#he can handle monster dust sure fine! can he handle seeing acids and blood and organs spill out of a body

[triglycercule]

ok horror didn't go through all the different hundreds and thousands of resets that dust (and killer) went through sure but like. he went through something id consider pretty similar???? because through 7 years there HAD to have been a plethora of humans falling down into horrortale like we can see the countless amount of people that died there in toriel's home or in blue snow or in grillby's or even just that first human that aliza hides behind when she first enters snowdin!!!!!!!

and (i dont really know where this rant is going i will not lie 💀) horror (the prick he is) has to see all these humans he has to meet them and introduce him to all of them and at what point does it just turn into routine for him?? they all just blend into one skin colored bipedal figure and the only important part of them are their insides (which i could go on and on about how gross that probably is 🙁🙁) and how them eventually all fall to their deaths

everyone in horrortale is far too gone to particularly care anyways if aliza wasn't so smart and lucky (plot armor SMH) nobody except horror and paps would probably remember her name. and horror would only remember to add a name to the list of "spices" that are in papyrus's spaghetti and then forget it all again. it's all just an endless cycle of human falls down and eventually dies. nobody in horrortale cares enough (if the human doesnt make some sort of big event happen like how aliza stood up to undyne (i doubt snowdin monsters gaf about her b4 that aside from eating her)) and in the end theyll just turn into food again and then the cycle repeats. its kinda like a reverse dusttale (❓❓❓) where instead of the monsters dying over and over to the human's hands it's humans dying over and over to horror's hands

and now that i've established that 🤓👆 time to tie the trio into this! i mean technically dusttale is a loops of both those things happening with the human killing the underground over and over and then dust killing them in the end??? so i think both dust and horror could relate to that?????

a repeated cycle of a human entering the underground and eventually dying,,,, feeling everything go back to a fixed state (literally with dust's resets and a bit more metaphorically with snowdin not caring all that much in horrortale)

having to start off disgusted with killing and then eventually learning to find enjoyment in it (likely because satisfaction of death is the only reprise from the repetitive slog and boredom that is their aus),,,,

somehow feeling guilt for everyone in their world because of what you've doomed them to by your own hands but also being over it and having grown apathetic. theyre still alive. dust sees his underground alive all the time and so does horror his underground's still (mostly) alive. but dust's underground doesnt survive longer than a few minutes now when they see eithe him or the human (so does it even count as life or is it just a barely fufilled light snuffed out) and horror practically already considers them all dead men walking and theyll all probably die one day anyway with how things are in horrortale so whats the point in even trying and doing something fufilling when everything is so so so shit??? (on dust's end this next similarity is ambiguous :3)

& also what they did to their respective papyruses and how they feel??? ik horror probably feels like shit for tricking papyrus into eating humans but he did the right thing (in his eyes. his EYE). he made the right choice to trick him even if it was bad it was the only thing he could do to help snowdin (sure as hell better than undick's choice to try and use him as cannon fodder for the core) and dust i feeeeel would have a similar thought process. papyrus shouldnt die he doesnt deserve to die but its what needs to be done. he's giving papyrus the longer end of the stick by killing him because its better than being killed by the HUMAN. he doesnt like it but he does it anyway because its what "needs" to be done!!! more similarity,,,,,,, esuaghhhh mtt parallel,,,,,,,

how many more similarities can i milk out. i dont know but anyways i doubt they'd bother talking to eachother about their feelings on this because gawddamn these guys and vulnerability!!! horror wouldn't tell a soul (especially not some freak version of him that killed everyone with some cheap excuse that it was to save them from some freaky human that dust swears he should remember but doesnt. but for the sake of this rant just pretend they dont know about eachother's lore :3) about what he did and what happened in horrortale because THATS HIS BUSINESS!!! dont stick ur head into stuff that youre not involved in PRICK he never gave permission for dust to know that

and dust wouldn't tell either because (i think!!! this part is just me fanonizing dust's reason necessary for this part of my silly horrordust rant. also obligatory "this is all my fanon interpretation of them" because i ran out of space in tags) he doesn't think horror would relate nor would be care. he's gotten too used to not telling anybody what he's doing or why or explaining himself to those he knows and loves back in dusttale so why would he even tell any of that to some random stranger with his only connection to him being that they both used to be the same person b4??

he wouldn't horror wouldn't and they both live in not so blissful ignorance about eachother and just how similar they are. or maybe they only know surface level and make up assumptions and stereotypes because they dont care enough or simply just dont have any attachment invested into eachother to want to actually think things through

TRIGLYCERCULE THIS IS TOO LONG I DIDN'T READ!!!!!! ok 🤣🤣🤣 tldr horror has many parallels and similarities with dust that would only be realized by them if they got self aware enough (which like. when is that ever happening). maybe if they cared enough and liked eachother enough they'd probably bond over their shared similarities,,,,,,,, aka by hunting down horrortale frisk

[justsalpals]

You've been driving for the last three hours.

It's fine. You're fine. Driver rotation. Your arms ache a little, awkwardly angled around the spherical dog settled in your lap to grasp the steering wheel. That's fine. It's fine. A little ache isn't so bad, you told yourself. Moggy's warm weight is a reassuring comfort, and there's not many free spaces an invisible creature can settle without fear of getting squished. And who could bear to disturb such a cute little monster?

Or that's what you told yourself three hours ago.

You shift your arms a little, hoping an adjustment in the angle might help. It doesn't. Your arms twinge. Moggy is just a little too warm in your lap. Sweaty. The little snores against your thigh started out as cute, but the short wet huffs of air on your leg have turned grating. You're so tense.

There's no time to stop for the night, to grab a decent meal, to even have a proper shower. Just gas station snacks and a quick prestidigitation clean up, wicking away dust and blood and acid and sweat and glass and the occasional stray tire mark. The magic leaves you feeling stale and vaguely gritty, but technically clean enough to survive the close quarters of travel.

Just a little ways more. Just a little more, and then you'll be home. There will be your bed, your books, your family. Your real family, with warm werewolf hugs and snide sisterly remarks (only half has biting as they used to be, with a sly laugh crinkling the edges like they're a joke you both share. And they are now. You really think they are.)

Just get home. And then- And then.

School, you guess.

Save the world. Get some rest. Wake up for school.

Your fingers tighten on the wheel. Did you do all the reading you'd meant to over the Summer? Of course you did, of course you did. You made sure to be ahead on all the upcoming classes, that way you have time to help the others. They need so much help. They're so good at so many things, but not at school. You're the one who's good at school, so it's your job to help them. That's what being a party means, right? Just like Captain Seacaster said. Looking out for each other.

You and Riz have a plan. (You think you do. You think your plan is a little different than his, but that's fine. Close enough in the long run. You've always prided yourself on being a little more realistic than the others, having a little more foresight. Maybe it comes with being the Oracle.) You have a plan. You saved the world, you did your reading, and then you and Riz are going to look at schools.

You did read ahead, right? You know you did. Of course you did.

But the start of Summer was so long ago now. You read it, but do you really remember it? You do. You're sure you do. Right? Fuck. Fuck, it's fine it's okay. You'll just grab a quick refresher at the next driver rotation. The books can't be too expensive, right? You can swipe a copy out of your jacket, then read while everyone else is asleep.

Saved the world. Refresh yourself on the curriculum. Look at schools with Riz. He's probably going to need a scholarship, if he really wants to pursue college. Will you need a scholarship? You need to talk to Jawbone when you get back. Maybe your mom wandered off to die in a ditch somewhere, and then you can get some of her money to cover expenses. You wish you'd been able to get a job this summer.

But no. You had to save the world. You're seventeen years old and you may be the Elvan Oracle but something in your gut tells you that there have to be other people who could be doing this. Adult adventures who could've handled this stuff. Is this really the most lucrative career path? You really don't see how, but there's a whole school dedicated to the "profession."

Focus. The dry guys podcast plays over the speakers, a little fizzy and garbled from how beat up the hangvan is. (A little hot water, Fig had said. You think mending might work better, but you don't know anything about cars so you bit your tongue. You can try that later.)

Focus. Focus.

Save the world. Refresh. Schools. Cast mending on the van. Fig and Kristen are gonna need help with school. Wait, should mending the van come earlier in the list? You could do some of that on the trip back. Before or after the refresh? Maybe if the van is working better, you could move faster, get home faster, see the manor and your tower and home home home.

Save the world. Mending. Refresh. Schools. Tutor. Fabian is crying at his reflection in the van window. Hell. Your fingers tighten on the wheel. Okay, this one is not your problem.

Save the world refresh schools mending tutor school talk to ayda read do oracle things hug Jawbone resummon Boggy study save the world again probably again and again and again and-

What's the point again?

Your dog is too warm on your lap. Your arms hurt. But. He's too cute to move. It's been three hours, but you've got a ways to go before home. You're seventeen. And then what? The sun hurts your eyes. Shows how grateful it is for being saved from eternal night.

You saved the world. Now back to school, you guess.

But now. Driving. You reach into the shopping bag wedged between the front two seats, pulling out a discolored pack of unidentifiable candy. There's a light thumping on the roof, probably Fig's boot bouncing rhythmically as she lounges on the top of the van. Gorgug is passed out in the shotgun seat, his cheek smooshed awkwardly into the window. His neck is going to be so sore later.

You saved the world. And now you

You keep going, you guess.

Woo. Junior year.

[33skeletons]

This is a list of all the people currently available

If this blog gains any real traction, I’ll add more... but until then, I don’t want to get too carried away until I’m 100% sure that the effort is worth it. I hope y’all understand

Name: Deydra Age: 18 Likes: ice cream, yaoi, drawing, roleplay dislikes: rude people, coffee, people putting words in her mouth, XP, Punk Bio: She’s in an open relationship with Scruff. she’s mute, but doesn’t know sign language, so she communicates via charades. She’s a low key perv, but tends to feign innocence.

Name: Friday Age: 22 Likes: flirting, coffee, making people flustered Dislikes: tea.... that stuff’s too mild, spicy food..... are you fucking insane!?! Bio: This tall drink of water is not for the feint of heart. He knows all the right buttons to push to reduce you to a blushing puddle. He has a goofy sense of humor and will often make a complete fool of himself just to make people at least crack an amused smile.

Name: Manga Age: 24 Likes: being pampered, the finer things in life Dislikes: getting dirty, being treated like a commoner Bio: This Miss Priss is a purebred with a pedigree. She believes herself to be an aristocrat and deems those of lower standard to be “plebian filth” and below her. Quick witted with a sharp tongue to boot, she’s not the nicest person to be around unless you can meet her high standards.... or give her a bottle of fancy ketchup. She has a weakness for tough guys that can match her mental capacity and hold intricate conversation with her.

Name: Punk Age: 32 Likes: What’s it to ya? Dislikes: Like you’d like ta know! Bio: he’s quite stand-off-ish and likes to keep people at arms length as much as he possibly can. He gets along with very few people and likes to shroud himself in mystery, the less you know, the better for him. He’s a wild card that enjoys throwing people for a loop at every turn.

Name: Scruff Age: 19 Likes: protecting Deydra, spicy food, tea, cuddles Dislikes: sushi, bone broth Bio: he and Deydra are in an open relationship. He cares more about Deydra than his own life. He’s a tad stand-off-ish towards anyone he doesn’t know. He tends to act as a translator for Deydra when someone doesn’t understand what she’s trying to say. All the scars on his face and his gold fangs are all from fighting to keep Deydra out of harm’s way. Wherever Deydra goes, Scruff is never very far.

Name: XP Age:15 Likes: destruction, being an asshole, getting what he wants Dislikes: being told no, having to be nice, things he destroys being fixed Bio: This edgy teen just wants the world to burn. He strives to hurt people any way he can and often ends up getting beaten senseless by Scruff when he targets Deydra. Being an Error Nightmare, he can use both Error strings and Nightmare tentacles to bring about destruction and pain, though he normally keeps the tentacles hidden as not to instantly rouse suspicion from his targets seeing as most actively avoid Nightmares, but are okay with Errors, though he can’t hide the goop that covers his right eye, which gives away his other half if anyone’s attentive enough to put two and two together in time

Name: Hokori Age: 23 Likes: food, blood, peanuts Dislikes:..... meh Bio: With his hood up, he appears to be a Dust Sans, but with his hood down it reveals a large gash in his skull and allows him to pass as your average Horror Sans. He’s volatile and unpredictable, but the fastest way to this skeleton’s proverbial heart is lots of food. He’s a bottomless pit with an insatiable apatite. If he’s out on a killing spree and has decided to target you, your best bet at escaping is to toss a handful of some kind of small, easily scattered snack such as peanuts. He’ll stop and start picking up and eating whatever you threw like James Woods from Family Guy. He’s also a bit of a perv once he’s deemed you not worth the energy of killing.

Name: Calibri (left) Age: 21 Likes: shredding sick riffs on her guitar, rapping, beating the snot out of assholes that need a checkup with karma Dislikes: Assholes, people calling her fat... I’m a queen with more curves than you know how to handle!!! get it right, fuckers!!! Bio: This badass, bodacious babe is one of Gears’s twin daughters. She’s got a sailor’s mouth with an alcohol tolerance to match. She’s hot-headed, but also mediates when her sister Chiller is too angry to see straight and starts edging too close to the line when putting her foot down. Calibri is sexy and she knows it with a ride or die attitude. She don’t need no man to take care of her, no sir! She’s perfectly capable of paying her own tab and fighting off a group of thugs that don’t know how to take no for an answer! She, her sister, and her mom can play Through The Fire And Flames on their guitars. Name: Chiller (right) Age: 21 Likes: playing guitar with her sister Calibri and mother Gears, reading Dungeons and Dragons books Dislikes: movie adaptations of books, live action adaptations of animations, assholes, being angry Bio: Chiller’s a badass babe in her own right. She survived being hooked up to a car battery and has the scars to prove it. She’s a lesbian and proud, and prefers taking on the dominant role in a relationship. Her pain tolerance is incredibly high. She enjoys hip hop, interpretive and break dancing, and is one heck of an archer with nearly dead shot aim. She’s normally stoic and very blunt with her words, preferring to only speak when necessary. She’s a natural born pack alpha.

Name: Sparkle Age: 41 Likes: anything sweet, bright colors, J-pop, K-pop Dislikes: anything bitter, having to get violent, seeing others get hurt Bio: she may look all sunshine and rainbows, but she can punch like a freight train and sometimes forgets her own strength. She suffers from hypoglycemia and has to keep sweets and candy on her person if she leaves the house, though she will gladly share them if you ask. She enjoys baking, and can often times be found doing just that out of boredom, not that anyone has been complaining. She may appear frail, but she can tank hits like a champ so long as said hits don’t come from a sharp object or gunshot. Her twin sister is Shade. She has a problem with producing more magic than her body can handle, so her sister comes in handy for that issue.

Name: Shade Age: 41 Likes: star gazing, dark colors, bitter and robust flavors, Evanescence (she knows all of their songs by heart) Dislikes: sweets, bright light, satanists Bio: Miss Doom And Gloom here is a wiccan highly skilled in her practice. She has the ability to leech magic from other monsters because she has no magic of her own to use, so she uses the magic of others, though mostly the excess magic her sister overproduces. She doesn’t enjoy getting her hands dirty in a fight,.... good thing she wears gloves! She’s rather soft spoken, but make no mistake, she has an outside voice and will not hesitate to use it if someone’s getting on her nerves. She mostly uses defensive magic to protect others, though she knows attack spells purely for the defense of herself and others should it be absolutely necessary. She also knows basic healing magic, though she can only heal minor injuries.

Name: Aiden Age: 40 Likes: pain, meat, grunge and screamo Dislikes: pop music, allergy season, Bio: This sharp toothed masochist ADORES pain, both receiving and inflicting. She got so mad once, she ruined her voice, so now she sounds like she smokes a pack a day. She’s very fast, agile, and super flexible since she’s double jointed EVERYWHERE!!! She has three rows of those razor teeth and a tongue which is so long it can act as an extra limb, which she enjoys showing off to freak people out via picking up objects such as cups, keys, pencils, and even going so far as to balance on it. She has very bad allergies, so she smells by flicking her tongue out like a reptile. Her spit and other bodily fluids are highly acidic. She’s normally chill, but it’s still obvious she’s a bit unhinged.

Name: Gears Age: 40 Likes: hot sauce, children, playing his acoustic guitar, working on cars, blacksmithing, learning new things Dislikes: sitting still for too long, sweets, water, cold, rude people, being alone Bio: Gears is a country boy that enjoys staying in top physical shape and keeping his hands and mind busy at every chance he gets. He’s just as strong as Sparkle, but slower. He has fire magic that when not fighting to keep others safe, he uses to forge metal as a freelance blacksmith. He carries a ridiculously enormous wrench forged from the hardest metal known to man that he uses as a melee weapon. Fire doesn’t harm him, but water sure as heck does (but he can drink things like koolaid and soda and be perfectly fine... just no water on it’s own or saline solution)!!! He bleeds ferrofluid, which he can manipulate, harden, and liquify at will as a last resort in a fight or to keep his injuries from deterring him too badly. He’s a bit of a himbo, but not as dumb... he just has his moments where “me brain am no werk so gud” and it’s evident when he starts having Freudian Slips in whatever he’s trying to say or his response to a question is “uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuhm...... wait one...... run that by me again?”. Gears was around during the great human monster war, which in his AU the humans sealed them in the mountain, but chased them till they were backed against the barrier, but the monsters hit a massive stroke of good luck and managed to take back the underground with the help of Frisk. Being a war veteran that has seen things no one should ever have to, he suffers from PTSD. Gears has a soft spot for children, and will often babysit for others if they ask.

Name: Sketch Age: 40 Likes: drawing, painting, coloring, blood, sketching,..... what? Dislikes: ......... what were we talkin bout? Bio: Sketch is an unhinged scatterbrained clutz of an aspiring artist.... with a dark side. She’s a low-key sadist that’s developed a taste for blood. Once you piss her off, stopping her is like trying to stop the Doom Guy.... just... stay out of her warpath and pray to whoever you pray to that you’re not the one she’s storming towards. She’s a MASSIVE perv and will openly stare at whatever she sees that she likes a little too much, even known to get handsy when the person doesn’t take the hint. She often loses track of important things like her phone, keys, ect and loses her train of though every now and then or feigns it to skillfully dodge questions and conversations she’d rather not be having.

Name: Rave Age: 42 Likes: singing, dancing, fashion and most importantly BOOOOOOOYYYYYS~ Dislikes: ..... depends on the situation, really~ Bio: A flamboyantly gay vigilante is also a medic with powerful healing magic. Rave is fleet of foot and deathly quiet when sneaking up on someone and with enough stamina to outrun most of his targets. His weapon of choice is a glowstick staff. Wanna hear what he sounds like? Go to youtube and look up any nightcore male version of any Ke$ha song and that’s what he sounds like. Rave likes looking hot AF and can frequently be found rocking women’s punk, pop and grunge style clothing and looking damn good in it and some eyeshadow, eyeliner, and mascara. He prides himself in keeping himself as healthy and fit as he possibly can at all times. He unironically likes pumpkin spice anything, peppermint bark lattes, and kale chips. 

Name: Dante Age: 42 Likes: children, Italian food, guns, cigars, wine, bourbon, being a wise guy mobster, Helping others.... so long as they help someone else in return that is.... sorta like.... paying for the person behind you in a drive thru where it starts a chain reaction of people paying for the next person’s meal..... little acts of kindness make the world go round, y’know.... and I’m a charitable man. Dislikes: rude people, having to go “Melancholy”, Bio: This Mafiatale Ganz (GZTale Sans) is the don of his own mafia that deal in guns, alcohol, and providing protection to those who come to him on the day of his sister's daughter's son's niece's nephew's grandmother's sister's wedding-..... pffffft hahaha!!! Just kidding! He has no blood relatives besides his brother Leon, but this group of people (everyone in the two pictures above this) are like.... illegitimate family.... adoptive you could say. Dante’s great with kids. He and Gears are the best at babysitting and often work together to help lost children find their families again when they’re out and about. Dante enjoys giving back to the community as much as he possibly can, even spending his free time doing volunteer work and donating funds to the city. When Dante gets a custom order on a gun, he has Gears forge it for him and focuses on the fine details, dip dying, engraving and making custom bullets to match.

Name: Anomaly Age: immortal, frozen at age 23 Likes: helping others, traveling to other AUs, fruity alcohol, karaoke, JAPANESE FOOD!!! Dislikes: spicy food, beer, celery, mushrooms, country music Bio: Anomaly has ben around for god knows how long. They are bigender. They have wings and horns (cause They’re a fallen angel) but prefers to hide them away. 40 years ago, they decided to create their own AU as a safe haven for anyone trying to escape danger, though danger seems to find their little safe haven more than they’d like to admit. It was around this time they discovered forgotten AUs and ones being destroyed or deleted and decided to try to rescue as many people from them as they could, bringing them back to populate their AU Crossroads, aptly named due to it being a meltingpot of the multiverse and still growing in size and population to this day. The 9 skeletons listed above were the first 9 they ever rescued and they became like their own kids. They’re a goofball, but make Them mad and you’ll feel their wrath! Skilled in a multitude of weapons and fighting styles, they’re a formidable force of nature. They can shift between male and female at will, though they prefer their female form due to them being able to fit in smaller spaces, being lighter weight, and being able to doe eye and bat their eyelashes out of most situations.... plus free drinks at the local bar on Thursdays.

Name: Eros Age: 19 Likes: long walks on the beach, cuddles, his family, oreos Dislikes: rainy days, confrontation (cause it makes people afraid of him) Bio: This 10ft tall, frightening behemoth is actually Aiden’s son! Out of all the second generation, he’s the youngest of the adults, but the most responsible of the four boys, often being the voice of reason amongst them, especially when it comes to the well being of children around his idiotic cousins Etch and Scribble and often being the one to get little ZJ to listen to what he’s told by telling him going to bed on time and eating vegetables will make him grow up big and strong like him. He’s actually a little on the shy side and very humble, only hamming things up around ZJ and other small children present. He suffers from early onset arthritis and has to take medication for it to keep his joints from locking up and grinding together, but he doesn’t let it hold him down. He and his uncle Gears work out together because it helps his aching bones and because Gears turns it into fun little challenges for him to keep him going with it instead of giving up.

Name: Etch Age: 21 (but a few months younger than Chiller and Calibri) Likes: mEmEs!!!, weed, being annoying, prank wars Dislikes: being forgotten, being ignored, pain (has a very low pain tolerance) Bio: One of Sketch’s sons and Scribble’s twin brother. He’s just very lonely and wants people to pay attention to him to stave off being alone for as long as he can... whether said attention is positive or negative. When no one pays attention to him or there’s no one to keep his thoughts from wandering to dark places, he steals his brother’s weed stash and gets high... which his brother hates because Etch could easily go to a doctor and get his own prescribed to him, but Etch fears the doctor’s office more than death and adamantly refuses to go, even hiding or running away at the mere mention of it. Etch tried to get a tattoo once.... he went into it screaming like a badass Viking, but before they could even roll up his sleeve to start, he ran out blubbering like a baby. He’s the most irresponsible one in the entire family and is always the one to cause major problems because of a bad idea he thought was good at the time. He ends up in bad situations a lot and finds himself with the wrong crowd more often than not, but lucky for him he has a family full of badasses that come to bail him out of any situation before he ends up hurt too badly.

Name: Scribble Age: 21 (but a few months younger than Chiller and Calibri) Likes: memes, weed, hanging around Etch, Eros and ZJ, cuddles Dislikes: when Etch steals his weed, when Etch gets into trouble, pain (another with very low pain tolerance, looky there! But he has literally no tolerance for pain.... he screamed when he got those piercings)  Bio: Scribble suffers from anxiety and clinical depression and was prescribed marijuana to treat it. He and his brother were home schooled after freshman year of high school due to Etch pissing off the entire football team and them all ambushing the brothers in the locker room after gym class and um... let’s just say Etch got over it and Scribble still fears .....backdoor intimacy after what the football team did to them. Scribble is unable to protect himself and is a firm believer in pacifism. In times of battle, Scribble acts as a messenger, able to write notes in magic ink that can only be seen by it’s intended recipients. He normally just rolls with whatever Etch is doing or does what he’s told to avoid a conflict.

Name: Spritle Age: 20 Likes: Cheesy romance, dark humor and morbid jokes, rainy days Dislikes: removing her death touch nullifying necklace, people sexualizing her right off the bat, people underestimating her because of her appearance Bio: This brightly colored reaper girl is one of Sparkle’s daughters. She prefers to blend into the background and not be the center of attention if she can help it. Yes, her freckles are rainbow colors. She’s more on the proper side like her aunt Shade and enjoys a relationship if it’s not centered around perversion. She’d rather spend the day cuddled up on the couch watching disney movies, eating pizza and sharing a drink with two straws. She really likes nostalgic and retro things like 50′s diners and drive in movies. If you’re with her and intend on asking her out, doing old school gestures like laying your jacket over a puddle so she won’t step in it is the quickest way to win her over.

Name: Pixie Age: 19 Likes: when any guy is interested in her, when soon to be reaped souls try to run from her sister (It gives her something to do), sushi Dislikes: When people think she’s a child because of her nearly flat chest and high pitches voice, How her big sister has a bigger bust than her (Sprilte: Hey, if I could switch with you, I would! These things hurt my back!) Bio: Sparkle’s youngest daughter. Her father was an ErrorFellSwap Papyrus. She works with her sister as a chaser. Her job is to chase after, disarm and detain souls that refuse to be reaped when their time comes via trying to fight death or outrun it and thus trying to fight/run away from Spritle. Pixie is the first ever chaser on record and was the one who proposed the idea to the reaper council to keep reapers from tearing their bodies up to do their job. Chasers can be identified by a little white cross on their clothing or accessories and are required to be fast runners and ferocious fighters. Pixie has the speed and ferocity of a FellSwap Papyrus and is able to use her error strings to easily take weapons from your hands and tie you up to await the cold bite of Spritle’s scythe or claw blades. Pixie enjoys puzzles, her favorite being rubix cubes.

Name: ZJ Age: 4 Likes: coloring, playing outside, hanging out with the older boys, spending time with uncle Gears and uncle Dante, when his momma reads to him, hide and seek, COOKIES, CAKE AND CANDY!!! Dislikes: When people are mean and hurt others, vegetables, bed time Bio: Shade’s adopted son. ZJ is shy, yet a hyperactive ball of energy that likes to hang around with Etch, Scribble, and Eros. He has wisdom beyond his years thanks to his mother reading college level literature as his bedtime stories, but he has trouble articulating his words from the first three years of his life being spent with everyone baby talking him. When he doesn’t know how to respond to something, he just reacts by screaming “I DUNNO WHAT’S GOIN ON!!!” the same happens when he gets overwhelmed, but it’s accompanied by him hiding behind the nearest trusted adult.

FEEL FREE TO START SENDING ASKS AND RP STARTERS!!!

[rinusagitora]

All very ghoulish (2/10)

Fandom: Bleach

Characters: Karin Kurosaki, Ichigo Kurosaki, Rukia Kuchiki, Kisuke Urahara, Momo Hinamori, Izuru Kira, Tessai Tsukabishi, Ururu Tsumugiya, Tier Harribel, Kenpachi Zaraki, Genryuusai Yamamoto, Toushirou Hitsugaya, Masaki Kurosaki, Mayuri Kurotsuchi, Nemu Kurotsuchi, Yuzu Kurosaki

Pairings: minor KiraHina

Words: 6,100+

Summary: Monster!AU collab w/ @back-in-a-bit. SFW version;  Chaos overtakes London, and Karin undergoes a strange procedure.

AO3: works/16307414/chapters/49021901#workskin (NSFW)

Momo Hinamori felt like she rode roller coasters more often than not.

For the last four decades, she was Sousuke Aizen's loyal wife, and then only two years ago, he was incarcerated for being one evil son of a bitch, and she hadn't gotten back on her feet since then. Her nightmares persisted. Her ribs still hurt, even though she healed months ago. It was very much like he leached on her bones.

Momo Hinamori was once a monster with serrated teeth and a fire in her core. Presently, she was just embers, coddled in her new husband's mink coat and bottle-fed with packs and packs of cigarettes.

Thankfully, strip clubs allowed indoor smoking. She was never caught without something made of nicotine and ordinarily poisonous chemicals between her lips. Their invoices came in clean like linen and were filed strongly smelling like tobacco.

Still, Shinji pet her hair like a cat, or his child, even though she stank and looked at him like he was a cannibal.

“You should go home tonight, sweetie,” he said. “You’ve done more than enough for the girls tonight. Go back home to your husband.”

She smiled. “Okay. Thank you, I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Momo gathered her purse and coat, headed outside, and she hailed a taxi on the street. "Caridge Park Apartments, please," she said.

"Caridge Park," the driver copied. "Care if I listen to the radio?"

"Go ahead."

Momo's head laid against the glass. A news station turned on. Momo didn't care much for the news, so she tuned it out and instead fiddled with her phone.

She received a text message over Kik from a family friend, Nemu Kurotsuchi. Gin Ichimaru had critically injured her husband Izuru when they defected and attempted to destroy the Seireitei coven. Nemu used her magic to heal him. Izuru and Nemu were good friends ever since, almost like father and daughter. Momo was fond of Nemu as well. While they only spoke in private, Nemu was a brilliant, sweet young woman, and it wasn't uncommon for them to text back and forth.

Nemu's text worried Momo, however. Nemu had only sent and apology.

The sun was just over the horizon. The speaker mentioned an explosion at a call center, the call center her dear brother worked at, and it felt like her guts dislodged. It felt like her teeth were knocked out all over again.

"I-I'm sorry, can you turn that off? I need to make a call," Momo said.

"Sure thing."

Momo quickly dialed Toushirou and it immediately went to voicemail. Momo swore time stopped. Her and Toushirou weren't close, not like when they were kids, but she loved him enough to think about him every day. She called her husband next. She didn't even bother with salutations. "My brother's workplace just blew up," she croaked.

"Oh my God," Izuru said over the receiver. "Momo, where are you?"

"I need you to call Rangiku for me. Tell her to get in touch with Akon right away. I'll call you when I'm done. I love you."

Momo crushed her phone in her hand. With the speed of a viper, she slammed the metal shards in the driver's face, and forced heat into her hands. The cab swerved into a phone tower. The horn blared.

Momo was completely unaffected. She calmly kicked off her heels and stepped into the glass-ridden street, where she molted her human skin. Her arms, four, to be exact, pushed down her skin to her ankles, where she emerged with cloven hooves. The tips of her inward fire licked the open lesions across her chest and shoulders, which cast a discordant light onto her face. She pulled her mink coat over her body, ignored the smell of singed fur, and vanished with a spark.

The explosion was no accident. Momo had questions for Nemu.

---

Toushirou's life normally amounted to nothing less than a circus, but between his strange dreams and sleep deprivation, it felt like he was on acid in a funhouse, jabbed and taunted by various spooks as he stumbled across the simplest entrapments. His body protested but Toushirou intended for his pain to be kept under lock and key.

He rolled his shoulders. They ground in their sockets, a sound much like when the bones of shapeshifters shifted into place. It never failed to make his stomach churn.

He was sick. At the same time, he refused to treat the symptoms. It was a demonic thing. Any indication of weakness was a recipe for cannibalism. After Sousuke Aizen, Gin Ichimaru, Tousen Kaname couped and killed at least a dozen of their coven members, Toushirou didn’t dare test his luck. He remembered all too well he wasn’t the only thing which lurked in the darkness, as ironic as it was.

Toushirou distracted himself from such miserable thoughts. The coven group chat displayed several new messages. Juushirou was abuzz about Mayuri's latest disappearance, as if that oddball didn't have a new act every weekend. Toushirou made sure to let Juushirou know not to worry about that clown privately. Toushirou was one of the newest members of their coven, after his former coven was incorporated into Seireitei due to their small number's inability to handle the increase of ghoul attacks, and since he was so new and youthful, he was still leered at. He knew it was necessary to make friends. Juushirou, a handsome and ancient fae, was amiable and liked by almost everyone. He was a great in for Toushirou.

He glanced at himself in the mirror by the door one last time. His suit was starched, his bedhead handsome. Telecommunications wasn't his favorite occupation, but it was better than his managerial position at McDonalds. It wasn't like his demonic pride was intact in the first place.

At five in the morning, traffic was a blur of barren red lights until the intersection a block away from the call center where he was employed. Brittany Coschtz pulled up in her little Prius, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, with her shiny pink hair pulled back into a messy bun, and her smile wide as the Amazon River. She was pretty. Toushirou let himself go in recent years when he compared himself to her. His neck sinews smoothed out, his chest was undefined. Nonetheless, he couldn't help but imagine sexual exchanges.

Brittany pulled ahead of him once the light turned green. His wood shrank. Toushirou missed the flat expanse of his groin.

In the parking lot, Toushirou paused when he came upon the security guard in the middle of a heated argument with an older woman.

Seconds later, Toushirou disregarded the encounter. It wasn't the first time someone trespassed and was warded off by security. His job was to train entry-level phone staff. It wasn't his concern.

"Good morning class," Toushirou said when he finally arrived to the training room. "Cell phones away, it's not like there's service down here anyways."

Phones were tucked away before he confiscated them. He began to boot up his desktop. "We're starting with escalations today. Bring up the curriculum and select the first hyperlink under escalations."

"Toushirou, did you see the chick outside?"

He rolled his eyes. Of course they wouldn't share his apathy to the subject. "Yes. I walked right past her and Dwight talking. He's got it covered. Don't worry about it."

"I saw Brittnay pull in earlier, but I didn't see her come in. Is she okay?"

"Everything is fine. Let's just get to work. Dwight has been working security here for sixteen years. He's more than capable of taking care of trespassers."

"Yeah, but like... did you see her teeth? She had like giant fangs. Are they fake?"

That did concern Toushirou. He hadn't picked up any ghoulish malevolence, though. Who knew what it was.

All said and done, Toushirou was disconcerted. What if they were to be attacked within the hour? Toushirou worked so long to preserve the life he crafted for himself. It took years to reach a comfortable job, to blend into humanity. He wasn't sure he had the patience to completely change his identity in the event he had to protect himself.

"Alright, everyone open the curriculum and go to week three and start on Situational Calls Overview. We'll go over it as a class in half an hour. If you forgot to clock in, make sure to send me a time card correction now so I can fix it."

Not a second later, the sound of crushed rocks ripped through the room. The force of the shockwave sent Toushirou into the opposite wall. He was covered in brick dust, it tasted like ash.

Toushirou became livid.

He grew a webbed crown and serrated teeth from his head. His fingers and toes lengthened and tapered off, crystalline scales sprout from his pores. His tailbone grew like a new spine into a thick tail like a lizard's.

He snarled at the two wretched ghouls. They fucking stank. It made his sinuses buzz from the irritant. His claws itched to fucking gut them.

He lunged with an open hand wound back to take out its head. His claws tore through the ghoul's side. He spun and slammed his heel into the gut of the other ghoul. Alas, the severe internal damage to both monsters unfazed them.

"Stubborn cunts!" Toushirou bellowed. He kicked one of them square in the ribs an he used it as a springboard to kick its partner with his razor-sharp toes.

He was pushed off his perch. His chest heaved like he was hyperventilating. Toushirou with his ancient tongues struggled to articulate something that described the feeling. Mechanically, he pushed himself up, and he slipped in a pool of oil. His blood.

The ghouls descended. He shrieked and flailed.

Toushirou would not let himself die at the hands of some fucking byproduct.

His bloodied palms slapped against his chest. From his back grew wings, and with a single thrust he launched himself into the air.

---

The train stopped every-fucking-where in the UK, and when Karin, Ichigo, and Rukia realized that, they collectively agreed to take a nap. Karin had trouble sleeping, however.

Rukia was a petite woman who met them at the station. Her and Ichigo were good friends. Strangely enough, Karin was never told about Rukia, but Ichigo was absent-minded and forgot about a lot of things, especially things which kept them in the loop.

Like the one time he and some friends he had in high school were exploring a storm drain when it suddenly flooded. Ichigo was pummeled by debris and forgot to tell his family about it. Subsequently, he constantly forgot to change his bandages, and about a month and a half after the flood when Karin realized he was injured, she helped redress his wounds and happened upon an exponentially worse wound. Of course, he chalked up the pain to bruising. Karin's brother was a dumbass.

As tired as Karin was, she was nervous to meet Kisuke Urahara. She replayed her earlier conversation with Rukia once again.

"Rukia, are you from Seireitei?" Karin asked as they were led into a private carriage.

"Of course I am. You won't find any other covens where we're going. Our leader doesn't tolerate the division of power. Yamamoto's power is absolute, and he's become more iron-fisted with this ghoul infestation."

"Infestation?"

"I know it's getting bad back in Karakura, but in London, I can't go anywhere outside of an armored, insulated car. The ghouls are so great in number that they swarm upon catching our scent."

"And we have to go there in order to meet Urahara?" Karin asked.

"Yes. Although, I'm not sure why he needs you, Karin," Rukia replied.

"He asked for the strongest of us. Karin is in heat," Ichigo said.

"Oh, that explains the smell, at least," Rukia replied. Karin wasn't one to be ashamed over her base needs, but she wished Ichigo wasn't so open about her maturation. It felt like there was a revolving door into her sex life. For someone like Karin, who preferred all facets of her life neatly compartmentalized, the overlap was absolute hell.

Ichigo quickly changed the subject. "Any guesses why Urahara wants the strongest of us?"

"Honestly? Sacrifice," Rukia postulated. Karin never came into contact with a full-blooded demon in the past, and especially not when she needed something from them. Uryuu told her how demons adored bloodshed and debt though. They loved it even more than a starved vampire loved blood.

"Cheerful today, aren't you?" Ichigo mumbled.

"You asked."

"I really hope they haven't asked for the strongest to send on a mission or some shit. Those ghouls are getting nastier. I don't want to get caught up in that alone," Karin confessed. She was rarely scared, never for herself, but Karin feared the unknown above all else.

Like when her mother passed away. Karin vividly remembered Masaki's funeral, where she refused to cry because if she started, she wasn't sure she could stop. Her father obsessed over the bills for awhile, and because of that, Karin lost a lot of sleep over the thought of homelessness, and then her grades dropped. She was so scared to unbottle her fear that the only way she kept from bursting like a hot dog over an open flame was to hurt hersel. There was still a scar on her stomach.

Rukia reached between them and held her hands like her big sister Yuzu did. "You won't be alone," Rukia assured Karin, "I promise."

Karin, unsure how to respond to sincere and earnest affection, changed the subject. "So who is this Urahara guy?"

"He's a demon exiled from the Seireitei coven. He's largely hailed as a genius though, so we had no choice but to reach out to him about the ghoul infestation. Here we are now," Rukia explained.

"How bad is it in London, then?" Karin asked.

"Martial Law is being discussed by Parliament."

"You've gotta be shitting me.... It's gotten that bad already?" Ichigo said. "Oh god, I thought we had it bad."

"It's torture, honestly. I haven't been able to go to work since I almost always end up getting ambushed whenever I leave my flat. If I don't apply medicated lotion, which I happen to be allergic to, I can't even go outside because they catch my scent." Rukia pulled up her sleeve and showed her bright red hives. Karin swallowed a thick lump in her throat.

"Jesus Christ," Ichigo said. "Rukia, why didn't you tell me? We have fae in our coven. They'll certainly have something for you to alleviate some pain."

"I consulted one of our own fae, Juushirou Ukitake. Even with undiluted blood, he couldn't help me. Our witches allied with our coven can't even help."

"Look, let me talk to Orihime. She has considerable healing powers. We'll see what we can do for you."

"This is sweet and all," Karin said, "but how're we gonna meet up with this Urahara guy?"

"There will be an armored truck for us at the station," Rukia said. "The driver knows where to take us."

"This isn't sketchy or anything…" Karin grumbled.

Four and a half hours after that, Karin was still nervous like the conversation was fresh. When they pulled to a stop in London, and Karin saw a windowless van outside her window, she felt sick.

---

Tessai Tsukabishi and Kisuke Urahara were in the kitchen when Toushirou Hitsugaya crashed through the ceiling onto Tessai.

"Fuck," Kisuke cursed. Tessai very coolly laid Toushirou on his back. The boy's lips were an unearthly green from hypovolemia. "Get the kids. Let them know we'll be having guests. Remind them to use the incense while they're waiting," he said. "I'll fix this kid up in the meantime."

"Alright, dear, holler if you need anything."

Kisuke opened his shirt. His insides crawled towards Toushirou.

---

Karin's head collided with the truck's interior and she cursed at the top of her lungs. "Careful up there! You're gonna bash my fucking brains in!"

"Karin… calm down," Ichigo told her. She spun towards him, her nostrils flared, and he looked away.

"That's what I fucking thought," she grumbled.

"We shouldn't be much longer," Rukia assured them.

Sure enough, the truck came to a stop, and the engine was killed. Karin, Rukia, and Ichigo happily crawled out of the back of the truck. A chill went down Karin’s spine. A reanimated corpse certainly explained the haphazard driving. If Kisuke Urahara wasn't above reanimation, though, what did he have in mind for her?

"This way," Rukia said. They entered through the back door of a green, two-story house, closed off with a warped wooden fence even taller than her brother. Someone the smell of mosquito repellent permeated from the very ground itself.

They followed Rukia down a bare concrete staircase to a dimly-lit, half-finished basement. There were six other people crammed together around a short poker table and covered in a fog of incense.

"Welcome. I'm glad you could make it," said a young woman, around Karin's age, with dark hair and ice-blue eyes. "My name is Ururu Tsumugiya. I'm one of Kisuke's children. He had a last minute patient come in so he had to take care of that first. He should be done shortly, however. In the meantime, have a seat."

Rukia pulled up a chair, but Ichigo and Karin shared a look that told them both the other one was more comfortable standing.

"No offense, but the tension is thick as hell here," Ichigo announced.

"That's because Toushirou Hitsugaya was attacked by ghouls this morning at his place of employment," said a youthful woman, with blond hair and rows of jagged teeth. "He's here now. Kisuke Urahara is patching him up."

Ichigo and Rukia became visibly disturbed. "Tier… this can't be true," Rukia said. "What happened?"

"That's all we know so far," Tier said.

"If you ask me, if he kicks the bucket, it's his own fault for not being able to defend himself," said a giant, black-haired man.

"Karin… these are Genryuusai Yamamoto, Kenpachi Zaraki, Yachiru Kusajishi, Ururu, Tier Harribel, and Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez," Rukia quickly explained to Karin. "This can't be true, though. Hitsugaya is one of our strongest entities! He couldn't have been overpowered by ghouls."

"He's not going to die," Tier said coolly, "But it's the truth."

"We're in quite a dire situation," Genryuusai said. He was certainly as intense as Rukia made him out to be. Even when he lamented, Karin felt like he was angry with her specifically. She decided she didn't like Genryuusai Yamamoto. Karin figured he was under a lot of stress, but he was also inconsiderate enough to not reign in his malevolence.

"Is this really your strongest, Ichigo? I'm surprised," Kenpachi Zaraki said. "I was under the impression you were the strongest."

"She's in heat," Ichigo said.

"Hey, I am right here, people. Instead of bringing it up to my brother, bring it up to me," Karin snapped.

"She's right," Tier said with a nasty glare aimed at Kenpachi, "if you have questions concerning Karin, ask her." He uncomfortably shifted in his seat.

"I'm sure she'd be much more comfortable if you stopped bringing up her maturation, Ichigo."

Karin, and most the other table, leapt to action at the sudden intrusion. Ururu was suddenly in front of them. The hollow barrel of a gun obscured Karin's vision.

"Alright, everyone calm down. I didn't mean to startle everyone…" Kisuke said. Slowly, weapons were lowered.

"These are certainly trying times, if every single one of you are on edge," Kisuke said as he took a seat. "I'm glad to announce I've found a way to eradicate this problem, however."

"And how is that?" Genryuusai asked.

"If you let him speak, he would tell you," Tier quipped.

"This… isn't going to be to your liking. Tier, Kenpachi, and Karin. You three are the strongest from your current covens. We are going to combine your powers, essentially."

"That's it?" Kenpachi asked.

"Well… no. This is an extremely experimental procedure, so I have no idea how it works to begin with, and I have no idea how the three of you will come out."

"These extreme measures for… for a ghoul infestation?" Ichigo exclaimed. "Absolutely not! I'm not letting my sister go through this thing without knowing what the hell she's gonna come out like."

"There's more to this infestation than he's letting on," Yamamoto announced.

Kisuke interlaced his fingers and laid his chin on them. "Unfortunately…. This hasn't been proven yet, but I believe there is a certain individual within our ranks responsible for the increased ghoul activity."

"You mean someone had begun puppeteering them?" Rukia said.

"Aye."

"Well, who is it?" Yamamoto spat.

"I'm not sure…. It could be Sousuke Aizen, Mayuri Kurotsuchi, and Shuutara Senjumaru. They are the only individuals with the means to achieve this caliber of invasion. I have no clues to which one it might be. But all of them are shrewd and powerful. We need extra firepower to take down the villainous one."

And if they didn't, they would all be attacked, one by one, until they were all annihilated.

"I'm in," Karin said. "I don't care what you think, Ichigo. We have to do this."

Ichigo stood stiller than a statue, stunned by Karin's resolution. It hurt her to see him that way. As much as Karin loved her family, there were problems bigger than them to begin with.

Tier sighed. "I suppose I'm obligated to protect my people, as well."

"I'm just down for a good fight," Kenpachi said.

"Then let's get the three of you ready."

---

Momo crashed into Nemu's family room. Mayuri Kurotsuchi was instantly neutralized by a ball of fire. It wasn't enough to kill him. All Momo wanted was to question Nemu why she apologized right before Toushirou blew up.

For the time being, at least.

Nemu cowered beneath a desk as Momo stormed over. Normally, the sight would have made Momo's heart quiver, because she knew what that kind of terror felt like, the icy terror of angry loved ones who you adored with every bit of soul. But family didn't murder their loved ones. Momo was no saint in that department, but she hadn't killed anyone knowing their innocence.

"What the fuck do you know about my brother?" Momo bellowed as she grabbed Nemu and lifted her into the air. "If I don't think you're being honest, I'll hurt you."

"I'm sorry," Nemu wept. "I tried talking him out of it. I know how much Toushirou means to you, but Mayuri refused to listen to me. He said Toushirou is too much of a threat."

"For what?"

"He wants to take over London, and then Europe from there. He's making ghouls for an army. He says making the strongest of the Seireitei into ghouls will increase his manpower several fold."

"You're lying!" Momo snapped. "Demons cannot be made into ghouls. They're a mindless byproduct of our feeding on humans."

"He's a genius. He found a way to splice DNA or something. I got so scared I couldn't hear anymore." Nemu attempted to pry Momo's hand off her neck. "You know what it's like. You know he'll kill me if I try to run away."

"So you fucking killed my family?" In her fit, Momo threw Nemu across the room. She readied a ball of fire. "You never told us a thing. You know Izuru and I would have done anything for you! But you never said anything."

"I'm sorry," Nemu cried. "I didn't want him to hurt me."

Momo faltered. She understood, better than anyone else. She understood, because Sousuke was the same.

"I hate myself for siccing ghouls on Toushirou, but I didn't have any other choice." Nemu stood and hugged Momo. "I love you so much, Momo. I didn't know what to do."

Momo picked Nemu up. She tenderly held her. "I forgive you," she said. "Let's get you out of here, honey. We'll get you help, okay?"

Suddenly, Momo's head exploded with a monumental headache. Blood flowed down their faces. The two toppled to the floor, where Momo saw Mayuri loom over them.

"Get up, Nemu," he ordered, "that's not going to keep her down long."

Nemu stood. Momo may as well have cried with Nemu as they dragged her down a flight of stairs. Momo knew she was bound to be turned into a ghoul like Toushirou, so she wailed, despite how her ears rang.

"Help me," she pleaded. Nemu only cried and apologized between her hyperventilations.

"Help me," Momo pleaded, as they threw her battered body onto a steel gurney. "Please, help me."

Nemu escaped to a chair by the door. Momo's head lolled to the side to watch Mayuri flick a hypodermic needle with his freakish manicure. Inside, a green mass, green like watered grass, swam. Momo could only beg to be let go as he approached with that awful serum.

When he stuck Momo's arm, her entire world crashed around her for the second time in her life.

Momo was murdered and her body enslaved by a sick motherfucker. First her soul, then her body followed. She hoped death would be total that time around as her arm rot at the injection site.

"Come, Nemu, we have other work that needs to be done," Mayuri said. Momo was left with a heavy sense of dread.

And anger. Again, Momo was betrayed by someone who was supposed to love her, it made her a fool, but she was tired of her compassion misused by cruel, selfish bastards.

"Burn," she growled. They all could burn for all she cared.

"Burn." She gushed fire, like a geyer.

"Burn." Her flames touched the plaster ceiling and blackened golf ball sized spots.

"Burn."

Fire, white from rage, burst out of her body, whirled around the room like a typhoon, and blew apart Mayuri's house. Momo pushed rubble off her body. She stung from head to toe from her burns. Nonetheless, the cops were on their way. She had to go.

---

"Karin-chan?"

Masaki sat in front of Karin. In the mirror behind her mother, Karin saw herself as a child again, with short hair mussed from her baseball cap and a band-aid on her cheek and weird, gangly limbs and her adult fangs too big in her mouth.

"Are you okay, my dear?" Masaki asked.

Karin wanted to tell Masaki she died more than a decade ago. But it was like the day before her mother's death. Karin wanted to throw herself into her mother's arms and never let go.

"I'm okay," Karin said. The mirror and the walls bled kanji characters. Kill her, it read.

Karin's heart sank in her stomach.

"I'm gonna take a bath," Karin said.

"Leave the door unlocked," Masaki told her.

Karin dashed upstairs and turned on the bath water. She cursed quietly. What the hell was happening? Where the hell was she, if she was somewhere which demanded her mother's murder?

Was it part of Kisuke's ritual? If so, what the hell was she supposed to do? Was she supposed to kill her mother, or find another way to defeat her and abide by a secret moral of the quest?

Either way, Karin was nauseated. Obviously she wasn't a stranger to murder. She killed many ghouls, had some accidents when she was immature. It was different when it was someone close to her.

The stairs creaked. The back of Karin's neck bristled like an animal alerted to danger. She locked the bathroom door.

How the hell was she supposed to get out of there?

The walls bled murder again. The bathroom door rattled violently. "Karin-chan," it boomed with a perverted rendition of her mother's voice, "I told you not to lock the door! Open up this second!" Karin dug through the vanity. Whoever was on the other side of that door wasn't Karin's mother. Masaki passed away years ago. The Masaki beyond the door was only a nightmare.

Karin popped out the razor blades from one of the fresh razors. She fit them between the fingers of her right hand. Sweat beaded down her neck and stained her shirt.

Gingerly, she reached out to unlock the door, when it splintered. She screamed and backpedalled, only to be pounced on. Blearily, she saw Masaki's hair curtain her from the light above. Drool, foul to the nose, fell on her cheek, and despite the water in her eyes, she made out jagged laniary.

Karin slapped the beast. It reared back thanks to the cut she gave it. Karin rushed past it for the kitchen. She dropped the razors in the sink and picked up their largest knife from its seat in the knife block. The creature topped down the stairs with elongated limbs. Karin saw, with her eyes clear of wood, she doled significant damage to its face.Karin readied her knife as it charged. When it leapt into the air to tackle Karin, it fell onto the knife.

Karin let the beast down. Although winded, Karin cried fresh. Her mother's hair was beautiful.

She tossed the knife into the sink, wiped her hands on her pants, and exited through the front door.

---

Karin popped out of the membrane she floated in. She hoisted herself up, rolled her shoulders, squeezed out the excess fluid in her hair, and sighed.

She felt different. Hungrier.

Karin stumbled through the surreal landscape. Ichigo waited by the door. He wrapped her in a pink shroud.

“I’m so hungry,” Karin mumbled.

“Okay, let’s get you something to eat. Come with me. Let’s get you washed off and something in your stomach.”

Karin’s body felt ill fit. Karin scrubbed herself with all kinds of suds and soaps and perfumes but the feeling didn’t fade.

She stepped out, pressed a towel against her hair, and wrapped it around her torso. Ichigo was outside with sweats, boxers, and a sports bra. She dressed, and when Karin returned outside, he wrapped her waist in a gait belt.

“Kisuke says vertigo will be an issue until you eat. Otherwise, are you okay?” Ichigo asked.

“Yes,” Karin whispered.

“What was it like in there?”

"I don't want to talk about it."

“You had to be the worst of the worst, didn’t you?”

Karin nodded. Ichigo's eyes were straight ahead. He looked sad, and it didn't evoke the sympathy it did before.

“Come on, let’s get you some food.” Ichigo guided her by her gait belt. She did stumble once on their way to the kitchen up a flight of stairs, but otherwise, the trip wasn't anything noteworthy.

She was sat at the island counter in a dim, windowless kitchen. Ururu, Kisuke's daughter, entered a moment later.

"I was hoping you would be the one to make it out. God knows that derelict Kenpachi wouldn't have been very useful."

"I wouldn't say that. I can still feel him in me, his bloodlust," Karin said before Ichigo tossed her a disposable blood package. "He may not be the most cooperative to you, but he'll prove essential in the future."

Tier was quite rational and analytic. She was kind enough to have shared her experience with Karin.

"I've been wondering how exactly these ghouls are increasing in number so quickly. I can't think of any current events that would lead to such a flux of byproducts," Ururu said.

"Geez… you're right. Sousuke Aizen's experiments are almost all dead now. There hasn't been anyone capable of such destruction gone AWOL either," Ichigo chimed.

"Yet," Karin said. "I'm sure we have a mole in our ranks."

"Who do you think it is?" Ururu asked.

"I don't know. All I know is someone knew to sic a ghoul on Toushirou, and they knew exactly where to sic them. He smelled like he took great measures to blend in with humanity. He couldn't have been caught by surprise. And who else would know when and where are ride would come pick us up?"

"Holy shit," Ichigo cursed. "Does your dad know about this?"

"I'm sure he's figured it out."

"So he's using us to find evidence so he doesn't make claims that Yamamoto is gonna say are outlandish."

"That's where my money is, and whoever it is, Urahara knows we'll need something like you, Karin, to stop them," Ururu replied. Her phone vibrated in her shirt pocket. "Just a minute. Urahara and Company, this is Ururu."

Ururu's eyes widened. "Bring Momo here. We'll operate immediately. Thanks, Shuuhei." Ururu clapped her phone shut. "I have to prep the operating room. Looks like we have an unusual situation come up."

"Best of luck," Karin said.

---

Momo was not a happy fucking camper, especially when her body still regenerated. Her favorite fucking coat altogether evaporated too.

All she fucking wanted was to use someone's phone for two seconds to call Izuru.

"Drop your phone. If I have to tell you one more time, I'm gonna fucking burn you," she snarled.

It was a child. They cried like Nemu cried, like a scared kid. Momo had time for guilt after she killed Mayuri.

"Drop. Your phone. I will count to three. I will kill you if I don't have your phone."

The kid tried to run. She pounced and burnt hair filled her nostrils as she bent to pick up their fucking phone. Dumbass kid, she grumbled.

"Baby, I'm really fucked up. I blew myself to shit."

"Momo, oh my God you're alive! Where are you?"

"I don't know," she replied.

"Stay put, baby, we're looking for you. Keep an eye out of Shuuhei's dogs, okay?"

"Izuru, I'm really fucked up."

"Look, we found Toushirou. He's being treated by Urahara. We'll take you there to get fixed up, okay? Just hang in there. Talk to me."

"I didn't mean to worry you." Momo's legs gave out on the grass. "I just got so mad. Nemu sent me a text apologizing right after I heard Toushirou got blown the fuck up." She wept. "Izuru, her and Mayuri are behind the ghoul attacks. He spliced DNA or something. I think he tried to turn me into one. I would've been real fucked if I didn't blow up.”

"You did good, baby. You did so good. Just hang in there. You're gonna be okay. Baby, tell me about your day at work."

"She was crying when he stuck me, you know, with that stupid ghoul DNA. She doesn't know what else to do. Don't be mad with her." Momo's regeneration couldn't keep up. She would expire soon, so she had to make sure Izuru knew everything that happened. "Tell her we still love her."

"No, you have to tell her yourself. Stay awake for us, baby. Tell me about work."

Momo's face was licked by a dog. She stared into it's eight, sweet, soulful eyes. "The only good men are dogs. I missed you, Venom."

"Venom is there? Venom, take her to Kisuke Urahara! Flatworm, feed her a piece of you!"

Flatworm was a Labradoodle-flatworm-dog with the ability of high speed regeneration. If part of its tongue was eaten, the consumer would shave death off for a good hour, and Venom, a rottweiler-spider-shaped dog, coughed up silk and wrapped Momo in it upon Shuuhei's command. It was cool and soft. Momo hummed peacefully and let the darkness of sleep take her.

Momo gratefully swallowed a piece of Flatworm's tongue. She would live for another day.

Izuru and Shuuhei rolled her onto a makeshift gurney they threw together with a canvas drop and a dolly. Izuru held her hand in the back, pleaded with her to stay conscious a minute more. When Momo was rolled out of the truck, they were grey shapes that took her inside and put her beneath a bright light.

Yuzu choked. She futilely attempted to pry her attacker off.

"How cute. You're very cute, Yuzu Kurosaki. Even when you smell like fish, you’re cute."

Addie's body rest upon the stained and rank sheets of her bed. Yuzu couldn't bear to look at the carnage. Not then, not ever. It was as futile as her escape, though. The image was burned into her brain.

"Don't worry, cute little Yuzu. You won't be in pain for much longer."

He brandished a thick syringe. She kicked her legs. As if she could avoid her fate, a cynical part of her thought. Her diluted vampire blood left her defenseless. When it plunged into her neck, she went limp.

"It'll be over soon," he promised her.

It was euphoric and nightmarish. Her arms and her legs went numb, her vision tunneled.

Yuzu realized she was dying.

"I know it's scary, but you can now serve a greater purpose." Her mystery attacker told her as he pet her hair.

Yuzu looked to the young woman who stood silently in the corner. She silently begged to be helped.

The young woman didn't even flinch. She only whispered to herself.

"Nemu, pick her up and let's go," her captor said after he shoved a bag over her head. "We've got things to do."

[thebookkeeperslibrary]

The Time Page’s Wish: Ch. 13 - Exit This Way

Fandom: Time Warp Trio

Author: The_Bookkeeper_96

Rating: G

Summary: It’s been four months and Uncle Joe is still missing. On his twelfth birthday, Joe decides it’s time to track him down. One wish lands them in the middle of a revolution. And it seems the only way to get them home is with the help of some untrustworthy thieves. As long as they don’t take The Book for themselves.

A/N: The penultimate chapter is here!

Read on AO3

Fred, Sam, Arwen, and Juniper sit on the steps waiting for Joe and Tessa to return. It's only been thirty minutes, but it's been a long thirty minutes. The temple sits high above the city. The ruined streets of Cealus stretch out before them. The sunlight reflects off the marble pillars and cracked walls. It's so serene, it's hard to believe this place is boobytrapped.

"So, how long does this usually take?" Fred looks to the girls.

Arwen lifts her shoulders. "Tessa was only up there for fifteen minutes last time. I have no idea what's taking them so long."

"Maybe Joe died."

Everyone stares at Juniper, eyes wide.

"What?" She shrinks away, hair falling into her face. "It could happen. Not everyone can handle the awakening. Statistically, ten percent of wizards don't survive it."

"June, we really need to work on your filtering."

"I don't see the point in being dishonest." She crosses her arms, her mouth set in a firm line.

Arwen sighs and pinches the bridge of her nose. "I'm sure they'll be back down any moment."

"Well, I'm going to go explore while we wait. I can't keep sitting around like this. I can feel my muscles turning to fat." Fred flexes his arm, poking at his bicep.

Arwen stares at him. "You can't be serious. You'll be dead within five minutes. You have no idea what kind of traps and monsters are out there."

He walks down the steps and turns his head over his shoulder. "Then come with me if you're so worried about me."

Seeing Arwen's look, Sam says, "He's going to go no matter what you do or say."

Arwen glances at Juniper and Sam, and seeing that neither of them are going to make an attempt to stop Fred, she stands up and follows him down the steps. "Just stick to the roads, okay? Last time we were here, we ran into a vicious monster that I'd rather not face again."

Fred scoffs a laugh. "I didn't realize you were such a scaredy cat. You and Sam would get along great. Of course, I shouldn't expect anything less from a Red Sox fan."

"I am not a scaredy cat," Arwen says, scowling. "There's a fine line between bravery and stupidity. You clearly don't know where that line is. And if you bring up this stupid sports rivalry one more time..."

"Whatever you say, scaredy cat."

They move through the streets in awkward silence. Despite the high sun, the light doesn't reach into any of the buildings, hiding whatever may be lurking inside. They reach the end of the street and turn right down a new path.

"See? No scary monsters anywhere. Sorry, Ari, seems like you girls set off all the traps last time you were in Cealus. Maybe you three aren't as great as you think you are."

"First, only my friends can call me Ari, and you haven't earned that privilege yet. Second, just because we've been lucky so far, doesn't mean there isn't anything out there."

Fred rubs the back of his neck. "Man, you girls are so uptight. I get you've been at Horae Manor longer than us and know more about magic, but you don't need to be so snobby about it."

Arwen puts her hands on her hips. "Well, maybe if you three took this more seriously, we wouldn't have to act so uptight about it."

"Jeez, you really are like Sam," he grumbles under his breath. A squat building tucked away on the side of the street catches his eye. It's painted a bright blue color and shines in the sunlight.

Arwen sighs and follows along behind him, stretching out her limbs and cracking her knuckles as she goes.

Fred watches her from the corner of his eye. "What are you doing?"

"Preparing for the trouble you are inevitably getting us into."

"Not gonna try to stop me?"

"What's the point?"

"Fair enough."

They enter the house side by side. The interior is as dilapidated as the rest of the city. Broken windows allow trace amounts of sunlight to stream inside, but overall, the house is dark. Standing in the foyer, Fred and Arwen can see almost every room in the house through various holes in the walls. Wooden beams with rusted nails and piles of crumbled stone and marble are scattered everywhere.

"Congratulations. Your adventuring skills have led us to discover tetanus city. I can't wait to pick out my souvenir rusty nail." Arwen rolls her eyes.

Fred heads further into the building, stepping over mounds of debris. "How cool is this place? It's like something from a horror film."

"How comforting," she grumbles as she follows behind Fred.

"Where's your sense of adventure?"

"I must have left it at home."

"You should lighten up, magic can be fun too you know."

The corner of Arwen's mouth quirks up. "You sound like Tessa."

"Maybe you should listen to her. She's fun."

Arwen's smile vanishes. "That fun has nearly cost us our lives several times."

"But," Fred pokes her in the shoulder, "hasn't it also given you tons of awesome adventures? And saved your lives several times? You just gotta find the balance. You act like we could die at any moment. Take a chill pill, scaredy cat." Fred folds his arms over his chest and leans against a wooden beam. A crack fills the air, the beam splits in two and crashes to the ground. The noise reverberates through the house as dust floats up from the ground. "Oops."

Arwen coughs. She flicks her hands in front of her face in a desperate attempt to create breathable air. "Great. Now I can have asthma to go with my tetanus."

Then a roar rings out from the back of the house.

"What was that?" Fred says, while at the same time Arwen says, "There it is."

"There what is?"

"The trouble I knew you were going to get us into." A slight grin plays along her mouth as she cracks her knuckles.

He smiles in return. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you look like you're about to have some fun."

She shrugs back at him, not even trying to hide her enjoyment. "I enjoy a good fight or two."

Soft footsteps begin to move toward them and a large, hulking shadow emerges from the darkness. It lets out another roar.

Arwen's smile vanishes. "But not this fight."

"So, you're saying that magic is science?"

Juniper nods, only half-listening to Sam while she skims through the notebooks she picked up earlier in the catacombs. "Technically, it's just one of the many branches of science, a long forgotten one by normal people."

"That's ridiculous." Sam huffs and crosses his arms. "Science is facts and research. Magic is… magic. It had no basis in reality. It shouldn't even exist."

Juniper lifts a shoulder, still not looking up from her notebook. "There are currently twenty-two million people involved in the magical world. I wouldn't say that to any of them. You'll figure it all out soon enough once your lessons start at Horae Manor. Magic is fascinating."

"Is that why you're so focused on those books?"

Juniper jumps and slams the book shut. "Maybe." She turns away, hiding behind her hair. "I just like learning, okay?"

"Okay. I didn't mean to offend you. You don't need to be so defensive about it. It's actually refreshing to meet someone who loves learning almost as much as I do."

"Almost?"

A groan from behind interrupts their conversation. They both snap their heads around and find an exhausted-looking Joe and Tessa standing behind them. Tessa is out of breath, but otherwise appears okay. Joe, on the other hand, looks worse for wear. Heavy bags rest under his eyes, and there's a smear of dried blood under his nose. He's leaning heavily on Tessa, who grunts under his weight.

"Joe!" Sam jumps to his feet and hurries over to his friend. "What happened?"

"The awakening." Tessa answers. "Highest high of your life. Worse hangover you'll ever experience after."

Joe groans again, too weak to speak.

"He'll be like this until we get him to the infirmary at Horae Manor. Cas will be able to heal him." Tessa sets Joe down as gently as she can. As she stands back up, her eyes do a quick scan of the marble steps. "Where are Fred and Arwen?"

On cue, a roar echoes down the streets of Cealus.

Tessa runs her hand over her face. "Nevermind. We were gone for less than an hour! What the hell happened?"

Arwen and Fred come peeling around the corner, charging up the stairs. They nearly crash into the others.

"We gotta get moving. There's this-" Fred stops when he sees Joe holding his head in his hands. "What happened to you? You look like death."

"Thanks," Joe mumbles, his senses slowly returning to him. He manages to turn his head to Tessa to glare at her. "A warning about this part of the awakening would have been nice."

She turns away, a rock on the ground suddenly becoming very interesting to her.

"What are you two running from? What was that noise?" Sam yells.

Another roar rings out. Closer this time.

"Fred pissed off a drake."

"Hey! You're the one who-"

"We don't have time for this!" Tess interrupts him. "We need to get out of here before it finds us."

"What's a drake?" Sam runs his hands through his hair.

"It's like a small dragon without wings. They spit out a highly corrosive acid," Juniper responds.

"And we're dead if it gets to us. So let's get moving. Now."

Fred helps Joe to his feet, and everyone rushes down the stairs. Fred stumbles down the steps under Joe's weight. He looks to his friend. "Can you walk at all? There's no way we're going to make it out of here like this." Fred drags Joe down another step, and bumps into Sam. "Okay, you standing here doesn't help either. Why aren't you moving?"

He peers over Sam's shoulder and sees why the group froze. A beast with forest-colored scales stares at them from the bottom of the steps with glowing yellow eyes. Razor-sharp spikes line its back from the base of its head to the tip of its tail. The claws on each of its feet are just as sharp. A string of saliva drips out of its mouth and onto the stone street, turning to the road to liquid. A low growl rumbles out of its throat. The drake.

"Change of plans." Tessa takes a step back. "Escape is no longer an option. We'll have to fight."

"Fight?" Sam's eyes widen. "You can't be serious! It's bigger than my mom's car!"

"He's right, Tessa. There's no way we'd win," Arwen says. "We'll just have to go around it."

Tessa scans the rooftops. "I can work with that. Arwen, keep the drake distracted. June, get the boys back up top. On my signal, we run."

"What are we supposed to do?" Fred asks, eyes never leaving the slowly approaching predator.

"Stay out of the way," all three girls answer at once.

"I like this plan," Sam says, following Juniper as she retreats to the temple.

"I don't," Fred responds, but pulls Joe back up the steps anyway.

Tessa runs to the side of the staircase, leaps off, and lands next to a mostly still-intact building. She starts scaling the side, making her way to the roof. Joe watches as she goes, fascinated by her speed and dexterity. Was all that because of her training at Horae Manor? Or were these skills she had picked up from her years in the circus?

Only Arwen remains at the bottom of the stairs, ready to face the drake head-on. It shows little interest in her retreating friends, and continues to crawl towards her, hissing as it does so. "I hope your fast, Tess." She lunges for the drake, landing a heavy punch directly on its snout.

The drake blinks, more surprised than hurt. It shakes the shock off and snaps at Arwen, forcing her back. Acid flies out its mouth, destroying the steps around them. Arwen feints left, driving her foot into its soft underbelly.

It cries out, whipping its tail at her, throwing her to the ground. She rolls to the side, narrowly missing a blast of acid to her face. She stands back up, ignoring the pain in her legs. "I need you to be faster, Tess!" she calls out to the rooftops.

"I'm doing my best!" Tessa's hands glow vivid purple as she whips them through the air. But nothing down below seems to be happening.

"Well, do better!" Arwen jumps back as the drake lashes out at her with its sharp claws. "I'm not trying to die today!"

"We have to help her," Fred says as he watches the fight. He tries to move down the stairs, but Juniper holds him back.

"No. You'll just get in the way."

"We can't just let her fight that thing alone! She'll die! She's already bleeding." He points to the red smear on her legs.

"Arwen is more capable than you think. She'll be fine. Besides, you're the one who got us into this mess. Do you really want to make things worse?"

Fred glares at her, but stays silent.

"Arwen, get back to the others!" Tessa yells down. "When you get up top, jump off on the right."

Arwen dances away from yet another acid ball. Throwing in one last punch, she spins on her heels and takes off for the temple. When she finally reaches the top, she's out of breath. "Tessa says to jump off on the right side. That'll take us out of here."

"Jump off? Is suicide really our only option?"

Arwen and Juniper roll their eyes in unison. "Just trust us."

They grab onto the boys and pull them over the edge. The drop should have been over fifty feet, but they hit the ground unharmed instantly.

"What the-?"

"We'll explain later. Now, move. Tessa won't be able to fool the drake for long."

The group runs down the narrow alley, Fred once again carrying Joe, who's still too weak to run on his own. They follow every twist and turn, but somehow never make it back to the main street. In the distance, they hear the drake screech. They push on, rounding one last corner before bursting out into the jungle. The last stones of the street turning into dirt.

Everyone stops to catch their breath, doubled over in shock and exhaustion.

"Where's Tessa?" Joe wheezes. "We can't leave her behind. That thing is still back there."

Like a true performer, Tessa chooses that moment to launch herself off the roof of a nearby building. She rolls out of the landing and pops up next to the others. "What are you standing around for? The drake will track our scent at any moment. Move!" Without waiting, she runs off into the jungle.

The others don't need to be told twice. They follow her, dodging boulders and trees as they go.

"We just need to get outside the magic barrier. Then I can tear us back to Horae Manor."

The group presses on, sprinting through the jungle, leaping over rocks and fallen trees. Their escape comes to a sudden halt when they reach a wide river. The water is too murky to see the bottom.

Tessa curses. "We'll have to find a way around."

"Why? Let's just wade through it." Fred lets go of Joe, moves to the front of the group, and peers into the water. "The current isn't even that strong."

"We have no idea what kind of creatures are in there. Besides, it could be too deep to wade through."

"Can't you swim?"

"Of course I can. I just-" Tessa bites her lip. Her eyes dart to Arwen, then back to Fred. "We're going around, and that's final. I bet there's a bridge or something farther upstream."

"That would take too much time. Can't you just do whatever weird magic trick you did to get us out of the city? What was that anyway?"

"Yeah, there's no way we should have survived that fall."

"Just a little spatial manipulation. As long as I have an aerial view of the space, I can twist the locations of buildings and pathways, basically making a maze. It's the same trick I pulled in Paris." Tessa steps away from the water and starts to head upriver.

"Paris?" It's difficult for Joe to process anything through the haze of pain and anger he's in, but a recent memory resurfaces in his mind. His fists clench. "You tricked us. You lured us into one of your mazes when we were in Paris. We were trapped in there for hours!"

The trees behind them begin to shake. Heavy footsteps move toward them.

Tessa's eyes flick through the jungle. "Now is not the time for this conversation. The drake will catch us if we don't get out of here."

"Why?" Joe crosses his arms. "First, you steal my pocket watch. Then you lie and manipulate me? We're supposed to be partners! What is wrong with you?"

"Wait, she stole your pocket watch?" Sam narrows his eyes at Tessa, really studying her for the first time. "I was right! I told you they were untrustworthy thieves. I knew it the moment we met them."

"We can all talk about how Tess is a terrible person later." Arwen grabs Joe's wrist, pulling him forward. "Like when we're safe inside the dining hall at the manor. It'll make great dinner conversation. But we need to survive here first."

"No." Joe pulls his arm free. "I don't trust her. I don't trust any of you."

Tessa flinches. "I'm sorry, okay?"

"Definitely not okay."

Arwen growls, "Look, she is the only one who can get us home. You can trust her now, because her life is at stake too. And I promise you, she values her own life too much to die today." Arwen's eyes slide over the trio. "So get moving. Now."

"I'm with Joe on this one." Sam holds his stance next to his best friend. "Ever since we met you girls, you've been hiding stuff from us and acting all superior. How do we know you're not leading us into a trap where we get left behind and you three make it out alive?"

"Because we're not monsters!"

"Sure about that?"

"All right. Everyone needs to just relax." Fred steps forward, placing himself in the middle of everyone. "We're in a tense situation, and we don't know each other that well yet. Once we get back to the manor, we can do a ton of team bonding stuff. We can't give up on each other just yet."

"You're only saying this so you can win the bet," Sam puts his hands on his hips.

"I am not!" Fred frowns. "That's just one of the reasons."

"What bet?" Joe's glare shifts from Tessa to Fred.

Fred doesn't meet Joe's gaze. "It's nothing. Arwen and I just had a little deal that if you could stick it out with Tessa, I'd win fifty dollars. But I totally had faith in you. I know you can stick this out."

"I don't care! Why would you do that?"

"It's not a big deal. Just calm down. I thought your little rages were supposed to go away once you were awakened?"

"Stop telling me to calm down!"

"Bunny-"

"And stop calling me that!"

The argument continues, the shouts growing louder and louder until everyone is screaming at each other.

And no one hears the drake approach. It bursts through the trees, acid spit firing everywhere. It charges forward, bulldozing anything blocking it from reaching the kids.

Their screams of anger turn into screams of terror as the beast approaches. Arms and hands fly up in a meek attempt to protect themselves.

No. Joe can't let them die like this. He may be weak and his mind may be scattered right now, but he wasn't useless. He puts all his energy into raising his hand at the charging beast and opens his mouth.

"Stop."

[starshineskyandthepowerofrock]

Retrieval

Part 7 of Starshine, Sky, and the Power of Rock.

There are many perks to being a catgirl. I can hear things others could never dream of picking up on, my nose is highly sensitive, and, most relevant now, I have night vision. So now, I'm scanning rooftop after rooftop for any landmarks that I may be able to dig up from my memory. Fairy Dust Falls is thankfully small, but my bracelet is even smaller, so finding it will be like finding a needle in a haystack.

Wait. I remember that bell tower! In fact... I plunge deep within my mind. Remember, Star... Yes, I had seen it right before my bracelet snapped!

"Down there!" I tell Sky, and she has Guillotine land us right in town square, a move I'm at first wary of until I notice that it's utterly deserted.

"You guys don't stay out late, huh?" Sky asks.

I shrug. "I wouldn't really know. I spend all my nights in the palace. But you'd think somebody would be out right now."

"Yeah..." Sky replies. She stares into space for a second, contemplating something. But it's apparently worth dismissing because she shakes her head a bit and goes, "Come on. Let's start looking."

About a half hour of fruitless searching later, my hopes are primed to be dashed. If only we could at least ask someone! I'm sure anyone would be more than willing to help the princess. But alas, the only person Sky and I can see for miles around is each other. There is an eerie silence in the air, occasionally cut through by one of us informing the other of a false lead. Most of the shops are closed, too. Oh, but there's one!

The small store, blandly labeled "Jewelry" in a font that looks like the definition of "default," is a beacon of light in an ocean of "Sorry, we're closed" signs. I peek through the window to find an older fairy man, arms crossed and eyes closed behind a checkout desk absolutely littered with trinkets that even from here look fake. No piece has a duplicate, and they have been arranged with nothing even resembling rhyme or reason. From this mess of cheap metal and garish plastic shines the tiniest sliver of silver.

"I think I found it!" I tell Sky. "Let's go get it!"

She comes over, excited, but deflates when she sees the shop. "Oh no."

"What?"

"I can't go in there."

I giggle. "I know, I wouldn't be caught dead in any of that stuff."

Sky shakes her head. "No, I mean I literally can't get in a building I haven't been invited into. No monster can."

"Really?" I say. "How does that even work?"

"Like this." Sky walks up to the door, prepares to grab the handle but is stopped by some invisible force field.

"Oh," I say. "That must suck. But it's fine, I can just go get it!" And with that, I waltz right in. The man jolts back into the waking world upon my entering. Before he's able to get a word in, I say, "Excuse me, sir, but it seems there's been a misunderstanding. See, this bracelet" - I pick up my bracelet and inspect the little star-shaped diamond charms that adorn it - "is actually mine. Funny story, really, I drop-"

"Prove it," the man interrupts in a gruff voice.

Shock renders me incapable of speech for a moment. I stammer before replying, "Excuse me?"

"Last I checked, it was in my shop, so it's mine."

I scoff. "This is a custom-made bracelet! The queens themselves ordered it! Do you know how many salaries it would take to afford-"

"If you want it to be yours, you'll have to pay for it."

I'm gripping onto my last shred of patience like my life depends on it. Maybe he hasn't gotten a good look at me. I lean in close so he can get a better view. "Do you know who I am?" I ask slowly.

He leans in, too. "As a matter of fact, I don't. I know who you're trying to look like, though."

I blink in confusion. "Excuse me?"

"You think I'm some kinda fool? What princess is coming to my shop in the middle of the night with a friend like that?" Oh. I guess he saw Sky. "On a night like this, too? I'm no moron. You think I didn't see your little friend duck out like that?"

"Duck out?" I glance at the window to find Sky nowhere in sight.

The man grabs me by the collar. "No spell is gonna fool me into thinking you're not some kinda monster freak. What're you two doing? Where's she hiding?"

"I don't know!" I exclaim. I wrest myself from his grip. I have to get out of here!

I burst out into the streets. "Sky!" I shout.

No response.

"SKY!" I repeat.

Silence. No, not silence. I can hear my own breaths getting heavier and heavier. She left me. No, she wouldn't do that. Would she? I don't know her! Maybe she didn't hear me.

"SKYLAR-"

I'm yanked into an alley. A room temperature hand, rough yet feminine, is clamped over my mouth so tight I can't dream of making a sound. The back of my head is against my assailant's chest, and I rise and fall with her ragged breaths. Her other arm is locked over my middle so that I can't lift my own arms. All I can do is nose-breathe, and I do so loudly.

"Shh..." Sky's cold lips just graze my ear, which twitches in response.

The hushing does all but calm me down. I should have known! What was I thinking, trusting a monster? I broke curfew because of her! I snuck out! I met a thief tonight! And now... who knows what's gonna happen to me?

Horseshoes clop in the distance. Many horseshoes. Sky's grip on me tightens, and I'm unsure if I'm still breathing.

"Don't... move..." Sky whispers. No, it's not even a whisper, more like the suggestion of a sound.

I want to ask her what will happen if I do move, but my lips won't budge right now.

The hoof steps stop. Sky is shaking. She brings me closer into her and now I know I can't breathe.

"The voice had to have come from around here," a young man's voice says, cool and even.

"I don't see anyone," a teenage girl says with impatience.

"Can we let it drop?" another girl asks. "We have better things to do."

Silence. Then, the man says, "Let's go."

No! Wait! Come back! Those people could have helped me out! Who knows if another person will come? I sure don't! I need to get out of here! I need to escape!

I muster as much raw will power as I can, shove Sky off of me, and run into the street.

"Help!" I shout.

Monsters. I'm face-to-face with a whole band of monsters, all on horses every bit as terrifying as Sky's. They look just as shocked to see me as I am to see them.

Front and center is a werewolf man with wolf ears pointing from the top of his mess of gray hair, a guitar strapped to his back, and a truly excessive amount of guyliner. He's the only one in their black and pink leather uniforms to wear a cape, so I guess he's important. Interesting, considering he can't be older than 25 with that youthful face. He'd actually be kind of cute, if it weren't for the murder in his acid yellow eyes.

Flanking him are two vampire girls that look around my age. They look more like what I'd expect vampires to look like: black hair, ashen complexions, glowing eyes the color of fresh blood. One has her ends dyed to match her eye color, and she regards me the way one regards toenail clippings. The other wears her hair in a messy ponytail that couldn't dream of holding it all, and almost all of it save the roots is dyed pink. Her eyes look poised to pop out of her skull. She seems rabid. Both girls wear a black circlet with a center who's shape matches the shape of the clasp on the werewolf's cape: a pink heart, broken in two. The national symbol of the Isle of Isolation. They're with the Band of Darkness.

We can only stare at each other for a moment. When my body allows me to move again, I turn to run, but more monsters close in on me on all sides until I'm in the center of a monster circle. Their initial shock has given way to slimy grins.

The werewolf hops off his horse. "Well, isn't this a treat? Princess Starshine herself! What's someone like you doing outside the palace?" he says, his voice dripping with sadistic glee. He's getting too close. I step back. He brings his hand to his chest, feigning embarrassment. "Oh, how could I forget?" He bows with mock grandiosity. "Your Highness."

The monsters' laughter permeates the night air. The werewolf leans in far too close for comfort. In a move too fast for me to stop, he runs his fingers through my hair, brings a tress to his nose, and inhales.

Okay, forget what I said about him being cute. "UNHAND ME, YOU CREEP!" I shout, slapping his hand away.

The werewolf rolls his eyes and backs away some. "Don't flatter yourself, Princess, I'm only getting your scent."

"That should prove useful," the vampire with the red tips says.

The pink-haired vampire groans. "Why does everything have to be 'useful'? Do you know how long I've wanted to rip her to shreds?"

"Remember the prophesy, Your Highness. We don't want anything happening that could disrupt your final battle," the werewolf says to her, considerably more businesslike despite the bloodlust that lingers in his eyes.

Wait. Your Highness? Prophesy? Oh noooo...

"Princess Persephone?" I say in a small voice.

Persephone smiles a horrible, twisted smile that exposes all of her teeth, including her razor-sharp fangs. She hops off her horse. "The one and only!" she says, then tugs on one of her earrings. A pink and black headset materializes onto her head, and she immediately makes a beeline for me. "But you should get to know me as the girl that's going to destroy you!"

The werewolf grabs her by the collar as if she's a puppy. "What did I just say?"

Persephone tries to wrestle out of his grip, frustrated. "Oh, come on, Boris, I never get to have any fun!"

The other vampire checks her nails. "Sure you don't."

"Cut the attitude, Princess Faylin," Boris says. "And as for you..." He yanks Persephone back and gives her a scolding look. "You can't destroy the Heir to Light before the time is right."

The implication that he'd be okay with my destruction otherwise is unsettling, to say the least. But I still relax a bit. "So, you'll let me go?"

Boris looks incredulous. "I said we won't destroy you." He lets go of Persephone and his horrible smile returns. "That doesn't mean we can't rough you up a bit."

My stomach fills with dread as I helplessly watch the monsters ready their instruments...

"LEAVE HER ALONE!"  

Sky has emerged from the alley. Her jaw is set and her hands are in tight fists. She's trying to stand tall, but she's easily shorter than the vast majority of these monsters.

All joy has drained from Boris's eyes, and in its place is pure fury. "What..." he says through clenched teeth, "am I looking at?"

"Is that a vampire wearing the uniform for that stupid school?" Persephone asks, repulsed.

"It is," Faylin says.

Boris narrows his eyes. I can practically feel the heat from the rage that bubbles just beneath his skin. "Traitor."

As if on command, the monsters all jump for Sky. They tear at her clothes, her hair. I try to run to her aid, but I'm seized by two particularly burly ones. She does her best to fight back, but they drag her to right in front of Boris. One kicks the backs of her knees in, and she falls into a kneel before him.

Boris stoops slowly until he's on her level. Sky tries to look away, but Boris grabs her by her bangs, forces her head forward, and looks her dead in the eyes. He only stares at her at first, watching her struggle in his grip. Then he says, in a whisper that hits harder than a scream ever could, "I don't know how you got here. I don't know what you think you're doing here." He takes her tie in his hand, strokes it, turns it over in his fingers. It repulses him. "But I do know what happens to traitors." He resumes eye contact. "And so do you."

She spits in his face.

Boris releases her, exclaiming in disgust and wiping his eyes. At a loss for words, he points down repeatedly as he stands back up.

One of the monsters grabs a fistful of Sky's hair and yanks it forward, bringing her into a bow that leaves the back of her neck exposed. Boris removes his guitar from his back, and it's now I see the body isn't a normal guitar body. It's a giant axe head.

"Hold her still," he says. "I want one clean swing this time."

It takes everything to keep dinner in my stomach when I realize what he's about to do. No. I can't just watch this happen, even if they force me! Especially when I'm the one that got her in this mess! But what can a tiny fourteen-year-old girl do against a bunch of full-grown monsters?

...Duh! Exactly what that same girl did as an even tinier six-year-old!

It's been a hot minute since I did any sort of combat magic, at least outside of a controlled environment. But that doesn't matter now. I take the deepest breath yet, until my whole trunk is filled with air, and sing.

I hadn't thought much about what would happen after this first note, so I'll just have to sustain it until I know what to do next. Luckily, I've managed to at least throw these guys off of me.

Boris snarls at me, and beckons the princesses to join him at his side. The Band begins a crushingly powerful song. But I'm not backing down. My head rushes to identify the beats per minute, and once I've got it down I do my best to weave my voice into the flow. I have to. If my singing brought their song to a screeching halt, things would go worse for everyone.

Oh, but I'm awful at melodies! I can't sing the same two notes and expect it to work! My knees begin to buckle underneath me. The magical pressure from their song is closing in on me from all angles. I don't know how much longer I can do this.

I glance down at Sky to find her no longer on the ground. Panicking, my head whips all around until I see her above the action, once again a bat. I'll question that later. In the meantime, seeing her has inspired me.

I recall the Save the World poem I wrote. My mind races, and before it's finished grafting the words to the tune Sky had shown me in the common room, I'm already singing this brand new song.

The pressure begins to lift. I can see it in their faces; they're starting to struggle. I change the key to shake things up. It's working! I can do this!

Sky swoops down and changes back to normal in a puff of red smoke. She starts harmonizing. Our voices pull at each other in a wonderful way. Power wells up inside of me and pours from the depths of my belly into the night.

The monsters stumble back. The tide is turning! How is this possible? Even the music is taking on a more familiar tone. It almost sounds like the Band of Light! Wait.

I turn around. There's mom with her usual double-neck guitar. And there's the multitude of pastel-clad band members behind her, all fending off the Band of Darkness. There's a fury in Mom's eyes that I've never seen in them before. She's not playing, just staring at me. Then at Sky. Oh no.

⭐⭐⭐

Considering she's my mom, I've obviously found myself in the Dean of Discipline's office before. But I never thought I'd sit on this side of the desk.

My leg is bouncing like crazy, but I'm otherwise stiff as a board. How is Sky so calm about all of this? Look at her, just slouching like that in the other Bad Kid Chair. Okay, they're not called that, but they may as well be. Because only bad kids sit in these chairs. And here we are. Sitting in them.

"You really didn't have to do that," Sky says, breaking the silence.

"What, save you? I didn't need them lopping off your head!"

"They weren't going to. I was waiting for the right time to turn into a bat and distract them. Then you could have escaped. We both could have."

I scoff. "Well, sorry for not being a mind-reader!"

Sky stares at the floor, arms crossed. We sit in awkward silence again. "I didn't mean it like that," she says. "I just meant... fighting them like that... and... saving me... that was really cool. So, I guess I'm just trying to... uh..."

"Thank me?"

"Yeah."

We both turn our heads upon the door opening. Mom enters, coffee mug in hand. She takes a swig, slams it on the desk, and sits down.

"Mom, I can expla-"

She holds up a hand. "I am going to explain how this looks from my perspective. And you two are going to listen. Not speak. Listen. If there's anything I missed, you can tell me when I'm done." She takes another sip and continues. "My experience with monsters has been consistently bad. I've seen monsters commit atrocities I'd hope your young minds could never conceive of. Entire villages razed with no seeming rhyme or reason. So, you can imagine my..." She struggles to find the right word. "...concern when one of these creatures finds themselves in my school. My base. My home. So, forgive me if I just don't find you all that trustworthy to begin with."

"It's the cartilage piercings, isn't it?" Sky says dryly. "Mom said they'd give people the wrong idea."

Mom exhales sharply through her nose before continuing. "I was willing to play along at first. After all, I'm only queen consort. Sunshine outranks me, and she makes decisions about the school and who attends it. But when I'm woken in the middle of the night on the first day of school to find out the princess... the Heir to Light... my daughter has been led directly into the Band of Darkness's line of fire, I think my suspicions are justified."

"'Led'? I led her into that?" Sky shifts forward in her seat.

I'd better interject. "Mom, she was trying to keep me away from the Band-"

"How can you be sure?" Mom responds. "You don't know as much about her as you think."

Sky stands up. "And what, you know everything about me just because I'm a vampire?"

Mom sits there for a moment. Then, she slowly stands until she towers over Sky. "I admit," she says evenly, "that my initial suspicions were unfair. However. They motivated me to do a little digging regarding you."

"Ooh, you know my middle name," Sky says.

"It's Marie. Alongside that, I also found out that you've been kicked out of multiple schools."

Sky shrugs. "Okay, so I've gotten in a few fights."

"You have a criminal history," Mom continues.

"You WHAT?" I blurt.

"That's a fancy way of saying I got arrested, like, twice. I got bailed out each time."

"And you have ties to the Band of Darkness," Mom finishes.

Sky doesn't have a comeback for that one.

"Sky... Is that true?" I ask. As much as don't want to, I can't help imagining Sky in that black and pink uniform. Doing all the same horrible things those other monsters have been doing as long as I've known. And smiling all the while with the same lopsided grin she's been giving me all day.

Sky can't look at me, so she looks at the floor instead. "I'm not with them anymore. I've never hurt anyone. I left them when I found out what they were really doing. That's why I came here. I couldn't just sit around knowing they were going around killing people." She looks up at Mom. "So, yes, I was with the Band of Darkness. Was."

I think back to our encounter with the Band of Darkness. It makes a lot more sense knowing that. I nod. "It's true, Mom, the Band of Darkness wasn't happy to see her. This crazy werewolf guy tried to chop her head off."

Mom stares at me. She knows I couldn't lie if I wanted to. "Okay. But you two still broke curfew."

"That was my fault," I say, my voice breaking. "I dropped my bracelet during my fly with Citrus and- and- and she was just helping me find it. I'm sorry!" Tears roll down my face.

Mom's expression softens. "Oh, Star..." She takes my hands in hers. "I know that bracelet means a lot to you. It means a lot to me, too. But you mean so much more."

"I'm s- I'm sorry for making you worry," I snivel.

"No, this is all my fault," Sky says. "It was my idea to sneak out."

"But I chose to go with you!"

"Regardless of whose idea it was," Mom says, "You both knowingly and willingly broke the rules. And you got yourselves in deep trouble in the process. So you both need punishment."

Oh no.

"Both of you will spend your weekend cleaning the palace stables."

"It takes a whole weekend to clean the stables?" Sky asks.

"Have you seen how many horses we have? Not to mention nearly every student has brought one on top of that," Mom replies.

Sky sucks in the air through her teeth. "I see why that's a punishment."

⭐⭐⭐

I'm headed for my room for some long-overdue sleep when I hear footsteps behind me.

"Hey, Star!" Sky calls. I stop and let her catch up. "I, uh, almost forgot," she says, digging in her shallow blazer pocket. "I made a quick stop before we got back here." She pulls out my bracelet.

I gasp.

She scratches the back of her head. "Sorry about the broken latch. But that probably means you outgrew it anyway. At least you can still have it around, though. Right?"

I hold it with trembling hands. "How did you..."

"I don't have a criminal history for nothing," she says, winking. "But look at it this way: he stole it from you, so is it really stealing to just take it back?"

"I guess that makes sense," I say. "But you said you can't enter buildings-"

"Unless I'm invited. No rule I can't trick 'em into it."

I giggle for a reason I can't identify. "Sky, I..."

Sky smiles. "Yeah?"

"Thank you. I can't wait to be in a band with you."