#i am unable to draw the evil twinkle in her eye

[godduh]

deandra reynolds, the woman you are

[goldenavenger02]

they've come to get me (and everything's okay)

"Well, we don't have to worry about it then," Lloyd smiled, trying to push back the thought that there could be a group based around his father when he was being controlled by the venom of the Devourer, "it's probably just some misguided criminal who thought it looked cool."

•••

Despite the fact that they were looking for Master Wu, Kai made sure to check on Lloyd every few months in person.

The visits were only for a day or two, usually because Kai was going through the city to investigate yet another dead end lead, but the short hours he got to spend with Lloyd, he cherished.

So when he was in the city, six months after the events of the battle with the Hands of Time, he was excited to see Lloyd.

Even when he almost got run off the road by a motorcycle speeding past, a black ponytail sticking out of the back of the driver's helmet and what sounded like screeching coming from them.

Kai rolled his eyes, he was used to reckless drivers at this point in his life, but that emblem on the back of their motorcycle looked like…

Kai shook the thought out of his head, trying to shake the feeling of dread building in the pit of his stomach. 'It's just some abstract art, definitely not Garmadon.'

Before he could call PIXAL through their connected computer lines to let him know he was almost at the Bounty, she started calling him and he clicked "accept" almost immediately.

"Kai, you need to get to the canals. Master Lloyd has been critically injured, and I am struggling to get the Bounty there."

Panic hit his system as his foot hit the gas, the car nearly flying off the road as one thought jumped into Kai's head.

'What trouble have you gotten yourself into now, Lloyd?'

•••

Lloyd swallowed back the blood he could taste in his mouth, trying desperately to put pressure against the stab wound. But his hands were slick with blood, he couldn't hold down on it and he was starting to get really tired…

'Maybe I should start listening to PIXAL when she tells me to let the police handle it.'

Because bleeding out just outside of the canals wasn't exactly how he'd envisioned himself dying, and he knew that the kids who lived here were probably scared out of their minds.

Lloyd tried to press down on the wound again, unable to hold back the cry of pain that escaped his lips before his hands slipped again, and that's when reality fully sank in as he stared up at the twinkling stars.

'I'm not making it out of this one. The Green Ninja, dead from a stab wound from a regular criminal.'

"Lloyd!" A shout broke through his dimming vision, and he managed to turn his head, letting out a sigh of relief when it was Kai racing towards him and not the masked figure ready to finish him off, "holy!-"

Lloyd's hearing started to cut out and his vision went dark, no longer able to see Kai's panicked face. 'Maybe just a little bit of sleep…'

The cry tore through his throat and all he could feel was 'painpainpain' when he opened his eyes again, seeing Kai staring down at him, his hands obviously pressing down on the wound.

"PIXAL's sending the Bounty," Kai told him before adding, "you are not dying on me today."

Lloyd couldn't keep his eyes from shutting, only hearing one sentence before fading to darkness.

"Lloyd, stay with me."

•••

Kai pressed down harder when Lloyd's eyes fluttered close the second time. 'No response.'

"Lloyd, come on, kiddo. Don't do this, not now." Tears on his cheeks, blood on his hands, pale skin that was almost white under them.

Kai swallowed back the tears he was choking on, and took his hands off of Lloyd's wound, only to press them against his chest; it took two compressions before Lloyd's ribs cracked under his hand, making him cringe. It took five more before Lloyd gasped for breath while still unconscious.

"Thank The First Spinjitzu Master," Kai spoke softly as the Bounty appeared in the sky above them and the anchor dropped, allowing him to hold on while holding onto Lloyd's unconscious body, "we seriously need to install a gurney on this thing."

As soon as his feet touched the deck, Kai rushed Lloyd to control and laid him down where Zane's repairs were done before turning on the computer, watching as PIXAL's system glowed to life.

"Alright, Pix. I'm gonna need a scan, and then some instructions on how to take care of him," Kai explained while reaching over and holding pressure on the wound, leaning closer to whisper, "I'm not letting you die, not tonight."

•••

Lloyd's throat was dry.

There were plenty of things he could've focused on when he finally managed to pry himself from the hold of unconsciousness, but the first thought in his head was that his throat was dry.

He only had to try and grasp at his thoughts to figure out what happened before he blacked out, but then it hit him all at one.

'Stabbed and Kai's there and he's begging me to stay awake and blood everywhere and being tired…"Lloyd, stay with me." Kai.'

Kai had come to see him on his way to check out a lead, and now...he was in the hospital? Lloyd managed to open his eyes, taking in a breath of relief when he realized he was on the Bounty.

"Pix?" He managed to choke out, his throat ready to stop any words coming out of his mouth, but he tried again. "Pix, is Kai still here?"

He didn't get a response, which had been happening a lot recently, and instead the door opened, revealing an obviously exhausted but relieved Kai. "You're awake."

"Water." Lloyd managed to choke out, his words dying in his throat; luckily, Kai already had a cup waiting for him and tipped it against his lips, it was cool against his throat and immediately expelled the dryness.

"Easy, don't chug, you'll make yourself sick like that," Kai laughed while speaking, removing the cup from his lips, "you scared me for a minute there."

"In my defense, I wasn't trying to get stabbed, and definitely not by a run of the mill criminal."

"I don't think you ever try to get hurt," Kai added, which Lloyd couldn't argue with, before he continued, "Lloyd, we gotta talk about...something."

Lloyd didn't like the tone of his voice, and a pit grew in his stomach. He knew what Kai's serious voice sounded like, and this was definitely it. "What is it?"

"When I was driving into the city, before PIXAL called me, there was a motorcycle that nearly ran me off the road-"

"Are you okay? Did you get hurt?" Lloyd interrupted, instantly worried about Kai's well-being; he wasn't one to hide injuries, but since his case was much more urgent, he wouldn't put it past him.

"No, no," Kai insisted, and Lloyd let out a sigh of relief, "but the driver's bike had an insignia on it...Lloyd, it was a drawing of your dad. Your dad when he was…"

"Evil" didn't have to be said, Lloyd knew that it was exactly what Kai meant. "But it was just one, right? Just one picture on one motorcycle?"

"Yeah, just one."

"Well, we don't have to worry about it then," Lloyd smiled, trying to push back the thought that there could be a group based around his father when he was being controlled by the venom of the Devourer, "it's probably just some misguided criminal who thought it looked cool."

- Seven Months Later -

Nya considered it a stroke of luck that Skylor had a safe house in the canals; it gave them, being Misako, PIXAL, Darreth, herself and Lloyd, a chance to take care of themselves before relocating and meeting up with Skylor.

Nya swallowed back tears, wiping the ones that escaped from her eyes on the sleeve of her gi. She had been forced into hiding before when Nadakhan had painted them as criminals, but she had the others.

She had Kai, who would pull her into a tight hug every time she would get too into her head. She had Jay, who always knew how to make her smile even when she was crying. She had Zane, who always kept her calm with logic and critical thinking, but was never cold towards her. She had Cole, who would always talk her through what she was going through, and give her solid advice.

Nya winced as she pulled up her left sleeve, revealing a plethora of bruising that she immediately started to use what she could find in the first aid kit on, thoughts about the boys still swirling in her head.

'Kai, Cole, Zane, Jay...they were all prophesied to protect Lloyd and now they're gone,' she realized, applying a small ice pack against her wrist, 'I guess that makes it my mission then. To stay strong for him, and make sure he defeats Garmadon for good.'

Despite what she tried to tell herself, she couldn't keep the pang of mourning from stabbing her in the chest; it hurt as much as the tiger widow venom, but unlike that, the grief was much more agonizing.

She pulled down her sleeve and checked her face in the mirror; the skin around her eye was turning purple from the fight she had engaged in with Garmadon and there was a jagged scratch going down her chin, but the rest of the injuries were well hidden.

'That's the last thing Lloyd needs to blame himself for.'

And with that, she made her way towards the one bedroom where Lloyd was supposed to be resting after the fight; he had insisted on his mother, Nya, even Darreth taking the one bed, but they all knew that he needed it the most.

After all, he was the one who had lost his powers, who was still injured from his fight in Kryptarium; he hadn't stopped shaking since he landed on the small boat they had used to pick him up, but she couldn't even blame him. He had watched as the Bounty, their family, had been mercilessly… destroyed.

Nya swallowed back her tears and gently tapped her knuckles against the door, the kind of knock Kai would use when she was sick, injured or just upset; she wouldn't be surprised if Lloyd was suffering from a combination of all three.

She tapped against the door just a little louder this time, but when she didn't get a response, she opened the unlocked door and closed it behind her.

Nya couldn't keep her relief in when she saw the lump in the bed that confirmed Lloyd's presence where he was supposed to be and sat on the edge of it.

"Hey, did you get patched up?" She whispered softly as he laid her hand on his leg, unsure if he was awake.

"Yeah, PIXAL made sure of it," he responded. Nya was able to hear that his voice was thick with tears.

The room was quiet for a few moments; she was unsure what to say, or even what to do, but she had to do something before the tears that were threatening to emerge spilled over.

"Do you…," she could hear Lloyd swallow before trying again, "do you think that if I didn't trust her, we'd be okay."

"Lloyd, they would've gotten the mask with Master Wu if we didn't interfere. You had no reason to suspect her of anything, none of us did." Nya explained softly, pushing back anything that would disprove her point, when Lloyd sat up and she finally got a good look at all of the damage that the Sons of Garmadon, and Garmadon himself, had caused.

The cuts on his face were healing slowly, even though the one that had been next to his hairline was now covered by a white bandage.

His eyes were bloodshot and...they were no longer green. Instead, they were a medium brown with flecks of red in them, like they were when they first took him in. A scared, starving kid in a black hoodie with white paint splattered on it trying to be like his father.

"You didn't trust her at first, Nya. You said you didn't like her."

"And she pulled the wool over my eyes with all that girl talk, remember?" Nya asked softly, maneuvering so she could gently wrap her arm around his shoulder, "trust me when I say that no one blames you. You're not the first to get carried away with a crush."

"If you're talking about Skylar, she didn't get a choice. She was just doing what Chen told her to do," Lloyd's voice was shaky with anger and heartbreak as he pulled away from her hold, "And that worked out, didn't it? We're in her safe house, after all. Rumi is...she isn't being forced to do anything."

"I know you feel as though you have to put everything and everyone on your shoulders, but you don't," Nya spoke, her voice unwavering with a newfound determination, "The boys were prophesied to be your protectors, not the other way around-"

"And they're gone now! Master Wu, Cole, Zane, Jay, Kai, they're all dead! And if anyone else is going to die, I'd rather it be myself then you!" Lloyd shouted back, his eyes welling with tears, but the red coming through more than the brown.

Nya swallowed back her anger. Lloyd was grieving, he always felt the need to take personal responsibility, even when it wasn't his to be responsible for, and while that worked with Master Wu and the others, she was not going to let him do this to himself.

"I'm going to protect you from Harumi, Garmadon, The Sons of Garmadon, and anyone else who tries to fuck with you. I don't care that you don't want me to, that you feel as though offering yourself as a martyr will make this better, I'm going to," she got off the edge of the bed and started to make her way to the door, only stopping when she heard him sniffle.

"I know your life has been scarred by tragedy. That every time something good happens, something worse has to destroy it. But going into this rebellion, this...resistance, with the attitude of wanting to die for it…" she trailed off, finally turning around to see Lloyd's eyes on her, the tears finally leaving her eyes, "Lloyd, that will kill you. And I am not losing anyone else, not after today."

And with that, she finally left the room, only waiting for the door to click shut before allowing her grief to fully consume her.

'I can't believe I'm saying this, but Kai would've handled that better than I did.'

•••

Lloyd wasn't sure how much time passed from when Nya left his room to when he heard the door open, announcing Skylor's arrival with food, medicine, blankets and other essentials.

If he was being completely honest, he wasn't sure how long it had been since he had been held over the monorail by Rumi and…

The sinking feeling in his stomach made him want to curl up and sleep for weeks, but because of him and his stupid mistakes, he didn't get the luxury.

They didn't have much time before they got hunted down by the Sons of Garmadon, just enough time to patch up their injuries and now that Skylor was here, that meant she found a more permanent hiding spot.

Lloyd knew he should've listened to Kai when that motorcyclist nearly ran him off the road, but thinking back on it, he knew fully well why he didn't.

A year ago, when he had to take up the mantle of master for his team, he would've given everything up just to see his father again, even if that was in the cursed realm.

But now...now he was starting to think he'd be okay if he never saw him again, the memory of what Zane had said to Jay on the Island of Darkness ringing true in his head.

'"Perhaps it is better to remember our friends as we knew them in our hearts. Not as they are now."'

He remembered telling his mother that he didn't remember his father any other way, only for her to insist that he loved him and that it was the venom of the Great Devourer that did this.

But now...now he did remember his father. And this was not him, no matter how much the little voice in his head, the scared kid who didn't know where his destiny would lead him, insisted that it was. That he had saved him before, that he could save him again.

Lloyd stood on his shaking legs, still weak from his fight in the prison, and made his way to the main room.

Chen's takeout boxes were on the table and the others were scarfing down food like there was no tomorrow, but they stopped when he came in the room and looked at him expectantly, waiting for him to speak.

He adjusted so he was leaning against the doorway, his legs already threatening to collapse under him, before addressing the four members of his group who remained.

"I can't promise that the Sons of Garmadon aren't going to take us down, that my father will...do something worse. But what I can promise is that ninja never quit," he stopped for a second, his eyes catching Nya's small but determined smile, "and I know that not all of us are ninja, but we are something that could be even stronger."

He took a deep breath, memories of Jay, Kai, Zane, Cole, his brothers and memories of his uncle flooded his vision, before returning to the present.

"We are the resistance. And the resistance never quits."

[justsassysworld]

Five Demons and a Baby Part 2

Five Demons and a Baby Part 2

Word Count:2239

The Conglomerate x Fem!reader

Waking, you know instantly that something's wrong. While the bed at your back is without a doubt the most comfortable surface you've ever laid on, it definitely isn't yours. Also, you feel someone, or something, rubbing all over your stomach.

Groaning, you try to bat at the feeling, but a hand clutches your wrist. You growl and try to use the other hand, but find it similarly detained. Grumbling grumpily, you crack your eyes, shutting them quickly, unable to make sense of what you saw. On one side sits Scarabee, scowling at the other man. The other man who is also holding your hand and dragging a strange wand across your stomach, dragging it over some...goo.

Shaking your head, you try again, slowly blinking your eyes open to see...exactly what you thought you saw. Though you also see their attention caught on a small screen, with an unusual whomping sound coming from it.

You draw in a shocked gasp. That indistinguishable blob is you baby, or is it that other light bit? Well, wherever they are, your baby's in there, heartbeat loud and strong.

“Well, Gio,” Scarabee asks, “what is it?”

Confusion, and drowsiness, has you saying, “It's way too early to tell the sex, we still have months before we can find that out.”

He ignores you, remaining focused on his friend.

His friend, Gio you assume, takes pity on you however. “True enough, it is too early to determine sex, but that is not what we are looking at now.”

“What are you looking at then?”

“He's seein' if the bebe is something you could survive havin', chaton,” Scarabee answers, his warm Cajun twang soothing the fear his words inspire.

Before your panic can start setting in, Gio draws your attention. “Breathe, piccola. Everything I see is completely normal. No Rosemary's baby for you.”

“Really?” you sigh out on a relieved giggle, his joke helping immensely, even with his dry tone. “Can you show me?”

While his dour continence is less than reassuring, he has a quiet confidence that keeps you from panicking. With a small nod, he says, “Of course.”

He drags the wand across your belly before stopping to adjust the ultra sound. Getting it where he wanted, he started pointing out parts of the small body, but your gaze caught and stuck. Carefully leaning forward, you brush your finger over their little face.

“Oh,” you gasp out, tears burning your eyes. “They're real.”

Knowing and seeing are two very different things. You hadn't doubted the multiple pregnancy tests, that much, but to see your baby for the first time is far more emotional than could you have ever expected. Which would explain why you don't notice as the three other men from your apartment enter the room.    

Wanting to see Scarabee's reaction, you're shocked to see the crowd of supposedly evil, dangerous men standing behind him, each staring at the screen in wonder.

You gasp in shock and hear your heartbeat speed up on the monitor. This catches their attention.

Four sets of eyes turn to you, Gio fiddling with the machine.

Your mouth opens and shuts, wanting to say something, but not knowing what. Before you can say anything, Gio's up, handing out what looks like little polaroids. Knowing what you'll see, you watch the men's expressions, curious of their thoughts.

The one in the brown vest and shirt with sleeves rolled up is wearing the largest grin you've ever seen, though his eyes do flash before moving to your not yet showing belly. Next to him the tall one has a small smile, eyes crinkled. You see the twinkle of silver in the smile of the last man standing. Catching you looking, he sends you a wink.

Finally, you turn to Scarabee, his breath coming shallow and quick, eyes glowing, though not in the unnatural way they had the night before. It almost looks like he's about to cry. He closes his eyes before letting out a breath. Opening them again, he catches you staring.

“I gotta do some research, but I'll get you some potions for the two of ya within a week,” he says, standing and moving toward the door.

“Potions?” your voice blends with four others, making you giggle.

A hand rests on your shoulder and you turn your head to see Gio scowling at him. Something about that glare getting to you. Biting your lip, you try to hold in your blush.

Before you can question further, he beats you to the punch. "She is not taking any of your hoodoo nonsense. I will get her set up on some prenatals.”

“Human vitamins?” Scarabee growls in confusion. “I don't think so.”

As those two begin to argue over your head, the man with the bun and the vest motions for you to keep quiet and follow him. Glancing at the bickering pair, you decide to go for it. You throw your legs over the side of the bed and stand. The one who winked at you holds out his hand.

Looking back one more time, you bite your lip. Slowly facing the three strangers, you nod your head and take the offered hand.

He flashes you a brief, blinding smile before yanking you from the room. You race through the hall, before he pulls you into a new room. The others follow at a more sedate pace, the tallest pulling the door closed behind him.

It's a beautiful room, though you as far more focused on the beauty of your companions.

The man holding your hand brings it up to his lips, maintaining eye contact. “Hola, gatita. My name is Escarabajo, you may call me Bajo. I'm sure an enchanting creature such as your self must have an equally enchanting name, would you whisper it in my ear?”

Before you can giggle out your response, one of the others pulls your hand away, stealing a kiss for himself.

“Quite hoggin' her, lover,” he mumbles against your hand. “ the name's Ciarog, or Cia. Do you have a name, or shall I just call ya Heaven?”

You're once again cut off when the last man shakes his head, shoves Cia away and motions for you to have a seat in the luxurious leather chair.

As you settle in, he tells you, “I am Zhuk. I apologize for my comrades actions.”

“It's fine,” you reply, before finally managing to tell them your name, “It's nice to meet you.”

Bajo and Cia take a seat on either side of you, seemingly trying to out flirt each other, and to draw you in. Zhuk shakes his head before settling into a chair across the way. As they start getting louder and more crazy, you bite your lip, fighting your laughter.

Just as your about to break and let out a guffaw, a loud roar shakes the room.

Terror seizes you. You think of standing, but none of the others even react, as if they're used to such disturbances.

The door bangs open, reminding you of last night. Scarabee storms in, Gio close behind.

“Bee, mate,” Cia says without looking up. “We've been gettin' to know your baby mama. D'ya know where we're puttin' her?”

Not liking how he phrased that,implying a lack of autonomy on your part. You're about to let them have it, but they beat you to the punch, each man declaring that he knows best.

Rolling your eyes and shaking your head, you stand, crossing your arms over your chest. Who do these assholes think they are? Deciding what's best for me and my baby. They don't even know me.

You march over to the door, hell bent on finding your shit and getting the hell out of there. Just as you yank the door open, it's slammed shut, shadows encumbering you once again.

Frustrated, you wheel back around to find they've stopped fighting each other and all focused on one thing: you.

Squaring your shoulders, you glare back at them, refusing to be cowed. Even if you are still wearing your pajamas and power is pouring off them in waves. Who cares if the dominant gleam in all their eyes is doing something interesting to your belly, and nipples, and...other parts? You're a strong woman who will stand up for herself, even if your body is begging to curl up in any of their strong arms.

I will not let them win, you tell yourself, even as you catch Cia licking his lips and Bajo flashing his fangs in a uniquely alluring manner.

No surrender, you remind yourself as Zhuk draws in a deep breath, making his already massive chest expand to breath catching results.

No, your inner voice weakly protests as you notice Gio's ringed fingers, his thick, masculine fingers that are clenching against his cane. The things he could do to you with those fingers and that cane.

There is no more protesting voice as you catch sight of Scarabee's rapidly swelling pants, your mind no longer able to comprehend anything else.

As you focused on them, your arms dropped and you took on a glazed expression. Your change in demeanor does not go unnoticed, though you miss their shared wicked glances as they come to a silent agreement.

Scarabee steps forward, breaking through a bit of your stupor. You watch as he prowls toward you, leaving you feeling like a helpless bunny, unable to run from the wolves' awaiting fangs.

His cool fingers dance along your jaw, dragging your gaze up to his mismatched one. “Come sit back down and we'll discuss our plans.”

Unable to resist his his southern charms, you let him lead you over to a small love seat. He helps you settle in, taken the seat next to you while the others find places of their own.

Assured that you're comfortable, and not going anywhere, he begins talking. “Mon petite chaton, I know many things have been changin' for you lately, and that you don't like us forcin' more on you, but with the bebe and yourself at risk, we cannot let you leave here. At least, not without one of us accompanyin' you.”

“We? Us?” you ask. “I can understand you going all domineering, but what does that have to do with the rest of them?”

Chuckling darkly, he grabs your hips and hoists you onto his lap, fingers trapping you on his lap. “Oh cherie, do you not remember the things I said that night? Do you think I don't remember how your pulse jumped and your body clenched when I told you about my friends and how I longed to share you with them? Even now the flavor of your arousal is filling the air.” He pulls you even closer, smirking as your breath comes in pants, your fingers digging into his chest.

“Now that you've seen them, can't you just picture it? One of us inside your tight pussy, another buried deep in your ass, one in your sweet mouth, eating you out, playing with your tits, so many possibilities. Between the five of us we can make all your wildest dreams come true.”

“Ah!” you squeak. You had forgotten how good he was at dirty talk, how hot he had gotten you with just a few simple words. Now you can't stop fantasizing. So many positions, so many combinations, even more if any of them swing towards bi.

“Here's what we're gonna do,” his voice drawing you back to the moment. “You will take the rest of the day to unpack and settle in, then we will each take a day to get to know you, for you to get to know us. Once you get a feel for us individually, we'll spend a day together, all of us. After that you'll have a day to decide.”

“Decide what?”

“What you want us to be. If you can see yourself bein' with us, if you could give yourself to us.”

That is not what you were expecting. Taking a minute to sort your thoughts, you bite your lip and play with his collar. Finally you ask, “And if I decide 'no'?”

Scarabee looks to the others and so do you. You see their answers written in their eyes, letting your mind calm.

“We will respect your wishes, of course.”

You relax, a grateful smile threatening, then he adds, “But you will still be stayin' here.”

“What? Shouldn't I get a say?”

“No!” comes the resounding reply from the whole room.

Arms wrap around you from behind, pulling you up and finding you surrounded on all sides. “I was not kidding, cher. It is far too dangerous out there for you.”

“Don't you mean 'for the baby'?” you snark, hating that they aren't giving a say in your own damn life.

Your head is suddenly yanked back, a firm hand coiled in your hair. “Careful, topolina,” the voice you recognize as Gio's growls in your ear. “We all know you're going through a difficult time, but that does not excuse disrespect.” His breath beats against your cheek. “If I catch you using that tone again, there will be punishment.”

His threat sends an unknown thrill through you, one you will never, ever, ever admit to. So biting your lip to hold back a moan, you simply nod.

“Good girl.”

[butterfliesareevil]

butterflies are evil chapter 8

i am unable to draw butterflies are evil as a comic as of now, but i am somewhat capable of writing so the next installment is text, enjoy ig.

Sun in these times always flavored the sky like cherry soda in a pool. The path from the trailer park to main street looked straight-forward, but Leviathan's specific and strange turns on the tired gravel showed it was an imagined straight-forwardness. Elliot had been clinging to his handlebars, her knuckles the same white of the afternoon sun.

"Let me know if you ever wanna go to town on your own, by the way. The directions are a little difficult for newcomers to parse," Leviathan only sort-of labors through his starving lungs.

"You know I wouldn't go anywhere alone," is her reply and the 'conversation' stills. It’s hot and the air is too dry for the wind resistance to feel pleasant. By the time they reach main street, Elliot is sticky, and Leviathan is syrup spilled on the kitchen table. He waits for his other half to bounce off his bike before dropping it to the curb.  

They enter the thrift store together, but Elliot is prone to trail behind, face near between Leviathan's shoulder blades. Some mannequins are staged awkward in the display window, more for normalcy than a commercial decision. The overhead lighting is hardly capable of illumination, the brown wood paneling of the walls painted with a dull, yellow light. A few townsfolk sift through the rows of clothing, filling the ambiance with a constant slide of metal against metal. Behind them are untended shelves of books and shoes and whatever else people dump here.

Leviathan smiles when his eyes meet with a middle-aged man's, who sits with folded hands at a cashier desk. The man's skin is near pink and made more frightening by his greasy, deep blue eyes. Tension pulls his mouth into a well-worn smile.

“How are you, Robert?” Leviathan asks with a delighted twinkle in his eye.

“Oh, I’m just fine, but I must ask what a shitheel like you is doing back in my store,” and Robert says this without a single, downwards-tug of face muscle. Leviathan offers back a smile that nauseates.  

“Ah, I see we’re discarding niceties. Yeah, I don’t give a fuck whether you choke, usually, but I am in need of your services.”

“And those are?” Robert says as his face relaxes into a more even expression. Leviathan casts a glance over his shoulder to Elliot. She maneuvers before him and pulls up her salmon pink polo to reveal the book of the carrier half-tucked in her khakis. Embarrassment creeps into her face hot as she yanks it out and extends it to Robert.  

“W-we’d like you to appraise this,” Elliot says, and so Robert relieves the book from her hands. An invisible, golden eyebrow raises as he turns the thing, his thumb stroking the material of the cover.

“Jesus Christ, this is honest to god leather. Where’d you find something like this?” he questions, lowering his face at an angle.

“Uh-”

“Finish looking through it and we’ll tell you,” Leviathan interrupts Elliot mid-stumble. Robert hums, and opens the book with an air of caution. His fingers smooth along the margins of some of the pages, avoiding any of the ink, though he does take a few seconds to scan the passages. There is a distinct age in the way the pages crinkle.

“The writing isn’t anything I’m familiar with, but by the material of the pages and cover, this is most likely from the Pre-Era. The leather and pages got some dirt stains, but they’re in fine enough condition, so I must once again ask,” and he dusts the book with his hand, “Where the hell did you get this?”

“From the fields,” Leviathan states, and a more attentive sort would realize the slide of metal against metal no longer stings the store so often. An audience has been formed.  

Robert says nothing and lays the book flat on his desk before sliding it back to Elliot. She takes the book with both hands and carries it flush against her chest.

“I see,” and Robert sighs. “Then this is definitely Pre-Era. No other dumbass has entered that god forsaken land in some twenty years.”

“But the Pre-Era ended fifty years ago.”

“Oh, so you think you’re the only dumbass?” Robert speaks with huffy sort of laugh. Elliot finds the nerve to enter the conversation.

“Could that person be the owner of this book then?” she asks, forehead a knot of muscle.

Robert waves his hand, “Nah. I’ve seen his writing before and it’s not anything in this vein or script.”

“Th-then maybe he knows who wrote it?” Elliot speaks, reddened by her own desperation. The grin Robert gives her is bitter.

“Oh, darling,” and Elliot winces. “That man is a tangled mind now, by age and trauma. Even if he did know who it was, I doubt he could recall anything properly from the time now.”

Before Elliot can withdraw, her twin flame steps in, his hand a comfort on her defeated shoulder.  

“Well, I’d like to meet my fellow dumbass. Maybe someone like me could make sense of him,” Leviathan presses, batting his long, wine-red eyelashes. Robert makes a gruff exhale and then leans down, reaching for something below the desk. It’s a folded-up wad of yellow legal, and Robert places it careful in Leviathan’s hand.  

“His name is Max. He lives in the elder-care residency, so you better not be careless with that. I know you aren’t one to value human life, but could you at least pretend to?”

“Sure, sure,” Leviathan waves his hand. Elliot motions to thank Robert, but alas.

“Now get the fuck out of my store. Don’t want another careless magic trick wrecking my goods.”

“Jeez, Robert, you know those were just accidents.”

[eternityunicorn]

Elijah’s Eternity: New Orleans Part Twelve +18

Author: eternityunicorn 

Genre: Romance/Drama/AU

Pairing: Elijah Mikaelson x OC

Warnings: Violance, Smut (*Smut chapters marked +18)

Summary: Sequel to the AU Elijah’s Eternity - Ten years have passed, a mournful Elijah has finally started to move on without his lady. In that time, he has gained a reunited family and has also found a new lady love. Yet, all is not well as danger comes for the smallest member of the Mikaelson family: Hope, and it prompts Niklaus to call upon the white goddess, drawing her back into Elijah’s life. As they reunite, can Elijah really say he’s truly moved on?

NOTE: OC and original elements are from my up and coming novel series!

———————————————————————————————————

Elijah escorted Eternity all over the French Quarter, but not just to enjoy the day with her. He found he was deeply concerned about what he had seen earlier. Céleste’s face continued to haunt him, chasing after him like an apparition that wouldn’t leave him be. He went looking for her in a subtle way, taking his lady all over the place, trying to see if he could find the long dead witch while acting as a tour guide to the immortal queen. Yet, there wasn’t any sign of her. 

Just what in the hell was going on? 

“Elijah, you saw something earlier,” Eternity finally said to him, as they reached the docks. “You are troubled, searching for something or someone. A witch? Ah, an old flame that is supposedly long dead.”

She was searching his thoughts, yet he didn’t care. He wanted to be open to her, always.

“Céleste DuBois, yes,” interjected Elijah, as he looked out over the water. He had let go of Eternity’s hand and now stood a little ahead of her with his hands shoved into his pants pockets, a sign of his troubled state of mind. “I saw her earlier or something that looked like her anyway.”

His lady came closer to him, “I did not sense evil or any sort of power. Though that doesn’t mean that something sinister isn’t going on, of course.”

He turned back to her and saw the concern upon her lovely features. Immediately he went to her, cupping the side of her neck with a soft smile and then pulling her into his embrace. Holding Eternity calmed Elijah’s stormy thoughts. The feel of her warmth and the sweet scent that seemed to permeate through every part of her was exactly what he needed at the moment. She gave him clarity - and peace.

Pulling back a little, he kissed Eternity’s forehead tenderly. “I apologize for dragging you around,” he said quietly. “I should have told you what I saw when it had happened. Instead, not only did I take you all over the place with ulterior motives, but I also forced you to search my thoughts for the reason to my strange behavior.”

Eternity smiled at him,“Elijah, it’s alright. I’d probably do the same, if an apparition of my former lover showed up out of the blue. Don’t worry, we’ll find out the truth of this matter. For now, let’s go home.”

Elijah took her hand in his again and brought it to his lips, kissing the palm gently. Then, still with her hand in his, he lead her away from the docks and headed back to the Mikaelson compound.

For the rest of the day, the two of them spent cooped up in his study. Elijah and Eternity spent that time attempting to figure out what he had seen or rather what it could mean. The immortal queen had tried multiple different spells and powerful tricks, but came back with nothing. Eternity was the most powerful immortal there was, yet even she couldn’t find the origin of what it was he had seen. Not the energy of a spirit or of someone pulling the strings.

“I am powerful, not all powerful,” she explained to him, when she kept coming back empty handed. “Perhaps, there is someone cloaking their power, keeping me from seeing them. Though it doesn’t help that we don’t know to what end anyone would want to send visions of your former flame, if they were visions at all. Maybe whomever this is, is Earth-based. An old enemy of yours? You and your kin do have a lot of people you’ve angered over the years, but if that’s the case, then they are definitely partnered with someone from the other side of the divide.”

Elijah thought about it. It was possible there was someone out there with a vendetta against him. In fact, it was very plausible. It wouldn’t be the first time some former lover or friend came out of the woodwork with some grievance against him personally or one against his family. And if this someone found a partner from the Immortal Universe, much like his own brother had once upon a time, then that made them all the more dangerous.

“But who would care enough to form such an alliance on the immortal side?” He wondered. “I doubt it’s Bruno. This doesn’t seem like something he would bother with, as gaining power is his goal.”

Eternity nodded, “Aye, it’s not my brother and there’s only one other person whom knows you from the Immortal Universe that is of darkness.”

He knew exactly to whom she referred, “Loki? But how is that even possible? He’s dead.”

“Nothing is impossible, especially where he is concerned,” she smiled humorlessly at him. “It’s very possible that he’s up to something beyond the grave. What that something is, I can’t begin to guess, but if it is him, that apparition you saw is no doubt just the beginning of whatever scheme he has planned.”

Elijah didn’t like the sound of that. Loki was supposed to be gone for good, yet Eternity was telling him that the Trickster could be up to no good from beyond the grave. Again, they didn’t know what it was that he was attempting to accomplish, except for driving Elijah to madness perhaps. One would think that Loki’s target would be Eternity herself since she was the one that he was obsessed with and the one that had killed him, but it seemed the Trickster wasn’t interested in being predictable, choosing the Original as his target - if it were indeed him as the cause, of course.

“We’ll just have to wait and see if Céleste shows herself again or if some other new development occurs,” the immortal queen told him. “Then maybe we can start to piece together whatever is going on.”

Elijah sighed defeatedly, “Yes, I suppose that is the best course of action.”

Eternity grinned humorously at him then, a little laugh escaping her, which prompted him to gaze at her curiously.

“I’m unclear as to what you find funny here, Sweetheart,” he said sternly, folding his arms across his chest. “Care to share?”

“Forgive me,” she replied, “I was just thinking about how glad I am that you’re the patient one, unlike your hybrid brother Niklaus. Then I had a humorous vision of him wanting to burn the Universal Kingdom and beyond to the ground looking for Loki or whoever the culprit is in this, as we both know he would. It was rather cartoonish, the rage of which he was using, in my vision.”

Elijah then smirked, “Well, who’s to say that I don’t want to do the same? I might be calmer than Niklaus, but I can be just as ruthless and determined as him. Maybe burning down the entirety of your kingdom is the course of action I wish to take.”

Eternity rolled her eyes at him, “I should say not, you’re not reckless or impulsive enough to want to take on the entire Universal Kingdom. I could see your brother going head first into confrontation with the Immortal Universe without considering the fact that he is in no real position to make threats or demands, nor is he capable of contending with those on that side of the divide in the first place. Despite being completely out of his element and lacking any real knowledge of the immortals, Niklaus would play alpha and stroll about as if he owned the place. It wouldn’t go over well at all - for him, I mean.”

He chuckled as the imagery of his little brother going around and trying to command those stronger than him danced around in his mind. Yes, that was rather humorous and completely plausible. It was fortunate that Niklaus didn’t have the means to travel that far and that he was stuck being an Earth-based immortal with the same limitations of travel as humans.

“I admit,” he said to Eternity, “that is quite amusing to think about and you’re correct in that I would never behave in such a reckless way. It’s certainly not my style.”

She approached him then with a fond smile and he immediately drew her against him bodily, unable to resist doing so. Her hands wound around his neck and her fingers threaded through his short hair. Then they kissed passionately, her lips upon his in a dominating fashion. 

“I know you’re worried about this new development with your former,” Eternity murmured against his mouth, a twinkle of mischief in her sapphire eyes, “but maybe I can help take your mind off it, even if for only a little while.”

This was it, he thought. This was the moment that Elijah had been waiting for in the months he spent reconnecting with Eternity. Finally, it felt right to make love to her, as he had desired to since her return into his life.

Elijah didn’t move to stop her as she kissed him even more vigorously and let her push him back until he collided with one of his ceiling to floor bookcases. The shelves and their contents rattled with the force she used, but neither paid much attention to it. He grunted in response to the rough treatment, but quickly recovered.

His hands were on her instantaneously, running up her back and then gripping the silky fabric of the light blue sundress she was wearing in his strong grip and cleanly tearing it in two. Once the ruined dress pieces were tossed aside, Elijah cupped one of her breasts and kneaded it firmly in his palm. His other hand reached up to tangle in the hair at the back of her head, fisting it tightly and tearing her mouth from his. 

They stared at each other; their chests heaving wildly in their passion, their eyes burning with pent up need that they had been holding back from each other over the past few months. It was only a beat before Elijah’s mouth was upon hers again in a dominant and devouring kiss, his tongue darting into her mouth where he tasted her like a starved man. She could only cling to him in his frenzy, gripping his shirt in her hands as she let him have his way. 

Then with her superior strength to his, Eternity pushed him back into the bookshelves again, ripping her mouth from his in the process. This time things came crashing down off the selves around them, but neither immortal cared. Their eyes were locked upon each other as they stared in that wild, frenzied sort of way again for a split second, before the queen began tearing his clothes from his body in the same way he had her. Her little hands proceeded to tug his suit jacket from him, undo his tie deftly, and then she literally tore his dress shirt into two, so that his upper body was completely bared to her. 

She admired him before she started on a downward path. Her mouth attached itself to his jaw, his neck, his chest, his abdomen. Her hands trailed after her lips, touching him so delightfully that he felt himself shiver slightly in pleasure at the light contact. His eyes remained on her as she knelt before him on her knees, kissing his skin just above the hem of his pants. Then her gaze returned to his face for a second, a wicked smirk upon her pink lips, before she eagerly undid his belt and opened his pants, tugging them and his boxers down just enough to expose his hardened length. 

Eternity didn’t waste another moment. Her mouth enveloped him like a starved woman, taking him into the warm wet cavern and swirling her tongue over the hot flesh of his cock as she did. It was instantaneous that his hands found their way to be tangled in her hair. His head lulled back against the bookshelves as his eyes screwed shut from the wonderful feeling of her mouth upon him. He parted as his heart rate climbed from her attentions.

Then she began to bob, taking him in and out of her mouth steadily. He couldn’t help it when his hips bucked in response to his lady’s ministrations. It wasn’t long before instinct drove him to take control and he began to thrust in and out of her mouth of his own accord. It was incredible a feeling, especially as she relinquished control to him. However, when he got to the point he could feel the end approaching, he forced her to withdraw. 

With her hair fisted in one hand and that suave finesse of his, Elijah knelt down gracefully like a predator before her. “I don’t normally use crude terms,” he said with a quiet rumble, “but Sweetheart, I am going to fuck you until you beg me to stop...and then some.”

Eternity moaned and shivered at his words, her tongue poking out to lick her lips. Her sapphire eyes flashed at him in their burning with need. “Do it,” she challenged wantonly, her voice rough from her own passion.

Elijah pulled her mouth to his then, kissing her fervently. As he did, he moved slowly to push her back against the hardwood floor until she lay flat with him hovered over her, between her parted thighs. Her hands raked up his back and tangled into his short hair, while one of his reached between their bodies to align his cock with her wet entrance. 

With one hard thrust, he was inside her and he stilled upon burying himself to the hilt. The feeling of it was intense, especially since they had been apart for over a decade. He had forgotten just how wonderful it really was to be inside the goddess - his goddess. But he didn’t remain paused for long as his body cried out for him to take her to the fullest of his ability. 

He wasn’t gentle as he took her. His thrusts were rough and needful, but Eternity wasn’t exactly idle or gentle either. Her nails continued to rake up and down his back, while they continued to kiss passionately, his mouth having never left hers. He snarled into her mouth from her much welcomed abuse and it drove him to take her even harder and faster then before until she was letting out a muffled scream. 

One of his hands returned to tangling in her hair, while the other supported him on the floor beside her head. The needful, animalistic energy between them was so greatly intense that Elijah found himself digging his fingers into the hardwood, splintering it from the strength he subconsciously used and leaving claw marks with bits of blood there as a result. He didn’t even notice it or the pain it caused, as he was simply lost in Eternity.

Elijah carried on obliviously, fucking Eternity into the floor until she was tearing her mouth from his and screaming at the top of her lungs from the pleasure that wrecked her body - all of which was his doing. It wasn’t long before they had reached their peaks and were tumbling over it together in a blinding bliss that left them both screaming to the heavens as their orgasms tore through them. 

Elijah collapsed upon Eternity in a momentary bout of weakness, his energy zapped from him. His form trembled against her quaking one. Finally, he thought in his euphoria, finally she was his entirely again. He laid a kiss to her neck, where he had buried his face in the aftermath of their joining. 

They rested there without words being exchanged. They were simply contented. However, it wasn’t long before the wild passion they had for each other was reignited and they were once more tangled in each other. So lost were they to their need that they hadn’t sensed nor seen the shadowy figures floating just outside the study windows, watching them with sinister intent before vanishing again.

To Be Continued...

[winxwannabe]

Second Star

Word Count: 2952 Pairing: Bloom/Jim Rating: T Saying Jim was here to keep an eye on Annabelle was safe; it was something that made sense.  Him being here for her was not. Also available on FFN and Ao3 (will be added in the next few hours)

*rolls up to the party 2 hours late with half a bag of chips and cold queso* HEY KIDS HAPPY 500 FOLLOWERS HERE’S THAT FIC I PROMISED

It was Tecna that asked Bloom to check the roof of the coffee shop on Alton.  Her scanners had picked up a figure an hour or so after closing, and upon reexamination found they were still there.

“It’s probably just some employee, but make sure,” her voice had echoed through the wrist communicator.  “We’ve had enough excitement for the near future.”

Bloom had to laugh at that.  “No kidding.  I’ll keep you updated.”

It had seemed simple enough.

She landed silent as a mouse on the rooftop, expecting to face an adversary if necessary.  At least expecting to give someone a stern talking to for being out so late at night in such a strange place.

What she didn’t expect was the slouched figure, hair tied back in a small ponytail, wearing a jacket that - though she hadn’t really thought about because there were more pressing matters at the time - she secretly hated.  A hook weapon of some kind was on the ground next to him, beside that what looked like a spyglass.

She obviously hadn’t been silent enough.  The figure turned its head just enough to see her, and then back across the street without acknowledgement.

Bloom stepped forward, doing her best her sound stern.  “Were you waiting for me up here or something?”

“I’m here to ask for accompaniment to the frigid Swiss Alps.”

“Jim.”

He rolled his eyes, jutting his chin towards the building across the street.  “Keeping an eye out.  Don’t get your wings in a twist.”

Curious, Bloom stepped closer to the ledge.  The building across the street was full of apartments, some with their lights still on and others with curtains drawn.  One in particular was illuminated among dark windows, and Bloom focused in on it. Inside at a desk was a brunette girl scribbling away at something unable to be seen at such a distance.  But it wasn’t so far away that Bloom didn’t recognize her.

“Annabelle?”

“The Queen’s servants haven’t been around much, but there’s no harm in taking precaution.  Not when it comes to her.”  The last sentence was muttered under his breath.  “We wouldn’t want her gaining the upper hand behind our backs again.”

“True enough.”  Bloom glanced over at Jim, taking in his features.  He looked tired.  “What about The Queen herself?  Has anyone seen her?”

He gave something between a snort and a laugh.  “No.  Not since our final stance of sorts.”

She shivered at the memory; being enclosed in a dark magic bubble, her magic siphoned off until all she felt was cold and fatigue.  Her friends seemingly miles below her, forced to fight against her own powers.

And that being the case until a certain someone cut her free.

“Penny for ‘em,” Jim’s voice brought her out of the memory and back to the roof.  Somewhere below tires screeched and someone laid on their horn for several seconds.

Bloom sighed, finally taking a seat next to him on the ledge.  “Just...Annabelle, Sophie, everyone - they didn’t deserve to be brought into this mess.  We were searching for the talents to protect them, but we ended up bringing trouble with us.”

Jim nodded slightly.  “But it’s also worth considering how much more trouble they would’ve been in without your help.”

“Hmm,” she acknowledged, “but what came first: us, or the trouble?”

“You’re asking the wrong person.  My knowledge is limited to the World of Dreams and the stars.”

Bloom blinked at him.  “Stars?”

“Stars,” Jim agreed, his gaze going up to the night sky.  It was unusually clear; even the smog that usually hung around Gardenia seemed to have faded away.  “I was a ship captain before all this nonsense with the queen started.  And no captain would last a fortnight at sea without knowing how to navigate the stars.”

He trailed off, and raised an eyebrow when Bloom caught his gaze.  “You look surprised.”

“I guess I am a little.”  Bloom shifted so she was laying down on the roof, looking up at the sky, her legs still leaning over the edge of the building.  “Not about the captain thing; that’s...somehow not surprising.”

Bloom heard Jim laugh, and Bloom waited for it to die down before continuing.  “But...the World of Dreams is a place with magic and evil shaman and dark queens fighting for control in dense forests.  It’s the complete opposite of life on Earth and yet...we’re under the same sky.  The same stars.  Doesn’t that just seem strange to you?”

There was rustling next to Bloom that told her Jim had leaned back on the roof as well.  She felt his arm touch hers, and even though they both had sleeves, a shiver went down her back.  “We may be different worlds,” Jim said, his voice much quieter than it had been before, “but that doesn’t change that we’re all under the same sky.  The World of Dreams is practically a straight line from Earth; we see the same things you do, just reversed.

“And from what I’ve gathered during my time here...corrupt rulers, strangers in tune with the supernatural - we have more in common than you think.”

“Maybe you’re right.”

“...That may be the first time you’ve ever said that to me.”

She laughed at that.  “Don’t get used to it.”

They trailed off, and for a while the only sound around them was their own breathing and the city below.  There was something tranquil about it, which proved to be a striking distinction from what their lives had been a few short days ago; climbing frigid mountains, battling monsters, and facing off against the forces of evil in a fight for the fate of both their worlds.

“Hey Jim?”

“Hmm?”

“How do you keep the stars straight to navigate a ship?  Don’t you get them mixed up?”

There was a pause.  “If you were to focus on them individually, I suppose.  But you don’t; you focus on the constellations.”

She chuckled at that.  “I could never get those right when I was little.  Trying to see imaginary shapes between bright and less bright balls of light.  My Dad tried to teach me once, but I was labelled a lost cause.”

There was a chuckle.  “Perhaps it’s time for a re-introductory lesson, then.”

Much to Bloom’s shock, she felt his hand slip around her wrist and pull her arm up.  She tensed at first, but then realized he was pointing her hand towards a series of stars in the left of her vision.  “Now, see this group of stars here?”  He guided her hand in a circle around a group of twinkling lights.

“Yeah, but there are dozens in there!”

“Don’t focus on the ones further back; if you have to strain your eyes to see them, they don’t count.  I’m talking about the group at the forefront.  How many do you see?”

She paused for a minute.  “I see...eight?”

“Exactly.  Now,” he maneuvered her hand again to trace between the brightest ones, “see how if you wanted, you could draw a triangle with them?  That one there at the top, those two at the bottom…”

“Well...yeah.  Yeah, I see it.”

“Then you’ve seen a constellation.”

Bloom laughed and turned her head to look at him.  “That’s it?”

“That’s it,” he agreed, not moving his gaze from the sky.  For some reason it gave Bloom the smallest twinge of sadness.  “Honestly, it’s easier with this.”

Jim let go of her wrist, and reached over for the spyglass that was lying next to him.  He passed it over to Bloom.  “Look through there.  It’s much easier to see them.”

She obliged, and pointed it in the direction he’d guided her hand.  “So what’s this one called?”

“Andromeda.”

“Why Andromeda?”

“Truly interested?”

Bloom smirked, and handed the spyglass back.  “You know I wouldn’t ask if I wasn’t.”

He smiled at that; a genuine smile that Bloom so rarely saw on his face.  “All right...back in the days of the gods, Andromeda’s mother proclaimed herself to be the most beautiful woman in the world.  Others demanded she take it back, and when she refused it was decided Andromeda would be sacrificed to pay for her insolence.

Andromeda's mother took her to the sea and chained her to a rock to be sacrificed to a sea monster.  But as it approached, the hero Perseus appeared.  He was so enamored with her beauty he killed the sea monster, and took Andromeda home to rule as his queen.  And, as a result, their subjects dedicated the stars in her honor.”

“Wow.  And I thought my family had issues.”

Jim laughed.  “Her mother’s there too.”  Again, Jim took Bloom’s hand and circled another cluster of stars.  “Cassiopeia, imprisoned by Zeus in the stars.”

“Deservedly, I guess.”

“Perhaps.  I’m sure someone would disagree.”

Bloom lowered her arm again, and noticed there were several beats before Jim took his hand away.  She looked over again, but he still didn’t meet her gaze.

“So which star is the World of Dreams?”

Jim finally looked over at her, surprised.  “What?”

“I mean, you can see other worlds from here.”  Bloom pointed to a small star in the sky with a purplish hue.  “See that one?  Tecna’s from there.  It’s called Zenith.”

Jim didn’t respond, but raised his eyebrows like he was impressed.  “Are there other planets you know?”

“Uh-uh, I asked you first.”

He gave her a sly grin and propped his head up on his hand so he was looking down at Bloom.  “You’ve been listening to me drone on about Andromeda and Cassiopeia.  Don’t I get to hear your lovely voice go on about nothing for a while?”

Bloom swallowed.  Was it just her imagination, or had his tone gone lower?  “How about this,” said said, and mirrored his pose so they were again eye level.  “You tell me which star is the World of Dreams, and then I’ll name off every single planet I currently know.”

His facial expression didn’t change, but after a moment Bloom felt a hand go around her waist.  It dragged her close, and Bloom had to grab onto his jacket to keep herself up.  She looked at his face, and there was something dancing behind his dark eyes.

“You, love,” Jim said quietly, “have to be one of the most stubborn girls I’ve ever met.”

She shivered again.  “Jim...did you really come here to check on Annabelle?”

He blinked at her.  “What do you mean?”

“I mean...that’s why you’re here right?  The only reason?”

He said nothing.

Bloom’s eyes went wide, because a lack of admission was an admission in and of itself.  Jim saying he was here to keep an eye on Annabelle was safe; it was something that made sense, that could be explained.  Him being here for any other reason -

Him being there for her -

She met his gaze again, and after a moment sighed.  “Jim, we can’t -”

He pressed a finger to her lips - one from his non-gloved hand.  The skin was weathered, but warmer than she expected.  “Give me one reason why.”

Bloom stared at him, at the desire lurking in his eyes, at the way the wind was blowing his bangs across his forehead, at his lips…  

She felt her resolve flow out of her like a river, and the only think Bloom could think to say was:   “Because both our legs are dangling off the side of a building, and with our luck one of us will fall five-stories to the ground.”

That earned her a genuine laugh, and Jim slid himself along the roof until his feet made contact with the concrete.  Then he reached down and pulled Bloom up after him.  She was about to give him a sarcastic ‘thank you’ for his efforts -

But then Jim pulled her against him - much closer than they had been previously - and pressed his lips against hers.

Bloom’s eyes went wide, and for a moment she felt frozen her brain tried to work out whether this was a good thing, or the start of a path that would inevitably lead to more trouble than it was worth.  And then, as quickly as those fears had bubbled up in her chest, they faded away, leaving a warmth that spread down her appendages and made her toes curl.  Her eyes slid shut, and she somehow managed to wrap her arms around his neck.

Jim kissed her with as much confidence as he spoke, and at times Bloom could feel him smirk.  But she took it as a challenge, matching his intensity as their lips slid together and his hands roamed her back.  The intensity slowly morphs into passion, and Jim finally pulls away from her lips, only to start trailing hot, open-mouthed kissed along her throat.

He hit a particularly sensitive spot, and Bloom can’t help the moan that escapes her mouth .  “Oh god…”

“Just your regular semi-immortal man, but I’m flattered nonetheless.”

She heaved, trying desperately to regain her breath.  “S...Shut up, Jim.”

His lips halted, and a second later Bloom was looking him in the eyes.  The intensity there was gone, replaced with something hypnotic and much more lustful.  “Make me.”

Her chest exploded with fire, and she fisted her hands in his jacket as she crashed her lips against his again.  Jim took her in stride, and Bloom felt his gloved hand reach up and take hold of the zipper on the front of her jumpsuit.  “You know,” he breathed between kisses, “You look awfully hot in that.”

“Oh?” she asked, beginning to peel his jacket back from one shoulder.  “Maybe you could help me with that.”

His lips pressed against hers in short, wet kisses, and Bloom heard the metallic clink of him starting to pull it down.  “Well, if you’re so instant - ”

“Bloom?”

They jumped apart from each other, the lustful haze around them shattering.  Bloom’s eyes went to door leading inside the building, but no one was there.  She looked back at Jim, who appeared just as startled as she was.

“Bloom?  Come in Bloom!”

The voice sounded again.  From Bloom’s wrist.

She looked down at the watch, shining faintly compared to the lights of the city and stars around them.  Embarrassment washed over her, and Bloom sat up on the roof, taking a second to regain her breathing. She pressed the butterfly-shaped watchface.  “I’m here Tecna, do you copy?”

“There you are!  We hadn’t heard anything from you in a while.  Is everything okay up there?”

Bloom looked over at Jim, his expression now unreadable.  “U-Uh, yeah.  Everything’s fine.  No problem at all.”

“Great.  If you don’t mind then, I could use your help back here analyzing some of the data I took on the World of Dreams.”

Her heart sank lower.  “...Of course.  I’ll be right there.”

The watch beeped, and the light on its face blinked off.  As soon as it did Bloom exhaled, putting a hand to her head.  She felt exhausted all of a sudden.

There was a sound of scraping shoes, and Bloom looked up to see Jim standing and shrugging back into his jacket.  “It seems you have some more pressing matters to attend to.”

Bloom bit her lip.  “It looks like it.”

He offered a hand, and Bloom took it, standing and brushing some dust off her legs.  “I...think we got a little carried away.”

“It seems we did.”  He smiled slightly, another genuine one, and reached out to her.  Bloom was confused for a minute before she heard the sound of a zipper, sliding back up to the top of her suit.  She felt her cheeks redden.  “You better go before someone comes looking for you.”

“Yeah...I guess so.  And you better get back to guard duty.”

“I suppose I better.”

Bloom nodded, and finally took a step back.  She was about to turn away when a thought came to her.  “You never answered my question.”

“What question?”

“Which star is the World of Dreams?”

Jim stared at her for a minute, then burst out laughing.  Bloom half expected a fight, but he turned and pointed at the sky.  “It’s in the bottom of Andromeda.  Those two stars in the bottom left of the triangle: the one on the right.”

She followed his finger.  “Second star to the right and straight on ‘til morning.”

His head snapped back to her.  “...I wasn’t aware that was a phrase used here.”

“It’s old; from a fairytale…” she trailed off, purposely averting her gaze.  “Maybe I could show it to you sometime.”

There wasn’t a response, and when Bloom looked back that smirk was right back on Jim’s face as if it’d never left.  “I think I’d like that.”

Bloom smiled back, and with that finally turned and walked to the other side of the roof, picking up the pace the closer she got.  She jumped off the edge and landed on the building at the other side, and kept running back towards the van.

Bloom didn’t bother asking if Jim would be back.  She had a feeling she knew the answer.

[runningfromexplosions]

Chalk Drawings

------Lazytown fluff and friendship fic------

Robbie curled up in his fluffy orange chair and plopped a large tome on his lap. “Ahh, time for a relaxing read,” he sighed contentedly. He opened the volume, called “Magic and Folklore,” to where he had last left off and removed his silky purple bookmark.

“The pentacle,” he read aloud, “Is a magical symbol often used as a shield against malevolent spirits. An amulet with a pentacle carved into it can be worn around one’s neck to ward off evil.  Drawing a pentacle on one’s door is said to keep demons, elves, and other tricksters from entering one’s house. Hmm. Interesting. Wait, ELVES?!” Robbie did a double-take and re-read the sentence. “It says elves!” The cogwheels of mayhem began to whir inside his imagination. Slower, with a mischievous grin spreading across his face, he repeated to himself, “It says elves. And Sportacus is an elf, which means…”

The villain sprung out of his seat and clapped his hands together. “I am a genius!” he declared to the audience of only himself. “It’s disguise time.” He danced over to his display of costumes. “Too flashy,” he said, looking at a sequined dress. “Too clashy,” he said about an ugly leotard with conflicting patterns and colors. “Too…moustachey,” he said about a pair of moustache-print pajamas. The next outfit in line was a simple brown suit with a colorful tie, a pin that looked like an artist’s palette, a beret, and a thin moustache that curled wildly at the ends. “Perfect!” In a whirlwind of magic, the disguise disappeared from its display and reappeared on Robbie. “Now I just need one more thing…”

Ziggy was strolling through town, sucking on a lollipop (as usual), when he saw a big chalk star drawn on the ground. Followed by another big star. And another. A pathway of stars! Curious, Ziggy followed the path to its end, where the man behind the drawings was squatting and drawing yet another star on the pavement with a purple stick of chalk. Ziggy saw that the man had an entire bucket full of all different colors of chalk.

“Hey mister, what are you doing?” Ziggy asked the artist. The artist looked up, frowned, and raised an eyebrow. “Didn’t anyone ever tell you not to talk to strangers?” he said, waving his chalk at the boy like a chiding finger. “Hmm, maybe…I don’t remember. But you’re talking to me, and I’m a stranger to you, right?” “Go away, kid, can’t you see that I’m working on a very important public art project?” said the artist, who could not possibly be Robbie Rotten in any conceivable way. “An art project? What kind of art project?” “I’m drawing stars all over Lazytown,” the artist announced proudly, “It’s going to be a masterpiece! That is, so long as some messy child doesn’t interfere.” “I sure hope not!” said Ziggy, missing the point of Robbie’s snide remark. “Oh! Could I be your artist’s assistant? Please?” “Er…” Robbie hesitated. The brat was persistent, and Robbie doubted that the kid would quietly walk away if he told him to leave again. Besides, if Zippy or whatever his name was helped draw the pentacles, it would save Robbie some time. “Fine. But you have to draw stars like mine, okay?” “I’ll do my best!” the boy said, eagerly picking out a blue chalk stick from the bucket. Robbie went back to his work and tried to ignore the child. That is, until the kid sighed. “Aww…” Robbie put down his chalk. “What is it?” he asked offhandedly. “I don’t think it turned out so good,” said Ziggy, dropping his chalk in defeat. Well, Robbie thought, the boy’s star…had points, he supposed. Not the correct number of five, but the thing looked more like a star than it did a scribble. “Here, I’ll help you,” said Robbie, picking up Ziggy’s chalk, “I’ll hold onto the top, and you hold on to the bottom.” Ziggy grasped the bottom of the chalk as suggested. Robbie helped guide the chalk over the pavement until they had drawn a complete star. “There, see?” Robbie said. “Yes. This one looks a lot better. Thank you!” “You’re…welcome?” Robbie mentally slapped himself. He was a villain, not a babysitter, for crying out loud! Maybe the pink one had been right and he was a big softie. “Hi Ziggy!” Speak of the eight-year-old devil. There she was, a pink and white soccer ball under one arm, and…oh boy, the other children were coming over as well. The geeky one, the pigtailed one, and the greedy one- the entire Brat Brigade- surrounded Robbie. “What’cha doing, Ziggy?” asked Pixel. “I’m helping Mr. Artist draw stars!” said Ziggy. “Sounds like fun. We were going to invite you to play soccer with us, but it’s cool if you want to keep drawing.” “Ooh, chalk drawings?” said Trixie, interested. “We can play soccer later; I wanna draw!” “Mr. Artist, can my friends draw, too?” Ziggy asked Robbie. “All right,” Robbie said, realizing that he had no escape from the kids, “But be quiet, because I am trying to concentrate on my work. And remember, we are drawing these stars.” He gestured to the first star he had drawn. “What if we want to draw things other than stars?” asked Stephanie. “Excuse you, Miss Pink, but who is the artist here?” Stephanie rolled her eyes, but went to pick out a stick of chalk from the bucket anyway. Pink, of course.

Despite Robbie’s rule about only drawing stars, the children managed to be creative. Pixel drew entire constellations. Stingy drew stars which he labeled “MINE.” He drew arrows towards the other kids’ stars, and labeled those “MINE,” too. Stephanie and Ziggy worked on a gigantic smiley face design with a star for each of the eyes. Trixie drew on the side of a house. “Trixie, that’s someone’s house! You can’t draw there!” Stephanie warned. “Oh yeah? And who’s going to stop me?” “No one! That’s my house,” Robbie lied, “And you have my permission to draw all over it!” “All right!” the prankster cheered. She spent the next few minutes drawing large stars on the sides of the house until she ran out of space. At least, she had run out of space that she could reach. Trixie’s next move was to climb onto the window ledge. She raised her chalk, prepared to draw a star above the window, when she lost her balance. “Whooooa!” Trixie fell backwards, but rather than land painfully on the ground, she landed safely in someone’s arms. “I got you!” said Trixie’s rescuer. “Sportacus!” all the kids cheered at once, while Robbie growled. Sportacus gently set Trixie back on her feet. “Trixie, why were you drawing on that house?” Sportacus asked, his arms crossed. He wasn’t angry, but his tone was serious. “It’s the artist’s house, and he said I could draw on it,” Trixie explained, “Besides, it’s just chalk. It’ll wash off when it rains.” Robbie wailed. He should have thought of that. If the anti-elf magic wasn’t activated soon, Sportacus would be able to come back once the rain had washed the pentacles away. “Artist?” Sportacus said, looking at the man who had just made the anguished noise. “Yes, hello, that’s me,” Robbie said, masking his frustration with a forced smile. “We’re helping him with his art project,” said Stephanie. “Oh! Sportacus, would you like to draw with us?” “NO!” Robbie interjected. Stephanie glared at him. “Why not? You let everyone else draw.” “Yes, but…he’d ruin our work. He can’t draw! He doesn’t know how!” “I can draw,” said Sportacus, slightly puzzled. “Uh, actually, I meant to say I have a special job in mind for you,” Robbie improvised. Sportacus bounced on his feet in anticipation. “I’m always ready to help! What can I do?” “I need you to go stand in the center of that big star,” Robbie said, pointing to the largest of his pentacles. All the kids had stopped drawing to watch Sportacus move to the designated location. They wondered what the artist planned for the hero. “Like this?” Sportacus gestured to himself, now standing in the pentagon of the star. Robbie rested one hand under his chin and squinted his eyes, pretending to contemplate Sportacus as one would a work of art. He circled around Sportacus, making sure that every part of the elf was inside the star. “Yes, good. Now tell me: do you feel like…skedaddling? Running for the hills?” Robbie wiggled his fingers in the direction of the mountains beyond Lazytown. “Well, I always enjoy running,” said Sportacus, who began to jog in place. “No, no, not running!” Robbie clamped a hand on each of Sportacus’ shoulders to stop his jogging. “I mean, do you even feel a little, teensy, tiny urge to leave Lazytown?” He leaned in towards Sportacus in a way he hoped was intimidating, and whispered in his ear: “For EVER?” Sportacus laughed. “No. I like it here!” He began to do jumping jacks, and Robbie was forced to let go of him. “AAAAARGGH!” Robbie shouted, “WHY ISN’T IT WORKING?” “Was something supposed to happen?” Sportacus asked, pausing mid-jumping jack. Robbie, in a fit, plucked off his fake moustache and threw his beret to the ground. He stomped on the beret several times. “Robbie Rotten!” the children gasped. “Robbie Rotten!” Robbie mocked, “Yes, of course it’s me! I take off my fake moustache and my hat, and suddenly, it’s like you can recognize faces!” Stephanie put her hands on her hips and frowned at the villain. “Robbie, what were you trying to do to Sportacus?” “If you really must know, Pinkie, I was drawing magical symbols to banish Sportafool from Lazytown. But for some reason, they didn’t work.” “Magical symbols? They look like stars to me. I would know, because they’re mine,” asserted Stingy. The other kids giggled. Sportacus smiled at them before turning his gaze to Robbie. “You know what I think?” Sportacus said with a twinkle in his eye, “I think Robbie just wanted to be friends and draw pictures with all of you!” “No!” said Robbie. “Yes!” said Ziggy. “Robbie taught me how to draw a star. See?” He pointed to his first drawing. “I couldn’t do it at first, but he helped me!” Ziggy pointed to the star that he and Robbie had drawn together. Robbie spluttered, unable to deny being helpful. Sportacus gently laid a hand on Robbie’s shoulder. “You did a good thing, Robbie,” Sportacus said softly. Robbie suddenly felt very queasy. “Good?” he whined, “I’m a villain! I can’t be good!” Beyond embarrassed, Robbie snatched up his hat and moustache from the ground. He started to stomp away, but he paused briefly to turn his reddened face and spit out a few more words at his frie—no! Not friends! Annoying acquaintances. “S-smell you later, Sportastink, brats!” “Okay. See you later, Robbie!” Sportacus called after Robbie had turned away again. “See you later!” the children echoed. Robbie felt strangely calmed by their words. Although he had shouted rudely at the kids and the hero, they had replied with kindness. Ugh, why did they have to make it so difficult for him to keep up his grouchy act? Robbie wouldn’t have admitted it to anyone else, but drawing with the kids had almost been... Fun.

[lotornomiko]

The Dark Flavor Of Addiction Chapter Twenty Four (worksafe)

There is always something quite calming about the water. About the way it ripples in constant motion, with the lingering remnants of sunlight reflecting across it’s surface. It’s not as bright as it could have been, not with evening fast drawing near. It’s not yet dark, the sky still a mix of a burnt golden orange. There’s some other shades that streak into that color, some reds and a purple on a canvas made practically barren of any clouds. Their absence means it would be the perfect night for sailing, the sea never more tranquil than in the span between storms.

Certainly it’s a more peaceful sight than the danger that is soon to blanket the town. A fight is coming, the first punch thrown in a battle that might just be the end of everything anyone has ever known. It’s that what makes the witch’s plans all the more frightening, that unknown factor, the hows and whys of what she wants versus the reason that motivate her. Of that we have not a clue, Zelena an evil no one understands, no one knows, and most of all no one remembers.

Not even me. For all the memories that I have, for all that I remember of the year that everyone else has forgotten, Zelena is still a mystery. I suppose I am to blame for that, for my choice in isolating myself from the rest of the group. There’d be guilt in that realization, if I had it in me to care. I don’t, this town and it’s problems, it’s people, all things I easily cast aside. It’s MY needs that I make a priority, my wants and desires that rule over my actions. It’s so blatantly selfish, and I’m so unrepentant a pirate, justifying my own happiness as the most important when it came to the right and the wrong.

It’s not even the first time that I’ve done this, that I’ve actively acted to damn this whole town. Though it’ll be a much different outcome this time around, no hesitation in me when it comes to thoughts of leaving. There’s no room for Emma Swan, no interest and no lies, the woman unable to appeal to me, unable to even try. There’s no fantasy she can maintain, no words pretty enough to make me believe in her false hopes. I’m free of her, free of the madness and the delusions that had sprung up in her wake, Emma just a footnote in my past while Belle is my glorious future.

It’s that future I take active steps to secure, that end I strive for, my happiness and Belle’s safety all the reason I need to take the choice from her. It’s not something that she’ll appreciate, not immediately but in time? In time she will get over it. She’ll have to, my patience such that I’ll wait as long as need be for that forgiveness to come. I’d wait even longer for her love, for Belle’s heart to at last open itself to me entirely.

There’s less room for patience where other people are concerned. I hear the wood creak under quick, scurrying footsteps, see the shadow loom large as William Smee falls into place besides me. He’s got his red cap off and in his hands, wringing it with his fingers in a display that is meant to appease the worst of my anger.

“You know how much I don’t like to be kept waiting, Smee.”

“Begging a thousand pardons, captain.” The man stammered, all red faced and out of breath. “I couldn’t be getting off work any sooner. Not if I wanted to keep my job.”

“Job?” I can’t keep the disdain from my voice, the sneer at the thought of Smee doing any kind of honest day’s work. “Have you forgotten Smee, that you are pirate and not some fisherman!?”

“Oh no, Captain!” Smee exclaimed. “I haven’t forgotten that at all. But in this world as it is, if I be wanting to stand any chance of having some money, I have to do something to earn it.”

“Hmph.” I snorted at that, still staring at the water rippling about Storybook’s harbor. Smee vibrated with his tension, with that anxious air of energy as he waited and failed to keep quiet.

“Captain? Have….Have you given any more thought to what me and the boys have been wondering?”

He can’t seem to hold still, fighting with the red knit cap of his, while bracing himself against hope and the back hand I am sure he is expecting. He’s actually cringing in place, but despite that, there’s a bravery inside him. A strength that I hadn’t always appreciated, Smee a bumbling idiot when it came to so much, but always ready to ask the unpleasant questions that were meant to make me think. It’s an admirable trait that has helped ease my fat out of the fire more than once in Neverland, even if I hadn’t always liked him questioning my decisions.

“No.” I turn to look at the man, to watch him deflate with his disappointment. I let him wallow in it a moment longer, than smirk, clapping an arm across his shoulders as I pulled him in closer for a conspirator’s whisper. “I’ve been thinking on something much BETTER.”

“Better?” Smee is confused and shows it. “What’s better than pirating the high seas?”

“Happy endings, Smee! Happy Endings and the pursuit of them.”

“Uh….I don’t be understanding.” He admitted to me. “Even if a happy ending was in reach, there’s no way to have it in THIS town. Not with the witch and her flying monkeys about!” He seemed to shiver then, almost as though Zelena frightened him more than I ever had.

“Yes, she is a problem.” I agreed. “For THEM.” I grinned and let go of Smee, staring out across the harbor. “How fast can you get a ship?”

“Captain?” There was an undercurrent of excitement in Smee’s voice now. “Do you mean it?”

“Aye, that I do.”

“Great!” Eyes all a twinkle, Smee was ever prepared for my wants and needs. “I know JUST the ship to steal. The fastest and smoothest ride ever to be found, second to none save the Jolly Roger.”

“For ALL our sake, it better be.” I point out as reminder to him. “You better be right about this ship, Smee. We need not only outrun the witch and her monkeys, we need do the same to her magic.”

“Leave it to me” Smee promised. “I’ll get the old crew together, and within a night or two, we can have the ship ready.”

“The sooner the better.” I start to turn to leave, then think better of it. “Smee?”

“Yes, Captain?”

“Can you get your hands on those metal bracelets that this town’s savior is so fond of using?” I’m thinking of Belle in the moment, thinking how it will be easier to carry her off if her hands were bound.

“Handcuffs?” Smee’s brow had furrowed. “Sure, but why would you be needing that?”

“I can think of a reason or two...” I smirk with that, thinking not only of the kidnapping, but other, more pleasurable play that could be had with a bound Belle. But first I had to see her secure and safe, and far removed from this town and it’s many dangers.

“Um right...” Smee sounded unsettled. “Is there anything else I should be seeing about getting? Er besides the ship and some supplies?”

“Don’t want to bog the ship down with too much weight.” I shake my head then. “Not with magic to outrun...Besides, whatever else we need, we’ll easily be able to TAKE. There’s a whole new world out there, with a whole new sea, and the ships to sail them.”

Smee was grinning from ear to ear. “Right you are about that, captain! This world is a marvel, with a magic all it’s own. I’ll never forget the wonder that is frozen yogurt.”

“Still thinking with your belly, eh?” I ask, and Smee colors a spotty shade of red.

“There’s WORSE things to think with.” He counters. He then sputters out an apology, as though realizing what he had just implied.

“No, it’s...it’s FINE, Smee.” My tone is more sigh then hiss. Because it hadn’t been so much my brain that had been doing the thinking, but my heart and a decidedly male part of my anatomy. That angry lust, and those hurt feelings, and in a way I was still thinking with my body, with my desires, wants, and needs.

“Ah...” Smee hesitated a moment, as though trying to gather his courage. “Captain? If I may be so bold?”

“My temper has never stopped you before.” I was only half joking as I grumbled, remembering all the times I had snapped and snarled and even physically threatened old Smee.

“Ah yeah, there is that...” He agreed. His fingers were back to nervously playing with the cap, crushing it, and the smoothing it out. His fear and anxiety didn’t stop him from voicing the question, from asking the reasons behind my sudden change of heart. “Not that I be minding...” Smee hastily added. “But that last time that I asked, you were absolutely intent on staying in Storybrooke. I be wondering what changed, and so will the crew, as excited and eager as they are to get back to the sea…”

“Everything.” I say, then hesitate. “Everything and nothing.”

“Captain? I don’t quite understand...”

“That’s fine Smee, I didn’t quite understand it myself.” I admit. “I hadn’t for a long time...” I make a fist with my hand, as though grasping hold of something. “I spent all this time in denial, all this time hurting and lashing out, refusing to find the fault within me, the blame that is my part in this whole mess.”

“Hurting?” Smee frowned. “Over what?”

“Not what, but who.” I correct him. Belle’s face came to mind, that heart breaking loveliness, her soulful blue eyes, and those lips that were a potent pouting sensuality. Even sad she was beautiful, her heart’s turmoil making Belle absolutely perfect in my eyes. It was a new appreciation that I took in her grief, that I thought on her heart, and it’s capacity to feel so much where I was concerned. Without even a conscious decision, I smiled then, and Smee noticed THAT too.

“Who? And what woman be we talking about?” He asked. “Emma Swan, or the Dark One’s...” He hesitated, as though trying to settle on the right word for what Belle meant to Rumpelstiltskin. I didn’t give him the chance, turning a wide eyed surprise at his keen eye for this detail.

“You mean you….?”

“Oh it’s not hard to notice the times you’ve stolen off to be with her.” He wasn’t grinning though, Smee giving me a searching look. “The question is WHY. What reason could there be, what game were you playing, to take up with a woman that belongs to the Dark One.”

“She doesn’t belong to him!” I snap. “Belle belongs to ME!”

Smee actually took a step back, though he didn’t stop with his prying. “And why would you say that?”

“Because it’s the TRUTH.” It’s a furious hiss I speak with, advancing on the nervous Mr. Smee. “It’s not revenge I am after, it’s not even just lust’s satisfaction. It’s her HEART that I be wanting, and it’s her heart that I will HAVE.”

“You sound as if you...you want love.” stammered Smee.

“I DO.” There was strength and conviction to my words, Smee all wide eyed with shock before he suddenly broke out into a grin.

“Then I suppose I better be getting you those handcuffs.” He said it with a cheeky little wink. “Since Miss Belle is not the type to easily abandon a whole town in danger.”

“No, she’s not.” I agreed. “She has too noble a heart for that.” I then gave a jerk of my head, a clear cut dismissal for Smee to get on with it. He was all to eager to oblige, scurrying off like the rat he had once been, hurrying off to get together the crew, and start the planning and prep work. His exiting foot steps couldn’t drown out the sound of what I thought was the beating of wings, but a glance skywards showed that there was nothing there. No birds, and certainly nothing that resembled a flying monkey. I frowned all the same, unnerved by the sound, by what I thought it implied.

“You won’t stop me.” I mutter out loud. “No one can.”

With that, I turned away from the water. There was only the fewest streaks of sunlight left, night almost upon me. I had to hurry if I wanted to get back to the town’s square, to the main street where the duel was set to take place.

It would actually be nightfall, by the time the library’s clock tower came into view. I could hear the starting roar of a nervous crowd, what sounded like nearly the entire town gathered to watch the battle between witches. Closer yet, and louder than the crowd just barely, was David’s voice, Prince Charming shouting for attention.

“Everyone, listen to me!” He is saying. “We need you to all get back to the safety of your homes. There’s nothing worth...”

“No one is going to anywhere!” It should have been impossible for such a calm utterance to have even been heard over the protesting crowd’s many speaking voices, and yet thanks to her magic, Zelena’s voice was heard as clearly as a bell ringing. Immediate was the reaction, the crowd gasping and looking around, trying to pin point where that sound had come from. I took advantage to push aside a few people of my own, in my quest to find and get close to Belle.

I spot her near to where David is, Belle standing next to his wife, and his daughter, and all three are also looking around for the witch. It’s Emma who sees me first, who does a frowning double take, her own eyes angry and disproving. I just smirk at her in all my unapologetic glory, and stride even faster.

“Hook...” She scowls. “We don’t have time for you now.”

“More’s the shame for you, cause I don’t have time for YOU either.” I retort in a glib manner, hearing the crowd gasp. For one second I think they are reacting to what I have said to their savior, but then I realize the crowd has found her, has found the witch, Zelena with her slave in tow. Rumpelstiltskin is every bit as disheveled as he had been the day before, and just as menacing, with his eyes as black as they were. Zelena’s come prepared to make good on her threats, and it’s a short leash that she has the Dark one on.

He fights it though. Fights it every step of the way, that reluctance inside him. It makes his body lurch and jerk in place, every step forward a victory of the dagger.

“Rumple.” I hear Belle whisper it, that tiny moaning utterance that makes the Dark One’s head snap around, his eyes seeking out the woman, just as I fall into step besides her. I meet the eyes of the monster, and glare, all fierce smirk and seething intensity. Rumpelstiltskin looks at me, then becomes dismissive, turning away from the sight of me, and the sight of Belle, as though he can’t bear for either one of us to see him this way.

He’s ashamed. I realize that with a chuckle that makes the Dark One flinch. I don’t believe for a second he cares about what he might be made to do to the town, and everything to do with the fact he’s been made Zelena’s slave. He doesn’t like being made so weak and so vulnerable before everyone, so unabashedly at someone’s mercy. Not that I think the witch has any, the woman gliding through the frightened crowd of people, that part as though by wind. No one wants to get too close to Zelena, or to the Dark One, not even to see the Evil Queen possibly lose.

“This show after all, needs an audience.” Zelena says with that airy amusement. She’s in all her wicked witch finest, all form fitting ebony fabric, whose skirt drapes down to just short of her ankles. There’s a fist sized emerald about her throat, and a long pointed hat on her head. She looks so out of place here among the people of this town, though back in the Enchanted Forest, her odd costume would have blended her right in.

“Out of my way, munchkin.” She snaps at the one person whose fright had kept him from moving away with the rest of the crowd, the man just standing there shaking, slack jawed and terrified.

“I’m...I’m a DWARF.” He manages to stammer.

With a roll of her eyes, and barely another look spared him, Zelena sneers. “That’s even WORSE.” She’s got the Dark One’s dagger in hand, and she’s gripping it tighter with gloved fingers as she looks around and around. It is then that I realize just WHO is missing, the Evil Queen nowhere to be found. The witch realizes it too, her voice angry as she demands to know just where Regina is.

“Hmm!?” She says with a hand on a hip. “Don’t tell me she is a COWARD.” No one answers, no one dares, the crowed just standing there, all a fright with anxiety over what Zelena’s displeasure will make her do.

“Well, this isn’t good.” A black booted toe is tapping on the pavement. Zelena smiles, but it’s all angry menace, her green eyes narrowed and blazing with threat. “For any of YOU. If my sister is not here in five minutes...” She’s got a flair for the dramatic, pausing like that. I take advantage to ease closer to Belle, to none too inconspicuously place a hand and my hook on her shoulders. Belle immediately reacts, startling in fright, then shooting me an angry look as she tries to wiggle free of my grip. I only hold on tighter to her, and it’s either put up with the touch, or make a scene, and somehow I doubt she wants Rumpelstiltskin to find out THIS way.

The crowd then gasps, and I realize I’ve missed the rest of Zelena’s threat. It doesn’t matter. She’ll start the killing, either by her magic, or by his, Rumpelstiltskin looking tense, those ebony colored eyes a dark menace despite all his intents and wishes.

The Savior can’t stand it, can’t take the wait OR the threats, Emma Swan stepping forward towards Zelena. Her mother tries to grab her arm, but this time Emma is too fast, the blonde hair woman aggressive as she stands toe to toe with Zelena. “You’re not killing anyone.” She tells her, while Zelena gives her a smirk. “If you want to fight someone, you’ll fight ME!” Her fists are already clenched and at the ready, though what Emma thinks she can do against magic is anyone’s guess.

Zelena looks at Emma as though she is actually considering it. That or judging the savior’s potential, the witch suddenly sneering. “Oh sorry dearie. I don’t dance with amateurs.” Her laugh is one of mocking derision, Zelena moving to step past this obstacle when Emma snarls in stubborn defiance.

“I am not an amateur.” She says, her mouth fixed in a grim, determined line. “I am the savior.”

That gets Zelena to stop, and give Emma a second look. “Well!” It’s an annoyed scoff of sound. “Someone’s got an inflated sense of self worth.” She gives a little nod, and there’s meaning and intent in that slight gesture. Emma braces herself, her hands at the ready but it’s not Zelena who attacks, but the Dark One. With just a raise of his right hand, Rumpelstiltskin makes Emma fly. She shoots back as though thrown, some invisible force of dark magic propelling her towards a group of people. Most get out of the way, but two are hit hard by her body, Emma’s name screamed out by so many. David and Snow White are already there, rushing to help her and the others up. Belle tries to follow, and I haul her closer, breathing words into her ear.

“Oh no, you don’t!” Those firm words earn me a look, an angry reprimand of blue that can’t get me to let go of her.

“Anyone else want to give it a go!?” Zelena is angrily shouting, waving the Dark One’s dagger about with intent to use it. She is laughing madly, pacing about, stepping close to people in a power tripping display to feed her ego, when a voice brimming with confidence speaks.

“I do.” There’s a smug elation with those words, a small group of people to one side, pulling apart to reveal just who had spoken. It’s the evil queen herself, Regina standing there clad in a black all her own. There’s only one bright spot of color to her otherwise dark ensemble, that bold red that seems so out of place on her hand.

As big a smile as the Evil Queen is wearing, it’s nothing compared to the visceral satisfaction Zelena shows. She smirks with it, and takes a step towards the advancing Regina, until the two are just inches from each other, in the middle of the street.

“Didn’t anyone ever tell you?” Regina asked, then narrowed her eyes, a vicious smirk on her face. “Black is MY color.”

There’s a giggle in response to that, such a carefree and unconcerned laugh. “But it looks so much BETTER on me.” The witch is all grin, that smirk of hers just as smug and as vicious as anything Regina has ever shown. It’s gone in the next instant, Zelena sobering to serious. “I was beginning to think you weren’t going to show up.”

Regina is just as serious, brimming with a seething hatred. “I couldn’t let my sister off that easily.”

“Oh?” There’s no wide eyed innocence in that one, Zelena all cold calculation as she paces even closer to Regina. “So you’ve finally accepted me into the family?”

“No, no.” Regina corrects her. “I may have accepted that we shared a mother, yes, but I still have one question.” She steps right into Zelena’s path, gets right into her face, and hisses. “What the hell did I ever do to you!?

There’s a glare for an answer, Zelena sneering. “Isn’t it obvious?” She practically spits the words into Regina’s face. “You were BORN.” That is all it took, the reaction immediate, the Evil Queen doing a hard, vicious slap across Zelena’s face. It actually rocks the witch’s head to the side, though she doesn’t drop the dagger.

Regina then grins with an immense sense of satisfaction, eyeing the blood that colors one corner of Zelena’s mouth. “I’ve been waiting to do that ALL day.”

A gloved thumb touches to the blood, the witch giving a grotesque kind of grin that is more grimace than smile. “Rumpelstiltskin can’t save you this time.”

“I wouldn’t want him to.” Regina starts to say, only to find herself pushed back with magic, violently thrown against a brick wall. The crowd panics, everyone starting to scatter, and Zelena doesn’t seem to even care that she is losing her little audience.

“He should have chosen me!” She screams at Regina.

“Who?” She gets up off the ground with a groan, brushing the dirt and debris off her clothing in an almost absent minded manner.

“Rumpelstiltskin.”

“That is what this is about!?” There is a total disbelief to her words. “You’re JEALOUS of me?”

There is indeed that much in her eyes, the vivid green of them matching the emerald at her throat. There’s also a hatred, a deep seated resentment that burns in the narrowed depths of the witch's malevolent gaze. She doesn’t get to speak, for Regina is suddenly laughing, looking upward to gesture above them. There’s the heavy moan of protest, and the sound of thick cables snapping free. Sparks rain and shower down in it’s wake, the large metal traffic light being driven down towards the witch.

There’s a gasp, and actual scream, but it’s not Zelena who voices it. No, she steps calmly out of it’s path, and it’s the crowd who has to run to avoid being caught in the crossfire of that sparking monstrosity’s path. It barrels down main street, and I start to pull Belle out of the way.

“It’s not safe here!” I say to her.

“It’s not safe anywhere.” She counters, but steps along with me quick enough. She’s not the only one, the townspeople on the move. They’re all ignored, neither Zelena nor Regina sparing one bit of attention to the panicking bystanders.

“You still don’t realize what you have. You never did.” hisses Zelena, who then screams with all the anger inherent in her soul. “You got everything that I ever wanted, and you didn’t even deserve it. But now? Now I’m going to take it ALL from you!”

Her magic sends Regina flying again, and there is the horrific sound of metal crunching underneath the fallen queen’s body. It’s a blue car that she’s slammed into it, and for one second Regina lays there stunned.

“My car.” moans a dwarf in disbelief, another pulling at his arm in an effort to get him to run.

There’s a grunt of sound from Regina, the woman struggling to sit up. She can’t quite keep from groaning, but it is anger that touches down on the ground. She is furious, stalking towards her sister, with flames sparking in her hand. It’s a large flaming fireball, and Regina is so full of hate at the moment.

“That...she can’t be serious!” Emma exclaims but Regina is already moving to throw it. It suddenly goes green in her hand, than dissipates with a hiss leaving Regina to look down at her hand in complete shock. It’s a mistake, Zelena seizing hold of her the second Regina is distracted. That choke hold is one of magic, Zelena effortlessly lifting Regina up off the ground by a span of a few inches.

“You can’t beat me little sis.” It’s an almost gentle sound, that voice gone soft with her assured victory. “Everything that Rumpelstiltskin taught you...?” Zelena leans forward into Regina’s path. “He taught me too.” But it was hardly a happy revelation, Zelena looking angry again. “But I was the BETTER student.”

It is so sudden, and so shocking, Regina up in the air, up higher than she’s ever been, and she’s crashing into the clock tower, actually breaking glass with her body. The few remaining bystanders all scream in horror, the evil queen not only shattering glass, but going through it. It’s such a violent explosion of sound, and there’s glass raining down on us all.

I put up my arm, try to crouch and cover Belle with my body. There’s glass in my hair, glass on my coat, and Zelena is laughing, that elated sound of her ultimate triumph. I hear what I think are her boots crunching down on the glass, and then I hear nothing save for the last bits of glass to hit. I wait a few more seconds, wait and then cautiously look up, my hand over my eyes to protect it from any glass that might still be airborne. There’s no sign of the witch, no sign of anyone but the few people who remained, many cowering in place, some even injured by the glass that had fallen. But at least Belle is fine, my body having protected hers from the worst of the glass shower.

“That was close.” I mutter to her. She’s looking up at me with a dazed look, her mouth gaping open in sweet invitation.

“Are you okay?” She manages to ask, and I start to nod.

“I’m fine.”

“You’re BLEEDING!” She points out in a strangled tone, looking at something. I blink in surprise, then realize that I am, a thin trail of blood running down the side of my head. It’s nothing too severe, and I tell her as much, but Belle still looks troubled. She stares at me, actually takes a step forward as though she would run trembling fingers in search of the wound. “Why would you....?” She breathes out an unfinished question.

I look at her with all the feeling that I can muster, all the emotion, both the good and the bad, and go to catch hold of her hand. She trembles MORE, staring at me with those parted lips. I’m staring too, so ready to spill my heart to her, when I hear Emma shout.

“Gold!”

I watch the moment between us die, watch whatever feelings had stirred inside Belle give way to guilt and to shame. She snatches her hand back just before my fingers can close around her wrist.

“Don’t!” I whisper an urgent plea, but it’s too late. Belle shakes her head no at me, and spins faster than I thought her capable of, the woman intent on the Dark One.

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To Be Continued.…