#i had wanted to end on 13 chapters to be On Brand with the whole thing

[ranger-kellyn]

OFFICIALLY done with the outline to the final portion of my fic Getaway Car. if i can convince myself to finish this potential cover drawing, my nanowrimo project will be golden!!!!!!

[kangaracha]

QUEENMAKER | CHAPTER 13

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pairing chan x reader

genre ninth member au, angst, fluff, coming of age, social media, cancel culture, anxiety, depression, forbidden love,

summary To JYPE, the solution is simple; take the sole trainee that will not debut with your brand new girl group, and use her to replace the missing vocalist in your male group that insisted on starting as nine.

Unfortunately, to the fans and the members themselves, it isn't that simple.

status ongoing

taglist OPEN

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The way that Chan slumps straight down onto your sofa suggests that it has either been a long day or he is expecting a long night ahead. You're almost too scared to ask which is true; not that there's a way for you to wheedle out of blame for either being difficult. It's all related to you joining the group, and whatever was going on with your schedule.

In the end, Chan doesn't give you a chance to ask, his eyes roving around the apartment. "Your dorm is nice," he comments, in the sort of voice that would insinuate his isn't nice if you hadn't already seen it.

You glance around too, at the white walls and years-old pieces of furniture that clutter the space. They've all seen many singers come and go before you, and then were never built for that kind of handing down - but they're robust, if not entirely pretty. Dependable as a place to keep a home. "It's alright," you say, sinking into the seat beside him. "It's small. There's no way all eight of you would fit."

"It's loud enough in our dorm," Chan agrees, cutting a grin. "You should have seen when there was nine of us living on top of each other in one dorm."

Nine of us. Not you, of course, but the long-gone boy you were supposed to replace. You're not sure how the echo of the words over inside your head makes you feel. Somewhere in the back of your mind, you're distinctly aware that you've never heard him say that before (not even since you joined; always, it was the eight of them and one of you).

"Nightmareish," you say dryly, but the response is lacklustre, the joke weak and watery. Chan's smile fades. 

"I guess I should stop stalling," he says, mistaking your tone for a different kind of distraction. 

For two weeks, a heavy, curling tension has been holding itself steady in your gut; at the reminder of it now, it clenches its fist tight, your ribcage retracting and your breath shallow. You're going to debut, Minseo had said, and you'd thought it and thought it and thought it; but surely, it was unbelievable-

"I want you to perform at K-Con," Chan says, before the thought can finish flashing through your mind, and you freeze. "Not the whole concert, just God's Menu, or whatever you're confident in. Anything you want."

"Isn't K-Con in three weeks?" you question, and try to ignore the pounding of your heart in your chest. "You want me to debut in three weeks?"

A light dances in his eyes, that funny, coy smile he wears when he wants to mess with someone playing on his lips. "Technically, it doesn't count as a debut until the album comes out."

You’re seized by the sudden urge to push him off the couch - not that your hands move. You're still stuck in place, fingers twisted together in your lap; and even if you weren't, it's one thing to make playful threats in a text under his encouragement. It's another to enact them in real life, when he wants to sit across from you and offer you all of your dreams-

"Why?" you blurt out, and then realise belatedly that that might be just as rude as the actions you were trying to avoid. 

Not that he cares, that smile slowly fading into something that isn't anger or humour. Even if you'd asked in Korean, you're pretty sure he wouldn't have minded. He was always telling you there was no hierarchy within this group, no reason to treat him with any respect.

"Because I want to," he insists. "The company agreed that you're ready - and you are ready. You've worked really hard."

You can't stop staring at him; that smile that's plastered across his face, the order of the words that come out of his mouth. You can't put your finger on why it gives you a bad feeling, and yet...something is off. You're sure of it. There's something he's not saying.

But what would he be keeping from you? Your mind wanders back through the things you know about him, the conversation you've had. Is this about the agreement you made, that you would stop working so hard once debut came? But he had just offered you a loophole out of that...and you've never known him to be that kind of sly anyway. Unless you don't know him as well as you think you do - which you suppose would be disappointing but not unexpected-

"What's wrong?" he asks, that pleased smile slipping from his face, and you can see it there under the crack; the secret, and the worry that holds itself stiff in his shoulders as he wonders if you've figured it out.

You have to take a deep breath first, and then another. The air won't quite reach the bottom of your lungs.

"It just doesn't make sense," you say, as kindly as you can. Your fingers twist at each other, tight enough to hurt.

"Doesn't it?" Chan asks. "You're ready for this, I promise."

"No," you say, certainty growing with every moment. "There's something you're not telling me."

Chan looks desperate. "There's nothing else to it."

He's a bad liar. You shake your head. "I'm just going to worry about it if you don't tell me."

"It's not something you should worry about," he insists. "I've got it under control."

"But there is something."

"No."

"You just admitted there's something."

He stops, thinking back through what he's said. Blanches. "Chan," you say, leaning forward, your elbows braced on your knees. You're surprised by the surprise on his face at the way you say his name - strong and unquestioning, free of honourifics and any kind of doubt. "Don't keep secrets from me. Please."

It's the weak little please at the end that makes him waver, the cracks of your resolve on the second syllable as the doubt over how far you can reasonably push him sinks its teeth in. He's still not angry though; if anything, he's scared, apprehension holding his tongue and reeling him, straight-backed, into the couch.

"It's better if you don't know," he says like he's delivering an apology. "I don't keep secrets. I just don't tell you things that are only going to hurt you. It's the same for all the boys - I don't see a reason in upsetting any of you when I've already resolved it."

You digest this slowly, your frustration melting word by word. "You're a really good leader," are the first words that blurt out of your mouth, a compliment that has him shaking his head and avoiding your gaze before the words are even out of your mouth. "And I appreciate it. Really."

There's a pause where you swallow the words that were about to come out of your mouth, too afraid to voice criticism, to risk the tenuous position you've built for yourself here.

"But?" Chan prompts as soon as the silence gets too loud.

Breathe.

"But," you say, intentionally slowing yourself down to one word at a time, "I've been around long enough to know when something's up, and I've looked after myself long enough to be able to handle it. If it's about debut and my career, I want to know what it is. Hurtful or not."

Chan's mouth twists unhappily. "I understand," he answers - and though he looks unhappy, you don't disbelieve him. "But also, you're not alone anymore. You're one of my people now, and it's my job to look after my people."

"I know that." Your hands are trembling, you realise suddenly, your head buzzing from the thrum of your heart beating in your ears. "And I know you like taking care of people and making sure the others never have to worry and all of that, but...that doesn't work for me. If I think something happened and I don't know what it is, I'm only going to sit here and think about it."

Inexplicably, a small smile twists at Chan's mouth, his eyes softening. "That's not going to help any more than me telling you is," he says lightly.

"Yeah," you sigh, leaning back. "I know." 

For a moment, silence falls, the tension in the air unwinding itself into something a little more comfortable as you work your way through all the things you think you should say. Chan waits patiently; understanding, maybe, that you need a moment to think, that what you're trying to say might not come out the right way the first time you say it. That would be nice. It already feels like you're risking everything to have this conversation.

"Don't baby me," you say eventually, and then cringe at how blunt the statement sounds coming out of your mouth. "I'm old enough, I can handle whatever it is. I've taken care of myself all this time."

"You're not alone anymore though," Chan repeats, stronger this time. 

"I still want to know what's happening though," you insist. "Where I stand with you, or the company, or - whatever it is. Even in a group, it's my career. I deserve to know."

"Okay," Chan says, and then again, "Okay." He stops for a moment, eyeing you appraisingly, and then says, "It's important to me that you listen to what I'm saying though. You're not alone anymore. We're a family, and we work so well because we're all committed to each other. If you want to be a part of this, you have to be as well. Do you understand?"

Your chin dips towards your chest - first in a nod, and then to stare at your hands rather than the unyielding intensity of his gaze, waiting for your answer. Waiting to see if he should be worried about you and whatever commitment he's made to you without you knowing. "I'm trying," you say, and you try your best to colour your voice in that raw honesty that burns at your chest. "I really am - I just don't want to pretend to be one of you if you're not all ready to accept me. I don't want to just come in and say I'm part of Stray Kids, I'm the same as the rest of you who have been here from the start-"

"You are one of us," he says over the top of you, cutting you off short. "We've all accepted you. If you want, in the morning, we can go and ask every single member and they'll tell you the same thing, but I need...I need you to let go of that. Forget Midnight and all the other groups that you nearly joined and being by yourself, and be part of Stray Kids. That's the person I want to show to Stay next month. That's the person I need in this group."

You swallow hard, blinking back tears. It feels big, this moment - bigger than the climax of any reality show, or the flight and fall of your time in Midnight, or the countless monthly evaluations that have passed you by in your time here. Bigger than auditions and leaving your home behind, the hardest moment you'd once thought you'd live through, when you were younger and less wary of the world. And for it to be Chan that sits there and asks this of you, his heart on his sleeve and his nature so honest and well intentioned, so hard to let down-

"I can do that," you say, around a tongue that feels thicker and heavier than it was before, a mouth stuffed full of cotton. You look up, meeting his eyes, and you're surprised to find a smile there, slowly lifting his face and crinkling at the corners of his eyes. Pleased. Relieved.

"Okay," he says, a breath blowing out with the word. "Good. Because I really want to keep you."

"Good," you echo. "Because I really want to stay."

He laughs; a small, soft thing that unwinds the tension in your chest. You pull in another breath, push back the tears again; preparing for what you need to say next. 

"I meant what I said earlier though," you add, your shoulders squaring and your jaw clenched tight. "This is important to you, and it's important to me that I know exactly what's going on."

You hate watching that smile struggle and fade again, gone as quickly as you had earned it. "You're not going to like it," he warns, but he doesn't try to fend you off again.

"That's okay," you sigh. "Nothing unusual."

His mouth twists against words that he decides not to say. "The company offered last week to let us continue as eight members," he admits, one of his hands reaching up to pick mindlessly at the pillow of your couch. "They were pretty insistent about it, actually. I told them we wanted to be nine."

Your gaze turns sharp, your head swivelling to stare at him. "Why?" you ask, your voice gasping - because you can't fathom, after the back-and-forth of the last three months and the drama of delaying your debut when they'd been so hell-bent on revealing you in time for the last album, why they would turn around and try to take you out just as quickly.

"Because God's Menu did so well." Chan shrugs. "We weren't doing very well as a group before that; the last two albums were rough, and losing a member...I guess they thought without him we weren't ever going to be able to do as well as we did at debut, and then we went and proved to them that we are profitable as eight members. And they thought they could just use you as a backup plan."

"And you-"

"I told them they already spent the last three months fucking around to make us a nine member group, so we're going ahead as nine." You're surprised at the way his voice turns sharp, the hardening of his eyes and the dig of his fingers into the cushion. "They asked me if you were ready to debut, and I told them you could debut at our next concert if they wanted - which I probably shouldn't have said, because they decided that was a great idea, but-"

It's him that's rambling now, you that cuts across him with a, "Chan." He stops short, looking up at you with eyes that remind you of how you'd felt just moments ago - unsure, wary of how you're going to react. Sure that you're going to be angry for some reason, even though what he's done is...

"Thank you," you say, your voice dropping away to almost nothing - tears well in the corners of your eyes, unbidden, dripping down your cheeks even though your throat aches with the effort of trying to swallow them back down. "No one's ever done anything like that for me before."

"Hey, don't cry," he says, alarmed. His weight shifts across the couch, his arms reaching out -  before you can wave him away, they envelop you in a hug, pulling you into his chest. It's been a long time since you hugged anyone; you're surprised at just how much you didn't know that you missed this kind of comfort, the tightening of someone else's arms around you and the warmth of another body close. 

"You better get used to it," he says over the tuck of your head into his shoulder, your tears drying on his hoodie. "You're stuck with me now."

"You didn't even ask me first," you say, and listen to the way he laughs. "I'm going to do a good job at K-Con. I promise."

"We'll talk about it tomorrow," he says, before you can continue on. "We're going to have to plan how to show those idiots that they were wrong."

"It's my special talent," you joke weakly. "They haven't got rid of me yet."

You can hear the satisfied smile on his face, the amused huff of breath that ghosts over the top of your head. "And they never will," he says, and it sounds like a promise. A prophecy.

TAGLIST

@kokinu09 @rainfallingfromthesky @lixie-phoria @mysweethannie @chlodavids @hanniemylovelyquokka @tfshouldidohere @lauraliisa @puppysmileseungmin @kalopsian-thoughts @puppy-minnie @readerofallthingss @dvbkie099 @kthstrawberryshortcake-main @acker-night @d-chagi @lynlyndoll @borahae-reads @ihrtlix @yienmarkk @minhwa @i2innie @jinnie-ret @conwunder @amesification @starssongs98 @weirdhumanbeinglol @morinuu @the-weird-mold-in-the-sink @bokkiesplace @amyyscorner @jiisungllvr @skzstaykatsy @blackhairandbangs @jungkookies1002 @hyuuukais @imsiriuslyreal @thatonedemigodfromseoul @gini143 @mercurywritesstuff @splat00z @filmbypsh @palindrome969 @crabrangoongirl25 @enzos-shit @jabmastersupriseee @kayleefriedchicken @slutfortits @duhgurl @cheshireshiya

[purplehairedwonder]

Post-Winner Island Fic Roundup

Now that the end of the Winner Island fight has been animated, I'm sure there are people looking for some catharsis. I thought I'd round up the fics I've written post-chapter 1081 (and now episode 1115). You'll find a mixture of gen, Heart Pirates-focused and Lawlu fics here:

"Aftermath" (PG | Gen | 1,122 words): The aftermath of the fight at Winner Island.

"The Heart Is a Thing to Be Broken" (PG-13 | Lawlu | 5,514 words): The Straw Hats learn about Winner Island.

"My Heart in Your Hands, My Hands around Your Heart" (PG | Lawlu | 1,908 words): In Luffy's lowest moment, Law takes Luffy's hand and promises that his story will not end.

In Law's lowest moment, Luffy takes Law's hand and promises the same.

"Your Heart, Broken in My Chest"* (PG-13 | Lawlu | 3,661 words): Luffy was far from an expert at having someone else’s heart in his chest, but he was pretty sure what was happening with Torao’s heart wasn’t normal.

AKA, Law and Luffy switched hearts after Wano, and Luffy feels Winner Island happen.

"My Heart, Fragile in Your Hands"* (PG-13 | Lawlu | 2,380 words): “I failed them,” Law whispered, and it felt like a confession—like at church in Flevance. Confession was supposed to absolve someone of their sins, right? He doubted there was a god anywhere who could absolve him of his. And yet, he confessed at the altar of Luffy. “They were my responsibility, and I failed them.”

Or, Law wakes up in the Sunny's infirmary after Winner Island.

"Our Hearts, Made Whole in Each Other"* (PG-13 | Lawlu | 2,312 words): Luffy cupped Law’s cheek with his hand, softly grazing his thumb over a yellowing bruise. “Torao is so pretty,” he said quietly, a note of awe in his voice. Law flushed. “Torao’s heart is beating so fast.”

“Yeah,” Law agreed, swallowing. “It is.” Luffy’s, despite a few flutters, was beating steadily in Law’s chest. Law, on the other hand, felt pinned to the spot, one hand holding Kikoku and the other in Luffy’s grip.

“You should stay.”

Law blinked. “What?”

“You should stay,” Luffy repeated. “On the Sunny. With me."

"From the Ashes" (PG-13 | eventual Lawlu | 3/? | 10,811 words): Blackbeard takes Law and the defeated Heart Pirates captive after their defeat at Winner Island.

"A Thing Both Terrible and Beautiful" (Explicit | Lawlu | 3,525 words): Law wants it rough, wants it to hurt, because it’s what he deserves after losing everything. Again.

Luffy knows he needs something else.

"Cursed"** (PG-13 | Gen | 1,411 words): After Wano, Jean had never been prouder to sport the Heart Pirates Jolly Roger on his back, tattooed over the slave brand that had marked him as cursed for so many years.

But they had failed Law on Winner Island.

Jean had failed him on Winner Island.

"Celebration"** (PG-13 | Gen | 1,689 words): As the Heart and Straw Hat Pirates celebrate the jailbreak of the imprisoned Hearts, Shachi tracks down a guilt-ridden Law and offers his captain some moral support.

"Loyalty"** (PG-13 | Gen | 1,264 words): The only solace the Hearts had after being taken captive by the Blackbeard Pirates was the revelation that Bepo had gotten Law away from the battlefield. They’d all sworn in Wano that they would do whatever it took to protect their self-sacrificing captain, and any of them would have made the same choice, had they been able.

They were the Heart Pirates, and Trafalgar Law was the beating heart at the center of the crew. They would hold out until Law came for them, and they would give the Blackbeard Pirates nothing.

"Night"** (PG-13 | Gen | 1,131 words): Their rescue comes at night.

"Food"** (PG-13 | Gen | 1,217 words): “Sorry for borrowing your kitchen without asking. I just...”

“It’s fine,” Sanji said easily before starting to roll up the cuffs on his sleeves to his elbow. “You wanted to make something for your people, didn’t you?”

“I...” Clione blinked in surprise. “Yeah.”

“I get it,” Sanji said. Once his cuffs were rolled up, he crossed his arms and leaned against the side of the counter. “It’s how people like us show our love, right?” Sanji went on. “Through our cooking.”

"Caught"** (PG-13 | Gen | 1,283 words): Maybe this wasn’t such a bad death, Hakugan thought as he felt darkness beginning to encroach on his vision. He’d been on the crew of a Warlord, had helped in the fight that defeated two Emperors, and had seen more incredible, unbelievable things than he would have once thought possible; it had been a much more fulfilling life than he would have had if he’d stayed in his boring, backwater home in the North Blue.

He would never regret agreeing to join Trafalgar Law all those years ago.

He only hoped that his captain would somehow live on to fight another day; as long as Law lived on, so would the Heart Pirates.

"Lost and Found (You)" (PG-13 | Lawlu | 7,554 words): Five times Law and Luffy almost lost one another and one time they did something about it.

* These fics are in a series and were written for Lawlu Week 2023.

** These fics are in a series and were written for Heart Pirates Week 2024

[elisysd]

13. Don't know who I would be if you ever leave me

Masterlist - Previously - Next

Chapter soundtrack: If You Leave Me - Niall Horan

Hungary flew by in a blink of an eye. The whole weekend was a blur but the only thing Charles could think about and hold onto was how hard it was to hide how in love and happy he felt. He couldn’t try to justify it by saying the car and the season were getting better, even if it was true, it was not a good enough reason to look like he was walking on clouds and smiling like a mad man. He had barely seen you, apart from the media pen when lingering touches were tough to keep subtle and light. He was leaving the post race meeting, eager to come back to his hotel and spend time with you, when Silvia cornered him in a narrow corridor of the hospitality. 

“Charles? A word, please.” the tight smile on her lips made him gulp in an uncomfortable manner. “I wanted to talk to you about… your image.” 

“My image? What is wrong with it?”

“The sponsors are getting tired of your bachelor status. They want someone next to you to help promote the brands.”

Charles rolled his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. Not this conversation again, he was getting tired of it.

“Listen Charles, I’ve been in contact with a few model agencies. I ask them to provide me with a list of girls who would be a good fit. Then, I narrowed it down to a few names I think would suit your persona and…”

“And nothing, Silvia.” he cut her mid sentence, anger painted all over his face. “I won’t date anyone. Not tomorrow, not ever.”

“Charles, please consider it.”

“No! I’m seeing someone, okay! And I love her very much. I would appreciate it if you back off and leave me alone.”

“But… it’s perfect then! Why haven't you said it earlier? You should bring her along, the sponsors would be delighted.”

“No, I won’t.” He avoided her gaze, hoping she would drop it down, and leave him alone. He wanted to come back to you as soon as possible and an improvised meeting with Silvia was not on his to-do list.

“What are you hiding, Charles?” her eyes narrowed until they looked like viper's eyes.

“Nothing.”

“If it can cause a huge scandal, I need to know so I can prepare your defense.”

“I need to talk to her before, Silvia. Please respect that. I won’t tell you anything that can make her uncomfortable.”

He could see how annoyed it was making Silvia but he didn’t care, for the first time in his life, he wanted to prioritize his personal life over his Ferrari’s duties, whether Silvia liked it or not.

That’s how he came back pissed off from the track. He wanted nothing more but to see this car being burned at the end of the season and his conversation with Silvia hadn’t brightened his mood. But when he opened the door of his hotel room and saw your suitcase right next to his, it made him smile. A wave of comfort washed over him when he noticed you sitting down at the desk, writing on your notebook, your hair acting as a curtain framing your face. He slowly approached you, putting both hands on your shoulders and kissed the top of your head. You looked up and smiled before closing your notebook. You stood up and went for a hug before feeling how tense he was, making you frown.

“The meeting didn’t go as planned, I suppose?” you asked, massaging his shoulders, hoping to relieve the tension.

“It’s not that…I met Silvia on my way out.” 

Then, he told you everything and it was your turn to flinch and tense. You turned away and looked through the window, lost in thoughts.

“I won’t say anything until you tell me I can. I promise.”

“I know… I’m sorry to put you in this situation. I asked for a meeting with my boss but it won’t be before a few weeks. I really hoped to get done with it before the summer break so I could enjoy it in peace and not stress over it.”

“Speaking of summer break… I was hoping you would agree to join me.” he took her hands in his, pulling her against his chest.

“I would love to, you know I do. But we can’t risk being seen together until I solve the situation at work.”

“I know, but please, consider it before saying no. I can make the arrangements to make sure we won’t be bothered, that no paparazzi will  be in sight. I can protect you, you just have to say the word. Imagine that, us, in the middle of the ocean, on my yacht, with no one to bother us. How does it sound?”

“Dreamy.  You make it hard for me to say no.”

“That’s the goal.” he grinned.

“I need a little time to think about it, okay?”

He nodded and kissed your forehead.

“That's all I'm asking from you. Whatever you decide, I won’t get mad.”

Soon, Spa arrived and with it the last race before the summer break. You were a bundle of nerves like rarely you’ve been. You were exhausted and waiting for the holidays like a thirsty man finding an oasis after days of walking in the desert. But you had to stay focused, today was a big day. You were expected in Mercedes' hospitality to interview the one and only Lewis Hamilton. You like dot think you were now experienced enough to do a good job with it but still, you had a huge amount of respect for Lewis. For both his off tracks and on tracks activities. And even if you had interviewed him in the past in the media pen, it was not the same. There was a difference between two questions after a race and a long interview of thirty minutes, in a chill environment. You had spent the night working on it under the light of your phone, trying to not wake up Charles. You wanted, no you needed, this interview to go perfectly because if it was then it would come handy if things were turning sour with your boss. You could use this as a proof that it wasn’t affecting your job in any way, that you were still a perfect fit. At least you hoped so.

You arrived in the early morning, ready and determined to do your best job ever. You were welcomed by a coffee, not as good as the one served in the Ferrari’s hospitality you noticed, and went through the back where two comfy looking gray armchairs were displayed. The lady told you that Lewis would arrive soon and you sat down, going through your notes until you saw him from the corner of your eyes. He smiled gently at you as you shook his hand and took place in the armchair in front of you.

“Lewis, thank you for accepting this interview with us, I know how busy you are so let’s get right into it. Lewis, today I don’t want to talk about Lewis Hamilton the world champion. If you don’t mind, I would rather talk about Lewis Carl Davidson Hamiton. Can you describe what kind of kid you were at school and at home?”

His eyes were lightened by a playful glow and he smiled before taking his time to answer.

“Do you know the show Dennis the Menace? Well, it was me. Dennis the Menace 2.0.” he laughed. “I was climbing trees, I was just always riding my bike down the fastest hills… I was naturally super competitive in everything that I did and my dad helped me concentrate that energy into racing. That's where my stability came from.”

You kept talking about many things, from his passion for Ayrton Senna to his travels and how hard it was to maintain friendships and how he was managing the fact that his words had an impact on people. At the end of the interview, you felt like you had managed to bring to light a new side of who Lewis Hamilton was and you were very proud of it.

When it was over you made your way out only to come across a well known figure. You smiled wide recognising Mick and didn’t think twice before hugging him.

“Hey, long time no see!” you greeted him.

“Yeah! I see you from afar from time to time but you’re alway so busy I don’t want to bother you by coming to see you.” 

“Nonsense! Feel free to bother me any time. You’re my friend.”

You stayed chatting for a few minutes, laughing and promising to stay in touch when you felt a shadow behind your back and Mick’s smile dropping instantly. You looked back and saw Charles, a dark look on his face, visibly angry.

“All is good, here? Am I interrupting something? I don’t think flirting with the media is allowed, Mick.” he spitted, making you blush with embarrassment as Mick was stuttering.

“I… We don’t… I was just…”

“Don’t you have a Mercedes to check? it’s not like it was very competitive, not sure you're making a great job at the factory. You should focus more on that instead of sweet talking girls who are clearly trying to do their job right.”

You felt your heart ache for Mick who looked at his feet before giving you a tight smile. Saying that you were mortified was un understatement and you were starting to feel angry. You clenched your fists in order to calm down as you felt Charles getting closer to you.

“What’s wrong with you?”

“I don’t know, you tell me!” Charles replied harshly before disappearing.

Mick noticed your reactions and it didn’t take long before he put two and two together.

“Is there something going on between you guys?”

“It’s complicated..”  You looked over your shoulder to see Charles walking fast.

“It’s fine. Go after him.”

He didn’t need to tell you twice as you rushed to his garage. You were about to call for him, when he noticed you and decided to go in the opposite direction, in a place where you had no access. You swore under your breath, not understanding where all of this was coming from and how childish he was acting. Your day had started so well but now, you were pissed off. And he was the only one to blame. 

When you came back to your hotel after a tiring day, you expected to be alone and you were looking forward to it. So, when you opened the door and found Charles sitting on the bed, absent-mindedly scrolling on his phone, you were taken aback. You were not prepared to talk to him. You proceeded to ignore him as you put your things on the sofa and locked yourself in the bathroom. You changed into comfier clothes and removed your make-up, taking more time than needed. But when you finally found yourself with no reasons left to stay locked in, you took a deep breath and opened the door to see Charles right in front of you. You sighed, not ready to talk to him and went to the bed, where he followed you.

“I don’t want to talk to you.” you stated.

“Y/N, please…”

“No. The way you acted with Mick? How embarrassed I felt? No, scratch that, humiliated you made me feel… that was uncalled for. And highly unprofessional.”

“As if we had a professional relationship.” he shrugged, making you snap.

“We do! When I’m out there, running around, my press access badge around my neck, I'm doing my job! Maybe I was talking to Mick for a future report or I was trying to gather some information from him.”

“You were laughing with him! And hugging him!”

“Mick is my friend! I shouldn’t even have to explain myself. Today was Mick, but what if tomorrow I'm talking and laughing with Lando or a mechanic from Aston Martin? Will you act the same way? You could have messed up something big for me acting like that! I just need you to understand it. My point is, when I have my badge on, you talk to me accordingly and you act around me accordingly. Just like I do when I’m interviewing you. I’m not your girlfriend in these situations.” you explained, eyes glued on him, hoping he would understand how angry you were.

“Don’t you think that maybe, just maybe, I snapped because I love you and it is harder and harder to pretend otherwise? I’m tired of hiding and I know I said I was okay with it at first, but not anymore.”

“Charles, I just need a few more weeks… soon it will be over.” you sighed. “The situation is not funny for me either…”

“I’m just wondering if you really want us to be official. If your boss isn’t just an excuse to avoid committing to us fully. I’m scared, okay. Scared you’ll find another excuse when the job one will be out of the equation.”

You gulped, clearly hurt before nodding, bitter.

“If you really think that low of me, I wonder why we are together.” You went to your suitcase and closed it before going through the door, Charles not even trying to hold you back. “I’m staying with Marion tonight, don’t bother waiting for me tomorrow.”

Charles stood still, looking at the now closed door and feeling guilty about the way he had treated you. It was unfair to accuse you of not being one hundred percent committed to making this relationship work. You had never given him a reason to doubt you. He knew he had screwed up, he knew he was an idiot, he knew you had every reason to get mad at him. He let himself fall on the bed and screamed in your pillow which was still  smelling like you. He also had to apologize to Mick, it was stupid to act this way around him. 

His thoughts drifted back to you. What if you really meant that it was pointless to stay together? He didn’t want that. You were the love of his life, there was not an ounce of doubt in his mind that he wouldn’t end up getting married to you. He knew it. He couldn’t explain it, but he knew. He sighed and did what he was always doing in case of doubts. He called the only person in this world that always knew how to calm him down and  how to figure things out.

“Charles? What a pleasant surprise. I wasn’t expecting you, it’s late.”

“Yeah… I know, it’s just… I needed to talk to you.”

“It seems important.”

“I’m in love, mom.”

There was a silence on the other end of the line, before she spoke again.

“I had my suspicions. You don’t come very often anymore and you were barely in Monaco for the last few months. I didn’t want to ask because I know how careful you are with introducing girlfriends to me.”

“She is a reporter.It makes everything harder… she has to announce it to her boss and then I will have to announce it to Silvia. She is not leaving me alone, she absolutely wants me to find a girlfriend. And when it is all done, I will make our relationship public but then, people will talk, people will probably hate on her and what if she freaks out and decides to leave? I wish sometimes I was more… normal, then it would be so complicated.”

He proceeded to tell the story of how he met you up to the fight. Not once had his mom interrupted him and when he was finally done, he felt lighter.

“I love her mom. More than I’ve ever loved anyone. And I just screwed up in a brilliant way.”

“You did, there is no point denying it. But there is nothing a good conversation and a good apology won’t fix, Charles. I can hear how much you love her and I don’t know her yet, but I’m sure she loves you too. It must be a tough situation for her to handle, try to put yourself in her shoes.”

“I know… I just want her to be happy with me.”

“Start with showing her that you’re sorry. It’s a good first step.”

The next day, he went to search for you in the paddock between the two sessions of Free Practices but you were nowhere to be found. Instead, he ended up running into Marion as she was walking out of the broadcast cabins.

“Hey, Marion! Have you seen Y/N? I’m searching for her…”

“Oh? She hasn’t told you? She requested to work in the F2 paddock this weekend. I thought you knew.”

“Well… clearly not.” he sighed, annoyed. “ He perfectly knew why you had asked for it. You didn’t want to see him.

Coming back to his room at the end of the day felt weird. Not seeing your suitcase next to his felt weird. Not feeling the heat of your body in the bed felt weird. He tossed and turned in his bed until he couldn’t anymore and got up. He couldn’t keep going like this, he needed to see you. It didn’t take long to find in which room you had been transferred and he was glad for a moment you decided to not change your hotel. He smiled when the lady at the desk told him the number. It was three doors next to his. Maybe you weren’t that angry if you had accepted to stay near him. He knocked and heard some sniffles in the room before seeing the door opening, revealing yourself in one of his sweaters he hadn’t noticed was missing, eyes puffy and red stained cheeks. 

He didn’t think twice about it and took you in his arms and soothed your hair.

“I’m sorry.” you mumbled in his chest. “I shouldn’t have left… I shouldn’t have told you that we should break up… it was childish… ”

“Stop. I’m the one who is sorry for having overreacted.”

“I don't want to break up. Not today and not ever. It’s hard for me too, you know, to hide. You’re not the only one having a hard time dealing with it and I’m sorry I should’ve said it sooner…”

“I promise you we will find a way and I promise you I won’t act like a dickhead when you’re doing your job. I don’t want to complicate it for you.” he put his forehead against yours.

“I’m gladly taking the complicated and messed up situation if it involves you, Charles. I’m fine facing any obstacles as long as you are by my side. I’m in. And it hurts when you say that I’m not.”

“I didn’t mean it, I promise. So we’re good?”

 “We’re good.” you nodded as you pulled him into your room.

Author's note: I couldn't leave you without any drama for too long, right? That would be boring otherwise...

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[incorrect-jojolands-quotes]

some interesting things to consider with chapter 13

Spoilers below and I might add more to the list soon.

Dragona's mispronounced name is a play-on Dragona's name and the word for trash. In Kanji, the first part of Dragona's name can be reinterpreted as JoJo (do-ra) and the term used for trash (gomi) is often used as an insult to call someone useless, shit, worthless, etc. So, Dragona is basically called "JoJo trash/useless JoJo" under the guise of mispronunciation. If we were to translate this into English, Dragona would be miscalled "Crap-ona" since Ds can be misread as Cs and Gs as Ps.

A popular drama known as "The Glory" became popular overseas around 2022 due to its story about a girl severely bullied by rich students ultimately gaining revenge. It was praised for the rawness of the bullying portrayed and it was based on a real life situation in 2006 where the victim of bullying experienced what was portrayed in the drama. What was not portrayed (I think) was the experience of the real life victim having their chest mutilated to the point of scarring.

Dragona mentioning about not wanting to live due to the circumstances reference Bruno echoing similar sentiments to Giorno before passing away. Both felt like they have nothing left to live until the Joestar gave them hope due to their actions.

Jodio's thoughts on why things happen reference Pucci having similar sentiments after Perla's death-- which leads him to reunite with DIO. While Pucci wonders why the knowledge he was forced to take in hurt him, Jodio wonders why the knowledge he was denied to have hurt him instead. We see how his quality of being methodical also has a flaw that explains him mentioning in chapter 2 how the "unfairness" of the world drives him mad.

To be blamed for the insurance payout and Barbara Ann being mostly a stay-at-home-mom means Jodio and Dagona's father must have been very high ranked to end up in such a situation while serving as a breadwinner of the family before his abandonment. Jodio and Dragona's father leaving is similar to Jotaro abandoning Jolyne for their safety. Both had to leave their children behind because otherwise their children will be harmed.

Meryl Mei's detail about school tuition is interesting due to McKinley High being a public school and initially thought to be an error. Remembering how Barbara Ann mentioned Jodio's academic performance earlier, she could have put him in a private school intended to bring his performance up, and that's why Barbara Ann mentioned school tuition. It makes me wonder if Jodio had just started going to public school; did he actually improve, was tuition ultimately too much, or did Meryl Mei manipulated things to put him in her high school so she could keep better watch on him?

Howler references King Crimson song "The Howler", which comes from an album trilogy (Discipline, Beat, Three of a Perfect Pair) that came out after the band's hiatus and known for introducing a brand new sound. Discipline features the song "Matte Kudasai", Beat has "The Howler", and Three of a Perfect Pair is yet to be referenced. There's a song in Beat called "Requiem", which caused the group to break up due to creative differences but later reconcile.

Three of a Perfect Pair has exactly 9 tracks with one side representing the New Wave style that Beat introduced and the other side representing the Industrial style that Discipline introduced. I got a whole post made about the albums here.

As a infrastructure group worth 50 billion dollars, they may have great influence over the community similar to that of Meryl Mei and branches that hire people for contract and whatnot. Is it possible that Usagi's father used to work for them? Is it possible that Jodio's father has some sort of connection to the insurance payout that Usagi's family currently live off?

Howler could be a play-on the Hawaiian world Haole, which is used to describe something not native to Hawaii, particularly foreigners. There are a few irl construction/infrastructure companies called Howler that are notably not from Hawaii. Given rich corporations' histories with exploiting resources such as land, Howler could be a company with malicious intentions towards Hawaii's lands.

The Japanese term used for "absurdity" can also be translated to "illogical", "nonsensical", and interestingly "unjust". When we see the characters mentioning absurdity, they could just not only be saying things don't make sense but things aren't fair or equal. It makes a callback to Chapter 2 more interesting.

ABSUЯD is a song written by Guns N Roses from their album Chinese Democracy, which was known to take a long time to come out and a rather very unpopular album due to how different it sounded from Guns N Roses' previous music.

[gretavangroupie]

Vigilance (Chapter 13)

Word count: 12.1k

Pairings: Sam x OC, Jake x Reader

Warnings: 18+ as always, drinking, smoking, language, fluff, angst, smut.

This story is a collaboration with my best pal @gretavanmoon.

A/N: This chapter has to be broken into two parts thanks to Tumblr's character limits. I know this is a long one, but I hope you can stick with it until the end and then read part two! I promise this will be the only one that is this long. We will go back to our regular sized chapters next week. Enjoy!

READ CHAPTER 12 FIRST!

AUSTIN CITY LIMITS

JAKE POV

The time had come to return to the office space to regroup after most of Strange Horizons had wrapped up, and you were excited to discuss your new ideas with management. Many inebriated nights with your brothers had formulated a deep and diverse plan for the inevitable next leg of tour, and your ideas just kept building and building. 

The pandemic had placed a huge damper on your initial tour schedule, release dates and shows being pushed back dramatically. Not to mention having to deal with all of the new rules that were placed last year for venues…though it had been over a year since the world shut down, the effects were still massively trickling down. 

As you entered the office together, you thought back to over a year ago...the four of you had locked yourselves in a secluded cabin in the Smoky Mountains for a portion of time that you scarcely remember, only leaving to get supplies and food. It was there that you crafted a list of songs, some brand new and some dusted off from the depths of your library. 

The isolation that you felt being tucked away in the mountains was the perfect setting for the way you all wanted the album to be…loud, dynamic, mysterious, orgasmic and borderline perfect. Not a note out of place. You’d talked about making an album like this for as long as you’d been a band, and you’d decided it was time to make it happen. What better time to create it than in the midst of a worldwide shutdown? 

“Let’s make it sound like a film soundtrack, without the film…” Sam had said, setting the premise for exactly how he envisioned it. 

“Ha, a man after my own heart.” Josh had responded. “Are you saying you want to make the soundtrack to my first film before I even know what it’s about?”

Late nights had turned to early mornings of writing riffs, and introducing lyrics that spoke about the current state of the world and the more difficult subjects. Josh was truly in his element when it came to storytelling through his lyrics; you were absolutely blown away by his ability to talk about the here and now while making it sound like you were reading from a 500 year old novel. More often than not, partaking turned into conversations with the ghosts you were certain inhabited the old cabin’s walls, thrusting you into sleepless nights spent laying down haunting samples on Sam’s piano. 

Sam’s sonic concentration and being able to hear the music before you had even laid it down was perfectly tuned in…Daniel’s ability to think outside of the box when it came to bringing everything together as a whole...you found yourselves in a true state of enlightenment, visually and instrumentally, and you prayed that the outcome of your hard work was to be accepted well. 

Strange Horizons had been the trial run, and now it was time for your bigger idea to come to life. 

“We want to call it Dreams in Gold. A lyric from the magnum opus of the album, the crowning achievement of our careers so far. The premise of this album is a concoction of stories being told, dreams, if you will. We’ve got ideas all the way down to stage setting and album art. Every element is going to be intentional, and is going to tie into one another. It’s going to be all about details. The whole thing is going to be a journey, just like the storyline of the album itself. We want to include commissioned artists that we find organically, as well, to help with our visuals.”

“To begin with, we want to entice people to get back outside, hit the road and come and join us at shows. We’ve all been cooped up for too long and we want to show the fans that we’re still here. So, yes, we’re ready for another lengthy tour.” Josh began the meeting by condensing the details into a concise introduction to the panel of your management team. 

After a few hours of debating and compromise, the initial plans were set, and management was ecstatic about your new ideas. Things were truly looking great. 

You had one more small run of shows planned, a two-weekend span at Austin City Limits festival in Texas, then you were off to Los Angeles. Until then, it was time to relax, recharge, and enjoy every second alone with your girl.

HER POV

OCTOBER 2021

As you waited for the front desk attendant to finish with the person in front of you, your eyes flicked to the TV screen behind the desk, ‘Welcome to Austin’ it read in bright blue letters.

It was late, nearly 11:00pm when you finally arrived in Texas, flights delayed for nearly 2 hours due to weather. The van was late to pick you up at the airport and overall everyone was in a foul mood, yourself included.

“Next! Hi, how can I help you?” he asked.

“Hi, I just need to check in. Should be six rooms, under this name.” you say sliding the man your ID.

He clicks around on his computer for a few minutes, brow furrowing as he looks to you, “I see five rooms under this name. Looks like one was canceled about two weeks ago, and one was upgraded.”

“I’m sorry? Which room was canceled?” you ask.

“Looks like a Queen Non-Smoking…oh, actually the name on the room is yours.” he says, nervously.

“Mhmm, and the upgraded room?” you ask.

“Jacob Kiszka? Upgraded to a King Suite.” he answers. 

“Okay, and can you tell me who authorized the change?” you ask.

“Looks like it was Mr. Kiszka, ma’am.” he answers.

“Right... Okay. Well, that’s fine. Thank you.” you say, accepting your ID back from him.

“Here are your room keys, two in each pocket. The elevators are just to your left, vending and ice on each floor. If there’s anything I can do for you, just call the front desk.” he smiles.

“Thank you.” you say, grabbing the keys and turning back to head towards your group.

“Alright guys, let's end this miserable day. Sam…” you hand him his key. 

“Daniel…Josh… Summer…” you say in succession, handing them each their key cards.

“Jacob.” you say handing him his. 

“We have to be down here, in this spot ready to leave at 11:00am. The festival is being very stringent on timing, if we are late we don’t get any kind of sound check. Maybe a line check at best.” you say, as everyone begins rolling their luggage towards the elevators.

“Yes mother.” Josh replies with a smile.

As you all load into the elevator, everyone checks their floors, and presses their respective buttons, as it begins to rise. One by one they exit the elevator, first Summer, then Daniel, followed by Elle and Sam, leaving you, Jake and Josh in the tiny enclosed space.

Josh looks at the two of you, a knowing but contemplative look on his face as the elevator reaches his floor and the doors spring open. He steps out of the elevator, pausing to turn to the two of you. You can see the words on the tip of his tongue, but he bites them back and smiles as the doors close again.

You don't look at Jake until the doors fling open two floors above. You step out, and make your way to your room, pulling your suitcase next to you as you walk. As you stand at the door you stare at the wall, not making eye contact with him as he steps up to meet you.

“Baby…” he whines. “Don’t be mad…”

You turn to face him. “I would like to go to bed.” you hiss.

With a huff he taps the key card to the door, letting it unlock as you push it open. 

He rolls both of your suitcases inside, shutting the door and locking it behind him.

You slip your shoes off and walk across the room, pulling the curtains shut as you start to undress. “You can't just…do that! What if…someone found out! I would have no way to explain this!” you say, raising your voice.

“It’s fine baby. No one is going to know.” he says, trying to ease your tension.

“Josh knows! He totally knows. He basically just told us he knows and he didn’t even say anything!” you say, pulling your pajamas from your suitcase.

You pull on your pajama shorts, and slide your arms through the top as you start to button the buttons. 

“Listen…” he says, making his way over to you. “If our secret is safe with anyone, it’s him. People will eventually find out love, and personally I’m ready to shout it from the rooftops.” he says, his fingers taking over buttoning up your top. As he fastens the last button he rests his hand on the back of your neck, “I have slept next to you almost every night for weeks now. I’m not giving that up. No chance.” he smiles, pressing a kiss to your forehead.

You sigh, leaning into his chest as you wrap your arms around him. His bare skin on your cheek is warm, and calming. His very presence centering you and bringing you back down to earth.  “I’m not mad. I’m just…afraid of getting caught by the wrong person, you know?” you say.

“I know. I’ll make sure that doesn’t happen. I promise.” he says, squeezing you one last time before letting you go. 

He walks over to his suitcase and grabs his phone charger, plugging it into the wall as he strips off his pants. You knew you would never grow tired of seeing him like that. 

You slipped into the overly fluffy bed, and made your way to the middle, fluffing the pillows behind you.

“Oh you think you’re sleeping in the middle, huh?” he asks playfully, turning off the lamp.

He pulls the blankets back, sliding in next to you as he circles his arms around your waist. He lays his head on your chest, listening to the sound of your beating heart as he hums a tune..‘she’s a woman in a dream…’ 

“Thanks for not getting mad. I know it’s stupid and careless, but I… sleep better next to you.” he says softly into your chest.

“Mmhmmm… that’s the only reason right?” you ask.

“The list is endless of reasons that I need you.” he says, pressing a kiss to your lips and quickly pulling away to turn over to his back. 

You whine at the loss of his warmth, and you feel the bed shake with his chuckle, “Come on…” he says, opening his arms to you. You scoot further onto his side of the bed, and place yourself into his arms. 

He nuzzles his head into the top of yours, taking a deep breath. “Okay, my boss said I can’t be late tomorrow or I'll get in trouble, so I have to go to bed.” he says.

You giggle into his neck, as you twist your fingers with his. ‘Love you…”

“I love you too.” he says, and not too shortly after you both fall into a well deserved sleep.

—

JAKE POV

“I’ll go down first, then you come down in like ten minutes?” she said, a serious look on her face as she flicked through her iPad.

“You got it. Hey…” you said, pulling her by her waist.

She drops the iPad to her side as her eyes meet yours. 

“You’re killing it. Best coordinator we’ve ever had. So proud of you.” you say, really meaning every word. 

You could see her eyes beginning to grow misty at your words, so with a quick kiss, and a promise of later, you shooed her out the hotel room door to begin your ten minute wait.

—

Shockingly, everyone arrived downstairs on time and the van was parked and waiting for you at the entrance. Today was already going ten times better than yesterday, and you could tell Y/N was feeling less stressed because of it. 

As you all loaded into the van, you sat in the back with Josh, and scrolled through news on your phone.

Josh

11:07am: Anything you’d like to share?

You

11:08am: No thanks. I’m done sharing with my siblings.

Josh

11:09am: So…

You

11:10am: Later

The van arrived at the back gates, and you all made your way to the artist check in table, securing your wristbands and being shown to the area where your things were being loaded in. Your crew had been here since early this morning, getting the stage pieces loaded in and the gig boxes situated where they needed to be. Slated to go on at 6:30, you got there with enough time for a quick sound check, before spending the rest of the day exploring, and getting ready in your trailer for the day.

It was hot in Texas, significantly hotter than Nashville, and the sun beating down on you had you sweating even from just standing outside. You and Daniel drew the short straws on the artist interview, so as you stood and waited for your time slot, you turned to Daniel, “What’s up with you man? What’s going on? Where is Heidi?”

He clapped his hand against your shoulder blade and sighed, “She is…busy. At least that’s what she keeps telling me.”

You smiled as you shook your head, “Ahh…sorry to hear that dude.”

“Nah, you know what? It’s fine actually. Feels like things have kind of run its course, ya know? I’m starting to figure out who I am without her. Feels good.” he says, as you both take a step forward.

“Just want to see you happy brother, whatever that means for you.” you reply.

“Could say the same to you. Been a rough couple of weeks.” he says, trailing off.

“It has. But things are looking up.” you say, pushing up your sunglasses on your nose.

“Are they?” he asks.

You nod slowly, as the interviewer welcomed you to her table, relieving you from having that conversation just yet. 

—

A few hours and a few drinks later, you are feeling loose and free and happy preshow, for the first time since this tour started. Your skin felt stiff from the salt in your sweat and you wished you could just jump into the shower to rinse off. 

Making your way to the trailer, you stepped inside, but in the bathroom found no shower. Great.

Sam entered a few minutes later, and he was just as sweaty as you were. “This fucking sun is nuts.” you said, leaning against the couch.

“I know, I need a damn shower.” he said.

“Isn’t one. Already looked.” you replied.

“My hair is fucked. Maybe I can just wet it.” you said, staring off into space.

Sam grabbed two water jugs from under the table and held them up with a suspicious smile. “Like the old days?” 

It really had been a while since you did this, taking turns pouring water jugs for each other, not able to shower daily as you toured across the US in that tiny little van. Times had changed, but you knew you weren’t above it, and you never would be. You knew your roots.

Stepping outside you grabbed a lawn chair and took your shirt off, “Me first, then you?” you ask.

“Let’s do it.” he replied.

You sat down in the chair and threw your hair over the back, letting Sam pour the water over your head until it was completely saturated down to your roots. The water ran over your face and you wiped at your hairline, hoping most of the sweat would wash away. He continued pouring until the jug was empty and you felt your hair was clean enough. He ran his fingers through your hair, one last time as you heard footsteps approaching.

“What are you two doing?” Y/N’s voice filled with laughter as she watched on. 

“We are playing beauty salon! I have an opening at 5:00, if you’d like to book!” Sam answered enthusiastically.

She laughed and shook her head as she walked off, and you felt your chest grow warm, but this time it wasnt from the heat.

—

A few hours later, dressed in one of your favorite suits, you looked yourself over in the mirror feeling extremely confident about tonight's show. You knew you weren’t going to hold back. You were going to lay it all out there wordlessly confessing that the stars aligned in your favor after all these years. This one was for her. 

As you and your brothers took your shots and said your words of encouragement, you watched as Y/N checked over each of your outfits as you exited the trailer, saving yourself for last. 

As the door slammed shut behind Sam, you made your way over to her, iPad clutched to her chest as she smiled at you.

“I thought the green suit was my favorite… but now I don't know. You look…” she trailed off.

“Really? I wasn’t too sure about all the sparkly stuff at first, but it’s kind of growing on me.” you smile. 

“Jake…really. With your complexion, and your hair… you look so good. I have half a mind to make you change into something else.” she giggled.

Your favorite giggle.

“Anyways, you look perfect. Get out there, make me proud.” she smiled, and you laughed, knowing you were going to do just that. 

As you twisted the knob on the door, you stopped to look at her. “It’s all for you.” 

Her cheeks grew pink as she pressed a kiss to your cheek, and ushered you out the door. It really was all for her. It always has been.

—

As you made your way up the steps, your tech handed you your guitar and you took the stage, the crowd roaring violently in front of you. Your body felt like it was on fire as you played the opening notes, the deafening noise of the screams from thousands of people just fueling the flame. You finally had everything. You finally felt true happiness, and the best part was that tonight, when it was all over, and the room was quiet you got to share it with her.

The fire you had raging in your bones for this entire show continued to engulf you...you weren’t sure if it was the setting, the heat, or the fact that you finally had your girl back, but damn it felt good to be playing to a crowd again. 

You were two songs away from ‘Highway Tune’, and the sun was beginning to set. You took the tiniest of breaks, allowing yourself to look out over the crowd as darkness began to set in. The sweating, exhausted, blissed-out fans were having the time of their lives, and you were truly mirroring them tonight. You were giving it everything you had. You smiled as you made eye contact with a few of them, watching as they fell apart on their friends after you did so. Always so funny to see them react that way just because you looked at them.

Even with watching all these people, Y/N was filling your mind. All your thoughts, connected back to her. She was the one who was keeping this fire burning so bright. She gave you a reason. 

You glanced at Josh, then back out to the crowd again. As he spoke, something caught your eye…something, someone...very familiar in the audience. The crowd was an ocean of moving bodies, hindering your vision as you tried to zero in. You caught quick glimpses every few seconds, trying not to crane your neck or be caught staring. Was that…?

The cue came through to begin ‘The Weight of Dreams’, and your muscle memory kicked into high gear as you played, and scanned the crowd again. Red hat, white shirt. Your heart sank into your stomach. You were sure. 

You continued to play as you looked at Josh, making the eye contact only he, Sam, and Danny could recognize. You proceeded with the song as normal, trying to stay present with the crowd and your guitar. 

There he was again, in plain view. 

Fucking. Hell. 

The song went on, and you decided to forget for just a second. You trailed into your solo…7 minutes of most jarring guitar succession you’d ever written. The fire was still burning. 

You pranced around the stage wildly, getting closer and grabbing a few different angles. It also gave you a chance to hop onto the audience speakers for an even closer look. 

Positive. 

You wrapped it up, jumping back onto the stage, and rushing to the band mic. You looked to Sam intently, grabbing his attention as quickly as you could. You pressed your lips to the mic, and spoke as clearly as you could. 

“Hey, listen to me….11 o'clock, about ten rows back. Red hat, white shirt. Please tell me I’m wrong.” You held eye contact with Sam, and he nodded in understanding. 

Danny glanced at you, and mouthed “I can’t see that far.” You shrugged him off, motioning that you would explain later. 

Josh had been speaking to the crowd, and you were unsure whether or not he had paid attention to what you said. 

You began ‘Highway Tune’, and were determined to finish the show with a bang. About halfway through, you looked to Sam, who had a panicked look on his face. Shit, you must be right. You raised your eyebrows to him for confirmation, which he returned with a horrified nod. 

You wrapped up the show without a hitch, proud of the way you all had played. You took off in a sprint, looking for Y/N. You needed to see her face, but she was nowhere to be found. 

The rest of the guys ran up beside you, panting and out of breath, sticky with the sweat in the Texas heat. 

“What the hell was that about? Who did you see?” Danny asked, worry in his voice. 

You looked to Sam, your face down and fallen with dread. 

“It was Andy.”

—

Panic, dread, fear, the overwhelming need to find Y/N…all of it taking up your mind at once. You all pulled off your in-ears and disposed of your instruments with the techs as quickly as you could.  You were pacing around backstage, not bothering to talk to anyone or give anyone the time of day. You just needed to find her. Make sure she was safe. You looked behind you, all three of your brothers following you doing the same exact thing. My boys. 

“Hey, there she is!” Sam yelled from behind you, pointing over behind a trailer in the lot. The four of you rushed up to her, almost crashing into one another as you came to a stop. You inspected her, almost completely forgetting you couldn’t take her into a full embrace. 

“Hey! God, what the hell is wrong with you guys?” She asked, stunned by your sudden presence. 

“We uh, just couldn’t find you. We were wondering if you….wanted to go catch St. Vincent  with us...we need to leave now if you do.” You spat, thinking on your toes. 

She looked at you sideways. “You guys just stepped off stage...don’t you need to like…Go pee or something? Change clothes? Sit down?” 

You glanced back at the guys, just as sweaty as you, all still dressed in your stage clothes. 

“Yeah, yeah, we'll change really quick. But, meet us back here in 10?” Sam said. 

Her face grimaced up in confusion. “Uh, I have to close up with the crew…” she glanced at her phone checking the time. “I’ve got a lot to do still...before I can–”

“Don’t worry about it. Get what you need to do done, and meet us back here ASAP. We’ll wait for you to walk over.” Josh said, throwing you a knowing glance. 

“Alright, yeah okay...I’ll text Elle and meet you back here...” her face was wrought with confusion at your display. She walked away, radioing to someone about something. 

You took back off as a group, walking quickly and scanning the grounds. Your head felt hot and your eyes felt glassy. You finally made it to the trailer, and you were all quiet until you shut the door, the A/C feeling like it could knock you down. 

You immediately sat on the couch, putting your head in your hands. “What the fuck is he doing in Texas?!” You yelled, standing back up and beginning to undress. Sam had gone over to the mini fridge, and he pulled out a seltzer for everyone, popping the top on yours and handing it to you. You practically chugged its contents, not realizing how thirsty you were. 

“Man, chill out. Maybe he moved here. Just going to the festival…” Danny offered, trying to give the benefit of the doubt. 

“Yeah maybe. But remember how fucking insane he was…he was the last person I expected to see when I looked out there. Just really…strange...right?” You asked. 

The rest of them nodded in agreement. “Yeah, really fuckin’ strange.” Josh said, pulling off his clothing and hanging it on a hanger. “But, don’t stress out too bad. We’re all here, there’s thousands of people around…it’ll be okay. Just an anomaly.” 

You could always count on Josh to bring you back down to reality. He was right, it was probably just a huge coincidence. A wild one, but a coincidence nonetheless. But, Andy knew who you were, who the band was…why did he come to watch? And stand fairly close to the front near you, at that? 

You shook the thoughts from your head, trying to stay positive. Everyone continued to get changed and started downing drinks, pregaming for the rest of the shows tonight. 

“Hey, I don’t think we should tell Y/N he’s here. It would probably ruin her night, don’t you think Sam?” You shot Sam a look that screamed ‘please agree with me’.

“Yeah, I agree. We’ll never see him again, so. Let’s just let her have a good time.” Sam played along. 

“Jake, what the actual fuck were you on tonight? I’ve never seen you solo like that before…that was nuts, dude...I thought you’d never cue me to stop.” Danny said, plopping down on the couch. 

“Yeah no shit!” Sam said. “My feet were getting sore.”

You grinned, knowing all too well why you were playing better, but not able to speak on it quite yet. 

“Ahh, I dunno. Must be something in the air...” you offered. 

Josh approached you slowly and talking quietly, wearing his knowing face. “Hey, are you and Y/N okay? I know things were still really rocky last time we talked…” he had sarcasm dripping from his voice. 

“Uh, yeah actually. We’re okay. We talked a little bit without ripping each other’s head off, so…” you couldn’t say anything more right now, though you never kept any secrets at all from Josh, this one needed to be kept as long as possible. And you’d be lying if you said you weren’t kind of enjoying the idea of sneaking around. 

He looked at you again, squinting his eyes. 

“What?” You asked. 

“Hmmmm...nothing. But you’re a fuckin’ idiot if you think I don’t know when you’re lying. We do share the same brain cells, you know.” He said, walking back over to join Danny on the couch. 

You slipped on a more comfortable pair of shoes, and placed a flat-brimmed hat on your head. “Alright, let’s get going. We don’t want to miss the shows. I wonder if Duran Duran can still...Duran?” you said in a faux british accent.

Sam shoved your shoulder as you passed by him. “Ha ha, that was such a good one Jake.”

“I’m full of them. I’ll be here all night.” You flicked the brim of your hat, and tossed back the rest of your drink, crushing your can as you exited the door. A sharp pain flew up your arm when you dropped the can in the trash, an all too familiar feeling that hadn’t hurt this bad in years. 

——

Y/N had magically finished up what she needed to do in that short amount of time, and managed to find Elle, too. You all met at the corner of the lot, and walked over to backstage of the next show. The sun had set now, and you were finally starting to relax a little bit after seeing Andy earlier. He gave you an eerie feeling, almost one that creeped you out, for some reason. You felt confident that Danny and Josh were right, and he was just here for the festival. 

Y/N had changed into a short little green dress, that was low cut in the front and flowy, and sat right at her mid-thigh. You knew she had chosen that exact dress to tease you, and she watched as your sunglass-covered eyes traveled up and down her body, undressing her with each glance. You slowly shook your head back and forth, letting her know that she was indeed making you suffer. 

You all stayed side stage for the majority of the next two shows, and the night was going well. You kept your distance from Y/N, and watched from afar as she danced and drank with Elle. Occasionally, your glances would meet up, and you had to force yourself to tear your eyes away from her. 

You were feeling fairly tipsy, conversing with other musicians and people in the industry. Suddenly the delicious and familiar aroma of marijuana slid past your nose, and you followed it to its source. Josh and Sam, of course. You excused yourself from the conversation you were having, and went and joined them. 

The whole group shared what must have been three or four joints, as the last artist played into their late-night set. The haze in the air was heavy, and you felt the fuzz climb into your face and extremities. Ahh, there it is. 

Things began to move in slow motion under your hooded eyelids, the music sounding louder and better..everyone started to dance and move their bodies with the beat. Your eyes drifted to Y/N, you could tell she was feeling it too. 

“I gotta hit the head, you wanna go?” Sam shouted over the music in your ear. You nodded, noticing your full bladder. He took Elle’s hand and pulled her behind him as you followed them off the stage. 

“My god, I’m really fuckin high…” Elle giggled at herself as you made your way across the lot to the restrooms.

“Yeah same, I scored some good shit down here.” Sam laughed. “We’ll wait for you out here, babe.” He said as you separated. 

You and Sam stood next to each other, relieving yourselves in the urinals. 

“So, when did you and Y/N finally fuck?!” He asked, loudly as ever. 

“SAM! Goddamn, could you talk any louder? What is wrong with you? What are you talking about?” You spat at him from across the divider. 

“Duuuude, don’t play dumb.” You could recognize his stoned voice from a mile away. “Come on. Unfortunately, I know her body just as well as you do, now. Maybe even better…? I know what she acts like when she’s been…satisfied.” Your mouth hung open at his words. He did nothing but stare at you, raising his eyebrows up and down. 

You buttoned up your jeans, and walked over to the sink to wash your hands quickly, avoiding his question. You busted out the door, with him following close behind. You stood by the restroom entrance, waiting for Elle. 

“Jaaaake, don’t avoid my question. I’m not stupid, I can read her body language. And yours too, if we’re being honest. You guys are gravitating towards each other again.” His words had begun to slur slightly. “How long ago?”

You crossed your arms across your chest. “Chicago.” 

He bounced away, clapping his hands loudly. “Ha! I knew it!!” 

“Sam you can’t tell a fucking soul, do you hear me?” You got into his face, trying your best to threaten him like you did when you were kids. 

He held his hands up in submission. “I promise.” You turned away. 

Suddenly he was next to you again. “I will say though, she’s become a bit of a freak in the sheets, if ya know what I mean. You better start building up that stamina…” he said quietly. “You’re welcome.”

You couldn’t help but burst into laughter. It wasn’t funny, it shouldn’t be funny, but it was. The whole situation, sharing this conversation with your little brother. All of it was so fucked up. 

He started to laugh with you. You grabbed his shoulder, speaking through shared belly laughs. “So I’ve noticed, Sam. Appreciate that.” You shook your head at the awkward but hilarious conversation. 

Elle emerged from the bathroom finding the two of you in stitches. “What are you two laughing about?” She said as you started the walk back to the stage. 

“Oh nothing, just that him and Y/N finally slept together.” Sam said. 

“Sam, I swear to god.” You said. 

“OH MY GOD! You finally boinked?!” Elle said, a bit too loudly for your liking. “It’s about fucking time, Jake. What took you so long?!”    

“Jesus Christ…” you said under your breath. “Elle, love, you promise me right now you will not tell a soul, okay? Her job is really…on the line.” 

“I got it, Jake. She’s my best friend. I promise.” She zipped her lips and threw away the key, and you actually trusted that she would stay quiet. 

—

You made your way back to the stage, suddenly feeling uneasy. You glanced around at the crowd, just waiting to see a red hat bobbing its way around. You found Y/N, still dancing and having a good time as the band wrapped up its last song. 

“You guys want to come back to my room for one more smoke?” You asked the group, suddenly feeling the need to leave. Everyone nodded in agreement, as you started back down the steps. 

“You guys go ahead, I’m gonna go take some stage shots. I’ll see you tomorrow.” Summer said, waving your group off.

The hotel was only a few minutes drive from the venue, and Sam had insisted the driver stop at the nearest gas station so he could buy beer. You could tell everyone was still feeling exceptionally high, but it was a nice feeling. You felt a little more at ease the further away you got from the venue. 

Everyone gathered back in your room at the hotel, changed into comfortable clothes and toting cases of beer. You could afford to get cross faded tonight. Josh brought his speaker and asked Elle to hook up to the Bluetooth. Some Cajun-sounding flute music began to come through it, some gritty messy metallic sounds you thought sounded familiar. 

“Elle, what is this?” You asked her as you sat down to roll a few more joints. 

“Ry Cooder, he’s amazing.” She answered, pulling her lips from a bottle of Corona. 

“My god, yeah, did he play with Taj Mahal?” You asked. 

She shook her head. “Yep. I think they’re actually releasing an album together next year. So you’ve seen Southern Comfort, right?”

You grinned and nodded. “Yep. That must be why I know this.”

You could definitely see why Sam was attracted to her now. 

Y/N joined her on the bed, popping the top off her own beer. Your eyes met hers for just a second, but long enough to linger. She’d changed into a thin and silky dress, with a flannel on top. Oh my god.Your flannel. The one you gave her at the lake, the one she borrowed every time she came over when you were younger. She actually kept it. Your face must have fallen at the sight, because she gave you the slightest wink while she sipped her beer. 

Your hands suddenly became weak, the tiny ground pieces of weed falling from the sides of your half-rolled joint. 

“Jake, what’s taking so long over there?” Josh asked. 

“I’m rusty, you come fucking do it.” You answered. 

You opened the double-door window of the room and turned on the vent of the bathroom so the smoke could escape, and you rolled a towel and tucked it under the door. It felt like high school again. It was still warm outside, and the breeze came in through the curtains, bringing with it a peaceful and relaxed feeling. Everyone was feeling themselves, passing several joints and listening to Josh tell elaborate stories. 

Your bed was king sized and the room was larger than a standard room, so you found yourself feeling thankful you’d upgraded to a room large enough to accommodate everyone comfortably, completely by accident.

Everyone eventually gathered in a tight circle, seated on the bed. Y/N found her way over to you, sitting directly beside you. Shit, she was feeling it. And Danny and Josh didn’t completely know yet. At least, you thought they didn’t. Her hair brushed your shoulder, sending the smell of her directly to your nose. It was intoxicating having her that close, in that sexy dress, in your flannel…unable to touch her.

Danny had brought a deck of cards and a game of poker ensued. “We don’t have any chips, what could we use?” Elle asked. 

“Ooooh we could use the hotel shampoo bottles and bars of soap and these quarters in my pocket.” Josh answered, laughing at himself through a goofy stoned giggle. 

“Did someone say chips? I’m hungry…” Sam asked no one in particular. 

An hour or so passed of talking, laughing, drinking, and smoking. Your head was absolutely spinning at this point, and Y/N’s hand just happened to keep landing on your knee. She was letting loose. Sam glanced up at you from under his hooded lashes, looking at her hand, then back to you, his eyebrows raising again. You felt a flush find your face as you realized just how high you actually were. 

The room was full of smoke, a haze falling onto everything as everyone basked in their intoxication, and all you could feel anymore was a draw to her. She was like a hot magnet that you were being pulled to, unable to think about anything else other than having your way with her. 

“Jake, that flannel looks very familiar...” Josh said, motioning to Y/N. You sighed. You couldn’t handle it any longer. You were over hiding her. You were in love with her, and your best friends deserved to know it. If anyone in the world could keep your secret, it was the people in the room with you right now. 

“Well Josh, that’s because it’s mine. I gave it to her when we started dating when we were younger and I just…never asked for it back. I let her keep it.” You leaned back on your arms, feeling a sudden surge of confidence. He smiled at you, almost as if he was proud. 

“Y/N, why didn’t you ever give it back to him?” Josh pressed. 

The group went silent. She looked at Josh, somewhat surprised, but catching his drift. Then she brought her eyes to meet yours, deep and glassy and full of love. She placed her hand on your knee, lightly brushing her fingernails over it. 

“Well Josh, because I love it too much. It makes me feel good. I want to keep it forever, keep it safe and loved...” she answered him, never removing her eyes from yours. 

“And Jake, will you ever ask for it back?” Josh went on. 

You kept your eyes locked on hers, and grabbed her hand, intertwining your fingers with hers. 

“No, Josh. It’s hers now. She can keep it for the rest of our lives.” You answered, your voice low and steady. Her face bloomed into a smile that went from ear to ear. 

Josh chuckled as the group finally stirred. “Ha, well I guess it’s fucking settled then, isn’t it?” He said, reaching over and patting you between your shoulders, firmly holding your neck and shaking you side to side. 

“Well hell yeah!” Danny exclaimed, coming across the circle and bringing the two of you in between both of his arms, hugging you tightly. The next thing you knew you had all fallen into a giant pile, laughing and hugging and falling off the bed in fits of giggles. 

The relief that fell over you was immense…these were your best friends. The people you trusted the most in the world. The ones who would go to bat for you, and for Y/N, no matter what the circumstances. 

In the cloudy air of the room, you felt your inhibitions begin to fall away. You found her in the pile of laughing bodies, and met her eyes, knowing that in that moment, you didn’t care who in the world knew it. You grabbed her face, and pulled her into a long and loving kiss, eliciting cheers from the rest of the group. 

Her cheeks went flush when you pulled away, but she grabbed you back, pulling you in for one more. Sweet and passionate, but with something else hidden behind it. You knew that look from long ago, she didn’t want to wait much longer. 

Everyone began to sit back up and find their seats on the bed again. Keeping direct eye contact with her, and bringing your face close to hers, lips almost touching, you spoke. “Hey, it’s been fun, but do you think you guys could get the fuck out of here?” Your eyes were unabashedly flicking from her eyes to her lips, plush and pink and waiting for you. 

They all laughed in unison, and your ears went deaf to everything surrounding you. All you could see, all you could hear and feel, was her. Suddenly, you found yourselves alone, sitting on the bed, starving for one another. 

Like clockwork, she quickly crawled over and pushed her lips into yours, her hands furiously wrapping in your hair, pulling it and tangling it between her fingers. She stood up on her knees, and you brought your hands underneath her dress to cup her ass. Her tongue was immediately in your mouth, searching deeply for parts yet unexplored. You felt a deep hunger in your gut for her, something that felt like starvation that could never be satiated. 

You growled into her mouth as she bit your tongue, pulling it from your mouth and into hers. The wind picked up outside and blew across you, lifting her dress a little, revealing more of her body to your naked eye. 

She yanked on your hair at the back of your neck, pulling your head backwards to look her in the eyes. You scanned her eyes from left to right, reading a story that was only half-written. She smiled a devious smile, and connected your lips again. You squeezed her ass cheeks hard, pulling them apart and pulling her body into you. You separated yourself from her lips, and began kissing her throat, her neck, her collarbones, and in between her breasts. God, they were so beautiful. 

You picked her up by the waist, forcefully lying her down on the bed. You began to pull up on her dress, successfully removing it over her head.

“You thought you could wear this dress, and MY clothing, in front of everyone, and expect me to not want to fuck you right here? Torture isn’t nice, love.” you said, pulling her arms above her head and pinning them there, diving into her neck again. 

“No Jacob, torture isn’t for the meek.” She responded, making your eyes roll back in your head. Oh, so it’s gonna be this kind of game. Let’s see what Sammy was talking about…

The both of you were blazed out of your minds, your eyes heavy and red, not to mention the drinking you’d both been doing all night. You decided to let it work to your advantage, though, watching her as all your inhibitions went straight down the drain. Nothing felt off the table. 

You buried yourself in her hair, letting your tongue graze over her ear as you held her arms steady above her.  You had one knee beside her, and one knee between her legs, hovering above her as she dug her fingertips into your sides. “Jake…” she spoke. 

“Hmmm?” You breathed into her ear. 

“You have entirely too much clothing on.” she said. 

You pulled back, realizing she was correct. She was down to her lace bra and panty set, while you still had everything but your shoes on. You sat up and began to unbutton your shirt, keeping your eyes glued to hers. She reached up and grabbed your hands, stopping their movements. 

“Hang on a sec, let’s make this interesting.” she said. Her eyes were heavy and solid, thick with intoxication from the weed, and from you. With that, she unbuttoned the rest of your shirt, but left it hanging over your shoulders. Then she reached down to your belt, unbuckling it and undoing the zipper. 

“Let me help–” you said, reaching to pull your dark jeans off. 

“No, leave them on. Come to the edge of the bed.” She commanded, signaling with her finger for you to follow her as she rolled off the end and into the floor. 

She perched sitting on her knees, and you did what she told you, sitting with your feet on the floor right in front of her. She lurched forward, bringing her face between your legs. She rested her hands on your knees, pulling them apart a little bit to gain more access. She brought her mouth to your hardened length, dragging her tongue across the tip that was still covered by your boxers. 

The indirect contact and the warmth of her mouth felt like heaven. She began nipping at it with her teeth, causing you to inhale quickly. You brought your hands to her head, envisioning the last time she’d done this, not long ago on the floor of your study. 

She cupped her lips overtop of your head, blowing warm air into the fabric. Your brain was buzzing with intensity, but you needed more. You needed to feel her. Almost as if she heard your thoughts, she reached her fingertips into the hole of your boxers, and freeing you through them instead of pulling them down. That’s different. 

Suddenly her mouth was completely taking you into her throat to the hilt, your tip hitting the back of her throat as she immediately swallowed around you. 

“Motherfuck, Y/N…”  you hissed through your teeth. She’d taken you completely by surprise. She began bobbing her head, taking you as deeply as you could go, running her flattened tongue across all your sweet spots. She was starting to remember them. Her hands that were rested on your knees climbed up to squeeze your thighs, massaging them with her fingers. You tilted your head back in pleasure, letting your eyes fall closed. 

“Hmm-mm...” she hummed ‘no’ around you, causing you to peer back down to her. She took her pointer and middle fingers making the ‘two’ signal, pointing to first your eyes, then hers. Eyes on her. She wanted you to watch her. 

Good god. 

You kept your silent word, watching her every move intently as she glided her mouth around your now soaked dick, popping her lips around it every so often, and squeezing your base with her hand. You felt yourself beginning to unravel, watching her mouth on you was like seeing something you weren’t supposed to see…so sinful…but so enticing…

“Shit baby...your mouth…is fucking heavenly...”  

You grabbed her hair in your hand, remembering what she had said last time. ‘I want it…’ 

She nodded her head, again giving you the go-ahead to control her movements. You felt the knot in your stomach begin to tighten, feeling yourself near release. You tightened your grip on her locks, using a little extra force now as you pushed into her mouth, in and out with a bit more speed. 

“Baby, I’m close…you’re almost…” the knot in your stomach began to unfurl, as the buildup approached. Just then, she removed herself completely, standing up and towering over you. She wiped her mouth clean with the back of her hand as you felt lost without the contact, so close to your release. 

“Ok, you can take your shirt off now.” She said, a devilish smile crossing her face. 

You were basically panting with desire. “Wha–what?”

“You didn’t cum. Good job. You can take your shirt off now.” She said, not giving you much explanation, but feeding you enough information that you could see where this might be going. 

You looked at her sideways, and slowly removed your shirt, tossing it into the floor. You leaned back on your elbows, eyeing her half-naked body standing before you. What next? You felt like you could jump out of your skin with excitement, the fog still heavy in your head. 

“Up the bed…” she commanded again, motioning to the headboard. You did as she asked, your lower half still clothed with your dick still poking through the open hole of your boxers. She crawled on top of you, snaking her way up to meet your mouth with hers, laying wet and searing hot kisses to your lips. 

She pulled away, turning herself around backwards and straddling you, her hands steadying herself on your thighs. She turned her head around to make eye contact with you, your eyes open wide with surprise. 

She slowly shook her hips from side to side. 

“Pull them to the side.” She said, demand thick in her voice. Yes ma’am. 

You exhaled loudly, feeling a rush of blood to your face, and then straight to your already overly excited member. You did as she asked once more, hooking your finger in her lace thong, pulling it to the side. She arched her back so that her opening was pointed toward your face, and you felt your head plummet to her, your tongue immediately between her folds. Her mouth was on you again, as quickly as your tongue had found her. 69? Seriously, where did this woman come from?

You went to town, feeling like you were starving to touch her in any way you possibly could. You let your tongue do the talking, sliding it’s way up and down her slit, burying your face in her pussy. She tasted fucking phenomenal. You brought your hands to grasp the front of her thighs, trying to pull her toward you.

You felt her mouth bobbing at a sickening pace, not too fast, and not too slow. Her tongue was like silk, and it kept the saliva pooling inside her mouth while she flicked your tip, causing you to buck your hips into her. 

“You can grind into my mouth, baby.” She purred, running her closed fist up and down you while she spoke. You took that as an invitation to slowly rock your hips up and down, slowly making circles and fucking into her face. 

“So can you.” You responded. You felt her hips begin to gyrate slowly, positioning her sweet spot exactly where she needed it. You found her clit, and tightened your tongue muscle so that it pointed directly onto it. You quickly bobbed it in and out of your mouth before you pulled it all the way in, and began flicking it with your tongue again. 

“Fuckkkk yes Jake. Oh my god…” her whimpers spurred you on, and apparently her too, as she then took you extremely deep again, tightening all of her mouth and throat around you. You felt yourself nearing release again. Her fist was working you, bringing you closer and closer to the white hot heat. 

She pulled off again, turning herself around to face you. You let your head fall back against the pillows, a sheen of sweat beginning to cover your face. 

“Damnit baby, you are killing me.” You laughed into the room, bringing your hands through your hair. “What’s with the punishment?”

“Not punishment, baby. Are you enjoying yourself?” She asked, slithering her way back up between your legs. 

You shook your head maybe a little too fast. 

“Yeah, yes. I’m enjoying myself.” You answered. 

“Okay then, it’s not punishment. You can take your pants off.” She said, a smirk forming on her face before she gave you a sweet peck on your still soaked lips. 

“Errrhhhh…finally.” You said, clipping your thumbs in your bottoms, pulling them both off in one swipe. You bounced back on the bed, bringing your arms around her and pulling her down into you. You allowed yourselves a few minutes to indulge in one another, kissing into each other furiously, finally feeling your naked body brushing and pressing up against hers. You suddenly felt like you were leaving her untouched, so you gripped her hips, pulling yourself down the bed underneath her. You hooked your fingers in her thong and pulled it down, signaling for her to bring her legs together so you could pull it down over her knees. She obliged, surprisingly. 

“My turn, love. Climb up. All fours.” You tapped the backs of her thighs, making her inch her way up the bed. She listened, positioning herself overtop of your ready and waiting mouth. You opened wide, smiling as you stuck your tongue out. She was looking down at you between her legs, and she let out the sweetest giggle. You gripped around her folded legs as she lowered herself down. 

“Mmmm...” you growled. “You think you can ride my face, baby?” 

She didn’t even have to answer, she’d already made contact with your mouth. She instantly started grinding and bouncing, her wetness covering your entire face. But god, you didn’t care. You wanted to drown in her. Taste her forever. It was something you’d never forgotten. And now it was something you were sure you couldn’t live without. 

You looked up at her body, reveling and rolling her hips in circles as your tongue danced inside her. She felt so warm, so delicious. You brought your hand to her mound, finding her clit with your thumb. You began swirling it, massaging it while you kept working inside her with your tongue. You were suffocating, fighting for air, but you couldn’t care less. You could do this all night. 

Her sounds were like music to your ears, filling up your mind with the dirtiest thoughts. You fought to bring her there, you wanted her to spill herself around you and into your mouth, but instead you decided to play her game.  

You reached up and unclasped her bra with one swift motion, pulling it down her arms and tossing it away. You lifted her off of you. 

“Get my flannel.” You said, pointing to where it lay on the floor. She glanced over to it, then back to you, obviously pissed you stopped the ride of her life. 

She reached over the side of the bed and picked it up, offering it to you. 

You removed yourself from underneath her, “Turn around.” She gave you another side eye, but did what she was told. 

You took the sleeves of your flannel, straightened them out, and gently pulled both of her hands behind her. You tied the sleeves of the flannel around her crossed wrists, leaving them a little bit of wiggle room. She peeked over her shoulder, making the most seductive eyes at you. You brought your mouth close to her ear, and grazed her cheek with your hand. “This ok, love?”

“You can tie it tighter, if you want.” she said. 

Fuck, that’s exactly what Sam was talking about. 

You laughed a low howl, pulling the sleeves a bit tighter, causing her back to arch. You noticed her body reacting, so you gripped the back of her hair, pushing her face down into the bed. You pressed your length up against her ass, and brought your face close to hers again. 

“You thought you could tease me all night, edge me…well, time’s up. I’m going to fuck you until you can’t see straight.” You weren’t sure where these words were coming from, it wasn’t your normal bedroom talk. But she seemed to be enjoying it a bit too much. 

“Just fucking do it, Jacob. Don’t make me wait any longer.” 

You felt your face get hot...you’d seen her a thousand different ways before, but never quite like this. This vulnerability mixed in with her confidence was making your high come back full force. Your mouth had gone dry now from the after effects of the weed, your vision feeling delayed and stippled. Your ears felt like they had cotton in them, and the dopamine was swirling through your body. You could tell she was still faded too; her movements weren’t quick and calculated, but instead slow and sultry. And you were fucking loving it. 

You noticed that the double door windows were still open, so you stood up to close them and the curtain. 

“Leave them open. I don’t mind.” She said, surprising you. 

“But someone might be able to see-“

“Let them watch.”

Holy. Fucking….

You dropped the act for long enough to truly press her. 

“Wait seriously Y/N?” You asked. “You don’t care?”

All she did was shake her head. “No. I really don’t care. Now please come back.”

You shrugged it off, leaving the doors standing wide open, the act you were about to perform on full display for anyone who might happen to see. 

You returned back to her, getting back in the headspace you needed to. Her hands were still tied behind her back, most of her face covered up by her hair. 

The wind was blowing around again, sending chills all over your body. It was cooling off outside. You took yourself in your palm, stroking a few times before making contact with her. You ran your tip up and down her slit, collecting all the wetness that you could. You grabbed onto the flannel, pulling it back toward you a little bit, eliciting a tiny moan to fall from her lips. 

“Tell me how bad you want me.” You spoke, leaning down toward her. You eased the very tip into her, not giving her too much too fast. 

“I want you so bad, Jake. I want all of you, need all of you. Please.” She murmured. 

You clicked your tongue. “Hm. I can’t really hear you, love. I said tell me how badly you want me...” you pulled back again on her wrists, still teasing at her entrance. 

“Damn it, baby. I said I need you to fuck me, please! I want to feel all of you inside me, don’t hold anything back...” she raised her voice just slightly. 

With that, you felt your cock twitch, and you released her wrists, and grabbed a fistful of her hair, pulling it as you finally entered her, pushing all the way in until you couldn’t go any further. 

Pure. Fucking. Bliss. 

She cried out with pleasure as you began to pull back out, watching yourself leave her, practically dripping. 

Expletives left both of your lips at the sensation, you felt like you completely forgot how to speak. Nothing in this world, not a single thing you love could ever compare to how you feel for her, how she feels around you.

You began to work at a steady pace, pulling in and out of her, basking in the feeling of finally having her again. And how amazing she felt like this. You grabbed her hips, and she stepped her knees apart a bit, allowing her back to arch more for you. Her torso was at an almost 90° angle; you wished you could see this from a side view. 

“Did he fuck you like this? Huh? Tell me, did he fuck you this good?” You asked, wanting to ignite something in her that in all reality, you didn’t care about one way or the other. 

“Mmmm sometimes… yeah he did...” she cooed.

“Hmmm, well. I’m going to fuck every single memory of his body off of you, whether you like it or not.”

“Let’s see it, Jake. Prove it. Prove to me you’re better...” 

Her face was buried in the sheets, her expression fucked out and contorted as you pounded into her hard. You slowed your pace, making her cry out again. If you weren’t mistaken, you were sure she had tears in her eyes. The good kind. 

“You’re so fuckin’ beautiful, Y/N. Tell me you’re never gonna leave me. You’ll never go anywhere ever again…” you were panting, trying to keep up with yourself as your body wanted to fly harder and faster into her. 

“I’ll never leave you, Jake. I promise. I love you so fuckin’ much…please don’t stop…” she whimpered.

You continued your assault on her, not letting up except to snake your hand around her front, finding her sweet spot again with your fingers. It made her cry out, you could tell she was getting close. 

You grabbed the knot of the flannel, untying it quickly, letting her hands fall back to her sides. She lifted herself up and looked back at you as you pulled out, also dissatisfied with the loss of contact. 

“What the fuckkkk Jake...” She half laughed. 

“Go get in the shower. Make it hot.” You demanded, walking over to the mini fridge and pulling out a few little bottles of tequila. The feeling of being intoxicated while fucking her was a high you wanted to keep chasing...neither of you had any guard up, and no holds were being barred. Would it be a rare occasion? Maybe. But you were determined to finish it with a bang. 

A wild smile came to her face, her hair was an absolute mess, her lips were swollen and her cheeks were pink. Beautiful, always so beautiful. And the way she looked at you? Made your stomach fall directly through the floor. Like you were the only human left on earth, and she wanted to own every single bit of you. 

She scampered off to the bathroom, and you heard the water turn on full blast. You reached for the two plastic cups wrapped up in the ice bucket, pouring the tequila into them. You grabbed a tiny can of soda water, adding just enough to add bubbles to the shots. You stuck your pointer finger into them, giving them a tiny stir. You brought your finger inside your mouth and sucked away the excess, following her into the bathroom. 

HER POV 

The bathroom mirror and glass walls were already steaming up within the 30 or so seconds you’d been in the shower. You turned on just a bit of cold water to offset, and stepped under the water. You let it flow over you, closing your eyes as it cascaded down over your face and hair. You stood, waiting for what felt like ages, waiting to feel him again. Where the hell was he? You were still dripping with desire, and you didn’t want it to rinse off…

You heard the door open, and watched through the fogged glass as he entered the room carrying two cups. You opened the glass door for him, steam rolling out as you did so. He smiled, handing you the cup. “Didn’t want to go get ice. Didn’t think you’d care...” he spoke, his voice still sleepy and laced with his high. 

“You know I don’t mind, baby. Thank you.” You smiled and took the cup. He held his cup up to yours, clinking them together, before you both shot back the liquid. “We’re gonna be so hungover tomorrow…” you laughed. 

He laughed in agreement, and walked over and stood under the oversized shower head, letting the hot beads soak his hair and body. Why was everything he did so fucking attractive? 

Once he was sufficiently rinsed, he brought his hands back over to you, bringing your back to the wall. “Mmm, where were we?” His mouth found yours in an instant, picking up right where you’d left off. Except this time, your hands were free to touch him, grab him, squeeze him and stroke him, all the things that made him feel good. You wanted to make him feel good. 

The hot shower poured over you, making each touch of his hands feel like electricity. His hand found itself between your legs again, his fingers knowing exactly where to go. Knowing your body so well…

“Ahhh, still wet for me, are you baby? You ready for me to fuck you again?” He growled into your neck. “It sure feels like it...”

You could do nothing but nod as he slipped two fingers into you, pumping them slowly. 

“Ahhh, shit baby...” you breathed, biting into his shoulder. “I need you so bad...”

He hummed low, working his fingers in and out and shaking them lightly as he entered, giving you a whole new rush of pleasure. 

You suddenly got an unwelcome flashback of just a few short weeks ago, you and Sam in another shower in another hotel, tangled up with your leg hitched over his hip and your tongue in his mouth. 

You bent in half as he teased you with his dick…smacking you across the ass when you didn’t listen…

You shook the thought from your head, hoping that that wouldn’t become a normal occurrence. They did feel…very similar. 

Thankfully Jake was able to pull you back to reality, his eyes looking deeply into yours, beckoning you back to him with his unwavering and unfaltering passion for you. 

He sat down on the small bench in the shower, and patted his lap. “Come here.” 

You waltzed over, wiping the water from your eyes, and placing your knees on either side of him. You wrapped your arms around his neck and positioned yourself above him, sliding yourself down onto him. 

The ride was hot, steamy, sweaty and cloudy. You were still incredibly stoned, your vision still blurry, your movements delayed. The tequila hit you both at the same time…your eyes struggled to stay open to even look at each other…you rode him slowly, feeling every single centimeter of him as you pulled yourself up and down, tightening your muscles as you went.  

He massaged your ass, kissed your shoulders, held your hair as your hips bucked and rolled. You were certain you’d never ever felt this much ecstasy before in your life, whether it be from the smoke or the drink, you didn’t know. You didn’t care. It was mostly him…he was intoxicating all on his own…breathing your name over and over through the water dripping from his lips, his brow turning down into a frown as he looked down and watched himself enter and leave you...your tits bouncing as you fucked him slowly, intently, with as much love as you could muster…

…you felt it growing again, deep inside you, a blazing fire that you’d been chasing after all night. You began to whine a bit, rolling your head on your shoulders in circles as you concentrated on fulfilling your goal. 

“Huh-uh baby, eyes on me, remember?” He said, the steam rolling in front of his face. You were sure you were going to combust at any moment, and the eye contact only made it worse. 

“I’m right there too…just keep riding me...just like that baby…god, fuck you feel so amazing…”

His face contorted into the most beautiful look of pleasure as he lost eye contact, burying his face in the crook of your neck as he cried out. His body convulsing, his arms shaking, his hands grasping and pulling your hair as he came into you, hot and slow, your name spilling from his lips until he had exhausted all the breath in his lungs…

…you weren’t far behind...your release came in the same way, a buildup of intensity, starting low and quiet and exploding into a million tiny white lights passing behind your eyes as your muscles contracted around him…you held on to him for dear life…gripping his shoulders and hair until you both found yourselves panting, coming down from the most tantric and beautiful scene your young bodies had yet to endure. 

He was it. He was everything. Perfection in a person. Nothing else, no one else would ever compare. You knew in your heart that you’d fight for him for the rest of your life, no matter what the consequences might be. 

SAM POV

Your eyes felt bone dry as you tried to pry them open, the cold air blowing from the air conditioner drying them out even further. You were warm under the sheets, not wanting to move just yet, as you noticed Elle sprawled across you. Her curls were splayed around her head in a perfect halo, and you couldn't help but stare. 

Blinking a few times, the dryness started to fade away, giving way to the massive hangover you were sporting. You rolled to your side and grabbed your phone, flipping through your notifications and swiping them away. Your mouth was dry and all you could think about was how perfect a scalding hot coffee would feel slipping over your tongue. 

Dragging yourself from the warmth of the sheets, you stood up, and pulled your messy hair into a bun at the back of your neck. You quietly walked over to your suitcase and pulled out a pair of shorts and a shirt, pulling them on as you looked for your wallet.

Finding it in your pants from last night, you slid it into your fanny pack, and slipped on your birkenstocks. You set your phone to vibrate and dropped it into your pocket as you grabbed the room key and slipped out the door. 

You took the elevator down a few floors to the lobby, milling around watching as festival goers checked out to return home. You made your way to the little cafe, and ordered two coffees, one black and one with room. You paid for the two cups and made your way over to the small table that held the cream and sugar, pouring in just the right amount of both, just how you knew she liked it. You smiled to yourself as you did it, thinking back on the days you spent wishing you could do just this.

As you stirred the coffee, it turned a caramel color and you knew you got it right. You placed lids on the two steaming cups and started back towards the elevators. Walking past the front desk you smiled and said hello to a few people who recognized you, none of them wanting to take up too much of your time. But as you stepped closer to the elevator, the doors opened, and people filed out. 

Someone caught your eye, however, sporting the same red baseball hat as the day prior. You turned to look at him, to really make sure it was him, and as his eyes met yours you knew you had your confirmation. You would know that face anywhere.

Mother fucker.

He quickly walked away from you as you stepped into the elevator, watching as he made his way into the lobby and disappearing out of sight. Your heart was racing at his proximity to Y/N. Why was he here? Did he know she was here?

Your hands were shaking as you stepped out on your floor, feeling like you had to watch over your shoulder as you walked to your room. Stacking the coffees you tapped your key card to the door, and entered the room quietly. Elle was thankfully still sleeping, so you placed the coffees on the desk, and kicked your shoes to the side of the bed. You grabbed your phone and sat on the couch, trying to figure out what to do. With shaky hands you opened your texts, found the brothers group chat and began to type.

You

9:08am: 911

9:09am: He’s in the hotel. 

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Taglist:

@gretavansara@jordie-gvf-admin@starshine-wagner @eyelinerjake@gretavanfvckface@gretavanmoon@misshunnybeebee@fretaganvleet@gvfpal@joshkiszkas@ascendingtostardust@raviolilegs@sammysprincess@gvfpal@objectsinspvce@lallisonl@gvfpal@raviolilegs@jaketlover@ascendingtostardust @indigostreakmorgan@jakemarrymeibeg@fakeplastiqtree@radmads-gvf @fwzco @katelynn-gvf @writingcold @jakesgrapejuice @jakekiszkasbabymama @emsfallingsky @gretavanbear @ejoygvf @beebloopbleep @mackalah @weneedsomehealing123 @reesetrippingthelight @lightmylove-gvf @wetkleenex-gvf@fulltimecynical @little-bit-of-monica@ageofbajabule @ageofsinners@indigostreakslut @profitofthedune @katelynn-gvf @ohgodthefeeling-gvf @joshskittytickler21 @mp0801@starcatcherry @samsbirks

[inquisitornocturn]

≪─ ᴀ ᴍɪɴᴜᴛᴇ ᴛᴏ ᴍɪᴅɴɪɢʜᴛ: ᴄʜ. 13 - ᴘᴀᴛᴄʜᴡᴏʀᴋ ᴏꜰ ꜰᴀᴄᴛꜱ ─≫

⋟ 𝐩𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠: Sebastian LaCroix/f!reader the Ventrue neonate

⋟ 𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐬: y/n etc is not used, rating - T, no tags

⋟ 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲: From climbing the corporate ladder to being told you need to feast on human blood - this is your new life, Fledgling. The world has changed for you so drastically, you know you will need time to adjust and your new so called "boss" is not making it easy. He's sending you on tasks that feel like they were designed to get you killed. It makes you furious: at Sebastian, at your vampirism, at your lowly position in this brand new society you just stepped into. Still, LaCroix is just the type to get under your skin with ease, and he does it well. Too well. You are not too sure if you can resist his pull.

⋟ 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭: 2,582

𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐞: last one edit and update from the older chapters, from this point on - only new stuff! enjoy♡~

⋟ 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭: [link] | on AO3 [link]

Everything seems slightly different when you exit Venture tower. Your feelings - a mess, your sensations strange too.

He said he has feelings for you.

That’s the only thing you can think of as you walk back to your haven. You forget everything for a blissful moment. The Anarchs, the Sarcophagus, the Kindred politics. Even your own wretched fate; everything is gone as you remember his blue piercing eyes when he said the words. You can’t help but smile, your footsteps feel light, like you’re not walking but flying. Something deep in you feels so human and you don’t know if it’s because you’re still so young as a vampire or is it because it’s just how this whole situation is making you feel.

That matters none. Nothing matters. You’re in love, that much you can admit to yourself if not the others. And you wouldn’t admit that to anyone else even if tortured. Not when your Adoption is so close at hand. You can’t let your feelings be known just in case it compromises something, anything, mainly LaCroix. You won’t put him in a situation that makes him unhappy. Not only it could prematurely end your own plans, it could also mess up whatever you are building with him. And you crave oh so much to be his.

Yes, you realize that’s true. You know there will never be true equality between you and Prince, but you’re surprisingly okay with that. Maybe you’re just a fool, maybe you’re a changed person, maybe he changed you, but whatever the reason – you know that you want to be his.

But, first things first. Isaac Abrams.

You need to talk to him if you want to find Gary. Problem is you’re not very keen to step into Anarch territory, especially far from whatever allies you have right now. You need information and you know only one person who can give you information if there’s any to be had – Bertram. He owes you, despite everything. So after you return to your haven you retire for the day, sleeping the hours away while Heather watches you, until it’s time to rise again and continue paving your path to success and whatever power you can grab with your own hands.

It doesn’t take you long to get back to Santa Monica and to SunCo where Tung still likes to reside despite mending things with Jeanette. When you arrive, you find him on his computer but the moment you step into the empty cistern, Bertram immediately turns off the screen of his machine and gets off from the chair, turning to you.

“You again, I should’ve suspected that you will show up sooner or later. Have I told you that news travel down the Kindred grapevine like wildfire?” He chuckles and you walk to him, stopping at respectable distance and folding your arms on your chest.

“Yes, you have, the first time we met, actually. So what news have you heard now?” You raise an eyebrow. The place stinks but you try to ignore it the best you can, you don’t remember if it stank like this before or is it just because you got used to living in Downtown haven where it’s much much nicer now that Heather also took over the cleaning duties.

“So I have it seems.” Tung chuckles again. “Tell me, cupcake, does Prince moan when he comes or is he the silent type?” The glint in his eyes betrays the twisted joy he’s feeling from putting you on the spot like that.

And put you on the spot he does. You clear your throat, slightly embarrassed but also feigning your confusion.

“You better have an explanation for this question, Tung. I’m in no mood for riddles.” You furrow your brows but your fingers twitch slightly, you try to stop yourself from balling them into fists.

Seems he’s right about one thing – rumors do be spreading like wildfire. Just how many already know about how intimate your relationship with LaCroix is? You don’t dare to guess but any number above two is already too many.

“Oh come on, you don’t have to lie to the little old me.” Bertram is very clearly enjoying this, he steps a little closer, leaning to you like a conspirator. “You can lie to others but not to me. There’s rumors spreading about you and Prince Priss.” He straightens his back now, giving you the most smug smile you have seen on anyone. “But you don’t have to pretend for my sake. You think I care if you bang him or Rodriguez or both of them at the same time? Please. If you do though, I’d like to hear details.” He laughs and you frown, trying not to betray your annoyance, you still need him, the information he holds.

“Well, what it looks like to me that no matter what I say you already think you know everything so I won’t bother. You’re free to believe whatever you want.” You respond sharply and Tung raises his palms in defense.

“No need to get feisty now. I’m on your side, Fledgling.” His smile is less smug now, he looks like he means what he says and you find it hard to figure out if it’s just an act or not. But he did help you before.

“If you’re on my side then you will help me. I need information.” You unfold your arms and place your palms on your hips, all while Bertram watches you like a hawk.

“Of course you do. Damn Ventrue blood. Gotta be on top of everything, even if it’s a Prince.” He teases and when you frown deeply, basically snarling at him, showing your fangs, but Tung laughs and waves his hands. “Alright, alright, I’ll stop.” he lowers his arms and cocks his head to the side slightly. “So what information do you need? Something to do with Adoption?” He asks and your annoyance is immediately replaced by surprise. Just how much this Kindred knows? Does he know every single thing about your unlife? How is this possible?

“How do you know?” You ask before you can stop yourself and Bertram scoffs.

“It’s my hobby, to know things, ya know? Doesn’t matter how I know, just that I know.”

Yes, he definitely is trying to protect someone who’s been feeding him information about you and your activities.

“Let’s say I don’t beat the answer out of you right this moment, what can you tell me about this Adoption?” You frown again, not in anger this time but with concern. If Bertram knows something you don’t about a thing that involves you – you want to know. You have to know.

“Nothin’ much, if I’m being honest here. Just that your Prince seems to be serious enough to ask Straussy for help.” Tung shrugs and you sigh, thinking.

“I already know that much. Strauss himself informed me, actually.”

That rewards you with a curious look from Bertram.

“And why have you been seeing Strauss in person?” Vampire asks carefully and now you grin.

“Doesn’t matter why I have seen him, just that I seen him.” You jab back at Tung and he pauses then laughs.

“Fair enough. But you can’t blame me for being curious. You seem to be a big deal lately, Fledgling. Prince wants you, Strauss guards you and even Anarchs seem to skip you when trying Camarilla’s patience. I wonder what’s so special about you after all.” Tung’s words lead to silence as he curiously watches you while you grapple with one thing he just said: Strauss protects you.

You want to ask why and how he knows, how can he be so sure, but if dealing with Bertram so far taught you one thing is that he won’t tell you anything he doesn’t want, even if you ask him directly. So you have to get smart.

“I can’t answer you that, if I’m honest. But I do want to know what you know. You seem to know everything there is to know about LA and Kindred politics here. Why not enlighten me?” You give him a small, polite smile and Bertram pauses.

“Tell me, Fledgling. What do you want to know exactly? Definitely not what Primogen Council are talking about when they’re bored. There has to be somethin’ else, personal. Is it really about your Adoption?”

“Well, if I’m honest yes, that does intrigue me. You do seem like you know more than LaCroix told me so far. Or Strauss for that matter.” You shrug and this time you are being fully honest. Bertram scoffs.

“Of course nobody wants to tell you things, cupcake. It’s more useful for ‘em to keep you in the dark. Or well, partial dark.” He pauses to think, you have a feeling he’s trying to decide just how much he should tell you. “Alright, tell you what, you keep this between us and I will tell you what whispers I have been hearing.”

You quickly nod, you’re not going to let this chance slip away, there’s so few of those lately, to learn more about the web being spun for you.

“Alright. As I said, this is just rumors and LaCroix ain’t the one to be sharin’ things easily, you know.” Bertram again leans closer to you but this time you lean in his direction as well, your face next to his and you realize that he smells like perfume. A woman’s perfume. You push down the smile tugging at your lips, you know he spent time with Jeanette not long before you came. “I don’t know how the whole Adoption thing came about to be discussed between you and him, but there’s talks that he’s doing it to cover his own precious ass.” Tung whispers and you look at him with confusion.

“To cover his ass?” You ask and Bertram pauses for a long moment.

“That Sarcophagus that he’s obsessed about. There’s rumors that an Antediluvian is inside.”

“Yes, Beckett also spoke about it but he doesn’t believe that’s the case.” You admit and Tung makes a face that you interpret as annoyance, perhaps?

“Beckett is a historian of sorts but he’s new to the city and he doesn’t know your lovely Prince. Although I suppose nobody does.” He scoffs but then looks serious once more. “There’s more to that. Rumor goes that LaCroix wants that Sarcophagus not only to check if there’s a grandsire in there, but to Diablerie them.”

The word is unfamiliar to you and you frown, showing your confusion clearly. Bertram catches on immediately.

“Right, I forget you’re still new, even now.” He sighs, collects his thoughts and continues. “Diablerie is generally frowned upon among all Clans, with except of maybe the Sabbat. It’s the act of consumin’ Kindred’s blood until Final Death, cupcake. Many Kindred who want to raise their ‘generation’ and standing in politics pursue such deeds in private and even then, it’s extremely hard to hide somethin’ like this. I’m sure Beckett explained to you what Antediluvians are so I won’t bother, but listen when I say this – Diablerie on an Antediluvian is such a diabolical aspiration that the idea of it alone is hard to comprehend. But if it is done by LaCroix it would give him incredible power and stance in the Camarilla, and among other Kindred.”

“Wait, wait, I thought there’s no Antediluvians existing. Well, not anymore. And Camarilla’s official stance is that none survived to this day.” You lower your voice to nearly a whisper as if you and Tung are discussing something forbidden. And maybe you are. His voice also drops to a whisper in echo of you.

“Yes, that’s Camarilla’s stance, but what about LaCroix’s personal stance? What do you know about what he thinks, what he believes?”

Your eyes meet his and you realize you don’t have an answer to that. Truly, what do you know about what Sebastian is truly thinking, what he wishes for, what he desires? The man is a mystery to you, despite everything you have been through with him already. Your desire for him and your feelings might have made you blind to a lot of things, you muse to yourself. But this is not the place or the time for you to reassess your relationship with the Prince of LA.

“Fair enough. But what I have to do with this? More importantly, why do you think my Adoption is going to be used, as you said, to cover his ass?” You inquire and the nosferatu sighs as if he’s getting impatient with you already.

“Listen, I don’t have all the puzzle pieces myself, alright? I’m just telling you what words are going from ear to putrid ear. But I like you so I’ll give ya a warning. Be careful trusting the Prince. If you don’t know his motives, that I’m sure he’s not willing to share, then don’t put your trust in a man, in a Kindred above all things, that is not honest with you.” Tung chuckles. “And I don’t think LaCroix is ever honest even with himself.”

You lean back and Bertram does the same, pushing his hands into his coat pockets. You remain silent for a moment, digesting what you have heard. But then, something new comes to your mind, plucked by one thought or another from depths of your memory. Something you heard somewhere, something you didn’t fully think about until now. A connection is almost made. Connection about you, your Adoption and…

“What do you know about my Embrace?” You ask and the smirk disappears from Tung’s lips.

“Nothin’ I can tell ya without risking my neck, Fledgling. I deal in rumors but this rumor is too dangerous to just share it with anyone, even you.” He adds before you manage to get the words out of your mouth. You frown, annoyed for being denied.

“Well, then who the fuck would know? Sebastian?”

“Bingo.” Bertram points a finger at you and smirks, noticing how you called Prince by first name, but he doesn’t address it although you see a sly smile pull at his lips and show his jagged teeth as he watches you.

However, his reply leaves you even more puzzled than before. Of course Sebastian would know. How didn’t you think about it before. Shit.

“Thanks for the information, Bertram.” You nod curtly at him and Tung chuckles, waving his hand at you as if it’s no big deal.

“Don’t worry about it. Just keep yourself safe out there.” He says and you give him one last curious look before you turn and leave the cistern behind.

While you walk to your car your thoughts spin about one topic – your Embrace. Did you really never ask about that? Why not? Truly, you are surprised you didn’t get curious earlier. The whole night of your Embrace is drenched in shadows and forgotten snippets, it has gaps and blanks that you never truly looked at before.

As you pull out of the parking lot to return Downtown you can’t help but wonder: who turned you and why? And how LaCroix figured it was happening if, as he claimed on the night he spared your life, he was never even asked for a permission for your Embrace. And most importantly, how did you end up in that shabby room with a man you never met before?

You have to know answers. Gary can wait, Abrams can wait. You have to see Sebastian.

Tonight.

[maddieautobot273]

Silk & Cologne (55)

A Miguel O'Hara x OC Fanfic - link to AO3 (X)

Chapter 55: Dusk - previous chapter (X)

Pairing: Miguel O'Hara x Female OC (Spidersona)

Words: 3.4K+ words

Warnings: PG-13 for Slight angst (nothing too serious), very brief mention of teasing about a kink (it's not an actual thing here)

Summary: It's a brand new day in Earth-1218 as Lisa and Miguel navigate where to go from here.

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Part II 

“If she finds out you’re keeping this from her, what she really is, it could mean the end of this beautiful world you both created in your hearts.” - Madame Web in the not so distant future

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“Are you sure it was her ?” Miguel had asked me, his hands engulfing my shoulders, anchoring me to him as those piercing brown eyes of his as we stood in the darkness of his lab. “You’re absolutely sure that’s who you saw?”

“I’m serious, Miguel.” My gaze didn’t falter as I met his gaze, as his hands snaked up from my shoulders, slowly up to my cheeks. “It was Madame Web who unlocked my powers. What does this mean? Has she been watching me? Us ? This whole time? Why hasn’t she been helping you with all this anomaly stuff?”

“I don’t know, mi corazon , but promise me, if she ever contacts you again, you can tell me, okay?” Miguel pleaded with me softly as his thumbs brushed over the skin of my cheeks. “I just want to make sure you’re okay.” - sweetheart

I nodded gently, taking a breath to try and ease my worries. “I promise.”

Miguel’s face softened as he leaned forward, “Come ‘ere,” He wrapped his arms around me, embracing me close to his chest as I sucked in his radiating warmth. ”We'll figure this out together. I promise.”

Looking back on it now, I think that was when everything started to crumble. Starting out as a tiny crack barely noticeable. Until overtime, it wasn’t.

///////////

“Come on, let’s go!” 

It was the middle of the night. Men dressed in dark clothing worked quickly as one by one they each grabbed and stored sneakers in the back of a large van. It was the delivery service backlot of the Nike store in Upstate. A new style of sneakers had just been released the other day, and they were all the rage. 

Everyone wanted one, and I suppose these guys took it way too literally. 

“Just a couple more and then we’re out of here!” 

They nearly stacked the back of the van to the brim with nothing but sneaker boxes. If someone didn’t stop them, they’d surely make a speedy getaway, especially since they knocked out the patrolling security guard. They couldn’t get away with this. 

There was a ‘FWIP!’ in the air as a blob of web fluid shot out from above, sticking to the robber closest to the van’s face. 

“Come little children, I’ll take thee away,”

The webbing turned to gold as the hue glowed bright. The man collapsed to his knees before falling over and dropping the shoe box he was holding. Snoring quickly followed. 

“Johnny?” One of the other robbers whirled around to see his friend fall. 

But before he could get to him, another sling of webbing caught on his face now, displaying the same glowing effect and he too was quick to fall to the ground into slumber. 

“Into a land of enchantment!” 

One by one, the robbers fell. All the while dressed in a refurbished black and pink spider suit, I descended down from the street lamp slowly, dangling from a web. 

“Come little children, the times come to play.

Here in my garden of magic~” 

All the robbers lay asleep as I touched down on the ground, making sure to land on my good foot and not my, just on the cusp of recovering, sprained ankle. I looked around to assess the damage. No one was injured and I called it a blessing when I discovered that the robbers had disabled the security system. 

Nobody would have witnessed the robbery, but that almost meant that nobody would witness Spider-Muse subduing them either. 

“Nice one, Lisa!” Lyla’s holographic form appeared beside me, applauding me as confetti blew up around her. “A new personal best!” 

“Thanks, Lyla.” I smiled softly at the AI under my mask. 

“You’ve been getting a lot better at channeling your voice with your webbing.” She complimented as she fluttered about, admiring my handiwork as I carefully sat up the robbers into a little circle. 

It’s been two weeks since I helped save my dimension from total collapse by Harry Osborne. It’s been two weeks since I sprained my ankle, and more importantly, it’s been two weeks since Madame Web gave me her blessing, allowing me to use my powers in my dimension safely. Madame Web. . . 

My mind was still reeling from that entire counter. Was she observing my dimension through her powers like she was with those other dimensions I saw? Was she watching me right now to make sure I upheld my promise?

With great power comes great responsibility , or as Miguel likes to say With great powers comes great guilt . 

Now I’m craving fortune cookies. 

During that time whenever I wasn’t home, I’d be at Spider-Society HQ in Miguel’s dimension, training and practicing more with my powers. Miguel supported me every step of the way, and did his best to not be a constant shadow, but he was always there when I really needed him most. He and the others helped me practice my web slinging and how to properly land with an injury, and Miguel made sure I kept up on my workout routine. 

Since then, my enchantment ability has enhanced, allowing me to enchant my target without needing a connecting web from me to their skin. I could also do it without needing to touch my webbing, but only in short bursts and doesn’t last as long. So long as I’m close by and the webbing could detect the vibration of my voice, the enchantment would activate. Peter B. took plenty of notes for me in my notebook too. 

Since then, I’ve secretly been using my powers to protect my new home, New York City. Tonight’s case was a shoe robbery. I wish I didn’t have to hide it, but perhaps it was for the best. 

Miguel and I had talked about it briefly after the battle the following day. If he hadn’t intervened with Project: Reset, the government would have eventually hunted me down, interrogated me, and most likely would try to experiment and dissect me. It was brought up briefly, but we didn’t need to go into any further detail if they got their hands on my gizmo. 

As much as I agreed I didn’t want it to end up going that route, I wished I could have preserved my friends memories. They knew of my secret superhero identity for all but mere hours before Miguel had to erase them and every single person on the planet in order to protect me, my dimension, and the Spider-Society. 

Miguel’s logic made sense. He knew way more about all this stuff than I did. He was a little older, a little wiser. I trusted him, and I still do, and so far he has yet to try and take advantage of said trust.

“I guess there was one upside to my idol bootcamp.” I used my webbing to tie up the robbers, making sure they were nice and snug. “Learning how to sing and dance simultaneously does have its perks.”

“I think we can call this a successful patrol.” Lyla grinned, arms crossed as pixel shades appeared over her eyes. 

“I agree.” I smiled, brushing off my hands. “Let’s head home.”

As I was turning away, there was a loud bang as the driver side door of the robber’s getaway van was kicked open. “What is all that racket out there?!”

I froze, the eyelets on my mask widening as I whirled to see one more robber stagger out of the vehicle. He held a gun in his hand as he spotted me, his eyes darting between me and his friends tied up. They stepped forward, aiming their weapon towards me.

“What the hell are you–?!”

I instantly flicked my wrist, shooting web fluid on his face. “ Go to sleep please! ”

The webbing glowed gold and instantly, the driver fell on his face, fast asleep. 

My heart was pounding as I exchanged a glance with Lyla who gawked at the scene, eyes widened and hands covering her mouth. “That was close.”

“Lyla, please don’t tell Miguel.” I pleaded gently. 

“It will be our secret.” Lyla winks, a heart emoji over her head. 

The following morning, news reports came out of a failed robbery at the Nike store. The robbers were caught due to them supposedly falling asleep during the heist and woke up police surrounding them after receiving an anonymous call about a disturbance in the area. By then, my webbing had dissolved and any sign of Spider-Muse’s presence vanished. 

///////////

Miguel’s P.O.V. 

When Miguel stepped through the portal and arrived at Lisa’s apartment with take out from Tony’s the following afternoon, he had expected to find her on the couch resting, as she should, doing whatever she wanted. Reading, watching a movie, playing video games, whatever she wanted to do to keep herself relaxed and occupied and not put weight on her ankle that she should be resting. 

What he wasn’t expecting was for her to have a guest. Not any of her friends, not any of the other spiders. Someone he had mentioned in the past and now started to regret ever mentioning their similar interests. 

“Hey, Miguel! Right on time, we were about to start another round!” Gabriel O’Hara grinned from his spot on the couch near Lisa, offering his older brother a playful grin. 

Miguel glanced over at the screen. It seemed Lisa and Gabriel had been passing the time playing a game called. . . Fortnite ? Ah yes, that battle royale game. Miguel recalled Gabriel being obsessed with their dimension’s version of the game when they were teenagers. 

“Gabri, not that I’m not happy to see you, but what are you doing here?” Miguel’s eyes narrowed towards his brother before his tone turned playful as he leaned down towards Lisa, kissing her temple as he said to her, “I thought I told you I didn’t want to share.”

“Well I was getting antsy and I didn’t want to bother you during your meeting with Jess, so I gave Gabriel a call and asked if he wanted to hang out.” Lisa smiled sweetly, reassuring him with a gentle look in her eyes. 

“Hey, Miguel, look! You got a skin in this game!” Gabriel pointed at Lisa’s TV screen as he recognized the familiar blue and red suit. “Watch me make you do the griddy.” He snickered. 

Miguel marched over, setting the take out down on the kitchen counter before using his free hand to smack and grab Gabriel’s head. “I should make you wash out your mouth for putting my name and ‘griddy’ in the same sentence.” 

Gabriel triggered the emote, and the digital Spider-Man 2099 avatar danced. 

“No fear!” Gabriel proclaimed.

Miguel erupted, swearing in his native tongue as he and Gabriel wrestled. Lisa snickered, shaking her head at them. Careful not to lean on her sprained ankle, she got up from the couch and began to move around to the kitchen counter to unpack the takeout food. “Brotherly rough housing is fine, but I better not get a noise complaint from any of my neighbors.”

That seemed to get them to calm down as they settled, Miguel finishing off Gabriel with a nuggie to the head, messing up his hair.

“I just got this done yesterday!” Gabriel pouted. 

“Well that’s what you get for not giving me notice that you were coming over.” Miguel sneered playfully as he walked over and got us all a plate. “You are so lucky Tony packed extra.”

“Food? Yes!” Gabriel’s eyes went wide with delight as he jumped up from the couch.

As everyone divided up the food, Miguel glanced over towards Lisa again, “How have you been feeling?”

“Good, great , actually, my ankle doesn’t even hurt anymore.” Her smile brightened, taking her plate of food back to the couch and emphasized her statement by starting to walk on it again, though keeping her steps light. 

“But you’ve been–” Miguel started speaking out of concern, but even he knew that sometimes it had come off as nagging, especially now when Lisa interjected him. 

“ Yes , I’ve been keeping it elevated while I rest.” Lisa sighed with a playful roll of her eyes.

“Even during your patrol last night?” Miguel quickly added. 

“Yes!” Lisa sighed, her voice beginning to groan out of irritation. “I mentioned it in the report.”

Miguel brought Lisa over to HQ yesterday so Spider-Doc could take a look at her ankle and check on the healing process. According to him it looked good as new, but after Miguel’s insisting “Are you sure?” or “Does it need more time to heal?” Much to Lisa’s dismay, they decided to play it safe, and prescribed that they let it rest another day or so. 

In this one instance, Miguel really did outrank Spider-Doc. 

“I don’t mean to come off as nagging.” Miguel apologized as he came around to sit beside her. “I just worry. It’s. . . instincts.”

“I know. Does this mean I can at the very least not wear my cast while in my own home? Safe ?” Lisa asked, a hint of begging in her eyes. 

“I’d say why not!” Gabriel chimed in as he slouched on the sofa chair opposite of them. “She is in pretty bright spirits today, Miggy, the best I’ve seen her scene the incident.”

Miguel glanced between the pair, and the second Lisa’s expression shifted to that of her infamous puppy dog pout, Miguel folded. He sighed, shaking his head with a defeated smile. “Alright, fine, you may. But remember to–”

“Keep the cast on for another two weeks while I’m outside of my home so my friends and family don’t suspect.” Lisa recited, lowering her voice to try and mimic Miguel’ with a teasing stoic expression. 

Miguel narrowed his eyes towards her, mocking annoyance. “That’s not funny.” the corner of his lip curled up. 

“I can do an actual funny one if you want me to?” Lisa grinned back at me. 

“Not unless you don’t want another foot massage later.” Miguel playfully jabbed back at her, digging into his food. 

Lisa huffed, a war brewing in her eyes. Miguel had started offering Lisa little massages here and there to help ease her nerves. He could understand that being cooped up in her home for days at a time, unable to move around or even dance was troubling for her. In that regard he felt awful, and wanted to do anything and everything he could to try and make it better. 

“You have a feet fetish I don’t know about, big brother?” Gabriel snickered. 

“Ay, not at the dinner table.” Miguel pointed his fork at him as Gabriel had a cheshire cat-like smile on his face. 

All of our gizmo’s suddenly beeped before Lyla’s holographic form projected itself from Gabriel’s gizmo. “Sorry to interrupt family time. Gabriel, your presence is being requested.”

“Welp, duty calls then.” Gabriel sat up from his chair, pointing at his plate. “You mind if I take this with me?”

“Go on.” Miguel waved him off as his brother packed his leftovers in an empty container. 

“Say hi to Margo and the others for me.” Lisa waved him off with a friendly smile. 

“I will, and enjoy your massage .” Gabriel winked with a little too much flirty intent. 

“GABE!” Miguel and Lisa both called him out, cheeks flushed. 

“Whoops, look at the time, gotta go!” Gabriel scrambled as a portal opened and he jumped through it just as Miguel was getting ready to toss a pillow in his direction. 

The portal closed behind Gabriel, leaving Miguel and Lisa to themselves in her apartment. 

“Brothers. . .” Miguel grumbled with a roll of his eyes. 

“You know you love him.” Lisa grinned softly. 

“Yeah, yeah,” Miguel grinned back. “Tell me about your day. What did you get up to today, besides inviting junior chaos into your home?”

“Hardy har har,” Lisa mocked a hearty laughter before adjusting her posture on the couch. “I spent the morning catching up on my reading actually. I finished the last book in the series I was reading.”

“You mean the fantasy smut?” Miguel snickered with a playful look on his eye, offering her a side glance. 

Lisa met him back with a glare. 

Miguel erupted in laughter, setting his plate down in his lap before waving his hands apologetically. “ ¡Lo siento! I believe you’ve said the technical term you prefer is spice ?” He spoke again, using air quotes on the last word. - I'm sorry 

“Much better,” Lisa smiled with an approving look. “Also, yes, it’s that series.”

“I take it the couple you were rooting for got together in the end?” Miguel asked. 

“Oh, they’ve been together since the third book, that’s when they got married. The last two were them figuring out their new lives as a married couple while also ruling a kingdom and the M.F.C., uh, sorry, the–” Lisa was rambling on about her book, and Miguel couldn’t help but notice how her eyes lit up when she talked about it. 

It was so adorable. 

“The Main Female Character, right?” Miguel spoke up.

Lisa’s eyes seemed to sparkle. “You remembered.”

“Of course, and it’s kind of hard not to. Considering how much you brought it up the last two weeks.” Miguel chuckled softly, shielding his side as Lisa tried to swat him playfully. “You were saying?”

“Anyways, she finds out she’s pregnant with their kid towards the end of the series!” Lisa gawked in surprise. “Talk about a cliffhanger. I need a few business days to recover before I start a new one.”

“Well let me know, and I’ll gladly take you out to get one.” Miguel smiled sweetly. 

Miguel knew full well that Lisa could just go online and order her books there, but he’d take every opportunity he could to spend time with her. If that meant following her around a book store and helping her find something new to read, he’d do it gladly. 

They both resumed their dinner, eating in silence for a while. Finally after clearing their plates, MIguel gently lifted Lisa's plate from her hands and got up to clean them off in the kitchen. “Have you. . . heard from her yet?”

Miguel knew that it was becoming a touchy subject. For the last few days since the invasion of her dimension, he’d ask her once, every day if she had heard from Madame Web. She hadn’t, and was becoming frustrated about it, and Miguel constantly asking. Lisa fought it, not wanting to snap, something he knew she picked up from him, but she knew Miguel went well and after taking a moment to calm herself down, she politely asked him to refrain from asking her about it on a daily basis. 

Now he only referred to the subject once in a while, and after fearing that the name alone may have added to the frustration, he reframed from naming Madame Web directly. She had been dubbed ‘her’ for the last week and a half. 

The tone in Lisa’s voice changed instantly, her voice quiet as she spoke, “No.”

Miguel hummed softly as he finished washing the dishes, cleaning his hands before returning to the couch. “It’s okay, remember?” Carefully taking a hold of Lisa’s legs, he lifted them up before scooting back into his seat and rested her legs along his lap. “It’s okay.” His voice was calm, soothing as his hands gently patted the bare skin of her good ankle before stroking up her leg. 

Lisa closed her eyes, taking a deep breath as she leaned back on a pillow propping her up at the side of the couch. “I know.” Opening her eyes, Lisa offered Miguel a tired smile. “Any chance I can still get that massage, please?”

“For you? Anything.” Miguel returned the gesture as his fingers began to massage her foot, delicately slipping off her sock before digging into her skin. 

Lisa let out a relieved sigh before sinking into her pillow. Gabriel was right. This was the most relaxed, and high spirited he had seen Lisa since we stopped Harry’s invasion. But it only seemed to leave her more questions than answers. 

If Madame Web wasn’t going to go to her, then Miguel decided that he was going to go to her. 

///////

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[cosette141]

Lost and Found | OUAT fanfic | Chapter 13

Fandom: Once Upon A Time

Author: cosette141

Words: 74k total | 5k (this chapter)

Summary: (Begin Again sequel) Emma had felt lost nearly her whole life, and Killian had lost everything he’d ever found. That is, until they found each other. With the Crocodile dead and Cora turned good, it seems happy endings have returned. However, new crises arise, threatening the budding family between them and Henry. But this is a family that always finds each other… and they have yet to fail. CS, Anti-Neal

AO3

Chapter 13 (under the cut!)

Walking out of Skull Rock was like walking into a brand new world.

Because it was no longer night.

The sky was bright blue, the shine of the sun casting warmth over the island that had felt so cold in so many ways. Seeing it in this light, it was the first time Emma actually saw beauty in the land.

Half the Lost Boys went off to get the flint they needed, and presumably to retrieve anything or any of their brothers that were still about the island. Two Boys stayed with Emma, Killian and her parents, watching them warily, like they still didn't know if they'd be left behind, no matter how many times Mary Margaret turned around to assure them they wouldn't be, her gaze always lingering on Emma, like the words were for her as much as for them.

Emma, Mary Margaret and David were still quite lost on where the ship was, but Killian seemed to know exactly where Neal had docked the ship. He led them, his hand tightly in Emma's, in a way Emma didn't think he would ever release.

Which was perfectly fine with her.

Emma could feel Killian's tension, a slight urgency in his pace, and she felt the same. She couldn't wait to get the hell of this island, Pan or no Pan. She just wanted to be back home with him, her parents and with Henry, whom she missed so badly it hurt.

They made it to the ship within an hour, and if not for the adrenaline still running through her, Emma would have collapsed from the exhaustion of both the hike and the past few days. Only minutes afterward, footsteps pounded up the gangplank, revealing the now-bigger group of Lost Boys who were severely out of breath.

"I got the flint," said the Boy who had spoken up in the caves. He hesitantly gave it to Killian, fingers shaking.

Killian smiled tiredly, visibly reluctant to remove his hand from Emma's to take it. Emma's hand felt instantly empty, and her fingers found his jacket, and if she wasn't mistaken, there was an ease in his face when he felt her grab it. Taking the flit from the boy, Killian said, "Aye, brilliant job, Slightly."

The Boy—Slightly—raised his brows in surprise at hearing Killian speak his name. But, a little delayed, the boy smiled.

"Would you and your brothers mind helping me with the gangplank and the sails?" asked Killian. He was given a nod, and the boys ran off to complete the tasks, looking like they were as eager to get off the island as Emma was.

Killian took a breath, then bent with a hiss, his hooked arm moving quickly to hug his ribs.

"Killian?" asked Emma reflexively, her other hand moving to help, but he gave her a winced smile, and used the flint to draw what looked like his own outline with the flint. And with a gasp, Emma watched his Shadow appear, separating from him. It was his own silhouette, even complete with the shadow of his hook.

"You know where to take us," said Killian to the Shadow, who nodded, and Emma could only watch in shocked awe. Killian's Shadow flew to the mast, hand and hook latching under one of the wooden rods and lifted. The ship was pulled out of the water, making Emma grab one the side of the ship with her free hand to steady herself, her parents and the boys doing the same. But soon, the ship had leveled off in the sky, and Emma would still never get quite used to the awe of magic.

"We should be back in Storybrooke within the span of a day," said Killian, who was still on one knee after removing his Shadow. He moved to stand, only to cringe sharply, groaning, a hand grasping at his ribs.

"Killian—" said Emma, quickly wrapping an arm around him, helping him stand. Huffing out a concerned, yet exasperated breath, she admonished gently, "I knew I should have just healed you back in the caves."

"I am in no danger other than comfort, love," said Killian, giving her a winced grin for good measure.

Emma didn't smile back. "Yeah, well that's what I was afraid of." She started to pull him to go below deck. "Let's go. I'm healing you now whether you like it or not."

"As you wish," said Killian, with a soft smile. "However, someone needs to keep an eye on the ship."

"I can do it," chimed in David. "Go rest, Hook." he said, with a touch of both exasperation and fondness, and Emma still couldn't believe that only days ago, David was punching Killian across the jaw and threatening to kill him.

It was still crazy to her how so much could change in such a small amount of time.

And even crazier that it all had changed for the better. Something that she was definitely not used to in her life

Namely, the most important of them being the man pressed to her side, whose jacket was still tightly clutched in her fingers.

Killian inclined his head, genuinely saying, "Thank you." Then, he cleared his throat, looking at both him and Mary Margaret. "Thank you both for aiding Emma in coming to rescue me," he said heavily, inclining his head. "I am highly in your debt."

Mary Margaret smiled. "After everything you've done for Emma, and for us, it's us who are in yours. You were only here because you saved Henry, after all," said Mary Margaret, tears in her eyes, making Emma's own sting, and her hold Killian a little tighter.

Killian, seeming unable to find words, nodded his thanks for the gratitude.

Leaving Mary Maragert and David to the helm, Killian's only instruction was to alert him when they saw the town, and that it would be a few hours before they did.

Emma helped Killian to his cabin, his pace far slower than it had been on the hike back to the ship, and Emma suddenly realized that his tension and stiffness earlier had been far less about urgency, and far more about hiding his pain.

She felt her own pained exasperation at the realization.

They reached his cabin, and Emma helped him lean against the pillows on his bed. The moment he did, he hissed sharply through his teeth, the knuckles of his hand even whiter than before, where he clutched his vest over his ribs, only proving more and more just how much he'd been trying to keep it to himself. Killian's eyes opened, breathing out, looking like he was finally experiencing some relief being off his feet. "I'm all right, love," he promised at her worried gaze.

"You should have just let me heal you," she chastised gently again, sitting down carefully on the bed next to him.

"You've done that enough, believe me," he said, voice soft, grateful, and like it was the last thing he wanted to ask more of.

Emma shook her head with an exasperated sigh, but smiled at him anyway. She started to pull the bottom of his shirt up to heal him, hoping her magic would work on command again, when a gentle hand suddenly touched her face, making her look at Killian. When she did, his eyes were on hers, the blue in his eyes vivid and strong. He gently pulled her toward him, meeting her lips, and Emma felt her eyes shut, felt the relief of a kiss that wasn't fueled by desperation. Her hand found his neck, fingers tousling in his hair, meeting his tenderness in the quiet moment.

It was the opposite of their kiss before going to face Pan; a kiss that had been fearful and passionate, a promise that it would happen again.

This was soft, it was slow, it was the fulfillment of that promise.

They pulled apart simultaneously, and Emma opened her eyes, surprised to find that a tear had fallen down her cheek, and even more surprised to find his eyes misty as well.

They both watched each other in the quiet, just reveling in the moment for what it was. They were here, safe, together.

Killian's thumb brushed away the tear on Emma's cheek, smiling at her, and Emma has never, not once, ever felt a softness like this—like him—before.

But Emma suddenly remembered he was hurt. "Will you please let me heal you now?" she asked with a smile, brushing her thumb across his cheek.

"I feel entirely healed already," he responded just as softly, and Emma didn't even detect a lie in those blue eyes. "However, if you insist."

She smiled, sitting up and lifting his shirt to display the dark bruising across his abdomen, making her brows crease. She lifted her hands, about to try to pull forth her magic, when she caught his expression, almost like he realized something that amused him.

"What?" asked Emma, pausing.

"I believe," said Killian, "that we have done this before, love." He smiled, though the amusement with the irony faded as his hand reached up to brush the back of his fingers over her forehead, and Emma knew it had been where Gold had given her the concussion in New York. Emma blinked, seeing him lying on his bed and herself perched beside him, realizing they were their own mirror of themselves from that moment she woke up on his ship.

"I much prefer it like this," said Killian softly, brows creased, like he was remembering when the skin he'd brushed over had been as broken as both of them had been, before they found home in each other.

Though warmth trickled through her skin from his touch, Emma didn't smile, remembering seeing him crumpled on the ground in the caves, imagining the worst. "Well, I don't." She gently touched her palms to his skin, whispering an apology when he jerked a little at the tender injury, and she shut her eyes, imagining him healed.

Her magic came at her wish, and she smiled as she felt it flow through her, opening her eyes to watch the white glow touch his skin over the bruising. Killian's eyes shut, lines of pain receding from his face as the bruising faded from black to blue to his unharmed, tanned skin.

And not a moment after the glow faded, his injury healed, his arms wrapped around her waist and pulled her into him. He held her tightly to him, like it was something he had waited centuries to do, and Emma melted into his chest, shutting her eyes to the feel of his embrace.

Killian.

Emma felt another set of tears touch her closed eyes, her fingers finding his coat like they always seemed to, breathing in his scent, reveling in the movement of his chest, and the heartbeat beneath it.

She remembered like it was both yesterday and years ago, kneeling on the docks next to Henry, seeing the blood and imagining the worst. Feeling like it was a break her heart wouldn't survive.

But he was okay.

He was here, she was safely in his arms, and he was okay.

"Thank you, Emma."

His voice was rough like a ship that had finally passed into the eye of a storm, weathered but in reprieve. Damaged but still whole. Fearful, but safe.

Emma smiled against his chest. "You don't have to thank me for healing you," she said softly. "To be honest, I think I wanted it more than you did," she joked.

She felt his smile, and somehow knew it was strained. "Aye, of course, thank you for healing me," he said, and she felt his thumb brush her shoulder. "However… I meant…" His voice hitched a little, and Emma felt his heart stutter in his chest. "Thank you for… coming to Neverland," he said, voice so quiet, covered in disbelief like a forgotten room in dust. His arms around her tightened, this time a little less out of protection and care, and a little more out of fear. "Thank you for saving me, Emma," he whispered.

Emma lifted herself a little off his chest to turn to see his face, and he reluctantly loosened his hold on her a little to let her. She was startled to find a tear had fallen down his cheek.

Feeling so acutely aware of where they were, of the moment she'd woken up on his bed to concerned blue eyes, Emma smiled something broken and whole. "Thank you for saving me," she whispered.

She could still remember it, could still remember the pain, the fear, and seeing him knelt beside her in that apartment in New York.

In that moment, she'd been afraid of Killian. Or, rather, of Hook.

It was one of the most vulnerable moments of her life, and the most broken she's ever been.

He didn't have to save her.

He could have killed Gold and left her.

But instead, he killed his crocodile for her, and stayed to pick up her pieces, to put her back together again.

She'd broken in that moment, all at once, shattering like glass, and she could still feel him grab her, pull her into his arms, his embrace feeling like it was both foreign and like home.

"Don't leave."

"I promise you, Emma. I am not going anywhere."

And here he was, still here, still with her, keeping that promise as safe and whole as she felt here now, with him.

She went from being afraid of him, to being afraid to be without him.

From meeting his lie that day in the Enchanted Forest, to lying with his truth each night.

She went from just surviving her life, suffocating beneath her walls, to finding a reason to truly live, and it was him.

He not only saved her life; he brought her to life.

And somehow, she did the same for him.

Everything changed in one moment, in that apartment in New York.

The moment that Emma thought would be her last, became the moment her life truly began.

Killian's hand suddenly settled at her cheek, thumb below her ear, stroking her skin, and she nearly shut her eyes to the feeling. Part of his gaze seemed far away, and somehow Emma knew he was reminiscing their history, that day, just like she was. "That moment with you," he said softly, his thumb stilling just as Emma's heart did. A million emotions raced through his gaze, settling on relief. "Saving you," he said even softer, his own words making him smile a little, like it was his greatest achievement. "Everything we've… Emma, you…" The blue in his eyes was so vibrant, hidden behind nothing, a warmth elicited solely by her. "I've never felt anything like us before," he whispered.

Emma felt a soft emotion touch her heart. And with words her walls would have stopped her from saying in the past, she said, "Neither have I."

His gaze lingered on hers, so strongly, some emotion Emma couldn't place filling the blue like rays of sun through the clearest sea. He suddenly looked like he wanted to say something, something that skipped his heart and stilled his chest. Something that would put to words the look in his eyes as he watched her.

But a sliver of hesitation crossed that sea, like a cloud casting a shadow. He swallowed, seeming to alter the words he had wanted to say. "I am honored to have you, Emma Swan," he whispered, his thumb brushing across her cheek.

Emma felt tears touch her eyes, her hand finding his face to kiss him again, shutting her eyes with the overwhelming elatedness of hearing someone truly, purely want her.

"No more than I am to have you," she responded just as honestly.

He smiled, and kissed her again, both of them getting lost in it, in each other, the only kind of lost that has ever made her feel more found.

When they pulled apart, eyes on each other, Emma smiled.

She settled herself on his chest, her head on his shoulder, feeling the exhaustion from the past few days mix with the relief of it being over, and she shut her eyes, breathing out a sigh. His arm curled around her back, pulling her into him as he settled himself against his pillows, and somehow she knew his eyes were still on her.

He was here, his rising chest and beating heart proof he was safe, alive, with her.

They were safe.

They were together.

And though they weren't yet back in Storybrooke, they were home.

-.-.-.-.-.

Storybrooke.

Killian smiled when the little town came into view from where he stood at the helm, again still not believing that he would ever see this place again. He was still quite unable to believe he was even alive. The last time he was here, he was bleeding out on the docks to the sound of Henry's panic and anguish, fully believing that he would never see the boy—or Emma—ever again.

He still couldn't believe that all three of them were safe and unharmed.

But he needed to see for himself that Henry was unharmed before he could let himself finally relax.

And Killian knew Emma felt the same, if not even more so.

She was stood at his side, where she remained the past several hours of the journey. Some time ago they joined her parents and the Lost Boys on deck, Killian assuming his place at the helm, taking the responsibility from David.

Emma's hand was still in his, like it has been this whole time, and where Killian hoped it would stay forever.

By the time they touched down in the water, Killian wrapping his arm around Emma to keep her steady, he could feel how fast her heart was pounding, could see the relief and excitement in her eyes of being back, and of whom he knew was waiting for her.

Henry.

The Lost Boys worked to lower the gangplank, and Killian dropped anchor, securing the ship in place, feeling like securing himself all the same.

Half of Storybrooke was outside, crowded at the docks by the time the gangplank was released on the docks. Hoots, whistles and cheers erupted from the docks where a crowd stood, seemingly having seen the ship's arrival through the sky.

Filled with as much eagerness and desperation as she'd had when she found him in Neverland, Emma pulled Killian with her, nearly running once the gangplank was lowered—

—only for footsteps fueled by just as much desperation ran up the gangplank, as if they'd been waiting years to do so, pounding up the wood panels to reveal—

Henry.

Henry's head turned wildly, seeing David and Mary Margaret first, to whom he gave a quick relieved smile, until he turned his head again, to see Emma.

The boy's eyes widened, and his expression was the epitome of relief.

"Mom!" cried Henry, racing toward her, and Killian felt himself smile, easing a breath of relief, the last of his tension leaving him at seeing the boy all right.

"Henry!" cried Emma, releasing Killian's hand to meet her son halfway.

Henry crashed into his mother, and Emma embraced her boy, sinking down to her knees on the deck, tears falling down her cheeks, mirroring Henry's own. Killian felt his own smile grow, tears touching his eyes at the amount of love radiating from them. He caught David's and Mary Margaret's tearful expressions as they watched, lingering a moment before deboarding the ship with the Lost Boys, like they wanted to offer Henry and Emma their moment alone.

"Mom," choked out Henry from Emma's arms, eyes shut, tears falling beneath his lashes. "You're okay!" he breathed over her shoulder, his voice a half-hiccup, half-sob.

"Yeah, kid," said Emma, voice choked, and she smiled, shutting her eyes as she held him, so tight, like she never ever planned to let him go, and Henry her. Killian watched them both, another breath of relief eased from his own chest, feeling the same sense of relief he had back in New York, when he knew the Crocodile was dead, and Emma was alive and safe.

But Henry's eyes snapped open and he pulled sharply back from Emma. His eyes were wide with panic, gasping out, "Where's—?!"

The sheer fear in the boy's eyes, at the thought he wasn't there, made Killian's breath catch.

But Emma just smiled, another tear falling down her cheek, and she looked over her shoulder, where Killian was standing.

And Henry's desperate gaze followed hers, and he saw Killian.

His eyes widened.

For a moment, the boy looked frozen with awe.

And not a second later, Henry was crashing into his own arms.

For the first time, Killian was ready for it, catching him and pulling him to his chest, feeling Henry's face bury in his chest, his little hands crumpling his jacket in his fingers, clinging onto him just as tight as Emma had when she'd found him in Neverland.

"You're okay," said Henry into his chest, his voice just as fragile and relieved as he'd said them to Emma, and Killian didn't know how he deserved either of them.

"Aye, lad," said Killian, smiling. "I'm all right."

Henry pulled back, and Killian was surprised to see him hastily wipe tears from his face with the back of his hand, his other still not letting go of the front of Killian's coat.

"I was so sc-cared," stammered Henry, more tears falling to replace the ones he wiped away, making Killian's heart twist in his chest for being the cause of his pain, no matter how little choice he had. "I th-thought I'd n-never see you again," he whispered, his voice hiccuping again.

Killian felt both an agony and a warmth at Henry's words, not even able to comprehend how he managed to endear himself so much to the boy, but so grateful he had.

"And I you," admitted Killian softly, a tear falling down his own cheek, clear liquid pain that hurt far more than any crimson that had ever painted his skin. "But as I keep telling your mother," he said softly, smiling, "I'm a survivor."

Henry smiled too, something between a laugh and a hiccup, throwing his arms around Killian's neck again, hugging him almost too tight for Killian to breathe. But for Killian, it was hardly tight enough.

But after a moment, he felt Henry tense, and he pulled back from Killian, only tightening his hold on him when asking fretfully, "Wh-what about… about Pan?"

Emma knelt at Henry's side, wiping a tear from her face. "He's gone," said Emma, firmly and surely, like she was telling herself the fact all the same.

"He is?" asked Henry, so much hope in his eyes.

"Gone," said Killian, wiping away Henry's fresh tears with his thumb. "Pan is defeated and gone," assured Killian again. "You're safe. We all are," he said, those words filling him with more relief than he could say.

Henry let out a breath of his own relief, smiling again, and Emma and Killian mirrored it, like they were Henry's emotional reflection.

But Henry looked around again, a little bit of that tension still in his body, and he asked, "Where's… um…" he trailed off, looking around with unease, like he didn't know if he wanted to see who he was looking for or not.

And Killian, as well as Emma, by the fade of her smile and the tightness of her muscles, knew who he was referring to.

Baelfire.

A flit of pain, of guilt, of regret, of the past snuck into Killian's chest and burned, Bae's death still raw, like a bleeding wound.

Killian turned to Emma, hesitating, seeing pain in her eyes as well. A different pain from his, but just as deep.

Emma bit her lip, like she both didn't know what to say, or she didn't have the courage to say it. Wishing he had two hands, Killian rested his hook gently over her thigh where she was kneeling, watching some of the pain in her eyes recede when he did, his own when her fingers curled around the metal appendage.

"Your…" began Emma, hesitating on the title. "Neal," she amended, "he…" Her voice trailed off again.

But Henry, ever-perceptive, seemed to get where she was going with it, and Killian felt him still, where his hand was still on the lad's shoulder. "He's…?" whispered Henry, trailing off himself, but the unsaid word loud and clear, and enough to make Emma flinch a little at his side.

A tear fell down Emma's face, just as a chill ran down Killian's spine. But Emma smiled, despite another tear falling down her cheek. "He helped us save Killian," she whispered, glancing at him, the gratefulness shining in her eyes like light off diamond. "He…" Emma took a breath. "He took a poisoned arrow that was meant to hit Killian," her voice stuttered with the fear of the moment, just as Killian's heart did in his chest. "He pushed him out of the way," Emma went on, "and he saved his life, by sacrificing himself." Another tear fell. "It's because of Neal that we were able to come home to you," she said softly.

Henry stared at her, tears gathered in his eyes, so much shock in them, and such confusion, such mixed emotions that looked like a sea storm that no ship could survive.

Emma's hand gently touched Henry's cheek, holding his face, brushing away a tear that fell. "Earlier," she said gently, "you said… you liked it better when you thought your father was a firefighting hero." She smiled a little, despite the weather in her own eyes. "He wasn't a firefighter," she said. "But he was a hero." Another tear fell down her cheek. "He loved you Henry." She looked at Killian then, smiling something broken and whole. "He loved all of us."

Warmth filled the cracks in his heart at her words, and Killian felt his own sadness trail hotly down his skin.

Henry was quiet for a long moment, as if trying to sail those rough seas, to navigate his shock, his sadness, and most of all, his confusion seemingly of what to feel for the man he had never known, the father he had only rejected, however rightfully so in the moment.

But he swallowed, then he took a few steps toward the edge of the ship, looking out at the sky. And it was almost as if the floating clouds passing by slowed, as if to listen.

"Thanks, Dad," said Henry softly, as even the waves calmed to hear his words, like it wasn't only the sea and the sky that was listening to them. And turning back to Killian, Henry smiled, finishing, "For saving my dad."

Killian froze.

He heard a small gasp at his side from Emma, as the breath knocked straight from his own lungs.

Dad.

He felt tears sting his eyes.

And it was the first time, it was Killian who pulled Henry into an embrace, once that Henry returned just as tightly. A tear slipped down Killian's cheek.

"Dad," whispered Henry over his shoulder, with a touch of pain and relief, like the pain of never being able to use the word before, and the relief that he finally could.

"Aye, my boy," Killian whispered, confirmed, promised, only holding him tighter. He shut his eyes, his own arms around the boy, his boy, the two words flitting softly through his mind, feeling so similar to Emma's healing magic to his injuries.

Henry chose him.

Chose him.

It was an honor Killian didn't know how he deserved, and would guard with his life.

Killian's acceptance only made Henry's arms curl around him tighter.

Pulling back a little, Henry smiled at Killian's stunned, touched expression. "I have two moms," he said with a giggle. "It only makes sense that I have two dads, too."

Killian laughed, pulling the boy into him again, Killian holding him tight, another tear falling for the sheer love he had for the boy in his arms.

"You saved me," said Henry softly into his chest, only making Killian hold him tighter, a vow to do so, over and over and over.

"I always will," said Killian honestly. The words—the promise—made Henry's lip quiver, tears falling into the collar of his coat like rain on a desert.

And there was a flash to decades ago—to Bae.

"I can change for you, Bae."

Killian's eyes burned a little hotter, for the fresh wound of Bae's death.

He hadn't changed for Baelfire.

But…

"Captain Hook! I need you to help me!"

He had changed for Henry and Emma.

"Take care of them, Killian."

"I always will," repeated Killian in a whisper, to both boys at once.

Another set of familiar arms wrapped around him and Henry as Emma, fresh tears on her cheeks, embraced them both, her head finding Killian's other shoulder.

And Killian's eyes shut, holding them both, never feeling more whole in his life.

-.-.-.-.

tag list: @kmomof4 @justanother-unluckysoul @klynn-stormz @stahlop @ilovemesomekillianjones @hookmecaptain @tiganasummertree @jadehowlettthewolf @jonesfandomfanatic @anmylica @pirateprincessofpizza @stahlop @snowbellewells @eddisfargo @sotangledupinit @thepirateandhisson @motherkatereloyshipper @confessionsofthemword @killian-whump

[kanra-nakura]

[Fiction] From Caged Marines to Whitebeard Pirates - Chapter 13 pt. 2

~An hour later~

Yu and Ellen were cuddling at the driest part of the cave that they could find, hidden from sight and away from the sea successfully avoiding getting wet from the droplets of water that spread out whenever a wave hits a boulder. A campfire was also lit before them, giving them more warmth aside from sharing body heat. While Luffy is kneeling in front of Yu’s fiancee, unwrapping the bandages that she has on her legs, whimpering slightly in pain.

Every whimper the white-haired girl released made Yu tighten his grip around her, eyeing the harsh purple color with a mix of green and yellow. It’s also bigger than normal, and when Luffy tried to twist it, the young woman nearly screamed in pain and the Chūii growled, nearly snapping at the young Marine in anger. But despite their reactions, Luffy was unbothered, before sitting on the mossy ground and then grabbed at least two rolls of bandages from the bag that was laid beside her.

“Seems like you have a broken leg.” She stated, and they both blinked at her. “You were hit with something or did you fall?”

Ellen froze before sighing in defeat and cuddling closer to her fiancee. “Yes…”

“Tell me…” Yu muttered, nuzzling against his lover. “Tell me what happened during the time I was away.”

The Chūii braced himself to hear what happened while he was gone, not sure if he could bear it, but he stood strong and listened to what Ellen said as Luffy tended to her broken leg. The silver-haired girl began with how the black-haired male left the island for a reason only the black-haired male knows, how a noble and his people landed on their island and began to create their own house at the back of the island.

For the first few months, the noble stayed on the island, it was still peaceful, showering them with kindness, but then slowly he showed his true self, starting by stopping ships from docking on the island, preventing any trade from happening, letting no one to leave and enter the island or else they’ll be killed on sight.

After that, every communication the island had with the people outside their territory was cut off, and all den-den mushi was confiscated from their houses. They were still able to share information outside the world through messenger birds and that’s how Yu managed to find out what was happening and search for help before becoming a marine.

But then the messenger birds suddenly stop, and during that whole time the noble forced people to do manual labor, punishing them for random reasons, and whipping them, especially when they decided to fight back. Those who chose to fight back had nearly died due to the torture and injuries they gained but left alive as a lesson for all of them.

For a whole year and a half, he repeated the cycle,  resulting in plenty of people dying or near death doors, staying strong hoping that someone would help them. Hope showed up when a marine crew showed up on their island and people were hoping that they were safe, and the mayor even begged for the Marines to help them only to be flabbergasted when the Marines laughed and then the noble showed up.

(Trigger Warning! Mentions of Rape! Please skip this if you don’t want to read it!)

That was when they found out that the marine was in cahoots with the noble, and when the Marines left, everything became worse.  The noble began to brand men and women with his symbol on their back shoulders, letting his soldiers sexually harass the married and single women, sometimes men as well, that are found walking outside the house without any partner.

Not that those who were inside the houses were safe as they also decided to barge inside when they couldn’t control themselves. The noble was not above that as well, as whenever he saw someone he liked, both male and female, he’ll kidnap them and bring them inside his own home and rape them, only letting them go back to their houses when he was tired of them or broken.

(End)

Yu froze and nearly crushed Ellen with his grip fearing she also experienced that horror, but his fiancee managed to calm him down by telling him how their hidden safe house got renovated and then became the place for the ladies and children to stay, how it was being used by the victims as a haven and where they were getting their therapy. However, to avoid the noble and his men getting suspicious, they dug out a lot of fake gaves, mourned, and pretended to be sick.

It worked for the most part, though their strongest people decided to allow themselves to be sacrificed for labor so their haven wouldn’t be found. People were slowly healing, but not all of them, as the fear of getting found out was high, and Ellen knew it was only a matter of time before their haven was found.

And she was right; three soldiers found them during the night, and before the soldiers could react, everyone began to run in the tunnels they made and move further away from their current haven and to their next one.

That was when Ellen got caught, pinned down by two soldiers by the arms, and one of them brought down a hammer, that he was carrying for whatever reason, down to one of her legs that he was stepping on, breaking it, before said soldiers were killed by her Father and Yu’s father in anger. The action of those two males encouraged the people, who saw her condition, to fight back and then drag their bodies to the forest, making it look like they were attacked by a pack of wild animals.

Since there were only three of them, everyone except for Ellen was safe. Though none of them were sure how much longer they could take it. But Ellen knew help was coming…

Yu frowned at that before asking. “How long ago did you get this wound?”

“... Two nights ago…” She muttered, and something was nudging at the back of Yu’s mind, but he ignored it.

“It’ll heal,” Luffy said, making the couple look at her, wrapping the bandage around the leg. “We just need to be in a safe place, away from this island, for it to be healed fully.”

“....Thank you, Luffy,” Ellen said, and Yu snapped his eyes towards the white-haired girl and to the young raven-haired girl before looking back at his fiancee. His reaction is quite understandable as he never introduces the young girl to his fiancee. Yet, Ellen knew her name, the young girl didn’t even hesitate to help his lover when she was known to be wary of older people.

“Ellen… how do you know her name?” He asked slowly; the thought that Luffy was the Marine that ignored his island's distress call came into mind, and he felt his fiancee tensing, but Luffy was ignoring them, putting everything back in the bag before sitting down in front of them.

“Relax…” Luffy started, looking at the man in front of them. “I didn’t fully report everything to Vice-Admiral Tsuru.”

Yu blinked and tried not to tense too much but decided to listen as the young girl told her how she landed by accident on the island a day after that mission against the pirates. She was caught in the storm and was merely resting when she saw two soldiers chasing after two women and three children; the men were sneering after, shouting about what they planned to do. When they passed underneath her tree, Luffy jumped down on top of the soldiers, knocking them out (she also did something towards them but no one needed to know about that).

How she met Ellen after moving the soldiers away, and how the older man confronted her fearfully since she’s wearing a marine uniform. It was only when Ellen told Luffy what those guys were doing that the young girl found out what was going on, and thus this made her decide to do something about the situation on the island.

Ellen was hesitant at first since Luffy is just a young girl (How did she become a marine so young? Since when did they become so low that they’re recruiting children!??) and was about to deny her assistance when the young raven-haired girl mentioned Yu's name, how the young girl mutters about the Chūii probably not knowing what’s going on in his home island. Hearing her fiance's name made Ellen react, and then that made Luffy more determined to help them and create a plan on how to make Tsuru or the Fleet Admiral move.

“Did you lie to them then?” Yu asked, watching the young girl pull out a three-tier bento box before opening it and handing one to each of them. “Sōchō…”

“Whether I lied or not…” Luffy started before eating the meal that she had. “It shouldn’t matter to you.”

“Shouldn’t matter?” Yu nearly snapped as his fiance kept looking at him and then at the young girl back and forth in slight fear. “Lying to them would be punishable by death and you're telling me it shouldn’t matter?!”

“Chūii.” Luffy abruptly started, stopping the older male to say anything further. “Just because you’ve been in the services for much longer than me, doesn’t mean I’m naive, unaware of the world, while you’re not.”

Yu and Ellen felt their breath hitching and felt like some sort of pressure was pressing against them but Luffy was unaffected, in fact, it looked like the pressure was coming from her. The young girl was looking at the ground, so her eyes were covered by her hair which made her a bit intimidating especially when it seemed that an image of a seaking was hovering above the young girl. “I know you heard about me, heard that I became a lab rat for doctors that bears no remorse at all.”

Suddenly the pressure was gone and the couple could finally breathe normally, it took a while for them to regain their bearing, and looked at the female Marie, who was smiling sadly at them. “You may have known how cruel the world is by hearing them through your love’s mouth or that you saw it at Sabaody… if you went to that island at all… but you never experienced it first hand. However, I did… and death sounds a lot more inviting.”

“Hold on…” Ellen started, finally speaking for the first time since Luffy began talking. “I apologize if what Yu stated upsets you… and I may not too much about what you’ve been through…  but if helping us means your death then I rather not have you do anything at all!”

“Ellen!!” Yu looked at her in shock but kept quiet especially when he received a glare in return, before the white-haired woman looked at the young girl rather softly. Seeing her expression made Luffy’s breath hitched and pain to pang in her heart. Seeing that expression reminds her of her family…reminds her of Makino… of the people that she lost in a very cruel way. Yu was the only one who heard of Luffy’s breath hitching and it made him look at her and what he saw made his grip tighten around his sweetheart.

Luffy’s eyes were showing nothing but sadness and grief, and the way she was looking at Ellen, it was as if she remembered something that brought her a lot of pain. While Ellen didn’t hear Luffy’s breath hitching, she did see the sadness that was reflected in her eyes, and it made her wonder just what kind of pain and suffering the girl experienced for this to be her reaction. “...Don’t think about dying being as a way to escape the world… think about your family.”

“...” Luffy opened and closed her mouth multiple times before smiling sadly and saying. “I don’t have my family anymore…”

For Continuation please click here….

[percontaion-points]

Edible Delectables chapters 13 & 14

Click to see the rest of the snark & image descriptions

Chapter 13

“It’s very nice to meet you Kara, we’ve heard a lot about you.” Jason’s dad winked at him, and Kara could see Jason blush slightly. 

“Jaime,” Jason muttered, and his dad grinned, showcasing the same beautiful smile Jason possessed. Could a man in his late-forties be considered adorable? Because this man? He was. 

I’m confused, is the narration trying to tell us that Jason is in his late 40s, or Jason’s dad is? Because if it’s his dad, then I have to say that the math ain’t mathing. 

Kara did an internal Snoopy dance at the implication she was gift enough to their son.

What the fuck is this even. Who sits down, writes this, and goes “Yes. Perfection.” 

Oh, who am I kidding. There’s literally no plot, and the author got bored with her own story after chapter 9. No editor bothered to even think about looking this over. 

Evalyn had already met him, but that was before they had declared themselves a couple, and somehow it felt different now.

Chapter 13 summary: We jump to them bringing the tree back to Jason’s place and setting it up. After, Jason builds a fire, which they proceed to have sex in front of. Because of course. However, this sex scene is also glossed over, so I legit don’t care.

On Christmas eve, Kara goes to meet Jason’s parents, Jennifer and Jeff. Jamie turns out to be dating Kara’s friend Ryan, who hasn’t been seen or heard from since the first chapter, so I legit forgot he existed. And let me tell you that Ryan and Kara have way more chemistry than she does with Jason. They have more in common than simply wanting to bang each other. 

Anyway, because the author has given up, there’s a lot of content that goes into this Christmas dinner. But literally nothing that I’d consider to be remotely relevant to literally anything. I ended the chapter barely reading anything, because it was that fucking dull. 

As they’re driving home, Kara unzips Jason’s pants and starts to give him road head. But even that is glossed over! Then the chapter ends with a random hint that they’re going to be spending the day with Kara’s father, Eva, and Eric. It’s like the author forgot to take out her “in the next chapter…” teaser from when this was a fanfic. 

Chapter 14

Kara was equally shocked to find a brand new, bright red mp3 player in her hands. According to the package insert, this little baby recorded video, played live radio, and had sixteen gigs of storage.

Nothing quite like immediately dating your story. 

“Sure thing,” Jason answered, although truthfully he would rather stay in the kitchen and help Kara with dinner. Football had never really held his interest.

 They settled in the living room, Paul in the recliner and Jason next to Eric on the couch. 

[...]

“What are you into?” Eric asked, dumbfounded. 

Jason couldn’t help but laugh internally at the direction of their conversation. “Well, I’m a doctor, so I don’t have a whole lot of free time, but when I do, I guess I like to read, do crossword puzzles, visit with family, listen to music, play the guitar…” Jason trailed off, unsure of when exactly he’d turned into a woman, and hung his head, “Please don’t take my man card away.”

Imagine being an author. You can write literally any single thing that your heart desires. And you CHOOSE to write toxic masculinity. 

And Jason made it to the interstate before falling asleep. The man really wasn’t a big drinker.

Chapter 14 summary: When Kara wakes up the next morning, she randomly decides that she’s in love with Jason. But decides to hit the brakes on that, since by her own admission, it’s only been a few weeks, and that’s literal crazy talk right there. She wakes Jason up, where they have more glossed-over sex. After they’ve had breakfast, they exchange presents, which are both an mp3 player. 

They then drive down to Huston (from Austin), where Kara’s dad, Paul, lives. After the introductions are made, Paul starts asking Jason what his opinion on guns is. Since he’s a doctor, Jason obviously has seen his fair share of GSW, and obviously has a poor opinion about them. As a Texan, Paul loves his guns, and doesn’t seem to think much of Jason’s attitude. 

When Eric and Eva show up, the boys go into the living room, where they start watching football. It’s tedious and dripping with the author’s casual sexism; I cannot. Jason gets drunk, and practically accosts Kara in the kitchen. She’s alone in there; where Eva went is beyond me. But the author is clearly bored with even this, and skims over the present exchange, and sends Kara and Jason home. Since he’s still pretty drunk, he passes out in the car before they can get on the freeway. 

[dzthenerd490]

Kingdom Hearts: The Brightest of Hearts - Chapter 13: The Brightest of Hearts part 1

On the other side of the gateway, they found themselves in a new world though this one wasn't anything like any of the other worlds they've been. they came across, it wasn't colorful, full of life, or had magic in the air. It was a dark purple color everywhere with different shades of the dark purple being the only form of diverse color here.

"What... is this place?"

"Good question lad!" Sora quickly manifested his Keyblade, Kairi her Keyblade, Donald his staff, and Goofy his shield when they all heard that voice. It was Doxcrum as the shadows of the world started flowing like water towards each other to form a black blob right in front of the group. The blob grew bigger until it started taking shape and formed into Doxcrum.

"This world is called an Abyss World, it's a world created when several worlds o' light are destroyed. th' resultin' rubble gets pulled together and forms a brand-new world for th' heartless tae thrife! Makin' everythin' that lives and breathes in th' darkness stronger as a result! This world in particular is called, End o' th' World!" Sora, Kairi, Goofy, and Donald looked at Doxcrum in shock, realizing the horrific and disgusting origins of this world. However, their facial expressions quickly changed to that of confusion when they full processed the name of the world. Doxcrum saw their faces and as a result realized the name sounded ridiculous as well, making him scratch the back of his head in embarrassment.

"Uh, I was a glaikit bairn when I came up with that name- Awe rite swatch! th' point is that ye lot are out o' yer league here, so don't be glaikits. Join us and ye get to become gods as well. Bonnie sweet deal aye?" Sora just sighed in annoyance, aggravated that Doxcrum still thought they would actually consider joining them at this point. But before he could say no Kairi raised her Destiny's Embrace Keyblade and charged at Doxcrum in anger.

"You hurt my grandmother! you're going down you stupid old man!"

"Ha! Yer funeral, Las."

"Kairi don't!" Kairi didn't listen to Sora and continued charging at Doxcrum but instead of hitting him the Keyblade instead seemingly phased through him. In reality Doxcrum just moved so fast that no one saw him when he dodged. Before Kairi could swing around to try and slash him again Doxcrum grabbed her shoulder to stop her.

"Yer fragmented, find th' ye that isn't ye, become whole again."

"What?" Doxcrum then disappeared instantly into a void. Sora ran up to Kairi and grabbed her by the shoulders.

"Kairi! What were you thinking?!" Kairi was about to get mad at Sora, but she saw the genuine concern and fear in his eyes. Kairi was now filled with guilt as she knew what she did was rash and stupid.

"I... I'm sorry Sora. I just wanted revenge so badly." Sora then remembered something Cloud told him and smiled gently at Kairi.

"You're justified in wanting revenge Kairi, but don't let it define who you are and why you do what you do. That's when you become just as bad as the Dark Army." Kairi looked at Sora with guilt, but she managed to smile after hearing Sora's words.

"... Hehe, yeah you're right Sora. You're such a nerd though."

"Ha! says the lazy island clown." The two of them laughed a little to ease the tension then they stopped just as Donald and Goofy walked up to them.

"Heh, sorry guys, I'll keep my head on straight from here on out."

"That's all we ask for Ms. Kairi." Goofy smiled at Kairi while Donald just nodded in approval. Kairi however pretended to only focus on Goofy which ended up annoying Donald. Suddenly a large explosion of light could be seen at the distance.

"What was that?!"

"The Dark Army, it has to be."

"Come on guys, whatever they're doing we can't let them finish!" Sora ran forward and Kairi, Donald, and Goofy followed hoping they could get there fast enough. However, as they did several Neoshadow Heartless manifested in front of them.

"Pureblood Heartless! Doxcrum wasn't kidding about things being tougher here."

"I doubt it, the Darkball's were barely even a threat. I doubt these guys will be any different." Sora then charged forward and slashed at a Neoshadow Heartless, only for it to dodge and do a spin kick right at his stomach.

"Sora!" Another Neoshadow Heartless jumped in front of Goofy and started punching his shield at incredible speed and with great force. Donald tried to back Goofy up with a lighting spell only for a Neoshadow Heartless to jump in front of him as well and punch his face a few times before kicking him making him fall hard on his back. Kairi tried helping but the Neoshadow Heartless were too fast and kept dodging her attacks. Eventually one jumped behind her and punched her back several times with incredible speed.

After Kairi was down, Sora was left alone while surrounded by Neoshadow Heartless. Out of desperation Sora manifested his Oathkeeper Keyblade and slashed at another Neoshadow Heartless. However, he missed, and it punched him, but once the hit landed Sora felt nothing. Sora was confused and so was the Neoshadow Heartless in front of him, another behind him tried to punch and kick him several times in the head but again nothing happened. Now Sora knew what this Keyblade does, it makes him completely immune to physical attacks.

Sora smiled in excitement and started slashing at the Neoshadow Heartless to the best of his abilities. He was missing at first but every time a Neoshadow Heartless tried to attack him they managed to stay still long enough for him to slash them with his keyblade. It was because of this that the battle ended up lasting quite a while, but he still got the occasional attacks on the Neoshadow Heartless. Sora tried his hardest to get rid of the Neoshadow Heartless faster, especially since they occasionally attacked Donald, Goofy, and Kairi again to keep them injured and on the ground.

Finally, there was only one left and it tried to run away. Sora then manifested the Spellbinder Keyblade, he had a good idea what it did, so he activated a fire spell and aimed at the Neoshadow Heartless. Upon firing the spell, the fireball was not only slightly bigger but split into five fireballs of the exact same size and all flew in a spiraling pattern toward the Neoshadow Heartless and even followed it as it tried to dodge. Once the Neoshadow Heartless was finally destroyed all Sora could do was look at his Keyblade in awe. He then started jumping in the air and waving his fists around out of overwhelming joy.

"Yeah! That's what I'm talking about! That was awesome!" Sora was so overjoyed by his new powers and better, yet he still didn't know what his Ultima Weapon Keyblade was able to do but it was bound to be amazing. However, Sora then realized that his friends were still down and quickly walked over to help them. Sora tried to go to Goofy first to get some healing potions from his bag but when he opened the bag Sora saw that all of the potions had been smashed. Sora didn't know what else to do, at least until a really bad idea. popped into his head.

Sora groaned he had no better options as he walked over to Donald. Sora got Donalds head up and tried his best to help him wake up. It took quite a while, but Donald finally found the strength to get up.

"Sora?"

"Donald, I need you to teach me the healing spell."

"Ugh... forget about its Sora, Goofy was right, I stink at that spell."

"Come on Donald! You're the head wizard of Disney Castle!"

"I'm the only wizard of Disney Castle Sora. I'm not even the best at Magic, King Mickey is. The only reason he doesn't count as a wizard is because he's the king so the position just came to me by default."

"Yeah? Well, I never saw this King Mickey in action, and he sure didn't help me in my times of need. There's only one duck I know that was able to watch my back and manifest the best of magic to defeat the Heartless! And right now, I need that stubborn duck to help me help him and everyone else!"

"Heh, alright, alright. Raise your keyblade." Sora then gently placed Donald on the ground, stood up and manifested his Kingdom Keyblade.

"Now first you need the plant spell. Try to reach into your heart spiritually." Sora closed his eyes and as he focused his heart started glowing a golden light.

"Good, now imagine a flower growing. Imagine how it blooms and how its leaves sprout out. Once you have a good idea, point your Keyblade on the ground and watch it grow." Sora opened his eyes, pointed the Keyblade to the ground and suddenly a large, beautiful rose grew from the ground.

"Haha... perfect. Now you got the plant spell down you can do healing. Focus again on making a plant grow but this time once you're done don't focus on the flower anymore, instead focus on the magic you're using to make the plant grow. That is the healing spell, use that to heal everyone." Sora nodded and closed his eyes while manifesting his Spellbinder Keyblade as soon as he was done manifesting the spell five orbs of glowing green light manifested around his Keyblade. They floated into the air and crashed into each other making a large explosion of healing magic into the air. Like rain the little bits of healing magic fell on Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Kairi. Soon all their pain was gone, and their energy was back.

"Yeah! Awesome! Thank you, Donald!"

"Donald? Did you finally cast a cure spell properly?" Donald then slumped in anger and glared at Goofy leaving him confused. Sora scratched the back of his head in embarrassment feeling guilty for Donalds quickly ruined mood.

"Uh, Goofy it was actually me."

"Oh..."

"But I mean Donald taught me the spell! That's pretty good." Donald just pat Sora on the back to show his thanks. However, the moment was ruined when they saw another flash of light in the distance.

"Not a moment too soon we have to hurry!" Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Kairi ran toward the light as fast as they could. For a while they were seemingly walking around nothing, the more they ran across the seemingly endless field, the more hopeless everything seemed.

"S- So Doxcrum said this was an Abyss world?"

"Yeah, a world that exists to be the direct opposite of a normal world. Normal Worlds are filled with light, this one is nothing but darkness. So not only can Heartless live here but they can grow stronger naturally and become new forms of Heartless like the ones we saw before."

"So, in other words this isn't going to be easy at all."

"No, it's not, even with our new Keyblades it will be difficult. Trust me, with my Oathkeeper Keyblade I didn't get hurt but it still took forever to take them down."

"Wait, your Keyblade kept you from getting hurt? That's so cool! Maybe mine does the same!" Kairi then joyfully manifested her Oblivion Keyblade.

"Ok! Now hit me!" Sora looked at Kairi in shock because of her question, but rather than hitting her he just pinched her shoulder.

"Ow! Ah... oh, dang it. I guess that's not what the Keyblade does."

"Ah, don't worry Kairi, it will come to you eventually and when it does, you'll know what to do."

"I hope so, I'm not really a sword fighter like you and Riku."

"We weren't really sword fighters either, The Keyblade Wielders of Darkness are supposed to be the top sword fighters and yet I defeated a lot of them."

"Oh yeah! Gosh, didn't you defeat two of them, Kairi?"

"Wait seriously?!"

"Well, I actually just disarmed one, but I did defeat this one big guy that had two Keyblades. Though again it was through the help of your Heartless self."

"Kairi, that's still awesome! I'd say that alone qualifies you as a Guardian of Light. As Champion of Light, I hereby declare you one of us. So don't go selling yourself short, besides even if you can't do it alone you don't really need to. Me, Donald, and Goofy got your back." Kairi then looked at Donald and Goofy to which Goofy smiled proudly while Donald just shrugged at her. Kairi giggled but she understood that he did have her back he just didn't want to admit it.

"Yeah, you're right Sora, together we're unbeatable." Don't give yourself too much credit. When a Bishop and a Rook work together they can dominate the chess board, but even they tremble at the sight of the Queen! Suddenly a massive pool of pure darkness manifested in front of them and from it came out the Behemoth Heartless.

Then again you know the thing about Pawns once one reaches the other side of the chess board it becomes another Queen! Once the Behemoth Heartless was done getting out of the portal on the floor it stepped aside. Out came the Arch Behemoth Heartless. Both Emblem Heartless stood beside one another and roared at the group to show their intent. HAHAHAHAHA! Good luck, brats!

"Ugh, I hate that stupid voice shadow guy!"

"Sora?! That was the voice?!" Sora turned to Donald, Goofy, and Kairi all of them looking at him in concern.

"Wait, you guys heard him too that time?"

"It must be because we're in an Abyss World, A-hyuk! Though right now I think we have bigger things to worry about!" Again, Both Behemoth and Arch Behemoth Heartless roared only this time orbs of darkness formed around them. Sora knew what this meant and manifested his Spellbinder Keyblade, casted an ice spell and stabbed his Keyblade into the ground. In doing so, a large wall of ice formed and blocked out all of the dark orbs, though only barely as once the last one impacted it shattered the ice wall entirely.

"Wah! Quick thinking Sora!"

"Thanks Donald but I don't think it will be enough for fighting Heartless like these guys!" The Behemoth Heartless raised its right foot ready to stomp on Sora to which he manifested his Olympia Keyblade. Sora quickly slashed the Behemoth Heartless's leg but despite it being pushed back it used its other front leg to kick him. Sora's whole body was flung back, he felt like it was no different to being hit by a truck.

"Sora!" Kairi was enraged at the Behemoth Heartless but before she could even do anything the Arch Behemoth manifested more dark orbs. Goofy and Donald quickly got in front of her to defend her but even with Goofy's Shield and Donald enhancing it with magic the Arch Behemoth's magic was too strong. As such they were pushed away, worst off the Behemoth Heartless was charging its own attack and already fired at Kairi. All she could do was raise her Oblivion Keyblade and hope that she could shield at least one of them.

Sora managed to get back up only to see Kairi get consumed by the explosions of the impact of the dark orbs. Sora couldn't even scream or cry, he was so shocked at the sight of Kairi being destroyed that he was just frozen. However, as the smoke quickly cleared, he saw that she was actually fine, not even hurt at all. Even the Behemoth and Arch Behemoth Heartless looked at Kairi in shock, however they quickly became angry and blew shadow fire at her. The amount of fire they blew at her would have been enough to melt even the strongest of steel, but again once it was over she was fine.

"Ha? HA? HAHAHA! Sora did you see that! I'm not immune to physical attacks! I'm immune to magic!" However just as quickly the Behemoth kicked Kairi in the back making her go flying in the air. Thankfully, Sora manifested his Fairy Harp Keyblade and managed to catch her while mid air.

"Oh! Ah... haha, I mean yeah, not immune to physical attacks."

"Yeah, leave that to me, ok?" Still flying and still holding Kairi, Sora looked at the Behemoth and Arch Behemoth Heartless. They were big and strong but also slow which they made up for with magic. They were essentially living tanks with no visible weakness, so what was needed was firepower and lots of it. That's when Sora got an idea that probably wouldn't work but would definitely give them an edge if it did.

"Hey Kairi? Wanna Learn magic?" Kairi looked at Sora confused but once she fully processed what he said, her eyes sparkled in excitement.

"YES!"

"Alright then! First then Lighting magic! First picture lighting in your mind!" The Behemoth Heartless was getting impatient and started shooting more dark orbs at Sora. Thankfully he was able to fly perfectly around the projectiles and keep Kairi from getting hit.

"Next focus on something that really gets you determined! Focus with all your heart what is worth fighting for! Once you feel it filling up in your heart, let it out through your Keyblade!" While Sora was flying around, he could see the electricity build up in Kairi's Keyblade, so he started casting the Lighting spell in his own Keyblade. Sora manifested his Spellbinder Keyblade and placed it right beside Kairi's, she got what he was trying to do and aimed her Keyblade at the Behemoth Heartless.

"Ready? Release!" On cue, both of them fired their lighting spells, with the combo of both the Spellbinder Keyblade and them combining their magic together resulting in an extremely powerful spell. Several extremely powerful bolts of lightning shot right toward the Behemoth Heartless, the resulting impact of the bolts made the Behemoth Heartless roar in pain. The Arch Behemoth Heartless tried to retaliate by manifesting more dark orbs. But they missed as Sora and Kairi slowly fell to the ground due to him not having his Fairy Harp Keyblade anymore.

"Okay now Fire! Focus on something that makes you happy and passionate! And just like before, let it build up in your heart!" Kairi still had her Oblivion Keyblade so she was able to stand still and take all the dark orb blasts without worry. Sora manifested his Three Wishes Keyblade and slashed every approaching dark orb back at the Arch Behemoth Heartless while casting his own fire spell.

"Ready?" Kairi looked at Sora and nodded with determination, just in time too, for the Arch Behemoth finally stopped firing. Sora quickly ran over to her, manifested Spellbinder Keyblade, and pointed his Keyblade right at the Arch Behemoth with Kairi aligning her Keyblade alongside his.

"Fire!" The same resulting magical combo as before caused the manifestation of several large and extremely powerful fireballs being shot right toward the Arch Behemoth. The resulting impact scorched the Arch Behemoth badly and left it groaning in pain. Now both the Behemoth and the Arch Behemoth were badly damaged and lying weakened on the ground, Sora knew that one more massive combo was needed.

"Last spell you ready?"

"Yes!"

"Ok, now let's focus on Ice, like last time, think about being calm and collective and build it up in your heart." Unlike the other two times Kairi was actually seemingly having a difficult time remembering a memory that made her calm. It did take some time but once she did Sora could see the cold aura build up in her Keyblade. She did smile once she got the spell working but only after shedding a tear out of sadness.

"Kairi?"

"I'm fine, you ready Sora?" Sora nodded and activated a cold spell with his Spellbinder Keyblade and both of them shot the ice spell in an ultimate combo. The resulting magic from the combo shot out a seemingly endless barrage of ice that was so cold it was freezing everything around it. However, the Behemoth and Arch Behemoth Heartless retaliated by breathing shadow fire that was able to counter the cold. Sora and Kairi tried to keep up their magic to have the ice barrage keep up. However, the Behemoth and Arch Behemoth Heartless were continuing to combine their shadow fire breath making it strong enough to not only counter the ice but slowly overcome it.

"Way too sloppy!" Donald jumped in behind Sora and Kairi, he then placed his staff alongside their Keyblades while casting an ice spell. Once he cast it the result made the barrage of ice became even stronger allowing it to overcome the shadow fire. The Behemoth and Arch Behemoth Heartless were no longer able to keep up and tried to back away to not get caught in the blast. However, they weren't fast enough and as soon as their shadow fire breath was fully countered, they were covered entirely in ice.

"Now Goofy!" Goofy jumped in the air, charged up his shield with magic, and threw it at the frozen Heartless like a Frisbee. Finally, the Behemoth and Arch Behemoth Heartless were defeated as the ice shattered into millions of pieces. Afterwards several hearts flew out of the darkness and into the air as they were liberated.

"Woah! So Beautiful."

"Those are the Hearts cursed by the Darkness but thanks to us they are free. Thanks Kairi." Kairi smiled at Sora in delight, she always wanted to go on amazing adventures and do wonderful things with Sora. Her only regret was that Riku wasn't there with them but hopefully after they defeat Ansem that would change. Suddenly another explosion of light flashed in the distance but this time it seemed a lot closer.

"No time to celebrate! Let's get going!"

***

They continued to run and thankfully managed to finally make it to Ansem who in his hands had the seven Fragments of Light. However, he was having them spin around a small ball of darkness. Sora then looked around to see large amounts of dark energy flowing around from the Abyss World and into the small ball of darkness. Above the dark orb was a dark crystal that looked like it was made of pure darkness like how the Fragments of Light were made of pure light. Ansem was so focused on the ritual he was doing that he didn't notice Sora, Kairi, Donald, and Goofy until they got close enough.

"Hm... Of course, the Light always finds a way I suppose. You traveled all this way to stop me, but I say now, you will fail. However, I must ask, why? Why stop me? Join me and you will get everything you ever wanted and more. Join me and become the gods and goddesses of your own universes! Join me and together we will rewrite everything, and perfection will not only be ours, it will be us!"

".... You. Are. Insane! I don't know a lot or heck maybe I don't know anything about the Multiverse, but I do know that Kingdom Hearts doesn't have a will of its own for a reason! It's because no one should have the power or will over someone else's life. No one should be in control of how others work, how they live, or how they are! People are who they are meant to be and if they ever want or need to change, then it's their choice and theirs alone to enact that change! How dare you act like you can just be a god and decide what's right and wrong!"

"Sora's right, even if you didn't destroy my kingdom and take away my family! You still destroyed countless worlds and ruined even more lives and for what? Power? Look around you! This Abyss World is devoid of life! It's disgusting, it's horrible, it's evil! And worst of all, there's no beauty or creativity in any of it. How is any of this worth it?" Ansem was now visibly getting annoyed by both Sora and Kairi but before he could speak the dark ball finally transformed into another Fragment of Darkness. It then floated into the air to float alongside the other Fragment of Darkness showing that there were now two.

"So long as a great mind is the one holding the brush, even a blank canvas is destined to become a work of art and I intend to use my great mind to revolutionize the blank canvas of the multiverse, with Kingdom Hearts as my brush." Just then another flash of light manifested in Ansem's hands, forcing Sora, Kairi, Donald, and Goofy to look away. After the light faded away more of the darkness of the Abyss World started flowing toward Ansem's hands and into a very tiny ball of darkness.

"Alas I need more time. Warriors of Darkness! Come and defend your treasure!" Suddenly several voids opened around Ansem and out came at least 12 Keyblade Wielders of Darkness. They weren't filled with fear like before, how could they? Sora could see that being on the Abyss World was making them stronger. Sora quickly manifested his Ultima Weapon Keyblade, he still didn't know what this Keyblade did but something in his heart told him he needed it right now.

At once, the Keyblade Wielders of Darkness charged toward the four of them, Goofy quickly blocked an attack with his shield and Donald retaliated with his magic. Sora was about to fight back but he saw that one managed to rush right toward Kairi at high speed and was only seconds from slashing her. Sora ran toward her and tried to use his Keyblade to shield her; However, the Ultima Weapon Keyblade shined in shimmering light and instantly transformed into a shield. Sora shield bashed the Keyblade Wielder of Darkness away and stood up only to look at his hew shield in awe.

"Wow, that was cool."

"I guess, I mean thank you. But turning into a shield isn't really that impressive." Sora held up his shield and it turned back into the Ultima Weapon Keyblade. Then the Keyblade transformed into a long sword, then an axe, then a spear, then a mace.

"Ah... Ok, I take it back, that's pretty awesome." Sora smirked at the now afraid Keyblade Wielders of Darkness. He charged toward them as they tried to retaliate by shooting fireballs at him. Sora turned his Keyblade into a shield again to defend from the fireballs until he got close enough and manifested into a hammer. Sora swung the hammer at them all, both hurting them badly and pushing them back. However, Sora was not used to hammers and ended up getting pulled by the force of the hammer, making him stagger. Another Keyblade Wielder of Darkness tried to take advantage of this, but they were quickly shot with Kairi's lightning spell.

"Get the princess!" Two Keyblade Wielders of Darkness used Voids to ambush her from behind Kairi could only watch in terror as they raised their Keyblades to slash her down. Or at least that would have happened if Goofy didn't take one of them out with a shield bash and leave his manifested energy clone to shield bash the other.

"Don't think you can win!" A Keyblade Wielder of Darkness made a double core spell of fire and earth to create a lava ball. He shot it at Kairi, but she stood there and smiled with her Oblivion Keyblade. Once the lava ball impacted Kairi was unhurt and simply wiped the bits of lava off of her shoulder, she then smirked at the dumbfounded Keyblade Wielder of Darkness. Kairi decided to cast a triple core spell of fire, lighting, and ice. Kairi felt like a sudden heavy weight on her shoulders, it was as if three large boulders fell on her back. She did her best to bite back the pain and perfect the spell and once she did, she shot it right at the Keyblade Wielder of Darkness. With the combination of elements, he wasn't destroyed but he was left on the ground powerless.

"Ha... ha... Haha! I love magic! Hahaha! ... ugh..." Kairi unfortunately pushed herself too far and fell to the ground unconscious.

"Now's our chance! Get the Princess!" Four Keyblade Wielders of Darkness tried to surround her, but Sora charged at them and his Keyblade Transformed into a spear allowing him to swing it around and slash all of them at a distance. Once they were forced a good distance back, he manifested Spellbinder Keyblade and cast a lighting spell to shock all of them. Three of the Keyblade Wielders of Darkness stayed down due to the heavy damage but the fourth still had enough strength to get up. Though Sora quickly manifested his Spider Web Keyblade and shot spider webbings at his arms and legs to keep him down.

"Is that all of them?" Sora suddenly felt a tingle in the back of his neck, and he manifested his Three Wishes Keyblade. He quickly turned around and slashed at a fireball and a lightning bolt heading towards him. Upon being hit by his Keyblade both end up redirecting toward two Keyblade Wielders of Darkness. Both Keyblade Wielders of Darkness fell to their knees in pain but weren't badly hurt to the point they couldn't get back up. As such Goofy shield bashed one in the face and Donald shot the other with several bots of lighting.

"Now they're all done." Goofy then went over to Kairi and gave her a healing potion and helped her back up.

"Hmph, such weakness, no matter, we're not done yet." Underneath all the Keyblade Wielders of Darkness opened dark portals which sucked them in and instantly disappeared. Suddenly another flash of blinding light came from Ansem as he had just finished creating the third Fragment of Darkness. Ansem then raised his hands and the seven Fragments of Light as well as the three of Darkness were covered in a dark indestructible bubble and floated in the air out of reach.

"Fine then, I have shown you the mercy of Darkness and you slap it away. Like children you defy all reason and instead follow naive dreams blindly. How pathetic, now you will learn your mistakes and be destroyed with the regret of knowing you will never gaze upon into Kingdom Hearts as I soon will." Sora raised his keyblade at Ansem, Goofy his shield, and Donald his staff. However, Kairi didn't raise his Keyblade.

"What did you do to my grandfather?!" Sora, Goofy, and Ansem all looked at Kairi in shock as she glared at him in anger. Donald however was annoyed that she was wasting time on this so he tried to tell her off but Goofy quickly smacked him on the back of the head to shut him up.

"Your grandfather?"

"Yes! Ansem! The retired King of Radiant Garden! What did you do to him? Where is he?"

"... Hahaha, HAHAHAHAHA! I am Ansem! The New Ansem! Ansem, Seeker of Darkness, ruler of Hollow Bastion, Master of the New Dark Army and soon to be Supreme Master of Kingdom Hearts. Where Xaler our founder failed I will succeed and obtain the ultimate power of infinity! As for your grandfather? Nothing but the Fallen King, A blind King of lost Knowledge, A Coward! ... Who dared favor the light over the darkness! May he be forgotten!"

"I knew it! I knew you were just an imposter who stole his name! I knew my grandfather wasn't evil!"

"I wouldn't be too sure about that little girl. But that's enough chatter, time for you to be forgotten as well!" Soon Guardian Shadow manifested behind Ansem as he started floating in the air as Dual Soul Eater blades manifested in his hands.

"This is the end, know despair!" Guardian Shadow manifested orbs of powerful darkness and shot them right at Sora. Sora only barely managed to manifest his Three Wishes Keyblade and slash at the orbs to deflect them. However, this was different, despite the orbs still being deflected back toward Ansem Sora still felt hurt by the impact as if he was shocked by electricity. Ansem simply slashed the dark orbs as they flew toward him away with his Soul Eaters and flew towards Sora and Kairi.

Sora had no time to dodge so instead Oathkeeper Keyblade and raised his keyblade to block as additional defense. Ansem struck Sora with both Soul Eaters, at first the worst seemed to push Sora back; however, Sora not only fell to the ground but also had dark slash marking on his chest resembling a large X.

"Sora!" Guardian Shadow focused its attention on Kairi, she quickly manifested her Oblivion Keyblade to defend. Guardian Shadow raised its hands and shot shadow lighting at her. the Oblivion Keyblade managed to nullify most of the shadow lighting, but small bits still hit her. Once Guardian Shadow was finally done Kairi fell to her knees on the ground, she looked at her arms and saw small burn marks on her arms. However once Kairi looked up she saw Ansem only seconds from stabbing her with one of his Soul Eaters.

Donald quickly shot Ansem in the back with the triple core spell of fire, ice, and lighting. Ansem's back was badly burnt but he didn't show any sign of pain, only annoyance. Ansem stopped seconds before stabbing Kairi; he then faced Donald and had Guardian Shadow fire his own triple core spell of shadow fire, shadow ice, shadow lighting. Goofy quickly stepped in front of Donald and boosted his shield with his magic to further defend against Ansem's spell. However, like all the other times it only barely blocked out his attacks as Goofy was only able to defend against the shadow fire and shadow lighting. Finally, the shadow ice ended up getting past Goofy's shield and froze him in a shadow ice block. Donald was shocked and tried to avenge Goofy, but Ansem teleported behind him and dual slashed him in the back leaving a dark X slashing mark on his back.

Now Sora and Kairi were alone and badly hurt by Ansem's previous attacks. Sora quickly cast a healing spell for both him and Kairi which did give them the energy to get back up but the dark scars on Kairi's arms and Sora's chest were still there. Ansem didn't notice them and was about to use his Soul Eaters to slice both Donald and Goofy's heads off. Out of desperation, Sora manifested his Spellbinder Keyblade, and started casting the triple core spell. Kairi noticed this and cast the triple core spell as well and quickly aligned it with Sora's keyblade. This resulted in several orbs made of light magic containing the elements of the triple core spell. They all flew towards Ansem like missiles and barraged him with the combo of the elements.

Sora and Kairi watched in awe as Ansem was being barraged by the awesome combo of magic. However, Sora quickly noticed that the reason the spell became so powerful wasn't just his Spellbinder Keyblade but also Kairi casting the triple core spell as well. Sora's jaw then dropped as he looked at Kairi in shock, Kairi looked back at Sora with a proud smile but was still confused by Sora's shock.

"Kairi? You can cast the triple core spell?!"

"Hm? Yeah, I mean it really takes a lot of energy from the heart and it feels like boulders are crushing you when you cast it but once you get used to it it's not that hard."

"Kairi... you're amazing!" Sora was a little jealous that Kairi proved to be better at him in magic but his jealousy was overshadowed by his amazement of her magical talent. However, the moment of joy was ruined when Ansem used the darkness to blow away all the light and elemental combo magic slowly destroying him. Ansem was clearly badly burnt as shadow smoke was emitting from his damaged body. Ansem glared at them in anger and seemingly yelled in anger as several dark portals opened around him. Soon six Invisible Heartless and 20 Neoshadow Heartless formed around him.

"All Light fades eventually, but darkness... darkness is ETERNAL!" The Neoshadow Heartless charged forward and used their quick reflexes and acrobatics to attack Sora and Kairi from all corners. Sora and Kairi raised their Keyblade's to block and attack the Neoshadow Heartless but like before they were barely making any decent progress against them. Sora manifested his Oathkeeper Keyblade to nullify their attacks, but Kairi couldn't do anything as she was getting punched and kicked from time to time. Kairi was getting frustrated with all the punching and cast a dual core spell of fire and lighting, charged it up as much as she could, and stabbed her keyblade into the ground. This resulted in pushing all the Neoshadow Heartless away from her and Sora, afterwards the lighting struck them midair, badly injuring the Neoshadow Heartless.

The Invisible Heartless tried to blast the two of them with shadow lasers but Kairi manifested her Oblivion Keyblade and Sora his Three Wishes Keyblade. Naturally Kairi smirked at them mockingly as their shadow lasers did nothing to her and Sora slashed at the lasers with his keyblade causing them to blast back at the Invisible Heartless. Sora and Kairi both looked at each other proudly as they were able to handle that surprisingly well. However, Kairi stopped smiling when a Neoshadow Heartless smacked her in the back of the head. It was more annoying than painful, so Kairi grunted in anger as she glared back at the Neoshadow Heartless.

Kairi was going to keep attacking them, but she instead stood there in confusion as she saw the Neoshadow Heartless weakened and moving around limply. Kairi looked at them almost in pity, especially the Neoshadow Heartless in front of her as she only had to back away to dodge its slow and sloppy attacks. Again, the Invisible Heartless blasted their lasers at her and again thanks to her Oblivion Keyblade it did nothing.

"Well, we should get the injured Heartless first, so they don't box us in later."

"Nah Sora, leave them to me, you take on those Heartless with the swords. I'll finish these guys and follow you later." Sora was confused on why Kairi wanted to do this but figured it was better to divide and conquer than waste time on anything else. Kairi then faced the Neoshadow Heartless with a grin on her face.

"You guys really enjoyed hitting me huh?" The Neoshadow Heartless seemed visibly scared of Kairi now that they were no longer fast enough to dodge or outrun her. Sora looked back only for a second, he actually kinda felt bad for the Heartless, but his guilt faded quickly because one, they were heartless and two, they did attack Kairi, Donald, and Goofy without mercy so he felt they deserved it. Sora instead focused on the Ansem and the Invisible Heartless as he slowly walked toward them. The Invisible Heartless tried to fire again at him but again Sora used his Three Wishes Keyblade to slash at the lasers to have them redirect back at the Invisible Heartless. The Invisible Heartless were clearly hurt by their own laser but also greatly aggravated as well. The Invisible Heartless flew toward Sora with their swords raised to strike him down.

Sora smirked and manifested his Olympia Keyblade, the first Invisible Heartless raised its sword and swung down only for his strike to be countered by Sora. Sora let their blades slide off each other as he slowly got past The Invisible Heartless and quickly slashed its back making it fly away in pain. Another Invisible Heartless tried to do a thrust stab at Sora but with a simple spin Sora was able to dodge and slash the Invisible Heartless and slashed it making it go fly due to the force as well. Then two Invisible Heartless tried to slash Sora at the same time. Sora just smirked as he manifested his Oathkeeper Keyblade and took their attacks while not feeling anything. Sora then quickly slash one then the other then the first one again and finally the second. Both Heartless fell to the ground being severely weakened.

Sora then faced Ansem again and smirked while he glared at Sora with silent anger. The last two Invisible Heartless flew towards him in anger while blasting lasers at him. This time Sora manifested Ultima Weapon Keyblade and his keyblade turned into dual swords that he used to block both their attacks and slash them afterwards. Once all the Invisible Heartless were injured and on the ground, Sora manifested his Spellbinder Keyblade. Sora cast a lighting spell and quickly slashed his keyblade at the direction of the Invisible Heartless. This resulted in the lighting shooting out like missiles toward the Invisible Heartless and shocked them to the point that they were all destroyed. Since they were pureblood Heartless, they didn't release any liberated hearts but simply faded into darkness.

The same could be said for the Neoshadow Heartless after Kairi finished them all off. She walked forward with a smirk on her face and once she caught up with Sora the fist bumped each other. The both of them faced Ansem who was still just floating there with Guardian Shadow while staring at them with anger.

"It's over Ansem! Just give up!"

"... I have spent decades trying to perfect a thousand years of work. Xaler, the founder of the Dark Army, was the only one who ever got close enough to Kingdom Hearts. I am the one who will bring his work to fruition, I am the one who has become the closest to the door! I am the one who has created the seven Fragments of Light within a short span of time! You think that after so long and so much work I will be defeated here and now?" Sora and Kairi then looked at each other in confusion.

"Well, I mean..."

"It is kinda a sucky plan..."

"Also, all your minions are gone."

"And you're kinda the only one left."

"Also, I think the voice told me you need Seven Fragments of Darkness, and you only have three."

"And there's no way we're going to let you create the last four."

"Hmph, you children have no patience. but you are not wrong, you are the last roadblock, that must be destroyed!" Ansem charged at Sora and Kairi, both of which quickly raised their keyblades in defense. Ansem's dual Soul Eaters ended up colliding with their Keyblades; however, Ansem wasn't done and used Guardian Shadow to shock both of them.

"Not this time!" Sora and Kairi quickly made their Keyblade touch one another while Sora was casting a lighting spell and Kairi a fire spell. The result was an explosion of fire and lighting that pushed Ansem back but also did the same for Sora and Kairi. Ansem used his flying power to stay up and fly at Sora to get him while he was down. He would have succeeded had Goofy not shown up and defended Sora with his Shield. Before Ansem could attack him, Donald helped Kairi up and both of them cast an ice spell resulting in a powerful ice spell that was able to trap Ansem in a block of ice.

"Hahaha! Payback!"

"Nice one Duck!" Kairi then joyfully walked toward Sora leaving Donald standing there in anger.

"Sora are you ok?"

"I'm fine, by the way thanks Donald! Thanks, Goofy..." Sora's smile quickly faded when he saw dark scars that looked like small ice cracks on his left arm. Goofy covered the scars with his arm and smiled at Sora to reassure him, though Sora could still see the sadness in his expression. Sora then looked back at Donald and sure enough there was still a dark scar in the form of an X on his back.

"Ah... you guys... are you-" Donald quickly stepped forward and glared at the ice block that Ansem was trapped in.

"It's not over yet! Everyone gets ready!" Soon Ansem broke out of the Ice block seeming injured but angrier than hurt.

"Ugh... ha... ha... Grrr! If this continues, we could be fighting for eternity! No... I must end this now. I've made them wait long enough. The doors to Kingdom Hearts will open today!" Ansem then did the unthinkable and made the three Fragments of Darkness come back to him and he absorbed them into his being.

"What?! No ye glaikit divit! ye dont know what will happen if ye absorb that much darkness!" Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Kairi turned around to see Doxcrum standing there and looking to be in distress due to Ansems actions. However, they all were too late, and Ansem had fully absorbed the three Fragments of Darkness. Soon the environment of the Abyss World started breaking around them. Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Kairi started panicking due to them not understanding what was happening. Doxcrum on the other hand sighed in disappointment.

"Ugh! What an eejit... Well, if th' cursed heart can't be relied on then th' heartless body will have better results." Doxcrum then opened a void behind him and walked into it leaving Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Kairi to fall into the destruction of the Abyss World. One by one they all fell deeper into the Abyss world and were practically swallowed entirely by the Darkness.

***

Sora couldn't see anything for a while but soon he saw a dim light below him and as he got closer to it, he realized he was floating. As he got even closer to the light it looked like a weird red platform but what really caught his attention was how Kairi, Donald, and Goofy were floating alongside him toward the platform. Once they landed suddenly the wind started blowing around them. The platform was flying like a plain and somehow despite being out in the open, none of them were blown off by the intense wind. Soon the red platform started moving, groaning, and changing. Eventually it was done changing it and transformed into World of Chaos and on the very top Sora, Kairi, Donald, and Goofy could see Ansem connected to it with an enlarged Guardian Shadow.

"Behold! The infinite power of darkness manifested!"

"Ew! It looks like a giant slab of rotten meat!"

"Kairi's right! You really think this makes you powerful, Ansem?! It just makes you a freak of nature!"

"Hahaha! Like a bullied victim, the darkness is so misunderstood by the light. But I will be its savior and in return it will reward me with Kingdom Hearts! Right after I have devoured your hearts!" Several spiky tentacles of physical darkness manifested off of World of Chaos and shot their blade ends right towards Sora and Kairi. Sora manifested his Three Wishes Keyblade and Kairi her Oblivion Keyblade, both of them thinking this would be easy to defend against. However once Sora's keyblade hit the tentacles they didn't reflect but instead slapped him away while also scratching him with the spikes. Kairi was shocked by this and quickly raised her Keyblade in defense. Just in time she blocked a stabbing thrust of the tentacle, however it backed up its own attack with enough force to push Kairi back. Kairi ended up flying and fell hard on the surface of the World of Chaos, dangerously close to the edge but right next to Sora.

"No! Sora! Kairi!"

"Come on Goofy we got to cover them!" Donald tried casting another triple core spell but upon firing it a large hand made of physical darkness blocked the spell. It then formed a fist and crushed Donald in an instant. Or at least that would have happened if Goofy didn't defend him with his shield, boosted with magic. Donald and Goofy couldn't advance their attack anymore and so relied on defense. Donald used his lighting and Goofy boosted his shield with magic as they repelled the constant attacks of the spiky tentacles of physical darkness.

Sora and Kairi were still on the ground and in pain, but Sora raised his head and saw Goofy and Donald fighting against the World of Chaos. Sora weakly turned his head to Kairi who wasn't moving, he used his strength to force himself up and walked over to her. However, a spiky tentacle manifested behind him and whipped him on the back before he could get close. To add insult to injury it was directly on the dark scar shaped like an X on his back which made the attack even more painful. Sora was now on the ground, but he kept crawling toward Kairi and once he was close enough, he reached out and grabbed her hand.

"Kairi... I'm sorry... I didn't want you... to get hurt... but... I... I didn't protect you... I'm sorry..."

"... you dummy..."

"What?" Kairi forced herself up so she could look at Sora properly.

"Ugh... I signed up for all this... because I didn't want you... to be alone anymore... so don't feel bad, you dummy... I would go anywhere... so long as I'm with you..." Sora looked at Kairi surprised, he then smiled and blushed as he was falling in love with Kairi again. Kairi smiled and blushed at Sora back as her heart was filling up with her love for Sora as well. However, that wasn't the end of it as both Sora and Kairi's heart's started glowing with golden light. Soon Kairi and Sora started getting a boost in energy and finally the dark scars on Sora's chest and Kairi's arms faded away. Sora and Kairi got up while still holding hands and faced the World of Chaos with smiles on their faces.

Guardian Shadow sees them recover and growls in anger, several spiky tentacles of physical darkness manifested along the sides of the World of Chaos. They all shot at Kairi and Sora to stab them with their blade ends; Sora and Kairi were still smiling with determination as they let go of one another and raised their Keyblades. Sora simply had his Kingdom Keyblade and Kairi had her Destiny's Embrace. When a tentacle tried to stab Sora, he simply jumped up at the last second making World of Chaos stab itself. Sora then ran alongside the tentacle as if it was a balance beam, several other tentacles tried to stab and whip him. But as they got closer, despite their incredible speed Sora always managed to dodge them.

Sora managed to jump over another tentacle as he was running, then as one tried to whip him, he slid under and sliced it with his keyblade. One almost managed to stab his face but he raised his Keyblade high and sliced it in down the middle allowing him space to keep running. Another tentacle tried to whip him, this time aiming for his legs, but he not only did a forward flip jump but managed to slash at it. Finally, Sora decided to put World of Chaos in more pain by stabbing his keyblade on the tentacle he was running along and dragging it while he was running. Essentially leaving an extremely long and clearly painful cut on the tentacle.

Kairi watched Sora in amazement, but she wasn't going to let him one up her, so she faced the tentacles that were focused on her with a smile of determination. A single tentacle tried to stab her, but she simply swirled around and away from it making it stab itself again. She then activated a fire spell and shot it, blasting the tip of the tentacle off and leaving an injured stub at the end of the tentacle. Another tentacle tried to whip her, and she gracefully did a front flip and shot the tentacle with an ice spell while jumping over it.

"Hahaha! Cool! I always wanted to do that!" However, as Kairi was distracted a tentacle tried to crush her, but thankfully she noticed it at the last second and used her keyblade to block it. As the tentacle tried to crush her with its full weight, she was expecting it to feel like boulders landing on her. Instead, it actually just felt like a big box filled with books, still heavy but nothing she couldn't handle. Kairi huffed at the tentacle in anger and activated an ice spell, however before she could even do anything the part of the tentacle touching her keyblade was frozen instantly. The rest of the tentacle tried to pull back despite still being frozen. Kairi was confused but quickly smirked again as she activated a fire spell and shot several fireballs at the tentacle breaking the ice and destroying the tentacle.

Kairi thought about how the tentacle was frozen despite her not finishing the spell and got a great idea. She then activated a fire spell but rather than casting fireballs she let the spell linger in her keyblade. As another tentacle tried to stab her, she again simply dodged it by gracefully jumping away only to twirl back around and slash the tentacle before it could slither away. This resulted in not only cutting the tentacle but burning the rest of it as well. Another tentacle tried to whip her in the stomach, but she gracefully raised her keyblade, waited for the tentacle to come close enough, and slashed it at the last second. This resulted in not only allowing her to avoid getting hit but also cutting the tentacle in two and leaving both parts burning.

World of Chaos started groaning in pain as the tentacles already damaged by Sora and Kairi were getting worse with damage. The cuts left scars of light that burned into the tentacles and were slowly reaching the rest of the World of Chaos like an infection. Guardian Shadow roared in anger and used its now enlarged arms to slice off all the tentacles at high speed. Sora and Kairi quickly ran up to Donald and Goofy, as Guardian Shadow glared at them. Guardian Shadow then raised its arms as its intention of slashing them into pieces was clear. The four of them knew that they couldn't dodge something that fast or powerful, so they all huddled together. Goofy raised his shield, Kairi and Sora their Keyblades, and Donald his staff. None of them expected this defense to be good at all but they had to try something as Guardian Shadow started its attack.

They all closed their eyes out of instinct; however, nothing happened, or it's better to say they felt no pain or impact from the attack at all. They all opened their eyes again to see Guardian Shadow slashing at them with his massive claws, but it was doing nothing. They all then looked to Goofy's shield as it was manifesting a force field of golden light, protecting them from Guardian Shadow. Goofy then looked at his arm and the dark scar was gone, Sora then checked Donalds back and sure enough that one was gone too.

"Wow! Did we heal you guys?!"

"You didn't just heal us; I feel so much stronger now!"

"Sora! You really are the Champion of Light!"

"Impossible!" The four of them then turned to Guardian Shadow who was now acting as a speaker for Ansem.

"How can this be?! I destroyed so many worlds! I raised the Dark Army back from the ashes! I spent years studying the darkness! I even betrayed the man I called my brother to achieve this! How is it that you, a dim light in the vast multiverse, is able to shine so bright no matter how much darkness I try to cover you with! Why won't you stop?! Why won't you fall?! Why won't you just yield to the darkness?! Why do you keep fighting?!" Kairi just scoffed at Ansem, Donald huffed, and Goofy just glared in determination. Sora however stepped forward with his Keyblade lowered and started at Guardian Shadow with pity.

"Yeah, but that's the thing isn't it. Destruction, betrayal, and you did it all alone. You forced everyone who tried to stand with you as either an enemy or as a minion. I read in a book back in Deep Jungle that the best way to defeat your enemy is to simply make them your friend. The best way to make a friend is through trust, everything you said and did contradicts that entirely. That's why your plan will never work, Ansem. It's because you're alone and you never let anyone in, thus you have no one to fall back to, no one to help you, and no one to raise you up as things start falling apart." Sora didn't notice but Kairi, Donald, and Goofy could see Sora's heart glowing even brighter with light. Soon a silhouette of Alice from wonderland made of golden light, formed next to Sora.

"I made new experiences and friends in every new world I went to, sure doing so drove Donald crazy and maybe it made me lose track of the mission from time to time, but it was all worth it in the end!" Then four more silhouettes of golden light formed, this time of Cloud, Yuffie, Aerith, and Leon.

"Helping someone in need is always the right thing to do! Sharing and caring for others will always be worth it because you're opening your heart to someone else and that person will do the same to you, this will make you both stronger and nothing will convince me otherwise!" Then a golden silhouette of Tarzan formed and two more afterwards, one of Genie and the other of Aladdin.

"Sure, sometimes you'll stumble across jerks who would rather take than give. But just because those guys want to make the world worse doesn't mean the rest of us should give up! If anything, it's proof that if we try harder to unite and make things better for everyone!" Golden silhouettes of Sally, Jack Skellington, Ariel, Peter pan, and Spiderman formed.

"So, you see Ansem! That's why you'll never win, because you think the best way to make things better is to destroy it all and start anew. But you know what, I see the flaws all around us, and I think it's better to fix them rather than starting over. I'm not scared to face all those problems head on, sure it will be hard, but I know I can do it because I'm not alone! I'll never fight alone, because when all you do is fight for yourself, then you aren't worth fighting for!" Sora then stepped back and reached out to Kairi and Goofy. They both took Sora's hand and Donald took Goofy's other hand.

"My friends are my power, and I owe them all everything for getting me this far and making me this strong! So don't you dare think for a second, I'm giving up just yet! For all their sakes I'm fighting to the very end! And I'm gonna kick your sorry butt!" Suddenly all the silhouettes of Sora's friends grow brighter for a split second before they transformed into balls of light, quickly flowing into Sora's heart. Sora was now surrounded by an aura of golden light, but the energy proved to be too powerful for him and he was in great pain because of it. However, as he was holding onto Kairi and Goofy's hands the energy transferred to them and by extension Donald as well. They were all in pain at first but as the energy passed onto each and every one of them it started to pass. Now all four of them had golden auras of light and were given massive boosts in magical and physical power. Sora was visibly exhausted but still looked up at Ansem with a smile of determination.

"Ha... Ha... Yeah, this is my power, the power of friendship and light. And it will always be stronger than being alone in the Darkness, Ansem."

"RAAAH! I HAVEN'T LOST YET!" Guardian Shadow then raised his claws in an attempt to go berserk again. However, Donald stopped the right arm by blasting it with a casting a triple core spell. The spell ended up being 10 times stronger and mixed with light magic the result was Guardian Shadow's right arm being heavily electrocuted, then extremely scorched and finally completely frozen. Guardian Shadow roared loudly in anger and pain but Goofy didn't give him any time to recover. Goofy charged up his magic to manifest his light construct clone to shoot it right at the left arm. What instead happened about seven light construct clones of golden light manifested, and all jumped up and shield bashed Guardian Shadow's left arm. Guardian Shadow roared again in pain, there was no way it couldn't since its right arm was both badly charred because of the lightning and fire and now encased in ice. Then there was the left arm that's now broken beyond repair. Sora, Kairi, Donald, and Goofy couldn't help but laugh at both Guardian Shadow's pitiful state and in excitement due to how amazing their new powers are.

"This is so awesome!"

"I know right! I knew this power was great, but I never knew it could be this great!"

"Foolish Children!" Sora, Kairi, Donald, and Goofy looked back at Guardian Shadow as it continued to roar in anger. Suddenly several dark spikes grew on its chest and seemingly formed another layer of rib cage."Like light itself your power is finite! While my power is eternal! As such I have that much time to accomplish my goals! The only way to stop me is to find the power core and by the time you do your power will already run out." Sora simply glared at Ansem in anger, though he was probably right, even if they were hurting World of Chaos and Guardian Shadow, they still weren't making progress with Ansem directly. They needed to find a way to get Ansem out of there and attack him directly. However just as Sora was thinking that he saw an orb of dark purple light. Sora just glared at it in annoyance as he knew exactly what it was, he then glared at Ansem in disappointment.

"Isn't that it, right there?" Kairi, Donald, and Goofy looked at the dark purple light where Sora was pointing, they all made looks of disappointment as well. They all couldn't help but be disappointed at Ansem due to how he didn't even try to hide it properly and how they only knew to attack it now that Ansem brought it up. Guardian Shadow looked at Sora in confusion but then once it realized where he was pointing it had visible fear on its face.

"Uh... DIE!" Hundreds of dark tentacles formed around World of Chaos and aimed their blade tips right at the four of them. Furthermore, about four Darkside Heartless manifested, surrounding Sora, Kairi, Donald, and Goofy. Sora and Kairi were especially shocked at the sight of the Darkside Heartless.

"Sora... those..."

"Yeah... they're the Heartless that destroyed Destiny Island." Sora gripped his keyblade in anger, he still remembered how he tried to defeat the Darkside Heartless but failed and he had to watch everything that made up Destiny Island get torn apart. Sora couldn't help but be filled with seething rage but then, Kairi placed her hand on his. Sora looked at Kairi as she was smiling gently at him.

"Come on you dummy. You're not alone this time, remember? We're here to help you beat these monsters." Sora then looked at Donand then Goofy. Both nodded and smiled with determination at him. Sora couldn't help but smile and chuckle at his own blind anger.

"Hahaha, yeah. Let's beat these guys once and for all!" The four of them cheered in excitement as each of them charged toward a single Darkside. Donald first cast a lighting spell at his Darkside causing it damage but not enough to destroy it. The Darkside growled in anger and slammed its fist into the ground sending a shockwave at Donald. Donald knew this was going to hurt but still jumped out of instinct despite knowing it was futile. However, he was wrong for when he jumped, he ended up jumping higher than expected and was practically soaring in the air. Donald couldn't help but laugh proudly at this as he cast a powerful fireball of light at the Darkside burning the fist that caused the shockwave.

In retaliation the Darkside raised its other arm and shot three dark homing missiles at Donald. Donald quickly cast an ice spell that surrounded him in an ice dome, coated in golden light. Thankfully the ice dome surrounding him was strong enough to keep Donald safe from the dark explosions until it broke. Donald was especially glad that his golden light aura was able to make him float so falling wasn't an issue. Instead, Donald focused on casting a double core spell of fire and ice, completely burning, electrocuting, and incinerating the Darkside.

Goofy ran at his Darkside and threw his shield like a Frisbee expecting nothing more than for it to hit the Darkside and then come back to him. However, Goofy's shield ended up charging up and spinning faster and faster, this allowed the shield to cut off the Darkside's leg. Just like a boomerang the shield still came back to Goofy though he stopped once he caught it and looked at it in amazement.

"Gosh! I must not know my own strength!" The Darkside roared in anger trying to crush Goofy with its fist, Goofy quickly raised his shield expecting the impact to still hurt like a truck. However Goofy opened his eyes as nothing happened at all. Instead, Goofy looked up to see the shockwave of the punch redirecting up the Darkside's arm breaking it entirely. Goofy actually kinda felt bad for the Darkside despite it being a world destroying pureblood Heartless. However, Goofy's guilt faded when the Darkside manifested several dark spheres and let them fall all around. Thankfully the dark spheres were slow and Goofy was fast, so he dodged them all with ease. Goofy then threw his shield again and this time aimed for the Darkside's head slicing it off and destroying the Darkside entirely.

Kairi was almost instantly attacked with dark homing missiles but thanks to her Oblivion Keyblade she was naturally immune. Kairi smirked at the Darkside, but it remained emotionless as it stared at her. Instead, the Darkside raised its fist and slammed it in the ground. Kairi was actually hurt by the shockwave, but it didn't push her away thanks to her golden light aura. However, the pain/damage wasn't enough to make her fall to the ground or lose her strength in any way.

"Hmph! you're a smart one huh? Too bad because I'm smarter!" Kairi then cast a fire spell that resulted in a large fireball coated in golden light. The fireball ended up hitting the Darkside directly in the face making it roar in anger. The Darkside then glared at Kairi as she ended up manifesting her Destiny's Embrace instead of Oblivion. The Darkside actually looked visibly confused by this, but it took the advantage without hesitation and manifested more dark homing missiles.

"I'm also faster!" Kairi then ran to the right of the Darkside while the dark homing missiles chased after her. Kairi ran around the Darkside and once she got behind the Darkside she shot him again with another fireball. The Darkside growled in anger and manifested three more dark homing missiles to catch her. However just like before Kairi was able to outrun them. It continued like this for a while with Kairi shooting the Darkside with fireballs, it tried to retaliate by manifesting more dark homing missiles. However, the Darkside's dark homing missiles couldn't catch Kairi and instead they were continuously chasing her. The Darkside manifested so many of them that it was like she was running from a swarm of dark wasps. However, with so many dark homing missiles Kairi was finding it harder to outrun them all.

"Well, better do it now!" Kairi then ran in-between the legs of the Darkside, the Darkside was confused at first but once it realized what she was doing it was already too late. The dark homing missiles impacted the Darkside's back and damaged it badly making it roar in pain. The Darkside then looked down at Kairi in anger, but its expression quickly turned into shock when it saw her casting a fire spell.

"Told you I was smarter!" Kairi then shot the fireball right at the Darkside's face, finally destroying it.

Sora charged at his Darkside as it raised its first to crush him with its first, however Sora proved to be faster and slashed its arm. Sora's attack was not only powerful but left a scar of golden light across the arm of the Darkside. It roared in pain and anger as it raised its other fist to retaliate, however the same thing happened leaving both its arms scared. Sora then ran under the Darkside while slashing both its legs forcing it to fall to its knees on the ground.

"That was for my parents!" The Darkside growled in annoyance as it manifested three dark homing missiles to shoot Sora. However, as they did Sora manifested his Three Wishes Keyblade and slashed them not only reflecting them back at the Darkside but boosting their magical bower by five times as much, causing further damage to the Darkside.

"That was for Riku!" The Darkside swung its first trying to hit Sora like a wrecking ball, but Sora did a front flip to dodge. As he spun, he had his keyblade out, allowing him to cut the Darkside's arm off while dodging its attack.

"That's for Kairi!" The Darkside roared in fear as it tried to get away from Sora who was marching toward it. The Darkside manifested dark spheres in the air, and they rained down around Sora in hopes of getting him away. However, this ended up having the opposite effect as Sora just slashed the dark spheres that got too close to him toward the Darkside further harming it.

"That's for my Home!" The Darkside had no more magic or strength to fight back so Sora was able to catch up with it quickly. Sora manifested his Olympia Keyblade and slashed the Darkside, the force from Sora's attack made it go fly up in the air.

"This is for every world you've destroyed!" Sora then manifested his Pumpkinhead Keyblade and shot several jack-o-lantern missiles at the Darkside, destroying it while midair. Guardian Shadow roared in frustration as it tried to use the tentacles of physical darkness to kill Sora once and for all. However, Kairi, Donald, and Goofy were not only fast but strong enough to attack them all head on and keep them off of Sora. Sora then smirked as he pointed his Pumpkinhead Keyblade at the core of the World of Chaos.

"And this is for all the other horrible things you've done." Sora manifests only one more jack-o-lantern missile to fire at the power core. Thankfully this was enough to weaken the World of Chaos as its remaining dark tentacles were practically falling apart. Guardian Shadow itself started falling apart and soon Ansem was exposed underneath.

"No! This can't be!" Ansem was connected to several dark tendrils on his back connecting him to both Guardian Shadow and World of Chaos. However what Sora was more focused on was how he had three dark crystals on his chest. There was no doubt in Sora's mind that these were the Fragments of Darkness, meaning Sora just had to rip them out of Ansem in order to stop him for good. Ansem then noticed Sora's glare and quickly realized what he was thinking.

"No, you don't!" Suddenly several Neoshadow Heartless formed around Sora trying to ambush him. However, Donald and Kairi both shot lighting magic at them destroying them all instantly. Sora thanked them before jumping up to face Ansem directly, meanwhile Kairi, Donald, and Goofy held back the Neoshadow Heartless trying to stop Sora. Sora made it to the same level as Ansem and raised his Keyblade as he was getting closer to him. Ansem manifested his dual Soul Eaters only to combine them together into a single double ended spear.

Ansem spun his spear around as if to show off his mastery of the weapon and used it to block Sora's strike. Sora tried again to strike from a different angle but again and again Ansem managed to defend from the attack. Sora and Ansem then locked their blades and glared at one another for they were currently in a stalemate.

"You have so much power, yet you don't even know how to use it properly!"

"I could say the same for you! You keep talking like you know everything, like I'm just a stupid kid! Well guess what, this stupid kid and his amazing friends are going to put an end to you and the Dark Army!"

"Foolish Child! Your friends are occupied by the Heartless of this Abyss world and here the Heartless are infinite!" Ansem then pushed Sora back and quickly sliced him in the chest. Sora only felt the pain for a moment, thankfully his golden light aura protected him but after he was healed, he realized the aura was fading.

"Your power is running out! You're all alone! You don't even know the true nature of Darkness and light." Sora yelled in frustration as he continuously struck at Ansem forcing him back ever so slightly into Guardian Shadow. Then finally after one more strike Ansem lost his grip on his Soul Eater double ended spear; However, Sora ended up losing his grip on his keyblade as well. Instead of resummoning it back in his hand he instead aimed his fist at Ansem's face and punched him. Sora's punch ended up being much stronger than either of them predicted leaving Ansem dazed and unbalanced. Sora saw this as an opportunity and didn't let it pass so he kept punching Ansem and wouldn't stop.

Sora managed to punch Ansem five times in the face, but Sora couldn't tell if this was actually weakening Ansem or just making him angry. Worst off, Ansem grabbed Sora's wrist before he could throw a sixth punch. Ansem then started smirking at Sora as he was slowly crushing Sora's wrist, making him grunt in pain.

"You're all alone now... This is your end!" Before Sora could use his other hand to summon his Keyblade, Ansem grabbed his neck. Ansem started choking Sora to the point that his aura of golden light was fading faster than before. Sora was losing the power needed to stop Ansem and he was losing air too, yet there was nothing he could do to stop it.

"Who said he was alone?!" Sora was sure that the only way he heard that voice was because of his loss of air. There's no way he could actually be hearing Riku's voice, but then again maybe he was. Ansem let go of Sora as cracks on his face started appearing, the cracks soon spread throughout his body as if he was made of glass. Then he was practically fragmented and as he fell apart Riku punched his way out, finally being free of Ansem's control.

"WHAT! IMPOSSIBLE!" The fragments making up Ansem tried to reassemble using the darkness, but Riku quickly grabbed his Soul Eater double ended spear.

"Looks like you're the one who's alone, Ansem!" Riku then slashed Ansem with the spear, making him fall apart all over again. Riku thought that was the end however soon the spear started acting strange while in his hand. Suddenly the Soul Eater spear broke into fragments of darkness until it reforged itself into Way to the Dawn Keyblade. Riku was shocked by this but he had no time to focus on it as Sora ran up to him and wrapped his arms around him while crying heavily.

"Riku! Riku your safe! You're finally free! I'm so glad you're safe... I'm so glad you're here..." Sora couldn't stop crying as he now, finally, after all this time, managed to get Riku back. Riku smiled and gently hugged Sora back, he wanted to joke around with him but instead he just comforted him as Sora cried it out. Riku then looked down and saw Kairi, Donald, and Goofy all standing there confused as the Neoshadow Heartless surrounding them were fading into nothing. Kairi then looked up and tears fell from her eyes as she saw Riku.

Riku smiled at Kairi and waved at her, she smiled while still crying and waved back with a smile of joy. However, Riku then noticed that Sora was starting to calm down a little but was still clinging tightly to Riku. Riku then noticed that Kairi could see him and Sora hugging, Riku then gave a smug smirk at Kairi to which her expression turned to shock. She then gritted her teeth in anger at him while he continued to smirk as if to say "I win" to her. Sora then finally let go of Riku but was still crying a little.

"Come on Sora, you're never going to get anything done if you keep crying like that."

"I'm sorry, I just missed you so much, I never stopped thinking about saving you." Riku blushed when he heard Sora say that however his secret joy was quickly changed into guilt.

"Shouldn't I be saying sorry? I'm the reason this whole mess started." Sora looked at Riku shocked though it didn't take him long to understand what Riku meant. Sora then sighed as he patted Riku on the shoulder with one hand and wiped his own tears away with the other.

"You have plenty of time to apologize but for now, let's just get everyone and go home." Riku was confused by how Sora could forgive him so easily, but he did agree that they needed to get out of here. Sora manifested his Fairy Harp Keyblade, grabbed onto Riku's arm, and had both of them float to the ground safely. Sora was happy to see Donald and Goofy but before they could talk, he noticed Kairi glaring at Riku.

"You cheated!"

"You cheated first."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Don't lie, you probably asked him behind my back" Kairi stopped being angry but then smirked, leaned closer to Riku's ear, and whispered something Sora couldn't hear. Riku was shocked and then glared at Kairi in anger while she continued to smirk at him.

"You little-!"

"Uh guys? What are you talking about?" Both Kairi and Riku blushed in embarrassment, they looked at Sora, then each other, then away from Sora out of embarrassment.

"Nothing!" They both shouted at the same time, which only confused Sora more. Sora then looked at Donald and Goofy, the both of them looked at each other, but only shrugged in confusion. Riku could feel the awkward atmosphere and tried to change the subject quickly.

"Ahem! so anyways I think we need to get out of here but first, I just want to say, I'm sor-"

"Wait!" Kairi then placed her hand in front of Riku to stop him.

"Wha- Kairi I'm trying to-"

"Stop! Listen! ... nothing's happening."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean you guys defeated Ansem, right? So why are we still here? Why is this thing we're on still exists and why hasn't anything else happened?"

"I mean all the Heartless are gone."

"Well yeah but shouldn't something else be happening? Shouldn't the Abyss world be gone or something like that?" While Kairi, Riku, and Sora started debating on whether the fight really was over Donald was starting to get skeptical himself. Kairi wasn't wrong, Ansem linked himself to this Abyss world so by defeating him the fragments that made this world should be restored back into the worlds they once were. Donald looked around while trying to think of an explanation, but he eventually found himself staring at a strange blob of darkness slithering toward the other end of the World of Chaos.

"Wha?! What the heck is that?!" Sora, Kairi, Riku and Goofy looked at where Donald was pointing and saw that the blob of darkness was slowly forming into Ansem. It reached in the air and into its hand floated the seven Fragments of Light and three Fragments of Darkness.

"I have waited decades... centuries... to complete... a thousand years of work... I will take what is due!"

"Quick stop him!" The five of them tried to run toward Ansem but it was already too late; he was using the Fragments of Light and Darkness to create a doorway to Kingdom Hearts itself. Ansem was still missing four Fragments of Darkness, but he hoped that by using the energy of the Abyss World he could complete it regardless. Soon the doorway was completed and so was Ansem's body; he weakly walked over to the door while Sora and friends were still too far away to reach him.

"Finally! With the power of Infinity... all the wrongs of the past... will be rewritten!" However just as Ansem got close enough the door opened and suddenly a burst of light flowed out and blasted him.

"ARGH! NO! WHAT'S HAPPENING!" a void opened besides the door and a disappointed Doxcrum walked out and leaned on the door. He was at an angle allowing him to be safe from the blast of light and Sora and friends were just far enough to be safe too.

"It didn't work ye naff eejit! I told ye seven o' light and seven o' darkness, no more and no less! but no, don't listen to th' bloke who knows what he's talkin' about. Sure, that's braw! Just do yer ain hin' an' win' it frae thaur! I'm sure it will all work itself braw! Ugh, I'm too old for this guff." Doxcrum then held out his hand and the Fragments flew out of Ansem's hands and into Doxcrum's.

"I'll be holding onto these, Lad."

"No please! Save me! I promise! I'll work harder and get it right the next time!"

"Aw rite, I believe ye!"

"Really?"

"... No." Doxcrum then kicked Ansem and he shattered into dark glass as the light incinerated all the fragments that made up his being, ensuring there was nothing left.

"Heh... Cheil, I hated that glaikit puppet." Finally, the doors closed allowing Sora, Riku, Kairi, Donald, and Goofy to see that it was Doxcrum that defeated Ansem.

"Doxcrum!" Riku was especially shocked to see Doxcrum stealing from Ansem.

"What are you doing?! I thought Ansem was your master?!"

"... Hehehe. Sorry to break it to ye lads. but Ansem wasn't th' real master, never was. Just a puppet for th' real deal. Ye all thought ye were fighting th' entire Dark Army when in reality ye were just picking apart a wee squad. We're a lot bigger than ye think lads."

"What? But then who is the real mas-" Before Sora could finish the doorway opened again but this time it was showing images of other worlds. Soon around the doorway cracks of reality started forming and as the cracks got bigger more images of other worlds could be seen flashing within the cracks. Doxcrum was quick to get away from the cracks but while the others were terrified, he just sighed in disappointment.

"Ugh that damn eejit."

"I don't understand! What's going on?!"

"He didn't get Kingdom Hearts but what he got wasn't better! This is th' infinite corridor, it's what surrounds Kingdom Hearts an' allows it to create new worlds and fill them with life! Its th' same reason it's impossible to access Kingdom Hearts directly. Coz if ye try, you'll get this." The cracks grew larger and soon started showing even more flashes of different worlds throughout reality.

"Don't fash yerse, th' doors will close eventually... But uh, I don't think those troaps will be willin' to bide." Doxcrum then pointed to the distance, Sora and friends turned around to see several Darkside, hundreds of Neoshadow Heartless, and Thousands of Shadow Heartless flying right toward them.

"If what Doxcrum is saying is true, then with the doorway open, the Heartless will have access to unlimited worlds! We have to close it!"

"I would hurry, Lads! Even without th' Dark Army th' heartless are like flies! It just takes a body to start a swarm." Doxcrum then opened another void and walked right into it.

"Wait Doxcrum! Please help!" While Sora, Kairi, Donald and Goofy were running to close the doorway, Riku tried to plead with Doxcrum. Doxcrum did stop himself before entering and looked back at Riku one last time and scoffed.

"Ye don't need me anymore Bairn. Ye got this... oh, and don't forget, th' darkness is only th' other side o' th' coin." Doxcrum then entered the Void, Riku sighed but followed the others to close the doorway. However, it was easier said than done; the doors were large and extremely heavy. As they were pushing the doors were slowly moving but the cracks around the doorway were only getting bigger. Sora could see that the Heartless were spreading out and aiming for the cracks instead of the doorway.

"We just have to close the doorway! If we can do that then the Heartless can't destroy any more worlds!"

"I know Sora... but I don't think we're going to make it."

"Don't talk like that Riku! As long as we're together! We'll be ok!" Riku looked at Sora then to Kairi, the Donald, then Goofy. Riku couldn't help but feel envious of Sora getting some good friends who were willing to help him to the end. But then again that was Sora's specialty so Riku really shouldn't be surprised. The real surprise to Riku was how Sora was still willing to be friends with a jerk like him.

"Heh, you say that, but I think you were doing just fine without me."

"Huh?" Riku then entered the Doorway and started pulling the doors in, this allowed them the right door to close faster but it also meant Riku would be trapped.

"Wha-?! Riku!"

"It's ok Sora, consider this my apology for ruining our home."

"Riku! Please don't!"

"Hey, come on Sora, don't start crying on me now. I'll be back, I'm just going to be gone for a while."

"But Riku! You'll be alone! How will you even find your way back?!"

"He won't be alone fellas!" Sora didn't recognize that voice however as he looked behind he saw several lasers of blinding golden light blast from the sky and onto the advancing Heartless. They were all vaporized in an instant and in front of the doorway dropped Mickey Mouse.

"Is that-?"

"King Mickey!"

"Your Majesty!"

"... is that a mouse?" Donald then hit Kairi on the head with his staff to which she looked at him, both mad and hurt.

"Sorry I'm late fellas, and sorry I never told you where I was! I just couldn't let anyone know I was looking for this!" Micky then held out his hand and manifested the Kingdom Key D.

"With this I can close the door, but I have to do it from the other side! So sorry to say this right after the reunion but this is where we say goodbye." Sora looked at Donald and then Goofy he could see the sadness in their eyes but they both simply nodded.

"We understand your majesty."

"You and your family have protected our world for generations, the least we can do is step aside and let you work."

"Thank you fellas, I promise this won't take long. As for you Sora, on behalf of the multiverse and Disney Kingdom I thank you for protecting the light and all the creatures that live in it. I promise once I return, I will reward you!"

"Thank you uh, your Majesty. But all I really want is for my home back and the Multiverse restored."

"Haha! We then let me help you close this doorway, and we can do just that!" King Mickey then entered the doorway and was about to use his keyblade to close the door but saw Riku in the doorway with him.

"You don't have to stay; you can be with your friends."

"... will the spell work faster with two Keyblades?"

"Huh? Well, yes... but we would need two keyblade on the other side." Riku then looked at Sora and Kairi the both of them knew what this meant and quickly manifested their Keyblades to show King Mickey.

"Then this could definingly work! But be warned children! Once we do this the infinite corridor will shoot us all into different worlds! Are you prepared for this?" Riku, Sora, Kairi, Donald, and Goofy looked at each other unsure of this. They were all stronger together so the idea of being separated again was quite terrifying. However, the idea of allowing the Heartless to get access to just one world to feed on was more terrifying. So one by one Riku, Sora, Kairi, Donald, and Goofy nodded at each other and all of them faced the king.

"We're ready for anything, your majesty!"

"Then may our hearts be the guiding key on our new journey!" King Mickey aimed his keyblade at the doorway and so did Riku. Sora and Kairi stepped away from the door and did the same. Soon, from each of their keyblades, beams of light blasted from them to the middle of the doorway. Now the doors were closing much faster. Just in time too as another wave of seemingly endless Heartless was flying towards them.

"Wait! Sora! Kairi!" Sora and Kairi then looked inside the doorway as Riku was slowly leaving their view.

"Sora... just be happy that's all I ask and watch over the goofball. Make sure she doesn't do anything stupid." Sora and Kairi knew this was probably the last time they were going to see Riku in a who knows how long, so they immediately started crying. However, Kairi started crying, she also started laughing as well.

"Hey! Everyone knows I'm the brains between the three of us!"

"Hahaha Sure!" Riku was laughing but he was also shedding tears as he knew it could be years before he would ever get to see them again.

"But seriously, watch over Sora, ok? But don't forget to watch over yourself. You drive me crazy but you're still my friend, you matter to me too."

"I know... sorry for cheating by the way."

"It's ok, he was probably going to pick you anyways."

"Huh? What are you guys talking about?"

"Haha! I'll tell you when I get back Sora! It's a promise!" Sora still had tears falling from his eyes, but he still managed to smile gently at Riku as the door was almost closed.

"I'll hold you to that... see you later Riku." Finally, the door was closed and Riku along with King Micky were gone. Soon the cracks on the doorway went berserk and started growing and expanding even faster. Sora thought this was bad, but they were also growing brighter and even burning the Heartless as they got closer. Soon the cracks spread across the Abyss world until it was destroyed. Soon the remaining fragments were coated in light and started shooting off into space to transform into what looked like stars. Sora, Kairi, Donald, and Goofy were left there floating in space as they watched the space around them being lit up with stars. It wouldn't be clear to a layman, but they knew what this meant the Multiverse was slowly being restored and it was honestly beautiful.

Sora couldn't look away at all the pretty stars being restored knowing that for every star there were several planets being restored. And if the Abyss World was destroyed that meant all the Emblem Heartless on it were as well, leaving all the cursed hearts liberated and free to return to their owners. Sora smiled knowing that one of them was Destiny Island. Granted he didn't know how they were going to get back since the Gummi ship was back at Hollow Bastion but right now, he wasn't worried. Instead, he just reached out for Kairi's hand to enjoy the beautiful sight of the Multiverse being restored right beside her. However, upon reaching for her hand he couldn't actually touch her, instead he was blocked off by a seemingly invisible force.

"Wha- What?!"

"Sora! What is this?!" Soon behind Kairi Sora could see the setting of a world that he was afraid he was never going to see again. It was their home, Destiny Islands, Kairi was being sent home but not Sora he was being sent somewhere else.

"Kairi! You're going home!"

"What? No! Not without you!" Kairi started banging on the invisible barrier as the viewing of Destiny Islands was becoming clearer.

"Kairi, it's ok."

"No, it's not! It's not fair! It's not fair!" Kairi then started slashing at the barrier with her keyblade but again nothing worked. Instead, she just fell to her knees and started crying again.

"Why... Why do we have to be separated again... why does this keep happening to us... we just got Riku back... I don't want to go home or go to new worlds... not without you... " Sora placed his hand on the barrier and faced Kairi with a gentle smile while she looked at him still filled with sadness.

"It's ok, you know what to do now, while you're looking for me, I'll look for you. We won't be separated for long this time. I know in my heart we'll find each other again. because my heart is the guiding key!" Kairi looked surprised at Sora but then she giggled and managed to smile again. She then faced Sora with determination.

"It's a promise, this time I'll look for you." Now the barrier was expanding pushing Kairi to Destiny Island and Sora farther away from her.

"Ah! Sora! I will find you! No matter what I will never stop looking! I will never forget you or Riku! I promise!" Kairi then faded from view; Sora was still smiling as a single tear left his eye.

***

Kairi was now on the beach of Destiny Island, she was home, but she didn't feel at home. Sora and Riku were somewhere out there, and she didn't even know how to get off the world to start looking for them. But for now, she at least had her Keyblade and hopefully that would be enough to get her off the world eventually. Kairi raised her hand to manifest her Keyblade but as she did, nothing happened she then tried again but still nothing happened. Kairi didn't understand then suddenly she felt a pain in her heart, it was as if her heart was broken and missing some pieces.

"Hey Kairi!" Kairi then turned around to see Selphie and Tidus running right toward her.

"There you are! Your parents were looking everywhere for you!"

"Riku's and Sora's parents too! They're going crazy and... hey you, ok?" Kairi didn't know what to do, she had no Keyblade and no Gummi ship, she was probably never going to get off this world. But by remembering Sora she was quickly reminded by how determined he was and how he never gave up on his friends. Kairi then laughed at herself.

"Haha, Kairi you dummy, it's too early to give up."

"What?"

"Nothing you guys, I'll go see my parents to tell them I'm ok."

"Oh, ok them but uh, do you know where Riku and Sora are?" Kairi then smiled as she looked to the sky.

"No... but one day, I will find my way back to them, I can feel it in my heart."

***

Donald and Goofy were watching Sora as he was still on his knees, looking at where Kairi once was as if she was still there. However, this time it didn't take long for him to get up and look at the two of them with a gentle smile.

"You ok Sora?"

"... I'm not sure, but I'll definingly feel better once we find out where we are and how to get back to the others." Donald and Goofy looked at each other but then looked back at Sora and nodded with determination. The three of them then marched forward however they quickly noticed they seemed to be in some kind of strange dimension of darkness. The only thing there was a road leading to a strange castle, as such all they could do was walk toward it. Sora looked back at Donald and Goofy seeing they were just as confused as he was.

"Haaa... Here goes nothing." Sora then opened the doors to Castle Oblivion.

.

Part 14 Epilogue

Part 12

[dailyaudiobiblechronological]

3/31/2023 DAB Chronological Transcription

Judges 3-5

Welcome to Daily Audio Bible Chronological. I'm Jill, and today is the 31st day of March. We are winding our way to the very end and we will turn the page tomorrow and start a brand new month with a brand new everything new mercies new days s bud for now we'll stay present and be here in this moment and invite the very presence of God that we know, that surrounds us to come and change us, renew our minds, renew our spirits open our ears to hear and our eyes to see in our hearts, to receive all that he would do in us, among us and through us. In these next few moments. Today we're reading Judges, chapters three, four and five. And just a couple of days left in the Evangelical Heritage version. Judges, chapter three.

Commentary:

So we have some gruesome stories today, not my favorite. And this sort of disproves a comment that I hear a lot from people, that the book is an instruction manual. If this is an instruction manual, then we're all in trouble. Sleep with one eye open. I think that is sort of the point, though, that there are things that are uncomfortable in the Bible. There are things that are disruptive in the Bible because those things are true in our real life. Sometimes our life is more R rated than G or PG 13. And so we have to sit in the discomfort and the disruption, and we do so and we can even ask the questions, what about this makes me uncomfortable? What about this disrupts my life? And the beautiful thing about that is then we get to invite Jesus into that. We can pray for understanding, we can pray for wisdom, we can pray for discernment, we can pray for deeper healing. And even parts of our lives where we've had healing that we thought, well, that was that we can move on. And then those disruptions come in and maybe show another layer of healing that we need to pursue and pursue. Healing is oftentimes how we get it. Many times. It doesn't just fall upon us. We must pursue it. So this is one aspect of what's taking place today. And then the second important part is we have the very first female judge introduced to us named Deborah. So we will end here for today and turn the page together tomorrow as the story and the book of Judges will continue.

Prayer:

So, Father, we thank you for Your word. Thank you that we can call on you in the uncomfortability, even especially in Your word, because this is the whole reason why we are here in this place today, to know you through Your word. So I pray that that disruption, that interruption, will cause us to sit with it. It will cause us to consider why it's rubbing us the wrong way. What is it that you want to reveal to us in these moments of uncomfortability? And we invite you in that Holy Spirit come into that disruption and come into those deeper places that need healed those layers and layers. Because while you reveal things about ourselves that is true about our past, that is true about where we are now, that is true about where we're heading. Ultimately, what we're learning is more about you because you created us in the very image of yourself and we can take you with us on that journey into our past. We know that you are here present and we know that your mercies are new every morning. So that means you will be with us in the future. And I thank you for those truths here today. We pray this all now in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Announcements:

Daily Audio Bible. That's home base. Check it out, if you have not. Take a look around, that's the app. If you would like to partner with us, we thank you so much for your partnership. Cannot do this without you. So very thankful we do not have to. If you're giving by mail DAB PO box 1996, Spring Hill, Tennessee 37174 or utilizing your mobile app, hit the Give icon. It's up at the top right hand corner. And lastly, utilize the Give icon on the website if you need a prayer. If you'd like to pray for someone that's previously called in several different ways for you to do so 800-583-2164 or once again utilizing the app, hit the red circle button up at the top right hand corner of your device. Hit Submit, turn the wheel over to chronological and it will get to the right place. That's going to do it for me today as we wind this month down together today, we will wind the week down together tomorrow and I look forward to it. Until then, I'm Jill. It's been such a pleasure truly to be here with you. Until tomorrow, love one another.

Community Prayer Line:

Hello DABC family. This is Chicago, Peg. And this is for Woman at the Well. And I appreciated your story today of that you have a son the same age as China and actually got to meet them. And your son really grew up listening to China and to Max. And now your son is also expecting a baby perhaps around the same time as China. Yes. How cool is that? So praise God for you and congratulations woman at the well that soon to be a grandma. So I just wanted to rejoice with you in that. And speaking of rejoicing, Jill, woman again, so anointed you are so appreciated. So today, which is on the March 27, I really appreciated your words of wisdom and I really resonated with this. You're talking about not being that we are not irreparable, we are not unusable because of words. We have allowed people to previously stop us with those words that we felt defeated because of words spoken over us. And we began to believe that this was me many years ago. And by God's grace, yes, in the strength of the Lord, I have overcome this in the Lord that, yes, I have overcome. And that by God's grace that I may be used for his glory. Yes, that I may be used for his glory. O Lord, please use me. Let me be used by you. In Jesus name. Am. Amen and amen. Chicago Peg signing off. I love you, DAB. I love you, DABC. I appreciate you so much. Thank you.

[dailyaudiobible]

01/19/2023 DAB Transcript

Genesis 39:1-41:16, Matthew 12:46-13:23, Psalms 17:1-15, Proverbs 3:33-35

Today is the 19th day of January welcome to the Daily Audio Bible I am Brian it is great to be here with you on this 19th day of the brand-new year and it's great to be around the Global Campfire as we take the next step forward, the 19th step forward in the Scriptures this year, which will lead us back into the book of Genesis and back into the story of Joseph, who is one of the sons of Israel, Jacob’s sons. And, so, let's dive in. We’re reading from the Christian Standard Bible this week. Genesis chapter 39 verse 1 through 41 verse 16.

Commentary:

Okay. So, we have several things going on as we do each and every day that we move through the Scriptures. And, so, looking back into the book of Genesis as we really get fully immersed in the story of Joseph, who is the favored son of Jacob, whose name has become Israel. And, so, he had the coat of many colors and he was a child in Jacob's old age and so his other brothers despised him in part because of the affection that his father had for him that was different than the real rest of the brothers but also because he's a teenager, he's a teenage boy. And, so, he has dreams and obviously like later on he becomes an interpreter of dreams. That's one of the things that we were reading about today. So, obviously these dreams have significant…significance in his life, but he's a kid and he doesn't know exactly how to interpret what he's seeing. And, so, he tells his family the way that the dreams go, are that the family ends up bowing down to him. And, so, he has a couple of dreams and the brothers just hate him for the dreams. Even his dad's is kinda like, really? You think we’re gonna bow down to you? And, so, as the story goes there's animosity specifically toward Joseph. Among all of the children of Israel there's some animosity toward Joseph. He's a boy coming of age and that can be problematic and a difficult time in any young boy's life and in the family's life as well. So, this is all going on, but there is favoritism going on as well. And Joseph kind of reports back to his dad what his brothers are doing. And, so, he’s kinda like the tattletale. And as it turns out Joseph is sent to find his brothers and find out how they're doing. And he has to go on a pretty long journey. If he's going from…from the south near the Negev all the way Shechem he’s gotta go pretty far to the north to find them. And as the story goes, they see him from far off, they decide let's end the dreaming by ending the dreamer. Let's kill him. Let’s be done with him. He ends up being thrown into a pit. They take his precious robe, his…this unique gift given to him by his father. This robe is taken from him. But he retains his integrity. His clothes aren't his character. He retains his integrity, even as he's thrown by his own family into a pit, while they figure out what they're going to do. And can you imagine Joseph in a pit in the middle of the desert screaming for help and no one coming to help him, just kind of being in this pit and left there. And then he gets pulled from the pit, only to be transferred into the hand of the Ishmaelites trafficked by his own family and he is taken into Egypt where he is sold into slavery. Well…sold…I guess as if…if you can think of it in those terms. He ends up in Potiphar's house. So, he ends up in a high-ranking officials home and his integrity is intact, and his hope isn't lost. He isn't bitter. He's…he's not in a corner going, how…why is this happening to me. He’s holding onto God to figure out where this whole story is going. And in short order, he becomes the...the supreme leader of Pharaoh's house. He's in charge of his household. And of course, Pharaoh's wife notices that he's handsome and well-built and she wants a little of that action. And, so, she goes and asks for it, and he won't. He won’t go to bed with her. And this goes on and on and on, right? She keeps pressuring him and pressuring him. And he keeps telling her, I can't…like I can't do that. I cannot break trust with my master. I cannot sin against God. And, so, one day they’re alone and she presses in on him and he has to remove himself and he flees and he…he leaves his robe behind. This is like the second time this has happened. His robe has been taken from him again. And yet he flees with his character and integrity intact. And for all of that, for this young man who is vital and handsome and good-looking and desirable, for all of his integrity and character where does he end up? In another dungeon and another pit. He had been thrown into a pit in the desert and now he is in a pit after losing his robe again. Now he’s in the dungeon and he hasn't done anything wrong and he has to stay there for years. And of course, he does interpret some dreams and those dreams come true, and it eventually gets him out of the dungeon and before Pharaoh. And that's gotta be crazy culture shock if you’ve been for years in a dungeon and the next thing you know guards are coming in going, get a bath boy. Shave. You're going to see Pharaoh. And he ends up in front of Pharaoh and he's told a dream that he needs to interpret. And we’ll pick up the story from there. But we’re watching a story unfold that has many many layers to it in. I mean one of those layers are that what Joseph is wearing is not who Joseph is. And even when we find ourselves in the corner going, why is this happening to me, the story of Joseph allows us to understand that maybe we’re in the middle. Maybe this is the part of the story where there is challenge and difficulties to overcome, but maybe this isn't the end of the story. Because as we will see in the coming days this is not the end of Joseph's story.

And then we move into the book of Matthew and Jesus begins now to teach with parables and they'll be many parables that we will encounter as we continue our journey through the book of Matthew. But a parable is a like an illustration story, a story that says more than just the words, pictures that mean more than the words and nuances that allow for many layers so that like a parable story can be pondered and looked at from many different angles and many truths can emerge from these parables. This is part of a rabbinic tradition, teach your disciples using parables. And in the parable today, Jesus says, consider the sower who went out to sow. When he sowed some seed…some seed. And, so, as the story goes, a sower goes out to sow and he sows a field that has different kinds of soil in it, different kinds of terrain. And the way that the seed gets established in the soil depends upon the soil that the seed fell upon. And in this case, Jesus gives the interpretation. When anyone hears the word about the kingdom and doesn't understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is the one sown along the path. So, seed was sown along a path. For us we need to consider in our hearts what kind of soil are we. What type of soil is available to the seed of the good news of God's kingdom? If we are the path, then we hear the word about the kingdom, but we don't understand it and it's easily snatched away from us. So, if we’re the path, what we do? Seek understanding. The reason that it was stolen away was because the person didn't understand. But there's other soil. And…and I'm quoting Jesus, “and the one sown on rocky ground”…so seed that fell on soil that is rocky, “this is one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy, but he has no root and is short-lived. When distress, or persecution comes because the word, immediately he falls away.” So, what do we do if we’re rocky soil? What do we do if we’re the person who hears and we rejoice and we’re like, yes, I am in. Yes, absolutely count me in. But there are rocks all around so that the roots cannot go deep. We cannot get routed because there is no soil to take root. And, so, when we’re challenged, according to Jesus, when distress, or persecution comes to when were challenged we aren't rooted and so we immediately fall away. And, so, what do we do if we’re rocky soil? I…I have to deal with rocky soil. Like, we have a farm and we have to take care of it and it has rocky soil. And I have learned that you can kinda deal with the rocky soil, you can work around it. But if you want it to be fertile, you want to use it for something, you gotta dig up the rocks. You gotta get them out of there. And, so, if we are rocky soil, if we believe in the good news of the kingdom of God but anytime we’re challenged internally we have to face hardship, we find ourselves shaking our fists at the sky going why are you letting this happen to me. Then we need to get routed. And in order to get routed we need to take a look at the soil in our hearts, the hardness, the rockiness and begin to work with the Holy Spirit in removing the rocks so that there is good soil. And then there's the thorny soil. So, some seed falls on soil that is thorny and according to Jesus this is one who hears the word, but the worries of this age and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word and it becomes unfruitful. So, what do we do if we’re thorny? And isn’t that what it feels like, the worries of the world, the worries that we’re carrying around on our shoulders, the worries of this age, the deceitfulness of wealth, like this treadmill that we’re running on thinking that we can achieve and achieve and achieve and it becomes a distraction that we spend our whole lives trying to pursue. It feels like thorns. Anxiety and worry feel like thorns and our gut, right? So, what do we do if we’re thorny soil? We begin to become aware that the worries of life, the worries of this age, the deceitfulness of our pursuits are distracting us. And then finally there is seed that was sown on good ground, and it bore fruit, some 100, some 60, some 30 times what was sown. And, so, we look at this and go…I mean we can look at this from lots of different angles and it’s been taught from lots of different angles, but I read this and I go, well, what kind of soil am I because the goal here is to become good soil that bears fruit. And what fruit do we want to bear? The fruit of the Spirit. But we need to look at the soil. We need to get out and walk around and investigate the terrain of our hearts.

Prayer:

Father, we invite you into all this. That's a lot we've covered today, and we thank you for the examples that are in the story of Joseph. We thank you for all that they have for us to learn about our own lives and we thank you that the story of your people is unfolding before us in the book of Genesis. And Jesus, we thank you for the way that you taught, way that you are gentle and kind but…but willing to step into things when they were simply wrong and make corrections and the way that you have given us these stories to ponder and contemplate and consider. And, so, Holy Spirit we invite you to help us examine the soil of our hearts today. What kind of soil are we? The truth is, we can be all in these kinds soil in different areas of our lives, but it's our desire to be good soil that produces good fruit for your kingdom. Help us. We will never navigate this without you. Help us, we pray. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

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Community Prayer and Praise:

Coming soon. Day 6 of our missions trip to Nicaragua. Prayer and Praise will be posted when we return to the states...

[nostalgebraist]

Thanks for posting this!

I'm glad you enjoyed the ending, and AN as a whole :)

A few spoiler-ful comments below

If there’s a low point, it’s the Stein on Stein’s Rock chapter. This chapter has some of the only elements that seem like Robnost throwing things at the wall in a way that didn’t stick. Most specifically, WTF is the Social Web, why are they in space, and in what context would an organization called the “Geometric Brotherhood” be a part of Almost Nowhere? My impression is that Rob noticed this and retconned it with that Annabel monologue.

Yeah, that chapter came out of me saying "OK, I know Hector is off in the real world now, leading some sort of rebellion -- what's that like?", and then just playing around and having fun with the concept.

And yeah, there are some things in it that don't really fit, looking back.

Like Hector referring to himself as "at large," as though he's actively on the run from the anomalings. Or the whole paragraph following the exchange about the "Geometric Brotherhood":

Hector Stein has been actively seeking out unsavory associates for longer than he can remember.  Occasionally they are actually useful.  But useful or useless, they always swell Stein’s reservoirs of squid ink, to be squirted whenever the need arises.  If you set out to dig up dirt on Hector Stein, you will find an embarrassment of riches — a hundred sordid trails to follow, a hundred different blemishes on Stein’s reputation to be investigated, analyzed, pored over for hints as to the dark truth behind the luminous facade of Stein’s Rock.  A hundred dead ends, which will keep the best and brightest distracted and oblivious forever, while in the meantime Stein keeps on doing the same damn thing he’s been doing this whole time.

I really like this bit -- both as a concept and a piece of writing. But, while it's very on-brand for Hector, it's hard to reconcile with what we learn later on.

(It's implied that there wasn't that much time between Hector's "ascension" and the founding of Stein's Rock, and Hector spent the whole of that interval being torn up over Annabel; it's not like he would have had the social capacity, much less the time, to go around cultivating a bunch of connections with different "unsavory associates.")

"Why are they in space" is... now that I think about it, one of the most flagrantly unanswered questions in AN, lol. I set that up in this chapter without really thinking about it, forgot about it for a very long time because the story was focused on the crashes, and then once I came back to it, it was simply Established Lore in my head.

On the other hand, I don't think there's a problem with the "Social Web" and the "Geometric Brotherhood."

There's a whole (small) society of uncrashed bilaterals out there besides Hector. This was hinted at already in Ch. 5:

The old man: “There are those who have moved before you, uncrashed, among us.  If they are not guided in their motions, they move with violence, and do not live long.  If one of us serves as their guide, they may survive.  Some live still, guided.”

We never learn much about these guys, but they're out there. Being people, doing people stuff. "The Social Web" and "the Geometric Brotherhood" are stray glimpses of this society; there are a few others later in Ch. 40.

As I developed the plot more following Ch. 13, I decided that these uncrashed bilaterals were the result of more successfully managed versions of cases like Hector.

Some bilateral would get too close to "seeing through the Matrix," and the anomalings would respond by dropping in and saying "hey, you're totally right, great job, want to go to the real world now?"

And they'd bring them out, like they brought Hector out, as a tradeoff -- they have to deal with one more hot, intolerable, uncrashed bilateral, but at least that bilateral's not in a crash somewhere, figuring out tricks.

I never got around to actually laying this all out in the book anywhere. But if you do a text search for the words "guide" or "guided," there are various references to it.

Note also that in Ch. 22, we learn that the Ells were involved in running a (variant of) this scheme in CC-Crash 09μ, after Hector's ascension:

Then the aliens came to our Director and his wife, and thanked them for their aid in limiting the blast radius, and set out a plan for them. They watched each incoming class, on the lookout for clients with curious minds and rebellious streaks.  They spilled obvious hints about forbidden relics left behind by the dread Hector Stein.  They nurtured and guided their problem children carefully.  One day, with luck, one of these ignorant tykes would stumble upon the same magic that had let their Hector bore his way through the page like a worm, and the Ells would be there watching, tracking, studying.

----------

You wrote:

In fact, I have a specific memory from early chapters. When Cordelia mentioned that Anne was being kept in a “fucked-up crash” and proceeded to rescue her in Chapter 3, I was kinda disappointed.

Huh, I'd never thought about this possibility... yeah, it does make it look like the story is going to discard Michael's crash and not come back to it. Which would of course be a shame.

As far back as I can remember, it was the plan that Anne (26) was going to return there after a short jaunt outside. For instance, her wistfulness at the end of Ch. 9 is setting this up. But we spend a while apart from her following other characters before that happens, so there's a while when the reader could reasonably suspect she'll never go back.

I feel like it would be better if Act 2 had remained the longest act? When I look back over Almost Nowhere, it at least seems to have the largest amount of "differing stuff" in it.

I agree. Act 2 was always "the big one" in my head.

But Act 2 also simply has a lot less work to do than Act 3 does. There are various character moments in Act 2 that I could have cut while basically preserving the whole plot, but that's much less true for Act 3. Virtually everything in there is doing load-bearing plot work.

I could potentially have made the plot itself less complicated, but... well, I'm not sure I could have, actually. It took a lot of complexity to "put down what I'd called up," so to speak.

AN has a lot of similarities with Homestuck, obviously. And one of these is the analogy

AN Act 2 : Homestuck Act 5 :: AN Act 3 : Homestuck Act 6

which holds in a lot of ways, including the first term being "the big one" in the author's mind initially, while the second term grew to be ~1/2 the whole work by the end.

But I'm much, much happier with my "Act 6" than with Andrew Hussie's. One of the things I'm proudest of w/r/t AN: having an "Act 6," and yet having it not suck. :)

Things I’m still wondering about: the Titanomachy. I was sure it would be revealed that the Alpha Centauri Surface Civilization had fought the Anomalings before, and that was what the “bombs that can kill gods” stuff was about. But apparently Titans are a [i]different[/i] thing created by the Alpha Centauri Surface Civilization?

"Titans" is a, roughly, a term for autonomous weapons created using the Wish-Power (titanopoesis).

During the original war back in the Age of Wishes, E-H created a bunch of these. You shouldn't imagine a separate type of sentient creature, more like super-powerful weapons and war machines, including tanks/mechs/spaceships/etc with some autonomous capabilities.

("The Titanomachy" just means that original war. The name comes from titans being on one side of it, and from the fact it was a war against parricidal "children.")

After the Age of Wishes ended, no more of this stuff was ever created. But it was all still sitting around, and got used in later wars. More generally, there was a bunch of "Wish-matter" left over in this way, and "Titans" are a subcategory of that.

The Proxima Centauri Surface Civilization is basically a bunch of E-H surface organisms, living somewhere where there's a bunch of left-over Wish-matter, and using it for E-H's ends.

Thoughts on Almost Nowhere

Almost Nowhere is over, so here's my reaction post. I was going to call it "Thoughts on the Almost Nowhere ending" but then I rambled all over and didn't just talk about the ending.

This post is FULL of spoilers for Almost Nowhere, all after the cut.

First, wow there were some very good fakeouts in those last few chapters.

1) I was sure that the Beasts were going to use the Wish-Power once more, in defiance of Everywhere-Heaven. Didn't see Twenty-Five just shooting her before they had time.

2) I was sure that the final chapter would end with something like, “But really, we can’t know which new story Twenty-Seven will choose. We are a part of the old story, and we cannot follow her to the moment of choice. It is not for us.” Especially with how careful our authors have been so far to convey to us that they only know what they were able to find out as a group of characters.

____

I like that the final chapter recalled the world of Anne’s tower again. It hadn’t been such a major presence in Act 3. But really, the completely-real-seeming world of the Annes was one of the big original draws of Almost Nowhere. The bizarre writing of “Ratleak”, the way the Annes just accepted everything as perfectly normal and only casually mentioned things that were totally different from the real world.

In fact, I have a specific memory from early chapters. When Cordelia mentioned that Anne was being kept in a “fucked-up crash” and proceeded to rescue her in Chapter 3, I was kinda disappointed. I thought that the weirdness of Anne’s world, the hook that had grabbed me in the very first few pages, was being demoted to backstory, that it being just one example of a type made it a little smaller, that Michael was being revealed as the equivalent of, say, some random cult in the middle of nowhere that’s got a few people kidnapped.

Of course, I was totally wrong. Anne's tower is explored to a great extent in Act 2, both in terms of the aesthetics and day to day experience of living there and in terms of plot implications!

____

In his post for new readers, Robnost mentions that he really got serious about plotting in Chapter 13.

It’s hard to tell now if I can tell that, or noticed the transition as it was happening. For me:

The first two chapters are fucking perfect.

(Like seriously, it’s hard to tell that anything wasn’t planned out when rereading the first two chapters, and hard to imagine any of their individual paragraphs being more perfectly written)

Then the chapters start to feel a little more like stuff is being thrown at the wall, as new plot elements accrue quickly (though even then ... early Cordelia chapters make a lot more sense in retrospect than they did at the time).

If there’s a low point, it’s the Stein on Stein’s Rock chapter. This chapter has some of the only elements that seem like Robnost throwing things at the wall in a way that didn’t stick. Most specifically, WTF is the Social Web, why are they in space, and in what context would an organization called the “Geometric Brotherhood” be a part of Almost Nowhere? My impression is that Rob noticed this and retconned it with that Annabel monologue.

Then by chapter 11 and 12, it feels like things are coming together and there’s a plan again. I remember Chapter 13, but as a step on that path, not a new direction - but I do have some memory that I noticed it as a particularly [i]longer[/i] chapter than usual for that point.

(But now I look back and it doesn't seem particularly long, though the early chapters do seem unusually short for AN)

Then Aidan’s MM lecture blew me away. The ending of the chapter, with all those plot elements briefly teased and then hidden for another third of the book, was brutal, and brutally effective. And also served to tell me that from then on, it wouldn’t be any kind of crapshoot whether a chapter was good or not.

____

If I could change something in Almost Nowhere, I’d just … make the finale a little shorter?

Rob said he imagined the final section being “fast and explosive”. It did feel that way during the serial chapters. But then, the last block of six dropped and the final act ended up being nearly as long as 1 and 2 put together.

I feel like it would be better if Act 2 had remained the longest act? When I look back over Almost Nowhere, it at least seems to have the largest amount of "differing stuff" in it.

Not a word could be shaved off of Sylvie's physics essay though.

____

btw, Thank You Rob for not having all the characters just give in and accept the alleged moral supremacy of Everywhere-Heaven. I don't like being mugged.

Things I’m still wondering about: the Titanomachy. I was sure it would be revealed that the Alpha Centauri Surface Civilization had fought the Anomalings before, and that was what the “bombs that can kill gods” stuff was about. But apparently Titans are a [i]different[/i] thing created by the Alpha Centauri Surface Civilization?

But wait, the ACSC must have fought the Anomalings at some point, right? How would they still be around otherwise, if they’re stack-users?

I’m interested in Sylvie’s plans for future humanity, but I don’t need to, like, actually understand them. I don't understand the anti-language plague at all. Do feel like some of the big plot tensioners just went away (the Beasts encroaching on Advanced Containment and Hector’s desire to use it for rebase if Anne won’t use Michael’s crash). Though I like that Hector's actually willing to talk. All in all there's enough resolution.

The last chapter is excellent. It truly ties up the main arc. Act 1 interrupted Twenty-Six's orderly universe, Act 2 had Twenty-Six learn to be Twenty-Seven and explore all the secrets and implications of Michael’s crash, and the biggest thing hanging over and driving the plot of Act 3 was what Twenty-Seven would do when it was finally time to rebase Michael's crash. And I was truly surprised by her decision! But I can understand why she made it, and it fits well with the themes (these characters really need to work with what they've got instead of obsessing over what really poisoned the world at its root). And I really liked the little scene with Twenty-Six at the end. Takes us all the way back to the beginning.

I can't believe this thing is really over! I've been obsessing over it since sometime last summer. Looking back I was really lucky to get into it in Spring 2022 when Rob was updating regularly ... I think I had the perfect amount of time to enjoy being a serial reader but not to get frustrated at how long I had to wait for answers.

And now I have the answers. Or at least, enough of them.

Thanks, Rob.

[bratshaws]

goodness gracious 77. brb x oc

a/n: WE ARE ENTERING A NEW ERA GUYS!!! WOOOOOOOOO god IDK IF I SHOULD BE AS EXCITED AS I AM RN (jk yes i should) also I never moved in with anyone so.........uh yeah, if something is off then, you guys can tell me hah

check out the fic's playlist made by the sweet @wiipes !!

pairing: plus size!oc x rooster

warnings: fluff??, Bea's brothers (esp Michael ) being a gd menace

chapters:

1/2/3/4/5/6/7/8/9/10/11/12/13/14/15/16/17/18/19/20/21/22/23/24/25/26/27/28/29/30/31/32/33/34/35/36/37/38/39/40/41/42/43/44

45/46/47/48/49/50/51/52/53/54/55/56/57/58/59/60/61/62/63/64

65/66/67/68/69/70/71/72/73/74/75/76

(pls let me know if you want to be added to the taglist!!)

taglist: @mirandastuckinthe80s @roosterschanelslut @wiipes @lcahwriter @shrimping-for-all @gretagerwigsmuse @frenchtoastix

@lizzie-rdj @fanboyluvr @atarmychick007 @comebacktoearthpls

@peachiicherries @mak-32 @lizziespidiepridie @roosterswifey @ollyoxenfrees @piceous21 @sqrlgrl22 @hofficoffi @lexhalstead3 @lorilane33 @legendarydreamersharkparty @luckyladycreator2 @emilybradshaw @j-6o @louisahale @leobabbyyy @kulicny @winter-run @ktjmac @graciereads

-

It took her a few calls to Gabriella, after looking at some more houses themselves, for her to contact the person responsible for that specific place. And within a few minutes, literally less than fifteen, they got their new place. It’d be free by the time their own leases were done with, just like they planned to and they couldn’t even believe it.

That house was within their budget and it was amazing to look at. Mediterranean-esque architecture in tones of terracotta and brownish yellow, with a big driveway- and a garage - that could fit two big cars there easily. And a pool. They got a pool! How hard is it to find a good house,with a good price with a pool?? Not even her parents had a pool! Not to mention the backyard was really big as well, with a patio that could fit quite a few people - especially when it came to her family.

Both Bea and Rooster couldn’t contain their smiles, high fiving each other and then Rooster engulfed her in a bear hug without any means of letting go. The lady responsible for the house was also very happy when she found out it’d be their first house together and said that they were just a cute couple of newlyweds. Neither of them corrected her, but both of them seemed to get sheepish when she said so.

Three bedrooms with a master suite that had a balcony that looked over the backyard and had a beautiful ocean view - not front beach propriety but definitely good enough for them. They were allowed to take Jolene on the visit, the pitbull confused as to why this brand new place was so empty, but her paws clicked on the wooden floors all the way to the grassy backyard. It wouldn’t be surprising when she immediately dropped on a sunny spot and there she stayed during the whole visitation, only getting up to get back inside the Bronco.

She was so happy she completely ignored how her phone kept buzzing and pinging with messages, breaking the lip lock she and Rooster shared to tilt her head to her phone on the nightstand, “Just a second,Roos.” he moaned in disappointment, keeping his face on the crook of her neck and his arms around her waist as she stretched herself the best she could to grab her still buzzing phone.

There were a few messages there: one from Shells in all caps about how she ‘NEVER SAID ANYTHING ABOUT MOVING IN WITH ROOSTER!!!’, one from Marcus letting her know the photos would be done by the end of the month and he’d send her some and the last ones…were from Michael. Her brother wasn’t one to send messages, he preferred calling or having a face to face conversation, so to her it was odd that he did. She noticed most of her siblings rarely texted, but especially Leo and Michael.

That was when his name, and picture, appeared on the screen, “Sorry Roos, Michael is calling.” she says, but doesn’t move his head away when he props his chin between her breasts, stretching the shirt on her bust, “Hello?”

“Hello sister, care to say why you are not at your house right now?”

Beatrice’s eyebrows furrowed, “How do you know I’m not at my house?”

“Because I’m standing in front of it like a goddamn idiot, knocking on the door and pressing the doorbell to receive no answer? Plus there’s no car in your driveway.”

“Wait, you are in Cali?”

“Yes. Didn’t anyone tell you I moved back?”

Beatrice’s eyes widened, pushing herself to a sitting position and in turn making her tall boyfriend roll to the side to give her space, “Moved back? Why? I thought you liked New York?”

“Eh, I felt like it. Plus a friend of mine offered me a job here so…I’m back home.”

“But why are you in front of my house??”

“Sheesh, can't I visit my little sister? Where are you anyway?” Beatrice opened her mouth to answer, but Michael cut her off “Ohhh, are you with Bradley, sis? I’m sooooorryyyy, I didn’t want to break you little romantic moment!”

“Michael-” her older brother, a man who was forty one years old, proceeded to make kissy sounds over the phone, much to his sister’s clear unimpressive reaction, “I stay with Brad sometimes, yes, that’s why I’m here.”

“Ohhhh, how romantic. Look at you, being married before marriage.” she didn’t know if Brad heard what he said or if her sudden intake of air made him suspicious but Michael joking about it was…clearly making something inside her turn, “Listen, Gui is helping me out with some stuff, moving shit around. I’ll see you later. Love you!!” 

“I love you too.” she hangs up the phone, seeing Rooster was now sitting against his headboard with his arms crossed and his lips tilted in a smirk, “Michael moved back to Cali.” he arches his eyebrows with surprise, “I never think he’d leave New York…but again, knowing him I shouldn’t be surprised.” he was too electric to stay in one place for too long and he was in New York for almost twenty years now.

“And he showed up at your place?” she nods, pushing herself to sit next to him against the headboard, placing her phone on top of her thighs and sighing softly, “It’s not so bad, is it? Having him back?”

“Oh no, it’s not. Michael is…a bit weird but he’s not a bad guy, you know?” she grins, her shoulders relaxing as she breathes out. Her mind going back to the new information they got earlier that day, her smile widening, “We really got a place. And it’s a pretty one.”

Bradley nods, “And it’s big.” their voices were breathy, almost dreamlike intonation because neither could really believe it was already done. He looked around his apartment, he spent quite some time there but he was happy to have a house once again, he liked this but he preferred the space a house would have. 

He’d have this week and the next one to arrange everything for the move, since half of the things came with the apartment he’d have just a few things to take care of. Imagining both of them carrying their things into the new house was probably one of his favorite things to think about right now.

It was exciting! And he knew it was a step in the right direction. He knew that this is what he wanted, and what she wanted too. It was soon compared to other people’s relationships, yes, but it felt right. “I have no idea where he’s living now, he said Gui came over to help him with the move.” Bea’s voice snaps him out of his thoughts, turning his head towards her with his eyebrow up, “God, can you imagine if he suddenly becomes my neighbor? Or…sort of neighbor since I won’t live there soon enough?”

He chuckles, leaning closer to kiss her cheek and pulling back his phone when he felt it buzzing in his back pocket, “I think we’ll figure out soon enough.” he looks down at the screen to check what it was, “Ah, Payback is asking if I want to play football with them.”

“When?”

“In a few minutes.” he smiles, “It’s been a while since we did.”

Beatrice looks back at the phone then at him, “Well, you should go.” she grins, pressing their shoulders together, “It’ll be fun! I can be your personal cheerleader.” she said it as a joke, obviously, but Rooster’s eyes left the phone’s screen to languidly rake down the side of her body, clearly imagining such a thing with a little smirk on his face.

“Is that a promise?” His voice sounded so much deeper than normal, almost like it was coming from the depths of his chest, heavy with the obvious innuendo within each syllable. Beatrice’s cheeks turned red, laughing softly before she pushed herself off the bed, Rooster’s eyes still following her as she walked into the bathroom, “You didn’t answer!” he calls by the time she disappears inside, only seeing a glimpse of her hair moving and the soft sound of her laughter.

He waited a bit before he tossed the phone to the side, walking up to the bathroom door where he leaned his shoulder against, watching Beatrice fixing her hair while looking in the mirror, watching his own reflection with a tilt of his head, “Aren’t you going to answer me? It was a genuine question.” her eyes rolled with a smile, followed by the subtle shake of her head, “You can’t do that, because now I can’t stop thinking about it.”

Beatrice just looks over her shoulder, smiles then gives him an innocent shrug, “Maybe it’ll be something to think about when we…christen the new house.” she bites her lower lip after saying it, watching by the reflection on the mirror how his eyes darkened and his form went completely rigid, only moving to step closer to her and to hug her from behind.

“Evil woman.” he coos against her ear, pressing her back flush against his front, loving how her smile immediately widened and she stopped combing her fingers through her hair, “Now I’ll never stop thinking about it.” Beatrice chuckles quietly, a little humming sound that sounded as sweetly as her giggles, “But I love you because of that.”

“Just because of that?”

“Well, it is one of the many reasons.”he says, kissing the curve of her jaw soundly, “But I’d like to have you there too. It’ll give me a moral boost.” she laughs again, lifting her hand to rub the side of his face, about to walk away but his arms around her waist prevented it.

“Roos.” she says while giggling, his arms having an iron grip around her body, she could feel him lifting her off the floor little by little, “You have to let me go.” but of course he didn’t, because why would he? Beatrice shrieked when her legs were in the air, holding tightly on Rooster’s arms to keep herself stable and not tumble forward, “Brad!”

“He said in a few hours.” was his only reasoning, dropping her back on the bed and crawling on top of her, “Which means we’ll have to celebrate how we just got ourselves a place of our own.” her cheeks reddened, by both reasons, leaning her head up to meet his lips halfway in a deep kiss that brought a soft sigh out of her. He pulls back only to lock the door and then return to his previous position on top of her.

Ever since last night, because everything was very intense and a lot of feelings were involved, something changed. Neither of them could say why, but something changed, like their connection got stronger than before. “Mm, Roos.” she calls his name in a soft whisper, arching her back just enough for his large hands to slide under her shirt and travel all the way up to the clasps of her dark red bra, fingertips barely touching the laced elastic, “I thought you said Payback told you to go there in a few minutes?”

“He can endure a bit of lateness on my part.” he answers with his lips touching the side of her neck ,”I’m sure he’ll understand.”

–

Watching Rooster running around in those jorts and shirtless was quickly becoming one of her favorite things. Not that what he did normally wasn’t her favorite already, but it brought many memories of watching him from afar like a lovestruck teenager. She’s on the seating area outside the Hard Deck, with Penny and Shells on another seat and, surprisingly but not really, Evelyn with her legs crossed by the knee on the one farthest away from them.

Every once in a while Rooster would turn his head towards her, smile and point as if to tell her to ‘pay attention’ before he got the ball. Beatrice only smiled alongside him, leaning on her hand with hearts in her eyes, watching her amazing, handsome and absolutely lovely boyfriend run around the beach with his friends.

She was so focused on Rooster she couldn’t see Shell’s shifty eyes moving to her, nor when she traded places with her aunt to sit right next to Beatrice, who suddenly felt a warmth by her side and looked to Shells with surprise, “Were you planning on, I don’t know, letting us know you were going to move in with Rooster?” oh. Oh she never replied to Shells. And her friend’s unimpressed stare was enough for her.

“Oh,I just…well, we wanted to keep it a secret until we settled everything.” she replied in an apologetic tone, smiling sheepishly at Shells’ narrowed gaze, “I was going to tell you guys,I swear…and well, now that we got the house I think it’s fair that everyone should know.”

“You guys already got a house?” Penny leans forward from behind her niece, gently pushing the pouting blonde back to the seat, “Congratulations Bea! When are you guys moving in?”

“In a few weeks,” Beatrice replies, interlacing her hands in between her thighs and inhaling with a smile,”It’s a really nice place, my cousin Gabriella helped us find it.” 

“You know what that means right?” Shells finally comes back, her lips no longer in an angry pout, “Housewarming party!”

While it was a great idea, Beatrice isn’t sure if she’d be able to do that. Especially since they were going to organize the furniture around the house and the house was very spacious. They’d only be able to actually furnish it completely in a few more months. She tells Shells that, but her friend just waved her hand as if she said something nonsensical, “Oh please, we’ll bring stuff and whatever, it’ll be fun!”

“I think Beatrice should be the one that decides that.” comes Evelyn’s calm voice from behind the brunette, her brown eyed gaze following Jake’s form as he ran on the beach, even with the sunglasses on her face it was easy to see she was admiring him. Penny agrees, which makes Shells return to her pouting and cross her arms, falling back against the seat’s back cushions.

“I’ll prepare something when we get it all done.” Beatrice tells her friend, patting her knuckles comfortingly, “I promise.” which she would, she just was enjoying the high of knowing she’d be moving in with her boyfriend in a matter of weeks and they’d be together and…well…something else might happen after, hopefully.

She didn’t see it, but Penny’s eyes were on her. Penny talked to Maverick after Rooster let him know he and Beatrice were going to live together, Pete looked ready to cry in front of his girlfriend, words going one hundred miles per minute saying how he was right and that they’d get married soon. He could feel it. Which at first Penny didn’t believe, not that much at least, until she saw the two lovebirds again that afternoon.

There was something really precious about the two, something so genuine Penny couldn’t really deny that she could see working. She only hoped the best for them and that they enjoyed their time together before and after they tied the knot. And that there was not hurry in doing so either.

Beatrice excused herself to go inside the bar to get some water, humming all the way up and making her way to the employees’ only fridge, grabbing a water bottle. She brings the bottle to her lips, but pauses when she hears three very distinct male voices, each one deeper than the other. 

Furrowing her eyebrows, she walks to the double doors, hearing the voices getting louder and louder, holding the door handle and opening it at the same time someone did, which jolted her arm, the door staying in the same spot. Now that she was closer, she could easily identify who it was outside. She gave one more tug, but this time there was nothing - nor anyone - holding it back on the outside.

Beatrice’s green eyes met six more within the same shade range, going from lighter to darker, all of them staring down at her, “....hi, guys!” She squeaks out a greeting as she looks at her three older brothers, Michael in the middle with Leonardo on his left and Guillermo on his right, looking like Matryoshkas dolls because of their height.

“Little Bitty!” Michael tosses his arms up in a greeting, watching his sister close the door behind her before he gives her a bear hug that lifts Beatrice from the floor, “I’m so glad you are here! I wanted to see you!” Beatrice laughs nervously, shifting her eyes to Leonardo in exasperation, her brother just offered her an apologetic smile, “I felt, why not visit my little sister and treat her with something? Like lunch?”

“It’s three in the afternoon Michael.” Guillermo’s deep deadpanned voice said from his right, huge tattooed arms crossing over his shoulder, stretching the black shirt he was wearing. Michael rolled his eyes, but his smile remained when he placed Beatrice back down, combing a few strands of brown hair that got wild because of him picking her up.

“Ignore him.” He says with his hands on his hips, looking up at the bar with his lips pursed in an impressed expression, “So this is the Hard Deck, mighty nice I gotta say.” he hums, walking past Guillermo to walk around the area the best he could, lifting one hand to shield his eyes from the sun even if he had his sunglasses on, “Nice view too, lovely beach. Oh, hey! Someone is playing football!”

Beatrice avoids her oldest brother’s stare, only giving Leonardo another look but he just shook his head not knowing how to help, “Well, ah,” Beatrice meets Michael’s body, seeing that his favored attire was a white shirt unbuttoned to the middle of his chest - exposing the massive forest of chest hair - and three golden chains on his neck, the one closes to his collarbones had a small cross dangling from it, “Those are um, Brad and his friends, they usually play–”

“No way, Brad is there? Shut the fuck up,” Beatrice could only watch with wide eyes as Michael dropped from the sidewalk to the sand, turning her head when she sees Guillermo’s massive form following him in silence. Beatrice turns to Leonardo, giving him a questioning look yet again, mouthing ‘what is going on??’

“Listen I didn’t know you’d be here!” Leonardo whisper shouts, following his sister on the sand, both of them trying to keep up with the two oldest Schiavoni brothers, “I just told Mike you worked here, he was the one who brought us all along!” Beatrice makes a distraught noise, speeding up her step before the two of them could reach the seating area behind the bar.

She stops in front of Guillermo and Michael, the youngest of the two still grinning and looking like he just won the lottery, “You guys ah…c-can’t do um…that.” Michael’s eyebrows furrowed while Guillermo remained the same stone faced individual as before.

“Why not? Is it illegal or something?”

Was it illegal? The bar is closed and this was a beach, it wasn’t like Penny would call the cops on them because of that…right? She had no clue, oh shit what does she do? She hates how her brothers just show up out of nowhere, she hates it! “...no…?” Her unsure reply didn’t help, because both of them stepped forward and Beatrice squeaked, trying to hold them back the best she could, but Michael just laughed, patting her head and walking around her so her arms only remained on Guillermo…who was literally dragging her along as he walked.

“Bea.” her oldest brother calls, gently picking her under the arms to lift her up and put her aside, “Don’t do that, you might fall and get hurt.” his sister let out another desperate noise, looking from them to Leo then to the seating area where the other women weren’t aware of what was happening.

If she was fast…she could warn Penny. So she tried to run all the way back before her brothers reached the group of pilots, almost tripping over herself and finally arriving at the group of females she left behind. Beatrice held the back of a seat, heaving out her breaths “P-Penny, this sounds crazy but my brothers are here.” she says in one single breath, to which her boss looks in her direction with her brows furrowed in confusion, “A-And they want to play with the guys i-is that okay?”

Penny blinked at Beatrice, digesting the brunette’s words and laughing softly, “Yes, of course Bea. I only own the area from this spot backwards. There’s nothing wrong about it…they just need to tell the others and you know, make them aware.”

Oh.

Oh that was a lot better than she thought.

“Oh, ah, okay!I-I will!” Beatrice rushes back onto the beach, where Michael,Guillermo and Leo were currently watching the game. She meets Pete’s eyes from across the beach, he was on the side watching this whole game happen without playing this time. He uncrosses his arms when he sees she’s not alone there, giving one quick look at the pilots before he makes his way over. “H-Hi Pete.” she says softly, ‘Um, these are my brothers, they uh…want to play??”

Pete turned his head to the three men, the tallest of them all he knew. He showed up at the Hard Deck months ago and he had that disagreement with Beatrice, “Oh, really?” he has no idea if it’d be a good idea, especially with the tallest and biggest of them all, he towered pretty much every one of the boys, “Well, give me a second to call them.” Mav put his fingers inside his mouth and whistled, halting the game and waving them all over.

Bradley was the first one to arrive, seeing Beatrice and immediately thinking something had happened, “Bradley!” he didn’t even notice Michael was right there before he was greeted by a heavy slap in between his shoulder blades, the impact so hard he coughed out his breath in surprise, “Good to see you man!”

“G-good to see you too, Michael.” he coughs, smiling weakly before his eyes greet a nervous and apologetic Leonardo and a neutral eyed Guillermo who just kept his gaze on him the entire time, “I had no idea you guys were planning on coming over.”

“I wanted to see Little Bitty over there,” Michael juts his thumb toward Beatrice, then puts his hands on his hips, “Had no idea she’d be here right now nor there’d be a game, so I thought, why not just join?” his sister only had an aggravated expression, bringing up her fingers to rub the bridge of her nose, “Me and Gui? We were great football players. What position were you again Gui?”

Guillermo’s eyes move briefly to his brother, before returning to Bradley’s “Quarterback.”

“Yeah! And I was a linebacker!” Michael tosses a quick glance towards Leonardo, who just seemed like he didn’t want to be there, “Leo here wasn’t a footballer guy but he’s pretty good, ain’tcha bro?” Leonardo nods, still wishing he was anywhere but there. “So what do you say?”

Bradley however doesn’t say anything, it’s Payback who once he hears about it said that ‘the more the merrier!’ earning a bright grin from Michael and a subtle eyebrow raise from Guillermo. Leonardo questions if he should join or not, especially when the only two women from the group step back, “Jesus fuck.” he murmurs, giving Beatrice a look, “I don’t have a choice do I?”

The brunette looks to where Michael and Guillermo were, there was enough body hair in both of them to make a furcoat and they were…a lot bigger than the other pilots, maybe not as marble cut defined but definitely muscular, ‘I don’t think so Leo.” she shrugs with an apologetic look, “Do you want me to stay close? In case you need help?”

“Hrrm, just tell Cyn and Bibi I love them,” he groans, pulling out his Metallica shirt and shoes, tossing it to where his brothers’ left theirs, “Wish me luck.”

Bea gave him a double thumbs up, her eyes turning back to Bradley who stayed behind as the two men introduced themselves better to the ones left, “Brad,” he snaps his head down at her, his sunglasses over his eyes, “Guillermo is big but he’s kinda slow if you run to the left, also…both of them like brute force so someone…might…well…not be standing up for too long.” she winces, “So please be careful.”

“I will baby, don’t worry.” he leans down to kiss her lips, pecking them twice, “For good luck.” he lifts his sunglasses just enough to wink down at her, dropping them as he makes his way over to the group once more.

Beatrice smiles diminutively, but she is worried, “God, please don’t let them break them all too much, we just got a house to live together.” she mutters, clasping her hands in a prayer and closing her eyes, “Especially because of how Guillermo is.” She opens her eyes only to see her oldest brother rolling his massive shoulders and neck, his eyebrows low and jaw set tight.

This was going to be insane and she was hating it already.