#i will hear what is very obviously a dragon roaring and see nothing on the screen

[shoechoe]

ice and fire is such a cool minecraft mod but man i wish it had subtitles

[aphrogeneias]

can we please hear more about rockstar!eddie and assistant!reader if you’re up to writing about them? how would she (and everyone else!) react when he dedicates a love song for her on stage? is he really obvious that it’s for her or does he try and be subtle for her sake and so rick etc don’t know?

author's note: a follow up to this valentine's blurb.

“You’re gonna want to see this.”

Dustin Henderson was one of a kind.

You had little time to reminisce as the boy pulled you by the hand through the narrow corridors behind the stage — but you remembered the day he joined the crew as if it were yesterday.

The funny thing was that, when you were officially introduced, that wasn't the first time you'd seen him. He'd been around a lot, sneaking out backstage after multiple shows, despite being dragged out by security every time. The guys liked him though, especially Eddie, who'd taken a liking to the smart mouthed boy.

Reminded him of someone he knew.

After a full run of midwestern cities and smaller venues across different towns, through Eddie’s approval and promise he'd look after him, Dustin joined the crew as a roadie. The kid seemed right at home in the midst of all the chaos, and though you worried about him, you knew they got his back.

Dustin was smart, and knew what he wanted. If life on the road was what he wanted, then you'd have let him have it. You also knew Eddie wouldn't let anything happen to him, in the same way he looked out for you.

Anyone who had Eddie Munson on their corner could consider themselves lucky.

“What's going on?” You laughed, completely out of nervousness. He was taking you down the path you knew led to the stage, and you wouldn't be needed there until the end of the concert. You'd been looking at some spare equipment, taking note of what needed to be replaced, when Dustin called for you.

“You'll see!” He looked back at you, his youthful smile a beacon. “C’mon.”

He pushed you up front until you stood at the side of the stage, where Rick was already waiting for you. Your boss nodded at you, a bored look in his eyes. Your heart felt like it would pound right out of your chest, sweaty hands grabbing onto your notebook.

“What's going on, Rick?”

“I know just as much as you, kid.” He said, unamused. “No fucking idea.”

The band had just finished the second third of their set, and as the crowd roared for more, Eddie — your boyfriend, in all his glory, glowing under the attention he soaked like a sponge — addressed them.

One of the roadies came from the other side, taking his loyal Warlock away, handing him his black acoustic guitar. The machine that slayed dragons.

He'd thanked them, first, before launching into an introduction. “Uh, this one is a new one. Straight from the next album, you'll be the first to hear it. A little slower than usual, I hope you crazy motherfuckers can forgive us for that.”

The crowd reacted with a cheer, regardless.

“If you can't, well, too fucking bad.” He'd laughed, earning a cackle from Jeff right beside him. He continued, then, unexpectedly. “This one's for you, you know who you are.”

Eddie looked to the side for just one second, meeting your eyes. His own were expectant, big and bright under the spotlights, while yours remained glued to him, too shocked to form a proper reaction.

With no time to lose, the band followed into the song. A ballad, for the very first time. The lyrics were ambiguous enough, not obviously romantic, but they hit you like a bullet.

You knew. He knew you, and you knew him. There was nothing else to be said.

You'd forgotten how to breathe. Midway through the song, trembling on your feet, you looked back at Dustin, and he sheepishly looked back.

You whispered, “Did he put you to that?”

He nodded. “You're welcome.”

[primroseprime2019]

An Anomaly In Hell- Chapter Two: The Pride of Persephone

Persephone sat in her new room, staring at the window with a blank look on her face.

She didn't want to say it out loud but she didn't know how to be comfortable, being away from home. But she promised herself that she would give the Hotel a try.

She wanted to.

She just... didn't know how truly react to being there. But everyone was nice.

She hummed softly before she sighed and got up. Perhaps she could go out today.

She walked out of her room and went to the living room. Alastor looked at her, "hello, Persephone."

"Alastor," she chuckled, "what are you up to?" "Oh nothing much," he chuckled. Persephone raised an eyebrow before she smiled.

"How would you like to join me for a walk?" She asked, "I'm sure the people of Hell would love to go into hiding at the mere sight of us."

The Radio Demon laughed, "I'd like that very much." The two walked out of the hotel and started walking. Persephone lifted her hand and two dragons flew out and landed on her shoulders. The male dragon had white scales, blue wings and black horns. He had bright green eyes. The dragoness had black scales, purple wings and white horns. She had blue eyes. There were the phases of the moons trailing from the backs of their necks and all the way down their backs.

"How long has it been since you last saw Hijack and Hijinx?" Persephone asked. Alastor chuckled and he gently rubbed Hijinx's head, "too long, dear."

Persephone chuckled as they walked down the street. Demons gasped and started scurrying about to hide, some even daring to gawk at the two Higher Demons.

Persephone smirked, "it's good to be back." Alastor laughed, "yes, well, your reign of terror clearly hasn't been forgotten."

"You know me well, Al," she smiled innocently, "I do enjoy instilling fear into the hearts of lesser sinners down here." She looked around before she looked over at the Vees' place. There was a crowd of demons gathered at the door. She smirked, her eyes glinting with mischief. Alastor looked at her then followed her gaze.

"Oh, I'm sure you don't want to deal with those three, Persephone," he said. "Oh come on," she chuckled, "they know better than to threaten me. After all... I always have tricks up my sleeve." With that, she walked over to the building.

One demon looked at her and yelped. The others looked at Persephone before they quickly scrambled out of the way. The doors opened and Persephone walked through them. She looked around, humming softly.

She looked at Hijack, "if you would."

The white dragon smiled, his tail wagging. He took a deep breath then roared. Demons jumped and there was a slight crackle.

"What the fuck is going on here?!" Vox snapped in frustration before his eyes widened, "P-Persephone." "Hello, Vox," she smiled, "I was wondering what you and your other friends were doing."

"Y-you're back," Vox said with a strained grin, "what brings you to our humble abode?"

Persephone chuckled, "I guess I wanted to see the sights of the homes of the many Overlords in Hell. Imagine my surprise when I come back to hear that the princess of Hell and her friends won a war against Adam and his exorcists!"

Vox laughed, "oh yeah! Alastor's actually been taken down by Adam! It was fucking hilarious."

The corner of Persephone's lip twitched and she tilted her head, "oh, really? And you think the powerful Radio Demon just disappeared after the battle?" "Uh, he obviously did!" Vox huffed, "like I said, he's a cowa-"

Hijinx and Hijack snarled and hissed at Vox, startling him. Persephone reached up and rubbed their heads. "Now, now, my dears," she said, "be nice. After all... it's not Vox's fault he's a dumbass."

Electricity danced along the demon's arms. "Excuse me?" He asked, narrowing his eyes.

Persephone chuckled softly, "you clearly don't have many spies to take a peek at the Hazbin Hotel. Alastor has been there. After all... who could ever hope to take down the Radio Demon himself?"

She leaned closer to Vox, "if you were smart, you wouldn't be whining constantly about that little fight the two of you had years ago." Her eyes glowed brightly, menacingly.

"Let me give you a little warning," she whispered, "if you or Velvette or Valentino ever come near that Hotel or Charlie or her friends, I will find out. As far as I'm concerned, Alastor can take you all out with a mere snap of his fingers while I can do so much worse."

Vox clenched his fists tightly. Persephone smiled brightly, patting his shoulder. "That's all I wanted to say," she chirped as she circled around and walked back to the door, "it was nice meeting you. Do tell the other Vees that I said hello."

She walked out the door and Vox growled before he disappeared into his room and he slammed his fists down on the keyboard, almost breaking it.

"That damn bitch," he growled through gritted teeth. His screen glitched and crackled. He hissed as he held his head, letting out a sharp exhale.

He should've known Alastor would be back. He would always come back. That's what pissed him off so much.

Vox scoffed and he walked out of his room. He walked to Valentino's room. He was standing in front of the window, smoking one of his known cigarettes. He chuckled and looked back at his friend, "I heard Persephone is back."

"Oh she is," Vox huffed, "that bitch is sooo lucky that I can't do anything." "You couldn't do anything if you tried," Velvette spoke up by the doorway, "like Alastor, she's been gone for seven years. And her reason is that she lost someone. Everyone knows that when she manifested into Hell, she immediately took down big and small Overlords."

"Oh please," Valentino scoffed, "if she really wanted to kill us, she would've done it already." Vox glared at him, "don't let her hear you say that. If anything, she's with Lucifer's kid. And what's fucking weirder is that two Overlords are under one roof!"

"Oh please, what kind of fight would those two get into?" Velvette huffed.

Persephone walked over to Alastor. She smiled innocently and he rolled his eyes.

"Did you enjoy yourself?" He asked. "Yes I did," she giggled. The two started walking down the street.

[kafka-ish]

richie tozier gets off a good one | r.t.

“This was not to say Richie could not be very funny from time to time; he could be. When referring to verbal zingers and farts, Richie’s terminology was the same: he called it Getting Off A Good One, and he got off Good Ones of both types frequently...” -- Stephen King

word count: 3.3k

warnings/included: nsfw (explicit smut, oral -- male receiving, male x female, mentions of masturbating), fem!reader

a/n: pls enjoy ! 

-

It was a cold shower kind of afternoon as the thunder from outside Richie’s bedroom window roared loud enough to be mistaken for a dragon. Dragons don’t exist. Richie, however, ignored the booming sounds of nature from outside—his thoughts lost in a certain someone; and his ears muffled by the pillows encasing him.  

y/n was coming over for a study session at two p.m. sharp, per Wentworth’s request, but Richie still had time as his left hand traveled to the zipper of his orange, corduroy trousers. It’s not like Richie knew y/n. This afternoon, this shameful afternoon where if his dad were home right now, he’d be caught with his hand in his pants and a name he’d rather not talk about in between his lips, would be his first time meeting the girl.

Wentworth Tozier was the one to suggest she come over on this grey Sunday afternoon during Thursday’s family dinner when he noticed Richie’s recent report card.

“A C in chemistry?”

“The C stands for Chemistry,” Richie said with a smirk on his face. It didn’t seem to work because Mr. Tozier’s frown didn’t budge, and Maggie Tozier only sipped her coffee which had to be cold by now.

“You know we expect better from you.” He was right. His parents weren’t used to anything other than a line of A’s on the weekly transcript he brought home. Richie wasn’t either. But lately, something had taken a toll on his grades—or someone.

“You know what might help him, dear?” Wentworth looked up from the chicken he was currently cutting through. “A tutor.”

“I do not need a tutor.” Richie dropped his fork which was being used to play with his green beans.

“Your grades say otherwise, kid,” Wentworth countered. “You know, Maggie, I think that’s a good idea.”

“Not you too, Dad!” Richie cried out, exasperated at the scene playing out in front of him.

Ignoring his son, Wentworth continued, “In fact, I think my buddy back from Catholic school has a kid who could tutor him.” He took a bite. “Last I heard, she was fairly good at the sciences.”

“You should think about calling them after dinner,” Maggie said without looking up. Which was how Richie ended up with only an hour left to get himself off rather than the rest of the day.

Although his hand was no match for any of his previous hookups, it was faster, and it got the job done. He was just about to finish when the doorbell rang and a knock on his door startled him from his position and kept him from finishing.

“Coming!” Richie yelled; certain that the outsider wasn’t going to hear him. He stood up from his position on his bed, pulled up the trousers that hung from his ankles and trekked his way downstairs. His feet made a thumping sound as they padded their way down the stairs—roughly at that. He was surprised the house didn’t shake at his footsteps. “We don’t want your Girl Scout cookies,” Richie said, half annoyed that his session was cut early.

“I’m not a Girl Scout.” y/n held open the door with her hand before Richie could close it. She wore a white button down that was haphazardly tucked into a blue-green, plaid skirt. Her already see-through blouse was even more see-through, as the rain from standing outside for so long had drenched it from the outside in.

“Oh.” Richie didn’t say anything for a moment. “I didn’t order a pizza, either.”

“I didn’t bring you a pizza, either.” y/n was growing just about as annoyed as he was. “Can I just come in?”

“I don’t know about that one, toots.” Richie made a clicking sound with his tongue. “Pops said I’m not allowed to let strangers in.”

“Richie, please, just let me in,” y/n seethed. She didn’t have time for his bullshit and quite frankly, he didn’t either. If Richie let his grades take another blow to the one-inch margin, his C would threaten to turn into a D. “Your dad called mine on Thursday… I’m here to… tutor… you.”

Richie noticed how her voice had lowered and he could tell she was just as ecstatic as him for their study session. Wordlessly, he stepped away from the front door, allowing y/n some space to walk in. His eyes inadvertently glued themselves to her backside, watching as her skirt’s pleats swayed against her hips and the rain’s water trail against her long legs; a sight he’d swallow at and feel himself grow semi-hard to.

If all the girls at Catholic school looked like y/n, he might just have to transfer because just one glance at her made Richie forget all about the reason for his tragic C that stood for Chemistry.

“Where are we studying?” y/n asked. Her eyes darted around the place like it was foreign. It was foreign. Her hands clutched the book bag she held onto tighter, anxious by the new atmosphere.

“Is my room okay?” Richie asked, already starting up the stairs. His tone had gone soft, like when you microwave butter. He almost felt bad for protesting against the idea of being tutored just a few short days ago.

“Yeah.” y/n followed him, making sure to leave an appropriate amount of space between the two bodies.

“Do you need a change of clothes?” Richie said, not trying to cover up the obviousness in his voice; that he was obviously looking at her covered chest each second she spent turned away from him; that he had an obvious hard-on that he hadn’t bother to conceal under his ridiculous corduroy pants.

“No,” y/n said with a bit of uncertainty. Sure, she was soaking wet from her hair to her toes, but she wasn’t about to borrow one of Richie Tozier’s ridiculous band-tees that would wear like a dress.

“What’s with the get-up, anyway?” Richie smirked. Before he sat down, he pulled out an extra seat for her. Usually, it would be used to discard his dirty clothes on. Luckily, Maggie Tozier had taken the liberty of cleaning up before their guest got here.

“Laundry day,” y/n sighed while sitting down her bag next to her. She brushed out her skirt as she sat down so it’d cover as much of her bare legs as fabric would sparingly allow. Her skirt was drenched, and she was sure it would leave the chair just the same as if she stood up any time soon.

“Don’t have to wear that thing tomorrow?” Richie couldn’t help but think about all the other girls who’d be wearing the same outfit on Monday. Of course, their blouses wouldn’t be overly exposing, but their legs would still be bare and long—longing for Richie’s stare if you catch a drift.

“Aren’t you failing something?” y/n snapped back.

Richie swallowed the rest of the words lingering in the back of his throat.

“I was thinking we start with the basics.” y/n bent down, searching for the green folder she had marked ‘Science’ in thick, permanent ink. Richie couldn’t help but steal another look at her figure—outlined by the white shirt that clung to it.

“Basics?” His voice cracked, but he was too caught up in her to care.

“Well, what do you need help with?”

“Nothing.” Richie scoffed, not letting some girl he barely knew deflate his ego.

“Then why am I here?” She countered. Her eyebrow raised, unimpressed, and her fingers started to drum anxiously against the wood of his desk.

“Right now, we’re going over stoichiometry,” Richie shrugged, not bothering to meet her eyes—her bright, keen eyes he’d find himself lost in if he weren’t careful. “It’s not the math part I need help on it’s the—”

“Concentration.”

“Yeah.” Richie let out a heavy sigh. He already knew what y/n looked like—beautiful, while water droplets kissed her neck that he itched to touch. It wouldn’t hurt to steal yet another glance, he thought, while turning towards her. “It’s like I can’t focus,” he said, finally making eye contact.

“And you need help with that?” She questioned. The familiar feeling of anticipation welled in the back of her throat but there was no telling why.

“I guess.” Richie’s eyes left hers to stare at the wall. The view was less impressive, but it let him form a cohesive thought.

“I think I know a way.” y/n’s demeanor had completely changed by now. Richie was about to mutter out a how or what the hell are you talking about but the words in his mind scrambled together like the eggs his mother made that morning when he felt her hand travel down to his knee.

y/n’s touch was light and delicate—almost nothing as it grazed against the fabric of his jeans. But it was there. He felt it, and if he didn’t, his imagination must’ve been pretty goddamn realistic for running at a hundred hertz a minute. Her thumb ran circles against the corded pattern making his breath hitch.

“Uh, what’cha doin’?” Richie’s eyebrow rose at the hand on his pants which was making its way to the zipper.

“Helping,” she insisted, “if you’re having trouble focusing, you’re probably stressed, right?” Richie could only nod. “So, this will help you unstress.” He gasped at the sound and sight of y/n undoing his zipper. His eyes widened and she found herself smiling at his movements from such little touch already.

Richie was quick to roll his jeans, and the underwear underneath, to his ankles. His eager length stood hard and erect against his stomach and if it weren’t for his lack of social awareness, he’d be embarrassed to be seen bare in front of a girl he just met.

y/n’s right hand—timid but daring—wrapped itself around the base of his cock, eliciting a groan from Richie’s now parted and perfectly pink lips.

Surprise wouldn’t even begin to describe the swirl of emotions that found themselves in the pit of Richie’s stomach and began to bubble in his throat—another groan. Though, as surprised as Richie was, he couldn’t help but feel a warm sense of pleasure and yearning for more as he harshly swallowed at the feeling of friction and tightness y/n managed to spring upon him in one firm jerk.

She was on her knees now, the feeling of hardwood against bare skin didn’t seem to faze her. All her attention was on Richie. The sound of unsteady breaths from above had y/n’s cheeks flushed and panties in a heat. The only cohesive thought in her mind was wanting to hear those pretty little noises coming from Richie’s pretty little mouth again.

y/n didn’t need a mirror to know her pupils were blown, the sight before her that she couldn’t quite look away from and the uncomfortable feeling between her legs was enough, letting her realize what she was doing. What was she doing? Her grip on his length loosened as she moved her hand up and down, allowing for enough space for her mouth when she connected her lips to his dick.

“God. You feel great, toots.” It only took a few motions for Richie to already come lax at the feeling of y/n’s mouth. He wished it were another part.

y/n chuckled to herself. Having this much power over a boy made her feel… confident. No guy at her school would give her the time of day, it seemed—not even Jeremy Fields. But Richie Tozier… Richie Tozier was practically falling apart at the sight of her and y/n loved that. Richie felt her pace around him speed up and y/n felt herself grinding on her palm to meet his same high. The sight of her alone was enough to have Richie on edge.

“Sugar, if you don’t stop I’m gonna—” His heavy pants were enough to cut him off, but y/n took her chance to interrupt further.

“—You’ll what?” She pulled apart from him, a string of saliva connecting them. Richie almost whimpered at the warm feeling of her mouth provided—gone.

“I’m gonna bust before I can take care of you,” he admitted somewhat bashfully. His face was red, and y/n couldn’t tell if it was from embarrassment or the fact that he had been worked up.

“Oh.” Back at her shy state, y/n ducked her head and felt her cheeks heat in a similar fashion to his. “Well, in that case…” y/n didn’t have to finish her sentence for Richie to get a grasp on what she was saying. She began to undo the buttons of the thin, white button up at an unbearably slow pace. She managed to peel the wet material that stuck to her skin gracefully even though she’d been itching to take it off as soon as she put it on.

“Wow.”

“Shut up,” y/n mumbled mindlessly, not daring to make eye contact. Part of her was embarrassed enough at the fact that she was on her knees for the boy she was supposed to teaching qualitative chemical reactions to. Her skirt was next to come off. The plaid fabric fell helplessly fell to the ground as soon as she unzipped it.

“I’m serious. You’re like… hot stuff, hot stuff,” Richie said as soon as she stood up, giving him a perfect view. Her underwear was a scalding red with embroidered flowers that decorated the side of her breasts and hipbone. The matching set was far from innocent, far from what Richie would imagine Catholic school girls to wear.

y/n didn’t say anything—her stomach too full of butterflies and a lump still caught in her throat. Richie could sense her nervousness and pulled her into him. To think, a girl he had met only thirty minutes ago was now engulfed in his arms and half-bare for him.

The rough pad of his thumb drew circles on her shoulder. The slow, sensual movements against her skin was electric and had the two riled up even more as Richie slotted his thigh in between hers for her to buck up against. The feeling of her clothed clit on lace as she dragged herself back and forth on his leg at an uneven pace was indescribable.

“Fuck.” It wasn’t unexpected that Richie broke the silence and occasional gasps. “You’re soaked… so… fuckin’ soaked.” He could feel the wetness from her panties that dripped onto his bare leg and he groaned at the thought that it was because of him.

y/n giggled but the sound of her breathy laughs in his ears didn’t last long as she pressed into him further and latched her lips onto his. It was like no other kiss he’s had before. As for y/n, she’d be ashamed to say it was her first kiss. That is, her first kiss where she felt something.

y/n swallowed the moan from Richie as their lips still locked and their tongues swept over each other.

“You’re like—”

“You are, too,” y/n breathed quickly, not bothering to hear the rest of the words. Her attention was now focused on him—or the lack of him inside her. She grabbed his throbbing length once again, taking barely any time to admire it. “Do you have any?”

“Yeah.” Richie swallowed. He opened the top left drawer of his desk, revealing a box of Trojans which he quickly took a foil packet from.

It was weird. Although y/n knew this was just a one time thing she couldn’t help but feel jealous as the small hairs on her neck stood to attention.

Effortlessly, Richie tore open the foil and slid on the condom. “Ready?”

y/n nodded and bit down on her cheek as she sunk down on him. Patiently, Richie waited for her to adjust to his size and a sign for him to move.

A quick kiss to his lips was it. It was different from the first. Swift, sweet, teasing. Richie wanted more. He wanted more as he thrust up into her and he wanted more as he felt y/n’s fingertips dig into his shoulders through the fabric of his shirt.  

“Unfair that you have more clothes on,” y/n managed to speak through a whine. To which Richie opened his eyes and through hazy lids and lust-blown pupils he saw her panties that were pulled to the side as his dick met her entrance and the bra strap that was making its way down her arm.

Richie stifled a chuckle. “You want this off?” He gestured to the graphic tee that was basically draped over his slim figure.

“God, yes. Take a hint much?” She tugged weakly on the sleeve of his shirt and he pulled away for a second so he could remove it, revealing his smooth chest and delicious collarbone.

Another whine left y/n’s lips as he pulled her in closer again. His speed picked up as he bottoms out, reaching a spot no guy has ever found before. Her left hand his in his hair, gripping at his long locks that only a Rockstar would dare wear and her right hand is clutching his cheek—his freckle-sprayed cheek that relaxes under her soft hands and delicate fingers.

Richie’s hands, however, are in a much more intimate place he realizes as he moans yet again, this time at the feeling of his roots being pulled on. One is on her ass, keeping her from falling off, though it might be impossible seeing as how close the two are. The other is playing with her folds, using the same circular motions from earlier to coax her closer.

“You feel so good,” Richie says as his eyes roll back to his head. “Fuck.”

y/n hums. Her lips can’t help but curl into a smile once the words reach her ears. “I’m close,” she whispers and Richie nods in agreement.

It’s dirty and the total opposite of what Richie would expect from the girl who walked in his door a short hour ago, but they reach their highs together, while the filthiest noise Richie’s ever heard leaves y/n’s swollen lips. He watches her as she cums. Her hair is moussed and sweat shines across her furrowed brows. But Richie Tozier swears he hasn’t seen a prettier sight.

“Fuck, doll,” Richie says in amazement.

y/n’s still smiling as she opens her eyes, but she can’t help but be embarrassed at the same time.

“What?” The question is small, but there’s a certain weight on her shoulders that Richie notices.

“You’re hot.” He’s wearing a shit-eating grin and y/n wants to smack him right then and there. But she doesn’t. She only smiles back, quickly removes herself from him, and redresses herself with the same pace. Her shirt is only slightly less damp and slightly less uncomfortable, but it’ll do. y/n supposes she could just change into her pajamas once she got home. “What, don’t tell me our session’s over already,” Richie tries to joke.

“Sorry,” y/n sighs. Her backpack is already slung over her shoulder, she didn’t even need to ask Richie for help with her stuff.

“Hey, is this because…” Richie’s large palm finds a home on y/n’s shoulder which she tenses up at.

“No!” y/n’s barely able to choke it out. “But the session was, like, supposed to be an hour, you know? And I don’t want to overstay my welcome.” She’s back to her nervous self again.

“God.” Richie realizes what this is about now. “You’re not overstaying anything, toots. You can stay for dinner if you’d like,” he offers. “Hell, stay forever.”

y/n resists the urge to roll her eyes and opts for the dead skin on her lip instead. “I really have to go. Sorry, Rich.”

The last he sees is her half-smile from her all perfect lips before she slips out the door and into the rain again.

[solastia]

The Dragon’s Lair - 7

- SEOKJIN’S POV -

Pairing: Kim Namjoon x F!Reader (although she’s kinda OC now huh?)

A/N: Kinda on the short side, I apologize. But I wanted us to get a quick peek into Jin’s side of things and where his mind is. Any guesses on who his mate might be? ;) 

*****

He wasn’t sure what had woken him up. The house was silent beyond Namjoon’s snores that he could hear coming through the old walls. He waited a few seconds to see if he could hear anything else or catch a scent, but it was all clear. There was just something pricking at his mind - something making his instincts go wild. He’d blame the fact that he was in a new house but this wasn’t a new feeling. 

It had begun when his ride here had traveled past the sea. He’d gotten a whiff of fresh ocean air and his fur had instantly bristled up. His claws had lengthened involuntarily and he’d had to exercise every scrap of self-control he possessed so he wouldn’t leap out of the moving vehicle and run full-shift towards whatever that scent had been. 

Seokjin groans and cracks open his eyes, still heavy with sleep. He might as well take a trip to the bathroom while he was already awake. He yawns and forces himself out of the comfy bed, scratching his belly sleepily. Even now, the scent was clear to him. There had been the smell of the ocean, yes, but...something else. Something other like him. 

The realistic part of Seokjin’s brain said maybe his exotic side had simply found a scent it liked and that’s that. But when he allowed himself to be more fanciful, like now when it was three am and he was still half asleep, he listened to the Sphinx screaming, “mate, mate, MATE!,” and he didn’t hate the idea. 

He’d been alone for so very long that it sounded like a dream. A fairytale ending for his Cinderella story. 

Not that Namjoon was any sort of evil stepsister, nor his mate that exuded naivety and goodness from every pore. If anything, he knew that he was particularly blessed to have Heechul hyung looking out for him and talking this human into taking him in. He would have dealt with having to be in the shelter again, but quite honestly he was too old to do well there. He was a grown Sphinx used to independence and being at the top of his hierarchy. 

He finishes in the bathroom and sighs heartily, deciding sleep was going to be impossible now. Might as well help himself to the kitchen. He shuffled quietly there and peeked inside the fridge, horrified once again by the contents. How have these two been keeping alive? The fridge only contained very basic ingredients like eggs and milk, a bottle of soy sauce, and not a single vegetable in sight. 

He settles for making a couple of fried eggs, using them to top off the bowl of instant rice he pilfered from the cupboards. He gives it all a splash of soy sauce so it’s not completely flavorless and sits at the kitchen table, eating his little meal slowly. 

It always seemed like nights were harder for some reason. Like the dark vastness of the sky reminded him of how empty his life had become - of how much he missed his parents. 

He’d seriously lucked out when the two had walked into the shelter all those years ago. He’d been a bit older than the usual desired age for hybrid adoptions so he hadn’t expected much when Heechul had escorted the couple towards the exotic section. He’d stayed in his corner of the room playing his video game, but he’d kept an eye on them as they smiled and shook hands with all the desperate little ones crowding them. They seemed genuinely nice, with smiles that lit up their eyes and the man always making his wife laugh. 

When they finally got close enough, Seokjin greedily scented the air, thinking if he ever had someone pick him he hoped they smelled as good as these two. The man - though obviously old for a human - smelled strong and healthy. Faint hints of cigar smoke and old books clung to him almost as much as his mate’s scent did. And his mate - the wife - smelled exactly how Seokjin had always thought a mother would. A light hint of expensive perfume couldn’t cloud the endorphins that were coming off of her in waves from being surrounded by the little ones. She was older too - perhaps younger than her husband by no more than a handful of years - but she too seemed to be in good health. She smelled so comforting to Seokjin that he stopped paying attention to his game and let his little avatar get killed three times in a row as he glued his eyes on the woman. 

Heechul actually herded the pair towards him and he set down his controller and bowed formally, wanting to make a good impression despite the fact that he knew they would never pick him. He’d thought they’d merely shake his hand and move on, but the man had kept asking him questions about his hobbies and what he wanted to do when he grew up. The woman kept staring at him with her hand held to her chest like she’d been shocked by something. 

It wasn’t until a half-hour later when Heechul had called him into his office with the pair that he realized she’d decided she wanted him. A mere few minutes and she’d decided she was his mother and no one else’s. “You’re so handsome I fell in love at first sight, my Jinnie,” she’d always say. 

He’d had nineteen wonderful years with them before pneumonia took them both within days of each other. Nineteen years filled with happiness and laughter with two of the most loving people he’d ever met. He missed his routines with them - the fishing every weekend with his dad, cooking with his mom, the Sundays all three of them would sit around with face masks and watch movies. 

When they’d passed away, his heart had broken. He’d known it was inevitable - they were both getting old and frail - but he’d thought he’d have just a little more time with them. After the funeral, he waited with bated breath for someone to storm in and drag him off to be put down somewhere. When nothing had happened, he’d grown steadily more careless, often forgetting he wasn’t supposed to be on his own with the big house and vast wealth. He’d carried on with his life like he knew his parents would have wanted him to. He kept going to med school since his dad had pulled so many strings to let him attend, he tried going on dates that never went anywhere, he hung out with his friends whenever he had the time. Life went on. 

Trying to stop the robber had been stupid of him - he knew that now. He should have just let the man get away and then never reported him so he’d be left alone...but once he spied his mother’s favorite pearls in the man’s hand he’d lost his shit. He’d fully shifted, letting his wings out and knocking over a couple of vases with their width, and his nails expanded until finally he’d roared and the robber had screamed and thrown the nearest item at his head in his rush to escape. Unfortunately, that item had been his mother’s bird statue that was made entirely of gold, so he’d been knocked out cold. His friend had found him after he hadn’t shown up to their gaming session and called the police and an ambulance, where they took his blood and found out that he was a hybrid with deceased owners and proceeded to shove him in the nearest pound while they contacted his mother’s very distant cousin. 

He’d never even gotten to meet this so-called cousin before the fat lawyer that smelled like fried chicken rushed him out of his own home, making him leave behind even the belongings that were his. He had no idea what use the cousin had for his manga or video game collection. Let alone the used sports jerseys or his hamper full of dirty clothes. 

Thankfully Heechul existed and he’d been able to contact his old caregiver before he was sent to the state center. He knew that place was a death sentence. And now here he was, in a strange home with barely anything besides his small suitcase. He missed his dad. He missed his mom. He missed feeling loved and hopeful for the future. He missed the way his dad always knew what to do. He missed the way his mom would brush his mane and groom his feathers while she sang. 

Seokjin cleared his throat and swiped at his suddenly wet cheek. He hadn’t even realized he’d been crying. He shook his head and went to the sink to wash his dishes, heading back to his room when he finished for another sleepless night. 

****

Life in the ‘Dragon’s Lair’ (as he’d taken to calling it, despite said dragon’s constant eye-rolling) began to take on a new normal the longer he was there. Days began to blend into each other as he struggled to adjust himself to his new reality, but Namjoon and his mate were a great help. 

Luckily, his tuition had been prepaid by his father and the cousin had no way of taking his education away from him, so he still took his classes - albeit mostly online because he wanted to stay in his room most of the time. 

Money was thankfully of no immediate issue. There was more money in the book than he’d felt comfortable sharing with anyone, enough that he could still go years without a job if he needed to. He also knew that if he needed it, he could always ask Heechul for help, although the other would make him work in the cafe for it. He might do it anyway just for something to do. 

Namjoon and his mate were simply wonderful. His old friend had grown up into a great person who was sweet and intelligent, good to the people he cared about, and strong in ways that he probably wasn’t even aware of. His mate Star was just as good. She was funny and kind, with just enough sass to be interesting. And they were both sickeningly in love with each other to the point that Seokjin had to leave the house quite often to get some peace. Not that it upset him - he was incredibly happy for Namjoon. It just sometimes emphasizes how alone he was. 

But yes, Star was great. There was just...something about her. Something that drew him to her. Not in a sexual or attraction kind of way...more like - primal. Like the animal side of him saw her as a protector. Which, he supposed she kinda was since she was housing exotic hybrids, but still. He couldn’t figure it out. He was certain she was completely human, but sometimes underneath the frankly nauseating amount of reptile musk that she was constantly covered with, he could catch hints of the forest in her natural scent. Sure, there was a forest nearby, but why would the scent cling to her like that? There was something there and luckily for him, there was nothing he enjoyed more than a good riddle. 

Beyond that, there was still one other pressing issue. His mate. 

He knew they were out there. He knew he’d caught their scent. When he’d passed the sea he’d been certain they were there. He just needed to find them. He didn’t want them to be alone too. 

“Jin, we’re about to head to the mall. Do you want to come shopping with us? The weather’s clearing up and I promised Namjoon we’d go to the ocean,” Star asked with a bright smile as he exited his room. 

“The ocean?” he responded, his brain halting for a second. Fate was working her magic, was she? 

“Yeah, he’s been wanting to go for a while but it’s been too cold. I thought we’d rent a small beach house and spend the weekend. So you’ll need swim trunks and towels, stuff like that. If you’d rather stay here, that’s fine too. It’s up to you.” 

“No,” he rushed, feeling his ears go red with embarrassment as he let his eagerness show. “It’s fine. I’d love to go.” 

“Great!” Star grinned, threading an arm with his as she leads him out to the yard. “We’ll have so much fun!” 

He nods silently, his nose trying in vain to catch that salty scent on the air again. 

I’m coming. Just wait for me. 

[sweetest-honeybee]

Down to Dust

Chapter 4

Fic Summary: Grian will have to keep the dragon egg secure for the Watchers. But, they’re not the only ones who want it. On a completely unrelated note, Mumbo will have to deal with a version of himself thats only amplified by his No Killing mindset.

Chapter Sumamry: Mumbo was surprised to find that Grian was right when he said the egg was magical.

TW: Slight electrocution I suppose, and descriptions of lightning

Word Count: 2415

Notes: Again, the two farms are in the overworld, not in the Nether or End for the sake of the fic

Enjoy! And this one deserves a Read More because it’s long lol

——————

By the end of the next day, Mumbo had finished his first farm and half of his second farm. Much to his surprise, the egg didn’t bear any harm. It was strangely quiet recently but it didn’t bother him any. At the moment, it was in his inventory should anyone come by and see that he had it. It’d ruin his plans and he didn’t want to give up the egg just yet. Really, he could probably keep it forever. It had been completely safe and comfortable- or, as comfortable as an egg can be- since he stole it. Mumbo called that pretty responsible.

Who was he kidding, Grian would kill him eventually if he never found it himself.

He laid down the last of the comparators for the third row, focused more on finishing his farm than overthinking the egg situation. If all went well so far, they should be able to work on their own if he flipped a lever. The redstoner pulled the egg from his inventory and held it up to his face.

“I think everything looks about right so far, yeah?” He turned the egg as if there was a face to show his work. The egg quite obviously never spoke but it helped to explain the redstone and find the flaws in his contraptions.

Nothing seemed out of place. The first row’s test went swimmingly and by replicating that a few more times, all should go as planned when he tested them together. With his luck it may not happen but he could stand to be a little optimistic at least. Mumbo went on to build the last of the uniform rows and easily finished another quarter of the farm. All was down to just encasing said farm in a wall of glass to avoid the items spilling over the sides.

He stood back once more with his hands on his hips, the egg now by his feet. The redstoner was proud to say the least. He looked down at the egg which only sat stock still. Leaving the egg, he turned to dig in his chest for more materials.

Unbeknownst to him, however, the egg wouldn’t stay still for much longer.

“Glass, glass, where on Earth did I put the glass?” He mumbled to himself. He continued to rummage. Eventually, he pulled away from the chest with an internal cheer. “Of course it was next to the pistons.”

He swirled back around when he began to hear small pops from behind him. As he did, Mumbo’s eyes widened. Small purple sparks crackled every so often at the base of the egg and quickly began to grow in size. The egg itself launched into a fit of rapid vibrating.

“Oh! Uh-oh!” He dropped the glass next to him, shattering upon impact, and hurriedly jogged to the now terrifyingly lively egg. “Please tell me you're supposed to do that!”

The redstoner hesitated, going to touch it, then pulling away with a worried whimper. Mumbo didn’t want to touch it but he panicked as he was at a loss of what to do. The egg was calm for weeks before now. Even Grian would’ve said something if the egg had done something like this before Mumbo stole it.

Ah…Grian did tell him it was a magical egg.

Mumbo only thought Grian was joking to keep him from taking it. He’s never seen a dragon egg do that! It was just from the update, he suggested to himself. Eggs were just suddenly powerful and might destroy his days of work. He laughed nervously and pulled at his tie. It didn’t matter what he thought, the small sparks were now large bolts that shot their way into the ground. It singed the grass around it, turning it to a coal black. He had to back away from the egg’s ever expanding radius of energy.

“Oh what do I do- what do I do?!” Then, the obvious idea appeared and he palmed his forehead. “Grian!”

The redstoner fumbled to get his communicator from his pocket, almost dropping it several times. He miss-clicked several icons with petrified fingers and growled in frustration. Only when he finally opened the chat, the egg ceased its episode with an immediate halt. He looked up from the screen with caution and took another step away from the egg.

The area fell silent. Not a bird’s chirp or leave’s rustle broke the blanket of stillness that suddenly washed over everything. It wasn’t a comfortable silence, though.

He inched forward with small steps, clutching his communicator. Seconds passed, then a minute.

“H…Hello?” He said tentatively. He stuck a leg out, poking at it with the tip of his shoe then retracting his leg once more. A sigh escaped his lips. “Good, I guess that’s over with then.”

But it wasn’t. The egg was hardly finished as the bolts started again, much much larger than their already massive size they reached before it stopped the first time. Mumbo shrieked and attempted to retreat back to his chest. It took no longer than five seconds before a wave of the purple energy resonated through the ground and absorbed into the two farms. It knocked Mumbo from his feet and onto the grass, sending an electric shiver through his body.

He shielded his neck with his arms and waited. He only turned over when the sounds of roaring pistons caught his attention. But, that was hardly what he worried about as he watched in awe- good or bad, he wasn’t sure yet- at the effects of the egg’s sudden show of magic.

Both farms were activated and running faster than any farm he’d ever seen. Items upon items flowed down water streams and into stacks of chests. Some items avoided their intended route and simply floated in all directions above the farms. It was loud, incredibly loud. Mumbo nearly had to cover his ears as he initially cowered from the noise. However, he soon pulled himself to his feet and slowly approached the over-efficient farms.

A violet haze emitted from the redstone, replacing its originally reddish color, and from the cracks between each set of stone bricks. Each block crackled and hissed with energy, and it almost felt as if he were gaining some of that energy himself. Small bolts fizzled out over his suit. He lifted his left hand and turned it over, watching as sparks flew over and down his fingers to their tips.

To put it simply, it was a beautiful and supernatural sight. He wasn't sure how to react. His own heart was still racing- from the energy around him or his nerves, he also didn’t know.

While in the middle of the two farms, he glanced back at the egg which no longer twisted and turned, but sat with slowly flowing violet streams of energy penetrating the ground. Much like the hum of a conduit sounded from it. Now, it seemed very calm in contrast to its earlier fit. Mumbo assumed- for obvious reasons, really- that the egg powered the farms despite the contraptions having been able to power themselves via redstone. It was captivating and he couldn’t help but to become curious about what was inside the egg that would’ve given it so much power. That or had it already been created with it. Either way, he yearned to learn more about it. It could be revolutionary and improve efficiency immensely.

Although, the event was short lived as the egg’s energy flow sputtered and dissipated, leading to the farms shutting down with it. Mumbo looked up as items began to rain over his shoulders when they fell. But, he was hardly bothered. At this moment he realized a few things.

His farms worked, thankfully; The egg held an amount of power that could power several farms; Mumbo wanted to keep the egg for even longer to experiment.

Of course, he still wanted to eventually return it but as someone who couldn’t kill anything, the egg could help him for the time being...He already had many ideas popping into his head by the second. It only made him giddy for what was to come. He ran over and scooped up the egg with an ear-to-ear grin, holding it up to his face.

“You, my friend, are one wicked egg,” he complimented. Then, he put it in his inventory and prepared to fly home. He’d clean up the mess later.

As he rocketed off to his base, he noticed his red sweatered friend sitting alone on the roof of his house. Even when Mumbo flew by, Grian didn’t wave or nod up to him or really even look at him. Piquing his curiosity, though he should just go home and avoid confrontation, he landed behind Grian and carefully stepped down the slope of the roof.

“Hey! Haven’t heard from you much today,” he greeted. Mumbo was only met with silence. “Are you okay?”

After a second, Grian twitched when he realized that someone was talking to him. He turned his head to where Mumbo crouched down next to him.

“Oh! Sorry, I was just thinking. This is my thinking roof.”

The redstoner hummed. “Ah, don’t wear yourself out then,” he laughed.

“You should try it sometime with that empty head of yours.” The avian chuckled dryly and looked back to the setting sun, the small smile falling from his face.

“Thanks,” Mumbo replied, initially with a smile himself but found himself meeting Grian’s frown. He waited a few seconds before speaking again. Then, he tapped his fingers on the deepslate. “So...what’re you thinking about?”

“A lot, honestly. It's still the beginning of the season, I’m sure everyone is.” He waved a hand dismissively then looked at Mumbo. “What about you? Have you been thinking about anything?”

Mumbo snorted, attempting to lighten the mood. “Thinking isn’t good for me. I overthink when I do and it hurts my brain.” He paused. “But, if you’d really like to know, I’ve been thinking about the egg.”

This made Grian perk up. “What about it? Do you know where it is?”

The redstoner hesitated. Not yet, he can’t give it up just yet. “What? No, not at all. But, I had a question.”

Grian deflated, then looked away with his chin on his arms, legs tucked to his chest. “Alright, shoot.”

Mumbo’s stomach twisted. “I uh- maybe now isn’t the best time actually. You know, while it’s missing and all.” He cracked a half smile.

“Yeah, while it’s missing,” the builder scoffed. “Just ask me, I’m sure I can answer.”

“Ah- um, sure. Why...why is the egg so special to you? I understand sentimentality, but it just seemed more…” He sighed. “I don’t know. I wondered maybe- maybe it uh… did something, you know? You said it was a magical egg. Maybe you could tell me about it?”

He heard a low chuckle from Grian. “It’s just some stupid egg, it’s not magical.”

“I- oh.”

“Yeah, I’m sure that was disappointing for you, wasn’t it,” Grian sneered. The two stopped. Grian pulled his head up and Mumbo furrowed his brows. “Nevermind, I didn’t mean it like that. Sorry. Just stressed.”

Mumbo stood and tightened his jaw, ignoring the builder’s excuse. “You know, you’ve been real onto me about that egg. Why don’t you tell me about that instead or go bother Scar. Every conversation I have with you now is just accusing me of taking it.”

Grian thought back to what Aisling said, then his last thought before he came to the roof. “Because maybe I saw you sneak into my house and steal the egg. And maybe, I don’t know, it’s my stuff.” He stood and faced Mumbo with a finger to the redstoner’s chest. “And maybe it’s because you are an insanely terrible liar.”

The other was at a loss for words, opening his mouth then clamping it shut repeatedly. The tips of his ears reddened in embarrassment. Of course Grian probably saw him take it, anyone could’ve. But why didn’t he say anything before? Satisfaction? Did he want Mumbo to just admit to it?

It didn’t matter now, the jig was up and all of his plans for the egg were now down the drain.

“I- I’m sorry,” was all he could muster. “I didn’t think it was such a problem.” He looked down at his shoes. “You…have been acting differently since it was gone, I didn’t think I made you mad.”

The avian sighed in relief and put a hand on Mumbo’s shoulder. “I’m not- look at me,” Mumbo lifted his head, “I’m not mad. Really, I’m not. A little annoyed, maybe, but not mad.”

“But you just scolded me like a toddler!” The redstoner whined.

Grian laughed. “Because you have to do that when a toddler lies to you. But, I’m not angry at you, at Scar, or anyone else. I want to tell you why that egg is important, I do, but it’s not the time for that, yet.” He patted his friend’s shoulder. It was clear Mumbo had more questions but decided to avoid them. “So, where is it?”

“Ah- well, I should warn you first about something.” Grian’s eyes widened. “No, no! Nothing happened to it! But um- well, it’s not ‘just some stupid egg’, it’s one seriously powerful egg, dude. What kind of dragon did you fight?!”

“...Excuse me?”

“Yeah! It powered two of my farms at once, did this huge explosion thing with a bunch of lightning, and it was awesome, but the egg-”

Grian took a hold of Mumbo’s shoulders roughly. “Mumbo, did it do anything to you.” The builder was suddenly very serious, as if Mumbo would die if he said yes.

So, of course he lied. “No? I was well away from it.” Grian let go and crossed his arms with a raised brow. “I was! I ran away because I obviously didn’t want to die.”

The other sighed. “Good, I need it now, then.”

Mumbo pulled it from his inventory, hesitating to give it back. Then, he put it in Grian’s outstretched palm. With nothing more to say, he waved goodbye and glided back to his van. Grian watched as he did and once the van’s door slid shut, he looked down at the egg. While he inspected the egg, he noticed a new detail to its shell that made his stomach sink.

A cursive two letter initial, MJ.

[miss-1ng]

btw, this was written and never finished i just thought i should post it cause why not! oh yes also crimson flower route spoilers i guess though major canon divergence too. I DIDNT KNOW HOW TO ADD THE READ MORE THING SO HERE WE ARE SORRY

She hears a scream.

So naturally, she reacts to it.

Reacting to something has taken so long before.

Flames whipping towards her faster than she can acknowledge them has never been such a prolonging experience. It feels like hours. It’s only been seconds.

She stretches her arms wide as she shoves Byleth out of the way.

The woman barely stumbles, just falls flat onto her back, and stares up at her with wide eyes. Wide eyes rapidly filling with tears.

She’s only ever seen Byleth cry once. It was that day, that one horrible day with the incident with Monica no, Kronya, where her father had taken his last breath to a dagger.

In the numb roaring from her ears, she wonders why exactly Byleth is crying.

The second heat licks her bare skin she realises what she’s done.

Edelgard’s throat feels tight. Too tight.

It was funny in a way. Funny in a bitter, cruel way. The esteemed Emperor of Adrestia, who has survived many wars, prevailed in hundreds of battles, toughened through blows from swords, spears, axes and bows, you name it, can’t survive flames so seemingly easy to avoid.

Something presses against her heart. It takes her seconds to realise it’s a hand. A soft shaking hand. She sees Byleth’s mouth move but no words seem to come out.

The roars in her ears shatter along with the surroundings.

“That was unimpressive.”

The voice startles Edelgard awake, and she’s unable to hold in the flinch when she’s greeted with darkness only pierced by a small green light.

Edelgard takes a staggering step forward. Her stomach hurdles when she glances beneath her feet, only to see pitch black darkness.

The strange voice continues. “At least I came to your rescue, even if you did interrupt my sleep.” A yawn. “Okay, come on over. How bad is everything? How far back do we need to go?”

“Who are you?” Edelgard demands. Her voice wavers but she tries to keep her voice strong.

A figure steps into the limelight, wearing an intricate dress of blues, reds and white. Long green hair swishes over a small and slim frame, though it doesn’t seem like it’s weighing the person down like it should.

“Oh, you must have hit your head.” She mock laughs. “Ha. Ha. Ha.” She claps slowly with each word. Green eyes lock with Edelgard’s. She blinks. “Oh.” She blinks again, then frowns. “You’re not Byleth.”

“Byleth?” Edelgard’s voice comes out in a growl, a shaky growl, but a growl no less. She glares at the girl in front of her. “Wh-what have you done to her?”

The girl looks affronted. Her eyebrows draw upward, and her jaw falls slightly agape. “Are you accusing me of doing something to Byleth?” she demands in a snappish tone. “Because all I have done is saved her. Many times.”

“But then-” Her voice cracks. “-then where is she?”

Her eyes sting with tears.

The girl sighs. She sits down on a throne which was non-existent until seconds ago, pulling her knees to her chest. “I don’t know.”

And here comes the tummel of questions making a ruckus in Edelgard’s head.

“What do you mean, you don’t know?” she cries, feeling tears streak down her cheeks. “What-what do you mean? Where is she? Where am I? Who are you? What-”

“Woah, woah, woah, when I say I don’t know…” The girl inhales sharply. “It means I actually don’t know. I have no idea where Byleth is. But we are-” She glances around. “Somewhere. But my name is Sothis.”

Something in Edelgard snaps. “Sothis?” she growls. “You’re the-the proclaimed ‘Goddess’?”

The girl – Sothis – pinches the bridge of her nose. “Oh, so you’re the girl Byleth yammers on non-stop about.”

She pauses. “What?”

“Byleth has told me about you. About how your goal to eliminate the church, therefore eliminating all belief in the Goddess, AKA me.” She pauses before adding “She’s also spoken very highly of you. You’re important to her.”

Her throat clenches. She feels tears well in her eyes.

She’s important to me too.

“Is that so?” Sothis tuts, pursing her lips.

Edelgard flinches. She takes a wary step back “I said nothing,” she says, even if it’s more like she’s convincing herself than Sothis.

Sothis laughs. She actually laughs, even though it’s more of a delighted giggle. “Oh, you have so much to learn!” She’s wearing a carefree smile, nothing like her sleepy, disoriented gaze from only seconds ago.

“Where are we?” Edelgard repeats. She’s slowly gaining her bearings. “What happened?”

Sothis groans, dragging a hand down her face. “You died,” Sothis tells her. “You died against that dragon by protecting Byleth.”

The reality hits her like a slap to the face. It stings. “I… died?”

“Are you really this thick-skulled?” the Goddess snaps, slapping her hands down on the sides of the throne, to which a resounding smack echoes through the dark area. “You died. You’re dead. Dead. Dead. Dead! Yet I have no idea why you’re here now and Byleth isn’t.”

“Byleth’s… has she come here? Byleth knows you.”

The look Sothis sends her is terrifying, even without words to accompany it.

Byleth.

Her eyes sting again, though she makes no move to wipe the tears off her cheeks.

“You seem to not know much,” Sothis muses. “Would you like a reminder of the battle?”

Before Edelgard can say a word, Sothis clicks her fingers and Edelgard is staggering through a road with flaming buildings on either side.

She stares ahead, vision blurring as she tries to make sense of this situation. Her back presses against the wall without her knowledge and she feels something squeeze her hand.

Dorothea looks down at her, smiling nervously, yet she’s still smiling. Her hand holds Edelgard’s, and she squeezes it once more. “This’ll be fine,” she murmurs. It’s almost like she’s trying to convince herself more than she’s trying to convince Edelgard.

She doesn’t recall this from the battle. She doesn’t recall walking down these paths, ever the same despite the minor differences. She doesn’t recall Dorothea clutching her hand, because no, Byleth was the one clutching hers as they sliced through their enemies and approached Rhea.

A squeaky “Y-yes, it will” slips out of her mouth.

Dorothea walks a few steps forward and Edelgard follows and holds a bow out, squinting at the Demonic Beast snarling at nothing in particular.

The thing is she’s using a bow. She doesn’t even think she’s touched one before.

Empty red eyes suddenly lock with hers and she feels herself flinch and yelp. The arrow flings out of her grip, barely skimming the Demonic Beast’s scales.

The Demonic Beast stomps forward, whipping it’s tale back and forth when Dorothea lunges in front and blasts a Thoron at it.

The creature takes the blow, and Edelgard uses that as a chance to use her bow again.

Why am I using a bow?

That question remains unanswered as she launches another arrow at it. This time it hit’s the Demonic Beast’s forehead. She feels euphoric for a little moment. Almost smiles. Doesn’t. Especially as it’s tail swings around, so fast neither of them can avoid it and knocks Dorothea over some broken picket fences to some Church Soldiers and Edelgard into a crumbling building.

A brick falls and slams against her arm.

The bow snaps into pieces. The brick crushes her arm. Edelgard screams, something so shrill it can’t possibly belong to her.

“Bernie!” Dorothea cries. Edelgard freezes questioning the name of her ally, her friend before another brick clatters down, landing inches away from her face. While her head whips to Edelgard, a spear pierces through her stomach and her head lolls back, blood spitting out of her mouth. “B…ern…”

Dorothea. Edelgard cries out, though by the looks of it Bernadetta is too. Dorothea gone. Dorothea who didn’t care about anyone’s differences. Dorothea who treated every member of the Black Eagles as equals. Dorothea who comforted everyone in times of need. Dorothea who was a beautiful, beloved, and kind-hearted soul who did not deserve to fight in a war she didn’t even belong in.

“What will you do, when the war is finished?” Edelgard had asked one particularly sunny day whilst the two were having tea.

Dorothea had smiled, green eyes full of something so sweet it warmed Edelgard’s heart. It was always a pleasure to see her friend, so awfully affected by war, smiling so happily. “I’d like to return to the opera, I guess,” she had replied, her lips quirking up. “Though I’ll see where my life takes me.”

Her body goes limp.

Another two bricks fall down, and Edelgard’s vision turns dark before she wakes up again nearby Caspar and Lysithea, the two shielding her and fending off the opposing soldiers.

In the distance she can see Catherine, holding Thunderbrand out and staring down at the three with an amused grin tugging at her lips. The sight is sickening. Edelgard holds her hands out, fixing up a gash on Caspar’s upper arm while he takes a breather against the enemies. The wound slowly fixes itself up.

Lysithea uses a Dark Spikes.

Then Caspar goes back to swinging his axe.

Stunned, Edelgard feels herself stare at her hands. She’d never learnt healing spells before. …Why did she know them now?

Catherine runs forward to the three of them suddenly, when Lysithea finishes off the last Church soldier in the area they’re in.

Caspar barely avoids the hit. Lysithea makes a noise slightly resembling the squeak of a mouse (Mice, running around her while she’s caged in her cell) and Edelgard finds herself slowly backing onto a healing tile.

Catherine and Caspar are fighting, newly donned gauntlets against a heroes relic. Lysithea from behind blasts spell after spell at Catherine, obviously exhausted but the girl is not letting up. Edelgard admires her for that. She’s always admired Lysithea, and her relentlessness to not let her younger age get the best of her.

She’s damn powerful as well.

Everything seems to be good. Everything seems to be fine.

Edelgard takes a deep breath in. Then everything goes to hell.

Caspar gets stabbed in the arm with Thunderbrand. He cries out, staggering back and losing his focus on Catherine. Edelgard cries out too, reaching out to try and use Psychic but it’s no use since Caspar gets stabbed again and again.

A scream of rage comes from Lysithea, and just before she finishes the final blow, the young woman uses a critical Dark Spikes which hits Catherine with perfect accuracy. The knight falls down. Thunderbrand falls out of her hand.

“Caspar,” Edelgard finds herself sobbing, though her voice isn’t actually hers. She sounds like Linhardt. “Caspar, please, Cas-”

A hand touches Edelgard’s (Linhardt, she reminds herself, not that it will do much) and Caspar looks up, smiling dumbly. “I got to fight her,” he croaks. “I…I won too.”

Blood pours from his wounds, the stabs scattered around his body. Edelgard feels the sudden urge to throw up. She holds the bile in. Tears are streaming down her face as she clutches Caspar’s body, pulling him to her chest.

“Caspar…” she repeats, not that her words will do much. “Cas-aspar, I-”

“Shh, Lin.” He reaches up to press a finger against her lips, silencing her. He opens his mouth to speak but his eyes suddenly stare at her unblinkingly. He’s limp in her hold.

“Linhardt…” Lysithea starts to say, reaching forward but Edelgard stands up, still gripping onto Caspar despite how much her arms are trembling under his weight.

She sobs and hates how raw she (Linhardt) sounds right now. Linhardt shouldn’t deserve this. Linhardt who already had so many struggles piled upon the other. Linhardt who needs Caspar, and Caspar who needed Linhardt.

It hurts even more now that she realises the real reason Caspar wasn’t there when Linhardt and Lysithea met up with them, only to meet their immediate downfall after stumbling dazedly too close to Rhea.

Her vision twists and she’s now stumbling along with Hubert, stabbing at each enemy who crosses them with her lance. Behind her she sees Petra, struggling with another Demonic Beast, despite each blast Hubert hits it with.

A claw slices her chest open, and she screams, the sound resonating through Fhirdiad.

She turns back, launching her horse towards the Demonic Beast and digging his lance into a small spot of bare skin where the scales of it didn’t cover.

The Demonic Beast makes a ghastly sound before falling to it’s end.

“Ferdinand!” Hubert yells. “What are you-”

His words are silenced so quickly it’s deafening. His mouth falls agape as a lance finds it’s way through his middle.

Edelgard cries out his name. She sounds so heartbroken it makes her want to burst into tears all over again. Hubert deserved more.

No, she thinks with clenched teeth as she directs her horse towards Hubert’s attacker. They all deserved more. So much more than being swept up by me into this godawful war.

She hates herself for this. She’s never hated herself so much before.

She ends up stabbing at Hubert’s attacker, stabbing again and again until her vision is blurred with blood, sweat and tears. Blood, sweat and tears. Fitting, if not for the situation. Fitting if not for the-

Everything goes black. Once more.

Edelgard opens her eyes to darkness. She’s kneeling on the floor, sobbing, and wailing as the images of her allies, her friends getting murdered in front of her.

“Oh don’t cry,” Sothis soothes, but her sympathy doesn’t seem like real sympathy. “There’s nothing you can do about it now.”

Edelgard staggers up, swaying on her feet, and wipes the tears from her face. She glares angrily at Sothis. But her next words come out in a quiet whisper.

“What happened to Byleth?”

Byleth, who I need, and who I love.

Sothis pauses. Silence hangs in the room like the tension, and it’s only broken when she replies in a broken little whisper “I don’t know.”

Mint green eyes matching mint green hair.

A small smile barely noticeable but still there.

Deadpanning whenever Edelgard makes a joke.

Hugging her, hugging them. Comforting them all.

Her obsession with fishing she never seemed to get over.

Her love for fish that could rival Flayn’s.

Her scream, haunting Edelgard for five years.

“This is going to be a problem,” Sothis mutters. “Your thoughts are solely Byleth-centric. Is there anything else that goes in that strange little mind of yours?” She waves her hand in Edelgard’s general direction in emphasis.

“How long must I stay here for?” Edelgard sighs.

There’s a brighter glint in Sothis’ eyes. Her lips quirk up. “Not too much longer as it seems!” she exclaims, clapping her hands together and standing up. The action reminds Edelgard of when she was a child. Young. Carefree. Innocent.

Oblivious to the blatant cruelness the world harboured.

“El…” A whisper. “El, I know I’m bad with words, but I need you to know you can talk to me.”

Hands clutching hers. A squeeze. Locking eyes.

“My teacher, I…” Averting gaze. Letting go of warm hands. “Now is not the time.”

“It’s always the time if you need help.”

A smile, an obvious façade that doesn’t sell as well as Claude’s ones did. Trembling fingers. Warmth dispersing from memory.

“I am fine. Though I thank you, for taking the time to see if I am okay. I appreciate it.”

Why didn’t she just hold on a little longer?

how was that y’all? hope it wasn’t too long and angsty hahaha

[hiccstrxd]

Revelations

This idea ocurred to me last year, i started it on august and i’m only now finishing it lol. This one shot takes place during the battle in htty3 and then it time skips to a little bit after the dragons had left. This wasn’t proofread so there might be a few mistakes. 

This is obviously a self-indulgent hiccstrid fic because i just love them way too much. 

It has been crossposted on AO3 as well!

xx

“I think that’s the last one, let’s head back now!” She yelled over all the commotion, dodging a flying axe going her way that dangerously missed her by mere inches. She sprinted for a run then, trying her best to evade any threats and deeply hoping her legs wouldn’t give up beneath her. 

The more she ran, the more the tightness in her chest increased— the lack of air in her lungs suddenly became a restraint. She mustered what was left of her strength and put two fingers in between her mouth, blowing out some air. Almost immediately, she heard Stormfly’s familiar squawk from above, the Nadder landing gracefully on the decaying ship’s deck in the midst of chaos. 

She grasped the saddle tightly and in one swift motion pulled herself atop of the leather seat. Stormfly took off right after, the already cauterized wooden surface in which they were standing promptly shattered after her dragon’s strong impulse. 

She faintly saw the other riders mounting on their dragons, trailing not too far behind her, but her main concern was to get back to the cliff on time. 

“Come on, girl!” Astrid pressed herself forward trying to gain more speed, the high steep getting closer with each flutter of wings. She could hear distant cheering, the often roaring of some dragons that were nearby, blasts that soundly went off in the distance, and lastly, collective muffled screams. 

And then silence. 

The hasty change of atmosphere left her perplexed, with a strange feeling of dread, almost stopping her midair. At once, she became alert, looked around for any threats and squinted her eyes for better focus. 

And for a few seconds, her heart stopped. A loud gasp deliberately escaped from her lips. 

No. 

He was falling. Gravity pulling him downwards with such velocity that seemed inconceivable. 

She saw him plummeting down to certain death with Grimmel clinging to his flying suit. She saw Grimmel relentlessly tearing apart every bit of the handmade wings that were until that point unharmed. She saw Grimmel clutching his prosthetic as a last attempt to survive when he lost his grip on his shoulders. She saw Grimmel bring down Berk’s Chief and her entire heart with him. 

Suddenly a new sense of strength overcome her and she urged Stormfly to fly even faster. The Nadder, sensing her rider’s distress, complied with little coaxing, letting out a soft squawk as a way of comfort. 

Her eyes began to sting, a few tears threatening to fall down, prickling her lashes but she wouldn’t let them, not now. Her hands started to ache from gripping the saddle tightly, her legs feeling numb from squeezing her knees firmly against Stormfly’s sides as to not fall off and also as the only other thing keeping her from doing anything drastic.

She kept her gaze forward — even if it hurt seeing such scene display before her — it served as a motivation to keep on going. But despite her dragon’s effort, they were still too far away. He was too far away. 

Her mind wandered to all those things that could have been, if circumstances were to be different, if their day-to-day life weren’t an occupational hazard of some sort. Visions of a future that just seconds ago seemed so plausible we’re being snatched out of her grasp with such cruelty, leaving a bitter aftermath in its wake. 

Thoughts of warm embraces, tingly touches, blinding smiles, tinted cheeks, tiny fingers—

Her breath hitched. 

Her heart constricted. 

Her vision blurred and breathing became even more difficult than when she was running away from the turmoil in the ships. 

But dwelling on it wasn’t an option, time was at stake — no, time was only an appendage of the bigger picture and she wasn’t about to push her luck on that one.

An instruction fell from her lips, voice coming out more strangled than she cared to admit. Astrid was about to encourage Stormfly to keep flying forward when suddenly a white blob came at high speed towards the free-falling pair, its front paws taking ahold of one very stubborn, selfless Viking. 

And she couldn’t remember another time when she felt as relieved as in that particular moment. 

She never brought it up and nobody actually knew, aside from the gang, that she was well aware of what had transpired that fateful afternoon. There were some hushed whispers whenever she entered a stall and odd hand motions meant to silence whatever was going to be said about the matter and the sorrowful looks —oh, the looks— that were sent her way when they thought she wasn’t looking. 

She had to suppress the urge to roll her eyes at all of it because it was silly, so utterly silly. There was absolutely nothing to feel gloom for, everything was alright (well, that wasn’t entirely true, the dragon’s depart to the hidden world was still a very painful memory) but they better drop the subject before she shows them herself just how well she’s managing. 

Hiccup was fine, he was safe, she wasn’t going to lose him just yet, they were going to get married after all, he couldn’t—

But he almost did.

And it was in that moment, during one of her throwing practices in New Berk’s uncharted woods, that she finally let everything sink in. And this time, she didn’t even try to choke back the sob that escaped her lips nor withhold the tears from freely cascading down her cheeks. 

She faintly heard the calming rustling of leaves from the trees above her and the distinguished uneven sound of a metal prosthesis and a boot stepping on branches and fallen leaves.

“There you are, I’ve been looking for you nonstop—“his sentence was cut short the moment his very vivid, expressive green eyes landed on her and she couldn’t help the small smile that tugged at the corners of her mouth because he wore his heart on his sleeve and he was caring, selfless Hiccup and she loved him, accident prone or not. 

His eyebrows furrowed, his eyes held now a softer gaze and from where she was standing she could already see the wheels on his mind turning, “Hey, what’s wrong?” 

She faintly registered his movements, steady footsteps approaching her slowly. In a matter of seconds he was enveloping in a tight hug, one of his hands cradling the back of her head while the other was wrapped around her waist and there was nothing she could do but hug him back just as tightly, burying her face in the crook of his neck. 

She always took pride in her ability to conceal her stronger emotions. She dealt with them as the strong shieldmaiden she was raised to be, always facing them head-first. But, she thought, there’s nothing wrong with letting your walls down once in a while. Preferably not too often though. 

“I thought I had lost you.” she managed to say in between sobs, muffled by the fabric of his shirt and so low that she almost thought he didn’t hear her. But somehow he did because his grip around her tightened as did hers around his torso. 

Astrid decided against of adding the for sure at the end since, she believes, it’s heavily implied. There were many times in which she was very close to losing him through the years, but this one seemed so much real, so much dreadful.

Neither of them were sure of how long they stayed embraced in the deep ends of New Berk’s forest, but they certainly didn’t care either when the sun started to set on the horizon, a chilly breeze rustling the leaves up on the trees, signaling that the night was upon them. 

She took one last deep breath and slowly untangled herself from the hug. He took a small step back and raised his hand to gently wipe the remaining tears gracing her face. She leaned into his touch, bringing her hand upwards to lace their fingers together and smiling softly when he brought her hand to his lips and kissed each knuckle lovingly.

Gods, she loves him.

[marmolady]

The Wreckage of What Was

Main Pairings: Estela x (f)MC

Summary: Rourke Ending. An explosive encounter with the woman who was once her wife has left Taylor shattered.

Word Count: 3528

Chronology: Directly following on from 'There Was This Girl'. Read that one first!

Tagging: @saivilo, @edgydepressedchoicesthot, @sceptilemasterr, @greengroove @mauvecatfic

Curled up under the covers, her head tucked in against her chest, Taylor closed her eyes tighter, ignoring the knocking on her apartment’s door. Or, at least… she tried to. She wasn’t sure of the time. There hadn’t been much point in checking; she wasn’t going anywhere. It mattered little if she fell behind in her classes. Straight A’s wouldn’t free Varyyn and his people from Rourke’s enslavement. Nor would they allow Jake and Mike to stop running, to come home. Nor cure Quinn’s Rotterdam’s. And they sure as hell wouldn’t make Estela know her again. Love her again. Tears prickled Taylor’s eyes. The skin around her eyes and nose was red raw from crying, from being wiped and dabbed by what felt like enough tissues that she could call herself personally responsible for the felling of a small forest. Still, the tears came, because the all-encompassing sadness, the helplessness, just didn’t stop.

“Taylor! You can’t just hide in there forever!”

She didn’t want to see Diego. It made no sense to her that he didn’t loathe her. She’d been the one with the deciding vote, and it was she alone who could’ve fixed everything… if only she’d had the guts. Taylor saw herself as a coward; the one responsible for every wrong Rourke inflicted on this world. Diego had trusted her, and Taylor had chosen the path that tore him from Varyyn’s arms, and torn everything else from Varyyn in the process.

“TAYLOR!”

Then Zahra’s voice cut across him. “For fuck’s sake….” There was a creak as the door swung open, then approaching footsteps.

“Tay?” Diego called, right at her door this time.

Taylor’s groan of frustration turned into a roar, and she sat up in bed.

“You’re not great at taking hints are you?” She knew she was being unnecessarily mean, and she hated herself for it. But the fact was, she’d done enough to make him miserable without him being sucked into the black hole of despair she seemed to have become.

Diego pushed the door open. If he was hurt, it didn’t show on his face. His eyes were just sympathetic… kind. It was kindness she didn’t deserve.

“I think you know you can’t shake me that easily,” he said airily. “Have you eaten today? It’s after three.”

Avoiding eye contact, knowing how much of a mess she looked, Taylor sighed. “I haven’t been hungry,” she said, her tone flat. It was true. She’d barely touched a thing since everything with Estela had blown up spectacularly in her face. To get up and eat something, she’d have to find the energy to move, and for the most part, that had been eluding her.

Diego disappeared back out the door, and some rummaging-sounds later, returned with a plate of crackers and dip. He approached the bed and sat down on the edge… close enough to make it known he was there for Taylor, but not close enough to be pushy.

“Look, I know you don’t have any appetite right now,” he said, “but something small is better than nothing. Think you could do that… for me?”

Taylor huffed a little, and tidied up her hair as well as she could manage without going so far as rummaging for a brush. She looked her friend in the face, properly, for the first time since he showed up. He looked worried. Really worried.

It had been four days. Four days since Taylor had taken a great leap of faith, and fallen. For a little while there, it had actually been easy; having Estela near had felt natural, even if few words were ever exchanged. But Taylor had misjudged things, badly. There had been some… charged looks between the two of them…. moments where time slowed, and suddenly it was her old Estela seeing her, maybe even wanting her. It had been wonderful. If only it weren’t for that creeping knowledge that she was taking advantage; Taylor knew Estela, Estela didn’t know Taylor. The dishonesty of it all had troubled Taylor to the point of spurring her to action… and spilling all.

Obviously, Taylor had sounded deranged. She’d known that before she so much as opened her mouth to start, but her crazy story was the only truth she had to offer. Going on about Rourke changing history-- what the hell kind of reasonable person wouldn’t think Taylor had lost her mind? And Estela… well, Taylor already knew that Estela had no patience for anyone trying to screw with her. She hadn’t been ready, though, for the anger. She’d seen that anger in Estela’s eyes before, but never dreamed it could ever be directed her way. And, oh, it had hurt.

“You’re too good to me,” Taylor mumbled. Reluctantly, she reached out and took a cracker. For Diego.

“What best friends are for, right?”

Taylor put on a valiant, if ultimately sad, attempt at a smile. However much she might have felt it for the best, she simply didn’t have the heart-- nor the energy-- to push Diego away. “Well, what’s your plan?” she asked. “Sit me in front of Shrek until I believe in true love again?”

And so, they huddled under a duvet and watched Shrek. The dragon set Taylor off crying again, but it was generally a good distraction while they ate. Once the crackers were polished off, Diego nipped out to grab some ice cream-- the fancy kind usually reserved for Very Bad Days. It was a rare and potent breed of sadness that couldn’t at least be tempered by ice cream, but it seemed that Taylor was afflicted with just that. Even if the pain in her heart couldn’t be lessened, though, she was grateful for Diego… far more than she could say.

Her bowl empty and the movie done with, there was little for Taylor to do but to wallow in her own thoughts. The very same that had been so intent on dragging her under. At least now, though… at least she wasn’t alone with them.

“I’m… so lost,” she croaked after a long while, her voice hoarse with emotion.

“Yeah?” Diego rubbed her arm comfortingly. “I… I get that.”

Taylor looked down into her empty bowl, contemplating everything. No matter how many times she turned things over in her head, she always came out confused. The path forward-- if there even was one from this hell she’d unleashed-- was tangled with thorns and riddled with dead-ends and traps. She’d been stumbling through, fearful of causing even more damage while knowing that everything she cared for rested on her success.

“I feel like… maybe I was wrong? Maybe it wasn’t right to just blurt everything out? I mean, you remembered, didn’t you? Maybe if I’d just left it… she might have just… worked it out herself. It’s not like there’s a fucking hope of her remembering me if I’ve scared her off….”

“Hey. Our Estela doesn’t scare easily. And you know what? Maybe the fact that you sounded absolutely batshit crazy will help in the long run. You’ll stick in her mind.”

“And what if… what if what I’m trying to is actually… is actually just going to make me the person who hurts her most?”

Diego’s brow furrowed. “You’re losing me.”

“What if she’s better off? I know she felt so betrayed when I took this path but….” Taylor roughly ran her hands through her hair. This had been damn near driving her crazy. “She’s got her mom back, Diego…. It’s like her mom was never murdered. If I wasn’t so selfish, if I just let her be… she’d never have to feel that pain.”

For a few moments, Diego pondered; a couple of times he opened his mouth to speak, then closed it again, as if not quite sure of what to say. At last, though, he just came out with it. “I think… I think you’re just grasping onto another excuse to beat up on yourself. I’m sorry, Taylor.”

“Wha--”

“You heard,” Diego said firmly, obviously finding his resolve to really help as he looked Taylor right in the face. Even if it was hard for her to hear. “And honestly? I think you’re forgetting who you’re talking about. When we were up on that rooftop, did Rourke even try and win Estela over using her mom as a bribe? No-- because he knew that would only make her fight him harder.”

Taylor exhaled through her hand, now pressed against her face as she wrestled with her thoughts. Diego… had a point. “She’d have broken his freaking nose, then and there.”

“Exactly!”

“So, what does that mean? That I’ve failed and there’s no consolation?”

“I think,” Diego said, calm and steady, “that we’re in for a long haul. But I also think that there’s a part of Estela that really, really misses you, even if she doesn’t know what it is. Like… even before I remembered, I could feel something was missing. And I was drawn to you. Even if Estela thinks you’re crazy, you’re still that person she fell in love with a couple-thousand times over.”

“You’re betting an awful lot on Estela falling for the person who, by all appearances, is nothing but a delusional stalker.”

Shadows of sorrow crossed Diego’s eyes. “Well, I’ve got to. There’s… not really much else.”

Taylor snuggled close, squeezing her friend… the only one she had left, and one she could not be convinced she deserved. But she was all he had, too.

“I know… I know this is all making you crazy. And I know a big part of you hates yourself for making the call you did. But hiding in here and beating yourself up isn’t gonna do anything but make you feel worse. However much you think you deserve to feel that bad, I can’t let you give up. I can’t.”

Her friend’s words made Taylor wince. There really was no option; she simply had to keep putting one foot in front of the other. Keep putting on a smile to should-have-been friends while her heart was quietly breaking.

Diego took a long exhale. “So. You can have today, and you can have tomorrow. But then, you pull yourself together. There are too many people counting on you for you to go to pieces now.”

Taylor nodded, and tears dripped down onto her lap as Diego held her. Being there for him meant letting go of her own self-loathing, however hard it was. If he still believed she had it in her to fix this fucking mess, she’d fight to her dying breath. The floodgates had opened, and she cried and cried, feeling everything she knew would soon have to be quashed back down. His own eyes spilling, Diego kept on rubbing her arm, supporting her always.

Messily wiping her face on her sleeve-- it was already crusty with tears and snot anyway-- Taylor gathered herself. Deep breaths. In… and out.

“I really miss her,” she said after a long while, soft as a whisper. To say it loud just made it bigger, and it was already tearing her apart. But if she was moving forward, that pain had to be expelled… else it swallow her. “And it just… aches. When things got scary-- and to be honest, when were things not scary?-- she’d just… slip her hand into mine, and hold me. It’s been months-- I know it’s been months-- but I can’t keep myself from half-expecting her fingers to wrap around mine, and just like that… make everything better.”

Without a word, Diego took Taylor’s trembling hand in his own, his thumb stroking tenderly.

When he closed his eyes, Taylor knew he was imagining Varyyn holding his hand. And as she closed her own, Taylor let herself, for just a moment, be held by Estela.

On return to reality, Diego’s face was wet with tears. He offered Taylor a watery smile. They were in this together.

“Hey,” Taylor said shakily. “Will you… will you stay?”

“I’ll stay.”

________________________

True to her word, Taylor forced herself out of the apartment come the day after next. Hard as it was, if she didn’t keep up with her studies, she’d risk losing her place at Hartfeld, and any hope she might have of reconnecting with her loved ones. Winter had set in, and for most students, life consisted of hurrying between one heated lecture theatre and the next, or sheltering in the library, cafe, or student union building. It seemed every heater on campus was mobbed by a tight circle of students, and the queue at every coffee outlet busy. Taylor joined the masses, huddled up in the library with a long-awaited coffee and a heavy text book. It would be all too easy to let the gloomy weather negatively impact her already fragile emotional state, so the best thing she could think to do was surround herself with activity.

Her mind strayed to its usual fretting-- about Estela, about Diego and Varyyn, about--

Taylor yelped as hot coffee burned her mouth. She knew the library’s drinks always came out piping, and cursed herself for being so goddamn distracted. Cheeks flushing, she set down her cup.

“Are you okay?” asked a familiar, kind voice, hoarser than it should have been. Quinn had turned around from a bookshelf, concern upon her pale face. “They do go a bit over the top temperature-wise here. I’m guessing you’re used to the coffee shop?”

“You would think so, wouldn’t you?” Taylor replied ruefully. “But no, I should know to be careful by now. Sadly, I just felt something warm between my hands and all rational thought deserted me.”

Quinn laughed, which, to Taylor’s horror, brought on a fit of hacking coughs.

Oh, Quinn.

Around the campus, Quinn was easily the most elusive of the group; quite an achievement when Estela insisted on keeping herself as inconspicuous as possible. It was a constant worry for Taylor and Diego, knowing what they did about their friend’s illness. Logic told them that if circumstances around her had changed little with Rourke’s interference, Quinn might be expected to survive at least until the end of junior year, but all appearances made it clear she was in a very bad way. Weeks could go by without either of them catching a glimpse of Quinn around the place, and it was downright frightening.

“Hey-- sit down,” Taylor urged gently. “Don’t want us both to hurt ourselves over my lack of judgement.”

Quinn sank into the chair beside Taylor and struggled to catch her breath. A fearful Taylor hopped up and started rubbing her back.

“Do you want to grab you a glass of water?”

“I’m okay-- kff-- I just need a-- kff-- a moment….”

Frustration was clear upon Quinn’s face. Not wanting to be over-bearing, Taylor eased back… but those coughs sounded so painful….

Slowly, Quinn got control over her coughing. “Better…,” she said, eyes closed. She opened them slowly, and offered her companion a shaky smile. “It’s Taylor, isn’t?”

“Yup, that’s me. Quinn, yeah? I haven’t seen you around in a while?”

Quinn’s smile became stronger, as though she was genuinely delighted to be remembered by what was a passing friendly face. “The colder weather hasn’t been doing my health much good. The school’s understanding; what can be done from home I don’t have to come in for. But sometimes I just want to brave it and actually be a part of everything.”

“Yeah?” Taylor said, “that’s understandable. All this dreary weather… it has its way of making loneliness hit even harder.” She pursed her lips a moment. “Look, if you ever want a study buddy…? You could even stop by my place-- not to be presumptuous or anything, but it might be more comfortable than having to fight for a spot by the heater here.”

A shadow passed over Quinn’s face, her smile growing sad. “That’s really kind of you to offer, and-- honestly?-- I’d love to take you up on it. I just… well, things are quite difficult for me right now.”

“It’s okay-- no pressure. I just want you to know that you’ve got a friend on campus if you need one.” Sitting back down beside Quinn, Taylor picked up her mug and gingerly took a sip. Much better. “Do you have any more classes today?”

“Oh, just the one,” Quinn said more brightly, clearly relieved at the change of subject. “I’m taking Visual Arts. I do a bit of painting-- not really seriously, more just for me. I was a little worried that study would take some of the fun out of it, but it’s turned out to be the bright spot in my schedule. If I can make it in person for anything, I always aim for Visual Arts.”

“Well, I hope you enjoy it,” said Taylor, and she took another, braver, sip of coffee. It was all useful information-- apparently this would be the most likely time of week to have a surprise Quinn encounter. More importantly, it was reassuring to know that it was not, in fact, all doom and gloom. “I’ve got to head off for my Introductory Chemistry practical in about ten minutes. Painting sounds a lot more fun-- wanna trade?”

Quinn just laughed.

Yeah…. Thought not.

_____________________________

As a general rule, Taylor didn’t actually mind Chemistry that much. It wasn’t exactly her bag; the equations had a habit of drifting in one ear and out the other, but it wasn’t the worst thing in the world. What made it painful now, was Estela.

A few weeks ago, Taylor had been overjoyed to have been placed in a group with the woman who had once been her wife, but a lot had changed since then. Estela had furiously warned Taylor to stay away, and Taylor had done just that, both out of respect for the wishes of someone she loved, and out of plain fear that she might fuck it all up further. There was no crossing the quad to avoid this one, though.

It was as uncomfortable as Taylor had anticipated. Estela looked right past Taylor, directing all communication to their third group member, who seemed oblivious to the tension. Taylor wasn’t sure how-- the air was so fucking thick with it she could barely breathe. Her hands shook as she measured out materials, and it was by virtue of a lucky save that she didn’t drop a test tube of chemicals onto the floor.

Everything in Estela’s body language, in her expression, screamed that she’d rather be anywhere else-- anywhere at all-- than there working alongside Taylor. The feeling was mutual. Taylor watched the minutes pass by agonisingly slowly as they slogged through the experiment. If she had to speak, it was only the bare minimum to get the work done. Never, never had she felt more alone in Estela’s company. She’d experienced indifference before, indifference that had fueled her longing until it hurt like a physical wound. But now Estela regarded Taylor not as a person of little consequence, but as a threat, and that was far, far worse. Trying not to wither under that fierce gaze, Taylor soldiered on, until finally, the experiment was concluded, and she was free to pack up… and head home for a stiff drink.

As she turned the tap to rinse the last of her test tubes and beakers, the water gushed with a sudden force, spraying Taylor down her front.

“Crap!” she cried. It was near freezing outside, and to have a clothes sopping wet would make for a very uncomfortable walk back to the apartment. Well… it was just her luck.

Taylor pulled off her jacket, and bit back a sigh. As her problems went, a bit of cold and wet was pretty much nothing. Hell, if home, and Diego, and a pile of blankets was at the other end, she’d put up with far worse. Grumbling a little as she packed up her things, Taylor braced herself for a great rush to get between this warm shelter and the next. But as she stepped through the doorway--

“Wait!”

That voice made her turn. It always would.

“You’re going to catch your death. Tonta.” Estela rolled her eyes and shrugged off her hoodie. “Your shirt’s still wet. Here.” She thrust the hoodie into Taylor’s hands.

“You don’t have to--” Taylor stammered, utterly taken aback. Remember to breathe, you idiot!

“Taylor. Just put it on, will you? Unless you want to freeze.”

Getting over her surprise, Taylor took the hoodie. Discomfort was plain on Estela’s face, so she didn’t linger to make the exchange any more awkward. Just a smile of thanks… and they parted.

Taylor looked on, stunned and watched as Estela slung her bag over her shoulder and jogged into the shadows. A chill wind hit her, and she hastily pulled the hoodie over her head. It was warm, and the scent of Estela, heart-achingly familiar, lingered. A tear, just another in a long, long line, prickled Taylor’s eye as she breathed it in.

She brought the front of the hoodie to her face and closed her eyes against the scent and feel of home.

It wasn’t over yet.

[evielovebot]

ask no questions and you'll get no lies (chapter 1)

Summary: Right after the Core Four defeat Maleficent at the coronation, King Adam decides the four VKs his son brought are too much of a risk and, overruling Ben, sends them back to the Isle.

Too bad they're not going to just sit still and take it. Even worse for him that they now know there are more options than to work alone and accept the lot they were given in life, and this time, it's personal.

Meanwhile, the AKs are starting to doubt their own parents and aren't content to just follow orders they no longer agree with.

After a few moments, the present crowd slowly started to comprehend what just happened and began to cheer. Even those who had been more than a little against the Villain Kids coming to Auradon were looking at them appreciatively.

Mal was shocked at seeing Audrey, of all people, smiling at her, and thought she might've inhaled some of her mother's green smoke when she saw Aurora doing the same. Queen Leah, at least, wasn't smiling, but wasn't glaring in disgust either. 

By her side, Jay wasn't looking so surprised at seeing Aziz waving at him from behind his parents, both looking confused but in good spirits. He noticed a group of boys excitedly whooping and felt warmer than expected when he realized it has his teammates gesturing at him and Carlos.

The shorter boy wasn't expecting anyone to react like that to them, but seeing them cheer for him felt good. He saw Jane smiling from where she was hanging on to her mother, and heard Dude before he jumped on his arms, and couldn't help but smile disbelievingly.

Snow White was smiling and cheering at someone, and it took a moment for Evie to realize it was aimed at her. The older princess opened her mouth, but whatever she wanted to say was lost when King Beast stepped forward and straightened himself.

"Guards! Take them away."

Everyone quieted down, all eyes turning towards the man. His wife and son included, who stared at him in confusion.

"Darling, please-"

"Dad, that's not fair!"

And then volume picked up again as people started to voice their own opinions. The VKs were once again shocked to hear most of them seemed to be in their defense. 

"You can't be serious!"

"They did nothing! They saved us!"

"They helped us! Leave them alone!"

"You can't do that!"

They recognized Lonnie, Jane, Doug and even Audrey piping in their defense, and they weren't the only ones. But it didn't matter, because Adam Florian the Beast listened to no one but himself. Not even to his son, as everyone saw when Ben stepped closer to try and reason with him, but the first word hadn't even left his mouth when his father interrupted.

"Enough! "

His shout could be better defined as a roar, and the presents went quiet under the deafening volume and the sight of fangs once more protruding from his mouth. He clasped his hands together, and smiled through it.

"You forget, children, that I am still High King. The coronation was interrupted, and it's obvious you aren't ready for such responsibility." The last part was aimed at Ben, said as the Beast picked up the crown and placed it once again on his own head. "I can do as I choose, and it will be fair if I say it is. Trust me, I know what's best for Auradon, and for all of us."

The four friends, tired from weeks filled with nerves and stress, adapting to such a change and feeling pulled in two directions, a confrontation with an actual dragon and the emotional aspect of their choice, took more to process what was happening than normally would. It was only when the guards closed in on them, and one slapped heavy iron shackles on Mal's wrists as her eyes glowed and she started to recite a spell, draining her power immediately, that they realized what would happen. That this was never meant to last, not for them. It was obvious by the way they were approached and restrained that the Beast had been ready to send them back since they arrived. Carlos was saying something, but even he wasn't sure what, and the others couldn't hear him as they were pulled away and the yelling of the crowd drowned it. The last thing they saw before new guards approached them and plunged syringes into their necks were the bright yellow and blue colors of the Auradon flags, standing proud and mocking everywhere their eyes could see as they blacked out.

☆

"If we got the same punishment for being good that our parents did for being bad, does it even matter what we do? Because it looks like we'll be judged and found guilty either way."

Evie looked up at Carlos, and tried not to wince when their eyes met. They'd been back over a week, and anyone who saw them could tell their mothers hadn't been happy about the attempted betrayal that went down at the coronation. There was a purpling bruise over his jaw, his left eye could barely close, and the shadows shaped like fingers around his neck matched the ones around hers and her arms in a grotesque way. She’d been staying in their hideout since the fourth night, when the Evil Queen moved her to her old room and she was finally able to climb out the window and run to the place closest to “safe” on the Isle. Evie had waited every waking hour for someone else to walk in, painfully aware she could not go looking for them in her state; she woke up in the middle of the night to the familiar sound of rocks hitting a metal sign and started crying as an even more familiar head of white hair appeared from the stairs. Carlos was as bruised and bloodied as she had been, but they held each other tight ignoring the sting of their wounds even when they ended up kneeling on the floor and resting against the other. Two hours later, they had helped each other clean up and they were finally talking about the elephant in the room.

"So what do you propose we do? Show them how bad we can actually be?"

"No, not really. Just do what we need to, and forget what they might think. Everyone has obviously already made up their minds about us. Now it's time for us to do what's best for us."

"Where do we start?"

It was impossible to ignore what he was saying, especially with the notable absence of the other two echoing through the hideout. Evie remembered the way Jay looked at them before his father dragged him off, the effects of the drug still weakening them enough that their parents had no difficulty imposing once again their will over theirs. There was nowhere else to go for them, their safe place too far away for them to reach like this. It had been far too easy for Jafar to get to Jay while Cruella and the Evil Queen closed in on their own children. They caught glimpses of the painful hold his father had him in as he literally dragged him by a dislocated arm to make sure he couldn’t tear away even if he regained his strength.

And Mal... Evie closed her eyes to try and forget the terrified look on Mal's face as she faced her mother, in human form again, and realized she didn't have her magic to protect her (to protect any of them). They hadn't seen any of them since. The blue haired witch opened her eyes, and exhaled slowly through her nose. Over a week alone with their parents would be cause of worry under normal circumstances; with the current situation, it was incalculably worse. Carlos and Evie had been able to get away relatively faster and more easily because their mothers had very few henchmen anymore, but Jafar had plenty men that would still listen to him, and Maleficent had the most men working for her other than- Muffling a curse with her hand, Evie looked at Carlos; by his grimace, she knew he had reached the same or a similar conclusion as her.

“We don’t have any other option, do we?”

“Not really, no one else has enough people for it to work.”

“And how are we supposed to convince them?”

A quick glance around the hideout was enough to spark an idea. Evie started to smile, ignoring how it hurt to do so.

“Say, C, do you remember that device you made a couple years back? The one that was meant to 'change things' completely?”

“Which devi- oh yeah, but it barely did anything.”

“Would you say you learned enough in Auradon to try again? If you had the necessary materials.”

She stayed quiet as he mumbled calculations and lists, and saw the answer in the set of his jaw and the rise of his eyebrows before he even lifted his head again. Carlos grinned, and his eyes darkened, and Evie had hope for the first time since they crossed the barrier for the second time.

“We have plenty of work to do, then.”

[halothenthehorns]

All in the Family

Chapter 77: The Hungarian Horntail

Sirius would swear the ground kept shaking even as he got himself up onto hands and knees, his vision was staying blurry longer than usual rather than letting anything into focus, and at first he thought it smoke in his eyes as he finally distinguished bonfires dancing all around him.

His long dark hair fell in curtains around his eyes, but now that he'd adjusted, it did nothing to obscure the fact he was face to face with a dragon. He screamed. A high pitch, death like noise that hurt his own ears, causing the fire breathing nightmare to roar louder and spray a white hot breath right towards him. He tried to get to his feet, too fast, and lucked himself into falling just below the deadly blast. Then he did get himself upright and took off at a dead run, until he ran face first into an invisible barrier just barely on the shadows of the last cage.

He staggered back, clutching his freshly bleeding nose but gripping his heaving chest instead, took the seconds it was worth to see the other seven weren't actually in the cages with any of them but staggering about in their own fear, and made the split second decision he wished he'd had available to him two summers ago.

"Padfoot, are you okay?" James asked in concern, seeing the blood matting his muzzle, but the dog merely shook his head, and his whole body with it, before pacing anxiously as far from the nearest dragon he could.

"That's a question I don't expect we'll get an answer to until we leave this spot," Remus pointed out. "Even then, I'm sure it'll just be, shut up."

James nodded in silent agreement and decided to get right to that, summoning the book to him. The book came shooting from in between the feet of the largest black one that had spikes all along it, the blue cover was blackened around the edges and still smoking slightly, not a great omen.

Peter came hesitantly over to them, rubbing at the back of his neck awkwardly but still asking in genuine concern, "is he okay?"

"You try asking him," Remus nearly had to shout over the still roaring beasts, who seemed no more pleased with their presence than them. Remus barely noticed, despite the fact he'd usually salivate at the chance to see live dragons. His eyes were on the nick in his ear once more, barely illuminated in the still bright flames being shot in all directions. His gut clenched once more, he wondered if he was going to be sick again. Why on Earth did Peter come over here to check on them when he had every reason in the world not to?

James Potter read out the very obvious chapter title as the other four stayed huddled in the shadows as well for safety.

"Which one's the horn-tail, do you think?" Alice asked quietly enough she hoped it wouldn't cause the green one to keep direct eye contact with her, glaring in a truly predatory way.

"Ah, the one with horns on its tail?" Frank offered politely, watching Regulus's progress. He was braver than he would have given the kid credit before moments ago, he'd scattered after them upon first finding themselves here, but was now walking back between the four enclosures cautiously to head back towards the Marauders group.

Amazingly, he made it to the other side without a burn, though the blue one had tried her best.

"Why are they here?" Lily demanded faintly. "Hagrid having a baby on the school grounds was insane enough, what the bloody hell is wrong with this Tournament?" She finished by answering her own question.

"I don't want to know," Alice groand, clutching Frank's hand harder. He returned the pressure in kind, all three of them wincing and burying their backs farther into the invisible barrier.

Regulus was chewing painfully on the inside of his cheek as he slowly but openly approached the four like they were more dragons. He had no clear goal in joining them, an oddity itself as he never did anything without a reason. All he was sure of was that he'd never heard his brother scream like that.

James stopped halfway through Skeeter's blithering article, admittedly happy with any reason to stop he was so disgusted, but tracked Regulus coming closer with narrowed eyes. He had three good reasons not to trust whatever he was coming over here to say right now, all involving the three currently around him.

He hadn't said a word about Remus, or to him, but neither had any of the others. He didn't know what would incite Regulus to now, but he'd push the welp into the nearest dragon's cage if that was it.

He had zero clue what that recurring conversation Regulus and Peter had been having was about, but was in no mood to learn of it now when he wanted a chance to try and have Peter back talking to them, he didn't trust any Black to help with that right now.

Padfoot was currently shaking on his strong legs, all fur bristled on end and tail between his legs as he let out heart stuttering growls and soft whimpers intermittently. This bloody area was traumatizing enough to the lot of them they'd be happy to never be so close to a dragon again, he couldn't imagine having to stare at these things for hours with no clear way to escape, again. It was the dog though Regulus had his eyes on as he approached.

Regulus almost couldn't hear his own voice amidst the still painfully loud roaring, so he cleared his throat awkwardly and tried just a touch louder, "is, ah, is he-"

"No, he's not alright!" James Potter was scowling at what he perceived as a stupid question. "You mind if I get around to fixing that?" He waved the book obnoxiously.

Regulus frowned, but shook his head and kept what he'd really been about to ask to himself as Potter continued. Is he going to change back, had been his actual question, as it was hard to put together what his mind was telling him, that this beast was actually somehow his brother. He shot a side glance at Lupin uncomfortably, he couldn't imagine being trapped like that, in a body so, minimal.

The last time he'd seen this massive canine, it had its jaws around a werewolf that would have happily eaten them all. Now it looked like just as much a dangerous animal itself, and a cornered dog was the most vicious kind. The blood just barely visible in the glittering teeth from the injured nose that he'd caused was not helping the image.

His parents would be impressed, he vaguely realized the longer he looked. Despite the fact he had to remind himself every other second that was indeed Sirius, rather than another terror of this Forest, his sixteen-year-old brother was an animagus. Not a fact he'd really taken the time to appreciate back when it had been revealed, considering everything else happening. He shot another anxious look at Lupin, this time out of the corner of his eye, and then glanced through the thick foliage once more to make sure it wasn't a full moon again, but couldn't see through it to be sure.

Orion and Walburga had been wrong about so much, it seemed. The Dark Lord, his screw-up of a brother never managing to accomplish anything, it seemed they were even wrong about werewolves as well. The pale, tall kid that stood half behind James Potter looked more afraid of him than vice-versa as he seemed to be waiting for something just as much as Regulus was. He chanced a glance at Peter, who was still standing just a few feet away more than was casual but standing firmly nonetheless, obviously more weary of keeping his eyes on the massive dragons than any other immediate problem like the two seemingly dangerous animals at his back.

Regulus again had to remind himself of his Animagus lesson he'd had just this year, that the difference was Sirius was in full control of his mind, where a werewolf never was. Just because this terrifying bear-like dog looked like it was going to lunge forward and tear their throats out any second, Sirius wouldn't...right? Surely if he was, he would have done so to Peter and claimed delirium when he changed back, but instead as James Potter kept talking, detailing Harry's reaction to the article, Sirius almost began to relax.

Not by any noticeable means if you weren't looking for it, but Regulus was. Almost one by one, his fur began to smooth out, his tail came out from under him to merely become horizontal, and he was leaning forward on his toes. Careful, calculating, eyes still resting on the danger and teeth bared, but no longer growling quite so loud.

He'd been studying Animagi a bit for his upcoming exams of course, but never with any more intensity than the curricular questions he might perceive. Nothing of the magnitude Sirius must have gone through to be like this. Regulus only knew the very basics, and even those processes were still beyond him. The question that really boggled the mind was, why had he done it?

At the time, the book version of his brother had said it was to help their werewolf friend, but what use could this be except a meal? It had come in handy, certainly, in keeping him at bay, but only for the precious time it took to get away from those deadly jaws. The creature was unreasonable at all senses though, it had nearly torn Sirius and Potter to shreds without a second thought, so clearly no pack mentality had spared him.

It was a conundrum he had no hope of understanding without actually talking to Sirius, and possibly Lupin so long as he was going to stay in his human form while doing it. As Potter had pointed out though, that didn't seem likely to happen until they got away from this place, the Horntail shooting a blast of fire in their direction that all five of them had to duck to avoid proving a valid point.

After that, Potter's reading increased in tempo even more, he almost blurred through Harry's trip to Hogsmeade, and Hagrid's odd invite that nevertheless they all almost immediately understood would somehow lead to this place.

Lily almost wanted to slap the gamekeeper for being so excited about this, even bringing a competitor's Head along like some sort of date. Even Potter could come up with better romance than this!

Alice and Frank winced and pleaded with the ground to swallow them whole on the spot when they heard that the challenge Harry would be facing did indeed include these dragons, nesting mothers to be spacific. The clutch of eggs, now that they knew to look for them, was indeed in the massive shadows well guarded, anybody would have to be insane to get near them! If Harry died trying, what would happen to them?

James' voice wavered uncomfortably as he heard that Karakaroff was sneaking there just as Harry was leaving, his mind going to Cedric and some kernels of pity for the kid who would be the only one of the Champions left out, but the majority of his mind was still on Harry and how he was going to! Hopefully Sirius would be of some help, after he had his own little freak out while talking to Harry in the fire?

He at first uneasily exchanged a small look with Remus as the conversation began, at least Sirius was looking better than the unrecognizable murderer from the Shack had described, but the longer it went on, the more obvious their worried exchanges got. Until finally he flat stopped and his mouth hung open for several beats, and Remus didn't even prod him to keep going.

Sirius had no reaction to the dragons Harry would soon be dealing with. Sirius was more worried talking about the Death Eaters in the castle, like Karkaroff! Sirius...really had changed.

Whether it was Azkaban or just time, they wondered what other little things would he have also prioritized over? He was still reckless, impulsive, this they knew, and he clearly put Harry above his own well-being, at least that was the same... but did he still have sticky fingers when it came to his friends' clothes? Did Sirius still throw his head back and laugh with his whole body? Did Padfoot still remember what it was like to trust anyone besides himself?

The big, glaring obvious difference of what would happen to Peter had shook them to their core, but it wasn't until now they thought back and really felt in their bones how different this world was, almost alien from theirs. It had been almost fun up until that awful moment to think of this as their future, that James and Lily would get together and have this child, that they'd just hear the tales of Harry's insane school years and find out what had killed them so they could keep the good and pretend the bad would never come. The real question though, was how any of this was going to end?

"Would you two quit gaping at each other like fish!" Peter finally snapped as the silence dragged on and Padfoot began whimpering uncomfortably right at their feet. "Dissect his shitty choices later please and get us out of here before we're roasted alive!"

The red one shot a mushroom-shaped fire right over his head to prove his point.

James swallowed uncomfortably, but complied, trying to take what comfort he could that was the first normal thing Peter had said to him in a while, and smothering whose fault that was how long it had been.

Finally as the pages reached their end for this chapter, Regulus did speak up once more, the question coming out of him the least of his concern really, but the only one he expected anyone other than him to come up with an answer to for now. He looked at Remus Lupin, and asked, "does that really help?" His eyes needlessly flickering back to Sirius, err, Padfoot? The dog that had actually almost loosened up, still in a tense weary stance, but of a hunter sighting its prey rather than fending it off. His brother.

Remus Lupin smiled in surprise, but answered cordially, "like you wouldn't believe."

[emerald-amidst-gold]

Piggybacking on the dragon anon: how does Fane deal with Bull's enthusiasm about dragon hunting and anything dragon related tbh? 👀

Ohhh, god! You've opened Pandora's box with that question! XD But I love it! *cackles*

Fane, from the start, is very, very leery around Bull. There's two reasons for this.

One: When Fane hears about the re-educators and what they do to 'fix' people, he gets so, so, sooooo pissed off. Fane's father did extensive experiments on him and some of them were directly correlated to breaking his mind and at times, they did. To the point where Fane felt nothing other than just pure blank white, or rather, grey. So, when Bull talks about as if it's the most natural and accepted thing in the world, Fane snaps and goes off the rails. He gets pretty nasty with Bull and whips out a lot of...undesirable terms. It takes a long while before Fane voluntarily approaches Bull after that.

Two (and this is going off the theory about the Qunari being elves that were experimented on to harbor draconic characteristics/combining the two): Fane feels strange around Bull, skittish, and during Haven's arc, of course, he doesn't know why. So, he tries to avoid the mercenary unless he has no other choice but to interact (honestly, that's how Fane is with everyone during Haven XD)

Now, the first dragon fight Fane has to endure is the absolute worst one because it's the first time he's actively seeing what the Veil has done to his kin, and it nearly sends him into another frenzy. Even Solas can't pull Fane from the state he's in when they see the dragon, rampaging and eyes zooming around as if in a dream, because he knows what's going through Fane's mind and decides it's best if he keeps his distance, but not ignore him.

And unfortunately, Fane had taken Bull for this first fight, and it was awful. The hollers of excitement, the apparent disregard towards a life that isn't untamed and purely destructive, the clap of a large hand against his back in supposed congratulations as Fane rips his sword from the side of a once majestic, beautiful, understanding creature, her blood soaking into his clothes, his sword, his armor, his hands.

"Shut up. Shut up. Shut up. SHUT UP. SHUT UP." The words, the roars echo in his mind like a drum as victorious laughs and draconic blood paints everything, from the grey stone to the lush trees, in crimson. "You know nothing. You understand nothing. This WORLD understands nothing! It's wrong; you're wrong! WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG!!" Mind blackening, the crimson lights in the distance whispering, beckoning that he let them blaze. "None of this real! It's not REAL! NOT REAL!"

And none of these words are vocalized, even though Fane has a voice to speak with now. He stays silent. He stays stoic. He stays grey until they're back at camp, he and Solas in their tent for the evening, and that is when he breaks, when shatters into a million pieces.

As for comments about dragons from Bull, Fane feels the exact same way, but he doesn't let it show. He's just tired. He's just done. Obviously, it's not Bull's fault; he doesn't know the truth, but Fane's own nature is warped. So, instead of observing and trying to understand the Qunari's views, he condemns them with a snarl and snap.

Fane doesn't observe and accept. He judges and executes without the jury weighing in.

The two build a relationship of civility near the end, but Fane has no interest in friendship with Bull. He does recognize that Bull shows some respect towards the 'modern' nature of dragons; calling them 'ataashi', The Glorious Ones, but that, too, is wrong to Fane because dragons can't be raised up so high lest they warp and twist further. They would desire and dragons can't desire when they have the world as their master. So, Fane just ends up tolerating Bull, and suffers through the occasional fight when he can't stop the man from coming along.

[sagasofazeria]

My Attempts At Making Unique Nonhumans Part 5: Dragonborn!

This is gonna be a long one my friends, so buckle up. (This is part 5 of this series, to see the others just go through the “Nonhuman series” tag on my blog!). Also, some of these changes will kind of retroactively apply to true dragons as well b/c of how this all works.

Taglist: @talesfromaurea @hellishhin

•

General: 

Dragonborn!! I have changed a LOT of what goes on here. I actually changed the origin of dragonborn itself even. In my mind they’re just another in the same family as dragons, literally just humanoid dragons. The first dragonborn were much closer to their true-dragon cousins (wings and etc), but over time the dragonborn have become more and more different as evolution happens. There are some dragonborn who are more draconic than others, but those are usually small, ancient, and isolated pockets. This all also means that the lines can get blurred when it comes to dragonborn, and often with dragonborn they are either clearly similar to the common attitude of their true dragon counterpart or completely different. It depends on many factors, obviously, especially their upbringing and culture. Another thing I changed was their lifespan, because it’s such bs that the DRAGON species isn’t long lived. That’s like a whole thing with dragons, it should be reflected in dragonborn too. So, in my world, dragonborn tend to live a long time, anywhere between 250 and 600 years or so. They’re roughly on par with dwarves, if not slightly longer-lived. Another thing dragonborn have is the ability to unleash a roar that sounds like a full on dragon (like Shakari did during the battle at Dymea’s hideout). This is often used for battle cries and other similarly dramatic things. (Imagine an army of dragonborn unleashing a war cry. It’s a common tactic to instill fear in an enemy and it works pretty much every time.) Additionally, their scales, in classic dragon fashion, are like iron. Most dragonborn use their scales as natural armor because it’s easy and pretty effective. Another thing is that dragonborn have senses that rival even the elves, because that’s another iconic dragon thing that I felt that they deserve. I’ve also decided that because I personally adore tattoos, it’s very sad that dragonborn and other scaled species couldn’t have them, so I’ve invented a special “scale-paint” that allows permanent marking on dragonborn and other scaled folks. I mean, there’s always magic, of course, but scale-paint is generally easier. Last thing I added here is that very very powerful dragonborn sometimes gain the ability to shift their form, just like ancient true dragons, but it is extremely rare.

Metallic/Chromatic:

Okay, so, metallic and chromatic dragons. Honestly, in my world, the difference between the two is negligible at best. They’re just two different groups of dragons. I don’t like that one is evil and one good because that’s boring. Plus, I mean, why would a dragon, an ancient creature with vast knowledge and power, never be able to learn or change its behavior? Doesn’t make sense. Of course the distinction is even further reduced with dragonborn, to the point where gold and red are just scale colors and you can guess pretty much nothing based on that. Although, I did take away the Paralyzing breath in both the metallic true dragons and metallic dragonborn, instead just sticking to the one option. I also feel like chromatic true dragons should be able to shape-shift as well, so I did that too. Anyways, on to the colors! Gonna put it under a cut because again, this is a long one.

Red:

Red dragonborn! Most dragonborn, the closer they are to their true dragon relatives then the stronger and more numerous the traits they share with them will be. Some common things to see in reds are extra large horns, serrated claws for climbing mountains, and gray/black/brown undertones that would help blending in in the mountains. It’s also very common for their breath to smell like smoke, obviously, and for their bodies to be extremely warm. Red dragon scales are prized for giving off intense heat even years and years after death, and some red dragonborn scales have the same warmth. Red dragonborn also have the strongest scales of most dragonborn besides black, even to the point of reinforced scales in impact heavy areas (allowing for tumbles down mountains without severe harm). This helps more with true dragon hatchlings learning to fly in the mountains, but some red dragonborn inherit it as well.

Blue:

Blue dragonborn tend to vary a lot in how actually “blue” they are, seeing as how blue is quite possibly the worst color for surviving in the desert, the usual habitat of actual blue dragons, when you can’t fly (unlike true blue dragons, who it works for because they can hide in the sky). So they go from brownish muddied blue to straight up sapphire depending on how necessary camouflage was in their genetic history. Besides that, they have a few traits that, again, vary depending on how distanced they are from true dragons. Examples are scales/a horn that easily conduct electricity, a system for conserving water that runs just beneath the scales, special markings around their eyes that help them see in the sun (much like a cheetah), and a smell of ozone. Their breath/their inherent electrical charge can be used for a lot of purposes, from excavation to glass sculpture. (I like to imagine little baby blues making sandcastles and then their parents turning them to glass with their breath and saving them later.) I imagine glass art is probably common with most of the heat based dragon types, actually.

Green:

Green dragonborn, unlike most others, have to be far more careful with their breath weapon. They have venom sacs and a special organ to hold the toxin they can breathe, but it’s hard to tell the difference, especially for young greens. They’re a bit like vipers in that sense, that the babies can barely control their venom. Some common traits green dragons can have is obviously their camouflage in forested areas. Their scales often have a slight shimmering layer so that even in dappled/varied light they can remain stealthy. Green dragonborn also obviously have a super boosted immune system in order withstand poison (and not just their own). They usually are also the only dragons/dragonborn who lack horns besides occasional smaller and more antler-like ones. They also have can have a leaflike texture to their fins and frills that can help collect water (and also serve as a way to regulate a bunch of bodily functions. For example the fins would serve a similar function to sweat, among other things.), and even gills in some cases.

Black:

Black dragonborn have the strongest scales of any dragonborn besides red, as their scales are built to withstand their acidic saliva. Black dragonborn, like black dragons, are unique from other dragonborn/dragons because a lot of their bodies can be worn away or decaying before they die, because their organs just... don’t. Similarly to their saliva, their stomach acid is even more powerful. It is the most potent acid known to mortals, and black dragonborn often carry on this trait. It’s said a black dragon’s stomach acid can melt through almost anything, and because of this, acid reflux can be deadly to young dragonborn who haven't fully developed the acid-resistant coating on their throats and organs yet. Some other common traits are gills (for swampland living), and longer claws that can be used for slashing or stabbing (helps when spearing fish). 

White:

White dragonborn tend to be the biggest dragonborn since they need the protection from the cold. They are still cold-blooded, like other dragonborn, but the ideal temperature is much lower for them. I also gave them horns, but not normal horns, something more akin to mammoth tusks. So white dragonborn also tend to have tusks. Additionally, white dragons have these strange quills along their spines that create a chilling sort of howl when rubbed together or a when a breeze blows through it right, and white dragonborn have these too. They’re often used by hatchlings and mothers to find each other. Another common feature is having huge and occasionally webbed feet/hands for running in snow without sinking (or swimming), like built in snowshoes. They are another type of dragonborn/dragon that also commonly has gills.

Gold:

Gold dragonborn, the shiniest of shiny. Also, funnily enough, the dragonborn with the weakest scales (which is really not very weak at all, by the way. Iron can still break on them). Of course, though, this is often used for body art. Gold dragonborn often semi-melt their scales’ outer coating with their fire, and then create all sorts embossings and patterns on themselves before it cools. Best part about this is it can be redone if they get bored (which can happen when you live 500 years). Only thing is this can further weaken the scales or cause damage if done too many times. Some other common traits are their fins, which work very similar to those of the green dragonborn.

Silver:

Silver dragonborn!! I so rarely see metallic dragonborn in my personal games, actually, but I admit silver dragons/dragonborn are my favorite. Silver dragons in my world have a triceratops-like plate/crest on their foreheads that they use to bash into one another in fights (and to break rocks), so silver dragonborn tend to have something similar on top of their heads. Another interesting part of silver dragonborn is that while they speak draconic naturally, their tongues are actually so flexible and their vocal cords so versatile that they are able to mimic most speech they hear, and learn how to pronounce almost any new languages very quickly, a benefit they gain from the habits of silver dragons to visit along mortals. They also have a much higher tolerance for thin air, and their true dragon counterparts can fly the highest into the atmosphere of any known dragon. They also have the same malleable scales as the gold dragonborn, though slightly tougher, and claws that are serrated like reds’ are.

Bronze:

So first things first, I have changed some things even with the true dragons. I have switched the habitats and breath weapons of bronze and brass dragons. Bronze dragons now live in the hills/plains and breathe fire, and Brass dragons live on the coasts and breath superheated air/steam. Besides that they are generally the same, however. Regardless, bronze dragonborn. They too have malleable scales, though they will retain their shape much better and are far stronger (as well as requiring more heat). The bronze dragonborn tend to have similar adaptations to the blue, like the eye markings. Their horns/crest are slightly different though, since they don’t need to conduct electricity. Some common features among bronze are serrated claws for rockier areas, or large feet and tail for balance on sand (which blues would likely have as well).

Brass: Brass dragons/dragonborn are a little weird but I like em. They normally breath superheated air BUT they can scoop down into water and gulp some of that and if they have excess can turn their breath weapon into steam instead through use of a special organ. Also they of course have gills and webbed claws, as well as scales that have a sort of water resistant coating that helps them glide in and out of water. They also have eye markings to help them see despite glare of sun on the water, so the brass dragonborn may inherit many of these. Brass dragonborn also have the malleable metallic scales, just less so than others because the waterproof coating makes it difficult. They also tend to have extra strong gator-like tails.

Copper:

I also changed coppers up! It felt weird to have the acid one in the desert, so I changed it up and gave the coppers lightning. Like blue dragonborn, they can have many desert adaptations alongside their conductivity in their scales, interesting thing about coppers is that they have the fins like greens, but they are used slightly differently. Mainly they’re used to feel changes in the air (when a storm is coming and etc) but they can also release heat, and can press down against their bodies to prevent damage. Coppers (and blues) are also generally good at burrowing in sand, and often you’ll see coppers leaping in and out like scaly sand dolphins.

Iron:

Ah look! It’s me, I did another thing. I may have created a whole new type of metallic dragon. Behold, the Iron Dragon. These guys live primarily underground, and are generally slightly smaller than other dragons, using their wings more like bats use theirs, flitting around cave ceilings (also they are blind and have echolocation also like bats lol). So Iron dragonborn inherit many of these, and since they live underground, often interact less with other dragonborn and surface societies, and usually retain much more of their draconic traits. Their scales are malleable as well, and possibly some of the strongest. Iron dragons/dragonborn also breathe a thick, heavy smoke, that serves both a a noxious cloud and a way to blind their enemies (since they use echolocation anyway).

Gem Dragons:

honestly? Not really sold on em yet, so there’s none in my world. Could change though, I dunno.

•

Ah this was fun. Enjoy dragonborn immensely, now they have some extra fun flavor! Yay! Feel free to leave suggestions for next week, I’m thinking probably either Kobolds or Orcs? Still not sure though.

[love-musicheart]

NoirBug - Chapter Four - Episode 4

(AO3)

Summary:

Things are NOT perfect. Ladybug has disappeared. The future is disappearing. And... wait, did you just say Cat Noir's identity is-

“Paris is under attack by an akuma! I repeat, Paris is under attack by an akuma!”

Wang Fu cast a glance at his small TV, then, setting down the tablet he was working on, shuffled over to turn up the volume.

“It appears to be some type of plant akuma...”

That much certainly was obvious. Roots curled up from cracks in the pavement wherever the akuma stepped. The view appeared to be taken from a helicopter - safely out of range of the attack.

Fu made his way back over to his desk, picking up his tablet again. Translating the grimoire took time - but as he liked to keep an eye on the superheroes of Paris, he’d gotten pretty good at multitasking.

“How annoying,” Fu mentioned in a conversational tone to his kwami, Wayzz, who was floating closer to the TV. “I thought I would at least have several hours to work without interruption.”

“Hawkmoth doesn’t usually attack this early in the morning,” Wayzz agreed. “Do you think he might have something bigger planned for today?”

Fu chuckled. “I think that, whoever Hawkmoth is, he just likes to sleep in. But who could stay in bed on a day like this?”

Wayzz chuckled as well, zipping back over to the desk to munch on their shared breakfast - a fruit salad.

Fu got back to work, carefully translating the old text into French. He glanced between the text on the tablet, his paper, and the TV. This akuma was no plain gardener; it seemed to have control over nature itself, employing all four elements. Its very presence made plants grow and water start to rise in the Seine.

“I wonder…” Fu mused out loud, trailing off.

“Master?” Wayzz asked, glancing up, cherry stained across his lips.

Wang Fu shrugged. “Just a passing thought.” He paused, then admitted, “But… I cannot help but be curious as to whether Ladybug will come for a miraculous to assist her and Cat Noir in this fight.” He couldn’t help himself, and smiled. “It would quite interesting to see the dragon miraculous pitted against this akuma; the holder of that one in particular seems to be quite dependable.”

“Master,” Wayzz warned, “your rules…”

“Well, I’m the one who made them, am I not?” Fu shrugged, a little defensively. “I can speculate who I believe the ladybug would choose, seeing as I am the one providing her the miraculouses for the fights.”

Wayzz just shook his head, smiling - though the wisdom hidden behind it was ruined a little by the cherry still smeared across his face.

“Cat Noir is here, on the scene at the Seine!”

Master Fu glanced at the TV. “I think both of us can agree, based on what we’ve seen from the dragon holder in action, that they have a steady dependability that would be quite the asset for this fight.”

“Yes,” Wayzz conceded. “We can agree on that point, at least.”

As Cat Noir took on the akuma with cocky fearlessness and puns, Fu went back to his translations. Wayzz casually floated over. “Are you sure that you should be writing those down on paper, Master? Couldn’t someone steal them?”

“Firstly, Wayzz,” Fu said, “could you please take you and your cherry a little further away? You know you’re not allowed to know these recipes.”

Wayzz sighed, but obeyed.

“Secondly,” Fu continued, “while I agree… it is a danger we must risk. The next guardian will need them.”

“You already know who that is going to be?”

“Yes,” Fu said, not hesitating even a moment. “I know exactly who should be the next guardian. And this…” he tapped his paper, “will help them immensely, especially as it means they will not have to translate it on their own.”

The two old friends fell silent, Wayzz enjoying the food and Master Fu slowly working on the grimoire. There was a peacefulness in the small house, and, paired with the wonderful fresh air that the morning had provided, it was altogether perfect.

Besides that akuma attack, of course.

Fu glanced at the TV again. Cat Noir was holding off the akuma, keeping it occupied while saving civilians. But Ladybug herself had yet to show up.

Slowly, Fu found himself drawn more and more to watching the TV and less and less to actually working on translating the grimoire. The peace he’d enjoyed just minutes before was rapidly dissipating, replaced by a feeling he hadn’t had for many years; it was one that gathered in the pit of his stomach, curling in on itself.

One that said that something was very, very wrong.

“Master?” Wayzz floated over to the TV, joining Fu. “Is something wrong?”

“Hopefully nothing other than an old man’s worries,” Fu murmured - though the feeling in his stomach told him otherwise. “Ladybug may have been deterred in some way in her civilian life.”

The akuma made a vicious shoving motion with its arms, stretching to its very fingertips, and vines covered in thorns burst from the ground. They slammed in Cat Noir, rocketing into him so quickly and driving him back with such force that the camera couldn’t even turn fast enough to keep up with where he landed.

Far off in the distance, Fu could hear the slam of the cat hero hitting something - ground or building, he wasn’t sure.

Fu winced, then, with sudden determination flooding through him, stood. “Ladybug would never let her partner go this long getting injured,” he said decisively. “I must enter the fight myself.”

“But Master,” Wayzz protested, “you may get injured! You can’t risk that happening! You’re the guardian!”

“Cat Noir needs help,” Fu insisted.

“Just wait a little longer,” Wayzz begged, floating straight up into Fu’s face, as if invading his personal space would somehow stop him from leaving. “Ladybug will surely arrive any minute now!”

Fu looked back at the TV. Several seconds stretched out, filled only with the sound of Cat Noir beginning to struggle against the akuma.

Finally, Fu sighed. “All right. Just a few more minutes.”

However, by the time a few more minutes had passed - without Ladybug showing up - Fu had to admit within himself that there wasn’t much he’d even be able to do to help. He was just an old man, after all, and couldn’t be completely sure who Ladybug had chosen as the other holders of the miraculouses.

Fu sat down at his desk again, the remnants of the fruit salad now left untouched by both him and Wayzz.

Surely Ladybug will come.

Cat Noir leapt, narrowly avoiding getting slammed into with a thick vine again.

Surely she wouldn’t leave Cat Noir to this fate.

The camera lost sight of Cat Noir for several tense minutes - but at last found him again, gasping in the Seine as a whirlpool developed around him.

I must hold onto hope.

Yet hope slowly faded away like an evening glow into twilight. Cat Noir was holding his own for now - barely - but was obviously becoming more and more battered.

“I’m sure Ladybug will come,” Wayzz said aloud. “Cat Noir won’t have to fight this one on his own.”

Fu said nothing. He just watched the TV.

The feeling in his stomach whispered that it was right.

And, by the time night fell, Master Fu had to agree.

He had been right.

Because something must be very, very wrong if Ladybug wasn’t showing up.

-

3 Weeks Later

“Parisians are currently being evacuated,” the TV blared.

Fu stared into his cup, watching the way the surface of his tea was rippling, set off by the motion of his shaking hands.

He had stopped to take a short break - or, more accurately, had been ordered by Wayzz to stop and take a short rest. But rest wasn’t possible at this time. Calm wasn’t something he could feel anymore.

Parisians were… scared. Scared for their families, for their futures, and for their lives - to the point that some of them had begun to leave.

The departures had begun as a trickle that slowly strengthened into a roar - and now, Mayor Bourgeois had ordered a full-scale evacuation.

For the past three weeks, Master Fu had scoured Paris ceaselessly for Marinette Dupain-Cheng, searching for her among those departing. If her parents left, would Marinette follow? Fu knew she loved her family beyond words; she’d do anything to protect them.

But she also loved Paris; she would do anything to protect it, too.

Fu’s hands shook slightly as he slowly raised the cup to his lips, attempting to take a sip of the tea. The hot liquid burned the roof of his mouth, however, and he hurriedly put it back down.

Attempting to find Marinette was like trying to find a needle in a haystack. As more people began leaving at the same time, it became even more difficult for him to try and find her among the crowds.

“Master.”

Master Fu looked up. Wayzz was floating in front of him.

“Don’t torture yourself like that,” the green kwami said gently.

“But what if I missed her, Wayzz?” Fu asked - and, despite what the kwami had just said, his voice was tortured. “What if she was behind me, or beside me in a crowd, and I didn’t turn? What if she cannot be found because she’s already gone?”

“You chose her to be Ladybug,” Wayzz reminded him. “You know that she wouldn’t have run from this. She would never leave Cat Noir behind.”

Fu fell silent. All logic pointed toward abandonment by the ladybug hero… but Wayzz was right. Fu had chosen her, and it was for a reason. Deep down, he still trusted her, despite all reason.

But he also had to try and think logically.

Either Marinette had left, was hiding, or was somehow in deep, deep trouble. Perhaps Hawkmoth had discovered her identity and taken her prisoner. Or maybe there had been a different akuma attack that none of them had heard of, and it had kidnapped Ladybug when she took it on. Or maybe she’d been injured in some way and was unable to help… or get help.

Fu sighed; there was just no way to know.

“Quake is currently at the Louvre; Parisians, do not approach the area. All those within, if you can hear me, head to the nearest exit and run.”

The news channels had become less and less formal over the past few weeks; the anchors were more concerned with keeping people safe than actually sounding professional.

Things had only gotten worse since the first akuma attack Ladybug hadn’t come to. That akuma had been, on its own, one of the most powerful Fu had ever seen Hawkmoth create.

But then another akuma had joined it.

And then another.

Now, akumatized civilians were running rampant across Paris. Nowhere was safe.

“I am not doing enough, Wayzz,” Fu murmured, staring in exhaustion at his television.

“You are not in this fight alone, Master,” Wayzz said, drifting closer. “There are other heroes fighting these akumas alongside you - magical and everyday.”

“We need the ladybug, Wayzz,” Fu shook his head. “She is the only one who can heal this mess. Paris can rebuild after the dust has settled, but we need her miraculous cure to purify the akumas first.”

“This is, admittedly, a bleak situation,” Wayzz agreed. “However, you must remember that you are not alone in this. People from very different walks of life have stepped up during this time of crisis.”

“That is true,” Fu admitted.

Seeming to be encouraged by this, Wayzz smiled and continued. “Cat Noir is holding out, for one. He has surely realized by now that Ladybug will not be joining him, yet he continues to fight on his own. You chose a good holder for Plagg.”

Fu couldn’t help but give a faint smile at the thought of Cat Noir. “I will admit, he is one of the best Cat Noirs we have ever had.”

“He even defeated one of the akumatized civilians!”

“Yes, but he had to destroy the akuma to do so.” Fu’s face deepened back into a frown. “Adrien Agreste is a boy with a big heart. He loves life. Even though they are just butterflies, I know he doesn’t want to cataclysm them.”

Wayzz sighed. “You’re right. His hand was forced during that fight; it was a desperate situation. But it’s not worth it for him to continue doing so. It would change him if he did. After all, if it’s all right to take life from butterflies, then what next? Where would the destruction end?”

Fu nodded. “You are correct; destruction needs a firm hand on the reins that won’t ever let up, and Adrien Agreste is one of the few people in all of Paris who understands, and therefore respects the power of destruction and the effects it can have.”

“If only the akuma he’d defeated was one of the bigger ones…”

“You just said that it was a desperate situation.”

“Yes! It was! But, in comparison to some other akumas…”

Fu sighed yet again. “That is true; smaller is only relative in this situation.”

There was silence for a beat. Then, as if trying to lighten the mood, Wayzz added, “At least he’s keeping Parisians safe as they evacuate.”

“Yes,” Fu murmured. “Without him, I’m sure all of Paris would be in dire trouble indeed. The akumas are becoming more and more violent.”

“Which is why you need to rest,” Wayzz added. “Save you strength.”

As if on cue, there was a rumble in the distance, shaking the floor. A crash rang out from the kitchen - likely a teacup dropping due to the quakes.

Both Fu and Wayzz winced. “Quake,” they both chorused.

“Obviously, he isn’t keeping his effects to just the Louvre,” Wayzz noted.

“Think of what it must be doing to it,” Fu shook his head sadly. “The building is made of glass.”

“Cat Noir is on the scene. He is - oh, I’ve lost sight of him. Crap. Oh holy crap. Heavens above, where did he go? Alec, get your eyes on him! If Cat Noir is dead, all of Paris is lost- oh, wait. There he is. Cat Noir is battling it out with Quake at the Louvre, and- and he’s gone again.” Nadja’s voice was strained, cracking, and when her face appeared on screen again, there were deep bags under her eyes. “Apparently, he’s playing a game of cat and mouse with this akuma. I’m not sure - oh! The civilians are escaping. He’s using himself as a distraction.”

“That is very dangerous,” Wayzz observed.

“True,” Fu agreed, then couldn’t help but crack a smile. “Imagine how his father would react to knowing it was his son keeping Paris safe.”

“Probably would use it for media purposes,” Wayzz shrugged his tiny shoulders. “His next fashion line would be inspired by Cat Noir and modeled by him.”

“Is Gabriel Agreste even a fan of the heroes?” Fu pointed out. “I don’t think we’ve ever heard him speak on them.”

Both paused, considering this. Then, together they shrugged. “Na-a-ah. Everyone loves heroes.”

“According to the Ladyblogger, Steam is also on the move. Please stay out of the South side of Paris, citizens.”

Fu glanced toward the tablet with the grimoire on it, still at his desk. He had no phone, but could access internet through the tablet - and the Ladyblog had saved him from wandering into akuma territory during his search for Marinette more than once.

The Ladyblogger was keeping a 24/7 update going on her blog, doing her best to report where akumas were at any given moment. People who spotted any sent in footage to her. A certain DJ was apparently helping her with it. The blog was the only reason civilians were able to avoid akumas even somewhat.

“Wait. It appears that the Couffaines have returned to Paris! Parisians in the immediate area, please go to the Seine now!”

Fu looked back at the TV screen. A certain family who lived on a boat had been offering their services to the city these past weeks, ferrying civilians away from Paris. They’d even been involved in helping people being chased by akuams several times. Their boat had taken some hits thanks to this, but it was holding up surprisingly well.

“Cat Noir is no longer in sight at the Louvre, but Quake is staying there searching for him. Either Cat Noir is hiding - and doing a good job at it - or he has left. Parisians are now streaming out of the area.” There was a beat of silence. “This just in: the next group of evacuees are being chosen. Please, civilians, keep your phones on you at all times. You may be called for next.”

“Chloe has been busy as well,” Wayzz noted.

“She makes a much better everyday hero than a super one,” Fu agreed.

Those who had stepped up to help were intensely varied, yet the most surprising of the bunch was Chloe Bourgeois. She, the source of many akumas herself, was one of the few people who was staying level-headed in the situation. With everything going down around her, Chloe had dropped her own drama and risen up. She was now helping her father make decisions in the best interests of all of Paris - and she was actually surprisingly good at knowing which countries to contact at which times for assistance.

“Just yesterday, the government decided to finally reach out to the kingdom of Achu,” Wayzz nodded. “You were busy searching at the time.”

“That has Chloe’s influence written all over it,” Master Fu noted.

“Evacuees are now being welcomed there,” Wayzz explained. “I suppose London is too close for comfort for some of them.”

“Yes, well, Hawkmoth surely won’t just stop with Paris,” Fu said grimly. “Where to but the next city of consequence?”

It was a closed loop of terror. No one was safe any longer in the world, and it was in desperate need of more heroes.

Which was why Fu had been working so tirelessly - or, at least working while suppressing his exhaustion as best he could. Fu was an old man, secretly the guardian of the miraculouses, and if he perished, all might truly be lost. And yet, he had risked that, walking the streets of the city and searching desperately for the one girl who might be able to save them all.

But to no avail.

“Citizens, I repeat, please keep your phones on you at all times. The Paris police force is sending out alerts to sections of the city with instructions when you are to be evacuated - but only at the moment you are to be. There seems to be a new akuma who can hear phone signals, so the city is attempting to time things as closely as possible to the actual action.”

Fu finally reached for his tea again. Despite Wayzz’s attempts to boost his spirits, now that they had both quieted down, he only felt more nervous. What would happen if any of the everyday heroes were told to evacuate? The Ladyblogger, Chloe, himself - or, worst of all, Adrien? What if Cat Noir was told in his civilian form to leave? What would he do? Would he reveal his identity just so he could stay? Would his father truly make a fashion line based on him?

Slam!

“Master Fu!”

Fu whipped his head around, almost dropping his tea cup.

There, standing in his doorway, was Cat Noir himself.

The cat hero was panting, a bag slung over his shoulder as if he were about to go to school. He was dusted with fine particles of glass, which didn’t bode too well for the Louvre.

And then, as if determined to make this already surprising situation even more so, Cat Noir met his eyes and blurted out, “I know who Ladybug is.”

Fu stared. “Pardon me?”

“I know who Ladybug is,” Cat Noir stressed, shutting the door behind him and hurrying over, kneeling down in front of the old man. “I know her civilian identity.”

“Then please, do enlighten me,” Master Fu said drily, setting down his tea cup and attempting to appear composed. If Cat Noir was wrong, then-

“Her name is Marinette Dupain-Cheng. She’s the daughter of Tom and Sabine, who run a bakery. They make the best croissants there, and she’s the best person to exist on planet earth - or anywhere, actually. She wants a hamster, loves to design, and-”

“I believe you,” Fu interrupted. The information was too exact to easily dismiss, and after a moment, he sighed. “That is to say… you are correct.” He paused. “How did you find out?”

As if he’d expected this question, Cat Noir pulled his bag forward and, reaching inside, produced a beret. “She gave me this gift. It was signed as being from Marinette, but I walked into my room and saw Ladybug leaving. It was easy to put two and two together after that.” He let out a pent-up breath. “I mean, I’d suspected she might be Ladybug before, like when we fought Kwami-Buster. But Plagg always told me that I was wrong.”

Fu nodded. Cat Noir was no fool; he was much more straightforward than Marinette, making him the perfect candidate to stumble upon their true identities by accident. “I see. However, I must know how you discovered my location.” Fu indicated the room. “It’s supposed to be secret, and we’ve never met here before; how did you know you’d find me here?”

“You run a business,” Cat Noir said bluntly. “It was easy to look you up on the internet, and I knew what I was looking for, seeing as I met you after we defeated Syren.”

“I knew that I shouldn’t have set up that website,” Master Fu grumbled, shooting an accusing look at Wayzz.

“Don’t look at me!” the kwami protested.

“It was your idea to set it up!”

“Master Fu,” Cat Noir cut in. “Please, I don’t have much time. I need to get back out there to help protect the next wave of evacuees from akumas.”

“You’re involved in that?” Fu asked, taken off guard.

“Chloe is helping me plan it. We’ve worked together before, seeing as she was Queen Bee. She knows a lot about government that I don’t.” Cat Noir began twisting his ring about his finger - obviously a nervous habit of his. “She acts like she doesn’t care about anything, but she really is a tough nut to crack. Nothing gets past her. If it weren’t for her, I’m not sure what would’ve happened to Paris by this point.”

“So… if you’re so busy helping Paris, why visit me?” Fu asked, studying the cat hero. “Clearly this is an important matter.”

“I need help,” Cat Noir said miserably. “I’ve tried to find Marinette in her civilian form. The last time I saw her was when she was going out my window. But her parents don’t know where she is, and none of our class knows where she’s gone - not even her best friend, Alya, and she’s the Ladyblogger to boot. I’ve looked everywhere for Marinette! But I can’t cover ground very fast on my own. I need your help to find her. Something must be wrong.”

“The Ladyblogger is Alya?” Fu asked, his attention caught by that detail.

“Yeah, but we need to find Marinette,” Cat Noir said, dismissing the fact.

“Very true,” Fu murmured - but his mind was racing.

He himself, of course, was never told the true identities of the heroes that Ladybug had chosen to give a miraculous - but as soon as he’d heard Cat Noir describe this Alya, he had the sudden feeling that she must have been Rena Rogue.

But he had to be careful with this new information; he might be wrong, for one. For another, if Cat Noir had guessed out Ladybug’s identity even before he was given definite proof, he might be able to figure this one out as well. Fu had to act as if nothing had just happened.

“Can you help me?” Cat Noir asked, misery evident in his voice. “Please?”

Shaking himself, Fu focused on the problem at hand. “I’ve been searching for Ladybug myself. I haven’t found her.”

Cat Noir drooped. “Then there’s nothing we can do?”

“I will continue searching,” Master Fu assured him. “I believe the only thing we can do is continue evacuating citizens and trying to protect them. There are others helping us, such as that family on their ship.”

“The Couffaines?” Cat Noir asked. “Yeah, I know them. Juleka’s in my class. Luka and Marinette are pretty close. Or… were pretty close?” He growled in frustration, digging the heels of his palms in his eyes. “I don’t know anymore.”

“They were close?” Fu repeated. Perhaps this Luka was Viperion or Carapace? Ladybug would only have given a miraculous to those she trusted most.

“Yeah, he’s a musician.”

Perhaps Viperion, then; he’d played the lute very well.

“I should go,” Cat Noir said abruptly, standing. “I need to get to the next evacuation point.”

“One more thing,” Fu said, just as Cat Noir reached the door. “Do you know who it is who is helping the Ladyblogger with her uploads? The DJ.”

“Nino Lahiffe,” Cat Noir replied. “He’s Alya’s boyfriend. They’re taking turns going through footage being sent to Alya while the other rests.”

“Was Marinette close with him as well?”

“They’ve been in class together for years,” Cat Noir recalled, hand hovering over the doorknob. “I think they might have been.”

“He is trustworthy?” Fu checked.

“He’s one of the most trustworthy people you’ll find,” Cat Noir vouched. “He’d do anything to keep others safe; that’s why he’s helping Alya.”

That fit the description of a good turtle hero, then.

“But also maybe because he likes her.”

All these people that loved Marinette, yet no Marinette to be found.

“Master Fu?”

Fu looked up. Cat Noir was still waiting at the door.

“Thank you for coming,” Master Fu inclined his head to him. “I’m not sure if I should say that I’m relieved or not that you knew who our dear Ladybug was.”

Was.

The word hung in the air between them for a few moments, horrible and empty of life.

“She was sitting behind me in class for months,” Cat Noir mumbled, his voice tortured.

Fu tried to think of some reassurance, but all he could come up with was, “We’ll find her.”

Yet the was was still ringing in his ears, and Fu found he couldn’t bring himself to entirely believe it anymore.

Cat Noir studied him for several moments, and as Fu locked eyes with him, he had the feeling that the young hero could see that lack of hope in his eyes.

At last, the black cat simply nodded at him and slipped out the door.

For several minutes, Fu stared at the closed door, sipping his tea. It had grown cold, but the gears in his mind turning too fast for him to pay much heed to that.

“Master?” Wayzz finally asked. “What are you thinking?”

“I’m not quite sure myself,” Master Fu admitted. He glanced over at the green kwami. “I’m starting to doubt that we’ll ever find Ladybug.”

“Don’t give up hope!” Wayzz encouraged.

“I’ll try not to,” Fu sighed, putting his tea down. “I wish that there was at least some guidance that I could be given.”

Whomp!

In the air right in front of Fu, there was a brilliant flash of white light. For a single moment, he thought it was some vehicle passing by outside and reflecting the sun through his window.

Except the light didn’t disappear.

Instead, it became a white circle, hanging suspended midair.

And then, for the second time that day, a hero suddenly burst through a door - except, it was an entirely different kind of door this time.

“Master Fu!” Bunnyx exclaimed.

Master Fu leapt to his feet - no small feat for him at his age - overturning his tea as he did so. “Bunnyx? What are you doing here?”

The bunny hero bowed to him hurriedly. “I need your help.”

“Does this have to do with Ladybug?” Fu said urgently. “She has gone missing.”

“Yes,” Bunnyx said. Her face crumpled. “It… it’s all my fault. I brought her to the future - about three weeks ago from this point in time - to stop a possible future. Cat Noir had found out her civilian identity. They…” She hesitated, as if suddenly remembering how she wasn’t supposed to share the future, even with Master Fu. “How much can I tell you?”

“Everything,” Fu said firmly. “This is an emergency of the highest order. Paris has descended into chaos during the time that Ladybug has been gone. The entire city is being evacuated. Without the cure, there’s no stopping Hawkmoth. There’s even been talk of trying to ask American heroes to come help Paris.” He took a step closer to the blue and white hero. “I think that it’s all or nothing now. We can’t afford to lose.”

“Okay,” Bunnyx said decisively, tapping her umbrella against her hand in a quick rhythm, as if to let out nervous energy. “Okay.” She hesitated for one more second, then blurted out, “They dated as civilians.”

“At last!” Wayzz cried, flipping in the air. “My ship has sailed!”

Fu and Bunnyx stared at him.

Wayzz coughed. “I mean… yes. Very nice. Carry on, Bunnyx.”

“As I was saying,” Bunnyx said, side-eyeing Wayzz, as if daring him to try and interrupt her again, “they were living their best lives until Hawkmoth discovered their identities. Or at least Cat Noir’s. He targeted Cat Noir and akumatized him into a villain called Chat Blanc.”

“So you brought Ladybug to stop him?” Fu’s brow furrowed in confusion. “Why could the Ladybug in the future not save him on her own?”

“It’s a possible future,” Bunnyx explained. “I had to try and fix it from the root of the problem by using the Mini-bug that had caused it.” She paused, then quietly admitted, “Also, the Ladybug from that time is… dead.”

Fear dumped over Fu in an icy stream. “Is our Ladybug still there? Right now? Is she still… alive?”

“I… I can’t answer that.” Bunnyx rapped her umbrella against her hand more forcefully. She obviously had been under a lot of stress, and it was taking its toll on her. “Look, in the future, Hawkmoth tried to force Chat Blanc to destroy Ladybug - their Ladybug, I mean. But, rather than her, he destroyed the world - and still killed her in the process.” Bunnyx began to pace, tapping her closed umbrella aggressively against her leg as she did so. “He shot the moon, Fu. He’s more powerful than any akuma that’s outside right now; I don’t have to see them to tell you that.”

“He destroyed the world?” Fu stared at her. “Surely you are exaggerating.”

“Nothing was left,” Bunnyx shook her head. “Just water, ruins, and corpses.”

Fu winced. “So you brought our Ladybug to save him.”

“The plan was for Mini-bug to purify the akuma and come back to the present,” Bunnyx explained. “She’d change how she accidentally revealed her identity to Cat Noir, and that future would never happen.”

“The plan was?” Fu said, noting the way the word had just come back again. “What happened?”

Bunnyx squeezed her eyes shut, as if in pain. After several tense seconds of silence, she whispered, “He won.”

“Who?” Fu demanded. “Hawkmoth?”

“Chat Blanc. He took her earrings. And… that’s all I could see. I don’t know what happened.”

“What do you mean?” Fu asked.

“Come with me into my burrow,” Bunnyx said urgently. “I’ll show you.”

Fu exchanged an uncertain glance with Wayzz.

As if worried that he were considering not coming, Bunnyx took another step closer to him. “Please. The future of the world depends on this. You’re the only one I can trust to know what to do. With Ladybug having been ripped from time and beaten in the future, there’s no older version of her for me to turn to.”

“All right,” Fu said decisively. “Wayzz, shell on!”

There was a flash of green light, and a moment later, Jade Turtle followed Bunnyx into her burrow.

The first thing Jade Turtle noticed was how white it was. Circles speckled the air, playing footage of some kind.

The second thing Jade Turtle noticed was the small clump of circles that only showed white.

“What is this?” he breathed, approaching the cluster. He had never been in the burrow before, but he already could tell that this was an anomaly.

“That’s where the future is supposed to be,” Bunnyx explained, trailing after him. “It’s where I saw what happened to Cat Noir and Marinette: him figuring out her identity, the dating, and then the akumatization. But, after he got the earrings… it turned white.” She gestured to one in the center of the cluster. “That was the original. But, not long after it turned white, the ones around it started to as well.”

“What can that possibly mean?” Jade Turtle frowned.

“I don’t know!” Bunnyx growled in frustration. “I brought you here to see if you’d know.”

“I can’t tell from the outside,” Jade Turtle said decisively. “I need to go in.”

“What?” Bunnyx stared at him. “Are you crazy?”

“That’s the only way to find out,” Jade Turtle insisted. “It’ll just be a reconnaissance mission. I’ll try to locate Ladybug without getting involved with… you said his name was Chat Blanc?”

“Yes,” Bunnyx nodded, worry apparent on her face. “I’m going to be straight with you, Fu: that’s a horrible plan. If it were good, then I would have gone in already myself.”

“You are the only one with access to the future,” Jade Turtle shook his head. “I, on the other hand, know how to blend in and stay hidden in plain sight. I’m the guardian of the miraculous; I’ve kept myself hidden from anyone who might want to use them for years.”

“For the wish?”

“Exactly,” Jade Turtle nodded. “I’m the best option for this. Actually,” he gave a joyless smile, “I’m likely your only option.”

“How will you get back?” Bunnyx asked.

“With Ladybug’s help,” Jade Turtle said simply.

Bunnyx stared at him before giving a bark of laughter. “You mean you’re going in there blind, will maybe find Mini-bug - wherever she might be in whatever that is, if she’s still even alive - and then trust that she will find a way out?”

“Yes,” Jade Turtle said simply.

Bunnyx shook her head. “Maybe an older version of herself could, but Mini-bug…? She’s still crazy about Adrien Agreste right now!”

“Is there ever a time she isn’t?” Jade Turtle pointed out.

“Well, there was this possible future this one time where she fell in love with Cat Noir instead, but then you managed to contact me and insisted that we change it since you like Adrinette better-”

“Bunnyx,” Jade Turtle interrupted, “I know she can do it.”

Bunnyx went quiet, studying him. Finally, she quietly said, “You really have that much faith in Mini-bug?”

“I chose her, didn’t I?”

“Then why hasn’t she come back herself?” Bunnyx challenged.

“There is no way of knowing for sure,” Jade Turtle glanced at the burrow hole. “But the holder of the ladybug miraculous is naturally drawn towards healing and curing situations. She should be able to sense the right way - or at least discover the path. Besides,” he added, “if we stick to the original plan and purify the akuma, then you might be able to get me out yourself.”

“Fair enough,” Bunnyx reluctantly admitted. “But… be careful, Fu; the white is spreading to the past for some reason. I… I don’t know what it is. But I can’t seem to stop it.”

“It’s affecting only the future for now?” Jade Turtle checked. “Not the time period I was just in?”

“Yes.”

“Then it’s within a safe limit.”

“For now,” Bunnyx muttered.

“We’ll find her,” Jade Turtle promised.

He’d said the exact same words not ten minutes ago to Chat Noir, but now… he actually believed them.

However, before stepping forward, he paused. “Bunnyx? Do you know the identities of the heroes that Ladybug chose?”

“Their civilian identities? Yes; why?”

“Just wondering,” Jade Turtle shrugged, then, hope rising, stepped into the center white circle.

He was instantly swallowed up by the white. It was blindingly bright, just like when Bunnyx’s burrow first burst forth into existence in his house. Jade Turtle squinted against it.

For a moment, nothing happened.

Then, a feeling like static electricity suddenly washed over his whole body.

Traveling through a burrow could be disconcerting, though Jade Turtle obviously didn’t have much to compare this to; just the single trip into the burrow he’d gone through just now with Bunnyx.

Yet, despite that, he knew instinctively that it didn’t feel like this. It was like an entire force of energy gathering its strength, a tidal wave about to crash over him - and right now he was only feeling the winds.

Whatever this energy was, it didn’t want him here.

He had to get to the other side before it could stop him.

Jade Turtle pushed back against the energy, gritting his teeth.

The energy seemed to push back against him, trying to stop him.

But he was old, not weak.

For several moments, he struggled, an invisible battle of wills with this pure whiteness. It seemed to whisper about him, static filling his ears, and bright spots of colour bursting and popping before his eyes. His head went dizzy, filled with the static feeling.

For a moment, nothing happened. He hung, suspended.

Trapped.

The wave was about to crash.

Jade Turtle gave one last, desperate push against the energy, and-

Without any warning, he burst out of the burrow, falling to his knees and almost braining himself on a plant pot.

For several moments, all Jade Turtle could do was pant on his hands and knees. Whatever the white was, it had notwanted him to get through.

But… get through to where?

He looked up, and was greeted by…

His house.

“What?” he murmured, straightening. He’d only just left here. How could he possibly be back?

Jade Turtle went to take a step forward, but his foot bumped against something. He glanced down, then paused.

There was an aquarium on the floor.

Filled with turtles.

And, now that he was looking down, he could see that he was no longer in his superhero form of Jade Turtle. Instead, he was in his normal clothes - except for his shirt, which had a turtle pattern playing across it.

“What is this?” Fu murmured, fear beginning to grow within him. He hurried over to the window, peering outside. His body ached with the movement, as if he’d just undergone a strenuous physical activity, but he ignored the pain, trying to get a good look at the outside world.

He was greeted by… Paris.

Except…

It was black and white.

“What?” Fu breathed, confusion flooding through him. “How can this be?”

His house was coloured, and so was he.

So why did the outside world look like this?

Fu’s hands began to shake, and he sat down on the floor. He needed to think.

Bunnyx had described a world destroyed by Chat Blanc, filled with water and ruins. But there was no water in sight, and all the buildings appeared intact.

Fu rubbed his forehead. He had next to nothing to go off to make a guess of any sort; the only thing he could think of that could explain what made the world turn… well, retro, was that it was somehow an effect of Chat Blanc destroying the world.

Yet, at the same time, that made no sense. If Chat Blanc had destroyed the world, wouldn’t nothing be here?

I must investigate further, Fu decided. He went to walk to the door, but was jerked to a halt, as if he was tied to something. Twisting about, Fu’s gaze instantly fell on the aquarium.

It only took a second before the realization hit him.

Turtles.

His shirt.

His miraculous.

For some reason, he couldn’t leave the aquarium behind. Bringing the turtle miraculous with him seemed to have created these turtle-related items, and he couldn’t go anywhere without them.

Or maybe he wasn’t allowed to go anywhere without them.

If he had to bring the aquarium with him, then, he wouldn’t be able to cover ground very quickly. He was old and slow as it was, much less while carrying around an aquarium of all things.

Fu hurriedly shuffled about the room. Everything was where he always kept it. He quickly located what he was looking for, and within minutes, he’d constructed some new additions to the aquarium: wheels, and a handle for him to push it about with.

“Time to find Ladybug,” he murmured, straightening and nodding at his handiwork.

This time, while pushing the aquarium, Fu made it to the door and outside.

As soon as he closed it behind him, he noticed the difference:

He was no longer in colour.

Feeling a slightly frazzled, Fu began to push the aquarium down the street, starting his search for Ladybug.

-

Bunnyx paced her burrow, eyes locked on the cluster of white circles.

This place, created by her miraculous, was supposed to be beyond the touch of time. Usually, when she sent a hero into the future or the past, she could view what happened to them.

But this time…

She was blind.

Bunnyx swung her umbrella, popping it open and closed, trying to keep her hands busy. She glanced at the circles again, as if in some half-hearted hope that Fu would already be stepping out with Mini-bug at his side.

Bunnyx liked to think of herself as the protector of time. The burrow was the one place where the bunny miraculous couldn’t be in the same place at the same time. Holders of it over the centuries never entered it at the same time. Maybe because of that, it was actually the only place where time really did have any true meaning. She could be in any place more than once, and could end up with multiple copies of herself running around in any time period - except for the burrow.

Bunnyx raked a hand through her hair, sending her already spiky hair shooting out in all directions. Without her ability to see what was going on, she wasn’t sure what to do.

She glanced at the cluster again - and was just in time to see another circle fizzle, as if being overtaken by static, then blip out into pure white.

Another one gone.

Bunnyx approached one of the few circles close to the white group that still showed images. She set her hand upon it, playing it back.

It didn’t help her. All it revealed was Cat Noir and Ladybug in the middle of fighting an akuma. It was after they’d revealed identities to one another, and the knowledge seemed to have further empowered them, letting them work in a tandem that they’d never before enjoyed until they had this absolute trust in one another.

Out of the corner of her eye, Bunnyx noticed movement. That wasn’t unusual in the burrow, seeing as all around her were circles portraying movement of some kind. But this one was out of the ordinary enough that she turned to look.

Across the burrow, a circle was fizzing, going static-ey - and then turned white.

But it was nowhere near the cluster.

“What? No!” Bunnyx shot to it, slamming her palm against the circle, as if trying to turn it back so she could watch what happened, the way she could with any of the normal circles.

But nothing happened.

That one had nothing to do with the future! Bunnyx thought, backing up, fear roaring in her ears. Why did it go out?

The white was obviously spreading - but the fact that the future affected something so out of the way, something that was so far into the past… it was not just disturbing, but downright terrifying.

Bunnyx stood before the circle, her hand hovering just over it it. What if she tried to step in, the way Master Fu had? What if she touched this circle, not just with the intention of playing it back, but of entering? What if she tried to find out what was beyond this white?

But what if it destroyed her entirely? What if it had already done so to Master Fu, to Mini-bug, and all hope was lost?

Bunnyx let her hand drop. She didn’t dare go in; like Master Fu had said, she was the only one who could access the future. If the white cut her off from the time period she’d picked Fu up from…

Bunnyx actually wasn’t sure what would happen if that occurred, but she knew in her gut that it wouldn’t be good.

“I think that it’s all or nothing now. We can’t afford to lose.”

Fu was the wisest person that Bunnyx knew - and she’d traveled through time and spoken to some of the brightest minds in history. If Master Fu had believed that this situation was truly that dire… then this was a very desperate situation indeed.

“All or nothing,” Bunnyx whispered, trying to rein her fear in.

Her gaze fell on the circle that led back to the past, back to the time period she’d first retrieved Mini-bug from and then Master Fu.

It was still holding steady - for now. But the hand of time was slow slipping its fingers about her burrow, and now, it was starting to squeeze, to choke and kill it. She was inside a time bomb, but she couldn’t see the clock ticking down to the explosion.

She didn’t have a choice.

She couldn’t afford to wait.

With sudden determination, Bunnyx rallied herself and marched over to the hole - and

stepped

through.

It was utter chaos. People were running from something, screaming. The sun went dark, as if something huge was blocking it out, and a dull roar filled her ears.

Bunnyx turned, alarmed - but it was no akuma blocking the sun.

A building was falling, creaking and groaning as it descended straight toward her.

Bunnyx didn’t even have time to gasp before someone jumped in front of her, baton twirling, the speed of it cutting straight through the stone as the building crashed down. The hole created was barely big enough for the two of them to stand in.

Dust exploded all around them, and Bunnyx burst into a fit of coughing, trying to wave it out of her face. “Th-thanks for the save.”

“Bunnyx?”

For the first time, Bunnyx looked down at the person who had saved her.

He was a little taller than the last time she’d visited him in the past, but his green eyes were still as keen as ever.

“Cat Noir,” Bunnyx greeted, then gave a few more final coughs, as if for good measure.

“What are you doing here?” Cat Noir asked, waving dust away. “If you’re going to help me evacuate Parisians, I certainly would appreciate it-”

“No,” Bunnyx interrupted. “You need to come with me.” She grabbed him by the bell, opening up an entrance back to her burrow and dragging him through even as he yelped.

“Bunnyx, what are you doing? Paris needs its heroes-”

“-here,” Bunnyx interrupted. “It needs all its heroes here. Look, I asked Master Fu for help, but he’s gone, and I’ll be cut off soon enough from the past - the place you’re from - so I have to bring you and all your fellow heroes here.”

With that, she turned and re-entered the circle again, willing herself to exit in a different location.

Bunnyx had watched Fu open up the miraculous box many times in alternate futures.

It was a simple enough matter when she walked into his room once again to stride over and pop it open.

Bunnyx glanced over the miraculouses. The turtle one was gone, taken by Master Fu. She didn’t dare waste time trying to locate it in another time; she’d have to find a situation where Mini-bug didn’t need the miraculous, and she couldn’t afford to leisurely flip through past akuma attacks as if she were reading a magazine in a waiting room. The past and future were disappearing for some reason. She had to act, now.

Bunnyx snatched up all the miraculouses she needed, then opened up a way back into her burrow.

“First off, rude,” Cat Noir complained as soon as she re-entered - though she knew that it wouldn’t seem to him like any time had passed. “Second off, what are you even talking about?”

“I’m talking about those,” Bunnyx tossed over her shoulder, inclining her head toward the cluster of white circles. Then, she hopped back out of her burrow.

It took her several precious minutes of going in and out of her burrow to reach each hero, give them their miraculous, and drag them back through. She had to make them transform before going back in, which took time. The kwamis were very talkative. But Master Fu didn’t want any of them knowing each other’s identities, so Bunnyx had to abide by his rules.

“This is ridiculous,” Queen Bee was complaining when Bunnyx finished off by bringing Ryuko through. “We’re leaving Paris completely unguarded! And I don’t even know where we are!”

“We’re going to lose Paris if we don’t save the future,” Bunnyx replied shortly. She got straight to the point. “The future is disappearing - and it’s starting to affect the past. I don’t know why.” She pointed at the cluster of white circles. “Master Fu went in there to try and find Mini-bug.”

“Excuse you, but where are we?!” Queen Bee demanded, stamping her high-heeled foot. “I’m busy right now, so I don’t care about Master Wu or whatever his name was.”

Bunnyx didn’t even try to resist the urge to glare at Queen Bee; Chloe was just as annoying as she remembered. “This is my burrow. I have the miraculous of time. These circles allow me to access time - and some of them are going out.”

“Did you say that Ladybug is in there?” Cat Noir asked, his attention still obviously caught on that point. His entire body seemed to practically be vibrating, as if he’d just downed an entire energy drink.

“Hold your horses,” Bunnyx warned. “We can’t just go jumping in there.”

“Why not?” all the heroes demanded at once.

“Your Master Yu did,” Queen Bee added.

“And look where that got him!” Bunnyx yelled. “He’s not here! I need backup, not to babysit! Quiet down so I can explain!”

“Paris is being left completely unguarded right now!” Queen Bee yelled back. “We need to go back! Without us, everyone is doomed!”

Bunnyx forced herself to draw in a long breath - it was through her teeth, making a hissing noise, but she attempted it anyway. “Look. You don’t need to worry about Paris. I have the ability to let you out at the exact moment you left.” She tried to not think too hard about the fact that the past might just get cut off by the white. “Paris isn’t losing any time by you being in my burrow. Here, though, we are on a time limit.”

“That makes no sense,” Viperion frowned.

“Shouldn’t this be the one place outside of the reach of time?” Ryuko agreed. “If you access time here, that would logically make this the only place time stands still.”

“It should be,” Bunnyx replied shortly. She surveyed the heroes in front of her.

During the time leading up to her becoming the holder of the bunny miraculous, she’d seen many other heroes given a miraculous. She would have loved to grab all of them.  But now that the timeline had been changed, Mini-bug had technically never had a chance to give those people their miraculouses.

Instead, all she had were Cat Noir, Rena Rogue, Carapace, Viperion, Pegasus, King Monkey, and Ryuko.

Not exactly the most inspiring group ever. But at least they had her. She at least was somewhat inspiring.

“So…” Rena Rogue broke the silence. “At the risk of sounding totally dumb… who is Master Fu again?”

“Wu,” Queen Bee corrected.

“Fu,” Bunnyx, Cat Noir, and Rena Rogue all said at once.

“Master Fu,” Bunnyx said, casting a glance at Queen Bee before looking back at Rena, “is the guardian of the miraculous.”

“Wait, I thought Ladybug kept the miraculouses,” Rena Rogue frowned.

“No, she didn’t,” Bunnyx replied. She glanced over at the cluster of circles; they were holding steady, for now, but she hated wasting time that could end in them being cut off from more parts of time. “Under normal circumstances, I would not tell any of you anything about the future. But…” She walked over to the cluster. “This is where the future used to be. Master Fu went in it, but I have no idea if there even is another side that he could exit out of. I usually can see the future, but now…”

“Just white?” Pegasus observed, adjusting a bag he had over his shoulder. There had been no time for him to drop it off when Bunnyx grabbed him, and now Bunnyx had to hope that no one would recognize the bag as belonging to Max Kanté.

Bunnyx nodded, turning back toward the group of heroes staring at her. “It’s spreading. I don’t know what it is, but eventually, it’ll hit your current time period as well.”

“So… the world is ending?” Nino asked.

Bunnyx gave a short nod. “Essentially.”

“Wow,” Viperion blinked.

Rena Rogue gave a small fist pump. “Add that to the list of things we get to defeat!”

“Why is he here?” Queen Bee complained, pointing at Nino.

“Now’s not the time to celebrate, Rena,” Bunnyx said, simultaneously shooting her a withering look and ignoring Queen Bee’s question. She’d been hoping none of the other heroes would notice that Nino was there, which would obviously make him a holder - and, based on the fact that only Carapace was missing, it would be easy to conclude that he was Carapace.

The only reason she’d brought him in - even though he was in his civilian form - was because he was a holder. But as long as Master Fu was in the future, Bunnyx wasn’t going to try diving around in the past to find the turtle miraculous when her burrow could potentially lock her out.

“I brought Mini-bug here,” Bunnyx explained, jerking a thumb at the white circles. “I needed her help to try and save the future, but she wasn’t able to.”

“Wait. You mean she went into the white?” Cat Noir bristled, the hair on his head practically standing on end. “By herself? Why didn’t you grab me?! I’m her partner!”

“Because she was saving the future from you.” Bunnyx folded her arms across her chest. “And it wasn’t even white, yet.”

“Is that supposed to make this better?” Cat Noir glared.

“It was a more stable situation at the time,” Bunnyx snapped. Her nerves were frayed. She’d been trying to save the world from a teenager who had enough power to destroy everyone and mess with her own miraculous’s powers, and she was either alone, worrying about someone else who had stepped up to help, or else babysitting. She was too far gone to let some little version of Cat Noir snap at her without retaliation. “You found out her identity, Cat Noir. That action was the source of a chain reaction that resulted in Hawkmoth discovering your identity because you transformed out in the open to save Mini-bug as a civilian, Hawkmoth akumatizing you…” She glared fiercely at him. “…and you destroying the world.”

All the heroes stared at her, and Bunnyx realized a little too late that she may have come across too strongly on the point that it was somehow all Cat Noir’s fault.

Ugh. She’d leapt before she looked. She did that quite a bit.

“Come again?” Viperion finally said.

“I destroy the world?” Cat Noir whispered, twisting his ring.

“Did they date?” Rena Rogue and Nino chorused.

“That is completely irrelevant,” Bunnyx attempted to wave it off.

“So, yes, then?” Rena Rogue noted hopefully.

“Wait, what?” Cat Noir froze. “I-I mean… she would never… we… there’s someone else… I mean, I d-destroy the world?” He froze, panic, confusion, and a strange balking mixing in his expression. “What?”

“Priorities, Cat Noir,” Bunnyx chided - forcing herself to make her voice a little more gentle this time. She needed to keep this conversation on track, and these teenagers were making that very difficult. “Yes, you destroyed the world. That’s what I was trying to fix when I brought Mini-bug here. It was her fault that you found out her identity.” She shot Cat Noir an apologetic look. “It wasn’t all your fault. But because she was the source of that action, I needed her to fix it. If you stepped in, you might end up remembering it, anyway, and I had to change that.”

“Why is it so important that they do not know one another’s identities?”

Everyone looked up.

Ryuko was standing at one of the still-clear circles, watching the footage play out.

“Hey, that’s the future!” Bunnyx yelped. “You’re not allowed to see that!”

“We’re trying to change this,” Ryuko replied, not even glancing away. “It won’t be here when we’re done.”

“Well… I guess,” Bunnyx grumbled grumpily.

“There is an incredible level of teamwork displayed between Cat Noir and Ladybug here,” Ryuko observed. “Knowing her identity seems to only have made them stronger. If only one having been revealed does that…”

“Well, I mean, he transformed out in the open to save her,” Bunny reminded Ryuko. “She knew his after that.”

“They have skill,” Ryuko insisted. “Knowing their identities only made them stronger - maybe strong enough to defeat HawkMoth. I don’t see how this is a negative thing.”

“It’s Master Fu’s rules,” Cat Noir said quietly. “If anyone knew our identities, that could put them at risk.”

“Aren’t you both already at risk by being heroes?” Viperion pointed out. “Heck, aren’t all of us?”

“Now is not the time for an existential crisis,” Bunnyx shook her head.

“I’m not sure that means what you think it means,” Queen Bee began, but Bunnyx shot her a look.

“Not now, Queenie.”

“Only Cat Noir gets to call me that.”

“Why?”

“Because he’s the only one who doesn’t say it like it’s an insult.”

Bunnyx paused, then let out a huff. “Fair enough. But Cat Noir and Ladybug aren’t allowed to know each other’s identities because, simply put, once they did, the world was destroyed. Which was HawkMoth’s fault, by the way. Not Cat Noir’s.”

“He really destroyed the whole world?” King Monkey shot a look of admiration at Cat Noir, which Bunnyx felt may have been the wrong response to the situation.

“Yeah, he did, and Mini-bug was supposed to purify his akuma,” Bunnyx said. Trying to keep the conversation on track, take two. “You were called Chat Blanc, Cat Noir. But you were incredibly strong - stronger than any of the akumas currently in your time of Paris. She lost to you.”

“Why couldn’t Ladybug have brought one of us with her?” Queen Bee asked, studying her nails. “I mean, obviously we aren’t Cat Noir, so obviously we could have been involved.”

“Yeah, if he wasn’t literally yelling her civilian name during their fight,” Bunnyx rolled her eyes. “Stay focused! Mini-bug tried to fight him, lost, and then…” She rapped the center white circle with her knuckles. It gave where she touched it, but sprung back easily, as if it were a truly physical mass. “The future disappeared.”

“You can’t access it at all?” Pegasus checked.

“I haven’t gone through,” Bunnyx shook her head, “but Master Fu managed to step through earlier. You can at least enter it, if not exit.”

“What do you mean, if not exit?” Cat Noir stared. “Did you send the guardian in to that when we might never get him back?”

“I don’t know!” Bunnyx rubbed her eyes roughly with the heel of her palm. “It was his idea! I don’t know if there’s anything left.  Maybe something. Maybe nothing. Maybe Mini-bug. But I can’t see anything, which is the whole problem!”

“So… we need to find a way through?” Nino surmised.

Bunnyx strode to the other side of her burrow to the white circle that had cropped up earlier. “The fact that the future is no longer accessible is starting to affect the past. It’s disappearing as well, for some reason. Once these go white, I can’t access them. I can’t see through them, and I don’t know if anything is even past them. So, yes, we need to find a way through.” She met the eyes of the heroes. “To save all time.”

“To… save the world?” Rena Rogue casually checked, sounding a little too hopeful on that point.

Bunnyx sighed. “Yes, Rena, to save the world.”

Rena Rogue gave a small celebratory fist pump.

Pegasus raised a hand. “I have an idea.”

“All ideas are welcome,” Bunnyx nodded.

“I have one,” Queen Bee said.

“Except your’s,” Bunnyx amended. “You were saying, Pegasus?”

“I have a robot with me,” Pegasus explained. “I built him myself. If I sent him in, we might be able to see what’s in there through him.”

“That… might work,” Bunnyx said slowly, hope fluttering in her chest. She wouldn’t trust just anyone with a mission of this importance - especially a robot built by a teenager - but Pegasus was Max; that meant he was probably referring to Markov. For a robot, Markov was pretty sentient, proven by the fact that he’d once been akumatized.

Not to mention, Max himself was pretty smart. Not as smart as Bunnyx, of course, but smart.

Bunnyx gave a determined nod. “Pegasus, send him in.”

Pegasus joined her at the circles. “It is the center one, correct? I assume that the white is spreading out in a ripple effect from it, but I want to make sure I’m not sending my friend into the wrong one.”

“Friend?” Queen Bee snorted. “It’s a robot. You sound exactly like one of the idiots I know.”

“How many idiots do you know?” Viperion glanced at her.

“Too many,” Queen Bee sniffed.

“Yes, it’s the center one,” Bunnyx confirmed.

“Why are you carrying a robot around with you, dude?” Nino asked curiously. “Paris has been going crazy; not exactly the best time to be dragging a robot around.”

“I was heading to the next evacuation,” Pegasus said distractedly as he dug into his bag. “I was bringing him with me.”

Queen Bee frowned - and Bunnyx realized a beat too late that Chloe probably had decided who to send out next herself; she might be able to figure out who Pegasus was.

And then Pegasus pulled Markov out of his bag, and Bunnyx realized a beat that was very much too late that the majority of the heroes here were very familiar with Markov.

Everyone stared at the robot as Pegasus whispered instructions to him. Ryuko and Viperion were the only ones who still seemed somewhat calm - they didn’t know Markov, and therefore couldn’t make the connection to Max. Cat Noir also seemed unaffected, seeing as he’d been there when Ladybug gave Max the horse miraculous.

But, as for everyone else…

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Queen Bee muttered.

Ah, yes, Chloe was just as annoying as Bunnyx remembered.

Unaware of how he’d just exposed his secret identity to almost every hero present, Pegasus turned on his phone and began tapping on it quickly, fingers flying across the screen.

“What are you doing?” Cat Noir asked. His voice was weary. Bunnyx felt a small stab of guilt at pegging the problem on his future self so hard; the poor guy had been singlehandedly attempting to take on all the akumas in Paris by himself.

“When I made Ma- erm, my robot, that is, I also created an app where I can link up to him. If I turn it on and send him through, we should be able to see what is going on inside, hypothetically speaking.” Pegasus punched a few commands into his phone, quietly gave several more instructions to Markov, then stepped back.

The little robot flew straight into the white circle, disappearing.

Pegasus sucked in a sharp breath.

“What is it?” Bunnyx demanded, by his side in an instant, peering at his phone. “Where’s the feed? It’s just white.”

“I’ve… I’ve lost all connection with him,” Pegasus said, his voice faltering.

The heroes fell silent.

Bunnyx began tapping her umbrella against her thigh again. Pegasus - Max - wouldn’t take this loss lightly, but she couldn’t help but be more worried about Master Fu than Markov.

What did it all mean? Was the white just interfering with the connection? Or was there no other side for Markov to even get through?

If the was the case…

That meant Bunnyx really had sent the guardian of the miraculous to his doom.

That meant they’d never get Mini-bug back.

And that meant they’d never be able to fix this.

“That’s not good,” Bunnyx finally rasped, the silence too oppressing.

“What can we do if we can’t retrieve any intel?” Rena Rogue asked, rolling her flute between her hands nervously. “We need to know the facts before we can draw any conclusions.”

“There has to be some way we can check on this dude - uh, Master Fu, I mean,” Nino said.

“For goodness sake, why is he here?” Queen Bee demanded to know yet again.

“It’s not important-” Bunnyx tried to glaze over Nino’s presence once again, but Pegasus was already talking.

“Isn’t it obvious?” Pegasus said distractedly, fingers flying across his phone as he attempted to re-establish a connection with Markov. “He’s the hero Carapace. Master Fu must have taken the turtle miraculous with him, or else Bunnyx would have given it to Nino.”

“Pegasus!” Bunnyx hissed, resisting the sudden and strong urge to smack him upside the head with her umbrella. “Identities are supposed to remain a secret!”

Pegasus paused only long enough to glance up, a look only slightly guilty playing across his face. “Oh. Sorry. I thought that it was so obvious that everyone else knew as well.”

“No need to insult their intelligence,” Bunnyx reprimanded, though she couldn’t bring herself to be too mad about the jab. These mini versions of the heroes were pretty slow on the uptake, sometimes. And she couldn’t really blame Max for it; she herself had already done more than her fair share of jabs. Nerves were frayed, and everyone was on edge.

“Should we send someone in?” King Monkey asked, scratching his head. “I mean, that Food guy-“

“Fu,” Bunnyx corrected.

“Fu,” King Monkey continued, “is in there. But we can’t see him. If one of us could reach him, then we’d be able to help him find Ladybug faster so we can fix this whole mess.”

“We don’t even know if he got through,” Viperion shook his head, folding his arms across his chest. “For all we know he might be…” He paused, glancing somewhat guiltily over at Bunnyx.

Bunnyx’s chest tightened. She knew exactly where Viperion had been going with that.

For a moment, they were all silent.

Then, from behind Bunnyx, someone said, “I’ll go.”

-

Everything about this was ridiculous, absolutely ridiculous.

Chloe had only just begun initiating another group of evacuations when this bunny hero had burst out of a glowing white hole in the middle of the air, shoved the bee miraculous at her, and ordered her to follow.

Chloe had done so. She was Queen Bee, after all, a hero. She’d done her best for the past 3 weeks, despite not having a miraculous, settling for trying to help her utterly helpless father. He wasn’t good at dealing with a crisis.

They’d been in the middle of a particularly tense evacuation - a building had literally just fallen over, and no one had eyes on Cat Noir - but Chloe had followed the bunny hero into the glowing hole anyway. She’d been hoping they would be getting Ladybug from wherever she was, and that she’d be able to fix everything.

But here, no one seemed to have a plan! It was chaos, utter chaos. Even Chloe had been able to develop one in an unprecedented crisis, okay? It wasn’t that hard. Unless you were an idiot. In which case, it might be somewhat challenging.

“Should we send someone in?” the monkey hero was asking.

Queen Bee pursed her lips. She’d already tried to give them a plan to work with, but Bunnyx had rejected her idea before she’d even heard it.

Rude.

But…

These fools need a lot of help, Queen Bee observed, and a queen must step up.

It had become her mantra during the past couple of weeks. Because of it, she’d found that she made a great leader under pressure, and that she was clearly the only one in Paris that had any sense whatsoever. Besides Cat Noir, of course. He was the reason anything had even gone through; he’d backed her up when she’d tried to help at first, and apparently the word of a superhero carried a lot of weight.

But, besides him, no one else in this… whatever it was called… burrow? Tunnel? Yeah, whatever. Close enough. Everyone else in this tunnel was stupid. First off, that Pegasus guy was obviously Max, and he’d been dumb enough to reveal very incriminating evidence about his identity to all of them. She’d recognize that robot anywhere; it was so annoying. And Nino? He’d always been such a pain; she couldn’t imagine him as a hero. The only person Ladybug had chosen that showed she had any good taste was Chloe herself - and Chloe hadn’t been exactly chosen.

“We don’t even know if he got through,” the hot green guy shook his head, folding his arms across his chest. “For all we know he might be…” He paused, glancing somewhat guiltily over at Bunnyx.

Dead, Queen Bee mentally filled in.

For a moment, they were all silent.

Now was a good a time as any to propose her plan without any interruptions; hopefully Cat Noir would be willing to back her up again.

Queen Bee straightened. “I’ll go.”

Everyone turned to stare at her.

“What?” Queen Bee demanded. “I tried to tell you it like, five minutes ago! Someone has to go in, and I’m obviously the best choice.”

“What makes you say that?” Rena Rogue retorted.

“I trust her,” Cat Noir interrupted. “I’ve been working with Chloe for the past couple weeks to help Paris; she’s really good at planning things and acting like she belongs when she doesn’t.”

Queen Bee glared at him; it was exactly the backup she’d been hoping for. “That was both compliment and insult, and I don’t appreciate that.”

“I’d prefer if we could just send you, Cat Noir,” Bunnyx sighed, “seeing as you already know Ladybug’s identity.”

“He WHAT now?” Queen Bee demanded. “Ladybug and I are besties! I should have been the first to know!”

Cat Noir seemed to draw in on himself. “I… only found out on accident,” he mumbled. “She didn’t know that I knew - and then she disappeared.” He glanced up. “Or, I guess she was brought here by Bunnyx, and then got trapped in the future.”

Oh, so he playing the blame-game now, was he? Queen Bee didn’t blame him, though; Bunnyx had been extremely rude earlier to him about it when Bunnyx had been the one to bring Ladybug through.

“If the future still exists through that white,” Bunnyx was saying to Cat Noir, “then your future self will likely still be there. You’re my first choice for who I’d send in, but we can’t risk that; if you ever met your future self, it would be too obvious that you don’t belong there.”

“I’m sure I could blend in,” Queen Bee declared, trying to get the conversation back to the topic of her plan. “Let me go. Besides,” she added, “I’m probably the most expendable, seeing as Hawkmoth already knows my identity.”

Everyone stared at her. “Wow, Chloe,” Rena Rogue finally said. “That was almost selfless.”

“You’re not expendable,” Cat Noir said gently, laying a hand on her shoulder. “And we’re not even up against Hawkmoth, here.”

“If Queen Bee goes, she needs to know what Ladybug’s identity is,” Bunnyx warned.

“I can keep a secret,” Chloe reassured Bunnyx. “You have no idea how many government ones I already know.”

“Before we tell you,” Cat Noir interjected, “you have to promise me that knowing her identity as a civilian won’t compromise your loyalty to her. We have to be 100% committed if we’re going to beat… whatever this is. You can’t do anything to undermine her.”

Queen Bee shot him a quizzical look. “Why would I do that to Lady-bae?”

Bunnyx began tapping her umbrella against her leg - something she seemed to do a lot of. “Because you already know her.”

“Should all of us know it?” Ryuko asked. “We might need that information, but if it’s best to keep her identity a secret…”

“I’ll tell Chloe,” Cat Noir offered quietly. “I’ll just… I don’t know. Tell her on the other side of the burrow.”

“It’s not that wide,” Bunnyx pointed out, seeming agitated.

“Then plug your ears,” Cat Noir said drily, taking Queen Bee by the elbow and leading her away to the other side.

“Okay,” Queen Bee said, turning to face Cat Noir head on as soon as they were as far as they could go, “who is she?”

Cat Noir lowered his voice, saying quietly, “She’s… Marinette Dupain-Cheng.”

Queen Bee blinked. Then blinked again. “All right.”

“All right?” Cat Noir repeated. “Don’t you two have like, a feud or something?”

“Please,” Queen Bee rolled her eyes, “I may be rude sometimes, but the only reason I targeted Dupain-Cheng was because I had to assert dominance. She’s always been my biggest rival because she posed the biggest threat.” She began to count off on her fingers. “She’s class rep, has designed things that have impressed Gabriel Agreste, and every boy in the school probably has had a crush on her at some point. I suppose it only makes sense that she’s Ladybug.”

A small flicker of amusement went through Cat Noir’s eyes. “Does that still mean that you’ll refer to her as Lady-bae-“

“Don’t push it, kitty cat,” Queen Bee interrupted.

Cat Noir just shrugged. “It’s a valid question.”

“I think you and I have very different ideas of what a valid question is.”

“Are you sure you want to go through?” Cat Noir asked, his smile fading. “We need to find her, but we don’t know what’s beyond that circle.”

The unspoken words of if there’s even anything beyond it hung in the air.

“Enough dramatics,” Queen Bee grumbled, trying to put up her uncaring facade again after having just opened up. She hated feelings. They were so icky and… feely. “Just let me go already.”

Together, they walked over to the others again.

“Ready?” Bunnyx asked, eyeing Queen Bee.

“I always was ready, “ Queen Bee sniffed. “If you had let me talk-”

“Try to find anything you can on Fu,” Bunnyx interrupted. “If he’s in there, we want to know where.”

Queen Bee rolled her eyes, sarcastically saying, “Copy that.”

Without waiting for a reply, Queen Bee strode over to the circles and stepping through the one she’d seen Markov go through.

Everything went white. For a moment, nothing happened.

And then suddenly tingles fizzed all over Queen Bee’s body, as if the white was attempting to push her back.

What was this stuff?

Despite how strange it was, though, Queen Bee wasn’t deterred in the least. She knew that there were only three things that could match her in stubbornness: her mother, Adrikins, and Marinette. This white stuff stood no chance.

Queen Bee pushed back - though pushed back was a strange way to describe it. She couldn’t really see anything. It was like a battle of wills, and they were fencing it out the way Adrikins liked to in competitions.

And, just like her Adrikins, she was going to win.

But for several moments, nothing happened.

An inkling of doubt trickled into Queen Bee’s mind. What if she was wrong? What if it wasn’t a battle of wills? What if she was going to be stuck here forever?

With the sudden strength of desperation behind her, Queen Bee threw her will against the white, grappling with it, and-

Without warning, she stumbled into daylight.

At least, she was pretty sure it was daylight.

Chloe stood there, blinking, trying to get her eyes to adjust. But the sight before her would not go away.

It was… Paris. Sort of. People were walking up and down the sidewalks, paying no attention to her whatsoever. That alone was odd, seeing as she was Chloe Bourgeois, daughter of the mayor.

However, unlike the Paris she had left just minutes before, this one was completely intact. There was no sign of destruction anywhere.

But there was something much, much more wrong with it.

Everything was black and white. And there was an odd net pattern across all of it.

Had the white stuff taken away her ability to see colour?

Buzzzzzzz.

Chloe took a fighting stance instantly, ready to venom her way out of whatever threat there might be.

Yet no threat came into sight.

After a beat, a bee flew in front of her, still buzzing.

But it was yellow.

Colour.

Chloe relaxed her stance only slightly, twisting her head to look about. There were bees, all of them yellow, floating about her head. They were all humming slightly.

What were they doing here?

Chloe made to shoo them off - but upon lifting up her arm, she froze.

“What am I wearing?!” she whisper-shrieked.

Her sleeve alone was hideous. Upon looking down, though, things got even worse: it was a full-body costume! At least, she assumed it was a costume; there was no other explanation for it.

Chloe reached quickly up to her head, trying to check on her hair - and her hands instantly bumped into something.

Was she wearing a helmet?

“Stay calm,” Chloe whispered, trying to not hyperventilate. This trip into the white was already much more panic-inducing than she’d expected. “A queen must step up.”

Right. She was a queen. She wouldn’t let a temporary costume stop her. At least, she hoped it was temporary.

Look on the bright side, she tried to assure herself. At least that explains the net pattern I’m seeing.

Looking on the bright side didn’t come very naturally do her.

But where had this monstrosity even come from? And, more importantly, where had her epic superhero suit gone?

“This is so wrong,” Chloe muttered, crossing her arms. She wanted to pout, to yell and scream at the black and white sky about how ridiculous, utterly ridiculous this was - but she had to find Ladybug. And the You guy.

But where did she even start?

What would Ladybug do? Chloe wondered. Ladybug - ugh, Marinette, too - always seemed to know exactly what to do in every situation. If Chloe had to choose one person to emulate… it might as well be her.

She would take stock of the situation, Chloe decided, then develop a plan of attack.

Chloe was halfway hoping that her plan of attack would somehow have a very necessary step in it of removing her ugly suit, but she started by taking stock of the surrounding area.

Okay. She had made it through the white. Or forced her way past it. Whatever.

She hadn’t seen the Wu guy inside of the white - not that she could even see much in there, it had been so bright - so she could probably assume he’d also made it through. That would mean that both of them were now here to search for Ladybug - Marinette - at the same time.

Right. Searching. She had to search.

So… Chloe would try and find Lady- Marinette. She would try and find Marinette.

Knowing Ladybug’s identity was going to take a little getting used to.

But Paris needed Ladybug back. Chloe was prepared to set aside any bad blood between her and Dupain-Cheng, as well as her intense loathing for her new… outfit in order to find her and set things right.

First things first: where did she even begin? Paris was huge.

Maybe someone has seen her? Chloe wondering, glancing around. Surely they’d remember seeing Ladybug - but that only works if Dupain-Cheng has transformed during her time here to fight akumas.

Ugh. She doubted that Marinette could bring herself to be that helpful.

But if she was also Ladybug, the smartest person Chloe knew, then maybe she could-

Quiet! Chloe ordered herself; she didn’t have time for internal debates. If this is the future, then I could try and find someone that Marinette might be with. Like me; I’m famous. Or Cat Noir. Chat Blanc. Whatever.

But did she dare ask for help to find someone who had destroyed the whole future?

More importantly… did she really want to deign to ask for help?

Ugh. The thought alone was horrid and slimy. Chloe didn’t ask for help; if she needed someone to do something for her, she just ordered them to do it. That’s how friendship worked! And being the daughter of the mayor!

Chloe let out a peeved sigh, then began taking a closer look at passers by; she might as well peg down someone who looked weak.

But the more she looked at them, the more uncomfortable Chloe became. It wasn’t just the fact that she wasn’t sure whether she even wanted to ask someone for help, or that all these people were black-and-white; it was the expressions people were wearing. Everyone looked… happy. Or at least not sad. But also not truly happy. Like they were glad to be there but were dead inside.

It was disconcerting.

Chloe gave up on the idea of asking someone for help; she’d just rely on herself for this job.

It might be a little tricky, though; there weren’t any signs anywhere that could help lead her to where Ladybug might be. There was no destruction, no akumas, and no Chat Blanc. Everything appeared to be, well… perfect.

But there was something very off about this place. No one was noticing her, or freaking out that everything was black and white.

Or over her. She was standing in the middle of the road, surrounded by bees, but no one had given her a second look.

Chloe waved a wayward bee out of her face that was obstructing her view. She cast an annoyed look at them; where had they even come from? And why were they still hanging out around her? She was Queen Bee, but still-

Wait.

Bees.

This place must be affecting my miraculous, she realized, staring at the bees. I hope that’s not Pollen. Changing outfits was bad enough; she couldn’t imagine being split up into multiple tiny hers. Though the rest of the world would probably love having more than one Chloe.

So… essentially, she couldn’t trust anyone because they all seemed to be stupid, she had no idea where Fu was, meaning she was alone, and she didn’t even know where she currently was or where Dupain-Cheng lived in just normal-Paris, much less this one.

Really, she was alone in the big city with no way to know where to go.

Letting out an annoyed sigh, Chloe began walking along the streets at a brisk pace. Maybe she’d get lucky and just bump into Dupain-Cheng.

And then she couldn’t help but snort at the thought of considering bumping into Marinette lucky.

Chloe quickly began noticing more differences as she made her way down the streets, choosing her path at random. For one, not only was she dressed differently, but so was everyone else. They were wearing a totally different style entirely, as if they had walked straight out of a 1960s movie. Dupain-Cheng wasn’t the only one who knew fashion; Chloe had grown up around fashion moguls. Her mother had practically invented fashion itself. If Chloe couldn’t tell what time period a piece was from, then someone would have been seriously wrong with her. More than she already was by wearing this horrible outfit, of course.

Chloe went up and down sidewalks, peering into stores and houses, unable to recognize anything she was passing by. At first, it was somewhat interesting.

But after a while, it became stiflingly hot in her suit, and her feet began to ache.

Where was a limousine when you needed one?

The sun reached its peak, hovering in a black and white haze above Chloe. She was sweltering in her suit, but didn’t dare try to take it off; there was something very right about it in a very wrong way, as if she couldn’t remove it even if she tried.

She hated how everything here was right and wrong; it wasn’t… right. Or wrong, either. But certainly not right!

UGH.

Several hours in, Chloe was more lost than ever, her feet were blistering, and the sun was starting to go down. At one point, she thought she heard cheering - something about children? - but ignored it. Marinette wasn’t a child - well, not technically speaking. Emotionally, Chloe had always considered her as vulnerable as a toddler, and even easier to read and manipulate.

Unlike these street signs. Chloe’s eyes hurt from seeing just black and white all day, and with the light lessening, it was becoming even more difficult to read anything.

Grumbling, Chloe took to just walking in the middle of the road so she could check out both sides of the street more easily. It turned out to be a bad idea, however; before long, in the dark, her foot caught on something and sent her crashing to the ground.

“Ridiculous, utterly ridiculous!” Chloe hissed, twisting to see what she’d tripped on. It was just a pot hole covering. She kicked it back into place before standing, brushing herself off.

The sound of a door opening rang out across the street - but Chloe would have ignored it completely and moved on had it not been for a very familiar voice saying, “Be careful.”

Chloe’s pulse instantly kicked up a notch. Was that who she thought it was?

As if feeling her quickening pulse for her, the bees around Chloe began to buzz in earnest, fluttering around her head. “Hush!” Chloe ordered, trying to peer into the darkness toward where the words had come from. She twisted her head from left to right, not wanting to miss anything.

“What’s that?” the same voice gasped - yes, that was definitely Marinette. But… at the same time, Chloe could now also hear how she also was definitely Ladybug. How had she not noticed that before?

Where is she? Chloe thought in frustration, peering into the darkness.

But then, as she twisted her head again, she came to a stop.

There.

Marinette was staring at her, eyes wide. Her hand was clutching the shoulder of the person standing beside her.

And then Chloe noticed who the other person was.

His hair was the same blond that it had been when they were kids, and his physique was unmistakable; even the way he stood at attention. Yet… it seemed almost looser than normal, as if he were more relaxed around Marinette.

Adrien Agreste. Chloe’s childhood best friend.

But what arrested her attention the most were his eyes.

They weren’t green.

Instead, they were a bright, icy blue that showed up like a shock of lightning in the dark.

And he was looking straight. at. her.

“No,” he whispered. The word practically rumbled in the air; there was an innate feeling of power behind it. Chloe had grown up around politicians; she could have recognized it from a mile away, but in this case, it actually was like a physical presence backing it up - as if his word were the wind in front of a tsunami that rose up only a few moments behind it, towering above everything, ready to destroy everything in its path.

Adrien closed his fist, fingers curling in on themselves. There was a distinct clink and then-

-

“Pegasus, status update?” Rena Rogue asked, glancing over at the superhero that was obviously Max Kanté. Bunnyx had asked him to start looking at the holes in her burrow; Bunnyx might be the holder of the miraculous, but Max was still a genius.

“Nothing yet,” Pegasus reported. “If I had Ma- I mean, my robot here, then he might be able to help me…”

Rena winced; Max was not taking the loss of Markov lightly, yet was stoically attempting to not mention the robot too much. He had no idea that she already had figured out his identity.

“Actually…”

Rena looked up along with everyone else.

Pegasus was staring at the white circles, rubbing his chin, deep in thought. “It pushes back when I try to place my hand against it. This circle is unlike the one that I entered by. It’s as if it’s a solid mass.” He reached up, adjusting his sunglasses, the same way Max usually would adjust his glasses while thinking. “Newton’s third law of motion states that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. But… what if we could somehow bypass the wall that we are acting on?”

“Excuse me?” Bunnyx stared.

But Rena was catching on. “Like… through one of your portals?”

“Precisely,” Pegasus nodded. “However, it would need some way to link up to the circle itself; I doubt I could create a portal through time. My miraculous is not intended to work in such a fashion.”

“Whoah, everyone hold up,” Viperion held up his hands. “I only caught about half of that, but we can’t go in there!”

“Why not?” Pegasus and Rena asked in unison.

“First off, Fu and Chloe both already went in,” Viperion counted off the reasons on his fingers. “They haven’t come back. We have no idea if they even made it through in the first place. And, if they did, they’re undercover. Even if we could find an easier way to get through, by going in, we’d be blowing their cover.”

“By that logic, Chloe going in blew Fu’s,” Rena pointed out, crossing her arms.

“If we could just see what’s going on, that would help everything!” Bunnyx growled in frustration. “We need to know if they made it through or not!”

“And where they are now if they did,” Ryuko murmured in agreement.

Rena looked down at her flute and suddenly smirked. “I have an idea.”

-

“Are you sure about this?” Bunnyx checked one final time. “Giving me your miraculouses will reveal your identity to everyone present. That could endanger those you love if Hawkmoth-”

“Yeah, well, I don’t see Hawkmoth present,” Rena Rogue waved her hand dismissively. “Besides, who cares about him right now? We’re up against Cat Noir - or Chat Blanc - and, honestly, I’d be way more scared of getting in a fight with him than Hawkmoth. Besides,” she added, “all cards on the table, right? We’re your hand, and you’re playing us to your best tactical advantage.”

Bunnyx chewed her lip. Rena was right - she always had been logical that way. “Okay,” she finally relented - though she couldn’t deny a part of her was relieved. Rena’s idea was a good one, and Bunnyx was desperate to try and get eyes on the future. “You may remove your miraculouses.”

There was silence as Pegasus and Rena Rogue faced one another. It felt like a solemn moment; a last second of anonymity before being thrown into the spotlight.

They both took in a deep breath. There was a bright flash of light as both of them detransformed.

And then Alya Cesaire and Max Kanté were standing there instead.

“Wait, Alya?” Cat Noir gaped.

“Do you two know one another?” Max asked, glancing between them.

“Well, I mean,” Cat Noir stumbled over his words, “she’s the Ladyblogger. And I’ve saved her several times.”

Bunnyx could have facepalmed herself at the clumsy save.

“Here you go, Bunnyx,” Alya said as she and Max handed over their miraculouses to her.

Bunnyx slipped the sunglasses and the necklace on. The horse and fox kwamis instantly appeared in front of her. Bunnyx pulled out carrots, quickly feeding the tired kwamis. “You guys up for round two?”

Kaalki looked at her curiously. “Are you glorious and famous?”

Bunnyx gave her a look.

“Glorious,” Kaalki decided, popping the rest of the carrot in her mouth. “I’m ready!”

“Fluff, Kaalki, Trixx, unify!” Bunnyx declared.

It was a risky idea to act on. The more miraculouses a holder wore, the more dangerous it was for them - much less one being the miraculous of time.

But she was strong; Bunnyx didn’t doubt that she could handle it. After all, if Mini-bug could wear all of them, then this should be a cinch.

There was a burst of light, and a moment later, she stood in her new form. A wave of dizziness crashed over her, and for a breathless moment, Bunnyx thought she was about to faint. She stumbled, leaning heavily on Alya and Max for support.

“You good?” Alya grunted.

“Just peachy,” Bunnyx mumbled, the dizziness slowly fading. She took in a deep breath, steadying herself, then pushed up. “All right. Let’s do this.”

“What should we call you now?” Alya asked, trotting beside her as Bunnyx strode over to the white circles, the rest of the heroes tailing them. “If I ever get to talk about this on my blog, I need a name.”

“There’s no time to decide,” Bunnyx replied. “Just continue calling me Bunnyx.” She stopped before the white circles. “I hope your idea works.”

Everyone leaned closer, watching intently.

Bunnyx took her umbrella, sliding the flute along up it and lodging it in place with the horseshoe. Then, slowly, she began sliding it into the white circle.

For several tense seconds, she felt the whiteness push back, as if it were a truly physical force.

Gritting her teeth and sending up a prayer that this would work, Bunnyx said, “Burrow, Voyage, Mirage!”

It was probably the longest shot of shots that she’d ever attempted. Reaching through time, bypassing a force keeping them locked out, and…

The white circle flickered.

Bunnyx caught her breath. Had the mirage really reached through?

The other heroes gathered around, peering at the white, crackling… whatever it was. It honestly reminded Bunnyx a little of an old TV.

And then, the static cleared up, leaving them with a black and white image instead.

{Audience laughs}

Bunnyx jumped at the sound, almost losing her grip on her umbrella. “Holy hopping dust bunnies! What is that?”

“So… because we’re doing this dinner for us… you thought we should make the whole thing?”

“That can’t be right,” Alya squinted, leaning in a little closer. “That’s Adrien Agreste. Chat Blanc is nowhere in sight.”

“Basically.”

“And that’s Marinette,” Max pointed. “What is she doing here?”

“Hands off, dude; I can’t see!” Nino complained.

“Quiet!” Bunnyx ordered, her voice strained. They were finally able to see through, and these teenagers were yelling over it!

“Have you at all considered the fact that you usually bake, and I don’t really cook?”

{Audience laughs}

At the sound of the canned laughter, Bunnyx flinched again. What was this, a movie from the 50’s?

“That’s why we have a recipe, Adrien. It’s the kind of thing people use when they’re cooking.”

{Audience laughs}

“What do you need help with?”

“Could you grab out the knives?”

“Planning a murder, my dear?”

{Audience laughs}

“What…?” Bunnyx breathed.

“What are we looking at?” Viperion asked. “What is this? Where’s it coming from?”

“Out there,” Bunnyx murmured, hoping that the answer would make these kids be quiet already. Her eyes were locked on the… well, for lack of a better word, she had to admit that it now looked almost like a screen.

“Now, we’re going to need some spices…”

“Is it authentic?” Alya frowned. “Is it happening in real time? Is it recorded, fabricated?”

Would these kids just be quiet already?

“I don’t know,” Bunnyx cast a glance at Alya, her voice tense. “We’re reaching through space and time. It could have reached some kind of alternate reality for all we know.”

“So you’re saying that the universe created a sitcom staring… a model and a fashion designer,” Viperion said drily.

“I’m not saying that! I’m just theorizing!” Bunnyx waved him off, trying to pay attention to the feed. Possible alternate reality or not, this was the first time she’d seen something through the circle since she’d sent Mini-bug in there.

The scene played out, Marinette panicking over how much they had left to do - and then suggested they use their miraculouses.

“Their… miraculouses?” King Monkey blinked.

Bunnyx thought fast. “Oh, Marinette once used the mouse miraculous against Kwami Buster, and Ladybug originally gave the snake miraculous to Adrien Agreste; they must be referring to those.”

“She gave it to Adrien first?” Viperion stared.

Cat Noir shifted a couple steps away from Viperion.

“Green is not a good colour on you, Viperion,” Bunnyx said. “I mean… jealousy. You’re already in green.” She let out a tense sigh. “Would you all please be quiet now? I’m trying to hear what’s going on.”

She was desperate to hear what was going on; Minibug would never suggest that they use their miraculouses for personal gain; never.

But, almost more concerning was the fact that she was acting as if Adrien had her miraculous. If Adrien was Cat Noir, and in this world had been akumatized into Chat Blanc, that could only spell trouble.

“What the heck?” Nino yelped in the back of the group as… well, as he walked in through the door. “That’s me!”

“Nino!” Marinette exclaimed, confirming the fact that it really was Nino Lahiffe there for them.

“What’s up?” Nino asked, smiling widely, showing all his teeth. “Do I smell chicken?”

“I don’t actually smile like that, right?” Nino whispered from behind Bunnyx to Alya.

Bunnyx shushed him.

The three did the dishes, and then Nino left - only to be quickly replaced by the Dupain-Chengs, and…

“That’s Emilie Agreste!” Alya gasped.

Cat Noir made a strangled sound in the back of his throat.

Adrien on the screen didn’t appear phased by her appearance, however. Instead, they all ate dinner today, and then Adrien and Emilie left.

And then… credits began rolling.

“Is this a TV show?” Ryuko frowned. “Did you access a channel by accident, Bunnyx?”

“No way,” Bunnyx shook her head desperately. “I… I couldn’t have.” Of course, she’d never tried doing what she’d done before, so she didn’t know that for a fact.

“What would a channel featuring us be named?” King Monkey pondered. “The Family Channel? Gloob? Zag?”

“Stop making stuff up, King Monkey,” Max chided. “Now is not the time.”

Now certainly wasn’t the time for anything these kids were talking about. Bunnyx needed to be able to think. Mini-bug appeared to be fine; it was as if she didn’t know anything was even wrong.

“Marinette seemed a little… off, don’t you think?” Nino frowned. “I’ve never seen her greet me like that before.”

“But she’s dating Adrien,” Alya pointed out. “That’s a pretty good thing, right?”

“Why would she want to date Adrien Agreste?” Cat Noir mumbled. He was standing in the back of the group, his arms folded tightly across his chest, as if distancing himself from the mess that his future self had caused.

“She’s had the biggest crush on him since the first day they met,” Alya shrugged. “After she gave him heck when she thought he’d stuck gum on her seat, of course. But that was just Chloe.”

Cat Noir jerked his head up and stared at her. “She liked… Adrien?”

“Yep,” Alya confirmed.

Cat Noir’s eyes practically dilated, and Bunnyx could just see him connecting the dots in his head. If Marinette is Ladybug… and Ladybug always told me that there was another boy… that other boy was Adrien Agreste… and if Adrien Agreste was me the whole time…

“Enough!” Bunnyx exclaimed. These teens got sidetracked way too easily. Though she was willing to forgive Cat Noir at least a little; this was all probably starting to get a little too overwhelming for him. Just not in entirely all the ways that the others thought.

The credits finished rolling, and Bunnyx stared at the screen for a few moments. That episode hadn’t revealed anything helpful; only more questions… and no sign of Fu.

That couldn’t be it… could it?

“Now what?” Nino finally asked.

As if in response, the screen flickered back to life.

For a moment, Bunnyx thought it was about to replay the same thing they’d just watched, the way her burrows would replay when she touched them.

But then a theme song began blaring.

And it was different.

“Is this a new… episode?” Alya stared.

Bunnyx squinted at it. The theme song was still in black and white, but looked less like it was from the 50’s and more like it was from the 60’s.

The new… well, like Alya had said, episode began to play. It appeared to be the middle of the night, and Emilie was telling Adrien that something was outside.

Bunnyx’s heart leapt; could it possibly be Master Fu?

“Chloe?” Viperion blinked. “That was fast.”

Obviously Bunnyx and Viperion had very different ideas as to who the more capable searcher was in there.

They watched Adrien head towards of the door of the apartment, moving to go check on something. He was doing something with his hands, but the camera angle only showed him from the back.

And then… he switched direction, heading for the window instead.

Bunnyx realized what he was about to do a second too late. “Wait-!”

Before she could order the other heroes to turn around, Adrien whispered, “Plagg, claws out.”

There was a flash of white, and a moment later, Chat Blanc opened up the window began climbing the outside wall.

Everybody froze, staring.

And then slowly turned to look at Cat Noir, who was still standing in the back of the group.

“Adrien?” Ryuko stared, looking the most shocked she had during this whole situation.

“Bro?” Nino gaped.

“You’re Chat Blanc?” Viperion asked.

Cat Noir winced. “Uh… hi?”

“Wait…” Nino clutched at his head. “So all those times you disappeared during attacks…? And wait, during the past 3 weeks, you’ve been fighting akumas on your own?!”

“Maybe?” Cat Noir said it like it was a question, as if there was still some way for him to plausibly deny it.

“Wait!” Alya exclaimed, her fingers twitching, as if she was resisting the strong urge to grab out her phone. “If you, Cat Noir, are Adrien, and that makes you Chat Blanc, and Ladybug is stuck in the future with future you, and this show is featuring Adrien and Marinette…”

The blood slowly drained from Bunnyx’s face as everyone fell silent, the obvious conclusion lying in plain sight. Bunnyx might not agree with Fu’s rules, but if there were two identities she had wanted to keep secret above all others, they were Mini-bug’s and Cat Noir’s.

“Marinette is Ladybug?” Alya choked when nobody contradicted her. “Like… for real?”

“You all weren’t supposed to know,” Bunnyx groaned. “I thought we could keep it secret…”

Tap. Tap. Tap tap tap.

Bunnyx gave the screen a cursory glance, unsure as to where her attention should even be focused any longer. Chat Blanc was still on the wall, and it was now revealed that it had only been a tree branch that had scared Emilie.

Still no sign of Fu, then.

“My best friend has been fighting akumas all school year?!” Alya looked like she was either about to have a panic attack or faint.

Bunnyx rallied herself; she needed to get control of this situation. “Everyone, calm down!”

The heroes instantly quieted down, looking at her with varying degrees of shock and panic displayed on their faces. It wasn’t exactly calm, but at least it was slightly more quiet.

Bunnyx decided to just grab the bull by the horns. “Yes, Cat Noir is Adrien Agreste, and Marinette is Mini-bug. I’m sorry, Cat Noir, I didn’t mean for them all to find out your identity.”

“It’s not your fault,” Cat Noir shook his head wearily.

“So in the future, Marinette is Ladybug… and she’s dating you… who is…” Alya’s brow was scrunched up, trying to put the pieces together in her mind.

“Chat Blanc,” Bunnyx finished, glancing at the screen as Chat Blanc made his way back along the wall to the window. “And Mini-bug seems to know that he is, yet isn’t concerned in the least. Which is extremely puzzling.”

“Is this a love triangle or square?” Alya asked.

“Square,” Nino supplied.

“Marinette would never willingly assist a villain,” Viperion shook his head, then cast an uncomfortable glance at Cat Noir. “No offence.”

“Do you know her?” Alya asked, casting a curious glance at the snake hero.

“And then end with a backflip going into the splits.”

They all turned back to the screen at the sound of Marinette’s voice. Bunnyx drew in a sharp breath, just as Chat Blanc did a backflip going into the splits.

Because Mini-bug was there on screen with him in her own superhero outfit.

“They seem a little tired,” Marinette was saying when Bunnyx finally got her brain to pay attention to what they were actually saying again. “Are you sure we should be using these for our routine?”

“Routine?” Max repeated, confusion obvious in his voce.

“It’s fine,” Adrien replied on screen. “Everyone will just think we’re wearing costumes of their favourite superheroes, Ladybug and Chat Blanc!”

And with that, the pieces finally began to click into place in Bunnyx’s head.

“Superheroes,” she whispered. “Mini-bug thinks that they’re both superheroes, the way she and Cat Noir are! But now…”

“It’s with Chat Blanc,” Cat Noir finished quietly from the back.

“She doesn’t realize that anything’s wrong,” Bunnyx nodded.

Marinette headed on out of the apartment, joining Emilie Agreste. They began heading down the street chatting about some committee meeting and Lila Rossi.

But as the pair of them went around a corner, the camera panned out and around them to get a better view of them from the other side - and that’s when Bunnyx saw him.

She gasped. “Master Fu!”

There he was: he was barely even in the shot, narrowly making it in at this new angle, shuffling along down the sidewalk behind Marinette and Emilie, as if heading in the same direction as them.

But it was him.

“Does he seem okay to you?” Cat Noir, leaning around King Monkey’s shoulder to see better. The monkey superhero leaned a little further to give him a better look; everyone seemed to understand that, while knowing Cat Noir’s identity was huge, they had to wait to truly process it until later.

“He doesn’t appear to be harmed in any way,” Bunny said, relieved, “but that’s definitely not the outfit that he went in there with. And those turtles! What’s up with that?”

“So, what, deep cover?” Alya suggested, her reporter gears clearly already turning. “Fu has to play along?”

“With whom?” Viperion shook his head. “Or else, what?” He frowned, studying the screen even as Marinette and Emilie continued talking. “What are we looking at here? Because things have obviously changed; is it an alternate reality? Just time travel?”

“For all we know, it could be a cockamamie social experiment,” Max pointed out.

“It’s a sitcom,” Bunnyx said. “A 1950s sitcom - or, at least, the first episode was. This one might be in the 60’s.”

“But why?” Viperion insisted.

“Hey, man, we’re working with the same scarcity of intel,” Bunnyx held up her free hand as if to shield herself. She glanced back at the screen. “But I think I’m starting to get an idea for something we can try.”

She finally had seen Fu. Just knowing that he was all right, that he had made it through, made Bunnyx feel as if a huge weight had been lifted from her shoulders. New courage flooded through her.

If it was possible to get through the white that was overtaking her burrow, that meant…

They might actually be able to beat it.

The screen changed back to Adrien, who was heading out of the apartment.

“An idea? What is it?” Alya asked excitedly. “A way to break my best friend out from… whatever this is?”

“Not entirely,” Bunnyx shook her head. “More of… a way of possibly contacting Mini-bug and Adrien.”

“Both of them?” Viperion noted.

“Cut it out,” Bunnyx said cuttingly. “She liked Adrien who’s Cat Noir and is now with an akumatized version of him in the future. Get over it. And, yes, both of them. We don’t know exactly what happened, but it was centered on Mini-bug and Chat Blanc. They’re both good options to try and contact.”

“Markov!” Max suddenly yelled, surging forward.

Everybody whipped their heads about to look back again.

On screen, Adrien was holding… something. It was an odd ball of sorts, a bright blue oval decorating the front of it and a cone attached to the bottom sticking out form it. It was the first sign of colour they’d seen so far.

“That looks like a retro version of my robot,” Max said, practically blocking the entire screen with how closely he was leaning in.

“But how did it change, and why?” Ryuko said as Bunnyx pulled Max back.

“Uh… to go with production design?” Nino suggested. He’d directed stuff before, so he would probably knew about those sort of things.

But Bunnyx found she didn’t entirely agree with that theory.

“Or render it useless,” she murmured, watching Adrien study it.

“Why’d you colourize it?” Alya asked. “How did you even do that?”

“I didn’t.” Bunnyx shook her head.

Adrien turned, marching back to the apartment and closing the door behind him. When he emerged again, only moments later, Markov was gone.

“Where did he go?!” Max exclaimed, his voice panicked, and rushed at the screen.

“Don’t touch it!” Bunnyx yelled, letting go of her umbrella to tackle Max. She landed hard, and grunted. “If we interfere with the feed we have coming through, we might never be able to get it again!”

“But Markov…!” Max struggled weakly beneath her strong grip.

“Calm down, Max,” Bunnyx ordered. She began to raise herself off of him, still using her hands to keep him pinned down in case he tried anything again. “Adrien may have just hidden him somewhere; he was colourized, after all. That would have made him stand out.”

“I wouldn’t destroy Markov, if that makes you feel any better,” Cat Noir volunteered.

Max stopped struggling, panting. “Yeah… yeah, that helps.”

Bunnyx let go of Max, glancing over to make sure her umbrella was still good. It was leaning, but its tip was still inside the circle, the handle resting on the base of her burrow. “What did we miss?”

“Marinette is talking with Fu,” Ryuko recounted, the only who had thought to continue watching, “and her kwami fell into his aquarium.”

“Tikki what?” Bunnyx yelped. “That’s bad. If she gets a cold…”

“Master Fu has an aquarium?” Cat Noir asked. “I didn’t see that when I visited him.”

“Well, he certainly didn’t have that shirt when I last saw him either,” Bunnyx grunted, brushing herself off as she stood.

“You’ve visited him before?” King Monkey asked.

“Can Master Fu help if her kwami gets a cold?” Max asked.

“Wait, is he part of the committee now?” Alya stared.

“It appears so,” Ryuko shrugged, even as the screen switched on them again.

“He found her,” Bunnyx realized, barely paying attention to the new environment being panned around on the screen, or anything the heroes were saying, “and now he’s tailing her. Master Fu had nothing but utter faith in Mini-bug; he’s probably waiting to try and help in some way, or maybe is trying to gain her trust!”

“They’re talking!” Nino told her. “Or… that is,  we are.”

Bunnyx looked at the screen, paying attention to the new scene for the first time - and blinked.

It was back to Adrien.

But he was sitting at a table… with most of her old classmates.

“I could help you with some melodies to go along with it, if you want,” Luka Couffaine offered onscreen.

Viperion drew in a breath.

“What?” Alya asked, glancing at him.

But, just then, Bunnyx’s eyes fell on something. “Radio!” she exclaimed.

“What?” Alya yelped the word this time, almost falling over from the force of Bunnyx’s exclamation.

“There was a radio in the kitchen in the first episode,” Bunnyx said, scrambling forward to grip her umbrella, “and now there’s one on that table. We can try and reach you, Adrien!”

“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” Cat Noir asked uncertainly.

Bunnyx paused, glancing over her shoulder at him. Clearly, they were the only two to have developed a new theory about Chat Blanc - one that was likely right.

But when all they did was silently observed each other, Bunnyx knew that Cat Noir was just as interested as she was in sharing it with the others - as in, not at all.

“We have to try,” Bunnyx said instead, finally breaking eye contact and looking back at her umbrella. “If Mini-bug doesn’t know what’s going on, he might. He could help us.” She doubted that, actually, but was still interested in testing out her theory.

Bunnyx twisted her umbrella about, as if tuning it to the perfect signal. She focused, the powers of space and time colliding within her and honing in on their target: the radio.

On screen, the boys were still talking about Ivan’s song for Mylene. Now was as good a time as any to do this - not to mention, Bunnyx didn’t know when the scene might change; for all she knew, she only had a couple of seconds to try this.

“Adrien,” Bunnyx said into the handle of her umbrella, not entirely sure where else to speak.

She stared hard at the Adrien on screen. There didn’t seem to be any reaction from him, so she tried again. “Adrien, can you read me, over?”

“I knew it was bad!” Ivan exclaimed on screen.

Bunnyx tried to focus despite the yelling. “Adrien?”

There was a blip on screen, and beat later, it had cut to Marinette, who was nervously clutching Tikki in her hands.

Everyone stared.

“Well that didn’t work,” Cat Noir finally said.

“Just wait,” Bunnyx said, her voice brittle. “Once it switches back to you, I’ll try again.”

She couldn’t afford for it to not work.

“I might have left the radio behind by then,” Cat Noir pointed out.

“Or maybe not,” Bunnyx countered.

A beat later, it switched back.

Still Adrien. Still at the table.

Still close to the radio.

Instantly, Bunnyx was trying to tune in to the radio again. This time, however, the camera kept switching angles, making it difficult to focus on the radio. She gritted her teeth, sweat dripping down her forehead.

“I need to go,” Adrien said.

Bunnyx focused harder.

Adrien stopped.

Bunnyx’s breath caught; was she getting through?

Just as she went to speak into her umbrella again, however, a jolt went through her body.

“Ack!” she exclaimed, dropping her umbrella.

“What is it?” Cat Noir was by her side in an instant.

Bunnyx shook out her hands, frazzled. “I… I’m not sure. It was like a shock or something.”

“Sit down for a minute,” Ryuko suggested - although it sounded a little bit like an order, coming from her.

Bunnyx sat down obediently. Past or future, one did not simply ignore Ryuko unless they were interested in getting their butt kicked. And her head was kind of dizzy, anyway. Bunnyx focused on breathing, and tried to pay at least some attention to the screen.

The episode played out, Marinette and Adrien doing their act without their miraculouses due to Tikki’s illness. Bunnyx watched with increasing worry over the little pink kwami - until, at last, Fu approached and offered to heal her ‘cat’.

“Is the episode ending?” Viperion asked as Marinette and Adrien headed back to Adrien’s apartment.

“It looks like it,” Bunnyx frowned.

Marinette and Adrien entered the apartment, Marinette talking about a surprise - and food.

There was a sudden blip, and then-

Zwoosh!

Everybody involuntarily screamed, scattering as a body burst out of the burrow hole and slammed into the ground right where they’d been.

The person groaned.

“Chloe!” Cat Noir exclaimed, dropping to his knees beside her.

Chloe - Queen Bee - let out a shallow gasp, as if her lungs were unable to get any air. Her eyes fluttered open - but as soon as they landed upon Cat Noir, they widened, fear obvious in them as she lurched away from him. “N-no…!”

“It’s okay!” Viperion was in front of her in an instant, placing calming hands on her shoulders. “Just breathe, Queen Bee. You’re okay.” He paused. “I mean, I think you are? What happened?”

“Adrien,” Queen Bee gasped out, one of her desperate hands clawing at Viperion’s, her other one wrapping around herself.

“Wait, you saw him?” Bunnyx jumped in, not waiting for Queen Bee to pull herself together. “We didn’t even see you through the feed!”

“See…?” Queen Bee twisted, her other hand still clutching her stomach, only to freeze when she saw the screen. “There- there! Adrien!” Here voice rose to a shriek at the end, and everyone winced.

“What happened, Queenie?” Cat Noir asked, staying several paces back.

Queen Bee stood there, panting, for several moments. Slowly, her shoulders relaxed slightly, and she blinked, as if her mind was just returning to reality. “S… sorry,” Queen Bee muttered, stepping away from Viperion, wrapping both her arms around herself. “You sounded so much like Adrikins for a moment that I panicked. He just… I don’t know, ejected me or something.”

“What are you talking about?” Cat Noir said at the same time that Alya said, “He is Adrien.”

“He’s what?” Queen Bee stared. Then, she stormed over to Cat Noir. “Adrien Agreste, are you telling me you’ve been risking your life these past 3 weeks by yourself?”

“That’s what I said!” Nino exclaimed.

“Everybody, shut up!” Bunnyx yelled. The heroes fell silent, and Bunnyx roughly shoved hair out of her eyes, letting out a pent up breath. “Queen Bee, tell us what happened.”

Queen Bee shot another venomous glare at Cat Noir, as if promising their conversation would continue later. “It was… wrong. Yet right. It was Paris, but in black and white. And I was in a disgusting outfit with bees flying around.” She shuddered.

“Queen Bee, please,” Bunnyx said, desperate for information.

“Fine, okay!” Queen Bee shook her head, as if trying to clear it. She wrapped her arms around herself again. “I saw Adrien - well, Chat Blanc, I suppose.” She shot a glance at Cat Noir. “But… he had blue eyes.”

“Blue?” Bunnyx repeated, simultaneously confused and wondering how this was important.

Queen Bee shuddered. “It was horrible. They were ice. Marinette was there with him. I’d wandered around all day, trying to find her. But then… Adrikins clenched his hand, and…. then I was here.”

“A suit with bees?” Bunnyx repeated, her mind unable to let go of that piece of information. “Wait. Fu has turtles.” She blinked, the pieces clicking together. “This future doesn’t seem to want us to reach it. It has been fighting us since we first began trying to get in. Maybe it’s revealing who we really are!” She began to pace. “And Markov - it must’ve turned him into something to match the time period the show was set in at the time.”

“Show?” Queen Bee repeated weakly, sitting down.

As if on cue, the credits began to roll.

“Wait, was that in colour?” Viperion asked. “I wasn’t even watching.”

“Yes,” Ryuko confirmed simply.

Everyone sat down at once, as if all this was too much to process. Bunnyx stopped her pacing to stare at the screen, hard, as the third episode began.

It was in colour.

Cat Noir drew in a sharp breath at the sight of Adrien on screen - and Bunnyx had to resist doing the same thing herself. Chloe had been right; his eyes were piercing blue.

They silently watched it play out. Marinette was planning a surprise, going around doing errands for it. Adrien disappeared for a short time, heading outside before the screen switched back to Marinette. When it finally showed him again, he was heading back to the apartment.

After the excitement of the last episode, it seemed almost like… a let down. Overall, the whole episode appeared to be harmless enough. There was no new information; Fu was still there, still helping Marinette and gaining her trust. Kim also made an appearance, as did Bunnyx’s old teacher, Ms. Bustier, but nothing truly serious happened.

As the episode wound down, however, Adrien was left alone with Fu in the apartment.

There was a sudden blip on the TV, and-

Adrien was alone.

Bunnyx leapt forward, alarmed. “Fu’s gone!”

As if summoned by her words, a body rocketed out of the burrow, white light flashing brilliantly as they exploded from the burrow. Queen Bee screamed as it narrowly missed slamming into Bunnyx, shooting out past her and flying into their midst.

As soon as it had crashed down, however, they all instantly recognized who it was.

“Master Fu!” Alya exclaimed.

“Are you okay?” Nino’s jaw dropped.

“What happened?” Queen Bee demanded, already seeming to have recovered from her shock, struggling to push herself up.

“Where’s Ladybug?” Cat Noir asked, desperation clear in his tone.

Master Fu slowly opened his eyes, letting out a groan and closing them again.

“Fu,” Bunnyx knelt down beside him, relief at seeing him back and yet fear for the same reason colliding within her. “What happened?”

Slowly, Fu opened his eyes again.

“Fu?” Bunnyx hated to rush him, but her nerves were grating incessantly that the show was still running right now.

Master Fu’s gaze locked on her. With obvious effort, he whispered, “I…”

“Fu?” Bunnyx frowned, worried. There was a pale pallor to the old man that wasn’t normal.

Master Fu closed his eyes, as if pained. “Bunnyx… I don’t know if we can rescue her.”

-

Feet pounded on the stairs, someone obviously taking them two at a time.

Someone burst into the apartment behind Adrien. “Wang Fu!” Marrinette’s voice called. “Your turtles… I’m sorry but they’re…”

She stopped short. Adrien could hear the way her breath was coming in short gasps.

After several tense moments, she finally asked, “Adrien? Where… where’s Wang Fu?”

For a moment, Adrien tried to figure out how to answer that. At last, though, he settled on simply saying, “Oh, he left, Marinette. He had to rush home.”

He turned around-

And gasped.

“What?” Marinette asked, concerned. “What is it? What’s wrong?”

Except… she wasn’t Marinette.

Not really.

Not anymore.

Her body was grey, as if she were a statue. Despite not wearing the earrings, she appeared to be in her superhero suit, staring at Adrien with dull, lifeless eyes.

Adrien turned his face away. “I…”

He could hear the way Marinette was taking a few hesitant steps forward. “You’ve always worked so hard for others; maybe we should take a trip out of the city or something.” She was beside him now, slipping her arm through his. “We’re superheroes, kitty. We can go wherever we want, once we put the suits on.”

She was suggesting using the miraculouses for their own gain - out of her own free will.

For him.

Adrien steadied himself with a breath, then looked at her.

Marinette was back to normal.

“No, we can’t,” he finally whispered. “This is our home. Paris is the reason that we donned these suits, so… in Paris we shall remain.”

Marinette’s brow crinkled in concern. “Are you sure?”

Adrien’s face relaxed into a smile at her. It was amazing having her back - but even better to feel her love. He’d missed her so much. “Don’t worry, buginette. I have everything under control.”

-

“Master Fu…” Bunnyx hesitated. “Are you all right?”

What she hoped he was about to say was that he wasn’t, he’d hit his head on the way out, and what he’d just said wasn’t true.

But she knew just from the way he looked at her that her hope was in vain.

Rallying himself once more, Fu locked eyes with her and gasped out, “It’s Adrien. It’s all Adrien.”

-

“I’m back!” Emilie announced.

Marinette twisted about, looking at her. “Oh, so soon?”

“I realized I didn’t need to go out after all,” Emilie replied cheerfully. She came around the couch to them, laying a quick kiss on Adrien’s forehead.

Adrien smiled at them both. “Well, what should we watch tonight?”

First / Previous / Next {Coming Soon!}

[lit-in-thy-heart]

For the ask game, the scene in marigolds where they rescue Gwaine from the rock and Merlin summons the fucking massive dragon and Pelleas helps them and Lancelot threatens to haunt him if he double crosses them 🤣🤣🤣 ICONIC

dfghjkl ah yes the scene that would have been lancelot clutching adoption papers had his hands not been full with gwaine 🤣

ngl the merlin shouting in the background was actually partially inspired by six days but obviously in a different context (and that scene is also one that springs to mind for you because i still can't, it legitimately had me in hysterics) but merlin screaming in the background whilst other people are trying to have a conversation is something i love :D

i feel like lance haunting people would just be him appearing when they're on the toilet or something and giving them a withering glare. he's not really the type to follow them around with unholy screams and i think that's very original of him

tysm for the ask!!! 💕💕

(the scene is under the cut)

In all Gwaine’s nightmares, it had been light when he had been about to drown. Clouds had formed a shield around him, preventing any rescue, and he had been helpless as the tide had gradually crept forward like a legion, struggling against bonds that he could see but not untie. This, somehow, was worse. The moonlight ricocheted off the water’s surface and refracted in numerous directions, illuminating patches of the sea that left Gwaine completely at a loss as to the vastness of it. Even though he knew dry land was close, the rock – now at a higher level than his head – obscured his view and, wherever he looked, it was all darkness and glimmering scales where the moonlight dipped its fingers into the sea. Wherever he looked, he was alone.

The cold was digging its nails into him and trying to draw blood but instead injecting fatigue and Gwaine, knowing nothing but the certainty of his fate, closed his eyes once more. He relaxed his muscles as his mouth became submerged in the water, diluted salt trickling into his parted lips, his nose only millimetres from joining it. At least Anselm wouldn’t be able to use him to control Merlin. At least he wouldn’t be able to fail Merlin and Lancelot again. At least it would all be over.

‘Gwaine! Gwaine!’

Apparently hearing the voices of the people you loved in your final moments wasn’t just a comforting myth, because Lancelot’s voice was piercing the rolling fog in Gwaine’s head quite successfully. It was odd that he could also hear Merlin roaring spells in the distance, too, because Gwaine didn’t really associate Merlin with violence. Merlin and his voice belonged to the tentative dawn and amongst the chorus of birds that came with it, belonged with the rustling leaves in a gentle breeze and the jewelled grass, not to the furious fire that could take apart whole armies. Just like Lancelot and his voice belonged to the stark sunset and the whispers of tendrils of clouds, belonged with the constellations that covered the heavens in a thin layer of protective dust and the bleeding colours of day, not to the agonised desperation that could cause the sky itself to fissure.

Still, any last thoughts of them brought Gwaine comfort.

There was a blunt shout from behind but Gwaine didn’t react, wanting nothing more than to sleep. His nose ducked below the surface and everything around him became muffled as his ears were cushioned by the water.

It might have been for minutes or years that Gwaine was suspended there, tethered to the rock, before he was hauled from the water with someone calling his name in a strangled voice between obscene swearing.

An arm was wrapped around Gwaine’s waist to support him as he instinctively tried to inhale and began coughing, his whole body convulsing in the attempt to dispel the water. After the threat had seemingly been combated, his legs gave way but he was caught before he could fall and drawn close to a hammering heart.

Gwaine could feel the next words stir within him, transmitted by the vibrations of his rescuer’s vocal cords, as he drifted to the fringes of consciousness. ‘Merlin! Merlin, I’ve got him!’ Something angular dropped onto the top of Gwaine’s head, movement grating against his scalp. ‘It’s okay, it’s okay. We’ve got you, you’re safe.’

‘Lance…’M’sorry…’

Lancelot, feeling Gwaine’s body go limp, rested him against the rock, hand fumbling for a pulse in panic. Glancing towards the shore, he could see that Merlin was gradually advancing, his face contorted with rage in the flashes of it Lancelot could catch as flares embedded themselves in bandits. Lancelot had seen Merlin use magic before, of course, but never so violently; from the moment they had broken from the cell, Merlin had been ruthless in the damage he had dealt. The streaks of fire penetrating the atmosphere provided Lancelot with a little visual aid and, satisfied that Gwaine was still breathing, he used his own body to prop up his partner, hands groping for the shackles.

Merlin was going to kill him for discarding his sling – if the pain in his shoulder didn’t kill him first – but Lancelot gritted his teeth and focused instead on trying to free Gwaine. Which, apparently, was going to be harder than he’d first thought. The waves were slapping against higher and higher points of Lancelot’s back and he pushed one leg between both of Gwaine’s to steady him further. His fingers clawed at the iron uselessly, trying to pull apart the cuffs around Gwaine’s wrists, but it was futile. Frantically, Lancelot turned his gaze back towards the shore and latched onto Merlin’s formidable figure, who was in the middle of throwing back the bandit posted to guard Gwaine, whom Lancelot had darted past in the darkness.

‘They’re chains,’ Lancelot cried out when Merlin was close enough, voice cracking, ‘chains, not rope. I can’t get them off.’

Merlin splashed through the water as quickly as he could, fingers grazing Lancelot’s as he examined the chains. There was an explosion of light as Merlin muttered an incantation and winced, his hand going to his chest. He brushed off the twinge and checked that the tether had been severed, glancing towards Lancelot. ‘We have to get him out of the water and get him warm.’

Lancelot was already in the process of doing so; he had laid Gwaine out on the rock once more and was angling his body to drape Gwaine over his uninjured shoulder.

‘Lance, no, your shoulder—’

‘I’ll be careful,’ Lancelot replied, straightening his posture and hooking his left arm around the backs of Gwaine’s knees. ‘Unless you have a better solution?’

‘I’ll take him.’

‘Over my dead body,’ was the sharp response. ‘You’re not meant to be lifting heavy objects and I’m pretty sure a human body comes under the category of “heavy objects”. Do you still have the cloak?’ Lancelot added as he began to wade back to shore, nervously keeping an eye on the castle’s silhouette.

Following the knight, Merlin untied the cloak from his waist. ‘I can do a drying spell,’ he offered. ‘I don’t know how much it will help, but anything is better than nothing, right?’

With a nod, Lancelot spun around when his boots made contact with dry land and watched Merlin place a hand on Gwaine’s exposed back. His eyes shone and, as they faded, he arranged the cloak over Gwaine’s form. Lancelot trapped the material between his hand and Gwaine’s legs, looking towards the castle again. ‘It’s not going to take them long to figure out where we’ve gone. And Gwaine took more blows than he can probably handle back in the throne room…’

Lancelot broke off before he added to his panic by recalling the images that had shot by only moments before – of Gwaine seemingly lifeless in the water, his slurred speech, his helplessness. This was the second time in just over a fortnight that Lancelot had felt his heart contract with terror at the sight of Gwaine’s lifeless form, but he was no less used to it. Stilling for a moment, Lancelot registered the faint sound of Gwaine breathing and relaxed slightly. They had to get him to Camelot.

Merlin’s hand was resting on his uninjured shoulder. ‘It’s alright. I’ve got an idea. We need to start moving towards the mainland.’

‘It’s not something stupid or dangerous, is it?’

‘Not for us,��� Merlin assured him, giving Lancelot’s shoulder a small squeeze. He kissed him gently before dropping a kiss in the midst of Gwaine’s now-dry hair. ‘We’re going to be okay. Start moving. I’ll catch up.’

Lights – pinpricks of bronze blood against the night sky – were eddying towards them from the direction of the castle. ‘Merlin—’

Merlin pushed his shoulder. ‘I’ll be fine. Go. Get Gwaine to safety.’

Hesitating momentarily, Lancelot started forwards as the lights behind them expanded. With his right arm hanging limply by his side, he contracted the muscles in his left arm to more firmly support Gwaine and glanced over his shoulder. Merlin had turned away and stood with his legs slightly apart, his head tilted towards the sky. The words that emerged from his mouth reached Lancelot clearly, but that didn’t help him decipher their meaning.

'O drakon, e male so ftengometta tesd'hup'anankes!’

Although, picking up on the word ‘drakon’, Lancelot could hazard a guess as to what would be involved. Merlin repeated the phrase, more insistently this time, and the guttural quality to the syllables that stretched over Merlin’s tongue sent Lancelot’s skin erupting into goosebumps.

He turned his mouth towards Gwaine’s motionless body, the faint smile grazing the muscles concealed by the cloak. ‘Gwaine,’ he whispered, ‘you are going to kick yourself later for missing this.’ It might have been his imagination, but Gwaine seemed to shift slightly against him. ‘But don’t worry, my love, I’ll tell you all about it when you’re better.’ He paused before pressing a kiss to the cloak. ‘Rest well, now, my love, it’s all going to be fine, I promise you.’

Raising his head, Lancelot looked back at Merlin, who was still standing stubbornly in the place that he’d been left. He was also still shouting and didn’t notice a figure streak past until they were halfway towards Lancelot. Breaking off his call, Merlin fired a ball of flames at the figure but they swerved to the side and stumbled to a halt beside Lancelot, who had ceased all movement.

Reflexively, Lancelot reached down and removed the knife Gwaine had given him from his boot, biting down on his lip to avoid crying out, and held it out. ‘Don’t come any closer,’ he threatened.

‘Put the knife down, I’m here to help you.’

Still holding the knife, Lancelot squinted at the tangled hair. ‘You’re the one Gwaine had to fight. You were going to kill him.’

‘Anselm would have killed me.’ The bandit let out an impatient noise. ‘Look, I don’t know what batshit thing your friend is doing over there, but whatever it is, it’s only going to hold the others off for so long. And you can’t carry Gwaine by yourself.’

Desperately, Lancelot looked between the bandit and Merlin. Finally, he shoved the knife back in his boot. ‘Fine. But if you hand us over to Anselm, I will haunt you so hard—’

‘I’m not going to hand you over to Anselm. Gwaine told me to get out if I could, so I thought I’d take advantage of the chaos you caused. Give him here.’

With a grunt, Lancelot lowered Gwaine and draped one of his arms over his shoulder, motioning for the bandit to support the other side. ‘What’s your name?’

‘Pelleas.’

Lancelot took a step forward. ‘Right, Pelleas, we’re heading in the direction called as-far-the-fuck-away-from-here-as-possible. Merlin said he’d catch up with us, and I trust him—’

‘Merlin?’

Lancelot silently swore. ‘Did I say Merlin? I meant Will. Will said he’d catch up with us—’

‘Is that a dragon?’

Lifting his head, Lancelot watched as the stars were obscured by a large mass before a creature landed beside Merlin and was unable to conceal a smile. ‘A fucking massive dragon, I think.’

Pelleas frowned at him. ‘There’s a difference?’

‘Oh, yes.’ The smile on Lancelot’s face faded as a strong stream of fire issued from the dragon’s jaw, directed at the bandits approaching Merlin. ‘Thank you for your assistance, but we’ll be able to take it from here. And, if you want my advice, run as far away from here as fast as possible and don’t look back. And breathe a word about Mer—Will to anyone—’

‘I won’t,’ Pelleas hurriedly said. ‘I won’t.’ He ducked out from beneath Gwaine’s arm. ‘If—If Gwaine wakes, tell him I forgive him.’

With that, Pelleas melted into the darkness.

Lancelot tried not to think too hard about the ‘if’. Merlin was running towards them and Lancelot hoisted Gwaine up, their cheeks brushing together. ‘No pressure, my love, but it would be really helpful if you could wake up right about now. I’ve never had to mount a dragon before—’ Lancelot waited for an interjection in the form of a dick joke, but it didn’t come. ‘Well, not a real dragon, because Merlin’s magnificence doesn’t count.’ He paused again. ‘I can’t believe that I’m making dick jokes and you’re too unconscious to make note of it. Anyway, I’ve never had to mount a dragon before, let alone with an unconscious knight relying on me. So, if you could wake up…’

As he moved his ear to Gwaine’s mouth to check that breath was still hitting his cheek, weak words were shaped by the breeze. ‘’S’my method. Humour‘s a d’fense mech’nism.’

Lancelot drew his face away. ‘Yeah, well, you weren’t around to use it.’

‘Right here, ‘n’t I?’ Gwaine struggled to open his eyes: the lids flickered but remained steadfastly closed. ‘Right though. Mer’in does have a dr’gon dick.’

Laughing as tears collected in the corners of his eyes, Lancelot shook his head. ‘I can’t believe all it took was a dick joke to revive you.’ He pressed his lips to Gwaine’s forehead. ‘I fucking love you, you know that? And it’s all going to be okay. We’re going to get you back home and patched up and everything is going to be fine and no harm is ever going to come to you again and—’

‘Lance…’

Whatever Gwaine was about to say, though, was interrupted by Merlin’s arrival as he skidded to a halt in front of them, one hand on his chest with the other holding an orb of light. In the fragmented illumination, the corners of his mouth were twisted in pain and his breathless words were ragged. ‘Kil—Kilgharrah can take us to the woods just outside the citadel,’ he gasped out. ‘And he’s also helpfully offered to torch the place.’

‘Pelleas…’ murmured Gwaine.

Lancelot buried his mouth in Gwaine’s hairline. ‘Pelleas got out, my love, it’s alright. Save your strength.’ Catching the start of Pelleas’s name in Merlin’s tone, Lancelot cut him off softly. ‘Later, Merlin. There will be time then. What do we need to do?’

Sparing a moment to give Gwaine a tearful kiss, whose mouth flickered minutely in response, Merlin turned back towards Kilgharrah. ‘We just need to get on his back. We can—We can sort Gwaine out when we’re settled and secure.’

At the sound of his name, Gwaine finally managed to open his eyes. He was confronted with blazing fires and a very large shape a little way off and, blinking drowsily, he leaned closer into Lancelot. ‘’S’at the fuckin’ massive drag’n?’

‘Perhaps don’t call him that,’ Merlin fondly said, voice just carrying over Lancelot’s reminder of what he had just said to Gwaine. ‘His name is Kilgharrah and he is the last dragon.’

[fanfics4all]

Tri-Wizard Tournament

Request: Yes / No  Hello! I love your writing and was wondering if you're taking requests for harry potter? If so I was wondering if you could write a cedric diggory x sibling reader/ draco x reader where the reader basically goes though everything cedric went through in the movie and just lots of angst and fluff and stuff! I understand if you don't get to this, thanks love!♡ (Btw the reader can be any house!) Anon

Don’t be shy, request things! <3 Have a nice day/night

Draco Malfoy x Fem!Diggory!Reader

Word count: 5415

Warnings: Death and sadness!

Y/N: Your Name 

Y/N/N: Your NickName

A/N: This is my first attempt at a Harry Potter fic! Let me know what you guys think, also sorry it’s so long! 

PLEASE DO NOT STEAL MY WORK, I WORK HARD ON MY FICS AND IT’S NOT COOL TO STEAL SOMEONE ELSE’S WORK! 

If you want to be on the tag list for anything (My series fics, specific character fics, or just all of them) All you have to do is send me an ask and I will add you! 

Masterlist 

(Not my photo, credit to whoever made it!)

Back at Hogwarts, home sweet home. We were all settled in at our tables and I smiled at my brother from across the room. I was upset when I wasn’t put in the same house as my slightly older brother Cedric, but I was happy with Ravenclaw. I then glanced over at my boyfriend Draco Malfoy. People were a little shocked that he was with someone from another house, but I was also a Pure-blood, something his parents were very happy with. My family on the other hand weren’t the happiests, but they tried not to bother me about it. 

Everyone was chatting about their summers and catching up with friends. Dumbledor got up and quieted everyone down. It took a moment, but the room was soon quiet. 

“Now we’re all settled in and sorted, I’d like to make an announcement. This castle will not only be your home this year, but home to some very special guests as well. You see Hogwarts has been chosen…” He was cut off by Filch running up to him and whispering something to him. He ran off and Dumbledor stood up straight again. 

“So Hogwarts has been chosen to host a legendary event. The Tri-Wizard tournament. Now for those of you who do not know, the Tri-Wizard tournament brings together three schools for a series of magical contests. From each school a single contestant is selected to compete. Now let me be clear, if chosen you stand alone. And trust me when I say these contests are not for the faint hearted, but more on that later. For now please join me in welcoming the lovely ladies of the Beauxbatons Academy of Magic and their headmistress Madam Maxime.” He said and the doors opened. Girls dressed in blue came in dancing and butterflies flew into the air. They got to the front and bowed, the guys stared in awe as the girls glared at them. I took a glance at Draco and he was also staring, I sent him a glare. He noticed me and quickly looked down. I rolled my eyes, boys… 

“And now our friends from the north, please greet the proud sons of Drumstrang and the high master Igor Karkaroff.” Dumbledor said and the doors opened once again. A bunch of strong looking guys walked in and the girls started staring, while the boys glared. I couldn’t help myself, Draco sent me a glare and I gave him a sorrowful smile. He rolled his eyes and started glaring at the guys that just walked in. Everyone sat down and the feast began. 

Once everyone ate, Dumbledor stood up once again.

“Your attention please!” He called gaining everyone’s attention. 

“I would like to saw a few words. Eternal glory, that is what awaits the student who wins the Tri-Wizard tournament. But to do this that student must survive three tasks. Three extremely dangerous tasks. For this reason the Ministry has seen fit to impose a new rule. To explain all this we have the head of the Department of International Magic Cooperation, Mister Bartimus Crouch.” He introduced and a man stood up. Suddenly thunder roared through the room and it started raining. People started screaming and panicking, I looked around confused. Someone casted a spell and I looked over to see Mad-Eye Moody standing off to the side. 

“My dear old friend, thanks for coming.” Dumbledore greeted him. 

“That stupid roof.” He grumbled back and took a drink. 

“After much deliberation the ministry has concluded that for their own safety no student under the age of seventeen shall be allowed to put forth their name for the Tri-Wizard Tournament. This decision is final.” Mr. Crouch said. Everyone that was under seventeen started booing and causing a fuss. I didn’t care, seeing as I could still participate. 

“Silence!” Dumbledore boomed. He casted a spell and the box that was behind him revealed a goblet with blue flames. 

“The Goblet of Fire. Anyone wishing to submit themselves for the tournament merely write their name upon a piece of parchment and throw it in the flame before this hour of Thursday night. Do not do so lightly, if chosen there’s no turning back. And from this moment the Tri-Wizard Tournament has begun!” He said. 

As soon as we were sent to our houses, everyone walked out. Draco pulled me to the side and his eyes narrowed at me. 

“What was that about?” He asked and I raised a brow at him. 

“I’m sorry?” I asked. 

“I saw you staring at those guys.” He growled and I scoffed. 

“You were staring at those girls.” I pointed out. 

“I-I wasn’t-”

“Merlin, Draco, I saw you don’t even try and lie to me. You were bloody drooling over them.” I said rolling my eyes.

“And you weren’t?” He scoffed. 

“Draco please, this is ridiculous.” I said. 

“You’re mine.” He growled and I smirked at him. 

“I know love.” I said and walked off. 

A few days later I was walking to the Goblet to put my name in. As I was walking someone grabbed me to stop me. I turned around to see my brother. 

“What are you doing?” He asked. 

“Putting my name in the Goblet, obviously.” I said. 

“No, it’s dangerous.” He said and I noticed he too had his name on a piece of parchment. 

“So? You’re putting your name in.” I said. 

“I’m older.” He said and I rolled my eyes. 

“By a year Ced, I’m putting my name in.” I said turning back around, but he stopped me once again. 

“No way! You’re going to get hurt.” He said. 

“Ced, I love you, but I’m doing this. I’m not scared.” I said and he shook his head. 

“Please don’t do this.” He begged. 

“I won’t if you won’t.” I said. 

“But-” 

“That’s what I thought.” I said turning on my heel and walking into the room. Everyone cheered when they saw Cedric and he was loving it. He put his name in the Goblet and again they cheered. I walked up and placed my name in, smiling at my brother. He shook his head at me and I heard people whispering about how I was crazy for putting my name in. The Weasley twins came running in and all attention was on them now. I slipped out of the room and was walking back to my common room. Again some grabbed me and I turned to see Draco. 

“Have you lost it?” He asked and I sighed. 

“Not you too…” I groaned. 

“Did you not hear how it’s dangerous? What if something happens to you?” He asked. 

“I’m not afraid, I want to do this.” I said and he shook his head. 

“No, this is crazy!” He said and I rolled my eyes. 

“Imagine if I win, how incredible would that be? I’d be a legend!” I said. 

“You’re sure you want to do this?” He asked after a moment. 

“Can’t really take it back now, but yes I really do.” I said and he sighed. 

“I’m still going to hope you don’t get picked.” He said and I smiled. 

“Do that all you want love, but I’ll be hoping for the opposite.” I said and kissed him. 

It was finally Thursday and I was so anxious and excited. Everyone was gathered in the Goblet room, waiting for the names to be announced. 

“Sit down please.” Dumbledore called into the room. Everyone quieted down and looked on with both excitement and anxiousness. 

“And now the moment you’ve all been waiting for, the champions selection!” He said. He walked over to the Goblet and the blue flame turned red, then spit out the first name. 

“The Durmstrang champion is, Viktor Krum!” He announced and the Durmstrang boys cheered. The flame turned red again and another name came out. 

“The champion from Beauxbatons, Fleur Delacour!” He announced. The girl cheer as Fleur walked up. The flame was once again red and the last name came out. 

“The Hogwarts champion, Y/N Diggory!” He announced and I smiled, getting up. I walked down, took my name, and followed the other two into the other room. 

That was the start of the tournament. It was all normal, except instead of three champions there were four, the great Harry Potter somehow got his name in the Goblet. People were rooting for me to win over Harry. They were insulting him nonstop and I honestly felt bad. Everyone seemed to be wearing bandages someone made, all insulting Harry. Currently I was hanging out with my brother and friends, they were insulting Harry, but my brother and I were staying out of it, mostly. Cedric was laughing at their jokes and insults, while I was sitting there a bit uncomfortable. I sat on the bench and noticed Harry walking our way. 

“Can I have a word?” He asked me and I nodded. We walked away from our friends and my friends were trying to call me back, but I ignored them. 

“Dragons. That’s the first task. They’ve got one for each of us.” He said and my eyes widened. 

“Are you serious? And the others, Fleur and Krum, do they…?” I trailed off. 

“Yes.” He answered. 

“Right, hey Harry, listen about the badges. I had nothing to do with it, I’ve asked them not to wear it, but-”

“Don’t worry about it.” He said cutting me off and walking off. I sighed and shook my head. I feel so bad… I turned to go back to my friend, but someone’s voice stopped me. 

“Why so tense Potter? My father and I have a bet you see. I don’t think you’re gonna last ten minutes in this tournament. He disagrees. He thinks you won’t last five.” Draco teased with a laugh. 

“I don’t give a damn what you or your Father thinks Malfoy. He’s vile and cruel, and you’re just pathetic.” Harry said to him and I sighed. This wasn’t going to end well… I turned back around to see Harry walking off and Draco getting ready to cast a jinx most likely. Mad-Eye walks over and turned Draco into a ferret. 

“Draco!” I called and rushed over to the scene. 

“I’ll teach you to cast when someone’s back is turned.” Mad-Eye growled. 

“Professor Moody, what are you doing?” Professor McGonagall asked walking over as well. 

“Teaching.” Mad-Eye answered. 

“Is that a student?” She asked, shocked. 

“Technically it’s a ferret.” He answered. He then sent him into Crabbe’s pants. Goyle tried to pull him out but apparently Draco bit him. Everyone was laughing and I glared at my brother for being one of them. Draco ends up on the ground and McGonagall turns him back. 

“My Father will hear about this!” Draco shouted. 

“Is that a threat?” Mad-Eye growled holding up his wand and Draco runs off. I glare at the crazy professor and run after him. 

“Draco!” I call and he stops running. 

“Are you alright?” I asked, gently grabbing his face. 

“That was utterly humiliating.” He groaned. 

“I’m sorry love, but I’m sure everyone will forget about it tomorrow when the tournament really starts.” I said, offering him a smile. 

“Then I just have to worry about you.” He said with a sigh. 

“I’ll be fine, don’t worry about me.” I said and kissed him. 

Everyone was pacing around the tent waiting for things to start. We heard the roars of the dragons and that only raised our anxiety. Cedric had stopped by wishing me luck and telling me to be careful, same with Draco, but they left soon after. Soon enough Dumbledore walked in with others following him. 

“Good day champions. Gather round please.” He said and we all gathered in a circle. 

“Now you’ve all waited, you’ve wondered, and at last the moment has arrived. The moment only four of you can fully appreciate.” He said and looked around at all of us. 

“What are you doing here Miss. Granger?” He asked when he noticed Hermione here, she had been visiting Harry. 

“Oh um… Sorry, I’ll just go.” She said awkwardly and slipped out. 

“Barty. The bag.” Dumbledore said and Mr. Crouch held open a bag. 

“Champions, in a circle around me. Miss. Delacour over here, Mr. Krum, and Potter over here.” He said moving us around slightly. 

“Right, Miss. Delacour, if you will…” He said holding the bag open for her. Flure reached in and took out a little green dragon. 

“The Welsh Green. Mr. Krum.” He said and Viktor took one out. 

“The Chinese Fireball. Oooooh.” He said. He moved to me and I pulled one out. 

“The Swedish Short-Snout. Which leaves…” He said and turned to Harry. He took out the last dragon. 

“The Hungarian Horntail. These represent very real dragons, each of which has been given a golden egg to protect. Your objective is simple, collect the egg. This you much do, for each egg contains a clue, without which you cannot hope to proceed to the next task. Any questions?” He asked and no one had any. 

“Very well. Good luck champions. Miss. Diggory the sound of the cannon…” Dumbledore was cut off by Filch firing the cannon. Everyone was cheering and I took a deep breath. Everyone left and I was getting ready to walk out. 

“Good luck.” Harry said and I smiled at him. 

“You as well.” I said and walked through the tent. I looked around at everyone and suddenly didn’t feel nervous. The dragon crawled out and cried into the air. I needed to think quickly and pulled out my wand. I casted the transfiguration spell and turned one of the rocks into a dog to try and distract the dragon. Lucky for me it worked and I rushed for the egg. I was just about to grab it when flames engulfed part of my face. I shrieked in pain, but dove for the egg anyway. I held it up and people came and got a hold of the dragon. I was quickly brought to the hospital wing and Madam Pomfrey was quick to help me. My brother, Father, and Draco were the first to visit me. 

“Y/N/N, are you alright?” Cedric asked, rushing over to me. 

“I’m find Ced, it’s just a little burn. Nothing that can’t be fixed, right Madam Pomfrey?” I asked and she smiled at me. 

“That’s correct.” She said finishing up. 

“It’ll take a few days to heal, but you’ll be good as new.” She said and I smiled. 

“Thank you.” I said and she left to go treat other students. 

“I told you you shouldn’t have done this.” Both Draco and Cedric said at the same time. 

“At least you two can agree on something.” I said rolling my eyes. My Father laughed and smiled at me. 

“She’ll be fine you two, She’s strong.” He said and I smiled. 

“Thanks Dad, at least you understand.” I said. 

The next few days I was in recovery, and I never heard the end of how dangerous the tournament was from both Draco and my brother. When I was finally better and out of the hospital wing we had the whole day off from classes. Professor Flitwick gathered all the Ravenclaws up and we were separated by boys and girls. He was telling us about the Yule Ball and how on Christmas Eve night everyone would gather in the great hall for the party. He informed me as well as everyone that I would be having the first dance along with the other champions. So today was our dance lesson. It was honestly great to learn and I couldn’t stop thinking about how Draco was going to ask me. 

Over the next week I was waiting for Draco to ask me, but he hasn’t yet. I’ve had a few other guys ask me, but I politely declined. I was sitting on the edge of the fountain trying to figure out a way to open this stupid egg without it blasting my eardrums out. 

“Y/N?” I looked up to see Draco walking over to me. He looked nervous, but I gave him a smile. 

“Hello love.” I said. He smiled, but pulled out a box from behind his back and handed it to me. 

“What’s this?” I asked, 

“Open it.” He said and I undid the perfectly done green bow. I took the top off the silver colored box and gasped. Inside was a pair of emerald earrings and a sapphire necklace. 

I looked up at him in both awe and confusion. 

“Will you do me the honor of being my date to the Yule Ball?” He asked and I hopped up, attacking him in a hug. 

“Of course Draco! Also these are beautiful.” I said looking back down at the box. 

“I didn’t know if you had a dress already, but if not was I hoping I could convince you to wear a green one?” He asked and I smiled. 

“Sorry love, I already have one. My Mother sent me a dress. It’s blue and silver, but I will still gladly wear these earrings.” I said and gave him a peck. 

“I’m sure you’ll look beautiful.” He said and kissed me deeper. 

“Draco, stop, I really need to work on getting this egg open.” I said, pushing him away with a smile. 

“Come on love, you could use a break from this stupid egg.” He said wrapping his arms around my waist. 

“I just want to know how to open this damn thing.” I said with a sigh. 

A few weeks went by and it was finally time for the Yule Ball. I got dressed and put on the jewelry that Draco had gotten for me. I did a blue and silver eye makeup with winged eyeliner, and finished the look off with a nude pink tinted lip. 

I smiled at myself in the mirror. I looked amazing… I walked down to the great hall. Everyone stared at me in awe and Draco smiled at me. He met me at the bottom of the steps and kissed my hand. 

“You look beautiful love. Absolutely perfect.” He said and I blushed. 

“You look very handsome too, Draco.” I said. 

“Shall we?” He asked, offering me his arm. 

“We shall.” I said taking it. We walked over to the entrance. Professor McGonagall placed us in order and we waited for the cue to walk in. Soon we were motioned to enter and we walked in to everyone clapping and cheering. Each of us got in position and waited for the music to start. Draco and I were dancing expertly and soon other people joined in. 

The night was filled with dancing, laughter, and eating. Draco and I have been inseparable all night. The Weird Sisters even performed some songs, it was a perfect night. Draco had pulled me away and ran to an empty hall. He suddenly stopped and pushed me against the wall.

“I hate seeing them stare.” He growled in my ear. 

“Everyone knows I’m yours, Draco.” I said with a sly smile. 

“They will.” He whispered and started kissing my neck, obviously leaving marks. I bit my lip to keep from moaning. 

“Draco stop! Someone will catch us.” I said, trying to push him off. He finally stopped and gave me a smirk. 

“Now we can go back.” He said and started walking back to the ball. 

“You tease.” I grumbled and followed him. 

“You know you love it.” He said putting his arms around my waist. 

The next day I needed to relax after all the dancing, my feet were killing me. I went to the fifth floor prefects bathroom, the best bathroom in my opinion. I brought the stupid egg with me becuase I still couldn’t open it without it screeching. I filled the large tub and slipped in with the egg in my hands. 

“You stupid egg, what on earth am I going to do with you?” I asked myself. I looked at the water and suddenly got an idea. 

“Worth a shot.” I mumbled and pushed it under the water. I held my breath and followed under it. 

“Come seek us where our voices sound. We cannot sing above the ground. An hour long you’ll have to look, to recover what we took.” The voices sang. I returned to above water and thought about it for a bit. 

“So the next task is in the Black Lake and we only have an hour, but what are we retrieving?” I asked myself. 

“Guess I have to find a way to breathe underwater…” I sighed. I finished my bath and quickly went back to my room. 

I was walking around the grounds of Hogwarts trying to find Harry. He helped me with the first round, so now it was my turn to help him. Finally someone told me they saw him near the bridge. I rushed there and found him talking to Hermione. 

“Hey, Potter!” I called and he turned around. 

“Y/N.” He said. 

“How are you?” I asked. 

“Spectacular.” He said sarcastically. 

“Harry, listen, I realised I never properly thanked you for tipping me off about the dragons.” I said. 

“Forget about it. I’m sure you would have done the same for me.” He said. 

“Exactly! Which is why I’m telling you that you should take your egg underwater.” I said and he looked at me confused. 

“Trust me.” I said and walked off. I walked to the library to try and find something to help me breath under water. I was studying when someone sat down next to me. I looked up and saw Draco. 

“What are you doing, love?” He asked. 

“Trying to think of a way to breathe underwater.” I sighed. 

“Would you like me to help?” He offered. 

“That’d be helpful, thank you.” I said pushing a book to him. The two of us were looking for anything, but so far nothing that would last an hour or longer. 

“Hey Y/N/N, Malfoy, what are you doing?” Cedric asked, walking over to us, he narrowed his eyes at Draco. 

“Trying to find a way to breathe underwater.” I groaned. 

“What about the bubble charm?” He said and my eyes lit up. 

“I totally forgot about that! Ced, you’re the best! I said, jumping up and hugged him. 

“Anything for my little sis.” He said with a chuckle. 

“Mr. Malfoy, Professor McGonagall needs you in her office.” Miss. Pince said. 

“Um alright?” He said, confused. I gave him a peck and he left. 

“Would you help me put these away?” I asked my brother and he nodded. We talked about the tournament and he once again was telling me how I shouldn’t be doing this. 

The next day the Weasley twins were taking bets on who would win this task. I was walking with my brother, trying to look around for Draco. I haven’t seen him since the library last night… I was playing with my hands, something I did when I was nervous and Cedric noticed. 

“Hey, everything’s gonna be fine.” He said, grabbing one of my hands. 

“I know.” I said. We finally made it to the lake and everyone was ready to start. 

“Welcome to the second task! Last night something was stolen from each of our champions. A treasure of sorts. These four treasures, one for each champion, now lie on the bottom of the Black Lake. In order to win each champion need only find their treasure and return to the surface. Simple enough. Except for this, they will only have one hour to do so and one hour only. After that they’ll be on their own.” Dumbledore’s voice boomed. 

“You may begin at the start of the cannon.” He continued and once again Filch fired the cannon. We all jumped in and I quickly casted the bubble charm. I started swimming around trying to find whatever this treasure was. After a bit I heard some singing and quickly swam towards it. When I got there I saw Draco tied down by his ankle and my eyes widened. Harry was also there staring confused at the four people, but there wasn’t time for that. I quickly casted a spell to break the rope on Draco and grabbed him. I looked at Harry and tapped my watch that Cedric let me borrow. He nodded and I swam to the surface. We both got on the platform and people handed us towles right away. He coughed and then looked at me. 

“You’re alright.” I said and kissed him. Cedric ran over and hugged me tightly. 

“Y/N! You did it!” He said excitedly and I smiled. I did, I came in first! Soon Krum and Harry joined us and the judges went to go discusses something. 

“Attention! Attention! The winner is Miss. Diggory!” Dumbledore announced and Draco gathered me in his arms. 

“I knew you could do it!” He said and kissed me. 

“For showing unique command of the bubblehead charm. The way I see it, Mr. Potter would have finished first had it not been for his determination to rescue not only Mr. Weasley but the others as well. We’ve agreed to award him second place! For outstanding moral fibre.” Dumbledore said and his friends cheered. After that we all returned to land and all we had was the last task. That night I celebrated with my friends and family for my great achievement. 

Finally it was time for the last task. I was nervous once again, but I knew I needed to push through it. I walked into the large arena with my Father and everyone was cheering. My brother followed behind us and gave me a quick hug then wished me luck. Draco ran down the stands and pulled me to him. 

“Please be safe.” He whispered. 

“I promise, love. I’ll be out in no time.” I said smiling at him. 

“I love you.” He said and kissed me. 

“I love you too, now go back before they start it.” I said and he rushed back to his seat.  The music stopped and all eyes were on Dumbledore. 

“Earlier today Professor Moody placed the Tri-Wizards cup deep within the maze. Only he knows it’s exact position. Now as Miss. Diggory…” He was cut off by people cheering. 

“And Mr. Potter tied for first position they will be the first to enter the maze. Followed by Mr. Krum…” He was once again cut off by cheering. 

“The first person to touch the cup will be the winner. I’ve instructed the staff to patrol the perimeter, if at any point should a contestant wish to withdraw from the task he or shee need only sent up red sparks with their wands. Contestants, gather round. In the maze you’ll find not dragons or creatures of the deep. Instead you’ll face something more challenging. You see, people change in the maze. Oh find the cup if you can, but be very weary you could just lose yours;ves along the way.” He said and we looked at him a bit confused. 

“Champions! Prepare yourselves.” Mad-Eye shouted. I hugged my Dad and then moved to the beginning of the maze. 

“On the count of three… One…” Again, Filch fired early. Harry and I ran inside and now it was time to find the cup. There were so many noises and the maze really liked changing, this was gonna be harder than I thought…

I was running around trying desperately to find the end. Something felt wrong, but I couldn’t put my finger on it. I was walking through when the walls decided to change again. I ran so I wouldn’t get closed in and luckily made it through. However, Viktor was on the other side and he started attacking me. I tried hiding behind one of the walls and shot some jinx at him. He wouldn’t stop and he kept trying to come at me. Harry suddenly showed up between us and he looked at me confused. 

“Get down!” I shouted and he ducked his head. I finally hit him and I ran to finish the job. How dare he attack me! Harry ran between us and stopped me. 

“No stop! He’s bewitched Y/N!” He said and I tried to push him off me. 

“Get off me!” I shouted. 

“He’s bewitched!” He shouted again and I snapped out of it. I looked up and saw the cup, finally. I ran to the cup with Harry following me. I was so close, but something grabbed my leg and sent me tumbling to the ground. Harry looked back at me and saw me horribly stuck to the ground while being dragged backwards. 

“Harry! Harry!” I begged. Harry stopped and looked back at the cup, but decided to actually help me. He helped me up and I sighed in relief. 

“I thought you were gonna let it get me for a moment.” I said.

“For a moment, so did I.” He admitted and we both looked at the cup. 

“Some game, huh?” I said. 

“Some game.” He agreed. The wind started blowing hard once again and I tried to push Harry to the cup. 

“Go. Take it, you saved me!” I shouted over the wind. 

“Together, on three.” He said and I nodded. 

“One, two, three!” He said and we both grabbed it. 

Suddenly we were in a graveyard and not Hogwarts. I looked over to make sure Harry was still with me and he was. 

“You alright?” I asked. 

“Yeah, you?” He asked and I nodded. 

“Where are we?” I asked, confused. 

“I’ve been here before.” He said getting up. I went over to the cup to examine it. 

“It’s a portkey. Harry! The cup is a portkey!” I said 

“I’ve been here before in a dream. Y/N, we have to get back to the cup, now!” He shouted and I was even more confused. 

“What are you talking about?” I asked. Harry groaned in pain and held his scar. 

“What is it?” I asked, rushing over to him. 

“Get back to the cup!” He groaned in pain. Someone walked out from a building and he was holding something. 

“Who are you? What do you want?” I shouted while holding my wand up.

“Kill the spare.” Whatever he was holding said and blackness overtook me. 

Voldemort had returned to his full form and I watched as Harry battled him. I appeared to him along with a few others. 

“Harry, when the connection is broken you must get to the portkey. We can delay it for a moment to give you time but only a moment, do you understand?” A man that looked like him asked, I’m assuming it was his Father. 

“Harry, take my body back will you? Take my body to my family and tell Draco I’m so sorry and that I love him.” I said and he nodded. 

“Let go. Sweetheart you’re ready, let go! Let go!” A woman, I’m assuming his Mother said. Harry let go and we all rushed to Voldemort to distract him enough.

Draco’s POV

Potter had won. He was of course the one to win. I rolled my eyes at everyone cheering and glared at him. That’s when I noticed Y/N was on the ground with him. He was crying over her and she wasn’t moving… No… It can’t be! I ran down and pushed my way through the teachers. 

“Y/N! Y/N! No!” I cried as the cheering died down. 

“You! You did this to her!” I growled at Potter. 

“No! It was Voldemort. He’s back, he’s back! Voldemort’s back! Y/N, she asked me to bring her body back. I couldn’t just leave her, not there.” He cried and I felt my blood run cold. He couldn’t be back… That’s something to worry about another time. 

“S-She asked me to tell you that she’s sorry and that she loves you.” He said and I finally let the tears fall. 

“Y/N!” I cried and held her close to me. I tuned everything else out after that. I didn’t even notice when her family kneeled down beside me. She couldn’t be gone, she just couldn’t! How was I supposed to do anything without her here by my side? We were supposed to have a future together! She was supposed to live a full and happy life! I can’t do anything without her… She was my everything… 

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