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queen-swagzilla · 5 years ago

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Born in Dreams, Forged in Blood - Chapter 2

Rated: M

Summary: Katsuki Bakugo was not a good communicator. To be fair, neither was Izuku Midoriya. Looking back on their dumpster fire of a friendship, communication was probably the most significant missing piece in their interpersonal puzzle. Luckily, their translator is back in town, and they're about to take UA by storm.

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“I’m gonna give Sana a tour of the dorms.” Katsuki barked at the end of the day. “Then we’re going to see Deku, and we’ve got private shit to discuss. You extras better clear out before we get back.”

The look on Uraraka’s face told Sana that they’d have to forcibly remove her from the infirmary if they wanted any privacy. “I really don’t like that girl.” She muttered as they separated from their classmates.

“She’s impressive, but she’s nosy and she gets really territorial about Deku. Think she has some kinda claim over him or something.” He replied. “She has more right to be in Deku’s business than I do, though.”

“Yeah, what the hell is up with that? I know he hasn’t stopped being a friend to you, but he’s actually starting to believe that you hate him. And you told him to jump off the roof. He told me. What the fuck, dude?”

“I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Tough shit, Kacchan! The three of us are supposed to have each other’s backs against the world. It’s been that way since we were in diapers.”

“We still have each other’s backs. I’ve saved him. He’s saved me. I’m not turning my back when he’s in trouble or anything.”

“Yeah, but you act like a dick, and there’s more to friendship than literal life-threatening situations. You need to be there for the emotional shit, too. You help each other get stronger, work out problems together, just spend some fuking time together,—“

“Yeah, well Deku and I aren’t there anymore, okay? Drop it.”

“No! Tell me what happened!”

“He didn’t have a quirk!” He snapped, rounding on her. He looked around—they were outside the dorms now—and found no one in sight. Nonetheless, he grabbed her arm and pulled her inside—dragging her into the elevator. “If we’re doing this, it’s not gonna be where those extras can overhear us.”

“Fine.” She barked back, allowing him to pull her into his room and slam the door. “You could have just whispered. I would have heard you.”

“Yeah, but if AirPods is lurking, we’ll get overheard out in the open.” He replied, frustrated. “Okay, look. I started being hard on Deku because he didn’t have a quirk, but he still wanted to be a hero. He kept on putting himself in dangerous situations to get closer to hero fights and stood up to bullies and shit whose quirks were fucking violent. At first, I just wanted him to be reasonable and start looking out for himself, but he kept getting worse and I got more frustrated. He wasn’t even training physically at that point, just going off analysis and shitty self-preservation instincts. I just wanted him to think. I might have lost sight of what I was trying to get through his thick skull, but I was so fucking angry at him.”

“So you told him to kill himself?” She demanded. “You’re one of my best friends, but that’s seriously fucked up.”

“Yeah, I know.” He snapped. “I regret that, okay? Especially since that same fucking day, he saved me from the sludge villain. Before All Might showed up, I mean. But that still made me furious because what the fuck was he thinking?”

“Have you considered apologizing?”

“No, because now I’m pissed off for a different reason. He had a quirk and he let me have a fucking heart attack every time he pulled some crazy self-sacrificing stunt.”

“He said he was a super-late bloomer. Maybe it was triggered during the sludge villain attack? That’s when he started getting cagey with me, at least.

“That’s not it.” Katsuki muttered. “I have a theory now. I don’t know why I didn’t realize it sooner.”

“Wanna share with the class?” She replied when he didn’t elaborate.

“Not yet. But we should talk about it with Deku when we go see him later.” He admitted. “And your villain encounter. Don’t think I forgot.”

“You’ve had way more villain encounters than I have.” She paused. “Are you okay, by the way? After the kidnapping, I mean?”

He scowled. “Add that to the ‘we’ll talk about it later’ list.” He grumbled. “I mean physically, I’m fine. Mentally, I’m working on it.”

She sighed. “Fine. Wanna finish showing me around? You can tell me about our classmates while we’re at it.” She suggested, already moving toward the door. It was like talking to an emotionally constipated brick wall with him, sometimes.

“Uh, first…” He stopped her and she paused, turning back to look at him. “It’s good to see you. I’m glad you’re here.” He muttered, looking away. The tips of his ears burned, and she couldn’t help but smile. He might be emotionally constipated, but at least he was trying.

She threw her arms around his neck in a ferocious hug. “I missed you. Both of you. I’m really glad to be back. It didn’t feel right—learning to be a hero without you.” He murmured into his neck.

“I don’t want to get your hopes up about the team thing, because I dunno if Deku and I will be able to get past our shit. But yeah. It’ll be…nice. For the three of us to be together, I mean.”

“See? That’s a good first step!” She cheered. “Come on. Show me around.” She urged, pulling him back through the door.

He gave her a perfunctory tour, but ended up in the kitchen making food while he told her about their classmates.

“So…we like Kirishima, Kaminari, Ashido, Jirou, and Sero actively. We like Ojiro, Koda, Tokoyami, Yaoyorozu, Hagakure, Sato, and Todoroki passively. We don’t really “get” Sparkles or Tentacles. We aren’t sure about Frog Face, we dislike but respect Kirby and Four-Eyes, and fuckin hate Mineta. Sound about right?”

“Yeah. Froggy’s alright, but she tends to judge people too quickly. She’s kind of a know-it-all and she's pretty uptight, but she tells it straight and says what’s on her mind. She pissed me off today, but she was one of the people leading the charge to stop me from getting kidnapped at the training camp. She’s a real asset in a team, too. Level headed.”

“That was a whole lot of compliments. You better sling some insults to balance yourself soon.” She warned him. He threw a carrot peel at her face. “Rude. I was just trying to help.” She groused, picking the peel out of her hair.

“Yeah, well quit it.” He replied. He began ladling curry into tupperware over rice. “I was thinking we could take Deku dinner and eat with him while we catch up and talk through our shit.” He mumbled. Unfortunately for him, she heard him loud and clear.

“That’s really sweet of you, Kacchan.” She grinned, only smiling wider when he glowered. “Sounds like a plan. As long as we’re allowed to eat in the infirmary.”

He snorted. “We’re barely allowed to visit the infirmary. Aizawa basically told us to fuck off, remember? We’re going to sob-story our way in so that we can get his other visitors kicked out and stay past curfew.”

“The hell are you talking about?”

“You. Make up some bullshit about how much you miss Deku until she lets us stay.”

“I do miss Deku.” She deadpanned.

“Exactly. That’s fuckin perfect.”

“Kacchan.”

“Let’s go.”

As expected, Izuku’s room was occupied when they arrived. “I’m sorry, I can’t allow more than two visitors at a time. Otherwise it’s not fair to the other patients.” Recovery Girl informed them when they asked to see him.

“They already had their turn. Can’t you kick them out?” Katsuki growled. Sana smacked his arm (hard).

“It’s nice to meet you, Recovery Girl! I’m Sana Kimura—the transfer student. You’ll probably be seeing a lot of me.” She smiled, polite and charming. “Could you make an exception, just this once? I haven’t seen Zuku in over a year, and I wanted to surprise him today. I don’t want one of our classmates to give away the secret before I get the chance!”

She squinted at the newcomer. “Why does Bakugo have to join you?”

“We’re all childhood friends! Its been a long time since we’ve been able to spend time together. Besides, Kacchan is helping me navigate campus until I get settled.”

Recovery Girl squinted even longer—long enough to even unsettle Bakugo. “Very well. Wait here. I’ll let his other visitors know that their time is up. But I don’t want you to cause any trouble, do you understand, young man?”

Sana bristled, but Katsuki spoke before she could interject. “I understand. And uh…sorry. About the last time, I mean. I was out of line, and I destroyed a lot of your equipment.”

Recovery Girl smiled at him. “Thank you for your apology. I understand how frustrated you must have been. I must have scolded Miss Midnight for an hour after she put that muzzle on you.”

Sana scowled fiercely. “He should have been allowed to not accept the medal.” She said, seething. “That Todoroki kid didn't’ give it his all. Katsuki would have won, but that wasn’t a real win.”

“No need to convince me, dear. I agree.” She soothed. “I’ll go clear the room for you kids. Wait here.” She bustled into the room where Izuku was contained, and within seconds Sana heard loud protests booming from the occupants.

“You watched the Sports Festival?”

She snorted. “Of course I did. You and Zuku were both competing. Besides, Auntie Inko sent me about six million reminders. I wouldn’t have missed it, but I also couldn’t have missed it.”

“Oh. Well, what did you think?”

“About you? Or did you want me to give you a complete analysis of each match?”

“Just fucking tell me, dammit.”

She snickered. “You were great. I can’t believe how much control you have over your quirk now. I do think, however, that you need to work on your image in public.” He glowered. “Come on. You’re a hero. You can’t yell ‘die’. You gotta work on the rage. You want people to be hopeful when they see you, not intimidated.”

“Half my image problems came from the fucking muzzle and handcuffs. The rest of it was just treating my opponents like actual opponents. It’s shitty to pull your punches on someone who’s trying their best.”

“I agree. But really, yelling ‘die’ makes you sound unhinged. I’m pretty sure it’s a leftover habit from playing too many first person shooters, but really.”

“Yeah, I know. I’m working on it.” He conceded, pleased that she was impressed, but annoyed that she found his flaws noteworthy.

It didn’t escape her notice that Katsuki clammed up and bristled as soon as Uraraka and Iida entered the hallway.

“You got us kicked out?” Uraraka demanded, eyes fixed on Katsuki. “You actually think he wants you in his infirmary room? You’re usually the one who puts him in here!”

“He’s here because I’m here. Not that it’s any of your business. Just because you’re his friend, doesn’t mean you can dictate who Zuku spends time with.”

“Leave it alone.” Katsuki muttered, already walking into Izuku’s room. Sana looked like she wanted to argue, but if Katsuki was being the calm and reasonable one, she should probably leave it alone. She met Uraraka’s glare and Iida’s affronted, scandalized face with a venomous stare of her own, then followed Katsuki into the room.

“Kacchan? You’re my other visitor? Why are you here? Is everything—“ Izuku fell silent when sana walked through the door and stared, mouth ajar.

“Man, you two need to work on your greetings.” She joked as Izuku continued to stare at her in shock. “First time I see you two in over a year and Katsuki swears at me and you stare at me like I’m an alien. Not a single hello. You’re lucky I don’t take it personally.”

“Sana?” He choked out.

“Who the fuck else would it be, Deku?” Katsuki snapped. She slugged him in the arm.

“What are you doing here? It’s so good to see you!” He cried, automatically moving to get up before wincing and slumping back onto his cot. Apparently, he’d forgotten his injury.

“I told you I had a surprise for you!” She laughed, coming to stand by his bedside. “I transferred to UA!”

Izuku gaped again, eyes wide and jaw hanging open. “What?”

Katsuki rolled his eyes. “She had some mystery encounter with a fucking villain and didn’t totally suck at handling herself, so Principal Furry scouted her for the hero course.” He barked. “She’s in 1-A.”

To no one’s surprise, yet Katsuki’s immeasurable horror, Izuku began to tear up. “You’re really transferring to UA? We’ve missed you so much, don’t you dare say sike!” He blubbered, tears already dripping down his face. Sana cooed in comfort, immediately bending to pull him into a tight hug.

“Telling the truth, Zuku.” She promised. He sobbed louder.

“Stop crying, nerd. We brought you dinner.” Katsuki snapped, shoving the tupperware at him as he sat on his other side. “We’ve got shit to talk about, and visiting hours are almost up. We were gonna ask if we could stay past curfew, but that’s probably one too many favors for Recovery Girl, and we’re not gonna get privacy like this in the dorm. So hurry up and get your shit together.”

“You brought me dinner, Kacchan?” Izuku murmured, eyes wide as he stared at the tupperware in wonder. “You made me dinner? Thank you!”

“Whatever, nerd.” He muttered, looking away. Did he really have to act like he’d cured cancer or some shit? “You and I have shit to work out, but we can do that later. Just eat and listen while Princess Shithead explains how she was in a villain attack and didn’t tell us about it.”

Izuku frowned at Sana, simultaneously snapping the lid off his curry. “Why didn’t you tell us, Sana?” he pouted, sounding disappointed. Sana groaned.

“Let me tell you right now, the disappointed for withholding information thing is NOT going to work in your favor, Zuku.” She warned. “You have a quirk.” Izuku turned red, eyes dropping to his hands as they gripped the food container.

“Stop changing the fucking subject!” Katsuki snarled.

“Fine! It’s not that big a deal. There was this super gross villain who had robbed a bank and when he was surrounded, he started destroying everything in sight. I was picking up groceries for dinner and got caught on the scene. I got scouted because I cleared a space for triage and defended it from debris and shit. The only bad part was not having my compression sleeves or braces with me.” She rushed out.

“I saw that attack on the news! That villain leveled three city blocks and nearly took down Gang Orca!” Izuku cried. “You could have gotten seriously hurt!”

“If that’s not the fucking pot calling the kettle black…” Katsuki muttered.

Sana rolled her eyes. “We’re training to be heroes. That’s the territory.Seriously, I didn’t even get that badly hurt. All of my injuries came from my own quirk”.

“The hell is your problem?” Katsuki demanded. “Why didn’t you fucking say anything until now? You could have died! You could have died and you didn’t tell us? I’ll fucking kill you!”

“What good would telling you have done? You couldn’t do anything! Not to mention you were taken by the League like two days later! Izu’s arms got fucked up and he actually almost died because of his showdown with Muscular. You had your own shit to worry about!”

“Fucking christ.” Katsuki spat, dropping his face into his palms.

“Look, we’re all okay, right? That’s what matters.” Sana reasoned. “And next time we’ll be stronger.”

“Do you want a fucking list of how not okay this shit is? Deku has a quirk, and it breaks his bones every fifteen minutes. You could have died in a villain attack and didn’t tell us. I got kidnapped, and I’m the fucking reason All Might retired.” His voice broke on the last point. Deku turned to him so fast, Sana was surprised he didn’t break the sound barrier. “Fuck. This is my fault. Everything that’s wrong between us is my fault.”

“Oh, fuck no.” Sana snapped.

“That’s not true, Kacchan!” Deku hissed. “I’m the reason All Might retired. You’re amazing! You’re so strong and you stayed strong when you were kidnapped, even when most people doubted you. Sure, we had our struggles in middle school, but you’re still important to me and I admire you. The only reason I’ve been able to use this quirk is because I’ve been watching you grow all these years.”

Katsuki looked up at them then, and they were both horrified to find him crying. “If I’d been stronger—or if I’d listened to that cat lady and retreated earlier, All Might would still have his power.”

“No. No no no no no no no.” Deku muttered, scrambling for his phone on the bedside table. “Hold on for a second, but please stop crying Kacchan.” He pleaded. He fired off a quick text, looking unbelievably nervous. He already operated at a baseline anxiety of 60%, so now it looked like he was going to vibrate out of his skin. “Okay.” He said, looking back at them. “If I tell you this, it has to stay completely secret. Promise me.”

Katsuki sniffed and Sana nodded. “I promise.” She said.

“Whatever. Fine.” Katsuki muttered, wiping at his eyes. Izuku braced himself, anxiety palpably rising with every second. “Just spit it out, nerd!” Katsuki barked, intimidation undermined by the wavering note in his voice.

“All Might was always going to lose his power.” Izuku began. “He was badly injured five years ago, and his control over his power has been fading since then. He came to UA to find a successor.” He told them. Sana gaped at him.

“How the hell do you know that?” She demanded.

“Isn’t it obvious?” Katsuki spat. “All Might chose him. After the sludge villain, right? That’s when you two met.”

Deku looked at him in surprise. “Uh…yeah. The Sludge Villain attacked me first, and All Might saved me. He told me that I couldn’t be a hero without a quirk. But then the sludge villain got free and attacked you, and I happened to pass by. I was ready to give up, but as soon as I saw you, I had to help. It wasn’t a choice, it was an instinct. After you yelled at me, All Might caught up with me. He trained me for ten months, and on the morning of the entrance exam, he gave me his quirk.”

Sana’s jaw dropped, eyes glazing. Katsuki, however, looked barely phased. “I figured it was something like that. After Kamino Ward—All Might’s message…”

“Yeah.” Izuku nodded. “That was for me.” Tears pricked at his eyes. “He was telling me that his time as the symbol of peace was over. That it was my turn.” He looked down at his hands. “If anything, it’s my fault that he lost his power. Just like it’s my fault that you got kidnapped.”

“Come on, what the fuck?” Sana groaned.

“What the hell are you talkin about, Deku?”

“If I’d gotten to you sooner—if I hadn’t broken my arms, if I’d been able to reach you before Kurogiri—“

“I told you not to follow me! I told you to stay back. You know why I’ve been so pissed at you Deku? It’s cause you’re fuckin stupid. You keep getting yourself into shitty situations that you can’t handle. It wouldn’t have made anything better if we’d both died.”

“Kacchan—“

“No. Fuck no. I said we’d talk about it later, but it’s not like Sana doesn’t know what’s been going on. I didn’t want you hanging around me because you kept getting hurt and it drove me fuckin nuts. Sure you don’t need a quirk to be a hero, but you need to fuckin train or something! You were this skinny little nerd and you kept picking fights that you weren’t able to finish!”

“That’s bullshit, Kacchan!” Izuku snapped back. “Even after I got a quirk, you were being an asshole!”

“Yeah, because even though you had a quirk, you still treated your body like garbage and didn’t show any fucking restraint! If you know your bones break every time you use your quirk, you don’t break them twice to win a fucking festival game.” He snarled. “And you kept it from me!”

“I kept it a secret because you were being an asshole!”

“I was being an asshole because you kept breaking your fucking arms!”

“My body wasn’t strong enough to handle my quirk yet!” He argued. “I had to train and figure out how to use it! It’s not my fault the League of Villains kept showing up!”

“STOP!” Sana snapped. “Okay, this is conversation is set up to go in a really aggravating circle. Katsuki, you were worried about Zuku because he was quirkless and reckless, Then you were worried about him because even though he had a quirk, his body wasn’t prepared for it and it kept on hurting him. Despite that, he was still reckless. Gotta say, I’m not too thrilled about that either. I almost puked when I watched your fight with Todoroki.” She pinned him with a glare. “Not to mention, until today he thought you’d chosen to keep your quirk from him for years and just let him panic whenever you did something nuts.”

Izuku gaped. “I wouldn’t do that!”

“Well I know that now!”

“Shut it!” She growled. “Deku, you may not have totally given up on him, but you let yourself get intimidated by him, so you started hiding shit from him. He was trying to give you tough love but he went overboard because he was frustrated, and he didn’t explain his point of view. You didn’t really stop consider why he started losing his shit, and just assumed it was because you were quirkless. You let your toxic masculinity force a five-year miscommunication. Now your relationship is a goddamn dumpster fire and the two of you are fucking messes. You should both be in therapy for multiple reasons. I can’t believe you two are still so dense that you need a fucking translator to get along, but fuck it! I’m here now, and I’m done with this bullshit. I hope you’re happy. I’m going to be your interpersonal fire extinguisher and emotional housekeeper until you two dumb-shits can take care of it yourselves.”

Both Izuku and Katsuki were darting their glances between her and each other, growing steadily redder as she ranted. “You can’t just magically fucking turn Deku and me into magical fucking unicorns who fart fucking rainbows.” Katsuki snapped. Despite himself, Izuku snorted.

“Of course I can’t. But you two can stop being such gigantic tools and start talking to each other again. And when you can’t get it right, I’ll just…translate for you.” She nearly hit them both when they both offered her skeptical expressions. “Listen, fuckfaces. Our dreams and goals match because we designed them that way. We’re supposed to be a team. I’m not stopping until we’re a team again. So are you going to try? Or am I going to have to drag you both kicking and screaming?” She leveled them with a hard glare.

After many awkward glances and false starts, Izuku spoke first. “You still want to be a team?”

She scoffed. “I wanted us to be a team even when you were quirkless. Sure, you’d have taken a different role, but at least we’d be together.”

“Fuckin’ psycho. Clearly All Might’s grooming him to be a strong solo hero.”

“Right, and that’s gone so well for society. Now villains are organizing and we’re in deep shit for depending on him so much. Besides, are you really gonna let this self-sacrificial idiot fight by himself? Because let me tell you, if we’re not an official team, I’m just gonna show up wherever he goes to make sure he doesn’t do something stupid.” Katsuki snorted at that. “I’d rather be a team though. A strong hero team, all three of us symbols in our own right. Hope, Strength, and Victory—Stronghold, Aftershock, and Ground Zero.”

“It’s Last Stand, you motherfucker!” Katsuki barked, leaping to his feet.

“Who’s Last Stand?” Deku asked, a little dazed and confused, and therefore a little slow.

“No one. Your hero name is Stronghold. Kacchan is being overruled.”

“My hero name is Deku.”

“Not anymore. Keep up.” She replied, snapping her fingers for emphasis. “Look you were worried about a theme, right?” She asked Katsuki. “That’s why you wanted Last Stand?”

“That’s what I fuckin said, isn’t it?”

“So the name I chose fits a theme? Not the conceptual names and syllable matching—it’s the metaphor! Zuku’s the bunker, you’re the bomb, I’m the post-explosion shockwave. Stronghold, Ground Zero, and Aftershock! I put a lot of thought into this!”

Katsuki scowled at her mulishly. “Don’t I get a say?” Izuku asked hesitantly.

“If you go with Deku, Kacchan’s going with King Explosion Murder. So, no. We choose each other’s names. You and Kacchan chose mine, you and I chose his. Now we get to choose yours.”

“Neither of us agreed to be a team, dumbass. Let him choose whatever shitty name he wants.” Katsuki growled, throwing himself back into his chair. “Eat your fucking curry, Deku. We risked our fucking infirmary privileges to get that in here.”

Deku had slipped into overthinking mode, and so he dociley began eating on autopilot. He wasn’t so tuned out that he didn’t notice the conversation awkwardly picking back up. He even chimed in every now and then, but his gears were turning and they were churning new information into new conclusions at a dizzying pace.

Sana had transferred to UA, and had forced Kacchan to actually talk to him within ten hours of her first class. Kacchan wasn’t mad because of pride or ego damage, or even because he didn’t want to be near someone who was quirkless. He was mad because he was worried and was bad at expressing himself. Kacchan wanted him to be more careful. To take more precaution—both when he was quirkless and now that he had One For All. And, knowing how hard Kacchan had worked to gain control of his quirk, it had probably driven him crazy to see him acting so recklessly and expecting to catch up quickly. Kacchan had thought of a hero name for him. That meant that Kacchan believed in him. Izuku had thought that Kacchan hadn’t even wanted him to try. He thought that Kacchan believed he was useless without a quirk. Hell, he’d believed it, so why wouldn’t someone as amazing as Kacchan?

A knock came at the door.

“Young Midoriya?"

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bluepenguinstories · 5 years ago

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Happiness Overload Chapter Forty

Never mind all that bullshit, here's where the REAL story begins:

So as we all know, Conrad and Velvet are assholes who should never be trusted. Unless it's trusting them to be untrustworthy, and in that case, yeah! They're super fucking trustworthy! We also know that the police aren't to be trusted. Never have been, never will. But me, being an idiot, thought that those two double-crossing snakes were in some kind of danger, and thinking (again, like a fucking moron) that some no-good cops would save them.

No, instead, I got punched in the face, then I found myself on the run from them, with gunfire out in the streets. Man, this city's really gone to shit. I didn't wanna believe it, but ain't no denyin' it now.

So that's where we're at. Any questions? No? Good. So, anyway...

I was still being chased when I turned the corner and ran into an alleyway and tried to hide behind a dumpster. I sat down and tried to catch my breath.

“Damn...asthma...”

Me, a total dumbass, forgot to take my inhaler with me when I left Conrad's little hideout.

“Shit. Maybe I should go back there?”

I peeked out from behind the dumpster to see cops still running by. None of them bothered to check the alleyway where I was at.

“Ha! Those pigs are total idiots!”

I then coughed and wheezed. Oh yeah. The breathing thing.

“Well, well, well. If it isn't ol' K-Rog,” came a baritone (not sure if that's the right description, but what I'm getting at is that it was deep) voice. What I saw in front of me was this tall man with a baseball cap and a sinister smile. In other words, stranger danger.

“I don't know how you know me, but I should inform you that the police are currently after me, so if you try any funny business, they'll probably shoot you too.”

“This is a lovely alleyway,” he responded. Or didn't respond? It sure didn't sound like a reply.

“Yeah, yeah, that's what a predator would say.”

“You'll soon get to know me,” he lunged at me, but I jumped out of the way and ran out from the dumpster. My lungs were still on fire. Now, logic would dictate that I would be safe, but no. Mr. Predator Man grabbed me by the back of my shirt just as I started to run and lifted me up.

“Hey! Let me go!”

He ran out into the streets, and I tried to struggle free, but damn, he had a tight grip.

Anyway, although I was quite the fighter, I don't always end up a winner. After like an hour, I ended up in some spooky warehouse building. Man, I really didn't like the way things were going.

“Name's Marco, kiddo.”

“And I give a fuck why?”

“Oh, you will. Mm...yes. My head is clear today. Just like the skies. You cannot see them because we're indoors, but trust me. It's beautiful.”

“Yeah, well maybe I prefer the indoors, anyway.”

“Let's cut to the chase, buddy: I want you to join my hacktivist group, Lilypad.”

I gasped.

“I heard of you guys! I thought your group was so cool!”

He laughed.

“So you'll join? I didn't think it would be that easy.”

“Yeah, over my cold, dead, body. I liked you guys back when I was like 10 and just learning to DDoS. You guys are cringe now, though. Like, what do you even do?”

He looked taken aback.

“Our goal is to make the world a better place for frogkind and we need your help. The Flashbulb, an organization that we're sure Conrad has told you all about, is threatening to cause the extinction of amphibians everywhere, but with you --”

“Pass.”

“What?”

“Look, sure, I'm a hacker, but you and I are totally different. I only hack to do noble things, like order figurines online without having to pay any money. I can't get behind your cause.”

Dude looked floored.

“In the end, I won't force you, but I think you should get all the facts, first. Besides, there are no places to run. Even if you manage to leave this place, I have connections all around the city. Now...”

He pressed a button on a small remote and the doors to the warehouse opened up. His mistake, since as soon as they started opening up, I bolted for it.

“...I should have considered this would happen,” I could hear him say. Too little, too late, my not-friend.

Outside, I found myself at a dock, but that didn't matter much to me. I ran up some stairs and once I saw the main road, I knew how to get to my parent's place from here.

Now I'm on the run from not only the cops, but also a creeper.

The whole way home, I checked behind me to see if I was being chased. Even when I couldn't see any signs of a pursuer, I continued running, only stopping probably, like, a thousand times to catch my breath.

As sad as it may have been to admit, my parents weren't the best people. I hadn't seen them in, I don't know, weeks? Months? A year? Well, I had to cut my losses eventually and just try to seek refuge somewhere. So when I went up the stairs and knocked on the door to the apartment, of course this is what my mom said to me:

“Kelly Roger? Is that you? Oh my god! I missed you so much! We've been worried sick about you! I remember filing a missing persons report on you over a year ago, but nothing ever came of it! Please, come in! Are you hungry?”

“Yeah, yeah. You guys have Wi-Fi?” I barged into the apartment, went into the room that was once my bedroom and grabbed a spare laptop and an old backpack.

My dad appeared in frame and shook his head. “We're terrible sorry, money's been tight. We've been struggling just to pay rent.”

How shocking. I couldn't believe what I heard.

“Well, it was nice seeing you guys. No Wi-Fi, no stay.”

I walked back down the stairs and my mom called for me. “Wait! Where are you going?”

“Somewhere with Wi-Fi,” I replied, my words bitter and filled with sorrow.

Yes, sometimes families aren't the best, and sometimes, you just had to go your own way, and that is just what I did.

“Can you believe that, Polo?!”

“Polo.”

“I know, right?!”

“Polo.”

“Now what are we going to do? Kelly Roger was integral to our...” I lost my train of thought due to having another thought. Of me. In another time. “Oh yeah. I was already succeeded once.”

I began laughing.

“Now why do I need the world when I've already got the city under my thumb?”

I laughed harder. My sister was right there, probably not very amused.

“Oh, Polo, dear sister. Don't worry. We will get you a girlfrog yet. Girlfrog? Frogfriend? Let's settle on girlfriend for now. It's simple and easy to remember.”

“Polo!”

“Yes. Gay frogs are the future.”

Kelly Roger not being a part of our little family put a dent in things, but it was not the end of the world. That wouldn't come for at least another three years. For the time being, I would need to continue building my empire.

“Come, sister. We must see how our gay siblings are doing back at the base.”

Hand in hand, Polo and I took to our froggy destination.

Bitter didn't even cut it; I was sipping on some strong coffee.

No, I wasn't where I wanted to be. Neither in life, nor physically. Where I was was some overrated coffee shop where Wi-Fi was for “customers only”. Like, who did they think they were? This was a public utility. People should have rioted, but instead they all just ordered their overpriced coffee.

Then there was me: hypocrite of the year. No complaints, just ordered the darkest roast they had and ordered that dark roast black. As I stared into the cup, I reflected on my situation.

No friends, no home, no trust. Enemies around every corner. Cops scavenging for my scent, their pocket lined by whoever it was they worked for. Conrad would have said some light bulb people, but me? I knew corruption when I smelled it. There was work at play that delusional snake couldn't even imagine.

...But I could, because I was the best at digging up dirt.

I looked up and noticed a security camera in the corner of the ceiling. I lowered my cap (well, I found it on the ground in an alleyway on the way to the coffee shop. For all I knew, it could have belonged to that Markov guy or whatever his name was, but it was mine now) so the camera couldn't catch my face.

I stared back at my laptop and tried to plan out my next line of attack. My stomach growled, which wasn't good, but not much I could do about that. I needed money. Not just to eat, but to survive in this dog-eat-dogshit world. Luckily, I found a five dollar bill on my way to the coffee shop, but now that was gone, used up to pay for this bitter reminder of my situation.

What I need is a job. It's probably not that hard to fake a social security card.

There was one time when I just got out of high school when I worked a job. Papa Dad's Pizza or something like that. Don't mean to brag or nothin', but I was too good for those losers. So, of course, the manager conspired to get rid of me. One day, he gave me a call to break the news:

“Kelly Roger, why aren't you at work?”

“Sorry, boss, but an emergency situation came up and I had to stay home.”

“You should have called in!”

“Yeah, but the new Fire Emblem game just came out and it's taken up all my attention.”

“WHAT?!”

“Yeah, crazy, right? Apparently they added a gay romance option and I've been trying to pursue Byleth, but dude's hard to woo!”

“You're not at work 'cause of some VIDEO GAME?”

“It be like that sometimes, boss.”

“You're fired!”

The call ended without me able to plead my case. All I could do was go back to tending to royal pretty boys. Real tragic gamer moment.

Ah, but that was then. I've grown since then. I wasn't about to let something like 'being fired' stop me from working. I knew my worth and I knew I was worth more than some shitty pizza joint.

All it took was seconds, and I found a place. I went ahead and sent them an email:

Dear assholes,

Your computer repair shop looks dope as fuck, but you really ought to hire someone who knows their shits. I just defaced your website and put porn on the front page. Now, if you hire me, I can remove it, and keep your site secure so shit like that doesn't happen. Attached is my resume. There's nothing on it because I think my skills speak for themselves.

Sincerely,

K.R.

If I just gave out my name, that'd be self-incriminating. Only a complete moron would do that. Too many wandering eyes out there to do something so moronic. Initials, on the other hand? That could mean anything. Smarts right there.

Within minutes, I got my reply:

Dear KR,

Thank you for applying to RAM It In, your one-stop shop for all your computer repair needs. After reviewing your resume, we have decided to move on with other applicants at this time. Furthermore, we are not currently looking for a web designer. We wish you the best in your future endeavors and invite you to apply again once you've had more experience.

'Experience'? Really? As if someone like me needed 'experience'. Didn't they know who I was? I've got a whole-ass reputation.

My stomach growled once again.

Fine. Maybe I know my worth, but I also gotta eat. Sometimes, you gotta degrade yourself just to get by.

I stood up from my seat and went up to the front counter.

“Hey, you're gonna give me a job.”

“Uh, that's not really how that works,” the barista informed me, some acne ridden brunette teenager.

I felt bad for that poor kid. Probably 16, first job, didn't know how cutthroat the world could truly be. So naive. I was a teenager once. Just a couple years ago, in fact. But I've grown since then.

“Listen, Karen,” I set the record straight. It wasn't like I knew her name, but I had to sound authoritative. “Get your manager out here and we'll talk turkey. Or tofurkey, if that's how things roll around here.”

“I think you would be the Karen in this situation...”

“Manager. Now.”

She scurried off into the back. After a solid thirty seconds, the manager appeared. Some guy with one of those hipster-beards and hipster-glasses and that 'realer than thou' attitude. I wasn't about to learn that guy's name.

“Hey, boss man. You're gonna give me a job.”

“Yeah...” he didn't sound so pleased with me. Was I going to have to step up my assertiveness? “...That's not really how any of that works. See, first you fill out an application online, then maybe I'll call you for an interview, and then maybe after the interview, you might get the job.”

“Yeah, screw all those unnecessary steps. I already know how to make coffee. You just press some buttons and shit.”

“You also have to have good customer service skills.”

“Oh, yeah. Totally. I can do that no problem. Here, want me to prove it?”

There was some soccer mom walking by. I stopped her.

“Hey asshole, you want some coffee? Of course you do, you junkie!”

“Excuse me?” With her Pomeranian-type haircut, I could tell she would be a formidable foe. One of those types whose bark was not only worse than her bite, but a bite in of itself. Sure enough, she turned to the manager who was surely about to hire me.

“This young man...ma'am? This young...hooligan is harassing me! If you don't remove them from the store, I'm gonna sue!”

The manager raised an eyebrow. Probably the more obscure eyebrow of the two he had.

“Yeah, I'll have to ask you to leave. We can't be having you causing a scene.”

“Fine!” I huffed. “What's this place called, anyway?” I squinted my eyes. Their sign was so hard to read. Pretty sure I needed a new prescription. “Starbutts? Yeah, I never liked your shitty coffee, anyway! I'm off to bigger and better things.”

I stormed off, picking up my laptop and backpack on the way out. If it wasn't obvious, I was too good for that place, anyway. That establishment wouldn't survive long without the likes of me in their ranks. If anything, they needed me, not the other way around. But it was too late for them. They made their beds.

Speaking of bed making, I had no idea what I was going to do in terms of sleeping arrangements. Although the sun hadn't even come down yet, I was feeling pretty exhausted, so I found the nearest alleyway (a common occurrence by now) and dug through a dumpster. Inside was a large cardboard box. I folded it up and got inside.

If Solid Snake could do it, I should have no problem.

My eyes grew heavy. Real amazing how under the right conditions, the human body could sleep through anything.

As luck would have it, rain poured down.

Man, work was so boring. Lemme tell you, I just stare at a screen all day. There's not even ever anything good on. Now, saying all that, people probably would have gotten the wrong idea. So lemme set the record straight: life is peachy. Why wouldn't it be? I've had a great job, I was hired on to a company with great benefits, and all I had to do was spy on people.

What? You ask? You've heard all that before? No, that can't be right. First off, that redhead named Velvet was as good as dead. Besides, my hair is a normal brunette. I take my job seriously and I'm loyal to my company. She's got nothin' on me.

What? You've heard all that before, too? No, that can't be right, I'm--

“Celia V, are you lost in thought again?”

“HEY! FUCK YOU! I WAS NARRATING!”

Never mind that just now. That was just my boss. You know, head of the ETNA Corporation. Yeah, like I really needed to keep that a secret. Get real. We're, like, hidden behind seven layers of security, and just like Dante's Inferno, I'm on the sixth layer.

“Are you paying attention? Your observation on the one known as 'Kelly Roger' is vital.”

“Yeah, yeah. It's just so boring. I don't get why I'm doing this. Why not Conrad? Or Velvet? Or even the one that got away? What was their name again? Brawny? Yeah, lemme observe a roll of paper towels.”

“I have my reasons for my orders.”

I puffed my cheeks.

“Sure you do, but all's I'm saying is this kid's a loser. If you're that concerned, couldn't you just get a cop or a Prinny to kill them?”

“If you really must know, I have reason to believe that Kelly Roger poses no threat. However, I still wish to keep a close eye on them. Conrad must have had a reason to recruit Kelly Roger.”

“Hey doc, has it ever occurred to you that Conrad's an idiot, too?”

“Yes. Most are of low intelligence when compared to one such as I.”

“Not what I meant. I just mean, maybe there wasn't a very good reason. Maybe Conrad just figured three's company.”

I stroked my chin. I didn't have a beard or nothin', just thought that's what all the cool people did when they were in the middle of deep thought.

“Actually, now that you mention it, yeah. You may have a point, there. That's why you're the boss, huh?”

Yes...maybe there was some master plan that we didn't know about. Something that had gone under our noses the whole time. Maybe, just maybe, Kelly Roger was the key to it all.

When I woke up, the sun was shining and my clothes were damp and stuck to my skin, making me itch everywhere.

I did get a pretty nice rest, though. Maybe sleeping outside ain't so bad.

That's when I began to panic. It rained. That wasn't very cash money!

Just to be on the safe side, I checked my backpack. The outside was soaked, but inside, my laptop was still dry. What a relief.

Another relief was that I made it through an entire night without being mugged, robbed, beat up, or worse. Wasn't sure what could be worse, but another encounter with that Macaroni (that was his name, wasn't it?) man didn't sound pleasant.

“Now, my next course of action, should be...” I got up. I needed some plan. Just because a badass like me could survive a night in the streets didn't mean it would be a good idea to run into everything blind. Food, water, shelter. Basic human needs. If I was a basic human. “Nah, I'm no normie. What I need is my body pillow! How am I supposed to sleep without my waifu, in pillow form, to hug?”

Yes. All who were cultured knew the importance of having a husbando and/or waifu. Someone to hold. Someone two-dimensional. Without someone like that, well...the world would be cold.

When I last saw my waifu, who at the time, was the great and esteemed Palutena, she was locked away underground in the bunker. While I originally had no intention of ever going back there, some things were just too important. Not only did I leave my waifu, but also hard drives filled with hundreds of anime series and a handful of hentai, too. Those things were too precious to leave behind.

But didn't the base get raided, or something?

There my mind went, going straight to the negatives. Bad mind!

Maybe my room's still intact, at the very least. If it is, maybe I could go back, and sleep there. I would have a shelter and –

Spoilers: that didn't happen. When I got to the university, there was a large crowd. After shoving past everyone, seeing the yellow tape, I fell to the ground.

“My...waifu...”

Indeed, the university had all been reduced to rubble.

I looked around. There were cops. That was no good. They could have recognized me (and my brilliance, let's be honest here). I needed to bounce.

As I made my way through the crowd, I thought I was in the clear. That was, until some lady with a brown pony tail stopped me. She wore both a police uniform as well as a fake mustache. Very suspicious.

“Hey! You there!”

Shit. Okay, Kelly Roger. Act like a Normie. Be cool.

“Did you attend this school?”

“What's it to you?” I groaned.

“Just answer the question.” She tapped a baton against her hand. I gulped.

“Yeah.”

“What was your major?”

“Hentai studies.”

“BITCH, WHAT THE FUCK? THAT'S NOT A REAL MAJOR!”

I flinched and stood back.

“Ugh. What's it to you, anyway?”

“If you don't answer truthfully, I will make your life a living hell, you got that?”

“Hey, look over there! Someone's existing while poor!”

“Huh?” She turned around. That was my cue. I bolted.

Damn, I can't believe that worked. I really am a genius, aren't I?

Hate to admit it, but Kelly Roger was good. To think they could really fool me with something like that. They were definitely hiding something, and now that I met Kelly Roger in person, I knew why Dr. Etna sent me to spy on them.

“Back to HQ I go. This just got interesting.”

Pretty sure I lost track of that police lady. Good. I peeked out from the corner of the building I hid behind, just in case.

No sign of her.

Now, I would have let out a sigh of relief, if my breathing wasn't all out of whack. What I needed was an inhaler.

“Or...some...plushies...”

Could I even do that? Could I hack my way into ordering plushies online without having to pay? The answer would have been a resounding yes, but there was one problem: what address would I have sent it to?

I shook my head. After a good while, my breathing got normal again. Long while, but normal breathing, nonetheless.

That lady was not normal. That much was obvious. My best guess was that she wasn't any old police officer. Not that any of the police officers were good, they were all under the control of something. Between that lady, the corrupt cops, and that strange frog guy, there was something going on in my city, and I wouldn't let it persist. It was time to step up, and if no one else was going to uncover the truth, then I would.

Besides, maybe I'd be paid lots of money for my detective work.

“You there!” At first I thought the fake cop lady had found me. No, instead it was some grubby looking man in tattered clothing. What a relief. “Gimme all your money! I've got a knife!”

Gimme a break. I'm not interested in being mugged right now.

“Oh, sure. Lemme just get it out of my backpack.” I should be careful, if he sees my laptop, he could steal it and bring it to a pawn shop or something and get cash from it. My laptop's worth way more than whatever they'd give him at a fuckin' pawn shop!

After I pulled out just what he needed, I got up.

“Lookie here, I got a knife, too!” Ah, my trusty knife. Not to brag or anything, but my knife was much prettier and much sharper. Longer, too. So glad I didn't leave it at the bunker. “Now, what you got on you?”

“Uhh...I got a phone.”

“Give it here,” I grunted. “No funny business, either.”

He brought a phone out of his pocket and handed it over.

“Good, good. Now run, before I make a rare steak outta you!”

He ran for it, dropping his knife on the ground. His was just some flimsy pocket knife. I took that too, for good measure. Once he was out of sight, I blinked.

“Wow. I can't believe that actually worked.”

Now that I had a cell phone (even if, as it would turn out, it was one of those pay-as-you-go phones), I was ready to take on whatever sinister forces lurked under the surface.

#happiness overload #writing #stories #intrigue #conspiracy #mystery #noir #frogs #shaggy dog #writers on tumblr

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lvnce-mcclain · 6 years ago

Text

bonded (in your arms)

Chapter Summary:

“I—we. The team, we’re always going to be here for you, Keith. If you let us.”

Lance isn’t sure if it’s just him being hopeful or not but he thinks there’s a little regret there, too. “I know.”

Chapter: 8/?

Word Count: 7.7k

Chapter: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Read it on AO3

God y'all I can't even begin to describe how grateful I am to @dumbassenergy like. Froggy has been the heart and soul of this chapter and she is such an amazing beta. Just watch me grovel at her feet for how great she is, seriously. She's the reason I've had the motivation to finish this fic at all, and so really this chapter and the rest of the series is just. Dedicated to her okay??? If you like this fic, thank her for keeping me going on it. Love you, frogs <3

And oh my, oh my, oh my, oh my God

I'm so, I'm so, I'm so tired of fighting

Let go, give in, let go and give up

- john legend, surefire

The hangar is quiet. The silence stretches between Hunk and Lance, but the sound of the door sliding shut reverberates in Lance’s head—over and over—a taunting loop playing over the sound of Keith’s anger. Lance can feel his feet go numb from where he’s fallen to his knees. The cold pinpricks crawling up his calves at least provide some sensation, where everything else seems to have been deadened.

Lance doesn’t know how long Hunk lets him stay there, immobile and in a state of complete disbelief. Lance idly thinks way too much time has passed from the way Hunk starts to shift restlessly—the soft shifting of Hunk’s weight from foot to foot, hands rubbing on the fabric of his pants, all too loud in the void of the hangar.

“Come on, man, let’s get you to bed.” Hunk’s voice is soft, but it still jars Lance. His tears have long since dried up; violent sobs turned to dry heaves then finally to nothing at all. It leaves his throat aching and his eyes feeling too tight in his skull. He thinks maybe if he waits here long enough, when he does finally walk out the door, he might be able to walk back in time too.

Hunk gives him a moment—and when Lance can’t gather an answer in his chest and make it leave his mouth, Hunk pulls him up with one arm against his side and hefts Lance to his feet. The pinpricks drift down his calves towards his feet, making it hurt to stand, but Lance follows Hunk’s lead to the dorms anyway.

The hallway seems louder than the hangar. Their steps echo on the metal floor, pressing back in on Lance’s ears; it starts to get to be too much right as they near the dorms. The knotted ball in his chest starts to untangle at the thought of being able to crawl under his covers and hide from the world, giving him the only motivation he can muster to put one foot in front of the other. His mind is focused solely on getting out of the hallway. He feels too vulnerable; the space is too open, anyone could run into them—Keith could—he makes himself stop. The thought of Keith throbs like an ache in his chest and he has to squeeze his eyes shut against the heat pooling behind them again.

There’s a wound in the middle of Lance’s chest, the edges raw and gaping and every drifting thought about Keith causes a fresh tear. The pain is nearly tangible, causing a falter in Lance’s step that makes him pull on Hunk’s hold.

“Hey, dude, we’re almost there, don’t worry—”

“Hey, there you are guys, Allura was—” The sound of Pidge’s voice causes Lance to avert his eyes, something ugly boiling in his stomach at the thought of someone else seeing him like this. “What the hell? I thought no one was hurt? Is he okay? What happened?” There’s a panic rising in their voice. The realization that he must look like absolute shit comes to Lance somewhere deep down. It causes the same boiling feeling from earlier to roll up his ribs and into his throat, and makes more of that wet heat burn behind his eyes. He squeezes his eyes shut, hands clenching and unclenching at his sides as fingers tremble.

“Shh, Pidge. It’s okay. He’s okay.” He isn’t. Lance is aware enough to know he isn’t okay, despite the fact that the only thing keeping him from feeling completely numb is the nasty heat running under his skin, threatening to boil him alive. “It’s… It’s Keith, Pidge. I think they’re—” Hunk cuts himself off and Lance can feel how he shifts his weight, feels the brush of Hunk’s neck against his hair as he looks down at him. Lance can feel the rumble of, “I think they’re through, Pidge,” even if Hunk tries to whisper it and the reality of it hits Lance again, a cage around his lungs and a sick weight in his stomach.

“Oh shit.” Lance hears Pidge shuffle from one foot to the other, and Hunk must share a look with them because the next thing they’re saying is much softer. “Okay, uh. I’ll go tell Allura that uh—you’ll brief her in the morning, okay, Lance?” Lance nods. The movement dislodges the tears that had been fighting their way out. He wipes at his face roughly, his hands still shaking. Hearing someone else realize it, someone else bring it to life, is just enough to bring back feeling to Lance’s deadened nerves.

“It’s okay, buddy. It’s going to be okay.” Hunk is telling him, shuffling them further down the hall. He finally gets Lance into a bed and Lance can’t even tell if it’s his own or not. All he cares about is the fact that there’s a blanket, he can bury himself under it, and maybe, just maybe, no one will be able to find him under it. “Do you want me to stay here tonight, bud? I want to, but I won’t if you don’t want me to.”

Lance finally looks up and nods, unable to meet Hunk’s eyes. Hunk doesn’t seem to mind though, because he’s immediately kicking off his shoes and letting Lance hide his face in his shoulder. “Thanks, Hunk.” The words scratch his throat and Lance has to cough to clear them out.

Hunk’s arm winds around his shoulder, pulling him in just a little too tight, but Lance doesn’t say anything. “Bud, you don’t need to thank me, seriously.”

Lance wants to argue, wants to express how he does need to thank him, wants to tell him how he can't be alone right now, and having Hunk here means the world to him—but he doesn't have the emotional energy to put his feelings into words right now. Instead, he just squeezes Hunk back, burying his face in the soft fabric of his shirt, and closes his eyes against how much he longs for the feel of Keith’s heartbeat beneath his palm right now.

Lance isn’t sure how much he actually sleeps and how much he’s just laying there, but at some point during the night, he hears the door slide open through a half-lucid dream. For a second his heart stops. Through the fog of exhaustion, for just that second, he thinks Keith has come back and is so sorry, and is going to tell him how this all was a mistake and—but then there’s a dip in the mattress and Lance can feel the small body of Pidge outlined against his back as they carefully slide in behind him. His teeth and heart clench against the disappointment that rolls over him—he’s stupid, he’s so, so stupid for letting even an inch of hope crawl in. He knows Keith better than to let himself think he’d take back a decision like that.

Pidge doesn’t wrap an arm around him or get too close, but Lance can feel where they’ve reached behind them to lay a hand on his arm as they curl up beside him. Lance squeezes his eyes tighter against the fresh tears. He starts to shake against all his efforts to hold all of it inside himself, and Pidge’s grip tightens on his arm. They don’t move until Lance does, as if they don’t want to scare him off, but as soon as Lance shuffles himself away from Hunk’s snoring form, Pidge is flipping over and propping themselves up on one elbow.

Lance can’t see their expression in the dark, but he can hear the uneasy apprehension in their voice. “I don’t know what to say to make you feel better, Lance.” The desperate edge to their voice breaks a little more of something inside Lance, the pieces adding to the growing mound in the pit of his stomach. The thought that he's the cause of that hopeless tone in his friend's voice just feels too heavy to bear in his chest. He can't be that, not on top of all of the other things going on right now.

Lance breathes in a shuddering breath. He knows Pidge doesn’t do other people’s emotions very well, but the fact they’re here right now, andtrying, means so much to Lance, and he can’t let them think they’re not enough for him. Sure, what’s enough for him right now would be Keith beside him like he was just a few weeks prior, but that doesn’t mean his friends mean any less to him. Even though he’s hurting more than he thinks he ever has, he can’t let them hurt for him. He can’t—because if he does, he doesn’t think he’d be able to pull himself back up under the weight of that guilt that is already churning low in his belly, underneath the weight of all those pieces.

“You don’t have to say anything, Pidgeling,” Lance breathes out, because actual words feel too rough against his raw throat.

Pidge shakes their head, hair falling in front of their eyes without their glasses as a barrier. “No, I know, I just. I wish there was a way I could fix this for you.”

“This isn’t something for you to fix,” Lance tells them firmly, finding a little strength in that small resolve. He can tell they’re about to counter and he’s too tired to argue, so he flips himself onto his back and pulls them with him. He ruffles their hair when they reluctantly settle in under his arm. Hunk twitches and lets out a loud snore at the movement, and both Lance and Pidge hold a breath—when Hunk doesn’t wake up, they both relax. Lance allows himself a small smile at the snort Pidge lets out, even if the lifting of his lips feels heavy and wrong. It feels a little bit more normal though, with someone to be better for.

He clears his throat, trying to dislodge the emotion still stuck there. “Seriously, though. I’ll be okay. I just—” Lance swallows, trying to make a promise to himself with his words, as much as he’s promising Pidge. “I need some time. To you know, process this. I won’t let it stop me though. I was a paladin before all this, and I’ll be a paladin after.”

Lance can feel Pidge watching him for a long moment, before they sigh and roughly let their head fall back down against the crook of Lance’s shoulder. They blow a piece of hair out of their face and it floats up to tickle Lance’s nose. “Fine. One week. You get one week to… To do whatever it is you need to do to process. And then you’ll be okay?” Lance knows the uncertainty in their voice is supposed to be hidden, so he ignores it.

He feigns confidence he doesn’t feel when he says, “I bet you it’ll only be five days, dude.”

Pidge huffs out a laugh that feels a little bit more normal before yawning, “You’re on.”

Lance sighs and settles back in, knowing he probably won’t be able to fall back asleep. Five days; he gives himself five days. Not to get over it, but to build himself back up to enough of a functioning person that will be able to fool everyone. And maybe, if he’s lucky, he’ll fool himself too.

By the time Lance figures it’s acceptable to be awake, he manages to wiggle his way to the end of the bed and slips out from between Pidge and Hunk. He sits at the edge of the bed for a minute, listening to Hunk’s soft snoring and the shuffling Pidge does to take up the space he just left unoccupied. The day already feels like too much. He stares at his hands where they’re hanging between his knees and tries to will himself to stand, but there’s some kind of disconnect between his brain and his legs; there is an overwhelming pressure building from his neck down his spine at the thought of facing the day after everything that settled into reality yesterday.

How can this actually be real? He watches his thumb rub back and forth over his palm and barely feels it... but the feeling is there, so he knows this isn’t some residual nightmare that just won’t end. That honestly kind of makes it worse, knowing the hollow pit in his chest actually belongs there, and it isn’t going to get filled when he wakes back up. This isn’t some sort of anxiety-fueled hallucination; this is real. The knowledge clogs Lance’s lungs with a heavy weight that blocks his throat. Rapid little intakes of air start to come more frequently than actual breath. Lance is starting to panic again—his chest feels like it’s winding in on itself—there’s shifting behind him, barely heard over the rush in his ears—

And then there’s a heavy hand on his shoulder, grabbing him and reeling him back in.

“Breath, Lance,” Hunk tells him gently. Lance gulps in air. His lungs burn from the effort. He realizes he’s trembling; small tremors run through his hands as he watches them shake. He knows it shouldn’t be calming but he focuses on that feeling, that action, and forces his breathing to normalize.

“Thanks, Hunk.” Lance’s voice is more gravel than actual words. He tries to clear his throat as quietly as possible, tossing a look back at Pidge to make sure he didn’t wake them up too. Thanking Hunk is the only thing he seems to be doing these days. And it still isn’t enough to express the gratitude he feels, even when everything else is fuzzy at the edges. It’s a feeling he isn’t afraid to focus on because he knows it won’t hurt—it’s one step closer to normal. He grabs at it greedily as his breath settles back into his lungs.

“Of course, man. I thought I told you not to thank me, though.” Hunk’s huff of laughter is hesitant. Lance can’t let him feel like he needs to tiptoe around him, so he manages a small grin in response. Hunk’s shoulders seem to ease a little and Lance counts it as a win. “Do you want some breakfast?”

And this is normal, this feels like it should be normal, so Lance says yes. He moves quietly through his room, getting dressed beside Hunk, before they both head toward the kitchen. The halls don’t feel as loud during the day, and a small feeling of relief washes over Lance. He doesn’t think he can deal with feeling overwhelmed like that again so soon, which is why he averts his eyes as they walk past Keith’s door. He can’t help the way his heart starts hammering in his chest as they pass it, but he can save himself from looking at it.

There’s no one else in the kitchen—thank God—so it gives Lance some time to prepare himself to face the others today. By now he’s sure Allura at least was able to piece together something happened. Between the way Keith was acting last night, and the fact Pidge had to tell her Lance wouldn’t be coming to a briefing, the thought is enough to mortify him.

Hunk starts to chop some pink fruit and Lance’s fingers drum a beat to match the sounds of the knife as he sits at the counter. He’s focusing a little too hard on the humiliation starting to roll in his stomach and it’s making him nauseous. He can’t let Allura think this is going to come between him and the mission; he feels so petty, getting so torn up so easily when there are people literally risking their lives in a war he’s supposed to be giving his entire attention to.

“Earth to Lance, hey—”

Hunk’s hand in front of his face makes him jump, flailing a little when he starts to tip back in his chair. He catches the edge of the counter to steady himself, looking up at Hunk sharply. “Dude.”

“Hey, sorry man, but to be fair I had been talking for like, at least three minutes and you were totally zoned out on me. You okay there?”

Lance shrugs with one shoulder, “I guess.”

Hunk snorts, his eye roll probably being felt all the way back to Earth. “You want to talk about it?”

Lance lowers his eyes at that, knowing they’d give away too much. It’s always hardest to hide things from Hunk, and he knows it. “Nothing to talk about, really. You were there last night.”

Lance hears Hunk pause his whipping of some cream. Lance hopes maybe if he doesn’t say anything else, Hunk will let it drop—but he knows he’s not that lucky.

“Yeah, I was there,” Hunk says slowly, resuming his whisking, “but I was hoping maybe you’d want to talk some of it out? You know... with me, maybe?”

Lance knocks his foot against the side of the counter and doesn’t answer.

“Because, you know, I know you guys had said something was going on between you two but since… Well, you know, since Shiro—” Hunk stops himself and Lance hears him swallow. “You haven’t really talked to me about it, so I wasn’t sure—well, I wanted you guys to be able to figure it out yourselves, you know?”

“Yeah. Yeah, I know.” Lance’s answer is soft; the air around him swallows up the words and leaves room for more, but he’s not sure how much he can say right now.

“Right. But after last night, after—how you reacted, I guess, I just—I didn’t realize how serious things had gotten between you two.” Hunk’s voice trails off and Lance supposes this is where he’s supposed to elaborate. Where he’s supposed to explain the mess that grew between him and Keith these last couple of months, the tangle of emotions and dependence, and he’s supposed to somehow make sense of it all.

When it comes down to it, the only residue left behind is hurt; so really, what did it all matter in the first place?

“It wasn’t,” Lance tells him, the words burning like a lie in his throat, “It wasn’t serious between us after all, I guess.”

Every time they enter a new section of the universe, the first thing Keith does is slip out and take Red to search. Lance doesn’t know if he thinks they all don’t notice or if he just doesn’t care what they think; honestly, Lance leans toward the latter and the thought stings. There was a time he was pretty sure his opinion actually meant something to Keith. He has to remind himself it was real, the feelings he had were—are— real and so were Keith’s, because otherwise he starts to lose himself in a spiral of self-disappointment. He can’t afford to let himself go like that again.

He gave himself the five days; five days to get better—to get okay. He makes himself hold onto that promise to Pidge, giving himself purpose for moving forward every day. He can’t let himself bring the team down just because he lost the most important relationship he’s had since well. Since ever, but so what? He’s Lance. He tells himself that actually means something and makes himself keep going.

He won’t let this bring him—bring the team, the universe—down. In the end, nothing else matters, right? Really, he shouldn’t have tried to distract himself from the mission in the first place, especially not with Keith. He knew better from the start than to think he’d ever actually get to keep something as fragile as what they had, for as long as he did. They all had more important priorities and he put something trivial in front of them. Which is exactly what they all thought of him anyway, right? Loverboy Lance, getting caught up in some whirlwind romance.

He has to prove he’s more than the pain he gave himself.

“Okay, team, we’re going to try something a little different today. I know we’re all exhausted,” Coran’s voice cuts through Lance’s thoughts, as booming as the entrance he makes into the lounge with the door slamming behind him. “But! There is always time for a little jaunt around our mind palaces, eh?”

Hunk rolls his head across the back of the couch towards Lance—eyes wide, he makes a face that shows how much he wants to go on a jaunt—and Lance shoves his shoulder a little as he stands, joints popping. “Sure, Coran my man, what do you have in mind?” Lance throws a pair of finger guns towards Coran which earns him a hoot. He tries to feel the lazy grin he gives back, but the tug on his lips mainly feels like a weight too heavy to hold.

“Atta boy, Number Three! Come, I’ll explain once we’re all in the training room.” Coran doesn’t give them time to ask anything else—slamming through the door as loudly as he came in— leaving Lance and Hunk both blinking after him.

“Well, I guess we should go see what all that is about.”

Lance nods and offers a hand to help Hunk up, trying to look more enthusiastic than he feels. They make a more leisurely path towards the training room together, Lance shoving his hands in his pockets as he walks to keep from fidgeting. If Coran was this worked up, it means this is probably a team exercise—as in, the whole team. He’s had his five days, but he hasn’t had much else, and Lance’s heart trembles at the thought of having to work with Keith.

Hunk—practical angel that he is, damn it—seems to sense the shift in Lance’s mood. “Hey man, are you gonna be okay?”

Lance raises one eyebrow, choosing the dumb approach. “I know I’m not the sharpest cookie in the toybox, Hunk, buddy, but I think I can handle Coran’s mind fortress or whatever.”

Hunk rolls his eyes and bumps his shoulder. “You know what I mean.”

“ ‘Fraid I don’t, bud. C’mon, we should hurry before they’ve assigned all the extra hard training exercises,” Lance tells him with no room for argument, pulling his arm and leading them resolutely toward the training room.

When the doors open, Lance has to swallow his breath because Keith is already there—of course he is, because where else would he be? He’s only ever in the training room or in Red anymore, not that Lance keeps track of him. Keith is leaning against a far wall, jacket slung off to a corner, and Lance can’t tell if he’s actually lost in thought or if he’s staring at the ground to avoid seeing who’s coming through the door. Lance would bet ten weeks of chores it’s the latter, and it breaks his heart; Keith had always been a little more isolated, but he had started including himself just a little more until recently. Lance liked to think—for a few dumb seconds—that it had been him who brought that out in Keith, but whatever.

Lance and Hunk gravitate towards where Pidge is slumped over on the ground next to Coran, propping themselves up on their knee as Coran excitedly explains the technology of the helmet in his hand. Lance purposefully doesn’t turn to watch when he hears Keith walk over to join them; he does, however, take a breath, waits three seconds, and turns to give him a smile across from Hunk. Keith is staring straight ahead though, and Lance buries the sting in his chest with the rest of the loose pieces of his heart.

“Paladins, we want to try a team building exercise,” Allura tells them all when Coran gets lost in his explanation and needs an elbow to the side.

“Oh, yes! We want to help bring you all together with a little exercise in understanding each other.”

Pidge groans. “This isn’t another mind meld exercise, is it?”

Coran laughs, wagging a finger. “Not quite, Number Five!”

If Lance didn’t know better, he’d think that Allura was resolutely not looking at him when she says, “No, Pidge, this exercise is more about communication with each other.”

“Right! So, what you’ll be doing is—” and Lance mostly tunes out the instructions, catching the drift about something regarding a puzzle and trying to solve it with their eyes closed and only one person—who gets to see the finished product—giving instructions. Simple, standard, and a nightmare when Coran asks Lance to try giving the directions first.

“Okay, uh, Pidge—yeah that piece right under your hand, put that with Hunk’s—no, to your right. Awesome! Okay, Keith, you uh.” Lance swallows, watching as Keith’s hand hesitates.

Hunk, a little too brightly, shoves a piece in the air. “What about this one, Lance? This piece feels like it’s important.”

Lance sighs and tries to not let the relief be heard in his voice. “Yeah, buddy, that sure is a good one. I think it goes in the corner? Can you feel your way up—yep, there you go.”

“Lance,” Keith says his name quietly after a few more turns of Pidge and Hunk passing pieces back and forth. Lance’s heart stutters at the sound, and for a second he thinks he misheard it. “Where does this piece go?”

Lance can feel his heartbeat in his fingertips as he drums them against his thigh. “Um—” Lance’s mind goes blank, the sound of Keith saying his name so softly vibrating in his ears.

“Lance?” There’s something else in Keith’s voice. Lance thinks he can see it buried somewhere deep in his guarded face—half hidden by the handkerchief Coran insisted they each wear over their eyes—but then it’s gone as Keith shifts his face down toward the floor, as if he could feel Lance’s gaze.

“To your right. Um. A little down. Yeah.”

Lance watches Keith’s fingers too closely as he presses the piece into place. “Thanks.”

There’s a little less tension between the four of them then, as Lance realizes Hunk and Pidge had both stopped feeling around for pieces during the interaction. Something was broken, a gate was left open, and Lance breathes a little easier. They’re able to get the puzzle done pretty quickly after that, Lance only hesitating a fraction when he needs Keith to move a piece, and it’s okay. This is okay.

“Great work, Paladins! So good to see you all working together.” Allura claps when they finish, the blindfolds discarded. “With everything that’s happened lately, I know it’s hard to remember you are a team but with better communication, everyone will be sure to benefit.” Lance can tell how much she’s trying to lift everyone’s spirits, knows that the weight of Shiro’s absence has been a heavy burden on her shoulders.

So he pushes a smile out, one that would have been easier before, and says, “Pssh, Princess, we rock this communication thing so hard the Balmera would be jealous.” When she actually laughs, Lance’s smile turns a little softer around the edges.

“What’s the actual point to this?” Keith interrupts and Lance’s smile falters; the sudden change in tone is palpable, the shift of Keith’s voice cutting through the tentatively proud atmosphere.

“Number Four, the Princess just said—”

“No, I know what she said. But what’s the point? Why are we wasting time here, anyway?” Keith asks, tone rising from disinterest to hostile in less time than it takes Lance’s heart rate to catch up with the situation.

“Keith, communication is important between team members.” Allura’s voice is gentle but the look on her face is turning harder with each agitated fidget coming from Keith.

“Which would be great, if we were all here to actually communicate.” Keith throws out and Lance sees the way Allura stifles a flinch, her gaze steely.

There’s a decisive set to Allura’s shoulders when she says, “You can’t keep using Shiro to try to hurt the team, Keith.”

Lance can’t stop his intake of breath in time, but neither can Pidge or Hunk. They all three watch, breath stuck in the crackling air between Keith and Allura, before Lance can’t take it and takes a step forward.

“Keith—”

“Don’t,” Keith bites out and Lance flinches. Allura’s eyes twitch toward him but never fully leave Keith’s bristling form. Keith doesn’t look at him, and Lance isn’t sure if it hurts or not anymore. “I’m done here.”

“I think you are,” Allura agrees. “I think we all are. Good work today, Paladins. I think you all should get some rest.” Keith doesn’t wait for her to finish before he’s out the door, and Lance can’t help but watch him leave.

After that, it’s hard to be around Keith and the team, but Lance manages. Not well, really, but he doesn’t think the team notices too much, so it counts. It has to count.

It gets harder the first time they have to run a mission as just the four of them, though. Well, the four of them and Kolivan’s men. Lance thinks a little bitterly how not fair it is, that even having a handful worth of Blade members on their team does nothing to fill the hole that just one person left. Shiro’s absence still feels like a wound in all of their sides, and for Lance that wound ripped open wide enough to swallow his heart, too. He thinks, in a weak moment, how nice it must be to have that effect on people because he’s pretty certain he wouldn’t leave a chasm nearly this big, if at all, were he to ever leave the team.

As soon as the thought passes through his mind, though, he regrets it. He feels like shit for even thinking it, and pulls at Blue’s controls a little too roughly and gets a growl in his head as a response.

“Sorry, girl. It’s not your fault, I know.” There was a warm buzz of reassurance fleeting through his mind that he thinks is supposed to tell him it’s not his fault, either, for feeling the way he does but he can’t help but ignore it. He can’t stop himself from feeling like he’ll never be that important to anyone because look at what happened with Keith—the one person Lance was so sure would always want him, who left him with only a second’s thought.

He makes Blue push on with a bruising force and she tries to calm him with a purr that buzzes over his skin, but he can’t let himself have that kind of comfort right now or he’d give into the fragility that’s aching in his bones.

That ache doesn’t stop but it does get easier to ignore when Lance has to put on a show for all the locals who gather around their group after the Galra are run off into the atmosphere. It’s always easier when he has someone besides himself to pretend for; he never can hold up the facade very long when the only audience he has is staring at him in the mirror.

When that audience starts chanting for Voltron, though, Lance can feel his resolve crumble a little more.

He can also feel the tension begin to over-boil inside Keith, the look on his face slipping from where Lance watches him across the crowd. His eyes are still trained to find Keith, always looking for him, and he sees the moment when it all gets to be too much; Lance takes a step automatically to follow when Keith finally turns on his heel and silently goes back to Red. He stops himself, though, one arm wrapped around his belly as if that would be enough to keep his heart from falling down and out of it. He only gets a second to let himself slip before he remembers where he is and he plasters a grin on his face before whirling to meet the crowd.

Lance feels himself flinch against Keith’s outburst in front of all the leaders of the coalition; truthfully, he’s surprised Keith has kept his composure as much as he had these last couple of weeks. Lance was expecting something much worse, much sooner, but that thought only reminds him that he’s not there beside Keith anymore to have more than just a guess as to what’s going on inside his head.

With a faltering grin, Lance cracks a joke he doesn’t feel—something about how the Red lion always picks the fiery ones, and the leaders all give uneasy smiles at the attempt to lighten the mood. It takes more reassurance and grace from Allura to salvage the dinner than anyone else could ever hope to pull off, and Lance’s foot is tapping in antsy impatience by the time the group are satisfied and heading to their guest quarters on the Castle for the night.

As soon as the leaders are seen off, Lance is up and heading toward the hangar. He can feel Blue leading him there, a soft pull trying to lead him to where she thinks he will find the thing that will calm him down. He doesn’t have the heart to reach back out to her otherwise she may feel the heavy despair in his heart at the thought that even his lion knows all he wants is to be by Keith’s side again.

He knows the rest of the team is following behind him and he’s grateful, because he doesn’t really know what he’s going to do when he reaches his destination. He knows Keith hasn’t wanted to talk to him—let alone seek comfort from him—since that night. But Lance can’t stop himself from following the urge to be there for him, not when it pulls like a string in his chest leading him to where he’s supposed to be. That bone deep ache is insistent now, thrumming through each of his limbs and begging him to stop, but he knows there’s nothing that would stop him from going to Keith. Nothing ever has.

When they all reach the hangar and see Keith motionless, staring at Black like he has all the answers to every question that has kept them all up at night, they all stop and watch. Out of the corner of his eye, Lance can see as, one by one, the team turns toward him to go to Keith—and he’s moving before anyone can even say anything.

He has to force a casual tone and knows he’s standing a little too close, a little too soon, but everything in him is coming back to life at finally being close to Keith again. His heart breaks into a few more pieces because it’s not in the way he wants. There’s something between them, Lance can feel it, and there’s nothing he can do to touch it again.

“Hey, man.”

There’s a twitch of fingers against Lance’s and he holds his breath, only to let it out on a sharp exhale when Keith suddenly folds his arms across his chest.

“I know—” Lance catches himself and winces, their last argument ricocheting between his ears. “I uh. We—we can tell you’re hurting. We miss Shiro too, Keith. We all miss him. Finding someone to fly Black, it doesn’t mean we miss him any less. Or that we’ll stop looking for him. We’ll—I’ll never stop looking for him, Keith.”

Keith’s gaze hesitantly shifts over to Lance, something vulnerable hidden behind his bangs. That small, hesitant opening gives Lance the strength to let his next words tumble out, barely wanting to catch them as they fall. “I—we. The team, we’re always going to be here for you, Keith. If you let us.” That look in Keith’s eye turns a little sharper, a little more acute and Lance can’t stop staring, his heartbeat thrumming in his veins.

Lance isn’t sure if it’s just him being hopeful or not but he thinks there’s a little regret there, too. “I know,” Keith says, the words barely more than a movement of lips, but Lance finds himself following the shape of them as his breath stills in his chest.

The moment is gone in a second, though, before Keith is looking back up at the looming presence of Black in front of them.

Lance is about to turn around and just forget about it when Keith mumbles out a quiet, powerful, “Thank you, Lance.”

Lance’s ribs constrict his lungs as he forces himself to meet Keith’s eyes—and after a moment that leaves him breathless and aching, he nods and heads back toward the others. When he passes them, he can’t meet the look of pity in their eyes.

It’s later that night and Lance can’t sleep; not that it’s anything new, really. He has barely slept since that first night Keith left his room in a rush, and there’s really been nothing else since then to make his nights come easier. He always finds himself drifting around the ship and he knows it’s pathetic, because half of him hopes he would run into Keith again and it would be like a redo. A restart to the shitty end game he got.

The other half dreads it because he knows better than to trust that other, hopeful half of himself ever again.

The one rule he gives himself on these little trips, though, is that he can’t ever find himself near the command room again. He can’t bring himself to face that room because he feels like the memories of it would suffocate him as soon as he walked in. But tonight he decides to break it, in hopes that maybe it really would steal all his breath away, and he wouldn’t have to deal with any of this ever again.

He drags his fingers across one of the chairs, eyes lingering on the ground and lost in thought when he hears someone else enter behind him. Immediately, his spine stiffens and his eyes fly wide because shit, if this really is Keith he’s not ready okay, he hasn’t had time to prepare himself to pretend to be okay. He has to have a solid five minutes minimum to make himself ready to face the guy, Universe, so really next time be more considerate, okay—

“Lance?”

Allura’s soft question causes Lance’s shoulders to sag in relief, his heart rate dropping out of overdrive. Lance swings himself around, plastering a smile on because he can do this, he can pretend for Allura, no problem. You got off easy this time, Universe.

“Fancy meeting you here, Princess,” Lance winces when his tone is just shy of right, but he rolls with it.

Allura stares at him for a moment, hesitating in the doorway, before tapping her fingers against the door in a decidedly not-Allura moment of uncertainty. “Do you mind if I join you?”

Lance fakes a yawn, stretching, “Well you know, Princess, I would love that, but really I was just about to hit the hay myself—”

“I was really hoping we could talk, Lance.” Her tone makes Lance’s arms drop, because he knows that tone. Goodbye uncertainty, hello royal authority. “About Keith, I mean.” As if there was anything else she would track him down for in the middle of the night after the dinner they just had.

Lance slumps, shuffling over to the edge of the room, right in front of the wide expanse of space he kind of wishes would swallow him up right about now. There’s a pit in his stomach as he hears Allura’s light footsteps follow behind him. She stops at his side and he resolutely does not start the conversation. If she wants to drag it out of him, fine, but he’s not going to make it easy on her.

Too much time passes, and Lance looks anywhere but over at Allura; he doesn't think he can take the look of pity in her eyes. There's too much in there. He’s never been one to be able to face something he doesn’t want to think about reflected in someone else’s eyes. His resolve lasts for about five more seconds before he’s sighing, “Look, Allura, I’m okay. I really am.”

“Lance, I’d appreciate if you didn’t lie to your princess, you know.” Allura lets out on a sigh as she settles down next to him on the floor of the command room. The way she sits looks slightly wrong, all bad angles, but if she’s uncomfortable it doesn’t show on her face. No, that same soft look she’s been giving him for the last few weeks is still there. It’s like she thinks he’s going to break, and honestly—it’s insulting. Lance can keep all of his broken emotions bottled up with the best of ‘em, thanks.

“I’m not—” He starts but the look she gives him has him redirecting, “—not really lying. I’m mostly okay.”

“Mostly okay isn’t what you deserve, Lance.”

Lance laughs a little because he can’t stop thinking about how before, he would have killed for Allura to be telling him how he deserves better, sitting alone curled up in an empty command room; before Keith, before his dumb, soft looks, before his quiet moments and barely-there vulnerability. Instead, all he can think about is how this is how everything started for him and Keith, really. This room was their beginning, and Lance’s heart aches under the weight of all the memories hanging in the air.

“I know, Princess. Don’t worry, though; I’m not going to let this affect my performance as a paladin, I promise.”

Lance praises himself for not jumping at the gentle hand she places on his shoulder; even the smallest touch lately seems to make him feel too overwhelmed, and he’s not proud of that. “I’m not worried about you as my paladin, Lance. I’m just worried about you as my friend.” If it’s possible, that look on her face turns even softer, and Lance can’t deny that look for long before he’s meeting her eyes with his own half-hearted smile.

He turns his head to look back out at the expanse of space in front of them before he lets that smile drop. He tosses his next words back and forth—each of them a weight in his chest he knows he should let go of, but he can’t let someone else drown with him. “I know, and that means so much to me. I just don’t know what to tell you; I really will be okay. I’ll get over this. I should have known better, anyway.” The last part is barely above his breath, mostly said to berate himself one more time because honestly, he probably deserves the reminder. He doesn’t think he’d survive letting himself forget again.

Allura definitely catches his intentions; he can see the way the edges of her features lose some of that softness. She stays quiet, though, and just sits beside him for a while. He can feel the warmth of her next to his shoulder, and even though it’s not exactly a comfortable silence, he appreciates the support she’s trying to show him. It means something, even if he can’t let her in far enough to know just how much.

Lance thinks he sees a shooting star and is about to point it out just to say something else—to steer the conversation away from his feelings—but then Allura is clearing her throat and shifting a little awkwardly. “I may be way off base here in what I’m about to say, since you insist you are alright, but I have seen the way you look when you don’t think anyone is watching anymore, Lance. I just want to help you. So, will you just listen?” There’s a long beat with her just looking him steadfastly in the eyes before Lance realizes she’s actually asking.

Silently, he nods.

“I don’t know exactly what you and Keith had. I know it was important to you though; to both of you. You both had been… So much more at peace recently and whether or not it’s because of each other, I cannot say, but I do know it’s been different since, well.” Allura clears her throat again, clearly uncomfortable, but Lance appreciates the way she soldiers on.

“Everything has an end, whether you expect it or not. It’s how you handle that end that defines the experience you had overall, I think. Something can still hurt and you can still be angry; you’re allowed to hurt and be angry at Keith, Lance. You’re allowed to be bitter. You’re allowed to wish it didn’t end. But you do still have to grow from it. You have to face it and take it in and know that it may not stop hurting for a very, very long time—but that doesn’t mean you can’t still move on from it.”

Allura doesn’t look like she’s fully completely talking about him and Keith anymore but Lance doesn’t point it out. He knows that letting go while still letting something hurt is a lesson she had to learn by herself, and his heart breaks even more knowing she’s trying to share that lesson with him for something he knows isn’t as harsh as the teacher she had to learn from. Overwhelmed, Lance lurches forward and wraps his arms around her shoulders, burying his face in her neck and letting himself have one shaky breath before steadying himself out.

It’s only a second of hesitation before she’s wrapping her arms around him too. It’s a gentle pressure at his back that is still very nearly too much, but he ignores the feeling because he has to do this. He has to push past this. “Thank you, Princess.”

Her soft dismissal of the appreciation does nothing to push it down in Lance’s chest. It’s this, he thinks, that will make her a great ruler and why he loves her; why he will continue to follow her. She is a soldier, royalty, a diplomat—but she is also so kind in the moments Lance knows mean the most, and that’s what makes her a leader. She lets herself be soft and lets herself feel, and it makes her no less valuable. He thinks maybe, just maybe, he can use that to lead himself out of this, too.

#klance #klance fic #laith #laith fic #klance fic rec #my fic #bonded (in your arms)#i think next ch will be the last #then comes part 2 #which is actually almost finished lmao #do i have a word of ch9 written???#nope #but i have 7k of the first part #of part 2 done lol #bonded series

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one-deranged-son · 4 years ago

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Wormholes to Another World

Originally posted in February 2nd, 2020

Retrieved on December 31st, 2020

Written by Gossamere as John and Froggy as Ian Nashton.

Warning:

This plot is rated explicit for language, description of violence, religious symbolism, gun, blood, and mentions of rape and age gap relationships. Dead dove: do not eat. Reader discretion is heavily advised.

Ian Nashton

"Dad! Come on, let's go inside!"

It was a Saturday morning, but that didn't stop a hyperactive, sugar-fueled Jansen from running about excitedly as soon as the car was parked.

Two days ago was his tenth birthday, and their parents had promised to take him to the museum on the weekends.

Now, Ian wasn't a big fan of history as a subject in high school (because they never teach the interesting stuff, some things tend to be omitted).

He did, however, love going to museums for the artifacts and not to mention, museums are so full of interesting information, ready for him to absorb.

Even if he wouldn't get the chance to use them at school.

Their parents chose the Royal Ontario Museum, because it had a wide variety of exhibits, basically, something for everyone.

Jansen was 'armed' with an instant camera which he hung around his neck with a strap. He was most excited about the dinosaur exhibits. He also had with him a notebook and a pen—in case he wanted to write something down.

Jansen was dressed like a mini Einstein, complete with the patterned sweater. Ian, on the other hand, was dressed in black and grey.

The Nashtons often drove past the futuristic-looking building, but they have only visited the museum once ever since they moved to Toronto.

Both parents were often too busy with work, while the brothers had school and other extracurricular activities.

"Musée royal de l'Ontario." Ian muttered to himself as he read the sign just outside the museum—he wanted to practice his French pronunciation.

Whilst their father purchased tickets, Jansen's eyes caught sight of a dinosaur fossil display in the main lobby. His mouth gaped in awe as he looked up at the display. He impatiently tugged at Ian's jacket sleeve because he knew he shouldn't go alone to see it up close—luckily, Ian obliged and went along with his younger brother.

Whilst Jansen took a photo of the display (he had to sit on the floor and aim his camera up), Ian read the information board.

"Futalognkosaurus dukei…?" Ian read out with uncertainty, "I think I pronounced that wrong. Hm… discovered in Argentina… that's neat."

Once the developed photo has come out, Jansen wrote the name of the dinosaur on the bottom corner and some brief information on the back.

"You know, I can take a photo of the information board for you. Dad gave me his camera." Ian offered.

Jansen shook his head with a slight smile, "I'm good! I think I like writing it down."

"Alright, suit yourself, man."

The brothers returned to their parents when they heard their mother call for them. Jansen and Ian were given a map each.

"You two can go anywhere you want, but make sure to stick with each other so we can call you if We need to." Their father explained. "Here, take my phone."

"Don't let him out of your sight, be careful of strangers." Their mother added.

Ian took his father's phone and placed it safely in his other pocket. He then gave an understanding nod and a salute. "Will do! You two can count on me."

Needless to say, Jansen was overjoyed to have been given such permissions, and he energetically walked to where the stairs were.

"Oi! Wait up!" Ian exclaimed as he tried to catch up with the younger boy. "Mom said I can't get you out of my sight. Anyways, where are we going first?"

Jansen points to the second floor of the museum, where the animals—including the dinosaurs—were.

"Oh, right, yeah. Let's go!" Ian puts his arms around his younger brother's shoulder as they went up the stairs. Ian actually wanted to go to the third floor to see the ancient Egypt exhibit first, but he lets his brother lead the way for now.

ㅤㅤ

John

Five years ago, the young man visited the same place.

However, the genuine euphoria he experienced when he first stepped into the museum no longer fulfills his heart. Instead, with every step he took, it feels like a knife is being stabbed to his heart.

Jesus Christ, he feels his heartbeat spiking as shallow breaths begin to come out from his throat. A week ago when he revisited the museum, he was so sure that he's going to execute the plan. But now he can't help but lock himself in the stall, throwing his breakfast into the toilet when the realization finally hit him.

He's going to kill a man.

"Oh my God—"

He throws up again. Fingers clenching as he continuously pants out of breath. He doesn't know what he's thinking and he feels like shit for trying to think that he can do it alone! Countless ideas had passed through his mind before he ended up like a sick boy in this goddamn empty toilet, and now he thinks that maybe he should've stayed in a church and become some priest instead of doing... this!

‘You've gotta be kidding me, kid. I know I train you into some super-soldier, but I ain't letting you handle MY job. When this shit is done, Paul is gonna drop your ass into college, and then you can find yourself some pussies to hump—or probably dicks to ride. Dunno. You kind of giving me that aura to be a potential twink.’

He used to scoff at the idea, especially with the twink part, but now when he finally decides to do this Revelator shit alone, he feels like his old man was right. Even after repeatedly reading the plan and studying his target from the worn journal he managed to retrieve, he really still didn't know what it took.

"Come on, get a hold of yourself." He slapped his cheeks when he finally calmed down for his high. With trembling legs, he straightens his posture. Isaiah—shit—John walked out of the stall and reached out to the door. He's going to do this shit even though it means blowing up some precious dinosaur fossils. He's going to do this for the sake of the late John fucking Monsoon.

ㅤㅤ

Ian Nashton

When they reached the second floor, leapt away from Ian's grasp and began to marvel at all the displays. One of the first ones they saw was a large Barosaurus.

Ian figured that it must have been around 27 meters, at least. Though Jansen skipped that display in favour of the T. rex fossil.

Just like a loose cannon.

Poor Ian was a little overwhelmed with trying to keep up with his younger brother, how can someone have that much energy? He wasn't sure.

"Can you slow down, you dork?" Ian said, a little exasperated.

"If you walk like that during his time, you'd have been eaten by now." Jansen retorted whilst he gestured at the T. rex fossil with his thumb.

Alright, fair game. Though Ian still rolled his eyes and smacked his brother upside the head lightly. "Nerd."

Jansen responded by sticking his tongue out at Ian; the latter ignored it.

Ian looked at the map again and the 'Bat Cave' exhibit intrigued him. Firstly, he was a fan of comic books, and secondly, he thought bats on their own were cool.

"Hey, when you're done with this area, let's go to the Bat Cave."

Jansen nodded in silent agreement as he was busy writing something down at the back of his newly acquired photo of the T. rex. Ian squints to try and get a better look at what his brother was trying to do, and he saw a squiggly attempt of a T. rex chasing… somebody.

Perhaps it was a recreation of a scene from Jurassic Park. Who the hell knows?

Ian began to walk around the exhibit, snapping photos every now and then with his father's digital camera.

"Holy crap…" his eyes were fixated on the Quetzalcoatlus fossil hanging from the ceiling. Now it was his turn to have his mouth agape.

"Quetzalcoatlus northropi, wingspan of about 11 meters—possibly a bit more. Wow… I would so not want to live in the same era as these guys. Yikes, talk about terrifying." Ian muttered to himself, it was a habit.

The thing he was looking at was almost as tall as a giraffe! And it could fly! If it existed alongside humans, could it have hunted them? Ian grimaced at the thought.

He felt a distinctive tug on his jacket sleeve, it was Jansen.

"I need to go to the toilet."

Technically, Jansen could go by himself, but Ian thought he should come along—because he promised to their mom that he won't let Jansen get out of his sight.

"Alright. Come on, I'll take you."

Ian led the way to the toilet with Jansen following right behind him. Ian pushed the door open with such force that he… seemed to have hit someone right on the face.

"Oh—oh my god, I am… so sorry!"

Jansen grimaced at the scene and slid past his brother and the stranger—straight into the stall.

Even at a young age, Ian Nashton had an eye for detail, and he noticed that the stranger he just hit with the door had been vomiting beforehand (didn't do a very good job at wiping his face off, perhaps he was in a hurry).

"A-are you okay? God, I'm so sorry."

ㅤㅤ

John

As he was busy trying to reach for the handle, John (he's still not used to that name) was so caught up with his thoughts that he didn't realize when the door suddenly open and slammed straight into his fucking face. Instantly, he fell ass first 'cause his legs still feel like jelly and his head hurts like hell.

"Ouch-" he whined, rubbing his nose before wiping the edge of his lips when he realized that there was actually a stain of his vomit there. John hoped that the stranger didn't notice it. That would be super awkward.

When he looked up, his eyes caught the sight of two people. A lanky boy with glasses and a plain T-shirt, and a shorter one with scruffy hair, whose clothes look like was straight off imposing as Einstein or someone. Who knows.

Anyway, the shorter one slipped past through him without much care, so John could easily conclude that the one responsible for the situation he's in was the apologetic male. His face was masked in genuine worry and now John's heart ached because this dude is a good man. He didn't actually know him, but John got a hunch about it and now he can help but to cringe at himself because his plan would probably kill this man.

"Shit," John muttered.

He abruptly stood up and walked past the man. He didn't even say anything in response.

He just wanna get this over with.

ㅤㅤ

Ian

The stranger looked like he was just a few years older than himself. He had short hair, and a hoodie that looked to be two sizes way too big.

Not going to lie, Ian's first thoughts were that the stranger looked like a stereotypical loner or emo boy from those high school movies.

In those short few seconds of observing his face, Ian noticed the worried—no, anxious—expression on the other boy's face.

Perhaps he was vomiting due to anxiousness? Ian guessed so, but before he could ask again—if the stranger was okay—he went away.

"Jansen? I'll be outside—I'm uh… gonna apologize to that guy I just hit."

Ian Nashton made a split-second decision, and that was to go after the poor boy. The bathroom door shuts before Ian could hear his brother's response.

Ian caught up with the other boy—thanks to his (ridiculously) lanky legs and matched his pace with the other.

"Hey man—I'm sorry for hitting you with the goddamn door. Uh… were you… okay? Back there? I couldn't help but notice you had some…thing on your face."

He wanted him to notice the vomit stains, but he wasn't sure if it would be too weird or not.

ㅤㅤ

John

John was so sure that he would get away this time, but what are the odds? Guess having long legs has its perks, because John was so confident of his speed walking skill, but the peculiar boy stopped his step.

John almost tumbles backwards and falls on his ass—again. Thank God for his dad's ruthless training, though, now his reflexes are doing a spectacular job.

John takes a step backward. At this point he really, REALLY wanted to run away through the other side, but when he noticed the Einstein rip-off coming out from the toilet, John didn't.

So instead, his eyes flickered to the boy. A frown across his face.

What the fuck?

ㅤㅤ

Ian

The way the boy moved about in the museum made Ian think that he was hiding from someone—that could explain the hoodie and the panicky tone the latter was speaking in.

"I—? Wanted to make sure you were okay? Because it looked like it hurt. And I didn't mean blood, okay? I meant—I noticed some vomit stains on your face."

Ian shoved his hands into his pockets and shrugged, looking like this was his opportunity to flex. He heard the bathroom door open again, and out came his brother.

The moment Ian turned to glance at his brother, he heard fast footsteps walking away from him.

Another split second decision, he gestured for Jansen to follow him—slowly—as he followed the strange boy.

Truth be told, in the other boy's eyes, Ian must be equally as strange.

"Wait! Just—wait." He now stopped in front of the boy. And so, begins his speech at the speed of light voice.

He wanted to make his point known—and to show off, for some odd reason.

"Like I said, I noticed that you had vomit stains around your mouth, though you didn't bother to wash it off before leaving which makes me think you were in a rush."

'You didn't even wash your hands, they're dry as bones' was what he wanted to add, but Ian refrained from doing so.

"Now, I doubt it was food poisoning because your body language and stammering suggests otherwise. I also noticed the staggered walks and you being unsteady on your feet, it's as if you've been running a marathon.

Was it nerves? Perhaps. Fear? Most likely. You see, the sclera—the whites of the eyes—often show more when someone is in fear.

Speaking of eyes, your eyes also seem to dart from one security camera to another—as if you're paranoid about something.

Conclusion? I think you're running away from someone. Or, you have been."

Ian let out a deep sigh after he was done with that monologue, he only took breaths whenever a sentence ended.

Jansen, who was within earshot of the conversation only shook his head and muttered to himself, "Oh boy."

"You telling me about the museum being crowded also seem to support my theory—I mean… it's a Saturday! Of course it'll be crowded, I'm not worried about it."

Ian let out a sheepish chuckle, as if he hadn't just gone all Sherlock Holmes with the other boy. However, it seems that Ian was self-aware

That, and he noticed that a few grown-ups were giving them strange looks as they passed by.

It be like that when you only hear fragments of conversations.

"Sorry—I uh… I'm a guy that notices everything."

Everything except social cues, apparently.

Jansen huffed and puffed his cheeks in annoyance, he felt that Ian was being weird AND keeping him away from the Bat Cave—which was something he really wanted to see.

The younger Nashton approached John with a friendly and apologetic smile, "I'm sorry about my brother and his idiosyncrasies, he likes to show off."

Ian sputtered and scoffed defensively, "I do not!" That was an obvious lie. "Do you even know what that word means?"

The young boy nodded confidently, "Idiosyncrasy, noun. A mode of behavior peculiar to an individual. Example: one of Ian's little idiosyncrasies is that he likes to observe people to the point where it's borderline creepy."

Despite his somewhat squeaky voice, Jansen spoke as if he was already a university student. It was obvious that he was an avid reader who loved to read things that are way above his reading level.

The younger boy then took off—possibly headed for the Bat Cave. Either way, he provided the definition of 'borderline', too. In case Ian questioned him again about what it meant.

The split second decision that Ian made now was to chase after his brother, but not before he looked back at the stranger. Whom he gave an awkward wave to.

"Uh—bye! I'm sorry for the door!" Then he proceeds to run after his younger brother.

"JANSEN SLOW DOWN, DAMN IT! YOU'RE GOING TO BUMP INTO SOMEONE OR SOMETHING."

ㅤㅤ

John

"Like I said, I noticed that you had vomit stains around your mouth," the boy begins to blabber. John doesn't really know what to expect; his mind is filled with a lot of question marks. "though you didn't bother to wash it off before leaving which makes me think you were in a rush."

He was right. The peculiar boy was right and it was not only because John was bad at details, but it was simply because this fucking boy is good. With every explanation, John's eyes kept on widening. And when the rip-off Einstein decided to join them in the ‘wholesome’ conversation then blabber a motherfucking word that surely shouldn't be able to be said from a kid his age with the same attitude as a spelling bee judge, John's jaw dropped.

What the fuck.

John was so busy thinking about what was going on to the point he almost forgot that his main purpose in coming here. He was so stunned that he almost missed the quick 'bye' and another apology coming from the lanky boy. And John didn't even know what's happening to him since his first reflex is to grab the man by the wrist, twist him so they're staring face-to-face with John's hand steadying him so he doesn't have to suffer the same embarrassment like what John did.

As if that panic attack never happened, John's gaze was intense. Some might think that he was trying to bore holes into the man's skull with his shocking grey eyes, but no. It was the other way around.

His voice was quiet and barely inaudible as he said, "Run."

Then John let go of the grip and stormed away. His plan is already ruined and he could feel his foster parents judging him from Heaven (or Hell) because of it.

Shit. He's distracted.

ㅤㅤ

Ian

How often does one meet children around one's age who happen to be geniuses? Not very often, apparently.

Ian hadn't gotten far when the strange boy gripped his wrist and yanked him back—as if it was a scene from a cliche TV drama or something.

This boy is definitely stronger than he looks—had he not been wearing an oversized hoodie, maybe Ian would have been able to make more deductions.

"What are you—" Ian stopped abruptly when he gazed into those eyes. He had never seen such an intense gaze come from a kid before, not even in high school bullies. For a short few seconds, Ian thought the boy would shove him away or even hit him.

Ian won't blame him, to be honest.

After what seemed to be an eternal staring competition, the strange boy said something.

A word. Barely audible and soft, nearly drowned by the museum's ambient noise.

"Run."

Then that boy lets go of his wrist and stormed off to god knows where.

Ian grimaced as he rubbed his wrist—for god's sake, the kid had an iron grip!

"Run from what?!" He tried to ask, but the boy kept walking away.

This time, Ian doesn't chase after him. The boy slowly turned around and continued to walk in the other direction.

"What's with him?" Ian whispered to himself as he continued to rub his wrist. What if they bruised? How would Ian explain that to his parents?!

ㅤㅤ

John

What the hell was that?

John cringes. He's definitely blaming the telenovelas. As John continued to storm away from the boy, he hoped to dear God that his warnings were heard. He didn’t even know why he did that, he just felt like it was the right thing to do.

He's distracted for sure.

Well, fuck that. John shook his head and pulled his mask up. He had already caused some ruckus and looking suspicious won't get him anywhere. So now John walks slower and watches as people walk past him, too caught up with the exhibit to the point they don't even notice him.

Great, at least one of his back-up plans worked smoothly.

Now John walked back to track his steps, deciding to take the stairs to the ground level and into the security room where he had gracefully hid his stuff in the ventilation. When he reached the ground floor, it was fairly empty, so John didn't hesitate to slam the door open. There were only two bros chilling in the room, five feet apart 'cause they're not gay. One of them shot an incredulous look, but before they could say anything, John aimed his gun at them.

Their faces dropped, John smirked.

"What's your password, dear?" John asked the man when he finished blindfolding and securing the cuffs on their wrist. He doesn't really like calling them with pet names, but his old man always does that and he's following it. With a trembling voice, one of the guys answered with his pass code . And of course John didn't waste any time and straight up opened the reminders.

‘DIRECTOR VISIT.’

John's smirk grew wider.

Recently he heard that his target, Scott Martin, the director of the museum, is coming over to check the place. And really, John prefers a stealth attack than a motherfucking firework show, but he's the Revelator now. He gotta be... flashy.

(‘Kid, what's the point of doing this shit if people ain't either trembling or praising yer name?’)

He sighed.

John places his legs on top of the table, tying the laces of his shoes, extra tight, so it won't trip him later on when he gotta run for his dear life. This is his debut and John ain't gonna mess it up. With his sufficient amount of knowledge, he wiped the security footage of the previous week, destroying the evidence of his presence from the database.

When he's done with it, his focus reverts back to the current footage. It was still relatively empty even though it's the weekend, but what he cares the most is the very fact that in about twenty minutes, the director should have arrived and John needs to prepare himself for the worse.

He has dual Glock 26 strapped at the sides of his thigh, an AK-103 for his main support, an M203PI launcher secured on his back, and with that much of a weapon (not to mention how he carries some hand grenades and other spare knives), John realizes how much of a hassle this Revelator job is.

But he knows he can't back off now.

Not today, not ever.

John's eyes were fixed to the screen. For a short moment his mind wanders to the lanky kid and to the absurdity of their encounter. Soon he found himself biting the inside of his cheeks. There's a lot of things to think about and that kid ain’t it.

In about nineteen minutes the director should arrive. In about thirty minutes the bomb strapped in the airways and hidden behind some exhibits should blow off.

He gotta be ready for that shit.

John clasped his hand.

"In nomine Patris, et Filii, et Spiritus Sancti. Amen."

ㅤㅤ

Ian Nashton

Just as Ian thought, his younger brother was indeed at the Bat Cave. It was a gallery of a literal bat cave, complete with realistic wax sculptures of twenty different bat species as well as some invertebrates.

The boy had his back turned to Ian, so he snuck up and placed his hands on his younger brother's shoulder in an attempt of surprising him.

"Boo!" Ian exclaimed.

Jansen was visibly startled, but he didn't scream or even make a sound. All he did to respond was to elbow the older one in the stomach.

"You're despicable." Jansen grumbled.

"Dethpicable." Ian repeated, but mimicking a certain cartoon character.

Jansen puffed his cheeks and rolled his eyes—he ignored what Ian just said. "So, where'd your new friend go?"

"Honestly? I don't know. Something weird happened, okay? He just... grabbed my wrist and yanked me backwards. Like a cliché drama scenes." It left many questions in Ian's mind. "I don't know why he did that, and I don't like not knowing."

"Forget that! Gee, what are you trying to be? Sherlock Holmes?!" Jansen's mouth formed a slight pout as he aimed his camera at the ceiling of the cave. The sculptures looked so realistic, he was sure if he didn't know any better he'd guess that they were real bats.

A beep broke the relative silence of the exhibit. It was a text message from dad which read.

'We're at the café right now, come on down if you feel hungry.'

"Hey, mom and dad's at the café, should we go down or not?" Ian showed the phone screen to his younger brother.

Immediately, Jansen shook his head. "Not hungry yet."

Ian responded with a quiet 'ok' and types a quick reply.

Out of the two brothers, Jansen was a much faster reader than Ian, so it didn't take him too long to read everything that was present about the bats—less than ten minutes, actually.

The next gallery was the birds gallery. And upon seeing a crow on display, Ian asked Jansen to take a photo of him and the crow using the digital camera. Ian posed so that he and the crow were facing each other—as if having some kind of thoughtful conversation.

This gallery had drawers that you could pull out with various species of birds on display inside.

Jansen busied himself with those, while Ian was more interested in the ones behind glass cases. Such as the 'flightless birds' display.

The cassowary always reminded Ian of the raptors from Jurassic Park. From the sharp talons, to the shape of the head and the 'expression' the specimen seemed to have.

People often say that lizards like the Komodo dragon were the closest thing humans would have to a dinosaur, but Ian would argue that birds were closer—at least when it comes to theropods.

It was a rather nice way to spend the day, roaming around the museum with minds as absorbent as a sponge. Jansen was obviously enjoying himself, and so was Ian.

Like ripping candy from a child, the situation quickly changed when there was a sudden, deafening roar of an explosion, and before he could even process the sound, out of the corner of his eyes, the boy noticed a similar sound coming from the air vents. Followed by a fierce column of flames—like a dragon breathing fire from its mouth.

Ian instinctively leapt towards his younger brother and enveloped him in a protective embrace as more of those terrible sounds erupted. Screams from visitors soon joined.

The side they were on should be reasonably stable enough compared to the opposite wing, but the building was an old one.

As more explosions were heard, the ground shook and some artifacts began to topple over.

Jansen covered his ears and began to cry out of fear. Ian had the right idea to stay away from ventilation shafts in case more explosions would erupt.

He was terrified, too, but he tried to be as brave as he could for his younger brother's sake.

Immediate dangers were fires, more explosions and the building crumbling. The bulk of the explosion seemed to have come from the ground floor.

It hasn't even been a year since the World Trade Center collapsed—was that kind of thing going to happen today, too? Were they going to die?

The brothers hugged each other tight as they sat beside a sturdy display with their backs against the wall. Both had tears running down their faces, but Ian was silent and tried his best to analyze the best solution to this situation.

As much as he wanted to keep his eyes shut, he kept them open—and saw that the ceiling threatened to give way and collapse.

The logical thing to do was to get to the ground floor as quickly as possible—he's heard that stairwells can be one of the safest places (as they tend to be strong, structurally). But neither he nor his brother dared to even move away from their shelter.

Other visitors on the floor either tried to find cover or run to the stairs in a panicked frenzy.

Ian tried ringing his father, but both times, the call wasn't picked up—either his parents were already dead, or they were busy with their own survival for now. Ian hoped it was the latter.

A light had fallen just a few meters in front of them. The noise of the impact caused more screams from other visitors, including his brother, whose sobs got louder and more frantic.

It's easy for others to say 'stay calm' in a survival guide or even a drill, but when the real thing happens, it would be hard to stay calm because the fight, flight or freeze response would kick in.

There wasn't much Ian could do right now, because even if he tried to run to the nearest stairwell, there might be a chance that the ceiling would collapse and crush him—he and Jansen were relatively safer where they are right now.

ㅤㅤ

John

Tick, tock.

John fiddles the sleeves of his shirt in agitation. His heart is thumping furiously against his

ribcage; the cold sweat begins to roll down his forehead as his eyes peers over the monitor. Two more minutes and then the director should enter the building already. Less than 15 minutes later, the bomb should go off.

He can't mess this up.

What John didn't expect is that his target isn't taking the usual route. He didn't stroll around the exhibits, flashing that disgusting smile of his then locking himself in his office. This time, though, this time is different. He's talking to two of the visitors, but it doesn't seem like they're doing some random, casual chat. Their eyes are glimmering with excitement and delight, and soon, John finds out that the three of them—let's not forget about Martin's guard dog—are going to have lunch in level B1.

That's where the least of his explosives are located. Probably only three of one kilogram plastic explosives strapped on the vent or the corners of the building. This doesn't go as smoothly as he planned.

"Motherfu—"

His words got cut off when a sudden explosion shook the ground. John's eyes widened. Siren blaring all across the hall and in his head. He glances at the clock, the bomb set off three minutes early.

He was lucky that it wasn't exactly the main attraction, because if his old man was here, John sure he's going to get himself grounded for this carelessness.

His eyes darted back to the monitor. Everyone was screaming and running like little ants. The T-Rex bone on level two had fallen down like cookies crumbs. John skimmed through the screen looking for Martin, and when he realizes he's running away to the main floor, John curses again.

"What's going on?" One of the guards barked. The metal cuffs on his wrist rattled by his frantic movement. "What are you doing?!"

Tsk. He almost forgot about them.

"Ain't nothing happenin' around here, sweetheart," John cooed, although his face was showing obvious distress. He's glad that he blindfolded them.

"Be good for me, will ya? Stay still."

John wore his thermal goggles and stormed out of the room. He could see a lot of people curling away from the explosion spot, trembling and crying their eyes out while struggling to protect their precious organ from whatever will happen next. Some of them are too stunned to move while the others trip and fall while trying to go to a safer place.

John shot his bullet to the ceiling, everyone stopped moving even though their screams just got louder.

Columns of fire had spread to the second floor as the explosion kept riling up without mercy. Glass shatters and some railings had blasted off from its place. There were four guards surrounding Scott Martin when John arrived at their floor. All of them trying to get their boss to flee from the chaotic scene. Martin, however, seemed to get himself stuck, being pulled back and forth by a hysterical woman.

"My sons! Scott, my sons are not here!"

"Madeleine—it's too dangerous here!"

"I'm not leaving without them!"

(John's muscle tensed.)

He throws a smoke grenade at them. Receiving a loud shriek and multiple curse words from their directions. Without a second to waste, he started to aim for their legs. Empty bullets clanking to the ground as it hits his first target in the place he wants.

"GEORGE!"

John cringes inwardly. He seems to slip his aim.

With the rest of the guards, John just disturbs their personal space and landed hard kicks and punches before eventually shooting their feet to immobilize them. Martin was practically blinded by the smoke, but when he saw the shadow of his own demise, he screamed.

"Y—You! The news said you were dead!" His voice was trembling. He tried to back off only to trip his legs 'cause the body of his stunned guards.

"Sorry for leaving ya hanging, babe," the Revelator smirked under his mask. Looming over the man who had graciously fallen down, ass first. He can't see his target's face clearly due to the lenses, but he could sense the fear masking each of his words.

"Got myself into trouble with them FBI dogs, hope you didn't miss me that much." The Revelator squatted in front of the cowering man. He pulled the expensive tie and leaned his face closer. "Have you confessed?"

The man was trembling, still. When the Revelator takes his goggles off to reveal his steel gray eyes, the color of his target face drained immediately.

"W—what do you..."

"SCOTT!"

The Revelator stopped in his tracks. Ever so slowly, he tears his gaze off from his target into the source of the voice. The previous woman who had hysterically refused to evacuate herself is hugging what seems to be her husband. A trail of blood coming from his leg, courtesy of the bullet.

"Oh? Are they your friends, Martin?" The Revelator's eyes were cold and intense as he continued to shoot daggers into the woman's eyes. The grip on the other's tie getting stronger and stronger.

"Tell me, Scott, do your precious friends know about what you did in the dark?" He smirked. "Do they know about the scam you did at the auction five years ago? Do they know about how you graft the fund for this museum? Do they know your excessive lifestyle and your personal preferences on young boys?"

The Revelator eyes flickered back to the man. He can sense his heartbeat pacing up. John rummaged his pocket. He let go of his grip and walked towards the woman.

"Here's all of the evidence from the past five years," he said, there's a slight change of tone as he hands a piece of flash disk. The note of his voice was quiet, almost gentle.

But before the woman could muster any protest, John's attention shifted back to his target. As the Revelator caught the sight of him trying to run away, he shot his legs in an unmistakable accuracy.

"Alright, I guess you already know about this, and yes, ma'am, I ain't the type to make false threats. I suppose you already know what to do 'cause if you don't, damn shit, I'll fucking call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing. Do the right thing and you'll live, do the wrong thing, then you'll live as well, but ain't so sure 'bout your sons tho. Ain't giving ya any clue 'bout it."

The Revelator stood back and pulled his target by the collar away.

ㅤㅤ

Ian Nashton

The Nashton family was full of scientists. Ian and Jansen's parents were no exception, with their father being a physicist and their mother being a marine biologist.

Their mother has published a book about lesser known sea creatures and it has brought her some taste of fame in the scientific community. As it stands, she actually intended to write more books, perhaps in conjunction with her husband.

A brilliant man, he was, but he doesn't have the patience to sit down and write a book, let alone edit it.

It was a surprise for them to have run into Scott Martin, who was an old friend of Madeleine from her time in university. Scott was beyond delighted to see the pair visiting the museum, but particularly Madeleine as he mentioned that he needed some scientific input from her for a new exhibit.

He was even so kind to invite them to lunch at the B1 café!

However, she thought the bodyguards were a little on the excessive side. Surely a museum director wouldn't need that much, right? Then again, she knew just how much Scott liked to be flashy, perhaps this was one of those times.

Her husband, George, tried to get their boys to come join them, but it seems that not even the prospects of lunch can stop their young minds from being curious.

Everything seemed fine, with Madeleine and Scott chatting away while George listened. Every now and then, he'd chime in with his bone dry humor.

Not a single one of them would realise the tragedy that's about to befall them.

When it happened, George hadn't heard a sound that loud in ages, he also hadn't heard his wife curse so freely and colourfully in her native French tongue ever since Ian was born. He was the first to jump into action, putting a protective arm around his wife as they immediately tried to find a safer place.

They needed to get upstairs to the main floor, otherwise the basement might as well be a cold, stony grave for them both if it gave way.

It seems that the presence of Scott's bodyguards was a convenience as they fearlessly helped the couple evacuate the basement onto the ground floor.

The serene and magnificent atmosphere they saw that morning turned into that of chaos and panic in just a few seconds after they heard the first explosions.

Not long after they arrived at the main floor, there was a single gunshot, indicating that this was not an accidental explosion but rather, a deliberate attack.

The gunshot only made everyone's panic increase by tenfold, especially Scott's, as he tried to drag the couple outside to safety. Madeleine stubbornly wanted to stay and look for her sons, and they had an argument.

George was silent for most of it. While he agreed with Scott that it was too dangerous for them to stay there, he also didn't want to leave his boys behind.

Just at that moment, he felt some vibrations in his left pant pocket—he had gotten a couple of text messages, but before he could check them, his vision was obstructed by a thick cloud of smoke. He heard his wife shriek and curse again, then he heard his own scream as a sharp, searing hot pain struck his left leg.

"GEORGE!"

Madeleine screamed as her husband slowly fell to the ground. She frantically felt around for where the wound was and when she felt the warmth of the trickling crimson liquid, she took off her scarf and wrapped it tightly around George's fresh wound to help reduce the bleeding.

"Ow, ow, ow—easy, Lena. Easy." George hissed through gritted teeth.

"I'm trying to stop you from bleeding out, dear. I should have said it will hurt a bit, I'm sorry."

The couple mainly ignored the conversation that Scott was having with the attacker, mostly because they were focusing on each other.

Only when the attacker mentioned a confession did Madeleine turn around to face the two with a confused and horrified expression on her face.

She had heard of The Revelator on the news. She heard about the things that he's done, but more importantly about his (apparent) death not too long ago.

Yet... it seems that death couldn't keep him down, because... there he was: a mere couple of steps away from her and her husband.

Why on earth would the Revelator target a museum's director of all people? Is that why Scott had so many bodyguards with him?

"God... Scott?" Madeleine's voice was soft, almost like a whisper.

What has Scott gotten himself into?

Madeleine couldn't see the attacker's face very clearly, but from the looks of it, she figured that he couldn't have been much older than her eldest son.

How odd, she had always imagined this figure to be an older man. Perhaps there were multiple 'Revelators' in existence, who the hell knows?

Now it was her turn to have a protective arm around her husband. She tried to return the daggers that was shot into her eyes, but only fear and confusion were present in her dark brown eyes.

The things the Revelator talked about were unknown to the Nashtons, except for Scott's expensive taste, which they thought nothing about as it was not really their business as long as the money came from an honest source.

Madeleine at first didn't believe what she heard, but a quick glance at Scott's face (the smoke had dissipated enough for her to see better), she saw what seemed to be a look of guilt.

Personal preferences on young boys. Did he mean...?

Her thoughts quickly shifted to her two sons, and how Scott had met them both at a fair. She remembered how he would often stand close to her sons rather than to herself or her husband. Of course, at the time that seemed like nothing to be alarmed about, but with this new information, the thought of what Scott might have intended made her shudder.

When the Revelator started to walk closer, she curled away in fear while George tried to pull her closer.

"Stay back!" George barked, despite knowing that he probably couldn't do a single damn thing with a shot leg.

Puzzlingly, the Revelator didn't brandish a gun or even a knife. No, he gave Madeleine a flash disk instead.

The sudden change of tone was terrifying, naturally. It was a juxtaposition. How can someone so violent have such a gentle voice?

Madeleine observed the flash disk in her hands, not entirely sure what to do with it at that moment. Regardless, she puts it in her pocket. It looked to be a real, functioning flash disk rather than a bomb.

Both of them flinched when Scott was shot with such high accuracy. At this point, though... they were just glad it wasn't them that had gotten shot.

"I-I don't know anything about this! What do you want me to do?!" The woman screamed. She wanted to chase after them for answers, but George held her back.

"George, let go! What if he's done something to our kids?!" She began to get hysterical again, but George pulled her into a comforting hug and kissed the top of her head soothingly.

"Lena, honey. They're alive! They're on the second floor, in the bird exhibit. We could try going after them."

"Not anymore! You're hurt! I can't leave you, nor would I want to risk more injuries!" She sobbed softly into her husband's shoulder, at that moment, she didn't know what to do.

"I told them we were on the main floor. Let's hope they can make it down as fast as possible. You see that flight of stairs over there? That is very close to the bird exhibit upstairs. Their side of the building is rather sturdy. I think they'd make it." George explained as he rubbed the back of Madeleine's head soothingly.

"Shit, shit, shit." Ian hissed when he saw columns of fire that had rose to the second floor. He knew they couldn't stay here forever.

He thought he had heard another explosion from downstairs, but it sounded more like a single gunshot, followed by more screaming.

"W-we're dying h-here, aren't we?" Jansen choked out in between sobs.

Ian's stomach turned. They have had lockdown drills at school before, but nothing ever really happened at their school. Now, this? This was the real deal.

"No, we aren't." Ian's voice sounded so sure, despite his actual uncertainty.

There were more gunshots. Ian counted seven, though he could be wrong, considering that the screams of visitors were competing with the shots.

The boy glanced at the closest stairwell again, should they risk it and run? He wasn't sure.

Five minutes after he heard the first few shots, the phone in Ian's pocket buzzed. It was from his father!

"J! Mom and dad are downstairs! We should probably go down now!" Ian slowly stood up, he tried to pull Jansen up with him as well.

"B-but—" The younger boy started.

"No buts! We have to go, NOW."

Jansen reluctantly stood up and stayed close to his brother as they made a run for the stairwell. Thankfully, the only thing they had to dodge were a few pieces from the ceiling, and they hurried down the stairs.

Upon reaching the main floor, Ian saw his parents on the ground. There was a small pool of blood near his father's left leg, and upon closer look, he saw that his mother's favourite scarf was wrapped tightly around the wound.

"MOM! DAD!" The two boys screamed in near perfect unison as they ran to their parents.

"Ian! Jansen! Thank goodness you two are okay!" Madeleine's voice had cracked as she wrapped both of her sons in her arms. "Your father's been shot, we need to leave."

"I don't think I can really stand. God—it hurts to even move it." George groaned lowly.

"Mom and I will help you up, dad. Come on!"

Ian and his mother had some difficulty getting George back on his feet, but eventually, they managed to do it.

The four of them slowly walked towards the main entrance. They avoided the Queen's Park entrance because George had noticed that that side of the building was threatening to crumble.

ㅤㅤ

John

"I'll do anything you say! P—please... just let me go!"

Amidst the roaring, raging fire, the voice sounded like a mere whisper. The Revelator's steel-gray eyes were fixed to his target while his beloved Glock stayed locked to the man's motherfucking head.

"P—please..."

"Shut the hell up," John commanded, forcing himself to sound a little bit gruffer to match his old man's voice. He might not have the exact confidence with the previous Revelator, but he now had the same impression that would turn even the fiercest man tremble.

John isn't going to waste that shit.

Time feels like it runs so damn slow when your head is under immense pressure, and it doesn't just apply to a person who's about to be sentenced to death. Right now, John can't help but to feel his heart beating so fast 'cause this is the fucking first time he did this. Most of the time, John stays in the back line. Helping the OG Revelator wiping out some ‘obstacles’ with his sniping skill instead of coming to the front line.

"Have mercy! I have a chi—"

"I say shut the fucking hell up!" John cuts his words before his target could say anything that might make him feel weaker than he already is. A crease started to form in his forehead as he continued his words.

"When they heard these things, they held their peace, and glorified God, saying, then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life, but then they fucking come back to square one. As if the words and prayers and those fucking promises they said are nothing but a load of crap, wherefore you fucking better abhor thy fucking self, and repent in motherfucking dust and ashes."

The Revelator dragged the man again, letting his blood trail stain the floor. Every step he takes felt like it was set on fire, burning and leaving charred marks on his feet. But even when he feels the fire licking his skin and burning the fabric of his clothes, John couldn't care less.

The fiery mistress danced, leaped and twirled in his eyes. There's an uncanny feeling when he saw how everything turned into dust, when the piles of planks fell and set ablaze at her contact. His heart was beating so fast, John feels he's going to combust.

"You're a fucking freak! A monster! You hear me? You're going to hell for this!"

Scott Martin wailed and squirmed in his grip, but John still couldn't give a fuck about him. His eyes were mesmerized at the sight in front of him.

The world illuminated on his sight as the fire nestled in her wooden bed, hot ribbons of light sparkling and twinkling anywhere she liked. There are times when she leaped, willing to land wherever her heart's desire. The smoke rose into the ceiling as if struggling to pave its way towards heaven, the ash falling down to the ground like the first flakes of snow.

The Revelator's eyes glanced back at the man, beads of sweat had started to form on his forehead. The warm amber highlighting the anger and desperation coloring his brown irises.

There was something about doing this that he didn't know would feel this... good. As he strapped his target, ropes and tapes around his trembling body, the Revelator could feel the corner of his lips rose into a wide grin.

"Please! For God's sake, please!"

The anger had finally subdued, now replaced by tears and fear.

"You know the deal, sweetheart; the wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God."

John took off his mask for the briefest second, revealing the smirk underneath it. "It's God's mercy if you managed to get outta here alive, but I doubt that," he whispered before planting a gentle kiss on the man's chapped lips. Grinning even wider as he saw the color across his target face drained even further.

"And let's just say that's the Devil's work if you can still manage to find prettier boys than me."

The Revelator walked away. Leaving the screaming and begging man alone on the second floor of the burning building. The museum had turned into a mortuary, or more likely, a cremation room.

And despite the sight of splattering blood and charred bodies, John didn't feel anything. Anything but satisfaction and excitement.

Until he reached the first floor again.

"Oh, God.”

He did it. He just left a man, probably sent him to the jaw of death by doing so. He did it. He killed dozens of innocent people and even threatened a mother for this plan.

John's guts twisted and suddenly, his breakfast had managed to escape from his throat. The breath coming out of his mouth feels heavy in his lungs. As he glanced to every corner of the building, his vision slowly turned blurry. The tight sensation in his chest is threatening to kill him on spot.

He just did that, holy fuck, he just fucking did that.

He's a murderer.

John pulled his mask back to cover his face. Struggling to protect himself from the ruins falling from the ceiling as he sprinted towards the front door despite the uneasiness in his stomach and the way his legs feel like it's about to give up on him.

When the blinding light finally hit his vision, John squinted his eyes. It didn't take a long time until he regained his sight and understood the situation around him.

"Lower your weapon!" A man shouted, So John swept his vision across the land.

There are at least 12 guns pointed at him. The frantic lady he gave the flash disk is helping two kids getting into the ambulance; her husband laying on top of the cot with a scarf in his legs, but that wasn't the main reason why his heart skipped a beat

There's the lanky boy again, and John could've sworn that their eyes locked for a second at that exact moment.

ㅤㅤ

Ian Nashton

The Nashtons have fortunately made it out of the main entrance to safety. They raised their hands when they saw the authorities with their guns, just to signify that they were no threat at all.

"Please—my husband's been shot." Madeleine began, though her pleads were cut short when she caught sight of the ambulance nearby. And the paramedics quickly rushed to their side.

They carefully put George on the stretcher and loaded him on the ambulance.

Madeleine and her kids didn't get in just yet, she was being asked questions whilst Ian and Jansen stayed behind her, listening in. Though they didn't hear much because their mother decided to converse with the officer in French.

"N-no. I didn't see his face. He—er... my friend, Scott Martin. I saw him get dragged away. If what they say is true... Oh God. Poor Scott, I don't really know what he's done to be targeted."

Of course, Madeleine still had the flash disk, but she wanted to see it for herself before handing it to the authorities. Just like everyone in the family, she has an insatiable curiosity.

(But more common sense than her sons do).

After a few more questions, the officer lets her go. She had just helped Jansen get in the ambulance and was about to help Ian as well.

But they all heard it.

"Lower your weapon!" Somebody shouted. Followed by the cocking of guns.

Ian and Madeleine whipped their heads to look back at the museum, and just as they thought, the attacker from before was there. Even with the mask, Ian could almost instantly recognize that that was the boy from before, the strange boy that he knocked down in the toilet.

Madeleine gasped and tried to hurry Ian into the ambulance, but the boy leapt out of his mother's reach and pointed an accusing finger at the masked figure. He made sure to stand

"YOU!" He screamed at the top of his lungs. "YOU SHOT MY DAD!"

Hearing Ian scream those words, Jansen peeked his head out from the ambulance. Sure enough, he remembered the strange boy too—it was the hoodie that he remembered.

George tried his best to sit up in his stretcher, though he couldn't see much. Just some uniformed men and his wife trying to drag their stubborn son back into the ambulance, away from the chaos.

"IAN! Get back inside right now!" His mother was now screaming, she was worried that Ian might get shot as well. So she grabbed him by the wrist and began to pull him away.

"WAIT! J-JUST WAIT!" Ian tried to free himself from his mother's grip. Alas, she had quite the iron grip and Ian's lanky arms were no match for it.

"But—but I saw his face, mom!"

"And what?! You're going to run over there and get yourself killed?!" Madeleine really didn't want to do it, but she had to get some sense back into her son. "You're a child, an unarmed 13 year old child! Now do as I say and get in the ambulance!"

At that he saw that his mother had an excellent point. So, Ian settled down and (reluctantly) climbed inside the ambulance where he saw his brother looking visibly frightened and upset. His father was mostly confused.

Ian took one last look out of the ambulance and to the masked figure. Trying to look him dead in the eye. The boy has never felt this much emotion for someone before, and he wasn't even sure what it was exactly. Rage? Hatred? Either way, it was negative.

Madeleine let out a deep sigh and gently pushed her husband back down on the stretcher, "I think you should lie down, dear."

One of the medics quickly got inside as well, and once the door shut, the ambulance sped off to the hospital.

For most of the trip, Ian had his eyes planted to the tip of his shoes.

"I'm sorry for yelling at you, mom." He muttered softly.

Madeleine's lips formed a soft smile as she put an arm around her eldest son and pulled him closer. She was no longer angry at Ian.

"Shh... it's okay, sweetie. I know you didn't mean it."

"Are we going to talk to a detective, mom? I-I still remember his face, okay. I—I ran into him in the toilet. H-he—told Jansen and I to run but I didn't know why."

His voice was threatening to break, now that the adrenaline has worn off, but Ian still tried to keep himself steady.

Madeleine nodded with certainty and said, "I'm sure after what happened just then, they would want to talk to you."

"I-I should've—I should've done something! M-maybe dad wouldn't have gotten shot. What if I could've gotten a photo of him?"

Madeleine pulled him closer and ran a hand gently through the boy's hair, hushing him quietly. "Shh, there was nothing you could have done, sweetheart... All that matters now is that we're all safe. I'm sure dad will be okay."

Although he was also upset and shaken, Jansen decided to help the situation by giving a few gentle—albeit—awkward pats on his brother's back.

Ian made a promise to himself that he would do his best to get stronger, and smarter, so that in the future, he would be able to protect his family better.

ㅤㅤ

John

How does someone keep a straight face while being faced with shits like this? John couldn't even help but glance to the source of the commotion, the boy from before was frantically cursing and muttering inaudible accusations towards him that made some of the police turn their head.

Even as the woman from before practically tried to drag him in the same manner as dog owners trying to tame their barking dogs, the anger in his eyes was stark clear.

But perhaps it wasn't just anger. Perhaps it was also confusion, hatred... determination?

The Revelator flicked his eyes back to the incoming threats. There's no way he could take every one of them in a single hit. He's no super soldier nor a trained agent, he's just a teenager who thinks that following his father's steps is a good thing to do.

He should've just studied for the college entrance exam.

A scowl formed on John's forehead, but if someone dared take a peek beneath his mask, they will notice that it was purely caused by fear and frustration rather than anger and blood-thirsty resolution.

The only thing he could do to wipe out an entire troop is probably by throwing grenades all over them, which obviously going to result in a lot of casualties, but what's the point of doing everything if in the end he'll have to get tossed to jail?

John gritted his teeth. With a swift motion, he pulls the hem of his hoodie to reveal the strapped explosives across his chest. The cops scramble away, and as anticlimactic as it sounds, all he did was reach out to the M203PI launcher he had clutched to so dearly before. It sounded like a power play, it felt like he was playing god—but that was what his old man used to do.

Humans tend to make mistakes, they crash so easily and they slip and tumble by their own feet, and so did his old man.

That day when he watches as John Monsoon bleeds to death, Isaiah thought that it would be the last of him. Yet he runs, as cowardly as it sounds, he runs after the previous Revelator had aimed a gun to his head and told him to go.

Never did he think that he would end up doing the same path as him. The semi-stable kid who doesn't even know his own birth date, the one who used to look like he wouldn't dare to hurt a single fly, now he's launching grenades with his trembling hands. Cold gray eyes piercing without mercy as he burns everything in sight.

This isn't right, he knows that. He wanted to live this legacy with the same notable notion that would make people believe in him. He wanted to become the karma for those who weren't able to stand up.

But now that he thinks again, Isaiah realizes that all he tries to do was to fill the empty spot within his heart with hatred and revenge.

He made a promise that day. Whatever happens in the future, he would protect those he loves. Even if it means he had to fist fight with God himself.

And if he fails, he's going to burn the world down.

#prosit in vitam aeternam

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deztinywarriors · 7 years ago

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ES Spectre 2.0 Chapter 19

#Playchoices #Endless Summer #fanfic #fan fiction #adventure #pixelberry #choices

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kingofthewhatpod · 6 years ago

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Fanfic Friday #3

Oh god, oh dear, oh no. This was supposed to come out last Friday, and yet it was delayed for a week without any news. I mean, I did technically tweet it last Friday but maybe anyone who follows me can forgive me because this week you get both? And.... er... I’ll try to do better? Maybe I’ll do another post on my real thoughts about Fanfic Friday, but if you’re reading this, and you just want to get to the good stuff, let me delay no more!

I return to Fanfic Friday’s roots (after only a single week off, ha) of seeing how I would teak a non-canon arc. Heck, maybe I'll have constructive creativity for a canon arc one day. But not this day. Because I was originally sending these out as tweets, my thoughts in places are brief. Adventure in the Ocean's Naval was fine. It was palatable. But I don't want a slightly overcooked hamburger and some fries. I want steak with garlic mashed potatoes.

Things I liked:

The mystery of the island, however short lived

The guardian monsters

Captain Joke didn't have friends like Luffy, and that was his downfall

Things that could be improved:

Usopp/Nami didn't do much of anything

Magic not explained

who cares about Joke?

As before, I'll keep the premise. Mysterious island, land of adventure? check. But this time, there's no octopus, no immediate fight. Luffy and Zoro andd the ship still fall down below because hijinks. (maybe Zoro is napping and doesn't keep a careful eye on Luffy, who gets bored and starts messing around on the ship, or he sees a cool bug. And him running around somehow dislodges the anchor long enough that they fall). So they all end up down below, and they meet a rather shady old man (think Jafar disguised as the beggar) who tells them about this wicked cool treasure of the gods. It's on the other side of the island if they're brave enough to get it. It is said to grant any wish.

Usopp and Nami are probably freaked out, Sanji would very calmly be like "who would fall for that?" but Luffy has decided to go check it out, and Zoro is just like "he's the captain." So they end up going, some more willingly than others Now, you'll notice this call to adventure is some kind of bad guy (you know what? Make it a poorly disguised oni. Everyone notices except Luffy), instead of some kid. Firstly, I'm usually not a fan of the kid characters- even if they're related to the deeper themes. But also, maybe there *is* a village down here, and they meet a crying Hamu who is like "don't try to go get the treasure! Even Captain Joke, the hero pirate of the village couldn't do it!" But why would that deter Luffy? Answer: it wouldn't.

Luffy could be all "Yeah, but I bet he wasn't as strong as I am. I'm going to be King of the Pirates." (King of the What Now?) Maybe Hamu comes with to watch this idiot in action, maybe he just stays behind. The crew will come back through for the ship anyways and they can tell him about their adventure. Now, they get halfway across a suspiciously empty field, when all of a sudden these stone walls come up from the ground, creating a labyrinth and separating the crew. Luffy might try to rocket up but there's some magical barrier. Also you can't go back the way you came, inwards!

Now, Luffy will basically get lost and increasingly frustrated. I cannot stress how funny this mental image is, as he yells and rampages but to no avail. I don't think the Straw Hats can hear each other. As I mentioned in episode 25 of the podcast, it'd be interesting if the Straw Hats faced off against the former Joke pirates. You get just enough characterization through dialogue and actions that you feel like you actually know this character. Also, I want to touch on the nature of the Joke pirates. Joke was betrayed, just like in the original. But instead of faceless shapes, there are 4 you can clearly see. Also the hint of *something* off-camera giving off a dark red light.

Spoilers: But because Joke's commanders were evil-hearted, they became tainted, causing their forms to morph and become... well, weird and monstrous. We can imply the other no-name members of the Joke pirates were killed in the labyrinth or by these commanders

Anyways. Zombie commander guys facing Luffy's crew one on one. Zoro first. He faces a man clad in weird armor (because One Piece), who constantly bangs on his breastplate, simply saying "Strong! Strong!" He's very bulky and has tusks. Maybe make him look walrus-ish. Anyways, he's very strong, and he hits hard. Zoro can't pierce his armor, and there's no obvious weakpoints. This guy's deal is that he just wants to be strong, as a dark reflection of Zoro's own ambition. He wants it so bad he'd sell out his captain to make a deal with a monster. Eventually Zoro wins, I think by using the butt of his sword to BANG right on the dude's helmet, and then breaking the monster commander's weapon, maybe burying him beneath the rubble created by slashing the walls surrounding them. And of course Zoro gets a badass line. "What good is strength if you won't use it for your captain?" Because he is a GOOD, LOYAL BOY. Or maybe a comment on his enemy's internal weakness. "If you're too weak to stand and you get knocked down, stand up again even stronger"

Sanji's opponent: A rockstar with a wicked cool guitar and cool shades and a flashy jacket. Yes, I said a rockstar. This is One Piece which has all sorts of crazy character designs. Does it make sense that he has an electric guitar? Do I care? The ideological reason they're suited for each other is because this guy (maybe he's like a creature of the lagoon. Yeah that's it. He's more frog-ish) likes ladies but he's vain about it and only cares about himself (betrayed Joke because being a priate wasn't cool anymore). Anyways he fires actual music note shaped projectiles by strumming his guitar, and Sanji can't really get close at first. That is, until... maybe Froggy says he'll hunt down Nami? Yeah, and then Sanji kicks tthrough these weird music notes, runs forward and kicks him in the face!

"Coolness can't be forced," Sanji remarks, adjusting his tie. "And no woman would ever want to kiss you." (Also, side note, I'm not a huge fan of the shonen trope of suddenly becoming stronger when someone is threatened. But I couldn't think of a way for Sanji to win otherwise. I need to get better at this. That’s what having a weekly schedule is meant to help with!)

Usopp's opponent: A squid looking guy who hides behind cover and always runs from battle. He betrayed his captain because he was afraid of what would happen if they continued their journey. Usopp tries to snipe him when he comes up from behind cover but Squid boy is very fast. Usopp wins by purposefully acting all angry and firing a bunch of his explosion stars, secretly taking out the cover further down the battle field until the next time squiddy tries to run he gets blasted in the back. "How can a man run from danger for his whole life?" He asks with a smirk. Bonus points if his knees are still shaking while he says it

Nami: She faces a fairy. Yes, a lady who got all shrunk by the monster's power. Maybe a flying sea horse-ish type design, to keep it aquatic. She, like Nami, is money obsessed, and didn't want to share her treasure with Joke. She's another agile one and shoots giant bubbles. Can Nami polevault with that pole of hers? Yeah, let's say she can. So she leaps over one of the bubbles and maybe throws a coin past the lady, causing her lady to quickly look away- unable to resist the allure of gold- just in time for a nice solid smack of the pole. "Try thinking about others once in a while" is Nami's line before she continues through the maze.

Now, it seems the maze is magic in nature (no duh), and the Straw Hats (minus their captain) have come out of the maze. And before them is the treasure. But before they can approach, the red light from earlier. oh no! It's the old man from earlier! (who could have guessed???????) He gets huge and reveals his true form, growing in size, saying he'll never give up his treasure. But before the battle can start, you hear it. CRACK! WHUMP! CRACK! Cracks are appearing on some part of the maze wall behind them. It explodes and in comes an enraged Luffy! Angry that he was lost for so long. Bonus points, Sanji kicks a piece of rubble that was going to hit him, Zoro cuts a piece that was flying at him, and the eternal butt monkey Usopp gets hit in the head.

Luffy: Who's this? Zoro: Dunno Sanji: That's the old guy from earlier. Luffy: Whaaaat?? Grandpa wasn't a good person?? Nami: Honestly, captain... Usopp: *recovered from the rubble* Hey, Luffy, what was that, you jerk!!!

Now, the point is that this monster likes to sow chaos. Just like in the original special, Joke was betrayed because he had crappy friends. And The Straw Hats seem incredibly disorganized. So the monster king grins. "How would you like to join me and I'll grant you your wish?" Zoro, Nami, Sanji, Usopp, each of them get all quiet and start walking over to accept the deal. Luffy is watching them, a look of mild confusion on his face. They stand right in front of the thing and the monster grins. "Good," he says. All four of them at once give him a solid whack, kick, shot, and slide. "As if!!!" They cry in union. Luffy grins and punches the big creature in the gosh darn mouth. Well, probably the nose but I like to say "punch in the mouth"

He's not defeated *that* easily, and maybe if I spent more time rewriting and drafting this I could come up with an exciting narrative. The point is that the monster is too strong for even Luffy on their own, but they fight as a team.

You might think Luffy tends to prefer to fight alone, and maybe he does for a while. But the monster *could* wish himself stronger, and it could look like Luffy is about to lose when his crew mates save him, allowing him to prepare for an even stronger punch that will finish it. And of course the wish granting gem breaks. Of COURSE Luffy sends the monster flying and he smashes into the thing and it gets launched with him over the horizon or something. Of course everyone's mad but Luffy shrugs it off, since it's more about the journey than the destination So... yeah, that's basically it. Luffy comes back to the village, Hamu is like "How did you do it?" and Luffy just grins and is like "with help from my crew." And it's a sweet moment. Hopefully you liked it! I feel like this was the longest one yet.

Happy Friday everyone!

#KotWN #Fanfic Friday #chapter 3 #feedback appreciated #Sorry for being late

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elliotthezubat · 7 years ago

Text

DEATH CITY DAYS CHAPTER 14

and another one

Yohei: "We're ten blocks away from NoFix's spot. It's up to you two to walk there in public to get there. Meanwhile, Chie and I will take the underground path..." tsubaki: right. Yohei: "Your clothes are treated with micro-fibers capable of receiving audio, which Chie and I will hear, and which Mana in Mission Control will hear, too. You'll get instructions through those Voice Modulators, so don't panic if you think you're hearing voices." soul: ok. Yohei: "Chie, let's get suited up..." -elsewhere- Ponera's Grunt #1: "We're approaching the ruins..." grimoire: excellent. Ponera's Grunt #1: "And the fire-ants are itching to get out...as if they sense someone is here..." medusa: do you hear something? Noah: "...Yes..." medusa: ............ *the ground rumbles* medusa: hurk- Noah: "Get to some shelter...What's with that face?" medusa: alright alright! Noah: "Jeez...What's with your attitude? You have been delaying on these lessons, now we have to deal with an earthquake..." medusa: well sooooorry! ???: *roar!* medusa: O_O Noah: "What the--?!" **Fire explodes out of the ground** medusa: WHAT THE FUCK?!?! Noah: "Shit!" (takes Medusa's hand and runs) medusa: *yoinked* **The ground opens below them, revealing...** Noah: "Ants?!" medusa: WHAT THE FUUUUCK?! **Ants breathe fire at Medusa** medusa: *KICKS ON IN THE FACE* I AM PREGNANT YOU SHITS!! Noah: "Oh, like they care! And what makes you think we're keeping that thing?!" medusa: we can use it for something! train it maybe?! Noah: "Nine months down the toilet when you should be training yourself?! Hell no! Like any cumstain that comes out of your snatch would be worth anything!" medusa: *she aims a vector arrow at his neck and crotch* bitch what? Noah: (cringing) "...You actually love that parasite inside of you, don't you? More than me?!" -they get surrounded by grunts- Grunt #1: "Don't move!" medusa: [thinking: i love this DIRT more than you shitbag!] Noah: (groans) "I don't have time for this." (slides knives out of his sleeves, tossing them at the grunts) -a few smarter grunts dodge- ????: well isnt this just-....................... Noah: (holds Medusa by the wrist, squeezing hard) "What the--?!" grimoire: O______O;; Noah: o_o "The Original?!" grimoire: i beg your pardon? Noah: (robotic voice emerging...) "Y-You are not supposed to be here." medusa: ?!?! ok what the hell??? grimoire: hmm?? *looks at the book* oh. hello index, been a while. Index-in-Noah: "Too soon." (pushes Medusa down) medusa: ow! STILL PREGNANT DAMMIT! Index-in-Noah: "Quiet." (steps on her hand) grimoire: down you. Index-in-Noah: "That's what Greed has told her. He truly he is narrowminded in his lustful desires for this witch." grimoire: i take it besides that one, the only other noahs left alive are wrath and lust? Index-in-Noah: (squeezing his heel into Medusa, harder) "Yes...And if you do not call away your beasts, Wrath will be using your blood to ink our pages." grimoire:......stand down. we'll take them with us as guests. Index-in-Noah: "Why do you think we will join you...?" grimoire: i have a little, buisness proposition for you.... -elsewhere- Hiro: "...Weird." hime: what is? Hiro: (points to a table...with Arthur and Tamaki) hime:...............wat. Hiro: "I wish I could hear what they were discussing..." tamaki: this is pretty good food. Arthur: "Yes...Good..." (glances at her, blushes, looks away) tamaki: you ok? you sick or somethin? Arthur: ("Yeah, lovesick...") "N-No...Just, thinking..." -meanwhile, elsewhere- Kepuri: "Come on! I gave you idiots the fire robot's plans! What else do you want from me?!" marie: we need you to act as a mole. Kepuri: "A mole? For what?" marie: *she looks at spirit* Spirit: "Haijima Heavy Industries." Kepuri: O___O "Is-Is that really a good idea?" marie: *she puts a tracking collar on kepuri* Kepuri: "Hey?! What the hell?!" -in the cells- kinuta: *whistling* Solence: "What're you whistling for?" kinuta: feelin' good. had a nice shower, and my legs are all nice and smooth, see~? <3 Solence: o\\\\\o Alone: (wolf whistle) "I'd like to see some more..." nygus: chow ti-......... O_O;;; -kinuta is in her underwear- Solence: (gas steaming out of his ears) Alone: "...What?! It was getting good!" nygus:.............. *gives the food and slams the door shut* Alone: "..." (back to staring at Kinuta, panting) Solence: (covers his eyes) "J-Just how did you get shower privileges anyway?!" kinuta: i have my ways~ like saaay, this... *the bra drops* Alone: (howling) "Hot damn!" Solence: (peeks through his hands) "...Yeah, I'm not getting shower privileges that way..." eruka: ok right this wa-............................................................................................................. Alone: "Alright! Now you can join Kinuta, Froggy!" eruka: Q~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Q eruka: I HAVE STANDARDS DANGIT! Solence: "Let me out of here! I need a shower, and I am not like that woman!" kinuta: that and she's on the small side. eruka: D : > Alone: "Take it all off, Froggy! I like them in all sizes!" eruka: *CRIES OF DISCOMFORT* Alone: "Oh, she's self-conscious...I'll start..." (takes off his belt...) Solence: "LET ME OUT!!!" eruka: *reaches for her door* the lock is broken.. *BANGING THE DOOR* THE LOCK IS BROKEN!!!! Solence: T___T "I want to go home." Alone: (howling as he is now naked...which means nothing since he's a wolf anyway) eruka: *looks* O___________________O NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!! Q~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Q Kepuri: (smirks, as she adjusts her collar) "Just a going-away present..." (twirls the key, as she pockets it) "Heh heh heh..." Alone: "...Like what you see, Froggy?" kinuta: so it _is_ true what they say about werewolves... Alone: "Large and in charge, right?!" eruka: LEMME OUUUUUT!!!! Solence: "...Maybe I can produce some chloroform and knock myself out..." eruka: they're in the cells im out here, they're in the cells im out here, they cant get me they cant get me. Alone: (reaching a claw out) "I could bring you in..." eruka: I'M GONNA STAY OVER HERE THEN! Alone: "...Near Naked Kinuta?" eruka: BETTER THAN THE ALTERNATIVE! *pulls out her phone* Alone: (starts posing, thinking she's going to snap shots of him) eruka: *texting someone for help* --Elsewhere-- Free: (phone vibrates) Free: "...Oh, crap..." --At the Jail-- Free: (holding Kepuri by the collar) "Guess who was nice enough to give up the key?" eruka: *HUGS FREE* OH THANK GOODNESS IM OK I THOUGHT I WAS GONNA DIE Q~Q Alone: "What?! You won't hook up with me, but you'll take that hairless werewolf?!" Free: "...Why is everyone but that crying guy naked?" eruka: long story. Free: (glares at Alone) "Dude, have some self-respect and put on some pants." kinuta: what, you dont have a human form? Kepuri: (still being held by the collar, in the air, as Eruka hugs him) -_- Alone: "Well, yeah, it's just really ugly...and if I did, I'm pretty sure the metal in my nose would crush my face and kill me." eruka: i thought you'd be a decent person, but ooooh i want to hex you so bad right now! Alone: "Hex me, baby!" eruka: NOT YOU! Kepuri: "Who, me?" -elsewhere- Kid: (managing to walk, sighs...) liz: you're doing great, kid. Kid: (smiles) "Thank you...It's because of having everyone's support..." (trip a bit, but doesn't fall) stocking: *she holds his hand* Kid: "...How are you doing, Stocking?" stocking: a lot better now. Kid: "I'm glad...We should be out of here tomorrow..." stocking: and we'll be heading home tomorrow... Kid: "Once Soul and Tsubaki return from...whatever they're doing." liz: yeah. -elsewhere- soul: *knocks the door to the warehouse* Minion #54: (slides opening in the door) "Password?" soul: its us, let us in. Minion #54: "..." (shuts the opening, then multiple locks are heard unlocking. The door opens, as the Minion gestures for them to enter) -the two enter- *A stage is in the middle of the warehouse, with two rows of armed Minions leading to it* *Above are stage lights, chains, and scaffolding* soul: ................ tsubaki:.......... *Atop the stage is a large box, covered in glittering, light-up question marks* ???: (over loudspeakers) "Welcome back my friends, to the show that never ends..." soul: ?? ???: "We're so glad you could attend! Come inside! Come inside!" -they do so, slowly- Minions: (start marching in time to the music) soul: ???? *Behind the box, NoFix, in a sequin jacket and a skirt, steps out with a microphone, singing the song* soul:.......................[thinking: alright what the fuck] NoFix: *singing* "There behind a glass is a real blade of grass be careful as you pass. Move along! Move along!" tsubaki: o_o; *NoFix finishes the song by sliding along the stage, then takes Soul's hand and kisses it* soul: ................... [thinking: *SCREAMS INTERNALLY*] NoFix: "Yohei! So happy to see you! How are things? How you feeling? Did that rash go away?" (then glances Tsubaki up and down) "Hmmm...So happy to see you, my little shadow beast." tsubaki: .......... NoFix: (claps his hands, rubs them together) "We're going to have so much fun together, aren't we?" tsubaki: cut the crap, where's saki? soul: [thinking: part of me just died.] NoFix: "Hmph." (glares at Soul) "You've made this one all mean. Full of piss and vinegar, ain't she?" (shrugs) "Very well." (goes up the steps, knocks on the box) "You okay in there, Saki?" saki:.......... tsubaki: saki!! NoFix: "Ah ah ah...You know what I want." (points at Yohei) "One Shadow Beast for one Shadow Beast's Sister." (leans down the stage, holding a hand out to Soul) "Do we have a deal?" soul:.........first we see saki... Minions: (cock their guns, aim at Soul and Tsubaki) NoFix: (sighs, holds up a hand) "Hold your fire..." tsubaki:........ very well....... i surrender. soul: chie you dont- tsubaki: i'll be ok. i promise. *smiles* NoFix: (drags his feet to the box, gestures to it at Soul and Tsubaki, and taps the box...and the box falls down to reveal Saki) "There. She's there. Now do we have a deal, Yohei?" saki:....................... soul:..................deal... NoFix: (looks at his watch) "60 seconds to have your sisterly reunion..." tsubaki: *she hugs her* its ok, we're getting you out of here.... saki:.......*griiiins* NoFix: "54...53...52..." saki?: *wraps her arms around tsubaki, a little too tightly* soul: what the- NoFix: "Oh! One more thing..." (glares at Soul) "I kissed your hand...and you. Don't. Taste. Like. Yohei!" soul: O-O;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;; NoFix: "Kill the impostures!" tsubaki: *changes into bomb form and rolls away* soul: *scythe arm and slashes at the grunts* NoFix: "???" NoFix: "...What the fuck?" soul: also, gross. NoFix: "Rude! Minions, fire!" Minions: *both rows aim at Soul* -BOOM- -soul and tsubaki run amidst the smoke- NoFix: "Idiots! What do I pay you people for?!" Minion #72: "You don't! You threatened to kill us!" NoFix: "...Oh, right!" minion: you dont pay us at a- NoFix: (slashes at random at a Minion) -deeper in the halls- soul: where now? Yohei: (over Voice Modulator inside Soul's brain) "What happened to Saki?" soul: i dont think that was saki... i think it was that weird shape-shifting girl... Yohei: "Mimeca...So he just wanted to kill me and get Chie and Saki..." soul: also he kiiiinda kissed my hand... which again, EW! Yohei: "...That's a little homophobic dude." soul: THAT ISNT WHAT I MEANT! D :< [ITS NOT CAUSE HE’S A GUY ITS CAUSE HE’S A DEPRIVED LUNATIC!!] Yohei: "Whatever. We need to know where Saki is, and you aren't finding her by running away. At least grab a Minion on your way out to interrogate." tsubaki: roger! Minion #16: "Freeze!" soul: !! Minion #16: "Don't move! NoFix wants to speak w--" *PUNCH* soul: tsubaki holy shit* Minion #16: o______o (unconscious) -elsewhere- NoFix: *cough* (fanning smoke away) "What the hell?! Mimeca?! Who were those two?!" mimeca:...... *shrugs and turns her hands into a fake bomb and a scythe blade* NoFix: "Weapons?! No wonder Yohei tasted weird!" (thinks) "Wait...If those two aren't Yohei and Shadow Beast, then where are those two?" mimeca:..... *shrugs again* Yohei: (looks at Chie) "What do you want to do?" chie: seems there's a door ahead... Yohei: (taps the side of his glasses, starting the x-ray option) "I can't quite make through the lead door, but I sense someone...Vital signs are weak..." (approaches the door) "Hello?" -its a large garage.... almost like a mech garage- Yohei: "...Crap...What is he keeping in here..." (sees shadows from the light...) "Chie, what can you do with the shadows in here, in case we have to fight?" chie: *biting her lip* whatever we need too... Yohei: "Good..." (pulls out a flashlight, which he holds in one hand while holding Silver Gun in the other...) chie:....its too quiet in here.... Yohei: "Horror film cliche if I ever heard one..." (studying the contents of the garage: robots) chie: ......... Yohei: "Why so many robots...?" (grimaces) "After his obsession with the Fear Robot..." -thud, thud- Yohei: "?!" -two girls lay on the ground, motionless- Yohei: (puts down his gun, approaches the girls) "Crap..." (leans down to check vitals) chie: ...wait... yohei! -the two girls spring to life, one arming guns the other arming blades- mimi droid 1: ufufufufu~ mimi droid 2: <want to try dying once~?> Yohei: "...Oh, fuck no." (aims at Droid #1) -droid 1 charges with blades- ~KILLER MIMIS; Bladetta and Bulletta~ Yohei: (fires a bullet at Droid #1 Bladetta--which sticks to her like gum) bulletta: *shoots at chie, who dodges with a dark shield* Yohei: (smirks at Bladetta...) *The bullet is growing, covering her blade like a wad of gum* bladetta: ?! Yohei: "Ever get gum stuck in your hair?" (fires a bullet through her torso) "Real pain." bladetta: !!!! Yohei: *aims at the forehead* Yohei: "Silver Gun...Final Execution..." *Silver Gun expands* -in the hall- Minion #16: (groaning, unconscious) soul: ok, where's saki? Minion #16: "Wh-Why would I tell you?" soul: cause i'm gonna cut your head right off if you dont tell us! Minion #16: (smirks) "NoFix is going to kill me if I tell you. What else you got?" tsubaki: why did you join him? Minion #16: "...I'm Dokeshi. You think it's easy living in a world where no one looks out for us?" soul:..... we are weapons, so i guess i can see where you're coming from... Minion #16: "So if I can help NoFix make things at least a little bit safer, wouldn't you do the same? That's why he took Saki--to get that Dokeshi sister of hers! And when they find her in the garage, they're in for a surprise! BWa ha ha ha--" o_O "Oh, crap...Um, could you pretend I didn't say that?" soul:...... *KNOCKS THEM OUT UNCONCIOUS* come on! chie: ahh.... damn..... bulletta: ahuhuhuhu~ Yohei: "Chie! Look out!" chie: !!! *dark shield* yohei, are you alright? Yohei: (reaches around Bulletta, snapping her head off) "Fine..." ("I don't know what I would do if Chie was hurt...") chie: ok.....now to find saki... Yohei: (nods, aiming the flashlight around the room...) Yohei: "...So many robots here..." (grimaces, as he sees one towering one) "He...rebuilt it?" -elsewhere- saki: ..................... NoFix: (over an intercom) "How is my darling little Saki-chan?" saki: .......................................... NoFix: "...That good, huh? Glad to hear! Well, just a few minutes, and you'll be up to bat..." saki:.................... NoFix: (gestures to Mimeca) "Want to hear Yohei and his girlfriend scream?" mimeca: *giggling motion* NoFix: (grins) "That's why I like you, Mimeca--always up for a laugh..." (taps on a tablet on the wall, opening a secret door leading into the garage...) chie: ?! Yohei: "...No..." chie: ?!?! NoFix: "Ho yay, Yohei!" (looks to Mimeca) "I kinda want to take on Shadow Beast. You want to have some fun with Yohei?" mimeca: *knife fingers and charges* Yohei: "Get away from Chie!" (runs towards NoFix) NoFix: (holds Chie by the shoulders, between him and Yohei) "Protect me, Shadow Beast! I don't want the big bad Yohei to get me!" mimeca: *kicks him in the chest* *griiiin* chie: yohei! *shadow blade from her elbows and slashes* Yohei: (grimaces, struggles to get a hold of Mimeca's arm) NoFix: (grunts) "Oh, that felt nice..." (his wound is already healing) "Let me try..." (removes a knife, slashes at Chie) mimeca: *KICKS HIM ACROSS THE FACE* C: chie: *pulls away, barely missing the blade* -there is a slight cut on her back that bleeds a little- Yohei: (grunts, knocked to the floor) NoFix: (licks his lips) "Nice..." (wraps an arm around her waist, trying to lift her off the floor) "Let's leave, just you and me..." chie: *shadow melt* Yohei: (struggling to turn over, aiming his gun at NoFix, but can't get a shot around Chie...) NoFix: "???" chie: *appears below mimeca and tosses her* mimeca: DX Yohei: (sighs) "Thank God..." (tries to get up) "You're a life saver, Chie..." chie: *she holds a hand out* dont sweat it. Yohei: (reaches for her hand...) NoFix: "Yoink." chie: !!!??? Yohei: "?!" NoFix: (holding their hands) "Let's dance..." (pulls on both of them, so that they can collide against each other) chie: oof! Yohei: "Oof!" NoFix: "Knock yourselves out, peeps." (pulls up Chie by the arm) "You're coming with me..." mimeca: *turns on some music* chie: let go of me! NoFix: (holds her by both arms, like he is going to ballroom dance) "Can't. Still need you." (backs out of the room) Yohei: "No!" (gets up, trying to run at NoFix) chie: *knees him in the crotch* NoFix: "Uhf! Again?! Really?!!" (spins her around--so her legs knock Yohei in the face) Yohei: "Ugh!" (knocked back to the floor) chie: !!! NoFix: (nears his face to hers, his voice going up an octave...) "That. Hurt. As much as what I'm going to do to you..." chie: !? chie: w-what do you want out of me? NoFix: "You should've heard what your sister said...'Don't hurt Chie! Whatever you do, do to me!' You know what I want? YOUR. POWER!" chie: LIKE HELL I'LL LET YOU- NoFix: "Your worthless human sister ain't worth anything! I want your shadows! I want you to kill! Bathe this world in darkness! Make it spin off its axis! We're going to do a lot of shit together, lady!" chie: in your dreams freak! *A bullet goes through NoFix's shin* NoFix: "Fuck!" Yohei: (holding the smoking gun...) chie: *tries to force nofix off her* NoFix: (squeezes along her waist) "This the best you got? Maybe you aren't worth it...This is the Shadow Beast? No, you're just a little girl!" Yohei: (fires a shot again at NoFix's shin) NoFix: "STOP SHOOTING ME!" (cries) chie: *SHADOW CLAW+SLAP* NoFix: (knocked back, loosening his grip) "Oh...I like that..." (sticks out his tongue towards her) "Hit me again..." chie: *SMACKS HIM TO THE END OF THE HALL* NoFix: (smiling) "Yeah, like that..." (collapses, unconscious) Yohei: (groans) "Chie!" chie: ?? yohei are you ok? Yohei: "Just bruised..." (gets on his two feet) "You?" chie: i'm ok.... Yohei: (tries to stand, but ends up leaning against her shoulders) chie:....... *she hugs him* dont scare me like that, idiot! Yohei: "Could say the same to you, stupid." (holds her...) chie: ............saki... Yohei: (pulls back) "Let's find her and get out of here..." -she's blushing a bit- chie: yeah. Yohei: (trying to ignore the blush as he taps on his earpiece...) "Soul, Tsubaki? Have you found Saki?" soul: not yet, BUT THE GARAGE IS A TRAP- Yohei: "What?!" soul: there's two killer dolls there! chie: took care of that. tsubaki: uhhhh..... Yohei: (sighs with relief) "Okay...But that person I detected in here...Where is Saki?" tsubaki: i think i found something..... *she sends a pic.............its nofix's room* Yohei: (holds the phone, looking at the pic...) "Oh no..." chie: what is it? soul: christ, and i thought kid and that weirdo garland had issues. Yohei: (sweating) "Chie, I don't think you should see this..." chie: what is it yohei? *she looks* O_O;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;; *The room has giant photos of Yohei, as well as a blow-up doll in the bed* soul: ugh, the mind can in fact vomit. tsubaki: even on the ceiling... Yohei: "J-Just...We need to focus." (taps his glasses, checking the garage...Points at a wall) "Chie, get us through that wall: someone is behind it." chie: right.... Yohei: (waits for her to break the wall) -the wall is broken- Yohei: (enters with Chie into the room...) -a child is there, crying- Yohei: (holsters his gun) "Hey...What's wrong?" child: there's a scary man who's making my daddy hurt people. i want my daddy and i want to go home! Yohei: (nods) "What's his name?" (taps on his gun to turn it into a microphone) child: Tetsuda......Ichihara..... Yohei: (calls into Silver Gun to Soul and Tsubaki) "Find Tetsuda Ichihara: we are getting him out of here." chie: and you? child: A-Aimi... soul: ok. Yohei: "Stay with us, Aimi. We're getting your dad and you to safety." -in the hall- Minion #89: (groaning on the ground) soul: *grabs him by the neck* Tetsuda Ichihara, where is he? Minion #89: o___o (points to the person next to him) soul: *he looks at the grunt* Minion #108: "A-Aimi..." tsubaki: your daughter is in good hands, sir. Minion #108: "I-I can't leave! He'll kill her!" soul: we found her and she's with people who will keep her safe. aimi: d-daddy? Minion #108: "Aimi!" (seizes Soul) "Get her out of here!" soul: right, get her some place safe! chie: right. Minion #108: (struggles to stand) "He's going to find me..." tsubaki: we're getting you to safety sir. Minion #108: "O-Okay..." **Whistling is heard...** aimi: *singing along* Yohei: "???" chie: ??? Minion #108: (whistles back) "...We need to get moving. NoFix will be here..." soul: got it. Minion #108: (limps along with Soul and Tsubaki) -elsewhere- Kepuri: (in a business suit...and hiding the explosive DWMA collar with that suit) "I am here for my 9:30 AM job interview with Haijima Heavy Industries." employee: right this way ma'am... Kepuri: (walks after the employee..."I miss my old shoes...these just feel awkward..." Adjusts her glasses...which broadcast to DWMA Security) nygus: we're just about in. Spirit: "Good..." Kepuri: (is led into a large room...with robots everywhere) ._.; -worker mimis stare and smile- Kepuri: (nervous smile...but also delighted inside: "OMG the circuit boards the microchips--GASP! How did they get that collider?! That model was pulled off the market years ago! Wait, is that a zero-energy manipulation module?! SQUEE!!!) marie: do you think she'll be ok in there? Spirit: "I don't know. Haijima is known for unsavory business practices, but it's not like they would kill her." interviewer: well hellooooo there :D you here for the intervieeeeew? Kepuri: (smiles) "Yes." (holds out a hand) "I'm Kepuri--" interviewer: ?? Kepuri: "Kepurine Morphia." (reaches for the interviewer's hand) interviewer: nice to meeeet you miss morphiaaaa. Kepuri: "Likewise." ^_^; ("Why are they talking so weirdly...?") marie: i think its a verbal tic? Spirit: "I hope so..." Kepuri: "Well, I look forward to this conversation with you. You have an impressive facility." -elsewhere- Meme: (sewing her Halloween outfit) tsugumi: it was nice of stein to lend you one of his coats, mio-chan. mio: i guess.... Meme: (smiles at Mio) "Yes, Dr. Frankenstein..." mio: 7////7 Meme: (taps her outfit) "I'm just happy to make something that isn't some tacky 'sexy Frankenstein's monster' outfit. Yuck--I'm so sick of that trend." mio: anya seems happy with her pumpkin outfit... Anya: (blushing, smiling) "So much fun..." ao: kukukukuku~ *in her ringu ghost costume* Meme and Anya: (see Ao) "EEEEEEK!" tsugumi: wow, nice costume, ao-chi! ao: thank you, midori helped me with it. Meme: (clutches Mio, shaking with fear) "Creepy..." mio: O///__///O -back in the hallway- Yohei: "Where are you guys?" soul: basement level 1, you? Yohei: "Level 2. We're almost there..." tsubaki: do you know where the exit is? Yohei: "Yes..." (puts a hand to a wall) "Mostly." (whispers to Chie, shows his rectangular package...) "I'm going to blow a hole in this wall to the outside. It is stable here, and it will let us escape rather than going out the exit NoFix is expecting." soul: ok... Minion #108: (walking the stairs with Soul and Tsubaki) "What does NoFix want with you two?" soul: well, he actually wanted the people who are with your daughter, you see, one of the person's sister is being held here... Minion #108: "...Bastard." soul: no kidding.. Minion #108: "Be careful...NoFix can be anywhere..." soul: yeah.... Yohei: (attaches the explosive, holds the detonator...) "Aimi, I want you and Chie to go behind that box and stay there. I need you to keep Chie safe for me, okay?" chie: um...dont you mean keep aimi safe? aimi: hehe~ Yohei: (looks at Chie) "No, I meant keep _you_ safe..." (looks at Aimi) "Can you be the hero she needs, kiddo?" aimi: ok mr! :) chie: ..... *small smile* Yohei: "Hee hee..." (waits for them to get behind the box...) "Soul, Tsubaki, you here yet?" soul: we're at the stairwell now. Yohei: "Okay...When you get here, you're going to hear an explosion. That's me. Don't panic." soul: ok. Yohei: (holds finger over the detonation button...) "Here we g--" (choked at the throat) aimi: ah! Minion #108: (hearing from the stairs) "That's Aimi! What's happening?!" chie: !!! *shadow claw* let him go! NoFix: (chuckling...) "Do you know how much harder it has gotten to heal?" (squeezes Yohei's neck) "My time is limited...If I want to spin this world off its axis, I need to speed up plans. If I have to crack a few eggs to get there--" (punches Yohei in the chest, as ribs are heard cracking) chie: stop it! aimi:.......*she seems scared, but trying to be brave* NoFix: "You know what I want, Shadow Beast." (spots Aimi) "Well, now: who let you out of your cage, Mini-Beast?" aimi:........*she looks at his feet* Minion #108: (gasps as he sees NoFix, ducks under the stairwell to watch...) "Wait..." (looks at Soul and Tsubaki) "What do we do?!" NoFix: "Hey! Look at me, Mini-Beast!" (slams Yohei's face against the wall, right next to the explosive) "Look at me!" -the gravity around nofix reverses, bringing him to the ceiling- NoFix: o_O "Whoa...Wait, what?" soul: what the- aimi: yay i did it! NoFix's grip on Yohei is lost, as he falls towards the floor--and is caught from falling by the anti-gravity* aimi: you ok? Minion #108: "...What on earth...?" chie: what was- Yohei: *coughs up blood* "I can't breathe..." (wheezing) "My lungs..." chie: come on! Minion #108: (picks up Aimi) "Aimi!" aimi: daddy! *she hugs him* Yohei: "Chie...Get us back, then trigger the explosives..." NoFix: "Let me down, you brat!" chie: ok.... -dark portal- Yohei: "Okay...trigger the explosives." -BOOOOM- chie: wait- SAKI! NoFix: "Oh, her? Heh heh heh...You'll see her soon enough..." chie: where is she?! NoFix: (leaning on Mimeca for support, starts singing) "Up on the roof..." chie: *she tries to run to the building* Yohei: "Chie, wait--" (groans) chie: yohei! *she tries to support him* Yohei: (pants) "Soul, get me and Ami out of here with her dad. Chie, go with Tsubaki and get Saki." tsubaki: right! NoFix: "Clock is ticking, buddies...But we're heading out. Until next time, Yohei..." chie: wait- NoFix: "Get us out of here, Mimeca." mimeca: *salutes and pushes a big ol button* **Door opens up, allowing NoFix and Mimeca to exit** -later- chie: ......................... Yohei: (into intercom) "Chie, what's happening?" soul:........... Yohei: (lying in bed) "Ow..." mana: take it easy now.... aimi: *drawing 3 stick figures, one small one with ponytails, one tall man, and a tall woman with wings and a halo* Shotaro: (looks at Aimi's drawing) "Nice work! Who are they?" aimi: this is me, this is daddy, and this one's mommy. Shotaro: (smiles) "Good work!" ("...Her mother...How sad...") aimi: that spinny guy put her to sleep.... daddy says she moved to heaven... i hope i find a way to heaven someday so i can see her again... Shotaro: (sad smile) "..." -there are other drawings, such as ponies, yohei and chie, nofix [or has he has been titled 'mr spinny guy'], and other stuff- Shotaro: "That's Yohei and Chie?" aimi: mmhmm. they're really nice. not like mr spinny guy. *sticks out her tongue* Shotaro: (chuckles) "Yeah, no kidding." ("...He hurt Chie, Mana, Yohei, Tool...I'm gonna break his face...") tsubaki: where are you and aimi going to go from here? Minion #108: "I don't know...Wherever we go, NoFix is going to be around the corner. We need protection, but no police force is going to protect us...Not a Dokeshi child." liz: ....... you should come to death city. Minion #108: "...Would they have us? I worked for a mass murderer." liz: we have people who used to work for a gorgon witch living there... its the best chance to start a new life, trust me. *she smiles* Tetsuda: "...Thank you. What do we need to do?" liz: we'll send a message, do you have anything on you? Tetsuda: "Clothes on our backs, what you see Aimi with, and...a photo album." liz: ah.... we can supply you with a small apartment someplace. Tetsuda: "...What do I have to give you in exchange?" -later- Kid: (walking with only the slightest of limps...) "That man, Yohei...Soul, what happened?" soul: long story. *he's cleaning his hand off as he explains the situation* Kid: "...Good work." soul: yeah.... still, that guy is gonna haunt my nightmares for weeks.... *cringe* kid: "...And Stocking's..." soul:....................... Kid: "...We have to do good in the world, to make up for the evil spread by those monsters. You did good, Soul, far more than I was able to while in this hospital..." soul:..... thanks.... Kid: "I have one more thing I wanted to do...Those people you were working with, Yohei and Chie, would you be willing to speak with me?" chie: sure, what did you need? Kid: "Are you two...going to be okay?" chie: ................................ Kid: (hands her a pocket mirror) "I am in your debt, for what you did for Stocking, my friends, and for me. If there is anything that the DWMA can provide you, you call us, please." chie: with a mirror? Kid: "It's a Death Mirror, attuned to my Soul Wavelength. You tap it, and any mirror near me will get your incoming call." (shrugs) "People tend to focus more on stealing phones from people, but few people think to take away a mirror." chie: ......ooook? Kid: "Is it any more bizarre than...him?" (points at Shotaro) Shotaro: (biting Bone of the Monkey, swinging from the ceiling while eating a banana) chie: true. -elsewhere- Noah: "..." medusa:............... grimoire: here we are. Noah: "And where is 'here'?" (kicks at a fire-ant) ???: "Never. Harm. My ants." grimoire: you shouldnt have done that. Noah: (smirks) "Why not?" (jabs his heel into the fire-ant) Amy the Fire-Ant: (shrieks) **A blast fires into Noah's face** Noah: "AAAAAAaaaaHHHH!" medusa: *smirks* **Light shines slowly onto Ponera on her throne** Ponera: (death glare at Noah, then looks to Medusa) "The Snake." grimoire: *punches noah in the shoulder* medusa: yeah? Noah: (grimaces...robotic voice of Index resumes) "Still the model of perfection, are we not, Original?" Ponera: (glances at Noah...) "Why are you with this cheap knock-off of Grimoire, Snake? I never thought you would debase yourself this much." medusa: well he does contain knowledge of the book of enoch, which mr smary-pants thought was the book of _eibon_, and i would like to use that knowledge for my own purposes. grimoire: T-T Ponera: (smiles) "And now _we_ have the Book of Enoch, and _we_ will use its knowledge for _our_ purposes. Grimmy, please escort the Book and its Icon to the jail cell. I would like to speak with the Snake for a bit." medusa: hehe.. *she smirks at noah* Noah: (resuming control over the Index, glares at Medusa as he is pulled away) Ponera: "Snake...There's something different about you. You get a haircut?" medusa: grew my hair out, new clothes, i'm pregnant no thanks to MR LOOK-ALIKE OVER THERE! Ponera: "..." (squee!) "You're having a baby! That's so cute!" medusa: yeeeeeah..... Ponera: "Have you thought of a name? How many months are you?!" (hugs one of her ants) "This is so exciting!" medusa: ........................... -elsewhere- Black Star: "Man, feels like I've done nothing for days..." Patty: "Tell me about it. It's like I disappeared and everyone forgot about me." Black Star: "Tsubaki, why didn't you take us on your secret mission?!" tsubaki: tell you what, when we get back we'll go on a mission, just the two of us. Black Star: "..." (pouts, crosses his arms) "Okay, fine..." (someone peeks over the couch where Black Star is sitting in the hospital...) Shotaro: (looks at Black Star) "Are you my twin?" Black Star: ._____. tsubaki: ah! Black Star: "...Do you like Charisma Justice?" Shotaro: "I LOOOOOOOve Charisma Justice!" Black Star: "ME TOO!" Shotaro: "AAAAAAH!" tsubaki: oh boy.... Black Star: "AaaaAAAAAH!" Shotaro and Black Star: (bro hug) soul: *chuckles* Yohei: (looking out his window at the Bro Hug, chuckles) "Idiots." (winces, grimaces) "Ah! It hurts when I laugh..." soul: easy there. Yohei: (groans) "Yeah...I would kill for a cigarette..." soul: is that really the best idea right now? Yohei: "No, but neither is addiction." (wheezes a bit) "Even a nicotine patch...Stupid medical doctors with degrees and experience..." soul: you'll probably get along with stein then. Yohei: "Who?" soul: he's one of our teachers, he's also a doctor. kinda crazy, but he's pretty damn good at his job.... mostly. Yohei: "Ugh, more doctors...Hated hospitals whenever I got injured, don't like them now..." (looks at Soul) "By the way, good work back there." soul: thanks..... Yohei: "...Evans, what're you doing at the DWMA anyway?" soul: .........i'm a weapon. Yohei: "Hmm...And a musician, too." soul:.................................. Yohei: "Nice fingers, far too nice for a fighter...but more likely for a piano player." soul: ....................................................... -he tightens his fists- Yohei: "???" soul: nice gun..... kinda looks like a dog. Yohei: "Yeah, my Silver Gun Mach 2. Loyal weapon..." soul: mach 2, eh? Yohei: "Lost the first one to take out the Fear Factory." soul: ah... Yohei: "Yeah...Had to build a new version. At least this one has better reception..." (taps a button, causing the gun to project a football game on hologram) "Ugh, Manchester..." soul: cool. Yohei: "Yep...So, Mr. Evans, what's next for you, Tsubaki, and your group?" soul: probably heading back to death city... Yohei: (nods) "I bet your meister will be happy to see you..." soul: *wince* y....yeah...... Yohei: "???" -later- Kid: "How is packing going?" liz: just about done. Patty: "Yep!" (holds up her suitcase--with clothes poking out of its sides) -and so- Black Star: "Later, London!" -elsewhere- Kepuri: (in her new lab) "Where is it..." interviewer: right thiiiiis way maaaaam Kepuri: "Okay..." ("What is with this person's way of speaking...?") -the door is open- Kepuri: "???" (looks inside the room...) -a large lab is inside- Kepuri: ("Laaaaaaaab...Imagine all the things I could build in here!") marie: she's in. Spirit: "Okay...Let's see what she spots in there..." Kepuri: "Will this be where I will work?" worker: yes ma'am. *putting things into a shipping box labled 'send to 5th brigade lab' Kepuri: (spots the box on her glasses..."Hmm...") Spirit: "5th Brigade?" Kepuri: "I am happy to see the equipment available in this lab." (to the Worker) "What's that project you're working on?" worker: mostly construction bots, but hibana ordered these fire flowers in bulk, she says part of them are being used as fuel, the other part is being used in make up and stuff. frickin celebs, am i right? Kepuri: "Ha ha, yeah, I hear that..." Spirit: "Make up...Marie, are you thinking what I'm thinking?" marie: ............ Kepuri: (spots an engine) "Oh, wow! Isn't that the turbine from the Flame-Bot 4200?" worker: yeah, amazing we were able to recover it. Kepuri: "Ha ha, yeah, no kidding." (looks around it) "I thought something with this much power would need more cooling vents..." worker: thats part of what we're working on. Kepuri: "Let me try something..." (types a plan on the computer) "Maybe something like this?" worker: hmmm...ooh.. Kepuri: "That'll reduce the temperature by 12 degrees, and it will lighten the machinery by 40 pounds as well." worker: facinating. Kepuri: (blushing) "Oh, it's just a little thing I do..." Spirit: (eyeroll) -in the cells- Alone: "I miss Bug Girl." -they're playing poker- kinuta: *lookin at her cards* Solence: (face red) "So, who's still in?" kinuta: *she lays down her cards* Alone: "Ha! Check out this hand!" (Five Aces) Solence: (steam pours out of his ears) "There are only four aces in a deck!" Alone: o_o; kinuta: so, smoky, where were you workin before? Solence: "Fear Factory." (starts smiling with pride) "I was a commander!" kinuta: didnt they go defunct? Solence: "Yeah, well, I left before they went defunct." ("Because that bastard Yohei ran me out, almost got me killed with that freaky boy of his!") "How about you, Witch? What did you use to do?" kinuta: well, i got a hold of a few DWMA secrets, like witches living in the city and such. i go the info by tricking and manupilating one of the death scythes by pretending to date him~ Alone: "I can see that: who wouldn't want to date you? So, who are the witches in this city?" kinuta: besides froggy? my own daughter obvi. Solence: "You have a daughter? Never seen here visiting..." kinuta: thats cause she's an ungrateful little bitch. Solence: "..." Alone: "Wow, you really want to say that about your own daughter?" kinuta: you gonna play or not? Alone: "..." (tosses in $5) Solence: (tosses in $5 as well) kinuta: what about you, pooch? Alone: (tosses in $5) "And I'll raise you all $10." kinuta: not that, what's your story? Alone: "Well, I was born, then I grew up, and I left the Immortal Clan and joined Ponera's group." Solence: "Panera? Like the bread?" kinuta: no, _po_nera.... wait, i thought she died? Alone: "...Oh. Um, sure, let's go with that..." (gets quiet...) kinuta:......i can see your bluff poochy. Alone: (squirms) "Look, it's a secret. Please don't tell, not even Froggy." kinuta: you sure, not even lil ol me~? *she bats her eyes and pouts* Alone: (blushes) "Weeeeeeeell...What do you want to know?" kinuta: all the dirty little details~<3 Alone: "Maybe starting with how she survived and has been building up an army of allies?" kinuta: is that riiight~? Alone: "Y-Yeah! She's so smart! She got this one guy, Grimoire, who has this book and all this cool magic--for bugs and ants and stuff!" Solence: "???" kinuta: ahh, i see. Alone: "Big bugs--big ants and big caterpillars and big butterflies...Man, Bug Girl would love Ponera. Ponera would love her, too--feed her to her ants or something." Solence: "?!" kinuta: ah...hahaha..haaa... *sweatdrop* Alone: "I do miss Bug Girl, though. This place is going to turn into a sausage factory in no time at this rate." Solence: -_- kinuta:..... C: Solence: o\\\\\o Alone: (puts in $20 Monopoly) "Wait 'til you see my hand!" kinuta: *licks her lips* Solence: (poker face, add $20) "What about you, witch?" kinuta: hmmm~? Solence: "Well, you going to put in $20 or not? And come on, you telling me you don't wish someone visited you? Not even that Death Scythe?" kinuta: *puts in $20* eh, as if i ever had feelings for him, he was just a pawn. Alone: "But I got to know, what did you do to trick him? I mean, he doesn't seem that dumb to just give up everything." kinuta: well, he was in a rather emotionally fragile state, what with his daughter dying and all. also he's a complete womanizer, so that works. Solence: "..." kinuta: not to mention my charm magic~<3 *winks* Alone: "Dude, you manipulated a guy who just lost his daughter?" kinuta: at least the sex was pretty damn good. Alone: o\\\\o "Oh? He was?" kinuta: unless either of you think you can do better~<3 Alone: (raises his hand) "I do!" Solence: "?!" kinuta: if we get let outta jail, then maybe i'll give it a try~ Alone: "Aw, not here? Come on, they allow conjugal visits!" Solence: (desperately looking for Brain Bleach) kinuta: with outsiders Alone: "So, what you're saying is that, if I broke out, then I could come back and we could do the do?" kinuta: maaaaybe~? Alone: "Awesome! I got my chopsticks--I'll start digging a hole out of here tonight! And when I come back, I'll bring you some wine, some sexy panties, maybe cigarettes." kinuta: *grins* Solence: "Could we please get back to the game?" kinuta: alright already mr pansy. Solence: "Hmph. I call. Let's see the cards." -kinuta has a queen of hearts and a 10- -Solence frowns because he only has a 9, 7, 3, and 4 of different suits- -Alone has Five Aces- Solence: "Again?!" (his face goes red...and...) *BOOM!* *Smoke in the cell* -they would all end up high off their asses.- Alone: (giggling) -elsewhere- Yumi: "Ellen, please help me bring the rest of the decorations..." (the Mansion has a "Welcome Home" banner hanging in the living room) ellen: of course, ma'am. Yumi: "They will be home soon, and Kid and Stocking will need more rest..." lord death: ...... Yumi: "Death? Are you okay?" lord death: i'm alright, i'm just worried.... Yumi: (holds his hand) "They told us they are coming home, and they will." -knock knock- Yumi: (smiles) "Care to do the honors?" lord death: *he opens the door* Kid: "..." lord death:...........*he hugs kid* Kid: (returns the hug) "Father..." lord death: shhhh.....its ok my child.... Kid: *sniff* lord death: come in everyone. Yumi: (walks over, hugs Kid) Patty: (picks up Mocha) "Hey, Kitty!" mocha: nyu! *she seems happy* kirika: hey, glad to see you aint dead yet. Kid: -_-; "Likewise..." -so the party starts- Kid: (sits between his parents, across from Stocking) Yumi: (putting a hand through his hair) "You need a haircut..." Kid: -\\\\\- "Mother..." stocking: aw, i think his hair looks nice though... so soft too... *she runs a hand through his hair as well.* Kid: o\\\\o Kid: "M-Must be the conditioner..." stocking: hehe~ does that feel nice? Kid: "Yes..." ("Not here not here not here...") Yumi: (eyeglasses flash) stocking: owo;;;;; *pulls back* Yumi: "Hmph. Death, could I get a refill on the punch?" lord death: of course~ Yumi: (smiles at Death, then looks to Stocking) "How has recovery been?" stocking: doing pretty good. Yumi: "Do you intend to schedule follow-up check-ups now that you are back home?" stocking: i am. Kid: "...I as well." Yumi: (groans) "Yes, I feel like my OB/GYN has been a second home..." liz: easy now. Yumi: "...I can't wait to give birth. At least morning sickness will dissipate." stocking: yeah, hehe. -the next morning- Kid: "..." stocking: morning. Kid: (frown) "Morning..." stocking:....you alright? Kid: "Just some difficulty getting used to sleeping here again...Stocking, are you feeling okay, physically?' stocking: yeah, pretty good. Kid: "...Could you...shower with me? I don't want to be alone..." stocking: ok. Kid: "Thank you..." -elsewhere- Arthur: (drying his hair after a shower) "Jeez...These freaking dreams..." shinra: i heard we got a mission coming up, and not the usual kind either. Arthur: "Oh?" (gets dressed) "What kind then?" shinra: like, espionage? i think? Arthur: "...Spies? That's not very Arthurian." shinra: come on, its gonna be so cool! Arthur: -_-; "You're going to nerd out over this, aren't you? Because being a spy is like being a hero, right?" shinra: yeah, like batman, or solid snake, heck even sly cooper! Arthur: "...Nerd." shinra: like you arent? Arthur: (in only his boxers) "I am Arthur Boyle, proud knight of the 8th Brigade! I am no nerd: I am a shining knight!" (bishie sparkle) shinra: ...........sure dude. **Knock Knock** Akitaru: (opens the door) "Come on, you lollygaggers, we got a briefing on--" (sees the two of them) "...Arthur, put some pants on and get to the meeting room already." Arthur: -___- shinra: *snerk* -and so, in the briefing room- Akitaru: "5th Brigade. What can you guys tell me about it?" shinra: >_> hibana makes me nervous... as do those alien ladies. and dr. conehead. iris:.....she was a sister of the holy sol temple. Takehisa: "5th Brigade. Princess Hibana, leader, third generation Fire Being. Previously employed with the Haijima Heavy Industries--" maki: also a renowned business lady with multiple fashion lines. Arthur: ("...Would Tamaki like that fashion?") (slaps the side of his head) Akitaru: "Yes, thank you, Takehisa, Maki...um, Arthur...that's enough. The connection between the 5th Brigade and Haijima is what you will be looking into, starting with Haijima's newest lab facility. The DWMA has us on this mission." shinra: *whistles* fancy. Arthur: (eyeroll) Akitaru: "DWMA already has a mole inside Haijima. Takehisa: "So our task is twofold. One team will meet the mole to gather intelligence from them. The second team is to join the shipment from Haijima to 5th Brigade, to learn what they are up to." maki: right. Akitaru: "Who is going to follow the shipment? We can't let it be someone that 5th Brigade recognizes easily..." shinra: why dont we wear disguises? Akitaru: "What you got in mind, Shinra?" shinra: like masks and stuff? Akitaru: "Hmm...Masks may be a bit much if you're expect to go through security." Takehisa: "I suggest glasses, hats, and attire to infiltrate Haijima...and maybe masks so that the delivery to 5th Brigade has a...robbery?" shinra: hmm..... that cooould work? Akitaru: "Who can look nerdy enough to fit in at a laboratory? Iris? Arthur?" iris:.......... Arthur: "Um, why don't Takehisa and I go to the lab, while Iris and Shrina follow to the 5th Brigade and try to hijack the vehicle? Maki, where would you be?" maki: i think i have a plan of distraction~ Takehisa: "..." Akitaru: "Ha ha! Good!" (pulls out a map) "Start marking it up, guys--let's see where this plan goes." -elsewhere- Noah: "..." grimoire: so, how many years has it been...? Noah: "I lost count...Time flies when you're having fun." grimoire:.....oh? whats this now? Noah: (chuckles) "Creation, destruction: the cycle of all things. That's how you obtain knowledge is by making it yourself...then destroying it with your own hands." grimoire i'm talking about this malicious young male with the lines in his hair. Noah: (frowns) "What about him? Useless brat..." grimoire:.....its nothing. *he closes the book* Noah: (clenches his teeth) "When I get out, that witch is the first thing I'm pulling into my book." grimoire: which one?......no pun intended. Noah: "Ponera...Give her some time in the Book, and she would be very useful..." grimoire: *glaaaaaare* Noah: "Maybe I'll start by driving her insane. Or break her will. Or some bones." grimoire: *grabs his neck*......... Noah: (chokes) "H-Hey!" grimoire: if you value your life you wont lay as much as a smudge on her. Noah: "..." (smirks) "Death is cheap for me. Can you say the same for her?" grimoire:........... *he exits and slams the door behind him* ............... Noah: (laughs loudly, even as he coughs to breathe) "Simpleton..." grimoire: ................ Nals: "That one sounds like a handful..." grimoire: tell me about it. Nals: "Why keep that thing? Why not burn it and the book, too?" grimoire: because its not so much as a simple book. Nals: "Then what is it?" -he explains the book's origins- Nals: "...Hmm...You think you can do something with this...doppelganger of yours, to bend him to your will and get the power of that book?" grimoire: i could try, i managed to control it once... Nals: "Really? ... How old are you?" grimoire: ....................much older than you......... Nals: o___o; "Uh...Need me to do anything?" -elsewhere- Kid: (walking slowly to class...) kim: welcome back kid, how was london? Kid: (tries to smile) "...Survivable. How have you been?" kim: alright. Kid: "...Did you see us on the news in London?" kim: yeah.... ox: pretty nasty stuff. Jacqueline: "...We're sorry what you went through." Harvar: "..." kilik: .... Kid: "...Thank you. At least we survived. And really, we'll be fine. It's just...a small limp that is taking time..." kilik: what are we gonna do about that guy though? Kid: "You mean NoFix, Kilik?" kilik: yeah, that guy. the DWMA has him pretty much public enemy #1. Kid: "...I don't know. We try to get a read on his Soul Wavelength, but he adjusts it with his Powers of Spin. DWMA West Europe has been trying to get a lead with little luck." kim: spin huh? Kid: "Powers of Spin: he can manipulate the kinetic energy of objects, even the soul itself. One of our new contacts told us, someone who had numerous encounters with the madman." ox: yikes. Kid: (sigh) "It is frightening..." ("...and what he unleashed in Stocking...") Kid: "In any case, I'm just happy to be back in class." kim: glad to _have_ you back. we got some new students in while you were gone. Kid: "Really? Are they in our class?" kim: nah. they just keep to themselves mostly. justin: i did try talking to them, but they just kind of ignored me. kim: *SCREAM* ack! god dammit justin dont sneak up on us like that! Kid: o___O "Um...What...are the students' names?" justin: Foien Li, Karim Fulham, and Rekka Hoshimiya. i think they are members of the 1st brigade and prists of the holy sol temple. Kid: "Oh, more Fire Brigade members. Did they have an orientation?" justin: i havent asked yet. i tried talking to them, but i dont think they noticed me. Kid: "Maybe I could try..." -later, elsewhere- Spirit: "...Marie, any updates from 8th Brigade?" marie: seems they're moved into position. Spirit: "Good...Let's hope they find out what is going on..." (sighs) -at the 5th lab- maki: excuse me sir, do you have a moment for an interview? ???: "And you are?" maki: Itsuyo Akita from the Ogata News Network. i've come to do an impropteau interview with the members of the 5th brigade, any volunteers? ???: ("Ugh...Stupid media...") "Toru! I got a job for you!" maki: *smiles* Toru: (blows bubble) "What?" Officer ???: "This young lady from Ogata News wants an interview." Toru: "..." Officer ???: (smacks the back of his head) "Get on with it!" Toru: "Okay, okay! Jeez!" (sees Maki) o\\\o ("Holy shit, she's hot...") (sleezy, slimy attempt to be suave) "Hey there. What's up?" maki: sooo, toru is it? Toru: "Toru Kishiri. Officer in the 5th Brigade." (winks) maki: ah, i see. and how long have you been in the 5th? (thinking: just resist the urge to punch him. you can do it, think of the mission!) Toru: "About a year--and I'm already a big deal here.: maki: i see. why did you join the 5th brigade out of all of them? Toru: "It's the most powerful--and the girls here are the hottest." maki: is that right? now what about your life before joining? -meanwhile in the van- Akitaru: "...I hope she doesn't punch him for at least another five minutes..." -inside the building- Arthur: (glasses, lab coat, whispers into collar microphone) "This does not feel very 'knightly'..." shinra: *over microphone* we're in position. shinra: also get over it! Arthur: (mutters...) "Hey...I spot two scientists. One looks like our...contact." iris: .... Arthur: (whispering into his comlink) "How should I proceed?" shinra: just be casual. Arthur: (approaches the contact and the scientist with her...) "Excuse me..." (adjusts his glasses) "I am here to bring your progress report to the supervisor." Kepuri: "What's that?" scientist: well we just got our latest shipment in. Arthur: "Oh, good. Are the contents all accounted for?" scientist: seems a bit heavy, guess we got extra. the princess will be please about this. Arthur: ("Princess?") "Yes, I'm sure she will." (looks to Kepuri) "Please get me a tally of the amount." Kepuri: "R-Right!" (to the other scientist) "Off to count, right?" scientist: right. Kepuri: (walks with scientist into the lab to count, followed by Arthur) Arthur: (glancing at the equipment in the lab...and surprised to see a BODY IN A GIANT LIQUID-FILLED TANK) o__o -inside the box- iris:...... Kepuri: "Uh...Well, shall we count?" shinra: (thinking: what do we do?) Arthur: "Hey, what's this button do?" (pushes a button on the BODY IN THE GIANT LIQUID-FILLED TANK) -a clone angel falls out, then springs to life, screaming- Kepuri: o_______o; (clutches the scientist) "EEEEEEEEEEK!" Arthur: (taps on the box, whispers) "I just gave you your distraction. You're welc--" --The Clone Angel slugs Arthur in the face-- scientist: hey dont touch that! *he runs over* Kepuri: (shaking the scientist) "What the hell is even going on?!" Arthur: "...Oh, I hate today--" --Clone Angel kicks Arthur in the face— shinra: *whispers* ok go go go. -he and iris sneak into a vent- Kepuri: "EEEEEK!" (tosses the scientist around--knocking them into a wall) Arthur: (spots Shinra and Iris successfully getting into the vent) "Good--" --Clone Angel steps on Arthur's head, knocking him down on the floor-- -in the vent- shinra: ok, we're moving into position. Akitaru: "Great work! But why isn't Arthur replying?" shinra: he'll be fine, just making friends. Akitaru: "...Oh, good! Iris, you ready?" iris: {thinking: thats _one_ way of putting it} *sweatdrop* y-yes... Akitaru: "Okay--stay chill out there. Call us if things get heavy. Obi out." shinra: *sniff sniff* you smell that? smells like fancy perfume... ???: (laughter heard through the vent...) iris: what was that? ???: "Glorious work, Shaula." shaula: of course, that little hybrid worked wonders. shinra: ?! Hibana: "Nimble, quick, fiery...All that I can expect in a future Angel." shaula: and dang good looking to boot! hehe~ Hibana: -_- "Really now, do you ever turn off?" shinra:........ Hibana: "Let's change the subject: any updates on the Ant's progress?" shaula: coming along pretty good. i'll be taking my leave for now, till next time, hibana-mama~ Hibana: "Good-bye." (sits at her desk, sorting through photographs...And a photo is on her desk of someone in a habit...) shinra:......... Hibana: (stares at the photograph...then turns it around so it no longer faces her) "Stupid..." -they would follow her through the halls until she was alone- Hibana: (stands up, stretches, puts on her shoes, and exits her executive office...approaches someone at a secretary's desk) "Gabriella, I'm going to the gym. Forward any calls to my cell." gabriella: very good ma'am! Hibana: (alone in the hallway..."Eerily quiet...") (whistles a familiar tune...) iris: .......... Hibana: (half-singing) "I am the bread of life, broken for all..." shinra:...... Hibana: (sees the gym's entrance ahead...) "One faith, one hope, one symbol of love..." shinra:........ Hibana: "No longer servants..." (suddenly, she snaps her fingers, causing an explosion to go through the vents above her) -thud- shinra: ow..... crap... iris you ok? iris: ah... i think so- **Hands reach through the metal wreckage, tossing Shrina by his leg into the wall, and seizing Iris by the throat** Hibana: (holding up Iris) "..." shinra; iris! let go of her! iris: grk- **Suddenly, flower-like objects flutter around Shinra** Hibana: (glares at Iris's habit) "I always hated that habit..." iris: s-sister....please. Hibana: (demonic grin, as she rubs her fingers along the habit's fabric) "Beg me..." shinra: get away from her! Hibana: (sighs) "So annoying..." **Snaps her fingers, causing the flowers to explode around Shinra** shinra: ack! iris: SHINRA! Hibana: (cackles) "Flowers of the rarest belong to the fairest..." (rubs a finger along the scar on Iris's cheek) "Who brought you here?" iris:... shinra: *he struggles to get up* Hibana: (increases her grip on Iris's neck) "Was it that idiot Obi? Perhaps another party is involved..." (stares into Iris's eyes, her smile growing more demonic) "Who else is involved in your little subterfuge?" iris: *struggling to breathe* shinra: *he charges* Hibana: "Omph!" (knocked down, letting go of Iris) Akitaru: (struggling to hear on the mics) "Damn it! I lost their signal! Maki, Arthur! Report!" maki: hmm? shinra: iris! you ok? iris: *coughs* i-i think so.... **Fireball heading towards Shinra...** shinra: *dodges, but just barely* woah! Akitaru: "Maki! Get to the 16th Floor, West Wing! Iris and Shinra are in trouble! Damn it, Arthur, report!" Arthur: (head getting slammed against the wall by Clone) Kepuri: (hiding under her desk, whispering...) "Damn DWMA!" scientist: *tries to pull her off* down girl! iris: sister, please! Hibana: (fire swirling around her, as she dances with it, guiding it--then she points her index and middle finger at Shinra, firing the blast at him) shinra: *trying to dodge.* damn.....why are you doing this? Hibana: "..." (takes a step forward--and it impacts the floor with force, forming a crater in the tile) "What happens when an angel falls?" shinra: *he grabs iris to protect her* what the heck?! iris: !!!! Hibana: "What do you do when God turns away from you?" (next step forward--and the tile there also craters, lifting off the floor with her heel as she keeps walking) "What do you become when God leaves you to burn?" shinra:......a demon..... Hibana: (sneers, as flames shoot along her head to form like horns) "Yes!" **The walls are aflame, whipping around Shinra and Iris** shinra:.... *smirks* you know what happens to demons that come up from hell sometimes? Hibana: (matches his smirk) "Yes...The Earth becomes their domain, correct?" shinra: they like to possess innocent people. iris: dont you remember sister? our time together at the temple? Hibana: (screams at Iris) "Shut up!" (sends a fireball at Iris's feet, just missing...Inhales, taps her collar) "Gabriella, cancel my 6 o'clock. Also, block Floors 14 through 18. Increase security at all levels. And bring two bodybags." gabriella: right away ma'am~ Hibana: (sneers again) "Where were we?" (dashes forward, her heels cracking the floor before she leaps and descends, aiming her heel at Shinra's head) iris: i remember those days. she were so kind, and all the sisters adored her. i remember how she would always look out for us....but you.... you’re not the hibana i knew! shinra: *dodge, getting a scratch in the process* ow... Hibana: "No, I'm not!" (kicks at Shinra face, while picking up Iris and holding her under her arm) iris: but.... i know she's inside you... she's scared and lonely... we want to help her. Hibana: (eyes widen) "What?!" shinra: *rolls out* what i see is a demon possessing a frightened sister.....someone who was hurt.... iris told me a lot about you. and im sure she's right, she's just being controlled by a demon. a demon called 'fear.' Hibana: "I have no fear!" (but her eyes are wavering...) iris: *struggling to break free* shinra: i dunno, the shaking knees say otherwise. Hibana: (tottering...nervous smile) "Th-That's just the heels...Heh...You try wearing them in combat, you little shit." (squeezes Iris tighter by the back of her neck) iris:.....*she wraps her arms around hibana's waist, humming a soft melody, a familiar melody* Hibana: "Wh-What are you doing?" (charging a flame petal in her hand) "Stop that." shinra: she's appealing to your humanity.... cause behind that demonic mask, there's a sister who needs our help. iris: hehe~ *she smiles* Hibana: "...That girl is gone..." (holds up the flame in her hand, increasing it, as she slowly brings it to Iris's unscarred cheek) "...Now to finish the work..." (tear falls...) shinra: hey... fus....ro..... Hibana: (stops, looks at Shinra) "What?" shinra: DAH!!!! *PUNCH* Hibana: o___O (lets go of Iris, but her flame flies up into the ceiling...) iris: are you ok sister? Hibana: (seething, deep breathing) "How dare you touch me! How dare--" (struggles to stand, then falls, her heel breaking) "Ow ow ow!" shinra: easy there.... *he takes out some bandages* need some help? Hibana: (pathetic growl) "Get off of me. I don't need help." shinra: do you know why we're here? shinra: what we're doing? Hibana: "Why else would Obi send his brats: to steal my work for some blackmail..." (desperately trying to charge another attack, out in the open, obvious to Shinra and Iris) -they walk up to her- shinra: nope. Hibana: "?!" (tries to increase the flame, but it is starting to sputter) -iris and shinra look at each other and nod..... they then hug her- shinra: we're preforming an exorcism. Hibana: "Wh-What?! Get off of me!" (she sends the flame at Shinra...the tiny little flame...) iris: sshhhhh.... its ok.... Hibana: T____T "You are pathetic. You 8th Brigade brats are truly childish. I am an adult, I see that this world is pain, and only the strong survive. Strong people don't cry..." (sniffs loudly, as she remembers hugging Iris when they were in the temple) iris: *she sings a soft song, one that hibana used to sing to calm iris down when she was scared* Hibana: o__o "...N-No..." (crying) "Stop." (sobbing) "STOP." (ugly sobbing) "STOOOOoooooOOOOP..." shinra: just let it out sister.... *he pats her back* Hibana: "DON'T TOUCH ME!" (ugly sobbing continues) maki: alright nobody mo-....uhh.... oh.... iris: *she smiles* its ok, we're not gonna hurt you. Hibana: .\\\\\\\. (small voice) "I am a demon...Fear me...Rowr." iris: *she chuckles* its ok sister. -later, after she is taken in- Hibana: -\\\\\\- "I hate you all." iris: we love you too. -elsewhere- Ponera: (holds teapot) "More tea, Mama Snake?" medusa: how did i get into this. milia: i shall have some~ what about you nalsie~? Nals: (wearing a princess crown) "No, thank you..." Ponera: (fills Milia's cup) "But seriously, it has been quite a while since an update from the Scorpion..." grimoire: shut up and drink your damn tea medusa: T_T; Ponera: "Hmm...Snake, why do you think Scorpion hasn't called us? Flame Princess is late..." -phone rings- Ponera: "Oh!" (picks it up) "Hello?" shaula: hey pon-pon, bad news. i had some important buisness come up, so i'm gonna be held up here... as for hibana mama, weeeellllll she kiiiiinda sorta got maybe a liiiittle tiny bit arrested. so thats there. Ponera: o__O "...Everyone? Please leave the room..." grimoire: ok lets go. medusa: but wha- milia: *exits* Nals: (flees) Ponera: (inhales) "Ffffffffffff--!" **The complex shakes as she screams** -the rumbles could be heard from noah's cell- Noelle: [WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT?!] Noah: "How the hell would I know? I'm all the way down here without--" o____o "...Who just said that?" Noelle: [one of your other selves? did you really forget we exist?] Noah: "...Yes, since you were rather quiet while I was training the Snake." Noelle: [*cringe* yeah.... lust and wrath are in here too] Noah: "...Oh no..." Lust!Noah: (odd noises) Noelle: [SHUT UP!!] Lust!Noah: "I NEED THE SEX!!!" Noah: (yelling) "This is why I don't want any of you in my head! Noelle! Why now?!" -elsewhere- Kid: (in Gallows Mansion gym, walking briskly on treadmill) liz: you're doing great kid. Kid: (smiles) "Thanks...Tomorrow, I increase the speed a bit to practice running..." (inhales a bit, but he's wheezing slightly) Kid: (trips a bit--but catches himself) liz: easy there. Kid: "Woo!" (laughs a bit) "Close call." Patty: (lifting weights) stocking: you ok? Kid: (smiles) "I'm doing great." (slows down the treadmill, then carefully gets off) "My...balance is still off, but walking helps." (fans himself) stocking: *she gives him some bottled water* Kid: (smiles) "Thank you, A-Angel..." stocking: *she smiles* Kid: (sips on the bottle..."I don't want to wait any longer...I better get it tomorrow...") -elsewhere- Spirit: (at Chupa Cabra's, sipping his scotch) "Damn..." blair: you ok? Spirit: "I should be...The mission got what we wanted. But..." blair: but? Spirit: "...I don't feel satisfied. Something is wrong." blair: like what? Spirit: "...Every night, I have nightmares, which is normal...but now I think to that...Kim's mother. And..." blair:.... *she hugs him* Spirit: "I hate her...not as much as I hate myself, but I want to...I'm..." blair: there there..... Spirit: "..." (breathes in slowly...calms down) blair: want to spend the night? Spirit: "..." (nods) -elsewhere- Arthur: (winces as someone dabs on the cuts on his face) "Ow!" maki: hold still you baby. Arthur: "I am...Not my fault that peroxide hurts." shinra: it would hurt less if you stopped squirming you weenie. Arthur: -_- "Oh, I'm sorry. I was the knight who allowed the hero and the princess to confront the deadly dragon, while said hero and princess let me to BE BEATEN BY A--A--WHAT WAS SHE?!" shinra:........*shrugs* Arthur: "...How is Iris?" shinra: she's doing alright... a lot better now. Arthur: "...Good." -elsewhere- Black Star: (picking up empty soda cans) "Soul, can you get me another trash bag?" soul: got it. Black Star: (small laugh) "Can't believe we made this much of a mess on movie night." soul: yeah, haha.... Black Star: "...Hey, man? I didn't get to say it in London, but that was cool of you to help that girl." soul: do you think maka would have been proud of me? Black Star: "...Dude, she already was a long time ago. This would just make her, like, super-duper-proud times infinity." soul: *chuckles* Black Star: (smiles..."He's gotten a bit lighter and cheerier later") "What're you up to tomorrow?" soul: what day is it tommorrow? Black Star: "Thursday." soul: not sure, might do more work. you? Black Star: "About the same...Tsubaki has us picking up trash in the park Saturday, so I'm stuck having to finish some homework Thursday night." soul: ah. Black Star: "Yeah...Was thinking of maybe, I don't know..." (muttering) "...take Tsubaki out for dinner..." soul: yeah, she's earned it. Black Star: "Y-Yeah...Found a good sushi spot." -the next morning- Kid: *yawn* stocking: zzzz..... Kid: ("...After school. I do it for her.") (kisses her forehead) stocking: mmmn.. morning. Kid: (smiles) "Morning. How are you?" stocking: good. you? Kid: "A lot better..." (hugs her) -at school- Stein: "And that is how you avoid poison-dart arrows. Thank you for helping with the demonstration, Hiro." Hiro: (collapsed on the floor, darts sticking out of his back) eternal feather: *carries him to the nurse* Hiro: (slurring words) "Thank you, Madam! Now we are off to see the Queen!" Stein: "...Some people react poorly to the poison..." (sniff a dart) "Hmm. Peppermint." (sets it on the desk) "Now, our next demonstration will be combat. I need two meister volunteers." kim: i'll go. ???: "I'll do it!" (it's a thin boy, with a shaven head, sharp teeth, and dressed in a Hawaiian shirt.) "Get up, Dagon!" Dagon: (shorter boy in swim trunks and a t-shirt) "O-Okay, Kau'i." Kau'i: (looks Kim up and down) kim: alright then, jackie, up up? Jacqueline: (slight look) "Yeah..." (glares at Kau'i) Dagon: (transforms--into a trident) Kau'i: (wielding the trident) "Heh heh heh..." -the battle begins- -meanwhile- Kau'i: (blocks with the trident--then smacks it against Kim's shin) kim: ow! Kau'i: "Aw, did that hurt?" (starts jabbing the trident's tips at Kim's head, back and forth) kim: *dodge dodge dodge* Kau'i: "You're fast...Not bad moves on you, either..." (licks his sharp teeth) "Good to know." kim: *knee to the crotch* Dagon: "...This is what you get for being a jerk, sir." Kau'i: (high-pitched) "Clam it..." (collapses to his knees, then face first to the floor) Jacqueline: ^_^ "Good work." kim: owned. Leo: well _that_ looked painul. Bridget: seems she won. Dagon: (reverts to human form, picks up Kau'i) "Off to the infirmary..." -elsewhere- Stein: "The winner: Kim Diehl and Jacqueline O'Lantern Dupre. Excellent work. I'll be sure to pick you first for all future demonstrations..." claire: *claps* congradulations! <very good job!> Kid: "...Stocking? Liz and Patty will be helping me with some errands around town. Will I see you at home?" stocking: yeah. see you~ Kid: (smiles, kisses her cheek...) **Scalpel throw** stocking: O____O;; Stein: "No canoodling in class." Kid: "..." (passes out) -later- Patty: "You sure you're up for this, Kiddo? First you are in the hospital, then you pass out...What do you think, Sis?" liz: are you sure kid? Kid: "...Yes." (points at the shop) "We enter." clerk: how may i help you? Kid: "I had placed an order earlier this week. Name...um, 'Azmaveth.'" clerk: ah, right! here it is. **The small box is set before Kid** Kid: (deep inhale, as he opens the box...) "Will she like it?" liz: will who like what? Kid: "...Can you keep a secret?" Patty: "..." (steps out of the jewelry store, then shouts) "Okay! You can now tell Sis!" liz: ok. hey patti, can you get us some drinks from the vending machine? Patty: (shouting) "Okay!" (leaves for vending machines) liz: ok, what is it? Kid: (opens the box to her--inside is a silver ring, with a dark diamond on it, an inscription inside, and a light design along the ring similar to angel wings...) liz: wow. Kid: (nods) "Please, not a word to Stocking...I want to wait until...after college. It's stupid to prepare so far in advance, isn't it?" liz: well, its very....you. Kid: (laughs, as he closes the box) "Well, when you have half your body ripped apart, it tends to make you overly cautious..." (the box slips out of his hand to the floor) "Whoops!" (he gets on one knee, to pick it up--and as he looks up at Liz, the box opens before her) o\\\\\\o ???: "What the hell?" liz: LIKE HELL YOU CREEP! *SHE KICKS KID IN THE FACE* Kid: "UHF!" (falls back, the box closes and goes up, landing safely on the counter) Harvar (???): "...Huh." (keeps walking) -later, after that was cleared up and everything was explained- Kid: "So please, really, don't tell Stocking...Owie..." liz: tell her what? *she has harvar in a headlock* Harvar: "Can't...breathe...Don't remember...what numbers are..." Kid: "...I think you can let him go..." Patty: "I'm back! ... Wait, you didn't say to get a drink for Harvar, too!" liz: *drops him* Patty: "Oh, and Kid? I drank half of your soda..." *BURP* Harvar: X____X Patty: "...And now we have to find a spot to bury Harvar's corpse." liz: he's fine.....ish.... Harvar: "This is why I don't date..." -elsewhere- Hibana: .\\\\\\. iris: i brought you some tea. Hibana: (pouting) "Oh...Very well." (takes the tea) -elsewhere- saki:............ NoFix: "...Bored..." mimeca: *points to saki's door* NoFix: "...Oh? You have a suggestion?" saki:........................................ NoFix: "...Maybe she needs an adjustment..." (twirls a set of shades in his hand) "...With Yohei and his little bitch on our tail, may need to do something about her..." (holds shades over his eyes) "Time to operate, Mimeca?" mimeca: *changes her fingers into various sharp tools* NoFix: "..." (sneers) "Well, Nurse, prep the patient." -saki is brought out- saki: no....please....not again.... NoFix: (in a surgeon's outfit) "Spin, spin...Repeat, repeat..." (turns on a small saw) "Mimeca...Be so kind to put our patient under..." mimeca: *gags her and ties her down* saki: *visibly afraid* NoFix: (brings the saw down...) "Don't. Blink." saki: {n-no! what are you doing! get that away from me!!} NoFix: (the saw connects--) saki: *SCREAMING* *Surgery takes hours...* NoFix: "Woo! Done! Nurse, wipe my brow..." mimeca: *does so* NoFix: (removes his surgical mask, smiles...) "Well, Saki? What do you have to say?" saki: ................... *whimpering* NoFix: (frowns) "Oh, come on--no crying. Do I have to turn on the mind-control function?" saki: *trembling* NoFix: "...Stop that trembling. Now. Electro-Shock, 1 percent." saki: *SCREAMS* NoFix: (stops it) "Now, will you be quiet, or should we go to 2 percent?" saki: *whimpers* NoFix: "...Mimeca? I don't think the shocks are making her quiet." mimeca: *kicks her in the chest* NoFix: "...Well? Are you going to make any more noise?" saki:.............. NoFix: (smiles) "Good. Mimeca, let her get some milk and cookies and a good night's rest...Tomorrow, we begin training..." saki:.................. NoFix: "Night, sweetie. Love ya." saki:............*weak whimpering* -elsewhere- Spirit: *yawn* blair: you ok? Spirit: (nods) "Thank you again for letting me stay over." blair: no problem. Spirit: "...Sorry. I'm just kicking myself for...some things." Spirit: "Can I discuss something...personal?" blair: of course... is it about kinuta? Spirit: "..." (nods) blair: *listens* Spirit: "I had not felt that good in a long time...and I was tricked. It wasn't even her witchcraft: she just manipulated me, told me what I wanted to hear. And I...I haven't been able to...I mean, for the longest time, I haven't...had a...'date.'" blair: ......why dont we go out some time? Spirit: "R-Really? Like, as friends?" blair: whatever you need. *she smiles warmly* Spirit: "..." (smiles) "Thank you." -the next day- Patty: "Sooooooo, Sis?" liz: ya? Patty: "When do you think you and Wes will tie the knot?" liz: *SPITS OUT DRINK* Patty: "..." (puts napkin to her own face) "Jeez...What's eating you?" liz: im good, just tired. Patty: "...Want to talk about it?" liz: nah, lets just head to class. Patty: "...'Kay..." -later- Kid: (squirming) stocking: you ok? Kid: (smiles) "F-Fine." (rubbing his palm) -the lesson begins- Black Star: "What're we reading?" tsubaki: looks like les mis. Black Star: "..." (pulls a box of tissues out of his bookbag) "If this is like the play, I'm gonna need these..." tsubaki: ^^; Black Star: (starts reading...) *sniff* -elsewhere- Ponera: "So, we have an army of fire-ants, but no Hibana...Can we replicate her technique, Scorpion?" shaula: i got the notes saved, so i'm sure she wouldnt mind~ Ponera: (smirks) "Goodie..." (pets Aloysius the Ant) aloysius: ^o^ Ponera: "Tell me...Have you and your sister had a decent family reunion?" shaula: errr.... define 'decent' medusa: *GLARE* Ponera: "Well, you are both alive, so that's a plus! And Scorpion, I think Snake has big news for your growing family!" shaula: so i heard... *whispers to medusa* fatty. medusa: up yours. Ponera: "Medusa! Apologize to your sister!" medusa: why am _i_ getting yelled at?! Ponera: "I just heard you insult your sister!" shaula: so mean. *sniffs* Ponera: "Aw...!" (hugs Shaula) "There, there..." -later- Kepuri: "There, Mjolnir--I did what you wanted. Now, will you remove this collar off of me and let me go?" marie: *she looks at sid* Sid: "Oh, you're not done yet." Kepuri: o____o "What?!" marie: oh? Sid: "You're on probation until your sentence is served. You want it lessened? Wait for if and when we have another mission for you!" -in the cells- kinuta: sucks for you, junior~ Kepuri: "Shut up, you hag!" kinuta: ^^# Kepuri: "At least I'm on probation! You're still stuck rotting in this cell!" -elsewhere- Spirit: "..." marie: you ok? Spirit: "Y-Yeah. Just happy that at least one good result game of this investigation: Hibana is taken off the chessboard." marie: we still have nofix and paraponera to worry about... Spirit: "One task at a time..." (looks at Christa, asleep) "Perhaps Kepuri needs to be sent to infiltrate one of them..." marie: maybe.... christa: zzzz.... Spirit: "...I'm going out for the night with Blair..." marie: ah. Spirit: "Anything you need me to do before I head out?" marie: i'm good for now. Spirit: "Okay. Well, good night, Marie." (whispers) "Good night, Christa..." -later- Black Star: (dressed a bit better) "How's your dish, Tsubaki?" tsubaki: it's really good. Black Star: "I'm glad...Kid said it would be..." Black Star: (looks at her in the low lights..."Man...") -meanwhile- Yumi: "Zzz..." (on couch) lord death: *stroking her head* Yumi: *yawn* "Ugh...Thirsty." -some water is brought over- Yumi: "Thank you..." (sips) "How many more days until Halloween?" lord death: 5 more days until october so... Yumi: "Five months to go..." (to her abdomen) "Be safe, small one." -in some dark corner of the world..., in the lysandra city ruins- tsumiki: zzz..... *she's resting contentedly in asura's embrace* Asura: "..." (strokes her hair) tsumiki:...... *still snoozing* Asura: (looking at the surrounding ruins, checking to make sure they are sheltered) -seems everything is fine, they are hiding in the ruins of an old subway system.- Asura: (yawns) "I need no sleep. Yet she looks so comfortable, I want to just rest by her side in peace..." Asura: (holds her) "Mikan..." -a basker type clown appears and drops a blanket in front of them- Asura: (nods to the Clown) -elsewhere- Spirit: (looks up at the sky) blair: looks like rain. Spirit: "Darn. I was hoping for a starry night." blair: oh well. Spirit: "Yeah...There's always tomorrow night." blair: hehe~ Spirit: "Where to?" blair: how about Sushi palace? Spirit: "Sounds good!" -and so- Spirit: (joins Blair on the floor seating) tsubaki: ??? is that spirit and blair? Black Star: "Oh, it is." (shout) "HEY, SPIRIT! HEY, BLAIR!" tsubaki: *SHE COVERS HIS MOUTH* Spirit: "???" -meanwhile- Kid: ("I will wait until after graduation...BUT I WANT TO ASK NOW.") stocking: *snoozing* Kid: "..." ("I will wait.") (crawls into bed and puts his arms around her...) "Good night, Love." -the next morning, it's a rather rainy day.- Patty: "Man, where did this rain come from?" liz: *shrugs* its saturday, right? Patty: "Yeah...So, what rainy day activities we gonna do? You know the kids are going to be disappointed..." julie: playing fort? Patty: O_____O (runs and comes back with pillows and blankets) "Let's do this..." -and so- kirika: *she and riley are playing pokemon* Patty: "Jules, which color is better?" (holds up red and blue blanket) -she picks the red one- Patty: "Cool!" (uses it to fill a gap in the fort) -something taps on the window- riley: *she looks out and-* gah! Patty: "Oh, pizza's here?" (sees it) "EEEEK!" kirika: WHAT THE FU- Patty: "...Oh, hey! It's Galapagos!" (opens the window) "You bring the pizza?" kirika: *mumbling* fucking hell... Gopher: (shivering) "It's ever so cold and wet out here...May I please come in and warm up?" julie: ok. :) Gopher: (smiles) "Thank you." (climbs in...dripping wet...) "...Could I have a towel?" julie: *she goes to get one* kirika: you finish your lessons for the day i take it? Gopher: (blushes in front of his beloved) "Y-Yes. So I came to see how you were." kirika: of course. 7_7; riley: this a friend of yours? kirika: weeeellllll- Gopher: "I am Gopher, devoted servant to my beloved Kirika!" kirika: -_-;;;;;; riley: what kind of name is that? Gopher: :< "Hmph! An excellent name! For I am the sturdy gopher wood to serve as an ark for Kirika against the flooding waters of despair!" *BWAP* kirika: he's just weird, dont mind him. Gopher: "Owie!" Gopher: "It's my uniqueness that makes me so lovable..." riley: ._.; kirika: *whispers* he had a shitty childhood. riley: aaah.. Gopher: (looks at the fort) "...Are you building a house?" kirika: its a pillow fort. Gopher: "...But that would never be sturdy in a battle." kirika: its more like..camping inside. Gopher: "Oh...I never built one before." kirika: really?...... *sigh* fine, here, let me show you how this gets done. Gopher: -W- "Yay!" -elsewhere- Arthur: (looking out the window) "I hate rain. I hate getting wet." shinra: on the bright side, it decreases the chances of flame humans appearing... Arthur: "True. Was kind of hoping on going out." (opens fridge, removes two sodas) "Want one?" shinra: sure. Arthur: (sets the cans on the table, opens one) "So, how is Iris doing?' shinra: pretty good i think. Arthur: "She and the Princess still talking?" shinra: yeah, though hibana hasnt been saying much. Arthur: "Hmm...Is anyone going to press charges against her?" shinra: not sure. Arthur: "Would you want them to? She did some damage to you and Iris." shinra:...... Arthur: "..." (sips on his drink) "Rain's not going to stop for a while." -elsewhere- kyouko: *walking with groceries* Hiro: (walking with a bag of groceries and an umbrella) "Kyouko? Hey!" kyouko: hmm? oh, hey....hiro was it? Hiro: "Yes, that's right." (holding the umbrella over both of them) "Some weather, huh?" kyouko: yeah. Hiro: "Looks like we were both stuck getting some shopping done. Which way are you heading?" kyouko: to a friends house. Hiro: "Oh? Well, it's good to be around friends on a rainy day." kyouko: yeah... we're just about there now, its closer to the outskirts of town... Hiro: "Oh?" (looks around) "Which way?" kyouko: ah! there it is. -there is a traditional japanese looking home up ahead- Hiro: "Wow. Impressive." kyouko: *knocks on the door* Angela: "I'll get it!" (throws open the door) "Kyouko!" kyouko: hey kiddo, whats up? mifune: ah, hello again, kyouko. Angela: "Hee hee! Been playing hide and seek!" Hiro: "???" kyouko: i brought a few extra groceries for you guys. Angela: "Yay! Thank you!" (hugs her) mifune: thanks. *he smiles* did you want to stay for tea? kyouko: i would if i could, but i have to get back home. maybe next time though. Angela: "Aww..." (frowns) kyouko: tell ya what, next time, i'll bring momo along. Hiro: "..." Angela: (still frowning slightly) "O-kay..." (hugs Kyouko) mifune: *he notices hiro* what about you? Hiro: "Eep!" (calms down) "H-H-Hi...I'm Hiro." mifune: what brings you this way? Hiro: "I was following Kyouko here..." mifune: really now? kyouko: its cool, he's harmless. Hiro: "Y-Yeah! I'm practically useless! ... Harmless." mifune: ........ -later- Alone: (clutching his nose) "I hate rain...Makes my metal implants hurt." kinuta: why do you even _have_ those? Alone: "Bad injury...I didn't want to look weird with half my nose ripped off." kinuta: *cringes* Alone: "Badge of honor for leaving the Immortal Clan...What about you? Rain get on your nerves?" kinuta: eh. Alone: "Bet you prefer sunny weather." kinuta: yeah i do. Alone: "Soak up some rays, get a tan?" kinuta: swimsuit season. hell yes. Alone: "Hee hee...Yeah." Solence: (turns over in bed) "Could you keep it down? I want to sleep." kinuta: its like, midday. Solence: "It's dark out because of the rain..." Alone: (rolls his eyes) -elsewhere- Spirit: (looks out the window) nagisa: *drawing* Spirit: "Oh...What is it?" nagisa: bebe-chan. Spirit: "Bebe-chan? They look cute." -elsewhere- Kid: (looking out a window at the rain) stocking: calming, isnt it? Kid: "Yes. I really like the smell outside after a rain." stocking: *she smiles and snuggles up to him* Kid: (returns the snuggle...) "...Have you ever..." stocking: hmm? Kid: "...Run through rain?" stocking: sometimes, like when i had to get inside really quick. Kid: (nods) "Never just for fun?" stocking: *she chuckles* what are you suggesting? Kid: "...Would you like to run through this rain? In the backyard?" stocking: i'll have to get my rain coat and boots on, but sure, why not? Kid: "I'll get mine, as well. See you in 10?" -THUNDER LIGHTNING- Kid: "Eep!" stocking: you still sure about that? Kid: "N-No...I kinda not want to be electrocuted..." (he is clutching Stocking, like a cat clutching a wall) stocking: hehe~ *she pets his head* Kid: (purrs) "M-Maybe just stay inside...Go outside another time when it is less lightning-y..." stocking: sounds good. Kid: "...Can we keep watching the rain?" (removes his coat jacket) stocking: sure. Kid: (nuzzles against her) "I love you." stocking: i love you too, kiddo~ Kid: (slowly closing his eyes, starting to doze off) stocking: hehe~ cutie~ -elsewhere- Anya: "Ready! I am absolutely ready for this cooking competition!" tsugumi: wow, it looks really good. --Anya made Stuffed Chicken Valentino-- Anya: "Anyone want to sample to let me know how it came out?" Meme: (raises hand) "I'm in!" -elsewhere- Noah: (shaking in his cell) Noelle: [awww, too cold for you?] Noah: "Stop it...The voices are too much..." Noelle: [you weenie] Lust!Noah: [After that snake left you, you're just brimming with desire...But poor baby can't get none] Noah: "..." (slams a fist against the floor) Noelle: [and you kinda did knock her up, so that's there.] Lust!Noah: [Yeah, man--it's great that you just went on into her over and over again. But no condom? Pfft--that was dumb.] Noah: "Shut up...I want out..." guard: hey! quiet in there you! Noah: "Fuck you!" (shakes the bars) "Let me out!" -elsewhere- Hibana: "..." iris: i brought you some tea. Hibana: "...Thanks." (sips) "...Could use honey." iris: of course. *she smiles* Hibana: "...Stop this. Why are you doing any of this?" iris: because we care about you, really. Hibana: "Tch. I find that hard to believe. I steal, brutalize, torture. Of course weaklings like you would say that...You hate me. Stop lying." iris:....well, if you need anything else, let us know, ok? Hibana: "...I feel cold." iris: i'll get you a blanket. Hibana: "...Thank you." -elsewhere- Yumi: (reviewing papers) "Marie, I hate to say it, but your students' writing is awful." marie: t-t i'm trying my best. Yumi: "I didn't mean it was your fault--it's just the students you have seem...inadequate. Are they listening to your instructions?" marie: i'm sure a lot of them are... perhaps i should do a test for them? Yumi: "I think that would help. I have a sample test if it would help you." marie: ok. Yumi: (picks up Christa) "Okay..." (small smile) -elsewhere- Spirit: (sips) lisa: how's the drink? Spirit: "Aaah...Refreshing, thanks!" -in an abandoned subway- Asura: (shaking) tsumiki: hmm? asura? are you alright? Asura: "Something is coming..." (smiles nervously) "I'm excited...but scared." tsumiki: *small yawn*... Asura: "Did you sleep well?" tsumiki: *she nods* Asura: "Good..." (yawns, whimpers...) tsumiki:.... *she strokes his cheek* Asura: (holds her hand...) "The future..." tsumiki: *she nods, rubbing her stomach* Asura: (holds a hand on her stomach as well) -light kick- tsumiki: he seems happy to see you. Asura: (blushes a bit) "Yes..." tsumiki: *she smiles, but notices something* Asura: "What is it?" -a vagrant is walking through the tunnels- Asura: "..." (sends his skin scarves at the vagrant) vagrant: *screaming* Asura: (pulls the vagrant towards them...) "What should we do with this one?" tsumiki: *her stomach growls slightly* Asura: (sadistic grin) "Raw or cooked?" vagrant: *terrified* tsumiki: you want to do it or should i? Asura: "Why don't you?" tsumiki: *she smiles and wraps some hair around the vagrants head, snapping his neck with a loud crack* Asura: "Bon appetite..." tsumiki: *she licks her lips and devours the soul* Asura: "Better?" tsumiki: much better....i'm sure the clowns will enjoy the corpse. **Send in the Clowns...** Asura: "I'm sure..." (kisses her lips) tsumiki: *she ruffles his hair slightly* Asura: "You scare me...in a good way." tsumiki: *she smiles* Asura: (rubs her belly) -elsewhere- Gopher: (sleeping inside the pillow fort) kirika: ...... [thinking: honestly, he's like a baby...] Gopher: (sleeping) "M-Mama..." kirika: ?? Gopher: "Come back...Mama..." kirika: ......... [<> hug him <> leave him be?] <x> Hug kirika: *sigh* fuckin hell.... *she hugs him slightly* Gopher: (shakes a moment, then calms down) "Zzz..." kirika:............. {thinking: you're a real fucked up kid....} Gopher: (continues sleeping, smiling slightly) kirika:... [thinking: then again, i guess im pretty fucked up too....] Gopher: (turns a bit) kirika: hmm? Gopher: (still asleep, wraps his arms around her) kirika: !! nnghhh.... -///-;;; Gopher: (keeps holding her, sleeping soundly) -elsewhere- Patty: (puts Julie to bed) "Night-night, Princess." julie: zzzz....... Patty: (quietly exits, gently shuts the door...her eyes are a bit wet) liz: you ok? Patty: "?! L-Liz! Um...It's nothing..." ("...Would things have been different for Sis if...?") liz: you sure? Patty: "..." ("Not tonight...") (forces a smile) "Y-Yeah...Just getting all emotional seeing Jules so happy." liz: yeah... she's a good kid. Patty: "They all are..." *yawn* "I'll go wash up and get to bed...Any plans for tomorrow?" liz: not sure yet. the rain should lessen up by tomorrow morning... Patty: "Hope so..." (hugs Liz) -in kid's room- Kid: (smiles) "You are so beautiful..." stocking: hehe~ Kid: (strokes her cheek) "Stocking...After everything that has happened, I will never say it enough: I love you." stocking: *she holds his hand* i love you too kid. Kid: (rubs her hand, stares at her face..."Her eyes look so happy...") "I feel at peace with you..." stocking: feeling any better? Kid: (nods) "Lightning can be scary...I still wish we could've run..." (leans into her ear) "You do look good when wet..." stocking: .////. Kid: "And you look good when blushing..." (kisses lightly on her neck) stocking: hehe...say.... you up for something more, you know, naughty~? Kid: (smirks) "I could be convinced..." stocking: do you feel well enough for it? Kid: (nods) "Yes, I am." -the next morning- Kid: "Zzz..." stocking: mmmmm..... Kid: *yawns* "Hello, sexy..." stocking: looking at your reflection again~? Kid: (chuckles) "No, this image is far more beautiful..." (slides a hand along her hip) stocking: mmmm~ Kid: "You were great last night..." (kisses her shoulder) stocking: you too. Kid: (nestles against her bosom) "It's Sunday...I would love to just stay in this bed with you, all day..." stocking: that would be nice, but then you'd never get up for school tommorrow. Kid: "True..." (wraps his arms around her) "It would be nice to travel somewhere...but an actual vacation, somewhere without missions, without a schedule." stocking: yeah... Kid: (kisses her neck) "Anything on the schedule...or do we have an extra few minutes?" -later, elsewhere- shinra: so i heard there's gonna be a BBQ sometime soon for the fall. Arthur: "Oh, that should be fun. I wonder when--Wait...They aren't expecting us to cook the food, are they? With our fire abilities?" shinra: *shrugs* i'll have to ask the commander. Arthur: "Hmmm...Hope the weather is better for the barbeque than this weekend has been." shinra: yeah. Arthur: "Maybe I'll invite Tamaki..." shinra: C:< Arthur: o\\\\\o "Shut up, man." shinra: i didnt even say anything. Arthur: "You were looking at me!" shinra: *whistling* Arthur: "That face is pissing me off! Stop looking that way when I talk about Tamaki!" Akitaru: "Oi, Maki? Arthur's talking about his girlfriend again--you owe me 5 bucks!" maki: *sigh* fiiine. Arthur: o\\\\\o "NOT MY GIRLFRIEND!" shinra: sure boyle. Arthur: "Oh yeah?! At least I actually went out on dates with Tamaki! I'm not pining for someone without just asking her out on a date!" shinra:.................................... Arthur: "So fine--I'll invite Tamaki to the barbeque! And I'll sit back and watch you awkwardly stand around Iris and not say anything to her!" (crosses his arms in a humph) iris: what about me? shinra: *CAT SCREAM* Akitaru: "Um...Maki, Arthur? I think I need you to spot me for my post-breakfast work-out." maki: sure thing sir. Arthur: "Thank goodness...Leave the lovebirds to talk..." -elsewhere- saki:................................... NoFix: "Oh, come on! You call that hitting the target!" --Cardboard cut-outs of crudely drawn images of Yohei, Shotaro, and Mana-- NoFix: "You didn't even touch that one!" --Cut-out of her sister-- saki: ...................... NoFix: "What do I have to do to get you to attack the target accurately?! ... Sigh..." (puts on a large target, stands in front of her) "Hit the target!" (points at the target over his chest) "Hit. That!" -BWAMP- NoFix: *coughs* "W-Wow..." saki:............ NoFix: (blood dripping down his chin...) "Heh...You call that an attack? Pussy." saki: *fires a net-bomb* NoFix: "A net? That's all you got? Come on! At least make me beg for my life!" saki: *grabs him by the neck* .................. NoFix: "Grrt?!" saki: .......... *she aims a gun at his abdomen* NoFix: "..." (smiles) "Yeah, baby..." saki:.............. NoFix: "Do it. I want to feel you inside me." saki:........................................*she drops him* NoFix: "?! Hey! I wanted some pain! Torture! Feels! What, do I have to shoot myself?!" -PUNCH TO THE GUT- NoFix: "Unf! ..." (smiles) "That's nice...You know what is nicer?" (grabs Saki by the back of her neck) saki: !!! NoFix: (slams her head to the floor) saki: !!! NoFix: "Nope! Still not there! You won't be ready until you--" (slams her head again) "--kill--" (slam) "--me!" (slam slam slam) saki: *stabs him through the chest with a metal tentacle protruding from her back* NoFix: (coughs up blood) "...G-Good work..." (limps downward on the tentacle) saki:.................. *she throws him into the wall* NoFix: "Uff!" (slams hard against the wall, then falls to the floor, groans) "Uhhhh..." (tooth falls out) saki:.................................. NoFix: (laughs weakly) "Best you got? I'm the King of Spin. I'll survive this...but I'm not even legally dead yet..." saki:.................... *no reply* NoFix: (crawls up, towards her, until he is grabbing her by the ankle and looking up) "Kill me..." saki:........... *ROCKET TO THE FACE* NoFix: (head explodes...just the neck down is left) saki: target.....eliminated. ???: "Good work." saki:.......... NoFix: (half a head, growing off of muscle stuck on her leg) "That'll kill..." saki: *she scrapes it off her leg* NoFix: "Aw, I just can't get ahead..." (drags himself by his teeth back to the rest of his body to reattach...) saki:........................... NoFix: (half of his head just dangling from his neck) "Take 5. When you get back, we'll practice testicle-punching." saki:..................... NoFix: (head falls off) "Oh, damn it! Mimeca! Get the duct tape!" mimeca: *duct tapes his head to his neck* NoFix: "Ah...Thank you." (head is on backwards) "Take our toaster oven over there to diagnostic; her left hand is slower than her right. And make her scream." -elsewhere- Gopher: "Zzzz..." eibon: ah. there he is...... Gopher: "Wh-What?" (looks around) kirika: zzzzzzzzzz........... eibon: ah, i didnt mean to disturb you, my child. Gopher: *yawn* "It's okay, sir. I was having a very comfortable sleep..." (lies back down a bit...) "Where am I, anyway?" (looks in front of him--) o\\\\\\o eibon: i see you came to visit your little friend again. Gopher: (he is still holding onto her) "S-Sir? How do I extricate myself...?" eibon: *playing notes on his ocarina* kirika: huuzat? Gopher: D: (trying to let go in time...) kirika:........ -PAWNCH- Gopher: x^x kirika:....i'm getting breakfast now. eibon: o-o;; Gopher: (large bandage now on his face) "Why does love hurt...?" eibon: its different for everyone i suppose. Gopher: "Sigh...I guess I had best depart before she pulls out the knives..." kirika: yo. *she has a knife* Gopher: o_____o "Save me!" kirika: ?? i was gonna ask if you wanted buttered toast or not. fuckin' werido. Gopher: (hiding under Eibon) "Y-Yes, toast would be lovely, thank you..." -and so- Kid: "Open wide..." stocking: aaaah~ Kid: (slips the fork of whipped cream and blueberry covered waffle into her mouth) stocking: mmmmmmmm~<3 Kid: "Best thing you've tasted all day?" kirika: do you mind? some of us want to eat and actually keep our breakfast, thanks Gopher: (holding a fork with waffle on it out to her...) kirika:........... *she snatches the fook and eats* Gopher: T^T Kid: (hugs Stocking) "Do you like my waffles?" stocking: they're so tasty~ kirika: pretty good i guess.... Gopher: "Yeah, pretty good, I guess..." -Repeating Kirika's tone and rhythm= Kid: (still snuggling against Stocking) "What would you like to do today, Love?" stocking: how about we go see a movie today? Kid: "Oh, I'd like that! What did you have in mind?" Gopher: (gesturing to himself at Kirika) "Maybe a double-date movie?" kirika: cool it jr. stocking: i'm down for whatever. Kid: "I know one film: it has received both critical acclaim for its nuanced plot and character development, and fans' appreciation for explosions, comedy, romance, and science fiction." stocking: is it star wars? Kid: (smiles, nods) -later, elsewhere- Hiro: (making snacks) hime: *she's studying with her friends* Hiro: "Hime? I finished your snacks." hime: neat. kumi: (one of her friends) thanks, hiro-kun. jenna: (another of her friends) why thank you. Hiro: (smiles) "You're welcome. Dig in!" (pulls out his cell, starts texting...) [AvgGuy: hey e feather. hope ur sunday's going well] [EF-is-not-my-name: it's doing well. just working on decorations for halloween.] [AvgGuy: cool. i still haven't figured out a costume] [EF-is-not-my-name: yeah, me neither. maybe i'll just pick something from the costume raffle box?] [AvgGuy: raffle box?] [EF-is-not-my-name: students who dont know what costume to pick can pick something out from the box at the reception.] [AvgGuy: oh cool! this is just at the dorm?] [EF-is-not-my-name: it's at the school reception desk. just ask auntie tommorrow, or whenever] [AvgGuy: thanx!] -elsewhere- soul: why am i even here? Wes: "I invited you." soul: ..................... Wes: "...So...how was London?" soul:.....eventful. Wes: (nods) "I can imagine...I saw the report about the Fighting Robot Tournament." soul: yeah, that was pretty- *ahem* pretty scary. Wes: "Liz told me how long Kid and Stocking were in the hospital. She said you avoided injuries, right?" soul: mostly..............someone bought one of your records. Wes: "Really?" soul: yeah, he was one of the competitors, and a pretty cool guy. Wes: (nods) "That's good. Was he okay in the attack? Was he hurt?" soul: he managed. he and his friend won because the opponent got their bot wrecked. Wes: "Oh. That's good...I never got into robotics. It seems really complicated." soul: i think it looks kinda cool. Wes: "Yeah, from what I saw on the news they were...I wonder if anyone ever thought of holding one of those tournaments in Death City." soul: who knows. Wes: "Oh...Um, how was the trip back? Any good movie playing on the flight?" soul: wasnt paying much attention. Wes: "Ah..." (taps fingers on the table) "...How are Black Star and Tsubaki?" soul: they're doing pretty good. Wes: (nods) "That's good...They seem like really good people." soul: they sure are. they've been helping me a lot for a while now... Wes: "...That's good." soul:............. Wes: "...Did you see Mom and Dad?" soul:.....................................no. (thinking: thank god...) Wes: (nods) "..." soul:..................... Wes: (clears his throat, sips on water) -a ghost floats past- soul: i see your housemates are doing well. Wes: "...Yes, but I had to take certain measures while you were overseas..." soul: like what? Wes: "...I asked Lord Death for assistance in doing an anti-ghost spell on certain rooms so I could have...privacy." (shudders) "Ghosts popping in on you in the shower is creepy..." ghost girl: sooorry about that~ ^^; Wes: o\\\\o soul: *snerk* i dont think liz would be too fond of that. Wes: (blushing harder) "No, she wouldn't..." (sighs) "I don't know what I'm doing..." soul: dude i was joking, jeez. Wes: "I-I-I know...I just...I wish I was as calm as you are around girls. I've been Liz's friend for so long that...I worry if I missed my chance." soul: chance? Wes: "I feel like Liz and I have been talking so long with each other, only having half-dates now and then that...I'm attracted to her. But does she see me as a potential boyfriend, or just a friend?" soul: beats me... maybe you should just talk to her? Wes: "Yeah..." -elsewhere- Kid: "What did you think?" stocking: pretty good. *she smiles* so now what? Kid: -___- "Maybe let the other couple have some alone time..." Gopher: -^- (trying to put his hand near Kirika's...) kirika: *headlock* shut it stripes. Gopher: "Erk!" (face going red as he panics about losing oxygen) Kid: "...Promise me we never get to a point in which we strangle each other..." stocking: aw, babe of course not....unless you're into that~ Kid: o\\\\o "N-Not really! Seems a little too violent." stocking: ok. *she hugs him softly* Kid: (returns the hug back, smiling) Gopher: (his soul is leaving his body) x^x -elsewhere- Yumi: (relaxing in the bathtub, candles lit around) "Ah...So peaceful..." (picks up the crossword puzzle and a pen) -elsewhere- Nals: "Medusa Gorgon? He wants to speak with you." medusa: fine, fine..... Nals: (leads her to the cell) "The barrier will prevent him from harming you." medusa: good.....well, look how the mighty have fallen~ Noah: (unshaven, shirt ripped by himself, clutching a blanket, shaking) "Y-You?" medusa: i almost feel sorry for you...well, almost~ Noah: (tries to stand, opening up his arms to her) "L-Let me out..." medusa: ah-ah-ah~ look but dont touch~ Noah: (reaches a hand forward, slowly, trembling, even as he sees the barrier) "Please...They don't stop..." medusa: hmm? Noah: (clutches his head...sobbing) medusa: clearly this is wasting my time. later. Noah: "No! Get back here!" grimoire: ....... *observing* Noah: (slams his fists on the barrier) "I gave you power!" grimoire: *whistles* that sounded bad. Noah: "Let me out! Give me something!" -upstairs- Ponera: (rubbing the sides of her head) "Gah, so noisy." medusa: tell me about it... Ponera: "What happened to that guy? It's like he can't handle a break-up." medusa: i think he's being pissy about being in jail. Ponera: "We gave him excellent accommodations! ... Good accommodations... Adequate... ...We gave him a blanket." medusa: i could see. Ponera: "Hmph. Well, we have to do something to shut him up. Maybe gag him?" -elsewhere- Kid: (whistling) stocking: how's your costume coming along? Kid: (smiles) "Very well! I should be ready to try it on this upcoming week." stocking: me too. Kid: "I look forward to seeing it..." (leans towards her ear) "Perhaps this vamp will have you under his spell..." stocking: oh~? Kid: (kisses her ear lightly) "Fall under my spell, Miss Pheles..." stocking: i think i already did~<3 Kid: (faces her, hugs her) "I love you..." -later- *Knock knock on Gallows Mansion* stocking: *panting* ahhhh.... Kid: (sighs, massaging her) "H-How do you feel?" stocking: *shuddering* ahhh...t-that was amazing~.... Kid: (kisses neck) "Y-Yeah..." (pulls back, looking at her) "You look stunning...The sweat glistening on you..." stocking: *bluuuush* Kid: "I want to lick it off of your blushing body..." (rubs her hip) stocking: g-go ahead then.... Kid: (takes her right leg, lifting it up, as he licks along the inside of her foot) stocking: kya~ t-that tickles! Kid: (smiles, as he licks down her leg) "You always taste so sweet..." stocking: ahhhh~ Kid: (he licks along her hip...and takes a small bite) stocking: oh! Kid: "S-Sorry! Too much?" stocking: hehe~ Kid: "..." (licks the bite very lightly) stocking: ahh~ Kid: "Stocking...Grab the headboard..." stocking: ok.... Kid: (goes down to her ankles, lifting them up to lay on his shoulders and to guide her back to arch...) stocking: ohh... *blush* Kid: (slides her legs along his shoulders until his lips reach her inner thighs...kissing lightly) stocking: ahhhh~ Kid: "Shall I begin?" stocking: y-yes.. Kid: (slowly, lightly kisses along her lips) stocking: ahhhhn~ -elsewhere- *Knocking still on Gallows Mansion front door* liz: coming! yeah? Wes: "H-Hi, Liz." liz: oh, hey wes, i wasnt expecting you here. Wes: "Yes, sorry I didn't call ahead. May I come in?" liz: sure. Wes: "How are you?" liz: pretty good. we have our new family members living here now, did i tell you about that? Wes: (smiles) "Yes. Soul had told me a bit about it, too. I'm happy that you saved them." liz: i'm happy too. *she smiles* i'm glad i met them... Wes: "How have they been settling?" liz: pretty good. julie especially. Wes: "Julie? She's the youngest, right?" liz: yeah, 6 years old. Wes: (smiles) "That's good. A six-year-old deserves a good home...and supportive extended family." liz: yeah....................*small frown* she'd be around the same age as..... Wes: "??? 'As'?" liz: hmm?? n-nevermind.... Wes: "...Liz? I wanted to ask..." liz: hmm? Wes: "It's been awhile since we got to talk. Would you be interested in getting together, maybe next week, for coffee?" liz: sure, sounds great. *she smiles* Wes: (smiles back) "Great. Tuesday afternoon, after your classes?" liz: sure thing. Wes: "I'll see you then." (looks at his watch) "Well, I guess I better get going..." liz: well, see you then. Wes: "Y-Yeah..." (stands up) -later- Kid: (panting) stocking: *panting and twitching, overwhelmed with pleasure* Kid: (clutches her, as he kisses along her chest) stocking: ahhhhhh~! Kid: "Oh, God!" (pants more, before he latches his lips along her nipple) -once their climaxes subsided- Kid: (cuddling) "Mmmm..." -the next morning, at school- Kid: (book opened to maps of Volcana) liz: i thought it was 'Valcona?' Kid: "...Sigh...Such typos in this book...Set this one aside, try a better one." liz:...... Kid: "I want to find these remaining Sages. Who knows what threat can emerge next...?" liz: yeah...i'm sure we'll find them soon. Kid: "I hope so. What is our next class?" liz: looks like math next. Kid: "Oh dear...Stocking?" stocking: *sigh* i can manage. *crack knuckles* bring it on!! **It is brought** -at lunch- stocking: q-q Kid: (pats her back) "It's okay..." stocking: at least it was better than i usually do... Kid: (smiles) "See? There is progress." stocking:.... *she smiles* Kid: "Cupcake?" (holds one up to her) stocking: yes please. Kid: (slowly peels the wrapping) "Say 'Ah'..." stocking: aaaah~ Kid: (leans the dark chocolate cherry cupcake to her mouth...) stocking: *lick* Kid: (puts the cupcake to her mouth) stocking: mmmmm~<3 Kid: (after she finishes eating, leans in and whispers in her ear...) "I love what you do with your mouth..." stocking: 7///u///7 Kid: "You have a crumb there..." (drags his finger lightly over the corner of her mouth) -elsewhere in the lunch room- Hiro: (staring at his Halloween costume ticket) "Aw, man..." soul: what did you get? < > Princess < > Knight < > Kitty Cat <x> cat Hiro: "Cat. Man..." -elsewhere- Alone: "I hate Halloween." kinuta: why's that, does everyone get scared of you? Alone: "I wish. It's just a day where everyone stereotypes werewolves. You know what that's like, right? I mean, as a witch." kinuta: tch- Alone: "What? You like Halloween or something?" kinuta: well, considering all the sexy costume choices to seduce people with... Alone: "So you got pretty lucky that night?" kinuta: oh yes~<3 Alone: "Too bad you're stuck in here. What would you wear for this Halloween?" kinuta: hmmm.... that's a good question... perhaps a sexy little red riding hood~ *wink* Alone: "And I'd be the Big Bad Wolf...and eat you all up~!” kinuta: would you now~? Alone: (licks his chops) kinuta: where would you start~? Alone: "Your crotch! Just shove my snout all there!" kinuta: well arent you forward~ Alone: "Heh heh...Yeah..." kinuta: it sucks the cages are so far apart, cause if they were next to each other then- eruka: lunch time! Alone: (slobbering) "Oh yeah!" eruka:.... *pushes the bowl in slowly* Alone: (grabs Eruka's hand) eruka: *SCREEEEAM* Alone: (pulls her towards the cell) "Hey, Froggy! Let me get a taste!" (licks his lips) eruka: NOOOOOO!!!! Q~Q Alone: (his slobber falling on the floor as he opens his mouth--) eruka: *trying to pull away* NO! BAD DOG! BAD DOG!! Alone: "Yeah, I'm a bad dog! Say it again! Say it a--" ???: (fist grabs at Alone's wrist) Alone: "???" ???: (snaps the wrist, breaking it) Alone: *ROWR!* "WHAT THE HELL?!" kinuta: *wince* oooh. Free: (death glare at Alone) eruka: *HIDES BEHIND FREE, CLUTCHING HIM* Q~~~~Q Free: "..." (pats the top of Eruka's head) "Let's go get Naigus. They'll need to knock him out to splint his wrist or something." eruka: thanks free.... *she hugs him* Free: (returns the hug) "No problem." Alone: "My fucking wrist! You stupid turn-coat wolf! I'll kill you!" nygus: we'll take it from here. Alone: "Back off, Nurse! I'm not gonna rest until his fucking head is off his--" Free: (eyeroll) "Just knock him out already." -TRANQUIL DART'D- Alone: "...Oh, look--pretty fireflies..." (collapses on the floor) -later- kinuta: well, sucks that you got rejected. Alone: (whimpering, rubbing his wrist...and they put the Cone of Shame on him) "I hate Halloween even more now..." kinuta: too bad. Alone: "Big help you were, Gas-Bag!" Solence: (hiding under his bed) kinuta: tch- what a little weenie. Solence: "I want to go home, I want to go home..." (wheezes, then takes a breath on an inhaler) kinuta: get over yourself. Solence: (whimpering) "If he ever finds me again...I'm dead..." kinuta: who? big wolfie? Solence: "N-No..." Alone: "Good! Because if you were afraid of me, I'd--" kinuta: then who? Solence: "NoFix..." kinuta: no-huh? Alone: "...Oh God!" (hides under his bed) kinuta: am i missing something here, hun? Solence: (pops out from under his bed) "See?! He's insane! He can't be reasoned with!" Alone: (pops out as Solence hides) "NoFix! Dokeshi! Madman! Crazy person! Mass murderer! One-man army!" kinuta: ????? Solence: "You never heard of NoFix?! Lucky you! You hear that name, YOU RUN! He'll straight-up slaughter you then wear your face as a mask for a week!" kinuta: woooow, sounds like the life of the party. Alone and Solence: "He's not the life of the party! He's the death of it!" kinuta: you babies. Alone: "Someone...Hold me." Solence: "Ditto..." -elsewhere- NoFix: (blowing on a party horn) mimeca: *using noise makers and air-horns* saki:................ NoFix: *sniff* "Mimeca, our little girl is growing up so fast. So far she has successfully killed me 41 times: beheading, disemboweling, blood loss, crushed heart, crushed pelvis, crushed appendix, impalement, derailment, flaying, slaying, whipping, whooping, and of course, peanut allergies and sinus infections." mimeca: *claps* saki:............................. NoFix: "And so, we commemorate this occasion--with dessert!" (a giant three-decker cake with a "41" at the top...and decorated not with candles but dynamite sticks) saki: *aims her machine gun and shoots the cake to bits* NoFix: "..." (He's over there...and over there...and over there...and on the ceiling...) mimeca:......... *licks frosting off of his scalp* saki: target eliminated. NoFix: *cough* "Make that 42 deaths..." *sniff* "I'm so proud of my sexy girl." saki:..... *aims but does not shoot* NoFix: "...Pst, Mimeca? I think she's trying to shoot you..." saki:..... *aims at nofix* NoFix: "...Oh...crap." saki:.................................................................. *she doesnt do anything* NoFix: "Um...Why aren't you killing me again? After all, no kill like overkill..." saki: -click click- bullet supply empty. NoFix: (sigh of relief) "Good...I didn't want to die again without some cake!" (licks some off the wall nearby...which is mixed with his remains) "...Ew! This one has my colon in it!" grunt: o_o; NoFix: "I mean, my kidneys taste great, but the colon?!" (stares at the Grunt, still just a head in Mimeca's hands) "...What?! What do you want, Grunt #87?!" grunt: since you've now...er... regrown.....maybe take a shower? to wash the- NoFix: "What? Wash off the cake? Wash off my remains? Spit it out!" grunt: th-the blood...sir..... grunt 2: we'll even get your special shower mitten for you! NoFix: "...Fine. Big baby." (snaps his fingers) "Grunts #87 and #14 and Saki: give me a sponge bath! With the rubber duckies!" grunts: yes sir! saki:........ NoFix: (puts on the mitten) "And you, Yohei, get to wash my sensitive areas! Won't that be fun?!" grunt 3: there goes _my_ libido for the rest of the month... Grunt 4: "I'm telling you, if it weren't for the benefits, I'd quit months ago." grunt 3: _what_ benefits?! Grunt 4: "Well, we're still alive, right?" grunt 3: yeah but for how long? NoFix: "HOW ABOUT TWENTY MINUTES IF YOU DON'T GET THIS ROOM CLEANED UP LICKETY-SPLIT..." grunt 3: YES SIR!! Grunt 4: "Aye-aye!" (starts scrubbing) NoFix: (marches into the shower room, whistling "Rubber Ducky") NoFix: (lies back as they sponge him...while the Yohei mitten goes to his groin...) "Clean it with your mouth..." grunt: O_____O;;;;; NoFix: >:D "Oh, baby, you know just how I like it..." (suggestive noises and grunts) grunt: [thinking: WHY?!?!] NoFix: "Yes...Yes...Oh, yes...Ah...Ah...Ah...YOHEI-CHAAAAAN!!!" (passes out from pleasure) grunt:..............................uhhhh NoFix: "Zzz..." Grunt 3: you know what, dying doesnt sound that bad at this point. Grunt 4: "Want to share a cyanide tablet?" grunt 3: is there enough? mimeca: *grabs them by the neck and puts their heads under the water* Grunt 4: o____O *garble garble...* (bubbles rise up) grunt 3: NOOOOO NOT THE CUM WATER! NOT THE CUM WATER!!! NoFix: "Aw, you made me a Grunt-powered jacuzzi, Mimeca--that's so sweet!" (leans back...then stops) "Hey, why did the bubbles stop?" saki:....................................... NoFix: (gets out of the water, towels off) "Nothing like murder, regeneration, and Puppet Bath Time to stimulate the loins and one's bloodlust." *yawn* "Time for sleep for me and to plug Saki into the wall outlet." mimeca: *salutes* NoFix: "Nighty-night, Mimeca. Make sure to plug in Saki." -there is a yohei doll and a saki doll in the bed- NoFix: (cuddling with his Yohei and Saki dolls) "Good night, Yohei. I'll be dreaming of Ho Yay with you." (kisses his cheek) "Good night, Saki. Tomorrow will be even more fun as you kill me over and over again...Aw, love." (kisses that doll) -the next morning, elsewhere- Kid: "Zzz..." stocking: morning kiddo~ Kid: (yawns) "Morning..." (kisses her forehead) "...Stocking?" stocking: yeah? Kid: "I love you." stocking: i love you too, kiddo~ Kid: (hugs her) "I just want to keep saying that..." (yawns, starts to fall asleep again against her chest) -at the coffee shop- liz: so what do you want to order? Wes: "Well, it is the season, so a pumpkin spice latte." Wes: "How about you?" liz: same thing for me then. **They get their drinks** Wes: "How was your day?" liz: pretty good today. Wes: (nods) "That's good. How was Patty behaving in class?" liz: a little better i think. Wes: "College is suiting her well, then." (sips on his drink) "Hmm...This is good." liz: mmm... Wes: "..." (laughs a bit) Wes: "Liz, you got a bit of whipped cream on your nose..." liz: oh? Wes: (takes a napkin, lightly wipes it from her nose...) liz: hehe. Wes: (smiles) "I love your laugh." liz: *blush* um..thanks. Wes: (blushes as well) "..." liz:................ Wes: (clears his throat) "So, have you got a date for the Halloween Dance?" liz: nah. Wes: "...Would you like to be...my date?" liz: *bluuuuush* y-you sure about that? Wes: (nods) "Yes. I have enjoyed the time I have gotten to spend with you, and...I would like to spend more time with you, if you want." liz: i...i would like that. Wes: "Cool...Um, have you picked a costume yet?" liz: not yet. Wes: "Were you thinking of something scary for a costume?" liz: i dunno....maybe i could go as samus aran? Wes: "Oh...Hmmm...Maybe I could try something similar...I haven't played video games in a while...Would I look like a dork if I went as Luigi?" liz: i'll see if i can talk soul into being mario. Wes: (smiles) "Thanks..." ???: "Hey! You two going to order something to eat or--Oh, crap! DWMA?!" liz: ?? Kepuri: (in Deathbucks uniform) "...Crap." liz: arent you that bug chick? Kepuri: "The name is Kepuri! And thanks to you and your stupid friends, I'm on probation!" Wes: "???" liz: yeah, i remember that. *she chuckles+sighs* those were the days. Kepuri: "They were not the days! I almost got killed by that lunatic madman at the tournament! I was locked up with weirdos! I almost got burned to death in a lab! Now I have to wear this?!" (holds the edges of the skirt) Wes: (stares...just a second too long at the skirt) liz:... wes!! Wes: o\\\\o "Wh-What?" Kepuri: "..." (smirks, leans down) "What can I get for you, cutie?~" liz: dont. Wes: "I-I'm fine. Thank you." (turns away, facing Liz again) Kepuri: (smirks, as she walks away...bouncing just a bit so the skirt bounces with her) liz: ...........hey CM, need an extra hand? Wes: (sips on his drink...) "They have surprising waitress outfits at Deathbucks..." Master: "What? Yeah, sure." -and so, after one waitressing session later- Wes: o\\\\\\o Kepuri: -_-; "You're pathetic." -meanwhile- shinra: why are we doing this again? -he's shirtless- Arthur: (shirtless as well) "I have no idea. I blame you for this." maki: it's for the 119 calendar. *she and iris are fully clothed still* Arthur: *grumble* "I'm not some piece of meat...At least Tamaki isn't here..." maki: at least you two arent alone in this. shinra: why arent you doing this? Akitaru: (flexing shirtless in the background) maki: the girl's did their calendar last year. Arthur: "Wh-What?! I didn't know there was one of those..." Takehisa: (shirtless, blushing) "Yes. They sold out fast." iris: the 119 does a calendar each year. they sell pretty quickly like warm pies..... maki: dont you mean 'hotcakes?' iris: yeah that.... ^^; Arthur: "...I bet when they see my physique, I'll make the calendars sell faster than Shinra's scrawny body will." shinra: *covering himself* sh-shut up... Akitaru: "No body shaming, Boyle!" (flexing) "Flex with me, boys!" iris: .////.;;; Arthur: (smirks at Shinra, flexing...) shinra: *trips and pantses arthur* oh.....oh no..... maki: *COVERS IRIS' EYES* Arthur: o____o Arthur: "How dare you!" (runs at Shinra) shinra: HOLY SHIT I AM SORRY! *RUNS* Akitaru: (in Speedo) "No rough-housing!" -elsewhere- Kid: (finishes cleaning the bedroom) "Ah, done..." lord death: heya kiddo. Kid: "Oh, Father! Hi! How are you?" lord death: doing good, you? Kid: "Great! Room is cleaned, and things have been so much better since getting out of the hospital." lord death: thats great! Kid: "...How is Mother?" lord death: she's doing well.....how do you feel? Kid: "Good...Just thinking about everything coming up: new sibling, the Halloween party...the future..." lord death: just take it one day at a time, son. Kid: (nods) "Any plans for the Halloween Dance?" lord death: well, we were thinking of having a fund raiser event to expand parts of the city and school. Kid: "Oh, that's good. What kind of fundraiser?" lord death: not sure yet, we might have a poll to decide on it. Kid: (nods) "I think that will be good for helping the city." -elsewhere- Giriko: (holding three bags full of candy) arachne: remember some of those are for the trick-or-treaters, ok? Giriko: -_-; "I-I know that! I just, you know, wanted a sample..." (pulls out Halloween bowls) arachne: hmhm. i know. Giriko: (unwraps a piece of chocolate) "Want some?" arachne: i'm fine for now. Giriko: (eats the chocolate, then sets the bowls on the table) "Okay, that'll be it for me..." (stares at the candy) o______o; arachne: is something wrong? Giriko: "Just...I tend to be a glutton, so..." (digs through desk) "...maybe I need something to stop my urges..." (puts a rubberband on his wrist--next to five other rubberbands marked with different words: "cigarettes," "alcohol," "mass murder") arachne: ahh. Giriko: "How 'bout you? Any bad habits you been trying to get rid of?" arachne: does 'attempted world domination' cound as a bad habit? Giriko: "..." (hands her a rubberband) arachne: *she chuckles* thanks. Giriko: "Any time, babe...Does that earn me an extra piece of candy?" arachne: *she smiles and snaps his rubber band* Giriko: "Ow!" (nervous smile) "Hurts so good, though..." -elsewhere- Patty: (whispers into Julie's ear) julie: hehe~ Patty: (pulls back) "Guess what I told Jules, Sis?" liz: what? Patty: "About Wes!" liz: o////////////o Patty: "So why don't you tell Jules a bit more about your dreamboat?" liz: errrr...... >///////////////////////////> Patty: (to Julie) "He's her hot boyfriend." liz: PATTI!! Patty: "See how shy she is? That's how you know she has it bad for him." kirika: ha! Patty: "And Ki-ki over here likes Galapagos!" kirika: dont call me that! julie: galaga...gapalaga....gagalagapos? Patty: "You know, that short guy with the v-shaped frown that was spooning with Kiki last night in your pillow fort?" julie: oooooh! kirika: s-shush it you! Patty: "Ha ha ha! Nope! My sisters got huge crushes!" (pulls out her phone) "Time to tell the world!" liz+kirika: NOOO!!! *TACKLED* julie: *laughing* Patty: (struggling, her phone now half-way away from her) "Gak! Unhand me! Must violate the privacy of others with social media!" heather: --; Patty: "...Oh. Hi, Heather. Um...How's it hanging?" heather: same as usual. -elsewhere- Black Star: (whistling in the apartment) soul: zzzzz..... Black Star: "Hmm...He's still sleeping?" tsubaki: looks like it. Black Star: "Man...He's been pretty exhausted lately." tsubaki: after the london incident, i cant blame him... Black Star: "Yeah...I heard he met with Wes." tsubaki:....... *she picks him up and carries him to his room* that took a lot of guts from him... Black Star: (nodded) "Wes, though--I don't get that guy. He just doesn't get Soul. Now he's trying to hook up with Liz?" tsubaki: *shrugs* Black Star: "Jeez. Sometimes, I want to punch Wes in the arm. He's just not a very good bro." tsubaki: maybe we could talk to him? Black Star: (chuckling, as he pounds a fist into his hand) "Yeah!" -the next morning- Kid: *yawn* stocking: zzzz...... Kid: (snuggles) "Mmm..." -at school- Patty: "What's the first class?" liz: looks like weapon studies. Patty: "Awesome! Let's see what Kid can do with us...Maybe he can make us have, like, multiple guns growing out of us!" liz: i kinda doubt that. Kid: "My soul is not _that_ malleable. Let's just listen to this lesson from--" Spirit: "Okay, we start today with some methods for improving weapons' abilities. This will depend on meisters as well today." tsubaki: *listening* Spirit: "While it is the responsibility of the weapon to protect the meister, do not overlook your commitment to your weapon, especially outside of combat." -later- Patty: (stretches) liz: *siiigh* that felt nice. soul:.......................................... tsubaki:....... its going to be alright, soul. Black Star: (pats Soul's shoulder) -later- soul: why did you guys bring me here? Black Star: "To punch your brother in the face." tsubaki: no black*star. Black Star: (grumbles, knocks on Wes's door...) ???: "Coming!" **A Ghost opens the door** Ghost: "Oh! Welcome!" Black Star: o__o "S-Sorry. Still not used to...how...transparent you guys are..." Ghost: (frowns) "Wes! Your brother is here!" Wes: (calling) "Really?!" (sounds of him running) "Soul!" soul: 7-7;;; Wes: (comes to the door, arms opened--then stops) o_o; "Oh...Um, hi, Soul. Black Star, Tsubaki..." Black Star: (pounding his fist in his hand...) tsubaki: down boy. *ahem* hello wes. mind if we come in? Wes: "Of course." (clears the door to let them into the sitting room) soul:..................................................... Wes: (sits on the couch) "...Um...Can I get you guys any drinks?" tsubaki: some tea if you have any. soul:.......................... Black Star: "Pop." Wes: "Soul?" soul: im good tsubaki: i think he'll have water. Black Star: (frowning at Soul to accept it) Wes: (nods) "Let me call a ghost to bring it..." -and so- soul:................*glaring at wes* Wes: .___. "...So, it's great to see you all here. How is this week treating you?" soul: coulda been better.... Wes: "Oh? What's been going on?" soul: oh i dunno, maybe its because i've been forced to spend time with my so called 'brother'. Wes: "...Oh." soul:........................ Wes: "..." (clears his throat) "Soul, I like spending time with you. I do. I don't want to force you to..." soul: oh really? when where the hell was this side of you when i was growing up? when i needed your support the most? oh thats right! you were toooo busy with you oh so important performances! i mean, its not like your dad called me some mistake against nature for being a weapon, oh wait a minute, yes he did! Wes: "...Soul, I was there. We were in the same house, on the same trips, at the same meals..." Black Star: (eye roll) soul: then if you really were there for me, why didnt you stand up to the old man? afraid of a blemish on your reputation? Wes: "Soul, it...I'm sorry for what Father said. But I...I didn't know what to do..." soul: well maybe you could have defended me, how about that? oh and when i got sliced across the chest? did dear big bro visit me? NOPE! nothing! not even a fucking get well soon card! Wes: (frowning) "Wait just a minute--you try standing up to Father with the way he acted! And I did send you a card! I handed it to my assistant--...Oh." soul: oh reeeeally now? wooooow way to screw it up once again! how does it feel bro? knowing no matter how much you fucking try and try again, nothing you do is ever fucking good enough for mom and dad!?.......... !!!! tsubaki: ......soul..... Wes: "...You're right. It's never good enough..." soul:.........................*trembling* Wes: "It took a lot of therapy to figure out when I'm good enough, despite...despite what...Father said..." soul:................................................ Wes: "...You're right. I never stood up for you against Father and Mother. I screwed up. I didn't stay in contact with you because--because--" soul: why? you were too busy with your fame and fortune? Wes: "Because I thought you were fine without me!" soul:....................................................... Wes: "You left! I didn't know what you were doing! But you were with the DWMA, the big times! And I--I--" (rips out his wallet from his pocket and throws it down, opening up to reveal something inside...) soul:............. *he examines it* --Inside is a newspaper clipping, about a DWMA fight against an opponent...showing a photo of Maka wielding Soul-- soul:..........................*he strokes the picture of maka*.................. *trembling more* d-do they know? did you tell them where i went? Wes: (shakes his head no) soul:......................maka..... Black Star: "..." (tearing up) tsubaki: *she pats soul's back* Wes: "..." (walks over to Soul's couch, puts a hand on his shoulder) soul:............i feel sick..... Wes: "Can I get you something?" Wes: (pulling a box of tissues forward) soul: .......................................................thanks.... Wes: (hands a tissue to him) soul: *sniff*..... Wes: "..." (pulls him in for a hug) soul:..................*silently accepts it* Wes: "I'm sorry, Soul." soul:.............................*mumbling* its not your fault...... Wes: (hearing it) "A lot of things are..." -later- Ghost #1: (patting tissue to face) "So beautiful..." (hands box of tissues to...) soul: zzzzzzzz........... Wes: "Zzzz..." -in soul's dreamscape- ???: "...Hello?" soul: maka? **Through the mists, Maka walks forward, smiling** soul: *he hugs her* Maka: "I'm so happy to see you...How are you?" soul: well..... -he explains the situation- Maka: "Oh..." (she looks down) soul: what should i do? Maka: "...I never had any siblings...If I had one, and could be with them..." soul: ................ Maka: "Soul, I want you to try to forgive Wes. You only have so much time..." soul:......ok....i-i'll try....for your sake.... Maka: (smiles) "That's my weapon..." soul: um....d-did you so something with your hair? *slight blush* Maka: o\\\\o "Y-Yeah...I figured, since, you know, I'm...not physically here, I could at least change a bit...in this area." soul: i-its nice. Maka: "Th-Thank you...Soul?" soul: yeah? Maka: "You...look different, too. You've gotten taller." soul: yeah.....black*star's voice is finally starting to crack. Maka: *snort* "Really?! About time..." (laughs a bit) "Even with puberty finally kicking in for him...I doubt he is as...handsome as you are." soul: um...... 7////7;;; y-you still have fat ankles. Maka: -_- "Way to kill the mood. Well, you could use a haircut, you hippie." soul: i was joking....but yeah.....i probably could use a shave too... Maka: "I don't know about that..." (pokes his chin, rubbing there) "I think that looks nice..." soul: ./////////////. Maka: (chuckles) "You are so easy..." soul:............*he leans into her* this feels nice.... Maka: (blushing a bit, even as she leans in) "Soul..." soul: maka- ????: .........rning soul.... ???: *Yawn* "Soul?" soul: huh? ???: "Hey! Get up, dude!" soul: im up im up what is it? Black Star: *Yawn* "It's morning, man..." Wes: "...I made breakfast?" soul:....*yaaaawn* cool.... Wes: "...Cool...I'll prep your plate in the dining room..." -and so- tsubaki: thanks for having us over. Wes: "No problem. You all are always welcome here..." soul: we hould be heading to school now...oh wes? Wes: "Yes?" soul:......*weak smile* thanks man. Wes: "...You're welcome..." (opens his arms) soul: h-hey, i gotta get to school and- Wes: (hugs Soul) soul:................*hugs back a bit* Wes: "Have a good day, bro." -later, at school- Black Star: "Man, those ghosts kept me up half the night..." tsubaki: i didnt really mind. Black Star: "You must have slept like a rock. Wish I was in your bed--er, room." tsubaki: hehe...*yaaawn* talking with them helped a bit... Black Star: "...Anything interesting they tell you?" tsubaki: just what happened in that place......i think masamune enjoyed the company.... Black Star: "..." (nods) "That's good..." -classes begin- Kid: "What is the first class, Stocking?" stocking: zoology it looks like. Patty: (perks up) "Giraffes..." Kid: -_-; "I just hope Stein isn't leading the class. We can't afford vivisecting more endangered species..." Tezca: "Okay, I need a volunteer to help me tend to this little gal..." (pets a kitten) "Any volunteer?" kirika+tamaki: *RAISING THEIR HAND* Tezca: "...Two work. Come on down, Kiki and um Tamaki!" kirika: its kirika. -after petting and looking after the kitty- kirika: =w= ~<3 tamaki: i think we broke her. Tezca: "Great! Learning to tend to a small kitten is important for soldiers: you have to know how to react to them, predict their behavior, but be gentle. Now we can try with a bigger example!" *ROWR* tamaki: uhhhh... *SWEATS* **A lion walks into the classroom** -at lunch- kirika: *convered in bandages* worth it. Patty: "You did great work, Kirika! Petting, rubbing his tummy, serving as his human chew toy..." kirika: yeah....um...gopher i think thats enough bandages now. -_-; Gopher: "I didn't get all of the cuts though...Are there any other cuts I should tend to? Maybe somewhere else..." kirika: *tiny chop* down boy. Gopher: "Y-Yes..." ("That hurt much less...She is being kind to me! :D") -after school- liz: so where to? Patty: "You know, that lion chewing Kirika makes me think that we should take the kids to the zoo again soon...But for today, I don't know...You hungry?" stocking: yeah. how about you kid? Kid: (nods) "Any suggestions?" < > Cafe <x> Restaurant < > Sweets liz: how about a restaurant? Patty: "Oh, yeah! I could go for a late lunch/pre-dinner! Maybe chinese?" -elsewhere- Nals: -___- "I do not know which is more tortuous...when I'm on guard duty to that odd clone of Grimoire...or being around _you_." milia: i'd say being around mr angry pants. *she hugs him* besides, we get to go on another mission later together, isnt that great, nalsie~? <3 Nals: T___T "Why...?" milia: its some recon work back home in france. <doesnt that sound wonderful?> Nals: *groan* "Who are we surveilling?" milia: *shrugs* i think we're recruiting another monster called 'killbell?' Nals: "And where is this monster usually seen?" milia: i brought a visual guide~<3 Nals: "Really?" milia: *she shows said visual guide.....done in crayon* Nals: "...So, the circles in red...?" milia: *nods* -other drawings include a building, killbell himself, and nals with hearts around him- Nals: "..." ("I want to crumble this...but knowing her, this is likely the only map we have...") "Fine. We'll depart at the agreed upon hour." milia: yay! *she hugs him* Nals: "Grt! Aaah! Stop that!" -elsewhere- Spirit: "Hello, Blair." blair: hey spirit. *she smiles* Spirit: "How are you doing? How's Nagisa?" blair: she's doing well, making lots of new friends at school. Spirit: "Aw, that's great! She deserves to." -elsewhere- chie:...................... Yohei: "Chie?" chie: ah! yohei you scared me..... Yohei: "Sorry, I didn't mean to. ... A lot on your mind, huh?" chie: yeah......*she's staring at the picture* Yohei: "..." (pats her shoulder) "You're going to bring her home." chie: ....i just want her home safe.....i just want my big sister back...*whimpering* Yohei: "I know..." (puts his arms around her in a hug) chie: !!! ...... *she hugs back, crying silently* Yohei: (holds her, letting her cry) chie: *sniff*....y-yohei? Yohei: "Yes?" chie: this might sound like a weird thing to ask but, c-can i sleep in your bed again tonight? n-not like sex or something, i just- Yohei: "Sure." chie: *weak smile* t-thanks... Yohei: "...Come on. Go get ready for bed. You need some sleep." -in bed- chie: ......... *laying next to him* Yohei: "...Do you have enough room?" chie: i think so... Yohei: "..." (pulls the sheet up over her shoulder...) "That okay?" chie: yeah... Yohei: "Okay...You ready to sleep? Should I turn the light off?" chie: not yet.... could we talk a little more? it helps me fall asleep. Yohei: (nods) "Sure...Whatever you want to discuss." chie: *she smiles* it kind of reminds me of when saki and i would camp out in our living room. she'd bring the dvds and i'd bring the snacks. then we'd tell each other stories. Yohei: (smiles) "Yeah? What kind of stories?" chie: just random stuff.... what about you? Yohei: "...I couldn't sleep growing up. A lot of noise around me back then." chie: ah..... *she hugs him a bit* Yohei: (slight blush) "Y-Yeah...I spent late hours fiddling with computers...re-building Mom's vacuum into a robot..." chie: *chuckles* did you really? Yohei: (small smile) "It ended up just making a bigger mess--blowing out dust all over the carpet. She was so pissed..." chie: oh boy. Yohei: "I was grounded for maybe a week...which just meant staying in my room and getting better at building more 'bots. You should've seen the Breakfast Bot I made..." chie: this outta be interesting. Yohei: (smiles a bit more) "It worked fine at cracking eggs and separating shells from the contents, mixing them with the flour and ingredients for waffle batter...but the coffee, orange juice, and milk dispensers, I didn't calibrate their pressure correctly..." chie: *she chuckles* Yohei: (smiles fades a bit) "Dad...wasn't too happy about that." chie: oh....... Yohei: "...Every afternoon, I tried to stay at school as long as I could. I finished at age 16, and ran away from home..." chie:............yohei.... Yohei: "College finished in two years...Dokeshi Hunt after that...stupidly helped Fear Factory...got stuck with those dorks Shotaro and Mana..." chie: and then i came along? Yohei: (smile returns) "Yeah." chie:....*she smiles a bit* Yohei: "...Shotaro always smiles a lot around you. I think Mana is happy to have another girl around..." chie: i suppose, its like i'm their mom, haha. Yohei: "Yeah, I guess so..." chie: ......... Yohei: "...I guess...I'm the dad?" chie: .///////. Yohei: "...Sorry." chie: i-its fine... Yohei: "..." (pulls a hand out from under the sheets, bringing it to her face) chie: ah.... *blush* Yohei: "..." (strokes her cheek...) chie y-yo...hei? Yohei: "Chie...I--" *Knock knock knock!* chie: !!!! Yohei: -___- "Do you...want me to just let them knock?" chie: aaahhhhh..... huh? w-wha? Yohei: "I could pretend I'm asleep, let them go away..." chie: yeah......t-this is fine..... ./////////////. Yohei: "..." (shuts off the lights) Shotaro: (outside the door) "Ah, man! Yohei's already asleep, Mana!" chie: *whispering* i think he's gone now..... Yohei: (whispers back) "Good...Um, Chie?" chie: yeah? Yohei: "..." (puts his hand back on her cheek) "Um..." chie:......... *bluuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuush* *steam is practically coming off her head* Yohei: "...What should we do?" chie: ./////. m-maybe get some sleep....its pretty late.... Yohei: "...Okay." (pulls his hand back) "You going to be okay?" chie: i...i think so. Yohei: (nods) "...Good night." -the next morning, elsewhere- Arthur: (muttering in his sleep) shinra: *snoring* Arthur: (talking in his sleep) "Mmm...Tamaki, don't pet that lion..." shinra: pew pew....... Arthur: (turns over in bed) "Tamaki...That is lovely bikini you're wearing..." shinra: fire in the hooooolllleeee.... *snoring* maki: hey gu-.................uhh.... oh wow...... -they ended up in the same bed somehow- Arthur: (still sleeping, spooning Shinra...) "...Where are your curves?" -camera snap- Arthur: "Zzz...Oh baby..." shinra: s-space kraken...batten down...t-the hatches..... maki: >:3 Arthur: "Fear not, my love..." (stroking Shinra's butt) "I will protect that booty from the Kraken..." shinra: aah no....i-its got me! save the children! Arthur: "Wh-What? Children? That's too much of a commitment, babe..." (reaches around Shinra to grab...) o_O shinra: YIPE!! Arthur: o_________o "Why are you in my bed...?" shinra:............whats pressing against my butt?! Arthur: O__________________O "AAAAAAAAAAAH!!!" shinra: AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!! Arthur: AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!! (falls out of bed, tearing the sheet off with him) shinra: *SCREAMING* Arthur: (runs to the other side of the room--and crashes into Maki) -at breakfast- maki: and he just flipped onto his back like a turtle! Arthur: -\\\\\\\\\\\- shinra: .............................. Arthur: "Please pass the maple syrup..." iris: here you go. arthur: "Thank you..." (tips it at Maki) "Whoops!" shinra: my rear will never be clean.............. maki: *syrup on her hand* thanks......... *wipes it off with her waffle* Arthur: "Way you smell, never would know you bathe..." shinra: T_T# Arthur: "...Maki, why were you in our room?" maki: i was waking you two up.

#death city days

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queen-swagzilla · 5 years ago

Text

Born in Dreams, Forged In Blood - Chapter 2

Rated: M (largely for profanity)

Chapter 2 summary: Miscommunication and repressed emotions are for losers. It's time to get it all out in the open.

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“She’s impressive, but she’s nosy, and she gets really territorial about Deku. Think she has some kinda claim over him or something.” He replied. “She has more right to be in Deku’s business than I do, though.”

“I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Tough shit, Kacchan! The three of us are supposed to have each other’s backs against the world. It’s been that way since we were in diapers.”

“We still have each other’s backs. I’ve saved him. He’s saved me. I’m not turning my back when he’s in trouble or anything.”

“Yeah, well Deku and I aren’t there anymore, okay? Drop it.”

“No! Tell me what happened!”

“Fine.” She barked back, allowing him to pull her into his room and slam the door. “You could have just whispered. I would have heard you.”

“So you told him to kill himself?” She demanded. “You’re one of my best friends, but that’s seriously fucked up.”

“Have you considered apologizing?”

“No, because now I’m pissed off for a different reason. He had a quirk, and he let me have a fucking heart attack every time he pulled some crazy self-sacrificing stunt.”

“He said he was a super-late bloomer. Maybe it was triggered during the sludge villain attack? That’s when he started getting cagey with me, at least.”

“That’s not it,” Katsuki muttered. “I have a theory now. I don’t know why I didn’t realize it sooner.”

“Wanna share with the class?” She replied when he didn’t elaborate.

“Not yet. But we should talk about it with Deku when we go see him later.” He admitted. “And your villain encounter. Don’t think I forgot.”

“You’ve had way more villain encounters than I have.” She paused. “Are you okay, by the way? After the kidnapping, I mean?”

He scowled. “Add that to the ‘we’ll talk about it later’ list.” He grumbled. “I mean physically, I’m fine. Mentally, I’m working on it.”

“See? That’s a good first step!” She cheered. “Come on. Show me around.” She urged, pulling him back through the door.

He gave her a perfunctory tour and ended up in the kitchen making food while he told her about their classmates.

“That’s really sweet of you, Kacchan.” She grinned, only smiling wider when he glowered. “Sounds like a plan. As long as we’re allowed to eat in the infirmary.”

“The hell are you talking about?”

“You. Make up some bullshit about how much you miss Deku until she lets us stay.”

“I do miss Deku.” She deadpanned.

“Exactly. That’s fuckin' perfect.”

“Kacchan.”

“Let’s go.”

“They already had their turn. Can’t you kick them out?” Katsuki growled. Sana smacked his arm (hard).

She squinted at the newcomer. “Why does Bakugo have to join you?”

“We’re all childhood friends! Its been a long time since we’ve been able to spend time together. Besides, Kacchan is helping me navigate campus until I get settled.”

Sana bristled, but Katsuki spoke before she could interject. “I understand. And uh…sorry. About the last time, I mean. I was out of line, and I destroyed a lot of your equipment.”

Recovery Girl smiled at him. “Thank you for your apology. I understand how frustrated you must have been. I must have scolded Miss Midnight for an hour after she put that muzzle on you.”

“You watched the Sports Festival?”

She snorted. “Of course I did. You and Zuku were both competing. Besides, Auntie Inko sent me about six million reminders. I wouldn’t have missed it, but I also couldn’t have missed it.”

“Oh. Well, what did you think?”

“About you? Or did you want me to give you a complete analysis of each match?”

“Just fucking tell me, dammit.”

“I agree. But really, yelling ‘die’ makes you sound unhinged. I’m pretty sure it’s a leftover habit from playing too many first-person shooters, but really.”

“Yeah, I know. I’m working on it.” He conceded, pleased that she was impressed, but annoyed that she found his flaws noteworthy.

It didn’t escape her notice that Katsuki clammed up and bristled as soon as Uraraka and Iida entered the hallway.

“You got us kicked out?” Uraraka demanded, eyes fixed on Katsuki. “You actually think he wants you in his infirmary room? You’re usually the one who puts him in here!”

“He’s here because I’m here. Not that it’s any of your business. Just because you’re his friend, doesn’t mean you can dictate who Zuku spends time with.”

“Leave it alone,” Katsuki muttered, already walking into Izuku’s room. Sana looked like she wanted to argue, but if Katsuki was being the calm and reasonable one, she should probably leave it alone. She met Uraraka’s glare and Iida’s affronted, scandalized face with a venomous stare of her own, then followed Katsuki into the room.

“Kacchan? You’re my other visitor? Why are you here? Is everything—“ Izuku fell silent when Sana walked through the door and stared, mouth ajar.

“Sana?” He choked out.

“Who the fuck else would it be, Deku?” Katsuki snapped. She slugged him in the arm.

“What are you doing here? It’s so good to see you!” He cried, automatically moving to get up before wincing and slumping back onto his cot. Apparently, he’d forgotten his injury.

“I told you I had a surprise for you!” She laughed, coming to stand by his bedside. “I transferred to UA!”

Izuku gaped again, eyes wide and jaw hanging open. “What?”

“Telling the truth, Zuku.” She promised. He sobbed louder.

“You brought me dinner, Kacchan?” Izuku murmured, eyes wide as he stared at the tupperware in wonder. “You made me dinner? Thank you!”

Izuku frowned at Sana, simultaneously snapping the lid off his curry. “Why didn’t you tell us, Sana?” he pouted, sounding disappointed. Sana groaned.

“Stop changing the fucking subject!” Katsuki snarled.

“I saw that attack on the news! That villain leveled three city blocks and nearly took down Gang Orca!” Izuku cried. “You could have gotten seriously hurt!”

“If that’s not the fucking pot calling the kettle black…” Katsuki muttered.

Sana rolled her eyes. “We’re training to be heroes. That’s the territory. Seriously, I didn’t even get that badly hurt. All of my injuries came from my own quirk.”

“The hell is your problem?” Katsuki demanded. “Why didn’t you fucking say anything until now? You could have died! You could have died and you didn’t tell us? I’ll fucking kill you!”

“Fucking Christ.” Katsuki spat, dropping his face into his palms.

“Look, we’re all okay, right? That’s what matters.” Sana reasoned. “And next time we’ll be stronger.”

“Oh, fuck no.” Sana snapped.

“No. No no no no no no no.” Deku muttered, scrambling for his phone on the bedside table. “Hold on for a second, but please stop crying Kacchan.” He pleaded. He fired off a quick text, looking unbelievably nervous. He already operated at a baseline anxiety level of 60%, so now it looked like he was going to vibrate out of his skin. “Okay.” He said, looking back at them. “If I tell you this, it has to stay completely secret. Promise me.”

Katsuki sniffed and Sana nodded. “I promise.” She said.

“How the hell do you know that?” She demanded.

“Isn’t it obvious?” Katsuki spat. “All Might chose him. After the sludge villain, right? That’s when you two met.”

Sana’s jaw dropped, eyes glazing. Katsuki, however, looked barely phased. “I figured it was something like that. After Kamino Ward—All Might’s message…”

“Come on, what the fuck?” Sana groaned.

“What the hell are you talkin' about, Deku?”

“If I’d gotten to you sooner—if I hadn’t broken my arms, if I’d been able to reach you before Kurogiri—“

“I told you not to follow me! I told you to stay back. You know why I’ve been so pissed at you Deku? It’s 'cause you’re fuckin' stupid. You keep getting yourself into shitty situations that you can’t handle. It wouldn’t have made anything better if we’d both died.”

“Kacchan—“

“No. Fuck no. I said we’d talk about it later, but it’s not like Sana doesn’t know what’s been going on. I didn’t want you hanging around me because you kept getting hurt and it drove me fuckin' nuts. Sure you don’t need a quirk to be a hero, but you need to fuckin' train or something! You were this skinny little nerd and you kept picking fights that you weren’t able to finish!”

“That’s bullshit, Kacchan!” Izuku snapped back. “Even after I got a quirk, you were being an asshole!”

“I kept it a secret because you were being an asshole!”

“I was being an asshole because you kept breaking your fucking arms!”

“My body wasn’t strong enough to handle my quirk yet!” He argued. “I had to train and figure out how to use it! It’s not my fault the League of Villains kept showing up!”

“STOP!” Sana snapped. “Okay, this conversation is set up to go in a really aggravating circle. Katsuki, you were worried about Zuku because he was quirkless and reckless, Then you were worried about him because even though he had a quirk, his body wasn’t prepared for it and it kept on hurting him. Despite that, he was still reckless. Gotta say, I’m not too thrilled about that either. I almost puked when I watched your fight with Todoroki.” She pinned him with a glare. “Not to mention, until today he thought you’d chosen to keep your quirk from him for years and just let him panic whenever you did something nuts.”

Izuku gaped. “I wouldn’t do that!”

“Well, I know that now!”

After many awkward glances and false starts, Izuku spoke first. “You still want to be a team?”

She scoffed. “I wanted us to be a team even when you were quirkless. Sure, you’d have taken a different role, but at least we’d be together.”

“Fuckin’ psycho. Clearly All Might’s grooming him to be a strong solo hero.”

“Right, and that’s gone so well for society. Now villains are organizing and we’re in deep shit for depending on him so much. Besides, are you really gonna let this self-sacrificial idiot fight by himself? Because let me tell you, if we’re not an official team, I’m just gonna show up wherever he goes to make sure he doesn’t do something idiotic.” Katsuki snorted at that. “I’d rather be a team though. A strong hero team, all three of us symbols in our own right. Hope, Strength, and Victory—Stronghold, Aftershock, and Ground Zero.”

“It’s Last Stand, you motherfucker!” Katsuki barked, leaping to his feet.

“Who’s Last Stand?” Deku asked, a little dazed and confused, and therefore a little slow.

“No one. Your hero name is Stronghold. Kacchan is being overruled.”

“My hero name is Deku.”

“Not anymore. Keep up.” She replied, snapping her fingers for emphasis. “Look you were worried about a theme, right?” She asked Katsuki. “That’s why you wanted Last Stand?”

“That’s what I fuckin' said, isn’t it?”

“So the name I chose fits a theme! Not the conceptual names and syllable matching—it’s the metaphor! Zuku’s the bunker, you’re the bomb, I’m the post-explosion shockwave. Stronghold, Ground Zero, and Aftershock! I put a lot of thought into this!”

Katsuki scowled at her mulishly. “Don’t I get a say?” Izuku asked hesitantly.

“If you go with Deku, Kacchan’s going with King Explosion Murder. So, no. We choose each other’s names. You and Kacchan chose mine, you and I chose his. Now we get to choose yours.”

Deku had slipped into overthinking mode, and so he docilely began eating on autopilot. He wasn’t so tuned out that he didn’t notice the conversation awkwardly picking back up. He even chimed in every now and then, but his gears were turning and they were churning new information into new conclusions at a dizzying pace.

Sana had transferred to UA and had forced Kacchan to actually talk to him within ten hours of her first class. Kacchan wasn’t mad because of pride or ego damage, or even because he didn’t want to be near someone who was quirkless. He was mad because he was worried and was bad at expressing himself. Kacchan wanted him to be more careful. To take more precaution—both when he was quirkless and now that he had One For All. And, knowing how hard Kacchan had worked to gain control of his quirk, it had probably driven him crazy to see him acting so recklessly and expecting to catch up quickly. Kacchan had though of a hero name for him. That meant that Kacchan believed in him. Izuku had thought that Kacchan hadn’t even wanted him to try. He thought that Kacchan believed he was useless without a quirk. Hell, he’d believed it, so why wouldn’t someone as amazing as Kacchan?

A knock came at the door.

“Young Midoriya?"

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