#she's made out of shadows but her head looks like a floating mask

[casdeans-pie]

Here's a creature I dreamed about last night - she looks creepy, but she's extremely loyal and good

[jaewritesfic]

Melon!AU

Actual writing now, based on this post:

“What,” Tim breathes out faintly, “the fuck is that?”

Language, Bruce thinks faintly, though he doesn't manage to get it past his lips.

He is a man who prides himself on being ready for anything, but he most certainly didn't expect something like this when responding to the Batsignal tonight.

“That is a Pit Demon,” Damian's voice asserts through comms, grave in a way that betrays his collected mask. He's unnerved. “There is nothing else that could be.”

Bruce is unnerved too, though he refuses to show it.

Gordon had half the block cordoned off so no civilians would come through by the time Bruce and Tim - the closest at the time - had arrived on scene. The alley itself is blocked in by police cruisers, though the officers are staying very firmly behind the line and not approaching.

It's no wonder why.

The…thing backed into a dead end alley looks like it's made of smoke and shadow, all long sinuous lines and dangerous angles.

It's vaguely Humanoid in the sense that it has a long torso, arms and a head. The arms are too long, the fingers curved and wickedly sharp. The face is a well of deep shadow, a smooth slate broken only when it opens its jagged mouth to show off a full arsenal of fangs.

The only other facial features are the solid, glowing Lazarus green eyes. Wide and lamp-like, they give the distinct feeling that the creature's sights will not miss anything.

There are no legs. Just the sinuous curves and overlaps of a long smokey tail. It whips about with agitation.

Floating like mist on the water is a head of white hair, edges fuzzy and undefined like it can't decide whether it's a solid or a gas.

The creature lays with its chest nearly flat to the ground, propped up only by those horrifically sharp hands and poised like a predator ready to push off into a sprint.

Glowing Lazarus water seems to pool slowly beneath it, streaked here and there as evidence of past movement.

Bruce finally finds his tongue to question Damian. He can see his youngest standing on the opposite roof of he and Tim, the two buildings that form the alley their perch.

“You've seen something like this before?”

Damian hesitates. “...no. But there are stories of things coming out of the Pits. I doubt I need to explain why this seems to be one of them.”

With that color green shining out of its face and streaked across the alley? No. No, he doesn't.

“Do your stories have any clues on what to do when one shows up?” Tim asks, unable to tear his eyes away from the creature.

Damian scoffs. “Close your eyes and hope your end is quick.”

“Lovely,” Tim bites out, voice a little higher pitched than normal.

“We won't be doing that,” Bruce responds dryly, two taps coming through the comms notifying them of Black Bat's arrival.

Bruce looks up and has to search for her for a few seconds before he can make her out in the shadows of Damian's rooftop.

“I'm still five minutes out,” Dick comms in. “What exactly are we looking at here? Can Oracle give a visual with any cams?”

“I wish,” Oracle chimes in. “Even through the mask footage I have no idea what they're seeing. The feed is corrupted to hell and back whenever it's in frame.”

“Really? In person it looks like-”

Tim is cut off when the officers below make some kind of movement the monster clearly takes issue with, the snarl that almost physically ricochets off the brick walls making everyone wince.

It's like TV static and the crackle of lightning striking a tree, like glaciers cracking and shifting underwater all rolled into one.

The hair on the back of Bruce's neck stands on end.

“Fuck. It's like a living shadow, but all sharp and wrong and angry-”

“No,” Cass cuts in quietly, silencing everyone.

“...Black Bat?” Bruce questions lowly.

“Not angry,” she responds, as sure as ever when assessing a target - no matter what kind of target.

“Scared, hurt. Guarding chest, trying to hide it. Wants to scare us away, but making no move to attack. Posturing.”

The thing about Cass is that they trust her reads implicitly - her reads of people.

She wouldn't speak up if she wasn't certain, and she wouldn't be certain if she didn't see something painfully human in the creature below.

“...what do you suggest?” Bruce asks after a moment of tense silence, trying to reassess the creature and see what she sees.

He at the very least wants her opinion, so they can weigh it in formulating a plan here.

Cass keeps looking for a long moment, before she looks across the gap at him. “Needs help. Reach out - at least try.”

Masterpost

[bluemoonsunrise]

Demons and Savages

pairing: tsu’tey and human!avatar driver (fem presenting)

content warnings: graphic language, alien vs human differences, unconventional grief, the RDA sucks, fuck u miles quaritch, tension you could cut with a knife, nsfw themes: grinding, biting, scent marking???. enemies to lovers. (also, i don’t like to capitalize sentences on tumbler :3)

word count: o_0 long… <3 ur welcome

pov: 2nd person so you can add yourself in. for writing/plot purposes, your character is named eris ramsey. i’ll use the name sparingly but i can’t take myself seriously writing y/n— so please just work with me here. i promise it’ll be worth it. (i hope)

< previous chapter

———🌌———

SUMMARY: earth was dying and your sister was, too, but cancer killed her faster than humans were killing earth. when she passed, she not only left behind an empty apartment full of memories but a billion dollar avatar without a driver. in a desperate attempt to not waste that money, the program she had spent the last five years preparing to join recruited you— her twin. of course, you agreed. there was nothing left on earth for you. there was nothing left on earth for anyone— that’s why people like your sister were sent off to pandora.

when your sister had spoken of pandora, it seemed like a dream.

the RDA promised it would be like a safari adventure.

truth was that pandora is beautiful. beautiful and unlike anything else across the whole of the universe. it is breathtaking— and that’s because what chases you through the forest hunts with the intent to kill; so you best run like hell even if your lungs are on fire. beasts and monsters of all kinds lurk out of sight waiting for the right moment to kill you dead— but none are as dangerous as him.

the blue shadow with the bow.

chapter five

— i know you —

the chopper was louder than you remembered. it made it hard to sleep even with the protective headphone over your ears. leaving before the sun was up, you were utterly exhausted. if your head was pounding bad enough to make you scowl with your eyes closed, you couldn’t imagine the headache jake had from his link being broken. with your head rested on his shoulder, the two of you tired your best to sleep.

you wished you hadn’t.

she came to you in your dreams.

“hey,” grace’s voice was gravelly over the headset. you felt her nudge your leg. “twin one and twin two, wake up before you miss it.”

you let out a soft whine as you stretched. beside you, jake yawned. he turned his head away from the glaring morning sun and tucked it down into your shoulder despite the mask. the cool breeze of oxygen was vital— but you really wished you could’ve taken it off to rub the sleep from your eyes. blinking hard, you tried to focus.

“oh, holy shit…”

emerging from the clouds, the hallelujah mountains came into view. the massive, floating rocks were covered in green. waterfalls fell into sprays of cool mist that wafted into the helicopter that helped wake up jake. he, too, stared dumbfounded outside.

“ain’t it something?” grace asked.

you turned your head to look at her and all you could do was nod. your eyes welled with tears you didn’t let fall. it was gorgeous. too gorgeous. earth — even as pretty as it was in its prime — could’ve never ever compared to the majesty and the glory that was pandora.

“aaaand that’s another job well done, folks. thanks for traveling air pandora. tips are appreciated.” trudy said in a perfect public service voice as she began to shut down the chopper.

“best damn pilot this side of the universe.” jake said.

trudy smirked. “you know it, baby.”

blue base: hidden was where you would be spending the next handful of months with grace, norm, trudy, and jake. setting up the field lab was no easy task. there was much to do. air filters had to be cleaned. link-pods and tech needed to be recalibrated to deal with the flux vortex. a new radio channel had to be set up in all the walkie-talkies. food needed to be stored away. bunks needed to be prepared.

you had so much to do— too much to do.

and yet you couldn’t stop thinking about tsu’tey.

“hey, where are you going?” grace asked as you rose from the table. you had all eaten dinner as a group once all the work had finally gotten done.

“i have to link.” you said as you tossed away your trash and took a last sip of water.

“it’s late. you should wait until tomorrow.” grace said with a small shake of her head.

“i can’t. i’m sorry.” you frowned at her and whispered, “it’s important. he needs to know.”

while the other three at the table exchanged confused glances, grace only sighed. she got up without another protest and fired up the link-pod. you climbed inside and laid back.

fuck was it going to be hard not to fall asleep.

as soon as your head hit the spongy blue foam, you could’ve fallen asleep right then and there. as soon as the hatch shut and your eyes closed, your vision tunneled into white.

the warm night air and smell of pandoran dinner were a comfort you didn’t know you needed. you laid by yourself for a moment. you were tired. incredibly so. it had been nearly two days since you’d been in your avatar at this point. traveling to the hallelujah mountains and setting up blue base: hidden had taken more time than you thought it would.

the center of home tree was alive with music and dancing. a massive bonfire in the middle of the gathering burned like a second sun. shadows danced across the walls as voices echoed in song. you couldn’t help but smile. you couldn’t help, either, as you scanned face to face looking for him.

“dream-walker, you’re awake.” the tsahik said.

your turned. sitting with her daughter, mo’at ran her fingers over a beaded chord. neytiri did not look at you as you crouched down to be level. instead, she focused on her own beaded chord.

“what’s all this?” you asked with a glance around at the festivities.

“a celebration of life.”

neytiri’s voice was like snow. cold and beautiful. it almost hurt your ears how pretty it was— and you realized it was the first time you’d ever heard her speak.

she met your eyes and said, “there has been a death since you were last here. we mourned and now we celebrate.���

your heart sank.

for a split moment— a moment you never wanted to live again, you thought it was him.

where was tsu’tey?

“an elder passed in her sleep.” the tsahik said. she watched your expression. she seemed to know exactly what you feared. “she lived a long, full life. now she will live forever in eywa.”

“i’m sorry for your loss…” you whispered, saying the only thing you could offer.

“there is no loss,” neytiri said without looking at you. instead, she was focused on something behind you. “you cannot lose what was not really yours.”

“eris.”

you looked up at the sound of your name rolling off his tongue. you shot up, your pupils blown wide. tsu’tey took ahold of your arm and squeezed you. his ears perked and the look in his eyes was one that you’d never thought you’d see.

relief.

“come.” tsu’tey said.

without another word, he whisked you away. he was always doing that. grabbing and pulling you. you wondered as you hurried to keep up with him, when that had become your favorite part of your day.

to your surprise, you left home tree.

where better to talk privately than where no one was at this hour?

“you were gone a long time.” tsu’tey said as he walked beside you through the sunset painted forest. soon, it would be dark and the forest would glow all on its own.

“i know…i’m sorry.” you said softly. you glanced up at him and heat rushed to your face. he was looking at you. “things— uh…things got real crazy real fast. i’m happy to report that jake is not a spy for the RDA.”

“you are sure of this?” tsu’tey asked, his brows drawing together.

“yes.” you said. you cracked a small smile and laughed. “grace is intent on making sure those who would wish to plant spies here never get the chance. she pulled my whole team out of the RDA facility. we are— well…maybe i shouldn’t tell you where we are.”

tsu’tey’s eyes widened and he asked, “are you not at your colony?”

“no. not anymore. we’ve gone wild. we are far from hell’s gate. far from here, too. at least, i think? i’m not really sure where those floating mountains are.”

you slapped your hand over your mouth.

tsu’tey smiled down at you and chuckled. “what? afraid i’ll come and kill you?”

“maybe…” you whispered, letting your hands drop.

“you have proven yourself to be useful, eris, so there is little to gain by killing you.” tsu’tey said. his arm brushed against yours and he met your eyes. “better yet, you’ve proven yourself to be trustworthy.”

your throat tightened and your chest caved but your forced yourself to smile.

silence settled over the two of you as you walked and you were thankful for it. your voice would’ve cracked and you would’ve cried if you had to say anything more. walking with him now, you realized how scared you had been the last 37 hours.

with him, you felt safe.

and it made you cry.

you stopped dead in your tracks and covered your face with your hands. big, wet tears rolled down your cheeks. the stress of the move and the exhaustion due to it made for an awful, potent mix of a complete and utter overwhelm.

“eris?” tsu’tey whispered your name too gently.

“i’m just tired,” you said. you wiped your eyes hard and tried to calm your breath. you looked up at him and shook your head. “i’m fine.”

“let us go back. we will get you back to your body so that you can sleep.” tsu’tey said.

“no.” you shook your head as tears dripped from your eyes. “i don’t want to go back yet. please. i want to stay here. i want to stay with y—”

you caught yourself.

not we’ll enough.

tsu’tey ears perked and his pupils rounded. carefully, he flicked his head. without a word, you followed behind him. you had no idea where you were going. you didn’t care. when you came upon a massive tangle of gigantic tree roots, the forest was beginning to glow in the shadows.

“this way,” tsu’tey said as he crouched down.

you raised your hand up to protect your face as you followed him into the dark. a tunnel. the smell of pandoran soil was strong. lights began to twinkle the deeper into the dark tunnel you walked until blue and purple were the only colors you could see.

underground was a small burrow-like cave. the grass shined as you walked. the tree roots were speckled with colorful dots. the gems in the walls of the burrow twinkled and reflected the light. in the center, an unlit firepit. woven mats lined the floor. baskets were placed against the walls.

“what is this place?” you asked softly.

“it is where hunters come to rest if they tire greatly before reaching home tree. there are many places like this in the forest.” tsu’tey said.

you watched as he lit a fire. slowly, you sat down on one of the mats. it took skill to make a fire that fast. you wondered if you’d master something like that one day. would he teach you?

“where is jake’s avatar?” you asked. the thought came to your mind like fire catching onto dry grass. you watched the flames swirl as he added kindle.

“the tsahik’s hut.” tsu’tey said without looking at you.

you looked at him though.

you watched the way his muscles rippled as he moved. you watched the way he shifted his weight as he reached around. when he finally sat down beside you, you stared at his face. his frustratingly handsome face.

was it wrong that you found him handsome?

he was a ten-foot-tall blue alien and all you wanted to do was let your head drop into his lap and fall asleep.

“why do you look at me like that?” tsu’tey asked. his voice was low. low and curious. he turned his head and met your eyes.

you pursed your lips. “like what?”

“like…” tsu’tey hesitated. perhaps he didn’t have the words in english. he cracked an awkward smile. “like you want to…eat me.”

your eyes widened and you couldn’t help but laugh. as heat filled your face, you looked away. “i don’t look at you like that…”

“not— not like you want to chew me and swallow.” tsu’tey was quick to say, worried he confused you. he tried to catch a glimpse of your face as he sat forward. “but like you want to…i don’t know. forget it. i can’t express it well.”

“it’s because i think you’re hot.”

when he didn’t say anything, you forced yourself to look at him. his ears were perked. he was waiting for you to explain. to say more. you found it hard to.

“hot…” tsu’tey repeated. “like i burn you?”

“kinda.” you said with a small laugh. you played with one of the braids in your hair as you stared at the fire. “it just means i…i think you’re attractive. you’re good looking. i think you’re hot.”

“is that why you try to put your mouth on mine?” tsu’tey asked.

you wanted to curl into a ball and die.

“yeah…” you said softly, nodding your head. you exhaled the air in your lungs awkwardly.

“i feel like that about you.”

you nearly broke your neck looking up at him so fast. your eyes widened and your lips parted in a soft expression of shock. you don’t know why it surprised you so much. he had literally tried to fuck you in the hot springs.

still, it was different hearing it so outright.

“you…think i’m hot?” you asked under your breath.

tsu’tey nodded once. “yes.”

“and you want to…kiss me?”

“all the time.”

you could’ve fainted.

your heart was racing and so much blood was rushing to your face that you felt light headed— but you had to keep your wits about you.

you laid back on your elbows and nodded, trying to seem as nonchalant as you could. “epic.”

“epic?” tsu’tey asked as he, too, laid back on his elbows. he looked at you. “what is epic?”

“forget it.” you said with a small shake of your head.

so embarrassing…

silence fell over the both of you. the burrow was full only with the sounds of crackling sticks. soft, even breaths. a small hum of some tune he whispered under his breath. you looked up at him but he kept his eyes on the fire.

it became warm in the safe haven below the ground. perfectly warm. it made your eyes heavy. his humming did, too. slowly, you slipped down to lay on your side. when you did, he did the same. on the mat beside you, he rested his head on his palm and watched you as he hummed.

“i don’t want to fall asleep…” you murmured, rubbing your eyes. you smiled faintly. “you’re making me sleepy.”

“what is it you want then?” tsu’tey asked in a low voice.

you shook your head.

he sighed the smallest bit. “just say it and i will do it.”

you hesitated for a moment.

tsu’tey tensed as you wiggled closer and curled up against his chest. he looked down at you. with your eyes closed, you tried to play it cool— but your heart was pounding in your chest.

the tension in you died away as he brushed his fingers down your arm. you relaxed as he laid down with you. his arm slid underneath your head. a perfect pillow. his legs tangled with yours. his lips rested against the top of your head.

he placed the faintest kiss on your hairline.

you were no longer tired.

all you could hear was the pound of your heart. it was like thunder. you breathed as deeply and as evenly as you could to keep yourself from squirming. you hoped he couldn’t feel the way your heart raced.

he could.

“mawey,” tsu’tey murmured, reaching between you to place his hand on your chest.

it only made you less calm.

slowly, you lifted your head to be eye-to-eye with him. with his hand still on your chest, he could feel the beat your heart had skipped. his pupils widened as you stared into his eyes. his tail was swaying, audibly swishing against the mat.

“what?” you asked softly.

“you smell good,” tsu’tey whispered, a small smile curling on his lip.

you bit the inside of your cheek. you knew what he was getting at. pheromones. you inhaled through your nose. the smell of the fire was all that you could really pick out. that and a sweet, faint aroma you figured was the grass.

you shook your head. “i only smell the fire.”

tsu’tey let out a low sigh but smiled anyways. “you are frustrating…do you know that?”

“i don’t mean to be.” you said softly.

“i know,” he dragged his fingers up your arm and pressed his palm against your face. “which is even more frustrating...”

tsu’tey kissed you.

and it took everything in you not to moan.

worse, it was harder not to devour him completely.

he kissed you slowly and softly, as if he were testing out the waters. maybe he expected you to feel different on his lips than real na’vi women did. or perhaps kissing was entirely different on pandora than it was on earth.

you let him lead.

you liked it best when he told you what to do.

your fingers laced through his braids as you kissed him back. his lips were like velvet. his mouth was hot. you wanted to taste him but you didn’t know if you could. you were too afraid to ruin this by doing something too human.

but you couldn’t help it.

you parted your lips in the hopes that he would give you more.

his tongue was wet and coarse as it dipped into your mouth. you sighed against his lips and wrapped your arms around his neck. guiding you to the ground, he leaned the top half of himself over you as your tongues slow danced together.

he tasted so fucking good.

he smelled so fucking good.

his pheromones hit you like an anvil to the head like in those old cartoons. salvia filled your mouth and a tingle began to vibrate in your belly. between your legs, your pussy began to weep. your tail curled itself tight around your leg. you felt breathless. you felt hot all over.

you felt so bad for not realizing what you did to him without even knowing it.

tsu’tey pulled his lips away from yours but he did not remove them from you. he glided them along your jaw. he nipped at your throat as you tilted your head back. you were squirming below him, panting and huffing as he kissed the sweetest spots you had. soon enough, you were grinding against each other.

a sharp yelp escaped you as he bit into the crook of your neck. fangs threatened to puncture through your skin— but they didn’t. he didn’t. he just wanted to bite. and bite you he did. over and over again, across your throat and shoulders, tsu’tey bit you hard enough to draw gasps from your lips but not enough to bruise.

your eyes shot open as he rolled you onto your side. the fire warmed your face but that was nothing compared to the flush that burned in your cheeks as he pressed himself against your backside. he pushed his hips forward into your ass. you could feel his erection. it throbbed against you from below his loincloth

“i will not mate with you face to face,” tsu’tey murmured against your ear. he dragged his lips along the pointed cartilage. “but we may do it like this and i will hold you just as close.”

“why can’t we face each other?” you asked softly, squirming back to be closer to him.

you tried to look over your shoulder and meet his eyes but he tucked his face down into the nape of your neck and bit down. you winced softly and closed your eyes, grinding back against him subconsciously.

“because if we look at each other, we grow attached.” tsu’tey said, his breath hot against your neck. it made you shiver. “na’vi can only mate for life by forming tsaheylu but there is still a deep connection that comes with staring into the eyes of someone you mount.”

“i may not be a virgin, eris, but i have never faced anyone while i coupled with them.” tsu’tey said as he reached down between you both and pushed your leg up to your belly. he was making room for himself. “that honor shall belong only to my mate.”

your heart sank at once. “to neytiri…”

“to whomever i chose.” tsu’tey said gruffly.

he didn’t have much of a choice.

you both knew that.

“this is wrong.” you said softly. you turned onto your tummy and looked at him. well, you tried your best to. it was hard to look him in the eye.

“what is?” tsu’tey asked with a small shake of his head.

“if you’re…if you’re supposed to mate with neytiri for life, what are we doing? it doesn’t feel right. it feels like you’re cheating on her.” you said through the tightness in your throat.

tsu’tey frowned and leaned into you. he pressed a soft kiss to your cheek. “na’vi cannot cheat. until na’vi form tsaheylu, they are not bonded to anyone or anything besides their ikran. once na’vi mate, there cannot be another.”

“we are doing nothing wrong.” tsu’tey murmured against your ear. he nipped at it softly. “but if you do not wish to, i will not make you.”

“i do wish to but it doesn’t seem right. i’m not…i don’t even know what i’m doing here. i’m not like you. not up here.” you pointed to your head. “and not here either.” you placed your hand on your chest.

tsu’tey pushed himself up onto his knees as you sat up. you were almost entirely turned away from him. slowly, he came up behind you. he ran his hands down your arms and peeked his head over your shoulder. you tried your best to ignore him.

“no matter what you are, eywa has chosen you for something.” tsu’tey whispered into your ear. he wrapped his arm around you and placed his palm against your thumping heart. “no matter what you are, this heart is strong.”

“no matter what you are, i see you.”

you turned your head and met his striking yellow gaze. your lips were ajar in soft shock. your ears pinned and perked. your tail curled itself into knots as butterflies ate at your insides.

he saw you.

he could see you.

at least, he thought he could.

he had no idea who the real you was.

you frowned at him as you studied the details of his face. “i wish that were true.”

his brows drew together and he tilted his head.

“you don’t even know me.” you said under your breath. you looked away and closed your eyes tight. “you said it yourself, my kind are a disease on this land. we don’t belong here. i…i shouldn’t be doing this with you.”

“i speak in anger. it is my curse. for that i am sorry.” tsu’tey said in a low, gentle voice. he slid his hands around your hips and down your thighs, keeping you close. “i will stop being cruel.”

“it’s not like i make it very easy for you to be nice sometimes,” you whispered as you watched his fingers trace the stripes on your thighs.

“we both need to improve.” tsu’tey said as he brushed his nose along your ear. “it is something we shall work on.”

he was being too affectionate. it was wearing your resolve thin— but was he being affection because he liked you or just to get laid?

your chest started to hurt all over again.

“we can’t,” you whispered.

tsu’tey sighed and hugged you closer. “we can.”

“no we can’t.” you turned. facing him was harder. you wished you stayed looking the other way. “there is no we. you are promised to another and in human culture, i’d be considered a homewrecker.”

“eris,” he breathed your name as if it pained him. “i don’t want neytiri. and nor does she want me.”

“i thought you said it was duty.” you said with a small shake of your head.

he scowled at you and squished your cheeks between his fingers. “you never stop talking…”

“wllwhatdyowan.” you tried to say through your squished lips. tsu’tey rolled his eyes and removed his hand from your face. rubbing your cheek, you asked again.

“what do you want?”

“what i want is for you to turn over and let me inside you, woman. i want that very much. to hold and bite and kiss you.” tsu’tey said almost impatiently.

you annoyed him so greatly.

and yet he wanted you anyways.

“will you at least let me earn it first?” you asked. your voice was hardly loud enough. your face was hot and your tail was swaying wildly behind you.

he tipped his head. “what?”

you sighed and looked down into your lap. you picked at the skin around your nails and rolled your eyes as embarrassment weighed on your chest. so stupid. this was so stupid. you were so, so stupid…

“i want that, too, but i can’t even shoot an arrow. i feel…unworthy.” you cringed as you said the word. you should’ve just shut up and let him fuck you.

“eris,” he tried to interject but you wouldn’t let him.

“once i learn how to be more like you and less like…like me…then…okay.” you looked up at him and bit your lip. you couldn’t read his expression. “we can…we can do whatever this is.” you gestured between you both to whatever tension was tangled around you.

tsu’tey only stared at you. you felt like a slide under a microscope. he took in every detail of you. every facet. every stripe and dot. every fine hair on your almost na’vi face.

he only nodded once. “it is decided then.”

— 🌌 —

strength was something you never thought you could have.

on earth, the pollution had made you feel sick. it kept you indoors. it made your mind hazy. on pandora, there was no mist in your mind. there was no laying around— not on the path the you had chosen to walk.

you wanted to be a warrior.

you would become one.

rain or shine, you were out in the forest with tsu’tey learning how to be strong. strong in your body, in your head, and in your heart. every day you would run. along the forest floor, over the towering tree roots, in the muddy riverbed. you ran and ran and ran and built up your stamina. every day you would climb. you climbed trees, rocks, and vines. you learned how to pull yourself, push yourself, and most importantly— catch yourself.

archery was the hardest for you.

the first time you shot an arrow, it ricocheted off a rock and nearly flew back at you. tsu’tey hadn’t even known that level of bad luck was possible. you hadn’t done much wrong, either. it was not your posture. it was not your technique.

it was simply poor luck.

“here…” he said under his breath, eyes still wide. he came up behind you and adjusted your elbow. the adjustment would change nothing. it was too small— but he didn’t want you to feel terrible. “try like that instead.”

“sure…” you muttered, keeping your elbow straight.

archery was far harder than riding a direhorse. while you sustained more injuries riding mitsia, at least there was pay off. there was visible progress. the art archery took you hours to get comfortable with.

and then it took you days to master.

“can you see?” tsu’tey asked as he grabbed your face. he looked into your eyes. “you can see, yes?”

“yeah, i can fuckin’ see.” you huffed as you turned your face away. you ignored him as you tried again. it was pouring. the rain was cold and the wind was harsh. “it’s the wind. the wind is fucking me up.”

“it was not windy yesterday when you did not hit anything.” tsu’tey said.

you hissed at him and he was quick to look away.

days were spent in the archery clearing. while jake was learning how to ride a direhorse with neytiri — who got stuck with training a demon of her own under orders from her father — you were stuck every day in that clearing with tsu’tey. he resorted to drawing in the dirt to pass the time as you missed target after target.

there was only so much bad luck someone could have, right? surely, you were just getting it all out now. one big awful week of it.

tsu’tey paced behind you as you drew your arm back. all day you had spent out in the glaring sun. not one time did you hit the target. instead, you hit everything around it.

seriously, you had to have been mentally deficient.

“breathe.” tsu’tey said.

you took a breath and held it. you focused. you closed one eye and honed in one the wooden board with a big yellow dot on it. you exhaled slowly. in the stillness between breaths, you shot the arrow.

patuk!

dead in the center of the yellow dot, your arrow pierced the board. the yellow and green calling card waved as the arrow rattled.

“ah!” you gasped, your eyes wide. “oh, my god!”

“yes!” tsu’tey exclaimed.

you turned to him and threw your arms up. you nearly screeched with joy as he hooked his arms around your waist and lifted you up. you hugged him tight as he yipped with excitement. he placed you back on the ground and cupped your face.

“you did it!” he said with a wide smile.

“i did it!” you giggled.

“do it again.” he encouraged, nudging your waist.

your smile dropped. “uh…”

“come on,” tsu’tey turned you around and urged you to raise the bow. “you can do it. breathe and shoot.”

you pulled an arrow out from behind your back and loaded the bow. you breathed deep and focused on the target. you let the arrow fly free and it narrowly missed.

you frowned.

“no, no. don’t get discouraged. again. come on.” tsu’tey said, giving your back a soft pat. “you can do it.”

you ignored how hot your face felt. you cleared your throat and shook out the nervous tension in your body. once more, you loaded an arrow into your bow. you kept your core tight. you kept your arm straight. you took a breath— and you let it fly.

patuk!

the arrow landed just a little ways above the first.

you turned your head to meet his eyes and you couldn’t help but smile. he smiled, too, and ran a gentle hand over your hair.

“well done, tsamsiyu.” tsu’tey said.

you dipped your head.

since that day in the hunters burrow, tsu’tey had made an effort to be kinder. in the same regard, so had you. while you still bickered and he still called you a moron every chance he got, there was less turmoil between the two of you.

replacing it was tension.

heavy, painful tension that made every moment harder than it should’ve been. no time was harder than when you would sit across from him and try you best to learn his language. you weren’t hopeless— but you weren’t fluent.

you watched as he gestured to the space around you. you scrunched your nose and clenched as if you were pushing the word forward in your mind.

“fuck, i know this.” you muttered.

“yes. you do. i’ve told you it fifty times.” tsu’tey said, continuing the gesture. he looked above. he looked below. he looked around.

“fra’u!” you gasped, pointing a finger at him. “fra’u! everything!”

tsu’tey grinned and nodded. he was quick to move onto the next word. he pursed his lips and whistled.

“fwefwi,” you said with a small laugh. “whistle.”

tsu’tey whistled again and swayed his hand from side to side. your brows drew together and your shook your head at him. he repeated the action once more, whistling and he swayed his hand.

“wind?” you asked. when he rolled his eyes at you, you corrected yourself. “hufwe.”

“mn,” he nodded. “and if you were to say that it was a light wind?”

“hufwetsyìp.” you said.

“good.” he smiled. he beckoned your forward and you scooted closer to him. he dragged his finger across your lower lid. “what are these?”

“nari.” you answered. “eyes.”

he smacked you with his tail. “this?”

you smacked him with yours. “kxetse. tail.”

he brushed his thumb across your lips. “and these?”

your mind went blank. staring at him, all you could do was blink. slowly, your lips curled into a smile as his did, too. he seemed to enjoy your sudden speechlessness.

“i— i don’t remember.” you said with a soft, bashful laugh.

he titled his head and cocked an eyebrow. “you don’t remember?”

you giggled and shook your head. “no, i don’t.”

“c’mon,” tsu’tey purred. “you know. you must know.”

your ears perked. hearing human slang come out of him was still so awe-striking. while his antics and habits rubbed off on you, yours rubbed off on him, too. you spent so much time together. little things like that were a reminder of just how much time you spent together.

“i don’t remember. seriously, i don’t. i think i have to touch your lips to remember.” you said with a small, devious little smile.

“oh…” tsu’tey’s eyes widened and his pupils dilated. he leaned forward and tried to suppress his smirk. “go on then, skxawng.”

slowly, you traced the shape of his lips. your breath caught in your throat as you remembered how it felt to kiss him. meeting his eyes, you could almost see his thoughts.

he was thinking the same thing.

“lips.” you said. you shook your head. “i don’t remember.”

“meseyri,” tsu’tey said softly. his breath was warm against your fingers. “awstengyem meseyri. two lips.”

“meseyri.” you repeated, gliding your fingers across the soft pinkish-purple skin of his lips.

tsu’tey pressed a soft kiss to the tips of your fingers.

you dropped your hand and pushed yourself forward, not being able to bare it another second. denying the pull between you the last few weeks had been torture. he grabbed your throat eagerly and tugged you into a kiss. a husky huff escaped him as you slipped your tongue into his mouth. he tugged at your waist, hoarding you closer.

your lips only got to meet for a moment before you heard the thundering of hooves.

tsu’tey pulled back and looked over the side of the towering root you were sat on. with the sun beginning to set, warriors and hunters began to return home. among them, jake and neytiri.

“come,” tsu’tey said. he had begun speak small words and phrases in na’vi to help familiarize you with the language. “it is time to eat.”

reluctantly, you got up.

“hey!” jake waved as you entered the dining circle. he was sat by himself waiting for you. unlike tsu’tey who would sit with you at dinners, neytiri had never once sat with jake.

although, tsu’tey had stopped sitting with you now that jake was around.

he gave your arm a soft squeeze before parting ways with you. sitting down in front of jake, you smiled. there was always relief in seeing him. especially since he looked pretty beat up, too, after a day of trying to ride a direhorse. it made you feel better to know that even a marine got bucked off.

“rough day?” you asked with a teasing smile.

“nah. not too bad.” jake said as he picked up a skewer of roasted meat. he took a bite and was quick to chew. “your day?”

“lots of na’vi practice. my heads all jumbled with it.” you said as you picked up a fig-like fruit and took a bite of it. it tasted so sweet that it made your tail curl in delight. no fruit had ever been that sweet and delicious on earth.

when sat together, earth was something you and jake talked about often. comparing foods, flora, animals, and customs, you and jake could talk for hours about how different pandora was. how wonderful it was. how scary it was.

“you know; in the end, i think coming in blind to all this may have been a good thing.” jake said as he chewed on the skewer like a toothpick. “i think if i had known half the stuff i know about this place, i would’ve stayed home.”

“really?” you asked, your brows raising. “i figured this was just your kinda place, marine.”

“well, it is now that i’m here. especially now that im here in this place.” jake glanced around at the clan and smiled. “but if i had been told there were actual fucking monsters and plants that could shock you and spray poison…i definitely would’ve passed on it.”

“maybe i would’ve, too, honestly. i got to study up on the language and the forest. conveniently, the RDA left out the palulukan and the nantang from my guide.” you sighed just a bit and you looked around, your eyes falling on someone sitting just close enough for you to see every detail of. “i think it more so boils down for me to missing things on earth rather than not wanting to be here.”

“what do you miss most?” jake asked.

“tv.” you sighed. the corner of your lip pulled into a smile. “not so much the movies. grace has movies if we really wanted to watch them. i’m talking about television. shitty reality shows. documentaries of what earth used to be like when it was green. cooking shows. stuff like that.”

“i think i miss the sounds of the city the most. i miss the noise. here, it’s too quite. in hell’s gate, it’s too mechanical. up in the mountains, it’s all wind and nothing else.” jake said as he leaned back on his arms. he shrugged a bit. “i miss the sound of people. humans like us. cars beeping. distant laughter. high heels on concrete. tires on a rainy street. hell, even hearing people swear at each other.”

“i haven’t thought about things like that being here.” you said. you glanced around. the chatter of the clan was filling to the ears— but not in the way the bustle and hustle of earth was. in some way, you did miss it. especially the tires on a rainy street. that had soothed you to sleep your whole life.

“that’s a good one.” you said as you met jake’s eyes. you nodded. “i definitely miss things like that.”

“sometimes, i even miss the stink.” jake laughed lowly. he shook his head and tilted it back, smiling to himself. “it’s stupid but i brace myself for the smell of smog and gas every time i go outside here. i feel stupid, of course, but i almost miss the way the air would wreak.”

you laughed, too, and felt silly for understanding exactly what he meant. it was awful. it was disgusting. but it was home.

it had been home.

this was home now.

firelight and bioluminescence. blue skin and yellow eyes. fangs. monsters in the forest. floating mountains.

you’d always miss earth — some part of you would — but this was home.

jake was still new to the forests and the clan and home tree like you had once been. to him, it was foreign. to you, it was only more and more familiar as the days passed. you were beginning to make friends with the other hunters who had yet to pass iknimaya. saeyla was the kindest to you. she always said hi when she saw you. mo’at was always happy to see you. eytukan dipped his head and was polite enough.

and then there was tsu’tey.

sometimes, it felt like he was the only thing that made the world go round.

“did you eat enough?” tsu’tey asked as he walked you to your hammock.

“oh, yeah. i’m stuffed.” you said with a smile, patting your belly. you turned to say goodnight but the expression on his face stopped you. “what?”

“i overheard you and jake’suli,” tsu’tey said with a bit of reluctance. he wouldn’t meet your gaze. “you miss earth?”

your brows drew together and you felt hot with guilt.

oh, jesus…did he think you wanted to leave?

you could’ve up-chucked your whole dinner.

“sometimes i do but…but i don’t want to go back.” you said as quickly as you could but the words nearly alluded you.

“but you miss the sounds of your people.” tsu’tey looked into your eyes and his ears dropped. “and that is different from my people, yes? a city is not like this.”

“no…no a city isn’t like this. it’s loud. really loud. always loud.” you said with a small sigh. your shoulders dropped and you couldn’t help but look around. “it’s always glowing. not like the forest glows but bright lights. so many lights. in order to sleep, i would have to close my blinds and sometimes even cover my face with my hoodie.”

“i prefer this.” you said as you placed your hand on his chest. he met your eyes and seemed to soften under your gaze. “this is peace. earth so rarely knew peace. even though you hunt and craft by hand here, it was so much harder to survive on earth.”

“you are happy, yes?” tsu’tey asked.

the question surprised you.

is that what he was worried about? your happiness?

“yes,” you whispered. your ears dropped but your tail swayed back and forth. the question touched you. deeply and wholly. “yes, of course. of course, i’m happy. truly.”

“that is good. i was afraid that…that i made you feel like you did not belong.” tsu’tey said with shame lacing his voice.

you were speechless. all you could do was shake your head. he didn’t make you feel that way…

“you are different and that is true…but you do belong here.” tsu’tey placed his hand on your chest. “strong heart. and it belongs right here.”

you laid awake that night in your bunk.

staring at the stars through the glass in the ceiling, your chest felt warm and fuzzy. in the dark, you smiled to yourself. his words had touched you. sometimes, it was hard to understand where you stood with tsu’tey. one day he couldn’t stand you, the next he was all over you and drowning you in affection. he was strict and then he was easy going. he was mean and then he was kind.

sometimes, it gave you whiplash.

other times, it made you want to smack him and then kiss him before he could feel the pain.

tomorrow you may very well fall asleep wanting to smack him upside the head but tonight you wanted nothing more than a single kiss from him.

— 🌌 —

“eris,” norm said, shaking you awake. “eris, get up.”

“huh?” you picked your head up and tried to open your eyes. “what’s wrong?”

“eris, he’s outside.”

your heart dropped.

miles quaritch was outside.

you scrambled out of your bunk and hurried to throw on a decent pair of clothes. you slipped into jeans and pulled on an RDA issued shirt. you fixed your hair as best you could and stepped into your boots. as you hurried through the small tactical base, you nearly tripped over your own feet.

fuck.

were your video logs about archery training insufficient? of course, they were but you had no idea what you were doing. you had no idea how to gather the kind of intel that the head of security wanted.

you almost forgot to grab an oxygen mask before going into the airlock. thank god for trudy.

pushing open the heavy metal door, the morning breeze was cold so high up in the atmosphere. your breath was ragged and nearly fogged your mask. the helicopter outside was…trudy’s.

and grace was not standing with the colonel.

she was standing with him.

tsu’tey was unbelievably gigantic.

your heart could’ve stopped. your knees nearly gave out as his ikran screeched at you. he raised a gentle hand and stroked the creatures long face. yellow eyes flicked towards you— and his pupils blew wide.

“i’ll leave you two to talk.” grace said as she passed by you.

‘no!’ you wanted to beg, ‘don’t leave me alone with him!’

the door sealed shut and so had your fate.

slowly, you turned and his shadow swallowed you whole. with a yip, he sent his ikran away. the blue, white, and yellow patterned creature dove off the cliff and soared through the skies. tsu’tey tilted his head at you, his tail flicking behind him as you approached.

“what— what the hell are you doing here?” you asked, your voice tight in your throat. “how…how the hell did you…how did you find us?”

“there is only one rock amongst the many that float with these on it.” tsu’tey said, flicking his head towards the field lab behind you.

“you are small.” tsu’tey said as he crouched down. he smirked as you recoiled. “are you scared of me?”

“no,” you lied. you steeled your spine, trying to seem taller than you actually were. “you’re just…big.”

big was an understatement. he was over ten feet tall and you were lucky to be the height you were.

tsu’tey’s tail swayed through the grass. if it hit you, it probably would’ve bruised you. it may have been able to break a rib. he seemed mindful of that fact as you stared at it.

“what are you doing here?” you asked as you looked back up into his eyes. even when he was crouched you had to tilt your head back.

“i have come to learn about you.” tsu’tey said. he crawled forward to be closer and sat down in front of you. finally, you were somewhat level. “you spend all day and all night with me…it is only fair i come to you.”

“i…” you didn’t even know what to say. your head was spinning. it was hard to breathe even with oxygen being pumped right into your face. “there isn’t much to do here…you won’t fit inside the field lab easily. you wouldn’t be able to breathe well, either. it’s all oxygen in there. besides, it’s crowded.”

“can we not sit here?” tsu’tey asked with a small tilt of his head.

“we can…but it’s just— it’s cold.” you whispered, drawing your arms in close around you. you should’ve grabbed a sweater or a hoodie.

“come,” tsu’tey motioned for you to sit in his lap. “you will be warm here.”

“oh— oh, my god, no.” you said. you looked away as red filled your cheeks. “the whole crew is no doubt watching us through the window. i can’t just sit…there.”

tsu’tey looked passed you. sure enough, they were all watching. they were quick to scramble but they couldn’t go far. there was little privacy. jake would link soon. so would norm and grace— if grace decided not to study her samples and log her findings. and trudy would just…do whatever trudy did to pass the time.

“can i take you somewhere?” tsu’tey asked with an edge of caution to his voice.

“nope.” you refused. shaking your head and wiggling a finger at him, you said, “absolutely not. my fragile human ass stays put.”

tsu’tey huffed under his breath and pursed his lips. “always so difficult.”

“if you really wanted…we could use the west wing. it’s for bunking and it’s not going to be full at this hour now that everyone is up. i can see if grace can find a way for you to breathe.” you said with a small shrug.

tsu’tey seemed apprehensive to be stuck inside a small metal box but he flicked his head.

you were quick to hurry inside. within a few minutes, grace had made a reversed oxygen mask for tsu’tey. it was janky and if it didn’t work well he’d have to go back outside, but she had filled a larger oxygen canister with pandoran air and found a spare mouth-and-nose mask she connected to it.

tsu’tey clearly regretted his choices as he crawled through the front door. you were quick to guid him straight to the west wing. the ceiling was a bit taller there because of the bunks, so he didn’t have to keep his head hunched over so much.

“hey, watch the tail.” trudy said.

tsu’tey tucked his tail. he was quick to slide himself into the bunk room. you closed the door behind him and rested your forehead against it. you sighed. your heart was racing. slowly, you turned. when you did, you found him staring at the wall decorated with pictures of your life on earth. posters of your favorite animals. cities. pictures of you and your parents. pictures of your sister.

“i’m the one on the left,” you said as you pulled you mask off. carefully, you brushed your hair out of your face.

“i know.” tsu’tey said, gently touching the photo. he looked at you and his pupils dilated. “i know you, eris.”

you let out a soft breath. he reached down and lifted the mask to his face, inhaling slowly. unlike you, he could breathe oxygen for a while. not forever but longer than you could breathe his air.

“i did not think you would look so much like you.” tsu’tey said as you approached. while he sat on the floor, you sat on the bed. jake’s bunk.

you shrugged and shook your head. “ta-da?”

tsu’tey grinned at you even though he did not quite understand what it was that you meant. “ta-da, yes.”

“so…” you smacked your hands on your thighs and exhaled softly. “what do you wanna do?”

“i want to know what tivee is.” tsu’tey said. he looked around the room and tried to pin point what may have been tv. “i heard you tell jake’suli you missed it and i want to see why.”

you shook your head. “i don’t think i should.”

“why not?” tsu’tey asked, his invisible brows drawing together.

“because you may like it too much and start an industrial revolution like the RDA is trying to do.” you said with a soft laugh.

“i do not know what you just said but i want to see tv.” tsu’tey insisted.

you sighed. there was little point in saying no. getting up off of the bed, you walked around him. he turned, being mindful not to knock into anything. he watched as you crouched down to plug in the chord. you pressed the button on the bottom and the screen filled with static.

“it may not even work.” you said over your shoulder.

you flicked through the tapes grace had in box and pulled out the most fitting one. star wars: return of the sith. tsu’tey scooted closer as the movie began. you took a seat beside him and used the remote to turn up the volume. as the opening credits rolled, the music made his ears perk.

“what does it say?” tsu’tey asked, watching the yellow letters roll across the screen. he brought the mask to his mouth and took a deep breath.

you read the preface of the movie to him and did your best to explain what it all meant. you knew it was lost to him but he was fixated anyways— especially when humans appeared on the screen. he was transfixed.

“did you have that?” tsu’tey asked, pointing to the flying car on the screen.

you laughed and shook your head. “at the time this movie came out, flying cars didn’t exist. in my time, i didn’t have enough money.”

he looked down at you.

none of it made sense.

“no,” you said with a small smile. “i didn’t have a flying car.”

he nodded and turned his attention back to the screen. you sat in silence as you watched the movie. every now and again he lifted the mask to his mouth to take a breath. he would ask a question here and there. it amazed him— but he did not understand much of what was said. soon enough, he wasn’t quite seeing the point of a movie.

“why do you watch stuff like this?” he asked.

“for fun.” you said with a small shrug. “humans really value entertainment. star wars is one of the biggest movie series ever. very well loved.”

“do you like this movie?” he asked with a curious tilt of his head.

you gave him your honest answer.

once more, it fell silent between you. you watched the movie with a sense of nostalgia weighing heavy on your heart. this was the first time you’d actually sat and watched anything since you’d arrived on pandora. it was comforting yet so foreign at the same time.

“can i touch your hair?”

you looked up at him, your eyes wide and your cheeks red. you had not expected that question. all you could do was blink.

“sure…” you whispered.

so carefully you weren’t sure if he even touched you, tsu’tey ran his hand over the top of your head. his ears perked and his tail swished against the metal floor.

“soft…” he murmured, purely infatuated. “different than mine. so…thin. like very fine twine strings.”

“well, you are like twelve feet tall.” you said with a small laugh. he could’ve easily crushed you in the palm of his hand if he wanted to. “everything about you is bigger than me.”

“your chest is big.” tsu’tey said, looking down at your breasts.

you couldn’t help but laugh. nodding, you said, “yeah. i told you, human women have bigger chests than na’vi women.”

“can i touch?” he asked, extending a hand towards you.

you were quick to cover your breasts and gawked at him. “no! are you crazy?”

“why not?” tsu’tey asked. he moved closer to you and tilted his head. now more so than ever, he was entirely cat-like. it took looking at him through human eyes to see it. “is it because you are in this body and not your na’vi one?”

“yeah,” you breathed, looking away from him.

he pursed his lips the smallest bit. “can i kiss you?”

“jesus christ, are you in heat or something?” you asked.

“no, not now.” he said. he shrugged and flicked his head towards you. “i am just…curious. i want to kiss you as you and see if it is the same.”

“just a kiss?” you glanced at him.

“just one.” he nodded, sitting on his hands as if to promise you he wouldn’t do anything more than that.

slowly, you pushed yourself up. standing in front of him, you were level enough. your heart raced in your chest as he stared at you. he took in every movement you made. he tensed as you neared and that made you even more nervous.

“this is weird…” you said, pulling back the smallest bit.

“no,” he insisted. he reached out a hand that ghosted along the small curve of your back. “it’s not.”

you swallowed your embarrassment alongside your pride as you leaned forward and pressed a soft, lingering kiss onto his lips.

sparks shot through you from your head to your toes.

when you pulled back, his pupils were so large you could hardly see the yellow of his eyes. his tail smacked into the metal frame of the bunk bed and thumped wildly against the floor. as your cheeks reddened and reddened and reddened his ears perked up and up and up.

“why are you red?” he asked softly.

“i’m flustered…” you whispered.

tsu’tey smiled. “it was good.”

“it was good,” you said with a small, quick nod.

“again?” he asked, leaning forward. “to make sure.”

you couldn’t help but laugh.

he smiled as you reached up and placed your hands on his face. he dipped his head down and kissed you again, softly and sweetly. kisses like these were much different from how he kissed you when you were the same size and same blue shade.

“good,” he purred. his lips curled into a smile as he reached down to pull the mask to his face. he took a few deep breaths. “very good.”

you could only watch him in awe. you sat down in front of him and tried to wipe the blush from your cheeks. of course, it didn’t work. not even a little bit. he hunched over to be more level with you and it made you giggle.

he was just too big.

too large.

too handsome.

he was even more striking to the human eye.

you sat quietly as he picked up your hand and examined your five little fingers. he was intrigued by your pinky. to him, it was an extra pinky. with his four thick fingers, your hand seemed so frail and dainty. he touched the lines of your palm and smiled to himself as you shivered at the sensation.

“it is strange,“ tsu’tey said lowly. “how you are so different and still so the same…i thought it would be hard to recognize you. hard to see you with this face and not that face…but it is not hard.”

you curled your whole hand around his index finger and pulled it close. you placed his hand on your chest. your heart beat below his palm. he met your eyes and his ears perked. it made you smile.

“i see you.” you whispered.

tsu’tey leaned down and pressed his forehead against yours. he smiled to himself, enjoying the way your little heart beat so strong under the tips of his fingers as he neared.

“i see you,” he said like a promise.

this chapter was so much fun to write :P i love soft tsu’tey!!!! hope you guys enjoyed. lmk your thoughts <3 as always, thanks for reading!! — moony

tag list — @plantgirliewholovespandora

[knoepfl]

Shadows of Halloween Night

Characters:

Michael Myers: The infamous and silent figure known as "The Shape." Relentless, emotionless, and terrifying to everyone—except for the reader. Michael possesses a unique connection with his girlfriend, which brings out a rare, protective side in him. Although still driven by darkness, he shows her an unexpected tenderness that few would believe.

Reader: Michael’s girlfriend, drawn to his quiet yet deadly nature. She is fearless when it comes to him and understands the depths of his loyalty and protectiveness. While others see only a monster, she sees the complexity within, knowing that she is the only person Michael would ever let close. She walks by his side, knowing full well the darkness he holds.

Masterlist

Trigger Warnings: Violence, brief depiction of murder, possessive behavior, dark themes

Words: 758

---

It was Halloween night in Haddonfield, and the streets were teeming with laughter and excitement. The houses were decorated with grinning jack-o'-lanterns, their flickering candles casting eerie shadows on the sidewalks. Fake cobwebs hung from porches, ghosts and skeletons dangled from trees, and children darted from door to door, bags bulging with candy. The whole town was alive with an electric energy, but your heart was set on a different thrill.

You waited at the edge of an old playground, hidden in the dim light as you scanned the streets for him. It felt like he was everywhere and nowhere, the chill in the air whispering that he was close. And then, just like that, he emerged from the shadows.

Michael Myers, his mask pale against the night, approached you with that steady, silent stride. Your heart pounded, but not from fear. He had that effect on you, a strange mix of danger and comfort, the thrill of knowing you were the only one he allowed close. When he extended his bare hand, scarred and calloused, you slipped yours into it without hesitation.

Together, you wandered through the crowded streets, watching costumed figures drift past like ghosts. Some laughed, some screamed, and some even pointed at Michael, assuming his outfit was just a costume. You felt a dark amusement in knowing they had no idea who he truly was.

As you passed by a haunted house attraction on the corner, the muffled sounds of chainsaws and screams floated out. You glanced at Michael, catching the subtle tilt of his head as he listened, almost intrigued. You gave him a small smile, tugging him forward. "Come on, the real scares are right here," you whispered, a hint of mischief in your voice.

The two of you made your way to a quieter side street, away from the crowds. The sounds of Halloween were distant here, replaced by the rustling of leaves and the occasional hoot of an owl. You were about to say something when a stranger stumbled out from behind a tree, reeking of alcohol and slurring his words. He was dressed like a pirate, his eye makeup smeared and hat askew, clearly intoxicated.

He glanced at you, his gaze lingering a little too long. "Hey there, sweetheart," he said, his voice dripping with misplaced confidence as he took a step toward you. “Got some candy for me?”

You tensed, instinctively stepping back. "Not interested," you said firmly, trying to move away. But he reached out, his hand brushing against your arm, and a cold anger flared within you.

Before you could react, Michael was there. His hand clamped down on the man’s shoulder, squeezing hard. The pirate spun around, his confident smirk vanishing as he looked up at Michael’s emotionless mask.

“H-Hey, man, chill. It’s just Halloween…” he stammered, attempting to laugh it off.

Michael didn’t move, his grip tightening, and the man’s laughter faded into a frightened silence. In one swift, brutal motion, Michael’s hand wrapped around the man’s throat, lifting him effortlessly. The pirate struggled, his eyes wide with panic as he clawed at Michael’s wrist, but Michael didn’t waver. You watched, heart racing, knowing that Michael was protecting you in his own terrifying way.

With a final twist, Michael released him, letting the pirate crumple to the ground, motionless. The sound of distant laughter and faint Halloween music was the only noise breaking the silence.

Michael turned back to you, and for a moment, his dark eyes met yours, a flicker of something softer than usual flashing behind the mask. He reached out, brushing a strand of hair from your face. It was a silent reminder—you were safe with him.

You slipped your hand into his again, squeezing it lightly. "Let’s keep going," you whispered, the thrill of Halloween night settling over you both as you continued down the darkened streets.

As you walked, you passed by children giggling over their candy, couples taking selfies with spooky decorations, and families marveling at haunted house displays. But you felt separate from them, drifting through the night with your own dark companion. The two of you were like shadows in the flickering orange glow of the jack-o'-lanterns, slipping through the night unseen, yet ever-present.

The town was none the wiser to the man behind the mask, and to them, Halloween was just a fun, spooky holiday. But for you, Halloween was more—a night to embrace the darkness, a night to be with Michael, hand in hand, until the first light of dawn chased the shadows away.

[justheretodump]

pt 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

disclaimer again that this is dc x dp x miraculous ladybug x spiderman

for those who aren't familiar with every show, here's a lore explanation

---

ladybug doesn't remember a time before the observants. her earliest memory was the dark room in the tribunal, kneeling at the center of the crystal observatory, as shadows whispered across the walls and stared.

a whispy hand made of curling black had brushed aside her hair and, when ladybug glanced up, a black eyeball stared back. ladybug felt every need to flee, yet her body was so weak.

the eye blinked once. a garbled voice cooed, "what a pure soul…yes, this one'll do…our new child…our new observant."

ladybug didn't understand what that meant back then, but now, she knew too intimately.

foregoing the memories that surged in her head, she turned to witch.

with a black dress and chunky boots, and her feline features hidden behind a full techno mask - aside from the ears on her head -, witch crouched beside ladybug and offered her a look, the screen on her face changing to a purple '?'.

ladybug nodded her head. "the doors", she whispered in accented english. despite robin's attempts at teaching her, she was still too clunky with the pronounciation.

as witch shifted on her feet to move from their hiding spot, ladybug gripped her shoulder. "remember the border."

both girls pressed a button at their shoulder, settled onto the strap of an unknown object, and small, mechanical, translucent wings sprouted from their backs. they flew in short bursts from floating island to floating island, the backdrop of the green ghost zone stark against their figures.

up above, a piece of land bigger than any nearby loomed. on it stood a white church, golden bell tolling endlessly, surrounded by a weird green bubble.

when both had flown close enough to the building, ladybug shifted her fingers, green energy like fog coming to life. it flitted between them, and once the border had been crossed, dissipated under her command.

witch landed first, wings shifting to hide under her cloak. she pressed a button at her ankle and her boots retracted, material crawling across her skin until two ankle bracelets hugged her fur fittingly. cat legs stood onto dust as she turned to watch ladybug land.

once the attention of her partner was on her, witch's screen shifted to present a pixeled, 'ok?'.

"my effect will only last 20 minutes, so we have to be quick. once we get the clock, we get out."

both figures stood to stare at the building ahead.

"let's go."

---

spiderkid had tried to struggle against the man's hold, but something had drained his energy and left him too weak. he could only watch through lidded eyes as they left the dark room, managing to catch a glimpse of the broken crystal pod at the far end. stepping through the doorway, they walked down a dark hallway and over…littered bodies, oh my god, those were bodies.

as spiderkid tried to strain his neck for a better view, the man's gruff hand cradled his head, pushing his face, very gently, into the guy's shoulder. "better ignore that, pete."

spiderkid thought it was highly presumptuous of this guy to tell him what to do.

outside, a man in red gear stood waiting for them. his face showed brief awe, hands in red gloves coming up hesitantly to pet spiderkid's hair. spiderkid, absolutely fed up with random strangers getting in his space, nudged it away with as much force possible and grunted.

the man immediately pulled away, before turning - are those tears? - teary eyes to the white-streaked man. "god, jay… it's really him."

if his eyes were that visible with that domino mask, he needed a new one stat.

coming to terms with the fact that escape was highly unlikely, spiderkid waited in silent anxiety as the situation unfolded around him.

the men spoke to someone on an earpiece, voices low and hard to make out even with peter's advanced hearing. they were near the ocean, the scent of salty air making his head dizzy, and coupled with the strong smell of oil and grease that covered the warehouses surrounding them, spiderkid opted to stuff his nose in the guy's jacket.

the guy's breath stuttered at the act, hand coming up to smooth spiderkid's hair again.

the trek was a short one, turning a couple of corners with hasty steps until a black car came into view. a sleek black outer coat and startlingly bright headlights, it looked highly expensive.

two people came out of it, doors thrown open and rushing forward in a run - towards him, spiderkid realized. the boy tried to wiggle away, but he only ended up wiggling further into the man's chest. the guy's grip tightened and he was hiked up to readjust.

first was a man in a messy tux, black hair falling into strands on his head and blue eyes crinkled with worry. "peter? oh my god, peter, kid, peter…"

his hands settled on spiderkid's cheeks, thumbs brushing his cheekbones gently. spiderkid has never met this man in his life, but he will concede, he looks…kind.

the other was a boy around his age; with black hair and blue eyes, it was obvious he was the man's son. in a thick hoodie and pajama pants, feet stuffed into cow slippers, anyone could tell he wasn't ready to leave the house.

he gripped onto spiderkid's hand, silently gnawing on his lip with a furrowed brow.

"he's okay, at least physically," the man went silent for a second before croaking, "his… there isn't anything left, from… from back then."

"how is that possible?," sniped the black-haired boy, frustration lacing his tongue.

the man in red stepped forward, "does it matter? let's ask questions tomorrow, jesus christ."

the tuxed man nodded, once, twice, before his hands, shaking, went into his pockets. he turned and made a swift walk to the awaiting vehicle, deep voice calling, "let's go, the family's waiting."

as everyone trailed after, spiderkid sat back and expected a long night.

---

i don't tend to put author's notes but sorry this is short, i have uni finals coming up. also, i opened asks, since i sometimes feel bad about how i write so out of order and nothing makes sense.

[hugsandchaos]

Task Failed Successfully

Summary: Boom!Team Sonic is asked by Modern!Shadow to watch his beloved chao companion, Cherry, while he works on building his own house. Well, he asked Amy, but the rest decided to join. Things go horribly wrong when the chao goes missing and the group faces possibly becoming enemies with Modern!Shadow.

Quick Note: Don’t ask how Modern!Shadow knows how to build a cabin, it just had to be done, okay? Also, this ~~~~~~~ is meant to be a bit of a time skip or a change in environment, like in the episodes. I hope this explanation makes reading this easier. Credit to the AU goes to @zumbieve!

Word Count: 5,509

Amy held the hex nut in her hand and reached up to let Bea hover down and eat it from her hand. If not for her gloves, the robot’s metal mouth might’ve felt uncomfortable, but instead they just felt a little tickly. She smiled as Bea made quick work of the hex nut, then fly back up and buzz in happiness. Amy couldn’t help an amused giggle, she thought Bae was so cute and sweet. A knock at the door interrupted their quiet moment.”Coming!” Amy called out. She stood up from her couch and walked over to the door.

She was surprised to see Shadow standing at the door. No, not the edgy one that the group despises, the short one. The one who seems pretty grumpy and unapproachable, but is actually a bit of a softie. Especially to his small companion.”Shadow! How nice to see you!” Amy said. She glanced at the small creature floating behind Shadow and using both stubby little arms to hold onto his shoulder.”And you, too, Cherry!” She said.

Cherry had a striking resemblance to Shadow. Shadow said that she was a “chao”, a creature of chaos energy. Something that the group had very little knowledge of. Cherry smiled at her and waved with one of her arms.

“Good morning, Amy. Is this a bad time?” Shadow asked. He sounded a little tired, and not in the “all done with people” way.

Amy shook her head and stepped back to allow him inside.”Not at all, come on in.” She said. Shadow nodded politely and walked in. Amy closed the door and sat down on her couch, followed by Shadow. Cherry made a few happy sounds when she saw Bea and floated onto the floor. Bea buzzed and laid down to let Cherry pat her on the head.”So what brings you here?” Amy asked. She appreciated the dark hybrid’s company greatly. He was quiet most of the time, but liked a good conversation, and they had a few similar interests.

One of the things they do the most together is tending to the flowers in Amy’s garden. Shadow was experienced in taking care of lavender, which was a big help since she was a beginner with the purple plant. He did her a pretty big favor with that, and when he housesat for her while she was away once.“Would it be any trouble looking after Cherry for a while? I need to work on my house and you seem to be one of the most responsible out of the group.” Shadow asked.

Amy instantly smiled and held back a squeal of excitement.“That little cutie? Of course! However long you need!” She replied. Cherry was a sweet little creature, and she got along with Bea very well. Whenever Shadow came over with her, she could be found playing with Bea. Amy was already excited for how this day would go.”I think I still have a copy of that list you showed me about how to take care of a chao, so don’t worry!” She said. It was true, she’d asked for a copy a while back incase Shadow ever asked her to babysit Cherry.

Shadow gave her a small smile, looking a little relieved.“Thank you. I should be able to finish sometime between the afternoon and evening. She’s slowing down a little, but it’s not a bad thing, I just need you to keep in mind that she might sleep half the day.” He said.

Amy nodded in understanding. She should probably make a note of it, just incase she forgets.“Understood. Don’t worry, she’s in good hands. You might even come back to us wearing face masks.” Amy said. She laughed at her own joke and earned an amused chuckle from Shadow.“I hope to see your house once it’s finished.” Amy added.

Shadow nodded.“I know she’ll be alright, it’s you I’m asking. Hopefully, I’ll be able to show you the house sometime tomorrow.” He said.

“Sounds great!“ Amy said.

Shadow stood up off the couch, only to kneel in front of Cherry. Cherry chirped and hugged his leg. He patted her back in return.“I’ll be back soon.” He said. The little floating ball somehow connected to Cherry turned into a heart shape and she let out a happy chirp-like sound. The corners of Shadow’s mouth moved upwards as he stood up and waved bye.

Cherry let go and waved back.”Thanks again, Amy.” He said. He walked out of her house before suddenly vanishing in a flash of red.

Once Shadow was gone, Cherry stared at the place where he was before. She looked a little sad seeing him gone, which was to be expected. The two seem inseparable, especially since Cherry was dependent on Shadow as her caretaker. Another main factor was that chao, creatures who themselves had chaos energy inside, had an affinity for chaos energy. Shadow was the only other source of this arcane energy, so it was no surprise that she tried to stick by him so much.

Also because they were great friends, everyone thought it was adorable seeing Shadow playing with Cherry and teaching her how to do first aid and letting her use his arm as practice. Amy smiled at Cherry.”Don’t be sad, Auntie Amy will take care of you today!” She said. Cherry turned to Amy as she stood up.”I’ll just find that list.” She said. She walked over to the drawers she kept next to her couch and opened the one second to the top.

She was a little confused to see that it wasn’t in there even as she moved stuff around, but quickly brushed it off as simply misremembering things and opened the drawer above it. The list wasn’t in there, either.“I know I put the list in one of these drawers.” Amy muttered to herself. While she continued to rummage through the four drawers, the pink hedgehog failed to notice Cherry climbing onto Bea’s back.

Finally, in the bottom drawer, the list was revealed. Amy picked up the neatly folded piece of paper and closed the drawer, letting the list unfold a few times to begin reviewing it.“Ah-ha! Found it!” She cheered. She heard Bea buzzing above her and looked up. Amy gasped when she saw Bea flying in circles high above her head with Cherry cheering on her back.“Bea, please stay a little closer to the ground if you’re going to let Cherry ride on your back.” She said, worry slipping into her otherwise stern tone.

~~~~~~~

Amy set down a plate of neatly cut up fruits such as apples, oranges, and cantaloupe on her table.”The list says that chao pretty much only eat fruits, so I put together this nice fruit plate.” She said. Cherry chirped and smiled at her.”Aw, you’re welcome!” Amy said. Cherry floated from the couch to the table and picked up a piece of cantaloupe. How she was able to do that without any actual hands or fingers, Amy will never know. Cherry had only taken a few bites when a blue blur came in through the window.

Sonic let himself flop back onto the couch and smiled.”Hey, Amy! I’m bored. Got any fun activities?” He asked. Amy, a little upset by the sudden intrusion, opened her mouth to scold him for not knocking.“Actually, don’t answer that. You hate fun.” Sonic interrupted. Amy let out a small groan of irritation at his behavior. He was almost always like this, and sometimes, it was something Amy could brush off. Other times, she wanted so badly to just shake him until he understood his manners.

Cherry warbled in greeting and caught Sonic’s attention. He looked at her from the couch and smiled.“Oh, hey, Cherry.” He said. He quickly sat up and looked around.”Wait, is Shadow here?” He asked, sounding pretty eager to see him. He probably wanted to ask him to race again. It seemed to be his favorite thing to do with him.

“No. Shadow asked me to watch Cherry for the day.” Amy replied, sounding a little proud of herself. And she was.

Sonic seemed a little disappointed that he wouldn’t find Shadow there and leaned back into the couch, letting his arms flail back carelessly.“Why you and not me? I mean, not that I exactly want to babysit the whole day, but Cherry’s adorable and we can do all sorts of cool stuff.” Sonic asked.

Amy put a hand on her chest and smiled.”He said I’m one of the most responsible out of the group. I guess he didn’t want to risk you getting the bright idea of launching Cherry across the living room while he wasn’t around.” She replied.

Sonic rolled his eyes.”Oh, come on!” He said. Amy glared at him. She didn’t really trust whatever it was that Sonic had in mind for “fun”, especially with Cherry.”I mean, sure, I’m plenty irresponsible, but I’m responsible enough to admit it! That means something, right?” He argued. Cherry finished off another piece of fruit, then flew over to the couch.

“Chao!” She said, climbing onto Sonic’s leg and patting him as if to get his attention. Sonic looked at her and his face quickly softened.

“Aww!” He said. He patted her on the head. Cherry smiled and closed her eyes, clearly enjoying the affection. Amy couldn’t help but coo as well at this. There was something about the creature that Shadow called “chao” that was just so adorable. Amy had a feeling that if Eggman ever found her, even he’d agree, and treat her like the precious creature she was.

That is, if Shadow didn’t knock him out before he could get near her. He was protective of Cherry, and he didn’t like Eggman from the start. That was actually another reason why letting Sonic care for Cherry was a bad idea. When — not if — something happened, then not only would Cherry break their hearts with her cries, but Shadow would somehow hear them and break their bones. Remembering Sonic’s record for causing a bit of trouble, Amy shook her head.

“Well, it means that you can admit it. That doesn’t mean you can do anything reckless with Cherry.” She said.

Sonic rolled his eyes and picked Cherry up with an arm.“Oh, don’t worry, Amy! We’ll do something safe and harmless, like…”

~~~~~~~

“Going to Meh Burger!” Sonic said. Tails had joined them for whatever reason and standing in front of the group table they used so often that it might as well be called theirs. Tails was holding the chao care list and standing between Amy and Sonic.

“Sonic? Shadow hates Meh Burger,” Tails pointed at the list near the middle, “and seeing what she eats, I seriously doubt Cherry would be able to eat anything here without getting sick. Also, Meh Burger food is hardly considered safe and harmless.” He said.

Amy put her hands on her hips and leaned forward, still giving Sonic that stern look.“In simpler terms, Shadow would kill us.” She said. She walked past Tails and promptly took Cherry from Sonic’s arms. Gently, of course, so she wouldn’t accidentally hurt her. Sonic groaned.

“Alright, then. Something even more careful. Maybe…”

~~~~~~~

“Ding-dong-ditching Eggman!” Sonic said.

Standing outside the metal tower, Cherry didn’t seem to like it very much. She let out a small whine and tapped on Amy’s arm to get her attention, not taking her eyes off the building. She looked very unsettled by it and really wanted to leave. They weren’t even very close to it yet. Amy patted her head to try to comfort her.“You seriously want to bring Cherry to Eggman’s lair?!” She asked angrily.

Sonic was already heading towards the door. He turned around and walked backwards to face Amy, Cherry, and Tails.“We’re not going inside!” He said. When he stepped closer to the building, an alarm blared from it. Cherry let out a startled noise and clung onto Amy. She buried her face on Amy’s shoulder to try to hide from the loud noises. Several weapons came out of the walls and pointed right at Sonic. In a matter of seconds, he was painted in red laser dots.

Sonic stopped in his tracks and let his arms fall down to his sides.“Oh. I see.” He said.

Just then, Eggman opened the door.“Oh, hey, Sonic! How do you like my new defenses?” He asked.

Sonic turned his head and glared at him.“Terrible. How am I supposed to ding-dong-ditch you? Let’s go home, guys.” Sonic said, turning back around and walking away.

~~~~~~~

“Volley ball?” Sonic suggested. He tossed the volleyball up into the air and hit it over then net. Cherry let out a startled warble, like a scream, and fled from the ball. The ball hit the sand where she was a moment ago, and as Amy looked down at the chao now standing behind her and holding onto one of her legs, she realized the ball was just a little smaller than Cherry was.

She picked Cherry up and took in a deep breath. She was getting fairly impatient with the blue hedgehog, but thinking about what he’d been doing all this for, she managed to calm down.“Sonic, I understand you’re trying to help Cherry have fun, but you need to remember that she’s small and probably has never even picked up a ball this size before.” She said.

“Yeah. It’s practically as big as her!” Tails defended.

Sonic looked at Cherry, then at the ball. He nodded, probably realizing that they were right. He tapped his foot slowly, then quickly, then abruptly stopped. Honestly, it reminded Amy of a bunny or rabbit. He hummed thoughtfully and clicked his tongue. Amy didn’t want to hear anymore suggestions from Sonic. The last three weren’t safe for Cherry, so who’s to say the fourth would be okay? Sonic’s idea of fun was pretty dangerous and reckless.“I got it!” He blurted out.

Amy and Tails both have him a deadpan expression.“This will be my last suggestion, I promise!” Sonic said.

Tails groaned.“Let’s hear it.” He said exasperatedly.

“Water slides!” Sonic exclaimed.

Cherry perked up a little and chirped. She seemed to be in agreement. Amy was honestly a little surprised, but only a little. She was worried he was going to propose another activity as bad as the last three. Cherry looked up at Amy and the little ball on her head shifted and changed into a question mark.“Huh. That might actually be okay.” Amy said.

~~~~~~~

“I take it back.” Amy said flatly.

Sonic was holding Cherry from on top of a small hill a little away from the beach. Cherry was struggling to get out of his hold and reaching out for the slide, which was kept wet with some pipes that looked like bamboo. For some reason, Amy hoped they were actually pipes painted and not actually bamboo. The slide itself was made of very smooth-looking wood, and was carved in a way to avoid falling pretty well. The worst part was there was a small, but thick patch of forest that the slide went through, making it a pretty hard to see the slide until it came out on the other side.

Cherry made impatient noises at Sonic and reached out for the slide again. Sonic couldn’t help a small laugh.“Well, Cherry wants to try it out!” He said. Amy let out an irritation groan that honestly sounded like a growl. Sonic held up a free hand to calm her.

“Don’t worry! Look, we have Tails and Knuckles down there when she comes out,” He gestured to the beach, where Tails and Knuckles waited in the water, waving at them, “this conveniently Cherry-sized life jacket,” Sonic held up a tiny life jacket, “and Sticks is somewhere in the middle down there just incase anything bad happens. She may be out of our field of vision for a moment, but Sticks will definitely see her.�� He finished, pointing down the hill. Sticks waved up at the from the shade.

Cherry reached for the life jacket, very eager to go down. She was so close to grabbing it, but it was still a little too far. Amy looked at Cherry, then the slide, then back at Cherry. She wanted so badly to go down, but was it worth risking her safety? What if she fell off? She knew that Sticks would probably catch her. She simply adored the little creature, like the rest of them did. And if she needed help, surely Sonic could run and catch her in time. He could run faster than sound, after all.

Amy sighed.”Alright, fine. But if something goes wrong and Shadow finds out, I will bring every one of you down with me.” She said. She definitely wasn’t going to be the only one who got a stern talking to by Shadow. He may be short compared to most of them, but he most definitely had the strength and looks to scare all of them.”One go, then we get some lunch.” Amy added.

“Got it!” Sonic said. He kneeled down and set the chao on the ground.”Arms out.” He requested. Cherry smiled and held both arms out so Sonic could put it on her. He snapped the clips together. Cherry chirped excitedly and looked at the water slide.”Go on!” Sonic encouraged. Amy made a small noise of worry and bit the inside of her mouth. Cherry walked to the slide and sat down at the edge. With a gentle scoot from Sonic, she was off.

Cherry let out a long sound of excitement that was probably basically a “weeeee!” as she went down. Amy watched her disappear from view and Sticks track her with her eyes. She followed Cherry into the forest and the sound Cherry was making faded. Soon enough, Amy saw Knuckles and Tails move closer to the end of the slide. Knuckles picked something up and lifted it. It was Cherry.

“Thank goodness nothing went wrong.” Amy said.

~~~~~~~

“Uno!” Knuckles exclaimed. He slammed one hand on the table with the other holding his card high.

Tails looked at him confused.”I thought this was Go Fish.” He said.

Amy and Sticks glanced at each other.”Is it?” Sticks asked.

“I don’t know anymore.” Amy replied.

After lunch, Cherry had started to slow down and yawn. For the first time that day, Amy and Sonic actually agreed on something completely; to let Cherry sleep. Really, the whole group did, but with how active Sonic was, Amy was surprised at first. Until he decided that it was time for his own afternoon nap and made himself comfortable on Amy’s other couch. All the lights were turned off and Bea was resting near Cherry, a small blanket covering both of them and both resting their little heads on pillows.

The rest of the group was outside, passing the time with a game of cards. Except no one seemed to know what game they were playing.”Okay, how about we start over? Or play something else! We could play Monopoly!” Tails suggested.

“The game of capitalism?! The one that tears family and friends apart like paper through a paper shredder?!” Sticks exclaimed. She looked and sounded practically offended by that suggestion as she slammed the table and stood up from her seat. Tails pulled back a little seeing her reaction. Then Sticks smiled.”Sure! It’ll be a life lesson not to trust money-hungry people. And find out with one of us that is.” She said, glancing between them all suspiciously.

“Uh, guys?” Sonic called out from inside Amy’s house.

Amy assumed he was going to tell them to keep it down and turned back to the cards on the table. She reached for them and began to put them back in a neat stack.”We’ll keep it down!” She yelled back.

“It’s not that! I mean, it was, but not anymore! Where’s Cherry?” Sonic asked.

~~~~~~~

Meanwhile, in an unknown location, Shadow was working inside a cabin. The entire thing was nearly complete, which was a relief considering the all-nighters he’d been pulling in order to speed up the process as much as he could without destroying the quality of it. He’d been working on it for a few weeks now, with Cherry keeping a safe distance unless she tried to bring a tool he needed. Thank god he became obsessed with building his own cabin at some point and did as much research as he could between missions.

Thanks to his strength and ability to teleport, he’d been able to do all of the work so far on his own, despite the severe lack of numbers helping with the construction. His speed was also a big advantage for him. It made the whole process so much quicker. Although, doing this while taking care of Cherry was becoming a little more difficult, so he’d decided to ask Amy to watch her to try to get as much done as he could today. It was already afternoon and he’d made so much progress.

He was so close to finishing! Surely he’d be able to finally finish and take Cherry back to a comfortable house. Suddenly, Shadow paused and straightened his back. He stared out into the distance and squinted his eyes with a mixture of a knowing look and suspicion.

“Something just happened.” He said.

~~~~~~~

Sonic kept running around Amy’s house, searching inside, outside and even underneath over and over, but no sign of Cherry. There was just the weird egg that was found on Amy’s couch. He came to a stop next to Amy.”Have you checked your crawlspace?!” He asked frantically. Both were growing more and more anxious with each second and hoped that she’d suddenly turn up. Really, everyone was.

Amy nodded.”Yes! I checked it five times, and my bathroom, but nothing!” She replied. She turned on her communicator on her watch and spoke into it.”Tails, anything from the air?” She asked.

“Nothing! I’ve scanned a five mile radius around your house three times already and I can’t find her!” Tails said.

“Knuckles, what about you and Sticks?” Amy asked.

“No sign of her down here, either!” Knuckles said.

“He checked under the same rock, like ten times!” Sticks added.

“She couldn’t have gone far, but just to make sure, someone should search Hedgehog Village.” Tails said.

“I’ll go!” Sonic said. In less than a second, he was gone in a blue blur.

~~~~~~~

Sonic ran around the village. He picked up random food carts to look under, then put them down when he didn’t see her. He sprinted over to the walrus lady and showed her a picture of Cherry.”Excuse me, have you seen her?” He asked.

“No, I haven’t.” She replied.

Sonic swore internally. This was really bad. He ran over to Meh Burger to ask Dave the Intern.”Have you seen this chao?” Sonic asked. If this wasn’t such a bad situation, he’d also ask for a chili dog, but if Cherry wasn’t found and safe, Shadow would have his head.

“Hmm, no. I don’t even know what that thing is.” Dave said.

Sonic moved onto the next person. And the next. Then the next, and the one after that.

~~~~~~~

Tails showed a picture of Cherry to that officer from the trip to the Dude-itude concert a few months ago. He at first found it incredibly unlikely that Cherry would’ve come this far, but remembering that she’s a creature of chaos energy and chaos energy was what let Shadow teleport made it easy to assume that she might’ve teleported. Even though Tails had never seen or heard of her doing that.

The officer shook his head.”Nope, but we’ll keep an eye out for her and give ya a call if we find her.” He said.

“Okay. Thank you so much, officer.” Tails said.

~~~~~~~

Sticks showed a picture of Cherry to the frog people. Really, she shouldn’t be down there and asking, but here she was. They shook their heads.

~~~~~~~

“This is Cherry. She’s our friend’s companion, and if we don’t find her, he’ll be super mad. Have you seen her?” Knuckles asked. The gogoba that seemed to be in charge shook his head.

“No, we haven’t seen her. I just feel terrible.” He said.

~~~~~~~

Amy stood outside Eggman’s fortress with a picture in her hand. She looked up at the weapons aimed at her.”Eggman, do you mind? I just have an important question to ask, it’s an emergency.” She said. Surprisingly, the weapons disappeared back into the walls. The door opened and Eggman was standing with a plate of cookies.

“Oh, hello, Amy! An emergency, you say? Well, since you helped me pick out the right sewing kit to fix my pajamas, how can I help?” He asked. Despite being a supervillain, Eggman had some sort of code that he followed without a second thought. Returning the favor seemed to be part of it.

Amy held up the picture.”This is Cherry, and she’s gone missing. If we don’t find her, Shadow will be really mad at us and might even come for you if he thinks you kidnapped her. You haven’t happened to see her, have you?” She asked.

Eggman made a small sound of fear and lifted the picture so he could see it better. He took a careful look at it. He shook his head.”I’m sorry, but I haven’t. Not since earlier today when you came with Sonic and Tails, at least.” He handed it back to her.”Uh, you’re not serious, right? About Shadow?” He asked.

“I am serious.” Amy replied.

“Well, in that case, I’m going to hide in my lair and hope for the best. Good luck!” Eggman said. Before Amy could yell at him for not offering to help the search, the doors shut tight, and another door sealed in front of that one.

~~~~~~~

The sun was almost gone, so there wasn’t much light. Still, Sonic ran into Amy’s house without tripping over anything and saw everyone else already there. Funny how he was the fastest, and yet he was the latest in some cases.“Please tell me you found her!” Amy said. Sonic shook his head.

“Not a trace, and I searched the whole island.” He replied.

Everyone glanced between each other in silent thought. Where the heck did Cherry go? And how did she even vanish like that?

Knock-Knock-Knock

Everyone froze. After a few seconds, they slowly turned their heads towards Amy’s door. Knuckles gulped and Amy held her breath. Sticks took a slow step away from the door. Luckily, there was no badly-timed floor board creak. Tails slowly moved the egg that was found on the couch behind himself. He wasn’t sure why he felt obligated to do it. The house was silent, save for the fireflies and waves outside.

There was usually no reason to fear Shadow, but with how much he clearly cared deeply for Cherry, who knew how he’d react to her disappearance?

“Maybe if we stay quiet, he’ll go away.” Sonic whispered. Just then, there was more knocking.

“Way to give us away, smart-alec!” Amy snapped under her breath. She took in a deep breath and walked towards the door. She opened it and saw Shadow standing there. He glanced behind her, noticing the others also in the house.“Sorry to interrupt your sleepover, but I’m here to pick up Cherry.” He said. Everyone glanced between each other with panicked and nervous eyes.

“She’s… Uh… busy! Doing taxes!” Knuckles said.

Shadow gave him an unimpressed look and crossed his arms. He was quiet for a good while, staring at Knuckles. Knuckles was getting more visibly nervous before Shados spoke.“She doesn’t know how to do taxes, and she doesn’t have them in the first place. Also, you don’t sound convincing at all and you’re avoiding eye contact.” He said. He was actually pretty good at spotting things like that, so he wasn’t easily manipulated by Eggman when they first met.

The group thought that would be a good thing, but now, it’s really not. Shadow kept staring at Knuckles, who was growing more and more pressured to tell the truth. Everyone else was practically begging him internally not to crack and spill the beans. Shadow looked around the room.”Where is she?” He asked. He didn’t necessarily sound angry, but knowing him, he’d grow impatient very soon if he didn’t get an answer. A bead of sweat dripped down the side of Knuckles’ face.

“Okay, okay!! It was my fault!!” Sonic blurted out. Everyone turned to look at him. Shadow seemed confused and worried already, and the others just stared in shock. Sonic just broke the dam, and now they really had no choice but to tell the truth.“I took a nap and I was the only one inside the house while they were outside, and when I woke up, she had vanished!” Sonic explained.

Tails stepped out from behind Sonic to show Shadow the egg.“All we found was this weird egg that appeared out of nowhere. We’re all so, so sorry!” Tails said. Shadow looked at the egg with an unreadable expression. The house went quiet.

The whole group was tense with anticipation of what he’d say and do, and when he’d do it. If he would be full of silent rage or lash out at them for being so reckless. The chao meant so much to him, and he’s done plenty of favors for them before without asking for one in return until today. Yet when he needed this one favor, a caretaker he can trust to look after Cherry, they failed. Shadow stared at the egg for a while, most likely still in shock.

Then his gaze flickered over to Amy.“Amy. Take a look at the list I gave you, down at the bottom.” He said. Amy lifted her gaze from the floor to look at Shadow, puzzled as to what purpose that would serve. Despite her confusion, she quickly ran to her coffee table and grabbed the list.

She cleared her throat and began reading it out loud.“Another important part of a chao’s life cycle depends on their emotional and mental state.” Amy said. Her eyes widened and she gasped in surprise when she saw the very last part of the list.“If kept healthy until the end of their life, the chao will turn back into an egg and begin their life cycle all over again?!” She finished. She looked at Shadow with a shocked expression, as if silently asking him if this was true.

The rest of the group was just as surprised, gasps leaving members’ mouths and bewildered expressions shifting between each other, the egg, and Shadow.

Tails looked at the egg in his hands in utter disbelief. He understood that chaos energy was something else, and close to impossible to properly study in Shadow’s world because of how it worked, but a creature basically going through reincarnation depending on its mental health?!“So this egg is Cherry?!” Tails asked.

Shadow nodded and walked over to him. He carefully took the egg from Tails, holding it close with both arms.“Yes. She’s perfectly healthy. Thank you for looking after her today.” He said. Hearing that, Knuckles breathed an audible sigh of relief. Everyone aside from Shadow could feel that. They were so worried about how he’d take it.

“I was really worried there for a second. I was hoping to teach Cherry how to ride a bike next week.” Knuckles said.

Shadow almost laughed at this. He turned around and began heading towards the door.”Not next week, but at some point.“ He said. When he was a few steps away from the door, Amy noticed something out of the corner of her eye. Sonic suddenly smiled and sprinted past her and across the room in a blue blur. He stood between Shadow and the door, grabbing the knob and stepping to the side.

“Let me get that.” He said, sounding slightly nervous. He opened the door and held it for Shadow.

“Thank you.” Shadow said. He walked through the door and only a couple steps across the walkway before teleporting away. Sonic shut the door, looking as if he was proud of himself and loosing it internally. Amy felt herself smiling seeing this. It was obvious to her that Sonic had romantic feelings for Shadow. She wasn’t sure why, but when she talked about it with Knuckles, he thought that she’d be upset about it.

The only thing she was upset about was how poorly Sonic was denying his feelings. Unless he was oblivious enough to not even notice them, which wasn’t impossible knowing Sonic. The first Shadow they met was a jerk, but after getting to know and appreciate this Shadow, Amy could and would say with her chest that he deserved a true gentleman. Sonic… isn’t exactly a true gentleman, but Amy wanted to help regardless. Maybe she didn’t have to, though. Maybe, just maybe, there was a brain in that thick skull.

“Uh, Amy? What’s with that weirdly super happy look?” Sonic asked.

Amy shrieked without a second thought.“Finally!!”

(Bottom Notes: Let me know if you think it’s sloppy or something I should’ve done better. I think I did good? Or did I go overboard with anything? I was trying to make it like an episode.)

[triwizsworld]

ORANTES

Chapter 1

Absence

TW - Violence , Gore, Blood

Claire’s alarm buzzed at 7:00 AM, but she was already awake, lying stiff as a corpse under the blankets. The house felt cold, the kind of cold that sank into your bones and stayed there. It wasn't the kind of chill that could be cured by a sweater or a blanket, but something deeper—like the house had absorbed years of sorrow and was letting it seep into her. The walls were dense with silence, a heavy kind of quiet that only seemed to deepen as the seconds ticked by.

Outside, the suburban streets of Daystar Falls stretched endlessly. Claire's house was in New Daystar, a neighborhood of sleek, modern homes with manicured lawns and symmetrical facades. Everything about the area was pristine, almost unnervingly so, as though the houses themselves were trying to mask some underlying truth. Across the narrow creek lay Old Daystar, where crumbling Victorian homes stood in defiance of time, their overgrown yards and sagging rooftops whispering of a forgotten past. Her room was a small, forgotten space in the otherwise polished house of New Daystar—an outlier, much like herself. The paint peeled in the corners, curling like dried petals, while the mismatched furniture gave the room a fragmented, unloved look. Faded posters clung to the walls, their once-vibrant colors now muted, as if the years had stolen their voices.

The windows let in just enough light to cast long, shifting shadows across the room—shadows that seemed to crawl across the floor with a will of their own, reaching for her with blackened fingers. She turned her head toward the ceiling and stared at the hairline cracks that spiderwebbed from each corner. They had been there for as long as she could remember, spreading wider and deeper over time, like scars etched into the skin of the house. Sometimes, in the stillness, she found herself tracing the edges of the cracks with her eyes, wondering if they, too, held secrets. Secrets the house wasn’t ready to share.

Birthdays weren’t supposed to feel this way. There should have been cake and candles, maybe a stack of poorly wrapped gifts from her mom. But eighteen felt different. Heavy. Like someone had dropped a weight on her chest and left it there, cold and unyielding. It wasn’t just the weight of adulthood—it was the weight of loss. Of time squandered. Of never knowing what it felt like to be wrapped in her father’s arms.

The air in her room felt thick, pressing against her skin like a second layer, suffocating and inescapable. The blinds rattled softly against the windowpane, though the night outside was still as death. The house always felt like this: too quiet, too still. Even when the world outside buzzed with life, the house seemed frozen in a moment of uneasy waiting—waiting for something or someone that would never come.

Her father had been gone for as long as she could remember. Dead and buried before her first steps, his presence reduced to an empty space in family photos and the occasional whispered mention. And yet, he lingered. In the creak of the attic stairs late at night, long after her mom had gone to bed. In the faint, inexplicable smell of smoke that would drift into her room without warning. Not cigarette smoke—something older. Ancient. Like the dying embers of a fire that had burned and burned but refused to die. Eighteen was supposed to mean freedom—an escape from everything this house represented. But instead, it felt like the house was tightening its grip, drawing her closer. The walls seemed to pulse, almost as if they were alive, whispering stories she didn’t want to hear. From the kitchen, her mom’s voice filtered through the thin walls, muffled and distant. “Happy birthday, Claire. I made your favorite—pancakes with syrup,” she called. The words floated in the air, brittle and insubstantial. They didn’t carry the warmth they once did. Her mother’s voice, usually a beacon of comfort, sounded tired today—a hollow echo of rituals performed out of obligation. Claire stayed silent, letting the words fade into the house’s oppressive quiet. 

Another year without him. That thought was louder than her mother’s attempt at cheerfulness. Another year of absence, of unresolved grief pressing against her ribs. Claire heard the faint sigh from the hallway, the shuffle of her mom’s footsteps retreating. She had tried, but the motions were empty, like acting out a scene in a play whose meaning was long forgotten. Claire sat up, peeling herself out of the icy sheets. The morning air clung to her skin, heavy and unrelenting, as she stretched, her joints stiff, her shoulders weighed down by something unseen. The house seemed to press in on her as she stood, and the air felt dense today with an unshakable anticipation, as though something was about to happen. Something she couldn’t quite define, but it hovered close, tightening its grip around her chest.

Jeans. Hoodie. The usual. The hoodie had once belonged to her father. Her mom had tucked it away in the attic with the rest of his things, but Claire had pulled it down a year ago. The fabric still held traces of him—faint, elusive. Not the scent of cologne or detergent, but something deeper, something that made her heart ache when she buried her face in it, like she could still feel his presence there, just beyond her reach.

As she slipped the hoodie over her head, Claire felt a brief flicker of warmth, but it was quickly swallowed by the heavy presence of the house around her. She moved toward the door, her footsteps causing the old wood to creak in protest. The house seemed to groan with her every step, like it was shifting its weight, reluctant to let her leave. The hallway felt different this morning—its silence more oppressive, the walls pressing in tighter, as though they had become aware of her presence. The floors sagged beneath her, as though they had long grown weary of supporting her, or anyone, for that matter. The hallway stretched out ahead, an unbroken line of shadow and wood, and Claire felt an uncomfortable sensation that it might go on forever, an endless passage with no way out.

She passed the stairs that led up to the attic, the place where her father’s things lay buried under tarps and forgotten memories. There was something unnerving about the attic, an unsettling stillness that clung to it, like time had paused in that space, waiting to be remembered. Claire had never been brave enough to go up there alone, and today, that feeling of dread was stronger than ever.

The kitchen light flickered as she passed the doorway, casting a wavering shadow that seemed to stretch too long for a morning. Claire’s eyes lingered on the half-empty mugs and the untouched pancakes cooling on the table. Her mom stood at the stove, stirring something in a pot, but her face was turned away, the deepening lines of age and sorrow carved into her features. She wasn’t the same woman Claire remembered—the one who had once been bright-eyed and full of hope. This woman, now, seemed worn out, drained of any joy.

Claire hesitated in the doorway, her gaze lingering on the pancakes. "I’m not hungry," she said, her voice flat, as though it had been emptied of emotion.

Her mom turned slowly, her lips pulling into a thin, weary smile. "You should eat something. You need to keep up your strength."

Claire wanted to say something, to explain that nothing in the world could fill the emptiness that had festered inside her for years, but she swallowed the words and turned away, walking toward the door. The door, which had always felt like an escape, but never enough to truly free her from the weight of this house. From the unshakable presence of the past that haunted its walls. At school, the day moved forward like an endless, dragging parade. The buzz of chatter and the clatter of lockers closing felt distant, as though she were hearing them from under water. The world around her seemed to blur, a disjointed hum of movement that had no meaning. She walked through the hallways like a shadow, unnoticed, untethered.

Emily was waiting by Claire's locker, all energy and brightness, holding a cupcake like it was a gift from the heavens. "Eighteen! We should celebrate. After school," she chirped, offering it with a smile that pushed against the weight in Claire’s chest.

Claire tried to smile back. It felt wrong, like forcing her mouth into a shape it wasn’t meant to take. "Maybe," she said, her voice thinner than she expected. She knew Emily wouldn’t see. She never did. Emily was one of those people whose laughter could fill a room, never questioning the emptiness it might be masking. She lived on the surface, never diving deeper than what was right in front of her.

By lunchtime, Claire found herself wandering aimlessly, her feet moving without direction, until they carried her to the memorial plaques by the library. The space was quiet, almost reverential, smelling faintly of aged paper and dust—starkly different from the chaos inside the cafeteria. The plaques were a somber, mute presence, reminders of lives lost, and yet Claire’s gaze locked onto one name among the rest.

Her father's name. David Monroe. It gleamed coldly in the dim light, the letters carved into the metal like scars in the world’s surface. Claire reached out, fingers tracing the smooth, polished surface of the plaque. The metal was unnervingly cold, as though it could absorb the warmth from her skin. The more she touched it, the more it felt like she was imprinting herself onto it, marking the passing of time that had already passed her by.

A twist of discomfort curled in her stomach. The letters seemed to burn her fingers, leaving behind a ghost of something that made her chest ache. Just then, Mark walked by, his dark figure cutting through the sunlight that filtered in through the library windows. For a moment, his eyes met hers, and Claire felt an uncomfortable flutter—a sinking feeling, not excitement, but something darker, deeper.

Not butterflies. No. It was more like the weight of the world shifting for just a second.

The final bell rang, signaling the end of the day, but for Claire, it was just another moment in a never-ending loop. The sounds of students spilling out into the halls, their voices growing quieter as they left, only made the silence around her more suffocating.

She was almost at the gate when Mark’s voice interrupted the stillness, low and rough, carrying a hesitation that she could almost feel in the air. He stood by his car, hands jammed into his jacket pockets, the casual stance hiding something guarded. The space between them seemed to hold its breath.

"Hey… you wanna go out tomorrow? Just us."

Claire blinked, caught off guard by his words. Her mouth went dry. She hadn’t expected this. She should have said no, should have turned him down and walked away. Her mind raced for an excuse, for something to say that could break the tension between them. But the words wouldn’t come. Instead, she stood frozen, caught in the weight of his gaze, as if some invisible force had anchored her in place.

There was something about the way Mark looked at her—his dark eyes holding hers with an intensity that felt like it could pull her under. She couldn’t look away. The world around her seemed to blur and fade, the hum of voices and the distant chatter growing quiet, until it was just the two of them, suspended in time.

And then, somewhere deep within her mind, Claire felt a whisper. The house. It was there, in the background, its presence creeping in like an uninvited guest. It was always there, lurking, a silent observer to everything she couldn’t control. The weight of that presence pressed on her chest, urging her to decide, to make a choice.

"Yeah," she heard herself say, the word barely escaping her lips. "Yeah, sure."

Mark’s lips quirked into a small, unreadable smile before he turned, stepping away. His figure receded into the distance, swallowed by the shadows of the parking lot, as the sun sank lower. The day was ending, but Claire knew that the quiet moments, the ones that mattered, were just beginning.

Emily appeared beside her like a burst of light in the fading evening, her hand grasping Claire’s arm and pulling her toward the exit. "Come on," she said, the cheerfulness in her voice almost too sharp, too bright. "It’s your birthday. Let’s get out of here."

They went to Claire’s house. 

Together, they walked past the hastily hung streamers on the front yard, their bright colors fluttering weakly in the wind. They seemed out of place against the backdrop of the darkening sky, like they didn’t belong.

When they reached home, the scene was set—a table in the yard, decorated with cake and soda. But it all felt wrong. The decorations felt like a backdrop to a story Claire wasn’t part of, a scene played out by ghosts who didn’t understand the roles they were supposed to play. It was empty, hollow.

Her mom stood near the door, her fragile smile stretched across her face, never quite reaching her eyes. The evening light framed her figure, casting long shadows across the yard that seemed to stretch endlessly. Claire’s eyes flicked to the framed photo of her father, sitting just inside the house, the glass catching the last of the sun’s light. His face was frozen in time, a memory caught between moments. Claire felt his absence like a raw ache beside her at the table. It was as though he were still there—watching, waiting—just out of reach.

"Claire, come on, you’re the birthday girl!" Emily’s voice was bright, almost too much so, but there was an undercurrent of concern. Her eyes searched Claire’s face, looking for any sign of life, any flicker of joy. Emily had always tried to fill the gray spaces of life with color, to make things brighter when the world around them seemed to be slowly dimming. But Claire couldn’t meet her energy. Not today.

"Come on, Claire," Emily coaxed, stepping closer, her voice softer now. "Let’s not stand out here all day. It’s your birthday."

But Claire couldn’t hear the words. They bounced around in her mind like empty echoes. How could it be her birthday when the one person who mattered wasn’t there to share it with her? How could she pretend the house was the same, when it felt like everything inside it had shifted? The shadows in the yard stretched longer now, reaching toward her as the sun began its descent.

Claire’s legs moved, but every step felt weighted, like she was wading through something thick. She couldn’t shake the feeling that something was closing in, something that had been waiting for her to make a choice, like the house itself was waiting.

Reluctantly, she nodded, not wanting to disappoint Emily. The hope in her friend's eyes pulled at her, and for a moment, Claire almost wished she could play along—pretend that today was a normal birthday, that it still meant something.

"Okay," she murmured.

Emily’s face brightened, and she took Claire’s arm, leading her inside. But Claire’s thoughts lingered on Mark’s invitation. The weight of it pressed against her chest, full of meaning she wasn’t ready to unpack. She tried to push it away, to focus on the party Emily had worked so hard to make feel real, but it never quite felt like one. The laughter, the chatter—it was all there, but Claire remained distanced from it, a shadow in the middle of it all. The day ended.

The night stretched out ahead of her, cold and endless, like a dark river. Claire lay in bed, staring at the ceiling, trying to push the weight of the day away. But the house felt like it was closing in on her. She had wrapped herself in blankets, tried to cocoon herself from the shadows, but it didn’t help. The absence of her father was a presence in the room, thick and suffocating.

Her thoughts circled, dragging her back to the party, to her mother’s hollow smile, to Mark’s cryptic words—just us tomorrow. They buzzed in her mind, relentless, like gnats she couldn’t shake.

The wind had picked up, and the house seemed colder, the walls creaking, almost as if something in the attic were stirring. Claire tugged the hoodie tighter around her, burying her face in the fabric, but it did nothing to ease the gnawing anxiety in her chest.

The night passed in fractured sleep, filled with blurry, unfamiliar figures speaking her name in whispers—faces that felt both strange and intimately familiar. She woke with a start, her heart racing, drenched in sweat, only to find herself in the same room, the shadows just as heavy, just as cold.

When morning light finally slipped through the blinds, it felt like an intrusion—too pale to warm the chill in her bones. She dragged herself out of bed, the remnants of the dream still clinging to her like cobwebs, unwilling to let go.

The day felt unreal—like it hadn’t started properly, like she was walking through it in a fog. She barely had time to think before she found herself getting ready for the date. The sound of her mom’s voice calling from the kitchen—something about breakfast—barely registered. The thought of seeing Mark, of actually leaving the house, made her stomach twist into tight, uncomfortable knots.

Her reflection in the mirror seemed unfamiliar, almost like a stranger’s face. She didn’t feel eighteen. She didn’t feel ready. But the invitation had come, and something in her had said yes. Something inside her that she couldn’t explain, something dark and heavy that seemed to pull her toward him.

She put on her jacket, grabbed her phone, and headed out the door, hoping that somehow, things would make sense once she was outside of these walls. But the house—its creaks and its whispers—stayed with her, like a dark presence she couldn’t shake.

Mark was waiting by his car when she stepped onto the porch. He smiled at her, his expression unreadable, but there was something in his eyes that made Claire’s heart race. Was it anticipation? Was it something else?

"Hey," he said, stepping forward. "You ready?"

She nodded, though her thoughts were far away. As they got in the car and drove off, Claire couldn’t shake the feeling that this was more than just a date. That something had shifted, and she was about to step into something she couldn’t control.

The house, the party, her father—it all seemed so distant now, and yet, the feeling that it was still watching, still waiting for something to happen, never left her.

The date was normal. Too normal. A local pizza place downtown, one with old red booths and jukeboxes that only played half of the songs correctly. The place had a charming, worn-in feel, like it was part of the town’s fabric. Mark drove, tapping his fingers on the steering wheel, humming along to the radio. He was completely at ease, the kind of guy who could make even the most mundane things seem effortless and fun. He grinned over at her, his eyes lighting up with a warmth that made Claire feel a little less suffocated by the weight in her chest. “Hey, Claire, you good?” he asked, his voice soft and easy, not pushing, just concerned in the way that made her feel like she mattered. His smile was effortless, a dimpled curve that could melt anyone’s walls in an instant. It was one of those smiles that made you feel like you were the only person in the room, like everything around you faded out of focus, and all that mattered was the person standing in front of you.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Claire replied, forcing a smile. But the truth was, she wasn’t. Not really. Something had been gnawing at her since the moment she woke up. But Mark—Mark had a way of making things feel less heavy. He made it all seem... lighter.

When they walked into the pizza place, the warm, welcoming scent of melting cheese and fresh bread filled the air. The jukebox in the corner crackled to life, playing some old classic rock song that Claire couldn’t quite name, but she felt the familiarity of it in her bones. Mark slid into the booth with a casual grace, his presence taking up more space than anyone else’s without even trying. He leaned back, his arm casually draped over the back of the booth, looking as though he belonged in every room he entered. “So, what’s your favorite pizza?” Mark asked, his voice light, teasing, but with an undercurrent of genuine curiosity. “I don’t know,” Claire replied, a hint of a laugh in her voice. “I guess I’ve never really thought about it.” 

“Well, you should,” Mark said, his eyes lighting up with a mix of seriousness and ridiculousness. “Pizza isn’t just food. It’s basically a personality test. Like, if you order pineapple on pizza, I’m sorry, we’re going to have to reconsider our entire friendship.”

Claire blinked, taken aback. “Wait, are you telling me you’re one of those people?”

Mark leaned back in the booth, his fingers dramatically clutching an invisible microphone. “I’m just saying. Pineapple? It’s... it’s like mixing your favorite childhood cartoon with a Shakespearean tragedy. It’s confusing, no one asked for it, and it never quite works out.”

Claire stared at him, then laughed. “You’re ridiculous.”

Claire, still chuckling, shook her head. “Okay, okay. No pineapple. I’ll give you that.”

Mark raised a triumphant eyebrow. “Good choice. See, we can still be friends.”

His smile, his laugh, the way he listened when she spoke—it all made her feel seen, important in a way that was rare. Throughout dinner, they talked easily. Mark made jokes, his laughter infectious, but it wasn’t just the jokes that made him so likable—it was the way he cared. He listened when Claire spoke, really listened, not just waiting for his turn to talk, but engaging with what she said. 

He asked her about her day, her plans, her life, with a sincerity that disarmed her. His curiosity wasn’t born of politeness, but of something deeper—an instinct to see her, truly see her. Claire found herself speaking more than she intended, peeling back layers of herself she’d carefully hidden. She spoke of her father, of the ache that remained—a quiet, hollow presence she carried with her, year after year, especially on her birthday. She described the emptiness as though it were a room within her, one she couldn’t bear to leave, and yet could never quite fill.

Mark listened, not with the hollow sympathy of those who wish to comfort themselves by comforting others, but with a stillness that gave her words weight. When she paused, hesitant, he simply nodded, his voice low but steady. “That’s hard. It’s heavy, I can see that. But he’s still with you, Claire. You’re not alone. Missing someone isn’t weakness—it’s love that hasn’t found where to go yet. And that’s okay.”

Her breath caught, her voice trembling. “It’s like he’s here, but not really. Like the world keeps moving forward, but he’s... stuck. I wish I could hear him, just once. It’s like everything’s changed, except him.”

Mark’s gaze softened further, though there was a shadow in his eyes, as if her words stirred his own ghosts. “I understand. It’s as if they stay behind, fixed in time, while we carry on, unwillingly. But the fact that you feel this loss, that you remember him—it means something. It means he’s still alive, in a way. In you. His memory isn’t just a shadow; it’s part of who you are now.”

A faint smile touched his lips, offering not answers but solace. “Maybe that’s a gift, even if it doesn’t feel like one. He’s not gone if you still feel him, if he’s part of how you see the world.”

Claire blinked, startled by the depth of his understanding. Her voice softened, barely a whisper. “You... you really get it.”

Mark’s expression grew distant for a moment, then tender. “I do. I’ve had my own losses. It’s never neat, never easy. But it’s okay not to be okay. It’s okay to miss them, to let yourself feel the weight of it. You don’t have to carry it perfectly, Claire. You just have to carry it.” His words hung between them, heavy and light all at once, and Claire felt, for the first time in years, a flicker of something close to peace. His words stuck with her, resonated with her more than she cared to admit. It felt like he understood, like he could see parts of her that no one else had ever noticed. He wasn’t perfect, but he had a way of making her feel like she was.

Later, as they finished their pizza and shared a quiet moment, the date ended too soon.

Afterward, he drove her to his house. The street was quiet, lined with small, tidy homes, all of them alike in their suburban neatness. Mark’s house sat at the end of the block, porch light flickering like a broken star.

“No one’s home,” he said, his tone casual but with an undercurrent of something more. “I thought we could grab some coffee, hang out for a bit.”

Claire hesitated but she knew him since primary school and trusted him, her fingers clutching the strap of her bag, but somehow, her legs moved her forward, following him up the porch steps and through the door.

The air was cooler inside, thick with the scent of cinnamon and old wood. A single lamp cast a warm light across the living room, illuminating framed photographs on the mantle—his family, smiling and happy, frozen in time. Claire could almost imagine them alive, full of laughter, but it was impossible to focus on them for long. The room felt too still, too quiet.

Mark kissed her first. His lips were soft, warm, a gentle pressure that pressed through her skin and into something deeper, darker—something Claire couldn’t name. She let him pull her closer, felt his arms wrap around her, but the sensation was foreign. Alien. His hands were too insistent, too eager, as if they had a will of their own. Claire's heart raced, but not from desire. No, this was something else. Something jagged and wrong.

The heat was unmistakable. It began low in her chest, like a spark in dry tinder. It spread, slowly at first, then faster, curling through her veins, scorching her, each pulse a violent, suffocating fire. It was as if something in her had awakened—something buried beneath years of grief and quiet desperation. It rose up now, writhing, aching to be fed. It was hunger. It was need.

She gripped his shoulders, nails digging into his flesh, trying to push him away, but the heat surged again, this time thick and unbearable, like a tide that consumed her. She felt his heartbeat—a frantic, panicked rhythm beneath her fingertips. He was alive. Alive and trembling in her arms.

Then, in an instant, everything went still.

Mark gasped, a sharp intake of breath that shattered the fragile moment they shared. The world swirled, twisted, bent beneath her. Claire didn’t remember the bite—didn’t remember sinking her teeth into his skin. She only knew the taste—the sharp, metallic tang that flooded her mouth. It burned in her throat, and her senses, once dulled by years of quiet numbness, exploded. It was fire. It was power. It was everything she had ever wanted, and everything she had ever feared.

The blood poured, warm and thick, spilling onto her tongue, filling her up in ways she could never have imagined. She drank deeply, greedily, her body taking from him as though it had always been meant to, as if his life were hers for the taking. She felt him go slack beneath her, his body stiffening, jerking with each passing second, but it didn’t matter. The hunger, the need—it was insatiable. It burned, it consumed.

Her teeth sank into his flesh, tearing through it with ease. The tender muscle gave way with sickening softness, and she chewed, feeling the texture of his skin, the saltiness of his blood mingling with the sickly sweetness of the meat. The flesh was warm, still soft in places, as though it had been waiting for her to claim it. She gnawed at it, tearing it apart with animalistic hunger, each bite feeling more satisfying, more real, than anything she had ever known. The taste of him lingered on her lips as she tore into the tender meat, her senses flooded with the sensation of devouring him. She consumed it all—the blood, the flesh—until there was nothing left of him but a husk, his identity stripped away, leaving only the remains of her feast.

His body collapsed beneath her, a lifeless weight that suddenly felt too heavy to bear. The taste of blood was still there, clinging to her, thick and cloying, as if it were now a part of her.

Then, the haze lifted.

For the first time, Claire became aware of the silence—the oppressive, suffocating silence that had fallen over the room. Her hands were trembling, slick with his blood, her breath ragged and harsh, burning in her lungs. Her eyes locked onto his face, still and lifeless, his wide, empty gaze staring up at the ceiling as though he had already been gone for years, not just moments.

Her pulse thundered in her ears. The room was too small. Too tight. The walls seemed to close in on her, the photographs on the mantle mocking her, his smiling family staring down as if they already knew, already understood the depth of what she had done.

And in that moment, Claire could not escape the truth. The hunger—the need that had once felt like fire—now left her hollow, a gnawing emptiness that had nothing to do with the blood she had consumed. It had never been about the blood. No, it had been something far more insidious, something that had clawed at her from the inside out, and now it had taken root. She had crossed a line. A line that could never be undone.

She stumbled backward, knocking over a lamp. The crash echoed, a sickening sound in the silence, but no one came. No one heard. She was alone in her horror. Alone in her guilt.

Her mind screamed at her to stop, to run, but her legs moved before she could think, carrying her away from him, away from the house that suddenly felt like a prison. She bolted from the room, out into the cool night air, but it didn’t matter. The hunger was still there, gnawing away at her insides. It had not been sated.

She had run. She didn’t know where she was going, but she ran—through the dark streets, her footsteps echoing in the silence of the night. Her thoughts were fragmented, and every step felt heavier than the last. All she could focus on was the image of Mark, his eyes wide with shock, the horror in his face frozen in time. He had been the one. He had listened to her, understood her loneliness, her isolation, and now... she had taken him away.

She didn’t look back as she ran down, her breath coming in ragged sobs. 

As she reached the house, Claire's chest tightened. It was still, too still. She pushed open the door, her eyes scanning the dimly lit hallway, but there was no sign of her mother. The house felt foreign to her, alien in a way she had never experienced before. The silence was deafening. She felt as though the walls were closing in on her, suffocating her with their coldness.

“Mom?” Claire’s voice trembled as she called out to check as something felt unusual here too, but the sound was swallowed by the silence, her words lost in the emptiness of the house. There was no answer. The weight in her chest grew heavier, and she took a few shaky steps into the living room, her mind racing, her thoughts scattered.

And yet, even as the door clicked shut behind her, Claire could still feel it—the heat. The hunger.

It wasn’t over. Not yet.

The house was empty, but it was not silent. It was full of something else now. Something dark. Something that would never leave her.

She couldn’t escape it. Not now. Not ever.

Claire stood frozen, her breath shallow and ragged, her hands trembling as they hovered over her mouth, stained with Mark’s blood. His body lay crumpled on the floor, lifeless and still, as the heat in her chest surged in waves, only to be followed by an overwhelming emptiness. The hunger had consumed her—had forced her to do it. Mark had been the one person who understood her, the one who saw the cracks in her soul, and now he was gone, erased by her own hands. A single tear fell from Claire’s eye, but she couldn't even feel it.

An icy dread pooled in her stomach. What had she done? What kind of monster had she become? The taste of his blood still lingered on her tongue, and the sharp, metallic scent seemed to cling to her like a curse. She stumbled back, her mind a blur of panic and confusion. The world felt like it was spinning out of control, each breath harder to draw than the last. The heat that had driven her to kill him was now replaced by a cold, suffocating emptiness, and she couldn't stop shaking.

Her mother was never far—always present, always ready with a comforting word or a hug when the world felt too overwhelming. But now, there was nothing. Just an eerie, oppressive stillness.

Claire’s heart pounded as panic clawed at her chest. She moved quickly, her steps unsteady, toward the stairs. She needed to find her mom—she needed to feel her presence, to know that there was still someone who could make sense of this madness. But even as she ascended the staircase, she knew deep down that things had changed. She had changed.

Her mind spiraled further into chaos as she reached her mother’s room. The door creaked open, and Claire’s eyes darted around the darkened space. The bed was empty. Her mother’s absence was like a chasm, a gaping hole in the fabric of the world that had once been whole. Claire sank to her knees, her body shaking with sobs that she couldn’t control. The horror of what she had done—the unthinkable violence���clung to her like a dark shadow, smothering her.

Claire locked herself in her room, her breath coming in short, erratic bursts as she hugged her knees to her chest. Her mind replayed the events in her head, over and over again, until they became a tangled, nightmarish blur. She had killed Mark. She had killed the person who truly saw her, who didn’t judge her, who... understood her. And now, she was alone. Alone with her guilt. Alone with the terrible knowledge that she had crossed a line, one that could never be undone.

Time passed in a blur, but all Claire could do was cry. Her tears felt endless, as though she could cry the entire world away and still never be free of the weight she carried. The loneliness that had once consumed her now felt like a suffocating shroud, and she was trapped inside it, with no escape in sight.

After what felt like an eternity, Claire wiped her eyes and stood up, shaky and uncertain. She had to find her mother. She had to know what was happening, why everything felt wrong. With every step she took, the dread grew stronger, as though the walls were pressing in on her, closing off all hope. And yet, she couldn't stop herself from moving forward. She had to know. She had to find answers.

Her heart raced as she moved through the empty house, and for the first time in her life, Claire realized that no matter how far she ran, no matter what she tried to do, there was no escaping the darkness that she had awakened and her mother was missing.

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Where is Claire’s mother, and what secrets lie behind her disappearance? Why did Claire became a Predator? Will a mysterious visitor hold the key? Follow to find out what happens next! Next chapter will be out soon.

[cherrb333]

the lost hamato sibling

chapter 2: an unlikely friendship

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Masterpost

It had been a few days since she moved in, and the breakdown in her room. So far, she had been adjusting well, And Usagi was out most of the time, which was a plus. She didn't have to see that stupid rabbit for a week after the move-in. He was out getting intel on the turtles. She didn't mind. It gave her time to be alone with the thoughts that consumed her mind. She supposed it wasn't healthy to marinate in hurtful words, but maybe she deserved it. After all, it wasn't as if what she was doing would be a good thing. She sighed, deciding to get up off the couch and go out. Some fresh air might clear her head. She grabbed her hood, grabbed the portal Key Mama had given her and opened a portal to the human streets, where she began scaling a building. It was peaceful up here, the sky was cloudy, dark and gloomy as the hint of a downpour clung to the winds. She jumped from building to building until She made it to a recluse little rooftop, no one in sight. She dropped soundlessly onto the concrete beside what seemed to be a pool, her eyes gleaming in joy as she slowly surveyed her surroundings before dipping into the cool water. It felt nice against the smooth green of her skin, the scales shimmering with the glistening liquid that soon covered her. She slowly sunk deep under the water, she sat on the bottom of the pool just relishing in the complete silence that surrounded her. It was nice. Her thoughts seemed to wash away with the waves that pushed against her as she swam around in the pool. Being a turtle had its perks, she could stay under the water for a lot longer than a normal human, and she swam better because Of the skin and shell she had. Her tail wagged as she relished the feeling of blowing bubbles under the water and watching them float up to the surface. She didn't know how long she stayed under, but by the time she pulled to the surface, the clouds Had disputed and All that was left in their wake was a beautiful starry sky. She shivered as the cold air fell on her shoulders. She got out, grabbed her cloak from where she'd thrown it and began fasting it to her shoulders, cuddling into The warmth it provided her. She began the walk back to her home only to stop when she caught a glimpse of red blue purple and orange. She stopped in a trance as she scanned the roofs with narrowed eyes in hopes of catching another look and hoping it wasn't just her eyes playing tricks on her. She pulled her hood further down as she started in the direction she saw them disappear. She froze when she came across a fight scene. Four turtles, all varying in size, the ones she had caught a glimpse of from where she was on the rooftop, stood around what looked like a giant hippo yokai who was firing floating rings at them. She slipped down a fire escape to get a better look, still sticking to the shadows. They seemed to be very good at fighting from what she could tell she slowly slid to her knees, peeking Through the metal bars that kept her from falling forward as the blue one summoned up a portal(she didn't even know you could do that) from the tip of his sword, blue swirls coming to life as it formed the familiar glow of a portal she had seen mama use once or twice. But this one was different, it was blue, matching his mask's colour. She gasped as what looked like a giant red fist projection of the big one came barreling through the portal, landing a hit right in the back of the hippo's head.

“Ah! You pesky turtles! Always interfering with my plans! Well, I'll show you what happens when you mess with a magician's magic trick” the hippo growled, summoning more rings that were bigger to come raining down on the four. The big one smacked them away from them with his big red hand, sending them flying. Right in the direction of Renai. Crap. She yelped as she jumped back, cursing as the turtles looked in her direction. She almost fell off the railing with how quickly she ducked behind a compost bin that conveniently sat on her. Luckily, they all shrugged off the sound thanks to the enemy using the distraction as a point to attack the brothers. She let out a shaky breath as she slowly glanced over the compost bin. Thank god, but she had to be more careful...

“Where have you been?” The harsh tone called from in the black room as Renai slowly slipped back in from her night adventures. She yelped, heart dropping as the clatter of her weapon jostling against her hip filled the room followed by her clumsily tripping over her own feet as he startled her by His sudden appearance. She turned around to glance at him, cowering in the gaze that greeted her, feeling a sense that she was in trouble.

“Heyyyyyy usagi” she chuckled nervously, slowly dropping to the ground and turning to shut the window behind her. 

“Don't 'hey usagi’ me. You weren't supposed to go out yet. And especially not without me! God, do you want Mama to kill me?” Usagi began lecturing, eyes narrowing in concern and anger as he stood up from where he was sitting, Furiously tapping his foot. Flinching away from the gaze She slowly slipped past him to head to the kitchen.

“Listen. I'm fine! You don't have to badger me, I don't need you to babysit me! I'm 12 years old! I'm practically a grown-up” She huffed as she grabbed a water bottle from the fridge, taking a huge gulp of the cool liquid. Usagi furrowed his eyebrows in annoyance.

“That's just it. Your 12! You shouldn't be alone, especially in this city! Do you know just how many enemies Big Mama has!? You could've gotten hurt!” Renai slammed the fridge closed, turning to glare at the rabbit.

“I can take care of myself. In case you've forgotten, I am the battle nexus champion. My whole life has been a battle to survive. This city is child's play compared to the battle nexus.” she growled as she sauntered away to her room in anger. Usagis's face fell as he remembered what he had heard yesterday through the door. He Inhaled slowly, tears welling in his eyes.

“I'm sorry” he whispered, causing Renai to stop in her tracks, breath hitching as she turned swiftly to glare at him.

“What?” She scoffed, crossing her arms as she felt her cat rub against her leg. Usagi bit his lip, foot still Violently tapping as his mood shifted to one of anxiety.

“I'm sorry,” he said a little clearer, rubbing his hand nervously on the back of his head. “I…I didn't realize how much you've been through. I just want you to know that you don't have to do it alone. I…I was also in the battle nexus. I know how gruelling it was, and you? You were only a child! You shouldn't have been put through that.” He huffed, looking at her with a sorrowful look. Her face blanked As she processed his words. What? Why was he apologizing? Didn't he hate her? Lots of people did so She had just assumed-

“Why?” Her voice cut coldly into the warm atmosphere, the tone unnervingly monotone. Usagi shivered as he blinked In confusion.

“Huh?” He slowly dropped his hands down to rest at his sides, tilting his head at the younger kappa.

“Why are you being so…nice? I thought you…I thought you hated me.” She spat as her face became unreadable, emotions becoming too much for her to express. Usagi’s face fell in anguish

“What?” He whispered, Slowly creeping forward to the younger Turtle as he placed his furry hand on her shoulder “Hate you? Never. Sure, I like teasing you but hate you? Why would you think-” A look of realization fell on him followed by a look of sorrow. Now he felt even more bad. Had he come off as hating her? Shit. He needed to fix this. “I'm…sorry if my banter came off as hating you… I…I see you as A younger sibling, I didn't mean anything by those words. I'll refrain from that if that makes you happy” he softly spoke as he watched renais closed-off expression melt. For the first time, she was feeling something other than the hate she had thought was clouded around her. She felt her chest tighten as tears slipped from her eyes. She furiously wiped At them as she frowned.

“thank you” she sniffled as she felt Usagi pull her into a hug, he slowly ran a warm hand up and down her back to comfort the kid. She shivered at the feeling of his fingers on her shell, whimpering at the touch, he stopped at the sound, moving his hand away as he frowned in Concern.

“S-sorry…should've asked…” he muttered as he slowly backed away from Renai, who sniffled and made grabby hands for him.

“No…its…fine…I like your hugs, fluff ball” she joked trying To lighten the mood despite the tears that glistened on her striped cheeks. Usagi rolled his eyes, pushing her away.

“Ok, that's enough hugs for you then” Renai whined as Usagi stood up, crossing her arms and huffing in sullen anger.

“Boo”

___________________________________________________________

usagi and renai's relationship is completely platonic, please don't interpret it as anything else I will cry lol. anyways thanks for reading:D

First Previous next

[chaos-love-au]

Failure.

[Part 2 of Chaos L-ove]

Click here to read on AO3

Warnings: Super Paper Mario spoilers.

Summary: Dimentio regrets ending Mr. L's game, and he attempts to get him back. But things go wrong.

---

Dimentio didn't move, his eyes were fixated on the spot Mr. L stood in.

“Wh-why did I do this…” he whispered, a pained sob escaped his mouth.

He fell to his knees, the pain spread in his mind, it wasn't going to go away any time soon.

Mr. L was dead, gone. And it was no one's fault but Dimentio's, he knew that well.

“I-i..” he attempted to collect his thoughts.

“I need..” he took a shaky breath, “I need to speak with Queen Jaydes…”

He slowly got up, taking deep breaths to calm himself down.

He began walking towards the door, but something crunched under his feet. Small pieces of a magical material.

“My mask…” he collected what's left of it, and placed it in a hidden pocket.

He started floating, just a few inches above the ground. He floated away, using the door.

Now that his mask was destroyed, he had to make another stop before going to retrieve L.

---

“Dimentio! How are you? It's been so long!” A small shadow creature cheered, approaching the jester.

“Hello, Shadoo. I hope you've been well..” Dimentio nodded.

“You alright? You're never without your mask. And you sound… depressed.” Shadoo tilted her head.

“Depressed? No. Just… a mess. Have you met the heros yet?”

“The heros? Of the light Prognosticus? No, I haven't.. have you?” Shadoo seemed curious.

“Indeed I have, they're quite strong. I suggest sending your minions out, they will visit soon, I can assure you of that.” Dimentio chuckled softly.

“I will, no need to worry. Now, enough catching up, we all know you don't come to visit without a reason.” She jumped in place.

Dimentio sighed, “yes… I'm here to request your help creating a new mask. You're the only creature that knows how to create the material.”

“Hmm.. alright.”

“If you would like payment, the heros have defeated Fracktail, and he is laying lifeless in the sand.”

“Oh! Very nice…” Shadoo turned to a door behind her. “The stuff’s there. Be quick.”

“Thank you, little sister, I appreciate this more than I can express.”

Shadoo nodded.

Dimentio quickly entered the room and gathered everything he needed. With the wave of his hand, a new, identical mask was created. He placed it on his face.

“So much better…” he smiled, his mask smiling with him.

He left the room.

“Looking fabulous as always, Dimmy.” Shadoo laughs.

“Heh.. thank you. I shall continue my plans now. Will I see you tomorrow for dinner?” He smiled at his sister.

“Of course!” Shadoo jumped again, happy.

Dimentio teleported away.

---

Queen Jaydes smiled at Mario as he walked through the door to return Luvbi to the Overthere.

“Your majesty! How wonderful to see you again!” Dimentio called as he teleported into the room.

“Dimentio… weren't you banished?” The queen sighed.

“Ha! That's true, but I'm back for a small visit!” He laughed.

“What do you want? I don't exactly deal with outlaws of the realm.”

“I need someone out of here. He ended up here by an… accident.. and he has unfinished business in the living world.”

“And why should I release him? There is not a single reason I should believe you.” Queen Jaydes crossed her hands.

“His name is Luigi, and he's the one in charge of the world's fate.”

“He just left with his brother.”

“No!” Dimentio yelled involuntarily. He cleared his throat. “Uh. That was not a wise decision. His brother is-”

“The hero of the Light Prognosticus. I've made my decision. You're not getting him. And I suggest you leave my realm, unless you want to spend the rest of your afterlife in the most well-guarded dungeon in the Underwhere.” she hissed.

Dimentio scoffed, “you'll pay for this, Queen Jaydes!”

“I'm sure.” She replied, sarcastic.

Dimentio teleported away.

---

“No, no, Mimi! Ye need teh wear more white!” O’Chunks shook his head.

“But I hate white dresses!” Mimi frowned.

“But it look good, Hen, white goes well wit’ green.”

“urgh! What do you know!?” Mimi grabbed the pile of dresses from the table and angrily left to her room.

O’Chunks sighed with a smile, “weird lass…” he mumbled before turning back to his drawing.

Dimentio floated in through the window, visibly weak.

“Oof. You alri’t?” Chunks turned to face him.

“Shut up.” Dimentio hissed, moments before collapsing onto the floor.

“Ooh no!” O’Chunks scooped him from the floor, “Nastasia! Dim's passed out!” he called.

Nastasia's heels clicked on the floor as she rushed into the room, “what happened?”

“I don’ know, he just got ‘ere”

Nastasia sighed, “put him in his room, k? In his bed.”

O’Chunks nodded and ran to Dimentio's room, holding onto him tightly.

Nastasia watched as they left the room, “there is no way this was the heros’ doing…” she noted to herself before leaving as well.

---

Dimentio opened his eyes, very slowly gaining back consciousness.

“You're awake! Are you okay? Chunks said you just passed out!” Mimi sat next to Dimentio's bed.

“Ah.. oh…” Dimentio barely processed her words.

“Don't move, you could be badly hurt… was this the ‘heros’? Did you fight them? Is that why Mr. L is gone? Did he go with you?” Mimi questioned.

Dimentio froze at the mention of Mr. L. “M-Mr. L…” he mumbled.

“Yes.. where is he?” Mimi asked.

“He…” Dimentio didn't want to answer that. Especially not while he was still recovering from the hit his head got when he passed out.

Mimi was silent, she was waiting for Dimentio to finish his sentence.

“He's gone…” he hated to admit it, but he had to tell the truth, even if it was only part of it. Mimi deserved it, she was very close to Mr. L.

Mimi gasped, “wh-what?! No! You're lying!”

“I-it's true.. I'm sorry, Mimi.” he closed his eyes, he didn't want to stain the mask with his tears.

“No!” She ran off crying.

Dimentio’s useless struggles to get up were painful. He felt… powerless. Pathetic. He lost Mr. L. And now, he won't be able to fight the heros.

“Perhaps returning to the Underwhere was not very smart…” he thought.

There was shouting from outside the room, Mimi was upset.

“I'm so sorry…” Dimentio sat up straight, tears flowing from behind his mask.

[queermentaldisaster]

Another Love chapter two

And lemme be sappy here for a minute. when I first started this series, I never thought it'd get this much attention. I'm glad it did, don't get me wrong. But it astounds me. So thank you. To all of you.

And a heads up that this is the end of what I like to call arc two. Arc three will be...darker. I hope y'all are ready.

Tags: @forestshadow-wolf @rainerestored @8-rae-rae-8 @axelaxolotl09 @im-here-and-im-confused @bringinsexybackk69 (If you want to be added to or removed from the taglist, let me know!)

Chapter underneath the cut.

He was floating on cloud nine, as he giggled. ‘Och, ah'm actin’ like a wee schoolgirl with a crush!’ he thought, leaning against the wall. ‘But Simon loves me back…’ he beamed, letting out a breath. Price came over, and saw Soap. He must've had the dumbest lovestruck look on his face, because he was pulled out of his thoughts by Price speaking. “Soap, you good? You look like you just had the best meal of your life.”

Soap beamed, standing up straight. “Aye, ah'm fine, Captain. But ah just had ma first kiss ‘s all!” He giggled again, causing Price to raise an eyebrow and tilt his head slightly to the side. “What? Your first kiss?” Soap nodded happily. “Aye, Simon kissed me!” he let out a contented sigh. “Ah love that man…” He murmured, his heart racing. ‘That was better than ah ever imagined.’ he thought. Price shook his head with a fond grin. “You’re ridiculous, Soap.” He chuckled, patting Soap's shoulder and walking off.

Soap beamed and rushed to his room. He pulled out his sketchbook, flipping past the various drawings of Ghost to a blank page. He sat down at his desk with a pencil, and began sketching the small amount of Ghost's face he'd been able to see. The Glasgow smile that was reduced to faded scars, the blondish-brown stubble, the way his lips curved into that sultry smirk. He made sure to capture every detail, and he let out a sigh as he finished. He added some shading where the mask casted a shadow, kicking his feet slightly as he did so. He let out another sigh. He flipped back to one of his earlier sketches, one of Ghost sitting in an armchair in the medical bay, asleep. He'd looked so peaceful, and Soap just had to capture it. He'd added the finishing touches after Ghost had left.

He smiled, running a thumb along the lineart, careful not to smudge anything. He let out a breath, closed his sketchbook, and stood up to go head out for training. He stepped out of his room, and as he walked past a supply closet, he felt something hit him in the head, hard enough to knock him unconscious. Time seemed to slow as he fell, his vision starting to go black. ‘Simon…ah need help…’ and then he hit the ground, and everything went black.

•✧-----------------------------------✧•

He was woken up by a jolt, like a car going over a speed bump, or a helo hitting turbulence. There was rope around his wrists and some kind of fabric in his mouth, keeping him quiet. He let out a weak grunt, and opened his eyes, to find a…demon standing in front of him. The demon's wings were torn, her eyes blank, one of her horns half broken off, and she had an American patch on her chest. There was a collar around her neck. She turned her head slightly. “Commander Graves,” she said, in a thick Russian accent. Soap's eyes widened as he saw Graves step into view. “Ah! Our guest is awake!” He exclaimed. “Good job Mirror, I'll take over watching him.” The demon, Mirror, nodded, turning around and walking off. She went over to the front seats of the helo. Soap turned an angry glare onto Graves. He noticed the burn scar in the shape of Ghost's hand on Graves's left cheek, and he let out a proud huff.

Graves laughed, a bitter sound. “Soap, buddy. Hey, y’know, you and your demon 'friend' have been pains in our asses. He's the last one we need. But for some reason, he's still terribly attached to you.” Soap's eyes narrowed. ‘Ye daft bastard, it's not because of anythin’ ah’ve done.’ He thought. Graves continued, “So, Shepherd has told me to bring you back to home base. We're gonna get every single little secret outta that miserable brain of yours. Then, we're gonna use you as bait to lure in Ghost, and make him one of our soldiers.” Graves's eyes narrowed. “And there is nothing you can do to stop us.”

Soap let out a low growl, deep in his throat, a habit he'd picked up from Ghost. ‘Ah’d like ta see ye try and break ma demon, Graves.’ he thought.

[ponder-the-orb]

Shades of red

Pairing: Fem Tav/Ascended Astarion, (unnamed tav)

Tags: 18+, smut and angst, biting (whole lotta biting), blood, choking, P in V

Word count: 6K

Summary:

She sees the blood smeared like rouge on his lips as he lifts his head. A beautiful colour. Their colour.

She isn’t sure the last time she hasn’t thought about her life in shades of red: dripping from her hands, hot in her mouth, shining sharp and violent in his eyes.

She looks down at those same eyes now, burning intensely as he works her. There’s an image she hasn’t been able to get out of her mind for a while, more faded than a dream. She’s sure they were softer once, rich like apple skin, fresh as autumn hues. Now if she stares too long it feels like she’s looking down the lit barrel of a cannon.

***

Forever gives one ample time to think. Was the man she once knew ever even real or just another mask to be dropped once 7000 souls had been burned through her eyes?

Read on AO3 or below

How long can eternity truly be? It’s a question that’s been turning in the back of her mind with numbing regularity for a while now. The very idea of time seems to wear away when she has forever at her fingertips, stretching on and on into a grey horizon. It’s not really a concept that exists between the dark walls of the palace anyway. She couldn’t tell you how long she’d been here with any more accuracy than guessing the number of pebbles lining the streets of Baldur’s Gate beyond. Years seem to melt past with unknowable speed but the turning of days drag slower than dripping molasses. 

Never is that thought more pressing than the nights Astarion feels charitable enough to acquiesce to audience requests. 

The ballroom is draped in half darkness, his preferred atmosphere for these meetings. Long shadows shift in flickering silence from the high ceiling, the wrought iron candelabra standing stiff as they throw their orange glow over both the polished tile and his quaking guest.

He’s reclined in the throne at the end of the room, the lack of furniture only serving to make the space between him and the visitor seem that much longer. She stands behind him as usual, one hand at her side, the other gripped to the top of the chair just behind the crown of his head. It’s her place - looking every bit the beautiful weapon she’s been polished to be. Cold. Sharp. Sheathed.

Astarion’s head inclines as they continue to speak, a clear sign he’s only half paying attention to whoever this poor soul is. She never needs the details but from a glance she can glean he’s some elven noble who’d drawn the short straw to come and beg at his feet. 

Before, these meetings had almost made her smile. Those with status always wear their fineries like armour but golden threads do little to hide their true nature once they cross this threshold. Tonight is no different. The elf’s words are steady but his eyes shake madly in their sockets, never landing on either of them for too long. 

It’s not exactly surprising. It’s an open secret as to the nature of those who dwell here. Whispers of power, blood and darkness float throughout all of Baldur’s Gate and beyond, working their way into every rotted inn and polished mansion. If the palace is where this elf has ended up then all brighter roads had obviously crumbled under his feet.

She keeps her gaze fixed just over the elf’s head to the door as he continues- something about debts or an ongoing feud. He could have come with tales of great gold dragons circling the palace or a portal ripped open at the centre of the city and she still doubts it would be enough to cause her expression to break. Astarion’s either.

There’s the tiniest sigh from his lips and she instantly draws her gaze back to the pale sweep of his profile. She’d call him beautiful but the word doesn’t taste right when she’s used it to describe the same perfection for Gods-knows how many years now. The only change is the colour of his clothes. Today’s ensemble is wrapped by two grand peacocks, immaculately stitched in scarlet and black. She can’t even say that it’s one of the more resplendent outfits when every garment in his wardrobe is equally fine.

Her own dress matches - naturally.

It only takes a few more seconds before he slightly raises his index finger. The signal that this conversation is decidedly over.

She’s on the elf instantly, her hand slamming clean through his chest to the other side. The rest of his sentence gargles in his throat and his body crumples to the floor in a pathetic heap. Blood pools sticky and savoury from the wound until there’s an almost perfect disc reddening the tiles. Her stomach clenches at the scent. Hunger, ravenous as an unquelled blaze snarls within but she resists the urge to feast. She stares at the gore dripping down her arm instead as she catches her breath.

Astarion’s feet are silent behind her but she sees him approaching in the blood, his own eyes fixed to the spot where her reflection should be.

“Slower than usual. You haven’t been eating,” he comments dryly. It’s not a question.

She keeps staring at her wet hand. It quivers at her overwhelming urge to suck it clean and then the floor. 

“I will when you do. I’m not hungry,” she answers without turning to him. They both know it’s a poor lie. She’d been in a constant state of starving since the second she opened newly reddened eyes, something she’d never quite acclimatised to.

He raises her stained hand to his lips and licks a stripe from her palm to her wrist. He doesn’t tear his eyes from hers as he audibly swallows. She does too but for a decidedly hotter reason.

“Not the finest fare I will admit but it’s better than hunting for whatever wastes are wandering the lower city,” he says calmly, a red drop staining the corner of his mouth like a bloody kiss. “And you know I’d never let that dreck anywhere near your lips.” 

Some nameless spawn shuffles forward and drags the body back into the shadows, their gifted feast for the night. 

Her eyes stay fixed to the smear. She wants to lick it. She wants to bite his lip and taste him properly, drink something that sings for her, something to drown the other thoughts forever clawing at the flat wall of nothingness wrapped around her mind.

His fingers flex harder around her wrist. “What’s the matter?”

She sighs - the question with a thousand answers, and so many of them so so stupid. She wants to leave and see every corner of this Gods-forsaken continent. She wants to stay and never leave their bedchamber. She wants to feast until she rips apart at the seams. She wants to starve and see how far she can push herself as a spawn. She wants more. 

She holds his gaze, waiting for him to relent. 

Above it all, she wants one thing. The one thing that’s slowly pushing her to dull foggy madness as she waits.

“It’s nothing,” she answers softly. She doesn’t want to have this fight again and she’s fairly certain she doesn’t need to answer anyway. His stare is so intense she’s sure it can see through to the very back of her skull. His own expression is as impassive as an ivory mask, perfectly carved and cool. What she’d give to crack through and unspool that beautiful, maniacal mind and understand his whims for just a moment. She’s sure she could once upon a time- a lifetime ago, perhaps when the word lifetime actually meant something.

His tongue suddenly flicks out and catches the drop at the corner of his mouth. Her own tongue mimics the movement behind her teeth, a jealous breath rushing from her nose. She isn’t sure how long it’s been since he’s actually touched her-  perhaps days. Maybe months. She can’t quite remember the number of moons she’d watched rise and fall from the balcony, throwing a dagger in the air and catching it bladeside again and again until it finally left a scar. 

He slides his free hand up her neck and cups the side of her face. “Perhaps I’ve been neglecting you of late,” he murmurs, lightly tracing the contour of her jaw, then her ear until she shivers slightly. It’s a small thing- the sweet reminder of exactly who she is to him. 

His right hand. His treasure. His precious thing. 

She remembers the first time someone had dared question that fact, years back. She’d heard the whisper from the dark of their library- a jovial tone and one far too warm for these halls.

“I guess there’s no thinking blood required, eh?”

She’d ripped the head from the spawn’s shoulders and tossed it towards another before the words had cooled in the air. She almost wishes it was the only time.

He tugs her towards the door, the lights snuffing out with every step as they go. “Come.”

He leads them to the other end of the palace and into her bedchamber. Their bedchamber really though she can’t recall the last time he’d used it… or slept at all. To be fair she hadn’t for at least a few days, exhaustion just another pain she’s found she can put up with.

The room is grand but mostly empty save for the ridiculously huge bed he’d had installed. He’d clawed away anything in the palace left by its former master, even his name forbidden to be said aloud. She’d seen all too many messes left smeared for days on the new carpets when anyone had forgotten that particular rule- a warning few had forgotten since.

Besides a few drapes the only thing she’d added was a painting, the one staring down like a great round eye opposite the bed. Both of them had been captured in a similar pose to when they'd received their unfortunate guest- pale faces stark against the dark backdrop, his hand resting over hers. It's her only real reminder of how she looks or at least some overpaid artist's interpretation of her. She’s as beautiful as temptation itself but it’s hard to imagine such grandeur when her face hardly feels the same. She’ll never age, never wrinkle or shrink but it’s like she can still feel the hands of time slowly pulling more of her away under her skin.

He closes the door and then the distance between them. Even at the same height he still seems to tower over her into infinity like some dark God. She can’t remember if she had any faith before this, but there can’t have been a being divine or otherwise that she’d loved with such fervour. Worshipping with bloody hands and eager parched lips.

“No audience here. Now-” He tilts her chin up, his thumb resting against her bottom lip. “Tell me what you want.”

She feels a lie rolling on her tongue but she can’t quite spit it out. “You know what I want.”

“Say it.”

“Make me a true vampire.”

He releases her face, shaking his head. “Gods. This again.” He doesn’t seem as irked as the last time she’d pressed this, but her gut still twists when he turns away. It’s the same cool brush off as always, the way one would to an errant pet that’s not quite trained yet.

“I really didn’t want to discuss this now,” she admits quietly. Last time her frustration had gotten so loud she’s surprised her voice hadn’t cracked the windows. 

Her fist had instead after he’d stalked away from that conversation.

She takes a risk, palming a hand to his shoulder and slowly turning him back around. “I know you promised. It’s just been so long,” she starts carefully, keeping her eyes to his chest. She cups his other shoulder when he doesn’t pull away, letting herself feel the strength hidden under the dark cloth. “I want to be stronger. For both of us.”

It’s a half truth. She does want it for them- the power being full vampire would give her coupled with his extra gifts would be everything. They could take more, do more, finally see more of the world in bright and dazzling splendour. 

Her lip quirks up at the thought. Perhaps even feel more too.

He sighs and runs his finger over the crest of her hand. “Your strength is already quite the feat to behold. You change any more and you might destroy a wall.” He holds it firm as she starts to step away, his chuckle soft.

“I said that I will. You know that I will. But the timing has to be perfect.” He brushes a stray hair away from her face, winding it around his finger and letting it fall back against her shoulder. “You’ve tasted me enough, you must know being sired by the Ascendent will take a little more preparation than your standard vampire. But when I do, I’ll be able to give you so much more, more than you even have now.” His hand leaves hers to grasp her chin, fingers lightly pressing into both cheeks until she’s pinned under his gaze. “I’ll not waste such a gift on any regular night. It requires proper celebration. And time.” He leans in until each word kisses over her lips in a long low whisper. “Time for me to properly indulge you. Pleasure upon pleasure upon pleasure.”

It’s a heady promise and one she’s heard before. That doesn’t stop it being so easy to let herself sink into the words - the sweetness of such a beautiful tale. 

She closes her eyes, waiting for his kiss. 

He chuckles again when she finally opens them, his smirk perfectly pointed. 

“Until then, you still share in immortality with me. So tell me, what else can I possibly give to you?” He squeezes her face again before releasing her. 

She rubs her cheeks. “You have so many other spawn. They all share it too.”

His hand lashes out and grabs her wrist, a little harder this time. “All this time and you still believe you’re just some spawn? Like the rest of them?” He jerks her closer, folding her into the circle of his arms until their bodies rock together with her every breath. “How many times must we go through this?” 

She clings to the sides of his jacket, pressing back harder.

“Have I extended any of my talents to anyone else?” 

She shakes her head.

“Do I make you do such grunt work?”

“No, but-”

“Then how can you possibly think you’re the same?”

Her answering protest vanishes as he slips a hand under the back of her dress. He curls his fingers over the skin of her waist, cradling her in a way that has something prodding below the surface of her mind, smudged memories too worn to pull into focus.

“You will always be my first. My first spawn. My first thinking blood. The first person I told everything to.” He lightly scrapes his teeth down her neck until she shudders in his arms, the memory quickly disintegrating. “200 years of nothing and I finally had something that was mine. No power on this or any plane is going to take that away from me.” 

He tilts her head back and finally crashes their lips together in a firm, desperate kiss. It’s as messy as a storm - every movement taking more like he’s drawing the remaining life from inside her. She can taste the wine on his breath, the blood on his teeth- tart and rich and maddening. 

Something stirs within her again, something larger and familiar. Even under the fog, she has what feels like aeons of love for this man inside, swelling and gnawing, threatening to burst and consume her whole with its painful teeth. It’s the only feeling she can fathom with any clarity, equal parts sin and sanctity.

 She holds him, her arms clamping round his middle with all the strength she can muster. 

She’d be less than nothing without it, drained to dust. So she’ll let herself be devoured by the pleasures of hell’s flames with a smile on her face and tears on her cheeks.

“You could have anyone,” she breathes against his lips.

She yelps as his hand digs into her thigh and roughly hitches it to his hip.

“I want you,” he murmurs, kissing her again. Satisfaction blooms under her skin as he opens his mouth, her body already on fire for him. She knows it. Of course she knows it. She wanted to hear him say it, hear the words as sweet as a siren’s trill to drag her back to the present.

“But perhaps you need reminding.” He pushes her until the backs of her knees hit the bed. “I will see you living the best life. Even if you won’t take care of yourself, I’m not letting either of us go hungry.” His fingers brush from her face down to her chest, blood from that elf still shining against the fine material. He pinches the fabric and tugs, red smearing over his thumb. 

“What a mess,” he observes quietly.

Before she can apologise, he grabs two fistfuls of the fabric and pulls, tearing it and her undershirt apart until she’s all but nude before him. He turns her and pulls the remains of her outfit from her body, pressing his hand against her bare stomach so her back curves against him. She shivers slightly as his fingers rip through the seams of her underwear and leave her fully naked. He sweeps his hand up over the curves of her torso and slips his thumb into her mouth, the cool taste of the elf’s blood igniting the fires in her stomach.

Her restraint snaps immediately and she sucks, desperate for more. She moans as he adds a second coated finger, the frustration in her gut only matched by the one growing hot and frenzied between her legs.

“That’s it,” he says quietly as she licks them clean. “Don’t deny me. Don’t deny what you are.”

His hand moves from her lips until she feels it close around the sides of her throat, his thumb resting over the twin scars there. Their matching pair he’d said when she’d awoken that first day. She can’t see it in a mirror but she can feel it, still aching like it’s a fresh wet wound.

He touches his mouth to her ear. “No more doubts. You are mine. Say it.”

Her words dry to a sigh as his thumbnail scratches across the hollow of her throat.

He squeezes harder at her silence until she throws her head back against his shoulder.

“Say it.”

“Yours,” she gasps out.

His other hand wanders down her body to cup her breast and she arches into his touch. 

“That’s better,” he whispers, rolling her nipple between his fingers until she keens softly. He pinches harder, drawing a louder gasp, her back slamming back against his torso. 

She presses her free hand to her neck so their joint touch encircles her throat in a makeshift collar. His smile grows against her ear. 

They both know it'll only ever be a symbol. She’ll bow her neck for one without him even having to say, but it’s so much more for him to not need to. Where could she ever run to where he wouldn’t find her? 

Bound in blood and flesh for eternity.

He brushes his mouth down to the base of her neck and bites down hard. White hot pain melts into pleasure as he does it again, his tongue laving over the fresh marks. She moans and grabs the back of his head to press him down harder. The caress of his lips, his tongue- it’s her bloody paradise. She barely registers his hand move from her neck and down over her stomach, seeking its prize. 

He cups her between the legs and her mind starts to spin. He spreads her, her breath hissing between her teeth as he fingers tease a familiar path through her folds, so achingly close to where she needs to be touched.

He holds her upright as he pulls off her neck, kissing the shell of her ear. “Delicious.”

She presses down, grinding her clit against the heat of his palm. He’d mastered the command of her body long ago, what it takes to make her beg, gasp, to drown out any needless thoughts in red wet screams. 

He spins her round, one hand sliding up her spine and leaning her backwards. He lowers his mouth just below her collarbone, lips and teeth dragging further down until he bites again over the swell of her left breast. She moans again at the sensation as his tongue traces over the wound and then against her nipple in a slow circle.

She sees the blood smeared like rouge on his lips as he lifts his head. A beautiful colour. Their colour.

She isn’t sure the last time she hasn’t thought about her life in shades of red: dripping from her hands, hot in her mouth, shining sharp and violent in his eyes.

She looks down at those same eyes now, burning intensely as he works her.

There’s an image she hasn’t been able to get out of her mind for a while, more faded than a dream. She’s sure they were softer once, rich like apple skin, fresh as autumn hues. Now if she stares too long it feels like she’s looking down the lit barrel of a cannon. 

There are other moments too, touches that almost felt tender, maybe even unsure. They’re all wrapped in his same face but somehow different. Different enough for her to wonder if the man she knew before the ascension was even real or just another mask. One he could finally drop when she let 7000 souls burn through her eyes.

She pushes the thought away, angry it could still worm its way back to her when she’s in his arms. She could live long enough to watch the oceans boil and the skies crash down and she’d still stand steadfast as bedrock knowing that she’d never have made any other choice. 

She cradles the back of his head, keeping his lips right above her cold silent heart.

Of course she’d burn the world if it kept him safe. And she’ll stand next to him as king of the ashes knowing there’s nowhere else where her broken parts would ever feel even close to whole.  

A sliver of moonlight cuts through the curtains and over the portrait in front of them. The lacquer shines coldly, Astarion’s painted eyes staring at their bloody pleasure with the unyielding intensity of the sun. The eyes of a killer to so many fools, too scared to look past their scorching surface. She knows better. Knows that the true eyes of a killer watch from next to him, as flat and dull as a red sheet. Numb. Trained. Obedient.

He softly bites her nipple and her fingers tighten in his hair. “Please.”

He languidly moves on to her other breast, sucking and nipping in a sharp tease.

She tugs harder. “Gods, please.”

He lifts off of her with a sinfully wet noise. “You know as well as I that the Gods fear to tread these halls. Not even the divine would dare intrude on a night like this.” He kisses the tip of her nipple, dragging his lips down over the new fresh marks until she groans and shivers. “So, who’s name should you be saying?”

Her hips rock against nothing but cold air. Gods she needs to feel him. Feel something.

“Astarion,” she cries.

He nips harder and pushes her onto the bed below. 

She slides up the sheets, blood from her last meal still splattered around her like a handful of rose petals on the silk. He ignores it, roughly pushing her thighs apart and licking one firm stroke through her folds until her hips arch off the mattress. He does it again, then again, lingering against her clit before twisting and biting the soft flesh of her inner thigh. 

She cries out again. She isn’t sure how many more places he can mark her before she all but melts away from this reality.

She lifts herself onto her forearms as he spreads her wider, swallowing another embarrassingly loud noise as he tongue dips inside her with a shallow thrust. Blood beads from the fresh bite and trickles down the slope of her leg, heading towards his shoulder.

She quickly pulls her thighs away and scrambles towards him.

“Wait.” She wipes his mouth when he looks up, then unlaces his shirt as carefully as she can. His trousers follow so she can finally see him. All of him. 

“Better,” she breathes, tracing the slope of his shoulder. He catches her hand before it can go any further and turns it slowly between his fingers. She expects him to bite again. Her wrist is already dotted with so many tiny marks that she isn’t sure there’s any virgin skin left to taste. The ghost of a blush runs through her instead as he skims his lips from her forearm to her palm, scraping the skin but not letting it break. 

Through half-open eyes she quickly catches his, the way they study the veins on her wrist like the secret to the universe is tangled in them. They’re open wider now, like some gaping red maw. It’s so much. Too much. She blinks and the look is gone, his eyes now closed and his mouth back on hers.

He pushes her down onto the bed and climbs over her. She grabs the back of his head but he quickly pulls her hands away, pinning them above her. She doesn’t resist, letting herself be claimed again as he pushes inside. 

Gods, she needed this. She’d almost forgotten what it felt like to be wrapped up in darkness and in him. She hooks her feet around the small of his back to pull him deeper, revelling in every near silent breath he pants against her ear. 

He sets their pace. Fast. Fucking her into the mattress below until she’s crying out his name with every precise movement. She gives back in kind, thrusting with him until he finally  releases her wrists to find better purchase by her head. She immediately grabs his back, one hand sliding down and stroking over the familiar ridges of his scars. It’s a jagged reminder of the past, one he refuses to speak of again. As cold as it sounds in her head, she knows why he doesn’t. What power could truly be so impenetrable if people knew he could feel pain once, fear- terror even.

So it stays locked away behind both their mouths, same as anything that ever brought them such sadness. His own kindness in a way, she reasons. Why exhume those parts of the past when they’re much better off laying with the rest of her mortal affairs. Buried.

He moves harder and her nails dig in. She hopes they leave marks, scarlet crescents sore enough that he might feel how deep her own claim to him runs.

She tightens around him, desperate to come. Desperate to pull him with her too. But he stops suddenly, letting her waver on the very edge of that little death. It feels like she’s dancing on some taught cusp, pulled so tight like a bow string and begging to be released.

She reaches down to touch herself but he grabs her hand again. 

“Bad girl,” he whispers in a tone so low it almost pushes her over that edge. He flips her over, clamping his hands over her hips as he pushes back inside. He wastes no time setting a faster rhythm, ramming into her mercilessly until she’s screaming into the silks below, loud enough to drown her doubt and that of every wretched spawn in this place. It’ll only be her. Forever.

His fingers dig in hard enough that she knows there will be a pretty set of inky marks there, painful to the touch for days. The hurt doesn’t matter anyway- not when she knows what true torture feels like. She can still remember the night she was changed, perhaps more vividly than anything else. The way her body snapped and convulsed as every part of her died and then roughly reshaped into something new. Something that was his.

“He’ll ruin you.” 

The warning calls from somewhere dusty in the back of her mind. She can’t quite place where it came from. Probably the same closed door where every half faded image and whispered concern hid and occasionally slipped through when her nights alone were so utterly silent she could almost hear her brain churning. There’s a shadow of a half elf’s face, mismatched eyes, the fading melody of a wizard’s warning. She can’t grab them and pull them into focus, the words buried too far below the surface of her mind. 

She turns her face into the silks as if she could rub the thought away. Perhaps she’s scared to dig too deep and remember what it is she might have wanted before every moment was about their shared dream. Bright and bloody and beautiful.

Astarion’s hand finds her clit and everything else melts away. There’s nothing else now, just their sweat on the sheets and the discordant slap of his body on hers.

So let them sin, feast, burn. She’s already ruined anyway - punctured with so many holes that whatever there was of her mortal life had trickled out long ago.

She finally comes against his hand and collapses in a sticky, spent heap under him. He slowly traces his finger down the length of her spine as she catches her breath, every inch of her body heavy and useless. She barely registers herself being heaved into his lap, her head falling against his shoulder with a gentle thud. 

The haze of her orgasm parts a little when she smells something fresh above her. Blood, his blood. It starts to drip in a slow mess over her mouth like thick hot rain. Her body moves on pure instinct, surging up to clamp down on his cut forearm, but he holds her steady by her hair. She swallows the offering, her hunger only growing at the tease of something so decadent. He guides her head back further, letting a few more drops fall messily over her face before finally lowering it to her waiting mouth. 

He doesn’t flinch as she drinks desperately. It’s exquisite, like cool wine to her parched throat. She’s sure she could drink him dry or until her stomach bursts open and she’d still not be satisfied. She sucks harder, flitting her gaze up to his as he watches with clear amusement. There’s still one more thing she wants. One thing she’s not sure he’d ever let her do even if she still had a soul to offer him. She wants to sink her own fangs into his neck, the one place she never has. She wants to cover those ugly punctures just for her own pleasure. 

“I love you,” she whispers as he pulls back. It might be these moments when such love swells the most: clothes shed, scratches still fresh on his skin, hair curling out of place against his forehead- a reminder that the ritual can’t keep him quite so perfect for every moment of forever.

He wipes the remaining blood from her lips, his thumb resting there a moment longer. “And I adore you, terribly.”

She narrows her eyes and digs her nails in harder, enough to draw blood. “Say it properly. Say it.”

He raises an eyebrow, but his smile doesn’t waver. He presses his arms back to her mouth, squeezing the back of her head as she sucks again. “I love you.”

She bites down harder at the words. They’re what she wants and yet she doesn’t understand why it doesn’t feel like enough. The fog in her mind clears a little as her hunger quietens but she can’t think of even a moment when something was enough for either of them. They have almost everything this realm could offer and it still feels the same. 

How big will the pile of gold and corpses need to be before either of them can remember what joy actually tastes like?

He pulls his arms away and kisses her again, slower this time. She keeps her eyes closed as he stops, trying to centre herself.

“Are we bad people?” she murmurs.

He drops her from his lap, eyeing her curiously. “My, what a question.” He looks past her to the mirror on the bedside table, brushing his fingers through the mess she’d made of his hair. “Good and bad are such trivial concepts to us. Darling, you need to think bigger than that. We are everything. Beyond such unimaginative definitions.”

“Right.” She pulls the sheet over her torso. The room feels colder somehow, like the darkness itself is judging her nakedness. 

“None of that,” he says, rubbing her cheek. “Besides, thanks to me you’ve become one of the finest killers, dead or alive. Nothing can stand in our way.”

“The only one who could kill you I suppose,” she mumbles, leaning into the touch.

He quickly nips her chin, then her throat. “Oh my love. Now that’s something I’d like to see.” He pushes her back down and crawls over her, sliding his hands over both of hers. “So tell me, how would you do it? How would you defeat the most powerful being alive?”

“Who else could get close enough?” She leans up and kisses directly over his heart. “One thrust with the right weapon is all it would take.” 

“And then what would you do? You’re mine- always.” He moves a fraction more until his legs trap her thighs, the hands so gently wrapped around hers now pinning them into the mattress. “No direction. No love. No power. Without me your life would be a shadowed path. Pure nothingness.” Every word wraps around her like velvet, his hands the softest chains she could be caught in. “You must know it hurts me to even think of you like that,” he continues, dipping down and running his nose against hers.

He squeezes her hands harder as he does, walking her along the very edge of pain before letting go. She flexes her limbs slightly, letting the soreness settle along with her mind.

He kisses her forehead, each wrist then her lips again. “But we need not worry about such awful things.”

She cradles the back of his neck, idly wondering just how hard she’d have to press to snap it. “Of course not.”

His eyes drift up and down her body as she answers, before his hand works its way between her legs again. She lets him, her hips bucking with needle-sharp pleasure as he presses against her over-sensitive clit. 

“Until the world falls down,” she says, throwing her head back and grinding her core against his fingers. 

He leans forward and muffles her exhausted moans with shining, brazen lips. “And even after that.”

Perhaps that’s how long eternity is, she thinks and surrenders herself to him again.

It’s almost dawn when he rolls away from her. He leaves a promise of tonight against her shoulder as she stares at the ceiling, thinking in circles. 

One day, when she finally drives a stake through his chest, she’ll weep. He’s more than everything to her, his arms as tight as a cage, as comforting as salvation. The only person with a heart as black and silent as hers and yet she’d still rip it out and give it to him on a sharpened skewer if he asked. 

It’ll break her, but it's still her task and hers alone. One she can do with deliberate and devoted hands, away from any angry mob or pack of ravenous spawn.

She surges up and captures his lips before he goes, kissing with every ounce of passion still warm inside her.

Until then they’ll stay like this, wrapped and writhing in bloody matrimony. Frozen. Perfect.

Red.

***

I'm mainly bummed I couldn't work out a way to get him to turn into a bat during this. Perhaps another time...

[silvergolddraco28]

Suppressed

Demons are known to cause some trouble and mischief but what happens when a demon suppresses their demonic nature for so long it takes a form of its own to fulfill the desires while taking its own retribution for being repressed for so long.

1

Golden eyes looked out to the setting sun, a gentle breeze blowing the twin feathers on their cap to the side. The golden eyes broke away from the sunset closing with a hint of pain on their face.

“You know you can't keep me suppressed much longer.” a voice similar to their own but slightly darker echoed in his head.

“I've done it for this long. I'm not going to let you ruin everything again.” Golden eyes flicked to a dark corner before flicking back to the sunset. The being stood and headed back inside to a small shack.

The golden-furred being opened a locked cabinet within the small shack finding the bottle of golden liquid. “I'm going to have to make more soon.” he grumbled to himself and picked up the last bottle popping off the cork and downing some of the bitter liquid. He coughed stopping half way from finishing the bottle feeling wrong. “What...” his vision spun, dropping the bottle that shattered to the floor, the golden liquid turning a dark blood red. He felt sick and feverish collapsing to his knees.

”I told you... You're not suppressing me anymore Great Sage.”

“I've kept you suppressed before... I can do it again.” the golden monkey snapped even though he felt weak and on the verge of blacking out.

”i’d like to see you try when you have nightshade running through your veins.” the voice chuckled as the golden monkey felt pain in his chest before a misty black smoke began to escape growing stronger taking a similar form to the golden monkey but different. His fur was a darker golden color, his clothing a metallic gray with silver armor and black accents, bright red pupils set in tar-black eyes bordered by a blood-red mask, looking down at the weakened sage.

“Have a nice nap~.” the darker monkey grinned hitting the lighter one hard enough in the gut to make him pass out unconscious something even power demons couldn't do very easily. “Now... Where did Luier and our cub run off to?” the darker monkey mussed looking around the shack in utter disgust. “You’ve really let your depression twist your mind. But that depression is what's making me stronger.”

With a blast of power, the shack easily crumbled leaving the two monkey men in a small clear patch surrounded by rubble. The silver armored monkey reached a hand out gripping something invisible before tearing it apart collapsing the illusion of an empty cave and revealing a slightly glowing palace carved into the very back wall of the cavern while a moon-shaped ‘lock’ floated in the silver barrier. “Time to remind the world how demonic we can truly be when we let loose. The first stop on that list is getting our staff back from our little cub.”

()()()()()()

“That’s it Mk! Give that emo monkey a good wack in the balls!” A young teenage girl with mostly black hair highlighted in green called from the sidelines watching a teenage boy spar with a black monkey that was slightly taller then the iconic golden monkey.

“Mei! I am not incapacitating Macaque!” the teenage boy shouted back.

“You know you wanna Mk!” Mei grinned

“I do not!” Mk stated.

“Keep your focus on me, Kid!” The black monkey snarked to the boy as multiple clones made of shadows rushed towards the teen. The boy squeaked, taking some of his hair and making his own clones to fight the shadows given life.

A bird cawed from above the two sparing males making Mei frown, she glanced up to see a black, rust-red, and silver hawk flying above the battle. It quickly began its dive with Mei swiftly looking for what it was targeting. Her gut told her this wasn't a normal bird. “Guys incoming!”

The two sparing males split as the bird came crashing down kicking up a large cloud of sand from the impact. As the cloud began to thin silver armor glittered in the clearing cloud while two long black ‘ribbons’ waved in the breeze.

“You look rather different Mihou.”

Macaque narrowed his eyes. “Who are you and how’d you know that name?” Mei ran over to MK and held up her sword.

“That staff is mine, cub. Hand it over.” the being in the cloud ordered.

MK gripped his staff, glaring at the strange figure. “This is my staff you weirdo!” He twirled it before slamming it into the ground. “I’m the Monkie Kid! Monkey King gave me the staff.”

“Who are you!” Macaque demanded, pointing his staff at the cloud. He felt the fur in the back of his neck rise as the figure silently turned to him.

The cloud blew away revealing the being. Dark golden fur, blood red mask, red pupils set in tar black eyes, dark silver and black armor with dark red highlights, long black claw-like nails with an unspoken intelligence that even a master strategist would be put to shame glimmered behind those eyes. “Dont recognize me Mihou?” the being asked with a slight tilt of their head.

Macaque recoiled, nearly dropping his staff. “This… this isn’t funny, Wukong! Knock it off!” He growled, glaring at the other monkey.

“Wait. That’s Monkey King? Why is he cosplaying as Macaque?” Mei blurted out, shaking MK’s shoulder.

The silver armored monkey snapped into action and seemed to appear right in front of Mk taking a firm hold of the staff. “I told you this is mine not something a cub should be playing with.” the silver-armored simian repeated. The staff seemed to shutter under the hold the red wood slowly bleeding to black while the golden ends turned silver with small spikes slowly forming.

“Hey!” MK protested, trying to pull it back. “Monkey King! What gives? I thought you said I was doing good!”

“Yeah!” Mei scowled, crossing her arms. “This isn’t cool, Monkey King.”

Macaque watched the older monkey, confused eyes tracking his movements. “What’s going on with you?” He knew down to his bones that this was the other celestial primate, but something was wrong.

The simian looked at Macaque tilting his head slightly. “Where’s your armor Mihou? You always admonished the other generals when they went around without theirs.”

Macaque’s jaw went slack. “My what? Why are you-?” He shook his head, slowly moving back. “This is weird. Even for you, Wukong.” He watched as MK kept trying to uselessly pull the staff from the king’s firm grip as Mei pumped him up. The two seemed to think it was some sort of weird training. “Why do you look like that? And stop calling me that!”

“We are at war aren't we? It can have been more then a few years since the Demon Wars. You were always paranoid about more coming isn't that why you sealed away the Palace behind that barrier?” He stated, minor confusion in his voice.

All three onlookers stopped and gawked at him. Mei and MK’s jaws were on the floor as they slowly turned from the Monkey King over to a faint looking Macaque. “Demon Wars?” MK whispered, sounding slightly afraid.

“Palace?!” Mai gasped, shocked. “You have a palace?”

Macaque felt as if the ground beneath his feet had crumbled. He mutely shook his head, trying to regain some semblance of control. “What?” He hoarsely whispered, staring into crimson eyes. “The Demon Wars ended centuries ago. Nearly a thousand years. What are you talking about?”

“Does Monkey King have amnesia again!” MK cried, looking dismayed.

“Does that mean we have to hit him on the head with another rock?” Mei asked, looking closely at the king.

Both the monkeys gave the two teens matching looks of disbelief. Macaque chuckled, thrown off. “What? You had amnesia?”

[...Mac... Mac! Get away from him now!] Came a telepathic warning to the black furred simian.

Macaque hesitated, tail flicking. [Wukong? What’s happening?] He glanced over to the kids and decided to play along with the strange imposter, time traveler? At least until he was able to get the two humans away from it. “Seriously. What’s with you?” He relaxed his posture and strolled over to the teenagers, standing right behind them.

[it's a Shade Mac! It's a shade it's not me!] Came more of the warning. Bells we're going off in Macaque’s head. Wukong couldn't hear him responding to the link and this being in front of him wasn't even acknowledging that there was a telepathic link as if he didn't even know it was possible.

MK gave Macaque a confused look as he placed a hand over one of his and Mei’s shoulders. The warrior gave the shade a smirk and purposefully looked just over the monkey’s shoulder as if he was watching something. “You’re late.” He forced himself to to hold his breath, praying the shade fell for this admittedly amateurish trick.

The simian glanced over his shoulder, falling entirely for the trick.

Macaque quickly covered the teen’s mouths as he dropped them into a portal, pulling them out into his dojo. “Shit. This is really bad.” He gripped his scarf and started pacing. [Wukong! Can you hear me?]

Mei and MK started yelling at the monkey. “What was that all about?” Mei stomped over to him.

“Why was Monkey King being so weird? Why did he take my staf?” The boy asked, worriedly looking around.

“That wasn't Wukong... That was a Shade.” Macaque replied.

Mk paled at this while Mei looked a bit confused. “A Shade? Like a ghost?” she asked.

“Oh my god. Is Monkey King dead?!” MK shrieked, grabbing Macaque’s shoulders and shaking him. “HOW???”

“Not that kind of Shade!” Macaque stated easily getting out of the teenager’s hold. “I think the term is a split personality from what your medical texts say about mind illnesses,” Macaque replied.

The two humans froze. MK hesitantly spoke up. “Monkey King has DID?”

“In a sense. The Shade would be the literal embodiment of the personality.”

“So Monkey King accidentally gave his other personality a body? Does that make him a father?” Mei asked, muttering the second question to herself.

“More like it's a rogue clone just a lot tougher.” Macaque clarified. “Not only that, this shade is very old. The older a shade is, the stronger it is. But Wukong never showed any signs of having a shade...” Macaque muttered the later part.

Mk thought. “Macaque... How different was Monkey King in the Demon Wars the shade talked about?” Mk asked, a theory growing in his head.

Macaque winced, glancing away. “It was before the Journey. During his Havoc In Heaven days.”

“So... Was he more like a typical demon back then?” Mk asked. The mentor he knew currently was nothing like any of the typical demons.

“Something like that. Wukong was always a little different. He claimed everything he did was to protect the mountain. ‘Keeping the mountain safe’ was his reason for doing anything. Even when the mountain was as safe as we could possibly get it, he never thought it was enough. Nothing was enough for him.” Macaque huffed, crossing his arms and leaning against the wall. He glared down at the ground, dwelling on the distant memories. “Wukong was kinder before the wars started. I don't even know what changed.”

“PTSD...” Mk muttered. “He doesn't act at all like a demon these days. He doesn't eat meat, he's mostly taking care of the monkeys, training me, or meditating... You don't think the shade is his demon instincts on overdrive?” Mk questioned. “If this shade doesn't know it's been so long since the Wars then it's possible Monkey King might have been taking something to suppress it?”

Macaque considered the boy’s words. “Maybe. There isn’t a lot that could suppress instincts for someone as strong as him. If they are his instincts running wild then it might be a good idea for you two to keep your heads low until this gets worked out.”

“Are you saying that because he kept calling us cubs? He doesn’t usually call either of us that.” Mei noted, wrapping an arm around her friend.

“That's partly what I'm afraid of. Wukong was very paranoid when it came to the safety of pregnant mothers and young cubs from the troop and the demons that lived near the borders of the territory. To us you and Mk are still cubs since dragons arnt technically adults until their second century and humans have reached at least three decades.” Macaque explained. Looking back in hindsight Macaque should have known heaven had really messed with Wukong’s head more then he let on.

“Okay that's good and all but if that's a shade... Where’s the real Monkey King?” Mei asked.

Macaque shook his head, face grim. “I don’t know. I heard him warn me but he can’t hear me. And he hasn’t said anything since.” At the twin looks of confusion he explained. “Shortly before our failed attack on heaven, Wukong and I figured out how to talk to each other mentally without astral projecting. We never figured out how to do it with anyone else. Just each other. He used that to warn me about the shade.”

“Could he be behind something that's making it one way?” Mei asked.

Macaque shrugged, not having to feign his frustration. “Not even the Furnace could block us, but we were much closer during those days….” The ebony monkey’s eyes narrowed. “It’s possible the shade itself is the problem. Wukong isn’t actually whole without it.”

“This just got so much more complicated.” Mk groaned.

TBC…

NEXT

Master post

Ten hearts comments and reblogs will see to the next chapter being uploaded. If you wanna create a story with me check out my discord!

[a-collection-of-villainous-aus]

You chose

Flug asks to study him to help can aid others of Hats kind

“You’re the first one in all these years to figure that out you know...so let me make you a different offer for allowing you to stay...instead of having you as my lover for room and board how about you let me study you so I can aid others of your kind...."

He said gently, letting himself sink back into the water so only his head and shoulders were peeking out the waters surface .

Moving to rest next to Amadeus , his voice was somber

"The sad fact is anytime I've come across your species it's usually after some despicable being has almost mutilated you beyond recognition...."

Hat stared at him like the man had grown two heads and splashed him with water, water droplets now dripped from Acylius's glistening white beak

"I am not something to be used for a science experiment, I am not a toy for you too play doctor with!"

Amadeus screeched, slapping Acylius across the face, the slap , Acylius had expected to feel like that of a child throwing a tantrum instead he curled in on himself and was thrown to the bottom of the enormous bath they were in.

Amadeus looked at his own hand and then where Acylius had been a few small feathers floating to the top....

SHIT HAD HE KILLED HIM!? SHIT , SHIT, SHIT, SH-

The surface bubbled and suddenly he was staring up at the shadow, nothing left about him was white apart from four now glowing eyes , his voice raspy, sounding pained.

"Without......my mask.....I live in this form.... suffering....you have.... destroyed....it, I was asking, offering....I would never have done so without your permission...."

Hat also noticed the air felt thick and heavy as he watched what looked like thick fluid continuously oozing and trailing down Acylius's barely formed body, the world around them distorting and twisting, he saw four wings spreading out further than the expanse of this room.

It wasn't until there was a tiny mew that came from the door way, of Mew mew loaf staring up at him wanting to be made a fuss of that Acylius managed to contain himself and pull himself back together to his human form.

He collapsed on the floor not too far from her and she came over nuzzling his wet hair and giving him a small lick to his cheek.

Hat's heart was racing , he was in awe and yet terrified, the books about this man had never mentioned that...he saw the mask finally coming to the surface in two pieces , webbed cracking from the impact of where his hand had come in contact.

The room still seemed to have an errie throbbing motion as if it was alive....so Acylius purposely stunted his own powers for others? ...And for the sake of himself...

He focused on the man and his laboured breathing, he didn't know what to do, he should have heard him out first, so far Acylius hadn't kicked him out or let him starve, he'd taken him to this bathroom that clearly was otherworldly to actually get a decent one... besides being tossed in.... Acylius hadn't really been so bad....

Acylius slowly moved to his hands and knees, he could see he was trembling, his eyes widening as the man removed his clothing, he couldn't tear his gaze away from the scars and tattoos he had on his body, another thing the books had never mentioned and he found himself wanting to trace them all with the tips of his claws....to be under him and listen to the power of his voice, the loss of humanity as he....no, no he mustn't think of that....after what just happened, no doubt being his lover for the winter has just been wiped off the table...Hat felt his own body whimper in disappointment and that.

Acylius picked up Mew Mew loaf after stripping himself of his soaked clothing and cuddled her, gently squeezing her tiny pink toe beans and making a fuss of the black cat and nuzzling her, she was purring happily.

"You're my little ray of sunshine, your sweetness and warmth always help ground me, thank you for coming to my aid."

He cooed scratching behind her ears only for her purring to get louder.

"I'm going to get the the biggest salmon you could imagine and it'll be all yours, yes it will, you'd love that wouldn't you baby."

He placed little kisses all over her face until a paw was put on his lips and he chuckled

"Heh heh okay I get it you've had enough, I'll let you go, go on rest by the fire place dear."

Mew Mew Loaf gave him another small lick and stared at Hat , her pupils slits, she was far from impressed with him at the moment.

Nuzzling her master again she then padded off up stairs.

Hat had taken the two pieces of mask and was surprised by how light they were, especially for how big the mask was, bringing them to the baths edge he stared down at them and cleared his throat just a little to get Acylius's attention.

He saw him turn his head naturally far over his shoulder to look at him and a glimpse of the secondary eyes Acylius had opened and disappeared.

Standing up and turning to face him Hat tried not to look but it was....well kind of hard not to because there was nothing there between the man's thighs....it was like a blank canvas.

"Yes stare all you want, I only form what I want for self pleasure, but for my bed fellows I form what pleases them, shape size, type, human , in human, after all even today people are using devices shaped after non human entities, it's nothing new to me."

He stepped forward and took the mask pieces, his face expressing anything but a smile despite the scars that made it look like his face had a permanent one carved into it.

"Damn it, I'll have to go home to get this repaired, if I stay like this all winter....I won't be able to contain this form...."

Amadeus let curiosity get the better of him

"What , what do you mean?"

"The mask you just broke, it's what keeps me stable in this world, even now the earths metallic core is pulling at me, pulling me apart, if it was the height of summer I'd have to leave immediately....are you happy now that you know more than the other deluded morons who thought me a god I did not want to be."

Hat's breath hitched as he saw those scars parting and the snarl forming made of sharp teeth, his heart thumping, but not from fear.

"No, I didn't mean to.... I'm sorry..."

He whispered as he saw Acylius continuing to look over the mask.

"This is not an easy thing to break, you are not like the others of your breed, maybe I should put you on a discecting table after all , cut you open and see what makes you tick...."

He saw the fear in Hat's eyes and sighed

"It was a jest small one, I can just use my powers to examine you painlessly, all I would need is a little blood here and there to see what would be poisonous or not."

Acylius sighed and placed them carefully to one side.

"Please stop making everything so difficult, I simply intend to treat you as a doctor, the items I intend to use are herbal and medicinal, it'll help your body ache less and reduce swelling if you have any while also revitalising you, I will not touch anywhere that makes you uncomfortable, I'm a doctor first unless said patient is coherent and asks otherwise...by patient I mean you."

Part one

You are on part ten

[linktheacehero]

Congrats on 200, Ace!! :) You deserve it! Here's a little request (could be a doodle or drabble, whichever you think fits best): Sheik/OoT Zelda teaching Link something that Impa taught them.

I had originally planned this to be fluff and it turned into angst LMAO

Sheik did not expect to find the Hero of Time so late at night in Lake Hylia. Much less huddled beneath the lone tree near the pedestal. His fairy companion, Navi they remembered, floated over Link's head in a soothing pattern.

The sheikah silently edged closer, kneeling before the hero who's face was buried in his arms. "Link," they whispered gently. The hylian's ears twitched in acknowledgement, but made no effort to look at them.

"Are you alright? What's the matter?"

They held no response besides shaky breaths. Navi flew closer to Sheik, her color saturated than usual, and spoke. "He's been like this for hours. He hasn't stopped shaking."

Hours?!

"Do you know what could have caused this?" They asked.

"His shadow," she responded. Sheik cocked their head. "In the temple, there was this shadow monster that looked exactly like him. It pinned him to the ground, then whispered something into his ear and Link rushed out afterwards."

At the mention of the monster, Link tensed, digging his nails into his arms.

"Can you help him?" Navi pleaded. Sheik gave her a simple nod. Sheik understood now; why their hero was silent, why his body remained still for hours, why not even the sound of a familiar voice could drag him out of the fog.

They had been the same.

With a light touch, they placed their hand over Link's. He made no reaction. "Link," they spoke again, "Can you hear me right now? If you can, give me a sign."

Had Sheik not been focused they would have missed it. Link raised his head the slightest bit, eyes still hidden. So he could hear him, that was good.

"I'm going to hold your hands okay?" Link shifted again. Link's hands were cold to the touch, trembling within Sheik's. With his hands in theirs, Sheik could see their hero's face- and their heart broke.

Blood scattered across his jaw, a clean cut beneath his eye, and an expression filled with the world's sorrows. A fire sparked within Sheik, fueling with the rage and resentment they've held for the man who holds their father's crown. Ganondorf had done this, his own creation had done this.

He will get the justice he deserves.

But that did not matter right now. What was most important, was the broken man before them.

"Link, can you lift your head for me?" He did as he was told, but still did not meet Sheik's eyes. "I need you to look at me," they gently ordered, "please." Link's hands gripped tighter in reluctance. "Link-"

"I'm scared." For the first time since seeing him, Link spoke. His voice was shaky, lips quivering, "Every time I look up I see that thing, and I don't want to see it in you."

"You won't," they reassured. "There are no monsters here Link. It's just you, Navi and me." His fairy rested on his shoulder, nudging him in encouragement. Closing his eyes, he raised his head to meet up with Sheik's. They didn't know what came over them, but Sheik let go one of Link's hands and tenderly cupped his cheek.

"I'm right here. The shadow will not reach you here."

He opened his eyes. Beneath the mask, Sheik smiled.

"Follow my lead okay?" They inhaled slowly, counting the seconds with the hand that once held Links cheek, then exhaled. The hero did as instructed, and as they continued Sheik could feel his companion relax.

"How are you feeling right now?" they asked, scooting to sit next to Link who then rested his head on their shoulder.

"Better." Their hands were still intertwined, neither let go. "Where did you learn to do that?"

"Lady Impa taught me."

[cyber-sleuth-paldea]

A Video is Embedded. Watch it?

[The entire thing is shot in first person, as if we're looking through the eyes of someone else. Mari's, probably?

The person filming is climbing up a staircase made of some kind of white metal (?) edged with gold. There's background noise overlaid, white and black shifting in strange patterns. Other footsteps can be heard - there's at least three other people here, possibly a fourth?

Another step and suddenly everything

warps.

The camera (Mari) is left floating in a psychedelic void of black and, to some degree, white. A sharp intake of breath as the view comes to rest of a figure floating serenely in the chaos.

It... looks like Mari. What the people on the blog know of Mari, anyway - a singular braid over her shoulder, bangs swooping away to the other side. A penchant for yellow and black clothes - the one floating here is wearing a Raglan shirt, black sleeves and neon yellow, with a black mini skirt and thigh-high neon yellow socks. Black loafers with yellow soles. Dark grey-and-blue goggles nestled on top of her head - a Digivice. One black glove on the girl's hand. The harsh golden eyes set in the girl's face are... crying. It doesn't seem like she can stop.

"Hello."

A voice from outside the view of the camera - Ryuji Sakamoto, for those familiar with him, though he sounds a lot younger than usual. "Um. Hi?"

The same voice as the Shadow - and it has to be Mari's Shadow - answers a beat after. "Hi."

"We knew this was coming," the Shadow muses, tilting her head to the side.

The camera bobs up and down - a nod. "Yeah. So... So. I assume you've. Uh. You got some things you want to say?"

There's a small noise of realization from off-screen.

What the Shadow does in response can't be called a smile, exactly, but she nods back. "I do. Are you ready to listen?"

"I - no, not really. But I can try."

"Better than nothing, I suppose," the Shadow shrugs. Then claps her hands with another not-quite-smile. "So! How are you doing with that whole trying-to-replace-your-friends thing you've got going on in Paldea?"

The camera jolts, like Mari just flinched. "... Not... Not replacing. Exactly. I - I wondered if I was. But - they're like my friends, Arven and Penny and Nemona. Is it... It's not wrong, that I get along with similar types of people again, is it?"

The Shadow chuckles. "Practice talking to the mirror paying off, I see." It's not a denial.

"Wait," comes someone else's voice. Goro Akechi. "Mari - did you know this would happen if you came?"

The camera briefly swings to - yep, that is Goro Akechi. In his detective prince outfit, though it's got the colour scheme of Black Mask and a significantly shorter nose on the "Crow" mask. Huh!

Then Mari looks back to her Shadow again. "I... Had a feeling, yes."

Her mirror image curtsies. "A true one, as you can see!"

"Oh, hi second Mari," comes another voice. She - whoever it is - sounds very surprised, and somewhat off-balance. "When did you show up?"

The Shadow waves at the speaker. "Hi, Nokia! I've been here the whole time." Then she turns her focus back to the camera - Mari. "And I suppose Arven isn't quite like Yuuko. We'd never have a crush on him, after all!"

The camera takes an abrupt nose-dive into a pair of hands - gloveless - as Mari lets out a mortified squeak.

The Shadow laughs.

Someone else's voice - quieter, calmer than 'Nokia'. "I bet your version of me would like to see if it would work out, when you return home."

A flinch goes through the camera again, and everything blurs. Tears.

The laughter stopped as abruptly as it came, too. The Shadow sounds... Somewhat helplessly angry, now. "Mh, I wouldn't count on it. And it's not like we can go home, either way."

Nokia's voice, again, now puzzled. "How come? Aren't the folks in the Pokemon world working to get all the displaced people home?"

A shuddering breath in. "There's probably already a 'me' there," Mari mutters.

"Not that it matters, since nobody remembers anything!" The Shadow adds, more manic than cheerful. "It's a good thing, of course, but damn if it doesn't make it impossible for us to go back."

"Um," Ryuji's voice (young young young) comes, horrified sympathy colouring his tone. "Do you want a hug?"

"I-" the Shadow falters mid-sentence. "... Save it for the one next to you."

The camera begins to focus again, Mari wiping her tears. It's a bit bizarre to witness from a first person perspective. "Are you going to keep rehashing our old insecurities or can you get over here already? We both know you're me, that reaction just proves it."

The Shadow blinks, thrown. More tears roll down her face. She chuckles weakly. "I still had material, you know?"

There's a glimpse of Mari's arms as she opens them. "Shut up and hug yourself."

The Shadow laughs weakly and throws herself into Mari's arms. There's the sound of Mari returning the hug, and the Shadow dissolves into blue light.

The camera focuses again on Mari's hands. "Hi there, Persona." The view tilts alarmingly, and then the video ends.]

[hersaladdeer]

Chapter 11: Alternative

An ongoing ProHero Hitoshi x F!OC fanfic.

"Tao can take care of herself!" Takara stopped herself short, her legs freezing underneath her. Hitoshi made quick work of the man by the doors with his capture weapon, a dull thud audible behind her and a muffled crack of what she assumed was bone. While Hitoshi wasn't wrong, the words he didn't say were hurtful as much as they were true - Tao could take care of herself, Takara could not. She bit her lip - she couldn't leave without being sure that Tao was okay. Takara turned her attention to the crumpled heap of man on the floor. He hadn't stirred from where he had been thrown.

Kiyoko had known the danger water presented. It was as beautiful and everchanging as the Goddess herself, and just as powerful.

She hadn't expected the water to be so deep and fast when she had fallen off her parents' boat. Kiyoko could swim, of course, but the tumble had stripped her of the directionality she needed to find the air her lungs burned for. Despite the sun she knew was shining somewhere outside of the murky depths, the water was dark and obscuring. Her fingers had started to lose feeling - was the water cold, or was she dying?

A jolt of fear shot through her. If she couldn't find a way to the surface she'd die. Kiyoko desperately reached out, trying to displace her long dark locks, hoping to spot any sign of sunlight. The current of the river made it difficult to determine if her hair was floating up. Her body betrayed her, taking in an involuntary gulp of water. It stung as her lungs filled with fluid and fueled her panic. Kiyoko became aware of the darkness pressing in on her peripherals, the rippling effect splaying outwards in time with her heartbeat.

The darkness became all consuming. Kiyoko still wasn't sure what her last thought would have been - they had become incoherent, panicked, and primal to present any form of coherence. Much like the shadows movement.

"Grandma?" Kiyoko became aware of her snoring as she was pulled back into consciousness. Takara knelt before her, one of the girls teasing smirks on her face. "If you want to nap, Grandma, you're going to need to find a better spot. That can't be good for your back." It was true - Kiyoko's back felt tight as it leaned against the cold, concrete wall. The few fabrics she had brought to decorate with were used on the tables of the stall where all her lotions salves were on display, alongside some tea blends. Kiyoko waved off her granddaughter- the girls' presence was a welcome one, but Kiyoko didn't need to be fussed over.

Looking beyond Takara, Kiyoko met a pair of familiar amethyst eyes. She almost groaned - this stupid boy who kept creeping up onto her roof, watching the greenhouse, his hair unkept and always looking tired. Whatever scarf he wore couldn't be used for warmth, and half his face was kept covered today by an odd intimidating mask contraption. He'd made a habit of bothering her granddaughter, and working up the kitten. Kiyoko had recognized him from some of the sports festivals her husband had enjoyed watching. While she didn't particularly like him, Takara seemed to enjoy his company.

"Tao is giving a lecture." Takara pressed a tea into her hand, the cup warm in her grasp. The heat helped ease some the arthritis that seemed to rear it's head when Kiyoko woke from a nap, her fingers becoming stiff and aching. "I'd like to go watch. Can you manage on your own for a bit?" Takara pointed to a white board she'd brought along, a marker attached to it. "I brought this in case you need it." Takara made no move to get up, waiting for an answer from Kiyoko.

Kiyoko's face softened - Takara was all she had left of her family, all scattered or crossed into the Goddess' domain. She pressed a kiss to her forehead, her granddaughters cropped bangs ticking her nose as she did so. Tao had been friends with Takara all through her childhood and Kiyoko had watched it grow into a beautiful love. Then it had shattered Takara. But time had passed, and Takara could use a friend. Kiyoko selfishly hoped it would be one who didn't perch themselves on her roof.

"I'll be back soon!" Takara stood, turning towards the oddly clad man. Kiyoko couldn't tell if he smiled, but his change in posture - the slight relaxing of his shoulders, the light that found its way into his tired eyes, and the way he looked at Takara...A twinge of fear threatened to manifest - fear for Takara, fear that she would once again be shattered and Kiyoko would have to pick the pieces up.

A deep breath, filling her belly. Hold, then release until her lungs were empty. Fear could be controlled. Besides, her granddaughter was only young once. Perhaps flirting with a hero was a shine that youth made more appealing.

It was ten minutes before chaos broke loose. It started off with an odd silence from the direction Takara had walked off. Then came the running - people fleeing in front of her stall, running to safety. Kiyoko looked out with widened eyes, fear boiling over inside her.

She didn't see Takara streak past. But that stupid boy, that stupid, sleep deprived boy - she heard him yell Takara's name, asking her to stop.

Just like that day in the river, the darkness moved in time with her heartbeat with only one intention- Takara had to be safe.

Tao had always had a captivating presence so it was no surprise that the room had been crowded. The posters that had been posted of Tao in her priestess garment made Takara think that some of the crowd was there to thirst over her ex. By the time her and Hitoshi made it to the room it was standing room only, with people beginning to find spots on the floor to sit on. The fold out chairs arranged in rows across the carpeted floor looked uncomfortable anyway, Takara thought to herself.

"I figured patrol meant you'd be walking around." Takara teased lightly as she nudged the man who loomed beside her. Hitoshi was in his full hero attire today, his capture weapon wrapped around his neck and mask perched on his face. "What's the mask for, anyway?" Takara reached over to rotate one of the knobs she had spotted on the side. Hitoshi, to her surprise, didn't seem bothered by it.

"I can change the way my voice sounds." As he spoke his voice became ever so slightly higher pitched as Takara rotated it. "Once people know my quirk, they won't respond to me. This way I can have them answer me unknowingly."

"Huh." Takara pulled away, tilting her head slightly as she examined the mask. "But it's not that easy, is it?"

Hitoshi had leaned against the wall, arms crossed as he surveyed the room. As nice as it was to see Takara he was still on patrol and had obligations to fulfill. He raised an eyebrow at her. "I mean, people have cadence and a rhythm when they talk. You'd have to imitate that too if you wanted to be convincing." Hitoshi nodded once in acknowledgement of her comment. "The more I hear someone speak, the better I can imitate it. But sometimes one word is enough. If I decide to brainwash someone, I just need them to respond to me."

"That makes sense." Takara acknowledged before Tao emerged, making her way over to the podium. Tao had chosen a more modest black pantsuit for her talk, the presentation slide being projected behind her as she quickly glanced at her cue cards. "Hello mystics, non-believers, and, my favorite crowd, skeptics." With a click of a button a pink heart appeared around the word skeptics, earning Tao a few chuckles from the crowd, Takara included. "Some of you will be disappointed to learn that I am not here to convince anyone of belief in....anything. Others will be relieved."

Another click of the button as Hitoshi pushed himself off the wall, spotting a fog begin to roll from the curtain behind Tao. "She can't do that, right?" Hitoshi whispered as he pointed it out to Takara. "No." She confirmed, before quickly adding, "It's probably a part of the show. Lecture. Whatever." Whispers had starting spreading through the crowd as more people noticed the creeping fog, almost certainly discussing the same thing they were.

"Takara, do me a favor. Go back to your grandmothers stall - something is wrong." Takara looked at the man with a furrowed brow. "No, I-"

"Please." Hitoshi asked, grabbing her hand for a brief moment. "I don't want you-"

"Ladies and gentlemen." A new voice had taken over the microphone while the pair had been talking, the unfamiliarity snapping their attention back to Tao. Tao, who was now pressed flush against the man as he held her against him by the throat. Hitoshi dropped her hand and had already begun moving towards the imposing presence. "Stay for the show, and become-" In a moment, Tao was gone and only a swirling mass of smoke remained. In a violent movement the man was pushed back, his body landing in the fog that had begun to creep across the floor. "Leave." Tao's voice was firm as she rematerialized. Whoever had set this up hadn't done their research on Tao, not knowing that she was a threat to their plot.

"Go!" Hitoshi shouted as he moved towards the front, trying to weave between the people who were now making a panicked rush towards the exit. Takara noticed a man who seemed to be trying to close the doors as she glanced towards them, the rush of the crowd impeding them. "No, I have to make sure Tao-"

"Tao can take care of herself!" Takara stopped herself short, her legs freezing underneath her. Hitoshi made quick work of the man by the doors with his capture weapon, a dull thud audible behind her and a muffled crack of what she assumed was bone. While Hitoshi wasn't wrong, the words he didn't say were hurtful as much as they were true - Tao could take care of herself, Takara could not. She bit her lip - she couldn't leave without being sure that Tao was okay. Takara turned her attention to the crumpled heap of man on the floor. He hadn't stirred from where he had been thrown.

Someone shoved past her, the hit to Takara's shoulder was one she was confident would bruise. She moved away from the door and further into the room - the man's breathing had slowed down, Takara was sure of it. Takara took another step forward before her thoughts were cut off by a shout from Hitoshi. "Takara, stop!" Her head whipped toward where he stood beside Tao, who had partially disintegrated to drag the man out of the fog, his limp body moving unnaturally across the floor due to her smoke. The crowd had begun thinning, many of the attendees opting to leave the room, heeding Tao's message. The few that remained seemed....off. Takara noticed one man pull a gas mask out of their bag and put it on before tuning towards her. Takara took a step back - she'd been confused by the fast turn of events and hadn't registered the threat until it was in front of her. Unlike Hitoshi who was already acting on it.

The man was pulled back in one swift movement, Hitoshi's grey fabric wrapped around his ankle. A familiar column of smoke billowed before her, thickening. "I agree - we must away." Tao appeared before her, grabbing Takara's hand and beginning to drag her from the room. "What about him?" Takara asked as her sore shoulder was once again subject to abuse, wincing at Tao's insistent pull. Tao looked over her shoulder as Hitoshi wrapped another of the gas-masked men in his cloth, tripping them. "I don't think he should be breathing that fog-"

The fear on Tao's face was the first sign that something was wrong. As she looked behind Tao she noticed Hitoshi's movements momentarily pause as he surveyed...something. The hair on the back of Takara's neck stood on edge, a sudden cold making itself known to her peripheries. Takara noticed her breath start to release from her mouth in crystalline clouds. "W-what-" Takara looked over her shoulder and was greeted with a looming cloud of fear. She'd never seen it this size - Kiyoko would occasionally produce a puff of it if she was startled, but nothing this gargantuan.

Then there was darkness so thick that she felt choked, as though she was breathing in icy water. Whatever havoc the fear was inflicting was lost to Takara - she heard vague shouts, a few panicked exclamations that were just as suddenly silenced. She was vaguely aware of a shout from Hitoshi, another familiar voice - maybe Denki's- then silence as the darkness consumed her.

Takara found herself on the subway, eating a sandwich her mother had prepared for her as the city rolled past her in a blur. The train was oddly empty, except for the dark entity that sat next to her. It grabbed at the other sandwich half which Takara let it have. Watching the darkness consume it in one bite was oddly endearing and Takara found herself giggling.

"You look different." Takara commented. Usually The Other looked like...well, her. The new dark, shapeless void was an odd manifestation. The darkness said nothing, its eyeless face examining her own.

"Safe." The entity nodded, and although it looked and sounded different she knew it was The Other, or some form of it. "I mean, sure. But also imprisoned. How did I get here?" Takara stood and shuffled past the entity. She wasn't sure if it was shocked by the movement or simply observing her, it's face nondescript and unreadable as she approached the subway windows. Looking out, she realized the cityscape was also a non-descript blur, colors merging and morphing into a living portrait. "Why don't I remember falling asleep?" Takara questioned. The entity remained silent, kicking at a spot of nothing on the floor almost guiltily.

"Hey." Takara took the entities hand in her own and gave it a squeeze. "I can't stay here. You know that, right?" The train sped up, the scenery blurring together more furiously as though in defiance of her question. Takara sighed, reaching into her bag where she knew another sandwich would be. "If I give this to you, will you let me out?" The entity shook it's head in defiance. "Under my influence you are safe. Out there I cannot keep you-"

"It has extra cheese." Takara found herself using a sing song voice. The entity seemed almost confused by her offer, the darkness where it's face should be lowering to look at the sandwich. "You know not what I am, do you?" Takara laughed as she unwrapped the sandwich, the smell of salami and milk bread one that brought her a sense of comfort. Keeping half to herself she offered half to the entity.

"Of course I do. You're me -or, a part of me. And you're my friend." The statement was a simple one that seemed to stir something within the darkness as it grasped the sandwich. Slowly, it changed into a more familiar silhouette. The brown eyes appeared first, followed shortly by the red hair as the exterior of the train was bathed in a familiar white light.

"The form is correct - it is not me. But it is like me." The Other confirmed, it's voice quiet as the train fell away form under Takara's feet. The Other still held the sandwich. It smiled at the object, and Takara felt warmth in her chest spread out, the heat flooding down to her fingertips. "A dog forever chained will attack when freed. Not because it is vicious, but because it never learned how to interact with the world. Instinct over instruction."

Takara nodded. "I'll try and remember that." The Other smiled and took a bite of the sandwich as Takara was throw back into choking darkness.

Did I discard a whole chapter where Neito was flirting with Takara, to Hitoshi's dismay? Yes. But maybe I'll work that into another scene. Overall I'm happy that I managed to wrangle everyone into a plot-relevant chapter and push things at least a little bit forward.

Link to chapter index

Link to chapter 12