#part of me wants to figure out how to make myself teleport around the screen that much but I think somehow it's one sided

[doedipus]

I managed to take a few sets off of one of the people who beat me in bracket next time and I definitely have a lot of notes on the counter-adaptation for next time, so I thiiiink I might have a shot this month if she's there again

[shurisneakers]

harmless (xiii)

Summary: Bucky volunteers to go stop a small time villain, but nothing can prepare him for what exactly he has to deal with. (Bucky x villain!reader)

Warnings: cursing, frustrated bucky, dramatic reader, smidge of angst, guns, little bit of violence, obnoxious flirting, and kidnapping lol

Word count: 6.2k

A/N: welcome to chaos week >:) this is the first of three updates coming out this week (if i can finish the last one in time).  big thank you to my love @no-shit-sherl0ck for the kidnaped!reader idea, and that one anon who suggested the inator that’s used here. i know you wanted to see it in a zoo but i couldn’t really figure out a way to use that so i referenced it a bunch in previous chapters. oh and also @ginevranights​ for this specific imagery 

Previous Part  || Series Masterlist

Who the fuck kidnaps a villain in this day and age?

Saturday started normally enough.

Nat kicked Bucky’s ass in training, evening the score to 120 and 120. He blames it on the lack of sleep. She tells him that it’s his fault he stayed up late to binge watch 911 Lone Star.

He still thinks it was worth it.

The team’s sunshines and rainbows that morning. Someone had cooked up a batch of pancakes and fresh orange juice. Someone else burnt the bacon but left to feed his dog before anyone could complain.

Nat opened up the newspaper. Different sections went to different people until Bucky got stuck with the entertainment section. Fun, considering that he doesn’t even recognise half the names. He’d have to pretend to be interested until the next rotation.

He watches the orange juice levitate in front of him from the corner of his eye and just assumes that Wanda’s getting a refill even though she could have just asked him to pass it. He smells the next batch of bacon burning and figures that Clint is back.

Sam’s beside him, annoying him about how long it takes for him to read about which new celebrity relationship just ended and Bucky retaliates by reading even slower. Fuck you.

He’s on his second stack of pancakes absolutely drenched in maple syrup when the doors to the elevator open and Marie steps out, laptop in her hand.

An instant chorus of hello’s and invitations to have some charred bacon resound through the table. She politely declines them with a small smile, instead opening her laptop and placing it in front of Bucky without further ado. 

He looks at her questioningly, slowly swallowing whatever was in his mouth.

“An email for you.” She tuts her head towards it. “It has a video attachment of your friend.”

Bucky has plans to not watch the video in front of everyone, given that the content could range anywhere from you reading out fanfiction about him to a deep-fake of him singing a Whitney Houston song.

Both of which you have done before and would do again, without any hesitation.

“Aren’t you gonna watch it?” Wanda asks from across the table.

He slowly shakes his head no, cutting his stack into smaller pieces.

“If what’s in it is real, it’s important,” Marie stresses.

“What’s in it?” he inquires instead, hoping that the team would stop staring at him. If Marie was implying strongly that he needed to watch then something was wrong.

“Just watch it, man.” Sam’s statement has everyone agreeing with him. Bucky can’t refuse now, and if the team makes fun of him for the next month about how he looks good belting Greatest Love of All, he’s going to personally assassinate you.

He clicks on the email, noticing it came from a throwaway address. Probably untraceable, if the cards are played right. 

The video opens to grainy footage, which is stupid considering modern technological advancements. If this is one more of your stupid LARPing sessions, it could definitely wait till after lunch. 

But, he instantly recognises your silhouette strapped to a chair and suddenly the room feels very cold around him. His hand automatically clutches onto a bead from the bracelet you gave him that still remained tied to his left arm more often than not.

“Speak,” someone commands off camera.

“About what?” You sound annoyed, exasperated even.

“Why you’re here.”

“I’m here because you have unaddressed feelings of childhood insecurity.”

“I warned you to take this seriously.”

Bucky’s eyes widen slightly but his body relaxes the minute he reads the situation. 

The team’s crowded around him, he can feel it. His attention remains on the screen in front of him.

“Who even are you sending this to?” You don’t sound the least bit threatened. “My roommate’s not at home but my cat is and I don’t think she’d care.”

”You’ve made a complete joke out of villains everywhere. Fraternising with the enemies, the Avengers,” he spits the name with so much vitriol. “You’ve erased what it’s like to be truly evil. Turned us into a laughing stock.”

“If it takes one person to undermine your whole movement then maybe it wasn’t strong enough to begin with.” You look at someone outside the lens, face scrunching in distaste. “Also your costume’s ugly.”

“F.R.I.D.A.Y., can you trace this voice?” Bucky asks, receiving an immediate confirmation. “Figure out who it is.”

“On it.”

“Tell them. Tell them we are a serious threat and are to be feared.”

"No,” you say resolutely. “You’re an overgrown manchild. Go watch Teletubbies or something.”

“She does not give a shit,” Clint marvels at the situation, a piece of half eaten burnt toast between his fingers.

You didn’t. And if he knew you in the slightest, which he prided himself on at this point, you already had six different ways of getting out of there.

“She knows she’s going to be fine,” Bucky murmurs, returning back to take a bite of his pancakes. “She’s probably still there just to irritate him.”

He zeroes in on your wrist to see if the teleportation watch was still there but no, your wrists are bare. Guess you forgot.

“You have to.”

“Why?”

“Because that’s how a real villain does it.”

“A real villain- what are you, gatekeeping the villain community?” You scoff. “You sound like a fuckin’ incel.”

“Just send them a message,” the guy bellows, hitting a table.

“She’s going to frustrate them to death.” An accurate observation, Sam.

“Okay, jeez, fine.”

Bucky just knows that you rolled your eyes at that moment.

He had faith in you, or in your abilities at the very least. While every wisecrack could possibly inch you closer towards harm, you probably wouldn’t be making them unless you felt completely secure in your situation.

“Help, I’m totally kidnapped and in danger. Save me because I can’t do it myself. This man is too powerful and strong and sooo scary.”

“Do you think she has a strategy?”

“Definitely.”

“You’re not worried, James?” Wanda asks curiously. “I thought she was your friend.”

“She is my friend.” He reaches over to take the jug of orange from across the table. “That’s why I’m not worried.”

“Are you going to fight the Avengers?” you interrupt his endless tirade. “Because that’s a stupid plan. You get how that’s a stupid plan, right?”

“Let them come. I’m prepared.”

“With what? A stick you found outside? A Nerf gun? Man, you’ve tied my hands with fuckin’ zip ties, you can’t be serious-”

“Shut up,” he roared and the stand shakes slightly from where he stamps his feet. “Our army is enough.”

“Wow,” you exhale. “I wish I had your confidence, I really do. I want to study you under a microscope.”

“I have reinforcements.” It sounds like he turns to the camera to address it directly. “This is a warning. Your friends have an hour to find you or things are gonna turn ugly. This is what real evil looks like.”

“Evil dresses in a dollar store Speedo, apparently.” The man pays you no heed, instead picking up the camera. “Hey, sarge, if you’re watching this, don’t bother. I’m fine, it’s not even the real me-”

The camera cuts to black.

“When was this video sent?” Nat looks at Marie, eyebrows drawn together.

“About ten minutes ago.”

Bucky clicks out of the email, determined to get at least half his breakfast in him before he left to see what’s up with your situation. A notification pops up immediately.

evilkneival123@gmail.com just sent you an email.

A video attachment.

“We got another one,” Bucky informs the team, drawing their attention back to the screen from the informal conversation that had erupted between them about what they could do.

This time, there’s a subject line included.

Attack on the Clone.

"Ain’t that a Star Wars movie?" he asks, craning his neck to look at Clint.

"That's Attack of the Clones," Sam corrects. "Probably autocorrect."

Bucky narrowed his eyes in suspicion at him, jaw sliding outward before falling back into place. Enough times had Sam called him Fucky in the group chat and gotten away with it for him not to be wary.

“Or a code,” Wanda suggests, too many crime thrillers read and podcasts listened in her spare time. She occasionally brought them over to Self Care Saturday, introducing him to the world of true crime as a bit of light content while they snacked on chocolate chip cookies he baked. “Like the Zodiac.”

“For what?” Bucky peers over at her.

“All I remember from that movie is them rolling around a field together,” Clint mutters. “Maybe that’s how you’re supposed to save her.”

“I’m not saving anyone. Look at her, she’s fine.” Is he the only one who saw it?

When he’s met with skeptical looks and no other useful suggestions, he presses play on the video.

This time it's clearer footage. It hardly takes him a second to ascertain where it was.

"That's her lair." It showed the pathway leading up to the flat concrete building, exactly where the intercom should be.

There was a black Sedan parked haphazardly outside, engine still on judging by the sound of the radio blasting an AC/DC song. 

Within a few seconds, someone drags you from the entrance of the lair to the car, despite your very clear protests and opposition, shoving you inside before it takes off in full speed, tires screeching. 

"F.R.I.D.A.Y., track the car from that video. Check all the CCTV and surveillance footage from around the area that you can find," Bucky commands, taking a sip of orange juice.  

"Why would they send us that?" Clint pipes up. "They make their email untraceable but send us a video of the fuckin' abduction itself?"

"I don't know." Bucky shakes his head, setting his glass down. "She probably convinced them to."

It was an unusual scenario, he realised that. But his eyebrows lower in contemplation, his lip caged between his lip before a thought suddenly occurs to him. A laugh in disbelief almost escapes his throat ad he pushes it down with some freshly cut strawberries. 

"And they listened?"

"I don't think you realise how annoying she can be." He knows, though. He knows. "Bet they regret it, though. I should tell them to keep her for a little longer."

"Voice recognition registers voice to someone named Chad, better known by his alias Soul Crusher. Surveillance footage places the car about thirty minutes away. Exact location sent to your phone GPS."

Soul Crusher. That was worse than Dr. Strange.

"I can make that fifteen." Bucky shrugs, setting down his fork and knife. If his hunch is right, the team didn’t really have to get involved. “See you guys later.”

“Do you want any of us coming with you?” Wanda gestures to the crowd at hand.

“I got it.” He pushes away from the table, depositing his plate in the sink, dropping an extra piece of bacon on the ground for Clint’s dog. “She’ll be alright.”

They watch him trail out of the room briskly, heading up to his room to change.

“Is it just me or is he too casual about this?” Clint continues staring long after he leaves.

“Both of them are weirdos.” Nat pulls open the newspaper again, going back to the sport’s section. “Who knows what goes in their heads.”

“Can confirm that not a lot goes on in his.”

Without Bucky to retaliate or grumble, a Steve walking into the room, sweaty and shiny after training becomes the new subject of jokes that morning.

__

For the first time in months, he’s had to bring a weapon or two along with him. Two revolvers and a couple of knives kept out of plain view. He wouldn’t need more than that anyway.

True to his word, it takes only fifteen minutes to get there, thirteen if he didn’t stop for the chain of ducks that crossed the street.

He’s also dressed in a little more leather than he usually reserves for your meetings. A jacket that brings to act as a windbreaker and tightly laced up combat boots make him look like he either stepped off a runway, or more menacing than usual depending on who was looking.

The GPS points him to an old warehouse near a more subdued part of the city. It was abandoned by the looks of it, and had been for a while judging by the lack of upkeep. Prime real estate.

He pulls off his helmet, hanging it on the handlebar along with his backpack before kicking the stand into place. The bike’s a few metres away just in case they decide to blow something up.

Bucky looks up at the warehouse, assessing the most damage he could do to it if at all it was needed. That thing could barely stand on its own, a grenade would absolutely decimate it. That wasn’t good news for you.

He sighs once before putting on his death glare, straightening out his shoulders into a stature that screams stone-cold, and pushes the door open, gun raised.

A mini-army of people ranging from their early twenties to late thirties stood guard at the entrance, all with rifles pointed at him. He counts fifteen, maybe eighteen.

“Oh, hell no,” a voice erupts from the back, followed by the sound of his gun being thrown to the ground. “No one told me that he was coming.”

Bucky raises an eyebrow, his death glare not shifting and Glock not lowering.

“I’m out.” The same guy raises his hands up to show he meant no harm, slowly brushing past Bucky as he squeezed out of the building.

“You got five seconds to leave before I shut this door,” Bucky gives the rest of them an ultimatum. Not like there was a point anyway. SHIELD was sending down some people to account for the one day rise in new morons. 

They all looked at each other, swallowing thickly before raising their weapons.

“I hope he’s giving you good insurance.” The second he finishes his sentence they all cry out in what sounds like a fucking war chant, launching themselves at him. 

______

“They’re here.” Someone presses his ear to the door as if the gunshots and screaming weren’t enough. 

“Brilliant. We’re ready.” Chad picks up the knife, running his finger along the sharp end. You try to see if you can use your Twitter-ordained powers of manifestation for a paper cut.

“How much are you asking them for?” You put forth a query instead, when it disappointingly doesn’t work.

“Asking who for what?” Chad stops his dumb intimidation tactic for a second. 

“You know,” you insist like it was obvious, “my ransom. How much did you ask them to pay?”

“We didn’t-” He looks around at the other people in the room for confirmation. “-we didn’t ask for any.”

“Because I’m invaluable?” Your head droops to the side in mock flattery. “Aw, you guys.”

“We didn’t think of it,” someone from the corner behind you speaks up, coming to the aid of their boss.

“Now that’s just rude.” You tut, shifting maybe an inch or two in your bounds to try and get more comfortable. “Leaving aside your lack of preparation, let’s just assume he bursts in here, desperate and ready to bargain. How much would you ask for?”

“Three million,” Chad says confidently, gathering a nod and sounds of agreement from everyone else.

“Are you serious?” Your jaw drops, a scoff escaping you. “That’s all?”

His self-assurance falters a little bit, you can see it under his 5 Minutes Craft mask.

“Three mill-” You stop mid-sentence. “With this wiring? Ridiculous. Make it ten, I demand it.”

“We’ll ask for fifteen mil,” Chad proposes, his teammates agreeing again, a little more delighted than last time.

“Ask for thirty, you coward,” you argued. “Thirty million and a jet.”

“You’re not worth that much.” The dipshit diagonal to you pipes up with his unwanted and, frankly, useless opinion.

“And you are?” You whip around the best you can. “Henchman number four?”

“Megedagik,” he informs, standing up a little taller now that he was given some importance. “It means ‘killer of many’.”

“Did you just say your name was Mega Dick?” 

“Megedagik,” he corrects.

You stare at him hard before turning away. “Alright, other than Mega Dick here, does anyo-”

A knife lands right next to your feet, driven at least an inch into the ground. You look up at the guy you managed to piss off within four sentences, his face now a beet red. 

“These are brand new, asshole,” you barked, shaking your shoes around. “You’re gonna pay if there’s even a scratch on it.”

“Permission to kill her?” Meg growls, casting a side eye at Chad.

The boss man looks at you thoughtfully, assessing the repercussions of what might happen. You raise an eyebrow.

“Slow and painful,” he settles. 

A small smirk makes its way onto your face. 

“Title of your sex tape,” you quip as the man in the corner storms towards you.

_____

It’s all a flurry, really. A bunch of inexperienced newcomers versus one of the most skilled assassins the world had ever seen? Ten minutes tops.

Bucky doesn’t do any serious damage. A couple of broken bones but only out of necessity, a lot of concussions, and maybe a bullet wound, or three, here and there. 

Most of the time he spends thinking about things that have absolutely nothing to do with what was going on. He forgot to take his laundry out of the machine. There was a biscotti recipe he had been procrastinating on trying. His succulents needed watering but he could do that once he was back. Was he wearing his good combat pants or was it the pair that had a hole in the pocket?

His left hand thrust outwards to shove someone away while he stuck his right hand into his pocket to check if it had frayed away. The person he pushed slams into a wall with a loud groan and no, his pants didn’t have a hole in them. 

He stops to take a breather, assess what was going on. There are bodies scattered all around, mostly writhing in pain from minor injuries. Someone very bravely stands up, hands posed in front of him in a regular fighting stance.

“You sure about this?” Bucky asks, reaching for one of the concealed knives he hadn’t had a chance of using yet. It twirls rather nimbly between his fingers for something so dangerous, the hilt finally landing in his palm for a sturdy grip.

The man takes one look at the knife before sitting right back down on the ground. 

“Good choice,” his voice drops to an octave lower than his self-esteem. He’s tired of this old routine but it works like a neat little party trick, often getting him the result he wanted. “Where?”

A few fingers point down the hall to the only room whose door was closed.

He makes sure to step over everyone who was lying along the way, ears tuned in to even the smallest of noises just in case one of them decided to attack him from the back. It doesn’t come.

He doesn’t bother creeping down the hallway. With all the ruckus that just went on outside, he’s pretty sure it’s obvious that they had an intruder. 

Bucky kicks in the large steel door with ease, given that it was barely hanging on its hinges. His gun’s raised, muscles tight, and senses on high alert for any immediate threats. 

It lands with a large thud, reverberating through the room. He’s reminded of your first meeting with him.

There’s a chair in the middle of the room with a person tied to it by a mixture of rope and tape. Others found themselves slithering around on the floor in a similar fashion, trying to get out of their bondages.

“Hey, James,” you call out, drawing his attention to you. You were sitting atop a table, legs swinging back and forth without a care in the world, a blade in your hand. 

“You okay?” He tucks the gun into his waistband when he realises that none of the henchmen are going to be going anywhere soon.

“All good.” You hop off the table with a little spring in your step. “Did you bring your bike? I need a ride back to the lair. I think I left the TV on when I was, you know, getting kidnapped.”

“You coulda teleported back home before all of this even happened.” Bucky does a quick assessment of your body to make sure there weren’t any bruises or anything of the sort. “Avoided the whole thing.”

“Don’t have the watch with me.” Odd, since he knows you consider it one of your essentials but it just fuels his theory further. “Besides, if I just quit before we started, they’d keep messing with me over and over again.”

“Do you want me to punch someone’s face in?” He glances around the room at the ones wiggling about on the floor like fucking worms. “I’d be happy to.”

“Nah, I got a few in myself.” You rotate your wrist, other hand still holding onto the knife. “You know what, maybe I’ll have another go.”

He simply makes a noise in acknowledgement before he places a hand on the hem of your shirt, gently reeling you back. “I think you fixed ‘em up real good. That’s enough for today.”

“Fine but only ‘cause you said so.” You huff, looking past him and at the weirdos on the ground. “You hear that? This man just saved your life. Say ‘thank you’.”

A muffled chorus of what sounded like appreciation echoed through the room. Bucky awkwardly looks around.

“Damn right.” You walk over to the guy in charge of the whole event, bending down to his level. “If you ever try to fuck with us again...”

You stare straight into his eyes, unblinking. You hold up the knife to his Adam’s apple. Chad doesn’t dare to move other than the thick swallow.

You raise your finger and flick him in the forehead. “Get a better costume.”

The corner of Bucky’s lip quirks upward.

“Let’s go, sarge,” you announce, standing upright again and making a motion to follow you. “D’you have an extra helmet I could use?”

“Yeah.” He had brought one along in his bag, assuming that you’d need one once he noticed the watch was missing in the footage.  

“Yay.”

The only storage space on his bike was under his seat and it’s just enough for an extra revolver. Clint asked him if it was his way of flirting with someone, give ‘em a quick spin around the city and then show them his gun. If looks could kill, Clint would be 7 feet under. 

“You sure you wanna ride it, though?” He cringes immediately when he realises what it sounds like, waiting for you to smack the innuendo in his face. “We could wait for SHIELD.”

“Don’t really have another choice, Bucky,” you say absentmindedly, strolling out the room as you tossed the knife behind you.

He frowns at your indifference but turns around for a second to look at Chad. The man in question looks back viciously, his grandeur from that morning basically deflated and left to die along with his reputation.

“Might wanna reconsider the name,” Bucky remarks, doing a quick sweep of the area once more. “Soul Crusher.”

He waits until both of you are outside the cell and the door is shut on the ringleader and his circus clowns, handlebar twisted out of place so that they don’t escape for the time being.

“One second,” he calls, touch gently lingering on your forearm to stop you without even thinking twice about it. A famously uncharacteristic move for him.

"Hm?” You don’t even look like you notice his action.

“You sure you’re good?” he asks seriously, actual concern slipping through the question. “Do you need medical assistance?”

“They couldn’t hurt me anyway.” There’s something strange about the way you say it, almost assuredly. “I’m good.”

“Okay,” he concedes, his hand darting back when he realises it was still on your arm. His eyebrows furrow when he realises how instinctively he had reached out in the first place.  He didn’t touch anyone, ever.

“What are we gonna do about them?” you inquire, stepping over someone on the floor to get to the exit.

“Marie told Agent Hill. They’re sending someone over.”

“They’re sending SHIELD for these wannabes?” Someone groans in protest from somewhere and you elect to ignore them. “Ew.”

“Just to make sure confidential information isn’t compromised in any way.” There’s a large bang that comes from the room they just left. Maybe one of them shot their teammate by accident. They were more than capable of doing it.

“I would never,” you exacted a little more solemnly, pushing the door open with your elbow to let the sunlight flood in.

“I know.” He doesn’t realise how dark it was in the warehouse until he steps out into the noon sun. “I’m pretty sure this is more about the fact that you were abducted.”

“For me?” The smile doesn’t quite reach your eyes the way he kinda likes. Something definitely felt off. “I love being class favourite.”

He doesn’t reply, a small grunt as he twists the handle of the warehouse door upwards, effectively jamming it. 

“Can I drive?” You bat your eyelashes at him innocently, disregarding the loud screaming that came from inside as those less injured probably regrouped for a last ditch attempt. 

“No,” he doesn’t hesitate in replying, handing you a helmet and buckling his own securely.

“But I just got kidnapped,” you complained, watching him swing a leg over the bike and straddle it. Okay then. 

“All the more reason for you not to drive right now.” He mentions for you to get on, squinting at the warehouse a few feet away.

“Fine, but next time I’m driving,” you grumble, climbing on the back.

“Do you even know how to?” His head is tilted to look at you from the corner of his eye, voice heavier on account of the obstruction on his face.

The door starts shaking violently and he knows for a fact that it won’t hold up for much longer. Some of those who he had knocked out probably had been shaken awake again for manpower. 

“I can learn.” You take a pause, mischief seeping into your next words. “You can teach me.”

“No.” He didn’t exactly practice what was considered safe, law abiding driving. He just got from one point to another and that’s all he cared about.

“Then I’ll do it myself.” You sound determined. “I’m going to leave a note for us in the lair.”

“You do that.” He revs the engine when something solid hits the metal door. As guessed, their usage of props to push it down faster was coming into play. “Now, can you hold on to something? We need to go.”

If only those idiots just realised that the windows covered by newspapers were right there, ready to be broken.

“Only if you promise to let me drive next time,” you say defiantly, drawing this whole ordeal out.

“Whatever,” he urges. “I promise. Now can we go?”

“Wait for it...” There’s a devilish smile on your face. “One.”

There’s a loud creak as the door finally gives way.

“Two.” The same people you left tied up in the room burst out, almost stumbling over each other in the process.

“Three,” he completes it on his own, not waiting for you to finish because God knows how long you’d stretch it out just for the drama.

Your excited screech of laughter as he narrowly misses a rod that gets thrown at him like a fucking javelin temporarily distracts him from the brain freeze he gets when your arms wind around his waist to hold yourself in place. 

There’s angry screaming and bullets that whiz past in an attempt to get him to stop but a swift turn around a corner, pulling the both of you out of their sight is enough to get rid of them. 

“We should get a few weapons and go back,” you yell over the wind rushing by, barely audible.

“You do that in your own free time,” he shouts in response, yanking you through narrower lanes and less popular streets.

“Maybe I will, you bore.” 

Still, you shut up for the rest of the ride, only grumbling when he stops the bike to tell you that no, you cannot let go just because you want to throw your hands in the air like in the movies.

You hop off when he finally pulls up on the street outside your lair, adrenaline still pumping through your veins. He waits patiently as you unbuckle the helmet, switching off the engine. 

“You gonna drop me off at my door too, now?” You snicker, fingers pulling off the helmet.

He looks at you for a second before dropping the kickstand into place and dismounting from the motorcycle.

“I was kidding.” You laugh, handing him your headgear that he shoves into his backpack. 

“You’re pretty capable of gettin’ abducted along the way.” An absurd notion, considering it’s a short path from the road to the door. 

“Oh, how chivalrous.” You let him tag along anyway, for his peace of mind. 

“My ma didn’t expect any less.” A couple of sharp lessons from Winifred Barnes and Bucky was nothing short of a damn angel. 

You knock on the door three times, crossing your arms over your chest as you waited. 

“Aren’t you the one with the key?” Bucky questions, one hand on his waist. 

The door swung open in the middle of his sentence revealing... you.

Another you.

“Nah, she has it.” Ex-Kidnapped-You raises your head in acknowledgement at Doorway-You.

“Ah.” He fucking knew it. An unnatural sense of smugness blossoms in his chest. 

“Hey,” the both of you said at the same time.

Doorway-You looked way more relaxed, a little less grimy and dishevelled but exactly the same.

“Buck, I see you met my other half,” the you from the doorway greets him. “Or other whole, actually.”

“Sure did.” He sends a glance at Ex-Kidnapped-You.

“You can go on in. Big first day, huh?” Doorway-You refers to the you beside him.

“You wouldn’t believe,” Ex-Kidnaped-You mutters, pushing past the entrance and disappearing inside.

“She gonna be okay?” His gaze trails after your clone.

“Oh yeah, just needs to recharge.” You turn around to make sure she’s fine. “She’s made of some pretty strong carbon, technically almost indestructible.”

No wonder ‘you’ said they couldn’t hurt you.

“Heya, sarge.” You draw his attention back to you. “Always good to see you.”

“Can’t really say the same about you.” 

“Ever the emotional repressor, Mr Barnes. I like this little leather show you got going, did ya wear it just for me?”

He shifts his balance to his other foot, feet slightly wide apart. “Take it that the clone machine finally worked?”

“I was in the middle of celebrating.” You sigh, recalling the events of that morning. “Teleported home for a second to get some champagne and when I came back she was gone.”

“Irresponsible.” He tsks, head shaking in disappointment. 

“Sorry I didn’t take amateur kidnappers into account for my risk factor analysis, Bucky,” you shoot back, pressing on his name for added annoyance. “Anyway, I did the responsible thing. I sent all the evidence I had to you guys.”

“Real clever.” Bucky looks at you in dry amusement. “Attack on the clone? Really?”

“Hey, always make time for a good pun.” You finger gun, lopsided grin on your face. “Did the team like it?”

“They thought it was a typo.” Or a code. He really had Wanda to thank for his big revelation. “Your video didn’t help either.”

“Don’t tell me they couldn’t make out it was me.” You laugh, crossing your arms over your chest.

He doesn’t reply, pursing his lip inwards in sympathy, but more so to conceal a smile.

The happiness drops from your face slowly, horror taking its place. “Don’t tell me they couldn’t make out it was me.”

“Good job, your machine worked,” he adds helpfully.

“C’mon, there were so many differences,” you whine, the success of your endeavour the last thing on your mind. 

“That is your literal clone,” he points out, only to see you- clone you- walk into the giant box in the corner of the room, bright green light emanating from it like a xerox machine.

“How could they not tell the original apart from a copy?” You look genuinely offended. Insane. “Not even Sam?”

“Guess you’re not unique enough.” A rise and fall of his shoulders signify his attitude towards this whole thing. “Think I like your copy better, too, actually.”

“You’re so mean.” You puff in disbelief. “I’m a 100% original. How many mad scientist teachers do you know?”

“Two.” 

“I don’t mean now, that’s not even the-” You poke at his rock hard chest. “You are so much more annoying than when I first met you.”

He thinks it’s good relationship development.

“I have to deal with you every weekend.” He watches your finger drop from his chest. “Picked it up along the way.”

“Boo hoo, talking like you don’t have deep, deep feelings for me.” You roll your eyes. “I see right through you, Bucky Barnes.”

“Can you see the part that couldn’t give less of a shit?” He gestures to himself. “It’s all of it.”

“You think you’re such a comedian, huh?” You narrow your eyebrows. “How did you know she was a fake then, huh?”

Busted.

“Probably ‘cause you didn’t talk as much today,” he dodges. “Actually had some peace of mind for a change.”

“You knew before you got there, you liar.” You push past his fabrications. “You figured it out before everyone else.”

“You literally put it in the title.”

“Yeah, but the rest of the team saw it too.”

“Rest of the team didn’t know you were building a goddamn clone machine for months.”

“You remembered that?” You pulled away, palm over your heart. “Oh, sarge, you paid attention to me.”

His nose twitches.

“You said it, like, eight hundred times.” He could use both his hands to count the number of references you had offhandedly made in the last three weeks alone.

“Why'd you go save me when you knew it wasn't real?” you continue to challenge relentlessly, knowing fully well that he was fibbing. 

“Because you fuckin’ peer pressured me. Had the whole team around me when you sent your little video during breakfast.”

“Just admit it,” you coo, ignoring all his justifications. “You noticed it was fake me right away but showed up anyway because you’re wildly in love with me.”

“No,” he says stiffly. 

“No as in you won’t admit it you have a crush on me, or no as in you didn’t know it was fake me?”

There was no winning this. 

“Good day to you.” He pulls the motorcycle helmet on to hide the expression that plain as day screamed the former of your two options.

“Also,” you bring up indignantly, “she even got to ride the fucking bike and I’ve been asking to drive it for months now!”

“We-” he chooses his words carefully. “-compromised.”

“Oh, you did?” Your voice lowers at the newfound information, interest piqued. “I’m gonna hold you to that then, whatever it is.”

“Doesn’t count.”

“Absolutely does,” you huff. “A promise is legally binding. Blue’s Clues taught me that.”

“Bye, Y/N.”

“You’re my knight in leathery armour,” you swoon, switching sides immediately, “Kinda.”

“See you next week,” he says in farewell, determined to leave before you made it worse. “Try not to get killed by then.”

“Why, so you can do it yourself? Protective much?” You pull him back when he starts walking away, laughing slightly. “Wait a second, you weirdo.”

He sighs, staying put anyway, arms crossed impatiently over his chest.

You pull out the pen tucked behind your ear and slowly tap him twice on each shoulder in a makeshift knighting ceremony. “For your sacrifice.”

He rolls his eyes at the ludicrousness, tongue clicking against the roof of his mouth.

You ignore his lack of enthusiasm, pressing your fingertips to your lips in a small kiss and then to his nose, given that it was the only part of his face you had access to.

“That was for your bravery.” You grin brightly at him and he sure as hell is glad he’s wearing the stupid helmet because he can feel his cheeks light up a bright crimson.

“Thanks.” His voice sounds gruffer than a second ago. He clears his throat.

“Now you’re my knight in leathery armour,” you fawn, nearly falling over yourself dramatically. “Let’s ride into the sunset together. I love you.”

“You’re ridiculous,” he calls out over his shoulder, turning away to return to his bike. “I despise you.”

“But you don’t.”

He really didn’t.

also i managed to fuck my phone up really bad so all proceeds from my ko-fi go towards getting it fixed

Next part

[mythicalninjas]

A Hard Choice To Make - Part 1

"Go talk to him. It's the only way to wash your emotions away." April, the reporter of Channel 6, advise you.

"No!" Your eyes went wide "No, I won't!"

"Then do you want to live with it stuck into you for the rest of your life?"

You lower your head, not knowing what kind of response you should give besides this not-desired possibility. April is right.

Since you met the brothers—three years ago—you have created a strong family bond with all of them, specially with the fearless leader in blue who your heart shines for. You knew that something within you is brougth to life every time Leonardo is around, and it is kind of torture because you literally fell in love with this terrapin.

But there's a doubt haunting you: Is Leo with the same feelings about you? The objection behind it is almost invalid in your point of view. He is the leader of his group, known as being the only one who tries to keep his brothers in line, making decisions for each time they are out for patrol, dealing with the most heavy and difficult choices and moments throughout their adventures. And you... You are just a human as you always say.

You sigh, turning your eyes back at April "Ya know, I have no idea if he feels the same about me. I'm afraid of how he'd react from my declaration."

April leaves her desk, and sits next to you on the sofa in the living room of her apartment. "Y/N..." she said softly, landing her slender hand on your shoulder "Soon or late he will know; but if I were you, I would go talk to him. He won't figure it out alone". You nodded, staring at the floor again with your mind lost in an ocean of thoughts and emotions. "Try, Y/N. Do not let it consume you; or it will get worse" the reporter rubs your shoulder and embrace you in a comfort hug.

"Would you like me to talk to him?" She offered herself.

"No! No... I must be prepare myself first."

April let's out a soft giggle "Okay. Take your time, sweetheart. Call me if you need help." She smiled.

You let the comfort of her embrace take you completely as a help to try to kick out your anxiety, but your nervousness insists to stay. How would you say to the most respectable man that you're in love with? How would he reacts? Will he treat you in a bad or good way? You knew he wouldn't treat you like an idiot or something but even that you are not secure.

A few weeks has passed since April's advice.

You and Casey Jones were called by Chief Vicent to attend a meeting at NYPD police station for a debate about Shredder after his sudden disappearance in the day that Technodrome has appeared in the sky. And for your surprise you're not the only one who were invited.

Your mutant turtles best friends are there.

And speaking of them...

"Hey Casey and Y/N!" Mikey was the first one who came up to welcome you both as you enter in the police station. "Finally you're here! Chief Vicent is waiting for you" the young brother pointed at up stairs of the building.

You and Casey went quickly to the second floor.

Arriving there, Mikey pointed at one of the several rooms throughout the large corridor. From outside you could see three shells facing the only door of the small space, and your eyes shone. In the middle of the three massive terrapins, a blue and well-written kanji with a pair of katanas.

"Y/N? Are you coming or...?" Casey called, noticing your behaving.

You froze, desperate about what you would do with that handsome man a few steps away from you—actually standing on the other side of the table.

Gulping, you walked behind Casey as you both enter the room.

"Good evening, Casey Jones." the blond-haired woman nodded from the other side of the rectangular table, facing you both "And Y/N" she nodded again, sharing a polite smile. Other three pairs of eyes landed on you while you stand beside Casey "Hey, guys" Donnie waved with that cute grin he has. "Hey..." Raphael said with a neutral voice; and finally Leonardo who, as Chief Vicent, shares a nod and a smile.

Oh God, that smile makes your bones shiver.

"So what are the news, Chief?" Casey asked, leaning above the table to watch papers and pictures scattered above it.

"We got a prove that Shredder must be still alive" she continued "We have captured Karai who was with him in the day that Kraang has arrived on Earth for the first time, and has confessed that Shredder was teleported into Technodrome. It was the last time she has seen him" she finished, glancing quickly at Shredder's picture on her right side and then looked up at everybody there present.

"Wait, wait..." The hot head turtle interferes "Last time? But how? Karai and Shredder used to work together all the time! Perhaps she is laying-"

"We don't know, Raph." The leader cuts his brother, then Mikey continued "Or maybe Shredder is working for Kraang.", Donnie moved his body a bit to stand face-to-face with his brothers and continued "We do not know if all those suggestions are valid, but I fear what Mikey said. Shredder must be working for Kraang."

Chief Vicent nodded positively, leaning above the table "I wouldn't discard this possibility."

The idea of Shredder working for Kraang freaks you out. Shredder is known for being dangerous, and Kraang is known for being deadly; and the two of them together is a nightmare.

After a few minutes of silence, Casey questioned "So, what are we gonna do now?"

"Wait. For now." Chief Vicent responded, not breaking her eye contact with the Shredder's picture beside her, and the room was filled with Raph's indignation voice "Wait?! How much time of wait?!"

"Raph, more respect!" Leo punch his brother's arm, murmuring and shaking his head in disapprove by his brother's behaving.

You tried to not giggle by their brotherhood behaving.

"We don't know..." Chief Vicent replied "but all we can do now is use what we have available to find Shredder; and Kraang. I'm highly doubt that Shredder isn't on Earth. Maybe he was brought back by Kraang. As you said before, Donatello" she pointed "the atmosphere in Technodrome is toxic for those who have a normal cardiovascular system. Hardly Shredder would survive in that thing out there".

"There's an interesting point" Leo continued "But It's been months since his disappearance and till now no one has seen him. For sure, if someone have, they would warn us."

"Or they would help him" Raph participated one more time "We don't know if someone is his follower."

"You mean a new Shredder?" Mikey asked, surprised.

"I would freak out if it is true." You said.

"Me too." Chief Vicent agreed, sighing.

The worst nightmare of the boys is that another (or other) person ended up like Shredder. For sure someone out there have inspired themselves on that horrible assassin and perhaps will keep on doing his dirty work as a next generation of the Foot Clan. It must be happening in any city, state or country right now.

After two hours of debate, Chief Vicent has decided give a break, and then back to the reunion.

You are checking out your Pinterest in another small room of the building to spend some time. But your is mind busy thinking more about Leo than paying attention to the pics on your social media. You just scroll down, the pics passing through your phone screen quickly; then your mind focused in flashbacks of your conversation with April a few weeks ago.

You want to confess your love for Leonardo. You want to face him and say how much you love him.

But why are you feeling something negative inside you?

You sighed, without knowing what to do. Your eyes lift from the screen and scanned the small room around you. There's a desk with a deactivated computer in the left and a cupboard on the right. Cupboard? Why is it here in a office? Maybe this room is used like a kitchen. And speaking of it... where's the coffee machine and other stuff used by workers?

You shrugged, ignoring it and paying attention to your phone again.

"Y/N?" A familiar deep voice called from the door frame. You jumped and quickly looked up at the person.

Actually, at the turtle.

"Oh, hey Leo" you smiled, pretending you didn't got scared by his sudden apparence. But he was giggling a bit "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you" he came in, picking up a chair and sitting beside you.

Butterflies started to fly wildly in your belly.

"Come on, Y/N! Say something!" you thought. "So... How's things going?". "Really, Y/N?! Is it all you can say?!" You coursed at yourself.

Leo glanced at you and says confused "Um... Things are great. Thanks." he smiled.

Now is the time. You have to tell! You want to tell! But you're fucking afraid.

Your thoughts says to do not do it but your heart says yes. You took a deep breathe, rubbing your hands on your thighs nervously and finally looked up at him.

"Leo..." You called softly.

"Hm?" He looked back at you in the eyes. It seems that your heart will get out of your chest, and you could feel your cheeks burning.

"I...".

He just tilted his head, waiting for your answer.

"I... am gonna take some coffee. W-Would you like some?" That's it. You wanna punch yourself in the face.

He lift an eyebrow—at least you could see.

"Um... Yes, please". He answered, still suspicious about why are you acting that way. You got up from the chair where you were and walked out of the room, but before you could leave, Leo grabs your arm and makes eye contact with you, worried "Are you okay?"

"Why? Yeah! Why wouldn't I am?" You tried to act as normal as possible, but you couldn't hide it from him. This man can notice if something is right or not. And you fear that. You don't wanna mess your moment. You just want to relax with him, and not put more worry into him. Leo and his brothers are already dealing with Shredder's disappearance which is shaking them inside out frenetically. And the last thing you want is bother him with your love.

"I'll be right back." You gently released from his massive hand and left the room, leaving him alone.

"Damn, Y/N! What's wrong with you?" the whisper leaves your mouth and suddenly you bumped with another woman, hitting your shoulder with hers.

"Oh my God, I'm so sorry! Are you okay?"

"Oh, no. It's okay" the red-haired waved, grinning "I must apologize, I was distracted".

"Don't worry, I was distracted too." You giggled, then kept on your way to find a coffee machine which you have no idea where it is.

For sure your thoughts are torturing and preventing you by something you wish to do. You've been hiding your love for Leo for almost three years.

After ask a cob where to find a coffee machine you finally have found it in somewhere on the third floor of the police station.

"Okay, Y/N. You can do this" you whispered while you fill almost to the top two cups with the dark liquid. "You can do this. You can do this..." You continued to repeat, trying to fill you with courage.

"I'm ready. I can do this!"

Picking up the two cups with dark coffee youheaded back to the small room where the handsome man is waiting for you.

Stopping beside the door frame—you can't see what is happening inside the small room—you took a deep breath and get yourself ready for the long-awaited moment of your life.

Smiling, you walked in.

And froze.

Leo was there, as you expected, but he was kissing the woman who you accidentally bumped early on your way to get the coffee.

Your heart broke like someone has ripped it out from you.

It seems that the world has fallen under you; your body falling into an precipice.

You prepared yourself for three years for nothing. All the worries, expectations, and hopes you used to have, all that moments you've spent practicing what you would say to your best friend, all the great moments you and him spent. Three years of your life were wasted.

Leo and the red-haired woman broke the kiss and directed their eyes on you, surprised. You have to admit that you saw a light blush covering on his cheeks.

"Oh, Y/N." He said, smiling "Allow me to introduce you my girlfriend".

You felt a knot forming in your throat.

"Y/N, this is Melissa. Melissa, this is my best friend, Y/N." He used his hand to mention you and his girlfriend while introduce you both.

"Nice to meet you, Y/N." Melissa waved.

"Nice to meet you, Melissa..." You shares a small smile, hiding your frustrating, and waved back.

You take a step forward to place the cup on the small desk next to you. Some drops of the dark liquid slipped out from the object "You should drink before it gets cold, Leonardo." You simply said, trying so hard to not cry. The leader got surprised when you said his full name. It's rare to you do it. Since you both got intimate—as best friends—you started to say his nickname as you do with the others. He doesn't understand very well the reason of your sudden change.

"Um... Yes, I will". He pronounced every single word slowly, tilting his head a bit as he looks at you. Melissa noticed your uncomfortable expression and asked worried "Are you okay, sweetheart?"

"No!" you screamed mentally. "Yes! I am. I gotta go. Sorry." You whispered the last word, turning and heading out of the room, leaving the woman and your best friend together. Your eyes starts to get warm and a wet feeling of tears disturbs you completely; you refuse to cry in front of important and serious people from this place. So you forced your legs to walk fast towards the exit.

You were so distracted that you almost bumped Chief Vicent. You gasped.

"Hey, Y/N. We're going to back to our reunion right now. Have you seen Leo? I can't find him anywhere." the blond-haired woman asked.

"He-*deep breath* He's in that room." You pointed at the door in the end of the corridor. C. Vicent lift an eyebrow, studying your facial expression.

"Are you okay, Y/N?"

"No, I'm not!" You gulped as see Chief Vicent's eyes going wide by your anger, then you immediately completed, "I'm not feeling good..."

But before Chief Vicent had a chance to talk to you, you lower your head and ran away, the knot in your throat and the pain in your heart growing up wildly.

You couldn't stay in that building anymore, not with Leo there. Not with the news of his sudden dating with someone. All you want now is go home, lay down on your bed, bury your face into a pillow, and cry like there's no tomorrow—well, actually there's no tomorrow for you.

How much time Leonardo is dating? And why April didn't tell you about it? Or any of his brothers? Do someone know about his dating? Or does he didn't tell to anyone yet?

You don't wanna know.

Actually you couldn't blame him because he has no idea that you are in love with him.

And now you have to deal with a new reality.

[nyotasaimiri]

Arc Two (redux) 65

She went alone this time. It felt right. The Outpost was quiet, all the lights dimmed for night. It was one of the downsides of space travel, Nyota found: her rhythm didn’t often match where she was visiting. It suited her well this time. She did not want to be overheard.

“You feel surprised.” The robed figure was waiting for her on the second floor balcony. As before, she heard their voice twice: in her thoughts and out loud, both at once.

Nyota gestured back at the ladder. “I always expect the rungs to be colder.”

They gave her the kind of silence she had once given Marcy or Isobu when they said something particularly Earth culture. That wonderful brand of whimsical. Then they laughed, a kind of dry subtle shaking of the atmosphere around them instead of the borrowed voices they had used before. “I had never considered it.”

“Most don’t.” Nyota leaned against the wall. “You had an offer for me, before.”

“Straight to business?” It was their turn to be surprised. “You have no questions.”

Nyota closed her eyes, half-smiling. “I already found the answers. My crewmate did a scan of this area. Your energy signature is remarkably similar to the Ark.”

The silence stretched longer, almost long enough for Nyota to wonder if she had offended them. But when they spoke again, they sounded relieved, so deeply relieved that Nyota felt the emotion ache inside her. The white starlike fire she sometimes felt, she had felt since her return to the Ark, it resonated, reached out.

“So we are still a part of it, after all this time,” the figure whispered. “Thank you.” It held out a gloved, closed hand. “As I offered before… You have found the door. You will need a key. Your words give me hope… But I do not need hope for myself. Prove to me that life thrives still, beyond the Ancient works. Not just sentient life.”

Prove? An idea clicked. Nyota pulled her Matter Manipulator out and turned on the display screen, then sent a command to SAIL. A series of short videos began to play. “These are the creatures I have seen and the planets I have visited since I left Earth.”

“Ahh…” The figure leaned close, and Nyota could truly feel the soft, warm pleasure from them as they watched the screen. “So the dream goes on… Good.” They took her hand—theirs was curiously soft, with too much yield for flesh and muscle—and pressed something into her palm, curling her fingers around it. “You cherish life. Take this, and see where it will take you.”

Nyota nodded. “Thank you.” It was some sort of key, grey-brown stone like the pillars near the Ark. She knew they were connected. She could feel it.

“Go,” the figure told her, turning back to watch the sky. “The stars are waiting.”

As Nyota left, she felt, rather than heard, some kind of deep push inside her, too heavy to be words. “Remember us.”

*

Lumen was waiting for her when she returned. “Wondered where ya got off to.”

Nyota was still too dizzy from the teleporter to speak, but she held out the key. Lumen moved to take it from her and drew back sharply as his hand flared white.

“Gol-dang, Captain, ya found somethin’ big there,” he said, hand and voice shaking like a leaf. Nyota almost couldn’t understand the words under his deep, alarmed drone. “Ain’t even touched it yet and it’s like pokin’ a small sun.”

“Is it?” Nyota found her words, and confusion. She felt nothing odd from the key. It was just stone.

“Sure as eggs are eggs. Hoo…” He shook his head and whistled. His glow started to stabilize, slowly. “It ain’t so strong now. But it felt… mighty familiar for a bit there.”

“Familiar…?” Nyota started to ask how, and a memory stabbed at her.

Lumen caught her arm as she swayed. “Whoa there, ma’am, ya ought to be restin’ more. Musta got knocked ‘round by that Danni hoodlum worse’n we thought.”

Nyota put her hand over his and slowly shook her head. “No, I am… fine. I was just remembering.”

He whistled again, softer, his glow clouding. “Musta been some memory to make ya go like that…”

Her eyes were distant. “I remembered the stars.”

Lumen went quiet. “Stars. Ya did… I dream of stars, sometimes. Sonny too.” He shook his head with a buzzing hum. It sounded like it came from somewhere far away. He reached for the key again and stopped short, but didn’t pull away this time, just watched as his hand responded to its presence by glowing bright again.

“Organic folks say they dream of stars too, but it ain’t our stars. They don’t know our stars. So why’ve I got the feelin’ you do?”

Nyota studied him, looking for some kind of sign, hint, clue of what to say. But she found no answers there. All she could think of was that memory of another place, the great hand curled around her.

“I’ll go rest,” she said softly. “Please tell Arjun that I’ll need his help at the Gate tomorrow.”

[actualtirefire]

dinosaurgreasestain​:

[ If she was riled, then so was he. He sneered and teleported himself to be directly in front of her. ]

For somebody who gets mad at ME for not listening, YOU SURE ARE HARD OF HEARING.

[ He took a second to wave a hand and thrust them both into a shadowy darkness, the air around them black and swirling. As if they were in the middle of a tornado with the distinct absence of the ripping winds that might come from one. But they could still see each other.

On one side of their sheltered orb, he illuminated a portion of the swirling air. Like a projection being shown on a dark wall. Showed them both in the throes of the encounter they’d had on the night where he’d sincerely considered reaping her Soul for himself. And then he’d stopped.

Pride stared at it. Fixed. ]

You wanted me to bite you and I did. That wasn’t a ruse. And neither was this. [ He continued to watch. Like a slow motion movie, the seconds played out. Pride had let the veil slip on that night. Briefly. Wasn’t sure if he was regretting it now. ]

I am not “Donovan.” Donovan is a man who I am in agreement with to let me use his body as my Vessel. My role on this plane is to be the reason shit goes wrong. But first, I make people believe that it feels right. And that’s a reality that anyone who truly knows me as a Sin will need to come to terms with.

I bit you because I believed that eventually you might, too. But if it’s “Donovan” you wanted- always put together and always doting and always… [ He scoffed. ] Always saying the right things, then this won’t work.

[ He changed the images on the “screen”. But he hesitated, at first, until he eventually decided to throw caution to the wind - a brief display of at least some modicum of trust in her - and show something else. The encounter - now several years past - that he had with Jasper. His attempt at grabbing power for himself. The injury of the nephilim and the attempt to take it back. To make things right. And the punishment that came after. It flickered through the scenes that he hadn’t wanted to really remember, but did anyway. ]

I won’t beg for a chance to be seen for what I actually am. I’m mean. I’m violent. I say things that are hurtful. And I use people. Even the people I-

[ Care about. It was implied. But he couldn’t bring himself to say it. ]

The disguise is pulled off and this is what you get. I’m not always going to be the ideal “partner” or… boyfriend or whatever. It’s not what I was put here to do. Or be. So I’m figuring it the fuck out. After several eons of not giving enough of a shit about anyone to bother. I can’t promise that I’ll ever be perfect. But I can at least make an attempt and fuck up along the way.

[ He waved his hand again and the darkness disappeared. ]

If you expected anything else, then you may as well go.

I don’t care about the lizard anymore. You won’t hear from me again.

[ Speaking honestly. Muted in his tone. The man had caused him more trouble than he was worth, at this point. ]

[Unfortunately for him, showing the first part felt like a mock. An hung up threat. Could have, but I didn’t. She was sick of hearing that.

Didn’t really know the nature of things between him and Jasper. They seemed...more understanding and resilient to each other.

Roka just shook her head. Expression angry before it dulled out. Flat and hard to read. She wasn’t asking for ‘ideal’. He hadn’t been ideal. How the fuck CARES about IDEAL. It doesn’t exist.

She just thought she’d been seeing something true of the man. You don’t act that well and not have truth in it. Enough for her to make amends and step forward. That he’d at least hear that things were worked out and she still loved him.]

I’m not a proving ground for you to ‘figure it out’. Fuck you for thinking you have ANY say in this. You don’t. I’ve made myself plenty clear on how this does or doesn’t work.

You want to act like nothing said or done between us was you at all? A you that didn’t have to posture and scream insults at me? No, we’re done. I’m done with you. You’re not done with me. You don’t get to act like you get to tell me to leave ‘if I expected something else’. You’re so fucking full of it.

Get away from me. And don’t come back until, if ever, you get your shit together enough to admit the act is the one where you’re a mindless chump asshole.

Go.

[stanknotstark]

Astral Pt. 10 (Loki x Reader)

So im out eating right now so ill add the link to the last part in an hour and stuff also I did not beta read this part and apologize if I need to change something later on but I want to try and keep up with posting at 5:30 so im releasing it 🤗

Alright we finally have some actions and many open ended questions that I’ve got to close up BUT we also experience one of our main villains warriors. If you read the comics you’ll immediately know who the main villain is (Or Google it but I suggest not doing that if you want to be surprised :p)

You knew having peace and hanging out with your team and Loki would only last for so long, but you were still saddened when it came time to finally work. 

You’re all on the top most floor of the Avenger’s tower, the War Room as Tony called it (sounds a bit over dramatic but it was Tony so...). Fury is there in hologram mode, sitting in the middle of a large custom made table that had the Avengers logo engraved into the middle of the dark oak. 

“What kind of readings are we talking about?” Stark asks Fury. 

Fury’s hand comes up and swipes at something invisible on his end and it translates to Stark’s theater size screens on the wall. It’s a bunch of graphs, statistics, and other jargon you can’t understand. You raise a brow when Tony and Bruce gasp and start talking in hushed tones to each other. 

“Tony, make this english so everyone can understand what’s going on, please?” Steve asks. 

Tony clears his throat and points to one of the graphs, “According to Fury’s collected data, Thor give Jane a big hug when you next see her, they’ve picked up on some form of energy spikes in the middle of Death Valley, Nevada. Like we’re talking colossal size spikes. ”

You look at Loki who sits up in his chair next to you and squints at the screens.

“I know what these ‘energy’,” Loki says energy like it’s disgusting, “readings are. It’s magic from another realm. Specifically, it’s time travel but...” Loki frowns and you watch as his eyes become almost fearful.

“Spit it out, Reindeer Games.” Tony says, sounding concerned at Loki’s fear.

“It’s time travel across an alternate timeline.” 

Tony blinks. Bruce frowns and pushes his glasses up to the bridge of his nose. The entire room is silent. 

“You wouldn’t happen to know who caused these readings would you?” Tony finally asks. 

Loki, who has a neutral face now and the fear is gone from his eyes, shakes his head. “I can’t know for sure unless I can inspect the magic in person.” 

Finally Fury speaks, you had almost forgot the director was even here. “Prepare a quin jet Stark, get Loki and whoever else you deem reliable to escort. We need to figure out who came for a visit and if they’re ally or enemy as soon as possible.”

Fury disappears from the table and Tony gets into worker mode immediately. He points to you, claiming you’re the close combat person, to Clint, who is your ranged fighter, and to Natasha who would be pilot and your extraction. 

Things become a blur after that. You remember going to your room and jumping into your Shield issued attire (Stark had yet to make you your own suit), and meeting Loki at the roof where a quin jet readied for take off. Before you walked into the quin jet Loki stopped you, his hands holding your shoulders making you face him. 

“I promise that I will let nothing harm you, you’re my first priority and if things get violent I will teleport us away to safety.” 

You nod but give him a small smile, “I can handle myself but it’s good to know I’ve got someone watching my back.” You then push onto your toes and give Loki a peck and make your way to the quin jet. 

The ride there is tense and quiet. Loki says he’s putting a spell on you that acts as a shield but doesn’t specify how it works.

Looking back you wish you would have asked how it worked. 

Landing around 100 meters from the destination Clint, Loki and you leave the ship and begin your trek to the site. 

“Holy fuck! If I could strip out of my skin I would.” You say to Loki and Clint. Death Valley’s temperature was a recorded 130 degrees today. 

At your displeasure Loki slows till he’s next to you and puts an arm around your shoulders. You look at him questionably but gasp as his arm generates a coolness that at least stops your sweating. You make sure not to say anything so Clint, in front of you, doesn’t become jealous. 

The trip to the site is very uneventful. Even reaching the site is uneventful. About 30 meters from the site you see nothing. Literally, it’s just desert, surrounded by high cliffs, for miles. 

So you snoop, you walk around the site as Clint and Loki argue about whether the coordinates are correct. 

“I swear, this is what Stark gave me so, if they’re wrong, blame him!” Clint says, exasperated.

“It can’t be wrong I can feel something pulling at my magic but-”

That’s when you run into an invisible wall and yelp as you fall backwards onto your butt. 

“Found it!” You cheer as a space ship slowly appears, the colors changing and shifting from the point you hit till the whole thing is uncovered. At first glance the ship looks futuristic but once you overlook the whole thing with Clint keeping his distance, and Loki exploring with you, you realize it’s shaped as a sphinx. 

Very fitting for the desert surrounding the ship. 

“Work you magic.” You tell Loki and he does. You both congregate at the head of the ship/sphinx and he waves his hands over it, his green magic trailing out here and there to touch the ship. Loki himself mutters under his breath. 

You keep your eyes on him but also keep vigilant about the area. You finally get an idea and close your eyes for a second, your magic leaving your body and passing through the ship. No life forms. When you open your eyes again Loki lifts a brow at you, still muttering. 

“No life I can detect.” You tell him and he nods and focuses back on the ship. 

You put a hand to your ear piece and tell Clint, “I don’t sense any life forms but I’d keep a close eye anyways.” 

Clint gives you an acknowledgment. 

Loki finally stops his magic and drops his hands to his sides, just as he looks at you and you hear Clint yell into your ear, you’re hit by a concussive blast. When you look up in shock you see one lone humanoid figure walking towards Loki, who although wasn’t in the way of the blast also got blasted back, curious you think. Loki had immediately gotten into a defensive stance after getting up from the blast, one hand on his back holds three daggers, the other hand put up in a manner meant to calm the figure. 

You quickly get on your feet and stand next to Loki, your magic congregating at your balled fists. 

“Listen, buddy, I don’t know who you think you are-” Loki hisses at you, trying to get you to stop antagonizing the being that is close enough to identify. He is tall, around 7 feet tall and is dressed in a skin tight tank and leggings that are a dark purple color, it looks like metal but it’s too flexible to actually be metal. His head is encased in a tight helmet that frames his face and covers his head from his forehead, up, in a way that makes you think he is bald underneath. You shiver as you look into his eyes, they glow white. 

“Identify yourself.” The being says. Standing casually as if he didn’t attack you. 

“I am Loki, Prince of Asgard, and you are?” 

The being stands there silently. You huff. “I’m y/n, of Earth.” 

The being stands still for a few seconds then gets into a fighting position.

“I am here to take y/n, anyone who stands in my way shall perish.” 

Loki immediately grabs you and teleports you to Clint, you yell out angrily as he teleports back to the being and they start fighting. Loki throwing magic and daggers at the being. You gasp, the first ball of magic Loki throws at it makes a purple light encase the being, in a rippling effect, who then grows a bit. Hawkeye lets loose some arrows that explode on impact. It does nothing but make the man grow even more. 

Loki also realizes what’s going on because he stops attacking the being. The being takes his chance and lunges at Loki. Loki isn’t fast enough and takes a blow to the head. You scream and begin running towards him as he lays in the dirt discombobulated. Clint tries to grab your arm but misses you just so. 

In your ear you hear Clint tell Natasha to ready the jet. Before the being can get to Loki you throw yourself over his body. When he’s a few feet away you look at him with furious eyes.

“Stop!” 

To your surprise the being stops mid step, considers your words, then stands in place. You frown but look at Loki who is watching with fascinated eyes, recovered from the hard hit he took. You watch as blood trails down the side of his face and out of his ear. He probably can’t hear out of his left ear. 

Looking back up at the being you ask it, “Who sent you? What are you?”

The being stares at the two of you but answers, “I am Subject 52103 Growing Man, and my master sent me.” 

You feel Loki tense under you and assume he knows who his master is. 

“Tell your master to leave Earth alone, that if you or him show your faces here again, the Avengers will take you out without hesitation.”

The Growing Man nods and leaves in a flash of purple and black. 

Letting out a tense breath you stand and help Loki up. Making your way back to the quin jet, you pick up Clint. 

“Why does he want you?” Clint asks, looking at you. 

You walk, holding Loki at your side, the hit from the Growing Man doing enough to leave him a bit disoriented and sluggish. 

“I don’t know and I’m not quite sure I want to know.” You say. Loki stays conveniently quiet the entire walk to the quin jet. Clint doesn’t ask anything else either. 

Pt. 9.1/Pt. 10/?

Tag list: @justfangirlthingies​ @emelieh99​ @high-functioning-lokipath​ @loveableasshole​ 

[luxekook]

chapter seven.

⇥ pairing: ot7 x reader

⇥ genre: college au with fluff, smut & angst

⇥ summary: a series in which the reader meets (and falls for) seven members of the Beta Tau Sigma (BTS) fraternity

⇥ word count: 3.6k

⇥ warnings: 18+, lots of cursing, general chaotic energy, poly relationship, a short confrontation, mentions of slut-shaming, switch!reader, dom!joon, switch!jin, sub!jimin, library shenanigans, an abundance of coffee, punishments, spanking, bad puns (jin is in this chapter, DUH), many nerd references uwu

© luxekook. please do not repost, modify, edit or translate.

characters | prologue | one | two | three | four | five | six | seven | eight | nine

Chapter Seven

Quinn Library – 3:54pm

The end of September passes in a blur of studying, partying, volunteering, and spending time with friends. The month’s conclusion also includes the increasing presence of seven boys in my everyday routine.

Since giving Taehyung the suck of his life in the bathroom of Hannigan’s, I have been basically fighting off the seven of them for a moment to breathe. But, sometimes breathing is overrated when being smothered by affection.

Going from being single to essentially dating seven people is quite the adjustment. I found myself growing attached to them – something that both excited and scared the shit out of me. We haven’t discussed labels or anything, but I figure it’s only a matter of time. The boys have apparently been planning an elaborate first date for this upcoming weekend, and I feel like they’ll probably ask to make it official then.

My stomach erupts in butterflies at the thought, and I take a calming breath. No need to overthink such things.

While it might be unconventional by some societal standards, polyamory is simply a way to love. Why should love come with confines? With binary expectations? The saying ‘love is love’ gets thrown around a lot, but I believe it bears repeating.

Jenni and Luna have been nothing but supportive to me over the past two weeks. They even came with me to volunteer this past weekend because they - and I quote - wanted to ‘check out our vibe’. But, I wholeheartedly expect that the real reason had actually been for them to feel out the boys’ intentions.

Why did I suspect this? Well, because Jungkook had come up to me within the first fifteen minutes at the worksite quivering in fear over how ‘scary my friends were’ and how ‘Jenni had cornered him to interrogate him while Luna hovered behind her, menacingly holding a nail-gun’.

I had never felt more loved and supported by my friends.

My phone dings, and I quickly hasten to put it on silent, shooting an embarrassed and apologetic look around the library. It seems like most people have headphones in, and I let out a sigh of relief. No one wants to be that one loud person in the library.

Checking my notifications, I smile when I see it’s a SnapChat from Hobi in the group chat the boys created a few weeks ago. My thumb swipes it open, and I barely contain myself from announcing to the whole library how vibrantly handsome one of my potential boyfriends is.

I quickly send a SnapChat back of me and my stack of books in the library with the caption ‘send help in the form of coffee’.

Immediately, Taehyung sends a flurry of heart eyes emojis in the chat, Jungkook sends a ‘noona is so cute’, and Yoongi sends back a picture of a black screen with the caption ‘come nap with me’.

God, I would love to nap with Yoongi right now… Alone time with the older boy is so elusively precious. One day last week at their house, I had mentioned wanting to learn piano. Yoongi had just grabbed my hand and tugged me to his room. We had spent a couple hours together in the small corner of his room playing on his keyboard.

Well, he had been playing; I had been fumbling around like a buffoon - half uncoordinated in general and half flustered by how good Yoongi looked playing. His hands had been so nimble as they flew over the keys, crafting melodies I could only assume he had composed. His focus had been so fucking hot as he nodded slightly along to the tempo in his head, his eyes shooting over to look at me every once in a while.

My hand kink? Activated.

My willpower to not kiss the shit out of Yoongi? Nonexistent.

When Yoongi had paused in between songs, I may or may not have grabbed him by his shirt collar and kissed him. His blushing attempt to dodge me had been so cute; and when I had stopped trying to kiss him, he had pouted and then kissed me instead.

What a cutie…

A giggle draws my attention from my reminiscing. At first, I pay it no mind, taking it as a directive to dive back into my studies. But then, the whispering starts.

“I heard she’s fucking her way through the whole house.”

“Isn’t there a term for that?”

“Yeah, a frat rat.”

I slam my 500-page textbook closed and stand, leveling the duo of gossiping girls with a glare that could make grown men cry. It had before when I had to properly eviscerate my uncle in defense of feminism at our last family gathering. What a time that had been.

“Is there a problem?” I force the question through gritted teeth, stalking over towards their nearby table. I relish in the way they gape at me, eyes wide and pupils quivering, “I’m sorry. I’m afraid my complaint jar is at capacity. Please don’t try again later.”

The girl on the right gulps, “No-nope, there’s no problem! We were just leaving. Right, Janika?”

“No,” The girl who had called me a ‘frat rat’ just moments before crosses her arms and stands, “I do, like, have a problem.”

“Janika,” The other girl tugs on the sleeve of the one standing, “Don’t.”

“Yeah, Janika,” I smile, “Don’t.”

I can see the moment she snaps.

“You’re, like, such a fucking bitch! I don’t know what they all see in you. Oh wait, yes I do. You’re fucking easy.”

I consider myself to be a patient person, but having to endure this type of rant against my character - and against women’s sexual freedom in general - has pushed me well past my limits.

“Now, listen here, Janika,” I take another step forward, “You can keep talking your shit. I really don’t give a flying fuck what you think about me. But I really advise you to google ‘how to stop slut-shaming for dummies’ because it seems like you need a crash course.”

Janika’s face darkens, “Whatever. They’ll get tired of you anyway.”

“Yeah,” I let out an amused laugh, “I’m sure they’ll get real tired of me choking on their dicks every night.”

Letting out a gasp, Janika whirls back around to face her silent friend, “Let’s go. I don’t want to, like, be around her any longer.”

“Buh-bye now,”I wiggle my fingers in their direction as they shuffle out of the library.

Smiling in satisfaction, I head back towards my table. Without hesitation, I gather my books and belongings and head upstairs to the quiet floor. Any more distractions or confrontations would probably make my blood pressure pop off the charts.

The quiet floor, as one of my safe havens, is home to several small private study rooms. Peering into each, I start to lose hope that any would be available. Finally, the very last room proves me wrong, and I swing open the door and almost in tears over the sweet, sweet solitude.

This particular study room is tucked away in the very far corner of the library’s second floor. Not many people are aware of its location, and it seems that paid off for me today. Plopping my things down across the table in the center of the tiny room, I follow suit and drop down into one of the two chairs adjoining the table.

What a clusterfuck of an afternoon… This sadly isn’t the first time I’ve heard some comments being made about my association with the BTS boys, and I knew it wouldn’t be the last. Yet, part of me knew all along that this would be the trade-off.

After all, what are a few irrelevant opinions to seven gorgeous and loyal partners? Inconsequential - in my opinion. That is the reason why I haven’t breathed a word of the backlash to anyone.

Sighing, I flip open my textbook to where I had been before being rudely interrupted.

The amygdala plays a key role in emotion and behavior…

“Noona?”

I jump a half-mile out of my chair, slapping a hand over my pounding heart. Jimin had somehow managed to enter the room without my knowledge. Had he fucking teleported?

Holding a giant iced coffee in one hand and a cinnamon bun in the other, Jimin beams at me and ignores the fact he just scared the living shit out of me. “Hi, noona! I saw your SnapChat while I was in class, and I came here as soon as I could.”

I stare dumbfounded at the angel before me. Jimin is slightly out of breath with reddened cheeks and a sweaty brow. His black track-pants are slung low on his hips, his long-sleeve white t-shirt clings to his torso, his black duffle bag thrown carelessly over one shoulder. He must have run over straight from dance class.

Standing abruptly, I stalk over to where Jimin is still posted up by the doorway to the study room. Toe to toe with him, I blurt out while still half in a daze, “You really brought me coffee and food?”

He eyes me warily like I might suddenly jump on him at any moment. Shifting his weight back and forth, Jimin hesitantly replies, “Um, yes?"

I take the coffee and cinnamon bun from his hands, place them on the table, and then tackle him with the biggest hug. "You absolute sweetheart!" I murmur into the crook of his neck, "This made my day. Thank you, Jimin-ie."

His hands tentatively wrap around me, pulling me closer. "You're welcome, noona. I just wanted to do something nice for you.”

“Well, I really appreciate it, baby,” My lips brush over the crevice of his collarbone and relish in his shudder. Bringing my head up to face his, I smile widely at him, “Can I kiss you, Jimin-ie?”

“Yes,” He sighs out, eyes already closing in anticipation. I press my lips to his, still smiling softly against his mouth. His lips are plush under mine, velvety soft. My tongue swipes across his bottom lip and— Is that coffee I taste?

I pull back, “Jimin, did you sip my coffee on your way here?”

The boy looks rightfully alarmed, “I– y-yes. But only a little, noona!”

Cute.

“Hmm,” I trail my fingers down his chest, “I guess I’ll make an exception for you this time since you were the one to bring it for me.”

Jimin relaxes slightly, but his expression is strangely disappointed. I stare at him quizzically, and he blushes.

“What is it?” I lean against the table, facing him.

He clears his throat, staring intensely at the ground, “You can still punish me if you want, (y/n)-noona.”

My eyebrows shoot upwards at his offer, and then I let out a slight chuckle, “Oh, Jimin… That would be a favor to you, wouldn’t it? My baby boy wants to be punished, hm? Did dance practice make you all hot and bothered? Jungkook tells me that has been happening to you lately.”

Jimin’s face explodes in color as he mutters, “That little bitch will pay for this.”

Suddenly, the door swings open with a resounding thud, nearly clipping Jimin in the shoulder.

“Your savior has arrived!” Kim Seokjin announces loudly in spite of the studiously silent atmosphere of the quiet floor. His hands hold two steaming hot travel mugs, which I can only guess are filled with the elixir of the gods (aka coffee).

Seokjin’s eyes glance around the room as he takes in the fact that I’m not alone as he obviously had expected. “Wait, Jimin-ie? What are you doing here?” Jin’s eyes flick down to the coffee and cinnamon roll that lay on the table. “Goddamn it!”

“You were too slow, hyung,” Jimin smirks happily as he takes a seat in the chair I had previously vacated. He slouches smugly as he stares up at the fuming older boy.

“Too slow?!” Jin roars.

“Jin,” I chastise, circumventing around him to shut the door.

“Sorry, babe,” Seokjin says while still glaring daggers at the all-too-pleased Jimin. Suddenly, his expression changes into a sneaky look that makes me both want to run and jump his bones. “Well,” He waves the two coffee mugs around in the air, “I made these myself - with love. I didn’t buy that generic shit; I brewed it, baby.”

It’s Jimin’s turn again to look disgruntled, and I can’t help but laugh at their antics.

“Any and all coffee is appreciated and loved by me – the more the merrier. So, thank you both,” You say, taking one of the travel mugs from Seokjin. Kissing his cheek, you turn back to sit opposite Jimin at the table.

“She kissed me on the lips!” Jimin bursts.

“Park Jimin!” I cry as Jin splutters some sort of incoherent rant about fairness and equality.

Jimin holds eye contact with me, still leaning back in his chair like he’s the king of the fucking universe. But, he’s not; I am.

My chair hits the wall behind me with a bang as I stand, planting my hands on the table to loom over Jimin. “Do you think it’s fun to push your hyung, Jimin? Does it amuse you to be a little shit?”

I can see the moment that Jimin decides to be a brat. His eyes heat up in a challenge, and he firmly answers, “Yes, noona.”

“Get up.” The change in my tone is apparent. Jimin gulps. Getting to his feet, he stares back at me expectantly.

“Jin,” I address the older boy while still maintaining eye contact with Jimin, “What kind of punishment do you think I should give our Jimin here?”

Seokjin rounds my other side, grinning, “Well, (y/n) darling, I believe he should get spanked.”

“Interesting choice,” I murmur, turning to face Jin, “That’s what you’re going to get then.”

“What?” Jin squawks, arms waving rapidly around in the air, “But I didn’t do anything!”

“Nothing is what you should have done, Jin,” I push him against the wall, “You know better than to let Jimin rile you up like this.”

Those plump lips of his pout dramatically as he whines, “But, (y/n)…”

“But nothing,” I say and then whirl around to face the other boy. He’s still standing where I left him with his eyes glued to the pair of us. “Jimin,” I hold his gaze, “You’re going to watch. You’re not going to touch yourself, your hyung isn’t going to touch you, and I’m not going to touch you.”

His eyes widen comically, “No! That’s not fair!”

“Do you want to be gagged, too, baby boy?” I ask, cocking my head slightly. Seeing his emphatic head shakes, I grin. “That’s what I thought. Now, stay.”

Turning back to Jin, I smirk slightly as I ask, “Punishment now or later?”

Seokjin’s eyes scrunch cutely in confusion, “What?”

“You see,” I move closer to him, my body brushes his, “I think you earned a punishment, but I think you also earned helping me punish Jimin.”

A wide grin crosses Jin’s face as he glances back at the corner Jimin is stewing in. “I would be honored to help you punish him, babe.”

“That’s what I figured,” I smile briefly at him before slowly sliding my hands up his chest to rest on the nape of his neck. Holding them there, I press the lightest of kisses to the corner of his lips.

Jin’s breath hitches in his throat.

I run my tongue against the seam of his mouth, taking my time and savoring the sweet taste of him. His lips part to let me in, my tongue sliding across his. I grind against him as we kiss, moving my hips in such a way that makes him groan and lean back harder against the wall.

“What the fuck is going on in here?”

Ripping my mouth from Jin’s, I turn to face the newcomer.

Namjoon stands in the doorway holding yet another cup of coffee, his face thunderous. "What do the three of you think you're doing? This is the goddamn library, you heathens!”

Seokjin jumps out of his skin in fright, pushing me away faster than I can anticipate. Stumbling back, I crash into Jimin – who apparently had ventured out of his assigned corner. Brat.

“The shades were open!” Namjoon continues to rant as he flicks the aforementioned item down to cover the door’s window, “Did you want people to see you?”

He reads the expression on my face correctly, “Oh, but you did, didn’t you, (y/n)?” Namjoon approaches where I’m still captured in Jimin’s embrace. Glaring down at me, he taunts, “So quick to stake your claim; but, make no mistake, they were mine first.”

Shaking out of Jimin’s hold, I straighten, raising my chin to meet Namjoon’s gaze full-on, “That’s interesting. I didn’t realize you were so lenient with your partners.”

Jimin makes a choking noise behind me. Jin stands behind Namjoon, waving a hand in front of his throat to clearly tell me to stop talking. I keep going, “Perhaps I need to teach you how to discipline.”

Namjoon flips me around, shoves Jimin out of the way, and bends me facedown across the table.

“Jin,” He says, his voice growly, “Stand in the hall and let me know if you can hear us.”

The sound of the door opening and closing alerts me that Jin followed Namjoon’s instructions without a word.

“Jimin,” He continues, “Hold (y/n)’s hands out in front of her.” Jimin ascquieces, staring apologetically down at me as he tugs my hands towards him.

“This is cute,” I say, “I always love holding Jimin-ie’s hands.”

Thwack. The stinging imprint of Namjoon’s palm on my ass burns deliciously. I arch my back, looking over my shoulder at him with a half-smile. “Do it harder, daddy.”

A breath sucks in between his lips as I utter the word I know will get him feeling as hot as me. “You’re playing a dangerous game, baby girl,” Namjoon grits out, his jaw clenched tightly.

“Oh, daddy,” I say, “Don’t you remember? I’m the fucking Queen.”

“Was that a chess pun? Nice.” A muffled voice followed by a squeaky laugh sounds through the door.

“Seokjin,” Namjoon seethes, flying over to open the door and drag the older boy back inside, “I thought I told you to let me know if you could hear us.”

I tug out of Jimin’s gentle hold, straighten back up, and then situate myself into a sitting position on the table.

I watch amusedly as Jin shimmies his way out of Joon’s grasp, “Yah! It’s not my fault I get intense FOMO. Don’t hate the player, hate the game. Besides, I only heard you because I had my ear pressed to the door.”

Jimin stifles a giggle. I let out a full-on laugh. Namjoon mumbles what sounds like a plea to some higher power under his breath.

“See what I have to deal with?” Namjoon turns to me, shaking his head. “Are you sure you want to sign up for this?”

“That depends,” I swing my legs back and forth as I stay perched on the table, “Are you going to keep spanking me?”

The boy who had just unhesitatingly bent me over to punish me now blushes and rubs the back of his neck. “I mean, probably? You have quite a mouth on you, baby.”

Hopping off the table, I laugh, “Good answer. Ten points to Gryffindor.”

“Woo!” Jin cheers, “Nice job on the House Points, Joon-ie!”

“I am in love with idiots,” Jimin sighs.

Grabbing my phone from my backpack, I let out a slight yell as I read the time. “Shit, shit, shit, shit!” I scramble to shove all of my textbooks back into my bag.

“What is it, noona?” Jimin worries, appearing next to me. “Are you late for class?”

“No,” I cry, “It’s so much worse. I’m late for my weekly Animal Crossing discord chat! Heath is gonna kill me…”

“Heath?” Jin scowls, “Who is this Heath you speak of?”

“Chill, fam,” I shrug my backpack onto my shoulders and stare contemplatively down at the three different coffees. “You can’t get jealous every time I mention a new person. What’s next? You’re gonna come for Tom Nook?”

Namjoon - who must play Animal Crossing - stifles a laugh as Jin pouts. “She has a point, Jin.”

“And so does a pencil. Big whoop,” Jin scowls with his arms folded.

“Aw, Seokjin-ie,” I coo, reaching over to pinch his cheek, “Don’t be mad. You’ll get to spend all day with me on Saturday after volunteering! What are we doing, anyways?” I level Joon with my best side-eye as I ask that question, knowing he is more likely than not the mastermind behind our planned date.

“It’s going to be great, noona!” Jimin pipes up, hugging me from the side, “You’re going to love it…You’re going to love us.” He murmurs the last part, probably not meaning for me to hear; but, I do.

God, I do.

“We’ll pick you up before volunteering,” Joon says, “Just bring yourself and a change of clothes.”

“What?” I decide - fuck it - and attempt to grab all three coffees, “No overnight bag?”

Jin, who had just taken a sip of his own coffee, spews it everywhere. “Pack one,” He gasps out in between coughs.

Laughing, I walk to the door, which Jimin kindly opens for me. “Okay, I’ll think about it. Ah, I’m so late. Jimin and Jin, I’ll punish you at a later time. Joon, you can try to punish me at a later time.” Living for their astonished expressions, I wave as best I can with three coffees in hand, “Bye, babes! Text me-e-e.”

As I make my way out of the library, it hits me that I only have one more day to prepare for this date. Fucking hell…

a/n: this is such a filler of a chap with a tinge of drama mixed in, hehe. the next one is gonna be that date tho uwu stay tuuuuuuned and thanks 4 reading

taglist: @catsandstrawberries @h5naaa @meowmeowyoongles @leftflowerprunedonut @rjsmochii @athletes-of-god @karissassirak @cage7241​ @weallhavesecretsinthebestway @cvbachacbitch @honeyspillings @valiantcollectorofsandwiches @fivesecondsofsarang @oii-f-eli-x2 @joonsroses @theevilyouknow @jooniescupcakes @expensive-grl @i-dont-even-know-fck @doingmybestalltheftime @fangirling-all-the-way-tbh @laced-brds @breeeeh17 @lpayne612 @peachyharmoney @rilakoya @chulchuchi @tabula-rasa0 @guccishookv @nomimits7 @i-like-puppy-mg @s-noir @anna-sorel @im-a-space-child @yeontanismypresident @drowning-in-oxygen @team-wang-puppy @lvvegood @anongirl007 @may114 @r-e-d-i-s-h @unatempesta-dipensieri @dragon-rider-with-a-book​ @blueberrygeniejam @wondrsblog @vi-hoshi @kirbykook​ @katemwatson​ @kawaiikpoplover268​ @amsteramyy​ @sami4life @a-feeling-of-euphoria​ @the-jackals​ @bubbletae7​ @platinum-grenade​ @bunnyboyenthusiast @brightly-byun @oofmeintheheadpls​ @sadboibts @lidda​ @goldenwidow3​ @t-mel19​ @lmkjimin​ @psiphidragon​ @jeon-joker​ @sathom013​ @lustremyg @ggsmashgg​ @justyouraveragerando​ @shadowstark​ @our-little-meow-meow @baby-hobii @toddsgirl27​ @mythicalmeep​ @asifetch7​ @kassandravictoria​ @eltrain80 @briannasthings​ @bumblekey93​ @ohmwreckr @beach-bitch-bitch-beach​ @softchimmee​ @kookoo-kachoo​ @lenuminous​ @ass-hole-in-one​ @peaches-422​ @spacejooon​ @sleepyje0n​ @uxwi​ @tellmeyoulovemepls​ @yady24​ @lovesick-heart0​ @redirect-min​ @hopetookourvibe​ @noonaduck​ @mini-coop25​ @multifandomgirl29​ @rhd31​ @yoongixvevo​ @sweetnspicy93​ @kuppyjiminie​ @love-and-other-possibilities​ @fuckyouandtheboatyoucamein @rvnchr4nd4​ @geminidrawsstuff​ @livorna​ @naajix​ @minjoonhome​

another a/n: if u asked to be added to the taglist and u did not get tagged, u might be one of the couple ppl that i couldn’t tag [check ur settings, fam!]

[demonfox38]

Completed - Baba is You

I can't believe this is the first game I've perfected on Steam.

Like, I don't like achievement systems in video games, okay? I prefer to set my own goals. Sure, there are some achievements that are interesting, like learning to use a certain mechanic in a cool or efficient manner, visiting hidden rooms, or even running around with nothing but my character's default busted sword just to prove a point. Mostly, I just want to finish them. I don't go jumping through flaming hoops because I want people to think I'm cool. I'm from Iowa. I'm critically uncool by design.

If a game is good, I will put in the extra work. Like, getting 100% souls in "Castlevania: Aria of Souls" and 200.6% map completion in "Castlevania: Symphony of the Night" is now just routine for me. With "Baba is You"? Well, circumstances are just a teeny bit different.

"Baba is You" is a puzzle game from independent developer Arvi Teikari. Your primary goal in the game is to create statements out of nouns, verbs, and conditions and use those generated rules to complete levels. It's basically catnip to programmers. These puzzles are packaged in cute, scribbly animations and gentle music. Ultimately, its soft presentation is the figurative sheep's clothing under which the wolf of this game lives, dragging its players through increasingly more complex situations, sitting there, laughing, its whole world wiggling in its adolescent mockery of you and your sluggish brain.

You're not always even Baba. I know. The absolute betrayal.

I originally saw this game being streamed back in 2019. A frustrating feeling overtook me as I watched the player work through the puzzles. I could feel myself solving them before she could, and it was making me itch. I didn't want to have any more spoiled without giving it a shot myself, so I purchased the game, put in a few hours, and then dropped it for two years. Hell, the major reason I came back to it was that I was babysitting my mom's very needy poodle, and I was more or less trapped on the couch with her during her entire stay. Had to do something. So, I decided this was it.

"Baba is You" really is the ultimate "Yeah, I'll get back to this" game. You know what I mean? There's always a handful of games that you make a little headway into, and then you think, "Yeah, I'll get back to this" and then drop it. I try not to be this way. Video games are expensive, and I want to get as much value as I can out of them. But man, does this game get overwhelming.

I mean, the TAS for a 100% run is currently around an hour and forty-five minutes. That's for 226 puzzles. That is a lot.

Granted, you don't have to finish every puzzle if you don't want to. The game can let you slide free with your first ending after completing only three subworlds on the main map. You know how many people get to that first ending? Like, we're talking maybe getting through 3 hours of gameplay or so. As of this posting, it's around 7.8% of all players on Steam. In comparison, here are first time ending numbers from other games I own on Steam:

"Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon" – 38% (Cleave the Moon)

"Trine" – 29.6% (Completed!)

"Dust: An Elysian Tale" – 23.9% (…And the Dust Settles)

"Fez" – 14.7% (Kill Screen)

"Psychonauts" – 13.2% (I Thought That Was Unbeatable!)

"Typing of the Dead" – 12.9% (Experimental Fiction)

"Final Fantasy VII" – 9.4% (End of Game)

That's right. From a percentage point of view, more players will put 80 hours into a 20+ year old RPG than 3 hours in this game. So, what's up with that?

At first, I wasn't struggling terribly with the game. I was making a pretty steady clip through it, stopping occasionally to check out the game's wiki. (BTW—view that on a laptop browser, not a mobile one. The background makes it hard to read some of the verbs and conditions.) My first tap-out in 2019 happened around the "Forest of Fall" block, when the game started introducing teleporting puzzles. My second brain-snap happened about 18 hours in the game when I accidentally created the phrase "Level is Key" in the puzzle "Fragile Existence," and then I realized that I could both create this level as Baba and had to create another level as a flag to win the overworld map.

And then there was a submap.

And another.

And another.

Holy crap, my brain was not ready for the mess that was Depths and Meta.

At one point, I stopped myself and reviewed why I was overcome with despair at my own stupidity. A part of it is yes, the game looks very cute, and the language used in the puzzles is very simple. So, when you don't get it, it's like saying you don't get "Sesame Street." And hey, maybe you wouldn't if it was in Mandarin and you only speak English. But, I did want to beat myself up for my sluggish responses and my growing feeling of helplessness. Why couldn't I beat the simple sheep game for babies? Was I really that stupid?

I think it helped to know what troubles I had my playthrough harder. This included:

Using text to push objects past barriers. (Yes, text exists in the world, and unless it's floating, you can use that text to move objects around. It's like hitting a car with a stop sign.)

Assuming attributes on an object that weren't actually assigned (i.e., assuming a door was locked or a wall would prevent me from moving through it, even if that wasn't the case.)

Manipulating text to double-layer nouns or break up commands by wedging an inactive/non-solid object in them. (See: Prison.)

Realizing that "you" doesn't always have to go to a certain destination. Sometimes, "you" just need to have something move over there or push something into where you want to go.

Remembering to use the "Wait" button to let moving objects finish their paths.

"Defeat" is a condition that applies only to "you", not objects in your possession. (They may instead be destroyed by "Sink").

Some rules need to be created and destroyed in the same turn.

Things that move on their own can be used to carry commands through obstacles.

Sometimes, you've just got to count your steps when you're taking an action and see if you can reduce them.

And granted, despite my stupidity, there were some puzzles that really clicked! I particularly enjoyed using the "Word" condition, as it allowed for me to treat both words and objects as a noun to make assignments. There were also times where I had to spell out the commands I wanted from letters left on the map. Fun! Natural! And hell, who doesn't enjoy a good block pushing puzzle, now and again? Super easy. Makes sense. Key is push, door is open. Of course!

Ass is Hot! Of course! (Wait, that wasn’t the solution...)

I tended to lock up more when the "Defeat" piece was on screen. I mean, you can always undo your mistakes, and there's no life limit or anything like that. But, hearing your player character go splat when you mess up is flinch-worthy. Additionally, I hated having to build complex paths for objects to follow. Like, screw the entirety of Adventurers. Also, learning what the "Lonely" condition meant felt very unnatural. It was hard to even tell why I was splatting until I read up on what it meant.

Interestingly, changing the language of the game only affects the menu's language, not the game itself. (I was wondering if adding a layer of comprehension to objects would stop me from auto-assigning properties to them or not. Makes sense that it's all in English, considering the "form objects from letters" puzzles.)

I felt bad when I finally gave up on putting effort into solving the puzzles on my own. I did. But, I was also 18 hours deep into my file in a single week, and I wanted to get back to my other hobbies. I felt that if I gave up on "Baba is You" again, I wouldn't finish it ever. And then, those 18 hours truly would be wasted. Also, I felt sick that only 7.8% of people had gotten to the first ending screen. The game isn't bad! It's hard, but not bad! I wanted to at least give it enough dignity to finish it off, even if I was more or less reading what I needed to build with one eyeball and building it with the other.

And hell. Given all of the version differences of this game and the amount of time that has passed since its release, it is a teeny bit YouTube proof. Not completely invulnerable, but I did catch a difference or two here and there. And it's not like the wiki's the clearest with what you need to do, even when they're telling you exactly what to do. You've got to mind your space with your words. At the very least, don't push anything aside or wreck it until you absolutely must.

I can't emphasize how much I felt bad about giving up. I mean, it's one thing to look at guides for other game types. You can get knowledge on how to beat a boss or level, but you've physically got to develop the skills needed to vault through that goal. With puzzle games, knowledge is 99% of what you need to accomplish your task. The rest is just putting in the solution as elegantly as possible.

92.2% of players didn't bother to do even that.

I won't pretend to say I know enough about puzzles to make an excellent puzzle game. However, I do think brevity would have helped this game. Like, think of puzzle games people like. "Tetris," right? Even a long game of "Tetris 64" lasts me a couple of hours at most. "Portal"? That's a handful of hours supported by plot and fun dialogue. So is the sequel. "Panel de Pon" / "Tetris Attack" / "Puyo Puyo"? Those are like "Street Fighter" arcade campaigns. Like, 15-20 minutes. To have a puzzle game go on for hours and hours without any character motivation or plot in sight? Yeah. That's going to burn a lot of people out.

Like, this game could have just the over world, a single hidden world, and then the Center portion, and that would have been more than enough. And then you know what could have been done with the rest of the puzzles? Put them in a new game! "Baba is More!" Bam! A second game, now with extra "Inception"-styled mind screws! Twice the money earned! (Yeah, okay. This plan might stink of capitalism.)

Making 226 puzzles is impressive. However, brevity is the soul of wit. Sometimes, design can be contradictory like that.

But, its achievements? Perfectly laid out. Truly finishing the game is likely to net you everything. I only had to put in a couple of hours after the true ending, and really, only fifteen minutes of that was solving the puzzles. The rest was just finding what I had missed. (I've heard rumors that "Baba is Baba" is bugged, but I think you just need to look up how to get the Level is Win solution in Meta figured out. The rest is elbow grease.)

I don't know if I can recommend this game. Again, having a case of the bad feels over that statement, especially since it seems like the developer has his heart in the right place. I'm hesitant to recommend this because when I was playing it, I had a migraine that lasted three days straight. Granted, there were possibly some external factors to why I had that. A fat polar vortex. Stress from work. Some hormonal influences. Not enough caffeine or water. Just generally living in the United States in the early 2020s. Plenty of things to crush my skull. I don't think it's in good taste to recommend something that will cause others physical pain. I mean, I'm used to games cracking my hands, but that's not exactly healthy behavior. I certainly wouldn't want to give someone an epileptic attack. Why would I want to drive a nail through their skulls, either?

I do think the game is solidly designed. It's a smart little cookie. But, it is unintentionally discouraging to get through, especially if you feel like you can't ask for help. Like getting a clue or an explanation is cheating.

Look. Try. Try hard. Be as honest and earnest as you can be. Just don't expect to do everything in your life alone, okay? I mean, there are times you've got to get an external perspective. I frequently had to crash after school with mathematics teachers and badger professors to explain topics outside of class. You think I was going to come up with how there are different kinds of infinities on my own? Hell no. I'm not creative in terms of mathematical proofs. But, I sure as hell can explain how different infinities work now! Even post-schooling, I still research topics, particularly when building or fixing things. I wouldn't have learned half of the things I've learned about maintaining game cartridges or building dollhouses without suggestions from professionals and enthusiasts. It's just part of life. You ask for help so you don't burn resources—especially something as valuable as time!

[castieltheavengerr]

Wormhole - Part 2

Series Masterlist

Synopsis: Y/N wakes up in a place she doesn’t know of, with a man claiming to be a god by her side. Superheroes don’t exist, right? In time, she finds out things about herself that she never knew before, and even gets to live with a hot guy, who also happens to be a crime fighting superhero. Will Y/N ever be able to go back home, or has she found it already?

Warnings: Mentions of a panic attack, swearing, allusions to a car crash, a beer bottle mentioned

Word Count: 2.5k

A/N: Oh my god i’m so sorry this took so long school has been super busy, i’m doing this with the little free time i have. anyway, here’s part 2 :)

You wait next to Thor in an open field. He mentioned something about some sort of guardians coming to pick him up, and he said that they’d likely bring you to America before they left. You’d asked who they are, where they’re from, but he wouldn’t tell you. It’s like he’s trying to surprise you.

Even though you still have almost no idea of what’s going on, you don’t want to leave Thor’s side. He was the first person you saw, he’s nice, and you trust him. Plus, he could easily protect you if it came to it. As you’re waiting, you hear a loud whooshing noise. Thor looks at you and smiles.

“Ah, that must be the morons. Up there,” he says, pointing to the sky. You expect a plane, but instead you’re met with a blue and orange craft that looks vaguely like it could have come from Star Wars. A large gust of wind hits you, and you fall on the ground. Thor laughs heartily, and starts to walk towards where the ship landed. You hop up, and apprehensively follow him. A ramp lowers to the ground from the ship, and the weirdest looking group of people and things walks out. Someone who you assume is human, dressed in a long red coat, a humanoid figure that is grey with red stripes, and the weirdest ones of all; a walking branch, who’s playing on a game console that looks similar to a Game Boy, another humanoid figure with antennae coming out of her head, and a fucking raccoon, who happens to be holding a gun.

They walk towards Thor, all smiling, except for the human, who looks a bit pissed off at the god. They then see you, sort of hiding behind Thor’s enormous body, and get confused. Then, the weirdest part of your day happens. The raccoon talks.

“Who the fuck is this, Thor? Did you find out you have a kid? That would be wonderful,” the raccoon says, looking you dead in the eye. You’re sure you look like an idiot, mouth open and eyes wide, but a fucking raccoon just talked to you. You think you have a right to be surprised. Thor laughs again.

“No, she isn’t my child. This is Y/N. We just have a bit of a problem, and I need to get her to America. I know some people who may be able to help her. Could you bring us there before we head out?” Thor asks, trying to be as vague as he can, which you are grateful for. Sure, they all look like freaks, but you sure as hell don’t want to be seen as one. The man in the red coat looks at you, seeming to consider it, before nodding his head.

“Yeah, sure, as long as it doesn’t take long. I don’t like this stupid planet, and want to get out of here as soon as possible.” You think, and consider the fact that given the looks of these people, and the weirdness of this new place, aliens are definitely real, so his words make sense. Thor smiles and claps his hands together.

“Great! Shall we be on our way then?” The group turns towards their ship and starts walking, and you and Thor follow suit. You walk inside the ship, and are disgusted by the nastiness of it. There’s garbage everywhere, and a T-shirt with some white subst- oh god. You just turn your head away, trying not to think about it. Thor turns to you and starts to introduce the Guardians. “That there is the captain, Peter Quill. He’s from Midgard, just like you,” he says, but then sees the look of confusion on your face. “Midgard is what we call Earth on Asgard, where I’m from.” You nod your head, just going along with it. “The rabbit there is Rocket,” Thor says, but then the raccoon pipes up.

“I’m not a rabbit asshole!” You just stare ahead, still not wanting to comprehend the fact that apparently raccoons can talk. Thor smiles and continues.

“Whatever you say rabbit. The tree over there is Groot.” The tree looks at you and waves, before it starts to talk. If you hadn’t already witnessed crazier things, you’d say you’d accidentally had some hallucinogenic drugs.

“I am Groot,” the tree says, and you nod slowly.

“I’m Y/N?” you apprehensively say, not sure how to respond. This time, it’s the raccoon that laughs.

“No, those are the only three words he can say. It takes a while to learn how to speak it.” You just give the raccoon, who you remember is Rocket, a small thumbs-up. Thor continues.

“The woman over there is Mantis,” he says, and she smiles sheepishly at you, her antennae bobbing up and down. You try to smile back, but you’re sure it comes out as a kind of grimace.

“And that over there is Drax.” The weird looking dude gives you a small wave, and turns back to whatever he was doing. You still have your arms crossed defensively over your chest, and as you take a look around, you get overwhelmed.

“Guess this is what I get for wishing for a more exciting life,” you think, regretting the thought even crossing your mind. Rocket walks over to you and pokes your leg.

“So what’s the deal here, huh Thor? Random chick that needs to get someplace? Seems fishy to me,” he says, giving you a side-eye. Thor looks over at you, as if asking for permission to tell them what he knows, and you give him a little nod.

“No, not at all. Y/N popped up in the middle of the street in New Asgard, not conscious, so I brought her to a bed. She woke up and freaked out, understandably so. She knows nothing about myself, the Avengers, or the Snap. She was afraid of me, and somehow sent a bottle at my head. I’ve called some old friends with SHIELD to help out,” Thor tells them, and they all eye you weirdly, especially at the whole ‘snap’ part.

The one named Peter shakes his head and waves his hands in front of himself. “Wait, you mean to tell me you don’t know about the Snap?” He gave you a look like you were the stupidest person in the world.

“Uh, well, if what you’re referring to is the fact that half of the fucking universe just turned to ash out of nowhere, then yeah, that never happened,” you defensively say, not wanting to deal with this douchebag’s shit. He raises his eyebrows at you.

“Aren’t you like, 10?” he says, mocking you. You give him the bird, and everyone else laughs.

“I’m 16, asshole,” you say, having heard that phrase one too many times. The Drax dude laughs loudly, and points at Peter.

“The small girl is feisty! I like her!” he loudly says, doubling over in laughter. You just scowl. Thor claps his hands, and tries to change the subject.

“Alright! Quill, how far away are we from the compound?” Thor asks in his booming voice. Peter walks over to the front of the ship to check something, at which point you realize that no one is flying the ship. You figure it must be on autopilot.

“We should be there in about 30 minutes,” Quill says, taking a seat. Thor smiles and claps your back a bit too hard, and you stumble forward. Before you can fall, he catches you by your shoulder, and pulls you back up. You turn to him, frowning. He smiles sheepishly.

“Sorry, I’m used to doing that with my friends. They’re quite built.” You let out a small smile, and move to sit on the floor. Thor moves to talk to the raccoon, and you’re left all alone. You put your head in your hands, wondering how this could have happened to you. Did you get teleported to an alternate universe, or did something else happen? A small sob escapes your mouth, and then when you feel a small hand on your back, you look up. The tree named Groot is standing next to you, giving you a small smile. You smile back, glad to have him care, even if he is just a branch.

“I am Groot,” he says, almost sympathetically. While you have no idea what he’s trying to say, you appreciate the gesture.

“Even though I have no idea what that means, thanks. I just don’t know what to do. Nothing makes sense, there’s gods now, and raccoons and trees can talk.” You put your head back in your hands, overwhelmed by the absurdity of it all. Then, you feel him poke your arm, you slowly look up, tears threatening to spill out of your eyes. Groot holds out his Game Boy to you. You reach out and gingerly take it, looking at the game he’s playing. It looks like a game your parents would have played when they were kids. It’s called Arcade Defender. You press a button, and the screen starts up. You smile and start shooting the fuck out of those aliens.

For the next thirty minutes, you and a talking tree sit next to each other, taking turns playing a game from the ‘80s, while riding in a spaceship with a literal god, a talking raccoon, two aliens, and an asshole human. You’re just actually starting to enjoy yourself when Thor walks over to you two, a smile on his face at seeing you having some form of fun.

“Sorry, Y/N, but we’re almost to the compound. It’s better to stand and hold something while landing,” he says, feeling bad to have to disrupt your enjoyment. You nod and stand up with Groot, and hand him the Game Boy. Just as you stand up, the ship moves considerably, and you nearly fall over, but Groot catches you.

“Thanks,” you say, smiling at the tree. You lean on the wall until the ship lands, trying your best not to fall. You notice Quill staring at you, a weird look on his face. He probably thinks you’re just an idiot for not knowing how to stand on a landing spaceship. Dick.

“Ok, everyone, we’re here,” Quill says. He looks over at you and Thor. “You guys can head on out, we’ll be here when you’re ready to leave, Thor.” All eyes turn to you, and you just want to shrivel up and die, but not before screaming, “I didn’t ask for this! I’m not some spectacle to look at! I’m a normal human being!” But you keep your mouth shut. You don’t want to draw any more attention to yourself that you already have.

Thor turns to you before walking towards the ramp, which has lowered itself to the ground. You follow him, wrapping your arms around your midsection. You slowly walk down the ramp, the sunlight blinding your eyes. You put your hand above them to be able to see, and are met with a sight to behold.

Before you stand two people, a man and a woman. The woman is normal enough looking, with her brown hair up in a bun. However, the man is the one that catches you off guard. He’s wearing a long black coat, almost like the one the Quill dude was wearing- actually, everything he’s wearing is black. He’s also wearing an eyepatch over his left eye.

“This the one Thor?” the man asks, with a voice deep and loud enough to make you jump. He eyes you quite aggressively, and you shrink into yourself.

“Yes, this is Y/N L/N. Thought it would be best to bring her to you since you have, ah, expertise in this area.”

The man side eyes you. “You could say that,” he says, looking you right in the eye. You shift your legs uncomfortably, not sure how to read this man. He clears his throat. “I’m Director Fury of the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Logistics and Enforcement Division, more commonly known as SHIELD,” he says to you in greeting, but does not extend his hand. “This is Agent Hill,” he says, gesturing towards the woman besides him. She gives you a tight lipped smile. “Ms. L/N, if you would follow me please,” Fury asks, but you don’t really think you have a choice. He and Hill start to walk towards the building, and you follow suit, but you notice a lack of presence beside you. You turn around, and notice Thor just standing there, not walking with you.

You stop, and look at him quizzically. He gives you a small smile.

“Aren’t you coming?” you ask, your voice coming out small and scared. Fury and Hill stop walking behind you. Thor shakes his head sadly, looking at you with something you can’t pinpoint in his eyes. Even though you may have only met a few hours ago, he’s the one person you trust (besides Groot), and he seems to have grown quite fond of you as well.

“I must attend to my duties with the Guardians. I really am sorry that I can’t stay with you Y/N, but I trust Fury and Hill very much. I have no doubt they will help you with your problems.” You know Thor truly means what he says, but you’re scared. You start to feel your lungs constrict, and it’s getting hard to breathe. You hear Thor trying to talk to you, but you can’t tell what he’s saying. Then you hear Fury’s booming voice yelling at you.

“Ms. L/N, you need to calm down. Please come with us,” he says, an edge of wariness in his voice. You shake your head, the world still spinning around you, your lungs betraying you. Why is he leaving you? You have no one left from your life, and now the one person whom you trust is leaving too?

You have no sense of your surroundings until you feel someone grab your wrist. However gently they grabbed it, you still freak out, and feel a wave of energy move through you. The next thing you know, you see Fury flying across the lawn, and Hill is yelling into something in her hand. Everyone is yelling and you can’t handle it. You start screaming yourself, sobs wracking your body.

You hear loud footsteps running towards you, and a hand grabs your upper arm harshly. You wrench yourself out of the iron grip, screaming at the person.

“Don’t touch me! Don’t fucking touch me!” you scream, and are vaguely aware of another large, muscled man flying through the air. Everyone is yelling, and you’re overwhelmed. You put your hands over your ears, wanting to block out the noise, but it does next to nothing. You continue to sob, your chest heaving from your hyperventilating and continued wails.

With everything going on around you, you fail to notice the bodies coming from behind you, grabbing your arms and shoulders stringently. You try to fight them off, but before the energy makes its way through you, you feel a blinding pain in the small of your back, concurrent with the loud sound of electricity crackling. You scream and fall to your knees, and the hands force you down. A sharp prick is felt on your neck, and even in seconds, you already feel yourself drifting away. The hands turn you over, and before you slip into unconsciousness, you hear Thor’s voice.

“I’m sorry, Y/N. You’ll be alright.”

————————————————————————————————

Taglist:

@eridanuswave

Let me know if you’d like to be tagged!

[riversofmars]

Sorry for the delay folks, rl responsibilies eating into precious writing time! But here we are, all pieces moving into place as we head for the final showdown, just a few more chapters! Hope you enjoy this one <3

Chapter 13: The Bells

“I’m sorry, Missy…“ Missy couldn’t tell if the regret in Clara’s voice was genuine or not. She was still struggling to catch up with what was happening.

“What are you…“ She stared at the heavy metal cuff Clara had snapped around her wrist. She had been so naive. She should have known Clara had had an ulterior motive when she had asked her here.

“This is my chance to prove myself.“ Clara replied giving her a half smile as she stepped away. It had been a cheap trick, asking for Missy’s help, using the connection they shared. Clara wasn’t exactly sure what exactly their relationship was, Missy had never given her much of an indication one way or another but they had something of a connection. And of course it was something the Emperor was only to happy to exploit once he found out about it. So here they were.

“You don’t have to do this.“ Missy said softly. “I should never have… you don’t need him, just come with me instead. Let me go and…“

“I think it’s a bit late for that.“ Clara cut in, her voice surprisingly bitter. “Just tell him what he wants to know.“

“What is this?“ Missy raised her arm with the cuff but before Clara could answer, the teleport engaged and the world around her disappeared.

Moments later, Missy materialised in a sort of tube. She needed a moment to orient herself. She stumbled out grasping for air and found herself in a dusty stone-walled room. She looked around for clues as to where she was but she couldn’t figure it out. She had been transported somewhere but where? She bent down and gathered a handful of dust from the floor, letting it run through her fingers as she looked around.

“I know you’re responsible for this, Emperor!“ She called into the quiet, just on the off chance someone as listening. Clara has said to tell him what he wanted to know… Whatever she was, she knew it was on the Emperor’s orders. Up ahead a door slid open by itself and Missy tentatively made her way out of the room. “The equipment in that room is consistent with an augmented ultra long-range teleport. So, I'm not more than a single light year from where I was, and I'm in the same time zone.“ She mused out loud as she looked down the empty corridor. There were windows now too and she stuck her head out. All she could see were very high towers, this appeared to be some kind of castle.

“Come on, chop chop, I’ve just been betrayed by the person I thought could help me put an end to you, my day can’t get much worse, let’s see about yours!“ Missy called out but there was no reply. If the Emperor was watching, he wasn’t inclined to talk. That was when she noticed the screens along the walls and she realised something was following her. She set off down the corridor but quickly found herself at a dead end, the last door revealing solid stone behind it. She turned round and found herself facing a hunched over creature, she couldn’t see its face if it even had one, just two pronged hands extending towards her and flies circling around it like they might around a corpse.

“I can’t actually see a way out of this… maybe it wouldn’t be so bad, to just stop running, we’re all done for aren’t we…“ Missy swallowed as she contemplated the futility of her fight against the Emperor. She had been trying for so long and even using Clara had backfired. Maybe it was time she gave up the ghost. She wasn’t sure what would happen when the creature got to her but it certainly felt like death was stalking towards her.

“This is new. I'm scared. I just realised that I'm actually scared of dying.“ She admitted and suddenly, the creature stopped in it’s tracks.

“Something I said? What did I say?“ She mumbled as even the flies froze in mid air. “Why did you stop?“ Suddenly, there was creaking and banging and the castle started to move. The wall behind the door moved aside and Missy quickly stepped into the adjoining room.

Everything after that was a fight for survival and a quest for answers. What was this place? Why had she been brought here? And was there a way out? It didn’t take her long to realise this was a sort of torture chamber, specially designed for her. Exactly the sort of thing the Emperor would dream up. Everything, from the appearance of the stalking creature to the screens on the walls was designed to scare her. An automated haunted house, a mechanical maze.

It took a few more encounters with the creature until she realised that it was the revelation of secrets that stopped it and made the castle reset. That was also when she realised there was just one truth, one secret, she held that the Emperor would care about. One last victory that had eluded him for so long. She couldn’t possibly tell him. Protecting Gallifrey was the last thing she could do at this point and she was determined to do so.

When she finally encountered the wall of Azbantium that separated her from the outside world, the penny dropped at last. She would find a way out, even if it took a while. She’d done this before and she would do it again. She had been following her own breadcrumbs the entire time, she realised. There was a way out. And she would keep going, even if it was futile, even if it was just out of spite, she wouldn't let the Emperor break her.

As Missy smashed her fist into the wall she thought back to the moment that brought her here. Clara’s betrayal. She only had herself to blame. She was only grateful not to be able to remember all of this. Every time, every circle around, it was like the first time. It was only when she saw the stars that she realised how long it had actually been. But now she was so close to escaping. She smashed her fist into the unforgiving crystal and finally, four and a half billion years later, the wall crumbled.

The bright light of the binary suns blinded her, Missy needed a moment to orient herself. She blinked until finally, in the distance, the towers of the capital came into sharp focus and Missy felt her hearts lift with joy. Gallifrey. She was home at last and safe. She had escaped the Emperor’s torture chamber which, as she turned around, folded back in on itself and turned back into her confessionary dial. She bent down to pick it up but froze when suddenly, the noise of a TARDIS materialising sounded behind her.

——

“You’re not sleeping, are you.“ Missy rolled onto her side on the uncomfortable mattress. She was glad that both her and the Doctor were petite, else they would have had no space at all, but the Doctor was still close enough to keep her up with her fidgeting.

“Nope…“ The Doctor admitted and turned towards Missy. She had accepted that they had to get some rest but her brain simply refused.

“Why not?“ Missy asked though she could think of a thousand reasons to have sleepless nights.

“I feel like I’m missing something…“ The Doctor explained, slightly annoyed with herself.

“If you’re looking for a magical solution, Doctor, there isn’t one.“ Missy gave her a sad smile but the Doctor shook her head.

“That’s not it…“

“Then what?“ Missy frowned.

“Clara…“ The Doctor mused and lay back on her bed, staring up at the makeshift ceiling. “She doesn’t fit in.“

“What makes you say that?“ Missy asked, pushing herself up on her elbows.

“With the Ponds and River here… she’s the odd one out.“ The Doctor explained. Having witnessed the animosity between the Pond family and Clara, she hadn’t been able to shake the feeling that she didn’t really belong there. “When I bumped into my Clara, I was alone so I needed someone to travel with me… but in this universe the TARDIS would have been rather crowded already… So why did they ask her along if they don’t like her?“ The question had been bugging her for a while now.

“I don’t see how it matters.“ Missy replied in an off-hand sort of way that gave the Doctor pause.

“What’s your history with Clara?“ She frowned looking over to her.

“What makes you think I have…“ Missy started but the Doctor interrupted her:

“In my universe, you were responsible for bringing us together.“

“I see…“ Missy sighed.

“In my universe, Missy thought Clara and I would bring out the worst in each other, that we were two parts of an ancient prophecy about throwing the universe into chaos. Did you… do you have anything to do with Clara being with the Emperor?“ The Doctor sat up now. She could tell from the way Missy avoided her eyes that she was on to something.

“It was a stupid idea, it backfired…“ Missy knew she couldn’t lie to her but she didn’t exactly want to talk about it either.

“What were you trying to accomplish?“ The Doctor asked shaking her head a little to herself.

“Same as what you just said… I thought she would… destabilise them. Their relationships, their…“ Missy gestured a little but she didn’t really have the words. It had been stupid. “I thought it was working but then…“

“She fell in love with the Emperor as well, she betrayed you and gained her trust like that, didn’t she.“ The Doctor was quick at putting the pieces together and Missy laughed a little. She couldn’t help but be impressed.  

“How did you figure that out?“ She asked.

“You seemed genuinely concerned that she would get herself killed with whatever she’s planning.“ The Doctor explained. Missy’s opinion on Clara’s plan hadn’t gone unnoticed. “You care about her at least a tiny bit.“

“That really has no baring on anything anymore, that was a long time ago.“ Missy waved it off.

“How long?“ The Doctor asked as a disturbing thought occurred to her.

“Sorry?“ Missy frowned.

“How long ago was that for you? Cause there is something else that’s been bugging me…“ The Doctor said and Missy sat up as well, she could tell neither of them would be getting any sleep tonight.

“What’s that?“

“Why are you here, Missy?“ The Doctor tilted her head, trying to get the measure of her.

“I told you, to help people…“ Missy didn’t understand why she was asking again.

“No, I mean here, of all places, on Gallifrey. Where you’re right under her nose and she could kill you if she wanted to. Like you’ve said before, there is nothing we can do here, no resources, the royal guards just there, the Quantum Shade… you have no wiggle room. So why not go somewhere where the Emperor’s influence is less… and start your resistance there? It’s what I would have done…“ The Doctor went on to explain.

“Why did you ask how long it’s been for me?“ Missy circled back to her original question.

“Because I think there is nowhere else to go. We’re at the end of time, aren’t we.“ The Doctor revealed her suspicion and Missy’s eyes widened in surprise.

“How do you know that? Not many people do.“

“It seems like a lot of the events that happened to me also happened here, just differently.“ The Doctor realised and got to her feet. She couldn’t sit still anymore. Missy had been through some of the same things she had. “I think if I knew more about everybody’s personal history, maybe I would be able to understand them a little better to make a plan… In my universe Gallifrey was hiding away at the end of time in a reality bubble too, I know because I went there the long way around…“ She looked back to Missy. “So how did you get here, Missy? Where is your TARDIS?“

“I don’t have a TARDIS anymore, Doctor, I didn’t time travel here… but it sounds like you know exactly how I got here.“ Missy gave her a sad smile.

“I’m so sorry, Missy…“ The Doctor didn’t know what else to say.

“I’d rather not talk about it.“ Missy shook her head, she didn’t want to dwell on it.

“Right okay… so when the Emperor calls themselves ruler of the universe, it’s really just Gallifrey, is it?“ The Doctor decided to focus her energies on something productive, rather than dwelling on the misery of the past.

“In this timezone, yes. Keeps her safe from any sort of uprising I suppose, when all other races are dead.“ Missy replied.

“But when I first met her, she’d been to Sontar, there was still blood on her hands…“ The Doctor frowned.

“The Empire doesn’t just exist in space but also time, Doctor.“ Missy swung her legs out of bed, sitting up on the side properly. “Here, in this time, the universe is pretty much over. Gallifrey is the perfect fortress, perfectly safe when so few are able to travel in time anymore.“ She explained. “The generals watch the time streams. Whenever any civilisation that she’s conquered diverges from its predetermined course of obedience she can just jump into her TARDIS, arrive early, and set things right.“

“Right…“ It was the perfect set up, pretty fool proof. The Doctor started pacing, trying to find something useful in the new information.

“She thinks of everything. We can’t go anywhere because there is nowhere to go and without time travel…“ Missy shrugged. “And even if we had it, the Council would be on us like a hawk. Not that anyone can fly her TARDIS anyway…“

“That’s it! That’s where we need to start, Missy, you’re brilliant!“ The Doctor exclaimed as an idea struck. She hadn’t paid enough attention to the world around her. Picking up on the things that were different but also those that were the same or reversed. A plan was forming in her head.

“What?“ Missy had no idea what she was talking about.

“I have an idea Missy, and I need you to trust me. It’s a bit risk but I think this could work. I think I’ve worked this place out at last.“ The Doctor turned to her, full of excitement.

“You’re not making any sense, Doctor.“ Missy chuckled, marvelling at her endless positivity.

“You’re gonna hate this but I’m gonna need to get back into the palace.“ The Doctor gave her an apologetic smile.

“Doctor…“ Missy sighed, it was a terrible idea.

“Gonna need a change of clothes too, and a way in that they won’t expect…“ The Doctor carried on. Suddenly, in the far off in the distance, a bell tolled and both of them froze.

“That’s…“ Missy got to her feet unsettled.

“A Cloister Bell…“ The Doctor nodded, recognising the distinctive sound.

“They only toll when disaster is drawing near…“ Missy said and the Doctor, despite everything, smiled.

“I just thought of a way to get us back into the palace.“

“Us?“ Missy raised her eyebrows.

“Oh yes, you’re coming with me. I will explain on the way!“

——

Drowsily River rolled over in bed, pulling the covers closer around herself. She was cold, falling asleep naked and sweaty, her body had cooled out. She stretched her hand out, looking for her wife to cuddle into her for some warmth but the bed was cold beside her. Sleepily River sat up, slowly she was coming to her senses, her eyes adjusting to the darkness. Her wife’s side of the bed was empty.

“Sweetie?“ She called into the darkness but no response. She swung her legs out of bed and nearly tripped as she got up in her sleepy state but her wife’s absence alarmed her. She found her balance after a few steps and grabbed her dressing gown from the chair by her dresser. “Sweetie?“ She called again, worry sweeping through her, as she walked into the adjoining room. Her eyes fell on the TARDIS, the door slightly ajar. She walked to the door and pushed it open. She breathed a sigh of relief when she found her wife sitting by the console, tinkering with bolts, screws and cogs.

“Is everything okay, Sweetie?“ River asked and the Emperor looked up surprised, she hadn’t noticed her coming in.

“Sorry, did I wake you?“ The Emperor gave an apologetic smile.

“I just turned round and you weren’t there, I got worried…“ River admitted, pulling her nightgown closer around herself feeling cold still.

“Just thinking…“ The Emperor replied giving a dismissive wave to the equipment around her. River smiled a little. Her wife used to do this a lot. When she had a problem to solve, she would retreat into her TARDIS and fix or make things, it helped her focus.

“Is everything okay? Something I can help with?“ River asked.

“Everything is fine.“ The Emperor said getting to her feet.

“And yet you can’t sleep.“ River observed. She clearly was worried about whatever Clara and the Doctor could be up to. Before the Emperor could respond, a bell tolled in the distance and they both froze. “Was that…“

“A Cloister Bell. They haven’t rung in years…“ The Emperor was halfway out the TARDIS before River could even respond. “We are in much greater danger than we realise.“ This was proof that the nagging thoughts, the undercurrent of worry, she had been feeling, were justified.

“Something must be happening.“ River agreed as she followed. The Emperor was already throwing clothes on.

“I'm going to go see the Council.“ She said pulling on trousers quickly. “You stay here.“ She insisted when River went looking for clothes as well.

“But…“ River looked around confused. She had never told her to stay behind before. She tried her best not to feel hurt.

“Seriously, don’t argue.“ The Emperor interrupted her buttoning up her shirt in a hurry. “I need to know you’re safe, you stay here.“

——

“What was that?“ Yaz demanded to know entering with palace’s security office. Ryan and Graham were following close behind. It was the middle of the night, there were off duty, but the entire city had heard the bell.  

“A Cloister Bell, Ma’am.“ One of the officers on duty answered as they all jumped to their feet saluting.

“They have been silent for years, give me eyes on the Cloisters.“ She demanded as she stepped up to the screens.

“The sliders are getting increasingly more active. They’re sensing something is wrong, something is going to happen.“ Graham observed as they brought up footage from the Cloisters on the screens. Shapes were moving among the shadows and the fog.

“This is not a coincidence.“ Ryan agreed.

“I’m going to take a team down there. Find out what’s going on.“ Yaz decided. They had to find out what was going on. It was as good a place as any to start.

“Are you sure that’s a good idea? No-one that goes into the Cloisters comes back out.“ Graham grabbed her arm as she walked past them.

“Legend says there is a hidden exit into the city, it could be how the Doctor is getting about. I’m going to check it out.“ Yaz shook him off. They had to find the Doctor. “In the meantime, one of you inform the Emperor and keep guard, the other keep an eye on Clara Oswald.“

——

“What is going on?“ The Emperor burst into the Council chamber with purpose and determination. The Cloisters indicated this was the greatest threat they had faced in years and she wasn’t about to let anything jeopardise her reign.

“Emperor…“ The generals had gathered upon her command, some only filing in after her, some still fumbling with the buttons of their council robes. She wasn’t impressed.

“Wake up you mumbling fools, a Cloister Bell has rung, what is going on?“ She smashed her hand onto the table for emphasis. “You are tasked with protecting the Empire, what is going on? Are we under attack?“

“Nothing, as far as we can tell. Everything is quiet, no unexpected developments across the time streams…“ One of the council members spoke up. “The city is quiet as well, since you went amongst the people, they have grown more… respectful.“

“Are you absolutely sure?“ The Emperor pressed on focusing on him. He seemed to be wide awake at least in comparison to some of the others. They took turns with the night shifts, there was no need for everyone to be present all the time.

“See for yourself Emperor, the time streams are quite, your personal guards have taken it upon themselves to see if anything is the matter in the Cloisters themselves.“ Another general spoke up and by raising his hands from the table, he brought the readings up into the air for everyone to see.

“Things might not be happening yet but they will. The Bells are a warning, foreboding, prophecy…“ The Emperor mumbled leaning onto the table observing the time streams herself. They were right, everything looked completely normal so it had to be something happening here, on Gallifrey. Perhaps it wasn’t such a good idea to wait for Clara to make her move after all.

“If you’re concerned about something happening, we can postpone tomorrow’s celebrations?“ Another general suggested.

“No. That would be a sign of weakness.“ She shook her head vehemently. “Everything will go ahead as planned…“ She straightened herself up again and a thought occurred to her. “In fact, not as planned. Round up ten civilians that have acted out in some way. And Missy. I want Missy.“ She decided.

“What for?“ Another council member asked, sounding concerned.

“Is it any of your business?!“ The Emperor snapped glaring at him. She couldn’t stand people questioning an order.

“I just meant if we should organise anything else or…“ He carried on in a small voice averting his eyes.

“Just do as you’re told.“ She growled. “I’ll be in my quarters, if there is only the slightest change or cause for concern, I expect to be informed.“

——

“You’ve done this before…“ Missy mumbled as they pressed themselves to a pillar to avoid a cloister wraith that headed in their direction.

“So have you…“ The Doctor observed with a smile. “I’m beginning to think we have a lot more in common than I realised. I think you lived through some of the same things I have, our roles are reversed in some ways.“ She explained as they waited for the wraith to move past. She had been so focused on wrapping her head around her own situation, she hadn’t really stopped to think about the history of the people she encountered.

“So it seems…“ Missy agreed. As she looked back at the Doctor she felt unsettled. They had dressed her to look like the Emperor and it was unnerving.

“About the confessionary dial…“ The Doctor said quietly as they carried on. “I came the long way around too…“ They ducked behind another pillar. “What kept you going? There was this moment when I realised what had been done to me, what they were trying to do… and I was about to give up…“ In a way, knowing Missy had been through the same thing as her, allowed her to talk about it for the first time.

“But then you realised you couldn't just let them win. You had to keep going.“ Missy agreed with a small smile as they carried on.

“Who were you doing it for?“ The Doctor asked.

“Myself? I knew I had to be better than this. I couldn’t let her win.“ Missy shrugged.

“I guess you’re right… I thought I… I thought I was doing it for Clara at the time, she had just died and I wanted to find a way to save her, so I had to get out of there… but now, I just think I wanted her to be proud of me. I wanted to be the Doctor. And I couldn't let the bad guys win.“ The Doctor answered after brief consideration.

“So here we are, braving the Cloisters.“ Missy chuckled. “But at least you know what you’re doing it for.“

“Not just for River, if that’s what you think. I wouldn’t be surprised if she had already managed to find a way out of her predicament, she doesn't need me to look after her, not really. I’m doing it for the same reason as you.“ The Doctor felt the need to explain.

“Cause we can’t let the bad guys win.“ Missy smiled and reached out for the Doctor’s hand. “I am so glad that I met you, even if we never should have, not really… I’m really very grateful that you are here, whether we succeed or not.“ She gave her hand a squeeze and the Doctor smiled.

Suddenly up ahead the wraiths grew more agitated. In the distance they saw an elevator door slide open, revealing several royal guards, weapons drawn.

“Right, let’s see what’s going on down here.“ The Doctor recognised Yaz’s voice immediately and she pulled Missy behind a pillar.

The Cloister Bells tolled again.

——

River was pacing their quarters, she couldn’t sit still. The situation was unnerving. There was no way you could go back to sleep so she had gotten dressed instead. She could just go to find her wife, this was ridiculous. There was no immediate danger.

“Right, that’s it.“ She huffed getting fed up and made her way to the bedroom. She walked to her dresser where, among other things, she kept her gun. It had been a while since she’d last made use of it but she appreciated her wife’s concern for her safety. It couldn’t hurt to carry it.

She was just exchanging the battery pack, when she heard the door to their quarters open. Her wife returning at last, she thought, as she breathed a sigh of relief.

“In the bedroom!“ She called out and put the gun back on the dresser.

“That’s quite the invitation… Mind you, I’ve always been curious what it would be like to sleep with myself.“

River whirled around and found herself face to face with an exactly copy of herself. In the distance, another bell tolled.

[hiraemy]

Lumine and the Goblet of Fire [part 3]

[Part One] [Part Two]

Word count: 2k

Notes: I’m sorry for the delay! I actually planned to have this part posted last week, but there were a few things that got me troubled so I had to postpone it a bit. This part is almost 100% action, and I’m not sure myself if I could write it in a way that’s interesting and easy to imagine, so... Yeah. I would spent more time trying to make it work, but I thought I had already delayed it enough. Anyways, thank you for the support and enjoy your reading!

Act three: Lumine and the stupid First Trial

To everyone who had the rare luxury of getting closer to the twins, there were a few obvious things that came to light, like how Aether and Lumine were complete polar opposites but still managed to understand each other with a simple glance.

Lumine was the most guarded of the two— almost bordering on paranoia, but we don't talk about that—, probably a result of her constant worrying. She wasn't one to openly talk about her feelings, even to Aether, and it took a lot of insistence from Paimon to even befriend her. 

Aether was too aware of this. He knew Lumine had a lot on her mind, and he also knew not to push some things because it was both painful and cruel to do it to her. Still, when he heard about the Triwizard Tournament, he felt like it was a once in a lifetime opportunity that they couldn't miss. 

It was good for her to be pushed out of her shell once in a while. Aether felt like one day or another Lumine had to learn to not let her fears keep her from doing risky things. Better sooner than later, right?

That being said, it wasn't like he was a heartless monster. Watching Lumine's eyes glistening with anxiety from the screen— even if no one else could spot it in her stoic expression— made his heart clench, a grimace forming on his lips. 

He had full faith in his twin. But that didn't stop him from worrying.

Lumine learned too late that watching someone almost being crushed by a legendary beast and actually being the person almost crushed by a legendary beast were two entirely different experiences. 

While she felt her breath caught in her throat too many times watching Childe and Albedo defeat their opponents earlier, she felt like if she didn't breathe enough in her own trial she would be toast in no time at all.

Dvalin lunged, his entire body crashing in the stone and leaving behind a trail of destruction, eyes narrowed on her figure. Lumine ran until the end of the platform, gulping when she saw the dead end. Fuck. There was another rock pillar, but it was too far. The dragon was closing on her and she had to think fast. She had three options here: learn how to fly out of nowhere, fall to her death or to try to outsmart the Great Dragon Dvalin. 

Yeah, no fucking way.

So, flying it is.

Broomsticks were out. First of all, she didn’t even bring her broom from Beauxbatons, because she didn’t think she would need it in the first place. Besides, this was a pocket dimension, so, unless she knew how to teleport things from outside, that was also out of the question. Right. In the end, it was do or die. Great.

Lumine was going to kill Aether. Was it bad that she could only think of how she could be the most petty and annoying to her brother after this? Oh, if she survived, of course. Not to jinx or anything.

She gathered all the courage of a lifetime in her chest and took a deep breath. She didn’t dare to look behind her or even below and jumped off the still, safe ground. Her hair whipped in all directions and invaded her mouth and she almost let her grip on her wand slide. Lumine was sure both Paimon and Aether would kill her later for being so reckless, but she convinced herself that they couldn't kill her if she was already dead in the first place.

Free falling was extremely unsettling, with no other words being enough to describe the feeling. Her stomach was spinning and all her senses were screaming for her to do something, but her logical mind overruled everything, making sure she got the timing right. When she felt the tickly sensation of passing by the clouds, she finally let out the breath she was holding.

“Arresto momentum!” She stopped falling. Literally. Ignoring the chills in her spine when she noticed that she couldn’t see the ground when she fell at least a hundred meters from the platform, she stabilized herself in a good position mid-air before casting the next spell “Ascendio!”

Lumine was shot up upwards, but this time, she had full control of her movements in plain air. It was almost as if she had a pair of wings on her back, allowing her to have a fair combat in the skies with Stormterror. The rational part of her mind asked herself how the fuck was she supposed to do attack and defend when she was already distracted with maintaining the Ascendio charm. She didn’t even know before jumping if her trick was going to work, so everything she could accomplish after was already great.

Dvalin roared again, his entire body convulsing, almost as if he was in pain. Lumine narrowed her eyes at the strange behavior, but decided to take the advantage of not being noticed by the beast yet. 

“Confringo!” She yelled, aiming directly for his head. Dvalin took the direct hit and roared again, his scales scorched, but mostly unaffected despite the lethal force used behind the curse. “Expulso!” Lumine tried again, merely blasting the dragon a few inches off course in air. The beast seemed more annoyed than damaged by her attacks, blindly clawing as someone who tried to shoo bugs away. The witch had a hard time avoiding his attacks, almost being hit once or twice. 

However, in these attempts, she noticed something. No matter what spells she threw at Dvalin, the dragon wouldn’t attack her with the intent to kill. He had a few too close tries, but he never aimed directly to take her down. It was almost as if he was distracted with another thing— Or he simply didn’t want to attack her. It roared a lot, each time sounding more painful than the last. Was he cursed, or something…? 

Not a single spell she casted had a great effect on his defenses, no matter how strong her firepower was. She didn’t doubt her combat abilities, having full confidence in her DADA and Charms scores from Beauxbatons, but it was painfully clear she wasn’t going anywhere with this full offensive plan. Before, Tartaglia managed to beat the Oceanid sorely in combat, but Albedo took a rather different strategy to encase Andrius in wines and stop it from moving. What the hell would she do with an opponent who was tankier than both of the other beasts, and at the same time, could kill her with a single swipe?

As if a light was shoved into her brain, she noticed a purple crystal hanging from Dvalin’s neck. It was almost as if it was forcefully implanted into his skin, corruption growing between his scales and rooting the gem in its place. Not a single book that covered the biology of the world’s magical beasts mentioned a purple gem on the dragon, so maybe… Was it safe to guess that it didn’t belong there originally?

Another attack brought Lumine from her thoughts, her left arm suffering a deep gash from the shoulder to her elbows for lack of attention. It stung like a bitch and she bit her lips harshly to stop the pitiful scream from escaping. If she wanted to take a closer look to that crystal, she had to be better than this. 

“Diminuendo,” She cast the spell on herself, feeling her figure shrink until she was twenty centimeters tall. In this state, Dvalin’s crazed eyes were unable to track her, so she had an easier time flying until she was at the dragon’s neck. She casted the countercharm to grow back into her full height and used Relashio, removing the crystal’s roots from his neck. The crystal let a purple smoke that Lumine didn't inhale by instinct and clattered to the ground. The blonde quickly blew the gem to dust, watching as it released a lot of elemental energy into the air.

The dragon seized as if it had suffered a great shock, his uncontrollable spasms sending her flying towards the stone platform like a pathetic bug, the ground around her gaining a huge crash landsite from the pure strength of the throw. Her back gave a pitiful noise— it wasn't broken… hopefully— and the air was expelled from her lungs, leaving her gasping for air.

She didn’t even have the time to properly feel the pain, because in a blink of an eye, Dvalin was also falling— Right on her. Lumine propelled herself by the elbows, tripping on her feet one or two times before being able to drag herself away from the gigantic dragon, and escaping by a hair thread. Her adrenaline rush lasted a few seconds before she collapsed on her feet, right arm(the good one) crutching her ribs rather tight. 

“Is it over…?” Lumine muttered, tired and feeling like she could sleep for months. As if she had jinxed it, Dvalin groaned again, but the only body part he could move was his head. His mouth was half-open, showing the sharp fangs and the strange coloration on his tongue— It had a nasty stain, looking like rotten flesh. But the thing that caught her attention were his eyes. The pupils were grey, hazed and unfocused, even if the irised sustained an angry looking red with a tiny purple circle spinning around the pupil as if it was actively sustaining a curse. 

Lumine still had to take that Plume. However, there was something off about his whole demeanor that made her extremely unsettled. 

With tiny, careful steps, she dared to get closer to him. The dragon hissed, growling in a threatening tone that screamed ‘Get Away!’, but she ignored it for the sake of her instincts. Suddenly, his head dragged on the floor, aiming to bite her.

Her hand shot up automatically, wand long forgotten meters away, on the ground where she fell before. She didn’t know how— or why— she did that, but rather than questioning her own sanity, she felt the energy channeling on her veins into a not-exactly-shield made of pure magic. And instead of crashing directly on it, Dvalin simply stopped mid-track, eyes changing coloration and suddenly clearer. His pupils slowly regained focus, clear and a dark black coloration again, the circle around it long gone. 

Dvalin shook his head slowly, regaining his senses. 

It stood up on full fours, wings opening in a magnificent beast deserving of the title King of the Skies. It gave another roar that sounded even… happy? At least, as far as happy roars could go, she guessed. Anyway, it didn’t want to claw her eyes out, so she was taking it as a win.

Ah. Right, the plume—!

“Mr. Dvalin!” She screamed when the winds began to pick up again, signaling that the dragon was almost leaving the platform for good. She ignored the dumb feeling of calling Stormterror by ‘Mister’ and cupped her hands around her mouth. “Please, could you give me a plume? It's really important…!”

It sailed off. Lumine tried to not let her disappointment show on her face— God, who the fuck was dumb enough to try to chat with a dragon—?!

Wait. 

On the stone platform, hidden by the cracks. Lying there was a single dark blue plume. 

The cheers were loud. So loud that Lumine first thought she was going to be deaf. Still, with Dvalin's plume on her raised fist, she didn't have in her to let the screams affect the adrenaline of beating the goddamn trial with flying scores. Literally. 

She quickly scanned the crowd for her brother and Paimon, searching for approval in her most

 precious people in the world, just to see Paimon almost flying off the benches. As for Aether… well.

Seeing the grin on his sister's face caused a wave of pride to take over his system in a heartbeat. All the tension accumulated on his muscles left him all of sudden, making him flop tiredly into the chair(when did he stand up anyway?).

A part of Aether's worries were soothed. Lumine was strong. Even if she didn't notice, she was letting herself grow into a beautiful flower despite all the harsh currents that tried to take her down.

"...you're crying"

"...n-no, I'm not… Stop laughing, Paimon!"

[itstimetotheorize]

Little nightmares: the first lady of the maw, the sin of gluttony, and the true value of the children, part 1: The past (update, due to the events of little nightmares 2 I no longer believe in the seven deadly sins theory)

with the release of little nightmares 2 in 2020, many of us can now assume that the little nightmares world is being set up for a series of games to tackle a much bigger plot. Which is why I feel that its time to figure out just where the story of this world is headed. I have many theories for this series, but let me start off by talking about the “lady” of the maw, Six, what their connection is,  and what its all leading up to. But most importantly, I want to try and make sense of just what the heck happened in the first little nightmares game! so strap yourselves in everyone, cause this is a long one! as such I will separate this post into 3 parts, links will be included to each part.

Now, In the first little nightmares we discover that the “lady” of the maw is revealed to have supernatural powers; she can levitate things, steal the life force from others and even turn children into nomes, telling us that things such as magic really do exist in this world

despite her deadly abilities the lady proves no match for sixes quick thinking  in their final battle. Near the end of the game, six at last defeats the lady, and finally gets the chance to escape the god forsaken nightmare that is The Maw... ...unfortunately! six gets hit with one last hunger pain and instead opts to satisfy that hunger by biting and eating a piece of the ladys neck!.  The lady quickly dies from her injury and in a bizarre turn of events, six seemingly inherits the ladys deadly powers. Don’t get me wrong, Six inheriting the ladys powers is a nice added twist, since six now has the ability to kill all those that tried to kill her. But as I watched six gracefully make her way towards the exit I began to wonder to myself.....how was it possible for six, a tiny little girl with very tiny teeth, to have the capability and strength to chomp on the ladys neck and leave a fatal enough wound for her to die from!?....unless it wasn't just six who had a part to play in ending the ladys life ...

Although it may seem like the first game revolved around six and the lady, we are all forgetting the fact that the story had another character hiding in the shadows, that character... is shadow Six.

shadow six has been seen by mainly us, the audience. Every time six has a hunger pain and begins eating to satisfy that hunger, shadow six appears and watches six eat her meal  from a distance. But what exactly is shadow six? and why is it that six never noticed it was there?

Well let me start off by saying that I, as well as others,  do not believe shadow six is really six, but rather some dark entity trying to take on the form of six. Some believe that shadow six is a representation of her slowly succumbing to evil. Others have even speculated that the little nightmares games have a connection to the seven deadly sins and that this dark figure along with the rest of the staff in the maw, each represent a different sin, maybe, but what if they didn't?

The only other times we see a suspicious dark entity appear in the game is when six is fighting against the lady. Every time six points the tiny mirror in her hand towards the lady, the lady yells out in pain then teleports away, leaving a trail of black smoke/specs in her path, this trail of dark specs is identical to the darkness that surrounds shadow six whenever she is on screen .

In secrets of the maw when the runaway boy gets captured by the lady, the lady levitates the boy into the air and a cloud of darkness begins to cover him, turning him into a nome.

When six inherits the powers of the lady, shadow six appears one last time, all be it very faintly (I cant see her in this picture, but its been verified that its there), and when it does, dark specks of shadow begin to surround six with a loud buzzing sound.

Where am I going with this?,  what if the shadow six we have been observing was never a manifestation of sixs evil side, but rather a manifestation of the “ladys” powers following six around !..  If this is true, then what the heck kind of power is the “lady” using and how is it that it can manifest itself to do what it wants, it should be after-all powers that only the lady can control...unless their not.  what if these powers were never hers to begin with? what if they were original someone elses?

Many people have theorized that the “lady”we see may in fact not have been the original “lady” of the maw. But if she really isn't then who is?. In little nightmares secrets of the maw, the antagonist known simply as “the granny” is believed to be the mother of the lady, and that this granny may in fact have been the previous lady of the maw... until she was overthrown and had her powers taken away from her...by her own daughter!, that daughter would of coarse be the current lady of the maw that faught six.

what makes everyone say this? well, in the game, as six makes her way up the stairs to the ladys room we get  to see a variety of pictures hanging on the wall. Out of all the pictures we see, 2 of them have been talked about the most. The first is the picture of the lady and what appears to be four other geishas standing next to her, but have either been scribbled out or painted over in black.

the second picture, depicts a little girl in a yellow dress standing next to the lady

At first, many of us are lead to believed that this little girl is six. But I, as well as others, believe that the girl standing next to the lady is actually the lady when she was a child, standing next to the granny when she used to be the lady of the maw, so, what happened? 

throughout the maw we can see various pictures, including more bizarre pictures of different geishas, (thank u animators for releasing these)

and even statues of different geishas

originally, fans believed that the granny was someone who valued her beauty but soon began to have fears of what would happen to her beauty as she grew older and older. It was then that the lady began to practice magic in a effort to find a way to make her beauty last forever. However, if their really were multiple geishas in the maw then out of all the geishas we have seen in pictures and statues thus far, its likely that the granny was never even the first lady of the maw...if so, then who was the one that practiced magic...who was the FIRST lady of the maw?

out of all the pictures we have seen, I’m guessing that the geisha with the red lips was the first lady of the maw, after all its her picture that’s hanging in the library in secrets of the maw. In librarys, its usually traditional for the pictures of the founders of the library to be hung up for everyone to see. So its possible that the first ladys picture was kept in the maws library as a reminder of who founded the library and the maw.

it was this lady that originally studied and practiced magic in an effort to find a way to remain eternally beautiful, . However, seeing as things such as eternal youth and eternal life are things not commonly obtained with good magic, perhaps as the original lady grew more and more desperate for a solution to accomplish her goal she began to dive deeper and deeper into darker, more forbidden forms of magic in her library.

eventually the original ladys search lead her to the one subject that would guarantee her results, demon summoning!.

Demons, in many folklore and religions, have always been depicted as evil entities who are more than happy to strike a deal and give a person whatever it is they want in exchange for their most cherished and valuable belonging, their soul.

The original lady could have discovered a way to summon a demon and when she did, she didn't just summon any demon. In her desperate attempts to satisfy her growing desire for eternal beauty, the original lady might have caught the attention of one very powerful demon...or rather...one of the 7 princes of hell, who are  better known today as.... the seven deadly sins!... but which one?

In the game, gluttony had long been speculated to play a role in the maw. Many speculated that each member of the maw represented a different sin... however, what if they all represented a single sin... gluttony. In the game, Six, the guests, the staff and even the lady revolve around satisfying some sort of  hunger or desire. So maybe years ago the originally lady struck a deal with the sin of gluttony to not only give her life long beauty but to preserve that beauty forever

however, these are demons we are talking about, if she did in fact make a deal with the sin of gluttony there must have been one or two major twists that came along with that deal, if so... what was the twist?. In secrets of the maw, when the runaway kid is sneaking around the ladys estate he comes across the current lady starring at herself through an unbroken mirror, its here that we finally see for the very first time the ladys face...except... we soon realize that despite her appearance as a beautifully masked geisha, the mirror reveals the ladys face to be a horrifically ugly creature ... and yet... something about this doesn't make sense...her mask.

the current ladys mask does not match her large facial structure seen in the mirror, and its not just her face. Her hands, which  appear small and slender... appear long and pointy in the mirror. If this is true of her face and hands, then its likely that the rest of her body doesn't match either!

but why? and how is this related to the granny when she used to be the lady?

 If the current lady has a horrific reflection, its possible that the granny and every other lady of the maw before her had a similar situation when they each  used to be in charge, but why?

Perhaps when the demon granted the first lady eternal beauty and eternal life, the demon decided to put a twist to her wish by making it so that her beauty could only be seen by others and not by herself!...the first lady lost the joy of gazing at the beauty she prided herself in having, and instead was forced to look at a reflection that highlighted her true self....her true self being of course... a hideous monster. And it didn't just stop there..

 in order to accomplish the first ladys deal the sin of gluttony must have decided to posses her! and rather than just stand idly by and let her continue on with her life, the demon forced the original lady to work for it in order to maintain the deal.... by feeding it!

(picture by Michael Breznau)

since a demon needs souls to be satisfied and not food like other living things the lady resorted to inviting others to her home... then later feed them to the demon inside her! Now clearly, after being pampered and feed, any guests/ customer would try to leave a business, however, the sin of gluttony didn’t want this happening... they had to stay. In order to keep the guests in the ladys establishment the sin of gluttony could have spread its influence to the guests, giving them a never ending appetite that could only be satisfied by staying in the first ladys establishment.

And when they did, the lady used the powers that the sin of gluttony granted her to suck out the life and souls from her guests...feeding them directly  to the demon inside her.

Unfortunately, as the demons appetite grew more and more uncontrollable the first lady found herself taking more and more drastic measures to satisfy its hunger.  

With all the spare bodies lying around, the first  lady must have decided to use those bodies as food to expand her business, throwing away any form of clothing and luggage they might have carried elsewhere in the maw. The shoes and luggages of course, piled up over the years until it created a sea of shoes. This was the point of no return... the original lady was now feeding her guests to other guests!

If the guests were really eating other people this would explain why six never ate any of the food lying around the maw, she knew it was made of people!.

Having a life where you would have to work endlessly for a demon sounds horrible once you think about it, so then why, why did the original lady continue to do this even if it meant she could never look into the mirror and gaze at her own beauty? ....most likely because the fear of death outweighed every sense of desire to break the deal and face the consequences.

And while we are on the subject of her reflection, I couldn't help but think back to one small detail in the game. in the game six makes her way into a bathroom that reveals a suspiciously long mirror hanging on the wall.

when six broke the mirror, we discovered that it was in fact a fake two way mirror leading to a small room with a single chair in it.

In the firstl ladys desperate attempts to cope with having a horrific reflection she must have had a two way mirror installed in the bathroom so that whenever a beautiful woman guest gazed at herself in the mirror the original lady would be standing on the opposite side... staring at her... pretending to be looking at her own reflection as a way to cope with her hideous reflection.  

when six enters the ladys residence its noted that throughout the rooms. broken mirrors can be found practically everywhere.

but as we have seen, not all the mirrors are broken. In the secrets of the maw, the runaway kid comes across the lady staring at herself in one unbroken mirror...which may possibly be the only intact mirror in the entire estate of the lady.

but why does she have this one mirror unbroken?... maybe after the  first lady discovered she could never see her own beauty through a mirror...she broke every mirror she could find out of frustration...except  for 2. Perhaps she kept one large mirror so that she could come back to it every now and again in hopes that one day she would wake up, look into that mirror and see that she is just as beautiful as she remembered. Years later, when  the new lady of the maw took her place, the new lady  would unknowingly find herself doing the same thing as her mother, and every time they did look into that giant mirror...they would cry...as they realized that they would forever be horrifyingly ugly. This cycle continued over the years as each new daughter took the tittle of “the lady of the maw” for themselves (I’ll get to the second mirror in a bit)

but why would each lady even take on a daughter that would one day overthrow her from her title of “lady”. Why would the daughters even agree to living their life forever beautiful in the eyes of others but never to themselves and forever a slave to a demon inside them....unless....they didn't know?

-end of part 1, continue in part 2 

part 2 link: https://itstimetotheorize.tumblr.com/post/627840226274033665/little-nightmares-the-original-lady-of-the-maw?is_related_post=1

[yyuangss-main]

❝four : the phantom troupe❞

A week from then, you were out on the streets with Killua for his work study. The Midoriya brothers were together and they were somewhere in Hosu busing themselves.

While Killua spoke to the police about a criminal they caught, a beeping sound went off on the wrist band that wrapped around your wrist. You brought it up to your face, seeing that it said you’d received a new email. You clicked on it, the email displaying in the similar form of a telegram.

“I thought that activated your suit.” Killua said, looking at the black nanotech outfit layering your body featuring lavender lines that came from your neck, past your shoulders and hips, and all the way to your feet. Even the boots had their own hints of lavender.

“You forget Melissa Shield made this.” You responded, knowing he currently rolled his eyes. “Killua, I’m going to have to send you back to U.A.”

“What? Why?” Killua’s brows furrowed. “We literally just got here.”

“I know. But I have somewhere to be. I’ll talk to Nezu and try to get you out for my night patrol.” You placed a hand on his shoulder. Killua sighed, muttering a fine against his will. You opened a portal to the dorms. The white haired boy stepped through, sending a salute and wishing you good luck.

You sighed, rolling your neck.

“This better be worth my time, Kurapika.” You muttered under your breath. In the telegram like email, the chain hero said he wanted you to come to his agency. Kurapika named his after his fallen clan, the Kurta Agency. You never went inside or had even been invited by Kurapika to go in. You managed to teleport somewhere near it and walk the rest of the way.

Entering the large glass doors, people rustled around. Must be his employees, you thought. You trotted over to the receptionist, thankful no people recognized you right away.

“Excuse me ma’am.” She looked up. “I’m—”

“Ah! Copycat!” She cut you off. “Mr. Kurapika has you on his list. Follow that man over there with the white and grey suit.” She pointed to the back of a blonde haired man.

“Thank you.” You bowed your head, jogging in the direction of the mysterious man. “Pardon me sir, but the receptionist told me to follow you? Are you going to Kurapika’s meeting too?” His head jolted in your direction and plastered a giant smile.

“Why yes!” His thumb pressed the elevator button. “You’ll be going too I assume?”

“Yes.”

“Oh good! Go ahead.” He extended his arm out once the doors opened. You whispered a thank you, stepping into the elevator followed by the man. He pressed the fiftieth floor and placed both his hands behind his back. He kept his mouth shut, humming to the elevator music. “Wait a minute, aren’t you the number five hero Copycat?” You swore you saw stars twinkle beside his smiling cheeks.

“Uh yes. That’s me.” You beamed back to be polite. He was odd. But you knew you’d seen his face before. Was he even a hero? “And you are?”

“I’m Pariston Hill.” He placed a hand on his chest. “You might have heard about the Zodiacs? We also go by Zodiac Twelve.” He leaned his face down, attempting to make eye contact with you. The group name rang a bell, you couldn’t pin point from where.

“Sounds familiar.” You balanced yourself on the tips of your toes. The uncomfortableness grew but lowered at the same time. “You’re part of them?”

“Me and a few others.” Pariston said. “It’ll be an honor working with you if that’s the case.” He gave an eye closed smile, adding a soft laugh.

“Same here.” You faked a smile. ‘I should have just asked for the room and took the stairs.’

Pariston continued his questions. They were about Plus Ultra Agency, how it was like to work with Deku, how does your quirk work, and who was your role model. Things you really wished not having to answer. A ding indicated you’d arrived at the correct floor.

“Let’s hurry! Don’t want to miss anything Kurapika has to say!” Pariston held out his arm for you to take. Be nice, you whispered in your mind. You looped your arm around his and he patted your hand. Pariston’s shoes clicked on the glossy marble floor. A long narrow sitting room directed you and Pariston to the supposed meeting room. “Whose child is that?” He raised an eyebrow.

The child in a distance happened to be Gon. There was a tic mark on his forehead, anger radiating off him with his arms crossed. He let out a loud groan, throwing his head back and hitting it on the wall.

“Ouch!” He rubbed the back of his head.

“Careful Gon.” You smiled, catching his attention. He gave a meek wave, focused on his head to stop hurting. ‘That means Izuku must be here.’

Gon continued to say ‘Ouch, ouch,’ while Pariston held open the door for you. You stepped in. Several heroes sat at the stone table, the letters K and C carved in it. You scanned to find Izuku, who was nearest to the door. An empty seat on his right side while Todoroki sat on his left.

“I didn’t know you’d be here.” You told your partner. Midoriya’s green eyes met yours.

“I didn’t either.”

“Shoto.” You sent him a nod when you sat down. Todoroki did the same thing, saying you hero name instead. Sero, Kirishima, Bakugo, Kaminari, and Yaoyorozu were here too. You were surprised to see Bakugo in normal clothing. His cheeks were flushed red and it creeped up to his forehead. ‘Wonder if he’s okay.’

“I’m so sorry Kurapika.” Pariston’s voice boomed. He towered over the chain hero, “But Ging won’t be coming. He said it was too short of a notice and would like to be informed earlier next time.” At the mention of Ging, you and Todoroki saw Midoriya tense up. Including the not so sneaky glance Bakugo gave.

“Then I trust you will tell him this information. Ging is a valuable asset.” Kurapika responded. “Take a seat Pariston. We’ll begin shortly.” A couple of more heroes showed up to fill the empty seats.

“Are we all ready?” Kurapika clasped his hands together. Chords of approval made his next words, “Good. I’ve called you all here today because I truly believe you twenty can help me on my mission.”

He stepped back, reaching for a small remote and pressing a button.

“If you know me, you know my life long mission is to take down a gang called the Phantom Troupe.” Kurapika’s first picture was a man with a cross tattoo in the center of his forehead. His hair cascaded down his sides. He had a weird type of blue earrings, reminding you of a light bulb. There was a cut on his right cheek.

“So, they really do exist?” Asked Cheedle, a member of the Zodiacs. She had the appearance of a dog and her circle glasses suited her face.

“Many people claim they do not. But I can assure you, they can conceal their presence. Only a few have seen them and lived.” Kurapika answered. “I have never shared my information of the Troupe. For the longest, I convinced myself I could fight them alone. An incident that went on last week made me realize I couldn’t.”

Bakugo coughed, not in a way to catch attention but in a serious fever cough. Sero patted Bakugo’s back. Bakugo wiped his mouth with his sleeve.

“Keep going, chain freak.” He crossed his arms.

“Our first topic is discussing the members, what I know of them, and what they look like.” Kurapika motioned to the picture. “First, we have Chrollo Lucilfer. He is the leader. Chrollo’s quirk allows him to steal another quirk. He can use the stolen quirks whenever he wants.” You watched Bakugo tighten his jaw.

‘Chrollo must be the one who took Bakugo’s quirk.’ You thought. You took mental notes of what Kurapika said about Chrollo. According to Kurapika, his danger level was a nine out of ten.

“Next, we have Uvogin. Some call him Uvogin the Beast because he has enhanced super strength.” A picture of a man who reminded you of a werewolf. His skin tone was darker than Chrollo’s. He had side burns and full grey hair. “He is the eleventh member. Uvogin’s kills are merciless. He and Chrollo were at the incident of last week I briefly spoke about.”

‘Did Uvogin destroy the whole building himself or did Chrollo help him?’ You spun a little on the wheelie chair, knocking into Midoriya’s seat.

“On the danger scale, Uvogin is a ten. Next, we have Hisoka Morow. Alias, Hisoka the Magician.” A side profile of a man whose red fuchsia hair would be the center of attention. If his interesting make up didn’t exist. A pink star adorned his cheek. “His quirk is unknown. Hisoka is the fourth member. Danger level, ten as well.”

‘He doesn’t seem so bad. I should still listen to what Kurapika said.’

The next picture was a man with long black hair. Kurapika said he knew nothing about him, only that he cared a sword. He mentioned a few more names. Franklin Bordeou, Phinks Magcub, and Shizuku Murasaki were the rest who he had their full names. The ones where he only knew their first name were Feitan, Shalnark, Machi, Pakunoda, and Kortopi.

“Did everyone understand or do I need to go over again?” He said. No one chose the latter option. “Very well. Let’s continue on the second part.” Kurapika held two fingers up.

He shut the screen off and left the remote on the table.

“I have figured out what I want everyone to do or take part of. But, this all depends on you Copycat.” You heart beated against your chest.

“What?”

“Everyone else was easy to fit in a section. But your quirk makes you available for anything. I have four options.” He now held up four fingers. “I will tell you the four. You will choose one of the options. Which ever option you choose determines what the roles for everyone else here will be.”

You swallowed. Suddenly, you weren’t enjoying the attention on you. What if the option you choose ruined it all for the rest?

“Don’t worry. Each option has a one hundred success rate to work.” Kurapika said. “Are you ready to hear them?”

VILLAINS

❝When a vicious gang called the Phantom Troupe takes away the quirk of Katsuki Bakugo, Ground Zero, heroes around do their best to protect him and ones in training. They call you in and give you four different options that give you four different outcomes.❞

TAGLIST IS OPEN! SEND AN ASK, A COMMENT, OR DM TO BE ADDED! STRIKETHROUGH MEANS I CAN’T TAG YOU!

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[ceaderblocks]

The Devil’s in the Details, Chapter 8

the final chapter

chapter 1 // chapter 2 // chapter 3 // chapter 4 // chapter 5 // chapter 6 // chapter 7 //

find on a03 here

Scar was in the End. He had never seen the End like this, an empty stretch of End Stone that went on in every direction with nothing else in sight.

“We had a deal.” Oscar snarled, and Scar turned around to face them. They stood a few meters away, a gleaming diamond sword in their hand.

“You were going to build those damn towers, and I’d give your Vex power back.”

“You said you weren’t going to hurt my friends. I was building the towers, and you hurt them anyways.” Scar said. He reached into his inventory to look for a weapon. There was nothing.

“You were taking too long. People kept interfering.”

“You were never going to leave us alone, were you?” Scar said, coming to a realization. Oscar snarled, their eyes glowing in the dark of the End. “You were just using me as a cover.”

“Congratulations,” Oscar spat, gripping the sword tighter. “You figured it out. Unfortunately for you, there’s no prize.”

“Are you even part of the Void?” Scar asked, trying to delay the inevitable fight. He had no armor or weapon; he would be killed in an instant. He needed a plan.

“I’m worse than the Void,” Oscar stalked forwards, and Scar tripped on his feet walking backwards to avoid them getting closer. “I’m the pure magic of the Vex and the End. I’m the worst of both in one form. I’m going to rule them both, and I am going to rule you and your stupid, bullshit overworld too. I don’t serve anyone but myself, unlike you weak players, who are subject to the whim of magic.”

“I don’t understand,” Scar said, still backing up. “Why didn’t you just take over?”

“I needed that Void Walker and ConVex to disperse of their human vessels. You were the perfect opportunity when Void and Vex met to interact with the over-world.”

Scar tripped on a rock, falling onto his back. Hitting the ground hard, Scar found himself straddled and a sword to his throat within moments. Breathing heavily, Scar turned his head away, trying to avoid its sharp point.

“Xisuma will be here soon,” Scar said. “My friends will help me, even if you kill me.”

“They won’t be coming,” Oscar hissed. “There’s no magic here. They can’t find us.”

Scar’s eyes widened. Oscar was a being of magic. If there was none here, that meant that Oscar was as tangible and vulnerable as Scar was!

Scar took in Oscar’s being for a quick moment. There was sweat on their brow, and they were breathing heavily. Scar noted that Oscar was shaking ever-so-slightly as well. Scar quickly made his move, elbowing Oscar in the face as hard as he could and then shoving them off his body. Oscar cried out, clutching their nose and crumpling to the side, leaving Scar to escape. Stumbling to his feet, Scar snatched the sword from the ground, spinning around to face Oscar. His doppelgänger was still on the ground, their lungs heaving with pain and anger. Wiping the blood from their face, Oscar stood, scowling. They drew a secondary sword from their inventory, just as sharp as the first. Oscar readied himself, shifting his balance to be sturdier. Blood streamed from their nose, and Scar was sure he had broken it.

With no warning taunt, Oscar flung themselves towards Scar. The flat edge of the sword

hit Scar’s ribs, knocking the breath from him. Still standing, Scar swung his own weapon, cutting across Oscar’s chest.

“Shit!” They gasped. The wound was shallow but long. Scar winced. He hadn’t seen that much blood in a long time.

Despite this thought, Scar didn’t pause for long. Lunging forwards, metal sung against metal as the swords met. The weapons locked in an cross shape, Scar could see the fear in Oscar’s eyes.

He’s never been vulnerable before. Scar realized. Remembering his promise to Cub, Scar grit his teeth. He hated to admit it, but he’d rather see Oscar bleeding then see Cub injured.

Oscar broke the crossed lock and thrust forwards, making a wild stab at Scar. Scar easily sidestepped the attack, bringing his sword down and lunging forwards, this time slicing Oscar’s right arm.

Crying out in pain, Oscar made another unhinged swipe, missing completely. They stepped forwards, lunging again, and Scar parried his attack.

“Fuck you!” Oscar said, panting heavily. The two wounds they had sustained were bleeding heavily. Scar suspected they wouldn’t stop bleeding without medical attention.

“I can get you medical help, but you have to promise to leave us alone.” Scar said. “You’re really injured.”

“I don’t want your help,” Oscar scowled. They were pale. “I want you dead.”

Scar inhaled sharply. He didn’t want to kill anyone, especially when there was no resurrection out here. He didn’t have much of a choice.

Oscar swung his weapon desperately, missing Scar again. Scar stepped behind Oscar, shifting his stance to ground himself. Oscar turned and laughed.

Scar took a steadying breath, inhaling deeply.

“You really think you can stop me?” Oscar screamed. “I am everything! I am the Void! I am the Vex! I am everything you pathetic hermits want to be! I am the sun, I am the stars-“

Scar exhaled.

“-I am the source of all magic! I am in your dreams; I am your future! I am the End! I am- “

Oscar choked as Scar’s sword ran through him.

“Sorry.” Scar whispered.

The sword in Oscar’s chest made a disgusting noise as it was pushed further. Oscar didn’t make a noise when they fell to the ground, the sickening thump ringing through Scar’s head. Scar had been expecting some dramatic speech, or a curse. He had expected screaming or sobbing or <em> something </em> when Oscar was defeated, not a quiet, dead body. The lack of retorts and breath made the silence of the End much more unnerving then it used to be. Scar decided he hated it, and the bloodied sword slipped from his hand.

< BadTimesWithScar was slain by GoodTimesWithScar >

< XisumaVoid teleported to GoodTimesWithScar >

“Scar!” Xisuma cried out, racing towards his friend.

“You know,” Scar didn’t take his eyes off Oscar’s body. “I kinda expected them to respawn. It’d be just my luck, wouldn’t it?”

“Are you hurt?”

Scar shook his head. Xisuma noticed he was pale.

“Are you alright?”

Scar shook his head again, ripping his eyes off the lifeless form. Stumbling a few steps backwards, the gravity of what he had done finally settled in Scar’s mind. He vomited onto the ground, tears rolling down his face.

“Oh my God,” Scar dropped to his knees. “I killed them.”

“Scar, it’s okay.” Xisuma dropped to his side, wrapping his arms around Scar and gently turning him away.

“I killed them! I killed-“ Scar took a heavy, shuddering gasp.

“Scar, you had to. There was no other way.” Xisuma said, pulling Scar in close. “It was self-defence.”

“Please don’t ban me!” Scar begged. “I didn’t mean to kill them!”

“I won’t.” Xisuma said, “You’ve done nothing wrong. They were going to kill you.”

“I killed them.” Scar said, his breath heaving, and Xisuma began to realize that Scar wasn’t really listening to him. “I killed them.”

Xisuma turned his gaze to the corpse lying on the ground a few feet away, blood staining the EndStone.

“I killed them.” Scar said again, as if repeating the words would make them hurt any less.

“Yeah,” Xisuma agreed. “You did.”

Scar leaned into Xisuma, falling quiet. Xisuma wanted to get out of the End as soon as possible, but allowed his friend a moment to collect himself. A loud crash made Xisuma and Scar jump.

“They’re back?” Scar said, scrambling to his feet.

“No,” Xisuma said, inhaling sharply and pointing to a spot a few meters away. “The End is falling apart!”

Where there had once been endless endstone there were now gaping holes in the land. The void could be seen through it, as unforgiving as ever. Loud crashes and bangs filled the air as the ground beneath them began to crumble away.

“Scar, we need to go! This section hasn’t loaded, and now it’s falling apart!” Xisuma shouted, running to his left to avoid falling with the ground.

“Xisuma-“ Scar reached out, and the Admin watched in horror as the ground beneath Scar fell out. The builder didn’t scream as he plummeted, to sheep shocked to do anything.

“Scar!” Xisuma shouted, and whipped out his administration screens, quickly typing in a command. He then jumped into the Void, praying he’d catch Scar. His armor was heavier than Scar’s clothing, and it allowed him to sink faster.

“Scar!” He shouted again, reaching out. “Grab my hand!”

Scar shouted something back, tears flying from his eyes. The builder reached forwards, and their fingertips brushed. The cold of the Void was starting to sink into Xisuma’s skin, and he knew Scar was hurting worse than we was. A few more moments and they’d both be dead.

“Dammit!” Xisuma cried, reaching out as far as he could. Scar tried to reach out as well, ice creeping over his fingers. Xisuma fired a rocket from his belt and—

< XisumaVoid and GoodTimeWithScar teleported to Cubfab135 >

---

Cub, by some miracle, was not dead.

Sure, he had died, but he wasn’t dead, which was surprising. With Oscar’s weird-ass abilities and the fact that he had bled Cub thought he perma-died. But he hadn’t. And now Cub didn’t really know what to do.

“I even had cool last words,” Cub huffed, not really annoyed he was alive.

“Cub?” A voice yelled from outside. “Yo, are you alive?”

“Ex?” Cub called out, sitting up. He winced, phantom pain throbbing where he had been stabbed.

Not dead, Cub noted. but also not unscathed.

“Holy shit! You’re alive!” Ex threw open the front door, racing in and grabbing Cub roughly by his arms. “Wow! Thank God! I don’t know how to plan a funeral.”

“I believe we have bigger problems than a funeral.” Cub said, wiggling his way out of Ex’s grip. “We need to find Scar and help him.”

“Yeah, so small problem,” Ex said. “Dickface took Scar to some remote corner of the End, and then cut out all magic… which includes any Admin abilities.”

“Xisuma can’t get to him,” Cub said, inhaling sharply and throwing his feet over the edge of his bed.

“Yeah, Scar is on his own.” Ex frowned. “Where is Xisuma? He was right behind me.”

A loud ping from the communicators on their hips drew their attention.

< BadTimesWithScar was slain by GoodTimesWithScar >

< XisumaVoid teleported to GoodTimesWithScar >

“He survived?” Ex said, sounding impressed.

“He killed Oscar,” Cub said, breathless.

Cub’s eyes widened, horrified. Was he bleeding out? Almost dead? Trapped in some weird, End induced coma that he would never be able to leave?

< XisumaVoid and GoodTimesWithScar teleported to Cubfab135 >

The train of thought was Interrupted with Scar and Xisuma crashing from a portal into the room.

Xisuma was carrying most of Scar’s weight, the builder awake but unresponsive. The were both shivering, and Cub could see the ice from the Void melting on Scar. Cub inhaled sharply, seeing that Scar was covered in blood. Cub stumbled from his bed and opened his bedside chest, pulling out potions of healing and bandages.

“Put him on the bed Xisuma, I need to bandage his wounds!”

“I’m not hurt.” Scar said quietly, refusing to look at anyone while speaking. He rubbed his hands along his arms, trying to warm himself up.

“There’s blood on you,” Cub said frantically, “Are you sure-”

“It’s not mine.” Scar mumbled, and the room froze. Even Ex was at a loss for words, looking uncomfortable with the idea that Scar had actually killed Oscar. Blood wasn’t present unless it was permanent.

“We should sit you down anyways,” Xisuma said gently, breaking the silence. Scar nodded, seemingly off in another world.

He sat on the edge of the bed, and Cub quietly put the bandages and potions away while Ex and Xisuma had a hushed conversation, something about restoring the balance and a deal they made. Cub didn’t really care, his friend being the main concern.

“Scar,” Cub said, sitting on the bed. Scar blinked a few times, and turned his attention to Cub. “Thank you.”

Scar’s eyes welled with tears, and a few slipped down his face. Cub pulled his friend into a tight hug, letting his friend cry. There wasn’t much else he could do.

---

Settling back into routine took a long time. Explaining to the other Hermits what had happened was an ordeal in itself, filled with questions and many, many concerns.

(Doc had asked Xisuma to bring Oscar back so he could kill him again. Xisuma had declined.)

The mood of Hermits had changed as well. The idea of someone being permanently offed made them all more cautious to death. Inventories were always stacked with potions, and rarely was anyone alone.

Scar, however, was never alone. After sleeping for an entire week, he began building again. Xisuma and Ex had cleared the dark buildings that Oscar had made, doing their best to avoid leaving gaping holes where they had once been.

Cherry was still non-existent, and Scar had been finishing fixing his portal when Cub had dragged him to the shopping district.

“Cub, why are we here? Do you need help building a new shop?” Scar asked, walking alongside his friend.

“No, I just want to show you a new one.”

“Oh, whose it is?” Scar asked, confused. “You don’t usually show me new shops.”

“Actually,” A new voice said, and Scar frowned in confusion as Grian came up from behind and threw an arm around his shoulders. “It’s yours!”

“Tada!” Grian said, spinning Scar around to face the newly built Cherry.

“Oh my gosh.” Scar said, covering his mouth as Iskall and Mumbo lit a concerning amount of fireworks.

Before him stood Cherry, identical to how it had been before it had been destroyed. Scar walked up to the entrance, running a hand along the wood.

“We even restocked it for you!” Iskall said, patting Scar on the back and then walking past to open a chest. Peaking into it, Scar saw that it was filled with redstone.

“This is amazing,” Scar said, breathless. “Thank you.”

“And the best part,” Grian said cheerfully, “is that the only payment is that you have to shop at Sahara for the rest of your life!”

“Grian!” Mumbo scolded. “We talked about this!”

“Dude, you were the only one who said we should do it for free! You were outvoted.” Iskall said.

Scar burst out into laughter.

“Hey! I’m not joking.” Grian chided, failing to keep a large smile off his face. Mumbo looked horrified.

“He’s joking,” Mumbo said, turning to Scar with a worried look on his face. “You’re joking, right?”

Scar smiled as Cub laughed as well.

Despite everything that had happened, Scar was going to be okay.

[snappedsky]

Borderlands: Skies the Bodyguard 3

Skies the crew finally find Rhys and Fiona...and a surprise guest.

*Links to previous and next chapter in reblog*

--

Chapter 21

Now

           “Jack,” Skies snarls.

           “No, it-it’s not possible,” Timothy stammers in disbelief.

           “He’s right!” Claptrap exclaims, pointing at the computer screen. “How can Jack be in there? He’s dead!”

           “It’s his AI,” Skies replies plainly.

           Another word appears on the screen. ‘Bingo’.

           Crying out with rage, Athena smashes the computer with one swing of her shield.

           “What did Rhys do?” she growls.

           “It can’t be his AI,” Sasha argues, “Rhys said he destroyed it.”

           “Well…he never…definitively said that,” Vaughn points out, “just that he removed it from his head.”

           Everyone is quiet for a second, trying to make sense of the situation. Then Skies takes a deep breath and continues walking down the tunnel. “Come on.”

           “What?” Timothy questions.

           “We have to find Rhys and Fiona, right?” she says, “so let’s go.”

           Everyone follows her down the passage, now feeling tenser than ever. Soon they spot another light source up ahead, this one seemingly streaming out of a doorway. As they get nearer, two people scamper out and stand before them.

           The group stops as their flashlights illuminate the figures and they stare at each other, shocked for second.

           “Fiona!” Sasha cries.

           “Rhys!” Vaughn exclaims.

           “Guys!” Rhys and Fiona cheer.

           The four of them race into a tight hug, talking over each other with excitement. Gortys and Loader Bot are quick to join in, Loader Bot patting Rhys and Fiona’s backs while Gortys whoops happily.

           “Aw, ain’t that sweet,” Claptrap comments while Athena, Timothy, and Skies watch, smiling.

           As the hugging starts to wind down, Rhys spots Skies and smiles at her. She smiles back, a bit more awkwardly.

           Nudging her shoulder, Timothy says, “this is the part where you hug him.”

           “Hu-!” she gasps then clears her throat. “Uh, that-that’s a bit…advanced for me. How about a handshake, or a fist bump? Or a friendly punch in the shoulder? I’m good at that.”

           Claptrap suddenly shoves her and she stumbles up to Rhys. She glares back at the robot, who just waves innocently while Timothy shrugs, before facing him.

           “Uh, Rhys, hey,” she stammers, “it’s-I-um…I’m glad you’re okay. N-not that I was worried or anything. I knew you’d be fine. B-but I mean I wasn’t just gonna leave you, obviously. And-and you know, I’m happy to see you. I mean we’ve been looking for you for days. B-but not just because of that. I’m not just glad to finish a quest or something-.”

           “Skies,” Rhys says, stopping her rambles. She looks at him and he smiles. “I’m happy to see you too.”

           Skies shoulders relax and she smiles back. “Thanks.”            “Aw, that makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.”

           The voice sends a visible chill up Skies’ spine and catches everyone’s attention. They all look into the brightly lit room while Fiona glowers and Rhys sighs heavily.

           “So much for a happy reunion,” Fiona grumbles as everyone goes inside.

           The room appears to be some kind of living space. In the center is a small kitchen table with a couple chairs; against the opposite wall is a small stove, mini fridge, and sink; and in the wall to the left is a doorway leading to a bedroom.

           The wall to the right is covered in computers, consoles, and about a dozen different screens. And displayed on all those screens is the smug grin of Handsome Jack.

           “Well, well, well,” he purrs, “what a reunion! Look at you all!”

           “Bandit girl. Gotta say, liked your old hairstyle better. My old pal, Muscles! What’s with the get-up, you some kind of bandit king? I guess that’s an upgrade. Athena, looking as angry as ever. My first body double. I bet you were hoping I forgot about you, but Handsome Jack never forgets a bitch. And Skies…”            “Wow,” he sighs, “so many people I hate all in one room. Rhys, I just-I gotta thank you for bringing us all together like this.”

           Rhys groans guiltily as everyone glares at him. He opens his mouth, hoping to defend himself, when Athena suddenly rushes forward.

           “Whoa!” he squeaks, barely dodging her punch.

           “Athena!” Skies roars and swings at her. She dodges and they both grab their guns.

           Two shots ring out as the bullets pierce the ceiling. Fiona, Sasha, and Vaughn struggle to hold back Athena while Timothy, August, and Loader Bot do the same with Skies, keeping their guns pointed upwards. Claptrap and Gortys roll around in between them in a panic while Rhys stays back and Jack laughs.

           “I warned you Athena!” Skies barks, “I told you if you tried to hurt him, I would eviscerate you!”

           “I should’ve known better than to trust either of you!” Athena shouts, “especially you, you Jack lover!”

           “Guys, stop!” Gortys begs, “friends shouldn’t fight!”

           “Aw, come on, let them go,” Jack says, “I’d love to see them go at it. An unstoppable force verses an immoveable object.”

           “Shut up, Jack!” everyone yells.

           “Alright, enough!” Rhys snaps, stepping in between them. “Look, this is my fault. You all deserve to be mad at me; you can even try to kill me later. But do it after we’ve collected our Vault prizes. Alright?”

           “What prizes?” Vaughn asks.

           “Sorry, did you miss all the Eridium in those tunnels?” Fiona asks snidely.

           “Yeah, plus this entire Atlas facility,” Rhys adds.

           “So this island is the real Vault treasure?” Sasha questions.

      ��    “I’ll explain,” he says and points at Skies and Athena. “If you two settle down.”

           They glare at each other for a second and Skies drops her gun. “Fine.”

           Athena huffs but does the same. Everyone lets them go and Rhys sighs with relief.

           “Thank you,” he says and clears his throat. “Now. One of the theories about the Vault of the Traveler is that when opened, it would teleport its victors to their nearest place of desire.”

           “So this island is your desire?” August questions, “how’s that?”

           “Well, I wanna rebuild Atlas,” Rhys replies.

           “And I wanna be rich,” Fiona adds.

           “So the facility would be great for my needs once I get it running again,” he explains, “and all that Eridium will make Fiona filthy rich.”

           “The filthiest,” she grins.

           “There’s just one problem. Well, a few actually.”

           Rhys goes over to the computers and pushes a button. One of the screens change from Jack’s face to a view of the surface, where a large battle is taking place between the Crimson Raiders, the Guardians, and the Jack haters.

           “That third group wasn’t there last time we checked,” Fiona says.

           “Aw, jeez,” Timothy groans.

           “If we want to take over this island, not only do we have to deal with all of this,” Rhys explains, gesturing to the fight. “But also the Prototype.”

           “The Prototype?” Vaughn questions.

           “This facility was one of the many that was working on the Gortys project,” he replies.    

           “Me?” Gortys questions.

           “That’s right,” he nods, patting her head. “And they created a prototype of your final form.”

           “I knew it,” Loader Bot states.

           “The Prototype is unstable and dangerous,” Rhys continues, “and it’s being housed in the main control tower. I need to get into that tower to take control of the facility, but I can’t do that as long as the Prototype is up and running.”

           “So, to summarize,” Fiona says, “we need to take control of the island by defeating those three groups on the surface and the giant robot.”

           “Sounds fun,” Skies comments.

           “How are we gonna do it?” Athena asks.

           “I’m working on a plan,” Rhys replies and sits at the table. “In the meantime, why don’t you guys take it easy? You all look exhausted.”

           “Well, it has been a stressful day,” Vaughn sighs.

           Everyone splits off into groups around the room: Vaughn sits with Rhys, Fiona and Sasha go into the bedroom, and Loader Bot and Gortys hang around by the door, with Claptrap following them like a lost puppy. Athena and August keep to themselves while Skies and Timothy watch the screen displaying the surface.

           Skies sighs heavily as she watches fight, rubbing the scar across her right eye.

           “Maybe they’ll kill each other,” Timothy says hopefully.

           “Not likely,” she grunts, “the Crimson Raiders will win. It’s what they do.”

           “I’m rooting for the guys in the Handsome Jack masks,” Jack states, “they got good taste.”

           “They hate you, y’know,” Skies says.

           “Oh. Well, nobody’s perfect. ‘Cept me, of course.”

           Skies scoffs with disgust. “Just ignore him,” Timothy says.

           “I cannot believe I put up with him as long as I did,” she mumbles.

            Jack huffs with annoyance and takes over the screen they’re watching, making them cry with surprise.

           “Look at you two,” he snorts, “wearing cheap rags, covered in dirt and grime, like a couple of peasants. You both were living it up back on Helios.”

           “Better alive and free than ‘living it up’ with you,” Timothy retorts.

           “Ha! Yeah, tell him, Tim,” Skies guffaws.

           “Free?” Jack scoffs, “is that what you felt after you ran away? Knowing I could blow up your head anytime?”

           “Then why didn’t you?”

           “Too easy and too quick. I wanted you to suffer; to live in fear, until the day I came after you myself.”

           “But you didn’t. And then you died.”

           Jack snarls furiously, unable to retort. His glare darkens at Skies chuckling.

           “What happened to you two?” he asks, “you were two of my most loyal subordinates.”

           Skies giggling stops and she glares at him. “Aw, are your feewings hurt? Do you miss the times when we worked for you in exchange for our lives?”

           “What happened, Jack,” she says sternly, “is that we spent time away from you and we learned what you truly are: a sickness. And you infect everyone who dares get close to you.”

           “You’re a virus, Jack.”  

[sorceress-coffee]

The Battle of Two Bridges

AO3 Link

As consciousness returned slowly, I could make out a soft beeping, playing to a steady rhythm above my head. Another soft rhythm playing to my right. I tried to sit up, only to be pushed back slowly onto the bed. When did I get home?

“You need to take it slow; you were burnt pretty bad.” A voice called out.

My eyes opened to a room shrouded in darkness, the blurred form of Claire was the one who had pushed me back. Shifting my head to the right I could see Jim in a hospital bed hooked up to a few machines, the heart monitor had been the soft beeping. “What happened?” I croaked, trying to get up again.

Claire sighed, helping me sit up gently, moving the back of the hospital bed into a sitting position. “Do you remember anything?” She asked, handing me a glass of water.

Taking it, I nodded slowly before gulping it down. My entire body felt like it was burnt raw. “Goblins in the woods… Jim’s amulet was fake. Burning…” I trailed off glancing at Claire’s hands that had been bandaged. “You tried to help. Then, Jim’s armor.” I finished, frowning at her bandages. “I’m so sorry Claire.”

Claire smiled softly, waving it off. “They’re not that bad, minor compared to whatever happened to you.” She explained, gesturing to my arms covered in bandages, I could feel more around my torso and legs as well. “You started to glow when Jim called for the amulet. It must’ve been painful.” She sighed, “Jim finished off the goblins and then a pink monster- troll- attacked us. I ran to get help, by the time we got back both you and Jim were unconscious. My dad called for ambulances and you were rushed here.” She explained, watching Jim’s chest slowly rise and fall with his steady breaths.

I smiled softly, shifting my arm to hold her hand. “Thank you.” Looking over the bandages I groaned, “Think there’s a way we can explain this without telling everyone about Trolls?” I asked, knowing it wasn’t possible.

Claire frowned, looking over both our bandages, “Not sure, I told them we were attacked by animals in the woods, but I couldn’t place what they were. It won’t account for the burns though.” She explained. “So, what is going on? Jim is kind of obvious, magic armor equals magic destiny, but what about you?”

Sighing, I reached out my hand, summoning Midnight in a flash of light. “It’s magic,” I held out the collapsed weapon for her to take. “I’ve been studying in Trollmarket.” I shrugged.

Claire’s eyes widened, taking the weapon carefully. “Can anyone learn?” She asked quickly, keeping her excitement down as to not wake Jim.

I paused, thinking over what Vendel has taught me so far. “Not entirely sure. Vendel, my teacher, said I was born with magic. Blinky, Jim’s trainer, has mentioned that Jim doesn’t have magic in his blood. So, I guess if someone had magic in their bloodline, they could learn magic?” I explained, not too sure how it worked myself.

She nodded, tracing the crystal veining in thought. “So, you’re a mage, Jim is a ‘Trollhunter,’ is that what I saw in your basement?” She asked before turning bright red, realizing she admitted to breaking into our house.

Laughing softly, I nodded, “That was Draal, he protects our home when Jim has to go on missions.” I explained. “The basement is his room.”

Claire’s jaw dropped, “Wait. Draal, as in your boyfriend? That Draal? The one that gave Jim advice for the kissing scene?” She asked quickly, sitting on the edge of her seat.

My face burned scarlet, remembering my slip up when Jim was wearing the Grit-Shaka, “Yeah, that’s my Draal.” I told her, rubbing the back of my neck, “Sorry about that by the way.”

Claire shook her head quickly. “No, no, I just… You’re dating a Troll?” She asked confused. “Isn’t that difficult as a human?”

“Well, I’m not a human, so I’ve got that going for me,” I explained, hoping she wouldn’t freak out on me. “Sorcerers, Wizards, Witches, whatever you want to call it, have the appearance of a human, but they’re made of magic and are more Troll-like than Human-like.”

Claire nodded slowly, processing my explanation, “So, exactly how are you different besides the whole magic thing?” She asked, setting Midnight next to my covered legs.

I hummed, collecting my thoughts, “I don’t know much honestly, this is still new to me. I do know I’m more durable, I’ll age extremely slow like I’ll be centuries old and still young. There are also different magic abilities from wizard to wizard. I can wield daylight, which is only carried in Merlin’s bloodline. I can enhance my physical strength, heal, and teleport as well.” I sighed, realizing I knew next to nothing about wizards. “Look, Vendel would be better at answering your questions, I’ve only known for a couple of months now.”

Claire nodded, “Does that mean I get to go to Trollmarket?” She asked, a hopeful glint in her eye.

I laughed softly and nodded. “Why not? Jim takes Toby already. I’m sure one more fleshbag won’t cause too much excitement.”

Claire giggled at the use of ‘Fleshbag,’ “Is that what they call us?”

“Oh yes, and you will hear it a lot,” I confirmed with a grin.

Claire smiled before looking over my bandages again, “So, if you can heal, why haven’t you tried to?”

I winced looking down, the pain our conversation had dulled being pulled to the front of my mind. “It would be suspicious if I came in with burns and they mysteriously disappeared overnight,” I explained, holding out my hands to her, palm up. “Hands.” I nodded to her own bandaged ones.

Claire glanced at her hands before carefully setting them in mine. I smiled softly and began the healing incantation, eyes, and palms glowing a soft blue as warmth spread to Claire’s hands, healing the burns under her bandages. I dropped my hands after, smiling. “That should do it.”

Claire was eyeing her hands, stretching them out slowly. She jumped out of her chair when she realized the pain was gone. “That’s amazing!” She exclaimed, covering her mouth quickly and glancing at Jim.

I smiled at Jim, still resting quietly. “Nomura did a number on him…” I trailed off, “I’ll be able to heal us when we get discharged.” I told Claire, trying to dispel her worries.

She smiled softly as the rain began to pour outside. “I’ll leave you two to rest, it’s been a long night. Thank you for your help.” I smiled, waving her off as she left for home.

Jim awoke as the world began moving with the morning, rain still pelting our hospital room window. Holding his head, he slowly sat up. “Did a bus hit me?” He asked, trying to focus.

“Nah, just Nomura,” I spoke up, snickering when Jim jumped at my voice.

His eyes locked onto my frame, focusing slowly, “What the hell happened to you?” He asked, noting all the bandages.

I shrugged, “Something to do with the amulet I think, other than that, no clue. How’s your head?” I asked worried Nomura may have done actual damage.

“Fuzzy, sound hurts a bit, but at least it’s still attached,” he tried to joke, using the remote to raise the head of his hospital bed. His phone lighting up on the table between our beds. He picked it up frowning at a single missed call and voice mail.

“What’s up?” I asked at his confused stare. Trying to get a peek of his phone screen.

“Voice mail, from Strickler,” He replied, showing me the screen.

I tensed seeing the teacher’s contact on the voice mail. “I don’t like this.”

Jim let out a sigh, eyeing his phone, “Nomura said I had to open the bridge, they can’t do it without me.” He explained that was the only reason he hadn’t been killed last night.

I nodded to his phone, “Shouldn’t you listen?”

He nodding, starting the voicemail on speaker, Blinky’s voice coming from the phone. “Master Jim,” Blinky sounded stressed on the other line, Jim and I exchanged a look of panic, “you must listen to me very carefully.” He paused for a moment, “They have captured me and you to come to the Bridge, “he trailed off, sighing before his voice continued, “alone.” I twisted on the bed, throwing my legs to hang over the edge, trying to get up as I stared at Jim’s phone. Jim held a hand up trying to get me to stop, listening to the voice mail intently. “Don’t come! It’s a trap!” He yelled out! “River Ee-” his voice became muffled.

“Give me that!” Strickler snarled out, having taken the phone from Blinky. “It appears things have grown awkward, Mr. Lake.” He began, Blinky’s muffled protests fading out. “Meet me in the alley beside the theater if you ever want to see your friend again.”

We could hear a crash as Blinky’s voice cut through again, “Don’t open the Bridge! Under no circumstan-” and the voice mail cut off.

Jim and I stared at the phone, trying to process everything that was said. “They have Blinky,” was all Jim could get out at the moment.

I carefully got up, walking over to him slowly. Jim shifter over so there was room for me to sit with him on the bed. I climbed in, minding the bandages covering most of my limbs. “He’s going to be okay. We’ll figure something out Jim.” I tried to comfort him, mind spinning over all the details.

Jim held my hand, careful of the burns, he replayed the voice mail, over and over again. Focusing on different parts each time until Toby knocked on the door.

Toby walked in, frowning at the extend of mine and Jim’s injuries. “Are you two alright? You look like someone just died.” He said, standing next to Jim.

Jim sighed, playing the voice mail for Toby. “I’ve listened to it a hundred times now, and I still don’t know what to do.” He said, throwing his phone down onto the bed.

“You don’t have to do this alone. You’ve got Arrrgh, Draal, River, and me.” Toby explained, trying to help Jim.

“They said I had to be alone.” Jim snapped. “If I’m not, what do you think they’ll do to Blinky?” He asked.

“Blinky made it clear. ‘Under no circumstances.’” Toby tried to defend.

Jim squeezed my hand glaring at his phone. “Enough friends have gotten hurt because of me. River’s covered in burns because the amulet was stolen. No more.” Jim told him.

“Really? Because Strickler was the one who stole it right? We also have no idea if that’s why, whatever happened in the woods, happened.” I argued back, pulling his hand to look at me. “People aren’t getting hurt because of you. They’re getting hurt because of Gunmar.” I snapped.

Toby sighed, pulling something out of his bag, “Well, Jim, It's your call. You’re the Trollhunter.” He handed the amulet to Jim. “Here. I picked it up in the woods after you two were dragged away. I thought since we all found it together, we’d always be in this together.” He pointed out to Jim.

Mom came walking into the room with a clipboard, smiling at us. “Hello, Toby.” She greeted.

“Hey, Dr. Lake,” Toby greeted as Jim hid the amulet. “I was just leaving, they’re all yours.” He said, running around Mom quickly. “Can you believe it? Coyotes!” He asked, running out the door.

Mom closed the hospital curtain, walking back over to us. “You both have good friends; one even stayed all night.” She smiled, sitting with us.

“Yeah, there’s really no one like Toby.” Jim chuckled, adjusting in the bed.

I snickered; Jim had no idea how much Claire cared about him.

Mom smiled at me before addressing Jim again. “Actually, it was a girl. She said her name was Claire,” she explained, checking over Jim’s scratches.

Jim’s eyes widened as he glanced to me, I only shrugged back causing him to let out a flustered laugh.

Mom looked between us before sighing, “I want you to talk to me and I expect to hear the truth.” She told us, voice going stern. “What were you doing in the woods?” She asked us.

Jim glanced at me before thinking of what Toby had said, “Well,” He started, “Claire thought she heard her brother crying in the woods, so we went in.”

“And something attacked us. They looked like weird dogs, so we thought it might be coyotes.” I finished, trying to be convincing.

“The truth.” Mom ground out. “Your scratches,” She turned to me, gesturing to the bandages, “you have burns. Those weren’t from coyotes.” She pulled up Jim’s scratched arm, glancing at the scratches again.

“I swear! You can ask Claire.” Jim tried again, pulling his arm out of her grasp.

I winced, shifting away when he brushed against my burnt leg. Mom frowned seeing I was still in pain. “Stop lying to me!” She snapped, checking my bandages. “You both come home from school covered in bruises, sneak out in the middle of the night, get arrested for a silly Chubby Tracker?” She asked, standing from the bed.

“I know you’re angry but!” Jim tried again, mom grabbing our hands quickly, carefully holding mine.

“Angry? I’m not angry and I’m long past worried. I’m terrified.” She explained. Holding our hands close as she continued. “You’re young and you think you’re invincible, but one of these days, you’re gonna… find out you’re not. We all do,” she sighed out, staring at our clasped hands. “Please, tell me what is happening to my kids.” She pleaded, looking between us.

When Jim looked away, mom pulled back to take out the letter he had written before his fight with Draal. I winced at the memory, glad to see the letter was still closed. “Jim’s letter?” I asked her.

Mom nodded, looking up to Jim. “I found this in a cookbook.” She explained, holding it out to Jim.

“It’s… Still sealed.” Jim noted, looking from the letter to mom.

“Whatever is happening, whatever it is you’re afraid to say, I want you to tell me, face to face,” She explained, reaching out to hold Jim’s face. “There was a time when you used to share everything with me. Both of you did.”

Jim smiled softly before looking away, frowning at the hospital bed. We both knew this was something we wanted to protect her from. I sighed, clasping my hands in my lap, keeping my eyes locked on them as mom turned her attention on me.

“Fine,” Mom finally spoke, getting up to grab her clipboard, back facing us. “If that’s the way you feel, your doctor has discharged you both. Mr. Lake, help get Ms. Wyllt home,” She instructed, waking from the room quickly.

I winced, grabbing Jim’s hand as the door shut behind mom. “Jim, I know we want to protect her, but won’t this be worse?” I asked, worried about how worried mom will be from now on.

“We can’t risk her getting involved, Toby’s just as involved as we are, and now Claire knows too.” He sighed, getting up and grabbing out stuff. “The fewer people that know, the better. Besides, if mom did know, you think she’d just let us keep going to Trollmarket? Let us fight Bular and Changelings?” He asked as he helped me up, getting us out of the hospital as soon as possible.

“Alright, I’ll concede on that one,” I huffed, wincing as we took a cab home due to the rain.

Once we were home, Jim helped me up the steps and into the house where Draal was pacing. Spotting us, he rushed over, carefully assessing the bandages. “What happened? The Toby said you had been attacked last night saving the Claire.” He asked quickly.

Jim smiled softly, letting Draal take over helping me into the house. “We’re not exactly sure. The goblins were after Claire, we found out that the amulet was a fake, I called the real one to me, I think River reacted to it too, her magic went crazy, and then Nomura tried to kidnap me.” He babbled on, trying to get us much information out in one breath as possible.

Draal’s jaw tightened at the mention of my magic getting out of hand, sneering when Jim mentioned Nomura trying to kidnap him. “Impure.” He ground out, looking down over my bandages. “Why did your magic ‘go crazy’?” he asked, helping me sit on the kitchen counter as Jim began looking for something.

“I’m not entirely sure, but I think it had to do with whatever Jim did to summon the amulet,” I explained before starting the healing incantation, a soft glow covering my arms, torso, and legs.

Draal turned to Jim, frowning. “That shouldn’t have been possible. If the amulet is stolen, it shouldn’t be able to make it’s way back to you.”

Jim nodded, pausing in his search, “Blinky mentioned that when Chompsky stole it, I wasn’t able to summon it then, why was I able to now?” He asked, worried.

I hummed softly as the glow fade, burns now healed. “Well, Merlin made it, made because I share his blood?” I asked, “I mean if I can use daylight, and the sword and armor are made of daylight…” I trailed off as Draal and Jim both turned to me.

Draal thought it over, “Blinky may know, or Vendel.” He suggested.

Jim sighed, taking out his phone. “Blinky’s been captured by Strickler, I have to go help him.”

Draal’s jaw dropped, turning to Jim. “How do we know that?” Jim played the voicemail for him, waiting to see his reaction. As Blinky’s messaged played, Draal tensed staring at the phone. “Play it again,” he instructed. Jim started it over again.

Blinky’s voice filled the kitchen again, “They have captured me and you to come to the Bridge… alone. Don’t come! It’s a trap! River Ee-”

“There!” Draal snapped, “What was he saying to River?” He asked Jim.

I frowned, listening close to the message again. Focusing on the muffled parts, “It almost sounds like,” I trailed off, eyes going wide. “It’s Eemeli.”

Jim frowned at the phone, “Does that mean they have him too? Why would they take him?”

“What’s the plan?” I asked Jim, knowing we were going after Blinky and Eemeli.

“Your plan,” He stated, searching through the kitchen again. “Well, your goblin plan.” He clarified.

“The Chubby Tracker?” I asked grinning.

“Yup, I’ll go meet with Strickler while you two get Arrrgh and Toby, you’ll track my location, and once you’re certain we are at the bridge, you’ll bust in and help me get Blinky and Eemeli back.” Jim grinned up at Draal and me.

Draal snarled, “I don’t understand. Why do you need to go it alone?” He asked Jim, worried for him.

“Because this is the only way it will work. You have to trust me on this, Draal. Jim answered, searching through the cabinets.

Draal sighed, leaning against the counter next to me. “I trust you, but I also fear for you.” Crossing his arms over his chest, he continued. “You are walking into a den of death. For What? Blinky?” He asked. Worried for Jim’s safety.

“I’d do the same for you,” Jim responded right away, causing all fight to leave Draal instantly, finally locating the Chubby Tracker. “Just get Toby and Arrrgh. Be ready.” Jim told him, pausing before leaving to look back at Draal. “If anything goes wrong, if it means anything, I hope you’re the next Trollhunter.” He said before taking off into the rain.

Draal sighed as we watched Jim leave, “And I hope it won’t come to that.” He spoke softly. I hugged his arm, watching Jim disappear in the rain.

“Let’s go, we should start tacking him,” I said pulling Draal over to Toby’s house quickly.

“River! Draal!” Toby greeted as we piled into Nana’s garage. “Where’s Jimbo?” He asked, worried he took off alone.

“We need you to track the Chubby Tracker,” I explained Jim’s plan quickly to Toby and Arrrgh. “Wherever he ends up, we need to be ready to fight.”

Toby nodded quickly, handing me his phone to keep an eye on as he grabbed somethings to make armor out of, Arrrgh helping him reach a platter. “So, we track Jim, bust in, fight Bular and Changelings, rescue Blinky, and make it out in time for Jim’s play!” He rattled off, grabbing his phone and taping it to the platter, strapping that to his chest. He finally grabbed an old pot and a baseball bat. “Ready to go!” He grinned up at us.

I nodded, looking at the phone strapped to the board, “They’re moving from the alley! Let’s go.” Summoning Midnight, we took off into the city, thankful it was raining heavily, and that no one was out during the storm.

Toby continued to update us on Jim’s movements as we headed into town. We paused near the park gazebo, waiting for the tracker to update. “Uh… I don’t know if this is right,” Toby spoke up, gaining all of our attention.

“What’s going on, Tobes?” I asked quickly, worried the app wasn’t registering.

Toby turned to show me his screen, “If that’s where the bridge is, then wouldn’t that mean they moved it back?” He asked, pinching at the screen to zoom in on Jim’s location.

“They took it back to the museum!” I hissed out, taking off quickly, Draal running on all fours next to me. Arrrgh lifted Toby onto his back as he caught up with me. We avoided what little traffic has gathered and entered the museum quietly.

I motioned for the guys to silent, waving them along as I made my way to the roped-off section the bridge had been residing in. As we neared the plastic curtains, we could hear several voices, most notable were Jim’s and Blinky’s.

“Oh, Master Jim, why did you not heed my warning?” Blinky asked, trying to sound like a stern parent only to come off as worried sick that Jim had shown.

“You promised we’d build that Vespa together. Remember.” Came Jim’s voice, I could hear him hesitate for a moment, “Where is Eemeli? Let them go,” He demanded.

I could hear Bular chuckle at that, “Still in the dark?” He asked Jim, the sound of his sword unsheathing. “Open the Bridge. I will not ask again.”

I could barely make out NotEnrique’s voice as Jim’s steps drifted further from the plastic curtains. Blinky began to yell at Jim, trying to get him to run away, not to risk releasing Gunmar for his safety. “Master Jim! One Troll’s life isn’t worth the risk! Think about Trollmarket! Your friends! Your family” He yelled.

I frowned hearing Blinky’s words. “One troll,” I mumbled out, something didn’t feel right. What had Bular meant by still in the dark?

Draal nudged me when I began to mumble, worry evident on his face. He tilted his head to the side in a silent question.

I drew closer to him, keeping my voice as low as possible, “Blinky said we’d be risking everything for ‘One Troll,’ he never mentioned Eemeli or a human being kept here. Something is wrong,” I spoke quickly, eyeing the plastic.

Draal’s jaw tightened and I could see gears turning in his head, he thought of something. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to know, Eemeli could be held somewhere else, left for dead, or Bular could’ve eaten him. I gripped Draal’s arm tight, trying to reign in my panic. Draal, nuzzled his nose against my cheek, helping me calm as our attention was ripped back to the curtain, the tracker sounding off on Jim’s arm.

Nomura’s voice cut in with a sneer, “He’s wearing a tracking device. You said the Trollhunter was alone!”

Jim’s voice cut out over the others, “Not Trollhunter. Trollhunters!” He yelled out as Arrrgh tore down the plastic curtain.

Toby was positioned in front of us, bat raised to the ceiling. “I am Toby! Grandson of Nana! Fan of hard rock!” Announced, similar to how Vendel greeting him when they first met. He tapped his phone and soft Jazz began to fill the room.

As everyone was distracted by the Jazz music, I glanced around the room quickly, trying to assess the fight ahead. Blinky was hanging upside down near the bridge, he seemed to be in once piece, and very confused over Toby’s choice in music. Bular was looking between Jim and our group, a single sword drawn for the moment as he tried to wrap his head around the music. Jim was standing in front of Bular on some scaffolding, which could be dangerous if it got knocked over. Strickler and Nomura were positioned directly in front of us, Strickler I would have to keep an eye one, I’ve never seen him in a fight. NotEnrique was perched behind them, sneering at our group until he locked eyes with me, his sneer quickly falling to a frown.

In front of the bridge opening, next to the scaffolding back, was a large ruby-colored Troll, or Changeling, that I’ve never seen before. Our eyes locked, and a twisted grin split his face as the music finally changed to Papa Skull. Jim summoned his armor as Bular yelled for our death.

Draal took off with a roar and Bular cut down, aiming for Jim’s head. Daylight barely stopped Bular’s blade as Draal spun up the scaffolding, slamming into Bular, claiming his opponent for the time being. We broke off quickly as the changelings and goblins recovered from Draal’s rampage. The goblins began to swarm Jim, Arrrgh and Nomura were locked in combat, and Toby went for Strickler’s Gronk-nuks before going to cut Blinky down. NotEnrique was attacking the goblins acting as if it was an accident.

The ruby changeling came charging after me, that twisted smile never leaving his face. I activated Midnight as he drew near, using my teleportation spell, I was behind him in a flash of light. He hesitated the moment I disappeared. Using the opening it granted, I charged Midnight with enough magic to stun Draal, and launched at his back, piercing his left shoulder.

The changeling snarled but otherwise seemed unaffected by the attack as he grabbed Midnight from his shoulder, yanking it out roughly. His grin grew as he turned to face me, holding Midnight out of reach. “I was hoping we’d get to fight again. I wasn’t allowed to break you before.” He snarled out.

My blood froze at the sound of his voice, Eemeli’s thick accent penetrated the troll-like gravel. Eemeli was a changeling, that’s why he had taken the Troll news so well. I took a step back, trying to steel myself. Eemeli was not a friend right now, he was an enemy who helped kidnap Blinky. My jaw tightened as I bared my teeth at him, “Who’s next? Should I expect Coach Lawrence?” I snarled at him, holding my left hand out as Midnight tore from his grasp, returning to me.

Eemeli and I were circling each other now, he seemed to be satisfied with taunting me at the moment. “Coach? No, he you don’t have to worry about. Did you honestly have no idea? Some random foreigner moves to your city, your school, as you’re looking for Changelings, doesn’t freak out about Trolls, and is quick to join your little hunting party.” He smirked, “and the little Witch is oh so happy for him to join. To be honest, pissing your mate off was fun.”

I growled, realizing Eemeli had been scenting me to distract Draal. “The more changelings I meet, the more I realize Jim and Draal may have been right,” I spoke, alluding to the fight Eemeli had witnessed between Draal and me.

Pain flashed across his face before he let out a roar, charging after me again. “What does a witch know about us?” He yelled, slamming his horned head into my torso, knocking me back.

I yelped, rolling over as soon as my back hit the floor, getting up quickly. “I know you weren’t born a Changeling,” I growled back as he charged again. This time, I was ready. I hooked Midnight’s blade on one of his horns, using all my modified strength to throw him back against the bridge. “I know a witch created the process of turning Trolls into Changelings.”

Bular and Draal smashed through the lower half of the scaffolding, it to fall towards Eemeli and me. I froze, wanting to help Eemeli and knowing I should just move. I heard Eemeli yell out as he ran into me full force, throwing of us out of the way. He snarled, getting up, falling back into a fighting stance.

I sat up, shocked that he ended up helping me instead, I frowned watching him. I could see he was fighting himself, making himself continue the fight. “and I’m sorry. I’m sorry you were taken so young. I’m sorry a Witch tortured you, changed you. I’m sorry Gunmar has control. I’m so sorry Eemeli.” I told him, flipping Midnight blade down and impaling the ground. This wasn’t a fight I could finish. “Changeling or human, I hope you’re still Eemeli,” I told him, standing up to face him as Strickler used Jim to open the Bridge.

I quickly grabbed Midnight’s staff as the portal opened, pulling debris in quickly. Eemeli’s claws sunk into the floor keeping him grounded. I looked past him and into the portal, color draining from my face as I could make out Gunmar’s from on the other side. My eyes began to burn bright as my magic responded to the Amulet, I let out a pained scream as my grip tightened on Midnight. The Amulet was pulling magic from me, quickening the process of opening the bridge.

NotEnrique climbed up the side of the Bridge to the Amulet, trying to pull it out. The magic began seemed to electrocute him before he shot off onto the balcony of the museum. Draal let out a deafening roar as he abandoned his fight with Nomura and ran for the bridge. Quickly climbing up to the Amulet he began to pry it out, yelling as the magic began to burn him.

At his yells, my eyes snapped open in time to see Nomura attack him, trying to pull him away from the Amulet. I forced my magic towards the Amulet, the resulting overflow slammed into Nomura, throwing her off of Draal, next to Eemeli and me.

As the portal began to pull her in, she snarled, catching my ankle and sinking her claws into my flesh. I shrieked as her claws tore through my flesh, letting of Midnight as the pain of having my skin flayed overtook my senses. Nomura released my ankle now that I was being pulled toward the portal along with her.

I could faintly hear someone yell my name as red overtook my vision. Suddenly I was sent rolling across the floor. Eemeli had moved to save me again. He slammed into me with such force that it sent both of rolling until he crashed into one of the concrete pillars. Falling over me, he sunk his claws into the ground, keeping me pinned so I wouldn’t get pulled into the portal again.

As I saw Bular pull free from Arrrgh, a burning sensation surged through my skin as the Draal was encased in a blinding light, pulling the Amulet free. As soon as the Amulet had been pulled from the bridge, the residual magic exploded within the Bridge. Eemeli lowered himself to shield me as debris shot past us until only a pile of rubble remained. My eyes slowly returned to normal and the burning sensation calmed as the dust settled around us.

Eemeli slowly stood, helping me up to stand as he surveyed the damage. My eyes shot to Draal, he laid near the plastic curtain, his right arm had turned to stone, falling off his body. “Draal!” I screamed, flashing to him immediately. I forced magic into my palms, reciting the healing incantation, praying to anyone that he would be okay.

Jim slowly rose from the rubble of the bridge, “huh?” He paused, eyes landing on me, frantically pouring everything I had into the healing spell. “Draal!” He howled, running to us. He slowed near Draal’s arm as it crumbled, revealing the Amulet that had been in his palm. Jim let out a pained sigh as he picked up the Amulet. Both of us had been on the verge of tears as soon as we saw the state Draal was in.

A labored groan reeled us both in, hovering near Draal’s face, I held my breath, watching as he slowly opened his eyes. “I’d hand you the amulet, but,” he began, I cut him off hugging him as tight as I could.

Tears had started to roll off my cheeks like streamers. I pulled back just enough to kiss him, summoning all my worry, relief, and happiness that he was alive, and burning it into the kiss. Draal had been in shock at the move, recalling Jim’s explanation of kissing. He leaned into the kiss enough to return it, still unsure of anything other than smashing faces together, and too groggy from the explosion to try anything else.

Jim choked, startled by the sudden show of affection but chose not to comment on it as I pulled away from Draal. “You’re alive!” Was all he could get out, surprise, relief, and exhaustion overriding his brain at the moment.

Bular’s roar ripped through the moment. Blinky and Arrrgh were uncovering the sewer grate as a means of escape. “Master Jim, we must leave at once!” Blinky yelled to us.

“Help me, Arrrgh!” Jim asked, trying to get Draal on his feet, causing Draal to groan out in pain, still injured from the explosion.

Eemeli came up next to me and nodded to Draal in a silent question. I nodded quickly, “Please,” I asked. He slid Draal’s injured arm into his helping him up as Arrrgh rushed over, getting Draal back on his feet.

As Bular broke through the rubble we made our way to the sewer, rushing water filling the entire tunnel. “Oh, you gotta be kidding me!” Jim yelled at the water, looking around for another way out.

“No way! I’m not gonna jump in the sewer! There’s gotta be a chicken surprise down there! Maybe two!” Toby yelled, disgusted with our choice of exit.

I followed Arrrgh and Eemeli helping Draal over, pulling Midnight from the ground as we passed it. While the boys were arguing I looked back to see Bular getting out of the rubble. Without a second thought, or waiting for the boys to make up their minds, I jumped into the water. I used Midnight to light up the tunnel as the water pulled me further from the museum. Thrusting the blade deep into the concrete wall I was able to stop myself from being pulled further. Arrrgh noticed the light from Midnight and was able to ground himself near me. He caught Blinky and Draal and they were swept by, holding them tight. As Toby was hurtling past Arrrgh, he used his teeth to snag the bike tire holding the chest plate board, keeping Toby with us.

Eemeli wasn’t as heavy as Arrrgh and was pulled through the current quickly past them. I reached out, barely grabbing hold of his clawed hand. Once I stopped his movement, he was able to sink his claws in the concrete sewer, keeping him in place for the time being.

Jim careened past us, slipping through Toby’s hands. As Eemeli reached out for him, Bular slammed into Jim, sending them into a canal exit and out of sight. As soon as Jim disappeared, Arrrgh began slowly moving towards the canal exit, being careful not to let anyone go.

I tugged Eemeli’s arm to gain his attention as Arrrgh passed up. Inhuman or not, I was running out of air and needed to move, if I didn’t know if I could teleport far enough to get out of the sewer of if I had enough energy to try. Eemeli quickly turned to me, I nodded to his claws, stuck in the concrete, then down to Midnight, still impaled in the bottom of the sewer. Eemeli quickly caught on, grabbing my arm tight, his claws retracted until he was our combined arms’ length away, sinking them into the wall again. I pulled Midnight from the ground, waiting until the water couldn’t pull me further and impaled the blade into the floor again. Eemeli and I repeated, able to keep up with Arrrgh as we slowly made our way out of the canal.

As we breached the water, I gasped for air quickly. Eemeli was using his claws to climb out of the canal. Arrrgh had gotten Draal and Blinky up the slope of the canal when we surface. I tried to teleport onto the slope as the current pushed me past Eemeli, but it seemed that healing Draal had used most, if not all, of my energy. As Arrrgh was pushing Toby up the slope, he caught sight of my exhausted form slipping back under the water. With a snarl he shoved Toby to Blinky before launching himself after me, pulling me out of the water as he climbed the slope himself.

I gasped for air again, not realizing I had breathed in the water when I drifted under again. Two voiced were calling my name but Blinky’s cut through my daze, “Jim! Oh, no!” He bellowed, all six eyes trained on the bridge where Bular had Jim pinned, crushing him.

I felt, more than saw, as Jim’s ripped the amulet from the armor, impaling Bular with daylight as my body surged with heat, causing Arrrgh to drop me onto the slope as I had burned his arm, reacting to the surge in the Amulets magic.

Draal and Eemeli rushed over as the magic faded, both worried at the fall. Arrrgh grumbled, picking me up when it was safe. He nosed the top of my head gently, “Sorry, burning.” He apologized.

I waved him off, smiling to Draal and Eemeli with a thumbs up to let them know I was okay. “No big deal. I know how much that hurts.” I winced as the pain from this morning flashed in my mind.

We made it onto the bridge as Jim slowly pulled himself off the ledge, flopping onto the sidewalk, too tired to care.

Toby took off running to him, laughing in relief at seeing Jim. “You’re alive!” He exclaimed, tacking Jim in a hug.

“Master Jim!” Blinky yelled, appearing to be on the verge of tears as he hugged both boys tight with all four arms.

Arrrgh gently set me on feet when we reached them. “Happy,” was all he said as he lifted everyone in a group hug, effectively squishing Jim and me the most.

Jim groaned out a laugh, grinning, “Guys, I was almost squeezed to death. Ease up a little.” He spoke, though he was content with the hug.

I nodded, squished under Draal’s chin, “I would request breathing,” I told Arrrgh, happy everyone was alive, wincing at tonight’s ever-present burn in my lungs.

Arrrgh set us down gently, Toby was jumping with excitement, “I can’t believe it. You killed Bular, the son of Gunmar, man!” He shouted.

Draal took a deep breath, “My father has been avenged. Thank you, Trollhunter.” He smiled as Jim turned, patting Draal’s intact shoulder.

Jim turned to look over everyone, making sure there weren’t any more serious injuries. His eyes landed on Eemeli, awkwardly standing near Draal and I, in Troll form, “Wait, didn’t he attack us?” He asked, his attention cut between the goblins and Strickler during the fight.

I leaned against Draal, ankle still thrashed from Nomura’s claws, slowly letting the air fill my lungs as Eemeli fidgeted under everyone’s gaze. “That would be Eemeli,” I spoke up, Draal grumbled, pulling me closer to him. “He saved me twice tonight. More like three times.” I looked up at Draal, nuzzling under his chin.

Toby had his arms crossed, glaring at Eemeli, pissed off at being tricked by the Changeling. “Oh yeah? Does that makeup for him helping the others kidnap Blinky or, I don’t know, trying to kill all of us?” He shouted.

“No,” I looked to Eemeli, “as far as we know, he did help with Blinky’s kidnapping, and at first he seemed to be out for blood.” I grasped Toby’s shoulder, pulling him back to look at me. “But, when the scaffolding crashed down, he pulled me out of the way. When the bridge opened, Nomura was being pulled in, and she tore me away from Midnight, into the portal with her, if Eemeli hadn’t caught me, I’d be in the Darklands right now.” I sighed out, looking to Eemeli. “He could’ve left me in the sewer as well, I didn’t have enough energy to teleport out, but instead, he helped me get to the canal where Arrrgh could pull me out of the water.”

Blinky hesitated, looking between Eemeli and me before speaking, “Lady River, do you trust him then?” He asked, unsure of how to feel about Eemeli himself, after being hung upside down for so long.

I shook my head, frowning, “I trusted Eemeli as a human, and everything was an act. You,” I directed to Eemeli, “I don’t know yet. You helped me today, but after everything,” I gestured from Blinky, in regards to the kidnapping, Jim for forcing him into a situation that almost released Gunmar, and to Draal, for trying to distract and get between us. “It might be possible, but I don’t know how you’ll earn that trust again.” I finished.

Eemeli nodded, shifting back to his human form. Hesitating as he looked over the group, landing on me again, “You… apologized, it wasn’t you, so… why” He asked, still processing everything that happened during out fight.

I smiled softly, looking at my hands, “We don’t always have a choice in who we are, some more than others. I didn’t know of magic or the world of trolls until a couple of months ago. To find out about what I am, and what one of my kind can, and has done, to young trolls… it’s heartbreaking. I can’t imagine having your identity stripped from you and living under Gunmar’s rule.” I explained.

“Empathize,” Draal grunted out, recalling my use of the term when we spoke briefly of our parents.

Eemeli hung his head, trying to process everything, “Thank you, if you require a Changeling, well… you still have my number for the project.” He stated, running off quickly.

Blinky began to yell after him. “You can’t just leave!” He griped out.

Arrrgh held onto Blinky’s overall straps, keeping him from running Eemeli down, “Needs time.” He told the four-armed Troll. Said troll, huffing in annoyance.

Toby, having perked up when Eemeli decided to leave, grinned taking out his phone, “We destroyed the bridge and defeated Bular! And with minutes before your play starts!” His grin fell to horror, “Oh, no, the play!” He yelled out.

Jim jumped at the reminder, “The play! I almost forgot!” He groaned, hitting his head with an armored hand.

Blinky grinned, grasping Jim’s shoulder. “Hurry, Master Jim! Leave Killahead to us.” He gestured between Arrrgh and himself.

A growl from the bridge alerted us as Bular, quickly turning to stone, pulled himself up, over Toby. He raised both fists to strike Toby as his body turned to stone, the forward momentum kept the attack going. Arrrgh’s eye glowed, the whites turning black as the grooves in his body lit up. He rushed forward, covering Toby as he slammed his fist through Bular, shattering him.

As Arrrgh calmed, the glow faded. “Arrrgh, your oath…” Toby gasped out, still in shock from Bular’s attack.

Arrrgh glanced at his arm, shaking his head, “Your life more important. Not pet. Wingman.” He explained, holding his fist out to Toby with a grin.

Toby sniffled, bumping his knuckles with Arrrgh. “Ditto buddy,” He said, hugging his fist. Arrrgh picked Toby up so he could stand in his palm. “Now, let’s go take care of that bridge and make sure it never opens again,” Toby announced from his perch.

Blinky grinned, turning to Jim, “And, you, Master Jim,” He paused, giving Jim a proud smile. “The play must go on.” He shooed Jim and Toby off quickly so Jim would make call time. “Alright everyone, let's get back to the museum quickly.”

I laughed, shaking my head, “I’ll have to sit this one out, literally,” I pointed to my combat boot, caked in blood from Nomura’s claws.

Arrrgh lifted my up, careful not to jostle my ankle as he set me on Draal’s shoulder. “Get Vendel.”

Blinky nodded quickly, “Excellent idea Arrrgh! We’ll need help moving the Bridge, and you both can tend to your wounds.”

Draal winced at the thought of going back to Trollmarket, “I can’t,” he argued, glancing at my ankle, worried about the wound.

I scratched softly between his horns, hoping to ease some of his anxiety. “We just helped defeat the last Gumm-Gumm running free. If they try giving either of us shit, I’ll stab ‘em.” I told him. Grinning as I felt him chuckle.

Draal nodded to Blinky and Arrrgh, taking a Horngazle from Blinky, he headed back into the canal, staying out of the water as he drew the portal. I held on tight to his horns as he jumped through, landing awkwardly as he adjusted to only having a single arm.

As we headed down into the market, most Trolls had enough sense to stay out of way. A few whispered and jeered at Draal and his injury, but one snarl from me and they went running. “for however old these Trolls are, they act like middle schoolers.” I spoke up from my perch.

Draal chuckled, “How young would that make them?” He asked, unsure of when a human went to middle school.

I tapped my chin in thought, “Between 10 and 13 years old, usually.” I told him, snickering, “so, children, or whelps.”

Draal barked a laugh as we entered the Heartstone, heading to Vendel’s study. “If that were the case, they would have no control over their bowels.” He teased.

I smirked, hanging over his horns to look him in the eyes, “If we scared them bad enough, they wouldn’t have control over their bowls now.” I grinned, a wicked shine to my eyes.

A huffing Vendel pulled our attention back to the task at hand. He was standing in the doorway of his study, glaring us down. “What is going on out here?” He asked, before taking in our injuries. “You miss one lesson, and you return bloodied, exhausted, and you" he waved to Draal, "are missing an entire arm!” He lectured, exasperated with Draal and me instantly. “What did you do?” He ground out, all but shoving Draal into his study to care for our injuries.

“Well, first, we saved a kidnapped Blinky, disrupted the Changelings in Arcadia, Killahead Bridge exploded, that’s what hurt Draal, and we defeated Bular!” I counted on my fingers before sliding off of Draal’s shoulder. “Which reminds me, Blinky and Arrrgh need help clearing the remains of the Bridge. They’re at the museum.” I explained.

Vendel’s jaw continuously dropped lower during my explanation until he was staring at us, slack-jawed in disbelief, “Bular’s gone? We have the Bridge? And the Trollhunter?” He asked slowly, trying to recover from the shock.

I nodded, leaning against Draal’s arm. “Jim had a human event he had to run off to or he’d be here,” I reassured him.

This seemed to snap Vendel out of his stupor. He quickly pulled my thrashed boot from my injured foot. Cleaning the wounds in silence before wrapping them. He finally spoke up again as he moved on to smoothing Draal’s injured arm. “Then we have reason to celebrate! Once the Trollhunter returns from his human duties, of course!” He grinned, taking measurements of Draal’s arm. “We should have a prosthetic available that will fit…” He hummed in thought, calling in a troll to send out for the prosthetic and to tell others to head to the human museum.

Draal sighed in relief now that the jagged ends of his injured arm were smoothed out. I nuzzled against his shoulder, “How are you feeling?” I asked him softly, this was the first moment we had that we weren’t rushing to escape or get help.

Draal hummed softly, extending the stump, “Better now that it’s not stabbing me.” He turned, nuzzling the top of my head, “I have a feeling if not for your healing, I’d be in worse shape than I am.”

I frowned, thinking over what happened when the amulet was drawing on my magic. “I think I made it worse.” I sighed out, “The amulet was siphoning my magic while the bridge was activated like I was an extra battery for it.” I shuddered; ghosts of my magic being pulled from me was an unwelcome sensation.

Draal curled his arm around me, pulling me tighter to him. “Is that what happened last night? When you came home covered in burns?” He asked worried, still upset that he couldn’t do anything while Jim and I were stuck in the hospital.

“You what?!” Vendel cried out, walking in when Draal mentioned the burns. “Why were you burned?” He asked quickly, checking over to see if he had missed any injuries.

I sighed, curling tighter against Draal, “I think it had something to do with the amulet. Strickler stole it, and Jim was able to summon it. When he did, it was like my body was burning from the inside out. My veins lit up with magic, they were glowing! Is that another sorcerer thing?” I asked, confused about what was happening. Uneasy seeing how worried Vendel was.

Vendel frowned, examining the visible veins on my wrists. “No, I’ve never heard or read of a sorcerer who ‘lit up’ with magic… That’s a Trollish trait.” He explained, nodding to himself when he doesn’t find any more injuries. “You’re both exhausted. You should rest here for the time being.” He stated, allowing Draal and me to stay.

Draal nodded, keeping me close to him. “Thank you Vendel,” He spoke, finally letting the exhaustion sink in. His shoulders sagged, almost caging me in against his chest.

Vendel hummed, going about his study until a large orange troll walked in with a mechanical prosthetic arm. The Troll’s gawked at the sight of Draal curled around me on the stone table. Vendel took the arm quickly, shooing the Troll out before they could do or say anything. Vendel carried the arm to Draal’s stump, fitting the holding mechanism into his stone skin. Once the holding mechanism was properly adjusted, Vendel began to attach the arm. “Try lifting your arm,” he instructed to Draal, making minor adjustments until it moved fluidly. “Alright, try the hand and fingers.” Vendel went through adjustments, grip, and minor strength tests with Draal while I dozed off in his lap into the early morning.

Loud cheering erupted through Trollmarket, drawing closer to the Heartstone. I quickly shook off sleep, wondering if the news of Bular’s demise and taking the Bridge had spread through the market. I sat up, still on Draal’s lap as metal footsteps caught our attention.

Jim quickly ran into the study, excitement and relief crossing his face as he saw Draal and I were patched up. “How are you two holding up?” He asked quickly going to stand by Vendel as he and Draal finished adjusting the prosthetic arm.

Rubbing the last of the sleep from my face, I grinned at Jim, motioning to my ankle. “Patched up, I’ll heal it up the rest of the way once I get some more rest,” I explained. Nudging Draal’s jaw with a smirk.

Draal nodded to Jim, stretching out his new arm. “Banged up, but we’re breathing,” he chuckled. Getting up with me cradled in his stone arm, he nodded his head to the doorway. “Trollmarket is celebrating.”

Jim nodded quickly, “I know! It’s insane! Blinky, Arrrgh, and Toby are waiting for us at the bar. That is if you’re feeling up to celebrating.” Jim smiled knowing Draal and I had taken the most damage today.

Draal hummed, looking down at me for an answer. I smiled nodding to him, “I’ll be useless on a dance floor, but I could hang out to celebrate our victory.” I teased, kicking Jim’s shoulder with my uninjured foot.

Face splitting in a grin, Jim’s excitement returned immediately. He led us out of Vendel’s study and out to the bar. As we entered, the bar erupted in more cheers for all of us. Arrrgh waved us to their usual table, already filled with drinks, human and troll safe. Draal laughed, taking a seat next to Blinky keeping me on his lap.

Bagdwella lifted her mug to Jim, “All hail Jim! The Bular slayer!” She yelled out in a toast as shouts, and cheers of agreement surround us.

“Hey! Who wants tacos?” Toby yelled out, as he ran towards our table, shoving a taco in Draal’s prosthetic hand before running around to shove another in my hands. “Taco for you. Taco for you.” He called out, running back into the crowd of trolls, still dispensing tacos to everyone.

Draal laughed, throwing the taco in his mouth. “Mmm, taste like the ones from our ‘date’,” he chuckled.

I smirked, taking a bite of mine, “Yup! These are definitely from Stuart’s Taco Truck.” I grinned, eating quickly.

Blinky’s voice cut through my momentary food high, “Don’t let it go to your head, Master Jim. You still have training to do.” He instructed. “Hero’s forger is unforgiving to those who are not afraid.”

“Don’t forget midterms,” Jim laughed, glad to have some semblance of normalcy with Bular gone.

Vendel passed behind the boys, chuckling as he stopped, “Lighten up, Blinkous. Why do you always have to be such a grump?” He asked the six-eyed troll, his drinks were definitely taking effect. “We have the Bridge. Trollmarket is safe once again,” he cheered.

Blinky nodded, glancing at a distracted Jim, then to me, “But their teacher changeling is still at large.” He explained to Vendel, rightfully worried.

Vendel grinned, grasping Blinky’s shoulder. “I trust our Trollhunter can handle it,” he laughed. “He has an excellent trainer.” A warm smiled covered Blinky’s face at the compliment, turning a proud smile to Jim.

As the party died down and tacos ran out, Jim and Toby helped me hobble out to sit on the steps, overlooking the Heartstone to get a little quiet time.

“Well, you said you wanted adventure and something more.” Toby started, finishing off the last taco. “Did that amulet help you find it?” He asked Jim.

Jim hummed softly as he leaned back next to me, pulling the amulet out. “No,” he stated, causing Toby to choke.

“Really? No?” I asked as Toby recovered.

“You did.” Jim smiled at both of us.

Toby smiled, trying not to get teary. “I knew you needed me,” He laughed out.

Jim’s face grew stern as he leaned forward, staring out at the Heartstone. “I’m going to need you both now more than ever, Tobes.” He sighed, gripping the amulet tight. “I don’t know how, but we are gonna get Claire’s brother back.”

Toby’s Jaw dropped, “That place is huge, Jim! Enrique could be anywhere!” He said, throwing his arms out, gesturing the entirety of Trollmarket, as if I didn’t cover a fraction of the Darklands. “I wouldn’t even know where to start looking.” He sighed.

“Not to mention we’d be walking directly into Gunmar,” I spoke up, worried for Enrique now that NotEnrique was useless to the Gumm-gumms.

“We’ll figure it out,” Jim shrugged, smiling at us. “We always do.”