#on the other side im just screaming and sobbing. AUGH | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

kitten-mafiagang · 4 years ago

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Pretty Blue Flowers [Akaashi x Reader] Hanahaki AU!!

(Reader's pov)

Hi im (y/n) (l/n) from photography club and im not like the other girls in our class.Well many people doest really see me like im a ghost because im always the 2nd person on the background of the scene i guess..but i never knew someday ill be the main character...with a sad ending.

(At school)

I was running late to the photography club because m teacher just let me to some of the paperworks she suppose to do.

I opened the door panting.

"*pants* s-sorry im late Mitsuba..." i greeted my only friend mitsuba she is also at the photography club.

"(N/n)-chan!! we need to take some pics to every sports club today!! im assigned to the basketball club and you were assigned to the volleyball club!!" she cheered at me.

"Boys girls..?" i asked.

"boys" she replied.

"augh..this will be weird" i complained.

"Oh got to go now (n/n)-chan!! bye bye~" she left the club room.

'lets see whats interesting today...' i thought

(At the Gym)

Before i even opened the door i heard screams and noises.

"AKAAASHIIIIII" i opened the door and saw the boys in circle.

"Bokuto-sa-" the white haired ones cut him off.

"AKAASHI DONT TOSS TO ME AGAIN!!" he screamed.

I stood there and watched the small scene infront of me.The Black haired ones looked at me until.

"Look bokuto-san she got a camera i think shes from the photography club maybe shes here to take pictures of you as our ace.." the black haired ones pointed at me.

"e-eh?" i was confuse and all.

"R-REALLY?!" the white haired ones stood infront of me with a wide grin.The black haired ones looked at me and gives me the 'play along' looks.

"Y-YEAH!! Im here to takes pictures of the volleyball team most impoertantly the ace!" i smiled at him playing along.

(Timeskip after the picture taking)

After i took the pictures of the team,eh..mostly bokuto-senpai i hurried my way out silently not to attract attention.

"(l/n)-san.." akaashi-senpai called.

"a-akaashi-senpai what is it..?" i asked.

"You forgot this.." he handed me the camera.

"t-thanks akaashi-senpa-" he cut me off.

"Akaashi....call me akaashi" he said.

"o-oh ok then akaashi..."

Since that day i admired akaashi...ok not just admire i came up to love him.Its been days no weeks turn to months hanging out with bokuto and akaashi.

Until one day...

"(y/n)-chan!! Im right, right??!" bokuto screamed.

"Well yeah but arent great horned owls are indanger-" bokuto cut me off.

"AKAAASHIIII!!" bokuto called akaashi.

"Hey isnt that Miko-chan and akaashi-san...?" a student muttered.

"OH my god!! the two school prefect couples-" another one muttered.

Looking at the two i was suprised,akaashi has a girlfriend? are they really dating...? or its just mistunderstanding...

While i was in my deep thought i started to feel weird and itchy from my throat and i ran out of the scene and rushed to the bathroom.

"E-eh?! (y/n)-chan!!" bokuto-senpai called.

I ran out and rushed inside the bathroom and locked myself to a cubicle.I started to cough blood at the toilet bowl with few Pretty blue petals.

"F-flower...?" i was confuse and remembered what the two girls were talking about and i coughed more.

Its been a week since i was like this i also spit a whole flower which made me scared.

I searched up about this kind of symptoms,And i was suprise what pop out first 'Hanahaki disease' a disease for one sided love and also can cause death.

The whole night i was browsing how to remove this disease before it could kill me.There was two ways if i should take a operation or if the person i loved loves me back.

Well i dint tell my parents since they work in a different country...yeah i live alone.

(Timeskip at school)

(Akaashi's pov)

Its been a week since (y/n) was acting weird and it worries me and bokuto.She would always excuse herself whenever she sees me..is she avoiding me..?

did i do something...?

"Googmorning Miko-chan" I greeted Miko when i saw her at the hallways.

"Goodmorning too keiji-kun!!" she would call me by my first name always and it bothers me sometimes since people mistaken us couple.

I was about to walk forward when i saw (y/n) standing behind Miko.

"Keiji-kun what's wrong..?" Miko asked.

(Reader's pov)

They are couple!! First name basis...

It kinda saddens me so i decided to ran away from akaashi and Miko.I rushed at the bathroom and locked myself in a cubicle and starts vomiting and couching violently.

"T-thorns..?!" i was suprise this time i spit out a whole flower with thorns.

The whole day was very tiring so i decided not to go home yet since i could feel this is it.I went to the gym with my camera at my hands and i saw akaashi and bokuto practicing some cross shots and line shots.

When i was about to greet akaashi,Someone at my back shouted and ran inside.

"Keiji-kun!!" It was Miko she ran inside and greeted the two boys.

It pains me i could see his smile lingers from his face while talking to the cheerful Miko.Maybe i was the wrong thats right..Im just a background...a second person in the backline,I pulled my camera to take a picture of akaashi smiling.

Its a pretty smile...

As soon as Akaashi's pretty eyes glanced at mines i started to tear up and ran away.

I was at the school garden and saw the only blue flower at the flower pots.

I pulled my camera and take a shot of it..It was the same flower i always spit out its very pretty...like his eyes.

I went home and printed the picture out and started at it.

I wrote few words at the photo and went to bed.

"So this is how i end huh..."

"Well im glad i met you...Akaashi.." Everything turn black.

(At school)

(Akaashi's pov)

Its been two weeks since (y/n) dint go to school.I was heading to my classroom and saw few students holding few Blue flowers some of them have bouquet of white and blue roses.

I was confuse what happened? is there a event that i dint know?

I went to a classroom where few students where staring a table with many blue flowers and a pink haired female sobbing deeply.

"(N/N)-CHAAAAAAN~!!!" she sobbed more.Wait did she meant (n/n)..? as in (y/n)? i went closer to the table and putted my hands on her shoulder.

"What happened to (y/n)...?" i asked the pink haired female.

"A-akaashi-san?!" she was suprised.

"c-come ill explain!" she wiped her tears using her sweaters sleeves and dragged me out into the school garden.

"S-she...she has hanahaki.." she said blankly.

I knew the disease i heard about that before since some news channel shows victims of it.

"Who?" i asked her.

"what do you mean...?" she asked.

"who did she fell for...?" i asked.

"I dont know!! she only left one thing before she passed..." she pulled a photo and (y/n)'s camera.

"(n/n) would always take pictures of the most important things to her i dint get to see whats inside the camera but you could find it out yourself.." she said and ranned away maybe to her desk again.

I checked the photo of a Blue flower and something is written from the back of the picture.

'Pretty Blue Flowers' written behind it.

I soon checked her camera next and the first thing got my attention.

It was a picture of me tossing a ball and i checked more and there was me smiling when i was talking to Miko yesterday.

Did she like me....

I checked more things from the camera but theres nothing else important.

The only answer i got is

Pretty Blue Flowers....

#haikyu x reader #akaashi angst #x reader #hq angst #angst

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ladyseaheart1668 · 7 years ago

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Endless Summer Book 4: Daughter of Vaanu (Chapter 6)

Description : On their last morning on La Huerta, the Catalysts work out a plan to get Alodia safely home.

CW : There’s a scene that involves torture this chapter.

Tagging: @xo-endlessmayhem-xo ; @princesstopgun If you would like to be added to the tag list, let me know.

Chapter Six : Operation Perseus

Alodia

A prison chamber. Two rooms. One is an interrogation room, the other a cell with a cot and a plain, functional toilet and sink of stainless steel. Between them, a heavy locked door and an observation window of thick glass. I huddle in the corner of the cell, dressed in a dull gray jumpsuit. My head is swimming. Rourke has taken my friends. He's taken them and hidden them from me and no one will tell me if they're safe. Faceless Arachnid soldiers come in from time to time to hold me down and draw my blood, and then they leave. I am fed, but I can't eat much. When I eat, half of it comes back up again into the stinking stainless steel toilet.

The door to the interrogation room opens. I close my eyes, curling in on myself. I don't want to see who it is. But then I hear a familiar voice.

“My god! Father, what have you done to her?!” Aleister cries. There is real distress in his voice, and that startles me enough to make me look up. The last I saw of Aleister, he was betraying us, turning us over to his father. Now he looks at me through the observation window and he looks like he might cry. Rourke and Lila are with him.

“She is resistant. She doesn't understand yet what needs to be done, nor how essential a role she plays.”

“So you've tortured her?!”

“I have done nothing of the sort!”

“One of your minions, then?”

“No one has tortured her, Aleister,” Rourke snaps, sounding irritated.

“Let me in!”

“Of course, my boy,” Rourke sighs, rolling his eyes. “It's why we're here.”

I hear the door unlock. Reflexively, I recoil, pulling myself more tightly against the wall. Aleister hurries toward me, though he mercifully pauses a few feet away. He kneels slowly, holding his hand out to me as if I am a stray kitten he is trying to coax out from under a bush. I probably look like one, dusty and dirty as I am, with my hair tangled and matted.

“Alodia? It's all right. We're not here to hurt you.”

I stare at him through a dirty curtain of tangled blonde hair that falls over my face. I shouldn't trust him. He's the reason I'm in this cell. But his voice is so gentle, and I am so desperate for a kind, familiar face that I find myself drawing a little closer. I cough a little. My lips are dry and cracking, and when I move them to speak, they hurt, and I can taste blood.

“...Water...” I croak. “Please...”

Aleister rushes away, returning a moment later with a canteen. He opens it and holds it out to me. I snatch it from his hand and gulp the contents. Water fills my mouth and trickles out the sides as I chug, but I don't care. When the canteen is empty, I let it fall from my hands, curling back into the corner.

“Alodia...” he whispers. “I'm sorry. Please believe me. I'm so sorry.”

“Where are the others? Are they all right?”

“...I...don't know...”

I raise my eyes to meet his. “Where is Grace?”

His mouth twists with agony. “...Dead.”

The word lands on me like a physical blow. I recoil further. “...You're lying.”

“...Do you really imagine I would lie about that? It was a virus. Something native to this island. She had to be placed in quaratine, I couldn't even...” His voice breaks. “...Father says you could undo it...”

“...What?”

“The power we have discovered in you in unparalleled. Only the Endless itself is nearly as strong,” Rourke says. “All we need is for you to allow us to unlock your power and you can turn back the clock. Save Grace. Save anyone you wish. Save the world.” “...I don't believe Grace would thank me for that.”

“Alodia, please,” Lila begs. “Just hear him out.”

I shake my head hard. “I can't, Lila! He can't be trusted!” I look desperately at Aleister. “He's playing you, Aleister, just like he always is! Do you really think all he wants is to bring Grace back?!”

“I think he can do it! That's all that matters!”

“At what cost, though?! If I give him whatever power is inside me, what will he do with it? Come to think of it, what will it do to me to give it up?!”

That actually seems to give him pause. He looks back at Rourke. “...Father...?”

“You have my word, Alodia. You will come to no harm.”

I consider for a moment, only for a moment. Then, I shake my head. “No. Last time you gave your word, we lost Craig. Now Grace is gone, too. I'm not losing anyone else on your word!”

Aleister recoils from me now, tears dripping from his anguished eyes. Lila suddenly looks fearful. Rourke, however, regards me with pitying amusement.

“Oh, Alodia...do you still not realize that my word is all that is protecting you or your friends here? One way or another, you are going to see reason.” He clasps his hands behind his back, striding to the observation window. “But I grow impatient waiting. Perhaps it is time I raise the stakes. ...Lila. Which of the Selected do you believe Alodia is closest to?”

I look up sharply, feeling my breath catch in my throat. My heart goes cold and drops like a stone into my belly. Lila, noticing my distress, swallows hard. But she averts her eyes and answers, “Diego. Or Jake. Diego is her best friend and Jake is her lover.”

“And which do you believe could persuade her faster?”

Lila keeps her eyes firmly on the wall in front of her. “Diego. He is more dependent on her, and much less resilient than Jake. Much less in his element. Jake has a military history. He'll be much more resistant to torture.”

The last word goes through me like a knife. “No...” I whimper. “Rourke, please...”

Rourke ignores me. “Mmm. Interesting. Do you agree, Aleister?”

I look desperately at Aleister, but he will not meet my eyes now, either. “...Not necessarily. It is true that Jake has been conditioned to resist torture more. But Diego is in love with a Hostile. I believe that will strengthen his resistance.”

“Aleister!” I cry. “What the hell are you doing, you bastard?!”

“Very interesting,” Rourke murmurs, smirking. “I expect either would work. But...I have felt Commander Lundgren growing restless of late. Perhaps I will throw him a bone. Lila, call him in. Tell him to bring Jake McKenzie with him. He should be prepared.”

“No!” I try to go for Lila, but in my weakened state, Rourke is easily faster. His arm whips around and slams into my belly, knocking the wind out of me and sending me sprawling backward. I lay moaning, struggling to catch my breath.

“The longer you resist,” Rourke says flatly, “The more they will suffer.”

I slowly drag myself upright, gasping. As I raise my head, I see the door to the interrogation room open on the other side of the window. Lundgren enters with two Arachnid soldiers who drag Jake between them, shackled hand and foot.

“Jake!” My voice comes out strangled and distorted. His head snaps up and his eyes widen. He starts to struggle against the soldiers who hold him fast.

“Alodia!” He turns his furious gaze on Rourke. “What have you done to her, Phony Stark?! I swear to god if you've harmed one hair on her head--”

Lundgren cuts him off with a violent backhand. “Shut up, Wolf. She ain't the one you ought to be worried about.”

“You ought to be more worried about yoursel—oof!” A punch to the gut makes him crumple to his knees. The Arachnid soldiers hold him down as Lundgren kneels in front of him, drawing a switchblade. He cuts open Jake's shirt, exposing his chest. Then he takes the cigar from his mouth and presses the smoldering end to the bare skin under Jake's collarbone. He goes rigid with the pain, screaming, and I scream with him. Rourke finally pulls the cigar back and Jake slumps, trembling. From his pocket, Rourke fishes a small, metallic device. Jake gasps in agony as Lundgren presses the device against the blistering burn. It sticks.

“Let 'im go,” Lundgren orders the two soldiers. Jake scrambles to his feet and stumbles to the window, pressing his palm against mine through the glass.

“Are you okay? Did they hurt you?”

I shake my head frantically. “Jake, get out of here. You have to get out. You and all the others have to get out now!”

“I ain't leaving you. Pretty sure the others will say the same.”

“Jake, please! I think they're going to kill you! Please, just run!”

“If you seriously think I'm gonn—augh!” He cuts himself off with a scream, doubling over and crumpling into a heap.

“Jake!”

“Don't kill him just yet, Commander,” Rourke says silkily when the screaming stops for a moment. “I want to see if our most honored guest can be made to understand her power without further loss of life.”

“Princess, whatever he's asking for, don't give hi--” Another protracted scream that I answer with my own. There's a device in Lundgren's hand. It must be connected to the one on Jake's chest. They're torturing him with it. He abruptly goes limp, gasping and trembling.

“Jake! Jake, stay with me! Please, stay with me!”

“I do not wish to kill him, Alodia. I do not wish to kill him, or your friend Diego, or any of them. But I will. If that is what it takes to make you understand.”

Jake's back rends, his muscles going rigid with agony. He's trying not to scream now, but he isn't succeeding. I throw myself against the glass, beating the window with my fists. He goes limp again, whimpering. I look desperately at Aleister, my vision blurred with tears.

“Aleister, please...he's your friend...how can you watch this?!”

“You could save him. You could save Grace. You could save Craig. You could save everything.”

Lundgren's hand moves again. More screaming that goes through my like a knife. I double over, my body spasming with sobs. I can't tell how long it goes on. The crescendo of screaming that fades into whimpers and moans. And then the voices floating on top of Jake's pained weeping. Rourke. Aleister. Lila. Asking. Begging. Demanding that I give him my power. I could stop this. I could save Jake. Grace and Craig are dead, but I could save them, too. It breaks me to see him suffering. Breaks through my resistance, my misgivings.

“...Please...please, I'll do anything. Just stop hurting him...”

“Good. Good girl,” Rourke purrs. “You'll see. It will all work out for the best. Commander, kill him.”

“No!” I scream. Suddenly, Aleister and Lila are screaming with me.

“Father, you can't!”

“Mr. Rourke, you said--”

“I can't risk her changing her mind. If she ever does, the Dog will be next.”

“Jake!” I press myself desperately against the window, smacking my palms against the glass. “Jake!”

Lundgren draws a pistol and aims it at the man crumpled on the floor. Jake's eyelids flutter, and he raises his gaze to mine. His expression twists with agony.

“...Don't I even get a few last words?”

Lundgren shrugs. “Why the hell not. Make it quick.”

Jake's eyes hold mine. “...I love you, Alodia. You're gonna make it. You're stronger than anyone I've ever known. ...Look away now, okay? You don't wanna see this.”

“No...Jake, don't leave me...I need you...”

He draws in a shuddering breath, closing his eyes. “...Malfoy, if you still care about her at all, you won't let her watch this part.”

Lundgren raises his pistol again. Aleister breaks away from his father's side to pull me away from the window and turn me toward him. He clasps me hard in his arms, holding my head firmly against his shoulder. I should struggle. I want to struggle. I want to beat on him and tear at him. But as the gunshot splits the air apart, I can only cling back, sobbing brokenly in the arms of the one who brought me to this moment...

… I wake with a gasp and find myself sweating and shaking in a hammock under Elyys'tel's sheltering branches, entwined in Jake's arms. He's snoring just a little, his head nestled against my shoulder. I shake him gently.

“Jake? Jake, wake up...”

“Huh...? Whasshamup...?” He grunts, clearing his throat. His eyes focus on my face. “Are you okay?”

“I had a bad dream...”

“Yeah?” he asks around a yawn. “What was it about?”

“...A timeline when I failed.”

That seems to bring him around to full consciousness. His arms tighten around me. “...You wanna tell me what happened?”

“...I think...Rourke figured out that he needed me to finish Project Janus. I don't think he actually connected me to the Endless. I'm not sure if he had the Island's Heart...I couldn't really remember. ...But he tried to force me to help him. ...By torturing you in front of me. Or rather, letting Lundgren do it.”

I feel him shudder. “Not gonna lie. That sounds damned awful. ...Lundgren always had a talent for inflicting pain.”

“...I gave in to stop him from hurting you. ...Rourke let him kill you anyway. So I wouldn't change my mind about turning back time. Said if I ever did, Diego would be next. And Grace and Craig were already dead...”

He brings a hand up to stroke my cheek. “But they're not, though. We're all alive because of you.”

“I know. ...But...I'm scared.”

“Something in particular scaring you?”

I close my eyes, breathing in his familiar scent. “...I failed more than two-thousand times. The visions in the idols...the ones the Endless gave me...those were only a fraction. I'm afraid of those memories that haven't surfaced yet. ...I'm scared I'm going to keep seeing you die in my nightmares. You and Diego and Quinn and Grace and Sean and Craig and...everyone...”

“Well, I'll tell you what, Princess. Every time you have a nightmare, I'm gonna be there when you wake up to tell you it's okay. No matter how many times you dream about me dying, I'm still gonna be there when you wake up.”

“...Promise?”

“You know I do.”

I cuddle up in his arms, my head on his chest. In his embrace, my trembling subsides and my heartbeat slows. “I love you so much, Jake.”

“I love you, Alodia.”

“...I think, though...when we get back, we should make it clear that our marriage wasn't legally binding.”

“Why's that? You looking for an easy out?”

The teasing note in his voice makes me think he knows the real answer, but I tell him anyway. “If we tell people we were handfasted in local ceremony, they'll start asking questions about who the locals are. Better they think it was something our friends oversaw when we were imprisoned and convinced we were about to die. ...Besides...I think I'm going to need time to...ease my aunt and uncle into the idea of you. They'll be less resistant if I introduce you as my boyfriend than as my husband. I don't think they'll believe that I could have met you and fallen in love with you in the space of six months.”

“I would say I don't give a crap what they think, but I'm guessing it's not gonna be easy to shake 'em for awhile.”

“I wouldn't imagine so, no.” I lift my head to look him in the eye. “Are you gonna be okay coming with me to California? I mean, I assumed, but...”

“Don't worry about me. I've been working in a dive bar in Louisiana. They can replace me two seconds after I call 'em and say I ain't coming back.” I open my mouth to respond, but he puts a finger to my lips. “No, don't try arguing. I don't care where we end up, long as we're together. You know that.”

I nod, lightly biting his fingertip before letting my head drop onto his chest again. “Yeah. I do.”

“...On the other hand,” he says with a grin in his voice, “I should take care to be on my best behavior, since this is officially gonna be...'meet the family'...”

I chuckle, but I shake my head. “You already know my real family. ...In a way, I'm going to be meeting these people for the first time, too. I have enough memories to know who they are, but I also know that they probably never existed until I was retconned into the world. Or at the very least, I was never a part of their lives...And I should try to stop thinking about this because it just makes me dizzy.”

“Tell you what. Why don't you tell me what you remember about them? Moments from your childhood. Your teenage years. Might make them more real to you.”

I shudder. “...Most of what I remember of my teenage years isn't very pleasant. Especially from Uncle Rob.”

He brings up a hand to stroke my hair. “Yeah?”

I nod. “...I was Aunt Molly's sister's kid. She was the one who really pushed him to agree to adopt me because she didn't want to give up her dead sister's kid to the state. She didn't want kids any more than he did, but she couldn't let go of the last piece of her sister so easily. ...He tried to hide it, but I know he resented me for pushing into his life. Much more than she ever did. It wasn't so bad when I was a kid, but when I turned into a sullen teenager, things got worse.”

“I can imagine you weren't the kind of teenager who just locked herself in her room as soon as she got home from school and spent her free time listening to emo music.”

“Not at all. Diego was the good kid who never made trouble. Or he wouldn't have ever made trouble if it weren't for me. With Aunt Molly and Uncle Rob gone on business so much of the time, we ended up with the whole place to ourselves a lot. ...The other night, he and I were talking about the time I convinced him to come over and raid my uncle's liquor cabinet with me.”

“Dare I ask how old you were?”

I feel a smile playing around my mouth. “Fifteen.”

He whistles. “Wow. You were the wild one, weren't you.”

“...I guess I made Diego do all the things he was too afraid to do alone.” I feel my smile slipping. “...I think about that night, and I kinda wonder if he wouldn't have been better off without me...”

I feel Jake's arm tighten over my shoulder. “What happened that night that makes you say that?”

“We got completely shitfaced on Kahlua. When the hangovers hit the next morning, we huddled under the blankets in my room for two days, convinced we were going to die. Then a few days after that, Uncle Rob and Aunt Molly came home. And when Uncle Rob realized the Kahlua was missing a few days later...I...” I close my eyes, curling into him. “...Well, let's just say I wore pretty heavy concealer for a week or two.”

“...Aw, shit...”

“...That...probably makes it sound worse than it was...”

“He laid hands on you, that's bad enough. I'm guessing he and I ain't gonna get along.”

“He had never done it before. Never did again.”

“He never will again. ...But...except for a nasty hangover, it doesn't sound like Diego suffered much for knowing you that night.”

“...No. I took the whole blame for the missing Kahlua. I ran to Diego that night and told him the bruise was because I swiped a twenty from Uncle Rob's wallet. ...I'd done it before, so he believed me.” I sigh. “...And...that night we got drunk was the night he came out to me. ...I suppose when I didn't exist, he didn't have anyone he could come out to...”

“Wanna know what I think?”

“What do you think?”

“I think you're the friend he always wished he had because that's the kind of friend he always needed. He made it as far as he did in another timeline because he's strong. But now, he didn't always have to be strong. He had someone there to protect him when he was bullied, someone he could be honest with. And when he did have to be strong, he was being strong for you. Because your bastard of an uncle beat up on you, or...someone broke your heart. ...Don't you think a hideous hangover at fifteen was worth the chance to come out to someone who would tell him there was nothing wrong with him?”

“...Yeah. Probably. ...It was everyone's need plus Vaanu's energy that first created me. I was born to be what all of you needed me to be.”

“And now all of us are gonna be what you need us to be. Shit, Princess, do you even have any idea what you mean to us? Not just me and Diego, but every one of us? Raj and Zahra and Aleister and all of them?”

“...If they love me half as much as I love all of them...” I swallow hard. I think of my dream, of Aleister turning me away so that I wouldn't see Jake die, that small act of genuine love and kindness in spite of his betrayal.

“They love you just as much as you love them, if not more. We're gonna take care of you, Princess. We're your family, and we're all gonna stand by you. Don't you doubt it.”

Diego

After blissfully making love, I fall asleep under the moonlight in Varyyn's arms, the warm tropical breeze caressing my bare, sweat-slick skin. In the arms of my one true love, knowing my best friend is safe with her husband within easy reach, I feel more contented than I think I have ever felt in my life.

The next day, I watch Allie, Sean, and Jake team up against Seraxa, Varyyn, and Taari in quuk'tanoi, and I remember the day the twelve of us first arrived on La Huerta, that first night at The Celestial. La Huerta felt like a paradise then. Today, it feels like one again.

Allie's team presents a strong challenge. Rusty though they may be, the three of them really are a dream team when it comes to anything competitive like this. They manage to score two points before the Vaanti team scores one. But then the tides start to turn. The Vaanti overpower them, and Taari himself scores the winning goal.

Nightfall finds us proudly watching as Seraxa presents her foster son and heir with his owl mask in an elegant ceremony. As the crowd cheers the Vaanti's newest, youngest warrior, Taari beams at them from behind the mask. I look at Varyyn beside me and notice his eyes are shining.

“You okay?”

“...He is still so young. It is difficult to imagine him going into battle.”

I lace my fingers with his. “There's not much to battle these days on La Huerta.” I lay my head on his shoulder and feel him squeeze my hand.

“Long may peace reign.”

“Amen.”

“...We have peace because of Alodia.” Varyyn raises his eyes skyward. “...My mind is still connected to hers.”

“It is?”

“Yes. She believes there is nothing significant in it. That it simply means we are who we are, each of us with a connection to Vaanu, and that our joining minds on the beach has not been undone.”

“Well...that all makes sense.”

He sighs, looking down again. “...She is troubled. Frightened. Confused.”

“Unfortunately, I'm not surprised,” I murmur. “I may not be mind-melded with her, but I know her. Besides, anyone would be troubled and confused in her situation.”

“You are right, of course.”

But his words stay with me. I find myself watching Allie for the rest of the night. When I finally sleep, my dreams are a bizzare collection of moments that all kind of lead back to the same conclusion: Allie needs my support. She's broken and bewildered, and she needs familiar faces beside her.

The following day is our last full day on La Huerta before we return to our lives. As we're finishing breakfast, I clear my throat.

“Hey, guys, I think we should talk about the logistics of getting everyone home now that we've got Allie back.”

“What do you mean?” Craig asks.

“Well, normally Jake flies us all back to London so Varyyn doesn't have to worry about security or anything like that. And I know you guys all fly home from there.”

“...Is that not going to work this time?”

“No,” Jake murmurs. “...Alodia may have an ID and passport somewhere out there, but we ain't gonna find it in time to get her a commercial flight back to the states from London. If we land in London first, I'm gonna have to fly her home myself. Which I could do...”

“The thing is...” I take a deep breath, covering Varyyn's hand with mine. “Varyyn, you know I love you and I never want to be without you. But I can't leave Allie right now. I know more about the world she's going to be transitioning back to than anyone else. Maybe even more than you yourself, Allie.”

She shrugs. “Probably. ...I wasn't going to say it, but I'm terrified of facing it without you.”

“I would not dream of asking you to separate right now,” Varyyn assures me. “I can survive without you for awhile.”

“The thing is...I don't know how long awhile is going to be. ...I'm kinda hoping we can find someplace safe enough that you can stay with me.”

“Of course if that is a possiblity, I would prefer it.”

Allie frowns thoughtfully. “I...might have an idea on that. Diego, do you know if my aunt and uncle still have the beach house?”

“As far as I know,” I reply, sighing a little. It's actually a little funny how quickly I've grown to consider this new timeline the real one, enough that I can roll my eyes at some of her family's more extravagent status symbols. “They didn't stop being obscenely wealthy when you disappeared.”

“Wait, your folks have a beach house?!” Raj exclaims. “In California?!”

Allie winces a little. “In Laguna Beach. It's a second home, if you can believe that.”

Michelle raises an eyebrow. “What exactly do they do?”

“Uncle Rob's a lawyer, Aunt Molly's a plastic surgeon. And they live in the Greater L.A. area, so guess who most of their clients are. They probably could have had a ten million dollar home in Beverly Hills, but they chose a more 'modest' million-dollar estate in Alessandro Heights so they could keep the beach house for entertaining. ...I've only seen it a few times. Most of their parties weren't exactly 'kid' parties, so I was left with Diego's family most of the time they were hosting until my fingers stopped being so sticky. But they did let us use it for both our eighteenth birthdays and our high school graduation parties.”

“...They were going to let us use it to celebrate our college graduation,” I murmur.

“Ohh, man, that would've been freaking sweet!” Craig sighs. “We would've been invited, right?”

Allie laughs. “Duh, Craig! Anyway, here's what I'm thinking now. I may be able to convince them that Jake and I need a place to ourselves. I'm guessing I can convince them to let us take over either the beach house or the place in Riverside. Then you and Varyyn can stay with us and we can all look after each other.” She frowns a little. “...Thing is, though, it might take awhile before they're ready to let me out of their sight. ...Especially given that I'm not sure how they'll react to Jake.”

“Hey, I can always find a place to rent,” I say quickly. “In case you've forgotten, I am a best-selling author now. I'm not really hurting for money.”

“I know. But if I can manage it...”

“Whether Varyyn and Diego end up at the beach house or an apartment, there's still gonna be some downtime before things get settled,” Jake points out.

“I can wait in London until then,” Varyyn says. “It is all right, really.”

“You may not have to, though. I got a thought. There's a little risk involved, but I think it may be work out.” He takes Allie's hand, squeezing it. “You've been a missing person for five years, Princess. Both Lundgren's trial and Rourke's were national news. As was the disappearance of one of his Selected. No matter how quiet we try to sneak you back in, we're gonna have to deal with the police at some point. ...My sister came across your case file and was willing to keep it quiet. ...I say we ask her help. She may be able to hide Varyyn until we can get him and Diego someplace safe.”

A hush settles over the table. I see Allie's chest start to rise and fall a little faster. “Jake...I...don't take this the wrong way, but...can we trust her? I mean, I'm sure she's a good sister and a good cop, but...with the Vaanti? With my origins?”

“I think we can. We can bring Mike in to back us up, too. Rebecca's a responsible cop, but she ain't so by-the-book that she won't bend the rules if there's a good reason to bend 'em. And I can't think of anyway harrassing the Vaanti is gonna relate to your case once she knows the facts.”

“But will she believe them?”

“With our very own Papa Smurf in front of her as evidence? I know my sister, Alodia. She's a healthy skeptic, but she's also got an open mind. She's just the right mix of wary and receptive. Besides,” he raises her hand to his mouth and kisses it. “You know I wouldn't suggest it if I thought for a second it would put you or the Vaanti in any real danger. Don't you?”

She nods, slowly but without hesitation. Jake looks at me. “What about you, Short Stuff? You've had the chance to get to know Rebecca a little. You in?”

I hesitate just a little. “It isn't that I don't trust her...but I am inclined to be cautious to the point of overprotectiveness with Varyyn. It's one thing to put him on the street in human clothes and let people think he's going to a costume convention, but it's another to bring in someone outside our family and say, 'Hey, he's part of a race of super-evolved humans who got that way when their ancestors drank the sap from an alien tree'.”

“Rebecca is family,” Jake says firmly.

“You know what I meant. ...Thing is, Jake, I trust you. So...if you can honestly tell me you'd be comfortable telling Rebecca that her sister-in-law is actually the human daughter of a crystal alien that got trapped on earth and that she's been retconned into existence after giving herself up to save the world from destruction...then I'm in.”

“I believe she can be trusted with everything,” Jake answers without hesitation. “She's the only person outside of the La Huerta sphere that I would trust.”

His confidence doesn't entirely erase my doubts, but I don't think anything ever could. I trust his love for Allie enough to know that if he had the slightest doubt, he wouldn't be suggesting this. My biggest fear is that he'll discover his trust is misplaced, but I can't deny that he knows his sister better than I do.

“...All right. So, we'll see if Varyyn can stay with your sister until either I find an apartment or Allie gets run of the beach house, or the house in Riverside.”

“Oh, please say you'll angle for the beach house,” Raj says with a grin. “Do you realize how many awesome parties we can have there? Hell, we could throw a New Years' Eve party that would top Elysian Lodge! Fireworks and everything!”

Allie snorts. “Don't get ahead of yourself, Raj. I have to get the beach house first.”

“If the plan is for Varyyn to stay in Los Angeles,” Aleister remarks, “perhaps we should alter our flight plan to land there instead. Rourke International can certainly reimburse everyone the cost of altering your tickets when we arrive.”

“I just have one problem with that plan,” Michelle says. “I have no doubt that once Alodia is officially a found person, the police and her family will have doctors all over her, testing her DNA and making sure she's healthy. If being a time anomaly has done anything strange with her body, wouldn't it be safer if I found out first? I had been thinking that I could sneak her into my hospital under an assumed name to have them run blood tests and scans.”

“...Wouldn't that leave a paper trail?” Jake asks uncertainly.

“I was hoping Zahra could help with some of that.”

“Tell me what you need, I'll see what I can do.”

Michelle nods. “There are also a few equipment techs I can probably bribe with Condors tickets to give the results to me directly and not put them in the system. Not to mention interns who will need to be bribed to let me handle the procedures...” She looks hopefully at Sean, who grins.

“In the name of sneaking Alodia back into the world, I'll pull every string I can get my hands on.”

“So, should we plan on landing in Northbridge now?”

“You'll have your choice of places to crash,” Quinn says cheerfully. “Alodia and Jake can stay with me and Michelle, and Varyyn and Diego can stay with Craig and Zahra.”

“Wait, you and Michelle are living together?” Allie repeats. “What about Sean?”

“I mostly stay with them. But my mom's place has an extra room for me, and I'm kinda paying her rent. Perks of a pro athlete's salary.”

“I see the sense in your plan, Maybelline,” Jake concedes. “Can Rourke International spare the private plane for a second flight from Northbridge to L.A.?”

“Of course.”

“Or! Better idea!” Raj exclaims. “I rent us a van, and we make a Catalyst Road Trip of it!”

“As...enjoyable as that sounds,” Aleister says, trying and failing to hold back a smile, “Grace has a show coming up in London that she has to prepare for. Besides, the longer we take getting Alodia to Los Angeles, the more likely it is she or Varyyn will be seen by someone we don't want to see them.”

“Aww, that's a good point. Why did you have to make a good point?”

“My apologies.”

“Are you still willing to let some of us come with you, Alodia?”

“Well...everything will be have to be managed carefully, especially when it comes to introducing everyone to my family. But I am happy to have any of you around that want to be there and can spare the time.”

“I can come along,” Estela remarks. “Tio won't mind if I take an extra week or two to get back. In fact, he'll probably be thrilled by the idea of me spending some time in Los Angeles.”

“I'll go, too,” Quinn declares.

“You know I'm in!” Raj says cheerfully.

“I can probably swing a few extra days off,” Craig adds. “How about you, Z?”

Zahra grins, jerking her head at Aleister. “Ask my boss.”

“Well, I suppose I can spare you,” Aleister mock-sighs.

“I wish I could come,” Grace sighs. “But like Aleister says, I have to prepare for a show.”

“...Okay. So, I guess we have a plan now.” Quite suddenly, I find myself feeling lighter. I didn't even realize how nervous this was making me until now.

“I feel like this brilliant plan needs a name,” Craig remarks. “A cool code name like Operation...something...”

“Operation Andromeda?” Allie suggests wryly.

“I believe Operation Perseus might be more appropriate,” Aleister replies thoughtfully.

“What's a Perseus?” Craig asks.

“A character in Greek Mythology. A son of Zeus, and the eventual consort of Princess Andromeda. It was Perseus who saved Andromeda from being sacrificed to the sea monster Cetus.”

“Wait, sacrificed to Cetus?”

Aleister sighs, rolling his eyes. “Yes, Craig. Cetus was sent by the god of the sea to punish Andromeda's mother for boasting that her daughter was more beautiful than the sea nymphs. When Cetus continued to terrorize the kingdom, Andromeda's father decided the only way to stop it was to sacrifice Andromeda. So he chained her naked to a rock and left her to die.”

“Dude!”

“But, Perseus eventually rescued her, using the severed head of Medusa to defeat Cetus.”

“That's...kinda twisted, all things considered,” Zahra remarks. “Especially Rourke's obsession with mythology.”

“...Rourke didn't name Cetus,” Allie points out. “He didn't name me Andromeda, either. That was the Endless. ...I've been trying to figure that one out for a long time.”

“Well, no need to figure it out anymore,” Jake declares, winding an arm around her shoulder and pulling her close. “Cetus is dead, my Princess Andromeda.”

“So, Jake is Perseus now?”

“I think you're all collectively Perseus,” Allie declares firmly. “If my Cetus was actually Vaanu, then all of you are Perseus, because all of you are helping me get my life back.”

“Frankly, I think if we start searching for mythological parallels to everything that happened on La Huerta,” Estela remarks, “we are all going to end up with massive headaches.”

“Agreed,” Quinn says cheerfully. “We have one more day on La Huerta before Operation Perseus or whatever it is gets underway. Let's enjoy ourselves!”

#Endless Summer #playchoices #pixelberry choices #choices stories you play #Diego Ricardo Ortiz Soto #Jake McKenzie #sean gayle #raj bhandarkar #Craig Hsiao #aleister rourke #grace hall #zahra namazi #michelle nguyen #estela montoya #quinn kelly

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