#launch yourself at the unknown threat in the dark bedroom

[thelampisaflashlight]

Most of my lore is made through the process of winging it.

Those whiteboard chats are just as much for y’all as they are for me.

[reidingandwriting]

5 Times Tony Wasn’t There for You, and 1 Time He Was

Word Count: ~3200 words

Ship: Tony Stark x Daughter!Reader, Peter Parker x Stark!Daughter (Platonic), Lots of IronFam ft. the Parkers 

Warnings: Probably some swearing, not completely movie compliant but follows the general timeline ❤ Kinda unrelated gif (kind of related if you pay attention) but look how CUTE Morgan and Tony are

✨ Masterlist ✨

-One-

As the young daughter of Tony Stark, you were used to your dad being busy with work. Meetings across the country, dinners with royal dignitaries across the globe, or simply just endless hours spent locked in his office. All of this before he went missing for three months and came back as Iron Man. 

It was your sixth birthday and Tony had planned the perfect birthday party for you, with Pepper’s and Happy’s help of course. You had recently developed an intense fascination with marine life, so what better way for you and your family to celebrate your birthday then spending the day at the aquarium? He even splurged a little extra to convince the owners of the aquarium for you to have a sleepover under the sea. But the night before your party, Tony told you he had to leave for a little while. “It’s okay, Daddy.” You said, with the most innocent smile on your face. “Can we have some of my birthday cake tonight?” And how could Tony say no to that? After birthday cake and being tucked into bed, Tony flew off in his suit for one of the first of many times. 

“Pepper, Pepper, Pepper!” You ran down the hall of your Malibu mansion, Happy trailing behind you. You launched yourself at Pepper, your little arms wrapping around her legs. “Is it time to see the fish?” Pepper scooped you into her arms and you settled on her hip, your face nuzzled into the crook of her neck. 

“It’s almost time! Are all the bags packed?” Pepper looked up at Happy, who nodded. 

“And in the car, ready whenever we leave.” Pepper smiled gratefully at Happy. 

“Wait! Forgot something, down please.” Pepper set you down and you ran off towards your room. 

“Thank you again, Happy. You know you don’t have to stay with us-“

“I want to.” Happy interjected. “What can I say? The kid’s grown on me.” The sound of your footsteps grew louder as you entered the living room a minute later, your stuffed bear and wad of black fabric in your arms.

“What’s that, Y/N?” Pepper tilted her head as you held out the material. 

“You know Teddy, and this is Daddy’s favorite shirt. He’s not here, so Teddy can wear his shirt. Almost like he is there!” Pepper bit her lip and plastered on a smile she hoped looked half as happy as yours. 

“Just like he’s there, huh? Come on, let’s go to the car. I bet the fish are so excited to see you.�� 

-Two-

After Tony had taken down Obadiah, who you totally never trusted by the way, and had the press conference where he announced he was Iron Man, things started to go back to normal. Well, as normal as anything involving Tony Stark can be. You spent time with your dad in the garage as he worked on suit upgrades, and DUM-E seemed extra chipper (and klutzy) while you were around. Your Uncle Rhodey visited more frequently and everything was good. Life was good, until recently. 

For the last few weeks, your dad had been acting different. “Your dad’s under a lot of stress right now, Y/N. He’s okay.” Pepper would repeat this to you every time you asked. Natalie’s addition to Stark Industries provided a distraction for you, and you found yourself growing close to the red head. 

Your dad, Pepper, Happy, and Natalie were in Monaco and you were left at home  with Rhodey. You stood in the dark hall of your house, your Uncle Rhodey seated on the couch in the living room. The television lit up the room, and you slowly tip-toed to the couch. The blanket you held in your hand dragged against the floor as you climbed onto the couch. 

“Hey, kiddo. What are you doing up so late?” Rhodey wrapped his arm around you and covered your body with your blanket.

“Lonely. Miss everyone.” You nestled into Rhodey’s side and your eyes glued to the television. “Boring movie, Uncle Rhodey.” Rhodey laughed and looked at you. 

“And what do you want to watch, little miss? Let me guess, Tangled?” You nodded quickly and sent a dimpled smile up at your uncle. 

“Please?” Rhodey groaned dramatically before he started the movie, and you giggled happily. And if Rhodey sang the songs with you, that was no one’s business but yours. 

-Three-

You had hoped after the events in New York, with the team called the Avengers and their battle with Loki, things would go back to normal. Boy, were you wrong. You were on a plane with Pepper when you saw the footage of your dad flying into a wormhole, and it wasn’t until you were back in Malibu before you saw him again. Tears were shed and an endless amount of hugs were given when you were reunited. 

The changes in your dad’s behavior were subtle in the beginning. Loud noises would startle him much easier than before, and he spent less time sleeping and double the amount of time in the garage working on his suits. When he did sleep, his dreams were plagued with nightmares. On those nights, he’d check on you multiple times before morning came. “Have to make sure my best girl’s okay.” Tony would say on the rare chance you were awake before he went back to the garage to work for hours until sunrise, where he’d repeat the cycle again. Work with Stark Industries, work at home, and maybe get a few hours of sleep. 

Your dad’s PTSD got worse with each day that passed; throw in Happy being hospitalized, your Uncle Rhodey’s Iron Patriot makeover, and Pepper’s meeting with Aldrich Killian, Tony was a mess. And the threat of the Mandarin was the breaking point. “Come and find me. 10880 Malibu Point, 90265.” When Pepper heard the news, she told you to pack a bag, Christmas was going to take place as far from Malibu as possible. You stood in your bedroom, JARVIS playing Christmas music as you finished packing when you heard your dad, Pepper, and another woman yelling. You walked to the door and outstretched your hand, your fingertips brushing the handle when the first explosion went off. You went flying into your bedroom wall, and your world went dark. 

When you woke up again, you were hit with the news. The only home you had known was reduced to rubble, your dad was missing, presumed to be dead by the media, and your life as you knew it was over. You and Pepper had joined the unknown woman, known as Maya, to get the hell out of there. 

On Christmas Eve, you sat on your hotel bed, soft Christmas music playing in the room. You held your dad’s helmet in your lap, it being the closest it could be to having your dad with you. Pepper took a seat beside you, and you kept your gaze down, eyes glued to the helmet rested in your lap. 

“How are you holding up?” Pepper’s voice was quiet, hesitant. She was especially cautious with you for the last few days, afraid to further upset you. You couldn’t even count how many times you burst into tears out of nowhere, but you always had Pepper to lean on. Like now, as you leaned your head on her shoulder. 

“I just want my dad home.” Your voice cracked as the familiar sting in your eyes returned. You blinked rapidly as you tried not to cry again today. You picked up the helmet and hugged it to your chest. “I want to be on the couch, watching Home Alone, drinking hot chocolate. I want to be home. I miss him, Pepper.” Pepper’s shoulders shook as she tried not to cry, and she hugged you close. 

‘Me too, kid. I miss him too.’ 

-Four-

After everything died down with the Mandarin, your dad returned to the Stark Tower you now called home. It took a while to settle in, even longer with the Avengers frequenting the space, but you had your family- your dad, Pepper, Happy, and Rhodey. Even JARVIS in his own special way was an important part of your life and family. But history has a way of repeating itself. Right as you developed a new routine and sense of normalcy, shit hits the fan. This time it was Ultron. 

~~~

You were seated beside Maria as you and the team were on the balcony after one of your dad’s parties. You watched in amusement as Clint, your father, Rhodey, and Steve attempted to lift Mjolnir to no avail. The group talked and laughed, until the battle with Ultron started. 

“Hill! Get Y/N out of here, now!” Tony yelled. 

“Dad, no!” You started to go after your dad, and Maria grabbed your arm. 

“Y/N. You can’t fight with them. I need to get you out of here, please don’t make me carry you.” You paused before nodding, and you followed Maria to safety. Hours later, you were on the phone with your dad. 

“I’m sorry, kid. I only have a minute until I have to go off the grid.” Your eyes burned as you blinked away tears. “I’ll be home as soon as I can.”

“You promise? All in one piece?” You asked

“Maybe two.” You choked out a tearful laugh at your dad’s answer and took a deep breath. 

“I love you, Dad. Please, be safe.”

“I promise.”

~~~

You woke up with a gasp and clutched at your chest as you caught your breath. You flipped your phone over, three in the morning. 

“Miss Stark?” FRIDAY, your dad’s new AI, asked. Before the first fight with Ultron, JARVIS had been pretty much destroyed. Then FRIDAY was born. “Your heart rate has greatly increased and your oxygen levels have slightly decreased. Shall I call Ms. Potts for medical attention?”

“No, no, no. No, please. I’m okay, just... a bad dream is all. Nothing new.” You grabbed your cup of water that sat on the nightstand and took a large gulp, and tried to calm yourself down. You also turned on your lamp, the small bulb casting a warm glow around you. 

“Do you frequently have nightmares, Miss Stark?” 

“Y/N, please. Sometimes. Usually my dad is here and he helps me calm down. He’d sit with me; sometimes we’d watch the TV for a while, or he’d read to me until I fell asleep again.“ You pulled your blanket closer to you, a wave of sadness hitting you. “I wish he was here.”

“I’m positive Mr. Stark will be home as soon as he can, Y/N.” A pause. “What did Mr. Stark read to you when you couldn’t sleep?”

“We’ve been reading the Percy Jackson books lately. We just finished the second book the other night.” You laid back in bed and let your eyes close, and you willed yourself to fall back asleep. 

“‘The Friday before winter break, my mom-’” FRIDAY started to speak and your eyes snapped open. 

“What are you doing, Fri?”

“Reading book three, The Titan’s Curse.” FRIDAY answered as if it was the obvious answer. 

“But... why?” 

“You said your father would read to you whenever you had nightmares. Mr. Stark can’t be here, so I thought I could start reading the book to you. Hopefully he won’t be too upset that you started without him.” You smiled at how genuine and caring FRIDAY sounded and closed your eyes again. 

“That can be our little secret. Sorry for interrupting, FRIDAY. You can keep reading if you’d like.” 

“Certainly. ‘The Friday before winter break, my mom packed me an overnight bag and a few deadly weapons and took me to a new boarding school. We picked up my friends Annabeth and Thalia on the way.’” FRIDAY continued to read and you shortly fell asleep, a smile on your face. “Goodnight, Y/N.” 

-Five-

You knew things would change after the battle with Ultron in Sokovia. You had just greatly underestimated how different things would be. One change was the new additions to the team- Vision and Wanda. While you got along well with them, not even your friendships could blind you to the tensions between your unconventional family. The already seldom group meals became even more rare the silence would be unsettling. If it wasn’t silent, there was arguing that you couldn’t escape. 

Another change was the lack of Pepper in Tony’s life and subsequently your life. Pepper always tried to be there for you, even called you often and invited you to her office for lunch, but it wasn’t the same at home without her. Your dad was suffering from the loss more than he was letting on, and you had to be there for him as well. 

~~~

“I’m a grown man, Y/N. I can take care of myself.” Tony said as he looked at you, and you set a plate and a glass of water down on his workshop table. 

“I know you can, but will you?” Tony scowled at you, but you could see the gratitude in his eyes.

“Don’t know what I’d do without you, kid.” You smiled and hugged your dad tight. 

“Probably fall apart.” You said with a playful smile. “Good thing you’ll never have to find out.” You let go of Tony and walked towards the exit. “Finish up soon, or I’ll have FRIDAY shut the power off.” 

~~~

Things got worse when the Sokovia Accords were brought into play. Your family was torn apart by the decision whether or not to sign, with your dad being one of the few to sign and Cap being one of the few against the Accords. Throw in Clint’s retirement and the team you knew was no more. Tony knew this, and he made a trip to Queens for recruitment. 

~~~

“Where are you going?” You sat up from your spot on the couch. 

“Queens.” Tony walked over and took a seat beside you. “I’ve had FRIDAY tracking crime statistics, pair that with trending searches after these crimes, and I think we may have found someone in Queens that could be helpful.” Tony pulled his phone out of his pocket and projected a video for you. You tilted your head as you watched the person (definitely my age, you thought) in their makeshift suit swinging around the city, and your jaw dropped when you saw them catch a car with their bare hands. 

“And how exactly did you find out who they are? Under the suit?” 

“Classified.” Tony tapped the tip of your nose, and you swatted his hand away with a playful glare. 

“Hope you have a way to convince his guardians to speak with him, let alone go with you to fight against the rogues.” You laid back down and cuddled your blanket.

“Have we met? I always have a plan.” Tony stood up. “You’ll be okay on your own?”

“Have we met?” You copied him and Tony rolled his eyes. 

“Brat.”

“Old man.”

“I’m running away!” Tony called out as he walked to the elevator. 

“See you in a few hours.” You closed your eyes, and let sleep take over. 

~

“I wish I could go with you. We haven’t been to Germany in so long.” You sat on a workshop bench as your dad finished tweaking the web shooters for Spider-Man’s new suit. 

“As soon as everything is calm again, we’ll have a vacation wherever you want. Just us, I promise. It has been too long since we’ve spent time together without work getting in the way.” You could hear the guilt in your dad’s voice and you smiled sympathetically at him. 

“I know you’ll make it right, Dad. You always do.”

~~~

Before you knew it, your dad and the remaining team members were off to Germany for the fight against the rogues. Happy stayed behind, which you said was completely unnecessary, per your dad’s request. Just in case, he had said. He’ll only be a call away. And it’s a good thing he did. 

———

“Happy?” You groaned and held your phone to your ear. “I think I need the hospital.” That was nearly an hour ago. Now, you laid in a stretcher, being wheeled to the operating room, as Happy waited in the lobby the emergency room. Your stomach had been aching all day and it got worse as the day progressed. 

“Sounds like appendicitis. We’ll need to remove her appendix as soon as possible.” The rest of the conversation faded into the background, as did the preparation for your surgery. 

“Alright, Miss Stark.” The surgeon spoke as she administered the anesthesia. “Count down from five for me. Can you do that?”

“Five...” Your eyes closed. “Four... three...” And you slipped into darkness again. 

(In the waiting room...)

“Guess it’s a good thing you stayed behind.” Happy held his phone against his ear, Pepper speaking on the other end of the line. “How is she?”

“Surgery should be finishing up soon. I’ll call you again when I’ve seen her. I’m sure she’d appreciate seeing you when she’s home.” Happy glanced at the door, anxious to see your surgeon again. 

“The minute she’s ready for visitors, I’ll be there.” Muffled voices in the background. “Keep me posted, please? I have to go.”

“I will. Bye, Pepper.” The two exchanged goodbyes just in time for the surgeon to walk over. 

“Mr. Hogan? Miss Stark is waking up. I’ll walk you to her room.”

~

“Hey, kid.” Happy spoke quietly and took a seat in the chair beside your bed. 

“Happy...” You smiled and struggled to keep your eyes half open. “You’re here.”

“Where else would I be?” Happy could see the gears in your brain working after the question. 

“Dunno. Just happy you’re here.” You giggled tiredly. “Happy that Happy’s here. Happy, happy, happy.” Your voice trailed to a whisper and you were quiet for a minute. “Happy?”

“Yes, Y/N?” You turned to face Happy, and his eyes met yours. 

“Thank you. For always being here for me.” 

“Always will be, Y/N/N.“ Happy watched as your eyes closed, the smile still on your face. 

“Like a family. You’re my family, Hap. And I love you.” It was Happy’s turn to smile, and he leaned down and pressed a chaste kiss to your forehead. 

“I love you too, kid.” He hoped you heard him before you fell asleep. 

-One Time He Was There-

“Peter!” You laughed as the brunette led (dragged) you through the hall of his apartment building, and you looked at the doors you passed on the way to his. “Slow down, I’m going to trip!”

“I’ll catch you.” Peter replied but slowed down. “Sorry, I’m just excited.”

“For pizza at your aunt’s?” You stopped walking and Peter nodded. The slight twitch of Peter’s eye didn’t go unnoticed- his nervous tic. What can you say? Natasha trained you well. 

Happy had dropped you off at the Parker’s apartment last night, giving you an excuse about some business trip him, Pepper, and your dad had planned over the weekend. You insisted you could stay home alone, but when Tony mentioned staying with Peter, you couldn’t pass up the opportunity to spend time with your best friend. You two had spent all of the day together, Peter showing you around the city Spider-Man style. Holding onto Peter while he swung across the city was your favorite way to travel now. 

After the battle in Germany, the team had all gone separate ways. The loss was hard on both you and your father, and the addition of Peter to your life (and Pepper rejoining) made everything easier. You quickly became friends with the teen, grateful to have someone your age to spend time with. And he was ridiculously attractive, not that you’d say it out loud. After all the time you two had talked and spent together, you grew close to Peter and him to you. And for him right now, that was a curse. 

“Are you hiding something from me, Peter?” You asked. 

“Absolutely not. I wouldn’t hide anything from you. I’m a horrible liar, you know that. I start talking a lot, talking really fast-“ 

“Like you’re doing right now?” Peter scoffed at your question. 

“You have no faith in me. Come on, we don’t want to be late.” Peter continued walking and led you to his apartment door. 

“It’s okay if we’re late, I doubt May ate all of our dinner by herself.” You walked into the apartment with Peter, confused why the lights were off. You turned the lights on and...

“Surprise!” You jumped from the cheers and grinned at the sight. Your dad, Pepper, Happy, and May stood in the living room wearing party hats. A homemade “Happy Birthday” banner hung in the living room, and there were containers of your favorite takeout and a birthday cake on the coffee table. 

“Oh, my God.” You looked around the room. “Guys.” You whispered and your eyes watered as you turned to Peter. “This is why we spent the day in the city?”

“Had to keep you outside so they could get everything set up.” You hugged Peter tight, and Peter gladly returned the hug. “It was all your dad’s idea. He wanted to surprise you for your birthday.” Peter spoke softly as he rubbed your back. You pulled away after a moment and walked to your dad. 

“You did all this for me?” Your bottom lip trembled as you blinked back tears. 

“Of course I did, Y/N. You’re my daughter, my heart. You deserve the best, this is the least I could do.” Your dad opened his arms and you flung yourself into his arms. “I don’t have the best track record of being here when you need me. But I promise I’ll do better. Be the dad you deserve.” You let out a muffled sob, your face buried in your dad’s shirt. 

“Please, just more days like today.” You whispered and Tony nodded, pressing a tender kiss to the top of your head. You stepped away after a minute and wiped your eyes. “Thank you all so much. I’ll cry all over the rest of you later.” Laughter sounded through the room as you stood by your dad’s side. 

“We have plenty of time, Y/N. Now, let’s eat dinner. I nearly had to lock Tony outside to keep him from eating the cake.” Pepper said and walked to the living room, everyone but your dad following. 

“Dad? Come on.” Your dad looked nervous and you started to question him, until Pepper yelled. 

“Anthony Edward Stark, did you-?!”

“Gotta run!” You laughed as Pepper reprimanded Tony, and you sat on the couch with Peter and May. Maybe your family wasn’t conventional, and maybe your dad was busier than most. But when he was there, you were the happiest you could be, and you wouldn’t trade him for the world. Even when he stole a slice of your birthday cake before you could. Punk.

Taglist: @daughter-of-stark @agent-barnes40 @spideygirl2003 @ditttiii @missmulti @5aftermidnight ❤ Taglist and requests are open! Hope you guys enjoyed this because I loved it

[trashmenofmarvel]

Devil’s Backbone - Chapter 16

Pairing: The Winter Soldier x S.H.I.E.L.D. agent!Reader

Summary: With your team dead and your mission failed, you’ve been taken by the assassin to an unknown location and are at the mercy of your cruel tormentors. (This fic is explicit, 18+ only, dubcon in earlier chapters)

Chapter Warnings: Emotional manipulation

Word Count: 3.5k

AO3

Bucky’s head snapped up from where it had been buried in your hair, his eyes dark.

“What is that?”

“Shit,” you hissed, grabbing onto his shoulders. “Let me up, quick.”

He moved off of you and you slipped past him to grab your discarded underwear and jeans, pulling them on just as you made it to the cupboard on the other side of the fridge. You sensed Bucky right behind you as you opened the cupboard and a small bank of four monitors slid forward.

You searched around the computer console, trying to figure out how to turn the damned thing off. You jabbed a few buttons until you found the one that shut off the ear-splitting klaxon. Sighing in relief, you focused on the monitors to found what had set off the proximity alarm.

Each screen was connected to a camera: one for the back door, the front door, the path to the alley, and the driveway. It was this last that had triggered the alarm system.

You watched as a grey sedan parked next to the house, suspicion tensing your shoulders. You were glad you had parked the van around back where it couldn’t be seen from the street or by the unknown intruder.

The car door opened… and relief flooded your chest. Rumlow rose to his feet and turned his head, surveying the property with a quick glance. Apparently satisfied, he shut the car door and strode up the stone path to the front door.

You turned to Bucky, already smiling, but he was no longer at your side. In fact, you couldn’t see him anywhere. Your relief faded to a frown. Where had he gone?

You were just about to call out his name when he emerged from the bedroom, holding the handgun in his metal fist. He headed directly for the front door.

“Hey!” you shouted as you blocked his path, putting your hands up against his heaving chest. “Bucky, wait!”

“I have to kill him,” he growled between bared teeth.

You could only stare up at him. Gone was the sweet, gentle man that had been there a moment ago. In his place was the cold, deadly expression of the assassin, but there was heat rather than ice in his blue eyes.

He was furious.

“No!” you told him, voice rising in distress. “I get that you’re new to the whole killing S.H.I.E.L.D. agents is wrong thing, but—“

“There is no S.H.I.E.L.D.,” he interrupted, a dark storm behind his words. “Only HYDRA.”

At least he had come to a stop and was no longer making a murderous beeline for the front door, but the searing hatred in his eyes brought you no comfort.

“Okay, fine,” you relented, not wanting to dive into semantics, “but that’s my S.O. out there. You are not going to shoot him.”

His jaw tightened as his expression hardened to stone.

“He’s an agent of HYDRA.”

It was as if he’d just spoken an alien language. You heard the words but they bounced off your mind without making an impact.

“What?” You smiled reflexively. It had to be some kind of twisted joke. “No, he would never…”

Bucky did not return the gesture. Instead, his eyes grew harder.

Your words got caught in your throat and you shook your head as if to dislodge the impossible accusation.

“No, you’ve got it wrong. I don’t know what you heard, or what they told you, but… Rumlow would never work for HYDRA.”

“I didn’t get a name.” His gaze moved from your face to the front door, his eyes narrowing dangerously. “But he was there when—“

He took an uneven breath and looked back at you so severely you almost stepped back.

“He knows about me,” Bucky said in a low tone. His eyes searched yours, softening a degree. “He knows about you. You can’t let him in.”

You nearly jumped as a fist pounded on the door just a few feet from your back, and your heart gave a leap when you heard Rumlow yell, “Williams! You in there?”

“Bucky,” you hissed. “Give me the gun.”

He looked past you toward the source of your argument, then back down at you, expression stern.

“Don’t open that door. Let me end this. Now.”

“No.”

His glare gathered thunderheads, but you didn’t look away. Instead, you reached forward and wrapped your fingers around the barrel of the gun. You tried to pull it from his grasp; his grip didn’t yield.

His expression was immutable and you were sure he wasn’t going to listen. If he opened that door, if he killed another S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, any chance of getting Rogers on your side was gone. The launch would proceed and HYDRA would win.

And yet, none of that loomed as large in your mind as the terror of losing Rumlow. If Bucky killed him…

It felt as if the walls were closing in on you and it was getting harder to breathe. Desperation clutched at your throat as you stared up into Bucky’s face.

“I know this is asking a lot, maybe too much, but… I need you to trust me. Please.”

The steel of his gaze wavered, and the hard lines of his brows softened into reluctant surrender.

Bucky released the gun into your hand, jaw clenched, eyes straying past your shoulder with an unhappy look.

Another round of banging erupted from the door, making you jump. You grabbed Bucky by his metal arm and pulled him to the supply closet in the hallway. It was a tight fit, but you managed to nudge him inside.

“Stay here,” you said tightly. “I’ll get him to go away so no one has to shoot anyone else.”

You were about to shut the door but Bucky grabbed your wrist and pulled you back.

“If he’s not HYDRA,” he said quietly, blue eyes ablaze, “then how did he know you were here?”

Your breath caught in your throat.

“Williams!” More pounding at the door. You were out of time.

“Stay here,” you hissed, prying your wrist from his grasp, “and don’t move.”

It wasn’t until you had shut the door on him that you reflected on similar words he had said not so long ago to you in that horrid cell.

You scanned the room, found the STRIKE hoodie, and quickly pulled it over your head. You grabbed the blanket and yanked it over the couch, covering the obvious stains, old blood and otherwise.

You gave yourself a fast once-over to make sure you were presentable. You looked clean, but there was one thing you couldn’t erase: the room smelled faintly but unmistakably of sex.

Well, shit, there was nothing you could do about that now.

Pressing your lips together, you walked quickly to the door, turned the knob, and opened it a few inches.

Rumlow met your eyes through the slim crack, his eyebrows raised, and then his face broke into obvious relief.

“Williams, thank Christ. I thought you were—“

You opened the door the rest of the way and leveled the gun at his face, standing just far enough out of his strike zone.

“Whoa!” he exclaimed while raising his hands to show he wasn’t armed. “Whoa, the fuck?”

You peered past him to the car as you asked, “Did you come alone?”

Rumlow gave an annoyed scoff. “What? Yes, Jesus, I’m alone.”

“Step inside and close the door.”

You moved back as he did what he was told, never wavering as you kept your gun aimed in the center of his torso. He looked different than the last time you’d seen him. Stubble covered his jaw, at least a couple days’ worth, and his face looked like it had been beaten to shit.

Rumlow never took his eyes off of you, either. His expression was a mixture of curiosity and exasperation, but you didn’t miss the way he flicked his eyes around the living room, kitchen, and hallway.

Step one in a hostile environment: assess the surrounding space for immediate threats.

“How did you know I was here?” Your words were as tight as your grip on the gun.

Rumlow gave you one of his signature half grins, as if the question struck him as funny. “Come on, kid. Don’t insult me. I knew what moves you would make if you were still alive.”

You didn’t return the smile. Bucky’s words had rattled you.

“Why would I come here?” you asked with a sour note. “Why wouldn’t I just go straight to HQ?”

Rumlow sighed, his shoulders loosening as he gave you a resigned look.

“Because I knew you would’ve figured out the truth by now.”

“Yeah?” You attempted to keep your tone steady as your heart pounded. “What truth would that be?”

You watched him closely, reading his body language. His expression was still relaxed, but his eyes were discerning.

Step two: identify the highest threat in the room and assess danger level.

Rumlow looked at you for a long moment.

“We have a mole.”

You blinked. That… hadn’t been the answer you were expecting.

“You know?” A kernel of hope beginning to unfold in your chest.

“Yeah,” he said as he tilted his head while looking you over. “And we found out who it was, too.”

“Well?” you prompted, impatient. You were not in the mood for one of Rumlow’s lessons.

He frowned. You suspected it was at your less-than respectful tone.

“None other than Captain Rogers.”

For the second time in so many minutes, your brain seemed unable to process words.

“I… what? Rogers?” You shook your head. “That’s… No. He wouldn’t.”

Rumlow slowly pointed his right forefinger towards his left eye, highlighting one of the injuries you had noticed earlier. It was blackened and seemed to be delivered by a hard strike. He pointed to the scrapes on his jaw to solidify his point, and it was a point well-made. Someone getting a punch in on Rumlow was possible, but there was only one person who could make it look like Rumlow had had his face dragged over concrete.

Or rather, there was one super soldier who could.

“Cap gave me these little parting gifts two days ago,” he commented with a wry sneer. “Leadership brought him in for questioning. We were gonna detain him at the Triskelion, keep him secure while we found our answers, but he refused to cooperate, attacked our team, and escaped. He was gone before we could get any answers.”

“Answers?” You felt a tension headache forming behind your eyes. You also felt like you were missing something. “About what? About the convoy attack? My capture? Why would Rogers know about any of that?”

Rumlow furrowed his brows as he stared at you long and hard. And then his face abruptly smoothed in sympathy.

“You don’t know. Christ, of course you don’t. It happened only a few hours after you were taken. Williams…” He took a deep breath. “Director Fury is dead.”

“W… what?”

There was a faint ringing in your ears, and your body suddenly felt light. Untethered.

“He was shot, right there, in Rogers’ apartment. He died an hour later during surgery.”

Rumlow slowly lowered his hands but you didn’t react. It was all you could do to keep your gun on him, your training and muscle memory taking over as you struggled to keep grounded.

“Cap said it was some kind of masked assassin with a metal arm.”

No.

You felt numb. Weightless.

No. No no no.

“I know. A guy with a metal arm, weird as shit, right?” he said, most likely interpreting your silence as skepticism. “Rogers tried to throw us off the scent, but now we know they must have been working together. Rogers lured in Fury and the assassin finished the job. Woulda worked, too. Never would have suspected a thing if Rogers hadn’t run—“

“Wait.”

Rumlow blinked at your interruption. He tilted his head curiously, his eyes roving over your face. You could feel the cold sweat breaking out along your hairline.

Focus. Prioritize. Don’t fucking fumble.

You took a deep breath, forced the tension from your shoulders, and met his eye. He was volleying so much information at you, too much, and you needed to get him to slow the fuck down.

“How do you know Rogers was involved in Fury’s death?” Your voice was a hell of a lot steadier than you thought it would be. Good. That was good.

“Because Rogers,” Rumlow said with a tick in his tightened jaw, “along with a couple of his buddies, kidnapped Agent Sitwell yesterday. The assassin showed up soon after and threw Sitwell out of the car. Right into oncoming traffic.”

Your stomach rolled violently.

“Jasper’s dead?” You cracked on the last word, unable to help it. You had liked Jasper. He’d been a little weird, more of a desk jockey than a field agent, but he’d always been nice to you.

Rumlow nodded gravely, his eyes never leaving your face. “Yeah. And that’s not all. Apparently, Rogers is working for HYDRA.”

You hard-swallowed, forcing down the burning in your throat as you met Rumlow’s eye. You put on a mask of confusion, not too difficult when the emotion looked so much like muted horror.

“HYDRA? Like, the Nazis?”

“Yeah, them,” Rumlow said with a shrug. “Apparently, they’re still kicking around. They’re the ones who attacked the Kartal convoy. Safe to say, they’re the ones who took you.”

“But HYDRA?” You shook your head, easily mimicking the disbelief you’d had only hours ago. “How do you know it was them? I thought we were dealing with some kind of overseas hit squad.”

“Kartal wasn’t working for the Russians,” Rumlow said, his tone almost short as his eyes narrowed. You recognized the signs of him losing patience; you seen it too many times during your training sessions to mistake it for anything else.

“That was just a cover story,” Rumlow continued. “He was working for HYDRA. Said he wanted to come clean. That’s why S.H.I.E.L.D. was called in.”

It corroborated Bucky’s story, but it didn’t make you feel any better. Rumlow had purposefully lied to you.

Despite everything else going on, everything going on, somehow that fact hurt worst of all. Your S.O. had kept you in the dark on purpose and it fucking stung. Not only had he not trusted you, he had put you and the entire team at risk.

“So you asked me to lead a mission without giving me all of the information.” Your lips trembled and your words were curdled by bitterness. “What if I could have done something different? Prepared better? What if…”

Your eyes burned but you blinked it away. You couldn’t cry. Not in front of him.

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

Rumlow’s expression had shifted as you spoke. The impatience was gone and he looked as close to sympathetic as you’d ever seen him.

“You didn’t have clearance, Williams. It was a Level Eight mission. No one knew except me, the Director, and the Secretary.” He spread his hands, a plea to understand his position. “Even now our agents think they’re tracking down Rogers because he’s withholding information on Fury’s death. Almost no one knows HYDRA is a part of this. I don’t think you really understand the stakes here.”

The doubt in his tone made the sting worse. You had been abducted, tortured, dehumanized, and yet you didn’t understand the fucking stakes?

“Enlighten me,” you ground out between your teeth.

The shadow of a smirk passed over his face, gone so fast you might have imagined it.

“S.H.I.E.L.D. doesn’t just have a mole. It’s compromised as shit. You think Rogers is the only one? That Kartal was an outlier? Fuck, we just found out the Lemurian Star hijacking was a goddamn decoy. Fury hired those pirates to jack our own ship so Romanoff could steal S.H.I.E.L.D. intel for him. Then he just dies a day later? Hell, I’m bettin’ Fury was HYDRA too. This goes all the way to the top, kid.”

You scoffed under your breath. It was ridiculous. It was outrageous. First Rogers, and now the Director? It didn’t make any sense. Why would HYDRA send their assassin after Fury if he was one of theirs?

The biggest question was: why hadn’t Bucky told you any of this? Why hadn’t he told you Rogers was on the run? Or that the Director was dead? That was the information you needed to know if you had a chance of stopping the launch.

And worst of all, he had to know that.

Who the fuck were you supposed to trust now?

Rumlow started speaking again, forcing you to focus.

“But thank Christ you’re alive. When we didn’t find a body, we realized they had taken you. Goddamn Rogers must have given HYDRA the escort route. Romanoff had access too. They’re both off the grid. I—”

He furrowed his brows, looked around the room, and said, “Didn’t there used to be a coffee table here?”

You blinked. He had moved further into the living room than you’d realized.

Get your shit together. You knew if you fucked this up you were as good as dead. The threat came from either Rumlow or Bucky, or fuck, maybe even both. You had to figure it out, fast.

Addressing Rumlow’s question, you shrugged. “Donno. This is how I found the place.”

Rumlow seemed to find that answer acceptable, or at least, he chose to drop it.

“Listen… this is a Level One priority, kid. All hands on deck. With half our team wiped out, I need you now more than ever.”

He took a step forward. You could see it the moment he shifted into his role as commander; the muscles of his arms bunched briefly as his shoulders squared, his jaw set at a firm angle.

“That’s an order, Williams. I know it’s a lot to take in, but you’re comin’ back to HQ with me—“

On any other day, you would have obeyed without a word. But today, you raised the gun and aimed it at his chest, cutting him off.

“I can’t do that.”

“For fuck’s sake,” he snapped. He then took a breath, eyeing the steady weapon in your hands. “Haven’t we done this song and dance already? What’s gotten into you? Put the goddamn gun down.”

“I don’t know who to trust. So the gun is staying right where it is.”

His lips curled into a prideful smile, the kind of smile you used to seek out with unabashed eagerness. You used to be desperate for it: his praise, his approval, and most of all, his respect. Those things had been hard-earned and desperate treasures you had clung to and hoarded.

It was all that had mattered to you, once.

Now, it felt small and rang hollow.

“How long have I been your commander?” he said with an almost arrogant tilt of his head. “Fifteen years now? If you can’t trust me, you can’t trust anybody.”

That was the core of the problem and he’d hit it on the head. God, you wanted to trust him so badly, but you couldn’t. Not yet. Perhaps he had trained you a little too well.

You were not the only party present that apparently lacked trust. During the entire conversation, his eyes had flickered uneasily around the room. He had noted the two food trays in the kitchen, the messy bed seen through the hallway, and the loose blanket on the sofa.

“Are you alone?”

Yes,” you flatly responded. “Of course I’m alone.”

He jerked his head towards the food trays on the counter.

“Yeah? What’s that, then?”

Even as he asked the question in a casual tone, he eyed your weapon. You could see the gears turning in his head. Can I get to her before she can shoot me?

The answer was, no. You were standing just far enough away that you could pull the trigger faster than he could lunge. You could see it in his eyes that he knew it too.

“They didn’t feed me much.” You half-shrugged, the picture of nonchalance. “I was starving and made extra.”

You weren’t sure he bought it, especially since the food trays were barely touched, but you weren’t exactly giving him a choice to call you on your lie, either.

His eyes narrowed.

“How did you escape?”

Ah, the question you had been dreading. It was also one you had prepared for.

“That assassin you were talking about? He was the one who attacked us. He captured me, took me to some kind of abandoned prison about an hour north of here.”

You paused, and the heaviness in your voice didn’t have to be faked.

“But then he… he must have snapped, or something, I don’t know. All I know is, he left a shit ton of bodies behind him. I used the opportunity to escape.”

Rumlow’s lips curled in disbelief.

“Why would he do that? Why didn’t he kill you too?”

Funny how that had been the question you asked yourself so many times.

“I don’t know, sir,” you responded with less of an attitude this time. An idea was forming in your head, and its execution depended on you convincing Rumlow you were willing to be the obedient soldier again. “I just wanted to get the hell out of there.”

“Well, I’m glad you did. You know, I never lost faith you’d make it back to us.” The smile that spread across his lips was probably meant to be friendly, but something about it looked a little too predatory. “Come on, kid. You know you can’t stay here. The safe house could be compromised. Probably is. And HQ really needs to know what the hell happened to you. I need to know.”

He sounded so genuine. This was the man you knew, had known for years, before there was any HYDRA or assassins. This was your S.O., how could you continue to say no to him?

You just prayed Bucky wouldn’t take Rumlow’s persistence as a threat. So far he had stayed quiet, but there was no guarantee he would continue to be.

The choice was obvious. Rumlow wouldn’t leave without you. He was right. You couldn’t stay.

“Okay,” you relented with a small nod. “I need to go home for a new change of clothes first.”

Rumlow took a small step forward. You tensed and gripped the gun tighter, a gesture he didn’t miss as he eyed your hands.

“Actually, you can’t,” he said. There almost seemed to be humor in his gaze. “We gotta search your apartment, make sure Rogers and that metal-armed psychopath aren’t gunnin’ for ya. We can get you a fresh set of clothes at HQ. I’d hate to think what Rogers would do if he got ahold of you. You’re a loose end.”

I’ll bet. Bucky wasn’t the only one who had left a trail of bodies behind him. HYDRA probably wanted you just as badly at this point.

“Do you really think Rogers is working for HYDRA?” You were genuinely curious if he believed what he was saying, or if that was just what his superiors had fed him.

Rumlow gave a half-shrug. “He was fightin’ real HYDRA back in the day. Who knows if what he says is true? No one alive left alive who can confirm what really happened in those HYDRA camps.”

Something about the way he said it nagged at you, but you couldn’t pinpoint what it was. It didn’t matter, you were out of time and your decision was made.

Your gut instinct told you not to do it, but if you needed answers, you had to go with him. And to go with him, you needed to show Rumlow you were willing to trust him.

You flipped the gun around in your hand and held it out to him.

“Sorry I pulled a gun on you, sir.”

He stared at the weapon for a moment, alternating between it and your face. He cautiously took the gun, and once it was in his hands, he gave a smile that slid easily onto his face. He put a hand on your shoulder.

“If you hadn’t pulled a gun on me, I woulda known I had failed you.”

The warm gesture and the almost-kind words made you want to give in and tell him everything. About HYDRA, about Bucky, about the launch. It was too much for any one person to handle, and you desperately wanted to pass the burden onto someone who would just… take care of everything. It would be such a relief, both to share the load and to know once and for all that he was the man you thought he was.

But then he removed his hand and tucked the gun into his belt. You kept your secrets and doubts to yourself.

“After the debrief, I can go home, right?” you asked as he led you toward the door. Your hope was Bucky would hear and realize you were telling him you would return after all of this was over, and more importantly, for him to stay put.

“Yeah, sure. The sweep teams should be done soon.”

He opened the door ahead of you but blocked the way as he turned to look at you. All traces of humor wiped from his face.

“I know this is a lot to put on you after the shit you just survived, but I need you in the days to come. I’m gonna be honest, Williams. S.H.I.E.L.D. is such a clusterfuck right now that we might just have to burn it to the ground. Fresh start, ya know?”

Wipe him. And start over.

A chill shot up your spine, but somehow you managed to nod.

Rumlow put his hand on your shoulder and guided you out of the house. The touch would have felt like affection, once. Now, there was only hollow dread as he led you down the steps to his car.

Next Chapter

[abakersquest]

CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN – A HARSHER FLAME

Vaporous mist arose from every surface of the ice cavern as an atmospheric tide of heat bloomed from the Halcyon Knight. Her seemingly placid gaze lazily slid from one opponent to the next as each of them silently planned an opening gambit.

“Good,” she finally said in a calm voice. “Not a one of you flinched or even took that threat seriously. I’d honestly hate to find out any of you were cowardly without the Flarebearer around.”

They didn’t dare take eyes off the tigress, not even to look at one another for some clue to a joint strike. She moved with confidence, and her narrow golden eyes seemed to drill into each of them as she continued to slowly turn in place.

“Careful now,” she chided. “You really should be paying less attention to my face.”

Hyla was the first to turn her eyes downward just as mystic fires began to dance on the back of the knight’s leg. From there came an explosion of noise and a flash of light as a jet of flame shot from the back of her ankle. The force of the focused burst launched her leg into a sweeping kick that left an infernal wake which quickly raced out in a circle around its creator. As Hyla raised her arms to try and defend herself, she was already off her feet being dragged by her shoulders out of the mouth of the cave.

Confusion quickly fell away as the concentrated wave of mystical fire raced past her eyes. She followed the shimmering crescent as it barely skimmed the back of Gan, who’d grabbed her in an instant and dragged her to safety before she even realized it.

The lightning quick kestrel both grunted and recoiled from the intense heat, forcing them both down into the thankfully soft snow. Hyla quickly shook off the rough landing and turned her notice to Gan, seeing him hurriedly flop onto his back and sigh with relief as the snow made short work of the dangerous heat thereupon.

“Just missed,” he managed to say. “If that hit, we’d’ve been cooked alive…”

When she took a breath to respond, Gan sprang to his feet. “The Captain and Argus are still in there! I couldn’t see if they dodged it or not! Come on!”

“Gan wait!” she called out as he took one bold step forward, slipped on the snow, and firmly introduced his beak to the terrain below.

He said something muffled yet clearly frustrated as Hyla finally got back on her feet. Snow and ash had some commonality, so while it was uncomfortable to spread her toes out onto the frigid mass, it improved her traction just as she’d hoped. “Gan,” she said calmly as she moved to help him stand. “They’re alright; I can still sense them in the cave. Now, there’s no point of us rushing back in there without a plan, so let’s take what time we have to-”

A jagged ice tower to the left of them exploded as a massive cannonball treated it like the finish line of a race. Both quickly turned their eyes toward the oncoming fortress, a rolling disaster headed straight for them and the Aspect of Air beyond.

“Warriors!” Illica’s voice called to them from the mouth of the cave. “I shall help your friends inside; Jinra will assist you in destroying the ship!”

Gan looked to Hyla, “That’s… That’s the dragon’s name, right?”

A roar that was more detonation than animal cry shook the air for miles as the great serpentine beast rose like a geyser of scales and fury from the ice cavern.

“Yes, Gan.” Hyla finally said, finding it slightly harder to breathe at the mere sight of the great beast. “Illica… How exactly do we…” Hyla’s voice trailed off as she turned back toward the strange snow fox, or rather, to where she once stood.

“I think we just follow it,” Gan said, a mixture of awe and fear in his voice as his eyes followed the dragon’s course across the sky toward the approaching warship. He flinched as exploding shells filled the sky with blossoms of fire and noise above them, just missing their massive target. “But uh... Maybe not too close?”

“No,” Hyla said plainly. “Argus said the last one was powered by a big furnace on the inside. So, we go in, destroy the furnace, and that should stop it dead. There’s just one thing we have to do first.”

Gan shimmied uncomfortably, feeling like a coiled spring as he looked away from the firefight to Hyla. When he met her eyes, he flinched ever so slightly.

“Gan,” her voice was calm despite the volume it needed to overcome the explosions above and gusting winds below. “I know I can trust you. Without thinking twice you put yourself in harm’s way to save me just now… But you need to know, you can trust me too.”

She could feel it wash over him, the strange unknown sensation she’d felt as they walked into the cave before. His eyes tried to look past her and his hands clenched into fist for a second or two. She could see him struggle and fumble to say something as an argument took place at the forefront of his mind.

She decided planting the seed of an idea was enough for now; the nascent notion that she’d fight as hard as he would for her. She turned away and faced the task at hand, her mystically aided senses giving her a clear view of the oncoming mechanical danger. A multitude of cannons on the warship’s side pivoted skyward as the dragon above dodged shot after shot. It soon closed the gap and crashed violently against the ship’s prodigious armor to seemingly little effect. With a breath to steady herself and erase the distractions of her surroundings, Hyla dragged open the curtain of the world and forged a Dark Vault.

Now, for anyone else, passing through these inky black portals is an instant event. For those gifted enough to make them however, there is something else. It’s best described as a feeling of a truly greater force far beyond anything they could make sense of, moving about an infinite space that isn’t so much “dark” as it is “full of potential.” Tetsudin would often describe it to her as the moment before you turn on the light in your bedroom, the anticipation of something familiar amidst unfamiliar shadows.

But this time, this time she turned away from the path she’d carved in the endless twilight. Despite all her training and concentration, a radiant force in the immeasurable distance turned her attention toward it. This momentary distraction, this sight of something that demanded it be seen threw her off their landing. What should’ve been an exit onto a well chosen perch amidst the ruined remains of the rear starboard prop’s assembly was, instead, the open air before it.

The momentum of their steps found no floor on the other end of the Dark Vault. Instead, the pair tumbled helplessly through the frigid air before Gan flared out his wings and straightened himself out.

Driven by inborn instinct, he summoned a curtain of ion excited air and bounded off it like a springboard toward the retreating sound of Hyla’s surprised shout. Every Orni’Hulan is born to catch their young should they fall in their efforts to fly, and even at a young age they have the strength and natural skill to do just that. He knew if he simply caught her, whatever limb he grabbed would dislocate. He knew that if he tried to change her momentum too suddenly, both of them would come out with broken bones. He rushed down to match her speed, hooked his legs around her and, with all his might and prowess, put a curve to both their trajectories that just barely saw them skirt the icy ground below.

With some effort to fight the turbulent wind surrounding the rolling fortress, Gan managed to find them a perch lower than they’d originally aimed. He put Hyla down as gently as he could before landing himself and helping her up. “What happened? Why did we miss?”

“There… When we were crossing I felt this… I don’t know what it was but it was massive…” She closed her eyes and tried to visualize it, to put forth more than just an oncoming rush of sensation to describe whatever it was she’d seen, but nothing took shape. A sigh rolled out of her throat. “This probably isn’t helping our little trust issue, is it?”

When she looked to Gan again, the great mess of feathers on the top his head rose as did the strange mixture of emotions and thoughts she’d tried to ignore. She did her best to give him a smile to try and calm him down, “It’s alright, we just-”

“It’s not that I don’t trust you!” He shouted, and then clamped his beak shut. She could hear him grumble and the talons on his toes rake the metal flooring beneath them. Finally he screwed his eyes shut and continued at the same volume. “I do trust you! Really! I just…” he quieted himself as the next words came. “Argus said I shouldn’t apologize… That I should just show you I’m sorry, but… I… I really wanted to say it, that I’m sorry for how I treated you.”

A genuine smile crossed her face and she rested her hand on his shoulder. To her it’d been nothing more than a few sour looks and an air of somewhat overdone caution, both absolutely minor slights she could easily understand. To the young kestrel just entering into the wider world, it felt like some incredible insult to a friend. What else could she have said but, “Apology accepted.”

Gan’s spirits and shoulders rose in time with one another and the shine of confidence in his eyes sparkled without reservation.

“Now, let’s see if we can’t take the heart out of this metal monster.”

“Right!” Gan looked around at the ruined structure the Prominence Cannon had left for them to traverse, hoping to see something that looked like a way in. The damaged metal ahead of him exploded outward as a forked black blade tore a hole through it. The imposing mass of a hulking Black Rock Knight soon followed, wrenching through the metal hull as if it were little more than thick paper.

Gan may have had the reflexes to dodge the stone titan’s sudden emergence, but nowhere near enough to put his knives between an oncoming sword swipe and Hyla. With Storm Magic aiding his perception, he could only watch as the deadly blade closed in on her while she crossed her arms over her chest. He stared on in stark surprise as it passed through her without a drop of blood and rammed into the ruined support strut just off to her side.

And yet, despite the acceleration of his sight, he blinked only once and saw that, in that partial second where his eyes closed, Hyla and the offending knight had changed places. The boost in speed ebbed away and a line appeared in the stony figure’s midsection where Hyla had once been.

The slowed tone of her voice reached his ears with a single magically intoned word, “Imposition.”

When it tried to turn, the upper body of the Black Rock Knight slid right off. It tumbled downward, leaving its legs alone on the platform. They took a few blind steps, collided with some previously melted beam, and fell down after its better half.

Before he could even find the words to question the events that unfolded, Hyla spoke. “I don’t like that it knew exactly where we were. Come on, let’s go before more of them can pin us in.”

Gan shook off any lingering curiosity and nodded, quickly making his way through the torn opening. Hyla moved to follow, turning back toward the ice cavern where she could still sense signs of Argus and Blackeye. Thankful for that much, she didn’t think to question why she couldn’t suss out any sense of Illica.

---

Moments ago, Blackeye had barely managed to command the ice at his side to rush across the open air as water and block the oncoming burst of compressed mystic fire. Just past the resulting steam he caught sight of Gan’s tail feathers rushing out the cave’s opening. He did his best not to let the satisfaction he felt at the boy’s performance show on his face. Pride in the doings of the young came so easily with old age.

“You’re right to feel proud, Captain Cofresi. For such a young flyer, he’s certainly got talent. My ‘Drake Smile’ is quite hard to dodge.”

He couldn’t help the annoyed grunt at the even keeled speech of the Halcyon Knight standing before him. He didn’t need the empathic sense Fire Mages possessed to know it wasn’t a statement fueled by brash overconfidence.

She carefully adjusted her gauntlets as she spoke. “You should also feel proud yourself… It can’t be easy for such a seasoned fellow to forcefully turn ice back into water in less than a second. I can see why Vizier Bulfo finds you the second biggest threat of this little band of heroes.”

“I suppose we’re to presume the first is Wally then?” Argus said; the stock of the Thunderhead firmly braced to his shoulder, its flared barrel pointed squarely at the tigress.

“Don’t engage, Mister Cael.” Blackeye cautioned. “You might not know it from our friendly Flarebearer, but thems with fire like to chatter so’s to get in your head. Makes dealin’ with ‘em some pretty nasty business.”

“He’s right, you know,” she added smoothly.

Argus’ eyes narrowed. “I’ve fought my fair share of Fire Mages during the war, Captain. I can assure you, she won’t find me an easy mark.”

“Ooh, I do believe you offended your friend, Captain Cofresi…” Her smile was far too cheerful to be believed. “You did hear that bitter little undertone there, right?”

Blackeye was as still as a stony shoreline at low tide, he didn’t even blink.

She turned to Argus instead, and found him the equivalent of a notched arrow, ready to strike down prey.

“My,” she said with a slight giggle, scratching the back of one of her ears. “I might have picked the wrong dance partners.”

The first thing was the smell in the air. Past the stale smell of old ice, the brightstone in Argus’ weapon, and the subtle hint of char all Fire Mages bore. Blackeye’s mind called up the image of a paraffin lamp, and the lingering bittersweet smell as one replaces its fuel. Before a word could be spoken, and his vaunted sense of danger could warn him, the air around their bodies was filled pinpricks of free-floating light, each barely half an inch away.

“There now, those should even things out, and give us time to properly chat!” The tigress smiled brightly. “My name is Pan Diar, the Halcyon Knight of Fire. It’s a pleasure to make both your acquaintances.”

Blackeye huffed out his nostrils.

Argus rolled his eyes.

She sighed. “My but you two are as stoic as they come… I really would’ve been better off with that Orni’Hulan and Hyla Areo. Now she’d be fun to talk to, especially after finding out what happened to her old master.” She shrugged casually, “but that’s not the bed I made, so why complain about not getting to sleep in it. Instead, I’ll just get right to it and ask. Do either of you know where I could find the Aspect of Air?”

“S'pose it don’t do us any good to try and lie to a Fire Mage, eh Argus?” Blackeye commented.

“Quite so, captain. Shall you do the honors, or will I?”

“Well, you’re the scholarly fella here; she’d believe you over me.”

“Tut-tut, captain. You’re a proud and practiced explorer of the sea; your experience makes you the better choice.”

One of Pan’s ears twitched. “Well, it’s obvious to anyone with a brain you’re both stalling… But neither one of you can seem to agree on what you’re stalling fo-”

And then the Dragon roared.

Its mighty cry coupled with the shifting of its massive body created a maelstrom within the cave. The tiny dots of fire were blown away like so many embers, followed by both their master and would be victims. The three tumbled down a winding tunnel of glacial blue, before landing in a cave of glimmering crystals. Blackeye recognized the particularly luminous stones as the same kind he’d used to light his home. He would much rather have had that be a nice recollection, instead of a passing thought when his shoulder bashed through a particularly large one.

Argus barely managed to kick off another large crystal himself, instead rising too close to its sharp edged siblings in the cave’s ceiling. They tore bits of his clothes and scratched at his carapace, but worst of all cut a small gash in his ammunition bag. Several ampoules of his magical cultivations set to twirl in the air and leave his field of view before the winds died down, and he was harshly dropped into a patch of small glowing mushrooms.

“Mycena Cryphagia,” Argus groaned as he picked himself up. “The Crystal-Eater Mushroom. I should remember to collect a sample before I go.”

He turned to take in the surroundings of this new underground chamber to see Pan Diar, as a true credit to her genus, had landed squarely on her feet. Her fang filled smile was as unwelcome sight, as were the glimmering dots of light under her command. The flock of sparks quickly closed the gap between them. With no other choice, Argus leveled the Thunderhead and fired whatever was in the barrel with the singular mental imperative of defense. A sheet of ionized air blossomed from the barrel like a cast net, the small dots of light sticking to it readily.

Pan Diar’s mystically intoned voice carried easily across the crystalline cavern, “Wisp Swarm.”

The lights detonated.

The electrical net shattered.

The blast wave hit Argus full on, launching him helplessly toward a far wall. The air in his lungs harshly pushed out on impact, and his shaken senses turned the world into a painful smear all around him. He shook his head to try and clear away at least a fraction of the blur, silently grateful to have been born an Insicai; with a hardy exoskeleton that could take so much force and not give way. He knew however, that one more burst like that, even at a distance, would cause far more permanent damage.

He was also grateful for another gift of his biology, as his antenna twitched and felt the air move around what could only be an approaching Halcyon Knight. She said something he couldn’t hear over the muffled ringing in his head, prepared a witty remark regardless, and found something odd happened as he began to say it.

It was an unnatural sort of cold that moved around him at first, then for a singular moment felt as if it’d passed through him. Suddenly the wall at his back was simply gone and replaced by a strong hand with webbed fingers, keeping him from falling backward.

“-er Ca-”

A voice just barely rose above the bell resounding in his head, it sounded familiar.

“-On Mister Cael, ne… you to find your feet.”

He blinked, the voice was gruff yet not unwelcome. The world finally came back into focus and at his side stood Captain Blackeye. “Wh-… What… When did you…”

“Get your eyes front now that ya uncrossed ‘em. That’ll tell you.”

Argus could finally make out the razor focus of the Captain’s expression and followed the length of his gaze over to where he assumed he’d been standing just before now. Before him, the Halcyon Knight of Fire launched volley after volley of magical conflagrations at a seemingly amorphous fog. Amidst the concentration of otherworldly condensation he could just make out the slimmest view of Illica, the snow fox they’d met earlier before the knight attacked.

Now that he thought on it, he had no memory of her dodging the opening attack, or tumbling down the tunnel with them.

“Now this is entirely unfair!” Pan Diar shouted. “Why can’t I hit you?!”

“Why?” Illica teased, her approach toward the knight entirely unhindered. “I thought Fire Mages always had an answer to everything.”

The tigress shouted in frustration, fires beneath her feet exploding and launching her through the air. She fired off fireballs the entire way, each simply slipping by their target and splashing pointlessly against the cave floor. It didn’t make any sense, no magic she knew of could make someone so seemingly untouchable. Worst of all, her natural empathic gift felt nothing from this approaching oddity, while every other sense she had screamed, ‘Don’t let it touch you.’

She landed, then quickly sprang back to keep distance between the snow fox and herself. She forced the words Illica had spoken to grow louder in her mind, ‘fire mages had an answer to everything.’ The stripes in Pan’s fur made the furrow of her brow all the more prominent, a frustrated growl boiled up from her throat before she closed her eyes and stood up straight, the end of her tail impatiently tapping against the floor. “You know what? You’re right. I ignored it because it seemed kind of a silly idea at first, but seeing how this is turning out? It must be the best answer!”

Two winding serpents of flame slowly twisted their way from her shoulder and over the surface of her arm. Slowly, she held it up and pointed her flat palm toward the ceiling. The magical fires slid up toward her open hand and pooled there, creating a beacon of blazing light.

Blackeye smirked and whispered, “Now’s our chance, Cael. I know exactly what she’s about to do. You still able to lift that cannon of yours?”

Argus thumbed the hammer and turned the barrel of The Thunderhead, “Absolutely.”

The air around them began to bake and the light in Diar’s palm surged, her voice calling forth a familiar spell in a foreign voice, “DRAGON’S CALDERA!” She slammed the ethereal flames down against the floor of the cavern, creating an infernal tsunami in every direction around her.

The captain brought his harpoon down in the motion of a sweeping strike, a deluge of water forming a small barrier around himself and Argus. “NOW ARGUS, HOP ON!” Before the grasshopper could respond, Blackeye thrust his harpoon forward and called out, “SLIPSTREAM!” From the end of his bejeweled weapon a rushing bridge of water began to race toward the offending Halcyon Knight.

Without another thought, Argus sprang onto the water and raced along its length. As he lined up his shot, he could hear Blackeye strain and feel the watery path falter. He didn’t dare look back; he couldn’t miss this chance. Just as the aquatic construct beneath his feet began to fade away, he leapt for all he was worth, his momentum carrying him well past his target. Still in motion, he flipped over in the air; his legs extended for both balance and to cease his turn.

His antenna recoiled at the intense heat below them.

He held his breath to slow his heart and steady his aim.

Seconds turned into an infinity as a single opportunity presented itself.

Pan Diar barely turned in time to see the Thunderhead unleash its power, a massive hand made of clay, exploding out of its flared barrel. The earthen magic broke her concentration instantly and the fire below evaporated as Argus tucked his head and let the top of his shoulders roll onto the ground, followed by the rest of him. Not his tidiest landing, but certainly not a deadly one.

Picking himself up slowly, Argus saw Illica float down into view on a small cushion of fog, and Captain Blackeye moving closer, rubbing his shoulder.

“Damn,” he spoke with some stiffness. “That landing hurt me more than I thought, sorry about that, Mister Cael.”

Argus tried to stand up straight and present himself with propriety, and then very painfully curled in on the sudden throbbing ache in his torso. “Suppose… We’re both worse for wear… Captain.”

Both warriors quickly levied their weapons at the collapsed Knight as she loudly growled and set fire to her bindings. The clay baked and hardened around her body, turning an admittedly lovely shade of earthenware red.

Pan’s fire died down and she sighed, “I hate pottery…”

A few moments passed and Illica saw Argus and Blackeye share a curious glance before going back to watching the downed knight. “Are the two of you waiting for something?”

“Aye,” Blackeye said without looking up. “Usually these youngins pull a little vanishin’ act when they can’t fight no more.”

“What say you dear,” Argus cut in. “Has your tiresome toad of a leader finally abandoned one of you to the cause?”

The tigress was still for a few seconds before squirming under her rigid confines. “Nope,” her voice returned to a seemingly ineffable calm. “I’m just not done yet.”

Blackeye scoffed, “Darlin’ if you think for one second you’re gettin’ past the three of us to the Aspect, you got another thing comin’.”

“Very true, I’d never get past all three of you. In fact, with your experience and abilities, I’m completely outmatched. Also, since Vizier Bulfo hates sending out too many of us at a time, I can’t expect reinforcement. But see, I figured something out.” She squirmed around a bit more, managing to turn her gaze toward Illica. “You… You’re not really here… That’s why I couldn’t hit you or feel you even while you’re standing right in front of me. So I got to thinking, ‘If I can see you but not touch or sense you, what are you?’”

Pan Diar’s fist exploded through the baked clay, a Mobius Glass firmly clutched within. “You’re the wind.”

Argus tore the ground beneath his feet as he jumped toward Illica to push her out of the way, only to pass right through her and tumble to the ground. He could only watch as the entirety of her being became a narrow band of vapor, inhaled by the small magical artifact.

Blackeye thrust his harpoon as hard as he could, shattering through the hardened clay, just grazing the tigress as a Dark Vault opened beneath her.

Once she’d vanished, a victorious little titter from her hung in the air far longer than either of them would’ve liked.

Then something else came, something gradual but not beyond notice. The air felt wrong as they breathed, not thin, but still missing something they knew it should have needed.

Blackeye sighed. “Old Poda did tell us there’s more’n one way for’em to get what they need.”

Argus felt heavy as he stood back up. He looked to the half destroyed clay hand and said, “I never would’ve guessed it could take the shape of a person…”

“That’s the way of the world, Mister Cael. Always throwin’ you a rogue wave or a sudden squall.” There was a solid moment of loud rumbling above them. “And we ain’t in calm waters just yet.”

He made a small noise in agreement before looking around and seeing one of his small magic ampoules in the distance. “You go on ahead, Captain. I need to find my cultures; some of them fell out of my bag on our way down here.”

Blackeye nodded firmly then made his way toward the exit.

As Argus did his best to suppress feelings of dismay and failure for later review, he walked over to the small glass vial and tried focusing instead on feelings of pride that his glasswork held up as well as he’d hoped. Then he saw something just beyond it that made all of that go away.

The softly glowing patch of flowers, thriving in a place with no natural sunlight, would be enough to give him pause on their own. But what they’d grown around, what they came to cradle in the course of time, was clearly a very old skull. One that made Argus wish he was less observant, and less able to identify species and genus from bone structure alone.

The weight of emotion on his heart brought him down to one knee. He closed his eyes and bowed his head, recalling a soft prayer he’d heard once in his travels. Whatever Illica had been, a willful ghost or the power of a god using the visage of a dead traveler to defend itself, he knew in his heart she most assuredly deserved better.

He scooped up the vial, straightened himself as best he could, and let these revelations become fuel to the fire of his resolve.

<[Chapter 36]–[Index]–[Chapter 38]>