#it's like around when she starts drifting from sasha and marce but also realizing what she wants to do in life

[syrasenturi]

scribbly amphibbies

bonus christmas garfapillar

[seasonofthegeek]

JfT: Every Life Lived, Part 2

For the lovely @miraculouspaon

Parts 1, 2:

It was a weird sensation, watching himself walk around his old home. Felix and Marc followed in step behind his sullen younger self as he trudged down one of the long hallways of the Agreste mansion. 

“Which reality is this?” Felix asked, keeping his voice low even though Marc assured him they wouldn’t be noticed by anyone.

“I needed to latch onto a strong emotion to get this started and the one you felt when you spoke of Nino was enough.” His expression was apprehensive. “Just be prepared. I have a feeling this isn’t going to be pleasant.”

Younger Felix turned a corner and came face-to-face with an ashen Nathalie.  “Is it true?” he murmured, not quite meeting her eyes. “Was Adrien killed today?”

Nathalie swallowed audibly and then cleared her throat, though her voice was still strained as she spoke. “Yes. I’m so sorry, Felix.”

Felix watched his other self stiffen even as a small chill ran down his spine. 

“Don’t be sorry for me,” the younger man replied flippantly. “I never appreciated the competition anyway.” He turned on his heel and walked away from Nathalie’s shocked face. 

“Adrien’s dead...” Felix whispered and felt his heart clench. “I don’t understand...”

“Perhaps we should see if we can find out more of the story,” Marc suggested. He gently linked their arms and they moved through the crumbling Nathalie and down the hall. 

There was an inhuman scream and a loud crashing sound and Marc and Felix shared a glance before they drifted through a wall towards the commotion. Gabriel lifted his expensive desk chair over his head and threw it across the room, the beautiful crafted wood splintering as it hit the wall. Dried blood was splattered from his mouth down to his chest and arms and his eyes were wild with anger.  Pierce stood stoically by the door, the only reaction a tightness in his eyes.

Felix watched his father lose control and wondered if he’d been like that after losing his mother or if this was a different kind of loss. The realization that he could see his mother through Marc came to him and he tucked the hope away for later. They’d need to make it through this hellish landscape first.

“We need to move on,” he managed. As much as he loathed his father, it was hard to see Gabriel so broken. He hadn’t been coherent when Jagged dragged Felix away to his death. Had he grieved in the same way or was this only for Adrien? He tried to shake the thought away. It did no good to think on it either way.

They came across a sobbing Adele being comforted by an equally sobbing Nathalie and Felix pushed Marc to keep going. He couldn’t take the heartwrenching sound of their cries and his words to Nathalie still rang cruelly in his ears. 

“I never appreciated the competition anyway.”

It had to have been said out of pain. Felix never truly hated Adrien, though he’d been an annoying pest of a younger brother, he never wished him ill. He wanted to see himself again and then in the magical way this dreamscape seemed to operate, they were standing outside his old room. Two guards took up a post by the door and Felix put a hand out to halt Marc’s progress so he could listen to what they were saying.

“...came out of nowhere apparently. Killed Sasha and McClain before they took out the prince.”

“I heard the king got there just as they snapped the prince’s neck and he went feral. Linell was with him and said he drained three of the hunters in less than a minute. Unheard of.”

“Didn’t a couple get away?”

The other guard grimaced and lowered his voice even more. “Yeah. Fast bastards apparently. That’s why we’re stuck here with the royal asshole.”

“You really think they’d come for the other prince tonight?”

“I didn’t think anyone was ballsy enough to try for the younger one. I have a feeling things around here are about to get a lot stricter.”

“Might be time to try to switch houses.”

“Good luck with that. King would kill you before he’d let you transfer.”

Felix swallowed against the bile rising in his throat and beckoned Marc to follow him through the guards and the door to his old bedroom. He felt a small twinge of hope when he saw his younger self curled in a ball on his bed and crying silently into a pillow. He watched him for a while before turning back to the other man. 

“You said this is the reality without Nino. So my father killed him in the fight after Adrien?”

Marc shrugged helplessly. “I’m not sure. We can try to move forward in time and see if you’d like.”

Felix was impressed. “You can do that?”

“I can try. That’s the point of this whole exercise.” Marc smiled but it vanished quickly. “Let me have your hand.” He took in a deep breath and then they were in the middle of a fight. There was yelling and screams of pain and the whole world was chaos. Hunters and Agreste guards fought to the death through the halls and Felix spotted his younger self brandishing his dagger and he ran toward him with Marc on his heels. 

Felix inhaled sharply as he saw human Nino back up against the wall with wide eyes as younger Felix advanced on him, fangs bared. Nino was weaponless and looking around wildly.

“You killed a child and you call us monsters,” younger Felix snarled. Nino made a protesting sound but it morphed into one of pain as the dagger slid into his gut like it was cutting through butter. “Rot in hell,” the prince seethed as he ripped the dagger upwards.

Felix turned and threw up before he could see Nino’s insides spill to the floor. The sounds were more than enough. “Go...please....” he rasped and blindly reached out for Marc. There was a rush of sound around them and then a quiet that left his ears ringing. He slid to the floor and threw up again.

“That was Nino then,” Marc said, voice quiet.

“I killed him...how could I...how...he’s...” Felix dry heaved but there was nothing left on his stomach. He could still see the frantic look in Nino’s eyes and knew this Nino hadn’t killed Adrien either. He didn’t stop it this time but there was no way that man had directly killed a child, though perhaps that wasn’t any better.

“That wasn’t your Nino,” Marc explained gently. “None of this is real. You chose a different path. You both did.”

Felix called to memory a few calming exercises he used in the past in particularly emotional times and he finally was able to look at Marc after a long few minutes. “I need to see how this timeline ends.”

“May I ask why?”

He took a second to gather his thoughts. “Nathaniel explained that with your powers, what I saw before could actually be my possible future.”

Marc blushed and ducked his head. “That’s true but I hope he also explained that the future is constantly changing and I have no control over that.”

“He did, but...I think I need to know that not all roads come to the same end. That feels important somehow.”

“You want to know that your decisions matter. I understand,” Marc nodded. He offered his hand once more. “Another jump forward then?”

Everything moved around them in a rush of air and sound and then Felix was staring at a slightly older version of the man he’d just watched kill his beloved. The other Felix’s hands were covered in blood and he turned to look right at him.

Marc gasped softly as Lila sauntered through them like the ghosts they were. She perched on the edge of the desk and leaned over to look at what was hidden behind it. “You could’ve waited until I at least got to watch,” she pouted and reached out to try to bring the other Felix closer to her. “Did he beg for his life?”

Other Felix pulled away in obvious disgust but only moved back far enough so that she couldn’t touch him easily. “He was resigned to it. I think he was surprised I’ve let him live this long. He put up a fight but there was no effort behind it. He’s been weak for a long time now.” He pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and attempted to wipe at the drying blood on his hands.

“Do we get to go kill Adele now? Ooo, let’s see how long it takes the bond to kill Nathalie if we take our time with Adele,” Lila crooned. “I’ve always been curious.”

“And I have no doubt you’ve sated that curiosity with other unfortunate souls many times over,” he replied dryly. “They’ll live for now.”

“Well, you’re not going to be any more fun than Gabriel as the king.” She leaned back over the desk and looked down at the former king’s broken form. “I think I’ll take his body if you don’t have any use for it. I have many hungry pets.”

A pained look flashed across the other Felix’s face but quickly disappeared as he waved his hand. “Do what you want. I wanted the throne and now I’ve got it, thanks to your help. Everything else is inconsequential.”

Marc grabbed Felix’s arm as he began to move past him. “Sometimes it’s best not to see everything,” he said quietly.

Felix wanted to protest but he knew he wouldn’t lose the memory of watching himself kill Nino anytime soon. Perhaps it was wise not to add another visual to the list. “I killed Nino. I killed my father. I’m still king though, just like in the other future.”

“But at what cost?” Marc winced. “What kind of king could you possibly make in this state? Do you want to go further?”

He shook his head. “I’ve seen more than my fill of this reality. I knew my life was better with Nino in it no matter the troubles we’ve had but this cements that for me.” He cast another look at his other self and saw the evident pain on that Felix’s face as he stared down at Gabriel’s dead body. “If it’s okay, I’d really like to see my mother now.”

___

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