#scratching at the walls of my enclosure until I can draw him right

[midnigtartist]

More Gale practice

[lemonzestywrites]

sunlight, sunlight, sunlight

paring: buck x eddie

word count: 2,268

tw: panic attacks, implied claustrophobia 

[ao3 link]

_____

Buck has never been a fan of the dark. Especially as a child, the thought alone had brought along too many nightmares and memories of running to Maddie’s room to make her double-check for monsters under his bed. It doesn’t bother him as much anymore, but still, every now and again, on nights where his anxiety is all too present for his liking, the same twinge of uneasiness will find itself scratching away at his brain.

He hasn’t felt it in a while, but that itch has been sitting at the base of his subconscious since he’s clocked in for his shift, and now Buck can’t help but be on edge. He tries his best to ignore it and go on with his day, but the next 12 hours tick by with a foreboding weariness he can’t quite place.

The hospital only makes it worse. The plain white walls, the PA system going off every other minute, the frigid cold that sticks to his skin, he hates all of it. There’s a small voice in the back of his head that wonders if it’s just the result of having been admitted so many times. It doesn’t feel like all too sure of reasoning, but he’d rather not linger on the thought too long. So instead, Buck settles for it and chalks it up to nerves, making a mental note to bring it up during his next session with Dr. Copeland. Until then, he should be fine.

Emphasis on should.

Because apparently, the universe gets a real kick out of watching Buck suffer since it wasn’t enough that the hospital’s power went out- no, the entire fucking city got hit with a widespread blackout. And if that wasn’t worrying enough, Eddie hasn’t been answering his radio, and Buck’s phone isn’t working either. He does his best to stay calm, really he does, but with every passing minute of radio silence, the sick coil of nerves knotted in his stomach only gets tighter and tighter.

After 10 minutes of no response, Bobby had given Buck the go-ahead to go look for Eddie, and that’s all he needed before he’s off, weaving through the halls of the hospital heading to where he’d seen him last. If it weren’t for whatever shred of self-control in him, Buck would probably be sprinting through the building by now.

Eddie’s been back to work for only about a couple weeks now. And he’s doing great (obviously, he wouldn’t have gotten cleared to go back if he wasn’t). Buck is happy for him- happy that his best friend is back. God knows the last couple of months had been rough without Eddie, he had spent the last couple of years carving out and filling a special place in the station especially reserved for him, and then all of a sudden, it had been vacant again.

Buck is excited that he’s working again, really he is. But now the energy between them feels…different, and he knows why- they both do. It’s not like Buck had expected them to come back completely fine either. But even months after the shooting, they still have yet to talk about any of it. A part of him feels like they should, but in the months he stayed over at Eddie’s, helping out however he could during his recovery, Buck could see the toll everything had taken on him, both physically and mentally. Eddie didn’t seem ready to unpack that with him yet, and Buck wasn’t going to push him.

It’s fine. He knows Eddie has been going back to therapy. They’ll talk whenever he’s ready.

Buck does his best to give Eddie his space, let him, you know, do his job, but the past weeks feel like he’s been doing nothing but living on the edge. Every time Eddie’s out of his sight for too long, he can hear a voice screaming at him, ‘Where is he? Is he okay? Find him. Protect him. Find him. You said you’d have his back. Your fault. Your fault. Your fa-’

Then Eddie will turn the corner, and Buck’s lungs will release a breath he hadn’t known he was holding on to. He hopes it’ll take the fear, too, that with every sigh won’t just be a release of pressure but help let go of the irrational worry he has. But it never does. It eats away at him, taunting him with the idea that Eddie might get hurt again, but this time Buck won’t be there to help him.

(God, they really should talk.)

He still doesn’t bring it up. Instead, Buck sets aside his apprehension and tries not to indulge in the panicked voice in his subconscious. He’s been getting better at it.

At least he was.

All it took was 15- no, 16 minutes now- of radio silence for Buck’s heart to start pounding against his chest in rapid succession. For the nervousness to shoot through his veins, thrumming all the way down to the tips of fingers as they twitch with a numbing unease. He treads through the halls keeping his head on a swivel, alert and attentive to trying to find his best friend in the sea of patients and doctors. Eddie’s probably somewhere in the hospital helping out the staff; he is a medic after all. Yet despite any amount of reasoning Buck tries to apply, the sickening feeling in his stomach doesn’t seem to dissipate. It’s been 16 minutes, and he hasn’t had any luck. He’s even circled the floor twice just to be sure, but still, nothing.

He’s considering doing another lap when he hears it- the distant noise of someone banging on metal coming from behind the elevator doors. The sound is so faint, paired with the loud frenzy of the rest of the hospital floor, that Buck almost doesn’t hear it.

He rushes to the doors, pressing his ear flushed against it. He can hear someone yelling, but the voice is too muffled to make out what they’re saying.

“Eddie?” He calls out, no doubt getting a couple odd looks from the passing medical staff, but he pays them no mind. He bangs on the doors a couple times before yelling again louder, “Eddie! It’s Buck- can you hear me?”

There’s a beat of silence before the pounding continues again, this time with much more force in response. Buck doesn’t waste any time before he digs his fingers between the doors, using everything he has to pry them apart. The muscles in his shoulders and arms strain, but the creaking of metal offers enough motive to keep him going. Even if it’s not Eddie, it still means someone’s trapped down there.

(A selfish part of him still hopes, though.)

Once the doors are opened wide enough for him, Buck drops to his stomach to peer down into the elevator currently caught between two floors. Even with the little light he does have, he sees a curled-up shadow crouched in the corner below him, “Eddie?”

The person shifts, “Buck?”

There’s nothing more Buck wants than to revel in the relief he feels when he finally hears Eddie’s voice, but it quickly scatters when he notices the trembling panic coated in his tone.

“It’s me,” Buck reassures with as much steadiness he can force out and just hopes that Eddie doesn’t hear the way his voice shakes out the words. “Are you okay?”

Eddie sucks in a sharp breath. “I don’t know. I-I can’t breathe.”

Buck’s mind starts to spin, panicking on what to do now. The gap in between the doors isn’t that big, so it’s not like he can slip down there with Eddie or pull him out either. He has enough sensibility to grab at his radio to at least let Bobby aware of his status, “Cap, I found Eddie. He’s trapped in an elevator stuck between the 7th and 6th floors.”

A few seconds pass before he hears Bobby’s voice on the other end, “Okay, we’re working on getting the hospital’s backup generator working. Stay with him until we can get it back online, then we’ll head up to you.”

Eddie lets out a strangled noise at his words. The twinge of panic in Buck’s stomach only coils tighter when he realizes how Eddie’s breathing seems to pick up, now coming out in quick hallow shivers.

‘He’s having a panic attack.’ Buck realizes.

It takes less than a couple seconds after for Buck to murmur a hasty “copy that” into his radio before he readjusts his focus back to his friend.

He’s not unfamiliar with panic attacks, his or Eddie’s, most of which being the results of nightmares that seem to linger when dusk settles. During the last few months, Buck has lost count of the nights that either one of them has woke up in a cold sweat, gasping for air, and in the midst of alarm and fear, craving a recognizable magnetism of being held. A silent want to be assured protection and comforted.

It’s sick now. How there’s nothing more Buck desires than to provide that same security now, but the small two-foot gap between the elevator doors draws out to what feels like miles of distance.

Even though he can’t crawl down there with him, Buck finds himself reaching into the elevator shaft as far as he can, “Eddie, can you grab onto my hand for me?” Listen- he knows what he’s doing isn’t entirely safe, sticking his arm into an elevator that hasn’t been secure yet. But the sound of Eddie’s breath coming out in nothing but shaky huffs is more than enough to make him forgo any logic.

From within the enclosure of the elevator, he feels Eddie grasp his hand with an iron grip, the distress trembling at his fingers.

“Hey, I’m here, I’m right here, alright?” Buck presses the conviction through his tone, his best attempt to override his own uncertainty. “Do you think you can try and take some deep breaths?”

Buck can faintly make out the silhouette of Eddie nodding, “Y-Yeah,” he mutters. “Yeah, I can try.”

“We can do them together,” Buck offers. He takes a deep breath himself, and from below him, he hears Eddie take one too. Unconsciously, Buck starts to tighten his hold in tandem with their breathing, squeezing his hand on an inhale, loosening his grasp on the exhale. He hadn’t really realized he’s doing it until after a couple breaths, Eddie starts doing it too. And with each squeeze, his grasp slowly becomes more determined and less shaky. It doesn’t take long for them to eventually sync up for the tremor in Eddie’s hands to fade.

A couple more moments pass, and his breathing begins to steady more.

“How you doing down there, Eds?”

“Can you…”, he clears his throat, an attempt to hide how wrecked he sounds. “Can you talk to me?- About anything, it doesn’t matter.”

Buck rattles his brain for something, anything to talk about before he remembers the nature documentary he had watched several nights prior, “Did you know toucans are born blind?”

He hears Eddie laugh; it comes out breathless and nervous, but it’s a laugh nonetheless, “Really?”

“Yeah, ironically enough, they also aren’t great at flying either. They usually hop from one branch to another to get where they want to go.”

“Tell me more?” He asks, his voice quiet.

Buck smiles and keeps going, rambling about birds for a while. He doesn’t really know for how long, and at some point, he loses his awareness of what he’s saying, more focused on Eddie than anything else. Faintly, he wonders if his arm is getting tired by now.

“You know, Chris has been learning about biomes and ecosystems in school…he’d love to hear all this stuff.”

“You can tell him all about it after work.” He reassures.

Eddie’s hand twitches in his palm. “How much longer?” Buck can hear the dread creeping back into his tone.

“I…”

Not too long. He wants to promise, but the words get caught in his throat. There are a lot of things Buck can do- lying to Eddie isn’t one of them. “I-I don’t know.” He finally admits, the shame dripping down from him. “We’re gonna get you out of here.”

Eddie laughs, yet this time there’s no shred of humor in his voice, “I’m not sure if I can last any longer down here, Buck.” God, he sounds on the verge of tears.

“What can I do?” Fuck, at this point, Buck would do anything. Hell, he’d pull the damn elevator up himself if he had to. Whatever it would take to get Eddie back on safe ground.

“Just-” A pained noise escapes him, “Please don’t leave.”

Buck swears his heart fucking shatters. “Hey.” Even though he can’t see exactly where Eddie is, he does his best to look him in the eye before he squeezes his hand, “I’m not leaving your side, okay?”

The first thing Buck’s fire instructor had said during his training at the academy was never make a promise you can’t keep. Buck knows how important promises are to people, especially in states of emergencies. In the middle of chaos, those two words are all anyone needs to cling to. So that’s why, when Eddie looks at him, with what little light there is provided catching the edges of his watery eyes laced in fear and worry, Buck doesn’t hesitate to grip his hand as tight as he can. To hold on and look at Eddie with all the conviction and certainty he has and tell him,

“I promise.”

[of-a-chaotic-mind]

Tala’s Revival

A/N: This original character was originally inspired by The Vampire Diaries but I’m trying to give her some originality. Anyway, here’s a little glimpse of her past.

           As I walk through the underbrush, the leaves crinkle and crunch beneath my feet. The warmth of the rays of sunlight filtering through the trees sweeps over my face as I step into a clearing. The musty scent of dirt and sweet smell of flowers mingle together and find their way to my senses. Taking a bite from the crisp, sweet apple in my hand, I wander deeper into the forest.  Long ago, I called this forest home, but now it’s simply a memory. The babbling of a nearby creek reaches my ears and I am drawn towards it. As I wade out into the cool, rushing water, a figure appears up ahead. I draw closer and bring the figure into focus. A slim, short, redheaded woman draped in an emerald gown beckons to me.

           I step closer only to find that my mother stands before me. Behind her, the ruins of what was once a majestic fortress lay among the vines and moss. To my left, leaves crunch again, and I turn to find my older brother there, his grey eyes bore into mine of similar color as another red head of hair pokes itself out from behind him. Out steps my younger brother, grinning ear to ear, he is the first to speak up, “Mum says it’s not your time, Tal.”

           I turn back to my mother as she places a hand on my shoulder, “My dear, sweet Tala. Cailean is right. It is not your time. Tell your brothers goodbye, you’ll see them again one day.” My brothers wrap me in a hug but seconds later they dissipate into the wind.

           My mother places her hand on my shoulder, as I turn to face her once more, “Mum, what’s going on?” Wordlessly she kisses my forehead. Then, as she places two fingers on my forehead and mutters something in Scottish-Gaelic, I am engulfed in a burst of energy.

           Gasping for air, I clutch the dragon sword pendant at my collarbone, as I sit up. Looking around, I find myself in some sort of concrete enclosure. No this can’t be happening. Spinning around I find the grave markers of my family’s tombs. I rush to the door and as I push against it with every ounce of strength I can muster, I start to feel suffocated as I dig around in my brain to figure out what happened. The last thing I remember is getting ambushed by a group of hunters. Did I die? It would explain waking up inside my family crypt.

           Suddenly, the door swings open and daylight fills the room. “I was beginning to wonder if maybe Lorna’s spell had failed,” a voice says to, my left, startling me. Turning my head, I find a sleek, midnight black cat perched upon the wolf gargoyle grooming itself.

           I glare at him, “First of all, stop grooming yourself on Dad’s gargoyle. Second, what do you mean spell? Third, what the hell Daeg?! Why would you let them put me in there if you knew I was coming back? You know I hate small spaces.”

           He looks lazily at me with golden eyes as he launches from the gargoyle and into the grass, “I tried to tell them, but they didn’t believe me. He insisted on laying you to rest with your family.” The annoying little furball turns and heads for the house.

           “You still didn’t answer my question about the spell,” I grumble as I stumble through the overgrown cemetery in pursuit of the cat. I didn’t realize how long it had been since I had seen the grounds. I notice a fallen tree back towards the edge of the woods, lose the cat in the weeds, and feel every scratch from the hidden thorns lurking in the overgrown bushes as I climb the fence of the family cemetery. After my mother died and I decided to leave the estate for good, I locked the gate of the cemetery in hopes of keeping people out.

           The cat prances up the steps of the front porch and waits patiently for me to open the door. “I’m not opening the door until you tell me about the spell,” I say, crossing my arms and glaring at the cat once more.

In a flash, the cat becomes a tall, broad shouldered, dark haired, man. He opens the door and steps inside, beckoning for me to follow, “I see you’re still impatient as ever.”

Once I step inside, he wanders off into the house, in search of something. I make my way through the dusty house and remember all the memories these walls hold. In the parlor, I take in all the paintings, antiques, and books. Picking up an old journal, I flip through the pages. I must have forgotten this one when I moved out, or maybe I just chose to leave it.

           Daeg drops an old, dusty book onto the table in front of me. “You Mum put a revival spell on that necklace,” he says pointing to my dragon sword pendant. “If you want to put another one on it then you’ll have to find a witch who can manage it.”

[ainstgirl]

THE SOLDIER AND HIS CAPTAIN  (2/6)

Summary: It’s your first day at the academy where you’ll become a soldier.  The academy is already difficult but even more so when you are a woman and you have Sergeant Hanks as Captain, luckily another captain will help you overcome the challenges. I’m very bad with  summaries, just give it a try.  English is my third language so im sorry if there’s any misspelling.

Pairing(s): Steve Rogers x Reader

PART 1

"this is your first mission, we will divide you into teams" says Captain Hanks. "Some of you will go with me and the others with Captain Rogers, the mission is simple, this man" he places a picture of a man on the wall "He has escaped from a maximum security enclosure and we have ordered his search"  When you read your name on the Rogers team you can't help but smile, Lily hasn't been so lucky and it's in Hanks team. "it's not fair" she says. "I wish you were on my team" you say to her. "If I don’t return, it's because Hanks has killed me" she jokes. "if you don't return, i'll kill him, promise" "perfect, I'm going to go with my team to see which area we have to search, be careful Y/N"  you didn't think Hanks was going to do anything, but if something happened to Lily.... "you too Lily" she winks at you before leaving.

After flying for 45 minutes, you finally reach your search area. "memorize his face well, search in shops, houses, abandoned buildings, everywhere" Captain Rogers explains to the group "Choose a partner and go in his search, if you find him, don't do anything, let me know  and don't lose sight of him" perfect, why couldn't Lily be on your team? You look around, everyone with a partner leaving you alone, great "you don't have a partner?" Captain Rogers says approaching you. "well... I can go alone, no problem" Great, now Captain America thinks you're pathetic. "i know you can but i can use the help" he looks at you waiting for an answer "Come on, four eyes see better than two" "not if one is blind" you joke and that makes him smile "okay... I suppose I can help you" You know he's doing it for pity but that way you can spend more time with him. "let's get going, there is a lot of ground to cover" You and Steve don't talk much along the way, you stop in stores, you knock on the doors, no trace of the man. The next stop is at a food store, it's small and without security cameras, you and Steve get separated to walk the store. You go through several corridors when you see him, blond and green eyes, your man. You quickly take out your gun, you have never shot anyone, but he didn’t have to know that. "hands over your head, now!" you say trying to keep your voice stable. You do not know what you expect him to do, but you certainly did not expect him to smile. 

The lights start flashing distracting you, and then something happens that you only saw in movies. The butcher's knives rise from the table, no one is touching them, they are pointing at you, and suddenly the knives throw themselves at you. You don't have time to react when Steve Rogers pushes you out of his path. Suddenly of his fists come out two small elongated shields, they look like a modern version of his iconic shield. The man throws objects in his direction but Steve blocks them with his shields. You do not know what to do, how do you fight against someone like that?

"Come on think of something...think think..." you say thinking aloud, you almost smile when you see it, an extinguisher, that's your plan. You crawl on the floor so you don't draw his attention, he and Steve are still fighting when you get to the extinguisher. You pick it up and pull the safety ring, you don't hesitate before spraying him with the extinguisher to confuse him and then hit him in the head with the extinguisher leaving him unconscious.

"As you said the other day, mind is more important than strength" you say throwing the extinguisher to the ground. "yeah" he says with a smile until he frowns "you're hurt" he says looking at your stomach. "it's nothing" you had cut yourself with some crystals when you were crawling on the floor "why didn't you tell us that he wasn't human?" you accuse him. "i didn't know" He says angry and you know it's true, he didn't know. "We could have died. What would have happened if others had found him?" you were helpless against someone like that. "let's take him to the base" he seems angry, and you couldn't blame him.

The trip to the base is quick, Rogers doesn't speak to you, well, he doesn't really talk to anyone, you wonder what he's thinking about. As soon as the doors open  soldiers enter and take the altered human still unconsciou to who knows where, Rogers is the next to leave.

"Y/N is true? you have captured him? They say he is not human!" Lily approaches you as soon as she sees you, apparently she has survived Captain Hanks. "yeah, he has powers... I think he could move things with his mind or maybe just move metal, everything has happened so fast" you explain. "I'm glad you're okay, who knows what could have happened to you if it wasn't for Capitan America" she says. "Hey! he... saved me once, but I saved him at the end and left the nonhuman unconscious" you say offended, You had captured him and no one had said anything to you. "really? that's amazing! congrats!" "thanks, but i think Rogers is mad at me or something" you say. "why do you say that?" "i don't know, he didn't say anything after we got him and he looks angry, i don't know" you say confused. "i'm sure he's tired or something like that, i don't think he's angry with you, you saved his life" she says to calm you down. "yeah... you're right, i need to return my gun, do you want to come?" you say to Lily. "i already return mine and i need to pee, i'll see you in the room?" you nod with your head before she runs out to the bathroom.

There was no one in the locker room, everyone must be talking about what happened in the dining room. You were leaving your gun in your locker when you hear someone arguing, you stay silent when you recognize the voice, Rogers and...Hank. "Why no one inform me that he was an altered human?" Rogers seems angry when he asks that. "We are soldiers, we obey orders" Captain Hanks says. "but you knew it" Rogers says and  it's not a question, he knows is true. "I thought that the great Captain America could manage this situation and I was right, you found him, you won" there was resentment in his voice. "my soldiers could have died because of you" you had never heard Captain Rogers raise his voice. "and that would have made you look bad, right?" son of a bitch, He had done on purpose. "If you ever put my soldiers in danger again, I'll destroy you" he says threateningly.

The next thing you hear is the door slam shut. You wait a few minutes while your heartbeat returns to normal before running to your room. "son of a bitch" Lily says when you tell her everything. "exactly, he doesn't care if we die, he just wants to be better than Rogers" you add. "we have to be careful with him" she says and you nod "Rogers should have punch him right there, that's what I would have done" "I have no doubt about that" you say smiling, her solution is always violence "I'm going to train for a while before bedtime" you add. "How can you have energy? I'm exhausted and I haven't fight with a non-human" she says lying on the bed. "good night Lily" before closing the door you can already hear Lily's snorings.

The training room was always empty at this time but today there was someone else, Steve Rogers. you keep quiet watching him. He was hitting the punching bag,he hits it so hard that he breaks it. "you never sleep?" he suddenly asks. "I could ask you the same" you say blushing, he had caught you watching him. "I spent 70 years sleeping, What's your excuse?" He says wiping the sweat from his forehead. "I guess I'm just amazing" you joke. "you are, today you have shown it" he says. "I have a good teacher, and I don't mean Captain Hank" you smile. "I know you've heard our conversation in the office" he smiles when he sees your face, apparently you're not a good spy "I could hear your heartbeat" he explains. "I wasn’t spying on you, I went to return my gun and well ..." you say embarrassed. "If you ever have problems with him, let me know, i don't trust him" He says staring at you. "you should also be careful with him, He has put our lives in danger to be better than you, but I guess, after fighting aliens, Captain Hanks shouldn't be a problem" Your comment makes him smile. "Something tells me that Hank is more dangerous than we think" He says. "then we are lucky that Captain America is with us" you say biting your lip.

"Does it hurt?" he says after a pause changing the subject. "what?" you say confused. "your cuts" he points to your stomach, you had forgotten that he had seen them. "no, it's nothing" you say dismissing it, but Steve's frown tells you he doesn't believe you "look, it's nothing" you raise your shirt revealing your stomach. you only have small cuts and scratches, nothing important. Steve approaches slowly without taking his eyes off your stomach. His fingers brush your scratches. your heart stops when you feel his fingers, he is very close now. You feel heat going through your body when your eyes meet, but then he takes a step back. "i'm glad your okay... i...i need to go now" he says without looking at you before running away leaving you blushing as well as pissed off. He was going to kiss you, you knew it but then he just left. or maybe everything is in your head and he was only worried about you as a Captain, nothing more. The only thing you were sure of was that you were not going to sleep tonight.

Part 3 

MASTERLIST 

[11jj11]

Far From Yesterday - Ch 18 - Marissonshipping

Here’s chapter eighteen.

Alex sighed as his claws dug at the dirt.

He still wasn’t quite sure how he had let Lucas convince him that trying to tunnel out was a good idea– because the Charmeleon knew quite well that you couldn’t dig your way out of a building. However here he was, claws pawing at the compacted soil as he tried to claw his way deeper.

He was currently about four feet deep, and the earth was only getting harder the farther he down he went. His tail flames were the only light in the shadowy corner of their enclosure, but on the bright side the shadows did hide their hole from the humans. Lucas was keeping watch for any sign of their keepers as he dug, and also spreading out the dirt Alex was digging up in an attempt to make things looked undisturbed as possible.

‘This is stupid,’ Alex declared after several more minutes of digging, peering out of the hole. ‘Even if we could dig out of here do you know how long it would take to make such a tunnel?’

Lucas was currently laying in the dirt, half asleep. The Electrike lifted his head as Alex spoke, before laying back down, stretching out.

‘I am the alpha for today,’ Lucas declared. ‘And today we work on the tunnel!’

The Electrike type had decided that they’d switch off every other day being the “alpha of the friendship”, and Alex wasn’t quite sure why he was playing along. He was stronger than the canine– and could win any fight for leadership with ease! In fact, he technically already had, with their first fight from when he first arrived here several days prior!

‘Well then, Alpha,’ Alex said, making no effort to keep the sarcasm out of his voice as he jumped out of the hole. ‘I’m going to take a break.’

‘W-wait– what?’ Lucas cried, sitting up in alarm. ‘No! You gotta keep digging!’

Alex grinned, slowly approaching the Electrike. He took up an aggressive position as if hoping to scare Alex back into digging, fur up and bristled as he growled, sparks coming from him. The little Pokemon looked more cute than intimidating however, and Alex simply lean down and grabbed him by his scruff, setting him aside before he could even release an electric type move.

The Charmeleon stretched out, sinking down onto the dirt ground, right where Lucas had been laying. Honestly, he didn’t care where he was, but it was definitely funnier to take his “alpha’s” spot. He let out a content sigh, flexing his claws in hopes of getting the dirt out from between them.

‘H-hey! I was there first!’ Lucas cried, slamming into his side with a Quick Attack. When that failed to make Alex move the Electrike switched over to a Thunder Fang, biting down onto Alex’s arm. The fire type flinched, opening his silver eyes to glare at the green canine.

‘...You know too many electric type moves,’ Alex said after a moment of thought, yawning. ‘If you ran into a ground type all you’d have is Quick Attack, which won’t win you a battle on its own,’ Alex laughed. ‘And if it was ghost type too, then you’d have nothing!’

‘...What?’ Lucas asked, pausing from his attacks. ‘Types what?’

The Charmeleon lifted up his head. ‘You do know about types, right? I’m fire, and you’re electric? Your moves reflect that?’

‘Well, yeah,’ The Electrike said, sparking his fur. ‘I use lightning like the rest of my pack. But what does ground Pokemon have to do with anything? I just zap my enemies until I fall! I mean– until they fall!’

Alex blinked, realizing that a wild Pokemon probably wouldn’t have a good idea of how all of the types matched up. They trained to survive, not for battles like human-raised Pokemon did. They probably didn’t need to know every little matchup there was– because why would a wild electric type care about something small, like poison resisting fighting type moves? It had nothing to do with them.

But shouldn’t he at least know the basics of his own type? Like that against a ground type his electric moves would be useless?

‘Ground type Pokemon are immune to electric moves,’ Alex explained. ‘And ghost are immune to normal. If those are the only types of moves you have then you can’t damage them.’

Lucas blinked at this, sitting down in thought. He tilted his head slightly. ‘Oh. That’d explain why I could never hurt the rock Pokemon in that cave back at home.’

‘Rock types aren’t immune to electric types,’ Alex said. ‘Ground types are.’

‘Then why couldn’t I hurt the Geodudes with lightning? They’re rock Pokemon,’ Lucas said.

‘Well, they’re ground types too!’

‘Too complicated,’ Lucas said after a moment of thought, flicking his tail in dismissal. ‘What does matter though, is the idea of other moves,’ His eyes gleamed, and he took a step towards Alex. ‘Can you teach me a move that can hurt the rock Pokemon?’

Alex glared at him. ‘Moves that can hurt ground types.’

‘...A move that can hurt a Pokemon made out of earth...’ Lucas said after a moment of thought– clearly not about to say anything that would suggest that he had been wrong, and Alex sighed. But teaching a move did sound much more fun than digging a hole, or even sleeping, since that was basically all he did at home.

He studied the Pokemon, wondering just what move he could teach him though. His claws were way to small to learn a scratching based move like Shadow Claw, and he knew that a non-dragon-like Pokemon would probably have no chance of learning Dragon Pulse.

But Lucas did have a strong looking jaw, and he already knew Thunder Fang.

Alex’s teeth lit up with flames, the Fire Fang forming as he launched himself towards Lucas. The electric type yelped, leaping back as Alex crunched down on where he had been moments before. Smoke curled up from the Charmeleon’s jaw as he rose to his feet, stretching out as the Electrike trembled in surprise.

‘I will teach you Fire Fang,’ Alex said. ‘You already should have the basics down, your Thunder Fang wasn’t half bad after all. I just need to teach you how to summon fire, and teaching you that could be useful for me as well since I’ve been trying to learn a new fire move for a while now.’

‘What move?’ Lucas asked, bouncing forward excitedly. ‘I wanna learn that one!’

Alex held his head up proudly. ‘It’s only a move certain fire types can learn,’ The Charmeleon said with an air of importance. ‘It requires vigorous training– it’s a man-made move, not natural. Mother always told me that if I could learn it then I could learn the even more powerful Blast Burn too.’

‘Show me the move!’ Lucas demanded.

Alex pulled back slightly. ‘I, um, haven’t fully mastered it yet.’

‘Show me!’

The Charmeleon sighed, before turning to face the wall. He closed his eyes, concentrating on heating up his body. He knew how to breath fire, but forming it outside of his body took a lot more effort. He focused on his tail flame, trying to will the embers to spread across his body. He could feel his scales heating up, and he curled his claws into a fist, trying to draw all of his fire energy to a single point.

A burst of fire surrounded his claws, the mass of fire surging up in size, before exploding as it formed. The force of the energy being released knocked him to the ground, a grunt of pain escaping him as the flames surged up around him. The flames only lasted for a moment, dying as quickly as the energy had flared out, smoke drifting up towards the ceiling.

Alex heard Lucas coughing on the smoke, but as a fire type Alex was fine with the smoke. He struggled to his feet, a sinking feeling in his chest knowing that he had failed again. As the smoke cleared he could see Lucas grinning at him, looking very pleased.

‘Awesome,’ He breathed. ‘What move was that?’

‘It was supposed to be Fire Pledge,’ Alex muttered, looking away. ‘I’m supposed to form a bunch of fire, and then you strike the ground. Then a huge column of flames rushing towards your target, and engulfs them in a pillar of fire,’ He sighed. ‘But I can never get it to work.’

‘Who cares– that was awesome!’ Lucas cried. ‘I want to learn it!’

Alex scowled. ‘I already told you, only certain Pokemon can learn it– and you’re not one of them,’ He huffed. ‘Besides, if I don’t have it mastered then how can I teach it to you? I’ll show you how to use Fire Fang, but nothing else.’

Lucas let out a frustrated growl, but Alex simply glared at him. The Electrike pulled back slightly, before looking away.

‘...Fine,’ He muttered. ‘Teach me Fire Fang...’

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

He let out a sigh, before glancing at the bars. He was surprised that no humans had come by to see what the explosion was. He stared for a moment longer, before shrugging and returning his attention down to the small canine at his feet.

“Mairin jump– Mairin you gotta have him jump–!”

Mairin swore she was smashing the jump button, but yet the little character on screen stayed in place as it was blasted with an attack– her health bar falling to zero.

“I was jumping!” Mairin protested, letting the controls fall into her lap. “I was pressing the jump button– I shouldn’t have died!”

Max grinned at her, the screen fading to black as the video game took them to their last spawn point. “You were pressing the A button– B is the jump button.”

She glanced down at her controls, before realizing her mistake. “Oh... sorry. I really haven’t played this game before, at least, I don’t think I have.”

“You haven’t,” Max confirmed, his focus returning to the TV. Mairin picked up her controls, guiding her character after Max’s. “But you have watched me play this game many times before. Okay, remember to keep your aura bar high– we’re going to need it for the next boss battle– Registeel.”

“Easy enough,” Mairin replied, pressing the jump button a few times to make sure she was pressing the right key, the digital Lucario on screen jumping in response. “We have the type advantage.”

Max’s ‘Sir Aaron’ character swung his staff at an attacking glob of energy. “We actually do for all of the bosses– all of the Regis are weak to fighting types. Something you think the Tree of Beginning would have figured out.”

Mairin grinned, charging an Aura Sphere before releasing it. “It’s just a story Max, I mean, this whole game is based off of that movie that Ash and Serena were in– which I still want to see, by the way– if you have a problem with the characters you should complain to the director.”

“...The Tree of Beginning is a real place,” Max said quietly. “I’ve been there– and there really are golems guarding it.”

“Cool,” Mairin said, gritting her teeth as her shoulder flared up in pain, but she simply focused on attacking an Aerodactyl-shaped glob with another Aura Sphere. “What was it like– woah!”

Lucario sudden sped across the screen, so quickly that it looked like his character had teleported.

“Nice, you’ve unlocked Extreme Speed,” Max said. “Definitely one of the better moves– I usually play as Lucario and I use it all the time. If you’re on low health you can use it to get away, and it can deliver decent damage as well. Press the R and L keys at the same time to use it.”

“Um, okay,” Mairin said, looking down at the controls to find the buttons Max was talking about. As she did so one of the enemy globs attacked her. She yelped as she heard her health going down, but fortunately Max had Sir Aaron move in to cover Lucario, an aura shield covering them. “Sorry...”

“You’re good,” Max said with a grin. “It’s fun to have someone to play with. Bonnie will play with me, but she’s not over here that often,” He glanced off to his left. “And then Alain will never play with me.”

Their gazes turned towards the dark haired man in the corner, who was taking a sip of his coffee. Alain glanced up as they looked at him, sighed, then returned to reading the book he had in his hands. Mairin chuckled at this, her gaze swiftly returning to the screen to make sure she wasn’t attacked again.

“You should play, Alain,” Mairin said. “It’s a pretty fun game.”

“Queen Rin’s character is still available,” Max said with a grin. “I think she’d suit you perfectly~ She even has a fire type like you, a beautiful shiny Ninetales, and–”

“Max, shut up,” Alain said, not looking up from his book. Ruby was curled up at his feet, the Absol fast asleep.

“Be nice,” Mairin chided, eyes still on the TV. “And he’s right, you should lighten up a bit, and have some fun.”

“This is fun,” Alain replied, turning a page in his book. “And if anything, you should be resting. You just got out of the hospital a few days ago, you don’t want to stress your body more than it has been.”

She grinned. “I’m playing a video game, I am resting.”

“Aura crystal up ahead,” Max said, drawing her attention back to the game. “That means a checkpoint! I think Registeel should be right after this, if I’m remembering right.”

Their characters touched the giant blue crystal, their health bar and aura energy bar rising to full. Mairin leaned back against the couch as Max saved their game, flexing her fingers. She wasn’t use to holding the controller, so her hands felt a bit stiff. But the game was fun, and it helped take her focus away from the pain of her wounds.

“We good to go?” Mairin asked as they saved at the checkpoint.

“Yep,” Max said, having Sir Aaron move across the screen. “You’ll want to stick with Aura Sphere and Bone Rush for this fight– Bullet Punch will be useless. Extreme Speed won’t do much either, but it will be useful for dodging attacks,” He sat up a bit. “This Registeel knows Shockwave, so the only way to avoid being hit by that is to be behind Aaron’s aura shields, so if Registeel starts to spark get behind my character.”

Mairin tried to listen, but she was still new to the concepts of the game. She did understand Pokemon battling, but having that format in a video game was different than a real battle. She tried to have Lucario follow after Aaron, but she discovered she had no control over the character– it was a cutscene.

The camera dramatically panned over Registeel, and Mairin blinked, the graphics looking much more realistic than the video game so far. As the screen panned over Sir Aaron though, and she saw the familiar gaze of Ash. That’s when she realized that this wasn’t video game graphics– it must be a clip from the movie.

She knew that most movies used Zoroark illusions when it came to legendaries– but man did that Registeel look real!

“It always goes straight for an Iron Head,” Max advised. “Be ready.”

As Max promised, the Registeel’s form began to gleam silver– rushing straight at Sir Aaron. Max’s face was calm, fingers flying across the controls as he had his character form an aura shield. The steel type legendary slammed into the shield, and Max followed up with an Aura Sphere. He glanced briefly at Mairin, and then she remembered she should be fighting as well.

A loud ringing filled the room as she had Lucario slam a Bone Rush into the Registeel. Alain pulled a cell phone out of his pocket, glancing at the number. He blinked, closing his book and setting it aside. He pushed himself to his feet, heading towards the door, careful not to disturb Ruby as he did so.

“I need to take this,” He said, sliding off his reading glasses as he answered the phone. “Hello? Yes, this is Alain...”

Mairin glanced over her shoulder as he left, before returning her gaze to the TV. Max’s gaze was locked on the TV as well, brown eyes narrowed behind his glasses, his whole focus on the game. He was definitely experienced at the game, guiding his character through the boss fight with ease.

“Mairin, cover me,” He said, throwing up an aura shield as the battle continued. Mairin nodded, though he couldn’t see this, moving her Lucario in closer to strike with a Bone Rush. She grinned as Lucario landed all five hits, before she swiftly had him retreat from a Hammer Arm with an Extreme Speed.

“It has a lot of hit points, doesn’t it?” Mairin commented, used to having their foes fall by now, but the Registeel was still standing.

“Wouldn’t be a boss fight if it was easy,” Max said, a small grin on his face as he blocked another attack. “I should be Sir Aaron more often, having a force shield is nice.”

“Um,” Mairin began, trying to both talk and battle at the same time. “Who do you usually play?”

“Lucario,” Max replied, slamming Aaron’s staff against the Registeel. “He’s my favorite character... I guess you can say I have a personal history.”

“Oh,” Mairin said. “Sorry I took your favorite.”

Max laughed. “It’s just a game, I’ll survive. Besides, playing as Aaron is pretty fun,” He paused. “Here comes the Shock Wave– get behind me.”

She had Lucario jump over towards Aaron, and Max formed an aura shield just as a burst of electricity was released from the iron golem. Mairin charged an Aura Sphere, releasing the burst of energy out at the titan. It staggered back, health approaching half. Her fingers were feeling a bit stiff, her burns from Alex hurting as well, but she stayed silent.

“Let’s combo an attack,” Max said.

“How?”

“Charge an Aura Sphere and press the C button,” Max replied, forming an Aura Sphere of his own on screen. Mairin mimicked him, a glow surrounding the two characters as soon as she pressed ‘C’. The twin Aura Spheres began to grow, the glow becoming brighter.

“Focus Blast,” A deep voice echoed from the TV speakers, and Mairin had to stiffen a laugh at the voice. The two Aura Spheres merged, surging into a giant blue pulsing orb, the Focus Blast being launched at the Registeel– sending the titan flying across the screen. The attack took a fourth of its health, causing Max to let out a cheer.

“Come on, let’s finish it off before it can heal,” Max said, leaning forward eagerly.

“It can heal?!” Mairin cried.

“If you don’t defeat him quickly enough,” Max replied, having Sir Aaron charge forward with his staff raised.

Mairin quickly flexed her fingers, before swiftly rejoining the fight. She wasn’t as engrossed with the game as Max was, but she still had a smile on her face as they played on. While she didn’t remember how she met Max, she just found she was always so much happier around him. He was just so genuine, and she simply knew that he was her friend.

“Come on...” Max whispered, leaning forward eagerly as they brought the Registeel’s health down into the red. Mairin couldn’t do the same, it was easier to just stay still because of her injuries. “We don’t have enough aura to combo again... um– use the rest of your aura to use Heal Pulse on Aaron– if I faint there’s no way we’re going to win this.”

“I won’t be able to use Aura Sphere again if I do,” Mairin said, hesitating to lose her only ranged move. She wasn’t the best at fighting in close combat, since she wasn’t that great at dodging.

“I know, but Bone Rush should be enough for this fight,” Max replied, blocking a Hammer Arm with an aura shield. “Just do it– Heal Pulse is the L and A keys.”

She glanced down at her controller, doing as Max asked. Her aura bar fell to zero as the Heal Pulse was released, but his health bar began to rise. Max grinned, clearly more confident to get closer to the Registeel now that he could take some hits. He had Aaron swing his staff as he charged, starting to chip away at the last of the steel type’s health. Mairin had her Lucario character form a Bone Rush, but she lingered back, not wanting to get in Max’s way.

As an Iron Head hit Max she decided now was her time to charge in, the Bone Rush striking three types as she attacked. Registeel turned to face her, a Hyper Beam surging to life in front of him. Mairin yelped, barely managing to remember the buttons for Extreme Speed– rushing away moments before the move would have hit her.

“Perfect,” Max said. “It has to recharge now– come on– attack!”

She guided the Lucario in for another Bone Rush, while Max used his remaining amount of aura to launch two Aura Spheres. There was only a sliver of its health left as Mairin struck with the Bone Rush, the glowing rod striking four times. On the final blow the Registeel’s health fell to zero, the mighty golem staggering to the ground.

“Nice Mairin!” Max cried. “You defeated the first boss!”

She let the controller fall into her lap. “Heh... you did most of the work...”

“But I’ve been playing this game for ages, and this is your first time playing,” Max said, grinning. “It took me three tries to defeat Registeel the first time I played– you were awesome!”

“Thanks,” Mairin said, knowing that she would have lost if Max hadn’t been playing as well. “Um, is it okay if we stop here? I’m pretty tired...”

“Of course,” Max said, saving the game. “We’ve been going for a while anyways– I’m sure Sycamore is going to drag me off to help with dinner soon anyways. Are you going to eat with us again tonight?”

“Yeah, my morning sickness hasn't acted out since I’ve gotten home from the hospital,” Mairin said, leaning back against the couch. “You don’t know how nice it is to just be able to eat now, you know?”

Max was about to reply– but a loud thump from upstairs cut him off. Silence settled in the lab for a moment, everyone looking up. Even Ruby raised her head from her nap, a look of concern in her eyes. No sound followed the thump, and Max gave an uncertain smile.

“Alain must have knocked something over,” Max said, standing up to turn off the TV.

Mairin didn’t reply, her gaze on Ruby. The Absol was completely tense, her expression unreadable as she dug her claws into the carpet. Her namesake eyes were wide, a nervous look slowly crossing her face. Mairin sat up a bit, gaze still locked on the dark type as she did so.

“Ruby?” She asked quietly. “Is everything okay?”

The Absol looked at her, giving a low whimper.

The door opened to the TV room, and Mairin looked up expecting to see Alain, but instead Professor Sycamore entered. The man had a gentle smile on his face, nodding at Mairin once, before turning his attention to Max. “Can you come help the girls with dinner?”

Max flashed Mairin a smile, before looking at the professor. “Of course, sir, what are we having tonight?”

“Pulled pork sandwiches,” He replied. “They have most of it done, but the more hands we have the sooner we can eat. Are you going to join us tonight?”

“Um–” It took her a moment to realize the question was for her. “Uh, yeah, I am. Just count me in from now on, Professor. Is there anything I can do to help.”

“You can stay in here and rest,” Sycamore said, crossing his arms. “And don’t say it doesn’t hurt as much, no matter how true that is your body still needs plenty of rest.”

“And I can rest and help,” Mairin said, pushing herself to her feet. This caused the boys to flinch, Max stepping towards her nervously. While her body did flare up in pain, it faded just as quickly. “It doesn’t have to be something big– just let me help! You guys have been doing everything for me!”

Before any reply could be formed the door swung open once more, and Professor Sycamore glanced over his shoulder. “Ah, Alain, my boy– could you please explain to your wife that she needs to rest–” He suddenly paused, concern washing over the professor’s face. “Is everything alright?”

Alain stood in the doorway, gaze slightly distant. He didn’t reply right off, skin pale, eyes sweeping across the room. Mairin frowned as she watched him, his head hung low as he looked at them. His piercing blue eyes settled on her, and her stomach twisted when she saw the look on his face. Alain looked away, mouth opening, but it took several moments for any words to form.

“I... I need to talk to Mairin,” Alain whispered, voice shaking, gaze slipping down to the ground.

“Is everything okay?” Professor Sycamore asked again, taking a step towards Alain, who looked away.

“I just need to talk to her,” He muttered. “Alone,” Mairin took a few heistent steps towards him. He glanced at her, before turning and heading towards the door. She stood there for a moment, before realizing he probably meant for her to follow him, and she stumbled after him. She could feel Max and the professor watching them as they left, but she didn’t glance back.

Alain was silent as he headed through the lab, and Mairin wasn’t quite sure how to break that silence. He paused at the end of the hallway, waiting for her to catch up, before once again heading down the hall. He refused to look at her, which only made her insides twist.

“...Alain?”

“I’d rather talk about this when we’re alone,” He whispered, turning to climb up the stairs.

She placed her hand on the rail, going upstairs being the last thing she wanted to do. Going up the steps only made her wounds hurt, and she was sure that he’d take her elsewhere if she mentioned this, but she didn’t want to press him when he was like this. She took in a deep breath, before following after him. Silence lingered around them as they went through the lab, Alain not saying a word until they came to a stop outside of his room. He paused, hesitating, before glancing at her.

“Is it okay if we talk in here?” He asked.

“...Yes?” Mairin said uncertainly, and he pushed the door open.

Not much had changed since she had last been in his room– all of her stuff had been officially moved to her current room a while ago now, the only sign that the two of them had once shared this room was her empty half of the closet. He closed the door behind them as they entered, pressing up against the wood, a slight tremble in his body.

“Alain, is everything okay?” She asked in a hushed voice, and he turned to face her.

There were tears in his eyes.

“Alain...?”

“Mairin, that phone call I got, it was from the d-doctors,” He said quietly, taking a few steps towards her, and she frowned.

“The hospital said I was fine,” Mairin said uncertainly, but her words did nothing to lessen the tension in the room. He took in a ragged breath, clearly trying to keep himself composed as he spoke.

“It wasn’t about you...” He began uncertainly, his eyes locked on hers. “...Do you remember h-how I told you that they ran some tests on the b-baby...?”

A wave of cold washed over Mairin.

“Y-yes?” She whispered, a sense of dread running through her. She told herself that everything was okay. None of her injuries had been near the baby, everything was just fine...

“Th-they got the results back,” He whispered, and he swallowed. “M-mairin, it... it isn’t g-good...”

Her heart was hammering in her chest, Alain’s words echoing in her mind. She shook her head, taking a step back. “Alex’s attacks didn’t land near her,” Mairin whispered. “Th-that’s what you said! She sh-should be fine–!”

“It wasn’t the attack,” Alain whispered, reaching for her. “Mairin, the baby isn’t developing right... they said its a genetic defect, she’s–”

She stumbled back as he spoke, swiftly turning away from him as she took in these words. Alain fell silent, and Mairin’s arms wrapped around herself, staring at the floor, heart thumping loudly in her chest. A genetic defect... a birth defect of some kind...

“I... I don’t care...” Mairin whispered, hands going to her stomach. “It’s my b-baby, that doesn’t matter, she’s still my baby... I don’t care if something’s ‘wrong’ with her– she’s still just a baby!”

Alain’s hands grabbed her shoulders, and she could feel his trembling fingers. “Mairin, she’s not growing enough...” Alain whispered. “Th-they said her body won’t be strong enough to support itself and... a-and...” His voice cracked, and she knew he was crying. “And she probably won’t live past f-four months in the w-womb and... and...” A sob escaped him. “I’m s-sorry, I–”

Tears were running down Mairin’s face, but she was barely even aware of them, her vision blurring. They pooled in her eyes, no words able to escape her as she stood there. Her body was slowly starting to shake, fear thundering through her as she tried to take in what Alain had just told her. Her baby...

Her baby...

After everything she had lost, she was going to lose her baby as well.

“N-no...” Mairin whispered, chest aching. “N-no, they must be mistaken? Th-this isn’t happening, this isn’t...”

She didn’t say anything else, sobs escaping her. She hunched over, shaking harder as the tears came faster. Alain pulled her into a hug, trying to offer some comfort as she broke down. She grabbed Alain’s hands, trembling and twisting in his grasp. She spun around to face him, burying her head into his chest, hands grabbing his shirt. The sorrow was burning, making her chest ache, and everything in her screamed.

Alain was safe, Alain was warm, Alain was there. She had to get closer, but yet the pain wasn’t going away. He was crying too, she felt his tears as he buried his head into her hair, arms pressed against her in a desperation. Her baby... this wasn’t supposed to be happening... not to her baby, not to the innocent child inside of her...

Somehow her sobs became louder, even more painful as they were forced from her. Her body was crying with a sorrow she had never knew before– but yet it felt so familiar. Her muscles were making no effort to support her, simply going weak in Alain’s arms, and he gently set her on the bed, his grasp never loosening. It was terrifying how familiar all this was, how her mind whispered that she had been like this before.

The pain hurt, it hurt far more than the wounds Alex had left.

A child– her child– was dying.

And there wasn’t a thing she could do.

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

Mairin woke up feeling heavy.

Each breath was painful as she laid there, chest aching as she was slowly drawn out of her sleep, eyes remaining closed. A pair of warm arms were wrapped tightly around her, holding her close in almost a desperation. Her head was pressed up against a chest, where she could hear a familiar heartbeat thumping.

Perhaps a part of her should have been panicked, wondering how she had gotten into such an embrace, but there was only an empty look in her eyes as they fluttered open. She stared at Alain’s shirt, one of her hands grasping the material so tightly that her knuckles were white. She blinked slowly, turning away as she took in her surroundings. The sun was coming in through the window, lighting up Alain’s room. The sight was a gentle one, a peaceful one, one that should have been happy.

But there was simply an ache in her chest.

She blinked once, slowly remembering Alain holding her yesterday, cradling her long after her tears had run dry. They must have been up here for hours, but neither of them had wanted to go downstairs, neither of them had the will to move from the safety of the other’s arms...

The baby.

The single thought was like a knife– piercing straight into her aching chest with deadly accuracy. Despite the dryness of her eyes, the way they stung as she blinked, she could feel more tears entering them as yesterday began to flood her mind. Her eyes pressed shut, Mairin leaning into Alain as a sob began to build up.

Alain was awoken by her shaking, the silent sobs forcing themselves from her. His hands dug into her hair, bringing her head even closer than it already was. His warm fingers were ran through her hair, running down her back, searching for anyway to ease the pain rushing through her. But both of them knew there was nothing that could be done, that this pain they were feeling was there to stay.

“P-please...” Mairin rasped between her sobs. “A-alain, please,” She didn’t know how to face what life had placed before her– let alone know what to do next. “P-please don’t leave.”

He pressed his head against hers, his chest rising and falling as he breathed. It was strange to be this close to someone, to feel their every movement as he held her– but yet it was the closest thing to comfort she was feeling. The pain wasn’t lessened– but with him near it wasn’t pressing down onto her alone.

“I’m not going anywhere,” He promised, voice even quieter than a whisper.

Mairin quivered, another sob being forced from her.

[ernmark]

Heartless (part 1)

This is one of those fics that popped into my head and wouldn’t leave me alone, so I finally gave in and wrote it all down.

It’s long enough that it’s getting split into two parts, so look forward to that tomorrow.

Rilla can see Damien’s approach through the bars of her thistle cage, and she knows something is wrong the moment she lays eyes on him. He rides through the swamp like a hurricane given human form, imposing even without the bow in his hand or the giant of a knight riding at his side. Like a storm, the whole of the swamp seems to go still at his approach. Like a storm, she can taste the change in the air before it hits.

She swallows.

“Frightened, little human?” asks the lizard who has no idea what’s coming for him.

She looks him in his violet eyes. “My fiancee is a Knight of the Queen. The greatest of her Knights.” Or tied for the title, but really, Sir Angelo is right there. 

The lizard doesn’t stand a chance.

And maybe he recognizes that, because his bony brows knit and his frill tightens around his throat, and his presence seems to shrink into itself as he turns to look again at the approaching knights.

“Your fiancee,” he repeats quietly, as if that’s the most important word she said. “Of course.”

Just like that, all the swagger and self-aggrandizement is gone, and he looks almost… sad. Like he knows what’s going to happen to him just as well as Rilla does.

She feels almost sorry for him. “If you want to get out alive, this is your last chance to run.”

“No,” he says, not turning away from the oncoming storm. “There is only one way this ends.”

In the next moment, he’s gone.

The moment he’s out of sight, Rilla descends on the bars of her cage, bending back each of the wicked spines one at a time, then yanking at the thick woody stems until they start to budge. This enclosure is meant for something bigger than her– one of those giant rats, maybe– and she doesn’t have to move the bars far before she’s made enough room to slip through.

She can hear the sounds of confrontation outside– first declarations and then shouting, the twang of bowstrings, the cries as blood is spilled into the swamp.

She grabs one of the lizard’s knives off the wall and takes off running. If anything happens to Damien, she swears she’s going to skin that lizard herself–

But she doesn’t have to.

By the time she sets foot outside, the lizard is on the ground, already up to his waist in swamp water. He looks up at Damien, almost pleading, as the Knight of the Citadel draws back the bowstring.

His only act of mercy is in how fast the arrow pierces the beast’s heart.

”Sir Angelo, are you sure you don’t need me to take a look at you?”

“Nonsense,” he declares, all bluster as usual. “I’m made of stronger stuff than a few little swamp nettles. Ha!” Almost as an afterthought, he adds, “Besides, I was merely the second in the duel. The fight and the victory were all Sir Damien’s!” He claps Damien on the back with one enormous hand. “And I still owe you a drink for that. Don’t think I’ve forgotten. But first I must make a report to the Queen for us both.”

“Yes, thank you,” Damien says.

“Take good care of him, Rilla,” Sir Angelo says, and he rides off, his horse’s hooves leaving divots the size of dinner plates in their wake.

“As for you,” Rilla says, rounding on Damien. “Come on. Let’s get you cleaned up.” She shepherds him into her hut and onto a bench, and he sits while she gathers supplies. A good deal of the furniture is broken and several of her jars of medicines are smashed, but she manages to find enough to work with. “How are you feeling? Dizzy at all? Lightheaded?”

“No,” he says.

“How about drowsy? Cold?”

“No.”

“Are you sure?” She sets down the supplies and lays her hand against his forehead. There’s grit from swampwater and dried sweat, but he doesn’t feel clammy or chilled. His skin doesn’t look particularly pale or ashen, his breathing is normal, and if his pupils are a bit enlarged, it’s no more than is normal for the dim light of her hut. “As much as that monster cut you up, I’d half expect you to be in shock. You’ve lost a lot of…blood.”

She frowns.

He hasn’t, though. She didn’t notice it before, but now that she’s up close and really looking for it, the cuts look oddly… clean. Sure, there’s a bit of bleeding, but not nearly as much as there should be.

“I’m alright,” he says.

“Are you, though?” She collects a few blood samples and sets them aside. “You’ve been awfully quiet.”

“I’m tired from the fight,” he says, which is maybe the longest sentence he’s said since he killed the monster.

And that’s just it: usually after Damien’s killed a monster, he spends the next few hours immortalizing it in poetry and telling anyone who will sit still long enough to listen. He gets excited. He gets giddy. She doesn’t think she’s ever seen him go quiet like this.

So what makes this monster any different from all the others?

Only one thought really comes to her mind. She mulls it over in silence while she cleans and binds his wounds.

“Damien,” she says quietly, “if you’re worried about me, don’t be. You saved me in a nick of time, just like I knew you would.”

His expression doesn’t change. So maybe that’s not what’s going on in his head.

She tries again. “That monster… it recognized you, when you came to rescue me.”

He looks up, but his expression is unreadable.

“Was that the monster you were going to duel? The one who stole your tranquility?”

His tone is carefully neutral. “Yes.” He doesn’t elaborate.

“Do you want to talk about it?”

He shrugs as best he can while she’s wrapping the gash on his shoulder. “The beast is dead. What more is there to say?”

It’s such an awful non-answer that she wants to shout, but she keeps her voice soft. The last thing he needs right now is for her to lose her patience. So as soon as she finishes wrapping his shoulder, she tries another approach.

“Listen, Damien. When the monster took me, it was because of something I found in the woods while I was out with Marc. It had nothing to do with your duel.” She takes his hand in hers. “What happened isn’t your fault.”

“No,” he agrees. “The only one to blame was the lizard. And now he’s gone.” 

And maybe Rilla would say something to that, but her attention is drawn to Damien’s hands.

Strange. Normally she has no problem feeling his pulse racing under his skin, but now his heartbeat is calm. Weirdly calm. The only beat she can feel is the drum of hooves approaching outside.

“That will be Sir Angelo,” Damien says.

“Damien–”

He pulls his hand back. “Thank you for worrying about me, but I really am alright. All I need is a little rest.”

And maybe a night out with Sir Angelo is what he needs. Maybe Rilla’s too spooked right now to take his pulse properly. Maybe a night of rest will be good for both of them.

She lets him go. After all, she can check up on him again tomorrow.

Or she could check up on him again, if Damien would come by. But the next day comes and goes, and he doesn’t.

When she stops by the keep the day after that, she’s told that he’s away on another mission, because apparently the Queen never heard of giving her knights time to recover from their injuries. 

She can’t get a hold of him the day after that, either, or the day after that. It’s almost a week before she sees him again; by then his injuries from the lizard are nearly healed, and a fresh batch has taken their places.

But he’s still quiet.

“Are you sure you’re alright?” she asks.

“Of course,” he says.

“You needn’t worry,” he says.

“Why wouldn’t I be?” he says. “It was just a monster. I’ve killed hundreds just like it.”

And he always answers her just like that: in short, dry sentences that wouldn’t be out of place coming from the tight-lipped baker down the street, but this is Damien.

She’s still concerned about his weak heartbeat. She tries to take his hand casually, to check his pulse without making a big deal about it, but she can’t.

Not because she still can’t find his pulse point, but because she can’t hold onto him long enough to try. He keeps pulling away– and not in a way that feels conscious, either. It just seems like as soon as he’s holding his hand, he thinks of something else he’d rather be doing with it. There’s always an itch to scratch, a shirt to adjust, a bit of lint to pick away. She might not even have noticed if she weren’t trying so hard, but now that she’s paying attention, it seems almost deliberate.

But it isn’t. She can see in his eyes, he doesn’t even notice that he’s doing it.

A week ago he held her hand like it was a treasure. Now he barely lets her touch him at all.

Something is wrong.

Except it isn’t– not in a way that she would accept if she was hearing all of this from a patient. Because there aren’t real symptoms, so much as a general feeling of unwellness.

By all means, Damien is fine. He’s still going about hunting monsters and patrolling the jungle. That hasn’t changed. If anything, he’s even better at it than before. And when she asks, Damien insists that he isn’t distressed or unhappy at all. By all means, he feels perfectly fine.

But he’s not fine.

These days, Rilla is lucky to see him twice a month. His visits are always short and awkward, like he doesn’t know what to talk about. When he works himself into a panic, he doesn’t let Rilla hold him or sing to him– he just storms away on his own. He doesn’t speak his heart– he hasn’t since that night they spent dancing under Saint Damien’s Bells. He hasn’t asked her again when they’ll be married.

He hasn’t mentioned it at all since then, actually.

At night, Rilla reads Damien’s old poems by the light of a candle. He’s sent her so many over the years– some so bad they’re a little bit ridiculous, some overblown and tedious, some awkward and forced– but they’re all so very Damien that it makes her heart ache.

Saints above, she misses his poems. Even the damn odes.

“You know,” she says when she manages to catch a few moments alone with him. “It’s been a while since you’ve brought me any new poetry. Have you been working on anything?”

He looks at her like she’s gone mad.

“What are you talking about?” he asks. “I don’t have time for such things.”

When Rilla arrives at the barracks for her meeting with Damien, she’s less surprised to find that he’s gone than she is at her own lack of disappointment. She’s stopped hoping that he’ll make time for her.

The realization leaves her uneasy.

“Rilla, it’s good to see you!”

At least someone’s happy she’s here.

“Hello, Sir Angelo,” she says, trying to smile before he lifts her off the ground in a bear hug.

“How are you?” he asks when he puts her down. “I can make you some tea, if you want. I feel like I haven’t seen you in ages.”

“It really does,” she says, sitting at the mess hall table while Sir Angelo fusses over the tea. “Not since I made you that antidote to the cockatrice venom, right?”

“That sounds right to me.” He pauses. “I hope you weren’t looking for Sir Damien. He’s off on another monster hunt. There really is no stopping that man.” He says it jovially, but it’s missing most of his usual bluster.

“It certainly seems to keep him busy,” she says, mostly to make conversation. “Honestly, I’m surprised I caught you in. If you’re not careful, he’ll break that tie of yours.”

Her stupid joke feels a lot less funny when she sees the look on his face.

“Oh, that? Ha.” She doesn’t know the last time she’s heard him sound subdued. “That tie was broken ages ago. Damien really is the greatest knight in the Citadel. Really, I’m surprised he didn’t mention it to you.”

“Did something happen?” Rilla asks. “I’m sure it doesn’t count if you were hurt–”

“Oh, no, nothing like that.” He offers her a cup of steaming green tea. “I just lapsed in my efforts, that’s all.”

Rilla frowns. “That doesn’t sound like you. Are you sure you’re alright?”

“It’s nothing like that.” He shrugs his enormous shoulders uneasily. “It’s true that our rivalry used to be one of my greatest pleasures, but it just isn’t much fun anymore.”

When he sits beside her, the bench creaks in protest.

“Damien’s ruthlessness is becoming legendary, you know,” Sir Angelo continues. “It feels like the jungle is almost empty. There aren’t any monsters left alive for miles.” He hesitates. “It’s a little eerie.”

Rilla takes a sip. The tea is scalding hot, burnt just enough to be bitter.

“Sir Angelo?” she asks. “Does Damien seem… different to you lately?”

“Lately?”

“Since his duel with the lizard, I mean.”

Sir Angelo’s broad shoulders sag. “I thought it was only my imagination.”

“I don’t think it is.” Her grip tightens on the cup. “I think he might be sick. I know he doesn’t look it, but he had all those open wounds, and he was up to his neck in swamp water. Maybe he was affected by something. Maybe he’s got some kind of infection and I missed it.”

“If you say so,” Sir Angelo says, laying a hand on her shoulder. “But Damien was acting strangely even before his duel.”

She looks up. “He was? How?” When he doesn’t answer right away, she grabs his hand. “Angelo, please. The more I know about his symptoms, the better I can understand them. Maybe I can do something about it.”

“I… I’m afraid I don’t know,” he admits. “I think he tried to explain it to me, in his own way, but… you know I don’t have a head for such things.” He bits his lip. “But he did give me a poem.”

“A poem? What does that have to do with anything?”

“He said to give it to you if something happened to him. And…” He’s reluctant. “I suppose something did happen to him, didn’t it?” He gives her shoulder a squeeze. “He said it was supposed to explain something. Maybe it will help.”

Rilla reads the poem over a hundred times.

Not because it’s difficult to parse– if anything, he made himself pretty clear, especially compared to some of his older stuff– but because she has a hard time wrapping her mind around what he’s trying to say.

And when she does, she reads over it again, because this is it, isn’t it? This is his confession. His explanation. His goodbye.

This is the last poem Damien ever wrote her.

She keeps rereading it long after she’s committed it to memory, until her eyes droop and she nods off with the page still clutched in her hand and a few of the verses still floating through her head.

Lord Arum swears I have a monster’s eyes And now I fear that what he says is true That I’m one of the foul bests I despise Who loves a lizard as I cherish you.

For you alone my heart beats in my breast If not, then to Saint Damien I pray To pluck this loathsome traitor from my chest Before it leads me faithlessly astray

The moment Damien sets foot in the barracks, he finds Rilla sitting on his cot.

“Oh,” he says, only mildly surprised. “Rilla. I wasn’t expecting to see you here.”

He would look good, if she didn’t know better. His posture is impeccable, his form rugged and toned in ways she can’t deny is striking, his uniform just slightly disheveled in a way that just barely breaks regulation without being slovenly, his fresh scars are just right to accentuate his features.

But his face.

His face is smooth, unstretched by any strong emotion. His brows lie flat over his eyes. His smile is polite, but it feels like something plastered over a blank wall.

For the first few moments, all she can say is his name, and even that sticks in her throat.

“Was there something you wanted?” he asks, shutting the door behind him. “It’s been a long day. If it’s all the same to you, I’d like to get some rest.”

She shuts her eyes– then opens them again. She needs to see this.

“You can stop trying to hide it,” she says slowly, weighing each word like a ball of lead. “I know about Lord Arum.”

And that… that should mean something to him. He should be surprised, or shocked, or sad, or upset in any way at all. But he just looks curious. “What about him?”

After everything it took to make herself come here, is that all he’s going to give her? Is he this good of an actor?

“I know,” she repeats. And then, softer: “I know you were in love with him.” 

“Ah. That.” Frustratingly, his expression doesn’t change. “And?”

What does that even mean? “Damien, you killed him.”

“Of course I did,” he says easily. “He took you, didn’t he? I thought you were grateful for that.”

“Is that why you’re–” She doesn’t even have the words for it. Does he blame her for what happened? Has he been holding it against her all this time? “I didn’t know. I had no idea. Angelo only gave me your letter yesterday.”

“He shouldn’t have given it to you at all,” Damien says absently. “I told him to destroy the thing.”

“Why didn’t you say something?” she demands. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Why does it matter?”

“It matters because you were in love with him.”

“Yes, so you’ve said.“ His voice is cold and sharp as an iron blade, and just as impersonal. “And now he’s dead, and the problem is resolved. What exactly do you want from me?”

“I want you to talk to me,” she snaps, carried to her feet by frustration. “Damien, please. I understand if you’re hurting. I understand if you’re angry. I want to help you, if you’ll just tell me how. I’m begging you, just talk to me.” He steps away, but she takes him by the arm before he can pull away. “Please, just… just speak your heart.”

Nothing prepares her for the look of disgust that crosses his face.

There is no poetry left in him– everything soft and delicate has been carved away, leaving behind something jagged and hard.

“I’m a knight, Rilla. What use do I have for my heart?”

Her hand is tight against his wrist.

There is no pulse.

[worldsandfeathers]

Floats around in their tank, eyeing this new man standing next to Druze. "... ..." The siren makes a variety of clicks and hisses each time the other man leans too close to the Dr. to speak, threatening him to stop, but it never seems to work. This tank was the problem. If audio would not work, then visuals would. At the next motion of the new scientist, Zaerua lashed out at the glass. Its real mouth took shape, mass of teeth scratching against the glass as barbed tongue tried striking the [1/2]

[2/2] clear tank. Tendrils rushed forward as well, usually smooth the ends became spiked as well, webs of poison spreading over the hard surface with each impact. Fortunately since the tanks previous repair the Siren could no longer break through, but the amount of toxins now in the water still made the tank a danger. “… …” After about a minute of assault the creature backed away, form returning to it’s usual beauty. It didn’t like that new man.

Olivander jumped when he heard and saw the thump of spiked tendrils and tongue slam against the glass. For a moment, Zaerua’s razor sharp teeth were all he could see before thick threads of the siren’s toxins swirled around the areas of the tank wall they had struck. He looked over at Brian who seemed justifiably alarmed at the sudden aggression. He was tense as a trap ready to spring and his pursed lips told Druze that his colleague liked the siren as much as the siren liked him.

After a minute or so, the barrage ended and the siren was back to swimming like a beautiful beta fish in it’s tank. He really should have been prepared for this. After all, Brian, was new and unfamiliar, however the amount of discomfort Dr. Druse had been expecting was nothing compared to incredible act of aggression he’d just witnessed.

“And that,” he sighed, gesturing to the tank‘s oozing waters, “is just one of the reasons why I didn’t want you coming in without an escort.”

The statement earned him the most scathing look, to which he added, “And probably why you want me to move Zaerula’s tank, I presume.”

“Yeah, I think that’s an obvious one,” Elkwood exclaimed, pressing a fist against his hip as he looked from Druze to the tank and back. He gave its fishy occupant an narrow-eyed scowl before looking back at Olivander with a stern expression. “You need to find a new home for this thing,” he said flatly, gesturing to the siren. “This thing is way too dangerous to be having right in your personal work space.”

Olivander swelled with indignation. “That thing,” he huffed, gesturing to Zaerua, “as you call them, is the most intelligent non-human species ever discovered on the planet. Need I remind you that I’m not just some fancy botanist and am the head of this division.”

Brian threw up his hands in disbelief. “So you’re just going to continue rooming with a psychopathic, man eating, mythological apex predator swimming in your office?”

“Considering I’ve been doing that for the past seven months as I’ve studied them, yes!” Druze retorted, his frustration now almost palpable.

“You are asking to be eaten,” Elkwood growled, his expression darkening further.

“No, I’m asking you not to interfere with my work.”

“I’m trying to keep you safe!” Brian shouted, hands gesturing wildly as he lost his composure.

“I am safe!” Olivander returned, drawing himself to his full height. “In fact, I’m probably the safest in this whole complex!”

“What about your hand?” Elkwood demanded pointing to the biologist’s injured hand. “Forgive me if that doesn’t scream safe to me.”

“That was an accident,” Druze said through gritted teeth and raised a hand as his friend opened his mouth to argue further. “No! Enough! I will look over the safety procedures again and make sure their adequate. However, at this point in time, there is no where else we can put him. So unless you’d rather me sacrifice the opportunity of a the millenium, and toss Zaerua back into the ocean, they’re staying right here until we can get a better enclosure for them. Understood?”

The look on Brian’s face could not have been a better mixture of anger, irritation and possibly innate rebellion. But as much as he was wanting to argue the point, he nodded and scowled at the ground.

“Fine,” he said grudgingly. “But that thing is out of here once you get it a new enclosure.”

Olivander sighed and ran a hand through his flaxen hair. “Yes, fine, fine, I’ll relocate his tank. Now lets get something to drink before we kill each other. I need to take my pain medication.”

The explorer nodded and turned to go while the blond stayed a moment and glared at the tank, classes for sign language and other ramifications of the day’s events running through his head.

‘I have words for you later,’ he thought and headed off to the break room.

[fangirl-overload13]

Piper and the Nutcracker

Ch.1 Bring you down to size

Ch.2 Through the mouse hole we go

They fell and fell through a tunnel of swirling lights and colors until they landed in drifts of snow. Piper looked around amazed, the ice and snow glittered and sparkled in a soft blue glow “Where are we?” the Nutcracker looked around as he sat up “Hmm we must have taken a wrong turn somewhere. Now where did my sword go…” he looked around him in the snow. Piper looked down and saw it buried in the snow near where she was standing. “Here I’ll give you a hand.” She picked up the golden sword from the ground seeing that his arm from the elbow down was still clutching the sword. “Uh, literally.” The Nutcracker walked over to her and retrieved his arm and sword “Sorry. That um, tends to happen… a lot actually.” Piper tried not to laugh. The Nutcracker reattached his arm not seeming bothered at all.

Piper blinked as a ball of shimmering light flitted past her “What was that? A firefly, but there’s snow.” The Nutcracker shook his head “Not a firefly, it’s a snow fairy.” Piper watched the snow fairy with wonder. The little fairy bumped into the Nutcracker and fell into the snow; he bent down and picked her up “I’m sorry, please be more careful.” Piper stepped closer and helped dust the snow off of the little fairy. “There you go.” The snow fairy jumped up and flitted off again. “Not even a thank you.” Said the Nutcracker though Piper could tell he wasn’t upset by it. “Well, let us be on our way then.” He walked over to one of the ice walls surrounding them and tried to cut his way through with his sword but the ice was too thick “Well I guess that’s not going to work, these walls are made of solid ice.” He said.

Snow began to fall around them and as Piper watched it turned into more snow fairies, they began to glow and dance through the air around them, Piper couldn’t help but to think they looked beautiful. When she was little her mother had placed her and Drew in dance lessons and she had loved every second of it, but she hadn’t danced since she had lost her parents. Just then the little snow fairy that had first appeared flew over to her and tried to get her to join in. “I don’t know, it’s been so long since I danced last I don’t know if I can.” Piper told the little snow fairy but the fairy was very insistent so Piper let out a small laugh “Alright, I’ll try.” Piper extended he leg and started to copy what the fairies were doing as she tried to recall the steps that she had spent so long practicing as a small child determined to do well in something she had loved. She watched the snow fairies as they danced and mimicked their movies as best she could but she was still rusty after so long and decided to just watch.

She continued watching the snow fairies as they danced and then they became balls of light again and mimicked fireworks then they swirled around Piper and the Nutcracker once again drawing them closer together, and lit a path towards a break in the ice to show the way out. The Nutcracker chucked “I guess that was their way of thanking us for helping their friend.” They shielded their eyes against the bright light that now shone through the ice. “Where did they all go though?” asked Piper. “I don’t really know, maybe off to make a blizzard somewhere.” Said the Nutcracker and Piper wondered if he was kidding or not. They left the snow enclosure leaving footprints behind as they went, unaware that wherever Piper stepped flowers bloomed.

They walked through the break in the ice and emerged into a sunny day looking out onto a beautiful landscape with blue open sky, snow covered mountains and lush green hills and forests. It was truly breath taking. Off in the distance Piper thought she could make out the shape of a castle on a ridge. “Welcome to my homeland.” Piper bent down and scooped up a handful of snow “The snow’s not even cold…” She had just noticed it now, she stood up as a breeze carried a light scent to her nose “the trees here smell like peppermint, and the sky is bluer than I’ve ever seen.” It really was like being in a dream so beautiful and bright.

The Nutcracker looked around not as overcome by awe as Piper was “Pretty soon this will all just be a memory, if the mouse king has his way.” Piper was liking the mouse king less and less, how could anyone not find such a beautiful place amazing, and instead want to destroy it? “Come, this way.” The Nutcracker said as he led Piper towards a pathway leading into the forest nearby. “You’re sure that the sugarplum princess can help? Make me normal sized, you… not a Nutcracker? Could she help us fight the mouse king too?” Piper wondered how powerful this sugarplum princess was and why they needed to find her. The Nutcracker nodded but didn’t turn back as he led the way “Yes, she is our only hope of defeating him.”

…

As they walked neither one of them had noticed the eyes and ears close by observing them for the mouse king, “Hmmm interesting.” The bat that had been hidden amongst the branches of the trees flew off in the direction of the mouse kings palace. He fluttered past the guards stationed along the palace walls and in through the open window that led to the throne room where the mouse king leaned over a map of the kingdom. The throne room was draped in purple and gold and had tall windows on the walls. The mouse king addressed the bat without looking up from the map spread out before him “Well? What news do you bring?” the bat scratched its head trying as if trying to recall what it had seen and heard in the forest. “I wish I could remember, but I’m so hungry and weak I think I might faint…” it collapsed dramatically the mouse king sneered “You annoying insolent little bat, I should turn you into a ceiling fan to make you useful!” the bat immediately jumped to its feet “That would really be shame because then I couldn’t tell you the juicy bit of gossip I overheard in the forest.” He looked meaningfully at the mouse king.

The mouse king grumbled and tossed a dish of fruit to the floor near the bat who greedily ate it all as fast as he could “Thank you so very much you most royal majesty! May I just say that you’re looking especially regal this evening sire?” the mouse king glared at the bat “Right! Well for starters Nutcracker’s back.” The mouse kings eyes blazed with fury “What?! Here?” the bat nodded “And he’s got some girl with him. Don’t know where she came from though.” the bat said. The mouse king lifted his hand to his head where he had hit it when he fell after being hit by Piper’s slipper “I do.” He said not at all pleased. “Now here’s the good part, they’re looking for a sugarplum princess who could supposedly,” he started to cower “defeat… you.” The mouse king looked furious and the bat took a couple steps back “According to the Nutcracker!” he tried to illustrate his point by pointing off into the distance.

The mouse king blinked a few times as the news sank in. ”Sugarplum princess? I’ve never heard of a sugarplum princess!” he paced in front of his throne then stopped abruptly and turned to a guard that was standing nearby “Bring me the royal registry! And bring me the Nutcracker.” The malice was clear in his voice and on his face. It was time to settle things once and for all.