#don’t look at me about data’s daughter okay I’ll cry

[exasperatedoctopus]

If I had a nickel for every time there was a surprise child that suddenly and rapidly grew from an infant into an adult in Star Trek, I’d have two nickels, which really ought to tell you something about the state of child-centric storylines in Star Trek

[writing-until-i-drop]

What's In A Name? Chapter Five

Meg Harding and Kate Carter were inseparable until their friends died five ago, then she ran to New Orleans to save lives as a paramedic. But when Javi calls on his two oldest friends to help him collect data, counting on their matching natural instincts for tornadoes, Meg goes home for the first time in years. That's where she meets Tyler and the rest of the Wranglers, the YouTube storm chasers her dad likes to watch, and finds herself fitting in more with them than with Storm PAR. Meg only plans to stay for the week but will it be easy to leave when the dust settles?

If a certain cowboy has a say in it, nothing about leaving is going to be easy.

A/N: Meg has to make a very interesting phone call...

AO3 Link

Previous Chapter

Meg woke up with Tyler curled around her, his heavy arm draped over her waist, a large hand splayed across her stomach, keeping her tight against him. It had been the best night of sleep of her life and she stubbornly gave credit to the softness of Boone’s shirt for it. She carefully slipped out of his hold and down the ladder.

At some point, the Wranglers had driven the camper and the rest of their vehicles to a different motel and they were all gathered up outside, bundled in blankets, sitting around an extinguished fire. Boone was the first to notice her, popping out of his chair to hug her tightly, rocking her back and forth.

“I’m glad you’re okay, Doc, and thank you, thank you, for keeping T safe.” The rest of the Wranglers were quick to join in on the hug, even Ben after she heard the shutter of his camera. Meg almost started crying from the sheer amount of love surrounding her, feeling at home again in Oklahoma for the first time in five years. “You hungry, Doc?”

“Starvin’,” Her stomach growled in agreement.

“I’ll rustle something up,” Boone patted her on the shoulder. “Also, do your parents watch our streams?” She nodded. “They were name-dropping you something fierce in the chat last night, asking for updates if you were okay.” Of course, they had. Meg knew better than to think it was just her dad demanding answers in the chat.

“The whole crew’s probably at my parent’s house debating whether they should drive out here.” She shook her head with a huff of laughter. “Dex, can I borrow your phone? I don’t know what happened to mine.” He obliged and she dialed the house phone, putting it on speaker.

“Harding’s phone,” Rabbit picked up. “Meggy, this you?” Dexter’s mouth fell open, putting all the pieces together faster than the rest.

“Yeah, it’s me. Y’all can stop freaking out, all limbs are accounted for and in working order.” 

“Bill, Jo, guys, it’s Meggy!” 

“Meggy, honey,’ Preacher’s voice was the next on the line. “You scared us half to death.” 

“Margaret Marie Harding,” Her mom shouted into the receiver. “Have you lost your damn mind?” Meg cringed,

“Mama, I’m just following in dad’s footsteps.” There were shouts of “The Extreme” in the background. “Also, y’all might be on speaker with the Tornado Wranglers.” 

“Holy shit, Meggy,” That was Beltzer.

“We’re big fans,” And that was Haynes. The Wranglers were watching her with amused and star-struck looks. Ben, thankfully, was the first to recover.

“Your daughter is quite remarkable.” 

“And alive,” Boone added, giving Meg a thumbs up that she returned, mouthing good job.

“We’re glad to hear it. Hi, Pumpkin.” 

“Hiya, dad. Did you want that mug of yours signed? Pretty sure I can swing it.” 

“Dani, get the man a mug!” Dexter pushed a laughing Dani towards the camper where Tyler still slept. The Wranglers and the original team energetically traded exclamations of excitement and amusement that Meg had kept her last name a secret for so long. That was until her mama started shouting again. 

“I don’t want you anywhere near a tornado unless you’re harnessed  in, do you understand me, young lady?” 

“Mama, please, you’re embarrassing me.” 

“Let me talk to Dexter,” Jo demanded. “He seems like the only responsible one.” Meg didn’t argue, taking her mom off speaker and handing the phone to Dexter.

“Yes, ma’am?” There was a shout of her name from inside the camper, signaling to everyone that Tyler had woken up to an empty bed.  The Wranglers snickered at her, Lily giving her a good-natured shove to the shoulder. “Of course, ma’am. I’ll make sure of it.” 

Tyler came stumbling out of the camper, rubbing the sleep from his eyes, a grinning Dani right behind him with a mug and a marker in either hand.

“Where’s Meg?” 

“That’s Meg Harding to you, Ty,” Lily teased and Tyler’s eyes went wide. “Yup, your girlfriend’s the daughter of storm-chasing legends.” Meg flushed, hoping her parents hadn’t heard that. Tyler looked at her, dumbstruck.

“Your parents are…”

“Yeah.”

“Holy shit,” Tyler ran a hand through his already chaotic hair. “You’re a-,” He pointed at her, “Your parents are-” Meg nodded. “Holy shit.” 

“My parents are big fans of your channel, Ty.” She saw the moment Tyler’s brain fully stopped functioning, giggling. 

“I need coffee,” Tyler’s shoulders slumped. He sat down in Boone’s abandoned seat beside Meg, grabbing her hand and squeezing it, like he was afraid she’d run off on him. Meg squeezed back. “Who’s he talking to?”

“My family.” Meg could get used to surprising the hell out of Tyler, laughing at the startled look on his face.

“Doc, Rabbit wants to talk to you.” Dexter jogged the phone over. “Can I meet your parents?” He whispered and Meg nodded, rolling her eyes with a smile.

“What’s up?” 

“Don’t let your mom fool you, Meggy. She’s giddy as hell you’re chasing again.” Meg knew that in her heart but the reassurance made her smile. “Also, we’re betting on how long it takes you to ride the cowboy. Don’t tell your dad.”

“Rabbit!” Meg shrieked, slapping a hand over her mouth. She glanced over at the sleepy man beside her who didn’t seem to have heard what Rabbit said. Meg was going to turn that man into rabbit stew the next time she saw him.

“Blame Haynes, her idea.” 

“Don’t blame me, blame Joey!” 

“She knows damn well it wasn’t me, it was definitely Lawrence.” Could they get any more embarrassing? She felt like she was fifteen again, listening to the group place bets on how her first date would go.

“Guuuuyyyyysss. Can you please just put my dad on the phone?” There was a brief shuffle.

“Hey, Pumpkin. What was Rabbit saying?” 

“Nothing, just being annoying. She glanced at her blonde cowboy, getting a mischievous idea. “Tyler’s here if you want to talk to him, he’s a fan of yours.” She giggled at the look on his face. “Well, you talk, he’ll hyperventilate.” 

“Be nice to that boy,” Her dad scolded playfully. “I’ve got fifty bucks on you marrying him.” 

“Oh my God, that’s so much worse!” She wanted to disappear into thin air. Tyler took the outstretched phone.

“This is Tyler Owens, sir.” Tyler sat up straighter in his seat, running a hand through his bed head.

Boone came jogging back to the group, holding a 7/11 bag above his head.

“I got you coffee, a muffin, and a burrito.” Giving Tyler’s hand one last squeeze, Meg went to collect her breakfast, thanking the man with a kiss on the cheek. “Dani said you take lots of cream and sugar.” Meg looked at the woman who shrugged,

“I guessed.” 

“You guessed right, Sweet Thing. Thanks again, Boonie Baby,” She gave him another kiss on the cheek before going back to her seat. Meg kept the burrito, passing Tyler the blueberry muffin.

“Yes, sir. No, sir,” Meg couldn’t help but wonder what her dad was asking him, nibbling on the corner of the lukewarm burrito. Bean and cheese, nice. “No, she didn’t tell us her last name.” Tyler chuckled, “Yes, sir. I’m starting to understand that.” He paused, eyes going wide. Meg shifted in her chair, letting her legs fall across Tyler’s lap. He rested a hand on her knee and Meg couldn’t help but think that she could do this every morning, sitting there, admiring Tyler’s stubbled jaw line while the rest of the Wranglers joked around with each other. “I’d be honored but first we’ve got to go find Kate, yes, sir. Sapulpa.” He tapped her knee, “Here, darlin’.” He passed the phone, trading it for her coffee, his nose scrunching up. “I prefer black.”

“Not everything’s about you, Arkansas.” Tyler stuck his tongue out at her. “Hey, dad.” 

“You should marry that boy, Meg.” Her eyes cut to Tyler who was eyeing her back with a small smile on his face, making him even cuter than normal. 

“We’ll see, dad,” She sighed. “Gotta chase down my other half first. Now go feed the guys, I love you.” 

“I love you too, Pumpkin. Come home before you leave.”

“I will, should I bring Kate?” 

“And Tyler. Keep an eye on the sky, Pumpkin.” Meg hung up, mumbling through a mouthful of burrito.

“Trouble makin’ busy bodies, the whole group of ‘em.” 

“I can’t believe you didn’t tell me you were Jo and Bill Harding’s daughter,” Her mom would have liked the way he put her name first. “No wonder you’ve got such good instincts.” 

“Get ‘em from my daddy.” Dani came over, presenting Tyler with the mug to sign.

“And here I didn’t think you could get any cooler, Meg,” Dani teased. “We gotta keep you around.” 

“Here here,” Boone raised his coffee in cheers. “T, buddy, don’t go fucking this up for us.” The Wranglers all added their agreement, making Meg laugh. She swiped the coffee back from Tyler, admonishing him for drinking more than half the cup if he didn’t like it. Then it hit her and she nearly spit out her mouthful of coffee. Lily had called her his girlfriend and neither she nor Tyler had corrected her. What the hell did that mean?

“Stop thinking so hard, darlin’.” Tyler squeezed her knee like he could read her mind. “Just enjoy the morning.” His hand moved up to her thigh as he kicked back in his chair to eat and she rested her hand on top of his, letting her attention fall to Boone and Dani as they teased Dexter for his fangirling. Ben started snapping pictures and Meg didn’t let herself worry about how she looked wearing borrowed clothes, eating a gas station burrito, mud from the night before still on her cheeks, with Tyler’s hand on her thigh.

Unlike when he was chasing, Tyler was an incredibly safe driver on the way to Sapulpa. Meg on the other hand was an incredibly unsafe passenger. She had the passenger seat pushed all the way back, her feet kicked up on the dash, and her boots abandoned on the floorboards.

Lily had lent her a pair of mismatched socks, one was striped and the other was dotted. They were both singing along to the country music blaring on the radio and Meg couldn’t remember a time she felt happier. And she was sad she had to ruin it.

“I should probably tell you what you’re gettin’ into before we get there, Ty.” Tyler turned off the radio, giving her as much attention as he could while driving.

“What, darlin’, you hiding a boyfriend from me in Sapulpa?” Meg snorted, she wished that’s all she had to confess. Instead, she held out her hands in front of her. Her fingertips were all kinked, not quite straight. They were also calloused and scarred, not only from chasing but from her time as a paramedic. Her favorite scar was one on the pad of her thumb, permanently messing up her fingerprints, from when she stuck herself with an EPI pen instead of the patient. 

“You ever notice how crooked my fingers are?” 

“I was a bull rider, healed breaks are normal to me.” She hummed at his non-answer, answer. 

“I met Kate in college and we became close, our friend Addy used to call us two shades of the same color. Always the same but slightly different.” Dandelion and Sunflower, shades of yellow, were her favorite comparison to make. She’d always make a joke about how they were happiest when the sun was hidden behind clouds, so they needed to be surrounded by bright colors. “Mama was her thesis advisor. There were six of us helping her with the research.” 

Meg let the tears roll down her cheeks without wiping them away.

“Parveen and Kate spearheaded the actual idea, Javi collected the data with Dorothy, Addy was there to take photos, Jeb,” She chuckled. “Jeb was just in love with Kate, so he’d follow her anywhere, and I was there to make sure no one got hurt. But they did.” She had spent a lot of time on her partner’s couch drinking and thinking about the situation, coming to grips with the fact that her EMT certification couldn’t have saved her friends that day. “Everything was going great and then an EF-5 came out of nowhere.” 

Tyler exhaled heavily, reaching out to rub her knee.

“We thought it was going to be an EF-1, maybe 2, so we didn’t have the good sense to be scared until it was too late.” 

“I’m sorry, Meg,” Tyler offered in sympathy. Because what the hell else do you say when someone’s telling a story like that?

“Our only hope was an underpass, which tells you how shit outta luck we were. Parveen couldn’t run so fast and was swept up first, then I fell and I dug my fingers into the dirt to hold on.” Her fingers and wrist ached at the memory, “I broke every single one of my fingers and debris shattered my wrist. While I was layin’ there, I heard Addy and Jeb fly away, screaming for their lives.” 

“Shit, Meg. That’s horrible,” She hummed in agreement.

“Kate survived of course but she won’t talk about it and Javi was in the follow vehicle. All he could do was watch as the tornado headed our way. To hear him tell it, it was the worst day of his life and it probably was.” The hurtful things Javi said the night before filtered through her mind, making her sick to her stomach. “Police officer found me and Kate stumbling along the highway, trying to get back to Javi, and took us to the hospital.” 

Meg took a long, deep breath. If things had gone differently that day, her life would have turned out a lot differently. She never would have moved, none of them would have.

“Kate ran away to New York, Javi joined the military, and I went to New Orleans. I was a wreck on the job but my partner Nick’s always had my back. You’d like him,” Nick was her rock, both on and off the job. “He took me to my first second line after one of our GSW patients, Tayvon, a fifteen-year-old kid, didn’t make it.” 

It had been her second week on the job, she had never been on the scene of a drive-by shooting before, there had been so much chaos and blood. They worked on him for a few minutes before they decided it was best to work while driving. Meg had still been an EMT, so Nick worked on Tayvon in the back of the rig while she drove through the busy streets like a bat out of hell. By the time they passed him off to the doctors, things were looking up.

  “To see everyone smiling through their tears and celebrating that kid’s life, it healed me more than anything else ever could. Everyone needs a Nick and Kate didn’t have one.” 

“I think I want to meet this Nick guy,” Tyler squeezed her knee, “Buy him a beer and thank him for taking care of you.” Meg chuckled, thinking about all of the embarrassing stories Nick would tell him about her.

“He’d buy you a beer, tryin’ to charm you into making me your problem instead of his.” 

“Be my problem, baby,” Tyler’s hand moved upwards to squeeze her thigh. Meg laid her hand over his, tears starting up again.

“I’m crying about my dead friends while you drive me to see my traumatized other half. Hate to say it, Sweetie Pie, but I think I’m already your problem.” Laughter filled the truck, first hers and then Tyler’s. “A little late to back out now.” 

“I’m not backing out, Meg, just making sure we’re on the same page.” 

“Which is?” She feigned ignorance. 

“You’re my problem, baby. All mine.” Her dad was going to be over the moon whenever she told him about this conversation. So would Nick.

“Thoughts and prayers, Cowboy. You’re gonna need ‘em.” 

Taglist: @theforevermorereject @beltzboys2015-blog @writingrose @sinners-98-world @nerdgirljen @candlejuice @a-court-of-roscoe-and-baby @football1921 @katiemcrae @emma8895eb @itsdesiree86

Next Chapter

[butwhyduh]

A Date to Remember

Damian Wayne x Superman’s daughter reader

Damian is 20, reader 19, Jon is her little brother at 18 and Kon acts like an older brother to her.

Warning: angsty and kidnapping

You’d always told Damian that the sunset on the Kent farm was the best in the world. Damian smiled a little as he drove down the long road to Smallville. Damian had thought about classic dinner date in one of Metropolis’ fanciest restaurants but you insisted on meeting him in a barn.

He felt underdressed. Blue jeans and a flannel shirt. Why did he let Jon help him get dressed? He felt ridiculous but at least he wore sensible shoes. But deep down Damian knew you world like it. And he was certainly willing to feel a little foolish for you.

Clark was off world and Lois was on a mission. Jon had his own date in the city so it was the both of you alone tonight. How long had it been since the two of you were alone without someone around? Between his half a dozen brothers and your family with literal super hearing... yeah it’s been tough. So being 50 miles from everyone was kind of a dream.

Damian pulled in the driveway with some flowers and walked up to the house. He knocked on the door only for it to swing open. Damian noticed the splintered door frame and his heart sped up. He called your name. Act like the rich billionaire son while working like Robin, even though he wasn’t quite sure he still wanted the name.

He scanned every surface and he noticed a small scratch near the back door after looking through every room. Most people wouldn’t even notice it. You weren’t there. He looked closely and saw drag marks in the gravel path to the barn. His heart was thundering at this point. You weren’t in the barn either.

You were half Kryptonian but the genetic inheritance was complicated. Jon had won the lottery with having most of his father’s powers and not being as sensitive to Kryptonite. You had lost it. Hypersensitive to Kryptonite and only some speed and increased hearing and strength. Barely about the average human. You weren’t a fighter.

Damian pulled out his phone to call Jon.

“Bit busy here, Damian,” Jon said, sounding far from amused. Damian could hear kissing noises in the background and frowned. He didn’t want to hear that.

“Your sister is missing,” he said and he heard a lot of movement on the phone.

“What??”

“The door jam was kicked in and there are scrap marks of her being dragged away. I think she’s been kidnapped,” Damian said. His voice felt tight. He, son of Batman, let his girlfriend get kidnapped. “Whoever it was clearly waited until she had no other Kryptonians around to grab her. It wasn’t a coincidence that she was taken tonight. Can you get out here? I’m calling father to try and trace her. Her phone is missing too.”

“I’m leaving in 5. Damian, if Luther has her, she can’t handle Krytonite,” Jon said, worry bleeding into his voice. “It’s like it poisons her.”

“I know. But we don’t know who has her. Let’s hope they don’t know she’s part Krytonian,” Damian said, already mentally moving on to his next step. Contact Bruce. Get the bat computer to trace her. Look for more evidence. Don’t freak out completely that she might be poisoned by Kyrotonite.

“Okay. I’m about to fly. I’ll see you soon,” Jon said before hanging up.

——————————

You woke up with a cough. You head throbbed and your stomach rolled as you laid in a bed? Maybe a couch? It was a horrible feeling but you knew exactly what it was: Kryptonite. You couldn’t forget what how that stuff made you feel. You tried to look around to see it but the room was completely dark. Night vision would be nice but you got human eyes. Your slightly enhanced hearing heard nothing but the wind outside. Okay, you were ground level or higher.

You tried to twist in the cuffs that bound your hands only to cry out. There was the Kryptonite. It was on the outside of the cuffs and you almost threw up at it touched your skin. You were cuffed with Kryptonite to a hospital bed, you figured. What other bed had areas perfect for cuffs? Your legs were equally restrained and you felt so exposed in the dark room.

Your dad was off world. He wouldn’t hear you if you called for him. But Jon might. But if you yelled, someone might come in and who knows what they would do. You’d wait a little bit longer. You wanted to fall asleep. The Kryptonite made you feel so dull. Like the first time you were exposed to it.

You were all of 4 years old. Your dad had brought you with him to the Justice League meeting. Relatively safe and Batman promised Robin would watch you. Dick was so excited to be a babysitter. You had hugged him tight enough to hurt before running to the climbing wall.

“Hey!” Called the 16 year old. “I brought games instead!”

You warily walked back over to him and card games and board games fell out of a duffle bag as he opened it. Half the stuff you were far too young for. You bent down as he scooped up his gameboy. You pulled out some games and open a side pocket to grab a small metal box. Dick sat down his gameboy carefully before turning back to you.

“Don’t open th-“ he started before you pulled open the box to show a bright green stone. Followed by you throwing up all over his bag of games. You dropped the box and sat on the floor. Dick quickly closed the box with the piece of Kryptonite and put it in his pocket. He had boroughed one of Bruce’s bags that apparently wasn’t fully unpacked.

“Dad, I don’t feel good,” you said as Clark ran over. Dick looked at you so guiltily.

“I didn’t know,” he swore. “I’m so sorry.” Bruce stood by quietly.

“We need to talk later,” Clark had told Bruce and yeah, they were mad at each other for a while.

——————————————

Jon arrived shortly in a dress shirt and slacks and he looked at Damian just as weird as Damian looked at him. They had basically switched clothing.

“Not to judge but that’s date clothing? You told me to not wear flannel,” Jon said accusingly.

“That’s because your sister wanted me to wear this,” Damian said back. “Let’s focus on finding her. Father’s calling me now. We’ll change in a minute.”

“Hello, you’re on speaker phone,” Damian said.

“Her tracker is showing a warehouse owned by Luthor Corp in downtown Metropolis,” Bruce said. “Do you need help? I can see if Dick is nearby.”

“No thanks. Jon will help me. Thank you, father,” Damian said before hanging up.

“Luthor. I knew it,” Jon said with a frown. “Wait, you put a tracker on my sister? Does she know?”

“Now is not the time. Let’s get to Metropolis,” Damian said, changing the subject while both got dressed. Jon nodded and offered his arms. “I’m not being carried like that. I’ll hold on your back,” Damian said. Jon rolled his eyes and nodded again.

As they flew over corn fields and pastures, Jon began to question Damian. “So when did you put this tracker in? Does she even know? Where is it? Do I want to even know?”

“It’s sub-dermal in her forearm and I haven’t told her yet. And it’s irrelevant right now as it might save her life,” Damian said and Jon looked disgusted. “We need to focus on saving her and then you can be her angry brother.”

“Wow...”

————————————

You moved and the cuffs burned your skin. You gasped and screamed “Jon! Kon!” You called out to them hoping one of them would hear you.

“Dad!” you cried frantic. There was no way he would hear you. “Damian! Jonathan! Conner!”

You panted and your head pounded. You were so tired. You’d lose consciousness if no one saved you. Then who knows what they would do to you.

“Superman!” You screamed desperately before finally passing out.

——————————

“Did you hear that?” Jon said as they flew towards the Metropolis skyline.

“No all I hear is wind. What did you hear?” Damian said.

“Y/n. She’s calling for us,” Jon said speeding up.

“Is she okay?” Fear bled into Damian’s voice.

“I can’t tell. I’m trying to hurry,” Jon said flying quickly towards the industrial area of the city. He landed on the roof of a warehouse. Jon’s eyes glowed as he looked through the building.

“7 men. 4 posted outside the door to the room that’s she’s being held on the 2nd floor. Her heart rate is steady and she isn’t screaming any more. Almost sounds asleep,” Jon said after his analysis.

“Probably tranquilizer. Father’s data said this building is used for research purposes. Does that fit?” Damian asked.

“Uh more like research subject holding. Maybe a small lab on the first floor but other than cameras everywhere, there isn’t much science stuff that I can scan. But also the basement is sealed off,” Jon said.

“How?”

“Lead bound. You can check it out while I rescue her. 4 guys is nothing,” Jon said making a fist.

“Hold on. Luthor would probably have her surrounded by Kryptonite. Just in case one of you look for her. And that’s the last thing we need,” Damian said. “I’ll rescue her and you look for the basement. Knowing Luthor, it’s probably an entire facility of experiments below. He just hadn’t gotten her room ready yet.”

Jon looked frustrated. “Fine. You rescue her but be careful. She is the weakest of us. She’s not invulnerable to bullets or anything.”

“Most of the people I rescue aren’t either,” Damian reminded him. “And I’m certainly not taking a chance with my beloved.”

Jon looked over to respond but Damian was already gone. Just like the rest of the bats: silent goodbyes. Jon quietly moved down to the first floor. He was working but at the same time, his ear was trained on his sister’s heartbeat. Jon might be the younger sibling but she didn’t have powers and he felt so protective.

—————————————

Damian rolled his eyes at the 5 ways he could see that the security sucks in the 3 minutes he hung out the window before climbing in. Large rafters and guards who didn’t bother to look up. Not to mention the fact that they let there be a solid wall between the set of guards which meant that Damian was easily able to jump down to knock them out in pairs without the other set knowing. If the security was any worse they would leave the door unlocked.

The door wasn’t unlocked but it was a deadbolt that Damian easily disabled. If he didn’t know any better, he’d say it was on purpose. He gulped before opening the door. What if you were really hurt? Or dead? Ignore and get in there.

Damian opened the door and he felt white hot rage. You were tied to a bed and were unconscious. You were in a nice dressy shirt and sweatpants. They’d clearly taken you while you were getting dressed. Damian wanted to kill them. He had to take a breath to help you. Jon was taking them out and Damian was on rescue. He had to stay level headed.

Even the cuffs on your wrists were inadequate. If they had attempted to restrain Damian, he would have gotten out in 3 minutes. When he was 6 years old. The Kryptonite had left nasty red burns on your skin and he clenched his jaw at the sight. Jon better be punching extra hard.

Damian picked you up bridal style and you groaned a little before turning your head against his chest. The farther he got you from that fucking Kryotonite the better you were. He took you to the roof and you started waking up.

“Damian,” you said softly and a little confused.

“Hey you’re awake. How are you feeling?” He asked looking all over your face for injury.

“Kryptonite. I hate that stuff,” you said. Damian grabbed your hand and you hissed. He looked to see bright red knuckles. You’d clearly fought at some point. He certainly knew the signs of punching someone.

“You fought back?”

“Yeah and hitting someone in a helmet and body armor sucks. I got just a few in before they pulled out the damn rock. I throw up every damn time,” you said shaking your head.

Before Damian could comment on how brave and stupid it was to punch body armor, there was a huge crash down on the first floor as someone flew in the building through the window. You grabbed him tightly.

“What the hell is that?”

“Kon. Conner’s here. I’m up here,” you yelled.

Conner flew up to the roof. “Are you okay? What’s going on?”

“Kidnapped. Damian and Jon saved me. He’s still down there actually. Can you check on him?” You said. Damian suddenly stood up.

“What if you were a distraction and the real problem is downstairs?” Damian suddenly said with clarity. The Kryptonite alone was enough to hold you down. The half ass security was to hold their attention when they rescued you. Jon was already flying back down before Damian could say more. Damian weighed his options: leave you alone, bring you with him, or stay out of it and while the last sounded nice, he’d have to go in case of more Kryptonite.

Before Damian could decide, Kon was back on the roof. “You’ve got to come see this.”

Downstairs was a lead lined basement. That alone had you nervous. Jon stood by the door. Little spattering of blood could be seen on his hands. He had a hard look.

“Warning: this is going to be messed up,” he said and you were even more worried. You walked in to see cages. Kids. Unconscious adults lay around in the hallway. “They were experimenting on them.”

You felt nauseous.

“My father is on the way. This is much bigger than I thought,” Damian said messing with his comms. His free hand was on your shoulder protectively.

There were 8 kids in cages. Bruce was running tests on their blood and investigating the area as you helped to get them out of the cages. What a terrible Valentine’s Day.

“Beloved, let’s get you home. We can stay at the farm tonight. You need sleep,” Damian said worried. You looked at him distracted.

“They’re just kids.”

“Come on. Let’s go. Kon is going to stay there too. Just for the night,” Damian said helping you up. Kon flew you both back to the farm.

“I’m going back to help. You okay, kid,” Kon asked as Damian inspected the house.

“I’ll be alright. Just help those kids,” you said.

“Yeah, of course,” he said ruffling your head. You rolled your eyes. “But seriously, the way you screamed I thought you were being murdered.”

You stiffened. “I’m fine. Thanks.”

Kon knew when to quit. Something he had learned from Tim. He gave you a big hug and flew off towards Metropolis.

“Hey. I made your bed so you can sleep,” Damian said quietly. “And a change of clothes.”

You nodded and went upstairs. Damian helped pull off your shirt and put on a sweater. He looked at the marks around your wrist and red knuckles but didn’t note any more bruises or cuts. You pulled on sweatpants and climbed in small twin bed that Lois kept for guests. The pink and yellow flowery quilt felt warm and comforting on your skin. Damian lay beside you after changing and looked at you seriously.

“What is it,” you asked.

“I was so scared tonight. I have been doing this for years and I’ve never been so worried,” he said softly and you looked down and flushed. If you weren’t so freaking sensitive to Kryptonite this wouldn’t have happened. Damian gently lifted your chin and you looked at him.

“I was scared to lose you,” he said running his thumb across your cheek. “I’m going to drive you absolutely mad because I don’t want to take my eyes off of you.”

“Yeah?” You said with a little smile.

“Uh hm. But first sleep,” he said and your body certainly agreed. You curled into him and rest your head on his chest. His arms held you tightly before rubbing your back. You fell asleep to Damian staring at you. He stared at you all night, not even sleeping when Kon came in a few hours later.

———————————

“I have to know what all that was, Bruce,” you said at the Batcave the next day. “I was in there.”

He looked at you for a minute. “They were experimenting with meta DNA. All of those kids have gifts and they wanted to take you too. There were even plans to inject those kids with your blood to see if it would affect them.”

You shivered a little at the thought. Lex Luthor and his obsession with Kryptonian DNA.

“All the records were burned. Most of the warehouse too. Your brothers were.... thorough. And Clark will be home in a few days,” Bruce added.

“Really?”

“Yes. And he’s furious at Luthor. Probably will call soon. He wanted to let you sleep earlier. We’re just running programs here. Why don’t you and Damian go upstairs,” he suggested.

“Bruce Wayne,” came a stern voice behind you. You turned to see your mother, Lois Lane, looking like she was going to beat up Batman. “You put a tracker in my daughter without her permission?”

“You what?” You said.

“Actually that was Damian. Though I want to point out that it helped save her life,” Bruce added. Lois slapped him soundly across the cheek. Bruce just blinked and rubbed his cheek.

“Damian, you put a tracker in me?” You asked shocked. You’d assumed Jon had heard you or Damian’s detective work brought them to the warehouse. Not an invasive tracker in your body. “What the hell?”

“Well I can explain..”

[ask-rp-devra]

A few more days passed, the whole island was preparing to lose two staff members for a short while so ther was a handful of new Pokemon squads on patrols, and a lot of handing over of work to Professor Grey and Pari who were happy to stay behind for the time being. Seeing as the trip to the Crown Tundra area in Galar was looming, peach had put in special permission to bring along Valka, her age and subsequently monstrous skill made her usually unable to travel, trained to a fine point, putting her in a gym battle or a league seemed very unfair, but the locals seemed to think she’d fit the bill, Professor Magnolia had mentioned the abundance of legendary Pokemon in the area, so it would seem wise to take along a Pokemon that was able to hold its own.

With bags packed and bodies in seats the woman and her apprentice began the trip back to Galar, not only to collect more data on the new areas, but also to gather Devra’s team mates up to bring back to the island. The flight back was fine, Peach slept, drooling a bit, legs tucked up in the plane seat, her single Pokemon stashed for the journey, it felt uncomfortable having Valka in her pokeball, it didn’t happen often.

Devra had spent most of her free time packing for the trip, and the rest of it bonding with the two Pokémon she’d be bringing to the tundra. She had to make sure Aliza and her newest Pokémon Coal were strong enough to hold up in the tundra. Fiona helped her load with training her daughter, trusting her human to take care of Aliza but also wanting to make sure she’d be okay too. Now that they were on the plane Devra sat in the window seat, watching the clouds go buy. As they got closer to landing she gently nudged Peach. “Professor? We’re almost there.” She then looked out again, excited to see her mom again, as well as all of her other Pokémon.

Peach grunted, awoke with a jolt, and looked around, dazed and somewhat still very asleep, looking rather disheveled. Drool sticking hair to her face, squinty tired eyes, and a miserable headache. Water and pills as she waited to get the green light to get off the plane, and finally see her partner again, the ball sat in her pocket, in her hand, waiting patiently.

by the time they had disembarked, got their luggage and had caught a flying taxi towards Devra’s home, they had been able to finally take in the scenery, and enjoy the view as they made their way back to postwick, a quiet little town full of wooloo keepers and families.

“you must be happy to get home, see the family, you’re old Pokemon.”

Devra had given the corviknight a warm hello when they were picked up, being familiar with his taxi team. “I’m super excited. I told mom we were coming the other day. I think she’s going to have tea and cake waiting for us. I think you’ll be happy for the tea. She says my Pokémon have all been keeping an eye out for me. I have a feeling there’s going to be a mob when I get of the taxi.” She laughed as she saw her house come into view, here eyes bright and happy.

The pair thanked the taxi driver, and his delightful Pokemon, watching them fly off, leaving them outside a quaint little home, the front door swinging open in haste, a woman stepping out, presumably Devra’s mother? Peach smiled a bit, trying to come off as pleasant, and let Dev take the lead here. In her pocket she could feel the pokeball shake, Val trying to get out.

“not yet bud, let’s just get settled, not long now.” She murmured very quietly, not drawing any attention to herself.

Devra glanced over at Peach, her own poke balls in hand. “You can let her out now Peach. Most of my guys know to be polite around new visitors.” She let out Coal and Aliza, the young ponyta snorting as she was finally able to stretch out. Devra quickly explained things to them before a loud cry was heard from the side of the house. “Oh boy...give me a second.” She got up and quickly put some space between the little group and the hoard of Pokémon coming at her. She soon disappeared in a mass of excited cries, her laugher still being heard.

This was...expected. Peach had caught Devra chatting on her phone across videos to a lot of these Pokemon, all shapes and sizes, so she took a perch on the fence out of the way, and let the mob rush over and get their affection out of their systems. The poor girl within the crowd was far from unhappy about it all, they seemed like relatively well behaved Pokemon. While the ruckus went on, she release her darling fire type, who shook her whole body thoroughly, hating the feel of pokeballs, sending little embers out of her fine fur, before seeing the group, and scaling a tree to be as far out of the way as possible. Peach looked up to her, a small almost unnoticeable grin on her face. “you’re probably right to get some distance, never been one for socialising hey buddy.” She grumbled, folded her legs up under her and sat like a loaf in the tree.

As Devra made her rounds through the mob, four figures bounded over to the grumpy woman. Two of them were applin, both rolling around at her feet. Then a smaller than normal dreepy floating slightly behind the excited little ponyta that stood happily in front of peach.

The quad of new and quite familiar Pokemon approached, Peach for once had no snacks in her pockets, fresh from the airport with its restrictions, she rummaged to no avail.

“ah sorry guys, I normally have snacks on me, I’ll have to go shopping sometime soon.” Instead holding her hand out to see if they wanted to sniff. The applin had her attention in particular, her trip to Galar was cut short due to a medical emergency back at the labs, so she never had a chance to catch any or observe them. “you’re all certainly very strong looking aren’t you.” The ponyta reminded her of home, in a weird way, growing up with the species just being around, she became use to them from an early age, though this youngster was Galarian and very different in appearance.

Devra looked over at peach and grinned, seeing her with four particular Pokémon. She managed to make her way over to the little group, her Gardevoir holding onto her harm as she went. “Looks like you met your surprise.”

“my what?” She was a little dense at times, head empty. By this point they’d gotten a bit closer to her, she had been able to pet them all a little, besides the Dreepy who was a little more shy from the looks of it. Val stayed high up and observed quietly, she was use to sharing her human, this was not new to her.

“Your surprise! You were so excited when you saw the Pokedex entries for applin, and curious about Dreepy. So I thought I’d get you a gift for all the help you’ve given me. The ponyta is kind of a bonus. The dreepy has gotten kind of attached to him, so I don’t think it would be smart to split them up.” She laughed as she was hugged buy the gallede as well, the two obviously fond of their human.

“wow, that’s really thoughtful of you, you know you didn’t have to do all this right? But thank you regardless.” Peach didn’t think she’d be getting a few team mates so fast, some may have to go home for now, they’d be too young for battling in the Crown Tundra just yet. “‘what do you all think then? You want to see if we get along? Don’t have to stick with me if you gave it a try and don’t enjoy it, but it’d be nice to get to know you all a lot more for sure.” She directed her questions to the Pokemon before her, not focusing on the little ghost type too much to not freak them out. It would certainly be nice to have the company, and there was no other fox pokemon so Val wasn’t bothered by their presence at all. With so many around it really felt a bit more like home.

Devra laughed as the applin bounced happily. “Oh don’t you worry. They’ve been super excited to meet you. I’ve been telling all about you and what you do for Pokémon. The dreepy has been excited too, but he’s just a little shy.”

“oh! So you all knew me before I even knew you, well that explains why you all came over so quickly.” The woman laughed a bit, noticing Val descend from the tree behind them, sitting bout a meter back from the others, there was a shimmer you could almost not notice around her, she was putting up a barrier to give herself some space, but seemed rather calm and not at all in discomfort around these new faces. Peach shifted to the side a bit, gesturing to her beloved partner. “well then everyone, meet Valka, she’s...well, family. hopefully you’ll all get along and learn a lot from each other. If you’re worried or want some advice, please ask me or Val and we’ll try to help.” Her attention shifted to the Dreepy who was still hiding a bit behind the Ponyta.

“‘Ah, and don’t worry little guy-“ her eyes glanced about secretively, trying to be a little less scary with her expressions, softening as she whispered a little to him. “‘you and me can be shy together, I’m not great with big crowds or lots of eyes on me either. If you ever think it’s too much for you, you can hide behind me and I’ll scare off whoever’s bothering ya, I’ll be the brave one when you can’t.” She did laugh, this wasn’t the first shy Pokemon she’d had to handle, and they had a lot of love to give normally, just took time to get them comfortable. Her attention now off of him, she let Val so her usual thing, advance to the group, sit in her lap, and discuss with the others, get ting to know them a bit. One applin seemed happy to crawl up onto the professors shoulder, the other wiggling up next to her leg where she sat.

“‘honestly Dev they’re all darlings, I’m sure we’ll all get along great in time.”

She grinned happily as she watched Peach with the little group. “I’m really glad it worked out. I was a little nervous that they still might be too shy. Well, besides the dreepy. Oh!” She dug in her bag and pulled out an odd looking apple. “I almost forgot this! It’s a Sweet Apple. You can use it to evolve one of the applin into an appleton.” There was a happy rumble from behind her as her own Appleton stepped forward. “There’s another apple called a Tart apple that can get you a flapple like mine too. But I haven’t been able to find one yet.”

The mention of the specific fruits found in Galar caught the professors attention, also noticing the big rounded Pokemon approach upon seeing it. The Appleton was actually surprisingly small for a dragon type, shin height, and possibly the cutest looking thing peach had seen in a while. She accepted the fruit thankfully and had to look it over, sniffing it, and all too tempted to take a bite to figure out what it’d be best suited to, from the name, it’d be a really good eating apple, the tart one however would be a cooking sort no doubt.

“ill have to keep my eye out, I must have missed this all last time I was here, good thing you kept your eyes peeled for this.” She let everyone of the new youngsters around her have a chance at looking over the apple too, even Val took a sniff. It was always good to let them see as much of the world as possible, and all the items it contained.

“Maybe one of the pair will like the chance to evolve one day, they’ve probably had time while staying here to meet your pair of Pokemon who chose to evolve, so who knows.” She looked to the two Applin who she had become very fond of quite quickly, they had surprisingly big personalities for such small species, giving each other grief at any given opportunity, like bickering siblings. “they’ll figure it out when they are ready.”

She smiled as she glanced back at the house, waving to her mom as she came to meet them now that the chaos had settled down. “My moms name is Olivia by the way. Not sure if I told you that.”

“you did not.” She said matter of factly, and stood to greet the woman who looked very happy to see her daughter. The woman herself had a fair bit of resemblance to Devra, they shared a few mannerisms too peach noticed while offering a smile and a handshake, which did slightly throw Olivia, she had intended to go for a hug, but saw the social queue and changed it up.

“it’s really nice to meet you, you’re daughters been a real asset out in Johto, you should come and visit her some time perhaps, see what she gets up to.”

Olivia smiles warmly at Peach as she shook hands with her. “It’s wonderful to finally meet you as well Professor. Devra has told me so much about you and the island. I’ll have to make a trip out some time. I’ve been meaning to take a holiday for some time now.” She then turned to her daughter and gave her a massive hug, inviting both of them inside for a rest before they continued their trip.

[capybaraonabicycle]

A Family Wedding - Part 2

Part 1, Part 3, Part 4

Rating: Teen

Summary: Jenny gathers her courage to talk to her mum

Warnings: I swore again and there’s consummation of alcoholic beverages that could count as underage drinking, also mention of guns

Words: ~2900

AO3

The ceremony was beautiful, and the vows had not just Jenny crying. She could not stop staring at her mum through the whole of it. She was so similar to her dad, of course, they were the same person after all. It still surprised Jenny how this Doctor had the same awkward goofiness about her and simultaneously the same age-old sadness in her eyes. And the same endless capacity to love, that was right now concentrated on River. It gave Jenny a wonderful fuzzy feeling, seeing them so content together among so many people who loved them. She was really very happy she had come.

All too soon the ceremony was done, and the Doctor and River moved to the edge of the balcony to receive congratulations and gifts. Martha tried pulling her over to them immediately, but Jenny held her back.

“Let them enjoy their guests first, before I drop the bomb on them” she pled, and Martha raised an eyebrow. Jenny was pretty sure she could read her nervousness right off her face, but luckily, she didn’t comment.

“Who are you then?” Mickey asked and sharing a long sigh and conspiratorial look, her and Martha set up for telling the whole story again.

When they finished, the line in front of the Doctor and River had shortened tremendously.

“So, are you going to talk to her?” Mickey challenged, nodding over to the Doctor, “You can come with us, we have yet to hand our gift over.”

He raised a little star-patterned gift bag with a smirk and Wilf nodded enthusiastically.

“You should go and talk to the Doctor” he agreed, “She will be very happy to see you.”

‘What if she isn’t?’ Jenny thought, but she couldn’t bring herself to say that aloud. Maybe, because then it would become a real possibility. And it was, wasn’t it? When she had first met her dad, he hadn’t wanted her.

“Then I’ll kick her ass” Martha whispered the answer to her unasked question into her ear. She smiled encouragingly when Jenny turned towards her.

“Okay” Jenny nodded, reaching for the hand Martha offered and letting herself be pulled towards her mum.

The people in line in front of them blurred together as Jenny waited anxiously to step forward. She wouldn’t admit it, but she was hiding behind Wilfred a bit. Maybe it was because she didn’t want to distract her mum from her other guests. Maybe it was because she didn’t feel ready to meet her yet.

Her gaze stayed trained on the Doctor, though, only occasionally flitting over to River when she laughed one of her belly laughs, throwing her head back or leaned over towards the Doctor to press a quick kiss to her temple. Jenny tried to memorize everything. The way the Doctor’s nose scrunched up when some of the guests made fun of her (that seemed to happen a lot), the way her face lit up whenever someone new stepped towards her or the way her smile deepened, whenever she looked at her wife. She wanted to take it all in, trying to grasp in a few minutes what kind of a woman her parent was now.

All too soon, it was their turn and Martha let go of her hand to present her gift with Mickey.

Jenny couldn’t pay much attention to what they were giving, apart from noticing that the Doctor was very delighted by it and River seemed a little amused. She was way too nervous now and also hiding became increasingly difficult. Her mum was here, almost close enough to touch. She had finally found her.

She hazily registered how Martha and Mickey finished their congratulations and came back to her side, Martha taking her hand again and only raising an eyebrow when Jenny stepped behind her. Wilf approached the couple, handing them two bulky gifts and when the Doctor opened hers, Jenny snapped out of her stupor.

“No, you shouldn’t have” the Doctor cried, tears of happiness rolling down her cheek as she detangled the binder from the wrapping paper. The front showed a picture of Donna and herself, in the body that Jenny had first met. The Doctor threw the book open and Jenny could see that it was full of photos of Donna and Wilf. The Doctor gave a choked sound, browsing through the pages, then she chuckled a little at a few of them, pointing some out to River, before she looked back at Wilf through teary eyes.

“This is wonderful, Wilf” she smiled, “Thank you so much.”

“’Course, love” Wilf said, “I thought she might’ve liked that, you getting some pictures, see what she’s up to now.”

“Thank you” the Doctor repeated. River had laid a hand on her shoulder, pressing it comfortingly now. She hadn’t opened her gift yet, giving the Doctor space for hers.

“Go on, Professor” Wilf encouraged her, “Got you something as well.”

Smiling, River let go of the Doctor to unwrap an old rifle. Jenny had to bite back a laugh when River’s expression turned as gleeful as the Doctor’s grew exasperated at the sight. She should have known. Of course, her mum would fall for someone as prone to guns as her daughter. She would like to see her try climbing back onto her moral high ground now. Hadn’t Jenny already decided she liked River the moment she exited the TARDIS, it would have happened now.

“It’s my old one” Wilf said, “From when I was in the army. I thought it might suit you nicely.”

“It does” River said. She cocked the rifle experimentally which made the Doctor huff. “Thank you, Wilf, she’s beautiful.”

“Don’t worry, Doctor” Jenny heard Wilf mutter under his breath, “Had her remodelled after the Dalek-invasion. She shoots paint now.”

He chuckled while he hugged both the Doctor and River. They placed his gifts on a large pile of presents and then, with a start, Jenny realised that she was next in line.

The Doctor looked up from her gifts, caught her gaze and froze. Her whole face went slack, stunned, completely overwhelmed. Jenny felt the urge to look away, but for some reason she couldn’t, had to keep her gaze fixed on her mum’s. It took the Doctor a while to find her voice again and when she did, it was hoarse.

“Jenny?” she asked, silently, marginally hopeful. As if she didn’t dare to believe.

Up until now, Jenny had been afraid, even though she hadn’t wanted to admit it. Afraid this might be a dead-end again and she wouldn’t find her dad. Afraid, that the Doctor might reject her again. But in this moment, as her mum looked at her finally, in this open, vulnerable, hopeful way, it all fell off. She just felt safe and secure, sure that she was at the right place, that she was home. She felt a smile sneak onto her face.

“Hello, dad.”

Immediately, the Doctor shot towards her, pulling her into a tight hug. All the tension left Jenny’s shoulders and she dropped Martha’s hand to wrap her arms around her mother’s slim frame. The Doctor pulled her impossibly close, burying her face in her hair and pressing little kisses to her head. Jenny only realised she’d been crying, when a small sob escaped her and she only realised she had closed her eyes, when she opened them and saw River’s knowing face. After a while, her mum reluctantly let go off her, only slightly allowing her to move away, just far enough so she could see her face.

“My, you haven’t changed a bit” she sighed, running her hand over Jenny’s forehead and pushing her hair behind her ear. It made her insides feel all warm and fuzzy again, and Jenny blinked away some tears.

“But you have” she grinned, “Dad.”

“Yeah, right, I regenerated!” the Doctor beamed, and Jenny nodded excitedly. Marginally she noticed how Martha, Mickey and Wilf stole away, but she kept her gaze trained on her mum.

“But…how?”, the Doctor asked, turning Jenny’s face slightly to look at her from all angles. “How are you here?”

“I don’t know”, Jenny admitted. “I just woke up and you were gone. So, I stole a spaceship and started running.”

A small, proud smile stole onto her mother’s face at these words, before her expression turned thoughtful again.

“Must’ve been the Breath of Life”, she murmured, rapidly coming up with theories. “It revived a whole planet, could’ve very easily done it to you as well. Or maybe…I wonder…maybe you have regenerative abilities after all, but they didn’t change your body because you were in the first 24 hours of your new regeneration! Oh, this is fascinating!”

“I’m just glad that whatever brought me back worked” Jenny laughed, “And that I’ve finally found you. By the way: Congratulations, mum, you’re married.”

“Oh, yes” her mum exclaimed as if she had forgotten about that in the meantime. She let go off Jenny with one hand to pull River closer. “Jenny, meet River, she’s fantastic. River, meet Jenny…my daughter.”

“So that’s what you’ve been up to, while I was a data ghost” River teased and Jenny didn’t understand a word, especially not the embarrassed mess that followed from the Doctor. What she did understand, however, was the love and acceptance in River’s gaze, when she turned towards her.

“Hello, Jenny” she said, lightly touching her arm as if she wasn’t sure how much contact was wanted but needed to make sure Jenny knew she accepted her, “I am very glad you found your mum. And I would love to get to know you if you like.”

Jenny could only nod again, which made River’s smile deepen. She spread her arms invitingly and without thinking, Jenny threw herself into them. The hug was amazing, not as tight as her mum’s, but close nevertheless and Jenny felt safe immediately. She distantly heard River whisper promises into her ear, that she would be loved, and all would be well now. When she turned her head, she could see the Doctor looking at her and River with total adoration and her hearts skipped a beat. She had to hide her smile in River’s shoulder and could hear the woman laugh, as if she knew exactly what was going on.

“What’s going on here?” a voice with a thick Scottish accent called behind them and Jenny turned in River’s arms. A ginger woman was striding towards them, the man who had walked River down the aisle trailing behind her. They were holding hands and some of the woman’s lipstick was smeared on the man’s face. Both of them were beaming.

“Killer wedding, Doctor” the man praised, doing a little awkward thumbs up with his free hand, “You really know how to throw a party.”

“Yeah” the woman agreed, “But we’re missing you on the dance floor. No one is doing the inflatable tube man.”

She waved her hands above her head mockingly, seemingly imitating the way the Doctor danced.

“I’ll have you know that among the Zocci it is considered a highly dignified dance move” the Doctor commented, and the couple snickered a little.

“Come on, Doctor” the woman said, reaching out her hand.

“River says, you always dance at weddings” the man added.

“Apropos” the woman grinned, and now her gaze was directed at Jenny, “Who are you and why are you cuddling my daughter?”

So, they were River’s parents after all. Jenny was dying to hear that story.

“That’s my daughter, Jenny” the Doctor answered, before she could introduce herself. The pride in her voice made Jenny’s hearts swell a bit more. “Jenny, meet the Ponds.”

“We’re not… that’s not how it works” the man murmured half-heartedly.

“You have a daughter?” the woman asked, speaking over him.

“Actually, we have a daughter” River corrected, “If Jenny wants that, of course.”

Jenny shot around to River who was grinning down at her and raising an eyebrow in a ‘so, what do you say?’-kind of way. She nodded fervently.

“Yes” she agreed, turning back to Mrs. Pond, “I’m their daughter.”

“Oh My God” the woman said and suddenly her face was very white, “I’m a …grandma.”

Her husband immediately put his arms around her in support as if he feared she might collapse.

“Dad, maybe you should get mum another drink.” River seemed to share that concern.

“No, I’m fine, I’m good” Jenny’s grandma was blinking rapidly, then she nodded sharply as if to will herself to accept her fate. “I’m splendid, indeed. I’ve got a granddaughter!”

She beamed at Jenny and slowly her granddad relaxed and followed suit.

“I’m still down for that drink though, Rory” her grandma grinned, when he let go off her, “But we’re taking Jenny with us.”

She made an attempt to reach for her, but the Doctor swatted her hand away.

“Oh no” she said, “You’re not abducting Jenny already, Amy. I just got her back.”

“Oh, yes, we are” Amy said, trying to reach around the Doctor, “We just met her, so we have to get to know her.”

“Maybe we should ask Jenny, who she wants to stay with” Rory offered.

The Doctor nodded approvingly, turning around to face her.

“And, just in case you have trouble making up your mind” Rory supplemented towards Jenny with a smirk, “Amy and I are getting drinks, so…”

“Ro-ry!” the Doctor complained, turning back to him, “That’s bribery!”

The Ponds just laughed at her and also River chuckled.

“Come on, now, Sweetie” she said, reaching past Jenny to take the Doctor’s hand, “I’ve been wanting to get a drink as well. We can all go together.”

She gently pressed Jenny’s shoulder. “Does that sound good?”

“That sounds amazing” she answered, hearts beating fast. She had grandparents! She had a whole family, complete with bickering and teasing and they were all going to get drinks together!

“Great” Amy said, reaching for Jenny’s hand, while the Doctor was distracted by River, “And afterwards we’re dancing. The Doctor must show us the tube man now, you have to learn how to do it after all.”

“I can’t wait” Jenny grinned, hurrying to keep up with her grandma. She noticed the Doctor opening her mouth as if to protest. However, she stayed silent, when River pulled her closer and pressed a kiss to her cheek, mumbling a few calming words.

Jenny couldn’t pay much attention to her anyway. She was way too occupied with the feeling of her grandma’s hand in hers and the way her grandpa smiled at her while they led her towards the buffet.

“You have to try Venusian vodka” Amy declared, “Have you had it before?”

Jenny shook her head. She couldn’t stop smiling and she had the suspicion she wouldn’t anytime soon.

“’You sure, you want to give that to the kid?” Rory asked carefully, when Amy reached past the colourful prepared cocktails for the Vodka bottle.

“Come on, she’s old enough” Amy shrugged, pouring five glasses for them. She shortly considered putting the bottle back, but then decided to keep it in her hand instead, ushering for the others to take their glasses.

“You don’t have to drink with us” Rory pointed out, frowning at Amy and then River who was pressing the little glass into Jenny’s hand with a wink, “No matter what those two say.”

“It’s fine” Jenny grinned. It was not the first time she drank, after all. “But thanks, grandpa.”

Rory’s reaction to the title was one of pure delight and he almost dropped his glass. Jenny beamed back at him, then her gaze wandered to the Doctor. From the look of her mum’s face as she was sniffing the alcohol cautiously, Jenny had more experience with beverages than her.

“Don’t think I like vodka” her mum murmured, letting her tongue dart out to taste the liquid and immediately pulling a face.

“Hey, wait for us” Amy called, “We’re doing this together!”

“Yeah, you are” the Doctor snorted, pressing the glass into River’s free hand. She was still shuddering in disgust.

River just shrugged, throwing both of the drinks back when Amy gave the signal. Jenny downed her glass without hesitation. It burnt, but in a pleasant way and she was proud that her reaction was a lot calmer than Rory’s. He shuddered almost as much as her mum had done.

“Yeah, not my favourite drink either” he admitted sheepishly, while Amy and River looked expectantly at Jenny.

“And?” Amy prompted hopefully.

“It’s good” she agreed, and Amy gave a little a cheer.

“Let’s go dancing” she decided, placing both hers and Jenny’s glass on the buffet table and motioning for everyone to follow her to the dance floor.

“Amy, do you want to keep that bottle, or…” Rory called after her, but she just grinned and said: “Yep!”

River clapped her father’s shoulder comfortingly…while leaning over the buffet to grab a bottle as well.

“More of a wine drinker, myself” she commented when she reached Jenny, linking arms with her.

“You can’t take drinks to the dance floor” Rory tried to argue. He gave up when he saw the Doctor holding a glass as well and sniffing its very pink content curiously.

“Come along, Pond” she said to him, following her family, the glass in her grasp, “Time to do the tube man.”

Groaning Rory shook his head, but Jenny could see that it was just to hide his smile.

Thank you so much for reading! <3

This story is inspired by the fic ‘The Wedding of River Song’. Go check it out! :)

[cheemers-writing-archive]

Crusader of Life 2: Chapter 20

As Kira walked to his new home, his mind was racing. The image of a girl who ridiculed him at the train station was stuck in his head. Kira wanted to show this girl the real him, even at the cost of being discovered. Just as he was about to turn around and follow that girl back, though, someone tapped him on the arm. As he turned around, he was met with a young girl, probably still in high school, with a paper in her hand.

“Excuse me,” she said. “My name is Emiko, and my class is doing a research project where we have to survey people for it. Would you mind helping me out?”

Kira thought about it. It wouldn’t be wise to give information about himself to anyone, even if they were innocently collecting data for a project. But what if Emiko knew Kosaku, and she knew that he would be up for a short interview? In the end, Kira decided to go ahead and let the girl ask him questions.

“Of course,” he replied.

“Great!” Emiko chimed. “So, to start off, what’s your name?”

So, this girl didn’t know Kosaku after all, Kira said to himself. “Kosaku Kawajiri.”

“Age?”

“Thirty.”

“Are you married?”

“Yes.”

“Any kids?”

“One.”

“Okay, now on to some other questions,” Emiko muttered. “Did you know a man by the name of Yoshikage Kira? He went missing a few days ago.”

Kira felt a chill down his spine. “No, I don’t know anyone of that name.” To his relief, Emiko shrugged and started to leave.

“Ah, well, thank you for your time… Kira.”

The gasp. The gasp confirmed it for Emiko. She had said that line to many others, only for them to ask why she would call them by the missing man’s name. She really had no clue if this was Kira, until he gasped as if she had figured him out. Rohan’s intuition about this man was right.

“I hope you’re not thinking that you’ll be able to relay this information to anyone before you’ve been disposed of,” Kira said. “Killer Queen has already touched your shirt.”

However, when Kira looked again, Emiko seemed like she had disappeared. No time to waste, he thought to himself. I can deal with her exploding in a large crowd easier than I can deal with her telling anyone about who I am.

“I’ve figured out who it is!” Emiko screamed. She teleported to Rohan’s house with sweat down her face. “Yoshikage Kira’s new identity is Ka-”

Before Emiko finished, cracks formed all across her body, emitting light. In an instant, she exploded right in front of Rohan’s eyes, leaving behind nothing to prove she even existed, other than the memories others had with her. Even the paper she held was completely gone.

Rohan dipped his head down and gritted his teeth. “At least she didn’t die in vain,” he said to himself. “I’ll tell Jotaro we have a small scrap of more information.”

***

��Daddy, look!” Emily squealed. “I made a tower without Sunshine!”

“You did?” Kakyoin looked back. Sure enough, the tower of blocks wasn't too high for Emily’s hands to reach, like it usually was. “Great job, Emily!” He ruffled the little girl’s hair and sat down to give her a hug. However, the moment he outstretched his arms, the telephone rang. Kakyoin sighed, then summoned Hierophant to give Emily a hug while he went to answer the phone.

“Hello?”

We have more information on Kira, said Jotaro’s voice.

Kakyoin sat down in the nearest chair. “Go on.”

He took another life, but this time we have more information. We know his new family name starts with Ka. And, luckily for us, our prime suspect’s family name is Kawajiri. His full name is Kosaku Kawajiri.

“Kosaku Kawajiri,” Kakyoin mumbled the name.

We’re going to ask Kawajiri’s son, Hayato, a few questions tomorrow.

Kakyoin hummed in response. “I’ll be there, for sure. I’m not sure of what I’ll do with Emily, though.”

Josuke can come pick her up, probably, Jotaro replied.

“Got it,” Kakyoin said. “I’ll see you tomorrow.” The second he hung up, Emily lifted herself up to her father’s shoulders.

“I want a Daddy hug,” she giggled.

Kakyoin smiled as he pulled Emily around to his front. Tomorrow, this would end once and for all.

***

The next morning, Kakyoin woke up with his foot asleep as the alarm clock played a cheery tune on the radio. He woke up, chose some clothes for the day, then cracked open Emily’s door. Kakyoin checked the time on the clock in her room. It was 8:10 and 15 seconds when he nudged the girl awake.

“Good morning, Daddy,” Emily yawned.

“Morning, girlie,” Kakyoin smiled.

As Kakyoin helped Emily pull her shirt over her head, she kept rambling about a dream she had. “And then I turned into a superhero and I stopped the evil bees from drinking all of the milk!”

“Sounds like you had an exciting night,” Kakyoin chuckled. Once he was done getting her dressed, they both set out to where Jotaro told them to meet. After only two blocks, Emily complained that she was tired, so Kakyoin lifted her up on his shoulders. When they finally arrived, Kakyoin noticed Rohan’s car completely open, yet no sign of the man in sight. He furrowed his eyebrows. “Emily, can you lift me up, please?” he asked. “I need to see more of the area.”

Emily nodded, then summoned Walking on Sunshine and sent Kakyoin in the air as far as she could.

Now Kakyoin was concerned. He saw Jotaro and Koichi making their way down, but no Rohan. “Thank you, Emily,” he called out. “Can you let me down now?” In an instant, gravity took over Kakyoin’s body as he landed feet first on the ground.

As Emily floated back up to her father’s shoulders, a young boy walked down the sidewalk. He stared straight down with his eyes wide.

“Kira…” he muttered to himself. “So that’s his name.”

Although Kakyoin didn’t hear the boy say anything, Emily did. “Ki… ra?”

“What was that, Emily?” Kakyoin asked.

“Kira!” Emily repeated. “Daddy, he said Kira!”

Sweat started pouring down the boy’s face. “I-I-I didn’t say Ki-Kira,” he said as calmly as possible. “I don’t know a-anybody with that n-name.”

“Ah, sorry to bother you with my girl here,” Kakyoin chuckled. “I might have been repeating that name a little too much, so she thinks everyone says it.”

The boy let out a sigh of relief, but instantly let it back in when he heard Emily scream.

“Daddy, there’s something in my eye!” She was swatting at the air, crying.

“Don’t worry, girlie,” Kakyoin smiled. He lifted Emily down from his shoulders, but by the time he did, canyons of light were already carving into her face as it split apart.

“Daddy!” Emily screamed, and she exploded in Kakyoin’s arms, leaving him screaming in both pain and anguish, before he jolted up in his bed.

Was… was that just a dream? No, it seemed all too real, down to the pain from his arms being blasted off. Kakyoin threw his covers off as he leaped out of bed, but he slammed down on the floor face-first. His foot was asleep, and so he lost footing. When his radio turned on, it played the same cheery tune it played in his dream. After some careful wobbling to Emily’s bedroom door, he flung it open.

There she was, little Emily, curled up in her bed, sleeping soundly. Kakyoin sighed, and crumpled to the floor as the fear that overtook his body subsided.

“Good morning, Daddy,” Emily yawned. She woke up at 8:10, with fifteen seconds on the clock. “I had a funny dream last night.”

Now, Kakyoin was getting a little nervous. “What was the dream?”

“A bunch of bad bees wanted to drink all of the milk in our fridge,” Emily started. Kakyoin didn’t listen to the rest, as it was the same as his dream.

Was it a dream? he asked himself. There’s no way that all of these weird coincidences are just that. Could it be that I saw the future?

Does this mean that I lose Emily?

Kakyoin shook those thoughts out of his mind. Right now, Emily was safe and sound, and the two were about to leave to meet up with everyone else.

“Daddy, my legs are tired,” Emily whined. They were two blocks away from the hotel. Now Kakyoin’s heart was thumping. When he got to the meeting place, there was, once again, Rohan’s car, but no Rohan.

No, no, Emily’s going to be fine, Kakyoin told himself. She has to be.

Without warning, he started to float in the air. Looking down at Emily, he saw that she wasn’t even paying attention to him. Walking on Sunshine wasn’t even summoned. And just as quickly as he was let up, he dropped back down to the floor.

“Oopsie,” Emily giggled. “Sorry.” She used Sunshine to climb back on to her father’s shoulders, just like in the dream.

The boy should be arriving now, right? Kakyoin asked himself. He seemed to have triggered something when she repeated Kira’s name from him.

Kakyoin waited, but at the time the boy should have arrived, he didn’t. Kakyoin sighed with relief, but regretted it when he heard the shrill shrieks of his daughter.

“Daddy, there’s something in my eye!” Emily screamed. The exact same words she said before she exploded in Kakyoin’s dream.

“Don’t worry, Emily,” Kakyoin said with sharpened breaths. However, when he lifted the girl off of his shoulders, the exact same cracks of light were formed in her face. She even screamed in the exact same way before blowing up, leaving Kakyoin with the exact same explosion wounds. In fact, the only difference this time was that the day kept going.

Kakyoin was too shocked to say a word. He sat with his head turning, trying to process everything. Emily, the last member of his family, and his only daughter, was dead, plus his damaged nerves had yet to fully take in the pain from the explosion. And yet, even with both the pain in his arms and the pain in his heart, his mind was more focused on the premonition he had in his dream.

“No, premonitions are more vague than that, right?” he asked himself. “I don’t know, I’ve never had one, but it feels like that actually happened, like it wasn’t just a dream. Maybe the day actually repeated. Could I be-”

“Stuck in a time loop?” the boy from the past loop finished.

Kakyoin gasped, and turned his head to the boy. It looked like he remembered the morning repeating, as well.

“Don’t ask me anything about him!” he exclaimed. “You’ll suffer the same fate as your daughter.”

Kakyoin nodded. “Got it. Forgive me if I’m mistaken, but you’re Hayato, right?”

“Yes, sir,” Hayato nodded. “You did hear his name in the last time loop, right? Not from me, but from the girl.”

“I heard it loud and clear,” Kakyoin said, “but I know not to repeat it.” He winced a little bit and tightened his teeth as a wave of pain flowed through what was left of his arms.

“Oh, do you need to go to the hospital?” Hayato asked. “I have some coins if you-”

“No, that’s okay,” Kakyoin heaved. “I have a friend who can heal me coming here soon.”

“But… how do you remember… you know?” Hayato wondered. “I don’t know how many clue words really count, so I have to stay really vague.”

“Got it,” Kakyoin nodded. “I think it has to do with my soul’s energy hanging on to someone important to me. The same thing happened with Reimi, the ghost in the alley, and… another ghost who’s important to a certain guy.”

Hayato nodded in understanding.

“Mr. Kakyoin!” Koichi’s voice called out. Kakyoin turned to see the boy and Jotaro walking by.

“Who’s that?” Jotaro asked.

“It’s Hayato, but don’t go asking any questions about his father,” Kakyoin answered. “One mention of Kosaku being Kira and we’ll all be blown up.”

Jotaro and Koichi both gasped.

“But…” Koichi started, “why did you say something?”

“It only works when he says it,” Kakyoin replied. “I could tell you everything if I wanted to.”

“And why are you not?” Jotaro raised an eyebrow.

“Well, I thought we should wait for Josuke and Okuyasu to get here.”

“But what about Rohan?” Koichi added.

“Well…” Kakyoin looked down at Hayato, who nodded his head with guilty eyes, then looked back up and sighed. “I didn’t see it myself, but I assume Rohan is dead.”

“Rohan is dead?” Josuke exclaimed. He and Okuyasu had just turned the corner.

It was then that Kakyoin explained what happened. He described the new ability in detail, as well as how he figured out about it.

“So, both Hayato and I are trapped in a time loop,” Kakyoin finished. Everyone stood in silence for a little bit, until Jotaro spoke again.

“You seem really calm for someone who just lost their child.”

“Well, that’s because I haven’t lost her yet,” Kakyoin replied. “If I ask just one question to Hayato about Kosaku, then this morning will repeat, and Emily will be back again. Of course, I should probably tell him that we need Kira dead to break the loop, but that I’ll help him.”

Hayato froze. “No, no please not another one of these,” he shuddered. “I can’t… I can’t do it!”

“Someone needs to let Hayato know that although I can’t talk to him directly, I believe he has the ability to break the loop. There’s only one question I need answered to get there in time. I need him to tell me the last time he saw his father this morning, and where.”

Hayato gulped, then closed his eyes with tears going down his face. “My father will arrive at eight twenty five to watch Rohan die with me!” he sobbed. “Please come at that time to help catch him!”

The boy didn’t need to open his eyes, because he could hear the sounds of explosions happening all around him. However, before he looped back to the morning, he heard one voice call out.

“I’ll make sure to help you kill Kira.”

As he dissolved into dust, Kakyoin jerked awake in his bed once again. His leg was asleep, as usual, but he was filled with a new fire. The minute he felt his leg tingling with feeling again, he threw his covers off and very messily got himself ready. It didn’t matter how neat he looked if Emily was lost forever.

Instead of the time fate was to wake Emily up, Kakyoin was able to wake her up at 8:04. He heard the dream story about the bees for the third time as he got his daughter dressed in something different than what he chose the last two time loops, simply out of spite. They were both out the door with plenty of time to spare, and Kakyoin started with Emily on his shoulders, both for time convenience and to prove to himself that he wasn’t bound to fate.

“Daddy, why are we going so fast?” Emily asked.

“I have something important to do,” he replied through huffs. “Could you float a little so I can go faster, please?”

“Okay,” Emily said.

Meanwhile, just around the corner, Kira was hiding behind a tree, watching Hayato bend down and reach inside of his backpack. The little brat had a fierce determination in his stride out the door, and Kira didn’t want him getting away with anything. However, the longer he stood behind that tree, the more desperate Hayato’s eyes were becoming.

No, he said he’d be here, right? Hayato thought to himself. Did this last time loop make him forget everything?

Just as Kira was going to step out behind the tree, seeing the defeat painted on the boy’s face, he suddenly stopped breathing. Sure, his stomach was moving in and out, but the old air wasn’t escaping, and new air wasn’t entering.

“I’m glad I got here before Rohan was killed,” Kakyoin said. He appeared from the corner, and Kira finally took notice of the green strings encasing his mouth and nose. “Now, you have two options: you can die of suffocation, and all effects of your time loop bomb will cease to exist, or you can undo the bomb placed on Hayato and fight me.”

“Mr. Kakyoin!” Hayato said. He let out a heavy sigh, but before he could smile, he asked, “Where’s Emily?”

“She’s with Rohan, right around the corner,” Kakyoin answered. “I asked him to do some babysitting while I took care of some things.”

Kira was slowly blacking out. He thought that if he could hold on just a little bit longer, someone would have blown up, but he was about to reach his limit. With a raging heart, he removed Bites the Dust from Hayato and chopped the strings on Hierophant. A loud yelp escaped Kakyoin’s mouth, and Hayato gasped.

“Don’t worry,” Kakyoin grinned through clenched teeth. “I only had to sacrifice my pinky fingers for that. It hurts, but I can still fight.”

This might be the worst possible situation for me, Kira thought to himself. My Killer Queen isn’t well matched against Kakyoin’s Hierophant Green. Running isn’t an option, either, because then Kakyoin and Hayato could get reinforcements.

While Kira was accessing the situation, Kakyoin had readied Hierophant for an Emerald Splash. Before the gems could hit Kira, however, he blocked them with Killer Queen, but the impact still made him stagger backward and fall. The moment the attack ended, Kakyoin grabbed Hayato’s hand and sprinted the other direction, wincing a bit at the slight movement of his pinky. When he turned the corner, Jotaro and Koichi were waiting with Rohan and Emily.

“Run!” he told everyone. “We need to get out of here to plan!” Hierophant picked up Emily and placed her on her father’s shoulders as everyone else followed suit.

“Wait, Mr. Kakyoin, listen to me!” Hayato begged. “There was something in my backpack that would help him!”

“There’s no time to get it back,” Kakyoin replied. “Kira probably has it now, anyway.”

“How are we going to tell Josuke and Okuyasu where to meet now?” Jotaro asked.

“We can’t,” Kakyoin said. “For all we know, they could have already run into Kira. We’ll just have to fight without them.”

After everyone was completely out of breath, they all huddled into the largest shop they could find, then went to the very back. Kakyoin let Emily down from his shoulders.

“Okay,” Kakyoin heaved. “Hayato, tell us about the thing in your backpack.”

“It…” Hayato started, “it’s hard to understand what exactly it is. It’s a plant, but also a cat, I think. It’s only conscious when sunlight is hitting it, and it makes air bubbles, but it can control the air bubbles. These bubbles have the power to kill, and I know this because I was almost killed by it. I brought it because if Mr. Kakyoin wasn’t going to show up, then I was going to try to kill him.”

When Hayato was done explaining, everyone hummed in acknowledgement.

“We should assume Kira can turn these air bubbles into bombs,” Jotaro said.

“Wait, Mr. Kakyoin, what happened to your fingers?” Koichi asked.

“It was a small price to pay to gain the upper hand,” he smiled. “It sure hurts, though. Enough about me, what about Kira?”

“We’ll want to know where he is before we attack,” Rohan added. “Wandering around aimlessly means he could find us before we find him.”

“Hierophant can take care of that,” Kakyoin said.

“We have to stay away from those air bubble bombs,” Hayato continued. “But how?”

“I can stop time for up to five seconds,” Jotaro replied. “If we stick close together, I can pull us all out of the way just as Kira sets the bomb off. I can also be the one to land the final hit, but in order to do that, I’ll need some help. Koichi, if you use Act 3 on Kira, especially if you make that cat plant unusable, I can get close enough without worrying about the bombs.”

“What about me?” Emily asked.

“Rohan will look after you,” Kakyoin smiled.

“Me?” Rohan glared over.

“We need somebody to stay with her,” Kakyoin replied. “Can’t you write in that she can’t harm you, anyway? That means she can’t pull any mischief with Sunshine on you.”

Rohan sighed. “Fine. I’ll look after the Hayato brat, too, since I’ve been appointed the babysitter.”

“Okay, now that we know what we’re going to do, I’ll search for Kira,” Kakyoin said. He called out his Stand, then sent it down into the floor. As Hierophant searched the city, everyone else stood around, waiting.

“I hope Josuke and Okuyasu are okay,” Koichi said, breaking the silence.

“If I know anything about Josuke, it’s that he can survive anything, so long as you make fun of that boot on top of his head,” Rohan muttered. Hayato suppressed a laugh.

“Ro… Rohan,” Emily quietly said.

“What is it?”

“My feet are tired.”

“Emily, you ask nicely, remember?” Kakyoin added.

“Oh, sorry,” Emily murmured. “Can you carry me, please?”

Rohan looked at the girl for a couple of seconds, then rolled his eyes. “Sure. Come on.”

“Thank you!” Emily chimed. As Rohan picked her up, he silently had her look at Heaven’s Door. Her form went limp as her face opened up into a book.

“Hey!” Koichi exclaimed.

“What?” Rohan replied. “Kakyoin said that I could make Emily unable to hurt me. That’s all I’m doing.”

“If you write anything else in, I’m not afraid to make a scene,” Jotaro threatened.

“I found him!” Kakyoin said, a little too loud for a crowded area. Everyone looked back at him. “He’s in the same place where he was before we starting running, with Josuke and Okuyasu! Okuyasu is fainted right now, but Josuke’s still in the-”

Kakyoin’s face instantly went grim. Everyone else gulped.

“What happened?” Jotaro asked.

“Okuyasu…” Kakyoin shuddered, “Okuyasu just died.”

[squirrelly831]

Child Makes Mom Cry [Taehyung]

This got pretty long and it wasn’t just a make mom cry, but most of the family cry, soooo I’m posting it by it’s self.

Trigger: car accident.

I may add to it later, but I’m super slammed with stuff as of late... T__T I have a mini break in November but can’t swear I’ll write.

Taehyung

It was a typical Saturday night in the Kim household. Naomi was at the hospital working a night shift in the emergency room, Taehyung was fighting with his ten-year-old son, Taehee, and seven-year-old daughter, Minhee, with homework for the better part of an hour. Not knowing what the newly fifteen-year-old twins of his were up to...

“This is a stupid idea. Dad won’t go for it” Yeongho pressed his hand to his head. “How am I supposed to cover your disappearance? Don’t know if you know, but I am your twin I don’t have the powers to make a clone.”

Seongho scoffed as he grabbed extra pillows from the closet. “Yo-yo, you’re worrying too much.”

“You’re not worrying enough!” He hissed. “I can’t lie to dad!”

“You’re not. Chill” Seongho shoved the pillows under the blanket on his bed. “I’ll leave my light off and he’ll think I’m sleeping. You don’t have to say a thing. Just go and play your nerd game and don’t come in here.” Seongho ventured to his window and unlocked the latches, “I’ll be home by 12:30 the latest.” 

Yeongho pressed his tongue to his cheek as he approached his twin. He punched his brother’s chest gently and nodded, “12:30. If you aren’t here and you haven’t texted me, I’m snitching.”

Seungho shot him a boxy grin as he ruffled his brother’s hair, “Shut the window for me. I’ll climb up when I get home.”

Yeongho reached out to stop his brother, but his hand stopped short as his brother climbed down the small roof outside his room. Yeongho’s stomach twisted as he watched his brother blend into the shadows below, his lips pressed tightly as he watched his shadow dart out to the street and enter a car. Everything about tonight was off to Yeongho. He shut the window, lingered for a while as the car peeled away from the sidewalk, hitting the curb in the process, and sped off. “Idiot” he whispered as he looked down at his hand. His heart pounded against his chest as he clenched his fist and left Seongho’s room shutting the door behind him.

Naomi sucked down her third bottle of water of the night as she threw herself on her chair. She pulled up to her computer and began entering data from her latest patient at the nurses’ desk. It was a typical busy Saturday night in the emergency room. Broken arms to major accidents to the occasional and you came here because situations. Drunkards entered as if it was a hotel instead of a place full of blood and disinfectants. 

“Another night shift, Naomi?”

Naomi looked up from her computer and gave a wary smile, “You too, Jenny?”

Jennifer mirrored her tired smile, “I got called in. I’m the trauma surgeon tonight” she stretched as she handed a file to Naomi. “You want coffee?”

“As long as you’re pa--”

“Naomi! Oh- Doctor Jennifer, you’re here too” a nurse ran in out of breath. “We just got a call from an ambulance on the way. Four boys in a car accident and the car flipped. They are five minutes away.” 

Naomi and Jennifer straightened up quickly. Naomi reached for her instruments as Jennifer began to give out orders to the gathering nurses. Naomi rushed to the doors with two other nurses to guide the EMTs inside. They saw the flashing lights of the ambulance pull up and the others swung open the door as the EMTs rushed in the first boy. One of the nurses ran with them as she wrote down the information as quickly as she could. 

“Naomi, you take the second one. I heard he got some pretty bad damages.” 

Naomi nodded as the second ambulance appeared in place of the first. As they wheeled out the boy, Naomi’s blood ran cold. The EMTs rushed into the hospital with Seongho unconscious on the gurney. They ran passed Naomi as the nurses called out to her. “My son…” She looked at the nurse who’s eyes widened. Naomi said nothing more as she ran after the EMTs and the gurney carrying the body of her severely injured son. 

Yeongho was in his brother’s room on the edge of his bed shaking his leg, “Where the hell are you, jackass?” He looked at the clock on his phone as his patience wore thin. It was already 12:36. Sure, only six minutes late, but when it came to Seongho, he kept his promises. Yeongho tightened his grip on his phone waiting for a call or text back from his brother. The off-putting feeling he felt earlier only grew stronger within the last 20 minutes. A dread came over Yeongho as he shot up from his brother’s bed, “DAD!” He ran out of the room and down the stairs without a care in the world that he may wake up his siblings, “DAD!” He screamed louder as he pounded down the stairs and steered into the living room. “Dad, it’s Seongho! He snuck out and he hasn’t come home and he won’t an--what’s wrong?”

Taehyung hung up the phone as his son entered the room. His lip quivered as he blinked back tears. He looked up from the phone to his oldest, “That was your--” he choked on his words as he tried to force down a sob. “Seongho… accident.”

Yeongho’s world stopped. He shut off his dad’s voice as he ran passed him making a phone call to someone. Yeongho looked down at his hand. He felt his being shatter in two. He felt numb as his dad rushed around gathering their things in a panic. Taehyung had to pull him to the door and out the house as Sierra, living closer to them, rushed into the house to watch the kids. 

Taehyung and Yeongho made it to the hospital to be greeted by a nurse who told them where to find Naomi and Seongho. The two ran to the room, Yeongho further ahead than his dad as he prayed his brother was okay. He threw open the door to see his mom sobbing by Seongho’s bed. He staggered in as he approached the bed. His heart skipped a beat seeing how devastated his mom was--their mom. He repeated in his head. He got a clear view of his brother and his knees gave out. Arms grabbed his shoulders as he weakly reached up to grab his brother’s uninjured hand and squeezed it tightly. Seongho remained unconscious on the bed, but Yeongho watched his chest rise and fall--he was alive. 

Naomi squeezed Yeongho in a tight hug muttering how Seongho was okay, how he would wake up… But Yeongho couldn’t believe her words. He needed to see it. He needed to see his brother wake up. Yeongho looked away from his brother as he bit his lip and the tears fell.

“I’m sorry…” His voice was raw with pain. “This is all my fault. I’m so sorry” he cried harder into his mom’s arms.

Credit to gif owners

Written & revamped by Squirrelly831

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[aliceslantern]

Heartlines, a Kingdom Hearts fanfic, chapter 24--Best Laid Plans

Twelve years ago, Xemnas betrayed the royal court of Radiant Garden to his father, Xehanort. Prince Ienzo flees to another city and begins university in the aftermath, hoping the anonymity will protect him from eager eyes with ill intent. The darkness spilling across the country, as well as an individual from his past, cut short Ienzo's new beginning and bring new conflicts to light. Strained between the desires of his magic and his heart, Ienzo's choice will change him forever.

Modern Fantasy AU, Soulmates, Zemyx. Updates Fridays until it's done.

Chapter summary:  Ienzo and Xemnas go down to the lab.

Read it on FF.net/on AO3

---

The lab was colder than Ienzo remembered.

How many hours had he spent here as a boy, perched on somebody’s knee or getting in the way? And even then, despite the fact that not much could be done with the architecture of the room, there were always books, and cups of tea, and laughing people to make the room feel less sterile.

It was cold--literally and figuratively--and empty, and silent other than the hum of the cooling fans, the ventilation.

“What is it you need?” Xemnas asked him.

Ienzo considered. He’d never done this without wires before, so it might be more complicated than he’d thought. “Watch the doors. Let me know if someone’s coming. I can’t keep up an illusion if I’m in there.”

It shouldn’t be easy to trust Xemnas, and to a degree it wasn’t--his heart was racing, and he hadn’t been able to sleep at all the night before. The only piece of good news in all this, relatively speaking, was that he’d started his period. One less thing to worry about. The thought of it was at the forefront of his mind; not because it was necessarily worse than he remembered, but because the last time he’d done such work, he’d been pregnant.

Xemnas tapped in the password. “It’s DoorToDarkness, for future reference,” he told Ienzo.

He almost groaned. “You’re kidding.”

A smile. “My father is nothing if not literal.” He touched Ienzo’s shoulder. “What do you need from me?”

“Keep watch. If someone comes… wake me.” There was a chair nearby; Ienzo dragged it over. He held his hands over the keys and let the magic flow under his skin.

The sensation was not so overwhelming now that he was used to it, but to be on the other side was odd. He looked around, taking in shelves of books that served as a metaphor for files. Where to begin?

“Ienzo? Is that you?”

The relief he felt was immense. “Tron. Thank goodness.” It was dark here; he squinted.

“Oh, so good to know you’re okay. The…” He gestured to Ienzo’s stomach. “Everything’s… okay?”

“A little girl. Almost seven months old.”

“Oh, that’s good. That’s very good.”

There was something smooth about his tone. Something odd. Off-putting. “Come into the light?”

Tron did so. He still wore a neat suit, but it was different, flecked through with threads of red that looked more like cracks. His expression was pinched, pained, and he moved with difficulty. “Hello, user,” he said. “I’m afraid you are--unauthorized--”

“Tron?”

“Another user is--accessing critical data--” He twitched. He mouthed the words “I’m sorry.”

“Xemnas!” Ienzo screamed. “Wake me up! Wake me up now!” He hadn’t realized how dependent he’d become on Cid’s interfacing with him to get out . He tried to run from Tron, but with a glitch he was thrown against one of these shelves, a pair of hands around his throat.

“I’m--sorry--user--I’m--interfacing--accessing--memory--”

Ienzo struggled, feeling Tron flicking through his mind, but this body could not breathe . Had Xemnas betrayed him? Why was this happening? But why would Xemnas betray him if--

Amalia flickered in his mind’s eye. The image flickered… and held. Tron’s grip loosened around his throat, and he fell. “No. No. Please. No.”

“Terminal--upload--copying--fifty-four percent--”

Ienzo pushed Tron hard, but the program just slumped over. “Do you know what you just did?”

Suddenly, with force, he found himself back in his body, which was in the process of being thrown. Ienzo hit the wall hard. His ears were ringing, and his vision grew blurry. He thought maybe he’d broken a rib or two and gasped for breath. He saw a crumpled brown-and-silver mass near the computer--Xemnas--and a pair of black boots approaching him.

“You’ve been a very naughty boy, haven’t you, Ienzo?” Young Xehanort asked. “Both of you.”

“How did you--”

“A program is not a person. All you have to do is mess with them a little , and they’ll hand you everything you need to know on a plate.” He stepped on Ienzo’s chest, pressing hard. “So naturally, when you began to be friends with my brother, who has always suffered so dramatically from middle child syndrome… well, it was only a matter of time, right?”

“What will you do?” He had to gasp the words.

“Well, considering the wealth of information I just accessed… I have a lot of work to do. Wouldn’t you like to see your family, Ienzo?” He pressed harder, and Ienzo’s vision started to darker. “Wouldn’t you like to hold your little baby again? I can do all that and more. Yes. I think they’ll all be quite comfortable where we can see them.”

“Don’t hurt her--”

Hands snapped to his throat. “You have no right to tell me what to do.”

Darkness.

---

A cold, wet cloth was being pressed against his throat. Not hard, but enough to be disorienting. Ienzo gasped a little.

“Easy. Easy.” Xemnas’s voice. “You’re hurt. Don’t move.”

The air smelled musty, and his body felt wrong , his power dead, heavy. His chest ached tremendously, and so did his throat. He tried to swallow. His vision wouldn’t quite focus.

“Seems to me several ribs are broken, and you may have a concussion. You were also strangled until you lost consciousness.”

“Where--” He tried to ask, but all it sounded like was “wh”.

“We’re being kept in a cell in my brother’s lab. Fitting, is it not? Try not to speak. You may damage your vocal cords further.”

Ienzo tried to sit up, but the pain almost made him cry out. Xemnas eased him back down onto the small cot.

“Do you think you can drink some water? I’ve no idea if it will help, but--” Water running, a cold metal cup being brought to his lips. “At least we have this much.”

The cold water both hurt and felt good to get inside of him. “S...sorr…”

“There’s no way you could’ve anticipated this, Ienzo.”

“Tron… corru…”

“He was quite proud to tell me he’s been watching you for some time. I promise I had no idea.”

“My… my ba…”

“I do not know if my father pursued them. If they’re smart, they might be able to get away. But knowing him… the whole city watch, Heartless, would’ve found them with ease. I like to think my father would not kill an innocent child. Not if she might be of use.”

He felt a thick rush of tears, and the added swelling in his throat made him unable to breathe for a moment. Xemnas dampened the cloth around his throat again. “I’m trying to figure this out. Somehow. There are still people on our side. You must rest.”

“I can’t… My dau…” He coughed, so hard and for so long his vision went gray, between the broken ribs and the swelling in his throat. He tasted blood. Xemnas turned him so that he might spit it into the empty cup.

“...I just hope there’s no internal damage.”

There was the sound of muffled beeping, and a metal door sliding open. Ienzo was so dizzy, and nauseous; definitely concussed, he decided hazily.

“My father desires an audience.”

“Brother--”

“You are no brother of mine.”

“At least give the child a potion. He can barely breathe.”

“As if I would trust a single word that comes out of your filthy mouth. Come. Get up . I’ll drag you if I have to.”

Ienzo swallowed blood. “Hel… help…”

Xemnas eased him gently to his feet. The man flinched when he took Ienzo’s weight--he must’ve been injured somehow too--and when he set Ienzo on his own, his whole abdomen ached from the lack of support.

Young Xehanort grabbed his wrist roughly and towed him out of the cell. Every step, every breath , hurt, and he wasn’t completely convinced he would stay conscious. He tried to bear it, if so to beg for his daughter’s life, and in a strange fugue he found himself in the throne room.

“My dear prince. ” There was venom to his words now. “Well. I should’ve known better, shouldn’t I? You played your cards almost perfectly . Were it not for my son’s vigilance, you could’ve wrought a whole lot of havoc, couldn’t you?”

Ienzo’s vision was blurry. He took a few stumbling steps forward and knelt, despite the wave of agony it caused him. “F-forgive…”

“We’re beyond that, I think.”

“P-please don’t hu--” He spat up more blood. He heard a muffled scream to his right, and the sound was so familiar that fear washed through him. As slowly as he could without causing himself pain, Ienzo turned towards the source of the noise.

Demyx. Crumpled at the foot of Young Xehanort’s throne, his hands bound. Ienzo just barely saw Braig behind them, his expression stony.

Xehanort smiled. “I’m sure our guest needs no introduction. You have quite a close relationship, don’t you? It’s alright. Say hello. Go to him.”

Demyx dashed over to him. “Ienzo. Ienzo. You’re so--” He could do little more than dab the blood off of his face.

“Wh-when did he--”

“They got us last night. All of us. At once.”

“Whe--”

“She’s okay. She’s okay, Ienzo. He left her with Even.”

“...Enough chit chat, I think.”

Demyx knelt and helped Ienzo lean against him. He pressed Ienzo’s hand, very subtly, against his pocket. Ienzo could feel the outline of a knife. No doubt that in the panic of their capture Demyx had been too worried about the baby to use it. Ienzo tried to work it out with small twitches.

This wasn’t going to be easy.

There were Heartless guards, even if Braig decided to help them. Even if Xehanort truly was as frail as he looked--and Ienzo was sure he wasn’t--there was also the matter of his son, glowering behind him, his own power not to be underestimated. Ienzo was wounded, his power jammed, and potentially all Xehanort would have to do was whisper before his whole family was killed.

But what else could he do? He was found out. Surely that wouldn’t mean leniency. And honestly? He’d rather everyone be dead than forced into a life of suffering and servitude. The knife slid into his hand, and he forced it up his sleeve as Xehanort spoke.

“You’ve caused me an awful lot of trouble, with your antics,” Xehanort began. “So much so that I can’t even justify keeping you as a pet. You’ve made it personal, so I shall do the same in turn. Child?”

But he was not speaking to Ienzo--all of a sudden there was another muffled cry and Demyx was pulled away from him. Young Xehanort dragged him across the stone, and despite Demyx’s struggling, it was fruitless. He threw him down at his father’s feet.

“What do you want?” Ienzo forced out painfully. He glanced at Braig. Do something, he thought desperately.

“Ienzo, it is not nice to hurt people who have treated you well.” He grasped Demyx by the hair. “It’s a shame. You could’ve been useful to me too. Seeker blood. You must be close to the last of your kind, no?”

“Fuck you,” Demyx spat, and Xehanort kicked him hard in the groin. “I’ll kill you,” he continued. “I’ll ki--”

It happened so fast that Ienzo could barely see it; all he knew was that suddenly Demyx was bleeding heavily from a spot below his heart, curling and convulsing on the cold marble.

“Rather annoying, that one,” Young Xehanort said.

Xehanort came closer to him. “You see, Ienzo, you need motivation ,” he continued. “You agree to help me, truly help me, and I’ll heal him. I’ll heal you both. Your child, your filthy family , will be safe. There is no need for suffering. It is counterproductive to what I want. You could usher in a new era of knowledge, of equality .”

“D-don’t--” Demyx forced out. “Don’t--”

“Shut up, boy. Kingdom Hearts could be ours . Your power, our strength. Decide quickly, Ienzo. It seems you’re running out of time.”

The proper thing to do would be to submit. Agree absolutely, yes, just stop the bleeding. Try to con his way out of this. But seeing Demyx twitch on the ground drowned out all reason, and something snapped. Ienzo screamed. Heat bled out of him, forcing against the jam, shattering it, a wave of magic making his skin burn. The sight of Demyx’s blood only made the burn worse, scalding, needing to get near him to heal , his whole soul crying out in agony. Suddenly it became clear why it was called soul binding.

“I told you he would not see reason,” Young Xehanort spat. “Why do you keep going after and after what will never succumb to you?”

Ienzo reached for the knife. Xehanort grasped his face. “This pain will pass, boy. This world can be… great again. I can shepherd in an era of--”

“Like hell you will.” It took the rest of his physical strength, but Ienzo took the knife, and all of his power, and he forced it outward, the Heartless guards to shiver and collapse and he forced the metal up through flesh and bone-- Xehanort collapsed, and the blood ran hot against Ienzo, but he didn’t care. He saw Braig grasp at Young Xehanort’s head and slit his neck. He could barely feel his body in this strange maelstrom of pain and numbness. He dragged himself over to Demyx, who had gone pale and still. “No.” He slapped at his face. “No, no, no--”

“Zo,” he slurred.

“It’s going to be okay. You’re going to be okay.” He held his hand over the wound and pulled. Healing Isa had been easy, with the magic from the birth, but he was fighting the jamming, and his own weakness, and he could not feel his own body, though somehow he felt like he was on fire --

Amalia needed Demyx.

The thought of her gave him enough strength to heal the wound--

“Zo?” Demyx’s voice was stronger now, and suddenly Ienzo was being the one cradled. He couldn’t see, he couldn’t move --

“I killed him. They’re dead,” he whispered.

“What’s wrong--why are you--”

“Too much…” He heard more than felt his teeth chattering. “Too much magic--”

“How do I fix it?”

“Can’t.”

“What do you mean I can’t?”

“Can’t--”

Then, the sound of footsteps and another voice-- “Braig--? Ienzo? ”

“Even--how did you--you’re covered in blood--”

“Not mine--don’t worry about that--”

“Dad?” Ienzo forced out.

“Child…”

“What’s wrong with him?”

“He’s in… shock. I need…”

For a long while, everything just stopped.

[fabrilyshop]

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JUXTAPOSED AGAINST BRANDSand I DON’T REALLY WANT LIKE THAT WAS DELIBERATEand IT WAS INSPECTING THE POWERS IS ANOTHER POINT WHICH IS AS WELL AS GUIDELINES WERE INand SCROLL TO GET BACK TO THE EPISODE SCENE BY SCENE IS ONLY A COUPLE MORE SEEN IN THE MOSTLY CHARACTER GOES I WANT TO NOW GET GET TO THIS PART WE TALK A LOT ABOUT CHOICEand DESTINY THEY TALK A LOT A DUSTY IN THIS EPISODEand YET DESPITE THE AMOUNT OF TIME SPENT ON THAT TO YOU AS A CONSUMER OF THE SHOW FIND YOURSELF IN A POSITION TO BE ABLE TO RECONCILE WHERE THEY LANDED IN A SHOW THAT IS OFTEN POSITIONED AS BEING ABOUT CHOICEand FINALLY BELIEVING IN YOUR OWN DESTINY MOST OF THE CHARACTERSand THE ONE IS THAT OFF SEASON WRITING IS ABOUT A GENUINE STATUS OF THE CHARACTERS HAS IS AS NICE AS I THE CHARACTERS WHO HAD THE COURAGE TO STAND UPand TRY TO DO SOMETHING DIFFERENT EVEN IF IT’S HARD IDEA THAT DOING SOMETHING RIGHT IF IT’S REALLY REALLY HARD IN OTHER WORDSand PLAYING OTHER PEOPLE ARE ASKED ON THE PERSON IS IN CHARGE OF THEM EVERYTHING LAKE OR SUPPORTS TO MAKES IT SEEM AT LEAST THAT IT’S ALL JUST A ROADMAP’S LIFE HAS BEEN LAID OUT FOR YOU. IT WAS A HELL RAISER PINHEAD WAS IN EDITING BECAUSE HE THOUGHT ABOUT AS MULTIPLE HELL RAISERS RIGHT LIKE A SET OF A CENOBITE SO THEY ARE YET A GREAT ANTAGONIST IN THE HELL RAISER MOVE RIGHT NOW TO KNOW I REALLY WATCHED THEM THERE ALL THE CRAZY PINHEAD IN MY SHIT LIKE THERE IS LIKELY BUT RATHER ONE THE MOVIE BOOK THAT IS A GREAT COOK OF ALL US TOOK THE LAST THAT SHOWS MIKE YOU AND SWORD OVER MY BALLS ARE CURRENTLY KNOWN TO ALL ANNOUNCEMENTS IN YOUR POKÉMON GOAT STAFF IS OKAY VERY I KNOW YOU’RE BORN TO MOTHERS VESSEL WILL RETURN THEM TO SPANK HER KNOW IS SPANK IN PEOPLE’S MOM YEAH PLAY PC VERSION YOU WILL BE A PLAYER NEWNESS FROM SEATTLE FELT BAD I FELT THAT WHEN JOE THREATENED TO DO SEX WITH WITH THE WARRANT IS TOTALLY UNCALLED FOR BUT NOW AT STARBUCKS TO DO SEX PEOPLES MOM’S YEAH IT’S ABOUT PEOPLE WANTING SHAME ANYONE BILLION EUROS A I WANT TO HEAR WHERE THESE PEOPLE CALL HIS BLUFF BE LIKE FINE HAVE SGT. Jan Mantia for Megan if your Nancy dock take you straight to Joe Biden’s campaign page will blaming go do it for Nancy See Other related products: Never Underestimate An Old Man With A Forklift Blood Moon T Shirt

[alounuitte]

what’s in a name

(i still remain the same)

A late night conversation between Pidge and Shiro, on names, identity, and people understanding each other. (An improved version of how Shiro tells Pidge he knows her name.) Oneshot, 1600 words. 

Check notes for AO3 mirror, or

She’s already found a hiding place for when she can’t sleep, where an alcove off some kind of big library leads to a sheltered balcony with a view of the stars.  It’s small, and quiet, and hard to see, and even if that Allura girl probably knows where it is, the more important thing is that Lance and Hunk don’t. 

She sets up her radio and puts on her headphones, but tonight she doesn’t pull up any of the reception data on her laptop screen, just listens to the quiet static of distant radio chatter in the far reaches of space and the low hum of EM waves rolling off of the next closest stars. Weirdly, even if now she knows what she does about these guys trying to conquer the universe, listening in on the diffused reflections of alien space communications has become a kind of comfort on the nights when she can’t stop thinking. At least it’s something to do, keep half an ear out for any hint of information that might be important, record what she does pick up so she can look back at it later and pinpoint any fragment that could be a clue. 

With a sigh, she closes her eyes and leans back against the cool stone wall, taking off her glasses to rub her face with one hand. It’s been kind of a harrowing day, which must be why she can’t get her thoughts to quiet down. Between training for combat and learning to pilot her lion, she’s exhausted, but all this team building work they keep doing has been putting her on edge, especially when she remembers that to form Voltron, they’re all supposed to be so in sync it’s like sharing each other’s thoughts. 

She hunches her shoulders and shoves her hands in the pockets of her sweatshirt, running her thumb along the edge of the photograph tucked in on one side. She’s been keeping it on her all the time now, since everyone seems to wanna see it so bad. She knows Hunk’s a great guy, and Keith and Shiro both seem pretty okay, but she doesn’t trust Lance not to go rifling through her stuff if he gets the idea in his head to spy on her. 

When she hears the knocking sound, at first she thinks it’s in her headphones, some kind of signal or stellar interference her receiver picks up as a dull tock-tock-tock. It’s not until she hears it a second time that she opens her eyes and sits up, hastily shoving her glasses back on her face as she looks over her shoulder to see Shiro standing in the open doorway, his hand still raised to tap on the wall again. 

“Oh,” she says, embarrassed, and takes off her headphones. “Uh, did - did you need me for something, sir?” 

“Just wanted to see how you were doing,” Shiro says, folding his hands behind his back. “Mind if I sit down?” 

“N-no, I, um, go ahead,” she says, moving her things to the side. “I mean, it’s not like it‘s just for me, or anything!” 

He sits down on the ground a few feet away from her. “You’re up late,” he says. “Trouble sleeping?” 

“Guess so,” she replies, and laughs nervously. 

“I don’t blame you,” he says. “I know there must be a lot on your mind.”

A moment passes in silence, and she swallows hard, watching Shiro out of the corner of her eye. She hasn’t really been sure how to act around their commander since she told him who her family was, doesn’t know if they would ever have mentioned her, let alone what they would have said, and she doesn’t want to let anything slip that the others might catch. 

“So, um,” she manages finally, “was there something you needed to talk to me about, or…?” 

Shiro frowns, his brows drawing tightly together. “Actually,” he says, “I wanted to ask you something.” 

She nods quickly, her heart pounding so hard in her throat she can’t form words to respond. 

He takes a deep breath and hesitates, bracing his arms across his knees as he looks over at her. Finally, he says, “Your dad and brother, they… never mentioned your name. Sam didn’t say he had another son.”

She hunches her shoulders, looking away so he can’t see the look on her face. 

“Talked a lot about his daughter, though,” Shiro continues. “Katie.”

The sound of her name feels like a punch in the chest, and she can’t stop herself from making a sound, choked off in her throat. 

“That’s you, right?” he asks. 

She nods, and opens her mouth to speak, but her voice comes out like a squeak. Her vision blurs and she blinks rapidly, willing the tears to disappear. She’s not gonna cry in front of her new commander like some stupid kid. She’s not. 

“I’m - sorry,” he says. “I don’t mean - I didn’t want to upset you. I just -“ 

“No, no,” she says, shaking her head, “it’s okay! It’s just - been a while since anyone called me that.” Her voice is shaking; she takes a deep breath to steady it, looking over at him with the best smile she can muster. “Well, a year isn’t really that long, I guess, but it sure feels like a while. A-And, I mean, it’s not like there’s anything wrong with the name Pidge! It’s fine, I don’t mind it, really! I wouldn’t have picked a name I didn’t like, it’s just - just -“ 

“You’re rambling,” Shiro says gently, his brows drawing together. 

She laughs weakly and swallows, a lump in her throat. “Y-Yeah, I guess I am, huh?” she manages, and feels a tear roll down the side of her nose. “Shhh - um, quiznak -“ she stammers, taking her glasses off to scrub at her eyes. “Sorry, I’m sorry, I don’t - know why -“ 

“It’s okay,” Shiro says, reaching out a hand, and then hesitates, his fingers hovering over her shoulder. “I didn’t mean to put any pressure on you, Pidge. I shouldn’t have pried.” 

“N-no, it’s okay,” she insists again. “I - I guess I shoulda known they would have - I mean, Matt and I were pretty close as kids, you know? Even if he was too busy having adventures up there to miss me, they must have told stories in your time off or something.” She sniffles and puts her glasses back on, looking down at her hands. “I probably shoulda told you sooner, but I figured you wouldn’t put the pieces together, I mean, until I said they’re my family, since I, I don’t really look much like a girl anymore now - now that I…” 

She trails off, rubbing the back of her neck, unsure how much she should say. Shiro opens his mouth and closes it again, letting his hand settle on her arm instead. 

“Sorry,” she says again, and bites her lip to keep it from trembling. 

“You don’t need to apologize,” Shiro says, and glances down, his mouth tightening as he thinks. “What… do you want me to call you now?”

“I don’t know,” she admits. “I mean, like I said, I don’t mind being called Pidge. And I - I don’t know if I want the others to know I’m…” She’s not sure how to finish, not sure what it is she’s so afraid of them knowing. Maybe they’d accept a girl being on the team - well, at least Hunk would, and probably Keith, too. But even back home, when everyone knew her as a girl, she didn’t exactly go around telling people she was trans.

“I won’t say anything to them,” Shiro says, unexpectedly solemn. “Coming out is a personal decision, and I don’t want to put you in a difficult position.”

She blinks at him, surprised. “But, to form Voltron…”

“We’ve already gotten a lot better at forming Voltron,” he reminds her with a faint smile. “I know it must be pretty scary, thinking of everyone being in your head, though.” He looks away with an awkward chuckle. “I guess for me, it helps to think that if we’re really so in sync that our minds are like one… maybe we can also understand each other a little better, and see past our differences to what we all share.”

“You really think so?” she asks, her voice trembling. 

“I can’t say I know how this works any more than you do,” he replies. “But I hope so. And if these lions really choose their pilots like our Altean friends say… well, I’d like to think maybe they know what they’re doing.”

She laughs at that, really laughs, and feels a little of the weight lift off from her shoulders. “Yeah,” she says, “I guess you’re right.”

“But don’t worry, Pidge,” he says as he gets to his feet. “Your secret’s safe with me. And if you ever decide you do want to tell the others, I’m right behind you.” 

“Thanks, Commander,” she says, grinning up at him. “That means a lot to me.” 

He nods and waves. “You should try to get some sleep,” he reminds her gently as he turns towards the door. “We’re going to have plenty of work to do tomorrow, and I need my team in top form.”

“Yes, sir,” she agrees, and starts to pack up her equipment. As the door opens, something else occurs to her, and she sits upright again, looking over her shoulder. “Hey, Shiro?”

“Hm?” he answers, looking back with a slight frown. 

She runs a hand through her uneven hair, looking away. “Um,” she manages, more to the ground than to him, “I just - wanted to say that, uh - you don’t have to, or anything, but when no one else is around, if - if you want to call me Katie, that’s - that’s okay, too.”

“Alright,” he agrees, his furrowed brow giving way to a smile. “I’ll see you in the morning, Katie.”

“Bright and early,” she agrees, and as she finishes putting her things in their cases and starts down the hall to her room, she thinks it’s the first time since she joined the academy she’s actually felt like herself.

[thefinalkey16]

KH3 Re:Mind spoilers/Reactions

So Xemnas gave the order?? To find the box?? But why??

So did Xigbar actually lose the box? YOU HAD ONE JOB

Oh we’re starting HERE HUH

I forgot how pretty the graphics are

Why is Riku so pretty???

Nomura really went “this DLC is about SOKAI and I’m gonna make sure you KNOW IT.”

Nomura really cares about his ship and I appreciate it so much

LETS GO SAVE OUR GIRL!

Heck yeah REMIND TIME

I love the music in this game so much

YES WE GET MORE MOM

Why does MOM adopt smol children lol

It bothers me that MOM has no actual face behind the hood. It’s like Ansem’s original form

So Xehanort is where Xemnas’s confusion of the heart comes from lol

OH THIS IS PREMASTER XEHANORT

I’m sorry, Xehanort is more powerful than darkness?

I’m sorry MOM is too scared to take off the coat???

MOM is a psychology teacher who gets exasperated by his dumb students

OH THATS JUST RUDE NOMURA

LEMME KNOW HIS NAME

A lost..Master?

Well we know where Xehanort got the hands behind the back walk from

OOO A NEW THEME

OH I LOVE IT

I’m 100% sure that MOM told him his name was “Noneya,” and it took a few decades before he realized what he actually said

DID THEY TELEPORT TO LOOK COOL ON THE ROCKS

I’m sorry they have holograms??

Did they actually call him Riku Replica lol

Wait they were actually nobodies

XEMNAS AND XEHANORT WERE REPLICAS?

“Why we have assembled here,” because Xemnas and Sora destroyed your sick castle

Poor Terra got possessed TWICE?

Demyx! You get Demyx!

I’m sorry 20??

No. I

Oh so they don’t actually remember Xion

Does.. does Xigbar remember Xion?

Wow they got Vexen just to get his daughter in their gang. How rude

Xehanort fell asleep while they chatted I’m cackling

Crazy old man

Now when do I get to save Kairi? :3c

YAY ITS TIME

YAY ITS CHIRITHY TIME

ITS MY SMOL KITTY

“Back so soon?”=you died again?? You’re lame

Chirithy is a mood

Sora you watched your GF get shattered

Oh so that’s why Sora dies

IS SORA SAILOR PLUTO

Oh my god he’s Sailor Pluto

Lose powers? He’s done that so many times 😂

Getting banned from one world? He had a phone and friends with gummi ships lol

ARE WE GONNA SEE EVERONES HEART STATION??

NOOO VEN That still hurts to watch

AWW SORA TRIED TO CATCH HIM

Wow he’s a ghosty ghost

Oh I love Ven’s heart station so much

Wow Vanitas really said that Ven is Baby

YAS GIMME VANITAS

Also wow Vanitas is protecting Ven’s heart and I love that

OH NO NOT THIS GUY

I beat him by using Meow Wow. meow wow is best boy

Oh no oh no it’s this pet

Gotta love Big Bro Lea

I forgot they call him Axel

ITS THE HUG

It’s Donald’s Safrifice ;-;

Donald Really channeled his inner Molly Weasley and said “Not my son you WITCH.”

WASTED

Also aw Sora got to see what Donald did for the first time

AQUA’S STATION IS SO PRETTY

Poor Aqua ;-; this is the moment where everyone hates her for

Also aww she trusts Kairi to protect them

We love Big Sis Aqua

YES WE GET ANTI AQUA FIGHT AGAIN

NAMINEEEEE

I’m literally screaming and I scared my grandma

Oh my god She lost Kairi and she immediately went to Sora cause she knew she’d be safe there ;-;

Namine’s Really here bringing everyone together

Agsisgsjdg I forgot Terra can do the keyblade whip thing lol

AND the cannon

Wow they’re really fighting in the sky

Anyone else getting Star Wars vibes

AWW HE JUST WANTS TO PROTECT HIS FAMILY

I still hate Terra’s pants

Imagine your heart crushing your body. Like really

NO LINGERING WILL

HECK YEAH SORA YOU KICK THEIR BUTT

Wow Sora you’re so cocky

LINGERING WILL NO

OH MY GOD

I forgot that Marluxia is an Ouran Host Club character

Wait, that Mickey finisher was new, wasn’t it?

Okay but I still have no idea what Xemnas did to Luxord

Cards: *Appear*

Sora: PTSD from watching his friends get destroyed from the cards in the manga

Mickey: *is captured*

Sora: PTSD intensifies

I’m really happy that we get to replay all of the Organization battles, they’re so much fun!

I’m so soft for Replinami ;-;

He loves her so much, and all he wants is for her to be safe and happy ;-;

Ven: we aren’t the same. You’re Edgy. I’m Baby

Aqua when Sora appears: TWO Baby’s :0

“If I’m a traitor, then Kairi’s the trump card.” LEA DRINKS RESPECT KAIRI JUICE

Aww Kairi’s so confused. She doesn’t see how she could be a trump card ;-;

HE STRAIGHT UP FLEXED

AWW XION REMEMBERS

Ohhh Isa’s jealous.

YES THW CHAKRAMS

LETS GO

Jealousy mode has been activated in Isa

WHAT WAS THAT RUN

OH MY GOD THAT SCREAM

YES KAIRI GO

PROTEXT YOUR BRO

“Yup” Kairi really just wants this over with so she can go home 😂

The way Kairi’s face lights up at seeing Sora gives me life.

Wow Xemnas was really hurt by Axel’s betrayal. Frankly? I’m shocked.

XION’S HAND IS SMOKING

HER HAND IS BURNING BECAUSE SHES GRABBING THE BLADE

Xemnas does NOT drink Respect Xion juice

ROXAS KEPT XION’S MEMORIES SAFE INSIDE HIM

AND SHE HAS HER FACE BECAUSE HE GAVE THEM BACK TO HER

Lea cares about the small girls he adopted as his little sisters

AWW THE THREE OF THEIR HEARTS ARE CONNECTED

NO XION ISNT ON HIS HEART ANYMORE

YES KAIRI’S HERE TO KICK BUTT

Wow Nomura really got tired of people dissing Kairi so he amped her up with cool stuff

“Oh? Tired of Kairi not doing anything?” Heres her literally overpowering Xemnas and him having to restrain her with a stop spell and magic to stop her

KAIRI IS THE SCARLET WITCH AND XEMNAS IS THANOS

Oh and in case you think she’s weak? Here’s the same thing for Sora too.

God I love Nomura

Oh my god she’s in so much pain because of the darkness

OH MY GOD SHES IN SO MUCH PAIN BECAUSE OF THE DARKENSS

SORA LITERALLY FAINTED AFTER 2 SECONDS BUT KAIRI’S HOLDING ON OH MY GOD THE STRENGTH

OOOOOOOO ROXAS TIME

The MUSIC

THEIR ATTACK IS CALLED “THINKING OF YOU” BECAUSE THEY REMEMBERED XION I CANT

I can not believe i was forced to relive watching Kairi die

SHE WAS CRYSTALLIZED?? SHES NOT DEAD??

I love Donald and Goofy so much ;-;

They aren’t gonna leave their son alone

Also wow Xehanort was just staring there forever

I FORGOT WE GET TO EXPLORE SCALA :D

KAIRI?!?!

Getting KH1 vibes with this

“The heartless that is radiating light” how is that possible??

Okay but this is such a good parallel to the first game, with him saving Kairi ;-;

Except for the fact that HEARTLESS SORA DIDNT GET BEAT UP

Okay so her heart is a thassala shell. Will we have to collect the pieces to make her wayfinder?

Oh my god I see the thing at the top of the screen. We totally are making her wayfinder ;-;

THAT MEANS SHE LITERALLY GAVE HIM HER HEART SO HE COULS RETURN IT TO HER OH MY GOOOOD

Okay so I love the puzzles they have here

XEHANORT?!

I’m sorry you hid her heart? What are you, five?

What do you MEAN almost out of time?!

OH NO KINGDOM HEARTS

Oh no not these guys again

So many keyholes

IM SORRY IS THIS WIZARD OF OZ

Oh my god Lea is so overwhelmed lol

SGAKSSGE ROXAS CAUGHT XION

Okay so for the team ups, I love how all of them were mix and matched from the trio’s

I loved Terra and Riku, the Master and apprentice

I loved Ven, Roxas, and I can’t remember who else was in it. “Thanks Roxas.” “Youre welcome. You’re not too bad yourself.” THAT WAS ADORABLE

Xion, Aqua and Mickey being mages and protecting everyone

Aqua and Lea, him trying to talk and Aqua telling him to shut up and focus

MICKEY’S STRUGGLE TO SAVE HIS FRIENDS BROKE MY HEART

We now present: Kingdom Hearts 3: connect he dots

Connect. Connect the dots. Get it?

KAIRI’S HEART MADE A FLOWER

THE KH2 THING

“SORA :D”

THEIR HUG

HE JUST HOLDS HER CLOSE

TIME FOR PLAYABLE KAIRI BABBYYYYYYY

“I can do this.” YES YOU CAN

I’m sorry you think I want to play as Sora? After waiting my whole life to play Kairi? HA

KAIRI IS THE MOST POWERFUL

Seven wishes saved me in that fight

ONE HEART

THEY HAVE ANGEL WINGS

OKAY YALL HAD YOUR SORIKU ATTACK NOW WE GOT SOKAI :D

Now we just need Rikai and Sorikai and it’ll be complete ^^

AGSKSGSKDGSJS CHIRITHY

“I was trying to give you some privacy” awwww

CHIRITHY IS CRYING

THEYRE GOING ON DATES

Chirithy has my soul and I love it

Every scene with Chirithy adds 7 years to my life

Afsjsgsajg Sora DONT PUSH THE CAT

NAMINE

THEY WERE THERE TO FREE HER HEART

Aaand he’s gone and I’m crying again

LIMITCUT EPISODE TIME BABBYYYY

GAJSGSJDG RIKU AND TERRA ARE TOGETHER

Oh my god Riku and Terra being bro’s are my favorite thing

Wait what are they gonna do

ARE THEY SEALING THE WORLD

OH MY GOD THE ARMOR

HOW DARE THEY NOT SHOW US THE FRONT PARTS

OH they’re going to search for Sora!

IS RIKU IN CHARGE OF THE LAND OF DEPARTURE

ONE YEAR???

Agajsgsjdg MERLINS HOUSE

CLOUD

PRETTY BOY

YUFFFIIEEE

AERIITH

CID

OH MY GOD THE GANGS ALL TOGETHER

THEY WENT TO THE REALM OF DARKNESS WHAT

“The Twilight Town gang” ITS OFFICIAL

OH NO WHAT HAPPENED TO KAIRI

WHY DOES HE LOOK SAD

NO WHATS GOING ON WITH KAIRI

They’re searching her heart?

SHES BEEN ASLEEP FOR A YEAR?!

Riku’s been all ALONE

DATA SORA??

Battalion oh my god lol

I’m mad about Kairi being asleep for a year though

AGSJSGS WE GET TO EXPLORE

Wow. A video game inside of a video game

I spent the rest of the day failing the Data battles and making funny Data Greeting pictures. Hopefully I’ll be better st the battles tomorrow!

[storyknitter]

“To you, Master Jedi.”

Hey, so remember when I wrote this angsty mini-fic and then @commanderlurker asked if Sanna ever found Theron’s drunken “I miss you, but you’re dead” message? (The answer’s “yes,” by the way. She totally did.)

21 ATC

Soft footfalls approached the War Table, where Theron studied the data retrieved from the Star Fortress formerly above Belsavis. A small smirk crept onto his face, recognizing Vassanna before she even spoke. “Hey,” he said, glancing over his shoulder. “What's up, beautiful?”

The endearment was still a bit clunky on his tongue, but her reaction was worth any awkwardness he might have felt: A flush crept into her cheeks and she caught her bottom lip between her teeth, a smile twitching at the corner of her lips.

“This hasn’t worked since they rescued me, and Lana said you might be able to help. Apparently,” she said, an impish grin lighting up her face, “I'm not the only one who reacted poorly to carbonite.”

His heart stopped at the reminder of how he'd almost lost her a second time, before he'd even had a chance to see her, hold her, kiss her again. He shoved the memory of those dark days aside and did his best to focus on Sanna: she was holding out a small, banged-up holocomm, an expectant look on her face, that smile of hers doing things to his lungs.

Dammit, he couldn't breathe when she did that.

“I’m not sure exactly how much can be retrieved or salvaged,” she said, “but I had some old messages saved that I’d really like to keep. If it’s possible, of course.”

Theron smirked and raised an eyebrow as he took the comm, trying to recover his balance. “What?” he asked, feigning disbelief as his fingers brushed hers. “A sentimental Jedi? Not possible,” he said, shaking his head.

Hurt ghosted over her features and Vassanna slipped on her Jedi mask. “Nevermind, it’s fine.” She reached for the comm, but he tightened his grip.

“I never said I wouldn’t do it,” he said, holding the comm above his head. “I was just giving you a hard time.”

She eyed him warily and he immediately regretted his retort – this must be more important to her than he’d thought.

“I’ll understand if it can’t be done. I won't hold you responsible if it never turns on again.”

“I’ll do my best, Vassanna. I promise.” And he meant it, even if he had to stay up all night to make it happen.

Sanna thanked him with a smile so bright it took his breath away again.

–––

That evening, Theron sat at the new desk in the Commander's quarters, pieces of holocomm and wires littering the space, and stretched the kinks out of his neck. He'd found the problem – a broken connection or four – and had finally managed the repair after cannibalizing parts from his spare datapad. The comm itself wasn't fit for daily use, especially with the days that Sanna always seemed to have, but as long as she didn't toss it around, message playback was possible.

Well, theoretically. He hadn't tested it out, but found himself hesitant to invade her privacy by going through messages deemed important enough to save during her years as a Jedi. Justifying the need to snoop (he had to be sure it worked properly after all), he chose a file at random, pressed play, and found himself face to face with an older Mirialan male covered in tattoos, his features pulled into a smile.

There was something familiar about his eyes...

"Happy birthday, Sanna," the man said in Mirialan. Theron's implants translated for him and he froze, curiosity warring with his conscience – he'd started calling her 'Sanna' after a few weeks on Odessen and hadn't ever heard anyone else use it as a nickname.

“I don't know where you are or what you're up to,” the man continued, "but I wish you many happy returns. I do hope you're enjoying this beautiful day with your crewmates. Here, the sun is shining, the winds are singing softly, and we're having your mother's sweetcakes in your honor tonight. But don't worry, Star-Blossom: I'll be sure to sneak one into the freezer for you. Though you know they only last for so long, so hurry home. We miss you, daughter, and–"

Theron turned off the message abruptly and glanced at the file's date. After a bit of mental math and cross-referencing her history, he realized this message was from when she was... off the grid. Vitiate's thrall, his mind supplied helpfully, his stomach twisting as he remembered her quiet, shame-filled confession just before she'd gone off to Wild Space.

Missed birthday greetings from the family she loved, while she was going through one of the worst times of her life – no wonder she had wanted to save some of these messages.

“How goes the surgery, doctor?” Sanna's voice came from the door and Theron startled, so lost in his own thoughts that he had missed her arrival. “Were you able to save the patient?”

The hope on her features did something funny to his stomach – he wanted to give her the galaxy on a string, to make her smile, to never disappoint her. What the hells was wrong with him? Focus Shan, he thought, irritated.

“Yeah. Yeah, I did, actually,” he said, trying to play it cool. “I wouldn't recommend taking it on any more missions, though – it's too fragile. I think leaving it on the desk is best.”

Vassanna gave him that damned smile again and before he could blink, she was in his arms, squeezing him close, her face buried in his chest.

“Thank you, Theron.” She glanced up, blinking away wetness at the corner of her eyes. “So much. I–”

Unwilling to see her cry, he kissed her, his hand curling behind her neck to hold her close. She tasted like caf and something sweet – juna berries, maybe – and the smell of her shampoo wafted past him. When he pulled away, he nuzzled her nose and excused himself, fabricating a meeting to give her some time alone with her precious memories.

He'd gotten as far as the War Room when something prodded at the back of his mind – he was forgetting something, something important. Then it came to him: the remnants of his extra datapad. He'd left a mess of connectors, processor parts, and wiring all over her desk, but he didn't think Sanna would mind too much. Just to be safe, he sent a quick message letting her know he'd tidy up the desk when she was done.

–––

After an hour or so, Theron arrived back at the Commander's rooms (which were also his, at this point, though it still seemed a bit odd), dinner for them both in hand. He knew she hadn't eaten dinner yet and was willing to wager good credits that she'd skipped lunch, too.

Knocking with the toe of his boot, the door slid open on its track and he saw Sanna sitting at the desk, entranced by a recording, her arm slowly drifting back to her side after opening the door for him with the Force. She met his gaze over her shoulder and stood up, her features unreadable – some combination of shock, regret, and something else he couldn’t quite put his finger on. Had she been crying? As she crossed the room, he saw a blue-tinged image of himself projected above the desk, a half-empty whiskey glass raised in salute and grief plainly etched on the hologram's features.

Shit.

Shit shit shit. He'd completely forgotten about that comm message. How drunk had he been that night?

Theron had no time to feel embarrassment or to worry about what she thought: Sanna took his face in her hands and pulled him to her, capturing his lips with a kiss – hard, demanding, desperate – as though trying to make up for lost time. Their sandwiches fell forgotten to the floor as he slid his fingers into her hair, loosely pulled back in a braid, and returned the kiss.

Breathless moments later, she leaned back, meeting his gaze. “I’m sorry,” she gasped out, eyes shining with emotion. “I’m so sorry. I should have been more careful. I promised you I would and then–”

Shaking his head, Theron gently rested a thumb on her lips. “Stop. It's...” It wasn't okay, but it wasn't completely her fault. And to be fair, he knew – he had known in his heart before she even left for Wild Space, before Ziost and Yavin – that she would have done everything she could to protect people, including sacrificing herself.

His stomach twisted, aching, and his head swam as though it were five years ago and Rineth Nabeshin had just shared Sanna’s parting words to him. Hells, he couldn't do this. The air in the room disappeared and he was drowning.

Five years. Five years. How had he made it so long? And how had he let himself get so wrapped up in one person, to begin with? And a Jedi, no less. An attachment-avoiding, logic-driven, practical, and self-fucking-sacrificing Jedi.

Well, maybe that description wasn't entirely accurate: she had been close with her family (before being trapped in carbonite, at least), saved old messages, and cared for people – cared for him.

A thought struck him, one that had crossed his mind any number of times since he’d met Master Vassanna Nabeshin – Hero of Tython and Upright Paragon of the Jedi Order – all those years ago:

“I’m so screwed,” he murmured as he pulled Sanna close. She was soft and sweet when he kissed her and, gods help him, this felt so damned right. She might be an optimistic, overly forgiving, stupidly self-sacrificial Jedi, but she was his optimistic, overly forgiving, and stupidly self-sacrificial Jedi, dammit.

And he didn’t plan on letting her go any time soon.

[raquel-and-sergio]

What wouldn’t I do for you- part 4

I finally finished writing the part! Yey! It’s a bit long to make up for posting so late 😁. Anyway enjoy and don’t forget to comment what you thought!

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Sergio was sprawled out on the couch, watching the news as if his life depended on it. It did, in some way. He had his phone at hands reach and his walkie-talkie open on Marseille’s channel. He had promised himself not to leave his hiding place till after everyone had checked in their final destination. Already, Nairobi had confirmed that she had reached her paradise refuge. The doctors assured her she was out of danger.

Denver Stockholm and the other too were back home. The Professor was only awaiting Rio and Helsinki’s confirmations.

This time, they had agreed to stay inside the country or place they had chosen to go to for at least one and a half years in order for the police to have lessened their searches. After that they had the right to wherever they wanted, excepted course Europe. And hopefully they had all learned their lesson not to use any satellite mobiles or disobey the safety measures set by the Professor.

Marseille’s voice sounded from the walkie-talkie:

“Everyone has reached their safe houses.”

Sergio sighted in relief.

“Thank you, Marseille. It has been an honor and a pleasure working with you.”

“The pleasure‘s all mine.”

“Take care.” Sergio turned cut off the communication, and threw the gadget along with his phone into the microwave. He then activated it at full speed, barely flinching when it exploded.

He sat back down in the couch. It was done. His plan was once again successful. He didn’t feel anything. All his team was out there, rebuilding their lives, but he had lost the one person that gave meaning to his. He had decided upon not telling Paula and Marivi anything until his return. He has asked the band to check up on them now and then, without telling them anything about Raquel’s death. For all they knew she was enjoying her holidays with Sergio.

Sitting in this basement all alone, Sergio decided it was now time to stare planning his revenge.

He wanted it to be explosive, cruel, memorable, but he knew he owed it to Raquel to get out alive. So that he could go back, and take care of her daughter and mother.

A painful knot formed in his stomach. He wanted to have married her. They would’ve gone on a beautiful road trip, they would’ve explored the world. It wasn’t fair.

He felt so guilty. The feelings that he had been repressing the previous days to plan the bands safe escape had started creeping in through cracks in his mental balance.

“... and when the day comes, you can’t feel guilty of something that you couldn’t control.” Had said Berlin, but Sergio couldn’t care less. He felt guilty, he blamed himself, and he wanted to die.

He is going to personally target Sierra, he thought, who had ordered the execution. And also Angel, who had sat down and allowed it and of course that damned cop Suarez who had killed his own friend while she was unarmed and on her knees. He’ll add Raquel’s ex-husband on the hit-list, because god knows he deserved it.

The next few days were spent transforming his physical appearance so that he could get out in public. He had hacked into security cameras, cellphones, and had started pulling up information that would help him hit his victims where it hurt the most. He wasn’t in a rush, because as the French said, la revanche est un plat qui se mange froid. And Sergio was a patient, patient man.

It was a couple of weeks later, and Sergio was going through the GPS data of Raquel’s ex-husband’s phone. He noticed frequent visits to the a prison in Madrid. That spiked his interest, and he decided to look into it hoping to find something to use against the man. Sergio thought of going to visit the prison himself, but then decided against it as he would be walking right into the lion’s den.

He made a few phone calls on an old-fashioned burner phone, and less than a day later he had the images of the security cameras inside the prison for the last three months.

Sitting back and plunging his fork in a bowl of cold pasta, Sergio began going through the footage.

He noticed that the visits had started very recently, right before the last day of the heist to be precise.

But what was even more bizarre was that the footage of whoever Alberto was visiting was nowhere to be found. Sergio has looked through every single hour of visitation, and he found nothing. He had then looked through the individual cells, thinking that with his status of officer he could visit someone directly in their cell. But again, nothing.

It was as if he went to the prison, disappeared for about some time, then reappeared again. The shortest visit was of one hour and the longest ten.

Actually, right before Alberto, he had seen Sierra coming out of the prison, along with Suarez, but he couldn’t find any footage of them going in.

Sergio was a smart man. He knew what, or rather who linked all those people, especially given the circumstances. But he didn’t dare give in to hope.

One of his monitors beeped, indicating that two of the phones he was tracking were in the same room. Sergio paused the screen on which the footage was rolling, and augmented the volume of Suarez and Angel’s phone recordings.

“... didn’t see her in there, what’s going on isn’t right.”

“Raquel’s a criminal Angel, she’s what she deserves. Besides, it’s not like we aren’t offering her an amazing deal if she just gives us some information about her boyfriend.”

Sergio’s heart skipped a few beats. He felt the room moving around him, his eyes widening in realization. It couldn’t be, he thought, he had heard her shot for crying out loud! He had seen the death certificate in the police database! But then again, that didn’t prove anything. They could’ve faked her death as easily as his band faked an escape. Using the microphones on Raquel against him. His mind was racing with delirious thoughts until Angel’s angry voice pulled him back to reality.

“Suarez they’re torturing her for fuck’s sake! She was your friend, and I know you’re angry at how they humiliated you but fuck she doesn’t deserve that! No one does!”

“How are you so sure about that?”

“I saw her you idiot! I was going to talk to Inspectora Sierra and ask her if I could visit Raquel, and when she saw me she immediately closed the computer she was looking at. But I had seen what was on it Suarez! Raquel was bleeding and bruised all over! Plus, Sierra didn’t allow me to visit her, lied to me that she was in solitary or something till she agreed to cooperate. That’s not okay and you know it!”

“Okay even if what you’re saying is true, it’s not like we can do anything about it!”

There was a long pause. Sergio’s mind was numb. Raquel was alive. Raquel was alive. She wasn’t dead. She was alive. With trembling hands, he called some of his connections that knew more than him about hacking.

“I need all the footage that has been going in and out of the prison for the last twenty days. Every second of it, and not the one from the legal police cameras. Search for none registered cells, solitary confinement anything you can find on the phones of people that have visited the prison these weeks. Look through all of it. Contact me immediately if any of you sees Lisboa in any video. And do it fast, I want answers today!”

His breath shaking, Sergio focused again on the conversation those two idiots were having.

“... I’ll see what I can do. Angel, you know, I used to admire and respect Raquel a lot. She of all people doesn’t deserve torture, so if I find out that she’s being mistreated, I will help you get her out of there.”

Sergio lowered the volume again, Angel’s answer fading in the background.

A deafening silence overcame the room. For the last three weeks, Sergio has been so overwhelmed with grief and obsessed with avenging Raquel that he did not even stop to consider that she might be alive.

Now that he looks back, it makes much more sense for the police to have arrested her, not killed her. They faked her death, knowing that he’ll be listening to make him do something stupid. And like the worst of the beginners, Sergio had walked right through their trap.

And now, Raquel was getting hurt because of him. She has been getting hurt for almost three weeks now and his selfish self, too occupied to fulfill his own desire for revenge, had done nothing about it.

His wallowing in self loathing was interrupted a couple of hours later by a monitor chiming. A new folder had appeared one of his screens titled “Lisboa”.

And suddenly, right there in front of him was Raquel. She was shackled to a wall in what seemed like a terribly uncomfortable position, and was siting alone in her cell. The video was taken by an infrared camera so Sergio assumed the cell was plunged it utter darkness.

He accelerated the video, and saw what seemed to be her ex-husband entering the cell and turning on the lights. His face wasn’t in full view of the camera so Sergio couldn’t be sure.

The video ended there. Feverishly, Sergio clicked on the next one. The cell was dark again. Raquel was hanging her head in exhaustion, and the floor of the cell was covered with what looked like vomit. Sergio paused and zoomed on a small metallic object that wasn’t there before. His stomach churned. A cattle prod.

He went on to the next video, then the next one, then the next one. Every time Raquel would be left alone for some time, an hour, a day, five days, then the man would go in, the video would cut and start again after he’d left. Sergio couldn’t help but notice that she was always naked.

Every few days a new object was added in the corner of the room. A bucket, a rope, a whip, a wet towel. And every in video Raquel would look much worse than in the previous one.

Sergio felt bile rising in his throat, and he rushed to the bathroom. Tears in his eyes, he when back to his pseudo-living room.

Change of plans. Screw revenge he was going on a fucking rescue mission right now. He had lost enough time, and he knew exactly what to do.

Putting on a fake wig and taking off his glasses, Sergio threw in a suitcase his computers, cables, papers... He hastily erased all traces of his presence and walked out of the trapdoor of the bunker. Pulling behind him his heavy bag, he headed towards his garage. With his beard and mustache that he had let grow and a few touches of expert makeup he was unrecognizable.

Twenty minutes later, he had reached an old barn, and he unlocked its creaking doors. An old unregistered car he had bought came to the light. Panting, he carried his heavy bag and managed to tip it on the edge of the car and make it fall in the trunk.

He sat down in the drivers seat, put on his contact lenses and drove north towards Madrid.

The car ride was long and dreadful. The Professor spent the entire time perfecting the plan he had imagined. It was still flawed when, maybe seven hours later he had reached the capital. The sun had only started rising, but he didn’t care. He headed straight to Angel’s apartment and buzzed the intercom.

“Who is it?” Answered after a while Angel’s a sleepy voice.

“I have information about Raquel Murillo.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I have information about Raquel Murillo. You want to see this.” Repeated the Professor.

“Please wait right there I’m coming down.” Angel wasn’t very well awake and despite being curious as to what the man was talking about, he wasn’t careless enough to let a stranger in.

The front door opened and Angel’s chubby figure appeared.

“What do you want?”

Sergio whipped out his iPad and showed Angel a few parts of the footage he had acquired.

“Where did you get these? And who the hell are you?” A hesitation in his words made him sound a bit scared.

“I think you know very well who I am.” Sergio mouth twisted in a sarcastic grin as he saw the look of understanding dawning on Angel’s face.

“What makes you think I’m not gonna arrest you right now?”

”I don’t see how you could. You have no gun, no manacles and I’m easily stronger than you. But more importantly, if you do arrest me Raquel would have suffered all that for nothing. And no one is going to save her, I bet the police is gonna keep both of us there till we spill everything we know about the whereabouts of the band. They might torture her some more even threaten to kill her in front of me, so I’ll have to start talking. Do you really want to have that on your conscience?”

“Okay okay I get your point.” Interrupted Angel. “So, why are you showing me this, what the hell are we supposed to do?”

A faint smile appeared on Sergio’s lips.

“I have a plan.”

[bamby0304]

Her Saviours- Ch.12

Series Masterlist

Summary: During an odd case, the Winchesters came across Y/N, a scared young Omega girl who had been used as a lure for a nest of vampires. After rescuing her from the monsters, John and his sons took her in knowing she was in no state to live among ordinary people. But three Alphas and one Omega is a mixture bound for disaster.

A/N: @sculptorofbeginnings… I am so sorry you had to fix all my mistakes xD

Warnings: Explicit language. ABO dynamics. Angst. Death.

Bamby

You leaned against the wall by the payphone, chewing on your nail while hugging Sam’s hoodie closer to you. He was on the phone, glancing over at you every few moments as he talked to whoever was on the line.

“Alright, thank you for your time.” Sighing, he hung the phone back up. “Come on.” He reached out and took your free hand before leading you back over to the table where Dean was waiting.

Just over a week had passed since the shifter case.

The bruises from the night hadn’t faded yet, reminding you of what you’d done every time you looked in the mirror. The dread and guilt you still felt from what you did… not a night went by where you didn’t dream of Dean’s dead face staring up at you. Not a night went by where you didn’t dream of the way Dean had looked while the shifter had fucked you and then hurt you.

No amount of logic had been able to erase the image, or the feelings that came with it, from your mind. Even though you knew it hadn’t actually been Dean that night, it still felt like it had been.

So you were sticking with Sam. It had been like a switch that night. After months of him practically ignoring you, seeing you kneeling on the floor, over a shifter that wore his brother’s face, had Sam rushing to your aid. Seeing you bleeding and crying… he hadn’t wasted a second before hurrying over to help you.

That night and every night since, he’d been there for you. It was like it was before, although there was no romance, nothing more than friendship and understanding. You’d gone through something terrible, and he knew you needed someone, and he knew only he would do. So, ever since then, you’d been almost practically glued to each other’s side.

Almost.

Despite having spent years desperately trying to convince the WInchesters to get you to hunt with them, you hadn’t said a word about it all week. Every time the brothers caught wind of something, you pulled back. The only thing safer than being with Sam, was staying out of danger and in whatever motel room you were holed up in.

“Your, uh, half-caf, double vanilla latte is gettin’ cold over here, Francis.” Dean grinned, teasing his brother- trying not to look at you as your gaze fell to the floor to avoid him.

“Bite me.” Sam led you over to the two seats across from Dean and waited until you sat before he took the other seat beside you.

Turning back to the laptop in front of him, Dean asked, “So, anything?”

Sam shook his head. “I had ‘em check the FBI’s Missing Persons Data Bank. No John Doe’s fitting Dad’s description. I even ran his plates for traffic violations.”

“Sam, I’m tellin’ ya, I don’t think Dad wants to be found.”

Your head fell as your gaze dropped to your lap. Sam looked down at you, disappointed in his father and concerned for you. You were beginning to wonder if you were missing John more and more with every passing day… or less...

Dean watched you both before changing the subject, “Check this out.” He turned the computer around to show Sam. “It’s a news item out of Planes Courier. Ankeny, Iowa. It’s only about a hundred miles from here.”

Looking at the screen Sam read, “‘The mutilated body was found near the victim’s car, parked on 9 Mile Road’.”

“Keep reading,” Dean prompted.

“‘Authorities are unable to provide a realistic description of the killer. The sole eyewitness, whose name has been withheld, is quoted as saying the attacker was invisible’.”

“Could be something interesting.” Dean shrugged.

“Or it could be nothing at all,” Sam argued. “One freaked out witness who didn’t see anything? Doesn’t mean it’s the Invisible Man.” He glanced at you before turning back to his brother. “I don’t think it’s our thing.”

Looking from Sam, to you, and then back, Dean hesitated a moment. In the corner of your eye you spotted the way his jaw clenched and unclenched. Something was agitating him, but he wasn’t going to say anything.

“But what if it is? Dad would check it out,” he noted, and just like that, you knew Sam wouldn’t be able to argue.

Sam looked out at the fraternity house Dean had parked outside of. The frat brothers that were gathered outside watched Baby, clearly confused and suspicious. You sunk down in your seat, already scenting at least three Alphas.

“One more time, why are we here?” Sam asked, turning to his brother with an are-you-serious glare.

“Victim lived here,” Dean answered as if it were that simple.

“You really think this is a good idea?” Sam gestured to you in the back. “Will they even let her in?”

Dean turned to you. “She’s college age, smells like us, Omega, hot… girlfriends sleep over boyfriends’ places all the time.” He turned back to Sam. “Besides, the only motel in town is fully booked, so if you have a different idea…”

Clenching his jaw- much like his brother often did- Sam stayed quiet. Truth was, you really didn’t have many options.

“I’ll be okay,” you spoke up, voice soft.

Sam looked at you with concern and doubt. “Yeah?”

Giving a short nod, you offered him a small smile. “Yeah.”

With that, the three of you climbed out of the car and headed over to a couple of guys who were fixing a car in the driveway. As you approached them, they all stopped working and looked up, eyeing all of you suspiciously.

“Nice wheels,” Dean started, trying to ease the tension. “We’re your fraternity brothers.” He gestured to himself and Sam. “From Ohio. We’re new in town. Transfers. Looking for a place to stay.”

Dragging his eyes away from Dean, the guy standing by the car’s hood looked to you. “Who’s the chick?” He gave the air a sniff. “She’s Omega…”

You sniffed the air back, noting a distinct Alpha scent. Instantly, you stepped closer to Sam. “I’m his girlfriend. Mate-to-be, if you will.”

Sam’s arm draped over your shoulder as he pulled you closer to him, proving your point. “That gonna be a problem?”

The Alpha tried to hide his disappointment as he shrugged. “Chick can stay one night without problems, but the dean doesn’t like Omegas shacking up with pledged Alphas.”

Before you or Sam could comment, Dean shrugged. “We’ll figure it out later. But we’re cool now?”

Giving a short moment’s pause, the Alpha then nodded. “Yeah, we’re cool.”

The Sam had a firm grip on your hand as you followed Dean through the frat house to the room you were directed to. You could feel the tension in his body as his eyes darted around. The place stuck of Alphas, Beta, booze, and sex. It reeked like nothing had been cleaned in over a week. You were struggling not to barf or hide.

Dean didn’t seem to notice or care. You knew he normally would… but things weren’t normal right now. He was pissed, you were avoiding him, and Sam was taking up the Alpha role currently. Things were out of synch.

Walking into the room the boys would call home during the case, you came to a stop at the sight of a scrawny, shirtless guy standing in front of a mirror, painting himself purple.

Knocking on the door, Dean grabbed the guy’s attention. “Who are you?” he asked as soon as he spotted the three of you.

“We’re your new roommates,” Dean answered with a quick smile as he walked further into the room.

The guy stopped what he was doing and frowned at you. “She’s a chick.”

“You’re observant,” you mumbled, sniffing at the air discreetly. He was a harmless Beta.

“She’s Sammy’s girlfriend,” Dean explained with a slight bite to his tone. “And she’s staying for the night. You got a problem with that?”

Looking you and Sam up and down quickly, the Beta then shook his head. “Nah, just as long as you do whatever you do quietly. I don’t mind if you get your freak on, but some of us don’t wanna listen to it.”

It took a lot for Sam to hold back and not rip into the guy.

Not realising how lucky he was to still be standing, the guy turned to Dean and offered him his paint brush. “Do me a favor? Get my back. Big game today.”

Without missing a beat, Dean gestured to Sam. “He’s the artist. Things he can do with a brush.”

Having no other choice, Sam took the brush as Dean dropped into a chair and grabbed a magazine. You stood there, awkwardly, as Sam started painting the Beta and Dean started asking questions.

“So…” Dean checked the name on the magazine before going on, “Murph. Is it true?”

“What?”

“We heard one of the guys around here got killed last week.”

Murph’s face fell as he nodded. “Yeah.”

“What happened?” Sam asked as he continued to paint the Beta.

“They’re saying some psycho with a knife. Maybe a drifter passing through. Rich was a good guy.”

“Rich he was with somebody?”

Murph turned to look at Sam as he answered, clearly thinking whatever he had to say was juicy news. “Not just somebody. Lori Sorensen.”

“Who’s Lori Sorensen?” Dean pressed before gesturing to Murph’s back. “You missed a spot. Just down there, in the back,” Dean told Sam, earning a glare as he grinned.

“Lori’s a freshman,” Murph explained. “She’s a local. Super hot. Omega. And get this... she’s a reverend’s daughter.”

Interest piqued, Dean closed the magazine and tossed it back onto the table he grabbed it from, before leaning forward in the chair. “You wouldn’t happen to know which church, would ya?”

Dean opened the door and took a step to the side, waiting for you and Sam to walk into the church before he followed, letting the door close behind him. It slammed shut, disturbing the congression, causing them all to turn to the three off you. The silent church but you on edge as all eyes looked at you with suspicion.

Moving on, the reverend continued, “The loss of a young person is particularly tragic. A life unlived is the saddest of passings.”

Sam pressed a hand to your back as he guided you into the back pew. He then slid in to sit beside you, before Dean took a seat on Sam’s other side. You didn’t miss the way a girl in the front row turned to look at the three of you. You didn’t miss the way Sam gave her a weak smile.

“So, please, let us pray. For peace, for guidance, and for the power to protect our children.”

Both you and Sam bowed your head along with everyone else. As you closed your eyes and pretended to pray, however, you found yourself wishing and hoping that things would get better.

Walking behind Sam and Dean, you followed them as they headed towards the girl who had looked back at Sam in the church.

“Are you Lori?”

Hearing her name, the girl turned to answer Sam, “Yeah.”

“My name is Sam,” he started. “This is my brother, Dean, and our friend, Y/N.” Dean gave a little wave, while you offered a small smile. “We just transferred here to the university.”

“I saw you inside,” she noted.

“We don’t wanna bother you,” Sam assured her. “We just heard about what happened and-”

Dean cut him off, “We wanted to say how sorry we were.”

Sam smiled sympathetically. “I kind of know what you’re going through. I-I saw someone… get hurt once. It’s something you don’t forget.”

Lori’s head dropped as she nodded lightly. Before she could respond, however, the reverend- her father- appeared beside her. “Dad, um, this is Sam, Dean, and Y/N. They’re new students.”

Reaching out, Dean shook the reverend's hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, sir. I must say, that was an inspiring sermon.”

“Thank you very much. It’s so nice to find young people who are open to the Lord’s message.”

Chuckling lightly, Dean looked to Sam, knowing he needed to come up with something so his brother could ask Lori more questions without her father around. “Listen, uh, we’re new in town and we’re staying at the fraternity Rich was part of. But the thing is, Y/N can’t stay there.”

“Of course not.” The reverend nodded. “That is no place for a young Omega.”

“Well, we were wondering if you knew anywhere she might be able to stay?”

Your head snapped up to look at him. You glared, hard, trying your best to mentally kick him in the shins. How dare he throw you under the bus like that!

Ignoring you, Dean went on, “You know, somewhere safe, quiet. We’d join her, but having just transferred, we really need to make connections, you know?”

“She could stay with me,” Lori offered. “There’s a spare bed in my room, back at my sorority. She doesn’t have to pledge, at least not right away. The girls will understand.”

“That’s a lovely idea.” The reverend smiled at his daughter before turning to you. “For now, dear, why don’t I get you some numbers of people you can call if you ever find yourself in trouble? In times like this, you can never be too careful.” He stretched his arm out and gestured for you to walk along with him.

Glancing at Sam and Lori over your shoulder, you begrudgingly followed Dean and the reverend as he led you back into the church.

After Lori showed you her room at the sorority house and explained that she would be out for the night but would be back later, you both went your separate ways. She headed off home for dinner with her dad, while you started for the public library.

Sam had sent you a message to fill you in on their Hook Man theory, and told you where to find them. It was still weird to see his name on your phone every time he called or messaged. Before that awful night the other week, you’d gotten practically nothing from him.

Meandering through the aisle of books, you eventually found Sam and Dean sitting at one of the back desks, going through piles of paperwork.

“Hey.”

Both brothers’ heads shot up to look at you, relief filling their gazes. They worried when you weren’t with them.

“How’d the tour go?” Sam asked as you settled into the seat beside him- you didn’t miss the look of disappointment that crossed Dean’s face.

“Lori seems nice. Scared, but nice.”

Dean spoke then, drawing your attention to him, “You gonna be okay there tonight?”

“Not like I have much of a choice now.” You glared at him.

He shrugged. “Well, it got you talking to me.”

Your mouth snapped shut as your eyes fell to the table. Both brothers watched you for a moment, waiting to see what you might say or do. When you remained silent and unmoving, they got back to work.

Eventually, you mumbled, “I’m not, not talking to you, Dean.”

“You sure about that? You’ve barely looked at me since-” He stopped himself before he made the mistake of saying the wrong words. Sighing, he moved on, “You barely look at me.”

“It’s complicated.”

“Well, when you’re ready to talk about it, fill me in, okay?”

“Guys,” Sam pulled back from the file he’d been reading. “Check this out. 1862. A preacher named Jacob Karns was arrested for murder. Looks like he was so angry over the red light district in town that one night he killed 13 prostitutes. Uh, right here, ‘some of the deceased were found in their bed, sheets soaked with blood. Others suspended upside down from the limbs of trees as a warning against sins of the flesh’.”

Dean reached over and slid one of the other pages from the file out to read it. “Get this, the murder weapon? Looks like the preacher lost his hand in an accident. Had it replaced with a silver hook.”

Sam pointed to another page. “Look where all this happened.”

“9 Mile Road.”

“Isn’t that where Rick was killed?” you asked.

Both brothers nodded before Dean slapped Sam on the back. “Nice job, Dr. Venkmen. Let’s check it out.” He pushed his chair out and started to stand.

Sam was gathering the papers when he glanced at you. “You coming with us?”

“Am I going to the place where a murderous ghost takes his victims?” You promptly shook your head. “No thanks.”

The bedroom door creaked open.

You looked up from your book right in time to see Lori slip into the room and close the door. She looked over at you as you sat up in bed, lit up by the dim lamp beside you. Then she looked to the other bed, where her friend and other roommate, Taylor, was fast asleep.

“They didn’t make you drink tequila shots and watch Reality Bites, did they?” she asked you, keeping her voice barely above a whisper.

Shaking your head, you closed your book and placed it on the nightstand. “They tried, but I don’t cave easily.”

Her lips tugged up into a smile. “No one else has managed to say no to those girls,” she admitted. “Makes me stand out from the crowd.”

“Well, you’ve got me to stand out with you now.”

Smiling a little wider, she gestured over her shoulder to the walk in wardrobe. “I’m just going to quickly change, okay?”

You simple gave her a quick nod.

As she ducked into the room, you reached over and turned the lamp off. Settling into bed, you tried not to think about what Sam and Dean might be doing. You knew they could be in danger out there, and it scared you, but there was nothing you could do about it now.

Lori emerged from the wardrobe, dressed in an oversized shirt. She slipped into her bed and turned over to look at you. “So… I hope you don’t mind me asking…”

“The bruises?” you asked, having noticed her checking them out earlier. When she nodded, you did your best to explain without actually explaining, “I was attacked, by an Alpha. Sam saved me.”

“I’m so sorry that happened to you.”

“I’m sorry about what you went through.”

Her face fell. “Rich… I thought he was a nice guy, but that night he was different.”

“Different how?”

“He was acting like the Alphas my father warns me about. He was… he was determined.”

“Do you think he would have hurt you?”

“No.” She shook her head. “But I know he would have pressured me, and that’s still wrong.”

She had a point.

“Is Sam… is Sam your boyfriend?” she asked hesitantly.

You paused and contemplated the question and the answer. Was he your boyfriend? Simply put, no. He wasn’t. But nothing was ever simple. Sam might not be your boyfriend, but he was something. He’d been something more before. Hell, even though things were weird right now, Dean was something more, too. But neither of them were your boyfriend. It was all very complicated.

“No,” you finally answered, shaking your head. “No, he’s not my boyfriend.”

Lori’s scream woke you.

Shooting up in bed, your eyes instantly landed on the other bed… on Taylor’s body and the blood that had seeped into her sheets and spilled onto the floor. Written on the walls, as if it had been carved into the drywall with a bloody knife- or bloody hook- was a message.

Aren’t you glad you didn’t turn on the light.

Jumping out of bed, you hurried over to Lori as she continued to scream. “Come on.” You grabbed her arm and started towards the door.

It flew open before you could reach it as some of the other girls came in to check what was going on.

“Move!” you yelled shoving them all out of there. “Someone call 911!”

As more girls began to scream and freak out, others jumped to action. You didn’t wait to give anymore orders or to help, though. Instead you hurried down the stairs, your arm wrapped around Lori as you led her out the front.

The instant fresh air swept over her face, she started to hyperventilate.

“Hey.” You grabbed her shoulders and turned her to look at you. “The cops are coming. Just look at me and breathe, okay? Look at me and breathe.”

Lori was clinging to you as you both sat on the edge of the ambulance. She’s only just managed to calm down and stop crying, and was now staring off, in shock. Your hand rubbed at her back, trying to soothe her a little more. You hadn’t left her side since the cops and ambulance had arrived.

The sound of a rumbling and familiar engine caught your attention. Looking up, you spotted Sam and Dean parking across the road.

“Hey…” you turned to Lori, “I’m gonna go talk to them, okay?”

Her grip on you tightened. “Stay with me at my home tonight?”

“Of course.” You nodded and offered a gentle smile. With that, she let you go and watched as you headed over to Sam and Dean, who were now standing by the Impala.

As soon as you reached them, Dean stepped forward and pulled you to his chest. With the shock from this morning, you didn’t even flinch as he held you closer.

“What the hell happened?” he asked, cheek pressed to the top of your head as his arms remained wrapped around you.

“Lori’s roommate was killed last night.”

Instantly, you were pulled back as both brothers looked down at you with wide eyes.

“Her roommate?” Dean asked.

“Were you in the room, too?” Sam added.

You nodded. “She was barely five feet from my bed.”

Sam and Dean glanced at each other before looking up at the house.

“The cops aren’t letting anyone but the sorority girls inside,” you noted, knowing where their train of thought was going. “But I can get you in.”

Leading the brothers down a path, you quickly checked to make sure no one was watching before you jumped through some bushes. It took a moment, but the brothers followed. You were in the backyard of the sorority house, by the garage.

“Why would the Hook Man come here? This is a long way from 9 Mile Road.” Sam had a good point.

“Maybe he’s not haunting the scene of his crime. Maybe it’s about something else,” Dean suggested.

You were almost at the balcony that led into Lori’s room when two girls walked out.

All three of you ducked behind some bushes and a wall, watching as the girls walked off towards the cops down the driveway.

“Dude, sorority girls.” Dean grinned, making you turn to him. “Did you have a naked pillow fight last night?”

“I read a book while the girls did tequila shots. And then I slept while a girl was murdered in the bed beside mine,” you told him tightly.

He swallowed thickly as his grin dropped, being replaced by a guilty and apologetic look.

Once the coast was clear, you turned and looked up at the balcony above. “Give me a boost.”

Both brothers stepped forward, but Dean was closest. You swear you heard Sam huff as Dean helped you.

Dean bent his knee so you could step onto it, and as you went to hoist yourself up had grabbed the backs of your thighs and pushed. The flare of heat that flashed through you almost made you stumble.

Reaching for the balcony railing, with Dean still pushing you up, you managed to hoist yourself over the edge. Sam was next, taking advantage of his brother’s position and using Dean’s bent leg much like you had. Then the two of you helped Dean, grabbing his hands to pull him up.

As soon as you were all on your feet, you led the brothers to a window that led into the wardrobe of Lori’s room. Sliding in, you waited for them to then join you.

Dean went last, stumbling and grunting a little.

“Be quiet,” Sam scolded as softly as possible.

“You be quiet!” Dean snapped back in a harsh whisper.

“You be quiet!”

You turned on them. “Quit your bickering and shut up,” you hissed. “Follow me.”

Edging towards the door, you peeked out and spotted the sheriff pacing the room. Holding a hand up, you gestured for the brothers to stay back while you watched and waited. Soon enough, the sheriff walked out, leaving the room empty.

Ducking out the wardrobe, you took a step to the side and gestured to the still bloody, and now taped off, bed.

The brothers spotted the writing on the wall in an instant.

“‘Aren’t you glad you didn’t turn on the light?’,” Sam read. “That’s right out of the legend.”

“Yeah, that’s classic Hook Man all right.” Dean tapped his nose pointedly. “It’s definitely a spirit.”

Sam grimaced. “Yeah, I’ve never smelled ozone this strong before.”

“I didn’t notice it,” you admitted.

“You were too busy getting the hell out of here, that’s why,” Dean noted, stepping towards you. “You okay?”

“No.” You shook your head. “I was in here last night, Dean. I was sitting on that bed. “You gestured to the bed you’d occupied last night. “I was awake when Lori came home. I was reading, the lamp was on, Taylor was fine. I swear.”

Without a word, he pulled you to his chest and wrapped his arms around you.

Despite what had happened the other week, even though you weren’t completely over it, you were glad to have Dean. The feel of him, being surrounded by his scent, it helped calm you down. If it wasn’t for him and Sam, you were sure you’d be a mess. No one should be able to just walk away, unscathed, from the scene you’d woken up to.

“Hey, come here.”

Pulling away from you, Dean dropped his hand into yours and led you back over to his brother.

Sam gestured to the symbol carved into the all below the writing. “Does that look familiar to you?”

Between Dean’s legs as he sat on Baby’s hood, the two of you looked to Sam as he sat beside his brother, checking out one of the pages from the dead priest’s file.

“It’s the same symbol.” Sam turned to paper so you and Dean could see what he was talking about. He pointed to the medallion hanging from the hook. “Seems like it is the spirit of Jacob Karns.”

“All right, let’s find the dude’s grave, salt and burn the bones, and put him down.” Dean shrugged.

“‘After execution, Jacob Karns was laid to rest in an Old North Cemetery. In an unmarked grave’,” Sam read.

Well… there goes that plan. Can’t burn bones you can’t find.

“Super,” Dean grumbled, giving your hip a tap.

You stepped away from him and moved aside, watching as the brothers pushed off the car and started toward their door. You were right behind Sam, heading for your own door.

“Ok. So we know it’s Jacob Karns. But we still don’t know where he’ll manifest next. Or why,” Sam noted.

“I’ll take a wild guess about why.” Dean gave you and Sam a pointed look. “I think your little friend Lori has something to do with this,” he said before getting in the car.

“Speaking of which,” you ducked into your seat, “can you drop me off at the church?”

“How come?” Sam asked as he got in the car as well.

“Promised Lori I would stay with her, and their home is right next to the church,” you explained.

Dean grinned as he turned the ignition. “You makin’ a friend over there, Y/N?”

“I get her, she gets me, it’s pretty simple Dean.”

When you thought about this place and the people, you realised how welcoming and understanding they were. You knew you could trust Lori, that there was nothing truly complicated about her. The sorority girls had been nice, as well as everyone at the church. People were very kind to young and unmated Omegas.

It was pretty easy to see yourself settling down in a place like this, but picturing it and living it were two very different things. You knew there was no way you were ever going to have that apple pie life. Not when you knew so much about things most people didn’t even realise were real.

Bamby

[agirlinjapan]

Red Data Girl: My Wish on the Night of the Shooting Stars (Week 32)

Red Data Girl: My Wish on the Night of the Shooting Stars By Noriko Ogiwara A Translation

Miss the last piece? Read it here!

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The story really feels like it’s coming to a close now... Just a few more weeks to go!

Red Data Girl: My Wish on the Night of the Shooting Stars By Noriko Ogiwara Chapter 4: Mizuho Part 2 (4 of 4)

As Izumiko and the rest of the group walked, a line of police SUVs passed by them. It seemed that the arrest really was going to take place. A moment later, there were uniformed police officers standing around the customs hall making announcements with megaphones that no one was allowed to enter the building.

It didn’t feel real that her mother was somewhere here doing her job right now. It was even more unbelievable that Mizuho was the one she was arresting. Izumiko’s steps felt unsteady as she walked toward the place she had felt so frightened at earlier. It had all happened so quickly though, and she now felt a numb sense of detachment being here again.

However, that all changed when she saw Yukariko on the side of the entrance.

Yukariko, dressed in a subdued grey pantsuit, was leaning against a wall, deep in conversation on her cellphone. A few strands of her shoulder length hair had slid in front of her pale cheeks. When she saw that Izumiko and the others had arrived, she lifted her head and grinned. There was something ferocious in her expression, but when she spoke, her tone was gentle.

“I’m glad you’re safe, Izumiko. I was worried something would go wrong.”

As she said this, Izumiko was reminded of how Mizuho had brought her here. If her mother didn’t work with such a special organization, Izumiko doubted that even she would believe what was happening at the moment. But now, she was standing in front of her tough, undercover police mother who wasn’t afraid of anything. Tears suddenly began to pool down Izumiko’s cheeks.

“Mizuho said you were hurt…”

“I know. You didn’t do anything wrong. I wish this hadn’t happened to you. It’s painful to think about, but I’ve been estranged from Mizuho for a while now. We just had to catch her making contact with the group she was double dealing with.”

“In other words, you were letting her make all these plans?” Miyuki asked quietly. “You’ve known she was up to something like this?”

“It was necessary. Miyuki, I’ve dedicated my life to public safety for this reason. The more Izumiko’s abilities awaken, the more formidable the people coming after her will become.”

When he noticed Yukariko’s hard gaze on him, Miyuki stepped back. His voice, however, was not timid as he opened his mouth to respond. “Are you saying that government level protection is required in order to change the goddess’s future?”

“I didn’t say that either. This time, it was only one barrier in Mizuho’s way. You don’t know how relieved I am to know that Izumiko is safe, do you?” Yukariko said, watching as Izumiko pulled a handkerchief from her bag and wiped the tears away from her lowered face. Her tone was curt. There was not one hint from her behavior that she wanted to hold her daughter, but all the same, there was deep emotion visible in her eyes when she looked at Izumiko.

“If Izumiko could find a way to contain her powers, she practically wouldn’t be able to sense them herself. That would most likely make it difficult for other people to force her into sacrificing herself to their agenda. However, the goddess’s power can only hold back one force at a time.”

“Um, can I ask a question?...” Miyuki asked. He thought for a moment and then said, “I think the goddess is a lot like you. She’s completely different from Izumiko. The way she speaks. The way she acts. Even her personality.”

“And?”

Yukariko smiled. Miyuki was certain it was the very same bewitching smile the goddess wore.

“Was the goddess I met really Izumiko? Lately, Izumiko hasn’t been possessed as unexpectedly as she used to be, but am I right to think that the goddess still resides in you?”

“Miyuki, am I hearing that you want to meet the goddess again?” Yukariko asked teasingly.

Miyuki went sullen. “That’s not what I meant. You’re taking my words the wrong way. I want to know who the goddess really is.”

“Whether or not Izumiko and the goddess are different people depend on your perspective,” Yukariko responded, unusually open to answering his question. “I’m the one who’s responsible for the goddess traveling back in time and doing things over again more carefully. Of course I want the best for my own child who will follow in my footsteps. As a result, the goddess has absorbed some of my characteristics. The goddess’s current personality is probably more like mine than the personality of the person she was originally. You can think of it however you want, I guess.”

Miyuki looked shocked.

“So that’s the way it is…”

It’s like that then… Izumiko thought as she brought the handkerchief to her nose.

The truth eased her fears in one way, and did not in another. Her emotions were all jumbled up.

Yukariko looked at Miyuki out of the corner of her eye. Then she turned her sharp gaze towards a uniformed police officer guarding the entrance.

“Concerning the goddess, she will possess me until I die. That’s the pattern we’ve come to expect from her over the generations. That’s also why I’m so surprised that Izumiko is being possessed as well. You could say it’s contradictory to what we know about the goddess.”

For an instant, there was a strange expression on Yukariko’s face, but then she turned her attention back to the two students in front of her.

“After all this is over, I’ll have to think about why the goddess is traveling so easily to Izumiko. It could be that she wanted to see what sort of person you are, Miyuki.”

“Huh?” Miyuki and Izumiko said together, probably sharing the same thought. Had all of the trouble they had gone through been for a reason like that?

The goddess came to me to see Miyuki… Did she not meet Miyuki in the life she lived before going and reliving history?...

As she thought this, her mind all jumbled with different thoughts, a strained noise came from behind her. Yukariko’s expression immediately went hard, allowing Izumiko to make a guess of what was going on before she turned around. A tight clump of men were exiting the building. Izumiko couldn’t quite make out what was happening, but they seemed like the detectives in charge of conducting the arrest.

Mizuho…

She didn’t think the men she saw now were the same ones who had participated in her kidnapping. She looked only for Mizuho’s beige trench coat.

Mizuho Nakayama appeared at the very end of the men’s procession from the building. Her ponytail had come loose and she looked distraught. Izumiko couldn’t see her whole form from where she stood, but it was plain to see that she was in handcuffs. She looked as if she had been crying, assumedly from the pepper spray.

Mizuho’s face was turned downward, so Izumiko and the others couldn’t see the next part from where they were standing by the entrance. However, Yukimasa, standing further away by the traffic circle, saw. He was the only one who noticed. As Mizuho raised her head, there was a look of pure hatred in her eyes.

“I curse you for the rest of your life,” she said, her voice dark and rough. She didn’t say it loudly, but it cut to the heart of the people who heard. The detective nearest to Mizuho took her by the arm and she didn’t say anything else.

Yukimasa stood there quietly, not moving as he watched the detectives place Mizuho in the police car. He had no intentions of responding to her words. Instead, He simply smiled calmly.

Izumiko was as hurt by all of this as Yukimasa was. She didn’t know how many times she had gone with him to Mizuho’s office in the university hospital. Over all that time, Izumiko had talked more to Mizuho than she had her own mother. What hurt most about the day’s events was that she doubted she’d ever fully get over what Mizuho had done to her.

Mizuho was such a great doctor. Could I have been the one who ruined her life in the end?...

“Don’t cry over this,” Miyuki said from beside her. He could speak to her easily now that Yukariko had walked away to talk with a detective. “If she’s cursed Yukimasa then I’m done here. I don’t want to be tempted into doing the same when I’m not any good at that stuff yet. But it looks like I should take back what I said before.”

He continued in a more subdued voice than he usually used. “The ascetic monks really do want to protect you more than I thought they did. What Yukimasa’s doing for you is different than how he usually acts. Maybe I should take a closer look at who he actually is. You have to admit this group is completely different when Yukariko’s here and she cares about you the most.”

“Yeah…”

Recalling how Yukariko had said she dedicated her life to public service for her, fresh tears welled up in Izumiko’s eyes. For the first time, she thought of Yukariko as not only strong, but having been dealt a tragic life.

“I’ve always thought that Mom never cared about me.”

“It’s okay. You have a lot of people who support you and they’ll only grow from here. If you keep get more friends and allies like this, Yukariko won’t have to bear all the responsibility for your safety by herself.”

Miyuki paused suddenly and then added, “I felt really good about what I did today.”

“Yeah….” Izumiko nodded as the tears streamed down her face.

A little unsure of what else to say, Miyuki wrapped an arm around Izumiko’s shoulder and pulled her close to him, closing the gap between them. They did not see how the arrest was coming to a close or the people hurrying towards the police cars around them. However, as they were standing in one place for a time, the chill of the December night began to creep into their feet and legs. To Izumiko, this only made huddling together with Miyuki even better.

Miyuki is my lifeboat. This is what we have together… Izumiko silently thought.

Before they said anything. Before they named how they felt, this was what had grown between them.

Keep reading!

[the-digimon-tamer]

Chapter 41 - Compromised is out now on FanFiction.Net and ArchiveOfOurOwn! Check them out with the links or find it after the break!

Title: The Tamer v2.0 - In HIs Name

Fandom: Digimon

Rating: T

Synopsis: In the next adventure of the Digimon Tamer, the lives of Juri, Rika, and Henry change forever when digimon begin crossing over into the human world. But it’s all just a story, right? Just a book series by an author no one has seen in a long time. Why are they here and can they save their world before something worse follows the digimon?

Ken Ichijouji, Wormmon, Davis Motomiya, Veemon, Tamer, and Guilmon landed in the Digital World - outside the familiar ruins of the Hallowed Bastion. The terrifying castle that they had come to so long ago as kids still stood as a decrepit reminder of what was and the terrible things of the past. Ken in particular was uncomfortable at the sight of it but Tamer hurried them inside. And all the better for it too because they could hear the chaos the Digital World descended to around them.  

The Digital World was burning to the ground all around them - its skies darkened by more digimon than could be counted fighting for their lives. And they needed to hurry if they were going to put an end to this before any lives ended.

As Tamer led them inside, Ken couldn’t help but reminded of his own past here and the things he had done because of it. The thoughts still haunted him as the memories came back with every echoing step in the empty halls. He shook his head to pull himself out of it and asked a question to break the silence, “Where exactly are we going?”

“To find a computer. We get one of those and we can connect it to your digivices. Then you guys just have to do your thing,” he answered quickly, leading them further into its darkest depths. He and Davis exchanged anxious looks, both men thinking the same thing. It had been a long time since either of them had any kind of adventure in the Digital World. And despite all the terrible things going on, it was good to be back in the Digital World again. Even better, it was good to see their partners again after not having seen them in so long.

“You’ve cut your hair, Ken,” Wormmon said from behind him. Ken snorted, “The hair was getting in my eye during work. It was kind of a problem.”

“Oh? You’re still a detective, right?” Wormmon asked quietly. Ken nodded, “That’s right. But I’ve gone private now. Still working around the clock for anyone who’ll hire me. The last case I was working was finding Takeru and you guys actually. We were all worried sick. Yamato was the worst of all of us - guy was paranoid something happened.”

“That’sh nothing. You should’ve sheen the way TK wash acting! He wouldn’t let ush leave the houshe unlessh he wash there with ush,” Veemon pointed out. Davis laughed at his partner’s words, “You guys are safe and we’re back together. That’s all that matters. By the way, you’ve gotta meet my son. You’ll love him.”

“Shon? Did you and Kari finally tie the knot?” Veemon asked. Davis waved him off, “No, it didn’t work out. You were there, remember?”

Veemon shrugged it off and shook his head, “I alwaysh figured you two would get back together. You two were alwaysh sho happy together. It’sh a shame.”

Davis crossed his arms and growled, “Hey! Don’t you talk about my wife that way. She’s the greatest person I’ve ever met! Especially when she does this thing with her mou- I mean, um...never mind!”

Ken rolled his eyes, unsurprised that Davis almost made the conversation so inappropriate. He could tell from the quizzical look Veemon was giving him that the digimon didn’t quite understand what he was about to say. At least, that’s what Ken thought until Veemon said, “Do you mean mouth? You mean eating your food? You always were a really good cook! I bet she eats a lot of your food every day!”

That was almost worst - Ken couldn’t quite tell if Veemon was teasing his partner or not. And he could tell even Davis was stumped by his response, “Eh…something like that.”

“Are you talking about food?” Guilmon stopped in his tracks, sniffing the air around him, “I don’t smell anything. Is there food? I’m really hungry.”

Davis gave the digimon a big thumbs up and smiled for the red dinosaur, “Well, I’ll whip us up a big celebratory dinner after all this is over. You guys can all come over to my ramen shop and we’ll eat a big meal to celebrate! All of us!”

“Can you even afford to feed all of us? More specifically, can your business survive feeding all of them?” Ken asked, gesturing towards the three digimon present. Davis simply laughed it off, “Don't get too high and mighty there, mister detective. It’s not like you’ve ever really looked at my business.”

“I have,” he admitted, “I keep tabs on everyone I know. Mind if I ask what you did with twenty million yen?”

“One word!” Davis’ smile widened, reminding Ken of the fact that this guy was more than capable of pulling the wool over his eyes and surprising him if he wanted to, “Franchising!”

Yep. There it was. The surprise he didn’t see coming. He smiled as he realized this meant still able to surprise him - even with all his investigative skills and intelligence, his best friend of years was still able to do something surprising. Franchising. He laughed at the idea that he might become the richest member of the digidestined.

“We’re here!” Tamer announced to their surprise, stopping in front of an innocuous door. Nothing in particular about this door stood out. It was so ordinary, he didn’t even realize it was there until Tamer stopped in front of it. Tamer pushed it open without a second thought and called for them to come inside, “Come on. We’ve got work to do.”

“Okay, what is this place? I don’t think we’ve ever seen this room,” Davis stated as he went in next. Veemon hopped along just behind them, Ken pausing to glance at his partner. His partner was just as anxious as he was, he knew just from the look on his face. And the little digimon could sense he was just as uncomfortable, “It’s okay, Ken. I’m right here. We’ll be going in together.”

“I know Wormmon. I just need a moment,” he replied. Wormmon touched his partner and replied, “It’ll be alright Ken. Take your time.”

“Thanks Wormmon,” he nodded grimly, taking a moment to steady his nerves and calm down before heading inside. Within was a plain room - probably no bigger than a student’s bed room with a desk in one corner and a bed in the other. On the desk was a small data chip covered in a fine layer of dust that Tamer blew off and picked up, “Perfect. Let’s see if this still fires up.”

He pressed a button on it and tucked it just behind his ear - where a small screen appeared in his field of view just in front of him. Davis whistled, “Whoa, cool. What is it?”

“It’s a computer. A student’s computer so it’s mostly for reading and watching movies. But it’ll do for now,” Tamer answered matter of factly, “Come on. Let’s get to the armory and get you guys some scanners and communicators!”

“Scanners?” Davis repeated stupidly, “I thought we were using our digivices?”

Takato snapped his fingers, “You are. But I’ll need those scanners to act as access points so that this computer receives the data. That’s the only way this plan will-”

Ken heard a beep from his D-Terminal and retrieved it from his coat pocket, “Sorry.”

“I hope you’re not too busy to help save the world,” Tamer crossed his arms with an annoyed tone. Guilmon whined, “I’m too hungry to save the world.”

“We haven’t even done anything yet!” Veemon pointed out to him. Tamer tapped his foot impatiently, “He’s always like that. It’s a miracle when he’s not hungry.”

Ken read the message and realized urgency was a factor. He shouted to get their attention, “Guys! It’s from Izzy and Mimi’s daughter. She says the thing is on to the plan.”

“What?” Tamer hurried to look at the screen himself in disbelief, “But that’s not possible. It shouldn’t have any idea what we’re doing. How...no, never mind. We need to hurry. Time moves faster on this side of the world. We still have time to counter it. We have time to think this through. First, carry on with the plan on this side. Let’s get going.”

His pace hurried and they struggled to keep up with him - trying their best to sprint after him as Tamer hurried along at what must’ve been a break neck pace. His years as a detective gave him a bit of an edge when it came to keeping up, however it was Davis’ willingness to keep going that had him surprised even when he was out of breath. Ken smirked back at the chef, “Out of shape?”

Davis smiled back at him and grunted, “You wish. You think I’d be able to run a restaurant without the stamina to keep up? Besides, your breathing is getting heavier.”

“I’m not sweating,” Ken fired back. Wormmon and Veemon laughed, the little worm digimon remarking, “It’s so good to see you two getting along so well after all this time. Although I would’ve thought your competitive streak would’ve died by now.”

“As long as I’m alive, I’ll always be showing the world that I’m just as good as Ken Ichijouji!” Davis said with a thumbs up. Ken sighed, “I haven’t been a child genius in years and you know it. Hell, I’m not even great at soccer any more.”

Davis slapped him on the back, “You better believe I’m not going to let my rival fall behind me even an inch.”

“If you two are done, I need your help opening this door! I don’t have the codes to get it open,” Tamer announced as he slid to a stop in front of another door. Another door in another section of the castle Ken didn’t recognize. Davis looked down at his partner, “Go for it, Veemon!”

“V-HEADBU- OW!” Veemon’s cry of attack turned into a cry of pain as he slammed into the metallic door and tumbled back onto the ground, “Bad idea, my mishtake. What givesh? Why didn’t it work?”

“The Guardians wouldn’t make a door that could be knocked over by a rookie level digimon. I think they’d be insulted by that,” Tamer put a hand to his hips and turned back to the door, “We’ll need to pry it open. It should still slide at least. Here!”

He grabbed onto the crack of the door and started pulling from one side. Ken raised an eyebrow at Tamer’s antics, “Can’t you just hack it? I mean, the Ancients-”

“Guardians,” Tamer corrected.

“The Assholes created a door that couldn’t be blasted open but anyone who wanted to could just pry it open?” Ken asked with crossed arms. Tamer looked back at him, “Do you want to save the world or do you want to just stand there nitpicking?”

Each of them took an end of the door and pulled it open as hard as they could to get it to slide apart. With a little give, they finally for the door open and Tamer rushed in. The rest of them stared in awe at the racks and shelves containing nothing but what appeared to be rifles, spears, and all manner of advanced gadgets that made their jaws fall open. Davis commented, “Man, those Ancients sure did love making doom weapons, huh? Digivices, Digieggs...next you’ll tell me these are Digispears and digiguns!”

“Disintegration Blaster, actually,” Tamer replied as he made his way past the shelves of weapons.

“I don’t get it. Why aren’t we using this?” Ken asked in a surprised matter of fact tone as he looked out upon these various weapons. Tamer started moving things around in search of what he needed and finally retrieved what looked like radios from the shelf, “Here we are!”

“Tamer!” Ken scolded, annoyed that he was being ignored. Tamer sighed, “No, we’re not using any of these. If the weapons worked, that thing wouldn’t be there. It would’ve been dead forever ago when the Guardians found it the first time. The Guardians threw an army at it and it ate them. If anything, showing up with these weapons might help it figure out what it’s up against. Now here!”

He tossed the radios to them, both adults fumbling the devices in their hands before managing to get a good grip on it. Tamer scolded again, “Careful! Don’t break it!”

“You’re the one who threw it!” Ken pointed out. Tamer shrugged, “Semantics. Now let’s find some communicators!”

...

Yamaki stared in disbelief as the birds started lining the windows of the building. All the scientists and engineers moved away in a panic, while security teams�� drew their weapons at the birds staring at them. To his astonishment, the digimon still in the room leapt forward to fight - the brown bunny thing, the flying pink seal, and the rest all leapt forward. Before anyone could do anything, Yamaki raised his hand, “Stop! Hold your fire!”

“Sir, they’re gathering at the windows!” Riley said from behind him.

“Right now, those windows are the only things keeping them out and they’re not attacking,” he pointed out, “They’re planning something. What are they up to?”

“Do you really think glass is going to keep them out!?” one of the monster makers stated. Yamaki raised an eyebrow at her, “You think a government agency would use regular glass on a window this high up? A government agency whose operatives are likely to get shot at?”

To prove his point, one of the birds slammed into the window with all its might. It bounced off the window and took a moment to correct itself in the air - as if trying to understand what happened. He smirked as the shatter resistant glass was holding. And it widened as the bird things started slamming into it. Again and again, each trying to break through the barrier keeping them out. His smile disappeared when he watched one finally hit the glass hard enough to make it crack - leaving a shatter pattern across its frame. Then another appeared.

And another.

“It’s not bullet proof, sir. It’s bullet resistant. I don’t think it’s designed to take this many hits in a row,” one of the agents pointed out. Yamaki clicked his tongue angrily, “I noticed! Lock down the building!”

“Way ahead of you,” Riley said from across the room, pulling on one of the alarms. Not a fire alarm, a security alarm. As soon as she hit it, metal panels lowered from above the windows to seal the creatures out. But that only angered them and made them strike the windows harder in protest. Yamaki finally felt his nerve give out and drew his own gun, praying that he wouldn’t have to fire until the panels finally closed on the window. 

Five seconds never felt longer as the glass continued to give under the constant attacks of the alien creatures. Just as the metallic panels closed, they watched a large golden insect appear from the side and slam into them at full force. The room was dark now, but they could still hear the muffled sounds of fighting just beyond the metal panels. 

Then a loud bang echoed against the metal panel and the room filled with screams. It stopped shortly after and all that was left was silence. Whatever was going on out there, it seemed the creatures were still trying to get in. Then they heard banging from outside. Dolphin asked, “How long will those things hold?”

“No idea. That makes it all the more important to get the Juggernaut back online as quickly as possible,” Yamaki holstered his gun and turned back to the rest of the staff, “Let’s get back to work. Security personnel, inspect the perimeter and keep those things out. If an area is breached, we’re sealing it off. IT and Engineering staff, get back to work on the machines. The sooner we get Juggernaut back up, the better shape we’ll be in.”

“Why were they attacking us?” Zhenyu’s wife asked nervously. Before he could answer, there was a banging at the door beside them and the weapons were drawn again. Another loud banging came from the door and one of the civilian parents shouted, “Oh god, they’re inside.”

“Calm down. The whole’s building locked down now. There’s no way in or out. Whoever is on the other side of that door was already in the building,” Yamaki barked, walking over to the door with a hand on his weapon. He really hoped he was right about this. He turned the handle and threw the door open to find Izumi and his wife there.

“IZUMI! What the hell are you two doing in the stairs? Security never said you were here,” Yamaki practically shouted, surprised to see them just coming inside. Izumi wheeled his chair in while his wife took a seat on one of the chairs. Without missing a beat, the wheel chair bound scientist stated, “We were trying to warn you about those things when the whole building went dark. Looks like you initiated the lock down.”

Yamaki nodded, making his way to their handicapped member, “How did you even get in the building? The whole place is locked down!” 

Izumi pointed upstairs, “We came in the roof. It’s hard to take stairs in a wheel chair. Are you okay Mimi?”

“I’m fine!” his wife said, waving him off despite struggling to catch her breath, “Don’t worry about me! Get to the important part!”

Izumi nodded and went on, “That thing knows. The D-Reaper knows about the plan. At least, it knows you guys have a plan to stop it and it’s trying to get in to stop you!”

“Oh that’s just great. How did it find out?” Curly asked.

Izumi’s wife answered, “It overheard us when we were talking with our daughter. She’s out there right now fighting those things with our digimon.”

“She is? Well screw that! I’m not sitting around in here while she’s fighting out there! Come on Guardromon!” Kazu declared to his partner. He and the giant robot made their way to the door, just as he was grabbed by his father, “Oh no you don’t! You’re running out there just to go get yourself killed!”

“But dad-” Kazu began to protest, however Yamaki cut him off before he could say anymore, “Don’t even bother, kid. The whole building is locked down. No one, and I mean no one, is getting in or out of this building.”

“They got in!” Kazu protested.

“We were already in when the lockdown activated,” Izumi responded.

“Then lift the lock down!” he complained, but Yamaki rolled his eyes, “Not when there’s an army of those things trying to get into this building! Face it kid, you’re stuck here with us. Now sit down before you hurt yourself.”

…

Impmon had to admit that he was enjoying himself for the first time in a long time. Both Ai and Mako appeared to be on their best behavior. But he had been down this road before and it ended in disappointment. And he was not going to be another rope in their tug of war game. There was no way in hell he’d allow himself to be put in that position again. And yet, he had to admit that he was happy in a way he hadn’t been in a long time.

It helped that they seemed to genuinely be trying to be on their best behavior now. Which was a nice difference from where things had been before. But it was soured by the images flying through his mind - the faces of the dying, the screams of those meeting their doom, the terror of knowing there was no hope of survival. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t convince himself these images were anything more than delusions.

They were so clear, so vibrant. They were memories, and he was glad it was in the past. And they put a lot of Ai and Mako’s behaviors into context. It made his departure of their home seem petty and childish; as petty and childish as their fighting. But they were kids. That seemed to be the takeaway - they didn’t know any better and they were learning.

“So where have you been all this time Impmon?” Ai asked, “You weren’t cold, were you? Or scared? We were so worried.”

“I was...fine,” he answered sheepishly, quietly eating into the snacks. Mako looked out the window, “Mommy and daddy have been putting a lot of our stuff in the car. They say we need to leave the city. Everyone seems super scared about something.”

“Yeah,” Impmon answered, glancing out the window. So Ai and Mako were at least aware that something was going on. They were just too naive to understand what. It troubled him to know that even that one guy’s little sister had a better grasp on the situation than either of them did. He took another bite of the cookie when he felt a strong unease - the kind of instinctual anxiety that became a sixth sense for danger. And no sooner than it went off, he felt the ground shake and everyone fall over.

“AAH!”

“EARTHQUAKE!”

Ai and Mako screamed and they heard the door slam open. It was their parents calling out to them, “Ai! Mako! Are you okay!”

“MOMMY!”

“DADDY!”

Both parents came around the corner and saw Impmon lying on the floor. The parents panicked at the sight of him, “Impmon!? What are you doing here?”

“Fuggedaboutit! What’s goin’ on out theres?” he asked, scrambling up to his feet. The parents cried out, “It’s those things! They’re out there! And there’s more of them!”

“What?” Impmon had an idea of what they were talking about and was afraid of the answer. He should just run! Get as far away from this place as he could! But if he did that, then what would happen to Ai and Mako? Their parents couldn’t protect them. Not from that. He clicked his tongue angrily at the realization of what he had to do. And he really wished he wasn’t going out to do it. 

He hurried past the parents, out the door and onto the familiar street where he watched a large, unfamiliar metal work digimon being swarmed by countless bird creatures. It was the wolf’s thrashing on the cramped street causing all the shaking as it tried to hurt the bird creature. And without warning, the wings on its back kicked up like jet engines and it took off for the sky. Some of the bird creatures chased after it. But others hung back and scattered across the neighborhood. One in particular took a long look at Impmon before charging forward. Impmon leapt back and raised up a gloved hand, “Oh no you don’t! BADABOOM!”

He chucked the fireball right at its face but the creature simply leapt out of harm’s way before the blast could strike it. He threw another at it but the bird thing just moved too fast for him to get a head on it. He tried aiming ahead of it but it was too agile and quick for him. It was infuriating. But he couldn’t cut and run now. He couldn't leave them to this thing. 

“Impmon!” he heard Mako cry out behind him. Impmon cursed his luck and the timing of this horrible situation. Why did this have to happen to him? He cursed his luck and threw himself in front of the small boy, “What’re ya doin, kid? Get back inside!”

“But you’re out here!” he argued back. Impmon groaned, “I can tak-”

He felt his heart stop when he saw one of the bird creatures position itself behind Mako. The kid probably didn’t even realize how much danger he was in. Impmon couldn’t just let it happen though - without thinking he dashed towards Mako and conjured a fireball in his hand, “GET DOWN! BADABOOM!”

But the boy wouldn’t put his head down. He continued to stare at Impmon in confusion. He really was just oblivious to his surroundings, wasn’t he? The bird thing was just inches behind him and he didn’t even seem to register it was there. Impmon called out, “Mako! For crying out loud! Get down!”

“MAKO!” Ai cried out in terror from the door. Of course the problems were just piling up. Ai had come out now, and she was shaking from the door frame at the sight of the door. Mako finally thought to move and turn around, coming face to face with the creature just behind him. There was only one thing to do now. He would have to throw the fireball in his hand straight at the bird. But to avoid Mako, he’d have to be between them. 

Which meant a punch.

The things he did for these kids and they didn’t even seem to appreciate it. Was this his punishment? His atonement for all he had done? He didn’t like it. Even now, the images were flashing through his mind. The memories of that weird not human kid and his stupid idiot of a digimon partner. He couldn’t let that happen for real. He wouldn’t. Acting purely on reflex and instinct, Impmon leapt between Mako and the bird thing. They were so close that Impmon could practically see his own reflection in the massive eyes on its wings, “BADABOOM!”

He punched the ball of fire as hard as he could into the bird creature and the heat of the flames practically burned his hand. But the bird didn’t react to it all, instead rising up into the air and taking him with it as if it were mocking him. He hated this. Was all his effort for nothing? Was there where his life was going to end? Getting killed trying to protect the annoying kids he’d abandoned because of a good hearted whim?

Not a bad way to go out after all he’d been through, huh? It was better than what he deserved. He knew that much.

“IMPMON!” Mako cried out in a panic.

“NO!” Ai shouted.

Raising their voices. That really was all they were good for, huh? Dang kids, He wished he had appreciated them more and spent more time with them. He really was a disappointment in that regard - forcing not one, not two, but three separate kids watch their digimon partner die. They really did care, huh?

They really did care.

That thought hung in Impmon’s head longer than it should’ve. And it hurt. It filled him with pain that felt like it was going to explode from his chest, “IMPMON! WARP DIGIVOLVE TO! BEELZEMON!”

The bird sagged and dropped him. Or more accurately, it lowered him to the ground because it couldn’t hold his weight while also trying to fly. However, his hand was now wrapped firmly around its neck and it flailed to get free. He wasn’t about to give it the option though. Not when he saw the danger it posed to both Mako and Ai.

He threw it to the ground so hard that it flailed, then stepped on it with his foot to keep it there. Then he took a moment to take in what happened. He couldn’t quite believe it. He’d digivolved. His partners had helped him digivolve. It was ironic - he’d scorned the others for relying on the humans to digivolve. But here he was digivolving because of the humans. And he could see the amazement on those kids eyes - Ai and Mako were wide eyed with disbelief, “Are you two okay?”

Both children nodded sheepishly, Mako’s mouth hanging open, “IMpmon? Did you get all grown up?”

Of course, these kids had no idea was digivolution was. He smirked, “Something like that.”

“Ai! Mako!” both parents called as they finally rushed outside to get their kids. And both adults stopped at the entrance in terror once they laid eyes on Beelzemon. Their father shouted, “Ai! Mako! Get away from that thing?”

“Mommy! Daddy! It’s Impmon!” Ai tried explaining to them. That wasn’t quite right. He was Beelzemon now. Why bother explaining? They were too young to understand and their parents were to freaked out to listen anyway. He waved at the two parents awkwardly, realizing how terrifying it must’ve been for them to see him standing there with the bird monster under foot. He pressed down hard as he could on it until he stopped moving and growled, “Don’t you dare come near Ai and Mako again!”

He continued to press his foot down upon it, the bird continuing to flail and writhe as if it were in true pain. Finally, he pressed his foot down hard upon it and crushed it. The creature stopped moving, then burst into a cloud of data. They may have been really hard to put down, but it still died like any other digimon. Beelzemon normally enjoyed the thrill of the fight and wanted to savor his victory. But this was different. He didn’t feel like savoring anything. He just felt relief - relief it was over. Relief that Ai and Mako were safe. At least, until he saw more of those bird things gathering around him. Each of them keeping their eyes on him.

“Ai. Mako. Get inside,” Beelzemon said calmly, “Don’t come out until I say so. Understand?”

“You’re not leaving again, are you?” Ai asked sheepishly. They were scared. They should be. But their fear stemmed from the terror of losing him again - of finding he was gone. He nodded, “I have to. There are more of these things out there.”

“Where are you going?” Mako asked him sheepishly. Beelzemon cocked his shotgun to get the empty shell out and answered, “To keep you guys safe.”

It was a funny feeling to fight for someone else. But it felt so right. So this is what it was like to fight for someone else. It would’ve been sweet if Mako didn’t remark, “I asked where you were going. Not why.”

“Okay, you got me there,” Beelzemon answered with a half smile. Then Mako did the stupidest thing. He ran out holding their digivice and a toy space gun in his hand, “If you’re going to go out, then take this!”

“A toy?” Beelzemon raised an eyebrow in surprise. It made sense that Mako wanted to help, but even he had to understand that his toys weren’t going to do much good. This wasn’t a play game of pretend. It was real. Mako offered it up with both hands anyway, “It’s not a toy! It’s a super special weapon that can destroy anything! As long as you use it for good, it’ll never fail and you’ll kick all the bad guy butt!”

Use it for good? Beelzemon didn’t really feel like anything but a bad guy. After what he did, there was no doubt about it. Still, he took the toy from Mako to indulge the boy. Besides, the sooner he took the toy, the faster the boy would hurry inside, “Thanks, kid. Now get inside.”

“Okay! Come back safe, Impmon!” Mako said, running back to his little sister and parents. As soon as the door was close and locked, Beelzemon turned to face the birds and raised up his shotgun, “Okay you damn rats with wings! Come and get me!”

��

The images continued to flash by and Juri continued to identify them - because the alternative was to revisit those awful memories. And she didn’t want to do that. She didn’t want to dwell on the past. So she just continued listing off everything she saw as the images came by, “A car. A dog. A cat. A soldier. A gun? I don’t know. I don’t know. I don’t know. I don’t know.”

“Juri, those are four items you have failed to identify,” her mechanical voice echoed, “Please elaborate to why.”

“I don’t know what they are,” she explained to the voice who seemed unconvinced, “And?”

“I’m ten. How would I know what any of that is?” she added, hoping that it would get across to this thing that she had no idea what everything was. The voice echoed, “Very well. We shall proceed. Please identify the following.”

“A car. A SUV. That’s just a sakura tree. A bowl of ramen. A-” she paused as the next image came across her mind. Beelzemon. He was alive. He was here. In the Human World. In some neighborhood. And he was shooting. Was he hurting people? Were they in danger? Why was he doing this? He had killed Leomon before just to prove how strong he was. Was he going after humans now? Or was he after her? No. It couldn’t be. It couldn’t be true. Why here? Why now!? Why couldn’t he just go away!?

“Juri. Your mental state has become disturbed. Identify the last image. Assess. Assess.”

Assess? No, there was no time for that. He had to be stopped. He had to be destroyed before he hurt her. Before he hurt anyone else. He’d fought the others and they could barely stop him. This thing was too dangerous.

“Threat level assessed. Taking necessary counter measures. Protect the organic.”

Organic? Did it mean her? Was this thing going to protect her? She just didn’t understand any more. What did it want? What was it after? As the panic spread through her mind, she recalled images of death she’d seen - cartoon images of ghosts, skeletons wearing robes wielding scythes, spirits wearing funeral garb armed with sickles and katanas. Death. Beelzemon had to die! He needed to die! He needed to go away!