#flying around in that great big dust storm

[12pt-times-new-roman]

I thought Matt name-dropping Laerryn was a fun little easter egg because Aabria was at the table, but.... no. If the Great Tree of Atrophy really is the remnants of the Tree of Names, then Chetney could use grim psychometry on it, he could see Laerryn casting blight, hear her name being called, and connect her to the name in Ludinus' notes.

[itsmewillful]

Request #2

Main Masterlist:

Character Masterlist:

Requested by: @nev20

OMG I'M SO SORRY FOR THE LONG WAIT. I got held up with school and other personal matters 🤧

I turned your idea into an x reader story, I hope you don't mind!

Anyway, here is your request, and I hope you enjoy!

Word Count: 2,567 words. (it's kinda long)

Warning(s): Fluffy fluff, some angst, mentions of Order 66 and death, Leia running away, not proof read, lot’s of uncanon stuff (becuz its better that way)

Reader is GN, or at least I tried to keep it that way. Let me know if I missed anything.

Outline: After Anakin defeats Darth Sidious in a gruesome fight, he leaves the Jedi Order to settle down with you. Fourteen years later, you are both blessed with a daughter and son: Luke and Leia. However, because Anakin Skywalker was a famous Jedi, the descendants of him are worth a lot of money to bounty hunters, so you and Anakin live in constant worry of your beloved children being whisked away, far from your reach.

Our Intentions Were Good, I promise

“Anakin!” You yelled with a hoarse voice over all the chaos that was going on in the Jedi Temple. You could sense his presence nearby, but with all the Clone Troopers storming around the temple killing Jedi in their wake, you could not help but feel worried for your lover. 

You, Anakin and the rest of the Jedi Council discovered that the Sith Lord behind all the issues was none other than the Chancellor. It was a big shock to Anakin, and you knew he felt betrayed since he basically considered him as a father. But you had always had your suspicions, and the discovery only made sense to you. 

You hear your name get called through the rubble and dust flying around the temple and you spin on your heels to see where the voice originated from. You let out a shaky breath when you noticed it was Anakin, and he was okay. 

“Ani!” You whispered and ran over to him and tightly embraced him in a hug. He hugged you back and buried his head into the side of your neck and inhaled your scent.

“You’re okay, I was so worried for you,” Anakin said, biting back a sob.

“And you’re okay,” you giggled when he began to kiss you tenderly on your cheek. 

“Of course I’m okay. I am the Chosen One afterall,” he said with a hint of pride in his voice. You rolled your eyes at his banter and gently kissed his cheek. 

“Where’s the Sith Lord? Did you arrest him?” 

Anakin hummed in acknowledgement before continuing to kiss your cheek passionately. 

“Anakin–I’m trying to have a conversation with you,” you giggled in between kisses. 

He sighed heavily and stepped back a bit to look you in your eyes.

“We managed to arrest him, however, Master Windu was. . .killed in the process. Which leaves Obi-Wan as the new Head of the Council.” 

You gasped at the news and you felt your eyes burn. Master Windu was your own mentor when you were a Padawan, and basically the Father figure you never had. Even though he seemed very distant and cold-hearted, he would once in awhile have his moments that left great memories of the time when you were a Padawan under his authority.

“It’s alright, darling,” Anakin said, kissing your lips gently. “He’s in a better place now.” 

You nodded your head slowly, and buried your face into the crook of his neck. 

“Let’s go home, Ani.”

+++

Not long after Order 66, you and Anakin officially left the Jedi Order and got married. It was a small but beautiful ceremony; with only a few people invited. Obi-Wan Kenobi, Padme Amidala, and Anakin’s old Padawan, Ahsoka Tano.

About a year later, you brought two beautiful children into the world: Leia and Luke Skywalker. Leia looked a lot like you, but had Anakin’s strong will and personality. Meanwhile, your son looked like a spitting image of your husband, but he had more of your quiet and laid back personality. 

Now, your twins were nearing the age of thirteen, and you couldn’t believe how fast your small babies were now young adults.

One problem, however, was the constant worry of your children being abducted from you due to them being related to Anakin. You both were aware that both Luke and Leia had a bounty on their head worth thousands of credits. Anakin and Obi-Wan had both tried to investigate who was behind the order of their capture, but they never succeeded. So, you found yourself being incredibly over-protective of your children.

You homeschooled your children because you were scared of them walking by themselves to and from the public school. You didn’t allow Leia to go out with just her friends even if she was accompanied by their parents, and you never allowed Luke to be outside by himself. 

Were you taking all precautions a bit too far? Of course you were. You and 

Anakin loved your children and were too attached to risk the chances of them being taken away from you. 

+++

“Mom, dad, can we ask you something?” 

You looked up from the holopad you were scrolling through and noticed Leia and Luke were both standing in front of you with anxious looks on their faces. You raised your brow and beckoned them to walk up closer to you.

“Yes you two?” Anakin said with a small look of concern on his face.

“Umm. . .” Luke started to say, but immediately lost his train of thought and snapped his mouth shut.

“You know how today marks the fourteenth year of peace throughout the whole galaxy, right?” Leia began.

You glanced at Anakin and noticed he was also confused as to where this conversation was going.

You nodded your head at your daughter to continue and she shakily inhaled.

“There is a parade and fair–”

“No” you and Anakin said at the same time sternly, knowing exactly where this was going.

“But why?” Leia pleaded, tears began to form in her crystal eyes. 

Luke sighed heavily, and with heavy footsteps headed to the staircase to head to his room.

You pinched the bridge of your nose in annoyance.

“Leia, we have been over this many times. I would have thought you would know by now.” You said.

Leia’s face slowly morphed into one of pure grief and frustration. 

“I HATE THIS! You and dad worrying about EVERYTHING!! This whole thing is so stupid!” And like that, she stormed out of the room and slammed her bedroom door when she reached it.

You shook your head and looked at your husband to see his reaction and noticed he was already looking at you.

“She is kind of right, you know?” You began. “Our children are basically secluded from the rest of the world, let alone other kids their age. It wouldn’t hurt to let them go out once, would it?”

Anakin hummed in thought. 

“I’ll think about it. I think you might be right.” 

“The parade doesn’t start until nightfall, so you just sit there and put your one brain-cell to work, darling.” You teased as you stood up from the couch you were previously relaxing on and began to head to the kitchen.

“At least I have a brain-cell, sweetheart.” Anakin bit back to which you turned around to smack him on the top of his head.

He chuckled and grabbed a hold of your wrist before pulling you down harshly onto his lap.

“You are such a bully, darling.” Anakin shook his head. You huffed at that.

“And you aren’t?” 

“No, I am just your teasing husband.” He said, glancing at your lips before pulling you into a long and passionate kiss. You hummed and smiled into the kiss. You reached your hand behind his head, and moved your hands into his hair, before pulling hard on it, causing Anakin to jump and disconnect your lips.

“HEY! You’ll pay for that!” He warned with a slight smile on his face. You rolled your eyes before squirming out of his tight hold. 

“Only if you can get me!” You giggled lightly before sprinting out of the room and running up to your joined bedroom. 

+++

“Ugh, why is mom and dad so strict?” Leia complained as she dramatically plopped onto her brother's bed. Luke shrugged and continued to tinker with Lola, Leia’s small robotic companion. 

“And you are so helpful Mr. I-don’t-dare-disobey-my-parents.” Leia said with venom  laced in her voice. 

Luke sighed heavily and ignored the rest of Leia’s banter.

After a stream of censored cursing and complaining about how her life is so miserable, she decided that she was going to take matters into her own hands. 

“I am going to sneak out of the house.” Leia said with some excitement in her voice. 

Luke just about choked at his sisters ‘revelation”. 

“Umm. . .no you aren’t” He said sternly.

Leia chuckled before sliding off his bed and began to walk over to her slightly older brother. 

“You aren’t the boss of me Luke. What are you going to even do, cry and tell mommy and daddy? You’re no fun at all. In fact: you’re straight up boring. I don’t need your consent. I’m doing what I want.” 

And with that, she stormed out of the room.

Luke sat at his desk quietly, thinking hard.

“She wouldn’t actually do it, will she?” He asked Lola, who was still off and had most of her parts laid out on the table.

He sighed heavily but decided his sister didn’t have the guts to carry out such a dangerous idea.

Or, so he thought.

+++

“Leia?! O.M.G girl, I thought your parents were gonna say no to you turning up!” Leia smiled when she recognised the face of her best friend, a Twi-Lek named Brigade, and her friend, Han Solo. 

“Yeah, they did say no. But I came anyway.” Leia said matter-of-factly.

Brigade gasped and squealed with excitement.

“About time you take control of your life! That’s so badass of you!” 

Han Solo chuckled at that and patted Leia’s head fondly. 

“And if anything happens, don’t forget I’m here.” he winked. 

Leia rolled her eyes at his playful banter and noticed that the streets of Coruscant was more packed than she expected.

“Wow, there’s a lot of people here.” She trailed off.

“Yup. But it’s normal for an event like this.” Brigade said casually. 

+++

“Luke, what do you mean she left?” I panicked when I entered Leia’s room and found it empty with her window wide open. 

“I-I am so sorry, mother.” Luke stuttered. “I didn’t think she’d actually do it and decided against telling you. I should’ve and I am so sorry.” 

Anakin had his arms crossed and he was staring at the ceiling as if it was the most interesting thing in the room. You cleared your throat to gain his attention, to which he obliged. 

“Ani? What are we going to do?” 

“Well, we need to go find her, first of all. But this event is a planet-wide thing and I don’t even know where to start looking.” 

Luke gulped and began to burst into tears. 

“I am so sorry! It’s all my fault!” 

You reached out to your son and hugged him tightly, kissing him on the top of his head. 

“It’s all of our faults. We have been too strict with you children and this behaviour was bound to happen eventually. If anything, it’s our fault.” You said calmly, glancing at Anakin to see him nodding in agreement.

“Now, let’s go find your sister.”

+++

“Umm. . .are you sure this is safe, Brigade?” Leia asked, gulping heavily when Brigade split up from Han Solo and was leading Leia away from the rest of the crowd to an alley-way close by.

“Yup! Totally safe. As long as you're here with me.” Brigade said carelessly. 

Leia nodded and tried to take her friend’s advice to heart, but through the force, she could sense something terrible was about to happen.

“Well, well, well. Look-y here! The Twi-Lek actually did it!” Leia heard a voice from behind her and she spun quickly on her heels and noticed there was two masked people in front of her. A man and a woman.

“What are they talking about?” Leia asked cautiously.

Brigade slowly faced Leia with an emotionless expression.

“You should’ve stayed home, Leia. Coming out here by yourself was foolish.”

“What do you mean? What are you on about, Brigade?”

“When I first found out how high the bounty was for you and your brother, I knew I had to get close to you. I’m sorry if it hurts, but my family needed the money.”

Leia felt hot tears fall down her cheek at the news. Her childhood friend had been using her this whole time? 

“What the Kriff, Brigade. You traitor. I thought we were friends!” She sobbed. 

Brigade continued to stand completely still without showing a pang of regret.

“So sad, but we have no time for theatrics! The big man wants the job to be done A-S-A-P. We have a ship to catch.” The woman said carelessly, as she dug into a satchel that was around her shoulders and pulled out a big sack of credits.

“A thousand credits, just as we promised you.” The man said.

Brigade caught the bag and opened it and looked over her newly-earned loot.

“Thank you, Leia. You just saved my father from a certain death.” Brigade said with a small smile on her face.

Leia felt strong arms grab her by the shoulders and she felt herself get yanked to the ground.

“I got you Leia!” She sat up and noticed Han had rushed into the alley and was now fighting for his life against the two masked people.

“Run! Get out of here!” He yelled at her. Leia quickly scrambled to her feet and rushed out of the alley, searching for the direction home. 

But, once again, she felt someone grab onto her, making her let out a bloody sounding scream.

“Leia, it’s okay!” 

Leia recognised the voice of her father and latched onto him tightly.

“Dad! I am so glad I found you! You and mom were right! Everything here is dangerous, please take me home!”

“Leia, what happened?” you asked with a calm voice bending over slightly to reach her eye level.

“Alley-way, and Brigade selling me or something and- O.M.G! Han is there all by himself! He needs help!” Leia exclaimed with complete terror and worry laced in her voice. She pointed at the direction she came from and her father nodded and began to rush that way.

When he was out of sight, Leia looked back up at you and could see that you were smiling and looked the complete opposite of how she expected.

“Why are you smiling? I thought you’d be so mad at me.”

“Oh, I am mad at you, Leia.” Your eye twitched in annoyance. “But I am so thankful that you are alright and nothing happened to you.”

Leia sniffled some more and buried her face into your warm body.

“I’m sorry, mum.” Leia cried.

“Shh. . .let’s talk about this when we get home.”

+++

“So, you actually were going to take me and Luke to the event?” Leia asked with complete disbelief in her eyes.

You nodded and looked over at your husband who still was nursing a bruise he had gotten from the fight on his left cheek. 

“Yes, your father and I have decided that we can’t make you guys live in solitude for all of your childhood, so we agreed to take you out into the city some more. However, because of your behaviour, you should expect to not be going anywhere for a week.” 

Leia nodded in understanding, but she couldn’t help but smile.

“You’ve actually decided that mum?” She asked.

You chuckled and raised your arms to invite your two children into a hug. They both giggled and practically jumped into your arms, making you fall back a bit.

“I love you mom!” They both said at the same time.

“Hey! How about me? I saved your friend and got your ‘attempt captors’ put into custody!” Anakin said with a fake frown on his face.

“Yeah, thank you father.” Leia said with a genuine smile plastered across her face. Anakin also smiled and joined the group hug.

The Skywalker family was happy and safe once again.

A/N: OMG!! This x reader was different from the ones ive previously written, i hope you enjoyed it! And thank you for requesting it! I enjoyed writing it so much 

Sorry if there was any mistakes or repetitive sentences, I am a bit too lazy to try and proof read it but ill do it eventually.

Love ya all!

-Will

[queenharumiura]

[ unprompted ooc question - has anyone ever asked what haru's box weapon would be if she had one? that and what would kyoko's be? ]

[Unprompted ask] ||Accepting|| @parallelroutes

The boxes are subject to change based off my whimsy, but there have been a few boxes that I've briefly mentioned here and there.

For an older verse that I never actually ended up using years ago:

Lightning Elk (because who doesn't like to just ride on a big elk?) & Lightning gloves

Storm Bearded Vulture & Storm Crossbow

She likes to mix-and match the usage of her box weapons/animals. So you were likely to see her in that verse riding atop the Elk with her crossbow for instance. As one would expect, it's horns are quite the dangerous weapon and don't think lightly on the kicking power! The storm vulture is a large bird whose talons could easily rip into someone. Contact with its feathers can burn someone as it's enveloped with it's flame. Characteristic of the bird, it may pick up something, fly up to a high altitude and drop it's victim from a great height. These vultures do enjoy eating bones.

The gloves are simple, it helps fortify her hands if she starts swinging those fists. (Reference to her punching out Dr. Shamal? Yes) Aside from that, it is also useful for if she grabs someone and in the midst of a grapple, just give them a shock! Good night.

-

Some similarities but also some differences in the Varia verse:

Lightning elk & Lightning Atlas Moth & Lightning gloves

Storm bearded vulture & Storm crossbow

The Atlas moth releases a fine dust that slowly numbs the target. That usually then makes it easy enough to 'bye bye!' with the crossbow.

-

There is a TYL verse where she became more affiliated with the Vongola and has something like a spy role:

A pair of common marmon butterflies. The male is a cloud attribute while the female is a lightning attribute. - Both were seen in thread.

A lightning gymnastics ribbon. Can be used offensively, but she often likes to use it to allow her to just swing around to other places. Useful, mhm mhm - Might or might not have been seen in thread. I forgor

Lightning Naginata

The pair of butterflies are actually found in Japan and they do have differences between the gender, so I said: two different flame types it is. Similar to the atlas moth above, the cloud butterfly can propogate as many cloud boxes do, and they release a very fine misting of particles from their wings. The female butterfly tends to follow the scent trail of the male butterflies and if Haru commands it, it will let out a spark of electricity which will in fact set off the fine dust particles in the air and boom! Due to the fact that the butterflies can pick up on pheromones and scents easily, Haru actually carries around a vial that has a subtle scent similar to her natural one, so if she puts it on someone, the butterflies know that they're somehow associated with Haru. Usually it's done so she'll be able to find the other person if they get separated because the lightning butterfly normally stays by her side.

-

The TYL 'Lady Boss' verse as I call it which references what I created for @signorinavongola's fem!Tsuna:

Lightning gloves - has been used in thread. (Yes, I really love the gloves)

Lightning cloak- it has good defensive capabilities. Not seen in thread yet.

Rain flying squirrel (Is this a reference to Momo, Fuu's pet flying squirrel? Yes. Fuu is Haru's older FC) Not seen in thread yet either.

The reason for the rain element is because it is a different verse/universe, I should be allowed to play around with things, as as a person who is taking in orphaned or misplaced kids due to the influence of the mafia, a tranquil element is sorta necessary. I imagine she worked hard to be able to ignite it.

---

---

Kyoko just has one verse at the moment where i've given her a box weapon- and that parallels the verse where Haru becomes something like a spy. She's got a secretarial role while also being a coordinator. So when Haru is on missions, they keep in contact and Kyoko helps her coordinate in regards to locations she should go, who she is scheduled to meet, etc. In my mind she's more suited for roles that don't require her to go outside or move around much. Haru is the one who would much prefer to go out there and do something physically. She's not so much a sit around peacefully kinda gal.

Anyways, her weapons:

Mist Wrist watch & Orchid Mantis - I think I vaguely recall mentioning this in either a thread or a drabble.

Rain Goldenrod Crab Spider - Same as above, might have been mentioned in thread or drabble.

The watch works similarly to Lal Mirch's balloons from the TYL arc. It's mostly a precautionary method. It will alert her for if anyone else has activated mist flames in her presence. It isn't foolproof because it can be fooled if someone is very talented (ie Fran, Mammon, Chrome/Mukuro with the real illusions and the like), but it's rare to come across someone who can fool her watch. If the second hand stops moving, then she knows someone started using mist illusions. It will start moving again once they stop. So she may have a good gauge on when they started being used. Important to help keep herself safe and vigilant.

The mist orchid mantis is a master of camouflage among flowers. In nature, it's aggressive mimicry hides it from predators and prey alike. It is normally summoned in tandem with the rain goldenrod crab spider as it'll use it's mist flames to help keep both box weapons hidden from any guests. The spider has it's silk hidden from guests who visit, and the more contact people have with its silk, the calmer they will be. This is quite useful for entertaining guests of the Vongola. She normally releases both prior to the scheduled time to allow them both to get to work and set up draglines of almost imperceptible silk in strategic places.

The goldenrod spider is venomous to insects but not so to humans, however, as a rain element box weapon, it CAN bite humans to inject them with rain flames. Depending on how much it injects, it will either calm down the 'guest' or sedate the 'rude guest' by making them unable to properly move.

---

---

Technically there are probably more as I do think on things in the bg a lot, but I either haven't found a place to put them, or I want to continue thinking about them. I don't like giving out spoilers because then i'll feel locked into place, but who knows? Maybe i'll reveal other box ideas in due time. Maybe not. I'm pretty happy at the moment with how things are currently.

[codenamehazard]

.:Freedom Run:.

.:InFAMOUS: No Man's Land Chapter 2:.

Hey guys! I never thought that I would enjoy writing so much that I would want to continue to write and create a full fledged story! I had so much fun writing "Breaking the Shackles" that I'm now going whole hog and making a fanfiction! So I guess I could consider it Chapter 1!

A big thank you to RogueShadeaux. She has been a big help and I have been learning a lot from her as well! She's been a huge motivator and we have been having a blast bouncing around ideas. Check out her stuff, she deserves all the love!

Don't know if it's needed, but I'll put it here anyways. Spoiler warning and this is from Cole's POV.

I hope you guys enjoy Chapter 2 of InFAMOUS: No Man's Land.

“Cole!” I hear the harpy’s voice cry out, but I don’t listen. “Cole!!” She shouts again, but it falls on deaf ears. She cries and cries and I don’t hear, all I can hear is the crunching of dirt and stone under my feet and the thumping of my heart in my ears.

Ahead of me was the whole of the Great Plains: its vast horizons sprawling out before me as far as the eye could see, beckoning me to come and join the Conduits that call these untamed lands home. A call I had been ignoring for far too long, but not anymore. My heart beats wildly in my chest as I rush towards the endless expanse before me. My mind is full of the possibilities that await me; but also clear and focusing on the prize.

Dark, rumbling clouds follow me as I make my mad dash through the tall grasses and dry dirt, the wind kicking up around me and blowing at my back. Nature was urging me on. Heh, ain’t that something. The world is working with me for once in my damn life and I ain’t complaining one bit. Adrenaline coursing through my veins as my legs carry me forward as the wind pushes me on. It was like I was a ship on the open seas; sailing towards the unknown.

Farther and farther I run. I don’t dare look back, I don’t even want to. I was finally free from that damn gilded cage that I had been trapped in; why the hell would I look back? All that was there is a responsibility that wasn’t mine to carry in the first place! People that deprived me of even the simplest needs of peace and quiet. Fuck them, fuck them all!!

Fuck them. All.

The land extends endlessly in front of me as I push on. The storm above me thundering and flickering as I run. For the first time in my life, I am running with no direction in mind: No purpose to serve, no so-called destiny or fate that demands to be fulfilled, not even the smallest inkling of urgency to be anywhere. I just run. I run and run like how the wild animals that roamed these grasslands do. Such a feeling, it was intoxicating.

I can feel the burn in my muscles, but I don’t stop. If anything, the burn adds to the rush. I won’t stop; I don’t want to stop! Not until I choose to stop! God, this sensation… It feels so good, like a cool glass of water on a scorching day. 

Instinct and muscle memory take hold as I tackle some of the more rocky terrain, vaulting over stones. Never in my life had I had such a wide space where I could run for hours and hours, a straight shot in every which way! Now here I am, my feet kicking up dust into the gusting wind as I bound over any and all obstacles. I could go any direction: left, right, north, south, east, west, it doesn’t matter! All this space, all this land. It was mine; mine for the taking, mine to travel as I saw fit.

All mine.

I feel a chill down my spine as the storm intensifies. Lightning starts crashing around me: electrifying the air, fueling me. Even with my muscles screaming at me, my body felt energized and light. I practically feel like I’m flying; maybe I am! It hardly matters as all that is on my mind is to keep going. At this very moment, nothing matters. Nothing fucking matters! The only thing that filled my head was the freedom I now have. It could be pissing down rain or a twister could be howling and it wouldn’t fucking matter. If anything, I would welcome it! It would only add to the high.

My eyes widen as the black and crimson bolts light up the blackened sky, blood rushing through my veins as my heart hammers in my chest. The smile on my face borderlining on manic. This… This… Was the freedom I hungered for, the freedom I was deprived of ever since the day I was born. This… Is true freedom. No responsibilities, no obligations, not even titles. There was no Demon of Empire City, no Electric Man, no Beast. There wasn’t even Human or Conduit. There is only Cole MacGrath. Only me in my truest and rawest form. I was a man, wild and free as I should have been from the very beginning!

My eyes spot the ruins of an old oil boomtown and I rush towards it, the storm hot on my heels as I start to climb and run across the abandoned buildings. Leaping and jumping, darting and gliding, going wherever I damn well pleased! Lightning strikes around me as I turn this town into a personal jungle gym. I spot the tallest oil rig in this crumbling ruin and I make a beeline towards it.

As I climb, I feel a drop of water on my face as rain starts to fall, but it didn’t stop me. No, it only urged me on. Every grip, every pull. I could feel my body heating up as electricity arched off the layer of water that was forming on my skin. I could swear it was heating up to the point where it was turning the liquid into steam. If anyone could see me, I bet I looked terrifying. Good.

I keep climbing until reaching the top, hoisting myself up to perch on the peak. The metal creaking and groaning under my feet as it holds my weight. My eyes surveys the land around me, all ripe for the taking. All mine. The manic grin grows wider as a thought flits in my head.

Now would be the perfect time to announce to the world who is now free.

I close my eyes as I focus in. Feeling the electricity coursing through my body like live wires; feeling the energy build and build. The storm reacts in kind as it builds in strength and intensity: wind gusting wildly, rain pouring down and thunder booming like cannon-shots all around me. I can feel it in my chest, a pressure, a spring inside tightening. The twisted sparks jump and arch off of my hands and arms as the rain steams off of my heating skin. My chest heaves as I breathe, letting the pressure build. Letting all the pain that I have suffered, the agony I was forced to endure burn in my heart. My lips curl into a sneer as I growl, feeling the sting of the hurt. It burns and boils my blood until the dam breaks.

My mouth opens wide and my chest tightens, but I hear no sound as I unleash several layers of hell around me with no regard or restraint. A flurry of lightning crashes and crackles around me as I feel the burning in my throat and the stinging in my chest. The wind whips into a howling gale and the rain becomes a torrent. My neck tightens and the muscles in my back and arms burn from tension and electricity as nothing but pure destruction rages around me.

I can feel my throat going raw and my chest growing tighter, every nerve firing as power flooded out. The sky turned a sickly green as a twister formed and joined the gale. My mind was a blur as every single ounce of pain was unleashed, my hurt, my fury, my suffering, my grief, all of it pouring into a scene of a god’s punishment. Buildings were felled: trees uprooted, grasses set alight and streets flooded. All around me was an apocalypse made manifest as I bend nature to my will.

With a deafening thundercrack and a blinding lightning strike, the last of the air leaves my lungs. My voice falls silent. The fury leaves me and the storm starts to abade. My chest heaves with heavy breaths as the tension releases. My body is so sore, yet so light; like I have purged something that has been festering inside me for years. My arms go slack and my back slouches as I watch the storm calm. The rain slowed to a gentle pitter-patter and the thunder rumbled quietly. The water on my skin now simply left its sheen on my body. The cooling water feels good, despite the tingling.

I climb down to the deck of the rig slowly, my muscles aching in protest as I do. Once my feet hit the solid platform, I lean my back against a support pillar and slide down into a sitting position, finally allowing my body to rest. The soreness in my body told me I overdone it, but I don’t care. I rest my head on the pillar and look up to the sky, watching the colored flashing in the clouds as the chaos faded away. The rain runs over my face; washing away the pain as I finally allow myself to do something I haven’t done ever since my becoming the Beast.

I cried.

Tears joined the water rivering down my face as I let the last of the pain go. My hoarse voice choking in my throat as the grief fully releases. The rain and the thunder becomes the balm to soothe the wounds in my soul that have been neglected for so long. The wind stills to a gentle breeze and a quiet whisper as I close my eyes and allow myself to lower my guard: be vulnerable, allowing myself to be a man. Nothing more, nothing less. My chest heaved with the quiet sobs that had been left caged inside for too long; shedding the tears that were long overdue. I may be alone, but now nobody was around to force anything onto me.

With the last choking cry leaving my mouth, my breathing normalized as I looked to the sky once more, a crack was opening in the clouds, revealing to me the most beautiful sight my eyes have ever lay upon.

A night sky in its purest form, a tapestry of shimmering stars and celestial clouds that turned the aether into a work of art that no being could ever replicate.

It was now that I could see. Just how truly free I am. Not only am I free: free to go where I want, when I want, free to take whatever I want, free to do whatever I pleased; I am free to feel however I wish to feel, be it joy, rage or pain. I am free to be whoever I want to be, whatever it might be. In this moment, this blissful moment of clarity; I am free to be a man.

I am finally free to be Cole MacGrath; the man behind the power.

I am finally free to be me.

[themurphyzone]

Pinky Unleashed Ch 16

AN: Sorry this chapter took forever. I got distracted by lots of things lol

The Hurricane now rested in the underbrush by the riverbank, the majority of the body hidden under a pile of broad tropical leaves at Brain's instruction. 

Pinky and Chip were left alone while Brain inspected the exterior for damage from the attack, so after they buried the Hurricane under a leaf pile, Pinky gathered sturdy plant husks from the nearby trees and began weaving their hats for the trek into the rainforest. 

He'd already finished Chip's, who wore the rimmed hat with pride as he zipped around their landing site with his camera in hand, taking pictures of all the beauty nature had to offer. Brain's hat was almost finished. Pinky used part of a broken coconut husk for him. Brain's large brain needed to be protected from the elements. 

Pinky turned the coconut husk in his hands, not satisfied with it just yet. It was missing something, but Pinky just couldn’t pinpoint what.

He glanced up as a scarlet parrot squawked from a nearby tree and flew away, leaving several scattered feathers behind. They were beautiful, bright red, and just what Pinky needed to make Brain's hat extra special. 

Carefully, he picked out three of the brightest feathers and wove them onto the front of the coconut husk with strips of long grass. 

“What do you think, Chip?” Pinky asked, proudly holding up Brain’s finished hat. “The feathers will make sure everyone knows that Brain’s our leader!”  

"Looks great!" Chip exclaimed, spreading his photo collection in front of Pinky. They were all pictures of plants with the occasional bug or bird flying by. "This place sure is different from Rome, isn't it? I never knew plants could be this ginormous!" 

"Narf! It left me speechless when I saw the rainforest for the first time," Pinky said as he set Brain's hat aside to make room for the materials for his own. "Brain too, but I think that's cause I fell on top of him last time we were in a place like this." 

Chip looked around, but he didn't seem to find what he was looking for and gave up after a few seconds. 

"Speaking of Brain, where is he?" Chip asked. "He's missing out on all this amazing stuff!" 

Right on cue, there was a loud, booming echo from one of the plane's engines, followed by a string of profanity that would've made Pinky's grandmother wash Brain's mouth out with soap if she'd been around to hear it. 

That's not a sound I was hoping to hear…

Pinky jumped to his feet, grabbing Brain's hat so it didn't get lost. 

"Come on, Chip!" Pinky called over his shoulder. "Brain probably got his big lumpy head caught in something again!" 

They hurried over to the plane and found Brain by the broken engine. His fur was ashen with soot, and he was coughing up a storm while the engine emitted a thin trail of smoke. He was carrying several broken pieces of metal. 

"I've discovered how the engine failed," Brain growled, dumping the broken parts onto the ground. He grinded them into the dust underfoot, his face pinched with frustration. "I've been clearing out Microbot parts from both engines. I believe these units broke off from the main body of the enemy plane for the purpose of jamming our engines to render escape impossible. Fortunately, they didn't succeed with the right engine. There was only some minor damage that I was able to repair quickly. That said, the left engine is a different story." 

Pinky wasn't a mechanical wizard like Brain, but he didn't need to be one to see the large, gaping hole in the left wing or the sputtering smoke trail coming out from the engine. 

"I'll spare you the technical explanation since neither of you will understand it anyway, but in short, the engine's most vital components have been damaged beyond repair, and my efforts in saving the engine have only exploded in my face." 

Brain pointed to the singed fur on his cheeks. 

"Egad! Just like all your plans to take over the world!" Pinky exclaimed. 

Brain glared at him. "Thank you for your incredibly insightful observation, Pinky." 

Pinky rocked back on his toes. "Awww, it's nothing, Brain!" 

Warm fuzzies formed in his stomach upon hearing Brain's appreciation. 

But Chip didn't share Pinky's enthusiasm. He glanced at the broken engine with worry. 

"We aren't gonna be stuck here, are we? What if I never see a chocolate store again?" Chip grabbed his ears in panic. Brain fixed him with an icy glare, and Chip cleared his throat quickly. "Oh…and getting to the other Gaia Temples. Haha…that's a problem too…" 

Brain rolled his eyes. "Putting your disturbing obsession with confectionaries aside, we'll work towards the additional goal of finding parts for a brand new engine, preferably anything metallic. The engine won't be state of the art or anything fancy, but I'm willing to work with anything we can scrounge up under these circumstances. Perhaps we'll be able to find a village or an outpost somewhere in this jungle while we're searching for the Temple. We can stop and look for parts then." 

He swept out an arm to indicate all the broken Microbots surrounding the Hurricane. 

"Chip, store all these broken Microbots in the Hurricane so I can examine them when we come back. I'll repurpose them for parts later. Meanwhile, I'll salvage what I can from the engine. And as for you, Pinky…" 

Upon hearing his name, Pinky quickly stood in an attentive pose. 

"Make sure our supplies are in order for the journey ahead," Brain said. "I left the Earth Gem and a compass on my seat in the cockpit. Put those items with the others. And don't touch anything no matter how tempting it may be. That will be all. We'll reconvene in an hour." 

He started to walk away, and Pinky realized he hadn't given the hat to Brain yet. How was he supposed to trek through the jungle without a cool hat? 

"Brain, hold on a sec!" Pinky called. 

Brain stopped, his ear twitching impatiently. They didn't have a lot of time, and Pinky could hear Brain's scolding for the delay before he even said anything. 

"I finished your hat!" Pinky quickly said, depositing the decorated coconut shell into Brain's arms and stepping back so he didn't have too much physical contact with him. "Everyone will know you're the leader once you wear red feathers! It's a law of the jungle!" 

Brain raised an eyebrow, staring down at the husk that had been repurposed as a hat. 

"...leader?" he murmured in disbelief. 

He wasn't putting on the hat. 

Brain was always jumping at the chance to be in charge. Pinky thought he would've appreciated an accessory to compliment his natural leader skills. 

I messed up somewhere, didn't I? Maybe I should've used bigger feathers or the thicker grass under the canopy. 

He'd been so confident that Brain would proudly wear it too. 

Maybe he needed some time to get used to the hat? It was admittedly unusual and flashy. 

Pinky turned to the plane, though he knew he'd never be able to focus on gathering supplies now. What if he forgot something important again? What if his mistake costed them dearly in the jungle? 

Then he heard Brain make an awkward half-cough, half-gagging noise, like he was trying to hack up a hairball and get Pinky's attention at the same time. 

"Ahem. I um…I'll be crawling into an unstable structure anyway. The extra head protection will be useful," Brain hastily said as he donned the hat. 

The coconut husk framed the dome of his large forehead perfectly.

"You look really good," Pinky complimented him with a smile.

Brain blushed, his cheeks and eartips flushing bright red before he left a trail of dirt in his wake that would've made Speedy Gonzalez jealous. 

Pinky had never seen anyone crawl into a plane engine that fast before. 

But Brain seemed to like his hat. Chip too.

Pinky flexed his fingers. They were clawless and nimble now, but when night fell…

He took a deep breath and tried to not think about his clumsiness in his monstrous form. 

They like my hats. That's all I need. I…I have to stop being a worrywart. They're relying on me to help them through the jungle. 

o-o-o-o-o

Pinky found the Earth Gem and the compass on the pilot's seat, right where Brain said they'd be. He'd spent the past hour packing, unpacking, repacking, and re-unpacking the three backpacks they were taking into the rainforest.

It was a lot of packing, and it was an extremely important job that Pinky took seriously. Some of the contents had spilled all over the plane during the Microsponge plane's attack, so Pinky had to hunt down all the items again. 

Protein bars and trail mix for extra energy. The backpacks could fit quite a lot into them, and Pinky made sure to stuff food into every corner he could. The canteens were filled with refreshing, cool water. Worried that they might run out quickly, Pinky had slotted another water bottle into Chip's pack in case they needed a refill.

Bug spray for pesky mosquitoes. Extra rope for hard to reach places. Sleeping bags for camping out. Flashlights and extra batteries in case of a monster attack.

Pinky had even included a small joke book to read just so they'd have something to laugh at. Nobody would be afraid of monsters if they were too busy listening to bad yet hilarious puns. 

Soon Pinky and Chip's backpacks were filled, and the only items left to pack were the compass and Earth Gem for Brain.

Pinky cleared enough space to fit the requested items into the backpack. But as he stuffed them inside, Brain's backpack just felt…unfinished. 

It should've been enough, but somehow, it wasn't.

What am I missing? 

Pinky tapped his chin as he tried to come up with an answer. While he pondered between figuring out what exactly he was missing and if the witch who lived in the gingerbread house ever ate her own furniture, he was startled by a loud yelp and thud behind him. 

His fur bristled, expecting a Dark Gaia creature to leap at him with its claws extended. 

But it was only Chip, who was lying on top of a broken Microbot he dropped. 

"Owww…these things are too heavy…" Chip groaned, rolling off the Microbot and landing on his back. 

There were already a dozen Microbots lined up along the wall. They clearly weren't in working condition from their broken propellers and cracked lens, but they were a bit on the creepy side. 

"There's more out there, but it took me forever just to move these!" Chip complained. "You think Brain will be happy with the ones I brought in? I don't think I can move any more."  

Egad, that's it! 

"Chip, are you pondering what I'm pondering?" Pinky exclaimed eagerly, rushing over to the Microbot and flipping it onto its side. One of the panels had been knocked loose, so it was easy to rip away and leave all the colorful wires exposed. 

"Huh…that dark spot on the ceiling sure looks like the professor eating a cucumber sandwich," Chip said. 

"Well no, I was actually-wait, it does?" Unable to help his curiosity, Pinky laid on his back to see the dark spot for himself. Sure enough, the resemblance was uncanny. "Narf! Whaddya know, it really does look like the professor! You should take a picture, Chip. We'll send it to him once we get the chance!" 

Chip quickly grabbed his camera and snapped the photo. 

Within seconds, a paper popped out of the slot. 

While Chip admired his new photo, Pinky stood up and reached into the inside of the Microbot. He tore away all of the loose wiring he could find before noticing a small, green triangular piece that had little lines running through it. 

It was exactly the sort of high-tech doohickey Brain enjoyed so much. 

"This is what I was pondering, Chip," Pinky said. He tugged the doohickey free from the Microbot and snipped a particularly stubborn wire with his teeth. "We didn't have any cool science-y stuff last time we were dropped in the middle of the rainforest. It made Brain really jittery, so having some bits to tinker around with can help him a lot this time! Plus, we have plenty of floss around now. You gotta take care of your teeth since you eat so much chocolate, Chip!"

Chip winced. "I don't think I like being called Chocolate Chip anymore. Sophia kinda ruined that for me. She gave me the creeps…" 

Pinky had to agree with him there. Sophia and all of her coworkers at Microsponge's Rome branch had creeped him out with their strange enthusiasm in working nonstop and neglecting their personal lives. 

Would they have that same energy if they hadn't been possessed? 

“How ‘bout we call you Cookie Dough next time we have to make up a name?” Pinky asked as he shoved the wires and triangular piece into Brain’s backpack. 

“Cookie Dough?” Chip tilted his head, not sold on the name just yet. 

Pinky nodded. “Like chocolate chip cookie dough! I think it fits!” 

Chip licked his lips. “Sounds delicious!” 

Now that they’d settled on Chip’s fake name, Pinky pushed Chip’s backpack towards him, whose excitement quickly disappeared. 

“So, are you ready for your first ever safari?” Pinky asked as Chip hesitantly put on the backpack. “We’ve got lots to explore!” 

“A-are you sure about this?” Chip asked. He tested his wings, and it took him a moment to take flight with the extra weight on his back. “We don’t even know where the Temple is…” 

Pinky nodded. “Well, of course we don’t know where the Temple is. That’s why we gotta explore the rainforest to find out more!” 

Chip shivered, hanging back while Pinky slung his own backpack over his shoulders and grabbed Brain’s by the straps. 

“I don’t know, Pinky…” Chip murmured. “Brain made it sound really dangerous, and I don’t wanna be a snack for some scary predator. Not that I think I’ll taste good to them or anything…well, I guess I’m just a little worried. Maybe more than a little worried. I’m a lot worried.” 

Chip touched his necklace in uncertainty, and Pinky sensed that Chip’s worries were about more than just the rainforest. 

“Is this about your memories?” Pinky asked. 

Chip slowly nodded. 

“Teros said the Master entrusted me with this necklace…except I don’t remember meeting any Master!” Chip zipped outside the plane in a panic. “And why would I be trusted with something as powerful as this? I don’t know if I did anything big that impressed the Master or if I can control this power at all! It just activates whenever it feels like it!” 

He breathed heavily, tugging at his ears as he landed with a thud on the ramp of the Hurricane. He laid on his backpack and stared up into the endless treetops. 

Pinky’s hand tightened around the straps of Brain’s backpack. Brain always told him not to look directly at the sun, but it was a habit he couldn’t shake now. He didn’t have a clock to tell him the time, and the sun would be coming down earlier and earlier until eternal darkness fell. 

He understood Chip’s fear with his powers all too well. 

I can’t control my powers either. At least Chip’s necklace can heal…all I can do is destroy stuff. Sometimes I’m able to keep it down, but I can’t stop myself when I get mean and scary. What if I can’t come back from it? What if I-

Pinky slapped himself and shoved that thought into the bad thoughts jail where it belonged. It was silly to be worrying about something like that when there was an entire rainforest to explore while the sun was still up. 

A melody popped into his head, a catchy tune that would solve all his little problems, and he hummed his song as he approached Chip, who glanced at him in confusion. 

“Why are you humming?” he asked.

Pinky kept his eyes on the sky, keeping his arms folded so Chip couldn’t see his twitching fingers. 

“Cause it helps me not worry about anything,” he replied. “Haven’t you ever heard of Hakuna Matata before?” 

Chip just seemed more confused than ever. “Hakuna mawhata?” he repeated, raising an eyebrow at the strangeness of the phrase. 

“Hakuna Matata.” Pinky made sure to emphasize every syllable. “It means no worries. So if you ever have fears or doubts you can’t get rid of, just say Hakuna Matata and all your worrywarting will fly away! Besides, if we aren’t worrying about anything, then Dark Gaia can’t eat our emotions!” 

“Okay, let’s see…Hakuna Matata,” Chip closed his eyes and shuddered as he said the two-word phrase. “Hakuna Matata, Hakuna Matata, Hokuma Madada….” 

Then he leapt into the air with a carefree twirl, his backpacking not weighing him down. 

“Wow, not worrying about anything feels great!” Chip exclaimed. He blew a raspberry and stomped the ground. “Hey Dark Gaia, how does it feel to be hungry? You can’t eat my emotions today! Nope! Why doncha go eat something your own size? Cause guess what? I’m not afraid of you! I’m not afraid of anything!” 

“That’s it! Stick it to that snake, Chip!” Pinky cheered. 

It was amazing how Chip understood the spirit of Hakuna Matata so fast!

“You know what you can do? Cause I know what you can do!” Chip taunted as he continued to stomp the soil. “Why doncha find a happy place with chocolate bars and gumdrops and rainbow gelato or something where your spooky powers never, ever work again? Cause that would be-AHHHH!” 

With a loud shriek of terror, Chip shot up into the nearest tree and clung to the lowest branch, his entire body shuddering in fear with his fur puffed out. Below him, Brain stood in the place he’d been moments ago with his hand still stretched out. 

He must’ve snuck up on Chip from behind. 

“I made no effort to mask my presence,” Brain scoffed. “So let this be a lesson in vigilance. You would’ve been halfway digested at this point if I were a lion.”

Pinky climbed down from the ramp and gave Brain his backpack. He was still wearing the hat Pinky made for him. 

Feathers really did suit Brain well. 

“I put the compass and gem in your bag just like you asked. And a few special surprises too,” Pinky said. He couldn’t wait for Brain to discover the wires and the green, tech-y piece he found. 

Brain quickly checked the contents of his backpack and took out the compass, then closed the flap and slung it onto his back, nodding to Pinky in approval. The needle trembled on the compass as Brain pointed it in every direction until he finally faced the river. 

“Then quit wasting daylight and come along. We have a lot of ground to cover.”  

o-o-o-o-o 

They followed the river downstream, keeping the murky water in sight as they fought through the underbrush at the edge of the treeline. Though Brain put out the idea of building a raft and riding the current to cover a wider distance like they’d done once before, Pinky took a close look at the flow of the river, which swirled in whirlpool-like patterns. 

It didn’t seem to flow downstream like a normal river, and something within Pinky’s instincts screamed that trying to raft down the river wasn’t a good idea. Especially when Chip was inexperienced and Brain had fallen out of the raft last time.

“No, no, our raft would be bashed and smashed against those rocks over there,” Pinky said, pointing to a cluster of rocks where the water churned out a thick white foam as it clashed violently against stone. 

Brain’s shoulders slumped. 

“I mean, it’s not a bad plan if we were following a lazier river…” Pinky said, trying to keep Brain from being too dejected over a plan that sank before it could even swim. “Just not this one.” 

“I can’t believe I missed an entire set of rapids…” Brain groaned. 

He still wouldn’t put the compass down. He’d been staring at the device ever since they left the plane. 

“It’s right in front of us,” Pinky pointed out. “Maybe if you put the compass down for a moment-” 

“And get us lost?” Brain snapped. “I don’t think so. The Earth’s magnetic field has entirely destabilized, and the compass requires constant monitoring or we can’t be certain we’re heading due south.”

There were plenty of things in the environment they could’ve used as a direction, like moss, a stick, or the sun, if only Brain would stop and take notice of them. 

Besides, it wasn’t often they got to bask in beautiful nature. They spent most of their time around humans, and the little glimpses of nature they got were only in small gardens, parks, and zoos. 

Pinky wondered if the cities they’d been to had all been like this once. If they’d ever been as wild and free and untamed as this rainforest.

“I know saving the world is important…and I know taking over is just as important to you…but haven’t you ever taken a moment to just stop and look, Brain? It’s so pretty here. I’m really glad Dark Gaia hasn’t ruined this place.” 

But Brain shook his head, still staring down at his compass. 

“There’s a high probability that Dark Gaia has influenced this rainforest, but we aren’t seeing the full effects during the daytime,” Brain replied. “Bearing that in mind, we need to make as much progress as we can before nightfall. We don’t know what kind of monsters this place can spawn.” 

Really scary ones, Pinky wanted to say, an image of his own monstrous form flashing through his mind.

“Hakuna Matata,” Pinky whispered to himself. Worrying about that wasn’t gonna get him anywhere. 

Since Brain’s eyes were still on the compass, Pinky quickly shielded his eyes and glanced up at the sun, which was partially shielded by the enormous trees. 

It wasn’t as high as before, but Pinky figured they could still cover a good distance before…

Nope. If I don’t think about it, I can’t be scared. 

To get his mind off the time, he watched Chip hover above the riverbank. He curiously touched the tall reeds, which swayed from the breeze his wing flaps created. Then he picked up a rock and dropped it into the water, which made a satisfying splash. 

He was stunned by the impact at first, but once the shock wore off, he picked up a larger rock and dropped it into the river. He shrieked in delight when it created an even bigger splash, the water gushing up and hitting him in the face. 

Pinky smiled. He was happy for Chip, who was slowly and surely coming out of his comfort zone as he experienced the rainforest for the very first time. 

Chip skimmed along the river’s surface, the orb on his necklace shining brightly. 

The green light bounced off the water’s surface and fell upon a strange, bumpy log. It was greenish-brown in color, and though Pinky thought it was moss at first, he noticed a slitted yellow eye sitting at the very top of the log. 

Its pupil was fixated right on Chip.

Countless slitted green eyes glared at Pinky, its long, needle-like claws poised and ready to strike, a deep, guttural laugh emanating from its core…

Fear coursed through Pinky’s entire body as he shoved past the reeds and balanced on the unstable silt and pebbles by the river, ignoring Brain shouting at him to stay away from the bank. 

“Hi, Pinky!” Chip waved, not noticing the glittering eye lurking several feet behind him. “You and Brain should come in and join me! The water’s great!”

“CHIP, GET OUT OF THERE RIGHT NOW!” Pinky bellowed. 

But Chip just stared at him blankly. 

The water bubbled under him. 

That was all the warning Chip had before an enormous, sharptoothed maw emerged from the murky water. Chip screamed, his eyes wide and fur puffed out in terror. 

“CHIP!” Pinky yelled. 

The fear in Pinky’s voice finally spurred Chip to flee the river. 

A massive crocodile lunged into the air, murky water splashing in every direction. Its sharp fangs glinted in the sunlight, and the ground quaked when it let out a tremendous bellow and charged directly for Chip. 

“Fly higher, Chip!” Pinky shrieked when he realized Chip was only skimming the river’s surface. 

“I can’t!” Chip wailed as he rushed towards the bank. “The water’s bogging down my wings!” 

Before Pinky could jump into the river to distract the crocodile, Chip crashed into him, unable to control his wings while the droplets clung to them. They lost their balance on the unsteady slope and tumbled to the ground, and Pinky found himself pinned underneath Chip. 

Pinky tried to pull himself free, but Chip barely budged. He was in too much shock from his near-death experience to move, his entire body trembling from fright and cold. The river water dripped off his fur, weighing him down and splashing onto Pinky. 

The crocodile bellowed triumphantly, its yellow eyes glinting in the sunlight as it hauled itself onto the bank. Pinky froze at the sight of his reflection in its slitted, narrow gaze. 

A large, purple snake loomed over Pinky, hissing cruelly while its forked tongue flickered between hooked fangs. Pinky couldn’t breathe, nor could he run away. He closed his eyes as he waited for the snake’s painful bite, knowing that this agony and terror was only the beginning….

“PINKY!” a familiar voice called his name, and Pinky’s vision of the scary serpent broke. A hand clamped down on his wrist and yanked him free from the weight on his back. 

Shocked by Brain’s sudden appearance, all Pinky could do was stare at his wrist where Brain had touched him. Tingles crawled up Pinky’s arm, and though he wanted to enjoy it, he knew he couldn’t get used to it. 

He would only hurt Brain if they got too comfortable. And not in the funny cartoonish way either. 

“Br-Brain, you really shouldn’t-” 

But Brain shoved him in the direction of a nearby tree that grew near the bank, its long branches extending to its fellow trees in the rainforest. 

“Don’t argue with me, Pinky! Take Chip and climb that tree over there!” Brain ordered before he rushed towards the crocodile, whose powerful jaws were parted in a toothy smirk, ready to devour Brain whole…

…until Brain hurled his compass into the crocodile’s maw, which snapped shut and scattered shards of clear and golden glass everywhere. 

The crocodile’s slitted eyes expanded to round black pupils as it roared in pain, glass still stuck in its bleeding gums as its entire body wildly thrashed. 

With the crocodile distracted, Brain hurried over to Chip and yanked him onto his feet. Chip stumbled and nearly fell over again, his fur still heavily waterlogged.

“Hurry before that apex predator recovers!” Brain urged them. 

Pinky and Chip quickly pushed past the tall grass and reeds in their blind dash for the tree, the pebble-filled soil tripping them multiple times, though their desire to not be a side character in a horror movie pushed them forward. 

Chip hopped over an enormous root, and though he couldn’t fly properly, his rapid wingbeats allowed him to scale the tree to safety first. 

He settled into the crook of a branch and hugged the trunk as he worriedly watched the mice from above.

Pinky hauled himself onto the root and grabbed hold of the trunk, which were full of little footholds and knobs to make his climb easier. He was halfway up the tree when Brain finally made it to the root. 

Brain was breathing heavily, struggling to run with the weight of his backpack. His pink eyes were wide and panicked as he glanced over his shoulder. 

The crocodile snarled, a shard of glass sticking out of its mouth as it glared at Brain, the distraction finally wearing off. 

Brain climbed over the root clumsily, dropping like a stone onto his stomach when he slipped off the top. 

Snarling, the crocodile caught up to Brain, its claws scoring deep marks into the root. A low rumble emanated from its throat as it advanced on Brain, who finally made it to the base of the trunk. 

“Come on! Climb up!” Chip shouted at Brain. His wings fluttered, but they were too bogged down with water for him to fly Brain out of harm’s way. 

Brain made a frightened noise as he tried to grab hold of the bark and haul himself up, but he could only manage short hops. His limbs were too short for him to reach the same handholds as Pinky and Chip. 

The crocodile stalked towards Brain, its powerful tail swishing in anticipation. 

Brain’s pupils shrank, his ears falling against his shoulders. He stopped clawing at the tree, his body even more rooted in place than the tree itself. 

“Brain!” Pinky called out, trying to snap him out of it, but Brain wasn’t responding to his or Chip’s screams. 

He’s not gonna make it on his own! The only one who can help him is…me. 

Even if he had to carry Brain up the tree himself. 

Pinky’s fingers curled into the bark, a vision of claws slicing through a fragile body flashing through his mind. 

But that thought vanished into thin air as Brain cowered against the tree, the crocodile’s approach slowing as if it wanted to draw out Brain’s terror.

Pinky quickly snapped off a nearby stick and leapt off the trunk, tumbling through the air and landing on the crocodile’s long, scaly snout. The crocodile reared back, hissing and thrashing as it tried to shake Pinky off. But Pinky clung on tightly, aimed the stick at the crocodile’s flared nostril, and jabbed the stick inside. 

The crocodile’s hiss turned into a deafening bellow, and Pinky leapt off the snout while it was distracted. But with the crocodile swinging its head in every direction, Pinky clumsily landed on his stomach. 

But he recovered quickly. Getting Brain to safety was more important than anything else. 

Springing to his feet, Pinky rushed towards Brain and secured him in the crook of his arm. Brain blinked, the fear in his eyes giving way to hesitant trust as his hands gripped Pinky’s fur. 

Pinky tried not to think about it too hard as he pushed himself off the ground and climbed with his feet, left hand, and tail. 

Brain gasped, his feet scrabbling for solid ground until he wrapped his legs around Pinky’s body and clung tightly. 

Pinky almost leapt out of skin in shock, and he was almost ready to take his chances with the crocodile instead of facing the likelihood of severely injuring his friend. 

But Brain was counting on him. And Pinky couldn’t just let him down. 

Just pretend you’re delivering a package to a squirrel. A really, really important package that you can’t drop no matter what. 

It was a long way to the low-hanging branch where Chip waited. 

Still, up was the only direction they could go to escape the crocodile. 

Pinky adjusted his grip on Brain as he climbed, his tail swishing from side to side to counterbalance Brain’s weight. 

The entire tree shook. Brain yelped, tucking his head under Pinky’s chin. The coconut husk was rough and scratchy, but that didn’t bother Pinky as much as the fear in Brain’s face or the crocodile bashing the tree with its head. 

“Hurry up before that monster brings down the whole tree!” Chip called from somewhere above their heads. 

Pinky’s right foot slipped, and for a scary moment, his foot dangled in the air before he was able to wrap his tail around a knot long enough to find another foothold. 

Brain squeaked, a noise Pinky rarely heard him make. He’d always said squeaking was undignified and unbefitting of a world ruler. 

It wasn’t just the crocodile or the great height that was causing Brain to react with fear that he couldn’t hide away like all of his other emotions.  

And Brain’s panic was starting to make Pinky feel nervous too. He couldn’t just let Brain be scared like this. Not when they were so close to safety. 

“We’re almost there, Brain. We’ll make it. You’ll see,” Pinky whispered to him. 

Brain took a deep, shuddering breath. His grip was still tight, but not overly clingy and desperate like before. 

With Brain somewhat calmer, Pinky looked for a nearby handhold, but there weren’t a lot of options. The nearest handhold was several feet away, and Pinky would have to make a leap of faith just to make it that far. 

He didn’t want to say anything to Brain yet. There was no need to make him panic all over again. 

Just when Pinky was about to take an enormous risk, a long, green vine dropped down next to him. 

“Grab on! I’ll pull you up!” Chip shouted. He’d tied the end of the vine around a branch and held onto the loose end. 

Pinky smiled and grabbed the vine, letting Chip do the rest of the work in hauling them to safety. The crocodile was just a large, dull green splotch on the ground now. It circled the base of the tree, but its claws weren’t made for climbing. 

The branch was large and thick enough for all three of them to stand on. 

With a quick nudge from Pinky, Brain slowly opened his eyes. He nearly toppled over once he saw how high they were, but once he saw Chip extending his hand for extra help, he quickly accepted the offer and pulled himself onto the branch. 

Once Brain’s feet were finally on steady ground, he grabbed the strap of Pinky’s backpack and hauled him up too. 

Chip was about to collapse from the strain of hauling them up, but Brain shoved him so he’d remain upright.  

“We aren’t out of the woods yet,” Brain said, pointing down to the circling crocodile. “We’ll travel above the ground until we put sufficient distance between us and that overgrown lizard.”

Chip gave him a confused look. “I thought we were heading into the woods.” 

“We don’t have time to teach you the intricacies of the English language,” Brain said. He took off his backpack and dug through it, though he couldn’t seem to find whatever he was looking for. “We need to…need to…” 

He pulled out the Earth Gem briefly and stared at it, as if willing it to glow and point the way to the Temple. But it never did, so he had no choice but to put it away. 

Brain slumped over his backpack. 

“Um…do you need a snack break?” Pinky asked awkwardly. 

He thought Brain had recovered from their near-death experience a little quickly. Usually he had to brood and sulk for a while until he was ready to make another world domination plan. 

“No,” Brain scowled and folded his arms. “I don’t need a snack break. I need my compass back. We can’t head due south without it.” 

Despite his annoyed tone, Brain rubbed his arm with uncertainty before rummaging through his backpack again. But it didn’t seem like he wasn’t coming up with anything that could replace the lost compass. 

“So how do we know which way is the right way? Or the left way? Or the way to the Temple if it’s not right or left?” Chip asked, running his hands down his face.

Not wanting Brain and Chip to drive themselves into total panic, Pinky quickly looked around for something they could use. Then he spotted a patch of moss on the side of the tree.   

“Hey, there’s moss here!” Pinky exclaimed. “We should go in the direction the moss doesn’t face!” 

“Why?” Chip asked. He was still a rookie when it came to the wilderness. 

“Moss grows on the north side of trees!” Pinky exclaimed. “And we’re supposed to be heading south to the Temple! So we should head away from the moss! Isn’t that right, Brain?” 

Brain stopped sorting through his backpack and glanced up at the sky. 

“The sun will set in that direction over there, towards the west,” Brain said, pointing to the sun’s current position in the sky. It was lower than when they’d left the Hurricane, and Pinky hid his hands behind his back, trying to focus on Brain’s words instead. “It lines up with the moss’s position. It’s not my preferred method of navigation, but we don’t have much of a choice.” 

He carefully avoided eye contact with Pinky. 

Nobody brought up the position of the sun, which now lay halfway between its peak and the lowest point of the horizon. 

Nobody had a way to tell the exact time. They’d left the cell phone behind in the Hurricane. It wouldn’t be helpful without wi-fi or a power outlet anyway.

All they could do was watch the sun and anticipate nightfall. 

“Hakuna matata,” Pinky whispered to himself, doing his best to not shrink in on himself.  

Brain finally straightened up and put on his backpack. He gave Pinky a concerned look, but quickly averted his gaze to the direction they needed to travel. 

“Let’s go. The sooner we lose that scaly behemoth, the better,” Brain announced as he moved to the end of the tapering branch. 

He tested its weight with its foot before making the short leap to the next tree. 

Brain seemed way too eager to move ahead, and Pinky didn’t think it was the Temple that was spurring him on. 

“Get over here, Chip! I require your flight abilities! And Pinky better be with you!” Brain called. He was just a tiny white speck among the enormous green leaves. 

Chip fluttered his wings, which had finally dried out enough for him to fly. He lifted himself off the branch and extended a hand to Pinky. 

“Want a ride?” he offered. 

That was nice of him, but Pinky folded his hands behind his back, unsure if he wanted anyone to touch him again so soon. 

He could touch his friends if they were in danger, but now that they were out of the crocodile’s reach…

Brain’s not saying anything. He didn’t want a monster to carry him to safety. 

Realizing Chip was still watching him, Pinky waved him off. 

“I-it’s nothing, zort. I can manage just fine,” Pinky said awkwardly. “I was just wondering…um, if you wanted to know the rest of the lyrics to Hakuna Matata!” 

Chip’s eyes sparkled. “There’s more?” 

Pinky leapt to the next branch. Maybe a good safari song was what they were missing. 

It would keep his mind off things for sure. And Chip wouldn’t ask too many questions Pinky didn’t want to answer. 

“Okay, Chip. Repeat after me,” Pinky said, clearing his throat. He snapped off a small twig with a leaf bud on the end to use as a microphone. “Hakuna matata, what a wonderful phrase!” 

o-o-o-o-o 

“-it’s our problem-freeeeeeee philosophyyyyyyy!” 

Chip picked up on the lyrics quickly even if he’d never heard the song before. Pinky joined in, belting the words at the top of his lungs. 

As long as they sang, the bad thoughts couldn’t get to them. 

Brain scowled and covered his ears, but since he was standing on a rather thin, whippy branch, he lost his balance and fell forward. 

“If both of you don’t cease your incessant racket right now, so help me I am going to hakuna both of your matatas,” he grumbled, trying to regain his footing. 

He hadn’t joined in with the song, even though it helped pass the time while they traveled south through the treetops. 

“You should sing something too, Brain!” Pinky suggested. “Chip’s never heard your lovely singing voice before.” 

“Absolutely not,” Brain snapped. “Your saccharine Disney musical numbers will only attract predators to our location and slow us down. We don’t have to be concerned about crocodiles up here, but there are still birds of prey, tree vipers, and opportunistic omnivores that make their home in the canopy.” 

Chip frowned. “Aw, don’t be like that Brain,” he said. “This song’s doing wonders for me! You should learn it sometime!”

But Brain only scowled at him. 

Chip dropped onto the branch next to Pinky and wilted under the intense glare. 

Brain broke off a sharp twig, slashing away at the thick maze of leaves in front of them. Chip shifted closer to Pinky while they waited for Brain to finish clearing the path. 

“Pinky?” he whispered, standing a little too close for Pinky’s comfort. 

Pinky moved away from him, though he tried his best to not be too obvious since Chip seemed a little troubled. 

“You okay, Chip?” Pinky asked. 

Chip made a so-so gesture with his hand. 

“Um…I guess? It’s just…I can’t really figure out Brain,” Chip said nervously. “It feels like we’re friends one minute, and the next we’re not. It’s a little confusing.” 

“Oh, you just need to speak his language,” Pinky suggested. Since Chip would be traveling with them for a while, it would be good for him and Brain to get along as friends. He knew Brain could be a little difficult sometimes, but Pinky knew how to break down his walls. “He always likes explaining stuff with big fancy words. You could try asking him to explain something you don’t understand.” 

Chip looked around at their surroundings, running his finger down an enormous broad leaf curiously. “These leaves are a lot bigger than the ones in Rome. I guess I’m a little curious about that?”  

He seemed unsure, but that sounded like a great starter question to Pinky. 

Pinky gave him a thumbs-up. “That’s perfect! Go on, Brain can tell you more!” 

Chip waited for Brain to finish clearing the leaves from their path, not wanting to be scratched by the sharp stick he was waving around. Brain didn’t seem to notice their conversation at all. He’d been super focused on clearing the way instead. 

“Hey, Brain! I’ve got a quick question for you!” Chip shouted, zipping over to Brain, who was trying to step over a small gap between trees. His sudden yell caused Brain to look up, right when his foot was over the gap. 

Startled, Brain tumbled off the branch with a yelp, his stick falling out of sight. Chip swooped down quickly and caught him by the tail, hauling him to the next tree with a hasty apology.  

“Sorry!” Chip bowed his head once a very irate Brain was safely back on the tree branch. “I’ll be more careful next time!” 

Brain dusted himself off, fists shaking with barely contained restraint. “You’d better be. For your own sake, I hope your question pertains to our mission.” 

Pinky cleared the gap between trees with ease, though he landed on a thinner branch than Brain and Chip had. But it was fun fun silly-willy to sway in the wind like a leaf, so he didn’t mind at all. 

“Just hear him out, Brain!” Pinky said, belly-crawling along the branch until he reached his friends. “I told him you’d be able to answer his question!” 

Brain sighed and rubbed his temple. “I should’ve known both of you would collaborate to ask the most inane question possible…” 

“Well, I guess it’s not really mission-related, but how come these leaves are so enormous? The plants in Rome never grew anywhere this big,” Chip asked. 

Just as Pinky predicted, Brain’s pink eyes lit up once he realized it was a question he definitely knew the answer to. And while Pinky didn’t understand everything Brain said, he loved hearing his voice anyway. And geeking out over science-y stuff always seemed to cheer Brain up too. 

“Plants and their leaves are naturally larger in tropical regions. There’s an abundance of rain and moisture to help them grow to impressive heights. But there’s also competition for sunlight, so plants require large leaves to absorb as much as they can,” Brain explained. He took hold of a leaf that was much bigger than all three of them combined and pointed to the long green lines that ran across the leaf. “Now, leaves contain a substance called chlorophyll, which makes plants appear green. The chlorophyll is contained in structures called chloroblasts, and they absorb sunlight and water. The sunlight is converted into glucose through photosynthesis, which provides food for the plant. And the water is stored within the central vacuole until the plant needs it. Then the water will exit through the cell wall and travel up the veins of the leaf, providing more sustenance when the plant requires it. Does that make sense?” 

Chip rubbed his arm, frowning even though he seemed to be trying really hard to understand Brain’s explanation. 

“I…um, still don’t really get it,” Chip admitted. 

Brain blinked at him before running a hand down his face, ears drooping when he realized Chip hadn’t understood much. 

“Perhaps we should stop wasting time then,” Brain said, sounding more frustrated at himself than anything. “You probably wouldn’t understand the process of cellular respiration and the nitrogen cycle anyway.” 

Chip chuckled awkwardly. “Heh. Yeah, I really wouldn’t…” 

This wasn’t how Pinky hoped the conversation would go. Brain and Chip didn’t share any common interests beyond saving the world, but Pinky really wanted them to have one. 

“Hakuna Matata,” Pinky whispered to himself. That was yet another worry he had to throw far away from here. 

Brain cleared his throat, eager to get past all the awkwardness and return to their goal. He pointed to a patch of moss growing in a crook between branches, then to a gnarled tree whose trunk bent at an odd angle. 

“Watch for any signs of a hidden Temple,” Brain reminded them. 

They marched through the greenery, listening to the buzzing of insects, distant grunts of animals below them, and loud birdsongs that echoed through the rainforest. Although Pinky found an odd pattern in the bark of a tree that bore an uncanny resemblance to Scarlet Johansson, and half of Chip’s fluffy tail got caught on a stubborn puddle of sap, nobody spotted anything that led to the Temple itself.

The rainforest quickly became dense as they ventured further in, the treetops blocking the graying sky above. Their pace was much slower than it had been before, since the tree branches were damp and wrapped in thick vines and sticky leaves. They had to watch their step, which was difficult when it was getting darker and darker by the minute. 

Pinky’s heart raced, and though he tried his hardest to find any unusual patterns, it was getting more difficult to focus while a sense of dread settled into his stomach.  

Don’t worry. The sun’s still there, he tried to assure himself. 

But he kept touching the tips of his nails, just to make sure they weren’t growing sharper. He didn’t feel the pain that came with his transformation yet, but not knowing when it would come only made it worse. 

He was lagging behind Brain and Chip, and apart from warning them of a beehive so they could avoid it, he hadn’t done much to be helpful. Chip was doing a great job of helping Brain cross gaps he’d normally have problems with, his wings providing a boost in more than one instance. 

I’ll have to climb down eventually. I’ll be too heavy for the trees soon. 

There could be all sorts of creatures creeping around on the rainforest floor, normal rainforest animals and Dark Gaia monsters alike. If he had to fight any of them…

I can’t control myself. I don’t know what I’m capable of, and I’m not sure I want to know. Just…try to put it out of mind. It’s getting harder to hakuna matata, but I’ve got to try. 

“-just comes on whenever it feels like it! But I swear I’m trying!” 

“Well, try harder!” 

“Can’t you use a flashlight?” 

“I’m not wasting our limited battery power when you have a source of light that doesn’t require lithium! The flashlights are for emergency use only!”

“And not being able to see more than ten feet in front of us isn’t an emergency?” 

Brain and Chip’s argument was becoming too heated for Pinky’s liking. He covered his ears, though it didn’t do much to block out their voices. 

They all needed to work together to find the Temple! Why couldn’t they see that? 

His breath came out in heavy pants, his vision blurring as the world spun around him. The dread he’d felt in his stomach exploded into a burning, throbbing sensation. His fingernails dug painfully into his head, and an invisible force yanked at his tail. 

“RAAAAAAAA!” he screamed, unable to say his best friend’s name through a mouthful of growing fangs even though his presence was the only thing he wanted right now.  

The argument stopped abruptly. 

Though the sound was muffled under Pinky’s cracking bones, he heard his name called with fear. He felt the vibrations of the branch under his paws as Brain tried to inch closer. 

Don’t! Pinky snarled, his paw swiping through the air so nobody got too close to him. His claws struck moss and bark, and somewhere overhead, Chip shouted a warning. 

The branch wobbled dangerously. The last thing he heard was a loud crack, and there was only air underneath his oversized paws. 

End AN:

In which Pinky learns that Hakuna Matata ain't all that's cracked to be, much like Simba takes Hakuna Matata as a means to run away from the trauma of losing his father in the movie.

This chapter also continues the theme of the main trio burying their worries and concerns without talking about them, which is soooo not gonna come back with a vengeance.

Pinky carries Brain up the tree in a reference to the episode This Old Mouse, where he saves Brain from the avalanche.

Brain finally gets a moment to be badass. It's short, but it counts. Because Chip and Pinky have all sorts of mysterious powers between them, Brain is purposely going to be the normal one of the group. He's sorta the Bruce Wayne of the story, the no special powers intelligent tactician who acts allergic to emotions.

I had to look up all that information about plants for Brain's smartypants explanation on how they work cause I forgot all my biology stuff.

[jellostories]

AJ the Very Whimsical, Ch. 27: Vacuum-Packed

It was only a quarter to 1:00, and AJ had already gotten herself neck-deep in trouble. It was all thanks to her mother's vacuum cleaner, a phone call, disobedience, and poor impulse control.

For context: Like everything else they owned, the Arquettes' vacuum cleaner was old, worn down, and definitely from a thrift store. Twist often joked that it had probably been a decent vacuum in a previous life, and there was a 97% chance she wasn't wrong. The hose had several holes covered with swan tape, one of the wheels on the tank had fallen off, and several stickers spelling out the manufacturer's name had peeled off. Instead of "STUCKMANN APPLIANCES," it read "S _ UCK ____ APPL ____ ES." To top it off, it made a weird wheezing noise whenever it sucked up anything larger than a cockroach.

Finally, one cloudy August morning, Blaze decided she'd had enough of this Stuckmann Dust Army Tank. She announced she was going to write the manufacturer a strongly worded letter and read it live over the headphone. Blaze marched into her bedroom, where the computer was, snickering like a teenage prankster. AJ was left in the TV room with the offending vacuum, which she eyed curiously. For some reason, Blaze hadn't put vacuuming on AJ's chore list. She watered the plants on Mondays, dumped the trash on Tuesdays, cleaned the bathroom on Wednesdays, dusted the furniture on Thursdays, did the dishes on Fridays, and vacuumed the house on Never-days. Blaze's reason? "It's too dangerous, Crumpet." This left AJ with a burning desire to at least hold the vacuum, just to see what it was like. Even when AJ made a small mess on the floor, Blaze still refused to let her use the Dust Tank. But now that Blaze was distracted, AJ thought with a sneaky smirk, maybe it was time to take this patched-up vacuum for a spin.

The silly girl snuck towards the Dust Tank, glancing at the staircase, worried that Blaze would burst out of her bedroom and come storming back into the TV room. Thankfully, Blaze didn't, and AJ reached the Tank. She flipped the switch, making it roar (and wheeze) to life, sucking up every dust particle in the area.

"Let's see," AJ scoffed, feeling a bit cocky, "this thing works just like a regular vacuum! What was Mommy so worried about?"

Just then, the Dust Tank coughed and began sucking things up with greater ferocity. It gobbled up the crayons AJ had left on the coffee table, a few videotapes from the cabinet, some socks Blaze had dropped in front of the laundry room door, logs from the firewood rack – all of it went straight into the vacuum's hose and tank, which grew accordingly.

"Sacrebleu!" AJ cried. "How big is this thing!?"

Panic tightened its grip around AJ's throat with every item the Dust Tank sucked up. She had to do something!

AJ leaned over the vacuum's hose and squinted at the power switch. There were four modes, which she read as: "FFO," "WOL," "HGIH," and "REPUS HGIH". Figuring she'd just wing it, AJ flipped the switch from WOL to REPUS HGIH. The vacuum's power increased tenfold, and it began sucking up the furniture. First, it took the grandfather clock Blaze had inherited from her great-great-grandparents, then the coffee table, the shoebox in the entryway, and finally, it turned its hose on AJ.

“Oh, merde," AJ thought worriedly as the vacuum began sucking her up, head-first. "There go my dreams of becoming a famous fashion designer and finally kissing a boy…"

~~~~

A few minutes later, Blaze exited her bedroom and walked down the staircase, a smug look on her face and three pages of angry words in her hands. Haha, oui! As soon as she was done reading this to customer service, Stuckmann Appliances would taste the full wrath of Angel "Blaze" Arquette, Sr.! But first, she had to experience a bit of that wrath herself. As soon as her feet touched the TV room, the Dust Tank exploded with a mighty BOOM, sending everything it had sucked up flying across the room in a dusty heap. AJ landed on top of her mother, dazed, exhausted, and covered in dust, but otherwise fine. Normally, Blaze would've been glad to see her daughter unharmed, but this time, she looked rather cross.

"Oh, uh, hi, Mommy!" AJ said nervously, noticing her mother's expression. "I was just, uh, you know – dusting out the riffraff!" she chuckled weakly.

Blaze's emerald-green eyes narrowed into slits. "Did you seriously think that lame pun was going to get you out of trouble?"

AJ sighed. "Oui, it really did suck, didn't it?"

Blaze quickly hid a chuckle.

[talesoftattonwiltswoe]

Tate and The Magic Book

The door to the bookbindery slammed open. A sheet of dust jumped on the nearest shelves before slowly resettling on the rows of aged books. Loud footsteps stormed in, but the shopkeeper remained unalarmed. He raised his crinkled eyes from the tome that nearly swallowed him and gave a knowing, perhaps amused, look at the waist-high pile of leather with legs that scurried over to the counter.

“ ‘Liveries! ‘Liveries for Tern! Sorry, Misser Tern, sir.” The pounds of leather sheets plopped on the counter. Turner Hemsgrove cast a critical eye on the leathers and then peered over them, seeing exactly what he expected: a gap-toothed boy no older than 6, with a mop of flaxen hair ruffled by wind and plump cheeks red from running, balancing on his feet into his best curtsey.

“It’s Mister Hemsgrove. And tell Har I send my regards.” The man quipped, eloquence in every syllable, his frizzed hair meticulously combed into a relentless bun. He gave the boy a tight-lipped grin and settled back in his seat, tipping his chin back as he resumed reading. “Tell him to deliver these himself next time. You’ve no business running around in this heat, Tate.”

The boys chubby fingers wrapped around the edge of the counter, pulling himself as tall as he could. He mimicked the shopkeeper by tilting his chin back, his big black eyes peering around to take in the sights.

“N’cle Har’s got a bum leg!” The boy chipped with a small hop, like it was the most exciting news in the world. Turner frowned.

“He has a bad leg. And that’s still no excuse.”

“ E’cuse.” He murmured under his breath with furrowed brows, “E’cuse.” The boy frowned at Tern in earnest. “Wa’s tha’ mean?”

“An excuse is something someone says to avoid doing something.”

“Like bringin’ leathers???”

“Precisely.”

“But I like me bringin’ leathers! You got- you got me muffins, red berry muffins!”

“I gave you muffins, once, but you’ve no business eating sweets with your cheeks all red.” He shut the book with a sigh and rose, his worn boots shuffling over the floor, “Aye, let me get you some water.”

“Aye, misser, sir!” Tate chirped, and when the man rose and shuffled into the next room, the boy slipped behind the counter and ambled onto the wooden stool. The book on the table felt as big as he was. He examined the cover with dark eyes, wide with wonder. The mahogany leather wove together so exquisitely around the cream pressed paper. Was that what Mister Turner did with the leathers he delivered? Mister Turner was a king, then, no, one of the wizards he heard about! He was so great.

Tate tucked his hands into his knees and swung his legs, looking around the store. The dark wood made the already small shop feel cramped, but the windows flooded the shelves with light in golden slits. The tiny boots that reach his scraped knees clicked each time they hit the stool. Tate hummed, but stopped suddenly. The closed book was really fascinating all of a sudden. Tatton’s manners and personal set of morals reprimanded him. It wasn’t his book to touch. But… He threw his head to the side in thought and his mop of hair fell over his face. One peek couldn’t hurt. Maybe it had pictures. He liked pictures.

He slid his fingers under the cover and carefully cracked it open. He let out a ‘waaaaaa,’ as he examined the cream paper etched with the most beautiful script he’d ever seen. Tate didn’t know how to read, so all he saw were strange symbols. But… these were very strange symbols. Dragons of ink spiraled on the page in mesmerizing patterns and when his eyes traced the lines he felt something fluttering in his chest, something soaring, something triumphant. He was a kite flying in the wind, left to soar on the highest winds to far, far distant lands. He had never felt so strangely, inexplicably… free. His heart sped up in excitement and he almost ripped the page when he turned it. But when he looked at these lines, he felt really sad all of a sudden. An aching, hollow sadness knawed in his chest, a grief he had never felt and was too young to comprehend. The kite was suddenly cut and had fallen, farther, farther down, slowly sinking in deep and filthy waters. Something dark and twisted lurked beneath it, reaching towards it….

Tears started pricking his eyes and next thing Tatton knew, he was bawling and Turner was towering over him with a scowl of confusion. The man slammed the book closed and slid it away from Tate, “You don’t touch things without askin,’ ya hear?“ The man bellowed, his eloquence lost in his anger. But his anger was replaced with pity when he saw the boy whimpering, his dark eyes glassy and red.

“Thas’ a… thas’ a sad book!” Tate wailed, balling his fists, “A real, real sad b-b-book!”

Turner’s alarm morphed into confusion, “How do you know that?”

Poor Tate however, was inconsolable and would give no answers. Well, at least until Turner gave him a couple of his wife’s famed red-berry muffins. When the boy was finally quiet, the shopkeeper took a seat across from him, watching him carefully,

“What made you cry, boy?”

Tate, finally quiet, looked down and swung his legs on the stool, “Tha’ book.” He mumbled, “It maked me sad. I’m sorries for peekin’.”

“You shouldn’t have looked at it, but never mind that. How? How did you know it was sad?“

“I jus’ saw it and fel’ sad.”

“But how? Could you read that script? Did you understa-“

“I wanna see i’ ‘gain.” Tate interrupted, and when he looked up at the man his eyes flamed with determination.

Turner’s confusion multiplied, but now he gave an amused laugh. “I thought it was a sad book? It made you cry, why would you want to see it again? You want more muffins from me, is that it?”

“Ye, muffins… No,” Tate shook his head fiercely, “Tha’ book. S’not all sad. Is really… ‘appy too. More ‘appy than eatin’ red berry muffins! Like flyin’, like whoosh! and shoo! Like birbs o’er trees!!!” He threw his arms in the air and grinned, red jam all over his cheeks, his eyes sparkling. “Wha’ book’s it?”

Turner stayed stoic, quiet and contemplative. He scratched his beard and frowned, “It’s a magic book. A very, very magic book.” Tate’s dark eyes glittered, but the shopkeeper raised his hand as if to shut down the boy’s hopes, “It’s a dangerous and serious book, at least, from what I’ve deciphered from it.” Turner cracked the book open once more and eyed the script within with furrowed brows, “Even I don’t understand it all. It’s not for children. It’s not for most people, really.”

“Why nah’?”

“Most townsfolk here in Bree don’t believe what it says. They say it’s folly. Just myths and legends. What a person can’t appreciate, they can’t understand. Such knowledge is wasted on them, understand?”

Tate pouted and shook his head, his flaxen hair bouncing on his shoulders.

The shopkeeper sighed, realizing indeed, Tate was just a boy. He pulled the book closer to himself, though Tate's eyes were glued to the pages, “Even if I’d let you read it, you’d need to learn the script, then learn the words, and only after that, then you’d realize just how incredibly depressing the whole story is and give up reading it. No, it’s not for you.”

“Tha’s a- a e’cuse!” Tate's brows furrowed angrily, and the man couldn’t help but laugh, which only made Tate more annoyed. “I can wead, look, t’is par’s sad. T’is par’s ‘appy.” Tate refuted, nearly tipping over his stool as he reached and pointed at different sections of the script, “An’ t’is par’ maked me mad.”

Turner examined the sections stoically and sure enough, Tate was attaching the correct emotions to the correct sections, without knowing their meaning. Perhaps it was part of the magic of Sindarin, this ability to transfer emotion without filtering it through analysis or thought. Maybe it’s effects were more pronounced on children, who had more sensitivity to magic, or perhaps just stronger imagination. Still, it was a mystery that would slowly burn in Turner until he understood it. He scrutinized the boy, who in turn, stared at him with an intensity that could have burned holes in his eyes.

“I wanna see tha’ book, Misser- no, Mister, sir. I brings you…” Tatton blurred out, undaunted, “Boots! Shiny boots! An a…” He furrowed his brows, concentrating hard on the word, “Doscoun’, no… discount. The wor’s discount.” He overemphasized the ‘t’ and his teeth looked more gapped when he did.

Turner glanced at his own boots, horribly frayed and worn through the soles. The offer was clearly tempting. He scratched his beard in thought, but after a moment he shook his head. “It’s too much for you, Tate. Maybe when you’re older. Now get back home to Har and Bessa before it gets dark.” The man took the book and tucked it under his arm before disappearing through the curtain to the back, his voice vanishing with him. “Stories can be dangerous, you know?”

But when Tate trotted back home, wiping the jam off his cheeks with his sleeve, all he remembered Mister Turner saying was, “Maybe.” Tatton lifted his chin and stomped down the dirt road with stone-serious determination. He’d see that book again. He had too. It was too magical to ignore and something about it felt extremely important to him, like a quest weighed on his shoulders until he read it. Perhaps the hope of ‘maybe’ was even more dangerous than that book was.

[thenten]

Ben wasn't a(n complete) idiot, he'd known full well Humungousaur was the most charitable matchup he could've given her short of Walkatrout. He's big and slow, she's small and fast, he had no expectations his big showy attack at the start would hit. It was more or less just meant as part of the announcement.

He was (ironically) out to humble a tyrant, and with what he'd seen from her so far, he'd been confident he could still take on even with the handicap. Problem being this wasn't the same tyrant.

He could see it even from as great a distance as he'd now been, the shift in demeanor followed by that burst of energy even he could feel, all coming to a head when what had been the same moment his seismic attack had made it's way to her, she was suddenly right in front of him- giant eye widening as it met hers, briefly.

Proceeded by the most cacophonous burst of continuous blows about the Vaxasaurian's body Ben thinks he's ever felt as Humungosaur, arms focusing cover around his head and neck to guard best against the storm he'd find himself in.

"Grandpa Max always warned me about showboating, dammit..." He cursed under his breath. Something was wrong, and it wasn't just that he was getting his butt kicked. This was too sudden of a leap from what she'd been doing before, no transformation or powerup in sight to trigger it- like she'd just thrown any conservation to the wind.

It wasn't an unheard-of response to his big transformations, but in those cases, it was out of fear or frustration, and he'd gotten a good enough look to know it was definitely neither of those.

He didn't have time to think any more on it, he needed to find a way to survive this and fast. Transformation was a no-go since he'd decided to show her exactly how it's done like the genius he is, and she had every angle of stopping him if he even thought about it.

Gradually, the gargantuan alien would just start flailing it's arms and stomping the ground blindly, as if he'd resorted to praying on a lucky hit... that what he hoped it would look like, at least, as he did his best to distract from the sheer amount of dust he was kicking up while he was being bombarded, cloud building up to his knees.

Timing her painful strikes as he'd done before, he'd wait until he was sure she was coming at him from behind again... and, as quickly as the biology would allow, rapidly shrink- descending downwards and out of the way of the hit as he did the one thing Vaxasaurians could actually do fast, disappearing into the concealing dust cloud he'd created with his blind tantrum prior.

Returning to size just as quickly, erupting back from the cloud, having used that momentary disruption and concealment to give his arms a necessary headstart on swinging- not so much towards the hedgehog, as much as they were slamming towards each other.

"Get lost." The line would be said just before being instantly deafened by the sound of the thunder-clap his palms would produce, a with enough force to shatter each of the pillars that had surrounded him (along with ever window & wall within a mile) to pieces and send them, and very hopefully their creator, flying the next town over.

Even if, at this rate, the best it'd buy him was a few moments.

Icy blue eyes stare at the transformation, taking direct note that the emblem prominently on display was indeed what had been used to cause it. So that was how it happened, huh? That was what caused this person to transform into different species.

Something like that has to have a lot of power behind it.

Crystal couldn't help that, instead of looking the least bit intimidated when it came time for Ben to stare at her, she didn't show an ounce of fear. No faux shock, awe, nor horror displaying on that face of hers.

She was s m i l i n g.

A grin full of so much elated mania it looked like it hurt. Something was clearly wrong, here, that much was clear. Crystal couldn't help the giddiness she felt at having the situation turn so heavily into her favor that it had become something she could truly have fun with.

Because, after all, if that thing had as much power as she thought it did? That meant she didn't have to bother conserving her energy for this fight. She could really let loose against this menace and remind the public why they're beneath her heel.

Even as that gargantuan alien grew all the more, all the Scourge would do is drop low. Claws digging into the ground as one leg braced and another slid back against jutting crystal. A sprinter's start. If one were observant, they could even see that the cascading green energy had turned her eyes a brilliant emerald hue.

Ground shook from the impact, debris hurtling into the sky and down upon her. Even as brain was alight, causing her surroundings to drag slower by the moment in her eyes. No longer bothering slowing her perception down as she rocketed off at such a speed the erupting BOOM sounded long after she'd taken off. It was like watching a green bolt of lightning, one that bounced off debris like they were mere footholds to guide her closer.

Flitting this way and that as anywhere that crackling power stayed for a moment caused the debris to be launched away from the force. Some of which even being fired back in Humongousaur's direction. Crystals buffeting down as the monster had gone from a fair distance away to completely filling the vision of one of the alien's eyes with her unhinged expression of malicious glee.

A sudden boom, as she's rocketing downwards before there's time to react to the appearance, and then past. The crystals that had been fired erupting into jagged pillars that the hedgehog bounced off of. In seconds, Crystal was ricocheting from them to hammer spindashing blows across the alien's form. Specifically aiming for things like joints as harsh blows slam to the back of his knees.

Something had set Crystal off and turned this from a simple grudge match to a manic massacre.

[rosiehunterwolf]

rainy days

Prompts: Storm

Word Count: 10,561 (i KNOW i'm sorry)

Characters: Jay, Nya, and Lloyd

Timeline: Snapshots throughout the series

Trigger Warnings: Brief mentions of nightmares, brief PTSD, Grief/Mourning

Summary: There are many reasons why people may dislike storms. Maybe, like Kai, they find few things worse than being cold and wet. Or maybe, they dislike the eerie sounds of the whistling wind and booming thunder, like Cole. Or maybe, like Zane, they are concerned about the safety hazards. But for the other three members of the ninja team, storms offer a much more pleasant experience.

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Jay should have been sleeping.

He didn’t know what time it was, but it was late. The rest of his team had gone to sleep hours ago. He could tell by the sounds of their breath- Zane’s clear and even, Kai’s with a rougher edge that came from years of breathing in smoke at the forge, and Cole’s deep with a light snore to it.

The sounds brought him comfort, and Jay felt the tension in his shoulders from hunting down Serpentine all day ease up. It was funny, how, less than a year ago, he had slept in a trailer home in the middle of the desert, no one but his parents for miles around, and even then he had slept in his own room. But now, he was crammed in a small bedroom on the Destiny’s Bounty with three other teenage boys, and he couldn’t imagine life any other way.

Although, that life also included waking up early every morning and spending the better part of the day training and hunting Serpentine, meaning one ought to get a full night’s rest.

It wasn’t that Jay didn’t want to sleep. It had been a long day, and he was tired.

But he couldn’t. It was one of those nights where the wind whistled in the trees and the rain pattered against the windows. There was a dull ache in his left shoulder, the one that usually alluded to-

A flash of light illuminated the room, casting long shadows across the wall for an instant before it grew dark again.

Jay smiled. Lightning storm. Never failed.

Now he was even more awake though, the hair along his arm standing up. He sighed, pushing himself into a sitting position and dangling his feet over the edge of the bed. Groaning, he rolled his shoulders, and they popped. Making his way over to the ladder, he climbed down and tiptoed across the room, easing the door of their room shut behind him.

Thunder rumbled from outside, and as Jay reached a window, lightning lit up the dark ship again. He smiled, feeling excitement bubble in his chest. Storms had always given him an odd elation- although he guessed it wasn’t so weird now, knowing he was the Master of Lightning.

Not that he had succeeded in summoning any lightning without the Golden Nunchucks yet, but the point still stood. This was his element. This was where he was meant to be.

Peering out the window, he saw the rain looked to be fairly light, and decided to go outside. I’m already awake, why not?

As he walked down the hallway towards the doors leading out to the deck, he paused as voices filtered towards him. Curiously, he stepped forward, and froze at the sight of two figures.

Nya had a bath towel in her hands, wrapping it around Lloyd as she tried to dry him off. The kid was scowling, attempting to pull away from her and grumbling something about buzzkills.

“What are you guys doing up so late?”

“Jay!” Nya jumped, dropping the towel and giving Lloyd the opportunity to slip out of her grasp. “You scared me.”

“Sorry. I couldn’t sleep, ‘cause of the…” he waved his hand at the window, “‘cause of the storm.”

She smiled. “Me neither. And apparently,” she added with a grimace, “not this little guy either. Found him standing out in the rain looking like a drowned rat.”

“I did not look like a rat!” Lloyd insisted, stomping his foot.

“Oh, so the drowned part was right then?” Jay snickered. Lloyd shot him a hot glare, and Jay held up his hands. “Geez kid, I’m just joking.”

Lloyd huffed, crossing his arms over his chest. “I just wanted to be out in the storm. I like watching them.”

“I get that,” Jay told him. “I love watching the storms too. Especially when there’s some killer lightning bolts. I’ve got some great lightning pictures I’ll have to show you sometime.”

Lloyd’s eyes lit up. “Really?”

“He can show you tomorrow,” Nya insisted. “It’s two am, and it’s way past your bedtime.”

Jay winced. Geez, he really was going to be tired tomorrow morning, wasn’t he?

“But I didn’t even get to see the storm!” Lloyd whined. Turning to Jay, he added, “You’ll let me watch it with you, won’t you?”

Jay laughed nervously. Great, now the kid was trying to rope him into this to gain an advantage on Nya. No thanks.

…He did have a point, though. From the sounds of it, this was a big storm, and Jay wasn’t going to be able to fall asleep until it passed.

Nya must’ve guessed what he was thinking, because she sighed loudly. “I’ll let you stay up for half an hour more if you watch it from inside.”

“It’s not the same!” Jay and Lloyd burst out at the same time, then froze, glancing at each other. Jay broke into laughter at the look on the kid’s face, and, after a moment, Lloyd tentatively joined in too.

“C’mon, Nya, I’ll be with him. The Bounty is mostly sheltered, anyway. We’re not even flying! Let him out for a little while.”

Nya glared at him. “I don’t know how you talk me into these things.”

“Alright!” Jay whooped, high-fiving Lloyd.

“If he comes down with a cold, I am never forgiving you,” Nya muttered, reaching for her rain poncho. She handed Lloyd a spare one of theirs. “At least wear this.”

Lloyd wrinkled his nose at her, and she crossed her arms over her chest. “Wear it, or don’t go at all.”

Lloyd sighed, slipping it on, and Jay had to bite back a laugh. The poncho was much too big on him, coming down to his ankles like some sort of strange dress. Lloyd didn’t look very happy about it though, so Jay refrained from the teasing.

As the three of them trekked out onto the deck, gentle rainfall pattered across their ponchos, and Jay immediately felt himself relax, the stiffness in his shoulders easing. Lloyd perked up too, skipping over to the railing to peer over the side, trying to spot lightning in the distance. Even Nya began to smile, tilting her face up towards the rain.

“See?” Jay teased, elbowing her. “You like it too!”

“I like the rain,” she told him. “It doesn’t mean I have the sense to stand out in the middle of a thunderstorm.”

“I told you, we’ll be fine! It’s perfectly safe here! Stop being such a grouch and come on!” Hooking her by the elbow, he pulled her over to where Lloyd was standing at the railing.

“See any cool bolts, Lloydster?” Jay asked, leaning his elbows on the railing next to him.

Lloyd narrowed his eyes. “Not yet.”

“Well, keep looking. It’s when you’re not watching carefully that you miss all the cool ones.”

Lloyd’s eyebrows furrowed as he squinted at the sky, almost as if he was commanding it to do something. Jay laughed. “You have to be patient, Lloyd.”

“Lloyd doesn’t know what that is,” Nya snorted.

Lloyd bristled at that. “Hey!” he snapped as Jay burst into laughter. He elbowed Nya, hard, and she flinched back with a whine.

“Ow! Kid, that hurt!”

“Hey, don’t think just because I’m smaller than you, I’m not strong!”

“Duly noted,” Nya muttered, rubbing her side.

Lightning crackled down not too far off, leaping across the sky in spindly strands, the flash blazing across the sky. Lloyd’s eyes widened, but he didn’t flinch, not even as thunder boomed loudly, practically shaking the Bounty.

“Never seen a big storm like this, bud?” he asked, grinning up in awe at the light blazing in the sky.

“We weren’t allowed to go out without permission at Darkley’s. And the teachers never let us go at night. Some of the older boys snuck out anyway, but they never let me come with them.” Lloyd sighed, resting his chin on his hands. “I missed all the best storms.”

“Well, you’re in luck, bud, because I come out here to watch storms all the time! And you can join me anytime!” Nya shot him a look, and he quickly amended, “Well, before a reasonable hour, at least. This is a special occasion.”

Lloyd had an odd look on his face, but he smiled tentatively. “Thanks, Jay.”

“You’re pretty brave, out here in the storm like this. When I was your age, I remember always running to Kai’s room every time there was a storm.” She smiled, but her eyes were sad as she gazed off into the distance.

Lloyd shrugged. “I dunno, some of the other young kids at Darkley’s were scared of storms and tried to hide it… but I don’t think that’s me. I’ve never been afraid of them. I can’t really explain it, I just feel a connection.”

Something odd tingled in Jay’s chest, and he sensed a spark coming from the boy, a warm glow, like a soft, green-

Jay blinked, and the sensation passed. He must’ve just been imagining things again. Maybe it was his supposed “elemental powers” reacting to the storm. Jay didn’t understand what the point of feeling them was if he still couldn’t use them without his Golden Weapon.

“It’s dumb,” Lloyd muttered, kicking the ground sullenly.

“Hey, it’s not! I feel some sort of pull to the storm too!” Jay assured him.

“But you’re the Elemental Master of Lightning! That makes sense for you.”

“What about Nya?”

Lloyd turned to look at her, gaze questioning. “You feel it too?”

Nya closed her eyes. “The rain- it calms me. It patters across my skin, wiping all my thoughts and worries away, leaving just me and the storm, the gentle rumbles of thunder filling my mind.”

Lloyd smiled shyly at her. “You do get it.”

“I never thought it was an elemental thing, anyway,” Jay told him. “I’ve always felt this way- long before I found out I was an elemental master. Granted, we didn’t get many thunderstorms in the middle of the desert, more dust storms than anything… but when we did, it always felt special. Every time it stormed, I would always run to sit on the steps of our trailer- my mom wouldn’t let me go any further- and watch the lightning. I had a notebook, where I would sketch it, and once I got a little older my mom got me a camera and I started taking pictures. By the time I was seven, I could name pretty much every type of lightning formation and storm there was.”

Nya smiled. “I remember being pretty intrigued as well. Like I said, when I was young I was scared, but after a little while I realized that the things I feared were the things I didn’t understand. I checked out like, pretty much every book from the library on storms. And I made those little raincatcher things to measure rainfall, and placed them all over the place whenever we travelled to the city. Kai got annoyed whenever I dragged him all the way down there again the next day to check them all. He never understood my “experiments.” I mean, technically it was more of an analytical study, but… tell that to him.”

Lloyd looked out at the storm again as another lightning bolt flashed. “I wish someone had taken me out to see the storms when I was little.”

Nya elbowed him lightly. “You’re still little, silly.”

Lloyd puffed out his chest. “Am not! I’m getting taller and taller every day, and-”

“Okay, okay,” Nya laughed. “Cool it, big shot.”

Shortstack, Jay mouthed above his head, but apparently Lloyd still caught it, he realized quickly, as he was delivered a kick to the shin.

“Ow,” Jay whined. “Will you stop doing that? It’s a good thing you’re not a ninja, sheesh, or you’d be pummeling all our enemies before we could even get them to speak.”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about, I’d be a great ninja!”

“Let’s not put that idea into his head,” Nya said hastily. “What I was trying to say was, your childhood isn’t over yet, Lloyd. We can take you out to see storms now.”

“Really?” He perked. “Like, all the time?”

“Well…” Nya hesitated. “A good night’s sleep is important. But it’s okay to stay up late once in a while.”

“Aww, I’m gonna get to watch so many cool storms from here! It’s a way better view than my tiny window back at Darkley’s. Or trapped in the Serpentine tombs, I couldn’t even see the sky then. Or when I was alone in the city streets-”

Nya and Jay exchanged a glance of horror. Jay swallowed. “Hey, um, Lloyd, maybe now isn’t the best time to discuss, uh… childhood trauma?”

Nya facepalmed, and Jay shot her a glare. Like you can do better. Sure, he knew he had all the tact of Kai high on Venomari venom, but what else was he supposed to say? ‘Sorry your childhood sucked so bad?’ Somehow, he didn’t think Lloyd would appreciate that.

Lloyd didn’t seem to be listening to them anyway, still babbling on even after Jay and Nya finished their intense glaring match. “D’you think Kai would like to watch the storm with us?”

Jay snorted. “Hard no, bud.”

Nya grinned. “He hates getting wet, Lloyd. You couldn’t lure him out here with the green ninja gi itself.” She paused. “Well, maybe you could with that. But not with anything else! He wouldn’t like it. And he would complain about it until you wanted to chop your ears off.”

“The others aren’t too big on storms,” Jay told him. “Kai’s a hydrophobe, Zane would just spend all his time harping about ‘safety’ and ‘taking proper shelter’ during a storm, and Cole complains that they’re too loud and throw off his focus, although- and you didn’t hear this from me- I think he’s just a big ‘fraidy cat.”

“In short, they think we’re weirdos. It’s their loss though, they’re missing all the cool views from out here.” She waved her hand at the sky as a barrage of lightning bolts showered down across the horizon, paling the sky as Lloyd gasped in amazement.

“Oh, that’s a sweet one!” Jay whooped, raising his phone and snapping a picture with it.

Nya eyed him. “Jay, if you keep that out in the rain, you’re going to end up wrecking it.”

“If I put it in my pocket I might miss all the cool pictures!”

Nya rolled her eyes. “Okay, but I’m not buying you a new one.”

“Can you show me all your lightning pictures when we go back inside, Jay?” Lloyd asked, dangling his arms over the edge of the railing.

“Can I? Oh man, I’ve got hundreds in there to show you-”

Nya cleared her throat, and Jay glanced down at the time on his phone. 3:12? Had they really been out here for over an hour already? He grinned sheepishly at Lloyd. “Maybe just a couple photos tonight. We can look at more tomorrow.”

“Alright, but you hafta promise to show me all the good-” Lloyd broke off in a big yawn, revealing his small, gleaming fangs, and Nya smiled softly at him.

“Think that’s our signal for bed, kid.”

“No! No, I’m not tired at all-” Lloyd slapped his hand over his mouth before he could yawn again.

“Hey, we let you stay up way past your bedtime, mister. You don’t get to complain now.”

“But I’m gonna miss the storm,” Lloyd whined, although he let Nya drag him back towards the doors by the arm.

“The storm’s beginning to pass now, anyway,” Jay assured, stretching a hand out as the raindrops began to lighten. “It’ll be back though, eventually.”

Lloyd grinned at him. “And we’ll be ready to watch it?”

“That we will, bud.” Jay reached forward, ruffling Lloyd’s hair. “That we will.”

---

After long days of stifling, dry heat, the evening rain came as a relief to everyone. Lloyd sat on the roof of the Brookstone residence, watching and feeling the rain pour down. He hoped Mr. Brookstone wouldn’t mind him sitting up here, he had been kind enough to let them stay with him until the repairs to the Destiny’s Bounty were complete, and Lloyd didn’t want to overstep his boundaries.

Lloyd felt like this cool summer storm was just what the city needed, not only because of the dryness, but because of the darkness that had scoured the streets here only nights before. The Overlord was gone- he had made sure of it- but he couldn’t shake the feeling of grime left in the city, and hoped the rain would be enough to cleanse it.

“We thought we’d find you up here.”

Lloyd glanced behind him to see Jay and Nya gingerly picking their way across the rooftop behind him, before plopping down into a sitting position beside him.

“See any cool lightning?” Jay asked.

“Not yet. All I’ve heard is a little thunder. It seems to be mostly rain.”

“Good,” Nya sighed, turning her face up to the sky as rivulets streamed down her face. “We need it.”

“How you doing, bud?”

It took Lloyd a moment to process that Jay was talking to him, and he turned to him, blinking. “What?”

Jay grinned. “Y’know, great and mighty ‘Master of Gold’ and all that- or have you already gotten over that? Too insignificant for you?”

“It’s ‘Golden Ninja,’ not ‘Master of Gold,’” Lloyd grumbled.

“Yeah, whatever. How you doin’? You just fought like, the biggest battle of your life a few days ago. You can’t tell me you’re not at least a little tired.”

“Speaking of which,” Nya frowned, tapping lightly at his bandaged leg, “You’re still supposed to be resting that for another two weeks. You shouldn’t be climbing up here. Or letting the cast sit out in the rain.”

“Here.” Jay pulled off his jacket, tossing it over Lloyd’s cast to keep it dry. “That’ll help. That way, you can stay out here for a little longer.”

Lloyd shot him a weak smile. “Thanks, Jay.”

Jay didn’t return it, watching him carefully. “You sure you’re okay?”

Lloyd lowered his head. “I’m fine. It’s just a lot to take in.”

“Sure is,” Jay whistled, rubbing at the gold silk of Lloyd’s gi. “It seems like just yesterday you were a little bratty, messy haired kid we were dragging, kicking and screaming, onto our ship.”

Lloyd rested his chin in his hands. “Feels both like yesterday, and a million years ago. So much has changed since then. I feel like a completely different Lloyd, now.”

“One thing hasn’t though.”

He looked up at Nya. “What’s that?”

“You’re still our heart-of-gold little brother.” She slung an arm around his shoulder. “Nothing, not some prophecy, not the tea, not the Overlord, not even your special, shiny new powers are going to change that. Ever.”

“I know,” he whispered, leaning into her. He felt Jay wrap a hand around his other side, and, for a moment, just let himself be held.

“We’re proud of you,” Nya murmured after a moment. “I know it hasn’t been easy getting this far, but now, thanks to you, all of Ninjago is safe.”

He leaned back slightly, elbowing both of them. “Yeah, well I couldn’t have done any of it without you guys.”

“You big sap,” Jay laughed, ruffling his hair.

Lloyd felt a grin split his face, shoving Jay’s hand off. “Well, it’s true! If it weren’t for you guys, I’d probably be in Pythor’s stomach right now.”

Nya choked a laugh. “Thanks for that grim reminder.”

“What, you forgot about Pythor?” Jay teased.

Nya shrugged. “I didn’t forget, just… compared to the Overlord, Pythor seems much less intimidating, now.”

“That could partially be due to the fact that he’s probably half-digested inside the gut of a giant, dead snake.”

“Ewww!” Nya jabbed him, hard. “Lloyd, that’s disgusting. Ugh, now I’m not going to be able to get that image out of my head all night.”

“Hey, better him there than here,” Jay said, leaning back to lay on the roof, letting raindrops sprinkle his face. “After all the training and fighting we’ve done over the last few months, I just want a break from villains.”

Lloyd shot him a glare. “We’ve done? Last time I checked, it was me doing most of the training.”

Jay sat up again, sputtering. “Hey! The rest of us weren’t exactly sitting on our bums, were we? Back when you were just a little sprout, we were the ones busy saving Ninjago! And who taught you everything you know, hmmm? You weren’t an easy student, you know that, right?”

Lloyd laughed. “Okay, buddy.”

“Don’t you ‘okay, buddy’ me! If it weren’t for me, you’d still be shattering all our lightbulbs! Remember who taught you to control the lightning!”

Lloyd blinked at him, pretending to look thoughtful. “I thought that was Nya.”

“Nya?! I’m the Elemental Master of lightning!”

Nya laughed, knocking her leg gently against his. “Stop messing with him, dude. Let him have this one.”

Lloyd mockingly rolled his eyes. “Yeah, alright.”

Silence fell between them, but it was a comfortable one. Lloyd closed his eyes, cherishing the feeling of rain dripping through his hair and the warmth of his friends at his side.

It was funny how something so horrible had brought him to these people, this moment- something he would never give up for the world.

“Do you think the Overlord’s really gone?”

That remark earned him two very shocked glances.

“Where did that come from?” Nya spluttered.

“Why wouldn’t he be?” Jay agreed. “You defeated him. We all saw it.”

Lloyd shook his head. “Yeah, I know, it’s just… if the Overlord’s dead… my father is cleansed of the venom… and the Serpentine are good now… where does that leave us?”

Jay and Nya exchanged a glance. “What do you mean?”

“Things are so different, now. I’m not even the green ninja anymore. I’m wearing-” he tugged at his golden gi, “this. Being a ninja is the one place I’ve felt like I really belong, but if the world is at peace now, where are a bunch of ninja and a Samurai supposed to fit into it? It’s crazy, how we’ve spent the last months- the rest of you guys, over a year- training for this one big moment. And now it’s over. What happens next? What happens to us?”

“There’s no way to tell the future, Lloyd,” Jay murmured. “We won’t know until it’s here. The world is going to change around us- people will change, circumstances will change, our lives will change. But do you know what won’t change? Us. We might look different in the future. Act different, live different, I don’t know. But this group- this family- is never going to change. This-” he gestured at the sky above them, “is never going to change. Do you remember how, before your green ninja training got so intense and demanding, we would always go out to watch storms together? And yet, even after all those months, your first instinct was to come back to it again. Those kinds of things don’t just go away.”

“Jay’s right,” Nya agreed. “This is always going to be our special thing. Just like we are your special people. Time can’t erode memories. It can’t erode love.”

Lloyd smiled, as lightning cracked across the sky in the distance. “You’re right. The future is open to us. No matter what happens next, nothing can change who we are.”

---

Nya flopped over on the armchair, sighing.

It had been a long night.

After a villain had been defeated, Nya always looked forward to coming home, back to the Bounty, and just sleeping for about fourteen hours straight.

That hadn’t happened this time.

Even just coming home to the Bounty hadn’t been as warm and welcoming as it usually was. The hallways had felt empty, desolate, the rooms lifeless, and their bedroom bare except for the few things her and Lloyd had left behind- the rest of the guys’ beds made unnaturally neat and spotless, as if no one had slept in them for months.

Which, they hadn’t.

As the guys had filed in, she had tried to focus on the fact that they were here now, not the emptiness they had left behind in those months after Zane had died. Even Lloyd, who had been the only one to stay with her, had felt distant and standoffish in those days, hardly speaking to her or anyone else.

Ushering everyone off to bed had been a whole other fiasco. All the guys that had left had taken a moment to adjust back into the Bounty again, but Zane had been the worst. He had spent a long time just walking around the ship, staring at things and saying nothing. Poor Lloyd had been shaken about losing his father- after a while, Cole had insisted on sitting with him instead so that she could go check on Kai- who had still been trembling from Chen’s staff. It had taken her hours to get him to drift off.

She knew that she better head to her bed soon- if she didn’t sleep herself, Cole would come to chew her out- but she wanted to make sure everyone was staying asleep before she did. It would be just like them to get out of bed as soon as she was asleep.

She must have drifted off at some point though, because when she blinked open her eyes again, the gentle patter of rain sounded against the side of the Bounty. Lightning illuminated the room, and she stretched, getting out of the chair and walking over to the window.

As she reached out to close the curtains, though, she noticed the deck lights of the Bounty were on. Frowning, she pulled open the doors and walked outside.

Jay and Lloyd were leaning on the railing, staring at the sky. Neither of them spoke, but their elbows bumped together comfortingly. Nya felt a flash of frustration that Lloyd had managed to sneak out of bed already.

“Hey, I can’t believe you guys came out here without me,” she teased, walking over to stand on the other side of Lloyd. “This is our thing.”

Lloyd shrugged. “Sorry. You were sleeping.”

Nya narrowed her eyes. “You were supposed to be, too.”

“I was-” he yelped at the glare Nya shot him. “I swear! I was! But the storm woke me up.”

She sighed, letting it drop. For now.

“What are you guys thinking about?”

Lloyd shifted on his feet. “My dad-”

“Griffin Turner,” Jay said at the same time.

Nya and Lloyd looked at him. “...What?”

Jay blushed slightly. “The Elemental Master of Speed? From the Tournament?”

Lloyd snorted, and Nya rolled her eyes. “We know who he is, Jay. Why are you thinking about him?”

“Speed is a dumb element. Y’know, I wouldn’t even really consider it an element. Like- he can run fast. So what? The elements are supposed to help you create stuff. Speed isn’t a tangible thing you can make.”

Lloyd laughed. “You’re still upset about that, Jay?”

“What? It doesn’t make any sense! Like, speed isn’t an element, it’s an ability. Like, you know how Cole’s the Elemental Master of Earth and has super strength, right? Makes sense. So, shouldn’t, say, an Elemental Master of Lightning, be super fast?”

“Oh, I see what this is about,” Nya grinned, leaning over to poke Jay in the arm as Lloyd dissolved into giggles. “Someone’s jealous.”

“I am not jealous! I just think that it makes a lot more sense that an elemental master who possesses the power of lightning, which is made of light, literally the fastest thing in the universe, should be the fast one, not some random dude who claims his element is ‘speed.’ Like, that’s the craziest thing I’ve ever heard! He’s not a true elemental master if you ask me.”

“Someone’s still upset about my father saying he wasn’t special,” Lloyd whispered loudly into Nya’s ear, and she slapped a hand over her mouth, trying to contain her laughter, as Jay kicked Lloyd’s ankle.

“It is interesting, though,” she admitted after they had all calmed down a little bit. “That there are others like you. I thought you five were the only ones in the world with powers like this… but elemental masters of Shadow? Metal? Nature? It’s crazy to think how many people there were that were just like you guys living in Ninjago with us, and we never even noticed.”

“Well, not just like us,” Jay muttered. “We are the four elements of creation… and Lloyd’s the Elemental Master of Energy, so we’re hardly comparable to their sub-par elements…”

Lloyd elbowed Jay in the ribs, and he yelped. “Yeah, it is kind of crazy… and it makes me wonder. Did every elemental master in existence decide to come to the tournament? What if there were more, ones that saw through Chen’s tricks and didn’t attend?”

Jay’s eyes widened. “Oh, I’m sure there aren’t more-”

Nya grinned, winking at Lloyd. “Oh yeah, wouldn’t that be awesome? What do you think they could be? Maybe Master of Space? Wood?”

“Maybe Silver! Or Plasma! Water?” He paused, frowning. “Actually, I’m surprised there wasn’t a Master of-”

“Let’s not get outrageous, here,” Jay insisted. “What do you need those for? Lightning is plasma, and frankly those others just sound useless-”

Nya snapped her fingers. “What about a Master of Crystal? Or, I know, a Master of Thunder!”

“Okaaaay, people, now we’re just laying it on me!” Jay snapped. “Thunder is stupid! Storms are my thing!”

“I dunno, Jay, I think it could be cool. What do you think, Lloyd?”

“Oh yeah, that would be awesome-”

He was interrupted by a loud bang of thunder, and Lloyd and Nya burst into laughter.

“Looks like the universe agrees with us, Jay!”

“Are you kidding? If anything, that was showing that it disagrees with you!”

Lloyd smiled, slinging an arm around his shoulders. “Relax, big shot, we’re kidding. No one could ever replace you.”

“Hey, you don’t get to call me that! Only we can call you big shot.”

Lloyd looked at Nya, and she nodded. “He’s right. You’re the only big shot around here.”

Lloyd whined. “You guys keep saying that like it’s a good thing but I feel like it’s supposed to be offensive.”

Nya laughed, and Jay ruffled his hair. “Don’t worry your pretty little head about it, big shot.”

Lloyd narrowed his eyes at him. “Stop that.”

“Make me.”

Nya pushed the two apart as they broke into a scuffle, rolling her eyes. “Guys, stoppit, you’re going to miss the lighting.”

They stopped at that, turning their gazes up to the sky as a bolt shot across the night, fizzling out at the end. Smiling, the three of them leaned forward on the railing, watching as the light show commenced.

---

Nya loved the rain.

The rain was carefree, playful- it took away a need for words, for thoughts, for worries. The rain didn’t bother with such frivolous things. It just was.

She hadn’t understood the tingle under her skin, however, every time rain was about to come, the slight ache in her bones leading up to every storm. These things had finally been made clear when she had found out that she was the next Elemental Master of Water- but everything else had become foggier.

Now she didn’t know who she was, what she was meant to be, what was supposed to become of Samurai X, if she would ever be able to truly fit in with the ninja group-

And most of all, she didn’t know how she was going to get her little brother back.

Right now, she hated the rain.

It was cold and heavy and grim- it only served as a reminder that she had failed. Her element was the one thing that could get Lloyd back, and she couldn’t even control it.

“Hey. I’ve been looking for you.”

Nya jumped nearly a foot in the air at Jay’s voice, and he put a hand on her shoulder, smiling sheepishly. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you.” The smile quickly faded as he got a better look at her. “Geez, Nya, you’re trembling.”

“Am I?” She hadn’t even noticed.

“Here.” Slipping off his jacket, he wrapped it tightly around her, before pulling her into a hug. For a moment, Nya let herself relax against him, the steady beat of his heart soothing her.

“How’s Cole doing?” she asked after a moment. She had hoped her talk with him earlier had helped- although the Earth Ninja had still seemed to be upset about his new, ghostly form. Not that she blamed him.

Jay was quiet for a moment. “He’s hanging in there.”

Nya squeezed her eyes shut. Wasn’t one teammate to worry about more than enough? Why did destiny seem to throw everything on them all at once?

“Hey, you’re wearing your gi.”

“Huh?” Nya blinked her eyes open, glancing down at the maroon and blue garment she was wearing. “Oh. Yeah. Sensei said I should wear it now.”

Jay grinned. “I take it your training is going well, then?”

Nya shrugged, looking away.

“Hey.” Jay took her hand. “What’s wrong?”

“It’s going okay, I guess. I’m a lot better than I was. But I’m still nowhere near the level of you guys.”

“Are you kidding? We wouldn’t expect you to be! Nya, it’s only been a few weeks since you started training. Me and the guys have been at it for years, and were training for several months before we even got a decent handle on our powers. You’re doing great so far.”

“Yeah, but, it’s not enough. And we don’t have months. I need to be a good Master of Water now.”

Jay’s expression softened. “Nya… we’ll find a way to save him. With or without your powers.”

“I just…” she stopped, gulping back a sob. “I just wish I could be more useful.”

“Me too.”

Lightning spit the sky overhead, followed by a mighty rumble of thunder. They watched it, but there was no joy in it this time around.

It wasn’t the same without Lloyd.

She wasn’t sure how much time had passed when Jay wrapped an arm around her, murmuring, “Nya, you’re freezing. Let’s get you inside.”

She went without any protest. After all, the storm had nothing to offer her, anymore.

---

The storm that night was gentle, which Lloyd was grateful for.

Nya and Jay had assured that they’d be perfectly fine not going out- in fact, they didn’t want to- a lie, they just didn’t want Lloyd to feel left out.

They thought he didn’t want to go out. They thought he was forcing himself to go just because he wanted them to go and he wanted to go with them. But that wasn’t the case. Lloyd really did want to go outside. Morro had stolen so much from him- his family, his mind, his control, his own body- he wasn’t about to allow him to take his love for the storms, too.

So what if storms were filled with the same howling winds that reminded Lloyd of him, the sensation of the breeze reminding him of the chill across his spine as the ghost slipped into his body?

Lloyd wanted to do this. He really did.

He was just… scared.

“You sure you wanna do this, green machine?” Nya’s voice, a hand on his shoulder.

Lloyd nodded stiffly. “If I don’t step out of these doors now, I never will.” Without giving himself any time to change his mind, he leaned forward and pulled open the doors.

Immediately, he was sprinkled with rain, and stepped further out, letting the droplets wash over him.

Then a breeze hit him, and he clenched his teeth, curling his fists into balls.

It’s okay. You’re in the rain. The rain will protect you from ghosts. Jay and Nya are here, too. They will protect you from ghosts.

As if to solidify his point, Nya slipped her hand into his, and he squeezed it back, forcing himself to take long, slow breaths- in and out, in and out, in and out.

“Bud?” Jay put a hand on his back. “You good? You don’t have to do this. We can go inside. Try another time.”

Lloyd shook his head. Breathing out slowly, he took a shaky step forward- then another, and another. Winds tickled past him as he walked, but he ignored them, every step his confidence building until he stopped in front of the railing of the Bounty.

He watched the dark sky, holding his breath, waiting.

Nothing came.

He bit his lip. He needed this. He needed to know that the spark was still there, that Morro hadn’t taken it away-

Suddenly, a blazing warmth glowed in his chest, and Lloyd smiled- just as a mighty burst of lightning shattered the night sky.

He still had it.

A warm weight pressed in on either side of him as Jay and Nya joined him at the railing, the lightning illuminating their faces so that they almost seemed to glow.

They were here now. They would keep him safe.

Things weren’t okay, not yet. Far from it. But he had taken a step today. And he would continue to take steps until things were okay again, and his family was going to be beside him every step of the way.

Morro was gone now. It was about time Lloyd stopped letting him win.

---

Lightning flashed.

Nya, in his arms, limp and weak, the light fading in her eyes. The green venom splashed across her dress.

Thunder boomed.

Nadakhan, standing over him, laughing as he waved the Djinn Blade at him- the one that had trapped all his friends, the one that had left him all alone. He was the last one left.

No, he reminded himself firmly, squeezing Nya’s hand tighter. I’m not alone. Nya’s not dead. She’s right here next to me. All the others are safely sleeping inside the Bounty. I stopped him. He’s gone now.

Nya glanced at him. “You okay?”

He sniffed, wiping at his nose with the hand that wasn’t firmly gripping Nya’s. “Honestly? Not really.”

Nya looked up at the sky. “Me neither.”

“I’d thought I’d lost you.”

She turned back, letting her fingers skirt his jawline. “I know. I’m sorry. But you didn’t. I’m here now. It’s all over.”

Jay breathed out, leaning his head on her shoulder. For a long time, they just stood there, staring out at the storm, saying nothing.

“Beautiful night for a stargaze, isn’t it?”

He turned to see Lloyd walking towards them, grinning as he gestured at the stormy skies above them.

Nya rolled her eyes at him, and Lloyd tossed his head in her direction, his sopping wet hair spattering her with water. Not that it made a difference in all the rain.

“Normally I’m the one who has insomnia-inducing nightmares and doesn’t sleep,” he teased, pushing his way between them to lean on the railing.

Jay caught Nya muttering something about “joking about childhood trauma” and “we should all go see a therapist,” and the alarmingly cheerful grin Lloyd shot her made Jay think she might have a point.

“Who told you we had nightmares?” Jay asked.

“Jay, most people don’t come outside in the pouring rain, in the middle of a thunderstorm no less, at three am in the morning just for the fun of it.”

Jay grinned. “Yeah, well we’re not ‘most people.’”

Lloyd shook his head, smiling. “It’s okay, you don’t have to talk about it. I just thought I would join you.”

“What about you,” Nya probed. “Why are you up this late?”

“Couldn’t sleep,” he said simply, his lips popping on the p. When they stared at him, he blinked. “What? It’s because of the storm!”

Nya rolled her eyes. “Yeah, yeah.”

“Hey, If you don’t have to talk about it, I don’t either. Besides, that wasn’t a complete lie. Look.” Lloyd held out his arm for them both to see. It looked like a perfectly normal arm to Jay, but Lloyd was looking at them expectantly. “Feel it.”

Nya raised an eyebrow at him.

“Just do it,” he insisted.

Jay reached forward, pressing his fingers against Lloyd’s forearm-

And promptly jerked back as it vibrated beneath his touch.

“Woah.”

Seeing the look on his face, Nya quickly reached forward, her eyes widening as she pulled back. “What is that? Why are you buzzing?”

“I think it’s the storm,” Lloyd said. “My powers must be reacting to it. Sensing the lightning.”

“Does it hurt?” Jay asked.

He shook his head. “No, just tingles a little bit.”

“I didn’t even know you could do that,” Nya whispered, running her fingers along his arm again.

“I couldn’t. Not up until recently. This only just started happening.”

“Woah. Like a built-in storm sensor. Now you’re like us! I can feel a bit of a tingle when there’s a lightning storm on the way, and I know Nya can feel the rain coming. Ours aren’t quite as obvious as yours, though.” He gestured to Lloyd’s arm.

Lloyd examined his arm. “That’s awesome.”

Nya snorts. “Not so awesome when it wakes you up every time there’s a thunderstorm.”

Lloyd gave her a gentle shove. “Stop trying to blame it on that. I know you were already awake anyway.”

Nya snorted, looking away.

Lloyd frowned. “You guys sure you’re okay?”

Jay nudged him. “We’ll be fine, green bean. We always are.”

Jay watched him, wondering if he would probe further. But he simply nodded. “Okay. I trust you.”

Jay smiled. That was one of the things he liked best about Lloyd.

Sometimes, silence said more than words.

---

Rain pattered against the glass doors. Lloyd glanced up from where he was sitting on the too-large bed.

The royal family’s hospitality was greatly appreciated, but the room was so big. Lloyd wasn’t used to having so much space, or such fancy things- he wasn’t even used to having his own room. The six of them crowded into the little cabin on the Destiny’s Bounty was the only thing he had known for a long time.

He wanted to get out.

Walking over to the balcony doors, Lloyd pushed them open, quickly pulling them closed again behind him, so as not to let the rain in.

Walking over to the railing, he hopped up, sitting on it and letting his feet dangle over the edge. The bedroom might not have been his taste, but the view of the city from here was absolutely breathtaking. Lights were scattered throughout the dark landscape like reflections of the stars above, and the rain created a light, pooling mist that shrouded the city in an air of mystery and wonder.

He couldn’t have been sitting there for more than half an hour when Jay and Nya suddenly dropped in next to him from seemingly out of nowhere. Lloyd jumped, gripping the railing below him tightly as he narrowly avoided falling the very long drop to the city streets below.

“Geez, guys, don’t sneak up on me like that. How did you even get here?”

Nya winked at him. “It’s a ninja’s secret.”

Lloyd felt his nose wrinkle. That doesn’t make any sense. “I’m a ninja, too. Doesn’t that mean I should get to know the secret, too?”

Nya shook her head. “Sorry, green machine, that’s not how it works.”

Lloyd sputtered at her. “What do you mean that’s not how it works? How else would it work?”

“That part’s a secret.”

He threw up his hands. “You’re impossible.” “Nya Smith,” she grinned, shouldering him playfully. “Tormenting brothers since the day I was born.”

“I’ll say.”

“Hey, you weren’t even there for most of it! Kai had it way worse than you.”

“Trust me, you’ve more than made up for it.”

“Oh, come on, I know I’m actually your favorite sister.”

“You’re my only sister.”

“Ouch. Hit it where it hurts, why don’t ya?”

“You walked right into that one, and you know it.”

The three of them burst into laughter, and even as the sounds faded, they still sat with massive grins on their faces, swinging their legs back and forth gently, occasionally kicking at someone else if their feet accidentally knocked against each other. Jay got a little too aggressive in one of his attempts and nearly knocked Lloyd off the balcony for the second time that night. Lloyd shot him a glare, and Jay at least had the sense to look sheepish.

“It’s been a long time since we’ve done this,” Jay murmured after a while. “Just the three of us, standing out in the rain, watching the storm.”

Lloyd sighed. “Yeah, well, it’s been a long couple of years.”

“You can say that again,” Nya agreed.

They fell silent again, and Lloyd felt bad for pitching the air into a grim mood. He was struggling to think of something more lighthearted to say, when Jay suddenly spoke up.

“So… about the princess…”

Lloyd immediately changed his mind. The grim mood was fine.

“What about her,” he mumbled, even as he felt his face turn cherry red.

“Oh, he totally likes her,” Jay gushed, reaching a hand behind his back to give Nya a gentle shove in the shoulder. “I told you!”

Nya snorted. “Have you even talked to her yet?”

“A bit,” he insisted, indignantly. Then, realizing he had answered too defensively, he quickly amended, “But it’s not like that.”

“Suuure,” Jay laughed. “That’s what they all say at the beginning.”

“She’s the princess! Even if I did have feelings for her, it’s not like something could ever work between us.”

“Yeah,” Nya agreed. “The stuffy, rich type? Not a fan. She’s probably not good enough for you. You can do better.”

“What?” Lloyd sputtered. “No, that’s not what I meant- not like that! I mean, she’s not like that!”

Jay snickered at how flustered he was getting, and Lloyd elbowed him in the ribs.

“How do you know? You’ve known her for like, what, a day?”

“Ooh, she got you there, green machine.”

Jay’s remark earned him another jab in the ribs, and he yelped. “Would you stop doing that?”

Lloyd ignored him. “It’s not like you’ve known her any longer than I have. You have no more idea what she’s like than I do.”

Nya shrugged. “All I’m saying is that she’d have to be one hell of a girl to even come close to being worthy of you.”

“Nya!” Lloyd cried, ducking his head as both of his friends went for a hair ruffle. “Stop it, you guys! I’m not a little kid anymore!”

“You’re right, you’re not,” Nya sighed. “I could hardly believe my eyes when I got back from searching for Master Wu. You were a good two inches taller than the last time I saw you, at least, and your hair was longer, done differently-” “Don’t forget his deep, manly voice,” Jay chimed in. “I’m so upset I missed the voice cracking phase!”

“I’m not,” Lloyd muttered.

“Jay, look at this boy,” Nya gushed, grabbing Lloyd’s face between her hands. “Can you believe this is the nine-year-old we snatched up off the street all those years ago?” “Never in a million years,” Jay laughed. “Look how handsome he’s gotten.”

“Guys!” Lloyd cried, pulling away from them. “Stop being embarrassing!”

“Lloyd, you’re our baby brother,” Jay teased. “It’s our job to embarrass you.”

Both of his friends leaned against him, laughing- only to jerk back a moment later with a yelp.

“Lloyd!” Jay shrieked. “What was that?”

Lloyd blinked at him. “What was what?”

“Didn’t you feel that?” Nya stared at him with wide eyes. “It was like we were shocked or something!”

“Oh.” Lloyd lifted his hands up from where they were resting on the railing, holding them up for Jay and Nya to see- revealing the small zaps of green energy sparking from them, occasionally arcing between his fingers. “I guess that was me. Sorry.”

Jay blinked owlishly at his hands. “What the… you’re not doing that on purpose, are you?”

Lloyd shook his head. “It’s happened before, while you guys were gone. I think it has to do with the storm.”

“Your powers really are getting stronger,” Jay murmured, taking one of Lloyd’s hands- prepared for the small shock this time- and examining it.

“And your eyes,” Nya breathed.

They both looked at her. “What about them?” Lloyd asked.

“They’re flickering.”

“What?”

“Lemme see.” Lloyd turned his head to look at Jay, and the blue ninja sucked in his breath. “They are.”

Lloyd frowned. “That is new.”

“It’s cool,” Jay gushed. “I wish I could do that.”

Lloyd shrugged. “I’m not sure it’s really that great. Now I can accidentally shock all my friends, hooray.”

“But think of using it on enemies! You’d be like, a human taser!”

“Jay, you’re our human taser.”

He grinned. “Oh. Right.”

“It does look pretty cool,” Nya admitted. “Kind of like those glow-in-the-dark star things you would stick on your ceiling as a kid.”

“I had some of those!” Jay yelped. “They were awesome.”

“Of course you did.” Nya rolled her eyes, but she was smiling. “I wanted some, but we never really had a budget for it, so I checked out some star atlases from the library instead.”

“When did your eyes turn green, by the way,” Jay asked. “I had gotten so used to them being red.”

Lloyd shrugged. “I dunno, sometime while you were gone, I guess. I wasn’t really keeping track of the days.”

“How convenient for you.” Jay poked a finger near his eye. “Are you sure these aren’t just colored contacts? Is someone trying to bluff about his powers?”

“Jay!” Lloyd suddenly tried to lurch towards him, but he felt something grab him from behind.

“Run, Jay! I can’t hold him back forever!” “No one’s holding me back!” he muttered at her, but Jay was already vanishing over the roof’s peak, nothing but a blur of blue on the dark night sky.

“This isn’t over, Jay! No one calls me a fraud and gets away with it!”

“Settle down, Killer,” Nya giggled. “You know when you’ve been bested.”

“But I’m the green ninja,” Lloyd pouted.

“Yes, and you’re also the baby.”

“Am not!”

“Are so! Now, get to bed. It’s late, and you don’t want to be too tired to guard the princess tomorrow.”

Lloyd narrowed his eyes at her. “I’m too old for bedtimes. You can’t tell me what to do.”

“Maybe not, but you’re going to listen to me anyway.” Darting forward, she snuck in a quick hair ruffle before darting up onto the roof.

“That’s only because I care about the princess’s safety!” he called after her.

“Sure, keep telling yourself that.”

Before Lloyd could reply, the thunder boomed loudly, drowning him out, and by the time it passed, she was gone.

“Traitor storm,” Lloyd muttered, and the sky rumbled cheerily back at him.

---

The rain was heavy that night, so much so that Nya was soaked within seconds, her long, black strands of hair sopping wet, the dampness causing the ends to curl. Her dirty, worn, battle-stained gi was plastered to her skin, but she couldn’t bring herself to care.

After all, how could such a small discomfort even hold a candle to the scalding pain in her chest?

How could any of this had happened? How could she just have gotten Lloyd back from the icy grips of death, only to lose everyone else to those same, prying hands?

She hadn’t wanted to believe it. When Lloyd had come back, soaking wet and shivering from the rain, the most defeated look on his face Nya had ever seen in her life-

She had been angry with him, at first. How could he tell her something like that? How could he send her whole world crashing down with a single sentence? How could he have watched as everything had gone so wrong? She had known that it wasn’t his fault, not at all. But she hadn’t known what she was feeling or how she had been supposed to handle it.

And as quickly as it had come, the anger had vanished, giving in to horrible, nauseating despair. They were gone. They were really gone.

She had hugged Lloyd tight, crying into him until Misako and Pixal had dragged them away, bringing them to a small, abandoned warehouse where they had spent the night. And the next night. And the next.

Not that time really felt to be passing anymore. It was so quiet, with only her, Lloyd, Pixal, Misako, and Dareth- and Pixal and Lloyd had hardly spoken a word, to her or anyone, since that night.

She knew they were grieving too- but maybe the thing they all needed most right now was someone to talk to.

She tilted her face up slightly, letting the raindrops slip down her face and mingle with her tears, washing them away.

“You shouldn’t be up here.”

Nya glanced over her shoulder, letting out her breath. “Lloyd.”

“We’re trying to stay hidden, remember? We can’t risk standing up here and being spotted by the Colossus or the Sons of Garmadon. You should come inside.”

“I will in a minute.”

They stood there in silence for a moment, nothing but the sound of rain splashing against the concrete and the distant rumble of thunder between them.

“Come here,” Nya waved at the empty space beside her. “Watch the storm with me.”

Lloyd hugged his arms over his chest. “Nya, we really shouldn’t be up here.”

“Just do it for a minute. Then we’ll go inside, I promise.”

Lloyd sighed, before reluctantly walking over to join her, resting his elbows on the railing of the rooftop terrace. The view of the storm wasn’t anything special from here- in fact, it was rather poor, with several tall buildings blotting out the view of the sky- but they weren’t really in a situation to be picky.

She liked this better, anyway- looking directly at the storm would be too painful.

“How can you do it?”

Lloyd’s voice startled her- based on the way the last couple days had been going, she hadn’t expected him to speak to her unless absolutely necessary.

“What?”

Lloyd grimaced, as if he was anxious to elaborate. “Why do you still want to be out here? Why do you still want to watch the storm?” He dropped his gaze, carefully avoiding her as his voice faded to a soft whisper. “Everything just reminds me of them.”

Nya turned her gaze back towards the city. “Exactly, it reminds me of him.” Softer, she added, “It’s all I have left.”

Lloyd was quiet for a long time after that, and when she finally turned her gaze back to him, his eyes were hard. Pushing back from the railing and blinking back tears, he snapped, “Jay’s gone. Forever. They all are.”

Before she could respond, he was darting back inside, and Nya put her head down, sighing.

Jay, I wish you were here. You would know how to make him feel better.

But he wasn’t. Lloyd was right, they were gone. All he had right now was Nya, and, standing there, drenched and shivering and pathetic, she wasn’t sure how much help she could really be to anyone.

Thunder rumbled overhead, and Nya glanced up. She hoped, if he wouldn’t listen to anyone else, he would at least listen to the storm.

---

Three pairs of footsteps drummed against the deck of the Destiny’s Bounty. Jay leaned his head over, letting the wind blow his wet curls, as he whooped happily, his cry echoing in the night air.

“Aww, girl, it’s so good to have you back,” he sighed dreamily, brushing the side of the ship with his hand.

Lloyd grinned at him, rolling his eyes. “Alright, Jay, we’re as happy as you are to have the Bounty back, but don’t make this weird.”

“He’s just anxious for the next repair,” Nya laughed. “He’s been driving me crazy trying to fix random things around the Monastery. The training bots, the mechs, even the toaster. And nothing’s even broken! He’s just making it worse.”

“Hey! It’s not my fault there’s nothing for me to do! I’m not just going to sit around and do nothing.”

“Well, hopefully, she won’t need any fixing for a long, long time,” Lloyd said. “The Bounty’s been damaged enough to last a lifetime. After the Colossus, I thought she was gone for good.”

“I know,” Nya agreed. “I’m so impressed that the city was able to rebuild it exactly the same!”

“Well, I’m sure it’s not exactly the same,” Jay argued. “There’s gotta be some issue somewhere, right? Something I can fix?” Nya waved a hand at him, laughing. “Don’t worry, Jay. We’ll find something for you to do.”

“Well, it will have to wait until later,” Lloyd announced, pointing towards the clouds in the distance that were sparking with lightning. “We’ve almost arrived at the storm!”

As they got closer, Nya locked in the steering, and the three of them headed towards the front of the ship as the Bounty sailed deeper into the storm.

Quickly, the rain began falling harder, and thunder echoed in their ears.

“Now this is how you stormgaze right!” Jay cried, laughing as rain fell on his face and lightning illuminated his bright blue eyes, his powers sparking between his fingers.

Glancing back at Lloyd and Nya, he saw both were sporting large grins. Lloyd was also sparking, his green eyes glowing, and as Nya reached her arms out, raindrops swirled around her.

After a bit of the adrenaline had worn off, Lloyd leaned against the railing of the Bounty, throwing his head back to toss the strands of wet hair out of his face.

“The others are not going to be happy about us taking the Bounty for a joyride right through a storm when they’re trying to sleep,” he laughed.

“It’ll be the last time they sleep in the Bounty for a while,” Nya agreed. “I bet they’re wishing they decided to stay back at the much more peaceful Monastery right about now.”

Jay put a hand over his mouth, sniggering. “I bet we only have like five minutes before Kai comes storming out here, demanding that we turn the ship around this instant.”

Lloyd shot him a sharp grin. “No, he’d never want to come out here and get all wet.”

Nya giggled. “Yeah, he’ll just stare at us through the windows, giving us death glares.”

Lloyd choked so violently that he doubled over, grabbing onto Nya’s shoulder for support. The water ninja tried to help him, but she was laughing hard herself. Jay grinned at them, struggling to breathe in between laughs.

“Can… you… imagine… the look on his face?” he wheezed, wiping tears from his eyes.

The hair standing up on the back of his neck was the only warning Jay had before a lightning bolt whizzed down less than ten feet away from him.

Shrieks sounded from the others as they leapt back, just as the edge of the Bounty burst into flames. Nya quickly directed two jets of water at the fire as Lloyd and Jay scrambled out of her way. When the last spark was gone, she stopped, breathing heavy, staring at the burnt area in shock.

Suddenly, she whipped around, glaring at him. “What the heck, Jay? You were supposed to be warding off the lightning!”

“It’s not my fault!” he shrieked. “You’re the one who distracted me!”

While the two of them shot each other smoldering glares, Lloyd walked over to one of the storage crates being kept on the deck, and pushed it over to the burned area, trying to cover up the charred floor the lightning had left.

“If one of us gets struck by lightning,” Nya warned, “Zane will never let us outside again.”

Jay waved her off. “It’s fine. I’m probably like, immune to lightning or something, and I’m willing to bet Lloyd is too, since he’s shown connections to my powers and the storms in the past. So long as you don’t get struck, we’re probably fine.”

Nya rolled her eyes. “Well, that’s reassuring.”

“Yeah, Jay,” Lloyd agreed, scratching the back of his neck. “There’s a few too many ‘probablys’ in that statement for my liking.”

“Oh, come on,” he grinned. “I’ve already got Zane and Cole on my back about everything 24/7. You guys are supposed to be the fun ones!”

“Hey,” Nya said, “I’m not making you do anything. You’re a young man. You can do what you want. Just don’t blame me if you end up comatose in the medbay because your brain got fried by lightning.”

“That would be ironic,” Lloyd snorted, and Jay elbowed him.

“You’d at least visit me, right?”

Nya shrugged. “Maybe. If you were stupid enough to get struck by lightning, I don’t know if you’d deserve that.”

Lloyd laughed. “Better luck next time, buddy.”

“You shut up. You could jump off the side of the ship right now, and she’d spend a week crying over you.”

Nya bit back a smile. “Maybe. But don’t,” she added quickly, pointing a finger at Lloyd.

He stared at her incredulously. “How dumb do you think I am?”

“Mmm… depends on the day.”

Jay burst into laughter, and Lloyd shot him a glare. “Thanks, Nya. That was a rhetorical question, by the way.”

“If you didn’t want an answer, you shouldn’t have asked the question.”

Lloyd stuck his tongue out at her, and Nya stuck hers back. Jay laughed, elbowing her. “Real mature. I’d expect that kind of thing from Lloyd-”

“Hey!”

“But you?”

“Like you’re any better yourself, sparky. Don’t you still sleep with that weird zebra thing-”

“His name is Mister Cuddlywomp, and he’s a bear-”

“Guys!”

“What, Lloyd?” Jay snapped, turning towards him. “Can’t you see- woah.”

Lloyd was pointing towards the horizon. Dark clouds formed in swirling shapes, gently disturbed by the winds of the storm. Arcs of lightning flashed between them in an almost rhythmic fashion, casting a gentle light on the clouds that made them appear to glow. It was like something out of a fantasy.

“Holy crap,” Nya breathed. “It’s beautiful. How lucky is it that we get to see this?”

“It’s because we’re willing to come out so late,” Lloyd smiled, bumping against her shoulder lightly. “The others may be warm, dry, and cozy in their beds, but they’re missing out on this natural beauty.”

“Their loss,” Jay said. “It’s the most breathtaking thing I’ve ever seen. And we’ve been all around Ninjago- even in different realms- so that’s saying a lot.”

“That’s okay,” Lloyd murmured. “I like doing this, just the three of us.” He glanced at them. “It’s our thing, y’know?”

“Aww, Lloyd,” Nya smiled, leaning her head on his shoulder. “Yeah. It’s our thing.”

“It’s special, in a way the others wouldn’t understand.” Jay beamed at him, throwing an arm around his shoulder. “I wouldn’t trade these moments for the world.”

[britishboystm]

On the Quidditch Pitch | The Day We Met: A Fred Weasley Mini Series

Inspired by:

Pairing: Fred Weasley x Fem!Reader

Warnings: angst, fluff, injuries, nasty falls, swearing, physical fighting, bullying

WC: 1.6k

Chapter Summary: Y/N joins the Gryffindor quidditch team in her second year at Hogwarts. As a result, a series of unfortunate events unfold at her first official match.

Series Masterlist

***

September 6th 1990

Madam Hooch had seen a great deal of potential in Y/N the second she stepped onto the Quidditch pitch in her first year. In fear of other teams preying on the small girl, Madam Hooch felt it necessary to keep her after class to train.

By second year Y/N was ready to be the best Gryffindor chaser Hogwarts had seen in decades. The moment the other Gryffindor players saw her walk towards them in sporting robes one afternoon practice, they all laughed, including the twins. This sparked something within her and it became Y/N’s mission to prove them all wrong.

Once everyone had taken position in the air, Y/N had gotten into her game headspace. By the end of practice, she had gotten ten quaffles through the tall hoops.

“Did you know about this?” George asked in bewilderment as he flew up beside his twin. Fred couldn’t keep his eyes off of the tiny chaser passing the keeper again and again. He was gobsmacked.

“No idea.” He responded in astonishment.

It was a week later that Y/N found herself standing alongside the rest of the Gryffindor quidditch team at her very first official match. The small open space between the closed canvas curtains gave a tinge of brightness as the team waited in anticipation. Muffled screams and shouts of the hundreds of students in the crowd echoed throughout the pitch.

“You ready L/N?” Asked keeper and captain to be Oliver Wood.

The young girl looked up at the older brunette and smiled widely.

“Ready as I’ll ever be.”

The drapes opened, allowing the sunlight from the outside world to fill the inclosed space. Y/N jerked back a bit and winced, attempting to adjust her eyes to the brightness.

She had almost missed the moment in which the rest of the team mounted their brooms, zipping on to the pitch.

She quickly caught up and followed as the team did a lap around the pitch. Nothing but grass, sky and the blurred collection of the Hogwarts student body were in sight.

Y/N let out a shaky breath she didn’t know she was holding in and all of a sudden she felt as though she were on top of the world.

It was almost immediately that the Slytherin team brought into play their game plan; pick on Y/N. Being the newest, youngest and physically the smallest member of the Gryffindor team, she instantly became the easiest target. It was what Madam Hooch feared when she began training the young girl, but Y/N knew she couldn’t let a few green hooded bullies get to her.

She pushed and pushed and scored and scored. The cheers and chants of her names coming from the stands every time she advanced Gryffindor to victory was her fuel. Much to the Slytherin team’s chagrin.

“Get the little twerp!” Marcus Flint yelled. The three chasers of Slytherin all collectively nodded to the commands given and nosedived to where Y/N was. She didn’t initially notice them until one of them pulled up beside her and aggressively body checked her with his shoulder. She looked at the older boy in disgust, trying to lose him amongst the other players.

But she was too late.

A second chaser came up on her other side and did the exact same thing as the first. Y/N soon realized that she was being ambushed as she looked over her shoulder to see the third chaser right on her tail.

The three Slytherin’s forced Y/N down towards the grass below. She tried to shimmy her way out of the pack of bodies, but when she finally looked down to where she was going, a flash of white hit her, her stomach lurching forward in the process.

The tip of her broomstick had caught onto one of the sand patches, sending her flying forward off of her broom and skidding face first into the rough grains of sand.

The impact was enough to knock her out cold.

A collective gasp filled the pitch and the game stopped completely. Everything went silent.

Fred couldn’t help but worry as he witnessed his friend take the nasty tumble. When the cloud of dust around her finally settled and he saw her not moving, his worry grew exponentially. That was when Hagrid, Madam Pomfrey and a student assistant rushed onto the scene.

“Out of my way!” Madam Pomfrey yelled as she ran past the now grounded players towards Y/N’s motionless body.

Everyone watched as the three person medical team examined her injuries. A group of Gryffindor professors came trickling in with Madam Hooch, hoping for a positive report. Sure it was slightly biased since she was one of their own, but who could blame them?

From closer inspection it became evident that her face had been badly bruised and scratched, especially around the cheek area. Her left wrist laid awkwardly beneath her, clearly broken. And from a couple quick tests, it seemed that she also suffered a bad concussion.

“She needs to be taken to the hospital wing.” Madam Pomfrey said with concern.

Hagrid nodded and along with the student medical assistant, rushed away into the shadows of the pitch to then re-emerge with a cloth stretcher.

They gently placed her on it and with very little struggle brought it off the ground, walking off the pitch towards the hospital wing.

Fred didn’t really think before he dropped his broom and ran after the group of adults, slowing down when he finally found himself beside the moving stretcher.

“Y/N.” Was all he said before taking her small hand in his. She looked so peaceful for someone who had just gotten the life knocked out of them.

“Is she going to be okay?” He asked with concerned eyes as he looked to Madam Pomfrey.

“Yes but what she needs is rest.”

“I’m going with her.” He stated confidently.

“Sorry sunny, she won’t be allowed visitors for another few hours. Only after I’ve fully mended her wounds.” And with that they quickened their pace, leaving Fred behind.

“Sad to see your little girlfriend go Weasley?” Called out Pucey in a nasty joking tone.

Fred’s fists and jaw clenched and his temperature rose exponentially. The Slytherin’s had clearly planned this. To injure his friend who was just playing a good and fair game of Quidditch.

He finally turned around at the sound of the opposing team laughing.

“You greasy little git!” He yelled as he stormed towards Pucey, shoving him in the chest once he got close enough.

“Ooohh.” The team mocked, not really taking Fred Weasley seriously.

“So she is your little girlfriend. Maybe next time you see her you can tell her to leave the game to the big boys. Pipsqueak didn’t stand a cha-“

Fred punched him square in the jaw causing the Slytherin to fall to the ground in pain. The crowd erupted in cheers and hollers when Fred dove forward and pinned Pucey down, tackling him.

“Fight! Fight! Fight!” Filled the arena.

“Get him off!” Pucey yelped as Fred laid hit after hit. No one talked about Y/N that way, never. He didn’t understand why he had gotten so heated over the situation, but at that point he was in way too deep to even care.

Finally, George came in and pried his older twin off of the bloodied up Slytherin who was whimpering in agony. He had to before the collection of angered professors approaching them did.

“Fred stop!” George yelled as Fred thrashed, trying to push his brother away from going back in for another round.

“Stupid wanker! I’ll show him!” George finally moved in front of him.

“Fred, relax. Y/N wouldn’t want to see you like this. Pull yourself together mate.” Fred was still seeing red. George attempted to make eye contact but it was no use. Fred was too busy sending death glares to Pucey, his chest rising and falling rapidly and nostrils flared.

“Mr Weasley!” Professor McGonagall screeched. She ran up to him with Snape and Flitwick close behind her.

“What is the meaning of this?”

“Professor he-“

“Apologies for interrupting you Mr Weasley but I believe I asked your brother the question.” George slinked back away from Fred, no longer able to protect him from the wrath of McGonagall.

“I hope you understand the severity of the situation. You will attend detention every day for an hour until Winter Break, do I make myself clear?”

“Yes professor.” He couldn’t make eye contact with her.

She looked at him with disappointed eyes.

“Fifty points from Gryffindor.” She said with a sigh before walking away.

“All students back to the castle!” She called out, causing everyone to disperse from the stands in disappointment.

Later that evening, Professor McGonagall and Dumbledore stood in the doorway of the now darkened hospital wing. Hours had passed since the incident.

“He’s been here for hours Albus. Should I send him back to his dorm?” She whispered.

Dumbledore smiled lightly, a spark of curiosity in his eyes.

Fred Weasley, still in his dirty quidditch robes, sat in a chair beside the hospital bed Y/N was sleeping in. He hadn’t gone back to his dorm to change or had eaten dinner in the great hall. He instead, paced in front of the hospital wing entrance until Madam Pomfrey finally let him in to see Y/N.

Fred was now hunched over and drifting in and out of sleep. His hand held Y/N’s, his thumb caressing the soft skin on top of them.

The two adults listened intently as Fred sleepily recounted his fight with Pucey to Y/N. He didn’t care if it fell on deaf ears. At least she was there.

“No Minerva. Leave him be.”

[startswithabang]

Humans Can’t Fly A Helicopter On Mars, And That’s Why Ingenuity Is So Amazing

"Mars is an entirely inhospitable world in a lot of ways. Its thin, tenuous atmosphere often blows at wildly incredible speeds, giving rise to dust storms and whimsically carrying anything that happens to be in its atmosphere wherever those winds blow. Its temperature extremes are a challenge to survive, particularly for robots with intricate, mechanically moving parts. And its great distance from Earth places a terrible constraint on what we can manually accomplish: anything that requires a reaction faster than the round-trip light-travel-time must be accomplished in situ on Mars, without human intervention.

And yet, we’ve conquered the journey across interplanetary space to arrive at Mars. We’ve conquered the bonds of gravity, sending orbiters around Mars and landers to its surface. We’ve overcome the challenges of the Martian surface, with rovers that can cover dozens of kilometers over their lifetimes. And now, for the first time, we’re conquering the Martian atmosphere, with the successful demonstration of powered flight on another planet. What we’re witnessing is, in its own way, the culmination of our aeronautics technologies, but it’s also the start of something big: the aerial exploration of worlds beyond Earth."

Yes, we are flying through the atmosphere of another planet! The era of orbiters, landers and rovers is no more, as they're joined also by the first successful powered flight on another world.

Here are the challenges we've overcome so far, and here's what all our successes just might lead to.

[starr-fall-knight-rise]

Earth is Space Australia, “Plagues of Earth.”

I finally got to write an earth is space Australia ft. (Australia) lol. I hope you guys have fun, i enjoyed making this, though I had less time than I wanted to elaborate. 

Also inspired by a cover of “The Plagues of Egypt” Done by Johnathan Young in a heavy metal style. I would suggest listening to it when you think about this piece. 

Also, sorry if I said anything inaccurate about anyone’s country. I had less than two hours and a quick google search for facts 

“Their planetary defense is strong, but they prepare for battle on a large scale.If we bring our troops to the surface in small drop ships, and lead their military carriers away by attacking their nearby colony. We will take the planet.”

“What would be the point of this?”

“Humanity is held up as deity by the rest of the galaxy. As long as they fight, the GA fights with them. But if we destroy them, crush their planet at the source, then we crush the morale of the rest of the galaxy.”

“Where do we drop out soldiers?”

“Everywhere, on every major landmass, near every major city. But we do it quietly, drop them into the wilderness first so the humans won’t see them coming.” 

“If we can defeat the humans, we can defeat them all.”

***

Location: Upper-Mid Merianda (Previous US/Canada border rocky mountain region) 

The burg landed in the thick forests of the north. The human planet was lush and green, and the temperature was moderate, though it leaned slightly towards cold under the canopy of branches. There were sounds everywhere, the chattering of wildlife and strange flying creatures flitting through the trees. The nearest human residence was not far off, maybe a ten cycle march down hill.

They would reach it in no time, and make their sneak attack.

Their team commander barked his commands to the following Burg soldiers and together they began making their way down the hill.

None of them noticed when things began to go wrong.

They had never been to earth, and so were not aware of the sudden silence in the forest that comes before a coming storm.

You see, the Burg are similar to the Iotans, in that they give off a pungent smell. Not so pungent as it tends to affect humans, but pungent enough to affect the nearby wildlife. A wildlife that was not pleased with their presence.

It might have been fine, if they hadn’t stumbled into the den.

It started with a light squeaking. A sound that gave them pause as they looked around for the source. One of the burg pushed aside a green fern to reveal a hole dug into the embankment. He would have investigated if it weren’t for the loud piercing howl that echoed through the trees just to their right.

They all leaped upright in confusion and fear backing into a circle.

Another howl pierced the forest from their left, another form their right. Until they were surrounded by the sound. Shapes flitted through the trees, furry on all fours and hunched.

A howl from directly behind them.

They spun in place.

As the wolf leaped from the top of the embankment her teeth flashing.

As it turns out wolf pups are fond of Burg flesh

***

New Brazilia (Somewhere in what was once central Brazil, Border rain forest district)

This was the perfect climate, nice warm, dark and moist, shady below the trees that towered overhead in great twisting arcs. The foliage below them was very thick and hard to cut through as they made their way towards the human colonies. This was surely going to be their element, and they laughed at the idea of making the humans suffer as they waded their way through the trees.

The ground before them opened revealing an embankment on the side of a river. There was a hole in the foliage here, and the ground was dry. The burg stepped down onto this spot, their feet crunching slightly in the dirt.

One of them slapped absently at one of it’s segmented legs, brushing away a small insect that had crawled onto its body. Another party member did the same.

One of them even shrieked in pain, “It bit me!”

They looked down brushing the little black bugs off their bodies, only to find that the ground was absolutely swarming with them. One of the Burg shrieked, and tried to run his entire body now covered with hundreds of these little black creatures, however he tripped and fell onto his face.

His entire body was black.

The others began to scream as well, swatting at their bodies and their weapons falling to the riverbed as they were overrun by a massive troop of army ants.

They would never make their destination.

***

United Slavic  Districts (North/eastern Russia)

This forest was both humid and somewhat cold. It was early morning in the summer, and yet frost still built up on the leaves of the plants overhead. The burg weren’t particularly pleased about this, but they were going to have to deal with it.

It was best to keep moving at times like this, and they hurried their way through thick banks of early morning fog towards the not-to-distant human civilization. Their feet were nearly silent over the frosty forest floor dirt compressing under foot.

They had been walking for some minutes when they heard the sound. A strange mournful cry from the woods almost like the cry of a human infant, though slightly deeper. THe sound made them excited. Where they were infants there were likely humans. And who knows that could be a human noise.

They followed the sound looking about the foggy forest.

The noise came again, so close.

Ah, and there it was, though they were disappointed to find it was not a human at all, but  two fuzzy brown animals no bigger than waist height. They were so small, so pathetic and pitiful and they cried out in terror when the burg approached.

One of the burg raised it’s weapon angry.

The bellow came echoing through the trees rending the very air around them and sending birds scattering into the sky.

The burg turned on their heels as the massive brown bear came charging out of the forest bellowing her teeth flashing.

As it seemed the great land, of what was once, Russia was not pleased with their presence.

***

East Trans African Belt (former Ethiopia)

It was hot and dry, and the burg didn’t like it. But at least the ground was mostly flat, and the dirt was easy to navigate. Tall grasses raised to either side of the shallow river just to their left. Animals grunted off in the distance and the sky above was bright and blue. Dust rose up from their feet as they made their way towards the edge of the river, hoping that the water would help to moisten up the air around them.

The grunting grew louder.

They glanced over seeing large bulbous shapes in the water. It didn’t much matter to them, and they mostly ignored the creatures, knowing that anything that big was likely to be equally slow. They were making their way up the riverbank now, and the creatures rested in the water just to their side.

Distant grunting grew louder.

One of the burg was standing just next to the bank now when the water exploded casing great droplets into the air as the Hippo burst from the river mouth open wide at it’s four foot extension and bit down upon the unsuspecting burg dragging him violently into the water.

The others tried to run, slipped on the mud, and were set upon by the rest of the family.

***

Southern Indasia (India) 

The river bank was calm, nothing but floating logs out on the distant water. One of the burg officers was listening to her communications.  There were reports form all across the human’s home planet, that many of their parties had gone radio silent. She wasn’t entirely sure what that could mean but it worried her. Many of them had been traveling along river pathways just like her and her group, and she wondered if that had anything to do with their current situation.

One of the young burg stood at the edge of the water kicking stones into its murky green depths.

“We should definitely move along  from this area.” She was saying moving back up the bank and towards the forest of trees.”

One of he logs had floated closer to shore.

The young burg agreed and bent down to retrieve his weapon from the bank.

A moment later his head had disappeared vanished inside the mouth of a crocodile who then began to spin violently  dragging the burg into the water. Alerted to the frenzy others came as well racing up onto the bank.

There was never any evidence that the Burg had visited india, though there were reports about strange noises by the river that morning.

***

Australia (still just Australia)

They came as the sun was rising. A low mist had coated itself over the land, though the day was lucking to be annoyingly hot. 

They were just coming up to the edge of the human settlement when they saw it. A distant shape silhouetted between two trees. At first it looked like a man, but as the fog drew back they found a strange creature staring back at them.

One of the burg snorted.

The thing looked like a Tesraki almost, but dumber and a bit taller with large pointy ears, an absolutely massive trunk, and a very long back tail that it used like a Tesraki to stand on iits back legs.

One of the Tesraki crouched down in the foliage resting his hand on a low garden wall.

“Just shoo it off.” Their commander ordered, and two of the Burg moved up to confront the dumb looking creature.

Three things happened at once.

First the crouching burg cursed violently flicking his hand and tossing the angry funnel web spider into the bushes. 

A hiss rose up from the leaves.

And the kangaroo violently kicked the first burg in the chest collapsing his carapace beyond repair before moving over to stomp his friend.

The death adder struck.

Two  of the Burg were convulsing on the ground, another two lay silent and broken. The next two ran off in different directions, one towards the nearby beach and the other back into the forest.

No one is entirely sure what happened after that. All we know is one was found belly up at high tide near the docks where blue ringed octopus are known to be found, and the other was completely gone, though they did spot a rather bloated and very happy looking python chilling in the bushes not far from where the incident occurred.

More and more berg had stopped answering their calls.

Most of the burg would never find out what happened.

But we do.

Burg were found dead all over the world.

A young girl reported a burg attack in the outskirts of London, though her rottweiler had made quick work of that enlisting another pack of suburban dogs to protect the little girl from the freaky bug things.

Alligator attacks in Florida.

Six burg were found plowed over by a speeding bullet train in Japan.

in  Lower Mid Mericanda, a group of self-claimed hillbillies  with cutoff sleeves and unironic mullets were speeding through the forests on the back of four wheelers taking pot shots at anything remotely burg shaped. They had  at least ten confirmed kills, and the creatures never made it out of the swamp.

Another group of burg had made the mistake of landing in one of the last nuclear fallout zones in eastern europe, and ended up cooked by the radiation, their bodies to remain rotting there until cleanup finally made it to the site. It was likely they didn’t last more than twenty minutes.

A surfer off the coast of New Zealand watched a school of dolphins ravage a group of burg who had through a water approach would be more prudent.  He had no idea how the dolphins knew the burg were intruders, but they seemed very interested in helping out.

One group of burg had managed to land themselves in a city in the european provinces, and found themselves beaten to death violently by a group of drunk civilians carrying improvised weapons, one of them even brandishing a pool cue.

Two more teams froze to death before they reached their destination.

Another was washed away by a minor flood.

One of the burg ended up tipped off a cliff by a massive eagle, falling to his death hundreds of feet below. 

Another entire group managed to walk their way into a patch of poison ivy breaking out in horrible boils, which later necrosed as they lay paralyzed on the forest floor. 

Somewhere someone was trampled by a moose, while their other friends were whisked over a waterfall.

In yellowstone (yeah it still hasn’t blown up yet bc the vents are a good pressure release) at least another team of burg found themselves cooking in the natural hot springs after ignoring the signs that said (keep on the walkway).

Those who chose to land in the city were not greeted cordially either, packs of marauding street dogs, gangs, the homeless, drunk civilians, angry policemen, and a high school baseball team supported by the high school chess team.

Long and short of the story is that earth was-not-having-it.

The burg had made a grave mistake. 

Mother earth was fond of her children, even the human ones. 

[katsukikitten]

Wholesome Frat AU, Clearly aged up, college au, main characters are Bakugou, Kirishima, Denki, Sero, Jiro, Mina, and of course you my dear reader. Sexual themes, mentions of drugs and booze through out.

AHEM

Chapter 1

Denki lies upside down off his bed, staring at his phone when another invite to a party comes through. It's from a classmate he shares notes with and one of the few non toxic dudes on campus. A smile forms on his face, his fingers ready to fly across the screen to confirm his Friday night to be golden and one to remember. 

Or maybe wish to remember as alcohol and maybe some weed numb his senses. 

But then the location comes through, a frat house that's notorious for ignorance and low key rape culture. He turns it down claiming to study and sighs. Staring at his shared four walls from the top bunk. 

"What's going on with you? No one wants you to keep their bed warm tonight?" Sero teases passing him up a beer before starting the next round of his game. Preferring to get buzzed and troll in Apex lobbies than find somewhere to be tonight.  

Their phones buzz at the same time, Kirishima coming through on the group chat. 

Big Red 🦈 : Any plans tonight boys?

Boomboi 💣 : Fuck off, busy. 

Tape dispenser 🎞 : Apex

Zaptos ⚡: got invited to a party but location is sus af. You bro? 

Big Red 🦈 : Yikes 😬 Keepin some ladies safe. Don't like the scene here…

Tape dispenser 🎞 : Same

Zaptos ⚡: Same

Boomboi 💣:  FUCK OFF!

Denki and Sero both smirk at their phones before moving on with their Friday night with small talk of Instagram stories and received risque snapchats. As the beer fridge gets dwindles  their thoughts seem to grow. 

"Okay, listen. Here me out!" Denki says as if Sero would ever come off defensive. He finishes his eighth beer before continuing. 

"What if we started our own frat? Like...like a fucking wholesome one." 

"Dude not only does that sound impossible but what would we call ourselves?" Sero chuckles nursing his seventh beer. Denki pauses for a moment, trying to think of something, anything great. 

"Alpha Kappa Wholesome." He smiles, "Yea that's it!"

Sero laughs from his bottom bunk earning an angry faced Denki to put half of his body over the side of his bed. 

"I'm serious man! We could kick out whoever doesn't match our values. This college is supposed to be about making 'lasting connections' with fellow heroes! How are we supposed to do it when we are cooped up in our tiny dorm!" He gestures to their cramped room. A set of bunk beds and desks with their TV and shared dresser on the far wall. Sero looks around, this sure as hell wasn't like the dorms at UA that's for sure. 

"Okay well two people isn't enough for a frat, man." Sero lets the dream die before it can bloom, running a hand through his raven hair. Denki scrunches up his face before he remembers where his crush stays.  It's as if a light bulb lit up atop his upside down head. He jolts himself falling from the top bunk crashing into the empty beer bottle. They clink in protest but thankfully non break, just roll beneath the bottom bunk. 

"But there is a sorority of only four and we have four friends in our group!" 

Denki decides now is a good time to face time them. Kirishima answers first with a shout that he's gonna step outside, the roaring party and flashing lights die behind the shutting door while Bakugou is illuminated by the light of his screen glaring into the camera while a meek looking girl hides. 

"This better be fucking good." Bakugou growls. 

After an hour and a half of screaming Denki finally convinces Bakugou that sharing a house with the three of them as opposed to a rando was a much better idea. Reminding him that he had done it for three years in highschool surely he could last two more. He agrees but refuses to help argue with the dean meanwhile Kirishima is GLOWING with excitement over the idea formulating with his sober mind the best way to handle the notorious harsh Dean. 

It takes petitions, several meetings and almost til the spring break to come down to this, the final meeting. Bakugou, who has attended every meeting and true to his word has said nothing. Denki nervous as a sinner in church, Sero who's sweating bullets and Kirishima all sit in the room with the board, treasury and the Dean in a final meeting of sorts. 

Kirishima gulps and before he can explain the benefits the frat will have to offer the Dean stops him with a simple show of his hand. Taking a report from the secretary of treasury to look over, he just needed the monetary excuse to back up his favorite word. 

"No." He clears his throat, "Unfortunately funds are too low to be able to support another fraternity." The Dean leaves it at that not even bothering to offer they join something preexisting. 

Three of the four men accept defeat, mentally communicating that they did a good job trying. But the fourth man dreamed of his own room, of his own space to do as he pleased. And all without threat of being charged with murder. Although the fourth man would never admit that the reason he spoke up wasn't totally about the room, it was the look of defeat, anguish on his friends faces that had the room heating up a degree or two and smelling heavily of boiling sugar. 

"Oi, toupee." The hot head let's his seat fall back to all fours, fixing the Dean a withering look, "You said something about not enough money huh?" 

The Dean swallows thickly carefully thinking out his next sentence. 

"Why, Yes its…." Bakugou interrupts before the Dean can even finish his thought. 

"Pretty sure I'm the reason this campus is gonna be swarming with fucking no name extras next year." Katsuki's smile widens as his hand pops, "If you deny this request with the money I'm making you then I'll participate in the university sports festival with another college's across my fucking chest." 

The Dean visibly sweats, Bakugou really was a hard student to land. His brash attitude and unapologetic behavior was popular among the younger generation bringing with it an influx of applicants and donations. It hadn't even been 24 hours since his announcement did it crash the admin and donation site. He panics, not even sure if there is any real estate available on or around campus in order for him to legally allow this fraternity to flourish. As if reading his mind the secretary of grounds offers him a file, an old run down home within a decent walking distance of the main campus. The Dean exhales the breath he didn't realize he was holding. 

"Let's not act so rash. It has just come to my attention that we have some extra funding to be able to purchase a place for you all…" He looks over the file, he hopes this is enough to placate the hot head, "But it will need some old fashioned sweat equity, if we can secure it. The town has been kind enough to offer us first dibs to real estate within a certain radius of campus and if they like our offer you hardworking men will have your 'Alpha Kappa Wholesome home." 

"They better like your offer." Is all Bakugou says before standing, "We get the keys in a month, got it?"

He doesn't give the Dean time to rebuttal, he just leaves while the other shocked three follow suit. It isn't until they are in the courtyard does their excitement hit them all at once.

"HOLY SHIT BAKUBRO ALWAYS COMING IN ON THE FUCKING KLUTCH!" Denki shouts, tackling Bakugou into a hug, Sero and then Kirishima wrap their arms around the yelling hot head who threatens to blow them up. 

"I owe you a fucking drink!" Kirishima shouts lifting the group and twirling them  

"OI OI OI SHITTY HAIR PUT ME DOWN!" 

After that promised drink and a month of waiting the four musketeers stand before their new home. The house is trashed, easily a short sale of a foreclosure as the rent went higher but their wages stayed low. The amount of work to make this place semi decent was going to be astronomical at best. 

Bakugou is thoroughly unimpressed, scoffing as Denki runs up the porch. The vision is clear in the electric blonde's head. The massive porch is clean, with a swing and some chairs, string lights hanging from the wooden ceiling while the half wrapped around, second story porch is draped in endless artificial star light cloaking the house in cozy warmth. 

Dneki opens the front door and plume of dust rushes out around him, the other two follow suit. Taking the steps two at a time as they rush into the house. Harsh garnet stares after them before glancing at their luggage. He decides to leave it all stepping inside. 

Their imaginations run rampant as they stand beneath the large archway to the main living room while Bakugou begins to second guess opening his mouth. That or getting more money from the Dean. Before displeasure can leave the hot head his friends turn to face him, their eyes shining and smiles stretched wide, wide enough it begins to hurt Bakugou's own cheeks. They encourage him to step into the home more, telling him what will go where. For a moment his smile is soft, tender as he looks at these three idiots seeing the bright side of everything before he steels back into his normal self.

"Oi! Quick acting all googly eyed. We've got a lot of work to do and a lot of fucking money to raise." 

The four friends spend majority of their spring term picking rooms and doing basic cleaning. Bringing only one of the two full bathrooms up to par, trying their best to keep up with the old big house. Even after all of them picked their rooms there were still three bedrooms and a den with a door left. They brain stormed adding recruits but Bakugou shot the idea down despite Sero being elected the president of the frat. 

Spring boils into summer, bringing with it the promise of cold hard cash. Bake sales and lunch deals thanks to Bakugou's cooking skills brought in a large amount of income, so did the odd jobs Kirishima, Denki, and Sero found themselves doing. Still they find themselves short.

"Shirtless carwash!" Denki announces earning a glare from Bakugou. Kirishima pipes up before the idea is blasted sky high. 

"Think of the money man. The community around here is soccer mom's and freshly graduated college kids and I don't know about yall but when I go for a run or hit up the corner store after a good run I'm being stared at." 

"That's a valid point Bakugou. I've seen how they flock to you for baked goods, they've been staring at your arms and eyes man." Sero adds voting yes to the idea making it three to one. 

Just as Kirishima said, woman and even some men, flock to the area for a car wash. Some even coming back twice in one day! The cash flow is good but still a bit lacking. Denki wipes the sweat from his brow as he wonders how they will get enough to be able to get decent light fixtures and a working fridge in the dorm. Let alone anything aside from a blown up mattress and folding chairs in the living room. He scrolls through his social media on his break and comes across the miracle he has been asking for. 

A lovely summer picture of four women in bikinis, three of them his housemates have lived with before. Mina Ashido, Jiro Kyoka,  Ochako Uraraka, and then there is the new woman, you.

But what makes the picture that much sweeter isn't even the content itself, no it's that gorgeous caption just beneath it. 

"BASIC BITCH CAR WASH! Help us raise money for an apartment so our sorority doesn't get disbanded!" 

An idea formulates in the electric blondes head so quickly he thinks sparks fly from his ears. A dangerous smile forms on Denki Kaminari's lips. 

[descendantofthesparrow]

Harry Hook x Pan! Reader - Misunderstood - oneshot

Slight canon divergence - before D3 but after D2 but more kids get invited and actually taken to Auradon and Ben gets Uma and her boys over because he’s Ben

Slight angst btw 

the necklace:

=

“IS THIS JUST A GAME TO YOU?!” Harry stared at you wide-eyed, clutching onto the stolen small bottle necklace, which held your precious pixie dust.

The last you had gotten from your dad before he died.

You took a deep breath, it caught in your throat as tears burned at your eyes “god, are you just THAT self-absorbed that you can't bother to think that people other than you have feelings?! Am I just not worthy enough you to have feelings?! Well, guess what Hook!? I HAVE FEELINGS AND IM FUCKING DONE DEALING WITH YOUR BULLSHIT!” you stormed up to the pirate and snatched the necklace from Harry, you took a deep breath, about to yell at him again, but you just snapped your mouth shut and shook your head, rubbing your eyes as you spun around and stormed away from him.

Harry watched you wide-eyed as you stormed away from him….were you…crying? Why were you crying? He thought the two of you were just having a good old fashion rivalry?

Apparently, you thought different, Harry shrunk in on himself, racking through his mind to try to find instances where you didn’t play along with his teasing.

….he couldn’t remember a single time you smiled during it.

Shit-he always thought you were playing along with him, throwing the playful insults right back and taking every prank like water off the back.

But now he knew that it wasn’t like that, he had gone too far in messing with the daughter of Peter Pan.

=

You let out a sigh, a sob cracking with your throat as you wiped the tears from your face.

When Harry Hook first came to Auradon, you had given him the same doubt you gave all the vks, that he wasn’t like his father.

And you were right….he was worse.

Constantly teasing you, insulting you and your late-father, stealing your things, and all with a big smile on his face.

Like making you feel like shit was just a game to him.

The only reason you didn’t tattle tale to FG was that you couldn’t bear him getting sent back to the isle. Even if after all he did to you, you didn’t want him to lose his chance at a good life.

You sighed, glancing down at the bottle clutched in your hand smiling in relief as you spotted no cracks or any damage.

Hopefully, Harry would leave you alone from now on, but knowing him, he would continue to make your life hell for fun.

=

As the week went on since the “Harry stealing your precious necklace” incident, the aforementioned Teen pirate hadn’t bothered you at all.

During your dreaded shared classes with him, he hadn’t even looked in your direction, instead, he sat curled up at his desk, eyes pointedly looking down at his notebook.

It was an odd but mostly welcome change.

Except for the fact that he stopped doing most things at all….which slightly worried you. He had gone from a proudly loud, chaotic, disruptive teen to a drawn-in, quiet, and only speaking when spoken to one…and while you knew you didn’t owe harry any of your worried feelings, you still did.

You did your best to ignore the pit in your chest, doing your best to ignore your growing worry for the son of Hook.

But one day

Someone knocked on your dorm room door, making you sit up from your desk confused, glancing at the clock. Almost 10pm, curfew, who would risk coming to your room this late.

Standing from your desk and walking over to your door, you unlocked it and peeked around as you opened it, eyes widening as you saw the son of Hook, standing at your door, eyes cast down and wringing his hands together.

“Hook?” you whispered, making his dull ocean blue eyes shoot to yours “what are you-what do you want?”

“i-“ Harry took a shaky breath, ruffling his hair “I jus’ came ta say…im sorry” you blinked in shock…sorry? “im sorry, I went too far in messin’ with ya, Im…im bad at reading social cues sometimes and I somehow never realized yeh weren’t having fun like I thought ye were”

“fun?” you snapped, glaring at him, Harry’s eyes widened and he waved his hands franticly.

“nonono not wha-i-shit-um,I-I thought we were just playing into a joke, like-I thought we were making fun of our parent's rivalry? Im sorry, I should have checked to make sure yeh were okay with everything”

You thought back to everything, every incident, every prank, insult, tease…..Harry was smiling a genuine smile, giggling to himself as you threw back each one, like he was having fun, like it was all a joke.

And it was, to him at least….great now you felt like shit. “look Harry im sor-“ Harry suddenly covered your mouth with his hands, his eyes wide.

“no! yeh have nothing ta be sorry fer, I wasn’t clear with meh intentions, its completely meh fault, and again, im sorry fer it.” He slowly took his hands off your mouth, giving you a sheepish smile “thas all I wanted ta say, im sorry for doing all tha’ and I’ll never do ‘em again”

You and Harry stared at each other for a moment, before Harry took a step back, glancing up and down the hallway “well….that's-tha’s it, um, bye” just as Harry turned to leave, you reached out and grabbed his jacket, stopping him from leaving. He turned to you confused, his brows furrowed “Pan?”

You smiled at him, his jaw-dropping slightly as you did “let's start over, hm?” you released his jacket and held out your hand “im (y/n) Pan”

Harry just stared at you, eyes flying between your hand and your smiling face. A small smile grew on his face as he turned to face you completely and took your hand, grinning as you started swinging them. “im Harry Hook”

“nice to meet you Harry Hook, I hope we get along” you giggled, scrunching your nose as Harry beamed, his dull eyes turning bright.

“aye, I hope so too”

You nodded, glancing at your clock and wincing “uuum, its ten o’clock” Harry's eyes widened and he leaned into your room, yelping as he glanced at your clock.

“shit! I have’ta go, bye Pan!”

“bye” you laughed, watching Harry rush back to his dorms. You snorted and backed into your room, closing the door and walking back over to your desk, sighing as you flopped in your chair and stretched “glad to finally have all that sorted out” you muttered, cracking your neck and continuing on your essay.

=

Harry slid into his room, slightly tripping over the rug and yelping, sighing as he regained his balance “whew” Harry rubbed his eyes, smiling at Gil as the other teen sat up on his bed,

“well?!” Gil pushed, leaping from his bed and speeding over to Harry, grabbing onto his shoulders “how’d it go?”

“id say she forgave meh?” Harry guessed, shrugging off Gil's hands and walking over to his dresser for his PJ’s “she smiled at me at least, but well see”

“that’s good, I’m glad your out of your slump, it was kinda sad to see you moping about like that” Gil sighed, walking back over to his bed and laying down, crossing his arms behind his head.

“aye, didn’t feel too good either” Harry muttered, shrugging on a tank top and sweatpants “well, night”

“night” Gil called back, turning off his light and getting under his covers, almost falling asleep immediately.

Harry walked to his bed and rolled under the covers, making a mental note to thank Uma for helping him figure out what to say to (y/n).

He shut off his light and pushed his head into his fluffy pillow, closing his eyes and ready for the next day.

Where hopefully he and (y/n) Pan wouldn’t be enemies anymore.

-end-

permtaglist

@queer-cosette​ @sephiralorange​

@lunanight2012​ @daughter-of-the-stars11​

@musicarose​ @random-thoughts-003​

@remembered-license​ @rintheemolion​

[hyperpsychomaniac]

Bonding Exercise - Chapter 4

DT 17 Fanfiction

Summary: Scrooge is sick of Della and Launchpad fighting over the Sunchaser, which is costing him money, so he sends them on a 40 hour flight and orders them to sort out their differences.

Chapter 1

***

Della snorted awake and blinked the glare from her eyes wearily. The bedspread in front of her was a crisp white, reflecting brightly the beam of sunlight that crept through the window and across the hospital bed to finally rouse her. The hospital bed. And all the events on the aeroplane came flooding back to her.

"Oh hey, you're awake." Launchpad sat upright at the top of the bed, propped up by pillows. His arm was in a sling, a proper one, and the bandage around his upper arm was a lot neater than the blood-soaked mess Della had been able to do for him. He had his phone in his good hand. But he smiled at her faintly and immediately put it face down on his bedside table.

"So are you." When Della had finally fallen asleep last night, Launchpad had been entirely out of it. She had not expected to see him awake.

"I, er… woke up maybe an hour ago. It would've been hard to go back to sleep anyway. You were snoring like a freight train."

Della flushed. "Um… sorry."

Launchpad's gaze lowered. "Did you stay here all night?"

Della nodded. It had been morning when the woman from the station who'd contacted them made it to the aeroplane. Launchpad had still been out of it, and Della had hoped that was simply because he was sleeping off the creature's venom. They'd somehow managed to heft him into their rescuer's jeep. When Della had asked her what the thing that attacked them was and whether it was venomous, she had simply shrugged and said: "Probably. Everything out here is."

It had only been the few hours, late in the afternoon, when they'd finally traversed the miles of red dirt road and got Launchpad to a hospital, and he'd been taken into surgery, that the doctors had insisted Della had to wait outside.

"Of course. I promised I wouldn't leave you alone."

"Thanks, Della," Launchpad said quietly. "That means a lot."

Della glanced at Launchpad's phone. The device was no longer an annoyance to her. He'd been so upset on the plane, and it made sense, but she still didn't fully understand what had gone on. "Did…" she asked tentatively, "did your parents get your messages?"

Launchpad winced. "I said stuff about them, didn't I? Back on the plane."

"Sort of. Look, you were really out of it. I get if it's not something you want to talk about with me…"

"Those messages hadn't sent yet. So I deleted them. I think they would've freaked my parents out. They freaked me out. I know I was stressing about talking to them, but I didn't actually realise…" Launchpad gulped. "I didn't realise how badly I wanted them to be there for me. Even though they haven't always been. I don't even remember writing those messages. But that's what it sounded like from reading them."

Launchpad had his legs crossed under the covers, leaving free space at the bottom of the bed. Della scooted herself up into it. "LP, I'm so sorry. I didn't realise you had all this going on. I get why you didn't tell me. I mean, you've never talked about your family before. But I thought you were playing on your phone because you were ignoring me, and you weren't interested in not fighting, even for Dewey, and… I'm sorry. I've been acting like a complete and utter jerk." She hung her head.

"You weren't the only one. I'm sorry too."

"At least you had a good reason."

"Not really. I mean, yeah, I was distracted. I probably should've just replied to my parents instead of worrying about it for, like, an entire week. But I haven't spoken to them in years. I thought they didn't want to have anything to do with me. So I'm not sure how to talk to them, and I guess I froze up. But… I replied to them just now. I told them I missed them, and… they haven't responded yet. But I think they're probably asleep or something. I'll… I'll figure it out.

Launchpad plucked at the bedsheet as he spoke and wouldn't meet Della's gaze. "But it's not the only reason I've been a jerk and fighting with you and avoiding you. I…." He gulped, then looked up at her as he plunged ahead. "Della, ever since I started working for Mr McDee, and then flying his plane, and Dewey and his brothers came to live at the manor, and we all started going on adventures, and… you guys have been more of a family to me than my parents were. I don't feel like I'm getting in the way, even though I sometimes do and…

"And then you came back from the moon. And I'm really happy for Dewey. It's great he gets to have such a good mom, but… you're a pilot too. And you're way better at it than me, and… you're actually family. I haven't been able to go on as many adventures, and that was okay because I get it but… but now Dewey's learning to be a pilot as well." His shoulders sagged. "I'm pretty sure he's better than me already. I'm sure he'll even be great at landing. I'm really proud of him and all, but… now you've got yet another pilot and… is Mr McDee even going to need me?"

Della stared at him until she realised he actually expected her to answer his question. "Launchpad…" She reached out without thinking and grasped his hand. She felt his fingers tense at her touch, wrapping around hers. "Even if Scrooge doesn't need you, I… I want you to help teach Dewey about flying too."

"Come on, Della. You don't want me teaching Dewey anything. I'm a lousy pilot, and you wouldn't have yelled at me so much if…"

"No, listen to me. Yeah, I was mad. But that was before I freaked out trying to land in a dust storm because I was worried my friend would bleed out behind me. The way you talked me through the crash, you need to teach that to Dewey. I mean, I don't want him to crash, but sometimes you have to, and, well… you didn't freak out even though you'd pretty much just been stabbed…"

"You really want me to help teach him?"

"Yeah, really. Just ask me whenever you want to take him up, okay? Don't do it behind my back."

Launchpad nodded. He smiled faintly. "Hey, I guess we can be nice to each other. If we try."

Della smiled back. "Dewey's right. We should be friends, even if we fight a bit. And that's okay. As long as we promise not to be jerks to each other. Deal?"

"Deal. And thanks…" Launchpad glanced briefly at his phone. "It does mean a lot, you know, that you were there for me when I needed someone."

Della swallowed. "Launchpad, your parents…"

"What about Mr McDee?"

"About…"

"He's mad about how much money we're spending on the… the Cloudslasher. If he gets sick of it, it's not you he's going to fire."

Della sighed. "The… the Sunchaser."

Launchpad blinked at her.

"Come on, LP, I named her when I was like nineteen. Sunchaser suits her a lot more. She might be big and clunky, but she's dependable and… I don't know, she sort of reminds me of you. But like Dewey said, we both love her. So assuming we can scrape her up off the desert floor, if Scrooge doesn't want double the maintenance costs, then between the both of us, we should be able to halve them instead."

Launchpad squinted. "Wait, so half is…"

"Huh?"

"Half of what it should be, or what we're spending on it now, or… ? Do we have to think about fractions because they really stress me out…"

Della groaned. "You know what? I'll get Huey to do the maths. All we've got to do is work together to figure out how to make it less. Plus, we should be taking care of the old girl properly anyway."

Launchpad's phone chirped on his bedside, and he visibly flinched. He reached out his hand for it, then paused.

"You know what, I can go get some coffee?"

"Er, I'm not sure I'm allowed to have coffee right now."

"I… LP, I'm going to leave the room for a bit."

"Oh, yeah, okay." Launchpad pulled the phone towards him, took a deep breath, and unlocked the screen.

Della left him and went in search of a coffee machine. She did feel a little better now. And not just because Launchpad was awake and seemed to be doing okay. Finally, they were talking to each other, and it felt like a weight of frustration had lifted from her chest. She just wished it hadn't taken Launchpad getting hurt to push them into it.

Still, Della was pretty sure one life-threatening experience didn't put them anywhere near close enough for her to start butting into his personal life. It had only been the dose of venom in Launchpad's system, on top of everything else, which had resulted in him breaking down on her. She would give him the privacy he needed to work out whatever was happening between him and his parents.

But whatever that was was hurting him, and Della realised she cared. She didn't want to see Launchpad in a mess like back on the Sunchaser. But, apart from being there for him when he was hurt, she wasn't sure what she was supposed to do about it.

But like Dewey had asked of them, maybe the place to start was to just try and be friends.

***

Author's note: Done! If you've enjoyed please feel free to leave me any comments. I usually try to respond. :)

[cutegirlmayra]

Hello Mayra! Hope you're doing well, perhaps a prompt to make you feel better? This is canon adjacent but also kind of AUish. Weresonamy but it takes place in the Storybook world (you knows those games). Sonic is now the big bad wolf and Amy is little red riding hood. At first she's afraid of him which hurts Sonic but there's a bigger threat and he jumps into action protecting little red. So the werehog saves the day and earns little reds trust and he realizes how much important Amy's support is

<3 I could always feel better lol But I’m doing great, thanks for asking! :Db

Also, still not sure if Canon Adjacent means Semi-Canon..? Eh? -help please I’m old and I don’t read fanfiction anymore lolol-

PROMPTS ARE ON SHUTDOWN. You know the drill, don’t send any more prompts until they’re announced to be reopen again! :Db

My response and first impression of this prompt: Pajama Blogs - Prompt Requests Ep. 1 (x - 41:05)

Prompt:

I was told to immediately head to Miss Vanilla’s house with Cream and I’s cookies. I was holding her hand as the path grew dark and strange noises kept crushing the leaves that blew in the full moon night.

I heard grunting at different intervals, and as Cream clung close to me, I stroked her head but couldn’t find the strength inside myself to open my mouth and give her encouragement. Comfort... I greatly needed that too.

“M-Miss Riding Amy?”

She was a kind girl, Cream. A small rabbit, that any predator would make a gruesome snack out of. I was a traveling adventurer who just happened to be fortune telling when she asked me for this favor.

Her mother lived so far out into the enchanted woods... doesn’t she know the stories and rumors? Even in all my travels... I’ve never heard of a forest this dense with evil magic!

“What is it, Little Cream?” I asked, moving the basket from her arm and switching it to my other side, cradling her once burdened arm now tightly within my own.

Escorting was the easy part, but monsters were at the forefront of my worries.

“D-do you think mother is safe living so far from town?” She asked me.

‘How the heck would I know, kid?’ I made a sour face, but kept my slurring suspicions to myself. “She’s your mother, Cream.” I finished my thought out loud, even with the tone of my voice being rather foul. “Which means she’s got to be twice as strong and brave as you! Right?” I bounced her arm in mine, smiling down to her from my red hood with a white rim that coupled nicely with my dress. It was tied tightly around my neck and even looked good with my corset, something I had picked up along my travels. “Now then, stay close, and everything will be alright, okay?” I manipulated my voice to sound assured, the only comfort I had waited for my lips to speak seemed more for myself than anything else.

Still,... I wasn’t going to leave a helpless little bunny to the hands of these deadly forest.

I glared at them, as though warning them that at any wrong move, I’d hammer them!

We continued down the dark path before I couldn’t tell dirt from moss anymore, and the colors dulled into deep blues and blacks, the moonlight no longer helping from the shadow of the trees above...

“Hmm...” I frowned, trying to gauge by the wind if a storm was coming... I squinted my eyes through the cold and thought I saw a shadow turn and inch closer to a tree.

I took Cream’s hand tighter, “Let’s keep moving...” and continued my brisk steps towards where the compass pointed us too.

I didn’t see it till later... but scratch marks revealed the sign had been tampered with, and with the compass pointing north, but the sign saying that her Mother’s cabin was another way... I took the other path.

I shook the compass when it was clear we were walking on grass, with no more trodden down carriage routes, and then...

We heard the howl.

“Miss Riding Amy!” Cream jumped into an embrace at my waist, as I put an arm protectively to her back and looked around. I could hear soft, misty voices as creatures that looked like chameleons began to materialize as though invisible this whole time! Tracking us?! They crawled down the trees with hooks for feet, sharp bluish and purple bodies with horns, and their tongues flung out and wiggled themselves in front of us before they jumped to attack.

I summoned my hammer and threw Cream back behind me, and as my first powerful swing locked onto one of the nightly creatures, my hoodie flung off.

I also didn’t know... that a beast within the forest’s eyes dilated at seeing my face, who had secretly followed us in the hopes of guiding us back on the correct path... hidden this whole time as well, when he saw my face, he immediately disregarded his own reservations at staying out of sight, and used the cover of darkness to swing his massive fists, stretching far and wide, to make it look like my hammer throws were hitting them all.

I didn’t see through his illusion, instead, I thought I was whipping my hammer around so fast that the monsters couldn’t keep up, till one ducked and dodged both our tactics and walloped me right in the chin. I was flung back, with poor Cream’s basket getting thrown in the impact and landed with her cookies that we had spent so long making.

This quest was harder than I thought.

I scooted back on the ground as Cream cried out to me, but the monster tried to ready his tongue to lasso Cream, when an even larger beast finally sprung out into our sights, and began to throw a gorilla-like tantrum with his arms, banging the ground and causing it to shake.

He roared fiercely and grabbed the chameleon by it’s ankles, swinging him wildly as it looked like an unwanted carnival ride, round and round.

His fur shuffled in the wind as he finally released the foul terror and it slammed against a tree, twitching... before it’s misty hide disintegrated back into the forest’s magic power...

I quickly pulled myself up and gripped Cream in fright, but held my hammer out with harsh pants, still not fully quitting without a good struggle first.

The beast relaxed it’s shoulders... then slightly turned its head to us.

I continued to hold my hammer out, before shifting it behind my shoulder, ready to swing at any given notice.

He slowly reached his hand out, letting its true length be known and lifted it above my hammer as I swung to defend ourselves, but we were both surprised when he picked up the basket.

He then swiftly gathered up the cookies with precision in his claws and lengthy fingers, before withdrawing his arm back to it’s normal, monstrous-still size and presented it at our feet.

We were still both laying upon the ground, except my torso raised slightly, before he nodded and was about to walk away when we heard a woman’s voice shriek out in fright.

“Mother!” Cream called, looking behind me and taking off.

“Cream! Wait!” I didn’t even think about the basket, and took off after her. Dust in our wake, I suddenly looked back to see the blue, hairy monster carrying the basket in his mouth, and lowering his head, scooped me up and onto his back. “W-wo-AHH!!” I gripped his back like a baby monkey, just trying to not get jostled off as he raced on all fours with such velocity.

‘He doesn’t look to be hunting Cream.’ I surmised, and then for a moment, actually thought riding this beast was my calling... it was fun, it felt like I was meant to trust him... I only had this feeling when drawing tarot cards, and seeing the fortune of ‘Destined Love’ written upon it...

“I don’t know who you are-!” I immediately shouted out, positioning myself more comfortably upon his back as he dipped his head and was about to scoop up Cream to his back as well, “But let’s save this family!” before another even more frightening beast that looked like a phoenix swooped down and clamped its claws to her. “Ah!” I cried out in shock, it happening so fast.

“Oh no!” The burly voice of the monster had thrown the basket back up to me and I caught it instinctively, before seeing him reach out his hand to extend it again beyond normal means, and grab a branch.

Like a springboard, we were slingshotted to that branch as I let out another yelp of shock.

This... was surprisingly fun! If it didn’t mean my little friend and her mother were in danger.

“Can you go faster!?” I encouraged, and suddenly, the beast seemed to take offense to that.

“Hold on!” he called out, a harsh grumble in his voice he may have not meant to make, and immediately we began swinging and launching ourselves closer and closer to the flying bird creature, when I noticed another--adult--rabbit in it’s other talon.

“It’s got her mother!” I cried out, and his eyes seemed to bleed with the necessity to save them as well. 

“Do you trust a monster?” He asked, dropping to the ground after each failed jumped couldn’t get us close enough to reach them.

I held my hammer at the ready, looking to the strange beasts as though the term ‘monster’ didn’t suit how heroic he was being in trying to help us.

“N-no.” I stated, and he looked down a moment, as though disappointed. “I trust you.” I stated, boldly and point-blankly. “You’re willing to risk life and limb just for a couple of girls... I wouldn’t know a monster that noble, but I do know heroes that stalwart and true.”

His head rose and for the first time, I could see his full face. He looked touched by my words... before nodding with a narrowing of his eyes. “Alright then, Miss Rose Rider. Prepare to ride to wind!”

“W-what?”

He shot his arms out and pulled himself back, just like a slingshot position!

“Ho, boy!” I bit on my hammer and kept it between my teeth, realizing I needed to hold onto this ride with both hands....

He strained, before finally whiplashing us both into the air.

“Now, go!” He reached back to grip me, as best he could without injuring me with his brute strength, and threw me like an arrow across the night sky to the belly of the beast.

“HHHAAAAA!!!!” I slammed my hammer into it’s gut and had it coughing up a storm, dropping it’s prey as the woman and her child screamed upon their descent.

“Hero!” I called out, deciding never to use the term ‘beast’ or ‘monster’ again for such a kind soul.

The Hero seemed to understand I was addressing him, and threw out his arms to grab the girls and tucked them into his chest... falling down... Oh no...

“NOO!!” He was taking the plunge for them!

I wasn’t able to think about it long though, as the dark phoenix cried out and came for me, but I whammed it’s beak away from devouring me and grabbed a talon, using its body to take the hit for me on the ground while I remained safe at the underbelly of it’s feathers.

Spitting out said feathers, I then frantically backed tracked further into the forest, before seeing Vanilla and her daughter crouched over the Hero, tears of regret in their eyes.

“He... He took the fall for us. All of it.” Vanilla admitted, seeing that I was the one with Cream.

“Oh, Miss Riding Amy...” Cream wiped her tears, holding her mother’s hand and pulling themselves away from him. “He was the bravest, nicest wolf I’ve ever known!” She then pulled me into that said hug, but my eyes never left the body of the Hero.

His fur swiveled in the breeze... and the forest moaned as if losing something precious.

“N-...No...” My cards never predicted this... I moved the grieving girl and mother apart from me,... crawling to the Hero’s fallen form. “Please... I still want to... I still want to know you... I want to thank you...” My voice began to break, gripping his fur in my white gloves. “I didn’t even know your name...” I sobbed more than I ever thought I could have...

“I... I love you... Mr. Wolf, sir.” Cream began, “Thank you... for saving both me, my mother... and my friend.”

I shook my head, “You and I... we fought like a supersonic comet... that bird didn’t know what hit’em.”

Then...

While the sun began to rise... his form twitched and rumbled as though something was happening.

I pulled away only when a bright light flashed and yellow streams of golden ribbons flew around him.

He was lifted into the air and the golden streams wrapped around him before revealing a handsome--more beautiful hedgehog man than I’ve ever seen in all my life--slowly floating down to the ground before blinking his eyes open.

“Who...” he began, rubbing his head and shaking it as he got upright, spooking us all as we were jaw struck. “Who said my name..? And that they... could love a beast?”

We had a big party that night at Vanilla and Cream’s home. Cream explained her mother didn’t like her walking the path at night, due to the trickery of the forest dwelling monsters, but that she always knew a kind, mysterious figure protected her and her daughter every time they crossed.

On this particular day, Cream was attending the Chao Kindergarten in the village and had played so long with the Chao, had forgotten the time. Vanilla was so worried she went in search of Cream, finding the wolf and asking if he was the one that kept them safe all those many years they lived there.

He agreed to go on ahead before finding Riding Amy with Cream, and stalked them to make sure they got to safety, but was too afraid to reveal his cursed form.

The curse could only be broken by someone speaking his name after a declaration of admiration and love. 

“That’s... amazing.” I was still in awe at how handsome the young hedgehog man looked. I couldn’t take my eyes off of him, but when he looked at me, my heart raced and I had to look away, pulling up my hood so he couldn’t see my blushing cheeks. “You should-! Ehem.” I was getting too excited... “You should come with me on my travels. I’m sure you could do a lot of good now that you’re not so afraid of what others may think of you.” I explained.

Though, in my heart, no matter what box this beautiful man came in... he was still a hero... just... more dashing in this form!

He smiled to me, and I felt my soul withdraw into his arms at such a sunny-disposition.

“I’ve always wanted to see the world, so that sounds great! But...” He looked to Vanilla.

“We’ll be fine.” She patted his arm. “You’ve been watching over us all in the village for far too long, time we took precautions for ourselves!”

We both didn’t realize that the Chao were formidable fighters... and ended up joining with each villager to protect them come night time, where their little forms could judo slam any monster that tried to trick in the night!

Sonic and I... We... hehe!

Well... The cards are never wrong.

I was destined to ride alongside the spirit of the wind!