#miss scarlet season 6

[bobbie-robron]

The Thames Reaper - Scene 6

[wgbh]

ok but what do YOU hope we get in Season 6, tumblr?

[throughpatchesofviolet]

Good evening ~! I had a very long day, but I'm thinking of snuggling up with Plushcliff and either playing some games or watching some Bluey ... whichever strikes my fancy.

[youdontneedhenry]

"Of course you did. You know, you really are—"

What do you all think Nash was going to say before he was shot?

(and also his face here, love. lol).

[coffeebythelitre]

@mellow-plum : At least for a tiny, tiny minute she must thought about finding something else in that box, right?

[0nonjudgement0]

ꕥ Ring of Thorns ꕥ

Chapter 1

Masterlist

WC: 774

CW: John Price is a shitty husband, self harm, suicidal ideations, angst

It’s 10 am–correction, 10:58 am–when you wake up. You’ll tell anyone who asks that you woke up at 8. It’s cold too, the roots of February

still refusing to let go of the season. The pansies sitting in the windowsill, wrapped in soft, warm soil that still held the droplets of tap water you gave it and held together by a pot, open their faces towards the sun. Baby blue fading into indigo and supernova fade into faint starlight. Some of them have crossbred into patchwork. 

A faint, cool puff of fur paws at your nose, hints of claws scratching your nose. 

It’s 10:13 am when you sit the now full food and water dishes onto the fancy mats for the cats in the kitchen. The rag-doll perches directly in front of her food bowl, taking sips of water as needed and wiping off her mouth; the tiny, puffy lint ball of a feline stumbles into the kitchen, almost running into the counter before taking a large gulp of water. Two-Face was still getting used to the layout of the house, and it’s a bit hard to do so when he’s missing an eye and an ear. 

It’s 5:00 pm when you finally step into the shower. Well, not a shower. It’s a hot bath, with the blinds closed and curtains drawn, candles lit, fancy soap and bath bombs and shaving cream and shampoo. The door is cracked open too–to let out steam, you tell yourself. You use the fancy shampoo, scrubbing your scalp; smoothing in the conditioner and brushing it in, letting it sit as you use the fancy soap to lather your body; you use the shaving cream and shave your legs. The water stays hot, since it’s some nice one that's like a hot tub and keeps the temperature.

The door creaks open, and you look up, expecting him. The crack door that wasn’t really kept open to let out steam. 

“-eow,” Two-Face says. You fool! You fell for it! Dolly mocks behind him. Dolly hops up gracefully, weaving through the bottles to sit on the wide corner of space behind the tub. Two-Face jumps up onto the ledge, stumbling and knocking a few bottles into the water. Half of him blends in with the dark, the other one burning amber like the candle. “-eow,” he says again, the ‘me’ gone from his meow. Sorry. I’m sure he still cares.

The water is steaming, but your toes are still cold. 

It’s 6:20 pm as you sit on a stool in front of your vanity, staring at the reflection as you peel off the face mask. Sometimes, you wonder what if you could just peel off your skin and slip on a new one. You wish you could sometimes. 

Two drops of toner in your hand, rub it into your face. Waft it dry. One and a half drops of Vitamin C and Hyaluronic acid in your hand, rub it into your face. Pick up the cold guasha and go over your jawline and cheekbones. 

It’s whenever you're trying to sculpt your face, push the fat into a more flattering place, when he walks into the room. Duffel Bag in hand, eyes harsh and cold, dark circles speaking of sleepless nights and stress. John was a good man. He was a soldier, a leader, fighting a force that was unimaginable to civilians. But he wasn’t a good husband

Your throat constricts, and your eyes sting. 

“Don’t start that with me,” he scolds, dropping the bag onto the floor. “I came in here for a moment to not be an asshole–don’t  fucking start with me.”

“I’m not,” you argue, staring up at the white ceiling. White. Pure white. Not even a tile in sight. So interesting.

“Yes, you are. I’m so goddamn tired and this is what you do?” It was a rhetorical question, of course. “I should’ve just gone straight to my office.” 

“It was our anniversary today.” God, you sounded so whiny. ‘It’s our anniversary todayyyy!’ The little squeak from sniffling truly makes you want to smash your forehead off the desk, maybe even shatter the mirror. A shard would come down, scratching your artery and it would turn the white ceiling red, the white vanity maroon, and the floor would glitter scarlet. 

He walks off, shutting the door with a hard thud. You could almost hear the ticking of ice in his whiskey glass in his office. 

“I love you,” you murmur, nails biting into a bump on your arm.

A puff of fur in the form of a paw taps the tears on your cheek.

[homestuck-fanauthor-coalition]

BITCHES ITS SPOOKY SEASON!

Hey guys! This past month our Coalition has been writing our latest Competition: Monsterstuck! Yall should join us in reading and voting from now until October 1st! You can choose between Scariest Monster, Angstiest Injury or Death Scene, Best in Executing a Twist, and more!

There were 12 entries in total, featuring a wide variety of monsters (both scary, and not!) List below the cut for yall to check out.

(Artwork by our awesome admin @arealpeople)

(1) Bad Dog

Becquerel will keep Jade Harley safe at any cost.

(2) A Fish Out of Water

Sollux is unlucky with love, this is until he meets Feferi at a party.

(3) Do Robots Dream of Eternal Sleep?

You are designation BR-0, a V1 model.

(4) Lady Woegoth and the Emerald Flame

Four months and thirteen days after defeating the notorious White Wizard, Rose Lalonde goes after one of his followers in a desperate bid to save the world.

(5) Cottage in the Woods

Dave wakes up in a cottage in the woods with little memory of how he got there. Luckily, there's a kind young woman there to take care of him.

(6) Vantaswocky

They took their vorpal swords in hand; Long time the manxome foe they sought— So rested they by the Tumtum tree And stood awhile in thought. And, as in uffish thought they stood, The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame, Came whiffling through the tulgey wood, And burbled as he came!

(7) To Touch the Stars

Kanaya asks squid mermaid Rose out on a date with a bouquet of flowers and gets to see the stars up close.

(8) Crestfallen Kings and Queens

You stare in awe and terror at the deepsea monstrosity behind the glass cage taking up nearly half of the entire facility.

(9) With The Tides

It's been a year since she disappeared. You don't want to go.

(10) Our C A M P F I R E S O N G song! (there is no song)

Staring into the scarlet flames, tales are told to raise some manes.

(11) Not Your Mama's Ship Fic

Adventurer Extrordinare Jake English is visiting Inverness, Scotland for a week.

(12) Her Deep Disquiet

In 1894, Miss Jade Harley, a private detective employed by the Crocker-English Company, went to a small New England town to follow the trail of a missing woman. This series of letters is all that remains.

Special shout out to our authors! @eridan-amporaa ; @dave2olkat ; @orangestorapples ; @ambrosianlullaby ; @jonayariley ; @bralsradoesfanfiction ; @june-egbert-official ; @manifestmerlin ; @bigtopcheezborger ; @neapolitangirl ; @tehstripe ; @aspendrake1185

[thefcguy]

Miraculous Ladybug Superhero Outfits Ranking

Since Season 6 is fast approaching, and we will get some much-needed redesigns for the main hero cast, I decided to review the main superhero outfits from the past seasons and rank them according to my opinion.

Small warning... there will be a lot of salt in some of this. and I will be using some of @zoe-oneesama 's designs for Scarlet Lady as a comparison.

Without further ado... time to start this mess of a list

24- Argos

Where do I even start...

Well, I can start by saying that... NOTHING in his design works. It's painful to just look at.

The shade of green chosen doesn't clash well with the blue of the peacock. The green hair and the blue skin so close to each other makes the combo even worse.

The saturation of the blue isn't good either. If they wanted something more formal to Felix, they should have gine with a darker blue, Like Mayuras, or, Scarlet Lady's Blue blood.

My biggest problem with this design is the green, though. The moss tone, instead of some more vibrant just makes the design weird to me.

Also, why do all the Peacock holders skin turn blue when they transform? This doesn't happen with any other miraculous.

If Felix kept his hair and eye color, used a mask instead of a hood, used darker blues, and, MAYBE, some brighter shades of green, the design would work.

But this?!

It's painful to even look at it.

23- Ryuko

... Can someone explain me how a hero that has a DRAGON theme look so boring?

Just like a good majority of miraculous holders, her outfit is just a tight jumpsuit with little characterization...

Ryuko's, however, is specially bad, because, due to having the same color pallete of Ladybug, it feels unoriginal.

So, besides it being a simple jumpsuit like many other outfits I don't like, it also feels uncreative, which makes it love some points.

Besides using SL!Ryuko as a reference to what it could be... I would like to talk about one of my favorite ryuko redesigns.

One created by my friend @natedogx15 . Like, he used the fact that she was basically a knight, and made her outfit look like armor. Look at how badass it is!

It's said that canon Ryuko's design is basically ladybug's color pallete with some details to try to make it different.

22- Ladybug

This one was pretty obvious.

The suit is way too basic, especially considering that the hero behind the mask is a fashion designer.

It's also way to tight and it feels inappropriate for a girl Marinette's age to use.

It gets even worse if we remember that she was inspired by Spider-Man...

Like, seriously, this feels like a weird pajama a kid would wear. And even then, the PJ kids had better designs.

21- Chat Noir

The same problems that I have with Ladybug's design are here.

Basic and overly tight suit, that feels innapropriate for Adrien's age. And, although I think the Bell it's silly... it's what helps to keep this design from being entirely bland.

And hey, the green eyes are interesting, at least...

Still, it's not a design I like. They could have gone with something similar to Black Panther or Batman. But, instead... they chose this.

20- Miss Hound

Behold, the most uninspired design of miraculous ever!

It's literally just Sabrina's civilian outfits with a few differences. It's only a bit higher on the list because, the outfit is indeed more creative IN COMPARISON with the other hero outfits, and I like the beret.

But, seriously, Miss Hound design shows how little the show cares about Sabrina.

Her first, and main akuma, doesn't have an actual design, the second is a bit ugly, and the hero outfit is basically the civilian outfit with a new texture.

As a Sabrina Stan, I have to say... the girl deserved more.

19- Bunnix

Fun fact about me: I am a BIG Alice in Wonderland Fan. I also love this shade of blue... and that's why Bunnix's canon's design is disappointing to me.

The outfit is generic, I can barely see anything that reminds me of Alix, it has no reference to any card suit...

It just feels unispired, specially considering how good it could have been.

If it is Alice in Wonderland inspired, Bunnix could have a top hat, a coat like the white rabbits... but, it's just... nothing. inspired by Alice in Wonderland, Bunnix could wear a top hat and a coat like the white rabbits, but... there is nothing.

18- Minotaurox

Minotaurox is... an interesting case for me.

Because, honestly, I kind of like the design. Speically when people draw it on 2D.

But, a problem that the show has it's the rendering of uniform with darker colors... especially this shade of blue and black.

This colors just feel... lifeless in a way. They don't shine, or captivate... they are just there...

I just hope that, with the new animation style, the darker colors on the heroes look better.

17- Multimouse

Man, I don't get the fandom's love for Multimouse. It's not a bad design, but... it isn't good either.

I like the use of the colors, the hairstyle, and yes, it looks more creative than Ladybug's, but that's not saying much.

But, I also understand that they couldn't complicate the design too much because of how many fusions there were in the episode.

That being said... Multimouse is an acceptable design. Not amazing, but, okay.

16- Purple Tigress

Although I don't think the design is bad... it suffers from a problem of similarity.

Similar to how Ryuko's uniform looks too much like Ladybug's, Purple Tigress's looks too much like Rena Rouge.

Like, it's a lighter tone in the front, the main color of the miraculous is on the sides and back, and the character, who has her hair down on the civillian form, gets a ponytail after transformation.

Although I understand that Ponytails are probably more practical in battles... Purple Tigress and Rena Rouge's look too much alike.

I do admit I like the stripes. But, besides that, it's very unoriginal.

Particularly speaking, I like the jacket that Zoe gave her with the power up look.

15- Rena Rouge

Although it's not the worst design on the show, it's probably one of the most disappointing.

It looks too much like Volpina, and, even if Volpina's design was supposed to look like a fox holder, it doesn't mean that Rena Rouge couldn't look a bit more different.

Like, Queen Bee and Vesperia are both bee heroes. But, they look nothing alike.

Particularly speaking, I would have replaced the weird corset thing with a reporter trench coat.

Imagine a Trench Coat like this with the fox tail at the end? And the hat with the ears? I just think it would be neat.

14- Flairmidable

Flairmidable's design is one that... I don't care about.

It's very similar to Chat Noir's, it's true, but the use of colors make it more interesting. And it doesn't look as tight as Chat's uniform.

And that's what I have to say about the design.

It's not bad, but, I don't care.

13- Polymouse

Although it is a pretty generic design, there are certail elements that I like.

The change on hair and eye color, the mask, the ears on the hoodie.

And, once again, Zoe's redesigns proved that the concept could have worked.

12- Canigirl

Honestly, it's kind of a good design.

I like how it uses the colors brown, black and white to create it's combo. The mask is adorable.

And I like the detail of the black spot at the beret.

Kind of sad that her design is more creative than the one of the official Dog Hero.

11- Pigella

From now on, the designs are actually good, in my opinion.

Pigella's design is great. It's different from the usual jumpsuits, it reflects Rose's nature, and the ballerina tutu is great touch.

My only issue with it is that it doesn't feel like a Pig themed superhero.

Either way, it's one of the best female designs on the show.

10- Aspik

Although many people complain on the whole "bald thing", I don't think Aspik is a bad design.

He looks like a snake, has some cool patterns and textures on the outfit, and I like the color pallete.

Like, yeah, it would probably look cooler if Adrien showed his hair, but, it's not all bad.

9- King Monkey

It's a good design. Definetely not a jumpsuit, it has good sources of inspiration, it looks like a monkey...

It's one of the best designs on the show. It just isn't higher due to personal taste.

8- Carapace

It's a good design as well. It fits Nino's aesthetic, it's an outfit that has a clear turtle theme, and the details like the boots, and the knee and the elbow pads.

In general, it's good as well.

7- Viperion

Like Aspik, Viperion's uniform has some cool patterns and textures. But, besides them matching Luka more, his hair is the same color of his outfit, which I think it's neat.

6- Queen Bee

This design is iconic, and it has it's reasons!

The way it uses stripes, the subtle but noticeable change on the ponytail.

Out of the five, in my opinion, she has the best design.

5- Pegasus

Man, they were creative with this one.

Although his name is Pegasus, his shoes are a reference to Hermes, his uniform looks a bit like an armor (which makes sense, because he is kind of a knight), and the horseshoe on his neck.

They put a lot of effort on his design.

4- Vesperia

I used to be a bit mean with this design... but I noticed that it wasn't the designs fault, but the animation.

Like, there are scenes where the outfit looks great, and others where it doesn't. But, it's mostly because of the rendering.

The uniform is actually very creative, and it's really cool how they manage to create something so different from Queen Bee.

MY only issues are the masks and the black streaks on her hair. They... don't look that good in the show.

(If you guys want to see some cool ideas for a redesign, I recommend @nerd-chocolate 's post)

3- Rooster Bold

This design is FIRE!

The way they manage to incorporate so many Rooster details, like the claw, the beak, the comb and the tail.

Besides, it's different from every single other hero. It almost looks like a carnival costume on the best way possible.

2- Scarabella

Behold, the best Ladybug holder design.

This one feels like it's inspired by Spiderman.

The upper part looking like a jacket, the use of black, the hair... it's all so creative.

It's one of the few canon designs I don't think that could be improved.

1- Caprikid

This design had no right of being this good. But, it is.

The white and black contrast, the zipper, the fur, the horn. Just like Rooster Bold, it is also way different than the jumpuit pattern.

I only wished that they played more with Nath's hairstyle. Like, his miraculous is a pair of hair clips, and they do nothing with his hair...

But, still, out of all miraculous heroes, he has the best suit... in my opinion, a least.

[catmorland82]

They always write Nash off.

It's not really spoiler-y, but I do reference season 5.

So here's why I'm bullish on why I think we'll see Patrick Nash again if the show gets a season 6. They always write him off, but then he always returns. I think it's best to think of seasons 2 and 3 as one long season because they wrote and filmed them back-to-back, so they knew that Felix Scott was in for both seasons. They sent Nash to France at the end of season 3, and they sent him to prison at the end of season 4. In season 5, they've sent him to Australia. I get that in Victorian England, this would mean he would never return, but I don't think it matters in the Miss Scarlet Universe! For goodness sakes, they had Eliza and Patrick playing poker and drinking whiskey in the warden's office -- this show is not concerned with remaining true to Victorian England! So maybe he befriends a wealthy old man on the ship whose dying wish was to see Australia, and he's so charmed by Patrick that he leaves him his fortune -- I dunno! I just think the show's creators like to keep their options open -- they've written off so many characters*! But I think Nash is the only one who always returns...

*Rupert Parker to Germany, Hattie Parker to Amsterdam [?], Moses to France, William to New York-- I dunno if I'm missing anyone else...

[wgbh]

some ~ * ~ personal news ~ * ~

[prozd]

my favorite things this year

Best Games I Played in 2023

1. Pokemon Scarlet

2. Luck Be a Landlord

3. Great Ace Attorney Chronicles

4. Meow Tower

5. Until Dawn

6. Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Red Rescue Team

7. Fire Emblem

8. Yakuza 3

9. Dragon Quest V

10. Final Fantasy III

also good: Aggretsuko Match 3, Dragon Quest II

Best Shows I Watched in 2023

1. Bocchi the Rock

2. Physical 100

3. The Devil's Plan

4. The Last of Us

5. Love Live Superstar

also good: One Piece (live-action)

Best Movies I Watched in 2023

1. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

2. Blackberry

3. John Wick: Chapter 4

4. RRR

5. Ride Your Wave

6. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem

7. The Shape of Water

8. Nimona

9. Promare

10. Heart and Yummie

also good: Conan O'Brien Can't Stop, Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, The Lighthouse, Booksmart, Barbie, Miss Hokusai

Best Board Games I Played in 2023

1. Gloomhaven: Jaws of the Lion

2. Pandemic Legacy: Season 0

3. Welcome to the Moon

4. Two Rooms and a Boom

5. Kitchen Rush

6. My City

7. Pandemic Legacy: Season 2

8. Star Wars: The Deck-Building Game

9. Undaunted: North Africa

10. Dorfromantik: The Board Game

also good: Exit: The Game - The Gate Between Worlds, Anomia, Fabled Fruit, Monikers, Sky Team, Phantom Ink, Adrenaline, Honey Buzz, Godzilla: Tokyo Clash, Clever Cubed, Heat: Pedal to the Metal, Tales of the Arabian Nights, Poetry for Neanderthals, Legendary Encounters: The Matrix

[youdontneedhenry]

There is like one post every 60 days on the MSATD subreddit but you bet your ass you’ll find me in there posting positive comments if the other comments are complaining about seasons 3 and 4.

[coffeebythelitre]

It's the non eye-contact for me.

[live-moonzie-reaction]

LETS GOOOOO DRS2 PART 2

-*yawns* WAS THAT A S I G H OF DISSENT????

-love how nobody notices the two teenage ninja JUMPING ON THEIR CUBICLE WALLS

-How did I know Sora was gonna land on Arin

-What you need??? What do you need???

-THEY FOUND JAY’S LAST NAME

-ITS QUASHING TIME!!!

-and we back to Lloyd’s Moonwatcher arc I’ve missed this

-hmmm gee i wonder Lloyd what kind of being, presumably some sort of embodiment of evil, has enough power to move a dojo. (Moonkitti voice) Gee Fireheart what a mystery

-also can I just say I LOVE that the first scene of the OG 6 ninja is of Lloyd and Nya I just love them as a duo

-WYLDFIRE AHXJDNCNFBFB

-…oh. Oh she’s coping… well…

-GOTTEM

-Nya: I’m sure they’re fine.

(Cut to Arin and Sora dangling in a giant birdcage over a pit of lava)

Arin: Huh. Apparently this is a canon event.

Sora: THIS IS A WHAT???

-okay so i was close

-That one agent: (rips off own arm)

-“THOSE ARE MY FAVORITE FEET!”Implying he has more than two

-THE SUBTITLES SAID MATRIARCH THUDS OH NO

-subtitles written by Queen Scarlet frfr like.

✨Thrilling✨ music plays

(Thrilling music plays, in plain text)

-OH IS SHE DEAD?!? OH IS SHE DYING??? OH SHE’S DYING

-ahhh his name is Nokt is it?

-“everything is war” “the fight is what fuels me” ah response

-“bEcAuSe I dOnT tRuSt YoU”

-Jordana’s lil smirk at Nokt is SENDING ME

-Lloyd hears something from the Matriarch???

-oh and then immediately she dies oOp

-WOW IT REALLY IS A MOONWATCHER ARC HUH?!?

-ANOTHER BABY!!!

-Lloyd getting yoinked like a hatchling by Zanth just added ten years to my lifespan :D

-poor Riyu shxkxndkfjgnfb

-oh my gosh not these guys again smh

-I’m sorry but Freebooters just sounds so stupid to mefor no reason

-THANK YOU NYA

-As someone who’s read MANY books I don’t think a lack of books is the problem here

-🎶aNd vLaDiMiR cOlLeCtS cErAmIc UnIcOoOoOoOrNs🎶

-BRO IS SO FIRED UP OVER THR MATRIARCH WE LOVE HIM you know what’d be funny

-WYLDFIRE AS A ROCKETBOOSTER

-aaand there’s the mountain dragons

-sad mountain dragon hours

-so is Lloyd being the diplomat to the dragons… pUrPoSeFuL or…?

-MOTION!

-L L O Y D YOU DONT JUST SAY THAT SHXKSNFKTJTHF

-I’M SORRY A SOURCE DRAGON D I E D?!?

_______

-SHE CALLED HERSELF THE RED NINJA AUGH

-NYAS HERE

-NYA BEING WYLDFIRES COOL AUNT

-O h s h e ’ s c o p i n g w e l l

-“maybe being trapped forever in the nether-space isn’t that bad?”

(Cut to Kai in the nether space)

Kai: (Bo Burnham voice) HOW WE ALL FEELIN TONIGHT?!?

-once again, hey I was close

-P I E F L A V O R

-“your best friend?” AAAAAAGH

-SORA HE DOESNT HAVE AN ELEMENT

-ARE WE BACK TO RONTU AND EGALT?!?

-…okay new voice claim for Darkstalker

-YEEEEAAAAAAAAAH ZANE AND LLOYD!!!!!

-excited Lloyd hours :D

-also is it just me or is the voice filter on Zane just cranked up more and more every season lately?

-it’d be SO FUNNY if Rontu and Egalt somehow knew Wu or at least interacted with him in the past

-NO.

-OH LLOYD’S GOTTA TEACH EM. Well this’ll be fun

-Rontu’s lil head shake dhekcbeckngk

-ZANE’S SO EXCITES IN THE BACKGROUND LOOK AT HIM

-After sixteen seasons someone calls him Master Lloyd again

-Rontu: (gives speech about Lloyd’s heart being too big)

Lloyd: geez man I wasn’t expecting to be psychoanalyzed today 😭🤚

-Egalt: eh it’ll be fine

(Cut to everyone with BOWLS ON THEIR HEADS)

-STEWJITSU WXHIECJICEB buddy no 💚

-somehow I feel like the pressure’ll break him or turn him evil or something

-“you’re never useless, Arin” snxkdnckgngng I’m so soft

-Arin’s so excited shxbdkfmgb

-EUPHRASIA!!!! :D HER!!! :D :D :D !!!!!!

-ooooo she lookin shifty 👀

-so many. So many.

-I read the subtitles first and thought he said “Master of Ledgering” andjckfngbgv

-smh they can’t even go in???

-book guy with the professional talk and then Wyldfire just. “My dude.”

-Huh. Apparently either shade and shadow are two different elements or Shade had a kid.

-JAY ON THE ELEVATOR THEME RETURNS FOR ALL OF ONE SECOND

-“You’re intruding on OUR intrusion!” I love Wyldfire‘s dialogue so much

-HE UNDERSTOOD JIRO!!! AAAAAAAA!!! AAAAA!!! AAAAAAA!!!

-Oh that’s RIGHT Wyldfire’s acrophobic

-WE HAVE A BEATBOXER NOW??? (giddy acapella kid noises)

-I love Roby already shxkdngbfv

-WE FINALLY FOUND THE FUSCHIA NINJA LETS GOOOO

(starts braiding hair (two braids, don’t worry) and doesn’t write for multiple episodes)

-(pauses braiding) ohhh no Frak did it didn’t he the master is Ras’s master

__________

-ohhh now I see it no yeah Arin’s going evil sorry

-…the writers did realize we were KIDDING about the Wyldfire boyfriend thing right?

-oh suddenly I do not like Roby is it just me or does it feel like he’s not gonna give the powers back

(One band concert later)

-ELEMENTAL MASTER OF PLANTS JUST THINKS HES REALLY GOOD AT GARDENING THIS IS WHAT I LIKE TO SEE!!! people with powers being oblivious to them the beloved

-Nya IMMEDIATELY chatting with the other elemental masters is GOLDEN “LIKE THE HAIR! :D”

-Is Jordana possessed or smth?

-Wyldfire snarling :D

-Wyldfire being angry at Cinder noice noice

-the perspective makes it look like Nya just casually touches the edge of the fire and that’s really funny to me

-poor Lloyd just wants to make friends man

-OH YOU’VE GOTTA BE KIDDING ME

-BEATRIX IS JUST HERE NOW WHXJDKCMFKGN

-HOLD ON THIS IS ZEATRIX?!?

-Girl I SAW the spirit dragon you TOTALLY WERE INVITED

-okay for once I’m on Ras’s side here lol I just wanna see people tear down Zeatrix

-wait hol up it’d be REALLY funny if Lloyd decided to sass her the way he just sassed a SOURCE DRAGON EARLIER

-Okay I now want to see a spin off series of shorts a la Wu’s Teas called Nya’s Awkward Dinners

-Zane: (shuts door nicely)

-Well. Uh. Wyldfire boyfriend. Unfortunately the only version I have on hand of this meme is this one so

-how funny would it be if this was a Harumi situation and Roby’s the one who killed the matriarch

-Man I thought for SURE we were gonna get Lloyd Plagued By Visions TM

-WHAT IS THAT GOO AND WHATS IT GONNA DO TO LLOYD

-OH.

-THE LIL ZING SOUND EFFECT WHEN LLOYD USES HIS POWERS MY BELOVED

-ARIN WITH THE GRAPPLERRRR WOOOOO

-“I WAS ACTUALLY GETTING A GOOD NIGHT’S SLEEP FOR A CHANGE >:(” he’s so silly

-OH COME ON THESE GUYS AGAIN???

-okay it’s Zeatrix

-No. absolutely not. There’s no way.

-Zant-Tanz: Unfortunately, we have an impostor among us.

-J A Y !

____________

-j a y shxjskdkfnfn

-WE GET TO SEE THEM DANCE?!?

-Lloyd you weren’t even IN spin harmony

-OHHH IT GOT SAD :(

-Poor… POOR Nya…

-You. You do realize he could’ve set one on himself to throw himself off the trail right.

-I DO NOT TRUST FRAK

-I’m glad Riyu also does not trust Frak lol

-She’s looking for Roby she’s looking for Roby

-AAAGH just when I thought she couldn’t get any more Peril-coded she pulls this shxnskcnfjgb

-Awwww Cole and Geo :)

-Sora: (very obvious cat ears slowly lower)

Jordana: understandable have a great day

-I KNEW IT I KNEW IT FROM THE BEGINNING

-“I wouldn’t lie to you Arin :3 Except for that one time with the object Spinjitzu at the blood moon but all the other times I wouldn’t lie to you! :3 :3 :3”

-it’s the overlord again isn’t it /hj

-WYLDFIRE JUST APPEARING

-Now… hear me out… destruction is an element… 🤨📸💚💜

-oh boy Zane’s up first

-“I am limber. I am loose. (chuckles) I’m in danger!”

-Zane so help me you gotta ice rink it

-NOOOOOOOOO ZAAAAAANE

-ohhh Zane :(

-Wait. If Arin’s gonna be a detective because he can’t compete, ZANE now can’t compete, and Zane already has a detective persona… 👀👀👀

-oh it’s Nya vs Jay isn’t it

-GOSH DANGIT WHY DO I HAVE TO BE RIGHT

-ohhhh 😭😭😭

-some loser in a Jay wig 😭😭😭

-bLiNgEd OuT dAgGeR

-Oh poor poor Nya

-SILENT FIST IT NYA COME ON

-oh geez Nya’s just going THROUGH it

-Nya won but like STILL

-STOP IT I’M BAWLING AUGH

-AAAAAAAAAAUGUFUFHFHFHGHDUXHGH

-I will never be okay again

-The presumable leader of the forbidden 4/5 is just sitting there and Kai’s first and immediate instinct is “Helloooo? BOO!”

-Riyu just hearing Kai’s voice in his head dhcnxkfmgngb

________

-OF COURSE CINDER HAS A SLEEP MASK WITH HEARTS FOR EYES

-SAD JAY HOURS AGH

-sad :(

-oh. OH. OHHHH THIS IS WHAT TURNS HIM TO THE RAS SIDE

-Lloyd 🤝 Riyu: DRS2 Moonwatcher arcs

-Ooooof good luck Sora

-OKAY WE GOOD WE GOOD

-WYLDFIRE!!!

-oh c o m e o n he did that on purpose for SURE

-…from Ninjago to Cam Half Blood REAL QUICK

-WYLDFIRE DOWN WYLDFIRE IS DOOOOWN

-sad Wyldfire hours

-O H T H A T S I T

-anything can be a verb if you try hard enough

-they’re gonna get found out they’re gonna get found out

-Riyu being mid Moonwatcher arc (yes I’ve gotta keep up this bit now) is gonna be interesting for the investigation lol

-THEY GOT FOUND OUT

-Sora you jinxed it

-okay Ras you shut up

-NOOOOOOOO

(Stops because quiet hours and cannot emote)

-AAAAA AAAAA AAAA AAAAAAA

-OUGH poor Arin :(

-NO WHY WOULD YOU EVOKE THE FSM BLOODLINE EVIL STUDENT TAX

-ARIN NOOOOO

-…okay does calling the merge an act of evil feel oddly xenophobic to anyone else or am I an idiot

-Lloyd did not cause the merge that’s ridiculous abxjdkcmfbfb

-Okay Wu makes a LITTLE more sense I guess but still??? Was it really???

__________

-hang on how do we know Wu caused it???

-Arin: so I’m supposed to believe your some kinda hero?

Ras: oh, no, I’m just that one villain character everyone loves

Arin: idk man I think that’s Cinder. For some reason.

-SAVE THEM FROM EACH OTHER??? WHAT DOES THAT MEEEEAAN???

-Arin please tell me you heard that obvious evil laugh you were RIGHT THERE

-COLE YOURE LITERALLYTHE MASTER OF EARTH

-…never mind then

-sad Arin hours :(

-ARIN NOOOOO 🥺

-Aaaand Darkstalker Kai is back poor Riyu

-CMON PHRASIA YOU GOT THIS

-LETS GOOO LETS GOOO

-Euphrasia 🤝 Arin: Immune to sarcasm

-NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

-LETS GO TOX!

-ooohh ooh that’s gotta hurt

-she’s been possessed by the one sleeping hasn’t she

-Arin, explaining the masks to Frak: (animus magic hours)

-oh and this is how he spinjitzu’s normally isn’t it

-woulda look at that. Oof.

-FRAK. FRAK NO.

-They’re fighting each other aren’t they.

-Don’t think I didn’t notice the writers giving up on ever naming Lloyd’s element ever again lol

-LLOYD HOURS! YAYAYA!

-PALEMAN CALLED HIM GREENIE ITS CANON NOW

-oh that’s his face. Huh.

-idk Roby last I checked he flirted with Geo

-Sora: Hey Arin! :D

Arin: (angy)

Sora: Oh my fsm it’s worse than we thought! They made him EMO!!!

-cmon coooole

-NOOOO ARIN AAAGH

-sad Arin and Sora hours

-ARIN THAT’S NOT WHAT SHE SAID

-NOOOO COLE

-Okay Nokt you are. The worst.

-Nya’s gonna lose isn’t she

-Nya get the gem

-“A FRIENDLY DESTROY” once again Wyldfire is Peril

-OKAY NOPE ROBY’S EVIL

-“tHaNkS wYlDfIrE.”

-okay yeah it’s gonna be a smokescreen thing or smth

-ARIN NO ARIN NO ARIN NO ARIN NO

-OH NO SORA CANT RISING DRAGON

-YEAAAAAH SORA!!!

-Ohhh Arin’s edgy now

-ah yes Ball of Wu

-👀👀👀 there’s a monastery over here???

————

-Kai no braincell moment we love him

-no, Wyldfire, ninja do not sleep in.

-Riyu: YOU GET A MOONWATCHER ARC!

-GENETICS FOR THE WIN

-hold on is that Darth Vader???

-aaaand we’re back to this.

-I love the half-effort drawing shxkcnskxmfnfbv

-Wyldfire, of all people: She’s super powerful but can’t control her anger. Huh. Pathetic.

-Sora’s trying her best to be nice shocking

-HIGH LEVELS OF CRINGE

-and immediately Lloyd gets a vision we love to see it

-HE’S GONNA LOSE??? Once again my dude destruction is an eleme- (gets mugged)

-Poor poor Geo wbfbfkfngngb

-THE PAST IS FOR DEAD PEOPLE

-ROBY’S EVIL HES EVIL HES EVIL

-I K N E W I T

-AAAAAAAAA

-Wyldfire’s now gonna get a Harumi situation shekxnekfjgngv

-poor POOR Lloyd

-Cole out here being dadlike to the enemy we love him

-LLOYD KNOWING HES GONNA LOSE MAKES THIS HURT IN SUCH A SPECIAL WAY

-Zeatrix (ranting)

Lloyd: (actively witnessing The Horrors)

-I am now hoping this season ends with Cole adopting yet another snake child

-ARIN APPEARING AT THE WORST TIME

-WYLDFIRE YOU’RE MAKING IT WORSE

-OH CHAMILLE’S BACK!!!

-ROBY WITH THE FAKEOUT?!? GOSH D A N G I T

-LIFE?!?!?

-EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

-BRO THAT JUST SOUNDS SO COOL

-still like energy better tho

-“The very angry elemental master of shockwave” shxjdkcmfbffv

-AND YEET YOUR OPPONENT OFF THE PLATFORM SHXNDKXNDJGBFBGV

-she will not, in fact, thank Euphrasia.

-“only small masters dhxkcnfngb”

-ya don’t say Sora it’s almost like he had a VISION OF LOSING TO HER

-THE GOTCHA IS BACK!!!

-AGH HES PLAGUED BY VISIONS MID-FIGHT THATS NOT FAIR :(

-oh my word he’s being Clearsight about it THIS is how he loses

-THEY QUITE LITERALLY BROKE THE GAME.

-Gren :D

-ITS THE SWORD ITS T H E SWORD

-no. NO.

-Lloyd died of 1d4 “I quite literally saw this coming” damage

________

-YOUR CAREGIVER BOT

-Here I was thinking she couldn’t possibly get any more Peril-coded after last season BOY WAS I WRONG.

-Arin, of all people: Just because someone ACTS nice doesn’t mean they aren’t capable of turning on you.

-THEY’RE PLAYING CLUE

-SORA V FRACK!!! Well this isn’t going to be emotionally fraught

-Frak’s glare at Sora I can’t

-NOT THE MAAASK!!!

-YEAAAAAAHHH LETS GO FRAK

-We respect Frak in this household

-solve the equation its some sort of code I’m betting you

-BLECKT?!?

-Wyldfire being able to play her awkwardness as the obvious crush is GOLDEN

-WYFY I’M LOSING IT

-sNeAkY bOoTs :P

-IT’S BLECKT?!?

-Lloyd :<

-CROWN MONO STEREO. Now lemme run this through an anagram finder or something.

(Many internet anagram decoders later)

-okay that got me NOTHING useful

-OH. Oh Arin solves it immediately.

-AND WE BACK TO THE VISIONSCAPE!

-ARIN’S EVIL NOW

-We love Motion here :)

-LLOYD VS NOKT?!? BUT LLOYD DIDNT GET THE POWER TRANSFER?!?!?

-He’s so awkward shxkcnfkgng

-“The… imperium girl”

-okay okay we good (until he inevitably loses)

-ONCE AGAIN DESTRUCTION IS AN ELEMENT

-Y’ALL WAIT THAT COULD BE SO COOL IF HE USES ONI POWER AND ARIN PUTS TWO AND TWO TOGETHER AND SEES IT AS ANOTHER LIE AND THAT’S WHAT PUSHES HIM TO RAS’S SIDE?!?

-please please let that be what happens

-NOOOOOOO LLOOOOOOYD

-BLECKT I HATE YOU FOREVER

-ZANE WITH THE HUNGER GAMES REFERENCE?!?

-Lily :D

-aaaand we’ve got Wu

—————

-OH IS THIS A FLASHBACK

-RAS?!?

-okay why would he want to resurrect the forbidden 5?!?

-oh no wait he’s got different eyes and stripes I’m stupid that’s like his great great grandpa or smth

-so so many different villains. so many.

-man Blekt is so mean smh

-Wyldfire… did you set up a brick to fall on him so you had the excuse to tackle him in rage…

-LETS GOOO WYLDFIRE

-“it rarely ever decimated their entire village”

-HE SPEAKS!

-ah he only speaks in one word at a time.

-HE DID?!?!?!?!? WHAT?!? Dwcbevnkenifjifreip

-Poor... Poor Sora.

-“My Spinjitzu won’t spin-jitz” Sora 2024

-Sora: how would I use these powers?

-Lloyd: well you see despite being in the midst of an awkwardly timed Moonwatcher arc I cannot read your mind

-TEAM UP?!?

-Zur is so. Agh. Mood tho.

-OH ITS SORA VS NOKT!!!

-she does Spinjitzu at the end doesn’t she

-OKAY SHE CAN DO IT ARIN STYLE THATS PROGRESS

-LETS GOOO SORA WITH THE BRAINPOWER

-ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED BKDENCKPWDNCKEVFNIO

-Loving how the soundtrack at “he says he caused the merge” transitions from what I’m pretty sure is the Ninjago overture in a minor key to just. ✨oop we ending this early time to go back to that minor key✨ idk I can’t explain it

-Nokt: 🎶anything you can do I can do better🎶

-Roby you should know to NEVER say that

-NOOOOOOOOOOOOO

-the season ends with the forbidden five going out and then Kai just appearing in the chaos to sing What’d I Miss from Hamilton

-WYLDFIRE SHOULDVE DONE THE PHOENIX WRIGHT POINT

-The Phrasia :D

-also I love how the guy kept his umbrella hat THE WHOLE TIME

-Bleckt: 🎶BECAUSE OF YOU🎶

-HOW DID HE JUST. Huh?

-just great. Amazing in fact.

-and there it is.

-Yup. And Jordana got possessed.

-I’m sorry Ras can CHANGE HIS STRIPE AND HAND COLOR ON COMMAND?!?

-yup. Yup and the wolf masks can Dr. Octopus now. of course they can.

-CINDER CAN YOU STOP THROWING RANDOM TEENAGERS AROUND PLEASE AND THANK YOU

-Kizzy (master of balance) just jumping on one of the wolf masks like a trampoline is now my favorite thing ever

———

-Oh hey Nya’s back :D

-Cole just. Just smack them off the cliff while they’re evil laughing.

-nope okay cool. This is fine.

-The surge of serotonin I get every time I see Euphrasia onscreen I sWEAR

-“i SiNcErElY dEtEsT rIsInG dRaGoN.”

-Zane and Nya are just like “oh my goodness it’s Lloyd and Morro all over again”

-LETS GOOO ARIN

-ROBY THIS IS WHY YOU DO IT FAST AND DONT MONOLOGUE

-AND HE FELL OFF A CLIFF

-Okay but I LOVE that mask on Rox tho

-Also Jordana pulling an Anemone the beloved

-Ras: I know the truth about this universe.

Arin: …Dude chill I just want my mom and dad

-ARIN NOW IS NOT THE TIME TO BE EDGY

-THE STANG TO YOUR ZOOT ASHXJCNGKGB

-man all the baddies out here using wind huh. And then there’s just. Euphrasia.

-KAI’S BAAAAAAAAAAACK!!!!!

-AND BONZLEEEE!!!

-YEAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!!!

-Kai do you have NO OBJECT PERMANENCE

-HE GOT DRAINED JUST IN TIME!!!!!

-SHOUTOUT TO EUPHRASIA FR YOU GO GIRL PUSH CINDER WITH THAT WIND OF YOURS YEAAAAAAAH

-Ras just immediately getting KO’d

-…the evil student tax :(

-AND THEN KAI

-the mood swings are strong with this season

-MASTER WU

-The vengestone birdcage! Like in crystallized! Bleckt reveals he’s part Oni and shatters it

-UMBRELLA HAT GUY JUST HAD THAT HAT ON THR WHOLE TIME

-Im guessing Sordana shippers having a field day with this one

-SORA JUST DRAGGING LLOYD OFFSCREEN IM CRYING

-buuut Jay’s still gone :(

-“another mortal” implying that someone’s tried to do all of this BEFORE

-AGH I love Motion so much

-…Motion you idiot Ras is gonna take that next season

-I swear Arin’s just suddenly REALLY edgy sbxkxmxmfnfngbg

-AND THATS THE END AAAAGH

[s12-kittie]

Tales of Seven Stars: The Sixth Ring

Chapter 1: An Offer One Can't Refuse

Trix week day 6

Prompt: Cannon Divergent

@trixweek @bellatrixobsessed1

For the day 6 of the Trix Week I wanna present you my 2 babies: chapters 1 and 2 of the book 1. Also, I might change them later if the whole plotline goes another way.

The stuff is happening a year after season 3, so seasons 4-8 are not fully considered as cannon for this fic.

It was a nice, warm day. The sun shone high in the clear sky, and a pleasant breeze blew, bringing fragrances of different flowers growing on distant valleys.

Even the Black Mud Swamp looked less disgusting and ugly than usual. A hot, rainless summer made the mud dry out, so most of the mosquitoes had left, looking for a more humid place to live in.

That was beneficial for the students of Alfea and Cloud Tower, who came here with their teachers to have a merged practical class. After defeating Valtor, the headmistresses of both magical schools decided to fix the relationship between witches and fairies, which had not been very trusting and pleasant. For that, some changes in the studying program took place, such as merged lessons and student-exchanging programs.

Now fairies and witches were standing opposite each other, while Professor Palladium held a small speech to explain the contents of the task.

“Today you’re going to have a small practical test to sum up the material you’ve learnt last year.” The teacher explained. “Your skills at working together will be tested as well.”

Some of the Cloud Tower students rolled their eyes.

“You’ll have to divide in pairs.” The teacher continued. “But you must choose a partner among the students of another school. Learning to use opposite kinds of magic together will help you to…”

“… to see you more often, handsome?” The witch with scarlet hair whispered with a snort.

She appeared tall, but only because of the platform high-heeled boots, still impractical for the swamp, and had a long, pointed face with heavy make-up on it and pinkish-purple eyes. Her straight hair was cut in a so-called “jellyfish cut," so most of it was short, while the lower half of the back hair nearly touched the grass with its ends.

“That too, miss Ruby.” Palladium said, truing his face to the witch, whose face immediately blushed from the sharp chin to the forehead, hidden below the tick fringe. “But most importantly...”

“What’s with the face, Ruby, darling?” The witch with long and shiny reddish-pink hair slapped her friend in the back.

“I… I-it’s just..." The latter mumbled. “W-well, he’s handsome, right?”

“Oh, don’t tell me you have a crush on him, sweetie!” Her friend chanted.

“Miss Acid, be quiet and listen to the professor!” The professor from Cloud Tower hissed.

“…and, last but not least, you will be prepared for an unusual situation and…”

“Well, an unusual situation indeed!” A witch with long, half-up wavy brown hair whispered, and most of her classmates giggled.

Just one of them, standing a little aside from the others, rolled her eyes.

This witch wasn’t even close to beautiful; short and thin, with a square chin and jaw. Pale wax-like skin and lank, shoulder-length, dirty-green hair, getting yellowish-green to the ends, cut in a short asymmetric fringe, made her look lifeless and even quite unattractive, except for some tiny yet noticeable details, like emerald-shining eyes, a straight nose, or bright orangish-red lips. She was wearing an oversized forest-green hoodie, black skinny jeans, and brown laced jackboots. Her only accessory was emerald-green rhombic earrings.

The witch exchanged gazes with a petite fairy, standing opposite her. The fairy had short, straight brown hair, big, turquoise eyes, twinkling with curiosity, and seemed three or four years younger than her classmates.

“Can’t these witches handle themselves?!” A fairy with short, light-blue hair snorted irritably, making the girl flinch.

“Yeah, they show so much disrespect!” Someone nearby said.

“He’s our teacher; that’s why they try to make fun of him!” Another voice from the fairy group hissed.

Professor Palladium raised his hand as the whispers among both groups were becoming louder and louder:

“Please, be quiet, ladies. I haven’t finished yet. In the middle of this swamp, I hid some magic spheres. You will have to use all the converging skills you’ve learnt to find one of them and bring it to me. Now, who can tell me what you should avoid while doing this exercise?” He looked at the two groups.

The green-eyed witch raised her hand.

“Yes?” Palladium pointed at her, a little surprised.

“The spell should be fed from the equal doses of magic of both partners; otherwise, it would result in one of them feeling sick because of an impact of an opposite magic source.” She answered in a bitter tone.

“And why is that?” Professor raised a brow and gave her a bright smile.

“In order to converge, two or more people create a temporary bond between their cores, which leads to free magic circulating among them. If the magic is applied in 1:1 proportion, the opposite sources neutralise each other, and no side effects happen.”

“It’s correct! You’ve earned an ‘A’, miss…”

“Jade.”

“Right… Thank you for your answer, miss Jade. Now, back to the task. Those who find a sphere will pass the test; for an ‘A’ it should take you not more than thirty minutes. Don’t try to compete with each other. The quantity of the spheres is the same as the quantity of the pairs. Now, you may begin.”

Jade and the petite fairy came closer to each other and headed to the centre of the swamp.

“So, the locator spell should do the trick.” The witch turned to the fairy.

The fairy nodded.

“Isn’t it too simple?” She asked in a high-pitched voice.

“For the professors, it would be just right. They lost hope in students long ago and will give an ‘A’ for just completing the task in time, so those idiots I have to study with don’t look so miserable and humiliated. Did you hear what they asked me, Daisy? The safety rules for converging. What a comedy.” Jade scoffed. “As if these imbeciles will memorise anything after me repeating these rules out loud for the Dragon-knows-what time. And I also need time to talk to you, so the locating spell it is.”

Daisy nodded again.

By that time, the girls had reached a little plain clearing. They stopped in its centre and clenched hands together.

“Just don’t give me more than needed.” The witch told her friend. “I think at least you are capable of remembering those safety rules.”

“I’ll try.” The fairy closed her eyes.

A few moments later, a shiny ball of bright-green and light-yellow energy appeared and floated to the left. The girls followed it.

After a few more minutes of walking, they reached a valley covered with dry grass.

The ball stopped near a group of bushes, growing to the left of them. A dusty-pink transparent sphere lay among their roots.

“There it is.” Jade noted contentedly, picking it up and hiding it in the pocket of her hoodie. “Let’s go back.” She turned around.

At that moment, Ruby rushed out of the farther bushes, pulling a fairy, who, despite light-pink hair and a serious expression of her face, looked much alike with the witch herself.

“Oh, darn!” Ruby cursed at the sight of Jade. “What are you doing here, Psycho?! This is my sphere!”

“Too late.” Her classmate gave her a smirk while walking away together with Daisy. “See you back at school. Unless you drown somewhere, to my great relief... ”

“Dream on. The swamp is dry! How am I supposed to drown here?!”

“Oh, you could.” Jade chuckled and turned away.

Ruby paused for a few moments, confused, then dropped at her partner:

“It’s your fault, Quartz! What took you so long with this spell?!”

“Says the one who did nothing!” The fairy hissed. “And why did I agree to be your partner?!”

“Because you hate other witches a bit more than your own twin sister!” Ruby pushed her in the chest. “Now find another sphere and fast! I need a good grade!”

“Are you still sharing your room with her?” Daisy asked quietly, casting a glance at Ruby.

“Unfortunately.” Her friend sighed. “Now she’s a little more bearable, though. Seems like all she needs is a permanent threat to her life to stick to Cloud Tower roommatehood rules.”

***

“Have you heard the latest news?” Jade asked, as soon as Ruby and Quartz were left far away.

The two girls now entered the darkest part of the swamp. The trees grew everywhere, blocking the sunlight, except for several golden rays, piercing the air.

“About the cases of power loss?” The fairy cast a glance at her friend. “Yes, I did. Do you think it’s…”

“Shadow Vampires? Most likely.” The teen frowned. “The whole situation looks exactly like the cases described in that book.”

“I wonder why no one else thought about it.” Daisy looked at the witch.

“Griffin might have; she’s not a complete idiot.” The latter disagreed. “And there’s a good possibility that she’s planning to take action.”

“So, what do we do?”

“We get to the rings as soon as possible.” Jade stated. “I don’t want to give up school, but it doesn’t seem I have a choice.”

“Maybe… Maybe we should... tell the teachers?” The fairy asked unsurely.

Jade shook her head.

“They will choose the future keepers by themselves.” She rolled her eyes. "And there's no way I’ll even have a chance to be the candidate. I hope I don’t need to explain the importance of this ring for me once again.” The witch clenched her fists.

“Sorry, I…” Daisy began but didn’t finish the phrase.

They continued to walk in silence.

“So, we need a plan.” Jade finally said. “I already found the portal, but it’s not enough. We also need a map.”

“What map?”

“It was created by the Ancestral Fairies long ago and should be hidden somewhere in Alfea. I’ll look for the exact location later. Curses, I didn’t expect it to happen so soon.” The witch sighed. “Fine, I’ll think about it after classes... Hey, what’s that on your neck?” She suddenly pointed at the golden amulet Daisy was wearing over her turquoise T-shirt.

“It’s a special amulet. Faragonda insisted that I always wear it, so I don’t accidentally use more power than needed.”

“Interesting…” Jade bent closer to her friend. “Can I try it on?”

“But Faragonda said I should never take it off…” The girl protested weakly.

Jade rolled her eyes:

“She worries too much. Come on, D, you don’t really expect anything to happen during these thirty seconds, do you?”

“I… Well… I think you’re right.” Daisy took the jewel off and gave it to the witch.

“Strange, I don’t feel anything unusual.” The latter put it on. “Now, let’s see…”

She closed her eyes and started reciting a spell. Magic started swirling around the witch, together with ice-cold wind.

“Just… Don’t break it, please…” Daisy’s eyes widened with fear.

“Everything’s under control." The witch murmured, frowning. “There. I feel a barrier. Yeah, I guess that’s the edge.” She grunted. “I can’t get through.”

The teen opened her eyes. The swirls disappeared, and the wind stilled.

“Well,” Jade exhaled, taking the amulet off and returning it to her friend, “if you didn’t need it, I'd..." Suddenly she frowned with tension. “Wait. Someone’s around.”

“Hey, Psycho! I didn’t finish!” Ruby went out of the trees.

“I don’t have time for your nonsense today, so just skip it and shut up.”

“Dream on, weirdo! It’s your fault that I got a bad grade!”

“I’m not the one to blame for you being born without brains.” Jade rolled her eyes.

“You stop that! I could get an ‘A’ I needed, but then you appeared and screwed everything up! As always! You enjoy it or what?!”

“I just don’t care, neither about your plans nor about you in general. And if you don’t want to be burnt to ashes right now, then…” The witch turned around. “Well, now it’s serious… I sense three big auras nearby. They’re definitely not students.”

“That’s right.” The cold and strong voice behind them said.

The girls turned around and saw three figures, appeared out of thin air. Jade had seen their mugshots before at several billboards in Magix, together with a caption "wanted,” and she’d heard a lot about these witches. They were the Trix, the notorious witch trio. Three sisters looked exactly like in the mugshots: Icy, blue-eyed with straight silver hair, tied in a ponytail; Darcy, with yellow eyes and dark-brown hair with dark-blonde front strands; and Stormy, curly, greyish-purple-haired, with grey front streaks and turquoise eyes.

“Stay behind me.” The teen whispered to Daisy.

“The heck?!” Ruby jumped back, stumbled over something, and ungraciously fell on the grass with a loud exclaim.

“Well, well.” Icy continued, stepping forward. “Students from Alfea and Cloud Tower. Just like we needed, sisters.” She turned to Stormy. “Do your thing, and fast.”

“With great pleasure.” Stormy smirked, turning to the girls. “Lightning shot!”

“Mirror defence!” Jade blurted out, stretching the hand towards the three sisters. A bright green shield appeared in less than a second, reflecting the violet lightning. Stormy didn’t expect it and fell on the ground, blasted by her own spell.

“What?!” Darcy exclaimed. “But it's high-level magic!”

“You deal with it, then.” Icy replied indifferently.

Darcy nodded and shut a spell towards the girls:

“Dark confusion!”

“Mental barrier!” Jade exclaimed, creating a green barrier around them, which bounced the spell back, so Darcy hardly managed to jump away.

“Curses!” Icy swore. “You’ll pay for this, little brat! Freezing wave!”

“Fire barrier!” Jade created a wall of acid-green fire, stopping the spell.

“Huh?!” Icy exhaled, losing her breath in rage.

“The students can’t be this strong!” Stormy hissed irritably, glaring at the two girls.

The teen grabbed her friend’s hand.

“Daisy, let’s get out of- ouch!”

One moment was enough for Icy to hit both girls with a paralysing spell, throwing them on the ground.

“You stay down, too.” Icy sent the same spell towards Ruby, who still stayed on the ground, already paralysed by fear.

“Not so confident now, are you?” The witch of ice bent to Jade. “Now, before we get rid of you three-”

“Wait.” Jade stopped her. “I have a deal for you.”

The witch of ice raised a brow:

“A deal?”

“Exactly. Hope you know what that is.”

“Don’t talk to me like that, you little brat, or I’ll finish you off right now!” Icy hissed.

“As you wish, Your Majesty.” Jade rolled her eyes. “I’ll be brief; there’re objects that are thousand times stronger than the Dragon Flame.”

“Thousand times stronger than the Dragon?” Stormy asked, then broke into laughter. “Yeah, right!”

“Shut it!” Icy barked at her, then turned back to Jade. “Go on.”

“I already said everything. You leave me and the fairy alive now, help me get close to these objects, and then you can take some of them for yourselves. Don’t worry, they’re enough to make you unstoppable.”

“Aren’t those too many conditions?” Darcy looked at the teen with interest.

“For the greatest power in the whole Universe?” Jade chuckled. “I don’t think so. Besides, I have nothing against you still taking that one with red hair. Her existence is a mistake anyway.”

Ruby let out an unclear exclaim.

“You’re wasting our time.” The witch of darkness replied.

Icy remained silent, deep in thought. Her eyes fixed on Daisy’s necklace.

“Fine.” She finally said. “I accept your deal.”

The witch of ice clicked her fingers, cancelling the paralysing spell.

“Wha-” Stormy began before Darcy pushed her in the stomach with an elbow.

Jade and Daisy stood up, shaking the dirt off their clothes.

“We’re setting off in the centre of Gloomywood at midnight.” Jade told the three sisters. “Hope you didn’t have any other plans for tonight.”

“Not a thing.” Icy told her in a cold tone. “And if you’re trying to trick us, you’re doomed.” She clicked the fingers for one more time, and the three witches disappeared.

“‘Having that one with red hair’!” Ruby finally stood up. “You will sure pay for this one, Psycho!”

“Well, turns out you’re so hopeless, even the worst criminals don’t want to deal with your stupidity.” Jade chuckled. “Come on, D.” She passed by her roommate with Daisy following.

“Great, it makes everything even easier.” The teen smirked when they were far enough from the witch of gemstones. “Let’s get that sphere to Palladium, and then I’ll think up a plan.”

***

“Why did you agree?” Stormy asked. “That brat was obviously lying.”

The three witches returned to their hideout, almost the only one the police of Magix couldn’t find. It was way below the Gloomywood, protected with many strong spells, which were still functioning, even though Valtor, who had cast them, was caught and drained. From the inside, it looked like something between a cave and a large hall with high ceilings, full of magical books and artefacts.

“Of course she was lying.” Icy agreed. “But did you notice what her fairy friend was wearing?”

“A sort of stupid amulet. So?”

“These amulets used to handle an immense amount of magic inside one’s body, you dumb thing.” Darcy explained. “So that girl must have very outstanding power.”

“Right. And tonight, we’ll capture her without making any useless noise.” Icy smirked.

[donteattheappleshook]

Not Broken At All Chapter 17/?

Summary:

A season 1 Neverland AU. Emma is still trying to adjust to her new life as Sheriff of Storybrooke and mom to Henry, who still believes everyone in town is a fairytale creature. When she finds a badly beaten, one handed man while patrolling, she’s convinced he’s crazy. He is, after all, rambling about fairies and shadows and crocodiles. But when Henry is suddenly taken out the window of a house everyone believes is haunted, the madman in the hospital might be her only hope of getting her son back. Whether he likes it or not.

Rated E

Catch up on Ao3 (where my italics work) or on Tumblr 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16

Thank you thank you thank you @the-darkdragonfly for helping me so much with this chapter I literally wrote at your kitchen table lol.

This one is a bit shorter because I had to move the last scene to the next chapter or it would have been like 10k long…. but hopefully that means chapter 18 is coming soon!

(at least you didn't have to wait a year for chapter 17?)

*******

Part 17

Emma follows Killian’s eyes as they dart towards the ceiling, the deck above their heads. It’s dark out, but not the dark of night, the dark of an oncoming storm, that ominous, looming chill of electricity in the air, the waves lapping against the sides of the ship that rocks unsteadily against the threatening sea. A shiver runs down her spine. Whether Pan’s here or not - he’s fucking furious. 

There’s a knock on the door, Wendy not waiting for permission before pushing it open. “Is he here?” Killian asks, voice low. 

She shakes her head, holding a small, empty vial. “Not yet. But Ianeira sent a warning - he’s on his way and he’s not happy.” She looks out at the first heavy drops that land against the window like bullets. “Obviously.” 

“Get the boys below deck,” he orders, still not raising his voice above the rumble of the storm outside. “Scarlet,” he adds, the younger pirate leaning against the doorframe, “go wake the crew. Tell them to be ready for a fight.” 

“What are you going to do?” Wendy frowns like she already knows the answer. 

“Handle Pan.” 

“Absolutely not.” Emma answers at the same time as Wendy’s “like hell” rings through the air. “This was my idea. I’ll go deal with the consequences,” she insists, but her words are ignored as the two captains continue to argue. Will shoots her a sympathetic shrug from his place in the doorway. 

“We don’t have time to argue,” Killian finally snaps at his second, standing and grabbing Emma’s pants from where she hung them last night before tossing them to her. “Pan and his Lost Boys will be here any minute and we need to make sure the boys are hidden and the crew is ready to defend the Jolly.” 

“Is that an order, Captain?” Wendy asks, arms crossing over her chest and Killian stiffens. Emma didn’t miss the weight put behind the question.

“Cap-” he starts but she cuts him off.

“No. No more of this ‘I’m not the captain’ or two captains bullshit. If you’re going to pull rank and make me follow orders then you don’t get to decide you don’t want to be in charge anymore tomorrow. If this crew is going to put our lives on the line for your plan, and trust you to handle Pan, then you’re going to be the one to make the order. And if you die today -” Her harsh facade breaks just a fraction - “It won’t be because of something I could have stopped.” 

The room is silent as the two stare each other down, the rush and howls of the storm growing louder outside, growing closer as they remain locked in the standoff, Wendy’s ultimatum hanging between them. “Well?” she demands. 

He’s silent for another moment, but then he lets out a sigh. “Bring the boys below deck, make sure they don’t make a sound or Pan will remember that they’re here.” Another hesitation as neither she or Will move and his thumb runs over the ring on his finger. “That’s an order.” 

Wendy’s shoulders both straighten and sag at once as she shifts into her new role, her face blank, betraying nothing, but Emma knows. She can see the hurt and the fear, of his betrayal and of the danger he’s putting himself in as she nods. “Aye, Captain.” 

Killian flinches away from the title just the barest amount before she heads out of the room. 

“What are you gonna tell him?” Will glares at his usurping captain. 

Killian sighs. “I haven’t figured that part out yet.” He reaches for his shirt, pulling it on over his head and turning to find the man still there. “Go wake the crew,” he orders again and Will stares at him for a long moment before doing as he’s told. 

Emma watches him as he dresses, yanking her own pants on and rising from the bed, the buttons of his vest fastened methodically, one by one with practiced fingers before he dons his greatcoat. She realizes what she’s watching as he slides his sword into its sheath, secures it to his hip: a soldier dressing for battle, each piece of his armour clad carefully down to the expression he smooths over his face, the one that hides the man who’d let her in his bed and held her against the threat of the night behind a cold, heartless facade.

“Killian,” she starts, ready to fight him on this. Rescuing the boys was her decision. She’d made them do it. This should be her responsibility. Nobody else's lives should be on the line for her choices. A boom of thunder cuts her off before a flash of lightning brightens the room.

“He’s here,” Wendy tells them, stepping back into the room. Killian doesn’t confirm if his orders have been followed - he doesn’t need to. 

“Let me go,” Emma insists. “I can tell him it was my idea. I can -” 

“No.” They answer in unison and before she can protest a boom of thunder echoes above them and an angry, lilting voice calls out above them. 

“Thieves! Show yourselves!” The demand is followed by a roar of approval, small, young voices calling out in a battle cry she’s heard before. The room goes silent, tension in every line of her body and Killian’s. Wendy looks to her captain, waiting for orders, hands fisted like she’s trying not to barge up there herself. 

Emma sees the barest flash of fear in his gaze before he schools it and turns to her, leveling her with a hard, commanding look. 

“Go to the hold with the children. Promise me you’ll stay down there - that you won’t make a sound.” Emma glares at him, his face only inches away as he speaks so quietly she can barely hear him. He glares back just as defiantly. “Promise me, Swan.” She doesn’t answer. She’s not promising that. Not when it’s her fault Pan’s here and he could hurt them. “They need you. They trust you and they need to stay hidden. If Pan’s reminded they’re here… he might demand their lives in place of the dead we took.” 

Her glare deepens. “I know what you’re doing.” 

The corner of his mouth turns up just a fraction before he straightens it. “Then you should have no problem following through with it.” When her shoulders straighten his hand comes to her cheek. “We can’t risk Pan finding out about you - not while we don’t have a way of defeating him or saving Henry. You can’t protect anyone if you’re dead,” he adds, using her words against her now and her eyes narrow. “You can’t protect Henry if you’re dead.” That one hits hard and Emma knows he’s right - but she still doesn’t like it. She doesn’t want him dead either. 

Pan’s warning rings out again, harsher this time - ‘Come out and face me, coward!’ - and Killian’s shoulders tense. “Fine,” she concedes. “But if things go bad -”

“You’ll stay right here.” It’s a warning, and she almost wants to call him on it, to see what he really thinks he can do to her that’s worse than the situation they’re already in, but she bites her tongue. He takes her silence as the end of the discussion. “Darling,” he calls over his shoulder. “Bring her to the hold and then join me on deck - Darling,” he tries again when she doesn’t respond, but Wendy’s attention is focused outside the cabin, staring out down the hall, a frown starting to pull at her brow and Killian’s matches it. “Wendy?”

“Where’s Will?” 

“What?” 

“Will.” Her voice is low, far away but rising with tightly restrained panic. “He should be back by now. Where’s the crew?” 

As if on cue, a voice rings out loudly above them. “Pan! Two visits in as many days? To what do we owe the honour?” They rush to the stairs, crouched low looking out at where Will stands, alone, facing off against Pan. Fuck. Please don’t be an idiot. She can feel Wendy tense beside her and Killian reaches, grabbing his first mate’s arm. 

“Don’t,” he warns and Emma’s surprised to see her try to yank her arm free. But he holds firm. 

“Scarlet.” Pan sounds annoyed but intrigued nevertheless. “It’s been a long time.” He cocks his head, a small smirk on his childlike face. “You got old.”  

 “Go get the crew,” Killian orders, staring her down and not releasing her until the fight fades slightly from her eyes. He knows how much this must be killing her. “If there’s going to be a fight, we won’t be able to stop him alone. Bring them with you and meet me on deck.” 

Will baulks. “How dare you! I’ll have you know I’ve the complexion of a man less than half my age.” He brushes a hand over his scruffless cheek as if to prove it.

There’s still resistance in Wendy’s stance but she nods, dashing off towards the crew’s quarters. Killian turns to her. “Stay here. Don’t let the children leave the hull.” She can only nod, still watching as her new friend continues to bait Pan. “Bloody idiot,” Killian mutters under his breath.

Emma grabs his arm, halting him. She waits until his questioning gaze turns to her. “Be careful. Please.”

He watches her for a moment, eyes darting up to the deck, and then takes her hand, presses a kiss to the back of it and nods the voices above growing louder. He spares her one last glance before dashing up the stairs.

“Hook,” Pan says as soon as he reaches the bow of the ship. “There you are. I don’t like to be kept waiting.” 

“Apologies,” Killian offers with a small bow and a polite smile. “To what do we owe the pleasure?” 

“Where are my shadows?” 

“Your shadows? We don’t have any shadows here.” 

“Don’t lie,” Pan snaps and Emma flinches. “You stole eleven lost boys from me. Those were my lives - I won them fair and square. Give them back.” Emma half expects him to stomp his foot, but it’s then that she realizes that he can’t - because he’s not on the deck. He’s flying, or hovering a few feet above it. Wendy had said that Neverland’s magic couldn’t touch the Jolly - does that mean Pan can’t either? Can he not set foot onboard?

“They’re at the bottom of the sea, I’m afraid,” Killian tells him with a wince and she can see the rage building in the small boy.  

“Then I’ll take them from your crew. Eleven of them in exchange for the ones that you took.” Emma casts a glance back down the hall towards the hold where a dozen children hide. 

“No need for that,” Killian begins. “They aren’t to blame for this little misunderstanding. I’m sure we can find a solution where you get what you want that’s fair.” Pan hesitates at the word fair. He loves his games - he loves his rules. 

“Then who is to blame?” he demands. “Bring the thief forward so that he can be punished.”

“Unfortunately we-”

“I did it.” 

“Scarlet,” Wendy hisses in warning, but he’s already taking another step towards Pan. 

“It was my idea.” 

Pan glares. “Why?” 

There’s a pause and then Will smirks. “I just wanted to piss you off. For old time’s sake.” 

The boy’s anger shifts into something cruel and amused. “Well then, you can pay the price for old times sake. You remember how much fun my punishments can be,” he adds. She sees Will’s back go stiff right before Pan’s hand plunges deep into his chest and Emma has to cover her mouth with her hands to catch the scream that tries to escape. The crew stills, petrified. This isn’t the first time they’ve seen this happen.

“Wait!” Wendy shouts as Will lets out a groan of pain. Killian grabs her arm, silencing her and holding her in place. Pan ignores her, pulling his hand free, something bright and red and glowing held in his palm. That can’t be what she thinks it is. 

“Eleven lives,” he muses again, floating easily across the deck, thinking. He gives the thing a small squeeze and Will cries out falling to his knees. Pan smirks, he’s enjoying this, she can tell; he already knows what he wants to do and Emma’s nails dig into her palms, every bone in her body demanding she go up there and not let this happen. It should be her that pays the price. Not Will. 

His fingers tighten around it again and Will stops breathing, hand clutched to his chest where his heart should be until finally, Pan loosens his grip, looking at Will with his head cocked again. “You really did get old, Scarlet. But maybe not old enough…” He looks him over carefully, then the mass in his hand. “Eleven Lost Boy’s lives… so many years - But I think we can make it an even hundred. For old times sake?” he smirks. “That sounds fair,” he decides. “You can pay me back a hundred years.” 

When he squeezes the heart again, Will collapses onto the deck, bits of dust slipping from Pan’s fingers as the light flickers in and out and Emma can see Killian physically holding Wendy back now, knuckles white around the leather of her coat. Nobody breathes. The crew look like it’s taking everything they have not to run - either to Will or away from Pan. Instead they stand frozen. 

She counts the seconds as they go by. One. Two. Three. Four. Five… Will rasps out a strangled cry, fists balling against the wood planks of the deck. Six. Seven. Eight… She watches him grit his teeth, sweat beading along the back of his neck, fighting. Nine. Ten. Eleven…

When she reaches eleven, Will takes his first breath in what feels like hours, the light in Pan’s loosened grip smaller and dimmer but still glowing, still beating. 

“That should do it,” he smiles, returning Will’s heart to his chest.

Will gasps, settling his hand over it as if to feel the beat under it - make sure it’s really there. Then he frowns up at the boy. “Is… is that it?” 

“Scarlet.” It’s Killian who snaps this time. “Below deck. Now.” Emma can’t see the look Wendy gives him when Will defers to her, but it sends him to his feet and across the deck in a second, head bent low. 

“Emma,” he greets with all his usual bravado despite the raspiness of his breath when he finds her on the stairs. “Fancy seeing you here.” 

She punches him in the arm. Hard.  “What the hell is wrong with you?”

“Ow!” 

“That was so stupid! What the hell were you thinking?” 

Will shrugs. “I owed him one. And I’m not going to let Killian get one up on the galant gestures.” 

“Hook.” Pan says, drawing her attention away before she can hit Will again. “If your crew isn’t going to play fair then they won’t get to play with us anymore”

“I’ll get them in line,” he promises and she can hear the edge in his voice. 

“Good. Do you need a reminder of the rules? You were away for a long time…”

“I remember.” 

Pan nods, happy now - a child getting his way. “Good. Then the game can continue.” He turns, hovering over the railing of the ship and casting them one last glance as the threat of a storm begins to clear. “But no more chances,” he warns. Both Killian and Wendy nod solemnly before he flies off towards the beach. 

As soon as he’s gone, Wendy practically runs towards the cabin. “All of you,” Killian commands, drawing the crew’s attention away from their former captain. “Back to work. Now,” he snaps when they don’t obey immediately. They scatter, finding work to keep them busy. 

Emma has to jump out of the way as the other woman barrels down the stairs, grabbing Will by the shoulders. She turns him one way and then another, hands coming to his face as she does the same to his head, checking for injuries. Finally, her hand settles on his chest and Emma can tell she’s counting heartbeats. Will lets her, not resisting as she checks him for any sign of permanent damage. 

When she seems satisfied, she raises furious eyes to his, the hand at his chest fisting in his shirt and shoving him away from her. “Fuck you, Scarlet,” she bites out before storming off down the hall. 

Killian takes over, grabbing him by the collar of his shirt. Will is less willing to let himself be manhandled by him though, shoving at his arm even as he holds firm. “Do you not know how to follow an order, mate?” 

“I’m not your mate,” he snaps back, more annoyed than angry. “And you’re not my Captain.” 

“And here I thought we were getting along,” Killian answers sarcastically. “And you don’t have to like it, but I am your Captain and if you do that to her again -”

“Like you did when you took off to find Henry?” 

“That was different. I did it to spare her the pain of losing someone she cares for.” 

“So did I. Do you really think Pan would have been so forgiving if you’d taken the blame? You’ve been gone a long time, Hook. You’re not his favourite playmate anymore.” 

“And you are?”

“I’m still alive aren’t I?” 

Killian scoffs. “You’ve lasted a decade. Speak to me when you survive a century.” 

“Well if we keep her alive we won’t have to,” Will snarks, nodding at Emma. 

“Me?”

“I wouldn’t have stuck my neck out for you if I didn’t think you were actually going to change things.” Emma doesn’t have an answer to that, the weight of his faith in her more than she can handle right now. “Don’t make me regret it, aye?” he winces, rubbing at his chest.

“What did he do to you?”

He gives a small shrug. “Crushed my heart. Wasn’t so bad, really - I’ve had worse.” 

“What?” 

“It’s a particular favourite of his,” Killian explains. 

“I’ve seen him do it to disobedient Lost Boys for hours - days once. He’s done it longer to me when I was his second. I’m surprised it was only…”

“Eleven seconds,” Emma supplies. The longest eleven seconds she can remember.

“Aye - I thought he’d be angrier.” 

“What did he mean by you paying him back a hundred years?” 

Will shrugs again. “Pan loves his riddles. I’m sure we’ll find out soon enough. I need to go find Wendy.”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Killian warns and it almost sounds like a threat. 

Will scoffs, finally shoving his hand away. “Please. I’ve done stupider things than egg Pan on.”

“That doesn’t surprise me,” Killian rolls his eyes and Will glares at him before smirking.

“I’ve become very good at getting her to forgive me.” 

Emma wonders for a moment if she’s going to have to prevent a murder. “Get out of here before I get Pan to come back and crush your heart for good.” 

“What? I thought we were mates -”

“Go,” Emma tells him. Before Killian follows through on that promise. Thankfully, Will isn’t stupid enough to push him any further and does as he’s told. She puts a hand on Killian’s arm. “Just remember that he almost died today. Cut him a bit of slack.” He doesn’t seem convinced, continuing to glare after the younger man. “And he might have saved our lives. He definitely saved mine.” 

Killian scoffs, finally looking at her. “And he’ll never let us forget it.”

“So what’s next?” she asks, trying to distract him from his sort of daughter and her sort of boyfriend’s sort of love life. 

“Hmm?”

“We’ve got the lorelei, we’ve got Tinkerbell, we’ve got a ship full of Lost Boys and pirates, we kept him from getting any more shadows… what do we do now?”

“We figure out what Pan’s plan is.”

“Can we not just… kill him?” she knows they can’t - probably - but she’s pretty sure the idea hasn’t been thrown out there yet so it’s worth a shot. 

Killian shakes his head like she expected him to. “If we could, I’d have done it by now. I did once, when I first returned to Neverland after decades away. I ran him through with my sword trying to avenge my brother.” Her hand on his arm tightens without her meaning it to. “He pretended, made a whole show and lay there until I was sure he was dead - and then he started to laugh. Just another game - the first one I played with him even if I didn’t know it. He told me it was the only time he would let me win.”

“We’ll find a way.” 

He smiles at her, small and half-hearted but she believes him. “I’m sure you will.”

***

“Why do we have to do this?” one of the boys - Kyle, she thinks - complains, dropping the wooden sword to his side. It had been so strange and jarring to learn some of the Lost Boys names over the last few days. “ We have nothing to do but wait ,” Killian had said. “Tink has let the Constant know that we’re ready to meet with them and they’ll send word when they’ve decided if they’ll hear us out .” For some reason, the boys had all been like Wendy in her mind, born ‘ somewhere around the 1880s, I think, ’ or Will, who’d come to Neverland during the Blitz, using dreams to escape the nightmares of real life. But this new group of boys weren’t characters out of a book or an old black and white photo. 

“My mom named me after the guy in some robot movie that had just come out,” Kyle mentioned and it was a moment before it clicked. “The Terminator?!” He’d only shrugged. “That might’ve been it.” This boy was her age. He couldn’t have been born more than a couple of years after she was. Another boy’s tattered shirt had a faded image of Lilo and Stitch on it - he didn’t look more than twelve. These boys were just… kids. Regular kids like the ones she grew up with and the ones who lived in Storybrooke or Boston - boys like Henry. And now they were soldiers. 

“We have to do this,” Wendy answers, giving his fake sword a tap with her own so his arm straightens, “because everyone on this ship needs to be ready to defend her when the next raid happens - If you want to live until the next one.” 

“But we already know how to fight,” he whines. “We defeated you every time.” If Wendy’s upset at the casual mention of her crewmates being slaughtered, she doesn’t let it show. “I already know how to sword fight.” 

“Do you now?” Killian calls from the helm before she can answer. 

“Captain…” his first mate starts but he ignores her. He’s an imposing figure, clad in black leather with the metal of his hook gleaming in the sun and the weight of his sword heavy at his hip. As his footsteps echo across the deck as he makes his way over to where the boys had begun their training they all go silent. 

“Now now, Mr. Darling, if the boy thinks he’s beyond our instruction he should have the chance to prove himself.” He stops in front of the new recruit, drawing his sword in a slow, measured movement, the tip an inch from the kid’s nose and Emma panics for just a second that he might cut him down right there. But then he turns to Wendy, “Bosun, get this boy a real blade,” and she realizes he’s had exactly the effect he intended as everyone around him tenses. 

Wendy goes to fetch a weapon, shooting him the kind of eyeroll kids learn to make in front of adults without getting caught - one she knows very well.

“Think you can defeat me, boy?”

To his credit, Kyle straightens his shoulders, taking the offered sword and raising it to the Captain’s, ready for a fight. She thinks she might see the tiniest bit of approval beneath the scorn in Killian’s expression. The boy moves first, swinging at him with all his might as he deflects again and again. Killian’s toying with him - she knows he is. She saw Killian fight Will that first night on the Jolly. His blocks are too slow, letting the kid get within inches of hitting him. He doesn’t make a single attack, his feet unmoving and she’d think it was cruel if she didn’t understand why he was doing it. 

Finally, when the boy starts to sweat, she sees Killian shift, adjusting his stance as he swings at his opponent. The block comes almost too late, only stopped by the way Killian pulls back at the last moment. He does it again, and again, backing the boy across the deck with blow after blow. There’s no flourish to it, no showmanship, just skill and finesse and strength and speed.

The kid starts to panic, the attacks coming too fast and Emma holds back a gasp when Killian’s blade slices across Kyle’s forearm. After that, it’s easy for Killian to twist his blade out of the kid’s shocked hand with his own, his elbow coming up to knock the boy flat on his ass. By the time he looks up, nose bloody, eyes dazed and watery, Killian’s sword is pointed at his chest, his brow arched in a harsh challenge. 

“Please don’t kill me,” the boy says so quietly and so heartbreakingly that she thinks she sees Killian’s face soften just the barest amount before he takes a step back, dropping his sword. 

“Listen, all of you,” he booms, though every eye on the deck is already on him. “You’ve never defeated anyone. Until now you’ve been playing a game and the game has been rigged. And I’m sorry to say, you’re now on the losing team. The only thing that matters from this moment on is staying alive. And the only way to stay alive is being a skilled enough fighter - and knowing how to hold that skill back enough - that Pan will want to fight you again.”

 He lets this hang in the air for a moment, the boys’ faces showing different degrees of confusion and understanding and horror. “So all of you will follow Mr. Darling’s instructions and learn everything you can from him. You’ll fight to defend this ship, yourselves, and each other when the time comes because you’re part of my crew now.” He reaches a hook out to Kyle who sits cradling his nose and heaves the boy to his feet. “And we look after our own.” 

Killian looks at the boy who nods, message received loud and clear, before clapping him on the shoulder. “Scarlet, see that our newest crew member’s wounds are tended to. He put up quite the fight.” 

“Aye, Captain,” Will complies without argument or sarcasm and Killian must be as shocked as she is because he keeps his mouth shut. 

“Darling must have said something to him,” he tells her when Emma joins him, his sword sliding carefully back into its sheath as he watches Wendy continue her lesson. 

“Or maybe you just did.” Killian only looks at her, brow raised in disbelief before she gestures at the sword hanging at his belt. “So, come on, are you going to show me how to use this thing or not?”

His face splits into a shit-eating grin. “Ah, Swan, I’ve dreamed of the day that you’d ask me to show you how to handle my sword.”

***

“Do you want the good news or the bad news first?” Tinkerbell asks. She’d floated onto the ship that night, looking stronger than when Emma had last seen her - the few days with the Constant clearly having done her good. Her wings looked taller, fully unfurled, the crepe paper like skin no longer breakable and frail as they flutter behind her. 

“Is there good news?” Killian sighs, standing from his desk where he’d been looking over maps of the island while Emma asked him questions about them, how each was different based on when it was drawn, what Pan had changed, who he had brought. He seemed unbothered by the fairy magicking his window open and letting herself in. 

“They’ve agreed to meet with you. They haven’t agreed to help,” she clarifies when Killian looks surprised, “but they’ve agreed to hear you out.”

“And the bad news?” 

“They’ll only meet us in Echo Caves.”

Killian lets out a heavy, long suffering sigh, thumb brushing the inner corner of his brow, words dripping with sarcasm. “Wonderful. Did they happen to give a reason why?” 

“Something about making sure you can be trusted - some incident at skull rock?”

“It was a misunderstanding,” he mutters under his breath. 

“Really because the way I heard it -” 

“It’s fine. Tell them we agree to their terms. When do they expect us?”

“First light.” 

Killian nods. “We’ll be there. And Tink,” he adds when she turns to leave. “Thank you.” 

She sneers. “I’m not doing it for you.” And then she’s gone before he can say another word. 

“What’s Echo Caves?” Emma pulls her knees up to her chest where she’s perched on the desk after she’s sure the fairy’s out of earshot and Killian’s sagged back in his seat. 

“Another one of Neverland’s little delights,” he sighs again. “The magic of the cave compels you to share your deepest secret - whether or not you’re even aware of it.” 

“Have you gone before?” she asks. 

“Once.” His hand drifts up without her really noticing, fingers curling around her calf, thumb tracing over her shin and she thinks maybe it wasn’t a pleasant experience. “Pan wanted to test my loyalty.” She rests her chin on her knee, dreading what he may have had to confess to Pan to keep himself alive on this horrible island. He smiles up at her then, a put-on apathy. “Thankfully, I had many terrible deeds in my past to confess to.” He doesn’t give her a chance to say anything before he releases her and stands again - something dropped between them and something else put up. 

“Are you afraid?” 

Killian doesn’t look at her. “Always.” Her heart tightens. She understands - she’d only been here a few weeks and she’s been terrified every moment - apart from her brief experiment with fairy wine - centuries… she can’t imagine. “But not of the Constant. Tiger Lily may hold a grudge but they’ll do whatever’s best for this island, and so will their people. And I’ve no ill-intent towards them or love for Pan.” He looks at her then, pausing. “Are you?”

“Of having to spill my deepest secret to a bunch of strangers? No, why would I possibly be stressed about that?” she smirks half-heartedly. 

“Strangers?” Killian raises a brow, sliding back across the room and resting his hand and hook on the desk on either side of her. “You hurt me, Swan. I thought we were friends - acquaintances at least.” 

She shoves at his chest rolling her eyes and he smirks. “Usually a guy has to buy me dinner before he gets to hear the all sordid details of my past.” Or coffee in an empty theme park where a pretty smile and a well-placed sneak into his past makes her think she’s safe to reveal herself, to trust someone with all of it.

“Hey,” his thumb brushes over her knee as he tries to catch her gaze. “Where’d you go?”

Not anywhere he needs to know about - or anywhere she’d care to revisit. So she smiles at him, lets her foot brush against the side of his calf, teasing, distracting. “Just trying to figure out which of my deepest secrets are gonna come spilling out of me tomorrow.” He doesn’t believe her, his lie detector almost as good as her own, she's realized, but he doesn’t say anything about it. 

“Well you are a mystery, Swan,” he tells her with a half-hearted smirk. 

“Not for much longer, apparently.” 

Something shifts in the way he’s looking at her, sympathy or understanding as he cocks his head. “You know you don’t have to come if -” 

“I’m going.” 

Killian huffs a laugh. “Of course you are. Well if there’s anything you want to get off your chest without an audience, now’s the time.” His eyebrow quirks up in challenge. “Won’t be a secret anymore if you tell me.” She meets it. 

“What? Is one revelation about me not enough for you?”

Something shifts again, something heavier, her skin warm and humming with fear and anticipation as he looks at her the way he had when he’d been curled around her on the floor of the brig. His voice is lower when he speaks. “Perhaps I’d just like to know you, Swan.” 

She casts her eyes to the floor, his gaze too intense - always too intense - before setting the smirk that had fallen from her lips back in place. “You first.” 

“I’m an open book, love. Ask me anything you like.”

She has one question, one that’s been itching at the back of her mind since she’d seen the canvas of scars etched across his skin. “Who were you? Before you were here - before you were ‘Captain Hook’?”

His bravado falters for a moment. “I was many things. Son, brother, slave, sailor, lieutenant, captain, pirate, partner… None for very long.” He gives her another of those showy smirks. “It seems Hook is the only one that stuck.” Her heart breaks a little, so many loves lost and so many injustices done in such a short life. She thinks of the scars that had criss-crossed his back, that she’d asked about so casually then - slave he’d said - and she wishes she could do it over, pay both them and him the reverence they deserve. “What about you?” 

“What about me?”

His hand slides to her wrist, to the laces she’d tied there the first day she’d come back to the sheriff’s office alone. All of his things had been gone. Desk cleared out, jacket taken from the back of his chair, the few things he bothered to keep - a tacky ceramic wolf, a photo of him and some friends she never bothered to ask him about, even the bottle of whiskey he kept in his top drawer - had been ransacked. He had no family that she knew of - no family that could be found at all - and she’d just known that it was Regina. She’d come in and wiped every trace of Graham clean like he never existed - apart from a single pair of boots forgotten by the back door. 

“They belonged to someone I used to know.” 

“Someone you cared for?” 

“It doesn’t matter,” she shrugs. “He’s gone now.” 

“It mattered enough for you to keep a piece of him with you.” He fingers the laces again, focusing on them, not making her meet his eyes again. “I know what it is to lose the people that matter most.” 

Emma pulls her hand back, sliding them both behind her under the guise of leaning back on the desk and gives another dismissive shrug even as she can’t make herself look at him. “Yeah, well, when you grow up like I did you learn pretty quickly not to get attached.”

Thankfully, Killian knows how to take a hint, straightening and flashing her an off  grin. “If only we all possessed such a skill, Swan.” Then, pushing away from the desk,  “I best let the others know what awaits us all  tomorrow.” 

Emma swallows, this island has already taken so much from her - her son, her name, her memories - almost - her whole belief system… How much more can it really take? She doesn’t ask - not anymore as she slides into Killian’s bed instead of her own, and he doesn’t say anything as he joins her a few minutes later, just pulls her against him, breath warm and comforting against her cheek as they try to shut themselves off from the cries that ring out on the deck above them. 

*******

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