#so the idea is he hid in the elevator shaft then escaped

[docterzerocare]

okay, not an ask about the QSMP Sims Household (yet), but! have a q!Tubbo headcanon :]

so. hear me out: Avian q!Tubbo. but not just any kind of bird, a canary.

now, there's a reason for this, but long story short, i saw a post about how Tubbo would've been the first to really notice that Phil went missing, but nobody would believe him, and then my brain had some interesting Canary In A Coal Mine thoughts that i feel only makes sense to me (basically: What If q!Tubbo Tries To Warn People About Bad Things, But It Ends Up Being Like A "Boy Who Cried Wolf" Situation, And People Only Notice Something Is Really Wrong Once The Federation Finally Does Something To Tubbo? Like A Canary In A Coal Mine-Type Thing?)

it's also because Tubbo is attracting the attention of The Federation at around the same level as the Other avians of the server (and the Brazilians...especially Cellbit).

my current headcanon for the reason that The Federation is after Tubbo so much, besides his rule-breaking machines, is because they didn't manage to clip his wings before he ran off. for context, the only other avian on the server with unclipped wings is ElQuackity, and the only reason his haven't been clipped is because he, y'know, works for The Federation.

so Cucurucho is trying to get him partially because he wants to clip the poor guy's wings :) just an angsty idea for you, my friend

Ooo dandy you are feeding me well, i am a sucker for canary characters

I will be rotating this in the brain microwave

[atangledfate]

Jewel seemed distant when he mentioned her strength and it was true, but she hated it. Using her strength was like admitting she needed her father to protect her. She hated the idea that he was still there trying to push her to be something she wasn't. She was half goliath beetle, which meant physically she was capable of lifting quite alot if she chose to. But she always hid that side of herself, she liked being pretty, and soft and sweet! Maybe its why she and Amy got along so well. She was never gonna match someone like knuckles but she was still way stronger then people thought.

" I... know.... But i won't use it if i can help it... "

She whispered in a soft dejected tone.

" ... I will if it comes down to it ... but i'd prefer to just use the stun baton... "

She didn't expect him to understand as she buzzed down the hall to the shaft so they could easily get to the next level. It was her choice to try and avoid using her fathers gift. But one she made a long time ago! and one she wasn't about to start using now if she could avoid it. She just turned to the flames and looked more determined then before, as she had to be a leader Amy was right now!

" Don't worry about me i'll do my part... we all have a role to play and i know mine... let's make this happen..."

She darted down the shaft to the next level, almost instantly confronted by security. Though a quick thrust of her baton saw the poor guard getting a nice dose of his own medicine! dropping him to the floor before she turned waiting for the Flaming clone.

" Ok... do your thing and i'll do mine... after this is over--- in case i don't see your other half again. Thank you... "

================================================

Miles Darted into the lower levels of the fortress as he stepped over a couple of groaning security guards. several of them had jumped him the moment he stepped out of the elevator but he was no slouch in hand to hand. As a child he'd learned to deal with bots and all sorts of tough opponents. He regularly sparred against Sonic, and even Amy and compared to them these chumps were not even a work out. One of the guards was crawling toward his baton but Miles Tails lashed out smashing him in the back casually as he kicked the baton away and left the guard in a heap.

Miles and Sonic differed in many ways, one of those was Miles tendency to not play around with a fight. He struck hard, fast and ended it instantly where as Sonic liked to draw it out and have fun. Miles hated fighting and so he preferred to end it as fast as he could. The other way was his tactics, as he'd approach every battle with a strategy in mind. He gripped his wrist mounted miles electric and killed the lights on this level and placed his goggles over his eyes flipping on night vision.

He'd dash down the hall slipping past most of the security--- he'd be at the engine room soon, and the less he had to fight the better. Luckily the lights going out were restrained to his level only.

================================================

The Security all stopped cold seeing there batons sliced in half and were two seconds from fleeing! But when they saw metal come out of the shaft! that was it, they were done! dropping what weapons they had and turning tail and running! Clearing Clutch did not pay them enough to die for him!

Metal tossed a little disc on the floor as he exited the shaft, and in a little flash of green light Eggman appeared. Since he wouldn't fit in the shaft he just warped himself down to the lower floor using a bit of Eggtech. He looked at the mess left behind and tilted his head at the stranger still curious who he was. At first he thought Shadow but the flames might suggest blaze yet, clearly not. Oh he did like mysteries! He was a big clumbo fan after all!

" Hmm... Clutch should be in the Hanger ahead, probably planning a quick escape. I took the liberty to lock the hanger door... he'll try and hack through it i imagine... but he's likely finding it quite troublesome... shall we go say hello? "

================================================

Within the adjoining room looked admitted that the door to the hanger wasn't opening. His techs were stumped, he was getting quite worried that Eggman was getting to close. He turned hearing a commotion as several of his people ran in weaponless and pointing to the room they just came from. Clutch realized he was out of time and quickly jumped up into the old Egg Carrier he'd retrofitted for just a situation! Flicking his fingers across the console and pressing a key it fired up and rose into the air!

" Looks like i ain't got no choice... time to bring down the house... "

He slid a keycard into the carrier, and flipped a few switches and pressed the big red button. Flashing red lights began to shine throughout the carrier as Clutch activated the Self Destruction system! The airship would go down in flames! destroy restoration and he'd escape with all the assets! all he had to do was blast a hole in the hanger door! and he was home free!

" Time for a Tactical Retreat..."

"Seriously? You just saw me punch a solid steel door hard enough to smash into another guy and think a bunch of useless stun batons can stop me?" A chain with symbols would fall from the sleeves of the cloak, him swinging them once and cutting all of them in half as they were clearly giving off intense heat and cut through the batons like butter. "That's what these do to your batons. Anyone wish to see what it does to the body?" He asked, retracting the chains back into the sleeves.

In truth this was a simple scare method, though one he was sure would work quite well as he doubts any of them would be stupid or brave enough to test that theory. "And before you assume I'm bluffing I already tossed one guard down into the depths of the engine room. You won't get so lucky as I'll just punch of right off the airship."

===========================================================

"Well, I was going to say he can forget introductions since I don't have a name, at least to me I don't." He would then turn to Jewel. "I was simply going to start smashing my way down, though guess we'll have to go down one more floor before I can do that." Hard to ignore a flaming smashing his way to the engine room after all.

"I don't think you'll need that to be honest. You may not know how to fight, though if my guess about your natural strength is spot on then you can knock most people out with a good punch. Not to mention I'm sure most will be too busy trying to find a way to stop me than focus on you., though if you want the baton then take it. So, lead the way."

He was a bit surprised security hadn't come this way already, though if Tails gave access to this Belle there's a chance they've already taken notice to Clean Sweep no longer having any money. That's the problem with hired help. The second you can't pay they're gone and leave whoever their employer is to the wolves.

[lexiasmind]

Obsession.

PAIRING.

Dark!Steve Rogers x Reader.

SUMMARY.

Request by @gothamlovr91​

Can you do a Dark Steve Rogers breeding kink with possessive side plz? Preferably with him hunting reader down. Since she had fled from him! ☺

A/N.

DARK AU.

Dark. ANGST. SMUT (sexual content +18, non-con, mentions of rape, breeding kink) Swearing.

Here’s my story (edited 04/04/21) made for the request by the lovely @gothamlovr91​. Don’t hesitate to leave a comment, your thoughts or feedback. I hope you will all like it and thank you for reading.

A lots of Love! Lex.xx

Stay Safe and Take Care of Yourself!

WORDS.2866ish.

°°°

" Come on pet, come out! " The Soldier yelled before chuckling under his breath. He drifted his eyes on the darkroom, his sight sharp and quick with the attempt to notice anything amiss." I know I will find you in the end, so why do you put a fight with me? Just gave up, Y/N. " He continued to shout through the room, walking slowly above the wreckage.

Sharp, broken glasses and pieces of the ceiling crushed under his boots, a faint smoke still heavy in the air. Steve Rogers moved behind the couch, his motions quiet and steady but his breath was ragged as he had quickly climbed the stairs of the Tower to meet you up here. He didn't want anything to escalate up so fast. He didn't want to set the bomb inside the Avengers' home but in his mind, you haven’t left him any choices. Nothing but to let his dark and possessive behavior being set loose. Sirens could be heard coming this way from below. Shades of blue and red faintly glowing inside the dark streets of New York City. The blond man turned on his heels eyeing the kitchen from where he stood, as he heard the faint noise of utensils moving then stopped. He smiled like a wolf finally catching his prey and started to walk toward the bright space, the faint cold wind coming from the broken windows bristled through his ripped and dirty gear behind his back.

" You know, the more you stay hidden, the more your punishment will be harsh. " Steve cried, making his steps quieter on the uneven ground. " If only you had followed my rules. I would have never done that, pet. " He added, his voice full of deception but also a once of anger.

He skirted the counter his eyes stopping on one of the cupboards under the sink. His smile grew wider as he took quieter steps toward it. Avoiding pieces of glasses on the ground.

" The next time you will spend the entire evening with another man than me, thinking of breaking up and leaving me after receiving your punishment, you will think twice about it. " Steve mumbled under his breath as his eyes never left the small door slightly ajar and covered with smoke and blood.

Fast, he took it inside his hand and opened it looking inside. But it was empty of your frame, only pots, and pans inside the small dark space. He let a loud growl escape his lips, slapping the door hard, breaking it in two by his force. Steve turned his face as he saw from the corner of his eyes shadows quickly passed behind his back.

" I will not let you run away from me. Even if it's the last thing I do. " He barked following the movement of your frame inside the large living room.

You were already inside the elevator, your finger pressing repeatedly against the button when his dark blue eyes caught you red-handed; leaving. Again. Thanks to the super serum flowing inside his veins, Steve held the door's lift who was about to close, shoving them to stand on the threshold of the engine. You backed away, scared, hurt, tears drenching your wounded cheeks as you watched your boyfriend struggling against the machine.

" Get out from this, Y/N. Now! " He cried out at you, his face wincing as he held unto the doors. His blue eyes were completely dilated, watching you pushing your back in one of the corners of the space. " N-No…" You murmured watching him frightened by his strength but also his will and determination.

You heard the wires cracking against his strength above your head, the lights, and control panel going dark.

" I will fuck you so hard for this, baby. You have no idea. " The Soldier growled while his hand was still gripping the metal doors and pushing them inside the holes. " You're gonna regret this. "

You closed your eyes, pressing your back even more inside the corner of the elevator, afraid of him and the events that had led to this. Destroying, Stark's skyscraper and killing the other Avengers in the process because of Steve's selfishness.

°°°

yesterday night;

" What were you doing? " Your boyfriend hissed under his breath gripping your arm inside a warm but tight hold between his hand. " Nothing. " You frowned being pushed backward, wincing feeling his hold on you. " I was just talking to Pietro, that's all. " You shrugged your shoulders, trying to pry on his grasp on you. " Steve you're hurting me. " You pleaded, raising your eyes to look at him.

Flaring his nose, and his face a little bit red from anger, he didn't reply. You scolded him, shaking your head as the noise from the party downstairs kept coming inside your dark bedroom.

" Jealous? Again? " You tried in disbelief, arching an eyebrow while you felt your feet moving back toward the bed, the super-soldier pushing you to it. " You promised to try and not do that again. You know I'm with you." You continued to explain trying to calm him down with a reassuring voice.

But it was of no use as you see his blue eyes darkened on you. On your body. You swallowed your nervousness and try to free your arm from his grip but he didn't bulge. Standing in front of you, the bed behind your legs, you put your palm on his chest trying to push him dreading what he had in mind for you.

" You're mine. " He mumbled in a groan, leaning his head against yours. "You're mine and I don't want you to talk to any male except me." The Soldier ordered you, his voice firm, his head hovering yours, menacing. "W-What are talking about, Steve. This is stupid. " You shook your head, fright growing inside your stomach. You tried to push him again but he wouldn't move. " S-Steve, please. You scare me. " You murmured dropping your sight on his chest. " Good. " He breathed out, enlacing you with one arm placing his hand on the small of your back. " Now you know I'm serious. I don't want you to talk to any man ever again. " The blond man repeated pushing his head against yours, his lips brushing your nose. "This, " Steve grabbed your ass roughly between his fingers, pressing your hips against him. " Is mine. "

You bit your lower lip between your teeth, feeling his hand sliding on the hem of your dress, raising the fabric upon your body, and drifting his hand between your legs. You winced feeling his finger digging between your thighs through your underwear, raising your eyes toward him, you tried to beg with your eyes. You didn't want this, especially when he was like this. Angry.

" Steve, please no. " You whispered pressing your chest against him. " I don't want to. " Tears started to gather inside your eyes, blurring your vision. " Of course you do. " He put a gentle kiss on your mouth, his fingers drifted under your panties reaching your folds, then your clit. " You're so wet for me and my cock. " His lips brushed your own while he started to circle your little bundle of nerves making you winced with pleasure but also shame and fright. " This is my little pussy."

You pressed your head against his chest, closing your eyes hard as you felt him rubbing you, preparing you for him. You tried as hard as you could hold on your tears, not wanting to be weaker than he made you be.

" I'm gonna fuck you so hard, pet. So hard and fuck a child inside you. " He whispered leaning his head inside the crook of your neck, biting your earlobe. "I want to see your belly swelled with my baby. Marking my territory inside of your pussy." He continued to murmur pushing a long finger inside your wet walls. "This is mine. " Steve grunted pumping you slowly while his thumb kept stroking your clit.

You moaned against your will, your face hid against his chest. Your body started to shook from dread? Desire? You weren’t sure. But all you knew was you didn't want to. Not now.

" Steve, no. Please. " You murmured against his body, feeling his hip grinding against you, his hard dick hitting your lower stomach. " I-I will do anything you want, just let me go. " You declared to him your voice just a whisper. " I know. " The super soldier replied removing his hand from your soaked pussy in a sharp movement, with his other hand he pushed you on the bed, your frame bouncing on the soft mattress. " But I want to see you pregnant, my pet. " He breathed ou his hands on his trouser. “ I want you to grow with my seed inside of you. “

Steve started to unzip his pants, pushing the waistline around his hips. He stroked his cock with his fingers drench with your wetness. Your dress up on around your stomach, your boyfriend was eyeing your figure hungrily, his hand rubbing his long and hard shaft. You closed your eyes feeling him lied down on your body, with one swift move he ripped your underwear and shoved his throbbing cock deep inside you.

" Oh God, you feel so good around me. " Steve growled, clenching his teeth thrusting fast inside your pussy increasing his pace quickly. " I'm gonna fill you so good. " He moaned, licking your mouth before shoving his tongue between your lips.

One hand around your cheek and his other on your hip holding you down on the bed, the movement of his tongue imitated the movement of his cock pumping you and taking everything in his wake. The tip of his dick hitting the soft spot inside your pussy making your toes curled in your heels, while tears start to freely run down on your cheeks. Breathless, Steve let his face down against your throat panting hard as he pressed kisses on your skin. Grasping his biceps, you let your body moved with him, praying it would be soon over. Small whimpers escaping your mouth here and there.

" You’re so wet, pet and s'tight. " Steve growled stroking the soft skin of your thigh

He moaned deeply thrusting faster inside your pussy sliding his fingers on your clit rubbing you fast. You let your tears drenching your face and pushed your head against the mattress behind you.

" Steve, please…" You sobbed trying for one last time, pushing him feebly. " P-Please, I understood I won't talk to anyone ever. " You murmured closing your eyes, sniffing loudly but the tears still fell on your skin. You bit your lower lips avoiding moaning as he rolled his hips against you. " No, I'm enjoying myself too much. " The Soldier moaned bracing one arm next to your head hovering your trembling body. Steve licked every salty pearl on your cheeks. " I'm gonna paint your pussy with my come making you a mommy, pet. " He murmured increasing his pace of his thrust and stroke of his hand on your button of nerves.

You closed your eyes harder, feeling your orgasm growing inside your lower stomach, you grimaced sliding your head on the mattress trying to escape his kisses but Steve Rogers will have none of it. His cock hitting your sweet spot again, again and again, your climax took hold of your frame making you arched your back, crying even more as you felt your core shattered in pieces horribly. Blissfully.

" Yeah that's right hold on my cock baby, take everything. " Steve grunted between his teeth, putting his forehead against yours. Sweat coating your bodies under the clothes, his breath was ragged.

His thrust started to become sloppier as he felt you tighten your grasp on his dick. The super soldier came, emptying his hard and throbbing cock inside your wet fold, moaning your name low, echoing inside the darkroom. His hips jerked against yours and spams took hold of his body.

" Oh, God. You're killing me, pet. " The blond man shivered, putting his body above yours and bracing his hand on each side of your head to not crush you with his weight. " Push my come inside your pussy, baby. Don't let any of it drop on our bed. " He commanded you kissing your tears away once again. Exhausted, heartbroken, and confused you let your hand dropped between bodies, stoking the base of his semi-hard dick in the process.

" That's it, my girl, being good to me. " Steve mumbled kissing your lips, his hands drifting on your lower stomach under your wrinkling dress, stroking the skin. " My baby girl will be soon with a child, showing everyone who you belong to. " He murmured brushing your mouth with his own before pressing another kiss on you.

You sobbed quietly, pressing your shaking hand against your pussy while Steve kissed you deeply his hand caressing you gently. You were a sobbing mess whose only thoughts were drifting toward the idea of leaving him. This...Monster. If only you had known.

°°°

present;

" Get out of here, Y/N! " Your boyfriend growled holding the elevator's doors, his face dirty but even in the dim light, you could see his dark eyes look out at you with rage. " Now! " " Why did you do this? " You murmured enlacing yourself, shaking your head. " How did you know- " " That you were leaving me? " He arched an eyebrow, pressing down the doors. Holding on a chuckle.

You dropped your sight on the ground, your eyes finding a piece of sharp glass at your feet. It was now or never.

" C'mon pet I'm your man and I- "

You didn't wait for him to finish his sentences and quickly took the sharp glass and plunged it on his arm. Steve taken back groaned, his eyes wide open, the wound fresh and throbbing made him back away from the threshold of the elevator. You pushed the buttons on the panel and sighed in relief when you saw the doors of the lift closing in front of your growling boyfriend his eyes dark with rage, holding on to his injury, blood soaking his pale fingers. You let your back fall against one of the corners of the space, trying to calm your breathing and think of a plan. Steve had blown the entire building, killing and injuring, people in the process for you to not leave him, he was insane. And you knew that you had to escape that before it was too late. Before he destroyed your last piece of will you were griping on it with the strength you had left. Before giving in. The doors opened with a faint noise announcing you reaching the lobby. Everything was a blur, the sirens light shadowing the wreckage, people screaming, ordering everyone to get out before everything collapse. People in uniforms; firemen, policemen even the army were there, but you didn't take the time to acknowledge anyone of them as you started to run. Running away from the building who will eventually fall, burying everyone who was still inside. Runaway from a hell.

°°°

"… We don't have more information if there are more survivors of the huge collapse of the Avenger's Tower two days ago, the authority called everyone to stay calm as they continued to look for the corpses, dead or alive of the people working that night in…"

You angrily glare at the TV, ignoring the journalist's through the screen. You put your groceries on the counter adjusting the cap on your head and avoiding looking directly at the man behind the register. It's been two all days that you were on the run, escaping your past. You pushed a huge bill on the counter and without waiting for your change turned your back, holding firmly your bag inside your hands. Pushing the door of the shop with your hips, the light wind brushing on your face, clouds on the sky, you made your way toward your car. Everything went still for a moment. Something was wrong. And then you felt it.   The tip of something on the lower of your back making you froze your steps and almost dropping your bags on the ground.

" Scream and you're dead. Understood? " The deep voice of Captain America warned you behind your back, pushing the firearm against you. He pressed his chest on your figure. " Now move toward the car and let's finally finish what we started. " He announced to you, putting a quick peck on your cheek from behind before following you.

You swallowed hard, regret and shock taking hold of your body as you made your way slowly, thinking at different scenarios for you to be free of him.

" You really thought I will abandon you? " Steve mused under his breath opening the car's front door, helping you put the bags on the front seat. "A building collapsing, the feds and government asking questions, would put us apart."

He was wearing a cap like you, his civil clothes making him almost normal but you could see the strain of the arm you injured as you he loaded the last bag inside the car. Nothing on his face was betraying the fight you had two days ago. Not a scratch, nor a scar. His blue eyes caught your afraid ones as he turned around to look at you. Determination and anger that's what motivate him, not love. There wasn't any love left for him. Only ownership.

" Now get on the back seat and stripped of your clothes, pet. " He motioned with a jerk of his head, his jaw tight and set. " Time for your punishment. "

His sight was cold of any comfort or affection; only raw desire.

°°°

[savagesbonergarage]

Heat

Savage Opress x reader

Prompt from @secretnerd00 "Could you maybe write some Savage Smut, with his s/o, who is a virgin but has a really dirty mind an goes just wild once there finally alone and ready for some sexy time?"

(a/n: Okay, so I went a bit crazy with this 😅 I haven't written smut in six years so honestly I have no idea if it's any good. There's some angsty bits beforehand, also because I'm not sure if the smut is good, this might end up being a part 1 and I'll write a part 2 if it's well-received. If you get to the end and you're like "that's it?!" yell at me and I'll write the second part lol.)

Warnings! Past sexual abuse (Savage), blood, fits of anger, heat cycles, striptease (kinda?), Masturbation, oral fixation

It had been days since you'd seen him. Even in situations where his presence was usually required, like at his brother's side in the throne room of the Sundari palace, Savage had been absent. Even stranger still was that no one seemed to have a reasonable explanation for why this was, and when you confronted Lord Maul about the issue he uncharacteristically fumbled a rushed response.

"I've sent him off to...hone his skills."

His gaze didn't have the signature menacing expression that he usually did when you dared speak to him without his brother present, yet something else about his tone convinced you not to implore further. If you didn't know any better, you could have sworn there was a semblance of concern in his voice. Even though you were unsatisfied with his answer, you walked away without any reassurance about the well-being of your beloved zabrak.

The entire situation didn't sit right with you whatsoever. Had Savage truly been sent away to train, he would have informed you of it beforehand. He wouldn't have wanted you to worry about him the way you currently were. Moreover, he would have instigated the tradition you both developed of finding a secluded spot to share a kiss goodbye before either of you left.

Something weighed heavily in your chest as you considered the implications of this unusual occurrence. You decided there was no use in spending the night pondering the possibilities; you were going to find out for certain on your own. It wasn't permitted for someone of your status to access the floor that contained Savage's quarters despite the fact that the two of you were on friendly terms, however that wasn't going to change your mind about getting there.

*

An hour later you stood inside the elevator that would finally take you to your destination, the limp body of the death watch guard stationed in the area crumpled at your feet. Sheer resolve and determination had given you the power to knock him out. You hoped in this case that following your instinct would be worth it, as attacking a fellow palace dweller was sure to have it's consequences if you were discovered.

The shaft finally opened and you snuck through a large hall until you came upon the door that unmistakably belonged to Savage. Creeping closer to better listen wasn't necessary since as soon as it entered your line of sight you heard deep, agonizing groans of pain. Your intuition had been right.

"Savage!"

Stealth was no longer a priority as you flung your body against the door and beat against it with your palm.

"Savage, it's me. Are you okay?"

You heard him approach the door, but rather than open it he lingered behind it. His voice was plagued with concern and he spoke between heavy breaths.

"You shouldn't be here. Leave, now."

His words did little to distract you from your mission.

"Savage, let me in. I won't leave until I see that you're okay. At least let me look at you. Please."

There was a moment of hesitation before you heard the latch click. You stood back as the door slowly opened just enough for you to see the full figure of the man you loved towering above you, clad in only a dark pair of shorts. Your face flushed as your eyes danced along all the defined ripples and crevices that accented the patterns of his tattoos that you hadn't gotten the chance to see until now. His chest was rising and falling with each quick breath he took, and the halo of the moonlight spilling in from a window far behind him caught the beads of sweat that peppered his skin. Maker, he was beautiful.

His resoundingly deep voice brought your attention back to his face as he spoke with firm authority.

"I'm fine. If you're satisfied, go."

You weren't. You knew that he was lying, that he was hiding something from you. From the moment you saw him you rattled your brain trying to decipher the real reason he isolated himself. Something was afflicting him, that much was certain, but you couldn't tell what. He didn't seem sick, he seemed desperate. Your chest thumped as you began to put two and two together.

"Why didn't you come to me?" The words left your lips with a hint of remorse and you found it difficult to conceal the pain in your eyes as you studied him, your revelation serving to stir up the embers that settled within you.

Savage's breath hitched.

"What-"

Before he could properly react you darted through the space between his calves and rolled onto the middle of the floor in his room. As you got up, you took notice of the carnage. Broken furniture, scratched surfaces and obliterated pillows with feathers still wafting around littered the entire space. Your heart sank.

"I knew it. You're-"

Your back hit the ground again as your wrists were pinned above you by his strong arms, eliciting a small cry of pain from your lips as one of his long horns grazed your cheek in the motion. The sound shook him, causing him to pause and look down at the little bit of blood that trickled down your face. He was clearly horrified by his own actions. He swiftly got up and roared in anger as he raked his claws across a shelf, sending everything crashing down with it.

You sat up, watching him with sadness as he knelt and held his face in his shaking hands.

"Savage..."

"I hurt you."

"Savage-"

"Stay back!"

He flung the side of his fist into the wall, a significant crack running up into the stone slab. His horns lowered and he hid his eyes from you in shame, speaking between shaky breaths as he shook his head.

"I couldn't come to you. I would have destroyed you. You're so frail, and I don't...I don't trust myself."

The zabrak had never uttered a sob in his life, but you could tell he was close. You crawled a little closer but still maintained your distance, not out of fear, but out of respect for Savage's concerns. It felt like a weight pressed down harder and harder onto your heart the longer you saw him in this state.

"Why do you insist on suffering? On isolating yourself like this?" Tears threatened to well up in your eyes. "This isn't healthy. What is your plan, to just endure this until it passes?"

"Do you not recall what just barely happened?"

He finally met your gaze with an anger in his eyes that was reserved only for himself.

"I'm a monster, but at least I'm aware of it. I can prevent hurting the one I love by staying away. If I foolishly gave in to this...sickness, I would have no concern for you. I would be no better than them."

You knew who he meant: The Nightsisters.

Everything started to make sense. Savage was afraid of hurting you intimately because he himself had been hurt. The thought had never really crossed your mind, but it was entirely plausible that the witch who changed his fate had also used him as so many others used the nightbrothers they claimed for themselves. His life belonged to her and he had to oblige her whims, despite never truly consenting to it.

The tears finally came. Your heart was breaking for him now more than ever before.

"Savage."

You couldn't help it. Ignoring his groans of protest, you approached him on your hands and knees and threw yourself onto his chest, enveloping him in a tight hug. He recoiled at your touch, but said nothing.

"You aren't sick. You're in heat."

Your hands travelled up over his shoulders and around the nape of his neck until they rested on either side of his face. He was trembling as you pulled back to look at him. You wanted to ease his suffering in any way that you could.

"I trust you. Do you trust me?"

He shook his head.

"Don't."

"You won't hurt me."

"I already have."

"I don't care."

"Then you're a fool."

"I agree."

He removed your hands from his face and you reciprocated by planting your lips firmly against his. An aroused groan escaped him and filled your mouth, causing the fire in your loins to flare up that much more. You deepened the kiss and guided his right hand to your breast. He winced as though he were in pain and broke your connection, and you knew he was doing all he could to hold himself back.

"I'm not some helpless animal, Savage. You think you're a predator and I'm the prey, don't you? You think you'll devour me and that will be the end of it."

His reflective golden eyes were screaming with agony.

"I know it. I won't be able to promise your safety."

"Then don't."

He looked at you as though you were signing your own death warrant. You sighed, frustration starting to get the better of you.

"Do you think I would only help you out of obligation?" The notion made you shake your head. "Have you ever considered, Savage, that maybe..."

You wrapped your arms around his neck and your thighs around his waist, bearing down so that the outline of your heated sex pressed against his growing erection. The sensation drew a mewl from your lips as your own breath hitched before you continued.

"...maybe I'm the kind of prey that yearns to be devoured."

Your name stumbled breathlessly from his panting mouth. You returned his hand to your neglected breast and guided his fingertips to the swollen nub that bade your clit to throb when it was touched. You moaned for him and you felt his impressive cock twitch beneath you, however he still held back. Your eyes were half-lidded and your face flushed with desire.

"I love you, Savage."

You planted another long kiss on the corner of his mouth. As your lips lingered there, a warm wetness trailed against your cheek. The tear was his. You held his face in your hands again and looked deep into those wanting eyes, reassuring him with a smile.

"I may be inexperienced, but I'm not as frail as you think."

Savage was about to break. He offered one final retort.

"I wouldn't be so sure."

It was meant to be a warning, but you took it as a dare. A quiet "oh?" escaped your mouth as you sensually trailed kisses all down his burning neck and chest which caused him to swear. If he was so adamant about how he was going to behave, you were going to make him prove it.

"I think you're making assumptions about your 'prey'."

Suddenly, you retracted your hold on him and backed away completely. For a moment you saw the yearning he tried so desperately to suppress flicker up to the surface. He didn't move. He didn't have to. You wanted to watch his every reaction, every movement from a distance. You stood and took a few steps back.

"Do I have your attention?"

He groaned.

"Always."

"Good. Keep it on me."

He swallowed as his eyes followed you to the foot of his bed. There was a subtle strut in your step and a knowing smile on your face. Truth be told you were nervous as hell, but you didn't care. Your love for Savage was all the resolve you needed. You turned to face him and extended your arms in front of you.

"Don't take your eyes off my hands."

His expression was confused to say the least, but he responded with a slight nod. You tested his listening skills by moving one hand this way and that, and sure enough his eyes followed. You almost laughed, but you weren't there to make him feel like an idiot. Slowly, ever so slowly, you brought your fingers to collar of your shirt and began unfastening the ties. Savage groaned in protest once again.

"Don't-"

"Hush. Remember what I told you."

The zabrak pursed his lips. He might not have been aware of how this strange behavior of yours was keeping him grounded, but oddly enough, it was. For now, curiosity overpowered his carnal instinct. He watched as you continued to make work of your pesky layers, slowly peeling them off one by one. You pulled your bottoms down over your knees and let them fall to the floor, leaving you in only your underclothes.

You could sense Savage's arousal from across the room. Even so, he remained right where he was, gaze still tracking your hands without fail. If there was one thing he was determined about, it was following an order that was given to him. You leaned back against his bedframe as you brought one hand up to cup your breast and guided the other down under the waistband of your panties. You looked to your lover, who was gritting his teeth at the show you were putting on for him. The outline of his dick was fully pronounced through the thin material of his shorts, the sight of which drew a loud moan from your lips as your fingers circled your clit and dived down between your folds and back. You darted your tongue out of your open mouth as you curled two fingers inside and gradually pumped, the back of your hand stretching the fabric of your panties with the motion giving the horny zabrak a peek of the real action.

He cursed. You watched him tremble with need as he grabbed the base of his cock over the fabric of his bottoms and lightly stroked, nearly sending you over the edge. You pulled your hand away before you got too close, Savage's eyes following intently as you brought it up to your face and you carelessly brushed your fingers against your cheek, leaving a streak of moisture that glistened in the moonlight.

The beastial sounds you elicited from the melting man on the ground made you want to beg for him right then and there, but you had an idea you wanted to follow through with. You dragged the tips of your slick fingers to your lips and kissed them, once, twice, a number of times. The kisses became more sloppy until your tongue had flicked across every inch down to the base of your hand. You didn't normally taste yourself, but the reaction you were getting from Savage made you want to behave this way even more. You brought your other hand up and wrapped it around your knuckles, holding your slick fingers in a way that made it allude to something more phallic.

He knew what you were doing, but the anticipation of it almost made it worse for him when you started sucking. If you were able to hear him from outside the door earlier, surely the entire palace could hear him now. You watched as a dark spot appeared on his clothing where the tip of his dick rested against his thigh. You might have been able to tease him further had your own arousal not been demanding you get to the point. You pulled your fingers from your mouth with a loud pop, a string of saliva trailing between them and your bottom lip.

"What are you thinking, Savage?"

You knew damn well what he was thinking, but you wanted to hear him say it. He struggled to get the words out past his groans of desire.

"I'm...envious."

"Of what?" You brought your knuckles up to your lips as he continued to lightly stroke his length.

"Those fingers."

You started mirroring the stroking motions the zabrak was making on them, a shit-eating grin on your face.

"Why?"

He growled, knowing that you were seeking a confession. It was clear as day that you both wanted each other, and there was only one thing keeping you from rutting on every surface in the vicinity.

"I want you to suck my cock. Suck me off just like that and I'll have nothing to worry about."

Those dirty words sounded like magic coming off his tongue, and Maker, were you more than happy to oblige.

Part II!

[dragonrajafanfiction]

Ghosts’ Journey: (Part 3) Swan Lake, Act 3

@rurifangirl By Request

When you return back to the basement room where Chime Gen was resting, you are carrying a breakfast tray. His eyes widen and his face pales. 

You stare back at him with a neutral expression. You had changed out of your pajamas to a more simple house Kimono in peach and white. “I’m not leaving.”

Just minutes before, he had talked to you about how the King General awakened an evil spirit in his body named Ruri Kazama and had wielded that spirit to lure and kill young girls in the village where he grew up. Ruri Kazama failed to kill the King General and that villain made the evil spirit sleep, returning him to the weak Chime Gen so he couldn’t fight back. It was just a matter of time before the King found him again, and if you and he were together at that time, the evil spirit would awaken and kill you, just like those girls in the village. You had agreed to leave but now you were back with food.

He’s shaking terribly as you approach him with the tray, so you’ll doubt he’ll eat. The point of your stay was to act like a fool in love to lure the King General into a state of pure confidence so that he would attack openly, nakedly, and Caesar would spring a trap. But if the King General suspected that you were luring him into a trap and your love wasn’t sincere, he would back out and scheme against you.

Chime looked like a withered leaf, shrunken with despair. You could almost see into his mind. He was terrified. He was calling you a fool in his heart for falling for the King’s trap and you were going to die for your foolish love. He would never fully consent to something like what you and Caesar were planning. And you understood. You would have to convince him some other way to also act like a fool in love. You couldn’t openly state your plans from the start. You had to be discreet to allow Chime Gen to understand the truth of the matters and to play along.

You clear your throat a moment. “I wanted to talk about your brother for a bit.” You open a sachet of fine tea and pour the hot water over it. “I think you know I don’t like him very much. When I heard you talking about him, it hardly seemed like we met the same man. But you were talking about Chisei before he met Bondarev. The Chisei before Bondarev is the real Chisei. So I started to look for the signs of the real Chisei in my memory.” You pick up the tea cup and sip from it.

Chime was sitting as still as a stone, looking out the window.

“I remember… when we were in a desperate battle against deadpool. A fire was raging and sucking all the oxygen in the room. Explosives in the room were soon to go off. Chisei was so wounded he could barely stand up. He was tied with a strong rope by Caesar. But even in this near death state, he cut his wrist and soaked a shirt with his blood and threw it out into the fire so that Chu Zihang and Caesar could escape. But there was one more Deadpool waiting even after we thought we were safe. That deadpool impaled Chisei and hid behind his body.”

“Caesar didn’t want to kill Chisei. I didn’t want him to either. We were all going to die at that moment, but no one had the heart to do anything. But Chisei fell back against the gap in the wall created by the Deadpool and killed it in the elevator shaft as he fell. He didn’t expect that Caesar and Chu Zihang would grab the rope that bound him and save his life. He fully expected to give up his life for all of us.”

“At that moment, I agreed to meet with your brother over sake. I liked him then. I felt we were different but we had points in common. Until I met Chance. I didn’t realize it, but Chance was suicidal. He was at the end of his natural life as an unstable hybrid. But I spoke to him and told him not to give up his life. Chisei found us and Chance took my advice and pleaded for mercy even though Chisei had injured him. Chance said that he was going to get married in Hokkaido and he wanted to see the wedding.”

“I was shocked when Chisei conceded to this. He didn't want to kill Chance. When Chance saw that he was spared, he revealed that he had a purple vial of liquid that would turn him into a powerful Deadpool. But now Chance no longer wanted to cut his life short. When he threw the vial away, it broke and the drug was lost. But there was an assassin waiting for him. The assassin would have killed Chance! But Chisei protected him from death!”

“Chisei said he knew the assassin would be there because this had happened before with other Devils. Because this assassin was hidden in his own Hydra ranks, he said that he would personally secure Chance's safety if he left Tokyo that night.”

You quietly sip the tea and let that sink in. Of course, things didn’t work out that way. Chance’s time was up in that hour. He turned into a deadpool. He was never going to leave Tokyo due to not having enough time, but… in those precious minutes when he was alive, he pulled back the curtain and revealed the real Chisei. So you omit the ending and move on.

“Finally, when you ordered that we prevent Chisei from climbing the staircase up the Tokyo Tower, I did not agree. But because you wanted it, I would comply. Chisei immediately suspected me, but he didn’t attack me until I mentioned your name. But he wasn't interested in killing me. He wanted to interrogate me later.”

You turn to Chime who was not moving. “Listen to my next words, Chime. Look at me when I’m talking to you.”

Chime’s face was taut and every muscle was like a tightly wound bow. You weave your words like a dancer, painting the scene. “His eyes glowed like a Dragon King’s. He was at his most fierce, most merciless. I was the Devil. I had aligned myself with the Greatest Devil of all! If he could get to me, then I could lead him to you. So his blood was high when I called you, Chime Gen and not Ruri Kazama. But I couldn’t care less about Chisei. I despised him over Chance. I said… ‘Fine. Go die. Chime is the only one who cares about you anyway.’”

You pause, watching the glitter in Chime’s eyes, the wellspring bursting from his heart that had been locked up and buried so long, waiting for you to gather the keys and unlock the chains one by one. Under the tray table, you pinch your hands hard as you force yourself to watch Chime cry miserable tears of grief over all the lost time, the lost years, and the words never uttered. His whole body shook like his bones might dislocate out of their joints. You don’t move to him, or to touch him. He was inconsolable. Only Chisei could comfort him now. 

Chime said he hated his brother sometimes. There was a fine line between hatred and intense admiration. He wanted to be like his brother but because he couldn’t, sometimes he wished he didn’t have a brother at all. But even that hatred was born out of love at its truest essence.

He cried for a long time, and you think he might cry like that forever. You’re exhausted from holding in your own emotions, but you couldn’t run to him. Not yet. You had to wait even if your throat hurt and your eyes stung and you thought you might end up as hollow as a burnt out tree by the end of it.

“Chisei… sees me as a demon… a devil. How can he accept me?”  He finally growled to himself.

There was a warm towel on the tray and you offered it to him. It had been nearly thirty minutes. You feel rung out like a rag, but you have to keep going.

“Chisei would never cry like that in front of me, but that same wellspring of tears was enough to extinguish that Dragon King light in his eyes. Even though he attacked me as an Emperor hybrid, when I said those words, it was like he turned back into a lonely and sad man.”

You stand up gracefully and sit down on the bed. You lightly stroke his hair and look into his red puffy eyes. He’s looking at you with the eyes of a young boy who was lost. You lay the path before him, crumb by crumb. It would take a mind like Herzog to untwist that villain’s manipulation of Chime and Chisei and you were in a position to do it. “He misses you Chime…” You say, stroking his hair. “You should talk to him…”

You don’t break his gaze. Your goal is to be hypnotic. Even though you believed your words were true, you had to treat the truth like a fantasy and deception equal to that of Herzog’s lies. You had to make him believe that nothing would go wrong. It was all going to be perfect.

“But how? If he knows I’m here, he’ll rally the entire Hydra clan after me.”

You spoke with firm conviction. “He loves you.”

“But…”

You interrupt him. “He misses you. Talk to him. You’ll see it too.” You smile and lick your lips a bit to keep them from shaking. “Don’t give up on him.”

Chime fell again into silence. But his body and spirit seemed to have calmed quite a bit.

Bondarev and Herzog were not too quick to reveal their hands. Chime would have to commit to seeing his brother. Until then, you had to wait to reveal yours.

You only come back out onto the Takamagahara floor to remove the breakfast dishes. You leave Chime alone for the rest of the day. You don’t speak to Caesar or the others either. You spend time looking out the window at the view of Tokyo from the luxury suite that Ruri Kazama provided for you. This was truly a colorful cage you were locked up in. As you look, an idea starts to come to your mind, like a thread poking out of a woven sweater. The more you follow the thread, the more the image starts to come to mind, the plan. The trap.

You didn’t know what love was. But it seemed to you to be some sort of beautiful foolishness, like falling towards the ground but pretending that the ground didn’t exist and falling forever. There was a way to fall forever, that is, the fall into the bottomless pit of hell that was called Naraka. It sounded evil, but when you said you would spend hell together with Ruri Kazama at the end of the MC Romance contest, that was the only way to express yourself. Such dark words, perhaps that was you love? You didn’t know.

It wouldn’t be enough to be pretend to be ‘fools in love’. To make the trap truly irresistible, your love had to be at its peak, ripe for the King General’s axe. You sit on the king size, four poster bed for a long time, closing your eyes and letting the plan take shape in your head. 

After a few hours, you sit up and go to the room with the big piano. It was also an entertainment room that had a full stereo system and voice activated assistant. You put on a pair of noise cancelling headphones and ask the voice activated home assistant in your room to play the full ballet of ‘Swan Lake’.

The sun over Tokyo went down and the city lights went up. 

The Great Nightclub Takamagahara opened its doors and the patrons flooded in. Caesar, Chu Zihang and Lu Mingfei went to work, and you secretly sneak back into the basement room to check on Chime. He was as you left him, smoking his pipe and looking out the window.

“Have you decided?” You ask quietly.

He blows a thin stream of smoke. “Yes. Thank you.”

“Good!” Your heart lifts inside. “Then we must set the stage.” You walk in and tap your heel against the door to shut it.

“I want to know why you’re doing this. You don’t like my brother.” Chime’s face was half wrapped in night shadow. 

“I like you.” You smile at him with playful eyes.

He lifts his eyes to you, blowing smoke from his nose like a dragon. “You like Ruri Kazama.”

“I like Chime.” You stride up to him and sit on the bed next to him. “I want to see Chime happy. Chime will not be happy without his brother. So I can’t leave anything up to chance. We must create the right conditions for you and your brother to meet.” You swing your legs under the bed like a little girl.

A light color came to Chime’s cheeks, heightening his boyish looks. “Go on.”

“When I lived in Black Swan Bay as a girl, we always heard Classical music. And I always listened to many different symphonies. But one of the symphonies I will always associate with the King General is Swan Lake. He’s a dramatic person, and Swan Lake is very dramatic. So it’s his favorite.”

You lean back on your hands to look into his eyes, full of girlish energy and confidence. “In the 3rd act, the prince mistakenly confesses his love to the wrong maiden. The Black Swan. As soon as he does, the white swan is doomed and the enemy of the prince appears. Extremely dramatic!” 

You grin showing all your teeth. “If we act out that scene. We will draw out the King General. He won’t be able to help himself and he will arrive right on cue as the enemy of the prince! Caesar will spring the trap he has prepared for him.”

“What are you saying?” Chime asked slowly.

“The perfect conditions for the King General’s Trap and the Reunion of the Two Brothers are one and the same.” You press your two index fingers together. “A wedding!”

Chime’s eyes widened slightly. The pipe between his fingers suddenly dips in shock.

“How can Chisei ever harm you on your wedding day? He will not. He will not! He can’t. You’re a man in love! He won’t hurt you.” You breathe excitedly. “So you will invite Chisei to your grand wedding at the NightClub Takamagahara, the King General will come with all his hordes because he will be called by our foolish love at the peak of its ripeness. And when we say our vows and kiss, then…”

Chime’s eyes suddenly dimmed. “The woodblock.”

You nod.

“I’ll kill you.” His face was numb, locked into that terrible nightmarish vision of cutting your throat on your wedding day, your bright red blood staining your bright white dress.

Your eyes are sparking with intrigue and your smile is malicious. “It’s awful to think about it, isn't it? But the King General is awful. And this is … the most awful thing that could ever happen. But that’s the trap. You won’t kill me.”

Chime Gen looks at you like a man who has gone numb. He was holding his breath.

You raise one hand to his face, lightly stroking his soft cheek. “You said so yourself. I’m in love with the Evil Spirit you call Ruri Kazama… but it was also Ruri Kazama who made the promises to me. That so-called Devil was the one who loved me first. Ruri Kazama would never hurt me. Quite the opposite. He will protect me. I will be protected by you, the Evil Spirit, and your brother.”

You hold out your hand. It was ugly. The black veins stood out from your wrist and scales were glittering on your knuckles. Chime stared at it for a long time.

His hand was larger than yours but no less delicate. It wrapped around your hand. He ran his fingers over your scales, the veins. Not only did he have to win this to kill King General, he had to win this to save you from your condition. If he could get his brother to side with him, then he could plead for the serum injections that could save your life. He grips your hand, but this time the grip was firm, not painful. 

Of course, there was even more to it than that. You’d thought about it for a long time. But those details would be discussed at a later date, after Herzog was dead. One step at a time after all. You watch him complete his examination of your fingers. Your voice is as quiet as you can make it. “Chime Gen… will you marry me?”

Chime Gen nodded once. “I will…”

Rapid footsteps are approaching the door and it swings open. Mingfei is gasping and leaning against it. “Bad news.”

He then looks between you and Chime and sees that you’re holding hands and blushes bright red, mouth wide open. 

You and Chime quickly separate and avoid eye contact with each other. “Spit out the bad news and stop gaping like a fish!” You snap.

“I… I’m sorry! But it’s really important! Our cover has been blown! I don't know what happened, but our headshots appeared on the billboard outside! Even Ruri Kazama’s!"

You and Chime turn to look at each other.

The dance floor on the first floor is cold and empty. All the nightclubs are closing early these days, because the guests don't want to go home in the rain after a drink, no matter how much they like life under the city lights. Surprisingly, all the stores on this street were closed, leaving only the neon sign of Takamagahara Nightclub still on, its red and purple lights bouncing against the black background. Caesar stood on the sidewalk, scanning around. The water was soon above his ankles .

You join him under his umbrella.

You both looked up. Across the street, on top of the building, a giant advertising screen lit up, glowing blue, that glow reflecting on the flooded streets.

On the rose-colored background was Caesar's headshot, then Chu Zihang's, then Lu Mingfei's, next to their stage names, ages, heights, blood types, hobbies, showtimes and quirks, and the address of Takamagahara Nightclub. It advertised an upcoming big event at the club.

At the end was Ruri Kazama's headshot, obviously stolen, but even with a careless glance back, his eyes and smile still oozed deadly seduction. Of course, this was when he was still Ruri Kazama.

"How come there's no me?" Fingel lamented, "Are they looking down on newcomers?"

 "It's a good thing you're not on the wanted list, big brother." Lu Mingfei sighed.

This is the biggest advertisement ever taken out in the male escort industry in Tokyo's history. At the moment, people in the sleepless Shinjuku district are pushing open the shades on their windows and scratching their heads in confusion. The street was illuminated in sections from the east side to the west side of Fuyutsuki, and hundreds of giant advertising screens lit up one by one, all playing this ad, like countless mirrors projecting on each other, filling the world with the faces of just these few people.

Chu Zihang wordlessly drew his sword out of its sheath and swung it in an arc, swinging away from the continuous rain. Fingal subconsciously shrinks to the side. He understands that this killer Chu Zihang will never idly draw his blade. He only draws his blade to kill someone, but there’s no one around? 

 "Soon this place will be a mountain of people, Lu Mingfei, take Fingel back to Takamagahara," Caesar said in a low voice. He tilts his head to you. "You are responsible for guarding the Chime Gen.”

You lift your head to the bright lights and, for some reason, your heart fills to the brim with joy at the sight of Ruri Kazama up in lights. Whoever took out this sign and blew your cover knew you were here. But did he know the grand event they were advertising? 

 The rain screen around you trembled, and a shockwave spread out, unfolding into an invisible field as Caesar unleashed the Scythe Itachi.

He stood in the middle of the street with you, pointing both guns east and west of the long street, and turned off the safety.

"What's going on? What's going on here?" Fingel had not yet regained his senses.

The hordes are already coming. You could hear the sound of thundering engines in the distance.

"It's almost like an army." Chu Zihang whispered.

"I can hear the roar of the engines, the scraping of tires against the ground, the manic heartbeat, the sound of guns being loaded ...... It is indeed an army." Caesar concentrated on the fragments of sound brought back by the Scythe.

You tilt your head into the rain. Ah, this was the secret between you and Chime! It was as if you had raised your God’s eye onto the world and fate was bending to your will. You prepared the feast and, like a shark smelling a tiny amount of blood in the water, the King General roared from the depths of this city. Let him come. Yes, bring the whole army.

A sudden gale blew ripples of standing water as black helicopters descended from the sky and locked on to you with snowy pools of light.

"From the Tokyo Police Department, or from Hydra?" Chu Zihang asked.

 "Do you still need to ask? The Hydra family will never allow Chime to fall into the hands of the Tokyo Police Department. They will definitely arrive first. Besides, since when is the government so adept at sending out helicopters?" Caesar said.

 Bright beams suddenly pierced through the raging storm, coming from all directions, and Caesar and Chu's faces were reflected in the silver of hundreds of headlights.

The wind howled low among the tall buildings, as if demons and devils were walking through the city, and Caesar looked down at your soft smile.

You look up at him, full of a secret joy.

“Are you responsible for this?”

You raise your eyebrows briefly. “Do you think the Hydra will send out such an overwhelming force for my sake only? No… the Hydra don’t want me. My face isn’t even up on the billboards. They are terrified of Chime.”

“Bondarev? Then.” 

You sigh indifferently. “Oh… who knows…” You turn on your heel and walk back inside.

[lo-mindpalace]

08 - Heartless

(ARTHUR KETCH’S POV)

Warning: depictions of violence, blood and injury.

 I looked at the piece of paper I was holding before looking back in front of me. I believe it was the right place. Huh. And here I thought it would be a dilapidated place, I was now standing in front of a huge building with a casino inside. What a weird place to find a werewolf. I pouted a bit and put the paper in my pocket before I opened the trunk of my black 4x4. I took out a black bag with money inside and closed the trunk. I crossed the street and entered the building. My pace was normal and the woman at the reception desk didn’t ask me anything, as if I belonged to the circle of business men who were living here. I pushed the button of the elevator and waited patiently. The door opened and I entered the elevator shaft, put the bag at my feet and pressed the sixth floor’s button before standing ramrod straight, my hands clasped in front of me along my body. I was relaxed, looking in front of me, my head empty. A little classic music was resonating in the elevator but I didn’t pay attention to it, too focused on my mission.

When the door opened, I took my bag and walked into the hallway. I arrived in front of a door and put my bag on the floor again to rearrange my grey tie. I briefly looked at my watch. On time, as usual. I don’t know why I still look at my watch because I know I’m always on time, knowing my schedule by heart. I cleared my throat a little and took my bag again before knocking at the door.

“Who’s there?” A husky voice said behind the door.

“Mr. Ketch, Sir.” I said in a neutral tone.

“… Come in.”

I raised an eyebrow, hearing this impolite tone. Mh well, I am in America, am I? I opened the door and entered. My client was sitting on a couch, his nose covered with white powder. Elegant… He looked at me with his dilated pupils and his muppet smile.

“You have the money?”

“Indeed.” I said with putting the bag on the table. “May I suggest you to be careful with drugs… It is not good for your kind.”

The man arched an eyebrow, clearly not understanding my allusion. He snorted and began to take the bag but I hummed in disapproval, putting the bag away.

“I am truly sorry to tell you that this money is mine, unfortunately.” I said.

“The fuck?”

“Yes, this is my payment for a mission I have to do now. Here is your reward, Sir.”

I sank my hand inside the bag among the bills, faking to search for something specific. Then I took out a gun with a silencer on it and shot directly into the man’s head with a silver bullet. The poor creature didn’t react or scream, his eyes showing his true nature – golden eyes like the werewolf he was. I looked at the dead monster in front of me with a neutral face. That was too easy but I’m not against quick mission. My real client generously paid me to kill this werewolf and I could not refuse. I am a former Man of Letters and a mercenary hunter. That is my job and I will do it without batting an eyelid. I looked around the room and saw a gun on the bedside table. I sighed. Americans. I took the gun with gloves and put it on the hand of the dead body. I waited just a few minutes in order to see the yellow eyes disappearing. It would be awful if they discover a werewolf. When the victim was back to normal, I put my silencer in my bag, closed it and went away with a normal pace, as if nothing happened.

* * *

Edison, New Jersey. Near the colossal New York City. I thought every monster were hidden in all the big cities in America but… No. They are everywhere. I am still so shocked about this. Monsters are everywhere and it is like hunters don’t do their job properly. Amateurs. Oh, well. This is alright because whereas in the United Kingdom, everything is under control, here there are a lot of opportunities to make money. I don’t complain. Sometimes there are good clients who are generous. Sometimes there are bad clients who get killed or give you fifty cents. And… sometimes there are clients who are generous but are also monsters. This last possibility is interesting because on the one hand, you have the money anyway by killing the target AND the client, and on the other hand it is fascinating to see monsters hating each other and fighting each other over money and power. Moreover, it is interesting when these two monsters belong to the same kind. It would have been a great study case in Kendricks. Anyway, I had to focus now. I was standing in the room of the Mr. Johnson’s daughter, Kate – or something like that, it didn’t matter to me. The 17-year-old teenager was sleeping and this was making my task easier because it added a great effect of surprise to the whole werewolf family. I grabbed a needle full of silver and injected it in the daughter’s neck. Huh. She didn’t even wake up. Dying in her sleep. Too bad for me.

As I expected, my human smell alerted the mother because I heard her footsteps coming towards the bedroom. I hid behind the door, my breathing very calm and relaxed, very discreet. The mother opened the door and looked at her daughter with a slight smile. But then she frowned as she came closer to the bed. She bent over and saw the little hole left by the needle. But she didn’t have the time to react or scream or cry over her daughter’s death because the second silver needle I had was already planted in her neck. She tried to fight, throwing her arms around randomly with her claws out. But the silver won, obviously. After a couple of minutes, her arms fell along her body and I let her fall on the ground. It was at that moment I heard the front door open so I decided to go into the living room with a confident face, another bag in my hands. Mr. Johnson saw me and made a surprised exclamation.

“Mr. Ketch?! What are you doing here? Did you kill him?”

“Of course, I did. I always respect the commitment. I wanted to let you know.”

Mr. Johnson made an uncomfortable smile. He knew something was wrong because he saw the door of his daughter’s room opened. For God’s sake. I made a stupid mistake.

“Did you… see my wife and daughter?” Mr. Johnson said.

“Yes, of course. Lovely people.” I said, smiling a bit.

My client frowned and rushed into the room. I rolled my eyes a little bit when I heard him screaming in pain. He appeared in the doorway, his claws out and his yellow eyes filled with tears.

“WHAT DID YOU DO?!”

“Well… What a foolish idea to call a hunter to kill a werewolf when you are also a werewolf.” I said with a very calm voice. “And before you ask how I knew it, well first of all, I am a hunter so I know how to recognize a monster. Second, you didn’t pick my silver pen when we signed the contract. It is an easy test but you fell into the trap anyway.”

The werewolf huffed, very upset.

“We are not the bad guys. We were living among humans without hurting them.”

“I don’t think so. See… I figured you wanted me to kill Mr. Robin because he was the one who killed people and brought you pieces of hearts. A heart dealer. I admit this is very clever. Letting others get their hands dirty while you are living the perfect life with your perfect wife and perfect daughter. But you forget something, Sir. You are still a monster.”

Mr. Johnson let a little whine escape him.

“You’re heartless.” He simply said.

“A hunter doesn’t need his heart during cases so thank you, I am taking that as a compliment.”

“Please… Let me go… You won’t hear about me anymore.”

“I am afraid that it is not possible.”

“… You’re a heartless monster. Worse than us.”

“And you will be heartless too, because if there is something I love the most about killing monster, is to kill them the exact same way they kill people.”

Mr. Johnson began to move towards me in a last distressful momentum. I grabbed a kind of big grapple launcher in my bag with my two hands and shot. The grapple went through the werewolf’s body, taking his heart out of his chest. The gagging sound of the monster made me grin a little. I pressed a button on the weapon and the grapple went back, the werewolf’s heart between the iron claws. I admit Kendricks’ weapons are still fantastic. Mr. Johnson’s eyes were empty and in a last wheeze, his mouth full of blood, he collapsed on the floor. I sighed in satisfaction and looked at the dead body in front of me. Then I put my gloves on and removed the heart from my weapon before letting it fall on the ground with a slimy sound. I put the weapon in the bag and went to the garage. Some gasoline here and there plus the gas lit will do the job.

I took a step out of the house and let a lighter fall on the ground. At the moment the object touched the floor, a whole blaze appeared and immediately ran all over the house. I was across the street, putting my bag in the trunk of my car when the house exploded, alarming the neighborhood. I smirked a little and went inside my car. I deserve a little drink after such a successful mission.

* * *

Hey, hope you liked it. It’s a longer OS than usual but I admit I’m pretty proud of it. I think it’s one of my favorite OS I wrote so far for this challenge. ♥

[dammitadolfnomorecake]

Once Bitten, Twice Stupid prt 172 prt 2

“Keith, put the phone on speaker!”

“You hear that?”

Pidge sounded grumpy

“Our gremlin being cranky?”

“Yeah. Are you okay to do that?”

“I’ve got it... lemme push the button”

Lance pressed speaker, managing to get it right again

“Okay, you’re on speaker, Pidge”

“Good! Hunk, help, they’re being romantic!”

“I know. I don’t know what Keith is saying, but it’s calming Lance down”

“They’re being all gross”

“Love isn’t gross”

“Because you and Shay are mental for each other. I’ll take my electronics instead. Now, I’m hooked up to your computer. Coran’s password works for everything”

“So it should work on here?”

“I’d say so. You ready?”

“Give it to me”

“It’s all one word. Coran-the-galant”

What the heck? Coran’s password involved himself? Then again, it was so weird that it was perfect. No one would think that Coran’s password was himself

“Pidge?”

“Don’t ask me. Maybe he had dreams of a sweeping red cape and slaying evil hoards”

“But... that?”

“Dude. I know you already changed your passwords to do with Shay”

Hunk blushed furiously, hissing

“Pidge!”

“I’m just saying. Are you in yet?”

“I’m getting there”

“Then hurry up. I don’t know how long I can listen to Keith and Lance”

Lance huffed

“I don’t know what you’re complaining about”

“You two being gross. Can’t you... I don’t know... do something useful like brainstorm how to stop a demon”

“We don’t know how”

“Well that doesn’t help. What if it’s on the loose?!”

“Then we have to get to Coran and Allura as soon as possible”

“Says the man who chose now to be in not labour”

“I can’t help it!”

“Pidge, stop teasing Lance. He only just started looking human again”

“That’s because he’s got a big gay crush on Keith”

“Is it still a crush if they’re dating?”

“I don’t know. I assume so”

“Good to know. Okay, I’m in”

“Great. I’ll wait for you”

“What are we concentrating on?”

“Getting the doors to the stairs up. Keith needs to get to his locker, and Lance needs to get to the infirmary”

“On it. I’ll work on this hallway, you do yours”

“Like I need you to tell me that. Oh, be careful of the encryption, it’s not Pidge level but it’s good”

“I can’t wait to see. Double or single?”

“Single and rolling”

“Damn”

“Yep”

“I wouldn’t mind meeting whoever wrote the code”

“I know, right? I’m going in!”

*

Keith could have kissed Pidge. Getting the walls up meant they couldn’t do anything about the lights and alarms, but they could leave the corridor. Selecting each door individually, she’d cleared through the staircase, going halves with Hunk for the floor between them. She would have brought the whole computer set up with her if she could. With comms not working, and there no way in hell Keith was leaving her behind, Keith dragged out the lab hoping he was guiding her the right way.

He wasn’t. Pidge had to guide him as she chided him for being lost. It was easier for them to get to Hunk and Lance than it was for Lance and Hunk to come to them, despite them being on the lower level. Keeping his sniper rifle up, he swept through the halls as they walked. The few staff they did pass seemed perplexed that this wasn’t a drill. Apparently Coran was one for drills at all kinds of odd hours. He was going to have to talk to him about that. It’d happened so many times that Coran’s staff was becoming immune. With his heart hammering, his head was filled with Lance. Get Lance, get to the infirmary, go from there. The three stages to his plan played on a loop in his head.

By the time they reached the main level, Keith had lost all patience. Running up the stairs, Pidge panted and cursed behind him, vowing death on those who invented physical exercise. Once in the hallways, he knew the way to both their friends. Leaving Pidge behind, he ran along the hall, smacking into the reception desk because he’d forgotten stopping was a thing

“Keith! Bud! I’m so glad you’re here!”

Hunk stood, eyes filling with tears. The words heartfelt... and kind of ignored. Rushing around the desk, he threw himself down to sit beside Lance. His boyfriend’s wings still out, and his colour deathly

“Lance?”

Tapping Lance’s cheek, Lance roused. How could Hunk let him sleep!? Sleep wasn’t good if Lance had started losing blood

“K-Keith?”

Realising he was real, Lance threw his arms around him. Keith falling on his arse with the impact

“I’ve got you. I’ve got you, babe. I’ve got you. You’re okay”

“I was scared!”

Keith chuckled. Lance had his moments, but he’d also had his moments where he’d taken charge. His boyfriend’s brain never shut up

“I know. How do you feel? Does it still hurt?”

“Yes... I don’t want to lose them”

“I know. Hunk, can you get the doors open to Coran’s office?”

“I’m working on it, but his and Allura’s office have an extra layer of security”

Reaching the desk, Pidge had both hands on her sides as she panted

“Oh, don’t worry about me, I’ve done all the hard work... I’m just... going to die now...”

“I need your help with this encryption. If we lift these four doors we’ll clear the way to Coran’s office without opening the stairs to the car park”

Pidge groaned, moving around the reception desk as she did

“I demand a pay rise... no one said running... was going to happen”

Leaving Pidge and Hunk to nerd, Keith pulled Lance up against him. His boyfriend’s legs over his left leg as he nosed his hair. His left hand rested on Lance’s belly

“Have they been moving?”

“Not as much today... I don’t want to lose them”

“You won’t. You’re not going to”

“I’m sorry... we need to be focusing on Shiro. We need to get to them. It feels like something’s really wrong”

“Coran can handle it. Allura is scary when she’s mad. Can you image how scary she’d be if a demon insulted her?”

“Very... shit... it hurts”

“I know. Keep breathing for me”

“I have been”

“Good. Good. You’ll be okay”

Lance sniffled sadly, whimpering as he hid his face with his forehead against Keith’s

“I wet myself...”

“I think that’s kind of perfectly okay given things”

“It’s embarrassing”

“It’s not like you’ve had access to a bathroom in the last two hours”

“Is that how long it’s been? It feels so much longer”

“You guys were trapped in the elevator for awhile...”

“I don’t like them”

“I’m not feeling too love towards them”

“It felt like it was going to fall and we were going to be eaten by the darkness”

“I’m sorry. I should have...”

“Don’t. We were getting coffee, like we’ve done dozens of times”

“Still”

“No. No. You came to our rescue again. You and Pidge make a great team. I was useless”

“So was I”

“You calmed me down”

“Really?”

Lance sniffled loudly, nodding as he did

“Yeah. Yeah, you did. This feeling’s really upset my ego. I watched my own nails shrink as you talked to me”

“I’m glad your ego thinks so highly of me”

“So am I... Keith, what do we do if the twins aren’t okay? What if this was what Allura saw? Me losing them... Shiro in pain? We thought it was us...”

That fucking prophecy. Keith knew it’d come back to bite them on the arse, but Allura had never mentioned the rest of all of this

“I... I don’t know. I don’t know how to get to him”

“If I was alone I could try the shaft? I’ve done it before...”

Keith shook his head immediately. This wasn’t like the mines in Garrison

“No. I am not letting you go down there alone. Either we all go or we all stay, or we all escape. There’s no in between’s or maybe’s”

“Once we’ve hit Coran’s office, we should get down to my lab”

“Coran’s office?”

Oh. Yeah... Lance probably wasn’t thinking straight

“We’ll get you some blood”

“I don’t know if that’s a good idea when my ego is flaring”

“You need your strength, babe”

“You’re the one always rescuing me. Maybe I am a princess after all. You’re my knight in not so shining armour, Keith Kogane”

“And you’re my idiot crumpet”

“Says the anger loaf”

Keith nodded with a smile on his lips, agreeing completely. He’s taken absolutely any teasing from Lance because Lance had taught how to tease with love not malice

“Says the anger loaf”

[sweetwritertanya]

Sing With You (Part 3)

Summary: You and Jungkook become entangled on a moment of passion after you decide to surprise him.

Warnings: SMUT! Like, almost all of it is smut. Be aware of: erotic body touching, somewhat fingering (but not really?), unprotected sex (be smart IRL), doggy style.

REQUESTED: YES! Two sweeties requested a smutty third part for my Sing With You series, so here it is! Hope you all enjoy it!

Word Count: 1848

“So you didn’t go with them?” you asked through the phone, a smile tugging at your lips, completely out of your control.

“No… They said I was sulking, but I’m not. I just miss you so much, I wanted to talk to you” you hear him whine while you press the number on the elevator. His hyungs were probably just teasing him with hopes he would cheer up, but he was too down to see it. You sighed.

“Baby, you should have gone with them. Celebrating after a concert is always so fun” you tell him, stepping out and walking down the deserted hallway.

“Nothing is fun when I’m missing you.” You could almost see his pout through the phone and you bit down your lip, trying to suppress a chuckle.

“Well, if I’m being completely honest, I’m kind of glad you didn’t go” you confess, stopping at the correct door.

“Why is that?” he asks, confused.

“You’ll see.”

A knock on his door makes Jungkook stand up from his chair, phone still on his hear, and go look through the peep hole. He gasps at what he sees.

Throwing the door wide open, you giggle at the wide brown eyes, open-mouthed man in front of you, phone still pressed against his hear, hair still slightly moist from the shower. He looked you up and down, taking in your figure as if finding it unbelievable you were actually there.

“Surprise!” you say, hanging up your phone.

“What… How…” he didn’t seem to be able to pick a question. He lowered his phone, but was still standing in your way, not moving from the doorframe.

“I’m the mystery guest for my friend’s concert tomorrow! You know, she’s-” but you couldn’t finish your sentence.

Yelping at the sudden pull, Jungkook grabbed you by your waist and crashed you into his chest, closing the door as he spanned you around in the hotel room. You hang on to his shoulders, nuzzling at his neck as you laughed.

Without giving you too much room to catch your breath, Jungkook puts you down just so he can lean back and kiss you, his soft lips puckering your own and growing needier and hungrier by the second. You smile into the kiss and grab the nape of his neck with one hand to keep your lips locked, showing him how much you missed him too.

Forcing your lips open, he deepened the kiss, invoking a tremble up your back as you sighed. Mouths working together, feeling and tasting one another, your feet were forced to move back until you reached the inside of the room, the back of your legs hitting the soft bed in the middle.

“Kook…” you whispered when you were forced to sit down on the bed, no longer having the strengths to stand up.

Jungkook’s lips moved from yours to the side of your neck, much to your pleasure. He was kneeled on the bed beside you, one hand moving up and down your back, the other brushing the skin of your arm that he was disclosing of your jacket.

“I missed you so much, Y/N” he murmurs against your hot skin. “So much. Still can’t believe you’re here.”

“I’m here” you assure him, one hand moving to grab the hair on his head as his lips move further down to your collarbones.

“Stay the night?” he asks, one hand already under your shirt, cold fingers bringing goosebumps on your skin. Like you could ever say no to him, when he asked so nicely.

“Of course” you smiled at him.

He kissed you again, deeply, interrupting the movement of his mouth only to take your shirt off your body. Licking his lips, he proceeded to nib and suck at every inch of skin he could, eliciting embarrassing noises from your throat that you just couldn’t control. Hands roaming up and down your back and sides, one eventually moved to your covered breast as the other tried to open the hooks on your back.  

You felt an uncomfortable heat inside you, one that his touch only fueled further but that only his touch could extinguish as well. It was a contradiction that frustrated you to no end, especially when he took his time to tease you, like he was doing now.

The bra now gone, he was kneading at your breasts and enjoying the feel of them on his hands, scrubbing his thumbs over the hardening nipples but never really rubbing them or taking them in his mouth. The tension on the pit of your stomach was only aggravating and you squirmed underneath him.

“Jungkook, please!” you plead with him.

Thankfully, even though you knew he loved teasing you, he could never master to refuse any of your wishes. He was quite the compliant man, probably because he was just as eager as you were to further things.

Finally taking one of your nipples into his mouth, he sucked and flicked his tongue on it just enough to have you moan from the pleasure, relieving but unsatisfactory at the same time. Your own hands were gripping at his sweater, bringing it up his body. He helped you remove it from him as he treated your other breast the same. Running your hands up and down his back, squeezing his shoulders and the muscles of his arms, you relished in the feeling of him trembling above you.

His hands immediately moved to his belt, that he took off as well as his trousers, leaving him only in his underwear. Flushed and breathing heavily, your lifted your hips so he could do the same to you. Showing no hesitation, not only did he took off your jeans, he also took of your panties on the same go. You gasped at the cold air contrasting with your burning center.

“God, baby…” he growled, looking at your naked form. “Can… can your get on your knees for me, baby?”

You smiled up at him, still finding it adorable that he blushed whenever he had some kind of request like this. You sat up and pulled him down so you could kiss his lips lovingly.

“Anything for you” you told him.

Hands and knees on the soft white sheets of the hotel bed, you looked back to see his admiring expression, hands moving the expand of your back and down to your butt, that he squeezed slightly, before his fingers slid between your folds to your aching center.

“So wet…” You saw something twitch inside his boxers as he moved down to kiss your back.

“Please, Jungkook” you whimper, gripping the sheets. You were so ready for him.

Breath itching in his throat, he took off his last item of clothing and, excruciatingly slow, rubbed his length against your sensitive core. You bit your lips, but the moans were still escaping you. Your insides were burning up and you just couldn’t take it anymore. You pressed your hips against him, hoping he would get the idea. He did.

There was almost no resistance as he finally drove himself into your warmth, a sigh of relief leaving your parted lips at the sensation of him stretching and filling you up. His hands were wondering your exposed back and sides as he stood still, letting you adjust properly.

“So, so good… Y/N, baby, you’re so good…” he kept whispering between caresses, making you feel so incredibly loved and cared for.

Wiggling your hips a bit, he hissed before he started moving. Pulling slowly out only to slam back in, he dig his hands on your hips to keep him steady as he kept the fast pace. The sound of skin slapping skin, the feeling of him rubbing your inner walls with each thrust, the tip hitting a deep spot in you that had your nerves catch on fire, you were closer and closer to the edge each time.

You knew he was too, his breathing becoming labored, the whimpers escaping him, the way his hands were now sliding up and down your skin, feeling the most of you that he could.

“Y/N, baby! Ah, I can’t… You need!” He couldn’t form a coherent sentence, but neither could you really. Your whole face was burning up and your brain was completely numb, all you were capable of doing was hold yourself up and let out lewd sounds from the back of your throat.

Needing you to reach your end, Jungkook’s hand moved across your stomach only to reach in between your legs, rubbing just above where your bodies were already connecting, the little bud that was throbbing as much as his shaft inside you was.

The added pleasure from his hand on your bundle of nerves was enough to make your scream and fall over the edge, something inside you shattering and your walls clenching vividly around him, enticing his own climax from how tight you became.

Your arms gave out and you fell into the pillows, the gripping strength of his hands on your hips as he paralyzed behind you, reaching his own end as fluids mixed inside, the only reason for your legs not to collapse as well. But when he slipped out of you, his body falling beside you, you curled up on your side to watch him. Sweaty skin, blushed cheeks and pleasure-filled eyes, he never looked more handsome to you.

“Thank you for coming” he whispered.

You hit his arm, hiding your face behind your hands at the double meaning of his words.

“Jungkook!” you admonished him.

He chuckled and pulled your body close to him, bringing the sheets up to cover both of you.

“I meant for coming here, to meet me. You have such a dirty mind!” he teased, one hand coming up to cover your blushing cheek.

“I do not. You’re the one that doesn’t seem to make a phrase that can’t be misunderstood” you told him, inching closer to him and nuzzling your face up to his chest.

“Yeah, it seems to happen a lot when I’m with you” he admitted.

“Well… fortunately for you, I find it adorable” you told him, smiling against his skin.

“Ugh…! Not adorable. Say handsome instead” he proposed.

“That too, but I maintain the adorable” you chuckled.

“Fine. You’re lucky I love you so much” he hid his face on your hair before you could look up at him to see his expression.

“Can’t disagree with that. Still feels unbelievable to me, sometimes. I had a crush on your for so long, I worry this is all some kind of dream” you confess.

“It’s not. I love you” he kissed your head.

“Love you too, Jungkook” you reciprocated. Then you pulled your head back so you could look at him as an idea popped up in your mind. “Wanna come with me tomorrow? To the concert? You guys only leave the day after, right?”

He smiled warmly at you, a sparkle on his big chocolate eyes.

“Only if I get to sing with you on stage” he said.

“Deal” you kissed his smiling lips.

[stayextrafrosty]

Of Saints and Sin: Chapter 4

Fall Out Boy Mob Boss AU

Warnings: cursing, violence

Read On AO3

The ride was tense. No one wanted to say something to set Patrick off again. They were all in agreement over getting rid of the asshole, but Patrick really seemed riled up. He blamed himself for any trouble that he may have caused.

They had taken one of their less obvious cars. They figured if Vinn had any guys that were loyal to him, they would be reporting any nice cars in the area. Even if he wasn’t there anymore.

Pilsen hasn’t changed much during the time Patrick could remember. It was a lower income section of the city that needed a lot of work. Work that Vinn clearly wasn’t doing. The buildings looked like they were falling apart. Paint was pealing. The graffiti art looked more like vandalism.

They pulled up to a larger office building. Patrick hadn’t been here in a while. He remembered coming here once with his brother, but it was more to pay respects than to do business. There was a festival going on at the time.

Patrick shook himself out of memory lane as they opened the door and stepped out cautiously. It was too quiet around here. There was no way Vinn just abandoned it. Patrick reached for the gun at his hip.

“Stay alert. Some of his guys are probably still around.” Various sounds of agreement followed.

They made their way up to the door. Andy pulled and it opened with ease. They all shared a look and began to move inside. First Joe and Pete, then Patrick and Andy rounded the back. The front lobby was empty, or at least seemed to be. Joe hurried around the front desk to get into the computer.

“Ok, so there’s two floors of offices and the third is probably the main office. This also shows a basement. It’s the only floor I can’t unlock from here. Must be his ‘jail’ of sorts.” Patrick nodded. They would have to find a staircase. And if that isn’t possible, they would have to climb the elevator shafts.

“One floor at a time. We have to make sure no one else is here before we lock it down.”

“Do you want me to call back up now? You seem on edge,” Pete said. Patrick thought for a moment.

“I just don’t trust that this place is empty. Maybe that would be a good idea. At least put them on standby somewhere close.” Pete nodded and shot a text to the reserves. They made their way over to the elevator, trying to keep an ear out for anything that wasn’t normal.

It was still playing the bad music that all elevators play, making Patrick’s skin crawl. He felt like it was a horror move. He supposed it was in a way. The things they did were horrific, and he couldn’t seem to escape it.

The elevator dinged, signaling their arrival to the second floor. They exited in the same order as before, each with their guns loaded. They couldn’t afford to be surprised. They made their way down the hallway, opening each door slowly. They all looked like regular offices, but Patrick knew they would have to send drug sniffing dogs in here before reforming it.

Patrick located the lobby area of the second floor. The coffee was still warm. The people here had left in a hurry. Or maybe they hadn’t left at all.

“Trick, you better come see this.” He turned toward the voice. The other three stood in front of the door to another room. He made his way over quickly. Patrick winced at the scene before him.

A single gunshot to the head. The man was slumped in his chair as if he didn’t have time to react before he was shot. Patrick didn’t recognize him. He looked around the room briefly. There was a picture of him with his wife and kids but little else to identify him. He sighed.

“Look for a business card or something. We have to inform his family. If they’re still alive.” The guys nodded as they looked around the room. Patrick hadn’t expected to find any bodies. That was naive of him. Patrick left to look through the other rooms but that was the only one with a dead body.

“Hey, boss, I found something. And you won’t like it.” Pete handed him a piece of paper.

If you found this I congratulate you on not being a fucking dumbass. I promise this guy deserved it. He wasn’t meeting quota. It’s time for things to change so that we can actually make money. So, I’d appreciate it if you handed the territory over to the Snakes.

It wasn’t signed. But it didn’t need to be. Vinn had switched sides. Patrick had expected it, but something was telling him that this wouldn’t be the only body they would come across. Patrick wondered how long Vinn had been working with Reggie and the Snakes.

But this meant they had to shift operations everywhere. Safe houses weren’t safe and headquarters for other districts were compromised. He had to move his headquarters also. Unless He killed Vinn before he could spill. Patrick folded the paper and slipped it in his pocket.

“Here’s what’s going to happen. Vinn is going to come back. Probably with reinforcements. We need to have this place under strict watch when that happens. We need any forces we can get so we can ambush them. The ultimate goal is to get rid of Vinn. I don’t care who does it, but it needs to be done.”  The other three guys nodded.

“And what if the Snake leader is there. Should he take priority?” Patrick thought for a moment.

“You three and I will focus on Reggie if he shows up. I need him taken alive.”

-

Reggie sipped on a beer. This plan better work or that idiot was going to have hell to pay. He looked around the limo. His guys held their guns lazily. Dumbasses were gunna kill each other before the target.

“What did I tell you about holding those? They’re semi-automatic. I don’t need a million fucking holes in my limo or myself. Look alive you little shits,” he snapped at them. They each changed the way they were sitting. He really did love being the boss.

Reggie pulled out his phone and texted her. He smirked at his phone with the dirty picture. He couldn’t wait to see Patrick’s face when he showed him this. It’d break his little heart. He’s too soft. He’s not fit to be a leader. She had told him that plenty of times.

-

Make sure everyone is prepared. And find that guys family. They deserve to mourn.

Patrick hit send on the text to Smyth. They had moved through the rest of the building they could access. There weren’t any more bodies but that didn’t mean there wouldn’t be once Joe hacked the lock to the basement.

Joe cursed from behind the counter. Clearly it wasn’t going well.

“Damnit. Why the fuck does he have something this complex. There’s not even anything this difficult in our own headquarters. This is like, military grade shit.”

“Not sure if I should take that as an insult to our own security,” Patrick said, watching the front door.

“No. This is way more beefed up. I can get into it but not in any sort of reasonable time frame.” He turned back and Joe shrugged. Patrick clenched his fist and resisted the urge to hit a wall.

It was important that they learned what was down there before turning it into a war zone. He wanted to clear out the entire surrounding area, but he couldn’t just displace that many people. And he probably couldn’t afford to fix all their homes if they were to be destroyed.

“Alright. I’m going to try to find another way in,” Patrick said. Joe nodded and kept working.

“I’ll come with,” Andy said.

The two of them stepped out of the front door, looking around cautiously. They made their way to the back of the building, hoping for a cellar door that they could easily break. Patrick tried to peer through the dark windows. There hadn’t been any doors in the front room except for the storage and bathrooms.

“There weren’t any windows in the storage room or bathrooms, right?” Andy thought and shook his head.

“No.”

“Well these can’t just go nowhere.” Patrick looked around for something to break the window. The wall had begun to deteriorate in some places. He picked up a larger piece of concrete. It would do.

Patrick moved back to one of the windows.  He tried to see what was inside again, but it was still dark. He stepped back and hurled the block at the window. The glass shattered. Patrick waited for the glass to stop falling before he walked up to the hole.

“No one is in here right,” he called in through the hole. Silence followed. “Alright. Help me get rid of the glass so I can get in there.”

“Not sure if that’s a good idea. What if you can’t get back out?”

“I just have to get back to this window. But if this is how we get to the basement then I gotta check it out.” Andy nodded slowly and helped knock off the remaining glass.

Patrick jumped up and slid through the opening. This wasn’t easy in dress pants, but he did it. He landed on the dirty floor. Andy waited by the window as he explored. There was minimal light from the windows. They were too tinted.

Patrick didn’t see much other than a few tables with chairs covered in a layer of dust. He was looking for a door. An exit that would lead somewhere more familiar. He noticed one on the other side of the room. He moved slowly, just in case he needed to be aware of something.

He jiggled the handle. It opened to a staircase down. He wanted to see what was down there but he couldn’t without backup. He jogged back to the window.

“I found a staircase going down. We should get the other two,” Patrick said. Andy nodded then reached for his phone that seemed to be buzzing. His eyes widened a fraction and then Patrick heard the gunshots.

“Stay here. Looks like Vinn got here earlier than we thought.” Andy rushed off. Fuck.

Patrick clambered out of the window and ran around the building, prepping his gun on the way. He hid behind a corner and peeked around it. There were three limos and their car. He didn’t see anyone but that doesn’t mean there weren’t any still in the vehicles.

The gunshots resumed. They sounded like machine guns and he couldn’t just leave them there to die. He had to find another way to get in. He didn’t want to go back to the other room, but he figured that was the only option.

He stepped back. Into the barrel of a gun.

“I can’t believe your right hands just left you alone. I knew you was a shitty leader. Never understood like your brother,” Vinn sneered at him. “Drop your gun or I’ll kill you.”

“You’re going to kill me anyway so what’s the point,” Patrick spit back. The gun pressed harder against his head.

“Shut up you waste of space and do what I say!” He was bluffing. No one was allowed to kill him except Reggie. How considerate.

“The thing about losers like you, you will never have power. You only have the illusion of power. No one respects you. You could never get anyone to do what you want.” Vinn shoved him forward and spun him around, grabbing his shirt.

“Shut up! I don’t need it when I have a gun in my hand. People tend to listen to that,” he said, glaring.

“And yet here we are.” His nose flared and brought his gun up to hit Patrick across the face. He never got to hitting him though.

As soon as the barrel wasn’t pointed at him anymore, he swept his feet out from under him. Vinn stumbled back and Patrick trained his gun on him. He hated killing people. But this one was necessary.

“Any last words?” He stopped himself from laughing at the cliché.

“What happened to never raising a weapon against your own?” Patrick glared at him.

“You never were one of us and even if you were, it ended as soon as you started trafficking underage girls,” he scolded. Vinn rolled his eyes

“Oh, I see. Your girl spill her guts before she blew you? The whore broke her promise. Shouldn’t have expected anything more,” Vinn said, a smirk overtaking his face. Patrick’s anger flared, and his fist was flying at Vinn’s face. Patrick could feel the bones in his nose break. Or maybe that was his hand. Vinn stumbled into the wall, clutching his face.

“Don’t talk about her like that. You’re the disgusting one. The world will be better without you.” Vinn met his eyes and Patrick almost hesitated. Almost.

He fired a single shot into his head. The memory of Smyth killing a guy that day flashed across his mind. This was it. This was part of the business he wanted to take over. He couldn’t react the same way he did that day.

“Well that wasn’t very nice. Idiot did have some good ideas.” Patrick turned to the new voice. He would never forget it. He pointed his gun at Reggie’s head.

A cigarette hung loosely out of his mouth. And he still didn’t flinch with a gun pointed at him.

“Shoot if you want but I don’t think ‘ur guys would appreciate being dead any more than I would,” he said. Patrick looked over his shoulder and saw Pete, Joe, and Andy being restrained by more than a few of his guys. He ground his teeth together.

“Don’t listen to him, idiot! Just shoot,” Pete yelled at him. A guy hit him with the end of his gun. Patrick took a step toward them.

“I wouldn’t. Not in the middle of our little convo.” Patrick looked back at the Snake’s leader.

“So then start talking. Clearly you want something,” he said. Reggie looked almost thoughtful.

“More like I want this building. And this whole area. Saves you the trouble of finding a new leader for this section.” Patrick clenched his jaw. It wasn’t a huge section, but it would pretty much negate the area they took from the Snakes.

“Make up your mind pretty boy, I don’t got all day,” Reggie said, irritated. Patrick looked back to his three friends. Where was that backup he called for?

“You have to promise me their safety. Let us go, and it’s yours.” Patrick heard loud protesting from his friends, but he dared not look at them. Reggie smirked and lifted his hand.

“Good choice kid.” Patrick eyes darted over to the other three and they were being released. Guns were pointed at them the entire time they walked towards him. Patrick looked past their angry glares to Reggie. “Now get out.”

“You going to let us go to our car,” Patrick asked stiffly? Reggie glanced behind him then back at Patrick.

“Nah. I like that car.” Patrick glared at him. He shouldn’t have expected any more.

Patrick nodded to the other three and they all backed away slowly. He never turned his back to the other gang. He glanced over to the back of the building where they had broken in. What was in there?

“And do me a favor! Bring my baby sister back at some point wontcha?” There was cackling from the group. Patrick wanted to puke. He wouldn’t send her back to that.

“I oughta kill him with my bare hands,” Pete mumbled. Patrick didn’t disagree.

“Soon,” he said.

Patrick looked around but still didn’t see any cars pulling up. Maybe Vinn took more with him than he thought. Once they were a safe distance away, he pulled out his phone again and dialed Smyth.

“What’s going on, Boss?”

“We got a problem. Pete called for reinforcements but none showed up. We were ambushed. Lost Pilsen.” Smyth said something to whoever was with him.

“We never got the message for back up.”

“Fuck. Then Vinn had a hold on more people than originally thought.”

“Did you find him?” Patrick gripped the phone.

“Yea. He’s dead.” Silence. “We’re headed north from the Pilsen headquarters. Come get us. But be careful.”

“Sure… You ok, kid?” No. He wasn’t. But that didn’t matter.

“Yea. Just hurry up.”

Patrick hung up and looked at his friends. Joe looked like he wanted to lecture him. He probably deserved it. But if he could go back, he wouldn’t change a damn thing.

“Don’t say anything. I would save you guys again in a heartbeat. When we get back to base, get ready to move. I don’t know how much Vinn spilled so we gotta go.” The three of them nodded as they continued walking.

A small kid ran across their path, nearly tripping Joe. A short mother ran after him, calling his name.

“Marcelo! Stop running!” She was able to grab the small boy’s arm and picked him up. “What did I tell you? You going to hurt yourself,” she scolded him. She turned toward the four of them. She looked them up and down and held her child closer to her.

“I’m sorry,” she said, her slight accent noticeable. Patrick tried to smile at her, but it was clear she wasn’t trusting them. Understandably so.

“Don’t worry about it. I’m sure kids can be a handful,” he said lightly.

“We don’t need money from you!” Patrick raised an eyebrow and looked over at Pete.

“I didn’t mean to suggest that you do. I’m sorry for offending you.” She seemed to relax slightly.

“You mean to tell me you don’t work for that gang? You don’t want to destroy everything we built?” Patrick sighed and ran a hand through his hair. So that was it. Vinn traumatized these people. And it was just going to get worse.

“Ma’am, you have no idea how sorry I am that you had to go through times of such fear. That man is gone now. And I’m begging you to hold on just a bit longer. I will help you rebuild. It won’t be horrible forever.”

“Don’t tell me you’re the big guy?” She seemed to be joking but her face changed as Patrick nodded. “Well then you better do something fast. Because there’s more drugs running through these streets than the rain can wash away.” He clenched his fists.

“Unfortunately, I don’t control this section right now. But I promise, I’ll get it back.” A car pulled up to the side of the street. The window rolled down and there was Smyth.

“Let’s go Boss. We have some things to discuss.”

-

The car ride was awkward. Tense was a better word. Smyth gripped the steering wheel the whole ride back. Pete tapped away on his phone, probably letting the safe houses know that they needed to regroup and relocate.

Walking into headquarters made Patrick want to hide. Every eye turned toward him. Some not nearly as welcoming as usual. A chill ran down his spine. He had really fucked it up this time. He wouldn’t be surprised if more people defected. Patrick shook his head. He couldn’t think like that.

But he was right back where he started with territory. Except it was worse. The Snakes had inched in on the more important areas. The areas that brought in the most revenue. Legal revenue that is. The five of them stepped into the elevator. Patrick gripped the bar along the wall, refraining from hitting something. He took a deep breath.

“Alright. Start packing when we get up there. We have to move fast. I already have an idea of where to go.” He looked around them briefly to make sure they understood. They each nodded.

Smyth was the only one that followed him once they reached the floor. Patrick knew he was in for it. He chuckled to himself. It was as though he wasn’t even the boss. Smyth pretty much just told him what to do and he would execute it. What a sad excuse for a leader.

“Just let me have it. Stop fuming in silence,” Patrick snapped once the door to his office closed.

“I don’t know what you want me to say, kid. I could yell at you for going in without backup in the first place. I could yell at you for losing a crucial piece of territory. I could yell at you for even choosing this job in the first place. The list is a mile-long Trick.”

Patrick ground his teeth and ran a hand though his hair. He knew all of that. He fucked up. He just needed to hear it from someone else.

“But I’m not going to yell at you. Because I know how you work kid. You want me to tell you the things you did wrong and then tell you how to fix them. That’s not my job, it’s yours. You needa figure it out.” Patrick whirled around, glaring.

“Then why the fuck are you here? If you’re just gunna bail on me when I need you then why don’t you leave? Why don’t you—”

“Oh, grow the fuck up, Patrick!” Patrick blinked in surprise. “This was your choice! You chose the mob and guess what? Now you have to live with that choice! You can’t pick and choose when to be a leader and when you want to be a kid.” He clenched his fists. Patrick had never seen Smyth this angry.

“A weak leader means a weak gang. And when members sense weakness, they either overthrow you or defect. So, I suggest you figure it out before you die. One way or another.” Smyth spun on his heal and stormed out, limp still evident.

Patrick stood there for a while, trying to wrap his head around what had just happened. He dug his nails into his palm, composing himself. A part of him knew Smyth was right. He still felt like a kid. Who was he fooling? He was twenty-four. There was no doubt he was still a kid. Forced to grow up sooner than normal.

He moved to his desk, shifting things around, collecting papers. There was a knock at his door. He just ignored it. The knocking continued, and he ended up knocking over the lamp, sending it to the floor with a clatter.

“What,” he barked. The door creaked open and then clicked shut again. “I swear to god this better be important,” he said stiffly. He turned, coming face to face with V. She stood, arms crossed.

“Smyth called me,” she said flatly. Patrick raised an eyebrow. Why would he call her? “Told me Vinn was dead. I didn’t expect you to deal with it so quickly.” Oh, right. “Under normal circumstances, I might say thank you, but from the way you just bit my head off… Why not tell me what happened, and I can give you some advice.” Patrick shook his head, anger flaring.

“What would you know about it,” he snapped. Her eyes narrowed.

“Look, if you’re not going to accept help when it’s offered then you’re in for a rude awakening.”

“I don’t need to listen to you spit more bullshit at me about being a leader,” he said, turning away from her.

“Seems like you do! You’re acting like a child!” Patrick clenched his fists and ground his teeth together. He could have screamed. Patrick whirled around to face her again.

“It’s almost like I am! It’s almost like I was forced to grow up!” She took a step toward him.

“Oh, boo hoo for you! So were the rest of us!” Patrick flinched. V took a breath, calming herself. “I know your general story. You have my sympathies but that doesn’t mean you can just bail like this. It sucks for sure. But you don’t have the luxury of acting your age anymore.”

Patrick didn’t respond. Both of them were right and he knew it. But it hurt his pride. He was like a filter for Smyth. He had to start acting on his own. He slipped his hand into his pockets.

“We need to move. Our location was compromised. And I lost Pilsen.” He thought he saw a softness race across her features, but it was gone too fast.

“Well. It’ll be hard to top this place,” she said half-heartedly, nodding to the old wood that surrounded them. He didn’t disagree, the place had character and Patrick liked that. A knock came from the door.

“Come in,” he called. Pete, Joe and Andy stood in the open door. Patrick felt his shoulders relax. They hadn’t left him.

“We’re almost ready to get going, Boss,” Joe said. Patrick nodded and looked over at Pete.

“What’s the status of the safe houses? Have they been evacuated?” Pete pulled out his phone and scrolled a bit.

“Most of them, yea. I would like to request that I be allowed to check on Mana. Move her to a secure location myself.” Patrick thought for a moment. He needed her to be safe. He nodded at Pete’s request.

“Yes, go do that. Andy, Joe. You’re with me. We gotta erase any evidence that we were here.” Pete waved and hurried out. Patrick turned back to V.

“I appreciate the pep talk but let’s not forget that I’m the boss,” he joked. She rolled her eyes and smirked. Did his heart skip a beat? If it did he wouldn’t admit it.

“Whatever you say, dude.” She saluted and left. Patrick followed Joe and Andy out.

-

Pete sped toward the safehouse where he left Mana not that long ago. She was probably gunna complain, not that he could blame her. He counted more than a couple cops that he sped past but none of them bothered him. Until the last one.

He noticed the lights flashing behind him when he sped through a yellow light as it turned red. Pete cursed to himself. Probably a newbie who hasn’t had any run ins with their gang yet. He pulled into a parking lot and pulled his ID out before the cop came up to the door along with a couple hundreds. He was in a hurry.

A guy a bit younger than him came up to the door. He peaked inside the car, obviously looking for any visible drugs or weapons. Pete smiled at him.

“Can I help you, sir,” he asked politely.

“Well I pulled you over because you ran the red light back there. On top of that I clocked you going almost sixty in a thirty-five. Can I see your license and insurance please?” Pete sighed and handed him his license.

“Look. You seem new so it’s not that big of a deal. But we have an agreement with your chief. It’ll take a while to learn which cars are ours, but the Overcast do our best to follow the laws when there isn’t something horrible pending.” Pete handed him the money and waited for his license.

“Are you trying to bribe me, sir? I could arrest you for that alone.” Pete tried to not show his impatience.

“If you let me get my phone, I can call your boss right now and have him explain it.”

“No one is above the law. I’m going to need you to step out of the vehicle and keep your hands where I can see them.” Pete did not have time for this. He gripped the steering wheel to keep himself calm.

“Hey, Siri, call Sheriff.” Pete stepped out of the car while the phone rang. The cop looked furious.

“Hang it up right now. Who are you calling? You’ll have to come with me down to the station.”

Peter? What did you need? I’m a bit busy right now.

Pete relaxed at the sheriff’s voice. He glanced to the cop that had his hand on his hip, ready to pull his gun. He still looked angry but there was recognition on his face.

“Look, one of your guys here has me on the side of the road. I just need you to tell him to let me go. I’ve got some very important things to do. Involves the safety of the city.” There was some quiet chatter from the other end before he spoke.

This is Sheriff Manoa. Let him go and come speak to me when you return to the station. I’ll explain why. Thank you for doing your job so diligently.

The rookie slowly removed his hand from the gun at his hip. Pete kept his hands forward the whole time until he seemed to relax. Did not need to be getting shop by the police of all people. Pete thanked the sheriff and he hung up.

“What makes you so special?” He heard the guy mumble. Pete held his tongue as he watched him get back into his car. Pete shook his head and sped off toward the safe house.

-

When he pulled up to the curb, he noticed most of the cars had vacated. At least they work quick. That’s what he hoped was the case. Pete hurried in past the unattended front desk. He fidgeted the entire ride up the elevator. No one was around to escort him.

Which wasn’t that big of a deal normally but in this climate, didn’t spell anything good.

He knocked on Mana’s door, waited, and when there was no answer, knocked again, more urgently. Pete jiggled the handle. It was still locked so she should still be in there. It would be a waste of time for them to lock the door as they were leaving.

“Mana? You still in there?” He thought he heard someone moving around behind the door but wasn’t sure. “Come on, it’s Pete. I was here a few hours ago? Dropped you off and stuff?”

“I can’t unlock the door genius. I’m trapped remember.” He mentally face palmed. Pete had completely forgotten. He pressed his forehead against the door.

“Did anyone tell you where they were going by chance?”

“Uh, no? I thought the whole reason I was in here was because I wasn’t trusted? Actually, I didn’t even know people left,” she said. Smartass.

“Ok… well do you wear bobby pins by chance,” he asked, hopeful. He did not want to resort to trying to kick the door in or shooting the lock.

“Yea. But I doubt you can do any better than I could.” Of course she had tried to escape. A couple pins slid under the door. He picked them up and bent one open. The lock was open in less than a minute. Pete pushed the door open, hitting Mana in the process.

“Ow! Seriously?” She rubbed her head where the door had hit.

“Sorry. Why were you standing so close to the door anyway? Whatever, grab your stuff and let’s go.” She raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms. “What?”

“You just gunna drag me all over the damn city?” Pete rolled his eyes.

“Maybe, now let’s go,” he rushed. She sighed and grabbed the bag she had with her, all its contents untouched.

She followed closely behind him, keeping quiet. He wondered if she knew what was going on. She grew up around the mob, so he assumed this might have been a regular experience. Of course, she was like a princess in a way, being the sister of the boss.

Pete’s phone buzzed in his pocket. He pulled it out as they walked up to the car. He glanced back at Mana for a moment. She didn’t seem like she was going to run so he unlocked the door for her and nodded towards the door.

“Get in.” She raised an eyebrow but didn’t argue.

“Wow I can do things on my own now?” Pete rolled his eyes before checking the message from Patrick.

“Yea. Don’t mess it up.”

The message contained a simple address followed with, Bring her here. There’s space at the new spot. Until we can sort out other safe houses.

“You’ll be staying at our headquarters again. I’ll try to get you some free roaming privileges.”

“Whata gentleman,” she mumbled sarcastically. He glanced over at her before peeling out of the parking lot.

-

Patrick, Joe and Andy familiarized themselves with the layout of the new building. It was farther north than Patrick would have liked but it was the best they had on short notice. He had found the address in an old folder that belonged to his brother. Even now, he was still getting help.

They came across a group of guards that had worked at the other building. But they talked in hushed voices and Patrick watched as they looked over their shoulders. The three of them shared a look before he made is way over to them.

“Excuse me?” He saw the three men jump. While he hadn’t been able to catch any of their conversation, he could only assume it wasn’t favorable for him.

“Boss. What can we do for you?” Patrick shrugged.

“Guess I was just curious what you guys were talking about over here all quietly.” The three of them laughed awkwardly.

“Sorry, nothing important. Just plans to go out at some point,” one of them said. The other two nodded in agreement.

“Ok. If you’re having any problems. Come to me,” Patrick said before turning back to Joe and Andy. Patrick thought he heard some mumbling but didn’t acknowledge it.

They continued down the hallways and Patrick checked his phone again. He waited for an update from Smyth, but one never came. He must have really pissed him off this time. But Patrick wanted to apologize. He couldn’t do that when Smyth was AWOL. He trusted that he could take care of himself but he still worried.

“We’ll let you know if we see Smyth. Don’t worry too much. He always turns up when you need him.” Patrick nodded at Joe’s reassuring words.

“Call a meeting for tomorrow. There’s obviously some things that need to be discussed.”

[rrrawrf-writes]

pt. 1 | pt. 2 | pt. 3 

i’m not very happy with this one, but i think winn actually gets out of the elevator now???

“We’re still waiting on the stupid cops,” Mitch bemoaned. “I knew we should’ve asked Hayburn for more feds, you can’t trust the NYPD to do their jobs.”

“No, Mitch,” Javier said quietly, while everyone in the ballroom stared at the two people in black body armor as they walked in from the balcony, “you can’t come upstairs.”

“Charrans -”

“We got it handled,” Javier hissed into his earpiece. Rick focused his glassy eyes on Javier and frowned.

“You talkin’ to me?”

Javier turned and grabbed Rick by the elbow. “DSA,” he muttered, “we need to get you out of here.”

“What?”

“Maaaay I have your attention, please.” The voice came from one of the Fellguard’s members who had smashed through the glass, but while it was low, Javier couldn’t tell if the voice belonged to a man or a woman. He didn’t care. The two of them had assault rifles slung from their shoulders. “We’re only here for two things, folks, so if we could beg everyone’s cooperation, this can be over and done with, with no harm done.”

Javier scowled and backed up, tugging Rick with him - but he stopped at a commotion near the back of the crowd, which had shifted towards the exit to the hallway.

“The other two Fellguard are up here, Javier,” Holly said, despair in her voice. “They don’t have rifles, but they’re blocking the exit.”

Javier closed his eyes for a brief moment, resisting the urge to curse, and letting his breath out in a slow hiss. “Kitchen?”

“Clear.”

“Go over there,” he ordered, but Rick just stared blankly at him. Scowling, Javier gave him a push, and the half-drunk, idiot senator’s son got the hint. He pulled his handgun from his shoulder holster as they moved.

“We’re looking for the reason you’re all here,” the ominous voice continued, their words carrying clearly over the murmuring crowd even though they had no microphone. “And little Ricky Hamsford. If we could just get those two things right up here -”

Their partner murmured something, stretching out a hand. Masks and black clothing hid the identity of the Fellguard members, but Javier realized which one she was when an invisible force slammed three or four auction attendees out of the way, creating a clear line of sight from Fellguard to Rick and Javier.

Rick’s glazed eyes widened with panic. “No,” he blurted out, stumbling back; his gaze fell to Javier, and he hissed, “Give that to me -”

“What -”

Javier was too surprised to stop the other man from wrenching the pistol out of his hands. Hissing, Javier grabbed for him, but he was just barely too slow; that same telekinetic force took hold of the senator’s son and dragged him forward. The female member of Fellguard made a swiping motion, pulling the pistol out of Rick’s drink-weakened grip.

Javier cursed.

“I’m almost there, Charrans,” Mitch reported. “Even found some of these idiot cops to come with.”

“Denvall!” Javier had told him to stay put. 

“You’re welcome.”

Rick tumbled to the floor at the first Fellguard member’s feet. They wrapped their hands around the rifle, then lifted a heavy boot and planted it on Rick’s shoulder.

“You’re the one selling Wildcard’s weapons, aren’t you?” they purred. Javier paused, then shot a look over his shoulder, looking for Holly. The DSA had no idea where Wildcard’s weapon had even come from; the auction company had protested that they didn’t even know what it was, and they wouldn’t give out the seller’s name.

“Guess which senator isn’t getting elected next year,” Holly muttered.

“Where is it now?” the rifleperson demanded, pressing the muzzle of the gun against the back of Rick’s head. They looked up, their narrow eyes scanning the room. “Anyone in here who happens to know, you’d better speak up, or Ricky here is getting his brain blown out in twenty seconds.

Javier sighed, then moved forward.

“Javier, wait,” Holly hissed.

“I’m up here,” Mitchell reported. “Tell me when you want us to take these idiots out.”

“Ten seconds,” said the rifleperson. Javier took another step forward, reaching into his pocket, but then Holly breezed by him, sucking in a great, deep breath as she went. Her gun was already in hand.

Holly controlled how much people noticed her. Javier of course, had never been influenced by her reflexive power to ignore her - she hadn’t tried to make people notice her until she became an adult and realized that being successful required having the spotlight at times - but he could guess that, right now, she had pulled everyone’s gaze straight to her in her neat blue blazer and slacks like a magnet in a tin of iron shavings.

The rifleperson’s head snapped up to stare at her; on the ground, even Rick craned around to look, despite the very real threat of a bullet to the head. Javier felt unease trickle down his spine, but he took advantage of the distraction by telling Mitch, “Now. Holly’s distracting them. Don’t let her catch you, too.”

“Who the hell are you?” the rifleperson demanded. They snapped their rifle up to point at Holly, and Javier reached for the pistol he no longer had, even though he knew it was gone. The female member of Fellguard, the telekinetic, flexed her fingers.

“Holly Black, DSA,” she snapped, pointing her pistol at the rifleperson. “Put the weapon down.”

Javier bulled forward, even as the doors at the back of the crowd burst open with calls of “DSA!” and “NYPD, FREEZE!” So many things could go wrong with this - Holly was going to get herself killed. Sweet Mother of ---, please, not Holly -

The telekinetic hissed, and then she made a grabbing motion. Holly’s gun ripped out of her hands. The female agent yelped - and then to her horror and Javier’s, she was pulled up into the air. Her hands went to her throat; Javier could hear her gasping for breath as he rushed forward.

And somehow, not a single person’s eyes strayed from the poor, choking agent.

Javier wanted nothing more than to shoot the telekinetic in the head - but he didn’t have his damn gun, and instead yanked his switchblade from his pocket. The knife flicked out almost eagerly, and a second before Javier bulled into the telekinetic, he dragged it down his wrist and into his palm.

“D’you practice that smug look in the mirror, or does it come naturally?” Winn snapped at Rembrandt. 

He twirled the electric baton around by the cord and grinned slyly down at Winn. “If you act like you’ve already won, Mr. Yale, it’s very demoralizing to everyone else. It doesn’t do to let anyone know what you’re thinking. Of course, then there’s people like you, who apparently live the philosophy of hoping everyone else will get so sick of hearing you talk that they’ll just shoot you in the face to get you to shut up.”

Winn tipped his head back against the wall, shifting uncomfortably on the hard metal top of the elevator. “You never managed it, prick.”

“And believe me when I say, I regret not having your tongue cut out every time I have to listen to you yapping like a chihuahua.”

Winn’s face reddened. Before he could think up something clever to say - which Rembrandt would undoubtedly turn about again, the bastard - his mind picked up on a sliver of hope.

A gun was coming up the stairs. A gun, and a badge - a police officer. Winn sucked in a breath, and then launched himself to his feet so quickly that his arm screamed in pain, and he almost tripped over the raised escape hatch.

“Hey!” he shouted, startling Rembrandt. Winn even remembered to cover his watch and Rembrandt’s earpiece transmitting to it, so at least whichever of the agents was listening in wouldn’t go deaf. “Over here!”

Rembrandt looked down the hall. Winn couldn’t see the officer, but his power tracked the man - the clothes were shaped somewhat like a man, anyway - as he stopped at the far end of the hall. Rembrandt, eyebrows arched, didn’t move from his spot.

The policeman paused where he was, and then Winn heard a muffled, deferential voice say, “Evening, Mr. Rembrandt.”

“Good evening, officer,” Rembrandt returned, as if the two had met on the street. Winn stared up at Rembrandt, who continued his lounging, and then a slow realization dawned. Winn’s stomach sank as the policeman backed up a few steps, then turned and went back to the stairs.

“Wait.” The word came out first as a hoarse, disbelieving whisper. Winn licked his lips, and then called again, “Wait! Come back!”

“Well,” Rembrandt said, as pleased a cat lapping up cream - or the blood of a decapitated mouse. “Looks like you’ve really gotten the shaft, Winn.”

The telekinetic woman couldn’t even turn her head to see Javier coming - not until he tackled her, the both of them hitting the floor hard. She cried out, and so did Holly, a moment later, as the agent dropped to the ground. Javier slid his bloody palm across the Fellguard woman’s face - at least, as much as he could see of it under the mask - and then he rolled off of her, his arm stinging.

“Pendejo!” the woman shouted. She glared at Javier as she pushed herself to her knees.

“Ysabel!” the rifleperson shouted. They half-turned, still with one shoe planted on Rick’s back. Ysabel raised her hands and made a grabbing motion at Javier, and -

Nothing happened. Her eyes widened behind the mask - his blood was smeared across her temple and into her hair - and she backed up a step or two. The woman was clearly used to relying on her powers, because her reflexes weren’t fast enough to stop Javier from swinging his foot into the side of her head.

The rifleperson swore and lifted their gun, as everyone else in the room, released from the spectacle of Holly’s power, scattered for cover. Holly coughed as she dragged herself to her feet, and then she gave a hoarse shout. “Hey!”

Almost like their nose was attached to a line, the rifleperson’s head swung around to glare at Holly instead. Javier started for them, panic leaping into his throat as Holly pushed herself up.

Javier rammed into the rifleperson just as a shot went off. Holly hit the ground again as Javier and the Fellguard member toppled over. He managed to land on top; Javier had no idea if this person even had a power, but that didn’t stop him from leaving a bloody handprint on their neck. Straddling them, Javier grappled for the rifle.

He knew this model. Javier found the catch to release the magazine, his fingers slick with his own blood, and then he slammed the magazine into the other person’s face. Several times.

“You’ve got the bloody cops working for you?” Winn yelled at Rembrandt. He snorted.

“Why are you complaining? You’re working for them.”

“I am not.”

Rembrandt rolled his eyes. “Don’t play stupid with me, Winn, I can tell when you’re lying. Everyone can.” He straightened up from the wall, swinging the baton back and forth with his other hand tucked into his pocket. Winn glared at him, wishing the bastard would fall down the shaft. Wishing he was brave enough to just shoot him. “Actually, you being here is a relief. I didn’t want to have to doublecross Fellguard myself - you’re so much better at stabbing people in the back.”

Now, Winn was angry and confused. “What?”

Rembrandt smiled down at him, like a parent explaining something to a very dull child. “Did you really think I want Fellguard running around with any more of Wildcard’s weapons?”

“More? Wait - “

“But then I saw you, and, well, there’s no way you could be here as a mere waiter, Winn. You really think it’s a coincidence you pulled a comm linked to their frequency out of my pocket?”

Winn reflexively glanced down at the earpiece cradled in his aching hand. Deuce. Deuce.

“It would be easier for me to just unleash you on them. You’ve already even started - you stole the weapon before any of us even got here.” Rembrandt grinned down at him. “Even you can be useful sometimes. I’m assuming the police are busy arresting Fellguard now? I hope they’d at least be able to kill Hamsford, first, that’s a necessity.”

“No one’s gonna ------- die,” Winn snapped, tightening his fingers around the pistol. He thought long and hard about shooting Rembrandt right then, right in his smug little smirk - 

“Hale?”

“Holly!” Winn backed up against the wall again, angling to the side as if he could see down the hall. Rembrandt frowned, turned, and startled in surprise; Holly was right there, and no one had noticed her. Winn could have kissed her.

She was pale-faced, and her blazer was no longer on her shoulders, but wrapped around her abdomen. She had a gun pointed awkwardly at Rembrandt, her other hand pressed against her side. The blazer and her white shirt were soaked with blood.

“Oh,” said Rembrandt. “Not the cops, then.”

Winn felt a grin spread across his face. “All right, Holly?”

“No.” She grimaced. “Who are you?”

“I found him down there,” Rembrandt said blandly, tucking the electric baton behind his back. “I had called down to maintenance for help, but I suppose they’re busy.”

“He ------ put me in here, Holly!” Winn snarled. “Where’s Charrans? What happened upstairs?”

“He’s coming, Hale, hold on.” Holly narrowed her eyes at Rembrandt, then ordered, with a hitch in her voice, “Back away.”

Obediently, he held up his hands and stepped back. Holly moved closer to the edge of the elevator shaft, squinting down at Winn. “Are you okay?”

Winn’s eyes widened. “Behind you - “

Rembrandt rested the electric baton, humming with electricity, against Holly’s back.

She gasped as the current surged through her, and then pitched forward. "Holly!" Winn shouted, bolting forward. He couldn't expect to actually catch her - she definitely weighed more than he did - but maybe he could break her fall -

He achieved that much. Winn yelped as Holly's full weight bore them both to the ground; her head made a sickening crack against an upraised bit of metal. Winn yelped as his arm seared with pain; he pushed Holly off of him and looked up.

Smiling, Rembrandt saluted Winn with the baton, and walked away.

[2536-whistleblower-blog]

         Starter for @imadeitx

- - -

  Mt. Massive truly was a Godless place. It was absolute hell on earth. Everywhere Waylon wandered in it, there were more adversaries to avoid and face.  He saw various kinds of atrocities either explained in the form of documents he found scattered in the chaos, or the actions of the unrestrained patients. 

 The smell of blood permeated the air of every nook and cranny of that disgusting place, darkness consumed it like a large hungry beast made of ink. Waylon’s only advantage was his camcorder, which he held firmly onto, even long after the point of giving up on getting ‘evidence’ out there. For a time, the only reason he could remember what ‘out there’ was, was because of his vivid memories of Lisa, of their sons. 

 And because of Beth. 

 Every ‘safe’ place, Waylon found what he could and left signs. It wasn’t unlike what other patients were doing, but his were addressed to someone, not to the robotic deity the patients worshiped. To a nurse, who once did everything in her power to make it so their lives had something kind in it, something pleasant. She provided Waylon the same thing, despite his not being a real patient. 

  He used blood to write on the walls in decent enough text that she would be able to notice; ‘Beth, dead end.’. ‘Beth, all locked doors. climb down’, and so on. If blood was unavailable, he used his own notebook and pencil, tearing pages out and sticking them somewhere he hoped she would be able to see. 

 The radio in the prison didn’t work out. More than fearing for his own life, he feared for her’s, uncertain how she was handling herself. He dreaded the worst, but he never gave up on her. 

  It wasn’t until the vocational block that he wasn’t able to think about her much. The Groom was relentless. Every thing Waylon knew to be true became false in his dealings with Gluskin, and his blockades. The rooms were well lit, he could hardly hide in the darkness that for a time offered him safety. The lockers, which for a time became his only shield against the horrors of outside became a tomb. He wasn’t sure how long Gluskin had him in there, and Waylon didn’t even have the sense to acknowledge the patient who distracted Gluskin long enough to grant Waylon an escape.

 He jumped down an elevator shaft in sheer panic, the ladder gave way, and he injured his leg. Not long after, he broke it completely, escaping out a window.  The Groom’s voice would always haunt him-- His jovial singing, the disgusting sound of genuine fear and sadness as Waylon took his leaps of faith to escape. But no matter what ends he went to to escape, Waylon always ran back into him. It wasn’t until The Groom nearly hung him on the faulty pulley system he set in the gym that Waylon knew from at least him, he was freed. 

 On the floor in the gymnasium was the first time in a while he could think about Beth, and hope to whatever could help she was still alive, and not suffering what he’s had to. Waylon looked up to the unconscious widower again, impaled through his torso. If he had found Beth..

 Waylon swallowed, fear and disgust shaking him to his core as he realized how fortunate that may be for her, that she would at least survive. 

 That was what Mt. Massive was, during the riot. You would be lucky if all that happened to you was a slight maiming, or if someone forced themselves on you.  

  Far worse things could happen. 

  Waylon began to see sunlight, through the administration block. The sun was rising, and it’s orange vibrant glow was one of the most beautiful things Waylon had seen. He recorded the scene of the burning church, feeling tears drip down his face, but he was apathetic to them. He had cried so much as he hid and ran, and held onto his leg, that he wouldn’t acknowledged them any longer.

 Mt. Massive granted no mercy, just as Waylon thought he was free, Blaire himself proved to be, hopefully, God willing, his final obstacle.  He was so close to freedom, he could see the gates to the asylum from there. Blaire begged for help, and Waylon foolishly thought if anything could change that awful man’s mind on his wrong-doing in the asylum, it would be to experience it’s effects first hand. If Waylon had Blaire’s help, they both could ruin Murkoff. It was a thought he had for only a second, as he approached Blaire, and felt a sharp, hot pain under his ribs. 

 Had he really come that far, just for Blaire to kill him? Did Beth sacrifice her own life to the cannibal, so he could be killed by the man who damned them both, and everyone else in this mad house?

  At the height of despair and terror, terror incarnate seemed to save Waylon. Tearing Blaire apart above him, showering him with hot blood over the dried blood on his jumpsuit. Waylon couldn’t make sense of any of it, could no longer write notes. He was bleeding from what felt like everywhere, everywhere burned and throbbed with aches and pain, especially the leg which he limped heavily on.

  When he fled outside, into a red jeep with a key still in it, Waylon couldn’t think of anything, the most basic of his instincts guiding him off the mountain, where he drove to a gas station, and passed out.

 . . . 

. . . .

. . . . . .

When his eyes finally opened again, his body felt.. Dry, from the inside out. Lights in his eyes shocked him, causing him to recoil a bit, and he heard voices. Lisa’s.. Wally and Theodore. He must be dead, was Waylon’s first idea.

 But he heard the beeping of a heart monitor, his own heart beat. He felt bandages wrapped about him, around his head, stuck onto his face which received a good number of punches, and his leg was heavy with a cast. 

 He was in a hospital, a real one. Clean, white, modern. 

 And his family was there. They all cried, Lisa and read his notes. She had seen his footage, she apologized again and again, and Waylon wasn’t sure why. 

 He felt himself smile, he was alive, he was with his family again.

 But he re-called in a panic. Beth-- “Beth,” He croaked, looking to Lisa desperately. 

“Did they bring anyone else from Mount Massive here?” He asked, and Lisa said she wasn’t sure, looking at him with concern. 

  She had read of Beth in some of his notes, someone who was helping him, he was helping. Lisa knew what it would to do Waylon if he heard she wasn’t alright.

 They had a lot of things to worry about. About how Murkoff was going to be looking for them very soon, and Waylon knew this hospital would be the first place they would look. About where their lives would go from here.

 But Waylon had to know-- If she was dead, he had to see her. He could only hope that her body would be in one piece, that maybe she found another way out.. 

  If Mount Massive had any survivors, they would be at this hospital, in Leadville. If Beth was alive, she would be here, of this, he was certain.

 Once Waylon was done enduring the doctors and nurses informing him on his injuries, Lisa allowed him to try and find her, he used a wheelchair for now to get about, it would be a while yet before he would be able to try walking on his leg.