#like okay. the torso was hard enough with two angled white patches on her stomach

[sweet-as-kiwis]

I’m crocheting my friend a plushie of her cat rn and I am LOOSING MY GOSH DIDDLY DARN MIND

[userlando]

my secret (tom holland x fem!reader nsfw)

(gif credit) summary: during an impromptu sleepover with your friends, you can’t help but sneak into tom’s room for a late night rendezvous. pairing: tom holland / female reader. wordcount: 2,942 words warnings: penetrative sex and fingering, unprotected sex, biting, kissing, swearing. a/n: figures that my inspiration disappears for almost two years only to come back while I’m messing around on my phones notes app. sorry for any mistakes, this was written and rewritten on my phone and it’s the first thing i’ve written in a long while. all feedback is appreciated!! also, this is as usual dedicated to @babylevines i love love love you x

♡ ♡ ♡ ♡

You cracked the door open, squinting your eyes in the dark while praying silently that the door wouldn’t creak like it usually did as you pushed it open enough to slip through. After the telltale click of it closing sounded, you took a second to adjust to the darkness with bated breath; Trying to find the sleeping body of Tom in bed.

It didn’t take you long to spot him, tangled up in the crisp white sheets as he snoozed on his back with his arms spread wide over the king sized bed. You almost felt bad for even having the thought of waking him up, but you hadn’t had your hands on him for five days and it was torture to sit through the entire evening among your friends, hanging out while he was giving you subtle stares across the room that made your heart race ridiculously fast. There was only so much playful sexting you could take before you combusted.

With that thought in your mind, you quickly slipped your basketball shorts off your legs and threw them somewhere on the floor.

You snuck up to the bed, finding a spot on the mattress where you could place your knee as you heaved yourself up with a huff. Tom let out a small sleepy hum at the feel of the mattress dipping and you had just enough time to straddle him gently before his eyes cracked open, sleepy and disoriented.

“Y/n? What-?” He cut himself off, voice hoarse and dripping in confusion. “You okay? What’s goin’ on?”

It was dark in the room, but you could see as he lifted his head to glance around the room, eyes settling on you in pure confusion and a little worry. It made you smile. His eyebrows furrowed but you didn’t miss the way his hands immediately found your hips, gripping them in a way that had you grinding down on his crotch just to get some sort of friction.

“Fuck.” He swore loudly, disturbing the quiet in the room and you dipped down to catch his lips with yours; To silence him and to silence the voice in your head, screaming at you to kiss him.

He replied in gusto, opening his mouth as soon as your tongue touched his lip. The taste of sleep, of him, made your thighs clench around his hips and you couldn’t stop the small whimper from slipping out.

It wasn’t hard to coax him into a short make out session, but you could still feel the confusion in his movements so you pulled back just enough to look him in the eyes. He was breathing hard, tilting his chin up to steal another kiss from your mouth and the gesture made you smile, teeth biting down on your lower lip.

“Everyone’s asleep.” You said, watching as his eyes flickered from yours to momentarily look at the clock on the nightstand.

He’d only been asleep for three hours, having gone to bed before the movie had ended in the living area. You’d stayed up with your other friends to finish it, slipping in some deep, late night talk before you all called it a night. You’d shared the guest bed with Zendaya, but sleep hadn’t come to you as easily as it had come to her.

You’d been too on edge, trying to plan out how you could sneak off to Tom’s room without everyone else hearing. But you’d succeeded, and it was all worth it.

“They’ll hear us, won’t they?” Tom whispered, and you almost laughed at the way his eyebrows furrowed as his hips seemed to automatically grind up against yours. “Fuck, you’re gorgeous.”

The unexpected compliment made your face heat up and you were quick to bury it in his neck, pulling a deep breath before closing your mouth around a patch of skin right between the juncture of his neck and shoulder, sucking hard. He squirmed, clearly ticklish but it still made him let out a small moan that vibrated against your cheek.

“They won’t hear us if we’re quiet.” You mumbled.

Tom tightened his grip on your hip before twisting you so you were laying side by side instead and you peered up at him as he heaved himself up so he could support his weight on his elbow.

“Alright, miss noisy.” He gave you a grin, along with a quick bop of his finger against your nose and you narrowed your eyes at him.

Before you could protest, say that you weren’t the only noisy one, he’d let the same hand wander up your naked thigh; Like he was taking in the softness of your skin. You glanced at it at the same time he did, and you held your breath when it traveled up your stomach and beneath your loose t-shirt. Your heart picked up its pace as he circled your belly button, lightly tickling you just to hear your small intake of breath. He let out a crude curse when he cupped your breast, pinching a nipple between his thumb and forefinger before twisting it in a way that had you squirming, back arching.

“Please.” You whispered, bucking your hips toward him but he only watched you with an amused tilt of his lips. The bastard was enjoying this a little too much.

He gave your other nipple the same amount of attention before dipping his head down to kiss you, licking hotly into your mouth.

“Bloody hell, darling,” He huffed out a small laugh, spanning his fingers across the side of your torso before slipping around you and into the flimsy material of your cotton panties. “Do you have any idea what you do to me? Every time you sit across from me, looking so innocent and absolutely delicious? Drives me nuts.”

He tightens his grip on your ass cheek in a bruising way and you can’t help but slip your hands into his hair to bring his lips toward yours in a sloppy kiss. You let him fall on his back and move to straddle him once again, refusing to back down when he tried to break your kiss to protest.

He gave up easily when you bit his lip, reaching your hands down to clumsily push your underwear down and throwing them somewhere behind you before resettling on his lap. There was no doubt that he could feel your heat against his covered crotch, and that alone made you clench.

“Remember last night?” You whispered and any other day you’d be embarrassed by how breathless you sounded.

He let out a small hum when you put your palms against his naked pectorals, raking your nails down with a pressure you knew would get him going. It took him a while to gather his thoughts, but then he looked up at you, eyes eager and heated.

“Gonna have to be a little more specific, darling.” He laughed, voice hushed.

You shot him a grin and leaned down so you could kiss his throat, right above his Adam’s apple that bobbed when he swallowed heavily.

“Last night when we texted, I said that I needed you inside me,” Your voice was low as you kissed up his sharp jawline. “And you said-“

“- I’d fuck you so hard you’d forget your own name.” He finished for you, hands coming up to surround your face in a firm grip.

Your mouth dropped open right as he went in for the kiss, rendering you speechless for a full minute before the need became too much to ignore.

“Are you going to carry out your promise, sweetheart?” You asked, earning a nip of teeth to your lip.

Tom didn’t reply, one hand leaving your hip to touch your pussy, testing out how wet you were and if he needed to prep you. His face contorted in concentration as he pulled out his finger, working quickly with the same hand to pull himself out of his sweatpants without jostling you too much.

“You know I always keep my promises.” He gave you a chaste kiss, sounding all too cocky and you couldn’t stop the moan ripping from your throat as you felt him breach you a moment later. “Quiet, my love.”

You braced your hands on either side of his head, fingers gripping the sheets in a tight grip as you pushed back onto his cock. He was clearly trying to hold back as to not hurt you, but you were way past the point of caring or waiting.

Your eyes screwed shut as he finally sunk into you and Tom moaned into your ear when you ground down on him, raising your hips the best you could before taking him in again in a rhythm that made his breath stutter against your lips.

It wasn’t lost on you how absolutely gorgeous Tom was, thinking back to the first time when Zendaya had brought you along a pub night and you’d met him. There had been an instant attraction that was undeniable and from then on it had been constant texting and late night phone calls in the quiet of your room, disturbing your roommates without a question.

Within those six months, you’d seen him when he was lounging at home with sweatpants, in a suit for whatever red carpet event he attended, naked in all his glory and even dressed up when there was any kind of event that required it. But this, this was your favourite view of them all.

He stretched his head back on the pillow, making an indent on it as he let out something akin to a moaning hum when you sat up straight to ride him at a better angle. His eyes were scrunched shut, teeth buried into his bottom lip and his hands scrambled to grab a hold of your hips - urging you to move faster.

He looked downright obscene with his throat on display, breathing harshly through his nose as he tried to control his urge to hammer into you like a deprived man.

“I - oh, I needed this.” You whispered out, a sharp gasp evading you when he thrust up so suddenly that you had to lean forward to steady yourself on his heaving chest. “Tommy!”

You knew you were being too loud. You knew that you were on the brink of exposing your relationship that you’d worked hard to keep a secret from your friends. And Tom still had enough sanity to realise it because he was quick to slide his hands up your back, bringing you flush against his chest before rolling the two of you over. It wasn’t smooth and the awkwardness made you snicker as he slipped out of you. He snorted unattractively and it set your uncontrollable giggling off.

“Don’t laugh at me,” He tried to pout but the smile on his face said otherwise as he leaned forward to kiss you, burying his face in your shoulder after. “I’m trying to be sexy and smooth.”

You gasped momentarily as he guided himself into you again, arms and legs wrapping around him and mouth finding his shoulder to nip on when he started thrusting slowly, deeply.

“The smoothest.” You teased, smile evident in your voice.

Tom brought one of his free hands back up your thigh and the shock of the smack he landed on your left ass cheek made you jump with a yelp.

“Brat.” He murmured huskily against your ear, kissing right beneath it to soften the reprimand.

He thrusted forward and hit a particularly good spot that had you whimpering pathetically.

“Mmm, you love it.” You had to have the last word, and Tom seemed to secretly enjoy it because he steadied himself on one arm and grabbed your thigh with the other, picking up pace as he started fucking you in a toe curling fashion.

The perfect angle that he knew would make you inch closer to climax, with the help of his crotch rubbing right against your clit with every thrust of his hips.

A creaking sound made you perk your ears up and you quickly realised that it wasn’t coming from inside of the room. Rather, outside in the hallway. You instantly put your hand on Tom’s shoulder and the other one on his mouth he’d opened as he panted. His eyes opened and searched yours, eyebrows scrunching together.

“Someone’s outside.” You whispered, trying to get your breathing under control as you heard the telltale creak of the bathroom door down the hall.

Tom licked against the palm of your hand and the wetness had you snatching it away with a startled gasp, a giggle escaping the both of you as you looked at each other.

“It’s probably Harrison and his microscopic bladder.” He rolled his eyes with a grin, pushing himself up carefully as to not rustle the sheets too loudly.

Your eyes fluttered shut for a second when you felt him move inside you and you couldn’t help but clench down on his cock, a breathy moan tumbling from your lips.

“Do you want to get caught, naughty girl?” He raised his eyebrows in a teasing manner, placing both of his hands on either side of your hips.

You hummed, but the both of you knew that the reason you’d kept your relationship a secret for so long was partly because of the thrill. There was nothing better than sneaking around whenever you saw an opportunity, keeping your hands to yourself in public or among your friends like you were nothing but acquaintances. It had been all for fun at first before the both of you realised that you wanted more, so you decided that it’d be best to explore it in secret and see where that took you.

It wouldn’t be the end of the world if you were caught by any of your friends, but there was a mutual agreement that you’d sneak around until that day came.

“Wish I could take a picture of you like this,” Tom said lowly, hands sliding up your skin and pulling your shirt up with them until your entire chest was exposed to his eyes only. “Lying on my bed, half naked with your tits out and your hair a mess. Aching for my cock. I can feel it. You want to come, don’t you, sweetheart?”

He pushed your shirt up so it laid comfortably rolled up beneath your chin, fingers pinching your nipples as he started thrusting again.

“Just like that.” Was all you managed to whisper, bringing a hand down to rub at your clit to speed things along.

“Fuck, you feel so good.”

He fucked into you, pushing you up the bed as he leaned forward to bury his head in your chest. His arms wrapped around your body, fingers digging into your back to pull you into him as he drove forward.

Your orgasm took you by surprise, a guttural moan tearing its way out of your mouth as every nerve came alive in your body; Toes curling and stomach spasming.

Tom whispered out your name and that was the only warning you got before he pulled out, balancing his weight on one elbow as he jerked himself off and came right over your pussy. You weakly buried your hands in his hair, feeling him shake as he rode out the last of his orgasm before collapsing on top of you, mess be damned.

His face was as warm as his puffs of breaths on your neck and you turned your head to press small kisses against his hair.

“I needed that.” He murmured, sounding sleepy and content. Much like a cat.

“Me too.”

The both of you laid there until the mess on your lower half of your body started feeling tacky and uncomfortable. Tom heaved himself up with great difficulty but you stopped him when he swung his legs over the edge to get off the bed; Clearly intending to get a towel so he could clean you off.

“It’s alright, Tommy. I need to go to the bathroom on my way back anyway.” You assured him and he nodded, a grateful and sleepy smile gracing his flushed face.

You got up from the bed, having to support yourself with a hand on his shoulder for a second to avoid falling because of your wobbly legs. A huffed laugh sounded from behind you and you rolled your eyes, refusing to turn around to see his smug smile, opting to find your panties and shorts instead.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, then.” You whispered after you’d sorted yourself out long enough to make a trip to the bathroom without risking any awkward encounters.

Tom nodded, beckoning you forward with his arms and you didn’t hesitate to walk into them. He wrapped his arms around you, laying his head against your chest.

“Can’t you just sleep here?” He sounded whiny, and you pulled back with a laugh to look at him.

“I can,” You brushed a lock of damp hair away from his forehead and bent down to kiss him. “But where’s the fun in that?”

His laughter was the last thing you heard as you shut his door behind you, taking a moment to calm your heart before making your way to the bathroom.

The clock was 3:56am by the time you crawled under the bedsheets, feeling exhaustion crawling over your body after the nights event. Zendaya was silent, sleeping with her back turned to you and you let your eyes close shut; Fully intending on having a good dream when your friend sighed.

“You guys aren’t as discreet as you think you are.”

[queenxxxsupreme]

What Consumes Us (biker!Geralt)

Chapter 4

A/N: This might get a little confusing but I think I did a decent job explaining things towards the end. Let me know if you have any questions or if anything needs to be clarified and I will work on doing better!! HUGE HUGE HUGE thank you to my beta babe @jensensjaredsandmishaslover!!! You’ve been handling my neediness so well and I appreciate you so much!!!! Also want to give a huge shout out to @justyouraveragemainblog you are such a brilliant and talented person and I really really really appreciate you letting me bounce ideas off of you and the way you help me with my writer’s block!!!! You are absolutely amazing

Warnings: blood, gunshot wound, nothing too gory

Word Count: 4.4k

Here is the masterlist for What Consumes Us

Romina laughed, throwing her head back as she held on to Jaskier’s arm. 

“Jask, I can’t believe you’d do that.” 

“Yeah, yeah. You don’t have to laugh so hard.” Jaskier muttered, though he was grinning from ear to ear. 

He just finished telling her a story about how he accidentally called one his professors dad earlier in the day. They walked down the street in the direction of Romina’s apartment. It had been two days since she last worked at Aretuza, so they were taking advantage of her free time. They spent the whole day going in and out of different stores, shopping here and there when they found things they liked. 

“Was the professor hot?” Romina gathered herself enough to ask him the question. 

“He is a solid six on my older than fifty scale.”

Jaskier’s reply caused Romina to burst out into laughter again. Jaskier glanced over his shoulder. He felt like they were being followed, like someone was watching them that shouldn’t have been watching them.

“What are you looking at?” Romina looked in the direction he had looked. There was no one behind them.

“Doesn’t it feel weird tonight? Like someone’s watching us?” He asked quietly, leaning in to whisper to her. The smile fell from her lips as she tightened her grip around his arm. 

“I’ve felt like that for the last week.” She admitted. Her eyes now scanned the sidewalk ahead of them, looking carefully for anything lurking in the shadows cast by the street lamps. 

“Really? Why haven’t you told me?” Jaskier drew his brows together. 

“It’s been since I was jumped Monday night. I figured it was just me being paranoid.” She shrugged her shoulders. 

“Did you ever go to the police about it?”

“No.” She sighed.

“Well that’s your first mistake. You said one of the guys knew your name. He called you out by name so he had to have been following you beforehand.”

“I know, Jask. I’ve thought a lot about how he could possibly know my name.”

“Then why haven’t you gone to the police yet?” 

“Because I…. I just haven’t.”

A hand suddenly clasped Romina’s arm just as they passed an alley. A high pitched squeal escaped her lips but another hand covered her mouth.

“What the hell!” Jaskier shouted as she was pulled out of his arms. 

“Shh, Romina.” A familiar voice whispered into her ear. His hot breath tickled her neck. She quit struggling against his grip as he slowly released her. She spun around, eyes wide and still full of panic, to face the white haired man.

“What the hell is your problem!”

“Keep your voice down-,”

“Are you fucking psychotic or something!” Romina didn’t lower her voice as she stepped away from Geralt. “You don’t just grab someone like that, you fucking asshole!”

“You know this man?” Jaskier gestured to Geralt. The former had his phone out, ready to call the police. Romina didn’t answer his question. She was too busy trying to catch her breath. 

“You’re being followed.” Geralt told her, ignoring Jaskier’s stare.

“Yeah, by you!”

“No, not just me.” He moved passed Romina and Jaskier to stand at the edge of the alley. He held his hand out to tell Romina to stay where she was as he looked down the sidewalk in the direction the duo had come from. “Fuck.” He cursed through his teeth.

“Who is it?” Romina asked, pushing aside how badly she wanted to cuss the man out. She could sense something wasn’t right. 

“Who do you think?” He muttered under his breath. “Come on. You don’t live far from here.”

“Come on, Jaskier.” Romina wrapped her fingers around his wrist and pulled him with her. Geralt settled with walking directly behind Romina. She looked over her shoulder and tried to look past Geralt, but he wouldn’t let her.

“Keep your eyes ahead of you. I’ve got your back.”

“What the bloody hell is going on?” Jaskier looked at Romina with wide eyes. 

“I might have joined a cult.” She admitted quietly. 

“Oh my gods-,”

A gunshot echoed through the air and Geralt hissed. Romina came to a stop, turning to see what had happened.

“Don’t stop until you get to your apartment.” Geralt gave her a firm shove. She stumbled a little but refused to leave him. He turned just in time to dodge what looked like a knife that was swung for his head. Romina gasped, her hand coming up to cover her mouth as she watched the fight unfold. Jaskier moved to stand beside her. He was confused and didn’t know what was happening, but he couldn’t look away from the fight. 

Geralt did a good job at dodging every swing, every stab, and every kick aimed his way. It wasn’t until someone came from behind Romina and grabbed her that he lost his focus. An arm wrapped around her torso completely, pinning her arms to her sides. A hand slapped over her mouth, retching her head at an awkward angle to the left. A woman came to stand between Romina and Jaskier, holding a gun up to the man when he made an attempt to go after Romina. 

Romina managed to grab ahold of whoever was holding her captive. Her hand latched on to their outer thigh, fingers digging into the material of their jeans. The clothing her hand touched began to turn burn away until her hand met the man’s thigh. A pained cry escaped his lips and he released her. Romina fell to her knees, her chest rising and falling heavily. She looked behind her in search of the man but he was gone. 

Jaskier and the woman holding the gun to him were both looking at Romina, their eyes wide and slightly panicked. Romina tried to get to her feet but her head spun and breathing became difficult. Her vision went black and she crashed to the sidewalk.

***

The sound of a door practically slamming shut made Romina jolt awake. When she opened her eyes, she saw Geralt. He was placing her down on the sofa in her apartment. 

“Shit.” She cursed as she tried to move. Every muscle and bone in her body ached. 

“Oh my gods, you’re bleeding.”

Romina, thinking he was talking about her, quickly forced herself to sit up. She started to search her body for any injuries, but there were none. She lifted her head to see Geralt moving towards the door. 

“Geralt, wait!” She stood to her feet, holding on the arm of the chair for balance. He turned back to her. One of his hands was tucked under his opposite arm. Red seeped through his fingers. “Come-Come sit, please.”

“I’m fine.” He muttered and turned back to leave.

“Geralt, please.” 

Hearing the soft tone in her voice, one he didn’t have the pleasure of hearing before, made him stop once more. He sighed heavily before closing the door and turning to her.

“I’ll call an ambulance.” Jaskier suggested.

“No, you won’t.” Geralt took a step towards him. Romina moved to stand in the white haired man’s way. 

“Jaskier, put the phone away.” She looked to her best friend. He opened his mouth to object but decided against it. The man looked dangerous but Romina seemed to trust him. 

“Fine.” Jaskier muttered, putting his phone into the pocket of his jacket. Romina turned her attention to Geralt, who, for a split second, let the facade that he was okay slip. His brows were drawn together and his eyes shut. Romina placed her hand on his arm. His amber eyes opened and found her brown ones.

“Sit.” She ushered, motioning to the end of the sofa closest to him. “Jask, get me the first-aid kit underneath the sink in the bathroom.”

As Jaskier went to get the kit, Romina looked back to Geralt.

“Where are you hurt?” She asked him. He was leaning forward with his hand still holding his side.

Reluctantly, he pulled his hand away to reveal a hole in his black shirt. 

“Is your ego too big for me to patch you up?” She asked him. He grunted at her, rolling his eyes. “I’ll take that as a no. Lose the shirt.”

He looked up at her with a shocked gaze, like he didn’t expect her to ask that of him. He muttered something under his breath.

“What was that? I couldn’t hear you.” Romina’s tone was teasing.

“This is the third time in less than a week that I’ve saved your ass.”

“Is not.” Romina’s voice was quiet. As he pulled his shirt up to take it off, she could see black ink and pale skin. She turned her back to him, giving him what little privacy she could. But when she thought about it, she wasn’t sure why she turned around. She’d end up having to look at him anyways.

“I’m going to bleed on your couch.” He grunted.

“Gang members have blood everywhere, don’t they?” She turned to face him. He snorted and rolled his eyes. 

She was frozen in place at the sight of the shirtless man. He always wore long sleeves so she never got a chance to see the tattoos covering his arms. There were a few on his stomach too. Before she was able to depict what was on his skin, Jaskier was walking back into the room.

“My gods, you are a masterpiece.”

“Jaskier.” Romina widened her eyes at him. He passed her the first aid kit. 

“Is this your boyfriend?” Geralt nodded to Jaskier. 

“Gods, no.” Romina shook her head. Jaskier squinted his eyes at her. “He’s a, uh, a friend.”

“The same one who didn’t walk you home Monday night when you were nearly kidnapped?”

“Why don’t you just stop talking and let me fix you up?” Romina muttered. She settled on her knees by his feet. “Turn to the side so I can reach your side.”

“First you complain that I talk too little, now you complain that I talk too much.”

“I’m not complaining yet.” 

As Romina pulled out a pair of latex gloves and an alcohol pad, she let her eyes wander over his torso. There were two lions on his upper chest. The one over his heart was a lion that looked like it was roaring. On the other side was a lioness doing the same action. 

Her eyes flickered up to his face only to see he was looking down at her. Her cheeks flushed as she looked back to the wound. 

“Is there anything I can do?” Jaskier asked but the second he saw the bloody wound, he heaved and placed his hand over his mouth. 

“Go take a walk out in the hall, Jask.” Romina looked over her shoulder to him. His face was pale. “Get some fresh air.” 

“I can-I can do that.” He nodded his head and made his way to the door.

Romina looked back to the wound. With her gloved hand, she reached around his side to feel for another injury.

“What are you doing?” He shifted a little away from her.

“You were shot. I’m looking for an entrance wound because the only one I see is an exit wound.”

“How do you know that?”

“I was a paramedic in Kaedwen.” She found what she was looking for when he hissed through his teeth. She had found the entrance wound. She opened up the alcohol wipe and started to clean the exit wound.

This gave her a chance to look at the tattoo across his abdomen. There was a deer skull that took up the majority of his toned stomach. The top of one antler rested just underneath his left nipple and the other antler was beneath his right one. Above the skull was a symbol Romina had seen before. It was the weird wolf symbol Geralt had on the back of the leather jacket he often wore.

“Your heart’s racing.” He commented. 

“I-I’m trying to wrap my head around…. around what just happened.”

He said nothing. 

“Are Witchers required to have the gang logo tattooed on them?” She raised a brow, taking the chance to look up at him through her lashes. She needed to talk, to have some sort of conversation that would take her mind away from Geralt being shot. 

“Many do.” He admitted quietly. He was surprised she recognized the Witcher symbol. “It’s a sign of loyalty.”

“I think it’s stupid.”

“You say that now, but in six months when Calanthe accepts you, you’ll be getting one for her.”

Romina’s eyes widened as she looked up at him.

“What?”

“I don’t know a Hellcat that doesn’t have one.” He kept his voice low so he wouldn’t chance anyone hearing their conversation. In all honesty, he would never talk like this with anyone else. Romina fell silent for a while as she worked on cleaning his wounds and applying gauze.

“I’m surprised you aren’t bleeding more.” She commented. “It practically stopped by the time I got to it.”

“Witchers heal quicker than humans.”

“Witchers are humans.” Romina looked up at him. “Just different. They keep…. They keep everyone safe from things like Bruxas and Leshen.”

“Not many care to know that.”

“Well, that’s the only thing I remember about my father.” She smiled tightly. “On the rare occasions I’d see him…. he would tell me stories about his hunts.” He fell silent. The door to the apartment opened. Jaskier slipped in and closed the door behind himself.

“We might have a teeny weeny problem.” He whispered loudly. Romina looked back to him, pulling her hands away from Geralt.

“What is it, Jaskier?”

“I need to go.” Geralt stood up suddenly and tugged his shirt on.

“Why?” Romina furrowed her brows together, standing to her feet.

“There are cops here.” Jaskier answered her. Romina stepped in front of Geralt to stop him from moving. There was a knock on the door. Geralt shifted his weight like he was debating on leaving.

“I can handle it.” She told him, looking up at him. “Just stay here.”

As badly as he wanted to go, he didn’t. He stayed where she stopped him and watched her move towards the door. She took a deep breath before opening the door. A tall older man with graying hair stood with a younger man, one with familiar blue eyes.

“Good evening, ma’am.” The older man greeted. “I am Det. Banic. I’m here with my partner doing a wellness check. We received a few calls that there have been shots fired in the area.”

Romina had trouble looking away from the younger man behind him. She furrowed her brows at him.

“I-I’m sorry. Do I know you?”

“I don’t believe so, ma’am.” He put on a charming smile as he spoke. The second she heard his voice, she recognized him. He was one of the men who had attempted to kidnap her earlier in the week. In fact, he was the one who put his hand over her mouth and said her name.

Geralt, seeing that she was panicking, moved towards her. At the sight of the large man, the two officers took their attention away from Romina.

“All is well here, gentlemen.”

Romina noticed the way the men stiffened up at the sight of the Witcher, like they knew who he was and they were scared of him. The older officer cleared his throat and looked to Romina. 

“Have a good evening, ma’am.” While she stood there, dumbfounded and confused, Geralt closed the door. 

“What-What was-I don’t understand-,” She looked to him. 

“Those men belong to the Black Sun. The one-,”

“He was there Monday.” Romina nodded her head, bringing her hand up to her mouth. “Does that mean that cops are-,”

“Tied to the Black Sun.” Geralt crossed the room and went to the window. He pulled the curtains back just a little to peer down at the street below.

Romina felt a sudden pressure in her chest like something heavy was sitting on her lungs. Tissaia appeared behind Jaskier. Just as the man turned around, Tissaia lifted her hand and blew a white dust into his face. His eyes rolled back into his head and he fell to the floor in a heap.

“What-What the hell did you do?” Romina started to move towards him but Tissaia put her hand up.

“He’s just sleeping.” She turned her head to Geralt. The two shared some sort of silent and brief conversation. Geralt grunted and rolled his eyes. “Geralt will take him to his apartment and then meet us at Aretuza.”

Romina furrowed her eyebrows, watching Geralt pick up Jaskier and put him over his shoulders. She wanted to go with him to ensure that Jaskier made it home safely.

“Come along, little mouse.” Tissaia turned and moved through a portal behind her.

***

As Romina stepped through the portal, her stomach twisted up and she felt nauseous. She placed her hand on her stomach, taking slow and steady deep breaths in an attempt to make the feeling go away.

The portal took her to the break room at Aretuza. Yennefer, Triss, Sabrina, and Vilgefortz were sitting around one of the circular tables. Sitting on the sofa with his ankle crossed over his knee was a man with graying hair and a beard. 

“Have a seat, Romina.” Tissaia gestured to a chair nearby but didn’t look in Romina’s direction.

“Is this…. Is this some sort of meeting?” She looked around at the familiar faces she worked with. Then her eyes flickered to the man on the sofa. Her mouth was dry and her stomach continued to twist up in knots. 

“What happened tonight, Romina?” The unfamiliar man asked her.

“This is Mousesack. He’s here on behalf of the Lioness.” Tissaia told her. “Answer his question.”

Romina looked from Mousesack to Tissaia. Her hands curled into nervous balls by her sides. 

“I-I was walking home with a friend. Geralt came out of nowhere and grabbed me. He said I was being followed.” She paused for a moment to see if anyone would say anything and hopefully take everyone’s attention off of her. But when no one spoke, she continued. “I don’t-I don’t know much of what happened after the gun went off.”

“Who’s gun?” Mousesack asked her.

“I don’t know. I think it was one of them, one of the Suns. Geralt was shot.”

“What do you remember after the gun went off?” 

“I was grabbed and when the guy let me go, I blacked out.” Romina nervously looked to Tissaia. 

A portal appeared in the doorway to the break room. Geralt stepped out, glancing briefly around the room to see who was present.

“Witcher.” Mousesack clasped his hands together in front of himself. “So nice of you to finally join us.”

He grunted in reply. 

“I shouldn’t stay long.” Mousesack started to make his way towards the door, moving swiftly between tables and chairs. As he passed Romina, he stopped, eyeballing her more carefully up close. He didn’t look pleased. He continued on towards the door, stopping only to pull it open and turn back to Tissaia. “Calanthe won’t be too thrilled when I tell her what happened tonight. We’ll be in touch.”

Tissaia held her hands in front of her waist, twisting a ring on her index finger as she waited for the door to shut. Blue eyes flickered to Geralt.

“What happened tonight will not happen again.”

Geralt shifted his weight from one foot to the other but said nothing in reply.

“She is your responsibility.”

“I can’t control her, Tissaia.” He spoke calmly, his voice deep and quiet. “She can’t even control herself.”

“A member of the Black Sun died tonight because you didn’t do your job.” Tissaia’s voice was sharp. “We’d be lucky if when Cahir finds out, he doesn’t retaliate.”

The Witcher locked his jaw. Romina could see the frustration in his yellow eyes as he silently took her words in. 

“Who died?” She murmured quietly, her brows drawing together. 

Tissaia let out a sigh through her nose and turned her head to Romina.

“The man who grabbed you. You placed your hand upon him and he was reduced to dust.” Romina inhaled sharply. She looked down at her hands. Her fingers trembled just slightly from her nerves. 

“May as well tell her now.” Yennefer muttered under her breath, sitting back in her seat. Tissaia looked to the mage. She was irritated with the events of the night. 

“Leave.”

With the simple command, Yennefer, Triss, Sabrina, and Vilgefortz left the room. Geralt made no effort to follow them. Tissaia lifted her chin up just a little as she brought her eyes to him. He grunted from deep within his chest. It almost sounded like a growl. Romina watched him leave the break room. Tissaia moved to sit at a table, crossing her knees and folding her hands in her lap. She closed her eyes for a moment.

Romina took the chance to move to a nearby table. She sat down and placed her hands on her thighs.

“You know you are different than those around you.” Tissaia spoke softly. “You’ve felt it since you were young. Have you not?”

The brunette looked down at her hands. Her fingers curled into her thighs. Her vision started to blur with tears.

“Don’t cry, little mouse. Tears will do you no good.”

“I-I never thought anything of it, you know?” Romina whispered. “I just felt…. I felt out of place. Like I never fit in. My mom always told me it was just because I…. because I was special.” She furrowed her brows at the word.

“Indeed you are. You have yet to meet Cirilla, the Lioness’ granddaughter. She’s a Source, just like you. And just like you, Elder Blood flows through her veins.”

“Elder Blood?”

“You’ve heard stories of Lara Dorren, Romina.”

Romina turned her head to see her mother, Emmaline, entering the room. Romina jumped to her feet and hastily went to her mother, wrapping her arms around Emmaline tightly.

“I-I don’t know-I don’t know what’s going on, mom.” She cried, stuffing her face into the comforts of Emmaline’s shoulder.

“I’ll explain everything to you, sweetheart. But you need to calm down.” Emmaline pulled away from Romina and guided her to a chair closer to Tissaia. “Lovely to see you, Tissaia.”

The Rectress nodded her head once in acknowledgement.

“What have you told her?” Emmaline sat down beside Romina.

“I haven’t gotten into the details of anything. If you’d like me to leave-,”

“Please, stay.” Emmaline cut her off. “You might answer things better than me.”

Romina’s eyes were focused on the floor. Though she heard them talking, she didn’t know what they were saying. It was all muffled noise.

She killed a man. She killed him simply by laying her hand on him. Guilt pooled in the pit of her stomach and breathing became difficult. The weight on her chest returned, but this was different. This was remorse and regret.

A hand on her shoulder made her flinch back to reality. Emmaline was looking at her with tender blue eyes. Her blonde hair was done in a neat braid over the side of her shoulder. The crows feet by her eyes appeared as she offered her daughter a sad smile.

“I should’ve told you of your heritage a long time ago, sweetheart.” Emmaline brought her eyes to Tissaia. “Where to start?” She thought out loud.

“At the beginning.” Tissaia suggested.

Emmaline nodded.

“You’ve always been told stories of monsters and magic.” She brushed her hand over Romina’s hair. “But you’ve been taught that you weren’t a part of that world.”

“But I am.” Romina whispered. “Tissaia said I’m not a mage yet. That means I will be at some point.”

“That is true. But you won’t be just any mage, darling. You’d be stronger.”

“You’d be a Source.” Tissaia said, her eyes watching Romina. Should the young woman show any signs of distress, the Rectress needed to be prepared to stop her overwhelmed emotions from wreaking havoc. 

“The Lioness, Calanthe, is a distant relative of ours, Romina.” Emmaline’s hand fell from Romina’s hair to her knee. “We share the same great-grandparents. Our family is known for carrying the Elder Blood gene. Cirilla, the Lioness’ granddaughter, is a Source.”

“But what does any of this have to do with the Black Sun? Why are they following me? Why do they want me?” Romina crinkled her brows together. Emmaline let out a soft sigh, pulling her hands into her own lap.

“Cahir is your uncle. His brother is your father.”

Romina said nothing for a while as she stared at her mother. 

“Why was I kept from knowing he had any siblings?”

“Because Cahir is not someone you want to know, Romina. He slaughters and butchers anyone in his wake.”

“Cahir said the other day that he was business partners with dad.” Romina looked over to Tissaia. “What did he mean by that?”

“Barrett was a Witcher.” Tissaia started. “Are you aware of what they are?”

“A-A gang…. right? Just like you. Just like the Hellcats. Geralt is part of them.”

“Indeed he is, but they aren’t a gang. They’re more than that. They are raised from a young age to hunt monsters, to protect the humans from creatures that lurk in the dark. Once they’ve finished their training, Witchers are released into the world to do as they please. Some join other groups while others stick to themselves and only care about making money from their hunts. Geralt, for example, is considered family to us. So was Barrett.”

Romina brought her gaze down to her hands. 

“You shouldn’t stay long, Emmaline.” Tissaia said. “Cahir has had spies lurking around, watching Romina.”

Emmaline nodded her head.

“You’ve had a long night, love.” She rubbed her daughter’s shoulder. “How about you go home and get some rest. In the morning, if you have any questions, you can come over and see me or call me. I’m always here for you, love.”

Romina softly smiled and nodded her head.

As Emmaline stood up, so did Tissaia. The two met each other’s gaze but neither one said a thing. It was like they were having some sort of conversation without speaking. 

“Thank you for everything, Tissaia.” Emmaline murmured softly. Tissaia nodded once in acknowledgement. Emmaline leaned down to kiss the side of Romina’s head. “Tissaia will ensure you get home safely, love. I can’t stick around for too long. If Cahir thinks I’m friendly with anyone here, then all hell would break loose.”

Romina thought about asking her what she meant but she didn’t. There was too much information she still needed to process, still needed to absorb.

“Okay, mom.”

“I love you, sweetheart.”

“Love you too.” Romina whispered softly. She watched her mom step away from her and then turn to a circular portal opening up just behind her. Tissaia was opening it from her place across the table. The portal closed once Emmaline stepped through it. 

Taglist: @ayamenimthiriel @geralt-yennefer-jeskier @riviawitch3r @hina-chans-stuff @fcgrizi @bloodyinspiredfuck @augustwalking @singeramg @jensensjaredsandmishaslover

[naruwitch]

Code Geass: Paladins of Voltron Chapter 21: The Depths

"Lelouch! Kallen!" Suzaku shouted as he watched in horror as they both disappeared through the wormhole's wall. Rai and Shirley followed shortly after on the other side. Before he could shout further, though, he felt something strike Yoru, and his vision turned black.

Had Suzaku been watching from outside, what had struck hs Lion was the Blue and Yellow Lions, spiraling out of control in the opposite direction of everyone else. The Paladins inside of them screaming in terror the entire time. The three Lions as one collided with the far wormhole wall and disappeared.

o~o

Up above in a crystal blue sky, the wormhole opened its vast purple chasm, and spat the three Lions out, hurtling them towards the icy planet down below.

Though Suzaku was still unconscious, Milly and Rivalz continued to scream as gravity took over, and the three Lions slammed hard into the ice-covered surface. The impact was hard enough to break the ice open, and the three Lions started to sink deep towards the bottom of the planet's sea.

The crash was also hard enough to wake Suzaku up, as the impact nearly sent him flying out of his seat. Miraculously, even without seatbelts of any kind, he remained in place.

When Suzaku's eyes finally adjusted to seeing clearly again, he yelled in shock, seeing only the dark, murky depths surrounding the trio. Warning lights were blaring in red all around him as he tugged a couple of Yoru's controls to try and rouse her.

"Okay, that's not working. Um," Suzaku took a deep breath and then called over the comms, "Rivalz, Milly, you two okay?"

"Well, besides the fact that I got sucked out of a wormhole at light speed, then crash-landed on an ice planet and ended up underwater, doing great," Milly answered back sarcastically.

"Yeah, I'm fine too," Rivalz answered. The Blue Paladin took the time to try and activate one of Polaris's systems, but a warning light was all that answered him upon doing so.

Milly was also trying to wake up Maeraka, but wasn't having any luck, "My main system is down. The crash must have screwed it up. Do either of yours work?"

"Negative," Suzaku answered.

"Yeah, I'm on reserve power. My Lion's pretty much dead in the water," Rivalz grinned, laughing at his pun.

The Purple and Yellow Paladins groaned in frustration.

"This situation's bad enough, Rivalz. Don't make it worse with puns," Milly scolded with a frown.

"I'm just shocked we hit a planet. Didn't Rai tell us that space was 90% empty?" Rivalz asked as the three Lions started sinking past large rock outcroppings.

"Apparently, we got pretty lucky," Milly agreed, "maybe the inhabitants here can help us out, though."

"We should get back in contact with the others immediately," Suzaku said, as he pressed some buttons on the commlink, "Hello, Princess? Lelouch? It's Suzaku. If you can hear me, please respond!" the only thing that came out through the radio was static. Suzaku groaned, "The signal must be out of range."

"Or it's not working at all," Milly said, anxiety in her tone, "I mean, you and Kallen fought Zarkon two-to-one, and from what we could see, it looked like a tough fight."

"Tough? More like awesome! I mean, did you see that cannon Kallen and Aka pulled out? That was cool!" Rivalz exclaimed.

"Fight?" Suzaku breathed out an exhausted laugh, "More like a beatdown. Kallen and I were hitting Zarkon with everything we had, but we barely even made a dent in him. When Kallen pulled that cannon out, I think the only thing that did was surprise him. It honestly didn't look like he had even broken a sweat."

Rivalz gulped loudly on the other end, and Milly's face paled. The two Paladins now really hoped that they wouldn't face Zarkon themselves.

The three briefly braced themselves as they felt their Lions softly land on the ocean bottom.

"Anyway, let's check for damage and get the Lions running," Suzaku ordered.

"Copy that," the other two replied.

Just as Rivalz was about to try some buttons again, to his pleasant surprise, Polaris's lights started to blink on again, the room illuminating in a soft blue glow.

"Oh, good. Polaris is coming back online now. Welcome back, beautiful," he grinned as her head lifted up, and her eyes flashed with light.

Rivalz was also the first to realize that they weren't the only ones down at the bottom, as a humanoid figure suddenly swam out of view of Polaris's lights.

The Blue Paladin blinked, "Uh... guys, did-did you just see something swim by?"

"What?" Suzaku asked, sounding confused.

"No, I didn't see anything," Milly added.

Swallowing the small knot of fear that was forming in his stomach, Rivalz turned Polaris's head to the left. He saw the same creature again but managed to get a good look at her figure, and he gasped.

"No way!" he exclaimed, "Guys, this is going to sound crazy, but I think I just saw a mermaid."

"Wait, what?" Suzaku asked, sounding shocked.

"Okay, Rivalz, how hard did you bang your head when we hit the planet?" Milly asked skeptically.

"No, I'm serious!" Rivalz shouted in frustration, only to yelp when he spotted the mermaid swim by again, Polaris's head following it. "Look! There it is again!" Rivalz was trying so desperately to keep his eye on the creature, that he was having Polaris swim around in literal circles. "Hey, come here! Where you going?" Suddenly the mermaid made an angled swim upward, causing Polaris to do a backward somersault before she finally stopped. "Hey, slow down!"

"Rivalz, careful!" Suzaku shouted, "We have to stay focused and get to the others... You're outside of your Lion," Suzaku frowned as he watched the Blue Paladin manually leave his Lion to swim closer to the mermaid.

"I know we have to find the others. I'm just saying maybe this thing can help," Rivalz told them as he looked back at them. "Also, it's a mermaid. A mermaid! Come on, let's find it."

"Hey, wait up!" Milly exclaimed as Rivalz started swimming the direction the mermaid disappeared to. She quickly exited Maeraka to catch up with Suzaku reluctantly following behind.

Once the two caught up the Blue Paladin, Suzaku activated his gauntlet, and a blue light appeared from the end. He shined it around the rock formations that surrounded them, and eventually, the glow did fall on the mermaid in the distance. She seemed to be waiting for them to follow her.

"Come on!" Rivalz exclaimed once they spotted her, his jetpack spurting him forward. Milly and Suzaku were quick to follow, Suzaku still shining the flashlight. The mermaid weaved around the rocks as if it were a jungle gym, but she never got too far away that they lost her.

"I can't believe this," Milly exclaimed, sounding excited, "we're actually chasing a mermaid! Of all things!"

The only one that didn't look like he was in fairytale land was Suzaku, who kept a skeptical frown on his face the entire time they followed the mermaid. "Either way, we still need to be careful. She could be dangerous."

"How can a mermaid be dangerous?" Rivalz asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Harry Potter. Spiderwick Chronicles. Pirates of the Carribean." Suzaku listed off, matter-of-factly, "The mermaids in all of those series are dangerous!"

Before any more debate could sprout from their conversation, the mermaid suddenly turned sharply to the left and disappeared.

"Hey, wait, wait, wait! We're friendly!" Rivalz called out after her, Suzaku's light still shining in her direction.

Milly then gasped as she looked in front of them. The boys followed her gaze and gasped as well.

"Whoa! And here I thought Atlantis was a fairytale!" Rivalz exclaimed. Down below, they saw what looked like an underwater village with a large, bushy garden in the center, and a building they could only assume was a palace directly behind it.

"Hello," a friendly voice greeted them from behind. The Paladins leaped back and were surprised to see the mermaid that they had been tracking directly behind them. Her hands were folded in front of her. "Welcome to my village. Here, all are safe and warm."

Now that they had a proper look at the mermaid, the trio could say that she didn't look like any mermaid they'd ever seen. She had pale pink skin, a powerful orange fishtail, raggedy pink finlets situated on her hips, and pink stripes on her tail and crotch area. Her eyes were entirely blue and reflective, with pink discoloration on her eyelids and two spots in the semblance of eyebrows. She has long pink hair with prominent side-bangs and a white patch running down the middle, with flimsy pink antennae located on her forehead. She was also wearing a yellow, short-sleeved crop top exposing her torso. The shirt had a green ruffle collar, a reverse sweetheart neckline and pink spots on the shoulders. She also had on pink ballroom gloves with sharp-looking fins on the elbow.

As the mermaid smiled at them, the Paladins then heard the sound of rushing water behind them. Looking back, they yelped as two large muscle sea creatures, wearing some kind of armor swam up behind them. One looked like alien walrus and the other a large purple, humanoid fish.

"Please, do not startle out guests!" the mermaid scolded the soldiers after the Paladins had scattered away from them. After they saw that it was safe, though, they approached the merfolk again.

"I am Florona," the mermaid finally introduced herself with a soft smile, "The almighty Queen Luxia, keeper of our land, would love to meet with you."

"Wait. How did your queen know we were here?" Suzaku asked suspiciously.

Florona just smiled mysteriously, "Queen Luxia knows all."

This answer didn't sit well with the Purple Paladin. Something in his gut told him that something was wrong, but he knew he couldn't do anything without proof, first. While he made a quick mental note to be cautious, he followed Rivalz and Milly as they were escorted to some giant seahorses that they were encouraged to mount.

As the three merfolk escorted the Paladins closer to the Castle, they couldn't help but notice how beautiful the village itself was. The homes seemed to be made mostly of rocks and coral, and small crevices glowing with glow and pink light illuminated the background. More merfolk of all shapes and sizes stared after them as they passed by.

"This place is beautiful," Milly commented with a small smile.

"Yeah…" Rivalz agreed with a nod.

Suzaku, though he admitted to himself that it was a pretty place, still spoke cautiously, "Guys, I know this mermaid thing is cool and all, but we really gotta go."

"We will, Suzaku, we will, but let's meet this queen first. Besides, maybe she can help us," Milly argued back.

"Yeah," Rivalz nodded before an almost devious grin spread over his face, "and, if I just happen to find the future Mrs. Cardemonde, well, then that is alright with me."

The Blue Paladin then suddenly yelped as he felt something hit him hard in the shin. Looking over, he saw that Milly's ride had drifted a little closer to his, but the Yellow Paladin continued to stare ahead as if nothing happened.

"Sorry, foot slipped," she quipped aloofly.

Rivalz scowled. Sometimes he wondered what was going on in that girl's head.

The seahorses eventually came to a stop in front of the palace's entrance, and the three Paladins dismounted. Waiting for them at the front was who they could assume was the queen surrounded by two additional guards. She had teal skin, a long, dark blue fishtail that was speckled with teal spots, and large smooth finlets on her arms by her wrists. Her eyes were also blue. Her hair was light seafoam green and styled into two large hoops behind her back, and her ears were also small purple finlets that had large thin dangling earrings hanging from them.

"Space travelers, I am Queen Luxia," she greeted them warmly, "I welcome you to our village as honored guests."

"The honor's all ours," Rivalz greeted before attempting to bow, "I'm Ri-i-i-i-valz!" he then yelped as the water accidentally sent him floating over backward.

Despite this embarrassing stunt, Suzaku was quick to recover, "Hello Your Majesty, I'm Suzaku, and this is Milly," Suzaku turned and gestured to the Yellow Paladin, who was assisting Rivalz in getting upright again, "We need your help. We crash-landed on your planet, but we really need to get back in touch with our friends who are in space. Would you possibly have any way of doing that?"

The queen smiled, "Suzaku, Milly, Rivalz, I can solve all of your problems. Here, we are all safe and warm."

"You use magic, don't you?" Milly guessed, "This castle's a ship, isn't it? This castle is a ship, am I right? Just don't say anything if I'm right." Milly held up her hands jokingly as she smiled from her babbling.

"Here, I've brought you these," the queen said, as another guard swam up behind her, carrying what looked like a giant conch shell, "The bubble coral will provide you with all the air you need."

The merman swam up to Suzaku and placed the coral against his helmet. To the Paladin's surprise, a giant bubble came out of it and engulfed his entire head. He gasped as he ran his hands along the bubble's surface. It felt dense like thick plastic and showed no signs of breaking in his grip. Even when his hands did penetrate the surface, no water rushed in afterward as he lifted his helmet from his head.

"We thank you," Suzaku said graciously as he lowered his helmet to his side. The merman quickly administered bubbles to Milly and Rivalz as well.

"Cool!" Rivalz exclaimed as Milly laughed. The queen started speaking again as they bost took off their helmets as well.

"And rest assured, your space vessels will be well protected," she gestured above them, and the Paladins turned and gasped as they saw their Lions, with particle barriers up, being transported on thick beds of seaweed towards the palace. "Now, please, follow me."

Before they could do so, Rivalz noticed the large glowing plant behind them, the one they had been able to see from the edge of the village, "What is that?"

"That is the giver of life to our people, the Baku Garden," Luxia happily explained, "When the waters froze over, we were forced to live down here. The garden provides us the warmth and food we need to survive. Because of it, we are taken care of. Here, all are safe and warm."

Suzaku tensed as alarms went off in his head. There was that saying again. It was being said way much too often around here to be considered normal…

o~o

Inside, the Paladins were pleasantly greeted with a banquet that the queen had arranged once she saw them land on their planet. Shells and other things used as their instruments were being played softly in the background. Several mermaids escorted the trio to seats at the front table, large amounts of food and cuisine were already lined up along the middle. The queen herself was seated at the head of it.

Though it looked strange (then again, most alien foods did), the food was delicious. As Suzaku bit into some sort of pastry, he couldn't help but grin as Rivalz smiled alluringly at a couple of mermaids that were lingering by the table. They giggled at a joke the Blue Paladin made, and Rivalz laughed proudly to himself.

Glancing over at Milly, he blinked when he noticed the stink eye that she was subtly shooting at the Blue Paladin. She was attempting to mask it by piling her plate with food and shoving the first thing in her mouth, chewing furiously.

Suzaku chuckled. When were these two going to get a clue? And they called him dense?

The Purple Paladins then turned his attention to the monarch sitting nearby, "Thank you for the food, Your Highness, it tastes great."

"I'm glad you enjoy it. It was picked fresh from the Baku Garden," Luxia smiled before she gestured to the stage in front of them, "And I hope you enjoy the entertainment."

Drums started to play as Suzaku, and his friends drew their attention towards the drawn red curtain. A stage light glowed, and what appeared to be a young mermaid dancer was twirling gracefully from behind it.

"Whoa," Rivalz sighed as he looked on, his cheeks coloring slightly. This only caused Milly to scowl deeper.

However, the curtain soon lifted, and a mermaid didn't greet them, but a purple octopus with another small creature on its head. The creature twirled in the air before spreading out its tentacles widely.

Rivalz nearly choked on his food upon seeing the dancer's identity, and Milly started laughing at the absolute horror-struck reaction on his face.

"Anyway," Suzaku said, drawing his eyes away for a moment to turn to the queen, "about us getting in contact with our friends, how can you help us? We just got out of a large battle, and they may need our help."

"Please, let's discuss that after the dance," Luxia said politely, still gazing at the octopus.

Suzaku frowned at having the matter brushed off, but figured that he should be polite enough to comply. It was just a dance show… right? He shrugged as he turned back to the octopus.

The creature flipped again before turning sideways and spinning slowly in a circle, the lights shining off it, making it look like over a dozen legs were waving in front of them.

'It's like one of those… optical illusion… things…' Suzaku thought before his head suddenly felt light, and his thoughts jumbled together.

"This dance… is amazing," Milly commented, her eyes slowly glazing over.

"Yeah," Rivalz nodded slowly in agreement, eyes also getting hazy, "It's the-it's the most amazing thing I've ever seen."

"I'm glad you enjoy it," Luxia said to them, her voice getting strangely more echoey, as more light seemed to penetrate from the dance, looking almost like a vortex, "Put your mind at ease. Let your consciousness drift like the tide."

"Sure, I can do that," Suzaku murmured, his head bobbing down like he was about to fall asleep. His head then suddenly shot up, his eyes wide open and pupils dilated, "Wait, we were just talking about something. Weren't we?"

"You were just telling me how much you like it here," Luxia softly whispered in Suzaku's ear, "how much you wanted to stay forever."

"Really?" he asked, starting to feel weak in the knees.

"Really," the queen confirmed with a smile.

"Yeah. Here, we are all safe and warm," Milly agreed, sounding dreamy, "Guys, I think we should stay here forever."

"Okay," Rivalz replied in a slurred tone, floating lazily above the table.

Queen Luxia smiled in victory.

o~o

After the banquet, the Paladins were escorted to a room that they could sleep in. The beds themselves consisted of some sort of giant oysters with soft pink foam for cushioning. Sleeping underwater was fascinating. It made one wonder why they needed beds at all. Because they never stayed in them.

Despite laying in them for a few minutes, the Paladins were soon drifting slowly away from them around the room. They even floated into each other sometimes. This resulted in Milly, somehow, holding tightly to Rivalz with a content smile on her face, slight drool sliding down her chin.

"Hey Euphie," Suzaku mumbled in his sleep, "I hope you…" he yawned in between in sentence, "...enjoy this daifuku I made for you. The filling is strawberry flavored… I know you love strawberries."

The Paladins were in such deep slumber that they didn't hear the wall behind them break open from a clawed hand. The claw them proceeded to carve a bigger hole around it, and the wall was removed to reveal three jellyfish peaking in. Well, sort of. There were three jellyfish, but they were on the heads of three other figures that stealthily swam into the room and approached the slumbering Paladins.

One of them approached Suzaku and covered him in a thick seaweed blanket from head to toe. Another approached both Milly and Rivalz, and seeing that trying to pull them apart was probably a bad idea, wrapped them up together. The three figures then proceeded to drag the three Paladins out of the hole that was made.

They successfully pulled out Suzaku, but Milly and Rivalz got stuck partway. Not to say that they by themselves would not have fit through, but due to being held together, they were just too big.

The three figures still attempted to pull them through, as quietly but gently as possible. This was their one shot to pull off their plan; they didn't want to hurt the land dwellers accidentally.

They were forced to halt their efforts when they spotted a patrol swim by. They weren't seen, but next time they might not be so lucky.

"Leave them," the leader, wearing a giant orange jellyfish, said urgently, "We have to get out of here."

The figure trying to tug them out let go, and the three of them swam off quickly into the darkened sea.

o~o

Suzaku was still fast asleep when the figures brought him to their lair. They had set him down on a soft pile of seaweed but had bound his hands behind him. They had also placed a big starfish over his eyes.

After they left briefly to retrieve something, they returned, relieved to see that he hadn't moved. One of them cautiously swam up and poked him firmly on the shoulder. Suzaku grunted and sat up, still feeling drowsy.

He smacked his lips a few times and opened his eyes, only to met with darkness thanks to the starfish.

He blinked in confusion, "Hello?" he called out drowsily, looking around, "Um… Good morning!" when he still didn't get a reply, he questioned further, "Where am I?"

"He's awake!" one of the figures whispered urgently.

"Why am I blindfolded? Is this a game? I like games..." Suzaku smiled with a dopey grin. Then one of the merfolk approached him with a fat fish that they squeezed close to his face. It exuded a thick green gas into Suzaku's face but soon faded away.

Whatever the gas was, it also woke Suzaku up from whatever trance he was in, as he suddenly sat up more straight, "Wait, where am I? Why am I blindfolded? What's going on?" He shot to his feet and kicked furiously in the water, trying to get some sort of bearings despite not seeing anything.

One of the figures grabbed the starfish that was on Suzaku's face and pulled it off. Suzaku shook his head and blinked several times to adjust to the lighting again. In front of him were three figures floating in front of him. All of them were wearing some sort of green seaweed poncho with different colored jellyfish on their heads. The one to his left was orange, the middle was a yellow-green, and to his right was a teal colored one.

"It's okay. You were mind-swished, but now we want to-"

"Kill me?! Well, think again!" Suzaku shouted, interrupting the teal one and using his jetpack to shoot past them down the tunnel.

"Wait! Come back!" one of them shouted after him, but Suzaku wasn't listening, too busy trying to find a way out.

He gasped fearfully when he almost ran headfirst into some spears and other sharp weapons that were sticking out of the wall. He almost turned to swim the other direction, but paused and took a moment to use them to cut through his restraints.

Now with his arms free, Suzaku grabbed his Bayard but didn't activate it just yet as he swam down another tunnel. He shouted in surprise again when he ran into a room that was filled with bones from dead fish of all sizes. Now starting to get a little scared, he turned and fled down the next tunnel. He was swimming by a small outcropping when a movement caught his eye.

Slowing down to investigate, he inhaled when he saw that the room was filled with multi-colored jellyfish. Seeing that the fish weren't trying to hurt him, he swam in to take a closer look. But, much to his surprise, the jellyfish suddenly increased to about ten times their original size, blocking his way.

With a yelp, he swiftly turned around to leave, only to see the exit blocked by the three merpeople that brought him here.

He activated his Bayard, holding the katana in front of him with a threatening frown.

"Who are you? Where are my friends?!" he demanded.

"Please, we are not here to hurt you," the one with teal jellyfish said, holding her hands up in a placating gesture, "I am Plaxum."

"Blumfump," the orange jelly said.

"Swirn," the yellow one introduced.

"Okay, but you still didn't answer my question. Where are Milly and Rivalz?"

"We tried to bring them too, but we couldn't, but we need your help. We believe you are our savior," Plaxum explained before she and her companions bowed to him.

Suzaku relaxed a little, hearing the desperation in the mermaid's voice, but still didn't lower his katana.

"Your savior? What do you want with me?" he asked, quirking an eyebrow.

"The queen is mind-swishing everyone, controlling their thoughts," Blumfump explained, his flippers on his hips, "We believe you can stop her."

Suzaku did lower his katana this time and looked at the mer in a mixture of confusion and horror. What was going on?

o~o

Back at the palace, Milly and Rivalz finally managed to wake up on their own. They looked around, confused as to why everything was upside down. They then looked at each other. Only then did they realize the predicament they were in.

They screamed in surprise as they tried to break free of whatever was holding them together.

"Help! Help! Somebody!" Milly called out as she struggled to push free of the wall they were wedged into. Rivalz's own struggles weren't helping much either.

At the entrance to the room, the two were relieved to see Florona and Queen Luxia enter the room with some guards. Florona was carrying a tray of food in her hands.

"What's wrong?" she asked as she swam closer to the pair in alarm.

"I don't know, and we're stuck in the wall somehow!" Rivalz exclaimed as he tried to wiggle out.

"Yeah, and-wait!" Milly did a quick scan of the room, "Where's Suzaku? He's gone!"

"There was a break-in," the queen realized as the two guards helped the two Paladins safely out of the wall, "Those cave-dwellers must have taken him."

"Them again?" Florona asked, sounding frustrated, "What should we do?"

"Those meddling mermaids are harmless, but the air-breather could prove troublesome if he doesn't fall back under our control," Luxia said with a scowl.

"Wait. Wait, wait, wait, what? Who needs to fall under our control?" Rivalz asked, looking around confused.

"Where's Suzaku? We gotta find him!" Milly exclaimed.

"And we will," the queen reassured them as she pushed them to sit down, "Don't worry your little minds about it. But first, we need to sit down and eat, talk, clear our heads."

Florona held the food out to the two Paladins. But they both seemed reluctant to take anything.

"No, we can't eat right now. If Suzaku's been taken…" Rivalz began while also popping a small piece of food in his mouth. The second he swallowed it though, any thoughts of Suzaku disappeared, and his eyes rested solely on the food, "Oh, boy. That... That is good, though."

"Rivalz, we can't-" Rivalz shoved a piece of a pastry into Milly's mouth before she could finish, and soon Milly was joining him in devouring the food in front of them.

"See? That's all you need. Here, we are all safe and warm," the queen told them.

The two Paladins, having finished the plate of food, contently floated up from their seats lazily began drifting around the room.

"Okay," Rivalz murmured.

"Yeah, we'll let you handle it," Milly slurred with a dreamy smile.

With the two Paladins successfully distracted, the queen turned to face her soldiers, "They are going to come. We must destroy what remains of their kind and bring Suzaku under our control. But first, Florona," the queen turned to the mermaid, "you were in charge of watching the air-breathers. So, now, it is time for you to take a swim in the garden."

Florona looked up at Luxia, and for a moment, a flicker of raw fear flashed across her face. But she soon bowed her head, submissively, "Yes, my queen."

o~o

"Okay, okay, hold on, let me make sure I understand," Suzaku said after the rebel mermaids finished explaining to him what was going on, "You think that the queen is brainwashing her own subjects? Do you have any proof of this? Why would she even do that?"

"What do you remember from yesterday?" Swirn asked casually as she swam around in a circle above them.

Suzaku took a second to think, "Well, we crashed here, saw the mermaids and the village, met the queen, then we had dinner, and then... uh... we-" He started in surprise when he realized that he couldn't remember anything after that. It almost felt like...

"My Geass originally was the ability to compel anyone to obey when I make eye contact with them. The drawbacks that I've noticed so far are that I can only do it once per person. So now that I just used it on Coran, it won't affect him again."

'And from what we've noticed, it also seems to affect the memory too… oh, please don't tell that that's what the queen has too!'

"You can't remember, can you?" Swirn asked.

"No, you're right, I can't," Suzaku shook his head.

"That's because you were under her control," Swirn insisted.

"Our theory is," Blumfump said, holding up a poorly done drawing of the queen with what looked like sonic waves coming from her mouth towards an almost dead looking mermaid, "the queen controls minds by using her voice to strike certain head switches in your ear pan."

Plaxum then swam up behind Blumfump with another drawing, this time of what looked like lasers coming from the queen's eyes, "And her magnetic stare locks on to your eye-to-brain pathway plug."

Suzaku felt his insides turn cold when he saw that drawing and heard the explanation. Lelouch specifically said his Geass could only activate with eye contact. Was this something that it was capable of doing? Could he enslave an entire nation if he wanted to?

"Plus," Swirn added, yet another picture of the queen shooting out sound waves right next to her, "her mind-control sonar is always broadcasting through the waters. Bong! Bong! Bong!"

"And she trains her people to use hypnotic movements to lull you under her control," Plaxum finished, swimming up closer to the Purple Paladin.

"Wait, I do remember a dancer at the banquet," Suzaku told them.

"Good, because I haven't finished my picture for that one," Blumfump said, before throwing the drawings behind him, before swimming up and practically getting in Suzaku's face, "But you see, she was infecting your brain!"

"Wait, so are you saying-" Suzaku was unable to finish his sentence as Plaxum dragged him off towards a giant clamshell. She tapped it once, and upon opening, several different colored jellyfish started swimming out of it into the open water.

"Sit," Plaxum said as she practically threw onto the clam. Suzaku landed with an 'oomph' and then yelped as he felt something wrap around his head. Looking up, he saw that Swirn was using seaweed to measure it.

"The entire village is under the queen's mind control," Blumfump said and was about to say something else when Suzaku interrupted.

"If that's the case, how come you three aren't brainwashed?"

"I was just about to explain that," Blumfump said before continuing, "You see, the only reason we aren't is because we wear these jellyfish that hide our brains from her powers. It's like we have no brains whatsoever. You can't control what doesn't exist."

"Okay, I guess that makes sense," Suzaku nodded and shrugged.

"Our heads are completely empty," Blumfump chirped.

"Yeah, I get it, it works," Suzaku said as Swirn then held the seaweed to measure his face vertically.

"Many years ago, the queen froze over the surface by blocking the thermal vents," Swirn explained to him as Plaxum started to swim among the jellyfish, trying to select the correct size for him, "She forced everyone to the depths, where she began to brainwash them. They became her prisoners."

"What size?" Plaxum called out.

"Eight and seven-eighths aquameters," Swirn answered.

"Okay, but why is she doing this?" Suzaku asked. There had to be a reason. Maybe there had been a rebellion, and she was being paranoid or-

"To kill them!" Blumfump exclaimed.

"Wait, what?! Why?" he asked, shocked.

Blumfump actually swam back a little and paused, "Well, we don't know that for sure, but hundreds of mermaids have disappeared and... never come back."

o~o

Just outside the Baku garden, Queen Luxia led Florona to the entrance of it. Here she had cast many of her disobedient subjects, never to be seen again. It was for the greater good of keeping her people safe and warm.

"Goodbye, Florona. It is time to return to the giver of life," Luxia ordered, and Florona slowly began to approach the mysterious garden.

If she had been on land, tears would have begun welling in her eyes. She knew if she went inside, she wouldn't come out. But it was by her queen's orders. And she could not disobey.

o~o

"We've tried to take out the queen, but failed several times," Swirn told him sadness coating her tone, "And every attempt depletes our numbers. Now, there are only three of us left. Without you, there is no hope."

"Found one," Plaxum said as she started swimming over with a sizeable jellyfish in her arms.

"So, what exactly makes you think I can fix this?" Suzaku asked, honestly.

"We saw the mer-cat you came in," Blumfump explained, "We think it can stand up against the queen and her forces. But first, you'll need one of these."

Plaxum came over with the jellyfish, "Now, they sting pretty bad and don't smell great."

"If my theory is correct, the smelliest ones block the most mind-control rays," Blumfump said further as Plaxum came closer.

Hearing Blumfump's talk about all these theories briefly reminded him of working with Lloyd and Cecile in the Engineering department. Though he doubted that Blumfump was a sociopath like the Earl. He wondered how those two were doing. Who was piloting the Lancelot now?

"So, are you a scientist or something?" Suzaku couldn't help but ask.

"No," Blumfump denied.

"Also, they can sometimes make your face swell," Plaxum added just before she put it on, "and you might experience hearing loss."

"Could you just put it on, please?" Suzaku asked almost impatiently. His outburst startled Plaxum a little, but the mermaid then quickly complied. Suzaku braced himself as the jellyfish was shoved onto his head.

Once the jelly had settled onto his head, Suzaku cried out, bending over and clutching his air bubble. It burned. Very, very badly.

"Is it burning?" Plaxum asked, "If it's burning, that means it's working!"

It took about a minute for the stinging to finally stop. Suzaku's face had swelled up pretty badly, especially around his mouth and left eye. But he'd endure it. The faster they did this, the faster the jellyfish came off.

"Okay, so what's the plan?" he asked through his puffy lips.

The rebels brought Suzaku to their map to explain their attack plan.

"Here's what Blumfump came up with," Plaxum said, turning her attention to the larger merman. He was holding a small figure that looked like a mini person.

"This is you," he gestured to it, "You act like you're still thought-swirled and get past the guards," he made the figure jump through the structure that must have been the palace over to the three mini clams colored purple, blue, and yellow. He placed 'Suzaku' down next to the purple clam and picked it up, "Get your mer-cat and grab the queen," he used the clam to snatch the queen figurine in its 'jaws,' "We'll mount a full-scale attack on the castle and free the people," he moved the three remaining figures inward around the Castle.

"Seems like a good plan," Suzaku admitted. He could see Lelouch coming up with something similar, though he would've added his own little Zero flair to it too. However, there was a small problem Suzaku couldn't overlook, "I'll be honest though, I'm not the best actor. What will happen if they suspect me?"

"If your acting fails you," Blumfump started, before reaching into his poncho and pulling out a large puffed up fish. He tossed it towards the Purple Paladin, "this holds three doses of antidote to use on the guards. It should interrupt the queen's mind-control long enough for you to escape."

Suzaku took the fish, nodding, "My friends are in their too… but I promise that I'll do whatever I can to help."

o~o

Suzaku peaked out from the outcropping he was hiding behind. He was disappointed to see that several merman guards were keeping an eye on their Lions. Now that the swelling had gone down, he could see a little bit better. He took a deep breath before swimming out towards them.

"Good evening, soldiers," he greeted as politely and casually as he could, "quite the safe and warm day we've been having. If you could excuse me, I need to grab something from Yo-no!" Suzaku cried out in horror as the guards immediately threw a net over him and dragged him back towards the palace.

They took him straight to the throne room, where the queen sat serenely on top of it. She smiled down cruelly at Suzaku, who glared defiantly back at her.

"I had a feeling you'd come for your vessel," she said.

"Why are you doing this?" he demanded, "They're your own people! They don't deserve this!"

"All I'm doing is keeping my people safe and warm. Is that really so wrong? Servants, take Suzaku to the Baku Garden."

Suzaku heard the doors to his left open, and he gasped in horror as he saw Rivalz and Milly staring stoned face at him.

'Oh no!' he thought, realizing that Luxia was controlling them. Before they could grab him, he acted quickly and shot upwards with his jetpack over their heads. Even though they were underwater, Suzaku was still a warrior at heart. He wasn't going down without a fight!

"Everyone! Capture him!" Luxia ordered furiously, pointing at Suzaku's form.

With Suzaku now on higher ground, he had a good advantage as he waited patiently for the guards to come at him. Once they were in range, Suzaku managed to knock them both out with two quick but powerful kicks to the head.

Looking back down, he gasped as he saw Milly and Rivalz charging him as well, their expressions having not changed at all. He knew they would be mind-controlled, but he didn't expect to fight them. He didn't want to hurt them if he could. Suzaku leaped off the wall quickly began swimming to the entrance. In the process, he pulled out the fish that contained the antidote. If he could fire it at them together, it should snap them out of it.

He ducked when he saw Rivalz attempt to grab him from behind. He grabbed hold of the Blue Paladin's foot and flung him away into one of the throne room walls, temporarily stunning him.

He almost didn't see Milly swing her kusarigama at him, but he managed to turn in time. Instinctively, he grabbed the end of the chain that flew at him, barely missing the blade part of the weapon. He admitted that it was a risky move, one that he was sure Todoh-Sensei would've forced him to do a hundred push-ups for, but Milly was still pretty inexperienced with the weapon, so her aim wasn't always the greatest either.

He tugged forcibly on the chain, drawing the Yellow Paladin towards him with a yelp of her own. He made little work of tying her up with her own weapon before taking the fish and squeezing it forcefully in her face.

Milly gasped and blinked, "Huh? What-what wait, what's going on, why am I tied up?" was the first thing she asked before looking up at Suzaku, "Suzaku, why's there's a jellyfish on your head?"

Relieved to see that Milly was free from the hypnosis, he says, "I'll explain later, but I need you to grab Rivalz!"

"Wait, why-whoa! She cried as Suzaku tugged the kusarigama chain again, this time freeing her from that, but making her spin rapidly for a moment. Suzaku doesn't have time to help her, though, as Rivalz came up and tackled Suzaku from behind, causing the Purple Paladin to lose his grip on the antidote fish. It helplessly bounced off the wall and outside the palace.

Suzaku managed to kick Rivalz off of him before he made a beeline for the fish outside. He managed to snatch it up again and would've been tackled again had Milly not grabbed the Blue Paladin first, locking her arms around his elbows and legs around his knees.

"Sorry, Rivalz," Milly apologized as he struggled. Despite this, she managed to hold Rivalz long enough for Suzaku to squeeze the antidote at the Blue Paladin as well.

As the mist cleared, Rivalz's eyes went wide before he shook his head rapidly, "Whoa! Whoa! Where am I? What am I doing? Milly, you're kind of hurting me."

"Sorry," she said again before letting him go, seeing that he was back to normal, and turned to their purple compatriot, "Anyway, Suzaku, about the jellyfish?"

"Guys listen," Suzaku said, swimming up to them with a severe frown, "you've been mind-controlled by the queen, and you were trying to kill me. And she's done the same thing to all of the other merpeople here!"

He gave a brief summary to them of what the rebels told him what was happening.

At one point Rivalz tried to comment, "Wait, that sounds a lot like-"

"Lelouch's Geass, I know," Suzaku nodded, "We can worry about that later! We need to get to our Lions now!"

"Got it!" Rivalz nodded.

"Right!" Milly agreed as the trio shot away from the courtyard and toward the Lions that were still parked beside the palace.

Before the three could make it to their Lions, to their horror, they were surrounded by several royal guards. Suzaku pulled out his katana again while Milly held tight to her kusarigama as well.

Suzaku braced himself to defend when one of the guards charged. But it turned out he didn't need to as the guard instead got hit in the face by a familiar fat fish. Turning around, Suzaku was relieved to see Plaxum and Blumflup swimming up behind them to back them up. In the distance on a giant manta ray, Swirn could be seen firing several jellyfish at attacking soldiers as well. Plaxum threw a starfish shuriken at one of the guards that pinning his arm directly to a rock wall.

Suzaku grappled with one of the guards before leaping off of him in a backflip, disarming the guard just before an antidote fish was fired at him as well.

"Wait, who are these weirdos?" Rivalz asked, in a little too much shock to try and help. Milly had managed to block a couple of coming attacks, but the rebels took care of most of the other soldiers already.

Suzaku swam up beside them and smiled, "Don't worry, they're with us."

"Come, we must hurry to your mer-cats," Plaxum called over. The Paladins didn't waste another second as they quickly swam inside each other there Lions.

Once Suzaku was situated inside of Yoru, he pressed a button that opened his Lion's jaw. Plaxum swam inside and hung onto one of the teeth, "You hanging on?"

"Yes, let's go!" Plaxum called out as the jaw closed.

"Okay, so what's the plan exactly?" Rivalz asked over the intercom.

"We need to grab the-"

"We need to grab the queen and take her to an ice prison that Blumfump built, where her mind-control powers will be trapped because of the thick ice and the jellyfish," Plaxum finished for Suzaku.

"Um, who's that?" Milly asked.

"That's Plaxum. Just go with it!" Suzaku shouted before Yoru, and the other two Lions shot off towards the palace entrance.

As they approached the entrance, the team plus Plaxum saw several figures standing at the entryway. One of them their target.

"There she is!" Rivalz shouted as they charged straight towards it.

Plaxum let out a savage growl as she loaded a slingshot she had with her and shot two more antidote fish at the palace entrance, engulfing the queen and several guards in the green mist. Thanks to the confusion it caused, Plaxum then shot out a grappling hook with an octopus at the end of it that hit the queen right in the middle. With a grunt of surprise, Luxia was reeled into the Purple Lion and detained at last.

"Got her! Let's go!" Suzaku shouted as he and the others took off towards the ice prison the rebels had prepared.

Inside of Yoru's jaw, Queen Luxia groaned and opened her eyes, looking around in confusion, "Where am I? What's going on?"

Plaxum, still holding the end of her jellyfish grapple, glared vengefully at the monarch, "What's going on is you're not mind-controlling these people anymore, Your Majesty."

"What? Mind-control? Me?" to everyone's surprise, the queen sounded confused and even scared. Luxia looked down as if in thought before her eyes widened, and she looked desperately at Plaxum, "No! Please, my people are in danger! You must go back!"

"Plaxum, what's going on?" Suzaku questioned from the pilot chamber.

"Nothing! It's a ruse!" the rebel insisted stubbornly.

"You sure?" Milly asked on another comm. For some reason, the queen's reaction sounded genuine. Had they gotten something wrong?

"I wasn't controlling anyone," Queen Luxia insisted stubbornly. Suddenly her eyes widened again, and she gasped in horror, "The Baku!"

"She's lying!" Plaxum exclaimed.

"I'm not. Please!" the queen pleaded as she tried to explain, "The last thing I remember is that organism in the garden falling from space. I went to inspect it. I thought it was a plant."

Unbeknownst to them, back at the palace, the Baku Garden walls started to quiver erratically.

"Wait a minute, we've been eating that plant," Rivalz realized, his mouth already salivating from the memory, "And it's delicious! It's so safe and warm."

Before Rivalz could nod off again, Suzaku cried out, realization hitting him like a bullet train, "We had it all wrong! The queen had nothing to do with this! It was the plant the whole time. She was just the first one to be mind-controlled."

"But why?" Plaxum asked, clearly confused.

"The Baku has been harvesting us all. We are its food source," the queen explained frantically.

"No way…" Rivalz gasped, eyes wide.

"Guys! I think she's telling the truth. Look out the window!" Milly shouted, looking back at the palace.

Turning their Lions around, the trio watched in horror as what they thought was a peaceful, harmless-looking garden, slivered to life. Dark violet light seemed to absorb into its being. Like a massive, angry anaconda, the Baku rose from its resting place and let out a mighty and deafening roar, its mouth opening to reveal rows of sharp serrated teeth inside its mouth.

Gasping in shock, Suzaku quickly opened Yoru's mouth, "Plaxum, get the queen somewhere safe!"

The rebel quickly led the queen away from the Lions and the creature it was now facing. With civilians out of the way, the Lions prepared for battle.

"Okay, change of plans, that Baku thing is our real target. Let's take it out!" the Purple Paladin exclaimed before he charged towards it.

The Baku reared back and charged towards the Lions, gliding swiftly through the water and quickly knocking Maeraka and Milly out of the way while Polaris and Yoru dodged it with ease. Rivalz quickly shot a beam in the Baku's direction when it attempted to hit Milly again, but it promptly slithered out of the way to avoid being hit.

"Whoa!" the Yellow Paladin cried, struggling to maintain control through the turbulence, "Guys, that thing's too quick for me. I can't hit it! Maeraka's not very good in the water."

"Really?" Rivalz asked, "Polaris is moving better than ever. There's something about fighting underwater that's making me feel extra quick and powerful."

"Yeah, Yoru's feeling pretty good too," Suzaku observed, as he smoothly corkscrewed around the Baku's tail, "Which is weird, she should still be healing from our fight with Zarkon."

"Maybe it's due to the lack of light down here?" Rivalz guessed, "I mean, correct me if I'm wrong, but when we're right out in open space and in darker places, you and Kallen almost match neck to neck in speed. And Yoru's ability is some sort of black hole suction so…"

"So Yoru works better at night, got it. Must be the same for Maeraka, but in light and daytime," Suzaku concluded.

"Huh, makes sense," Milly reluctantly agreed.

"Anyway, I think I know how to stop that thing," Suzaku told them.

"How?" Rivalz asked as the Baku swirled around them once again, Milly barely dodging its hit this time.

"Simple. We gotta stop shooting where the creature is and start shooting where the creature's gonna be!"

"So… like this?" Rivalz asked as Polaris shot out a stream of ice in the Baku's path. Just as the beam should've hit the ocean floor, the Baku's head got his with the attack instead, encasing it in a prison of ice.

"Great shot Rivalz!" Suzaku cheered with a grin.

The victory was short-lived as the Baku used its tail to break the ice, showing that little to no damage had been done in the process.

"Okay, take this!" Milly shouts as she has Maeraka shoot out a supernova in the Baku's direction. The flash bomb went off, and the Baku screamed in surprise. But once it wore off, the only thing it seemed to do was annoy it, as the monster quickly smacked Maeraka down towards the floor.

"Milly!" Rivalz shouted as he and Polaris raced after her.

Gritting his teeth, Suzaku spiraled out of the way of the Baku's tail and shot toward some rocks in the distance. If he could get it away from the village, they would have more space to fight and fewer casualties.

"What do I do?!" he whispered desperately. With perfect timing, Suzaku felt Yoru purr confidently as several images flashed through his mind, "You think that'll work?" receiving a nudge of confirmation, Suzaku inhaled, "Alright, here goes!"

Turning around sharply, Suzaku faced the Baku head-on, and just as the creature seemed about to strike, Yoru opened her maw and started sucking in the water rapidly around the Baku. The suction was almost acting like a drainage pipe, pulling the water inward like a whirlpool.

The Baku roared in shock and tried to swim away, but the force of the pull was too much for it to break free.

"Alright! Go, Suzaku!" Rivalz shouted gleefully. Before he could give any more comments, though, he felt a nudge from his own Lion and looked down at the controls. To the side, an image that looked like sonic waves lit up, "What…? Oh, okay! Here goes nothing!"

The Blue Paladin thrust his controls forward, and Polaris let out a loud roar. Appearing on her back, very similar to how Aka's appeared, a giant cannon came to life. With a burst of power, a giant sonic beam shot out from the cannon, engulfing the Baku on the other side.

The monster was now stuck between a rock and a hard place as it struggled to stay away from the whirlpool Suzaku had created and the sonic waves Rivalz had let loose.

Off to the side of the battle, Milly looked in awe as the two boys practically had the monster pinned down. But Milly wasn't the type of girl to stay out of a fight that easily.

"Come on, girl, let's not let them hog all the glory!" she smirked as she shot one her controls forward, and Maeraka shot a bolt of energy at the rock wall above them. The beam sent the rock wall crumbling down around them, beginning to bury the Baku alive.

"This place is coming down! Let's get out of here!" Suzaku shouted as he and Rivalz ceased their assault and quickly retreated away from the falling rocks. They heard the Baku let out one last cry of anger before a large boulder collided with its head, silencing it forever.

"Suzaku, that was so cool! You practically made your own whirlpool! And Rivalz, you just dropped a sonic boom on that thing!" Milly cheered happily.

"Hey, but you finished the job with that rockslide Milly," Rivalz complimented, "so thanks!"

"Oh, I try!" the Yellow Paladin giggled as the three Lions turned back to the palace victorious.

o~o

After everyone had calmed down and it was confirmed the Baku was gone, everyone returned to the palace. The queen and the three rebel fighters stood at the entrance waiting for them.

"So, Blumfump, the jellyfish, the magnetic stare, the hypnotic dance. You got it all wrong. It was the food that the Baku was giving all this time," Suzaku explained to the leader.

'But… even though Geass also didn't have anything to do with this, I still want to talk to C.C. about it… if this is something Lelouch is capable of...' he didn't finish his thought, feeling too sick to his stomach to do so.

Blumfump, however, didn't look too upset about being proven wrong, and instead looked rather intrigued, "Well, I did say they were theories. Mer-science isn't always about getting the right answer."

"I want to thank you all for what you've done," Queen Luxia said graciously, "You've freed my people, and I will do all I can to protect that freedom. I vow to be the voice of my people," she then turned to the three rebels, "I beg of you to help. Will you be my advisors?"

"Of course, Your Highness," Blumfump immediately said, pulling out some scrolls from underneath his poncho, "I have some great ideas. Have you ever heard of electricity?"

Plaxum then swam up to the Paladins personally, "And I wanted to personally thank you, Suzaku," and, to everyone's surprise, the mermaid swam up and kissed Suzaku's helmet. Despite himself, the Purple Paladin couldn't help the small blush that spread around his cheeks. Rivalz stood to the side, mouth hanging open jealously.

Plaxum then sighed, "Finally, I can remove this thing," she said, as she took hold of the jellyfish, to reveal a beautiful blue mermaid that smiled back at them.

"Woah!" Rivalz gasped, eyes sparkling at the mermaid's revealed beauty. It quickly ended though with Milly giving him a sharp elbow to the ribs.

As Rivalz took time to recover, Milly quickly approached the queen, "Queen Luxia, the reason we came here in the first place was to see if you could help us find our friends."

"Of course," the queen answered. Two of Luxia's guards then brought out a giant clamshell that they placed in the center of the square.

"It has been many years since we have activated the energy beacon, but perhaps it is time to rebuild our civilization and reach out to interstellar travelers once again." As the clam opened to reveal a beautiful pearl sitting in the middle of it, the queen exclaimed, "Activate energy beacon!"

The pearl in the middle of the clam suddenly glowed a bright gold, and moments later, a brilliant ray of light shot up from it, ascending towards the planets surface, easily breaking through the thick ice that surrounded them. It reached high above the atmosphere and could easily be seen from the planet's orbit.

o~o

Moments later, from space itself, a familiar wormhole opened up, and Rai and Zerith swiftly exited it.

"I see the beacon!" Rai exclaimed as he pushed Zerith closer towards it.

o~o

"There is a mer-cat in our system that appears to be heading our way," Luxia informed them as the image of the Green Lion appeared on the surface of the beacon.

"It's Zerith! Rai's coming!" Suzaku exclaimed in relief.

"See guys? I told you they could help us," Rivalz said, crossing his arms with a smile.

"Yeah, plus we saved a whole planet by ourselves! Now we can brag to the others back at the Castle," Milly smirked.

"Duly noted," Suzaku chuckled and shook his head fondly.

"You know, I can totally get used to this whole 'Defender of the Universe' thing," Milly commented with a smile as they watched Rai approach ever closer to the planet.