#his movements are just!! hmm. the animation freak in me screams

[townslore]

i dont know why i drew this Dont even attempt asking me

[maguro13-2]

Miku.EXE Origin : The Revenge Pt.11

Majin Villager #1 : Hey, buddy. Remember those girls did their peformance during the feast we apprehended to help them? It was a great show for to have it all! That was totally a sweet dance of them!

Majin Villager #2 : Oh, another zinger! Man I wish the girls could do that performance again, they gotta try the newest kind of music to our ears! That's what we think of something. Good thinking, that it's all in the bag til everything is situated around here in the defense line.

Majin Villager #1 : Good to agree with you more. I wonder how the two daughters of Master Xeno are coming along? They'll be shape in no time once we--[hear something

[TREES RUSTLING]

Majin Villager #1 : Huh? Who's there!?

[a cackling voice is heard as the two is curious about the sound]

Majin Villager #2 : Trespasser! You are in direct violation of the Majin Sonic Zone Territory! Intruders must be assimilated and therefore, capturing you would be a real treat to the chief! So stop playing around and show your faces around here!

Majin Villager #1 : Yeah! I bet it's the intruders that we must confront!

[WHOOSH!]

Majin Villager #1 : Woah, woah! What the hell was that? I thought I saw something.

Majin Villager #2 : Hmm? You think you saw something? Maybe it's probably just the wind in your head.

Majin Villager #1 : Hey, uhh, this isn't a joke. Something's move in the woods.

Majin Villager #2 : You're right! Whatever it is, it must be the work of another enemy spotted. Master Xeno told us that we must look out for the enemy intrusion nearing the defense line. So stay sharp on our spears, and look out for the enemy.

Majin Villager #1 : Right! [hears an animal growling] All right, you soul collecting freak! Come on out and face us!

[footsteps approaching]

Majin Villager #1 : Huh?!

Majin Villager #2 : Wha-?!

[Creature growls]

[the two screams in horror]

[scene changes to Zatsune sleeping while Miku and Kaito are sleeping in bed, comforting each other]

Zatsune.EXE : [snoring while sleeping] Oh, yes. I am much a better me than anyone else dare to stand my way. I dedicated that I wished to see Black Rock Shooter for myself.

[cuts to Sonic.EXE studying on his work]

Sonic.EXE : It did all that effort if all traces of enemy movements were just around this time, so with my daughters and apprentice sleeping, I can do this to work on my studies of all the requirements that I worked all night doing this. If I can finish this up, I can finally put my studies and give it a rest.

[DOOR BANGING]

[the group wakes up]

Zatsune.EXE : Huh? What's going on?

Tails.EXE : [from outside] Master Xeno! It's an emergency! I repeat, it's an emergency!

Sonic.EXE : Who could that be? [opens door to see Tails.EXE and Knuckles.EXE] Tails, Knuckles. Did you figure it out what's going on in Majin Sonic's territory?

Tails.EXE : Yes. It is why we are giving an important emergency roll call.

Knuckles.EXE : Our dear comrade cleary tells you that we have information that a spy of Exeller's has appeared that can see from his all-seeing eye powers. and it seems that he is using a monitor that knows our location right here in this territory.

[Dark Clouds - Kenichi Tokoi]

Sonic.EXE : What?! There's a spy in the territory that can monitor with the all-seeing eye powers? What does he know about that?

Tails.EXE : We confirmed that the spy has entered the perimiter and easily using the army that Exetior told us earlier before. An army will be here soon, we gotta tell the villagers and order security protocol to the village.

Sonic.EXE : Alert all citizens of the Majin Sonic Zone Territory. Tell everyone that Exetior is coming back with an army that will unleash a full-scale attack on the territory!

Tails.EXE : Yes, sir! [runs off]

Sonic.EXE : Girls, I want you know that Exetior knows about you. He knows that I, Sonic.EXE, is really the demon of destruction. He is one of my old enemy's ally and part of his brethren called the Highest. I've been trying flee from Exeller and his allies after I destroyed countless lives in the cosmos.

Zatsune.EXE : What?! N-No!

Miku.EXE : Is that true? You're really the demon of destruction? Exeller knew about this? How...How does he knows that you are Xenophanes and we are your daughters.

Sonic.EXE : Because ever since I arrived on earth about around 14 years before I created you with Miku's data, Exeller came to this planet to create a search team and they would catch and kill me. So I went to hiding in Majin Sonic's territory. But then his ally Exetior came and began a hunting that would make a small price for me being the so-called "God" that he doesn't understand, who I really am? But to escape the perversion of Exeller destroying me of putting earth in ruins, I helped the electrifying hero named Pulseman that he would defend me from Exeller who was going destroy me along with this planet. Faking my imprisonment, Pulseman transported me to cyberspace, where I can hide from Exeller in order to make my disappearance, but for 14 years in the making, All that data gave me the form that I shall take, an identical form of a Mobian Hedgehog that is what I'm now today. But after spending a lot time in Cyberspace, I finally managed to travel Cyberspace by speeding through the via Network System, and had to take "My data" from the computer Pulseman imprionsed me, and the "Miku Data" from Crypton Future Media's database, the computer that Hatsune and Zatsune were born in.

Kaito.EXE : M...Master...

Sonic.EXE : ....

[Mission Accomplished - Kenichi Tokoi]

Sonic.EXE : Though I may have created you for a specific time in order to create a family of mine. But still, I have to make things clearly. From now on, you don't have tell the secret of that anymore, and I desperately owe your life from me. You are no demons, nor you are devils. You are my girls who are destined to be "God", the title that I was called that by myself. That is the way of surpassing your old man that knows best.

Miku.EXE : Oh, father...I...I...I'm glad that to hear that.

Zatsune.EXE : Yeah, me too. We promise that it's no secret that if you're really Xenophanes, or whoever you are. You're still our dad and we've known you from the very start. You and your brother, uncle Lord X, have started a family that is our family. Not Exeller's. We're all family, you, us, and Kaito. And Sally, what about Sally.EXE? What about her, is she part of family?

Sonic.EXE : Well...Zatsune, I...

[BOOM!]

[Villagers screaming and panicking in fear]

Majin Villager A : Help! We're under attack by Exeller's men!

Majin Villager B : There's an army of him waiting for Xenophanes to come out! And there ghosts and dogs!

Majin Villager C : Exeller and is men are on a full-scale attack on the territory!

Tails.EXE (via communicator) : Comrade! This is bad! The enemy intrusion is rising higher, one of Exeller's men is lauching a full-scale attack in the Majin Sonic Zone territory!

Knuckles.EXE : 10-4! Copy that!

[Imminent Battle - Kenichi Tokoi]

Sonic.EXE : Never mind that girls! We gotta help Majin Sonic's people, they're under attacked by Exetior! We gotta stop them immediately! Are you ready to be in combat as a warriors of "God" himself!?

Zatsune.EXE : Mm...Heh! We're ready to fight with you until the end! I wanted me and my sister to do a battle experience to face an enemy in combat! I will show you the powers you have gifted us from our birth! Therefore, it will be a miracle to stop Exeller's wicked ways of destroying this planet! Once I achieved the powers of "God", we will be victorious. That's our destiny! That's what we really are!

Miku.EXE : Count us in, father! We will grow very strong! And be almighty and powerful!

Kaito.EXE : Master Xeno! I'm counting you to save the world from Exeller! You are the Demon of the innocence! You are Xenophanes! The God who will take down the highest of the cosmos! And remember what Zatsune said, together that...

Sally.EXE : ...We are all family, together as one.

Sonic.EXE : Sally! [sees Sally.EXE with her arms folded]

Sally.EXE : Thought that I was gonna miss out all the fun? That's why I'm on your side. So, Zatsune? Are you willing trust me and do your sister trust me as well?

Zatsune.EXE : [thinking] Hmmm....[determined] Yeah, I can totally trust you. It's good to be on our side, Sally. [firmly grasp her hand] Welcome to the family, Sally.

~ ONE BIG FAMILY WILL SAVE THE WORLD TOGETHER ~

[nessinborderland]

Can I get something with Niragi and y/n both are chaotic and in the militants and everyone thinks they are prefect for each other but y/n is actually with Chishiya and Niragi is lowkey jealous (not out right bc I just don’t see that being him but he picks on them abt him and being like I could be better)

Pairing: Niragi x Reader x Chishiya

Genre: Smut

Word Count: 992

Summary: You know Niragi likes you. Chishiya knows it too.

Warnings: sex, threesome kinda?, sloppy seconds, cuckhold, voyeurism, betrayal

Notes: Welcome to another part of the saga "Will Inês ever be able to actually follow prompts?" The answer is no 😌 sorry not sorry. Lol I am sorry tho, I swear I'm trying my best. Enjoy!

“What the hell, dude, that bear was mine!” you scream at Niragi. The man laughs before aiming at another animal, shooting it in the head.

“You’re way too slow," he says with a smirk, “Plus, I’m a much better shooter.”

“Fuck you!” you say in what you hope is a threatening tone.

“Yeah, I’m sure you would like that,” he retorts with a laugh, before continuing to focus on the game. “Maybe one day I will.”

“Oh, yeah?” you say as you aim at the big tiger just a few meters in front of you. “My boyfriend would love to hear that,” you pull the trigger, and the animal falls to the ground. Niragi huffs.

“Tsk, like I care about what your freak of a boyfriend thinks,” he says. “I have a bigger gun anyway.” you can't help but notice the innuendo in his words.

“Hmm, I don’t know, his gun is pretty big,” you say with a smirk. “You know...if you want to fuck me, you just have to ask him,” you add in a teasing tone. He stops aiming to look at you, brow raised.

“Like I would ever-” a siren interrupts him. The game is over. Your phone rings with the telltale sound of 'Game Cleared'.

The ride back to the Beach goes as usual; you and Niragi fighting over who was the better player. It never goes beyond banter, though; the man has a short temper, but he never goes too far with you. You would shoot him before he had the chance to, anyway.

You know he's attracted to you; you can see it in the way he behaves when he's around you, usually so different from everyone else. If the circumstances were different, you know you wouldn't hesitate in giving yourself to him. The chemistry is there; everybody thinks so too. Even your own boyfriend can see it.

But Chishiya never seems jealous.

That's why you aren't surprised when he whispers something in your ear, right in the middle of a meeting. You sit on his lap, as usual, hand on his hair as he says things that go straight to your core. You both smile as you stare at Niragi, right on the other side of the table.

Oh, this is going to be good.

*****

It was so easy. All you had to do was to show up at his door, naked under your kimono. He was pushing you down on the bed before you could say much. Convincing him to put on handcuffs had been harder, but nothing you couldn't accomplish with his dick in your hand.

His cock feels amazing inside you. He's not as thick as Chishiya, but he's long enough to almost hit your cervix every time you impale yourself on his shaft. His hands are handcuffed to the bed, but that doesn't stop him from filing your neck and breasts with hickies. He makes you feel so full.

"So this is what turns you on huh?" Niragi says as he looks over your shoulder, "Watching your girl get fucked by someone else." You glance back to stare at your boyfriend. His face has the same expression as always, eyes glinting with maliciousness. It only makes you hornier.

You stop your movements and turn your back to Niragi before sinking back on his cock. You're now facing Chishiya, sitting on a chair right at the feet of the bed. His smirk widens, and you know he likes what he sees. You wish he would stand up and fill you up too.

But that's not why you're there.

Niragi is coming inside you with a grunt not long after. You feel his cum on the inside of your thighs as you move towards your boyfriend. Chishiya is kissing you before you can touch him, pulling you to him. You kiss him back just as hard, straddling him and grinding on his bulge. You need him inside you.

"Not now, sweetheart," he stops you as your hands try to pull him out of his swim trunks. "I'll give you what you want after we're done here."

You sit back on the bed as he stands up and walks to a nearby closet, opening it.

"Hey hey, don't touch my stuff!" Niragi says as he tries to get himself free. You swiftly put a gag on him, and if looks could kill, you would be dead. Chishiya ignores him, pulling a box out of the back of the wardrobe, opening it to retrieve a small bag.

"What is it?" You ask. You know he wanted something from Niragi's room, but he never told you what. Chishiya shrugs.

"I don't know." He says, "Guess we'll see." He gets closer to you, hands on his trunks. "Lay down on your stomach, baby."

You do as he says, crying out in pleasure when he finally shoves himself inside you. You keep your eyes on Niragi as Chishiya thrusts in and out of you, right beside the other man. Part of you wishes they were both fucking you at the same time, but you know that will probably never happen; especially after tonight.

That doesn't stop you from sucking Niragi's cock. The man gives a muffled moan as you put him in your mouth, but Chishiya only chuckles before thrusting harder inside you. Your pussy clenches around him as he fucks you, and you can feel your orgasm coming closer.

You're coming not long after, moans muffled by the cock in your mouth. Chishiya comes inside you right after, making a mess of your swollen pussy. You feel so full and sensitive; you're not sure you can move.

You kiss Niragi on the cheek right before you leave the room, promising him a round two if you ever see each other again.

The man just stares at you. His look says it all.

He will be coming for you.

You can't wait for the moment he does.

[elliethesuperfruitlover]

Walk With a Limp (ay)

A/N: I’m on that hot girl shit. So, what better way to fuel this than with some Luba smut. This song is amazing, and I have to create scenarios for it, so here it is. This has a theme of being in Luba’s parlor, so here’s @sean-falco‘s fic First Time and @robertsheehanownsmyass‘s Five Times. Reading through this it’s not my best work, but I tried. Have fun luvs x.

Warnings: prostitution, rough sex, oral sex (fem! receiving), biting (the typical shit for me)

Cheeky Tag List: @joz-stankovich, @misskittysmagicportal, @the-freckled-luba, @neuroticpuppy, @bisexualnathanyoung, @the-novel-on-the-left, @super-unpredictable98

“Jesus, this shit better be worth it.” you mumbled, looking at the placing of the parlor. You had to walk through a couple seedy streets, and almost fell through a pothole on the way there.

  See, you were going through a particularly rough dry spell, and just wanted someone to completely ruin you, and be content with that for a while. It was always the same old thing, and it seemed as if you never did anything *spicy* anymore. It was time to live a little, and have a bit of fun. When you walked in, you were immediately greeted with the strong smell of cinnamon....and hints of sex, but that was to be expected. There were beads hanging from a doorframe, and a naughty figurine next to a lamp.

“Hi, do you have an appointment?” the woman at the desk said, looking up from her book.

d r e a d

“Uh, no, I don’t. I heard about this place, but I don’t really know what to expect or anything.”

‘Well, do you have any gender preferences?”

“No ma’am. I do have a type of preference on what to do though, that’s about the only thing.” you replied, and she talked it over with you, and while you were still speaking to her, a figure emerged from the hallway. Hair slicked back in finger waves and a shirt tied at the waist.

  He hesitated when coming to you, and as you finished making a payment, you could feel his eyes on the back of a neck. You were silently freaking out, but y’know, it’s fine. It’ll be fine.

“She want anyone specific?” he asked, eyeing the woman at the front desk. He looked at you like a lovely, full course meal, ready to be enjoyed. However, he had to wash his hands before picking up any utensils.

“No, actually. She’s all yours.” the woman replied, grinning at him.

  He smiled in your direction, and reached to take your hand, kissing it. He made a “come here” motion with his fingers, and you followed, excited to get started.. One you got to his room, which was extremely red, almost shockingly so, and he closed the door, you felt a small sense of comfort. It was very short lived when you realized that he was a stranger, and you were a bit anxious. However, for the time being, he kissed up your neck, hands making a gentle path all over your body.

  He gently then took your top off, slowly, making sure you were alright with it. He tenderly squeezed your breasts, relishing in the noises you let out. You slipped out of your pants, as well as your shoes. He backed you into the bed, and you looked up at him. How can someone be this beautiful? He gently kissed you, and began stripping himself as well. As he did this, you shed your underwear, and he glanced at you, seemingly in awe. You felt a sense of importance for that moment in time, and confidence swelled in your chest.

“Your body is so beautiful.” he purred, lightly tracing your curves. You softened at his words, and he spoke to you again, but you almost didn’t catch it.

“Would you like me to do anything specific with you today?” he asked, looking into your eyes. They were so beautiful. A wonderful deep green, which reminded you of meadows and emeralds.

“I like it rough. I mean, really rough, like I want to scream. I want you to ruin me.” you replied, looking down a little shamefully.

“Ooh, you like it rough huh. I get to mark up this body then, right darling?” he asked, and you nodded. A mild shiver passed through your body as he brushed over your pussy. His lips made a trail on your neck, and you inhaled as he bit into the skin softly. It seems that every movement he did was just purely beautiful. Angelic almost. 

  He slowly made his way on top of you, like some sort of predatorial animal, and you felt yourself slowly give over to him. His arms were on the opposite sides of you, and his head bent, and he slowly kissed along your neck once more, but with a lot more focus on it. His teeth picked a random spot, and they nibbled on the skin lightly, then almost seemed to dig into it, usually uttering the most noise Then, as your breathing calmed down, his tongue stuck out and licked the bruise, and kissed it tenderly. 

  If you felt this good from him on your neck, the anticipation of him eating you out was bound to be worth it. Luba gently worked his way up your neck, kisses in tow, and he went along your jaw, and stopped at your lips. He looked into your eyes, and it felt as if he was glancing into your soul for a moment in time. His lips met yours, and you almost melted in his touch. He was an extremely loud kisser, you’d found out quite early on, but it made the experience even better. So much so that you focused on the noise of his lips smacking against yours, and you forgot to fight his tongue for dominance, and just as you came to coherent thoughts, they were once again lost. A finger slipped its way down, and your hips lifted themselves, before Luba pressed them back down.

“Ah, we can’t have that now. I’m a teaser, you can’t be having release before it’s suitable.” he tutted, breaking the kiss and making his way down to your breasts which he kissed tenderly, then he squeezed them with his free hand, lips moving to tease your nipple.

  He continued on his trail down, kissing down your belly and over your pubic mound. His eyes glanced back up at you as he breathed onto you, uttering a small gasp from you. He chuckled, then he took the finger that had previously been inside you and sucked it into his mouth. He made a wonderful noise, and you moved your hips gently, and he took your queue and gently pushed a finger into your hole, his tongue gently flicking your clit. You’d lost your breath multiple times, and he added a second finger, pumping the two in and out of you, a lewd squelching sound coming from the intrusions. 

  Luba continued to work on your clit, moving from from licking to suckling, and you were extremely glad your hips were down, or else his face would be a lot more ruined than it already is. Soon enough, his fingers were moving at almost lightning speed, and they curved so wonderfully inside you, and you moved your hips just right. You came extremely hard around his fingers, and he got an eyeful of your body as your back arched. Once you’d recovered, he gently slipped his fingers out, and once again stuck them in his mouth.

“You taste wonderful, just so you know. I bet you like someone eating you out like that, hmm? Such a naughty girl.” he teased, slowly jacking himself off over you. 

  His hand made small motions over his cock, teasing the head just a little. Slick noises escaped from his hand, and he held back a moan as he stroked himself slowly. Luba sauntered his way over to the bedside table and slipped a condom over his length, slowly, something like a strip tease. He stepped over to you and tapped the head of his dick against your pussy, and he paused to talk to you.

“You ready?” he asked, gently looking into your eyes.

You slowly nodded, and he slipped into you, inch by inch. Your legs spread as he pressed into you, and you looked up to his face, which was contorted in pleasure. He bit his lip with an effort, and a moan escaped from his mouth, a whimper from yours. 

“Fuck, you feel so good against me. So tight and wet for me, yeah?” he purred, leaning down to kiss your neck, trying to find a fresh spot for a bite. “I can feel you clenching around me, so desperate, huh? Want someone to fill you up so bad, huh?” he mumbled.

  You moaned at those words, and he grinned at you. Luba slowly pulled out, and slipped back in, hips flush against yours. He breathed and put your legs on his hips, then began thrusting into you, slowly at first. The sound of skin slapping on skin filled the room, and soon enough, your vocal chords began to act accordingly as well. Luba’s breathing picked up, and his hips began to circle instead of a slow movement, and your breath hitched when the upper part of his hip brushed against your clit, and you couldn’t utter out any words besides a quiet “fuck” every now and then. He acted in a similar way, and every angle change resulted in an sharp inhale, accompanied with a whine. 

  Luba picked his pace up in a major way, and held your hips in place so he could pound you into the mattress. Your hands reached for something, anything to grab onto you practically screamed in his ears, praises hopping out of your mouth left and right. Your eyes rolled into the back of your head as you felt Luba penetrate you again and again. Your tits bounced at the force of his movements, and you clenched and unclenched around his cock. One of Luba’s hands reached down to rub against your clit, and you lasted a couple seconds more before clenching and spilling around his length, wetness creating a moist spot on the bed. Luba gently slowed down inside of you, head tucked into your neck. He kissed the spot every now and then, and he pulled out completely.

“You can fuck me doggy style if needed. You deserve a release as well.” you whisper, wiggling against him.

‘Well now that you’ve invited me.” he said, chuckling before gently adjusting you to the mentioned position, and he kissed along your back before pushing into once more, light resistance. He moaned loudly at the angle, and his hands took position at your hips.

  It didn’t take long for Luba to find his pace again, which was unrelenting, rough, pelvis breaking. You could hear his breath hitch every time he got a preferable angle for himself, and his hands moved to spank your ass, not an unwanted gesture. He roughly squeezed two handfuls of your ass, pleasantly surprised with the whines he got in response from you. 

“More.” you pleaded, to which he responded with twin slaps, not stopping his thrusts.

“Oh fuck yeah, so fucking naughty. God, I bet you get off from me slapping you. Fuck, just wanna stuff my fucking dick up your pussy and fill you.” he stuttered out.

 You pushed back against Luba, and his grip on your hips began to become a bit bruising, (just enough), and your elbows failed you, and you collapsed, face shoved against the bedspread. Luba continued his pace and reached around to rub your clit, and you felt as if you’d burst from the pleasure from him absolutely ruining you. You heard his breathing pick up once more, and out of your peripheral vision, you saw his head thrown back, sweat covered chest glistening. The thought of him being purely enthralled in lust had to cumming again before you knew it, and Luba gave one last cry before bending down to bite your shoulder, quite hard. He rutted against you, and brought himself to a harsh climax, eyes rolling back into his head. 

“Jesus fucking Christ, I’m gonna cum! Oh, so good for me.” he yelled, eyes closed tightly. You felt him release into the condom, and he collapsed on the side of the bed, catching his breath. His body was wracked with aftershocks, and he quietly stroked your leg. You found it comforting, and he got up after a couple minutes, getting rid of the condom.

  You recovered as well, and when you tried getting up, Luba caught you before you fell. You giggled at not being able to walk, and you got your clothes on a bit slower than usual, and Luba helped you out of the door.

“Bye darling. You’ll be back. I just know you will.” he whispered, folding his arms against his chest.

Masterlist

[msrosey]

Ok- What if Shadow was Good and Amy was anti. Would Amy be the one who makes first moves or is it still Shadow?

This spawned far too much world building, i apologize in advance 

- set during the Dark Arms invasion, with the usual anti-Amy behavior where she hates Sonic and has her trusty warhammer. Twisting her a little bit so she’s not as childish, but still as messed up. Reminder that anti-Amy goes as Rosy the Rascal!  

- there’s no official anti-Shadow, so let’s just say the canon divergence here was that Maria /didn’t/ die via GUN raid and instead lived a longer life that was ultimately cut short by her condition. Shadow then never gains his gloom and doom persona and instead is more of a caretaker to her, albeit one with a MAJOR guilt complex for his creation not being able to cure her, and went in suspended animation until the Black Comet returns. 

Now onto the show!

.

AO3, for those that prefer! 

.

 Of all the things Rosy thought would end the world, alien invasion had been worrying low on her list. Inter-dimensional police force with the proper permits to take them all in? Pfft, sure. That freak echnida deciding the best way to destroy the emeralds was to blow up the planet? Wouldn’t have bet money on it, but why not? Even the idea of one of Robotnik’s helper bots going postal was more likely then, well—this. 

From the flying headquarters, Rosy could see the plumes of smoke rising from patches of scorched city. Flying dark specters zoomed over the land below, all light cast in a bloody sheen from the planetary sized comet hanging in the sky. 

She pressed closer to the glass, smiling at the view. Red always was her favorite—

“Amy,” a voice snapped behind her, haughty and suffocatingly uptight. Like the little twerp it belonged to. Rosy rolled her eyes. Still, she turned and gave the fox her signature crooked smile.

“Tails,” Rosy crooned, leaning against her green war hammer. “I was just stopping to smell the sulphur flowers. Something up?"

The fox looked annoyed, but Rosy knew that was typical for the stuck-up brat. “You may address me as Miles. Have you been paying attention to the meeting at all?"

Rosy batted her lashes, fixing her gaze on him and ignoring the crowd of people around the conference room. “Of course, Tails. Alien invasion. Comet’s gonna destroy the planet. Yada-yada-yada, I’m not good enough to fix it myself!” At the last part she mimicked talking with her hand in the fox’s signature serious tone. 

Miles narrowed his eyes, but didn’t rise to the bait. Boring. “Yes, this endeavor will require all of our strengths in order to succeed. And you’re aware of your part in the mission?”

A tingle ran down her back at the reminder, putting every single spine on edge. Rosy's grin turned manic. “Yep! I’m gonna hurt Sonic! Mangle him, bash him, crush him up, up, up!”

“Quite,” Miles said, raising a brow. “Your portion is critical, since as long as Sonic is guarding the remaining Beryl for Black Death on Demon Island, our plan stands little chance of succeeding.”

Thoughts of brutally maiming the hedgehog of her nightmares spun around Rosy's head, making her feel flushed. The planet’s destruction was one thing, and a thing she didn’t care much about, but Sonic— Well, the end of the world just wouldn’t feel right if he wasn’t absolutely bloody destroyed. She would have just tried on her own, as she always did, but these Black Arms were quite the heavy customers...and who was she do decline an offer from Miles Prowler to step aboard his exclusive gunship? 

He gathered an interesting group as well. Her gaze trailed over to the museum curator, Rogue, whose poofy purple dress was splattered in the green blood of the aliens. Probably had a fun run in with them when they were going for the last stash of emeralds in the Central Museum. Besides her was Knuckles, whose drive to destroy all the emeralds would have made him a genuine threat…if he wasn’t such a total wimp. Vanilla though, Rose knew she’d have to keep an eye on. As if to prove it, the leather clad rabbit was already looking at her, permanent sneer fixed on her scarred face. 

Ugh, assassins. Always so eager to intimidate. Rose rolled her eyes as Miles. The rabbit had eyes on her for a while, which would account for why Rosy had been so on edge since setting foot on the ship…unless, of course her internal tracking was picking up—

From beside her, someone cleared his throat. 

“Um, excuse me, Sir Prowler?” Doctor Kintobor was already wringing his hands, voice trembling. “I understand that the Black Arms need to be defeated, but maybe we can just…move them to another planet? I do so hate causing any harm to a sentient…um, sentient species. They do deserve to live too...”

Miles looked about to cause harm, but also like he severely doubted that the doctor was sentient. “Their lives are not worth more than our own. And this Black Comet of theirs threatens that. Or do you have a better plan, Doctor, hmm? Maybe ask them nicely to commit genocide in the next solar system?”

Doctor Kintobor flushed at the laughter that filled the room. “Oh, um, I suppose.”

“Besides, we have it on good intel that the Dark Arms have planned this invasion for some time. They will not be easily dissuaded and we only have one real source on their behavior,” Miles continued, casting a dark eye around the room, “And on that note…” His eyes landed on hers. Rosy tensed. “Vanilla, restrain her."

Rosy barely had enough time to call out cowards before the floppy eared assassin tackled her down, breaking her connection with her hammer. Metal clasps rose from the floor and locked her in place, leaving her to thrash. Beryl enforced metal, cause he was a wimp. Stupid Tails and his stupid inventions! 

“Apologies for the rough treatment, but we all know you can handle it,” Miles continued, posture immaculate. “And we couldn’t take the risk of you attacking our next guest.”

Touching her. People were touching her! Rosy struggled against the rabbit holding her down, baring full fangs at the room. 

“Um, maybe we should be, a little nicer…?” Rosy heard Dr. Kintober say weakly. “We do need her to take out Sonic and help defeat the Black Arms.”

“Correction,” Miles said cooly, “We need her and our guest to do that. And she already has a proven violent predisposition towards those of his species. You can see how we'd rather not take the risk, Doctor.”

Species...

Rosy’s head swam as the pieces began to connect themselves. She knew she’d felt something, she knew, knew, knew, one of them was on this ship. A— 

The doors of the gunship conference room opened and a familiar silhouette filled the doorway. 

“Sonic!” Rosy roared, bucking the assassin off her with one sharp movement. Her hammer flew across the room and slammed into her chains, breaking them into so many fine pieces. Emeralds, Beryl, whatever you called them, always were weak against some solid willpower. Rosy launched herself over the table and towards the figure, weapon in hand. Her mind raced with thoughts of the extra special smash she’d been saving up for him.

Just as Rosy got close enough to really savor the impending violence, a bright purple light filled the air. And when it disappeared, so did the rest of the room.

She blinked her eyes, rubbing hard as she found herself…atop the gunship? Tail’s stupid Anticyclone. Wind buffeted her sideways and Rosy dig her hammer into the steel hull to keep balance. How did—

“Sorry to alarm you, but a fight inside would have crashed the gunship,” someone said behind her. Rosy spun, launching out with her hammer. The hedgehog - because it was a hedgehog, her instincts were always right - only moved, speeding away on…hover boots?

“Aw, did you get some new toys, Sonic?” Rosy cooed, crouching low to keep from sliding off the ship. Stupid Tails was starting evasive maneuvers. How cute. “You know how I love breaking your new toys.”

“I am not Sonic—“

“But you’re a hedgehog!”

She rushed forward at the next tilt of the ship, this time managing to surprise him enough to get close. Then another purple light and he was gone. Rosy pouted, turning to look around the surface of the ship. “No fun, disappearing all the time. Don’t you want to play?"

Something dark zipped by her, knocking her hammer from her hands. Rosy watched it sail over the edge of the gunship, disappearing in the grey smoke fumes below. “Hey!”

The blur came to a stop a few feet away, his form more clear. A black and red hedgehog, although with spines a little too raised to be her Sonic’s, even with another of his color switches. Rosy glared. “That wasn’t nice! I just wanted to hurt you!” 

The hedgehog looked at her with odd eyes, tilting his head. “Why?”

Rosy made a face. “Why, what?”

“Why do you want to hurt me? Is it because I resemble this Sonic of yours?” His voice was even, betraying none of his emotions. It put Rosy on edge. No one was that calm without a plan. He continued, “What has this Sonic done to inspire such vengeance? To drive you to violence? Is he worth it?”

“Worth…” Rosy wasn’t sure whether to laugh or attack him for those words. So she did both. “Who cares about worth!"

The dark hedgehog only dodged her punches, keeping that same face of unruffled intent. “So you attack for the sake of it? For…fun?”

Now he sounded like that wuss echnida. Pacifist was just another word for coward. Rosy snarled. “Stop running away! I hate it when you run away. Stand and fight me, already!”

“No,” he said simply, ducking another attack. “Because I’m not your enemy. Why is Sonic?” 

Why was—why was—Sonic? Now Rosy did laugh, this time pausing her assault to do so. Why was Sonic her enemy? Why? In this horrible dimension where everything went wrong, someone actually had the nerve to ask why? An odd empty feeling filled her gut. 

Why was a stupid question to ask about enemies. How was always the more enlightening. Memories began to trickle in, images of a burning forest and screaming hoglets. Memories she’d long ago forced herself to forget. Her fists clenched. The answer ripped itself from her throat—

“Because he’s Sonic!”

This time her attack took him by surprise, and he only barely managed to slide out of the way on his stupid cheat hover boots. Her fist left a distinct imprint on the hull of the ship and Rosy could faintly hear Miles cursing a blue streak from the pilot deck. Whoopsie, another toy smacked around by an uncaring hedgehog. 

She thought he’d be used to it by now.

The memories roused by the thought only fueled her rage. Not her normal simmer, no, this time it was tinged with that ugly empty desperation from so long ago. Rosy flew at the hedgehog again, screaming. “Because he never takes anything seriously!”

Another kick, this time sloppy enough that he had more than enough time to move out of the way. Rosy slipped in the empty space where he'd just been, falling a sharp ways down the hull until she managed to launch herself back up. The lack of contact with him was beginning to grate, remind her of the times when…

“Because he’d ruin everything and just keep running from it!” It was getting darker, her steps harder to place. Meanwhile the other hedgehog looked as if he could do this all day with his stupid cheating hover boots and weird emerald powers. He didn’t even look as if he’d broke a sweat. 

Just like—

Amy-Rosy-Rosy cried out as swung again, “Because he ruined everything and wouldn’t even take me seriously!”

That caused something to bloom on the other hedgehog’s face, but Rosy was past the niceties of taunting. And that had been quite enough stalling. She feinted for his legs - stupid, stupid hedgehog legs - and just as he leapt out of the way, she grinned. He caught it, frowning in response, just in time for her hammer to soar from the clouds below and catch him.

In the gut.

Rosy grinned. Always nice to get a little cheap shots in. That always managed to humble a hedgehog. He fell back, sliding against the entirety of the ship’s top hull. Her hammer still with him, only to return to her open hand. She smiled at the sight of him laid low. “Aw, was that too good an answer for you?”

He groaned. Rosy giggled a little, flush with pride. From here she could almost pretend it was Sonic, finally stopped. What a thought. She leaned against her hammer, still smiling. “Let me give you some advice, new hedgehog. People are basically awful and are always going to find a reason to hurt others. You might as well stop giving them chances."

The gunship swerved again, but Rosy moved with it, making an odd little dance towards the hedgehog. He was already rising, but that was fine. That just meant she could smash him some more. She readied her warhammer as she got close, humming a senseless tune, “And pop goes your—“

The world went sideways. Rosy had enough time to catch the brief sight of long ears flapping - how did all of them know how to fly with no wings! Cheats! - just as she was kicked off the edge of the gunship. She dug in her hammer on the side, metal screeching, but there wasn’t enough side left. Vanilla’s stern face looked down at her as she fell.

No fun, Rosy thought, I didn’t even get to break Sonic first.

Her ears popped at the pressure of air around her and Rosy felt her gaze track over to the giant comet in the sky, still glowing. What a lovely color. At least her last sight would be —

Red.

Red eyes staring right at her, an odd look in them that Rosy hadn’t seen for longer than she could remember. The hedgehog was just above her, so close she could see the sweat flying from his brow His spines were being blown astray and his hover boots were struggling to boost him forward but still, his face was determined. He had her hammer in one hand and the other hand, outstretched...towards her.

Rosy only stared. 

There was no—no reason—saving her? Her? No one had ever—

His fangs were bared in strain as he stretched his arm further. 

Just as they broke the cloud cover and the gunship was almost just a dot in the sky, Rosy found herself doing something she hadn’t done since she was a hoglet and watched her entire family burn because of a mad boy’s boredom. 

She reached out for help. 

His face seemed to turn more determined at that, lunging forward with another roar of flames from his hover boots. Hand trembling, her gloves barely brushed his before—

A bright purple light filled everything she could see and Rosy blinked to find herself back on the gunship, this time in the conference room. The near abandoned conference room. She watched Dr. Kintober duck behind a chair with a squeak. Normally she’d punish such overt wimpiness, but instead Rosy just stared at the hand still holding hers. 

“Here,” he offered, holding out her hammer, “Sorry I had to borrow your weapon, a jump like that required more chaos energy than I had.”

Rosy blinked as she accepted it. Giving her hammer back? The one she’d just used to crack several of his ribs. The question was on her lips before she even realized, “Why?” 

He seemed to realize her question was not quite about the hammer, judging by the light in his eyes. Rosy wasn’t sure if she’d ever seen that before, a gaze so…soft. Calm. As if it carried an infinite patience capable only of someone who truly—cared? 

An odd thrum set itself up in Rosy’s chest, like the beating of an organ that had long ago turned hard.  

“Because,” he said, “I made a promise a long time ago to give everyone a chance. And it looked like you needed one.”

Rosy opened her mouth to say something, not exactly sure what, only for the conference room door to slide open. More than several guns pointed out from the doorway. “Step away from Shadow the Hedgehog, Amy Rose! If you do not comply, we will be forced to shoot!”

The dark hedgehog in question scowled at this, turning towards the doorway. “I told you I had this handled! There’s no need for anyone to get hurt.”

“You got hurt,” Rosy pointed out. A strange feeling accompanied the words, an unfamiliar clench in her gut.

The hedgehog - Shadow? - didn’t even look away from the nozzles of the gun, still firmly planting himself between them and her as he answered, “I’m a living weapon. It doesn’t matter.”

Rosy furrowed her brow, something about his words hitting her weirdly. She didn’t…like them? She also didn’t like the guns, but somehow the fact that they were pointing at him was…bad? 

Well, only one way to fix that.

Huffing, Rosy shoved past him, moving to the front of the conference room. The guns followed her only to pause when she did, sitting herself into the chair originally marked for her. There was a short silence.

“Well? Don’t we got an alien invasion to stop?” Rosy called out, crossing her arms. She pouted at the clear sounds of disbelief from beyond the doorway, only stopped by Shadow clearing his throat. 

“Yes, there’s new intel we need to review. It’s rather time sensitive,” he said, folding his arms and managing to look like he'd hadn't just returned from an impromptu skydive. Rosy touched her own spines in a rush of insecurity, flattening the ones that stuck out the most. How did his already go back to normal? 

Rogue was the first to come out, tripping oddly over the first step. Rosy paused from her grooming to snort. Knuckles probably pushed her, the wuss. He got his comeuppance by being the next shoved through the doorway, courtesy of Miles. Who was still brandishing his gun. She raised a hand and wiggled her fingers at him. He sneered. Lovely kid.

Dr. Kintober slowly rose from under the desk, still shaking. He looked between her and Shadow quickly, something calculating in his gaze. Rosy shot him a sickly smile that sent him ducking back behind his chair to hide. Nice to see she still had it. 

As everyone began to filter in, with the obvious lack of Vanilla who likely knew better than to show her face so soon, Rosy slumped back in her seat and resolved to watch the proceedings. All were sending her strange looks she ignored, except for one. 

Shadow’s face was cast in an odd sheen from the sky outside and Rosy found herself holding her breath when his eyes passed over hers. The light made his eyes glow stronger, that same rare softness staring back at her. He gave her a small smile as the seconds stretched on and Rosy turned away sharply, blood pumping fast. 

Miles continued with his plan and Rosy ignored the odd suspicious glance at her, mind too busy picking apart the swarm of thoughts raging in her head. Red was always the color of destruction, of violence and rage and —

So why was the red of his eyes soothing?

[odysseywritings]

Rust and Woods

A trio of pre-teenaged classmates in the sleepy Appalachian town of Tidville (Americanized from Welsh roots) and traveled the old one-lane road in the backroads as a dare. It was a cold autumn that year, with brisk wind and gray clouds souring the kids’ moods. The orange and yellow fallen leaves surrounded the road in a sea of warm colors as the dull road was peppered with scattered leaves that crunched under their shoes. Their optimism varied among the group.

Ashley Sawyer’s brown eyes were half shut by the searing wind, but her curiosity led her onward. Her braided black hair swayed in the wind like ropes as her stout fingers readied her camera.

To her left was the taller and skinnier Danny Williams, who was the calmest one despite his disinterest. His curly black hair rose two inches off his scalp in fine-cut evenness on the sides that felt no push from the wind.

To her right was the sluggish but broad Theo Polinsky, who tagged along with dazed green eyes and disheveled blond hair. He unwrapped and chewed a piece of gum to keep himself up and moving even if it was just his jaws.

“How much more do we have to go,” Danny asked, more irritated than whining.

“There’s uh,” Theo paused. “There’s a white line in the road. When we see it, it oughta be close.”

“Exactly!” Ashley beamed. “Let’s hop to it, gentlemen.”

The two gentlemen groaned in unison. They nevertheless pressed on.

The 5-pointed yellow leaves on the road appeared as stars to the kids, giving them wonder and light. Old enough to be intrepid without that worrisome puberty getting in the way. Theo spotted the white line on the road signaling the half-mile mark, showing they were close and picked up their pace.

It was there that they turned the corner of the hill and spotted their site down a steep slope. The abandoned dull red mill had black roofing and various woodcutting tools and saws left unattended for over 3 decades. More striking to them was the amount of white and black graffiti plastered on the sides, some with poetic witticisms like “Fuck Tidvil” and other scribbles ruined by time and weather. It filled Ashley and Danny with childish dread, while Theo looked only upset at the dark windows.

“Well,” Ashley hesitated. “What are we waiting for? Let’s get in and record. What all could happen?”

“I’m going to guess anything, Ash,” Danny quipped and raised his voice. “I heard my mom talk about places like these. Where teenagers shoot up.”

“What, like hunt deer?” Theo asked.

“No, butt-munch. Like drugs.” Danny folded his arms together. “But I also want to prove my fearlessness to the others. Quite a pickle.”

Ashley rolled her eyes. “Let’s just get as close as we can. We can record our trip and if we’re too scared, we’ll just ask my sister to edit it out.”

With no better ideas, the boys accepted this begrudgingly and slid down the hill as leaves swept away like creases in the water. Ashley went behind them and turned on the video recording after they were on equal footing with the building. The size of it increased immensely once they got close. An intimidating relic from a time they only know from their parents’ times. Ashley remember hearing about this place off and on from adults but forgot the details. The main parcel was an accident some time ago that was blamed on devil worshipers at the height of the 80s.

The blood red facade froze their feet, aided by huge windows covered in years-worth of brown and green grime. Many were shattered in almost decipherable patterns resembling spider webs. They couldn’t see anything inside outside of darkness from the lack of power. The silence was broken up by the vocal wind, sending them each back a step. Life felt alien with this structure, but the rusted blades felt like death was walking around them. Quiet, unnerving tension ended as Theo made a peep.

“If we get attacked,” he continued. “I know how to kick a guy in the balls really well.”

It got the other 2 chuckling and lightened up. Taking more steps forward, they used momentum to check the imposing red and black mill. Danny was the tallest and could peek in more easily through the windows. The grimy ones were useless, so he walked to the cracked ones and poked the shards with a twig. He could see better but his expression showed him losing color fast.

“Did you see something cool,” Ashley inquired.

Danny shook his head but kept eyeing the window. Ashley stood on her tip toes and recorded with the camera.

She surveyed the interior and found a blank darkness. No tables or wiring or tools. An abyss with a perpetual low drone, almost electrical in tone. Turning up the brightness did nothing. She thought it was broken but she raised the phone to the mill’s side with an obvious spotlight. Whether it was real or their imagination, the droning grew louder and closer. More industrial and cold.

They all took steps back, too awed to really scream. There was nothing to scream about. With heavy panting and breathing they darted to the hill. Ashley could hear her heartbeat pound from the adrenaline and struggled to think aside from keeping her camera.

Theo made it uphill quicker than the others and he reached his arm out for them. They gasped and shivered from the fear and grueling wind. Ashley turned off the recording in the middle of her sprint but she took what she got, tearing up from the sight of pure nothingness. Danny and Theo hugged her to ease her, slowly bringing her to grounded reality, even if both were as scared as her in less vocal ways with teeth clattering and tight grips.

Their movements calmed down and their breaths required less labor. Ashley sniffled and rebounded quickly enough.

“I’m sorry, guys,” she said with some choking in her throat. “I hate the dark. I just can’t handle so much of it. And it felt like something was going to pop out at me!”

“It’s alright, Ash,” Theo said with lucid sincerity. “That place wigged me out too.”

“Mm-hmm,” Danny hummed. “Something was up with that dark. Even if the lights were out, we should’ve seen something. It’s still daylight.”

She sniffled and smiled at the two, causing them them to smile back. The boys took a look at the footage, and started ragging on each other in boyish fashion over the most scared. Amused by Danny’s animated gestures and Theo’s deadpan retorts, Ashley felt comfortable again. She nudged the boys to keep walking before it hit dusk while they continued taunting each other.

Ashley walked behind the boys normally but her peripheral vision caught something. The mill itself stayed the same, but a window did not. There was a white figure standing inside. A pale specter with a white helmet and glancing eyes. But she saw the nose and teeth removed of flesh, revealing holes and maybe black gums. She touched Danny’s shoulder.

“Hey, hey!” she alerted the two. “There- there’s someone in there! He looked like a skeleton with eyes popping out!”

The two were worried but unamused. They went back to look again but saw no one.

“Look, Ash,” Danny groaned. “I know you’re scared, but you don’t need to say stuff like that. It’s fine if you’re freaked out by that place. But there’s nothing there. We already proved that.”

Theo nodded and yawned. “Yeah, let’s just forget it. We got a recording of the place, and the kids will know we went to it and looked in. We’ll just say the mill was locked and that’s all we got to see.”

Ashley fumed at the suspicion, but she knew there would be no use persuading them. They marched on, still weary from the uphill run. Danny and Theo resumed talking about a cartoon show starring superheroes and how implausible the plots were. She tried her best to follow along, but her mind went back to the white face among black. Thoughts on what happened if they stayed were growing and only stopped temporarily by the boys’ chatter. It was the sanity of togetherness that anchored her in that walk home.

[fisheofviolence]

💬 :P

This took me 5,000 years to do apolgy but I did a bonus story because you are sooooo patient :3c I mean both stories are like......... Not amazing, but I made it a point to use two of your characters, too! I hope it's okay (also I tried so hard but like ahskdlfks) (• ▽ •;)

"That's why I have to have all the doors open."

Tuesday took one last glance at the chat she shared with Cecilia on her phone. Several messages had been left unread and unanswered. Even the calls that were attempted earlier gained no response. 

She pocketed her cell phone as she approached the front door of Cecilia's house. Tuesday made a fist to knock on the door, but it swung open before she could. 

"Oh!" 

Tuesday and Cecilia were standing face to face. Normally, Tuesday would have smiled to greet her girlfriend, but the soft grey cloud wafting from behind Cecilia caused her some concern. 

"Smoke. Yeah. My dad tried to make-" 

"Cecilia! It's not coming off." 

Tuesday tried peering inside the house. Cecilia slumped her shoulders to exaggerate the situation, a deep sigh leaving her lungs. 

"I don't know what to tell you, Dad." 

Tuesday heard a string of German expletives -- which Cecilia had taught her earlier in their friendship -- leave Andreas's mouth. The clanking of metal sounded from the kitchen. And then, the smell hit her. 

"Ugh, is that-?" 

"Yep. Burnt cabbage. And that's why I have to have all the doors and windows open." Cecilia opened the door wider and motioned for Tuesday to follow her. "Come on. We'll be safer upstairs."

They both climbed the stairs quickly. Cecilia brought the collar of her t-shirt up to cover her nose. The door of her bedroom was opened and closed as fast as she could manage. 

"Why did he burn it?" Tuesday asked, amused. 

"No idea, but he spent a long time on it. I came downstairs cause he sounded freaked out." 

Cecilia sat down on her bed. Tuesday grabbed the computer chair from Cecilia's desk and rolled it closer to the bed.

"Okay, well," Tuesday grinned, taking a seat in the chair. "Your dad's failed cooking attempt aside… I actually came by to see how you are feeling today." 

Cecilia stretched out across her bed and sighed. "I'm good." She turned her head in Tuesday's direction. "Don't give me that look. It's the truth; I really am okay today." 

"Okay enough to run to Taco Bell with me?" 

"Dude. What kind of question is that? I'd go even if I wasn't."

Tuesday leaned closer to Cecilia, the desk chair she was sitting in creaking slightly from the movement. Cecilia poked Tuesday's forehead in response, a playful smile brightening her features. Tuesday's expression remained serious, even as she halfway returned the smile and poked Cecilia's forehead as well. 

"I know what you're gonna say," Cecilia sighed. "You wouldn't've showed up if you weren't worried about me, and you wouldn't've been worried if I had messaged you back. I know. I'm sorry, but I really am doing fine. I didn't mean to make you worry. With tomorrow being…"

Cecilia trailed off. She felt Tuesday's hand grab her own, and the slow movement of Tuesday's thumb tracing her knuckles. She squeezed Tuesday's fingers. 

"Well, anyway, maybe downstairs is breathable now. I need a crunchwrap now." 

Cecilia sat up, and Tuesday moved the chair backwards immediately. She watched Cecilia pick up a hoodie from the floor and slide it over her head. She paused for a moment before turning her head in Tuesday's direction. 

"Hey, I have an idea. I want you to come with me tomorrow." 

Tuesday smiled lightly at Cecilia. "I would love to."

--------

Suffocating. She couldn't move, but most importantly, she couldn't breathe. The pressure around her throat only worsened the more she struggled to get away. The more she tried to take in even a single breath. She couldn't see, but she knew.

Arianna knew it was him. She knew even before he leaned closer to speak directly in her ear. The tears leaving her eyes were caught in the mess of her hair. 

"This is your fault."

She knew that. It had to be. 

Then suddenly, her body felt like it was on fire. She tried harder to scream, but her voice was gone. It was replaced with the sound of his yelling. A sound that was deafening, until- 

Arianna jolted awake, gulping in the much needed air. Her body shook as she immediately began to sob. Another nightmare. Another reminder that she had never truly left that place. 

She curled herself into a ball. Her blankets were thrown off the bed, but the patched up panther stuffed animal lay within her reach. 

One hand grabbed its fuzzy arm, while the other reached for her phone. The screen blinded her at first, but she unlocked it anyway. The time read 2:37 am. Her hand shook as she opened her call history. She didn't have to scroll for very long to find Ira's name. 

The phone rang twice. Three times. She let out another small sob at the thought of having to deal with this by herself tonight. She used her free hand to wipe the tears from her eyes. 

"Hello?" 

Arianna opened her mouth to speak, but all she could do was exhale the air from her lungs. She began to cry once more, but it was silent. She felt pressure in her head and chest, her body trembling. 

"Arianna? Are you okay?" 

Ira's voice was more urgent. Any sign of sleep had left his tone, and was instead replaced with concern. 

"I…" Arianna tried to find the words she needed. Another nightmare. She needs him. Just say it. Her cries were a little louder now.

The sound of Ira's voice was soft as he tried his best to soothe his sister. She heard rustling on his end. Maybe he already knew? 

"I'm on my way over, okay? How bad was it? Do you need me to stay on the phone until I get there?" 

Arianna shook her head, forgetting he couldn't see her. Several moments passed, and she remained silent. 

"You there?" 

"Yeah…" 

"Do you need me to keep talking to you until I get there?" 

"No… I'll be okay." 

"You're sure? Do you swear on your skateboard?" 

Arianna couldn't help but let out a single, breathy laugh. "Wh-which one?" 

"Hmm." The sound of a car door shutting came from Ira's side. "The zombie one." 

"...I swear." 

"Cool. Hey, why don't you get your new one out for me to see when I get there?" 

"Sure…" 

"I'm hanging up now. I'll see you in a few minutes." 

"Okay. Yeah." 

Arianna didn't move the phone from her ear until she heard the beep of Ira ending the call. She locked her phone and tossed it gently to the side. 

She thought about how much she missed when Ira still lived there. She used to be able to go directly to his room when this happened, and Ira would comfort her until she fell asleep. Things were always changing. 

She reached over the side of her bed to grab her blanket off the floor. Once she threw it over her body and adjusted it comfortably, she rubbed her eyes with the fabric and turned over on her side. The skateboard. I need to get up. She only huddled under the blanket more. And as her eyes closed, she felt her exhaustion outweigh her fear. 

Ira pushed the front door of his parent's house open, looking around in the darkness. He pulled his key out of the lock and shut the door behind him as silently as possible. A glance down the hallway on his right told him Arianna was probably asleep again. The light to her room was still off. He regretted hanging up on her earlier, even if she said she would be fine. He hoped she wasn't having another nightmare.

He moved quickly towards her room, stuffing his keys back into his pajama pants pocket. He knocked on her door lightly, but wasn't surprised when he received no answer. He opened the door and called out to her. 

Arianna awoke immediately at the sound of his voice. She shifted in her bed and slowly sat up. 

"Hey, you okay?" 

Arianna shielded her eyes as Ira flipped the light switch on. 

After several moments of silence, she lowered her hands to her lap. "Not really. Turn the light off." 

Ira flipped the switch once more and walked over to her bed, doing his best to avoid the dirty dishes and clothes in her floor on the way. 

"Alright. Scoot over." 

Arianna slid to the side to make room for Ira. He climbed on her bed, lying on his side next to her. She did the same, so that they were facing each other. Arianna stared silently at Ira, feeling the tears leave her eyes again. She tried to wipe them away, but they didn't cease. 

Ira finally grabbed Arianna's hand, holding it with both of his. 

"Just focus on me. It's gonna be okay." He smiled reassuringly at her.

"But it keeps happening. Nothing's changed. What… what if it's never okay?" 

After a few moments of silence, Ira heard Arianna start to cry. He wished he knew what to say to make her feel better. Words failed him in situations like these, where he knew they were needed most. What should he do? Distract her? Get her to talk about it? 

Arianna pulled her hand free and immediately moved closer, putting an arm around him and crying into his shoulder. He hugged her, using a hand to run through her hair. 

"I'll be here for you until it is okay." He hugged her a little tighter. "I promise."

[maladaptive-ninja-returns]

Blame It on Your Beats (4)

Bucky x Reader Series

Chapter Content: Fluff, angst, background scores.

Summary: A brush with the underworld leads you on a run, away from what was supposedly your normal life, with Bucky Barnes. You two do not seem to be in sync as Bucky tries to keep you alive, trying your best not to kill each other. Or that’s what you think you are doing.

Series: contains smut, adult content in there somewhere in the future chapters so please look at the chapter content and warnings before you proceed.

Chapter Warnings: None. Not really. Just your naughty inner voice..

A/N: This series is written for @littledarlinhavefaithinme ‘s MK Writing Challenge. Thank you so much for hosting. I am having a lot of fun with the prompts. I hope I can do justice to them and put the entire series up before the deadline. :D

Tags for this fic are open

MASTERLIST

The golden glitters of the lazy, heated sun teased parts of your body, letting the warmth work its way through your hair and into the scalp, caressing it, letting the tied up knots inside you loosen a bit in its presence. On the other hand, the wind teased all the warmed up parts of you, nudging at the heat till it could no longer stand the cold bully and scuttled away, leaving you frosty and curled up.

While it all happened- the sun and the wind exploiting you like a public playground where they could toss up and dig out whatever they wanted- your mind flickered with the images of last night.

The eerie smile, the haunting fire, a growl, the dark tunnels, the strong grip forcing you down the drop, your scream, the impact with the water, the ache in your lungs at the loss of air, the drag of water on your face as you held on to your only hope of rescue, the gush of water down your lungs as your body could no longer take the ache, the swaying lights of the surface, the increasing darkness as you felt your body float- go towards the light as The Other Side by David Gray played inside your head- the sound of someone calling your name, the returning ache inside your lungs at the increasing pressure on your chest, the regurgitating water that you threw out before your coughing fit, the blue eyes peeking through dense wet dark hair, the warmth of a hand on your cheek, the ‘No, you're not dead yet’ swirling up and down around you in the drunk dark sky, the hard rocking of a boat, a familiar figure braving the tides with his back to you and thunder cracking through the sky breaking apart almost next to you.

You woke up with a jolt at the memory of the crackling sound, a quivering low scream leaving your throat. The sun blinded you the moment you opened your eyes, trying to make sense of how you got on a boat, travelling in waters you were sure was nowhere near the last place had been trapped inside. The isolated rocks stood in the middle of the copper blue waters spread out till the horizons on every side.

“That's yer destination ther chap,” you heard a voice behind you, “now get yer lassie and better buy er a change oof clothes if ye don't want er to fall sick.”

Standing up and turning around to watch who and what was making the human sounds behind you, you felt your head do a sharp twirl of its own- dancing better and giddier than you, for sure- making you fall back down on the hard surface.

A groan and another attempt at trying to stable yourself on your wobbling feet later, you saw the rocky sandy shore in front of you. The cold from your wet clothes was catalysed by the wind blowing from behind you on the little ferry you tried to stand in- that anchored itself on what hardly seemed like a dock- sending an unwelcoming shudder down your spine.

The rocky beach was a view- not something you thought you were going to see when you were counting the time left when you'd be playing Uno with the devil in hell- and if there was anything more interesting than the scenic beauty waiting for you was the figure that came out of the tiny control room.

Bucky’s combat suit- just as wet as yours- stuck to his body just like you had clung to him last night, the thought of you enclosing him sending a warm ripple throughout your being. His hair was combed back by his hand, sticking effortlessly with a smooth shine, making you wonder how different he could look with the presence of water all over him.

He looks hydrated enough for you, you single, thirsty soul with one long- very long- dry spell.

You knock the little voice off the throne where it sits as you compose yourself and get down before Bucky has a chance to give you a hand- sending a tingle of amusement through him to see you up and about after watching you scream, wail, nearly die, come back, lose consciousness as he dragged your unresponsive body through an entire storm to get here.

“Take care lads,” the man, who you thought must be the owner of the ferry, waved at the two of you before steering away from the shore and making his way ahead- opposite to the direction you'd come from.

Now it was just the two of you and a few birds- squealing either at the site of visitors or food in the ocean- left on the otherwise calm seaside, left to fill nature's silence.

“Where are we?” You felt the coarseness in your throat for the first time.

How hard did you wail yesterday?

Not hard enough, apparently.

“We are…” Bucky looked around for any audience before turning his glistening blue eyes towards you, “not in the States.”

You raised your brows at the new information, nodding in response.

“Hmm. How long have we been...travelling?”

Bucky's cautious gaze that was scanning everything around him came back again, his lips wetting the dryness the wind was bringing now and then along with it to tease his pink lips.

“Long and far enough to not be followed in a straight line,” Bucky theorised before taking his satellite phone out of your bag.

“Oh, okay,” you answered, nodding again, “okay. So-”

“So, everything's fine for now. We can take a breather, contact Stark, plan out where to go next from here and hopef-”

You observed his cursory movements as he started talking, picking up your bag and swinging it over his shoulder, explaining his plan of action while you watched him, the fence of calm keeping you steady crumbling bit by bit till you launched yourself at him with a wild scream, shocking him not only by your sudden attack but also by the strength with which you sent him off balance before he was completely down in the sand.

“What the f-” he tried to shout.

“You sick son of a-a...you traitor!! I almost died because of you!”

You were towering over him, sitting over his hips sending punches raining down on him blindly, not at all caring of the super soldier’s strength as he used minimal force to stop you from hitting him, grunting with the rising frustration.

“Are you serious right now?!” he shouted back at you, blocking your hands with his arms.

“No, I'm felt like reminiscing how I was nearly killed by a creepy man catcalling me and then threatening to kill me and then forced to jump in a bottomless lake by another. DO I LOOK LIKE I'M JOKING?!”

You were a breath apart from his face, fuming, while your hands balled up his shirt in your hands- its wetness seeping through the layer onto your palms- exposing his shoulders at the stretch of the fabric.

A growl left his throat as he caught your hands in his, forcing you to let go of his shirt as he sat up and turned them behind you, locking them in his metal grip while your body was trapped above his bent legs- not giving you much room to wiggle as you were basically sitting over him, the space between him and you minimising as he bent closer towards you, sending your raging heart into a confused flutter.

“We didn't have the time to argue and find another passage out. Tony had all things ready for any emergency scenario in there, thanks to Clint. And if you hadn't noticed, I was being chased by assassins who were out for your head.”

The incredibly minimal distance between his face and yours nearly threw you off track.

Curse those perfect anime blue eyes.

“You think I didn't know that?” You spat back, forgetting about your nervous heart as you pushed your furious face into his. “How hard would've been to not wrestle me head first into water but say-” your expression took a one-eighty, from an outraged to a soft smiling cheerleader within seconds- ‘hey, Y/N, don't worry, Tony's got everything covered at the other end of the...water so all you have to do his hold your freaking breath!’”

His heated breath burned your exposed skin as his crystal blue looked at you with pure repulsion for a moment, his hold getting a bit stronger for you to handle- something your ego was not ready to show over your features or else it might be taken as a sign of defeat or submission.

Your flushed body is sitting in his lap with your hands trapped, giving him access to pretty much everything. He can make you squirm by one right twist. You still think you're not the sub?

Wow. Your inner voice knew you better than yourself.

Would you fucking knock it off for a moment? you shouted at her, I am trying to get a point made here!

Bucky was about to spew a few hot words of his own when a monotonous ring broke you both out of the warm-up verbal spar, making you turn towards the satellite phone half covered in the sand.

Bucky turned back to you, his eyes clearly saying he wasn't done yet, before his flesh hand went for the device and waited for the caller to speak.

“Am I speaking to the old man who has no concept of survival using technology?” A familiar voice erupted through the speaker, disintegrating all the coals of hate into soils of relief inside you.

“Mr Stark,” you heard your voice before your thoughts.

“Please tell me both of you made it out in one piece,” Stark prayed in a monotone.

Bucky looked at you, loosening his grasp on your hands, his features feeling a change to a veiled relief behind slight irritation.

“We're fine,” he answered, placing the phone between whatever space was between you and him.

“Barnes, I would not care much about you ignoring to use all the tech kept at your disposal in Clint's cave but you had someone else's life hanging by a thread and all you grabbed was a freaking first aid kit.”

This time even you were confused, having no idea what ‘technology’ Stark was talking about.

“Tony I don't-”

“A submarine, James,” he announced, clearly irritated, stressing on the words again, “Sub...marine.”

All your voices left you to ponder Tony's words before finally coming back to sit down and stare at the phone in front of you.

This super soldier could have saved the torture your lungs took but chose to drag your drowning ass through the water till you were at the gates of the afterlife.

Inhaling a lungful, you looked at Bucky’s clearly aching face.

“We're fine, Mr Stark. That's what matters,” you assured softly before meeting Bucky's gaze.

Stark didn't reply, clearly contemplating some thoughts of his own.

“Fine. I can see Barnes has chosen quite the destination for you two for the next week.”

All the softness that had seeped on your faces was kicked away by a confusing jolt.

“Wait,” Bucky straightened under you, making you wonder if he really felt any of your weight on him, “what do you mean?”

Even in the passing wind, you could hear Stark’s deep exhale.

“Right, there's been a lot of commotion here in the facility. The press is making a huge hue and cry about it. Pepper's team has been dealing with all of it quite well and she suggests that you two better stay away as long as possible. Y/N, while you're out there I'd suggest you decipher as much of the iconography as possible so we can take down Eton's plans before he goes and does something more stupid. And disastrous.”

You nodded at the phone, making Bucky tilt his head in soft amusement.

“Yes,” you blurted out, embarrassed due to the company, “I will.”

“Good, keep me updated. Barnes…”

“I'll take care of...the rest,” he concluded.

The phone went silent, leaving you two to make a rerun of the conversation that just happened.

“Something's happened,” you muttered, your hands crossing over your chest and running up and down your arms, “He is hiding something.”

Bucky studied your worry filled eyes staring at the phone for a moment, not oblivious to your shivering arms and the cause behind it.

“I'd worry more about focusing on surviving in another continent without so as a passport if I were you,” he proclaimed, raising his brows at you.

His slow drying strands were starting to fly away in the wind and towards you, nearly tickling your cheeks once or twice.

“It's like getting out of a fire pit only to land upon an active volcano,” you groaned, trying to push your legs together to get up and away from the Sergeant. Your shivering body was already missing the latent heat. His latent heat.

Pull me down, if you want to, you heard your voice singing, And I hope that you want to, thwacking it away into some dark corner for using your dry spell against you in this situation of all the places.

“Come on,” Bucky got up, dusting off the sand from your bag before swinging it over his back and walking towards the stone-y path that led to higher ground above the sea level, “we better find a place to stay before the locals here start getting suspicious.”

Brushing off the sand from your clothes, you followed him, nodding in mock agreement.

“Sure. Though I'd rather not push them into the water without their consent to stay on their good side. Just a suggestion.”

He rolled his eyes before turning his head towards you to give you one long hard stare.

Both of groaned on the inside, wondering how you two were supposed to bear each other for seven days when the net one hour in each other's conscious presence was hell to begin with.

Continued here

TAGLIST

Permanent

@magiclolipopqueen @choke-me-sweet-pea @smexylemony @hazzastyles2471 @lokis-lady-death @lokixme @l0kisbitch @tarithenurse @hiddlestonstansworld @itheoneofmanyfandomsi @nalokoniloki @fuckidontknow @qualitynerdwasteland @cryinglots @unipanda1006 @literalangels @meganlikesfandoms @kcd15

BIOYB

@klmpun

[ninjoots]

Butler Pt. 5

Previous: https://ninjoots.tumblr.com/post/161718709311/butler-pt-4

Next: https://ninjoots.tumblr.com/post/164504815766/butler-pt-6

“That’s tight!”

“It has to be tight. Or they’ll come undone again.”

“God this is tighter than a corset on an anorexic!”

“Shut up so I can work, Aaron.”

“Fine… ow… ow ow ow oW OW OW OW OW STOP STOP STOP-” 

King finished up with the stitches and smiled at his work. It looked professionally done, and there didn’t seem to be any problem besides the soreness Aaron felt in his upper chest from it ripping open in the first place. Speaking of which… King snapped, “You wouldn’t be in so much pain if you hadn’t gone into the vent in the first place.” Aaron rolled his eyes and put his shirt back on, tightening the tie and ignoring everything King told him. The only thing he focused on was the orders, and he did just that. First job was to…

“Wait you want me to what?” Aaron questioned, turning around and staring at the king in confusion. King rolled his eyes and stepped closer. 

He ordered, “I want you to go to the chef and tell him he’s in charge of you for today. You don’t need to know how to cook, he’ll find some use for you.” Aaron stared at him for a moment before turning away and making his way to the kitchen. He had only been in the kitchen one other time and that was for when he was being shown around. From what he had seen the chefs weren’t exactly… friendly looking. The kitchen was a mess too, not very clean. In all honesty it made him wanna vomit.

Aaron stepped in and made eye contact with the chef. He was tall, buff, not exactly the most handsome. In his hand was a shining, large butcher knife. Aaron didn’t dare look over the pile of meat to see what he was hacking at. “Th-The king sent me… He… s-said that you’re in charge of me for t-today…” The chef slowly grinned and stabbed the knife into the cutting board.

“Come on in,” He called. The chef’s voice was rough and scratchy like he had smoked a bit too much in his time. He was much older than Aaron, maybe George Washington’s age or older. There was a bit of grey in his hair near the top of his head that Aaron kept looking at. It looked so… scary for some reason. Everything about this chef was scary for some reason. The way he smiled oh so friendly at Aaron was scary. But, he stepped further inside the kitchen and shut the door behind him, leaning against it.

The chef walked to the other door near his side of the room and opened it up, pulling out a bucket and a large sponge. He went to the sink and filled the bucket up with hot water. Aaron could see the steam above the water and tried to focus on its movements. It didn’t look to hot, but not room temperature either. When he chef handed him the supplies he snapped, “Scrub the floor. You aren’t allowed to stop until I can see my reflection, got it?” Aaron stuttered out a yes sir and got on his knees with the supplies starting on the floor. He held back some rude comments, almost scared of what the chef would do if he talked back. The chef watched him for a few seconds before going back to his cooking, still glancing at Aaron as he worked.

After a few minutes the chef snapped, “You missed a spot, rat.” Aaron didn’t answer and learned his mistake within three seconds. The chef marched over and kicked him, causing him to fall a bit and hold his chest in pain. He kicked Aaron in the face, almost breaking his nose and snapped louder, “Answer me when I’m talking to you are we clear?”

“Y-Yes-”

“Yes, SIR.”

“Yes, sir. Sorry, sir.”

 The chef went back to his counter and went back to work and chopping whatever fucking meat that is. Aaron looked back at the floor and continued scrubbing, his hands shaking as he worked. He couldn’t believe he was even thinking it, but he wouldn’t mind being back with King George. A shiver ran through his body as he looked up to see the chef coming back over. “Stand up. Now.” Aaron slowly stood up, dropping the sponge in the bucket. The chef stared at him for a moment before clicking his tongue and nodding. 

“You’ll do fine.”

Aaron gasped as he was pinned against the table with his hands on either side. The chef, who he still did not know the name of, growled and grabbed him through his pants. Aaron gasped and shouted, “N-No wait! P-Please I-”

“You fucking freak, where’s your dick?” He snapped, shoving a hand in his pants. Aaron’s mouth was covered before he could scream for help. The chef harshly smashed their lips together, rubbing him and touching him however he pleased. Tears formed in Aaron’s eyes and he tried shoving him away, pushing him away, anything. Thoughts went through his head at lightning speed. Did the king send me here on purpose? Is this asshole going to tell anybody that I’m not fully male? Is he just gonna fuck me and leave me bloody and bruised on the floor?

Before the chef could do anything more, there were a few knocks on the door. The chef pulled completely away from Aaron, wiping his hand on his jeans. Aaron was frozen in that spot, unable to move. His body felt so… awful. Everything felt awful. Aaron slowly looked at the door and mumbled, “Please…” That was the only word his mind could process.

King George stepped inside and smiled. “I’ll take him back now. I actually need him for some other things. The ballroom floor isn’t going to clean itself.” Aaron took a deep breath and walked to King George, quickly standing close to him and keeping his eyes on the floor. Once King was done talking to the chef (which took about ten fucking minutes) he walked with him to the ballroom, showing no emotion on his face.

 Aaron could still feel the chef’s lips, chapped and disgusting in every way. He could feel the way there were certain cuts here and there in the bottom lip. He didn’t want to know how they got there or who or what put them there. Aaron let out a shaky breath when King began talking to him. “So,” He asked, “What did he do to you?” Aaron tensed up and stared him, suddenly wondering if his first thought had been true. His fears were put to rest when the king continued. “Scrubbing the floors? Gutting an animal? Skinning an animal?!” Aaron looked away.

He couldn’t find his voice. The words were all stuck in his throat, being held back by an electric fence of fear and worry. If the electricity turned off now all of the burnt up, ruined words would be let out. Aaron was so afraid to shut the power off. He had to keep the fence up. The fence wasn’t put up by him, but Aaron couldn’t seem to find out what exactly put it up and turned it on.

“Aaron. Answer.” King snapped, looking at him. Aaron mumbled an apology.

He answered quietly, “He just had me doing some simple… s-s-scrubbing, i-i guess.” King nodded and they walked in silence. Aaron felt like he was drowning in the silence. It was getting into the power system, causing it to have shortages and sparks. He desperately wanted his fence to stay up, working perfectly. Aaron felt screaming. He took a few deep breaths and asked very softly, “Y-Your majesty, I don’t feel very well. Would it be alright if I could head back to my room to rest?”

King huffed and snapped, “Of course not. You have a full day of work to get to. Hell, you only woke up three or four hours ago, yes? You have no reason to be tired now.” Aaron was too scared to protest, so he just walked into the ballroom with him. King started giving him instructions on what to do and what to clean, handing him a mop a scrub and a bucket of hot water. Aaron took the supplies and started on the far end of the room, beginning to mop and work.

His insides felt twisted up and his hands were shaking so much. A few minutes after starting he ended up dropping the mop because he couldn’t get a tight enough grip on it. His mind was so black and distracted from the task at hand. Aaron tried to keep working but finally set the stuff down and stood there, his arms limp at his sides. King snapped, “Why did you stop working, hmm? Exhausted from escaping so much, Aaron?” King laughed and picked at the dirt under his nails. “Absolutely worthle-”

He heard a thump and looked up. King gasped at Aaron’s shaking body on the floor. He ran across the ballroom and slid on his knees to Aaron, pulling him close. “Aaron, Aaron talk to me what’s wrong? Why’re you crying? Tell me what’s wrong!” Aaron sobbed and cried, his shoulders shaking and his eyes wide with fear. King picked Aaron up bridal style and held him tightly. He huffed, managed to get his cape shawl thing off and wrapped it around Aaron. Aaron muffled his sobs in the king’s chest as he was brought to the king’s bedroom.

King laid him down in the bed and covered him up, making sure his head was perfectly rested on the silk red pillow. Aaron sobbed and sniffled, still shaking in fear and pain. King whispered, “Aaron… Aaron what can I do for you?” Aaron sobbed and opened his eyes, looking up at king.

  He muttered sarcastically, “Kill that fucking chef.”

[silavut-the-wizard]

Silavut the Wizard, Chapter 40

The beasts attack. They escape. There’s a reunion. And they give Lady Anielle a chance to redeem herself.

Kind of a long one this time, it just kept going and going.

The Reunion

Back in the throne room, Silavut was trying to devise a plan to escape. First, he would need to neutralize the stasis field. How to do that was going to take some figuring out considering he didn’t know the first thing about the mechanics of the room. Lady Anielle said she had it specially designed with something the sorceress taught her. Was there a magic switch somewhere? Was the floor itself magic? What made it work?

Then it hit him. It was motion activated, specifically by the gesture he saw Lady Anielle do. He then realized all the guards were outside the perimeter of the stasis area. The floor had a different shine to it.

How could he make one of the guards make the gesture? Aha! “Hey! You!” He addressed the guard he was currently facing.

The guard was still as a statue. He didn’t even acknowledge Silavut with an eye twitch.

“Hey! Come on, blast you, answer me.”

Another guard piped up. “Quiet down, you! The queen will deal with you later.”

Queen!? Really? Is she really that delusional she’s calling herself queen? What a trip! “OK then, you answer me,” Silavut said. Unable to turn his head, he couldn’t see the guard in question.

“Fine. What do you want, you annoying little varmint?”

“I need to use the privy. You wouldn’t want the queen to find a mess on her nice, shiny, pretty, perfect floor, would you? What would she do to you? Hmm? Letting me make such a mess and having to have it cleaned up. Not a very pretty thought, is it?”

The guard was silent.

As he waited for a response, Silavut refined his plan to escape and hoped it would work. If not…well…he’d rather not think about it. “Come on, whaddya say?”

Then came the response. “I don’t trust you, wizard. I’d rather let you mess yourself and the floor than face her wrath for letting you escape.”

Blast it!

The main doors burst open. Silavut couldn’t see what was happening, but he certainly heard it. Someone was breathing hard, as if having run a good distance, or done hard labor.

“The queen needs help! All men to arms!” he shouted between breaths.

Silavut smiled, knowing full well who they encountered, hoping the trio were faring better than he right now.

There was sudden commotion as the guards scattered, some shouting orders, others gathering gear. Unfortunately, not one made the proper movement that would release Silavut.

As they started out, he called, “Hey! Someone! You guys! Get me out of here!” No one came to his aid. He heard them laughing as they left. Their laughter faded when the doors closed behind them. Silavut was alone. He let out a long, heavy sigh. “Now what?”

Out in the field, the three were still having a grand old time. They had each discarded their cloak both because they were getting hot and for easier movement.

Sehlan was squaring up against a man twice her size, and she was loving it. He wasn’t quite so happy. She had bested him several times, getting around his attacks and through his defenses. Of course, he had gotten a few blows in on her, but not quite as well as he would’ve liked. She had a few cuts here and there, which would add to her collection of battle scars later, and a few bruises. He was getting tired and was nearly ready to give up.

Tail and Nara were wearing down their opponent quickly. Nara had nearly sliced him open a few times, but he had just barely managed to parry and dodge. Though he still did get cut, it wasn’t as fatal as it would’ve been had he not been so quick. Tail had been taking quick jabs at him while he tried to fend off Nara. He was now kneeling on the ground next to Vekta, ready to pass out.

Then they heard it. The noisy band of guards come to help. The trio looked at each other, their expressions saying ‘Let’s do it.’

With one final, low blow, Sehlan incapacitated her opponent.

The man next to Vekta finally succumbed and passed out.

The group surrounding Lady Anielle were sweating.

Lady Anielle was past panic and near to freaking out. Then her hopes rose as she heard the guards running to help.

Sehlan saw them coming and asked Nara if she could do the thing with her hands again. She nodded in a way to say, ‘I’ll try.’ Nara laid down the sword and held her hands out as she did that night with the wraith. She closed her eyes and concentrated. There was no need to scream this time. Sehlan and Tail watched with anticipation. Lady Anielle and her protectors watched with trepidation.

The man in front exploded. The rest of them stopped immediately, completely shocked and freaked out at what just happened. They became a disorganized mess as they weren’t sure what to do now. Do they continue the charge, or retreat? A couple of the men actually ran off in random directions.

Lady Anielle audibly gasped and nearly screamed. Her hopes were shattered.

Her protectors looked on with wide eyes and open mouths, not sure if they should run or stay. One followed suit of the other two and ran off.

Lady Anielle whimpered.

Then they all heard it. A low, long howl. Then several more.

“No, no…not them, please…” Lady Anielle said, trembling. She said to the group surrounding her, “Keep those things away from me.” They nodded and grunted their assent.

Tail said to the others, “We must hide, now.”

“Where? It’s wide open here, there’s nowhere to go,” Nara pointed out.

“If we’re lucky, they will have their attention on Lady Anielle and her men. We can then sneak away and get to the castle.”

They agreed to this and quickly gathered their things, ready to go.

Sehlan snapped her head around. She saw movement in her peripheral vision. Sure enough, one of the creatures had moved in on them. She tapped Tail on the shoulder and pointed. He nodded, picked up a stone, and threw it towards Lady Anielle’s men. Hearing the noise, the beast perked up and saw the men who barely kept from running off. Its attention turned towards them, the trio waited another few moments. More started showing up. Soon there were dozens of the misshapen things.

“There are several more than I anticipated,” Tail whispered. “We may still yet be able to sneak away. Follow me.”

Sehlan had an idea. “Can’t Nara use her power to destroy those things?”

“Not so many, no. If it were a few, maybe. So many would overpower us before they could all be destroyed. We must go.”

Sehlan and Nara followed Tail, slowly and quietly flanking the guards who had taken up a phalanx-like formation. This would allow the creatures to focus on the men instead of the vulnerable trio.

Lady Anielle saw them sneaking away. She was conflicted on whether to expose them or join them. If she exposed them, she would also antagonize the beasts. They were extremely indiscriminate on who they attacked. If she joined them, would she be considered a coward? What would she think?

Oh, blast it all! She made her decision and quickly dashed off to join them.

“What the hell are you doing?” Sehlan hissed at her.

Tail quickly shushed her and shook his head. ‘No time for this,’ he implied.

Sehlan rolled her eyes but complied.

~~~~~~~~~~

Silavut was still trying to figure out a way to get himself unstuck when he heard the slow creak of the door. There were hushed whispers and movements. From outside he could hear blood-curdling screams and some kind of beasts. What in the world…? The door was shut again. Then he heard his name.

“Silavut! By the Powers, you’re OK!” Sehlan rushed up and hugged him.

“Great to see you, too!”

“What happened? You seem stiff.”

“That’s…uh…because I am.”

“What do you mean?”

“I think I can explain.” Lady Anielle came to stand beside Sehlan and waved her hand.

Silavut nearly fell over. Sehlan caught and steadied him.

“What is this? What have you done?” Of course, she knew most of it from Nara’s note. She just wanted to hear it directly from her.

Lady Anielle explained what they already knew. She also added extra details they weren’t aware of, such as how she had the throne room specially built for magical use using methods the sorceress taught her.

“What I want to know right now,” Silavut interrupted, “is what in creation is going on out there?” He pointed at the doors. “I heard screams and weird sounds.”

Tail told Silavut about the misshapen creatures.

“Oh great. If it’s not one thing, it’s another. How did they get that way, anyway?”

“No one really knows. There are theories, but nothing can be proven.”

“So how do we get past them, then?”

“There are only two ways. One, we kill them, which who knows how many the men have killed and how many are left right now. Two, we wait for them to leave, which who knows how long that’ll take. Sometimes it can days for them to leave a fresh hunting spot. So long as no more people or animals go out there, once they’ve had their fill, they’ll leave after a while.”

“So we’re stuck here, then.”

“For a time, yes, but not forever.”

Sehlan turned to Lady Anelle. “As for you, explain yourself. What the hell were you thinking by coming with us?”

“I was saving myself. I didn’t want to get eaten by those things out there—”

“Yet you left your men to die for you. Do you have no shame?”

She turned away for a moment to gather her composure. Turning back around, she had tears in her eyes. “I didn’t mean for this to happen. I was just doing what she asked. How was I supposed to know it would all go so bad?” She dropped to the floor, pulling out a cloth to dab her tears and blow her nose.

Silavut had mixed feelings. He wanted to gloat and say ‘I told you so,’ but he also didn’t want another fight right now. He’d had enough of it all to last more than a lifetime. Yet there was more to come. He sat down beside her. Sehlan looked at him questioningly. He gave a nearly imperceptible shake. She nodded, knowing what he meant and walked away. She led the other two away to give them a bit of privacy.

Lady Anielle looked at him but said nothing.

After a moment of silence, Silavut spoke. “So… Queen, huh?”

She produced a quick, short laugh and a smile. “Yeah. Guess I got a little carried away.”

“You know, you’re really not a bad person. You just got roped in by the bad person. Sure, you may have done some loathsome and objectionable acts, but only because of her. I mean, look at what you did for us, in the beginning. You let us stay in our own private room in the capitol building, fed us, clothed us. You didn’t have to do that. Of course, denying us archive access wasn’t a good move.”

Lady Anielle nodded. “I know, but it was what she wanted. To lull you into a sense of security, but not let you get too comfortable or find out too much.”

“Yes, that might be true, but you still did it of your own free will. You could have just thrown us in a cell to begin with and left us to rot until she wanted us…me…whatever. So that really does say something about your true character, who you really are, inside.”

Lady Anielle sniffled and blew her nose again.

“As for what happened earlier, you know it’s true. She would throw you away, leave you to fend for yourself, once your purpose was fulfilled.”

“Yes, I know, I just didn’t want to believe it. I was denying it, despite knowing the truth.”

“So whaddya say. Would you like to join us? Help us defeat her, make sure the universe is safe?”

“You…you mean…after what I’ve done…you’d let me…? I don’t know if I can…”

“I know, it goes against logic, but yes. You can come with us. I’ll just have to convince the others. Wait here.”

She nodded.

Silavut stood up and made his way to the others who were conversing quietly amongst themselves.

Nara looked up when she saw him approaching. “What is it?”

“Well, I sorta…kinda…promised…she could join us.”

“What?” Sehlan nearly yelled.

“Hey, keep it down.” He looked back and saw Lady Anielle’s worried expression.

“Sorry, but that’s just… Are you crazy?” Sehlan said quieter.

“Look, I know it’s illogical, but come on, look at her.”

They all peered over at her, and she gave them a weak smile, hoping to win their graces.

“I don’t know about this…” Sehlan replied.

Tail spoke up. “I’m with Silavut on this one. Yes, she may have done some abominable things, that doesn’t mean she can’t be redeemed. She may prove herself useful to us. Better than being her slave, or worse.”

Nara nodded. “I hate to say it, but I agree, too.”

Sehlan shook her head. “You’re all crazy. OK, fine.”

Silavut split from the group and went back to Lady Anielle. She looked up at him questioningly. He held out his hand. She took it. He helped her up. “Yes,” he said simply.

[azariahluna]

Stardust Crusaders: Around The World Chapter 4: Silver Chariot!

https://archiveofourown.org/works/15860409/chapters/37741280

“Your Stand has an outstanding speed, but you say you’ll kill me before the clock strikes twelve? You seem to have quite an ego as well, Mr...?”

“Polnareff. Let me introduce myself, I’m Jean Pierre Polnareff.” The Frenchman said.

“I appreciate the introduction, however...” Avdol destroyed the table with his Stand.  

He snapped his fingers and the table with the fire tumbled over. The flames went up, surrounding the table.  

“Monsieur Polnareff, I hope you don’t think my flames only burn upward or from the wind. I can control fire as I wish, hence, Magician’s Red.” Avdol told the Frenchman.

Polnareff scoffed. “Fire is what began life itself. I should have expected as much from Magician’s Red since it represents the beginnings of all things! And yet you speak of ego?” He raised up his arm and opened his hand, revealing five coins.

“This swordsmanship of mine...” He tossed the coins in the air. “...Is this mere ego?!” With his Stand, Silver Chariot, captured all coins with one strike.

Everyone was astonished from this.

“He stabbed through all five coins in a single strike!” Joseph said in shock.

“No Old Man, take a closer look at it.” Jotaro said.

Noriko gasped as she saw what Jotaro meant. “No way!”

Avdol frowned. “Hmph. So I see. He’s even cut a flame between each coin.

Polnareff smirked. “I’m glad you know what this means, Monsieur Avdol.”

“I’m far from being egotistical! My Stand can slash the very air and create gaps between nothingness and nothingness! It even has the power to sever fire. That’s why your flames are useless against my Silver Chariot!”

Diminishing his Stand, the coins fell to the floor and he walked over to the entrance.

“The card behind my Stand, Chariot, stands for conquest and victory. I have no issue in defeating you in this cramped little room but is not your flame ability better suited for a wide-open space, Avdol? Defeating you at your best would be worthy against my Stand.” Polnareff stated.

“All of you, follow me outside, where I’ll slice you up one by one!” He ordered.

They arrived to a strange location that none of them recognize except Noriko.

“What the hell is this?!” Joseph asked.

“It’s Tiger Balm Garden, Mr. Joestar.” Noriko responded.

“Tiger Balm Garden?”

Noriko nodded, “It was created back in 1935 by Aw Boon Haw, who became a millionaire by selling his curative Tiger Balm. Because of the bright colors and strangely carved animals, it became the number one spot in Hong Kong.” She informed.

“Enough chit-chat and follow me!” Polnareff demanded as he kept walking up the stairs.

Once at the top of the stairs, there was an arena-like area. It was spacious enough for both Stand users to battle.

Polnareff turned around, “Allow me to make a prediction on how will this go...”

“Go ahead.” Avdol said.

“First, Avdol, you will be destroyed by your own Stand’s power.” Polnareff declared with a smirk with his Stand appearing behind him.

Avdol narrowed his eyes.

“Avdol...” Jotaro said as he approached the Fortune-Teller.

Avdol looked over at the delinquent. “Don’t worry Jotaro, I won’t need help. As he said before, in an open space like this, I can use my Stand to the fullest.”

He summons Magician’s Red and both Stand users stare at each other for a moment.

“Come on!” Silver Chariot charged at Magician’s Red, swinging his sword at it.

“Come on! Come on! Come on!” Silver Chariot kept swinging his sword at the flaming bird Stand. Magician’s Red kept dodging the blade with his arms crossed.

“What’s wrong?! You’re not going to spit those flames of yours?!” Polnareff provoked. “If not, I’ll finish you right now!”

Silver Chariot began to rapidly swing its sword.

“Come on! Come on! Come on! Come on! Come on! Come on! Come on! Come on!”

Magician’s Red shot multiple fireball projectiles at Silver Chariot. The swordsman Stand hit the fireballs with a single strike, throwing back at a statue. The statue formed into Magician’s Red, mocking the Fortune-Teller.

Everyone gasped as Polnareff smirked.

Joseph clutched his fist. “Dammit! He’s just playing around. He carved a statue of Magician's Red while he was attacking!”

Polnareff tilted his head back with a chuckle. “Not bad, hehehe, you fit perfectly well in garden, Magician’s Red.” He taunted.

Avdol closed his eyes as his Stand began sucking up the particles of flames in its mouth.

Polnareff narrowed his eyes at the man, “Hrm. You’re going to unleash your full power at last...” He muttered. “Interesting...Bring it on!”

Joseph raised his brows as he knew was about going to happen.

“Hey! We need to hide behind something! Avdol is going to use that move or we’ll get burned!” Joseph warned as he ran behind a rock.

“What are you talking about, Old Man?” Jotaro queried as he and Noriko followed the elder Joestar.

“CROSSFIRE HURRICANE!”  

Flaming Ankh’s projectiles launched towards Polnareff.

“Is this the best you can do?! I told you my swordsmanship can create gaps of nothingness where I slice the air, which I’ll use to cut your flames in half!” Polnareff declared.

Silver Chariot deflected the attack back at Avdol.

The flames engulfed both user and Stand.

“Mr. Avdol!” Noriko cried out.

“Avdol! His flames are so intense that it’s burning him and his Stand alive!” Joseph shouted.

“Fwahaha! As I predicted! You will die by your own flames, Avdol!”

Avdol lifted his head up and glared at the Frenchman. He charged Magician’s Red at him.

Polnareff smirked, “Good grief, one last pathetic gasp? This is clearly hard to watch, just die already!”

Silver Chariot slashed the Stand across but the Frenchman noticed something was wrong.

Polnareff shook his head as he glanced at Magician’s Red.

“What the hell was that?!” He queried.

Suddenly he was now engulfed by the flames.

“What?! This is impossible! How can his own Stand injure me after the moment of its own destruction?!” He wondered.

“That’s a dummy you bastard!” Joseph stated as he pointed at the statue Polnareff had just attacked.

“Your eyes were obscured by the flames.” Avdol said as he stood back up. “Your Silver Chariot only succeeded in slicing through the statue it carved earlier!”

Polnareff widened his eyes.

“Perhaps you should’ve taken my word when I told you that I can control my flames at will. The flames that you blew back towards the statue melted its joints and caused it to move. The one defeated by his own stand was you, Polnareff!”

“And now...” He narrowed his eyes. “... Enjoy another helping of my Crossfire Hurricane!”

“TAKE THIS! CROSSFIRE HURRICANE!”

Polnareff was blown away as he screamed in pain from the attack.

“You’re ten years younger too young to challenge a Fortune-Teller in a battle of predictions!” Avdol noted with a smirk.

“Avdol’s Crossfire Hurricane has incredible power.” Joseph commented.

“His Stand must’ve melted in the face of such an attack! He’s done for!”

“That's one hell of a burn. I'm betting he’s dead or wishes he was. He’ll be lucky if he survived that, actually, no that’ll be bad luck.” Jotaro remarked.

Noriko turned around, “Even if he’s alive, he’ll be in bed for months. His Stand is in shambles and it cannot fight.” She said.

“Now, Mr. Joestar.” Avdol walked over to the group with his hands together against his chest. “Let us continue on our journey to Egypt.”

As they walked down the stairs, Silver Chariot’s armor exploded and Polnareff was launched high up in the air.

“What the hell is going on?! His Stand just exploded into pieces and was thrown into the sky!” Joseph stated.

Polnareff opened his eyes.

“He flew up in the air while still lying down!” Noriko said.

“BRAVO!” Polnareff said as he applauds. “OH, BRAVO MONSIEUR!”

“That’s impossible!”

“H-How can this be?!”

“He’s not even hurt!”

“If you look closely, his burns are minor. But how the hell is he still floating in the air like that?” Jotaro said last.

Polnareff chuckled, “Look with your inner eye and see the truth!”

Silver Chariot was now more visible, holding up the Frenchman.

Avdol gasped in shock. “I-It’s h-his...”

Polnareff flipped over and landed on both of his feet.

“You see? This is my Stand, Silver Chariot without its armor!” Polnareff stated.

“You seem surprised.” Polnareff said. “It would be dishonorable of me to defeat you before I explain my previous move to you. It’s only fair, after all.”

“Will you allow me the honor of explaining it?” He asked.

Avdol nodded, “Very well. Let us hear your explanation.” He said as he took a few steps forward.

Polnareff placed both hands on his hips. “My Stand didn’t tear apart and disappear. My Silver Chariot wears protective armor. That is what my Stand removed. Your flames only burned the armor, which is why I escaped with only minor burns.”

He looked to side with full confidence, “And since its armor is gone, is much faster than before!” He stated.

“Did any of you even saw a glimpse of my Stand when it launched me in the air? Indeed, that’s how fast my Stand is now!”

Avdol crossed his arms. “Hmm. I see...because of its heavy armor, it was forced to take the brunt of my Crossfire Hurricane.” He then got in a stance. “However, you’re at a much vulnerable state. Since it lacks proper protection, if I were to attack again, it may not survive!”

“Oui! It may be.” Polnareff said with a smug smirk as he crossed his arms. “But that’s impossible!”

“Impossible? We shall see about that.”

“But first let me show you something that would really freak the hell out of you!”

"Oh? Please do.”

In an instant, Silver Chariot duplicated itself, revealing several clones of the Stand.

The Crusaders jaw dropped in shock.

“What the devil?! He has six...no seven Stands in total!” Joseph pointed out.

“But how is that even possible when you can only have one Stand per user?!” Noriko inquired.

“It appears I’ve succeeded.” Polnareff grinned. “These are after-images!” He chuckled.

“A whole army of Stand after-images to fool your sight and hearing. Your senses won’t be able to follow their movement.”

“How do you like my swordsmanship now, Avdol!” Silver Chariot and the after-images charged at Magician’s Red.

Avdol frowned, “RED BIND!”

Rope-like Flames launched at the after-images but the clones would disappear before they could get hit.

Polnareff laughed as his Stand and the after-images reappeared behind him.

“And just as I finished saying, you won’t stand a chance keeping up with it! Your flames will only keep attacking the images instead of the real thing!”

“AAAAH! TAKE THIS!” Avdol charged forward and unleashed his Red Bind again.

“Striking randomly now, Avdol?” Polnareff crossed his arms. “Desperation isn’t a good look on you my dear Avdol!” He quipped.

“At this rate he’ll exhaust himself.” Noriko commented.

“CROSSFIRE HURRICANE!”

The fortune-teller missed again and created a hole on the ground from his attack.

Polnareff waved his finger, “Non, non, non, non! Have you learned nothing at all today?! That was another after-image! Your attacks will not work on my Stand, you’ll just keep making holes on the ground!”

“Why don’t you just give up already?! COME ON! COME ON! COME ON!”  

Silver Chariot and the after-images charged at Avdol and carved Ankh symbols on his face.

Avdol was pashed a few feet away as he groaned from the pain.

“Avdol!” Jotaro shouted.

“Such precision...His Stand’s ability is impressively well-trained at great length!” Avdol remarked.

“I’ve trained for ten years for personal reasons...” Polnareff stated and lifted up a hand. "Now, shall we hurry and finish this? My next move will finish you.”

“That’s very noble of you to reveal your attack. You’re quite honorable.” Avdol said. “You’ve inspired me; thus, I too will reveal my next attack as a return.”

Polnareff narrowed his eyes. “Oh?” He crossed his arms.

“My Crossfire Hurricane comes in more varieties than the one you’ve already seen.” Avdol explained. “As you already saw, they’re Ankh shaped flame, but it may not remain whole. I am capable of separating it to let the pieces fly independently!”

Flames circle around the fortune-teller and rise up.

“CROSSFIRE HURRICANE SPECIAL! Can you dodge this?!”

Avdol’s flaming Ankh’s divided into multiple pieces, lunging at Polnareff.

“IT’S NO USE AVDOL!”

Polnareff’s Stand and the clones circle around him to block the attack.

“It’s no good! His Stands are in a circular formation!” Joseph said.

“It’s like he thought everything out!” Noriko said.

“NAIVE! NAÏVE! NAÏVE! NAÏVE! NAÏVE! NAÏVE! NAÏVE! SO VERY NAÏVE! I’LL USE YOUR POWER AGAINST YOU JUST AS I DID BEFORE!”

“SLICE IT AND HURL IT BACK!”

Before Polnareff could strike, one of the flaming Ankh’s exploded beneath him.

“WHAT?!”

The Frenchman was thrown up into the sky and plummeted to the ground while burning.

Avdol kneeled down to the ground, he was in front of the hole he had made earlier when he missed his attack on Silver Chariot.

“That’s the hole he made earlier from his flames! I get it now! It makes sense! He first shot was a set up and nothing more! He then used the tunnel to heat it more with his Crossfire Hurricane!” Joseph concluded.

“Like I said, I’m capable of dividing my flames into multiple attacks.” Avdol said as he stood back up.

Polnareff attempted to get up but flopped back to the ground. He lifted his head and saw Avdol standing before him holding a knife.

The Fortune-Teller threw it on the ground in front of Polnareff.

“Burning is a painful way to meet one’s death.” Avdol told him. “Take the dagger and end it while you can.” He turned around and began walking back to the others.

Polnareff grabbed the dagger and raised his arm, aiming at Avdol. Changing his mind, he placed it under his neck but placed it back down on the ground.

“I was too conceited...” He admitted. “I didn't think his flames were a match against my swordsmanship...”

He laid his head down, “Heh, I’ll die honorably burning to death. Since he defeated me, I’ll accept my fate out of respect. Ending my own life would be dishonorable.” He closed his eyes.

Avdol immediately turns around and snapped his fingers. The flames disappeared from the Frenchman.

Noriko and Jotaro smile from his action.

“I see now you truly are a chivalrous man.” Avdol complimented as he approached him.

“You chose to not even attack me with the dagger while my back was turned.” He crouched down, turning over Polnareff. “You have remained honorable despite your orders from Dio.” He lifted the Frenchman’s head. “You don’t deserve to die. Something has to be the cause of all this.” He parted the man’s hair and found the flesh-bud.

“Jojo!” Avdol looked over at Jotaro.

“Got it.” The delinquent replied, summoning Star Platinum.

Joseph cringed from seeing the flesh bud’s tentacles all over the place while Jotaro was in the process of removing it.

“Eugh! Those tentacles are gross!” Joseph tried to look away. “Jotaro hurry up and get the flesh bud out!”

“Shut the hell up, Gramps!” Jotaro said.

Once the flesh bud was removed and disintegrated from the sunlight, Joseph kneeled down next to the Frenchman.

“Now that the flesh-bud is remove, we can be bud-dies! Get it?” Joseph chuckled at it own joke.

Jotaro sighed, “Noriko, doesn’t it piss you off when idiots make a shitty pun?”

Noriko chuckled, “Well it depends what they said.”

Next Day

Noriko treated both Avdol and Polnareff’s wounds from their battle when they had returned to the hotel. When it was the next day, they checked out the hotel, leaving the Frenchman behind.

The Crusaders followed behind Mr. Joestar as he led them down the harbor.

“The boat we chartered from the Speedwagon Foundation yesterday should be here by now.” Joseph said as he looked around.

They stopped when their eyes landed on a muscular man with tall silver hair.

“Polnareff?” Noriko asked.

“What is it that you need, Polnareff?” Avdol queried.

“I never thanked you properly for freeing me from Dio’s mind control.” Polnareff answered.

“You should thank this young gentleman here, Jojo, for that.” Avdol turned his head at the delinquent.

“Don’t bother, I don’t need your thanks.” Jotaro said flatly.

Avdol scoffed, “It appears no one will accept your thanks.”

Polnareff cringed. He then closed his eyes and reopened them. “As you wish, I have no desire to come off heavy handed. But I’m not quite finish here.” He lifted up a hand and approached Joseph.

“Monsieur Joestar, I have a bizarre question to ask you.”

“A bizarre question?” Joseph placed a hand under his chin.

“Pardon my curiosity, but I noticed yesterday in the restaurant you never took your gloves off especially when we were eating. You left hand wouldn’t appear to be a right hand under that glove, is it?”

“What the-? That is a bizarre question.” Joseph observed both his hands. “But my left hand a right hand? What are you hoping to find out through all this?”

Polnareff narrowed his eyes. “I’m searching for the man who murdered my younger sister.” He replied.

Everyone widened their eyes.

“I’ve never seen his face but I do know he has two right hands instead of one of each.”

Joseph removed his gloved, revealing his robotic-prosthetic hand.

“I lost my hand from a battle fifty-years ago.”

Polnareff closed his eyes and glanced down. “Pardon my rudeness, I’m sorry.”

“Do you mind telling us exactly what happened?” Joseph asked.

Polnareff nodded and turned around, walking closer to the ocean.

“It's been three years now...”

France

1985

It was a cold rainy day in a small-country side village in France. Sherry Polnareff was walking down the road from her school with a friend.

“So Sherry, what are your plans for today?” The friend asked.

“Well, I have to cook dinner for my older brother as usual and do some homework. I need to also study for our exams tomorrow. Jean doesn’t like it when I have a failing grade on anything.” Sherry said with a smile.

“Darn it! I had forgotten about the exams!” The friend scolded herself as she stomped the ground with her foot.

“We can study together at my house, Ambre. I’ll even cook dinner for you and I’m sure my big brother would like company. He loves to socialize.” Sherry said.

“Sure, I would like to come over.”

Both girls stop as they saw a man standing on the side of the road with his back turned. Instead of the rain landing on him it was going around him as if he were protected by an invisible shell.

“Sherry do you see that? It looks like the rain is going around him. He’s completely dry!” Ambre whispered to Sherry as she began to worry. “Not only that but I see two right hands instead of one!”

“Let’s go to another route- GYAH! ” The girl’s chest was slashed across.

“A-AMBRE!” Sherry shouted as she watched her friend collapse to the ground bleeding out. She was now alone and defenseless.

Her eyes widened as she saw the man approach her.

“G-Get away!” Sherry shouted at the man.

The man grabbed Sherry by the neck.

“N-NO! S-STOP!” Sherry begged as she tried to escape the man’s grasp. “SOMEONE HELP!”

The stranger began ripping her clothes as Sherry kept pleading for help. The man took her innocence away.

“JEAN!” She cried out as she lifted up an arm before  it fell to the ground.

The attacker walked away as Ambre finally gained consciousness. She was still heavily wounded and looked to the side and her eyes widened from horror.

“S-Sherry...” Ambre said as she tried crawling to her.

Sherry was naked and wasn’t moving.

“Sherry...” Ambre shook Sherry’s body.  

“Sherry wake up!” Tears formed in her eyes.

“No! Sherry!” She called her out again and she began crying.

“I-I'm going to get help, okay Sherry?! I’ll get help!” Ambre stood up and began running with a hand placed on her wound.

“When she found me, she told me everything that had happened. She told me she didn’t get a good look on his face but she knew the man had two right-hands.” Polnareff continued. “The police didn’t believe her testimony but I did! I’ve been hiding my abilities since I was a child and he sounded like a fellow Stand user!” He clutched his fists.

“That man must be a Stand user, I’m sure of it.” Joseph remarked.

“I swore on oath!” Polnareff turned around doing a strange pose.

“I promised my sister’s soul that I would avenge her! To hunt down that bastard and make him pay with his life! I would use my own Stand as a tool for righteous vengeance!”

“A year ago, my travels had led me to Dio!”

Egypt, 1987

Polnareff  walked up on a pair of stairs and saw a man standing next to a table with a crystal ball in the center.

An image appeared, revealing a man with two right arms.

“ That's -!”

“It is a vision,” The muscular man with blonde hair said with a soft and calm tone.  

“It’s not mine but what lies within your heart is being projected through my power.” He had purple vines wrapped around his hand and a hawk on his shoulder.

“What do you say? Would you like to be my friend,  Polnareff ?”

The Frenchman starred at him with fear.

“Why don’t you work with me and all of your pain and suffering will end.”  Dio  crossed his arms with a devious smirk. “The image on the globe pains you, doesn’t it?”

“I, too, suffer with misfortune. I can’t even step out in the sunlight because of it. If you work for me, I’ll help you find this man who haunts you so!”  

Dio’s  hair flared up, revealing weird tentacle bugs on it. They charged at  Polnareff  as he only stood there.

“AAAAAAAHH!!!”

“Then, he ordered me to kill you guys. I had believed it was the right thing to do in order to find the man who killed my sister.” Polnareff explained.

Avdol crossed his arms. “Most of it had to do with the flesh-bud but Dio’s skill in manipulating is quite terrifying.”

"I agree,” Noriko nodded. “And judging by your story, I assume Dio has already found the man you’re seeking and both have joined forces.” She crossed her arms.

Polnareff turned to the side, “I’ve made up my mind! I’ll go with all of you to Egypt!” He declared.

“If I head the direction where Dio is, I’ll find the man who killed my sister!"

Noriko smirked as she placed a hand on her hip, “What do you guys think?”

“I have no objections.” Avdol responded.

“Hmph.” Jotaro pulled the tip of hat down.

“You’re just gonna follow us either way.” Joseph said.

Name: Jean Pierre Polnareff

Stand:  Silver Chariot

Powers: Fast and precise swordsmanship

“It’s an honor.” Polnareff remarked.

Jotaro sighed, “Gimme a b-hm?” He was cut off by a girl.

“Excuse me!” A girl with a friend approached the delinquent with excitement.

“Can you snap a quick picture of us?” The girl asked.

“He’s so dreamy! What a perfect excuse to talk to him!” The girl thought.

“This is our chance!”

“Pretty please!”

“We want it facing the ocean.”

Noriko saw an annoyed look on Jotaro’s face. He was getting more irritated as they kept begging him.

“Shut the hell up and fuck off!” Jotaro snapped at the girls.

“JoJo!” Noriko scolded. “I don’t understand how girls fall for this guy even when he’s rude to them. Yes, he has the looks but his behavior towards woman is unforgivable!”

“Now, now,” Polnareff intervened. “I’ll gladly take a picture of you two!”

He scooted the girls away, “Come on, I can take great pictures too!” He added with a smile.

“With your banging legs, we will need a full body-shot.” He said with a wink.

The others starred at him as he began taking pictures of both girls. They were perplexed from the Frenchman’s sudden change of personality.

“Something about him alludes me...” Avdol remarked as he looked back at everyone.

“Talk about a mood swing.” Noriko commented.

“He’s the kind of guy who keeps his brain in his pants.” Joseph said.

Jotaro grunted under his breath, “Gimme a damn break.” He muttered.

To Be Continued.....

[stilesderekscottissacandme]

Fury

The events in this chapter are going to put off the events in the show. Timing will be very off. I'm sorry for the inconvenience.

I sat up and looked around, I saw that I was in a car in front of the Hale house. I could hear someone's heart beat...Wait, nope that was my own heart beat, drumming in my ears. A wave of disappointment flooded my body, as I reached up and felt my shoulder. The bite was still there but I wasn't dead, either? This doesn't make any sense. I opened the door, dizzily stepping out, I landed on the ground with a thud and a grunt of annoyance. I used the car to pull myself to my feet, and leaned against it as I walked. When I got passed the car, I realized that it belonged to Deaton. I sighed in relief as I realized that Deaton was here and he would know what was going on. I was very shaky and I kept stumbling with out having something to hold on to. I felt utterly weak. When I got on the porch I saw that Deaton was talking to Derek. I couldn't hear what they were saying so I walked closer. Before I got to them, however, my head started hurting and before I knew it I was on the ground shaking and screaming in pain. I blacked out, again.

"Is she going to be okay?" I heard a familiar voice ask in a rushed voice.

"I don't know, and I won't until she wakes up." Another voice said. I knew who they belonged to but I seemed too far gone to put it with the name and face.

"This is all your fault, Derek!" Yet another voice said. I tried to open my eyes but my eyelids were too heavy.

"She asked me too! Did you even know that she was cutting again? Or did you even care? Did you know that she had a bottle of pills and a fucking suicide note hidden under her bed?" Said Derek. I felt suddenly sick, as if him knowing about that was too much. I still couldn't move any part of my body.

"What..?" I heard the same voice ask. Then I sat up and screamed, my entire body felt like it was on fire and when everyone rushed over to me Deaton held up his hands and everyone froze.  I stopped screaming for a second as I realized what was happening. But that only lasted a few seconds. I noticed who all was in the room with me. Derek, Scott, Stiles, and Deaton.

"What's happening. Is she dying?" Stiles yelled. I screamed again and everyone tried to rush to me but I held one finger in the air, causing them to stop. Every nerve in my body felt like it had been set on fire. Then, my body started smoking. I could hear them gasp.

"No. She is not dying, Stiles." Deaton said as I screamed. I could feel the fire burning my throat as tears welled in my eyes.

"She's regenerating." Derek said. And not even a minute later I felt the flames overtake my body as I left the table.

"Oh, holy god. That doesn't look god. Are you sure she isn't dying? Or possibly possessed...By Satan?" I heard Stiles ask as I screamed. It took far longer than the first time I regenerated. Stiles had to leave the room and Scott held down by Derek because he kept trying to help me. But I didn't need help. I slowly began to hear their heart beats, and I knew it worked. After 30 or some minutes I fell back on the table. My clothes gone, Deaton tried to put a towel around me but it simply burned into ash as soon as it touched my skin.

I covered myself and told them to come look at this. Underneath my skin, were flames, they were orange and yellow and red and It made it possible to see all  of my veins. No one said anything until the biggest flame burned out, the one above my heart.

"That..Was...Freaking AWESOME!" Stiles yelled. We all laughed and Scott went out to the jeep to get me some clothes. I always kept a bag of spare clothes in the trunk. Once I got dressed they all came back in, asking me how I felt. And let me tell you, I felt better than I had in months..

"Can you shift?" Scott asked out of no where, so I tried to shift. I thought of all of the bullshit that has happened to me over the past few months. I thought of the kanima, and Matt...But the thing that got me to the point of shifting wasn't what has happened to me. It was watching Victoria Argent die willingly at the hands of her own husband.

It was different than any other time I shifted though.. Not only did my eyes, teeth and nails, change. I felt my ears perk up and my face scrunch together. Everyone looked at me in shock as I ran over to see my reflection. My fangs, they were like Scott's. my ears, like Scott's. My face..Like Scott's. I wasn't a Guardian, I was a werewolf, the thing that confirmed this were my eyes. They weren't the dark purple color I had seen that night at the school when Peter made Scott and I change..They were a golden yellow. I felt my heart rate increase as I turned around. Anger flooded my body, clouding any logical thinking as I lunged myself at Derek.

"You did this! You lied to me! This is all your fault!" I screamed at I hit him in the face repeatedly, until Scott changed behind me, Derek too, Scott grabbed my arms and tried to restrain me. But the new found power, and strength I had made it easier to break free and attack him too. My eyes caught sight of Deaton and I let a growl escape my throat as I walked towards him. "You! You lied to me as well! You said I would be a Guardian agai-" I was cut off by something sticking into my neck. I turned around to see Scott holding a needle with a bottle of..Ketamine..by his feet. My body went numb and I shifted back to my human form before falling, only to be caught by Derek. I was pulled into the oblivion of unconsciousness. Silently I thanked Scott for stopping me.

When I woke up I was still in the animal clinic. I looked around to see no one was in the room but I could smell Derek and Deaton. And hear their heart beats.. I tried sitting up but my body was still way too heavy to do so. I kept my eyes closed to pretend I was still asleep, even though I knew Derek would hear my heart beat.

"I don't know Derek, I have never heard of a Guardian being bitten again and changing to a werewolf. It's completely new. But I'll look into it. She might be your beta now, but she is still tethered to Scott." I heard Deaton say. So, now I'm a werewolf.  Great.

"She's awake." Derek said before walking into the room. I opened my eyes. "How do you feel?"  He asked looking down at me. I shrugged thinking of something to say.

"Well, I'm tired. And I no longer feel the need to kill anyone. So that's good right?" I asked, Derek just smiled down at me and for a second his eyes seemed to fall on my lips before his heart rate picked up a little bit but within seconds it was back to normal.

"Good. Now, we need to talk..." Derek said. I looked from him to Deaton and nodded.

"We think that something went wrong during your transformation. But because you regenerated we believe that there is a chance that you might get your powers back. Now I'm not giving you my word, Alex. I don't know for sure. But maybe you will." Deaton said.  At least now I'm stronger and more capable of doing this. It was way different from being a Guardian, it was a different kind of strength and a far different feeling while I was changed. I wanted to kill people, I wanted to kill Derek and Deaton and even Scott.

"So, what you're saying is that I'm a werewolf now? I can't heal people? I can't protect them like I could before?" I asked as I tried sitting up. It failed and I laid back down.

"Yeah, basically. And you will be able to sit up in a few minutes, don't strain yourself." Deaton said. Then I thought about Scott and Stiles. Where the hell could they be? It was already dark outside and I had this feeling that something wasn't right.

"Where is Scott?" I asked as I looked around frantically. My eyes landed on Derek's and I searched them for any sign.

"They're talking to Stilinski at the moment. Why?" Derek asked. I felt my heart rate speed up and knew something wasn't right. I could feel it in my chest and my entire body.

"Derek, we need to find them. Call them. Call them right now." I said. Derek looked at me with confusion in his eyes. "Derek! Now!" I yelled. The adrenaline pumping in my veins made me feel the strength in my body. Derek grabbed a phone and dialed the number. I heard it go to voicemail and looked at Deaton. I asked him what time it was and he said it was 2 am. The adrenaline made it to where I could feel my body twitching. I concentrated very hard and somehow, I got my claws out and dug them into my leg. Derek said that pain triggered the healing process, so I thought maybe healing would make it to where I could move and such.

"Alex.. Smart idea, triggering the healing. But if you really think that Scott is in trouble and you need to get to him. I can give you a small boost of adrenaline, it won't be a lot but it will enable movement. Your body will take over then." Deaton said and I just nodded my head as fast as I could. I closed my eyes as the needle went into my arm, I always thought that adrenaline was supposed to be injected in your chest. Hmm... A second after the needle left my arm I sat up.

Derek and I went to Stiles' house first, noticing that they weren't there and neither was Stilinski we went to my house. Only to find that the jeep and cruiser weren't there either. That left one place, so we went to the sheriff station and sure enough parked in front was the jeep. When we got out and walked over to the door and knocked I heard someone walking behind me, Derek heard it too as he turned around with his fangs out. It was too late for me, there was small cut on the back of my neck, and I fell into Derek's arms, he continued to try and get them to hear us and as soon as Scott opened the door I saw Matt standing behind him with a gun pointed at his head. Stiles walked into the room with confusion plastered on his face.

"Oh, thank God." Was Scott's genius acknowledgement. As if Derek carrying me in his arms didn't throw up any red flags. Like the hell? I was tossed aside as I assume Derek's neck was scratched I landed in Scott's arms. I could see Jackson standing in the door way all scales and stuff, but he was still Jackson. He just had scales and orange slitted eyes, and oh yeah, claws and teeth.  

"This is the one controlling him? This kid?" Derek asked and I scoffed.

"Well, Derek, not everyone's lucky enough to be a big, bad werewolf. Oh, yeah, that's - that's right. I've learned a few things lately. Werewolves, hunters, kanimas, Guardians. It's like a frickin' Halloween party every full moon. Except for you, Stiles. What do you turn into? How about Alex?" Matt said and I could feel my heart rate rise and anger flood my veins. Stiles was going to say something so I bit my tongue.

"Abominable snowman. But, uh, it's more of, like, a wintertime thing, you know, seasonal." He said, earning a paralytic cut on his neck. He fell to the ground almost instantly.

"Hey!" Scott and I yelled at the same time. Matt then told Scott to drop me and before Scott could reply I told him it was fine. I ended up landing on Derek's chest. Fucking great.

"You bitch." I heard Stiles mumble from the other side of Derek.

"Get me off of him!" I all  but yelled in their direction. This only caused Matt to laugh.

"Oh, I don't know, Alex. I think you two make a pretty good pair. It must kinda suck, though, to have all that power taken away from you with just a little cut to the back of the neck. I bet you're not used to feeling this helpless." He said directing the last part to Derek. What he doesn't know is that I am not even human anymore.

"Still got some teeth. Why don't you get down here a little closer, huh? We'll see how helpless I am." Derek retorted with a growl.,

"Yeah, bitch." Stiles said to Matt. Wow Stiles, come on, it's going to be your mouth that gets you killed.

"Is that her? Do what I tell you to and I won't hurt her. I won't even let Jackson near her." Matt said and I heard Scott's heart rate speed up. Mom? Why is mom here?

"Scott, don't trust him!" I yelled as I tried to regain feeling in my body. It was useless. Before I even knew what was going on I felt Matt flip me over and onto my back. He stuck his foot on my throat, making it hard to breathe. I couldn't even so much as struggle against the foot crushing my wind pipes.

"This work better for ya?" Matt asked, I couldn't hear anyone else's heart beat over my own. It was beating loudly in my head. I felt tears sting my eyes as more pressure was applied. I couldn't even take the small breaths that I took when he first put his foot on my throat.

"Okay, just stop! Stop!" I heard Scott yell. Matt just added a small amount of pressure but that was enough for the tears to spill over my eyes and down my cheeks. I snapped my eyes closed and tried to stay conscious.

"Then do what I tell you to." I heard Matt snap before releasing the pressure just enough to allow a small amount of air to access my lungs.

  "Okay. All right. Stop!" Scott yelled again. The pressure was immediately taken off and I choked in the biggest breath I could. I felt like I was going to be sick as I watched Matt and Scott walk to the door way.

"You, take 'em in there." He said to Jackson who dragged Stiles and Derek into the other room first, me following in pursuit. "You - with me." I heard Matt say to Scott. I strained my ears to hear what was going on out there.

Mom?  I heard Scott ask in a pretty small voice. He sounded as scared as I felt.

You scared me, where is every - I heard  mom stop abruptly, she caught sight of the gun.

Mom, just do what he says. He promised he wouldn't hurt you. Scott said, by now I could hear the other heart beats, and in a matter of seconds everyone's heart beat sky rocketed.,

He's right. Matt said before a loud gun shot rang through the building.

Scott! Stiles! What happened?  I heard Sheriff ask from a distance.

But I didn't say I wouldn't hurt you. Matt said and I felt the anger boil up and manifest even worse than before.

Wait, baby - I heard mom cry but she was cut off by Matt.

Back, back! He yelled and I could hear her let out a cry.

Mom, mom, stop, mom!  Scott yelled and I didn't even need to see what was happening to know that Melissa was just trying to save her son..

I said get back! Matt yelled.

Scott. Mom's frail voice rattled through my skull.

Mom, do it. Please, mom. Scott begged and I could feel with everything in me if I were to come across his. I was going to end him. I had to.

Get up, McCall. Matt ordered and I began to hear footsteps.

Matt? Matt, listen to me - I heard Sheriff say.

Shut - shut - shut up! Everybody shut the hell up! Now, get up, or I shoot her next!  Matt ordered and I tried with everything in me to get myself to shift because maybe if I did I could save them.

Please, he needs to see a doctor. Mom cried and honestly I was relived that that wasn't really the case. He just needs to get the damn bullet out so that it can heal correctly

You think so?  Matt laughed and I tried to do something with my body anything.

Hey, hey, you listen to me!  Sheriff yelled. I know he's trying to help but maybe he needs to stop..He might get himself or Scott or mom killed.

It's all right. I'm okay. Scott said and I could hear the pain in his voice, but as soon as the bullet comes out he'll be okay. If only mom knew that.

No, honey, you're not okay. She said and I felt a pang of guilt hit me. We really shouldn't have left her in the dark about this. I know where Scott's coming from with not wanting to tell his mom that he's a freaking werewolf, but still...

It doesn't hurt, mom.  Scott said and I knew that he was just doing this to calm her down because I could smell the pain in the air.

'Cause that's the adrenaline, okay? Please, let me - let me just take a look at him, okay? I mean, I can help stop the bleeding. Mom said and I felt a sudden wave of annoyance and knew that Matt wasn't happy.

They have no idea, do they?  Matt asked Scott with a humorless laugh.

Please. Let me just take a quick look. I - Mom began but was cut off yet again.

Shut - shut - shut - shut up! Lady, if you keep talking, I'm gonna put the next bullet through his head. Matt yelled and I heard them walk into another room, a closer room and we all caught sight of Matt pulling up his shirt to reveal blue and green scales, like Jackson's.

"Hey. You know what's happening to Matt?" Stiles asked causing my head to twitch, which is probably the paralyzed similarity to jumping..

"I know, the book's not gonna help him. You can't just break the rules, not like this."  Derek said and I thought about what he was trying to say but honestly I couldn't come up with anything.

"What do you mean?" Stiles asked before I could.

"Universe balances things out. Always does." Derek said as if we should already know this. I kinda thought about it for a second and it made perfect sense. If Matt is controlling Jackson then he can't also kill others while using Jackson, put that on top of the fact they aren't even murderers and bam! Matt's the kanima.

"Is it because he's using Jackson to kill people who don't deserve it?" Stiles asked, finally starting to get it.

"And killing people himself." I said and everyone went quiet for a second, as if they had forgotten I was there.

"So if Matt breaks the rules of the kanima, he becomes the kanima?" Stiles asked and I did my best to nod. Which pretty much was a nod because I could still move my head and neck...But from the neck down...

"Balance." Derek said and I turned my head to look at him.

"Will he believe us if we tell him that?" Stiles asked and I just shook my head. Matt is the one running around with control over a freaking kanima, miss using the kanima and now the universe is creating a likely balance. There's no way that he will believe us. He is deranged. He is murderous, and he just fucking shot Scott.

"Not likely." I said and I kept thinking. Going through possibilities of how to do this. I need to save Scott, Stiles, Stilinski, Mom and somehow keep myself from killing Jackson and Matt.

"Okay, he's gonna kill all of us when he gets that book, isn't he?" Stiles asked and I just inwardly cringed at the question.

"Yep." Derek said as I finally began to get the gears spinning in my head. An idea was forming.

"All right, so what do we do? Do we just - do we just sit here and wait to die?" Stiles asked and I glared in the direction, Derek blocking the way, our eyes locked for a few seconds and Derek was the one to break it.

"Unless I can figure out a way to push the toxin out of my body faster. Like triggering the healing process." Derek said and the plan was complete. But I still couldn't do anything with the rest of my body. Greeeaaat.

"Wha - oh, what are you doing? Aw, gross." Stiles said as the familiar scent of blood flooded my nose. I had the feeling that Derek was able to retract his claws.

"Derek, help me out here." I said and Derek's head turned towards me.

"Are you sure?" He asked and I simply nodded as soon as the last word left his mouth. Then, I felt all five claws enter my thigh and grunted. He began moving them around and I had to bite my tongue in order not to let a growl escape. I clamped my eyes shut. Derek seemed to stop.

"I'm fine. Keep going." I breathed, opening my eyes with a deep breath. Derek's claws began moving around again and I had to focus on something else in order to distract myself from the pain. It was worse than I thought it'd be, with the whole paralyzed from the neck down thing, I assumed it'd be numb.. I decided to listen to the conversation taking place in the room next to us.

There. You know, I - I feel sorry for you, McCall, 'cause right now, you're thinkin', "how am I gonna explain this when it heals?" And the sad part is, you don't even realize how incredible it is that you actually are healing. 'Cause you know what happens to everyone else when they get shot? They die. I heard Matt hissed at Scott. He was right, most people die. Most people can't come back from death..

Is that what happened to you? You drowned, didn't you?  Scott asked and I just thought to myself, he might have drowned but he didn't die and he has no reason to tell people that.

He shouldn't have let them drink. I heard Matt say and I didn't have time to so much as think of what he meant.

What - who - Matt, what do you mean?  Scott asked for me.

Lahey! He shouldn't have let them drink. Matt yelled and I felt myself cringe as his heart rate sped up. Derek's claws were still deep enough in my thigh I thought I could feel finger tips.

What, who was drinking? Scott asked. I could tell he was still trying to keep his cool, but there was also something else in his voice. Like he wanted to help Matt. Leave it to Scott McCall to try and save everyone.

The swim team, you idiot! I didn't know what was happening. I didn't know they had just won state, and Lahey, he's letting his favorites come over to have a couple drinks to celebrate. Who cares if they're 17, right? Matt snapped and I felt my own heart rate speed up as I thought of a bunch of drunk teenagers and a kid who swears he drowned...

Were you at Isaac's? Scott asked and I nodded in response. I felt Derek look over at me and craned my head towards the room they were in, knowing he would hopefully listen too.

He had this first edition Spider - man, or was it Batman? And we were gonna make a trade. But then I'm over there and I hear music. And everyone's having a good time, and I see Sean. He throws Jessica in the pool. And then - and then Bennett goes in and - Matt began but was cut off by Scott.

Bennett? What - the hunter? Scott asked and I just sighed. Of course it was the hunter, Scott.

And then Camden. Isaac's jarhead brother, he grabs me. He thinks it's funny. Matt said and I didn't even need to hear the rest of the story to know what happened next.

They threw you in. Scott said, piecing everything together.

I - I yelled that I can't swim, but nobody listens. I go under and I swallow water, and no one cares. And I see these bodies underwater. I - I see Jessica's got her hands down Sean's board shorts. Tucker's grabbing Kara. And I'm drowning. I'm dying, and they're laughing. All of a sudden, I was just - I'm lying by the pool. And Lahey is right there, right above me, and he says -Matt said and I braced myself for what he was going to say next.

 He says, "you tell no one!"   "This, this is your fault!" "What little bastard doesn't know how to swim?"  And I didn't. I didn't tell anyone. And I would see them at school, and they wouldn't even look at me. I'd wake up in the middle of the night. I'd gasp for breath. And my parents, they thought I was an asthmatic. They - they - they - they even gave me an inhaler. They didn't know that every time I closed my eyes, I - I was drowning. You know about that little white light that they talk about, you see when you die? Well, I didn't see anything. Just darkness. Everything was dark. But then - then came the Argent's funeral, and everything changed I was taking some photos, and then, purely by accident, Lahey gets in one of the photos. I look down at the screen on my camera, and I just had this unbelievable rage that fills up inside of me, and I just - I look at him, and I - I wanna see him dead. And the next day, he actually was. You know, Einstein was right. Imagination is more important than knowledge. It was like something out of Greek mythology. Like - like the furies coming down to punish Orestes. You have no idea what I'm talking about, do you?  Matt asked I knew that Scott had no idea, I did, I have always found mythology very interesting..

Was - was he the guy who stabbed out his eyes? Scott asked and I felt a laugh bubble up but held it back this wasn't the time for that.

God, that's Oedipus, you dumbass! The furies are deities of vengeance. Their tears ran of blood, and they had snakes for hair. If there was a crime that had gone unpunished, the furies would do the punishing. Jackson is my fury. You know, when I saw him the next night, it was like this bond had been cemented between the two of us. I knew he had killed Lahey for me, and I knew he would do it again. So I went to Tucker's garage. I even paid for an oil change. And guess what. He didn't even recognize me. So when he wasn't looking, I took a shot of him from my camera. And in a few hours, he was dead So I took more pictures. All I had to do was take their picture - And Jackson would take their life. Matt said and I felt utterly sick. In the back ground I could hear Stilinski struggling against something metal.

"So is that hypothetical situation we talked about getting any less hypothetical?" Stiles asked as Derek dug around in my thigh some more.

"I think so. I can move my toes." Derek said and I rolled my eyes.

"Dude, I can move my toes." I retorted. Then I started hearing gun shots. The Argents? Why the hell are they here? This could be a good thing though right?

"What is this? What is this? What's happening? What's going on?" I heard Matt yell through gunfire.

I don't know. I heard Scott mumble before I began to feel my body flood with adrenaline. Then the room flooded with white smoke. I looked over to Derek with large eyes. I could move my body which was a good thing.

"Take him!" Derek said and I looked over to see him pulling himself up. Then he pulled me to my feet, and I swayed for a second before getting my balance back.

"Go!" I said to Scott who had Stiles up and an arm around his shoulder.

"Alex, do you think you can control your shift?" Derek asked me, he had already wolfed out. I shook my head. There was no way I could shift with this much excitement going on around me."Okay, stay close." Derek said before walking out of the room. I followed Derek back to a cell. I believe it might have been the same one that Isaac was in only a month before. Derek growled and showed his teeth when we entered the room. I wasn't even paying attention to who exactly was in the cell, because in the other doorway came the kanima. It wasn't until I heard mom call my name that I looked over to see who was in the cell.

I wasn't able to do anything  but stand and watch Derek take on the kanima by himself. Then my eyes met Matt's and I charged. He threatened mom, shot Scott and lying on the ground unconscious was Stilinski. I felt anger bubble up in my chest as my hands wrapped around Matt's throat, his feet dangled in the air.. He struggled, by kicking me in the stomach, which unfortunately knocked the air out of me and I dropped him back on the ground. In those few seconds I shifted. I ran at Matt with a growl and slashed his arm before the kanima charged  at me, I countered it's attack by ducking. I heard mom gasp and knew that she had seen either my face, ears, eyes, or claws. She knows I'm not human...Does...Does she think I'm a monster? My thought process was disturbed by the kanima hissing in my face.

Derek came and helped me fight it off. I grabbed a desk chair and held it up while Derek growled I went to push it at the kanima but it was far too strong, seeing as it used the chair to throw me over the desk. I hit my head pretty hard and darkness flooded my vision, by the time I recovered I seen the kanima holding itself upside down in the air on the cell that mom was in. She backed up in fear and I saw Scot enter the room, wolfed out. He looked at me and it was like a connection was made as we both clawed the kanima in the back and threw it down. Scott was knelt down with one hand on the ground. I was standing beside him.

"Oh, God, Scott? Scott, you okay? Scott?" Mom said and I heard Scott's heart rate increase as he tilted his head to look at her.  "No!" She gasped as she saw her son, and foster daughter turned into...monsters. I watched her back herself up to the far wall holding her hands to her face and in that moment Scott and I shared an unknowable pain. I then decided to follow Derek to try and find the kanima. We were walking around when we heard 2 heart beats. We stopped at a corner and listened.

"What are you doing here? It wasn't supposed to happen like this." I heard Scott say and I was utterly confused for a few seconds.

"Trust me, I'm aware of that." I heard the familiar voice of Gerard Argent say and I felt my heart drop.

"I've done everything that you've asked of me. I'm part of Derek's pack, I've given you all the information that you wanted, I told you Matt was controlling Jackson -" Was Scott's response. I felt like I was going to be sick and was about to walk around the corner when Derek grabbed my arm and pulled me into him, clasping one hand around my mouth so we could listen.

"Then leave him to us. Help your friends. Leave Matt and Jackson to me. Deal with your mother. Go!" Gerard said and I turned my body into Derek's and silently sobbed. He set a hand on the low of my back and the other on my hair while I cried, not making a sound.

"You dropped this." I heard Scott say and I grabbed a handful of Derek's shirt. There has to be more to this. Scott wouldn't lie to Derek and I. Well, maybe Derek, but me? Scott has never lied to me. What the hell is going on?

"Go!" Gerard yelled. I cringed and felt like I was going to be sick. Derek try to soothe me as I cried even harder. I felt so betrayed. I felt utterly alone. If I can't trust Scott, who can I trust?

[texting-an-alien]

The Welders: Chapter Seven

Chapter Seven: 100% Mature

“Aren’t you a little old for that," Patrick asked as I poured milk into my cereal.

I looked over and glared. Slamming the milk carton down and taking a seat, I wrapped one of the quilts tighter around me. I had woken up not even 5 minutes ago due to Patrick's obnoxious pestering about how grams was going to be here in half an hour, which could potentially be dangerous to everyone. Apparently, she had called Barney and Barney had told Patrick she was coming to talk about what to do with the fact I now knew about my family's secret.

“You have your gross, generic, rice squares and I will have my Lucky Charms. Thank you very much," I replied, stuffing an entire spoonful of marshmallows into my mouth.

“They’re Wheaties and they’re healthy," he grumbled and sat down across from me.

“Is this the true Patrick? Not banana and mayonnaise sandwiches but actual healthy food?” I sarcastically gasped and he rolled his eyes.

“Oh no, I’ve got an entire jar of mayo in that fridge but breakfast is the one meal of the day I will not ruin with ketchup or cheese," he clarified and I fake gagged on my spoon.

After a few moments of silent chomping and launching soggy pieces of cereal at each other, Patrick checked his watch and decided we should get to the wall before grams did. He gave me one of his flannels to wear over my tank top from yesterday and beanie before opening the door and letting me go first.

The entire camp was already in full swing. People were up and about, talking and laughing. There was music playing from one corner of the camp and I noticed a few of the people I had met yesterday were playing flutes and fiddles, tuning them slowly and carefully, before playing a quick tune. There was another sound mixed in, one from yesterday. The clanging and banging sound I had heard from when I back near the wall. I now saw it was multiple people banging hammers against metal and wood tables. They wore leather aprons and their faces were extremely smudged, they took the Welders to a whole new level. I’m not sure what I was expecting though, pointy hats with magic wands?

“What are they doing?” I asked as we walked.

“I’ll explain later, we need to worry about grams right now," Patrick hurriedly said and placed his arm over my shoulders.

I didn’t say anything until we left the camp and began to head towards the wall. When we had successfully the small brick columns I looked up at Patrick and asked, “So… what’s the deal with the wall?”

He sighed and replied, “Every now and then we get animals like deer and bears that we don’t exactly want walking through the camp, therefore the wall was built. It was going to be back there were those brick things are but Barney thought we needed more room to expand."

We stood at the wire gate with the glass orb at the center, waiting from my grandmother to rain he fiery wrath down upon us.

“What are you going to tell grams?” I asked, leaning against the wall after about 5 minutes of waiting.

“Boy you have more questions than yesterday," Patrick chuckled and I rolled my eyes. “I’m going to explain how you got here and how I think it is a good idea for you to stay."

“Stay?”

“You know, here. With the Welders."

“And like learn magic."

“Well duh."

“Would I be aloud to leave?  I mean half the people here look like they haven’t seen a working toilet in years."

“Once again: duh. I get to leave whenever, the others just choose not to. Everyone's families are either in Europe or some other camp, they have no reason to leave. Besides, there is no way I could keep my cousin hostage."

“Like you wouldn’t try."

“True," Patrick agreed.

“Then I suppose it is a good thing I am here." A voice said and we both turned to the fence.

Even here, my grandmother was wearing her pastel blue skirt and blazer, she looked way out of place with the trees...and the dirt...and nature really. She was carrying a large red duffel bag that looked more natural than she did. Patrick quickly unlocked the gate, producing a skeleton key out of nowhere and placed the padlock on a protruding brick.

“Look at you," My grandmother said as she stood beside us. “Not even 24 hours here and you already look like a pretween lumberjack."

“Hang on now, I am at least 85% sure you gave me that shirt," Patrick defended as I glanced down at the yellow and green flannel.

“Yes I know," she replied and smiled at him. He scoffed and began rechaining the gate. “And I regret it every time I see him wear it," she whispered to me and I couldn’t help but snicker.

My grandmother didn’t say anything until we were outside of the trailer. She looked over the camp, a smile on her face, and said, “Isn’t it odd how nothing changes?”

“How long has it been since you were here?” I asked as I opened the door.

“A few months, four at the most." grams replied and entered. “I also see the state of your residence hasn’t changed either."

“At least I keep my room at home clean," he grumbled.

“I suppose, besides, I didn’t walk all the way into this forest and to this camp to tell you to wash the dishes." grams replied and sat down at one of the kitchen chairs. Patrick did the same which left me to sit across from them on the couch.

“Can I just say we should treat this like any other new Welder? She has a right to learn anything that I have been learning for the past 10 years," Patrick finally suggested after a very long and awkward silence.

I looked at him, shocked that he had been here for 10 years while my grandmother said, “Well obviously."

It was my grandmothers turn to be looked at in shock as I asked, “Wait, you’re letting me stay?”

“Well there’s no point in me taking you away from here, you already know. What I’m wondering is do you want to stay," My grandmother replied, linking her fingers together and sitting back.

I glanced from Patrick to my grandmother and back to Patrick. My grams never already had her mind made up in a few hours. As far as I knew, Patrick had contacted her to tell her where I was this morning, which wasn’t that much time. She usually had to sleep on it or at least bribe her into giving you an answer. In this amount of time, it was a new highscore.

“Uhm… wait. Really?” I asked, still not sure if what I had heard was true. Maybe this place really was magic.

“Of course darling, what’s the point of dragging you kicking and screaming out of here when you already know basically everything," she replied. “Now, do you want to stay or not?”

“Absolutely," I quickly replied, almost before the question was out of her iridescent pink lips.

“Wonderful, otherwise I would have packed all these clothes for nothing." grams smiled and nudged the duffle bag towards me with her toe.

I quickly picked it up and unzipped it, finding most of my sweaters and jeans along with a different pair of shoes. Also inside was my picture frame of my mother and I on my 6th birthday.We had gone to the county fair.

“Thank you for grabbing the picture," I said and looked up at her.

“I’d thought you’d want that, always good to keep home with you. Now then, onto suitable housing-” My grams started, ready to go full architect on me.

“She can stay here. At least until I get sick of her or she decides that me leaving the toilet seat up is enough to make her want to move out," Patrick butted in.

“Alrighty, I guess that’s it then. I’ll come check in on Tuesday to make sure everything's running smoothly. Patrick I trust you’ll look out for Amy, teach her if you want." grams said, eyeing Patrick who quickly nodded. “Good, good. Then I will see you on Tuesday darlings."

She stood and Patrick and I followed, she opened the door and was halfway to the wall before I turned to my cousin and wondered out loud, “Did that really just happen?”

“Yep," he replied and held up a fist. I bumped it and he let out an airy laugh, turning back into the trailer.

“Huh," I decided and followed Patrick.

+++++++++

I felt like I was supposed to be freaking out. That I was supposed to be hyperventilating and having a midlife crisis. Not sitting next to Lee as he whittled a stick to a very sharp point. Not watching Cameron skillfully braid and bead a piece of jewelry that was more intricate than I could have ever done.

“So, Amy, you’ve decided to join to the band of misfit magicians?” The long haired boy asked me, blowing the pieces of saw dust of his sharpened stick. This guy had my kind of humor.

“I was thinking more Hogwart rejects," I replied and he chuckled.

We were all sitting around the fire, which seemed to always be burning, while Delia was picking at pieces of grass and trying to mimic Cameron's movements. It wasn’t until I looked away from Cameron's fingers did I notice how closely Patrick was looking at Griffin who was stabbing at the fire with Lee’s messed up branches.

I leaned over to Patrick and whispered, “Do I know Griffin from somewhere? His name is really familiar."

Patrick looked as if he had been caught in the middle of a bank robbery and replied, “No, nope, never. I mean, when would you have ever met someone else named Griffin?”

“Hmm? I heard my name," Griffin said, looking up from his deep concentration. Patrick quickly disregarded it, his cheeks burning pink and I curiously looked between them.

It was clear nothing else was going to happen for the rest of the day. We basically repeated everything from the night before, except now it was lunch and it appeared Griffin and Cameron was a hot spot for good food. Eventually Ferris joined us, sporting a very interesting vintage civil war coat that I made a mental note to ask about later.

“I think you’ll get used to us soon enough," Griffin said, putting a blanket around Cameron’s shoulders how instantly began to sign something and Griffin smiled.

“She says that you’ll get used to everyone but me. Apparently my feet stink," Griffin said, playfully glaring at Cameron.

“Alright enough chit chat, soups on! Actually we had soup yesterday, today you’re getting chicken." Ferris said setting out a large plate of barbecued chicken on the same tree stump from yesterday.

“Aren’t all 17 year olds to only know how to make cereal and ramen noodle?” I asked Patrick as we stood in line, already eating a rolls from a basket that had been passed down a few moments ago.

“Well in secret wizard camps you get free cooking lessons," Patrick replied, reaching for a chicken leg. I rolled my eyes but didn’t say anything, my stomach growling.

If I was going to stay here, somebody was going to have to sign me up for these secret magic cooking lessons because oh my goodness, Welders knew how to cook. And honestly, for living out in the woods they were extremely polite. Whenever somebody would stand for more food, they would ask if anyone wanted another orange or wanted another roll. Everyone held a napkin under their plate and said “bless you” when someone sneezed. But the food honestly took the cake.

I bet even their brussel sprouts tasted good.

The rolls honestly tasted like they had been dipped into a vat of butter and rainbows. The chicken was cooked all the way through and all the fruit was perfectly ripe, not even bruised in the least bit. Even the water that I was 85% sure was coming from a spring outside of the wall (they were just refilling bottles), tasted cleaner than the other bottled stuff in grams fridge.

“You keep eating those rolls you’re going to get fat," Patrick informed me, peeling a small orange.

“So?” I asked, my mouth full. Patrick shrugged, probably deciding not come in between me and my food before I was actually full.

“Patty, since Amy here has chosen to stay with us, what is the first thing you are going to show her? I mean I’m sure she’s very eager," Griffin asked Patrick after we had all settled down and stacked our plates.

I had been to lost in the food to realize I was in fact among celtic witches and wizards so I immediately put in, “Yes Patrick, what do you plan on showing me first?”

“Well, first thing tomorrow we’re going to Barney to talk to him about getting you an ampoule and then we’ll go to Daisy’s, show you around and bit," Patrick replied, wiping his hands on his jean pants, something that would have angered grams if she had been here.

“Oh what! You’re going tomorrow? I haven’t been able to see her in forever, dang it," Delia groaned and slumped back in her folding chair,

“You could always join us," Patrick offered.

“Can’t Lee’s making me go hunting with him, I’ve been dodging it for too long," she sighed and glared at her brother who grinned at her.

“Who is Daisy?” I asked, there were too many names to remember in this place, and often times they were extremely strange.

“Friend of ours, has a little shop," Griffin explained.

I glanced up and down the rows of tents and shacks, there was no room for any kind of actual building besides Barneys massive mansion which was currently lit up, which raised another question: How, in any way, is he getting electricity out here?

Lee must have noticed my confusion because he said, “Oh not here, Maine."

“M-Maine?” I stuttered, shocked,

“I’ll explain it when we get to that point," Patrick informed me.

“You can’t just say that and not-”

“See this is what happens you guys. Now she’s going to be asking for the rest of the day and I’m not going to get to show her anything today because she’ll be to busy asking about Maine," Patrick rambled while everyone was trying hard not to laugh, and failing.

“Well sorry that I’m not an all knowing sorcerer!” I replied.

At this point everyone was laughing, whether it was at or with us, nobody knew. Delia had slid halfway off her chair, giggling at who knows what. Even Patrick was hiding his face while his eyes squinted closed. But the one with the funniest laugh was Cameron. I didn’t expect to ever hear anything pass her lips but her laugh was so incredibly airy and high pitched I was laughing at her laugh which was not as adorable as hers.

“I should start coming around for lunch more often." Ferris said, trying hard to catch his breath.

“Believe me, it’s not usually like this. I’m beginning to like you Miss Preston," Griffin said, pointing a chicken bone at me.

Even if I was supposed to be hyperventilating or breathing into a paper bag, hyperventilating because I was laughing so much was much better than breathing into a paper bag because I freaking out about being a wizard. Yeah, I could get used to this.

+++++++++

“Today was nice," I said, bumping my shoulder into my cousin. He didn’t actually show me anything today, which was okay, and we now sat just outside of his trailer on a patch of grass.

“Yeah," Patrick questioned, throwing a small rock into a bush. I nodded and sighed, leaning my head on his shoulder.

There was another peaceful silence that fell over us then, just quiet as the sun slowly set and everyone moved to their tents. Fires were being relit and the smell of food was coming from every direction. We had all agreed that we had had enough lunch and that we had had enough of each other to last the rest of the night.

“I had a crush on him," Patrick suddenly said and I raised my head from his shoulder and looked at him questioningly. “Griffin."

“Really?”

“Yeah, a while ago. I think I talked about him one night."

“Huh… do you still?”

Patrick only shrugged and refused to make eye contact. I, on the other hand, was blushing uncontrollably and smiling like a 5 year old that had just got the best news ever.