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fortheloveofwonderland · 1 year ago

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No Distance Left to Run | Part 4 | S.R

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Chapter Summary - As you prepare to return to the BAU you find yourself hot water and this time Spencer might not be able to save you. As the BAU work to find you, your secrets come to light.

A/N - some canon elements of Date Night used but I mostly rewrote it.

Pairing - Spencer Reid / BAU Fem! Reader

Category - friends to lovers | mutual pining | angst with happy ending | smut minors DNI

Warnings - spoilers for 14.15 Truth or Dare and for 15.06 Date Night, abusive relationship, kidnapping, guns, hostage situations, Cat Adams, panic attacks, tears, swearing.

WC - 9.1k

Part 4 - Dominoes

Present Day

After fifteen days off work, you were more than ready to get back to the BAU tomorrow.

You loved the extra time you got to spend with your children but it was anything but a relaxing vacation time.

Between meeting with lawyers in regards to your marriage and your husband who remained in jail pending trial, and trying to be super mom, you were more drained than you would be from a normal case load.

It had been nearly three weeks since Jared’s arrest and two weeks since the hostage situation in which you’d confessed your love for your best friend. Your best friend who hadn’t once tried to contact you since Rossi’s wedding.

You’d told him you needed time apart but Spencer was stubborn and you were sure he would try to call, maybe even show up at the house, but he never did.

You’d missed him, missed how things used to be. For the past seven months since Varnville things hadn’t been the same between you.

They’d just started to get better, the iciness starting to thaw when you’d made your confession. Time had begun to heal the wounds you caused Spencer by falling into bed with him and you’d been amicable again, friendly even.

Right before you’d been called out to LA where two murders had been committed in two days with similar MO’s, the case which would lead to you being held hostage, you’d been having a game of poker as a team.

“You guys, you should have seen Reid. He shot a one hundred.” Luke spoke as he and Spencer entered the round table room. The rest of you gasped and made appreciative sounds. “Yeah, he qualified to shoot a possum.”

“That’s like a perfect score. What, like, two hundred agents have made the wall of glory?” Matt sounded rightfully impressed.

“He hit everything, I mean at one point I thought he must have two guns.” Luke shook his head as he slid into one of the vacant chairs.

“Maybe I did.” Spencer smiled knowingly, sitting in the space opposite you.

You looked at him with curiosity and he simply smiled at you.

You’d gone two days without a case which was a nice reprieve but it left you all a little on edge. You’d worked your way through a backlog of reports until Garcia suggested a round of poker with jelly beans for chips.

Rossi was the only one not in attendance as he was helping Krystall with last minute wedding preparations.

The game began, slowly one by one the team members folded, finally leaving only you, Spencer and Luke still in.

You glanced at your cards before placing them back face down on the table. You cupped your pile of jelly beans you’d procured and pushed them all to the centre of the table, looking Spencer dead in the eye.

“Do you think the lady is bluffing?” Luke looked between the two of you.

“I know the lady is bluffing because she has a tell.” He gave you that knowing smile once more.

“No I don’t.” You shook your head but Spencer continued to smile and pushed his own pile of candy towards the centre.

“I’m gonna go all in.” He sat back in his chair.

“Oh I like it.” Luke smirked. “Live by the sword, die by the sword. I call.”

“Alright, lets see ‘em.” Tara encouraged.

Luke turned his card over and placed them on the table top.

“Three of a kind, king high.”

“Perfectly respectable but not getting it done.” Tara shook her head.

Spencer opened his hand, placing his cards down with a smug smile gracing his lips.

“Pair of kings, pair of sevens. Oh I’m sorry, uh, three sevens.” His smile grew.

“Oh, a full boat from the sassy Doctor Reid.” Tara chuckled.

Spencer focused on you, his smile in full bloom. You felt your own tugging at your lips as you placed your own cards down for them to see.

A four, five, six, seven and eight of spades. Spencer's face fell, his smile vanishing in an instant.

“A straight flush, that has to hurt.” Tara chuckled.

“I think Doctor Reid is speechless.” Matt laughed too.

You shrugged, reaching out to collect your winnings.

“Guess I’m a better liar than you thought.”

Spencer had continued to stare at you in disbelief until Emily announced you had a case which was taking you to LA. At that moment, high from your win, you never could have foreseen where that case would lead.

Unpredictability was unfortunately a part of life. Thirteen years ago you never would have anticipated the nice man you met in a bar on your birthday would go on to abuse you.

Fifteen years ago when you’d first been introduced to the dorky Doctor Spencer Reid, you had no way to know you would still harbour feelings for him all these years later.

“Yo, pretty boy?”

“Huh?”

“Let’s not make the new girl feel uncomfortable on her very first day.”

“I wasn’t…I wasn’t…”

“Don’t mind him, he doesn’t get out much.”

“Everyone this is our new agent Y/N Y/L/N, please can you all make her feel welcome. Not too welcome though, ok, Reid?”

“Got it.”

He’d changed so much since then, it was only really now you realised that. When you saw someone every day it was hard to notice those little changes they went through until you took a step back and saw how big those changes really were.

You’d both gone from being in your early twenties, innocent and green to now somehow circling forty, much less naive than you had been back then. A whole lifetime had passed in those years. You’d gotten married, had two children and you and Spencer had both suffered your share of trauma.

You and Spencer were long overdue for a painful conversation. It would make or break your relationship, it would dictate where the two of your futures were headed and if they were entwined with one another's.

It was only a matter of time before he would ask you again, and you had to decide if you were willing to be honest with him or lie to him.

“Y/N?” He rolled his lip between his teeth. “Truth or dare?”

You sucked in a breath, closing your eyes for a fraction of a second before opening them and looking at him again.

“Truth.” You croaked.

“Did you mean it?”

Your eyes flit down to your bracelet, eyeing the inscription for a moment or two before you looked back at Spencer. There was a simple answer and a complicated one, neither of which you wanted to get into right now.

“Spencer I-”

What had you planned on saying before Adie interrupted you? You weren’t even sure of that yourself. Because you had meant it, but being in love with Spencer Reid was far too complicated for words.

You wanted to keep those thoughts at bay, at least for one more day. You had one last day off work before you had to see Spencer again and you needed to not burden yourself with any unnecessary stress.

You dropped the kids at school before running some errands. You did the grocery shopping for the week, knowing it was likely you would be pulled in on a case once you went back and wouldn’t have time to do it otherwise.

You’d arranged for your cousin Olivia to sit the kids while you worked, after explaining to her why Jared suddenly wasn’t around. She was more than happy to stay at the house with your children while you were off fighting crime.

You picked up extra ice cream and a bottle of nice wine for Olivia as a thank you, dropped off your dry cleaning and drove back home where you planned to clean the house until it was time to pick your kids up from school.

You parked on the drive and exited the car, going over to the house and opening the door before getting the bags out of the trunk so you didn’t have to try and wrestle it open with your hands full.

Heading back to your SUV, you felt the hairs on the back of your neck stand to attention. You slowed your steps, honing your senses onto your surroundings. Something felt off, but you didn’t know why. But your instincts were telling you something was amiss.

Your hand instinctively went to your firearm but of course it wasn’t there, it was tucked away in the safe in the house.

You cautiously continued back to the car, eyes rapidly searching the street, your front yard and the front yards of your neighbours houses. You kept your footsteps soft and quiet so you could pick up on any little noise.

You reached the SUV and popped the trunk, feeling your nerves start to fade a little. You were paranoid, that’s all it was. You tried to shake it off but you couldn’t quite let it go, the hairs on your neck refusing to go down.

You collected up the paper bags in your arms, cradling them on one hip so you could close the trunk with the other. You turned and tried to rebalance the bags but found yourself looking down the barrel of a revolver.

You fumbled with the bags and dropped them all on the ground, partially conscious of hearing the wine bottle smash as it hit the concrete. You swallowed, trying to focus yourself on the long dark hair of the woman pointing the gun at you.

“What do you want?” You croaked. “I have money, I have connections. I’m an FBI Agent, you don’t want to do this.”

“Oh, I know exactly who you are.” The woman chuckled. “Jared says hello.”

You whimpered, taking a step back to your car but then you were taking a blow to the head from the muzzle of the gun and soon the world went dark.

Life was certainly unpredictable.

***

When Penelope Garcia initially received the call from a friendly woman named Linda at the Hyde-Addison Elementary School, she was confused to say the least. Her confusion turned into panic when Linda informed her that two students, Adleine and Finley Haines had not been collected from school.

Linda, the school’s administrator had tried calling their mother several times when she didn’t come to pick up her kids but kept getting her voicemail. The school had been informed that Jared Haines was not reachable at present.

The school required pre-approval for anyone to collect kids from the school who weren’t the children’s legal carers. As godparents to Adie and Fin, Penelope and Spencer along with your cousin Olivia were the only people pre-approved.

Garcia had been the first person called and she’d been sitting at her desk in her bat cave when she’d received the call. The rest of the team were in the bullpen working on paperwork as they didn’t have an active case.

Before Penelope allowed herself to spiral into fear, she called Olivia and asked if she could pick the kids up from school, trying not to say too much to alarm the young girl. Penelope needed to be at the BAU, because she knew if you hadn’t picked up the kids, there was a sinister reason for it.

She tried to remain calm while she headed through to the bullpen, head down and focused solely on Emily Prentiss’ office. She knocked on the door but didn’t wait for an answer before she tottered inside.

“We’ve got a case?” Emily looked up from her paperwork.

“Uh, yes and no.” Garcia closed the door behind her. “I just had an interesting call from Hyde-Addison.”

Emily’s eyebrows furrowed as she turned that name over in her head a few times.

“Adie and Fin’s school?”

“Yes.”

Emily’s back straightened in her chair, knowing whatever Garcia was going to say wouldn’t be good.

“Should I be worried?” The raven haired Unit Chief’s heart was already pounding.

“Maybe,” Garcia nodded. “Y/N wasn’t there to collect the kids today. She would never forget to pick the kids up. I’ve called Liv, she’s going to get them. But I think something has happened to Y/N.”

“Why didn’t they call Jared?” Emily narrowed her eyes on the blonde.

“I…uh, it's complicated?”

“Has something happened between them? She didn’t really give me much detail of why she needed time off.”

“I think that’s going to be a story I can only tell once.”

Emily was out of her seat and heading to the door before Penelope even finished her sentence. She swung the door open so forcefully it caused all the agents in the bullpen to look up at her.

Garcia pushed open Rossi’s door, motioning him out. The old man got up from his desk and padded outside.

“What’s going on?” He spoke, looking between Emily and Garcia.

“A bad one?” JJ spoke up from her desk.

Emily let out a shaky breath, ready to deliver the news to her waiting team and wishing things like this didn’t always fall on her shoulders.

“Garcia received a call just now from Adeline and Finley’s school when Y/N failed to show up to collect them.” Emily spoke, trying to keep her voice measured.

Spencer immediately shot out of his chair, glaring at Emily.

“What?” His face was drained of colour. “Why?”

“We don’t know, that’s what we need to find out.” Emily nodded sternly.

“Why did they call you?” Luke asked, directing his question to Garcia. “Where’s their dad?”

Penelope looked at Spencer, her expression pleading him to help her. She didn’t want to have to relay this story for you, not that Spencer did either. He huffed out a breath and slowly headed up the stairs to join Garcia, Emily and Rossi while they all looked at him in slight confusion.

“A few weeks ago Penelope discovered that Jared Haines had been arrested.” Spencer began, his voice cracking as he spoke. “For a domestic disturbance turned attempted murder.”

The rest of the team gasped at his words, exchanging looks and silently asking each other if anyone knew. Penelope was on her phone, tapping at the keys.

“He was abusing her?” Emily looked at Spencer, her expression one of sorrow.

“For a long time.” He nodded sadly. “I knew he was hurting her, I tried to help her but she refused me every time. Adeline called the cops when Jared got hold of Y/N’s gun. He shot the wall, not Y/N. When DC Metro showed up, he had his hand around her throat.”

“Jeez,” Rossi shook his head. “That poor girl.”

“I had no idea.” JJ pouted, her eyes filling with tears.

“You think this has something to do with him?” Luke asked, his nostrils flared in anger.

“He’s still in jail, I just checked.” Garcia waved her phone.

“What is this about then?” Tara frowned. “Do we really think something has happened to her?”

“She would never leave the kids like that. No way.” Spencer shook his head.

“This might not be a case, there may be a reasonable explanation.” Emily didn’t look as though she believed that herself.

“Can I go and check on her?” Spencer begged.

“Ok.” Emily nodded. “You have your car?”

“No,” he raked his fingers through his hair.

“I’ll take you kid,” Rossi nodded at him.

“I’ll try and ping her cell phone.” Garcia hurriedly started back towards the stairs, Rossi and Spencer in tow.

“Just in case something has happened, tell Y/N’s cousin to keep the kids away from her house.” Emily instructed.

“Aye aye boss.” Penelope spoke as she carried on walking.

Spencer was soon over taking her, walking as fast as he could towards the elevators while Rossi struggled to keep up.

He was blinded by his emotions and he knew it. And he also knew if anything had happened to you he would never be the same.

***

“Why are you doing this?” You asked once you finally came to, tied to a chair in a nondescript room.

The dark haired woman sat on an old desk, twirling her revolver in her hand.

“I already told you, for your husband.” She clucked.

“I don’t buy it.” You shook your hazy head. “He’s too controlling to let someone else do his dirty work.”

“But he’s in prison, so he can’t do his own dirty work.”

“Fine, let’s pretend I believe you. How do you know my husband?” You sighed.

“We were lovers.” She smirked dangerously at you but you simply rolled your eyes.

“Sweetheart, we both know that’s not true. My husband is forty two years old, you can’t be more than late twenties. We’ve been together for thirteen years, so if you’re telling me you were together before I met him, that would have made you, at most, sixteen years old. I highly doubt that he would have dated a sixteen year old when he was almost thirty.” You argued.

“Who said it was before you met him?”

“So you’re proposing that my husband cheated on me with you?” You cocked an eyebrow at her. “Ok, let’s say that happened. Why would you be willing to do his dirty work for him? What is he offering you in return for killing me? Let me guess, with me dead he has no one to testify against him and he goes free? And then what? The two of you run off into the sunset together with two kids?”

You saw something flicker in her eyes.

“Something like that.” She shrugged.

You knew what you’d seen. She hadn’t given your kids a second thought. You decided to take a leaf from Spencer’s book. When he’d faced off with Cat Adams after prison he’d tricked her by giving the wrong name of Morgan’s son, proving she didn’t know as much about him as she thought.

“You think you’re equipped to look after Sammy and Kylie?” You scoffed.

“I can be surprisingly maternal.” She smirked at you.

That cleared that up. This was most certainly not about Jared. If she was really his lover or whatever she claimed to be, surely she would know about his kids and this woman certainly did not.

It was a small victory, but a victory nonetheless.

“Where are my kids now?” You asked.

“How should I know? I’m not interested in them, I’m interested in you.” The woman pushed herself up from the desk suddenly and you held your breath as she came closer to you. It was then you noticed the camera set up on a table top tripod, pointing your way.

She came behind you and you flinched when she wrapped her arm around your neck, gun dangling by your chest.

“Say cheese,” the woman chirruped, seconds before a camera flash went off.

***

Upon arrival at 184 Calvert Street it was immediately clear there had been a struggle.

Several bags of groceries were on the drive, a smashed bottle of wine, cracked eggs and a partially split box of cereal. Your car was unlocked and your front door was wide open.

Spencer drew his weapon, as did Rossi, as they headed towards the house. Without a word, Spencer took the ground floor and Rossi the first. A few minutes later Rossi called out, “clear.”

“Clear here too.” Spencer holstered his weapon.

Nothing in the house appeared to be out of place, it looked the same as it usually did. He moved some books aside on the bookshelf to reveal the safe hidden behind. He heard Rossi’s footsteps on the stairs as he input the code.

He popped the safe door and reached inside, locating your gun with ease. He turned and held it up to Rossi who was looking at him with a frown.

“You know her combination?” The older man asked.

“It’s Adie’s birthday.” Spencer shrugged. “Makes sense she wouldn’t have had her gun, she wasn’t working.”

He put the firearm back in the safe as the two of them headed back outside.

“It looks like she opened the door before getting the groceries. She had a lot to carry and I guess she figured it was easier to open the door first.” Rossi mused.

“She gets the door open, heads back to the car and grabs the bags, but someone waits until after she’s got them and closes the trunk to strike.” Spencer added. “There’s no other signs of a struggle or a fight. She’s startled and drops the bags and then what?”

“First blush? If it were me, a gun in my face would startle me enough to drop my bags.” Rossi speculated.

Spencer roughly rubbed his palm across his jaw, shaking his head.

“This can’t be happening, Rossi. Not after everything she’s been through.”

“Kid, take a breath.” Rossi put his hand on Spencer’s shoulder. “What’s going on here?”

“Clearly someone has stalked her, learnt her patterns and-”

“Not what I mean.” Rossi cut him off.

“I can’t let anything else bad happen to her, Dave. Not after I sat by for years and did nothing while her jerk husband beat her.” Spencer spat.

“Reid, you can’t blame yourself for that.”

“Yet I do.”

“We’re going to get to the bottom of this and we’re gonna find her.” Rossi looked determined. “And when we do, maybe the two of you will finally stop playing this exhausting little game and finally admit you’re crazy about each other.”

Rossi strolled away towards his car and Spencer watched him go. He couldn’t help the dry chuckle that left his lips at the old man’s words.

If only you knew, Rossi. If only you knew.

***

Two Weeks Ago

“Garcia, any luck with Judge Hamilton?” Spencer leant forward in the chair, speaking into the car’s microphone while you drove.

Judge Melissa Hamilton was one of the people who the team suspected might be their unsub, Casey Allen Pinkner’s next target. But so far Garcia hadn’t been able to get hold of her.

“No, we’ve reached everyone else involved she won’t pick up. I’ve pinged her phone, you guys are close.” Garcia informed you both.

“She’s gotta be his end game, he knows we’re onto him and time is limited.” You huffed, continuing down the street and keeping your eyes peeled for Melissa Hamilton’s car.

“During sentencing she wanted to throw the book at him, she said that he needed to take responsibility for his actions.” Spencer spoke.

“That would have incensed him.” You sighed.

“Oh! she just pulled over.” Garcia’s voice came through the speakers again.

You and Spencer both glanced around the busy LA street. Up ahead Spencer noticed a car stopped, frowning he leant further forward.

“That’s her, that’s Judge Hamilton. Turn around.” He quickly told you.

He held on tight while you made a sharp and somewhat precarious U-turn in the middle of a busy intersection. As you closed in on the vehicle it started moving again.

You were hot on its tail, Spencer keeping a close eye on the sedan weaving in and out of traffic. Suddenly a tanker pulled out of a side road and Hamilton’s car came to an abrupt stop before they collided.

You pulled in behind it as the doors were opening on the other vehicle. Casey Allen Pinkner slid out of the back seat and instantly fired his gun in Spencer’s direction. Spencer was quick to duck behind the open door and narrowly avoided the bullet that hit the side of the SUV.

You drew your own weapon but didn’t return fire given the amount of people on the street. Instead the two of you hurried after where he ran off with Judge Hamilton in tow. He’d run inside a jewellery store and you both followed him in, weapons pointed in his direction.

“Everybody out!” Spencer yelled as he entered, waving the customers towards the door.

Pinkner aimed his gun at the ceiling and pulled the trigger, making the store clerk who he held by the shoulder scream.

“Go, get out.” You motioned to the other customers before turning to Pinkner. “FBI!”

“Put them down.” Pinkner growled. “On the ground.”

You and Spencer exchanged a look, lowering your gun just a little.

“It’s ok,” Spencer whispered, lowering his also and tossing it on the floor before you followed suit.

Pinkner made the clerk close the shutters while he had Hamilton force you and Spencer to the floor and tape your wrists behind your back. She was shaking as she taped up Spencer’s arms.

“Don’t worry, it's going to be ok.” He whispered to her.

What ensued was the two of you sitting back and witnessing Pinkner try and force Hamiliton to play his sick game of truth or dare whilst threatening if she didn’t play, he would kill her daughter.

His dare for Hamilton entailed her shooting Spencer. But to his credit, Spencer didn’t even flinch with the gun pointing at him.

“Casey…” You spoke up, sensing the judge’s hesitancy whilst trying to push yourself to your feet.. “Uh, if Melissa won’t play, I will. Truth or dare? That’s your game right? I’ll play.”

“Casey, I know what it's like, to be wrongly accused, sent to prison for a crime you didn’t commit.” Spencer spoke now, obviously trying to buy you all some time.

“Yeah right, you went to jail?” Pinkner scoffed but Spencer simply nodded. “Yeah, I’d like to see that pretty boy.”

Meanwhile behind his back Spencer had located a shard of glass from a broken display. He had it between his fingers as he attempted to cut through his tape. It was tricky at this angle and could feel the glass cutting into his palm but he powered through.

“Ok, agent…” Casey turned to you with the gun, trailing off when he realised he didn’t know your name.

“Y/L/N.”

“Agent Y/L/N, truth or dare?” He spat.

“Truth.” You sucked in a breath.

“If I think you’re lying, or stretching the truth in the slightest, I’ll kill him.” He turned the gun on Spencer briefly before pointing it back at you. “You ever shoot anybody before?”

“Yes I have.” You nodded.

“You enjoy it?” Pinkner smirked at you.

“No.”

“LIAR!” He yelled, turning the gun back to Spencer and pulling the trigger.

You screamed at the sound, your heart instantly pounding. But soon enough you realised the bullet hadn’t hit him, not quite.

“No, no I’m not lying!” You were quick to say, tears now flooding your vision. “The people I shot, I had no choice. But I did not enjoy it, I didn’t. You asked, and I told the truth ok? So, uh, now it's my turn? That’s how this game’s played. We take turns. Truth or dare?”

You tried to keep your tears at bay but if he shot at Spencer like that again they would certainly fall. You glanced at him, he looked a little shell shocked from the ordeal, no doubt he’d heard the bullet whirring past his head. But at least he was unscathed.

“Truth.” Casey replied and you looked back at him.

“What’s it going to take for all of us to walk out of here alive? For this to end peacefully?” You pleaded with him.

“I ain’t going back to prison. My turn. Truth or dare?”

“Truth.” You clenched your jaw.

In your peripheral vision you could see Spencer moving ever so slightly. Hopefully you were buying you both enough time for him to come up with a way out of here.

“I want you to say something you’re afraid to say. That you’d never tell anybody and you better make it good because if it's not it's gonna be the last thing you ever say. What’s it gonna be?” Pinkner spat, proffering the gun closer to you.

“There are only four people I trust in this world.” You swallowed.

“Boring.” Pinkner turned and quickly fired a bullet into Judge Hamilton's leg. She screamed and fell to the floor. “Next.”

Your heart was thumping against your chest. You knew you had to say something good and this was certainly something you didn’t want to say.

“My, uh…my husband…he uh…he hits me. He’s abusive.” You choked as tears started streaming down your face.

“Wrong. Come on, you can do better than that.” Pinkner scoffed.

“Casey,” Spencer spoke now, the pain in his voice evident.

He’d know about what Jared did to you but you’d never said it out loud in quite as many words. He hated the way he felt so powerless against what your husband had done to you.

“Shut up!” Casey screamed at him, grabbing you by the shoulder and forcing you back to the floor.

“Ok, ok.” You cried.

“Last chance. Something you would never say aloud, not even to your partner here. Your deepest, darkest secret. Impress me or I kill him.” He turned the gun back on Spencer.

You looked at your best friend through watery eyes. There was only one thing left to say. A secret you never thought you’d say out loud, especially to Spencer.

But it would certainly be enough to get Casey’s attention and with any luck it would save your lives.

“Come on!” Casey screamed.

You kept your eyes on Spencer, tears getting heavier. His brow furrowed at you, sensing the weight of what you were about to say.

“Spence, uh…” you swallowed. “I have always loved you. I was too scared to say it before... and now things are just really too complicated to say it now. I'm sorry, but you should know.”

The look that washed over him could only be described as pure heart break as the world seemed to freeze around you. He’d wanted to hear those words for so many years but not here, not like this.

For five seconds the two of you stared at each other, five gut wrenching, life altering seconds. This was going to change everything, life would never be the same again.

***

Present Day

Upon receiving the email from the anonymous server, things started to make a little more sense.

It didn’t make the situation any less terrifying, but it did at least point the team in the right direction.

Your phone had been found in a dumpster a few blocks from your house and hadn’t rendered anything useful. It was the email that had landed in Garcia’s inbox a few minutes after Spencer and Rossi returned from your home which was interesting.

It was a photograph of you with your abductor's arm around your shoulder. The woman next to you wasn’t trying to obscure her face telling the team she wasn’t scared of being identified. You had dried blood on the side of your face but other than that you looked to be unscathed.

But the most alarming part was the demand in the email.

Release Catherine Adams in twenty four hours.

And that was how Spencer found himself behind the glass in the little room next to the interrogation room in which Cat Adams currently occupied.

“You sure you can do this?” JJ was at his side, much like she had been last time he’d had to face off with his nemesis.

“I don’t have a choice, Jennifer.” He wouldn’t look at her, keeping his eyes on Cat in her bright orange jumpsuit. “She’s made it personal. Again. If I don’t go in there she’s going to have Y/N killed.”

“I’ll be right here.” JJ tried to calm him.

“I don’t need you to wait for me. This is something I need to do alone. Go and help the team.” He didn’t look at her as he headed for the door and violently swung it open.

He slammed it behind him, glaring manically at Cat.

She was relaxed back in the chair, arms folded across her chest, jumpsuit sleeves rolled up to her elbows. Her dark hair was stringy and lifeless, tied back off of her face.

Those infectious eyes he remembered having so much spark when they played their little game in the restaurant, even after his release from prison with his hand around her throat, were dull like someone had switched a light off.

He’d seen that look mirrored on his own eyes when he was incarcerated. Day by day prison stripped him of life, and his eyes had slowly lost their sparkle.

She’d been inside much longer than him, he wasn’t exactly surprised to see the effects she wore. But even when she looked at him they remained dark and cold.

He could see the resignation. She’d given up. It happened in prison, when you stopped believing there was a way out. He’d reached that point too, he’d gotten himself into solitary for his own protection, but he’d been so sure he’d die there.

She stared at him, waiting for him to speak. If he didn’t know any better he would have been sure she didn’t have anything to do with this. She didn’t seem as though she had the energy for these kinds of games anymore.

“Where is she?” He spat at her, not wanting to waste any time.

“Because I’m going to make it that easy on you?” Cat scoffed, lifeless eyes rolling in her head.

“The demand of releasing you from prison is never going to happen, so why don’t we save ourselves both some time and tell me what this is really about.” He moved closer to the metal table but didn’t sit down.

“You haven’t heard,” her lips turned up at the corner.

“Heard?” He cocked an eyebrow at her.

“I stopped fighting. The state versus Catherine Adams.” She unfolded her arms, exhaled heavily.

“You’ve grown a conscience? Unlikely.” He rolled his eyes.

“I’m bored.” She huffed. “Death has got to be more interesting.”

“Why am I here, Cat? And where is Y/N?” He tried to keep his voice levelled but he knew it was only a matter of time before he lost his cool. “I’m not playing your games this time, tell me where she is.”

“You know that’s not how this works, Spencie.” She offered him a sweet smile. Her eyes were still void of emotion.

“Tell me what you want.” He folded his arms across his chest.

“My final request,” she sat back in her chair leisurely. “Before I’m put to death. I want to go on a date. With you.”

Spencer felt his stomach turn violently. Of course there was always something. But she did really think she would get her own way, be released from prison so he could take her out?

He supposed having an FBI Agent kidnapped was one way to ensure she got what she wanted.

He unfolded his arms before kneeling in front of her. He moved close to her ear.

“The only date I will be there for is the one where they stick a needle in your vein.” He spat before pushing himself back up.

“I hear you have a thing for damaged women, I thought I was just your type.” She smirked wildly at him.

His teeth ground together furiously, but he tried not to let her see he was coming unravelled. He couldn’t give anything away. She was the master of reading people, him specifically. In another life she would have made a great profiler.

“I have no idea what you mean.” He sucked in a breath, desperate not to let her see she’d hit a nerve.

Cat chuckled, an evil and maniacal sound that made Spencer’s stomach lurch.

“After all this time? Always.” She quoted with a wide smile on her face.

Spencer’s nostrils flared and he felt his heart leap into his throat.

How did she know about that? How could she possibly know?

The only conceivable way would be from your bracelet. The bracelet you’d handed him back at Rossi’s wedding which he’d come to discover when he got home he no longer had in his possession.

He’d assumed it had fallen out of his pocket, even called the venue the next day but as of yet no one had found it. Even if he’d lost it, it was out of the question that she could have gotten her hands on it.

“Did you hear me?” Cat spoke again, snapping him out of his thoughts.

“Yes.” He nodded.

“You’re going to take me on a date or I will have her killed.” She spoke in a sickly sweet tone that made Spencer want to throw up. “I want to look pretty! I wanna have fun! And I won’t even get physical. Unless you want me to.”

He felt dizzy out of nowhere, his vision starting to blur. The walls of the interrogation room seemed like they were getting closer. He suddenly felt as though he couldn’t breath, like a heavy weight was pressing down on his chest.

I’m having a panic attack.

Before he could let Cat see his devolution, he threw open the door and fled the small room. He crossed the corridor in two strides, letting himself into a disused office.

He fought to loosen his tie which felt like it was strangling him. He managed to get it over his head and tossed it aside while trying to focus on his breathing.

A large scream ripped through him, involuntarily erupting from his throat and he reached out and swiped a pile of books and papers off the desk in his rage.

He collapsed to the floor soon after that, hot tears streaming down his face. He sobbed loudly, not caring if anyone was to hear him. He didn’t even care if Cat heard him, even though that was unlikely through the reinforced glass.

He’d had so many emotions pent up for so many years and it was finally all coming to surface. Cat having you kidnapped was the straw that broke the camel's back. The thin piece of thread holding him together all these years snapped.

You’d told him you loved him and he hadn’t said it back. What if he never got to say it back? You were finally free of the clutches of your abusive husband but now you might die because of Cat’s vendetta against him.

He’d allow himself this moment. One moment in which he crumbled. Then he would push it all down and focus everything he had on finding you.

And if he didn’t find you? That didn’t bear thinking about it.

***

Hours ticked by. Slow, painful hours. There was something familiar about this room but you couldn’t quite place it, couldn’t quite see the bigger picture.

The room was small, barely larger than your en-suite bathroom at home. The walls were painted white, chipped and peeling at the corners.

The floor was damp and dusty, clearly having gone unused for years. The table in the corner which your kidnapped sat on was more like a counter than an actual table.

Behind the counter was a set of thick red velvet curtains which were moth eared and mouldy. You swore you could see a sliver of light behind the thick fabric but maybe that was just wishful thinking.

A window maybe?

There was one door, to the left of the counter but it didn’t offer any clues.

Debris was littered on the floor, torn sheets of paper for which you couldn’t quite piece together to work out what was on them. Small brown beads of something scattered between the paper but you couldn’t ascertain what they were.

You probably had a concussion. If the blow to the head hadn’t done it you were sure the fall to the ground after you’d been rendered unconscious had. Your brain was foggy, you knew you were missing something right in front of you but you couldn’t work out what.

The woman didn’t speak much, she mostly sat in silence on her cell phone. None of this made sense. Surely if she’d kidnapped you she wanted something from you? But she was yet to make any demands.

By now you were sure the team must be looking for you. When you failed to pick up the kids from school either Liv, Penelope or Spencer would have been called. By now they must realise something had happened to you.

The profiler in you couldn’t stop trying to run through it all in your head despite how much it hurt to do so.

If this was somehow about Jared, even though you doubted that, where would their paths have crossed? Jared liked to drink, he frequented a lot of bars in the district. She could have been a bartender that he spilled his life to over one too many beers.

But if that were true wouldn’t she know your kids names?

She could have gotten hold of your FBI file. It would tell her your husband's name and the fact you had two kids but not their names. But that would open up the very real and very terrifying idea she was working for someone on the inside.

She could have simply stalked you. If she’d been following you she would know about your husband, your kids, but not necessarily their names.

But then it just came back to the why. Why was she doing this? Who had she taken that photo for? What did she want from you?

You swallowed, your mouth was so dry and your throat was scratchy. You wiggled a little against your binds, this whole being held hostage thing was becoming too much of a regular occurance.

“Look, seeing as we’re going to be here a while, why don’t you tell me what this is about.” You barely recognised your own voice.

The woman’s eyes snapped away from her phone and she looked at you, regarding you curiously. She put down the device and pushed herself to her feet.

She had a slightly crazed smile on her lips as she approached you. There was something vaguely familiar about her, like you’d seen her somewhere before. Had you noticed her watching you? Somewhere in the deep recesses of your mind did you recognise her?

“You need to see what he’s really like.” She told you, rummaging around in her pocket.

“Jared? I already know what he’s really like.” You scoffed, with a frown.

“Not Jared.” She chucked, fishing something out of her pocket and holding it up in front of your eyes.

Your poor and tired eyes took a moment to focus on the silver item dangling from her fingers. But when you did, you felt your whole world stop turning.

***

Spencer collected himself, pushed down his emotions and washed his face so the team wouldn’t know he’d been crying. When he walked into the round table room, all eyes were on him.

“How did it go, kid?” Rossi asked.

“About as well as you would expect.” He croaked.

“We’ve run the woman through facial recognition but so far we haven’t got anything.” Garcia told him sadly.

“I’ve seen her before.” Spencer focused on the photograph of you and your captor on the big screen. “I know I have, I just can’t figure out where.”

“It makes sense for her to use a partner again, but her victimology is off. Cat is a black widow, she targets abusive men who remind her of her father.” JJ spoke now.

“Could this be about Jared? Maybe she thinks in some kind of warped way, she’s saving Y/N?” Luke frowned as he spoke.

“She doesn’t need saving, he’s already in jail.” Emily shook her head.

“It’s not about Jared.” Spencer heaved a sigh. “I know exactly what this is about. This is about me.”

“Well yeah it’s always been about you. But with Cat there is always the presenting agenda and the hidden one. If she sticks to pattern this isn’t just about going on a date with Spence.” JJ shook her head.

So she was listening, at least to part of it.

“No, this is about me. Me and Y/N.” Spencer closed his eyes, his gut churning.

“What do you mean?” Tara asked with a hint of confusion in her tone.

He opened his eyes again and looked at her, trying to find some kind of solace in her soft brown eyes. This was the last thing he wanted to open about right now but it was inevitable he would have to.

If this was really about you and him, the team needed all the facts.

“A few weeks ago on the case in LA, the guy who liked to play truth or dare. When he held us hostage, Y/N agreed to play.” Spencer looked away from Tara, focused his vision on your image on the big screen.

“Ok?” Rossi frowned.

“What does that have to do with anything? I read your report.” Emily frowned too.

“I left something out of my report. Something she said that I didn’t think was pertinent. Not to the case anyway.”

“But you think it’s relevant now?” Matt gave him an equally confused look.

“I think somehow, and I don’t know how, Cat found out. Or she guessed, maybe, I’m not sure. But I think it’s why she took Y/N and how I know this about me and nothing else.” Spencer raked his fingers through his hair, a similar dizziness to that he’d experienced in the interrogation room washing over him.

He needed to get this out before he had another panic attack.

“Are you gonna tell us what she said or do we have to drag it out of you?” Luke was the one to ask.

“She said…” he closed his eyes, taking himself back to the jewellery store. “Spence, uh…I have always loved you. I was too scared to say it before... and now things are just really too complicated to say it now. I'm sorry, but you should know.”

He kept his eyes closed as he quoted you verbatim. He could feel all the eyes of his team members on him, watching, waiting.

When he opened his eyes he looked straight back at your photograph. There were a couple of exchanged glances but to their credit they didn’t seem all that surprised.

“But you said it yourself, you left that out of the report.” Emily’s brows furrowed.

“And the security camera from the store didn’t have audio. So even if she has someone on the inside working for her again, how would she know about that?” JJ looked at him quizzically.

“I have no idea.” He shrugged.

“Did you tell anyone about it? Anyone at all?” Tara asked now.

“No,” Spencer shook his head.

“Then how can this be about that?” Garcia questioned him.

“I don’t know!” He sounded exasperated. “But I’m sure that it is, I know that it is.”

“You’re sure you didn’t tell anyone?” JJ spoke calmly. “Even if it doesn’t seem relevant. Are you sure you didn’t-”

“Shit,” he cut her off. “I did tell someone.”

“Who?” Emily was quick to ask.

He looked from your photograph to his Unit Chief.

“Max. I told Max.”

“I’ve been in love with her for so long it’s just become a part of who I am.” He confessed. “I never let myself get close to anyone on the off chance she might have one day decided she felt the same. Just before I met you we…we, uh, slept together and she just up and left while I was asleep and never mentioned it again. It told me everything I needed to know, and so I made the decision to finally move on. I opened myself up to being with someone else and there you were.

I really like you Max, I think we could have had something really amazing. But I can’t lie to you and tell you that I’m not always going to have feelings for Y/N, because at this point I’m sure they will never go away. And that’s not fair on you.”

“No, it's not.” She shook her head.

“I got held hostage yesterday, Y/N and I did.” He sighed, scratching at the back of his neck. “The unsub liked to play truth or dare. He had a gun pointed at her and made her confess to a secret she would never admit outloud.”

Max narrowed her eyes on him, despite not being a profiler she could easily read between the lines.

“She told you she has feelings for you?”

“She did.” Spencer nodded. “I still don’t know if she meant it or not, or if she was just trying to shock the guy.”

“You think she could be a part of this?” Luke leaned forward on the table.

“No, no way.” Spencer shook his head frantically.

“How can you be so sure? You only dated a few months, did you really know her?” JJ sounded somewhat accusatory.

“I knew her.” He spat at his friend. “There is no way she is part of this.”

“Ok, ok kid calm down.” Rossi held his hands up. “If Max isn’t a part of this, we have to assume this woman who’s holding Y/N hostage overheard what you said to her. Where were you when you talked to Max?”

Spencer’s eyes snapped onto the older man, frantic and wild. His heart pounded in his chest as his blood turned to ice.

“At your wedding.” Spencer croaked. “I told Max that at your wedding.”

In his peripheral vision he noticed someone pass by, dressed in a caterer's uniform. He waited for them to leave before he spoke again.

His eyes quickly found the image on the screen again only this time he didn’t look at you, he looked at the woman with her arm around your neck.

“Fuck,” Spencer choked on his breath. “She was there! She was dressed as a freaking caterer!”

All eyes turned to the screen while the others tried to deduce if they recognised her.

“You’re sure?” Luke was the one to ask.

“Yes.” Spencer nodded defiantly. “I saw her throughout the day, didn’t really pay her much attention. But she was there when I was talking to Max. I saw her. I thought she walked off but it’s safe to say I wasn’t exactly focused on her. She could have just been out of view, listening while I told Max what happened.”

“Her name is Juliette Weaver.” Penelope suddenly looked up from her laptop. “I just got over the prison visitor records. She’s visited Cat five times in the last two weeks. And before that, she was an inmate at the same correctional facility. She was released a little over a month ago.”

“Ok, I’ll bite. If this woman was really at my wedding, watching you and listening to your conversations, I’m still not sure what Cat has to gain by kidnapping Y/N.” Rossi pulled a face.

“She got back at me for arresting her by having me arrested.” Spencer started to pace as he let the thoughts flow. “Then we destroyed her relationship with Lindsey, exposed her affair with Wilkins, to the one person who ever loved her. We proved playing the game with me was more important than being faithful to Lindsey.”

“So you think she wants to kill Y/N, take away the one person who loves you just like you did to her?” JJ mused.

Spencer suddenly stopped pacing, eyes landed on JJ.

“No,” he shook his head. “She doesn’t want her dead.”

“So what does she want?” Matt frowned.

“Last time she wanted to prove that we’re the same. Me and Cat. This time she wants to prove I’m like him.”

“Him?” Garcia questioned.

“Jared.” Spencer exhaled. “At the wedding you told me how Y/N had been found with Jared’s hand around her throat. I bet Juliette overhead that too.”

“So?” Garcia shrugged.

“She was found being strangled, just like when I had Cat up against the wall in the interrogation room by her throat.” Spencer clenched his jaw.

He saw some confused eyes, the whole team had not been privy to that part of his encounter with Cat. Emily hadn’t let the others see the video footage, thinking the fewer people knew of it the better.

“Cat wants to prove to Y/N that I am no better than her husband. She doesn’t want to kill her, it would be too easy. It would be worse for me for Y/N to live and never be able to look at me the same.” Spencer’s whole body deflated.

“Or let you live knowing you couldn’t save her.” Luke spoke, his tone morose.

“Either way we need to find her.” Emily turned stern. “And the best way to do that would be…”

“No,” Spencer shook his head, whining. “Please? There must be another way.”

“If we give her what she wants she could slip up. We can profile what she says on the date. She’d be out of her comfort zone.” Emily shrugged as if there was no other way.

Maybe there wasn’t.

“Fucking hell,” Spencer groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Fine.”

“Alvez and Simmons, you'll go with them.” Emily instructed. “Garcia, see if you can find any more on Juliette Weaver.”

Soon the five of them, Spencer, Luke, Matt, Emily and Garcia exited the room, the others staying behind to continue pursuing other leads. As they passed by Emily’s office, the Unit Chief spoke again.

“Reid, a word?”

Spencer halted in his tracks, inhaling deeply before slowly following her into her office.

She closed the door behind him, moved over to her desk which she leant back against.

“You sure you can do this?” She folded her arms across her chest.

Spencer took a beat, thought about that question for a moment or two before he responded with a simple, “no.”

“If there was another way…”

“I know.” He nodded stiffly. “I just need a minute to compose myself. If I have to see Cat right now I will undoubtedly kill her.”

The gumption to his tone frightened Emily for a second. She knew he wasn’t exaggerating, he would most certainly kill her.

“If you kill her we may never find Y/N. Just try and remember that.” Emily spoke softly, trying to calm him.

“If we don’t find her,” he clenched his jaw. “If she dies, I will murder Cat Adams with my bare hands. And rest assured I will sleep well afterwards.”

With that he turned and forced the door open, fleeing the room before Emily could even so much as blink.

And she knew more than ever that they had to bring you back unharmed, or she would inevitably lose two members from her team.

@andiebeaword @measure-in-pain @muffin-cup @dreatine @matthew-gray-gubler-lover @justreadingficsdontmindme @spencer-reid-wonderland @thebloomingeagle @frostandflamesfanfic @pixiehex1985 @release-your-sweets @mavel-fan-for-life @megan-mars @hales-17 @onlyspence @werewolfbansheelove @gubsi @vivian-555 @ropickle @meowiemari @dil3mma @wolfstar-17 @kylakins88 @shqwqrma

#spencer reid #spencer reid fanfiction #spencer reid fanfic #spencer reid x fem! reader #spencer reid x reader #spencer reid x you #spencer reid x y/n #criminal minds #criminal minds fanfiction

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eternalsams · 2 years ago

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WHAT ARE THOSEEE?? ⇴ B.Bradshaw

pairing: bradley bradshaw x fem!reader

warnings: reference to sex, just as mature as a "that's what she said" joke

summary: during a night out at the Hard Deck, Phoenix notices something very interesting about Rooster

words count: 758 (I know it's short, I'm sorry)

a/n: this is directly inspired by a tiktok I saw and immediately made me think of Rooster. Also, english isn't my first language, please take this into consideration.

masterlist

You get out of the Bronco when Bradley opens your door, taking his reaching hand and smiling when he presses a kiss in your hair. When you pass the door, Penny immediately sees you and a smirk appears on her face. "The love birds have finally arrived, thought you weren't gonna make it." You lean over the counter and kiss her cheek as a greeting and Bradley taps the counter. "Whatever she takes goes on my tab." He winks at Penny and leave you to join his friends at the pool tables. "The usual?" The woman asks you and you nod. You put your chin in your palm and watch Bradley get away from you, enjoying a bit too much the view. Penny comes back to you with two beers and follow your gaze before chuckling. "You're never gonna get tired of him, are you?" She rapidly wipes the counter when you take the two bottles. "I don't think I ever will. How could I?" You smile at her and join your friends.

You stand next to your boyfriend and give him his drink before starting a conversation with Payback and Fanboy while Rooster talks with Phoenix. When you finish your drink, Bradley takes your empty bottle and goes to give them to Penny so she doesn't have to come and grab them. Phoenix chooses this moment to grab your arm and drag you away from the others. "Please tell me the bit of ginger in Rooster's mustache is just a hair dye accident." She tries to contain her laughs but fails terribly. "What are you talking about?" You puff, frowning. "You didn't notice?" Her smile only widens. "No, I'm not- What were you doing looking at Rooster's mustache anyway?" You chuckle. "It was staring at me first! Come see by yourself." She takes your hand and drags you back to the group of friends. Bradley had come back from the bar and kept an eye on you and Phoenix when you walked away.

"Everything okay, ladies?" Rooster asks and you take your boyfriend's face in your hands, surprising him. You look closer and gasp slightly when you notice the red hues in Bradley's mustache. "Oh my God, you're right!" You turn to Phoenix and she nods frantically. "What? What's wrong with my mustache?" Rooster panics and brings up a hand to his face, patting his facial hair. "Everything's wrong with that mustache, Bradshaw. Looks like a freakin' dead possum on your face." Hangman snorts. "Rooster's got red hair in his mustache." Phoenix can't contain herself anymore as she busts out laughing and something finally clicks in your brain. Oh my God. You did that. Your eyes widen and you meet Bradley's gaze who seems to understand what's happening too. His facial expression matches yours and he clears his throat as your cheeks flush red.

When you turn to face your friends, you can see that almost everyone is laughing but Hangman is the one to make a comment. "Baby Chicken is turning Irish." You're almost relieved that he didn't get what exactly is happening but Phoenix is there to save the day. "I can assure you Rooster doesn't have a single drop of Irish blood in him. But maybe Y/n can explain what's happening." You stare at her and you swear that if looks could kill, she'd be six feet under. But you can't really blame her, you would've done the same if that happened to her and her boyfriend. You're trying to think of a good lie but you see Bob's eyes widen in realization. "Oh my God! Ew!" He grimaces and that's when you know lying won't get you out of there. Everyone seems to understand and you shut your eyes, thinking that maybe when you'll open them again, all this would be just a dream. A very bad and embarrassing dream. "Rooster, you little rascal." Hangman smirks and wipes a tear as he leans back against the wall behind him.

"Okay, okay... it's not a big deal, guys." Rooster starts and you turn to him, doubting his words. "You perfectly know that we're getting some and now you're just jealous because there's a proof of it." Bradley smirks and you grimace. "I'm not sure that helped, Roo. But thanks for trying." You pat his shoulder and leave for the bathroom. Bradley silently sighs and follows after you. "Try and don't get more Irish this time, Bradshaw!" Hangman calls and Bradley flips him off without even looking at him, earning a laugh from the blonde.

#rooster #bradley bradshaw #bradley rooster bradshaw #rooster x reader #bradley bradshaw x reader #bradley rooster bradshaw x reader #top gun #top gun maverick #top gun fanfic #top gun x reader #top gun maverick fanfic #top gun maverick x reader #rooster x you #rooster smut #rooster fluff #bradley bradshaw fluff #bradley brashaw smut

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fishy0bishy · 10 months ago

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Mission upcoming

AN:after a minute of bringing up Mrs.Unamed and at one drawing I did of her and Merrit fighting reunited I wrote a little something leading up to that fight (long way of saying I wrote Merrit lore.)

also all of North’s crew is here! And Gilded!

Start of something bigger.

It was a cozy evening and Lizzy was wandering about and stumbling on Merrit in her lab making and testing some Filter soil but before doing or saying anything Merrit pauses and goes “Goggles and coat before doing anything in here”.

Lizzy rolls her eyes and puts on the gear “what did ya parents told you to do the same thing beforehand?”

Merrit smiles and nonchalantly goes “Nope never knew them. But my grandma and my other caretaker did”

Merrit pointing at two photos on a bulletin board. One image is of two tiny elderly women, one a ferret and the other a possum. But the other photo is blurred by a drink spill stain but Lizzy could still make out ferrets one with creme colored fur and the other brown colored.

Lizzy blinks at the photo and turns saying “wait what? You don’t seem like a person to have as trauma as everyone else on this ship.” Merrit exclaims and shakes her head

“Woah woah it’s not like that. I just never knew them and I don’t mind it. All I know is that they’re space riders so I assumed they were always busy”

“But wouldn’t you see them even when you became a space rider?”

“Someone is getting curious are we? You can ask poppy when we’re at HQ”

“We’ll I’m just say-“

Before the conversation (or questioning if you will) continues North interrupts by loudly knocking on the door and yells “Mission time! Suit up we got a big boss on our hands!”

Both Merrit and Lizzy look at the other and they go to the halls removing their Lab gear and Merrit going to her locker to change up and Lizzy leaving with north but a time skip and the whole crew is meeting up and discussing plans. the first to speak up is Zane “i heard we have a big boss what’s that about?” North smiles and leads by excitedly going “I found a lead with the cult and I’ve tracked down a High ranking member! There’s no photos of her, not a lot of information well except that she leads supply raids from our docks and only seen a total of 2 times within 22 years that she’s appeared and apparently there’s a urban legend about her!”

“Woah she’s pretty tough and sneaky if there isn’t anything about her!” Jaz exclaims and stares at an artist rendition of the woman. A red cloaked figure with a twisted smile and crème colored ears sticking out the hood. But North nudges Lizzy’s shoulder and asks “Hey you were a high member ever seen them. If you don’t mind answering of course.”

“A please would work but sure-“ Lizzy looks at the photo and her ears raise up and turns back to north pointing to the photo going “you do know who you’re dealing with? I dunno if the urban legend said something but she’s crazy scary. Even I didn’t get buddy buddy with her.”

They all stare at Lizzy till Zelda breaks the silence and tells North “what’s the legend about? Can’t be that bad.”

“Well from what I gathered from Poppy apparently this lady used to be a space rider. A very honorable one as well. And she had a husband who’s was a medic in the crew she was in but he also disappeared but myth states they had a child but I couldn’t find anything on files dealing with Rider disappearances. Except the crew Zane’s mother was in. The room immediately goes quiet and they all give each other looks but Merrit speaks up “are we even qualified? Sure we are B+ rank but this woman is maybe a S rank cultist. And remember what happened with Gilded.”

Jaz teases Merrit and North by saying “oh the cultists that Merrit has the doki dokis for and the one who whooped North?”

“Jaz this is serious.. but yeah you’re right…But let’s head out crew we don’t wanna lose track of this woman” “oh changing the subject so quick boss? Sunny remarks as the meeting ends with everyone nodding their heads and the crew leaving to their bikes flying to the upcoming red filled planet.Lizzy and Sparky waving bye waiting for their return.

Meanwhile Mrs.Unamed with a treat left by a certain kitsune (cough cough @truelazymaker )

All Ocs Belomg to the listed!:

NorthHeat(@north-heats-stronghold) Lizzy and Sunny(@novalizinpeace) Jaz(@fanofanythingsblog)

Zelda and Sparky(@fandomssvetlanafrom) Zane(@moonspiritleaf) And finally Gilded(@qxurugosk)

And this Au Belongs to @onyxonline!

#space riders au #smiling critters au #jaz #merrit ferret #north heat #zelda #sparky #Zane #Sunny #lizzy #Gilded somehow snuck his way in here

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cultofdixon · 2 years ago

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Knowing Enough for Him

Rick Grimes [ROMANTIC] | Daryl Dixon [PLATONIC] • She/Her Pronouns • Mute!Reader | Daryl’s Little Sister!Reader • PART 2 to “Knowing Enough for Her” • Alexandria brought a lot out of the group. The good and the bad. Making their time there an eventful one. Little did you know something good would happen to you…even if the honeymoon feeling was cut short • ANGST/SFW/NSFW - implied sex • TW: Scars / Injuries / Canon Violence / Past Abuse / Trauma / Nightmares / Self Harm Scars / Abuse / PTSD

Requested by: Anon

Daryl kept close to his sister the entire welcome into this community and because he’d have to translate for some of the people. Especially Deanna.

“Would you be willing to teach us? We have an ASL book in our library”

This place really has it all huh Y/N signs with her good hand to Daryl as he shrugs for the most part. She nods to Deanna’s asking as Deanna smiles warmly.

“Great! We can arrange such tomorrow but as for a job for you…we’ll still have to discuss such. We have a surgeon in our community that would be more than happy to take a look at that for you” Deanna refers to Y/N’s broken fingers from the time with the claimers watching her cover them with her other hand. She didn’t want to be reminded of them, even if there’s a reminder living on her.

Deanna took note that Daryl was protective of Y/N just from their interviews. No shit they are siblings. But she knew that if she messed with one, she was messing with the other…and worse.

“Where’s your sister go?” Rick asks Daryl about to enter their new residence when he noticed the archer skinning the possum he found outside the gates.

“Inside. She’s checking everything to make sure nothing surprises us”

“By herself?”

“You don’t want to see her when she’s in pain”

“She’s in pain?” Rick frowns thinking one of the Alexandrians must have hurt her further than what she has already endured.

“Yeah, but it’s her hand. We both know it’s bound to hurt. Just. The boss lady made her go get checked out by the doc…Y/N didn’t let me go with her, next thing yknow the doc popped one of her fingers back in place” Daryl rips the skin off tossing it on the railing to the house. “She’s scary when she’s in pain. Has been since…yeah. Anyway, if she tosses somethin’ at yea. I told you so”

Rick took what Daryl said with caution as he enters the house not finding Y/N immediately. He checked the place out himself finding some of the groups’ belongings in the living room and additional stuff provided by Alexandria for new comers. He half expected for Y/N to come out and smack him for the unexpected entrance but when he turned into the living room he saw her knelt down by the floor vent.

“Y/N, you feeling alright?” Rick frowns walking over to her seeing her give a thumbs up with her good hand. “Alright…then what are you doing?”

Y/N moved out of the way to reveal that the wooden panel can open along with the vent lid. In case they needed to hide anything and that’s when Rick knew he could trust her with his suspicions on this place.

The first couple nights everybody was settling into the one house just for the beginning. Daryl kept to the window next to the crib that was given to them for Judith watching Y/N check on her every now and then.

“I’m gonna sleep outside. In case of anythin’”

Take the sleeping bag from the closet, I’ll get the lantern I found in the garage Y/N took her time to sign such to her brother even if all she wanted to do was scream at how frustrating it was to not be able to use her other hand.

Daryl wasn’t going to argue with the others and frankly, Y/N wasn’t going to let them argue with him either. It’s a new community and they had their fair share of fucked ones that no one can blame him for wanting to keep watch outside.

As the Dixons were getting settled or more so Y/N helping Daryl get settled outside. Everyone else was getting settled in the living room and finally turning in for the night.

“You look cozy” Carol smiles stepping out of the house seeing Daryl lay out his sleeping bag while Y/N turned the lantern off for those starting to go to bed inside given they turned the lights off. “How long are you going to sleep outside?”

“Until I better understand this place” Daryl took out one of his homemade cigarettes and before he found his lighter, Y/N had lit hers the second she saw him take a cig out. “Thanks”

“Smart that you’re doing such. But what we really need is our guns back” Carol states right as Rick stepped out in a whole new/old look that part of him doesn’t really like anymore. “Well hello there officer”

You clean up nice Y/N smiles signing to Rick watching him nervously rub the back of his neck trying his best to contain his happiness when she said such.

“Thanks…” Rick almost forgot why he stepped out to begin with and cleared his throat to bring himself back. “Thinkin’ we can start sleeping in our own homes”

“I’ll be holding the Dixons or at least Y/N while her brother camps outside” Carol laughs quietly in mind for the other residences. “But we need to get our guns back”

“I agree”

It won’t be that difficult Y/N chimes in being met with confused expressions. Deanna gave me a job in the pantry. Firmly believes she thinks since I don’t talk that that job would be less communicative on my end. People come in. Check out stuff. Don’t really need me to talk back

“This will be easier than I thought”

It was Daryl’s idea to continue this plan outside the walls of Alexandria the next day. To avoid anyone overhearing what they are saying. Rick left the community with Y/N given she took care of Judith in the morning and part of him didn’t want to miss any moment.

“Y/N doesn’t have to risk her position in its entirety. All she has to do is leave the latch open to the window and I’ll go in and out” Carol starts with. “Then she can remove their existence in the record to avoid suspicions”

“They’ll instantly go after Y/N if shit goes south”

I can take care of myself, D

“I don’t care. They’re ignorant and it takes a while to learn sign. Hell…Deanna might even think you’re faking if anyone gets caught”

“I won’t let that happen” Rick interrupts resting a hand on Y/N’s shoulder reassuringly. “Promise”

Oh she can’t help the butterflies just from a small touch.

Y/N beams when he did such and reassured her of her safety, but she can take care of herself when it gets too far. Even might cross her own boundaries for such. She brought her hand to rest on top of his squeezing it before letting it slide off as she left first to go do the job she was asked to do.

The next day was the party and not everyone wanted to go. Daryl of course didn’t and when he brought it up to Y/N, he half expected her to try and convince him. Instead she remained silent.

“You don’t have to go if you don’t want to” Daryl frowns nudging Y/N for her attention as she brushes him off. “Y/N…what happened—-“

I’m late for my shift. I have to go Y/N signs before finishing tying her boots and heading straight to the pantry.

Something was off…Daryl at first thought it would’ve been because of the plan regarding the pantry. Then went to the uncertainty of Alexandria…before he even thought about delving into the more personal.

“Carol” Daryl quickly stops her before she got far from the house. “Yea ever run into Y/N check on her for me, alright?”

Her face instantly went from happy into worry when he said that. “Why? What happened?”

“I don’t know. She won’t talk to me just. If it’s anythin’ let me know” Daryl sighs going inside the house leaving Carol to ponder on such while he decided to investigate her room of anything.

Daryl jumps the gun when it comes to these moments but why was it happening now? The last time was when Merle died.

The pantry is almost always quiet even with two people, but that’s mainly because only Y/N’s group knows how to sign to her while the rest of the Alexandrians just talk at her. She was given a notepad from Deanna’s husband Reg after she told him about their new special resident.

Guess she doesn’t even want to try…at first

“Y/N, I’m going to go for a couple of hours to help some of the older folk then I’ll relieve yea” Olivia smiles watching her nod as she flips through one of the books she brought from the house they were given. “Just holler if you need any-….Uhm.” She caught herself and it wasn’t the first time Y/N’s heard that or let alone witness someone become awkward immediately. “Just. I’ll be back in a few”

Y/N watches Olivia leave the pantry and immediately went to open the latch to the window but more specifically break it apparently. These houses may have not been used but that doesn’t mean they don’t wear out. She didn’t mean to and knew if someone caught on that they would pin it to a new comer. But this meant they can come and go freely during the night.

“Hey, Y/N”

The poor Dixon flinched to the words before turning to be met with the sheriff’s worried expression.

“Sorry I didn’t…you alright?”

Just jumpy. I’m fine Y/N frowns tossing the latch to the window into the bin as Rick noticed her hand with the broken fingers were now just taped together instead of a splint. He’s a bit relieved that she’s healing finally after their encounter with the claimers. Did you need something? She signed after snapping to get his eyes back to hers.

“Right. Uhm. Are you going to this thing tonight?”

Still thinking about it

“Right…well, I hope you do. I would—-The group would really appreciate it. As much as some of us still don’t trust this place, others are tryin’…”

After years of not speaking you tend to read body language more than what an average person would do and Y/N could just tell he wants her there…even if it’s not together. Just. There. But something was constricting Y/N’s thoughts and the pain she’s been feeling wanted to strike her down.

“You don’t have to…I know your brother ain’t going and it’s okay if—-“

I’ll go, but I don’t want to be alone Y/N admits as that sparked a smile on Rick’s face taking it as an opportunity even if the man is out of practice.

“We can go together…Yeah. I mean. You me…and Judith…and Carl”

A quiet giggle escaped Y/N as she smiles up at Rick couldn’t help the butterfly feelings.

I will meet you at yours before the party

Rick nods with a smile before leaving. He felt like he won a million dollars but also could’ve been a bit less awkward about it.

The moment Olivia returns to the pantry she noticed Y/N examining a few things as she thought the worse at first but then noticed she written a list on her notepad.

“I can help you find something” Olivia smiles extending her hand for Y/N to give her the notepad.

It was still a few hours before the party and Y/N made her way back to the house carrying a few things that caught her brother’s attention but he knew Carol was inside and he thought she wouldn’t want to be stressed even further by his million of questions.

Even if Carol had plenty of her own but she didn’t question since Y/N entered already asking things of her own.

Mixing bowl?

“Yeah, a small one?”

Y/N nods setting the supplies she took down on the counter as Carol set the bowl down for her seeing the variety.

“You making a salve? What happened?”

Nothing that hasn’t already happened Y/N frowns putting a little bit of everything in the bowl, being handed a spoon shortly.

“You know you can trust me with whatever this is for right? Kind of already made you leave the window open risking your position, the least I can do is keep a secret”

It’s not a secret from Daryl, and won’t be to others once I go to the party. I just. I don’t like looking at it She frowns finishing mixing the salve together as she used to have something in the old world that helped with the inflammation and the itching pain…

“You want help?”

Y/N looks up with a bit of a pleading look.

Carol waited patiently with the salve on her bed as Y/N got dressed in something to make it easier for her friend to see. That thing to be seen was the huge scar on Y/N’s chest when she finally stepped out of the bathroom after putting a tank top on.

“Woah…” Carol suddenly blurts out as she realizes how off putting that could’ve been quickly apologizing after. “Sorry. I’ve..seen my scars just. Wow I have questions.”

It’s not new news that each Dixon child has their fair share of physical abuse by someone that should’ve protected them since the second they were born. But the running trend of when one sibling leaves the abuse goes on the next...just continued.

Only thing was when they lost their mother to a house fire, they almost lost Y/N in the process.

If one asked Merle, he always thought Y/N became mute because of that trauma. Being trapped in the fire under a fallen dresser that crushed her chest cavity is the reason for the scar. But Merle is only half right about her muteness. Screaming for a while to no one coming until the fire department came will always be the running nightmare.

But if one asked Daryl how he thinks Y/N became mute. He’s the right one. Mental trauma manifests differently in people who’ve experienced something traumatic. The fire was the start of Y/N Dixon’s downward spiral. Next of kin was the father, who has a criminal record. This leads to the next Merle, who also has a criminal record. Then left Daryl but he was also just a kid. So social services took Y/N after her accident and she didn’t go back to her brothers until she was twelve. That time apart lead her to close in on herself. She didn’t talk to anybody and that became normal. It frustrated Merle and confused Daryl but they both were just happy to have their sister back once Merle got some of his shit together to take care of both his younger siblings. Y/N used to either write to communicate with her brothers or be physical with the punching or pointing. It was actually Daryl that suggested and found an ASL book in the city library. Y/N was the smartest Dixon and taught herself pretty quickly that lead to her helping Daryl learn. It was like teaching a brick anything when teaching Merle but he learned enough, besides Daryl translates for her when she signed to anyone who didn’t know.

The scar on her chest though, will always remind her of how this all started. Her vocal cords were scarred but she hasn’t spoken since forever.

She doesn’t know if she still has a voice.

“You don’t have to go to the party, Y/N” Carol frowns a few minutes before the party as Y/N signs to her that she promised Deanna and that she was going with Rick and his family. She won’t be alone. Just uncomfortable given Deanna picked her outfit being a dress with a low enough cut to show her scar. Least she’s wearing a cardigan over it to close it over.

“You come find me if anything alright?” Daryl was last to chime in one more thing before Y/N headed over to Rick’s next door as he couldn’t help but worry about what others gotta say.

I will. You know I will Y/N gave him a smile while leaving to find Rick waiting at the end of the steps with Judith in hand. Someone’s excited she smiles instantly covering her chest with her cardigan as she made it to his level.

“Guess I am.” Rick smiles watching as Judith leaned toward Y/N wanting her to hold her. “Think she is to but not for the party”

Y/N instantly takes Judith into her embrace smiling even more when holding the little one. Judith instantly lays against her getting comfortable which lead to the two finally going to the party and right off this random women came up to them mainly to swoon over the baby but to also plant some seeds…or water them.

How old is your daughter?

You two make a lovely couple

She looks so much like you

You look fantastic for someone who’s had a baby

The little one is very lucky to have you two as parents

Your wife is gorgeous

Y/N couldn’t correct them, and Rick didn’t seem to want to. She couldn’t help the blush to form on her cheeks as she went to sit next to Maggie while still holding the baby. The time apart lead to Y/N watching Rick talk with one of the Alexandrians. More specifically Jessie with her son Sam with her who gave him a stamp.

“They seem to be hitting it off, but nothing compared to what I’ve been hearing about you and Rick” Maggie smiles elbowing Y/N watching her try and hide her blush. “What? You both aren’t correcting people and he hasn’t stopped smiling since he came here with you…what’s stopping you from doing anything?”

I don’t want to replace…anyone Y/N admits as she held Judith thinking about Lori and Maggie knew exactly what she meant.

“But life goes on…you’re allowed to be happy”

It’s not too soon…? She frowns at Maggie who was going to ease her concerns when the two heard Sasha lash out. Which felt more like a reality check.

The silence grew in the room as Sasha stood there anxiously that Y/N handed Judith off to Maggie before going to her friend and leaving the party with her. It didn’t resume right away, and some part of Y/N didn’t want to leave…but her priority was always to take care of her family.

It wasn’t until much later that Rick went to check on Y/N and ask about how Sasha was doing. He half expected her to be asleep and inside but Y/N sat on the porch swing in comfortable clothing smiling warmly when Rick approached her.

“Shouldn’t have left yea at the party”

What do you mean?

“I don’t know. Seemed like I gave yea Judith so I could talk to people…”

Judith is great company. I’m never complaining Y/N smiles scooting over for Rick to join her on the swing. Besides. I haven’t been feeling that great all day…Sasha was my out with that party and I stayed with her until she was well enough to get some sleep

“I didn’t…make you feel like you had to go right? You didn’t have to” He frowns feeling he stepped over a line of some sorts but she knew she was going to go regardless. The only thing that made it easier to go was going with him.

The retired sheriff relaxed when he felt her hand gently take his. Rick squeezes her hand bringing back that smile of his.

“Can I admit somethin’?” Rick asks watching her nod as he brought his entire self to turn toward her. “I…Uh…fucking hell…I don’t think I can ever live without yea”

It was subtle at first

The way he looks at her waiting for her to look at him and give him that beautiful smile of hers

How she’s perfect with Judith and caring to Carl

The power she had to her always amazed him

Especially her smarts to help not only her but their family

Y/N is perfect to him, and always has been even when reality takes them all down most days.

He couldn’t help but close the space between the two, pressing his lips firmly against hers. Half expecting her to pull away but Y/N held his shirt for a moment keeping the kiss intact before parting.

“I hope that wasn’t too far…even if there’s much more I wanna do”

The smile that graces her features after such leads to her standing from the porch swing extending her hand for him to take.

Don’t wake anyone Y/N smiles even more making him smile just as much before following her inside the house.

As the next morning came…Y/N stretches her body sighing as she turns to the other side of her bed finding a note but no sheriff.

Had to check on Judith and go on rounds. I’ll be back later darling - R <3

The warm feeling in her chest grew as she held the note for a moment longer before getting dressed for the day.

The day led to a small crowd surrounding Rick in his enraged state over how blind the Alexandrians were. He was becoming too much and Y/N watched as Michonne drew closer and she stopped her quickly.

Let me

“If he hurts you, I’m taking over”

Deal Y/N frowns pushing past a few people and bringing herself closer to Rick who aimlessly waved his gun around.

Right before Rick could say anything more, he tensed to the hand resting on his shoulder as he turned to be met with Y/N’s beautiful E/C eyes. Her worried expression never faltered as she didn’t sign anything and he didn’t say a word. Something switched in him that when she held her hand out, he didn’t hesitate to hand over the gun and before he knew it. He was out cold. Y/N had done the same thing she did to Daryl when they first met and he was causing a ruckus. She pinched a nerve that knocked him out cold and pulled away letting Glenn and Michonne take care of the rest.

After being confronted by Michonne and Carol, Rick left the cell to go back to the house before the bonfire later that determines his residency in Alexandria. He stopped at the steps finding Y/N leaning against the railing.

“You’re mad aren’t you?”

Rick looks at her confused as he brought himself to stand beside her. Why not? He signs wanting this to be more private.

You did what you did for a reason. But what the Alexandrians don’t know is that there’s a much bigger threat than Rick Grimes who’s just trying to show that to them. Y/N frowns rubbing the back of her neck. Even if he did risk his position here

You knocked me out, didn’t you? Before it got worse

Yes, and before Michonne gave you a shiner She laughs sadly crossing her arms as Rick brought himself closer.

They might banish me

Going to have to go through me to enforce that and we both know what will happen if I’m crossed Y/N scoffs smacking his chest getting a smile out of him before leaving to talk to Maggie about the bonfire.

She’s sure of it.

#cultofdixon #the walking dead #daryl dixon #daryl dixon x reader #rick grimes #rick grimes x reader #Daryl PLATONIC #time uh doesnt exist in twd #cuz i cant remember time skips between the party to rick's outburst #rick grimes fanfiction #daryl dixon fanfiction

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anthropologyruinseverything · 6 months ago

Text

New fic series! WWE Mafia AU

Welcome to what is essentially my dark romance, junk food series. I want to practice writing in the genre so here we go! Plz see CW warnings. There are 3 fulls stories and a 1 shot planned, I will be writing stories and one-shots as part of this universe as time goes on. As of right now Jey, Damian, Roman and Tama are in the works but I’d like to expound so hit me with recs!

(They may take time to write)

Now on with it.

18+ only from here plz - minors dni

Sea & Moon

Jey Uso x IndigenousFMC

Summary: Nokomis “Kiki” Levy was a normal twenty year old college student whose biggest concerns were passing chemistry and what graduate programs would want to see on an application.

Joshua “Jey” Fatu is thirty-one and has recently been appointed heir apparent of his father’s branch of their families shadowy enterprise and needs to prove himself up to the task.

Their worlds collide when Kiki’s father, a detective with SFPD, gets too close to Jey’s family business. While they start as enemies there is an undeniable burn between them. Will a much larger threat be their end or give them a chance to thrive together?

🚨It’ll be a dark journey for the Levy girls, please heed content warnings that include mild n0n-con between main characters, dubious consent, violence, mentions of difficult topics such as substance abuse, mental health issues and more. There will be various k!nks such as prim@l play, masks, captiv!ty, 🔪 play, ch0king, and more. The boys are morally grey to black but love and obsess over their ladies.

There is an HEA for everyone! I probably won’t post more than the prologues and one shots here on Tumblr and leave the really dark stuff on AO3. I will post links though and just drop a comment if you’d like to be tagged in any further updates.

## Prologue

**Nokomis “Kiki” POV**

⭐️*character note, Kiki has vitiligo which affects her face over her right eye, her hands and other other areas.

It was just supposed to be another regular movie night at home with my sister and cousin, nothing unusual or life altering. The same sort of thing we did almost every Saturday night since we could remember. I didn’t think twice when my folks decided on a last minute date night while we three girls piled onto the couch for comedies and popcorn, waving them off as if I’d see them in a few hours.

I wished I’d hugged them tighter and longer. As if that would have somehow stopped what happened next.

Not long after my parents had left my dad’s retired K9 partner Atlas started going insane, running back and forth to the back door and barking. I assumed he was interested in a rabbit or some other critter like a possum in the backyard so I hushed him and sent him to his crate for acting so crazy. In the long run I’d probably saved his life but I had still wished for his protection with what came next.

We never heard the back door locks being picked or footsteps in the kitchen. Between the movie, our laughter and the occasional dog bark nothing else penetrated our space and like most college students on a Saturday night our minds weren’t on the dangers lurking in the shadows. We didn’t know anything was wrong until Kai went to the kitchen for drinks and her scream alerted Kiri and me to our unwelcome visitors.

I’d never felt so stupid and slow as I did when the large men in masks appeared in the doorway, one with a particularly vicious face mask, long black hair and icy gray eyes held a long knife to Kai’s throat, clutching her tightly to his front with his other arm. Every time I ever swore to myself and my parents I would fight back went out the window when I realized it might actually cost my cousin her life. Instead I reached for Kiri’s hand as we stood frozen to the spot. Her light brown eyes were blown wide in fear and her normally tan face had gone ashen.

Everyone was quiet except for Atlas’s enraged barking.

The shortest man was still at least six feet tall and he wore a black mask with red spiral designs that covered his lower face. Withdrawing a gun from a shoulder holster he indicated the elderly german shepherd. “Shut it the fuck up.”

Instinctively Kieran and I both moved to stand between him and Atlas, her fingers digging into my hand tighter than ever before while her other came up in a placating gesture as I spoke. “Please don’t hurt him, he’s old and scared.” She turned to me with frightened eyes and indicated I should comfort him with a jerk of her chin. Dropping I tried to soothe him and at least got him to quiet down to a whimper.

The next thing I became aware of nearly made me lose control of my bladder. A harsh, cold metal gun barrel was pressed to the back of my head as Kiri’s hand was wrenched from mine.

“You girls gonna behave?”

I swallowed past the thick lump in my throat and nodded, hating that every inch of me was paralyzed. What happened to being an officer’s daughter who could stand her ground? All I could think about was that knife pressed to Kai, that gun leveled at the back of my head or at Atlas. If I didn’t behave they could be hurt or I could be killed. I risked glancing up at Kieran who was so still and quiet, being held by the largest of the three. His purple and black mask was monstrous like the tattoos on his exposed arms.

“Stand up slowly. Where’re your parents?” Out of habit when someone stared at me intensely I let my hair fall forward over my face even as I did what he said. His dark brown eyes looked black in the dim light of the living and the comedy kept playing in the background offering a ridiculous soundtrack to such a grave moment. Everything felt surreal in the flashing lights.

“N-not home.” My voice shook even as I tried to sound calm. “Our dad, he’s a cop, he’ll be back soon.” As if supplying that information would make him think twice.

The tall one chuckled, responding in a deep voice that fit his intimidating stature. “We know mija. He’s why we’re here.”

Kai’s whimper brought my attention back to her and the man holding her. He was far too interested in running his knife down her chest. “Hey! Stop it!”

Kai was two years younger than us and as such we’d always been protective of her. I realized what I’d done when those cold gray eyes flashed to me.

The man with black eyes didn’t hesitate, stepping in uncomfortably close to put the barrel under my chin. “Behave.”

“Okay. I’m sorry.” Survival mode engaged apparently. I realized we were truly fucked when he tugged his mask down to reveal an equally black beard but handsome face. “Leave a note D. We’re taking them and their old man can turn himself in when *we’re* ready.”

The last thing I remembered for a while was Kai crying out and a sharp prick in my neck before everything went black.

———

**Joshua “Jey” POV **

Catching the purple haired girl as she fell I moved to set her on the couch with the other two so they could be tied up. We’d come looking for Detective Levy and we were leaving with his twin daughters and their cousin. Not the worst all things considered but still not my plan and I didn’t like it when things didn’t go according to plan.

“You said he’d be here tonight D.”

Damian tugged his mask off with a shrug, accepting the roll of duct tape Roman had retrieved from his bag. He passed me one as well and we went to work taping the girls wrists, ankles and mouths.

“I’ll talk to J.D.” Unlike our family Damian ran a crew of people he’d collected with no ties aside from shared interests. It made them difficult to trust and easy to be angry with as far as I was concerned. I owed Damian my life, not them.

“Do that. Let’s get the fuck outta here.

Roman, you can mess with her later.” He was preoccupied with the pretty little woman he’d pounced on in the kitchen, running his hands up her thighs over her pajama pants. Instead of answering he just rolled those alarming eyes of his and threw her over his shoulder. I took a second to really assess the young woman in front of me. Her name was Nokomis, one of the detectives two daughters. College student majoring in biology and member of the chess club. Of course. What I hadn’t known about was her vitiligo and I found myself more interested than I should have been in the beautiful patterns on her skin. A particular blaze over her right eye was especially striking.

Shaking the thoughts loose I followed his example and so did Damian with his new charge. Our SUV was parked in the alley behind the house and it had been easy enough to blow out the lone street light a few days prior. We put our two in the third row while Roman climbed in the center with his prize. I felt a twinge of pity for her. Capturing his interest so intently was not an enviable thing for anyone.

I waited until Damian was pulling the car onto the street to speak. “Obviously this changes things.”

“No mierda Jey.” Damian’s irritation was obvious. He knew I hated it when jobs went wrong and I knew it irritated him as well. Not to mention bad intelligence was always followed by a period of mistrust and I knew J.D. was already on thin ice as it was. “You were serious about holding them?”

I looked back at the middle row to find my cousin petting the woman in his lap even as she seemed to struggle against him. It would have been funny if I didn’t know him. “Yeah. Can have some fun but don’t kill ‘em.” I looked pointedly at Roman.

“I don’t kill women Jey. Just…like to play rough.”

“Yeah with professionals, not college kids.”

“You sure that’s a good idea? She saw your face cabrón.” Damian cut in. He had a good point but I wasn’t worried. If I hadn’t thought through this possibility I may have been more stressed about the decision.

“Nah, when they see what we do to their old man they’ll be too scared to say shit and we’ve paid off or killed anyone else who could do shit about it anyway.”

He flexed his broad shoulders and stole a glance in the rear view as the other girls were coming to and shifting around in the far back seat. I wasn’t blind or dumb and while he wasn’t as obvious as Roman I could see he was interested in the little one he’d held onto.

“Could let off some steam.”

I smirked. It wouldn’t be hard to seduce them, a few drinks and some promises and they’d be pliant like most other females I dealt with on the regular. I’d be lying if said I wasn’t intrigued by the girl who stared at me in the rear view, her light brown eyes looking golden in passing streetlights. I could see the defiance in them.

Good. Maybe having to wait a few more days to end the cop who got too close and couldn’t be bought wouldn’t be so bad. Not with some pretty company.

#jey uso fanfiction #wwe #the bloodline #fanfiction #jey uso #writing #ao3 writer #damian priest #roman reigns fanfiction #wwe fanfiction #jey uso x oc

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thissortofsorcery · 1 year ago

Note

💞A different type of rec list ask game, to rep your own fics and other authors you enjoy.💞 Spell out your user name with fic recs. If the letter correlates to one of your fics you rec it (no duplicates use a different fic for repeat letters.) If you get to a letter you don’t have a fic title for you rec one you‘ve liked from someone else. 💖Send this to someone who might need a little love on their own fics or just like spreading the love.💖

Oh, my username is LONG, this is gonna be HARD (haha get it). Keeping it Harringrove to keep it simple (for myself. I have over 3k bookmarks on ao3)

The Green Hawkins Tigers Sweatshirt, by me. 1k, Steve comforts Billy after a run in with Neil.

Hook Possum, by @platypanthewriter. 16k, Steve's a camp counselor and there's a guy Possum Mascot he's very friendly with. This fic had me laughing and giggling from start to finish. It's ART.

I Had to See You, by me. Almost 2k, Billy and Steve broke up three weeks ago, and Steve shows up on Billy's doorstep. One of the fics I'm proudest of.

sad-eyed lady of the lowlands, by @whenyouwishuponastar7. 94k, Steve is a professional babysitter, and is hired to look after Max after she and her older brother move to Hawkins. This was the first fic I read from her and I FELL IN LOVE. Absolute masterpiece. Every time she posts new fics I run to read them so fast.

Shout At The Devil, by @writerwhowritesao3. It's actually a series (155k) that has me by the balls, but the first fic(68k) can be read on its own just fine. It's a retelling of season 2 and it's delicious. It also gives Susan a personality. I would tag just the first fic, but I don't have a J in my username and I HAD to.

Of Cats and Men, by @ihni. 39k, Billy hits a cat with his car, and has to take care of three little kittens. Steve helps. This fics is EVERYTHING to me. Billy and cats get me every time, right in the heart. You will need to hug your pet when you read this, though.

Run for the Shadows, by @shieldofiron. 36k, this fic is DELICIOUS. Friends with benefits to lovers, OBLIVIOUS STEVE. So oblivious. Pure of heart, dumb of ass. I had such a great time reading this fic.

Towel Talks, by @weird-an. 10k, after s3, Steve finds Billy in the community pool sauna. I love this one because An does caring Steve SO WELL. I was like this 🥺 the whole time I was reading it. It's so so good.

On Loving Billy, by lilpeas. I don't know their tumblr. 16k, this is THE break-up and make-up fic. It hurts SO GOOD, their emotions are so beautifully written out. It wrung everything out of me. Love.

for what you have tamed, by skoosiepants. Don't know their tumblr either. 10k. Billy is a cat and a dragon, and he keeps saving Steve's life. I LOVE magical realism, and this fic builds the world incredibly well. It's such a good read.

Sideways, by @robthegoodfellow. 46k. THIS FIC. It spins season 2 on its head so fucking well, oh my god. Rob is such a good writer, I've read this fic more than once and it gets to me every time. Their Billy is incredible.

Only The Freaks Come Out at Night, by shippingmyarmada (idk their tumblr). 67k. GREAT post s2 fic. You know I cry from happiness when I find a post s2 fic. This one is really, really well done.

Rotten Apples, by @weird-an. 14k. It's. a. WITCHER. AU. Do I need to say anything else???????? I love this so much. So much. You have no idea.

Camaro, by @lovebillyhargrove. I'm cheating a little on this one bc I don't know the name of the fic and I wanted to include it, and it's about the Camaro coming alive after season 3 and going on a killing spree to avenge Billy. It gets EVEN BETTER from there. Ana wrote this so well, whenever a chapter dropped on tumblr I lost my shit.

every night fucks every day up, by anonymous. 8k. It's a modern AU, and you know I love my modern AUs. Steve and Billy interact through snapchat. I have a soft spot for snapchat because i first heard about this app reading a Sterek fic in january 2014. This has nothing to do with the fic.

Read to Me?, by lemonlovely (idk tumblr). 12k. Someone leaves books with marked passages at Family Video for Steve. It's SO CUTE. SO CUTE. I love it.

Yeah, It's Me, by @callieb. 29k. Another fic that's between s2 and s3, and this one is SOOOOO GOOD in that their relationship starts as a FWB that's kind of unhealthy and I just about died reading this. Happy ending though. Trust me, it's worth it.

And that's done! It took me over 2 hours to put this together lmao so go give these fics and these writers some love! They deserve it.

#sorcery asks #anonymous #harringrove #fic rec #reclist #billy x steve #billy hargrove #steve harrington

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jurakan · 9 months ago

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I am well acquainted with BIONICLE Cthulhu, but please enlighten your other followers on his grotesqueness grandeur

Alright, both you and @edgar-allan-possum asked for this so here we go! Ladies, Gentlemen, Tohunga, and other random people (I stole this joke from a BZPer), Today You Learned about Tren Krom, BIONICLE's very own Cthulhu!

[]

...No picture? Okay, yeah, it makes sense that we don't have a picture.

So starting in 2007, BIONICLE starting having web serials, which gave out stories in a serialized format to fans who wanted more of the characters they loved, and introduce new ones. See, because LEGO had to keep putting out new sets, the main storyline for each year had to focus on the characters depicted in the sets, and often people would get left behind. Lead writer Greg Farshtey did these serials to help fix this problem.

In the serial "Federation of Fear" (which I want to emphasize was definitely a BIONICLE take on the Suicide Squad; I only realized this a couple of years ago), the team goes to an island to pick up some weapons from a cache and run into...Tren Krom, an insanely powerful, hideous, and insane thing bound to the island. He disintegrates one of the team members, and reads the others' minds.

Basically, what we're told is that when the Great Beings (basically, the gods of the BIONICLE world) started working on "the universe"*, they created Tren Krom to stabilize and run the system while it was being built. When they finished, they declared they didn't need him anymore, and put Mata Nuin in charge of the universe to keep it running. Tren Krom was bound to an island and stuck there.

This, as you can imagine, did not make him very happy.

When he reads the mind of the crooks in Federation of Fear, he realizes that the evil plan of the main villain is in effect, and decides that's far worse than any evil plan he'd come up with as revenge on the world that scorned him. So he lets them go.

Except for then later Tren Krom very clearly does care about getting out of there. In another web serial, after the main villain took over the universe (spoiler alert), the heroes send one of their own to Tren Krom to see if he'll help. He switches bodies with said hero, and actually helps out in the fight against evil! Until he gets beaten by the main villain, and the good brother of the BIONICLE Devil makes him switch bodies back.

There is one more serial that's important, I guess? There's one where one of the villains goes to check on him, and the knowledge he gets from Tren Krom inspires him to go talk to his boss and tell him how to take over the universe. Which, uh, is Plot relevant, but you would think Tren Krom would know better than to just hand out that info.

And then another web serial, written after the main line was canceled, kills him off for a cheap murder mystery.

LAME.

Alright, so what to make of this character? GregF admitted that Tren Krom was created as a shoutout to H.P. Lovecraft's work, so the Cthulhu comparisons were intentional (this also might have been how I was introduced to Cthulhu as a character). There are no official illustrations, as he was never a set, and unlike most BIONICLE characters, he had a horrifying appearance with no bionic elements (his face was a giant gooey skull or something that drove people insane). That hasn't stopped many fan artists from giving it a shot.

Also, one of the BZPower comedies, "Day in the Life of GregF", had a hilarious version of Tren Krom that spoke in ALL CAPS.

Tren Krom was wild, man. In some ways, it was a fantastic addition to the mythos, because it developed the world in a completely new way that fans hadn't seen before. I feel like he was ultimately wasted, though, because there was so much to do with this character, and it really didn't get very far. But that's the case with a lot of the serial characters, I think.

Yeah, so, we've got a BIONICLE Cthulhu.

*It's worth noting that in BIONICLE, "the universe" tends to refer to the Matoran known world, and there was plenty outside of that.

#Tren Krom #BIONICLE #Fun Fact Friday #Today You Learned #Cthulhu #Greg Farshtey

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tum-bakery · 5 months ago

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Howdy howdy!! Sorry I haven't been active lately ^^|| been getting sucked into other fandom stuff off tumblurb. Hope you've been doing well and have had easy days!! To try and make up for my crimes of not being here to see your incredible arts, I leave tummy thoughts!

Someone catches a raccoon-esque character having tried to p much rob them of their food, only to see the character had mayhaps gotten too greedy and is just in a sort of mental food coma trying to remedy their stuffed belly. Funnier if the character awkwardly waves their hand like "heyyyy..." when caught.

A pregged char feeling the absolute weight of their later term belly as they're trying to cook something that'd require two hands, yet not being able to even complain or huff about it before their partner unknowingly comes up from behind to hold up their belly to be loving. Funnier if usually preg char doesn't like being bugged when cooking so this is usually a teasing sort of thing the partner does, which makes the partner surprised when they're not playfully swatted away and told to wait til food is done.

Big gruff dwarfen char having a partner that's known for being a tall species like an elf or smth- and either the tall partner is pregnant and the short partner tries to make gadgets to help them rest their belly on as support & loves to dote on them and the belly often, or short partner is the pregnant one and tall partner is rather awkward but excited around the other - kinda acts like they're worried they're too big and could hurt the baby but gets encouraged to have cuddling sessions with the belly to reassure them. Doesn't carry the short partner exactly bc they know it will earn a stink eye esp during hormonal feistiness, buuut does try to make things easier and help support the belly whenever and however they can.

Fantasy royalty figure that expects their new court jester to just mock their belly like others they've stopped hiring in the past did, but the mockery-based entertainment surprisingly doesn't and reaffirms that they actually really like their body and wouldn't dream of making fun of it. Royalty x jester shenanigans ensue as the royal char gets more confident with themself and the jester gets to be more hands on with their body love off work. Bonus points if the jester gets to gain a bit of happy weight too with their partner.

I'd go on but I fear this ask is already too long lmao sorry cjdnd

No need to apologize friend!!!! (I'VE BEAN MEANING TO POST THIS FOR MONTHS) It's good to see you in my inbox and BOY HOWDY DID YOU BRING ME GOODIES.

Long post ya'll lets strap in!!!

I LOVE the idea of some sort of Raccoon or better yet a Possum or even a Bear hybrid getting into some left overs and going HAM. The idea of them being a self admitted GARBAGE DISPOSAL, and being willing to pick up left overs or out of date foods to fill up on. What if they ended up pairing up with a convenience store worker, who at first just caught them rummaging but instead decided to... welcome them more to enjoy the out of date goods. The hybrid is unashamed but SO surprised to be welcomed in any way and are putting on a LOT of weight now that they have the means to-

Something always warms my heart about characters that aren't usually touchy or who don't like to be bugged getting some TLC and melting into it. I can imagine their partner cooing to them that what they're cooking smells so good, and really just leaning into the affection they usually aren't allowed to give.

OKAYACTUALLY THIS RIGHT HERE??? I love it SO MUCH. I really personally love the idea of a short, THICK, bearded dwarved lady having a total dainty beanpole of an elven boyfriend. I love the idea of either of them being pregnant, and the other being so doting and I'm... I'M ROTATING THEM IN MY BRAIN AUGHHHHHH. Not only that but I think the shorter one would carry it BETTER, because elven babies are less dense, whereas the elf carrying this HEAVY dwarven baby, built like a calf in the way that they can probably WALK fresh out the womb. Good thoughts good thoughts. Maybe mutual preg where they crave things the other likes, and both deal with the woes of their particular babies.

I've always dug on how Jesters also are somewhat ... political advisors, so the idea that this royal figure has actually always been stifled by having people always comment on their weight- its almost a relief when their new jester starts teasing other things. Because their BELLY is fine, and should not be the focus (unless... it's for praise perhaps hehe.) Or saying stuff along the lines of "my liege, your best work is not typically done on an empty stomach!"

#bakerspeakin #Preg AND stuffing teehee #I'm too lazy to tag rn sorry...

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nitewrighter · 2 years ago

Text

What Large Teeth You Have

Seeing the Genji and Mercy Knight and Dragon skins made me realize it's been a hot minute since I've last done a fairytale AU. Also WOW! This one turned out to be almost 10k words!! CW for animal death because this is pseudo-medieval land which means critters get eaten.

----

"I mean, of course you're a girl dragon! 'Cause, you're just reeking of feminine beauty."

--Source unknown

----

Genji frowned at the bounty board. Behind him, the tavern was quiet, dust motes hanging in the early afternoon light streaming through the windows. Come sunset it would be full of the usual boisterous bands of adventurers, their drunken boasts, and even more drunken brawls, and then their drunken tearing down of local bounties, so he preferred to come in before all that.

"Are you sure this is everything?" he glanced over his shoulder at the tavernkeeper, who was sleepily polishing a flagon.

"Eh?" the tavern keeper glanced up at him.

"Are these all of the available bounties posted?"

"If't ain't on th' board, 'tain't worth doin'," said the tavern keeper, returning his attention to the flagon.

"Really?" Genji yanked one flier off of the board, "'Kill the dreaded six headed possum that's taken over my rubbish heap?'" he yanked another flier off the board, "Find my prized goat with two extra nipples?"

"T'ain't on th' board, 'tain't worth doin'," the tavern keeper said again.

"Counting goat nipples is not a valorous deed," Genji said sullenly.

"Them's fully functioning nipples, from what I heard, they are," the tavernkeeper said, whipping his polishing cloth at Genji in admonition.

"Surely this can't be it!" said Genji.

"Genji, Genji, Genji," a voice tutted and Genji's shoulders slumped. He pivoted where he stood to see a figure with dark spiky hair and pointed ears in a blue tunic.

"...Lena..." he grunted.

"You know what your problem is?" Tracer strolled right next to him and took the fliers from both his hands, "You think an adventure is all... fanfare and bravery and blood and grand deeds, when really it's about the little things."

"...like goat nipples," he said flatly.

"Like answering the call!" said Tracer, stuffing the fliers into her own belt, "No matter how small! Letting the realm know you care about them!"

"If you want to find random animals for people who likely cannot tell their heads from their buttocks, by all means," Genji folded his arms, "My sword thirsts for glory."

"'My sword thirsts for glory,'" Tracer imitated his timbre with a mocking flail of her hands. "Welp. My coin purse thirsts for commission. So with that I'll be off."

"I bet the possum doesn't even have six heads!" Genji called after her. She just flailed an arm up in an 'I don't care' gesture of goodbye before heading out the door.

He leafed underneath the more recent ones, knowing that if those ones hadn't been taken, they were likely just as arbitrary as the goat and possum, and indeed, they were. Jobs that were little more than being hired muscle for petty disputes of dubious legality, jobs that seemed to amount to courier work with equally dubious legality, one that had definitely been written out by a child apparently dealing with some bullies, a dragon cult in the ashlands to the west, pest control for a local mill--

Wait, what was that last one?

Genji seized a flier off of the board with interest and read it.

By Order of Duke Engel of Sinteroth

Reward!

Adventurers of able body and sound mind needed to clear Castle Ziegler of the dreaded cultists of the Order of the Emerald Flame, and rescuing the Duke's ward, Lady Angela, from their clutches.

The adventurer successful in ending the threat of the dragon cultists is welcome to as much of the cultists' treasures as they can carry, as well as an official reward 500 Gold sovereigns, the ownership of a 20-acre plot of land, and the title of 'Baron.'

"What do you know about this one?" Genji held the flier up to the tavern keeper.

"Eh?" the tavern keeper bumbled over and squinted at the flier, "Ah, shite. Meant to take that one down."

"Take it down? Why?" Genji tilted his head.

"Word is, Engel died not long after the Lady Angela was kidnapped--nerves or heart or some such thing--and his heir, his nephew y'see, had no interest in giving away so much of his father's wealth for a ward who would only be a potential rival for his own succession. So there's no reward now--no gold or land or titles. Ye'd be headin' into whatever horrid black magic them cultists been cookin' up for nothin' but whatever fell trinkets they have scattered around, and a highborn orphan shrew--if'n she's still alive, that is. Which is doubtful."

"...so they just... let the cultists have that castle," Genji tilted his helmeted head.

"No one's fixin' to kick a hornet's nest--not without an offer of 500 gold and barony, that is."

"I have no desire for land, gold, or titles," said Genji (this was perhaps only 60% true), "I shall reclaim Castle Ziegler from the cultists, so the shadow of their dark magic no longer threatens the realm." With that, he dramatically rolled up the bounty flier and stuck it in his satchel.

"I mean, as long as the flier doesn't stay up--" the tavern keeper shrugged but Genji had already swept around into a heroic stride out the door.

"I go to seek my destiny!" he declared, "Wish me luck!"

"The flier did call for 'Sound mind' you know!" the tavern keeper called after him.

"Thank you!" said Genji, who hadn't heard him and definitely interpreted his yell as some variation of 'good luck.'

The tavern keeper just awkwardly waved after him. "Poor sod," he muttered under his breath.

----

The journey to the ashlands was long and arduous and more than once did Genji feel a bit foolish riding out so far for a quest he knew little about, save that there was no actual certain reward. Even his own promise to himself that he would at least have a good story to bring back home seemed dubious. But then again, he figured if all of Tracer's claims were to be believed, then this truly was adventure for its own sake. Storming castles, slaying dark mages, rescuing fair maidens, the parts were there, but doubt set in more and more the closer he got to the ashlands.

Days and nights he rode, deeper and deeper into the west. Traversing plains, clambering up and over mountains, fording rivers, sleeping under the stars or shivering in lean-tos. He was guided by the stars, by the wind, by the growing scent of smoke in the air. Any living soul he came across, he asked about everything they knew about Castle Ziegler, about the cult of the Emerald Flame, and about the Lady Angela.

"They're old wizards, I know that much," said an elderly tinker at a farming village where Genji spent the night in a barn. "Used to conduct their nasty rituals at the old stone circles in the hills. Don't rightly know if it was them what put them stones up, but I remember seeing their fires blazing on the hills on starless nights as a lad. Mothers wouldn't let their children out of the house after dark in those days. The taking of Castle Ziegler and the kidnapping of Lady Angela—that's the most any of us have heard of 'em in a while."

"Bloody charlatans giving a nasty name to all other magic users in the land, that's all they are," said a traveling wizard Genji shared the road with for a few leagues, "Did you know they're worshipping a mistranslation? They claim their dragon god Vernihiloth was banished to the infernal plane, but a proper translation and proper historical context indicates that Vernihiloth was slain. Not the first fools to worship a dead god, but they could at least be less of a nuisance about it." He caught himself. "Not that I would call the kidnapping of the dead Duke's ward a 'nuisance' mind you!"

"The Lady Angela?" A traveling merchant said, as he and Genji rode in the back of a wagon together (Genji offering his protection to the caravan in exchange for a ride to give his own horse a break, of course), "I've seen her a few times. Beautiful, but curious woman. Always asking me for new books. Dreadful, what happened to her."

"Her parents threw their lot in with the wrong lord," an old mercenary said as he and Genji hunched over bowls of rabbit and pease pottage, huddled under tarps as a miserable drizzle rained down a few nights later. "They were just a breadbasket for that uprising. Hardly raised swords, themselves, but were executed for treason all the same."

"She came to the Duke a sad and hollow creature," a bard explained at an inn a few days after that, "But quickly grew into a lady of surpassing beauty and intelligence. Still, her parentage would more or less doom her to the life of a spinster."

"We all knew old duke treasured her, but she had a soft spot for us smallfolk," said a shepherd in a field Genji was riding through, "She had a gift for the healing arts and would ride out to the villages to help set bones or mix medicines."

"I saw 'em grab her!" a boy of no older than 11 declared while Genji was having a farrier look at his horse in another village, "They killed her horse! And then she was kickin' and yellin' and I think she stabbed one only I dunno if I can say that since highborn ladies oughtn't be stabbin' people!! I ran to get grownups, but by the time I was able to get them to come, they were all gone..."

"The Old Duke did attempt to ransom her, and later sent the finest of his personal guard after her... neither attempt ended well." a weaver woman said, not looking up from Genji's trousers as she was darning them, "First they sent back the hands of the messenger, then they sent back his guards' heads. Most have kept well away from Castle Ziegler since then. Haven't heard any word from the village near it, either. The current duke would rather see the whole thing forgotten than even look."

"I shudder to think of what those cultists would want with her," said a traveling cleric, "Black magic like that---no one wants to say virgin sacrifice, but that might be a more merciful fate than other alternatives."

Genji did not question much on the Lady Angela after that. And as he rode further along, the fewer and further between the villages and travelers got. The problem with saying you're going to do something, and punctuate it with a phrase like 'I go to seek my destiny' is that the closer and closer you get to that destiny, the more you realize its ramifications. Genji became increasingly conscious of the fact that this was not a valorous story, if it would be anything, it would be bringing closure to a very sad story.

Still, the ashlands weren't nearly as bleak as their name suggested. Rather than bleak gray flatlands, Genji found himself in rolling, forested hills shaded by massive ash and maple trees, their seeds fluttering down like fairies in leaf-dappled light. For all its beauty, though, there was a distinct loneliness that seemed to hang in the air. Perhaps it was the ancientness of the trees, or perhaps it was the other features of the land. True to the tinker's words, some hilltops had been cleared of trees and were crowned with stone circles. They hardly seemed like structures that would have been erected by the cultist's predecessors, it seemed to Genji more likely that they would simply co-opt these ancient stones without any knowledge of their original spiritual purpose. It was in one of these stone hill circles that Castle Ziegler finally came into view. Here now, was a place that matched the name of 'ashlands.'

Perhaps before the cultists had moved in, it had been much like everything else here—tall, and lonely, and old, and lovely, maybe with a village clustered around it—but now it was a blackened craggy ruin, several of its towers collapsed, jutting itself up from a nearly acre-wide radius of scorched earth and the sharp black shards of what used to be trees. Genji's horse nickered nervously.

"Nothing ventured, nothing gained, old friend," said Genji, stroking the horse's neck (though he had largely made peace with the fact that there would be nothing gained regardless of what was ventured at this point.)

Genji walked, for some reason it felt wrong to ride in, as close as they were, until they reached the edge of the blackened earth, where the grass was brown and dead with what must have been a blast of instantly drying heat. Genji looked at the castle, surrounded by the charred remains of trees and buildings, then looked back at his horse.

"You need not go any further," he said, stroking the horse's muzzle, "I can take it from here."

The horse gave a low rumble of a nicker and a wary look at the castle as if to say, 'Good, because there's no way in hell I'm going in there,' and Genji gave him another pat on the neck before going forward. The ashen soil was soft beneath his feat, and tinged his boots black and gray and white, making his movement toward the castle completely silent.

Genji moved low, darting behind various burnt-out building frames and peeking out from behind them as he drew closer and closer to the castle. He scanned the castle's towers and ramparts for spies and archers and saw... nothing. He still kept his furtive approach, regardless, though feeling slightly more stupid doing it. Just because you couldn't see archers, didn't mean they weren't there. But for all his caution he still found himself at the blasted-open-from-the-inside remains of the main portcullis. He could hear the low sighs of the breeze bouncing around the interior of the ruined castle, and somewhere from deep within, a rumble. Genji swallowed hard and drew his sword.

"I go to seek my destiny," he said very softly to himself, stepping over the stones and twisted iron grate, into the shadows of the ruined castle. Ash and dust motes lingered in the air in massive shafts of light from the blasted-out parts of the ceiling overhead, and instantly something crunched beneath Genji's foot. He glanced down to see he had stepped through a blackened ribcage of a twisted human skeleton.

It was not the first human remains he had seen in his adventures, but he noticed something hanging around the skeleton's neck. He stooped and picked it up, brushing off some soot with his thumb. Miraculously it hadn't been melted down, but it appeared to be an amulet featuring a dragon's roaring face with startlingly bright green jewels for eyes, ringed in runes. He probably should have asked that wizard more about the whole 'worshipping a mistranslation' thing, but he was used to adventures where you sort of go off of 40% of what random strangers are saying. So all he did was go "Hm," before pocketing the amulet.

He gingerly stepped around a mess of blackened skeletons, and his eyes scanned the walls where the shadows of human shapes were outlined in what must have been a blast of smoke and soot. Somehow that made him shudder more than the actual skeletons on the ground. He had run into his share of magicians who had bitten off more than they could chew in his adventures as well, but something this widespread, something this indiscriminate, something this seemingly all-consuming and instant, made his blood run cold. In an ironic way he wished he was currently slashing his way through cultists and dodging out of the way of spells and crossbow bolts--that was something he could deal with, that was something he could recognize.

Deeper he went into the castle, glancing around at the positioning of the skeletons. They all seemed pointed toward the exit, in that same way the portcullis had seemed blasted outward. They had been fleeing something. He passed under a doorway leading to a large chamber where a massive stone staircase framed the room, but between and the staircase was a massive hole in the floor. Carefully, Genji edged toward the hole to peer down into its depths. He had a length of rope on his person, if he found something to anchor himself to, he might be able to--

The floor gave way beneath him. His free arm flailed out and gripped the edge of the chasm, leaving his legs dangling over the darkness below and his sword gleaming against the blackness. The rocks that had fallen beneath him were tumbling into the depths below and he heard them land far too far down with more cracks and rumbles. With a grunt he tossed his sword up onto what was hopefully more solid ground, and swung his body around to grip the edge with his sword hand.

He froze at the sound of a deep rumbling far below him. The sheer vulnerability he felt hanging there was enough to make his palms slick with sweat, but he steeled himself.

Just the stones settling, he told himself, hauling himself out of the chasm. A few more stones were collapsing in at the edge and he quickly picked up his sword and scrambled away from it. He was catching his breath as the continued cracks of the stones below once again gave way to the gentle moan of wind through the ruins. He was checking his sword for nicks on its edge from the throw, when the rumbling sound came again. And then there was another sound, that wasn't quite the moan of wind through the ruins, nor the rumble of settling stone, and Genji slowly, silently got to his feet. The sound came again, a warm sound, a living sound, but a sound that was unlike any animal he had ever heard before. His feet were already backing away from the chasm, his sword gripped in both hands. He briefly considered saying 'I go to seek my destiny' again to calm his nerves from whatever was in that pit, but at the same time, he knew for all their evil and cruelty, his flesh wasn't any more fireproof than the cultist skeletons that littered this place.

A massive green scaled limb suddenly jutted up and out of the chasm and slammed claws as big as Genji's forearm into the stones in front of him, sending up a spray of dust and stone and ash. A furious flood of regret rushed through Genji's mind. Forget destiny, all common sense told him, Fuck destiny. You are going to die here. Run. Run now. Run. Just run--

But Genji's legs were frozen in place as a vast shape hauled itself up out of the pit.

Genji was aware of dragons. At least in concept. To him they just seemed like something people tossed into a story to make it sound grander. He had understood that the Order of the Emerald Flame was a dragon cult, that is, a cult that worshipped a dragon. But staring up at it, at the golden lobster-plating of its stomach, of the glittering green-gold scales shifting over powerful legs and expansive, bat-like wings, of the furious eyes, like molten peridot, the ivory horns and rows of massive gleaming white dagger-sized fangs, backlit by glowing embers at the back of the creature's maw, this then when he realized this was the source of that instant, all-consuming blast that had scoured this castle and the lands around for nearly an acre. This was that fell shaper of the twisted skeletons that had tried to flee this place. This was that cruel painter of the human shapes blasted into the walls. Staring at this creature, all wings and scales and sinew and claws and fire, glaring down at him with those furious eyes before raising its jagged jaws skyward in an earsplitting cry, was when he realized: Oh. This is their god.

He stared up at the dragon and it stared down at him, its throat rumbling. Genji's eyes settled on a jagged collar of black iron around the dragon's neck, where a green gem that must have been the size of his own head gleamed at him like a third, cruel eye. Genji held his sword at the ready. Facing down cultists would have definitely been more preferable, and yet, all the same, this was what he had hoped for when he was scanning that stupid tavern board what seemed like another lifetime ago (It was like a week and a half). He steadied himself, rolling his fingers along his sword's hilt. I go to seek my dest---

The whack of the dragon's tail sent him flying, then bouncing along the floor, before finally slamming hard into a wall with a grunt. He practically peeled off the wall and flopped in a heap on the stone floor. He heard a short ting ting ting of metal bouncing away from him--too small to be his sword, and he knew he still had a death-grip on the hilt. There were stars in his vision from the impact as he glanced up to see the amulet he had picked up now rolling like an oversized coin before tilting and spinning onto its flat side with a faint, ringing rattle. He heard a growling, questioning noise from the dragon, and then a short huff of its nostrils. Genji hauled himself up to his elbows to see the dragon, a ways away from him (How far had that tail strike threw him?). The dragon's head was held in catlike alertness, and Genji saw a few feet in front of him was the amulet he had picked up earlier. It must have fallen out when he hit the wall. The dragon didn't seem to have the same furious contempt in its eyes, but rather an animalistic alarm, its attention completely fixed on the amulet. The gem on its collar was thrumming with a green glow. Genji wasn't sure what instinct drove him to scramble forward and seize the amulet once more before the dragon lunged forward for it, but he thanked the gods for the surge of adrenaline that let him push himself up to his feet and run away as fast as he possibly could. The dragon took in a breath and blasted fire at him.

It's really remarkable how the immediate fear of imminent, flaming death makes your own disappointment in yourself seem very muted. As he sprinted and dipped out of the way of deluge after deluge of roaring cascade of flames as the dragon leapt and lumbered and twisted after him, Genji was not thinking 'This isn't valorous at all, I won't be able to tell a story about this.' His line of thought was more along the lines of 'Please don't let there be more fire around this corner. Please don't let me be running into tail or jaws.' Every time the dragon's powerful clawed feet made contact with the stone floor, dust was shaken down from the ceiling and the vibration in the ground nearly made Genji stumble himself. He was in that wide-legged, mad dash where you seem inches from crashing and falling for all your desperation, yet somehow your own momentum seems to barely keep you upright. The dragon blasted fire again and Genji dodged in a roll out of its way. He raced around columns and the dragon seemingly turned on a dime to twist after him, jaws snapping. He desperately struck back against a swipe of its claws, but the claws on steel set it ringing in a way that warned the next strike would make his sword shatter. He leapt over a pile of rubble and huddled against the ground as fire blasted over his head and sent stones tumbling down around him. He even scrambleed up the half-ruined stairs circling the dragon's pit, and with a beat of its wings knocking against the walls and sending hot air and soot and dust everywhere, the dragon was right after him, its jaws snapping behind him. He pivoted on his heel and finally struck at the dragon's snout with his sword. It flinched back and snarled, perhaps not expecting this much fight from something that had been so desperately fleeing it before, but then Genji felt the air getting sucked around him--the dragon was drawing in a breath. He leapt out from the stairs and barely managed to slide down a ceiling column as the fire blasted after him.

His one advantage was that he was relatively small, agile, and capable of breaking the dragon's visual fix on him by virtue of his own erratic movements and hiding behind rubble and dodging over half-collapsed walls. He was an adventurer, he knew how to use his environment to his advantage, even if it wasn't exactly brave. Clever was better than brave, at a time like this. He heard the dragon's breath catching in his throat, that rumble shifting in the room behind him as the dragon's neck swayed this way and that, searching for him. He fled down a corridor to catch what little breath he could in an increasingly hot castle, but could hear the dragon lumbering toward the entryway and ruined portcullis to cut off his only known means of escape.

Genji wondered how long he could stay in this castle before all the heat bouncing off of the stones would cook him alive. He wondered how long he could keep his helmet on until his brain cooked. Maybe it already had, otherwise he wouldn't still be caught up in trying to slay a dragon. He fled down a half-ruined corridor that he prayed was too narrow for the dragon to scramble into, but he knew he couldn't stay long. Eventually the dragon would stop guarding the exit, seek him out, and in an area this cramped he wouldn't be able to dodge his way out of a blast of fire.

He hastily yanked the amulet from the interior of his brigantine and tried to squint at it in the faint lights of the ruins. Why would it be so important to the dragon? He knew of dragon hordes, but the dragon had been chasing him all over the castle and he found no piles of gold anywhere. His mind flashed back to one quest he and Tracer had shared, when they had to defeat a lich that had taken over some local catacombs by destroying its reliquary. Genji wasn't much of a magic scholar, but he knew the lich was just as erratically obsessed with its reliquary as this dragon seemed to be with the amulet. If this was a beast that was brought here by tearing some sort of veil, much as the lich had by keeping itself alive through magic, then perhaps it needed an anchor. Perhaps that skeleton close to the door (back when it had flesh) was trying to get to a safe distance so it could use the amulet to take control of the dragon.

He set the amulet on the stone floor and hovered the tip of his sword over it. Like a lot of things he had done to get to this point, he felt somewhat foolish. He wasn't sure what breaking the amulet, if it could be broken, would do. At this point what logic he was able to put together in a brain flooded with adrenaline and dread, was that the dragon wanted the amulet, and if it was the evil god of an evil cult, it probably should not get the amulet. Further, Genji reasoned, if he got killed here, it would probably very easily retrieve it from his corpse, so he decided, whatever the amulet was to the dragon, he should remove that possibility. He squeezed his eyes shut and drew in a long breath, trying to will strength, rather than desperation, to his muscles. Then he plunged the sword down.

When he and Tracer had destroyed the lich's reliquary, there was a sort of expected outburst of evil magic—a great howling of the countless souls the lich had sacrificed to keep himself alive, a horrible upward whirling of black and violet spirals of smoke-like energy that smelled of foul death that he and Tracer had covered their nose and mouth at for fear it was poisonous. He wasn't sure what he expected when the sword split the amulet, but the reaction was definitely bigger than that. There was a great surging of green flames, splashing up from the fissure in the amulet like a great fountain, and an otherworldly scream. There was a voice in his head, cruel, and crackling, and ancient. It wasn't speaking the common tongue, or any tongue that Genji knew, and yet it seemed to pierce understanding through his psyche like a pike.

YOU FOOL BOY, it snarled, WHAT HAVE YOU DO--

And all at once it seemed... sucked away. Suddenly pulled into a small, tight space where it shrunk into nonexistence. Genji winced, feeling a strange searing pain-that-wasn't-pain in his chest and across his sword arm. He opened one eye, then both, to see the amulet cracked in half, blackened and smoking on the ground. He then flinched to see the runes from the amulet now blazing along the blade of his sword, in green flames that faded to etchings in the steel, and green light spiraling along his sword arm. The very weight of it seemed different in his hand, now. The blade seemed to vibrate, not quite with that typical ringing impact of striking stone and metal, but with an otherworldly hum. He was suddenly overcome with the desire to sheathe the sword, and maybe to throw it in the nearest body of water and never see it again, but it was still his sword, and gods knew he wasn't about to be caught without his sword with a dragon about. He heard a distant, high roar of the dragon that almost seemed like a woman's shriek. So whatever the amulet was, it was affecting the dragon, somehow. Not knowing what he would find, he rushed toward the sound.

He found the dragon back in the main foyer of the castle, still blocking its exit as it has presumably planned, but it was thrashing and shrieking and flailing its head along its snake-like neck, still letting out that shriek-like roar. Genji's eyes flicked down to the hideous collar around the dragon's neck, now crackling with green bolts of electricity or something. The dragon continued thrashing around like it was being attacked by insects, until it fixed its eyes on Genji, and suddenly all that desperation seemed to be laser-focused into pure rage, pure rage at him. It drew in a long, furious breath, stilled to a tense, quivering, shape, shaking like a too-taut bow, its tail lashed out behind it.

No more running, a voice that wasn't quite Genji's, nor that strange tongue sounded from his chest. He brought up his sword as the dragon exhaled all of its fire in a roar. Genji squeezed his eyes shut, expecting instant searing death--but instead he felt a rush of heat, and heard his sword singing with that strange vibration again.

The dragon's breath blazed against the blade of his sword, the green runes singing and glowing as the fire split around him like a flooding river around a stone. He glanced around at the fire roaring around both sides of him in awe, then looked back at the dragon, still unleashing that furious breath. He wasn't sure what compelled him to twist his grip on the sword so that the flat of the blade faced the dragon--and then the flame pouring toward him bent. He could hear whispering in that tongue that he knew and didn't knew as his eyes scanned down the runes on his blade. For all the brightness of flames and runes, he wondered if he would be blinded. The dragon shrieked with surprise as its own breath came pouring back at it.

The whisper of the runes turned to a roar in his head again, in the tongue he should not have been able to understand:

YOU WOULD SET SOUL AGAINST BODY!?

But Genji anchored his legs and then pushed forward, he watched with equal parts wonder and horror as the bright glow of the runes along his sword sent out a smoke-like light that spiraled around his sword arm. There was that pain-that-was-not-pain again as he got closer and closer to the dragon's throat. The dragon had ceased its breath and swiped out at him with its claws, and he easily struck the claws back with his sword, it gnashed out at him with its razor teeth and he ducked and rolled out of the way. Now, he thought, pouncing out of his roll. He leapt toward the dragon's throat, as it reared its head back to try and snap at him again. He had no doubt that with these cruel runes running up the edge for this blade would have no problem biting into that lobster plating of the neck, maybe even severing the head, but at the last second, his eyes flicked down to the crackling ugly iron collar and its cruel green jewel. He wasn't sure why he heard Tracer's voice in his head at that point. It's about the little things. He swung his sword and it hewed into the gem with a strange, unnatural sound, like ice forming and cracking on a lake. The crack on the gem spread and crumbled and suddenly, there was a massive blast of magic as the gem shattered.

Genji was sent tumbling back once again--not flying, but bouncing, and this time quickly being stopped by the friction of the multiple skeletons crumbling beneath him each time he made contact with the floor--blackened bones crunching against his brigantine. He only barely pushed himself up to his hands and knees to look up at the dragon, swaying and screaming, as the iron collar crumbled off of its neck, before it finally collapsed onto the stone floor, kicking up a shockwave of dust and ash in all directions that sprayed Genji and sent him sputtering. He stayed there on his hands and knees, watching the dragon. Was its form... smoking? Was that from being blasted with its own breath?

Keeping himself low and ready, Genji edged toward the fallen dragon warily, sword still in hand, weakly spurting off the odd green spark. The percolating stillness of the dragon's form, the settling of the dust and ash after all their scrambling and clashing of sword and claw and blasts of magic, seemed to summon the adrenaline-suppressed exhaustion back to Genji's muscles. His mouth and throat were horribly dry, but his curiosity at the sight before him still managed to keep his collapse from exhaustion at bay.

The giant form of the dragon was burning away, scales crackling off of it and being borne aloft on the heat of its own flames. Green sparks rippled off of Genji's own sword. Heat waves blurred the air around it, and then the flames rose higher, burned denser and brighter, seemingly shrinking down, hotter, and hotter, until there was a white-hot shape at its core--the dragon's heart? Genji flinched as a rush of hot air hit him. Where the dragon had previously laid, was a woman, naked and covered in soot and scratches. Dead?

Her side rose and fell with a rasping breath. He made out fair hair, strong shoulders, wide hips, all dusted with scratches and ash like she had been shoved down a burnt hill.

"...Lady Angela?" he said after a few long beats.

She coughed and flinched from where she was laying down on the tiles--or at least the remains of the tiles. The heat had cracked the stone like a dried up riverbed, or even turned it red in some spots in some kind of pre-molten state. He instinctively wanted to grab her and yank her off of the stone for fear it would hurt her, but it didn't seem exactly chivalrous to just grab a naked woman, nor did she seem to even notice the heat. She pushed herself up to a half-collapsed position, "That..." her eyes trailed around the room, trying to gauge her surroundings, "That is me." She said those words as if her name was something she had forgotten for a long time, and she was just now picking it up off the ground and dusting it off. Her voice was thick and raw. All those roars--had she been screaming? Crying for help?

"Do you remember what happened?" asked Genji, glancing over his shoulder slightly so she could hear him better, but now depending on the way his helmet cut off his peripheral vision to keep from looking at her.

"They--they tied me down to the altar...They were singing this horrible song...about how their god would return..." her hand went to a point between her breasts. Genji averted his eyes as hard as he could "I--I felt the knife go through me. I felt my blood running out, and it felt like fire--I thought--I was feeling myself die, but something happened. Something went wrong or, something changed--Everything was burning. Everything. I couldn't see anything because everything was flames and then, suddenly... I was... big."

"Big," Genji repeated.

"Everything is so much in that shape..." she pressed her fingers to her forehead, "There was a voice in my head pushing me down... down... And... and I tried to leave. I couldn't stay here, something was wrong with me, but I couldn't leave. There--there was something around my neck...?" she felt at her throat. Her eyes widened. She had pulled herself up to a hunched over kneeling position at this point, and seemed a bit more... covered. "There was someone--" she cradled her forehead in her hand again, and then her head slowly raised. "You--Who are you?"

Out of pure valiant hero reflex, Genji pivoted around and started (with what would have been punctuated with a flourishing bow) "I am Gen--" he realized she was still naked and immediately swung around again and muttered, "Genji of Overland."

"Come again?" said Lady Angela, "You're a bit hard to hear in that helmet--and facing away from me."

"I am Genji of---Look, can we just--?" Genji yanked off his helmet and let it drop to his feet with a clank, then started furiously undoing the buckles of his brigantine, "It's not knightly to continue this discussion when you are in such a state."

"State...?" Lady Angela squinted, then glanced down at herself. She seemed to consider her own nudity with a vague concern, like there was probably something she should be remembering but was very close to coming to the conclusion of 'If it was important I wouldn't have forgotten it.'

"I have a cloak in my horse's saddlebags," Genji had gotten the brigantine off at this point, and it was clear his intention was giving Lady Angela his tunic to cover herself with, but he had now realized that the tunic had become completely plastered to his torso with sweat, due to previously running from blasts of fire. Her fire. "But I can't ask you to walk out there naked. And I can't exactly leave you to get the horse so--" He peeled off the tunic with no small amount of effort and was desperately flapping it to dry some of the sweat and stink out when he heard crackling behind him.

He flinched a glance over his shoulder to see Lady Angela looking at her hands, which were both on fire.

"No!" he stumbled toward her but then stopped when she glanced at him with a perfectly calm albeit reasonably confused expression. The flames were consuming her entire forearms, but just as suddenly as they had come, they disappeared, like they had been blown out by a strong breeze. Where the flames had been, were now plates and scales and claws at her fingertips, her whole forearms looking almost like gauntlets. Genji watched as Lady Angela seemed to burst into flame at her breasts and hips all with the same curious but unhurt expression. He watched with the sort of 'I should not be watching this' embarrassment as anyone might have of seeing a stranger dressing or undressing, and yet the whole process was so removed from any semblance of dressing, he couldn't tear his eyes away.

"Hoooow are you doing that?" asked Genji as scales sprouted across her stomach.

"I don't know," she said, as the flames died away, leaving a scrappy coverage of plates and scales over her torso that... could pass for clothes? Armor? Unfortunately he knew it was, technically her flesh, and was a little scared and embarrassed to ask if those scales were going to be there forever. "But is this better?" Her legs and most of her upper arms were bare, but she had seen fit to give herself clawed feet and scaled calves, that Genji hoped he would be able to convince people were very interesting boots.

"...I don't know," said Genji, after a beat.

Angela seemed to regard her surroundings with a bit more clarity now. "The men who took me..." she said vaguely, as if trying to remember, "Are any...?"

"There were none when I arrived," said Genji, "I mean they were all..." he trailed off, "There was only you. Alive."

She stared at him, and then glanced back at her own clawed and scale-gauntleted hands. "It felt like a dream..." she murmured.

"What was so important about the amulet, do you remember?" asked Genji.

"What amulet?" asked Angela, with sincere blankness.

Genji's mouth opened for a few seconds, "It's... fine. We--I can figure it out later."

Angela studied him for a few seconds, but then seemed to startle with realization. "Duke Engel--I have to get back to my guardian! He's probably worried sick about---" she noticed the shift in Genji's expression and her brow crinkled.

"H-how long have I been like this?" she asked, her voice hushed.

"I don't know," Genji said softly, "But... I think we should get out of here."

----

The journey out of the Ashlands was... quiet. One would have ventured to say awkward. The horse was, for what it was worth, waiting for him and nonchalantly grazing only a few dozen yards into the trees. For all the horrifying noises that must have issued from the castle, either the horse was deaf, or had its own odd sense of loyalty. This loyalty towards Genji did not go as far as Genji's attempts at comforting the Lady Angela, however. He tried to offer to let her ride back, and the horse pulled as far away from her as it could, stamping the ground and flattening its ears and taking significant effort from Genji just to convince it that it was safe to walk with her.

"It's fine," Lady Angela said, "I... need to get used to two legs again."

And so they were off.

Genji was embarrassed, not just over the whole nudity and flesh-becoming-scales bit, but at the idea that for him this had been a quest for glory and now was... actively dealing with someone who had lost everything, with someone who would, for all they knew, never be the same again. It was practically sunset when they began their journey away from Ziegler castle, so it wasn't long before they had to make camp.

"I know you've been through a lot," said Genji, "But we don't have a lot of time before we lose the sunlight. So if you could gather firewood while I set up a snare, we might be able to--"

"Shh--" Angela's pupils turned to slits, she had a hand on his shoulder as she scanned the ash trees around them. She gave the air a short sniiff. "I'll find food." she said, as if entranced.

"What-?" Genji started but she suddenly took off in a sprint leaning so far forward she was practically horizontal. "Lady--!"

But she disappeared into the brush. Genji tried to convince himself that that had not been a tail lashing out of the bushes as the last thing he saw of her. He was left standing next to his horse. The horse grumbled and stamped the ground.

"Don't give me that," said Genji, picking up some sticks for firewood.

Nearly half an hour passed. Genji had barely gotten his tinder lit when he heard a distant, animalistic bellow. His stomach dropped as he wondered if she had taken the form of a dragon again, but that hadn't sounded like any noise she had made before.

"Angela?" he called out to the all-too-quickly darkening woods.

There was a feminine grunt and a rustle of branches and Genji turned on his heel to see Angela coming from a completely new direction. He would have thought to wonder how far she had run if he wasn't distracted by the massive stag she was carrying across her shoulders. Those slit pupils of hers had dilated like a cat's, either from the dimming light or from adrenaline.

"I got it!" she said, dropping the dead stag onto the ground. No visible gashes--but he soon realized she had broken its neck.

"G-good job," said Genji.

Her eyes flicked from him, down to the dead stag, back up to him. Her nostrils flared and she slowly ran a forked tongue over her lips as she looked back down at the dead animal that was entirely too big for two people."

"You know what? I'll butcher it," said Genji.

"R-right," she seemed to remember herself.

"If we keep the fire going all night we can smoke what we don't eat rations for the next few days," Genji went on.

"Mm-hm. Rations. Yes. Few... days. Yes." She had folded her arms tight across herself, and was itching at her scales

"...you want to eat it now, don't you?" Genji asked cautiously.

"Please," smoke billowed out of her mouth and nostrils, and her teeth had gone sharp in her mouth as she spoke.

"Well, obviously you caught it, so you should decide what to--"

He shrieked and hopped back as she blew a billow of flame onto the dead deer. Genji's horse whinnied with alarm and Genji had to calm it down. But out here in the night air, the fire wasn't nearly as hot as it had been in the castle, but it also seemed... only comfortably warm. Like a campfire itself. Instinctive control of the the temperature of her own flames? Then she walked around it, stuck her hands under it as it was still burning, flipped it, and blew fire on the other side.

"...so you can do that in human form--?" he started but she didn't seem to hear him as she threw herself onto the still-burning stag.

He couldn't look away as she clawed and bit into the animal on her hands and knees. Genji's horse nickered with disturbance as she tore away burning hide to reveal sweet-smelling smoky venison, and dug in, tearing with teeth and claws. It was horrifying, it was animalistic, it was savage, and it was a lot more erotic than he wished he was recognizing it as. She made sounds like she was eating the most exquisite delicacies in the finest halls. She was almost moaning in ecstasy, blood and juices running down her chin as she yanked out a whole leg bone, blew a short flame on it for good measure, then snapped it in two and sucked out the marrow of one jagged end. "Mmh!--" She paused only to catch her breath, wiping at her chin with her scaly wrist, before she seemed to remember he was there. "Oh--" she looked down at what was now a burnt and ravaged wreck of what was once a stag. "Let me just---" she tore off a steak-sized rag of the meat of its leg round with her claws. and held out the other half of the bone she had sucked marrow out of to him. "Here."

He took both gingerly. "...thanks." he said, kind of wishing he had at least pulled his knife out to cut the meat into more manageable bites.

She was looking at him expectantly. He sheepishly lowered himself to a cross-legged position across from her so he was at her level, the burnt stag between them. He took a bite of the venison round and was... honestly impressed that it had been cooked to perfect rareness. She seemed to note his position and assume a more human sitting position, still reaching forward and grabbing random bones out of the stag, breathing a short flame on them, then snapping them and sucking the marrow out. They both ate quietly. Those first few bites seemed to remind Genji's body of its hunger, and soon he was drawing his knife and cutting out more little filets of venison to eat for himself. Angela was eating far more than him and faster, though it was clear she was more mindful of his eating as well--clearly a little embarrassed that this was her first meal with another person in what must have been a long time. Finally, both flopped back from the smoking remains of the stag with a sigh, staring up at the stars framed by ash tree branches. Genji's comparatively pithy little campfire crackled gently.

"...you know, you're a pretty good cook," said Genji, breaking the silence.

She just snorted with amusement. "I--I didn't even think about it. It just...felt like the thing to do. And the fire came so easily. The fire came because I was hungry. The only thing that made me realize it wasn't normal was... you shrieked like a little girl."

"I won't deny it. Maybe the fear makes it taste better," said Genji.

A soft chuckle escaped her. Another long pause passed between them.

"I can't go back to Sinteroth," Lady Angela said softly, "Not--not like this. I'm not a fool..." she trailed off.

"Do you... think there might be a way to reverse what's been done to you?" asked Genji.

She propped herself up on her elbows and looked at him, those pupils turning to slits again. "Do you think that's what must be done?"

"I don't know," Genji was starting to feel like he said that a lot to her, "When I started this journey, you were an idea. Maybe a beautiful maid in a tower to be returned home, or... nothing but a necklace I could bring back to your people to give them closure." He made a snarling sound. "Gods dammit, Tracer was right."

"What's a Tracer?"

"Valor and bravery is about small things," he said, sitting up, "Or... at least it's not just one big thing you can just knock out and not have to worry about."

She was looking at him, perplexed.

"Never mind," he said, quietly, "I mean... I set out on this quest to win glory for myself. But now there's actually someone who needs my help--or maybe you don't need my help---and it's all messy and--" his hand went to the hilt of his sword, "Something's... changed me."

An amused 'hmph' issued from her.

"Well, obviously not as much as it's changed you--" Genji started.

"I understand," she said. She looked at her own clawed fingers against the stars above. "I like this body, and it frightens me that I like this body."

"I... like your body too," said Genji, "I mean--" He cut himself off. He was trying to be encouraging and signal that his previous suggestion about reversing her state was completely up to her, but immediately realized that was terrible phrasing for it. She just chuckled again.

"It feels as though its only been truly mine for a few hours... and it was so awful for the time before... when I was trapped. But now it's mine and I can't stand the idea of giving it up." Those slitted pupils widened again as she lowered her hand and stared at the stars. "Trapped in that castle, this body longed for the sky, and now so do I. But it's terrifying. I know... the moment I'm flying, I'll never want to be human again."

"You don't... have to be?" said Genji. He had known a decent number of adventurers that lived with their own enchantments and curses--an arm that had been turned to stone and was kept mobile by gnomish steamworks and earthweaver runes, a donkey's head from a fae prank, men and women cursed to take the shape of animals by either daylight or night---a lot of them lived with it, a lot of them had more interesting stories for it, but also adventurers set out without a lot to lose to begin with. Being a lady who, from what he heard, had already lost so much, he could understand her mixed feelings on the matter. All the power of a dragon though...and one brought to this plane by black magic... this would be a pretty delicate matter.

"You're very adaptable," she said, a smile in her voice.

"I try to be," he shrugged. They both watched the stars a while longer.

"...I remember the amulet," Angela said slowly.

"What?"

"I really... don't know that much about it," she sat up and hugged her knees, "Only that one of them was holding it when the knife went into me. Part of the reason my head's so foggy is... I was sharing that body with--with something else. I don't hear the voice in my head any more but..." she squinted her eyes shut, "I can hear it from you--but not really. It's like it's muffled in another room."

Genji remembered the voice in his head: You would set soul against body.

If she was the body---

Genji's hand tightened around his sword hilt until his knuckles turned white.

"You hear it too, don't you?" said Lady Angela, "That's what you mean by something's changed you."

"Yes," Genji admitted.

"I'm sorry," said Lady Angela.

"I chose to go to Castle Ziegler. I'll live with my choices. Whatever's happening with my sword, I'll... figure it out."

"You're very brave," she said quietly.

"'Brave' and 'didn't think a lot of things through' aren't the same thing."

"They aren't mutually exclusive, either," She gave a short huff out of her nostrils again. "So... you said you came from Overland?"

----

It was a few days later in the Overland tavern. It was the evening, when most of the patrons were at least a pint in, and all the adventurers were boasting and telling stories and drunkenly ripping down bounties from the board.

"So," Tracer was holding up her massive stein of beer, surrounded by several tough and burly-looking adventurers with a redheaded tavern maid in her lap, "It turns out it wasn't a six headed possum--just a mama possum with five babies. Which they carry on their back. Felt kind of wrong to take the bounty money just to pop them all in a sack and drop 'em in the middle of the woods, but that's the job for ya!"

"You're so brave," the tavern maid tickled Tracer's chin.

"Oh I know," said Tracer, smugly.

A goat bleated next to her.

The bell hanging over the door rang and Tracer glanced over to see Genji holding the door open for a tall cloaked figure.

"Oi, Genji! You had us all scared there, love!" Tracer raised her stein to him, "Where have you been?"

"Oh--just... traveling around," Genji shrugged.

"I told 'em about the cultists," the tavern keeper offered from behind the bar, setting down two pints for both Genji and Angela, "Told 'em you were probably dead."

"So what were they like?" Tracer pushed, "Did your sword get its taste for glory sated?"

Genji vaguely gestured, "Well, it looks like whatever plans the cultists had... blew up in their faces. No trace of her ladyship, either, unfortunately. Maybe she ran away, or... maybe she met the same fate as them. I can't say for sure."

Angela shot him a knowing look from the periphery of her hood and he smiled beneath his own helmet.

"And...who's your friend?" said Tracer, watching as Angela walked over to the bounty board.

Angela pulled back her hood, and gave Tracer a smile. "Just another adventurer. You may call me Mercy." They had managed to get her a cheap tunic and trousers in one of the villages on the way here, and her bare hands appeared human, but she appeared to be wearing some fabulous clawed scale-armor boots.

"We um... met in the ashlands," said Genji, "Same quest. Same disappointment. You know how it is."

"The ashlands!" one of the adventurers suddenly exclaimed, "Did you two see the dragon?"

"The dragon?" Mercy and Genji repeated with faux-shock.

"A great green beast! There's been word from the west! Past few days it's been showing up, circling around in the sky, then it lands and by the time anyone gets to where it's landed, Fffft! Gone!"

Genji could feel his sword softly, moodily thrumming in its scabbard.

"It hasn't been razing villages, has it?" said Mercy, putting a hand over her heart with concern.

"Well... no."

"Stealing sheep?" Genji guessed.

"Er... not that I heard," said the adventurer.

"And it just disappears as soon as it lands?" Genji leaned against the bar.

"Well... yes."

"Sounds awfully convenient," Mercy walked up next to him and arched an eyebrow.

Tracer was looking at both of them skeptically, eyes narrowed.

"You're suuuure you didn't see anything out there?" she asked, looking between him and Mercy.

"Nothing but ash and bone," said Mercy with an unsettlingly level glance at Tracer and a wide, calm smile. She blinked and Tracer could have sworn she saw the slick slide of nictitating membranes. "I'm with Genji on the 'fell magic blowing up in their faces' theory, but if that dragon is real, well, it's probably best to stay out of her way."

"'Her' way?" said Tracer.

"'Its' way," Mercy corrected herself with a dismissive hand wave before glancing over at Genji, who was sipping his pint. "Do you know if they have venison, here?"

#gency #questwatch #dragoon mercy #royal guard genji #adventurer tracer #overwatch

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