#his fighting from then on focuses on keeping terrans out of the fight and saving the big guns for the adults
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Soundwave: Fight with us. Just one more time. Starscream: I've had it. The war is OVER and we LOST. You can keep chasing ghosts, but I just want to move on. [crossing arms, looking away] Soundwave: But don't you want Megatron defeated? He's an Autobot now. Fighting the Autobots means fighting him. OUR enemies have become one. Starscream: [still facing away with arms crossed, but darts his eyes back to Soundwave] Soundwave: And Megatron is in such close proximity to those young Earth Cybertronians, telling them nonsense, leading them into danger⌠Starscream: [face journey of shock, frustration, a little bit of delight at the thought of crushing Megatron] [stops short and gets cross cause he KNOWS he's being played] You don't care. You don't care about them. Soundwave: But you do. Starscream: [unsure, desperate] Soundwave: How else can you ensure their safety? Starscream: ⌠ONE more time. But only because Megatron needs to be taken down. Soundwave: I intend on making that happen. Starscream: And the Terrans are top priority. Anything happens to them, and I'm OUT. Soundwave: Cross my spark and hope to die.
#i thought soundwave was gonna pick up where megatron left off#and take down the autobots and his former leader#so i imagined if starscream had to be on the wrong side again that he was convinced to join like this#motivated by both his hatred and fear of megatron as well as budding care for the terrans#he knows he's being manipulated but joining allows him to keep an eye on them and moderate the fight#his fighting from then on focuses on keeping terrans out of the fight and saving the big guns for the adults#as well as being there when they win over the autobots and he can like take them in or smth#soundwave probably promised him tentative custody over them like ''yeah they're your concern when we win''#nerd stuff#scarletta scribbles#transformers#spoilers#earthspark#maccadam#starscream#soundwave
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From Ashes: A Salamander Story
So I've started a fic set immediately after Vulkan was revealed to the Salamanders, focusing on a Salamander squad who is acting as protection for a Iterator who is trying to diplomatically incorporate a reasonably advanced Terran world into the Imperium and I just want to yell about it a bit.
FIRST UP THE SQUAD:
Sergeant Shoen'tal Agonn: A skilled tactician, Agonn is everything a Salamander strives to be. He is brave, selfless, and willing to die for his men. He is plagued by every soldier he has lost, and keeps a list of those lost under his command attached to his armor. Battle-Brother Mulbakaan Vel'gan: The squad's second in command and a sturdy defender. In his first deployment, he held a site of contention by himself against a swarm of tyranids until the rest of his company could arrive by making effective use of choke-points and explosives. He has a giant scar that stretches from his left ear to his chin from one of those tyranids that got too close. Techmarine Par'dak Numatar: A genius engineer who had his tongue shot out by an Ork. He has special gauntlets that are much more dexterous than usual space marine armor, basically functioning as a second skin, that both let him communicate in sign language and also give him better manual dexterity when it comes to working on machines. Battle-Brother Zarton Numatar: Par'dak's brother and a master of offense. There is only one thing he loves more than getting to test his brother's inventions, and that's being a loyal servant of the emperor. He is passionately devoted to The Emperor and carrying out his will, and sees every order given to him as a blessing. Epistolary Rodondiel Vallatar: A skilled improviser, Vallatar is well-known among his brothers for being able to think on his feet, something that has saved the squad more than once. Agonn fully trusts him without hesitation, and any suggestion the Librarian gives will be accepted without question. Battle-Brother Ze'phast Zytal: The largest of the group, Zytal has an "I could do this all night" approach to war, and has no problem with extended combat. In fact, he prefers it, as his extreme stamina lets him outlast most opponents. Battle-Brother Kronak Tu'reth: The big guy with the flamer, Tu'reth is almost as hardy as Zytal. He and Zytal often have competitions during battles to see who can go the whole fight without a moment's rest. Vanguard Vorpaar Ven'nerr: The dude with the flaming hammer and the squad's most vicious fighter. Unlike the others, Ven'nerr is quite in favor of starting fights, and is rather un-Salamander-like when it comes to taking pleasure in destruction. His behavior occasionally has put innocents at risk, something Agonn has had to discipline him for. Apothecary Ba'tsen Praetor: The squad doctor with a terrible bedside manner. Praetor is concerned first and foremost with getting his patients back to fighting fit as soon as possible, and while he is not heartless, he is more than happy to use less than pleasant measures to get them up and moving faster. Neophyte Vel'zan Vallal: The young kid on the squad who is hoping to soon earn the promotion to Battle-Brother. He is in awe of his squad mates and strives to embody the ideals of the Salamanders, almost to the point of naivety. A bit of a risk-taker, it has taken him a bit longer to reach Battle-Brother than others, but he is hoping to show his dependability to his new squad. Iterator Ambrosius Corinant: A no-nonsense diplomat whose ability as a social chameleon is slightly off-putting to the Astartes who protect him, but his openness and bluntness with them has earned their respect.
THE MISSION!
The squad gets sent down to the planet Mimas to talk to the local emperor/king/etc to get them to join the Imperium. They seem eager and willing but there always seem to be something wrong or something that is putting off a full agreement. Meanwhile, up on the orbiting ship, the Navigator is losing his mind as it is corrupted by Chaos originating from somewhere beneath the planet's capital. He goes on a murder spree and essentially maroons the ship. Down on the planet, negotiations are falling apart, and it takes a nosedive when the Iterator is found murdered. Due to the actions of the Navigator, communication with the ship is impossible and the squad attempt to discover who killed the Iterator while waiting for orders. Their investigation is interrupted by the source of Chaos breaking out from beneath the city and attempting to take over the ship as a means of escaping the planet that has been its prison for countless millennia.
....I may have a list of how everyone who DOES die is going to die.....it might be the first thing that I wrote lol
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The Xiang Chronicles: Book Two Chapter 32
Title: The Xiang Chronicles: Book Two
Author: Jay Grayson
Word Count: 98k
Genres: Fantasy, adventure, drama, LGBT+
Available on: my website
Synopsis: With another Xiang in the mix, for the first time in history, Pangu decides to reevaluate his methods and his place in the world. Along with taking his little sister Heidi as his last disciple, he also chooses to take the more political path in his efforts to end the discord throughout the landâparticularly within Terra. (And gaining favor from the handsome Lord of Ultimos does not hurt.)
Heidi butts heads with everyone in the group, save Raine, and tensions are higher than ever. There are failed love confessions, in-group fighting, and demons from Kiraâs past but that all comes to a head when they meet a servant of Shakti who is more than what she seems.
Could it be that the Mistresses of Shadow are more nuanced than previously believed? Or that the strict dichotomy between light and dark are, perhaps, a touch exaggerated? That and more begin to plague Panguâs mind and his faith waversâŚ
Full chapter 32 under the cut
Chapter XXXII:
Baiya watched the small group leave and he wondered if Viren would talk to Pangu about his feelings. As clear as it was that Pangu cared for Viren, it was just as obvious that the lord reciprocated those affections. Now that Pangu no longer had restrictions of his Xiang status, something beautiful might be born.
It was a bittersweet feeling that birthed in his chest but he did hope for the best. He was even surprised by how much he wanted that for them.
âHey.â Kira snapped his fingers in his face. When he came to, the Terran disciple sighed. âYou need to sleep too.
âWe need to discuss a plan, right?â Baiya responded, trying to keep focused.
âNope. You. Tent. Now.â Kira pushed him away. âAlf, take him out of here.â
He thought of protesting but he genuinely did not have the strength to do so. The responses lived and died in his head, unable to come out through his throat.
Heidi shook her head as the two disappeared over the hill. âSo stubborn.â
âYou need to sleep too,â Raine mentioned, shooting a look down at her.
 âIâm restless. I would not be able to sleep now even if I wanted to.â
Kira smirked. âWorried about your brother?â
âAnd the rest of us,â she came back quickly, âI have no idea what is going to happen.â
Alf did not return but Idris appeared, a huge smile across his face. Kira had been wondering where the large man was since he had not seen him yet.
He wore his usual cloth around his waist but there was also a sash across his torso, covering the bulk of his bright red paint. His eyes, as expected, drew to Heidi only.
âBeautiful, you are back. Alf told.â
âUgh, my name is Heidi, okay? Hei-di.â She stressed each syllable.
Idris just grinned for a long second. âHeidi,â he finally repeated. âHow about Urishka?â
Kira, Raine, and Heidi all stared at him before Kira asked, âWhat does that mean? Beautiful?â
âKi.â His grin widened.
âThat means yes,â Alf pointed out as he rejoined them. He sighed. âI asked him to be polite.â
âHe is notâŚimpolite,â Raine chose his words carefully, âIt is simply clear that he has a favorite.â
âYes well, he just came of marrying age and he does not find the women here to his taste.â Alf rolled his eyes. âHe grew up with them and sees them as his friends, nothing more. A few he even views as his sisters. So, a new woman is exciting.â
âIs that all it is?â Heidi asked and glared up at the man. âYou think I am mysterious or some shit?â
âChono, you are Urishka,â Idris tried to defend himself but Heidi was not interested.
âYou know what? I am tired, actually.â She turned on her heel and left to find where her brother had gone to sleep.
Idris frowned as he stared after her but a quick slap on his chest from Alf got his attention back. âPay attention. Fas oubides.â
âOhâŚsorry.â
âAnyway, before you two go off to sleep too, mind telling me what happened?â
Raine and Kira exchanged a quick glance. âWellâŚâ
Leaving out the unnecessary details, they gave a basic rundown of the past few days and what they knew from what Pangu had discovered of Merraâs plan. It was not a pleasant future for them or for the people of Meala.
With a frown, Alf recapped, âSo, this new Xiang wishes to subjugate us by force and make us fight in a war against Enlil and/or Kyrie if it comes to it and then help her kill an entity we do not even believe in?â
âBasically.â Kira nodded.
âI had heard from Dio that she visited himâŚnot even a full week after you all departed.â He shook his head. âThis whole situation reeks.â
âWe want to help but our own list of allies has been cut short,â Raine stated. âI have been thinking, however, and I believe that my King will listen to us.â
âHe does have a soft spot for you.â Kira started to smile.
âAnd Pangu.â Raine rubbed the back of his neck, fighting off fatigue. âI can only hope that he will remain loyal in the face of Merraâs divinity. He is a very religious man so it could be difficult to navigate.â
âDo you not trust your King?â Alf questioned.
âI doâŚâ Raine sighed. âAnd he is the only lord, aside Viren and the Agni lords, who would be willing to help.â
âFleeing to Agni is always an option but I think they will all expect it,â Kira replied.
Agni would probably be the first place Merra and her disciples checked and going there could end up playing into her hands. Kyrie was their best option for securing some degree of authority behind their position.
âWell, until you are sure and ready, you can stay here and rest.â Alf glanced to Idris as he said, âWe need to figure some things out for our future as well. I will send a message out to Dio and maybe we can have a proper meeting before you go.â
It sounded good enough for the time being so they all nodded and then disbanded. Raine and Kira found where Baiya had crashed and they joined him, taking the pelt on the other side of the tent.
Raine took off only the most cumbersome of armor pieces before lying down and Kira took the space beside him. There was no option other than to stay close but, in their exhausted states, there was no room for awkward feelings or comments about the arrangement.
âI know I have mentioned it a few times on the trip down hereâŚâ Kira started, keeping his voice down as to not wake Baiya, âbut, thanks for taking Panguâs side and sticking with us. For me, this is pretty easy but I know itâs more difficult for youâŚturning your back on your god and all.â
âIt is easy for me as well,â Raine responded, not wavering for a second. âSeeing a dragon, from the spirit realm, was quite jarring and to be on the opposing side definitely feltâŚwellâŚbad, but I would not betray Pangu for anything. He is my Xiang and that is all I care about.â
After a moment of silence, Raine took a hefty sigh and Kira glanced up at him, just barely able to see him through the darkness inside the tent.
âBesides,â Raine continued, âThe rest of you are on this side. I would not be parted from youâŚand, on top of that, I need to reach my own conclusions, separate from what the mouthpiece of Tiandi tells me to believe.â
âThat is an afterthought?â Kira chuckled under his breath.
âPerhaps.â The remaining armor clinked together as the Kyrie disciple moved to get more comfortable. âIâŚI follow my heart. That is all I really mean to say.â
He was more emotional than he seemed, Kira found himself thinking. Baiya as well, he thought as he heard the steady sound of the manâs breathing from the other side of the tent.
Surely, he was thrilled about Panguâs speech, just as Viren was, and Kira wondered which of the two that Pangu would end up choosing. Both certainly hoped his declaration was about them.
With a snicker caught in his throat, Kira let his eyes close and his body drifted inward, to the warmth of Raine beside him. Though their situation was still new and dangerous, he was glad, through and through, that they had all escaped together and were in agreement that Tiandi could not be adhered to any longer.
As much as he may have, on a strictly petty level, wanted to proclaim, âI told you so,â to the believers, he would hold it back until a later date.
***
The sun was already making its descent by the time everyone woke up again. Alf instructed the villagers not to disturb any of them until they were ready and Idris waited with impatience over the cauldron of stew he made for them. He had even neglected to add meat to cater to Panguâs diet and he threw a few heart shaped herbs in the broth for Heidi.
Of course, she did not notice when she ate it. No one noticed much of anythingâthey still fought off the lingering exhaustion. It was not just the burden from the escape that they, collectively, worked through but a culmination of weeks of insufficient rest and care. Especially for Pangu and his disciples who had been running from one place to the other with little down time.
But a belly full of food and a good bath with a fresh change of clothes was enough to reinvigorate even the most tired among them.
Oli sat with Alf, looking over a map and talking about what the man had been told last night, only in more detail. Viren joined them, nodding and commenting occasionally but the other two were leading the conversation. Baiya preemptively shut off his attention regarding them, knowing from firsthand experience how much Oli could talk about his interests.
He turned, instead, to the rest of the group carrying on a very different conversation.
âPangu, did you know Kira liked men?â Heidi asked with a serious expression on her face.
Her brother laughed. âYeah?â
âWas I really the only one who did not know?â It seemed she was still not over the trick Kira pulled in the dungeon.
âI suppose so,â Pangu guessed with a shrug.
âWhat about you, Raine?â she glanced up at him and her brows pinched together.
He responded with something similar to a grunt and a nod. Baiya noticed how stiff he became when the topic surfaced but he doubted the man had yet to realize why he reacted in such a way. If it would not be a behemoth of a conversation to have with him, Baiya might have considered talking to him about it.
That did remind him of something else he needed to take care of, however.
Baiya cleared his throat and said, âPangu.â Once he got his attention, he gestured with his head to the side, âCan we talk a moment?â
His words were so direct that they made Pangu nervous but he still nodded and stood. âSure.â
There was a small clearing a little further east of the village and a cliff overlooked it. Pangu almost wanted to scale it since he knew the view up there was probably amazing but he was comfortable enough with the spot as it was. Plus, he was curious as to what Baiya would want to talk about alone. Even if he had a few ideas, he could not be sure.
âYes?â he did not want to sound too impatient but the hitch in his voice definitely gave him away.
Regardless, Baiya smiled and then looked around, making sure they were alone. Once he was certain, he let his shoulders droop and he sighed. âSoâŚI realize we have not spoken like this in a while.â
âI know. Sorry.â Panguâs eyes shifted to the ground.
âNo, it is my fault as well.â He stepped closer, getting his focus back on him. âBut, after your speech at the temple, I feel I have to speak to you.â
Pangu gulped. Was he going to confess again? To ask if he had changed his mind? He was ready for it because he did have a different answer.
But, Baiya continued, âYou do not need to hold back on your feelings for Viren on my account. I will not be hurt by you choosing to give him your affections andâŚI would hate to be in the way of your happiness.â
Despite the fear in saying those words, Baiya found that they came quite naturally. As if he had said them before or as if they were just the right words to say. It was a relief, truly.
Pangu, however, froze. Too many emotions to name passed through his bodyânone staying for good. At one point, he almost laughed.
âBaiya,â he spoke his name with a smile, unsure of how to proceed. There were several options but many of them would hide parts of the truth and he did not want that. It could make this all easier, yes, but he wanted to be as honest as possible to right the wrongs of their last talk.
ââŚYes?â Baiya quietly urged him, making him realize he had yet to actually say anything.
That time he did chuckle. âYes, rightâŚâ Pangu took a deep breath. âYou are rightâŚI do like Viren. I really do butâŚwhen I made that speech and when I spoke of wanting to marry a manâŚI had you in mind.â
The look on Baiyaâs face would have been a good enough reason, on its own, to say what he had.
âYouâŚwaitâŚâ Baiya struggled with the information so Pangu helped him.
âI like you both,â he confessed with a smile.
Baiya took his turn laughing. He even rubbed a hand over his brow while his other hand settled on his hip. âWowâŚI am not sure what to say.â
Pangu inched closer. This was easier since he knew how Baiya felt already although, he considered, he could change his mind once he realized Panguâs love was not solely linked to him. He doubted he would be troubled by it but it was a possibility.
âI am sorry I lied to you before,â Pangu carried on, slightly changing the subject, âI felt the eyes of spirits on me and the pressure got to me. I was suffocating but nowâŚnow I have no reason to uphold those laws. So, I think you should know I doâŚI do love you too.â
The use of that strong word was what finally got Baiyaâs eyes to meet his. It had been a small eternity since they last looked at one another like this.
Pangu smiled and his heart jumped up into his throat as Baiya walked even closer. He expected him to close the distance right away but he did not. Instead, he touched the side of Panguâs face with careful hands on either sideâfingertips just barely making contact.
âI am glad to hear it.â He continued to just stare down at him, caressing his face and nothing more.
It was a bit frustrating and Pangu let out a breathy laugh. âAre you going to kiss me or not?â
Baiya had been surprised for the entirety of the conversation but that actually made him jerk back for a second. His eyebrows rose up and, before he knew it, he was laughing too. âRight, sorry.â
Despite saying so, Baiya still hesitated to move. He rested his forehead against Panguâs taking small, incremental steps while brushing along his cheeks with his thumbs. It was as if he was afraid to actually do it and Pangu almost asked if he was sure he even wanted to.
But there was desire in his eyes. Pangu was drawn into his gaze and the world became smaller as the last breath between them disappeared. He closed his eyes and just felt. His hands moved on their own, attaching to Baiyaâs shoulders and holding him firmly.
It did not last long enough and Baiya pulled away, still battling his tentativeness. He looked to Pangu as if he expected a scolding or maybe just to check to see if it was satisfactory.
Pangu grinned. In his dreams, his Agni disciple had always been more forward and never doubted himself but the realityâa stark contrastâwas pleasantly surprising. He would have been perfectly happy with an impassioned kiss but the small flecks of worry passing over Baiyaâs face were endearing and made his chest tighten.
He let out a silent laugh as he pulled Baiya closer, circling his arms around his neck so he could anchor himself better. The second kiss was much longer, much deeper, and much more than Pangu could have ever hoped for. He almost started to wonder if this was another dream but the sweat beading on his skin from the humid air and the way Baiyaâs fingers tangled into his hair, tugging by accident was too realistic to be a dream.
When they parted, they shared another wide, careless grin between them. Things would never be the same, for more reasons than Pangu could count, but he was at least excited about the future rather than terrified of it.
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In Carcere Ch.40
Pairing: inahoxslaine (orangebat, inasure)
Rated: T Warnings: spoilers for series finale Chapter: 40/? (previous chapter) Chapter Word Count: 13k
Summary: At first Inaho visits out of duty and humanity. And then he finds he canât stop going back to see Slaine Troyard.
âIâm sorry to say, I canât reveal who our leader is yet,â Lemrina says the minute she can find some time alone with Inaho. âHe actually requested it from me after meeting with Slaine. He says heâd like to talk to you without prior knowledge coloring the discussion.â
Meaning he wants to ensure I donât have time to prepare or plan based on his identity. At least I know itâs a male, though that was hardly unexpected considering the male gender predominance in high Martian ranks.Â
âAnd while normally I would assume your lack of expression might helpâŚâ
âYou donât want to risk the breach of trust it would be if I accidentally reveal I knew in some way. I understand. I assume he revealed his motivation and plans to Slaine?â
âThey didnât have time to go over details of the current plan, but yes, he told Slaine why heâs doing all this and some other relevant information I canât reveal.â
âAnd Slaineâs verdict?â
âAgrees the words made sense, and the emotion demonstrated seemed real, so Slaine âtrusts him as far as he can shoot himâ.â
Inaho nods. âSo he has decided to believe this man but hasnât been blindly led and is keeping a healthy skepticism. Good, in between you two choosing to follow him, I assume I will have the same opinion, unless Iâm privy to information you both were not.â
Lemrina is pleased enough with the mild compliment, as Kaizuka acknowledging anyone elseâs intellect is certainly one, and tries to be gentle. âIâm sure it all means he should be coming to you soon.â
âThat depends, did he also ask Slaine not to tell me?â
âHm, I donât know actually.â
âIf he asked the same of Slaine, it means he wonât be coming anytime soon.â Which is a nuisance; the faster I can discuss this with Slaine, the better.
âMaybe that will be for the best, I heard the medical staff say youâre making quite a bit of progress, but that doesnât mean youâd be fully mentally ready for him soon.â
âCertainly. And did Slaine go forth with our plan?â
âYou mean, that pathetic excuse of an idea, where you pretend to only be pretending to love him?â Lemrina hisses.
âDid you not once pretend to only be pretending to be in love with him as Asseylum?â
Lemrina gasps as if heâd physically slapped her. âThat⌠was different . And much more toned down. And⌠and besides if you really think itâs the same situation, all the more reason for you to accept my opinion on the subject as the correct one.â
With that, she pushes her wheelchair out of the room.
Inaho is hardly concerned; Lemrina is hardly one to be fine with prolonged solitude. And his observation was perfectly logical, she will admit it herself soon if never out loud to him. She will be back.
*
And she certainly was.
âI think itâs time to tell you one more thing.â
You mean you forgot to do so yesterday when you left in exaggerated displeasure. âYes?â
She recounts the Emperorâs situation as well as Slaineâs fears.
Inaho considers it. âThis is something I should examine further when Iâm fully recovered. But for now I agree with Slaineâs interest in this. How both the UFE and Vers treat you and Asseylum will change according to this knowledge. But, we have an edge over both.â
âRayetâs attempt,â Lemrina says. âI asked her before coming over. She told me she tried strangling Asseylum to the point where she required CPR to be revived.â
Inaho nods. âCorrect, and at that time, Asseylum was the one that had directly activated the Deucalion, and it stopped functioning, confirming her momentary death.â
âBy then, Slaine had already received aldnoah from her by way of CPRâwhat?â Lemrina stops, noticing the rare sight of Inahoâs lips quivering upwards for a moment.
âNothing, the coincidence amuses me.â
âI hope youâre not thinking this is a case of indirect kissing?â Lemrina asks in disgust.
âNo. I never understood the logic behind attaching the sentimentality of a kiss to the action of sharing a surface at differentââ
âNo need to go further, Iâm satisfied. Whatâs important is that Slaine retained his aldnoah access even after her momentary death.â She sighs. âIf only all of the Deucalion crew hadnât witnessed that death and subsequent system failure. It will be easy for either faction to get their hands on that information.â
Inaho shrugs. âEven if they do, itâs of little consequence unless the knowledge that Slaine piloted the Tharsis thanks to Asseylum is also information they can procure.â
Lemrina considers it. âItâs hard to say for certain, but I think not. He first used it when he was with Count Saazbaum.â
âDuring a fight between planets, where all eyes were elsewhere, and Slaine didnât use the Tharsis to interfere in a way that would have gotten him noticed before he took off with Asseylum in tow. At which point one could assume that he drank her blood and only after was able to use the Tharsis to leave.â
âCount Saazbaum was aware of my existence, so one could assume if Saazbaum didnât pass his aldnoah access to Slaine, I might have. They'd have to go as far as know Slaine only met me after using the Tharsis.â
âAlthough that only works for people that are aware of your existence. Meaning, assuming that you and Slaine met before his using the Tharsis is something that may only dissuade your leader from looking forâ wait.â Inaho considers it further. âSlaine could have operated the Tharsis without the aldnoah drive, if Count Saazbaum had allowed it, unless he made a show of being able to operate it fully when he reached martians with Asseylum?â
Lemrina shakes her head. âNo, initially there was an uproar as they focused on saving her life. Count Sauzbaum took over and simply acted as if her rescue was his plan and Slaine a mere follower of his. After that, they focused on silently keeping her coma a secret and pretending I was her, partially recovered. There was no interest from martians to getting to know Slaine, much less the extent of what he could do with the Tharsis.â
Inahoâs head begins to feel uncomfortable. Although he can still plough on further, heâd rather not do any damage that might show up on test results. âThis is as far as I can go for now,â he says, pointing to his eye. âBut I can still say at least this until Iâm able to reflect further: I donât think we are at the risk of either martians or terrans finding out the truth. One would have to have an intricate knowledge of Slaine's abilities with the Tharsis, a timeline, as well be aware the Deucalion shut down mid flight once. We never divulged to every crew that it was due to Asseylum nearly being murdered. I donât see it happening. Besidesââ
âReally, if itâs hurting you, you can stop and retake this another time!â
âThis much I can handle. Itâs one last thing. If your leader was on the path of closing in on the truth, heâd have to ask you, Slaine or Harklight for details on Slaine and the Tharsis. So long as neither of you ever divulged anything to him, only we know about this.â
âHe never asked. So we know something neither the UFE or he does. I wonder if we can use that to our favor? Ah, but donât think about that now!â
It is frustrating that he canât reflect on it now. Even more so when Inaho acknowledges there are many things he could have already thought through if heâd been invested in it since the start.
Thereâs no point in regret now.
*
â Ha! I win again. Told you that the second match was a fluke. Thereâs no way Iâd lose to someone who⌠whoâŚâ
Rayet realizes too late that making fun of Slaine for being incarcerated and thus not being allowed to work out properly really isnât a good look.
âI mean, of course I wouldnât lose every match, but itâs actually really impressive you bet me in arm wrestle at all! You should be proud!â
Slaine bursts out laughing. âYou are even worse at giving compliments than Inaho. Itâs fine, really. It is the truth. Iâve been tying some stuff together and lifting those but the results are slow.â
Rayet relaxes; Slaine laughing without a biting edge to it is rare and a good sign. âI used to think anyone could pilot if they had the coordination for it. It took me a while to realize you do need strength to keep your stamina at the controls for long. Nina and Inko always complain about feeling bruised after too long.â
âDid you visit them before coming back? How are they?â
âIn good spirits. Which is something, after being forced to work like that for the UFE.â
âCanât they simply quit?â
âNot everyone can walk away that easily. They let me go at first because they thought I was touched in the head. Inaho, they assumed broken, plus I guess since he was only leaving to take up, well, you, I guess that worked out just fine. The old geezers aboard the Deucalion⌠I think they refuse to leave because they know the UFE is simply going to shove someone else in their place, so they might as well stay aboard to protect the Deucalion.
âAnd the rest⌠I guess they could ask to leave but⌠and go where? I guess this is my own fault because I keep complaining, and also because you only saw them when the UFE started doing shit. But the Deucalion itself⌠It feels like home. And safe. If there was a way to leave the UFE without sacrificing the Deucalion, who knows.â
â... Speaking of the Deucalion. Rayet?â
âYeah?â
âCould you tell me about that time you once mentioned, when you tried to strangle Her Majesty?â
Rayet leans back on her chair, now worried again. â...Why?â Inaho had been very emphatic about not trying to pry the topic of Asseylum out of Slaine in his absence. The possibility of Slaine himself bringing it up hadnât factored in. Especially not with this sort of request.Â
Then it hits her. âOh, wait. Is this about the aldnoah thing? Lemrina asked about the same thing. Yeah, I tried killing her, she fainted, Deucalion went down, she was revived.â
âYes. But Iâd like the details, please.âÂ
Not that Slaine truly needs the details, but itâs clear Rayet is treating him like some invalid that cannot handle even that, and itâs grating on his nerves to not be able to show he is not as unstable as he had been. âI think they might be important.â he lies. âAnd itâs fine, you wonât upset me.â
Rayet considers it, then shrugs. She can blame Slaine if Inaho complains later. âAlright then. My memory is a little foggy because I wasnât in my right mind but uh⌠I was in the shower, reflecting on, well, watching my family be killed before my eyes.â
Slaine blinks. âIâm sorry, I didnât mean toââ
âItâs fine. You couldnât have known. Anyway, in comes Asseylum chatting happily to her maid about how everyone is so nice to her and I just⌠broke? I know how ridiculous it sounds when I tell anyone. Hell, even back then I knew I wasnât okay doing it. Anyway, the motivation was stupid so we can skip thatââ
âYou can skip it if thatâs what you want. But as for stupid motivation to commit crimes, I certainly cannot judge you, if you wanât to talk about it,â Slaine says with a mirthless smile.
â...I blamed her. But it wasnât like my anger now. Now I can see her actively failing and harming people, so it feels like itâs okay to feel this way. But back then⌠I blamed her for things that werenât really her fault. I mean, everything happened because she was so naive, but thereâs a limit to what I can blame her for that. My family was tasked with murdering her with false promises of glory. Then they were betrayed and killed instead. We had lived a life of lies until then, not being allowed to reveal where we came from, even.Â
âI thought⌠if she hadnât come to Earth, none of it would have happened. And then, despite the destruction that her arrival inadvertently caused, she went around skipping through the corridors of the Deucalion like she was out on a fun vacation. No one even blamed her for it! It was too much. My family was dead and she didnât even look upset . I wanted her to stop smiling. â
Rayetâs hands are balled into fists on the table. Slaine reaches out to place his hands over hers.
How different from the me of back then . Cruhteo would whip him, tell him he was worthless, the rest would at best ignore him, at worst steal his food and beat him up. Every day he had to walk in tiptoes, no mistake was ever too small to not get ruthlessly punished for.
And then there was her, smiling brightly and talking about seeing birds and water, unaware of his treatment.Â
He had loved that. He could bask in her obliviousness and for a while pretend nothing was wrong, nothing was happening to him. He had needed that small amount of joy to get through the day.
...But would he have ever suffered that much if she had known and done something to stop it?
No, donât do that. Donât blame her for the things you never told her about.
âWhat then?â He asks, hoping to pull them both away from a spiral by focusing elsewhere.
It works, and Rayet focuses. Her hands relax again, so Slaine takes his back. âSo then the maid left to do⌠whatever, I donât remember. I wasnât in my right mind, like I was acting on autopilot. I went to where she was showering, and grabbed... the nearest object I could to choke her.â
âYou choked her with a towel?â It would have been easier to use her bare hands.
âNo, I donât remember what that object was.â
âI deal with Inaho constantly. Donât try to lie to me.â
â... It was that pendant.â
Slaine lets out a sound that is between incredulous laughter and choking.
âI really only brought her more misery, didnât I?â
âSlaineââ
âMaybe I shouldnât have given it to Inaho. I guess it brings bad luck.â
That he switched so fast from focusing on Asseylum to worrying about Inaho makes Rayet excited enough to speak without thinking. âHeâd have taken it anyway.â
âWhat?â
â... Because⌠Because he doesnât believe in that stuff, you know.â
âAh, right. So, you used my pendant.â
âRight. She eventually stopped struggling and fainted so I let her fall to the floor. I just...stood there not really thinking. But then the Deucalion lurched, fell and stopped moving. Then Inaho and the maid came back.â
âHe likely realized what the Deucalion losing power meant.â
âI guess. And then more people came, they brought in a defibrillator. Inaho personally administered CPRâŚâ
There is a fleeting expression on Slaineâs face, that goes away too quickly for her to make out.Â
âShe woke up again, but the Deucalion didnât start up.â
âYes, once turned off, aldnoah needs to be personally activated again.â
âRight. And⌠that was it. So, Lemrina said this all means even if the former Emperor does die, martians will keep their power?â
â...Yes.â
Rayet clicks her tongue in annoyance. âThere really is no easy way to get rid of their power.â
I wonder. âPlease donât tell anyone. No one knows as much as we do.â
âDonât worry. The only person Iâm inclined to tell is Inaho, and I know Lemrina is going to fill him in. As for why knowing is so useful, Iâll leave you scheming people to it. Now, one more game before I leave?â
âSince Inaho isnât around, how about poker?â
âSure, but donât invite that Harklight. He looks like he can keep a straight face a little too well.â
*
Slaine does, later on, invite Harklight for a game of poker.
Rayet was right; he does have a good poker face.
âThatâs it,â Slaine says after the third loss in a row. âYou are playing against Inaho when he comes back.â
âI fear Iâm not quite that good.â
*
âIâm sorry I couldnât come sooner.â
âDonât be silly, I know how packed your schedule is.â
Packed mostly with useless fluff. Still, it is necessary to establish a routine of continuous movement and meetings, so as to mask any suspicious activities.
Mazuurek, leading the way to a private room, continues the mindless chatter. âIâm surprised you came so early, in fact. I hope I havenât interrupted any important meetings, I really have nothing urgent to say, I just miss personal company sometimes.â
âOn the contrary,â Klancain replies. âI happened to have an opening.â True, as dropping a meeting to randomly visit Mazuurek might seem suspicious. âSo it was simply luck that I could come over so soon.â
Instead of answering, Mazuurek stops in front of a door and opens it for Klancain to walk inside.
Itâs one of Mazuurekâs favorite guest rooms, and Klancain is casual enough with Mazuurek to sit himself down on a couch.
âThis room is safe, I always check,â Mazuurek assured him, sitting down on the opposite side.
âIs somewhere in your Landing Castle not safe right now?â
âNot that Iâm aware. But, well, I thought it might be prudent to be careful.â
âOh yes. Pardon me, I didnât mean to come off as judging you, my friend. It is indeed better to be safe than sorry in these troubled times. Itâs just that, if you had a more concrete belief on being spied upon, I could try and help.â
Before Mazuurek can answer, there is a knock on the door and a servant comes in bringing food, glasses and a bottle to set the low table between the two Counts.
âThat was different,â Klancain comments mildly when theyâre alone again. âUsually I see that former maid of Her Majestyâs.â
Mazuurek smiles as he grabs a pastry. âShe had been granted some vacation time off. I made some calculations and realized she had accrued two months of vacation she had never bothered to request. Hungry?â
âNot really, thank you, but Iâll accept a drink. And that was nice of you.â
âNot that nice, according to her. She certainly acted like I was kicking her out, not rewarding her with some time to rest.â Mazuurek sighs. âI used to allow them to do as they wish with their vacation, but Iâve noticed my martian underlings all refuse to take time off, so I decided to set her as an example. Really, I do understand that in between needing to build up Vers to become hospitable and then getting ready for war, we hardly ever had time for such things. But now that weâre here, I want to increase Labor Rights so my workers have a better life. Even if it takes a while for it to sink in.â
âA commendable idea. I should reinforce that in my own Landing Castle. Oh!â Klancain had been examining the drink bottle and finally noticed the label on it. âThis is new, and from your territory, no less. Whatâs this, Mazuurek?â
Mazuurek looks half apologetic. âIâm sorry, but I was hoping to hear your opinion on it? Itâs something that has been around for a while here, but recently I thought of perhaps increasing production and trying to export to other territories. It might help the economy.â
âIâll gladly be your test group. Letâs seeâŚâ He tries taking a sip. âVery good. I can definitely see this succeeding as an export.â
âI hope you arenât saying that just to please me.â
âI wouldn't jeopardize your economic endeavors by lying about their success rate. But tell me, has something happened? I thought you were doing fine.â
âFine is good, certainly, but I want more than that. Perhaps with a surplus of income I could expand and help more people. Not to mention⌠who knows how things will be in the future, considering the current situation.â
Ah, here we go .Â
Mazuurek waits, but when he sees Klancain has no plans to say anything, he continues, now serious.
âThe UFE murdered Count Mikael.â
â...Yes.â
âAnd you knew about it.â
âI did.âÂ
âWhy didnât youâŚâ
âDo anything?â Klancain downs the rest of his glass in one motion, then looks at Mazuurek with sincere despondency. âBecause there was nothing I could do. If I had sufficient sway, I would never had allowed the UFE to not only murder one of our own, but to go further and do it in a way to create strife between our people. Yes, I knew about it; but that is the extent of what I can do. The terrans that compose the UFE Council did not arrive there by easily listening to martians.Â
â...You could have told me.â
âDid Kaizuka tell you?â
âI... thought we were closer than Kaizuka and I,â Mazuurek says, and colors lightly, likely from frustration.
Klancain flinches; heâs gone too far. âI apologize, my friend. The subject is a complicated one for me. If youâre upset with me for not having done anything, rest assured I am even more so. I didnât tell you because I saw no point in burdening you with it.â
âBut I could have done something!â
âDo you truly think so? What would you have done, then? Revealed what the UFE was planning, thus restarting another planetary conflict and resulting in more bloodshed?â
â... IâŚâ
âIf Kaizuka also chose to keep this from you, then itâs because even he realized there was nothing you could do. But please, donât take that as you are lacking. If it is a failure, itâs one we both share.â
Mazuurek silently stares at him, then his shoulders sag. He leans forward, reaching for his empty glass.Â
Klancain grabs the bottle and offers to pour for him. Mazuurek hesitates then, to Klancainâs surprise, grabs the whole bottle from him and drinks directly from it.
âThat isnât very respectful of you,â Klancain says with amusement.
âAh, screw that,â Mazuurek says uncharacteristically, but heâs smiling.
âCare to share?â
âAs much as you care to share your information.â
âAlright, I deserve that. Sobriety it is.â
âAh, fine, you donât,â Mazuurek admits, and hands the bottle over. Klancain considers it for a second before shrugging and following his example, foregoing the glass.
âI understand that itâs not as if Iâd do anything about it. Just like about⌠Slaine Troyard.â
Ah. âKaizuka told you that, too.â
âOh, you have no idea .â
âHm? Iâm all ears.â
â... No, I will keep the details to myself. Not out of spite, but some things⌠are Kaizukaâs to talk about. You can go ask him.â
Oh? Did he mention his feelings for Slaine to Mazuurek? A pity it would be too suspicious to inquire about that. âMaybe I will. He and I never had a chance to talk, actually.â
âYouâll work out great, with those tendencies to not tell your friends the very relevant information you know.â
âMazuurekâŚâ Klancain tries to offer him the bottle again, but Mazuurek refuses.
âNo. Look, as I said, I have to admit I really can do nothing about Troyard, nor could I have stopped the UFE without making it worse. But to think that even you will refuse to tell me such important things⌠it means not only do you not think me useless, you donât even see me as trustworthy or care about me enough to ensure that Iâm also aware!â
Maybe I shouldnât tread too lightly after all. âI see. So, when will you be telling Her Majesty?â
â...!â
âCome now. Are you perhaps not fond of her enough to keep her informed?â It would be nice if you acknowledged she is hardly intelligent enough for you to ever risk it, but you wonât go down that path.
âThatâs⌠I donât want to hurt her.âÂ
âAnd that, my friend, is why I havenât told you. Sharing this with you, so you too can live knowing how powerless we are, wouldnât make me happier.â
Mazuurekâs shoulders sag in defeat. âI suppose I understand. But still, now that I know this much, itâs not going to help me to keep more from me. Promise me youâll now tell me if you know of the next attack.
âWhile I can swear I am not aware of any attack at the moment... no, I cannot promise you Iâll warn you of future ones. Not unless you promise youâll take that information and do nothing with it.â
â...! But what if I find a wayââ
âAnd what way would that be? Visit the Count and stay with him forever? No Mazuurek, I will not risk your life by telling you that information in advance.â
Mazuurek looks like he wants to argue, but again canât find an argument. Klancain takes pity on him.
âObviously, if you are ever their target,â he chuckles at the notion, âI will immediately warn you. Although, thanks to Kaizuka, I assume youâll be on the lookout hereon for suspicious skycarriers requesting permission to land, and you can just shoot Troyard on sight.â
To Klancainâs surprise, Mazuurek groans, pulling at his bangs. âI⌠am going to try and avoid that. Shooting him down I mean.â
So Kaizuka did say something about his feelings. âWhat is this? Pity for him now?â
âI guess,â Mazuurek says, and canât quite look him in the eyes, confirming Klancainâs assumption. âOh. Maybe you can at least help me with his collar?â
âHm?â
âCan you acquire the plans to how it was made? I could try and find a way to dismantle it.â
Itâs a relief to finally hear something he can agree with, and Klancain smiles. âAs a matter of fact, I might be able to procure that for you.â He had, in fact, already begun to do so; if he could remove the collar mid-operations, he could take Slaine from the UFE through the easiest route. âOr at the very least, the signal information. The UFE knows this collar is all that keeps Troyard in check and obedient outside of his cell, the plans wonât be something theyâve left unguarded.â
âI imagine so. But itâs fine, we have to try something. Maybe I could create a device to jam the signal, at least.â
âTrue, Iâll tell you of any updates I have on that, just donât get your hopes up too much. And if the UFE tires of keeping Troyard alive, Iâll tell you after the fact. Thatâs the most I can do.â
Mazuurek sighs. âFine, I know not to push my luck. That said, Slaine Troyard⌠I feel partially to blame for that.â
âHm? Why so?â
âIâve been thinking, ever since Inaho came over. I recalled when I first heard theyâd use him as a scapegoat to secure peace.â
Klancain considers it. âAh, yes. The UFE Council called Her Majesty in for a private meeting, and neither of us had the power or influence to join in.â
Mazuurek nods. âAnd then when she came to us later, with the idea of using him in her head, I remember⌠remember how I didnât really object. I thought, âheâs dead, and nearly succeeded in hurting terrans and was keeping Her Majesty captive, why not?â. I was tired, I wanted an end to all the fighting already and besides, maybe it would be cathartic for Her Majesty to pay him back for the hurt he caused her. I never voiced a complaint.â
âYou didnât know he was alive.â
âDid you?â
âNo. We landed on Earth together, remember? I still hadnât managed to acquire any connections to terrans, much less the UFE or Kaizuka. I didnât have the information,â Klancain answers truthfully.
âThatâs the thing. You also didnât know he was alive, but you thought things true. I remember how you tried dissuading Her Majesty. You said Count Saazbaum would be more appropriate. In fact, you even offered your fatherââ
âAh, please donât think that suggestion was a big sacrifice on my part. We werenât close and besides, my dear father would want nothing more than to have his memory used for the sake of Versâ future.â
âEven so, you tried . I said nothing. It never occurred to me just how fragile the peace weâve brokered on this lie really is, until Inaho spelled it out to me. Maybe, if I had just said anythingâŚâ
âMaybe nothing would have changed.â Klancain cuts his thoughts short. âIt wasnât your job to think of it for Her Majesty, donât blame yourself for something that you might not have achieved even if you had tried. I could also have done more. Insisted on it, or talked to you to get you to help me. But I dropped it quickly enough, too.â
He had initially wanted for Slaine to not be used, as he had known nothing would seal his fate tighter than that; in any other situation the UFE might lock him up but never as closely guarded as now that they cannot afford to lose their excuse.Â
That said, choosing Slaine as the figurehead did help him in other regards; by blaming a young boy, it speeded up martian suspicion of Asseylum by at least a year.
âI suppose. And Iâm sure the UFE wouldnât let Her Majesty change her mind so easily.â
Klancain considers if he can afford to push Mazuurek a little more. He doesnât want him feeling worse, yet he does need to plant seeds of doubt on him, if he ever hopes to not have to fight him in the future. He chooses to try. âAs a matter of fact, that is something Iâve been wondering.â
âYes?â
âWas placing all the blame on Troyard something the UFE came up with?â
âYou meanâŚ!â
âWhen I think about it, wouldnât the UFE rather blame a martian Count, instead of a terran boy that had just barely risen to power?â
âSo, you think Her Majesty suggested him.â
It certainly sounds like the foolish, lacking in oversight, decision of someone who never had to think of the consequences of her actions in a negative light, and who wanted him to personally pay. âIâm afraid I am leaning towards that assumption, for now. Recall, if you please, that Troyardâs troops were poised on the eve of a victory. The peace protected terrans and not our people. It would not interest them to broker a peace too fragile that would result in Vers taking back the fight before they could even recover.â
âBut then, why?â
âMaybe at that moment they wanted nothing more than to please the one person they had to thank for creating the ceasefire. And if her request was something that came with no sacrifice to them or their power, why start their relationship with a refusal? Better to give her that, start amicable relationships with a show of being willing to follow her lead then disagree and push back or more serious matters for the UFE.â
That, and now having something over Asseylumâs head. If she ever seems to be no longer following UFEâs interests, they can hold Slaine over her head. If she tries to amass martian power against terrans one day, they can ruin trust her people have in her by revealing the truth.
And that is the true reason they willingly kept Slaine alive even before they had any use for him. They could have killed him and claimed an accident, or suicide, to appease Asseylumâs sensibility if she ever cared to ask.
He is a tool to overturn regimes. The question is, who will use him.
Wherever you realize it or not, accept it or not, Asseylum, it was Slaine that gave you the power to create this false peace. Everything you built thanks to him, he can destroy.
And Iâll see to it that he does.
Mazuurek does not notice Klancainâs darkening face, lost in his own thoughts.
The UFEâs power must be diminished.
Heâd been meaning to tell Klancain of his plans to increase his own influence, but now heâs changed his mind. Itâs not that he wants to be petty over the lack of information; he simply feels it would best if Klancain continued to be oblivious, to not harm his own standing in the UFE.Â
Besides, Klancain is smart, heâll notice it in time, if Mazuurek succeeds.
*
âLemrina, how does the aldnoah transfer work?â
Lemrina frowns. â You donât know?â
âAssume I donât.â
âFine. By swearing fealty to the Royal Family then accepting our blood. The loyalty and the blood together allow for aldnoah use.â
âSlaineââ
âOther body fluids donât carry the same power as blood. Rather than that, through skin to skin contact is how loyalty, or love, is verified. That gives the subject a temporary contract; you can use aldnoah to activate one thing to your will, but nothing else. To complete the contract and fully receive aldnoah, blood must then be ingested.â
âI presume you gave Slaine your blood then, during the war?â
Lemrina shifts uncomfortably. â... As a matter of fact, no. I⌠was foolish. I knew heâd need me less if I did give him, and I wanted to retain some power over him⌠â
âThat was a very sensible decision on your part.â
âNo, no it wasnât. Maybe it sounds like it, but I know there was nothing logical about it, I just wanted attention. Anyway, I would give him my blood now, but I canât ask for his loyalty.â
âAbout that, is there some basis, some test done, to ascertain it requires loyalty?â
âA text left behind by the ancients. It said:Â
â Those who are loaned to âsuccessorâ and âmaneuverâ need to ârecognizeâ each other as part of their own. The consciousness that feels like a part of oneself, recognizing that the object is a personality different from oneself, can also be called âloyaltyâ. In other words, it is also called âloveâ. Only to those who pledge âloyaltyâ or âloveâ, Ald Noah's âmaneuverâ is borrowed .â
â...â
âWhat is it?â
âNothing, just my head.�� For once, itâs a lie.
*
âKaizuka, you have a visitor.â
Inaho frowns at the unexpectedness. He doubts itâs his friends from the Deucalion, or else theyâd come as a group. He glances at Lemrina, doing strength training a few feet away, but she looks back clearly just as lost.
âThatâs fine, bring them in,â Inaho says.
Even more surprisingly, it turns out to be Eddelrittuo.
âGreetings, Inaho KaizukaâŚâ she says, and Inaho canât quite place the look on her face.Â
Well, whatever it may be, she doesnât seem pleased to be here. âItâs been a while, Eddelrittuo.â
âYesâŚâ Before she can say anything else, she catches sight of Lemrina and her eyes grow wide. âY-You!â
Inaho sighs inwardly, wishing Eddelrittuo had learned to be a little less open and expressive.
âI suppose working under Mazuurek, you havenât seen a fellow maid of Her Highness, so your surprise isnât shocking.â
Annoyingly, she does not catch the hint. âW-What?â
âHello, Eddelrittuo,â Lemrina says smoothly, coming over as fast as her wheelchair would allow. âItâs been a while since we both worked together under Her Majestyâs employ, hasnât it?â
Finally Eddelrittuo understands. âOh! Right! Yes, itâs been so long, how are you?â
âIâm doing better. My legs can almost move again.â To prove her point, Lemrina exerts some effort and her legs kick.
Eddelrittuoâs eyes grow wide again, but for the first time since her arrival, she smiles warmly. âThatâs great! Iâm so happy for you!â
âIâm done, we can relocate to my room,â Inaho says, trying to steer them towards privacy, but to his surprise Eddelrittuo scrunches up her nose.Â
âWhy would I want to visit your room?â
So she wasnât sent by Mazuurek due to a sensitive topic. âThatâs fine then. So, why are you here?â
She stomps her foot. âCount Mazuurek he⌠he gave me a vacation! â The last word is said as a wail.
Inaho looks to Lemrina, assuming this is a cultural thing.Â
Lemrina is frowning slightly. âVacationâŚ? Oh, yes, I recall that concept.â She giggles and turns to Inaho. âReceiving time off isnât expected for martians, especially not those⌠those of us who work directly with the Royal Family. That is a privilege, you see, and needing to rest would imply weakness and dissatisfaction with the work. At most you receive a day or so of rest a month.â
âAnd Iâm not tired!â Eddelrittuo whined. âI didnât become Her Majestyâs personal maid on a whim! I was picked as the best, and I never shirked from duty!â
Child and slave labor rolled in one. Hm, is this a consequence of the harsh conditions of the planet, resulting in the need for more work and less ethics? Something similar even if not as drastic did occur in Japan afterâ
This isnât the time for that. âThat is stupid,â he says bluntly. âPeople need rest, for the sake of their psychological health. There are countless studies on it. Outside of martial law, Earth has civil rights and labor laws in place to protect people, and I assume Mazuurek is trying to implement them.â
Eddelrittuo sniffs. âYes, he mentioned something of the kind. And said thatâŚâ She raised her head up proudly. âAs a former maid of Her Majesty and someone that others hold in high esteem in the Landing Castle, I had to be the example to do it first, because if I did it, others would naturally follow.â
So are you upset or not? âSo you decided to visit me?â Inaho doesnât bother to hide the incredulity in his voice. Lemrina bites her lip, but itâs clear sheâs stifling laughter.
Eddelrittuo puts her hands on her hips, and looks up at Inaho vexed again. âObviously this isnât my idea of this âvacationâ thing. When the Count told me to take off from work, I wanted to hang around the Landing Castle to help out. Itâs my time off so I could right? But then Mazuurek asked me to run errands.â
â... You could have refused. If itâs your vacation, it means time away from work.â
Eddelrittuo looks horrified. â Disobey direct orders from the Count?! I am an exemplary maid! I would never! â
Trying to comprehend this further might just undo all the progress Iâve done with my recovery. Iâll send Mazuurek a list of materials to help him when I can, heâll need it . âI see. So, what was the errand?â
âHe wanted me to bring you... this!â She reaches into her bag and takes out a carefully wrapped up bottle.
He unwraps it as Lemrina looks over his shoulder. â... Alcohol?â
Eddelrittuo is looking proud again. âNot just any alcohol! That liquor was especially made in Count Mazuurekâs territory! He said he wants to start promoting it to other places, so you better show respect and be thankful he let you have such a thing for free!â
Is he planning to supplement his economic revenue by finally taking up trading? This is a luxury item so it wonât have much of a big impact. Then again, if the impact is small, less attention to him earlier on. And the revenue from this could then be used to invest in better itemsâŚ
âTell him I appreciate it. Iâll keep it safe and share it with my sister when I return home.â
Eddelrittuo looks satisfied. âGood!â She glances at Lemrina and hesitates. âIs there something I can help you with?â
Is that her loyalty to the Royal family, or did she grow fond of Lemrina after being with her for two years? So long as it isnât pity it should beâ
âIâm fine , thank you,â Lemrina says, too curtly.
Whether Eddelrittuo meant is a friendly gesture or not no longer mattered; Lemrina had interpreted it as pity.
Itâs not enough to deter Eddelrittuo. âNow that Count Mazuurek managed to kick me out, Iâm going to stay here. I know that if I come back earlier heâll just send me on another long errand again. So, if you need me, or you just want to talk about⌠about our work, you can call me!â
âThere wonât be a need,â Lemrina insists.
âCertainly, give us your address,â Inaho says instead, and ignores the glare from Lemrina.
He doubted heâd need it, but it might be useful to know where she was staying at, to use her to move around if he needed an excuse.
*
Inaho is finally seen as fit to walk outside soon enough.
Lemrina wonders if she should be polite and act happy for him, but decides not to when Inaho barely blinks at the news.
âItâs only natural. Iâve been fit to do so for some time, but since I never insisted on leaving, they decided to make use of that and pay extra heed. Everything points to me being discharged on time, so naturally they canât keep me away from open spaces for longer, as they need to see how I react to the public. Besides, the level of rehabilitation necessary has been exaggerated from the start, to dissuade the UFE from using me more.â
Lemrina shakes her head at the predictability of his answer and focuses on moving her feet, frustration bubbling at being unable to follow suit just yet.
âYou started your own rehabilitation after mine,â Inaho points out. âIf we consider time spent and results, you are making progress faster.â
Is he trying to console her for not being allowed to walk with him? It doesnât quite work.
âItâs not as if Iâm missing out on anything,â Lemrina says, more for herself than him, and even Inaho knows better than to contradict such a thing.
He could have argued in favor of allowing her, accompanied by him, to walk outside with her crutches. However, while Inaho knows the UFE is not monitoring his every move, he has plans heâd rather not have something as conspicuous as someone on crutches accompanying him.
He barely pays attention to the rest of the medical facility as he walks to the exit; he only notes that it remains unchanged, as expected.Â
Outside he pauses and pays more attention. The flow of people remains the same as the last time he had been there. No, perhaps it had increased slightly.
Nothing heâd seen had reached the number of crowds heâd witnessed in his birth city before the war, but compared to other places, he supposed this city could be considered of the more populated ones for the current standards.
Just as well for him, as with that many people, heâd be able to find an exclusive martian bar.
Not that, technically, exclusivity was allowed. Asseylum had been vocal against bars that attempted to be specific to any race⌠which did not mean people had not found ways to circumvent that.
There are two places heâs been told of. One is a bar recommended by Lemrina, as the base for those of her faction in the city.
Not that she had to tell him that. The name alone was clear enough the owner was feeling disinclined to the current martian rule: The Sons of Zeus .Â
Even as Inaho is amused at the name âis it overconfidence that no one would understand the bar was, in a way, referencing the Dioscuri , or boldness to not care for consequences?â he would rather not go there. He wants to hear the regular opinion of martians, not the chatter of already converted dissidents.
Which brings him to the restaurant recommended by Mazuurek.
He finds it, entrance half hidden in a narrow alley, and itâs name is equally amusing to him: Prometheus Restaurant .
Martians quite enjoy their Greek. I wonder if the connection in name is on purpose.
There is no window to the inside, and the door is closed, manned by a waitress who jumps to attention when it becomes clear Inaho plans to enter.
âIâm sorry, sir,â the man says politely, âIâm afraid we are full. Do you have a reservation, sir?â
And as easily as that, a place could guarantee exclusivity while flying under the radar.
Wordlessly, Inaho takes out and shows him the token Mazuurek had long ago handed him for such a situation. The waiter examines it and smiles, opening the door for him to enter.
Itâs dimly lit and, while not truly full, has a decent number of seated people. Inaho finds a table in between two filled ones and sits down. A television overhead is playing the news. He orders something and settles down for listening in.
For a while, nothing relevant is being said. At the table behind him are a couple who are lightly mocking their Count and laughing at their brilliance at having used an errand to make a date week between them. The table in front of Inaho has three martians who are unaffiliated to any Count âdid they defect or have their Count die? They never say, but all martians on Earth are military so they must have worked for oneâ discussing the jobs theyâve been doing in the city to make ends meet. Sadly nothing relevant of the operations is being said, as they are clearly very low on the hierarchy and simply bemoan their work.
And then food and drinks arrive for both tables, and the conversations all converge into awe. Awe at what theyâre currently tasting, reminiscent awe over things theyâve tasted before, and hopeful awe at what theyâre planning to taste next.
Inahoâs own appetizer arrives, and it isnât anything he hasn't tasted before.
If martians are still reacting like this to terran food after all this time, then the quality of their food on Vers is worse than I presumed.
And then, finally, something of use to him is said.
It happens, naturally, the moment the television brings news of Asseylum. A hush falls over the restaurant as everyone, even the waiters, stop to look at the news.
Itâs nothing much: Asseylum is seen somewhere in Africa, talking to an affected population still struggling after the war, saying she feels for their plight and pledging to help.
âWe are all humans,â Asseylum says to a microphone, surrounded by bodyguards, âwe should not be harming each other. Vers will make up for the pain it caused our terran brothers and sisters.â
âWhy are they so sure the war is the cause for their issues?â Someone grumbles in the restaurant. âI heard terrans were all fighting themselves before we came along.â
âRight, right. Thatâs why Vers was created in the first place, wasnât it? To get less people on Earth to fix their problems.â
âWhy is she pledging to help them when she hasnât even helped us ?â One of the people on the table ahead of Inaho says, voice a little too loud. His companion hisses at him for it, but no one else tries to argue.
No other complaint is forthcoming, but even Inaho can read the displeasure on the faces around him. Itâs soon gone, however.
This is not enough for a revolution, but the dissatisfaction has already settled in. If the dissidents want, they can spread and increase resentment until Asseylumâs defenders become the minority.
Inaho waits longer, but there is nothing else of note.
As he leaves, he glances at the name of the restaurant again, and wonders if in the future any call back to Prometheus will be removed.
*
Slaine lays in his bed, running over his talk with Klancain again. No matter how much he thinks back to it, or how much time passes, he canât get any additional clarity.
Inaho should be coming back in less than a month, if he doesnât dawdle, but Slaine doubts he will bring back any news of Klancain. Even if the man had requested that he keep the identity from Inaho, it would be foolish of him to go so soon. Whoever he has in his pocket in the UFE might accept a meeting with Slaine⌠but one followed quickly by a meeting with Inaho? No, Klancain had done everything slowly so far, he could afford to wait longer.
Slaine frowns as he looks at the dark ceiling. That is something heâs wondering about. Why has Klancain been so slow? Certainly, by letting things run their course, the martian acceptance of the Empress may decrease naturally⌠but he runs the risk of terrans fortifying themselves. Is it a mere oversight of Klancainâs? Slaine doubts it. Either Klancain has less power than he seems, and thus can barely make a move, or he is waiting for something.
How many times have I come back to this? Thereâs no point, there are too many possibilities, I need Inahoâs insight for this.
Not that Slaine is too frustrated. He had expected to gleam little from the conversation; his main priority was finally seeing who the leader was, and setting in motion his plan with Inaho.
If nothing else, hopefully I succeeded inâŚ
In keeping Inaho alive?
Slaine blinks, and sits up from his bed as the realization dawned. He quickly covers his mouth with a hand before a nervous laugh escapes. He doesnât want the guard coming in wondering why he is awake.
He could have gotten rid of him. Inaho is useful, but hardly as much as he had been before the brain damage. Not to mention, his status as a terran makes it clear where his allegiances would always truly lie.
If Slaine had wanted to, he could have instead told Klancain that Inaho will be a liability, no matter how nice he is to Slaine in his captivity. The Warden is in Klancainâs pocket, so is Harklight.
Honestly⌠they could even recreate what they had done for the Empress: stage an accident, murder Inaho, put Lemrina in disguise in his place.
Laughter bubbles again, and Slaine grabs the pillow to muffle it.
He hadnât even contemplated that. He had so little desire of wanting to harm Inaho now that when the singular chance presented itself all he could focus on was how to protect him instead.
All that time he had wanted him gone and yet failed at every turn⌠and finally the opportunity only presents itself when he no longer has any desire to do it.
It truly is as if the universe is laughing at him.
Even so⌠more than the hilarious irony of it all, the situation feels⌠freeing.
For the first time, for truly the first time, Slaine feels the burden of their roles gone.
No matter how much Inaho treated him as an equal, and no matter how much Slaine truly believed it, the fact never changed that Inaho had his life in his hands.
Now, even if a little, Slaine has a similar power.
Maybe it shouldnât change anything, yet it does, even if Slaine canât quite place what.
*
âDo you have a detailed world map? No, of course you donât. Do you have a personal device that can use the internet?â
Lemrina blinks. Inaho visiting her room was unexpected enough, and his appearance by asking strange questions was even more so.
â... Yes, I do not have a map. And no, I donât have a personal device of that sort. Why?â
Inaho sits down on her bed. âI knew the probability was very low, but had to check.â
She observes him. She still canât read his face, but Inaho is talking faster and being ruder than normal.Â
This may be his way of being upset. âWhatâs wrong? Why the map? Why not use your tablet?â
Inaho sighs. âThey took away my personal tablet when I got here and gave me a pre-approved one, to avoid my looking at material that might overload my neural senses.â
âAnd this new tablet wonât allow you to look at a map?â
âIt would. But itâs not as safe as mine.â
âStart from the beginning. Why do you need a map and why must it be kept a secret?â
âInko called me. Inko isââ
âI know who she is, Rayet told me.â
âInko and my other friends had been planning to pass by me here in a week, but the Deucalionâs route has been changed.â
â... Iâm not following.â She hates to admit it, but she doubts Inaho will explain if she doesn't say it.
Inaho hesitates before replying. âThe Deucalion has a pre-established route. It has never needed to be changed.â
âDid Inko not have a reason for the change?â
âThey told her that with the escalating tension and suspicion due to the Landing Castle massacre, they want to avoid the Deucalion moving in the same pattern as it has for the last year, to avoid it becoming a target from martians. And the new route would also be better for monitoring all the Landing Castles as it focuses on Europe.â
Lemrina huffs. âWell, apart from the fact that we know it wasnât my people that did it, isnât this a logical step? The Deucalion is the most well known symbol of terran power, after all.â
âAs you said, the UFE knows martians are nowhere near to attacking them yet. That said, yes, this could be simply a ruse to make it more believable that the UFE is just as worried and in the dark about the attack as anyone else. However, there are two other possibilities.â
âWhich are?â
âThey could be using this to have attention focused on the Deucalion, and with that act elsewhere without being noticed.â
Finally Lemrina understands. âThey want attention on the Deucalion to attack another Landing Castle.â
âPossibly. However these two hypothesisââ
âAre you not exerting yourself?â
Inaho frowns. âI have less than three weeks before Iâm discharged. I can do this much without backlash.â
âAlright. You were saying?â
âThe two hypothesis weâve talked about so far are easy to verify: if the Deucalion changing route becomes news, then indeed either the UFE wants to act worried over martians, or it wants attention diverted to the Deucalion. Iâve already checked the news, and there is nothing of the sort so far.â
âIt could be early days yet. Official announcements often need to be reviewed. If your friends just learned of it, maybe itâs still being sent to the press. But, where does the map come in?â
â... If this change isnât advertised at all, then something else is being done. I have one or two ideas, but I donât want to voice probabilities without first checking a map. My knowledge of the European continent isnât detailed enough to visualize their route and what theyâll be passing through without one.â
â... I think theyâll be allowing me to walk out of this place soon, I could look for one.â
âBringing back a map will be strange. There is a museum close by. My sister took me to it the first time I was here, thereâs a map that will suffice. I would go there myself but, in this case I think it would be prudent to be careful. So Iâd like to have you with me as an excuse.â
âAlright. But if you need to acquire one fasterââ
âI donât. Even if we had confirmation, there is nothing we can do, so we might as well be cautious about it.â
â... I see.â
*
There is no news of the Deucalion the next day, or the next, or the following days either.
Lemrina sees Inaho frown sometimes, as he watches the news channels intently.
Perhaps a kinder person than Lemrina might try to placate him with platitutes on how maybe the staff is hiding such information from them, as a means to avoid a lapse in Inahoâs recovery now that it is almost done.
No, there is no reason for them to hide something so simple from him. And he isnât the sort to feel better by silly words.
It is, however, frustrating to not know what are the possibilities Inaho is worrying about. But Lemrinaâs pride wonât let her beg for information he has already refused to impart. She can demand answers again when they manage to procure a map.
If Slaine was around, heâd be able to keep up with Kaizuka and would explain it to me without acting like itâs an obvious conclusion to make.
âYourâ Lemrina?â A timid voice brings her back from her reverie, and Lemrina is forced to focus on Eddelrittuo again.
The maid had decided to visit her, and Lemrina didnât want to cause a stir by refusing to meet.
Worst of all, Eddelrittuo had assured her yet again sheâd spend the remainder of her vacation nearby, in case Lemrina wanted her help.
âI apologize, my mind was far off. You were saying?â She asks with a plastered smile.
âN-Not a problem! I just said that itâs amazing how much progress youâve made!â
Lemrina wants to use her once again functioning legs to kick the girl. Instead she keeps on her smile and pretends to focus on her physical exercise, to avoid having to look at Eddelrittuo.
Itâs not, truly, as if the maid has done her ill. She treated Lemrina very well during their time working together, giving her the full respect and attention a legitimate royal member deserved.
⌠But Lemrina had caught her wistful gazes at her comatose sister. Much like Slaine, Eddelrittuo had seen her as a replacement for Asseylum, and had always hoped that was only temporary.
Of course, if she had forgiven Slaine for that, she could hardly lash out at Eddelrittuo for the same.
No, if the maidâs former actions had simply not created a bond between them, it had not brought out vengeance as well. What was making Lemrina wish to kick the girl out was her actions now. More precisely, her looks.
The pity. The terrible pity in her eyes. Eddelrittuo had never loved her, yet here she is throwing out praises for every little thing. As if she had seen Lemrina as so pitiful and weak that even this much success was beyond expectation. As if she needed validation to succeed. As if she was so miserable she needed the pity of a pathetic little maid who couldnât even decide her own loyalties.
Slaine is alive. She wants to say that. It would shock Eddelrittuo more than any slap or kick would. She has the words on the tip of her tongue.
You think you can afford to act like Iâm beneath you? Like I need your pity and your kindness and your silly little praises? Do you think your words or existence mean anything to me, change anything of mine? Foolish little girl! Pity yourself and the stupid life youâve led. You gave your all to my sister, did you know she has kept Slaine prisoner all this time? She lied about his involvement, while he is alive and kicking and thanks to her, will never see the light of day! Pityâ
She realizes she is stepping too hard and stops, breathing in deeply. To not only shake Eddelrittuo, but even make her fully push away Asseylum would feel vindictive butâŚ
But that feeling would leave, and Iâll just feel guilty. This girl is so young. If my sister, who prepared all her life to rule, can turn out so pathetic, who am I to grow bitter over a little maid, who was taught nothing at all?
So what if she pities me now. I wonât be forced to bear this for long. Soon she will leave, and Kaizuka will treat me like Iâm not in rehabilitation at all. Then I can go see Rayet, and Slaine, and Harklight, who will be happy for me but wonât look at me like Iâm a charity caseâŚ
She sighs. Eddelrittuo is immediately alert.
âIs everything alright? Should I call someone? Can I help?â
Lemrina looks at the eager little face⌠and pities her instead.
âI might have stepped incorrectly just now, help me to a seat.â She doesnât request, she demands, even if softly, yet Eddelrittuo happily obliges.
Maybe she doesnât pity me as much as I think. Maybe what she wants is to be useful. Is she trying to make up for having chosen Asseylum?
⌠It doesnât matter. Let her have her peace. Iâve found mine.
As for Slaine⌠no, she wouldnât tell her. It would help no one.
Enough people are broken. If all goes well, one day she will know the truth. Let her have her last few moments of innocence.
Eddelrittuo helps her to a seat. Lemrina looks at her and smiles. âThank you,â she says, then canât help but giggle.
âWhat is it?â
âOh, I apologize for laughing. Iâm just⌠happy Iâve come this far.â
Actually, Iâm imagining Rayetâs face if I tell her meeting her has stopped me from lashing out at a martian.
*
Another week, and finally Lemrinaâs legs are good enough that sheâs allowed out. She makes a show of telling staff she wants to visit the museum she heard is nearby, and Inaho agrees to take her there.
Inaho glances at Lemrina as they walk unheeded towards the exit of the medical facility. She seems focused on walking but nothing else.
Then again, this wonât be the first terran city she has visited, so itâs expected that she wouldnât be nervous or excited about it.
They walk through a doorway and find themselves in a crowded corridor, with nurses running left and right, and people with physical disabilities being helped around. Inaho ignores it all, naturally as heâs been walking by alone for a while now, but Lemrina pays attention.
âItâs always surprising when I see how crowded the rest of the facility is,â Lemrina says as they pass by the doorway to a room where some wait in a line for physical training.
âItâs because we have connections, so we are rewarded with more space fully dedicated to us.â
Lemrina sighs. âI know.â
âThis way,â Inaho says, then walks without waiting for her. His pace isnât fast, so Lemrina can keep up without struggle. A good thing, as sheâd never put herself low enough to ask Kaizuka to slow down for her sake.
Lemrina looks at their surroundings intently as they walk, then turns to him. âI always wondered, looking at all the buildings, is the sparse population a direct result of the last war only?â
âIt depends on the location. Although everywhere was impacted by the last attempted invasion, many locations were already partially abandoned as a result of Heavenâs Fall.â
â... Although Mars is a vast planet, the habitable land is small. I have heard the soldiers talk about it, and seen pictures: the streets are lined with people. They have barely any space to walk, much less live. Meanwhile Earth has all this space�� Vers could come here and inhabit it without needing to kill more terrans.â
âItâs not so simple. Not every land is equal in resources. Not everywhere can handle now the population density it once could.â
âI know. Iâm just saying, it isnât impossible.â
Inaho doesnât bother to answer, as theyâve reached their destination.Â
The museum was hastily created; Inaho assumes the reasoning being that with the popular medical facility nearby, the museum might thrive.
It was set up in an abandoned office building with a large reception area.
âLead the way,â Inaho whispers; although he is now certain he is being too cautious, since he can afford to do so, he will.
Lemrina nods, and steps ahead as if leading Inaho to where she wants to go. They pass by the entrance to the martian center as she heads straight to where the Earth exhibit is.
As expected, the room is dominated with a hologram 3-D map of Earth as it is. Thankfully, they are alone.
Inaho reaches out to touch it, and the map amplifies where his fingertip landed.
âItâs interactive, if you want,â he says nonchalantly to Lemrina, who nods and pushes him aside, understanding her cue.
She looks at the map: Inaho had amplified it in Europe.Â
Was that by chance or is that where he wants me to focus? This is Kaizuka, Iâm sure even this was thought out.
Unwilling to ask for more directions, Lemrina focuses on pretending to be engrossed in it.
It soon isnât pretense.
So much land, and it all had people living in it? Or perhaps, like the city itself, there was so much space for moreâŚ
Focus.
Inaho had told her what to look for before theyâd arrived, so she simply scrolls around Europe, between the parts Inaho wants and her random choices.
Sheâs not sure how long she stood there; being able to see a detailed layout of Earth really did interest her, but eventually Inaho cuts her wandering hand.
âYouâve spent too much time at this, letâs go back,â he says, and Lemrina instinctively becomes defensive.
âIt wasnât that long!â She snaps, before realizing itâs likely just his excuse now that heâs seen enough. Lemrina tries to read the conclusion on his face, but itâs fruitless as usual.
Lemrina wishes she could say she patiently waited until they were back to the medical center to demand answers, but she makes it only as far as the empty road before rounding on Inaho.
âSo?â
Inaho doesnât look at her, but his brows crease slightly. âYou need to understand this is mere conjecture, although I believe the probability of this happening to be around 80%ââ
âYes, yes! What is your theory?â
â... The Count that is currently aggressively campaigning against the UFE has a protection the last Count did not. His Landing Castle is based deep within the continent, so using abandoned ships like the last operation isnât a possibility.â
âSo the UFE would use the Deucalion? But that is so conspicuous.â
âYes, too much so. There are abandoned military bases or simply half destroyed cities all over Earth that could be used for a short, secret, operation. Initially I had assumed that the UFE would take time, around months, to slowly arm and staff one of those near the Landing Castle without their movements being noticed. To try and make use of that in a short period without anyone noticing the movement of armaments and personnel would normally not be possible, in the layout.â
âWhich is why you thought the Deucalion might be used as a distraction? Because while everyone looks at it, they could operate more freely?â
âYes, but that is also flawed. Not everyone will focus that much on a simple route change, and not for long enough, unless they plan to have the Deucalion do more for attention. However, itâs been a week and so far there has been no news about it; which brings me to my other theory, which the map has confirmed.â
âWhich is?â
â... The Deucalion will be used to transport people and tools to a chosen settlement. Whenever they land in a larger city, theyâll likely get people to secretly board along with equipment, then drop them off at strategic spots. Given the size of the Deucalion, and that the UFE can also supplement what it carries through some small ground operations, they can speed it up and have the bare minimum for training ready in weeks, and launch an attack in less time afterwards.â
â... You got all that from a map.â To her chagrin, Lemrinaâs words donât come at as flat as she hoped, and thereâs a small tone of admiration.
If Inaho notices it, he takes no heed and simply shrugs. âNot necessarily just that map. I had previous knowledge I needed to confirm by viewing one.â
âSo you knew which settlement theyâd use for operations.â
âNo, there are countless places and bases that could work. The relevant information isnât that, but the traceability of the route chosen.â
âI donât understand.â
âNot all of Earth is covered in connectivity. The war, the destruction, the weapons used all caused spots where signals and transmissions donât work well or at all unless you are side by side. Even if the Deucalion did carry equipment and people, anyone tracing it would notice if it kept landing in a spot that should have nothing. However, if the Deucalion does the landing in a transmission blind spot, no one far away would be able to tell.â
âSo you⌠knew where the blindspots were?â
âI had a general overview, as it was necessary to either avoid or use them when we were in the Deucalion, especially trying to reach the Russian base. The map was necessary to confirm my memory: the route they are taking does pass through blindspots, two of which are right over abandoned bases.â
âI believe thatâs what must be happening.â
âDonât be too sure just yet. But we might know soon enough, maybe.â
âWhat do you mean?â
âIâll tell Dr. Yagarai I plan to stay another week around here after my treatment is done. If the UFE, however, tells me to go back home when itâs done, or even recalls me before I am doneââ
Lemrina sucks in her breath. âTheyâll want you to return to prepare to bring in Slaine.â
âPrecisely. Obviously they could take longer and take Slaine by other means, but the longer the transport, the more danger of Slaine being seen or escaping there is, which they will never risk. In twenty six days the Deucalion will be on the route point nearest to Slaineâs location, so that is when theyâll want him to board it.â
âLetâs think of something we can do with the information in the meanwhile,â Lemrina says, though what she really means is that sheâs hoping Kaizuka can come up with a plan.
âI donât know if there is anything to be done.â
âThere must be!â
*
But when they arrive back, Dr. Yagarai is waiting for them, looking both grave and apologetic.
âInaho⌠I truly am sorry but⌠your presence was requested back in your home. Your⌠work has been piling up, it seems.â
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
Notes:
-A sentence was changed in the last chapter in the exchange between Inaho and Yagarai. I forgot that it was clear the UFE knew Inaho could use aldnoah, and a comment thankfully reminded me. The sentence was changed not long after I posted it, so if you've read last chapter recently, you probably got the corrected setence.
-I forgot to add this to ch39 but, after the 2year wait between ch37 and 38 I never imagined I'd get so many comments. I'm really thankful for everyone who comes back to read despite the ridiculous update frequency and then comment too!
-On how aldnoah works: I talked it over with some people. Many thanks to the Discord group chat for giving me the supposed poem that explain how it works. That said, the whole âoh it works with love/loyaltyâ thing is⌠bullshit to me. For many reasons. I wanted to explain them here but⌠letâs see if the characters don't eventually explain in the fic. If they don't, i'll make a future note explaining the reasoning behind what Ive chosen. because I have given up and decided I need to pick what I want because canon is so filled with plotholes over this that there is no valid answer there.
-My beta has begged me to go back and beta the early chapters (which had no beta). After even commenters started offering to beta those chapters, I came to the conclusion they were really that in need of work, so my beta is not only betaing the new chapter, but has now gone back to do former chapters too. Thank my poor beta. As of this moment, chapters 01 has been redone and reuploaded to AO3 a bit after this new chapter. I need to figure out if reuploading old chapters will make AO3 act like Iâm uploading new content. I dont want to reupload and accidently have readers think theres new chapters, so I might only reupload along with new content, depending.
Regardless, here are the changes being made, so you guys dont fret: NO changes to story. No matter how cheesy or clunky i feel dialogue or plot progression used to be, any redoing of written plot will not be done, and in the rare case that I realize I should redo it, I will absolutely warn people in current chapter notes. But i feel like that cheapens the experience and i dont recall a need for that, so assume NO plot content is being altered. Changes are: fixing grammar and punctuation mistakes. Also removing the usage of âblondâ âbrunetâ descriptors, as Iâve since realized using those arent that good and its better to just work harder on sentences to use names without too much repetition. Clunky or cheesy sentences will stay as they were (though my beta is still also fixing those in the current chapters).
-Deucalion is Prometheus son.
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Do Anything | Part 3
Pairing: Tyler Jones x reader
Warnings: tiny bit of violence
A/N: Tylerâs POV for this chapter in case itâs not clear immediately. Yeah technically I didnât need to write this bit but I wanted to focus at least a little on Tyler and his own feelings because itâs like one of my favourite things to do. Because like yeah, we all know we love him or whatever character but what we really want is to see how my they love us in this fantasy world. Itâs also just a lot of fun tbh. Anyway, thereâs actually some vaguely happy stuff in this chapter but not too much.
Word Count: 2028
*
I stared blankly out the window of the control deck, not really seeing any of the stars or anything much at all. The stars seemed dim now anyway. The beauty that used to mesmerise me as a child, diminished. They felt wrong. Everything did now.
It had been just over a month since weâd lost her and every day the loss seemed to weigh on me more. I hadnât given up hope though. Not completely. She might already be dead but until I knew for sure, I wasnât going to stop fighting to get her back. None of us were .
Thatâs what weâd been doing for the past few weeks. Laying low, planning, preparing, training in between figuring out how to save the damn galaxy. It helped. Took my mind off what might be happening to her and the nagging feeling of guilt for failing her. Sheâd wanted to be the one that stayed, demanded it even, but Iâd promised myself when she joined our mission that I wouldnât let anything happen to her. Iâd failed. The weight of that threatened to crush me if I didnât keep busy. I only let myself think about it in these quiet times when I kept watch while everyone slept. I could never sleep anymore.
So I spent nights thinking about her, about those last moments. When Iâd kissed her, when sheâd stayed behind anyway, when sheâd cried and told me she was sorry, and when sheâd told me she loved me. She probably thought I hadnât heard but I did, her words somehow carried safely through the shouting and disruptor fire. She might have died without knowing I felt the same. It tore my heart to shreds.
I let myself dwell on happier memories too. They were the only thing that kept me sane in those long silent stretches, alone in the night. Her smile, the hugs she gave whenever she got excited, the first time weâd piloted together, the nights when she snuck into my room and talked about the future until she fell asleep in my bed, taking her to the beach when we had shore leave, late night study sessions when everything softened and she fought to stay awake and help me, being dragged to a karaoke night and seeing her so happy and carefree while she belted out some cheesy pop song. All of it tucked away in my heart. Things I worried I might never have again. Iâd give up everything just to see her smile one more time. Iâd burn the galaxy to the ground to have her here, rolling her eyes and calling me a dramatic idiot.
Two bleeps and a flashing yellow light drew my eyes over to the control panel, frown settling on my face. An incoming transmission. I walked over and hit the button to answer. A woman in TDF uniform filled the holographic display. Not good.
âLegionnaire Jones,â she said by way of greeting.
âWhat do you want?â I asked through gritted teeth. Even the sight of the uniform had my blood boiling.
âI am Lieutenant Croft with Terran Defence Force squadron Sigma-Ra-â
âI donât care who you are. What do you want?â I couldnât see any reason for a call. If they were close enough to hail us, surely theyâd just fly over and shoot at us until we were nothing more than little pieces of flesh and scrap metal floating around in the void.
âWe want to offer you a trade. You left something behind when you escaped Colonel Wymackâs custody and we think you might want it back.â A surveillance image flashed up on the screen and it took me a moment to process what I was seeing. It hit me like a physical blow. (Y/N). Clearly injured, locked in a cell, but alive.
âWhat have you done to her?â I had to fight to keep my voice steady.
âNothing she wonât eventually recover from. Provided you agree to our deal that is. Hand over Aurora OâMalley and sheâs yours.â
âWhat are your terms?â
âIn one weekâs time, come to the Sincastri spaceport at 0900 hours galactic standard. Come with your entire squad. Two of you may remain on your ship, the rest will escort Aurora out and one of you may come forward to make the hand-off. We will give you Legionnaire (L/N) alive. Should you try anything we will terminate her immediately.â
âUnderstood.â
âDo we have an agreement then?â
âYes.â
âGood. We shall see you in one week Legionnaire.â And she cut off the call. It took me a moment to gather my thoughts again. We had a chance to get her back. The GIA would probably be there and one or both agencies would likely try to double cross us but it didnât matter. Weâd figure out a way to get us all out of this alive and safe, I knew we would.
(Y/N) would say it was a risk, one we shouldnât take. Sheâd say not to do it, that her life wasnât worth it, and maybe to an uncaring authority sheâd be right. But not to me. Not to us. We could do this and we would. We were getting her back.
âGuys,â I said over the ship-wide comms channel. âGet to the control deck now. Weâve got work to do.â
*
I worked to keep my breathing steady and my mind clear as we came in to land. No one failed to notice the extra ships both in orbit and patrolling the port from 100ft up as we entered the atmosphere. We were right to be wary. They were clearly prepared to shoot us down if we tried anything. Probably even if we didnât. Well, they were in for a surprise.
Weâd spent the past week planning and training every hour of the day for this. Kal and Zila had even come to do recon on the area to better plan our getaway and plant a few strategically placed explosives that would hopefully give us a fighting chance. Auri had been practising to within an inch of her life, pushing and stretching the limits of her power further and further. She was in complete control now and what she could do was truly terrifying. So long as we kept her alive to do her thing, we could do this. It was the only reason Kal wasnât throwing a Syldrathi fit at having her walk into so much danger practically alone.
We touched down and Cat lowered the engines to an idle hum. I looked out the window. A sea of TDF uniforms filled my vision. They werenât taking any chances.
âEveryone ready?â I asked. Grim faces and tight nods answered me. âLetâs do this.â
Scar, Zila, Auri, and Kal followed me off the ship and the silence out our arrival was deafening. My eyes scanned the crowd, who all looked ready to kil,l and finally found her. Our eyes met and nothing else existed anymore.
She looked terrified, beaten and weak, her eyes pleading with me. To stop this. To leave her. To let the TDF kill her rather than give them Auri. I hated to disappoint her, but I couldnât do what she wanted. I tried to silently tell her to trust us but I could tell it didnât register and it was taking all my willpower to stand still and not run straight to her. Iâd kill everyone that stood between us if it wasnât a surefire way to get us both killed and the rest of the squad too. I had to stick to the plan. Get her to safety first. Then, oh then they would all get what was coming to them.
Scarlett and the TDF leader stopped talking and Kal started walking forward, Auri half a pace in front of him. Time to get ready. I cleared my mind, focusing on the task ahead, but then I saw (Y/N) going for the pistol of the agent who was trying to push her forward and my mind was a whirlwind of panic. I recognised the look in her eye and knew what she was trying to do. No. No no no. Not when we were so close to getting her back.
She wasnât strong enough to manage the follow-through and relief momentarily flooded me when the pistol was knocked from her hand. The agent proceeded to punch her in the stomach and a yell of rage pierced the air. I barely recognised it as my own. Agony lined her face as she attempted to keep walking forward at the agentâs insistence. More than it should be. That lodged in my heart like a shard of glass. Yeah, that agent was going to die. Iâd make sure of it.
With every clearly agonising step I felt my anger climb to new heights, my fingers itching with the need to reach for my pistol and start shooting. Once, Iâd been hesitant to fire on our own people, but the TDF werenât our people anymore. Not these ones at least. No following orders defence could let this slide.
Finally the two parties met in the middle. I could her (Y/N) trying to convince them not to go through with this but I could hear in her voice that she knew she was too late to stop it. Still it broke my heart how readily she was willing to give up her own life. It almost sounded like she truly wanted to die, not even for the good of the galaxy. Just to make it all end. She should never have been driven to feel that way. It should have been me there.
A moment later, Kal was leading her back to our side, quickly and quietly explaining as much of the plan as he could and urging her to move as fast as she could manage. We had to get her to safety before Auri could start her own job but every second wasted lowered our odds of success.
Finally, finally, she was standing in front of me and then without me even realising Iâd moved, she was in my arms. She was back where she belonged. I cried the second I finally felt her against me. Here. Alive. Safe. Well, safer. It finally felt like things might be okay. I never wanted it to end, never wanted to let her go again.
She was shaking, tears trickling out and soaking into my jacket as she clung to me like I might disappear If I let go. I didnât plan to. I thought I might just die if I did. But then again, I might very well die if I didnât. We werenât out of the woods just yet. Still, I held onto her a little longer, it had to be convincing. At least, that was as good an excuse as any other.
âIâm sorry. Iâm so so sorry,â I whispered into her hair. Sheâd refused to give me the option to keep her safe but maybe if Iâd done more, this never would have happened. I could have stopped it, should have stopped it, but I hadnât been able to and I could never apologise enough for failing her. She shook her head against my chest.
âItâs okay. âS not your fault. Iâm sorry,â she whispered back, her voice thick and scratchy.
âI love you.â She stilled and tilted her head up slightly, eyes shining, face awed. Had she really not believed I felt it too? After everything?
I kissed her quickly, desperately wishing I could linger there but far too aware of how little time we had. Pulling away, I slid an arm around her shoulders and helped her to the ship.
âStay on it this time okay?â A little smile tugged at the corners of her mouth and struck me right in the gut. Iâd been terrified Iâd never get to see her smile again and seeing just a fraction of one gave me hope.
âI promise. Just please, donât die.â
âPromise.â I kissed her again, I couldnât help it. When I stepped back all hell broke loose behind me.
*
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Aurora Cycle: @aurising
#aurora rising#aurora cycle#Tyler Jones#Tyler Jones x reader#tyler jones imagine#Tyler Jones x you#Tyler Jones Fanfic#aurora rising imagine#aurora rising fanfic#aurora cycle fanfic#aurora cycle imagine#reader insert#Fic - Do Anything
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Million Dollar Secret (Yondu x Reader)
A/N: I always struggle with naming fics, and I normally turn to song titles to try to find a name for them. I put iTunes on shuffle to find a name for this one tonight, and Million Dollar Secret by Lucius popped up after a few tries. It is perfect. Â
The lyrics:
I've got a million dollar secret Can't tell you what it is, I'm keeping it to myself, I won't give it away
I've got a million dollar secret Hope I have the courage to keep it in Won't give in and just give it away
If you really wanna know, baby, come a little closer and I'll whisper in your ear Maybe I'll have forgotten what I was gonna say but Come a little closer, let me whisper in your ear anyway
You can ask over and over But I'm not ready to tell âCause I have all your attention This feeling is suspended in air And I can keep it as long as I may need it Have all your attention as long as it's a mystery
I've got this million dollar secret I think it's best for now that I hold strong But maybe I'll share it at the end of this song
Tagged List: @celticheart72 @misfitgirlwrites @animeaniseed (As always, just let me know if youâd like to be added/removed to/from my tagged list! đ)
Warnings: None. Teensy bit of angst, but mostly fluff. Â
Sitting in the mess hall after dinner, you listened to Yondu talking, while you absentmindedly swirled your glass of water around. Â
âWhen me anâ tha boys were at tha bar last night, there was an asshole in there that jusâ would not shut âis stupid mouth.  Kept botherinâ tha waitress, anâ it was obvious she werenât interested in âim. Anâ I told âim ta leave her alone, anâ he got all smart anâ wanted ta start a fight. So I said to âim, if ya know whatâs good fer ya, ya wonât take another step. Anâ then he did, so I sent my arrow through âim.  He ainât gonna be botherinâ nobody again⌠Are ya even listeninâ ta me?â
âWhat?â
âI said, are ya listeninâ ta me?â
âOf course, I am.â
"No, ya ainât. Â Ya ain't payin' a bit of attention ta what I'm tellin' ya."
"That's not true."
"Then what was I sayin'?"
"Um... yâall went to a bar last night.â
"That's all ya got outta all that?"
You crinkled your nose. Â "Sorry."
"I don't understand why yer actin' like this. It ain't like ya ta ignore me. 'S'almost like yer in love or somethin'."
"What?"
His eyes widened in realization. "That's it, ain't it? Yer in love."
"Don't be ridiculous, Yondu! Â Of course I'm not. Â I'm just distracted, that's all."
"Now ya know ya can't lie ta me. Â I can see right through ya, so ya might as well come clean."
"I'm not lying."
"Yer fiddlin' with yer hair. That's a sure sign ya ain't bein' completely honest. I know all yer tells."
"You do not!"
He grinned. "Yeah, I do. So who's tha lucky man?"
"I am not in love, so you can stop asking about it."
His grin widened, and he said, "Now yer playing with tha zipper on yer jacket. Â âNother giveaway that ya ain't bein' honest with me."
You dropped your zipper and placed your hands on the table in front of you to keep you from doing anything else to give you away. Â
Yondu laughed. Â âLookit me.â
âNo.â Â You were determined to look anywhere other than him, and focused your attention on the control panel on the wall.
âYa canât, âcause ya know Iâll see right through yer lies if ya do.â
âThatâs not true, I just donât want to give you the satisfaction of doing what you say.â
He laughed again. Â âCâmon, now.â Â He cupped your chin in his hand and turned your head gently so you had no choice but to look at him.
âI ainât gonna let this go, ya know.â
âOh, believe me, I know.â
âThen ya might as well give up, anâ go on anâ admit it.â
You moved your chin out of his grasp. Â âWhy do you even care?â
âWell, first of all, I thought weâs friends, anâ second, I gotta right ta know whatâs goinâ on with my crew members when they keep actinâ all distracted. Â Tha last thing I need is fer ya ta be out on a mission anâ get distracted.â
âIâm not going to get distracted while Iâm on a mission. Â I know better than that.â
âBut itâs okay ta ignore yer Capân, is it?â
âI thought we were just talking as friends, not as crew and Captain?â Â You smirked.
âThink yer so clever. Â What if I ordered ya ta tell me, as yer Capân?â
âYou canât order me to tell you something about my personal life.â
âGuess yer jusâ ashamed of whoever this fella is.â
You gave him a look. Â âIf I was in love, I wouldnât be ashamed. Â But Iâm not in love.â
âYer messinâ with yer hair again.â
âOh, come on!â  You slammed your hands down on the table again. Â
He chuckled. Â
âI know ya almost as well as ya know yerself, anâ I know yer lyinâ, an I ainât givinâ up âtil I know who yer in love with. Â Could save us a lotta time if yaâd jusâ come clean now. Â I ainât gonna give ya a hard time.â
âYou already are.â
âI mean I ainât gonna give ya a hard time âbout whoever yer in love with.â
âIf you knew me as well as you think you do, youâd already have your answer.â
âOh, is that right?â
âYes.â
âSo yer admittinâ yer in love?â
âI didnât say that.â
âHuh. Â Well, it donât matter if ya say it or not. Â We both already know ya are.â
He leaned back in his chair, crossed his arms, and studied your face.
âWill you stop that?â
âIâm jusâ thinkinâ.â
âWell, you donât have to stare at me to think.â
âYa been on this ship fer three years now, anâ this is tha first Iâm noticinâ ya actinâ like this, so it canât be nobody from Terra.â
âWill you please stop?â
âAnâ ya donât really spend much time by yerself off tha ship.â
âStop trying to figure this out.â
âAnâ ya ainât never flirted with nobody at a bar or nothinâ.â
âYondu...â
âSo itâs gotta be somebody on tha ship. Â One a tha crew...â
âJust drop it, please.â
âCanât believe yaâd be in love with one a tha crew.â
You rolled your eyes. Â âI canât believe youâre so interested in this.â
âOh, Iâm interested. Â Wanna know who âxactly ya find attractive.â
âI honestly donât know why you care, unless itâs just something to hold over my head.â
âHavinâ somethinâ on ya does sound nice. Â Might get ya ta follow my orders fer once.â
âShut up.â
He placed his elbows on the table, and leaned closer to you, still studying your face.
âThatâs really getting annoying, you know.â
âMight as well get used ta it, âcause I ainât stoppinâ âtil I figure it out.â
Standing up, you said, âWell, Iâm going to bed. Â Good luck figuring it out.â
âYa goinâ ta bed by yerself, or is yer mystery man gonna join ya?â
âDo not even think about spying outside my quarters, Yondu Udonta.â
âI wouldnât dream of it. Â Iâs jusâ askinâ.â
âYou are the worst.â
ââNight, darlinâ.â
âGood night, Yondu.â
__
Later, as you were lying in bed, you thought back over the conversation youâd had with Yondu.  You could not believe heâd actually figured out what was going on with you.  He usually acted as though he was oblivious to things like that, but you knew he saw more than most people realized.  It was why you  should have known better than to let your guard down. Â
You were paying attention to him, but youâd gotten distracted by his eyes and mouth as he talked, and youâd lost focus on what he was actually saying. And he was telling the truth â he would not let it go until he figured it out. Â
You sighed, and rolled over. Â You werenât sure if heâd ever actually guess that he was the one you were in love with, but heâd eventually run out of Ravagers to consider. Â The thought of Yondu trying to play matchmaker between you and one of the crew made you laugh to yourself. Â Closing your eyes, you decided youâd worry about it later.
__
âSo Iâs thinkinâ âbout it after ya went ta bed last night, anâ I think I know who it is.â
âGood morning to you, too, Yondu.â Â
âYeah, yeah, morninâ. Â Ainât ya interested in who I think yer in love with?â
âOh, yes, very interested.â Â You picked up a plate, and started looking at your choices for breakfast.
âItâs Kraglin, ainât it?â Â
You looked at him, and realized he actually thought it was Kraglin. Â He looked so proud of himself that you almost hated to tell him. Â âNo, itâs not Kraglin.â
âYa sure?â
âYeah, pretty sure.â  You picked up a muffin, placed it on your plate, and walked over to the tray covered in different pastries.  You were so thankful Cook had learned a few Terran recipes for you.  Youâd spent the first few months of your time aboard the Eclector trying to find something you could manage to eat. Â
âNot Kraglin, huh?â Â He was standing with his hands on his hips, surveying the Ravagers already gathered in the mess hall for breakfast.
âAre you going to eat?â
âWhaâ? Â Oh, yeah.â Â He picked up a plate and started piling things onto it without paying attention. Â He was too focused on looking at his crew to even see what he was putting on his plate.
âHungry this morning, are we?â
âWhaâ?â
You raised a brow and looked at his plate.
He glanced at it, then looked back at you. Â âYeah, reckon I am.â
You laughed, selected your pastry, then set your plate down so you could pour yourself a cup of coffee.
âYou do realize youâre ridiculous, right?â
âWhadâdya mean?â
âTrying to figure out who Iâm in love with by examining your crew members in the mess hall?â
âI wouldnât hafta worry âbout it if yaâd jusâ tell me.â
âNope.â Â You picked up your plate and headed to an empty table.
He joined you a couple of minutes later. Â âSmart.â
âWhatâs smart?â
âYou not sittinâ with nobody. Â Might give me a clue.â
You shook your head and took a bite of your muffin. Â Swallowing, you replied, âSo ridiculous.â
âGonna be headinâ out on a mission later this week. Â Got any preference who I group ya with?â
âNope.â
âAâright. Â How âbout I put ya with Oblo?â
âThatâs fine.â
âAnâ⌠Narblik.â
âAlso fine.â
âWhat aboutâŚâ  He glanced around the room again.  âGef?â
âWhatever you want to do, Captain.â
âYa ainât gonna gimme no clues, are ya?â
âNope.â Â You grinned, then took another bite of your muffin.
âAinât a problem. Â Yer gonna slip up one a these days, anâ Iâm gonna figure out yer secret.â
You smiled sweetly at him. Â âIâm sure you will.â
He sighed, and finally turned his attention to his plate. Â He looked surprised at the amount of food heâd piled onto it. Â âI ainât gonna be able ta eat all this.â
Laughing, you replied, âI didnât think so.â Â
You finished the last of your coffee, then stood, and said, âWell, Iâve gotta get to work. Â See you later, Sherlock.â
âWhatâs that supposed ta mean?â
You laughed. Â âNothing. Â Enjoy your feast.â
__
You were on your way to your quarters later than evening, looking forward to a hot shower and a nice, relaxing evening with a book, when your wrist communicator beeped. Â It was Yondu. Â
âHey, Yondu, whatâs up?â
âWhere are ya?â
âHeading to my room. Â Why?â
âMeet me in tha common room.â
âWhy?â
âJusâ do it.â
âI was planning on taking a shower and then catching up on some reading..â
âYa can still do that. Â Jusâ wanna talk ta ya fer a while.â
âIs this another ploy to try to get me to tell you who Iâm in love with?â
ââCourse not! Â Jusâ wanna see ya.â
âI saw you not that long ago. Â What could you possibly have to say that you canât say right now?â
âYa sure yer gonna be alone, or -?â
âDonât go there again, Yondu. Â I swear, youâre not going to find me sneaking one of the crew members into my quarters.â
âSo does he know yer in love with him?â
âNo, he obviously does not.â
âHowâre ya so sure?â
Because heâs spending his entire day trying to figure out who Iâm in love with, instead of realizing itâs him.
âBecause I havenât told him.â
âI think heâd notice that ya had feelinâs fer him.â
âNo, I really donât think he would.â
âAinât too bright, huh?â
You laughed, hard. Â âOh, I wouldnât say that.â
âWhyâre ya laughinâ?â
âNo reason.â
âCâmon, meet me in tha common room.â
âFine, Iâll be there in a few minutes.â
âGood. Â See ya in a few.â
He disconnected before you could respond, and you sighed. Â So much for a nice, relaxing evening with your book.
__
You walked into the common room to see Yondu deep in thought. Â âHey, Yondu.â
He jerked his head in your direction at the sound of your voice. âOh, hey, Y/N.â
Sitting next to him on the couch, you asked, âYou still trying to figure out who Iâm in love with?â
âSomethinâ like that.â
âSo what did you want to tell me?â
âWhaâ?â
âYou made me walk all the way over here from my quarters because you wanted to talk to me, and you couldnât say it over the communicator.â
âI jusâ wanted ta see ya.â
âYouâre kidding, right?â
âNah, I did.â
âYou know Iâm not going to accidentally slip up and tell you who I love, right?â
âYeah, I know. Â I ainât gonna bug ya âbout it tonight.â
âAre you sick?â Â You looked at him in concern, and placed the back of your hand against his forehead.
âVery funny. Â Nah, I ainât sick.â
âThen whatâs wrong?â
âNothinâ.â
âSomething is wrong, Â This is not normal Yondu Udonta behavior.â
He finally looked at you. Â âI donât like it.â
Your brows constricted in confusion. Â âDonât like what?â
âTha thought of ya in love with somebody on tha ship.â
âWhat are you talking about?â
âAinât none of âem can treat ya right.â
âAre you serious?â
âDead serious.â
âYondu⌠what brought this on?  You were all into figuring it out earlier today, and now you donât want me in love with anybody?â
âJusâ beenâ doinâ some thinkinâ, thatâs all.â
âAbout what?â
âNothinâ.â
âOkay, youâre the one who wanted me to come down here and talk to you, so youâre going to talk. Â What happened?â
âI said itâs nothinâ. Â I jusâ donât wanna see ya with any a tha clowns on this ship.â
He crossed his arms and leaned back on the couch, a scowl on his face.
âI donât see why you care who it is...â
He looked at you then, and said, âI care âcause I canât stand tha thought a seeinâ ya with another man!â Â
âWhat?â
âI donât wanna hafta see ya hanginâ all over somebody, while I hafta jusâ sit back anâ act like I donât care.â
âI donât understand...â
âJusâ ferget I said anythinâ âbout it.â Â He stood up, and continued, âSorry fer makinâ ya walk down here. Â Iâm goinâ ta bed.â
You grabbed his hand before he walked away. Â âOh, no, youâre not. Youâre not leaving this room until we talk about this.â Â You pulled him down beside you, and he sat with a huff.
âLook at me.â
He turned his ruby eyes on you, and you could see the pain in them. âWhatâs wrong, Yondu?â
He closed his eyes, and turned away from you again. Â âIt donât matter.â
âYeah, it does. Â What happened today?â
He sighed, and sat in silence for a moment, before he said, âI been doinâ a lot a thinkinâ today...â
âYeah, I know. Â Trying to figure out who Iâm in love with.â
âYeah, that. Â Anâ the more I thought about it, the angrier I got.â
âAngry?â
âYeah.â
âWhy?â
He stood up, suddenly, and strode to the other side of the room, keeping his back to you. Â âDammit, âcause Iâm in love with ya myself! Â Anâ Iâd jusâ as soon kill any man that laid a hand on ya as ta look at âim. Â Anâ I wouldnât be able ta do that, âcause then Iâd be causinâ ya pain, andâ thatâs tha last thing I wanna do.â
âYondu...â
âNo, lemme finish. Â I know Iâm tha one that was botherinâ ya by tryinâ ta get ya ta tell me, anâ Iâs sorry âbout that, but I donât wanna know. Â Jusâ donât tell me, anâ if I ever see ya with someone, Iâll jusâ pretend I didnât see nothinâ, anâ we can jusâ go on beinâ friends.â
âYondu, please...â
âUnless ya donât wanna be friends no more. Â Then I guess I can jusâ be yer Capân.â
âI donât want that, Yondu.â Â You stood and walked to stand behind him, placing a hand on his back. Â âI need to tell you something.â
You felt his back stiffen at your words, and he said, âI donât wanna know who yer in love with now, aâright?â
âI think you need to know.â
He turned around to face you, and the sadness on his face almost made you cry. Â âNo, I donât need ta know. Â Itâs tha last thing I wanna know.â
âYou idiot.â
âWhaâ?â
âYou are such an idiot. Â How can you realize Iâm in love, and not realize youâre the one Iâm in love with? Â Youâve spent the last twenty-four hours trying to figure it out, and you never realized it was you?â
âIf it was me, why didnât ya jusâ say so?â
âBecause I didnât think you felt the same way.â
âI didnât realize jusâ how much I loved ya âtil I thought about ya with another man.â Â He placed his hand on your hip. Â âYa sure ya ainât jusâ sayinâ this ta make me feel better?â
âYou really are an idiot, Yondu Udonta.â Â You leaned up onto your tiptoes and kissed him.
His other arm snaked around your waist and pulled you closer to him, as you wrapped your arms around his neck. Â
When you broke the kiss several minutes later, he grinned at you, and said, âI might be an idiot, but Iâm yer idiot.â Â
âYes, you are.â  You returned his grin, then kissed him again. Â
#yondu udonta#yondu x reader#yondu#yondu udonta x reader#yondu fanfiction#guardians of the galaxy fanfiction#gotg fanfiction#gotg#marvel fanfiction
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Carol did not relent as she berated Mary Jane in front of the entire team in the heart of the ship, âWhat did I say to you? You were to stay on earth, where you belong.â
Mary Jane tipped her chin up defiantly, âIâm an asset to the team.â âYouâre a teenager,â Steve interjected. âAll due respect,â Mary Jane said without any respect to spare, âYour guys lost a teenager. I think listening to the adults because theyâre adults stopped being a valid argument the moment Peter was flung into space.â âMary Jane,â Carol said calmly, âThat was a direct order.â âI resigned my post with Nick hours before the snap. I donât report to you. To any of you,â she leaned leisurely against the wall. âBesides, itâs not like you can ground me now. Weâre already several systems away from Earth.â Carol stormed out of the room. Mary Jane did not flinch. Thor lumbered up to Mary Jane and squinted down at her. She did not blink. The Asgardian smiled broadly, âI like your spunk Mary.â âMary Jane,â she corrected him. He paused, thoroughly confused, âIs it Mary or Jane?â âItâs both,â she gawked at him. âMary Jane.â âMary or Jane.â âNo,â she sighed. âMary Jane.â âYes, Mary or Jane??â âItâs BOTH!â âShut up!â The wild raccoon in the corner yelled.
Now free from the tiny closet she had stowed away in, Mary Jane openly explored the ship. She ran her fingertips along the grooves of the metal as she walked from corridor to corridor. It was a strange ship, as if Carol had tried to make the steel and machinery as close to an earthly home as possible. It ached of homesickness. And Mary Jane couldnât help but wonder if the ship that Peter had taken off in looked like this one, or if it had been a metal cage. Mary Jane brushed her hand across the small button imbedded in a nearby wall and with a whoosh an invisible door swung open. She stepped inside and tacked on the wall like some b-rated private investigator was a collage of information on all of the Avengers. Different colored strings connected the pictures. Mary Jane didnât even try to discern what colors meant what. Her eyes were glued to one picture in particularâ Peter. He was in his school clothes. He was wearing those jeans that never quite fit him right and he had his cozy Midtown gym sweatshirt hanging off his hands like kitten paws. The picture version of Peter was laughing with someone, but they were cut out of the frame. Her heart sank. Mary Jane touched her fingertips to the edge of the picture. Peter. âYou shouldnât go poking your nose around unfamiliar places. You never know which of these doors could be an airlock,â Carol said. She did not turn around the face the blonde. Mary Jane was singularly focused on Peterâs smiling face, âWhat is this room?â She heard, but did not see, Carol walk across the room and take up a seat on a desk. âNick had me on call for Avengers duty as soon as he formed the team. If things got really bad I was supposed to swoop in to help. I figured I should know the names and faces of my would-be teammates.â âAnd the strings?â Mary Jane questioned. âRelationships. It would make it easier to keep all the politics straight if I had to touch down. Who slept with who. Who disliked who. Mentorships. Friendships. It kept it straight in my head.â Mary Jane nodded, and turned to face Carol head-on, âIâm not sorry.â Carol sighed, exhausted, âI know.â âAnd I know I can help.â âI know that, too.â âThen, why didnât you let me come in the first place?â The older woman reached into the desk drawer beside her and pulled out a Manila envelope. The back of Mary Janeâs neck tingled. Carol pulled a picture free from the items inside, and offered it to the Junior agent. With an unsteady hand, she took the picture and flipped it over. There, in color, was the complete picture of Peter hanging on the wall. The person beside him was a beaming Mary Jane. Her breath hitched. And Carol spoke, deadly calm, âIf we get there and itâs bad news, I canât afford to have you lose your head. Itâs why I tried to ground you.â âShuri said,â Mary Jane felt her eyes water, âDusting can be reversed.â âShe thinks,â Carol corrected. âShe thinks it can be reversed. And what if he hasnât been dusted? What if Thanos killed him outright? You have no idea what youâre walking into.â She shook her head violently, âDonât say that.â Carol nodded to herself and pulled herself out of her chair. She walked silently to the door of the room and paused before she exited for one last word, âWhatever we find, youâre not ready.â
It took nearly three weeks to retrace all of Thanosâ steps with half-pieced together information scattered across the cosmos. And even still, the team only landed on some semblance of helpful information when Carol tracked down a woman named Nebula drinking herself under the table in at a cantina in the Mists. The blue woman swatted Carol away, âI said get out of my face.â The raccoon, Rocket, bore his teeth, âWhere. Is. Quill?â âDead,â she said, meanly, slamming her glass down on the bar table. âAsh. Along with all your stupid friends.â Rocket launched himself toward her. Thor grabbed the raccoon by the middle and swung him away before a fight could break out. âSettle, rabbit, settle,â Thor said. âWe need your help,â Carol said, unruffled. âTwo of our guys went missing. We need to find them, then find Thanos and reverse the dusting.â Nebula snorted into her glass, âYouâre going to stop Thanos? Thereâs only one woman in the galaxy that can and sheâs dead.â Rocket stopped thrashing in Thorâs arms. His voice was devoid of any emotion, raked free of it from the heavy weight of loss, âGamora.â Nebula sneered. âIf youâre looking for that Terran in the red suit, heâs out back.â âPeter,â Mary Jane sprinted. She pushed through the crowds of aliens and wiggles her way out the back door. âPeter are youââ But Peter wasnât there. Instead, she was met with Tony Starkâs blank, red eyes. His knees were tucked into his chest and he had a half-empty bottle dangling from his fist. âMr. Stark?â Mary Jane whispered. The tech billionaire snapped his head up, âPeter?â Mary Jane nearly heaved. They both searched for the same ghost. The lost boy. âNo,â she shook her head, âIâm Mary Jane Watson. I was assigned toââ âPeterâs case by SHIELD. I know. I read your reports,â Tony slumped back against the brick. She was almost too afraid to ask, âMr. Stark, where is Peter?â He moved his mouth, he replied, but all Mary Jane heard was white, tinny noise. It rung like church bells in her ears. She knew what he said, and Carol was right. She was not ready. âNo,â she whispered. âHeâs fine,â she broke. Tony turned his head back into the safety of his bottle and Mary Jane felt her world tumble from beneath her feet. Alone, again. In a galaxy full of beings, she was all alone.
Carol struggled to sober Tony up. Nebula outrightly refused and no one on the team, save Thor, had the skill to stop the habit, and even Thor was a little too afraid to get too close to Nebula. There was more broken in her than just nuts and bolts. Still, with Tony and Nebulaâs help, the incomplete and fractured Avengersâ began to plot to save the universe.
Nebula had thoughts and leads as to where to find Thanos, which she never divulged to anyone but Carol in long, restless meetings behind durasteel that Mary Jane was not allowed to penetrate. She had been told, in not so many words, that she had been grounded from sensitive intel. Her antics as a stowaway saw to that.
Being left out of important meetings meant that she was often left to wait. And wait. And wait. She once read that to become an expert in anything, people had to invest 10,000 hours. She mirthlessly thought at the pace the team was going to save the universe she was slowly going to become an expert in waiting.
Tony watched her from the corners, too, which was unsettling. He looked at her with his bleary, newly-sober eyes, and it grated on her patience. âCan I help you?â she snapped at him one afternoon.
The billionaire took a sip of a tea that smelled funky from five feet away. He slapped his lips together and cut to the heart of her insecurities that had been building steadily in the weeks she had been stranded in space without agency and purpose, âIf we get him back, what are you going to tell him?â
Mary Jane forcefully scoffed, playing the role of indifferent to his tasteless probing, âThatâs none of your business.â
âSure,â Tony agreed, âBut he is going to have questions. Starting with why youâre in space.â
âLetâs just worry about getting him undusted.â Tony infuriatingly lifted his cup to his mouth and took another swig of the foul tea. Mary Jane snapped, âYou donât get to judge me. Youâre the one that got him killed.â
Tony immediately reacted. He slammed his cup down on a nearby table and leapt out of his chair ferociously, âThat isnât fair. I tried to ground him.â
âNot hard enough.â
âWhat is with you Midtown kids getting yourselves propelled into space, anyway? Huh? Especially when the adults tell you not to follow us. To stay put.â Â
âYou got Peter killed!â Mary Jane accused him. There was no room for forgiveness in her tone. All of that had been swept away by the wind as everyone she loved died. Hopelessness made her cruel. Devastation striped her of all of her good will.
Tonyâs eye twitched. âI know.â
They did not speak again until the team found Thanos on a small, uninhabited moon in the same system as Titan six days later.
Iron-Man yelled to Mary Jane across the foreign planetâs battlefield as Thanos used the full power of the Infinity Stones to beat back their entire team. âMary Jane, the blaster! Use the blaster!â
She fumbled for the small gun that Rocket strapped to her belt before they landed planet-side. She expected the kick of the blaster to be like Earth weapons. It was not. She launched the laser at Thanosâ head and it kicked her back into the dirt. It knocked the wind out of her. It made her head pound.
Mary Jane tried to rally her body, to stand, but she was disoriented.
From afar, she could see the rest of her team throwing everything, their full power, in rapid succession at the purple alien. Thanos looked at the Avengers like they were mild irritants, not a fully superpowered team. Only Carol continually landed disarming blows on Thanosâ person.
She made him bleed.
And Mary Jane found the strength to stand.
She lifted the blaster again, squinted and zeroed-in on the Thanosâ right hand. The gauntlet seemed fused into his skin. There were violent scars licking up his arms. The residual damage from destroying half the universe was gruesome.
She exhaled and fired off the blaster. It chinked off of the gauntlet and the speed of the blast compounded with the angle from which she shot it off, wiggled the gauntlet free from his hand a little. A little was all they needed.
Rocket tossed his entire body on Thanosâ arm and began to tug the gauntlet off. Thanos tried to toss Rocket away, but Clint let arrow after arrow fly, occupying Thanos. Steve ran across the dirt and slammed his shield into Thanosâ face, and down he went like a child. Kicked into the ground.
One against a team was barely enough to keep Thanos down. Then, mercifully, the Rocket got the gauntlet free.
Steve took it up and slid the gauntlet on his arm. Carol, Thor, and Nebula restrained Thanos. And Tony panicked, âSteve. Whatever youâre thinking. Donât.â
âHe snapped the universe away,â Steve looked down at the gauntlet, transfixed. âI can snap it back.â
Natasha shook her head, âThat much power will kill you, Cap.â
âItâs seventy years overdue.â
âSteveââ Another voice pleaded.
Captain America snapped his fingers. And saved the world.
The world pieced together like a puzzle. Things happened out of order. Dust crowded the heavens, like an impending rainstorm, and then people began to reform. Wherever they had died, they returned.
May Parker woke up on her kitchen floor, clutching the towel she had grabbed the morning she disappeared to wipe down the counters.
Ned Leeds returned in the Parker bathroom and startled when he was suddenly in front of a mirror, as if to watch his hands.
Peter Parker woke up staring at a browning sky on a planet called Titan. He almost expected to see Tony peering over him as Peter begged not to go, but he was all alone.
The Infinity Gauntlet clattered to the ground. There was no Steve Rogers. Just a hunk of metal.
Thor roared in fury and swung his hammer. At once he was judge, jury and executioner.
She tried to be patient when the team flew to Titan to collect the Guardians and Peter and someone named Doctor Strange. Mary Jane tried not to let her hope get the best of her. Steve had sacrificed everything to save the universe, but there were not guarantees that it worked. After all, Shuri was the most brilliant person that Mary Jane had ever met and even she had called the regeneration theory unlikely.
Still, when the metal doors whooshed open when they landed on Titan, she anxiously tapped her foot. There were too many variables, too many unknowns, and she did not like her odds of seeing Peter again. But damn her, she hoped. Beside her, Carol held Mary Janeâs hand.
When she stepped off the ships, her eyes searched the desolate landscape for Peter. She saw others she did not recognize, but not Peter. Her heart began to race and thud and thunder. Untilâ
ââMJ?â
She turned around and there, in some stupid upgraded costume with his hair blown every which way, was Peter Parker. She was not sure who moved first, her or him, but one moment they were steps apart and they next they were crashing into each otherâs arms. Gripping. Clutching. Breathless.
âYouâre alive,â she choked on tears that threatened to spill loose. âYouâre alive.â
âYouâre here,â he replied, kissing every available inch of her face. âHow are you here?â
Mary Jane threw her arms around his neck and tugged him to her almost too tightly. They swayed. âYou got yourself beamed into space, you absolute moron. What else was I supposed to do? Wait at home?â
He laughed hoarsely, âGod, I missed you.â He held her face in his hands and whisked her into the most singular kiss of her life thus far. The dreary planet ceases to weep and, for the first time in a century, it sparkled with life. The kiss revived whatever life was once on Titan, when young people there were able to laugh, fall in love, and live. It was a fleeting memory of happiness for the planet. And a joyous moment of reunion for the lovers.
From beyond their embrace, Carol handed out warm blankets to the returned dead. When she reached Peter, Mary Jane was loathe to extricate herself from the shower of heady kisses. He laughed against her mouth, âMichelle, hang on, this nice lady--â
ââCarol,â Captain Marvel offered.
âCarol,â Peter amended, âhas something for us.â Â
âNice to meet you, Mister Parker,â Carol smiled, âAnd well done, Agent Watson,â Carol said, offering Mary Jane a warm blanket.
Peter blinked. And then, his eyes narrowed, âAgent Watson?â
âYou lied,â he said bluntly. He laid out the truth perfectly clear and did not leave any wiggle room for half-truths or silly excuses. After years of sustaining a cover, Mary Jane was finally all out in the open without the hulking shadow of Michelle to keep her warm. It was a relief unlike any she had ever known.
Yet, she could not miss the look of pure betrayal in his mournful eyes. Her heart didnât allow it. Peter Parker looked devastated. His entire world had just been torn apart from the inside-out. He had been erased from existence. And to top it all off, she was a liar. âYou lied to me,â he said a little louder. âAnd I trusted you. I trusted you more than anyone.â
âPeter, what you have to understand,â Mary Jane adopted the perfect, calm SHIELD persona. She loathed the professional tone that hijacked her voice. The spy, not the girl, had taken over.
He pushed back, âI donât have to understand a thing.â
The metal hull of the ship did not echo. There was nothing and no one to hear them in space. The other Avengers were all congregating on the top deck of the ship, which now felt like another galaxy all on its own. Mary Jane and Peter were completely alone.
âSo what?â He challenged her and inadvertently stepped into her space. It was as if he was regaining his sea legs, after the dusting. Space and time were still foreign things. âI was some kind of mark?â
âMission,â she corrected him. âIâm not an assassin.â
He choked on a bitter laugh, âWhat? Like Iâm supposed to believe that? After everything? I donât trust you. I canât.â
His words hurt. They chipped away at the hopes she had been harboring for weeks as she searched the galaxy for him. At night, she had stared at the ceiling of the small cabin she had been afforded as a stowaway and dreamt of him. She had concocted a million versions of their reunion but fighting on the ship, him being unforgiving in the face of her deceit, had not been in her imaginings.
They had been far more amorous.
The hurt blackened her blood and she felt her heart began to build walls. The lie popped out of her so easily, so coldly that she almost believed it. Her words were callous and calculated in the very manner in which she had been trained. And she wanted to take them back as soon as they flapped free. âI had to save Nick. Saving you too was just collateral to that mission.â
She watched her words impact his chest, like a bullet to the heart. He buckled under the cruelty of the lie and shrunk away. âFine,â he said. âI get it.â
âPeter,â she said helplessly.
His shoulders tensed just before he reached the door and he paused. Mary Jane heard her heart plead for him to turn around. To give her one more chance. He did not look back. âI took you to my Dadâs spot,â he whispered. And then, he wrenched open the door and disappeared into the darkness of the ship.
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KURO WEEK - DAY 8 (FREE DAY): Magic.
âLance - what exactly are you doing?â, Kuro whined, feeling the freshly closed wounds on his arm and back strain with the movement. The Blue Paladin decidedly kept his usually chatty mouth shut. Instead of answering-- or even recognizing-- Kuroâs defiant tugging, he gently closed his grip around Kuroâs flesh wrist a little tighter and pulled him along.
Only minutes ago they had been at the Castleâs med-bay, tending to his scratches and cuts. Their latest mission had been rough. Although it was supposed to be a simple in and out rescue mission, it had gone awfully wrong. As in, Kuro was happy heâd walked away with his flesh arm and legs still intact and attached to his body. Thankfully, the rest of the group had had more luck.
In hindsight, they shouldâve known better. They shouldâve been prepared for the whole mission to go sideways with how heavily guarded the planet theyâd freed had been. But saving planets and whole star systems from the ones that once had created him was their job now. It was Kuroâs job now. And nothing, not even the most hopeless situation, would keep them from doing just that. Saving lives.
This whole concept, the mere thought of him being one of the good guys, still had the Galra hybrid feeling adrift and somewhat out of place. He hadnât been created for this. For killing - yes. For fighting, shedding blood and tearing whole fleets apart - definitely. But doing so for a good cause? A higher goal? On behalf of the whole damn universe? Nope. Just- no. Kuro wouldâve laughed his ass off at that prospect.
But times change you, a small voice in the back of his head provided.
Averting his gaze from the back of Lanceâs head and focusing on their somewhat awkwardly joined hands instead (he was still new to the whole human interaction and physical contact thing, okay?), Kuro couldnât hide the small smile creeping onto his face.
Not times, he countered. People. People change you.
It took one more turn around a corner for Kuro to know where they were heading. Lance had asked him to close his eyes. What for, Lance  wouldnât tell. Not even when Kuro stated how he knew they were going to Lanceâs room. The Cuban boy wouldnât have any of it; simply shushed him with a finger to the cloneâs dry lips. There had been a gleam in those dark blue eyes. A gleam he couldnât quite pin down, but made him want to lick that delicate digit pressed to his lips.
âJust do it already!â, Lance huffed and playfully put one hand over Kuroâs yellow eyes, before he opened the door to his quarters. âOr youâll ruin the surprise.â
Had he been smiling before, he was downright smirking now.
âLance, I swear to all deities out there, if the surprise is you taking off your clothes right in front of me, I-â
His teasing died right on Kuroâs tongue and came out as a sputtered, choked sound when he felt two warm hands grab for the hem of his own shirt and pull it upwards.
What the-
âDonât open your eyesâ, came Lanceâs voice - a bit shaky, but determined nonetheless. âJust-... Take that off, will you? But please be careful with those scratches on your back.â
It took Kuro a second.
Then another two or three.
His mind had gone completely blank, out of order, Kuro.exe had stopped working. His hands however - oh heâd have to have a talk with them in the near future about not acting on their own, pulling his shirt off within a heartbeat, just because a certain Paladin told them to.
Cool air hit his bare skin - thanks for that you little traitors!, he glowered at his hands for a moment, before screwing his eyes shut again, waiting for Lanceâs next move. Heartbeat thundering in his ears and filling the silence that hung over them for a few moments before the smaller man carefully took his clawed bionic hand in his own flesh ones and led him to the bed.
Even with his eyes shut, Kuro could still smell it; the way countless sleepovers made his and Lanceâs scents mingle and cling to the sheets and pillows, creating a whole new fragrance that filled him with a warmth he hadnât felt before.
It smelled like home.
HomeâŚ
Something fuzzy, tingling unfurled in his chest at that.
âOkay, now sit down, please?â, he could hear the rustling of blankets being pulled back. Without giving a second thought to it, Kuro simply purred an affirmative sound and carefully sat down as not to disturb the straining and prickling wounds on his back any further.
When heâd finally arranged himself properly on the soft mattress, the hybrid heaved a sigh.
âAnd⌠what now?â, he asked, proud that the anticipation that caused his guts to twitch didnât seep into his voice.
Around him Lance rummaged through the room, providing him with the softest wool blanket they possessed and finally turning off the main lights.
There was a soft pad of bare feet on the cold metal floor, followed by the now familiar feeling of a slender bodyâs weight sinking into the mattress behind him.
Lance shifted closer behind him, close enough that Kuro could feel his breath hit the skin between his shoulderblades. Warm hands crept up his sides until they rested on his ribs. Tender. Careful. So, so careful.
âDo you trust me?â
That question, though barely audible, caught Kuro off guard.
âUhâŚâ, wow, eloquent as always. âY-yes? Yes, I trust you.â
He still kept his eyes firmly shut, but he didnât really need his eyes to know what kind of expression flickered over Lanceâs face when the smaller man inhaled sharply.
A heartbeat.
Then another.
âOkay.â
The soft hands at Kuroâs ribs gave him a reassuring squeeze, before Lance continued: âIf I do something you donât feel comfortable with⌠just tell me and Iâll stop. Got that?â
Another purring sound escaped the cloneâs throat, followed by a small nod to make sure the other one saw his approval.
âGoodâŚâ
Before he could say anything in return, Kuro felt a hesitant pressure at his back. Warm and soft, barely noticeable, but still it felt like heâd been struck by lightning. His eyes flew open. Heat rushed to his cheeks.
The room around them was mostly dark, the only source of light being the warm yellow fairy lights, they had attached to the ceiling right above their shared bed.
There were soft blankets and pillows everywhere, effectively building a nest around the two of them.
And right in the center of all this cozyness there was Lance. Sitting right behind him. Drawing lazy circles into his sides. Pressing his ever so soft lips to the tender, badly scratched skin between his shoulders. Kissing him.
âW-what⌠what exactly are you doing there?â, the question came out as a high, squeaky sound that made him cringe.
Lance however seemed to have regained some of his confidence over the first contact of skin to skin. For he dragged his lips over the expanse of Kuroâs wide shoulders, right to the next cut, where they lingered, as light as a feather. A shiver ran down his spine, while Lance replied - lips ghosting over his skin with every syllable: âYou know, back on earth we have that term âto kiss away the painâ. Thatâs what Iâm doing here.â
âO-okay? And is that⌠some kind of Terran healing technique?â
Trying and failing at fighting off the major blush that set his whole face on fire, he finally gave up and opted for hiding it behind his hands.
Terran healing technique? Seriously?! What the hell, Kuro?
This⌠this was so surreal.
Kuro felt like combusting would be an acceptable reaction by now.
âNo, you silly gooseâ, came the huffed response. âItâs called magic.â
And with that the Blue Paladins lips continued their journey from cut, to scratch, to bruise, to scar.
Until Kuroâs whole body tingled with the warmth they left in their wake.
MagicâŚ
___
aaaand there we go. My final entry for the @kuroweek 2017. Iâve been longing to upload this for so long now!! Especially because I made my poor bean suffer like hell. He was in dire need of something good and happy. :3 I had so much fun doing this - all of my entries. This week was super awesome! Thanks!! :3
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Life in Midgard
Thank you so much at @mycapt-ohcapt and @senorita-stucky for inspiration!!
Valkyrie x Wanda
Warning: Smut
2000 word
I hope enoj :)Â
âSo this would be Midgard?â Valkyrie said looking from the porthole of the shuttle, âI do not understand what you find of beautiful Thor, I really do not understand is a blue and green ball and I understand even less Loki who wants to destroy, for me it makes no sense â she threw the empty bottle to the ground and sit down again
"You will understand when we land, from here it looks like only a blue and green ball, when you know the humans you will understand my love for the Earthâ Thor answered as they approached his favorite planet
âAhahah the humans say ?? If Iâm all like this Iâll have a lot of fun !! â said, and she punched Bruceâs shoulder
âIâm sorry to give you a pain but Iâm the only one of my kindâ Banner said holding his shoulder and getting out of the womanâs trajectory âBut I agree with Thor, the inhabitants of the Earth will please you, they are cheerful and usually welcoming, yes apart with the other part of me â
âBrother the conditions that Stark has placed are absurd, I do not mean to be treated like an animal!â Loki entered altered in the bridge âIt pretends to put a collar, A COLLAR, to prevent me from using magic, as if I could not control myself !! â he was as indignant as ever, the three looked at each other not knowing whether to laugh or pretend anything, they chose the second hypothesis.
Entering the Earth orbit Tony managed to contact them to give the coordinates of descent to a safe place where he would have expected them together with the others,
âBanner, are you there? Are you OK?? What happened? "Nat had entered the conversation, wanted, pretended to hear Bruce,
"Iâm here Nat, itâs all right, Iâve been in the dark for a while, but now itâs me again and I missed you so much!â Bruce was happy to hear she again, he had no idea how sheâd explained the last 3 years but he could not wait,
âNat please let me finish then the big and green will be all yoursâ Tony was able to resume communication âPoint Break I send you the coordinates, try not to destroy anything while you park, that shuttle has a very wide assâ
âI missed too Starkâ Thor laughed while setting the navigator, âWeâll be there in 20 minutes, um weâre in several here, weâll need medical attention, clothes and foodâ
âMany of you say ?! It seems to me a euphemism to call the entire population of Asgard several, we are already equipped, quiet your people will be fine Re Point Break "and with the usual sarcasm closed the link,
20 minutes after the shuttle was in sight, the Avengers were deployed and ready to welcome the survivors, landed without problems, there were hugs and smiles, Nat literally launched himself on Bruce falling with him in amazement of all, Nat was not a sociable or affectionate woman, Valkyrie got out and looked around, the doctors reached her, seeing covered with blood and rickety, in response she landed 3 even before they could touch her,
"Hey hey, theyâre friends, they just want to make sure youâre okay.â Clint had already hit the stun arrow as he spoke,
âCalm down, nobody will hurt you here, take a breathâ Wandaâs voice crept into her mind making her waver
âWas not the Prince of mistchief enough I have to endure a witch now?â Valkyrie took back control and lowered the sword,
âDo not you have to offer guests to drink on Midgard? Bring fresh animals to the arena and cover you with money and alcohol .. save an entire people and try to stun you, Thor where the hell you dragged me? "she said, Clint lowered the bow and burst out laughing
"Are you okay?â Wanda asked the stranger âMay I know your name?â she said slowly approaching
âYes im ok the blood is not mine, I do not come from the underworld my blood is red like your witchâ put away the sword and went to Wanda with firm step âI am SR-142, Valkyrie, protector of Asgard, last of my casteâ said looking at Wandaâs outstretched hand,â What should I do now kiss your hand? â
Wanda tried to keep her attitude "Itâs a landly habit to shake hands when you introduce yourself, Iâm Wanda,â and she shook hands with her, Valkyrie squeezed back with a little more force than necessary, but Wanda did not let go.
More than a month had passed since their arrival, the Asgardians were integrating, Stark loved spending time with scientists to study how they used energy, Nat was the most tender of women and spent all his free time on Bruce, Clint was the shadow of Loki still did not trust him, Thor helped by Heimdall sought the ideal place for his people, Wanda and Valkyrie had become very friends, Wanda helped her to sleep with magic and during the day Valkyrie taught her how a guardian fights, they spent most of their time together
âValk film !!â Wanda said preparing the popcorn, âDamn is your turnâ Valk entered the kitchen with afflicted air, she hated when Wanwan was shooting the film, always the same story.. him and her.. then something happens that divides them.. and the end find themselves, it was hard to send down those ridiculous stories but she liked to watch Wanda who was passionate, also noticed that she tried to hide the tears in the most moaning and it always made her smile, âCome on Valk this time youâll like promisedâ switched on the TV while she was comfortable with favorite blanket, Valk sit down next to her turning off the light.
In fact, she liked the film a lot, zombies and guts were flying in a good mood, during a particularly grim scene felt Wanda cling to her, turned and recognized the fear in her eyes, Wanda sank head in her hair jumping for fear,
âThese terrans are frightened with nothingâ she thought as embraced a trembling Wanda, laughing she took her face in hands âHey little witch you will not be afraid of a movie like this is it?â teasing her,
âDid that zombie do it? He opened it in two and extracted the entrails .. from what disgust now is eating! How do you laugh? âWanda replied,
â I forget that on earth you do not know anything about what you have around, there are universes where this is normal, not a third-class movie âValk looked at her seriously "Why did you choose this film if it scares you? "she asked
â I know that romance bores you, I wanted .. I wanted .. âWanda said clumsily looking down, Valk lifted her head and on impulse kissed, she heard Wanda smile and tighten more to she,
"Little witch is all a staging, you are not afraid you were just looking for an excuse to make you kiss!â she detached from her and tickled her, âIt did not matter all this waste of time, just askâ she said continuing to torture her,
âIt was so unromantic âŚâ Wanda laughed trying to defend herself,
âRomanticism ⌠romanticism is so important on this planet,â Valk whispered in her ear, blocking any movement of the girl below her, with free hand stroked her face and kissed again, slowly, in a romantic way, Wanda melted like snow in the sun feeling lips on her, a burst of energy imprisoned the girls, Valk freed her hostage
âYou do not need your tricks with me my little witch, your magic is wasted..Iâm already yoursâ she said slipping a hand under her shirt, she bit her lip and began to lick her neck, Wanda passed nails on her back, the energy is she moved with her drawing on Valkâs skin through the thin fabric of her pajamas.
Valk sit down with Wanda in her lap and pulled her shirt off, âYouâre so beautiful, so pale,â she said, running hands over her neck and descending at breast, a moan came from Wandaâs mouth as she bent to kiss her, there was nothing romantic in that kiss, passion had taken over, felt Valkâs hands on her and bite her lip, with a quick movement of the hands Valk drew her hair, the girlâs head snapped back, panting, kissed her chin and smiling down on her collarbone kissing and biting her pale skin, she stopped at the breast and began to lick it, Wandaâs nipples swelled up under those assaults and the girl moaned her name
âOhh Valk please do not stop, I dreamed so much this moment, please do not stop âŚâ, the excitement in her voice was palpable, a bubble of energy enveloped her amplifying pleasure, Valk slipped a hand on her pants, put it on her feet and took them off, Wanda was naked in front of her, kissed every inch of her skin coming down from her breasts, licked her navel as her hands made their way on her back to ass, Valk knelt to kiss her pubis, Wandaâs legs trembled and sank hands in her hair, her tongue made its way between legs while her hands were clutching and stroking  ass.
It brought a leg of Wanda on her shoulder to be able to sink better in her, tongue turned around her clit making the girl cry out with pleasure, brought a hand between her thighs to tease her pussy while she started to suck her clit gently, the tongue passed on her entry making her shudder and gasp with each step, âYouâre so sweet my little witchâ she said kissing her pubis and sliding two fingers in her, Wanda squeezed her hair moaning her name, Valk resumed the assault on his clit sucking greedily as her fingers touched and pushed on G-spot, the girl felt the orgasm mount in her and pushed Valkâs head to increase contact, her mouth focused on clit avidly sucking her fingers they moved faster and faster in and out of her, Wanda came screaming her name and fell to knees exhausted, Valk took her fingers from the girl and licked them
âYou really have a great taste for it I was a witch "she said laughing, embracing Wanda kissing her "My little witch â smiled
âYour little witch has a surprise for you my guardian of Asgard ..â bundles of energy came out of her hands and imprisoned Valk in a warm embrace that made her moan,
âNow itâs my turnâ Wanda was above her, her eyes lit with lust, she kissed her passionately, biting her lower lip and passing her tongue over the edge of his lips before descending to her neck, the tongue leaving a trace of warmth and passion as she passed, Valk indulged in the magic of she and she lost herself in lust as Wanda ran hands over her chest, took her breasts in her hands and squeezed gently, her nipples reacted to touch while her mouth sucked and licked her other breast, Valkâs arched and stroked her hair, a hand had slipped from stomach to her hips, her fingers stroked scars as they descended, causing them to flush with pleasure and making her moan and gasp,
âOpen your legs for me Valkyrie "she whispered down to her excited pussy, Valk obeyed without hesitation, agile fingers teased her clit scratching the skin of her thighs, Wanda stopped for a second to look at her
â Youâre the sexiest alien Iâve ever seen my guardian of Asgard â and buried face between her legs, her soft lips rubbed on the clit making her scream, the tongue made its way into her, Valk planted the nails in the carpet, crossing her legs on the shoulders of Wanda who took her ass and lifted her, inserted two fingers into her cunt digging up to her G-spot, rubbing her tongue inside to the rhythm of her fingers deeper and deeper, the energy amplifying every touch and the orgasm swept over her like a river in flood, she arched at most screaming her name like a prayer.
Wanda came away from her, sit next to her and hugged with transport, Valk turned to look at her and they kissed, a real kiss, of those romantic films,
"I believe of them Iâm in love with you, my little witch, "she told her seriously,
â The thing is mutual, âWanda replied, making the verse, burst into laughter and hugged on the carpet.
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Our Favorite Space Squads
With the release of Star Wars: The Last Jedi literally within our grasp, our fan hearts have gone and catapulted themselves into a galaxy far, far away. From way up among the stars, we couldnât help but share some of our all-time favorite space squads:
1.      The Star Wars golden trio (Old and New)âStar Wars
Whether you live and die for Luke, Leia and Han, or youâve completely fallen for new rebels on the block Rey, Finn and Poe, the heroes of Star Wars have always beenâand will always beâiconic. No matter if you are just beginning your heroâs journey through this fantastic space odyssey, if youâve always felt bonded to that scoundrel with a heart of gold or if youâre a fierce fan only starting to understand the extent of the power of the force, Star Wars might just feature the most recognizable space-based squads in the galaxy.
2.      Andi and her crewâZenith by Sasha Alsberg and Lindsay Cummings
Weâre counting down the days to January 16, when we can finally launch head-on into the Mirabel Galaxy with Andi, aka The Bloody Baroness, and her crew of totally cool, take-no-prisoners lady space pirates. If youâve always dreamed of having a wild adventure in space with your three besties, dodging danger, sidestepping your ex and maybe saving the galaxy while youâre at it, you will fall right in with Andi, Lyra, Breck and Gilly. We canât think of a better way to scratch that post-Star Wars itch than a flight with the crew of the Marauder.
3.      The Guardians of the Galaxy crewâGuardians of the Galaxy
Peter Quillâsorry, Starlordâmight just have the best dance moves in the galaxy, and heâs only one of the reasons we find the crew from Guardians irresistible. Somehow, in the cold emptiness of space, a raccoon with too much intelligence, an orphaned Terran boy, a girl born to be a weapon, a fugitive warrior prone to oversharing and a big lumbering tree (who stole our hearts with that adorable smile) found a reason to stick together. Their adventures are action packed, but itâs the dysfunctional family dynamic that keep us coming back for more.
4.      The renegade crew of SerenityâFirefly
We donât want to say that Firefly was Joss Whedonâs finest work, but⌠(Donât @ us, okay? Itâs AMAZING.) Firefly was the first time anyone really mapped the concept of the Wild West onto the vast, unexplored recesses of space, and though the show was canceled far too soon, this franchise is so beloved that the legacy has continued in other mediums, including comics and roleplaying games. Also, if thatâs not enough to entice you, this is the series that launched Nathan Fillion into the pop-culture stratosphere.
5.      Arthur Dent and friendsâThe Hitchhikerâs Guide to the Galaxy
Okay, so weâre reaching back a bit through time and space for this one, but we guarantee The Hitchhikerâs Guide to the Galaxy has influenced much more of our pop culture than you realize. When Earth is casually destroyed by a Vogon construction crew to make room for a hyperspace bypass, Arthur Dent, the last remaining Earthling, and his friend Ford Prefect hitchhike through spaceâŚand into more than a few misadventures.
6.      The crew of the USS DiscoveryâStar Trek: Discovery
Forget Kirk vs. Picard. We are here for Michael Burnham. It was a bold move for Discovery to stray from the formula behind old-school Trek, focusing on the perspective of a crew member instead of the shipâs captain, but we canât get enough. As a human raised in Vulcan culture, Michael Burnham is totallyâŚtransporting⌠(sorry!), and sheâs not afraid to make a bold decision or two. Season number one pulled out all the stops, introducing a new and awesomely diverse cast. Plus Jason Isaacs (aka Lucius Malfoy)!
7.      The Doctor and companionsâDoctor Who
Whether you fell for David Tennant but stayed for Matt Smith or are just stepping into the Tardis for the first time (itâs bigger on the inside), the legacy of Doctor Who has something to offer everyone. Since it first hit the airwaves in 1963, the Doctor and a variety of companions have journeyed to the end of the universe and back, and theyâre still going places we havenât even imagined. And, if you havenât been living under a rock, you will know that the thirteenth incarnation will be the first female Doctor in the showâs history, and we canât wait!
8.      The Sailor ScoutsâSailor Moon
With Sailor Moon Crystal, the 2014 reboot of 1995âs hit anime Sailor Moon, a whole new generation was introduced to fighting evil by moonlight and winning love by daylight. Though the series takes place largely on Earth, Sailor Moon and her crew have intergalactic origins and represent the planets of our solar system. We donât want to give away any spoilers if you havenât yet had a chance to experience this action-packed lesson in girl power, but we highly recommend it.
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The Arrow and the Flame, xxiv
part xxiii
Summary: Yondu has a secret, and itâs not one youâll like.
A/N: Another slight time jump. Things are gonna be kind of faster-paced from here on out.
Tags: @thewildomega @pitrymcbride @fandommemporiumm @grippleback-galaxy
Words: 3,894
~~~
Every time you went to the Elector after that, you paused outside of the cockpit to try to get a glimpse of the little green thing. You never saw it again. Instead, you saw vast improvements to the ship; new wall panels, clean, sparkling double-thick windows, patched holes in the floors and stairs, new dishes in the mess hall, a brand new navigation system that Kraglin had to learn to operate from scratch.
It was a lot. And to top it all off, it seemed there were more and more crew members every time you visited. After half a year, you only recognized every third Ravager aboard the Elector. But the expansion seemed to be a good thing. Yondu had a small circle of Officers he trusted above the cadets, and they were able to lead more jobs and heists than he would've been able to oversee on his own. They made good money by being large, ambitious, and exceptionally ravenous.
Yondu started showering you with gifts: dresses he wanted to see on you, little trinkets like the Troll and the feline on his console to go with your blue haired Troll, new weapons your father probably wouldnât clear as legal but you kept anyway. Being a Ravager, you didn't question how he got those gifts. You just accepted them and put them to use.
At the end of one of your longer stays - only four days, but that was still long comparatively - that something happened. Something big. It didnât help that your father was with you on this trip, on a sort of diplomatic excursion from his own ship (really, you were supposed to be there as his Advisor, but he knew better than to expect that was all youâd do for the duration of the stay).
Your father and Yondu were busy being Captains, which left you to your own devices. The crew knew not to mess with you - partially because of Yondu and partially because you were Stakar Ogordâs daughter. So you wandered around, seeing parts of the ship you hadnât seen before. There werenât too many, but you did find a mostly unused corridor of showers and a laundry room filled with soiled garments and practically none of the cleaning devices running. Maybe the crew was saving water and power. Or maybe they were lazy. Either way, you left that room almost as quickly as youâd found it.
On the third deck, there was a hallway youâd never even noticed before. Most of the doors were unadorned, and when you opened them, you found they were empty. Some of the doors led to closets full of brooms, mops, and other cleaning supplies (most of the chemical containers were still full). One was a bathroom. One at the end of the hall was locked.
You paused at that door, putting your ear against its cold, smooth surface. You didnât hear much, but every couple of seconds there was a slight hum from somewhere within the room. It wasnât a mechanical hum, as far as you could tell. It sounded like...like singing, actually. Ameture singing at best, but singing nonetheless.
You knocked on the door, ear still pressed against it. There was a pause in the singing, a gasp, and the clatter of hurried feet. Then you almost fell forward onto a person when the door opened. You stared at them, and they up at you. They had pale skin and little orange dots that decorated their face. Their hair looked almost red in the maroon light of the Elector, and they wore some kind of noise cancelling device around their neck, with huge mufflers at the end covered in an orange foam.
âYouâre not the Captain,â they said in a small, shy voice.
âYou know the Captain?â you asked. You immediately wanted to smack yourself - of course this person knew the Captain. Anyone on the ship did.
They nodded. âBut I donât know you, and he says not to talk to the others on the ship.â
You raised an eyebrow. âThat seems...lonely,â you said.
They shrugged. âI should go before he comes around.â They moved to shut the door, but you put your hand out to stop it.
âWho are you?â you asked, looking for a rank and an explanation for the isolation.
They looked up at you with widened eyes and an open mouth. âI-Iâm really not supposed to talk to you,â they said.
âThatâs not an answer to my question, Cadet.â
âIâm not Cadet,â they said.
You pushed on the door, but so did they. Unfortunately for them, you were a highly trained Ravager. They seemed to be a child, maybe Xandarian in appearance. Maybe even Terran, though you hadnât seen one of those, besides your father, this far out in the Galaxy in a long time.
âThen who are you?â you asked, trying to get closer to them.
They stepped back with a screech. They let go of the door so abruptly that the force you were applying to it forced you forward as it flew back. You stumbled into the dark room, and they hid across the room in the corner by the window.
âWhere did you come from?â you asked.
They turned their face to the wall. You could see them shaking from where you were, and suddenly you realized they...were scared of you.
You took a breath, straightened, and cleared your throat. âI didnât mean to frighten you,â you said. Youâd gotten caught up, worried about the presence of this skinny, unknown person.
They peeked at you, but didnât respond. You tried to take another step toward them, but they coward, turning back toward the window with their arms over their face.
You crouched down to their level and said, âIâm (Y/N).â
They looked at you again, but still shook. âH-how do you know the Cap-captain?â they asked, their voice tiny now, and full of squeaking.
You looked at your wrist, knowing the mark was just below the fabric of your jacket. You didnât know who this person was or what they knew of soulmates, so you knew trying to get into that whole ordeal was for another day. Instead you said, âI love him.â It was the simplest way you could put it.
They gasped, and you wondered if they knew who you were. Maybe Yonduâd told them about you. But their next question squashed those assumptions.
âDoes he love you?â
You nodded, unable to stop yourself from smiling. âVery much.â
âI donât believe you,â they said.
Your face fell. âExcuse me?â you asked, your voice lowered.
âThe Captain doesnât love anyone. Heâs mean and loud. All he does is boss people around,â they said.
Your brows furrowed. âWe must not be talking about the same Captain,â you said, though you knew you had to be. This person was stashed away on Yonduâs ship, after all.
âThe Captainâs a tall blue guy. Got a southern accent,â they said, though you didnât know what southern was supposed to reference. Southern of what? you wondered. âHe has that...red thing in his head that lights up when he whistles, and that arrowâŚâ Their eyes were pointed at you, but suddenly they seemed to be looking past you.
You couldnât reconcile what you were hearing with reality. Yondu wasnât mean. He wasnât scary. He was gentle and wonderful. To you. Mostly in the dark. Maybe heâd established dominance in front of his men when he slapped your ass or left bruises and marks all over you for them to see, but those were just...things he did so everyone knew to keep their hands to themselves. It was meant to scare people off, but not like this.
âWhat did he do?â you asked before you could stop yourself.
They looked at you again, focusing as they turned to face you. They sat against the wall and pulled their legs to their chest. âIâm not supposed to tell,â they said quietly. Then their eyes left you again, and suddenly they were shaking more violently than before.
You looked behind you to see Yondu in the doorway. There was a look in his eye you could only remember seeing a handful of times, when he lost control in a sparring room as an Officer. The red of his pupils blazed, and his mouth was in such an exaggerated frown he looked about four times as old as he was. Was he...snarling? At you?
You stood slowly, keeping your hands close to your jacket. âYondu,â you said.
âCaptain,â he said, venom on his tongue.
âYouâre not my Captain,â you said.
He growled. It stirred your stomach, but you stood your ground.
âWhat is this?â you asked as calmly as you could.
âNoneâa your business,â he said.
You heard shuffling behind you, so you turned to see the small person huddled in on themselves.
âIt wasnât before, but it is now,â you said, glaring at Yondu. âExplain this.â
âI donât answer to you,â he said.
You stifled a gasp, but you were almost certain you could hear a piece of your heart break off from the whole. This was what youâd feared would happen - you could taste the acrid bile in the back of your throat that reminded you of your parents. Heâd promised. Yondu had insisted that you were different. A power imbalance wouldnât mean anything because you had the stars.
Apparently, all it took to kill a star was a small child of unknown origin.
âGet out,â he demanded, an almost insane twinge to his tone.
You refused. âYouâre fighting the wrong fight, Yondu,â you said, then ignored his subsequent growl. âIâm not the one you need to keep out.â
He pulled his duster to the side, blew a whistle, and let the arrow fly. It raced toward you so quickly, you barely had enough time to watch it halt against the tip of your nose. âI said get out.â
He had never threatened you with the arrow before. It made your eyes widen and a piece of you go dark, but you couldnât say quite what part. Your breathing hitched as you stared at the tip of it against your face, thinking of the day youâd gone to find it. Youâd been so proud of yourself then, and heâd been so proud of the arrow when you gave it to him that this felt so wrong.
You held in a breath, feeling your throat start to close, and backed away from the arrow. It kept its place mid-flight, but didnât approach as you went around it. You kept your eyes on Yondu, walking toward him with as much determination as you could muster. But you knew you were shaking. Heâd never threatened your life before, and now you didnât even know what was worth hurting you over. It was just a child, you thought.
You stopped just short of colliding into him in the doorway. He still looked at you with a lethal ferality in his eyes, but that softened just enough for you to notice when you let out a shaky sigh.
âWhat the fuck is wrong with you?â you asked, shaking your head.
His shoulders dropped. Slowly, his face relaxed as well. He mustâve realized who you were, because suddenly the fire in his eyes went out and it was replaced with dying embers in a sad, pathetic pit. âStars,â he mumbled.
You shook your head faster and pushed right past him, hitting his shoulder on purpose as you went. You headed to the staircase, then up a level. You found your fatherâs chambers easily enough, slipped in, and sighed when he wasnât there. You locked the door, slid back against it, and let out the shakes, the tears, and the sighs.
Too soon, someone banged on the door. You didnât want to talk. You wanted to be left alone. Most of you did, anyway. But another part of you wanted answers. That...person. They were so scared, terrified more of the consequences of talking to you than you as an individual. And then when Yondu showed up...it was like they were living a nightmare they couldnât wake up from.
â(Y/N),â he called from the hall. âIâm sorry.â
Youâd half-hoped it was your father on the other side of the door. Heâd know what to do. But it wasnât.
âCâmon,â Yondu said, knocking on the door again. âCan we talk âbout this?â
âYou couldâve killed me,â you called, fighting an ugly hiccup from cutting off your words. It wasnât easy, and it was painful, but somehow you made it work.
âI wouldnâtâa done it,â he said. There was a clank unlike a hand hitting the door, then a plop. You figured heâd sat against the door on the outside.
âI gave you that power,â you said. âAnd you almost used it to kill me.â
âI never wouldâa done it, (Y/N). Promise.â
That word. It meant nothing now. Promises meant nothing, after what heâd said.
âYou donât answer to me,â you spat, ignoring the tears falling down your face. âWeâre not equals, Yondu. You promised that wouldnât be a problem, too.â
âWould you please let me in so we can talk?â he asked.
You didn't want to. You liked having the barrier between you. He couldn't use something else youâd given him against you that way. But you did want an explanation. And he hadn't used his power as Captain to barge into the room, which he could have done. You weren't grateful or anything, but it was something.
You sighed and pushed off the floor, making sure to make as much noise as possible. That mustâve done something, because when you opened the door, he was standing, his head down but eyes up. They were back to his normal red, the fire gone out and the embers dead. You looked away from him and backed up, letting him through the door before watching it shut itself automatically.
He stood just behind you. You thought about moving past him, but staying near the door felt safer. He reached for you had the way he had a million times before, but you leaned away from him. He paused and you watched his mouth fall open, but you stayed silent. It was his idea to talk now, so youâd let him start.
âI said I was sorry, (Y/N),â he said.
âYou almost killed me.â
âNo,â he said, shaking his head. âIt was a warninâ.â
You scoffed. âYou think that makes it better,â you said, not as a question, but a statement. âYou think I can be treated the way any of your other men are.â
âI donât,â he said, taking a step toward you.
You forced yourself not to step back, to stand your ground and keep eye contact. You stood taller and let the tension in your body take over your face. âThen you think you can do to me what papa did to my mother. Good to know,â you said. You knew, just by the aching in your face, that his expression was much softer than yours. But you were angry and stiff from crying, so you didnât care.
âI promised you I wouldnâ do that to you,â he said.
âPromises must mean nothing to you, then,â you said. âOr do you not remember telling me you donât answer to me less than fifteen minutes ago, Yondu? Is this not the exact same fight we watched my parents have before they split?â
âNo,â he said, his eyes widening in seriousness.
âIâm gonna need you to tell me why, exactly. Because, from my corner, you lied to me, kept secrets from me, and then proceeded to tell me Iâm below you.â You pushed, hard, against his shoulder. He hardly moved. âAre you gonna tell me my ambition will get me killed, too?â You pushed again, and he finally stepped back. You followed, refusing to hold back now.
âNo,â he said, sounding as pathetic as you could imagine.
âThat green thing I saw months ago - that was real, wasnât it?â you asked, getting progressively louder. He didnât answer then, just looked away. You pushed him again. âTell me, Yondu! Tell me you let me believe Iâd hallucinated! Tell me why!â You kept pushing him until he hit the bed and fell onto the mattress. He had enough sense to support himself and sit up. âWhat the fuck is going on here, Yondu?â you asked, still yelling.
He sat and stared at you for too long. You wanted to smack him, to get answers, but you kept your hands to yourself for once, hoping heâd give you what you wanted on his own.
He sighed finally, then said, âItâs...complicated.â
Your eyes widened and you shook your head. âBullshit,â you said. âObviously itâs complicated - you have a small child stowed away on your ship, and youâve apparently been so terrible to it that itâs terrified to talk to people! And you let me believe that green...thing was a figment of my own imagination!â You wanted to pull your hair out, to get him to see how angry you were about all of this. Maybe that would make him talk. Instead, you grunted and said, âThis isnât like you.â
âYou ainât gonna like what I have to say,â he said, watching your every move.
âWhat could you possibly tell me to make this worse?â you asked, throwing your arms out wide to make a point, even if you werenât sure what it was.
He studied your face. You assumed he was waiting for you to soften, to come back down to his level so you could listen rationally. But you were beyond that. You breathed heavily, maintaining an elevated heartbeat as you waited.
âThe kid is Egoâs,â he said. âThe green thing, too.â
Your eyes squinted in disbelief. âExcuse me?â
He nodded once. âTheyâre both Egoâs kids.â
âEgo, like the Celestial asshole no one we knew got a good feeling from?â you asked. âWait. What are you doing with Egoâs children?â
He hesitated. You dropped your arms and stood straight.
âYondu,â you said in a stern voice.
He stood, too, and looked at you with a sudden sadness in his eyes. You felt yourself melt under his gaze, but you tried to keep some composure about you. You clenched your teeth to hold onto some of your anger.
âHeâs payinâ me real well,â he said, so quietly you almost missed half of it.
Your eyes squinted more. âWhat?â you asked through your teeth.
âIâm bringinâ the kid to him soon,â he said.
You shook your head. What he was saying was impossible. It was illegal by Alliance standards, and beyond illegal - punishable by death - on countless planets and within too many quadrants to name.
âYouâre lying,â you whispered, this time without spitting it through your teeth. âTell me youâre lying, Yondu.â
âOne second you want me to fess up, and the next you want me to lie,â he said, though there wasnât a hint of accusation in his eyes. âIâm tellinâ you the truth.â
âNo,â you said. âIf thatâs the truth, you-â You couldnât even bring yourself to go on. âThat small child. Where is it from?â
âHeâs from Terra,â he said. âSays his nameâs Peter Quill.â
You shook your head. âTake him back,â you said.
âI canât,â he whispered.
âTake. Him. Back.â The anger had faded from your face and body. It was replaced by something mostly unfamiliar to you, something worse. Something not so easily overcome.
Fear.
âTake him back, Yondu.â
âHe ainât got no family left,â he said.
âHeâs Terraâs problem. I hear they have a foster care system of some sort. They need to worry about him.â
âHeâs got a daddy out here,â he said. âShouldnâ he be with his family?â
âYouâre not doing him a favor,â you said. âHeâs a child, and youâre trafficking. Take him back.â
You felt sick. You wanted to throw up, to make the twisting feeling in your stomach go away. You wanted to yell, to throw punches at something - anything - to get some of the feeling out of your body once and for all. It was all too much. You needed some kind of reprieve.
You let tears fall. That was all you could manage as you stared at Yondu. Your soulmate. A total stranger.
He brought a hand up and wiped away your tears, but you slapped his arm away.
âDonât touch me,â you whispered.
âDarlinâ, I-â
âDonât say youâre sorry, Yondu. Youâre beyond that, now.â
âI tolâ you it was complicated.â
âNo!â you said. âComplicated is âhe stowed away on the ship and wonât tell you where heâs from so you canât return him.â Complicated is âyou want to adopt him but donât know how to say that because heâs fucking terrified of you.â This is not complicated, itâs illegal.â
âEgoâs payinâ us real well, (Y/N). I can pay my crew. I can afford upgradesân repairs! I can buy you nice things, ân we can have a good life!â
You took a step back from him, and he immediately stopped talking. You shook your head. âThis isnât a good life, Yondu. Itâs illegal. Itâs breaking the code - breaking your word. To me, to papa, to the Alliance - itâs treachery.â
âI donât gotta be,â he said. âPeteâs the last one. There ainât no more, and if I just get him to Ego before Stakar knows, noneâa itâll matter.â
You shook your head. âYou want me to lie to my father, like you lied to me?â You scoffed and took another step back.
âNo,â he said, bringing his hands up and out, as if to reach for you. But he stopped mid-way and shook his head. âHe ainât never gonna know, thatâs all.â
âThatâs not better, Yondu. Do your men know what youâre doing? Does Kraglin?â you asked. Just maybe, if Kraglin was innocent, you could help him. You could take him back to the Arcturian and keep him safe. He wasnât a child anymore, but you wanted him to be safe from the consequences of what Yondu was doing.
He stayed silent for too long. You had your answers. You asked yourself how Kraglin could let him do this. Kraglin had been with the Alliance for most of his life and he knew something like this would get them into trouble. That was putting it lightly, and heâd know that, too.
âHow could you?â you whispered. âYouâve put everyone on this ship in danger, Yondu. You have to know that.â
âI didnâ mean to-â
âThat doesnât matter because youâve already done it! All this time, I thought you were doing good work. Ravager work. Legal work, according to the Alliance. But this⌠Yondu, youâve put yourself, your entire crew, Kraglin and...and me in danger!â
âPlease, (Y/N), you gotta see-â He stepped to you again, but you stepped back and held your hands up.
You could feel yourself shaking again. The tears came back, too. âNo!â you said, much louder than youâd meant it. âYou canât come back from this, Yondu. And I canât let it go. I wonât be a part of your treason.â
You lowered your hands and kept your eyes on him as you backed up, opened the door, and stepped into the empty hallway.
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GOTG & Tokyo Ghoul Fanfic: Star-Ghoul
Rating: M
Characters: Peter Quill, Yondu, OCâs
Warnings: Violence and cannibalism
Summary: Peter is half terran. Itâs just that thereâs more than one sapient species living on EarthâŚ
Okay, so this is something Iâve been playing with whenever I was bored of working on KHR fic. Please note that I havenât stayed up to date or even watched Tokyo Ghoul in a very long time, so things may not be fully accurate.
Will be posted to A03 if I ever finish it.
From the day he was old enough to talk, Peter knew he was special.
His grandfather said he was impossible. Â His aunt said he was a miracle. Â But his mother just called him her little Star-Lord. A perfect billion-to-one chance made when she fell for a man made of stardust.
The normal, human people of their little town chalked her musings up to the tumour in her brain, but their family knew differently. They knew the taste of human flesh, and Peterâs blood tasted of ghoul and burning suns. Â Whatever Meredith Quill had fallen for, it hadnât been human, but had survived incubation in a ghoulâs womb all the same.
As a half breed, he only had one real eye, but in exchange, Peter could do things other ghouls couldnât. Â He could heal a little faster and he could beat up all the other kids in the family, even the ones almost five years older than him, but unless he was at home, there was no letting anyone see. Â Humans wouldnât understand, and his mother had already brought attention to them with her episodes. Â Peter had to be quiet and pretend to be human. Â Weak and frail and pretending the meat in his pocket was baloney and not the thigh of a man who committed suicide in the woods just outside town.
Then his mother died before he could summon up the courage to hold her hand, he was running onto the grass, a space ship was lifting him into the air, and it all suddenly ceased to matter.
â
Yondu Udonta was not a man who believed in fate. Â If there was a higher power deciding the path everyone decided to take, heâd be first in line to kill the bastard for the road one Centaurian had found himself walking down. Â No, he made his choices of his own free will. Â Stupid and naĂŻve choices perhaps, but his all the same.
Yet the fact that Peter Jason Quill was the boy he chose to save out of all the kids heâd damned was either the greatest stroke of luck in the entire galaxy, or someone else was pulling strings.
The kid was a tiny scrap from a backwater planet that still thought the universe revolved around them. Â When Yondu picked him up, heâd expected a weak, sobbing, stubborn, hopefully scrappy, brat that heâd have to work overtime to turn into a Ravager without his crew trying to mutiny.
Instead, heâd picked up the perfect little Ravager mascot.
Donât get him wrong, the boy was a sobbing, miserable little brat, made all the worse when they inserted the universal translator and made it clear he was never going home again, but the second the crew started their usual threats of eatinâ their new cargo?
Yondu Udonta has seen plenty cargo people and recruits, and not a one relaxed at the threat of being eaten, but thatâs what Peter Quill did. Â As if being eaten was a perfectly acceptable fate for a kid unable to keep up with adults.
Not that the boy had much to worry about on that end. Udonta figured heâd start him off soft, basic cleaning duties until they could get some muscle on him and start the heavy lifting and fighting lessons, tossing a mop in his hands and leaving him to it.
Yet within a week the kid had his section of the ship looking more spic and span than Yondu remembered it being when heâd first set foot in the Eclector. Â And in record time too. Â Nobody could figure out why a brat Quillâs age could move faster than half a dozen other grunts, but it earned him the respect of the crew. Â A month in, the biggest dissenters whoâd complained about keeping their new cargo instead of cashing in had shut up. Â At least, most of them.
Those on their own cleaning rosters didnât take kindly to a Terran brat making them look bad. Â Nobody in the Ravagers wanted the scut job, and it grated something fierce to clean up blood and dirt only to watch the boy wander through with his stupid music player halfway through and finished for the day, getting ready to explore the vents only he was small enough to navigate.
That choice in extra-curricular was why Yondu wasnât too worried about the more agitated Ravagers. Â No, he was more focused on trying to figure out how much Terrans were supposed to eat. Â The first day Quill had been on the ship proper, theyâd all but shoved a tray of standard space-faring food and told him to figure out what he could and couldnât eat. Brat had tasted every single thing and spat every single morsel out, and hadnât been seen near the mess hall since. One would have thought kids would have needed to eat regularly (one of his siblings had nearly cleaned out their entire stock), but outside of water, no Ravager had seen Quill eat anything. Â
Quill however, didnât seem to think that was weird, and he was definitely more in the know about what was normal for Terrans, so unless Yondu found him collapsed and half-starved in a hallway somewhere, he wasnât going to press it. Â
In conclusion, the kid was a dutiful worker, surprisingly strong for his age, the perfect size for thieving, and cost next to nothing to keep alive. Â All in all, Yondu started to think this half-baked plan to keep the kid out of his Daddyâs hands might actually work.
So naturally, thatâs when he learned just what heâd brought on board.
â
Two months into this life and, and Peter was so hungry it hurt.
Heâd tried to ration what little flesh heâd had when heâd been abducted, but without any way to store the meat, heâd finished it off within a week. Â Seven weeks ago.
Right now, he felt like a man on a desert island, desperate for a drink of water and surrounded only by ocean. Â Humans, or terrans as the Ravagers called them, were not common in space, and Peter had no clue if he could eat an alien species. Admittedly, a lot of the Ravagers looked human enough to make his eye want to shift, but he always managed to pull back.
His family didnât kill. Â Respectable ghouls donât hunt.
But it was getting harder and harder to remember that.
Growls whine from his stomach, but he forces himself to push it down, and dunks the sponge thing heâs been given into the bucket so he can continue cleaning the wall. Â He much prefers cleaning when thereâs been a fight â they make him clean up the blood and sometimes he can take a lick without anyone noticing. Â It hasnât made him sick yet, but Itâs hardly a full meal.
Nobody has stabbed anybody in the past week though, so Peter is stuck scrubbing grease stains and gun residue from the walls. Itâs repetitive and heâs getting slow cause heâs getting weaker, but it keeps him from thinking about food.
Heâs so absorbed in the job, he doesnât hear the three men sneaking up on him until the boot slams into his ribs and sends him flying.
Hysterical laughter follows as he collapses to the ground, and he bares his teeth at the invaders. Â Burder, a beefy and hairy Hraxian, flanked by his two friends stroke minions, Kalls from Xandar and Gorming the, well, Peterâs not sure, but he has gills and a weird facial ribbing that kind of makes it look as if heâs been skinned at some point. Â
âYouâve been making us look bad bratâ Burder warns, hand twirling in part of his beard. Â âGot the Captain on our backs every scut shift wanting to know how a scrawny kid like you manages to outperform three full grown men. Â We aint allowed back on guard duty unless we stop slackinâ off.â
Gorming scoffs. Â âWe aint slackin. Â Worked last shift till my frackin fingers bled and you still pranced off as you please three hours early.â
Burder gives a malicious grin as Peter stumbles up, glaring at them and fighting the urge to bare his fangs.
âItâs not my fault youâre slowâ he mutters, eyes darting at the corridor and trying to figure out if he can make it past them.
He canât. Â Maybe last month, but heâs running on fumes now. Â Even if he passed Burder, Kalls is deceptively quick when it comes to detaining small terrans.
Perhaps he should have made that calculation before he snarky remark, because Burderâs going a remarkable shade of puce.
âKnow what brat? Â Forget what Yondu said, Iâm getting a taste of terran. Â Letâs see if you move quite so fast if youâre missing a few pieces.â
He digs out a knife from his jacket, and descends while Kalls and Gorming take lookout, although theyâre keeping one eye on the spectacle in front of them. Â Kalls even licks his lips, and Peter looks away.
Burder had been threatening to eat him for weeks. Kalls and Gorming had been whining to the Captain for just a taste for nearly as long. Â Yondu had warned against killing Peter, but there had been nothing about severing limbs.
Technically, that wasnât an issue. Â Peter could regrow them quickly enough. Â But thatâs not really the point. Â They are going to eat him. Â Even though they have plenty of food on the ship, they want to eat him.
And thatâs just blatantly unfair. Â If heâs edible, then Burder should be considered fair game too.
He knows his grandpa would be angry at him. Â His mother would be disappointed. Â They were respectable ghouls who didnât hunt, but went after those who were already dead.
But that was Earth, and this was space. Â The rules were different.
It wasnât wrong to kill in self-defence, right? Itâs not like he even knew if he could eat Burder â the man was a hraxian, not human â but heâs going to hurt Peter if he doesnât stop him. Â Especially if the terran-eating Ravagers find out he can regenerate limbs within a day.
And heâs so hungryâŚ
As he struggles to sit up, he sees Burder descending upon him, knife raised.  Almost without thinking, his right eye bleeds black, and his white rinkaku kagune emerges from his waistâŚ
Yondu and Kraglin turn the corner just in time to see Burder impaled on the two glowing white tentacles growing from the Terranâs back, and watch in stunned silence as the manâs gurgling screams are cut short, tentacles shifting to take the shape of both a drill and a sword, body ripped apart and flesh splattering against the walls. Â Kalls and Gorming are both collapsed by the wall, staring in horror, but Yondu only has eyes for the Terran.
The tiny, weak little Terran with one red and black eye thatâs currently picking up a large chunk of Burder and biting into the flesh with a self-satisfied smile.
â
Things become a lot more complicated after that.
It takes some time to explain to the boy that no, the men werenât ever really going to eat you, it was meant to be funny. Â And then even longer to explain that no, they werenât upset that heâd killed Burder or started to eat him, because Ravagers understand self-defence and honestly if theyâd had any idea just what theyâd had on board they never would have joked about it in the first place.
On the boys side, he fills in the now painfully obvious blanks. Â He is Terran, just not âhuman.â Â Thereâs an additional sentient species living on Earth that goes to extreme lengths to hide themselves due to their nature. Ghouls â creatures that can only eat human flesh and nothing else.
Or possibly just sentient flesh, because Peterâs been gnawing on a chunk of Burderâs shoulder for this whole damn explanation. Â Which is something of a relief â hunting down Terran to feed their Terran would have been more trouble than Yondu could ever write off to his crew, even if the brat only had to eat the equivalent of a corpse per month (he has men that can polish that off in day given half the chance).
The glowing limbs are part of his motherâs heritage too (and boy does Yondu breathe a sigh of relief at that). Â The tentacles are something called âkaguneâ and ârinkakuâ and have something to do with an additional organ that Peter clearly doesnât really understand himself, but emerge from his waist and can be shifted into basic weaponry and tools depending on what Peter needs. Â
Heâs already small and skinny, good for stealing what the Ravagers canât quite manage, but the concept that the kidâs a predator â with a built in offensive system to take down sentient opponents, well, that makes him all the more valuable.
And makes sure every Ravager on board gives the boy a very wide berth. Â Two days later, Cook gets a brand new refrigerator for Quillâs âleftovers.â
Thereâs no talk of eating him again.
#fanfiction#guardians of the galaxy fanfiction#gotg fanfic#tokyo ghoul fanfiction#crossover#peter quill#tokyo ghoul#guardians of the gala
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One thing can save the world; Rocket Raccoon
THIS IS NOT A READER INSERT!!! This came from an anon conversation I had when I first came onto tumblr with imagining Rocket cloning himself to create an army of Rockets taking over a fleet of airships AND with the big hub-bub of the Avengers Infinity War at Disney Expo 23, I thought Iâd combine the anon request with a prediction of whatâs to happen in the upcoming Infinity war movie coming next year *CANâT FREAKING WAIT RELEASE THE TRAILER ALREADY!!!!!!!!!!* Now this is just my enterpretation of what could happen, I DO NOT own any of the characters and I hope whoever requested the Rocket army request will enjoy this :) And sorry in advance if it sucks.Â
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They were overwhelmed. Â Even with all the superheroes united together it was still too much for them. Â Thanos had come to take over the Earth and he brought with him a stronger Chitauri army as well as any other scum he could bride with a âpromised shareâ of the Universe.
âHow many more of these guys can he bring?â proclaimed Tony.
âThanos had unlimited connections, he mustâve called every single one of his partnerships in hopes of sharing the Universe, but heâs never one to shareâ Gamora stated as she kicked one Chitauri in the head and tossed another one towards Natasha who caught it and electrocuted it with her spider-bite gloves.
âWeâre overwhelmed, itâll take a miracle to get us out of this messâ said Natasha. Â In the sky it was as much of a war zone as it was on the ground, aircrafts and superheroes who could fly were flying in the air with explosions booming like fireworks. Inside the Milano, Peter Quill and Rocket took control of piloting the Milano firing all their weapons at any oncoming spacecraft.
âIâll have to agree with Gamora #2, everytime we take down one aircraft, hundreds more keep coming inâ. Â As Rocket began to process something in his head, he suddenly got an idea. Â He taped on the comms link on the Milano and said.
âHey Stark!ââ
Iâm a little busy at the moment!â
âJust answer me this, how far advance is your technology?â
âPretty high-tech. Not to brag but its state of the art. Why?â
âAhh no reason, just want to know if I can sneak back into that high tower of yours and play with some of your stuffâ Rocket said as he got out of his seat and prepared his jetpack.
âWhoa, whoa, whoa no one touches my stuff but me!â Stark proclaimed. Rocket grabbed the handle switch that would open the lower escape doors and Peter hollered to Rocket.
âWhat are you planning Rocket?â
âJust keep them off my back till I reach Stark Towers. I have a plan!â
âYouâve got a plan?â Peter asked skeptically.
âYes. Much better than your last plan back on Xandarâ.
âIt wasnât my fault!â Before Quill could say anything else, Rocket jumped out of the Milano and flew towards Stark Towers and soon coming up behind him was Ironman himself.
âSo whatâs this great plan of yours?â
âYouâll find out soon enoughâ. Â The two of them soon ignited their thrusters faster towards the tower.Â
In Starkâs lab, he and Rocket were putting together a special machine that could turn the tide in their favor and save the galaxy once and for all.
âNow Iâve never really invented something like this, you sure itâll work?â Tony said to Rocket.
âYou Terrans claim to have the most advance technology in the world and you have yet to invent a cloning device?â Rocket mocked to him as he connected some wires together on the machine.
âWell sorry but it never occurred to me to ever clone myself, especially after watching Multiplicityâ.
âMulti-what?â
âOh come on now donât tell me you guys donât get movies out there on alien planets!â Â Rocket only remained silent then Stark went back to work and muttered, âOkay geez, I thought out there thereâd be some entertainment like we have hereâ.
âJust hand me that pilotâs driver and duct tapeâ. Stated Rocket. Â With a few more modifications, the duplication machine was finally ready.
âYou sure about this? We donât know whatâll happen since we didnât test itâ.
âWe donât have time to. If anything goes wrong, tell Quill to not take my stuff and Groot to take care of the others for meâ.
âYou got it raccoon, you ready?â
âLetâs do thisâ. Â Stark then activated the machine which sparked and buzzed and Rocket grinned before leaping through the arch of the machine.Â
Back on the battlefield, half of the heroes were barely scrapping the floor trying to get up while unfortunately some of them the help would come too late.
âDamnit where are Rocket and Stark!â Sam groaned.
âTheyâll come, I know he will. Mr. Stark always likes to make a dramatic entranceâ Peter winced.
âWell they better make it now, because I donât know how much fight Iâve got left in meâ stated TâChalla.
âGuardians and Avengers! Your time on this realm is over! The Earth is now mineâ. Thanosâ voice proclaimed as he levitated in the air with the infinity gauntlet on with all 6 Infinity stones in each slot. Â He raised his hand and suddenly coming down towards the Earth was almost what looked like another planet heading towards them.
The remaining of Earthâs heroes and Guardians all looked up in horror. Â There was no way they would be able to stop a whole freakin planet from dropping on their heads it would take a miracle to stop this.
âHey yah big purple monkey!â Rocketâs voice echoed out from an Intercom. Â Everyone looked up and saw something heading towards them. Â It looked like a swarm of some kind. Â âThis here is our town! You want it, you gotta kill me and all my little friends here!â Â Suddenly swarming the air were millions of Rocket Raccoon clones all lined with jetpacks and all of them getting into each Chitauri air-fleet ships. Â âAlright you heroes you all take care of the aliens down there and leave the rest to me!â
âSon of a bitchâ Bucky muttered.
âWay to go Rocket!â Peter Quill proclaimed from the Milanoâs intercom.
With that motivation of seeing an army of Rocket Raccoons flying in space crafts, the remaining heroes all got up and proceeded to fight off the rest of the Chitauri army that all the Rockets had tossed out from their aircrafts.
The real Rocket soon stood before Thanos and the two of them glared at each other.
âYou wonât be able to stop whatâs coming!â
âYeah, yeah but I can stop youâ. Â Rocket then activated one of the Chitauri guns and aimed it right at the Infinity gauntlet. Â He then fired with all the fire-power it had right at the gauntlet and Thanos held out his hand which deflected the attack but Rocket kept hold on Thanos.
Soon coming up beside him was Stark who used his repulsor beams to give Rocket a hand and soon coming beside him was Peter on the Milano as well as Thor who used his newly built axe to fire the same lightning he would get from Mjolnir.
With the combined fire power, the gauntlet actually began to crack. Â Thanosâ eyes widened and within a few more firepower from all four heroes combined, the gauntlet was destroyed sending all six infinity stones flying in the air. Stark then grabbed the Time Stone and called out.
âYo Strange!â He then threw the Time stone towards Stephen and with the help of the cloak of levitation, Stephen opened up the Eye of Agamotto and the stone landed safely inside of it which activated the relic once more.
âEverybody stand back!â His arm then became wrapped with the green magic crypt. Â He raised his arms and focused right on the incoming planet. Â âIN THE NAME OF THE SORCERER SUPREME. I BANISH YOU TO THE FAR REACHES OF THE MULTIVERSE. BE GONE THANOS AND TITAN!!!â The Eye of Agamotto soon fired a powerful green beam which hit right at Thanosâ planet Titan as well as Thanos himself.
He let out a scream and soon the planet and he disappeared into one of the infinite universes never to be released again.
Stephen Strange levitated back down to the ground panting in exhaustion and soon the four heroes landed in front of him. Quill and Rocket got out of their space crafts and stood beside Thor, Stephen and Stark.
âDid we justââ
âYes Star-lord, we are victoriousâ. Stated Thor.âWhere did you banish him?â asked Tony.
âSomewhere not even Thanos can get out. And I have you and Rocket to thank, had you both not decided to make a cloned army of raccoons, Iâd never get the stone back into the Eye of Agamottoâ. Â The rest of the Avengers and Guardians soon came out from the smoke all of them in complete silence for a moment not believing that they had won.
When it finally came to them that they did, they all cried and cheered and hugged each other. Â The Avengers, Guardians of the Galaxy, Doctor Strange, Antman and Wasp, Black Panther and Spiderman all saved the galaxy from the mad Titian Thanos and the galaxy was finally at peace.Â
As a few weeks went by and after some sorrow filled funerals of those who had unfortunately lost their lives in the battle against Thanos. Â They all had drinks at the newly rebuilt Avengers compound. Â
While everyone was sitting around drinking in celebration as well as in remembrance to those who gave their lives Buckyâs voice cried out.
âWhere is my replacement arm!?â Rocket snickered as he sat on the counter with a drink in his hand.
âDonât you think itâs time we got rid of the clones now Rocket?â asked Gamora.
âAre you kidding me? I ainât never getting rid of those guysâ. Â Everyone soon let out a laugh while the girls mainly rolled their eyes at Rocketâs response.
#Rocket Raccoon#rocket raccoon oneshot#gotg fanfiction#avengers infinity war#avengers#Guardians of the Galaxy#Doctor Strange#marvel fanfiction
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Have more of the Sheith soulmates AU
Voltron fanfic. Probably rated T for mild language when itâs done. Definitely Shiro x Keith. Situational names/pronouns for Pidge/Katie. Feedback is always welcome. Still pondering titles.
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6
Part 7
<><><><><><><><><><><><>
She left the details to her Druids. They could punish the guards that permitted themselves to be taken down. They could search for the traitorous Ulaz.
She had bigger things to do.
The second Haggar had removed Championâs ruined hand, she had encased the mangled flesh in a unit designed to measure quintessence. The first step was successful: the wreck of a hand, magically preserved in a still-living state, showed the presence and fluctuations of the mysterious quintessence, allowing her a permanent barometer of Championâs link with the other without having to physically watch him.
It also gave her unlimited access for further analyzing the quintessence. It took almost a full lunar cycle, but she was finally able to separate and identify the two separate halves of the meld, keeping them apart for brief moments before they coalesced again.
And if it were just another experiment, just another study of a random alienâs quintessence, she would have scrapped it. One of the two halves showed Galra characteristics.
Somehow the flesh had been tainted by a Galra. She didnât know howâshe was the only one who handled the destroyed limb between the body and the unit and she did so with full shields in place. While Champion had taken numerous injuries from Galra fighters in the arenaâincluding the nasty head wound that had turned a shock of his hair whiteâtheir medical protocol was sound enough for cleansing such wounds. And the second quintessence was overwhelmingly similar to Championâs, suggesting that the other was the same species, in a sector that the Galra had only just begun scouting.
But in spite of the Galra contamination, the device worked as she wished it. She could let Champion perform for Zarkon, who was toying with the idea of trying to brainwash the alien and test him on the Red Lion. There had been a few sessions with Zarkonâs pet team of persuaders. Those had actually been helpful to Haggar, allowing her to see that the quintessence meld responded to mental and emotional attacks in an identical manner to physical assault.
But for now, her device served a new purpose. The flesh called to itself. The quintessence sought its origin. She would be able to track Championâs location as soon as the pod he was in dropped out of hyperdrive.
<> <> <> <> <>
The autopilot was driving him stir-crazy.
He was in a spacecraft, in the pilotâs seat, for the first time in nearly a year, and he couldnât fly it. It was like being back in early training, next to an instructor, watching but not allowed to touch, not allowed to take control.
But he didnât dare change any of Ulazâs settings. His rescuer had entered the coordinates for Terra and programmed something called a hyperdrive that allowed for incredibly fast interstellar travel. Shiro had to settle for studying the control panels intently, learning the layout of the craft as it compared to a Garrison ship.
But Keith was with him, urging him on.
Shiro leaned back for a few minutes, closing his eyes to try and ward off a headache that was building. And suddenly he was seeing through Keithâs eyes as Keith prepared. His soulmate knew he was coming and was doing everything he could to get ready. Shiro was a bit astonished, watching and wondering where the slightly adrift boy he met in a combat class had gone. This Keith moved with purpose and surety, focused on his goal. This Keith no longer felt too young for him.
He would see this Keith soon.
Sensing his presence, Keith sent back affection and anticipation.
The ship jerked and shifted from hyperdrive into normal space. Shiro instinctively reached for the controls, then looked up through the viewscreen.
His eyes widened as he realized that the ship was already inside Terraâs atmosphere and coming in way too fast. He had to try and slow the descent!
His hands flew across the strange controls, searching for any way to decelerate. A screen turned red and he felt a shudder through the transportâit felt like a turbine had stopped, if he were in a jet. Velocity dipped, but now the ship veered sharply to the left, to the north of the landing coordinates.
And then he hit earth. He got his arms up to protect his face and head as he slammed into the control panel, but was flung back in the whiplash, his head striking the hard side of the pilotâs seat. He sent one last desperate call to Keith as he lost consciousness.
<> <> <> <> <>
Shiro woke and realized two things. The first was that Keith had not found him yetâhe was coming but having to improvise for not being the first one there.
The second was that he was strapped down to a table.
The flashback overwhelmed him, the pain of the torture sessions, the agony of the procedure that had taken his hand and replaced it with the weapon. He clenched his teeth to hold in the screams.
âHeâs awake!â
Figures in Terran hazmat suits leaned over him, waving scanners across his body.
Ulaz. Blue Lion. Voltron.
Keith was closer. He had done something that should get everyoneâs attention soon and was moving in.
Someone moved to put a tourniquet on his left arm.
âHey! What are you doing?â
âCalm down, Shiro. We just need to keep you quarantined until we run some tests.â
âNo, you donât understand! Aliens are coming! Theyâre after a weapon that was hidden here! We have to find Voltron!â
One of the medtechs recoiled from his right side. âLook at this! His arm! Itâs been replaced with a cyborg prosthetic!â
âPut him under! We donât know what that thing can do!â
âNo! NO! Donât put me under! You have to listen to me!â Shiro thrashed against the straps in a panic but one of the medtechs seized his head and another pressed an injector to his neck.
Keith! Help me!
<> <> <> <> <>
Pidge finished throwing laptops and equipment into his backpack and slid down the hill after Lance and Hunk. The minute heâd pointed out the person coming in on the hoverbike, Lance had gone competitive and insisted that he would be the one to rescue his idol.
Pidge would never understand Lance. Did it really matter who got credit for the rescue as long as they got a chance to speak to Shiro?
His emotions swung from hope that Shiro might actually be able to share what had happened to the rest of the crew and anger that Iversonâs people hadnât even considered asking Shiro about them before knocking him out. He was obviously trying to communicate a warning, a major one, and they ignored it. All Iverson cared about was keeping his lies going.
Good thing Pidge Gunderson wasnât interested in the Garrison as a career.
<> <> <> <> <>
In three swift moves, the medtechs went down. Keith leaped over the third as he fell and ran to the gurney. White hair spilled across the captiveâs forehead and for one instant he felt despair. This was supposed to be ShiroâŚ
Keith reached out to the manâs face and turned it toward him.
Their bond surged at his touch, making him sway. It was Shiro.
Shiro with a patch of white hair and a deep scar across his face. Shiro with a body hardened by months of being forced to fight for his life. Shiro with a smooth metal limb replacing his right hand.
But it was Shiro.
Keith sliced the straps with his dagger and heaved his soulmate up. The bond throbbed everywhere their skin touched. He was starting to worry that they wouldnât be able to move fast enough when a voice interrupted.
âNo, no, no you donât! Iâm saving Shiro!â
A boy that looked to be Keithâs age stalked through the door and took Shiroâs other arm, sharing the weight. Two others who would have fit perfectly on a flashcard teaching big and small stood in the door, watching with wide eyes.
Keith didnât bother to reply. They were a godsendâthey could help get Shiro to the hoverbike and then he and his soulmate would be off.
Except that the Garrison team was coming back much sooner than he had hoped and they all had to ride a hoverbike that wasnât designed to hold five.
<> <> <> <> <>
One merry chase and one successful cliff dive later, they made it to the cabin. The big guy helped Keith move Shiro onto the bed in the bunker. Keith checked Shiroâs pulse and pupils while the short kid described how the medtechs had sedated himâhe would be out for a while yet. Keith tucked a blanket around him and firmly told himself that he could leave for a few minutes. There was nowhere else for the other three to go and he needed to settle them in the cabin.
He directed the others into the main room, waving at the futon in indifferent invitation. He grabbed a cold water from the fridge and drank, getting the dust from the trip out of his throat.
The three of them looked at him and he looked back. Obviously there were questions that they all had, but no one was sure where to start. Then the big guyâs stomach growled loudly.
The other two broke into giggles and Keith snorted a little. He waved to the corner that served as a kitchen. âHelp yourselves.â
The big guy moved toward him first, holding out a hand. âThanks, man. My nameâs Hunk.â
He shook. âKeith.â
Suddenly he had the short oneâs attention. âWait a minute, thatâs how you knew to come after Shiro! Youâre Keith Kogane!â
âUhâŚyeah?â
âMy mom and the Shiroganes, weâve been worried sick!â
âOkayâŚâ
âSorry, sorry. Iâm Katie Holt, Mattâs sister.â
That put a couple of puzzle pieces in place, but the reaction of the other two kept Keith off balance.
âWait, what? Pidge? Youâre a girl?â The thin one was clearly stunned.
âHuh. Okay, that explains a few things. Why were you in the Garrison under another name?â Hunk asked.
âLong story. Short version is I got banned from the Garrison for hacking into Iversonâs computer and had to find another way in.â
Keith grinned at that. âGood for you.â
The thin one was clearly still at sea. âOkay, Pidge is a girl and you two know each other. Any more surprises?â
PidgeâŚKatieâŚadjusted her glasses. âOh, no. Not like that, Lance. I just know who he is. Heâs Shiroâs soulmate.â
Hunk had his mouth full of granola bar but his expression showed interest as Lance began talking again.
âSoulmate, huh? Yeah, I remember that getting mentioned a few times around campus. Wacky shit. We had a case in our neighborhood, some woman who lived alone and must have been forty and one year at Halloween she was giving out candy like everyone else but when she handed some M&Ms to this one kid who had moved to the neighborhood that summerâŚwham! He was like, eight. Awk-ward! They got that shit broken by Christmas, youâd better believe it!â
He paused, clearly expecting someone to reply. He was not expecting to see Keithâs face drain of color or the concerned reactions of the other two.
Katie moved forward. âKeith, are you all right?â
Hunk also stepped up. âDude, youâre not gonna pass out, are you?â
Keith swallowed hard. âNoâŚno, Iâm fine.â
âYou are not fine! You look like you saw a ghost!â Lance flapped his arms, unsettled at Keithâs reaction.
âSorry. Itâs just thatâŚthey tried, at the Garrison. They tried to break the soul bond between Shiro and me.â
Katieâs eyes widened. âThat was you! That night in the faculty building!â
âWhat?â
âThree men were dragging you somewhere, and then you started yelling. That was the night I broke into Iversonâs computer. I set off the security alarms to give you a chance to get away. You were screaming at them.â
Keith ran a hand over his face, fighting the memories. âYeah, that was me. Thank you.â
âAnd thank you! They were so busy going after you that I was able to pull the video files that proved Shiro didnât crash. Thatâs when my mom and I decided I needed to infiltrate the Garrison as Pidge Gunderson.â She stepped up to Keith and wrapped her arms around him. âSeriously, Iâm glad they didnât succeed. Iâve read about broken soul bondsâŚitâs not pretty, what it does to you.â
Lance shifted from one foot to the other. âSorry I brought it up.â
Keith shrugged, returning Katieâs hug awkwardly. It had been a very long time since anyone had touched him in a caring way. âItâs okay. You didnât know.â He moved away as Katie loosened her grip. âIâm going to sit with Shiro until he wakes up. You guys can hang out here.â
<> <> <> <> <>
Where am I?
The first thing Shiro noticed as his awareness returned was that he was warm. It had never been warm enough on the ships or in the cells or in the arena.
The second thing was that his bond with Keith was practically vibrating, it was so intense. His first impulse was to worry. The Garrison had found him. Are they going to try and break the bond again? Is Keith safe?
The third thing was someone holding his left hand.
He tightened his grip instinctively and heard someone draw in an anxious breath.
âShiro?â
He squeezed his eyes shut. If he kept his eyes shut, he could stay in this dream where he was warm and Keith was holding his hand.
It got better. Keith was smoothing his hair back with the other hand, sending sizzles across his skin.
âShiro?â
The dream wasnât fading. It was getting more tangible, more real. His essence sang at every touch.
âKeith?â
The weight in his flesh hand shifted and he heard someone move, sitting next to him. The fingers interlocked with his and a second hand wrapped around their joined hands. Their bond pulsed with power.
âIâm here, Shiro. Youâre home.â
Shiro drew a deep, shuddering breath, steeling himself for the disappointment, and opened his eyes.
Soft yellow light shone from above. Not the never-ending purple of the Galra and not the harsh white of the Garrison containment unit. He blinked and focused, seeing the person sitting beside him.
The dark hair that used to just brush his collar now spilled down to his shoulders. The graceful jawline and cheekbones were sharper, as if he had lost weight. But the eyes were the same deep indigo that had caught his attention as they took their first hesitant steps into the bond.
âKeithâŚâ Shiro breathed, his voice barely audible.
Keith leaned forward and pressed his lips to Shiroâs forehead. The bond intensified further, stronger than anything they had felt before. Shiro pulled his hand from Keithâs grip so he could embrace him fully. Â
And found himself clinging desperately to Keith who clutched back as their bond pulsed again. They were tossed around in each otherâs memories of the year apart, drowning in flashbacks of pain and isolation and misery. The bond had responded to extreme distance and time by growing stronger and now there was nowhere to put the excess, no way to cram the genie back into its bottle. The intensity of the connection was about to engulf them until they would no longer be able to tell which was whichâŚ
Then Keith heard the lionâs roar, giving him focus.
Shiro heard the second roar.
<> <> <> <> <>
Half a universe away, a glass case exploded, unable to contain the surging quintessence inside. Haggar shrieked, unable to stop the destruction of the flesh from Championâs body as it disintegrated. She flew around the lab, scanning readouts from various instruments frantically.
Then she found what she needed.
âTell Zarkon that the escaped prisoner is in Sector X-9-Y!â
<> <> <> <> <>
The two halves were whole once more, together in body now as well as spirit. As she had anticipated, the intensity of the quintessence-meld threatened to overwhelm them. Her little one reached out blindly for help and she answered. She sent forth her own energy, the soothing, life-giving essence of water, to absorb the worst of the surging forces and sustain the two of them.
Together they rode the wave until it crested and washed back into a more manageable state. The bodies of the two small ones relaxed, still entwined with one another. She sent out one more flow of energy to calm the area around them like the surf smoothing out sand.
And stopped in shock when her essence touched a new presence near them. It sparkled with dappled azure light, calling to her like no other had for thousands of years.
This was her new paladin. It had to be.
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Part 9
#voltron#voltron legendary defender#sheith#fanfic: voltron#voltron fanfic#quintessential bond by avidbeader
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Hey Groot? What's the saddest memory you have?
ask my muse questions!put them on the spot!
       His saddest memory? That wasâŚhard, really. So much of his life was beautiful and joyous, even with such harshness like Rocketâs temper and violent people, that little made him sad since his banishment from his home-world. Maybe that was the saddest? Having to face his people, so much stronger and so much more vicious than he, after his treason of releasing a human and destroying their way to other worlds, only to be exiled and despised by those he thought were family?
       The more he considered it, the more he realized, no. That was not the saddest memory, and it didnât really even come close, for he wasnât sad about being exiled. He was saddened by the harsh way his people acted, by the vile acts they committed on many a species in the name of science.Â
       All at once, he knew the saddest moment, and a slightly somber expression overtook bark features. He knew what the saddest memory he had was, and it wasnât long after the happiest.Â
                                          âI am Groot.â
       His words painted a picture not understood by anyone but Rocket, so his hands played out a scene. Bark shifted and morphed, creating small scenes as he spoke, hoping the words would catch to the actions, that they would become more recognizable. Rocket had taught him to use his hands, try and speak with movements and pictures, itâs easier for others to picture, especially Terrans.
                                          âI am Groot.â
       Bark and vines made that image, showed off what happened the day he felt a sorrow like no other. Theyâd been captured, Rocket for a second time, by the scientists that had previously harmed his new friend. But he was told not to fight them, that Rocket would save him, that theyâd be fine and free and theyâd never have to worry about anyone else but themselves again. It was a tall order, a strong promise to swallow, but one that Groot was happy to agree to nonetheless, because he trusted the fur-ball. He trusted everything and anything Rocket said, despite their short acquaintanceship turned friendship only lasting a few meager months.
       He knew that if Rocket would vow something, even after such little time together, he would keep that vow until his dying breath. And keep it, he did.Â
                                          âI am GrootâŚâ
       Thereâs a thickness to his voice, nearly touched by tears, but his vines and branches kept moving, kept telling the tale he saw each time Rocket had a nightmare, or had an outburst over something small. Itâd been dark where heâd been locked up. Cramped, dark, and quiet save for the soft hum of the shipâs engines. No one came to visit him, not a soul came to check on him, and in the darkness, he lit fireflies, unperturbed by the risk of being caught, of being tormented and maimed as they had done to poor Rocket.Â
       To be fair, he didnât know how long itâd been since they were captured. On his home-world, time was relative. They didnât focus on it, because sleep wasnât a necessity, so time didnât matter to them. A sunset meant scavenging, sending the smaller of the flora out to scout for any runaways, and dawn meant experimentation of those captured in the darkness. His people were cruel, truly, but not as cruel as those that Rocket described as devils.Â
       It could have been days, it could have been months, but when the light poured into his small cell and forced him to squint past the dead darkness, he knew it wasnât those that heâd grown to despise. It was someone else, it was the one he trusted, a vow spoken at their capture, kept to a T, no matter how sad the sight was.Â
                                          âI am...Groot.â
       Quiet, somber, head tipped, bark stilled. It was a sad sight, though surely to others it would have been some kind of miracle, a godsend, a blessing in a furry disguise. It wasnât any of those things to Groot. To him, it was a deep ache, a plaguing sadness for what the other had endured, for what heâd gone through to keep that promise. True, none of the wounds were his, but when Rocket approached his tiny cell, when he broke the lock with bare hands, Grootâs heart sunk.Â
       It wasnât hard to see the glittering of the blood, and it wasnât hard to see the tremble his body gave with each breath, the shake of his hands as he pulled the door open, the lack of a smile when he looked upon him. It was Rocket, yes, and the look in his eyes was no different than when they were captured, but things had changed. The one heâd met on his home-world, the being heâd aptly named Rocket for arriving in a space-ship, was still there, but a part of him, the part that shook at the mention of the scientists, that choked on air when he smelled the wreckage of his burning escape pod, that vowed to never return to the ship they sat upon now⌠That part of his friend was dead, never to be seen again.Â
       Rocket left his side unhindered, determined, focused on one thing: rescuing the only one heâd called friend, but when he returned, Groot saw a shell of his former self, caked in blood and flesh, speckled with hair not his own and reeking of death.Â
                                          âI am Groot.â
       The look Rocket gave him that day was the saddest thing heâd ever seen, not because of the blood, or the lingering thought that everyone aboard the ship was likely dead because of him, but because of the healing he could see, as though all it took to erase so many months of torture and torment was to have the gratification of murder by the very hands made in a lab similar to the ship they were on. All because of a little yellow flower.
#[ ic; ghostfacer questioned ]#[ ic; ]#[ headcanons; ]#// writing as groot is...really peaceful#// it really makes me sit down and think about how much pain he's gone through#// rockets gone through so much but groot...#// groot's suffered. he's been through so much in his long life. i kinda wonder if when he's a baby...does rocket hope he forgets his past?#[ ic; questions answered ]#[ character dev. ]#[ inspired; ]#[ SAVED; ]
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Schooling a guy about Protoss vs Yautja
@lordsodacan @stef-mad-arts @yedg @oyeerps
In case some of you are interested. Warning, lots of text.
Hahahahaahah...Wait...Youâre serious? Let me laugh even harder. PFFBWAHAHAHAHAAHHAHAHAA! *wheeze*
Okay, sit down, and let me explain why you are OH SO WRONG with what you wrote here.
First and foremost, I want to address your comment that âPredator can easily kill a Zealot since it is a base unitâ. The fact that is a base unit IN A GAME means absolutely nothing about a Zealotâs combat capability.
Second, the comment âAn Observer canât see a Predatorâ. ??? Like, why? Yautja cloaking technology is roughly on par with that of Terran Ghosts, and an Observerâs lenses are sensitive enough and its image processing software is precise enough to detect Dark Templars, who use an energy that reshapes reality to bend every speck of light around them to become invisible(in all due essence magic). An Observer will have absolutely NO ISSUE spotting a cloaked Yautja.
With the blatantly false stuff you said covered, lets get more analitical. Starting from species description and taining.
With its wider upper body bulk, a Yautja is probably physically stronger than a Protoss, but due to their leg anatomy, a Protoss is definitely faster and more mobile than a Yautja.
In terms of training, both are warrior species that can live for a very long time. But, thanks to the fact that Protoss are a naturally psychicly sensitive species, and with their mental connection, each of their warriors gets the memories and skills of thousands of other master marshal combatants that lived before him âdownloadedâ directly into their brain. So while a Yautja hunter can have centuries or millenia to hone his combat prowess, a Zealot has centuries to study, hone and master thousands of lifetimes(each up to a millenia long) worth of combat mastery.
Additionally, while not as psychicly powerful as High Templar, through training and memory injection, Zealots turn their psychic sensitivity into a sixth sense(something similar to Spider-manâs spider sense), so once a Zealot focuses on a Yautja, even with cloaking, the Zealot will be able to stay aware of the Yautja, so long as it is within close proximity.
Moving onto gear.
In terms of weapons, the Yautja hunter is definitely more versetile, as it utilizes arm claws, metal nets, that shuriken thingie, a spear and the shoulder cannon, while in terms of weaponry the Zealot relies only on his psi-blades, his training, his body and mind. But there is also the factor to consider that all of the Yautjaâs weaponry is made of metal(save for the cannon), while the Zealotâs psi-blades are made of another reality warping energy stemming from a psychic pool of power, which will cut through and destroy any of the Yautjaâs gear if they come in contact with them.
And on the other hand comes the Zealotâs other MASSIVE advantage against a Yautja. The most protective piece of equipment in temrs of physical protection the Yautja use is their helmet, wearing practically no armor, relying on their cloaking and maneuverability. Well, cloaking wonât be of much use once the Zealot is aware of a threat in his vicinity, due to his psychic sensitivity, and as established in the anatomy segment, Protoss are naturaly more maneuvarable than Yautja. So that would leave the Yautja with two options.
A: Go into melee, which will be near suicide, as the Zealot will most probably a more experienced combatant, his psi-blades will easily cut through the Yautjaâs equipment, and to top it all off, the Zealot has ACTUAL armor, made out of the same alloy Protoss use to build the hulls of their space craft. So FAR more durable than the second skin that Yautja use for cloaking, meaning it would provide adequate protection against the slow moving(when compared to bullets or other high velocity kinetic projectiles) metal of the hunterâs weapons.
orÂ
B: Try to keep a distance and instead try to gun down the Zealot. But that will also prove quite troublesome, again, because of the Zealotâs armor. Because it isnât just a bunch of metal straped around the Protoss. What Zealots wear is Power Armor, same thing the Terran Marines or Adeptus Astartes use, which while providing protection also increases the wearerâs strength and speed, and unlike the two examples mentioned above, Zealot Power Armor is designed to allow the wearer maximum protection, without obscuring their vision and to be light enough to allow the Protoss to utilize his mobility and maneuverability. So, while a Yautja might be physically stronger than a regular Protoss, a Zealot enhanced by Power Armor will be more than a physical match for one(further decreasing the Yautjaâs chances in melee), and would even be faster. And the two main factors that would make distance combat only a temporary solution for the Yautja are the âChargeâ ability - a mechanism built into the legging system of the Zealot armor that upon mental command allows them to dash with lightning speed, even over rough terrain such as cliffsides or forests, which would close the distance quite quickly(where we go back to A). And the fact that Zealot Power Armor is equipped with a plasma shield capable of whistanding shots from artilery pieces that make the shoulder cannon of Yautja look like pea shooters. So it will most probably be durable enough to take on two to three shots before overcharging. And being plasma, it(combined with the metal beneath it) will provide great protection against things like a metal net or a flying razorblade, not mentioning that thanks to his/her psychic sense the Zealot can dodge said objects.
If a Yautja hunter were to try to fight a Zealot, this is the most likely for the scenario to go:
The Yautja will manage to sneak close to the Zealot, who still knows not that there is danger around, with his cloaking ability, analyzing it with his helmet. From a branch of a tree, the Yautja would shoot with its shoulder cannon, landing a blast on the Zealot, but the plasma shield of his armor tanks the damage of the hit. At worst the force of the blast will push the Zealot to the ground. But after that it will be aware of an enemy and a ranged weapon, which combined with his natural mobility, the boost and protection of the armor and his energy based weapons will make him a near impossible target to hit from afar.
Then the scenario splits into two situations.
1 - Seeing that its ranged capability is not effective, the Yautja would drop to face the Zealot directly, taking off its helmet and roaring to use its bulk, frightening appearance and roar to intimidate the opponent, hoping to weaken its resolve. That however will prove completely useless, as Zealots train themselves, both physically and mentally to such an extent(adding the entire experience of thousands of other masterful warriors to their own during their training) that such a petty display of strength would at best make the Zealot laugh. Then the actual duel begins, and eventually the Zealot would overwhelm the Yautja with his sheer superiority in nearly every statistic they share, not mentioning the psychic sense which would give him an edge in the battle dance, everything ending with two psi-blade tips showing out of the Yautjaâs literally bare body, or its skull crushed beneath the Zealotâs power armored legs.
2 - It will try to retreat, continuing its ranged barrage, but thanks to his advantages in speed defense and psychic sensitivity, the Zealot would be, more than capable of pushing past anything the Yautja can throw at them, until eventually the Zealot closes the distance and turns it into a melee fight, which from then on is game over for t Yautja, since the Zealot is statistically superior than it in melee in basically every way.
And with that, I conclude my presentation. Hope you, and everyone else who subsequently reads this have enjoyed the mini-written Death Battle episode presented here, by yours truly.
Have a good day.
P.S.Â
As for a Yautja hunter vs a Dark Templar, that is a whole nother story, which once again ends with a dead Yautja. Dark Templars donât get memories and skills downloaded into their minds, but they compensate that with their abilities and equipment. Again, you have a plasma shield generator. This one is not as durable as that of a Zealot, but still strong enough to tank one blast from the shoulder cannon, which will be plenty to alert the DT to an enemy. After that you have the DTâs weapons that are also made out of a reality warping energy stemming from a psychic pool of power, their ability to teleport, completely freeze time in a certain area and their cloaking which is superior to that of the Yautja. They donât use some mechanism to cover them, they literally bend all of the light around them, which will make it more difficult for the Yautjaâs helmet to detect them. And even if it manages, Dark Templar are among the most psychicly sensitive Protoss, who specialize in mental manipulation, so the DT will be able to use its mind to cause the Yautja to have halucinations, to see things that arenât really there, making perceive false information from its helmet because th DT is messing with its brain, not its tech. Or, if the Yautja in question is not very strong of mind, the DT can simply dominate his mind and make it kill itself if the DT so wished. In general, both as a species, in terms of abilities and tech the Protoss are statistically vastly superior to th Yautja. Rant over. Again, have a nice day~!
#looooooong text#mun shit#ooc#mun rant#rant#slightly triggered#protoss#zealot#dark templar#starcraft#yautja#predator
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