#my chase link did in fact go brrrr | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

rookthorne · 2 years ago

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my chase link is seriously gonna go brrr again isn’t it?

Honestly, there wasn’t much reason to lash out. Nick treated you well, ensuring you were fed and fucked until you passed out every night. Sometimes it was as if he had a competition with himself to see how many orgasms he could pull from your body. You got a little bored while he worked long hours, but Nick had every streaming service possible, and the dogs would sit with you.

the. fucking. dream. 😩

You turned, surprised to see your alpha behind you. Your brows raised at the sight of his navy, cosy, fluffy jumper that covered his hulking frame and black skinny jeans that showed off his ass. That certainly wasn’t what he wore to work.

“Why do you look so surprised to see me, omega?” Nick chuckled, moving to the counter where you sat. He took the fork from your grip, bringing the eggs to your mouth to feed you. “Good girl. I always like seeing my omega eat well. Means you’ll have lots of energy. I want my puppy to be nice and healthy.”

I do not appreciate my body betraying me rn.

“Alpha wants to play a game called hunt the whelp.”

👀👀👀

“You’re cute when you’re dumb, puppy. C’mon, put your runners on. The new ones I got you this morning.”

Amber, I hate that you’ve got me with this now, like c’mon.

not fair 😩

Sitting on the bench by the door, you watched as Nick knelt before you, picking up the fresh new shoes and slipping them onto your feet. You noticed the change immediately. The runners were heavy, instantly pulling your feet to the ground. You bit your lower lip as Nick focused on doing up the laces, triple knotting them so they’d hold despite the weight pulling you down.

that sonofabitch…

Without warning, Nick tugged you closer, pulling you up so you were standing on the balls of your feet. His lips ghosted over yours, his hot breath fanning across your face. “You look very cute, omega. My good little puppy, aren’t you? And good little puppies get to play.”

holy fuck

I’m a good puppy 🥺

You could see the tops of his tattoos, and something about the black ink made him even more endearing as if his skin was a storybook for you to unveil.

one fucked up fairytale…

“You, of course. You get to go on a hike, puppy. And all you have to do is avoid my slugs. It’s simple.” Slinging the gun over his shoulder, Nick approached you, cupping your cheek with his warm palm. You snuggled your face into it, hoping to hide away from the sick game he wanted to play.

Maybe you could join them in their escape. Because you wanted to get away from Nick… right? Yes. Maybe. Your body, mind, and soul craved him. And you wanted to turn around and run back to him. But you should’ve wanted to escape, right? Confusion muddled your mind as you kept moving.

she’s not truly broken then… I don’t think Nick would be happy to know about this…

You fell over the other side of the log, clutching at your thigh. “Fuck, fuck!”

It hurt like a bitch, but when you felt for a wound, you couldn’t find one. There was no bullet?

at least he isn’t that fucked up to use an actual gun.

“I hadn’t finished. A really nice kiss on my cock, omega. I want you drinking down all my seed until your belly is fucking full of me.”

jfc oh-

Heat spread from your core all the way up to your cheeks. He was right. The chase had caused arousal like never before. But that didn’t mean you’d admit that to Nick. It was too vulnerable. “If the pain is so liberating, why aren’t you hurt?”

“Did you forget I can feel what you feel?” Nick pulled out his knife, twirling it between his fingers. Danger permeated from him, but not in a way that made you fearful for your safety. “Do you want me to bleed for you? Because I will. I’ll slice my own skin for you if you can prove to me that you’re not wet.”

SMUG SON OF A BITCH

I hate him

I hate him so much 😩

He moved closer, body encasing yours with your back to the tree trunk. Your breath hitched, unable to escape Nick’s intense aura, his eyes considering you before he got this look – one you’ve seen before – like you’d hung the stars and moon yourself. Your old alpha had looked at you the same.

HEY

DON’T MAKE ME GET EMOTIONAL

Nick’s breath heated your skin as his lips ghosted over yours, his timbre low. “And you can slice my skin if you’re honest with me. Admit to me that you get off on this. You think I’m fucked up, and you’re not wrong. But you’re fucked up too, puppy. We’re fucked up together, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

Nick placed the knife toward your throat, the tip resting under your chin, so you had no choice but to stare at him. “Tell me I’m wrong, and I’ll stop.”

the fuck is this coming from… HE HAS A HEART - albeit fucked up - IN THERE SOMEWHERE?!

He was turning you into the same monster he was. This wasn’t Beauty and the Beast. It was just two beasts, two fucked up souls reaching the same point of irredeemable.

fucking 😎

Nick brought the injured hand to your face, cupping your cheek and letting his ichor mark your skin as if you wore the battle scars of his life essence.

ANOTHER 😎

Nick closed the distance between you, smashing your lips together in a passionate kiss. All your thoughts flew away like the birds making their quick escape. As Nick’s teeth sunk into your lower lip, growling against your skin with a feral sound, you realised that you didn’t want to escape.

“Always and forever, puppy.”

I feel like after her slicing his hand, it’s definitely gonna at least stop her thoughts of running, to a degree. 🤔

Prompt 15 about a hike turning to a chase, I would love that to be with nick from clockwork AU. Loved the short thrill of when puppy attempted to escape the first time, but would love to see it with the new bond they have (maybe Nick goes a bit mad thinking puppy isn't truly broken for a sec?). Thank you, I think your writing is fabulous.

𝒉𝒖𝒏𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒍𝒑

✧˚ · . 𝘕𝘪𝘤𝘬 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘧𝘧 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘺𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦.

pairing — mob boss!alpha!nick fowler x omega!reader w/c — 4.2k this is a dark fic. 18+ only. part of the Clockwork AU. warnings — a/b/o elements, pet names (omega, puppy, pup), chasing, hunting, minor injury to reader, minor injury to Nick, minor blood, guns, knives, major stockholm syndrome, kissing, general dark shit idk a/n — thank you so much for the ask bubs! i love it. and i'm so glad you're enjoying the AU! i hope you like it. also big thank you to @lunarbuck for beta reading, you're amazing. any mistakes are my own.

The sun filtered through the kitchen window as you sat at the counter, picking at the bacon and eggs on your plate. Nick’s kitchen staff often prepared your meals, leaving you feeling inadequate. But it was always delicious, so you couldn’t complain too much.

As usual, Nick was up early and in his office, his work calling him away. Sometimes you sat in the office with him when he felt needy, but you enjoyed your moments alone. You never truly had solace, though, as you could feel Nick’s presence through the bond or would be checked in on by Mace, Beck, or one of Nick’s many men.

You hadn’t made a fuss since you were broken four weeks ago, but that didn’t mean Nick trusted you to behave.

You weren’t allowed outside without supervision, so sometimes you’d sit by the window in the lounge room and just peer out. Occasionally, you’d see the omegas being moved to and from the barn. Those were the worst days. Letting Nick claim your body on those nights was the hardest, something within you fighting to resurface. But you never won those battles, and you’d be screaming Nick’s name before long into the starry night.

There was movement behind you as you scooped some eggs onto your fork, and your heart skipped a beat when Nick’s scent wafted into the room. You turned, surprised to see your alpha behind you. Your brows raised at the sight of his navy, cosy, fluffy jumper that covered his hulking frame and black skinny jeans that showed off his ass. That certainly wasn’t what he wore to work. And he hardly ever left his office during the daytime unless he had to oversee shipments or deal with a severe work problem. “Alpha?”

You nodded with heated cheeks, still not used to the praise Nick would occasionally gift you. Normally if he was friendly, he would have something scheming in the background.

Just like now.

“It’s playtime, puppy. I’ve taken the rest of the morning off to spend some time with you.” Nick brought another forkful to your mouth, which you hesitatingly took. You were apprehensive. You’d never had play time before and feared finding out what it meant.

“Playtime?” You questioned, voice meek as you wished the ground would come and swallow you up. Nick always had you feeling small, like a bug he could crush under his boot.

“Alpha wants to play a game called hunt the whelp.”

You blinked, giving him a confused look with knitted brows. “What?”

“You’re cute when you’re dumb, puppy. C’mon, put your runners on. The new ones I got you this morning.” Nick pulled you from the counter, hand wrapped around your wrist as he brought you to the front door. He’d shown you the new pink runners this morning but said they were for special occasions. Playtime must be special if you get to wear them.

“There we go. Perfect fit, right, pup?” Nick grinned up at you, patting your knee before standing. “Wait here.”

It’s not like you could get very far anyway. You testingly raised your foot, frowning at how difficult it was. They weren’t going to be impossible to walk in, but they also weren’t going to be easy.

The jingling of a bell signalled Nick’s return. Your breath hitched in your throat at the sight of the matching pink collar, a small bell shaped like a strawberry hanging on the front. “A-Alpha— I—“

Nick advanced, holding the collar above you, shaking it. “I thought you liked pink. And the staff tell me how you eat all the strawberries you can. I’ve started buying extra just for you.”

“I— I do like them. But—“

“Then this collar is perfect for you, no?” Nick’s eyes darkened a fraction, danger laced in his tone.

There were eggshells all over the floor, and if you weren’t careful, you would wake the beast that lay dormant in your alpha.

It felt like stones in your throat were weighing you down, like your shoes. “I-It’s perfect…” You conceded, too scared to deny your alpha as he towered over you.

“I’m glad you agree, puppy.” Nick placed the collar around your neck, snapping the latching mechanism together so it was secured. You heard a little beep as Nick locked the collar with his fingerprint. Any plans you had of taking it off were quickly squashed.

You stayed silent. What was there to say anyway?

Nick pulled you to stand, and the bell jingled with the movement. He smirked at you, cocking his head before looping his fingers through the collar.

The dead, almost forgotten part of you wanted to tell him to fuck off. But your hindbrain was preening from the attention.

“Let’s go. Just looking at you like this is getting me excited.”

Not waiting for your approval, Nick picked you up, wrapping your legs around his waist with your chest against his. Even with the added weight of the shoes, Nick carried you like you weighed nothing, displaying his prime alpha strength.

You let your chin rest on his shoulder, your fingers running across the soft material of his jumper. Nick’s scent never failed to give you butterflies, and he chuckled as you dragged your nose across the scent gland on his neck. You could see the tops of his tattoos, and something about the black ink made him even more endearing as if his skin was a storybook for you to unveil.

Not that Nick ever granted you much insight into his mind. He was near impossible to read, and you knew next to nothing about his past, or his plans for the future. He was a closed book, only allowing you snippets of his life to bleed through into your world.

As he made his way through the mansion with you latched to him, Nick grabbed a duffle bag by the back door, slinging it over his shoulder. You were both scared and curious to see what it contained.

“It’s such a nice day, omega, isn’t it?” Nick said as he carried you out the back door and into the sunlight shining across the backyard.

“Mm, yes.” You mumbled into Nick’s shoulder, enjoying the way the heated rays warmed your skin and provided life essence to your soul. Like a plant, you wanted to grow towards the light and let it fuel your being.

You passed the barn, refusing to look at it as Nick brought you to the edge of the lawn, where grass met forest. Luckily, there were no sounds of distressed omegas around, and it put you more at ease.

Sensing your anxiousness, Nick placed his palm on the small of your back to hold you close. “Don’t think about them.”

But how could you not? Nick could attempt to pull the wool over your eyes, but you’d always know where his wealth and power came from. Exploitation. Your alpha was not a good man. But he was your alpha, and that meant there really wasn’t much you could do about it. Fighting against a force so much more powerful than your own only ended up with you hurt. And you’d had more than enough pain to last you many lifetimes.

Nick brought you to a spot you had been before when you first ran from him when brought to his mansion. Where you fell, and the dogs laid with you before Nick and his men arrived. Back when you had a yearning for a normal life.

He placed you down, your feet sinking into the plush earth with the weighted shoes on your feet.

“Are you ready to play, puppy?” Nick put the bag down and unzipped it. The sight of the contents had your eyes widening and a gasp falling past your lips. A gun. Not just any firearm. But a rifle fitted with a scope for extra accuracy.

“What.. are you hunting?” You knew the answer. But you didn’t want to admit it to yourself.

“Can’t we just stay here? I— I don’t want to run,” you murmured against his palm, and Nick cracked up.

“Oh, now you don’t want to run, huh?” His hand patted your cheek before he gripped your chin tightly. “I took the morning off work just to play with you. Don’t be ungrateful.”

“But—”

Nick growled, grabbing you rougher. “Unless the next words out of your mouth are ‘thank you, alpha, for taking time off for me,’ I don’t want to fucking hear it.”

“T-Thank you.” You blurted out, primarily out of habit.

“Thank me properly.”

With no room for argument, you reached up to press a chaste kiss to Nick’s lips, your hands resting on his shoulders. Just like you’d been taught. Nick always had you giving kisses as apologies. “Thank you for taking time off for me, alpha.”

“My good girl. Wasn’t that hard, was it?” Nick smoothed his hands over your chiffon dress. Pink. Like your shoes and collar. Nick said it was all for you, but you know he enjoyed dressing you prettily. Like his little puppy doll.

It certainly wasn’t hiking attire.

“You have a five-minute head start. When you hear a shot, you’ll know I’m coming for you.” Nick checked his watch before turning his attention to you. With a raised brow, he shooed at you, hands swatting you away. “Go on, don’t want to waste your head start.”

You stuttered in place. Did he really expect you to run? The look Nick gave you, with a fucking rifle slung over his shoulder, told you he wasn’t joking.

Maybe you could get out of here. Find a road and hail someone down.

The thought had you turning on your heel and bolting. Your speed as an omega was handy, and even with the weighted shoes, you could make a semi-fast pace. Tension tore through your body as you ran, muscles already screaming from the strain of dragging your feet along.

The trees were somewhat sparse in this area, and it made for easy running as you leaped over logs and avoided thick branches. You shivered into the chilly air, the trees covering the sun and causing the temperature to drop. With each bounding step, your shoes became more dirtied, brown earth covering your lower legs.

The bell of your collar rang like an ominous toll, the sound only proving how desperate you were to make some distance.

As you made your way through, you almost tripped on air. Or, what you thought was just the air. You stumbled forward and luckily tumbled to the side as the tripwire snapped, a big hole opening up where you should have fallen.

A trap. You crawled over to look in the now-visible hole. There were no spikes, nothing to seriously maim you. But it would considerably slow you down if you got yourself stuck.

As you stared at what was almost your fate, stuck in a hole, a shot rang out into the air.

Birds fluttered away in the distance. Nick had begun the hunt.

Not sticking around to find out if he would actually shoot you, you got up and began moving. Your legs were fatigued, and it was hard to pull yourself along, but as the birds that had been scared off by Nick’s shot passed you, there was a new, renewed sense of vigour coursing through you.

You couldn’t run anymore, not with your legs weighed down and traps around. There were multiple tripwires scattered about, and it was hard avoiding them while also trying to make your way.

Not wanting to give away your location, you tucked the bell under the collar so that it sat between the fabric and your neck. There were still slight sounds, but they were mostly muffled. And it was the best you could do as you needed your hands free.

The further you got, the more you realised how much this game was pitted against you. You never had a chance to actually get away. Nick had made sure of that as if he was scared you would actually get away from him. The forest seemed endless, you couldn’t reach a full omega sprint, and there were booby traps all over.

It had been at least ten minutes since Nick sounded that he had begun hunting, but you hadn’t heard him behind you. Despite constantly checking and listening for sounds, it seemed like you were alone.

You made it to a small stream, and it gave you a chance to splash some water over your face and try to wash your scent glands so that the smell wasn’t as strong. What you didn’t realise was this just washed your smell downstream and gave Nick a very easy way to find you.

The brush became thicker as you ventured further with heavy feet. Sick of the shoes, you tried to take them off, but Nick had tied them so tight you’d need a knife to cut them off.

Sweat dripped down your brow as the sun reached its peak. It was becoming hot, and it made the situation that much worse.

This was by far the worst hike ever.

Just past the stream, across the path you were trying to take, laid a large, hollowed log. Part of you wanted to hide, but that seemed like a stupid idea. You began to climb the log to get over it.

As you slung your leg over the bark surface, a sickening shot sounded. You heard the whoosh of air before it hit you. An almighty pain on the back of your left thigh that had you howling into the warm air. “Fuck!”

You fell over the other side of the log, clutching at your thigh. “Fuck, fuck!”

It hurt like a bitch, but when you felt for a wound, you couldn’t find one. There was no bullet?

You didn’t have much time to inspect your injury, as you could hear the rustle of leaves under Nick’s boot as he began to approach. “Puppy, come out, come out, wherever you are.”

Something told you he knew exactly where you were. With a whimper, you picked yourself up and began running. Your trudged steps were staggered as you limped on your injured leg. Pain flared through your body as tears pricked at the corner of your eyes, your heart hammering in your chest.

There was fear, but something else too. A spark that lit you like a conduit, leaving your body buzzing with exhilaration. This was what it felt like to be alive.

“I can smell your cunt from here, puppy. You’re dripping, aren’t you?” Nick taunted, before taking another shot, this one landing on your left hip.

You screamed out a cry, the bell on the collar becoming dislodged from its hiding spot on your neck, the jingling joining in with your distressed sounds.

Another shot whooshed past you, only just missing your head. Did he miss on purpose? Either way, it frightened you enough to bolt with all the energy you had.

You did exactly what Nick wanted you to, as while you ran at full speed, you weren’t looking out for tripwires.

An almighty yowl came from you when your ankle snagged a taut line of wire, causing it to snap. Within milliseconds, a large net scooped you up into the air, leaves and bark scattering around you from where the net lay hidden.

The thick rope burned against your skin as you writhed in the entrapment, hot tears wetting your cheeks. Nick came into view, smirking as your movements caused the net to swing in the air like an animal for the slaughter.

You wailed, gripping the ropes as you looked at your alpha below. Nick did always have a way of putting you in a cage. “Let me down!”

“Now, now. That’s no way to ask, is it?” Nick crossed his arms as if chastising you like a petulant child.

You huffed, squeezing your eyes shut. This was a sick joke you wanted no part of. “This isn’t funny!”

“I’m not laughing.” Nick was deadpan, and you were about ready to chew the rope to get out if you had to.

But there was no winning with Nick. The only option you had was to give him what he wanted. “Please, let me down.”

“You can do better than that,” Nick sniped, blue azures watching you carefully with a mischievous twinkle.

“Alpha. Please, let me down from here.” You hated the way you sounded so desperate - but it’s because you were. Your stomach roiled with the way you were suspended in the air, anxiety nipping at your heart.

“Mm. What do I get in return, hm?” Nick mocked you, playfully poking you with the tip of the rifle so you swung in the air. “Maybe a really nice kiss?”

“Fine—”

“I hadn’t finished. A really nice kiss on my cock, omega. I want you drinking down all my seed until your belly is fucking full of me.”

A shudder ran through you, both of excitement and disdain. That was something he’d never asked of you, always too insatiable for your cunt. But right now, you’d do just about anything to not be suspended from a tree with a throbbing leg and hip. “Okay. Let me down, and I’ll give your cock a really nice kiss.”

“Deal.”

You hadn’t thought much about how you were going to get down, but you certainly didn’t expect Nick to pull out a hunting knife and cut the rope connector, causing you to drop to the ground ungracefully.

A yelp left you when you fell in a bundle of nets, still trapped on the ground as you’d got yourself snared.

“You really should be more careful, pup.” Nick used the same knife to cut you free. He pulled you out of the rope, sitting you down with your back to a nearby trunk so he could squat in front of you. His fingers grasped your chin as he inspected your face, grinning at you. “Glad to see there’s no damage to this pretty face.”

“You shot me,” you growled, anger clear in the way you were close to snarling at your alpha.

Nick scoffed, holding up the gun, which had a little orange tip on the barrel. It wasn’t real? “You’re being dramatic. It’s an air rifle.”

It explained the lack of injury. But it still hurt like hell. “You shot me.”

Nick smiled, a sickly grin that had you on edge. He hummed, slinging the gun over his shoulder with his jumper sleeves rolled up, tattoos on full display. “Yeah, I did. The pain is liberating, isn’t it? I bet if I dipped my fingers in your pussy right now they’d get soaked. Don’t play coy like you didn’t enjoy the hunt and the pain.”

You couldn’t prove that; your panties were drenched.

Nick placed the knife toward your throat, the tip resting under your chin, so you had no choice but to stare at him. “Tell me I’m wrong, and I’ll stop.”

The part of you that wanted to fight had long died. Tears trickled down your cheeks as you thought. He wasn’t wrong, not in the slightest. The chase made you feel like you actually existed. For so long, in Nick’s home, you felt like a ghost that would only sometimes become material. But here, out in the wilderness with your alpha, this felt real.

The threat of pain was freeing, and it felt nice to be able to scream into the air without caring for repercussions. In this moment, there was no penalty for being the prey in Nick’s sick game.

He was right; you were fucked up. But Nick failed to recognise that you had become that way through his creation.

Nick took your hand, placing it over his that held the handle of the blade. You could kill him or yourself with just a flick of your wrist. It was powerful to feel the handle through Nick’s warm hands. He moved the knife from your throat, allowing you to take full control of the weapon.

The handle felt homely in your grasp, a sense of security held in the sharpness of the metal. Nick held out his palm, offering himself to you. If you did this, it confirmed every word Nick said.

He was turning you into the same monster he was. This wasn’t Beauty and the Beast. It was just two beasts, two fucked up souls reaching the same point of irredeemable.

You took a deep breath, your free hand steadying Nick’s palm before you brought the blade down to his skin. You just held it there, looking up to watch the way Nick was completely calm. There was no fear, no hesitation. Perhaps, marking him like this would give your own sense of ownership to your alpha. It would make it easier to live in a world where this man was your everything.

He took so much from you. It was only fair you could take some back in return.

If you were destined to spend the rest of your life with him, then maybe you could find your own happiness in taking from him as he does you. Your eyes turned back to his pale flesh before you let the sharp blade slice across his palm. It wasn’t a deep cut and wouldn’t need stitches. But blood seeped out the cut and pooled in his hand nonetheless.

Nick brought the injured hand to your face, cupping your cheek and letting his ichor mark your skin as if you wore the battle scars of his life essence.

It felt right. This was your life now, whether you liked it or not.

“Always and forever, puppy.”

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#rookthorne’s reactions #Lana’s loves #clockwork au #my chase link did in fact go brrrr #🤣🤣🤣

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thelanternwielder · 7 years ago

Text

Too Late - Part Eight

Author’s Note:

Although this chapter isn’t too lengthy, you might notice the “keep reading” link below. I have gone back and put the link on all of the chapters because, originally, I was ignorant of the ediquette of posting fanfiction on Tumblr. Forgive me; it is my first attempt at this sort of thing!

Previous part: >Here<

The Start: >Here<

EDIT 2018/07/05: Part Nine is >Here< finally!

Tell me what you think. Feedback is always appreciated.

It was morning time. The cafeteria was quietly buzzing with the chattering of S.T.O.R.M. personnel while they grabbed their breakfasts and took them to their tables on trays.

X-Ray had collected his meal and was lethargically walking towards the cluster of tables at which his teammates sat.

He reached them. His friends turned to greet him.

Bravo said with a smile, “Hey –“ it was dropped in shock, “Whoa…you look wiped out, dude.”

The others were just as surprised.

X-Ray regarded them with incredibly tired eyes that he battled to keep open. He was losing. He wandered over to the seat next to Alpha and placed his tray on the table. He clumsily slumped onto the chair.

Alpha frowned at the bespectacled boy, “What happened to you?”

He weakly replied, “Couldn’t sleep.”

Tango remarked, “What? Too much screen time again?”

“No,” the boy explained with groans, “Nightmare. Woke me up.”

He slid his fingers under his glasses and rubbed his eyes.

Kilo had a mouthful of toast as he spoke, “That must’ve been some nightmare to keep you awake.”

X-Ray gazed at his friends as his eyes filled with fear thinking about last night.

Alpha nudged the boy with his elbow and reassured, “Hey, it’s only a bad dream.”

“But it felt so real.”

X-Ray saw his comrades’ faces of concern. It prompted him to describe the dream.

“I was strapped down on my back. Couldn’t move. There were these…glowing figures. They were green and made out of slime. One of them approached me and grabbed my head. The slime creeped across my face and into my mouth and nose. I couldn’t breathe. I thought I was going to die. The last thing I remember was the grin that monster had while I struggled.”

He shuddered, “Brrrr!”

The feeling of second-hand horror had spread around the table and leached into the children as they listened to X-Ray’s recount.

Tango’s eyes flickered to the side. Those creatures sounded familiar.

“That is so eerie,” she commented, leaning towards X-Ray, “I’ve seen those monsters in one of my dreams that I had last week.”

“Really?” Bravo’s eyebrows were raised.

Kilo crunched on his toast quizzically, bending his ears to the girl.

“Yes,” she said, “Although, I was able to fight them off with my Monsuno. I ended up flying away. They couldn’t catch me.”

Alpha’s eyes sparked with realisation.

“I’ve seen them too,” he smugly smirked, “but they weren’t able to touch me. I was wearing impenetrable steel. I was slicing through them with my sword.”

The girl of the group snarked, “Let me guess: you were a knight.”

“Yeah,” Alpha was serious.

Bravo pretended to cough to disguise his mocking words, “Knight kink.”

“What? Hey!” Alpha slammed his hands on the table as he shot up.

Kilo began to snicker, trying his hardest not to choke as he swallowed.

Bravo held his open hands to the standing boy, slouching back, “What’s wrong, Red? I just coughed.”

Tango was infected by the giggles. It would have claimed X-Ray as another victim, but he was too exhausted to pick up what Bravo had said.

The ginger boy glared at them, “Unlike you knuckleheads, I have an appreciation for a time when people were bold, daring and proudly fought with honour! And none of this tech that we use existed either, so you were relying on your strength and fortitude to win.”

The group’s laughter had calmed as he sat down again. The commotion had caught the attention of another person as he was collecting his breakfast: Chase. The boy in blue began to dawdle past Strike Squad’s seats, eavesdropping.

Kilo gestured to Tango, Alpha and X-Ray with his piece of toast, “So, y’all have seen these weird slime monsters in your dreams?” Chase’s ears pricked, “The same slime monsters?”

Tango shrugged, “Looks like it.”

Chase approached one end of the tables. Strike Squad noticed.

The boy was polite, “Hey guys. I was going to sit with the rest of the team,” he pointed behind himself with his thumb, “You wanna join us today?”

Strike Squad were somewhat suspicious. The two groups never really sat together. They were also still fierce rivals, despite working on the same side.

Chase tried to persuade them into the truce, “C’mon. A change is as good as a holiday, am I right? Eh? Eh?”

“Alright, I’ll bite,” Alpha said, standing up with his tray, “but just this once, Suno.”

“That’s the spirit, Alpha,” Chase smiled, “Any more takers?”

The rest of Strike Squad glanced at each other. They relaxed their scepticism.

“Only for one day. Can’t hurt,” Kilo mentioned as he got up.

The rest followed him, picking their trays up. X-Ray was a sloth in comparison to his friends, lagging behind them.

The boy in blue beamed as he led Strike Squad to Team Core-Tech’s table cluster.

At one of them, Bren saw Chase approaching. He then spotted Strike Squad. The boy with glasses had an expression that was a cross between bemusement and amusement.

“Uh, hi Chase,” he greeted.

Chase sat next to him, grinning back. Alpha sat opposite Chase, next to Jinja.

Jinja regarded the red-headed boy carefully.

“Deciding to sit with us today, huh?”

He looked back with a half-smile, nodding slightly, “Yeah.”

Dax and Beyal paused from their eating and glanced down the tables. Strike Squad had definitely joined them for breakfast. They were not imagining anything.

Dax waved mutedly at the people at the other end, mouth still full of cereal. Bravo waved back.

Before commencing his meal, like the others had already done with a clatter, Chase turned to the boy with the buzzcut, “Hey Kilo. There was something that you said that caught my attention, something about seeing green glowing slime monsters.”

The S.T.O.R.M. specialist was about to take another bite of his toast before he was addressed.

He answered, “Er, yeah. I did. Some of us have been seeing them in our dreams.”

Bravo added, nudging the tired boy in between he and Alpha, “Little dude over here had a nightmare about them.”

X-Ray grunted in confirmation, chewing slowly.

Tango asked, “Why are you interested, you snoop?”

Chase glanced at his team before replying. Both Jinja and Beyal were in reflective states.

“I’m only curious because I’ve seen them in a couple of my dreams recently.”

He took his first bite.

Beyal spoke up with a revelation, “So have I.”

Jinja was the same, “Me too.”

“Whoa…” Bren’s words were trailing off with unease, “That’s so spooky…”

Jinja turned to Strike Squad, “Were they attacking you in your dreams? They were in mine.”

“Attacking?” X-Ray whimpered, “They were trying to kill me!”

Chase gave a troubled look to the boy.

He hesitantly replied, “They were trying to murder me too. They seemed to really despise me, but I was able to retaliate in my dreams.”

“Same,” Tango was beginning to see the similarities.

Alpha nodded, “Yeah, ditto.”

Dax looked at Beyal, “What about you, Monkfish?”

“They tried but they could not land a sludge-coated hand on me.”

Dax turned his gaze to the rest of the group.

“And it’s just been you three,” he gestured to Alpha, Tango and X-Ray, “over there that have had these dreams.”

Kilo responded, “Bravo and I haven’t had those dreams.”

The blond boy shook his head.

Chase added, “And it’s Jinja, Beyal and I who have seen these ghouls too.”

“This can’t just be a coincidence,” Tango stated.

“My thought exactly,” Jinja concurred.

Dax glanced at Beyal again. The monk was pondering deeply.

“Monkfish?”

Beyal blinked out of his brief trance.

“I have realised something,” he said in his neutral tone, “It did not feel like a normal dream whenever those creatures appeared. They felt like visions.”

Everyone stopped eating upon hearing the last sentence. The clanks of cutlery on trays served as a sort of record scratch. There was an astounded silence at the tables.

Bravo was the one to break it, turning to the opposite end at where the monk sat, “Visions.”

“Yes, and every time those otherworldly beings appeared I have also seen the symbol of an X with a line through it.”

Bren’s eyes widened, struck with recognition, “Hey, I remember seeing that symbol at those ice caves.”

X-Ray gulped.

The monk continued, “I do too, before I was kidnapped.”

Alpha added, “And I remember seeing the symbol in my dream. It was on the armour of a knight that I was versing, except it was actually one of the monsters inside it.”

Chase gave the red-headed boy a mystified look before turning to Beyal.

He pointed out, “Isn’t that symbol the one you saw in your vision when you were captured?”

“Yes,” Beyal’s eyes grew as he began to slot the pieces of the surreal puzzle together.

He regarded his peers, “The eight glowing figures…I think I know who they are.”

Team Core-Tech were more familiar with the monk’s vision than Strike Squad, but everyone had a rough idea of what he spoke of.

“Who?” prompted Chase.

“The blue ones are you, me and Jinja. The yellow ones are Alpha, X-Ray and Tango.”

The monk hesitated. Alpha’s eyes narrowed.

“I thought you said eight. That’s only six.”

“The other two, the red ones, I am unsure,” Beyal’s voice was full of uncertainty, “but I believe they were meant to be Dom Pyro and Hargrave.”

The others, who were following the monk’s train of thought, had become derailed by his perplexing remark.

Bren’s eyebrow was cocked, “Uh, what brought you to that conclusion?”

The monk elaborated, “Those dreams that we have had were, in fact, visions.”

Chase stated with scepticism towards his friend, “But I thought you could only get visions if you had the Monsuno voice.”

Amazement began to swell among some of the group at the implication of the boys’ words.

Bren dampened the swell, “Hey, I was able to have a vision…once…and I haven’t been visited by these monsters.”

Chase recalled that moment, “B, you were holding my head while I was meditating. I projected that vision onto you.”

“Yeah,” the spectacled boy crossed his arms stubbornly, “but it still was a vision.”

Kilo had a look of envy flash upon his face.

Dax turned to Beyal, pointing his spoon at him, “Didn’t you do that to Mr Deranged and the Creepy Butler when you were tied up?”

“They did see my vision,” the monk responded, “and were able to do so without touching me.”

Dax’s spoon drooped as his eyes popped.

“That’s not possible,” he declared.

“Not unless they have the Monsuno voice.”

The boy with dreads banged his hands on the table, “You’re bleazing kidding me!”

Beyal reservedly replied, “I am neither bleazing nor kidding.”

Dax had an immense feeling of injustice towards the truth. The others were still attempting to digest all of the new information on top of their meals.

“So, we have this psychic power,” Alpha had a wily grin stretch across his cheeks, “and we didn’t even know it.”

“So do our enemies, apparently,” Chase observed, “And those slime monsters that keep appearing,” he glanced at Bren and Beyal, “are connected, not only to all of us, but to the mountains.”

X-Ray hunched his shoulders, “I don’t wanna go back there.”

Tango commented, “Something tells me that’s where we’ll end up.”

The two unified teams continued their breakfasts, clanking and crunching, reflecting on their discussion and what it could entail for the future.

However, Beyal still had a question left about his enigmatic vision: who was the ninth figure that burst through the floor meant to be? Its crimson colour suggested that it was someone who was associated with Eklipse. But there couldn’t possibly be another member of that team that possessed the Monsuno voice, he reasoned.

The monk mulled it over, munching away.

Meanwhile, in the Eklipse Resistance ship, another mystery was unfolding: The Curious Caper of the Missing Madman. Nobody had seen Dom Pyro get up that morning. He had vanished, it seemed.

Hargrave was the self-appointed detective on the case, determined to solve it as quickly as possible. He was heading straight towards the control room to review the security footage of the last twenty-four hours.

He marched down the hallway that led to the room and abruptly halted when he entered.

Before the butler was Dom Pyro, still in his pyjamas, sleeping awkwardly with his head on one of the chairs in the middle of the room. The rest of the slumbering man was draped along the ground.

Hargrave wandered up to behind the chair, regarded the man for a second and placed his hands on it.

Taking a step back, the butler yanked the chair from underneath the man’s head.

Bang!

The man awoke with a jolt from smacking his head on the floor. The butler contently pushed the chair to the side. He stood in front of the man with his hands behind his back, watching.

Dom blinked, powering up. He lifted himself drowsily to his hands and knees. His eyes met dress shoes. He followed the figure upwards.

“Oh, hello Clockwork Man,” he was dazed, “What are you doing in my bedroom?”

The butler corrected him, “You’re in the control room, Dom.”

“Hm?” the man sat up, gazing around.

He looked back at the butler, “How did I get here?” he clutched his head, “And why does my head hurt?”

“I was sincerely hoping you would be able to tell me but clearly not,” the butler raised an eyebrow, “Perhaps you were sleep-walking and fell, which would explain the sore head.”

Dom shook his head, “But I don’t sleep-walk.”

“How peculiar.”

The butler went to the console and switched the computer on.

The man in pyjamas got up, “I thought I went to bed after what happened last night.”

The butler’s fingers began to rattle the keyboard as he accessed the security footage.

He queried, “Was there some sort of incident?”

“You didn’t hear the squelching sounds?”

He turned to the pyjama-clad man with a furrowed brow, “No.”

Dom pointed to himself with his hand, “Well, I heard this squelching, along with growling, outside my door. It was keeping me up,” he folded his digits into a tight fist as his eyes widened with excitement, “So, I decided to get up and track it down, whatever it was.”

The butler faced the massive screen again, “Why am I not surprised?”

He summoned the footage of the area in front of the bedrooms during last night. He began to speed through it, searching for any movements. The cameras had a night-vision setting so darkness wasn’t an issue.

He paused it when Dom suddenly popped out of his room.

“There I am!” the man recognised himself, “I told you that I got up.”

The butler scrutinised the man in the footage. He noticed something baffling about him.

“Your eyes are closed.”

“Huh?!” Dom’s jaw dropped, “But I was awake! I swear!”

“Our cameras do not lie; those eyes are shut tight.”

Dom was quite bewildered. He was certain of what was real before seeing the contrary on screen.

The footage was played at normal speed. The man in the video was striding down the hallway, as if his eyes were open.

Dom began to narrate, noticing that his movements mirrored what he had experienced when he believed he was awake, “After poking my head out of my room, I spotted this light at one of the ends of the corridor. I approached it. That was where the sounds were coming from.”

As the man in the footage drew near the corner of the hallway, he began to sneak.

But there was no light. In fact, he crept towards nothing.

The butler asked, watching the footage with disbelief, “What colour was the light?”

“Green.”

The butler’s pulse seemed to hasten at that moment. The man in the video suddenly froze and regarded the emptiness with what appeared to be fright.

Dom commented, “I discovered this slimy monster slinking in the hallway.”

The man in the footage began to back away, “It was snarling at me, reaching towards me with its sticky tentacles. It was staring at me with all those eyes. So many eyes!”

The man bolted away, down the corridor and around the corner. Hargrave rapidly threw onto the screen the footage of the camera that would have seen the man. He began to track the man in this manner.

The butler was trying to make sense of the madness, “So, you found this…slime monster and it proceeded to chase you.”

“Yes,” Dom crossed his arms, “I was meant to be the one hunting it, not the other way around!”

The man abruptly skidded to a stop at a corner and tried to go the other way. He was impeded by some invisible force. He glanced at both ends.

Dom said, “At this point, there were these two humanoid figures in front of me, coming towards me. Behind me were three more.”

“There were five of them?” the butler was now horrified, recognising the type of monsters the madman described.

Dom smirked, “Silly slime people! They thought they could trap me,” he chuckled, “Oh, how wrong they were!”

The man in the footage suddenly charged towards the corner, seemingly dodging the obstacles that stood in front of him. He banged against the wall with his back before slipping away.

The man was running so fast that Hargrave had some trouble keeping up with him. He gave up trying to make the footage flow seamlessly.

“For someone who is meant to be asleep, you are awfully rapid!”

The madman chortled again.

Eventually, the camera for the control room was reached. The shut-eyed man slid into the room, head twitching about as if his eyes were seeking something.

Dom’s smile disappeared, “This time, they really did corner me. I could hear them, shouting, calling out to me.”

The butler wondered if the monster with the red streaks under its eyes was one of the beings that pursued the madman.

In the video, the man approached one of the chairs and picked it up. He held it in a weaponised way. He then flattened himself against the wall next to the entryway.

The butler’s eyes narrowed. Another stupid smile appeared on the madman’s face, knowing fully what was about to happen.

The man in the footage, all of a sudden, began to wave the chair violently at his invisible foes. He swung with such force that the swishing that it generated could be picked up by the camera’s microphone. It would have been enough to permanently knock out someone.

“Oh, my giddy aunt!” the butler exclaimed, “What are you doing?”

“Defending myself,” the madman’s teeth gleamed.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Eventually, the man in the video put the chair down.

Dom explained, “Those slime monsters ran away,” he hid his teeth, “but I chased after them with the chair.”

The man began to sway while facing the front of the chair. He collapsed forwards, chair sliding as his head landed on it. The footage then paused.

Dom frowned, “I tried to catch the monsters, but they were too slippery and escaped. Then I went to bed afterwards. Why didn’t I act that out?”

He looked at the butler who was in a state of contemplation as he cupped his chin with a finger and a thumb.

“Clockwork Man?” he tilted his head to the side.

The butler faced him, “Those monsters that you speak of are the same ones that appeared in my last vision,” he gestured to him, “an elaborate dream. However, there were only three in mine.”

Dom glanced at the screen, “A vision. I was enacting a vision,” he began to lean on the terminal, body more angled towards the butler, “So, you reckon that I should’ve only seen three of those things.”

The butler suggested, “Maybe your vision is to inform us that there are actually five of those hideous creatures out there. I hope not,” he sighed, “but visions normally come true, don’t they?”

“Normally.”

The butler turned back to the computer and closed the application for accessing the ship’s security footage.

He briefly regarded Dom from head to toe and remarked, “I recommend that you get dressed. You don’t want to keep the Doctor waiting, do you?”

“No,” the madman began to wander towards the doorway, “I hope we do something today. That dream has put me in the mood for a hunt.”

The butler soon followed suit and departed from the control room, now satisfied that he had closed the case on the morning’s mystery.

As for Dom’s wish, it was never granted. For the entire day, everyone was stuck inside the metal ship recuperating from the last expedition to the ice caves.

Evening fell on the frigid mountains and nothing eventful had happened.

In the steely halls of the Eklipse Resistance ship, Charlemagne had wandered up to one of the bedroom doors and opened it. The light from the hallway silhouetted her figure in the room.

She entered and scanned the bedroom. Large, dark, unoccupied.

She spied the wardrobe. She approached it and slid the door open. Her hand brushed against the garments as she attempted to identify each one.

She snatched one from its coat hanger: a thick dark jacket with a hood.

She turned to the light to see if she had plucked the right one. It was black with red trimmings.

She smiled, electrified with spite. Alternating hands that held the jacket, she slipped her arms into the sleeves of her long white coat. She then draped the jacket over her shoulders while exiting the bedroom.

She reached to the side to pick up a black forked gun that was propped against the wall. It was the same one that she stole from the incapacitated S.T.O.R.M. soldier when she escaped the flying fortress. It still had a few shots left.

She closed the door and trotted down the corridors, keeping an eye out for anyone else. Vengeful electricity was building up deep inside her, like dark menacing clouds on an overcast day.

In her mind, she had escaped one prison just to end up in another. She wanted true freedom, not to be transferred from cage to cage.

She was soon to discharge herself from the ship, to bust out of there. And there was nothing anyone could do to stop her treacherous storm.

#monsuno #fanfic

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