#everyone we beat each other we can shake our fists at the sky and curse the others name

[cosmicredcadet]

You've heard of Friendship now get ready for Foeship. Who was to be my nemesis? my archenemy? Instead of hang outs we plan days to go ruin each others plans and schemes.

[adersky]

Posted this on ao3 under PHanTom. Just wanted to share this

Midnight Hour:

Summary:

Astraon, a kingdom lead by the Aonuma’s, was known for creating illegal nuclear powered weapons. The E.G.G has been tasked to eradicate the royals and destroy the nuclear weapons.

Ai has been tasked to murder the princess but can she really kill a beautiful girl who makes her heart beat.

Ai leaned against the wall, her arms crossed in front of her chest. Moon light entered the dark room, lighting the room with it’s glow. Beside her, their ally clucked their tongue before mumbling a complain. “Why is Momoe so late?” The blonde girl played with a strand of her. “The party is already starting and we might not be able to make it in time to see the Aonumas. Heck, they might have already left.”

The door to the room opened and the smell of lavender filled the room. They turned their heads to find Momoe wearing a long white polo with a black vest matched with black jeans. She tugged at the ribbon, “I’m sorry I’m late. It’s just that I had trouble tying this ribbon, it’s kinda irritating.” Rika rolled her eyes at her before she approached the auburn haired girl. She muttered something under her breath as she began tying the ribbon. When she finished, she took a step back and smiled. “Perfecto! You look like a lady killer.”

Momoe frowned slightly. Although their mission was to eradicate the royal’s, she didn’t want to kill them. But she had no choice, this was her mission. And she had to do it. Acca and Ura-Acca had assigned them this mission along with Saijo Kurumi. Their task was to get as much information about the nuclear bomb as possible. As for Ai, well her mission was not an easy task, to kill the oldest princess of the Aonuma family.

The Aonumas were the rulers of Astraon and they were liked by everyone inside and outside the kingdom. They had great relations with the other kingdoms and they were always invited to parties. But what everyone didn’t know was that they were planning to use their nuclear weapons to destroy the other kingdoms and kidnap their citizens to make them their slaves. Nobody wanted that. That is why The E.G.G was created to stop this from happening.

“Where’s Saijo?” Momoe asked them as she looked around the room. “She already left. She hated waiting.” Rika answered her question with a shake of her head. “Honestly that girl is so impatient.”

“Can’t really blame her though. It is my fault.” Momoe escaped a deep sigh before shaking her head. Rika clapped her fingers and smirked. “Now that everyone is here let’s hurry up and let’s eat some caviar.”

“ You mean do our job.” Momoe raised an eyebrow at Rika who gave her a grin. She playfully punched Momoe’s arm which made the girl glare at her. “Yeah let’s do our job.” Rika chuckled before turning towards Ai. Her expression turned soft as she gave the blue haired girl a thumbs-up. “You know what to do.” Ani the darkness, Rika saw Ai nod. The mission was on.

..................................

Bright lights dazzled the room as guests dressed in gorgeous dresses and flashy tuxedos filled the room. Their voices could be heard from every direction, talking to each other about the latest news and gossip. Servants dressed in their usual uniforms carried trays filled with snacks on tiny plates or glasses filled with wine that must have costed them a lot of money. Rika and Momoe stood, holding glasses of wines in their hand. A few meters away from them was Saijo, chatting with the other guests with a fake smile. Saijo turned, and when Rika waved her hand, she excused herself and approached them. Her smile faded and she clucked her tongue. “Where have you guys been? Do you realize how tired I am talking with these people?!” Rika rolled her eyes at her. Momoe took a step back and waited for them to argue. Although they were allies, the two of them never had a good relationship. Rika didn’t like it when Saijo gave her sarcastic comments and Saijo didn’t like it when Rika asks her for money. To Momoe, it seemed like this two would never get along ever. Not even in a thousand years. Rika took Saijo’s glass from her head making the two girls stare at her in shock. Pouring the contents on the floor, Rika gave Saijo a grin. “You shouldn’t be out here having fun. How much information did you get?” Saijo clenched her fists and furrowed her brows, this was not going to end well. “I got a lot, thanks for asking. At least I wasn’t late like you and aren’t you drinking as well?”

“You’ve got a lot of nerve asshole.”

“Well no shit Sherlock it’s because of you I became one.”

“Well if you could fuck off over there and stop acting like a slut then we would be getting a lot of information right now!”

“I am not a slut.”

As the two argued back and forth, Momoe couldn’t help but wonder about Ai and how she was doing. “Did she finish the job already?”

Ai took a deep breath as she made her way to the balcony of the princess. Her back leaned against the wall and her eyes stared at the open space in front of her. She didn’t dare look down, afraid to see the buildings below her. She imagined herself slipping and falling to her death and the thought of that sent a cold shiver down her spine. Cold wind hit her face as she shook the thought away. She promised herself that won’t happen and that she would finish the job as soon as possible. Taking another step, Ai jumped off the platform and landed on the balcony. She took a moment to catch her breath. Inside she could hear the faint voices of people arguing. Curiosity struck her, she approached the sliding door and pressed her ears against it.

“Please Neiru. At least just for a moment.”

“I’m apologize but I am not coming down to meet them.”

“But-“

A loud bang hit Ai’s ears and she backed away from the sliding door. What was that all about? Footsteps came from the other side and they were getting closer. Panicked, Ai scanned her surroundings for a place to hide. She needed to. What was she going to do? Just stand there and say peek a boo?

And she can’t just tell the princess, ‘Hey I’m Ai and I’m going to kill you. LOL.’ That would be down right weird and embarrassing. Not to mention that would be a stupid act. As the door slowly creaked open, Ai quickly ran back to the platform and pressed her back against the wall. The door opened, she took a deep breath.

Her eyes landed on the princess and she couldn’t believe her eyes. She was down-right gorgeous. Heck if she was honest, she was the prettiest girl Ai had ever seen. Her dark green eyes matched her tan skin and her dark brown hair was tied into braids. She wore a long white dress which fitted her perfect figure. The girl leaned against the balcony, a sigh escaping her lips. “So annoying.” Heart beating in her chest, Ai found herself admiring her beauty. Ai wanted to get to know her, she looked so lonely. She looked like she needed a friend. She didn’t notice that she was leaning over and when she realized it, she was already to late. She fell face first on the balcony, and she landed with a thud. “Darn that hurts.” She cursed under her breath.

“May I ask why you’re here?”

Ai looked up to see a pair of green eyes glaring at her. She quickly sat up, her eyes widen in shock. It was the princess alright and she was right in front of her. Multiple thoughts raced through her head as she began thinking about what to say to her. Unfortunately for her, her heart has already found the answer. “Wow you’re really pretty and you got a nice figure.” When the words left her mouth, she stared at the princess with a smile. When she realized what she said, her face turned red and she looked away, hoping she didn’t see her blush. “Um well thank you. What are you- by the way you really have pretty eyes.” Ai turned around to find herself staring at the princess’s face who was crouching right in front of her. Damn, she was really more beautiful up close, Ai bit her tongue to stop herself from saying something embarrassing.

“It’s Heterochromia isn’t?”

“What?”

“The one we’re you have different eye colors.”

“Oh yes but it’s mostly associated with dogs and cats.”

“I like it. It really is beautiful.”

Ai shook her head slowly. “I’m not actually pretty.” She leaned a little bit closer. “But if we are talking about true beauty. It’s you.”

There she goes again, letting her heart talk for her.

Ai wanted to hurl herself out of the balcony out of embarrassment.

You know, that didn’t seem a bad idea now.

The princess turned away, muttering something under her breath before she stood up. She offered a hand to Ai who stared at it for a long time. “Don’t you want to get up?” Ai hesitated for a moment. She took her hand and stood up. Soft, they were soft, soft and slender. She wondered how can angel like her have soft hands. Thinking about it made Ai’s lips form a smile. “You can let go of my hand now.” Snapping out of her trance, Ai let go. Disappointed that she wasn’t able to hold it for too long. “Your hands are so soft.” She complimented the princess her eyes beaming.

“Thank you.” She took a deep breath. “Now what are you doing here?”

“Oh I was um...” Ai began thinking about lies to tell her. She gave her a smile, “The stars were begging me to look at them up close and I wanted to feel the cold wind tugging at my skin. So I went up to the roof to gaze at the stars and the moon and began wondering if I can ever meet someone as beautiful as the stars in the night sky. “

“The moon God must have heard my prayers because as soon as I thought of that, I saw you in my vision and you took my breath away. I was to intrigued by your beauty and I-“ Ai stopped herself. What the hell, that wasn’t what she was thinking. ‘Gosh darn it brain, you’re working with heart aren’t you?’

“And I?” The princess raised an eyebrow at her. Ai quickly shook her head,” I-I didn’t notice I was leaning over the edge and I fell, face first to the ground.”

“Oh, is your face okay? Does it still hurt?”

“Well since I saw your face, the pain lessen a little. But if you kiss me on my forehead, I think it would be gone.

Ai mentally slapped herself for saying that. She wanted to die. She hated this.

The princess blinked at her, shook her head, and gave her a sad smile. “If that’s the case then so be it.” She leaned closer until Ai could smell the scent of roses. After the princess kissed her forehead, she felt her face flush and her ears turned red. Her heat pounded in her chest and she thought it would burst out any moment.

“Oh dear it seems like it made it worse.

“No,no. I feel better now. It’s just that I’m cold.”

“If you’re cold then I insist we go inside.”

“There is no need your majesty.”

“No, I insist. This can be my apology, it is my fault that you were entranced by me and feel face first on my balcony. I think you need some rest.

Taking her hand, the princess lead Ai to her room. But before they could enter, she looked over her shoulder and smiled.

“Before we enter, may I know your name?”

“It’s Ai.”

“Well Ai, from now on call me Neiru.”

“Alright your majes- I mean Neiru.}

Neiru escaped a soft giggle and Ai’s cheeks turned redder. “You’re cute and funny.” Ai gave he a smile. Who knew the princess had a nice laugh?

As the two entered the room, Ai couldn’t shake the feeling that she had forgotten something. She shug it off, she would probably remember it later.

[ohgodwhy151]

The view from the other side

I recently got a request for a short piece about Bertholdt in the Paths dimension and what he would be thinking about... current events and what he and Eren might discuss in Paths. It was a really, really interesting concept that only got more interesting to me as I wrote it! I hope you enjoy! 

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

The screams, prayers and cries of the world had penetrated the veil and into the Paths. Bertholdt had covered his ears, wiped away his tears and even considered trying to bury himself among the endless dunes of the strange realm. No matter how far he walked or ran Bertholdt couldn’t escape the horrors that bled into the lands he now resided in. 

When it began Bertholdt was lost, an aimless spirit that barely existed, but when the walls crumbled and the crystals broke, he found himself. Blinking away the dust Bertholdlt looked up from the sand as Eren’s voice seemingly bellowed around him. 

“N-no. This isn’t how it should be.” He said weakly as he found his voice. 

Eren replied. “This is how it will be. This is how it must be.” 

Bertholdt hadn’t spoken his name in, to him, what felt like a century. “Eren?” 

“I guess now is the time.” Eren sighed as he came and brought his hand down on Bertholdt’s shoulder. 

Jumping at the contact Bertholdt stumbled back and fell in a cloud of dust and sparkling sand. “H-how are you here? You’re not… dead.” He barely recognised his former friend, now a man, taller than he. With hair that reached down to his shoulders and a weight carried both in his weary yet determined eyes and his broad, strong shoulders. 

“No. I am here and in the world,” He said gesturing the shimmering branches that stretched across the sky. “I have finally broken this curse.” 

“You woke the colossal titans.” 

Eren nodded. 

“Why?” 

“To protect Paradis.” 

Bertholdt unsteadily got to his feet. “And the rest of the world?”

“Are the sacrifice to secure the existence of the Eldian people.” 

“No.” 

Eren sighed. “People won’t forgive me or even understand. They will even attempt to stop me but they will at least have the freedom to try.” 

Bertholdt screwed his eyes shut as once again the real sorrows of the real world bled into the Paths. “W-what gives you the right to choose for everyone else? For my family?” 

“I unlocked the power of the Founding Titan. I set Ymir free and together we will shape the world for her children.” 

“At the cost of billions?” 

Eren nodded. “I know no one will understand, they don’t have to. I don’t need them to.” 

“T-this is wrong.” 

Eren balled his fists. “What is wrong is the cycle of suffering that was inflicted upon our home. Eldians being turned into titans to trap the people behind the walls. Children being sent as soldiers, as tools of war to kill, slaughter… to betray.” 

Bertholdt’s gaze fell. 

“I am giving the world another chance. A chance to be free from history.” 

“What about the children who haven’t even had a first chance?” 

With a deep breath Eren scoffed. “You sound like Historia,” Bertholdt shook his head. “Krista. It’s difficult to remember what memories came first. Krista was a fake name. She was the heir to the throne. Historia Reiss.” 

“Annie was right then.” 

For a moment Eren was stunned silent. “She knew?” 

Bertholdt brushed the dust from his hair. “Sort of. She knew someone… important was hiding in the 104th. It was part of her mission to find out.” 

“You three helped start all of this.” 

Bertholdt felt heat burn in his chest. “We didn’t want this. No one other than you wants this. You’re going to kill my family, Reiner’s family and Annie’s family.” 

“So they can be free.” 

“They’re alive then.” 

Eren sat beside Bertholdt and nodded. “She is alive. Both of them are.” 

“W-was Armin lying? About the… torture.” 

Eren nodded. “He said it because he had to. We cornered her in Stohess and she tried to escape. But rather than be captured she encased herself in crystal for several years.” 

“You freed her?” 

“It wasn’t a mistake or oversight. I meant what I said. I am doing this for them, and in a way, her. So that no more children are born to consume their parents or become tools of war.”

Bertholdt brought his knees up to his chest. “She would hate you for this.” 

There was a break in Eren’s voice as he spoke. “They all will. Mikasa, Armin, Jean… Annie. Everyone. But they will be free.” 

In a world of ash!” Bertholdt snapped. “What will be left for them?” 

“Bertholdt,” Eren said deeply. “You are… were in a similar position to me. From up there you looked down at us. Down at me with all that power and made a choice for all of us in those walls.” 

“That’s not fair,” Bertholdt said, shaking his head. “We were children. I was a child.” 

“I know. I’m not saying that we are the same. I’m saying we held the same power. In that moment and in this one. For different reasons but we know what its like.” 

Bertholdt felt his anger die in his throat. “It was scary.” 

“I know.” 

“But I had to.” 

“I know.” 

“We would have been killed if we didn’t. Our families would have been killed or worse.” 

Eren smirked. “I know. Do you understand now?” 

“I hope they stop you.” 

“They know that if they try I won’t hold back.” 

Bertholdt felt his chest tighten. “What made you like this? What happened to seeing the ocean?” 

“It was never about the ocean,” Eren admitted. “It was about having the freedom to see it. Once I saw it I knew that there were so many things I couldn’t do. That the people of Paradis couldn’t do. I already knew that negotiations with Hizuru and the other nations would fail and the alternative… having Historia become another link in the disgusting chain of the Reiss family is unacceptable.” 

“What were they going to do to her?” 

Eren did his best to quell the rage in his chest. “She was ordered to have children. As many as she can,” He spat. “So that she could take the Beast titan from Zeke and then have it passed to her children until they are ready to take the Founding Titan from me. She would be consumed by her own children who would then be consumed by their children until Paradis was ready to stand on the world stage.” 

“So… you took it upon yourself.” 

“To save her. To save my home.” 

“Can you even be stopped?” Bertholdt asked. 

Eren was silent as he got to his feet. 

“Is Reiner trying to stop you?” 

Eren nodded. 

“Is Annie trying to stop you?” 

Eren nodded.

“Then you will lose,” Bertholdt said with all the confidence he could muster. “Annie was always a better fighter than you.” 

“They couldn’t save you.” 

Bertholdt swallowed the lump in his throat. “You’ve never seen them fight alongside each other. Together they can’t be beat. If I was there… I’d leave nothing left of you.” 

“Maybe. I know my path. It’s up to them what happens now.” 

Bertholdt would continue to watch with teary eyes and a steeled heart as Eren continued on his trail of slaughter, knowing that with each passing moment Annie and Reiner, although on different paths, were drawn together in a shared effort to end what had to be ended.   

[mrs-takami-keigo]

King of the clouds

Chapter 5 

Main Pairing: Hawks/Quinn(OC)

Story Rating: Explicit! 18+

Genre: Romance/Action/ Smut

Words: 7.3K

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4

Notes: To the people that do read this, thank you so much! This story is my baby and I plan on seeing her through to the end. Everytime I see a like for this I get a little emotional, beacuse I do put a lot of thought and heart into this story. But I would also love to hear from you! Please don’t be afraid to comment or anything, I love reading people reactions to this. 

“Okay so the objective is Phoenix is going to be the villain and it’s up to you, Bakugo, to subdue her before back up comes. Once you put the handcuffs on her you win. You have twenty minutes.” I heard Aizawa explain over the earpiece.

“Tch just start the clock already.” Even without the device, I could hear Bakugou’s loud voice resonating. ‘Why does this kid have such a big mouth?’

“Your twenty minutes start now.”

The sound of an airhorn rang through the training grounds, signaling the start of our match. I was given a head start so I could hide. Figuring my best option was to start off on higher grounds, I stood atop a medium-sized office building. Even though I wasn't in his line of sight I could see him. Watching as he started down the main street of the training ground, looking around, trying to pinpoint my location, Bakugou’s guard was up, ready for anything. I’m sure he’s waiting for me to make the first move.

“Come on you old hag I know you're here!”

‘OLD HAG?!’ I could feel my eye twitch and my blood began to boil. This kid sure does have a lot of nerve to talk to someone like that, but it’s one of the reasons I looked forward to meeting him. His attitude, skill, and demeanor reminded me of my own at times. I went to the edge of the building, slamming a combat booted foot on the ledge, my hands on my hips as I yelled down to him.

“Anybody tell you it’s rude to disrespect your elders?!”

“Shut up!” I saw him lift an arm up and a giant explosion generating from his palm. Glass windows shattered as the blast made its way up to me. Using my wings I shot up into the sky, trying to avoid the blast. Covering my face with my arms I felt the heat from the blast run through me, the air around the blast whipping around me, my curls flying everywhere. The sheer force of the explosion was impressive for a kid his age, if I weren’t able to use my wings to fly away, I for sure would have been finished.

“That’s it?! I thought you had an explosive quirk, not a firecracker! Honestly, you must be great during festivals.” The look of annoyance washed over his face as I spoke. “You know that’s what Imma call you from now on. You're just like a firecracker, all you are is nothing but noise!“ I let out a belly laugh as I wrapped my arms around my stomach. I knew I was pissing him off but that's what I wanted.

Straightening up I wiped the tears from my eyes, stopping my laughter. Bakugou’s teeth were bared in annoyance, his gloved hands balled into fists. “Come on firecracker you wanna play with the big dogs right?! Then let's play!”

Lifting my arms towards the sky I channeled all my energy into my palms, that same feeling when I formed my wings ignited through my body. Soon two large fireballs formed in each of my hands. Taking a deep breath I threw both fireballs directly at the teen. Due to their size and how fast they were going, it would take precise movements and fast reaction time to dodge them, but from what I’ve seen previously and from Shouto’s letter I knew he could dodge them with ease.

Just as I had anticipated he shot off his own blast towards the ground to propel himself into the air barely dodging the two balls of fire as they made an impact with the ground.

“Should have guessed an old hag like you didn’t have any juice left!” Changing his direction he used his explosions to make his way to the roof trying to chase me and fight me head-on, but I’m faster.

“No juice you say.” Horror was written on his face when he heard my voice from behind him. My fire wings let me reach insane speeds, the last time I checked I clocked it at a hundred and eighty miles per hour. Using fire to help me, I flipped over myself, bringing my right leg down landing a hard dropkick on his shoulder, sending him straight back down to the street. I made sure not to use my full strength afraid I would cause too much harm to his body.

When Bakugou landed, he was face down groaning in pain. Lowering myself back on the ground, I watched as Bakugou rolled to his side, gripping the shoulder I kicked him on with his hand, coughing as he tried to catch his breath.

“What your problem is, is that you underestimate everyone around you.” He had stopped his coughing, glaring at me. “Now, Katsuki Bakugou stand up, and let’s fight for real.”

“You’re gonna regret sayin’ that old woman.” Bakugou stood up, shaking off my last attack. I could sense that his attitude had changed, he now saw me as an opponent.

Using his power like before he launched himself forward at a faster speed, throwing me off for a second. Smirking I flew up into the sky ready to miss his attack only to be stopped. I felt his hand wrap around my ankle. Glancing down at him, a satisfied smirk played on his face.

“Tryna fly away already?” Before I could comprehend what was happening I felt my body be spun around.

Bakugou was using his other hand to set off small explosions resulting in him spinning around like a tornado and taking me along with him. He reached a speed that made everything look like one big blur before letting go of my ankle, I had no time to react with how fast I was traveling through the air.

“AUGH!” The air flew out of my lungs as my back came in contact with the brick, the impact was so strong that I left a small crack in it. Catching myself before I fell to the ground, I saw Bakugou get ready for another attack.

“That was impressive kid but you won't get another shot like that again.”

“Try and stop me.” Bakugou went to move again but stopped in mid-motion. “What the-” Soon he was flung up into the sky, coming back down at neck-breaking speed, slamming into the earth. A chuckle escaped my lips as he struggled to stand up or move in general, cursing as each attempt turned out to be useless.

“I’m well skilled in close combat but I excel at long range. Not only because of my fire but because of my other power.” As I spoke I stalked closer to the young boy, the sound of broken glass and gravel crushing under my boots. Whenever I used this quirk my hair would float behind me, as if I was underwater and my eyes would change from hazel to grey. My right hand was extended out pushing him further into the ground. “My telekinetic powers allow me to do things like this without even touching another person.”

Still holding him down I squatted next to him, balancing myself on the balls of my feet. “Now that you have a taste of both my powers let’s continue yeah?”

“Times up!” We both heard Aizawa say over our earpiece. The training grounds were in shambles, building missing walls, windows blown out. Parts of the street were torn up, it looked as if a war had passed through here. It was partially true, seeing as how after I had un-pinned Bakugou we both went all out. There were times where I was sure he had me but it was always because of a silly mistake on his part that I would escape.

Which led us to this moment, I had him trapped in a cage I made out of metal pipes when I sent him flying across the training grounds with a punch and firepower mixed in it.

“NO! Let me go again! I can beat this old hag!” He had his hands wrapped around the metal pipes, trying to shake them loose.

“So I’m back to being called old hag huh? And here I thought we were getting along.” I reached through the bars ruffling up his hair. “I’m actually thoroughly impressed with you firecracker in all seriousness.” He stopped his manic behavior, a reserved look on his face.

“I’m looking forward to what you do in the future. You’re special, firecracker, that’s without a doubt.” I flicked my wrist, moving the cage off of him. “When it’s time for your next work-study, be sure to contact me.”

“Tch! Whatever old hag.” I couldn’t help but smile, he may have said that but the small blush on his cheeks and the satisfied smile he wore didn’t go unnoticed.

“Okay, kiddo’s, who’s next?”

Stretching my arms above my head, I cracked my back and neck as I sat in the nurse's office. Recover girl had helped ease the pain in my back from when Bakugou slammed me into the building and my sore muscles. She told me if he had tossed me any harder my back would have been broken and that I’m lucky all I had was the giant bruise on my back. Going twenty rounds in combat with those kids wreaked havoc on my body. Some were easy to defeat and some proved to be quite the challenge.  

“That was too much Quinn.” Shouto handed me a glass of water as he took a seat in the empty chair next to the bed I was on.

“Oh please, that was nothing compared to the villains I’ve fought before. And you were holding back, don’t think I didn’t notice Shouto.”

“I was worried, it's only been a few days since you’ve gone back to work after the incident.” Shouto clenched his fist as his expression turned dark. “Since that bastard put you in the hospital.”

It wasn’t until that moment I registered that I haven’t really seen or spoken to him since that day. Fuyumi told me that Shouto was at the hospital that day, and saw exactly what Phoenix Rising does to my body. That image of me hooked up to machines, clinging on to life must have fucked him up.

“Shouto, look at me.” He still had his fist clenched tight, I was afraid that he would draw blood if he held them any tighter. “Come on half-pint look at me.” Facing him I leaned down a little so I could try to catch his eye. Once he heard the nickname I used to call him, his eyes met mine. Those once bright eyes of his now held years of pain, abuse, and burden in them.

“I thought you were gonna die, I-I can’t lose you.” His voice was shaky from trying to hold back his tears as he spoke.

“I’m not going anywhere, half-pint. I would never let scumbags like Dabi be the end of me, I promise you that.” I took his hands in my own. “Do you know why I came to Japan?” Shouto just shook his head, too afraid to speak. “I came to protect you, Fuyumi, Natsuo, and Auntie Rei. I failed in protecting Auntie and Touya, I’m not going to make that mistake again.”

“Quinn…” I got off the bed to stand in front of him, making him stand up with me.

“So don’t worry about losing me okay?” Giving him a reassuring smile I squeezed the hand that was in mine. “Come on you gotta change out of your costume and go do your homework and I gotta go home, there is a nice hot bath screaming my name right now.”

Once I got home I stripped off my costume, noticing that it had some rips in it, I made a mental note to go and try to get that fixed. Grabbing my hair towel and robe I made my way to the bathroom.

Besides having roof access, this apartment had an amazing bathroom. White tiles lined the floor and walls but the sink, cabinet, toilet, and bathtub were a solid black. There was also a separate stand up shower in one corner, while next to it was a clawfoot tub that was so big it could fit two people comfortably.

Turning on the water and stepping into the shower, I washed the day’s sweat and grime off my body, relishing in the feeling of the hot water running down my body and through my soft curls. Once everything was washed off, I filled up the tub with hot water adding in some of my favorite eucalyptus and spearmint bubble bath soap.

Sinking in my body in the hot water, I slid my aching body down the back of the bathtub leaning my head back to rest over the edge.

“Ah now, this is the life.” Closing my eyes I could feel my muscles relax under the water. Between the relaxing smell of my soap and the soft 90’s slow jams playing in the background, I felt myself let my mind wander.

“You’re so beautiful not only cause of your looks, it's that heart you have.”

‘Hawks.’

I could still feel his lips pressed against my palm. How his golden eyes shined under that moonlight. It was only for a moment but the usual playful glint in his eyes had disappeared when he spoke about how that was the only place he was actually at peace. That sadness made me want to reach out and hug him, make sure that the sadness left.

“No! Snap out of it Quinn!” I sunk lower into my tub, the water coming up just past my lips. Bringing my knees up to my chest, I hugged them. The best thing I could do for both of us is just be friends and that’s it. There was no way I could get my feelings involved, not with Hawks.

I stayed in the tub for another ten minutes, the water started to cool down and my fingers turned pruney, telling me it was time to get out. Standing up I could feel a dull ache in my back.

“Maybe I should put a patch on this.” I put on my purple fuzzy robe and wrap my hair in the pink microfiber towel as I walked through the bathroom door that led straight into my room. Going through my draws I found a clean pair of panties, and my favorite red satin shorts and camisole pajama set.

Shedding off the robe and grabbing a soft white towel, I swiped it across my damp skin. Feeling like I was dry, I slid the undergarment up my legs followed by my satin shorts and top. Going up to my white and gold-lined vanity, I grabbed my favorite body lotion that smells of vanilla and coconut.

After applying lotion I went through the rest of my night routine. Doing my skincare, massaging oils into my curls to keep them hydrated, and putting on my diffuser with peppermint oil in it, hoping the essential oil will soothe my aching body and my thoughts about a certain red-winged man.

Just as I stepped into the bathroom to grab an icy-hot patch, the sound of something faintly knocking on the door that connected to the roof caught my attention. My guard went up instantly, no one knew I was there besides my family, Mirko, and Hawks. Putting my slippers on, I tiptoed to the staircase that led to the door. The pounding became more frantic as I crept closer.

I could feel my heart begin to race with each step I took. It would have been one thing if I lived in a house, but I live in a highrise apartment building and there were over thirty floors of people that lived here. If something went wrong I would have to worry about them before backup could arrive and fend off whatever or whoever this is.

Igniting my right hand with flames, I kicked the door open, ready for a fight.

“OH MY GOD!” I stopped my flames immediately and ran to catch Hawks as he swayed to the side, catching him as he started to fall to the ground.

“Hey, fire….bird…” Hawks could barely get my nickname out of his mouth before he coughed, blood landing on my slippers. I could see he was holding on to the last little bit of consciousness he had, his wings were almost non-existing save for the few small feathers that were left.

‘How the hell did he fly here?!’ I slung his arm around my shoulder, my right arm wrapped around his waist, trying to hold him up. After about five steps Hawks lost all consciousness and became dead weight, making it hard for me to carry him.

“Hawks what happened to you?!” I used my telekinesis to help me bring him down the stairs and into my living room. Laying him down on the couch. I ran into the kitchen grabbing a small dish towel, running it under cold water, then running into the bathroom grabbing the first aid kit under the sink.

Running back to the couch I was able to finally take in his appearance. His usual beige colored and fur-lined coat was covered in blood, it looked old seeing as how it was all crusted. His pants were dirty and covered in tears, those brown leather gloves were gone as were his yellow visor and headphones. Not wasting any more time, I kneeled down, opening up the first aid kit.

“Okay, dove lets get you out of this coat.” Placing my arms around his torso I lifted him up, using my body to hold him. Hawks head fell on my shoulder, his chin hair tickling my neck. Bunching the coat in my hands I slid the heavy material off his shoulders, and since he had such small wings at the moment this was easy to do.

I threw the coat to the side, planning on washing it later, I held back onto him as I lowered him on the couch. Getting hold of the wet towel, I brushed his soft dirty blond hair out of his face. I couldn’t help but wince when I realized how badly he was beaten up.

“Oh Hawks, who did this to you?” I could already see a black and blue under his left eye, his lip was split open, dried blood around the wound. I started with the blood around his lip, trying to see exactly how bad it was.

“Fuck that hurts.” My eyes shot to his golden ones, well one, his other one was so messed up he couldn’t open it fully. “Whe-where am I?”

His eye was searching the room, trying to make sense of where he was, but drawing blanks. The panic in his face was becoming more evident. Gently touching his cheek I made him lock eyes with me.

“Hey, look it’s me, Quinn. You are safe, Hawks you’re safe, okay.” His widened eye started to relax as my words hit him and my face came into focus. His body visibly relaxing as I kept my hand on his cheek.

“Quinn? How did I get here?” He tried to sit up but winced in pain, falling back down on the couch.

“That’s what I would like to know, but later let's try to patch you up okay?” I continued to clean his face of the blood, putting ointments where he had open cuts. Pushing myself up off the ground I reached down to help him stand up.

“What are you doing?” Hawks was confused but still stood up in front of me.

“I have to check under your shirt for any other wounds.” Without another word I tucked my fingers in the hem of his shirt, my fingers brushing against his skin, pushing it up. He tried to stop my hands as they began to lift his shirt.

“Oh stop it, like I haven't seen a man's chest before, now let me do what I need to do.” I inspected his torso and didn't see any cuts or scrapes, just mild bruising. Pulling the shirt down I helped him lay back down.

“Mind telling me how and who fucked you up like this?” I was cleaning up the mess I made while in my frantic mode.

“A couple of low-grade criminals is all. One of them had a time warp quirk and one was a power quirk, not a great matchup for someone like me.” By the tone in his voice, I knew he was upset and embarrassed, he probably didn’t want me to see him like this.

“Why didn’t you call for backup? Shit, you should have called me silly.” I looked back down at him, a soft smile forming on my lips as I tilted my head to the right, my hair flowing over my shoulder. “You may be a man that's too fast, but I’m the woman who can keep up.” I bent down to grab the towel that was on the floor, only to feel Hawks palm on my cheek. Using his other arm he propped himself up, bringing his face closer to mine.

“The only woman that can keep up with me, I like the sound of that.” His voice came out as a gentle growl. I couldn’t look away from his golden eyes, there was something behind them, something that left my stomach in knots. It was as if I was under a spell that no matter what I couldn’t break. He kept leaning closer to me, his warm breath fanning over my slightly parted lips. Hawks’ hand that was on my cheek moved so it could cup my jaw. Soon I felt my eyes begin to close as he did, our lips just about to graze each other.

Suddenly the sound of the Imperial March from Star Wars echoed through the room, breaking the spell between us. I pulled back, eyes wide open. My cheeks hot from a blush that crept up. I looked at Hawks just as he flopped back on the couch, his arm covering his eyes as a deep sigh came out of him.

The song kept blaring trying to get my attention. I already knew who it was, my mother. Jogging into my room I picked up the small purple phone off my bed sliding the arrow on the screen to accept the call.

“Hey, mom!” I was still trying to calm down my racing heart.

“Quinn! Honey are you okay? You didn’t call me once you got home from work. I called your Uncle and he said he hadn't heard from you since yesterday!” I could hear the sheer panic in her voice, knowing that she hadn’t slept all night.

“I’m fine mom, just went to Shouto’s school to help out, then came home and took a shower. I was going to call you, I swear.” I may be in my late twenties but my mother still treated me like a baby at times. I couldn’t blame her though, I am her only child and well it’s been rough.

“Well, you could have just texted me.” Even though I couldn’t see her, I could see the pout on her face.

“I’m sorry mom. Wait what time is it there? It’s nine at night here.”

“Well my dear daughter it’s 8 am here and I have not slept because I thought my beautiful child was missing or hurt somewhere!” Shaking my head I knew that, that was coming, guilt trip. Classic Emiko.

“Oh my god mom, don’t start that.” I chuckled, stepping out of my room to check on Hawks. He still had his arm over his eyes, but his mouth was moving like he was talking to himself.

“I wouldn’t have to if you would just call your mother.” I sighed as I went back into my room. I put her on speaker as I went around the room looking for my hair tie. “Oh Quinnie, I wanted to ask if you're doing anything next month on the twentith?”

“No, not that I can't think of why?” Taking my hair in both hands I put it up in a messy bun, black and burgundy curls sticking up out of the bun. I continued to try and fix it when she dropped a bombshell.

“Well, I’ll be coming to visit for six months!” I halted my movements, staring at the phone wide-eyed.

“Wha-” I was going to say more only to hear a crash in my living room.

“Fuck!” I heard Hawks shout soon after the crash.

“What was that?!” My mom’s voice went back to worry as I grabbed the phone from my desk and turned it off the speaker.

“Hey mom I gotta go, I’ll call you back later!” Without even hearing her response I hung up the phone, tossing it back on my bed as I ran out of the room.

There in the middle of the living room floor was Hawks, face down on the ground, his fist gently pounding on the floor, muttering a string of cuss words.

“What the hell Hawks, are you all right?!” I ran to his side, trying to grab his hand to stop the pounding. Once the pounding stopped, I ran my hands through his soft blonde hair. I was trying to coax him into turning his head to look at me.

“Come on dove tell me what’s wrong.”  I continued to rub his head for the next five minutes and nothing happened.

“Hawks…” I gently grabbed his face, turning it towards me. The second my eyes landed on his face I couldn’t help but smile. He had fallen asleep from me petting his head. He looked so serene while he slept. I’ve seen his face countless times, more so in my head but still, I’ve never seen him look like this.

“Alright, you big bird let’s go on the couch.” I used my powers again to move him over to the couch. I figured the most comfortable position for him would be on his stomach, seeing as how even though he had barely any wings it would be uncomfortable on his back. I picked up his head to slide a small pillow under it and covered him with my blanket. I squatted down, running my hand through his silky hair once again.

“Goodnight Hawks.” I stared at him a little longer than I should have. I stood up ready to go call my mother again when I heard him mumble.

“Quinn...please….” I looked at him, my brows furrowed in confusion.

‘Is he dreaming of me?’ I returned down to my squat like before.

���Don’t...don’t go..” His face started to contort into a sad expression, a single tear falling from his eye.

I don’t know what possessed me to do it but I wiped his tear with my finger and leaned closer to him.

“I’m right here Keigo.” I gently pressed my lips against his temple. His soft hair brushing against my nose, tickling it. Pulling away I saw a slight smile form on his lips, his expression went back to the beautiful serene one.

He finally settled down after another minute or so, now snoring his life away. I had moved to my room, after putting his jacket in the wash and just sat in the middle of my bed, hugging a plushie of Mirko, as I thought back to the almost kiss.

‘What the hell was that?!’ His golden eyes replayed in my head, and how low his voice was when he said ‘The only woman that can keep up with me. I like the sound of that.’ I could feel my cheeks burn as I blushed.

“What the hell are you blushing for Quinn!? It’s just Hawks, a wild card, a guy that's five years younger than you. He's an arrogant, big-mouthed, rude, smart assed, man. It’s not like you lik-” I covered my mouth before the last words came out of my mouth.

Shaking my head I knew I had to get my mind off of the guy, so I texted Mirko to see if she wanted to go for a workout in the morning. Knowing that a good workout would set my head straight.

The next morning I woke up, my pajama’s all ruffled, black, and burgundy curls all over the place. I swung my legs over the edge of the bed onto the cold wooden floors. With my eyes, half-closed I slid my feet all around in search of my Winnie the pooh slippers. Once I had them on my feet I stood up, stretching my arms above my head, and that dull ache came shooting from my back again.

“Fucking feral child.” I cussed as I remembered exactly why my back hurt. Walking through the bedroom door I made my way to the kitchen, ready to make my coffee and breakfast before my workout with my good friend Rumi.

I glanced at the couch as I passed it to check on Hawks, who had one leg and arm hanging off the furniture while his other arm was slung over the back of it, and drooling. He was drooling on my nice pillow.

“God Hawks, you really can be an animal at times.” I turned my face up in disgust. ‘How could I possibly think about kissing him last night, look at him.’

I turned on my Keurig to heat up, making my way to the fridge. Grabbing a couple of eggs, onions, scallions, and cheese, I decided on making a nice healthy omelet and maybe some fruit on the side.

“Where am I?!” Hawks shot up from the couch screaming, nearly making me drop my plate.

“Holy shit Hawks! You scared the hell outta me, you damn bird brain!” If there was one thing I hated, it was jump scares of any kind.

“Quinn? How did I get here?” He slowly stood from the couch, looking around the apartment. I know I saw him last night but for some reason, he looked different to me as if he was more attractive. We were about the same height but he looked taller. The was his black and gold muscle shirt clung to him like saran wrap, showing off every definition of his chest and arm muscle. His hair messier more so than usual, lips puffy from sleep.

‘Stop it, Quinn!’ I shook my head as I placed my plate on the kitchen island.

“You flew here after a bad run-in with some low-grade villains.” I walked up to him, putting the back of my hand against his head. “Well, at least you don’t have a fever. You took quite the beating dove.” I pulled my hand from his forehead, going down I took his chin in between my thumb and pointer finger.

“The ointment I put on your lips seemed to start working and your eye isn’t as swollen as before.” As I examined his face I could see the slight blush forming on his cheeks.

“Sorry to have bothered you, firebird.” His voice was soft as if he was in trouble for something.

“You weren’t a bother Hawks, just next time please call me if you need backup. I’d hate to see my friends injured like that.” I had to remind myself he was my friend, and that’s it.

I saw him nod his head, his eyes roamed over my body, before coming back up to my eyes. “Nice jammies you got there princess.” He wiggled his eyebrows at me.

It wasn’t till that moment I remembered what I was wearing. “Shut up you ass! It’s my house and I can be as comfortable as I want, I could walk around naked if I wanted to.”

“Now that’s when I should come here!” I pressed a finger to the bruised area on his cheek causing him to wince. “Oh yeah!?”

Hawks grabbed me by my waist, his fingers started to move fast, tickling me. I tried to move out of his grasp but he was stronger, even though he was beaten up.

“Hawks stop!” I couldn’t help but laugh hysterically, tears falling from my eye. “Come on stop!!” No matter what he did not stop. I moved slightly back, the back of my knees hitting the coffee table. I was about to fall over when Hawks wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling my body flush against his.

“Hey Quinn, you ready for the work...out..? My, my what have I hopped in on?” We both looked at the door to see Mirko standing there, her spare key and carrot keychain hanging from her hands.

I pushed Hawks away from me, fixing my top that had ridden up. “Nothing, just some guy pretending to be hurt so he could take advantage of my kindness.”

Mirko pretended to gasp, her hand coming up to her chest. “Hawks how could you?!”

“Ha-ha-ha, you’re both hysterical.” He had pulled out his phone from his pocket. It looked like he was texting someone.

“I’m gonna go change real quick.” I walked back into my room, leaving the bunny and the bird alone.

It only took me ten minutes to change into my workout clothes, which consisted of a hot pink sports bra, black biker shorts, and a pair of running shoes. My hair was pulled up in a high ponytail and my hands wrapped like boxers, knowing full well that I and Mirko were going to do hand to hand combat.

Making sure my hands were wrapped properly I sauntered back into the living room.

“Really!?” I heard Mirko yell, as she laughed in Hawks’ face. His face had turned red as she continued to laugh.

“Shut up Rumi!” Hawks hissed between his teeth once he noticed my presence in the room.

“What did I miss?” I looked between the two. Mirko was trying to collect herself from laughing so much and Hawks looked panicked, his eyes wide as he kept glancing at me and at Mirko.

“Hawks said-” With a quick movement, Hawks jumped over the couch to get to Mirko as he covered her mouth with his hand.

He had one of those fake smiles plastered on his lips. “I said nothing!” He looked back at Mirko, his face turned serious as he whispered in her large bunny-like ears.

“Okay…” I walked past them going to the kitchen, I still had my suspicions about the two. “I’m just gonna eat my breakfast and then we can head out.” I reached down into the fridge to get a water bottle when I felt someone touch the bruise on my back.

“That’s a nasty bruise you got there, Q.” I had flinched a little from her touch.

“Yeah I went to U.A. yesterday to help class 1-A train and that kid Bakugou threw me into the side of the building. It hurt like a bitch but I’ll be alright.”

“That was the one who won the sports festival right?” Hawks was next to touch the mark, but his touch sent chills down my spine. His soft touch against my bare skin felt like icicles against my warm skin.

“Yeah.” I didn’t mean to sound cold when I said it, but I couldn't help it. Moving away from his touch I closed the fridge.

I took a swig of the water, glancing at his face, he looked puzzled but before he could say anything his phone went off.

“Hello?” I turned around walking away from the two of us. Mirko took this opportunity to talk to me.

“I thought you had fire quirk, not an ice one, cause that was cold.” She stood next to me with her arms crossed, her foot tapping against the floor.

“I’ll talk to you about it later, it’s a lot.”

“I’m gonna head out ladies, my ride's here.” Hawks made his way to the front door. I didn't want to be like this towards him but right now he was messing with my head, and I needed space.

“I’ll have my uncle’s sidekick bring your coat back when it’s cleaned.” Not even sparing him a glance, I went to my forgotten food. I could feel Mirko’s stern stare on me.

Hawks just nodded as he sent a wave over to Mirko before shutting my door.

“Do you mind telling me what the fuck is going on with you?” Mirko is the type of person to not hold back on anything.

“First we can just go workout, I got a lot of stress to release.”

“Fine but the minute I beat your ass in combat, you gotta talk Hunny-bun.”

All I could do was smile at her. “Who says you're gonna win?”

Throwing myself on the floor of the boxing ring, my chest was rapidly falling up and down as I tried to catch my breath. Mirko was a monster when it came to combat, she never held back, not even for a second.

“You’ve gotten better, but nowhere near beating me.” She flopped down next to me, chugging her water, then passing it to me.

“That's because you're insane!” I heard her low chuckle as I dowsed my face with the water. “Seriously Mirko, like what the hell? Are you even real?”

“Whatever, don’t think I forgot about this morning now spill!” She gave me a swift punch in my arm.

So I told her, I told her everything. From the lighthouse moment to the moment she walked in on our tickle fight. Tucking my arms behind my head I just laid on the floor, looking at the ceiling.

“I don’t know, what do you think? Am I crazy?”

“Nah I don’t think you're crazy.” She was still sitting next to me, her arm was across my stomach, making her lean over my body. I’ve only known her for a short amount of time, but she was the first hero to be genuine with me. Besides Hawks that is, but he was a different case.

“What should I do? I want us to stay friends and just friends, but the sexual tension is so thick you can cut it with a knife.” Her long hair was tickling my exposed stomach. Reaching down I played with it between my fingers. “I just have to get my mind off of him.”

“I know a perfect way.” She leaned down, her face coming closer to mine. “You need to be fucked, that way all that pent up sexual tension could be transferred to someone else.”

“Oh yeah and by who?” I laughed at just the thought of it.

Mirko had a devilish grin on her face, that scared me a little.

“Mirko, this better work.” I looked at my friend as she walked in front of me. I had to admit she looked hot. She had on a pantsuit, but instead of a shirt, she wore nothing under her blazer. A long gold chain with the initial M hung from the end of it and she had on black stiletto heels. We walked past a group of men who couldn’t help but stare at us as we passed, mouths to the ground.

“Oh trust me, with you looking that sexy, it’s gonna work.” She wrapped her arm around mine as she pulled me to the front entrance. I did have to admit I did feel sexy in my dress. It was a baby blue, satin bodycon spaghetti strap mini dress, that came up mid-thigh. The way it hugged my curves was perfect, and it was low enough to show off my cleavage but not enough that I had to worry about my boobs popping out when I danced. The sound of my clear open toe heels could be heard, stepping in rhythm with Mirko’s.

“Hey, big red.” Mirko stopped at the entrance of the club she decided to take me to. A man that had to have been at least seven foot tall, stood at the door.

“I feel like it’s been a while Mirko. How have you been?”

“Same old, same old! Just taking my new friend from the states out on the town. Phoenix, this is Big Red, Big Red, meet Phoenix.”

“Nice to meet you.” I went to give him a handshake but he just scooped me up in one arm, lifting me into the air. “Oh, we're a hugger I see!” I couldn’t help but laugh.

“Yeah, I should have warned you.” Big red put me back down on the ground. “Is our table ready, I called Daichi earlier.”

“Yeah! Come on in ladies.” Big Red opened the door for us. As soon as he did the bass from the music vibrated through my body, the lights on the ceiling moved in time with the music, people singing and dancing along with the DJ. It was amazing.

“I see Daichi!” Mirko shouted over the music, pulling my hand as she led me through the crowd.

“It’s about time you go here Mirko!” When she finally stopped I could see a fairly tall guy, he had long black hair, tied up in a messy bun. His features were that of a god, his gaze would have anybody stopping in their tracks. His dark sharp eyes would pull you in, while his charming smile had you blushing like a schoolgirl with a crush. He wore a simple black and white flower-patterned button-down with his sleeves rolled up and black jeans. Even with something so simple he looked so hot.

“Sorry, my friend took a while to get ready. Phoenix, this is Daichi, one of my best friends and owner of the club. This is Phoenix, she’s a pro from the states.” Mirko took a seat in the black leather horseshoe booth, pouring herself a glass of vodka.

“Nice to meet you Daichi.” I stuck my hand out for a handshake. His large hand grasped it gently.

“To meet a beautiful woman such as yourself, the pleasure is all mine.”

I smirked at him as I took a seat next to Mirko. “Your right Mirko this may work.”

The night passed on and the drinks kept flowing and I got closer and closer to Daichi. I learned that he was a year older than me, quirkless, and no relations to heroes besides being friends with Mirko. He was the opposite of Hawks and that's what I need.

“So Phoenix does a woman with your stature dance with a quirkless man?” He stood up, his hand out for me to take it.

“If the man is you, I’ll make an exception.” I handed my purse to Mirko as she flirted with someone she met at the bar.

Daichi guided me to the dance floor, just as a song with a slow sensual beat blared through the speakers. Once we got to the dance floor, Daichi turned me around, his hands were on my hips. My body started to sway with the beat against his, my butt was grinding against his pelvis.

With each seductive roll, his body met mine, with my back pressed against his chest, I could feel the alcohol run through me. I let it take over my body, not caring about anything. I just wanted to feel the man behind me as he slowly ground himself against me.

There were no words exchanged between us as we continued our sinful dance, or as we made our way to my apartment. Even as he pinned me against the wall, his lips hot on my neck, leaving a trail of kisses down to my chest. His cock, hard and pressed against my leg or when he moaned my name all night while I let him fuck me. I was doing this for myself, I needed to get that image of Hawks’ smiling face out of my head. And if that meant I had to find a surrogate for my desires for him so be it.

‘This is just how it has to be Hawks.’

[thatonecurlygirl]

Stumbled upon your blog and I LOVE your stories! Especially SVU! You have some damn talent! Was wondering if you could do one like Stone having a casual affair with a new detective of the squad and then comes a case where she's in danger but saved in the end and he can't hide his feelings any longer. Thanks :)

This took me for effing ever to post and I am so sorry. Thanks so much for the abundance of patience and your lovely words. I am so glad that you enjoy the stories I write and I hope to get more posted soon. 

Fandom: Law & Order: SVU    Pairing: Peter Stone x Reader            Word Count: 1.9kWarning: suggested violence

You raise your balled fist to the door, giving two loud knocks before turning the doorknob before walking into the warm and welcoming apartment.

“I brought the drinks.” You call out

In one hand, you hold a paper bag crumpled around his favorite Scotch. In the other hand, you hold a neat bag that houses your favorite bottle of wine.

“No food this time?” Peter asks, walking around the corner, graciously taking the alcohol and heading to the kitchen.

“I’m not planning on staying long, maybe a glass or two.” You skip, following him into the kitchen and watching him pop the cork to your wine.

“So what’s the occasion then?” He asks, gracefully pouring you a glass before serving himself a glass of scotch.

“I’m meeting some friends on this side of town in about an hour.” You say, looking down at the watch wrapped around your wrist.

“Well, make yourself comfortable.” He places his large, firm hand on the small of your back, gently guiding you to the living room.

“So, you have an hour until you are meeting your friends? You come an hour early with drinks, one might think you had other reasons for being here.” Peter shrugs.

“What are you trying to say, Stone?” You turn to face him, brow raised in question.

He just smirks in that way that makes you melt and your bones turn to jello. He sets his drink down, gently taking yours from you as he leans down pressing his soft, hungry lips against your.

“I’m saying you may have come for something other than just the drinks.”

“Do you question my character, Stone?” Your quick fingers make work at the buttons of his shirt.

“I question your motives, y/l/n.” He shrugs his shirt off.

“Well, less talk more nude.”

You and Peter Stone met after you got hired on as a new detective on the sex crimes unit, one that you had been working to become a part of for a long time. You met him your first day and boy oh boy you got tingly all over. That was seven months ago and six months ago, Peter and yourself began a casual affair. Some may call it a booty call, others may say it’s releasing sexual tension, you call it having fun. You could “have fun” with Peter all the time and anywhere, if it weren’t for one time detail… No one knows about the two of you and I mean, what is for them to know. It’s not like you and he are in a relationship, you’re just having sex and that’s none of their business.

The interactions between the two of you are always the same in public, you act professional and make no indication that you have personal attachments outside of work. Outside of work, you meet only in the comforts of your apartment or his, have dinner and or drinks, and bang. Afterward, you or he leaves just to act like nothing happened the next morning. This night isn’t any different.

“No! It’s too dangerous to go out doing these kind of things. Find another way.” Peter shakes his head, arms crossed with a stern look on his face.

“I want to do this, put me out there Lieu. We have a real chance of catching this guy and I’m up to the challenge.” You stand up. “I’m just as qualified as anyone else that you would put out there and I know this case.”

Sure, putting you out as bait for a serial rapist who has escalated the number of victims is risky and dangerous, but you are his type and you have your team to back you up. This is what you’ve wanted to do since the police academy, to catch the disgusting SOB’s that commit these crimes and you aren’t going to let anyone stand between you and getting justice.

You can see the wheels turning in Liv’s head as she ponders her next step, where she will place her next pawn in this game of chess against the vile villain you are hunting and you pray she lets you be the hero in this story.

“Are you sure you are comfortable with this, y/n?” She asks.

“Yes, ma’am I am.” You nod, head held high.

“Okay,” she agrees. “Let’s figure this out.”

Peter’s left eye twitches and his lips are pressed in a thin line as he shakes his head and walks out. You feel a pull, a want to follow after him, but you force yourself from doing so.

“So, how are we going to do this?”  You ask, leaning against the back of your chair.

———

You walk the street 10:45 at night with the chilly breeze blowing your hair that lay down against your shoulders. The clip of your heels snapping against the pavement with each long, calculated stride.

Glancing over your shoulder, you see a few of the pre-discussed vehicles parked in here and there, your protection.

“Third night in a row, where the hell is he?” You groan quietly to yourself. “Hopeless.”

You pull your phone out of your bag, bringing it to your ear as you answer the call from your Lieutenant, Olivia Benson, telling you that we’re done for the night.

“We will reconvene tomorrow as to what our next steps will be. I think we all…” Whatever she says next is drowned out by the faraway sounding whistle that catches your ear.

Looking down the very dimly lit alleyway, you hear sniffles and a small figure huddled up against the wall, legs to chest.

“Hold on, Liv.” You say quietly as you stand there, in the mouth of the alley. “Are you okay?” You call out.

“Y/n, what is it?” Liv’s muffled voice says from the other side as you pull it away from your ear slightly.

The small figure turns toward you, hands together as if praying. You take a step closer. As they bring their folded hands up, you realize the young woman is not praying, but sitting there, hands bound, completely naked, and bleeding.

“Help.” She cries.

“Liv, we need a bus.”  

When you arrived to the hospital with Liv and Carisi, you find that the young woman is absolutely a victim of the perp you are hunting. She, Monica Rowe, was on her way home from a late night at the office. She was frightened by the whistles and footsteps that were following her and she just wasn’t fast enough to outrun him.

“He was right there, Liv. I heard him.” You pace the floor right outside of Monica’s room, palm to face as you curse under your breath.

“Hey, let’s all take the night and get back on this tomorrow. Go home.”  She says, nodding to both you and Carisi.

“Okay,” you sigh, nodding your head. “Night.”

You head straight  for the elevator, pulling your phone out and making sure you are alone before dialing Peter’s number. You pull the phone to your ear, listening to it ring twice before that beautiful, velvet-like voice on the other end answers.

“You busy?” You ask, softly.

“No, why?”

“Is it okay if I come over?” You press the base level button on the elevator and watch as the doors shut you in the it gently takes you down to the main level.

“Of course. See you in a bit.” He clears his throat.

“Thanks.” You hang up, shoving your phone into your purse.

Ding!

The elevator stops, doors opening to the first floor, you politely squeeze past the people waiting to board the large elevator that smells of sanitizer and sick, all at the same time. The long walk to the entrance doors is somewhat busy, but not too bad. Not like it was a few hours ago when you came to meet Monica here.

Shaking your head, you try to loosen the thoughts from your head. The nagging thoughts burry into your brain and you have to get them out, to talk, to be held. You’re aggravated and Peter is willing to take on that responsibility of taking your mind off of it.

“You have a nice night ma’am.” The receptionist says as you walk past the desk and to the doors.

“Thanks,” You nod with a smile. “You too.”

You face the cool air once again as you take off on the couple block walk to the subway in order to get to Peter’s apartment. The moon hangs high in the sky, bright and true as it shines down. Normally you wouldn’t mind the sight of the moon, but the fullness of it adds some sort of eeriness to the walk.

“Pardon me.” You say quietly, stepping around a man who stands in the middle of the sidewalk, staring straight down the street.

As you pass by him, you hear it, a whistle, a familiar tune to your ears. The whistle that rang out earlier that night; the whistle that was repeated by multiple survivors of their attacks. Your heart beats harder and chest constricts as you keep the pace. Pulling your phone out of your purse and shuffling through it to and activating the location sharing to Peter.

The footsteps are louder, somehow the song being whistled begins sounding more cynical and you know exactly what might just happen. You hit dial on your phone before shoving it into your bra, praying that Peter will answer.

You contemplate crossing the street and heading back to the hospital, but the only thing that will accomplish is putting less distance between yourself and him so you keep on.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck.” You say anxiously under your breath as you hear his footsteps speed up behind you. Lengthening your strides, you kick off your shoes and run.

You don’t have your gun on you. You were completely unarmed when you were walking the streets earlier with the team watching your back. Now you’re helpless. You go to turn a corner and then darkness is all you see.

When you wake, you are laying in a hospital bed, the room filled with co-workers  and artificial lights. You blink the darkness away and place a hand to your throbbing head.

“What the hell happened?” You groan, watching as everyone perks up.

“Concussion,”  Carisi says. “He knocked you out, was attempting to drag you into an alley when we got there.”

“Thanks to your boyfriend, we were able to get to you on time,” Liv smirks.

“Boyfriend?” Your eyebrows furrow in confusion.

“I-I’ll go get him.” Carisi smiles, pointing to the door before heading out to the hallway.

You groan and rub your temples with both hands, attempting to squeeze the migraine from your head. Liv gently pats your arm, nodding over to the door as she heads that way.

“Peter?” You squint, trying to focus your eyes on the handsome man standing in the doorway.

“You scared the hell out of me, y/n.” He sighs, stepping into the room and crossing over to you.

“I scared the big, bad Peter Stone?” You giggle.

“I was afraid I was going to lose you before I could…” He trails off, looking up at the ceiling.

“Before you what, Pete?” You slowly sit up.

He leans down, passionately pressings lips against yours, gently cupping your face. “If you’re ready for something more between us, I am too.” He says as his forehead is gently pressed against yours.

“Like leaving a toothbrush at each other’s apartments, ‘something more’?”

“Like that.” He nods.

“Okay.” You smile, grabbing the collar of his shirt and pulling him in to meet your lips once more.

[xrikix]

» Hiraeth Chapter 9 || Haikyuu AU

❝They will learn how to fly.❞ – an AU where the kids of Haikyuu characters grow their passion for volleyball and face their problems.

Starring our OC’s Hoshi, Minami, and Leo! (don’t worry they’re as fluffy as our babies from Haikyuu but sprinkle in more angst)

Read Chapter 8 Here!

Ocean Waves

As April and May quickly passed by, the spring cherry blossom trees swayed in the wind, letting their petals take flight through the blue skies, awaiting for the warm air of summer to greet them.

June approached rather quickly much to the demise of Leo, who still felt stuck in his own shadows of despair. 

Leo felt stuck, like he was running an endless race between him and himself-- never gaining or losing any distance. Every time he looked at his teammates making strides in their own talents, his stomach would tighten, desperately wanting to also experience the freeing feeling of getting better at something he gave his life to. Leo watched as he was left behind at the bottom, barely being able to go up the next few steps. It was a slap to the face when he realized the pace Minami was growing, seeing her back to him, shrinking ever so slightly as she left him behind on the tracks. Her body was lean and honed, prepared for every jump, spike, and leap she would graciously perform in her games. 

Contrasting Leo’s black and white world, Minami’s colorful demeanor had always shown a smile, barely being able to contain her own excitement, as she too knew how much better she had become. 

Leo’s back was against the gym wall, heaving in and out, trying to catch his breath. As he brought the water bottle to his lips, his hands shook. Inspecting himself, he saw beads of sweat dripping from his temple down to his neck, the trail never ending. 

Recently, his body could never seem to stop shaking. At first he believed it was the amount of practice he was putting himself through by how his body felt ready to collapse at the end of each day, but maybe it was just the fears taking root inside of him. 

Katsuki and Dino stood beside him, relaxing even while drenched in sweat. Leo glanced towards the cousins, feeling envy strengthen the pain in his heart. 

Dino had fully immersed himself into his role on the team, using his height and wit as an advantage against enemies. Even Katsuki, despite not having played as many games as his cousin, grew into his own place on the court as well. Whenever Katsuki was subbed in, his fresh energy excited the team, heightening their spirits. His chaotic energy made playing against him a nuisance, and Leo couldn’t help but sigh thinking about it. It felt like he was swimming through the darkest ocean, with waves that always threatened to pull him under. The rare times he could get a glimpse of land were short lived as the waves brought him under once again, promising sweet release from the pain he was harboring. 

“Interhigh begins soon, so I expect all of you to practice even harder,” Coach Ukai exclaimed. A chorus of “yes sir” erupted from the gym displaying the excitement from the team. 

“One step closer to Nationals!” Hikaru yelled, pumping his fist into the air. 

“That is if we win Interhigh,” Hisaki scoffed. 

Ryu patted him on the back, giving a bright smile, “Let him live Hisaki!” Hisaki turned away, arms crossed, not bothering to respond. 

Horror crept up on Leo gleefully attaching to him as he started to realize that he was running out of time. 

“You kids all packed and ready?” Hinata asked over dinner. 

Minami bounced in her seat, happily shoving down the food in front of her, “Yup all ready!” She looked at Leo who was poking at the food with his chopsticks, his eyes losing its focus every few minutes. The time between the announcement and Interhigh went by too fast and Leo couldn’t help but think he wasn’t ready. 

“What if I’m not enough?” Leo thought, biting down on the tempura he stabbed a bit too violently off the plate. As Leo chewed the food, he made an even worse realization, “I’m probably not even going to be playing in the game.” His face turned sour, as dark clouds swarmed his mind. 

Leo was numb to the incessant poking from Minami, but he quickly snapped out of his thoughts as soon as she started mumbling death curses under her breath. 

Leo shook his head and widened his eyes, when he realized everyone was looking at him. “I-uh-yeah,” he muttered out, hoping he said the right words. 

“Are you okay Leo?” Hinata asked, his eyes full of worry. 

Kageyama stared at him, his face seemingly knowledgeable of Leo’s feelings, “You’ve been awfully quiet ever since school began. Is everything okay?” 

Leo nodded vigorously, “Yeah! Why wouldn’t school be okay?” Hinata’s mouth formed into a thin line, making Leo feel guilt pool into his heart. “I’m seriously fine, I’m just-” Leo racked his brain for a good excuse before landing on a convincing one, “I’m just stressed that we aren’t going to do well tomorrow… that’s all,” his voice becoming softer. He eyed his parents, clearly they thought something was still up but they sighed in defeat, buying his not complete lie. 

“You should go to bed early then,” Hinata said. 

Yeah, maybe sleep was a good idea. 

Hinata, despite suggesting for Leo to go to sleep, asked him to quickly take out the trash and being the self-proclaimed “better sibling” he was, Leo couldn’t say no. 

The night sky glistened overhead, as the stars and the soft streetlights punctured the darkness. Leo yawned, slowly dragging his feet to the garbage. The street was silent when he reached the bin, flipping the lid to throw in the trash. He started to walk back towards the front door when someone’s voice cut through the peaceful silence. 

“Leo?” 

Leo turned around, squinting in the dark and saw Okiawa standing in their front lawn. “Oh, hello Okaiwa-san.” 

Okiawa nodded, “What are you doing out here so late?” 

Leo gestured towards the garbage, “Throwing out the trash.” 

He saw Okiawa grimace, muttering something to himself which made Leo confused. “Well it was nice talking to you Okiawa-san but I need to go to sleep,” before turning around. 

“Isn’t Interhigh tomorrow?” Okiawa softly asked. He stopped, his feet firmly planted in the ground. “Hoshi has been so excited for the past few days he couldn’t sit still for anything,” Okiawa chuckled. His heart tightened, as he gripped his shirt tightly. “I know I’m not your dad, but I did see you grow up. So, I hope you know that you can talk to me if something is going on. Hoshi thinks something’s wrong.” 

Leo squeezed the bags of trash he was holding, feeling the newfound anger course through his veins, realizing that Hoshi had picked up on his problems and talked about him. He needed to hide better.  

Okiawa seemed to notice and quickly covered it up, “He didn’t mean it to sound like he’s talking behind your back but--” 

After he practically shoved the trash in the bin, he instantly turned around, “I-” His words were clogged in his throat, feeling backed up against the wall. He struggled to voice himself, realizing the hole he dug himself continued to get deeper. 

“Is this about volleyball?” Okiawa asked. 

The words still refused to come out as Leo desperately wished to run back inside, and to go and hide in his bed, safe from the world beneath his blankets. But his body betrayed him by nodding. 

Okiawa sighed, “I don’t want to push you into telling me anything, but what I’m going to say right now… I hope it helps you.” 

Leo wanted to run in so badly and yet his feet refused to budge. 

Okiawa stared off into the sky, his voice resonating nostalgia, “I was a prodigy setter, and of course, I still am,” he chuckled, “but back when I was about to leave middle school, I had this talk. This was around the time when Tobio-chan appeared, and I couldn’t help but loathe him.” 

Leo couldn’t help but blurt out, “Why?” 

Okiawa faced him, “I used to be one of the best setters, but then Kageyama appeared. Everyone called him a prodigy, and no matter what I did, I was nothing compared to his natural born talents.” 

Okiawa sighed, his hands ruffling his hair, “One day, he told me this exact speech: ‘If you’re going to complain that someone born with more talent than you will always be better than you, no matter how hard you work, how many tricks you learn, and how many great teammates you have… do that only after you’ve given everything the very best effort you have.”’ Okiawa smiled, “You’re gonna meet a lot of people who are naturally better than you Leo. But you’re just gonna have to continue fighting your way to the top. Always remember, your teammates will always be there to help you.” 

For some reason, the words he said made Leo feel a tad bit better, and for a second, the dark thoughts that flooded his mind flew away. “Thank you Okiawa-san,” Leo muttered.

Okiawa waved his hand, “I wish you luck tomorrow,” before entering his home. 

Leo stood outside in the open air, staring straight ahead before coming to the realization that he shouldn’t be beating himself up over this. He gave his all during practice, and even if his past self didn’t notice, he did change for the better. 

He lifted his foot, stepping on the first step. 

Leo watched as the Sendai City Gymnasium approached into view. The huge building surrounded by the volleyball teams. Despite the restful sleep that he had last night, he couldn’t stop the slight trembling that overtook his body. Standing at the door, his mind realized he was really here. Staring at the other teams, he saw the strength that they all possessed. Trying hard to stop the onslaught of emotions, he wasn’t ready. 

Leo mentally cursed himself, he was doing fine last night, why now?

A hand landed on his shoulder, and as Leo jumped back slightly, he saw Rin softly smiling at him. Leo, forcing himself to breathe, finally calmed down. Now was not the time to freak out. 

“We have some time before our first game begins, so let’s get comfortable,” Coach Ukai yelled out, ushering them into the main corridor. 

Katsuki was bouncing next to Dino who tiredly leaned on Leo’s shoulder as they walked, “We’re here!” he yelled, his eyes bright with sparkles. 

Dino sighed, picking his head up from Leo, “Can you please save that energy for the game?” 

Katsuki’s gaze sharpened, “Don’t worry Dino, that won’t be a problem.” 

Leo kept quiet besides the two, trying to keep himself calm. 

“Hey Leo…” Katsuki tried to warn Leo before he felt the air in his lungs give away as something collided into him. Struggling to keep himself up, a pair of arms wrapped around him in a hug.

“I found you!” a female voice yelled. Leo sighed as his eyes met Minami’s who was grinning happily at him. The rest of the team paused to watch the ordeal and he saw Katsuki struggle to keep in his laugh. 

Leo patted her back, “Yeah congrats, you found me, but can you please let me go?” Minami laughed, dropping her arms to her sides as Leo stumbled before finding his footing. “What are you doing here?” he asked. 

Minami stared at him dumbfounded, “it's Interhigh, I’m here to play.” 

Leo shook his head, “I meant what are you doing here, here.” 

“Oh, we’re one of the first teams to play today. I also saw you, so I came!” 

Leo sighed, his mouth opened to argue, but he was interrupted by Coach Ukai. “Is that my dear Minami?” 

Minami giggled as she hugged Ukai, “How are you Coach?” 

He grinned, “Great, but you have to visit me more, I get lonely yelling at boys all day.” 

Minami waved her hands, “I wish I could, but you know I also have practice!” 

Coach Ukai sadly tilted his head to the side, “Your parents are here right?” 

Minami nodded, “They should be around here somewhere… oh right there!” She started to frantically wave her hands. 

Leo paused, his eyes widened as he tried to stop her, “What are you-” 

The chattering of the gym seemed to pause as the crowd split apart to let Hinata and Kageyama through towards them, the bright orange contrasting the crow black. Minami ran towards them with her arms outstretched. Hinata laughed as he caught Minami in his arms, hugging her tightly. Kageyama fondly smiled down, patting her head. 

“Well aren’t you two a sight for sore eyes,” Ukai said as he laughed loudly. The chattering of the crowd dropped to whispers as everyone awed at the two famous volleyball players. 

“Hi Coach! Sorry we’re always busy with practice and games,” Hinata said beaming. 

Ukai chuckled, “Well you all better be.” 

Kageyama faced Leo, placing a hand on his shoulder after Leo joined Minami in the hug, “You’re gonna do great.” 

Leo nodded unconsciously, “Thanks.” 

Before they could continue, they heard more yelling as they all turned to see Hoshi running towards them, with his parents in tow. 

“Isn’t that…” Ryu asked. 

“Iwazumi and Oikawa-san?” Rin finished, his eyes wide. 

Minami went rigid as Leo watched Minami fiddle with her fingers. She began to breathe deeply, calming herself, and Leo noted the way she was getting better with this whole situation. Minami smiled at the approaching family. “Hey Hoshi,” she said, not quite meeting his eyes yet. 

“Hey,” Hoshi said as they all stood there awkwardly. 

Okiawa cleared his throat, “Well it’s nice to see you all,” as his eyes roamed over Karasuno. “Ah, you guys must be the new Karasuno team.”

 “And well if it isn’t Okiawa,” Ukai said as he studied him, “I don’t know who I found more annoying you or Ushijima.” 

Okiawa flaunted himself, “Of course it’s me, he could never compare to my greatness.” Okiawa stopped before realization dawned on him, “Isn’t Shiratorizawa also here today?” He stopped to look for them in the crowd, “I wanna go see and make fun of how stupid they look.” 

Iwazumi patted Okiawa, “You really need to stop.” 

Okiawa smirked, “But it’s so much fun!” 

Iwazumi sighed, “We’re here to say good luck and to let Hoshi go prepare.” 

The kids were used to the adult’s antics, reverting their focus back on themselves. “You have a game soon?” Minami asked, apparently all her awkwardness was gone, replaced with curiosity. 

“Yeah and I mean… you could come and watch, “ Hoshi gingerly said. 

Minami shook her head, “Sorry, got a game. Leo is gonna come watch though, isn’t that right?” Leo met Minami’s devilish grin, and found himself cornered. He didn’t need to see how well Minami was going to do, but he knew he was obligated to go and he did have the time to watch. 

“I don’t know…” he said hoping she’ll just take his uncertainty as a no. 

Minami studied him, a hint of pain flashed through her eyes, “Well if you’re gonna set up, then I get it.” Minami twisted around, her arms crossed on her chest. Hoshi looked at Leo in confusion, but Leo couldn’t continue to stand there. The air was tense, and he knew he shouldn’t keep it like this.

Sighing, Leo decided to try and lessen the tension between the three of them, “Don’t worry Minami, I’ll be there.” He plastered a smile on his face, “Anything for my twin.” 

Minami beamed at him, “Don’t worry, I’ll watch you too after my game!” 

Leo paused, an unsettling feeling creeped into his stomach, “You really don’t need to.” He didn’t need them to see how worthless he was. He could feel Okiawa gazing towards his direction, and turning around, Leo soon met Oikawa’s eyes. 

Oikawa sent him a small smile full of understanding, and Leo breathed in deeply. No, he was better than this. He’ll rise to meet each challenge and prove to himself that he deserved to be on that court. And maybe if he repeated these thoughts, he could convince himself. Maybe the darkness would leave him alone. 

“I hope to see you there then.” Minami grinned, “Good luck, brother.” 

“Good luck.”

[ourneverendingpossibilities]

You make my heart go crazy

Anime: Kuroko no Basuke Pairing: Kasamatsu Yukio x reader Rating: K+ A/N: Because I’m a hopeless sap for him, I updated twice in one day... I’m such a sucker for Kasamatsu. In which you meet up with him for the first time alone, and you try to figure out why your heart won’t stop beating like crazy around him,

_____________________________

School could not end fast enough. 

You've learned over the past few days that Kasamatsu isn't much of a talker over text. It makes things easier for you because you prefer talking over the phone or in person. Things can always be misconceived through the wonders of texting, and you tend to panic during certain situations.

The clock continues to tick slowly, leaving you restless.

Your eyes are on the court, watching the team practice inside the gym. But your mind wasn't in it. Every sound echoed through your skull, as if muffled by your headphones. Rather than sit on the bench, half-dazed in your thoughts, you choose to run laps outside. You want to remain in shape, should volleyball ever become an option in the future. While basketball was fun, and you found yourself excited, Volleyball was always your favourite sport. It's a shame Seirin didn't have a girl's team. That still didn't make your choice waver, as you wanted to start fresh, at a new school as far away from your brother as possible.

________________

"I made my choice, Ryouta."

The blonde blinks, pausing his packing and turns his head to you. There was something in your tone, screaming for his attention. He almost finds himself breathless at your serious expression.

"I'm going to Seirin."

It's then his eyes grow dark, cold, and it catches you by surprise, but you remain firm. You will not waver. You will be strong... Against the one sibling who has always supported your decisions.

"Y...You can't be serious ____-cchi!" he cries, standing up straight to look down at you, "Why would you want to attend a school that has no status! Everyone in our family has attended Kaijou!"

You shake your head, "I'm serious, Ryouta. Mom and dad are fine with my choice." you pause, eyes hardening, "We have different futures and we can't follow each other forever."

He finds himself out of breath, and Kise tries his best to understand.. But he thought you would attend Kaijou because they have a volleyball team... You've always expressed interest in it, doing well at Teiko… So why would you leave your legacy behind to attend a school that offers nothing?

"I don't expect you to understand." you continue, startling him from his thoughts, "I love volleyball, but I'm taking a year off. I want to explore my options."

He shakes his head, golden hues glistening with unshed tears, "You're right.. I don't understand..." he begins, feeling his fists quivering with emotions. "Why would you leave everything behind to start at an unknown school? A place that offers nothing?"

You smile sadly, reaching out to grab one of his hands, gently rubbing the skin, "We're different people, Ryouta…" you whisper, feeling a tear slip, "I know we've done everything together... But I want to be at a place where I can be free... Not bound by expectations and perfection."

You don't meet his gaze, feeling his stare burn into your mind. 

"Some day, you'll find a team that cherishes you for you... Not just your skills..." you murmur, letting go of his hand and taking a step back. "And when that day happens, you'll be happy we didn't attend the same school... So... Until then, we're going to be enemies."

You leave his room then, unaware of the tears spilling from his golden hues, and the way his eyes glower with a hidden emotion...

"One day..." he whispers, feeling his fist shake, "I'll make you proud to be my twin, ____-cchi… And I'll bring you to Kaijou with me... Some day..."

___________________

You stop running then, head tilted towards the sky as you feel a few drops of water pelt your skin... Figures, on a day you're thinking about meeting your new friend, it has to rain right? You sigh softly, jogging back to the gym, grabbing a towel from Riko when she offers it.

"Say, ____-chan..." 

You hum, looking at her curiously.

"Why did you choose Seirin instead of Kaijou?"

You're stunned by her question, unsure of an appropriate response... You watch Kuroko and Kagami leave the gym, bickering and arguing over Nigou before looking at the coach once more.

"I like having options, Riko-senpai." you begin, a soft smile on your lips. "I don't like being smothered with one option, and fearing the unknown."

She raises an eyebrow at your words, but before she can ask further, you gather your things and politely bow, before explaining you're in a hurry to leave. You didn't want any of them knowing you were to meet with Kaijou's captain. It wasn't their concern, but you wanted things to be under wraps for the time being. Until you could figure out what Kasamatsu meant to you. 

He's one of a kind.

In your haste, you run past the gate, preparing to catch the train to Kanagawa, almost missing the raven-haired male walking towards you. You almost miss him, had he not been wearing Kaijou's jacket, the blue vibrant enough to catch your attention. You pause, eyes wide and lips parting, before you smile.

"K....Kasamatsu-senpai!"

You stop your movements, allowing him to meet you half away, a soft scowl on his lips. The rain adds to his demeanour, and you find yourself left scrambling for words. He extends his arm, the umbrella above his head now shielding you from the impeding rain.

"OI... Why aren't you using an umbrella, brat? Do you want to get sick?"

You shrug, before pumping your fist into the air, "Believe it or not senpai, but I have a tough immune system! A little rain's not gonna get me sick!"

He rolls his eyes, clicking his tongue before shrugging. "As long as I'm here, you're not going to cause trouble, got that?"

You salute to him, face serious and vibrant, "Yes sir!"

He tries hard not to laugh, instead letting out a quiet grunt as you begin to walk away from Seirin. The silence between the two of you is comfortable, occupied by the rain above your heads. There's a little tension, but not enough to make you uncomfortable, and you find yourself lost in thoughts again... At least until it dawns on you..."

"W...Why'd you come to Seirin, Kasamatsu-senpai?"

He blinks, looking at you for a brief moment before his eyes are back towards the streets, "I... I figured it'd be best to meet you here... It would be rude of me to expect you to come by train alone to Kanagawa..." he pauses, as if contemplating his next words... "U...Unless that makes you uncomfortable..."

"....N...No!" you blurt out, startling the both of you. You rest a hand on your mouth, trying to hide the blush on your cheeks before looking away, trying to calm your racing heart,. "I...I mean..." you stutter, trying to process the words in your mind, "I... I find it sweet... T...Thank you senpai..."

He feels his face growing hot, trying not to internally panic.. He's never been good with girls... But he finds that being around you... It's somewhat calming... Almost as if he can relax and be himself... He sighs softly, gently patting your head, secretly hoping you don't notice the shaking in his hands..

"Y....You don't have to thank me... I...idiot..." he mumbles, finding his eyes look at you when you laugh. He sighs, trying to regain composure. It's then he notices the small café up ahead, and finds himself walking in that direction.

"L...Let's go in here..."

You smile, following behind him, almost brushing against his hand in an attempt to catch up. The electricity between you two was visible, and although Kasamatsu tried to hide it, you caught his reaction. You find yourself a table in the corner of the café, adjacent to the window. The rain cleans up the streets well, and you're left with a peaceful view. The few people left outside quickly run for cover, while you find yourself getting warm and comfortable. A mug of hot chocolate rests in front of you, and you find yourself staring up at Kasamatsu, watching him take the seat across from you. 

"Y...You didn't have to pay, senpai..."

He shrugs, taking off his jacket and resting it against the chair, "It's not a big deal _____..." he begins, a mug resting against his palm. "It's the least I can do..."

You raise an eyebrow, before giggling at his posture, hiding your smile behind the mug. "If you say so..." you whisper, feeling his gaze burn into yours. You take time to soak in your surroundings, noticing very few people were in the café... Probably because they were already at home with their families.. You blink, quickly taking your phone out and sending your mom a text, so she doesn't worry. You notice one from Kise, but choose to not look at it yet... You didn't want him bugging you while you were getting to know his captain.

"So... senpai..." you begin, placing your phone away and resting your chin on your hands, "Tell me about yourself.. All I know so far is you're Kaijou's captain, and you play guitar..."

He finds himself frowning, staring down at the cup in his hands before hesitantly meeting your gaze. The curiosity was there, and as much as he should feel flattered for the attention, he finds himself stumped.. 

"W...Well..." he begins, mentally cursing at his stutter. "I... I plan on attending university when I graduate..."

Your eyes light up, finding yourself intrigued. 

"You must like school... Don't you Kasamatsu-senpai?"

He shrugs, "I mean.. We all have to learn right?" 

You hum, hues sparkling, "What's your favourite subject?"

"Math."

Your hands smack against the table, startling him as he meets your golden hues, "NO way! I love math!! Though I do enjoy English and History! You're always learning something new! It's rarely boring in my class!"

His blue hues watch you with a renewed interest, and he finds himself smiling softly. "Is that so? I wish most kouhais had the same mentality as you."

You blink, feeling yourself blush at his compliment, before looking away... "W..Well… You're not gonna meet many people like me..." you mutter, looking back at him "I'm one of a kind!"

He finds himself chuckling, though shakes his head, "You're definitely something else, _____-chan."

The sudden suffix makes both of you pause, staring at each other in shock. Blushes erupt on both your cheeks before you look away from him, hearing him cough into his fist. Oh man... why can't your heart stop thudding in your chest already? You rest your face in your hands, though the silence has you curious... You peek from your fingers, watching as Kasamatsu rubs the back of his head, trying to find the words to say... You lift your head, watching him act like a child being caught stealing a cookie from the jar, and that is the most adorable thing you've seen.

You laugh then, feeling his stare on you, confusion and slight irritation evident. 

"I can say the same thing about you, senpai..."

You rest your cheek in your hand again, giving him a lop-sided grin, "You're definitely something else..."

He tries to open his mouth, but finds himself sighing instead, shaking his head. "Something tells me I'm gonna regret asking this..." he begins, before meeting your eyes once more, "Would you like to meet up again next week? We have a day off on Tuesday from practice."

He finds himself breathless when you grin at him happily, eagerly nodding your head at his question. "I...I'd be more than happy to accompany senpai!"

His heart races once more, before he smiles softly, oddly feeling at peace.

"I'm glad to hear it... I'll pick you up from Seirin… If that's fine with you."

You roll your eyes, finding yourself smiling at his words. Of course he'd say something like that.

"You don't have to ask senpai... Of course you can..."

Those words are all he needs to hear, and Kasamatsu finds himself grinning despite feeling nervous. To know you enjoy spending time with him enough to accompany him a second time is enough.. And he hopes to learn more about you, and why he always feels at peace with you.

[bohrapbois]

Four (Six Underground) Blurb

So I found this in my drafts. Posting it out here to see if anyone would like to see this continued? Please let me know!

18+

(Original idea was about Four getting anxiety and panic attacks when ambushed or in fights etc... But can change if any of you guys have a better idea which is very likely)

It was the prickling on the back of his neck that had Four contemplating his current situation. In theory, he was safe, probably the safest he had been in a while seeming as usually he was leaping from the top of a very tall building to another equally taller building, yet as Seven threw another punch, Fours heart leapt into his throat as he staggered backwards, a weak defence held in front of his face. 

They were sparring, getting a bit of a warm up before the next mission. It was not going to be anywhere near as dangerous as the one they’d just finished, but One had decided that they needed to get back out there and at least stop a drug ring which was using children as the runners. And anyway, Four needed to be back at his best, now that his arm was fully healed. So, he shook his head briefly, cursing under his breath before he box stepped once, twice, before throwing a punch. He followed with another, aimed lower, and he grinned as he hit Seven’s stomach. They had minimum body armour on, enough to avoid hurting too much and their hands were wrapped to soften the impact, but still, Blaine gritted his teeth. 

Amelia stood to the side lines and waved off the pained groan coming from Billys opponent as she chewed on another orange segment. The sparring ring was in the middle of a few shipping crates,  with some big rocks they found marking the four corners. If it got too much, they could just step out of the ring and call a time-out. Usually, the rest of the ghosts would jeer and heckle but in a joking way, slowly learning to accept each other's boundaries. Camillie and Javier were sitting on some of the old plane seats they’d dragged out to watch the show, and Javier was now cheering for Billy, Camillie backing Blaine. One was somewhere further back, deciding the heat was too much and using the shade as a brief relief. But behind his sunglasses, he was observing both of their movements. 

One let a few more punches be thrown, winced when Seven caught Four on the jaw, but decided to call for it to come to a stop when Four went the defensive route, holding up his arms as he used his quick feet to try and avoid the well aimed punches.

“That’s enough,” One stepped out of the shadows, squinting in the bright sun regardless of his eye wear. He ignored the boos coming from the audience, walking into the ring towards Four and Seven who had his arm around the younger man with a bright and cheery grin. 

They all made their way into the main complex, Billy tucked under Seven’s arm as he let the adrenaline of the sparring run through his system. He blamed that for his fidgeting, and for how his collar felt too tight, or how he just couldn’t focus, even after both One and Five told him to calm down.

It had been an important meeting in reality, finally they had enough intel to make a good move, and One had run through it in as much detail as he could. Everyone had their positions, had a handout of what they needed to know, yet Billy sat there, blinking down at his single piece of paper. It seemed that everyone else had a small novel in their hands, yet Billy had a neatly typed out piece of paper, a small map drawn at the bottom, but nothing else.

Like a school boy, Billy raised his hand, waiting to be called by One. He heard the sigh coming from their leader and heavy footsteps came to stand next to him. He pulled his eyes up from the paper and saw a scowling One looming over him, eyebrows drawn in an annoyed gesture. He opened his mouth to say something, yet nothing came from his throat, so Billy ended up just raising the paper in his hands. 

“For your own fucking safety” One sighed, before dropping down so he was eye level with Four, “your our eyes on this thing, and I don’t want you getting into any hand-to-hand just for one of us to have to come and safe your dumb ass, cambrice?” 

Billy frowned but nodded, the frog still in his throat as he went back to looking at the paper and he zones out, ignoring the annoyed tears burning his eyes as the rest of the meeting is wrapped up. He feels everyone else leave the plane, but he’s still slumped in his seat, his hands now shaking as he accidentally crumpled the paper in his hands. He’d been sidelined. He knew he would, the moment he asked for help he knew that One wouldn’t want him anymore. But he guessed he knew too much now so he was kept around kind of like the group pet. They probably laughed about him behind his back, he knew his other running crew did, but still, the knowledge that he was the laughing stock again hurt.

“Hey hey hey,” a chair was pulled up in front of him, One sitting down heavily and leaning forward, hands interlaced as he studied the boy in front of him, “kid, calm the fuck down, okay?” The leader whispered, and Four couldn’t help but shy away, knowing now that his tears had over spilt, and his body was shaking with the emotion he was trying to keep in.

“Look,” One pulled the chair forward until their knees touched, and he grabbed one of Billy's hands, stopping the chattering of shaking paper, “you got hit pretty bad back on the boat, ok? I want to make sure you can handle your shit before throwing you in with the dogs”.

“I can,” Billy couldn’t help his yell, teary eyes finally coming to look at the face in front. One looked at him pitifully, and it made a rage inside Billy burn, “I fucking can! I’ve been doing this my whole life! It ain’t the first time I got hurt!” He spat, snatching his hand away from One, letting the crumbled piece of paper fall to the floor below, “I ain’t fucking weak, ok? I-I can do this! More than this!”

One sighed, head dropping forward between his shoulder blades, looking down at his feet. “‘Lright, I know you can, but we think it’s best if you stay away from bad guys fists for some time”. 

“We?” Billy stood suddenly, his chair falling behind him dramatically. He stood close, making One bend his neck to look up at him. “You all been talking about me? Yeah? You fucking dick, you all are. Can’t fucking belive it! You're just like them, you know? You should’ve just let me fucking die when I fell! But instead you dragged me into all this shit, for what? Your own stupid goals? Fuck you”, Billy spat on the floor between them before rushing out of the exit. 

Seven and Two stood there, waiting for him to come out, and Four couldn’t hold back his anger as he lunged at Seven, shoving him backwards and watched him fall into the desert mud surrounding them. Billy glared at Camille before he rushed back to his own trailer, slamming the metal door behind him.

-------

They had to leave for the mission, and like hell was One going to let Four keep this temper tantrum going. He’d been put in a safe position, that’s all. One was actually trying to protect someone this time! Yet, like usual, it all exploded in his face.

The next morning, with the sun already blasting hot although low in the sky, One made his way over to Fours trailer. The kid hadn’t come out last night at all, not even for the communal dinner they recently started doing. He knew he’d hurt his feelings, but fuck feelings. He should’ve just thrown him in at the deep end and see if he could swim, but no, instead he’d become protective of the boy and had wanted to keep him involved but at least a bit further back. If the dick had just listened, he would’ve heard how important he actually was to that, but nah, he’d acted like a brat. 

He racked his knuckles on the heavy door once out of courtesy before slamming the door open, stepping in as he pulled his sunglasses down. A glass was thrown at his head, and he’d just managed to duck before it collided with his head. Another came sailing towards him, and One let out a yell. “What the fuck?!” He spotted Four, sitting in one of the overly large chairs in the corner, aiming another glass his way, so One raised his hands in hopes it would come across as a surrender. It seemed to work as Four began lowering the glass as he continued to glare. 

One took his chance, rushing the younger man and grabbing his arms, pulling him up and out the chair. Four started fighting back, straining his arms as he tried to overbalance them, and everyone outside could hear the yelling between them. The Ghosts rushed into the trailer, instantly over crowding it but they managed to get the fighting to stop as Three wrapped his arms around Fours upper arms and hosting him in the air. Four tried to headbutt his way out of it, but Javier was taller, able to move his head out the way as he marched out. 

Four stopped fighting once they got outside, eyes screwed closed against the hot sun as he spat out curse words instead. He got dropped, and he stumbled forward, but it wasn’t far as Seven grabbed his arm to keep him upright. Four raised his arm to restart the fight, but Blaine raised his own, “don’t you even try it, kid,” he warned, and when Billy could see through the glaring sun, he saw the rest of the group backing up Blaine. Instead, he spat on the floor, lowering his arm but keeping tense. Right now, he was overly pissed with this lot, and willing to fight them, but he knew when his odds looked rough.

They marched him onto the plane, and he got shoved into a seat with more force than necessary. Maybe he deserved it, but it still hurt when everyone else sat away from him. He hid his disappointment by pulling his hood up and over his head, low over his eyes as he turned to face the window, arms crossed over his fast beating heart. The engines whirred to life, and he hid his shiver by readjusting in his seat.

He remembered all at once the feeling of being so beaten they had to guide him into this very seat. They’d been so gentle with him then, Two sorting out a sling and apologising each time he flinched. His arm went cold with phantom pain, and he bit his inner cheek to quieten the hiss of pain. He remembered the feeling of hope when he saw One appear above him on that boat, he felt the tears he’d cried when the adrenaline had ran off, he heard the whispered soothing words from his team mates.

They’d cared for him. But now it seemed they hated him.

Why did they bother bringing him here? He wasn’t going to be doing anything important in this. He was just going to be sat on the top of a close building to watch as they fought the bad guys below. 

He was unsure how long he’d been glaring through the window, but suddenly someone sat in the chair opposite. Two, looking at him as he turned towards her, yet remaining silent. She kicked her legs up on the table separating them, glancing at his tightly crossed arms as she raised an eyebrow. “You got to get over yourself,” she started, not even startled by the annoyed curses he sent her way. “You need to keep an eye on us today. Someone could sneak up on us and we could be ambushed”.

“Blaine is a sniper. He’ll be looking after you all. You guys just brought me here to rub it in my fucking face,” he sneered, not moving from where he was sitting. In the corner of his eye, he could see the others looking towards him. He knew One and Blaine were listening over the intercom, and could practically hear them rolling their eyes. 

“Blaine is going to be looking down a scope the whole time,” Two pointed out, picking at a loose thread of her jeans. Her expression never changes so it’s hard to understand what she was thinking about him. Probably something about how shit he was. “You have the best eyes of us all. You can look over the entire facility, which we need, to make sure that no one is escaping or trying to do anything shitty”.

Billy huffed, turning back to the window. What did they expect him to say? He didn’t really have anything to say to that. Ok, yeah, they could do with him, alright, but they also could’ve used him better than this. Sneak attack from the roof? Done. Planting bombs from up high? Check. Going in and gathering more info? Right down his alley. But no, they had him sitting and watching as they got to save kids and destroy a rancid drug cartel. 

“Look,” Five spoke, although Four was not willing to turn, “we know the last time you were on watch, something bad happened. We didn’t mean for Six to die like that, we know you two were … close,” she shifted as Four turned his hurt filled gaze to her. 

“Don’t fucking speak about him, okay? He’s dead and that’s it,” Four hated the burn of tears coming back to his eyes, and he turned back to the window. “Let me know if you guys intend to kill anyone else off, I might just volunteer”.

“Billy, come on,” Five sighed, but Three grabbed her arm and a quick shake of her head stopped her from saying any more. There was no point in poking this fire, it was dying out anyway.

The rest of the journey was silent. No one spoke, One didn’t even have anything to say, and by the time it came to land, Four was exhausted. All his emotions from the last day had burnt out, and he felt empty. He got off the plane, hands buried deep in his pockets as the cool European air bit against their exposed skin. Yeah, he didn’t miss this when he moved to America.

He hung back, the others walking in a group up ahead, although Javier hung back a bit, glancing over his shoulder to make sure Billy wasn’t going to dart away, but the kid just walked along a few paces behind them, eyes downcast as they walked towards a few cars. Three held the door open and gestured for Four to jump in. 

Sitting in the back, Billy slid down low in his seat and looked down at the footwell. Ok, maybe he’d over reacted a bit, but he didn’t want to be dumped again. He wasn’t going to apologise, they were all adults with anger problems anyway, so it’s not like they’d actually stay that mad at him for long anyway. He was the team pet anyway, only here to make them look better. 

[shandidellamorte]

Shandi’s KISSteria drabbles 31!

Part 2 of the BIG FIGHT!! Enjoy!

~Shandi

The battle of KISSteria: The Necromancer has more tricks up his sleeves..

ONE SMALL LIFE Part 17

"I hear ya, kiddo. I don't like any of this either." Mick held Ayesha close and cradled her when she started to fuss. Even high up in the Tower the battle could still be heard raging on below. She saw Demon fly by the window and stretched her tiny arms out. "...ba..!" 

Mick chuckled softly at her. “Tryin to talk, huh? You’ll get there someday. Try to get some sleep, and hopefully when you wake up your parents will be here.”

Ayesha kept looking with big eyes out the window, reaching out to where she’d seen Demon. She started wriggling and whimpering. “Hey, hey, it’s okay,” Mick awkwardly rocked her, though it was more like bobbing her up and down. “C’mon, kiddo, just go to sleep.” Ayesha fussed, kicking her feet and whining. Then suddenly the room was awash in a purple hue as the Rock gave a pulse of light. Mick, and everyone else in the room, looked up just in time for the Rock to give a soft, crooning note. Then the light faded back to its usual glow, and the note dissipated. “Huh..” Mick looked back down at Ayesha, and was surprised to see she had fallen still, in the middle of yawning and closing her eyes. Then she settled in his arms to sleep. “Weird…” 

The Elder frowned. “Strange. I have never seen the Rock do that before.” 

“Curious indeed.” Radames observed. Watching both closely, he realized that the Rock was pulsing dimly in sync with Ayesha’s breathing. “It seems they are linked together.” 

“It is hardly surprising.” Red Lotus said as she entered the room from where she stood in the hallway. “The Rock was instrumental in ridding the poor child of the curse. Part of its energy is within her now, bonded to her. And strengthened by the essence of one of its Guardians that now resides within her. When she comes of age, perhaps she will be chosen as a Guardian herself~” Mick looked down at Ayesha sleeping peacefully with her head resting against his shoulder. “So she’s a special kid. I’m not a bit surprised~” 

“It is exactly why the Necromancer will stop at nothing to possess her..” Red Lotus said with a frown. “..and why we must stop him at all costs.” The Elder stood by the window. “I have faith in my son. He will not fail.” Mick looked up with raised eyebrows. “Hang on… Star Prince is your son???”

On the battlefield, StarChild and Black Dahlia found themselves fighting the form of the Crimson Witch; as in, the Crimson Witch was forcing them to dodge her attacks as she swooped around them and cackled loudly. 

“It’s no use,” StarChild growled. “She can hurt us, but we can’t hurt her.”

“Our best chance of defeating her, and weakening the Necromancer at the same time, is by destroying that crystal ball,” Black Dahlia summoned a shield to avoid the Witch. “I will distract her. You go after the Necromancer.”

“Are you sure?”

“Positive. We cannot let him win.” 

StarChild turned to the Necromancer, who was in the middle of taking out more soldiers with red lightning bolts shooting from his crystal ball. The bolts easily knocked the soldiers to the ground, and they screamed out in agony the entire way. Eyes narrowing, StarChild shot forward and tackled the Necromancer to the ground, landing a few feet away. 

“You want to fight someone?” he clenched his fists as the Necromancer picked himself up. “Fight me!” 

The Necromancer snarled at him. “I will kill you, you insolent boy!” 

His entire body glowing bright purple, StarChild shot back, “I’d like to see you try.” Then he let his Starbeams explode from his eye. 

A crimson beam shot forth from the crystal ball and collided with StarChild’s beams, knocking them both back. The Necromancer cackled. “You cannot hope to best me, boy. I can match your power with my own!!” 

“Very well..” StarChild stood up straight and cracked his knuckles. “Let’s see how well you can fight, old man.” 

“F-fight..?”

“Yes..fight. You do know how to fight, don’t you?” StarChild stepped closer, his Star Eye glowing brightly. “Or have you become so dependent on your magic that your body is frail and weak. Are you afraid to fall apart? Are you afraid to die?” He didn’t have to answer. StarChild could see the fear in his eyes. “You are finished. I will send you to join your Mistress.” 

“No...no!! I will not..allow a spoiled Royal bastard to defeat me!!” The Necromancer reached into his robes and pulled out a dagger. Strange symbols were etched into the blade. “You want a fight?! I WILL GIVE YOU ONE!!” 

With his crystal ball floating above his head, he loudly chanted a spell as he slashed his wrists. The blood that splattered onto the ground began to bubble and spread, forming grotesque shapeless creatures with black eyes. They solidified their arms to form blades. “My Blood Pawns will be happy to fight you..isn’t that right, my lovelies~?” The Pawns snarled and held up their blades, stalking forward slowly. As StarChild backed away the Necromancer let out a mocking laugh. “Not so confident now are you, Star brat?!” 

“I may not know much about blood..but I know someone who does.”  StarChild looked up toward the sky, shaking the ground with his call.

“DEMON!!”

In a burst of flames Demon appeared beside him, wings spread and eyes burning red. “What do we have here..someone who thinks he has mastered the power of blood? Well..allow me to prove him dead wrong~” 

The Blood Pawns gave unearthly screeches and flung themselves at Demon and StarChild. As they were beating them back, StarChild suddenly noticed the Necromancer’s crystal ball was still floating above his head. “DAHLIA!”

From where she was fighting the Crimson Witch’s form, Black Dahlia summoned a shield and looked over. “WHAT?”

“KEEP YOUR HEAD UP!”

Black Dahlia’s brow furrowed. “WHAT DO YOU—” her eyes glanced up and saw the crystal ball. “Oh…” 

The Crimson Witch’s form snarled at her. “My servants will get that child. And I will personally slaughter you.”

Black Dahlia simply waved her staff and chanted. “Neo-chomasachadh mo nàmhaid!” 

She slammed it on the ground, and purple lightning crackled along the ground towards the red form. The Crimson Witch gave a shriek as she was covered head to toe in buzzing lightning. 

“NOW, STARCHILD!” She turned and tossed her staff at him. StarChild caught it and leapt up into the air… and brought it down directly onto the crystal ball. 

Red cracks appeared, webbing over the crystal ball. And then a gust of wind tore through the battlefield as the crystal ball shattered. With one final screech, the red mist form of the Crimson Witch dissipated. For a moment, the four stood frozen. 

“No… NOOOO!!” the Necromancer whirled around with a murderous glare as StarChild landed on the ground. “WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!”

“I’ve destroyed your biggest weapon,” StarChild replied as Demon and Black Dahlia surrounded the Necromancer. “This is your last chance to surrender, and to have your Cult stand down. If not…” 

“Can I tear him to shreds~?” Demon asked, baring his claws and fangs at the Necromancer. 

“Whatever the Elder decides for him.” 

The Necromancer snarled. “I will never bow down to you and your godless rule. I will resurrect my Mistress, and all of you will die screaming!”

He raised his hands in the air and began to rapidly chant. He suddenly began to glow red, until in a flash of intense red light he was gone. 

StarChild uncovered his eyes. “Where did he…” Terror suddenly jolted through him. “Oh Gods… what if he’s gone for Ayesha? Or the Rock?”

Demon snarled. “If he puts even a hand on her I will incinerate him to ash.”

“We have more present problems to worry about,” Black Dahlia chimed in as she took back her staff from StarChild. As if to prove her statement a growling Blood Pawn lunged at her, and she knocked it away with her staff. “Let the High Priestess and the others handle the Necromancer. He doesn’t stand a chance against all of them at once.” 

StarChild sighed. “You’re right.” He cracked his neck and turned to the rest of the Blood Pawns, who were literally crawling over each other to get to the three of them. “Winning this battle is all that matters now.”

Without another word, he flew towards the Blood Pawns, with Demon and Black Dahlia following. And the battle raged on..

To be Continued!!

[thinkyoureholy]

Opposites Attract [16]

[A/N :. the next chapter will be the last]

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Pairing : Park Jimin / [fem] Reader

Genre : Angst, Violence, Language, Fluff, Smut, Enemies to Lovers!AU, Fantasy! AU

Words : 3.4k

Pt 1. Pt 2. Pt 3. Pt 4. Pt 5. Pt 6. Pt 7. Pt 8. Pt 9. Pt 10. Pt 11. Pt 12. Pt 13. Pt 14. Pt 15. Pt 16. Pt 17.

⋘ ──── ∗ ⋅◈⋅ ∗ ──── ⋙

-Seokjin's P.O.V-

I smiled smugly, impressed with the dome Y/N had created. I clamped my hands behind my back as I walked along the wall, my eyes inspecting the dome closely. The ice was so thick I couldn't even see through it. I grew curious when I noticed how thick it was. If I couldn't see through it...was it strong enough to hold up against one of my lightning bolts. I tilted my head to the side, the curiosity was killing me. Just as I was about to let out a lightning bolt I felt a hand on my shoulder. I looked back to see Mana standing there, a weary look on her face.

"What is it?"

She hesitated, opening her mouth before closing it. It seemed like she couldn't gather her thoughts properly to form words. I turned to face her, worried now.

"Mana?"

"Seokjin...do we really have to do this?" She asked, her voice small.

This was so unlike her. Mana always spoke in a confident voice that demanded attention but the way she just spoke was different. It worried me.

"Do what? Mana...what's the matter? You're not acting like yourself…"

"That makes two of us…" She muttered under her breath, glancing down at her shoes before looking up to meet my gaze, "Seokjin I don't think what you're doing is right."

I raised a brow at her words but didn't move to say anything. I wanted to hear her out before I said anything. I knew what I wasn't doing wasn't the right thing to do...but what else can I do? Her life was what I was trying to save by doing this.

"It was...unnecessary to kill them...especially that young boy...or Namjoon's youngest siblings. They were children and you just...killed them in cold blood. You didn't even blink when you did it…" She trailed off, her eyes filling with tears, "You left Namjoon with nothing to go back to. Inori, his siblings, more than half of the people of his faction...all gone. And the others...you took away their precious families. Y/N has no idea that behind this wall there is nothing waiting for her. They have nothing to lose now and that makes them dangerous. I mean just look at this!"

She pointed at the dome, an exasperated look on her face. Again I said nothing, watching her silently as she continued to ramble on. She grew frustrated at my silence, the sky rumbling with her anger.

I looked up at the clouds with a pensive look in my eyes, watching the lightning dance.

"I can't tell you why I'm really doing this...you'd try to stop me even more. This is one thing I won't let you talk me out of doing." 

"But why?! Seokjin you've become-" She cut herself off, her tears just about ready to fall but she held back.

"I've become what?" I asked, challenging her with my eyes to finish what she was saying.

She bit her bottom lip, a single tear escaping, "You've become a monster."

I held my breath at her words, my heart sinking to the pit of my stomach. I could feel the tears welling up in my eyes as a lump filled my throat but I refused to let any of the tears fall. I swallowed back the lump that formed in my throat, looking away to clear my eyes of the tears. I took a few deep breaths to calm myself, putting on a mask on before looking at her again with a blank look on my face.

"I've always been a monster, Mana…you were just the only one that couldn't see it."  I whispered under my breath, only loud enough for her to hear.

She stared at me with sad eyes, her mouth hanging agape as she was at a loss for words. She opened and closed her mouth multiple times, trying to say something, anything but she came up empty every time. A mirthless smile pulled at the corners of my lips, another tear falling from her eyes at the sight of it. I opened my mouth to speak but before any words got out we heard an explosion coming from behind us.

I turned on my heel quickly, shielding Mana from whatever it was. I grew confused at seeing that it was a spear made of solid ice that pierced the dome. My confusion only grew at seeing what resembled a falcon fly out of the dome. This falcon was huge, at least sixteen feet in size. But that wasn't the only surprising thing about it...it was made entirely  out of wind. All of it; from its head to its claws to the wings and feathers that covered it, all of it was the wind. My eyes grew in size at seeing it rise up higher in the sky before spreading its wings out. It let out an ear piercing screech before flapping its wings and diving straight for us. I cursed under my breath, throwing myself and Mana to the floor. I covered her body with mine, protecting her from the falcon who flew right over us, taking out my soldiers  who didn't dive out of the way in time. I looked up after a moment to see it circling the skies before heading to the Zephyrus faction. There was only one man that could create something like this and control it without even looking at it. My heart jumped in my chest at realizing that Y/N isn't going to be the only problem I'd have to deal with. 

-Y/N's P.O.V-

I ran up the sides of the dome, my feet making it shake with each step. The closer I got to the gaping hole at the top, the faster I ran, sliding across the ice as I sealed the hole back up again. I looked over to Jungkook who had just created a whirlwind around himself to help him fly up here. He extended a hand, one I took as I detached my feet from the ice. As as I felt myself falling what felt like a gentle hug encased my legs. I looked down to see that it was Jungkook's wind that had done that, Jungkook offering a small smile.

"I always wanted to ask you if you could give me a ride one day. I just never thought it'd be under these circumstances…" I trailed off, looking down at the others who were gathered around, sad eyes masked by angry ones.

Jungkook placed a gentle hand on my shoulder, the look in his soft, “I’ll give you all the rides you want as soon as this is over.”

Those words managed to put a smile on my face in this grim situation, but that smile didn’t stay on my face for long as I looked out towards the others. The three I had sent out had returned within five minutes. Gai had ordered about five hundred soldiers to finish evacuations and stay behind to guard the school. Yoongi and Hoseok tried to keep busy, readying themselves for the fight that was to come. Namjoon...he stood off to the side, away from everyone. He had a blank look on his face but his tense body let me know exactly what he was feeling. His people just stood back, looking at him expectantly, waiting for his orders. Taehyung was loosening up silently while Jimin spoke with Gai in a hushed tone. You'd never believe that five minutes ago we were all on our knees, crying out of despair for our loved ones.

"Y/N are you ready?" Jimin asked, pulling me out of my thoughts.

"No...but we can't keep stalling any longer…" I trailed off, looking around once more before meeting his gaze, "Are we going with what we had planned earlier?"

He nodded, placing both hands on the sides of my face gently, a serious look in his eyes, "Look...I know you won't like what I'm about to say but I'm going to say it anyway. If anything and I mean anything goes wrong I want you to run."

"What? No-"

"Y/N, please. Promise me. I can't lose you too...I just can't." He whispered, his voice breaking as he spoke, his eyes glossing over with tears.

I didn’t want to make a promise I knew I’d never keep but he looked so desperate to hear me promise to do what he asked for. Surely he knew I wouldn’t keep it either but he just wanted to hear it but still...I hate the thought of lying to him. If I just up and left when the fight got tough then they’d all die. I’m not saying this to boost my ego but they needed me, more than they needed any of the others. The numbers they had simply weren’t enough to go up against Seokjin. If he really wanted to, and I’m sure there’s not much holding him back he’d be able to kill at least half of the soldiers here with a flick of his wrist. Not only that but he’d kill the guys too for raising a hand against him ...the thought of losing any of them, of losing Jimin it was too much.

I opened my mouth to refuse but Jimin squeezed my face in his hands gently, begging me not to with his eyes. I bit my tongue, and stared into his eyes. Before I could even stop myself I was nodding, agreeing to his words of running away. He smiled softly, leaning forward to plant a lingering kiss on my forehead before pulling away. He said nothing more as he made his way over to Gai, ready to address his people but Namjoon beat him to it, looking over at his people for the first time.

“Today...we draw blood! Seokjin stormed into Gaia and killed my brothers, all of them dead!”

His people gasped, shocked by the news as they began to murmur amongst themselves. Namjoon stood before them, his hands clenched into tight fists, his jaw set as he tried to rein in his emotions before he continued.

“And he executed Inori…”

At that his people went silent. It was so quiet you’d be able to hear a needle fall to the floor. They all had the same look in their eyes, a look that admittedly even intimidated me. Within seconds they began stomping their right foot, one by one until it became a unified sound. The ground began to shake at their combined movements. I held on to Hoseok who had come to stand beside me a few seconds earlier as the shaking grew more violent.

“Y/N...take the dome down.” Namjoon said, his voice eerily calm, the shaking coming to a stop at the sound of his voice.

“Wait...we’re not-”

“You either take it down or I tear it down.”

“Namjoon just wait a second-”

“No. I’m tired of just waiting around and none of you seem like you’re willing to make the first move so I’ll be the one to do it.” He insisted, his voice firm as he looked over at the rest of them.

“This isn’t how we planned things.” Yoongi began to argue, taking a step towards Namjoon.

“No...but a lot of things aren’t going according to plan,” He countered, not even giving Yoongi a second glance as he looked at me, “Y/N the dome.”

I stared back into his eyes, conflicted. I knew if I let Namjoon out now he’d get himself killed. His emotions had taken over. No matter how hard he tried to hide it, I was easily able to see. 

“Y/N take it down. My people are also waiting on the other side to get in.” Taehyung chimed in.

“Tae…” Jungkook began but trailed off, Taehyung giving him a look.

I looked back and forth between Taehyung and Namjoon, wanting to keep them here longer but I knew they’d just grow angrier. What do I do...what am I supposed to do? I didn’t want them to go out there and die but then I had no right to keep them here either. I looked to the others for answers but they simply stared back. I-I wasn’t cut out for this kind of thing, this was what Levi excelled at but not me...I...I couldn’t do this, I’m not good at this. Before I could even stop myself I began hyperventilating, everything was starting to get to me. I didn’t know what to do. Just as I felt myself start to get dizzy I felt hands clamp down on my shoulders. 

“Y/N it’s okay. Breathe. That’s it take nice deep breaths.” Jimin said, his voice barely above a whisper as he calmed me down. 

My eyes darted from one of his to the other until I calmed down, my breathing back to normal. As I calmed down the ice of the dome began to melt. As it melted the drops of water evaporated into the air until there was nothing covering us.

"Fine...but none of you better die on me."

-

I let out a cry when a soldier from Zeus cut at my arm with his sword. I grit my teeth, as I thrust my ice clad arm forward, the end coming to a point, the makeshift sword piercing through his sword. Even with their powers his people still used weapons, just how low were they going to go? I pulled my arm back, his blood soaking into my ice as I watched him fall to the ground, lifeless. I took this chance to look around, looking out for the guys. Jimin and Gai had teamed up and were fighting together, those two together were worth at least a thousand soldiers. I could tell they had trained together for years with how they moved, neither of them having to say a word as they worked together. I tore my gaze away from them to see Namjoon fighting with all his might, even through his injuries. Since he lead the vanguard he was exposed to the fighting much earlier than we were. I could tell he was struggling but he didn’t look like he was going to give up any time soon. I just hope he didn’t push himself too far. 

I was forced to look away from him, another soldier from Zeus lunging at me. I cursed to myself, jumping away from her daggers, my left arm hanging at my side limply. It had gone numb moments after it had been slashed, blood dripping down my fingers and onto the ground but I pushed that all to the back of my mind. I didn’t have the luxury of worrying about my wounds. I cursed once more when the woman lunged forward, having predicted my movements, Her dagger pierced through my stomach. I swallowed the groan that crawled up my throat, grabbing onto her arm tightly, keeping her in place. Her eyes widened when she took one look into my eyes, the smirk that adorned her face falling immediately. I dug my fingers into her arm, pulling her closer as I wrapped my other hand around her throat. It only took me a second to feel the water in her blood flowing through her veins. I never learned how to do this properly without killing someone because I had always been so against it but now...now I needed to take that life to survive. Ever so slowly I tightened my grip around her throat, controlling her blood. I filled her lungs with her own blood, watching as her mouth filled with the red substance, the woman clawing at my hand as she gasped for air. I gave her a quick death, the whole ordeal only taking five seconds but in just that small time frame I could tell she suffered a great deal...but this was no time to feel sorry for her. 

“Y/N!”

I turned at the sound of my name, Jungkook yelling out for me. And once I turned to face him the color drained from my face. He had an unconscious Taehyung hoisted onto his back all the while trying to fight off half a dozen soldiers from Zeus. Without hesitation I pointed my good arm towards them, creating a wall of water in between them and the enemy soldiers.

“Go! Get him out of here!” I shouted, drawing the soldiers attention so they could get away.

Jungkook shot me a grateful look before he turned on his heel, running as far away as possible. I let out a breath, bringing the wave of water crashing down onto those soldiers, freezing them to the ground below them. I ignored their cries to be let out, my arms hanging at my sides as I stumbled back, the exhaustion beginning to set in. I didn’t get to relax for long...Seokjin having found me in all the commotion.

I didn’t even know he was there until it was too late. All I heard was the loud rumble of thunder from overhead before a bolt of lightning struck me. I let out a blood curdling scream, the lightning that coursed through my body made me fall to my knees. My body seized up, the current being too much for me too handle. My screams were all anyone could hear for miles, the fighting coming to a halt at the sound of it. When Seokjin was finally satisfied he let up, the lightning disappearing. I lay on the ground, barely conscious as I hung onto my life. I could hear the cries of the others but none of them reached me.

“I think I’ll use you as an example. Once you’re gone they’re sure to become more docile don’t you think?” He asked rhetorically, crouching down in front of me.

He stretched out a hand towards me, lightning coming down once more the moment he touched me. I let out another scream, this one louder than the last, my body in agony as my back arched off the ground. I could faintly hear Jimin yell out for me louder than the others, his voice sounding muffled to my ears. Seokjin grinned manically at the sound of Jimin crying out for me as he stood to his full height. He had grabbed onto the collar of my shirt, pulling me up to kneel in front of him. He took a step back, pulling out his sword, watching it shine in the sun for a moment.

"I always liked you, Y/N...if only he had chosen someone else then I would have spared your life. It's a shame really...I actually feel bad about killing you." He let out with a dry chuckle, staring down at his sword for a moment before lunging forward.

I waited for the feeling of the blade to pierce my heart but it never came. I looked up to see Mana's back facing me, the blade having gone straight through her. I watched with wide eyes as she sank to her knees, Seokjin hurriedly rushing forward to catch her. The words they shared were muffled to my ears as I fell to the side, unable to keep myself up any longer. The blood loss and lightning attacks had drained my body, my mind going blank as my heart rate began to slow.

No! Don't you dare give up, Y/N!

But I don't have the strength to continue...I...I just want to take a little rest, close my eyes for a second.

Y/N you have to end this! You're the only one who can! Now's your chance while his guard is down!

I shook my head ever so slightly, my eyelids already starting to droop. I couldn't keep my eyes open any longer, the darkness already starting to seep in. I could hear my name called out from several directions but I didn't have the strength to keep my eyes open for a moment longer. The last thing I saw before I finally fell unconscious was a bright blue light, the light reminding me of Jimin's fire...but that was all...the world going pitch black seconds later.

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Tags : @rjsmochii @namflix

[zer0pm]

Diverging Jealousy: Devil Hunters

A/N: The next part of the Diverging Jealousy multific that continues after V’s part. I was considering ending it as I don’t want to drag the story too long, but with how I left V’s part along with all the great feedback, I felt it better to write some scenes that would create a natural transition to the heart-pulling finale. Hope this keeps the hype up. Thanks a bunch to everyone that has been following this. Y’all are the best :)

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You: “Wait, Dante. Stop.”

He was about to kiss you and you almost let him, but a nagging feeling tugging at your heart and mind told you to stop and take a step back. So you did, placing a hand against his chest to keep him at bay, allowing you to create some distance. He looks crestfallen at your rejection, but he doesn’t push it.

Dante: “Guessing you’re not feeling me.”

You shake your head.

You: “I don’t know what to feel. This is too sudden and it sure as hell not the right time and place to open up to something like this.”

When you were certain Dante wasn’t going to try to pull a fast one, you lower your hand and your guard.

Dante: “We may not have another chance to talk about this.”

You: “Well, we’re not going to do this in front of V.”

If he was hurt before, Dante certainly was now. Feelings aside, you had a job to do, and you were not going to cause a scene in front of your client. That’s what you convinced yourself anyways. You turn your head to apologize to him about how unprofessional Dante must appear but find him nowhere to be found.

You: “Where did V go?”

Dante: “...Guess he heeded my warning.”

You narrow your eyes at Dante suspiciously.

You: “What warning? You guys have been acting weird all day, you gonna tell me what’s going on?”

Dante’s body grows frigid. Him and his big mouth, but there was no point in hiding or lying about it now. He scratches the back of his head, trying to find the best words to put it.

Dante: “I didn’t like the way he acted around you or how you two talked to each other. It got on my nerves. So I told him to watch himself, ‘cause I already had my sights on you longer than he has and wasn’t going to let him just waltz in and-”

You: “Take what’s yours? Like you own me?”

You couldn’t believe what you were hearing and his eyes widen at your outburst.

Dante: “It isn’t like that!”

You: “Then what is it, Dante? ‘Cause it sounds to me like you two started a competition where I’m the prize and I didn’t even have a say in it! Now V’s fucking gone off to god knows where and we still got an asshole demon king to kill against which we’re going to need all the fucking help we can get!”

Your fists clenched so tightly, your body was shaking, and your head felt like it was about to burst from all the anger building up inside you.

You: “And you two thought it was a good idea to fight over what?! A chance with me!? God, you can be so stupid sometimes!”

That made his heart fall. Did they not have a chance with you? You storm off, sword drawn. You hear Dante calling out to you.

Dante: “Where are you going?!”

You: “To find our client!”

With a swing, you point your sword at Dante, annoyed rage in your eyes.

You: “And don’t think I’m picking any sides. He’s just as dumb as you for letting this rivalry get the better of both of your judgments! You’re going to fucking keep the office and we’re all going to live through this so I can smack both of you upside your thick skulls! Until then, I’m going to make sure that you two get the fuck along so that I can get back to fucking work!”

Dante knows you’re pissed when half of your sentences are filled with expletives. If he wasn’t legitimately scared of you right now, he would have thought your spirited anger was sexy. Empowering even. It was one of the things that made you so damn attractive while working, ‘cause you had nothing but feeling in everything you do. But he has thrown himself on your bad side and knew it was his fault. He scratches the back of his head in frustration.

Dante: “Fuck...”

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.

.

He didn’t know how long or far he has been walking, trying to actively move to get his mind of over Dante being so close to you. But no matter how hard he tried, even reciting William Blake to calm his nerves, the quake in his heart shook him painfully. It was pathetic really how much it affected him.

Griffon: “Hey, uh...you okay, V?”

V: “Once Urizen is defeated, I will be.”

Griffon: “True, but what about...you know who, Walker, I think is what you call that other devil hunter.”

V: “Little Wanderer.”

Griffon: “There ya go, that’s the pet name.”

He started calling you that not too long after meeting you, a play on your exceptional scouting abilities. It also helped that it was an ode to one of his favorites poems, fueling his attraction to you. V supposes that he’ll have to come up with another nickname, one that would not serve as a symbol of his hopeless affection.

V: “Irrelevant now. Dante has made his claim clear.”

He sighs, stopping in the middle of an open area.

V: “Besides, he has everything to offer. Me...I have nothing to give. I cannot even give myself as I will simply either crumble away or reveal myself to be the monster that brought calamity to this city Wanderer loved so much. I don’t know which of these would be worse to see on that wonderful face, but it not a sight I can bare. It is better this way.”

Griffon: “V...”

Suddenly he feels a presence zoom right towards them. With amazing reflexes, V instinctively ducks, Shadow leaping from his marks to claw at the attacking figure. The familiar nicks the creature, revealing itself before V. A large, lizard-like demon with long, dagger-like claws and glowing red skin. Out of the all the species of demons in the underworld, this was the his least favorite to deal with and with his current state, he would ride victorious still but not before going through a bit of a struggle destroying it. His worst fear is realized when more Chaos demons fade into vision, completely surrounding them. Well, then...

Griffon: “Um... Now would probably be a good time to call in Nightmare.”

Not needing to be told twice, V summons the full force his demonic energy with a snap of his fingers, triggering the call of his most powerful familiar. Like a meteor falling from the sky, Nightmare crashes into the plaza. The Chaos demons were quick to move out of the way, hissing at the rising ink creature. In their venomous daze, V dashed on top of Nightmare, Griffon and Shadow in tow to defend him.

The Chaos horde engages them, V using his connection with his demon companions to guide their every move, taking extra care to make sure they do not attack too far from him. It was difficult as the enemies were too quick, using their superior speed to dodge most of the strikes and lightning attacks. Even Nightmare’s energy blasts and monstrous strength did little against them. One swiftly sneaks behind V, he could not summon Griffon back enough to knock it away and instead was forced to dodge. He barely missed the killing blow as one hellish claw scratched deep on his shoulder. If he didn’t move at all, that would have pierced his heart right through, yet it still hurt like hell, and he was bleeding profusely.

V: “Gahh!”

The reptilian demon stood atop Nightmare with him and moved to slice upward. V had no choice but to roll off of his own familiar to escape, he landed on the ground on top of his bad shoulder and hisses in excruciating agony. Nightmare beside him fades into a pool of black ink before merging back within him, turning his hair and some of the marks on his back to its dark hue.

He looks up to see Griffon and Shadow trying to get to him, but the surrounding Chaos demons kept them at bay with fierce attacks. He sensed that it is taking all their vigor alone to avoid their vicious offense.

V moves to get back up but feels his weakening body give, keeping him to a kneeling position. His dying core forces him to cough, he covers his mouth as if doing so would muffle the sound and steady his breathing but once he removed his hand, he sees nothing but the red proof of his fading life splattered on his palm.

V: “No, not like this... I can’t lose here.”

He thinks back on how this hell came to be. How everything fell to ruin, all because of him and his selfish pursuit of power. Even now, he wished himself to be stronger. But not just to right his wrongs.

But to see you again...

He was mentally himself for his foolish sentimental heart, but he honestly could not complain. On the brink of death and all he can think about is you. If you were to be his last thoughts, then he felt that everything was worth it. And he hoped even now, that and you and Dante would rise victorious, together. V smiles sadly.

V: “I curse my stars in bitter grief and woe.”

Behind him, a shadow approaches, the signal of the end.

V: “That made my lov-”

BOOM!

The demon behind him falls, fading into black ash. V’s look up to seek out the source and sees a familiar face beside him, helping him back on his feet.

V: “Dante-!”

Dante: “Don’t thank me yet, my partner is still going to kill our dumb asses. Until then...”

He was lucky to have found V first, his feet driven by the desire to beat you to him so that he could speak with the tattooed man first. Not to manipulate the situation between you all, he learned that lesson the first time. But to set it right and let things come naturally. If you chose V over him, if you chose between them at all, then he wanted V to give it his all for you. That would be worth it. The white-haired man looks back at the dark-cladded man with a profound determination in his eyes that told the latter that his pride has been casted aside.

Dante: “Help me out here, will ya?”

Understanding what he means, V nods. His cane in hand, he puts himself in his stance, Griffon and Shadow bracing themselves by his side to carry out their next orders. He eyes the demons that have formed around them with a newfound vigor and malice.

V: “Behold the taste of despair.”

Dante laughs, facing his back to V’s, both men making sure they had each other covered.

Dante: “Took the words right out of my mouth.”

[dndeviants]

The Druid Problem

The mists surrounded the nightmares as the party rode through the Border Ethereal. The world of Barovia appeared as only ghostly echoes of itself... the trees were frosty pale, the land was a drowned blue... the night sky was black and starless... 

At Ruki’s command, the nightmares returned to Barovia proper and landed at the outskirts of a great vineyard. 

A light drizzle began to fall. Unpainted fences blindly followed a northward trail, which skirted the edge of the sprawling vineyard. In the middle of it all was a stately building, fog swirling around its eastern side. Scattered about were rope-handled half-barrels used for hauling grapes.

At the edge of the property, there was a man wearing a dark cloak and cowl, hunched over at the treeline. 

Linda felt unease. She looked to the fog beyond and swore that she saw ghostly images there. She collected herself and dismounted the nightmare. Everyone followed her lead and approached the cloaked man.

They walked through the mud toward the man. Strahd shifted his tiny bat form and scurried into Ruki’s pack to hide himself. 

The man was not alone. Others appeared to be hiding in the woods near him. Three men, a woman... four children...

What has happened here? thought Aric.

The cloaked man became aware of their approach and drew back his cowl to look upon them. His face was weathered with age and tiredness, and his hair was gray and wiry. His beard was trimmed close to his face. 

He spoke in a gruff voice, "Sorry kids. Winery's closed. Semi-permanently."

Linda blinked in confusion, “I’m not a child.”

The old man squinted at her and huffed, "Heh? Yer not? Well it don't matter. If yer lookin' for free samples or for any deliveries- gotta break it to ya- We're closed. Unless you can help us with our lil'... ahem-” he coughed, “... druid problem."

"Druid problem?" Linda echoed questioningly.

Jeeves and Aric exchanged glances. Ruki raised a brow.

The old man nodded, "Yes'm. Druids. Damn hillbillies came in and made a wreck of the place!”

He gestured angrily, “Now, I can't pick my grapes, can't run my mill, can't make my bottles, can't make my labels... and can't tend my wines. Bastards don't seem to be leavin' any time soon either." 

He huffed, "We've just been campin' in the meanwhile. I ain't gon' to Vallaki. And I ain't gon' to Krezk."

Linda looked to the rest of her teammates and looked back to the curmudgeon, "I guess we can help with that. Urwin sent us to see what was happening since he hadn't heard from you."

The man stamped his cane into the ground, "Urwin?! Urwin?! My good for nothin', lazy, shirkin' son Urwin? Who got his father into this mess to begin with? HAH! That's a laugh right there!"

He cackled and stamped his cane in the ground, twisting it. One of the children began to cry.

The old man steadied himself and faced them, sternly, "Alright. You help us with the damn hillbillies. And I'll let ya know... to let Urwin know... how his family he abandoned is."

Linda looked to Aric, unsure of how to handle the old man.

Aric simply bowed his head in a polite manner, "That sounds reasonable, any idea how many druids there are?"

"Four," he replied, but held up a pointer finger, "But just 'cause there ain't a lot, don't mean nothin'. Those druids are crafty. Got their nature magics." 

The man wiggled his fingers to accentuate the fact.

Linda turned to the vineyard, shaking her head, "Let's get to it then."

Linda stepped forth cautiously, trudging down the muddy path toward the stately building. Her party followed behind her in the same manner.

Rain began to pour more heavily, beating down on the ground and splashing mud on their boots... but the mist did not dissipate. It was ever present, no matter what, it seemed.

They came closer to the building... It was old, and made of stone, with several piles of vines laying about the house...

There was a noise in the fog. Aric turned to face it, ready for attack, but was stunned to see a Calishite man of middle age, well-groomed, wearing the red royal trappings, the marks of a general...

Father? 

There was no doubting that it was Prince Zasheir. He stared at Aric, disapprovingly, speaking in a harsh, but detached voice, "You had so much potential... you cannot recover from this disgrace. As you know, my favor, once lost... is lost forever..."

Aric blinked. When he opened his eyes, the image was gone. A hallucination? Or an illusion? He looked to Jeeves, but Jeeves didn’t seem to react.

Linda heard the noise as well, and drew her revolver to prep. She leveled it at the fog, but when the mists parted, she nearly dropped her weapon... That rugged man, in full leather battle array... that crossbow, that hat... No mistake...

It was John, smirking at her the way he used to. He spoke tiredly, "What's taken you so long partner? I've been dyin' to finally rest..."

"I...” Linda began, but stopped. Mists took the image away. She shook her head. The mists were messing with her. 

Ruki paused and turned to look in the fog as everyone else had done. She narrowed her eyes at the image it showed her: A Vistani woman, roughly her age... her height... her build... wearing her armor...

No, it was her. Another version, it seemed. She gripped her staff as the image spoke with Ruki’s own voice:

"I wonder how life could have been... if mother hadn't died... and if we hadn't been cursed by devil magic so..."

There is no way to know that. Do not dwell on this now... She told herself as the image faded.

The vines twisted and crackled around them. Slithering together to form small, humanoid shapes. Hissing and crackling sounds emanated from the figures, and their needle-y appendages lashed out toward them.

Ruki gripped her staff and stepped forward, in front of Jeeves. Channeling her psychic energy, she blasted them.

Weak foes... All in front of her collapsed into vines. But there were more coming... An entire horde.

Strahd crawled out of Ruki’s pack, alerted to the danger. He blinked as he saw the vine-y constructs and flew into the air... 

He circled about the manor and observed. There were groups of the things coming from inside and from around the back of the house. He reached out to Ruki: 

“Prepare, there are more coming. I’ll call aid...“

Strahd extended his senses deep into the land around him, and smiled inwardly. Yes, that should do it...

Come to me, little ones...

Ruki acknowledged Strahd and warned her companions, “More incoming!”

Aric snapped out of his uncertainty, and gripped on the Sunsword. The blade of light sprung forth, illuminating the slithering vine creatures. Aric rushed forward and cut down one of the creatures.

Linda readied her gun, trigger happy from the illusion she saw. Bam! Bam! Bam!

Three of the monsters fell. She reloaded as more emerged from the mists... and even more started barreling out of the front door.

Linda stepped back, I’m gonna need more bullets...

Four of the little creatures slithered close to Aric, raising their clawed appendages and swiping. Aric moved defensively, but bit back tears as he felt stinging in his skin from where one of them managed to pierce his leg.

Linda backed up from the creatures swarming her, but they leaped on to her and batted at her arms and legs, tearing into her skin...

Thwack! Ruki batted away a few with her staff, but one of the vine creatures flanked behind her and swiped at calf, throwing her off guard...

Thumping in the air disturbed the field of battle. The vine creatures paused, and Linda looked up... several dark, small shapes blotted out the moonlight peering through the rain and fell on the creatures-

Hundreds of tiny bats began to swarm and pick at the vine creatures.

Jeeves took advantage of the new distraction and quickly cut down two of the vine creatures as the bats began to rip the vines to shreds. 

Ruki wheeled around and pounded her staff on the nearest construct, smashing it to smithereens. 

Strahd flew up and joined one of the swarms of bats, and allowed himself to be taken by the frenzy. The swarms moved and fell down upon the needle blights, and tore vines from the forms.

A hot rage tore through Aric at the constant attacks in this country. He felt the rage burn within him and channeled the energy of his fire-genasi soul. He outstretched his hands as a spark ignited into a cone of flame that extended from him.

Enough of this!

He watched as the blights stopped their advance to him, and reeled back as his flames turned the vines into charcoal. They held their position, frozen for a brief moment, before the rain caused their small forms to collapse, coal dust scattering in the mud.

Linda fired twice at the little buggers, picking off a few as she maneuvered herself... but they just kept coming. She watched as a few more swarmed out of the winery towards her...

Damn annoying.

She and Aric braced themselves and protected their faces as the little creatures launched at them.

Jeeves readied his crossbow and fired at the blights.

Ruki’s eyes flashed and she balled her hand into a fist- channeling her power to crush the vine blights... She watched in satisfaction when all but one before her shriveled into a pile of vines and leaves. She raised her staff and smashed the last one standing for good measure.

Once more, the bats swarmed, and tore through the remaining blights... Aric swung the Sunsword, burning the little blights, and Linda took aim at the last one rushing them-

BANG!

It fell. More movement from within-

She aimed at the doorway-

And paused. Now, there were more of the little creatures, but accompanied by people wearing animal pelts, and wearing headdresses of various animal skulls. The blights seemed on edge, as did these people...

They must be druids... thought Linda.

“What is the meaning of this?“ cried a woman with a black fur cloak, and a ceremonial headdress of a stag skull.

Linda gestured with her revolver, “Your needle things attacked us."

The druids, four in total, spoke to each other in a language that the party didn’t quite understand. One of the druids fiddled with a staff and tapped it against his hand confusedly. 

The woman who called out to them initially stepped forth, “These bats...” she lowered her voice, “Is Lord Strahd among us?”

The bats all landed around them. Perching in the trees, on the fences, in the house... Their eyes glowed red in the night and a low rumble permeated the air.

“Who wishes to know, and why?“ Strahd’s voice emanated from the tiny creatures... and it seemed like the land itself.

A chill cut through everyone. The druids appeared startled as they looked around.

Once more, the woman spoke, her voice wavering, "Apologies, Lord of Land.We are the druids of Clan Kavan-Terran. The Archdruid wished us to pay back the wereravens here for their trespass, and for their attack on our grove. But since we have the Lord's attention...”

She paused, “The Archdruid would like for you to come to Yester Hill. There is something... you need there."

Linda blinked, What would Strahd need from Yester Hill?

The bats swarmed together and departed the winery, fluttering as a large, black cloud in the night.

Strahd himself appeared before the druids, seemingly out of nowhere. The druids took knee, humbly, with their vine creatures mimicking the gesture.

"Indeed?” Strahd questioned, “You say the Martikovs attacked your grove? Whatever for? And what is this... something... you speak of?"

The woman spoke, "The Martikovs hoarded a gem of life, we discovered it here, and sought to use the power to restore the grove- to find some way to heal the Land...” She let bitterness into her voice, “The Martikovs assaulted our grove as we were trying to restore life to our Guardian. This was payback. As for the something...”

She briefly looked to the vampire, but turned away, “The Archdruid was very... quiet about its nature."

Linda folded her arms, and asked, "What were you doing inside?"

The druids were hesitant speaking, but finally one of the men spoke up:

"They tried to poison our efforts for restoring the lifeblood of our grove... so we poisoned the lifeblood of this building... well, only one of them..."

Strahd pinched the bridge of his nose, patience wearing thin. “You poisoned... the wine?” All traces of amusement vanished from his voice.

The druids shifted uncomfortably.

Strahd folded his hands behind his back, and faced the druids, "Well... that is another thing that has to be handled, then. I can't have my people being poisoned and dropping dead...”

He tilted his head, adding a warning tone to his voice, “The only reason you are still alive is because no one has been injured by it, and I am curious. But that is a rather thin line to be on..."

"Today, I am merciful,” he gestured to the woods, eyes flashing red, “Begone before I change my mind."

They didn’t need to be told twice. The druids shifted into a motley assortment of animals... a stag, a bear, a badger, and a hawk before retreating into the forests, their blights following them.

Strahd took a moment to calm himself before walking over to Jeeves. He spoke to the manservant, "If I recall, you had an affinity for poison..."

Jeeves looked to Aric, uncertainly, before answering, “Maybe so...”

Strahd steepled his fingers, leveling his gaze with Jeeves, “Do you mind figuring out for me... which one of these... is the poisoned one?”

“I’ll have to consult Lord Aric first,“ Jeeves answered, “My service is to him, and him alone.“

Strahd tiredly and dismissively made a gesture before turning to the door of the winery. “Very well. Let’s go inside in the meantime. The rain is wretched...”

Everyone nodded their heads in agreement, and shuffled through the vines, mud and ash to retreat indoors.

[jahaanofmenaphos]

Art by the awesome @tommieglenn!

Of Gods and Men Summary:

When the gods returned to Gielinor, their minds were only on one thing: the Stone of Jas, a powerful elder artefact in the hands of Sliske, a devious Mahjarrat who stole it for his own ends and entertainment. He claims to want to incite another god wars, but are his ulterior motives more sinister than that? And can the World Guardian, Jahaan, escape from under Sliske’s shadow?

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QUEST 07: DISHONOUR AMONG THIEVES

QUEST SUMMARY:

Due to his status as the World Guardian, Jahaan wound up as part of Zamorak’s heist team. Their task? Steal the Stone of Jas from Sliske and return its power to Zamorak. Jahaan gets to learn more about a god propaganda had always skewed, but will he be on board with Zamorak’s plan in the end…

CHAPTER 4: THE HEIST

Morytania. The cruelest and most unforgiving kingdom in all of Gielinor. Sure, you had the lawlessness of the Wilderness, but that was mere anarchy - bandits and small groups of various races and creeds carving out a little piece of something to call their own, no matter how corrupt it was. Morytania was organised chaos, apt as it was the only Zamorakian kingdom left in the world. Morytania was a land of darkness and evil, inhabited by various creatures secluded in the region, scarcely seen outside of the kingdom’s clouds. Such species include the vampyric race, werewolves, ghosts of unruly souls, ghasts and more. While some humans still remained, most of them were helpless under the tyranny of the vampyres.

During the Second Age, the northern and western areas of Morytania belonged to Zaros, while the southern parts belonged to Saradomin and were known as the ‘Hallowland’. Once Zaros was deposed by Zamorak, the new diety gave Lord Lowerniel Vergidiyad Drakan, a vampyre lord who followed Zamorak during the God Wars, permission to conquer Hallowland as a reward for his hand in the rebellion. It wasn’t long before Draken seized Hallowland for himself and renamed the city as ‘Meiyerditch’. The citizens were held in the city so that Drakan's vampyres could drink their blood as ‘tithes’. And so, Hallowvale turned into a blood-farming ghetto, the sky permanently darkened so that vampyres were no longer hampered by the sun. The death that Drakan brought destroyed the lands of Morytania. He turned fields into swamps, and any that died in their murky depths became undead known as ghasts. Lush forests were transformed into dead clusters of trees. Since its taking, Meiyerditch has been changed into an unrecognisable public squalor. The city is entirely isolated by massive walls on its north, east, and west side, and the south-eastern sea at its southern end effectively boxes the city in. To say that the conditions within Meiyerditch are terrible is an understatement. The city is overcrowded, with humans herded into small wooden apartments that have long since lost walls and roofs to the rot. Food is rare, and many are forced to eat rats to survive. Clothing and other basic necessities are also in short supply. All throughout the city, dying citizens can be seen huddled against walls and in the dark confines of alleys. The ghetto is divided into six sectors, each of which has a number of residents barricaded within. The inhabitants of these sectors pay forced blood tithes on a rotational basis, so as to prevent the large majority from dying of blood loss. Despite this ‘measure’, many citizens do not survive the tithes.

This is only a portion of the kingdom: Mort Myre Swamp lies in western Morytania, plagued by ghasts. It was once a beautiful forest by the name of Humblethorn, but was turned into a swampland once the evil denizens of Morytania descended. The Haunted Woods is a long-dead forest, the remnants of a once luscious and tranquil forest that spread across Morytania. However, when the vampyres arrived, the whole land began to decay and rot. Then there was Mort'ton, a village situated in Morytania, south of the Mort Myre Swamp. The town was once famed for its funeral pyres, though now it is populated by afflicted, strange zombie-like creatures that are the result of a disease which spread through the town some time in the Fifth Age, infecting the population. Nowadays, Mort'ton lies in ruins and, though the Sanguinesti Affliction is no longer contagious and does not present a threat to visitors, the afflicted citizens of the town still wander the streets, and derelict buildings and streets are prowled by shades of long-dead spirits, making the place even more hostile. Directly to the south was the ramshackle town known as ‘Burgh de Rott’ that served as the base for the Myreque rebels who fight to reclaim Morytania from the vampyres.

In the late Third Age, an army of Saradominist soldiers from Misthalin, led by six brothers - Ahrim, Dharok, Guthan, Karil, Torag and Verac - attempted to eradicate the evil creatures of Morytania. These commanders had been given extremely powerful sets of armour and weapons by a mysterious stranger, a follower of Zaros, and led their army with valour through the gloomy swamps of Morytania. Saradominist forces pressed from Paterdomus on the River Salve, all through Mort Myre Swamp, to the walls of Darkmeyer itself, the capital of the Sanguinesti region and the twin city of Meiyerditch. Darkmeyer was Drakan’s residence at the time. Here the brothers made a heroic but bloody and catastrophic stand against Drakan's forces, slaying many. However, as they did, the mysterious stranger that had blessed them before their campaign arrived and told them that they must die, and when they fought with Drakan once again, their powers were greatly diminished. They received horrific wounds and many of their soldiers were killed. The troops were forced to retreat back to their camp. The army tried to treat the brothers' injuries, but their wounds proved fatal, and they all succumbed to their injuries. The soldiers were distraught; they knew that without their commanders, their campaign would end in failure. So, pausing only to bury their dead generals in six barrows, they turned back and fled to their beloved Misthalin.It was here the Barrows Brothers were laid to rest, but they did not rest in peace, becoming the property of their new master and serving as his undead soldiers.A stone’s throw to the south of the Barrows’ graves was Sliske’s lair.

Without the aid of Moia’s teleportation, Jahaan doubt he would have made it on his own. At least, not for a year of so, and likely missing some limbs along the way. It seems as if everyone else had the same idea, arriving in flurries of magic one after the other.When Jahaan landed, he instantly wretched, the sudden onslaught of decay and rot assaulting his senses, the smell unbearable. He’d landed in sodden mud that coated him up to the ankle, scrambling to free himself before he sunk any further.Welcome to Morytania, he grumbled internally, shaking off a few flakes of mud which accidentally splattered onto the back of Zemouregal’s armour. Luckily he didn’t seem to notice.The assembled group quietly trekked through a tiny portion of the swamp until they arrived at the entrance Viggora had described. Prising open the hatch, Bilrach climbed down first to scout out the area, waving the all-clear after a few moments of scanning. However, when they all made it down, their hearts collectively sank.The tunnel was lit, torches protruding from the rocky walls, and on a plinth in front of them was a small handwritten note. Upon closer inspection, it appeared to be a poem, reading:‘A Poem for the Lost’Think no more of the bright, blue skies aboveYou can barely see five fingers raised in the darkThe green grasses you ran through as a child are goneNo longer surrounded on three sides by earth, wind and seaDoes your red blood even flow or heart beat anymore?North, east, south and west are all the sameOnly light and dark combined can guide you now

Using a small spark of fire magic, Moia burned the note, announcing what everyone was thinking, “He’s been waiting for us.”Instantly, Zemouregal snapped around to Jahaan and cornered him against one of the walls, growling, “Did you say something to that snake, World Guardian?” he spat the title as if it were a curse. “You were so chummy with Sliske and his Zarosian pals at the Ritual, after all.”Jahaan glowered up at Zemouregal, not letting the size difference put him off as he argued, “Hey, Sliske’s no friend of mine. Don’t you start throwing around bullshit claims you can’t back up, or we’re going to have a problem.”Roaring a chilling laugh, Zemouregal smashed a fist into the rocks behind Jahaan’s head, breaking of chunks as he did so. “Is that a promise, or a threat?”“Besides, Sliske can sense the Mahjarrat,” Jahaan defiantly countered, making a good show of not being fazed by the towering figure looming over him. “He probably tracked your movements!”“We’ve been here for mere minutes,” Zemouregal snapped back. “How could he-”“ENOUGH!” Enakhra shrieked, the flames in the torches flickering with cowardice as she did so. “It doesn’t matter how he knew - all that matters is that he does. Zamorak’s plan of stealth is null and void now. We have to charge through and make sure we get to Sliske before he disappears with the Stone again.”“Enakhra’s right,” Bilrach concurred. “Stealth would have been ideal, but we can’t waste anymore time. He’s waiting for us, that means he wants an encounter.”“So we need to go, now,” Moia finished, leading the way down the tunnel. Her momentum didn’t last long before she was surrounded by cave openings on all sides, clueless as to where to go first. Above each one was a coloured paint stroke.“Vich way?” Jerrod sniffed at the openings, trying and failing to catch a scent.“Oh blast, does anyone remember the poem?” Lord Daquarius asked, realising, “I think Sliske left us clues on that note.”Looking guilty, Moia didn’t answer. After cursing an unfamiliar word, Khazard snapped, “Useless halfbreed! We needed that!”“Well how was I supposed to know!” Moia whirled around. “And don’t you DARE call me-”“Blue skies!” Jahaan loudly cut in, silencing the quarrel. Once everyone was listening, he quietly repeated, “The poem mentioned blue skies. Look for something blue.”In moments, the group had found the blue paint stroke above one of the doors and quickly proceeded into the next tunnel.“Five fingers,” Jahaan stated the next clue he remembered, unsure as to how he could remember such a poorly written poem over the name of Lord-...fuck. Nevermind, the poem is more important.Pointing to a ‘V’ over one of the doors, Bilrach announced, “The Infernal symbol for five. This way.”They continued on like this, making light work of the rest of the tunnel system until they reached one last corridor leading to a large expanse. Upon brief inspection, it was a crudely constructed maze with wight guards patrolling at every turn.After peering out from their safe spot to survey the best route, Moia declared, “We’ll have to sneak past them. If we alert them to our presence, more might arrive.”“We can handle whatever comes our way,” Khazard declared, drawing his mighty longsword, the blade glinting in the low torchlight.His ears pricked to the never-ending footsteps of the marching wights, Bilrach countered, “We might get overrun. Who knows how many he can spawn? If we falter this early on, all this effort was for nothing.”Nomad stepped forward. “Leave it to me - these wights are no match for my prowess. I’ll deliver the Stone to Zamorak with ease.”Sliding in front of him, Zemouregal sneered, “Nice try, mage, but I wouldn’t trust you to deliver a letter. You’re not leaving my sight.”“Oh, and you think you have the power to stop me?” Nomad challenged, jeeringly. “How droll.”“When this is over, I’m going to deliver you to Death in parcels.”“Gentleman, please!” Lord Daquarius interrupted, the vain in his forehead bulging. “This is getting old. Let us but aside our petty differences and take down these wights together. We must not fail Lord Zamorak.”Wordlessly striding past Lord Daquarius with a self-righteous grin carved into his ashen face, Zemouregal summoned a bolt of smoke magic and blasted the closest wight to pieces before anyone could stop him. Instantly, five more rounded the corner, their green glowing eyes lighting up the end of the hall.“There. No more debating. You’re welcome.”From the sounds of the incoming footsteps, more wights were arriving.Summoning fire to her palms, Enakhra growled, “Zemouregal? You’re an asshole.”

From the looks of the scenery Jahaan passed as he slashed through the horde of wights, Sliske had clearly devised some elaborate stealth-based mazed, complete with glowing masks to avoid, patrolling wights to assassinate, and levers to toggle certain doorways and passages.The Zamorakians had botched all of that, charging through with the subtlety and grace of a fox in a hen house.Fortunately, they didn’t get overrun by Sliske’s wights. In fact, the danger they presented was more to one another, accidentally tripping over each other’s robes in such a narrow corridor, or sending a spell that shot past an ally a little too close for comfort, or straight up just running into one another as they barged through the wights.Yes, Zamorak would be pleased...

When the group made it past the wight guards and into the next room, they weren’t thankful for what greeted them; a narrow bridge, crowding them all together once more, that approached a large set of doors. A basic representation of Sliske’s face was painted upon them. Not egocentric at all…Embedded onto either side of the doors were two wooden masks; one, the picture of glee and mania. The other, morose and miserable. Enchanted, the pair of them - magical energy radiated from their carvings, and it allowed them the power of speech.“Welcome, welcome! It’s so nice to have guests!” the joyous one cheered, the positivity positively sickening.The dirgeful mask seemed to concur that his partner was annoyingly over the top, remarking, “Must you be so incessantly cheery all the time, Light?”“Oh come now, Shadow, we hardly have visitors,” Light tried to reason, its joyful energy never wavering. It’s voice was an over-enthusiastic replica of Sliske’s own, with the dial turned up to eleven. “Besides, they’ve made it this far. They’ve come to play our little game! Won’t that be fun?”“No. It won’t be,” Shadow grumbled. Like its mania-induced counterpart, this mask, too, spoke with Sliske’s accent and intonation. However, unlike its opposite - and indeed unlike Sliske himself - this mask’s voice sounded earnest, genuine, not a parody of emotion. “I suppose the sooner they leave, the sooner I can sleep and be rid of you. Fine, fine. Get on with it.”The elation (and subsequent irritation) of Light managed to increase tenfold. “Fantastic! Now, this game is rather simple, once you get the hang of it. There’s shadow and light energy gauges on this here door, and two of you must keep them balanced at all times. Thing is, the energy beams are in the Shadow Realm, so a couple of you more skilled fellows will have to open up a window into it for the others to connect themselves to the streams. A few delicate wights are lurking around with knowledge of how to crack the door’s code, so stealing their memories will make unlocking the door a doddle. Ah, but there are a few troublesome souls waiting in the wings to overrun you all, so you best delegate a couple of agents to defend against them. Careful, too much light or shadow energy will cause a bit of an explosion, and I’m not quite sure any of you would survive, which would be such a shame.”Shadow sighed with the world-weariness of a broken down furnace. “Just steal the memories of the wights, balance the energies, unlock the door, try not to die. You don’t need all that nonsense, Light. Just get to it.”Light sighed himself this time, but his had the hint of a chuckle. “You really are no fun, are you old chap? Nevermind. It’s time for these fellows to get cracking! Best of luck, you chaotic little so-and-so’s!”

The team quickly got to work after the masks grew silent. Jerrod would sniff out an undead guard and bring him to Moia for his memories to be read. Meanwhile, Nomad and Enakhra kept the shadow and light energy streams balanced, respectively, as Bilrach and Khazard used their prowess with the Shadow Realm to keep windows into it open. Zemouregal fought to defend the room from the undead hoard that tried to break through. When the wights ended up encroaching from all angles, Jahaan and Lord Daquarius ended up fighting them off too.

Low moaning echoed from the wight Jahaan tangled with. Once it was dead for good this time, he called out, “How’s everyone doing?”Looking around, he saw Enakhra and Nomad straining under the pressure of the energy beams, trying to keep them in balance.“We need more light energy!” Nomad called out, and he would get a brief moment of respite to relax while Enakhra all but crumbled under the increased pressure.Fighting under the weight, Enakhra shouted, “Moia, how much longer?”With her hands on a prayer-like motion, Moia channeled her focus into the wight Jerrod had brought before her as it struggled under the werewolf’s grasp. “Soon. I have three of the four runic symbols required.”This wasn’t reassuring enough for Enakhra who, unfortunately, crumbled under the weight of the beam, crying out as the energy engulfed her. Hearing this, Zemouregal shot around and charged towards Enakhra, throwing her out the way as he took the weight of the light beam himself. While Enakhra struggled to catch her breath, panting and choking from the pain, Zemouregal kept up his end of the beam long enough to rectify the damage his female Mahjarrat comrade had unintentionally inflicted upon the energy metre. Soon enough, it was Nomad’s turn to bear the pressure, but luckily, he managed it well. Still, this little switch-out had left Zemouregal's corner undefended. As there seemed to be less monsters coming into his section, Jahaan pulled double duty, running across the chamber to dispatch the conga-line of wights that had piled up in such a short amount of time. Eventually, Enakhra was recovered enough to defend against the wights, but she did not volunteer to retake the beam from Zemouregal. Naturally, she didn’t even say thank you.“It’s done!” Moia exclaimed, backing away from the guard she was harvesting a memory from and sprinting over to the door, quickly inputting the combination. As soon as the last symbol was twisted towards, the assault of the undead hoards ceased, as did the light and shadow beams.After a series of clinking metallic sounds from inside the door’s mechanism, it swung wide open.Inside, straight ahead, a platform, built for the Stone of Jas.But there was no Stone of that platform.There was only Sliske.

DISCLAIMER:

As Of Gods and Men is a reimagining, retelling and reworking of the Sixth Age, a LOT of dialogue/characters/plotlines/etc. are pulled right from the game itself, and this belongs to Jagex.

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[rollzerox]

(Part two) but is trying really hard not to show it because yona is right there and he had to be cool. But yona notices, and comforts him. It takes another hour for the others to find them, at that point jeaha wishes it took them just a little longer (Sorry if im bugging you, i just wanted to share this with someone.) ((Btw love the Lina Au. Cute and angsty at the same time. I cried while reading the one where she found out about the dragon powers))

I decided toplace this right after my Crimson Emerald Rays prompt that AU’d the wander’smarket, so this would be right before they arrive at Shisen so this would beexactly after chapter 76 ^^ Hope you enjoy!

 “ReallyJae-ha I could have handled this myself.” Yona pursed her lips as the GreenDragon insisted on coming with her to gather firewood. They each had a largebundle as they were heading back to camp. “Hak and Kija were busy hunting soit’s the least I could do, hopefully we can find an inn once we get to Shisentomorrow, everyone needs a good rest.”

 “Oh kiddoyou’re adorable how you want to do everything yourself.” Jae-ha laughed,smiling warmly at her. “Can’t you just accept we beasts want to take care ofyou? Not that I’m complaining, seeing that stubborn look on your face is simplybeautiful when you tried to lift more than you can handle.”

 ‘Great he saw my bad side again… Just when Ithought I could do better.’ Yona pursed her lips, but felt kind of happy hecame along. She liked talking with Jae-ha and ever since yesterday she seemedto notice she was extremely comfortable talking to him about anything. Maybe itwas because he didn’t judge her like others would, and gave her a differentperspective on things. He was the type to speak his mind and it didn’t matterabout her status as a princess or anything like that, he just treated her likea normal girl and she appreciated that. “You just say that because you seem toadmire strong women who can take care of themselves, like Captain Gigan.”

 “Guilty.” The Ryokuryuu chuckled at that.“I respect your desire to grow stronger though, and your growth really has beenadmiring to watch. And that determined look you had in your eyes when youdecided to take us all into battle, you sure didn’t look like some scared kid.”He smiled, admiration on his face as he caught himself reflecting on it a bittoo much. ‘Gah, dragon’s blood is actingup again…. Why now?’ he smacked his fist against his chest as his heart wasbeating fast.

 Yona smiledat that, blushing at his praise. “I’m glad you don’t regret coming along withus then.”

 “Far fromit, it’s been really fun.” Jae-ha nodded, shaking his head to clear histhoughts as he was still cursing out his blood still. “Not at all what Iexpected for when the so called legendary dragons would gather, had I knownthis I wouldn’t have run from it all my life.” He chuckled. “For the first timeI really feel comfortable and at ease, even in Awa I always figured one day I’dleave and be back to running, especially if my so called ‘master’ would come for me. Though serving someone as beautiful asyou doesn’t seem all bad, maybe for my heart sometimes judging by Hak’sexpressions.” He laughed. “But he sure is committed to the job. And I doubt youever really must worry about him quitting, Yona dear.”

 “I’m notworried about that Jae-ha, after all Hak took his vow to my father seriously.”Yona said, smiling warmly. “… I just worry he’ll continue to put what he wantsto the side for my safety and to stay by my side… I don’t want him to sacrificeanymore, especially after he almost lost his life more than once.”

 “Sometimes Ireally wonder if you are a princess.” Jae-ha smiled warmly at her. “A normalroyal would be only worried about themselves and not their protectors likethis. Yet you concern yourself with all our safety and rather do thingsyourself than put us in harm’s way….”

 “Trust me Iwas a selfish brat back in the palace.” Yona groaned just remembering her daysback in the kingdom. “Hak can tell you all about it. Back then all I ever caredabout was my hair, jewels, and…” she froze just thinking about Soo-won, unableto say his name. She lowered her head and stood still for a moment, goingsilent. ‘Huh… Usually thinking aboutSoo-won used to hurt more than this but… Maybe I’m finally starting to move onfrom it, thanks to all the friends I have now… Though now that I think aboutit, I never really thought anyone was handsome like Soo-won until yesterdaywhen I found myself thinking about Jae-ha…’ she looked up at Jae-ha,blushing as she realized he had stopped and his face was close to hers, hishand on her forehead checking her temperature. “J-Jae-ha?!” her eyes widened.

 “Are youalright Yona dear? You suddenly stopped and didn’t look well and didn’t respondto me.” Jae-ha frowned, pulling back. “Yoon said you seemed restless lastnight, couldn’t sleep?”

 Yona feltlike her heart was beating like a drum, why did his closeness bother her somuch right this moment? “I-I’m fine… I just couldn’t seem to sleep some thingswere on my mind and I couldn’t calm down…” she mumbled, looking away.

 “Oh? Why?”Jae-ha asked, blinking.

 ‘I couldn’t stop thinking about you…’was what popped into Yona’s brain…. And her eyes nearly shot out of her headwhen she comprehended what her mind was thinking. ‘I CAN’T SAY THAT!’ shementally scolded herself, her whole face painted scarlet. ‘What is wrong with me?! I can’t say something crazy like that!’she shook her head. “N-nothing important.” She quickly turned and tried tostart walking again, but then she heard a loud boom as thunder roared the sky,she hadn’t even noticed the clouds gathering and that storm on its way. Rainstarted to fall and they still had a way to go to get back to camp.

 “Un-oh,looks like a storm we better hurry back.” Jae-ha frowned, looking at the sky.“Shall we then Yona dear?” he offered, placing the wood down to offer his openarms to lift her up. “You can hold onto the firewood while we fly in the sky.”

 Yona smiledat his offer, nodding as she was about to take it when another loud boomstartled her just as thunder struck one of the trees in the forest, causing oneto come crashing towards them. “Look outJae-ha!” she shouted, but suddenly they were in the air as he grabbed her,dropping the wood they gathered but her safety was his main concern.

 “Maybe itwould be best we look for shelter first.” Jae-ha said, holding the princessclose as he took a few short hops towards a small cavern. “We can hide in hereuntil the rain stops.” But there was another thunder strike, right as theystepped into the cavern, and suddenly there was a cave-in.

 “Yona!”Jae-ha immediately pushed Yona further inside, but got himself caught in thecave-in, getting buried under the rubble.

 “JAE-HA!” Yona gasped in horror seeinghim crushed under the rocks, his upper body wasn’t covered so she could see himthough it looked like his head got injured in the process. But his legs werecovered and their exit as well, she tugged on his arms trying to free him buthe was stuck badly. So she moved and tried to lift a boulder that had landed onhis leg, the main reason she couldn’t move him at all. “Jae-ha! Jae-ha wakeup!” she sobbed, concerned for her friend.

 “Unnnn….” The Ryokuryuu stirred for amoment, barely opening his eyes that tried to adjust to the darkness. “…. Yonadear? Are you alright?” he asked.

 “I’m finebut you’re hurt!” Yona said in a panic, still trying to move that boulder offhim.

 “Stand back…” Jae-ha warned, adjustinghimself as he waited for Yona to move, he quickly slammed his right footagainst the boulder to free his left leg, which split the rock in half andallowed him to scoot towards the cavern’s wall. It was a really small cave sothere wasn’t much room for them both. “Damn… I don’t think it’s broken but ithurts like hell, my dragon leg took the brunt of it.”

 “And we’retrapped…” Yona shivered, getting flashbacks to when they had that horriblecave-in that time in Shin-ah’s village.

 “I can getus out…” Jae-ha grit his teeth, attempting to stand on his injured leg so thathe could use his dragon one to break the rocks but he couldn’t stand on it, heimmediately fell right back down, cursing the pain. “Damn it all…”

 “Jae-hadon’t! You’re injured!” Yona scolded, helping him into a sitting position asshe leaned over him. “I’m sure Hak the others will look for us soon enough withthe storm. Kija can sense you so they’ll find us, don’t worry.”

 The GreenDragon hissed again at the pain, it was only then he realized his head was insplitting pain from one of the rocks that hit him, but that’s also when henoticed how tiny the cavern they were currently in… And that’s when it hit himthey wouldn’t have much air for long, not to mention it was such a small place,reminding him of that terrible room from his youth that he was shackled to…

 ‘Don’t think about that right now, you haveto stay calm for Yona’s sake.’ He scolded himself, shutting his eyes. ‘Breath… Breath… You have to stay togetheror you’re going to make her panic, she’s right Kija should be able to lead theothers to us and dig us out easily… If only I could stand I could try kickingour way out, though that might start another cave-in….’ his train of thoughtwas cut off as Yona was untying her sash and wrapping it around his head,trying to cover a bleeding wound. “Sorry you have to see me in such…Unbeautiful condition…” he tried to joke, opening his eyes and he didn’trealize just how close she was until he came into focus and met her amethysteyes.

 Jae-hafroze, his eyes widened as he saw her concerned face and features up close,even with the dimly lit cavern and her face just inches from his. ‘By the dragon gods, has she always beenthis beautiful? She’s so close I could almost-‘ his head unconsciouslyleaned closer until he caught himself, immediately starting to curse himselfout. ‘God damn it dragon blood this isnot the time nor place for that!’

 “I’m sorryJae-ha is it too tight?” Yona asked, noticing his expression and worried shedid it wrong. “Just you’re bleeding and I was trying to put something on it.”

 “N-no it’sfine kiddo, just my leg hurts.” Jae-ha shut his eyes, cursing out his urge tojust pull her into his arms and kiss her right now. ‘Seriously what is with this dragon’s blood? Why does it keep havingto act so confusing in a situation like this? She’s just a-‘ his train ofthought was cut off as he opened his eyes again as he felt her hand on hischeek. “… Y-Yona dear…” his eyes methers and he was melting as he studied her features. Her lips parted with worryand her eyes looking at his with pity for his injuries, her cheeks a hint ofred and he could feel her breath against his face, adding to his raging desireto just wrap her up in his arms and smother her in love in affection, but thatthought made him shut his eyes once more.‘STOP IT! These feelings aren’t mineand I’m sick of them being forced on me! Besides she already has Hak and Iwouldn’t dare take away from him-‘

 “Jae-ha,it’s ok.” Yona’s voice snapped him back to reality as his eyes opened oncemore, surprised at how calm she was being in this situation. “You don’t have tobe brave on my account, really.” She smiled warmly. “I know you’re worriedabout my safety but I’m sure the others will find us, knowing Hak he’ll noticethe storm and insist on looking right away.”

 Jae-ha lookedat her with surprised, chuckling lightly. “… You really surprise me, Yona dear.Here I should be the one reassuring you right now… I would think you’d be atleast a bit concerned with our situation.”

 “I’m moreworried about your injuries.” Yona admitted, brushing a bit of his hair to theside to check his face for any other head wounds. “As far as being trapped, Iguess it doesn’t bother me too bad because I feel safe by your side.” She smiledat him. ‘Huh now that I think about it, Iwas more scared that time we had that cave in at the Seiryuu Village. But herewith Jae-ha, I feel at ease, maybe because I know the others are out there and onthere way, that must be it.’ She shook the thought off. ‘Right now I need to focus on him, he’s clearly hurt and not doingwell. He’s trying to give a brave face but I can just tell it’s him trying tohold together so I don’t panic… That’s really sweet.’

 TheRyokuryuu seemed taken aback by her words, seeing her so… Concerned for him andhis wellbeing was something he really wasn’t used to. Sure the pirates caredabout him but remembering back to the days at his village, being chained tothat room and the beatings he’d get from his predecessor… It made his heartthump that she cared so much for her comrades, and her smiling face wasactually making him feel better too. “…. Just seeing you safe and smiling… Icouldn’t ask for anything more, Yona dear.”

 Yona’s facepainted scarlet from his words, her hand still on his face and they were juststaring at each other still. She let out a soft giggle, still smiling at him. “You’rea charmer even when you’re covered in wounds, Jae-ha.” She figured it wasanother one of his playful flirts he often did with her, but did it ever senther heart racing. “Just take it easy, we’ll be ok.” She pressed her lipstimidly against the top of his head, a gesture Hak had done to her before whenputting her at ease when she was upset, so she saw no harm in it.

 But for Jae-hait made his heart hammer worse in his chest, he knew she meant it in aninnocent, platonic way, but a part of him inside that he argued was just thedragon’s blood stirring him up wanted to wrap her up and take it further. Thissmall room was driving him crazy and her presence was the only thing keepinghim from losing his mind. Without thinking, after all his head was throbbing inpain, possibly from the blood loss, he took her hand and caressed it. “Yona…” he whispered huskily, their eyesmet once again as she looked at him unsure what he was doing. Reaching his handup to caress her cheek and weave his fingers into her hair, he leaned forwardtowards her enticing parted lips, just inches from his connecting…

 CRACK!A loud noise shattered one of the large boulders blocking their exit, as light filledthe small cavern and the sound made Yona spin around, her face lighting up. “Hak! Kija!” she cried. “In here! Jae-ha’shurt really bad!”

 ‘Damn couldn’t they have waited five seconds…?’Jae-ha found himself disappointed they were being rescued right now… Andhis eyes widened at that train of thought. ‘Whatthe hell am I thinking?! God dammit dragon blood of all things now you want meto take advantage of a girl’s naive kindness? What in the world is wrong withme?! I nearly-‘ he held his head with one hand realizing he was just mereseconds from stealing a kiss from Yona’s lips and it was driving him mad why hewas so driven to do that, and his heart was still going a mile a minute. ‘… That was too close.’ He shook hishead.

 Yona’scheeks were still red from his closeness but she did wonder just what was he goingto do back there? ‘I wonder if he waspushing out his forehead to check his temperature? I mean… It wasn’t like hewould…’ her heart gave a thump just thinking about how close their lips were.‘Come on heart, calm down. We’re safenow.’ She smiled and stood up, rushing to Hak who was panting from digging ashe grabbed her to check if she was safe.

 “We betterget you back to Yoon, can you stand?” Kija asked, offering to carry Jae-ha withhis dragon hand. “How did you two end up in here?”

 “Trust me itwasn’t a very beautiful moment for me.” Jae-ha chuckled lightly, nodding as hestood with the help of the White Dragon.

 Hakcontinued to grumble how he couldn’t leave the princess out of his sight andYona the whole way back found herself looking at her Ryokuryuu the whole time,barely processing what the Thunder Beast said. She still felt that ping in herheart and a weird sense of disappointment their moment alone together was over,and she didn’t quite understand why… Shouldn’t she be happy they were saved? ‘For some reason today feels so strange…Must be my imagination.’

[punishandenslavesuckers]

Mollymauk Tealeaf wakes up in a grave by the road ten years after he died. Things have gone a bit wrong since then and he might be the only one who can set things right… since it’s the Mighty Nein themselves who’ve gone wrong. AU: Where Molly comes back to yell at his super-powered Level 20 friends. (AO3 - part1) (AO3 - part 2) (AO3 - part3)

“Tell me again,” Molly says. “Just one more time.”

He’s lying on his back, fingers knitted across his stomach, the grass tickling the back of his neck. The skies are dark, over-cast, the glitter of the moon only just pressing a pale halo of light through a haze in the upper atmosphere. Molly can’t explain the longing he feels, suddenly, to see the moon and he wonders what kind of moon they’re under: waxing or waning. His heart aches strangely for a full moon, so bright it seems like the sun and wants it so profoundly it feels like missing a friend.

Nott, who’s lying in the grass, eagle spread, up and to the right of him, groans.

“We fist-fought the mad death god and won.”

“Uh-huh,” says Mollymauk.

“Specifically, Tharizdun, The Chained Oblivion.”

“I know who the mad death god is.”

“We didn’t do it alone, of course, it was like… a two-phase attack? The battle on the Astral Plane weakened him and then the Prime Deities, like, booted him through the Divine Gate into our front yard so we could finish him off. If that makes sense?”

“Right. Sure.”

A beat.

“Just… just one more time –”

“Oh gods!” 

Nott plasters her hands over her adorable freckly face. 

“Molly! How many times can we explain it? We did it. I can’t really describe it because how do you describe something like that? But we did fight a god in the Material Plane. Beauregard punched it to death. I shot it a lot. Fjord like – hacked off pieces of it and fed that shit to his patron. Jester’s god literally fought side by side with her. Caleb –” She falters just a moment. “Caleb used some kind of spell I don’t even know what spell he just… he called it his Wish. It almost killed him, Molly. We barely did it, but we did it. This is the world after we saved it.”

And again, for a while, Molly says nothing.

They lie there under the cloudy sky. They’re all four laid in the grass, the crowns of their heads meeting in the middle, bodies laid out like the petals on an dis-proportioned pinwheel. After Caduceus informed Molly that, perhaps, his resurrection was divinely designed, Molly’s knees stopped working and he sat down, then laid down and refused to get up. So the others eventually just joined him on the grass.

It’s been thirty minutes of a ten-year exposition.

“Look,” Molly says, “the last time I saw you, you were failing to pick a lock in the back of a cart and Beauregard was about to get shanked by some asshole in leather bondage armor. I’m having trouble conceptualizing any of you as god killing demi gods. Sorry.”

“Technically only Jester is a demi-god,” says Caduceus blandly.

“Shut. The fuck. Up.”

“And you don’t really killa god you just…”

“Caduceus,” Nott snaps.

The firbolg shrugs and goes quiet.

“I don’t understand,” complains Molly, gesturing, “how do you punch out a god and then say you need myundead carcass to fix something. You remember I died in a ditch right? I was left unattended for ten minutes and died. I’m not hard to kill. It’s been done twice. Three times a charm you know. It might stick this next time.”

“I don’t know about that,” says Caduceus, which is, you know, terrifying.

“You’re an opaque motherfucker, aren’t you?” says Molly.

Caduceus flicks an ear at him. “Hmm?”

“Your divine plan has holes in it,” Molly enunciates.

Caduceus’ brow knits. “Well, I don’t know all the details. Just what the Wildmother shows me.”

“Okay, what’s the Wildmother saying now?”

Caduceus thinks about it. “Well, I think we need to head to the Menagerie Coast.”

“What? No!” Nott sits up, spinning around to stare him. “Are you crazy?”

“No,” says Caduceus, perfectly conversational. “I think this will work. If we go there with Mollymauk, it will work.”

“Oh, okay, so magically because it’s Mollythe fuckin’ Hunger will just chill out and let us stroll into the Crushing Deep and the Sucking Maw will just, you know, stop and let that happen. Okay.” She rolls her giant cat-gold eyes, ignoring Molly’ horrified look at the words ‘Sucking Maw’ and ‘Crushing Deep’. “Sure, Caduceus. Sounds like a plan.”

“No.” Caduceus nods. “That’s the plan.

Nott gapes. “That plan sucks!”

“It’ll be okay, Nott. I know these things.”

“No, you don’t know that. You believe that. There’s a difference!”

“Okay, but there’s no difference in the course of action. We need to go the Menagerie Coast.”

“No, we don’t!” Nott yells. “We’re not sending Molly out there! Far as I can tell, the gods keep messing things up. We wouldn’t have a problem if everyone just stuck together rather than running off to their deities.” Here she glares ate Yasha and Caduceus. “It’s not like they fixed anything for us.”

Yasha says nothing, but Clay flips one long ear up, humming thoughtfully.

“Well, you say that,” he says, “but it was the gods who wounded Tharizdun and the gods who reached out to us for aid. Are you saying you prefer a world where the pantheon died, leaving nothing but The Chained Oblivion beyond the Gate?”

“What the hell—?” Molly whispers

Nott doesn’t hear him though, and snaps, “I understand that, Caduceus, like I’ve said a million times. But I don’t want Molly to end up like Beauregard.”

Dead silence then.

Molly sits up and turns. His bangs slip into his eyes, but he ignores it. “What,” he says quietly, “happened to Beauregard?”

Nott looks frozen. Afraid. And that makes Molly afraid.

Then, “She was wounded.”

They all look to Yasha. She’s staring at the sky, her hands behind her head. It’s the first thing she’s said in the last twenty minutes and Molly hears, very distantly, beyond the mountains, a low rumble of thunder. The skies, he thinks, will never clear wherever she walks. Or at least, the storm is always behind her. She blinks and Molly can see her eyes are brighter, wetter than usual.

“She struck the killing blow, but it—” She pauses. “Defeating a god hurt her. She’s been sick ever since.”

“Sick?” Caduceus repeats.

Like that’s not the right word.

“Yes, sick,” snaps Nott. “Or whatever it is. Cursed. She just never woke up, okay? We don’t know. We took her home and we’ve been trying to solve that for the past decade or so, at least until everyone took off.” Nott glares out into the empty field directly in front of her, knees pulled to her chest, arms folded on top. She shoves her chin angrily into her arms. “Yasha went first. Then, after what happened to Fjord…” She shrugs. “I dunno. Everyone left.”

“I’m sorry,” Yasha says, before Molly can demand what happened to Fjord.

“Why did you go?” Nott whispers. Her fingers dig into her biceps. “We might have been able to stop it if you’d been with us. Why weren’t you there?”

“I thought the Stormlord could save Beau.” Yasha ‘s voice comes steadily but… emotionlessly. “Maybe I was just running. I don’t know now.”

Nott sniffs.

“I won’t leave this time. Not until this is done. I promise, Nott.”

Molly watches Nott’s shoulders quiver then steady. “Okay. Um… okay.”

“I’m not sorry,” Caduceus cuts in, casual as a hand-axe. “I should have left earlier. This is the right path. I know it for certain now.”

Nott, furious, turns at the waist to glare at the firbolg. “What? How can you say that? Caleb was relying on you! We needed you!”

“No. You just thought you did.”

Nott grabs the air, fingers clawed, like pantomiming what she’d do to Caduceus’ head if she were allowed to. She shakes an invisible skull like a melon in her fists.

“You’re so… fucking… impossible!” Nott screeches.

For a moment Molly really sees the goblin he remembers in the gnome girl in front of him.

Caduceus just blinks at her, confused.

“You brought Molly back from the dead because your stupid goddess told you to, but it’s them who won’t help us fix Beau in the first place! Caleb is trying to solve this problem but everyone just… took off! Now he thinks he has to do something awful and if you’d just been there to talk to him he wouldn’t have –!” She stops. Her hands clench, pressing against her face, shaking. She takes a deep breath. “Caleb always listened to you about this stuff. He loves me, but he won’t listen.”

“It’s okay,” Caduceus says. “We’ll solve this. I know where to go next. I’ve seen it –”

“If you say in your dreams…” Nott whispers, fists still on her face.

“—in my dreams.”

Nott jumps up, runs over, and starts kicking Caduceus in the knee.

“Are. You. Kidding me?!” she shrieks, enunciating each syllable with a kick.

“Hey,” says Caduceus, watching her kick him.

“I’m not doing this! I came after you because I thought you had a plan! I left because I need someone to come up with a fucking plan! A real plan. I’m so sick of everyone just running off and asking their stupid gods for help.”

“I didn’t just run off,” Caduceus says, sounded wounded.

“What? Yes, you did. You didn’t even say good-bye.” Nott points at an invisible door. “You said you had to do something and you’d be back in a month or so. I thought you had, like, weird groceries or something you were getting from the Blooming Grove.”

“It’s been longer than a few months?”

“YOU’VE BEEN GONE FOR HALF A YEAR!?”

Caduceus frowns, brow knitting, visibly thinking that over.

“Ooooh,” he says softly. “Maybe that’s why I was barred from the city…”

“I HATE YOU SO MUCH. HOW ARE YOU STILL BAD AT THIS!?”

“Caleb’s upset with me then?”

“YES. HE’S FUCKING UPSET WITH YOU, YOU DUNCE. YOU DITCHED HIM WHEN YOU PROMISED NOT TO.”

“But I am coming back. I haven’t left him or you.”

Nott gives up and turns to look Molly in the eye.

“Molly. Fjord isn’t Fjord anymore, okay? His patron… I don’t know. I think it’s either become a god or something like a god now. Fjord made a deal with it to fight the death god, but the deal was that Fjord would feed whatever he cut from Oblivion to his patron. He did it, but that wasn’t enough. Okay? It kept demanding more and more. That thing tried to eat the Menagerie Coast. That was four years ago.”

Molly feels that pit in his stomach yawning wider suddenly, the weakness that took his knees out earlier crawling through his insides like insects through a corpse. He closes his eyes. Imagines Fjord’s anxious face lit in moonlight, a sword laid across his lap, the interior of some anonymous hotel room, and he wonders, quietly, if he was afraid in the end or…  

“Where is Fjord now?” Molly asks.

“Did you hear me?”

“Yes, dear. Thank you. I’m bloody quaking in my boots. Now, specifically, where is Fjord?”

A silence.

Then, “Sometimes, Caleb tries to scry on him, to see where he might be. The best we can tell… he’s not quite on this plane of existence but the door to his dimension is in Port Damali.”

“Okay. Well… Caduceus. What is it you want me to do?”

“Go to the door and knock.”

“Okay… terrible. Nott? Tell why is this is a terrible idea.”

“Because Fjord fed Port Damali to the sea and it sank.”

She’s so deadpan, Molly doesn’t need to see her face to envision her gnomish are-you-fucking-kidding-me stare. He doesn’t have to see her face for the cold, horror of it to take root in his gut. Molly’s nails dig into his palm then relax. Nott waits for him to move but when he doesn’t she goes on.

“The only way to reach it now is to walk through a valley cut through the water from the shore to the bottom of the ocean. That’s the Crushing Deep. Jester and I tried to get through it once and it closed on top of us. Jester had to call on the Traveler to get us out. We tried for months to get through. That’s why Jester left. To try and find a way to save Fjord. So…” A long silence. “Yeah. Lots of people wandering off asking gods for help.”

“Okay,” Molly says. “So…”

“The Sucking Maw is just a fancy name for the sea dragon that guards the water around the sunken city. Just FYI.”

Molly opens his eyes and finds both Caduceus and Nott staring at him, waiting.

So, he rolls over and looks at Yasha.

“What do you think?” he says.

She turns her head a little to look at him. “I think,” she says softly, “I’ll follow you wherever you go, Mollymauk.” Her mismatched eyes are sincere as sunshine. “And if this new god tries to hurt you, I have an old god that may protest.”

“Hmm,” says Molly. “Compelling.”

“Fuck,” says Nott. “I forgot you were a dumbass.”

Turns out, Caduceus can walk through trees.

As in, step into one tree, then pop out from another tree that he likes in another part of the world. He says he’s not a druid but implies maybe he made a deal with the Wildmother for this one thing and, well, the point is he can walk through trees.

“I’m not going in there.”

Molly tries to say this when the cleric very casually touches the apple tree by his grave and it just, you know, opens up a portal of glowing light in the bark. It’s morning and they’ve had a day to rest before embarking. That does not make Molly more inclined to jump in portals. Before he can reasonably articulate his fear of being trapped inside some weird-ass tree-based dimension made of splinters, Yasha shoves him straight through and Molly stumbles out the other side.

Like stepping through a door.

Mollymauk almost trips as a brilliant gold skein of sunshine bursts dry and desert hot across his skin. He blinks, blinded momentarily under a cloudless blue sky. A briny smell rides warm on the wind, filling his nose and mouth. When his eyes clear, he finds himself standing, blinking on a grassy hill overlooking a blue and sparkling stretch of shore to the east, the blue of the sea spread out endlessly into the distance.

He thinks, a little stunned, I’ve never seen the ocean before.

But he doesn’t mention it.

Yasha pats him on the shoulder when she steps through the portal behind him.

“You’re the worst,” he informs her.

She ruffles his hair.

“Ready?” she says. “It’s about a day’s hike from here.”

“No trees closer than this one?” Molly asks.

“No,” says Caduceus.

He’s stepping out from the tree after Nott and straightening up to his full and enormous height. The breeze briefly buffets the firbolg’s pale pink mane, the new sun glittering iridescent on the mottled shell of his armor and in the new brightness, Molly can see that the armor is actually extremely scarred, split in places, scratched and… almost bleeding. He peers mildly at Molly, leaning on his staff.

“All the trees in this region died after the sea rose and fell. The salt water poisoned the earth.”

Nott, standing in the grass and squinting around the immediate landscape says, “Molly, can you come over here for a second?”

Molly wanders over while Clay moves to speak with Yasha. Nott, gestures for him to kneel so he does.

The rifle slung over her shoulder seems far too large for her. The breeze ruffles her dark bangs, the sun gold on her brown cheeks. She squints at him.

“I think you should take some of my things,” she says, unslinging a small travel satchel from her shoulder. She flips it open and shoves her entire arm inside, digging. She produces an entire soft gray cloak. She dumps this in his arms. “This is charmed so you’re harder to hit,” she explains. Then she pulls a pair of black bracers from the bag and piles them on top. “These are lucky.” She goes into her bag a third time. “Where the fuck –? Ah ha!” She produces a small box and pops it open, revealing two silver rings engraved with thin, shimming symbols. “These… make you faster and a little stronger.”

“Um,” says Molly as she stacks these in his arms. “Thank you, but –”

“Don’t worry. They’re all magic. They’ll size to fit you.”

“That’s not what I –”

“Oh. And this…” Nott reaches up and rather industriously clips something to his right horn, adjusting it before Molly can resist. She’s stronger than she looks, actually. “Okay. That clasp will make you breathe under water if you, you know, get pulled under. It won’t help with the cold or the crushing though. I don’t have anything for— Oh shit! Yes, I do.” She goes back into the bag. “For the cold I have something.”

“Nott, stop,” Molly says.

“Shut up, you’re squishy as hell. I killed you with one shot.”

“You did not.”

“I’ve fought with Caduceus enough to recognize his Death Ward in action. I totally killed you.” She pulls a pair of plain steel earrings from her bag. “Sorry if they aren’t your style. I could pick up something else later, you know, if we don’t all die on this dumbass–”

Molly wordlessly loops one hand around the back of Nott’s head, fits his hand there in her soft black very un-goblin hair, then tugs her forward so he can kiss her on the forehead. He feels her freeze, then relax a little. He pulls away a moment later and smiles gently, as sincerely as he can possibly manage and then some. The sea air is ruffling her clothes and hair but she’s looking up at him with slightly shinier eyes than before.

“Thank you for taking care of me, Nott.”

“Yeah, well…” Nott drops her eyes. “Thanks for coming back this time.”

Molly doesn’t rise to that and puts on all the various accoutrements provided him. “How’s it look?” he asks, turning his head a little.

“Good,” Nott says, sounding a little raw.

“Nott, you’re a big tough gunslinging hero now, you can’t keep crying on me.”

Nott doesn’t say anything for a moment. Then she scrubs her face and says, “Uh, hey, question for you.”

“Sure.”

“The night before… you could see me when I was sneaking up on Caduceus. Right? You pointed at me.”

Molly tilts his head at the sudden topic jump. “Uh, yes. I did. It was fairly obvious.”

“Right.” Nott pulled her hood more securely around her head and touches the little blue broach at her throat. There’s a faint shimmer of enchantment, a blurring affect, but then she’s just standing there again. She peers expectantly at him, but Molly just frowns. “Anything?”

“What’s that supposed to do?”

“Molly, this is an invisibility cloak. It’s definitely working. I’m invisible.”

Molly wrinkles his nose. “Are you fucking with me or…?”

Nott smacks him and pulls the cloak off her head. “Molly, trust me. You’re seeing through illusions. Which is interesting because I don’t know many people who can do that without years of training honestly. You couldn’t do that before so that’s, uh, a postmortem skill then?”

Molly feels a sick lurch in his belly.

“I guess…”

Nott seems to regret pointing it out and pats his shoulder gently. “Or maybe my cloak is on the fritz. Don’t worry about it. We have much, much worse things to worry about!”

“Thanks, Nott.”

They make camp on the beach two miles out from the shores that were once Port Damali and Caduceus keeps watch in the night. Molly drifts to sleep under a very warm wool blanket, Yasha curled around him from behind, Nott tucked under his arm, her cloak pulled over her. Molly feels like he shouldn’t be able to drift off so easily. He should honestly be more afraid, but… well… the sound of the sea is so new and steady. Nott’s hair smells a little like something floral. Yasha’s body is a nice weight against him and…

Molly jolts awake. His arms close instinctively to pull Nott close, but his hands are empty beneath the wool blanket. She’s gone. Molly, sleep bleary, shakes it off in increments. Hears voices. Someone yelling…?

“Yasha! Wake up! I need you!”

Yasha moves so fast Molly doesn’t realize what’s happening. The blanket is torn off his body, sand kicked up against his back. There’s a crack like muted thunder and a sizzle of live current and suddenly Yasha is standing over him, her fist wrapped around the hilt of a massive black sword. The metal hums, arcs of electricity peeling off the blade and her hair flares around her skull in a localized wind. For a moment, that’s all he can see – Yasha’s back and the lightning.

She moves to stand in front of Molly.

Beyond her, Caduceus is standing fifty feet out from them, facing the water. His staff is in his hand, slammed into the ground directly in front of him like a lance driven into earth, the crystal lit like an amethyst sun in his hands. The light has weight, is billowing around him in a localized wind so his lion mane’s hair tears around his head in ribbons. He’s illuminated in burning pink light and for ten feet around him a shimmering barrier burns pale.

“Caduceus?!” Yasha shouts.

He turns at the waist and pulls something from his belt. Holds it in his fist where Molly can see it’s a small white strip of cloth. He makes three hand motions, says a word and both Yasha and Molly flare with enchantment, light looping them like a ribbon before fading and Molly feels a surge of strength like heat diffuse through him.

And then he sees what it is that has his allies moving.

Beyond Caduceus, there is rift torn open in the air exactly on the barrier where the sea meets the sand. Stepping through the rift is a person in a long gray cloak. On their shoulder is a burning falcon, its body wreathed in fire that licks harmless on the shoulder of its owner. The person appears to be a man, dressed in fine blue and black, his long copper hair pulled back, a shadow of beard along a sharp jawline.

It takes Molly far, far too long to recognize him. He is made unrecognizable, because in the moment that he lays eyes on them, the wizard raises a hand, points it directly at Caduceus and unleashes a tidal blast of nitrogenous cold.

Caduceus doesn’t have chance to move. He ducks, throwing his arm up to shield his face and vanishes in a sheet of blinding ice.

Yasha, seeing this, screams.

Her entire body ignites in lightning and from her shoulders erupts a massive canopy of interlocking bones, bursting free in a spread membrane of glittering black energy. They flare off her shoulders, fifteen feet in diameter and the darkness spread across their skeletal frame engulfs the sky over him. When the shadow falls over him, Molly sees storm clouds roiling in the shade beneath her wings. Lightning cracks over the sea in the distance.

Caleb Widowgast doesn’t hesitate. An orb of screaming fire ignites then collapses into a single hyper-dense bead of power, vibrating at the tip of one finger, curled into the center of his palm.

The mist is clearing. The cone of cold has done its terrible work, sheeting the entire are for thirty feet in hard, silvery ice. It’s ripped it way across the beach, plastered the sand into glittering spikes, and in the centre of the blast zone Molly can see a giant firbolg form, kneeling, his staff held across his body like a shield and in front of him. The air shimmers pink, steaming, ice melting from some arcane safeguard. He’s breathing hard, ice in his hair, the air fogging at his mouth.

He's somehow still maintaining that orb of light around him.

Caleb aims again at him.  

“CALEB! DON’T!”

Yasha lunges, so fast she seems to snap out time an reappear directly between Caleb and Clay, her sword humming. The pink light doesn’t affect her and Caleb just stares at Yasha and the veil of darkness at her back, arched to shield the cleric behind her.

“Don’t,” Yasha says again. “Caduceus is our friend. He’s yourfriend. Stop.”

“Why did you come back?” Caleb says quietly. “For years you’ve been gone to your god. Why come back n–” He stops. His pale blue have lit, finally, on Mollymauk. He blinks and kind of… shifts one step to the left so he can crane his neck and peer around Yasha. He blinks again and his hand lowers, expression empty as he just… keeps staring at Molly the way you look at something while sleep walking.

“Mollymauk,” he says.

“Caleb?” Molly moves cautiously to his feet.

Caduceus immediately grabs piece of paper from a loop of charms on his belt, makes a hand signal and Molly’s skin starts to glow. Then the cleric taps his staff to the sand and the air around Molly lights up with orbs of fairy fire and those orbs coalesce into three-dozen small, pale, sharp-tooth creatures. They hiss and dart like fey hummingbirds around his shoulders.

“Mollymauk?” says Caleb again.

“Caduceus brought him back,” Yasha says. “He’s just trying to help, Caleb. We both are.”

Molly feels one of the fairies brush his cheek, feels static in his hair, feels protections laced around him so tight it’s a weight on his skin. Caleb is staring past Yasha, just… staring right at him.

“Caleb,” he says, holding very still. “I’m a little confused. Why are you attacking us?”

The bird on Caleb’s shoulder takes flight. Embers hang in the air where it takes off, arcing a long flightpath from the wizard’s shoulder and hooking a tight sweep around Molly, then sweeping up into the sky overhead. The heat of its passing is so intense Molly has to shield his face with one arm and in the space between that moment and the next Caleb has crossed the space between them. Literally disappeared and reappeared directly in front of him.

The fairy creatures, suddenly aware of a threat, immediately attack.

Caleb snaps his fingers and says, “Go away.”

All the creatures instantly vanish.

Caleb snaps his fingers again and says again, “Go away.”

The shimmering layer of magic around Molly’s body winks out of existence. Molly go rigid, but the strength Caduceus instilled in his blood remains, humming invisibly inside him. There is still a burning bead of flame in Caleb’s right hand, so concentrated it glows like a tiny sun. With his free hand, Caleb taps Molly’s collarbone with two blunt fingertips and settles them there. A moment passes. A heartbeat and then three.

After a moment Caleb says, quietly, “What are you doing here, Molly?”

Shitshitshitfuckmeshit, Molly thinks.

What he says is, “That’s a funny way to say you’re glad to see me.”

Molly regrets the joke the instant it leaves his mouth, because the all-consuming indifference in Caleb’s stare is like a gut-punch. But he can’t bite it back now.

“Uh, magic, Caleb. I figured you know that stuff.” He arches a brow for effect. Shit. He’s tail-lashing. He forces himself not to, maintains a conversational grin, shrugs, loops his hands behind his head and laughs a little. Like they aren’t in battle, like Caleb doesn’t have a fireball in his fist and his hand on him. “Hell,” he says, “you probably have a better handle on how I’m alive than I do. It’s pretty –”

“I don’t care about that,” Caleb cuts him off. His eyes are pale, faintly glowing. “I mean what are you doing on this beach? On this continent. In this sea. What are you doing?”

“I… we’re trying to find Fjord,” Molly says, caught between the instinct to lie and certainty he won’t pull it off. Molly tilts his head, lowering his arms, and letting his smile get confused. Dumb. Dumb. Play dumb. “Is that bad? What’s going on here, Mr. Widowgast? You seem—" he glances slowly and meaningfully at the magic in Caleb’s fist – “agitated.”

“Fjord is gone.”

“Right. Which is why we’re looking for him. He’s missing.”

“No. He’s gone,” Caleb says, something flickering in his retinas. “He fed a god to his patron, then he bargained for one last boon. He’s beyond any of us and he’s certainly beyond whatever you’re doing here on this beach.” He glances at Yasha and Caduceus who seem paralyzed by Caleb’s proximity to Molly. “Caduceus is using you. You know what he serves? A goddess of balance. He’ll kill you when this task is done and return you to rotting. He did it once you know.” Caleb, to Molly’s surprise, moves his fingers from Molly’s skin and offers him his empty left hand open and upturned. “I’ll protect you,” he murmurs, “if you want.”

And for a moment, Molly hesitates. His mentally tries out the idea of taking Caleb’s palm in his but…

“I trust Yasha,” Molly says. “I’m alright, Caleb.”

“You don’t trust me.” Caleb says and for the first time Molly sees a flicker of emotion in his face. “She serves Kord, the Stormlord, but you think I’d hurt you?”

“I… I know wouldn’t, Caleb. But why do I have to choose between you?”

Caleb lifts his chin slightly. “Oh. They haven’t told you.”

Molly feels a cold crawl up his spine. Gut-clenching cold, like a hand in the dark moving unwanted up his back.

He says, softly, “Told me what?”

“About Beauregard.”

Molly’s breathing hitches.

“Is she alright?” he blurts. “Did something happen to Beau?”

Caleb blinks. He loses that psychotic indifference his brow furrows in confusion. Like a puzzled puppy and for a moment he’s exactly the baffled man Molly met in Trostenwold.

“She’s… I don’t…” He frowns, brow knitting deeper. “What did they tell you?”

“She’s sick. Punching out The Chained Oblivion made her sick.”

Caleb stares.

“Sick?” he repeats. He looks now across the beach to Yasha whose standing rooted, frozen. “No, she’s not sick, Molly. It’s more serious than that. You see, when you defeat a god, you don’t really kill it. You replace it. You become the thing in that pantheon. That’s what they didn’t tell us when they asked us to do their work, that one of us would become The Chained Oblivion.”

Molly blinks.

“What?”

“Beauregard,” says Caleb. “She’s the Chained Oblivion, or she will be. We’ve been trying to save her from that.”

“I don’t…”

“It’s alright,” Caleb says. “That’s a lot the process. I’m sorry. But you should know that before you follow Caduceus into anything. And it’s why I need to know what you’re doing out here, Mollymauk. Because here is my theory: You are a component part in some spell they are devising against me and as much as I love you—” Caleb’s hand moves up Molly’s neck, settling there, his thumb hooked gently along the corner of his jawline— “I will kill you again if you try to stop me.”

Molly doesn’t move for a moment. He just… doesn’t move, feels a stinging in the back of his eyes and a burning at the back of his throat. He knows Caleb can definitely see that’s he’s afraid, but the wizard’s face is… not even indifferent, just… resolved. Which is much, much worse.

“Caleb,” he says after a breath. “How would bringing Fjord back be a threat to you? What are you doing? I don’t understand.”

Caleb immediately looks frustrated.

“I’m sorry. I don’t know anything. I just want to help my friends. That’s it.”

“Of course, you do. I know, Molly.” He almost smiles. In a strained voice he says, “I missed you, you know? We all… we missed you.” He exhales shakily… then moves the hand on Molly’s neck and instead hooks his arm around Molly, pulling him into a tight, one-armed hug. His face is pressed against the side of Molly’s neck. His hair smells of component materials – sulfur, metals, and oil. “You shouldn’t have died,” he whispers.

He squeezes Molly harder.

So Molly loops two arms around him and hugs him back, tight as possible. He’s just a little bit taller than Caleb, actually. Not something he noticed when they were traveling together, but something he noticed while the wizard is suddenly in his arms. He feels Caleb go still, hears his breathing stop for a moment. Everything is very quiet except for the crackle of fire in Caleb’s hand, burning at Molly’s back but not… not yet unleashed. Molly his forehead against Caleb’s temple, tucks one hand behind Caleb’s head, fingers digging just a little into his hair.

“I’m sorry we left you alone.”

Caleb doesn’t move for a moment. Just… stands there a little slack in Molly’s hold.

“You didn’t leave me,” Caleb murmurs. “You were taken. There’s a difference.”

Caleb pulls back. He uses his free hand to reach up and very gently, brush Molly’s bangs from his face. A strange, weirdly familiar gesture from the man that Molly recollects as struggling to even make eye contact with anyone. He does it like he’s done it before actually. He smiles…

Then he turns and unleashes the Fireball at Yasha and Caduceus.

The beach ignites like a bomb’s gone off, instantly consuming the ground where they stand for twenty feet in diameter around them. Molly doesn’t remember screaming, but when he snaps back to himself he’s definitely yelling Yasha’s name. He instinctively tries to run toward the blaze, but hand closes on his arm and his throat locks up, then his whole body, every muscle seizing up and the Hold Person spell latches into his bones and grips hold.

“They aren’t dead,” Caleb whispers. “They’re stronger than that. I promise. I’m sorry, Molly. I love them more now. I’m so sorry.” Caleb touches his face, then points a finger at his chest and he says a Word that aches in Molly’s blood, in a language Molly doesn’t know but he understands it when Caleb says, “Die.”

And the Word kills him.

Part 4

[trailerparkflower]

Stephanie Says

It was a party at Tim. Crowded rooms, full of sweaty teenagers, loud music and a lot, a lot of booze. Steph pulled down short denim skirt-her mom would kill her if she would ever see how short it was. But, luckily for Steph, she wasn't at home today. As she wasn't at home yesterday. And all week before that.

Actually, count is over the month already.

Dad called not so long ago, tho. Told she said hi.

Screw both of you, Steph thought, nails digging into the fisted palms, as he started to lecture her about the college essay. Sure, dad, she said. Love you. Tell mom I said hi too.

She slept in their bed in that night, perfect creamy colored pillows stained with black mascara-the only evidence of her tears in a big, empty house.

Grabbing another drink and maneuvering between the faceless mass of dancing people, she glared on the whistling boys from the basketball team, what occupied all the couch, legs spread wide and face expressions grossfuly smug.

“Hey, Stevie!” Shouted Adam, getting up from his place under the overly-excited laughs of the other guys. Crossing arms over her chest, Steph wrinkled her nose as Adam came closer. Too close, actually-hot breath warmed her ear, oozing smell of the alcohol. Honestly, the only good quality of Adam was his dick. “We thought you won't show up today. You know, after Prince ditched you and got all lovey-dovey with the Byers freak bitch.”  

“Don't call her that.” Steph snapped, annoyed. Yes, maybe Byers was a freak-and maybe, maybe, some secret part of Steph considered her as a bitch too-but it's not like she would let other people bully the person with who they fought with monsters, saving Hawkins. Even if she stole her boyfriend. “And do me a favor, Adam-fuck the hell off.”

“Not in the mood, Steph?” Chuckled he. “Maybe it would get better if you join me and other guys? We can do a lot of fun things together...to cheer you up.” Adam big hand slipped lower from her waist, burning, like a molten iron. She felt their eyes on her legs, on her cleavage, on all her body-and felt like throwing up. Steph fucked with two of them, in the pre-Natt era, and heard the rumors about herself. Usually, he acted like she didn't care, ignored them, maybe slapped someone, but.

But their eyes was hungry, room was dark, and it wasn't enough of fresh air and free space around, and Steph found herself slowly slipping into the Upside Down catacombs, full of a flower-faced monsters with a dozen of sharp teeth sneering at her.

A sudden, overpowering feeling of fear what she wanted to suppress all this time and drown down in cheap punch cracked out from the carefully closed box, occupied her mind, making Steph break out from the Adam grip and take a few quick steps back, hands shaking and limbs cold, until she bumped into someone. Another arms wrapped around her, keeping Steph from the fall, and she felt like people played in hot potato with her, tossing from one to another.

Her drink fell on the floor, forgotten immediately, as Steph tried to resist to the tanned hands what holded her tigh, kicking and whirling, heart beating in her throat.

“Let me-let me go!” Her demand sounded a lot more like a plead, voice too small even to her own ears. She didn't wanted to be here. She wanted to be home, to lay in her big bed, safe and cozy, not be touched and treated like a piece of meat.

“Hey, hey, easy there, princess!” Familiar low voice shushed her, and Steph closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. “Calm down, Jeez. What got your panties in a twist today? You are all shaking.”

“Don't you think what you are being too obsessed with my panties, Hargrove?” Steph rolled her eyes, unamused and a little grateful. Getting her balance back, I told you to plant your feet playing in her head, Steph turned her face to Billie.

“Hmm...” Billie pretended to observe the accusing, making a thoughtful face. “Nah.” She shuddered, carelessly, golden earrings flashing in a faint light. “Speaking of those-what color you wear today? Red? Baby blue? Pink? I bet it pink. With a lace and little cute bow-”

“Gosh, just give me a rest.” Muttered she, probably too bitter-because Billie stormy blue eyes fell on the couch there basketball team boys sprawled out, already flirting with another girls, Steph seems to be already forgotten by them, just as spilled drink on the floor was forgotten by her.

“Are big bad boys harassing our little pretty girl?” Asked Billie, tone mocking, but face. Face serious and oddly collected, and Steph lowered her head a little, ashamed, even if it not she who should be ashamed one.

“What if so? Gonna play my knight in shining armor?”

Billie grinned, glancing at her under incredible long eyelashes with that kind of knowing look that make your cheeks flush and stomach twist. Like she knows about you more than you know about yourself.

“Is it what you want me to do, princess?” She asks with a smile, and Steph finally meet her eyes. There is a water on Steph lashes, sudden tears what she don't even bother to wipe.

Billie aren't smiling anymore.

“Yes,” Steph breathes out, as honest as she wasn't all two last years. She feel lost, tired, humiliated, dumb and helpless-so, so helpless. Not just today. All the time, she feel helpless. “Yes.” She repeats again, and those warm arms what was wrapped around her, disappears.

That's it, Steph thinks. This is the part there Billie is gonna laugh at her and go away, telling everybody what a wimpy bitch Stephanie Harrington is.

And Billie laughs-not as girls usually do, not soft, not pretty, not melodic. She barks in loud laugher, like a psycho. Like a boy. Steph prepares herself for sharp rude comment-but it never comes.

Instead, Billie goes straight to the Adam-blond curls bounce with every wide step-and punching him right into the face.

Just like that.

“Learn how to treat a fucking lady, fucker.” Spits she. Adam holds his nose, yelling in pain. Billie wipes her blooded knuckles of his white shirt, grimace of disgust on the gorgeous face, before grabbing him by the collar, then he starts to curse her. “Or I will have to teach you.” She says, and crowd boosts, glorifying their new leader. Hawkins High School Queen.

Then she smirks, predatory, corner of bright shiny lips curls up, as she looks back at Steph. Everyone in this room stars at Billie-but all Billie attention locked on Steph, and only on her.

Completely stunned, Steph made a breath what she didn't even knew what she holded, and made a step back, knees weak. Biting bottom lip, she blinked few times, feeling very, very drunk-and beams a wide smile, incapable to hold it, tilting her head to the side.

Billie grins in return, wild, proud, and in all teeth. With a last glare on Adam, she goes to Steph, pushing people out of the way, face shines with the victory while Steph just stands here and waits.

She feels like a damn princess. Like she's something beautiful and fragile, like she is worth to worshipping and protecting, fighting for her honor.  

It's stupid, probably. But no one made her feel like that before.

“Ya happy now, m`lady?” Billie asks, raising her perfect shaped eyebrows questionly, velvet voice deep and husky. “Gonna give your knight a grateful kiss?”

“Yeah, sure.” Steph scoffed, playfully. Heart fluttered in her chest, like a wild bird in golden cage. “In your wet dreams, Hargrove.”

Something changed in Billie expression, and Steph frowned slightly, afraid what she overstepped acceptable amount of their strange flirty way of talking, but then, Billie laughs again-genuinely, in a way what makes her button-like nose scrunch. It's adorable, and Steph tries her best not to blush.

“Oh, I sure hope so, pretty girl.” Billie purrs, and all Steph efforts crashes, as she feels heat touches her blooming cheeks. She huffs, playing smugness; yet both of them knows what she is flustered to the point there she dont know where to put her hands, long delicate fingers playing with the edge of short skirt. Billie throws an arm around her shoulder, black leather squeaking a little with the movement. She smells like beer, cheap perfume and cigarettes-mix what should be horrible, yet surprisingly pleasant. “Well then. How about to find some less crowded place and smoke a little pot with me? Party is shit anyways, and all boys are ugly as hell. Giving me fucking heebee jeebees every time they trying to pick up me.”

Steph shook her head, snorting amusedly. Boys really was ugly as hell there, tho. “Uh, thanks for your generous offer, Billie, but I think I'm fine just as that.” Answers she casually-because if Billie Hargrove will find out what Steph had never smoked weed before, she will never let this topic die.

“C'mon, dollface, would be fun, I promise. Just be a bad girl as you used to be for once, Queen Steph. It's not like if I was a boy and could take advantage of you, right?”

“Well...yeah, right, but-” She tries to argue-mostly with herself.

“Great! Let's go.” Billie exclaims, not even bother to listen, and Steph rolls her eyes, as she drags her to the door.

Heck, her mother are right. Steph is a pushover.

Yet, something in her chest goes all warm and mushy, and she glances at Billie with a small smile while other girl doesn't see it. Maybe, it's not that bad to have someone in charge other you-at least just for once.

***

“You was right, you know.” Stephanie says.

They are laying on the roof, shoulders pressed tight to each other, as a milliard of stars dancing around the full, milky-white moon above them, high in the night sky. All the awkward, nervous moments of coughing and teasing finally passed, paying for themselves, because Steph finally feels free, free, free.

“Huh?” Billie asks, one eyebrow lifted up. Her usually sharp expression are softened now, and she looks like a movie star. Steph thinks what she is the most beautiful person she ever saw.

“They are pink today.” She giggles innocently, voice quiet and excited, like she is a twelve year old schoolgirl who are sharing the most dark secret to her best friend on the break between the lessons. “Pastel pink. And, like, with all this-all this shit, y`know. Little bow and lace...”

“Jesus, Harrington.” Chuckles Billie breathlessly, pupils so wide what you barely see a bright sea blue color behind them. “You really are something else.”

“I love them.” Steph murmurs, defensively, as as if she has to justify herself for it. “They make me feel...uh, like I am good. Pretty.”

Billie stares at her for long moment, what feels like a eternity, and Steph avoids her eyes, shying away, before tan palm cups her cheek, thumb brushing pale skin. “You are pretty. Even in potato bag, you would be the most pretty girl, the prettiest.” Whispers Billie, and now they both stares at each other, as if they see each other by the first time. “Pretty like a fucking princess.”

Steph swallows, mouth suddenly dry. Their faces are so close, what they share one breath, and she closes her eyes, eyelashes flutter-and without thinking much, kiss Billie on the cheek, sweet and gentle. Billie inhaling shakly, and she looks at Steph as like at the miracle.

“Maybe I am.” Smiles she, slyly, pressing her forehead to speechless Billie one. Their legs are tangled together now-short denim skirt don't hide Steph long legs, white socks under the nike sneakers, against Billies strong and curvy ones, covered in dark jeans, black boots with heels glints in the moonlight. “Maybe I am, but you, Billie Hargrove, are beautiful, like a damn queen.”

Billie blinked. Then, she grinned, slowly, tongue wagging in that way what makes funny things to Steph belly.

“Thanks, sweetheart.” She answered, looking at Steph foundly, fingers stroking silky brown locks now. Steph leaned to the touch, like affectionate kitten, and beamed a dorkly smile.

Billie eyes darkened.

“Hey,” Steph mewled cheerfully, after the moment of cozy silence. “I'm home alone today, parents in a business trip... Do you want to...do you want to come on the sleepover, or something?”

“Or something, huh.” Billie hums, predator-ish smirk on her red full lips. “Sure, Harrington, why not. Night is only started, right?”