#or numbers of centimeters (not precise enough).

[riverbeatsaber]

I know that the Imperial system is bad and all but I gotta say. I do really like how it works for sewing

[daemonduality]

I feel like I've forgotten something important.

Name: Mirielle Wielant

Moniker: Narra, Firefly

Age: 22

Title: Voidheart [ Effect: Triple the duration of Mercy Invincibility.]

The Story So Far:

Mirielle worked as a chef’s apprentice for several years until her place of work was destroyed in a gas explosion with her in it. Miraculously, she survived with just a bruise to her forehead - everyone else around her in the kitchen that day wasn’t so lucky.

It’s because of her miraculous survival that the police made her suspect number one for the gas explosion, and hidden forces at play are determined to see her in jail for a crime she did not commit.

The only thing she got going for her is a mysteriously self-writing notebook that she accidentally stole one day which introduced her to the art of Scrying. As a result, she attempted to divine the location of evidence that could potentially save her and ended up in even more hot water as a result. Scouting out a place you might be breaking into didn’t really work when you have long red hair that really stands out.

After being chased into an alleyway by hired goons, Mirielle prayed for a miracle, and the book she’s been writing in delivered.

When she finally came to, she found herself in an abandoned factory and later discovered she was in an entirely different world altogether. 

Currently Doing: 

Mirielle’s now living in the Nameless City, which did have a name at one point, but now no one remembers including her. She’s pretty sure the Eldritch Entity shaped like a young girl, whom she is sharing living space with, had something to do with it.

Now to be fair, she's also certain that said young girl doesn't know how anomalous she is as everyone involved, both offline and online, seems content on letting it stay that way. Who is she to rock the boat?

Besides, what's a little bit of horror in light of having both a free place to stay and an essentially unlimited stipend for cooking. Almost like owning her own restaurant, even if her only "customers" are four freshman high-school kids her boss asked her to make sure they're fed.

...Hmmm. Maybe she shouldn't consider the entire population of Italy dying to some sort of plant-zombie plague as just a little bit of horror. But it's not like the kid was involved in that... Probably.

In any case, she's in charge of feeding the girl - and also her friends while they're living in the Inn that the girl's guardian owns. And during her free time, she'll research more into recipes and cooking and occasionally performing for her cooking stream too. Despite the occupational hazard, she is genuinely living her best life right now.

Not sure how long it'll stay that way, but all worrying did was make her feel worse, so why bother doing it?

Hope this line of thinking doesn't bite her in the ass later.

Talents:

Absolute Sense of Taste: Mirielle has a highly developed sense of taste to the point where she can remember the taste of anything she’s eaten as long as she’s had it once. She can further use this to deconstruct recipes and dishes to the point of deciphering proportions and determining the cooking technique used.

Enhanced Perception - Space: Mirielle’s perception of space is precise enough for her to eyeball distances down to centimeters. When asked, she just kinda shrugs and says it’s kinda like her sense of taste; she’s born with it. Except that she knows she wasn’t born with this, and she’s only recently started developing it months ago when she noticed that she’s aware of things placed inside of a room despite being her first time in said room.

Purple Magic: Mirielle’s gifted with what’s known as Purple Magic - the magic of Karma. She primarily uses it to Scry - to connect with things in the distant past and the far future using her dousing crystal on a silk string. However, with the increasing danger her world is in, she’s slowly delving into other disciplines of Purple Magic too, primarily Binding with Karma and Severing Karma. 

[mavdrones]

What Is The Accuracy Of Drone-Based Surveying?

Drones have taken the surveying world by storm. With their advanced tech, they’re doing what once took days in just a few hours. But how accurate are they? Let’s dive in.

The Numbers Behind The Hype

Drone-based surveys can achieve accuracy levels of up to 1-2 cm horizontally and 3-5 cm vertically. This precision depends on several factors, including the quality of the drone, the sensors it uses, and the post-processing software. For large-scale projects, this level of accuracy is more than enough to get the job done right.

Factors That Affect Accuracy

GPS Quality: High-end drones come with RTK (Real-Time Kinematic) or PPK (Post-Processing Kinematic) GPS, which drastically improves accuracy.

Environmental Conditions: Weather, lighting, and even terrain can impact the final results. Drones generally perform best in clear skies with minimal wind.

Data Processing: The software used to process the drone’s data plays a significant role in the accuracy of the survey. The better the software, the finer the details.

AEROSYS AVIATION – VEDANSH: The Best In The Game

When it comes to choosing the best survey drone, AEROSYS AVIATION – VEDANSH stands out. It’s equipped with top-tier RTK GPS, ensuring centimeter-level accuracy. Plus, its robust design and advanced sensors make it perfect for any terrain, from flat fields to rugged mountains. If you’re serious about getting the most accurate survey results, this drone is your go-to.

If someone is looking for a Made-in-India Type-certified drone, they can choose AEROSYS AVIATION – VEDANSH.

In the world of drone surveying, accuracy is key, and with the right equipment like the AEROSYS AVIATION – VEDANSH, you’re guaranteed the best results.

[nucg5040]

there aren't? the inch is the smallest unit iirc. we just call those 16th of an inch

they aren't

we use smaller fractions! or use metric because we don't not use it we just have these older units grandfathered in & it just so happens we like them more

you just memorize them? also miles aere an integer number of feet but they don't mix we use fractions of miles bc miles are from something entirely different from everything else

idk but it's the same amount each time & a tablespoon is three teaspoons which is a normal number and they are used in the same contexts

the tablespoon is bigger because a table is bigger than a teacup, duh

they are the same amount every time. we usually use weight in grams if we really need that extra bit of precision but for recipes where it doesn't matter as much volume in cups etc is fine

idk man an ounce is a small amount. idk about the z tho

it's always been like that

pounds originally were worth a pound of silver iirc but they use stone for the weights of people specifically go make fun of that

a gallon is 4 quarts and a quart is about a liter. weight of food and liquids is measured in ounces but density is grams per cubic centimeter

a gallon is equal to exactly 243 cubic inches which is something that few people know but it is a direct conversion rate

fahrenheit is a scale made by a thermometer manufacturer where the boiling point of water is 180 degrees above freezing because back then powers of 6 were more important than powers of 10 but he didn't think that water freezing was "low enough" so he set 0 to be the freezing temperature of the coldest thing he could think of which was some sort of ammonium brine. coincidentally the scale of 0 to 100 happens to be roughly the range of surface temperatures of earth which is why it has more staying power than other imperial or us customary units

yea

the names may be silly but they work. you know how long a foot is, it's the length of your foot

Things about the metric system that confuse me

Why are there 16 parts to an inch. Like yeah it's divisible by 4 but decimals and percentages on a system based on 100 are so much easier to calculate than fractions.

What are those little sixteenths called

Why don't you have millimeters. What happens if you need to measure something smaller than 1/16th of an inch. Why is your smallest area measurement the length of my fucking thumb

BECAUSE of your dumb inches and sixteenth and fractions, nothing else makes any fucking sense to remember. What's an inch? 16 little notches. What's a foot? 12 inches. What's a mile? 5,280. How the FUCK does anyone remember that. You know what's easy to remember? 10 millimeters are 1 centimeter. Do you know what centimeter means? 1/100th of a meter. You know how many of them are in a meter? 100. Easy shit

Okay this one is at Imperial but whose tablespoon is a tablespoon based off. Why are tablespoons and teaspoons both distinct measurements, they're fucking spoons. They're almost the fucking same. Like if you had "inches" and "binches" and binches were for no reason at all 1/42nd smaller and you only used them for measuring sawdust. Fuck completely off

Okay actually still looking at Imperial and speaking of Teaspoons and Tablespoons, the names don't indicate anything. How would ANYONE simply deduce by name which is bigger or smaller. Why would a spoon for food be bigger than a spoon for a drink. They both gotta fit in your fucking mouth don't they

Did we all standardize our fucking spoon volumes before we standardized our math? And CUPS? Who in the cholera factory was using scientific standard measurements to quality control your cutlery for any of this to be at all reliable for anyone following recipes

Alright back to you Metric WHAT DOES OUNCE MEAN AND WHY IS IT ABBREVIATED AS OZ

WHY IS POUND ABBREVIATED AS LB FOR LIBRA LIKE SCALES LIKE A CRYPTIC ASS ILLUMINATI SECRET MESSAGE WHEN "P" IS PERFECTLY AVAILABLE. YALL AINT PAYING MONEY IN POUNDS AND PENCE SO WHATS THE CONFUSION

Okay also why the hell would the British using Pounds to mean money run away to make America and start using Pounds to mean weight instead. Do I weigh a hundred dollars? Does Chadley at the gym bench press a thousand cents? I hate you

What is a gallon for. What does it mean. You know what's easy to convert to milliliters? Liters. What the hell is an ounce to a gallon

On top of that, what's your measurement transference? We have grams for weight, liters for liquid, meters for distance, and they're all like 1:100:1000 and shit. What do you DO to like. Show how many square inches of mass a gallon has or whatever

Oh shit I ain't even got into Fahrenheit yet

Actually fuck all of us, the end

[joesfrenchitalian]

How Many Ounces Are in 2 Liter?

Whether you're making a recipe or calculating your daily hydration level, it's important to know how volume measurements work.

If you don't, you could end up with a mess. Luckily, knowing how to convert between ounces and liters is simple!

Introduction

If you’re a cook or professional chef, or just someone who likes to measure ingredients and beverages for recipes, it can be difficult to know how many ounces are in 2 liter. That’s why it’s important to understand the conversion between ounces and liters, as it can make your life easier.

This blog post will break down exactly how many ounces are in 2 l, giving you a clear understanding of the volume measurement so that you can make accurate measurements and calculations in any situation. This knowledge can be used for many tasks, from measuring ingredients to estimating liquid volumes in drinks, so it’s a good idea to commit this conversion to memory and have it on hand for whenever you need it!

In the United States, there are 68 US fluid ounces in two liters. If you’re in the UK or another country that uses the imperial fluid ounce, conversions will be slightly different. However, this difference isn’t too large and can be easily understood if you keep in mind that a full liter contains the same amount of liquid as an 8-ounce cup!

What Is A Ounces?

A liter is a unit of volume used in the United States customary and Imperial systems. It is a measure of liquid and wet ingredients, such as water, milk, and juices.

Whether you’re cooking or drinking, understanding how to convert between ounces and liters can help you create and consume delicious beverages and foods. It’s also essential for professionals who use conversions in their work, as it allows them to accurately measure ingredients and containers of liquids for precise recipes.

To convert between ounces and liters, you first need to understand the difference between a dry ounce and a liquid ounce. A dry ounce measures weight, while a liquid ounce measures volume.

Thankfully, it’s easy to figure out which metric you’re using when you’re measuring liquids. If you’re not sure, it’s best to consult a conversion chart or calculator to make the process easier. If you know your metric, you can then simply multiply the number of ounces by 0.018594 to get the equivalent liters. This will allow you to easily and accurately convert between ounces and liters, no matter what type of liquid you’re trying to measure!

What Is Liter?

A liter is a unit of volume that's used worldwide. It's commonly used to measure liquid and pourable solid volumes. It's also used as a container capacity measurement.

The liter is an SI unit of volume, meaning that it's part of the International System of Units. It's equal to 1,000 cubic centimeters (cc), 1000 milliliters (mL), or 1.0567 quarts (qt).

In the United States, a liter is equal to 16.9 fluid ounces. This means that it's the equivalent of about three cans of soda, a quart of ketchup, or two pints of beer.

It's important to know how many ounces are in a liter because it can affect the size of your drink. Fortunately, this is easy to calculate.

The litre was originally defined as the volume of one kilogram of water at 4 degC and standard pressure. But the mass-volume relationship for water (like all fluids) varies based on temperature, purity, and isotopic uniformity.

How Many Ounces Are In 2 L?

Whether you’re a home cook or professional chef, understanding how many ounces are in 2 L is important. It helps you prepare recipes accurately and ensures the quality of your dishes. It also helps you control your sugar and caffeine intake by ensuring you drink enough liquids each day.

The answer to the question of how many ounces are in 2 liter is actually quite simple: it’s about 67.6 ounces, or about the same amount as 8.45 glasses of whatever liquid you’re pouring into your bottle.

However, you’ll need to use a calculator to get the exact measurements for your particular product. This is because the weight of a liter of liquid can vary slightly from one item to the next, depending on its density.

To find out the oh-so-familiar liter number for your particular liquid, use our handy dandy calculator below. The resulting conversion is the right one for your specific application! The best part? It’s free! You can even share it with your friends. And it’s not the most difficult thing you’ll ever do.

How To Measure Ounces Are In 2 Liter?

If you're a cook or baker, you know how important it is to understand liquid measurements. Whether you're pouring your favorite cocktail or baking for your family, having the ability to measure liquids with accuracy can make all the difference.

Fortunately, understanding how to measure ounces and liters isn't difficult at all. In fact, it's a basic conversion that should be in everyone's back pocket!

Knowing how many ounces are in 2 L can help you get more accurate measurements for your recipes and drinks, as well as allow you to purchase the right amount of ingredients and beverages at the store. It also makes it easier to compare different bottles or packages to make sure you're getting the most out of your purchases!

While there are a few things to keep in mind when measuring ounces, the most important is to follow recipes exactly. This will ensure you get the best results possible! It's also a good idea to use a calibrated lab pipette for accuracy. Lastly, it's important to remember that when measuring hot liquids, you should be very careful!

Tips Measuring Ounces Are In 2 Liter

When it comes to cooking or baking, knowing how to measure liquids is essential. This can make all the difference when it comes to preparing dishes that turn out perfectly every time.

It can also help you get the right serving sizes when it comes to drinks like soda and juices. It can also prevent you from over-pouring or under-pouring a recipe.

However, it’s important to remember that measuring liquids isn’t always as simple as converting ounces to liters or vice versa. It can be tricky to get accurate measurements, especially if you’re using a hot liquid.

To avoid mistakes, here are a few tips for measuring ounces in 2 liter:

1. Convert dry ingredients into ounces: Most chefs prefer to measure dry ingredients by weight rather than volume when they’re cooking because it ensures that the measurements are as accurate as possible.

2. Use a calibrated laboratory pipette: This can improve the accuracy of your measurements significantly.

With these helpful tips, you’ll be able to accurately measure and pour all your favorite liquids!

Frequently Asked Questions

Whether you're looking to prepare a new recipe or make your favorite drink, knowing how to convert between ounces and liters can be very helpful. It can help you determine how much liquid an ingredient requires to achieve the right consistency and flavor.

Converting between ounces and liters is also helpful for bartenders who may need to measure out specific amounts of alcohol or other liquid ingredients. With a little practice, this skill can become second nature!

When it comes to dry measurements, there are approximately 61.6 ounces in 2 liters. This amount is enough to make up to four batches of most baked goods like cookies, cakes, and muffins.

This is a relatively small amount of water, compared to the average person's daily water intake. However, it can be useful to know how much water you're drinking, especially when camping or hiking.

How many 8 oz glasses in 2 liters?

Believe it or not, two liters of liquid is equal to around 8 glasses worth! That means you're getting a whole lot more than just one glass when pouring up 2L.

How many 16 oz water bottles is 2 liters?

Get 2 liters of refreshment from four convenient 16.9 ounce bottles - that's a full half liter per bottle! Perfect for quenching your thirst or stocking up on the go.

How many 20 oz bottles make a 2 liter?

If you want to stay hydrated and energized, aim for three-and-a-half bottles of water per day! That'll ensure your body gets the full two liters it needs.

How many ounces are in a liter?

Did you know that two liters of liquid is equivalent to 67.628 ounces? That's a significant amount, so be sure to drink throughout the day and stay hydrated for maximum health benefits!

How many 8 ounces in 1 liter?

Stay hydrated - eight ounces makes up one quarter of a liter, so for every four drinks you consume, that's equal to one whole liter! Re-energize yourself with the right amount of water intake throughout your day.

Is 8 ounces half a liter?

When it comes to staying hydrated, make sure you know your measurements! 8 ounces might look like enough liquid for half a liter – but don't be fooled: that's really only 0.24 liters - a quarter of what's needed to hit the halfway mark. So keep pouring and get those liquids in ya!

Is 16 oz the same as 500ml?

A healthy dose of 500ml is equal to a whopping 16.91 US fluid ounces or 17.6 British Imperial fluid ounces - that's enough for everyone!

How many Oz is a 5 liter?

Quench your family's thirst with a whopping 5 liters of liquid – that's enough to power them through their day! That equates to nearly 170 US fluid ounces or over 176 Imperial British ones; the perfect refreshment for any family.

Conclusion

Whether you’re a seasoned cook or just starting to dabble in the kitchen, knowing how to convert ounces to liters can make your life a lot easier. Having an understanding of how a litre of water translates into an ounce of liquid will come in handy when you’re measuring out your ingredients for a recipe or comparing one product to the next at the grocery store.

Learning how to properly measure out ounces in a liter isn’t all that complicated. With a little research and practice, you’ll be able to convert ounces to liters with confidence. The key is to remember that the best way to calculate an ounce of water is by weighing it a few times and comparing it to another object. This will ensure you don’t accidentally end up with a bottle of water that isn’t full enough to satisfy your thirst. It’s also a good idea to keep a calculator nearby at all times as well.

[weightlossprogramblog]

What Should My Base Metabolic Rate Be?

People often scrutinize their calories and metabolism rate when trying to lose weight. They look at how many calories they put into their body and what they can do to burn off as much as possible. Getting a phentermine prescription can lower your appetite and help you eat less, but you still need a fast metabolism to maximize your workouts and burn fat.

But did you know that up to 75 percent of the calories you burn daily go towards essential biological functions like breathing, circulation, and cell production? The precise number of calories your body needs to keep you alive is known as the basal metabolic rate (BSR) or base metabolic rate.

What is the Base Metabolic Rate?

Let's clear up some confusion. Your BMR is different from your resting metabolic rate (RMR). That's an entirely different measurement that reflects the number of calories your body burns while resting. Usually, you'd measure it in the morning after a whole night of rest.

A base metabolic rate is how many calories you need to stay healthy. You can get a phentermine prescription to decrease your appetite, reduce caloric intake, and lose weight. But knowing your BMR ensures that you're not cutting calories enough to sacrifice your health.

There are a few ways to measure your BMR. For highly accurate results, you'd have to visit a laboratory and undergo testing under safe and restrictive settings. Fortunately, you don't need a precise number to tackle your weight loss journey safely. Best estimates work well, too, and you can get those with simple calculations.

The most used formula is the Harris-Benedict Equation.

For men, the formula is as follows:

88.362 + (13.397 x your weight in kilograms) + (4.799 x your height in centimeters) - (5.677 x your age in years)

Women can use this formula:

447.593 + (9.247 x your weight in kilograms) + (3.098 x your height in centimeters) - (4.330 x your age in years)

Generally, a healthy man will have a BMR of around 7,100 kJ per day. Meanwhile, women should have a BMR of roughly 5,900 kJ a day.

Read a similar article about Wegovy prescription here at this page.

[professorkishorwasan]

How an Urologist Can Treat Kidney Cysts

Cysts come in a variety of forms, and they can develop in the kidney. These comprise ureter cysts, renal pelvis cysts, and cysts brought on by transitional cell carcinoma. If you think you might develop a cyst, it's crucial to contact a urologist. A medical professional who focuses on kidney disorders is called a urologist. They might be able to do a laparoscopic operation to remove the cyst. You might be referred to a surgeon for a more intrusive procedure if you have a sizable kidney cyst.

There are a number of imaging tests you can have if kidney cysts have been identified. These examinations can aid in the disease's diagnosis and help rule out more serious illnesses.

Kidney cysts can be found via ultrasonography, CT scans, and X-rays. They might not be necessary, though. The majority of patients with kidney cysts don't even require further tests.

Kidney stones can be found using X-rays. Additionally, it can provide medical professionals with details on the size and location of kidney stones. However, X-rays aren't always precise.

Kidney stone identification is also a useful use of CT and MRI technology. The patient is exposed to ionizing radiation, and they are less expensive than X-rays. These techniques can result in images that are more detailed than X-ray images.

Kidney cysts can be imaged using MRI. It offers high-resolution images and can be utilized to settle ambiguous results regarding a lesion. It can also describe the composition of complicated cystic masses.

Simple fluid-filled kidney cysts often contain homogeneous anechoic fluid. This appears as a uniform hypointense signal on a T1-weighted scan. Usually, this lesion won't change after receiving contrast medication.

Atypical cysts feature high attenuation values and a visible wall. Additionally, they exhibit septations and calcifications. These lesions could be cancer-related.

Renal cystic masses can be categorized quite effectively using the Bosniak system. It is based on computed tomography (CT) procedure that has been utilized for more than 30 years. It should only be used on lesions that are greater than one centimeter, though.

Kidney cysts are removed by a process called sclerotherapy. This is a safe and highly effective treatment. A solution is injected into the cyst during the procedure. This keeps it from rebuilding and re-absorbing fluid.

This treatment is frequently carried out by a urologist as an outpatient procedure. The majority of patients return home the same day as the procedure. However, some individuals might have to spend a few days in the hospital.

Sclerotherapy treatments come in a variety of forms. Sclerotherapy using foam is one kind. A local anesthetic is used during the minimally invasive procedure of foam sclerotherapy. Another is percutaneous sclerotherapy with ultrasound guidance. Both approaches work well.

A sclerosing agent, such as ethanol injection, povidone-iodine, or minocycline, is used during percutaneous sclerotherapy. To make a cavity that the doctor can drain, these solutions are injected into the cyst.

The use of laparoscopic surgery for kidney cysts has grown recently. It has good success rates and provides a more relaxing recuperation time. Additionally, the surgery has cut down on hospital stays and blood loss.

Patients typically recover enough to resume their regular activities in three to four weeks. On rare occasions, extra surgery might be required, though.

The procedure is carried out while the patient is unconscious. After the procedure, a temporary renal drain is inserted into the abdominal cavity. The day following the procedure, this is removed. An alternative is to employ a ureteral stent to assist in stopping urine leaking.

A flexible plastic tube is called a ureteral stent. To prevent urine from dripping into the bladder, it is put into the kidney.

You will have a variety of therapy options if it is determined by your doctor that you have transitional cell carcinoma of the renal pelvis and ureter. Chemotherapy, immunotherapy, radiation therapy, and a combination of those are a few alternatives. Each choice aims to lower the possibility of acquiring kidney or bladder cancer.

DNA alterations that direct cells to grow uncontrolled are typically the cause of urinary tract malignancies. There are transitional cells throughout the urinary system. It is possible to perform a little biopsy to look for tumors.

As the disease advances, it may spread to other body organs. Early cancer detection frequently results in a cure. The patient's age and cancer stage determine the treatment plan.

[anantradingpvtltd]

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[maeamian]

Your average banana is about 150 cubic cm, but that’s too complicated for the math I want to do, and once its masticated you can put it in a smaller space so let’s just call it 100 cm^3. Eating a banana gives you a radiation dose of about 0.1 microsieverts, so ten bananas, or a thousand cubic centimeters of banana in your stomach, would give you one microsievert of radiation. The thing about radiation, is that it won’t kill you very much until you’ve gotten a lot of it, the maximum amount of radiation that astronauts are allowed to take in over their life is 1 sievert, which is the same as if you ate ten million bananas. In fact, even that doesn’t represent a significant danger to them because radiation is most deadly when it happens all at once, so a dose of about 4 sieverts is potentially fatal if it happens all at once, but the highest known non-fatal dose was around 64 sieverts administered (in deeply unethical circumstances) over 21 years, so if you ate about forty million bananas all at once you’d get a potentially lethal dose, but if you had eight thousand bananas for breakfast each morning you could survive the radiation. 

Now, I’m an astrophysicist not a biologist, so people who actually know things will have to forgive me when I say that the human stomach is probably not bigger than a 10x10x10 cm cube, I mean maybe it is, we played with those 10x10x10 cm cubes in math class and they weren’t *that* big, maybe the stomach is two of those, but honestly if I misplace a factor of two here or there it really doesn’t matter too much, I’m doing far worse things to the numbers here, and you certainly shouldn’t be citing anything I’m saying to the sort of precision where a factor of two should matter; I’m being very open about how approximated this is. Human beings, on a similar note, are probably about a cubic meter tops, one million cubic centimeters, or in other words, about ten thousand eaten bananas of volume, and the stomach is probably ten or twenty. I know the human digestive system, miracle that it is, is capable of expanding somewhat to fit its contents, but the upper bound on that has to be somewhere less than the entire volume of the human body it is contained in. So if you’ve stuck with me on this exciting journey, I can now lead you directly to the point I’ve been slowly building towards, which is this: If you want to give yourself acute radiation sickness you are going to have to find a method other than eating bananas. You cannot fit enough bananas inside you at any one time to fatally poison yourself with radiation.

[intheticklecloset]

Dr. Stone Sentence Starters #1-10

A collection of the Dr. Stone sentence starters I’ve done, compiled for the sake of ease. These are all stand-alone stories. Most are SenGen.

~~~

1) Lee Senku, Ler Gen

“You’re such a liar,” Gen accused in his natural, easygoing tone of voice.

Inside the lab, Senku kept his back turned as he worked. “Lying isn’t my style. You know that. Besides, I didn’t lie – part of the carbonated water we used was for the cure-all.”

“But you let me believe that was all it was for.” Gen’s voice was playfully pouty. “That’s cruel, Senku.”

“Gotta be honest, I’m surprised you’re complaining. I figured you’d be thrilled to see the cola, even if you couldn’t watch the grand bout in the village. It seemed a nice compensation.”

“Oh, I’m not complaining. I haven’t had a cola in thousands of years.” Gen’s shadow was right behind him now, merging with Senku’s own. “But it was still a little mean.”

Senku chuckled, shrugging. “Sorry, but I don’t really care one millimeter if you thought it was cruel of me. You got what you wanted, didn’t you?”

“I did. How can I ever repay you?~”

“Not selling me out was payment enough, thanks.” Senku suddenly felt uneasy. He turned just as Gen’s hands shot for his sides, squeezing hard, making him sputter and laugh against his will. “Hey – whahahat the-?!”

“Oh! Better be careful, Senku,” Gen teased, smiling his mischievous smile. “You said that beaker has a dangerous chemical in it, right? Wouldn’t want you to drop it~”

Senku gripped one of Gen’s wrists with his hand as he struggled to hold onto the beaker in question with the other, giggling like a child. He brought his leg up to try and kick, but that only made him lose his balance further.

“Gen!” He cried. “Gen, stohohohohop, this is one-bihihihihihillion percent dahahahangerous-!”

“All right, all right.” The mentalist finally relented, stepping back and sauntering his way out of the lab within moments. “I’ll leave you to your experiments.”

Senku sighed in relief, set the beaker down, and took a moment to regain his bearings. Then he flashed a smirk at the empty doorway and sprinted after Gen.

*

2) Lee Gen, Ler Senku

“There’ll be plenty more before this is over.”

“W-Wahahahahait, Senku! I juhuhuhust wanted to hehehehear you lahahahaugh!” Gen cried, squirming in the scientist’s arms as his ribs were tickled with surprising precision. Well, it shouldn’t have been that surprising. But Gen wasn’t thinking too hard about the logistics right now.

“Which you did,” Senku returned, smirking. He was definitely not oblivious to the hysterics he was pulling from the mischievous mentalist; if anything, he seemed to be enjoying them far too much. “And now it’s my turn. As you always have your feet bare but seem to cover up your torso with quite a bit of fabric even in the summer, I must assume you’re most sensitive somewhere in this region.” He grinned at the panicked squeal Gen let free. “Am I right?”

“Cuhuhuhuhuhurse you!” Gen cried, his cackles turned more and more frantic the higher Senku went. “Curse you ahahahahand your stuhuhuhuhupid science! NAHAHAHAHAHA!!”

“Ah.” Senku grinned. “Jackpot.”

“STAHAHAHAHAHAP!!” Gen flailed uselessly as his underarms were assaulted with the lightest of scribbles and most precise kneading in rapid succession, driving him crazy and reducing him to a helpless puddle far more quickly than he’d have liked. He was on his knees in the grass now, laughing so hard he could barely make sense of Senku’s next words.

“So, science is stupid, is it?” he tsked, shoving him face-first into the grass and straddling him, drilling into Gen’s worst spot with playful malice. “That’s too bad. And here I thought I was swaying you more and more to all the fun things you can do with it.”

“IT’S NOHOHOHOHOHOT – NOT STUHUHUHUPID!! PLEHEHEHEHASE!!” Gen laughed out his ticklish frustration into the ground, kicking his legs wildly to make up for how defenseless he was where he needed defense most. “SEHEHEHEHEHENKU, STAHAHAHAHAHAP!!”

But Senku merely chuckled in his usual way and kept at it. “Maybe next time you’ll think twice about messing with me while I’m handling a dangerous chemical, mentalist.”

*

3) Lee Senku, Ler Gen

“You’re awfully cocky for someone so ticklish,” Gen said with a smirk, wiggling his fingers at Senku, who suddenly looked nervous.

“It’s not cockiness if I’m right,” he muttered in reply, but his smirk was gone, at least. He reached for Gen’s hands. “Put those away, mentalist.”

But Gen fought back, keeping his wiggling fingers as close to the scientist’s sides as possible. Senku struggled to outdo him, a wobbly smile already on his lips. “Don’t.”

“Don’t what?” Gen teased. “Seems to me like you were just asking to be tickled.”

“No, I wasn’t.” Senku tried to sound firm, but it was difficult with the ghost tickles he swore he could already feel. Gen’s fingers were centimeters away now. “Gen, don’t-”

“Gotcha!” The mentalist beamed as he finally made contact, digging into the soft flesh of Senku’s sides with triumph. When the scientist tried to get away, he pulled him back against his chest, wrapping his arms around him and tickling even more. “Where are you going, huh? Where do you think you can possibly go to get away from me, Senku?”

Senku couldn’t stop giggling to save his life. All he could do was grab uselessly at his friend’s arms. “Stohohohohohop! Gehehehehehen!”

“Stop? But Senku, your arrogance got you into this mess! You could at least own up to it~”

“It’s nohohohohot arrogance if I’m r-rihihihiHIHIHIHIHIGHT!! GEN!!” Senku squealed, doing everything he could to get away and failing. “PLEHEHEHEHEHEASE!!”

Gen kept vibrating into his sensitive sides with a soft smile. “Like I said: you’re awfully cocky for someone so ticklish~”

*

4) Lee Gen, Ler Senku

“Tell me, mentalist, how bad does this tickle on a scale of one to ten?”

Gen was currently lying on his stomach in the dirt with Senku on top of him, fingers deep in his armpits but scratching lightly, and Gen was giggling uncontrollably in response. “S-Sehehehenku, stohohohop!”

“That’s not an answer,” Senku teased, digging a little harder. “Well? How bad is it?”

“Ten! Tehehehehehen!”

“Really? Well, that’s unfortunate for you. I wonder what would happen if I went somewhere more sensitive?” Senku couldn’t keep the satisfied smirk off his face as he dragged his fingers down to his friend’s ribs, drilling in deep, knowing it would tickle even worse that way.

And tickle it did, because Gen shrieked and started laughing wildly, crying, “NONONO OKAY OKAHAHAHAHAHAY THAHAHAHAT’S A TEHEHEHEHEN!!”

“That’s what I thought.” Senku chuckled, going back up to his underarms. “Then what number is this here?”

Gen dissolved into relieved, tired giggles. “F-Fihihihihive…”

“It dropped that much? Interesting.”

“Plehehehehease, Senku…”

“Please what? You don’t seem to be protesting too much anymore.” The mentalist’s ears went red, and the scientist grinned. “What? I’m right, aren’t I?”

Gen groaned into the ground, bubbly giggles still slipping past his lips as Senku slowed his tickling to a light, teasing skittering. “Shuhuhuhut up…”

*

5) Lee Senku, Ler Gen

“You think you’re so smart, huh?” Gen rolled his eyes, coming up behind Senku and placing his hands on either side of the table around him, trapping him against it to whisper in his ear. “Then tell me this: what happens when someone scribbles their fingers against your sides, huh?”

Senku froze, his breath hitching slightly. He didn’t answer.

“Well?” Gen pressed, enjoying the pink beginning to coat his friend’s ears. “What’s the natural reaction? Do you smile? Giggle? Try to get away? Or do you stay still and take it like a good little scientist?”

“S-Shut up.” Senku sounded flustered already, and Gen was absolutely living for it.

“Answer me, Senku.”

“This is pointless,” the scientist muttered, but he still hadn’t moved. “Why are you interrogating me?”

“Because I can, mostly. But I’m also a mentalist. I enjoy learning what makes people squirm.” Gen finally moved his hands, grasping Senku’s sides gently and scribbling his fingers over the fabric protecting them. “And I think this is what can get you to squirm, Senku.”

Sure enough, Senku gripped the table as giggles spilled out of him, hunching over instinctively. He lasted about four seconds before he finally turned to try and get away. “Stohohohop, Gen—”

“Ah-ah-ah,” Gen admonished teasingly, pushing Senku up against the table and digging in even harder, grinning wickedly at the brief look of excited panic in his friend’s eyes. “Better not fight me~”

“W-Why nohohohohohot?” Senku gripped Gen’s shoulders but didn’t fight back. “Gah! This is rihihihidiculous!”

“Because if you fight me, you know I’ll win. I’m stronger than you. And if I do win, I’ll tickle you for as long as I want.” Gen smirked as the pink in Senku’s ears traveled across his cheeks. “Unless…that’s what you want?”

“Shuhuhuhuhut up!”

“How rude.”

“You n-nehehehever said I cohohohouldn’t fihihihight with words!”

Gen hummed. “That’s true. But words won’t save you from your ticklish fate, my dear Senku~”

*

6) Lee Gen, Ler Senku

“You can apologize now,” Senku said evenly, “or you can apologize laughing. Your choice.”

Gen looked up at him with wide eyes. He took a shaky breath. “L-Laughing? What do you mean?”

Senku quirked a brow at him. “You know.”

“B-But…I have n-nothing to apologize for.”

“No?” The scientist settled his weight on Gen’s hips and wasted no time in reaching beneath the mentalist’s purple coat, digging at his ribs. “Running off overnight and making me worry about you isn’t something you should be sorry about?”

“Aww, y-yohohohohou were wohohohohorried about me, Sehehehenku?” Gen tried, but Senku only tickled harder, making him laugh. “Okay, okahahahahahay, I’m sohohohohohohorry!”

“Why did you do it?”

“I cahahahahan’t tell you!”

“Can’t?” Senku hummed, finding that spot at the backs of Gen’s ribs that always made him go berserk. “Or won’t?”

Gen’s hands clutched aimlessly at Senku’s arms, his sleeves, his shirt, anything he could grab to ground him and keep him strong in the face of ticklish torture. “CAHAHAHAHAHAHAN’T!!”

“Why not?”

“SURPRIHIHIHIHIHIHISE!!”

“Again?” Senku sighed, but he lightened his touch slightly. “It’s not my birthday anytime soon, you know. What are you scheming now?”

Gen giggled helplessly, gritting his teeth in defiance. He would not give in. He would not. “S-Spohohohohoilers, Senku.”

Senku paused a moment. Then he went right back into tickling Gen silly, smirking down at him. “Very well, mentalist. I can do this all day.”

*

7) Lee Senku, Ler Gen

“Do you want a massage?” Gen asked Senku, eyeing him worriedly as he reached back to massage his own neck.

“M’fine,” Senku muttered, rolling his shoulders and moving to get to his feet.

Gen was behind him in a flash, pushing down on his shoulders to keep him sitting down. “You’re not. You’re overworking yourself. Let me help.”

“I don’t need—” But Gen was already kneading into the tense muscles of his shoulders and neck, and Senku let out a loud groan before he could stop it, leaning his head back against Gen’s stomach. “Ugh, fine, you win this round.”

Gen smiled sadly, working at undoing the tension in the scientist’s shoulders, shaking his head at him. “You really do work too much. You need to take breaks.”

“No one else can do what needs to be done.” Senku sighed. “Well, probably Chrome could, if I instructed him in enough detail. But you and I are the only people here who remember the old world, and no offense, but I don’t think you know how to make a cell phone off the top of your head.”

Gen shrugged. “No, but my point still stands.” He blinked as one of Senku’s hairs fell away from the rest. He’d never seen it do that before. When he moved to brush it away, Senku gasped sharply and scrunched his neck, immediately wincing. “Senku, don’t do that!”

“I couldn’t help it,” the scientist snapped, lowering his voice to a mumble. “It tickled.”

Gen blinked again. He lightly brushed a finger along the back of Senku’s neck, smiling when a giggle slipped out. “You have a ticklish neck?” Senku twisted his head to try and get away, but in doing so Gen’s fingers brushed his ear instead, making him squeal. “You have ticklish ears?!”

Senku tried to stand up. “Let me go—” But Gen was already scribbling his fingers over the scientist’s ticklish spots, and Senku couldn’t stop the soft laughter that bubbled out of him at the touch. “Gehehehehehen!”

“This,” Gen said, beaming, “is officially the most adorable thing I’ve seen since breaking out of that rock. I can’t wait to have all kinds of fun with this information~”

*

8) Lee Chrome, Ler Ukyo

“I’m not ticklish!” Chrome declared bravely, putting his hands on his hips and puffing out his chest.

Ukyo blinked at him. “Okay.”

“Really, I’m not.”

“Okay.”

Chrome narrowed his eyes. “You believe me?”

“Not in the slightest.”

“Hey! I’m telling you, I’m not ticklish!”

“Sure.”

“Well? Test me if you don’t believe me, you know-it-all!” Chrome challenged, immediately wishing he’d kept his big mouth shut when Ukyo’s eyes suddenly went from uninterested to mischievous. He stepped back. “A-Actually, maybe don’t test me—”

But Ukyo was already on him, leaping up and wrapping his legs around his waist, using the force of his jump to tackle Chrome to the ground. Once there, he found purchase in the scientist’s underarms and dug in.

Chrome instantly broke into frantic cackles, kicking his legs wildly behind the archer. “N-No, wait, stohohohohohohop!”

“You’re the one who told me to test you,” Ukyo said with a sly grin. “And you said you weren’t ticklish, which you clearly are. Liar.”

“Okahahahahay, okay, plehehehehehease!”

“Why did you say that? You had to know I was going to learn the truth eventually.”

“I juhuhuhuhust wahahahanted to sound cool!” Chrome admitted through his giggles, squirming desperately on the ground. “Plehehehease!”

Ukyo chuckled, shaking his head as he climbed off the brunette, offering him a hand once he was back on his feet. “You’re ridiculous.”

*

9) Lee Ukyo, Ler Chrome

“Your laugh is so cute,” Chrome teased a giggling Ukyo, easily keeping up with him as he tried to roll away over and over again. “Aww, is someone ticklish? If I’d known about this when you captured me I’d have been able to get away easily!”

Ukyo couldn’t even reply for how hysterical he was. Fingers just kept finding his sides, his belly, his ribs, even his underarms and neck, and all of it was flustering him more than he cared to admit. Curse Chrome and his incessant chatter. The teasing was only making this worse!

“Nothing to say? That’s fine by me. I’m content to hear you laugh all day if you’re willing to indulge me.”

Finally the archer found his voice just long enough to sputter, “N-Nohohohoho!”

“No? But you’re not asking me to stop. I assumed you liked this. Am I wrong?” Chrome grinned, knowing full well Ukyo couldn’t answer when he was giggling helplessly like this. “Well? Better speak up or I’ll end up tickling you until sunset.”

The sun had only just come up! Ukyo whined, rolling onto his back to try and grab the scientist’s wrists, but doing so only left him more open, and Chrome ended up straddling him instead, ensuring he wouldn’t roll away anymore. “Gahahahahaha! Nohohohohoho, Chrome!”

“But your laugh is so adorable.” Chrome winked at him, continuing to tickle him lightly but relentlessly. “I want to hear it all day long~”

*

10) Switches Senku and Chrome

“There’s one thing I’m better at than you!” Chrome said, coming up behind Senku. “Want to know what it is?”

Senku spared him a brief, uninterested glance. “There are plenty of things you’re better at than me. But if you insist, do tell.”

For a moment Chrome was thrown by the compliment, but then he found his resolve. “I can handle being tickled longer than you.”

Senku froze for a brief moment, then turned and smirked at him. “I’m not sure if that’s a challenge or an invitation, but either way, you can forget it. I’ve no interest in finding that out. I’ll take your word for it.”

Chrome had expected some kind of resistance – maybe even flustered backpedaling – but Senku practically owning up to it himself? That he hadn’t seen coming. “Dude, seriously? You’re just going to let me accuse you of being too ticklish to handle more than a few seconds?”

“It’s an honest accusation.”

“Well…shoot. I almost feel bad for what I’m about to do, then.”

“What—?” Senku turned just as Chrome lunged for him, grabbing onto his waist and squeezing his hips. “GAH!! Chrohohohome, I just sahahahaid—!”

“I know, but like…you can’t just own up to it! At least try to bluff back at me.”

“Thehehehehere’s no point! It’s illohohohogical to deny it!” Senku grabbed his wrists but was too weak to do anything more than hold them. “Stohohohohop, I hahahahave work to dohoho!”

“Seriously.” Chrome quirked a brow at him. “You’re not going to tickle me back to see if I’m right?”

“I sahahahaid I’d tahahahake your word fohohohor it!”

Chrome shrugged, letting him go with a smile. “All right, then. That didn’t go the way I was expecting, but at least—”

Senku pounced right back, shoving him against the lab table and tickling his underarms with deadly precision. Chrome shrieked with laughter. “NONONO OKAY I’M SOHOHOHOHORRY, SEHEHEHENKU!!”

“Well, would you look at that?” Senku chuckled, grinning wickedly. “You can’t handle being tickled longer than me.”

[heyiwrotesomethings]

Soulmate

ShinoMitsu Week 2021 Day Three: (Fake/Secret Dating, Soulmate, Hobbies)

A/N: Here we are, the last time I’ll need to give this warning! This is the last part of the main storyline, everything else after this will be snippets from this AU safe for anyone to read. Enjoy! Word Count: 4,104

Mitsuri waited outside the gates of Sekirei Girls’ Academy, humming and rocking on her feet. It was obscenely early, but it was a price she was willing to pay if it meant being the first person to greet Shinobu on school grounds each morning.

Mitsuri was very happy. Ever since the surprise thunderstorm, she and Shinobu had grown much closer. Whenever Shinobu would spot her, she’d shoot Mitsuri the cutest little smile that made the older girl’s heart feel like it was going to explode! They talked more and even hung out outside of school on occasion, it was all Mitsuri had ever hoped for in pursuing a relationship with the cool, smart and beautiful Kochou Shinobu.

There was one thing that bothered her though, and that would be Shinobu’s stubborn refusal to acknowledge the strange bond between them. It hadn’t just been a product of the storm, they had experienced the visions a few more times since then. Usually, a specific touch or smell, even a sound could trigger an event and they’ve only gotten clearer since that rainy day.

From what Mitsuri gathered, she and Shinobu had been part of some kind of war if the uniforms and katanas were anything to go by. She didn’t really have many specific details beyond that. Many of the visions that came to her seemed to reflect whatever triggered them in the first place. Mitsuri had been researching the phenomenon in her spare time, but wasn’t making much progress on her own. She was sure if she could get Shinobu’s help on the matter they could actually find something, but as previously said, Shinobu wanted nothing to do with it. That didn’t mean Mitsuri was going to give up though.

“Good morning, Shinobu-chan!”  Mitsuri grinned and waved excitedly as Shinobu appeared in the distance.

“Good morning,” Shinobu answered once she was close enough to do so without yelling. Her lips were curled into that small smile that Mitsuri loved to see.

“What are you going to be practicing today, Shinobu?” Mitsuri asked, following her Kouhai to the track. Now that she had her foot in the door of Shinobu’s life, she was working on wiggling herself further in by spending all the time she could with her.

“My events next week are going to be the triple jump, high jump, one hundred meter dash, one hundred meter hurdles and the four hundred meter relay.” Shinobu recalled. “After I warm up I think I’ll start practicing my jumps and finish off with the sprints. I wanted to try pole vaulting, but Tomioka says I have to focus on my strengths now that the season is almost over. He’s such a killjoy.”

Mitsuri giggled. That was another part of Shinobu’s practices that she loved to watch. The shorter girl often sassed the coach or countered his teachings. It had worried Mitsuri at first, but quickly learned that it was simply their dynamic.

“There’s always next year, Shinobu! It’s sad I’m graduating this year, watching you practice is so fun. It’s too bad we didn’t become friends sooner, then you could have watched me during dance and volleyball season.” Mitsuri said wistfully.

“I’ve seen you do both many times.” Shinobu mumbled, a faint flush coloring her cheeks. “My sister was in both of those clubs as you may recall.”

“Yes! That’s true!” Mitsuri clapped before she thought about it a moment more and her face dropped. “But that means you’ve only seen me at my worst! I was only a first year back then and I wasn’t really good.”

“I remember, you fell a lot.” Shinobu snorted. Mitsuri covered her face and whined pitifully.

“But I didn’t stop going to meets and events even after Kanae graduated. You really improved over time.” Shinobu added shyly, keeping her eyes staring firmly ahead at the track where some other girls were already warming up.

“Aw, Shinobu!” Mitsuri cooed. She couldn’t stop herself from latching on to the shorter girl, pressing tightly into her side while Shinobu tried halfheartedly to shove her off.

The pair slowed their stride significantly as another vision past behind their eyes. A similar hug, but again with the strange uniforms and taking place in a grand garden that was growing steadily more familiar.

"Come on, I know you saw that." Mitsuri said once the feeling past and they began walking again.

"Saw what?" Shinobu feigned ignorance.

“Shinobu, when are you going to admit there is something supernatural going on here?”

“Never. It’s just absurd. I don’t believe in that kind of stuff.” Shinobu said, setting her bag on the bleachers.

“What do you mean? You love ghost stories and supernatural phenomena.” Mitsuri countered, sitting beside Shinobu’s belongings.

“I love telling scary stories precisely because I don’t believe in any of that junk. It’s funny to see how others react.”

“If you would help me with my research for just one night, I just know we could find something.”

“I’m sorry, Mitsuri. That just sounds like a waste of time,” Shinobu said, stretching her arms over her head before placing her hands back over her hips, “I’ve got to go warm up now.”

“No!” Mitsuri pouted.

“What?”

Mitsuri snatched Shinobu, catching her off guard and making her fall into Mitsuri’s lap.

“Mitsuri,” Shinobu scolded quietly, “let go!”

“Not until you promise to help me research what’s going on between us! Just one day, please!” Mitsuri exclaimed, pressing her cheek snuggly between Shinobu’s shoulder blades as her strong arms held her firmly in place.

“Fine, fine! Just cut it out!” Shinobu snapped.

“Yes!” Mitsuri cheered. She gave Shinobu one last tight squeeze before letting her go. The Kouhai stood and shot a glare at the giddy girl before darting of onto the track. Her skin already flushed before her workout even began.

Mitsuri used the rest of her time organizing the research she already had so she could really optimize her time with Shinobu. It was a little difficult to stay on task however, when she could be watching Shinobu twist over the high jump pole or sprint and leap over hurdles like they weren’t even an obstacle. Needless to say, Mitsuri didn’t get as much work done as she could have.

***

They had set the research session for Saturday. Shinobu thought she could have gotten away with a couple of hours Friday night, but Mitsuri had shot down that idea quickly. She had finally coerced Shinobu into helping her and she wasn’t going to settle for a couple of hours, she wanted a whole day.

They decided to do their research at Shinobu’s since it was a more quiet and controlled space than Mitsuri’s house with all her rambunctious siblings running about.

Mitsuri arrived bright and early Saturday morning, beaming brighter than the sun. Shinobu answered the door with messy hair and squinty eyes. Clearly she hadn’t been expecting Mitsuri to already be here. It was only seven in the morning after all.

“What time did you wake up this morning? You live on the other side of town.” Shinobu asked. She sounded grumpy, but it was mostly because she herself had only woken up fifteen minutes ago.

“I couldn’t sleep at all Shinobu. I couldn’t stop thinking about how excited I was to spend the day with you!” Mitsuri said, giving off a glow that should not have been humanly possible for someone who hadn’t slept at all the night before.

“You’re insane.” Shinobu deadpanned whilst making room for Mitsuri to enter her home.

While Shinobu finished getting ready for the day, Mitsuri made herself at home in Shinobu’s room and set up her own workspace. With Kanae at her job and Kanao heading out later to stay over at a friend’s house, it would just be the two of them for a majority of the day. Mitsuri wasn’t sure why, but the thought made her heart beat faster.

“Alright,” Shinobu sighed, dropping onto her futon beside Mitsuri, “what do you have so far?”

Mitsuri turned to face Shinobu and smiled. Gone was the cute, tousled bed hair, now tucked neatly into place, but the giant hoodie and athletic shorts she had been wearing when she had answered the door remained unchanged.

“You really like wearing giant sweatshirts, don’t you Shinobu?” Mitsuri had said instead with a light giggle.

“I get cold.” She stated simply.

“But you’re wearing shorts. Wouldn’t it help if you wore something longer?” The older girl pointed out.

“Watch this,” Shinobu sat up further back on the futon, “I’m about to blow your mind.”

Shinobu lifted the hem of her hoodie and before Mitsuri could register and appreciate the newly exposed skin it was quickly gone again as Shinobu’s knees pressed against her chest and the large hoodie was thrown back into place, encompassing all of Shinobu’s legs, making her look like a lumpy egg with a human head.

Mitsuri blanked for a moment, taking in Shinobu’s form for a few moments before laughing heartily. Shinobu laughed too, although more subdued. She had gotten just the reaction she was hoping for.

“What a problem solver, Shinobu-chan,” Mitsuri wiped a tear from her eye, “when you get a boyfriend you’re going to steal all of his hoodies, aren’t you?”

Shinobu winced a bit at the insinuation, instead of giving Mitsuri a real answer she hummed noncommittally, making Mitsuri tilt her head curiously.

Then a thought crossed Mitsuri’s mind that chilled her to the core, did Shinobu already have a boyfriend? She was so beautiful and amazing, had someone already claimed her heart? She lurched forward, startling Shinobu by balancing her weight over Shinobu’s knees, still hidden beneath the blanket like sweatshirt.

“Do you have a boyfriend, Shinobu?” She squeaked, her face mere centimeters away from the other’s.

“What? No!” Shinobu denied, blush crawling its way up her neck from their proximity.

“You promise? You don’t have to hide from me Shinobu, I’ll be your number one supporter!”

“I don’t have a boyfriend, Mitsuri. I never will so just drop it, okay?” Shinobu said, attempting to push Mitsuri out of her personal space.

“What do you mean, never?” Mitsuri was flabbergasted. Did Shinobu think that as pretty and charming as she was, she couldn’t get any boy she wanted? Now instead of relieved that Shinobu didn’t have a boyfriend, she was upset that Shinobu thought she would never have one. “You are beautiful Shinobu, and so smart and dedicated! Don’t give up, you’ll find the right boy for you and if they don’t treat you right they don’t deserve you! Just like you told me, right?”

“Mitsuri, stop.” Shinobu warned, running a hand through her hair.

“But it’s true! You could have any boy you want Shinobu.”

“I don’t want a boy!” Shinobu finally yelled, exasperated. “I don’t want a boy.” She said again this time in a more even tone, jerking her head away from Mitsuri.

“Don’t want a... oh!” Mitsuri clapped her hands together, “Do you want a girlfriend to share your hoodies with then?”

Though her head was turned, Mitsuri watched in amazement as Shinobu’s ears turned red before her very eyes. After a moment of silence, it was clear Shinobu was tongue tied.

“You do!” Mitsuri yelled, wiggling excitedly, “This is great, we can talk about what girls we think are cute together sometime. Doesn’t that sound fun?”

“...What?” Shinobu peaked over her shoulder at Mitsuri.

“Well you know me, Shinobu. I like a lot of different people. It’ll be fun to see where we might overlap.” Mitsuri said as if it was obvious, no big deal. Unfortunately for her, her own idea didn’t make her feel much better. For some reason the idea of Shinobu sharing what other girls she found attractive made her feel anxious.

“No, I didn’t know that. I’ve only ever heard you talk about boys.” Shinobu said, distracting Mitsuri.

“Oh, well, now you know I guess.” Mitsuri shrugged with a smile, her face still hovering painfully close to Shinobu.

Shinobu could just about die.

A knock on the door saves her, and she calls Kanao in. The younger girl has her backpack on and a sleeping bag roll hugged against her chest.

“Nezuko and her mom are here to pick me up.” She said, staring between the two older girls and wondering why her sister appeared so flustered.

“Okay, do you have everything?” Shinobu got up from her futon, happy for an excuse to step away from Mitsuri and her honey sweet scent.

“Yes.” Kanao answered with a nod.

“And how are you getting home tomorrow?” Shinobu asked.

“Aoi said her dad would drop me off.”

“Alright, call or text if you need anything. If you want to come home early Kanae will pick you up at anytime, okay?” Shinobu reminded. Since their parents were often away, Shinobu and Kanae had basically been Kanao’s primary caretakers ever since she was adopted. It was a little hard at times for Shinobu to remember that Kanao wasn’t so little anymore.

“I remember, see you tomorrow, Nee-san.”

“See you tomorrow.”

Kanao turned, rounded the corner and with a quiet closing and locking of a door, she was gone.

Shinobu cleared her throat and turned back to Mitsuri, who had watched the interaction with hearts in her eyes.

“So, are we ever going to get into your, ‘research’ or are we just going to sit here and do nothing all day?” Shinobu crossed her arms, her eyes not quite meeting Mitsuri’s as she was still embarrassed from earlier.

That seemed to jolt Mitsuri out of her musings and the older girl quickly finished setting up and filled Shinobu in on what she had so far.

“So basically,” Shinobu leaned her back against the wall, “you have nothing.”

“That’s not true!” Mitsuri pouted, leaning closer to Shinobu to shove her laptop in the younger girl’s face, “Did you read this article about telepathic dream links and dimensional rifts?”

“Just hearing you say that aloud makes my brain want to melt.” Shinobu snorted.

“Take this seriously Shinobu. You promised you’d try today.” Mitsuri pleaded.

“You’re right,” Shinobu sighed, taking the laptop from Mitsuri’s hands to place it on her own lap, “sorry.”

“You’re forgiven. Now, how can we find out what’s going on with us?”

“Well, let’s type... connected vision experiences, and see if we find something similar and go from there.” Shinobu tapped the enter key and the relevant links popped up on the search engine.

Articles, websites and message boards yielded very little the first hour or so. Then they got really serious. Shinobu got out her own laptop so they could broaden their search. Occasionally they would share an interesting or just down right insane tidbit of information but largely nothing came up that sounded like what they were experiencing.

After awhile, Mitsuri noticed that Shinobu had gone quiet and seemed to be reading something rather intently. Excited, Mitsuri knocked shoulders with her.

“Did you find something good, Shinobu?” She asked.

“Ah, no. Sorry.” Shinobu quickly rebuffed. “I was reading an article about a new species of butterfly.”

“Aw, Shinobu! Stay on task here, come on!” Mitsuri scolded as best she could, but she was just too sweet for her words to have much bite.

“A break wouldn’t hurt, would it? Aren’t you hungry? I’ll order a delivery for whatever you want.” Shinobu enticed.

Now how could Mitsuri say no to that? Especially since her stomach had just then decided to speak for her with a low rumble.

“Food sounds great!” Mitsuri said, easily giving in.

“What do you want?” Shinobu asked, getting up.

“Mochi!” Mitsuri cheered.

“And?” Shinobu laughed.

“Tempura and miso! No wait, oden! No wait, ramen? Yakitori?” Mitsuri rubbed her temples, a bead of sweat rolled down her cheek. This was an important decision!

“Pick a couple of things we can get at the same restaurant and anything you wanted that we didn’t get, we can make for dinner, okay?” Shinobu suggested after watching Mitsuri struggle for a minute.

“Really Shinobu? You’re the best!” Mitsuri praised.

They came up with a list and Shinobu ordered from the restaurant before going to the kitchen to make sure they had the ingredients they needed for dinner, leaving Mitsuri to continue their research.

Mitsuri was thinking of a new phrase to put in her search bar when Shinobu’s laptop caught her eye, still open and waiting for its owner to return. With a light hum, she set her own laptop aside, replacing it with Shinobu’s. Shinobu was right, a little break would be fine and she really wanted to see what this new butterfly looked like.

Mitsuri scrolled back to the top of the page, letting out a disappointed huff as there were no pictures. She scoured for the name of the butterfly to look it up herself, but the words she scanned gave her more questions than answers.

Words and phrases of past lives and tragedy, rebirth and second chances. An uncommon phenomenon. Mitsuri decided to reread from the beginning with complete focus.

A few minutes later, Shinobu reentered the room, looking down at her phone as she finished typing out a grocery list.

“Hey, we’re short on a few things. I’m just going to pop by the convenience store down the street. Do you want to come?”

“Why did you lie?” Mitsuri frowned at Shinobu instead, causing the other to whip her head up from her phone.

“Wha—“ Shinobu cut herself off as soon as she saw her laptop in Mitsuri’s grasp. “Oh Mitsuri, I just— it’s one article. It doesn’t mean anything...“

“Doesn’t mean anything... Shinobu, this is us to a T!” Mitsuri shot her arms up above her head, “We’re soulmates!”

“Mitsuri,” Shinobu tried to de-escalate, “you can’t believe everything you read, I didn’t find anything else about the subject. It’s just one story and—“

“It’s so detailed. The visions Koyuki and Hakuji shared, they aren’t so different from how our own come to us,” Mitsuri laid back against the futon with a light groan, covering her eyes. “To think we experienced some tragic end in our past lives, and the visions were so we could find each other and try falling in love again. It’s a lot to take in.”

Mitsuri let out a big breath of air and then remembered that she was still hurt that Shinobu had lied to her and sat back up.

“So why did you lie, Shinobu? Do you,” her voice got quieter, “do you not like me?”

“I do like you, don’t be ridiculous. I was just, I don’t know...” Shinobu huffed, walking over to her fish tank to watch the little colorful fish swim about. An excuse to not have to look at Mitsuri’s sad face.

“Is it because of my hair or maybe, because I eat a lot? Because I’m too clingy?” Mitsuri thought aloud, making Shinobu immediately turn back and stalk over to her.

Mitsuri yelped as Shinobu pushed her back against the futon and hovered over her, eyes dark with great sincerity as she poked Mitsuri squarely in the chest.

“You stop that right now.” Shinobu warned quietly. “There is not one part of you that I don’t like,” She changed her position to sit beside Mitsuri and looked down at the floor,

“...I was just, nervous I guess. I didn’t know how you would react. If you would think I was trying to take advantage of you or you would want to be with me just because of what one story had to say. If we did become a, a couple, I would hope it would because we are genuinely happy with each other and not because we may have known each other in another life.”

Mitsuri sat back up again and nodded vigorously, wrapping up Shinobu in a side hug with her head resting on her shoulder.

“I’ve liked you for a long time. Ever since I saw you running at the sports festival last year, I thought you were really cool and pretty. You made my heart leap back then before I even knew your name. Even without our shared visions or the possibility of the existence of soulmates, I would still want to be with you.” Mitsuri spoke, her words heartfelt, and Shinobu knew it.

“Until now, I didn’t let myself really think about asking you to be my girlfriend because, well, you know what I’ve told you of my track record with dating. They would always end up leaving. I didn’t want you to leave too.”

“I wouldn’t.” Shinobu said sternly, crossing her arms beneath Mitsuri’s side hug, making the older girl giggle and bury her head further into Shinobu’s neck. “Those guys were all assholes.”

“This is why I was so worried you might have already been dating someone, you’re just so expressive and— ahh! I just like you a lot!” Mitsuri nuzzled.

“I like you too.” Shinobu mumbled but she was full of sincerity. She freed one of her arms so she could pat Mitsuri affectionately on her back before clearing her throat.

“So do you, would you, like to go on a date sometime? Not because we might be soulmates or whatever, but because you would genuinely like to regardless?” She asked.

Mitsuri squealed and shook Shinobu in her arms, “Yes! Yes, I’d really like to do that. Do you mean it? Do you want to?”

“Yeah, I do. —Hey!”

Mitsuri pulled Shinobu back down on the futon with her, still hugging her close. Wisteria clung to her nose the longer she stayed close and she didn’t want to leave. Mitsuri grinned into Shinobu’s shoulder as she felt arms finally wrap around her.

“What a weird, amazing day, hm?” Mitsuri breathed through a relaxed sigh.

“Tell me about it.” Shinobu sighed in return though she sounded more spent than relaxed. She wasn’t accustomed to sharing such gooey emotions like this. Honestly, she felt lucky Mitsuri had the patience to bear with her.

“Aren’t you glad I made you do this research with me now?”

“Mm, probably would have just been a lot less work for you to just as me out instead while you had me trapped.” Shinobu responded cheekily, earning a light slap on the arm.

“Now, as much as I’d love to lay here, the food should be here in less than twenty minutes and I’d really like to grab those groceries before the delivery person gets here. Are you coming?”

“Are you kidding? I’ll never leave your side again!” Mitsuri said, shifting her body upwards a bit so she could show Shinobu her very serious, yet extremely cute and hardly intimidating, expression.

“Oh dear, what have I done.” Shinobu couldn’t help but smile. Hesitantly she caressed Mitsuri’s cheek and she melted instantly under her touch.

Before they could leave, Shinobu said she had to change her sweatshirt first and Mitsuri lightly poked fun at her, but in all honesty it would have been like Shinobu was wearing a Snuggie out in public with how big that hoodie was.

Shoes on, they walked down the street to their destination. Surprisingly, their conversation on the way felt normal as if nothing had really changed and that felt good. Mitsuri nervously brushed knuckles with Shinobu a few times and the younger girl easily took her hand in her own. They both quieted for a moment and smiled to themselves, enjoying the small, but not insignificant, act of intimacy.

They got the ingredients they needed with added snacks and managed to just barely beat the delivery person home with a couple minutes to spare. They put away the groceries and set up lunch in the living room because Mitsuri insisted on eating under the kotatsu even though the chills of winter had long since past. Shinobu was happy to indulge her anyway and offered to put a movie on to watch while they ate. They picked one and sat together, steadily migrating closer until they were leaning on each other.

Before long, Shinobu heard Mitsuri’s breathing change and realized that the other girl had gone quiet.

“Missed sleep finally caught up to you, did it?” Shinobu whispered fondly.

She pulled Mitsuri further into herself and she snuggled in. Shinobu paused the movie, having a feeling that Mitsuri would want to finish it later, and turned on a show she would usually watch herself while playing idly with Mitsuri’s hair.

She’d never admit it, but maybe, just maybe, there was something to all that soulmate business because it felt like she had waited a lifetime to hold her like this without another care in the world.

[kimberly-spirits13]

Haunted (Request)

Paring: John Constantine Protégé (reader) x young justice

Synopsis: It’s basically the episode, “Haunted” from Teen Titans where Robin sees Slade but he isn’t there but it’s with the reader

Notes: Y/F/C = Your Favorite Channel   

Warnings: None

Word Count: 2336

           Constantine had told you to be extra careful after you had returned from missions or what he liked to call, hell bound adventures with him. You’d always been, it was part of the job of course. That didn’t mean however, that sometimes, something would go a bit ... awry.

           You were crashing on the couch after getting back from a mission with your teacher. John Constantine was a different kind of person to everyone, but for you he was like a weird uncle or estranged father figure. You had just gotten back from cleansing yourself of anything that might attract some sort of negative spirit or energy into the cave. He lectured you on that before you two had come in through the zeta beams. You rolled your eyes thinking of it as the remote that you were using made the tv flip to new channels every few seconds. You passed Conner’s favorite, static, and then made it to your own favorite channel Y/F/C.

           It was some time before the team had come in from their own mission. Kid Flash was the first to greet you as he sat threw himself over the top of the couch to sit down by you.

           “Hey beautiful.” He said making you cringe internally.

           “He- get your hands off of my popcorn Wallace.” You said without looking at him, instead opting to keep your eyes on the screen.

           You felt him scoot over some at your tone. He knew not too touch your food, especially after missions. The one time you did share, everyone was half dead and happened to have stuffed a few snacks in your pockets. You only looked up when you heard the rest of the team walk near the living room and kitchen.

           “How was your mission with Hellblazer?” Artemis asked sitting down on the floor next to you.

           “It was ... long.” You replied with an exasperated sigh, “Honestly, I could use a nice movie night for once.”

           “I second that.”

           After a few minutes, everyone was showered and in pajamas. Bean bags, pillows, and blankets were strewn out in every square centimeter of the living room and a movie was underway. The movie was a nice distraction from the night’s events. You almost had this fear that if you looked away, you’d see something that you didn’t want to. It was a fear that you finally told yourself that you needed to face in order to enjoy your night as much as you possibly could. It was a fear that came true the moment you took your eyes off of the tv. You didn’t have to squint to see the massive black figure lurking in the shadows. It stared back at you almost daring you to move. You sat still, tensing up some after looking to see if it could be anyone that wasn’t sitting by you at the time. Then you confirmed it, the entire team was accounted for and the shadow was moving closer to you.

           “Everyone get to the mission room!” You yelled out making the rest of the team jump.

           “What’s wrong?” Robin asked standing up.

           “Don’t ask just go!”

           It was a known fact that if Constantine’s kid was telling everyone to get away from where they were, you left. The team sprinted off to where you told them to go as you rushed into the kitchen hold your hand out in the general direction of the being and chanted something that only you could understand. The cage that you put the spirit in wouldn’t last for long and you knew that. That wasn’t the point though, right now, you were after paint, and a marker. Once you had those items, you ran into the briefing room where missions were given out calling out protection spells and scribbling the corresponding symbols on the walls with the permanent marker. The rest of the team looked on in horror as you ran closer and closer. They couldn’t see what was quickly trailing on behind you, but they knew that if you were this panicked, it must be something serious.

           “Move together in a group.” You instructed running around them with the salt, “You know the drill, don’t touch, move, blow on, don’t do anything with the salt unless I say so!”

           “Y/N, there isn’t anything there.” Robin said looking around.          

           “I can’t even sense anything.” M said crossing her arms some.

           “I know you can’t, that’s why you have to stay here.” You said drawing symbols around the circle, “Someone get a hold of Constantine, I’m a bit preoccupied at the moment.”

           You stopped and looked behind you seeing the shadow coming closer and closer to the door, “Shit!” You hissed standing up, “Take these, if anything happens and you have to leave the salt circle, make sure you have these around your neck. Don’t let anything happen to you.”

           You handed each of them a necklace with a protection charm on it, “It’s after me, so, in theory, you guys should be fine unless it kills me.”

           “W-wait... Kills?” Wally asked making everyone turn and stare in the general direction you were looking.

           “Precisely my dear Watson.” You started chanting something again before yelling out in pain clutching the protection tattoo over your arm. There appeared scratches much to the horror of the rest of the team.

           Blood dripped down slowly and in smaller amounts than you expected it would. The heat off of whatever scratched you seemed to have cauterized most of the scratch, that wasn’t a good sign.

           “What do you want?” You asked in a different language that was foreign to the rest of the team, “Whom do you seek?”

           “The blood of Constantine.” It replied.

           Now you knew it was after you. You had the blood of Constantine, at least with being his kid and all. That was when you started running. Your bedroom would be the safest place for you right now, just not the team. The team wasn’t typically allowed in your room because of everything inside of it that they were not ready to be around at all. Some of the things might cause them nightmares, others a state of delirium that you had been trained to be accustomed to. There, in your room, you had the spell books needed to vanquish whatever was after you.

           You knew that the team probably wouldn’t be able to get a hold of your mentor. The communications were probably down by now. If anything happened, there would be no one there to help you. Not even Zantana was here. She would be nice to have around right about now. Then again, almost anyone with skills in magic would be helpful to have around right now so that wasn’t saying too much.

           You had to run through the living room and kitchen once more. The shadow was right on your tail when you turned around to see if you could find it. The moment you did, it disappeared.

           “Damn it!” You murmured before turning around, wide eyed at what you saw about to run into you, “Should have remembered eyes on the roa-“

           The shadow picked you up. You didn’t expect it to be able to do that. Maybe scratch you a bit, but certainly not lift you off solid ground. Kicking and thrashing around seemed to be doing nothing for you at that moment. The being laughed at your antics before lifting one of its claws to your cheek and slowly cutting into it drawing the smallest amount of blood. You screamed out in pain, all the while trying to articulate a spell to put distance between you and the shadow. It did its job and the next thing you knew you hit the ground running. The stumble and fall didn’t hurt that bad at the moment, you had too much adrenaline in your system for that kind of common pain.

           You slid into a different hallway and then down one more before getting into your bedroom and shutting the door. There was no need to make protection spells in here since they were already there. As quickly as possible, you ran to the book shelf and started trying to find the book Constantine had always told you to use if something like this had happened. You found the book, a navy blue leather bound book with old paper and tarnished gold details. Opening the book on your bed, you flipped through it rapidly trying to find the page needed for the spell that you were about to cast.

           Once you got to the correct page, you saw that you’d need something to give you some time. It involved a few different things to make it work, all of which you could do quickly with some other spells, but not fast enough to keep yourself safe.

           “M? Can you hear me?” You asked over the mental link.

           “Loud and clear. Are you alright?” She asked.

           “Not the best but there’s no time to complain about it, listen if you can, I need you to do something for me.” You said, “It’s dangerous and if you don’t want to do it, I’ll think of something else but you should be fine with the protection charm I gave you.” “I need you to fly out of the salt circle, as in, don’t touch it. Then will you go into the hallway outside of my room, looking like me and lead it to the zeta beams. Go as fast as you can on that part. On my signal, change back into yourself and go invisible. I don’t want you in sight during this part. Get back to the salt circle.”

           “If you think it’s best, I’ll do it.” She answered after a few seconds of silence.

           “Good. Now go.”

           After a minute or so, you felt the shadow following something else. Your plan was working and all you had to do now was beat the two into the room entrance. You took a different route that wouldn’t be anywhere near were the two of them were and once you were in the right place, you dropped to your knees making the correct markings on the floor and setting candles around it. You had done this countless numbers of times, but now that this thing was threatening your only real family, it felt a bit personal. You stood up once M announced to you that she was entering the room. You hid behind Conner’s motorcycle and at the right moment, leaped out in front of it telling M to leave.

           She did as you instructed leaving you to finish the spell. You felt your energy draining more and more as it got closer. You were leading it right where you wanted it, but that didn’t mean it couldn’t hurt you. By now it had scrapped you up a bit. There would be bruises in the morning considering you made it to then.

           The shadow laughed at your pain, lifting its hand to knock you into a wall. You grunted in pain before stumbling back onto your feet, not letting it break your concentration. You dodged a flying wrench and then screwdriver before feeling a sharp pain on your leg. This thing was toying with you now, trying to get you to drop the spell. The intensity of the spell ended up making the lights flicker on and off, finally killing them. You felt multiple cuts forming on different parts of your body. That was when you caught it. It tried to keep moving but was now stuck in the symbol that you drew. You smiled some suddenly having a bit more energy and hope that you’d finish. With confidence, you ended the spell. The sound of the high pitch screeching made you hold your ears closed in pain. You fell to your knees before telling the team that it was okay to come out. The lights came back on and the last thing you remember was a bright white light and then silence.

“Come on kid, wake up.” You felt someone shaking you awake. The voice sounded familiar but panicked like if you didn’t open your eyes at once, they’d lose it.

Under you, you felt the concreate of the cave floor. It wasn’t the best feeling in the world in the slightest especially with your aching bones. Around you, you felt multiple people, none of them to be evil. Then, slowly, you blinked your eyes open, light flooding your senses before you were adjusted.

“I-is it gone?” You asked rubbing your head hearing the sigh of relief from your mentor.

“It is.” Constantine said helping you up and catching you as you stumbled over, “I didn’t think you’d be able to handle a demon of that size. I’m impressed you did, but you need rest.”

“How’d it get in?” You asked looking around some to see the team fully intact.    

“I’m still figuring that out right now Y/N/N. The ole bastard didn’t stand a chance against you though”

“Y/N, are you alright?” M asked not really wanting to come closer to you with John there.            You nodded, “Yeah, I’m fine.” “Are you guys okay?”

“We’re all fine Y/N... w-what was that?” Robin asked, “None of us could see whatever it was that was here, it seemed to just be you.”            “It was a demon. Must have followed from my last mission away from you guys. You couldn’t see it because it didn’t want you to. It was after me, but once it got me, I’m sure it would have gone after all of you.”

Constantine stayed a little while longer to help make sure that there was nothing else there. You told him that it was after him which wasn’t unheard of at all but he needed to be more careful than he typically was for a little bit. After he was gone, the team dragged you into the living room where you promptly fell asleep during a movie.

           This was fun to write. I find it funny that two people kind of had the same idea, that was pretty funny. Anyways, I hope you guys liked this one and are having a great day. I’m going to still try and post even with my laptop gone but that all just depends on what happens. I hope you’re all staying safe and healthy and have a wonderful week and rest of the day!

[decalinethespacecat]

The Games that We Play-Ch.1

A simple exploration.

That's all this mission was supposed to entail.

Well, in a sense, perhaps they had accomplished such. Stranded on a new, foreign world, brimming with energy, and teeming with organic life. And with that, it was the very life that they had been forced to alter themselves to, the very lifeblood that dwelt on this strange sphere in too great an excess, and thus, should they not adhere to the laws set by this new world, it could mean the loss of their functionality, or even more, their own sparks. Of course, ironically enough, it hadn't just been themselves that had to follow this code: the very ones that had caused their stranding here had also been subject to it. And even more, one amongst their former pursuers had, albeit forcibly at first, integrated amongst their numbers. Now, as the two parties faced each other atop this mountain, five against five, the playing field had been leveled.

The two heads of the opposing sides made direct eye contact with each other, the differences between them evident in far more than just their conflicting ideals and ambitions. On one side stood the stalwart, strong form of a darkly furred primate, leaning on his knuckles as the species he had scanned were inclined to do. His eyes were dark, yet soulful, and in the minds of some of his fellow explorers, dare they say, they appeared almost akin to the small creatures that had aided and catered to their ancestors. On the other was, for all intents and purposes, a complete antithesis of everything the primate was. He bore the outer flesh of a large theropod coated in a sheen of violet with a series of green ridges trailing along his back, ending at the base of his tail. Rows of sharpened, ivory teeth lined the inside of his powerful jaws, small, yet menacing red eyes full of intent glowering back at the primate opposite of him.

"Across the galaxy," the ancient reptile spoke, voice low and smooth. "It has come to this, Optimus Primal." The primate stood his ground, along with the other four organically based Cybertronians with him. "Face to face," a smile crept onto the theropod's features. "Tooth to claw...yesss." Oh yes indeed, he had been clamoring for this very moment! "Have you anything to say?"

The primate's face grew stern. True, he had not set out on this expedition with the intent to seek combat. Yet ultimately, Primus, it seemed, held other plans for them. "I'd say, that's prime." he simply stated before bearing his elongated canines. "Let's do it!"

...

"YEAHHHH!" a chorus of young voices cried out, five to be exact, as they charged in unison at a collection of five pieces of notebook paper held up by a used popsicle stick glued onto the back, each of them stuck into the ground so they would stay in place. The owners of the voices came forward and did 'battle' with the pieces of cut-out paper, lightly striking and flicking the fragile, crudely drawn depictions of their current 'adversaries'.

This was the third time they needed to be redrawn, and frankly, no one was wanting to have to do all five Predacons all over again. Especially if one of them was a young adolescent with questionable drawing skills. If anything, at least they LOOKED like how they were supposed to this time. Sort of.

One amongst the five, a boy with tannish skin and a darkly colored buzz cut, grabbed the cutout of Megatron (at least, it was supposed to be Megatron) and purposefully fell to the ground, bringing the piece of colored paper on a stick close to his face, raising one hand to keep it back, as if it weighed a good deal of weight.

...

The jaws were close. So insultingly close. Just a few centimeters more, and that slagging ape's head would be firmly in his jaws! "Admit defeat, Maximal!" Megatron bellowed, Primal not wavering, yet it was evident that he was struggling against the Tyrannosaurus' massive head. "The Energon shall be ours!"

The silverback needed to act fast. He held no intention of obeying the violet Predacon's demand, yet he needed some leeway. He needed to at least get the larger beast off of him! "Not if I can help it!"

...

"Yah!" the tan boy hollered, behaving as if he had just flung a two-ton boulder off of him, yet the paper cutout landed in the grass with little more than a soft crinkle. "Surrender, Megatron!" he proclaimed, his voice far from the authoritative, triumphant Maximal he was imitating. "You're scrapped!"

'Megatron didn't retort back, the boy realizing then what kind of corner he had just put himself in.

"Uh, guys?" he called out, the other four children ceasing their 'battle' against their respective Predacons and turning towards him. "Who's not fighting at this part?"

One boy amongst them, African and with a top of short, black curls, turned to him. "They all are!" he answered back.

"Yeah, but who's being shown fighting?"

"Uh…" the other boy paused, thinking for a moment. "I think it's just Optimus and Megatron."

"Ok." the tan boy went over to pick up the Megatron cutout, his dark eyes taking notice of a nearby tree. "You mind? I can't really chase myself."

...

The impact was immediate, and even if it had been mere seconds, the shock that came with the splintering rock formation behind them both clearly affected Primal more than his adversary.

A fact that they wasted no time in taking advantage of.

With one swift, precise bite, Megatron put the jaws of the mighty beast he had donned as his alternate form to proper use, the premaxillary teeth that once belonged to the likes of the extinct predator tore through the alpha primate's thigh, right above the joint. Primal released an involuntary wail of agony, the sharpened instruments having torn through his alt mode's synthetic flesh and down to the fragile circuitry and wiring underneath. Not feeling satisfied with just one sample of the Maximal's mech fluid lightly bathing his tongue, Megatron bit yet again, only this time, Primal seemed to have better prepared for it. He was still in a great deal of pain, yes, yet now he could better channel it, using the horrid sensations and transferring it into an unquenchable need to fight back, beginning with delivering a hardened chop with both hands to the top of Megatron's scaly dome.

This blow had put the behemoth reptile in the same position Optimus had been mere seconds prior. And due to the blow he had delivered, it took the Tyrannosaurus a moment to realize that, surprisingly enough, the foolish ape had somehow found it in him to up and began swinging him around by the tail! As soon as the world had begun spinning for him, it stopped, only to then realize he was flying right into the ceiling of the mountainous structure, crashing down with a resounding thud that shook the entire landscape.

"Gah!" Optimus cried out, hissing as he analyzed the injury done to his leg. True, he had managed to stand to deliver that rather 'creative' maneuver against his aggressor, yet it now dawned on him that there was no way he could walk with a tear like this. And internalized repairs wouldn't be able to undo damage such as this. As if to add insult to injury (literally in a sense), the reptile had somehow managed to get up. "It…" Optimus stammered, forcing himself to rise. "It's over, Megatron!"

"It is NEVER over! Nooo!" He could scarcely believe it at first, yet given how the brute's forces traveled all this way to engage them, perhaps anything was possible. After all, what other Cybertronian before them had been forced to adopt a secondary skin of organic flesh? Despite the painful surges the multiple Energon crystals sent through his true form, Megatron did not waver, aiming and sending a missile right in the direction of the wounded Primal. "For if I must die...I shall take you with me!"

There was no way he could avoid this. Its proximity was too close. The urge to flee was great, yet Primal stood firm. He would stand tall and accept this. He had begun to shut his eyes, awaiting the inevitable. 'Till all are one…'

Yet one, he was not yet to be.

The missile had never come to meet him.

...

"Wait, you want me to do what?" one amongst the group questioned with a quirked brow, this time the child, despite the role, a young girl with skin slightly darker than the boy roleplaying as Primal, her thick, black hair tied back in a low ponytail. In her hands was a wooden sword, one that she had made sure to bring each and every time she met with the others. Yet now, the African boy was asking her to do something a little...odd with it.

"Well, in the episode, Dinobot blocks it with his tail."

"So, what? You want me to put this on my butt?"

"Uh...well, it'd be accurate."

It sounded absurd, not to mention difficult to pull off. Sure, she didn't really know how to properly use the sword, yet at least she could make use of it as something of an improv baseball bat. But nooooo, when she batted the "missile" away like that, they had to stop so that they could do it 'the right way'.

"Fine." she moaned, rolling her eyes and tossing the crumpled piece of paper (Waspinator got stepped on, AGAIN) in the African boy's direction. "Throw it again."

...

The one that had once been under Megatron's command, the one that had blocked their way and saw fit to end his life on the stone bridge, allowing the Predacons to catch up with them, had just been the one to strike the incoming projectile with his striped, reptilian tail, sending it off course and away from them both.

The former Predacon and his would-be usurper had just miraculously saved him from certain death.

This revelation was given no time to truly be dwelt on at the present, for the missile had found itself a new target, the explosion sending a chain reaction that soon caused the entire mountain to shake.

"It's going to blow!" a brown rhinoceros bellowed, the once battling Predacons quickly realizing the danger they were all in and making a hasty retreat, leaving their downed leader behind.

"Time to fade, heroes!" one amongst the Maximals shouted, a green-eyed cheetah, he making himself scarce along with Primal and the rhino, a large, grey rat also atop of the horned creature's back, a velociraptor racing alongside with them off of the mountain. None dare to look back, lest they waste precious seconds before the entire formation exploded.

Thankfully, they thought as they now found themselves a good distance away, all of them had managed to make it out of that close call in one piece. All four...no, all five of them.

Optimus turned his gaze towards the newest member of their group, his pale eyes gazing back into the silverback's own. "Thanks." he simply stated, the ancient reptile somewhat taken aback by this gesture.

"My actions did not imply loyalty, Optimus." the striped theropod clarified, momentarily averting his gaze, his voice low and raspy, yet strangely enough, sincere. "I owe you my life." He admitted the act, even if he dare not openly say it, was rather humbling. "Now we are merely...even."

The silverback took no offense to this. In fact, to the raptor's befuddlement, he simply presented him with a satisfied grin. "I'll accept that."

"Yeah, well, uh.." The rat, having long gotten off the rhino's back, wasn't exactly ready to allow this saurian into their ranks, no matter what Optimus declared. Orders or not, he'd make his opinion on "Chopperface", or rather, "Choppahface", known for a long while. Still, there was a burning question on his mind. "At least Megatron's gone, and so is the Energon!" he declared, voice rising in hope. "Can we go home now?"

It was too good to be true. The shaking of his leader's head cemented this fact. "No, Rattrap." the gorilla solemnly stated. "For now, we're stranded here with the Predacons on this unknown planet." the situation sunk in for all of them now, truly. "Megatron may be back, and there is still more Energon. If they ever get enough, they could conquer the galaxy." he could see the trepidation etched into their features. Indeed, he would be a liar if he said he did not share in their collective concern. Still...there was no other way. Their opposition had to be stopped. And whether it be here, Earth, or even Cybertron, his conviction would have remained the same. "So for now," he began, looking towards the endless, blue horizon above. "Let the battle be here, on this strange, primitive world. And let it be called," he shouted, extending his fist towards the skies. "The Beast Wars!"

...

"YEAH!" The five shouted in chorus, full of nothing short of absolute triumph and exhilaration, the sight of the untamed, unconquered canyon and mountainous landscape the Maximals stood upon at the forefront of their mind's eye.

Of course, after a few moments of this, said landscape steadily began to fade, the mowed, fertile, green lawn of the African boy's yard coming to consume the place stationed in their imaginations.

"Uh, ok." a voice amongst them spoke, said voice belonging to another girl in the group, though contrary to the other young lady with them, she bore lighter skin and a head of long, red locks. "So...do we go over the toy fund now or later?"

"I think we've got a more immediate problem than that." the African boy said, picking up the crumpled-up piece of paper. "Somebody's got to redraw Waspinator. Again."

The skies had darkened, the sun just beginning to set. Yet in the small, packed enclosure of the cubical-shaped treehouse, none of the five children paid any mind, a serious and passionate debate taking place amongst them.

"No way! I did it last week! It's Tim's turn!" a blonde boy with scruffy hair protested, crossing his arms.

"Last time I checked," the African boy clarified, gesturing an accusing finger back at the blonde. "You only did it last week because you skipped out on the last time it was your turn."

"Hey, I was sick that week!" he protested.

"Yeah, that was boring." The black-haired girl admitted. "I was tired of acting out that episode where Cheetor got kidnapped by Tarantulas."

"You got tired?" another girl questioned, she of lighter skin and a head of fiery red hair, even if her voice was meek and smooth. "I had to make sure the cutout we made didn't get too messed up."

"At least Rattrap got to do stuff in that episode!' the other girl retorted, looking to her wooden sword. "Dinobot was barely in that one!"

"And we can only do so many with just five of us!" the blonde added in. "Soon, it's going to get to where we're going to have to start making up our own episodes!"

"Ok, look!" the tan boy interjected, the other four quieting down. "We're getting off track. The point is that Waspinator got messed up, again, and somebody's got to make another cutout-"

"Again." the other children finished for him, he somewhat startled by how quickly they picked up on what he was about to say.

"Right, so one of us is going to have to do it. But we've got to find out who's turn it is to make a new one-"

"Timothy Leblanc!" each and every one of the five adolescents jumped at the voice piercing through their private space up in the crudely constructed, yet still standing treehouse. And whilst the feminine, rather irritable voice called out for just one of them, each didn't need to ask what this also meant for them. "It's thirty minutes past five now, and you're STILL up there?! Your father's going to get here in less than five, and your dinner's had to be heated up twice already!"

The African boy winced, looking at his friends with a rather sheepish expression. "I've got to probably get going too." the red-haired girl confessed.

"Me too." the blonde added. "Mom's going to kill me if I don't do the dishwasher before the day's done."

"And my mom wants me to help her with the...the…" the black-haired girl paused. "I think she called it a…bistek tagalog?"

"A what?" Tim questioned.

"Your mom always makes the weirdest stuff." the blonde added.

"Whatever it is, she wants me to help mix the sauce and put the onions in."

"So, who's going to redraw…" the tan boy began, only to find that all eyes were on him.

A few hours later

"Thanks a lot!"

"Yeah, totally!"

"You're always so thoughtful!"

"Yeah, the best!"

Even now, he was STILL seething mad at all of them.

True, there really wasn't a rush, and he could probably get it done during study hall tomorrow, but still, once again, he had been sacked with the task of redrawing Predacons (correction: one particular Predacon) AGAIN, when the rest of them knew well and good that it was someone else's turn! Still, in a way, he sort of knew why he got this particular task the most, mainly because he was the only one that could actually make them LOOK sort of accurate. As accurate as a fourth grader that had a decent enough grade in Art could get.

'Yeah, well, let's see them when we act out 'Starscream's Ghost'!' the boy thought, scribbling a green crayon in the thick pencil lines that made up Waspinator's outline. 'I'll be Waspinator on that one! And...oh wait, no.' he just remembered. 'We don't have anyone that can be Tigetron or Airazor.' let alone did they have anyone that could've filled in the role of Blackarachnia or Inferno.

'And we can only do so many with just five of us!' the blonde boy's words echoed in his mind.. 'Soon, it's going to get where we're going to have to start making up our own episodes!'

"Inuksuk!" a man's voice said from the other side of the door, the young boy ceasing his doodling. "Don't tell me you're still up!" the child inwardly groaned at hearing his full name. Culture and heritage aside, he still hated it. "Have you even brushed your teeth yet, young man?"

Brushed...oh shoot!

The older, far taller adult standing outside of the boy's room was knocked back by the door, quite literally, slamming in his face, a small figure rushing out and into the bathroom. "Well, at least you know to stand out of the way next time." a woman shouted at the bottom of the stairs.

"Y-Yeah...guess so…"

Bathroom

Not so much brushing as he was grinding the bristles in and around his teeth, yet from what he could see in the mirror, his mouth was foamy enough for it to count! Speaking of which, he took a moment to eject said foam from his mouth and into the sink, washing it down and getting out the dental floss, tearing off just enough (just as mom showed him) and tying the ends around his fingers (just as mom showed him, though he struggled more with that particular step). Inuksuk looked good and hard in the mirror at his still growing teeth, a couple of empty spaces from recently pulled ones serving as areas he needed to keep extra clean, this particular tip from his father (of whom he just realized he might've just slammed in the face with a door).

He'd have to apologize when he got out. Assuming he hit him hard.

Still, as the young boy garbed in a simple, grey t-shirt and worn down, dark grey sweatpants navigated the floss through his available teeth, he found one thought running through his mind on repeat as he went on with his (very belated) nightly routine.

"Soon, it's going to get where we're going to have to start making up our own episodes!"

...

"...making up our own episodes!"

Making up their own episodes...hmm.

Perhaps the better term for it would've been 'making up our own stories, as really, how were a bunch of kids going to get ahold of anything better than a handheld camera, let alone, by some miracle, contact Mainframe with a stack of papers detailing these new exploits and adventures of the Maximals?

Still, Tim thought, as he spit out the strong tasting, even stronger stinging Listerine, it could work.

Yeah, they'd have to go through the process of deciding on a plot, a script, who'd be the 'star', all things that, frankly, he would've been more than content to leave for the fine folks who were in charge of the show to decide. But, seeing as it was evident that they'd probably be playing out these reenactments with just five, Timothy couldn't help but entertain the potential Mathis' proposal brought with it. What if, just if, they did go through with it...what could they do? Or perhaps the better question was, what COULDN'T they do?

Oh man, oh geez, oh gosh, oh man! He had just meant it as a way so that they wouldn't have to act out the same stuff over and over again! But thinking about it now...oh geez, he was near slapping himself for not suggesting it earlier!

...

"Mathis, bed!"

"Ok, mom! Just a minute!"

The blonde boy heard the door to his room open, a hand setting itself on his shoulder.

"It's been ten." a low, feminine voice told him. "And unless you want to go through the ritual of me setting the radio on at max volume for you in the morning...and also, did you even brush, let alone take your pills yet-"

"Ok, fine." Mathis groaned, getting up from the dining room table and to the foot of the stairs.

"Clean up first."

He turned back to face his mother, she bearing his blonde locks, yet not his chocolate brown eyes. "But didn't you just say-"

"It's going to take you five minutes to get all these crayons and pencils up." she answered, a small, curt grin coming to her lips. Once again, she foiled him. As the young boy went back over to the table and began putting the art supplies back in their proper boxes, correctly, as she was watching him, the woman couldn't help but notice what her child had been drawing. "Who's that?" she asked, picking up the piece of lined paper. "One of the characters from that show you and your friends watch? Um…" she tapped her finger on her chin, trying to recall whom exactly her son fawned over. "Cheetara or something?"

"That's Thundercats, mom." Mathis moaned. "It's Cheetor from Beast Wars." well, technically, that wasn't what it was called over here, yet he and his friends were in mutual agreement that 'Beasties' sounded ridiculous, not to mention stupid. Besides, Optimus outright even said that the fight they were in was called the flipping 'Beast Wars'!

"Ah, right. He's the...leopard, right?" This earned the woman another groan. "Kidding, kidding." She scanned the crude markings meant to resemble the computer-generated robot cat (at least she thought that was what he was, she only saw the show in brief intervals), and found a strange, new figure beside him. "Who's this?" she questioned her child, gesturing to the right of (what was supposed to be) Cheetor.

"Oh, that's…" Mathis began to answer, stopping before he could finish. "Well...I don't really know what his name is, but he's somebody I made up."

"Ah, like it's supposed to be you in the show?"

"No, it's not me. It's someone I made up." the boy affirmed. "He's a Saber-toothed Tiger."

(AN-I know it's more accurate to call it a Saber-toothed cat or Smilodon, but being a kid in the 90s, and in general, a kid, everyone I knew, both other kids and adults around me, just called it a Saber-toothed Tiger.)

"Oh, ok. That explains the teeth." his mother nodded.

"Yeah," Mathis confirmed. "There's only five of us, so we only have so many episodes we can act out as the Maximals. So I got to thinking we could maybe make up our own episodes."

"And in turn, make up your own characters?"

"...yeah. Yeah, I guess so."

"Yeah, well," the woman ruffled the younger boy's hair. "You have all the time in the world to do that tomorrow and on the weekend. Right now, everyone, even Saber-toothed Tigers, need to get up into bed. And they definitely need to keep their teeth clean"

"Before they have pills in some ice cream?"

She smiled, going over to the freezer. "I guess that can be arranged. Though, I'm not sure how you could eat anything with chompers like that."

...

'Making up our own episodes…' she wondered, as she climbed on into bed, her long, red locks contrasting greatly with the ivory fabric of her pillow and pale pink of her sheets, as well as a majority of her room, of which followed in a similar color scheme. 'How are we going to do that when we can't even save up enough to get some actual toys?'

Indeed, before the whole discussion involving who was going to be tasked with re-drawing Waspinator, she had collected what everyone had to offer that week to the 'toy-fund'. Inu (of which she and the rest had called Inuksuk, seeing as his name was somewhat difficult to pronounce) was the only one to have actually brought a full dollar along with herself. Everyone else ranged from fifty to no more than five cents.

'Five cents?!' she remembered losing her cool at that. 'Really, Mathis?!'

'Hey, it was hot out!' he in turn retorted to her. 'And Dr. Pepper was RIGHT there in the machine!'

She was still more than a little peeved about it, but ultimately, there was little that could be done now. 'We've gotten up to twenty-five, but if each toy costs around ten dollars, each separate toy, then…' her hand traveled to her forehead, realizing in horror what this meant. 'We're going to have to get around fifty dollars total! And that's not even with tax!' she flopped onto her bed, her red hair fanning out underneath her. 'We're going to be stuck using paper cutouts for the Predacons forever!'

This pessimistic musing, however, was cut off by the cracking of her door, her blue eyes watching as a large, furred, quadrupedal creature squeezed through the opening it had created and made its way to her bedside, sitting on the small, white floor mat stationed beside it.

"Hey, Zoe." The young girl greeted the massive Main Coon, this vocal utterance being all the greyish-brown feline needed to act, hopping on her bed and planting herself at the footboard, curling up and tucking her head under her tail. She folded her hands underneath her head, still more than a little perturbed that it'd be even longer before she and her friends would reach the desired goal of however many dollars before all the Predacons could be purchased. Assuming they would even be able to find any at a Wal-Mart or Toys R' Us. "If anything," she spoke aloud to herself, Mathis' words coming back to her. "Making up our own episodes would probably mean that we'd have to do even MORE work. Because then, we're going to start making up our own Maximals and Predacons!"

...

'Which would be so cool!' The Filipino, black-haired adolescent mentally declared, having been warned already to not be too loud, and that she had school to look forward to in the morning. 'Looking forward to school...yeah, dad, that was a REAL good one.'

'It'll be even better if you get in those eight hours. Now haul yourself up to bed.'

Frankly, she wasn't sure she'd be getting any sleep tonight. Not with this running through her head.

'Like...like there are already characters that are toys that aren't in the show yet! Like Claw Jaw, or Armordillo, Wolfang, and…' as she continued on, listing each and every Maximal and Predacon she had seen on the shelves (Dinobot WOULD be hers! Eventually.), her brown eyes surveyed her environment before she got out of bed and locked the door to her room, then went back to her bed and cut on the lamp stationed on her dresser. She then opened the single drawer on the small, wooden dresser, an even smaller, black notebook, and a single, number-two pencil residing in the compact space, the label 'Lulu' stuck on the cover via a small piece of paper and tape.

'Ok,' she mused to herself, grabbing the two objects and flipping open to a page with just enough room. Then, she began writing. 'Now...there was Claw Jaw, Armordillo, Wolfang…'

...

'...some guy that's a German Shepard...don't know how that happened.' indeed, he didn't, but lo and behold, it WAS indeed a toy. Inu rolled around on his left side. 'Maybe we could start with something a little more simple. Like...like after they left the mountain, they got the ship up and running better.' Despite his eyes being closed, scenarios and 'what ifs' began playing out in his mind. Yeah, that could work. Lulu could maybe play out how Dinobot settled in...and Mikaela could come up with some stuff to throw at her as Rattrap does in the show. Granted, that in itself might've been a little difficult. The Filipino girl could play out her role well enough without much assistance, yet the redhead kind of needed some 'coaching' on how to be snarky. Bizarrely enough, she could channel the rodent-based Maximal quite well whenever the subject of the 'toy fund' was brought up.

Inu continued to ponder and think, drowsiness steadily beginning to creep in, the faces and forms of his small circle of friends steadily transforming into the characters they portrayed in their reenactments.

'Hey.'

Yet...as he drifted off, the smallest bit of his mind that was still conscious noticed that despite the boy himself playing the role, the transformed silverback in his mind seemed to be paying attention to something or someone ahead of him. Something or someone that clearly wasn't present there before, yet he behaved as if they had been there all along.

'Thanks for the help back there.' Inu took a moment. This had to be a dream, yet...he certainly wasn't complaining. 'If it wasn't for you clearing out that path for us, we probably wouldn't have gotten off that mountain at all.'

"Oh, uh, no problem, sir." the young child answered, standing to attention like a soldier, salute and everything. He was far from a Maximal in this developing vision, let alone anything that could've ever had the potential to supposedly clear out a path, yet such details were trivial and minute to him. This was getting good, and he wasn't about to risk spoiling it.

"Despite your size, I'd be more than willing to allow you into our, heh," Primal chuckled, looking at the variety of fauna around him that were his comrades. "Ranks. Besides," he continued, extending one large, darkly colored hand. "I've always been curious about humanity and their culture."

...

Normally he'd totally be against this.

"Ah, here are some nice ones."

Here he was, some kid, in a time where people didn't exist yet, riding upon a talking rhinoceros as if it were the most mundane, normal thing in the world!

"Tim, you mind getting a few samples of these also?"

And even more...he didn't have a single problem with it.

"Sure thing. Just a second.'' The boy addressed both his transportation and 'favorite', hopping down from the Maximal's back and to the fertile, grassy plain below, said plain coincidently teeming with flowering specimens of all kinds. Some of these he had never seen before in his life, let alone in the pages of any book he could potentially check out from the school's library. Thus, he wanted to get the best one. The most fascinating and intriguing, not to mention definitely alien specimen…"Aha!" he cried out, wasting no time in plucking the desired flora from its place and bringing it to the brown rhinoceros. "Here.'' He presented his 'present', a strange, budding thing with fanned-out petals of primary colors.

"Now THAT'S one I might have to keep for myself," Rhinox admitted, the human boy in turn put the flower in a glass compartment he (somehow) had on his person. Dream logic, but he wasn't willing to spoil this. "Truly though, Timothy, sometimes I feel like you, aside from Optimus, are the only ones that can understand and appreciate the majesty of this place."

It was then that the child swore his heart had stopped. True, it probably hadn't, as he certainly didn't feel like he was dying in his sleep, yet to hear those words from the disguised robot, his 'favorite'...well, he was quite ready to go and pick every single thing that was growing in this imaginary field, should the rhino wish it.

...

His two legs carried him forward, the grassy plain and clear, summer sky nothing short of a picturesque perfect day. The slim spotted big cat with vibrant, green eyes that ran beside him was far from allowing the blonde boy to catch up. Far from it.

"Awesome!"

Impossible as it was, Mathis was actually catching up with HIM.

"You're almost as fast as I am!"

"Wait, almost?!"

"Yeah, almost!" With that, Cheetor gave himself a little bit of a boost, propelling forward and leaving the blonde a short distance behind.

Oh, it was on now.

The boy wasn't even getting tired. His legs were burning, his entire body drunk on adrenaline and whatever other chemical that flowed through his body (he'd have to remember to copy the notes off of Tim for Science class again), but by God, he was in absolute nirvana.

"Whoa, you actually caught up?!" the younger Maximal exclaimed to the human child, more than a little surprised at this.

"Y-Yeah!" Mathis shouted back. "Yeah, guess I did!" who cared about being a Sabertooth Tiger or whatever other animal, he was killing it just being an ordinary, boring….well, kid!

...

"..."

"..."

"...ok, look kid, you gonna stare all day?"

The red-haired girl giggled at the grey rat's annoyance. Even if she was the current source of such, she found she didn't particularly mind it. "I guess I just never realized how…"

Rattrap quirked a brow, taking another bite of the rotted blue apple (another indication this was no more than a dream. Not the giant, talking rat, oh no). "How what? You said it now, you can't leave me hanging."

Her teal eyes shifted. "I don't think you'll like it."

"I reiterate my prior statement."

"Fine," she said. In truth, she was somewhat anxious about how he'd react, yet all the same, a part of her hoped it'd be something he'd react to. "I never realized how fuzzy you are."

Any contents that once rested inside his mouth were promptly spat out. "Wh-WHAT?!" he exclaimed, scarcely believing what he had just heard. "What'd ya just say?!"

"I said you were fuzzy!" she repeated, a part of her somewhat fearful she offended him, yet another just as excited. "Right now! Your fur's getting all ruffled up!"

"It-it is not!" it clearly was. Robotic at spark he might've been, his outer skin was still a slave to its species' "quirks".

"Yes it is!" she chortled, fear finally gone and replaced with total amusement.

"It is not, kid!"

"Yes!"

"No!"

"Yes, it is!"

"No, it ain't!"

The vocal back and forth continued on and on, his growing frustration and embarrassment seemingly only channeling more and more humor for the human child, she then actually having the gall to come over and stroke him. Actually stroke him, as if he were some pet she had owned! Even worse, as he came to see as she continued to do it over and over, her hand traveling through his grey fur, Rattrap didn't entirely seem to mind. Daresay, it actually felt kind of...nice.

"Still don't know which of yous is worse. You or Choppahface."

"...you're still fuzzy."

"...it's you."

...

Block.

Thrust.

Block.

Swing.

Block.

Upward swing.

How she had managed to conjure up this particular kata in such a small amount of time, mattered not to her.

"Come now!" all that mattered was whom she was doing it for. "You're surely more capable than that!" Twisting herself around, the Filipino girl lifted her wooden sword and brought it down on the winding blade of Cybertronian origin, the wood miraculously not splintering upon impact. The azure features of her idol transformed into something of a curt grin of amusement. "You really believe you have a chance against me?"

"M-Maybe?" she answered. How she was doing this, she didn't know, yet frankly, she didn't care. And now she just up and made herself look like an idiot in front of him. Great.

Their weapons continue to strike and hit against each other, Dinobot outranking her in strength and size, yet she found that her smaller frame led to her gaining some clear advantages. Ducking under his legs, she aimed to stab upwards, he, in turn, whirling around and leaping forward, away from her strike. She got up, ready to go at it again, yet on the transformed Maximal's azure features, she beheld something that, had she not been so determined to keep her composure in front of him, she could've died happy right then and there in her sleep.

A smile.

A smile that echoed nothing short of absolute pride. Pride for her, of her, of one that had called him her favorite.

"You're far from ready to be partaking in any battle." the transformed velociraptor told her. "Yet...I will say this: there is a degree of potential in you."

...

Despite the distance between each of them, some greater than others, the same consensus was shared among all of them that night. And for many more nights to come. If their fantasies could either become their reality or better yet, have the ones they fantasized of step into the one they were unfortunately stuck in, then their young barely lived lives would be nothing short of absolutely perfect.

Primal's best soldier.

Rhinox's number one assistant.

Cheetor's best friend.

Rattrap's favorite (though he'd never say it).

Dinobot's best student.

The ideal scenario, should it ever be granted to them.

Though even in their young minds, they all knew such things, and their idols were regulated to the television and their own minds. True, it far from curbed or starved the desire to wish and hope for it, yet ultimately, it would be for naught.

For now, they had to make do with what they had at their disposal, regulated and limited to the simple, partially fulfilling games that they played.

[guigz1-coldwar]

'Joint Operation': New chapter for "Redemption in a Spirit in a Cold War" is out!

"Joint Operation"

"I'm proud to be who I am..."

Chapter Summary: After making plans about their next moves against Perseus in London, Yirina & Park are now awaiting for John Price to arrive in Century House to get it started...

Link of the Picrew here!

To read it on AO3, click here!

Words : +3500

Taglist : @snowgoldwaylon , @clxudtea , @efingart

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Once that we have agreed on what to do in the parking lot, it was time for us four to get back to our respective offices, now having to not talk of any things that could help the CIA to stop Perseus before us, it was our hard work and we ain't going to let the Americans get the upper hand and stop Perseus we could. Maybe that we're on the same side of the war but here, it's different. It's just going to be us, the MI6...and now, adding to that, the Special Air Service...Captain John Price and his men.

When we came back to our office, the first thing that Park did was to get on the line with Hereford and reach out to Price, asking for his help, and thankfully, we didn't even have to tell any important details to him that he was already agreeing to come with his men but because of some things on his side, he would be only able to come near the end of the afternoon, causing us to get along with it and wait for him and the SAS to arrive in London, Park having to precise that they needed 'the necessary tools for work'.

Now, it was the beginning of a 'normal day' for us: back to our offices and going to work, knowing that now, people were listening to us. We didn't work for the first part of the day until noon as we start to search for every bug that the CIA got, finding some in the lamps, on some drawers, and of course, inside our phones and all of this search by faking a discussion or staying silent, a feeling fo disgust when a hidden bug was found, knowing that we weren't secure in here.

The rest of the day went pretty well: having lunch with Zasha & Portnova in their office and after that, analyzing what's the MI6 got from Peter's apartment and what we saw made our day: Peter had suspicions of the location of where the Perseus members are hiding and it as all pointing out to Canary's Wharf...Lukas Ritter's tracker managing to give us the benefit of the doubt and that's what we were seeing in that detail when the estimated time for Price to arrive was here.

"Should be here soon for me," I said, checking up my watch on my left wrist as I was with Park at her desk, focusing actually on the construction site map of Canary's Wharf. "What do you think about it?" I asked her, who was sitting on her chair with me just behind her.

"I don't know, he said that there were some problems to deal with before getting here," She replied, telling me the same thing she did when she hang out after that phone call.

"At least, we know that he's coming," I muttered, putting my hands on the desk at a few centimeters from the map and the few pen that we were using to write things that we couldn't say loudly.

"Of course," Park alleged as her right hand moves towards one of the pens and a piece of paper to write on it. "How much do you think they could be?" She wrote that pretty quick on that paper, tapping with her pen two times below the sentence.

"Uhm..." I mumbled, grabbing her pen in her hand to write. "Estimated for me? At least 20 to 30," I replied with my writing just right under her sentence. "How many men Price has?" I added to it.

"Enough," Park responded by talking, using a low tone to say it. "Don't worry, we're maybe lower in numbers but the SAS knows how to make the job done," She continued, turning her head towards me. "You know that well," She smiled at me, meaning it.

"Of course," I breathed before I moved softly for a little kiss on her lips but I couldn't know if it was something like that or because I wanted it since our last kiss in the car. "Thanks," I whispered after the kiss, seeing her lips going for a smile, and then, two knocks at our door...

"Who is this?" Park asked, putting herself well on her seat to face the door but the only response we see was the door opening to reveal Portnova with behind them, a man with a dark blue beanie and a large vest on the same color...him, Price.

"Oh, Portnova, good to see you," I exclaimed, happy to see her here and talking a bit loud to make myself heard by the CIA through the bugs.

"Hey, there's John Price from the SAS behind me, he came to see us first," Portnova spoke up, pointing behind her with her left thumb, Price making a sign with his head to say hello, Park doing the same with me to him. "You told us that you wanted to see him so here he is," He said, moving aside to let Price walk in front to enter the room, taking off his beanie.

"Good to see you, Helen," Price grinned at Park, moving next to the chairs in front of her desk and putting his hands on the backrest of one of them.

"Me too, John," She muttered in a low voice, her eyes looking at her right eye with her thumb touching the ring finger.

"Well, I'm leaving you three for now on," Portnova said but then, she moves to my desk to grab a piece of paper & a pen to write something, me going closer to see what she was going to write on it. "Zed is already in the underground parking with Price's men, you'll join us soon," That's what I could see on it after she finished writing, winking at me before she left the office, closing the door behind her.

"So, you know why I ask you to come?" Park started, having her both hands joined together as I got back next to her with the piece of paper in my hands. "Thanks," She said when I gave her the paper, taking a look at quickly.

"Yes, you said that Stone was back and that Perseus was in town," Price replied, staying up behind that chair, maybe thinking that our presence in here will be short. "That you needed support,"

"I do, we do," Park clarified, putting aside the paper before looking back at him. "We both know that we have to work again together for that case and we need you & your men," She clarified, quickly followed by a nod from Price.

"Helen, the SAS is always going to have your back, count on that," He affirmed with a sure tone in his voice, meaning it by a lot as his eyes drifted towards the map that was on the desk, just in front of Park.

"If you want, we can talk about how we can proceed," I told him, scratching the left side of my jaw with my right hand.

"Of course, well..." Price started to say as Park immediately got her hands back on the same pen and another piece of paper to write something else. "My men are waiting for us in the underground parking," He pointed out behind him before looking at the paper Park was showing him.

"CIA listening, tell that you're here to install a temporary HQ in here," Park's writing was looking rather quick but still good looking, showing the note pretty clear to Price

"We're been thinking of installing an HQ in Century House for our ops in town," Price bought it instantly, knowing that she was saying the truth along with me and our gestures. "Maybe that you want to give instructions to them," He advised.

"That's a good idea, John," Park approved of it, her voice sounding like it was going to be better to talk in the parking than talking about here. "Let's go then," She ordered with enthusiasm as she got up from her seat and grab her jacket on its backrest.

I followed the same procedure as her by going back to my desk and grab what I needed: my jacket & my M1911 while Park took with her, the map of the construction site in Canary's Wharf, and of course, her pistol, and then, we were ready to go out of the office, me & Park taking the lead and gesturing to Price that we couldn't talk in here and the hallways before we arrived inside the elevator, the only place with the underground parking that we could talk freely without been heard but instead, we stayed quiet.

Our mouths were kept shut inside the elevator while it was going down to the parking and when we stepped out, the first thing that caught up my eyes was two vans parked near the same car that I & Park used earlier this day with some men around them, talking to each other and hearing the little sound of the elevator's doors opening up caused every looks to be put on us, giving me a sort of little pressure to be observed by those people even if I know that those guys are friendly.

"Finally, we can talk freely, I think," I sighed as we all three start walking towards the car that was having Zasha & Portnova near it, staying on their side alone and away for the moment from Price's men.

"Why the CIA's listening to you?" Price asked by curiosity behind us.

"Because they don't like us, John," Park replied in a clear voice, already taking out the wrapped map from her jacket, making a sign with her at Zasha & Portnova. "For them, we're useful to have what they need...we don't want that, not after what they're doing with us," She added as we arrived near the car, Park unwrapping the map over the car's hood.

"So, this is their hideout?" Zasha demanded as they didn't know about the actual layout of the construction site, we only saw that minutes before Price arrives here.

"Two entrances, multiples covers, and for them, an exit in the Tube," I explained, looking at everything that was put around circles and seemed important by me & Park. "A perfect place to hide for Perseus," I added.

"What about the tracker that you put on Lukas?" Portnova questioned me, crossing her arms.

"Unfortunately, it stopped emitting 30 minutes ago," Park answered at my place to her, not even letting move my lips to speak. "Either they found out about it or they have something blocking it to emit," She theorized as I was in charge of keeping an eye on the tracking device that got off as she said 30 minutes ago.

"A jammer?" Price mumbled, his left hand below his chin and adopting a thinking attitude. "It could be possible but now, they're going to think that's something off," He presumed, me & Park nodding at him about that. "And that's where we all coming,"  He added as he got his hands over the map. "What's your plan, Helen?" He demanded, looking at her.

"To start, I think that we should get two teams striking the entrances," She started, moving her fingers on the map to point to the two entrances she mentioned. "The one at that warehouse should be the first one to go on with discretion," She suggested as she looks at everyone to see our reaction to that. "And then, we launch the attack, stealth isn't and can't be used during a large part of the operation,"

"Two teams, two entrances, it should work perfectly," Price speculated, his eyes looking at the map as if he was analyzing it for a better opinion on it. "The only problem is that we have to react quickly to eliminate that group before they could use the Tube," He said, his fingers over the side of the map that was getting inside a part of the metro.

"I'm sure that we can do it," I proclaimed like that, getting a bit enthusiastic to get Perseus out of London.

"I'm sure too," Zasha joined in with me in my statement. "Your men, sir, are very good elements, we can do it quickly," They complimented, their eyes drifting to look at the group of people in SAS uniforms near the first van that was near us.

"Thank you, Smirnov," Price thanked them, giving them a nod to that compliment. "Now, we should organize to see who is doing what," He declared, crossing his arms as Portnova suddenly decide to go away from us without any words, walking to get leaned on a pole that was almost 10 meters from us.

"Well...Uhm...I think that I want to volunteer to be with the group going first," I said, raising my left hand to that, wondering inside of me why I did this.

"I'm in too," Zasha joined me in raising their hand, making my eyes go wide for a bit. "What about you, Park?" They demanded towards her who was thinking by looking at the map.

"I'll choose, don't worry," She simply replied, not moving her head away from the map. "If you wish, I'll talk about the details with Price alone," She stated.

"As you wish, Park," I told her, making a lovely tap over her left shoulder before we decide along with Zasha to leave Park & Price alone but Zasha quickly left me to join the group they were looking at before as for me, I needed to see Portnova.

She was all alone, leaned on that pole, arms crossed and looking away from everyone. When she first walk away from the group, no one wondering why she left except me, I wanted to know why she was like that...was she thinking about something bad? Perseus was now aware that she was alive following the assassination attempt at the University of London and since, I was sometimes able to see that she wasn't looking well & secure to be around, surely because we were having a big target on our backs...something that needed to be erased...

"Portnova?" I called out with a low voice as I approach her in a slow walk.

"Yes?" She muttered, her eyes looking down at her feet.

"Are you alright?" I demanded, arriving right next to her at least 1 meter from her. "I saw you leaving the group seconds ago and...I'm worried," I clarified myself in case, even joining my hands together, looking like a shy girl.

"I wish I could say yes and I don't want to say no," She responded, turning softly her head at me, her face seeming neutral for me. "I know that I shouldn't be like that but it's hard to believe that...even with every try, Perseus is always here," He sniffed.

"I know, it's hard," I joined her on that thought.

"I want to live a perfect life with Zasha, having them with me while the two of us are working at our respective workplace: me as a teacher, them...I'm not sure if they want to stay a cryptographer but..." She stopped herself for a few seconds to take a deep breath. "Not having a feeling to been watched, listened and threatened by someone," She resumed in a lower voice, sounding neutral for me.

"That's what you told me...three years ago," I exclaimed, crossing my arms as I had flashes in my head showing me my memory with her near the Moskova. "You were scared, I had a memory with you last night...a meeting near the Moskova, away from the city," I explained

"So, you remember that day..." She whispered with a little grin at me. "I'm still scared about this...since that day," She said, her voice sounding broken as she pass her hands below her eyes. "No, I'm not crying here...not at all," She defended herself despite that tears were visible on her face, hiding them with her hands.

"It's okay, you can cry, we all do that one day," I confided with the truth on that subject, everyone can be having a bad moment...crying is normal. "Listen, I'm still sorry about...the three years that passed with....you alone, I'll make sure...we'll make sure that Perseus will be destroyed," I commented, giving my apologies about that situation she faced alone...even if I already told them.

"I know, thank you," She grinned at me

"No...thank you for...being a great friend, Portnova," I thanked her back as she was meaning a lot as a friend for me, along with Zasha, adding a friendly tap over her right shoulder to fully mean it entirely.

"Well, thanks," She whispered, still smiling at me while I did it too as her eyes suddenly got focused behind me. "Seems that Zed is talking to their friends," She stated, making me turn around to look and see Zasha talking with three people: someone with a sort of mohawk haircut...like Freya, a man with a black hood on and a white skull as a decal, and then, a man with a helmet and a black hood too.

"I didn't know that they were friends with them," I confessed as Portnova move away from the pole she was leaned on to join me at my side.

"They told me that after Price showed up," She explained, crossing her arms as we were looking at the group. "I think they are Soap, Ghost &...Roach," She revealed to me, her voice getting a bit sounding confused at the end. "What the hell kind of a name is Roach?" She asked me.

"Don't know but...why don't we join Zasha to talk with them?" I proposed to her and it's without any hesitation from me & her that we decide to join the group, observing that Zasha was the one to talk mainly in it.

"Hi, miss Grigoriev," The mohawk guy spoke first with a Scottish accent as he was sitting on the back of the van, the back doors widely as the inside was looking like an armory...he's Soap. "And...you must be Zasha's wife, I presume?" He demanded, pointing out at Portnova.

"That's correct," Portnova replied with a smile as Soap offered his hand to her.

"John 'Soap' Mactavish, call me simply Soap," He presented himself as he & Portnova shook hands before they withdraw from each other. "Here's our Ghost," He pointed at the man with a black hood and a white skull decal.

"Pleasure to meet you both," The man said, surprising me with the voice he used, feeling it very deeper and...unusual.

"And here's Roach," Soap finished, his hand pointing towards the man with a helmet and the hood, leaned against one of the backdoors of the van.

"Hi, misses..." The man waved at us, sounding rather shy in his voice and we waved back at him.

"They are my friends," Zasha told me, their hands joining together and they were sounding a bit unsure to tell it actually, their gestures looking like a shy person. "We...I met and talk with them during & after our mission in Cuba,"

"A pretty good sniper, they told us that you're the woman that formed them in it," Soap exclaimed, addressing himself towards me.

"The kid has a good heart, same for you as I heard," Ghost added, crossing his arms as he looked at me through his black hood.

"Well, Zasha is my best friend for years...almost 9 years to be honest," I admitted as Zasha was looking at me with a smile, giving me some hope as I was like opening myself to those guys. "I'm doing my best as I can,"

"You...you did good," Roach implored, getting Soap & Ghost eyes on him.

"Of course, that's good, we're doing the same thing with you," Soap told him as he joined his hands together over his legs.

"Everyone," Then, we all heard Price's voice calling us out and getting our attention on him & Park who was standing next to him. "As you could know, we're fighting Perseus again and today, we have a chance to bring them down in London and maybe in England if we can," He started, his hands around his waist.

"Perseus' agents are hiding in a construction site in Canary's Wharf and we think that they could leave tonight, we're striking them today," Park spoke up, making her voice loud & clear for everyone who was now gathered to see them as for us, we didn't move at all from our spot.

"There will be two teams: one led by me & Park while the other will be led by Grigoriev," He announced, making my eyes goes wide at this. "Soap, Ghost, Roach, Griffin & Wallcroft, you'll be with her, the others, with me & Park," He continued as my jaw was dropped discreetly at this but not because I was going to led a SAS team. "Prepare your equipment, we'll be leaving soon," He ordered clearly, causing everyone to split up.

"Park," I called her as I walk towards her. "You...you're not coming in the same team with me?" I demanded, wondering why...just why...

"Don't worry, Yiri," She started with a little smile at me. "It's just for the beginning, the attack will get us back, don't worry about it, and like the SAS say..." She advised me, stopping in her words before pulling me in for a quick kiss on the lips before she looked back at me, a face that wanted to me stay calm and not worry about this...

"Stay frosty!"

[capricornus-rex]

In the Face of Fear (4)

Cal Kestis x Reader

Requested by @stellar-trinity​

Summary: Kashyyyk has its own charms and surprises, but what if one of those said surprises rear its ugly, unpleasant head right in front of you in the form of a spider that’s the size of a boulder?

Tags: Arachnophobia, Wyyyschokk, Matriarch Wyyyschokk, Kashyyyk, Arachnophobic! Reader

A/N: My bad! Realized just now that I didn’t put the links of the chapters! ;;;A;;; So sorry!

Also in AO3

Chapters: 1 – 2 | Previous: Part 3 | Next: Part 5 | Masterlist

4 of ?

The glow of your lightsabers have either attracted or irritated them enough to make them crawl out of those holes in the wall.

Literally back to back with one another, you and Cal are being circled by the spiders. There are at least five closing the ring.

“BEE, BEE-TRIIILL!!” shrilled a panicked BD-1.

“I know, I know! I see them!” you shrieked back.

Your fighting grip falters around your saber, your swings are flimsy, and your strikes bore little damage—it could only graze their hides and anger them more, which is never good. One Wyyyschokk had its head full of eyes on you, flickering its mandibles with a gluttonous excitement, it lured closer while you backed away. The normal-sized ones were somewhat less of a challenge for you to overcome your phobia, still a challenge nonetheless. You’re only hoping the mother doesn’t show up and get itself involved.

Cal cut through their numbers effortlessly. You envied him. Envied the fact that these arachnids don’t bother him to the same degree as they do to you. Fighting these humongous crawlers felt taxing, though you still fought them to get it over with; when this wave finally settled, the two of you went on the move, going in blind into their labyrinthine dwelling.

“This way!”

“Are you sure?!”

“I know it!”

Holding his saber over his head, Cal leads the way—twisting and turning, you don’t know anymore if you’ve turned left or right this time but you still followed him. Hope burning within you that both of you will get out of this horrendous place alive soon. The two of you continued running, hand-in-hand, you looking out for the rear while he takes the lead; eventually, you got to the edge, and hopped along the rock platforms which vaguely resembled the path to the Gorgara’s pit in Dathomir.

“We’re just going further in!” you gasped at the realization.

“Don’t worry, there’s surely a way out,” reassured the boy.

There was barely any light in the deeper pit that you’ve jumped into. You strained your neck, tilting up to examine the area, searching for any visible opening that could serve as a way out, until you found one—high up in the ceiling of the cave is a rabbit hole of sorts.

“Look overt here!” you pointed to the cave’s oculus.

Cal scanned the hole and its surroundings, planning out the climb route. He knows you’re not equipped with climbing claws, instead you’re armed with a grappling hook appendaged to your gauntlet. You were doing the same thing: mapping out where to shoot the hook.

“There’s a small enough ledge I can perch on. From there, I can wire my way through...” you paused. “I think.”

He shot you a look that easily translates to “You think?” and he stares at you for a considerable amount of seconds until you look back at him, throwing back a look that responds as “What?”

“It’s doable!” you argued.

“I don’t doubt that,”

As you navigate around the deeper pit, something about it gives off a different ambience. Waving your saber around, you notice that the tree bark and the walls made out of rock were dappled with silky, white wisps. You even shone a light on animal carcasses and insect husks—you even spotted the remains of what ought to be a juvenile Tach.

“Trill... Beeep...”

I know, BD-1, we’re getting out of here sooner than you think,” Cal calmed the droid on his shoulder.

Looking around some more, you find more and more animal carcasses—many of which have fallen prey to a trap that rendered them immobile and defenseless against the monstrosity that created such an elaborate trap.

“This is no cave,” you said as-a-matter-of-factly. “This is a nest.”

Cal held his head up, using his saber as a torchlight, and absentmindedly spun around to register that it is indeed a nest. However, his ankle slighted backwards, the heel of his boot sticking to the web-trap laced with a viscous adhesive; strings of the substance formed between his shoe and the soil, hindering his footsteps. He didn’t feel it in the first few inches, only did he realize he was in trouble and the Wyyyschokk that had been lurking and following you around had gotten him in its grasp before he could alert you.

His grunt caused you to turn around and just when you think this day couldn’t get any worse, the Wyyyschokk that got him is the Matriarch Wyyyschokk.

“[Y/N]!!” Cal cracked, squirming in its coiled legs around his body.

Poor Cal saw his life flashing before his eyes, he could see it all replaying past the wide-open maws and fangs of the great Wyyyschokk. For a moment, he knew what your phobia felt like, and had a deeper understanding of it. The sheer horror overtook him and rendered his throat voiceless.

You melted to the muddy floor, you knees have lost their foundation, and your senses have dulled with your eyes glued to the monster. You blindly patted the soil, searching for anything, holding your unwanted gaze at the vibrant, prismatic color of the spider like that of a crow to a shiny trinket.

As the Matriarch Wyyyschokk slowly puts her would-be prey closer to her mouth, a hard, solid thump interrupted her—you had picked up a stone and lobbed it, hitting her head. When she turned around to face you, the creature was expressionless but somehow you can feel that wave of wrath gradually boiling within her.

“Oh damn it!” you immediately regretted it and scrambled to your feet, your heels failing to hold themselves upright, along with the wet soil not being very helpful.

You attempt to outrun the Matriarch Wyyyschokk at the last second; knowing full well that you’re literally an arm’s reach, the spider stretches out her free leg to your direction. It’s a twisted imagining to think of her holding these two humans and wave them about like dolls.

Saber in hand, you thumbed the switch. A radiant beam of light wildly growling out of the emitter. You could almost feel the hair of the Matriarch’s leg just centimeters away from your spine; with one swing of your arm, in result, she lost hers. The mother spider reared back in pain, though, remarkably, she was able to keep a firm grip on Cal—she just thrashed him around, suspended in mid-air, her swerving throes dizzied the poor boy.

You crawled into a thicket the size of a bramble bush, offering enough protection from being grappled by the Wyyyschokk, but you wouldn’t leave Cal behind. While the Matriarch was distracted in trying to claw you out of the thicket, Cal had finally broken out of her grip and scrambled away himself. Immediately igniting his saber, he watched the lumbering beast of an arachnid look at her now-empty leg, turn around in search of her prey, and hiss angrily at him for escaping.

Now that the Matriarch isn’t after you, it’s the perfect time to get out. Cal was holding out on his own just fine, but you knew you had to help him—the intent is there, but your fear was the main hindrance of you doing so. Cal turned to you.

“[Y/N], get to safety! I can handle this!”

“No, I’m not leaving you!”

While the two of you argued, the Matriatch Wyyyschokk—which is too smart for an animal—took the opportunity of her preys being distracted with each other and quick tucked her legs closer to her fangs, they moved with great precision and speed. The glands just underneath the spider’s jugular were doing its work, excreting a substance that’s greenish-white and thin as string, her amputated leg was still capable of holding it while the other spun and spindled the threads.

It was too late when Cal returned his attention to the spider. At the last minute, the Matriarch Wyyyschokk lobbed her spooled creation towards the boy—instantly trapping him in a cocoon of her own web. He discovers the material to be stronger and thicker than the regular Wyyyschokks’ thus harder to break out of. He can’t even move his fingers to get to the switch of his saber!

You shrieked out Cal’s name; he squirmed as he plopped to the ground, essentially helpless and immobile—like the remains of prey during their final hours—the Matriarch must have thought she’s finally resolved this one nuisance. The spider closes in on the cocooned redhead writing on the floor, when she towered over the Jedi boy, he felt like the only thing that could break out of this silky prison is his wildly beating heart. In the spur of a moment, you threw yourself between the Matriarch’s jaws and Cal, and deflected her as she was about to lunge and sink her thick fangs into the boy. Effectively, your saber singed her mandibles and perhaps the roof of her mouth when she “bit” into the blade. The Wyyyschokk stepped back in a fit of burning pain, while doing so, you turned to Cal and figured out how you’re gonna get him out of there.

You broke one of the most fundamental rule of fighting.

Never turn your back on the enemy—until it’s truly dead.

“The web’s too thick!”

You straightened your back while kneeling and held your saber mere inches over his body, “Stay still so I don’t burn you!”

“W-Wait!” he fretted, his clear green irises popping out of the whites of his eyes.

“Don’t worry, I got a steady grip,” you reassured, clueless of what he’s really panicking for.

“No, [Y/N], look out!”

The Matriarch had snatched you the same way she did with Cal. While you wriggle in her leg, she pulls you in closer to her face—it doesn’t matter if her mouth’s burned, all she needs to do is devour you, thus you’ve been rid of—though it was an opportunity: you gathered all the power in one leg and stamped her face hard with the sole of your boot, so hard in fact, that the mud that had caked the sole left a mark on the spider’s face. Afterward, you kicked her in th eeyes with the point of your boot, and did this repeatedly until the Wyyyschokk budges and lets you go.

[enithinggoes]

The witch’s teachings, lesson 4: Power and its price

Lyssa’s presence changed our day-to-day slightly, about one hour before meals the witch would ask one of us to do chores such as looking for food(I was more adept at gathering, roots and fruit, while Lyssa had an easier time hunting), and she would use the time to teach the other one.

What made me curious was that from what I’d seen, we were not being taught the same things, while I had by this point been Morgana’s apprentice for a few months and she’d taught me next to nothing about combat, though she’d given me a knife, mostly for cutting ingredients, I had yet to touch a sword. Meanwhile Lyssa was already about as good of a swordsman as any from my home town, though she’d prefered to use two shortswords instead of the witch’s one.

When asked about this during one of my own lessons, My master, her unequivocal tone giving an impression closer to a consultation with an ancient goddess than a questioning of a human teacher, told me “When you asked me to take you on, did you ask for my power? Was your wish to match me as a fighter, or as a scholar? What you begged me for was wisdom, so that’s what I am attempting to give you, knowledge of the properties of all sorts of natural and supernatural, one day you shall be able to see as deeply or more than I am into the forces most struggle to even comprehend. However, I am myself a multi-faceted creature, and what Lyssa needs from me isn’t the knowledge you crave, that won’t help her protect herself from greed, hate and weapons from people whose reason for attacking her can’t be circumvented without fighting back. Right now, she needs to become a warrior, she wants to become a guardian, so her mastery of the blade is more important than that over the land. Of course I want to have you know how to defend yourself and her know how to use subtler methods than swordfighting, but it is better to prioritize.”

While I took in her explanation, her expression softened as she sat down close to the fire and ushered me to do the same. She took a deep breath, then spoke once more “It is good that you asked me that, it reminded me of something I feel I should tell you, and I’ll explain later why I do not plan on doing the same for Lyssa yet,” she stared into the flames, “It’s about how I got these hands, and the power they hold.”

“I grew up in the village of Krymmen, a place that no longer exists, outside of the reach of the duke that owns this tenure, I do not know how  much you’ve heard about him, maybe less than I, since I assume his rule is all you’ve known, but the common way of doing things here and now hasn’t always existed. Where I was born there was no use for silver and gold except for fighting werewolves and making accessories, there was enough food and housing for all of us and all who contributed to the community had access to it. My function, much as it is now, was to protect people from supernatural threats and their effects on body and mind.”

“One day, emissaries from “duke Louis of Drakenguard”  appeared, we hosted our visitors well, interested in what knowledge they could have to share with us. But they were measuring us up, learning about our defenses and armed forces, making sure they could easily destroy us. They came back, with numbers and weapons, an emergency exodus was declared. Me and my comrades stayed behind to hold them back, we were fierce fighters, but there were too many of them, we drove them back, just barely, but I was the only survivor, and it would not be long before they caught up with the civilians after the next wave was done with me.

“So I got desperate,” she clenched her fist, “There was a legend in Krymmen, about a cave from which none who ventured returned, the stories told of a slumbering dragon, at least as large as an elephant and as smart as a person, I headed to the cave, planning to beg the beast to protect the people who had coexisted with it for all of our centuries long history.

“Once I arrived, I was awed by the creature’s bright red scales, gigantic wings and terrifying maw. However its eyes surprised me most of all, they were orange and slitted like those of a crocodile, but they regarded me  with such superiority, curious interest at best, like how a man may look at a cat. It gave me time to say my piece, but seemed to disregard it entirely, instead lazily turning to my sword and offering it’s own proposal. It’s deep grumble echoing through the cave’s chambers.

“I have no intention of concerning myself with the squabbles between you pitiful creatures. Still, I can feel some fire within you, if you wish for my assistance, prove to me you are worthy of my time,” it stood from the pile of bone and discarded armor where it sat, “If you are capable of landing a single blow upon my flesh, I shall grant you a morsel of my power.”

“For many moments it was all I could do to stand frozen still, its glare made it clear that the moment I moved forward, that could be the end of my life, still it was my only chance to protect the Krymmen people, and if my comrades could give their life for that before, so could I now. I started to dash forward, but the dragon’s claw was even faster than I could expect, I did my best to deflect it with my blade, but the force from the clash still sent me rolling over the ground. The dragon simply raised its head and looked down on me as I scrambled back onto my feet, as if waiting for me to continue the challenge it had issued. I felt as if it had held back on the last strike, trying to bring the most out of me, and to be honest, it made me furious, I was determined to prove the power of humanity.

“I sprinted forward, goading it into striking before quickly stepping back, then dashing ahead once more, It’s next attack I evaded by rolling behind a rock, using it for cover by crouching. The beast lowered its head, and I beheld it open it’s enormous jaws and a bright orange flame gather inside it, too wide to dodge to the side and too powerful for my stone cover to protect me. In a final desperate gambit I climbed onto the rock and, as it approached to launch its attack. I lept towards it, plunging my blade onto its snout with a fierce battlecry.

  “The sword pierced only a few centimeters through  my foe’s scales, but it ceased its fire breathing, and for a few instants, we were both so still we could only hear the dimm whistle of the wind through the cave. I saw the dragon stare towards me with something entirely foreign in its eyes, recognition, perhaps even respect. It lowered me gently to the floor, backing away as I pulled my blade from its snout.

“Very well,”said the dragon, “you’ve proved yourself tenacious and brave beyond any human I’ve seen before. I shall offer you a magnanimous offer, accept the pact, and you will be given power over the most powerful element in creation. The flames that herald both oblivion and rebirth, there is but one condition.

“Though after such an arduous trial almost nothing could deter me from accepting, I still asked “What is the condition?”

“The dragon explained, “You will yourself become forever bound to the changing winds and the flicker of the flames. If you ever fall idle, without a mission or destination, the very powers you will be given shall turn agains you, destroying your body”

“I nodded, accepting these terms, “Very well,” spoke the dragon, “extend your arms, and the pact will be sealed,” I did as I was told, and did not back down, even when the beast opened its maw wide, waiting for a moment, as if precisely measuring  its position. Before snapping its jaws closed in but a split second. I felt immense pain, like my arms had been cut in half, before a powerful burning sensation accompanied by the same orange light Inside the dragon’s mouth I’d seen before. I clenched my teeth so as not to scream, and in a few seconds, the dragon released my arms, satisfied, revealing that, from the forearm down, my arms were now as black and hard as coal, and I could feel heat like never before emanating from them.

“You’ve risen closer to a dragon than most could ever hope, the last thing I have to give you is my name. Names have power, child, so when you wish to use your new power, remember the name Gorchfygwr and all flames shall obey you.” The dragon explained.

The witch clapped her hands and turned to me. “And that’s how I got these hands, I apologize for not telling you sooner, but I needed to be sure to not give information about the source of my power to someone who would get themselves killed trying to obtain them, or worse, who would be able to gain this sort of power and use it for evil. In time I learned more about pacts like these, they are the main way for humans to obtain power beyond our physical limitations, but, and you may consider this your fourth lesson, power always has a price, and with time I learned the dragon had truly been relatively generous with mine, likely because he had gotten his entertainment out of testing me first. Some creatures, like demons and fae may cause their lords to lose their minds or commit atrocities they could never imagine.”

I nodded in agreement. “I understand. There are some questions I wish to ask, if you’ll pardon my curiosity, What did you do after sealing your pact? Did you face the duke’s armies once again? And why did you not want Lyssa to know this story?” for all that her fierceness had unnerved me initialy, my “colleague” did certainly seem to have good motives, more surprisingly, she was gentler than I’d imagined, never once commenting on my obvious lack of strenght when compared to her and offering to guard me from possible dangerous animals when searching for food.

Morgana sighed and turned back towards the fire. “I killed them, I went back into my ruined village and I slaughtered wave after wave of those soldiers until the futility of expecting them to stop coming solidified in my mind. By now there was no way they’d catch up to what remained of my people, there was no longer any reason for fighting. I felt so purposeless I just… wandered. Eventually I learned that I could use the skills from my old profession to earn a living and help people still, and memorized the optimal routes I could use to travel from town to town.”

She continued, her head hung low, betraying a fatigue I hadn’t before seen. “I’ve been doing this for years, familiar, long enough to obtain a large arsenal of magic not as powerful as what I received from the pact, that’s how I could make you my familiar. In some way I feel I’ve been delaying an inevitable direct conflict with the duke, I mean, look at Lyssa! aren’t I one of the only people with a chance to stop this for good? As for why I’ve avoided informing Lyssa of the source of my flames, I have no doubt her reasons for fighting are good, but with her current fervor, I fear she may seek out a patron before she’s ready and put herself and others in danger, although I have a feeling she may inevitably attract the interest of one by living the eventful life she is currently seeking. It is a difficult balance I am attempting to strike, too soon and her haste may be her doom, too late and she won’t be aware of the consequences when she receives an offer.”

I was a bit hesitant to question my master’s judgement, but still I couldn’t help but ask “don’t you feel you should put a little more trust in her prudence?”

She turned to me and smiled. “That may be so, still It’s best to be cautious. Thank you for telling me this. It’s part of a familiar’s function to council the witch in times of decision. Now scram, you, I see Lyssa coming back and we’re gonna need some fresh water from that creek to cook the hares she brought,” she waved me away gently.

As I walked away, Lyssa greeted me, her muscles had been steadily growing more defined as she’d been training for combat, I also noticed she’d been binding her breasts recently and respected her commitment to agility. “Hey… cat, can I call you cat?” she asked, a bit embarassed, to which I smiled and nodded in agreement, “alright, cat, did Morgana say anything about me? I haven’t exactly been apprentice to a witch before, and she did tell me a familiar is something different, but you’re my best point of  comparison and I’d like to know if I’ve been doing well.”She seemed excited to compare our experiences, and I felt a pang of guilt about witholding some information from her.

“Don’t worry, she’s very impressed with your growth, thinks you’ll soon be a match for her at this rate, though your parry could use some work.” I answered, and it was true, despite me omitting the witch’s concerns about her impetuosity. “Now get going, master’s waiting for you and she doesn’t like to wait. .” I told her, continuing my towards the creek.

“You too.” She said, and I could tell my answer had made her happy.