#only warriors - fic

[cyanferret21]

Child of lightning AU

A perfect future where no one hides any secrets from one another and everyone is happy! Just chilling together as a Chain (feat. Brea the fairy) ))

One day, one day, my bois)

Also Wild showing off his dragon athleticism and skill with bow and arrow) Show off!

[breadandblankets]

there's a lot of Jason as a fanfic writer headcanons (which I love) but we're sleeping on the bat that is canonically not just a huge nerd but also a great writer: duke

where's he's at now he doesn't do hobbies he barely does humaning, he's The Signal practically full time, all his fics are on permanent hiatus

theres a better future where he learns to take breaks and has a note on his mega fic like "life ya know?" like No duke we Don't know

[daisychainsandbowties]

any avatrice recs :)))) have already read all your fics and now i am depression (genuinely daydream abt ur star wars au daily)

i could hype each of these fics individually but basically if it’s here i think it’s incredible and you have to read it 💖💖🥰

///

the sweetest taboo// 1930s au &

i know now what no angel knows// fallen angel au by @dumpsterfireofsubtext

indy au part 1 & part 2// or, ava peels an orange & makes me feel insane 🫠🫠🫠 by @estherthenormal

lemon drop boy// t boy ava au

lazarus woke with a kiss// scp/ lab rat ava au &

how to stitch holes in the sky// dragon age au, all by @the-darkness-does-not-bargain

teach me to love (as you have loved me)// this is. yeah. this is beautiful. newbea au by @birgittesilverbae (💖💖 ily)

beyond our space and starlight// eldritch au by @thistleation

escape attempt number whatever thousand, some hundred and four, probably// hades au by @foulbearobservation

do a flip// aikido gfs au by @sunsafewriting

if saints and angels spoke of love// (bea is a math teacher & ava’s basically the guy from dead poets society) by @mermaidandthedrunks

choose the devil i know (over the heaven i don’t)// firefighter au by @sapphicstacks

leave the light on (i’ll find my way home)// lighthouse au by @snowandwolves

on the run from a losing game// chef au by @fiddleabout

this must be the place// lumberjack au by @littledata

love thy neighbour// my fav roommates au. pokemon strap-on fic 😌🙏

turning sun into sugar, spinning straw into gold// pnw au by @gohandinhand

the world is just an illusion (trying to change you)// roadtrip au, &

a lover, or something of mine// reincarnation au by @smokestarrules

who needs comfortable love// sentient halo au by @the-ominous-owl

this celestial glow is blinding// firewatch au

the thought of high windows// 60s au

pull back the curtains for venus// alien bea au &

of greater marvels yet to be// fleabag au, all by @seabiscuits-us

[legendofzoodles]

This post is a little gory, reader discretion is advised.

Sky: Would you help me hide a body?

Hyrule: No I am not helping you! I want nothing to do with this!

Hyrule: [curious] ...But why? Is hiding bodies a fad in society now? Dang I'm really out of touch.

Sky: In what Hyrule is that a fad?!

Wild: [coughs]

—

Time: [sighing] I'm always cleaning up after you boys.

Sky: Wait Old man it was just—

Time: [pulling a trash bag from his adventure pouch] Where is it?

—

Wild: Hide...a body? O-Okay sure, I'll help you...

Wild: [muttering] Oh but not all of it I'm sure I could find uses for at least a few of the body parts...

—

Wind: [thumb up] Yeah of course! We'll just toss it into the ocean.

Sky: Ok but what if the Hyrule was landlocked...?

Wind: What if what? I'm a pirate.

Sky: Is that really how it works?!

—

Warriors: [polishing his sword] Huh? Dispose of a body? I can do that.

Sky: You...can?

Warriors: [glancing at his reflection] Eliminating traitors is a bit sporadic with its state funding so, I've had to get my hands dirty.

Sky: ...oh buddy.

—

Legend: Whose body is it? Under what circumstance? Who did the killing?

Legend: Sorry, I need to know if I should do it with enthusiasm or not.

Sky: [voice crack] Ledge...

Legend: Well I'm sorry, you keep telling me to find joys in life. I am trying!

—

Twilight: A-A body?! W-Why would you want me to...?!

Twilight: Wait, this one of Wild's pranks? Is he in that bush with his Sheikah Slate?

—

Four: [deadpan] Here's a list of ten efficient ways to dispose of a body.

Four: [very deadpan] It was my best self study project when I was a kid.

Four: [we all know this is Vio talking] The example body wasn't human, but that can't be too different.

Sky: [disturbed] ...No you can have it back. That question was just...

Warriors: [dutiful in improving his craft] Great can I have it?

—

Sky: Ok this is the last hypothetical! Between Wind's magic box thought experiment, Four's out of context question and this?! We're clearly really bad at these.

Twilight: Not sure what kind of responses you were expecting with that one to be honest.

Sky: ...You're right this one's on me.

~~~

Thanks for reading! Based off this

Sky got the fun hypothetical question from a friendly bar patron.

Wild coughed in that first one because with the restoration of his Hyrule ground in Hyrule field is being built on and, well, they are unearthing a lot of 100 year old skeletons. Not exactly hiding bodies, but...

Masterlist

[sunfloweraro]

More Pink Bunny Stuff!

Warriors learns not to touch Bunny without permission the hard way. His response catches Bunny off guard

(AKA the scene I thought I’d already shared and had promised @thatonecrazysidekick (oops!). @tiredgaytheatrekid more Bunny stuff!!)

✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 .

Wind began to hum absentmindedly as Warriors towelled off his hair, cheerful despite his earlier complaints, and Warriors couldn’t help the smile that lifted the corners of his lips. He took more care with drying his young friend’s hair, pulling the damp strands out of Wind’s face, tucking a lock behind his ear.

Wind groaned. “Wars, you’re babying me again.”

“I would never.” Warriors definitely was. How could he not, when Wind was like the little brother he never got to have? When Wind reminded him of his boisterous little sister back home.

“You are. We should start calling you Ma.”

“If that would make you happy,” Warriors said, smile turning into a smirk as he finished off drying Wind’s hair. “Done. Was that so bad?”

Wind scoffed, but when he stood, he leaned into Warriors’ side, a brief moment of affection to show his appreciation. “Terrible,” he said.

“Truly terrible,” Warriors agreed. “And you are welcome.”

“Thanks, Wars.” Wind smiled at him, that toothy grin that made Warriors think so much of his little sister, and he couldn’t help but pinch Wind’s cheek. “Ah—don’t!” He shoved Warriors’ hand away, cheeks aflame.

“Alright. Go have your dinner now.”

“Yes, ma.” For that, Wind earned Warriors’ hand ruffling his hair, messing it up even more. “Ugh, Wars.”

“Wind.”

“You need to eat too.”

“I will once you have all eaten.”

Wind, more than used to his idiosyncrasies by now, nodded, grabbing his arm and dragging him closer to the fire, where Twilight was dishing out the soup he and Time had prepared. He shared a nod with Warriors, ladling out a bowl for Wind and passing it over before moving on to the next hungry mouth. Only once they had all eaten their fill could Warriors pick up spoon and bowl and dig in himself, once he was certain they were all fed and not going hungry. They all knew that well by now, didn’t try and push him before he was ready.

While Wind had his dinner served, Warriors let him go, moving over to sit alongside Hyrule closer to the fire, where warmth pressed against his chest and legs as he sat on the log left behind by the lizalfos.

“You smell better,” Warriors commented.

“Likewise,” Hyrule said, and they shared a grin. It was then Warriors noticed the little rabbit—Bunny, as Hyrule and Twilight had taken to calling it—nestled in Hyrule’s lap, clean and fluffier than ever. And pink.

“Huh,” Warriors commented, his eyes on Bunny.

“Yeah,” Hyrule agreed. “We think it must be an era-specific thing. I’ve never seen a rabbit this colour in my era.”

“It could be dye,” Warriors offered.

“We thought that too, but I’ve checked and the colour goes right down to the roots. If he’s been out in the wild for weeks, then his natural colour would have started to grow back by now. So… pink fur it is.”

“Pink fur it is,” Warriors agreed, and when Hyrule hummed, beginning to run his hand down Bunny’s back, smoothing out the fur, that warm affection leftover from his time with Wind swelled in his chest. He reached out to pet Bunny’s fluffy pink head as Hyrule was doing. It happened fast, a blur of pink and then sharp, fiery pain along the back of his hand.

“Ow!” Warriors tore his hand back, inspecting the little bite mark, lazily weeping ruby red. “Did he bite me?”

“Oh my—Bunny!” Hyrule began to chastise the rabbit, but Bunny only had eyes for Warriors. Violet narrowed at him, watching him with suspicion, and Warriors found all frustration dissipate.

“It is okay,” he assured Hyrule. “I should not have tried to touch him without permission.”

Violet eyes widened slightly. Warriors thought back to Twilight’s comment of Bunny being a lot smarter than the average rabbit. Wondered if Bunny could understand him—perhaps not his words, but the meaning behind them, his tone of voice.

“I am sorry,” he spoke to Bunny this time and not Hyrule. “I should not have tried to touch you without permission, and I swear I will not do it again.”

Bunny watched him for a long moment, curious. He blinked slowly. Then he dipped his head, the gesture far more Hylian than Warriors anticipated from the rabbit.

[emilianadarling]

Some of the Imperial propaganda pictures I referenced and used as inspiration for a scene in the latest chapter of my fic ‘only as strong as the warrior next to you’. 😊 (Please do mind the tags.)

All of the images above can be found in “Star Wars Propaganda: A History of Persuasive Art in the Galaxy”. It’s an amazing reference book and I’m really enjoying it!! It also came with 10 free posters included... bonus. 😃🙏 Also, made a rebels equivalent -- check it out!

[riddlemearose]

Phoning a Friend

Warriors watches the two Champions blearily, forcing his eyes to stay focused on them. He knows one is the Shadow but he can’t let himself entertain the possibilities of who the other one is. For now, he has to think of it nothing more than another potential enemy.

The one with the odd spear that gleams gold, its green gem ornaments clinking softly against the shaft as he twirls it, keeps himself between Warriors and the twisted Champion. The golden spear spins and spins, batting away a sickening dark blade every time the bloodstained, withered Champion tries to break through his guard.

Watching the spinning spear is actually making Warriors feel nauseous. Well, he mentally amends that to ‘more nauseous’, glancing down at the blood spreading across his tunic.

And this weird noise, whatever it is, isn’t helping! There’s something heavy weighing the clearing down, pressing into Warriors’ skin.

All he can hear is this pulsing loud tick tick tick in his ears, accompanied by an odd warping sensation in his limbs.

It’s magic, he knows that much, but he’s never felt it before and has no idea which Champion it may be coming from, if it even is either of them casting the spell.

He turns his head to spit out a mouthful of blood and it feels like the movement takes an eternity to complete.

So either his blood loss is more severe than he thought, or there’s something else going on.

The spear-wielding Champion darts backwards, his grip along the spear finally shifting into a proper stance, grinning wildly.

Ha, Warriors is hilarious.

A large shining gem sitting at the dip of the first Champion's throat lights his face up from below, all deep shadows and softened edges. He’s breathing heavily, a slight tremble visible in his fingers as he readjusts his grip.

The other Champion across from them makes a sweeping gesture with its withered arm and something red and alive spurs into life, lunging forward. The shape twists, absorbing what remains of the rotted flesh, and large, monstrous fingers stretch into existence. They reach through the darkness for the first Champion, wicked under the moonlight.

The first Champion raises the spear slightly in response, his grin vanishing as it's smothered under a blank, smooth expression that Warriors refuses to recognise. The fingers, the vile magic, get closer to his face, closing the distance rapidly—

And Time shoots out of the bushes, the Biggoron sword catching the moonlight as it arcs through the air and severs the arm from withered Champion's body. The arm hits the ground and melts into a writhing pool of furious magic, thrashing around that Champion’s feet.

The ticking in Warriors’ ears stops so abruptly he's thrown off-kilter, reeling at the sudden silence left in its wake.

Time glances at him, a quick look filled with concern and worry, then shifts his gaze to the spear-wielding Champion — Wild, Warriors lets himself finally acknowledge.

Dozens of micro-expressions fly rapidly across Time's face before he finally decides on grim determination.

“That,” he says in an almost wobbly tone of voice, taking up stance next to Wild, “is loud.”

“Yeah, I’ve been told. Sorry about that.” Wild agrees, still focused on the withered copy of himself standing in front of them. He shoots Time a small grin, barely there but blindingly obvious if you know what to look for. “Worked though.”

Time lets out a quiet huff of laughter, his own small smile twitching across his face. He shifts, sword held tightly in both hands. "You're definitely not wrong about that, Wild. When we get back to camp, you'll have to tell me how you managed to make your magic even louder than it already was."

[lu-fic-recommendation-of-the-day]

Do you know any good Dark Link Redemption fics? I’m already following ADATL and I read When Dink Dinked up, but I want more so badly.

(I’ve also read A Guide To Living (Again) if that counts as a Dink redemption)

By: @luckyletio

Summary:

“So,” Malon states levelly, “for some reason, the guy you attacked, chained up, and imprisoned in our pantry, isn’t being cooperative.”

The pantry door rattles, angry hissing coming from within.

The collection of Links in her kitchen appear rather sheepish. Her own Link blinks back at her, “…Well, when you word it like that…”

-Or-

Heroes have been pulled together from across time to face a mysterious threat, but accidentally find a Link with a darker tale to tell.

Tags:

Dark Link joins the Chain

Enemies to Friends

Kidnapping

accidental Dink acquisition

Misunderstandings

Mistaken Identity

Wrongful Imprisonment

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD

The Shadow and Dark Link are separate entities

Whump

Angst

Angst with a Happy Ending

Comedic angst

Hurt/Comfort

Emotional Hurt/Comfort

Canon-Typical Violence

mute character

Other Additional Tags to Be Added

Downfall Dark AU

Word count: 4,589

Finished: No

[crazylittlejester]

Inspired by your answer to an ask about Wars sisters.

Imagine. The Chain gets to Sky's era. Wars tells Sun about his sisters (he spills the beans, all of them). They leave Sky's era. However, the portal after that is golden and when they go through they're like 30 minutes away from Wars' childhood home.

Sun & Hylia said "go talk to your family you absolute bafoon <3 :) "

Wars tries to go into a different direction? Too bad, Hylia sent a dream to his youngest sister telling her her brother is a guilty sad wet cat and she's getting a delivery next day. So she's like, right next to the Chain in the bushes hiding amd waiting. Even better if she's Wind's or Four's age and recruits Wind to her side.

The rest of the Chain wants to go to meet Wars family too and to get as much blackmail as they can on Wars.

STOP THIS IS SO CUTE AND SWEET AND I’M OBSESSED WITH IT.

I love the idea that his youngest sister then wakes up like “Oh my god Link is coming home.” and maybe NONE of the others believe her, but then sure enough Warriors is dropped on their doorstep looking like a drowned cat surrounded by the rest of the chain who are there for support

With the headcanons I have for his sisters, the youngest is closer to Twi’s age, but I like the idea that at this point he’s DEFINITELY an uncle, and now those kids get to meet their uncle for the first time, BUT ALSO now Wind gets to corrupt them with his insanity and crazy energy

I know in my heart Time would probably just sit down with Wars’s mom and the two of them would be trading CRAZY lore to use as blackmail. Time gets to learn about baby Wars, Wars’s mom gets to learn about the stupidity her son’s been getting up to that he doesn’t mention in his letters

[all-our-turf]

scared to live (scared to die)

Ajax and Swan are out on a mission when they have a run in with the cops. It rattles Ajax more than she was prepared for.

--

explored swan & ajax dynamic post canon but also lots of remjax and background swercy! read under the cut or on ao3 !!

+++++

It wasn’t often that Cleon sent anyone out with express permission to start a fight, but when she got wind of a group of guys harassing women on the edge of Warrior turf, she told Ajax and Swan to “handle it”. 

Ajax suspects it might have been a ploy to try and get her and Swan to actually talk to each other, but Cleon underestimated just how willing the two of them were to spend the entire walk in dead silence. 

Ever since Ajax got out of jail, things between her and Swan have been - well. Complicated, to say the least. The first few days were especially volatile, and Ajax knows she hasn’t done much to make it easier. Once the burning anger faded away, she and Swan seemed content to avoid each other, despite some of the other Warriors trying to get them to just talk about it. But everything between them - everything they probably should say to one another - felt too heavy, too wide and dangerous of a distance to even attempt to cross. 

Which brings them to where they are now, walking side by side and refusing to look at each other. Ajax shoves her hands deeper into her pockets, trying to ignore the way her mind is buzzing in the tense silence. Before leaving, Rembrandt had asked her to try, and part of Ajax wanted to. 

She hates this weird limbo they’re in, hates that it’s putting Rembrandt and the other Warriors in an awkward position. She knows Rembrandt wants things to go back to how they used to be, and Ajax can admit that she wants that too. If Cleon had given her and Swan this mission six months ago, they would’ve spent the whole time shoving at each other and bickering playfully, placing bets on who could end their fight the fastest, and Ajax felt a pang of longing go through her at the thought. 

But nothing done could be undone. And considering how Swan hasn’t made any effort to cross that bridge either, Ajax doesn’t know if there’s any hope of salvaging what’s left of their relationship. 

She’s brought out of her depressing train of thought by the sound of shouting up ahead, and as her and Swan turn a corner they find what they set out to look for. 

There’s a group of four guys up ahead, whistling and getting closer to a girl who couldn’t have been older than 16. Ajax glances over at Swan and finds her already looking back, the same fury lighting up in her eyes. Despite the situation, Ajax grasps onto this one moment of normalcy, of her and Swan being on the same page for what must be the first time since before that night. Without a word, they both stalk forward towards the guys. 

“What’s going on over here, boys?” Swan calls out, a clear warning in her voice as they approach. 

Go as far as you need to get the point across. 

Cleon’s words echo in Ajax’s head as her and Swan place themselves in front of the girl. She hears the girl inhale sharply at the sight of the red W on the back of their vests. Ajax glances back and finds her staring at them in wide eyed awe, and for a moment she’s reminded of Fox. The memory of her lodges itself painfully in her chest. Ajax lets it fester into anger. 

“Just talkin’. You ladies shouldn’t be out by your lonesome this late, ya know.” The one in the front says, his voice a sleazy drawl. The others chuckle at his words. 

“This is Warriors territory. Fuck off while you still can.” Swan’s itching for just as much a fight as Ajax is, clearly, considering her half assed efforts to diffuse the situation with words. 

The guys laugh again, and one of them is stupid enough to take a step closer, nearly leaning into Swan’s space. 

“Don’t worry, there’s more than enough of us to go around. I’m sure I could show you a good time.” He bares his teeth in what he must think is a charming smile. He reaches a hand out towards Swan’s face and Ajax flexes her fingers at her side, but keeps her eyes locked on the other three so they don’t try anything. “I bet a girl like you likes it rough, I -” 

His sentence cuts off in a cry of pain when Swan stops him from touching her - probably by breaking his fingers. Ajax doesn’t give the others time to react. 

“Think it’s funny to harass women, motherfuckers? Fucking try it with us,” She snarls, sending the first guy crumpling to the floor with a violent kick between his legs, punching wildly at the other as he tries to get his arms up to block. She suspects the third one has gone to defend his friend against Swan, but considering the pathetic noises the two in front of her are letting out, she’s not too worried about Swan holding her own. 

Ajax vaguely registers the girl they saved running off, but she can’t bring herself to care much about anything other than the assholes in front of her. It’s been too long since she got to throw herself into a fight like this, and maybe if Ajax were a better person she’d think of that as a good thing. Cleon’s been working so hard to make Cyrus’s dream a reality, to make it so they don’t have to fight, but this anger - this violence - has been a part of Ajax for as long as she can remember, has clawed and ravaged at her insides, begging to be let out, and the urge has only gotten stronger since that night. Since Fox. Since prison. Since Swan stopped being able to look at her. 

Ajax doesn’t think you could even call this a fight, really, but she doesn’t stop. The guys are on the ground, barely moving, but she can’t bring herself to stop, even as something crunches under her fists and her knuckles split open and blood spills over her hands. Swan never moves to stop her, and Ajax suspects Swan is taking the same chance to finally let loose in the way she always holds herself back from. 

They’ve always been more similar than either would care to admit. Ajax knows the anger that rages inside her also lays dormant inside Swan. Ajax wonders if they’ve been carrying the same pain for the past few months. 

“Hey! You two! Stop!” 

It’s not the voice that pulls Ajax out of her head - it’s the way the world flashes blue and red immediately after, the sound of sirens piercing through the air. Something foreign curls in her chest - something that makes her lungs stop working and every muscle in her body tense. 

This feels too familiar.

She remembers the park, the metal closing around her wrist, the concrete box she was locked in for weeks. Being away from Rembrandt, from the Warriors, not being there to protect the people she was supposed to protect. 

It must be panic that’s taking root in her chest because all Ajax can think is that she can’t go back there. 

Suddenly Swan’s in front of her, grabbing onto the fabric of Ajax’s vest and shoving her forward.

“Ajax, fucking run!”

And for the first time in her life, Ajax doesn’t stop to question the orders. She turns and takes off at a sprint, away from those fucking lights. 

Her feet pound against the pavement, but she can hardly hear anything over the deafening sound of her own heartbeat in her ears. Judging by the sharp pain that blooms in her side, Ajax doesn’t think she even breathes. She can’t even think of anything aside from getting as far from those fucking cops as possible - of making it back home. 

She makes it all the way back to the Warriors’ apartment building, flying halfway up the steps before she finally starts to come back to herself. She grasps at the railing, desperately gasping for air and listening for the sound of anyone chasing her. 

She can still hear the sirens, but they’re further away now, and when she turns there isn’t another person in sight. 

Ajax freezes for an entirely different reason, her stomach dropping. 

Swan isn’t behind her. 

Ajax waits, a lump in her throat, hoping, wishing, praying that at any moment now Swan will whirl around the corner, indifferent as always, and make a quip about Ajax worrying about her. The seconds tick by. 

Fuck, fuck, fuck. 

Ajax flies up the rest of the stairs, pounding on the door to Cleon’s apartment, where the others are likely waiting for their return. 

The door finally opens, and Cleon’s suddenly in front of her with a warm smile that immediately fades at the sight of Ajax. 

“What happened?” 

She ushers Ajax inside to the living room, where the others are sprawled out. Everyone sits up when she comes in, and Rembrandt is in front of her in half a second. 

“Ajax? What’s wrong?” Rembrandt cups her face with the softest hands, soft in a way Ajax doesn’t deserve right now. Not when she just ran and left Swan behind. “Baby, you’re shaking.”

“Where’s Swan?”

Ajax looks up, meeting Mercy’s gaze over Rembrandt’s head. She feels like her insides are trembling, and she’s briefly worried she’s about to throw up in front of everyone. 

“I -“ Ajax’s voice hitches uncharacteristically. “I don’t know.”

Mercy’s face twists, and before anyone can react she’s ripping Ajax from Rembrandt’s grip, shoving her against a wall and fisting a hand into her collar. 

“What the fuck do you mean you don’t know?!”

Ajax swallows harshly, forcing herself not to look away from the storm raging in Mercy’s eyes and lifting a hand up to stop Rembrandt from trying to get in between them. 

“Cops pulled up on us,” she forces the words out, and everyone in the room seems to go still, the same thought likely flitting through their heads. 

Not again. 

“They took her?” Cleon clenches her fists at her side as she fights to keep her voice even. She’s not successful in hiding the way it wavers around the words. 

“No I - I don’t know. She told me to run and I took off. I thought she was right behind me but -“ Ajax cuts herself off, feeling the way Mercy’s grip tightens around her collar. 

“How fucking far did you run before you realized she wasn’t with you?” Mercy’s voice is quiet, dangerous, and Ajax swallows harshly, guilt threatening to suffocate her if Mercy doesn’t do it first. 

She must take too long to answer because Mercy is pulling her forward just enough to slam her back into the wall, voice raising into a yell. “How fucking far, Ajax?”

“Mercy, come on, this isn’t going to help.” Cochise tries to intervene, placing a hand on Mercy’s shoulder. Mercy shrugs it away without taking her eyes off of Ajax. 

“I only realized once I made it back here,” Ajax finally admits, her head hanging. “I don’t know if I lost her on the way or if -“

She’s cut off by Mercy’s fist slamming into her cheekbone. 

Mercy manages to get three solid hits in before Cochise and Cowgirl are wrenching her away, and Rembrandt is stepping protectively in front of Ajax. Mercy curses, flailing wildly in their grip. 

“Enough!” Cleon’s voice makes everyone freeze, rough and raw in a way it rarely is. She’s leaning heavily on the back of the couch, gripping onto it so tightly her knuckles turn pale. She takes a carefully controlled breath. Then another. Finally, she looks up, pinning Ajax in place with her stare. “Ajax. Tell me exactly what happened.” 

Ajax nods immediately, and Rembrandt guides her to sit in an armchair. She collapses into it, watching as Cochise and Cowgirl gently push Mercy down to sit on the couch. 

Ajax is still shaking. 

She manages to fumble her way through the story, starting from the moment they saw those guys pulling up on the young girl. There’s not much to say. The last thing Ajax remembers is Swan shoving her forward and telling her to run. Everything else feels like a blur. 

“We have to go look for her.” Mercy frantically looks at Cleon, but Cleon just shakes her head. “Cleon -“

“They either took her in or are still out looking. Going out just risks the rest of us. All we can do is wait.” Cleon looks like she’d rather be saying anything else. 

“This is bullshit!” Mercy jumps to her feet, gesturing wildly. “If it were anyone else, Swan would be -“

“Swan would be telling you the same thing I am.”

“If any of us got into trouble because we went out looking, Swan would never forgive herself,” Cochise adds, reaching out to grab Mercy’s hand. 

Mercy makes a frustrated noise in the back of her throat. Her gaze lands on Ajax again, and her face darkens. 

Rembrandt immediately puts herself in between Ajax and Mercy. 

“Rembrandt, move.”

“No. You don’t get to blame Ajax for this.”

“Like hell I don’t -“

“Swan can keep up with Ajax just fine - if she wanted to run with her she would’ve. She made a different choice, that’s not on Ajax.”

Mercy laughs humorlessly, but Rembrandt continues before she gets a chance to disagree. 

“Was it Swan’s fault when Ajax got arrested?”

Mercy goes still, jaw clenching tight. Ajax rises to her feet, reaching out to grab Rembrandt’s arm and pull her back. “Rem, don’t -“

Rembrandt ignores her, keeping her eyes on Mercy, the two of them locked in a tense staring contest. “You’re scared and you’re looking for someone to blame. I’ve been there, remember? But you don’t get to take your emotions out on Ajax.”

“Why not?” Mercy sneers cruelly. “Isn’t that what Ajax did to Swan after getting out of prison?”

Ajax flinches as if the words were a physical blow. She feels sick to her stomach. 

“Okay, maybe let’s all take a breath and calm down.” Cochise makes an effort to pull Mercy back to the couch, but Mercy roughly pushes her away. 

“No, fuck that.” Mercy instead takes a step closer to Ajax and Rembrandt. “You were handcuffed to a bench, surrounded, and Swan still nearly stayed behind to try and help you. Did you even hesitate before turning and running?” 

“This is not the same.” Rembrandt’s voice hardens.

Mercy ignores her. “You couldn’t even be bothered to fucking glance back to see where she was?”

Ajax can barely breathe around the lump in her throat, her heart pounding wildly in her chest. Rembrandt doesn’t give her a chance to speak even if she wanted to. 

“What difference would it have made?!” Rembrandt shoves Mercy back with a hand on her chest. “Back the fuck off. Like Cleon said, either Swan got caught or she didn’t. Ajax wouldn’t have been able to do anything about it either way.”

“At least then we’d fucking know!” Mercy screams. “If you’d just cared enough about Swan to look, to fucking check if she was with you before you up and left her behind, maybe then we’d know if she was caught or if she ran another way or - or -“ Mercy’s voice breaks around the unspoken alternative, and she presses a hand to her mouth to muffle a strangled sob.

“Mercy -“ Cowgirl reaches for her, but Mercy shoves her way past them and disappears down the hall. The door to her and Swan’s bedroom slams shut a moment later.  

“Fuck.” Ajax crumples back into her chair, burying her head in her hands. Rembrandt kneels down in front of her with a sigh, grabbing onto Ajax’s wrists and rubbing soothing circles into her skin. 

“Come on,” Rembrandt murmurs softly. “Let’s get your hands cleaned up.” 

Ajax blinks, looking down at her knuckles. They’re still split open and bleeding from the fight, but she hadn’t even registered the pain. Her body feels wired, heart pounding with adrenaline from her sprint here. Still, she nods and lets Rembrandt lead her over to the kitchen table, where Cochise joins them with the first aid kit. 

Cochise is almost done, wrapping her knuckles carefully in bandages, when Ajax startles at a hand falling heavily on her shoulder. She looks up to find Cleon standing there, her gaze unfocused and jaw clenching as if she’s trying desperately to hold herself together. Ajax braces herself, expecting the worst. 

But Cleon just inhales shakily and squeezes her shoulder. “It wasn’t your fault.” 

Ajax doesn’t respond, keeping her eyes trained on the table in front of her. Cleon sighs, like she expected this. She squeezes her shoulder once more before letting go. “You’re still shaking. Go up to the roof with Rembrandt and try to calm down.” 

She doesn’t phrase it as a request, so once Cochise finishes with her hands Ajax rises to her feet and heads out the door, Rembrandt right behind her. 

Ajax immediately goes to lean against the railing, tilting her head to stare up at the night sky and willing her heart to return to a normal rhythm. She fishes a cigarette out from her pocket and holds it between trembling fingers. 

“It wasn’t your fault.” Rembrandt leans into her side, echoing Cleon’s words. “I meant everything I said to Mercy. You couldn’t have done anything.” 

“If someone had to stay behind it should’ve been me,” Ajax says quietly. 

“Ajax -”

“No, you know it’s true. Swan’s our number two, the Warriors need her - Cleon needs her -”

“That doesn’t mean her life is worth more than yours -”

“But it is!” Ajax snaps, and they both freeze. She hadn’t meant to say that out loud.

“Ajax,” Rembrandt’s voice wavers around her name. Ajax stubbornly avoids her gaze, so Rembrandt reaches forward to cup her face. Their eyes meet, and Ajax swallows at the intensity she finds in Rembrandt’s. “I need you here. Do you understand that? I wouldn’t be able to handle you getting taken away again.” 

Ajax huffs, but Rembrandt’s grip on her tightens. “I’m fucking serious. I could barely do it the first time around, I won’t survive having to do it again.” 

“I don’t think I would either,” Ajax finally admits shamefully. She squeezes her eyes shut. “I fucking ran, Rem. Those cops showed up and it - it was like it was that night again and I couldn’t even move until Swan snapped me out of it, and then I couldn’t think of anything other than getting away and making it back to you. I - I was -” Ajax chokes on her words. 

“Scared,” Rembrandt finishes for her, tugging Ajax forward. Ajax falls into her, burying her face into Rembrandt’s shoulder with a pathetic whimper as she starts to finally feel the events of the night come crashing down on her. 

“I can’t go back there.” Her words are barely more than a whisper. 

Rembrandt cups the back of her head. “You won’t. You made it back home to me, Ajax. That’s the most important thing.” 

Ajax shudders, wrapping her arms tight around Rembrandt’s waist. Ajax has no idea how much time passes while they stay there, wrapped in each other's arms, swaying lightly. Eventually, she breaks the silence, mumbling, “Mercy’s never gonna forgive me for this. Swan might not either.” 

Rembrandt frowns. “Swan told you to run and you did. Even if she did get caught, she wouldn’t hold it against you. You know Swan’s not like that.” 

Ajax shrugs helplessly. “I don’t know anything when it comes to me and Swan anymore.” 

Something a little sad flashes across Rembrandt’s face, but she doesn’t bother trying to dispute the claim. Instead she sighs, and they both shift to look over the railing. 

“The thought of Swan and Mercy going through what we did…fuck, I can’t even stomach it,” Ajax says, staring down at her hands. She’s still dangling a cigarette loosely between her fingers, but she makes no effort to light it. 

“We don’t know if she was caught,” Rembrandt reminds her quietly. “But…yeah. Me neither. If it’d been you they’d probably lock you away for longer, though, since you have a record from barely a few months ago. Maybe - maybe we’d be able to get Swan out faster.” 

Ajax shakes her head. “Swan spent half her childhood in juvie. Her record’s worse than mine is.” 

“Fuck.” Rembrandt swallows harshly. “We don’t know if she was caught.” She repeats the words, though Ajax suspects she’s trying to reassure herself just as much. They desperately hold on to this shred of hope. 

+++++

Eventually, Ajax and Rembrandt head back down to join the others in Cleon’s apartment. Mercy’s come out of her room, her eyes red rimmed, but she doesn’t look in Ajax’s direction. Ajax isn’t sure if that’s better or worse.

They heat up leftovers from the fridge, but no one seems to have much of an appetite. A silence settles heavily over the apartment. 

There’s nothing to do but wait. 

The night drags on, but there’s no sign of Swan. Cochise and Cowgirl have sprawled out on the floor in a nest of blankets, both of them having dozed off a few hours in. Rembrandt is half conscious against Ajax’s shoulder on the couch. Mercy paces through the apartment like a caged animal, while Cleon sits by the phone and stares at the door. Despite the night she’s had, Ajax can’t bring herself to sleep, so she watches Rembrandt and tries to quiet the voices in her head screaming that this is her fault. 

The sun is just starting to rise when there’s the distinct sound of a key scraping the lock of the front door. Ajax startles so violently that she knocks Rembrandt’s head from where it was resting, and her girlfriend blinks awake. Cleon and Mercy are across the room in half a second, yanking the door open. 

Ajax barely catches a glimpse of Swan before Mercy is throwing herself at her, both of them stumbling into the hallway. Mercy’s yelling, and she can hear Swan murmuring reassurances to try and calm her down, and the commotion has Cochise and Cowgirl jerking awake. The two of them scramble to their feet when they realize what’s going on, rushing towards the door and hollering excitedly. Eventually, Swan seems to manage to extricate herself from Mercy’s grip, and Ajax hears the first thing she asks. 

“Where’s Ajax?” Swan’s voice is low, dangerous, and Rembrandt immediately tenses next to her. 

Ajax squeezes her hand, murmuring quickly, “Don’t try to get in between us.” 

“But -”

“Please. Let me handle it.” 

Rembrandt clenches her jaw, but nods reluctantly, and Ajax rises unsteadily to her feet. The others finally move enough to let Swan through and into the apartment, and she sees Swan’s eyes frantically scan over the living room before landing on her. Swan looks rough, covered in grime and sweat, and there’s a few scrapes along her exposed skin and rips in her clothes. Her knuckles look much like Ajax’s did, bruised and bloody, but she doesn’t seem injured beyond that. There’s something wild in Swan’s expression that sets Ajax on edge. 

“Swan. I -” Ajax doesn’t get to finish her sentence, because suddenly Swan is crossing the room and gripping onto the front of her shirt. Ajax braces herself for a blow. 

But a blow never comes. Instead, Swan is yanking her forward into a fierce embrace, burying her head into Ajax’s shoulder. Ajax shares a wide eyed look with Rembrandt, and finds the other Warriors seem equally dumb founded. Cleon's expression morphs into a sad smile, and she nods at Ajax. 

Ajax doesn’t hesitate, wrapping her arms around Swan’s back and fisting her hands in the back of her vest, holding her just as tightly. Swan’s trembling slightly against her, but Ajax’s movement prompts her to relax even further into the enforcer’s body, letting out a relieved exhale. Ajax feels something settle in her chest, and she lets her own body finally relax, her head falling forward to rest against Swan’s. 

Swan pulls away first, but it’s only enough to lean her forehead against Ajax’s in a gesture that used to be normal for them, but Ajax can’t help the strangled gasp that escapes her at the motion. There’s tears threatening to slip down her cheeks, but she doesn’t move to put any distance between them, instead stares down at Swan and finds the same vulnerability staring back at her. She can’t remember the last time her and Swan even looked this closely at each other, much less without all their carefully guarded walls. 

“Are you okay?” 

“Am I okay?” Ajax scoffs wetly. “Are you?” 

Swan nods slowly. “Yeah. Better now.”

Ajax flexes her fingers in the fabric of Swan’s vest before splaying her palms out, feeling the rapid pounding of Swan’s heart. She finds she can breathe easier knowing Swan’s here, that she’s alive, that she won’t have to go through what Ajax went through at the hands of those fucking cops. 

“I’m sorry.” 

Swan furrows her brow, leaning back slightly to look at Ajax properly and tilting her head. Ajax meets her gaze, hoping Swan can read her expression and understand everything Ajax is trying to say with those two words. 

And Swan does, because she nods again and wraps Ajax in another hug. “Yeah. Me too.” 

Ajax feels like a weight has been lifted off her chest when her and Swan finally separate from each other. The corner of her mouth lifts in a tentative smile. “You look like shit, by the way.” 

Swan huffs out a laugh, shoving lightly at Ajax’s shoulder, and Ajax’s heart leaps at the familiar gesture. Their moment’s broken by Rembrandt pushing past Ajax and jumping at Swan, her arms wrapping around Swan’s neck. 

Swan stumbles slightly in surprise, but a split second later she’s hugging Rembrandt back, lifting the tagger off of her feet. Ajax knows the tension between her and Swan has affected Rembrandt’s relationship with her too, and she can’t help but grin at the sight of them now. She glances past them and spots Cochise and Cowgirl excitedly nudging each other. Cleon’s got a relieved smile growing on her face, and Ajax thinks maybe all the Warriors have been desperate for Ajax and Swan to sort their shit out. 

Well - almost all of them. Mercy’s staring at Ajax with narrowed eyes, her mouth twisted to the side. Ajax looks away.  

Swan finally sets Rembrandt back on her feet, and Ajax catches the quiet words Rembrandt whispers to her. 

“Thank you for getting her home.” 

Swan nods, and Rembrandt finds her way to Ajax’s side as Mercy takes her place wrapped around Swan, holding on like she’s worried Swan will slip through her fingers. Ajax knows the feeling. 

“So,” Cowgirl drawls. “Where the hell have you been? You were gone for hours.” 

“Why didn’t you run with Ajax?” Cleon narrows her eyes, and Swan sighs heavily like she’d been expecting this question. 

“They had two patrol cars, and even if we got away I didn’t want them sniffing around so close to where we all live. So I ran the other way. Well - I chucked a rock through their window and then ran the other way.” 

Ajax can’t stop herself from snorting at that. Mercy and Cleon make varying noises of disapproval, but Swan ignores them. 

“I led them on a chase halfway across the island before finding a spot to lay low until they were gone. Assholes stuck around for longer than I hoped they would, but once they fucked off I came straight back.”

They all look at Cleon, waiting. Cleon pinches the bridge of her nose and inhales heavily. 

“You can’t be mad at me for this - I made the right call!” Swan defends herself preemptively from the oncoming lecture. 

“I’m not mad at you.” Cleon pauses, reconsidering. “Well maybe a little for throwing a rock through a cop’s window.” 

Swan winces, and Ajax presses a hand to her mouth to muffle another amused chuckle. 

“Hey, maybe we finish this conversation later? Sounds like Swan’s had a long night,” Ajax says, studying Swan. If Ajax was tired from the sprint back home, she can only imagine how drained Swan must be after getting chased all night. 

She notices how heavily Swan’s leaning against Mercy, the exhaustion that clings to her expression, and she knows she’s right. Cleon seems to come to the same conclusion. 

“Yeah. I think we’re all in need of some sleep. Swan, let Cochise bandage your knuckles and any other rough scrapes and then go to bed. Everyone else, find somewhere to sleep, I don’t want anyone leaving this apartment just yet.”

Swan throws Ajax a grateful smile, collapsing into a chair at the kitchen table. Mercy stands behind her, and Swan leans her head back against Mercy’s stomach and lets her eyes flutter shut. Mercy carefully brushes her hair back from her face, and it’s a testament to how exhausted Swan must be because she holds her hands out for Cochise without complaint. 

Ajax busies herself with helping Rembrandt and Cleon distribute pillows and blankets. Cowgirl’s already returned to her nest on the floor, well on her way to sleep. Cochise works quickly, determining none of the other scrapes require attention and telling Mercy to take her girl to bed before she passes out on the table. 

A small smile curls at Ajax’s lips as she watches Swan grumble discontentedly when Mercy coaxes her out of the chair. She tugs Swan down towards their bedroom, but Swan pauses in the living room. The night seems to have fully caught up to her now, but she stumbles groggily towards where the other three Warriors are standing by the couch. She reaches Rembrandt first, wrapping the smaller girl in a brief hug. Cleon’s grabbing her the moment the two separate, and Ajax can practically see the relief pouring off the warchief in waves as she nearly suffocates Swan in her grip, prompting half hearted protests. Cleon presses a kiss to the top of Swan’s head before finally letting go. 

Ajax fidgets awkwardly for a moment, but Swan falls easily into her, and Ajax hugs back just as fiercely. 

She finds Mercy staring at her over Swan’s head, and Ajax leaves her expression open for Mercy to read whatever she wants from it. Mercy’s eyes shift to where Swan is leaning heavily against Ajax, her head nestled comfortable under Ajax’s chin. 

Mercy softens, and when she looks at Ajax again she nods in acknowledgement. Ajax returns it. It’s not perfect, but it’s enough for now. 

Later, Mercy and Swan have disappeared to their room, and Rembrandt is fast asleep on top of Ajax on the couch. She can hear Cowgirl’s quiet snores on the other side of the room. Cochise is bunking with Cleon, and Ajax assumes both of them are fast asleep too. Ajax stares up at the ceiling, breathing slow as she gets lost in her head. 

She can finally admit to herself that yeah - today was fucking terrifying. But only because she has so much to lose. 

Maybe this whole being emotionally vulnerable thing wasn’t so bad, though. 

Rembrandt shifts against her, nuzzling in closer, and Ajax settles into a feeling of warm contentment.

They’ll be okay. 

[huh-1260]

Me *eating my pudding in peace*

My brain: let's share that one incomplete LU timeloop fic idea with Spirit Tracks Wars and Legend being the ones stuck in thr timeloop, and while Legend is trying to break the loop Wars is just chilling and using it to grow more as a person and finally find the way back to his train, and the giv takes place on the 20th loop and it starts in Legend's pov, getting everything ready for the Chain to come at his door, he does the same things but a bit better than the original time, and he expects them to go to Wars next, but they don't and Legend is panicking because "Where the fuck is the Captain?" Until they pick up Wars last, but he's known as Spirit. Legend is giving him the stink eye the entire time, and when Wars says a inside joke between them (because I pove Legend and Warriors friendship) from the previous timeloop Legend just stares at him the entire time until they have a night watch together and they both end up realizing that they're both stuck in a timeloop together and they have to break the loop

Me:...

My brain: And the title should be a train pun

[ennabear]

fic preview… little spoon sev x big spoon mel… softies… cute fluff…

[skyward-floored]

Swapped (Part 3)

Seeing what our last group is up to... (minus Sky who's taking a well-deserved break). Mild blood/injury warning for this part, but it isn't too bad.

Previous | Next

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Malon woke up to somebody calling her name and shaking her arm.

Her immediate thought as she slowly woke up was that it was one of her kids trying to wake her, probably wanting breakfast or the like, and she held back a sigh. She had an awful headache, and was weirdly sore... maybe she should sleep a bit longer and ask Wild to make something.

Then she realized what she was lying on wasn’t her bed, and that the voice calling her name wasn’t one of her kids’s.

Malon’s eyes shot open, and she saw Artemis leaning over her, looking immediately relieved.

“Thank goodness, I wasn’t sure when you would wake up,” she sighed, and Malon blinked, slowly sitting up. She looked around her, taking in the dim hallway and dust in the air, and frowned.

“Arty? ...What happened?” she asked, gingerly feeling at her head. She couldn’t feel any bumps or blood, which was good, but she certainly felt like she’d hit her head.

“The scientist was expecting us,” Artemis reported grimly. “He set off some kind of energy explosive, and the wall collapsed... I think it was triggered to be unstable.” She sighed, and crossed her arms. “This whole thing was a setup.”

Malon frowned and looked around the hallway where she and Artemis had landed. They’d ended up in one of the side corridors that led off of the main hall from where they had been, not nearly as well-lit, and Malon didn’t see anyone else in the area. Just dust, and rubble.

They had been near the back of the group when it had happened, which would explain why they were alone. She could only hope everyone who’d been ahead of them was all right... a wall collapsing had the potential to be disastrous.

“Did you try and go through the wall and find the others?” Malon asked, lightly rubbing her head.

Artemis’s face creased, and she sighed. “No. I tried, but my powers aren’t working, he must be blocking them. He really prepared for us.”

Malon frowned at that, then tried to speak a casual “hello” in the language of horses. All that came out was an odd little snort, and she huffed in annoyance.

Well. This could get inconvenient.

“Radio?” she asked next, gingerly standing up. Goodness was her head ringing. At least the breeze that was tickling her neck felt nice.

“No good either. Signal’s blocked.”

Malon sighed, tightening her lasso at her hip, and making sure her bow was still secure on her back. No way to contact her family to see if they were okay, no way to join up with them. And on top of that, no powers.

What a mess.

I knew we should have gone with a smaller group, we should have left the boys at home...

Malon exhaled, shaking off the thought. Her boys were capable, they could handle whatever happened to them.

Hopefully...

“I guess we’ll try and loop around, see if we meet up with anyone?” she said, and Artemis nodded, looking a little pale. “...You okay, hon?”

“Yes, I’m fine,” Artemis replied, and Malon raised an eyebrow. “Really Malon, I am.”

Malon studied her in silence a moment, then gave a slow nod, trusting she knew what she was talking about.

Artemis had been through a hard pregnancy not too long ago, and though she’d claimed and demonstrated she was perfectly fine to come along, Malon had still been keeping an eye on her this whole time. But if Artemis said she was fine, then Malon would believe her.

...Though she would still keep an eye on her.

“I’m fine Malon, truly, it’s just... odd, not having my powers,” Artemis admitted quietly, absently rubbing her middle. “It’s... wrong. It feels like there’s something strange in my chest.”

Malon hummed worriedly, giving her shoulder a squeeze. The few times she’d come into contact with devices that blocked powers they’d never felt like that, to her at least. Was it because Artemis’s powers were more of a physical thing than Malon’s?

...But then again, now that she was thinking about it, there was an odd feeling in her chest as well.

But before she could try and examine it further, a soft groan went through the room, and both Malon and Artemis froze.

“What was that?” Artemis asked in a whisper, drawing her weapon.

“I don’t know. Maybe... Link?” Malon called softly, just to cover all their bases, but there was no reply.

Malon and Artemis briefly exchanged looks, knowing they couldn’t both have imagined the sound, then went over to where it had come from. Malon pulled out her bow and called again, and though there was still no response, she diligently scanned her gaze over the rubble.

The wall had collapsed surprisingly neatly, but there were still chunks of it all over the place, and a few worrisome cracks in the ceiling. The scientist may have planned to separate or trap them by collapsing the wall, but you could only control explosions so much. He was lucky the building hadn’t fallen in.

Malon pushed aside some rubble, eyes still scanning across it, then froze, zeroing in on a particular spot.

Where she could see a faint dash of blond hair, with a colorful outfit to match.

“Four!” Malon gasped, and ran over to him, her panic growing as she saw that he was half-buried, eyes closed. “Artemis, I found Four! Link, sweetheart, wake up,” she said more gently, brushing his hair from his face.

Four moaned as Artemis ran up, and his eyes slowly dragged open, dazedly focusing in on them.

“Uhh... Mom..?” he asked dizzily, and Malon nodded, Artemis kneeling beside them.

“Where are you hurt?” Malon asked, cautiously touching the spot near his shoulder where she could see some blood. Four hissed, face screwing up in a wince.

“M-my arm, I think? It feels kind of... pinned...” he said, face creased. “What happened..?”

“We were shot at with an energy beam, the wall collapsed, we were all separated, our powers have been blocked, and we have reason to believe this was all a trap,” Artemis summed up. Four blinked at her, looking rather confused.

“Oh...”

“We’re gonna try and get you out of there Four, just hold tight,” Malon reassured, and Four nodded, staying silent as she and Artemis began to work.

The rubble was messy, full of large pieces that couldn’t be moved, and smaller ones that shifted more than Malon was comfortable with. Making headway in freeing Four was nearly impossible, and she frowned as she wiped the sweat from her brow after several minutes in which they were no closer to getting him out.

“Maybe we’re going about this the wrong way,” Artemis sighed, pulling back and wiping her own forehead. “Perhaps we should try something else.”

“I don’t know what else we can do,” Malon frowned, studying the rubble. “I don’t want to risk burying him further, but I don’t know if we can get him out without moving anything.”

“I know. Maybe we could—”

A loud crack cut Artemis off, and both she and Malon froze.

Then a chunk of unstable ceiling dropped, headed right for where Four was lying.

Malon dove forward to cover him, Artemis’s shout ringing in her ears as she bent over his head. Malon fully expected to be hit by the chunk of ceiling, but a familiar metallic chime rang through the air instead, one Malon would know anywhere.

Her head snapped back up, and sure enough, a ruby-red shield shone bright above her and Four’s heads, protecting them from the ceiling pieces. Malon looked back at Artemis, and saw her hands outstretched, her eyes wide with shock.

The rubble slid off to the sides after a few moments, and the shield fell away, Artemis dropping her hands with a gasp.

“What on earth...” she breathed, and Malon sat up, staring at her in shock. “This...”

“That was... Hyrule’s shield,” Four finished for her, voice still dazed, but now more with shock than anything. “How... how do you have it?”

“I don’t know?” Artemis answered, looking completely bewildered.

Four frowned in the way he always did when he was thinking about something, fingers tapping lightly against the floor. Then he screwed his face up like he was trying to use his own powers.

Suddenly his free hand flickered from view, disappearing from sight. It came back seconds later, but Malon and Artemis still stared at it in disbelief.

“I think... our powers got switched,” Four said softly, sounding out of breath. “And I got yours, Aunt Artemis.”

“And I got Hyrule’s somehow, he... oh that scientist, he didn’t block our powers at all, he messed them up!” Artemis growled, and Malon looked at her own hands in surprise. Had they truly been swapped?

She gave a cautious tug on the strange feeling in her chest, extending a hand almost instinctively, and a gust of air blasted through the hallway, nearly bowling herself and Artemis over. Malon hurriedly reined it in, or did her best to, and Artemis and Four stared at her with wide eyes.

“Hm. Well. I seem to have gotten Wind’s,” Malon said in interest, and Four giggled, somewhat hysterically.

“You have Wind’s powers. You have Hyrule’s. And I... have yours,” he said with a hint of panic, his breath speeding up. “And I don’t have mine, and I don’t know if I can get them back, and... and maybe they just won’t come back and I'll be powerless again it’s fine this is fine!”

“Calm down hon, we’ll get this fixed,” Malon soothed, and Four let out another laugh, though he did seem to make an effort to calm himself.

Malon ran her hand over his head in an attempt to help, and Four relaxed a little. Though not completely, seeing as he was still half-buried under a collapsed wall and had just gotten his powers swapped.

—Wait a minute.

“Four... if you have Artemis’s powers, you should be able to get yourself free,” Malon realized, and Four’s eyes widened. His expression turned nervous then, and he looked at the pile of rubble towering over him.

“I don’t know Mom, what... what if something goes wrong and I bury myself?” he said nervously. “I can’t even... handle my own powers sometimes, what if...”

“I’ll help you,” Artemis reassured, and Malon scooted over to let her get closer to Four. “I know a thing or two about my powers after all.”

Four bit his lip as he thought for a moment, and then he breathed out and nodded.

“Okay. How do I do it?”

“Well, you did it once, though only for a moment. That’s a start. For more than that, it’s... a bit like holding your breath,” Artemis explained. “You’re slipping in between things, going through matter.”

“Doesn’t that hurt?” Four whispered, and Artemis hummed.

“Not really. Warriors says it feels cold when I use it on him, but I don’t feel much of anything myself. I don’t know your powers, so I can’t give you any definitive advice, but I would guess you just need to draw on the spot that you usually do, and remember what I said about slipping through. It’ll be strange the first time, but I think you can do it,” she said encouragingly.

Four breathed out, and nodded. “...Okay.”

Malon and Artemis drew back just a little to give him some room, and Four closed his eyes, brows furrowed.

He stayed like that for a solid minute, his fingers occasionally fading out of view. Nothing further than that disappeared though, and as time continued to drag on, Malon was on the verge of suggesting they try something else.

Then Four’s face screwed up, and the pile of rubble he was under suddenly shifted, like something had been taken out from underneath. Malon quickly grabbed him and began to tug, and a few moments later, Four was free, his left side gone.

It quickly came back though, and Malon pulled him away from the rubble, looking him over as Artemis congratulated him with a smile.

Four was right about his arm being messed up— the sleeve of his suit was torn a bit below his elbow, and blood stained the part of his skin that was visible due to the rip. It looked to Malon like it had been punctured by something. Four seemed paler too, having gotten out of the pile of rocks, and Malon gently pulled him into her lap, Four curling into her hold.

“This doesn’t look good,” Artemis said, inspecting his arm, and Four turned his gaze on her.

“You could fix it,” he said softly. Artemis blinked, then realized what he meant with a swallow.

Shielding wasn’t Hyrule’s only power.

“Smithy, I don’t know,” she said worriedly, pulling her hand away. “I don’t know these powers, I might heal something wrong.”

“Couldn’t you stop the bleeding at least?” Malon asked, and Artemis looked at her. “That can’t be too hard.”

“I...”

Artemis hesitated, and Four took her hand in his, giving it a squeeze.

“You got yours to work for me. I bet you can use Hyrule’s too.”

Artemis looked at him, then sighed, squeezing his hand in return. “All right. I’ll see what I can do.”

She put her hand near Four’s elbow, and after a moment of squinting and flexing her fingers, a blue light flickered to life in her palm. Four and Malon watched quietly as the light danced across his arm, sputtering a little here and there, but still moving steadily across his skin.

Malon held Four a little tighter, and he gave her hand a squeeze.

The blue light in Artemis’s hands suddenly got brighter, lighting up the hallway with its glow. Light raced across Four’s arm and Artemis’s eyes went wide, shining so brightly Malon almost couldn’t look at them.

Then her hand flashed, and the glow was gone.

Artemis floundered the moment it disappeared, her face white, and Malon caught her before she could fall over, looking at her in concern.

“Artemis?”

“Fine... I’m fine. It was... ah... hard to stop once I got going...” she breathed, rubbing the bridge of her nose. “Whew... no wonder Hyrule can’t do it too much...”

“But it worked,” Four said as he sat up, twisting and bending his arm around. “You fixed it Aunt Artemis!”

Artemis smiled at him, and Four got to his feet, looking much happier now that he wasn’t in pain and trapped. Malon wasn’t sure if he had accepted having the wrong powers for now, or was just doing his best to ignore the whole thing, but seeing him up and about made her feel better at least.

“You’re feeling all right now hon?” Malon asked as Four hopped around, and he turned and nodded at her.

“I’m all good,” he chirped with a smile, and Malon helped Artemis stand, her sister in-law looking dizzy before giving herself a small shake.

“I am too. We should get going,” she said, and Malon gave her a look before agreeing with a sigh.

They did need to find the others, and fix their powers and stop what they came here to stop. Malon was certain Artemis could use a rest, but time really wasn’t on their side at the moment.

Ha. Time.

...Malon hoped he was doing okay.

They deliberated for a moment on whether to try and dig through the rubble and get through, or just follow where the hallway they were in led. They quickly decided it would be faster to go around rather than through, as well as safer, and set off.

Malon kept a hand around Artemis’s shoulders as they walked, Four staying just a bit ahead. They were quiet for a few minutes, but Malon began to feel like the silence was pressing in on her, her worried thoughts crowing angrily in her head.

“I still can’t believe that scientist switched our powers,” Malon murmured in an effort to ignore them, and Artemis nodded.

“I know. That energy pulse must have been what did it, but I have no idea how.” She glanced ahead at Four, and lowered her voice. “...I only hope we can fix them.”

“Me too,” Malon sighed.

She rubbed absently at her chest, and inadvertently made a gust blow through the hallway again. Malon spared a thought towards Wind and the rest of her family as she attempted to wrestle it back, and hoped yet again they were all okay.

This truly is a disaster.

“I hope whoever got mine is okay,” Four spoke up, chewing worriedly on his lip as they walked. “If it took me eight years to be ready to use them, what’s it going to be like for whoever got them just like that?”

Malon and Artemis paused and exchanged loaded glances, worry clenching tighter around Malon’s chest.

Four had been a bonafide disaster while he’d been getting used to his powers; going between long periods of being unable to use them, to splitting left and right, his emotions off the wall, dealing with completely uncontrollable bursts of power...

“...We’d better hurry,” Malon said, and they got moving down the hallway again, their steps much faster than before.

...

Legend slept on.

[havenscribes]

ONLY WARRIORS - Bucky Barnes x Wakandan!Regent!Reader

"Bucky Barnes has no concept of personal space."

Lady!Y/N will not slow down. She's a pioneer at the forefront of technological advancements, living in the most intelligently designed country in the world. At the top of her game, she's raised over 55 million dollars with just a few speeches. After the deaths of two royal icons, a new era of protection has begun under the first female Black Panther, and a new fight is needed for the future of Wakandan people: public diplomacy. She follows in the footsteps set by Nakia and T’Challa, striving to make the world a better place, or at least, help them catch up.

Bucky Barnes is not done making amends. He’s still going to therapy, and knowing that Steve’s legacy is in good hands helps his guilt, but he wants to take a more proactive approach to helping. Rubbing elbows with elites isn't really his cup of tea, but he’s only here at this Louvre gala thing to congratulate Queen Shuri and to offer his condolences. After the life he's had, he's ready to slow down and avoid action at all costs.

In the midst of the millionth inspirational speech by Y/n, the museum is attacked by Namor, who vows to enact his revenge on the surface world. Y/N narrowly escapes, but the near miss rattles Shuri, who now refuses to let her out of her sight without any kind of protection. Luckily, Shuri knows just the guy who still owes her a favor.

⋆ Warnings: Reader is kinda cocky, fluff, some angst, MCU level violence, a teensy bit of Namor x reader, Shuri is our cousin, Bucky is annoying, Sam is an angel, happily ever after ⋆ Playlist

Chapters: ⋆ Chapter One ⋆ Chapter Two ⋆ Chapter Three ⋆ Chapter Four

[the-au-collector]

I can't get over the tonal shift in this fic I'm writing

I just spent about 3 chapters with Wild living his best life and now we go back to Warriors being super depressed and dealing with family issues and being on the verge of a mental breakdown. He's not having a good time.

And Wild is there like 🙂 (he knew everything was not fine for Wars)

[scramble-crossing]

Woe. Uzukarimoto be upon ye