#divergent!isae

[ghostlightfic]

guess who forgot another tag on ao3.

[lazysublimeengineer]

why do you care so much whose d*ck I ride?

Summary: Your business is yours and mine is mine.

Characters: Isagi Yoichi, Alexis Ness & Michael Kaiser

(A/N: It’s a companion fic to my other Isaness fic, “the garden of illusions.” It can be tag as a short sequel to the events in that fic or you can read it as a standalone fic. Either way is fine. Inspired by Ariana Grande’s, “yes, and?” song. I don’t own anything from the franchise. Respective ownership belongs to Muneyuki Kaneshiro and Yusuke Nomura for this wonderful manga and Ariana Grande for this catchy yet explicit song.)

In case you haven't noticed Well, everybody's tired And healin' from somebody Or somethin' we don't see just right

Harsh breathing escaped from his lips as Ness stared at the screen which displayed the current scores of both teams.

Two and two.

Fuck.

It’s an even score now between the BM and PxG.

Ness can’t let that happen.

They needed to win.

There's no other possibility that he can entertain.

Besides, this was the perfect timing to display his usefulness to Kaiser.

However...

...

...He held the ball under his heel and was in perfect control as he scanned his surroundings, looking for Kaiser to pass the ball into.

Kaiser was not in the right position to pass the ball into.

Sweat trickled down his temples. Objectively speaking, if he passed the ball to Kaiser, it was a risky and false move. It could be easily blocked by one of their defenders.

Or worse, Charles might have the opportunity to take it and pass it to either Rin or Shidou.

He swallowed thickly as he looked at the other side of the field.

There stood on the other side of the pitch...

“Yoichi...” He mumbled under his breath as his feet were itching to kick the ball right into him, but he firmly stopped himself as there were two defenders blocking his path.

It’s riskier if he didn’t get it right and listened to his gut feeling rather than the cold, hard logic of his brain that’s supposed to be aligned with the objectives of BM which operated under the rationality of its players.

His heart thundered wildly inside his chest.

An onslaught of emotions and memories came flooding into his senses like a waterfall.

Boy, come on, put your lipstick on (No one can tell you nothin') Come on and walk this way through the fire (Don't care what's on their mind) And if you find yourself in a dark situation Just turn on your light and be like

“Why the hell are were here again?”  Ness let out a disgruntled sigh as he tried to move inside the cramped space of the closet in futile. Isagi was beside him and there were a few spaces left between the two of them to which they could make a few movements inside the closet.

Nevertheless, it didn’t erase the fact that they’re in proximity with each other and he could feel the other’s body heat and warm breaths mingling around his skin which left him breathless and dizzy from the hazy sensation alone.

“Well, it’s past our curfew in the facility and we might get in trouble if one of the staff happens to see us in the monitor room so a hide and seek inside the closet might be helpful to us...” Isagi whispered lightly, sending an amused grin on his direction.

Ness was tempted to punch him and wiped off that complacent look on his face, but he kept to himself and glared at him, which was weakened because of the flush around his cheeks.

“So, being stuck here with you is the most viable solution for this? Stop being so full of yourself.” Ness hissed but he couldn’t look him in the eye or else he might’ve combusted and burned his entire face in mortification and something else entirely. But he could already feel the tips of his ears growing hot at the effect of their sudden proximity with each other.

He felt one of Isagi’s fingers brushing along his chin and tilting it upwards so that their eyes could meet.

Amethyst orbs clashed against his sapphire irises.

Ness couldn’t look away as he was held in place by Isagi. He just inwardly prayed that the other could not hear or feel the erratic heartbeat inside his chest.

“It’s the most convenient solution after all. And don’t go on pretending that you don’t like it here when I can see clearly that you want me here as much as you do.” He replied throatily.

Before Ness could retort he found himself enveloped in a deep yet tantalizing kiss as Isagi had perfectly captured his lips in a heated embrace and Ness’ traitorous body had developed a mind on its own and entwined his arms around his neck.

Both of Isagi’s hands had made their way towards his hips and gripped it sensually, crowding him to the side of the closet as he continued to devour his lips in a wild and passionate kiss.

Electrifying sensations shot through his nerves at Isagi’s ministrations on his body, but he couldn’t pull away nor push him away to put a stop to this madness. He may be strong physically but a part of himself was weak against him and couldn’t stop the dangerous and slippery slope that they’re both falling onto.

Just how many times had they’ve done this already?

Fooling around behind their team’s back... specifically behind Kaiser’s back didn’t sit well right with him.

Nevertheless, why should it even matter now? Considering that Kaiser doesn’t see him beyond his own loyal lackey who was a convenient person for him to reach his dreams in soccer.

Something ill-feeling had festered within him at that bitter realization and prompted him to jump into Isagi’s arms and remove any remaining gap between the two of them and wrapped his legs perfectly around his hips for support and leverage.

If Isagi was taken aback by his sudden enthusiasm and fervor, it was masked by his sensual precision of his touches and kisses along his body and every fiber of his being that drove Ness mad with want and need.

His eyes were closed as a muffled moan escaped from his lips, conveying the sheer ecstasy that the other was giving him.

He failed to see the other’s lips curled upwards, forming a dark smile on his lips.

"Yes, and?" Say that shit with your chest, and Be your own fuckin' best friend Say that shit with your chest Keep moving like, "What's next?" "Yes, and?"

His red bitten lips almost bleed with how harsh he must be biting it.

But considering that they’re in a risky place with a high probability that someone might catch them inside the closet, it was a small price to pay to keep the remaining shreds of his dignity intact.

“Fuck Alexis! Felt good around me...! It’s like you’re made to take my cock alone!” Isagi whispered breathlessly inside his ear as a low groan escaped his lips.

Ness’ legs quivered and his body shook like a leaf against him.

With Isagi railing him like an animal in heat and whispering dirtily in his ear, it was proven to be difficult to keep his silence which was tethering around the edges as a muffled, lewd moan slipped past his sinful lips.

“Hmmm? You’re awfully quiet Alexis. Where’s that pretty voice of yours hmmm? It’s a shame that I can’t hear your pretty moans now compared to how whiny and needy you are when were in the bedroom together.” Isagi whispered and licked at the shell of his ear seductively.

“Ngh... Don’t get cocky now you clown... Fuck...! As if I— Ah— wanted to parade myself around the others...!” Ness moaned out as he glared at him which was weakened as a helpless mewl escaped his lips when Isagi rolled his hips teasingly against his hips and let his cock buried deeper inside of him and brushed along his sweet spot.

“But you’re willing to parade your lewd self in front of me hmmm?” Isagi asked throatily and before Ness could shot him down with a snarky remark, he sealed his lips in an open-mouthed kiss and swallowed all the remaining moans and mewls escaping him as he continued to piston his insides in wild abandon.

“Not that I mind though. I’d want to be the only one who can see this side of yours.” He mumbled hotly against his lips and Ness felt a tremor around his body before he reached his climax and painted their chests with the hot, splashes of his cum.

Isagi followed soon not right after, groaning inside his mouth as he emptied himself and painted his walls with the thick, ropes of his cum.

Ness could only mewl like a helpless kitten against him as he was filled to the brim instantaneously.

He was caught in the enemy’s trap, and it might be his utter yet sweetest downfall in the future.

Now, I'm so done with caring What you think, no, I won't hide Underneath your own projections Or change my most authentic life

“Ness! Over here! What are you waiting for?” Kaiser’s loud voice jolted him out his thoughts and brought him back to the present.

Fuck.

Why did he have to have thoughts like that in the middle of the match?

God, he was pathetic.

His eyes met Kaiser’s and the latter seemed to be harboring an impatient expression on his face.

But his gaze also caught Isagi’s...

...

There was an unidentifiable emotion brewing inside of his azure irises.

He didn’t speak nor signal anything to him.

But a sheer anticipation wreathed along his senses.

Along with this, a blinding light engulfed his entire being as he broke their weighted gazes with each other and let his body speak for itself.

His magenta orbs locked themselves into the net and in a blinding speed, he gave a swift kick of the ball that neither of the opponents had anticipated at.

The magician.

The heart of BM.

The chained midfielder of Kaiser.

Broke free of the chains and did the unthinkable.

The impossible.

Which had been a possibility now as the ball landed perfectly inside the net and the shrill whistle resounding around the field flooded his senses.

Three to two.

BM won the match.

My tongue is sacred, I speak upon what I like Protected, sexy, discerning with my time (My time) Your energy is yours and mine is mine (It's mine, it's mine) What's mine is mine My face is sitting, I don't need no disguise (I don't need no disguise) Don't comment on my body, do not reply Your business is yours and mine is mine Why do you care so much whose d*ck I ride? Why?

“What was all about that earlier Ness?” Kaiser’s cold, unrelenting voice is what greeted him in their room upon getting inside after taking a quick shower earlier after the match.

In the back of his mind, he anticipated that this would come but not too soon.

But he knew that he needed to face the consequences of his impudent actions against Kaiser earlier. However, there wasn’t an ounce of trepidation within him as he could only feel the burst of energy still running inside his veins.

“What was what Kaiser?” He asked casually as he slung the towel in one of the coat hangers before he felt a tug to his wrist and Kaiser had spun him around to face him.

“Stop playing like an idiot and answer me Ness. Why did you do that earlier in the field? You’re not a striker and it was a damn risky move if—.”

“You’re not open Kaiser and you know what I mean. I just observe the situation objectively and align with the rational goal of our team and that is to win by any means.” Ness cut him off calmly and shook his wrist off from him.

Kaiser could only bark out mocking laughter at his response.

“Really? Since when did you become like that huh? Ever since you hang out with Yoichi and let that shitty clown play you like a fiddle, you’re getting fucking weird now.”

Ness clenched his fists to the side before he offered Kaiser his smile which was leaden with sharp alacrity and coldness.

“This has nothing to do with any other thing or even the people I associate myself with Kaiser. It’s the simple fact that I scored because I was in a position that has a high probability of scoring. Do not worry because I’ll be sending you a pass next time if I see you wide open and can reach the goal. Now if you’ll excuse me, I still need to get some dinner at the cafeteria.” He replied in a placid voice and walked right past him to get out of the room, not even looking back to see the expression on his face as he closed the door behind him.

As he walked along the corridors, his gaze landed on the familiar figure leaning on the walls with his hands inside his pockets.

“What are you doing you clown?” He scoffed lightly at the sight of Isagi staring at him.

“Doesn’t it look so obvious? I was waiting for you.” Isagi replied simply as he walked towards him and took one of his hands and guided him towards the cafeteria.

“Why?” Ness asked as he ignored the fluttering feeling inside his stomach.

“So, that we can celebrate together.” Isagi paused and looked at him with that closed off smile of his. “It’s not a celebration without the hero of the match after all.”

His words sunk in, and he let himself be whisked away by the blue-eyed striker to somewhere where they could exist in a spellbinding moment against the world which was crumbling at their feet.

"Yes, and?" (Yes, and?) Say that shit with your chest, and (Say that shit with your chest) Be your own fuckin' best friend (Oh, be your own, be your own) Say that shit with your chest (Say that shit with your chest, baby) Keep moving like, "What's next?" "Yes, and?" "Yes, and?" Say that shit with your chest, and Be your own fuckin' best (Be your own) friend Say that shit with your chest Keep moving like, "What's next?" "Yes, and?" (Yeah)

(A/N: When I first heard the song of yes, and? By Ariana Grande, I thought it was catchy yet explicit as hell especially the lyrics of, “Why do you care so much whose d*ck I ride?” which was Isaness coded hence this fic was born. Reviews are amusing so let me hear them from you.)

[astraltm-a]

hello! i will try to be here today. if not please excuse my absents here && on my tar/taglia blog. tropical storm/hurricane debby is closing in right now && we've already had a few tornado touchdowns in my area because of the storm ( we're okay! ) so things are a little hectic.

also i am working on character bios, not for all of them but for the ones i can focus in on right now. ( like lumi, mabel, the few ocs i have listed on this blog )

[addictiedtocrimedrama]

26 Years Chapter 2- Chapter 1 - 2x01, Lost Souls

Summary: It's been almost a year since Clara rejoined the IRT and things are back to normal and the team still oblivious of her and Jack's relationship (or so they though).

(as the title suggests this is set before/during/a bit after the season 2 premier aka "Lost Souls")

Author's Notes: Sorry I haven't updated in months but school events and exams got the better of me and got be bussy/forget to work on this chapter.

Anyways, this is gonna be the start of the story. I will just let you guys know that this fic will include/mention characters from CSI: NY, FBI (TV 2018), and Law & Order. When the jet lands it's around 6:50 PM on a Saturday and Isa had a group call for a class at 7:20 PM since her school is in the Philippines, so it would be a Sunday if we're talking Philippine time, and she's also gonna be studying online. This fic takes place during season 2 because it feels like this is when Jack and Clara's relationship finally gets revealed. After all, there are so many times I feel like they couldn't keep hiding and tell the team. But I'll take my time with that. I should also let you guys know that the first two parts of this chapter takes place right before the season 2 premiere. The dialogue is mostly taken from the episode/s itself and I might skip a few lines here and there. Starting from this chapter onwards will quotes used at the start of every chapter which would be the bookend quotes from each episode. I'll also at bits of angst here and there throughout out the story, so beware. The characters at times may feel OOC, but it's fanfiction, so I don't care. Any and all mistakes are mine.

WARNING: I DON'T OWN CRIMINAL MINDS: BEYOND BORDERS, IT BELONGS TO ERICA MESNER AND CBS.

As usual gif credit goes to @shannyfishwriter bucause it's from their blog where I saved this gif. Also please consider this gif as a spoiler for what's gonna happen near the end of the chapter.

Little by little, a little becomes a lot. - Tanzanian proverb

Clara puts her mug in the cabinet and sighs. Another case is solved and she and the team are heading home. She's glad about that, especially since none of them's gotten a full night's sleep because they've been getting case after case since last week. She takes a seat on one the couch and sighs again. Then she hears someone approaching her.

"Though I might find you here." She didn't need to turn around to know who it was. She gave a small smile before replying "Can't really hide from you can I." she said turning to Jack.

To a normal person, it sounded like she was asking a question, but in reality, she was telling a statement. Jack chucked "Well I guess you're stuck with me SSA Seger or should I say SSA Seger-Garrett," he says taking a seat next to her. She gave a small laugh at that and slightly snuggled next to him.

They knew keeping their relationship a secret from the team was a bad idea, but neither of them ever dared to tell the team. They stayed like that in silence for a few minutes until Jack asked, "What's on your mind?" Clara gave a deep sigh and then said, "Nothing really, just ready to go home and finally get a full night's sleep." They once again stayed like that for a few more minutes until they both silently agreed to finish up the files on the table.

They worked in comfortable silence until they heard what sounded like Isa arguing with either Mae or Emma. When they came into view they realized that Isa was arguing with Mae about waking her up 25 minutes until the plane would land. Clara silently chuckled at the fact that Isa knows so much about aircrafts just by watching a TV series and that she makes a big deal that she's woken up 25 minutes before they land like it's that if she doesn't get into her seat 30 minutes before they land it's like she's gonna die. When the plane landed, the team packed up their bags and went home.

______________________________________________________________

When they get home, it was 6:50. Isa went to the room that she shares with Emma since her some of her classmates had a group call that was going to start, and Emma was with RJ working on their homework with a bit of help from Jack and Clara. After around 50 minutes, Emma and RJ are done with their homework, and they're talking about what they're going to have for dinner.

"What do you kids want for dinner?" Jack asks RJ and Emma. "I want to try this new restaurant I saw on the way home from school, I couldn't remember the name, but the sign had a chicken holding some kind of drink over the name of it," RJ said sadly. After a few beats, Emma spoke up "We passed by that restaurant on our way home right mom" she said enthusiastically "We did are you talking about this restaurant RJ?" Clara asked showing RJ a photo of the restaurant, "Yeah that's the one though it said that they're only serving take-out." Jack and Clara glanced it had been a while since they had take-out at home. "Okay we'll have JJ's tonight," Clara said, "Can either one of you two ask Isa what she wants for dinner?" she added.

"I'll do it, I need to head to my and Isa's room to grab my headsets anyway." Emma said "Okay Em but be quiet since I'm pretty sure that she's still in one of her classes" Jack replied after checking his watch. She nodded and headed to the room she shares with Isa.

She quietly opened the door, so Isa can't hear her and waves at Isa and mouths (grabbing my headsets) to her, and after she finds them, she asks Isa, who just removed her headphones "Hey mom and dad asked what you're gonna have for dinner since we're ordering take out from JJ's." Isa thought for a moment before saying, "Can you tell them I'll have the Adobo Flakes with the egg sunny side up and Sago't Gulaman." the only reply Isa got was "okay". Before she leaves, Emma asks her, "You guys already done or something? I saw you removing your headphones." Isa shakes her head and replies saying "Nah, we just took a quick break since this project's going to take longer than we expected." she simply replied "Okay, just curious" then she left.

A few minutes later, their order arrives. "Hey RJ can you give these to Isa," Clara asks, giving RJ a take-out box and cup with a straw and a spoon and fork. "Okay, mom" was the only reply RJ gave his mom. Later, when RJ comes back down, he eats with his family at the dinner table. After dinner, they cleared up the table, took a shower, and got ready to go to sleep, which Emma was relieved about. A few hours later Emma checks the clock in the living room to see it's a quarter to 11 which she knew was when Isa usually logs off and just does the rest of her homework in the morning. Emma enters her room to see Isa just about to shut down her laptop.

______________________________________________________________

The next day was a Sunday so Matt spent time with his family at the park, Mae and Monty were having brunch together, Isa was doing her homework, and Jack, Clara, Emma, and RJ went to mass. Later that day, the team got a case involving a Church group that went missing in Tanzania.

"We've got 23 missing Americans in Tanzania. They're members of the Brunswick Mission Church in Texas" Jack said as they boarded the jet. "They spent a week volunteering in villages before they disappeared. They were last seen en route to a rural retreat. Uh, the conductor had eyes on them about 2:30 in the morning, their time." Monty said giving them details about the church group and the case. "Well, That was 12 hours ago. A lot can happen between now and then." Simmons said, bringing up the time gap.

  "Have the local police searched the area where the train stopped?" Isa asked the question that was on all their minds. "That's the thing. They didn't stop." Monty replied. All of them were confused, how could 23 people vanish from a moving train. Clara decided to ask that question, "Well, you're... you're saying people vanished from a moving train?", "Yes, but all the employees insisted there were no stops, no commotion." Monty said in a matter-of-factly way.

"Then what's their explanation?" Mae asked, still not believing that 23 people disappeared from a moving train. "The Rapture." Jack said, reading from the case file in hand. All of them turned their heads towards Jack, shocked to hear the local's explanation. "Like... "plucked from the Earth and taken to Heaven" rapture?" Emma asked, not convinced it's the best explanation for how the Americans went missing. "The one and only." Jack confirming what she said.

"Yeah, well, we have to assume that it wasn't a miracle that took these people." Isa said, not believing that they were taken by the rapture. "How does an Unsub take 23 people?" Emma asked, still bewildered at this case, "Well, we can't figure out the how unless we know the who." Clara pointed out, "Who has the skills to pull this off?". "It'd have to be an organized group who's done this kind of thing before." Matt said, "And I bet they're heavily armed." Isa said trying to make sense of everything. "Well, criminal gangs and rebels have surged into Tanzania to escape their own unrest. I mean, travelers are easy prey." Clara said thinking that they could be looking at a criminal gang or rebels who took the Americans.

"Monty, any luck on getting us the passenger manifest?" Jack asked the analyst, "No, because most tickets were purchased in cash. However, I am trying to figure out how many more passengers there were on the train by going through the background in social media posts." Monty said to his boss. "The Americans posted these on their way to the retreat, before the cellphone service went out." he added, showing the team a video of the Americans having fun on the train. "Do all the missing have active social media accounts?" Mae asked, "No. About half of them. Why?" Monty replied, not sure where Mae was going on this, "Because their loved ones are gonna be expecting an update soon." She replied. "Yeah, we should get ahead of this, reach out to their families." Clara said, agreeing with Mae.

"Monty, we need to control what gets out, so it's best they come to you. That's a lot of people. Maybe the B.A.U. can help." Jack said, knowing that he might need help with the families. "Both governments have agreed to wait 24 hours before releasing a media statement. The clock starts when you land." Monty said, letting them know they have a day until the American and Tanzanian governments would release a statement. "Well, a day doesn't give us much time to find 'em." Clara said a bit grimly. "Well, let's hit the ground running. Local police have started a search, but the area is so vast, they need us to help narrow it down. These people were out to help others. I'm not about to let them get punished for it." Jack replied.

______________________________________________________________

"Some things to keep in mind... avoid touching people of the opposite sex since this could upset some people." Clara told them as they drove to the station where the train that the missing Americans rode is located. " And always keep your left hand to yourself, since it is considered dirty." she added. Almost all of them glanced at Isa who said jokingly, "Hey, I can only control myself, not how others respond to me. And before anyone asks, yes that was a direct quote from Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders: The Reboot episode Harvested where the team went to India." they all laughed at her since they all know how much she loves the show. For the rest of the drive, they talked about a lot of other things until they reached the station.

______________________________________________________________

When they got to the train, they saw a man they assumed was their liaison. They got out of the jeep and approached him. "Inspector Polino" the man introduced to them offering his hand to Jack. "Unit Chief Garrett. This is my team... Agents Simmons, Seger, Rubirosa, Jarvis, and Garcia." Jack said, introducing himself and the team. "Agents, please come this way." Inspector Polino gestured for them to follow him. "We saw no forced entry, and it looks like the belongings of the Americans are still on board." he relaid to them as they walked next to the train.

"We need to speak with the employees who discovered this." Jack said, "I hope you get more out of them than I did." Inspector Polino replied, "Are they cooperating?" Isa asked, silently hoping that they wouldn't give any of them trouble. "Yes, just insistent on their beliefs. But I believe there's someone responsible." was the reply of Inspector Polino, "Does this look like the work of any militias or rebels around here?" Clara asked, wondering if her theory on the jet was right. "There are legends out there... men who go beyond just stealing what they can and leaving tourists stranded, ones who want to punish." said Inspector Polino. "Can you lead us to these men?" Matt asked, "They are who they are because we cannot catch them. They attack and move on. They are the most dangerous ones." replied the Inspector. "We understand that, but right now, they're our best lead, so we need to track 'em down." Emma said, trying to figure out how to track them down.

"Clara, Emma and Mae, you start on victimology from what's left on the train." Jack said, "Simmons and Isa, the two of you should look at routes and talk to the conductor who found the empty car." he added. Turning to Inspector Polino he said "Inspector, I'd like to talk to the search party." the Inspector replied saying "They are gathering here soon. I also have officers searching the route, but they are overwhelmed. The train traveled overnight, no stations between. Where do we begin?" Jack, understanding they have a lot of area to cover, said, "Well, give us an hour. We'll have a starting point."

______________________________________________________________

Emma, Mae, and Clara got on the train and were going through what the victims left. "So the youngest is Nicholas... 7 years old. Son to single mom Rebecca." Clara said, while also going through some photos on a tablet, "That's brave to bring him all this way." Mae responded, "Well, yeah, but they were traveling with their church, so it's essentially an extended family." replied Emma from the far end of the train car they were in.

Mae looks around the train car and notices something "That's weird" she said. "What is?" Clara replied, looking up from the tablet in her hands. Mae looks around the train car again to make sure her suspicions were right "If this has anything to do with money, it's strange the UnSubs didn't take any of the valuables." she answered as Clara approached one of the seats "This attack was quick and efficient. They prioritized." she added to what Mae said.

"Maybe they were holding out for something more, like ransom." Emma suggested as she rejoined Mae and Clara. "Yeah" Mae said as she turned to face one of the seats and notices something. "Also forensic countermeasure" she added, then held up one of the phones to Clara and Emma. "There's no reason for us to track the GPS, since their phones are right here." Emma then checked one of the windows then said "And like the inspector said, there's no sign of forced entry."

As they continued to look around the train car, Mae notices something then proceeds to approach the door of the train car, "The only thing is this door." she said as she picks up a screwdriver that was on the floor near the train car door. "Maybe the UnSubs were on board." Clara said as she turns around and walks to Mae. "Yeah, but a jumping would have caused a lot of injuries" Mae countered, bringing up the fact there was a lack of a struggle. "Unless this is an inside job." Emma suggests as she looks out one of the windows. Mae and Clara walk towards Emma and also look out the window. "Yeah, this would make sense if one of the employees was in on it." Clara added, agreeing to what Emma was implying.

______________________________________________________________

While Emma, Mae, and Clara were going through what's left of the train, Matt and Isa along with Inspector Polino went to talk to the conductor who found the train and look at routes the train could have traveled.

When they approached the conductor, Inspector Polino spoke first saying something in Swahili neither Matt nor Isa could understand. "Yes, Gervas." the man replied. "And I speak English." he added. "Thank you for helping us. So were you the last one to see the Americans?" Matt asked. "I did rounds at 2:30. Everything was fine." Gervas replied. "And you arrived here at... at 6:30 this morning" Matt said. Gervas simply replied with a simple, "that's right". "So somewhere in the span of those four hours, the Americans disappeared. Do you know what happened?" at that question, Inspector Polino turns to look at Gervas while Isa carefully watches him.

"I think it was the Rapture." Gervas said simply. "They were delivered to Heaven." he added. Isa, who wasn't convinced, said "You think they were the chosen ones?". "I do." was his reply. "But you were not." Inspector Polino said equally, if not more, unconvinced than Isa. At that Gervas turned his head to look at Inspector Polino and said "It's okay. I have many responsibilities here. ". "Do you have children?" Matt asked. "Yes. Do you?" he replied. "Yeah." was Matt's reply, "And I keep thinking about those parents are going through back in the United States." at that Gervas walked to the side of the table separating him and Simmons and said, "They should be happy. Their loved ones are with God."

When Gervas said that Isa and Inspector Polino getting a little irritated which made Isa snap and say "You cannot prove that". At that, Gervas backs away a bit from Isa. Matt intervenes by stepping a little in between Gervas and Isa, then he turned to face Gervas and says "Listen... I can't do my job unless I look at all sides. The thing is, we do believe they were chosen, just not in the same way you believe in. And whoever took them was watching and waiting for them to be vulnerable. We think they're organized, and patient, we also believe that they needed help from the inside to pull this off." at that Inspector Polino was glancing between Matt and Garvas while Isa was giving him a mild glare. Though that glare might have been more intense than she was projecting since it was enough to scare him. "Now you're saying the train never stopped." Matt asked, hoping to finish this soon before Isa's temper gets the better of both herself and Gervas. "That's correct." was all he said.

Matt knew that the next question might be hard, but he knew he had to. "Well, forgive me for asking, but if someone were to threaten your family, would you do whatever it took to protect them?" to which Gervas simply replied "Of course". "Would you stop a train, so they could kidnap Americans?" Isa asked in a bit of a harsh tone, harsher than she was hoping for, if was being honest. At that Gervas backed away more then said "Listen, I swear on my children's lives that did not happen. Do you understand what I'm saying to you?" in a bit of a half panicked, half defensive tome. "Look, if I'm lying, my children will be damned to hell. Look, I had nothing to do with this. I swear to you, I did not do anything. Please..." he added.

Matt, trying to calm him down said "Okay, okay, okay." with that Gervas release a sigh. "Alright. I believe you. I need your help. You've worked this train for years, right?" Matt asked. Gervas simply replied a simple "yes". "Alright" Isa responded. Though she didn't mean it, her response came out a little sarcastic, which she internally winced about. Then everyone goes to the table where Matt asked Gervas "So there's 400 miles between when you last saw then and when you arrived here in Arusha." to which he simply nodded. "Can you us any terrain where you may have slowed down, even a little bit?" Matt asked. "Yeah, I can do that." Gervas replied, then proceeded to do as Matt asked.

______________________________________________________________

Jack was waiting for the search party to arrive when he saw Clara, Emma, and Mae getting off the train, "What did you guys find out?" he asked. Clara the first to get off said "Well the UnSubs were definitely on boar and like what the Inspector said there's no sign of forced entry. We... Aaahh" though she wasn't able to finish what she was saying because she lost her footing and trip. Thankfully, Jack was able to catch her before she fell flat on her face. "Better watch your step next time, Clara." he said, helping her straighten herself out. Clara rolled her eyes and said, "Yeah, yeah".

"There were also no signs of any resistance, so it could be an inside job." Mae said being a bit more careful as she got off the train. "If this was an inside job, was one of the employees in on it too?" Jack asked her. Emma was getting off shrugged then said, "We won't know until Isa and Matt get back. And there's no chance of us using GPS to track them, since they left their phones on the train". "I also noticed that the door was jammed from the inside with a screwdriver." Mae added, to which Jack nodded then said "That could strengthen your theory that it's an inside job". "Yeah, and the UnSubs also didn't take any valuables, which told us the attack was quick and efficient and that they also prioritized." Clara added. "Which mean they could be holding out for something like a ransom demand." Jack concluded.

Emma turned her head a little then exclaimed, "That's what I thought ". Just then the search part came, then Jack left to address them. Almost instinctively, Clara followed in suit.

______________________________________________________________

Jack quickly scanned the small group of people who had come to help them. "First, I want to thank you all for volunteering your time. We believe we're dealing with a specialized abduction, requiring many offenders. They're confident, organized, and have the means to hold 23 people hostage. They likely have access to encampments, vehicles, and weapons. We're narrowing down a starting point for the search and can begin to canvass as soon as we confirm. Thank you" then Clara who was standing to his right said "Asante tena (Thank you again)."Just then they saw Isa and Matt jogging up to them. "Hey guys, we got a possible point of attack." Isa said, slightly panting. Jack made a quick glance at Clara as he said, "Let's go."

______________________________________________________________

As they exited the vehicles they saw a trellis to which Matt pointed out saying "So the train slowed down here to get over this trellis." Jack added to this, saying, "This could be the snatch-and-grab point, but it's doubtful they kept them here". "There's not much around. They were definitely exposed." said Emma as she commented on the lack of vegetation. "And look over there." Clara said, pointing towards the hill right next to the trellis. "They must have come down that hill". "The footprints... they were all scattered." Inspector Polino said as he pointed to the many footprints on the ground. "It would have been chaos, but they gained control." Isa said.

There were a few seconds in between when Isa asked, "Which way did they go?" and Mae calling out saying, "Guys, I got something here." then gestured for them to come to where she was. Which they did, and she said, "It looks like one of the leaders... Jacob Ross". Jacob was covered in blood with what looked like multiple stab wounds to his abdomen, bloodied knuckles, and blunt force trauma to his skull just to name a few.

After a while, they seemed to notice that they were being watched. "They've got eyes on us, up on the ridge" Jack said, looking up to a camp at the top of the ridge, then asked Inspector Polino, "What do you know about those rebels?". "The flag is a Somali rebellion that's wreaked havoc all over the continent." he answered then added saying, "They are at odds with everyone". "If the Americans are held hostage inside that camp, I'll lead the negotiation. I'm not calling in armed forces. Their presence could inflame the situation." Jack said then Clara responded saying, "Yeah, but we do have one thing on our side." she elaborated on it by saying, "In Somali culture, there's something called "kobigana ukiketi" which roughly translates to "fighting while seated." Those at odds can be civil, unless they're on the battlefield". "Okay, then. Simmons, Polino, and I will approach. Clara, you, Isa, Mae, and Emma lead the search party. We found one body. There could be more." Jack said to Clara.

A while later...

"What did you find up there? Do they have the Americans?" Clara asked them as they rejoined the rest of the team. "Well, it wasn't those guys. I mean, they're horrible, but they haven't got the space to hide anyone there." Matt responded. "And they're not organized enough for a mass abduction." Jack added, then turned to Mae and asked, "What have you got?" to which she replied saying, "Looks like Jacob Ross suffered multiple contusions from multiple sources. Put up a hell of a fight. He has defensive wounds all over. The C.O.D. is still undetermined, since I can't properly examine the corpse out here, but right now, I'd say it's a tie between the blunt force trauma to his skull or the stab wounds in his abdomen".

After hearing what Mae said, Isa asked, "Overkill anyone?". "The UnSubs may have taken the whole group, but I think that the target of their rage was Jacob." Mae said, to which Emma responded saying, "Well, he and a handful of others has volunteered in Tanzania before. Maybe they made enemies". "We should look into their previous trips, see if there's any other conflicts." Jack said. "Well, they were organized enough to plan forensic countermeasure, like dumping Jacob's body near the Somali rebel camp." Isa said, trying to get into their UnSubs head. "Well, the overkill tells us there's a personal connection, and they want them to be punished. Killing Jacob is proof that they mean what they say." Matt added. "We should look for secure locations where they could keep 22 people." Inspector Polino suggested. Clara, however, was a little doubtful and said, "Yeah. Problem is, if they have vehicles, they could be long gone by now."

______________________________________________________________

"When we looked at the things left behind on the train, women were the only ones who had personal items. The men traveled light." Mae said as she joined everyone else. "That sound stereotypical." Matt replied. Just then Emma's phone ringed telling her she got a message, she pulled the device out and said "Except it gets weirder." as she read the text. "Monty said he's only been able to get a hold of the missing women's families because they all had social media accounts". "But none of the men had any social media presence at all." Clara added, "Zilch." Emma confirmed.

"Go ahead, Monty" Jack said with his phone on speaker with Monty on the other end. "So Jacob's estranged wife is here, and she got really anxious when I mentioned the church and, more specifically, Elijah Ward. She said that Jacob would follow Elijah anywhere, and actually referred to him as a "loyal subject."" Isa scrunched her eyebrows then said, "Well, that's an interesting choice of words". "So they're not the partners that we thought they were. Elijah's the leader." Mae said, a bit stunned. "And Jacob was killed by someone he knows." Clara added. "Let's focus on Elijah." Jack said, as they got to work on a profile.

______________________________________________________________

"Elijah started this devout group, initiated Jacob as his right hand, and then 11 more men joined over the next few years." Mae said as she circled Jacob, Elijah, and 11 other faces in a group picture. "Elijah and his 12 disciples" Jack commented. "And then he slowly recruited nine more women, including Rebecca Moore, who brought along her son." Clara added. " According to their loved ones, all these women struggled with abuse and were searching for help." Monty informed them over the phone. Then Emma realized something, then said, "Which would make them easier to manipulate." which in turn made Isa realize she's on to something. "You think these women were taken against their will?" She asked her. "Yeah, I mean, they were far from home, which gives Elijah the ultimate power and control over them. They'd be too afraid to revolt." she replied. "We were looking in the wrong direction. The UnSub's on the inside." Matt concluded. "This is a radical cult, and Elijah is their charismatic leader." Isa continued. "He groomed these women to trust him. He used their faith against them." Jack added, then he finished by saying, "We can't let him get away with this". "So... where would Elijah take them." Matt asked as he placed a map on the table they were using.

A while later...

Jack rejoined the team with Inspector Polino and said, "Our initial profile was correct. This is a mission-oriented group, but Elijah is their leader". "And it took years for him, years for him to plan this." Clara continued. "Everything he does, he does for a reason. He chose all of these villages." Isa added, pointing to different parts of the map, then asked, "Do they have any meaning to you?". "These spiritual leaders are extremists." Inspector Polino replied. "Probably recruited those men to help set up the commune." Emma suggested.

"Elijah suffers from a religious psychopathology referred to as a "Moses complex." He doesn't think he's God, but believes he speaks for Him." Jack said. "And he believes he was chosen by God to lead his people to the promise land." Clara added. Then Emma got a text from Monty, then she said, "Hey guys, Monty just sent this. "Elijah was born and raised by a delusional young couple" who believed that he could speak to God". "And they named him accordingly. Elijah was a Hebrew prophet in both books of Kings and in the Old Testament." Isa said trying to remember a lesson is her CLF class. "His parents were arrested "for severe abuse to their other children." All were taken away, but it was too late for Elijah." Emma said as she continued reading Monty's text. "He was driven to make his parent's belief his life's mission." Clara concluded.

"He wasn't afraid to kill for it. Jacob's murder unleashed a homicidal rage. And if he's showing signs of euphoric stress, it could fuel him to take more risks and hurt more people." Matt said. "What were his sibling's names?" Jack asked. "He was the youngest of eight. Kids were Ezekiel, Isaac, Ruth, Caleb, Miriam, Rachel and Samuel." Emma replied as she finished reading Monty's text. "Why" Inspector Polino asked. "All names from the Old Testament. It was drilled into his head. He planned the train ride to get them close to the Olduvai Gorge." Jack answered. "And historians believe that's the original Garden of Eden." Isa said remembering it from a one of show she watched. "I know a shortcut." Inspector Polino said promptly. Then they all swiftly left the room and quickly got on the road.

______________________________________________________________

As they arrived near the Olduvai Gorge, they all quickly got out of the jeeps all geared up, with a few people already having their guns out and with flashlights in hand. There they saw what looked like a school bus. Jack was about to check it out when Mae spoke up and said "Jack?" then motions to the path in front of them. "They'll be protective and convinced we're attacking. We don't want another Waco. We go as a peaceful negotiation." Jack said, addressing the team and the backup force they had. Then they slowly walk to the path which would lead them to Elijah and the other Americans were.

[in the building where Elijah and 21 other people are]

They slowly enter the building, with Jack taking the lead. Then they saw Elijah and the other people turn, almost as if on instinct. "Who are you?" Elijah asked. "My name is Jack Garrett. I'm with the FBI." Jack answered, which made Elijah sate flatly, "You don't belong here, Jack." to which Jack countered by saying, "Neither do these people". At that, Elijah turned to fully face them, and everyone who was armed drew their guns. "We are on our own path. It's not for you to judge." he said. "I'm not judging. I'm protecting those who didn't choose to be here." Jack answered to which Elijah reasoned saying, "Every choice they made has brought them to this very spot." then Jack took a few steps forward and said "Maybe that's true, but if anyone's here against their will, that's against the law".

At that, Elijah addressed the members of the church group and asked them, "Brethren, do you recognize Jack?" he continued on saying, "He is the serpent that wants us to deny our truth!" to which Jack replied saying," I'm only advocating free will. We both believe in that. Does anyone want to leave?" at that, everyone who had their guns drawn tighten. "No one is in danger here, but your souls will be if you run back to the life you know, to darkness, to demons! We can start over here. I have built a safe place for you. Remember why we left! This is our destiny! Don't let them scare you." Elijah said, trying to convince the church group members to not go to the IRT and local police. "God's work is to spread the light, not hide it away from the world." Jack said then added, "Why would you hide everyone away?" to which Elijah replied saying, "Because the world isn't safe. And It's my fate to help others".

Jack took a few more steps towards him and said, "I know how you feel. Sometimes, I... take a leap of faith. Other times, I deal with hard facts, like in this case. You tricked the women to join you here." to which Elijah said, "No, I'm saving them from the abuse they have suffered". "Have you told anyone what happened to Jacob Ross?" Jack asked. At that, everyone turned their heads to face Elijah. "He was brutally murdered. It's the way he was killed that told us the most. It was personal. He showed signs of fighting back... bloody knuckles, skin under his fingernails." Jack continued then asked Elijah "Who did that to your face?" then he responded "Why would I kill Jacob?". "He threatened your leadership, and you punished him for it. Then you sacrificed Jacob to lead the investigation away from your paradise." Jack said, then added, "You're a false prophet and a murderer". Jacob, getting a little defensive said, "How dare you come in here and spill those lies?" then Jack quickly countered saying "All you men are trusted disciples. How much longer before he kills you?"

"I'm scared." Nicolas said, then ran to Jack. Then one of the armed men nudged Rebecca to do the same, then both her and Nicolas ran to Clara, who guided them out. "Free will, right?" Jack asked. As soon as Jack said that, all the women from the church group ran towards them, with Mae telling them reassuringly, "Come on. This way. Okay. You're safe now. Come on, come on".

Then, when they thought they were able to talk Jacob down he grabbed one of the armed men's guns and points to Jack, at the same time he draws his own gun and points it to Elijah. "You've ruined everything." then Jack replied, saying, "Don't you see? This was their fate". At that Elijah points his gun to his head in response to this, Jack said, "See if that's yours." Elijah replied, saying, "My blood will be on your hands. You will have sinned".

Jack slowly walked towards Elijah to try and make him let go of the gun, as he did so he said, "All you ever wanted was power and control. You have that now. Now go ahead. Be a martyr. Killing yourself makes you a sinner in the eyes of your followers, and you don't want that. Elijah, give me the gun. Let go of the gun". At that, Elijah lets go of the gun and surrenders.

______________________________________________________________

The case was finish, and they were on the way back home, everyone was asleep except for two certain agents. Clara took a seat in her usual chair at the wooden table and release a heavy sigh, then said, "That was one hell of a case". Jack hands her a mug of tea then took a seat right next to her and replied saying "Yeah, I have to agree with you on that." Clara then releases another heavy sigh before she took a bug gulp from her tea, then said, "It's always the ones you don't expect." Jack responded half teasingly, and half lovingly said, "That would be you sweetheart".

At that, Clara chuckles then with a smile on her face said, "Same with me, the last person I expect to do something is always you." her smile however disappeared as she turned to look intro the dark pool of her tea then back to Jack and said, "Do you think we should tell them?" finally addressing the elephant in the room. "About us, I mean." she clarifies since Jack was looking at her questioningly then he asked, "Where'd you get that from?" to which Clara replied saying, "Well ever since the accident at the train station I was almost 10% certain Mae was eyeing us".

At that, Jack sighed then said, "I feel like we should since there're gonna find out sooner or later." Clara nodded in response then said, "Yeah, I also feel like our luck is running out and something's gonna happen that'll be a factor for us telling them". Soon after saying that, Jack chuckles, then asked her, "What are you now, a psychic?". Clara herself couldn't help but let a laugh out and somehow managed to nudge him then said, "Hey, I'm just saying..." she wasn't able to finish what she was saying because a yawn escaped her lips then said, "You know what, I gonna head to the bunks and get some sleep before we land. You coming?". At that Jack nodded and said, "Yeah, I think we both deserve it, especially after the case we just had." Clara quickly left to return the mug she used to the cabinet and quickly came back to see Jack still there. As they walked to the bunks, she felt his arm wrapping around her waist.

______________________________________________________________

As Jack was headed towards the elevator, he saw his sister. Before he could ask what she was doing there, she said, "I saw the news. I thought you could use a hug sooner than later." then gave his a reassuring embrace with Jack simply saying "Thanks."and Karen replied saying, "Thank God you found them". As they parted, they saw Clara and Emma join them. Clara greets her with a smile and says, "Hey Karen." then said as they parted, You know, some of them didn't want to leave. They devoted their lives to that man." she responded, shaking her head, and said, "I have to believe they'll find a safer place to live".

When they heard footsteps, they turned to see who it was. They turned to see Ryan, who said, "I saw you guys landed. Great job." then patted Emma on the shoulder to snap her out of her 'trans'. At that, Emma smiled and looked up at her older brother and said, "Thanks". "Are you headed off?" Jack asked, to which Ryan simply said, "Yeah" at that Clara said, "Like father, like son". Ryan smiled at his mom's comment, then said, "I guess this case means R.J. doesn't stand a chance for his Dominican Republic trip." Karen turned to her nephew a little surprised then asked, "He hit you up, too?" to which he nodded then said,"Yeah. For what it's worth, he is way more driven than I was at his age, and he is a smart kid".  Jack nodded and said, "Yeah, I know. Guess I have, uh, have to have a little more faith that he'll be all right." the second she heard that, Clara turned to her husband and asked, "Is that a "yes"?" Jack replied saying, "He's brave. I'm the one who's scared, so I can't let that get in his way. ". "Nice, Dad. He's gonna be stoked." Ryan replied.

After a few beats, Karen looking questioningly at her brother and nephew asked, "Did you two make calls? You have connections in the Dominican Republic." as Jack responded simply saying "yeah" as the five of them entered the elevator, then added saying, "Well... we know a few guys." to which both Karen and Clara nodded as the elevator doors closed.

______________________________________________________________

IRT fam (without mom and dad)

11:57 p.m.

Mae: hey guys

Monty: wtf Mae it's almost 12 am

Isa: Sheesh Mae couldn't you chose anytime but you chose NOW

       when almost everyone in the gc is suppose to be sleeping and when I'm suppose to be reviewing.

Mae: melodramatic much

Isa: {Florida and Louisiana; woooooooow.gif}

Mae: uuuummmm sorry?

Emma: Mae why are you messaging in this gc when it's almost a quarter past 12 anyways?

Mae: oh hey Emma

Emma: don't

             what do you even want to talk about that is so urgent yet don't want dad and

Isa: Em what is she talking about?

Monty: Mae me and Isa are clueless about what you're talking about

Matt: uh guys why are you talking in this group chat at quarter part 12 in the morning

Isa: Oh hey Matt. To answer your answers, first Mae started this crap, second we have no freaking clue why she did or even what the heck she's talking about.

Emma: uuuummmm Mae?

Mae: yeah?

Emma: are you talking about what happened at the train station?

Mae: YES

Monty: uuuuhhh what are you guys talking about I'm clueless

Isa: Same but I have a feeling this happened while me and Matt were talking to the conductor

Matt: Mae just spill it so we don't have to play the guessing game

Mae: okay fine

            so as Isa guessed this happened while she and Matt were talking to the conductor and me, Emma, and Clara were getting off the train after we finished on victimology.

            Clara got of first and as she was taking the last step and trip

Matt: was she okay?

Emma: she's fine thankfully dad caught her before she could fall right on her face

Isa: Oh.My.Gulay is this why you're chatting us this late Mae?!

Mae: I would've asked how you mean that but I've known you long enough to know now

Monty: can we get back on track please? I really want to get this over with and go to sleep

Mae: sorry

            anyways to a normal person it wouldn't have seen more than a friend helping another friend

Isa: buuuut

but as a profiler you/I see more than that

Emma: WTF MAE

            ARE YOU IMPLYING THAT MY DAD AND AUNT CLARA ARE TOGETHER

Mae: uuuuuummmm yes???

Isa: Okay that's it I'm out. I don't wanna handle this crap anymore. I just wanna go to sleep.

Emma: same

Monty: yes please

Matt: yeah

Mae: ouch

Isa: MAE PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF CHIKAHAN DON'T. WE CAN PICK THIS UP TOMORROW.

______________________________________________________________

Aaaaaaand that's the end of the chapter. I decided to add the group chat thing as I was supposed to finish editing this fic but I got inspired by the fic "Sibling Chats" by JWritesFanAccount on AO3 and decided instead of making it an entire other fic I decided to add it to the end of each chapter and have the rest of the team (Isa and Emma included) talk about Jack/Clara or as I'll start referring (maybe) to them Jara (I know bad but it's the only thing I got rn). As for why Emma addressed Clara as "aunt" and not just buy her first name or accidentally slip and say/type "mom" while talking with everyone (minus her parent) is because technically they're off-duty and that's all I'm gonna say.

I would also like to add that from now on I'd like you guys to know that updates will be irregular because I'm still a student.

[shock-micro]

plural isat au. everything's the same at first except loop is actually just in siffrin's head instead of having the weird, like, meta-telepathy

so sif goes back to the favor tree and he's just like well wait why did i come here again and then they just hear [Hello, Stardust!~] in the back of their mind

the favor tree would probably still be the spot they go to talk at length bc it's more tranquil there, easier to focus on the discussion at hand rather than everything else

i feel like the bigger divergences in terms of plot wouldn't come until very late, but i think that different perspective might at least be fun to write to get up to that point lol

[malusrecord]

((I still can't get behind the whole 'Ali/sa and Pol/ina are the same character' theory (although I can absolutely see why people think so, the threads for such a story beat are there) and I, as far as characterization and etc on this blog goes, will keep them separate.))

[therantingsage]

Y'know what. Maybe I will. I need to brainstorm a good title and I have a few ideas. ISAT spoilers under the cut, it's the rough idea I have for the fic.

So. First friendquest king defeat right? Where the party runs to Siffrin's side, they reach out, trying to grab each other. Too late. Siffrin wakes up newly hopeless. I've seen like, one or two plot-divergent takes of that scene in which them successfully reaching Siffrin would allow them to recall loops too.

It's that, kinda. Except instead of them waking up in their usual places with memories, realizing what happened......they're stuck in Sif's head. Sif awakens in the meadow, hopeless for a moment, and then their mind explodes into a cacophony of noise. Five minds squeezed into the empty space and Siffrin panics, grabbing his hair, Isa and Mira panicking too, Odile trying to figure things out, Bonnie thrashing. Body taken over by it, Siffrin stumbles, shouts, screams and begs for everyone to calm down.

So it ends up being like....body sharing. Taking turns? Watching in horror the motions Siffrin goes through. The only thing I'm not sure of is what happens to the party's real bodies. Are they, too, going through the motions? Do they just collapse with no minds to occupy them? Are they there, technically, but with no light behind their eyes? Would the Change God step in, to be an off-kilter understudy playing four parts?

Siffrin, wishing to be with them, to be close to them, and, well. That's certainly one way to accomplish that. Would Loop even believe them if they went and explained what happened? Loop can't read Sif's mind, really, they just know what they're thinking from experience. But with too many voices awkwardly trying to speak, how would Loop even know what to do or say? Ever?? Literally the script is out the window no one knows what to do.

[faislittlewhiteraven]

Fais fanfic rambles: Introduction to my 'Selkies by Starlight' ISaT AU

Note: Not to be confused with @looped-140-and-counting / Soren_793's wonderful Selkie AU oneshot series 'The Northern Islanders are Selkies' which was hugely inspiring for this if potentially VERY different in vibe (we got very into talking about cloaks! XD)

Basic premise/summary:

In an alternate version of the precanon adventure, the party lead by Mirabelle to stop the King freezing Vaugarde in time, recruit Siffrin as per usual.

Thing is, Siffrin is a Selkie.

A very skittish selkie without a cloak of their own, who openly wears the cloak of another, and due to Reasons is under the impression that the party know all both of those things and the Implications about them, and for whatever reason have decided to welcome him into their group anyway.

Which er, he's completely wrong about as the party know absolutely nothing.

Mira and Isa like most Vaugardian humans think 'shifters' are just fairytales, Odile knows shapeshifters are real but is only really familiar with how foxes like her father work, and Bonnie is actually able to sense some pretty major things but is a preteen dealing with a lot and hasn't even joined the party yet, so this pretty major misunderstanding is sustained for quite a while...

Cue the AUs' main focus being on the resulting party dynamic shifts as more and more canon divergence due to Sif's 'selkie stuff' (both cute and serious) comes into play, the party slowly realising something is up, and all of it hitting an eruption point right around the time of the 4th Orb/the loss of Siffrin's eye...

Some key world building notes: (Note: very summarised from my docs. I have like 20k+ words on this stuff XD)

The Island - Probably the most drastically different thing from canon here, the Island was not forgotten or erased here. Rather it is hidden away and permanently shrouded in Wish Craft generated fog from 'those without cloaks'. Side note: Sif is still unable to return home and continues to have some very plot critical memory problems but those are due to unrelated issues, which means yay I get to have Sif talk 'home culture' with the others in this =D Also idk why the King is freezing Vaugarde still. I've got a few ideas I'm not sure about and he's not in focus enough for it to even matter really, but random suggestions -especially those with possible selkie motivations- would be very much appreciated.

Selkie powers in my setting - Went into something of a deep dive regarding selkie folklore for this and did you know they have an absolute ton of seer/oracle based stuff going on?

From selkie being summoned by their human lovers shedding seven tears into the ocean, to a selkie man telling a former lover that he and their child will die at the hands by her genuinely good and loving future husband, to a selkie woman forseeing her fisherman husband about to die out in a storm just in time for her to swim over there and rescue him, etc.

So... Yeah. This AU has a lot of plot relevant sensory/seer stuff going on as well as the standard seal shapeshifter stuff (Islander selkie traditionally believe it to be the Universe talking with them, in the same way Wish Craft is talking to the Universe), and going off all the stuff I read decided it'd be most fitting if the general rule for how it all works is: - Selkie always passively have a bit of it going on (aka Sif's canon 'you sense someone nearby' stuff) which like most things can be enhanced with Craft use a bit. - Near perfect understanding of all 'connected' bodies of water (aka they know EXACTLY where the tasty fish are/will be and can probably get a general sense of location for most people on a boat) - Potentially get strong 'visions of the future' and/or instincts on what they need to do to avert an outcome when it comes to loved ones being in danger/distress.

They also maybe get to pull very fast, high power Wish Craft 'curses'/miracles' at idk, the cost of something major like their cloak or lives (mostly based off of the The Legend of Kópakonan where the whole island of Kalsoy was cursed with death by a selkie in retaliation for her husband and children being murdered) but not super attached to this idea past it being in 'seal shifter' stories in-setting.

Other non humans in setting and regional differences in shifters - Pretty much only selkie and selkie issues are in focus here, but just as a general thing, all non humans in setting are shapeshifters and originated from human ancestors who went crazy with the the Body Craft and/or used Wish Craft in some way.

Ka Bue in particular has a ton of them since yokai, with their origins being various sects/clans back in the warring eras going so nuts with trying to weaponize Body Craft (super soldiers, enhanced life spans, infiltration, exploiting attraction to furries, etc), that after some particularly high profile incidents (for an idea plz see: Kiyohime, Tamamo no Mae, Kachi-kachi Yama) and 'Body Craft misuse leading to shut down of the brain/vital organs' being the most common cause of death for 10+ years once peace time was established, eventually Ka Bue's authorities set their foot down and banned Body Craft altogether.

Currently the shifter population in Ka Bue is around 30% of the population, shifters are required to have ID regarding their forms (or potential forms if they're merely 'half'), and it's considered distasteful for a shifter to be in non human form outside of private settings/necessity and even ruder to ask a shifter about their non human forms if they haven't brought the topic up yet first (kinda like seeing/asking about someone's underwear or something XD).

In contrast the Vaugarde, Mwudu and Porteria region is extremely shifter sparce, with most of its original shifter population being the result of various Universe worshipping peoples (mostly small groups, like greek mystery cults) deciding to use a big Wish Craft ritual as some sort of religious rite and becoming shifters as a side effect of their primary Wish (usually stuff like 'we wish for us and our descendants to be one with You and the sea/air' or 'may we Change with the phases of the holy moon' etc) which granted them some pretty neat skills but also tended to come with some 'potentially nasty' drawbacks attached (see: selkie and swan maidens with their cloaks, werewolves Changing in both body and mind etc) Which er, lead to some issues born of lack of knowledge about this stuff, later some very nasty anti shifter sentiment in the region, and then around... IDK 200 to 300 years ago or so ended up exploding into violence and other very nasty things, with most shifters able to do so fleeing the region, and those that couldn't either enduring horrible conditions until they could escape/died or went deep into hiding, with the Island's Country being founded by the two later groups who used Wish Craft to hide their new home, erase awareness of their existence from their enemies (a short term, fully intentionally 'forgetting' blast centered specifically around shifters), and developed a LOT of culture and traditions regarding when, who and what can be told to 'outsiders' about themselves, Wish Craft, etc in order to keep their people safe.

There are shifters living in present in Vaugarde of course (anti shifter sentiment died back a LOT after most people stopped thinking they were real, and most modern day Change Believers are more likely to view these 'totally fictional/allegorical' beings as children/messengers of the Change God rather than 'evil demons who stole power by tearing apart the Change God's cloak for themselves and thus have to be hunted down and made to repent' propaganda take that was everywhere back then) but numbers actually living outside the Island as opposed to merely visiting remain low, since either the shifters know their history and stick firmly to their 'stay secret' traditions or quickly pick up on how oddly unknown shifters are around these parts and decide to err on the side of caution... Also 'trust worthy' humans who do learn about them (usually northern coastal folk, gee wonder why) tend to help cover them up so... Yeah =D

---

And... Yeah!

This is hella long as is, so will stop here and ramble about the actual 'how this all affects our beloved Sif and Co plot and culture wise' stuff that is the actual meat of the AU in another post later, but hope this made for an interesting/idea provoking read, know that I have no issue with anyone using any of this for their own works (just please, don't use the 'Selkies under starlight' same story name unless it's actually a fanfic/fanart of my 'hopefully soon has a chapter/one shot up' fic/Ao3 series of the same name so people don't get confused), and I would love to chatter with you about any thoughts/questions you might have so...

Wishing you a good day =D

(sighes in relief finally getting this post finished after literal months. Pheeeeww~)

[sweetheartcitrus]

Okay so, after the act 5 divergence, Isabeau suddenly finds himself by the favor tree and promptly freaks out.

Why is he back here!? How is the sky back to normal (well, mostly)!? Was Loop right about the time loops!? Isabeau thought they were exaggerating!!

Eventually he calms down somewhat, enough to realize that if he's in the time loops he can help Siffrin with them. Siffrin... Who is alive right now...

Isabeau then realizes no one has come to him to tell him Siffrin is acting weird, he just figures that Sif just... didn't blow up at their friends this time, which is good!

And then Siffrin is walking towards Isabeau and Isa prepares to tell Sif he's in the time loops too, but then he notices that Sif looks... different. Well, no, it'd be more accurate to say that Sif looks the exact same as he was before the loops (however many they went through before) which either Sif has become an amazing actor or...

Talking to Sif makes Isa quickly realize that they don't remember any time loops, or more accurately that no loops have happened yet, Change this is confusing. Isa explains the favor tree to Siffrin and then Sif goes to ask it for a favor, Isabeau should give Sif privacy but... (Sif in his arms, apologizing desperately, as he stops brea-)... Isa doesn't want to leave Sif alone right now.

Isabeau and Siffrin end up walking to the Clocktower together.

[gamerbearmira]

Isa and Mira...idea...

Uhh, Mirabel is trying to show Isabela something/give her something. Isabela keeps cutting her off and tells her to go away. Eventually rolls her eyes, flips her hair and hits her with flowers. Isabela hears sniffles. And something drop and break. She turns to see Mirabel wiping away the petals and tears. Mirabel whispers a quiet apology or something and runs off to the nursery.

Isabela kinda just??? Stands there for a minute. And processes what happened. She looks down and sees a small box and like. It's obviously been decorated by Mirabel (similar to one she later gives Antonio). At first she things she hurt Mirabel physically, but sees no thorns so she takes the top off the box and like. It's a small potted plant with flowers (the pot also was decorated by Mirabel). And there was a small book (a small scrapbook probably) and some piece of clothing. Isaela picks up the clothing, it's a skirt, all embroidered by Mirabel. Ironically it fits Isabela's purple/pink theme, but also has other things. And then the scrapbook is all the flowers Mirabel saved over the years, mostly from before the ceremony, that Isabela gave her. And Like. Isabela looks at these things and realizes that Mirabel was just trying to be nice, and mend their already straining relationship. And Isabela kinda has a revelation that???

She hurt Mirabel's feelings. Really badly. And Mirabel was just being nice. She didn't do anything to deserve that reaction.

Anyway after that uhhhh, idk I think Mirabel locks herself in the nursery and Isabela goes amd bangs in the door begging Mirabel to open it and she can hear her crying, but Mirabel won't open the door and Isabela can't get Casita to open it lol

I think Isabela would have sat outside the nursery, but eventually had to go, out to town probably. Later on, she sees Mirabel at dinner, but the girl refuses to talk or look at her. Her eyes are puffy too. Isabela probably goed back to her room and spends all night gluing the pot back together and repotting the plant. And after she puts the skirt on (she loves it so much she realizes), she looks though the book <333

Did any of this make sense. Idk. As for names of this au uhhhhh it’s really only canon divergent,,,,idk. Rn, I have is: Orchids, Lilies and the Valley Between Us

[moduluscopper]

Even if I'm including alternate paths in my au, regardless it will follow the original destiny of mcsm. By which I mean the big key events will still happen regardless of how diverging the paths can get.

For example:

As I have said in a previous post, Reuben will still die, which also means yeah, the witherstorm has to happen, an extra Jesse doesn't change that, nor the outcome.

Both end up getting pushed off the edge by Aiden in sky city during the portal hopping arc, leading isa to discovering land

And neither get chipped by PAMA (I'm leaning towards jesseF saving Petra but unable to get Lukas so I can have that final confrontation with PAMA be between jesseM and Lukas)

The biggest problem I'm running into rn is the admin stuff from season 2.. who gets the gauntlet? I'm probably going to give it to jesseF, but I'm considering having it be 2 gauntlets, 1 for each? I'm going to have to rewatch some more footage, to see which would be more likely. I have a lot less knowledge of season 2...

[fairszy]

"i have wanted to kiss you every time i've seen you smile."

"then why haven't you yet?" ໒꒰ྀིっ˕ -｡꒱ྀི১ ⊹˚. ♡

yippie a writing prompt !! this features lea and isa from kingdom hearts !! ♡ contains : fluff + implied nsfw ! a liddle smidge of angst and a whole lot of loveeeee ♡ enjoy !!

the worlds left lea’s mouth faster than they intended too. both men found staring at each other in a stand off, a violent silence coming between them as they both processed what exactly these words could mean. immediately he cleared his throat, scratching his neck awkwardly as he tried to diverge any kind of idea as to why he’d even have such a rebuttal. that sentence tossed around in his mind. was this a confession? did his childhood best friend feel the same ??

shaking his head slightly, lea went to push his way past the other male. he wanted to run. he knew he’d had the confidence to quip back but the lost expression that plastered isa’s face was enough for him to understand that the feelings were probably negative to him. not a positive thing to want to kiss your best friend of almost 20 years. however something willed his feet to plant firm before walking away almost completely. another small moment of silence washed over as the two dared each other to speak.

“are you going to say anything ?”

lea was the first to break the silence, as he usually was. isa’s heart clamoured a bit before nodding, swallowing dryly he grabbed the wrist of his former best friend. in a switch motion the red head was pressed right up to the chest of his closest companion, both their faces burning hot as finally after all this time their lips had made contact.

inevitably this notion brought a smile to lea’s cheeks, one so wide their tender kiss had been broken. they both had no idea what this meant. they both had no idea what this meant for their future. however — wrapped in his arms, they both felt a warm sense of security and bliss. lips connecting once more as isa finally whispers to the heavenly man in front of him,

“that smile . . never failed to convince me of how beautiful your heart really is.”

a small chuckle from lea is what brought them back to reality, his hand tracing up isa’s back to gently grip the back of his hair, dragging his mouth closer,

“how ‘bout you come see just how beautiful all of me is?”

[isa-ghost]

*shakes u by the shoulders* TALLULAH AND FIT SNAPPED HIM OUT OF IT ISA

THEY DIDNT TAKE HIS EXCUSES AT FACE VALUE AND SHOWED CONCERN AND THEY PUSHED HIM TO STOP AVOIDING IT

ISA PHIL HAS PEOPLE THAT CARE ABOUT HIM

THE KIDS ARE SEEING PHIL AT HIS LOWEST

omg just as im writting this he fucking screams at chayanne

fuck

bro this angst is hitting so hard

phil is roleplaying this so well

I THINK WE'VE FINALLY DIVERGED ENOUGH THAT I'M NO LONGER DODGEBALLING????

[quicktimeeventfull]

22/29/30!

hello isa thank you!!

22. category you read the most of aus for sure, i am all about aus all the time. every so often i venture out of au territory and that is exciting but mostly i am All About AUs. within that i read almost exclusively realism and/or magical realism.

29. do you have any works that are required reading for (fandom?) wouldn't it be funny if i answered this for a fandom that wasn't death note. anyway. modern classics:

lacuna: canon divergence noir yearning. we both know and love this. required reading not just because it's good but because it tackles and builds upon the recurring themes within both death note itself and the fandom as a whole. i feel people who read this will walk away with a fuller understanding of both.

who shall be debased, and who exalted: mikalight hierophilia. i feel u may perhaps be aware of this one. required reading both because its good in and of itself and because religious imagery has become a staple part of the fandom; it is so rare and wonderful to see a fic that treats them with such gravity and care, and also does so outside of the christian hegemony.

a divine power: L has a magic dick. i feel fandom in general has kind of drifted away from 'stories that are fun and hot for the sake of it' and this captures the joy that a lot of stories are kind of afraid to embrace.

older classics:

the hinterland doctrine: light is a politician. idek how to describe this, it's just really really fucking good and also extremely influential within the death note fandom. i also feel it does a truly incredible job of interfacing with the misogyny in death note; a lot of fics kind of pay lip service that but the hinterland doctrine delves right in

just that and paper cranes: darkeyedwolf was an influential writer back in the day & 'just that and paper cranes' is perhaps the best fluff fic of all time. stellar characterization, deft balance of melancholy vs. hope, and as a bonus was written prior to the completion of death note so you can get a nice snapshot of the early fandom

poison apple: ok unlike everything else on this list, this isn't necessarily a rec because i don't feel time has been kind to it -- by which i don't mean that the fic is bad, but rather that it relies on a lot of tropes that have fallen out of popularity and therefore come across a bit poorly. this being said, poison apple was an incredibly popular fic that imo had a significant influence on how the fandom as a whole characterizes lawlight. it's also a really good example of how most early 2k fics were constructed both linguistically and narratively, so if you want a peek into early anime & death note fandom this is a good story to read. note that there is significant graphic noncon, which is not warned for (as was typical for the time.)

30. biggest surprise for you as a reader this year?

this kind of feels like the year of f/f genderswaps, which i am VERY here for. also i came back to the death note fandom after a long absence and i feel the general characterization of L has changed in a way i find a bit startling -- it kind of seems more common these days to characterize him as somewhat harsh and morally bankrupt. it isn't at all a bad thing, but it did surprise me. i have theories about what happened here but i'm not sure what the actual cause is.

readers asks

[addictiedtocrimedrama]

26 Years - Chapter 2: 2x02, The Devil's Breath

Summary: The team is called in when Colombian authorities discover an American tourist dead in the alley behind a hotel room. Someone is using scopolamine - the "Devil's Breath" - to put tourists into a trance, force them to clean out their bank accounts, and then kill themselves to prevent them from talking to the authorities.

or

The IRT investigates the apparent suicide of an American in Colombia who emptied his bank account prior to his death. While Jack and Clara are struggling to find a way/the courage to tell the team (minus Emma and Isa) about their relationship.

Author's Notes: Wow, it's been 8 months since I've updated time flies. Okay I have to admit there was a time I forgot this story existed but then again I've had so much happen since posting the last chapter from graduating to starting a new school year, some relatives visiting, getting sick, and exams. Hopefully, the next few chapters won't take as long since while writing the draft for this chapter I also wrote drafts for the other chapters it just needs a bit of editing.

WARNING: I DON'T OWN CRIMINAL MINDS: BEYOND BORDERS, IT BELONGS TO ERICA MESNER AND CBS

GIF credit belongs to @butterfly-resources since that's where I saved the GIF.  Also please consider this gif as a spoiler for what’s gonna happen near the end of the chapter.

Poverty does not destroy virtue, nor wealth distill. - Colombian proverb

A few days after the case in Tanzania, everything was more or less the same as before. The only difference was that the team, more specifically Mae, was starting to get hints that there was more to the two most senior agents of the team than meets the eye and had been slyly suggesting it to the rest of the team, much to their slight annoyance. It doesn't help that the ME's also been trying to get insight from Emma and Isa or see if she can get Jack or Clara to tell her the truth, though more slyly with the former than the latter. But to her credit, the others were also attempting to do the same, though they were not as obvious as her.

Mae's latest attempt happened while she and Clara were having a cup of coffee, or in Clara's case, tea, since coffee gives her migraines. While they were enjoying their beverages while catching up on a few things, Mae slyly brought up the events of the previous case by saying, "Sooooo... Will you finally explain to me what happened in Tanzania?" then rested her chin on her hand while her friend was playing with the string of her tea bag while trying to keep a straight face and hide the bit of blush that's creeping up her cheeks, then said after a few beats of silence, "I have no clue what you're talking about." The ME gave the linguist an 'Are you serious' look then clarified "I'm talking about what happened between you and Jack at the train station near the start of the case". At that moment, Clara knew what her friend was trying to do and managed to get an "Oh, that." before looking down at her tea, then back to Mae and adding, "That was nothing." She then took a large sip of her tea, a little too quickly, to try and move this topic along. Though her friend wasn't that convinced, she replied, saying, "Oh, really, since from what I saw it wasn't, nothing. Is there something going on with you two or something?"

Thankfully, before Clara could respond, their phones buzzed, informing them they've got a message from Monty telling them they've got a case, saving Clara from trying to explain to Mae that nothing was going on between her and Jack when there most certainly was; they're freaking married, for crying out loud. As she looked up from her phone, Mae joked, "I guess you're safe for now, Seger. But let me tell you this: We'll get to the bottom of this and when I mean "we" I mean me, Matt, Isa, Monty, and Emma." then gets up to leave, to which Clara chuckles, knowing that Isa and Emma know what's going on with her and Jack and that her real surname is Seger-Garrett, not just Seger, then stands up to leave closely behind her.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

While Mae was trying and failing to get Clara to let the cat out of the bag, the two youngest agents were listening to a podcast about events in Philippine history while one was working on a short essay and the other was simply doodling on a notepad. As the last episode of the first season started, Isa groaned and leaned back into her chair, then Emma paused the episodes and gave the Filipina a questioning look, to which the slightly older girl pouted. Just then, Matt walked up to them, unsure what was going on, and spoke up, slightly shocking the two young agents: "Hey guys. Uh, what's going on?" to which the bronde replied "Isa wants to skip an episode of a podcast we're listening to," which made the brunette slightly annoyed, then explained, "I want to save my sanity and blood pressure. Plus, do you want me to go on a rant that could last who knows how long about how the whole Martial Law in the Philippines BS was and still is propaganda made by former President Marcos Sr.'s enemies and people who hate him?" to which Emma simply said, "Heck no."

At this point Matt was still unsure what was going on turned to Emma and asked "What podcasts exactly are you two listening to right now, and what's so bad about one of the episodes that Isa wants you to skip an episode?" to which the younger girl replied "We're listening to "Yugto: Get Mad About Filipino History" and the episode in question is titled "Death of a Politician: Ninoy Aquino" and I have no clue why Isa wants to skip it." at this Isa answered making things sound obvious "It's about Ninoy Aquino's assassination, which sparked the first EDSA Revolution." upon hearing that Matt understood what's happening but confused, so he asked "I don't see what's wrong with that, it sounds interesting. So what's the problem?"

At that young Filipina blew out a sigh, then went into a short rant about Martial Law and something about Marcos Sr., then huffed and quietly exclaimed "Sometimes it drives me insane how tanga  Pinoys can be sometimes". As she finished, Emma decided to change the topic by speaking up and asking, "Okay, so are we gonna listen to the remaining episodes?" to which Isa firmly replied, "Ay, hindi. All the remaining episodes are about presidential elections, since we already listened to the episodes about the athletes, and I don't like political crap." At that, the slightly younger girl nodded, though she doesn't look up from her notepad, which is now covered in doodles, and replied "Sooo what podcast are we gonna listen to now, and please don't say "Sounds and Stories of the Philippines"; we've listened to that a couple of times now, though can we still stick to events in Philippine history". "How about LAGIM or Philippine History Z?" Isa suggests after a few moments of silence, then Matt speaks up after a couple of beats, "What's the first one about since the second one seems self-explanatory?" And for the first time since Matt walks up to them, Emma looks up from her notebook, slightly interested in the first podcast Isa suggested, then says, "Yeah, what's the first one about? It sounds interesting".

"LAGIM is a Filipino true-crime podcast about infamous and not-so-well-known cases in the Philippines."  Isa responded, reading the podcast description, then adding, "It also kinda helps that lagim means dread/terror/fear in Tagalog, and yes, they include gory details, at least some do since some of the cases that are talked about are murders, but some are not, like the episode of the Michael Meiring Mystery, aka the Evergreen Hotel Explosion". Emma nodded in acknowledgment, then said, "I like that one though, can we skip the ones that sound too brutal?" Isa replied with an unsure "okay," which made the bronde giver her an 'are you serious' look, which made the brunette clarify, "I'd rather play it safe, so if I had to pick, I'd go for Philippine History Z. Plus, I'm still kinda shaken from the 2021 Bloody Sunday Calabarzon Killings episode, and I listened to that a few weeks back." At that, Emma gives in and mumbles, "Ugh, fine, you win, Iz. We'll listen to Philippine History Z, but after we finish it, we'll be listening to LAGIM." Isa counters, saying, "Okay, but one of your siblings or parents should also be there." Emma gives a quick nod, then simply says "Deal".  At that moment, their phones buzz, informing them that they've got a case. "Well, it looks like you two will have to check out that podcast another time." Matt said as he read the message on his phone, and then as the two youngest agents gathered their stuff, they said simultaneously, "DANG IT!" Then all of them left and headed to the jet.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

While the rest of the team was up to their usual antics when they didn't have any cases, two of their members decided to hit up the shooting range.

As they exited the elevator and compared his and Monty's paper targets, Jack said, "Look at that. Well done, Monty. Tied again," to which the tech analyst replied, "Well, I did have a good teacher." The unit chief chuckles at that and then offers, "So, how about returning the favor and coming out on a case with us?" Monty quickly counters his boss and friend, saying, "You know my weapon of choice is a computer," as they round a corner. At that, Jack asks, "You sure that has nothing to do with the fact that you hate to fly?" The younger man asks, "Emma told you, di..." Knowing the answer, he chose to vow, "That's the last time I’m letting her and Isa play “Never Have I Ever” with me and Mae.” The senior agent replied, "She can put 'em away," with Monty adding as he grabbed his phone, "And hustle you in cards." Jack simply replies, "That's my girl." Then he asks, "What is it?" The tech analyst answers as he reads a message on the phone, "IRT just received a request from the U.S. Embassy in Bogotá." The unit chief simply says, "Let's go," and the two of them leave for two locations: Jack to the team's jet and Monty to his office.

"One Drew Dafaoe, 28, of NYC, was found dead in the alleyway behind his hotel in Bogotá, Colombia. There was no sign of a struggle, so local police ruled it a suicide." Monty said the team was en route to Bogotá, and they were having a briefing about the case, with the tech analyst communicating with the rest of his team via web video. Clara then said, half-asking, half-suggesting, "But someone doesn't think it is." The tech wiz confirms, replying "Correct-o, Drew's girlfriend is a native of Bogotá and says he has no reason to take his own life, so she filed a formal complaint with the U.S. Embassy, suspecting there was foul play involved".

"There's nothing in his medical record to suggest that Drew was in poor mental or physical health." Mae said as she went through the vic's medical record, then Isa spoke up as she read a file in hand "Drew claimed on his visitor's declaration form that he was in possession of an engagement ring." She then turns to face the others, all of whom are in varying states of shock. Clara, whose shock wasn't evident in her face but was barely evident in her voice, concludes the Filipina's statement by concluding it with the four words, "He was gonna propose."

The youngest agent then asked as she took a seat next to Clara, visibly confused, "That doesn't sound like somebody who's about to take his own life." Matt then added as he looked through some crime scene photos, "Unfortunately, from these photos, I can't really tell what happened. I mean, he could have jumped or been pushed." Monty then informed them, saying, "True, but what is clear is that in the hours leading up to Drew's death, his behavior was very suspect. After exhausting his ATM withdrawal limit, he then went to a local bank and cleared out his account," to which Emma asks, "So where's that money?" The tech analyst simply replied, "Missing, as is the ring."

At that, Isa raised her eyebrows, then took a seat next to Emma and said, "And here I thought Colombia was cleaning up their act." Clara then clarifies, "Well, it is. And because of it, more Americans have visited Colombia in the last two years than they have in the previous 20," to which Jack counters, "Mm, but like anything, it takes time, so crime is still a big problem for them. Tourists are always the easiest targets," the ME adds, "especially when the perception is that all Americans are rich," to which the unit chief further adds, "which explains why 75 Americans have been targeted in Colombia in 2021." Matt then concluded, saying, "And most of those were express kidnappings." Clara then countered, saying, "Yeah, but after the victims are taken at gunpoint, go to the ATM, withdraw the money, they're usually immediately released." Isa agreeing with the linguist, added, "And these types of criminals are highly organized, mobile, and experienced, but not usually violent." At that, Emma concludes, "So, if this is an escalation, there's no telling what dangers more Americans might find themselves in."

As the team arrived at the hotel, Drew stayed with a bunch of street kids, who flocked around them as they exited the 4x4. Then, out of the blue, a woman wearing a floral blue blouse and baby pink suit came and started yelling at the children, "iFuera de aquí, ratas! iAntes de que llame a la policía! iTodos vamos! iVamos!" She then says some other things at them, as Clara clarifies ""Gamines," or "throwaway children". It's a remnant of Colombia's recent civil wars. The unemployment, poverty, and lack of housing have left their parents struggling and the children abandoned. So they live on the streets and join gangs to survive, to which Isa asks, "What's the Colombian government doing about this?" Then the woman from earlier cuts in, saying, "Not enough. I'm sorry about this vermin. They're a stain on our county."

Then a man in a dark gray suit walks up to them and introduces himself as he offers a handshake, "Agent Garrett. I'm Detective Benavides." Jack accepts as he says, "Detective, thanks for having us." He then introduces the rest of the team, "Agent Seger, Garcia, Jarvis, Rubirosa, and Simmons." The detective then says to the team, apologizing, "I'm sorry that you had to fly all the way down here for this... how do you say... open-and-close case." The unit chief answers, "Oh, it certainly looks that way, but..." to which Detective Benavides cuts in, "It is. This is no longer the land of Pablo Escobar. It hasn't been for a while now. Colombia has taken its place in a new world, and we hope that its neighbors to the north will trust that we can police our own backyard." At that, Emma politely answers back, "Well, no disrespect intended, Detective Benavides, but when a formal complaint is filed with our embassy, we take that very seriously."

The detective reluctantly gives in to Emma's statement and asks, "Fine. How can I be of assistance?" to which Jack answers, "We'd like to see the deceased's hotel room." The detective then turns to the woman, who turns out to be Rosa Fernandez, the hotel manager, and they have a quick exchange. He then turns back to the team, informing them, "Unfortunately, that's not possible. Because we didn't declare this a crime, we've removed the deceased's belongings and released the room back to the hotel." Fernandez then cuts in, adding, "Which we then rented to a new guest. We're very busy, and the Chicó Reservado district is very popular with tourists, but I can show it to you if you'd like." Matt answers, saying, "If the room's been cleaned and occupied, then all the evidence has been compromised." to which Jack replies, "Agreed, so, Detective, can you instead escort Agents Jarvis, Rubirosa, and Simmons to the alleyway where the body was found, so they can take a look?" the detective simply replies with an "of course," then Jack turns to the rest of the team, "Mae, can you check out the alley while Simmons, you, and Emma take a look at the roof?" to which the former Army vet replies, "You got it, boss." as the three of them leave with Detective Benavides. Jack then turns to Clara and Isa and says, "Let's go have a chat with Drew's girlfriend. Paola," The three of them leave to talk to her, where they learn that she and Drew had a run-in with a halcón with the Los Primos cartel.

As they walked to the nightclub Paola and Drew went to before he died, Clara noticed that Isa's lost in her thoughts and asked her, "You alright, Isa?" which brought the Filipina back into reality and made her jump slightly, but then she mumbled, "Sorry. Paola just reminded me of the helplessness that my sisters and I felt when we lost mama and papa." to which the linguist replied empathically, "Of course. I've been there too, y'know. When I lost my brother." This made the girl look at her and give a thankful smile, then say with a bit of determination, "If we can find out who did this to Drew, it's gonna give her closure and allow her to move on. I hope we can do that". "We will," Jack said as they entered the nightclub.

Inside, there were only two people: one guy at the bar, and the other was behind the bar. "No, no, no. Cerrado. We're closed until 6," the guy at the bar said. Jack responds by showing his badge and saying, "FBI, I was hoping you might be able to help us out." The guy picks up a glass and says, "I doubt that." Isa gives a small scoff, then replies sarcastically, "Let's give it a try anyway." She then showed a photo of Drew's passport and added, "Either of you saw this man last night?" The man looked at the photo and then simply said, "I don't know. We see a lot of people." The three agents didn't seem convinced by that, and before Isa could make a witty remark, Jack asked, "All those people end up dead?" Instead of replying to the unit chief, the man turned to the guy behind the bar and said, "No dar papaya.”

Confused, Isa turns to Clara and asks, "Don't give the papaya?" The linguist clarifies, "It's a local saying. It means..." The man at the bar cuts in, saying "That it was probably the guy's own damn fault for walking in yesterday, being gringo, and flashing cash". "And maybe you helped him out with that?" Jack asked, to which the men laughed and said, "¿Yo?, You Americans are always putting your noses in Colombian business and just making everything worse." That made the most senior agent slightly agitated and ask, "Why don't you stop deflecting and answer my question?" The man then turned to the guys behind the bar and said, "Ohh... Mira." then turns back to Jack and says, "Tough guy with his gun and his badge." He then stood up, which made him a few inches taller than the unit chief.

Jack responds by first removing his gun and badge and handing them to Clara who along with Isa becomes slightly concerned, then says to the guy "Now I'm just a tough guy. But a little piece of tin doesn't seem like it would be a problem for you." the man responds saying "Hermano... you don't want any of this." Jack replies, saying, "Big guy like you doesn't have many real fights. Your game is intimidation. Most people back down before a punch is ever thrown, but I'm not one of those guys." the unit chief then takes a step forward and adds, "So... you have anything to do with this man's death?" At that, Clara seriously wondered how this was the same guy she married and had kids with, while Isa concluded that her friend and colleague got her attitude of diving head first into most things from her dad.

The man then sits back down and says, "Okay. Yeah, okay? Look... I tried to talk to his lady. That's it... Hmm? I was here all night into the morning, working." this doesn't convince the three agents, so he adds, "You don't believe me? Ask him" gesturing to his friend behind the bar. "Doesn't mean you didn't get on your walkie and call one of your buddies to take care of him." Isa replied wittily, which made the guy respond, "I am just... whoa." Jack instinctively reached for his gun, though it was not even real, which made the guy say, "Suave. It doesn't even work. It's not even loaded. I am just a security guard." He then showed the three agents his fake walkie-talkie, which made Clara conclude, "The walkie and the gun are a ruse." Jack examines the fake walkie then adds, "So... If people think you're part of a drug cartel, they think twice before doing anything stupid." The guy simply laughs and then says, "Welcome to Colombia," which makes Isa think, "Yeah, we feel very welcomed." as the three of them exchange looks.

After a while, the team hasn't made much progress as they've now got a second victim whose wife is currently missing, and searching their hotel room has raised more questions than answers, one of which is who owns the glittery purple lipstick on a champagne flute and the red hair in the shower. Mae was doing the autopsy with a local coroner on the jet just as Isa headed there, as she might have gotten a lead, while Matt and Emma, along with Detective Benavides, went to a nearby shop.

While all of that was going on, Jack walked up to Clara, who had just called the US embassy, and informed him, "Hey. I just got off the phone with the embassy. They're issuing a travel warning to all Americans in Bogotá and warning other embassies to do the same for their citizens," he replied, "Good. Simmons just called. He found a person of interest using the Hulses' credit card. It turned out to be Mrs. Hulse herself. Seems she had breakfast with her husband this morning before she went on the Zipaquirá Salt Cathedral tour, while he came back to the hotel to rest." Baffled, Clara concludes, "So, whoever it was must have known that she'd be occupied."

Just then, Mae calls, to which Jack answers and says, "What do you two have, Mae?" The ME answers "Well, the original medical reports said that the victims were not drugged, when, in fact, they were". "With what?" Clara asks, "It's called scopolamine, a.k.a. "The Devil's Breath" the ME replies." Still bewildered, the linguist then asks, "So, why didn't the original labs catch it?" At that, Isa cuts in, clarifying "Well, scopolamine metabolizes into the bloodstream so quickly that standard toxic panels don't detect it". "It also grows only here in Colombia, so it's specific to the region," the unit chief adds. "Bingo," the Filipina said in response, then added, "Now, scopolamine is like a Mickey on steroids. It's odorless, it's off-white in color, and it can be blown into someone's face or just passed through touch." as Mae takes over and continues to explain, "And once that happens, the victim is turned into a mental zombie, and while they're under the influence, the victim is easily controlled by suggestions or verbal commands to perform unspeakable acts, which is why all of our victims have been emptying their bank accounts... Because they were told to." At that, Jack comments, saying, "And the person giving the commands is usually very close by." Isa concludes the explanation by saying, "And once the drug has worn off, the victim has no recollection of what happened or what they did under the influence. They can't even identify the people who gave them the drug in the first place."

The last part slightly puzzled Clara, which made her ask, "Well, then why have them kill themselves if they can't remember anything, anyway?" Mae suggests, "Unless these crimes of opportunity are also a way to fulfill a lust to kill." Jack replies, saying, "Sounds like you guys are on to something, Mae. Get back to the hotel as soon as possible, and we'll regroup." then ends the call then turns to Clara, "The last time I heard of scopolamine, a bunch of working girls were using it to roll Johns in Guatemala." the linguist makes a 'that makes sense' gesture then replies, "Well, a lady of the night would explain who was drinking the champagne." the unit chief then adds, "And who took the shower in a country where running water is not always a given."

Clara agrees with this but finds something that doesn't add up, so she says, "Yeah, but neither of these victims look like the kind of men that would pay for sex." Jack nods slightly at her point and then suggests, "Agreed, but maybe they didn't pay for it, and these women followed them and found the right opportunity to dose them." Clara replies, "All right, so where do we find this working girl?" Jack answers, "That's the easy part," as he calls Matt and Emma, then, as they pick up, says, "Simmons, Emma, meet us at the Wall." as the two of them leave to meet them at the Wall.

The four agents arrive at the Wall with Jack and Clara riding the 4x4 while Emma and Matt road his bike, which, though she won't admit it, moderately scared Emma. As they either hopped off or exited their respective vehicles, Matt said, "The Wall is infamous for prostitution," and as they walked around, Clara spotted a girl that fits the vague description of their working girl and said, "There she is. Redhead, purple lipstick. Check." Emma then commented, "Nice ice on her finger," as she observed the girl show a raven-haired girl a ring, which made her dad reply, "I think we just found Drew's lost engagement ring... and our killer."

All of a sudden, shots were fired and everyone there either ducking for cover or running away. The four agents were able to duck behind a probably abandoned car, while the redheaded girl ducked behind an old, rusty trash can. As a few more shots are fired, Jack tells the others, "I don't have a shot. There are too many innocents downrange." Just then, the redheaded girl runs away, which Matt notices and then says, "There she goes." Jack then says to Clara and Emma, "I'll get his attention. As soon as I draw his fire, you two get the girl," to which the mother-daughter duo replies simultaneously with 'copy' and 'gotcha' then the unit chief addresses the former army vet and says, "Simmons, you get everyone else to safety." Matt simply replies, "Done."

Then Jack gave the go signal, and all four agents did their assigned orders. After a while, the gunman suddenly runs out of ammunition, and Jack says to him, "Jack Garrett, FBI!" Matt then asks, with his gun drawn, "What do we got, Jack?" The more senior agent replies, "He's on a drug called scopolamine. It's like you're under hypnosis, so whoever gives it to you has a lot of sway over your actions," he says as he reaches for the gunman's gun and is handcuffed.

Meanwhile, the mother-daughter duo continues to chase the redheaded girl. At some point during the chase, Clara yells, "FBI! Stop!" But after a bit more running and a few people shoved out of the way by both parties, the mother-daughter agent duo caught up with the redheaded girl, with Emma tackling her down and Clara cuffing her.

Back with Jack, Matt, and the gunman, Matt asks, "How'd he know where to find us?" while holding on to the gunman Jack spots something on the ground and picks it up. "The UnSub is watching," Jack replies as he shows the other agent a Polaroid.

After Clara and Emma took the redheaded girl into custody, they went in to interview her. There they learned that her name was Canela and that both Drew and Tim hired her, but she wasn't the one to dose either of them with scopolamine. She said that neither of the victims wanted sex or anything, but they instead fed her, told her to take a shower, and then paid her for the whole day, so she didn't have to work anymore. She also said that Drew gave her the ring. When Emma asked what the gunman wanted, Canela replied saying that she had never met him and that when he came to the Wall and started shooting, that was the first time she saw him.

After the interview, the mother-daughter duo met up with Jack near the hotel lobby where he informed the two "Mae, Isa, and Simmons are interviewing the shooter. How'd it go with the working girl?" getting straight to the point, Clara replies, "She says she's innocent." her husband and colleague simply answered, "Of course". Emma replied "We believe her, dad" The last word was said so softly that both her parents barely heard it. Her dad then asked "Why's that?" her mom answered for her saying "Well, because when people lie, they tend to minimize, you know, to conceal their degree of involvement, but Canela has admitted to everything, including things that would cast doubt on her story, like the fact that they paid her extra money or that Drew gave her the ring." the young agent then added "Yeah, her only crime is growing up on these streets and trying to survive." agreeing with his wife and daughter Jack concluded "So if she didn't do it... whoever our UnSub is has a soft spot for her."

Clara then nods at Jack's conclusion and replies, "Agreed. And they want her washed, fed, and off the streets." Emma finds something confusing questions, "But it's a conflicting motivation. Greed versus romance?" the unit chief answers "We could be dealing with a schizophrenic, someone of two minds, on the one hand, driven by logic... on the other, driven by emotion." the youngest agent, starting to get why the motivations were so conflicting, adds "Which could be a blessing. I mean, the emotional side of our UnSub is driving them to take risks that they normally wouldn't take." Jack then replied, "Exactly. Which could be their undoing." Clara then suggests "Or their common thread. Canela asked us, "Who cares for prostitutes in Bogotá?"." to which her husband concluded, "Someone else who's been thrown away."

While the familial threesome was talking, the remaining three members of the team who were on the team talked to the gunman, whose name they learned was Bob Cosgrove. When Matt asked what was the last thing he remembered before he was drugged he replied that the last he remembered was that he decided to take a walk from his hotel down to the marketplace and while there he heard a song specifically "Redemption Song" and that he placed some money into the musician kid's hat then suddenly everything went dark. At that, a lot of things started to fit into place for the three agents as they shared a glance at each other. Later, the team regroups with Detective Benavides, and they look over the marketplace from a hotel balcony.

"Music," Isa said simply. "The polaroid of Jack" Simmons continued then Clara added "The marketplace... it's what all the vics had in common." then she continued "The Chicó Reservado district is very popular among tourists. They walk through here every single day." then Jack concludes, "And finally, the kids. They're everywhere. The poor and homeless are often invisible". "Yeah, that's why this crime was so hard to figure out," Matt said as he turned to the others. "We underestimated them," Emma said, finishing the former army vet's statement. "Yeah, because you don't want to believe that kids are capable of such a thing." Clara said agreeing with her teammates, though her statement made the two youngest agents glance at each other as if saying to each other 'if only they knew some things we did' as they're a bit mischievous at times and most times an adult figures out what they did, but there are a few times they don't. Jack then counters the others "Doesn't mean he's our UnSub." Detective Benavides points to the musician kid and says "He looks like the ringleader to me." the unit chief decides to give the detective the benefit of the doubt and replies "He just maybe, but let's kick the tires on this and be sure. Our UnSub is targeting tourists."

Mae then adds, "These are crimes of opportunity, but there's a sadistic element to them. Robbery should have been enough, but these murders are extra." Isa then says slightly, stuttering a bit, "This person wants control and craves power. I-it's not just about money, but also making his victims be punished." Matt then continued "This is someone who's angry at tourists or foreigners." as Clara added to the profile "Yeah, a domineering personality, someone who takes pressure in... in making their victims helpless." Jack then replied, noticing a contradiction between their profile and the musician kid, "This kid doesn't fit the profile." the detective then asked, slightly confused, "So what? He fits the crime." to which Matt pointed out, "See, look at the way he checks around. See? See right there? Before he gives the kid the money". Emma then concluded, "They're afraid of someone". This still confuses the detective, so he asks "So he's got nothing to do with this?" to which Jack replies, "He might not be our UunSub, but he's most definitely our Romeo."

Isa then listed and occluded "Strawberries, champagne, and a shower. Only a kid on the street who lacks these things is gonna know their value." this still confuses the detective as he asks, "How is that possible? Whoever is tied to this girl is most likely the person who did all of this." Jack then gives another option they never thought of until now, "Unless we're looking for two people... one Alpha and one Beta." to which Clara replies, "Which is why our profile was so conflicting." Isa then concluded with a tone of disgust, hurt, and sympathy for the kids "These kids are just puppets." just as Matt added, "Someone else is pulling the strings, giving information from afar." Emma then concludes, "So we're not looking for a Romeo. We're looking for a Cyrano." which makes Detective Benavides ask "So, how do we find this Cyrano?" to which Jack replies "First, let's get these kids off the street and to safety."The team and Detective Benavides go to do just that and the musician kid notices them then yells "¡La policía! ¡Corran! ¡Corran!" and all of them run or at least try to since they're caught by the team and other officers. Jack then said to the musician kid, "Hey. FBI. ¿Hablas Inglés?" to which the kid simply replied "Sí." which made the unit chief ask "Where'd you learn to speak English?" the kid replied as he was being searched "Where else? American music." as he's finished being searched, Detective Benavides informs Jack "He's clean." to which the musician kid says "Which means I'm free to go. Gracias." then tries to leave but is stopped by Detective Benavides saying something to him in Spanish, then turns to the unit chief and says "They're all clean. One of the other kids must have gotten away with the scopolamine." Jack then turns to the musician kid, "I'm not interested in you going to jail, but I am interested in who your boss is." the kid simply replies with an "I'm the boss" to which the agent responds "I think you're just a kid being manipulated." the kid takes a step towards the agent as he says "You don't know anything about me or my friends or my family." Jack then explains to him, "Well, I know whoever you think your friend is, isn't. They're using you and all the others to do bad things so that, if you get caught, you all go to jail, not them." the musician kid then turns to the other kids then simply said "The FBI likes to lie." which the agent quickly dismisses saying "I promise you, we're not lying. Let me help you. I know you're just trying to take care of your friends." the musician kid then replies, "We're okay. We'll take care of ourselves. Gracias. ¡Vámonos!" then he and the other kid leave and as 6 agents and a detective watch them leave, the detective asks "So, what now?" to which the most senior agent replies "We follow them".

As the team and Detective Benavides follow the kids, they follow them into an alleyway with flashlights in hand. "Well, they can't have escaped that quickly," Isa remarked as they looked around to see how the kids had gotten away so fast. After looking around for a while, Matt finds a vent from which the kids could've used and then says "Got 'em." he then removes some metal bars from the vent looks in, and adds "Yeah, they can fit in here, but we can't." Which made Jack say, "We Need to find another way in. They're probably meeting with their leader now".  "I'm pretty sure this leads under the hotel. Maybe there's a way in from there." Detective Benavides replies as they leave.

As she followed closely behind the rest of the team, Emma suddenly heard someone take a sharp breath behind her and made her turn around to see Isa struggling to breathe. As she walked towards the slightly older girl she asked "You okay Isa?" the other girl grabbed her friend's arm which she had extended then simply said "Asthma." still struggling to get oxygen into her lungs.

Hearing footsteps behind her Emma turns around to see her parents walking up to the two of them who noticed the two younger agents weren't behind them. Her mom then asked with concern on her face "Isa are you alright?" the Filipina nodded and then replied still struggling to breathe "I'll be fine… it's just my Asthma. I'm pretty sure… it's the stuffiness… of the alleyway… or… the dry air… that triggered it." Jack responds, "I think you should head back to the hotel and sit this one out." Emma nodded and then said "I agree with dad." her mom then added "So do I. I'm not so sure if it's the best idea to have you on the field if you’re having an Asthma attack."  to which Isa responds with a nod then says still having a hard time to breath "Okay, I’ll… sit this one… out". Emma then turned to her parents and said "I'll stay with her." this made her parents glance at each other then turn to their daughter and nod, and she then told them "Okay, We’ll see you guys after this is all over I guess" then adds "And please be careful." to which her dad replies "We will." and her mom said at the same time "Always." then the four of them leave the alleyway then part ways with the two young agents head to the hotel while the older two agents join the others.

While the two youngest agents were back at the hotel, the rest of the team and Detective Benavides went to the basement part of the hotel to see the hotel manager, Rosa Fernandez, pointing a gun at the street kid. Then suddenly Jack and the others enter, then say "FBI! Drop the weapon!" Fernandez clocks the gun and doesn't drop it, so the unit chief says "I said drop the weapon!" to which Fernandez says "Que asi sea." then gets shot by Jack before she pulls the trigger and falls to the ground. Then, as Clara walks over to Fernandez to see if she is dead or not, the others walk over to the kids check on them, and calm them down.

The next day, while the kids were with most of the team and some local officers, Detective Benavides was talking with Jack and Clara and informed them a bit of Fernandez' background "Her real name was Gabriella Muñoz, an ex-street kid and prostitute with a long criminal record and a history of extreme Colombian nationalistic views," which made Clara ask, "So, how did she become the hotel manager?" to which the detective replied, "Rosa Fernandez was an alias that she must have stolen and used to get the job. The kids say she had been planning this scam for a while". "A hotel manager's a perfect cover if you want to rip off some tourists." Jack comments, then Clara replies "Yeah, and being surrounded by them must have triggered her resentment towards all the foreigners," which made the unit chief add "And suddenly, it wasn't enough to just steal from them... she needed to kill them, too".

After a few beats of silence, Detective Benavides quickly says, "I owe you and your team an apology. I thought there was nothing here. You were right. There was," to which Jack replies, "Well, this is one of those times I wish I was wrong." Then the detective responds, "Hopefully, in the future, we can do more?" as he and Garrett shake hands, then adds, "Thank you." Jack then asks, "So what about then?" as he gestures to the kids, then adds, "What happens now?" to which Detective Benavides replies, "Although they were part of a criminal activity, I've spoken to my superior on their behalf, and he's taken into account their circumstances. They've been cleared of any wrongdoing," to which the unit chief responds, "Well, I'm glad to hear that because I found someone who can help us. I have a friend who runs an orphanage." as a bus approaches them.

As the bus stops, a woman with short, kinky hair steps out and walks over to them and says, "Hola, Jack," to which the unit chief replies, "Thank you for coming, Ramona." As he and the woman share an embrace, he adds, "The kids are over there with the rest of my team." Then he gestures to the others, to which Ramona replies, "I'll go introduce myself, and then we can take them to their new home." Then she walks over to the rest of the team and the kids. This makes the two agents and detective glance at each other, and the two agents exchange a smile.

After a while, Detective Benavides asks, "What would you have done if we decided to press charges against them?" to which Jack retorts, "I guess we'll never have to find out," which made the detective and Clara chuckle as the kids got on the bus. Clara then spots Paola, then turns to Jack, and says, "Um, I'm gonna be right back." She then walks over to Paola, and after they exchange greetings, the linguist says, "I, uh... I have something that belongs to you." as she hands the engagement ring to Paola, which made the woman's voice break as she said, "Oh, my God." as Clara tells the other woman, "Drew wanted you to have this." then adds, "It's perfect." Then the two women exchanged hugs. As the two women have their exchange, Jack turns and sees the exchange and a small smile forms as the four other agents rejoin them, and they wave goodbye to the kids on the bus.

Once the team returned to the US and finished writing their case reports which took almost the whole day, they were all able to get a day off. On the way back home, the two youngest agents were jamming to the Hamilton soundtrack for the hundredth time, much to the two older agents' annoyance. After a while, Clara started to stare off into the road ahead, lost in her thoughts. Jack quickly glanced at her before turning most of his attention back to the road and saying, "I can hear your mind racing, you know," which made his wife chuckle softly. He then replied, "I was just thinking of what Mae told me before the case," to which he silently told her to go on as the woman added, "She told me that after the slip-up at the train station, pun not intended, she and the other are starting to pick up what’s going on between the two of us." As they stopped at a stop light, Jack carefully placed a hand on hers and said, "We’ll figure out a way to tell them. It might take some time for them to get used to the idea or for us to tell them, but we’ll figure out a way," which made Clara give him a tight-lipped smile while Isa and Emma fake gagged from the back seat of the car, which Clara saw from the rearview mirror and gave them a raised eyebrow. Before either girl could respond, Emma's phone buzzed, which made everyone in the car jump slightly and made Clara involuntarily let go of her husband's hand, then give him a small sheepish smile.

IRT Fam

9:30 p.m.

Mae: hey guys

does anyone have any suggestions for a good tv show

Emma: jeeeez Mae a little warning next time will you?!

            But yes I know a few good tv shows

Isa: A lot

      Why?

Mae: because I just finished catching up on Chicago med

Clara: of course you watch medical dramas

Mae: okay ouch but anyways

now I have no clue what to watch on Peacock

Isa: Pretty sure you can watch the rest of the shows on the One Chicago franchise

Emma: or the L&O franchise

Monty: wow guys one moment I was just peacefully watching Dr. Who the next my phone’s being bombarded with messages from this chat

Mae: hi Monty

Isa: Ay-ayatenmikayo a Monty 💜

Monty: Isa please for the love of languages speak no wait type in English, please

Isa: *sends a gif*

Mae: damn Isa

that’s bold

also Clara calm this kid that’s been stayin with you down

Clara: At this point, I’ve given up

Monty: quick question Clara

Clara: Go for it Monty

Monty: how are you texting while driving?

            hello?

Mae: Clara you there?

Clara: I’m carpooling with Jack and Emma

            And yes Isa’s also here

Mae: riiiiiiight

Clara: What’s that about?

Mae: nothing

Monty: anyways where’d Emma and Isa go?

Clara: they fell asleep in the back of the car

Mae: With just pure silence

damn

Clara: No they were playing the Hamilton soundtrack

           And speaking of people being inactive, where's Matt?

Mae: Knowing him he’s probably lurking behind his phone reading these

Matt: you’d be right Mae

Mae: OMG

MATT YOU’RE ALIVE

Monty: let her be Matt

Clara: Well I just got home and now I have to figure out how to get a certain sleeping 12-and-a-half-year-old from the back of Jack’s car to her room

            Night guy

Matt: Night

Mae: gn

Monty: g’night

Okay, a few notes about some stuff mentioned:

 1. bronde refers to the fusion between blonde and brown hair that Emma has (pretty sure Jayden Bartels who played her in the og run of the show is also one)

2. Isa is sometimes referred to as Iz usually by some family members, most friends, and sometimes co-workers. Though her sisters usually call her Izzy or any nickname that comes from the name Isabella that can annoy her

3. In the scene where the team follows the kids into an alleyway there's a Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows reference (I'll let you guys guess it)

4. The language Isa typed in when Monty enters the chat is the Ilocano a dialect in the Philippines which is spoken in Northern Luzon, many parts of Central Luzon, and a few parts of the Soccsksargen region in Mindanao;

5. And lastly I described Ramona’s hair as kinky hair since it's also called afro-textured hair you can learn more about this type of hair with these Wikipedia articles

Another thing here is the translations for the chapter:

tanga - stupid

Ay, hindi. - Oh, no.

iFuera de aquí, ratas! iAntes de que llame a la policía! iTodos vamos! iVamos! - Get out of here, rats! Before I call the police! We all go! Come on!

Cerrado - Closed

No dar papaya - don't give the papaya

¿Yo? - I?

Mira - look

¡La policía! ¡Corran! ¡Corran! - Police! Run! Run

¿Hablas Inglés? - Do you speak English

Sí - yes

Gracias - thank you

Gracias. ¡Vámonos! - Thank you. Let’s go!

Que así sea - so be it

Hola - hello

Ay-ayatenmikayo a Monty - We love you, Monty

Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed this but pls remember I'm still new to fanfiction writing so pls be nice to me.

[snowflake-of-destruction]

For the 1 Like=1 Fic I Want to Write Game (the post is pinned if you want to join) and @13-5-18-3-25

Let's bring back another ancient idea. Canon divergence because when is it not with me?

Post KH3 when young Xehanort goes back to “fulfill his destiny” after seeing the future, he refuses. He was supposed to forget most of what he experienced and just remember impressions and flashes of what he’s supposed to do, and that's exactly what happens, but, in this universe, when those flashes come, he isn’t lost in the thought of  "look what I accomplish in the future!“ but rather "look at the ruin and destruction it ends in” and, more importantly, he remembers learning Eraqus is dead…and Xehanort is definitely not about losing the person he cares most about. His selfishness in that regard is greater than his ambition or conviction that the only way to improve the universe is to give it a fresh start.

So instead of going further down the path of darkness, Xehanort returns to Scala to Eraqus that night and asks Era to run away with him. Eraqus says no at first, even when Xehanort starts talking about his troubling visions. First, Eraqus thinks he’s crazy, and then, when he indulges Xehanort’s madness, he reasons that Xehanort should just come back to the fold of the keybearers and stay with him and fulfill the path of a Guardian of Light. Xehanort insists that in the future he glimpsed Eraqus died teaching students (technically true) and that they are doing this “properly” and running out on it all.

They settle back on Destiny Islands and Xehanort becomes a fisherman while Eraqus whittles wooden crafts and swords. It should feel small and suffocating to Xehanort, it should feel like he's disappointed his former caretaker and the universe at large by rejecting being the "child of destiny," but all he was missing was Eraqus to be happy it turns out. His universe improves all on its own, this the only fresh start that was needed. They live a long and happy life together and “make up” tall tales for island kids, and repel any attempt there is to drag them back to the lives they once knew.

Meanwhile, Ventus lands fresh from the time of fairytales. No Xehanort apprenticeship and separation into Ventus and Vanitas that causes his heart to be bonded with Sora’s at the island boy’s birth this time, which you would think would be a good thing, but that means that whatever darkness is in him, whether you believe it’s his own sometimes manipulated by greater forces or is fully some otherworldly dark passenger Darkness with a capital D is still there and ready to strike.  He’d adopted by Ansem the Wise and Even, an older brother for Ienzo, and recovers very little of his past life, falling into the role of prince, fond of his new family, especially little Kairi. He doesn’t have very many friends outside his family, but the few he makes, Lea and Isa, he becomes extremely close to.

A few years later, Aqua and Terra’s (now Yensid students in this universe) Mark of Mastery  task is finding the “old, lost keybearers and convincing them to return” and thus Riku and possibly Sora too are bequeathed anyway, Riku by Terra when he visits the island and Sora by Aqua on her visit, without Xehanort and Eraqus’s knowledge. Aqua presses too hard, demanding and ordering with Xehanort and Eraqus when she finds them, fails her task, and returns to Yensid’s tower to tell him of her new plan of how to force Xehanort and Eraqus to comply. Terra agrees to let them be and travels elsewhere, guided by his heart and finding a time displaced amnesiac Skuld that he brings back with him, thus passing his Mark of Mastery by creative technicality while Aqua fails.

Ventus fulfills the role of amnesiac apprentice to Ansem the Wise that turns on him. His intentions are good. As he regains his memories, he needs experiments to continue so he can eliminate and/or control the Darkness in his heart so another Strelizia murder doesn’t happen, and instead he falls down a path that takes him far worse places. Ventus betrays Ansem like Ienzo does and feels guilty about it…for about five seconds before he loses his heart. Radiant Garden falls as it always was meant to. Ventus planned to “free” Kairi like the apprentices, but she gets caught up in the Heartless attack and ends up in Traverse Town with the Final Fantasy characters.

Ventus is technically Superior in the Org but keeps Xigbar as a close advisor. Braig befriended Ventus early because he recognizes him and Luxu needs to see how things play out. Outwardly he complains about how Ansem’s eldest charge is a handful and always underfoot but indulges him when he wants combat training and pretends to be all confused and concerned when that triggers memories. He listens to Ventus tell his “wild tales” and encourages him certain ways and looks the other way when Ventus is a little older and sneaking out to meet Lea because he’s the cool guard. Second in command of the Organization Xigbar is the payoff, though Axel and Saix have their claws pretty deep in Ventus as well, considering their relationship (Axel/Venitas/Saix evil power throuple may bump up our rating, but we’ll see)

This brings us to a modified KH1 timeline with Riku opening the door and the island falling, but Xehanort and Eraqus fighting for their home and when that fails, hopping a portal to Traverse Town with Sora because “Now we need to take the long way and save the whole damn universe in order to save the islands.” Sora has the kingdom key but Era and Xeha have the knowledge. The Duck and the Dog are allowed to come me along too, but there should be no mistake of who is in charge (Duck and Grumpy Old Bald Man both say “me”).

Donald tries to pull his “gummi ship only holds so many”  nonsense and is told that it’s so sad he has to stay behind but thanks for volunteering. A second gummi ship is commissioned from Cid. The KH1 timeline goes further off the rails the first time they see Riku and Soriku's Two Cool Grandpas neither let Donald chase him away, nor let him run away. Big happy family closes keyholes and saves princesses and then tangles with the Org, never got much further planning.