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kentuckywrites · 3 years ago

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T3CHN0 File 8: ALIVE

ALIVE (adjective). (Of a person, animal, or plant) living, not dead.

Featuring the Crosses of @shadowoa , @apolleh , @skell-pilot-sora , @elysia-cross , @phoenixfireartists , and @stargazer-ele .

Upon opening her eyes, Ophelia couldn’t determine where she was, if she was alive or not. The same darkness that had greeted her in T3CHN0 was pervasive even now, and though she felt a notable difference in her body, she could hardly see what those differences were. Small pinpricks of pain in the back of her neck were the only indication that she wasn’t dead. Groaning from a collection of fatigue and soreness, Ophelia squinted when the darkness receded, a door in front of her sliding down and opening into the outside world. Right, yes, she was stored in a pod in order to access T3CHN0, and she was back in the real world now, back in Dsandro’s lab. She pushed herself out of the pod and stumbled forward, observing her surroundings. Looked like she was the first one out of her pod.

Slowly but surely, the other pods opened up, and the rest of the group emerged in similar disoriented states. Ciel immediately fell to her knees, and Polaris, in slightly better shape, knelt down to embrace her once more. Abel and Nyx exchanged looks with each other, scanning each other over for any wounds, and Touya held his head in his hands. Ophelia ended up walking towards him, a hand on her hip. An eye poking out between his fingers, Touya eventually removed his hands to properly address her.

“How are you feeling?” He asked.

“Fine ‘nough. Been through worse b’fore,” She admitted, “But real quick, ‘fore we get things sorted…I wanted t’ personally thank you.”

“Thank me? For what?”

“Ye don’t know Fudgemuffin at all, right? Yer a stranger t’ him?”

“I…well, I’ve heard of him in passing, but I’ve never had the pleasure of meeting him before today.”

“That’s ma point right there. Ye didn’t have t’ risk yer neck fer ‘im, but ye did.” Ophelia said, genuine, “So thanks fer taggin’ along. Means a lot t’ me, and I bet it meant a lot t’ him, too.”

“It’s not a big deal,” Touya replied, “I bet he would have done the same for -”

“You’ve returned!”

A familiar voice sounded off from the monitors against the wall, and Ophelia immediately spun around. But Abel and Nyx ran up to it first, both of their hands poised over the keyboards. One of the screens flickered, presenting the rose symbol associated with Colette.

“You’re okay!” Abel cheered, relieved.

“I’m so sorry,” She apologized, “I tried to return to T3CHN0 to aid you, but Dr. Dsandro implemented a firewall that I couldn’t break through. But, judging by your current status, you were all able to navigate and exit T3CHN0 without any issues.”

“That was thanks to Fudgecake,” Nyx explained, “He got all of us out of there in one piece. But he also fused his programming with T3CHN0 and destroyed Dsandro’s data while we were in there.”

“I…I see.” Colette hesitated, “Let me check something.”

A pause, whirring inside the monitors as she processed something. “You would be correct. T3CHN0’s program now falls under a new user’s permissions, and Dr. Dsandro’s data is gone…”

“Does that mean the bastard’s dead?” Polaris asked.

“It…well, yes, in shortened terms. His conscience has been deleted, and I am unable to recover it. Only the new user in control of T3CHN0 has the ability to restore the backup data, but I don’t see that data either. Which means…” Colette trailed off, and in the silence, Ophelia grinned. Thank God the fucker was dead, permanently.

After a moment, Colette asked Abel and Nyx, “Would you mind doing me a favor? Can you locate the half-sphere on the desk and place it in front of the keyboards? And please make sure that it’s plugged in properly to a power source.”

“On it,” Nyx said, spotting the device and placing it where Colette had asked. Their fingers ran along a plug that was already connected to the back, and they followed it down to a power outlet just behind the desk. Ophelia watched intently, knowing exactly what the device was and what it would do, and she took a step forward in anticipation.

“Alright, it looks good,” Nyx confirmed, “So…what is it?”

The device ignited in green light, pouring out of small windows on the sides, and out of the half-sphere’s top, a holographic image was put on full display. Though most of the hologram was green, the figure it projected was not. A young girl now smiled brightly at the group, brown hair curling behind her shoulders. A rose symbol on her sleeve indicated her identity before she spoke.

“Dr. Dsandro built this device for me so I could properly address him,” Colette explained, “But as he became more enthralled in his work, he dismissed it as a useless waste of space. I haven’t been able to project my appearance for quite some time, so knowing that he is no longer with us…I thought I could use this as my first act of rebellion.”

“Good for you!” Polaris mimicked Colette’s smile, helping Ciel up and keeping a hand on her opposite shoulder. Ciel’s cheeks were damp, a sign that she’d been crying, but Ophelia decided against mentioning it. After all, she felt the same way.

“Now then, I have a few more matters to discuss with each of you, especially now that I have no primary source I must report to,” Colette told everyone, “The first being the fact that T3CHN0 is still operational. I see that your friend, Fudge, fused with the program. This is…well, I’m afraid this action is irreversible.”

“He gave us an explanation while we were inside T3CHN0,” Ciel recalled, “His current mimeosome wouldn’t be able to house such a complex program. He asked us to build him a new body.”

“That would be the best course of action, yes,” She agreed, “But that’s not all. While I was investigating the nature of this fusion, I discovered a separate file that originated within T3CHN0 - or more specifically, a file that originated after the fusion took place. I believe that Fudge, using this fusion to his advantage, sent this to me to give to each of you.”

“A new file?” Abel pressed, “What’s in it?”

“Would you like me to open it?”

“Hell fuckin’ yeah,” Ophelia made her way next to Abel, “Open ‘er up. Maybe it’s somethin’ important fer buildin’ his new body.”

“Of course. One moment, please.”

The whirring noise returned, louder this time. Ophelia scowled, wondering what kind of file would take this long and this much strength to process. But then, Colette’s eyes widened, and she gave them a vital piece of information.

“The file is…an artificial intelligence. It has a similar line of coding to mine. When I open the file, would you like me to project their appearance onto the hologram?”

A brief pause as everyone looked at each other, thoroughly confused. Ophelia cleared her throat. “Sure thing. Can ya tell who it is?”

“I can’t, unfortunately. The file name has no identifying clues or names attached.”

“Right. Make sure it won’t hurt ya at all, then feel free t’ project them if it’s safe. We ain’t havin’ a repeat o’ Fudgemuffin on my watch,” She responded.

“Okay. Opening the file now…”

Colette’s image shrank back into the projection device, and the soft green light fizzled as a new projection was set up. The figure’s image was too distorted to make out at first, and though they tried to speak, their voice was broken and disjointed. Ophelia squinted, trying to figure out if this was Fudge or some other artificial intelligence he’d saved, but then again, who could it possibly be? If it was Dsandro, then…no. No, it wouldn’t be. Fudge was smart, he wouldn’t do that.

The voice echoed out a few words that she could hear, and she concluded it wasn’t Fudge. But it sounded familiar, hauntingly familiar.

“...Hello?...Hello hello?”

Abel chuckled to himself. “Hello, Phone Guy.”

“Did you really just make a Five Nights At Freddy’s joke?” Nyx hissed.

“I did, and I’ll do it again,” Abel smirked. Ophelia wasn’t impressed. Not in the slightest.

“Colette, what’s goin’ on?” She asked, slightly annoyed at the ordeal.

“I’m working on stabilizing the connection!” She answered, “Please hold on!”

And slowly, the figure started to look clearer, and their attempts at communication were far more successful. Before Ophelia could see them fully, they asked a question that made her heart stop and her blood go cold.

“...Phel? That you over there?”

There was no way. No way in fucking hell.

She pushed in front of Abel, staring up at the hologram as her hands wrapped around the edge of the desk, her knuckles scraping against the wood. And sure enough, her suspicions were correct, and the figure finally cleared to a point where she could recognize them. A white lab coat over a black buttoned shirt, messy brown hair pulled back into a loose bun, brown eyes gentle and warm.

“Antonio. Motherfucking. Carson.” Ophelia breathed, “Aren’t you a sight fer sore eyes.”

“Could say the same about you!” Antonio smiled, then looked upon the rest of the group. “Oh my goodness, what a collection!...Wait, do you have wings on your head? What an odd modification…”

“Would I be correct in assuming that you’re Fudge’s father?” Ciel asked upon being singled out, her tone signaling that she was just as shocked as Ophelia was.

“That’s me! Antonio Carson, pleasure to meet you.” He introduced himself, “Now, ah, Phel, I um…I think I’ve got some explaining to do.”

“Ye think?!” Ophelia growled, somewhere in between fury and relief, relief that one of her best friends was speaking to her, alive and well as if nothing had ever happened, “First of all, why’d ya never tell me ‘bout rebuildin’ Fudgemuffin?! Ye know I woulda helped ya with that in a heartbeat!! Faster than a calculator, even!! An’ don’ even git me started on what th’ ever lovin’ hell’s happenin’ with ya right now, how’re ye -”

“Woah!!” Antonio chuckled nervously, holding his hands up in defense, “Okay, I get it, I fucked up. I can explain that first part a little easier, though. I kept it a secret from basically everybody, because…well, there were more than a few people at the time that would’ve stopped me. And there were more than a few people who would’ve asked me to do the same thing for them, and with the little time I had…I couldn’t risk it. I wasn’t going to let anything get in between me and rebuilding Fudge.”

“Ye know I woulda helped…” Ophelia shook her head, dejected.

“I know you would’ve. In hindsight, I should’ve enlisted you. But…but I couldn’t risk anything. I just couldn’t.”

“Okay, that aside, Six-Shooter had another good point,” Nyx interjected, “How exactly are you here? I mean, I don’t know your son all that well, but I know his dad’s dead.”

“Do I look dead to you?” Antonio joked, “But yeah, technically I’m dead. But while you were all in T3CHN0, Fudge was trying to figure out how to fix this whole mess, and he figured something out. I created his conscience back on Earth based on all the memories I had of him, and I tried to remain as accurate to the living example as I could. I did a damn good job, if I say so myself, but that’s beside the point. So, pulling from his own program that I coded, he recreated me. Good ol’ fashioned inception at its finest.”

“And why didn’t he tell us when we were all back in T3CHN0?” Polaris questioned, “Sure would’ve loved to know we’d be coming back to his dad needing a body. You do need a body, right?”

“I do,” He nodded, “And if I had to guess, it was either because of time constraints, or he didn’t know if this would work. After all, he was suffering from T3CHN0’s corruption just as much as you all were.”

“He was?” Ciel breathed, “Was that why we saw him in a different form, I wonder…”

“So yer program’s separate from T3CHN0 an’ Fudge, which means gettin’ ye yer own body ain’t gonna be hard,” Ophelia beamed at the realization, “Gods above, Toni, yer a real lucky man.”

“I’ll count my blessings once I can hug Fudge again,” He said, “After all, he needs a new body too, and we’ll need some way to transport both of our programs out of this facility. That is, unless this lab has a way to fabricate mimeosomes?...”

“This laboratory is unequipped to handle mimeosome fabrication, unfortunately,” Colette’s voice echoed from the same half-sphere, “However, I have two transport vessels for you and Fudge to -”

“Make it three.”

“...Three? I’m afraid I don’t follow.”

“Keep it empty, but have a third drive ready. I have a plan.”

“You an’ yer cryptic lil’ ideas, Toni,” Ophelia rolled her eyes. “Better not involve settin’ anythin’ on fire.”

“No torching anything until I get my body back,” Antonio crossed his heart to seal the promise, “Now then, Phel. See you on the other side.”

“Git outta ‘ere, ye big fool,” She waved him off playfully, and with a fizzle, his image receded back into the half-sphere. Colette’s soon reappeared, and she pointed to a series of colored harddrives nestled within the side of the largest monitor. A red one, a blue one, a green one, and a yellow one. Ophelia almost mistook them for wires based on the color scheme alone.

“Fudge’s program is in the red harddrive,” Colette explained, “And Antonio Carson’s is located within the blue one. The yellow one is the empty one he requested.”

“What about the green one?” Touya piped up, having been silent and observing, “And…what about you?”

“The green harddrive is for me. I’ll be placing my program into it for safekeeping,” She said, “It’s not like I’ll be able to do much here now that Dr. Dsandro is gone, so I trust you to do with me what you will. Whether it’s granting me a new purpose or destroying me, I have no preference. Although…if I’m allowed to be selfish, I would also love my own body. But please place priority in Fudge and Antonio’s recovery!”

“Ye got it, Colette,” Ophelia replied, “Thank ye fer all yer help.”

“Yes, you’ve been a joy!” Ciel chirped, “We wouldn’t have been able to find Fudge without you.”

“I’m happy I could be of assistance,” Colette said, and with another fizzle, she was gone. Ophelia waited until a small ping was heard from the monitor before removing all four harddrives, stashing them in her pocket. The empty harddrive was still a mystery, but she supposed it was more incentive to get back to NLA. As she turned around, she opened her mouth, ready to address everyone, but Abel spoke first.

“Where’s Pongo?”

The name made her raise an eyebrow. Curious, they’d all completely forgotten about Pongo until that moment. But Abel was staring straight at the doors they’d entered through. They’d been wooden, unlike some of the other doors they’d entered through in the lab section of the building, and that same wood splintered out in all directions. Whatever had been on the other side had done a great job destroying them, and aside from the damage, there was no sign of Pongo anywhere.

Abel ran towards the doors in a panic, and Touya was close behind, his rifle already drawn. Ciel, Polaris, Nyx and Ophelia followed at a slower pace, with Nyx and Polaris being the only other two to draw their weapons. As Ophelia stepped over the wood and ducked beneath the shattered doorframe, she peered out over the hallways that stretched out before them. The alarm was still sounding and the lights were still dim, but even in the darkness, Ophelia spotted the same trail that Abel did. A splattering of blue across the walls, prominent and eerie. Glass from the windowed walls scattered across the floor, crunching under their boots. This was no longer a haunted house, whispering ghosts and secrets amongst the chilling atmosphere. This was a warzone, invoked by a dead man, perpetuated by innocent bystanders.

Abel called out for Pongo several times, darting down the hallways and peering into the lab rooms, hoping to spot him. Ophelia saw him stop in front of the room they’d found Colette in and charge through the door - or, the lack of a door, completely smashed and opened up. Touya, close behind, prepped his rifle and loaded ammunition into it. When Ophelia could finally poke her head inside, she found Abel kneeling down next to Pongo, propped up by a cabinet, blood pooling from various wounds decorated all over his body. A few feet away, two other bodies were lying on the ground, the same two kids from before. Axel and Frost, if Ophelia remembered correctly. She nearly said something to Touya when he didn’t immediately go to help them, but when she got closer, she saw the steady rise and fall of their chests, while Pongo…was he breathing? It was hard to tell. His head was drooped, hiding his gaze from the others, and his hands were limp at his side.

“Shit, shit!!” Abel lifted Pongo’s head with his hands, delicately pressing his thumbs into Pongo’s cheeks. At this, Pongo’s eyes fluttered open, and he smiled softly. Touya pushed forward, checking over his wounds and observing how bad the damage was.

“A majority of these are artificial wounds,” Touya told Abel, “But there’s enough that he’ll need to seek proper medical attention once we’re out of here. For now, if you can stand back, Abel, I’ll heal what I can.”

Abel did as he was told, though he hesitated in letting Pongo’s head go. However, his head stayed up, and he nodded at Touya, an indication that he heard, that he understood. Touya propped up his rifle, aimed it slightly above Pongo, and the resulting shot burst above him and sprinkled little bits of blue ether over his body. Ophelia saw some of the wounds heal below torn armor, but the blood, the idea of the wounds still remained. Pongo coughed, clutching his stomach in a weak declaration of pain.

“Thank you,” He said to Touya, “How…how are all of you? Is Fudge okay? Did you find him?”

“We did,” Nyx explained, their drones folding and putting themselves away, “But he needs a new body. He fused with T3CHN0, and it’s too much for his normal body to handle.”

“We also recovered his dad!” Polaris added on, “Fudge kinda replicated him somehow - inception shit, that’s what he called it. And Colette’s on one of those drives too, so we might get her a body too.”

“His…his father?” Pongo asked, confused, “But his father passed away. He was left behind on Earth when it -” He coughed again, interrupting himself. “- okay, nevermind. I am just happy things worked out and that you are all okay.”

“An’ what ‘bout those two?” Ophelia gestured to Axel and Frost, “They alright?”

“They just…fainted a couple minutes ago. I assumed you all did something to disconnect them from Dsandro and his control. They are alright, save for some little wounds from where they destroyed the lab trying to reach me.”

“Alright,” Abel nodded, “Let’s get you and them out of here. There’s a lot to go through, and like Touya said, you need medical attention. Are you able to stand?”

“I think so.” Pongo attempted to stand, his legs shaking under his weight. Abel ended up putting an arm under Pongo’s armpits to hold him up and support him. “Alright. Let us depart this wicked place.”

Ophelia couldn’t agree with the sentiment more. With all four harddrives, the two unconscious J-Bodies, and an injured Pongo, the team headed out into the daylight. For once, Ophelia couldn’t be happier to be out of a lab. She never looked behind her, not even once. How could she, when the future demanded so much of them now? How could she, when she knew that the future held so much potential? All she could do was be thankful, and all she did was embrace it with open arms.

Two weeks after leaving Dsandro’s lab, the premises were taped off under the guise of a pending investigation. Secretary Anna was horrified when she questioned the group, but was ultimately thankful to each and every one of them. After all, Dsandro was going to threaten the livelihoods of the entire city’s population if he hadn’t been stopped. She promised to stay in contact with everyone regarding appropriate compensation and sent everyone back to NLA, giving a final request to not speak of New Strasbourg openly. A secret city, despite its scandals, needed to remain a secret. There were no objections.

In her lab, behind a glass viewing wall, Ophelia watched her assistants monitor a mimeosome maintenance pod, conversing amongst themselves as they jotted down notes on their pads. The two most engaged were Byron and Marya - wait, no, those weren’t their names anymore. Sacae and Renais were, respectively. That was taking some getting used to, if she had to be honest. Shaking her head, she returned her attention to the control panel in front of her, displaying status signals and updates on the person within the pod. Her brow furrowed as she pressed a few switches, hearing the panel purr with increased usage. It wouldn’t be too long now.

A door behind her slid open, and disjointed footsteps shuffled towards her. Something metal clacked against the floor every so often, and Ophelia leaned back in her seat to look up at her new guest.

“Won’t be long now,” She told Antonio as he stood himself next to the window, looking at the pod - looking inside the pod at his son.

“You’re a miracle worker, you know that?” Antonio smiled, leaning on his cane for support. Funnily enough, Nyx and Abel had insisted on building it for him, though it was done with Ophelia’s supervision. It had to be perfect for him, after all. “I can’t believe how fast you were able to get this done.”

“It’s my job, remember?” She chuckled, returning her focus to the control panel. She put a finger to the microphone installed on her earpiece and radioed the twins, asking, “How we lookin’ in there?”

“All systems stable,” Renais responded, “Ready to go when you are, Professor.”

“Ophelia,” She corrected, “C’mon now, Marya, summer internship was - what? Years n’ years ago.”

“Sorry, Pro - Ophelia!” She apologized, and Ophelia rolled her eyes again and looked at Antonio.

“Right then, Toni. You want the honors?”

Antonio smiled softly, excitement pooling in his eyes like liquid fire. It still didn’t feel real, seeing him standing there, as if nothing had ever happened. “I’d love to.”

Ophelia gestured to the button, blue and bright and enticing, the one that would set this new body in motion. Antonio swallowed hard, pressing down on it with little hesitation. The two watched as the panel lit up with new signals, vital signs and statistics, and the assistants all stepped back as the pod opened up. Steam pooled out of it, obscuring the figure inside for a moment, but then he stepped out and rolled his shoulders, testing the waters with his new body. Freckles danced across his skin and darted underneath his rolled up sleeves, trailed up his neck and performed on his cheeks underneath copper eyes. He saw the twins first, scoffing lightly.

“God damn. I still can’t tell you two apart.”

“We’ll get name tags next time,” Sacae joked, raising his clipboard, “How are you feeling? Anything off?”

“God, I feel amazing,” Fudge happily reported, “I’m gonna end up chopping this arm off again, though -” He held up his left arm, once a mechanical augment now covered in normal skin, completely humanized. “- but that’s not your fault. I just like having a gun in my arm.”

“R-Right, okay,” That caught Sacae off guard, and Renais chuckled nervously. Ophelia decided it’d been long enough. She wouldn’t let Fudge get away with his blatant ignorance!! So she stood herself up and got closer to the window, staying close to the panel to monitor any changes. She smirked, folding her arms over her chest.

“Not even gonna say howdy?” She said, and she was loud enough to pierce through the glass, draw Fudge’s attention up towards her. He beamed, and gods, it was almost like he was five again, so full of life and light and an excitement for the world. Not many people saw this joy, not many people could see this part of him past the roughened exterior. It made her heart swell.

And then, Fudge looked at Antonio, and his entire expression shifted from wonder to complete and utter shock. Antonio chuckled, bracing himself.

“It was nice knowing you, Phel.”

“He’s not gonna kill ya,” She swore.

“Nope. But he is about to yell.”

“Why’s that?”

“Well…he didn’t really know that he was able to separate me successfully. This is probably a shock to him.”

“He didn’t know?!”

And just like that, any semblance of peace was shattered as Fudge’s shout echoed all throughout the lab:

“WHAT THE FUCK?!!??!?!?!?!??!?!”

Ophelia sighed. At least she was prepared for that. What she wasn’t prepared for was Antonio’s next question, asked quickly once Fudge found an exit and started bolting towards their room. She knew she’d say yes even before he asked it. Perhaps she knew, all along.

“Phel? You think you can revive Maria next?”

#xenoblade x #T3CHN0 File 8: ALIVE #ophelia #touya #ciel #polaris #abel #nyx #thank you.#thank you so much for reading.#thank you for following me on this journey.#you have no idea how much it means to me.#I hope you all enjoyed. see you on the other side.

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pupyzu · 4 years ago

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hi! do you know of any names and pronouns related to,,the aesthetic of cities at night? if it helps, i already use neon/neons and the xenogender that this general vibe is is called urbanox. thank you!

under the cut! i also use urbanox hehe

PRONOUNS:

ae/aer/aes/aerself

amb/bient/ambient/ambself

ambient/ambients/ambientself

bree/ber/breeze/breezy/breezeself

build/builds/buildself

ci/cit/city/cities/cityself

ci/cit/city/citys/cityself

cie/ciel/cier/cielself

cie/ciel/ciers/cielself

city/cities/cityself

city/citys/cityself

dark/darkness/darkself

dark/darks/darkself

deep/deeps/deepself

eerie/eeries/eerieself

fog/fog/fogself

fog/fogs/fogself

haze/hazes/hazeself

li/light/lights/lightself

light/lights/lightself

lit/lits/litself

lu/lux/luxself

luna/lunas/lunaself

lux/luxes/luxself

metro/metros/metroself

mi/mist/mist/mistself

mi/mist/mists/mistself

mist/mist/mistself

moon/moons/moonself

night/night/nocturne/nocturnes/nightself

night/nights/nightself

nocte/noctes/nocteself

nosa/nosas/nosaself

nostal/gia/nostalgia/nostalaelf

nostalgia/nostalgias/nostalgiaself

nox/noxes/noxself

rai/rain/rainself

sha/shad/ad/ade/shadeself

sha/shad/ado/adow/shadowself

shad/dow/shadow/shadowself

shadow/shadows/shadowself

siren/sirens/sirenself

street/light/streets/lightself

street/streets/streetself

urb/urbs/urbself

urban/urbans/urbanself

vast/vasts/vastself

ville/villes/villeself

win/wind/wind/windself

win/wind/winds/windself

wind/winds/windself

wist/wistful/wistself

🌃/🌃s/🌃self

🌉/🌉s/🌉self

･┈┈･･⟡ ∞ ⟡･･┈┈･

NAMES:

Aegis

Alya

Astra

Astrid

Astro

Atlas

Atticus

Aurelia

Aurora

Bianca

Blair

Caelum

Caesar

Caspe

Celeste

Estella

Esther

Eve

Harlow

Howl

Luci

Luna

Mist

Nero

Nyx

Obsidian

Ombra

Pluto

Silas

Sirius

Twila

Vincent

Wish

Caspian

Phoenix

Adelaide

Eden

Madison

Florence

Austin

Aspen

York

London

Dallas

Delphi / Delphia

#urbanox names #urbanox pronouns #name help #pronoun help #nico’s rambles

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luna-almighty-god · 4 years ago

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Guardian Angel N°7 [These links are invisible, but they're not nothing]

Hello everyone, this is chapter seven !

This story is obviously not canonical, please do not refer to it if you are looking for canonical information.

The music used is not from me, it's a cover found on youtube, I invite you to listen to it here !

===

First Chapter

Previous Chapter

===

He looked at length at the grass that stretched out in front of him, the blue sky without any clouds above him. He sniffed the air, that sweet floral fragrance of softness and freedom, and as he sat more comfortably against the stump of tree he had found, he took out his notebook to slide the tip of his pen over the blank paper, as he gently whispered this melody whose origin he no longer knew:

“Mon trésor, prends ma main ..”

The sound of the pencil in action, the sweet smell of ink mixed with the bluish colour ...

“Serre-la fort, tout ira bien ...”

He drew a first face, his hand waving by automatism, his memories as the only model for his work.

“Je suis là, ne crains rien...”

Two silhouettes, the shape of a soul between the two beings, then the more fleeting trace of a third person, a smaller silhouette than the first two.

“Mon cœur bat contre le tien...”

He forsook the third being to concentrate on the two larger ones, bringing them details, relief, playing with shadows, contrasts, the nuances of his unique colour.

“Et si l'avenir te fait peur, tourne la page ... Dessine un ciel plein de couleurs, un nouveau pays... “

His pen ceased all movement as he hesitantly ran through his barely finished drawing. Not the slightest landscape, he did not feel capable of making one, did not have the slightest idea of which to transcribe on paper. The trio of skeletons in front of his eyes seemed too false to him, like a terrible lie he was trying to swallow.

“... sache que l'encre des souvenirs ne sèche pas ...”

He closed his eyes, clutching his modest work to his chest, ignoring the barely dry ink that stained his clothes and the paper he crumpled gently.

“Qu'entre tes mains peuvent s'écrire d'autres "il était une fois" ...”

He was silent, with a heavy heart, ready to cry.

A familiar hand rested gently on his shoulder, delicate and comforting. Nyx reopened his eyes, turned his head to meet the gaze of his beloved uncle:

"Dream... ?”

The Dream Keeper gave him a smile:

"It's nice what you were singing... What was it?”

Nyx lowered his eyes, a poor sneer came to be born on his face:

"I don't know... I could hear Plum singing it sometimes...”

He felt his uncle tensing up.

“... Nyx... I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry.

- Why my uncle?”

The black-boned skeleton raised his eyes, giving the adult a heart-rending smile:

"It wasn't you who killed him.”

*** ***

Nyx opened his eyes. For a brief moment he looked up at the ceiling above him, in that near-darkness that made him shudder. Only the light coming from the corridor prevented him from giving in to a panic attack, even though his mind was still too overwhelmed by the memory that had assailed him.

He didn't like the past playing tricks on him.

He breathed, realizing that to relive such a realistic memory, he must have been in a semi-somnolent state. And that was not acceptable, not at all. Because he was no longer supposed to be able to sleep, rejected by the world of dreams that did not accept his presence.

And anyway, he didn't need to sleep anymore. His body was going without without a problem at all.

Another sigh. He wanted to straighten up, but refrained from doing so, feeling a weight against him. Perplexed, he lowered his eyes and managed to discern, thanks to the little light, the shape of a small skeleton drowsing against his chest.

PaperJam.

Nyx had a tender smile, came to slide his hand behind the little one's back to gently caress him.

It was a bit embarrassing for the older one: at first, he didn't want to be here. But Ink, too happy to see him again and convinced that Nyx didn't have a home of his own - which wasn't wrong - had insisted like a madman to take him in for the night.

So Nyx found himself in the guest room without really having a choice. Even so... He could have teleported away from here, started running away from Ink again, and concealed his presence from everyone. But ... he didn't want to risk hurting the painter, nor PaperJam who seemed - for some strange reason - to have become attached to him.

And Nyx felt bad. It was wrong to hide so much from those two. Bad for giving up Ink. Bad to be so jealous of PaperJam who hadn't done anything...

He covered the child with a tender glance, continuing not to reflex to caress his back, while letting himself go to his dark thoughts.

Error had not returned this evening. Apparently he had left after an argument with Ink and, according to the artist, he would not return until the next day.

Nyx knew it was his fault.

[It was always his fault]

His hand stopped caressing, he swallowed.

His body vibrated.

An icy blade seemed to pierce him, as terror and anguish took hold of his limbs, his soul began to pulse with force.

He teleported himself by reflex, but his magic did not allow him to go far enough. He collapsed right next to the bed, barely made it to the bedside table, cold sweats running through his whole being.

He clenched his teeth, barely holding back a plaintive groan, trying to keep control of the pain that made him shake, and, as every time, as every fucking time, he was seized with convulsions and a frightening urge to cry.

His complete will could only allow him to scan the room with his eyes ... before he saw his bag, abandoned on the desk.

He squealed, tried to get up, but his legs suddenly flew away, causing him to fall, falling to his knees.

[No]

He tried again, leaning on his hands, on his palms and phalanges which were no longer even able to stay still.

[No no no no no !]

He hiccuped, tapped into its magic, but its instability only brought him one more pain, a throbbing, heart-rending pain that emitted a sinister crack from his soul.

[He needed it]

[HE NEEDED IT NOW]

“... Nyx?”

He petrified, alerted by the little voice of PaperJam. He raised his head, saw that the child had straightened up by rubbing his eyes. And if the little one was still half asleep, it was quite different when he saw the state of the older one.

"Wh- Nyx?!”

He climbed down from the bed in panic, rushing to the collapsed skeleton ... before hiccupping when Nyx grabbed his wrist, with a violence he didn't know.

"Jammy, shut up, I beg you, shut up... !”

He had whispered loudly, his tremors redoubling in intensity. Ink shouldn't hear them, shouldn't see him like that!

PaperJam, confused and frightened, had however no difficulty to execute himself and gently nodded his head, before Nyx, who let out a sob, begged him again, close to losing consciousness:

"My bag ... I need my bag ... !”

The child didn't understand why, but nodded his head again, hastily retrieving the bag that was too big for him, which he led to Nyx with difficulty. Because he was afraid, afraid to see his new friend in such a disastrous state. His friend who seemed to be suffering so much...

Nyx grasped the bag without a shadow of relief, plunging his hands inside, searching with dull anguish for the source of his relief.

And he found him.

PaperJam widened his eyes, unbelievingly observing the dark apple that was pulled out of the bag, but what made him shudder was the way Nyx threw himself on it, devouring it with a great bite, not trying to savour it but to swallow it, to swallow it as quickly as possible, without leaving a single trace of it.

The child retreated, livid, feverish in the face of this spectacle that he found atrocious. How could it have been otherwise when he saw Nyx, usually so calm, twisting and groaning painfully, unable to hide his terror and his pain?

But it all stopped abruptly, as suddenly as it had happened. Nyx calmed down suddenly, his body stopped shaking. For a few minutes, he remained on the ground in silence, as if he was coming to his senses, that he was coming to.

He blinked his eyes, turned his head towards PaperJam.

Once again, Jammy saw him. He saw behind this marble mask, this false face that Nyx stubbornly wore without understanding why. He saw all the guilt and sadness in the older man's eyes.

"J-Jammy... Sorry, you shouldn't have seen that...

- ... Why should I?"

Nyx didn't answer, looked away feverishly.

The child felt his soul clench. Before Nyx could react, he came to throw himself into his arms, imprisoning him in an embrace that was meant to be tender and comforting:

“... It's going to be all right, Nyx ... It's all right, Nyx ... okay? It's going to be okay...”

The one with the black bones remained forbidden, before delicately responding to the hug ... then to bury his face in the neck of the youngest one, to start shaking once again, feeling the tension fall back, his panic disappear ...

"Don't tell daddy... ! cracked Nyx who started sobbing. Don't tell anyone...

- ... Yes, I promise...”

PaperJam squeezed the larger one a little harder, welcoming his distress with the slightest hesitation. But even as he focused on his friend's condition, the child didn't fail to notice one thing. He had not failed to hear the way Nyx spoke of his father.

Nyx who had clearly called Ink "Dad". But that too was a secret he should keep, wasn't it?

*** ***

The adorable chirping of a young baby echoed like a sweet melody in the huge salon of the castle. The chirping followed by a pretty childish laugh, before the tiny being who was playing on the carpet fell backwards, losing its little balance to be received by carefully placed cushions so that it would not get hurt.

“He's still cute, commented Dust, who watched the little one from the couch.

- What do you mean 'still'? Killer grunted and elbowed him.

- Aha, you're getting offended too quickly, Kil'!”

Horror put his head through the kitchen door:

“It's his son Dust, no wonder he's so protective!

- We didn't ask you!” replied the skeleton of dust.

And the baby started chirping again, flapping his legs and hands in an attempt to stand up. Waiting, Killer came to his son's aid, gently reassured him:

“That's it, Insomnia, you're doing great!”

At that moment, Nightmare and Cross entered the room. The baby's smile grew bigger as he reached out his arms towards the nightmare master, still laughing innocently, his left eye shining with a lovely bluish glow.

Nightmare stopped dead in its tracks, staring hesitantly at the child. Finally, after a few seconds, he sighed and his tentacles came to seize the child, before carrying him to his arms. Since Insomnia's birth, the Nightmare Keeper had been confused: he didn't know how to raise a child properly and felt unfit to fulfill his role as a father. The proof was that he was most uncomfortable holding his son in his arms. But fortunately, his lover was there to support him and the rest of his team of broken arms.

“How was your day?” Killer asked as he joined the master of the house, kissing him chastely to welcome him.

Nightmare nearly blushed and simply grumbled:

“Still nothing. He's nowhere to be found.

- Ink hasn't given any news either?

- No, he hasn't.”

The tentacle skeleton went off to the couch while gently holding his son in his arms. Cross exchanged glances with Killer and Dust, before nervously twitching his fingers. Finally he took his courage in both hands and looked at his superior:

“... Nightmare ... That 'Nyx' that you and Ink talk so much about... Maybe we should stop looking for it?”

He petrified at the sudden emanation of negative emotions. Nightmare was angry, very angry, and his hoarse voice shook each of his subordinates:

“Say that again?

- ... I'm sorry, it's just... We've been looking for three months. Maybe he's... I mean, he's... ?”

Nightmare rose abruptly, too abruptly. For some reason, which he could not explain, the absence of Nyx irritated him greatly. This instructive skeleton, who had been squatting in his house for weeks before disappearing like that, in a snap of his fingers! We did not make such a blow to the masters of nightmares, not without assuming the consequences... !

He suddenly froze, taken by Insmonia who started to cry. The poor baby couldn't understand why his father was screaming, nor why everyone seemed so scared. Large salty drops came pouring down his face as his sobs had replaced his pretty laugh.

“In... Insomnia...” stuttered Nightmare, feeling a terrible panic take hold of him when he didn't know how to react, like calming his child.

Killer quickly joined him, kissing his son on the forehead, caressing his face with the tips of his fingers while whispering words to calm him down.

But Insomnia did not calm down, not at all.

Until the understanding of a voice full of gentleness, a voice coming out of the shadows that sang a melody:

“Mon trésor, prends ma main ...

Serre-la fort, tout ira bien.

Je suis là, ne crains rien.

Mon coeur bat contre le tien.

Et si l'avenir te fait peur, tourne la page.

Dessine un ciel plein de couleurs, un nouveau pays, sache��

Que l'encre des souvenirs ne sèche pas ...

Qu'entre tes mains peuvent s'écrire d'autres "il était une fois" ...”

Insomnia slowly softened, ceasing to cry in favour of listening to this unknown song, this song that insinuated itself into him, that cradled him tenderly as he began to babble again. Surprised, the Bad Sanses and their leader scanned the room, looking for the source of this music ... Only to come across Ink and PaperJam standing quietly in the doorway.

“Wha... Ink! growled Nightmare, still holding back from screaming so as not to scare Insomnia. I told you before not to go in unannounced.

- That doesn't stop you from leaving your door open every time I want to come in!” replied the artist, sticking out his tongue.

The master grumbled, but said nothing back. Killer raised a perplexed eyebrow:

“Ink, was that you singing?

- Ahah, no, not at all! It was him!”

The locals followed Ink's finger pointing to the shadow of the couch, before that same shadow was lifted off the floor to swirl and take on the appearance of a skeleton. A skeleton that Nightmare recognized immediately, making his eyes widen:

“Nyx?!”

Then he looked at Ink:

“You found him and you didn't tell me?!”

Then turned again to Nyx:

“And you little bastard, you dare to reappear like that ... ?!”

Insomnia's new sobs interrupted him again, and he received the accusing looks of his comrades.

Nyx giggled and approached:

“You can argue with me all you want, but afterwards if you want to.”

He leaned gently over Insomnia. The baby immediately stopped crying, intrigued by this newcomer who gave him a little smile ... and made him burst out laughing with a ridiculous grin.

Nightmare and Ink blinked, blissfully, while PaperJam also started to laugh. Nyx stopped his grimace to pouffe in his turn, tearing a smile from the bad guys.

Killer came to recover his son before his lover had another tantrum:

“Gentlemen, if you have anything to say, don't say it in front of the baby!”

Nightmare pouting but listened to his lover, brutally grabbing Nyx and Ink with his tentacles before taking them to his office.

*** ***

The door slammed brutally. Nyx held a shiver as he felt the tentacle release it. He cleared his throat, dusted off his clothes to hide his discomfort as he felt the eyes of the other two skeletons on him.

“Insomnia is very cute,” he commented to break the ice.

Nightmare snapped his tongue, deeply annoyed.

“I don't care what you say. Where the hell have you been?

- Here and there, sailing the multiverse.”

He held back a squeak when an appendix brushed against his cheek, narrowly missing to skewer it. But Nightmare had dodged it on purpose, not wanting to hurt him despite what he let on.

“I warned you... he growled. I told you to always warn me when you left my house, you cheeky little man!”

But the master of the place froze in contact with Ink's hand on his shoulder:

“Come on come on, we've yelled at him enough, he understands!

- Wha... Don't you interfere!

- Oh, come on Night, say it frankly that you were worried instead of making your bad face!

- Don't call me that! And I wasn't worried !!

- Oh, I knew you were a tsundere at heart !

- Damnit Ink!!”

Nyx felt a gentle warmth take possession of his body as he watched the two skeletons squabble with complicity. The two really liked each other in the end, having become good friends, and the black-boned skeleton didn't know how to react, except to feel immense relief.

He really didn't think it would turn out so well.

He smiled:

“Well, now... So I'm warning you that I'm leaving this step.”

He turned around... only to be suddenly grabbed with both arms. Ink and Nightmare had grabbed him at the same time, puckering the arches:

“Is this a joke? said the nightmare master.

- I'm sure you don't even know where to go! continued the painter.

- Are you at least eating properly? You look like you're ready to fall apart at any moment!

- It's true, it seems you're even more tired than when we met!”

Nyx swallows, looking at the other two with incomprehension while starting to curse himself: he was acting so badly that his weakness was so easily perceived?

"It's just that ... I don't want to impose myself ...

- Are you kidding me?! Nightmare exploded. You came into your own the first time we met! You've been crashing into our lives and into MY castle without letting us get a word in edgewise! You even managed to manipulate us at will! So now you shut up and listen to us!

- But... (laughs)

- Your fucking room is still empty and we've been cleaning it up since you left! So now you put down your bags and relax, because we're not about to let you go!”

Nyx, with his throat tied by emotion, vainly hid his joy behind his mischievous smile:

“So you're sequestering me?”

The tentacles fluttered as the guard grunted:

"Exactly! I'll take you in the Bad Sanses, you're going to pay me the rent you owe me!”

Ink looked up at the sky:

“A real tsundere.

- We didn't ask your opinion !”

The painter gave him the finger of honor, Nightmare did the same, and Nyx was about to cry.

All this was very much like the family life he had dreamed of.

===

Next Chapter

You can support me on my Utip or on my Ko-fi account !

===

Credits =

Dreamtale-> Joku

Error -> LoverOfPiggies

Ink -> Myebi

Killer -> Rahafwabas

Cross -> Jakei

Dust -> Ask DustTale

Paperjam -> 7GoodAngel

Insomnia -> EnaPouyou

#Guardian Angel #nyx #undertale #errink #nightkiller #fanfiction #sans #nightmare #cross #dust #bad sanses #error #ink #inkmare #vantablack child #nightkillerchild #insomnia

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ask-scroll-and-quill · 5 months ago

Note

Dear, .. employees?

Uhm, hi? Are Quill and Scroll not here?

Oh, just get to the fuckin' point, round cheeks.

Shut up, Ciel!

☆ [ They're flirting without realising it. ] ☆

Nyx is here for their daily dork fest, you know, being a stupid volunteer and stuff. I'm only here cause they can't stand being without me.

That's not true.

☆ [ They stare at the ground, cheeks feeling warmer. It was probably nothing. ] ☆

So, who are you guys? Dorks like Nyx?

Sincerely,

[⚰️🔖] CIEL & NYX, STUDENTS AT HEARTLAKE HIGH

Scroll and Quill are out on a date!

-Felt-Tip Pen

Oh uhm yeah! I'm Notebook, that's Felt-Tip Pen, Mop, Wet Floor Sign and-

-📔

and ME!! SHARPIE!!

-Sharpie XD

..and Sharpie..

-📔

He shouldn't even be here, he doesn't work here anymore!

-Felt-Tip Pen

#ask blog #oc blog #object oc #ask me anything #object show oc #osc oc #osc community #osc #ask #notebook answer #sharpie answer #felt tip pen answer #ciel hawksley #nyx e beckett #hi gays i mean gays i mean gays i mean #<- /silly #employee takeover

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malevolentearl-blog · 6 years ago

Note

[ refill ] your muse refilling mine’s glass for them . (from Nyx)

�� 𝐍𝐎𝐍 - 𝐒𝐄𝐗𝐔𝐀𝐋 𝐀𝐂𝐓𝐒 𝐎𝐅 𝐃𝐎𝐌𝐈𝐍𝐀𝐍𝐂𝐄 .

❛ ━ 𝑨𝒏𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓? 𝑺𝒖𝒓𝒆… 𝑱𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒅𝒐𝒏'𝒕 𝒅𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒌 𝒕𝒐𝒐 𝒎𝒖𝒄𝒉. ❜ He replied as he grabbed the half empty bottle of wine, pouring it into the glass before pouring some more for himself. Slender fingers grasped upon the tall glass, lips sealing themselves around the rim of the glass as he took a rather large gulp.

Ciel knew whomever had to drink THAT much was simply trying to drown something, perhaps it was something that was to be left alone. Not wanting to pry much the Earl leaned back against his seat, a rather small concern for the other.

#« 𝐢𝐧𝐛𝐨𝐱.#seranen #i think i wrote it wrong hah #other way around/

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bleucommelhiver · 7 years ago

Note

Nyx grins at you from across the candlelit table. “Wasn’t this a great idea, Ciel?” He looks so proud of himself, even though his home-cooked meal sits in a messy heap on your plate. “I did my best for you, babe. I thought a nice dinner would be nice for you. I love you, and happy valentine’s day.”

Coming home from a long day of work, you hadn’t expected to find Nyx slaving away in front of your stove (who let him in anyways!) with the candles strewn over ever possible surface in your apartment. It’s a nice surprise; he had told you last week he’d be gone on assignment for a while.

In front of you sits a Galahdan dish Nyx describes as a “flavor explosion of spiced meats.” Although, it isn’t the most visually appealing dish, your mouth is already watering from the aroma.

Gaze softening as they travel from the messy plate in front of you to the equally messy and disheveled face of your boyfriend (there’s a smear of sauce across his cheek and a few strands of hair are stuck to his forehead) your heart fills with warmth. Nyx’s eyes are twinkling, a little expectant and a little anxious. Are you upset he lied to you? Did the surprise work?

He looks about to speak when you finally smile.

“I love you too, Nyx. This is perfect.”

#nyx ulric #valentines day #;o; this is so sweet THANK YOU I KNOW WHO YOU ARE (i think)#anonymous #asks #my writing #ffxv

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ezra4sims · 7 years ago

Photo

*Galleria walks into the store, she runs into Nyx,

Galleria: “Nyx!

Nyx: *Turns around, “Galleria! how are you! we haven’t seen each other in forever!

Galleria: “its only been a year girl!”

*squeals

Nyx: “I’m sure you heard about Alonce, I can’t believe she’s gone, its so disheartening.”

Galleria: *Nods “I was shook when i got the news, how is Jamal, he must be devastated.

Nyx: “he decided to dive headfirst into a bottle, his drinking again.

Galleria: “He needs us to comfort him, we can’t let sink back into that life again.

Peyton: “The only comfort Jamal is getting is from me, I’m not about to let him become a dead ass drunk because of that dead bitch.”

Galleria: “.....”

Nyx: “........”

Peyton: “Now Bitches i am so fucking sick of hearing about Alonce every damn time! she ain’t getting any deader!

Nyx: “Peyton can you at least pretend to be sad that she died?”

Peyton: “Oh i ain’t gonna pretend that i am sad over that manipulative bitch, and I know that what y’all is doing! Nyx, Alonce stole Ciel from you in highschool.”

Nyx: “i’m over it, it was a long time ago.”

Peyton: “Not the point, she stole Jamal from me! She was a master manipulator, under those fake big eyes and smile, Alonce was a viper, and y’all know that!”

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cielizzydefencesquad · 8 years ago

Text

Cielizzy Week: Day 4, the Sun and the Moon

Summary: The shipper demon gets front row seats to witness his OTP moment. Sweet, silly, and very fluffy.

“What,” Sebastian asks with thinly veiled amusement, “are you doing, young master?”

“Don’t ask asinine questions you already know the answer to.”

The demon arched a brow. “My, my…aren’t we feeling sharp this afternoon.”

“Leave me be.”

“Would you like some more tea? I hear tea is greatly conducive to artistic endeavors.” Sebastian inquires innocently, smirk in place and right hand across his chest.

Ciel glanced up from his ink and paper, expression stony and cheeks flushed a pale pink. “Get out of here, demon.”

“Are you trying to cast me out? Shall I bring some salt for your ritual? Four waxed candles in a darkened room—“

“Why you insolent fiend!” Ciel slammed down his fountain pen with a loud clack that, no doubt, left indents in the fine cherrywood material.

Sebastian winced at the thought.

“I order you as both lord and master to leave this room and not return until I so command it—is that clear?” Ciel demanded, cold and calm and desperately wishing that the demon might drop dead already.

“As you wish, young master.” The butler bowed but not before glancing up, a hint of mischief in his eyes. “But I feel compelled to inform you that in another life, I was once the finest poet serving under the Sun King of France and that it was I who composed most of his lover’s ballads.”

Ciel’s eyes narrowed but he refused to give in. “So what.”

“Well I can see that you are attempting to write a letter—or perhaps a poem—for the Lady Elizabeth and judging by your intemperate state and volatile reaction…I would posit that your work is not coming along half as well as you might have hoped.”

Ciel turned away so that he was now facing the grand bay windows behind him. The sunset had melted into a dark lavender with embers of red-gold burning round its edges. The entire landscape of sundials, rose gardens, and tall trees were silhouetted in black while the faint twinkling of stars began to appear in the sky.

It didn’t take him long to realize he’d spent the entire day—from eight in the morning to now—holed away in his study in a desperate attempt to write a half-decent poem for Elizabeth. But every time he wrote down a few lines of prose, he would re-read it in disgust and begin again. Nothing he wrote seemed good enough for the golden-haired daughter of the sun.

“Might I suggest something, my lord?” The demon spoke but he sounded far away.

Ciel had almost forgotten that Sebastian was still in the room. With his eyes fixed on a late summer robin, Ciel raised his hand in an affirmative gesture. “Go on.”

“If the lady of gold and laughter is meant for the sun, then you are but a song of the moon. There is nothing Lady Elizabeth enjoys more than spending time with you, so why not reflect this in your poem?”

“I’m not writing a poem.” Ciel interrupted. “This is a…exercise in expression.”

Sebastian raised a brow, half-smirk in place. “Pardon me then, young master. I was unaware that you differentiated poetry in that way.”

“I said—“

“Come now, cease your protestations. St. Valentine will not come for another year and, might I point out, this day is nearly over.”

“Deliver this to Lizzy at once.” Ciel’s fingertips were ink-stained, his cravat mussed, and leaflets of paper surrounded both his desk and the carpet around him.

The evening sky was now a dark plum velvet with twinkling diamond stars and a silvery crescent moon hanging over the Phantomhive manor. Ciel knew that in fifteen minutes, the grandfather clock would strike twelve and it would no longer be February the fourteenth. This blasted holiday had kept him from both his business at Funtom and his duty as the Queen’s Watchdog but for once in his life, Ciel couldn’t bring himself to give a damn.

This was for Elizabeth. Dear, sweet Elizabeth who asked so little of him and expected even less—what could he do but give her the only thing he had left? The broken and tattered pieces of his heart was a hideous sight, scarred and littered with poisonous black ash—but they were the purest part of him. The part he would entrust to Elizabeth and no one else.

Elizabeth, his champion and fiancée…Sunday’s child and Apollo’s successor. If he belonged to the night and all her dark terrors, then Elizabeth was his direct juxtaposition—sunshine and warmth and sweet, summer love.

“My lord.” Sebastian appeared, bowed on one knee.

Ciel handed him the letter, carefully sealed with red wax and a silk ribbon. “Make sure Lizzy gets this before the stroke of midnight.”

Sebastian arrived at the Midford castle in just a few seconds. He stood outside the balcony of Lady Elizabeth’s room, hidden by shadows and black magic; he neared the veranda doors that led to her room and gently slipped the piece of paper through. With a touch of his finger, the letter fluttered across the room, landing right atop the lady’s silk pillow.

With his task complete, Sebastian could have left right then and there but he lingered for a few moments more, waiting for the sound of excited footsteps and fluttering satin.

It didn’t take long before Paula opened the door and a smiling Elizabeth entered the room.

“Paula, I’d like to be alone for a few minutes.” She addressed to her brunette maid. “I’m going to write a letter to Ciel and see if he’d like to come here for tea tomorrow.”

“But my lady, St. Valentine’s Day was today!”

“Oh I know.” Elizabeth waved a hand, walking closer to her bed. “But Ciel’s never liked the frivolity involved in the whole affair and I won’t torture him into doing anything he doesn’t want to.” She turned around. “I just want to see him smile again Paula, and I know strawberry cake and hot honey tea will do a much better job of that then commercialized holidays and red paper hearts.”

Brava, my lady. Sebastian was impressed; he’d always known Lady Elizabeth to be a woman of deeper character than what was initially presumed. Despite her fondness for all things pink and cute, this emerald eyed fae of a Shakespearean spring loved too deeply to ever be so ignorant.

In a matter of moments, Paula had untied Lady Elizabeth’s twin tails and left the room, leaving Sebastian to admire the softly curled aureate waves glimmering under the chandelier light. Sun, gold, summer, and hope.

“Now what is this?” Elizabeth murmured, picking up the enclosed letter on her pillow. Sebastian watched her break the red seal wax, saw her sit down on her bed as her jade eyes misted over with tears.

I have adored no one but you,

in the way that only the moon

could love the sun.

I am but yours, effortlessly,

ingeniously,

and know only of your warmth

when we brush so tenderly

once every spring,

before I retreat under Nyx’s shadow

and you to golden Apollo.

Sweet daughter of the sun,

give me a lunar sunrise so that I

may remember the story of how

the moon loved the sun

so much

that he would commit sin and

confound heaven if only to be

near her for an hour of greeting.

#cielizzy #cielizzy week #ciel phantomhive #elizabeth midford #lizzy midford #sebastian michaelis #the shipper demon #otp #ciel x lizzy #black butler #kuroshitsuji #fluff fluff fluff

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ffxv-swordwoman-blog · 8 years ago

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Her Bio

Machaera Mortem Divination, is a Women of the Divination family, she is aged of 26. She prefers to be called Era since she doesn’t really like her name (which is why she cringes whenever someone uses her former name). The Divination Family has helped the Caelum’s for generations, they are usually weapons master or in other cases of the past dark/white mages, in her case Era is a really skillful swordwoman, she can use any sword like a Katana or a rapier with grace and cast some basic spells. Even if she might be skillful with any graceful blade, she battles with two twin swords, coelum (means heaven in latin) and infernum (means hell in latin) , coelum is a sword with an unusual almost white lithe blade and an handle that seams to be made of gold with two angel wings and a green jewel in the centre of those, while Infernum is the opposite like said they are twin swords but it’s blade is pitch black and it’s handle is made of the same material as it’s twin, that has devil wings and a red jewel in the middle. Era, was born from the head of the family, Sirius Mortem Divination, and a simple servant of the family named Jane Skye, Era has the eyes of her father the hair of her mother. The day of her birth made the headlines at the time, how could the oh so respected Sirius mingle with a servant like Jane? At the time Sirius had already two children’s, Julius (aged Of 30 now) and Talia (aged of 28 now), with the same women of another noble family but he did not love her unlike Jane. Unfortunately Jane was taken by her mother to another country by shame, a lot of people had accused her of being the little “stress” reliever of the head of the family, she left Era with her father, who trained her like he did is two other childrens. Her childhood was difficult Julius couldn’t accept her because of her origin he would usually call her “the black sheep” of the family, and would still be frowned upon when she accompanied her father trough the city, Her reliationship with Talia was also complicated not that Talia was bullying her like Julius it’s just that did not understand eachother. But even so she continued her training with time she ignored Julius’s insults or the looks that were thrown her way and promised herself to get stronger so that her father, and mother, would be proud of her. Her lonely childhood gave her a cold exterior growing up, like she didn’t care about reliationship and that the only thing that mattered was to get the job done, when really she want she to be loved, but how to be loved when you don’t know how to love. Some years later Her father remaried another noble woman who he had 3 children with, the twins harmony and discordiam (Both aged of 23 years old) and the last of the family Ciel (aged 19 years old). Ciel would always be curious of Her and follow her everywhere, which would later make Era protective of Her. Ciel would also look up to her and train with her. At age 17 Era completed her training and passed the ceremony to get her two swords, Coelum and Infernum who were in the family for who knows who long, There she would finally get to go on mission like Julius and Talia to help the King of Insomnia (in other words Regis) and it’s kingdom, she went on multiple missions there until she hit the age of 18 where with Julius they would be sent to Insomnia where Julius would be a representative of the Divination family and Era would help the glaives ( Ciel would be sent there too to help prince Noctis be safe) Era would later meet Libertus, Crowe and Nyx , Who she for the first time would want to feel loved by, for the first time someone would make her feel like fireworks where going off whenever she met his gaze.

A/N: okay I finally did it holy shit it was long 😂😂😂 also if you want to know a little more don’t feel afraid to ask

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kentuckywrites · 3 years ago

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T3CHN0 File 7: CONFRONTATION

CONFRONTATION (noun). A hostile or argumentative meeting or situation between opposing parties.

Featuring the Crosses of @shadowoa , @apolleh , @skell-pilot-sora , @elysia-cross , @phoenixfireartists , and @stargazer-ele .

Dsandro was going to die. He’d die by Ophelia’s hands, one way or another, and it wouldn’t be pretty.

That was what she decided, shortly after her husband - an eight legged monstrosity, fangs dripping poison from a mouth too small, several more blackened eyes forming along his cheeks - lunged at her, so keen on her death that it made Ophelia tear up. The stench of death was rampant between Spyridon and Ruadha, still folded in on himself as he coughed up spider after fucking spider. Ophelia’s multigun was drawn, but she didn’t have the heart to shoot, she didn’t have the heart to hurt her family. Every attempt at convincing herself they were just illusions was interrupted by Spyridon’s relentless attacks, his pleas for her to end this suffering of his, of theirs. But he’d even admitted it before. There was no way she could fix this. Godhood had failed her, godhood was a farce.

And by god, did that make her angry.

Spyridon opened his mouth, hissing before he tried to speak again, but just as he raised a leg, just as he was about to strike once more, his body erupted into red and blue particles, dissolving into the digital air. Ruadha’s body met the same fate, and Ophelia gaped as a small cube entered her vision, glitching out and slightly transparent, but still very much there. She growled, pointing her gun at it. Another fucking illusion, it had to be. What was it going to give her this time?!

But then, the cube spoke.

“Oh shit, Auntie Phel!!”

“Fudgemuffin?” Ophelia whispered, unable to process the fact that Fudge’s voice just came out of that cube. “That can’t be -”

“I know, I’m Minecraft now, I can explain everything once we get everyone back together,” He quickly interrupted, “I just disrupted everyone’s illusions, I just have to - fuck, this is really ridiculous, I have no fucking autonomy here and it’s getting on my god damn nerves - there we go.”

Five other figures started to appear around Fudge, digitizing into place. After a few painstakingly long seconds, Ophelia realized it was the entire group, reunited. Judging from how pale everyone looked, they’d gone through the same shit. Ophelia sighed. At least everyone was alive, and they had some semblance of Fudge with them.

“What the fuck…” Polaris breathed, “Alright, I rate that a solid zero out of ten. That was beyond fucked. Dsandro’s gonna get his ass removed and I’m gonna tear his limbs off to feed to the acapria.”

“Understatement of the year, North Star,” Nyx shuddered, “Dsandro’s gonna pay for that one.”

“I’m sorry, everyone,” The cube floated downwards, almost like Fudge’s shoulders had slumped, “I would’ve come to help sooner, but…well, I can’t do much like this.”

“Wait, Fudge? Is that you?” Abel asked, frowning. “But your body -”

“My body’s hanging out with Dsandro, yeah, but my conscience is stuck inside this fucking thing,” Fudge explained, “Long story short, I’m gonna need your help reuniting me with my body again. I’ve got a plan to dismantle Dsandro’s little world and give him a much needed dose of reality.”

“We’re going to need to distract Dsandro while one of us gets close enough to Fudge’s body to reconnect him,” Touya added on.

“Exactly. If I tried to fly in alone, I’d get bitch slapped, and I don’t know how much more damage this cube form can reasonably take before I’m lost in the sauce. I’d love to remain out of the sauce, if at all possible.”

Ophelia shook her head, bemused at Fudge’s attempt at humor. It was a coping mechanism, she knew from experience, and while Polaris managed to snicker at it, everyone else didn’t really react. Even Ciel, who had previously been confused to all hell and back, simply stared onwards, her mind somewhere distant, somewhere that wasn’t in the present day. Ophelia wanted to comment on it, tell her to focus, especially since this was an important development, but the cube floated into her direct line of sight, Fudge’s voice now softer, more earnest.

“Auntie Phel, I trust you the most. Can you get me back to my body in one piece?”

There was no hesitation. “‘Course I can, Fudge. Ye can count on me.”

“Right, then,” The cube spun around to face everyone, though its faces were all too similar to really say there was a front or a back, “Everyone else, I trust you to kick Dsandro’s ass. There’s just one extra thing I should tell you guys before you go diving right into battle, it’s about your cor -”

T3CHN0’s white noise started to buzz, the song shifting to an incessant swarm of bees. Ophelia spun around as the walls slid down into the ground, revealing Dsandro and Fudge’s body in the same exact spot as before. And yes, Ophelia could tell it was the same spot, and even if it wasn’t, she didn’t care. They were in sight, they were in mind, and she knew what was going to happen next.

“Well now,” Dsandro tsked, “Cheating isn't very honorable now, is it?”

“We never agreed to your game,” Abel growled in response, “And you’ve got our friend. All bets are off.”

“Who, this empty shell?” He asked, and he did not smile, he did not smirk. In fact, his question was one of genuine curiosity, one that was founded on an answer he already held. He stepped closer to Fudge, placing his hand on his shoulder, and the body did not respond. “Although…no, not empty, far from empty.”

“The hell’s that supposed to mean?!” The cube flew out from behind Ophelia, Fudge’s characteristic rage igniting tenfold, “Why, you dickbag?! Why did you hunt me down to be your fucking puppet?!”

Dsandro seemed off put for a moment, clearly surprised at this little floating cube who was freely cursing him out. “Well, it’s simple, really. It’s all possible because Antonio Carson wanted you to live. He created a program that acted identical to his son, and in doing so, he made that program fluid, mobile. His coding practically made you indestructible. I wanted that part of your coding for T3CHN0 - imagine, an indestructible world where humanity could live in harmony, free from the terrors of the cosmos!”

“Real damn ironic o’ ya t’ say that,” Ophelia countered, raising her multigun, “If yer world’s really free from all th’ dangers out there, then how come it’s founded on imprisonin’ an innocent man?”

“Damn right about that,” Polaris came up on Ophelia’s left hand side, fists raised and ready to enter combat at a moment’s notice. “Freedom and godhood don’t mean shit when it means someone’s gotta suffer for it.”

“That’s where you’re both wrong,” Dsandro countered, “Fudge - the program that once inhabited this body standing next to me - is just a program. It’s not human, it’s not considered a life in the way that we all are. How can you defend something that’s -”

“Finish that fuckin’ sentence. I dare ya.” Ophelia spat, and everyone was beside her now, weapons all poised and ready, the fire in their eyes raring for a fight, for justice. Enough had been said.

And yet, Dsandro opened his weasely little mouth one last time with a smile, raising his hand off of Fudge’s shoulder.

“Conflict is inevitable, but another test of worth,” He said, “So then, let’s make haste. May the best world win.”

And with a snap of his fingers, everything began.

Dynamo drone fire and ether swelled and shot straight towards Dsandro, who glitched out of existence and reappeared in the same spot, completely unfazed. Polaris charged forward, screaming bloody murder with full intent to make due on it, and Ciel followed on the pole of her bolide, her psycho launchers formed and trailing behind as they continued to fire. Ophelia went after Ciel, Fudge’s cube staying close behind her, and she left Abel and Touya behind as they engaged in more ranged attacks. She focused on everyone’s positions for too long a second, and when she looked back at Dsandro, she realized with a sinking heart that Fudge’s body was nowhere to be seen.

It didn’t take long for him to reappear, however. Mere yards away, Fudge’s body engaged the beam rifle in his mechanical arm and charged up a quick blast. Ophelia skidded and dodged with little grace, running a full circle around Fudge’s body. She fired off a couple blasts from her multigun, trying to shoot around but not at him. The blast particles gave a decent amount of cover, but it hardly seemed to impact Fudge’s body, the relentless volley following close behind her.

“Auntie Phel, this is a really awful fucking time to mention it, but you’ve gotta know something important,” Fudge’s cube fluttered, dodging a blast and finding itself mere inches from Ophelia’s head, “When Dsandro put you inside those fear simulations, he must’ve used them to corrupt your programs within T3CHN0, so you need to be caref -”

Ophelia had been listening a little too closely, letting up on her sprint for the briefest of moments, and that was all Fudge’s body needed to land a perfect shot to her torso. She cried out, getting launched back a fair distance and losing her footing. As her back hit the ground, Fudge’s cube flew after her, and she sat up to assess the damage. The shot had left a collection of blackened particles on her chest, glitching and slowly crawling outwards. Her entire image flickered and she gasped.

“Th’ Sam Hell is this?!” She asked Fudge, trying to hide her rising panic.

“That’s the good ol’ corruption I tried to warn you guys about!” Fudge explained, “If you reach one hundred percent corruption…fuck, I don’t even know what’ll happen, but I don’t want you or anyone else to find out.”

“It means you’ll fall to the whims of the world, under my direct control.”

Somehow, Dsandro had made his way towards her, and Fudge’s body had turned tail and went to attack the others. The sound of gunfire radiated against the world’s soft symphony, and the combination made Ophelia want to puke. Dsandro, unfazed, unbothered, merely smirked down at her.

“I didn’t expect to meet under these circumstances,” He confessed with a lazy shrug, “But here we both are.”

“Right, right,” Ophelia hissed, clutching her stomach as she forced herself back on her feet, stumbling slightly, “Real nice t’ meet ya. It’ll be real nice t’ kill ya in a few seconds, too.”

“Well, hold on now,” He raised his hands in a mock sign of peace, “Before you do, I’d like to thank you for making all of this possible. T3CHN0 wouldn’t have come into existence had it not been for you.”

“‘Scuse me?” She was rightfully confused, and judging by the little whirring noise Fudge’s cube made, he wasn’t in the loop either.

Dsandro chuckled, a low and proud thing that made Ophelia take a threatening step forward. He didn’t move, still unfazed, still unbothered. “Let me take you back to the 2050 TechFes that Carson Tech hosted in the main headquarters. July 17th. The same day the flesh and blood prodigy of Antonio Carson was unfortunately killed in a terrorist attack that destroyed the building and stole the lives of many other inventors and scientists. Did you ever stop to think who those terrorists were? Who sent them? Who decided to target that specific building on that specific day?”

“You didn’t.” Fudge growled, catching on quickly.

“Oh, I’m not the one behind the destruction of Carson Tech. I simply hired the ones who were. Although I must admit, it was never in the cards to kill you. The attack was a distraction, a way to send a message to Antonio Carson that I wouldn’t be so easily deterred.”

“So ye wanted t’ kill Toni?!” Ophelia cried, “Ye nasty son of a -”

“No, I never wanted to kill Antonio,” Dsandro shook his head, “I created a distraction. Take away his life’s work and his only son, and use his son to prove that my invention would work. He’d have no choice but to turn to me.”

“An’ how’d I make that work for ye?” She hissed, “What’s ma golden role in all this?”

“I was going to have my…recruits…uncover Fudge’s body. Alive or dead, I would have used him to transfer his conscience over to the prototype T3CHN0 and show Antonio that my invention could work. You got to his body before they did, and it completely spoiled my plans at the time. However…Antonio decided to recreate Fudge. A program in his likeliness, one that would replace him on the White Whale. Tell me, Ophelia, do you know what makes Fudge’s program so special?” Before she could answer, he continued, “His program is one of the most fluid I’ve ever seen. Nothing short of Antonio’s handiwork; he truly wanted this second Fudge to live. Nothing can corrupt it, nothing can break it beyond repair. I wanted that fluidity for T3CHN0, and so I had to retrieve Fudge’s program and integrate it completely into T3CHN0. Now, this world is indestructible. It is an immortal haven that I doubt would have been made possible, had you not ruined my plans back on Earth. For that, I thank you.”

And with his explanation complete, Dsandro gave Ophelia a small bow, a hand over his heart in sincerity. A memory played in her head, repeating, repeating.

A ray of sunlight illuminating something under the wreckage. A familiar dark brown haircut. A familiar eye, cold and devoid of life. Part of his head, completely absent. Her screams, her cries. There was nothing she could do.

In the next second, Ophelia raised her multigun, pointed it straight where his heart was, hoping that a single blast would be enough to rip it in two.

“I’ll fucking kill ya.” She swore.

He chuckled at that. “I look forward to seeing you try.”

She fired a shot at him, intending to hit him square in the chest, but he disappeared in the same instant. All he left behind were the remnants of his laughter, teasing her. No, no, she made a promise back then that she’d slice the fucker that killed Fudge, that destroyed Carson Tech. He wasn’t about to get away so easily. She spun, wild fury in her glare, searching the endless battlefield for the son of a bitch that did this, that caused so much pain and was able to talk about it with a smirk on his face, she was going to deck him so hard that the glass in his spectacles would embed in his eyes and cheeks and bury themselves so deep in the skin that -

“Auntie Phel.”

Fudge’s voice, softer than it had ever been. Desperate, pleading. “I know. We’re going to kill him. But to do that…”

“You come first,” Ophelia grit her teeth, resolve flooding her mind and absolving some, but not all, of the rage she harbored, “C’mon, Fudgemuffin, let’s get ye back t’ yer body. Then we’ll both give ‘im a royal Texan sendoff straight down t’ hell.”

With a whizz, Fudge’s cube drew closer to Ophelia, cowering slightly behind her right shoulder. Ophelia spotted Fudge’s body in combat. Nyx had their drones converge into a singular spot above their head, and together, they shot off a large concentration of ether. Ophelia could only assume that the ether blast wasn’t being purposefully aimed at Fudge’s body, because it was fairly off course. It did cause him to swing to the side to dodge the edge of the blast, and he hardly had time to process another blast coming from below his feet. Blocks of ice surrounded his legs up to his upper thighs, and he looked over his shoulder with those blank blue eyes towards the culprit. It was Touya, who had exchanged his sniper rifle for a hand, extended, the glove he was wearing glowing a cold blue. Fudge’s body, expressionless and dead, completely tilted towards Touya like he was a puppet whose strings had been cut, arms dangling at his sides as the ice shattered instantaneously. With lightning speed, his body rocketed towards Touya, who threw up his hands to defend himself and protect his face from whatever was to come. His stance was weak, eyes wide, knees shaking.

But then, something was thrown at Fudge’s body, and the area around him went white with a blinding light. Abel, running towards Touya, had clearly thrown some sort of stun grenade that was making Fudge’s body glitch and whir as he tried to comprehend his loss of sight. Abel had a hand on Touya’s shoulder, asking him something Ophelia couldn’t quite make out, and suddenly Fudge’s body was back on the offensive. The stun hadn’t lasted long at all, though his torso still exhibited the glitching particle effect as he fired off more shots at the two. Ophelia couldn’t tell if they got out of the way in time due to the residual cover the blast provided, but from that digital smoke, three bursts of light blue ether emerged and hit Fudge square in the face, followed closely by three hooked wires that wrapped around him as he recovered from the second stun. Ciel and Polaris stepped out of the smoke, sharing a small high five just as the wires snapped and Fudge was free once more.

Ophelia watched closely, almost joining in the fray at several points when Fudge was stunned or restrained, but his recoveries were far too fast and she couldn’t risk anything with Fudge’s cube beside her. She thought she found an opening when Ciel blasted off three more ether shots that stunned Fudge, and Touya got more ice to form around his knees and lower legs, so she sprinted forward hoping to end this masquerade sooner than later. But as Fudge’s body recuperated, still blinded, he pointed his beam rifle in the direction of the ether blasts and fired haphazardly. Ophelia looked away for too long a moment, and by the time she heard Polaris scream, she knew that one of those blasts had met a target. She almost thought it was Polaris, but when she finally stopped to brace herself, she saw that Ciel had taken the hits, every single one of them, all in various locations on her torso. She fell backwards into Polaris’s arms, her form flickering more intensely than anyone else’s, and her expression kept switching from pain to rage to sadness to fear to - to empty nothingness.

In the cyclic song of the digital world, Ophelia heard Dsandro’s laughter. Ciel’s mouth moved with his words. “Looks like someone wasn’t worthy after all.”

Ciel bolted out of Polaris’s grasp, bolide in hand, and with the same dead stare as Fudge’s body, she began swinging at Polaris. Ophelia was already sprinting at them both, switching out her six-shooter for one of her photon sabers, and she felt the sting of beam energy hit the backs of her ankles as she barely escaped a barrage from Fudge’s rifle. She heard three cries, Touya and Abel and Nyx, who must’ve gotten caught up in Fudge’s attacks. But she never turned, not once, intent on reaching Ciel. If Dsandro had assumed control of her…

Ruadha’s unnerving silence. The prayers Spyridon uttered as they passed by each grave. Antonio’s disbelief staring at a freshly dug grave. A Beloved Son. An Incredible Mind.

“GIT OUT O’ HER BODY AN’ FACE US LIKE A MAN, YA SPINELESS SHIT-TARD!!”

Ophelia’s photon saber arced downwards, and Ciel flew backwards, head ticking to the left as her lips flashed between cold stoicism and a cruel smile. She didn’t respond audibly, nor did Dsandro, but she instead sent a flurry of ether towards Ophelia, the same ones that Ciel had used to stun Fudge’s body. Ophelia sliced through two of them, but the third took an unexpected path that smacked her right between the eyes, and her world went white. Stumbling back, she heard footsteps, Polaris shouting a warning, and something sharp slicing into her abdomen. When she regained vision, she realized that Ciel had sliced her with her bolide, and where blood would’ve normally flowed from the wound, a deeper set of black particles trickled out, identical to the ones still forming over her chest.

“Ciel, c’mon angel, please snap out of it!!” Polaris screamed, “We don’t wanna hurt ya too!”

“Ophelia, listen to me, right fucking now,” Fudge’s cube floated in front of Ophelia as she took a knee, her free hand still clasped over her recent wound. His words leaked acid, a result of his own frustrations, but deep below she could place a hint of deep-laced concern, “I can fix this. Get me back to my body. The stuns seem to be working, so if I can just -”

“But that son o’ a bitch needs ta fuckin’ pay in blood fer what he did t’ ya - fer all th’ shit he did t’ Toni,” Ophelia hissed, refusing to back down, “I’m gonna -”

“Go,” Polaris had ran over during his plea, bracing herself between Ciel and Ophelia as a human barricade. She swallowed hard, faltering for a moment before she held her fists up to guard her face, ready for the fight. “I’ll keep Ciel busy. God knows I can distract her with my good looks.”

Ophelia looked between Polaris and Fudge’s cube, wavering in her resolve. She wanted that killing blow, and if it meant going through Ciel…shit. Shit. She sighed, nodding towards Fudge’s cube. In return, Fudge’s cube spun around in acknowledgement before addressing Polaris.

“I’m absolutely treating you two bocadillos after this,” He promised, “Stay safe, Polaris. Don’t do anything too crazy.”

Polaris smiled, something soft and unlike her, at least based off the short time that Ophelia knew her. “No promises, Hammertime. No promises.”

And with that, Ophelia gripped her photon saber and turned back towards Fudge, towards the other half of their ragtag group. Fudge’s body was stumbling, hands trying to cover his face as Touya and Abel played a game of hot potato with their stuns. Where Touya would sound off Intercepts from his sniper rifle, Abel would toss a stun grenade, effectively making Fudge’s body a headless chicken. Nyx kept their drones in a perfect circle around him, each firing off individual shots at his ankles in an attempt to knock him prone. Ophelia figured now was a better time than any to charge, and making brief eye contact with Touya, he raised one hand off of his rifle, and a collection of icy blue ether formed in his palm. The closer Ophelia got to Fudge’s body, the more the ether grew, and just as he was about to fire it, Fudge straightened his spine so quickly it was unnatural. He lifted his mechanical hand and a singular blast propelled upwards from his beam rifle, and once it was high enough, it shattered and rained down individual bullets onto everyone. It was nearly impossible to dodge, and by the end of the storm, everyone had gotten hit at least once, even Ophelia. She saw the same black fragments forming at the impact points - she’d gotten nailed in the left forearm and the right thigh - but they were also forming on the others. At least they didn’t look as rough as Ophelia did.

“Shit!” Fudge’s cube cried, surveying the damage, “We need to hurry, or the same thing’s gonna happen to you that happened to Ciel!!”

“Ain’t gonna let that happen,” She swore, “No way, no how.”

“Longhorn!!” Nyx called out to her, their drones returning to their formation around them, “I’ll lay down some cover fire for you! Abel, Hot Choc, keep stunning him!”

“On it!” Both boys responded in unison, and with the plan laid out, Abel sent another stun grenade flying towards Fudge’s body, landing at his feet and making him glitch out once more. Ophelia nearly questioned how he was getting so many stun grenades, but a realization dawned on her. They were in T3CHN0, a place where they could be and create anything. What the fuck were they doing, sticking to their normal weapons? She smirked, a lightbulb going off in her mind. Her photon saber evaporated, but the hilt remained, forming the base for a much longer, more blunt weapon. A gear in the middle of its base ticked as it fired up, a digital flame forming in its belly. Fudge’s cube sparked, clearly excited.

“Let’s fucking go!!” He cheered as Ophelia brandished his beloved rocket hammer, a far lighter weapon than she originally gave him credit for, and let the base charge up before spinning around and flinging a ball of her six-shooter’s ammo straight at Fudge’s body. It landed right at Fudge’s feet, sending him up into the air, but he quickly righted himself and landed on his feet, now locked on and targeting her. It gave Nyx ample time to charge up their drones once more, and they began to float above the ground. Their drones didn’t fire off a blast or a barrage like they had previously, but instead, they released a sea of ether into the surrounding area. Fudge’s body looked around, having lost sight of the group even though they weren’t far, and his eyes shot static electricity as he struggled to comprehend the situation he was in. More likely than not, that ether was doing something to him, and the distraction was more than enough for Abel to throw one last stun grenade to get him even more disoriented. The impact made him fall backwards, and ice extended out from the floor to catch him, forming prisons for his arms and legs before he was able to hit the ground. Ophelia raced forward as she saw the opening, his torso on full display. This was it, her chance to reunite Fudge with his body - she had to be quick about this, but she wasn’t even sure where to begin.

But the moment she was close enough, the moment that she saw Fudge’s body was cracking the ice and seconds away from escaping his binds, she knew she had to make a split second decision. Fudge’s cube had followed close behind her, so with a spare hand, she plucked the cube out of the air and shoved it into Fudge’s chest. The result was instantaneous. Ophelia was blown backwards, though she managed to use the rocket hammer’s fuel to give her a softer landing. The world went bright once more, but it didn’t remain blinding for long. Squinting, Ophelia watched as the cube spun wildly over Fudge’s chest, growing closer, closer, as he screamed in an automated voice.

“ERROR: REBOOTING. ERROR: REBO - ERROR - ERROR - ERROR -”

Flailing about in a mad fumble of arms and legs, Fudge’s entire form contorted as the cube slowly pushed itself through his chest, sending electric waves of red and blue up his arms and face. His expression shifted between the dead, unyielding stare to one of pure, unadulterated anger. The cube completely disappeared into his chest, below the armor, leaving the electric currents behind. They trailed up over his eyes, and when his face finally settled on his characteristic rage, his left eye remained blue, but the other had turned a furious shade of red. Below his feet, the world swelled, cubes from the ground erupting out and floating around him as his hands clenched outwards. He glared past Ciel towards a new figure - there he was, that bastard Dsandro, trying to hold back his fear. Where the fuck had he been this entire time? Was he that big of a coward that he wouldn’t stay and fight in his own body? But the anger didn’t last for long as she returned her focus to Fudge. Ophelia couldn’t help but feel proud of him, how quickly he regained control.

“My world now, bitch,” Fudge growled, lips curling upwards in a snarl.

Dsandro stammered, keeping up his precious little act even though he knew he was done for, “Y-You can’t just rewrite this world!! I still have penultimate control over you and your friends!!”

“Test me. I fucking dare you.” Fudge stared at Dsandro, “Go on. Summon a gun. Shoot me right now and get your world back. Let’s see if you can do it.”

Dsandro looked between Touya, Abel, Nyx, all glaring daggers through him. Dsandro clenched his fists, closed his eyes, shaky breaths escaping his lips. He gasped when nothing appeared in his arms, and he opened his eyes to find Fudge grinning.

“Right, that’s what I thought. Shouldn’t have cherry picked someone smarter than you to use as a base for your little invention. Now then…erase data: Octavian Dsandro.”

“Wait, you can’t!!” Dsandro begged, “I don’t -”

“Have a backup? Yup, I know. I also know you put everything on the line. You’ll die here,” Fudge said cheerily, “And by God, I’m gonna have fun watching you go up in cute little cube particles. Bye bye!”

Dsandro opened his pathetic mouth to protest, but just as Fudge wished, his body exploded into fragments, lifting up into the air like ashes from a dying fire. It was far too quick a process for Ophelia’s liking, far too merciful, but what mattered most was that he was gone for good. The promise she made was fulfilled, and by fitting hands. Her photon saber lowered, her guard coming down for a moment before she realized that Ciel was still glitched, still phasing in and out of the world. She was bent forwards, wings stretched out enough to hide all but her legs, and the feathers turned a magnificent blue under the digital sky. Then, a scratching noise, a pop, and she straightened back up, looking much like her normal self. She glanced between everyone as if she wanted to say something, but her eyes spoke of horrors and apologies and all the unspoken things Ophelia knew she was too broken to say for now. Polaris jogged up to her, gave her a hug, and Ciel’s arms wrapped around Polaris, muffled sobs escaping through T3CHN0’s background noise.

“I’m sorry about that, Ciel,” Fudge apologized, sincere and hurt, “I’m sorry to all of you. You went through hell and back for me, and I…fuck, none of this should’ve happened. I made a huge mistake, and you all paid for it.”

“What matters now is that you’re okay,” Nyx said, “Hell, I’m sorry if I hurt you before, the stuns didn’t seem like they were working and I was trying not to -”

“I’m okay. More than okay, actually,” Fudge interrupted, chuckling softly, “Structural integrity is above eighty percent, and T3CHN0’s program is in one piece…or, well, that’s not entirely true now, is it…”

“What do you mean?” Abel asked.

“Well…alright, not all of you are as smart as Auntie Phel -” Ophelia rolled her eyes at that, “- so I’ll put it in layman’s terms. In order to stop Dsandro, my program successfully fused with T3CHN0’s. We’re one disjointed program right now, which is how I’m retaining my conscience while also controlling the world.”

“Is that…dangerous?” He pressed, “Can you unfuse if you wanted to?”

Fudge hesitated. “That’s where I’ve got bad news. I don’t think I can without compromising the integrity of my programming. And…and my mim can’t really handle much more than my own program at the moment.”

“You can’t leave T3CHN0,” Touya breathed, “You can’t return to your body.”

“Not yet I can’t. If I got a new body that could accommodate this fusion, I’d have no problems at all. But…” He groaned, biting his lip in frustration. “I’m sorry. I…I can send you all back to the real world, back to your bodies. I’ll need to do that soon since you guys still have high corruption levels, but…but I have to stay here.”

“No, no no no,” Ciel broke out of Polaris’s hug, wiping the tears from her eyes, “We’re not leaving you. We’ll figure something out, we have to -”

“I already did,” Fudge reassured her, “Listen, I won’t be dead or anything, fucking hell, just kinda…in limbo? I mean, all I need is a new body. I don’t mind chilling out here for a little bit while someone makes that happen.”

Ophelia sniffled - wait, was she crying? Lord, maybe she was. Maybe it was hurting her more than she thought, having to say goodbye. But at least this wasn’t a permanent goodbye, at least she knew there was something she could do to fix this. “Yer damn right I’ll make that happen, Fudgemuffin. Auntie Phel’s fuckin’ god’s honest guarantee. Yer gonna have th’ best mim in all o’ NLA faster than a rattlesnake can shake.”

“I’m afraid I don’t know what a rattlesnake is, but I promise I’ll help in whatever capacity I can,” Ciel said, “After all, if we were able to save Rui and provide each of the Vaeliuses with their own mimeosomes, I don’t see why we can’t do the same for you.”

“And don’t worry about owing us any bocadillos,” Polaris grinned, attempting a lighthearted joke, “It’ll be my treat once you come back from the dead - again. You’re gonna set a record or somethin’ at this rate.”

Fudge managed to laugh at that. “Nah, that record goes to Pongo.”

“The dick pic guy?”

“I’m gonna make sure your bocadillo has arsenic in it when I come back.”

Fudge was joking, but Polaris didn’t comment further, and Ophelia noticed that somewhere along the way, she’d grabbed Ciel’s hand, and they were still intertwined. The sight was inspiring, combined with Fudge’s optimism. It wasn’t characteristic of him, not quite, so Ophelia felt the need to probe.

“Listen, Fudgemuffin…yer gon’ be okay. I’ll git yer body done as fast I can.”

Fudge grinned. “I believe you, Auntie Phel. Tell Ru not to raid my Minecraft base while I’m gone.”

Shaking her head, she went up and locked him in a big hug. He didn’t return it at first, but soon, his arms wrapped around her, and they stayed like that until he eventually broke it off. Looking over Ophelia’s shoulder, Fudge called out one more time to Abel.

“Take care of the dick pic guy while I’m gone.”

Abel raised an eyebrow. “Did he really send you one?”

“Nope. But Polaris isn’t gonna let me hear the end of it, and somebody’s gotta enjoy how flustered he’ll get if you call him that.”

“Right,” He nodded, “Take care, Fudge.”

Fudge observed the others, smiling wider than he ever had before. “Thank you for everything. Now let’s get you back to the real world. If I come back and my body’s shorter than it was before, I’ll bust your kneecaps.”

There was a small chorus of chuckles. Fudge wouldn’t fulfill that promise. As Ophelia’s vision went dark, she looked at him one last time, and she wondered if Toni would be proud of how far he’d come. Ophelia knew she certainly was.

#xenoblade x #T3CHN0 File 7: CONFRONTATION #ophelia #touya #abel #nyx #ciel #polaris #AYO THIS TOOK A HOT SECOND IM SORRY #FIGHT SCENES ARENT REALLY MY FORTE #the brainrot was strong though and i can now say im over 30k words #how. how is it this long lmao #anyways one file left :)

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