#he's trying to help him because deep down he believes in aku

[ssaraexposs]

THE PROMISE THAT WILL CHANGE THE COURSE OF HISTORY

[shozaii]

Mitra Mitra Mitra!!! I love you my precious child! Can I request aku x reader for looking after them when they're sick! You get to choose gender and whether it's headcanons or a scenario! Much love <3333

(a/n): cami cami cami!! i love you soooo much more mother!!🥺🥺🥺❤❤❤ i decided to go with a lil bit of both since you deserve this treat UwU💖 enjoyyyy!!! and i apologize for taking so long hhh😭

masterlist.

♗ akutagawa is pretty much the kind of person who would not understand what exactly is going on. he’s already caught up with his coughing and such, but when he sees you falling sick, his emotions are mixed up. ranging from, “did i infect them?” or “i thought they were strong.”

♗ he possibly found out after returning to your shared apartment, and suddenly he sees you wiping your nose with some tissues........definitely not ten more already being in the trash. aku panic mode? aku panic mode. 

♗ he panics. the first thing he does is run up to you because he thought someone used their ability on you, making you go all weak and tired. i’d like to believe he would grab hold of your face and hands very softly, worried that he might be too rough🥺 literally i can imagine his first question would be “who hurt you?”

♗ he brushes your fallen hair strands away from your already heating up face. straight up paces back and forth when he finds you coughing too. walks up to you, and tells you to open your mouth.

♗ “why...?”

♗ “.....to check if you have blood, duh. you’ve been coughing non-stop.”

♗ he’s very, very worried. no doubt. he wouldn’t want anything to happen to you, moreover getting what he already has. 

♗ there are times where he would give you baths— very rare tbh. most of the time it’s only you because he thoroughly enjoys the way you handle his body with care. i would say he learns little by little; and proceeds to use whatever he learnt on you.

♗ to which a huGE idea pops up in his head. he reminisces the times you have cared for him. anything that would make him cough less. always, always reminding him to take his necessary medication (he only got them after you came into his life. he does noT take crap from anyone but you). giving him warm bubble baths, as you massaged his back. trips to the onsen; chuuya helps you with that, though it could be a pain even if it’s just to bring him there. telling him to drink water is his throat gets dry. once he had a fever, so you placed a cold towel on his forehead. he wouldn’t admit it; but he was so, so happy he got to lay in bed, especially with you by his side.

♗ so yes. this time, for sure. he will do absolutely anything to make you feel better.

ˏ 𓏧 𓏲 𓏲 𓏲 𓋒 𓏲 𓏲 𓏲 𓏲 𓏧 ˎ  ˏ 𓏧 𓏲 𓏲 𓏲 𓋒 𓏲 𓏲 𓏲 𓏲 𓏧 ˎ 

he takes in a deep breath, grabs hold of both your shoulders, and looks right into your eyes. “l-.....let’s go get you a bath. under one condition.” still holding you, he looked down onto the floor - to which you could already tell he was blushing like crazy. your only response was a sniffle, with a soft “what?”, chuckling. 

“just.....just let me know if i do hurt you, okay? i wouldn’t say i could execute it efficiently. i try.” your puzzled look turned into a softer, more calmer phase as you cupped his face with your hands. “you’re always doing amazing, ryuu. trust me. though i don’t want you to get sick—,”

“nonsense. the sickness is afraid of me,” he said, maintaining his sharp, stoic look. 

sighing, you had to oblige. ryuu was a person tough to convince. but whatever he’s doing was definitely worth more than every treasure standing on mother earth. he made sure you got into the tub; not before putting his hand in to check the temperature. once you got in, he kneeled down and pulled his sleeves up. 

what made your heart go all soft was that he did not complain one bit. no grumbling, not a furrowed expression to be seen. just a soft, concerned look in his face - with his hands trembling every once in a while.

“aku....? is everything alright?” you questioned, holding his hand.

“d-don’t worry about me. like i said, i don’t want you getting hurt.”

“and i would never get hurt by my love. i can tell, darling.”

his cheekbones was painted with a soft shade of pink, as he looked away from you, continuing the relaxing massage on your back. it was so good, all you could feel right now was that you were floating.

you felt your muscles relax even more, with your shoulders decrease in tension, your chest slowly unwinding from the tight knots it was once in. your body still had those uncomfortable pains, but just something from his presence began to take most of them away. you couldn’t help but smile at how good he was getting, and how capable he was when taking care of someone he cares for. 

his sister came up to your mind; something that made you a lot more happier.

ˏ 𓏧 𓏲 𓏲 𓏲 𓋒 𓏲 𓏲 𓏲 𓏲 𓏧 ˎ  ˏ 𓏧 𓏲 𓏲 𓏲 𓋒 𓏲 𓏲 𓏲 𓏲 𓏧 ˎ

♗ he knows you have a thing for his clothes, but half of the time he doesn’t want you to put them on. not because he hates it, but rather because he gets so flustered he would not and cannot function. try asking him for his clothes when you’re not doing well. he. would. never. hesitate.

♗ “do you need anything? what else am i supposed to do?”

♗ he is quite the picky eater and you do encourage him to eat a lot. so imagine him taking care of you. he gets advice from gin if he ever does need help with the types of food he should be giving you. otherwise that it’s just observation from what you have given him.

♗ he’s just vv nervous!!! doesn’t want you getting hurt; he wouldn’t forgive himself for doing so hhhhh ;-; other than that it’s just aku being aku, the cutie patootie he is ehehe !

♗ cuddles for you and you only. periodt.

♗ will even go as far as to wrap you up in a blanket, and then providing extra warmth by holding you close. he has this smug expression whenever he teases you, so consider seeing this during the cuddle session UwU!!

♗ “i’m going to try something.” and he plants kisses on your cheeks, your nose, forehead, bare shoulders. he doesn’t show it, but he’s very attentive of your sensitive parts. he needs to see you smile because he knows falling sick is tough. painful and full of sorrow. so when you start giggling, he gives off this smile.

♗ “ryuu,,, thank you,” you buried yourself deeper into his embrace, sleep finally taking over.

(a/n): omgomg finally!!! i got this done kjskdjshjdbj!!! camiiiii i really hope you enjoy this grrrhrhrrh🥺i honestly have no idea how exactly it turned out but right now i’m hoping that you enjoy this hhhh :’))))

[strawberista]

{Long Post Cut}

"What's wrong?"

Hanekoma raised a brow and turned to look over his shoulder at his patron, "Pardon?"

"Something's wrong," Aku insisted, sipping at her coffee. "What happened?"

He really thought he'd gotten ahold of himself to a point that no one would be able to see the suffering under the surface. And maybe he could still play this off, but it sort of bothered him that she had noticed in the first place. Was he losing his touch? Well, maybe it was because he was having a hard time packing this one away as well as he usually could. Joshua had a way of pushing him to his limits and making him act completely unlike himself.

And so he went back to his work and refused to face her, "I'm fine, Sweet Tooth. You must be mistaken."

"I'm not."

Where the hell had all this confidence come from all of the sudden? It made him even more tired than he already was. The one time she chooses to buck up and it's exactly when he would prefer she didn't. He chose not to answer her, and so there was a beat of silence between them. Aku had never been one to pry into business that wasn't hers, or even into business that was hers, so he was sure that would be the end of it.

But it wasn't.

"You know," she piped up between sips, "to be someone who touts being open and honest about your feelings, you yourself are pretty withdrawn, aren't you?"

His jaw clenched tight, "Aku... Dammit... Fine, but I can't talk to ya about it, capisce? I really, really can't. Just let it go, sister, there's nothing you can do about it. I promise."

She bit her lip, stared hard down into her coffee, "It's just... Usually you aren't like this. So I thought... It must be pretty serious. I... I wanted to help."

Hanekoma drew in a deep breath, and Aku's eyes shifted to him again. Bore a hole in his back. Because she knew, and he was aware of that. She had noticed, at some point, that he practiced breathing to avoid anxiety. But there was no need for words concerning it. He got ahold of himself and turned to make his way back to the counter. She was wearing a Top O' Topo bow today, so he was careful not to muss her hair too much, but Hanekoma reached down all the same to pat her head.

"Thanks for your concern, Sweet Tooth," he hummed, voice particularly soft, she noticed. "I appreciate ya thinkin' about me. But I'll be okay, ya dig? Everything is gonna be alright."

Aku melted under the affection, perfectly touch-starved. He would try to get closer if he didn't know how poorly she would react to that. Unfortunately, he had already learned that lesson the hard way. "Sweet Tooth" was the most intimate he could be without her immediately extricating herself from the situation entirely. Terms of endearment and (God forbid) suggesting friendship never went over well for her. It was strange for someone who seemed so compassionate to be so put off by the idea of intimacy of any nature.

She came to her senses (he supposed) rather quickly and pulled away, waving her hand to dismiss his, "I understand. Just please be careful. There are... A lot of people who rely on you. It would be bad for something to happen to you."

"Oh, I'm not going anywhere, no worries," Hanekoma purred. "I'll always be here to serve ya up your special."

Aku frowned, like she didn't believe him, but she didn't argue. Instead she turned and slid off of the seat, leaving an empty cup behind her. "Understood. In that case, I'll see you again next week. Good evening, Mr. Hanekoma."

Hanekoma smirked, "See ya later, Sweet Tooth."

Well, if nothing else, it did make him feel better that there were so many people concerned about him. Sometimes he could feel incredibly alone, but it helped when he interacted with others like this.

[animepreferences]

P R E F E R E N C E # 8 - I H A T E Y O U

*Authors Note: I got sent home from work with a fever and I’m feeling a bit ill, but I wanted to write this for you guys. Hopefully my emotions don’t reflect too much on this preference and it isn’t too dark. Sometimes I overdue it a bit when I’m feeling low.

C H U U Y A

“I hate you.”

He had went too far. He knew it almost immediately, as he watched your face change instantly, the anger absolving into hurt. He would watch as your parted lips would mash into a grimace, your eyes instantly filling with hurt. He knew his words were mean, he even knew that he was taking his anger out on you. He didn’t know, however, that you were taking it so personally. And the second the tears would gush down your cheeks miserably, his heart would shatter into a million and one pieces because he would know.

“Y/N-Y/N...” He would stutter, his breath hitching in the back of his throat as he stared at you completely bewildered. He wanted to hold you in his arms, tell you how sorry he was, but he didn’t know how deep the hurt went, and he didn’t want you to push him away. Sure, he would be deserving of that. Sure, it would totally be in order, but it would hurt him. It would hurt him tremendously.

“I’m so sorry.” Deciding against himself, he would enclose you in a bone crushing hug. At first your arms would tighten at your sides, your frame unwilling to budge. You didn’t want to hug him back, you didn’t want to give in to his malicious damage control, but in your heart you knew. You knew Chuuya; the good, the bad, the ugly. You knew his heart, his intentions. You knew he would never purposefully try to hurt you. You knew he would never mean to make your tears fall. He was simply angry. And you knew better than anyone that he didn’t know how to control his anger. You were helping him every day, but he still had so far to go. He needed you. Slowly raising your arms, you would reciprocate the hug, your cheek pressing against his chest. “I can’t take the words back now. I know you may never fully forgive me, but my heart beats for you and for you only. You can’t even begin to know the disgust I feel with myself for making you cry.” He would whisper into your hair, stroking it gently as his own tears soaked into your scalp. “Please forgive me. I can’t lose you, I’m—I’m begging.” He would plead, his chest heaving as his own tears began to fall down his cheeks rapidly. You could hear the desperation in his voice as he cried, the remorse illustrated clear as day. There’s no way this man hated you. Not for one second would you believe that, not when the strongest person you know was currently deconstructing before your eyes in fear of losing you. Chuuya loved you. He loved you so much. This you knew. “I know you love me, Chuuya. I love you too.” You would whisper as his arms would wound tighter around you, his grasp reassuring you that he would never let go of you. Not now, not ever.

-

D A Z A I

“I hate you.”

Tears would roll down your cheeks, as you would drop to your knees face buried in your hands. “I hate you, I hate you, I hate you!” You would scream until your lungs burned, your body becoming weak. “I hate you for putting yourself in danger, I hate for you never knowing when to say no, I hate you for not knowing your limits, and I hate you for-for leaving me!” Your screams would be shrill and desperate, Kunikida’s arms wrapping around your chest as he pulled you back away from Dazai’s nearly lifeless body. “L-Let go of me!” You would sob, struggling uselessly against the strong grasp. You hated how foreign his arms felt, you hated how the person comforting you should be the one who was close to death, not his partner. “Akikko Yosano will be here soon, calm down Y/N. He’s going to be okay.” Kunikida desperately tried to calm you as you let out uncontrollable wails, your screaming now happening against your own will. Really, you had forgotten you were screaming until you felt the urge to black out yourself. Furthermore, everything had became exceedingly blurry. You had always said the day you lost Dazai would be the day your own world would come to a screeching halt. Originally you had thought that it was just the romance speaking; that surely there would be a way to go on without him when that time came, but you were realizing the hard way that that would be impossible. You were realizing that without Dazai, there would be no reason to go on. No reason to live because in your body and soul you knew he was the reason. You knew that he was your purpose. Your only purpose. “You can’t die, Osamu Dazai, if you do I will-I will never forgive you. If you die before me right now, I will die HATING you!” You screamed, finally collapsing into Kunikida’s embrace your head dizzy and light. His arms clutched you tight as you sobbed, pulling the material of his shirt into your fists in frustration. “Damn it, damn it, damn it all.” You would whisper, the tears causing your frail body to tremble violently. “Kunikida-San. You can at least wait till my body is cold before you steal my love.” Dazai would choke out, blood trickling down his chin as he let out a strained cough. “Dazai, you idiot save your energy.” Kunikida would scold, loosening his grip so you could crawl to Dazai instinctively. “Don’t you dare die.” You would whisper, placing his head in your lap as you leaned down to kiss his nose, his blood transferring to your own face. “How can I knowing that you would hate me if I did?” He would inquire, his voice weak, his eyes blinking slowly. “That-That’s right. I would hate you so much.” You cried, tears dripping onto his face as he let out a frail laugh. “We can’t have that.” Feeling a hand on your shoulder, you would look up to see Yasano with genuine smile, her eyes hopeful and confident. “I can take it from here, Y/N-ah. This lunatic isn’t going to die that easy.”

-

A K U T A G A W A

“I hate you.”

You would explode, turning on your heel in a complete fit of rage. “Is that what you wanted to hear Akutagawa? Are you happy now? I hate you! I hate you! I HATE YOU!” Picking up the vase beside you, you would throw it to the ground with infuriation, ignoring how it scattered around you in a multitude of minuscule pieces. “It’s like you can’t even understand me unless I am speaking your language, so do you hear me now? Do I have your attention for once in my life? I HATE YOU!” The tears would roll down your face miserably. You had never once in your life lost your cool on him before. You had always been very patient with his unwillingness to accept the fact that he truly was a good guy in your eyes, that you loved him fervently. But you had grown exhausted by his constant stubbornness. You had had grown tired of having to tell him everyday that his heart was in the right place and he deserved to live. Most importantly, you had grown tired of his constant desire to get you to leave him; even if it was for your own sake. Why couldn’t he get over the fact that you loved him? That you weren’t going anywhere? Sometimes it felt like he didn’t want you anymore, that maybe just maybe he didn’t want you in the same way you wanted him. You just wished he would tell you that. “Y/N-“ Aku would say, his mouth parted in horror. “Don’t-Don’t look at me like that. It’s what you want, right? You want me to hate you, you want me to leave! Maybe I will!” The scream was gut wrenching, taking every last bit of energy out of you as you dropped to your knees ignoring the glass that crunched beneath your knees. The pain was unbearable, blood oozing out of you at a rapid pace, but not as unbearable as the thought of leaving Akutagawa was. To be completely fair, nothing was as unbearable as that. The room would fall into a pit of silence as your sobs would rake through your body, your sniffles as loud as a gun shot. Then Akutagawa would speak and say the words you had always yearned to hear. “I love you. Even if you do hate me. I love you for now and for always.” It was the words you had first uttered when Akutagawa had told you that he hated you. You couldn’t believe he remembered those words down to punctuation, you couldn’t believe that he was reciting them to you now. Truly he wouldn’t have remembered if he didn’t love you. “I wouldn’t want hurt anybody else either, you’re stuck with me for life unfortunately.” Quoting you again, he would lift you up by the armpits, supporting your limp body as you continued to cry against him. “I’m so sorry I’ve hurt you. I don’t for a second ever want you to leave me. I love you more than anything, more than life itself. You know how many things I’ve loved before you? I’ll give you a hint: nothing. But you...You’ve changed my life forever, Y/N. You’ve shown me humility, compassion, love...To me you are irreplaceable. To me, you are the reason why the world turns. To me, you are my reason for everything. Don’t ever leave me, I beg of you.” Usually a red blush would creep to his cheeks, but this time his face stayed grave and sincere. For once, you felt his honesty like a ton of bricks. Akutagawa loved you. He really, really loved you.

[teenitinygod]

I’m not too good at thinking of ideas but maybe a hc of Chuuya (he’s my fave asdghf) with s/o whose ability is to detect/manipulate emotions? Or maybe a fluff scenario where Aku’s s/o secretly tries to kiss him when he’s asleep! Ooo ooo or one where Dazai keeps trying to get s/o to leave him bc he believes he’s bad for her but she’s not falling for any of it? These are just suggestions you don’t have to do it if you don’t wanna, PLS DONT KILL ME T_T ps ily you one of my fave tumblrs 🌼

I love you more bby- I did the Dazai one!

———————————————————————————————————- Dazai pushing his s/o away!

   Dazai wasn’t one to get attached, that wasn’t his thing, he laughed at falling in love, and scoffed at the thought of getting in a relationship. The deep sorrow that constantly filled his soul was unwavering and no matter what he did, no matter how many people he saved, it wouldn’t go away. The endless depression that came with being so empty inside became tiresome to deal with, so Dazai resorted to distractions. Those distractions varied and came in different forms. His new distraction was you. You were pretty, straightforward, not one to beat around the bush and bullshit anyone. That’s probably the main reason you caught his eye. You were fun, someone to laugh with, open minded and didn’t mind his 3am calls to come over. You were easy to keep a mask around, you didn’t pry, didn’t question, didn’t press at the unknown, his bandages, his past. The way you smiled and blindly followed his lead was almost endearing, he realized that being near you made days just a bit easier. He liked what you both had built, your unlabeled relationship made life a tad more bearable, simple, dare he say normal. Like he had a shot at happiness. And then came night.   

  One night. One night was all it took for what he had built to come crumbling down. He cursed himself for not being hyper aware of his actions, not being able to detect the way your eyes shined with deeper emotions when he was around, the little things you did to be closer to him. It didn’t hit him until in the afterglow of intimacy you muttered words he never thought he would’ve ever had to hear from you. In that instant his brain raced, wondering if leaving or not was the best option. You cut his thoughts off with a voice of understanding, pressing your face against his shirt, telling him that he didn’t have to say it back. Against his better judgement, he pulled you closer, drifting off into a night's rest. Yet Dazai lay awake, retracing his steps, grinding his teeth at the fact that he had done something he'd sworn not to do. Even if it was just a bit, he’d become blindsided by the distraction he created, addicted to the temporary relief you gave him of the metaphorical pillow that pressed against his head.       

That night was the start of many nights that started with intimacy and ended with a cold bed. Your once contempt attitude about the undefined nature of your relationship dissolved, succumbing to the angsty title of demanding partner. You didn’t want to be that way, but you couldn’t help the feelings of dread and chipping of your pride as Dazai fucked you in the night and left before the sun rose. His lunch date requests came to an end, the talks about any and everything stopped as your regret for muttering your feelings grew. You weren’t stupid, you could see that there was something going on with Dazai, and maybe that fact made you regret confessing to him. You were dazed, in a faux-reality where Dazai would wrap you into his arms, whispering that he returned your feelings. Maybe you were too naive, too shortsighted, too narrow minded. 

That longing look in his eyes wasn’t something you can pick up easily, it takes being with him for a while, watching him, and you did. That subconscious part of you knew you were his distraction, something to take his mind of whatever he had been going through, that’s why you didn’t press. You didn’t question the bandages, don't question the suicide, welcome him into your arms, home, and bed in the late of each night. Deciding that you’d had enough of pitying your past mistake, you decided that you would go to the agency and talk to him face to face. Five weeks had gone by since that night, not long enough to clear the awkward tension that squeezed your lungs as you both walked the calm streets of Yokohama.The sun was setting, the soft tones of the sky blended outwards as the day transitioned to night. Neither of you dared to speak first, not that you were scared, but what were you going to say? How were you going to say it? You paused, watching as Dazai took notice and turned towards you, an expectant look on his face.

“I know, I know that whatever we are was never meant to be something more to you, it was never meant to go any further than mindless sex and shallow talks. I’m not stupid and neither are you. I can see that look in your eyes, that desire for something you clearly feel that you don’t deserve. I’m not going to sit here and pretend like i’m the answer to your past, some miracle person that sets you free from the pain and trauma from what was before me. But I won’t apologize for my feelings, I stand by what I said, and I don’t want to let you go,” You confessed, voice unwavering as your toes dug into the soles of your shoes. Dazai’s face held a stoic expression, brown eyes that bore into yours, like he was trying to figure out your motives, like he was staring at your soul from the inside out, and it gave you chills. 

“I think it’s best that we go our separate ways,” Dazai responds, hands forcing their way into the bottom seams of his coat pockets. Your eyebrows furrowed, fist clenching harshly as you denied his words.“I don’t want that and I don’t think you do either. I want to figure this out, frankly I don’t give a shit if you don’t think it will matter. If you decide you don’t want to be with me after, fine. But don’t take me lightly, don’t brush me off because I know my worth. I’m willing to put up with whatever you're looking for,” Your words are sharp as you take a step towards him. The stinging of your nails pressing into your palms are somehow soothing. His expression doesn’t change and you sigh.

“I can’t make you want better for yourself, I can’t make you see yourself the way I see you, nor can I make you want to try to make this work. But I do know this, I do have feelings for you Dazai, I’m willing to do this, make this work, I’m willing to see this through,” Dazai shifts on his heels, feeling the breeze of the spring evening comb through his hair. It wasn’t supposed to be like this. You were supposed to be a distraction. Nothing more, nothing less. Yet, here he was, standing on the sidewalk as you poured out your emotions to someone you knew nothing about. It was laughable, but he knew you wouldn’t do it if you didn’t mean it. So with a tiny smile he pulled you into his arms, taking in the scent of your hair and the warmth of your body, now realizing how much he truly missed you. You both stood there for a while, knowing this was only the beginning of something, neither bad nor good at least he wouldn’t have to be alone. And underneath the setting sun as he held you close he felt a little more whole. 

[kaeyas-beloved]

Hi Val. How are you? For the ask game, could you do Dazai from BSD. Thanks in advance and I hope you have a good day/night ahead. Stay safe and healthy💕

Hello! As of right now I’m doing pretty well, thank you for asking :) I absolutely can do my favourite bandaged man! Have a good day/night yourself and take care too! <3

Send me a character and I’ll answer these questions!

Under the cut cause it’s long! 

And um, spoilers for the Dark Era in the first question!

~

Favourite Thing About Them

Everything

His development. The way that he’s (probably) trying his best to live out Odasaku’s wish as much as possible. He took those parting words and made the effort to change his ways - to help people instead of kill. Dazai didn’t just give up living after Oda died, he actually sought out the means to do as Oda said and continues to do so, even if only a little.     

Least Favourite Thing About Them

Nothing

How he treated Aku while he was in the mafia. Yeah I get that the mafia is a dangerous place and that if you’re not careful enough you are going to die but still. I want to believe that, maybe by some shred of hope, Dazai was just trying to look out for Akutagawa, to make sure that he could defend himself against the evils of the underworld - but I also believe that he could have done some things differently. Like not gonna lie, some of it was a little extreme and unneeded.

Favourite Line

“There's nothing worth pursuing at the cost of prolonging a life of suffering"

“Evil expects evil from others”

Those two are the only ones that're coming to mind right now.

BrOTP

Odasaku and Dazai, hands down. Next question please-

OTP

Soukoku ^^ (to some degree) 

Not 100% why, but it might be that they’ve got history being partners and they’re like ‘I hate you’ ‘lol I hate you too’ but then their actions clearly show ‘-hey wait are you okay??? Please don’t die, you can’t die???’ (basically the episode(s) where they fought with Lovecraft and that other guy - forgot his name...)

NOTP

Probably Dazai/Ango since, while they may have been friends, I don’t think there was much of a deep connection between the two, nothing like Dazai had with say Odasaku or, hell, even Chuuya.

Random Headcanon

Just thought of this but I could totally see Dazai just sitting on his s/o’s lap while their trying to work and they’re not giving him the attention he wants. But he’d do it last of the rest of his tomfoolery doesn’t work (poking their arms/sides/cheeks, draping himself across their back or smth, whispering/blowing in their ear to distract them etc.)

Unpopular Opinion

I think this topic is pretty split but I don’t think Dazai would let a relationship go on long unless he was actually serious. Like, if he was to use someone (cause I’ve heard he’s done that - or maybe it was just a thing for writing certain scenarios) I think he’d leave after a week or a month or something but if he’s stuck around for some time I think he’s actually trying to commit. (I think a way you can tell also is by his subtle actions - does he laugh? Is it forced or does it sound actually genuine? Things like that, if that makes sense...)

Then again, I’ve never the manga so maybe I’m just spouting nonsense ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Song I Associate With Them

I got four whoops-

Meet Me in the Woods by Lord Huron (the chorus in particular)

I’ll Be Good by Jaymes Young

Who Are You, Really by Mikky Ekko

Bullet by Hollywood Undead

Favourite Picture of Them

I really like pictures of him from this scene, but that might be just because I love this scene so much. I just find it stunning visually and (from what I remember) when I first watched it it gave me this breathless ‘...wow’ kinda vibe (if you know what I mean)

A close second for my favourite picture would be this one

[morgemuffel]

MALEC. ➰FORGET. EASIER SAID THAN DONE. (aku cinta kamu)

This story takes place after the episode 3Bx18

-> Let's have a look on a deeply sad Magnus after Alec broke up with him. His best friend Cat is not available and he needs someone to talk to. Painful memories of him and Alec are haunting him and a homeless man gives him a lesson in life.

I remember the pain very well, which I went through a few weeks ago when I collapsed because of Lorenzo's magic. I thought I had reached the peak of my pain tolerance. Such an enormous pain that led me to experience my deepest desires. I had this dream, this idea of a perfect life with Alec. We sat at the table ate waffles were joking about crêpes laughing and dancing. A dream quite obvious. Dazzle, deception I would have many names to call it. Never again, I had sworn after Camille. Never again would I open myself, make myself so naked and vulnerable towards another person. Over 400 years old but I never learn. I'm not worth being loved. Not even my mother loved me enough to stay with me. How could I assume that it would be different with Alec? Maybe because he had said so? Because after all these years of incompleteness he gave me the feeling of finally being whole and complete? Because he made me feel like I was the only important thing in the world, the only thing that matters? And even worse, all these things I do have for him. Even now while I'm sitting here and still can't believe it, can't understand it and don't want to understand it. Even now I know that the love for him and thus the associated loss will be my end. A life without Alec surpassed every imaginable pain. "Stay with me" I had whispered desperately. And I thought I knew pain, I knew loss. But as Alec walked through that door, the memories of us shattered into thousand pieces and pelted down on me like dangerous shards of glass. I can clearly visualize the splinters above me. As if they were real and every single one of them wafer-thin and razor-sharp, shoots down on me and right through my heart. My heart that doesn't seem to beat any longer, because there is no reason for it to beat anymore and even worse there is no one there for it to beat for. Magnus sat huddled up on the floor in Maryse' bookstore. He was replaying the past situation over and over again in his head. And tried to figure out when the exact moment must have been when Alec realized that the relationship was no longer working for him. Was it already after his collapse at the institute in his office last week or after the failed dinner yesterday or even before? He knew that he wasn't an easy Person and his personality wasn't simple either. As well that his losses had entirely thrown him off track. Magnus trembled with anger and the tears flowed down his face hot and salty. At first he was angry at Alec because he had left him and then at himself because he knew that this time it was his fault. His depressive mood fluctuation, the constant self-pity and not to forget his slightly exaggerated alcohol consumption had teared the couple apart. He took a deep breath and stood up to put on his jacket. He had to get out of here because he didn't want to accidentally fall asleep and still lie here like a bunch of misery, when Maryse comes back tomorrow to open the store. "You're part of the family." he heard her voice in his head. Every single word was a sting in his heart and the pain it caused almost strangled the air out of him. Alec was everything he had ever wanted, his one true love, his home, his safe haven and his soul mate. And now he was gone, forever. Magnus left the bookstore and locked the door behind him. He hid the key in the large flowerpot next to the front door. But where should he go now? His first instinct was to go to the next best bar, but then it occurred to him that his drinking was a reason for his new single existence and he decided to discard this idea. So he wrote Cat a text message to ask if she would like to eat two or three cans of ice cream with him later and just started to walk in no specific direction. Without knowing it he suddenly stood in front of a big rusty heart made out of metal with the capital letters L O V E beside it and the next memory of him and Alec appeared. His smiling face as he proudly presented Magnus the lock he bought to implement the European tradition in New York. Their trip to Paris had inspired him to place a symbol of their love here as well. A symbol of their eternal love, "Aku cinta kamu", Magnus heard himself whispering before he shrugged from the touch on his shoulder and the memory faded away. He turned around to identify the person and saw a scraggy man in a dirty checkered shirt and a much too-short dirty pair of trainer pants. Clearly a homeless person. Magnus looked at him expectantly with his face smeared with tears.  "I noticed that you weren't doing very well..." he began to speak hesitantly. "Maybe you would like to feed the pigeons with me... that calms me down most of the time when I am sad... and I have a half of sandwich left that I would share with you... if you like? You look so sad..." the homeless man said with a throaty smoky voice that was actually much too deep for his stature. Magnus was visibly irritated but wrested to a smile as he nodded and followed the man to the nearest bench. Cat still hadn't responded to his message, probably she had a late shift. And since Magnus urgently needed someone to talk to, he decided to trust this stranger man with his sorrows. Of course a censored version without shadowhunters, warlocks and vampires. The cool October breeze blew passt the two of them and they sat there for a while and remained silent. Bob the homeless man fed the pigeons with some grains and breadcrumbs. As he broke the silence. "I wasn't always homeless, you know," he suddenly spoke. "I had a great job, a lot of money, a beautiful house, my wife and kids... But when the children grew up and moved out and my wife died cause of her illness a year ago and I was suddenly alone, I realized that all these material things were worth nothing to me. He looked at Magnus to see if he was listening to him and nodded as he continued speaking. "For some reason we all define ourselves more and more by status symbols and forget that it's the little things that really count. Like spending unforgettable moments with your loved ones." Again he looked at Magnus who slightly blushed under his examining gaze. "Every day I try to give something back to the people around me. I help in the soup kitchen or clean the streets in winter and so on. They are small things but they fulfill me. Some people look at me and see a disgusting homeless person, but why should it bother me how others see me as long as the people whom opinions really matters, know my story and love and appreciate me? Love is the only true currency and once you have found it you don't need anything else. He paused and looked into the void when he asked: "Do you believe in magic and the magic behind love? The Has-been-warlock thought about the question and although Bob didn't know that Magnus is, was a centuries old warlock, and belonges to the shadow world. Magnus still felt as if the homeless man could completely see through him. Magic, yes he believed in magic and he thought he was missing his and the immortality and that he'd be nothing without it. But the truth is Bob was right. There is another kind of magic. Magnus chose his words with caution as he replied. "I thought I had everything, too. A great job, a great home, magic... well..." He cleared his throat and continued: "The love of my life I mean, but he left me and it is my fault. He faltered as he spoke and Bob didn't urged him to speak any further. Instead he continued: "I have learned to renounce, because I can and not because I have to. What does the well paid job mean if you don't have anyone you can share the money with? Or worse, what use does money have if you're lonely at the end of the day? We don't live forever and the time we have should be used sensibly. I miss my wife every day, but I know that the time with her was magical and when your girlfriend..." he broke off when he saw Magnus raising his eyebrows. "Your... boyfriend...?" he asked hesitantly and Magnus nodded half-heartedly. "Probably more my ex-boyfriend now" he murmured embarrassed. Bob looked at him insistently as he began his speech again. "If your boyfriend is really the love of your life you should ask yourself if you want to fight for your relationship or try to forget him and guide your time and energy into a meaningful direction. A dove sits on my lap as I open my eyes. It's already dark and Bob has left, if he was even real... and I didn't just imagine the whole conversation. I'm not sure cause I'm holding an empty tequila bottle, wrapped up in a paper bag in my hand and my head is humming. So much for that no more alcohol statement before. Alec's face appears again, his loving smile... God my soul hurts and it's hard to think clear. I have to shake away the thoughts of his perfect face. Fight for us or guide my energy into a meaningful direction Bob had said. I had fought, hadn't I? I literally threw myself at him when he was about to leave me. Begged him to stay, kissed him and tried to show him that I was still the same. That I love him and need him. But he didn't care, he left and I can't and don't want to forget him. Or can I? I always kept telling myself that the pain after a break up is part of the process to forget, it's there to learn from your mistakes. But a life without Alec and knowing that he left me literally tears me apart and I only know one person who can take all those bitter-sweet memories away from me. Yes maybe I'm a coward, maybe that makes me hypocritical and weak but I don't want to stand on a bridge again and... I just can't live with the memories. I need to talk to Jem Carstairs and ask him to erase my memories of Alec.

[thothscripture-archive-blog]

ooc; You know, I never thought anyone would like Thoth other than my group of friends who gave him a chance. I was so nervous with him, that I tried to make him a weaker character and I just couldn’t do that haha. I’m still nervous about him, but I want you all to know...

Thank you. From the bottom of my heart, I really am thankful. From the fan art, to the threads, to meeting so many wonderful people, I think it’s time to shine a light on those who I’ve chatted with, and gotten to know as well! Even if it’s just a simple hello, it makes my day. You guys are all wonderful, and I’m beyond happy over this. I was going to make a 100 follower and then the followers skyrocketed before I could haaa... ^^;;;

Anyway, these people below the cut? They really are cool.

But so are all my followers, even if we don’t talk!

@avoiided, 

Preshie mun! You’re Gaster terrifies me, not like bad dreams terrifying but he is a really well developed villain! He just is so wonderful to interact with, and I love our threads, no matter the blog! Let’s not forget how you’re a sweetheart either! I feel like I spam ya too much haha, anxiety man- BUT YOU ARE ABSOLUTELY WONDERFUL! Keep being you :D <3

(I still can’t believe Thoth had a mini crush on Gaster and they could have been nerdy friends if the judgement ever happened aaaaaaa)

 @curioosity, @snackiies

Azura mun! I am still vastly scared to chat with you, but I want you to know, I do mean the words I say ^^ You may be feeling down right now, but... I think you’re a great person. I really mean that, you’re oc is very well fleshed out and very engaging! I adore seeing you on the dash, and your art- and your posts! I hope things brighten up for you! You need a good day, and I hope you get it!

@sixfingersixtails, 

I really adore your concept and I’m glad you’re one of my friends! Sixer is adorable, and Thoth absolutely wants to spoil him! And pet him, seriously how many times have they ended up curled up together haaa. But the depth of your stories and fanfic are amazing and I love reading every chapter! Keep up the amazing work! <3

@softashfuck, @goodster,

I hope you had a good birthday kiddo! I love ya, you’re the son I wish that was here for I could spoil you some more. Seriously, anyway, I love your character and your interpretations and the fact you spam me with such lovely art ;w; so nice. I swear I’m going to keep spamming you right on back! <3

Okay but I mean it, I do care a lot about you and I do see you as my kid. Seriously, if I could scoop you up I would. <3

@all-seeing-all-knowing-eye, @br00kie-draws

BROOOOOKIE! Okay, first off. When I first met you, I was highly nervous and scared, I met you through an ex-friend that showed me your art and since then I am so glad I met you. Our ships are adorable, they have bumpy roads and that’s what makes them enjoyable, they arent perfect, and that’s just how a good ship should be. Not to mention your art?! Like DAYUM GIRL. Such a good, best friend too, always listening to me ramble! Love ya! <3

OUR SHIPS ARE ALSO A BLESSING thoug so yea!

OH AND ALSO HOW DARE YOU GIVE ME ICONS ON RANDOM LIKE THE SANS ONES, ;w; I cry, I cry with joy

@s-k-e-t-c-h-y-m-e-s-s, 

I know we don’t talk as much these days, I know you’re busy but I still check up on your art! (I really should finish that gif I made omgosh) But you are also a very nice person, and a wonderful artist!

@splinter-sister, 

Rach.... I gotta be honest. I love you, and I think without you these last years or so, I don’t think I’d be around. I was in a really bad patch, and thinking things I shouldn’t. I let my thoughts almost win but you pulled me out of there. You helped me in so many ways, you even sent money through the mail cuz of my situation. I feel like I can never thank you enough because you really are my best friend and I honestly don’t know what I’d do if you suddenly disappeared one day. I know work is hard on you, but you’re such a great person and you know what, I’m proud of you. <3

AND THEN THERE’S THE SHIPS OKAY

Thoth and Rachael, Rachael and Rich/Neal, Rachael and--- Wait no that’s it. I think, maybe. We ship a lot, I blame our shipness. lmao Love it all!

@buy-gold-bye, 

Lye! I’m still vastly nervous to chat you up and that’s why I go silent cuz my nerves kick my ass but you are such a cool person! And your art? A++++

@derse-agent,  @wd-blaster,

Heya! I like your stuff! It’s really cool, and I know I owe you some things, don’t worry I didn’t forget! I just want you to know, you’re a really cool blog and thank you for joining the streams at times! LAOS YOUR GASTER IS ADORABLE OKAY

@scientistofthevoid, 

AAAAAAH?! For one I totally ship Tenny and Lotus now, I love how Tenny turns to mush at the very sight of my pretty boi. Not to mention t’s us so sugar sweet~! With some deviousness in there. Okay but on top of that, I love your characters, and the art, the fact you have put a lot of effort in your things and you’re a great friend! <3

@xenoasks, 

Okay so, I love your art and the fact your Gaster is different fom others and you put time and effort into your creations and just YESSSSS. It’s amazing, and I love it and you’re really cool!

@stealthnerd

your art is realy cool and you are officially a senpai. I love the way you draw man, and I enjoy seeing you on the dash!

@of2814, 

Apaaaattthhhyyyyyy, I miss ya, and I should deff mesage you more! Omgosh,and always drag you to more streams for you can succumb to the siliiness again! I love your Parallax! Hal and nomal Hal and the one time we rp’d where Venom was also Hal sdsfgb All the good stuff and I STILL REMEBER OUR SHIP OF SIOBHAN AND HAL <3

@theirmercy, 

Okay so we’re still getting to know each other but you are an absolute delight!? AND YOU HAVE AN AMAZING SANS AND I LOVE HOW YOU WRITE AND I’M GOING TO KEEP RAMBLING IN CAPS FOR YOU UNDERSTAND HOW YOU ARE AN IDOL HUN. <3

@ask-mystery-shack-cipher, 

FOXIE AND HEALER!!! Healer, I love the way you write and Foxie? Hun, I wish I could draw like you. You two are really good friends and I’m sorry I haven’t een overly chatty? But I watch your content all the time! <3 You guys also helped me get rid of a toxic ex-friend and I’m grateful for that, you have no idea! Thank you for giving me strength!

@lastinggaster, 

YOU ARE SUCH A SWEET PERSON!? You drew my boi, you chat with me, we rp- You are a delight! I want to invite you to all the streams and groups and let everyone marvel at your amazingness!

@lackadaisicaldenial, 

Okay we don’t chat as I do with others but I’d love to? I’d love to also thread with you and I’m sorry if I didn’t answer that meme! It’s there staring at me like a deer in the middle of the road omg! But we should plot, on any of my blogs!

@evilgsanchez, 

Okay so I loved our interactions with your Evil Rick and my Rick, I’m sorry that hes inactive right now, I’m trying to rile him back up but it’s just hard for me idk why- (been on an undertale kick tbh, aaaaa) BUT YOU WRITE AMAZINGLY AND BLOW MY FUCKING MIND LIKE OMG, HELLO SENPAI

@elooplvfklhiflskhu, 

We just recently started talking but hey! I love your art from what I’ve seen keep up the amazing work okay? And don’t worry about messaging me, It’s all okay fi you want to :D I dont bite

@rubentheruler, 

**AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA, screeching** 

Your art is still amazing and I am highly nervous to talk with you but you are a sweety and I aspire to be like you!

@unspeakablyevil, 

I would really like to chat with ya! And plot, and write! You seem to have an amazing Aku and it’s wonderful to see you on my dash!

@void-dad, 

 I love Trashy and I would really like to thread with ya. Your character is cute and well rounded, and I enjoy his story. Plus you’re a good person :D

@purplepimpryda,  

BROTHER OF MINE I LOVE YA. I enjoy how hard you work on everything, even back when you wrote Joker. How we shipped, I still remember every moment despite my shit for brains memory hahaha. It’s wonderful and so are you and I’m glad you got out of your bad situation and are doing better and got things going for ya now! I love you, and I am very proud.

@pinkheartmelodi, 

I LOVE YOUR BLOG OKAY? I read everything ^^;;; Haaa, I do, and it’s great. I’m kind of a side liner and I need to change that becuause Melodi is a cutie and I should totally spam you with more asks!

@paitakoyaki, 

PAAAIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII *SCREECHING INT THE SUNSET*

I miss our clown days, but I love how you draw still and I should message you more often, I miss ya buddy. You were and still are an amazing fiend and I aspire to draw how soft you do, those lines man mmmf, good stuff right there. Also Penance and Sorrow should hang out again.

@blackhxt, 

SILVER HOW DARE YOU SINK ME THIS DEEP INTO VILLAINOUS

YOU MADE ME LOVE SO MANY DIFFERENT VERSIONS OF THE SHIPS, THE LORE, AND I’M SCREECHING AT YOU NOW. Oka but White Hat and Slug yessss, Flug and Black Hat, yesss, but my favorite...

Is the one I never expected. My fanfic’s Bill Cipher, dubbed ‘Glitch’ and Black Hat. I can’t believe they have two kids now and they recently hatched and are going to destroy the world. Cute little guys.

But you’re also a great friend! Seriously, amazing! <3

@cubicscubedemon, 

Okay so I didn’t know anything of your muses but I saw you on the dash and I followed and I DO NOT REGRET THAT BECAUSE I LOVE THE WAY YOU TAKE YOUR CHARACTERS AND HOW MUCH STORY YOU PUT INTO THEM AND HOW MUCH WORK AND XKSHJBDCSFVGFMBH YOU ARE AMAZING <3

@storyteller-arc/ @smol-goop, 

*inhale* B O I. Okay but on a serious note I love your Gaster, I love your oc. Storyteller, Gaster Grim likes them but not only that they managed to get Thoth to like them, he also likes smol as well. You have a really good character set it just attracts my characters like a magnet hahaha

Not to mention you are a adelight! Absolute delight!

@hannah-the-small, 

*takes a deep breath* HOW CAN I EVEN BEGIN TO WRITE ON YOU!?

You are an idol to me. You are someone who has developed their entire set of ocs so much that I wish I could put that much effort without feeling nervous like hot dayum. You have suhc a good thing going, and I ust wanna punch Dick, hug him as well, punch him again- and also adopt ames and Hannah, and Eight- and the heroes, and Black Hat, and Dave, and all of them and HOW DARE YOU MAKE ME LOVE ALL THESE BBIES

@glitchster404, 

GLITCHSTER IS ADORABLE!

I really do love how sweet they are and also the thread on Sans how he was commanded and i ended up being really cute and I just lve it all. You also have wonderful art and you are really dang sweet, <3 <3

@billrick, 

okay....okay... I love your entire thing going on with ER, and I would love to write with you. I don’t even care what blog omgosh because you are an absoute steklar star on here, and Imma call you senpai til you perish cuz DAMN. Look at those headcanons, DAYUM look at those posts and stories and AUs and the past and 70 years worht of stuff and AAAAAAAA

A M A Z I N G 

@a-vf-vi-tf-ti,  @deep-black-dreaming​

AAAAAA? I love your ocs, I love our rps and ideas on discord but we should deff rp here on tumblr again! Lemme drag you down with me on here muhahahahah, ALSO YOU’RE ANOTHER CULPRIT FOR GETTING ME DEEP INTO VILLAINIOUS AND I LOVE IT

@omnituent,

*stares at you deeply, squints*

Imma kick your Black Hats ass again just you watch. BUT ON A SIDE NOTE! OMG CAN WE THREAD ON HERE TOO? Discord is wonderful man man, I’d love to take it to tumblr, if you’re okay with that! I’ll even dust off my WH just for that reason :D

@igxitixn

You’re character seems swet and we should send some asks to each other ore often! I hope you’re having a wonderful day and I would love to get to know you more!

@dalearmitage

I know you thanks to Brookie and your character is amazing but I’m highly nervous to bug you nad for that I am very sory and I hope that we can chat more!

@an-ordinary-roach,

You have such a cute oc and I want to know all about them! We thread here on Tthoth and Grim but man I’d spam you with even Eddie Gluskin if you’d want :D Or Jack, but Jack scares everyone and so I keep him in th corner hahaha. But the point is, I love your concept and I wanna pet th roachie

@gothamsbruja  

I remember when you were still developing your oc and it was on skype, and she had blue skin but now she covers up the blue skin and she is really great. I think you did amazing with her!

@hsheaddogs

Hey I just met you and aI think you guys are great. Sans and you, really cool! Thanks for joining the stream the other day and I hope to thread with you more! I mean it, and I should say hi to you more often on discord ^^  You seem great!

@gummypeculiar

YOUR CHARACTER IS SUPER CUTE AND I LOVE THEM AND I WOULD LOVE TO WRITE WITH YOU SO MUCH MORE EVEN THOUGH WE ALREADY WRITE ON sANS AND I JUST LOVE THEM AND WANNA KNOW ALL I CAN!

[curious-shadow-cat]

The Metal Box Pg3

Uka Uka immediately flew over to his brother and smacked into him-knocking him onto the cold floor.

Aku:"OW!" He yelled and quickly flew up."WHAT?!" He yelled angrily."I was just reading the markings!"

Uka:"HAA READING IT! YEAH RIGHT!" He yelled angrily."Just a moment ago you said you couldn't read it! If you think I'm gunna stand by and watch you try to get ME in trouble you're WRONG! I refuse to go back to prison for ANOTHER hundred years!" His eyes glowed and he looked like he was about to attack him. Aku Aku blinked. He shook his head and scoffed.

Aku:"Please, you really think I would do that again?....I mean....depends on what you do." He cleared his throat."Anyway, open the box Uka."

Uka:"Yeah, I'll open the box and-WAIT NO! I WON'T DO THAT! SHUT UP!" He was closer to the box but was careful not to touch it."Look, why don't you just...I dunno, wait over there in that corner for the Ancient's to come back!" He kept his eyes on his brother as he flew away.

Aku:"Okay, okay, sheesh. I'm telling you I feel fine though! I still think you were right about the box." He stared at the wall. They were both quiet for what seemed like hours. Uka Uka could feel his eye lids growing heavy. He would've fallen asleep if he haven't heard his brother snoring loudly in the corner. He saw him lying flat on the floor in a deep sleep. His eyes were wide.

Uka:"He's asleep?!" He hissed quietly."Wow....some guardian." He chuckled. As he did, he heard someone else giggling behind him. At first he believed it was Aku Aku's but then he just remembered he was asleep. He gasped and spun around. There was no one there though."Who's there?" He said in a harsh tone. He thought that would be enough to wake up his brother but to his surprise, it didn't. He shook his head."Maybe I'm just hearing things." He said to himself.

"Are you?" Asked a voice from behind him. He looked down at the box with wide eyes and flew back as he let out a yelp."Gee! You sure are jumpy for a guardian!" They said in a cheerful tone. Uka Uka wasn't sure what to say, he was, for once, at a loss for words."Sooo, what's your name?" They asked. Uka Uka snapped out of it and cleared his throat.

Uka:"I'am the Great Uka Uka!"

"Ohhh, you sound so confident! I like that." The voice paused."Well, I'm sure you already know who I'am."

Uka:"Yes...you're Majora right?" He asked calmly. To be honest he was panicking inside. Was he going crazy? He was talking to a metal box for crying out loud!

"Oh, you actually used my name! Hee hee! Most people now a days just call me the demon, or the terrible mask or whatever." They sighed.

Uka:"....To be honest this wasn't what I was expecting from you."

Majora:"Oh? And what were you expecting Great Uka Uka?" They asked.

Uka:"Well, I thought you would be more aggressive towards me. Yet you seem so...calm about all of this..."

Majora:"I'm used to this. After a hundred years, they bring in new guards. Some come and go sadly. They really should've known better than to touch the box. Too bad for them." They giggled once more. Uka Uka raised a brow.

Uka:"What happened to them?"

Majora:"They either died, went crazy, or turned into a beast. It all depends." They spoke of it as if it was nothing too serious. Uka's eyes widened."You don't need to worry about your brother though. He barely touched the box after all. The other spirits here were fools thinking they could control my power. They were human. Humans can't handle this much dark magic. Your brother should wake up feeling ill and a bit of a headache. After that, he should be fine." They paused for a moment."...But you don't really care do you?"

Uka:"Huh?...Oh." He looked over at his brother.

Majora:"You did say you were trapped in prison for a hundred years right? I bet ya by the time the Ancients get back, you'll be to blame for all of this. You did push him against the box." Uka spun around to look at the box.

Uka:"He pushed me first!" He said in an angered tone.

Majora:"I doubt the Ancients will care. Though perhaps....I could help you out?" Uka furrowed his brows.

Uka:"You....want to help me?" He asked in a doubtful tone.

Majora:"Sure why not. You wanted to help me out earlier. Haven't you heard the stories? Or were you just going to blindly open the box just because you were curious to see what was inside?"

Uka:"No, no, I....he told us the story, honestly I was just half kidding. But then again, nobody here really likes me at all. Most of them pretty much would love to see me trapped in a box in prison."

Majora:"So what exactly did you do that's so terrible?"

Uka:"Oh you know, tried to destroy the world. I have an army of mutant soldiers back at the tree. Er...my home."

Majora:"Ooh! Interesting! I almost destroyed the world once just in three days! It would've been a new record." Uka smiled.

Uka:"Really?! Three days! That's amazing! How did you do that?" He grinned.

Majora:"Simple! I created my own moon and tried to use it to destroy the earth with it."

Uka:"....You.....you made your own moon?"

Majora:"I know, it's unbelievable. But trust me it happened. You can ask the ancients if you want....before they throw you in prison for what happened to your brother anyway." Uka Uka frowned.

Uka:"....Okay....but how can I trust you?"

Majora:"Oh that's fine then, we can just get to know each other  better once they throw you in here. Or maybe you'll be alone in a small room forever trapped and forgotten just like me." They spoke quickly now almost with little patience.

Uka:"Okay! Okay! I'll.....open the box. How does this work?" He looked around the box trying to quickly figure out how to do so.

Majora:"With dark magic. That's how your brother was able to even move the lid earlier. You already have dark magic so you don't even need to touch the box. Focus all your energy and lift the lid. Simple!" They were calm again.

Uka:"Right, okay. Easy!" He began to glow red and the lid was covered in a red aura. It didn't take long for the box to shake and the talons at the bottom of it to move and they dug into the floor-leaving deep marks in the concrete. It was a little unnerving to know that his brother was using dark magic to open the box. If just by touching the box for a mere second gave him that kind of power, who knows what else what kind of beast it could've turned him into. He wondered if he would even be able to recognize him at all, or if Aku Aku would even remember him and the other bandicoots. Would he try to kill them? Or worse? He was almost lost in thought but he heard the lid begin to crack and his eyes widened at the sight of it. He grinned like mad. Until he realized he couldn't stop. Not that he wanted to. He just couldn't give himself the time to rest for a couple of seconds. His grin lessened a bit. He was beginning to feel it taking almost all of his strength. He tried to shake the worry thoughts away by talking."So, Majora, when this is all over...you're going to help me right? I helped you after all." He waited for a response but there was nothing but silence. Finally after what seemed like forever the spirit finally spoke.

Majora:"That would be fair wouldn't it? You help me, I help you sort of thing? Heehee..." There was an odd tone in his voice. He tried to ignore it but that horrible feeling slowly grew.

Uka:"Well of course! That's how it works around here! Sort of....it's-it's what I've done! Trust me!" He said though he wanted to hit himself for nearly sounding like he was panicking....which he was on the inside. He heard a dark chuckle from inside the box which was almost now open.

Majora:"Ohh Uka Uka, of course I trust you. I had my trust in you this WHOLE time.~" Uka Uka turned pale. He could feel his power being forced out of him. He tried to stop but he couldn't. He didn't have the strength to fight it anymore."Now, I don't plan to kill you-or not yet anyway. Once I am finally free from this box, I will spare you and your twin if you still care about him that is. But the next time we meet, you better stay out of my way. Or else." That last part ended with a deep growl. The Ancients were right. He should've just ignored this demonic entity, why did he think this was a good idea? This was a great mistake. He looked at his brother who was still asleep. He heard the entity laugh. This wasn't their playful giggles, this was something more sinister. He thought he was about to pass out from how much power he was using. He hasn't used this much power in years."Don't even try it, no matter how loud you scream, no one can hear you. Trust me, I've tried." They growled."Do you know exactly what it's like to be stuck in an old box with barely any space to move around? Do you know what it's like to scream in the darkness only to be ignored by those who are near by who can hear your cries? To feel as if the world has long forgotten your existence? Do you even know what it's like to have your friends taken and not know what happened to them?!" They asked in anger he had never expected to hear.  Uka Uka tried to speak but all that came from him was a harsh cough. He felt exhausted. Like he had just run a hundred miles in the desert. He heard the doors open and a sharp gasp. He heard someone scream his name but it was too late. The lid broke open and the light was sucked into the darkness along with Uka Uka.

When Uka Uka woke up he had heard screaming from behind him. He ever so slowly rose up and looked around. Everything was a blur. The sounds were muffled. He saw that the doors were wide open and there was fire outside the room. He didn't see his brother anywhere. He was alone. He blinked a dozen times trying to get his vision back. He flew and hit his head off the side of the doorway and yelled in pain. He shook his head and flew up the spiral stairway. Once he made it out the doors he gasped. There were masks split in two or in a dozen pieces along with stone guards. He didn't recognize any of them as his twin which for some odd reason made him feel better about it. He flew up ahead when he heard more screaming. The doors were wide open and he could see other stone guards and masks fighting. They were thrown about and screaming in fear or pain.

"Uka Uka!" A familiar voice called. He stopped and spun around. He saw Aku Aku hiding behind a golden shield."Come on!" He hissed."This way!" He flew down another hallway and Uka Uka followed quickly.

Uka:"What are we doing?" He asked.

Aku:"Getting out of here! What do you think?!" He yelled after a wall near by exploded. He shoved Uka Uka up ahead."MOVE! MOVE!" He screamed. They flew as fast as they could down the hallways. Other guards were trying to get the prisoners away as quick as they could. They heard a blood curdling roar and another wall exploded behind them. A heart shaped mask with tentacles flew down the hallway and grabbed one of the guards. They spun around and shattered everything around them."Keep going! He yelled and Uka listened. They stopped when another guard was thrown in front of them and shattered into pieces against the wall. The Ancients flew after Majora as he flew towards the doors. They laughed.

Majora:"FINALLY! SOON I'LL BE HOME FREE!" He laughed once more and fired lasers from his eyes. The Ancients dodged their attacks and kept chasing them. The temple was falling apart and Majora didn't plan on staying to watch it happen. Their horns were broken almost to nothing and their mask was almost split apart. Their eyes burned brightly.

Aku:"We have to do something!" He said as he quickly looked around."If he get's out we're all doomed!" Uka Uka wanted to speak but he still felt weak after everything that happened. He looked around trying to find something-anything to stop that entity. Aku Aku had an idea and fired lasers at the doorway. Majora stopped as it all collapsed in front of him. They gasped and spun around.

Majora:"No, no, no, no, NO!!" They shrieked. They tried to fly past the Ancients but one of them grabbed them with chains and others followed. They roared and tried to pull free from their grip but it was hopeless. Another metal box appeared and they were thrown into it."NOOOOO!! NO! NO! NO! IT'S NOT FAIR! IT'S NOT FAIR!!! I WAS SO CLOSE TO WINNING!! IT'S MY TURN! IT'S MY TURN!!" They slammed against the box over and over again trying to escape."LET ME OUT OF THIS BOX!! LET ME OUT OF THIS BOX!!" They screamed. Two Ancients carried the box away. One of the Ancients with the feathers on his head from earlier shot a glare at Uka Uka.

"YOU." He yelled."Both you! Come here. Now." He said with such anger in his voice. The twins made their way to the angered spirit."Who did it."

Uka:"What?" He asked since he honestly didn't hear him at first.

"WHO. DID IT." They repeated. He glared at the twins. Neither of them answered, they just looked at each other and then looked back at the large mask in front of them."So, that's how it is huh?" He spoke slowly as his eyes narrowed.

Aku:"....We are so sorry-" He spoke like a frightened child that just did something he shouldn't have done.

"Silence!" He hissed."Both of you, follow me." He flew down the hallway. The twins looked at each other again and then followed the angered spirit.

The twins were brought to an empty room and the Ancient spoke once more.

"You two will wait right here. I'll be back." He flew out of the room and slammed the doors. They were quiet for a while before Aku Aku slowly narrowed his eyes at Uka Uka.

Aku:"What did you do?" He hissed. Uka shot a glare at him.

Uka"ME? ME?!  YOU STARTED THIS WHOLE MESS!!" He yelled in anger. He had some of his energy back. It was enough to get him yelling again.

Aku:"OH REALLY NOW?! MY FAULT?! I WASN'T THE ONE WHO OPENED THE BOX! WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?! WERE YOU EVEN LISTENING TO HIM WHEN HE SPOKE ABOUT THE HORRIBLE THINGS THAT MASK HAS DONE TO ALL THE PEOPLE ON N. SANITY ISLAND?!" He yelled back. He was furious.

Uka:"OF COURSE I DID! BUT YOU TOLD ME TO OPEN THE BOX!"

Aku:"I DID NO SUCH THING! THIS IS JUST LIKE YOU UKA UKA! YOU LIE! YOU LIE BECAUSE YOU THINK YOU'RE SO PERFECT! YOU THINK YOU'RE SO MUCH BETTER THAN EVERYONE ELSE BUT YOU'RE NOT!"

Uka:"And you think YOU ARE?! HUH?! MISTER PERFECT?! YOU THINK YOU'RE SO SPECIAL JUST BECAUSE THE ANCIENTS PICKED YOU TO HAVE ALL THAT LIGHT POWER!"

Aku:"WELL THEY WERE RIGHT TO DO SO SINCE YOU COULDN'T DO A SIMPLE JOB LIKE MAKING SURE NO ONE OPENS THE DAMN BOX!!"

Uka:"THEN WHY DIDN'T YOU JUST USE THAT POWER TO STOP THAT THING HUH?! OR DID YOU LOSE IT?!"

Aku:"I WAS-SHUT UP!! THIS IS YOUR FAULT!"

Uka:"OHHHH BACK TO BLAMING ME AGAIN!!  AS USUAL!!"

Aku:"I'AM NOT BLAMING YOU! IT IS YOUR FAULT YOU IDIOT!! WHY DID YOU LET HIM OUT?!"

Uka:"WE JUST-I THOUGHT...I DON'T KNOW!"

Aku"DON'T KNOW?!"

Uka:"THEY JUST....I....AAAARRRGHH!!!" He shoved him back."JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!! AND SHUT UP!!" He turned around and flew to the wall.

Aku:"NO!! I WANT TO KNOW! UKA UKA, ANSWER ME!" He shouted at the top of his lungs. His eyes were burning so bright they nearly lit up the room. So many thoughts rushed through his head. He was confused and furious at the same time. All he remembered was being shoved back against the box and woke up seeing his brother on the floor and the box broken apart. He had tried chasing after the entity but when he saw the creature take out the guards and other masks with ease he knew it was hopeless. All he knew was that it was his brother to blame. It was all his fault. So why was he still so worried for his safety? Why did he care so much that his evil twin brother was alive? He nearly got the world destroyed. AGAIN. His brother didn't answer him, he just kept staring at the wall."UKA UKA-" He growled and was ready to attack him but then the doors opened and they spun around to see one of the Ancient's again. He looked a little calmer but there was still anger on his face.

"You two, come here." He said and they did. They lined up and stared at him. He began to glow a white aura and so did they."Hmm..." He frowned."You two seem alright. I don't see any of Majora's power on you, which is good." He looked at Uka Uka. Of course he did. Of course he knew he would be to blame for all of this. Who else would be?"But that doesn't mean you're going anywhere any time soon." Aku Aku looked at his brother.

Uka:"W.....what...." He whispered. He nearly hit the floor. He felt exhausted. All his energy, everything, was drained from him. He just wanted to rest, wanted to go home, eat dinner and sleep. Aku Aku just gave him a blank look. He knew this would happen. Something always went wrong when they were together.

"You are to stay here. We need to make sure Majora hasn't done anything to you that could make all of this....happen again." He and two more spirits brought Aku Aku out of the room. Uka tried to speak but he couldn't. He felt like he was about to pass out if he spoke again. He tried to calm down, but his thought began to race. He tried to figure out what just happened and if any of this was real. Aku Aku didn't say anything. No 'Good-bye's or anything. He was alone in the room. Trapped in the dark once more. At least the room was spacious.

Back at the bandicoot's house, Crunch and Crash were sitting down on the couch playing CTR.

Crunch:"Ohh watch it! I'm gunna get ya now!" He grinned. Crash chuckled and his character threw a bomb at him. His character reached the final lap and he raised his arms in the air. He was hopping up and down on the couch happily.

Crash:"YEAH!" He cheered.

Crunch:"NO! Darn it! I almost had ya!" Coco came out of the kitchen with a plate of cut up wumpa fruit.

Coco:"Beat ya again didn't he Crunch?" She smirked. Crunch crossed his arms and leaned back.

Crunch:"Yeah. At least it's Tiny that loses though." He chuckled.

Coco:"That explains why ya lose." She laughed. His eyes widened.

Crunch:"Yeah! He's on the losers side!" They laughed. Coco sat down next to Crunch and started eating.

Coco:"Is Aku Aku back yet?" She asked with food in her mouth. Crunch shook his head.

Crunch:"Nope." They played another round. She frowned and looked out the window. It was night time and she could barely see anything but she could see the rain hitting against the window.

Coco:"Hm....I hope he's okay. It really seemed important." She said without looking away from the window. She felt a hand on her head.

Crunch:"Bah, you worry too much little sis." He said with a grin."He's a tough mask, he'll be fine. I mean he did say he fought evil before we were even born right?" She looked up at him with a smile.

Coco:"Yeah you're right. I worry too much." She took another bite of the fruit and watched her brothers play."Can I play after one of you? I'm bored." She asked.

Crunch:"Sure! After one of us loses then you can have it." He smiled. He frowned when he heard Crash chuckling. He looked at Crash. Who was smirking at him."Hey! It ain't gunna be me this time! You'll see!" They played and Coco watched as she ate her food. She laughed as Crash once again hit Crunch with more bombs. But soon Crunch was winning and it looked like Crash was about to lose the game this time.

BOOM!

Or maybe not. Crunch growled and handed Coco the controller. He crossed his arms and leaned back on the couch.

Crunch:"Beat him for me." He said before he narrowed his eyes at Crash who then stuck his tongue out at him.

Coco:"Sure!" She changed her character to Coco. Of course. Now it was Crash racing against Coco in the game.

SLAM!

The bandicoots jumped and screamed at the loud sound.

Aku:"It's just me!" The good spirit said out loud. They sighed a little relieved to see their good friend home and unharmed. Coco got up and hugged the mask which surprised him at first and he smiled softly.

Coco:"We're glad you're home Aku Aku! We thought you were going to be gone for another month or longer!" She let him go and put her hands behind her back.

Aku:"Yeah...I was worried too..." He trailed off. She frowned. He flew past her and went into the kitchen. She blinked. They heard him going through the fridge.

Crunch:"Sooo, anything happen? Where'd you go?" The mask came out with a juice box and Coco gasped a little.

Coco:"Oh my gosh, Aku, what happened to your feathers? And your eyes! You look like you haven't slept in weeks!" She had her hands on her face and her eyes were wide with worry. Aku Aku saw his reflection on the window and he sighed.

Aku:"It's a long story my children." He spoke quietly. He could feel a headache coming on. He didn't feel too well after what had happened. He just wanted to forget about it and hope that everything would go back to normal soon."I'll talk about it tomorrow." He flew into the next room and bandicoots looked at each other. Crunch shrugged and picked up the controller. He held it out to Coco.

Crunch:"Still wanna play?" He asked. She smiled a little.

Coco:"Sure." She took it and sat back down on the couch next to her brothers.

Aku Aku floated down the hallway feeling dizzy. He sighed heavily.

Aku:"What happened back there? Everything was fine-" He bit his bottom lip. He hoped the others couldn't hear him. Luckily the TV's volume was high and he could hear them telling each other jokes and laughing. He smiled a little. He wanted to be part of it but not tonight. He felt drained. He felt like he had used up all of his power today. He wasn't sure why exactly. He opened the blue door on his right and went into his room. The door had a sign that said; Aku Aku's room. He closed the door behind him and allowed himself to fall on the bed that was across the door way. He stared at the ceiling. his room was a bit small but seemed cozy. The floor was made of wood and had a brown and black square shaped rug with zebra stripes. The walls were painted dark green and there was a wooden rectangular shaped table on his left with an oval shaped mirror over it hanging on the wall. There was a wooden door on his right near the corner of the room. It lead to the bathroom. He didn't really need it but it was just in case the other bathrooms were full and one of the other bandicoots needed to use it quickly. He was always the one to clean it however. Sometimes he just couldn't bring himself to make them clean up after themselves. One time he let Coco use it so she could die her hair blue and yellow. She took two hours and when she finished, her hair was pink and green. That was the last time she wanted to die her hair a different color. She also left a huge mess all over the walls and floor. There were some hearts drawn on the mirror too. Aku Aku was left alone to clean it up. He was kinda glad Coco didn't want to die her hair anymore after that. Aku Aku's bed was small but one person could still sleep on it. He laid his head on the pillow and turned off the lava lamp on the floor on his right. He tried to fall asleep but he couldn't shake this dreadful feeling he had done something wrong. An hour past and he finally fell asleep.

[ladyanaconda]

Aku vs. his Daughters

Inspired on memime’s post about the season 5 equivalent of paladin au, particularly the part where Paladin has to kill 6 of his daughters to save a village, but decides to spare Ashi. Enjoy!

By the time he recovered enough energy to regain consciousness, he realized he was completely lost. He didn’t really mind it, but a sharp burning sensation on his side reminded him there was no time to go sightseeing. Aku grit his teeth and tried to press his hand against his side, only to quickly retreat it when the burning multiplied tenfold. With great effort, he managed to sit up, and when his vision got adjusted to the light, he realized the river had carried him downstream, faraway from that temple… or rather, its ruins, if his idea had worked.

Curiously, deep down he hoped it hadn’t worked. He couldn’t bear the idea of taking the lives of his own daughters, even if they had nearly taken his. Those glowing white weapons they wielded were undoubtedly crafted with the Samurai’s magic, coated and blessed in white magic, which explained why they could deal this damage to him.  

He couldn’t stay here. It wasn’t safe, he was in no condition to fight his daughters again, and he didn’t have the heart to. Despite everything, they were his children, made from his essence, his blood ran through their veins, and he didn’t want the same thing with…. Kuni to repeat all over.

He wondered what she would have said if she had seen him in this state, injured and running from his offspring.

Aku pushed these thoughts aside for the time being as he went back to his feet, this time pressing his hand against the wound to keep his black blood inside his body, where it belonged, lest he unknowingly made more kids indirectly. He had to look for someplace to hide while the wound healed, but it would take longer both because he had little energy left, and the wounds inflicted by blessed weapons took longer to heal.

Every step was an agony as he made his way through the woods, trying to make as little noise as possible, just in case his daughters were around. After all, he wouldn’t be surprised if they got his keen senses.

Finally, he spotted a cave a few steps away. Aku slowly made his way into it, not even minding not having night vision at that moment, all he wanted was someplace to hide, and the darkness would blend in with his dark coloration. When he was certain he was deep enough, he collapsed on his rear, panting heavily at the pain in his side. He took his cape and pressed it against the wound, again wincing at the burning sensation. If he were human, he would have certainly died in the river.

Damn it.

Aku closed his eyes shut, listening to his own breath as he tried to relax and let his body and healing capability do their job. And while he was on it, he might as well think on how to get away from his daughters.

He hated to admit, but the… Samurai had trained them well. They were quick, skilled, and deadly, cunning strategists and coordinated fighters. They managed to keep up with him and find him in the dark temple despite his shape shifting and superior powers. He wondered if they had inherited his abilities, they were apparently made from his essence, after all, he wouldn’t surprised if they did. If they did, it seemed they weren’t aware of it if they hadn’t used them against him.

He was grateful for this. If they could leave him in this state with their combat abilities alone, he didn’t want to imagine the outcome had they used any powers they had gotten from him.

A sound coming from the outside startled him, but the pain from his side prevented him from jumping to his feet. He initially thought his daughters had found him, but upon a much more close examination, he noted these footsteps were much slower and not as heavy as the Daughters’. A dark quadruped beast soon walked into the cave, limping, and its black fur stained with its own crimson blood. Aku sniffed the air, and the scent of the animal’s blood gave him away.

A jaguar.

The giant feline’s acidic green eyes set on him.

“Hello there.” Aku greeted it, though he wasn’t sure if it understood. “You ran into some… unpleasant people too, didn’t you? Welcome to the club.”

The jaguar said nothing, as expected, it just continued to stare at him with those green eyes.

Aku felt his eyelids heavy, the adrenaline from the encounter with the Daughters disappearing, and giving in to his exhaustion over the blessed effect of their blades and the loss of blood.

Before he drifted into sleeping, he saw the jaguar’s figure becoming a blurry spot…

When he finally regained consciousness, the pain on his side had lessened considerably, but his energy was still drained. He guessed he’d have to eat something soon to regain his strength. As he opened his eyes, he noticed the jaguar was a few feet away from him. He locked his gaze with the beast. The blood was gone, but the wounds it had spilled out of were still there. The Jaguar was holding a dead goose in its jaws, and muck to Aku’s surprise it placed the bird just in front of him, then it glanced up at him and let out a purr-like sound.

“Well… Thank you.” Aku said awkwardly as he grabbed the bird, but seeing the jaguar’s condition… It needed the energy as much as him, and it had bothered to go hunt despite its condition. The demon sliced the goose in two and gave the other half to the feline. It seemed surprised, but then it started to avidly eat its share.

Aku was so hungry he didn’t bother to pluck the feathers from the bird or cook it; he bit into the meat and took a big chunk of meat into his mouth. Ah, sweet meat! Much to his surprise, the jaguar finished its half before him, and it went back to its side of the cave, curling up around something much smaller.

Aku shrugged and spat a bunch of feathers before continuing with his meal.

By the next day, the wound had healed completely, and the hours of sleeping and eating soon made him regain his lost energy. However, for some reason he didn’t want to leave until he was sure the Jaguar had healed enough to go back into the wild. Still, he felt so lonely he would start one-sided chats with the felid.

“…And now I just go by, helping humans around whenever I can.” He finished that morning’s chat, sighing sadly. “So technically, I don’t have a home.”

The Jaguar ignored him, it continued staring at the thing it was curled up around. Aku’s curiosity was getting the better of him, he wondered what this animal could be attached to so badly. Warily, he crawled closer to the Jaguar, narrowing his eyes to get his night vision working. It was a much more smaller version of the Jaguar, but it lied still, he sensed no heartbeat or breathing motion coming from it.

The Jaguar noticed its companion had gotten to close and bared its teeth, growling.

“Okay, okay, no touching! I got it!” Aku said, going back to his side of the cave before getting on the Jaguar’s bad side.

He watched with a certain sadness as the Jaguar continued to lick at its dead offspring, as if hoping it would awake at any moment. His chest started to ache again, remembering when he held Kuni’s lifeless form in his arms as if she would wake up and look up at him with those little black eyes he had come to long for.

By the next day, the Jaguar had gotten accustomed enough to him to let Aku get close to the dead cub. Though there was apparently no emotion on the Jaguar’s furry expression, Aku could see the sadness in its eyes and sense its sorrow.

“Excuse me, my furry friend, but that cub will turn into a handful of flies, bacteria and worms in a few hours.”

The Jaguar growled at him.

“What? Just saying I could lend you a hand,… or paw, in giving it a proper funerary service, lest you want an angry ghost after you for the rest of your life. And believe me, being haunted it’s not nice.” He wasn’t haunted by Kuni’s ghost, but sometimes he felt like he was.

He warily reached out for the cub, the Jaguar gave a small growl, and carefully picked it up in one hand. It was slightly bigger than a normal cat, yet it weighted little. He went back to his feet and warily walked outside, followed by the Jaguar. Aku had to momentarily close his eyes when the sunlight rained down unto him from being in the dark for so long.

When his vision got used to the illumination, he started digging a small hole on the ground, then placed the dead cub in it, before covering it in dirt once again. As a finishing touch, he made a little pink flower grow on it. The Jaguar lay down its head on top of the small ‘grave’, giving a sad purr. Aku couldn’t help but feel sorry for it.

By the next day, the Jaguar had healed enough to go back on its way. Aku felt partly saddened that his companion was leaving, but it would be for the best. The feline glanced at him with its acidic green eyes one more time, before it stalked off into the woods, not glancing back at the small grave. Maybe it didn’t want to linger on painful experiences, just like him.

Aku waited a few minutes before getting back on his feet and going back on his way. The wound had healed completely, though he couldn’t say the same for his pride. He had no idea of where he would go next, as long as it was far away from his brainwashed offspring, he didn’t care. The day was pretty, the sun was shining, the birds were chirping, smoke was rising from the horizon…

Wait, what?

Aku stopped in his tracks when he saw the column of smoke rising up into the sky. He listened intently, and soon he heard people screaming, blades slicing through objects, and he faintly felt his own scent…

Oh, no…

No!

Nonono!

Aku sprouted wings and took off, heading to the direction of the smoke as fast as he could, the screams and the scent of blood becoming stronger the nearer he got. The bright sky changed into a grayish hue due to the smoke, the chirping birds replaced with cries for help and pleads of mercy.

He landed in the woods in front of the burning village in time to see one of his Daughters impale a man with her glowing white Katana.

Aku froze when he saw the scene. This was the village he had stopped by a few days ago, these people had kindly-and excitedly, he might add-helped him with food, a place to spend the night and some directions. He had fondly watched those kids play, watched those humans go with their daily lives, gotten a laugh at the expense of somebody’s mild bad luck… And his own offspring were eradicating it.

“DEMON!” one of them-the one with the kusarigama-yelled to the heavens. “THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS TO THOSE THAT OPPOSE LORD ZINTARIS’S TEACHINGS! IF YOU WOULD SPARE YOUR HENCHMEN THIS FATE, THEN COME OUT AND FACE YOUR DESTINY, COWARD!”

As he watched the fires rising and heard the people screaming, memories returned to him. Memories of a time before the Samurai, memories of an ancient city in fire, of long-lone people screaming in despair and fear at the destruction of their home, of a large demon laughing in ecstasy and delight at the destruction he caused…

Aku saw himself repeating the atrocity at that very moment, divided in seven, wielding blessed weapons and clad in masks of angry demonic grimaces and white bodies.

His own flesh and blood were an extension of him, if he didn’t do anything he’d be as guilty as them for this. But they would heed no words from him, as he learned the hard way the first time he encountered him.

Aku clenched his fists, but he wasn’t certain of what he was feeling. It was similar to anger, but this one made his chest hurt. Feeling talk later.

If he had to kill them to stop them-and himself-then so be it.

He stepped out of the woods, his non-existent heart hardening as he approached, his cape flowing with the heat of the fires around him, his pupils turned into slits. One of the villagers who had miraculously not perished by the hand of the Daughters caught a glimpse of the black demon approaching.

“It’s Aku!” he cried out with a glimmer of hope in his blood-stained face.

Soon, the villagers who were either fleeing or in hiding peeked out their heads at the mention of the demon’s name to see if he was really there, or if the smoke was playing with their minds, rejoicing when it was the former option.

“He’s here!”

“Aku! We’re saved!”

“He’s going to kick their asses!”

Aku would normally feel flattered, but now he only focused on his Daughters as they gathered in the main road. He sensed their fury at the words of praise being directed at him and not the Samurai, he skipped the opportunity to make a comment about it. He had to focus.

“I am here.” He said, his expression stoic. “Now leave the humans be.”

“These are traitors who chose to serve the side of evil!” one of his Daughters snapped. “They do not deserve Lord Zintaris’ mercy!”

“Why are they traitors? Just because they helped a lone traveller? Or because that traveller was me?” he retorted calmly. “As far as I know, humans helping others out is not an ‘evil’ thing, it’s a good thing.”

“Your manipulating lies will not blind us from the truth, demon!” another growled. “You may have deceived these traitors, but not us! We fight for Lord Zintaris and his dream of achieving peace!”

“Peace?” Aku repeated in disbelief. “In case you can’t properly see through those masks of yours, you killed men, women and children.” Aku hissed at the last word, his blood boiling at the thought of kids suffering such a violent death. “How is that peace?”

“Enough talk, demon! Prepare to die!” one of the Daughters roared as she was the first to run towards Aku, her glowing white katana aiming right as his chest.

She wasn’t prepared for the long spear Aku had quickly materialized from his own essence and then thrown right at her stomach. Her white ‘suit’ turned red in the area around the stomach, and the Daughter fell to the ground, never to wake up again as the discarded katana disappeared.

Six left.

The moment the spear had cleanly gone through his Daughter’s abdomen, Aku felt a sharp pain in his own, feeling as if the spear had gone through him too. He guessed it was a side effect of them being born from his very essence, but he did his best not to show it. Even if it broke him emotionally and physically, he had to put and end to his Daughters if he wanted to stop more massacres like this.

Aku sensed the shock coming from his six remaining Daughters, they were not expecting this reaction from him, mostly because he had hidden and ran from them the first time, but it was because he hadn’t wanted to harm them. The tables had turned, he would not hold back, he had to see them as dangerous adversaries, not his daughters. Not anymore.

“Who’s next?” he asked casually, as if he didn’t give this death any importance.

This was seemingly the last straw. The Daughters rushed at him, their weapons aiming at him, but in a fraction of second he disappeared, and the weapons struck the empty spot, scattering dust around.

“Show yourself, you coward!” the Daughter with the kanabo roared at the burning buildings, sending the surviving villagers into hiding.

“As you wish.”

A cawing sound caught the attention of another Daughter, and she threw one of her sai at a small black blur. The glowing weapon went through the feathered shape, but a second later Aku emerged from the flames in the form of a mountain goat and charged at the Daughter with the kusarigama. She jumped aside, but realized too late she wasn’t the objective when Aku tackled one of her sisters, sending her flying into one of the flames, and was consumed by it almost instantly.

Five left.

Despite the agonizing sensation on fire in all of his body, Aku changed into his original form and ran. Not for his life, but he had to lead his remaining Daughters away from the villagers; much to his luck, they came right after him without bothering to look at the villagers. He led them through the ablaze settlement, and disappeared at the last moment among the fire once again.

He waited until one of the Daughters was on top of a wooden beam, probably to look for him in higher terrain, then he fired his laser beam at it, obliterating it and plummeting the Daughter into the inferno below.

Four.

Again, the pain of the burning sensation nearly overcame him, almost feeling as if he were on fire. Not to mention he had given away his position to the other Daughters, who were running towards him with their weapons in hand. Aku knew materializing swords from his own essence would be useless against their blessed weapons, so instead he opted for picking up two blades from the ground.

They attacked.

Aku had to give the Samurai credit, they had pretty good skills. He blocked and dodged attacks from his four remaining Daughters, all the while sensing their blinding fury at him having taking the lives of three of their sisters, but there wasn’t really any sort of pain or sadness. Guess they didn’t have any time for sisterly bonding.

Finally he was cornered against one of the walls from the burning buildings, changing into a snake to more easily dodge one Daughter’s kusarigama, and another’s naginata, but as the third was about to give him a good smack with the kanabo, Aku changed back into his original form and gave her a good hit in the chin with his knee-and felt the pain on his own chin.

He barely dodged the fourth Daughter’s swipes with the butterfly swords, but he sent her flying backwards with a loud sonic scream on his part, causing her to drop her swords. He kickly grabbed the nearest and threw it, aiming directly at her stomach. It sliced right through her and got her body stuck against a wooden beam. Aku had to clutch his stomach at the sensation of metal going through it, but it disappeared as soon as the Daughter’s limbs went limp, signaling her life was gone.

Only three left.

“Is that all you’ve got?” Aku said, laughing even though it hurt him to kill his own flesh and blood. “If that’s the case, I can slow down so you can keep up.”

Apparently the comment struck a nerve, since he felt the aura of fury escalating. One of the sisters took the butterfly sword from the dead sister’s stomach unceremoniously. The three remaining sisters positioned one behind another, each extending out their arms with their respective weapon. It reminded Aku of Rama. A mortal, feminine, white-clad and much more psychotic version of Rama (with no offense to Rama, of course).

Aku was caught off guard by this form of attack, barely having time to sprout an extra pair of arms as the Daughters attacked, the three pairs of arms attacking together in unison and barely giving him time to block the blessed weapons, receiving cuts in some parts of his body.

One of the ends of the kusarigama wrapped around his leg, burning him at contact, and the first Daughter pulled it with an incredible amount of strength that sent Aku flying, but he turned into a dragon and grabbed the chain with his claws despite the pain, pulling it to bring the Daughters closer and then separating the three with a thwack from his tail. He landed back on the ground still in this form, and much to his surprise the three Daughters landed on their feet a few meters away.  

Damn it, they didn’t know when to give up.

Well, they weren’t the only ones who could use combinations.

The demon took a deep breath and then exhaled a long stream of fire, then he fired his laser beams right at it, creating a beam of cackling electricity which he aimed at the Daughters. They ran as he flew after them, but the Daughter with the naginata jumped on top of the highest building around and jumped towards him, giving him a thwack in the head with one end of the spear and interrupting his attack. But before she could run the blade through him, Aku’s tail impaled through her chest from behind, and the threw her lifeless body into a nearby fire-and was quick to regret the action when he felt the pain of his own tail impaling him.

Two left.

Changing back into his original form, he landed on his feet, his cape flowing behind him in an almost epic way, but now was not the moment. He saw the two remaining sisters, and silently made a taunting gesture with his right hand, narrowing his eyes when the daughter with the butterfly swords ran towards him. This time he would make it quick, to spare both the sister and himself more painful sensations.

When his daughter was close enough, Aku avoided one swipe from the blades and punched her in the face with such strength that her mask cracked. Taking advantage that she was stunned, he quickly grabbed her head and reluctantly broke her neck with a snap, before letting her fall to the ground.

“Ouch!” he said, rubbing the back of his neck casually afterwards. “Well, that hurt! I’m going to need a good massage in the neck when this is over!”

There was only one left.

“Look here, young lady, given the circumstances, you can surrender and I will consider not sending you to the corner for all this trouble-“ he wasn’t even done talking when she charged and whipped one end of the kusarigama aimed at his feet, which he managed to dodge at the last moment. Aku narrowed his eyes. “Fine. You asked for it.”

The next time she whipped the kusarigama, he caught it in his hand, ignoring the burning sensation as he ran towards his last remaining daughter. He pulled it to bring her closer, and she tried to take advantage of it to give the demon a fatal blow with her blade, but she was unprepared for the kick he aimed at her face, sending her flying backwards and knocking the mask off her face. Before she could touch the ground, Aku whipped the kusarigama towards her like a lasso, having it wrap around her arms and rendering her unarmed and immobile as she touched the ground, momentarily stunned

As he got closer, he took a moment to examine her without her mask on. Narrow eyes, red lips and dark hair combed up to a single point. For one moment he wondered how such a… beautiful creature could have been born from a dark creature such as he.

The adrenaline that ran through him during the combat started to disappear, and soon he was overwhelmed with exhaustion, forcing him to fall to his knees, panting heavily. But the aching in his chest was even worse.

Aku closed his eyes shut. He had done it. He had killed his daughters, and even though it had to be done to save these innocent people, it didn’t mean it didn’t hurt him. They were, after all, his flesh and blood. However, as he opened his eyes again to look at his last remaining daughter, suddenly he couldn’t bring himself to kill her, maybe because she was the only one he had seen without that mask…

Before he could continue to examine her, suddenly she jolted awake and struggled violently to get free of the chains, screaming at him with hate in her voice.

“YOU EVIL DEMON! I WILL KILL YOU! YOU CANNOT ESCAPE FROM LORD ZINTARIS’S JUSTICE! YOU WILL DIE! YOU WILL DIE A HORRIBLE DEATH, AND THEN LORD ZINTARIS CAN BRING PEACE TO THE WORLD THAT YOU WANT TO DESTROY! DIE, DEMON! DIE, DIE, DIE-!” she would have continued id Aku had not picked her up and knocked her out with one touch on the shoulder.

“You and I are having a little chat later, young lady.” Aku simply said, hanging the unconscious woman on his back like a backpack.

By then most of the fire had, or was in the process of dying down, and all the surviving villagers came out of hiding, all approaching their savior with grateful looks.

“He did it! He killed them!”

“He was cool!”

“Thank you, great Aku!”

“Yeah, yeah, it was nothing, really.” He simply said, shrugging. He did like the praise, but he was not in the mood at that moment. He had just killed six of his children. “I’m sorry these…. Ladies destroyed your home.”

“If you hadn’t arrived, maybe we wouldn’t have lived to see another day.” One of the surviving elders said. “If there’s something we could do to repay you…”

“Oh, no, that’s not necessary, old man. You’ve done enough for me, and that’s what started this mess in the first place. But thank you. I will make sure this…” he glanced back at his unconscious daughter. “…Lady will not bother you again.” He looked at the villagers once more. “You should gather whatever wasn’t destroyed by the fire and leave. The Samurai will surely send his troops to see if those assassins did their job.”

With those parting words, Aku turned around and walked away from the praising and grateful villagers, who hurried to do as he had suggested. As he walked through the woods, still carrying his unconscious daughter, he wondered what he’d do with her. She was pretty much brainwashed by the Samurai’s lies and propaganda, she would not listen to him, in fact, she might as well murder him in his sleep.

But that didn’t lessen the fact that she was his child, and he was her father. Fathers were supposed to educate, protect and look after their kids, no matter what. He had lost Kuni, and now six of his kids by his own hand and the circumstances, he couldn’t lose this one too… He was so desperate by his loneliness and guilt… Surely he could get to her, couldn’t he? It would take him a while and he’d have to watch his back, but maybe he could eventually convince her of the truth. How hard could it be? All he had to do was to show her all the Samurai had done, and convince her he was not the evil creature (well, he used to be, but that was in the past) the Samurai inculcated into her.

But first, he’d have to find somewhere to take a long nap.

[lenin-it-to-win-it]

“I’m Here”

Summary: After escaping Poe’s book, Chuuya struggles- and fails- to come to terms with the fact that  Akutagawa has been killed.

Notes: HOLY SHIT ANGST ALERT, in case that summary didn’t clue you in. Normally, I try to keep my Chuuaku fics pretty light because Chuuya and Aku have suffered enough already, but I came up with this scenario after the latest chapter came out, and I just had to write this. Welcome to suffertown!

*****************************************************************************************************

I

It was summer.

Sun beat down on Yokohama with a ferocity that blurred the air, burning the city into submission. Sweat streaked Chuuya’s forehead, but he shivered. His mind had detached itself from his body, had sunk to some dark, unfathomable place where the physical sensation of heat was forgotten and feelings were dulled by distance. Chuuya stared at the ring in the palm of his hand, too numb even to cry.

He had meant to give it to Akutagawa weeks ago, once the guild had been defeated, but Akutagawa was so drained from his fight against Fitzgerald and brief encounter with Dazai that Chuuya didn’t want to risk overexciting him. There would be plenty of time to propose later, he thought, once Akutagawa was feeling better.

How stupid of Chuuya to forget that a mafioso’s “later” was a promise written on water.

Something came up. Something always came up. Fyodor and those wretched rats, the destruction, the chaos, the missions upon missions upon missions that seemed tailor-made to keep Chuuya and Akutagawa apart.

Then the book.

Chuuya was stunned when he found out he had only been gone a few days when it felt as if he had been trapped inside the book for months, but he was relieved. If only a few days had passed, Akutagawa should be fine. That wasn’t enough time for him to have gotten seriously hurt, right?

Wrong.

Chuuya bit his lip to keep from crying out. Even alone, he didn’t want to admit weakness.

Wrong, wrong wrong. . .

Chuuya couldn’t remember the moment he found out. He didn’t remember who told him, or where, or what he had been doing before, the words they had used. He didn’t remember shaking his head, denying, laughing as tears streamed from his eyes then collapsing to the ground, sobbing, believing, letting the terrible truth sink in.

All he remembered was the last time he and Akutagwa had been together. Chuuya had to leave in the dead of the night for a mission, but Akutagawa had looked so soft and peaceful in sleep that Chuuya couldn’t bear to wake him up. Instead, he settled for giving Akutagawa a quick kiss on the forehead and leaving in silence. He never said goodbye.

What was the last thing he had said to Akutagawa? What were Akutagawa’s last words to him?

Chuuya dragged his hands through his hair, tearing out copper strands. The ring slipped through his fingertips and clattered on the ground. Chuuya didn’t bother picking it up. What did it matter now? Akutagawa was gone.

No, he wasn’t gone. Chuuya could admit as much to himself. “Gone” made it sound as if Akutagawa had merely decided to leave, but that wasn’t what happened. Akutagawa didn’t leave.

No.

Chuuya’s body suddenly went cold

He was murdered.

Akutagawa had been murdered, and Chuuya already knew the culprit.

The virus ability user. . .

Chuuya kneeled down and picked up the discarded ring, cradling it in the palm of his hand for a moment before clenching his hand into a fist and striding out of the room, bent on revenge. The cold metal of the ring dug into the flesh of his palm.

It was blazing hot outside.

II

It was winter.

That was how Corruption always felt to Chuuya, like winter.

A blizzard.

Cold and capricious winds dragged icicle claws into the bellies of storm clouds above until snow bled from their wounds. Silent snowdrifts swept through his mind like static as snowflakes struck the ground with cannon-fire bombast, falling in time to the distant pounding, thrumming, buzzing deep in the core of bones Chuuya could no longer feel. The wind shrieked as if it was wounded, roared as if angered, whimpered as if grieving.

Trapped in the icy embrace of Corruption, Chuuya felt nothing as his distant body laid waste to everything around it. He remembered nothing, not the heat of vengeance nor the warmth of love. Chuuya had dropped the wedding ring long ago. He had given himself over to the storm.

Then the storm ended, and Chuuya was instantly, crushingly aware of every searing pain, every bone-deep ache tormenting the body it appeared he still possessed after all. He gazed at his shattered surroundings through unseeing eyes, unable to make sense of the blood-splattered ruins of a place he did not know. Even as he tried to make his eyes focus, the world seemed to fade to white at the edges. A cold hand gripped Chuuya’s shoulder, causing him to scream in pain.

“Calm down, partner,” whispered a familiar voice. Long arms slipped beneath Chuuya’s knees and around his shoulders, lifting him into the air. “It’s over now.”

Chuuya couldn’t make out the details of his face, but he would have recognized that voice anywhere. “Dazai?” he hissed, struggling to speak through the tightness of his throat. Chuuya couldn’t tell if he had spoken or not; all he could hear was the pounding in his head. “Put me down! I don’t want you-” Chuuya gasped, tearing up as another wave of pain struck. Before he could break away from Dazai, Chuuya fell unconscious, as helpless in Dazai’s arms as he had been in the storm.

***

Dazai’s apartment was a wretched little place.

Chuuya sat on a worn-down couch, wrapped in a moth-eaten blanket, holding but not drinking a cup of pre-packaged bile Dazai insisted was tea, listening to him explain what had happened, a look of total impassivity on his usually expressive face.

“-and then I arrive to find everything destroyed, everyone dead, etcetera, etcetera. Of course, I predicted you’d go after him once you figured out what happened,” Dazai said with a hint of smugness.“So, naturally, I had to be there, too.” Dazai took a sip of tea, then smiled. “My Chuuya is so high-maintenance.”

Chuuya gripped the teacup almost hard enough to shatter it. “I’m not yours.”

Dazai seemed a little put out. “You could at least say thank you,” he huffed, drumming his abnormally long fingers on the rim of his teacup. “I did save your life, after all.”

“Thank you!?” Chuuya leapt to his feet, throwing his teacup to the ground. Almost as soon as he was standing, Chuuya lost his balance and collapsed back onto the couch. The seismic throbbing in his head mounted, beating back his thoughts the instant they began to form. Chuuya cradled his head in his hands, willing the pain to go away.

Dazai reached toward Chuuya’s face; Chuuya smacked his hand away. Weakened as he was, the slap could not have been very painful, but Dazai drew back his hand as if he had touched a hot stove. “I’m just trying to help you,” said Dazai, annoyed. “Chuuya, I can’t do anything for you if you’re just gonna keep pushing me awa-”

“I don’t want you do to anything for me!” Chuuya cried, digging his fingernails into Dazai’s hideous couch to keep himself from attempting to gouge Dazai’s eyes out. “I don’t want anything from you- you ruin everything you touch! You’re a monster!”

“Monster?” Dazai looked pained for a moment, but his genuine emotion was quickly masked by cold anger. “Last time I checked, I wasn’t the one who murdered for a living,” he said, his words as cool and clipped as flurries of snow whipped into a frenzy by the wind, stinging like shards of glass as they struck the skin.“You might not remember what you did to all those people while you were using Corruption, but I saw it, I remember. If you want to see a monster, Chuuya, I’d suggest looking in a mirror.”

Chuuya refused to take Dazai’s bait. “This isn’t about me, and this isn’t about those damn rats I killed either,” he growled. “This is about you, and what you did to Ryuu.”

Dazai furrowed his brow. “Akutagawa-kun? I didn’t kill him, and I assume you know that, since you set out to kill the man who did.”

“You can’t be this stupid!” Chuuya snapped. “Do you really think Ryuu would have gone on that mission if you weren’t the one sending him?”

“If I hadn’t sent him to catch the virus user, Mori-san would have,” Dazai replied with a shrug. “I figured at least with Atsushi-kun, he would have someone to watch his back.”

“You fucking idiot!” Chuuya was unable to keep a bit of hysterical laughter from bubbling up in his sandpaper throat. “You stupid motherfucker.” He gave one more manic giggle, then relapsed into rage once more. “Who do you think made Ryuu that way in the first place? Every mission he’went on, he went on because you made him.”

Dazai stared down at Chuuya with eyes carved from ice. “I made him stronger.”

“You made him broken!” Chuuya clenched his hands into fists, cutting his palms with the jagged edges of his fingernails. “You beat him, tortured him, made him need you. You shot him in the face! He was just a kid, Dazai! A fucking kid!”

“I don’t have to take this from you.” Dazai took a slow sip of tea. “A current mafioso has no right to lecture a former mafioso on right and wrong.”

“I’m not saying I haven’t done worse, but at least I have the common-fucking-decency to regret it!” Chuuya cried, eyes blazing. “If I treated a kid- hell, any subordinate, anybody under my care- the way you treated Ryuu, you can bet your ass it would keep me up at night. But you-” Chuuya savagely swiped at the tears stinging his eyes. “You’re proud of what you did, aren’t you, bastard? Even now that you’re Mr. New and Improved, strutting around that stupid agency of yours like you’re a changed man who serves the greater good-” Chuuya snorted with derision. “You’ll never apologize for what you did to Ryuu. He’s dead, and not only will you not admit that it’s your fault-” Chuuya sniffled, wiping his nose on Dazai’s blanket. “-but even if you did, it wouldn’t bother you. Not for a goddamn second.”

Chuuya stood, clutching the edge of the couch to steady himself, and began walking out of the room. He was still weakened by Corruption, and his vision swam, blurred by pain and tears, and every nerve in his body ached, but he would have walked ten thousand miles on a path of broken glass as long as it led away from Dazai, who made no effort to stop him.

Sooner or later, Chuuya found himself in Kouyou’s arms. She said nothing, but led him to bed, gave him a warm cup of proper tea, and stroked his hair until he managed to sink into a restless sleep haunted by terrible dreams.

Weeks passed as one nightmare faded into the next seemingly without end. Chuuya ate little and spoke less, only leaving bed when Kouyou made him. Even then, he didn’t leave the house, but only laid on the couch staring blankly at the ceiling.

Revenge had done nothing. Yelling at Dazai had done nothing. There was nothing Chuuya could do to bring Akutagawa back.

Tears pricked Chuuya’s eyes. Without Akutagawa, life was nothing.

Then, on a day like any other, Chuuya left bed of his own accord and informed Kouyou that he was leaving. “Business to attend to?” she asked, effortlessly keeping her tone nonchalant even as her eyes shone with relief.

“Close,” Chuuya replied. His voice held none of its former passion, but he was speaking. His eyes had not lost the appearance of being haunted. “I’m going to visit a friend of mine.”

III

It was fall.

Summer had given way to autumn, and the world was fading, already anticipating the arrival of winter with a prolonged exhalation. A chilly gust of wind rustled the dying leaves on the tree just outside the window, but Edogawa Ranpo was concerned by far more pressing matters.

Ranpo rolled his eyes. “I’m telling you for the last time, Poe, ‘sepulchered’ isn’t a word.”

Poe crossed his arms, sulking and staring down at the Scrabble board. “It’s called literary innovation, Ranpo-kun.”

“Literary innovation, my ass,” Ranpo retorted. “I don’t need my ultra-deduction to know that’s a load of-” A knock at the door cut Ranpo short.

Poe vaulted across the table, knocking over the Scrabble board, and darted into the kitchen, closing the door behind him. “I’m not here,” he called.

Ranpo shook his head, but there was a smile on his face. Athough the agency had more or less accepted Poe, he still insisted on hiding every time someone came to visit Ranpo, more out of shyness than necessity. However, in this case, the visitor wasn’t from the agency at all.

Ranpo raised an eyebrow. “Mr. Fancy Hat? What brings you here?”

Chuuya looked up at Ranpo with shadowed eyes, silent.

“You should sit down,” Ranpo said, linking arms with Chuuya and leading him into the living room. He let Chuuya have the softest chair and sat on the coffee table across from him, studying his face and waiting for him to speak.

Chuuya wrapped his arms around himself and stared at the ground. “It’s cold in here.” His voice was fainter than Ranpo remembered it, and he shivered despite the warmth of the room.

Ranpo shrugged off his pancho and draped it around Chuuya’s shoulders. “Does that help?”

Chuuya’s only response was a blank stare. Then, some light seemed to flicker on inside for a moment, and he nodded. “Thanks.” He slouched over so that his forehead was practically touching his knees, crumbling in on himself, as if his bones were turning to dust beneath his flesh.

“So, Nakahara-kun, any, um, reason you’re here?” Ranpo asked, scratching his head.

Ranpo and Chuuya had bonded in the time they had spent together in the book; they had to, in order to keep their sanity in Poe’s literary labyrinth, in that shifting world populated by unrealities. Chuuya had a passion and dedication Ranpo could admire, even if those qualities were often the cause of his greatest weaknesses, and the fiery young mafioso had in turn grown to respect Ranpo’s intelligence. Grudging respect had given way to a sort of comradeship over time, but Ranpo had not expected to see Chuuya again, particularly not with Chuuya looking as if he had just crawled out of his own grave.

“He’s dead.” The words came out of Chuuya’s mouth in a short, percussive burst that seemed to leave him breathless for a moment. “Ryuu.”

It took Ranpo a moment to realize Chuuya must have meant Akutagawa, the mafioso Dazai had paired up with Atsushi, the one who had been killed by the virus ability user. “You never mentioned him before,” Ranpo said in a feeble attempt to break the oppressive silence. “I didn’t realize you two knew eachother.”

Chuuya made an effort to lift his head and look Ranpo in the eyes. “I loved him.”

Ranpo felt his mouth go dry. “Oh. Yeah, that’s. . . that hurts.” Ranpo was at a loss; he had lost his parents before, and he understood the depth of pain and grief Chuuya must have felt, but he had no idea how to communicate any of this to Chuuya. “Sorry.”

“Remember in the book,” said Chuuya, abruptly flaring back to life. A manic gleam stole into his tear-swollen eyes. “Remember being surrounded by all those people?”

“Characters,” Ranpo corrected.

“They felt real, didn’t they?” Chuuya insisted, leaning forward so his face was inches for Ranpo, his fingers tigging into the plush arms of the chair. “Like real people? Remember? Remember how it felt after a while when one of them was murdered? Like a real death? Like a real world where real people lived and died?”

Ranpo felt a shudder of apprehension trail down his spine. “Nakahara-kun, I-”

As suddenly as the burst of energy had struck, it faded, and Chuuya sank back down into the chair, his eyes dulling like dying embers. “I miss it in there,” he whispered, allowing his eyes to close. “I felt lighter there. My head was quieter.”

He was talking about Corruption. Ranpo wasn’t sure what that had to do with Akutagawa dying, but, figuring Chuuya wanted to change the subject, decided to go along with it. “Well, I mean, you know it’s different with my ability,” said Ranpo with a shrug. “It sets me apart from everyone and makes it hard to connect, but it’s a part of me- without my ability, I’m lost. I don’t know who I am.”

“That’s it! That’s it exactly!” Chuuya eyes burned with manic fire. “I don’t know who I am without him! All the best parts of me were tied up in Ryuu, and now- a-and now-” Chuuya’s shivering had grown more intense until he shook so violently that the chair creaked and groaned in protest beneath him. “I don’t want to be who I am without him.” Chuuya stared up at Ranpo through haunted eyes. “Ranpo-kun, your friend, with the books, do you think he could-”

“No!” Ranpo exclaimed, horrified. “Nakahara-kun, you can’t be serious!”

“I can’t live without him,” Chuuya whispered, at last allowing his gathered tears to fall. “I can’t live knowing I failed him. I have to see him again! I need him! Ryuu!”

As Chuuya began to cry in earnest, Ranpo leaned forward and wrapped his arms around his friend’s shoulders. “Hey, don’t- it’ll be- I-” Everything Ranpo could think to say sounded hopelessly impotent in the face of Chuuya’s raw emotion, so he fell silent, holding Chuuya and hoping physical gestures alone would give him some kind of comfort.

Though the crying gradually slowed to a halt, Chuuya never lost the haunted look in his eyes. He ran out of tears; his pain was unending. “Ranpo-kun, look at me,” Chuuya breathed. “Can’t you see I’m not the same?”

Much as Ranpo hated to admit it, even to himself, Chuuya was right. The broken man before him bore little resemblance to the Chuuya he had known in the book. In the span of a few weeks, Chuuya seemed to have aged decades, to have lost the spark of passion that sustained him, that kept his eyes burning even in the darkness of life. The Chuuya Ranpo knew would have threatened and coerced and stopped at nothing to get what he wanted; this Chuuya wept and pleaded and seemed seconds from total surrender.  

What would happen to this Chuuya in the mafia? Without that guiding flare in his heart, the drive that carried him so far, how would he survive? Ranpo doubted the mafia would take kindly to this version of Chuuya; sure, they had tolerated him up to now, but sooner or later, they would try either to re-ignite his flame by imbuing him with a lust for vengenace or, should that prove unsuccessful, he could be found a liability and disposed of.

Ranpo sighed, running a hand through his hair. “I’ll talk to Poe.”

IV

It was spring.

A soft breeze rustled the trees, and pale flower petals descended through the air like angels cast out of heaven, spiralling toward the ground, toward ruin. Without knowing how he understood, Chuuya knew it would always be spring here. Never again would summer sear his soul, nor harsh winter air grate against Akutagawa’s fragile lungs; here, they could always be together, always at peace, always safe and always in love in this world of eternal spring.

When Chuuya lowered his gaze from the flowers above, he saw a dark figure standing alone where the trees began to thin out, staring at the edge of the sky as it faded into the sea. Akutagawa had always admired the ocean from afar although he despised the cacophony of crashing waves up close. As if on cue, Akutagwa turned around, offering Chuuya a soft smile. “I’ve been waiting for you, Nakahara-san,” he said, his voice a bit gentler than it had once been. “Don’t you want to come over here?”

Chuuya’s breath caught in his throat, and his heart began beating so suddenly and wildly that it felt as if it was beating for the first time. Tears clouded his eyes, but he swiped them away, desperate not to lose an ounce of clarity as he gazed at Akutagawa’s pale face, imbued with a look of peace it so rarely had in reality. “R-Ryuu-” Chuuya tried to smile but his lips were trembling. Despite his best attempts to keep himself from crying, tears started falling. “Oh, Ryuu!”

Akutagawa’s eyes widened as he took in Chuuya’s tears and he began moving toward Chuuya, not walking so much as gliding, like a ghost, but when he put his hands on Chuuya’s cheeks, they were every bit as cold and rough as Chuuya remembered. “Nakahara-san, what is it?” he asked. “Are you hurt?”

Chuuya shook his head. “I’m okay. I just-” Chuuya sucked in a deep breath. “-I was thinking about what would happen if you died.”

“Why would you think about that?” Akutagawa’s voice was tinged with annoyance, but his hands were gentle as they stroked Chuuya’s hair. Akutagawa sighed, wrapping his arms around Chuuya. “Well, no matter, Nakahara-san. I’m here.”

No, you’re not.

Chuuya managed a shaky smile, and he wrapped his arms around Akutagawa, pressing his face close to his bony chest and inhaling his familiar scent. “I know, baby. I know.”

[joebuscus1031]

Sappy Jashi head canon scenario (end)

This is the final part of this Jashi headcanon story. I warn you it’s really long so… grab a big ass bowl of popcorn your favorite drink get cozy. If you guys read all the parts up to this point then I commend you for reading my corny, sappy nonsense lol I wrote this simply for fun and I know the outcome in the next episode is going to be different but I have this feeling this “burgeoning ” relationship" means they will become more than just friends ❤️ I also wanted to thank @to-my-ovaries For helping me come up with ideas for some parts of this story

Part 3 (finale)

As they continue walking they take a quick glance into each room as they pass it by to see if there’s anything interesting.

Until jack discovers a room that’s very dimly lit, Jack stood in the doorway for a few minutes so his eyes can adjust to the change in light. Ashi seeing that Jack has stopped questions

“Jack wants wrong ? Did you find something ?

Jack Narrows his eyes and with a stern voice says

“Maybe, stick close to me”

As both of them entered the room I noticed that there is a huge amount of equipment that look like it had some heavy use. Ashi has a sense of dread and uneasiness being in the room so reluctantly she wrapped her arm around Jack’s arm to stick close to him. This left Jack a little surprised because he’s never seen this side of Ashi before, usually she is very calm and focused but not now. As they continued walking forward they noticed a machine that looked very much like a hatchery, it look like something had broken out of it and is riddled in dried blood. Both have a look of concern and Jack replies

“I believe we should finish up in this room and be on our way”

“Yea I that would be best” (she said in a shaky voice and let go of jack arm to pick up the pace of her walking)

“is everything okay” Jack asks concerningly

“Yeah I just have an uneasy feeling about this room and would rather get out of here as fast as possible that’s all”

Jack nods his head and continues speed walking through the rest of the room, then a loud sound suddenly catches their attention. A unearthly growl coming not too far from behind them which startles them both.

Ashi replies

“…T-that doesn’t sound good”

Another roar is heard and the scream of pain can be heard and is cut off by the sound of Gore

“Okay now that really doesn’t sound good”

Jack puts his hand on her shoulder her and frantically says

“Ashi we need to get out of here…now !”

“I’m WAY ahead of you jack”

It’s then during this moment they are being chased by an unknown creature that is hunting them down. They take many twists and turns but find out the original way the came through is gone. This goes on for several minutes until they finally find a place where it is unable to find them. They are panting frantically, Ashi leans her back against the wall and slowly slides down exhausted from all of the running. When she is finally able to catch her breath she says

“What…::Pant pant:: what the hell was that thing ?!”

“Things”

“Wait what ?”

“I said things ::pant pant:: I heard three separate creatures”

“Oh ::pant pant:: perfect, I guess that answers my question on how they kept catching up to us…there two other ones the whole time. Fantastic (saying in a sarcastic manner)

“I also (sits down next to her) didn’t get a good look at them either, so we still don’t know what we’re exactly up against”

Their breathing begins to slowly steady and legs are throbbing from all of the running and jumping they had to do.

“Do you think we’re safe ?” Ashi Asks

“For now..at least enough time for us to come up with a game plan”

Ashi nervously chuckles

“Yeah, that sounds good to me”

A half hour has past and jack has made a fire from old pieces of timber found from inside the building. Ashi huddles I little closer and puts her hands out, while she’s trying to think of a strategy to fight these creatures…how ever her mind kept going back to the conversation she had with her inner self at the restaurant. Suddenly she Felt a presence beside her, she turned around to see her Cupid self was standing there with a disappointed look on her face, arms crossed and tapping her foot. Ashi narrowed Her eyes and pulled her head and said

“….what ? ::Goes back to Cupid:: ”…what ?!“ ::She’s still in the same position;: “WHAT ?!?” She shouted realizing Jack is still right next to her she paused and turn to him seeing he was looking at her with a confused look on his face.

“Oh…umm i’m sorry I was just talking to myself”

As she nervously giggles and whips her head around and whispers angrily

“What ?! What do you want ?!

Cupid Ashi finally response

“What did I say about bottling up your feelings dummy?! Now look at yourself, you’re in a horrible situation and can’t think of a way to get out of it because why ?!? You won’t friggin tell him you love him and it’s clouding your mind”

Ashi continues while whispering

“I know, I know i’m just waiting for the right time”

“Uhh you’re sitting right next to him…alone….how is it not the right time ”

“Okay okay I gotcha, just give me a sec..”

It pans back to jack who is poking the fire with a peace of metal he found to keep the flame going, he then pauses and slowly looks up before saying in a whisper

“Not…now”

It show hallucination jack sitting next to him with his arms folded across his knees with a look of disapproval

“Then when…may I ask hmm ?!? Look at yourself, you’ve been here a HALF HOUR already and still haven’t come up with an idea on how to fight these creatures… it should’ve taken you at least five minutes to think of something ”

Jack slowly turns to him

“What is your point ?”

“My point is you can’t Think of anything NOT because you couldn’t identify the creatures …it’s because you still haven’t told Ashi and your feeling yet… you can’t move forward”

Jack looks off to the side

“and don’t think I have noticed that you are still thinking about that one memory you had the night you asked what Ashi’s name was…. I mean come on if that is an obvious sign then I don’t know wha…”

Then before his hallucination can finish another word ashi interrupts

“Jack ? Can I ask you something ?”

Both jacks paused with a surprise look on their face

“Uhh yes of course what is it Ashi”

“I know this probably isn’t the right time to continue on this topic but… because it’s been lingering with me since dinnertime I wanted to ask…. what is love in more depth?”

Jack cheeks slightly blush and eyes widen as hallucination Jack is the biggest smile ever and shaking his fist with joy. Jack knew in the back of his mind that there was a reason why she asked first and it’s not just because she had never experienced it because of her previous life…. it was something more than that. So he knew it was a greater time than any too tell her how he feels… and he had a feeling she would share how she felt about him.

“O-oh yes of course it’s okay (as he clears his throat) I apologize I must admit that my first answer was rather simple and did need further explanation”

“No no no don’t apologize (as she lets out a nervous laugh)I was just curious”

“Well…in all honesty ashi.. it’s one of the hardest things to explain to anybody because, how can anything truly define love? The definition of love is vague and yet, so simple”

Ashi’s expression shows more interest in what he’s saying as both of her eyebrows are raised and slowly begins to set up while crossing her arms.

“All of us fall in love, but how many of us understand the true meaning of love? …the truth is Ashi The meaning of love can’t really be explained, it has to be experienced. People say that when you are in love you can differentiate it from all the other feelings you have it will be obvious to you”

As Jack continues to talk, Ashi’s eyes widen and her heart begins flutter while her breathing begins to deepen through her nose

“Some also say when you care deeply for someone unconditionally or more than yourself…that is true love…the stuff that fairy tales are made of”

suddenly ashi remembers the battle she had the army and her mother, and remembers all she could think about during those moments was Jack’s safety. She didn’t care what happened to her as long as Jack was still alive and breathing. Jack’s words were hitting the nail right on the head at that point.

“Oh…I see, I can see that happening (she says awkwardly and sincerely)

there is a bit of a pause, but hearing his answer gave her the confidence to ask another question

“So, I want to bring something else up and I hope you don’t mind me asking this….the Night after I found you, when you asked me my name… when I told you my name is Ashi, you seemed startled and taken back by it. Almost as if you’ve heard of the name before”

Jack then raises his head before turning back to Ashi

“Have you ?”

Jack knew that he had to tell her the whole story even if it meant her realizing how he feels about her

“Ashi….do..do you believe in fate ?”

Ashi and a confusing tone answers

“Hm ? Well, I uh..I guess do to a certain degree. Why ?”

“Well, I’m about to tell you something that I thought was confusing at first but it only seems more clear to me now than ever”

Jack takes a deep breath and then looks directly into her eyes and continues to talk

“Many years ago when I was traveling the world training to defeat aku in my young teenage years around 13 (we then get transferred to a flashback of Young jack with a group of his friends that he has made during training, they come across a tent belonging to a medium that claims to see in the future)

One of his friends jokingly says

“Hey you should go in”

“Yeah I heard they like to make stuff up”

Jack with a confused look says

“Huh why should I have to go in ?”

“Well for one thing, if The whole point of you training is to destroy this aku guy.. wouldn’t you want to know if your outcome is good ?”

“Nice to see you have confidence in me” Jack says sarcastically

“no it’s not that I don’t think you can do it it’s just I think it’ll help boost your confidence and will give you the encouragement to succeed”

Young Jack has become curious and simply response “yes I suppose you are right” he slowly walks over and enters the tent

“Hello ?”

Jack called out, while his eyes wander around the tent looking at all the paraphernalia hanging from the ceiling of the tent. Well finally his eyes are transfixed on a weathered old woman with a scar over her left eye, Who he can only imagine is the mystic. she replies in a raspy voice

“I’ve been expecting you young man (as he raises his eyebrow) please sit down”

Jack reluctantly takes to set in front of her and silently look at each other, almost like she’s analyzing him.

“Ahh it’s not often royalty stops by in my tent”

Jack stunned by what she said

“Wait what ?!?”

“You are the son of an emperor are you not ?”

“H-How could you possibly kno-”

“Oh my sweet naïve child, people can say all they want about me being a fake but I know better”

Jack realizing that she’s no fraud takes full interest and she has his complete attention

“But I know why you’re here…you look to see what is in store for you in the future. You look to see if you will prevail over the demon that is aku”

Jack slightly nervous replies

“Yes… I wish to know”

You’re the woman then slowly holds her hands out and says

“let me see your hands”

Jack cautiously extends his arms slightly shaking. She then grabbed them, there is a long silence The woman has a blank expression on her face almost like she’s in a trance.

“Hmm yes I see you well indeed engage in battle with the tyrant. Hmm… that’s strange”

“What…what is it ?”

“I see you fighting against aku, but the outcome seems clouded.. meaning there could be multiple outcomes depending on your actions”

Jack slightly disappointed calmly asked her

“what else do you see ?

Suddenly after a few moments of silence her eyes widen open and tells him

“Ashi !…. your future is Ashi”

Jack confused by her answer

“Huh I do not understand who is-”

And before he can finish his sentence she interrupts by saying

“A woman out of time, when you meet her…. never let her go. She is the key to your happiness”

Jack gets up frustrated and confused and quickly leaves the tent. The medium shouts

“Remember what I say young prince ! Ashi is you’re future”

One of his friends approaches him and says

“ well ?!?…. what did she say”

Jack replies with a blank vacant stare

“Nothing important”

We are brought back to Jack in the present finishing his story

“And so the rest of the day I spent pondering what that old woman had meant, it didn’t interfere with my training mind you but it would always pop up in my mind from time to time… for a while I had forgotten about it but since you mentioned your name I-”

Jack suddenly stops to see ashi with her face bright red, her eyes shimmering and her hand over her mouth.

“Had…been…thinking about it…a lot”

They both stare at each other intensely and then jack begins to blush as well. Then snaps back to reality and quickly continues

“Oh umm but yea (rubs the back of his head) I had been figuring out what it meant for the longest time and then when I realize she had mentioned “a woman out of time” it made sense begin I was sent here from the distant past to here, she must have meant you are the one she had spoke about”

Ashi slowly lowers her hand. Jack realizing it might have been too much for her to process says

“I-I apologize”

“For what ?” She said in a soft spoken voice

“I know that must be a lot for you to take in and your are probably wondering what this all me-”

“Jack ? (She interrupts and jack looks back at her) have you ever been in love ?”

Then jack’s heart starts beating a mile a minute

“Me..well, when I was much younger I had met a girl when I was chasing a cricket…but…that was only a little crush I had…kid stuff”

“Jack (she pivots the rest of her body towards him and she stares into his eyes) what do you think about me ?”

Jack taken by surprise from the question

“Oh umm well, you mean as a person ? Well you’re strong, courageous, determined and beautiful”

Both froze in place for a moment, Realizing the final word he used to describe her slipped out because that’s what he was thinking…he felt a hot wash of embarrassment and began sweating profusely.

“Beautiful?…(her eyes get wider) you really think I’m beautiful” (a innocent smile glaze across her face)

Cupid Ashi still floating near ashi shouts “OOOH snap !”

“But of course, who would think otherwise ? (As he folds his arms)

Cupid Ashi then excitedly flails her arms up and down “oh oh oh THIS is your chance ! Ask him now !”

Suddenly Ashi’s eyes narrowed and pursed her lips in a inquisitive manner. her heart was going so fast it felt like it surpass the speed of light then she finally drew enough courage within herself to finally ask.

“Jack…if this is to forward of me I sincerely apologize but (she took a big glup as she sternly said) do you love me ?”

Jack felt like he knew that’s what she was building up to this moment and was expecting it. Yet he still had a flutter in his heart that knew that he had to confess how he felt toward her. There was no backing down.

Hallucination jack standing behind him with his mouth wide open in aw then proceeds to tell jack

“I swear if you say anything other then-”

“Yes” he answered immediately

Both Cupid ashi and hallucination jack let out gasp in shock

Ashi bolts up in shock as well and body starts to shake. In a shaky and soft voice she says

“W-w-what ?!?

All of a sudden oh wave of emotions exploding within ashi her heart suddenly at ease and starts pressure behind her eyes as if she was going to cry out of pure joy….never once in her love has anyone ever told her they loved her let alone romantically…she wanted this feeling to last for eternity. All she could think about is being by Jacks side forever.

“and…do you ? Ashi” jack says in a calming voice

“Yes !” Saying without hesitation while trying to hold back her tears.

Both Cupid Ashi and hallucination jack shout at the same time

“FINALLY!!” While throwing their arms up

“Yes…(as tears begin to roll down her cheeks) Yes samurai jack!…I love you !”

Jack overwhelmed with emotions he had yearned for so long, the feeling of not being alone anymore..the feeling of knowing someone caring for him that way eased jacks soul to the core. He then focused on ash again who had noticed is bawling her eyes out of pure joy, he the inched himself closer to her and slowly cupped her face in his hand using his thumb to wipe the tears from her eyes.

“Jack…This is the first time anybody has made me feel this way…it makes me feel content (slowly moves her hand to Jack’s hand touching her face, still sniffling) and complete”

Both of them lean their foreheads against each other's. Ashi then surprises jack with a nose nuzzle that she had mentioned when she encountered the deer in the forest. They both begin to laugh softly before staring into each others eyes. Ashi closes her eyes then parts her lips and leans forward and jack does the same. after awhile of feeling nervous and having a knot in their stomach instantly disappeared as the finally lock lips and kiss. Both of them are hit with an intense wave of passion, unable to control herself tears begin to roll down Ashi’s cheeks again as she slowly wraps her arms around jack neck. They pull away slowly, ashi lightly panting staring into Jack eyes. Jack response

“I have wanted this feeling for this for such a long time… I was beginning to think there was no hope for me”

“I never want this feeling to end, I can’t even begin to explain to words how happy and content I feel”

Both give each other a smile to end all smiles and they both give each other a quick peck on the lips again and embrace each other tightly. They than both say to each other

“I love you ashi”

“I love you jack”

They held onto each other what seemed like hours. Jack then tells her in a determined voice

“now… let’s find our way out and beat these creatures together and destroy aku once and for all”

Ashi nods her head and looks at you with narrowed eyes and a smirk and says “ya, let’s show them what we’re made of”

END

[isakthedragon]

A Dragon Sized Adventure Chapter 40

(Oh, @kaotickanine, how can I thank you!)

Chapter 40: Mind Your Mind

*As our heroes were walking to the next terrarium…*

Sonic asked Aku-Aku. "So, you are a great and mighty witch doctor?“

Aku-Aku: "Yes, that is I, Aku-Aku (I would like to note that his and Uka-Uka name should not have a hyphen, it’s just so Tumblr stops marking it in red.). My duty is to protect anyone who needs my guidance.”

Crash smiles. “I missed you, Aku-Aku!” Crash hugs his spiritual protector.

Aku-Aku smiles. "I see you have been doing fine without me, Crash.“

Knuckles: "Well, we did help him by letting him use our rings and Chaos Emeralds as protection in lieu of you.”

Aku-Aku: “Well, thank you, my children.”

Cream: “Mr. Aku-Aku. Most of us are over 6, you know.”

Aku-Aku: “Of course, but I see myself as a father figure for everyone, no matter what world they are in.” He looks at Sonic, Spyro, and all of their friends in a pleasing manner.

Shadow: “So, you are going to protect us?”

Aku-Aku: “Indeed. I bet you already broke plenty of crates with my face on them, but finding nothing inside. But fear not, I shall come and protect you now. I can at least offer enough protection to keep you from losing your rings.”

Spyro was still a little confused. “Who was that black mask we met?”

Aku-Aku: “Ah, that was my brother, Uka-Uka. He chose the dark side of witch doctoring as I took the light side. I locked him away eons ago, but Cortex accidentally awoke him again and Cortex attempts to work with my brother for world domination. Thankfully, they haven’t succeeded yet.”

Sonic: “Well, don’t worry, we’ll end their plan right now for good.”

*The door to the next Terrarium opens with a flash of white and reveals…*

Silver: “White space?”

Tails: “That doesn’t make sense. We’re not in a place without time. My clocks are still working on my devices.”

*Our heroes walk a bit forward and another flash of light, much more darker, occurs.*

Sonic: “What the-”

N. Trance appears. “Well, well, well. If it isn’t those heroes that are giving Dr. Cortex and Dr. Eggman so much trouble.”

Once Sonic sees N. Trance, he laughs.

N. Trance: “What? What’s so funny?”

Sonic tries speaking between laughs: “… I’m sorry… I can’t take this… I thought ‘Eggman’ was too much… but this villain… he’s an ACTUAL EGG!!! I got so many egg puns!” *Sonic collapses on the floor laughing.*

Aku-Aku: “Uh-oh, I am worried he angered him…”

N. Trance, surprisingly, is unfazed. “Are you quite finished?”

Sonic is still laughing, but gets up. “Like, are you a well-rounded villain? *Sonic laughs* "Or are you too hard-boiled to handle my puns?!” *Sonic keeps laughing as the others groan in displeasure.*

N. Trance smiles: “Oh, I see. Well, I’ll tell you one thing, you aren’t cracking my shell, for sure.”

*Sonic stops laughing when he hears N. Trance make his pun.* “Huh?”

N. Trance: “That shut you up. Too bad your puns are useless to break me. I am Dr. N. Trance, master hypnotist from the 5th dimension.”

Spyro: “What the heck is a 5th Dimension?”

Tails: “Well, science suggests that-”

N. Trance: “Shut it, you two tailed fox!” *He uses his left mechanical arm, revealing a hypnotization device and uses it to hypnotise Tails, leaving him frozen for the moment.*

Sonic gets surprised and is angered to see his best friend hypnotized. “What the hell, you shelled freak?! Why did you hypnotize my friend?”

N. Trance: “Because no matter what you guys think you know, it is wrong! Besides, he was an easy target to start off on.”

Sonic: “What do you mean by that?”

*Sonic soon learned what he meant when N. Trance started hypnotizing anyone else he could. N. Trance had an easy time hypnotising Rouge, Espio, Charmy, Vector, Silver, Blaze, Spyro, Cynder, Sheila, Sgt. Byrd, Bentley, Agent 9, Coco, and Crunch as well.

Luckily, Sonic, Knuckles, Shadow, OMEGA, Amy, Cream, Big, Ember and Bandit, Hunter, Bianca, Crash, Aku-Aku, Pasadena and Von Clutch were able to avoid being hypnotized, but their minds were still probed for their memories.*

N. Trance: “Darn, I didn’t get all of you. No matter, I stole what I needed. Now SLEEP!” *He snaps his fingers, making everyone else fall asleep. He takes his hypnotized subjects and prepares his world…*

—–

Sonic is the one to wake up first. “Ugh… why do I feel like I have a hangover?”

*The others slowly wake up too.*

Stew: “I haven’t been this hungover since my bachelor party.”

Crash: “AH! Our friends! They’re gone!”

Aku-Aku: “Indeed. I think N. Trance took them.”

N. Trance’s voice is heard, but is nowhere to be seen. “Not exactly taken, more in a deep sleep. And if you want them back, you’re going to have to make it through my twisted world!”

Shadow: “Huh?”

*They look around, and the white area from before became a sort of dreamscape, the land separated into different sections for each individual and for any large amounts of memory N. Trance replicated. In the specific section for someone, their area had them floating in the center in a deep sleep. A button was in front of each of them. When it is pressed, the dreamer is sent deep into the dreamscape, having you search for the character.*

Sonic noticed the closest area was for Tails. “Ah! We got to help my little buddy!” *Sonic presses the button and entered the dream. Knuckles just so happened to be next and jumped in to help to as a friend...*

—–

Level 71: Tails’ Adventure

Crates: 133

Time Trial

Sapphire: 1:30.00

Gold: 1:25.00

Platinum: 1:20.00

Tappers to Save: 5

Friends: Sonic and Knuckles

Badniks: WWI and WWII Lab Assistant Pawns: They fly their planes and bombers around the level. They’re more aiming at each other and at random places, but you should still watch the skies. Cluckoids: They sure can blow up a storm!

Mutants: Thun-dars: Strange, black clouds that hover around, looking for targets to shock with a lightning bolt. Tapper: A Tapir + Ripper Roo hybrid with the power of hypnotism. I think N. Trance has been watching a bit too much anime since it has a lovely yellow sheen like a certain Pokemon. Instead of a pocket watch, it uses its swirling eyes similar to Ripper Roo to hypnotize it’s victims. It also looks like Ripper Roo, but only has a bit of his DNA, while also having some Tapir characteristics. Be careful not to let it hypnotize you, otherwise it will make you walk into the nearest trap to damage you. Although, I bet it might be useful to turn that power around on the enemies… NOTE: Watch out for their Tapir trunks! Should they connect onto anyone, it will instantly kill the victim since their mind is sucked away here in this dreamscape. But controlling the Tapper will let you do the same insta-kill to the enemies too.

Knuckles: “Where are we, Sonic?”

Sonic: “Looks like we are in Tails’ mind, considering the planes flying around.”

Knuckles: “So our friend is in here, somewhere.”

Sonic: “And we have to wake him up. I don’t trust whatever that N. Trance did.”

Knuckles: “Right.”

Kaotickanine says: A technological paradise taking place on tropical islands and in the sky. On the islands, technology works in harmony with nature (think Sonic CD’s Good Future) while the sky is filled with old-fashioned planes of all kinds soaring through the clouds. However, N. Trance’s influence is causing parts of Tails’ dream to resemble Eggman’s dreams, with harmful technology polluting the islands, war planes firing at others and dropping bombs, and a few storm clouds striking lightning.

The only thing I have to add is that Tails can be found asleep in a bed at the end of the island chain.

Sonic: “Tails!” *He hurries to him, with Knuckles in tow.*

Knuckles: “How do we wake him up?”

Sonic: “I’m not sure…” *The only thing Sonic had in mind was to touch Tails’ forehead. Luckily, it woke up the sleeping kitsune.*

Tails: “Huh? Oh, hey, Sonic, Knuckles. What happened? Last I remember is N. Trance knocking us out.”

Sonic: “He placed you in this dreamlike world that is most likely made from your mind.”

Tails: “Hmm, sounds right. Well, no time for resting, I got to help out!”

*Tails get out of bed and leaves the level with Sonic and Knuckles.*

Achievement Unlocked: Believe in Myself

—–

Level 72: Rouge’s Night Out

Crates: 147

Time Trial

Sapphire: 1:35.00

Gold: 1:30.00

Platinum: 1:25.00

Tappers to Save: 5

Friends: Shadow And Omega

Badniks: Spy Lab Assistant Pawns: They carry various gizmos and guns that they fire upon you with almost laser-like precision. Thief Lab Assistant Pawns: They carry around big bags of loot that they swing around like clubs.

Mutants: Jewel-anhas: Various colored and types of gems that have gained a sentience and a thirst for blood. Best to attack these things from a distance.

*Shadow and Omega enter the dream world.*

OMEGA: “ACCESSING LOCATION FILES… … … LOCATION UNKNOWN! CLOSEST MATCH IS CLUB ROUGE”

Shadow: “I think that is right, Omega, but i think this her imagined version of it. I don’t trust this place since it looks so similar. We better find Rouge.”

Kaotickanine notes: We’re inside the mental version of Rouge’s own casino, Club Rouge! Rouge’s dream is almost identical to the actual place, but instead of money or even gold everyone is gambling for jewels and there are a few “twists” as to be expected in a dream. Rouge’s other lifestyles seem to also be seeping in, with spies and thieves comprising all the people, and they’re none too friendly of each other or you. N. Trance’s influence, however, is causing a lot of the gems to actually be hostile monsters that attack like hungry piranhas. Be careful when jumping over a pit filled with jewels, for they will jump up and try to drag you down with them…

Rouge can be found at the back of the safe area, hanging from a bar, asleep.

OMEGA sees Rouge with his targeting system. “TARGET LOCATED! ROUGE HAS BEEN FOUND!”

Shadow: “Hmm, but she is sleeping…”

OMEGA: “PERHAPS A LOUD NOISE WILL WAKE HER UP?”

Shadow: “No, I remember she said she hates loud noises. Hmmm…” *The only thing to come to Shadow’s mind was to pet her head. She wakes up quick.*

Rouge: “Mmm… hey boys. Feels like it’s been a while.”

Shadow: “We better get you out of here, Rouge. N. Trance has made-”

Rouge cuts him off. “Why leave? I’m surrounded by jewels! Who cares about N. Trance?”

OMEGA: “THE JEWELS HERE HAVE BEEN TRYING TO KILL US!”

Rouge gets angry. “WHAT!!!!!! NO ONE MESSES WITH JEWELRY!!! I’m going to personally kick that shell’s ass!”

*She leaves her perch and the trio leaves.*

Achievement Unlocked: Fly in the Freedom

—–

Level 73: Espio’s Ninja Training

Crates: 151

Time Trial

Sapphire: 1:40.00

Gold: 1:35.00

Platinum: 1:30.00

Tappers to Save: 5

Friends: Sonic and Cream

Badniks: Yakuza Lab Assistant Pawns: They fire their tommy guns in a sweeping motion across the ground and air, so watch how they are firing their gun. Ninja Lab Assistant Pawns: They appear out of nowhere, throw a ninja star or 3, then disappear after a few seconds and appear elsewhere.

Mutants: Oni: Various Yōkai creatures that seem hungry… for you.

*Sonic and Cream enter the world…*

Sonic gets a teardrop on his face from confusion. “Huh? What’s this place? Feels like old-timey Japan.”

Cream has the happy anime face. “Sound right, Sonic. I heard that Espio really loves anime a whole bunch!”

Sonic: “I see… that’s why I feel like paper and ink. Heh.”

Cream: “Espio ought to be around here somewhere for meditation. Let’s search the city and forest.”

Kaotickanine mentions: Espio’s dream resembles a combination of an anime taking place in the woods and a city noir film, with Japanese style dojos scattered around. Gun toting mafia goons serve as the more outward enemies while ninjas serve as the hidden type, hiding in the shadows waiting for the kill. N. Trance’s influence has also caused sinister Oni to appear and wreck things. Think you can restore harmony to Espio’s turmoiled mind?

Espio can be found on a tree stump in the forest, meditating…

Sonic dons the classic anime pointing look. “Hey! There’s Espio!”

*They walk towards him, but he is meditating on the stump. It may not look like it, but he is doing it against his will.*

Cream notices something. “Hey, Sonic! I think he is chained by literal chains around him, *The chains become visible.* and they are keeping him in the meditative state!”

Sonic: “Hmmm, how do we wake him?”

Cream giggles. “How about a Super Sonic Spin-Dash Overdrive?!” *A japanese translation appears.*

Sonic smiles. “Smart kid. Well, here goes: ‘SUPER SONIC SPIN-DASH OVERDRIVE!!!!’ ” *Sonic revs up his aerial spin-dash and tears through all the chains. They break and fall to the ground and Espio wakes up.*

Espio has the surprised anime face. “Huh? What happened?”

Cream: “You were chained up here in your dreams.”

Espio: “Oh. I see my ninja training has failed me.”

Sonic: “Meh. I think N. Trance cheated really. I don’t think they teach ninjas about hypnotism.”

Espio: “True… Thanks for saving me Sonic and Cream.”

Sonic: “Of course.” *They leave the world.*

Achievement Unlocked: Annie, Are Yōkai?

—–

Level 74: Charmy’s Hive

Crates: 157

Time Trial

Sapphire: 1:40.00

Gold: 1:35.00

Platinum: 1:30.00

Tappers to Save: 5

Friends: Sonic and Espio

Badniks: Buzz-Bombers: Simple badnik, simple destruction Buzzer: How appropriate.

Beasts: Wasps: Angry little buzzers, aren’t they?

Sonic: “Hmm, so this is Charmy’s mind?” *The world definitely looks abstract and crazy.*

Espio: “Oh, my… I never realized this is what goes on in Charmy’s head. I thought it was because he was a kid…”

Sonic: “Well, let’s do right, and find Charmy.”

Kaotickanine says: A massive beehive oozing with honey and has flowers and all sorts of fun stuff scattered all over, such as roller coasters. What do you expect from someone as fun-loving and scatterbrained as Charmy? This place is normally harmless, but N. Trance has caused huge wasps to invade this hive, stealing the honey and the flowers, wrecking the fun stuff, and aiming their very pointy stingers at you!

Charmy can be found at the end of the last roller coaster, on top of a flower.

Sonic spots the bee first. “There’s Charmy!” *They hurry to him.*

Espio: “Oh, Charmy…” *He hugs the bee and this wakes up Charmy.*

Charmy: ♪ “Oh… oh! Hi, guys!” ♫

Espio: “Charmy! You’re okay!” *He hugs him more.*

Charmy: ♪ “Aw, thanks, Espio.” ♫

Sonic: “Come on, let’s leave before the wasps come back.” *They leave the honeycomb.*

Achievement Unlocked: You Better Bee-have

—–

Level 75: Vector’s Swamp

Crates: 147

Time Trial

Sapphire: 1:35.00

Gold: 1:30.00

Platinum: 1:25.00

Tappers to Save: 5

Friends: Espio and Charmy

Badniks: Mafia Lab Assistant Pawns: They Mafia here seems to love firing rifles at you, so keep moving to avoid those bullets. Bard Lab Assistant Pawns: They play music so terribly that they can make physical sharp notes appear and send them flying your way. There are a few others though that may try to hit you with their instruments instead.

Beasts: Crocodiles: They may be Vector’s friends and family, but they don’t know it and are always hungry for an easy meal.

Mutants: Fi-ras: Strange beings that are made of pure fire that walk around trying to burn someone. Too bad that they are idiotic enough to put themselves out if they run into the water.

*Espio and Charmy land in the dark part of the swamp.*

Espio: “Hmmm, Vector’s home, I assume?”

Charmy: ♪ “I think so! Let’s go find our croc! Whee!” ♫

Kaotickanine says: It seems Vector is dreaming of his original home; a bubbly, disgusting swamp. However, for very odd reasons, a huge band concert is occurring and tons of music lovers have gathered, oblivious to the many dangers present in this swamp. And not only that, but Mafia goons have also arrived for some agenda only Vector knows about. And just to make things even more complicated, N. Trance has caused a few fires and horrible musicians to pop up, causing even more danger and threatening to ruin the party!

Vector can be found a part of the big band in the big gazebo.

*Vector is singing about something…*

Espio: “Sounds like he’s been singing for a while.”

*Charmy quickly grabs the snare drums and does a drumroll to awaken Vector.*

Vector: “Huh? What? Why am I here?”

Charmy: ♪ ”We’re in your home, Vector! In your dreams! We came to save you!” ♫

Vector: “Oh! Right, that N. Trance. Thanks for saving me.”

Espio: “Come on, let’s get out of here.”

Achievement Unlocked: Team Chaotix!

—–

Level 76: Silver’s Future Imperfect

Crates: 163

Time Trial

Sapphire: 1:45.00

Gold: 1:40.00

Platinum: 1:35.00

Tappers to Save: 5

Friends: Shadow and Big

Badniks: Police Lab Assistant Pawns: Sporting a more futuristic look, they still will either fire their pistol lasers at you or swinging their lightsaber clubs at you.

Machines: Security Cameras: They observe area with visible line of sight, that, if entered, will shock you.

Mutants: Iblis: It’s more aiming to tear down the city, but you should still watch out for its fists punching about. Iblis Monsters: The various Biters, Golems, Takers and Worms return, but they aren’t hard to defeat still.

Shadow: “Hmm, I know this is Silver’s dreams...”

Big: “But it feels too good to be true?”

Shadow: “Yep. So you had the same idea, Big.”

Big: “Yeah, we better watch out.”

Kaotickanine says: Ah, the future! An idealistic utopia of all sorts of convenient high-tech, like hovercars, and everything shines like silver (pun intended). Although, this future seems a little too perfect, even for a dream, and it seems Silver’s mind is aware of that as there are security cameras all over and robotic police that are very brutal with upholding the law… And now N. Trance is resurfacing Silver’s memories of the horrible futures he once came from, where Iblis and the Ifrit turned everything into a flaming wasteland, what with lava sprouting from underneath and spawning fire demons!

Silver can be found near the outskirts of the city, being held in a similar way that Shadow was once in (In ‘06).

Big: “Hmm, there’s Silver, but how do we save him?”

Shadow: “Hmm… break those things holding his body?”

*Big uses Shadow as a baseball and swings him into the devices. They break and release and awaken Silver.*

Silver: “Huh? Where am I?”

Shadow: “We assumed your dreams, as it has been so far.”

SIlver looks around. “I… don’t know, this place feels a little exaggerated. I’m not this paranoid.”

Big: “I doubt N. Trances worlds are accurately telling the truth... or at least, the right truth. EIther way, let’s get out of here. We need to save your friend.”

Silver: “Blaze! I got to save her!” *They leave the world.*

Achievement Unlocked: Welcome to the Future!

—–

Level 77: Blaze’s Sol

Crates: 172

Time Trial

Sapphire: 1:50.00

Gold: 1:45.00

Platinum: 1:40.00

Tappers to Save: 5

Friends: Crash and Silver

Badniks: Pirate Lab Assistant Pawns: They carry about muskets and sabers to attempt to harm you,

Mutants: Iblis: He’s still attacking you, but all his fiery attacks are making at least rocky pathways to the next islands. Iblis Monsters

Silver: “Mm, it’s Blaze’s world. It may be new to me, but I will still find her!”

Crash: “That’s the spirit!”

Kaotickanine notes: At last, we move on to Blaze’s mind, which manifests as the endless ocean that is the Sol Dimension. However, due to her duty as Guardian of the Sol Emeralds, numerous small islands of stone pillars and jewels are all over the place, and the sun appears much closer than it should be. As you might expect, you’ll be running into pirates (ROBOT pirates) and, just like with Silver, N. Trance is resurfacing memories of Iblis, causing small volcanoes to sprout all over the place and summon fire demons…

Blaze is laying on an island far in, covered in flames, save for a path to her.

Silver: “Blaze!” *He hurries to her.*

Crash: “How do we wake her up… and avoid being burned?”

*Silver can only think of one thing… and kisses Blaze on the cheek. The flames disappear into her, and she wakes up.*

Blaze: “Huh? Silver?”

Silver was blushing a bit. “Good… you’re awake.”

Blaze teases. “Was I the princess you expected?”

*Silver blushes red, clearly suggesting his feelings.*

Crash: “Not to break up any love or anything, but we need to save more people. Can we move out now?”

Blaze smiles “Well, I’m ready to go. But I am a little worried about loverhog here.” *Silver blushes even redder as they leave.*

Achievement Unlocked: Robot Pirate Island

—–

Level 78: Spyro’s Accidental Darkness

Crates: 157

Time Trial

Sapphire: 1:40.00

Gold: 1:35.00

Platinum: 1:30.00

Tappers to Save: 5

Friends: Shadow and Amy

Badniks: Ape Soldiers, Leaders and Commanders: The memories of Malefor’s Ape army were retooled by N. Trance to a more badnik appearance. But don’t let the badnik look fool you; they still have their dangerous claws and explosives to hurt you hard! Hell-Hounds: Those strange dogs from Spyro’s memories may have been turned into badniks, but they still have a dangerous and harmful bite.

*Shadow and Amy land outside the front door into the Well of Souls’ halls.*

Amy: “Oh, my! What is this place? This is not the kind of images i would expect to see in his mind. He looked so cheerful…”

Shadow: “Hmm, if I had to guess, N. Trance has grabbed some of the Dragon’s darker memories and made this dark and desolate place.”

Amy: “Oh, my! We should hurry and find him then!”

Spyro’s mind world is quite a drop in cheerfulness from the others, almost like it was filled with darkness. And that’s the best way to describe the place since it seems to be N. Trance’s version of the Well of Souls. Roboticized apes and bandik hell-hounds patrol the dark and dangerous halls that would house Malefor underneath. Can you fight your way through and rescue Spyro, who is close to the well, before the darkness consumes him?

Amy: “Look! There’s Spyro! Near that hole!” *Amy starts walking forward, but Shadow grabs her arm and holds her back.*

Shadow: “No! Don’t get close to him, Amy!”

Amy: “Huh, why not?”

Shadow: “Don’t you feel it, a dark presence…”

Amy focuses a bit. “Oh, yeah. And I can see that Spyro seems to be sucking the darkness from the well. But how do we save him then?”

Shadow: “Let me grab him. I think we need to get him out of here.”

Amy: “Alright, but be careful.”

Shadow: “Hmph, don’t worry, I should be fine.” *Shadow goes and grabs Spyro and gets him away from the well.*

Amy: “He still hasn’t woken up. Did he take too much darkness?”

Shadow: “I think i have an idea, but we need to go save that darker dragon.” *Shadow and Amy carry Spyro out of the world and set him down outside as they go for Cynder next… *

Achievement Unlocked: Our Hero Takes A Rest.

—–

Level 79: Cynder’s Lonely Heart

Crates: 189

Time Trial

Sapphire: 2:05.00

Gold: 2:00.00

Platinum: 1:55.00

Tappers to Save: 5

Friends: Shadow and Amy

*When Shadow and Amy enter, they find a magical chain has bound them together, preventing them from separating too far away.*

Amy “We’ve been chained together, Shadow.”

Shadow: “I bet it’s from her dark memories too. N. Trance thought it would hinder us.”

Amy: “Well, let’s show him how wrong he was and find Cynder.”

Cynder’s memories do not seem much better than Spyro’s. Her’s are dark and quiet, nary an enemy to be found. Her dreamscapes seems to be made of parts of her domain, Convexity, the Fellmuth Arena ship and the deeper areas of the Well of Souls. This place is more of a platforming challenge, but you must succeed if you want to save Cynder, who is also near to the Well of Souls. Hurry and save her before it is too late!

Amy gasps “It’s Cynder! And it looks as though she is too near to the hole too! We better get her away quick!!”

*Shadow goes and grabs Cynder and they escape the dream world. He goes and places Cynder next to Spyro. It seems to have worked because placing them together awakens both of them.*

Amy: “Yay! They’re waking up!”

Spyro: “Huh? W-what happened?”

Shadow: “N. Trance left you guys in your darkest memories.”

Cynder: “H-he did?” *She clearly didn’t look happy at all.*

Spyro: “It’s alright, Cynder. Our friends saved us.” *He gives her a kiss on the snout which eliminates her anger.*

Cynder: “Thanks.” *She gets up.* “Alright, no more lazing about. Let’s help out.”

Spyro gets up too. “Right.”

Achievement Unlocked: Dragon Love

—–

Level 80: Sheila’s Alps

Crates: 136

Time Trial

Sapphire: 1:40.00

Gold: 1:35.00

Platinum: 1:30.00

Tappers to Save: 5

Friends: Spyro and Cynder

Badniks: Pickaxe Rhybots: If they spot you, they will attempt to attack you with their pickaxe. Moose-bot: They try to charge and run over you.

Spyro: “I see we are in Sheila's mind and it looks like her home.”

Cynder: “I hope we can find her.”

Thankfully, Spyro’s friends have dreamscapes that a ton less on the dark side. We visit the mind of Sheila, which appears to be her home in the alps with those prankster billy goats. I bet if you help them out by breaking the rocks and defeating the ‘rhynocs’ and ‘moose’, they will lead you to the kangaroo.

Spyro: “Sheila!” *They find her sleeping near the mountain top.*

Cynder: “How do we wake her?”

*Spyro immediately sends one of the billy goats flying of the mountain with a headbutt. It woke Sheila.*

Sheila: “Wha- what happened?”

Cynder: “You were asleep because of N. Trance.”

Sheila: “Mm, that little egg-shaped freak, huh? Well, thanks for waking me. Come on, let’s go!” *The 3 leave.*

Achievement Unlocked: Up on the Mountaintop

—–

Level 81: Sgt. Byrd’s Base

Crates: 129

Time Trial

Sapphire: 1:40.00

Gold: 1:35.00

Platinum: 1:30.00

Tappers to Save: 5

Friends: Sheila and Cynder

Badniks: Flowerpot-throwing Rhybots: Gardening has never been so dangerous. Net-Swinging Rhybots: Be vewy quiet, we’re hunting dragons. Tranquilizer-Shooting Rhybots: Nighty night.

Sheila: “I see we are in the base of Sgt Byrd. He’s nice.”

Cynder: “Indeed. Let’s go find him!”

N. Trance has worked his magic to create his version of Sgt Byrd’s Base. He’s made it more like army barracks, with close walls and ceilings, making the rhybots more dangerous than usual. You have to fight your way through to reach Sgt. Byrd.

Sheila: “Look! There’s Sgt. Byrd!” *They go down to him.*

Cynder: “He’s in a cage. How do we get him out?”

*Sheila uses her powerful kick to break down the door, which wakes up Sgt. Byrd*

Sgt. Byrd: “Huh?! Oh! Hello, Spyro’s friends Cynder and Sheila. Golly, what am I doing here?”

Cynder: “N. Trance left you in your dreamscape. We came and rescued you.”

Sgt. Byrd: “Well, thanks for the rescue. No time to dawdle, misses, we got more POWs to save!” *The 3 of them leave.*

Achievement Unlocked: Forward! March!

—–

Level 82: Bentley’s Outpost

Crates: 141

Time Trial

Sapphire: 1:40.00

Gold: 1:35.00

Platinum: 1:30.00

Tappers to Save: 5

Friends: Spyro and Sgt. Byrd

Badniks: Torch-Carrying Rhybots: hey really have a wanting to burn your ass, huh? I wonder if they are hungry… Seal-bots: These seals are much too dangerous for a circus act. Mind their fastballs!

*Spyro and Sgt. Byrd find themselves at the base of a mountain when a familiar face comes running up.*

Bartholomew pants heavily. “I... I… I…”

Spyro: “Calm down, Bartholomew, and tell us what’s up?”

Bartholomew: “I… I found Bentley at the top of the mountain sleeping but was chased off by the rhynocs… Can you help me save him?”

Sgt. Byrd: “Of course we will, little yeti. My rockets should easily take those rhynocs, and anything else we find, out.”

Since when did mountain climbing get so dangerous? N. Trance has not made it easy to ascend the mountain, what with all the bouncing giant snowballs about. He’s even made the seals and the rhynocs more deranged! Can you make it to the top with Bartholomew in tow without getting squished?

*Once the 3 reach the top.*

Bartholomew: “Thanks lads for getting us to the mountaintop! Let’s go wake Bentley.”

Spyro: “Right!”

*They walk up to the sleeping Bentley. It appears helping out Bartholomew wakes Bentley from his slumber as he wakes up as soon as they get close.*

Bentley yawns. “Ah! Mmm, such an exquisite slumber! I feel well rested.”

Spyro: “Good! Cause we need to hurry on and help out the others.”

Bentley: “Indeed we do, young dragon Spyro. Let’s leave!”

*The trio leaves, as the memory of Bartholomew goes into slumber.*

Achievement Unlocked: Deadly Seals

—–

Level 83: Agent 9’s Lab

Crates: 132

Time Trial

Sapphire: 1:40.00

Gold: 1:35.00

Platinum: 1:30.00

Tappers to Save: 5

Friends: Bentley and Tails

Badniks: Laser-Shooting Rhybots: They’ll fire a shot off and on to try and zap you. There are also armor wearing ones that need to be crushed by Bentley’s club to defeat them. Bird-bots: They hang around in their nests until you get close, which evokes a dive-bomb attack from them. It’s better keep moving to avoid it and attack them as they return.

*Bentley and Tails enter the dream world.*

Tails: “So this is Agent 9’s mind, huh? Feels quite happy what with the beachy theme.”

Bentley: “All the more reason to be cautious where we step.”

Don’t let the happy beach theme fool you, this is still a dangerous area made by N. Trance! The lab is overrun with those rhynocs and there is a whole lot of fighting to do if you want to go save Agent 9.

*Tails and Bentley approach Agent 9, who is sleeping on the beach.*

Tails: “How do we wake him up?”

Bentley: “I’m unsure. Spyro told me to pronounce: ‘There’s a rhynoc in the bushes!’ “

*Hearing this makes Agent 9’s eyelids fly open.* “Did somebody mention a rhynoc?! I heard about some rhynocs!-” *Sees Bentley and Tails and calms down.* “Oh, hey, Tails, Bentley.”

Tails: “Phew! He’s awake.”

Agent 9: “Why so worried? I feel fine! Oh! That’s right! That N. Trance freak! Let’s go and fry him!” *He bounces away and Bentley and Tails follow him out of the dream.*

Achievement Unlocked: Crazy Monkey Action Figure

—–

Level 84: Gone a Bit Coco

Crates: 119

Time Trial

Sapphire: 1:20.00

Gold: 1:15.00

Platinum: 1:10.00

Tappers to Save: 5

Friends: Crash and Amy

Badniks: Teddy-bots: Teddy bear toys that look cute but will immediately try to bite and claw you when you get close. Candy: This Candy sure isn't sweet at all, since it wants to eat you!

*Crash and Amy find themselves in Coco’s mental laboratory.*

Amy: “Your sister’s lab sure looks sweet, Crash! And that’s including the pancakes!”

Crash: “PANCAKES!!!” *He goes to lick one of the stacks and touches the butter, which makes him wince in pain.* “Yow! Acidic butter! That’s not tasty at all!”

Amy: “I bet N. Trance had something to do with it, and I don’t trust those dancing bears and candy too. Darn you, N. Trance! You don’t mess with good stuff!”

Crash: “Yeah! We better go find Coco!”

Kaotickanine says: It appears N. Trance has messed with the good mind that is Coco. Much like Tails’ dream, it’s a technological paradise, though this one manifests as a giant laboratory underground, giant computer screens featuring cute things bouncing and dancing. However, this techno-paradise is also interspersed with all sorts of things Coco enjoys, such as teddy bears, candy, and PANCAKES!!! However, the candy and teddy bears are out for blood and want to eat you! Also the syrup and butter on the pancakes are acidic (the pancakes themselves are fine, thankfully)

*Crash and Amy find Coco deep in her laboratory, running around between computers and typing stuff.*

Amy looks at what she’s typing. “Is it just me, or is what she coding ruining her dreamscape? I swear I keep seeing her typing things that are causing damage to them.”

Crash: “You’re right, Amy! Coco, stop!”

*He goes and stands in front of her, which doesn’t stop her. But when he grabs her arm, she breaks out of her trance.*

Coco: “Huh? Oh! Hey, Crash! And Amy. What are you guys doing here?”

Amy: “We came into your dreams to find you, and we find you here destroying your mindscape!”

Crash: “And you were making pancakes terrible!!!” *Crash sobs.*

Coco: “What?! No one can make pancakes terrible! Let’s move it, guys, cause N. Trance is about to not become a side of this breakfast!” *The trio leave.*  

Achievement Unlocked: A Pastel-Colored Horrorland

—–

Level 85: Crunch’s Gym

Crates: 195

Time Trial

Sapphire: 2:20.00

Gold: 2:15.00

Platinum: 2:10.00

Tappers to Save: 5

Friends: Crash and Silver

Mutants: Tiger Bodybuilders: They’re usually lifting weights of massive sizes. If you get close, they won’t hesitate to swing them around like a ballet dancer pole. Bear Boxers: They’re punching those punching bags hard enough to swing them back and forth widely, so you want to watch where you walk. Lion, Wolf and Dragon Fighters: They are a flurry of attacks all around at each other, and are certainly very dangerous if they spot you. I would suggest running away unless you can find some way to defeat them.

*Crash and Silver enter the gym and find the unconscious Crunch in the middle of the floor.*

Crash: “CRUNCH!!!” *He tries to run to him, but shields form around Crunch’s sleeping body.*

Silver: “It’s no use. He seems to be protected by those shields. We need to find some way to disarm them.”

Crash looks and sees the Elemental Masks at the end of the 4 halls. “I think I know who’s making those shields.”

Kaotickanine says: We all knew Crunch likes to work out, so it’s no surprise that his dream is a giant gym, filled with all sorts of muscle builders! Unfortunately, unlike Crunch himself, these muscle builders aren’t the welcoming type and they are all too willing to use the gym equipment to take you out. And if that wasn’t enough, N. Trance is causing the Elementals to manifest in Crunch’s mind, turning parts of the gym into hazards befitting their respective elements and empowering the muscle builders!

Indeed N. Trance did, he split the gym into 4 sections: One for Rocko, one for Wa-Wa, one for Pyro, and one for Lo-Lo. Other than giving protective barriers to the fighters, they have also the transformed the gym in their areas. Rocko has plenty of rolling rocks and boulders lying about, Wa-Wa’s is filled with water so that means it’s time for swimming, Lo-Lo’s has tornados and wind blowing about, and Pyro has fire burning everywhere. You need to make it to the end of the section and beat the masks until they disappear, taking away their elemental shield that is around Crunch.

*Once the 4th one is broken and Crash and Silver return, Crunch wakes up.*

Crash: “Crunch! You’re awake now!” *He goes and hugs Crunch.*

Crunch: “Aw, hey, Crash.” *Yawn* “I feel well rested.”

Silver: “Good, that means we can go and deal with whatever else N. Trance has for us.”

Crunch: “Yeah. Let’s go smash that egg.” *The trio leave*

Achievement Unlocked: Train Your Brain

—–

*N Trance appears as a hologram in the main area.*

N. Trance: “Well, well, so you saved all your friends, eh? Well, you still got a long way to go to fight me! See if you can handle levels made by me mangling your memories!” *He laughs and disappears and unlocks a new path.*

-----

Level 86: N. Trance’s MotorWorld

Crates: 104

Time Trial

Sapphire: 3:30.00

Gold: 3:25.00

Platinum: 3:20.00

Tappers to Save: 5

Friends: Pasadena and Von Clutch and Crash

Kaotickanine notes: N. Trance has combined the memories of Pasadena and Von Clutch with Crash’s, creating a mindscape that mostly resembles Von Clutch’s park but with desert roads and large pools of water from Crash’s moments where he had to race Cortex’s goons in vehicles or water ski while chased by a shark. Goes without saying that you’re going to be doing a LOT of driving and riding, all while contending with the combined obstacles of Von Clutch’s park and the hazards from Crash’s experience.

Achievement Unlocked: Sister C’rashin’

—–

Level 87: Darkness Strikes Innocence

Crates: 184

Time Trial

Sapphire: 2:05.00

Gold: 2:00.00

Platinum: 1:55.00

Tappers to Save: 5

Friends: Shadow and Cream

Badniks: GUN Troop Lab Assistant Pawns: They may be acting ‘good’ by attacking the Artificial Chaos and Black Arms, but they are still on a mission to destroy Shadow too.

Mutants: Artificial Chaos: Watch out for the water tendrils, ouch! Black Arms: Various sized aliens that are out to kill Shadow, mostly because of betrayal.

*Shadow and Cream find themselves outside of Cream’s home. Vanilla, Chocola, quite a few Chao, and even Maria sit in front of the house.*

Cream: “Heh he, it’s home, sweet, home! There’s Mama, Chocola, and our other Chao friends!”

*Vanilla, Chocola and the Chao, and Maria wave at Cream and Shadow, who then wave back*

Shadow smiles. “Indeed, quite a happy place. It sure is- Wait, Maria!? But how is she-” *He remembers where they are.* “Oh, no.”

Cream: “What is it? Is something the matter?” *She remembers too.* “Oh… N. Trance is going to do something terrible to our memories, isn’t he?”

*On cue, a dark portal opens up in the far distance and out comes the army of Black Doom, the Black Arms. Also dispersed in their ranks is Artificial Chaos. From down the nearby road in the other direction, the distinct coloring of GUN trucks come rolling past.*

Vanilla: “Oh my! What’s going on here!?”

Maria: “Shadow, I don’t like the look of this… You’ll help us, right?”

*Suddenly, a huge beam of energy shoots down from the sky and blasts Cream’s house, destroying it and causing Vanilla, the Chao, and Maria to be knocked forward from the shockwave. Cream gasps and tears form in her eyes*

Cream and Shadow: “NO!!!”

*The three loved ones, dazed by the explosion, try to get up from the ground, but they are lifted into the air. Then a familiar enemy of Shadow’s materializes behind them: Black Doom.*

Black Doom: “Hello, Shadow!”

Shadow: “DOOM!!! How dare you show you haunt my mind again!”

Cream: “PUT DOWN MOMMY, THE CHAO, AND MARIA RIGHT NOW!!!”

Black Doom: “Hahahaha! You should thank that egg-shaped entity for restoring me, even if only in your memory! I may not be able to destroy your world, but I WILL shatter your mind and drag this innocent child with you! You want your family back so much, you pathetic bunny and hedgehog?! GO FIND THEM!!” *He raises a hand and sends Vanilla, the Chao, and Maria in different directions. Once he was done, he disappeared. Cream then breaks down, sobbing.*

Cream: “My home… *Sniff* My family… *Sob* And Maria… This can’t be happening…”

Shadow places a sympathetic hand on Cream’s head. “Calm down , Cream. Remember, these are just our memories. Your home and family are perfectly alright. And Maria… Point is, there’s nothing to be tearful about.”

Cream calms down. “O-oh yeah… It felt so real...”

Shadow: “Hm, well now that I think about it, all this is taking place in our minds. And an attack on our memories… Even if they’re memories, we best hurry and save our loved ones before they are killed! I’m not going to allow my memories of Maria to die nor will I let yours perish as well!”

Cream: “Right! I’ll help you the best I can, Mr. Shadow!”

Kaotickanine says: N. Trance has revived Black Doom from Shadow’s memories and now that demon of an alien is savaging both his and Cream’s minds by attacking Cream’s home, flower field, and Chao Garden with Artificial Chaos, GUN Troops, and Black Arms, and hiding with Vanilla, Chocola and the Chao, and Maria around the area with the hostiles! You must quickly find these three and rescue them before they meet their doom! Even if they are merely memories, Shadow and especially Cream’s minds will be shattered should their loved ones die…

*Once they find them all and return back to the destroyed home, Black Doom appears.*

Black Doom: “So, the pathetic life forms found their friends, hmmm? Well, too bad you are stuck here unless you can defeat me!” *He laughs evilly.*

Shadow gets an idea and whispers it to Cream, who smiles in agreement.

Black Doom: “Prepare to die, you pathetic-”

Cream interject, saying: “CHEESE, GET HIM!!”

*Cream’s chao Cheese flies about Black Doom, and then runs into him. Either because he is a memory, or because Cheese is a ball of pure kindness, Black Doom shatters into tiny pieces like glass, only getting to say: “NNNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” as he breaks apart.*

Cream: “Yay! We did it!”

Shadow sees the warp orb. “And we can get out of here too.” *The 2 waste no time jumping in and escaping the memory world.*

Achievement Unlocked: I Am All of Me

—–

Level 88: Experimental Horror Film

Crates:148

Time Trial

Sapphire: 1:35.00

Gold: 1:30.00

Platinum: 1:25.00

Tappers to Save: 5

Friends: Crash, Coco, and Crunch

*Crash, Coco, and Crunch enter the next dream world and find themselves in cages.*

Coco: “What? Hey! What’s going on?”

N. Trance appears. “Oh, just my next trap for you.”

Crunch: “Once we break out of here, we will kick your butt!”

N. Trance: “I know that, that’s why the cages aren’t very strong. No, the trap is what you will see ahead!” *He laughs and disappears.*

Just as he said, the cages were easy to break apart and escape from. But when they did that, an alarm sounded.

Alarm: “WARNING! Bandicoot experiments have escaped! WARNING! Bandicoot experiments have escaped!”

A memory Cortex can be heard shouting from far away. “Stop sitting about, you imbeciles! Go round them up!”

Memory N. Brio: “Y-y-yes! S-s-s-so we c-c-can perform more experiments on t-t-them!!”

Crash: “Uh-oh! We better get out of here!”

Coco and Crunch: “Right!”

Badniks: Lab Assistants: Nothing really special about them. One throws beakers around and another tries to shock you.

Kaotickanine notes: N. Trance is forcing the Bandicoot trio to relive their days as Cortex’s mutated experiments; being forcibly evolved into members of his army. In order to get out of this nightmare, the Bandicoots must escape from their prisons and free the other animals being subjected to this torture, all while evading the memory of Cortex, N. Brio, and his goons.

The exit here is jumping out of the window Crash originally jumped out of in his debut game.

Achievement Unlocked: Mutations

—–

Level 89: DOOMed Once Again...

Crates: 173

Time Trial

Sapphire: 1:50.00

Gold: 1:45.00

Platinum: 1:40.00

Tappers to Save: 5

Friends: Hunter and Bianca

*Bianca and Hunter enter the next memory world and find someplace familiar…*

Bianca: “Oh! Look at this! It’s our old honeymoon spot in Fireworks Factory!”

Hunter: “Yeah, it was pretty beautiful, especially with you there.”

*Bianca blushes.*

*Unfortunately, the scene changed to the deep insides of the base of Fireworks Factory.*

Bianca: “Huh?”

N. Trance appears on one of the monitors. “Sorry to interrupt some fond memories, you lovebirds.” *He smirked.*

Hunter: “Where the hell did you send us?”

N. Trance keeps smirking. “HELL is a pretty accurate term for where you are, for sure. I hope you guys aren’t DOOMed” *He laughs and cuts the monitor as the door in front of them opens, revealing an army of ninjas, but looking a little different…*

Badniks: Trident-Swinging Demon/Ninja Rhybots: You better be quick to attack them, or they will give you a swift smack with their tridents. Gun-Firing Demon/Ninja Rhybots: They pop off 5 fireballs in a row from their ‘guns’, so you might want to keep moving or defeat them from a distance. Bomb-Throwing Demon Rhybots: They bounce fiery bombs around until they blow up. They are too strong to hit anywhere, save for their backside. But, you better run, cause they will charge after you as a suicide attempt. Fireworks Demon Rhybots: They fire off homing rockets at you, so you’ll want to keep on your toes. In a fair return, if you can set them on fire, they will shoot off like a firework and hit the nearest enemy, killing them.

Well, isn’t this honeymoon revisit turning into a disaster! N. Trance has sent a whole demon/ninja army after the happy couple to try and kill them! Can you fight your way through this personal HELL in a dangerous facility full of explosive material without becoming singed?

*Hunter and Bianca escape out the last door and into the warp orb as the place blows up to pieces.*

Achievement Unlocked: Big Rhybots Have Big Robot Guts

—–

Level 90: Panic Aboveground

Crates: 109

Time Trial

Sapphire: 1:15.00

Gold: 1:10.00

Platinum: 1:05.00

Tappers to Save: 5

Friends: Blink and Spyro

*Blink and Spyro enter the next dream world which looks a little out of sight.*

Blink: “I think it’s my mind. I even like my memories dark. Heh.”

Spyro: “That’s all good for you, but I wouldn’t mind a little light.” *He uses his flame breath to create a little light around them.* “Now, where are we…”

N. Trance’s voice can be heard. “Here, let me help you!” *He deletes the darkness from Blink’s mind.*

Blink: “Hey! Don’t do… that…” *He sees the location they are in and is immediately scared.*

N. Trance: “Heh he. I knew you would be immediately scared of the sky, especially of a place like Cloudy Domain! Hope you can find the way out!” *He laughs and leaves.*

Spyro: “Come on, Blink. I’ll carry you out of here. Get on my back.”

Blink does so. “Thanks… I don’t like the sky, you know my fresh-air-a-phobia.”

Spyro: “I know. Come on, let’s find the elevator down…”

Kaotickanine says: We now enter Blink’s mind. Although something’s not quite right… Our underground loving friend is WAY above ground in the Cloudy Domain! Even though Blink has never set foot in the floating city, for good reason, N. Trance has forced the entire location into his mind and now the mole’s “fresh-air-phobia” threatens to make him experience a panic attack, which will shatter his mind. Only way to escape this is to get Blink to the elevator of the city.

Achievement Unlocked: Clouded Minds

—–

Level 91: Sour Passion

Crates: 197

Time Trial

Sapphire: 2:10.00

Gold: 2:05.00

Platinum: 2:00.00

Tappers to Save: 5

Friends: Amy, Cream, and Big

Badniks: Horrific Egg Pawns: Various Egg Pawns that have taken some ‘scary’ shots from the badnik maker. One appears to look like Black Doom’s Eye, but with more tentacles that will try to grab you and throw you into its eye, which is also its mouth. Another appears to be the Egg Magician, but more taller and slender and grey (Perhaps the SlenderEgg?). And it looks like it forgot to get the Egg face, which has made it creepier. It warps around to try to spook you and take some rings. A third, which could only be called the Egg Minotaur, appears to have a bull for its head piece and is more built (taller and more muscular) than the standard Egg Pawn. Other than looking big and mean, it will charge around until it crashes into something. A 4th, called the Egg Imp, is probably Eggman’s craziest Pawn yet. It flies around like a maniac, shooting fireballs from its trident. But it also has some making from the Egg Bishop, as it can heal and call badniks as well. That’s very crazy.

*Amy, Cream, and Big enter the next dream world*

Amy: “Are you sure you want to come with us, Cream? I love having you tag along with me, but I can sense you're still recovering from that trip with Shadow… “

Cream: “Don’t worry Amy, I’m fine. I don’t want to be doing nothing while you and everyone else work to save the world!”

Amy: “Alright then! So long you’re feeling up to to! Anyway, where are we?”

*Team Rose finds themselves atop a high hill, overlooking three “zones” of differing appearances*

Big. “Hm… That place looks familiar!”

*Big points to the “zone” on the far right, which contains various biomes with rivers and ponds within*

Cream: “Really, Big?”

Big: “Yeah! Although I don’t think I’ve ever actually been to that place but I think about something like that all the time. It’s the perfect fishing spot for me and Froggy to catch all sorts of fish!”

Amy: “Interesting… And actually, that area over there looks like all the things I think about a lot transformed into a location! I can see parts of Twinkle Park, soft served ice cream, a wizards tower surrounded by a magical garden, and there’s me and Sonic dating!” *Amy looks even closer at that area* “Oh my God! And there’s me and Sonic’s children! “

Cream: “Really!?”

Amy: “Yeah! Um, but let’s not dwell on that…” *Blushes with a “sweat drop”* “Unless people dream about their future children often.”

Cream: “Heh, I’m not sure…” *Cream looks at the middle area* “OH MY GOSH!!! I imagine that place all the time! It’s the perfect Chao Garden with all sorts of fun rides, games, and sweets!” *Cream and Cheese grab each others hands and jump up and down* “Cheese! It’s our dream come true!”

*N. Trance’s voice echoes around the three* “HA!!! Sure, it looks like a dream now, but soon it will be a permanent nightmare!”

*Amy, Cream, and Big all huddle together in a defensive stance while looking around for the fifth dimensional madman. Suddenly N. Trance appears in front of them, floating in the air overlooking the three areas*

N. Trance: “In case you haven’t figured it out, which I’m sure you haven’t given how dim-witted all three of you are…”

Amy: “Says the guy who failed to mind-control all three of us.”

*Cream and Big openly laugh while Amy smiles with a proud look*

N. Trance: “SHUT UP!!! These three areas are your respective imaginations! The things that define your whole beings! I was not amused at all by you three resisting my mind-control despite your poor brains, so now I’m going to make you suffer in the worst ways! You, pink hedgehog, consider yourself an unrelentless optimist? Let’s see how optimistic you’ll be once my ‘Seeds of Doubt’ are finished!”

*N. Trance materializes evil looking seeds, which he then tosses onto various areas in Amy’s imagination*

N. Trance: “It will take time, but soon enough those seeds will overwhelm you with doubt! And with doubt comes despondence, and with despondence comes depression. It won’t be long until you become a hopeless pessimist and the only thing you look forward to is death rather than love!“

*One of Amy’s “dream children”, a pink baby hedgehog, touches the “Seed of Doubt” and disappears*

Amy: *In tears* “NO!!! DIAMOND DESTINY!!!” *Breaks down sobbing*

Cream: “You monster!”

N. Trance: “Thank you for the compliment! As for you, sickening little girl, I’m once again going to send some minions of mine to attack your peaceful paradise! And this time…”

*N. Trance fires off his “clock hand” at Cheese and grabs the Chao*

Cream: *Gasp* “CHEESE!!!”

N. Trance: “This pixie won’t interfere by giving you lingering hope and fighting my creations! And also for you, dumb cat!”

*N. Trance grabs Froggy, who was perched on top of Big’s head*

Big: “FROGGY!!!”

*N. Trance tosses Cheese and Froggy somewhere into Cream and Big’s respective imagination, which are then overrun by scary and violent robots*

N. Trance: “I sure hope my forces find them before you do! Toodles!”

*N. Trance disappears, leaving behind a saddened, openly crying Team Rose. Amy, however, soon stops bawling over Diamond Destiny and her eyes blaze with fury*

Amy: “THAT SLIMEBALL IS GOING TO PAY FOR THIS!!! Come on guys! Let’s rescue Cheese and Froggy and destroy those Seeds of Doubt!”

Cream: “Don’t need to tell me! Me and Cheese are inseparable!”

Big: “And I won’t allow any harm to come to Froggy!”

Kaotickanie says: Team Rose have been reunited at last! Too bad it isn’t a happy occasion... N. Trance is now attacking their imagination: using “Seeds of Doubt” to corrupt Amy from a cheerful optimist and into a depressed pessimist, stealing away Cheese and Froggy from Cream and Big and hiding them somewhere in their respective imaginations, and has overrun all three locations with violent robots! To keep Team Rose from wilting, you must venture into “Amy-tropolis” and destroy the Seeds of Doubt, Cream’s “Chao Funland” and find Cheese, and Big’s “Fishing Paradise” and rescue Froggy!

*After Team Rose solve their respective problems, Cream and Cheese are deeply hugging each other, as are Big and Froggy, and Amy looks at the four with a heartfelt smile.*

Cream: “Oh Cheese! I’m never letting anything separate us again!”

Cheese: “Chao!”

Big: “Me neither! I’ll protect you forever Froggy!”

Amy: “Aww, I’m so happy for you guys!”

*Amy’s face grows saddened and she sighs, which Cream takes note of and reacts accordingly*

Cream: “Something wrong, Amy? You don’t sound very happy…”

Amy: “Well… I’m genuinely happy for you two! I-I just wish I was able to protect something of my- Huh?”

*Amy looks down and Diamond Destiny on top of her feet, looking up at Amy*

Amy: *Overjoyed gasp* “DIAMOND DESTINY!!! YOU’RE ALIVE!!!“

*With tears of joy, Amy scoops up her imaginary infant and repeatedly kisses her, much to the infant, and Cream and Big’s amusement*

Cream: “I’m so glad she’s okay now! I was honestly worried…”

Big: “But she’s not-”

Cream: “Shh! Don’t ruin the moment, Big.”

Big: “Oh! Sorry.”

Amy: “I know what you were going to say Big, Diamond Destiny isn’t real. But I love her like she is! And she WILL become real soon enough, heehee!”

Big: “Sure, Amy, and we will be enjoying the fanfictions that come out of it.”

*Team Rose laughs as they take the warp orb out*

Achievement Unlocked: Follow Me

—–

Level 92: A Forgotten Robot’s Vengeance

Crates: 164

Time Trial

Sapphire: 1:45.00

Gold: 1:40.00

Platinum: 1:35.00

Tappers to Save: 5

Friends: Omega, Shadow and Rouge

Badniks: E-100 Alpha ‘ZERO’ : Eggman’s starting failure of the E-100 series. Even though he is not considered part of the series, he is still quite dangerous with his electric extendable arms and rocketry. To defeat this robot, you’re going to have to shock him so you can destroy his insides. E-101 β: Eggman’s first successful entry in the series, this robot is outfitted with tons of missiles and energy spheres. It even comes with a frontal shield to block attacks! To defeat Beta, you need to find some way to attack his backside... E-102 γ: Eggman’s second successful entry into the series, this one has homing rockets firing off of its arms. Gamma is pretty durable so it might take a few hits to defeat him. E-103 δ: Eggman’s 3rd robot in the series. It’s not as interesting, as all it does is fly around and shooting missiles off and on. Defeat by homing attacks is probably the easiest to do. E-104 ε: Eggman’s 4th robot in the series. Like Delta, Epsilon is not very interesting either, just flying around and firing missiles off and on. It should be no match for the Dark gang. E-105 ζ: Eggman’s 5th robot in the series. Zeta looks like the construction he had when fought in the Hot Shelter, with the rotating ring and 8 missile-launching tubes. Still, it shouldn’t pose too much of a challenge. E-1000: Fake Gammas, just to add in some extra rocketry support for the robots.

*Team Dark decide to enter the next dream world.*

Rouge looks around at the cyberspace. “Well, this looks new. Where are we?”

Shadow: “If I had to guess, some kind of digital space. Reminds me of GUNs and Eggman’s cyberspace.” (It does take some cues off of them.)

Omega: “IT IS MY CYBERSPACE. LOCATION CONFIRMS IT.”

Shadow: “Hmm, so it is your memories, it seems…”

*Explosions from missiles can be heard.*

Omega: “DAMAGE IS OCCURRING TO MY CYBERSPACE. DETERMINING PROBLEM.”

N. Trance appears holographically: “Let me save you some trouble. I brought the memories of the original E-series. I know how you regard them, Omega, but let’s see if you are the superior robot.”

Omega: “I AM THE SUPERIOR ROBOT!”

N. Trance: “Then prove it! Destroy them before they destroy you!” *He disappears.*

Kaotickanine says: Apparently, even the mind of a computer is not safe from N. Trance as we now delve into Omega’s “psyche”. Of course Omega’s mind is a lot different from everyone else’s, being a cyberspace filled with info and all sorts of digital stuff. All the same though, Omega’s memories make up this world and this time N. Trance is feeding on the robots superiority complex, reviving the first E-100 series, including the famous Gamma, and having them wreak havoc. To keep Omega from suffering a blue screen of death, the E-100 Series robots must be destroyed.

Achievement Unlocked: This Machine

—–

Level 93: Dark Hedgehog Minds

Crates: 142

Time Trial

Sapphire: 1:40.00

Gold: 1:35.00

Platinum: 1:30.00

Tappers to Save: 5

Friends: Shadow, Rouge, and Omega

Badniks: Shadow Androids: Robotic copies of Shadow that have the new memories of Shadow’s more revenge-set mind. If they spot you, they will fire homing rockets after you.

Mutants: Mephileses: The shadowy replicas made from Shadow’s, er, shadow. They know karate, just like the real one, but they aren’t very good at it. It should be pretty easy to dispatch.

*Shadow, Rouge and Omega are immediately sent to the next dreamworld after the last one.*

Rouge: “What- Hey! Why did we jump into another memory world?”

N. Trance appears as a hologram again. “Cause I am not done with you! I bet this place looks familiar to you, Shadow.”

Shadow looks around and sees the ARK. “It’s the ARK, so what?”

N. Trance: “Don’t act so naive, I know how much you care about this place. I bet it would anger you if it was getting destroyed...” *He messes with Shadow’s shadow and makes what could only be called Mephiles.*

Mephiles the Dark: “Yes, Master N. Trance?”

N. Trance: “Go, memory Mephiles, destroy the ARK!”

Mephiles: “Yes, Master.” *He makes an army of copies of himself. N. Trance helps and makes an army of Shadow Androids for them to go into.*

Mephile Clones as Shadow Androids: “We will destroy everything, including the Earth, for killing Maria.” *They chant as they leave the area.*

N. Trance looks at Shadow, who is clearly annoyed. “Go ahead, destroy them. They are obviously not you. Get revenge!” *He laughs and leaves.*

Rouge grabs Shadow’s hand. “I think I see what he is trying to do, Shadow. Can we destroy them for you?”

Shadow reassures her. “He thinks he can mess with my mind, but he’s wrong. I’m not getting revenge; I’m just destroying a terrible villain.”

Omega: “THEY SURE ARE ANNOYING. STARTING DESTRUCTION SPREE!”

Kaotickanine: We once again visit Shadow’s mind, manifesting as the Space Colony ARK in its prime, but this time he’s not sharing it with Cream nor is he dealing with the Black Arms or GUN. Now N. Trance has managed to revive the erased memories of Mephiles the Dark, who is now doing his best to corrupt Shadow’s mind into his servitude, and N. Trance also brought back a forgotten memory of Shadow’s: his revenge seeking self after being awakened by Eggman, who is now using the Shadow Androids to make Shadow seeks Earth’s destruction again.

Achievement Unlocked: Who I Am

—–

Level 94: The Floating Isle

Crates: 197

Time Trial

Sapphire: 2:20.00

Gold: 2:15.00

Platinum: 2:10.00

Tappers to Save: 5

Friends: Knuckles, Tails, and Sonic

*Knuckles, Tails, and Sonic end up on a flying island, but it looks different.*

Sonic: “Hey, it’s Angel Island! But something looks different.”

Tails shivers. “Say… I don’t remember Angel Island being so cold.”

Knuckles: “It shouldn’t be! I think someone is messing with the memories of my island!”

N. Trance appears on one of the ring monitors nearby. “You got that right! I screwed with the environments on your island! Think you know your island so well? See if you can make it through this!”

Sonic smashes the monitor: “Ugh, I hate that channel. Come on, let’s go!”

Given that he’s lived on the place for his entire life, it’s no surprise that Knuckles’ mind takes on the form of Angel Island. However N. Trance is turning this floating paradise into a disaster by mismatching the many areas of the island; Hydrocity is all dried up and filled with sand, Sandopolis is flooded with water, Ice Caps has melted, and Mushroom Hill frozen over. Time for the Rad Red to protect his home once again, even if it’s only in his mind.

Achievement Unlocked: A Dragon Sized Adventure & Knuckles

—–

Level 95: Sonic’s Nightmare

Crates: 121

Time Trial

Sapphire: 1:25.00

Gold: 1:20.00

Platinum: 1:15.00

Tappers to Save: 5

Helping Partner: Shadow

*Sonic and Shadow find themselves in the familiar down-sloped streets of City Escape.*

Shadow: “I suppose this last memory world is for you, Sonic?”

Sonic: “I think so, although I don’t see the reason why we are here. I don’t remember anything particularly dreadful in this place.”

N. Trance’s voice can be heard. “Oh, no? You don’t remember anything particularly dangerous here? Cause I looked and found the perfect nightmare here…”

Shadow: “What is he referring to, Sonic?”

Sonic starts panicking a bit. “I… I don’t know! What did I see here that was just so nightmarish?”

*Unbenounced to Shadow and Sonic, N. Trance appears behind the hedgehogs who are not looking behind. He appears in the Nightmare GUN Truck, packed with plenty of saws, rockets, spikes, and other dangerous objects.*

N. Trance: “Maybe a little BUZZ CUT may jog your memory!” *He swings one of the saws near the hedgehogs and bangs and spins it against the ground.*

Sonic is clearly scared when he hears the noise. “O-o-oh, no… I-i-i don’t want to look… I… must RUN!!!!” *Sonic starts running away really fast, leaving Shadow behind.*

Shadow: “Huh? Sonic! Wait up!” *He hurries after Sonic and N. Trance drives along behind them.*

N. Trance has prepared one last diabolical trap, and it is all for Sonic. He’s chasing the 2 hedgehogs in what can only be called the GUN Truck from Hell! It even supports a hellish paint job! N. Trance isn’t going to let anything stop him, as he will destroy anything you pass. He even warps you out of City Escape and into other worlds as well. You’re only escape is just rushing to the warp orb at the end.

Achievement Unlocked: Rolling on the Edge

-----

*As the 2 hedgehogs left, N. Trance had been thrown out of the GUN Truck’s windshield and came out with them. He flew for a bit until he crashed into the ground, cracking his shell a bit. He got up in anger.*

N. Trance: “Okay, that’s it! No more ‘yolking’ around. I’m going to finish this! Is there any of you that thinks they can crack this egg?”

*Rouge and Coco step up for fighting.*

Coco: “We don’t like what you did to our minds.”

Rouge: “So we’re going to be the ones to ‘hard-boil’ you!”

N. Trance: “I’d love to see you try…”

Boss: N. Trance

Kaotickanine: The fight against N. Trance is a tough battle that comes in two phases. The first phase is fought entirely by Coco on the ground, wherein N. Trance starts off by summoning a powerful enemy from any of the character’s minds (Beta, Black Doom, etc.), which Coco needs to defeat with the assistance of the other characters aiding from the background. Thankfully, these summons are quick to defeat, and once they’re taken down N. Trance will re-enter the battle arena and shoot his clock hand at Coco like a grappling hook. Should he hit Coco, N. Trance will shoot at her again, but should you make him miss his hand will get stuck and he’ll struggle to get it loose, which is the perfect opportunity to jump onto his head. After that, N. Trance hops out of the arena and shoots at Coco with a “PSI ray” and the process repeats. Hit N. Trance four times and phase 2 with Rouge will begin, in which N. Trance’s flies his head off his body and into the air. N. Trance’s head is invulnerable to any of Rouge’s attacks, even her kicks. However, you can use your attacks to guide N. Trance’s head underneath these three containers in the arena: liquid nitrogen, acid, and lava. Should N. Trance’s head get underneath, one of the allies will pull on a lever, making the harmful substances descend right onto N. Trance’s head. After that, N. Trance will destroy the containers and fire off “PSI bullets” at Rouge, at which point the process repeats. Dropping everything on him will finally make him vulnerable enough for one last kick from Rouge, which will defeat him.

Achievement Unlocked: Humpty Dumpty Had a Big Fall

*N. Trance breaks apart, but before it gets too gruesome, he gets warped away. Rouge returns with the rest of the gang and they leave the Terrarium.*

Death Head’s Bridge

Uka Uka appears and finds the hypnotized Cortex and Eggman. He breaks it and berates Cortex. “CORTEX!!! Those stupid animals have defeated N. Trance!! You better have a plan to defeat them!”

Cortex appears unfazed by Uka-Uka’s anger. “Oh, what’s the point? They’re going to just defeat us again. I’ll go, but it just seems like we are heading for the same outcome. That’s the definition of insanity!”

Uka-Uka simmers in anger. “And what are you going to do, Eggman?!”

Eggman finally tires of Cortex and his minions. “Nothing really. As he said, there is no point!”

Uka-Uka rages: “WHAT??!!! Why not?!!”

Eggman is unconcerned with Uka-Uka and is clearly even more angrier. “Because you fools are the most pathetic bunch of villains that I have ever seen! Even my robots do a better job that what I have seen from his ‘experiments’ and from you and your friends! All I have seen is you guys offer little challenge to Sonic and his friends, and you know what? I rarely call them that way! I am DONE with you fools! Begone!” *He uses the transport beam to send Cortex and Uka-Uka to the next terrarium.*

Eggman: “Cut the power to the transporter, Metal Sonic!”

Metal Sonic: “YES, SIR.” *He cuts the power to them entirely.*

Eggman: “Follow me, my henchmen. We’re heading down to finish this.”

Cubot asks Orbot: “What does he mean by that?”

Orbot: “Best not to question the boss. We should follow him.”

*Eggman, Orbot, Cubot, and Metal Sonic leave the bridge.*

Next Time: WARNING! WARNING! Entering the Space Terrarium!

[crashspyrostuff]

Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy Release Date Revealed!

Everyone’s favorite marsupial is in the process of getting enhanced, entranced, and preparing to dance in HD graphical glory when he bursts back onto the scene in the Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy game collection. But don’t worry, because the process isn’t that painful for him. At least it’s not anything that a couple of wumpa fruits won’t fix.

Now we know that Crash has plenty of fans out there, all eager for news about when this orange critter will spin things up again. And you’re in luck, because your patience has paid off. Activision and the development team at Vicarious Visions have been hard at work updating this classic trilogy. They have some big news to share with you and are answering some of the questions they’ve received from fans, so read on!

WHEN IS THE N SANE TRILOGY COMING OUT?!

JUNE!

30TH!

(yes, that’s 2017)!

Can you believe it?! We can hardly believe it.

Why did you wait until now to tell us?

To torture you!

No, seriously, from our point of view it’s about being confident in a schedule that allows us to deliver on the quality of games we all want. We had to ensure everything’s aligned to deliver it smoothly. Sometimes it takes a bit of time to know these things.

(Kara Massie, Producer)

What has changed from the original games in the environment art?

This is a great question and something that we’ve been working pretty hard on. The addition of real-time lighting in a PBR (Physically Based Rendering) engine, along with an increase in texture size, can sometimes make our environments look different than the originals.

Generally, while we strive to recreate each level so it looks and feels like the original, we also want to make sure that environments are fun, colorful, and read well in the fast-paced action with the addition of the new technology we are using.  

(Dustin King, Art Lead)

What’s been your favorite level to make art for and why?

I’ve enjoyed working on the prehistoric levels, and I found them to be a good case for reinterpretation. As I started working on them, I found that adding more greenery helped bring more of the earthy, prehistoric look that hearkens back to the illustrations in dinosaur books I loved as a kid. I also decided the path is more like shallow swamp water, since a tar pit would slow the player down.

I like the contrasting mix of familiar elements of earth, fire, water, and plants, and it has been fun trying to effectively blend these elements.

(Aaron Trulson, Environment Artist)

My favorite level to work on was Future Frenzy.  This level was jam packed with lights, signs, and all of these cool futuristic shapes.  It was really fun making the city look alive, with all of the neon signs and the flashing lights.  Getting the reflections on the buildings to look just right was a lot of work for the engineering team, but I'm really excited with how it turned out.

(Jeffrey Lee, Environment Artist)

My favorite levels to make art for have been Deep Trouble and Under Pressure. These underwater levels are full of colorful and exotic sea plants that bring the whole environment to life. I wanted to give more depth to these levels, so look out for a fuller looking ocean.

(Andrew Lee, Environment Artist) Is The N. Sane Crash wearing shorts or jorts or jeans?

Wow, I actually had to look up ‘jorts’! Our version of Crash is wearing surfer shorts which we felt reads much closer to the shapes, colors, and forms in the original games, and is in line with the original concept art we started from that was provided to us by Sony. We feel it also speaks to his ‘90s era persona.

(Dustin King, Art Lead)

Who are the Voice Actors?

Fred Tatasciore (Dingodile, Koala Kong, Komodo)

Debi Derryberry (Coco, Tawna)

Greg Eagles (Aku Aku)

Dwight Schultz (Papu, Lab Assistant)

Maurice LaMarche (Nitrous Brio, Lab Assistant)

John DiMaggio (Uka, Tiny Tiger)

Jess Harnell (Crash Bandicoot, Pinstripe Potoroo, Ripper Roo)

Corey Burton (Doctor N. Gin, Doctor N. Tropy, Baby Cortex)

Lex Lang (Dr. Neo Cortex)

Why did you remake the soundtrack compositions, instead of reusing the originals?

We are recreating the original compositions to match the high-definition visuals and the updated look and feel of the game.  The original music was brilliantly composed and arranged to get the most out of the memory and processing power of the original PlayStation. With much expanded resources, we are able to really improve sound quality and fidelity, while staying faithful to the original compositions.

(Justin Joyner, Audio Lead)

Remaster or Remake? It’s a Remake isn’t it? It’s totally a remake? Please settle this.

Remaster or Remake? This is a AAA remaster. We’re giving this the love and attention to detail that we pay to all of our AAA games. We’re building it using the original level geometry so that it plays as close to the original as possible. We’ve also referred to this as a remaster plus, as we are adding new features that we think the fans are going to love!

(Dan Tanguay, Game Director)

Did you see my idea? Did you read our thread / watch our video / get my letter?

We actually do check online now-and-then, and we read all our letters. But honestly we’re really, really busy. Did you notice that date? It’s coming up very soon. Like you, we are really huge Crash fans, and we feel that we are taking very good care of what we know is precious to you. There is so much to explain, and we will, in time. For now, please know that we love you, and that we love and appreciate your kind words and support.

+ https://www.facebook.com/crashbandicootsite/

[musicprincess655]

Ryuu looks around the corner, but in the chaos, in the continuing explosions, no one is going to notice the two of them making a run for it. Granted, it’ll be more of a limp in his case, but they should still make it out.

Blowing up the main computer seems to have caused all the other computers in the building to self-destruct, and explosion after explosion rocks the floor beneath them.

“Do you remember the other escape route?” Ryuu asks, because he’s a little preoccupied by his pain levels. Getting shot hurts, and Ryuu’s leg throbs angrily with every step. He’s going to have to rely on Atsushi to get him out of here.

“Why did you kill her?” Atsushi hasn’t risen from where he’s sitting, staring at the floor. “We came here to save her.”

“What?”

“You just wanted to destroy this place, didn’t you?” Atsushi demands, and he lifts his head, eyes furious and red-rimmed, tears still caught in his lashes. “You hate this place so much. You just wanted it gone. Saving Lucy was just an excuse.”

Ryuu suddenly understands. Atsushi lost his oldest friend, and he needs someone to blame, and Ryuu is conveniently here.

Well, fine. If Atsushi needs to hate someone, he can hate Ryuu all he wants if it gets him up and moving. As long as they both get out alive, he can hate Ryuu with every fiber of his being. Ryuu will even give him someone to hate, if that’s what he needs.

“Sure,” Ryuu says. “That was my goal. That’s exactly what I wanted to do. I came here just to blow up the facility.”

Atsushi’s eyes widen, and he rises to his feet.

“Akutagawa?”

“Come on, Jinko, you really believe it of me, don’t you?” It’s a dirty card to play, but Ryuu plays it anyway in the hopes it will make Atsushi move now.

“What…?”

Before Atsushi can even begin to voice a question, a guard comes around the corner. He turns and sees them, raising his gun. Ryuu moves faster than anyone with a bullet in one leg has any right to, because he sees the threat to Atsushi and cannot allow it to land. The bullet lands in his side, and Ryuu yells in pain. He barely notices Atsushi jumping forward to punch the man directly in the face.

Ryuu raises a hand to his side and draws it away covered in blood.

This is so much worse than the other wounds. The other two hurt, but neither hit anything vital. Both of them, he could survive, so long as he makes it outside. This one, however, is soaking his shirt through with blood. He’s bleeding out.

“Akutagawa, Aku, shit,” Atsushi stutters, falling to his knees. “Shit, shit, shit.”

He reaches out to touch Ryuu’s side, recoiling when he sees just how much blood is there. He unties the frilly thing at Ryuu’s neck, folding it sloppily and pressing it to Ryuu’s side. Ryuu winces at the stab of pain.

“Hold it here for me, you can do that, right?” Atsushi’s voice is cracking higher with panic. “Don’t you dare die on me, okay? Just keep your eyes open. Just look at me.”

He cups Ryuu’s face, lifting until Ryuu can obey his command. Though the edges of his vision are going dark, Ryuu looks at Atsushi. He’s visibly panicking, but he takes a deep breath and swipes his thumb across Ryuu’s cheek.

“Everything’s going to be okay,” Atsushi says. “You’re not gonna die here. Just hold on.”

He tilts Ryuu back until he can get a hand under Ryuu’s knees, lifting with a grunt. They’re not that different in size, and Atsushi might be stronger than he looks, but carrying Ryuu through an exploding facility can’t be an easy task. He staggers a little under the extra weight, but he still walks forward. Ryuu keeps his hand pressed to his side, hoping against hope that he’s doing enough to stem the flow of blood.

Atsushi lowers him carefully to the ground, opening the door to the garbage chute. If they can climb down this, they’ll be home free. Dazai and Chuuya will be waiting for them, and they’ll get everyone out.

“Come on,” Atsushi coaxes. He’s already climbed into the chute, and now he holds a hand out to Ryuu. He lifts the edge of the cloak with his other hand, and Ryuu realizes that Atsushi stole it at some point. “I can’t climb down with you, but I can catch you.”

Ryuu can hardly make any of his limbs obey him, but he tries, fuck, he tries. He lifts his hand, slowly, far too slowly, reaching for Atsushi.

And then a shot rings out behind him.

Ryuu lifts his eyes in time to see the bloom of blood directly over Atsushi’s chest, the way his eyes go blank, and Ryuu suddenly bursts into motion, grabbing for Atsushi’s outstretched hand. Atsushi is too heavy to catch, especially with Ryuu so weak, and he pulls Ryuu over the edge with him as he falls.

Ryuu gathers Atsushi close, ignoring how his side starts bleeding freely again, and clumsily wraps them both in the cloak. It’s not enough, and when they hit the bottom, Ryuu feels his shoulder and collarbone break.

For what feels like an eternity, all he’s aware of is the pain. His broken bones scream, his leg and arm ache dully, and his side bleeds freely. His limbs are starting to go cold. If he doesn’t get help very soon, he is going to die.

Ryuu isn’t completely aware of what’s happening when the conveyer belt they landed on takes them into an open space, but suddenly, Chuuya is there, asking him what happened, taking a quick inventory of his wounds.

They made it.

Ryuu sits up with Chuuya’s help, turns to Atsushi, and freezes.

Atsushi’s eyes are still blank, and there’s no light left behind them.

Chuuya picks Ryuu up, and Ryuu barely notices the pain of being jostled as Chuuya runs. Ryuu just keeps twisting, trying to see Atsushi in Dazai’s arms, trying to see a spark of life, desperate to be wrong. It’s not until they’re clear of the explosions, in the lobby where Dazai, Chuuya, and Kyouka must have snuck in, that Chuuya sets him down. Ryuu only has eyes for Atsushi.

As soon as Dazai lays him on the ground, Ryuu squirms over to his side, ignoring the pain all over his body.

“Akutagawa.” Dazai lays a hand on his unbroken shoulder, voice so heartbreakingly gentle. “Ryuu. He’s gone.”

Ryuu shoves his hand off, reaching for Atsushi’s chest, trying to find a pulse. Atsushi’s eyes are still open, sunset eyes staring at nothing.

He’ll never see the sky again.

“We have to go,” Chuuya says. “We can at least bury him somewhere nicer.”

Ryuu shakes his head, hunching over Atsushi’s body. If he pretends hard enough, he can believe he’ll be enough to protect Atsushi.

“Ryuu, we have to get you out of here,” Chuuya says. “You’ll die if we don’t stop the bleeding.”

Ryuu doesn’t care.

“Leave him.” Ryuu lifts his head at the sound of Gin’s voice. So she did manage to find her way out of the facility. Ryuu can at least be grateful that she’ll survive. “In here, out there, it won’t make a difference.”

“We can still save him,” Chuuya says, voice growing louder with anger. “It’s bad, but he’s not beyond saving.”

Ryuu watches Gin lower her eyes to Atsushi.

“Yes, he is,” she says. She kneels in front of him. She’s crying. Ryuu should comfort her. He’s her big brother, after all. But he can’t lift his arms anymore, and he can barely see.

He feels it when Gin kisses his forehead, though.

“This is bullshit!” Chuuya shouts. “We can’t just leave him behind!”

“Chuuya,” Dazai’s voice is still unbearably soft. “We have to go.”

“No, fuck you!”

“Chuuya.”

Ryuu doesn’t listen for the end of the argument. He does hear the sound of them running away, though. His family will continue without him.

Ryuu leans over Atsushi again, closing his eyes. Like this, with Ryuu’s vision so narrowed he can’t see the blood, Atsushi could very nearly be sleeping.

The song wells up in Ryuu once again, the song that Elyurias used to beckon him. A part of him hates her for bringing him to this fate. He will die far from his home, and Atsushi is already dead, and there will never be justice enough for this.

But still, Ryuu sings, because that’s all he can do. He can sing Atsushi’s soul to its rest. Slowly, Ryuu lays down, unable to sit up any longer. He doesn’t hurt much anymore. It’s hard to draw enough air to keep singing, though. He reaches for Atsushi’s hand, limp by his side, and tries so very hard to finish the last lines of the song.

And then another voice joins in.

Lucy – Ryuu never knew her in life, but he knows it’s not truly Lucy – appears, holding Atsushi’s head in her lap. Ryuu barely has the strength to lift his eyes to her as she sings, and peace steals over him. He breathes easier, and he finishes the song with her. He never thought he’d have someone sing his soul to rest. It’s more than he ever thought to ask for.

But the pain is gone, and Ryuu finds he can sit up now. He stares at Lucy, so many questions on the tip of his tongue. She reaches out, wipes the tears away from his cheeks.

“Thank you for freeing me,” she says. “This is the only gift I can give you now.”

“And Lucy?” Ryuu asks. For all they lost to try and save her, it seems a fair question.

“Right here.” Lucy – Elyurias – raises a hand to her heart. “Tell him I’m sorry.”

“You’re sorry?” Ryuu asks. Elyurias seemed consumed by vengeance. It’s an emotion Ryuu relates to, and it doesn’t often come with regret.

“No,” she says. “But she is. She wants his forgiveness. I wouldn’t have gotten my vengeance if she hadn’t given me the power to awaken.”

Then something shifts, and Ryuu knows he’s speaking to Lucy.

“Are you really okay with this?” Ryuu asks. Lucy and Elyurias are almost indistinguishable now. Whatever deal Lucy made, it isn’t one she can take back, and it’s one that won’t expire.

“It’ll be lonely,” she says. “I can think of worse fates.”

Her eyes are full of tears, though, and Ryuu thinks she’s just as much a victim as anyone else. If not for luck, she’d be far away from here, never worrying about No. 6 again. That she returned, out of love for Atsushi, a love Ryuu now understands all too well, that she fell to this fate, is as unjust as Atsushi’s death.

“Take care of him for me?” Lucy asks, as she starts to glow. “He’s an idiot, but he has a good heart, and it’s worth holding.”

Ryuu nods without really thinking about what he’s agreeing to. Lucy disappears in a swarm of light, and a glowing, colorful wasp replaces her.

Ryuu jumps to his feet.

“All those deaths were never No. 6, were they?” he asks. “They were you.”

“All for the loss of your people,” the wasp says. Elyurias says. “Don’t let them forget how to sing to me. Teach someone else. Let them remember how to live with me.”

Ryuu nods again. Elyurias fades out.

He suddenly realizes that he’s no longer in any pain. His arms lift fine when he tests them, and his leg no longer aches. When he lifts his shirt, there’s no wound to be seen.

“Aku?”

Ryuu hardly dares to look down, will be crushed if the truth is anything but what he so desperately hopes it will be. But when he finally musters the courage, Atsushi’s eyes are open. Ryuu falls to his knees, burying his face in Atsushi’s neck.

“What happened?” Atsushi asks. Ryuu chokes a laugh against him, feeling very much like crying again. He hasn’t cried since he was seven.

“I’ll explain on the way,” he says. “Let’s go home.”