep within her soul, immediately calling the hundreds of scattered and confused off-color Gems surrounding her to action.

Garnet and her squadron simply don’t have enough time to intervene, to try and settle this skirmish halfway peacefully. They don’t have the numbers.

Twenty three Crystal Gems are shattered that day. Numerous more on both sides are cracked or poofed.

And yet one of the greatest tragedies, in her mind… is that these emergent Gems never got the proper chance to consider any purpose beyond their assigned station. Never got a chance to glimpse the promise of their own freedom.

Everything happened so fast.

She took this place for granted— thanks to her own preconceived notions about the kinds of Gems that could emerge here, utterly failed to foresee this potential turn of events— and in the end it cost lives. Both those of her fellow Crystal Gems, her friends … and those of the Beta quartzes she failed to save from Homeworld’s damaging influence.

That night, as she bitterly weeps for the recovered shards of the beloved they lost, clenches her gauntleted fists tight around her gemstones, she vows to never let such a harrowing tragedy escape her vision again. No more.

A leader like her is not allowed to fail.

With the mighty roar of a lion, Amethyst stamps her leading foot to the ground to center her balance and rears her weapon-wielding arm back, wholly intending to defend her pride from this boorish bully. The first and second slashes are fruitful, one striking Jasper in the face, and the next hitting her chest with such intense force that it slams her into the cliff wall a few feet back, but Ruby can’t help but dread the litany of unknown possibilities haunting their future as she watches, powerless in her lack of second sight to influence their present. Could Amethyst win this fight? Sure. There’s gotta be at least one river of time where that occurs, where Jasper is so wrapped up within that facade of insufferable hubris that she fails to take her seriously as an opponent and pays the price. But on the other hand, she senses so many chinks in Amethyst’s armor that she can’t help but fear the opposite. She’s blinded by her anger, unable to consider consequence rationally. Her form in battle— compared to her usual performance— is notably sloppy, as if she’s throwing herself at this fight with such an explosion of tangled, raw emotion that her years of training and refinement have all but melted away in the inferno. Her fingers are trembling as she tightens her grasp on the whip’s pommel.

All of this stated, Ruby may not possess the gift of Sapphire’s future vision, but she has more than enough experience on patrol and on the battlefield to recognize a soldier who is woefully unprepared for a fight. Something terrible is about to happen, she can just feel it.

“Be careful!!” she cries, cupping her hands around her mouth.

“It’s fine, she’s totally rocking this!” Steven says with a huge grin, seeming uncharacteristically calm, given the circumstances. He whoops, and punches his fist in the air. “Go Amethyst!”

Ruby and Peridot briefly match eyes, the noted concern in their gazes pointing towards the fact that they both think that Amethyst’s insistence to fight is reckless and naive. In retrospect, of course her friend would agree with her. She spent a lot of time cohabiting with Jasper on their journey to Earth, so she’s bound to be well aware of her fundamental nature.

At the moment however, given the shorter quartz’s tunnel vision, she’s certain that any of their valid concerns would fall upon deaf ears.

“Who’s weak now, huh?” Amethyst spits from across the clearing, flicking her wrist to activate the triplet spiked balls at the ends of her whip, an upgrade gifted by Bismuth she surprisingly hasn’t seemed to have abandoned. With a holler, she swings her leading arm back and around to build up momentum and then slashes at Jasper’s chest three times in succession. The last hit comes with enough force to push her backwards in the dirt a few feet. “Who’s powerless NOW?!”

Then, just as Ruby fearfully predicted, the winds shift.

The firestorm doubles back upon them, Jasper merely swatting the flail ends away like they were nothing more but a momentary nuisance. Her expression narrows into a scowl. Emergent shock mingles alongside the dark cloud of Amethyst’s anger like wayward lightning bolts as she growls in frustration, the side-swept fringe of her hair shadowing her features. In retaliation she summons a second whip and immediately slashes them both against the soil, endowing them with a crackling, purple-tinged energy, almost a fire of her own making. She tucks into a ball and literally hurls herself at the quartz warrior, her form only recognizable in the heat of that moment via a dazzling blaze of light.

The resulting collision throws up so much dirt and smoke that Ruby has to throw her small body in front of Steven’s to shield him from the worst of the debris.

When the thick curtains of dust finally part, the consequences of this overly-impulsive move are revealed. Jasper still stands proud and tall, her mettle unaffected by this attempted show of strength. Barely a scuff even marrs her uniform. Meanwhile, Amethyst lays hunched over on hands and knees, hacking up fragmented remnants of sandstone she likely swallowed amidst the impact. (Alas, that’s the price she pays for choosing to always reform with an semi-operational digestive system.)

“Is it sinking in yet?” Jasper queries pointedly, advancing towards the trembling Gem on the ground.

Amethyst is so exhausted she can’t even muster the strength to respond, her arms quivering beneath her as she vies to hold up the simulated weight of her hard light form.

Her foe roughly kicks her in the chest, her foot striking mere inches under her gem. Ruby visibly cringes at both the shallow huff of distress that this hit elicits from her, and Steven’s cries of fear in response.

“It doesn’t matter how long or hard you fight,” Jasper boasts, her imposing figure hovering like a bad omen over her quartz sibling’s, “because I’ll always be stronger! Runts like you never had a chance. Runts like you are worthless.”

Angrily, she grinds her teeth together, cradling the vulnerable gemstone on her hand.

Worthless.

Who the hell does this square hunk of stone think she is, slinging such heavy-handed words around like the blunt end of a mallet?

“Get your worthless, sorry forms back in formation!” wretched old Condor Agate used to scream at her and the others in her squad, back when she spent eternity guarding empty corridors, back before she was eventually reassigned to Sapphire’s personal guard. “You’re an embarrassment to your commanding agates, all of you!”

Ruby growls, finding her resolve. That’s it. No more. She can’t bear to stand at the sidelines gripped in fear while some bully is literally beating her friend into the ground, both physically and emotionally. She can’t bear for Amethyst to fall prey to the same type of unwavering torment she herself experienced all those years ago on Homeworld, torment that utterly deformed her sense of self-worth until recognizing any ounce of good in herself became a gargantuan, near-impossible task. Admittedly, she still hasn’t healed from those days. Not entirely. Sometimes she’s unsure she ever will. But it’s her duty to put an end to this, to what’s happening in the here and now. After all, what’s the point of being a Crystal Gem if you don’t look after the people you love?

“We have to separate them,” she says firmly, turning towards Steven and Peridot. “She’s gonna get clobbered!”

The former kindergartener’s expression warps to despair under her visor. “But how? She doesn’t even want us to be here! And none of us are strong enough to face Jasper…”

“Could we make a distraction?” Steven suggests, his voice tinged with the same sort of urgency she feels thrumming like a frantic drum line at the depths of her core.

Humming in thought, Ruby considers the status quo. To no success, she attempts to ignore her friends’ expectant gazes, trustingly falling upon her exactly like all those fellow rebellion soldiers used to look at Garnet… as their de facto leader. But she’s no leader, far from it. Garnet would barely have to think before coming up with a genius, foolproof plan, but she’s going into everything blind. She can’t weigh out potential consequences before rushing into action. She has no ability to pinpoint the most ideal outcome and work backwards from there. With all this in mind, it’s really no wonder that Garnet passed command of the group to Pearl instead of her. At least Pearl has experience leading missions solo.

And yet desperate times call for desperate measures.

She scans their surroundings for inspiration, considering what options may be open to them. At this point there’s no time to double back to the barn or the temple for reinforcements. (And she strongly doubts Lapis would care to so much as match eyes with Jasper, anyways.) One or more of them could always charge into the fray to attempt and break up this small skirmish by force, but that would risk their safety, too. The last thing she wants is to knowingly throw her friends into harm’s way. No, the best option would be breaking the two quartzes up using something in their immediate environment, something large and heavy but capable of being quickly moved, something like...

Her eyes snap wide. “That injector!” she whispers excitedly, pointing to the hulking piece of junked equipment precariously hanging from the cliff wall, only stabilized by a few legs that still penetrate the cracked sandstone. “It’s right above them. If we knocked it down, then maybe…”

Peridot flashes a hopeful smile, and nods.

“We’re on it,” Steven says, summoning his shield. The two of them glance at each other, perhaps silently coordinating their plan, and then leap into action.

“Metal powers activate!” she exclaims, and throws her hands up in the direction of that rusted injector.

Subtly but noticeable, its legs begin to shift and creak under the force of her ferrokinesis, loosening from the eroding stone. Licking his lips, Steven aims his weapon and hurls. It strikes the device directly at its center, clanging against solid metal. The injector wobbles for a moment, its delicate balance obviously destabilized by this force, and then begins to slide free from the porous kindergarten wall. One still-impacted leg snaps under the torque as the cylinder’s immense weight plummets towards the ground.

“Heads up!” Steven calls out, causing a bemused Jasper to flick her gaze skyward, towards the falling object staining the soil with an ever-growing shadow.

The collision of the junky old injector almost appears like a small explosion, flinging dirt a good ten feet into the air and resolutely separating the two quartzes. But Ruby barely has time to high five Peridot and celebrate their success before the kid she’s supposed to be keeping safe darts off into the clearing once more. She hisses a small curse under her breath. Drat, of course he’d run straight to Amethyst’s side again at his first opportunity! She should’ve seen that coming a whole star system away. At least Jasper’s been temporarily marooned on the other side of that busted Gem tech, though.

The real question is, for how long?

Nibbling at her lip, she hastily sprints towards the edge of the injector to keep a watchful eye on their opponent as Steven attempts to have a mid-battlefield heart-to-heart. (At least, that’s what she assumes he’s doing. Admittedly, they kinda failed to hammer out the fine details of their plan before sprinting into action. Her fault.) Thankfully though, at first glimpse it seems the impact’s force has effortlessly knocked Jasper clear off her feet. She seems slightly dazed, but beyond that remains unscathed. Time will only tell if this strategy was a beneficial one. Briefly turning back towards the group, Ruby watches Steven crouch next to Amethyst. She’s muttering something to him, she thinks— her expression raw with fresh tears— but her words are far too hushed to make out. Whatever she shares, however, it’s clearly enough to elicit a strong emotional reaction from her companion.

“No, no!” he pleads, hurt painting his features. “My mom- Rose, she doesn’t matter. Whatever Jasper thinks doesn’t matter. She's the only one who thinks you should be like her!”

“But-”

“Stop trying to be like Jasper. You're nothing like Jasper! You're like me!”

“But even you’re different!” she explodes at first, but any anger present in her form immediately evaporates into something more innately hesitant, more self-conscious. Her fingers claw thick troughs into the reddened soil as she curls them inwards. “I’m not like you at all, I’m not some di—”

“No, that’s not the point!” he says, tears of his own budding at the corners of his eyes. “You’re like me because we’re both not like anybody. And yeah, it sucks. Everyone always expects us to be someone we’re not, but you know what? At least I've always got you. And you've got me! So stop leaving me out of this!”

Slowly pushing herself to her feet behind the junked injector, Jasper groans, her voice strained with newfound exhaustion Ruby never imagined she possessed.

“Y’guys, she’s getting up!” she calls out to her friends behind her, equally a warning as it is a call to action. After all, if this bold stunt finally managed to crack through the first layer of their opponent’s armor, then they might genuinely stand a chance now.

She’ll never know if they heard her, though— because in the same split second she turns back to check on them, the now embracing pair is engulfed in a blinding white light.

Even in the absence of a soldier's fire, everything turns to smoke.

#su #steven universe #ruby #amethyst #jasper #peridot #su fanfiction #my writing stuff #crack the paragon

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ishgard · 4 years ago

Text

► Name ➔ “Mana... of the Dotharl,” she give a short, bitter laugh, shrugging. “But... it’s not like any of them would actually recognize me.”

► Are you single ➔ “Nope!” Beaming, she rocks on her heels a little.

► Are you happy ➔ “In spite of everything? And believe me, there’s a lot - very much so.”

► Are you angry? ➔ “Uhh...” She arches a brow, a bit perplexed with this question on the heels of the last one. “Well... actually, yeah.” Despite that, she smiles, laughs, and shrugs. “Quite a lot, to be honest.”

► Are your parents still married ➔ “Hah, well... I’ve never really known my parents very well. Or... at all, really. I don’t know if they were ever technically married by standard terms, even. But... I do know that they love each other. Or did at some point in time... And very, very much. I guess that’s something...”

NINE FACTS

► Birth Place ➔ “The Azim Steppes, if you’d take Hydaelyn’s word for it.” She snorts and shakes her head. “But in truth, a place very far from here.”

► Hair Color ➔ “Blond,” she says, giving her hair a light tousle.

► Eye Color ➔ “Warm, like amber dripping with honey~” she gesticulates dramatically like some romantic pleading to the heavens, then gives a boisterous laugh and shrugs. “Brown.”

► Birthday ➔ “July 17th- er... ohhh uhh... the... seventeenth sun of the...” She winks one eye shut in thought as she folds her fingers in counting. “Fourth? Umbral- no, Astral Moon? Yeah.”

► Mood ➔ “What, like... right now? Uhh... Hm... Curious enthusiasm? Or maybe enthusiastic curiosity...?” She shrugs. “Good though, feeling pretty good.”

► Gender ➔ “Oh, hm... well,” her face scrunches up a little. "I guess the easy answer is ‘female’, isn’t it?”

► Summer or winter ➔ “Hmm... and I can’t say both, huh? That sucks... I guess summer, if I had to choose.” Mulling over it a moment longer she quickly adds; “But like, if I had to live somewhere that was perpetually one or the other, I’d probably choose a winter place.”

► Morning or afternoon ➔ “Heheh... mornings, I think.” She nods to herself, caught up in some seemingly pleasant reverie. “Nice, lazy mornings.”

EIGHT THINGS ABOUT YOUR LOVE LIFE

► Are you in love ➔ Laughing, the mirthful glow she keeps seems to burn even brighter as she shoots a toothy grin. “Death-defyingly so.”

► Do you believe in love at first sight ➔ “Hah! Hmmm, I believe in... attraction? At first sight. Which could be love, I guess, or anything else, huh?”

► Who ended your last relationship ➔ “There wasn’t anyone else before Bel.”

► Have you ever broken someone’s heart ➔ “Huh...? Not that I’m... particularly aware of. I sure hope not...” Pensive for a moment, she then breaks into a mischief little cackle. “But I sure did break my poor brothers heart when I told him I was dating Bel. You should have seen him.”

► Are you afraid of commitments ➔ “Hmm, no? I guess... I might have, kind of been, before I fell in love with Bel. But it was more like... I didn’t want to get too close to anybody, on any level. Felt safer that way.” There’s an air of gravitas around her words, but then she shrugs and it dissipates nigh-instantly. “But that’s in the past now, so. No.”

► Have you hugged someone within the last week? ➔ “Oh, for sure.” Her grin is absolutely shark-like. “Within the past hour. And then some.”

► Have you ever had a secret admirer ➔ “Hmmmmmmm~” With an exaggerated hum she taps her chin. “I guess if I have, they’ve done a good job keeping it secret!”

► Have you ever broken your own heart? ➔ "Hah! ...Yeah. That whole, keeping a distance for everyone’s own good B.S.? Good way to fuck yourself up.”

SIX CHOICES

► Love or lust ➔ “As far as I’m concerned, the perfect love is a perfect union of both.”

► Lemonade or iced tea ➔ “Both! Lil’ bit of lemonade, lil’ bit of tea, an absolute monstrosity of honey. Vwa-lah! Refreshing summer drink. If I have to choose though, uh... Lemonade.”

► Cats or Dogs ➔ Her whole scrunches up as she deliberates this most important of questions, rubbing her chin. “Ca-... hmmm... But dogs? ...Mrrr...” Slowly her attention slips over towards Belial. “Snakes.”

► A few best friends or many regular friends ➔ “Listen, I know I’m supposed to choose one or another - and that I’ve been doing a really bad job of that so far - but this is silly. I have a ton of regular friends, and among them I have a few who I’m much closer with than others, and I love all of them so very much.”

► Wild night out or romantic night in ➔ Pursing her lips in a cheek-puffed pout, she lets out a very low murmur that sounds almost like a growl in the back of her throat. She knows what her track record is looking like and at this point there’s just no going against it. “B o t h.”

► Day or night ➔ Exhausted, she hangs her head. “Listen... we both know how this is gonna go.”

FIVE HAVE YOU EVERS

► Been caught sneaking out ➔ “Hah! Oh yeah, definitely. Many times. Used to sneak out to run in the woods, and Soma would catch me, but I mean... He’d do the same thing!” Swaying side to side a little she thinks about it further. “And we’re pretty good at sneaking around, but there have been a few times Bel and I have gotten caught.”

► Fallen down/up the stairs ➔ “Not uh, without assistance, yanno? I mean... fighting in the streets during like, coup’s and calamities and shit comes with a lot of perils.”

► Wanted something/someone so badly it hurt? ➔ “Whew, boy. Yeah. Funny thing is, even when you get it sometimes it still hurts? It’s not... bad...? It... I think that’s what ‘love hurts’ is supposed to mean. A feeling so strong, so good, it’s like your heart could burst.” Her cheeks redden a little and she gives an awkward laugh, waving her hand dismissively. “Ah, but I’m running off track.”

► Wanted to disappear ➔ “...Very much so. And... desperately, not at all. S’a funny thing about having death looming over your head. Wanting to defy it. Wanting it to just... be over.”

FOUR PREFERENCES

► Smile or eyes ➔ “Smiles that show in the eyes?”

► Shorter or Taller ➔ “Taller. Hah!” She beams way too proudly, cheering quietly beneath her breath. “Chose one.”

► Intelligence or Attraction ➔ And then she blanches. “Aughhh... both. I mean, intelligence is plenty attractive.” And Bel has it in spades, she thinks to herself. “Anyway, I’m back in my indecisive hole.”

► Hook-up or Relationship ➔ “Relationship,” again, she beams proudly, again because she could pick one rather than the answer itself. “I mean, hook-up’s are plenty hot, but like, if they lead into a relationship?” her head bobs slowly. “Yeah, that’s some good shit right there.”

FAMILY

► Do you and your family get along ➔ “Weeeell~ My brother, Soma, and I get along fairly well. Though... we do butt heads on occasion. I consider a lot of the crew my family, and some of the Scions, too... and we all get along pretty well or else... why would I? As for my parents... meh.” She shrugs, and in lieu of continuing, leaves it at that.

► Would you say you have a “messed up life” ➔ “Pffp! I guess to most that’d be ‘putting it lightly’. And there’ve been times I’ve kinda looked back on it all and been like... really? Yanno? But... most of the time? It’s not so bad, not really. Yeah it’s ‘messed up’, but it’s been pretty damn good, too. All the messed up stuff, I’d go through it again in a heartbeat.”

► Have you ever ran away from home ➔ “Mmmmmmm, mmhm? I... hm. I guess not really, but we were kind of ‘on the run’ when we left?”

► Have you ever gotten kicked out ➔ (Insert the math face lady meme here) “....Probably? I... I dunno, a lot happens!”

FRIENDS

► Do you secretly hate one of your friends ➔ She slowly arches a brow. “I mean, we have a big crew, there are definitely some I don’t vibe with quite as well, but definitely not anyone I hate. And among the Scions...? No, no one like that.”

► Do you consider all of your friends good friends ➔ “Some more than others. Which isn’t anything against those I’m not as close with, again, there’s just... a lot of them, and I do cherish them all. It’s just not always possible to get good and close with that many people, sadly.”

► Who is your best friend ➔ “Bel,” she looks practically tickled when she says this, but then her eyes widen with realization. “Oh shoot, Caglio would kill me if she heard that. Both of them, okay? Obviously Bel is my world, but Caglio is... I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for her. I owe her so much, and I hope she’ll always be a part of my life.” For a moment her gaze lingers far off on the skies, before she continues thoughtfully. “Oh, here, though... Alisaie, Lyse and I are pretty close. It’s fun going out and finding new treats to try with them. Kind of feels like being back home.”

► Who knows everything about you ➔ “Hah, those two. Caglio and Bel. I think she’d have to defer to Bel in this case though,” she chuckles, grinning mischievously, “since there’s a lot that goes on in the bedroom and she’d kill me if I regaled her with the tales.”

#mana dotharl #about: mana

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i-write-fanfics-to-procrastinate · 6 years ago

Note

God damn it Kae— tear my heart in two with that angsty Nalu fic, why don’t ya lol? (On my queue). How about a more fluffy one for Nalu this time if you’re accepting requests? Either “hey, keep away prick! Who said you could Mack on my woman like that? What? No one teach ya not to touch or mess with what belongs to a dragon? Try again and I’ll roast your ass?” Or “You’re not going anywhere Lucy. Not in the middle of a blizzard when you’re wet and freezing. Now come here so I can warm ya’ up”.

Alright! Finally wrote something up for you–sorry for the delay. I hope you enjoy this. Let’s just call it Blizzard. (I haaaate that you can’t indent things on tumblr posts. It makes the proofreader inside me absolutely furiouuuuss. Aughhh).

They had been walking through the snow for hours. Lucy’s legs were numb, her arms were on their way there as well. Just up ahead, somewhere beyond the frost-covered pine trees, she knew there was a safe house. But she couldn’t stop–not when she was so close. Above them, the sky was dark. She knew that beyond those turbulent, dark clouds there were stars–thousands upon thousands, millions upon millions. They were a testament to her mission, a sign that she had to continue–even when they were hidden from sight. Whirling, fat flakes of snow were beginning to fall. Lucy could see them highlighted in the darkness, like stars themselves, dancing across the night sky to their resting place on the mounds that had already accumulated the night before. She loved the snow–typically. Snow meant snowball fights, and building snowmen. But now… on this mission… snow meant danger. Snow meant…

“Lucy, we have to stop."

Snow means that. Lucy didn’t respond aloud. Her focus was on other things, her heart was hammering in her chest, pumping to keep her legs alive, to keep her legs tingling. She forged ahead. Natsu didn’t understand. He couldn’t understand. Natsu wasn’t a celestial wizard, and he’d never lost a key before–not like she had. No, he was going to try and stop her but there was no stopping her now. Beyond the mountain pass somewhere was a job that was waiting for them, a job that could lead her back to her oldest friend.

"Lucy!” Natsu shouted again, from behind her. He was dashing through the snow, burning through it, to catch up to her. Sometimes she envied his raw power and energy. If she could plow through snow like that they’d be on the other side of the mountains by now.

“I have to keep going!” She gasped, spinning around to face him. Despite the heat emanating from his hands, Natsu’s hair was dotted with snowflakes. Now they were pelting down around them. Like tiny arrows they stung Lucy’s cheeks. “You don’t understand, Natsu! How can you? We don’t have time… I have to get to this job. I have to find–”

“Lucy, listen to me,” Natsu reached out and grasped her shoulders, his hands were so warm she almost melted against him. For one split second she forgot about the key, she forgot about the job, she forgot about the blizzard. She imagined herself engulfed in his warmth, wrapped in his arms… Then she shook the image away. Natsu’s face remained–as serious as ever. “I’ve lost people before too. You know I would do anything to get them back. I’d climb mountains, I’d burn cities, I’d kill myself… but… the people I would do it for… they wouldn’t want that. They’d want me to take a break. To breathe. Wouldn’t you?"

"Natsu–"

"Come on, Lu.” Natsu smiled, and Lucy looked down at the snow around her ankles, melting away from where Natsu stood. “There’s a house just ahead we can stay there the night. Get warm. Then we can set out again tomorrow. The job will still be there."

"Okay…” Lucy nodded slowly. She was exhausted. It must have been close to midnight. Natsu led the way through the snow, beyond the dark shadows of trees to where an old cabin awaited them. Just as they were passing through the small forest up to the front steps, Lucy tripped and stumbled face-first into the snow, almost completely burying herself in the chill. The ice sent tingling across her exposed skin, and melted against her hands, and face. When Natsu pulled her up, snow stuck to her hair and clothes. He shook his head with a grin. “Let’s go inside."

The cabin was small–one double bed, a little fireplace, and a two-chaired table. A few cupboards, but nothing substantial to eat or to use for first aid. Obviously this cabin hadn’t been kept up in a while. Natsu stared a fire, Lucy pulled off her coat, now soaking wet. The snow in her hair was melting, leaving her wet and shivering. She drew near the fire, holding out her hands. Her legs were beginning to tingle again, finally waking up.

"We can head out again in the morning,” Natsu said. Lucy felt nauseous, but she didn’t want to stop. Beyond the mountain was a clue to Aquarius.

“Can’t we go after we’re warm?” She said, her teeth chattering. Natsu glanced up at her with a frown.

“Lucy, you’re wet, and it’s only starting to snow harder. You want to go out there, like that?"

"We have to get to the other side of the pass,” Lucy explained, exasperated. “Once we’re there we can stay at an inn. They’ll be warm food, and warm beds, and we can start on the job almost right away once we get there."

"No way.” Natsu shook his head firmly. Lucy stared at him, her jaw left hanging open.

“W-What do you mean, ‘no way’?"

"No way in hell I’m letting you go outside in a blizzard when you’re soaking wet. Luce, you’re gonna kill yourself!”

“Natsu! Aren’t you excited to get to this job?! You’re always ready for the next one–”

“I said no, and I mean it. I’m not going to have a guildmate kill themself over a few hours. We can set out again in the morning.”

“What’s wrong with you? The faster we get over the pass the faster we can get to the job. You wanted this job, remember–”

“The job isn’t worth anything compared to you!” Natsu shouted. Lucy froze, and he kept going, after a breath, “You’re one of those people, Lucy…if… if I ever lost you I’d… I’d climb mountains, I’d burn cities… I’d kill myself to bring you back."

"W-what…"

"I’d die if only it meant saving you."

They were both silent, the fire crackling beside them, casting dancing shadows on the walls of the old, little house. Beyond one, smudged glass window the wind was picking up to a roar, scattering snowflakes across oblivion. Natsu tore his gaze away from Lucy’s. Her heart was pounding in her ears, she almost didn’t hear what he said next. "So, don’t go."

She was scared, not sure what to do, or say. She thought for a moment, trying to follow her heart, to find what felt right. Then she reached out and took his warm hand in her cold one, entwining their fingers. Natsu glanced up at her with wide eyes, and she smiled.

"Fine, on one condition.”

“What’s that?” Natsu frowned.

“Keep me warm.” She let herself pull her daydream into reality, dropping her head against his shoulder and wrapping her arms around his waist. He was as warm as she imagined. His arms wrapped tightly around her, she nuzzled against his neck.

“Tomorrow we’ll get there,” Natsu whispered, his lips brushing against her cheek. Lucy smiled.

“Tomorrow.”

#nalu #fairytail #ft #fairy tail #natsu dragneel #lucy heartfilia #natsu x lucy #lucy x natsu #fanfic #request #iwritefanfictiontoprocrastinate #myfic

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thedepthsremember · 6 years ago

Text

ILITW Week Day 4: “Anxiety”

It Lives In The Woods appreciation week continues!

Pairing: Lucas x MC (Dana). Partially inspired by a prompt by @breaumonts, which I finally finished!

Tags: @choicesaholic @nuttatulipa @teamtomsato @imissmaxwell @fullbeaumonty @breaumonts @littlecrookedheart

--------

Lucas’s car isn’t in his spot.

Dana frowns as she scans the parking lot. Okay, so it’s not technically his spot. Student council president doesn’t get a reserved space or anything, but Lucas being Lucas is in the habit of arriving way too early, which does grant him his choice of prime parking.

So it’s after school, and Lucas wasn’t outside her classroom, at the office, or in the auditorium -- and his car is not where it always is.

Luckily, by now most of the cars have sped off to enjoy the gorgeous spring day, and Dana’s finally able to spy her boyfriend’s ride at the very back of the lot. Irritation and confusion swirl in her, trying their best to cover up the worry. Her steps speed up as she gets close enough to see it’s occupied, and she jogs the last few feet.

“Hey! Hey, what the heck, why didn't you… wait for me…" She trails off, realizing his head is bowed between his arms as he clutches the steering wheel, unmoving. Her heart freezes.

“Lucas?” She quickly moves around to the passenger side door--mercifully unlocked--and slides in, backpack dropping to the floor. “Lucas, Lucas hey,” she babbles, shaking his arm.

“Hi,” he whispers.

She feels her entire body unclench at the sound of his voice. “Jesus, you scared me.” She doesn’t know what she expected. Mr--Ja--Noah is back and murdering them in their cars?

No. She knows what this is.

“Sorry,” he whispers.

“No, it's ok. Hey, breathe, okay? That's it. There you go.” She rubs his back slowly, feeling his inhales and exhales follow the trail of her fingers up and down his back, pulling him out of his head and back to her.

Finally, he lifts his head up to look at her. “Thank you, I'm okay now. Sorry," he adds again, and she immediately shakes her head, insides twisting as she wishes, again, that she could do more to stop this from happening. Not many people get to see behind the facade of Lucas Thomas, the guy who can do everything.

“You wanna talk about it?”

He shoots her a small grateful smile. “It’s just… You know, tonight I don’t have any committee meetings, so I was going to catch up on a bunch of things, and--” he nods his head towards her with a small smile-- “maybe spend time with you, and then Flores came up to me after class and asked if I can come early tomorrow to help set up for the assembly, which would be fine, but she also wants me to start things off with a speech, and...”

“Ah.”

“Yeah, so I have to figure that out tonight and give it first period tomorrow… and... I just, I'd already had tonight all mapped out, and... and I just…” he trails off.

“Yeah. That’s a lot.” Her eyes go to his hands, clenched together to stop them from shaking. She takes one in her own, rubbing it gently with her thumb. “But, hey, I can help out, and... Lucas, you remember you can say ‘no’ to things, especially when they’re so last-minute. Flores can introduce her own damn assemblies.”

He looks briefly surprised.

“Oh my god,” she realizes. “You did forget.”

“I mean, in the moment, I--”

“Lucas!” She laughs, lightly shoving his shoulder. “Alright, how about this? I’ll help you practice.”

He grins, a little less wide than normal, but at least the color has returned to his face. “What are you thinking now?”

She drops his hand and straightens up in her seat, clearing her throat. “Lucas, give me $20.”

“No,” he replies, catching on instantly.

She almost smiles before she can help it, but covers it up with a hurt look, staying in character. “Lucas, please give me $20? It’s really important.”

He’s smiling, confident now. “I’m sorry Dana, but… No.”

Time for the big guns. She puts on her best puppy eyes, leaning towards him and taking his hands in hers. “Pleeeease? I promise I’ll pay you back as soon as I can...”

He stares at her for several seconds, gaze softening as his eyes trail across her face. Is he giving in--?

He kisses her.

She melts into it automatically -- before she catches herself and pulls back. “Mmm--Hey! Cheater! ” He’s laughing. She mock-glares at him. “Well, joke’s on you, I fully expect to see you using that technique on Flores next time.”

He winces with clear regret. “Aughhh.”

“I mean, some guys are into older women--”

“Please stop talking.”

“I could see it! She’s got--”

He tries to put his hand over her mouth but she leans away, cackling with victory. “I will do anything for you to stop,” he begs, but it’s undercut by his laughter. “Right now.”

Her chuckles subside as she puts her hands up in surrender. He lowers his own hands, and the truce settles between them.

“Alright Mr. Thomas, well done. Points for creativity.” It’s a silly line, but she notices his shoulders relax minutely at the praise anyway. Success.

She leans over to settle against his side and he wraps an arm around her. The armrest digs into her side a little, but she ignores it. He feels warm and solid, holding her there. It’s nice, and what she’s been waiting for all day, but part of her wishes, as always, that she could do more to help him. She wishes--

He lets out a sigh. “Hey. Thank you.”

“Of course.” Idly, she plays with a fastening on one of his ever-present button downs. “Feeling better?”

He nods, kissing the top of her head. “I’m sorry you had to see that again.”

She shakes her head. “Hey, I told you. I’ve got your back.”

He rubs her shoulder. “What did I ever do to deserve you?”

“I meeean. To be fair,” she offers hesitantly. “We both went through a lot.”

He grunts in agreement, and she feels him tense.

She hurries to intercept the mood. “So! I’d say I deserve a tall overachiever with Superman shoulders.”

He snorts, but she’s pleased when he turns his head away. She can’t see his face, she knows he’s blushing and his smile has turned shy as it always does when she compliments him.

“And you definitely deserve--” she flourishes her arm to indicate herself-- “this hot mess with the awesome hair and bomb-ass short girl legs.”

He laughs, sliding a hand down to her hip and giving it a squeeze. “They are pretty nice,” he admits.

“Hell yeah,” she grins.

“And you’re not a mess.”

She feels him shift and tilts her head back to see him looking down at her. “Neither are you,” she responds quietly.

He leans down and she up, meeting each other halfway. Everything settles together, and for a while she just floats.

Finally, before she gets the class president in trouble for public indecency, she pulls back. “So…”

“Mmm?”

She trails her hand gently along his chest. “Can I drive your car?”

“Absolutely not,” he replies without hesitation.

“Aw, man!” She lets her head fall back. “You got good at this ‘No’ thing way too fast. Freaking ace student.”

He laughs. She loves the sound of it, rich and deep. And it means he’s shaken off the traces of his earlier mood, which automatically makes it the best of sounds.

There's a jingling. She looks down and realizes he’s fiddling with his keys. He quickly palms them once he realizes she'd noticed.

“You wanna come over?” she offers.

Relief washes over his face. “You sure?”

“Yeah! My parents won’t be home for another hour, and we can--”

The look on his face goes from uncertain to amused.

“--work on your speech!” she laughs, shoving him.

“Yes, that’s exactly where I thought you were going with that.” He replies, smirking.

“Why, Mr. Thomas, I’m sure I don’t know what you are implying!”

He raises his hands innocently. “Absolutely nothing.”

“Though…” She strokes the hair at the nape of his neck. “If we get a little distracted,” she leans in, pressing one more kiss to his lips. “Who could blame us?”

He kisses her back deeply, breathing her in. “This is very cliché.”

She grins against his lips. "You love it."

He chuckles, pulling back to look at her face. Her breath catches at the tenderness there. "I do."

Her heart thumps.

#ilitw appreciation week #ilitw #it lives in the woods #lucas thomas #v writes things #y'all ever just write something to make yourself feel better

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megamanxfanfics · 6 years ago

Text

S.V - Ep. 8: Conflicts of Interest

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

INT. PLANETARIUM – Gateway - DAY

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

Caption: 1:00 PM – Egyptian Time

X walks through a gateway toward Dark Necrobat’s Space Laboratory with a firm grimace on his face.

X: (v.o, thinking) Zero... Please be okay.

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

INT. REPLIFORCE AIR BASE – Gateway Airlock - DAY

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

Caption: 11:00 AM – UK Time

Zero walks through the Airlock towards Spiral Pegasus’ air fleet. When he opens the next shutter, he finds a fleet of green airships passing by.

ZERO: Hmph. Looks like they’re on the move.

He watches ship after ship pass by until one spots him and starts to fly closer.

ZERO: Oh no ya don’t!

Zero fearlessly dash-jumps on top of the airship and hitches a ride.

ALIA: (o.s, filtered) Zero!! Are you crazy!!?

ZERO: (annoyed) Shut up, Alia. I don’t have time for you…

He immediately cuts off the feed from his ear-piece. Then, he notices Spiral Pegasus fly over to him with a discerning look on his face.

SPIRAL PEGASUS: I’ve wanted to see you, Zero…

The Skiver points at him with a grimace as he descends down to the airship. Zero slowly rises to his feet and gives him a focused look.

- cut to –

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- INT. SPACE LABORATORY – Dark Necrobat’s Lair - DAY --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Once the shutter opens, X enters a Space Laboratory and sees a series of mysterious incubation and fermentation tanks. Above him, swaths of batton bones appear from the dark shadows of the ceiling. They disperse to reveal their master, Dark Necrobat, who lets out a horrible wrenching squeak.

DARK NECROBAT: WHREEAAAA!!!!!! I’ve been waiting for you!

He flips in mid-air to an upright position.

X covers his ears in pain and looks up at him with displeasure.

X: HEY! Can’t you understand the urgency of our situation?

- cut to –

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------- EXT. REPLIFORCE AIR FLEET – The Skiver’s Challenge - DAY ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Spiral Pegasus lands on the airship and folds his arms.

SPIRAL PEGASUS: I wanted to ask you something… My thoughts always come back to the Colonel. I wanted to ask you if the battle between you two was necessary…

- cut to –

------------------------------------------------------------------------------- INT. SPACE LABORATORY – Dark Necrobat’s Lair - DAY -------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dark Necrobat lets out another awful squeak.

DARK NECROBAT: GROOAAAAA. Who cares?! I don’t take orders from anyone! The word ‘Sigma’ means nothing to me!

X gasps.

X: (desperate) Then, listen to me for a second. This is no time for a fight.

- cut to-

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- EXT. REPLIFORCE AIR FLEET – The Skiver’s Challenge - DAY --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

SPIRAL PEGASUS: (continuing) I’m not accusing you of anything. I just want to know. That’s all…

Zero closes his eyes and takes a deep breath.

ZERO: (calm, upset) You of all people should already know… The whole Repliforce War was unnecessary…

Spiral Pegasus takes in a deep breath and nods in agreement with a crooked frown.

SPIRAL PEGASUS: Well, it’s too late now… The damage has already been done.

- cut to -

X looks up at the Bat Maverick with pleading, respectful eyes.

X: Please… I need to borrow a Fuel Tank.

DARK NECROBAT: Grooooaaar!!!! Not my problem.

X: It will be, if that Eurasia Colony crashes into the Earth and you didn’t help me stop it!!

Dark Necrobat sneers at X and shakes his head.

DARK NECROBAT: (piercing, foul) NREEEAAAAR! This wretched Planet is already doomed. I’ve been observing this World for the past 3 years… Whether you are Maverick, Hunter or Human, we are all to blame for this Planet’s Destruction.

X: Noooo! We can stop it and save Earth, if you’ll just help me!!!!

DARK NECROBAT: HYAAAHAHAHAHAH!!!!

-cut to-

------------------------------------------------------------------------------- EXT. REPLIFORCE AIR FLEET – The Skiver’s Challenge - DAY -------------------------------------------------------------------------------

SPIRAL PEGASUS: (resigned) I’ve already been infected by the Virus. I’m destined to be retired by you once I become a Maverick, so go ahead. Take me down… I want to fight you for the Colonel and Iris… That’s what they would have wanted.

Zero closes his eyes and takes a deep breath, calmly nodding in agreement.

ZERO: (honorable) I understand. But I’ll fight you only because this is my mission.

- cut to –

------------------------------------------------------------------------------ INT. SPACE LABORATORY – Dark Necrobat’s Lair - DAY ------------------------------------------------------------------------------

DARK NECROBAT: (laughing, continuing) Hahahah! –and what makes you think, I’m interested in Saving this World??? In situations like this, everybody dies – Mavericks and Hunters alike. But since you came all the way here, I’ll just kill you myself!

X: (disturbed, aggravated) Hmph. I’ll destroy all Mavericks, like you!

DARK NECROBAT: RHEEAAAAARRRRR!!!!! I’m always ready!

X quickly picks up his buster and charges up.

X: Good!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------- EXT. REPLIFORCE AIR FLEET – The Skiver’s Challenge – DAY ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Zero slowly raises his saber and holds it up with two hands.

ZERO: Now… let’s do it!!

[Insert Title Card – Conflicts of Interest]

Zero runs towards Spiral Pegasus, who swiftly turns back into a loop to gain momentum. The winds accelerate Spiral Pegasus, who puts out two hands in a charging dive towards Zero.

ZERO: Whoa!!

He jumps up when Spiral Pegasus reaches him and manages to knick him in the back of the shoulder.

SPIRAL PEGASUS & ZERO: Agh.

The high winds cut Zero as he lands, while Spiral Pegasus favors his shoulder.

The two turn around to face each other.

Zero takes a slash, but Spiral Pegasus uses a swift dashing afterimage of himself to knock Zero all the way to the end of the wing.

ZERO: Aughh.

SPIRAL PEGASUS: Careful, Zero... You don’t want to lose to the Repliforce like this.

- cut to –

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------- INT. SPACE LABORATORY – Dark Necrobat’s Lair – DAY ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

X: /Hyah!

X fires a piercing charge shot at a 45 degree angle, which catches Dark Necrobat in the chest.

X: Yaaaaaah!

X flies up to him and punches him in the face.

DARK NECROBAT: (hurt) NGRAAAAAHHHH!!!!!!!!!!

He pushes out two arms and summons a swarm of bats to fly after X.

X: (surprised) Aughhh.

The swarm of bats try to cover X, but they are all destroyed by his protective aura.

DARK NECROBAT: Grrr/RAH!!!

He rushes over to X with his talons and forces him down to the floor.

X: Aghhh… You..

DARK NECROBAT: (squeaking) Skreeehehehehee!

-cut to-

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------- EXT. AIR FLEET – Spiral Pegasus’ Challenge - DAY ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

ZERO: Hmph. I’ll never lose to you!

Zero regains his footing and runs after Spiral Pegasus again.

SPIRAL PEGASUS: So be it, Hunter.

Spiral Pegasus dives after Zero once again, but this time Zero anticipates his movements. He blasts him with two half-charged Z-buster shots, then at the last moment, he performs an F-Splasher. From mid-air-dash, he raises himself just above Spiral Pegasus’ shoulder, so as not to ram into him.

SPIRAL PEGASUS: (hit) Urgghh..

He wavers back for a moment and shakes his head as Zero lands and /stabs him in the back.

SPIRAL PEGASUS: /Hooot!!!

With a gritty grin, Zero eagerly slashes Spiral Pegasus three times at his back.

ZERO: /Ha! /Hyah, /Haaah!!! How do ya like that, Skiver?

He gives him a harsh kick in the back.

SPIRAL PEGASUS: (hurt, annoyed) Huuurgh! Dishonorable /FOOL!!!!

He turns around and /fires a twirling Wing Spiral at him.

ZERO: Whoooaaaaaa!

The tornado takes hold of Zero and quickly throws him off of the Aircraft.

- cut to –

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------- INT. SPACE LABORATORY – Dark Necrobat’s Lair - DAY ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dark Necrobat holds X down to the ground with both feet planted on his arms.

X: Aggggkk.. Damn, you!!!

DARK NECROBAT: Rheeeeheeheeheehee!!!!!

ALIA: (o.s, filtered) Try using your Giga Attack, X. It might be the only way out of this.

X’s eyes widen at the idea. Then he closes them tightly, and unleashes the power from his core.

X: Hh/Yaaaaaah!!!!

Suddenly without warning, a stream of piercing laser charge shots emit from his body. In his immediate vicinity, the lasers rise up and rain down upon Dark Necrobat at a 90 degree angle.

DARK NECROBAT: (damaged) Aaaaaaggghhhh!!!!! What.. the.. Heeeelll was thaaaat!!!!!?

Dark Necrobat steps back and starts to float up in retreat as he hunches over and huddles his own chest.

X rises to his feet with a valiant look on his face.

X: If you’ve really been paying attention, you’d know that I am X – a reploid with Limitless Potential!! Now take this!!!

X’s armor shifts into orange as he unleashes a Flash Laser, gained from Izzy Glow. The firefly inspired missile has a long trail of laser-light, which X is actually able to direct with a Neural-link from the late doctor’s smart technology.

X wills for the laser missile to fly right into Dark Necrobat at a 45 degree angle. The laser follows through and bursts right into his stomach.

DARK NECROBAT: (hurting) Urrrr-gg-gg-gg-gg-gghhH!!!!

The laser-light trail inserts itself within Dark Necrobat’s stomach, only affecting him more, after the fact.

-cut to –

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------- EXT. AIR FLEET – Spiral Pegasus’ Challenge – DAY ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

ZERO: (hurt, scared) Aaaaaaaaaaaaaggggggggghhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Spiral Pegasus narrows his eyes at Zero and swiftly flies over to him.

He rams against him in mid-air with an uppercut to the face.

ZERO: /Awh!!

Spiral Pegasus swiftly flies away and doubles back, as Zero falls again. This time from the other angle, Spiral Pegasus dives downward and checks him with the shoulder, making Zero spin violently in mid- air, as he helplessly plummets downward.

At last, Spiral Pegasus takes pity upon Zero and falls at the same rate at him. With an after-image Wind Shredder, Zero is knocked far back among the winds and shoved on top of another Aircraft.

He spins and topples along the wings, feeling damaged and dizzy upon his landing. He throws up almost immediately on the roof of the Aircraft.

ZERO: (vomiting, coughing) Euuooghhhhh!!!!! Ff-ughhhh. Huhh.. Haggghkk!

He tries to cough to clear up his throat as Spiral Pegasus folds his arms with a smirk.

SPIRAL PEGASUS: (mocking) Ohhhh my, Zero… Tisk, tisk!

He shakes his head and floats towards his position.

SPIRAL PEGASUS: Come now… I thought you were better than this.

Zero grits his teeth and powers up a dark, purple hand.

ZERO: I AM!!

He plants his fist into the Aircraft and unleashes his Messenko Giga Attack.

SPIRAL PEGASUS: What the-!?

The Aircraft immediately erupts as the attack itself catches Spiral Pegasus directly in the front-section.

ZERO & SPIRAL PEGASUS: AAAAAAGGGGGGHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!

Zero attempts to double jump in the air and use an air-dash to reach another Aircraft, but to no avail. This time he is falling further below.

Before long, suddenly everything goes red and he feels himself teleporting. In an instant, he is back on top of another Aircraft; one that was not far from the explosion.

Zero looks around amazed and surprised. He quickly turns his com-link back on.

ZERO: Alia, was that you!?

ALIA: (o.s, filtered) It sure was. Now either calm down and focus, or next time I’m Force Teleporting you straight home. You got that!?

Zero is surprised by her demeanor, but it actually makes him smile.

ZERO: (respectful) Yes ma’am!

- cut to –

Dark Necrobat hisses and floats further away from X into a high corner of the room.

DARK NECROBAT: How daaaare you disrespect me in my place of dwelling!

He takes a deep breath and unleashes a deafening sonic wave of power.

DARK NECROBAT: (shrieking) RHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

X: (hurt, affected) Awwwwhh…

X desperately covers his ears as three closely-knit rings of sonar waves near him.

ALIA: (o.s, filtered) Get out of there, X.

X: (hurt) AGH! Trying!! Don’t talk, it Hurts!!!

X shakes his head and tries to dash away, from the sonar ring. He takes flight and manages to hover above it, but Dark Necrobat summons a second sonar ring, and then a third one.

X narrows his eyes, with his ears still covered tight.

X: (v.o, thinking) Damn, he got me good. My only play is to fly around them and let my barrier do the work, but that won’t last! (aloud) Shoot!

X manages to get around the second one, but the third one covers him.

At once, X feels a sudden burst of pressure from within his ears, and then a heavy ringing slowly occurs.

X: (hurt) AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

DARK NECROBAT: Aaahahahahah. AAAHAHAHAHAH!!!!! And now… You’re mine!!!!

He powers up to his fullest as he becomes surrounded in a dark aura of his own.

- cut to –

Spiral Pegasus lands on the new aircraft, where Zero has teleported. He points at him from afar.

SPIRAL PEGASUS: That was a neat little trick you pulled, but don’t count on it happening again.

ZERO: Oh don’t worry. I learned my lesson. This time, my saber is all I need.

SPIRAL PEGASUS: Hmph. And this time, I’ll just let you fall.

ZERO: (smirking) Come on!

The two run after each other once again. Spiral Pegasus performs a swift dash, while Zero retaliates with a brave Electric-Blade uppercut.

Spiral Pegasus gets cut across the chest and shocked from within as he rams into Zero.

SPIRAL PEGASUS: (shocked) Aggggkkkk!!

Zero gets back up and tries to perform a fearless air-dash of his own to capitalize on the punishment. His F-Splasher is stopped short and overpowered by a spiral-covered fist, however.

SPIRAL PEGASUS: Grrrhaa.. Not this time, Hunter!

ZERO: (grumbling) Urrgghh. Aghh.

Zero shakes his head and gets back up, while Spiral Pegasus cricks his neck.

SPIRAL PEGASUS: This time, I’m going to end you for all the pain you’ve caused my loved ones!!!

He makes a few whirlwind blasts at Zero, who does his best to dash away from them or double jump over them.

Zero charges up and takes a few Z-Buster shots as he inches closer to him.

SPIRAL PEGASUS: (hurt) Hurrrr!!

ZERO: /Aaaaaaah!

After double jumping above a cutting wing spiral, he lands in front of him.

ZERO: You killed some of my best men, too! We’re even!!

Zero takes a slash at him, but Spiral Pegasus grabs his wrist.

SPIRAL PEGASUS: No.

He uses the wind shredder after image to knock Zero far back, again. He slides so far, he almost falls off the wing, but he holds on tight and struggles to get back onto the aircraft.

ZERO: Aaaaaagh!!!!

SPIRAL PEGASUS: On behalf of the Colonel, and Iris. It’s about time you died!

Flat down on the wing, Zero raises his neck with wide eyes of fear.

- cut to-

DARK NECROBAT: (intense) RRRRROOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

X tries to guard his face from the oncoming attack, when suddenly everything around him stops. The World seems inverted, now.

X: (v.o, thinking) What the..? What is this? I CAN’T MOVE!!

ALIA: (o.s, filtered) X? X?? What’s happening??? Why aren’t you moving???? Talk to me!!!!!

X: (v.o, thinking) I don’t know. Can’t you hear me??? (gasping) I’m frozen.

DARK NECROBAT: Hreeheeheeehee. Do you like my Dark Hold, X? This is my specialty.

While X is in a frozen state, Dark Necrobat slowly looms over to X and stands before him. He gives him a good hard smack, just because he can.

X: (v.o, thinking) OW!

X’s suspended face takes the hit and seemingly does nothing as a sore swells up on his cheek.

DARK NECROBAT: Aaahahahah. I forgot, how much I love this part. I’m gonna treat you like any other tourist that accidentally walks in here…

X: (v.o, thinking, worried)

What??

DARK NECROBAT: It’s just a few... One or two... Here and there... Not enough to be in the papers, but just enough to cause people to wonder.

X stares at Dark Necrobat, helpless.

DARK NECROBAT:

You can’t move, but I can feel the fear in your eyes. They’re saying, ‘what’s he gonna do to me?’ ‘What has he done to those poor humans…’ Well, I’ll show ya..! First, I’m gonna borrow some of your Life Energy.

X: (v.o, thinking) Hm???

Dark Necrobat immediately opens his mouth and sinks his fangs into X’s neck like a vampire.

X: (v.o, hurt, draining)

Aaaaah. N-nn..noo.

ALIA: (o.s, filtered) Oh no! X. Eeeeeex!!!

He sucks in three gulps of energen to the point where X’s Falcon Armor powers down to his normal base armor. Alia can be heard gasping from X’s com-link.

DARK NECROBAT: Theeere. That should do it. You’re much stronger than the others. Usually the humans just pass right out! Next, I’m gonna throw you into one of my vats!!!

He thumbs over behind him to the incubation and fermentation tanks.

X’s eyes twitch amidst his suspended animation.

DARK NECROBAT: Ahhh, there ya go. The Dark Hold is wearing off, I see. Good… It’ll be amusing to see you try to fight me, now. I guess this’ll be a three-step process.

He playfully scratches his head and closes his eyes.

DARK NECROBAT: Noooow, what am I in the mood for? X soup? Or maybe X a la Mode?? Ground X, or perhaps chopped X on a stick???

Suddenly, the Dark Hold effect shatters like glass and X manages to punch him really hard in the face with a glowing fist.

DARK NECROBAT: (shocked) /Kauugh!! WHAT THE!!? How do you still have so much power????

X: I told you, my power is LIMITLESS! Allow me to show you!!

X pulls in his hands and lets out a hadouken, which breaks a hole right through Dark Necrobat’s stomach.

X: (winded, panting) I don’t know what kind of sick antics you’ve been pulling in secret, under the radar… But it stops here! Right, NOW!!!! /Force Armor!!!

X calls upon his fourth armor and shifts it into Izzly Glow’s power set once again as he charges up.

DARK NECROBAT: THERE’S NOTHING YOU CAN DO!!!! KILLING ME WON’T STOP SIGMAAAAA!!!!!!!!

X: I /KNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

X /unleashes a fully charged F-Laser, which turns into a cannon blast of pure light.

DARK NECROBAT: (dying) AAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIIIIIIIGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The cannon blast destroys the rest of Dark Necrobat’s armor as he withers into a massive explosion.

Caption: 1:30 PM – Egypt Time

Feeling exhausted, X powers down into his blue armor and stands victorious over the fallen bat. He spots his weapon chip and grabs it from the rubble.

ALIA: (o.s, filtered) You just received the Dark Hold, but do you mind if Zero borrows it?

X: Hm? Yeah, sure. Is he in trouble…?

ALIA: (o.s, filtered) Not for long. Give me oooone sec.

In a second, the Dark Hold weapon chip is teleported directly out of his hands.

X: Huuuh?

-cut to-

Caption: 11:30 AM – London Time

Zero looks at Spiral Pegasus in fear as a weapon chip is suddenly teleported in his hand.

ZERO: Huh?

ALIA: (o.s, filtered) Put this in your Z-Buster, quick!

ZERO: (confused) -but..

ALIA: (o.s, filtered) Do it. Nooww!!!!

ZERO: (disoriented) Uhhh…

Spiral Pegasus flies after Zero, who scrambles to place the chip in his Z-Buster. All at once, he stands up and unleashes the Dark Hold on Spiral Pegasus, which seems to freeze time itself in an inverted dimension.

ZERO: What the Hell is this??

ALIA: (o.s, filtered) It’s Dark Necrobat’s move. Time is now frozen. Now finish your mission!

Zero closes his eyes in regret.

ZERO: This feels wrong.

ALIA: (o.s, filtered) The whole Repliforce War was wrong, but we need that Orbiter Wing, and you both are too stubborn to let go of the past. So this is the only way!

He lets out a short sigh.

ZERO: You’re right. Besides… he was about to kill me, anyway…

He raises his saber andsharpens his eyes for the kill.With a few swift slashes and some spinning crescent slashes of the blade, he can already see the wounds separating from Spiral Pegasus’ armor. With a final E-Blade uppercut, Zero knows that it is over.

ZERO: That’s it. He’s done!

Caption: 11:32 AM

The World reverts itself to real-time as Spiral Pegasus looks at Zero with a confused, almost betrayed face.

SPIRAL PEGASUS: (hurt, dying) Y-you won… How did you win??

He immediately drops to the top of the aircraft as he can feel himself falling apart.

Zero crouches down and begins to feel guilty.

ZERO: It had to be this way… I’m sorry about everything.

SPIRAL PEGASUS: (arguing, repenting) It didn’t… But, me too…

ZERO: Just tell me one thing. Did Repliforce send the Colony down, or was it Sigma…?

Spiral Pegasus narrows his eyes at Zero, completely disgusted.

SPIRAL PEGASUS: Ughh… It was Sigma you fool…

ZERO: (shrugging) Hey man. You were the one’s who created the Final Weapon in the first place… So at this point, anything’s fair game.

SPIRAL PEGASUS: (admitting) We’ve had our faults, but it was Sigma who overtook our Colony... Years before trying to do this to us.

Zero gasps.

SPIRAL PEGASUS: Look. You’re all that’s left, now! My Air-Force is destined to go Maverick. I can’t let that happen. ...I need you to take them out...

Zero’s eyes widen, surprised. He has his blessing, now.

SPIRAL PEGASUS: D-don’t let this happen to anyone else…!

ZERO: Wow, Skiver. I don’t know what to say…

SPIRAL PEGASUS: …Heheh… Each of these Air-Crafts have an Orbiter Wing… That’s what you came for right? This Aircraft should be enough to give you what you need.

ZERO: …How did you know we needed that..??

SPIRAL PEGASUS: I overheard your navigator yelling at you, when you froze time. You should listen to her more.. She’s a keeper! Just like, Iris was…

Zero raises his eyes as he feels a cut at the heart.

ZERO: Hmph… Well, I should get going. I’ll respect your wishes. When I’m done here, my next target is Burn Dino-Rex.

SPIRAL PEGASUS: Hahah… Finishing us all off, I see… In that case, take this. Quick!

He pulls out his own weapon chip and holds it up in the air, as he struggles to hold on to his swelling core reactor.

SPIRAL PEGASUS: It’s his weakness…

Zero grabs it and notices that Spiral Pegasus is about to blow.

ZERO: Thanks, man. I won’t forget this.

Zero turns and runs as Spiral Pegasus gives him a dying look.

SPIRAL PEGASUS: You’d better get in that ship now...

Zero races over to the cockpit, narrows his eyes and uses the Dark Hold once again. With time frozen, Zero opens up the cockpit of the inverted Air-Craft. He throws the pilot outside and closes the cockpit door.

When he resets time, the pilot falls far down from mid-air.

PILOT: Hu-WHOOOAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!

SPIRAL PEGASUS:

(wide-eyed) This is it…!

He throws himself into the wind and bursts into a wild explosion. The heavy charred winds from the blast push the Air-Craft further ahead.

- cut to –

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------- INT. SPACE LABORATORY – Gateway – DAY ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Caption: 1:37 PM – Egypt Time

When the shutter gate re-opens X turns around with a concerned look.

ALIA: (o.s, filtered) Don’t worry about Zero. He’s fine, now.

He sighs with relief and walks back through the gates.

ALIA: (o.s, filtered) With regards to Dark Necrobat… He was a Maverick created three years ago by Sigma…

X: That’s scary, right? It makes me wonder what other surprises Sigma had in store for us, all these years…

ALIA: (o.s, filtered) Well, you destroyed him… That’s all that matters.

X: No it’s not, Alia. You don’t get it, because this is still new to you. If it’s not Necrobat, it’s the next guy. The Cycle keeps repeating all because of Sigma. He keeps coming back! No matter, what I do…

ALIA: (o.s, filtered) Since Sigma scattered a large amount of the Virus, he shouldn’t have any energy left to reproduce himself…

X: You think, so?

ALIA: (o.s, filtered) I hope, so… By the way, we’ve found the Fuel Tank.

After completely switching gears in conversation, X does a double take and smiles at her bubbly tone.

X: (surprised, uplifted) Wait, what? Really!?

ALIA: (o.s, filtrered) Yeah. Frostbite and Freeze Alopex sniffed it out. Now the Shuttle will be able to fly to the Space Colony…

X: Wow.

ALIA: (o.s, filtered) Zero, also successfully completed his mission and is on his way to bringing us an Orbiter Wing.

X: (thrilled) Good!

ALIA: (o.s, filtered) Also, there's another Light Capsule, below you in the other room.

X: (ecstatic) What!??

ALIA: (o.s, filtered) Ohh yeah. Now that you have some time, you should check it out.

X: (smiling) Heh.

- cut to –

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------- INT. AIRCRAFT – Cockpit – DAY ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Zero focuses on the Repliforce Airfleet ahead while he patches a com-link into Alia from the plane.

ZERO: Hey, Alia! Give this to X for me, will ya? One, for one.

ALIA: (o.s, filtered) Hm? Oh, it’s a weapon chip. Alright.

In an instant, the weapon chip is teleported out of his hand.

ZERO: Heh… Sorry, for being rude to you before. I got caught up in the mission and just lost myself for a minute there…

ALIA: (o.s, filtered) …I didn’t expect you to have to fight against the Repliforce again. But since most of them became Mavericks… I guess that was inevitable… Fortunately, the devices for the Shuttle were not damaged… but the Air Force was not so lucky… It won’t be safe there anymore.

ZERO: I know. And it’s not over yet!

ALIA: (o.s, filtered) Oh, God… Before you do anything reckless, just make sure that Orbiter Wing stays in tact, okay??

ZERO: (smiling) I will.

ALIA: (o.s, filtered, regretful) I’m sending Rho and Frenzy in to bring some back, just in case you don’t...

ZERO: Huh?

ALIA: (o.s, filtered) Do what you have to… Over and out.

Zero looks at his com-link bewildered.

ZERO: Yeesh, that was a little harsh... But I guess I deserved that.

-cut to-

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------- INT. PLANETARIUM – Secret Corridor - DAY ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From the gateway, X drops down into a narrow vertical corridor that he had bypassed, before.

X: (surprised) I can’t believe there’s another one, down here!!

He lands before a wall and tries to shoot it with his X-Buster, his charged shot, a few C-Shots, a Goo Shaver and some Tri-Thunder waves, but nothing works.

X: (gasping) Ah.. I’m so exhausted from before, I can't summon the Force Armor to charge my weapons any more! ALIA: (o.s, filtered) No, X. You're going about it all wrong. In order to get passed this obstacle, you're going to need a weapon that you can remotely control.

X: Huh?? Suddenly she pulls up a vid-link screen for him from his gauntlet. The screen displays a blueprint layout of what lies behind the wall. ALIA: Its a maze, X! You'll need to use the F-Laser again, for this!! X: Aw man! Alia, you're a genius!!! ALIA: I know... I'll keep the vid-link up to guide you through it. X: Okay!

- cut to –

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------- INT. NEW MHHQ – Signas’ Office - NIGHT ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Caption: 3:43 AM – Hexagon Time

In Signas’ private office, Lifesaver displays a wire-grid schematic analysis of the evolved Sigma Virus heads that X and Zero have been encountering.

ZERO: (filtered, audio) I’ve been fighting the Sigma Virus for a long time… It is the virus that causes all Reploids to transform into Mavericks. The most dreadful virus to ever exist.

A vid-link is attached, showing Zero woefully staring at his hands while on the Rail-lift at the Repliforce Air Base.

ZERO: (filtered, audio)

Why…? Why am I not harmed? Instead, I feel energy growing within my body.. What on earth is happening to me?? I have a bad feeling about this…

We pan out to see Signas with Lifesaver, viewing the footage of Zero’s private fears.

LIFESAVER PRIME: (reporting) …That’s all of the report on Zero.

Signas takes a deep breath before he speaks.

SIGNAS: (pensive) Zero has fought Sigma several times. I believe he has the Virus antibodies.

LIFESAVER PRIME: It’s possible… He doesn’t react negatively to the Virus… His power-output is actually growing! For the most part, the body systems of X and Zero remain mysteries. I can’t predict what will happen. I suggest you take measures…

Signas puts his hand to his chin and thinks for a moment.

SIGNAS: (calm, discreet) Keep this information secret. I’ll think it over…

He pensively looks at his monitor.

LIFESAVER PRIME: His power is growing with the virus! It’s too dangerous to keep them loose! Please… at least do something about Zero… before it’s too late!

SIGNAS: I’ll look into it… Thank you, Lifesaver.

He continues to look at his monitor and calmly waves Lifesaver away.

- cut to –

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------- EXT. REPLIFORCE AIR FLEET – Zero’s Ambush – DAY ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Caption: 11:44 AM – London Time

Without warning, Zero sneak attacks the aircrafts ahead of him. Aircrafts on his far right and left immediately veer off into a loop to get behind him, while Aircrafts at his immediate sides try to ram into him.

Zero brings his Aircraft down and fires missiles up at his opponents.

Aircrafts from behind him slow down to get a better lock on him and then fire their missiles upon him.

ZERO: Heeere we go.

He takes evasive maneuvers and spins around, dodging the missiles as other Aircrafts loop around towards his position.

-pan inside the cockpit-

ZERO: So it all comes down to this. A final dog-fight in the skies. Well I’m gonna take you all down for Ren, Rayven and Burn Bishop!

- cut to-

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------- INT. PLANETARIUM – Secret Corridor – DAY ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Caption: 1:44 PM – Egypt Time

X had tried to use the F-Laser within the maze-like piping of the wall ahead of him multiple times. Each missile had been caught in the ceiling, or the opposing wall on the other side. The trickiest part is wrapping the missile around the bend, upside down and pointing it towards him. Despite safely being on the other side of the wall, the directional inputs continue to unnerve him.

X: Ah man... I’ve been at this for almost 10 minutes! ALIA: (sighing) Yep.

- cut to-

Zero’s Aircraft accelerates and loops around in twists and bends, until he can get the advantage on some further Aircrafts. After making an opening for himself, he

notices two other aircrafts fly closely at his sides.

-pan inside his Aircraft-

ZERO: You want some too, huh?

FRENZY FOX: (filtered) Whooaa, whoa, hold it Z. It’s me.

ZERO: (shocked) Frenzy??

FRENZY FOX: You bet.

RHO: (filtered) I’m here too, Zero. Now let’s finish these bastards.

ZERO: Niiiiice, guys. Let’s go!

-cut to-

X: Alright. Finally! I got it!! He rushes toward the capsule with a dash. DR. LIGHT: Hello, X. Here I will give you another program for your armor… This is an armor prototype that I created a long, long time ago… I named it the Gaea Armor.

X: (gasping) Gaea Armor…

DR. LIGHT: Gaea Armor specializes in defense ability. It is very heavy and lacks mobility, however… You won’t be able to use special weapons, I’m afraid.

X: (nodding) Alright.

DR. LIGHT: Still, I’m sure it will prove very useful to you once it’s complete. Analyze and upload this data for the head part of the Gaea Armor in a secure area. Once you upload all 4 programs, the Gaea Armor will be complete.

With that, he disappears.

X: Okay!

He steps inside the capsule and receives the data for his new Gaea helmet.

ALIA: (o.s, filtered) Wonderful. I actually have one more place to send you.

X: Hm??

Suddenly he is teleported away.

-cut to-

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------- EXT. REPLIFORCE AIR RAIL – Dr. Light’s Capsule – DAY ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Caption: 11:46 AM – London Time

X is taken to another Capsule on a small platform, high in the sky. Above him, he can notice aircrafts flying frantically and firing missiles in the air.

X: What the-!? Where am I??

ALIA: (o.s, filtered) It’s kind of a Warzone now, but we need this. You’re at the Repliforce Airbase. Or… what’s left of it.

- pan high up in the sky -

Zero, Rho and Frenzy Fox triple team a wave of Spiral Pegasus’ Air Force, until Zero decides to think outside of the box.

- pan inside his cockpit -

ZERO: Hmm… Maybe this Dark Hold will come in handy, after all.

- pan far down below to X-

X’s eyes become wide as he tries to take a closer look. He notices a whole line of aircrafts completely stop short while another aircraft swoops in and shoots them all down.

X: What in the World??

ALIA:

(o.s, filtered) That’s Zero. He’s eliminating the last of the Repliforce before they become Mavericks.

X immediately scowls.

X: HE CAN’T! THAT’S WHAT WE FOUGHT FOR THIS WHOLE TIME!! THE FACT THAT THEY STILL DESERVE A CHANCE!!!

ALIA: (o.s, filtered) Nooo, X. You don’t understand. It was Pegasus’ last wish.

X: Huh???

ALIA: (o.s, filtered) They’ve all been infected by the Sigma Virus.

X: (calmer, concerned) Ohh..

ALIA: (o.s, filtered) You have no idea what Zero went through, here. They were about to bomb the whole place and self-destruct. It may not look like it, but he’s actually saving them from themselves!!

X looks down in awe.

X: Oh man! I never thought about it that way before.

ALIA: (o.s, filtered) That’s what I’m here for. One way or another, Sigma’s Infection could lead to something worse. So Spiral Pegasus insisted that Zero made sure they died as Reploids rather than Mavericks.

X lets that thought sink in as he frowns.

X: ………I understand. I’d want the same to be done to me, if I ever turned…

She gasps over the coms.

ALIA: (o.s, filtered) Don’t talk like that. Positive thoughts! We’re gonna win this, man. That’s why I sent you here!!

X nods.

X: Alright. The sooner we update this Shuttle, the better.

DR. LIGHT: This is the program for the body part of the Gaea Armor. With this equipped, you will receive less damage to your systems.

X nods and walks into the capsule, feeling graver than before. Despite the fact that they are winning the day, he can’t help but feel helpless to Sigma’s affect on the World. Emotional exhaustion and numbness has already taken it’s toll on him.

The fantastic rays of light flash and seep into his gem as he receives more data towards his Gaea Armor. X steps out of the Capsule with another data program received.

ALIA: (o.s, filtered) Please return to the Hunter Base quickly.

X: Alright. I’m ready!

In an instant, he is teleported out of there.

- pan above X –

His teleportation light trail disappears.

The size of the Air Fleet has been dwindled down immensely. With 5 Aircrafts left, Zero, Rho and Frenzy feel as if they have this Victory in the bag.

- pan inside Zero’s cockpit –

ZERO: This is it, guys! We got ‘em!

- pan outside of his cockpit –

The 3 Maverick Hunters chase the 5 Repliforce Aircrafts, and tail them down when suddenly, one ship cuts off it’s own engine source and sacrifices itself, for the greater good.

FRENZY FOX: (filtered) WHOOAAAAAAA. NNNOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

His aircraft kamikazes into the one ahead of him causing a massive mid-air explosion.

RHO: (o.s, filtered) Frenzzzyyyyyy!!!!

Immediately the one near him uses the same tactic, turning directly on it’s side and /ramming directly into his wing.

RHO: (o.s, filtered) /GhhhaaaaaaaahhhhhH!!!

ZERO: (o.s, filtered) Nooo. You bastards!!!!!

With 3 aircrafts left, Zero circles and bends avoiding their fire. Then, he maneuvers to a point where they are zooming towards him, ready for a head-on collision.

-pan inside his cockpit-

ZERO: (intense) DARK HOLD!!!!!!

He uses the last of the time-freezing weapon, having them all targeted in a line. With them locked on, he pulls the trigger and sends the missiles.

The Dark Hold breaks, completely drained of it’s use, as the missiles gained a 5 second headstart.

Now, the 3 Repliforce Aircrafts collide directly with their missiles, as Zero narrowly races through their explosion.

ZERO: (crazy, amazed) WWWWWHOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!

Caption: 12:00 Noon

After taking a moment to contain himself, Zero sobers up and falls back into a grimace, realizing that his colleagues are dead. He presses a button to com-link with Alia.

ZERO: It’s done, Alia… But we lost Rho and Frenzy. I’m sorry…

He hears nothing on the other end of the receiver, but static.

ZERO: Aw come on… I know you’re mad, but don’t give me the silent treatment…

The static continues.

ZERO: …Alia? ….Alia!

The static remains constant.

ZERO: …..What is going on over there?

- cut to –

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------- EXT. NEW MHHQ – Space Shuttle Dock – NIGHT ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Caption: 4:00 AM – Hexagon Time

X bravely stands up to Dynamo, who has just killed Freeze Alopex.

At his feet lies the dead vixen. He has crushed her larynx.

Behind X, Alia and Douglas watch with worried faces.

SIGNAS: (o.s, loudspeaker) Emergency! Dynamo has come back here to attack! What on Earth does he want?!

-Freezeframe. Grainy Effect-

#MMX Fanfics #S.V #Ep. 8 #Conflicts of Interest #X vs. Dark Necrobat #Zero vs. Spiral Pegasus #Dr. Light #Gaea Armor #Maverick Hunters #Repliforce #dogfight #Dynamo

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