#the mob boss crew have so little content and i care them :( but i am unable to draw much except portraits of people with descs/fcs/refs

[autistic-sidestep]

what if

baby butch lesbian nehal

[astralaffairs]

so hear me out- mafia!thom where mc is a spy! working with the rival group or the government (probably run by hamilton) and gets caught? I’m just a simp for e2l~

ok but this prompt is FUN !!!!! ugh the tension

in which thom is a meanie >:( and james isn’t a softie

-------

“...one of Hamilton’s soldiers. Yeah, we found her down by the docks with a couple others; looked like they were trying to make a hit where we planned our drop.”

“Really? What happened to the others?”

“Got away. She was stationed closest to us, but by the time we got our hands on her, everyone else was starting to split.”

“Some loyalty.”

When Y/N found herself gradually beginning to drift into consciousness, disembodied voices polluting the dank, cold air around her, she found a splitting pain in her head and a dull ache in her shoulders. Cautiously, she cracked an eye open, squinting in the low light as she found herself in some clichéd, nondescript warehouse. Figures.

Her ass was getting sore from the metal folding chair she’d woken up tied to (seriously, they couldn’t have sprung for anything more luxurious?), and the harsh metal of the handcuffs around her wrists was digging into her skin. As her eyes adjusted, she could make out, if only vaguely, two — likely male — figures standing leaned against the wall, chatting about her circumstance as casually as if it were the weather. She sniffled, her nose running in the cold, and she itched to wipe at it. She sniffled harder.

“...She awake?”

“It sounds to me like she is.”

Y/N’s pulse began to accelerate as she heard footsteps echoing across the concrete floor, headed in her direction. She didn’t dare lift her gaze. She searched for any way out of the bind she was in — even if she could pick off the handcuffs, her ankles were tied to each of the chairs’ legs.

“Glad to see you conscious.” The voice was flat, cold as he finally addressed her, and Y/N swallowed hard. “What’s your name?”

She didn’t answer, head still bowed, instead responding with, “Where am I?”

Her tone was gruff, as menacing as she could manage with as small, weak as she felt, but the man who’d addressed her laughed. “Answer my question, and I’ll answer yours. Surely, you understand the concept of a quid-pro-quo?”

“You first.” Her glare was burning as she forced herself to look him in the eye, and while the man next to him looked annoyed, he remained entirely undeterred.

“I’m rather surprised that you think yourself in a position to be making demands.”

She scowled. “C’mon, what d’you have left to lose, telling me where we are while I’m your captive? God knows you’re just going to end up moving me, assuming I live that long.”

“A bold assumption,” one of the men said, tone dry and irked, but the man directly in front of Y/N gave him a tired look.

“Aaron,” he warned. “I’ll handle this.”

“Then handle it”

He visibly rolled his eyes as he turned back to Y/N, and the other man (Aaron, apparently), retreated to the outskirts of the expansive room, pulling out a pack of cigarettes.

“Anyway,” he went on, and Y/N huffed, yanking at the rope binding her arms to the chair. She knew it was futile, but it was more for her discomfort than any genuine attempt to escape. “It seems to me you have even less left to lose than we do. And you must know that we have other, less pleasant means of getting what we want, so it is in your own interest to comply.”

Y/N hesitated a moment — surely, once they’d taken her captive, they’d rooted through her belongings, opened her wallet, screened her for weapons, and checked her ID. Was this just some kind of intimidation technique? A power play? He was unfortunately correct; she didn’t have much to lose.

“My name’s Y/N,” she grumbled, finally. “As though you haven’t already torn through all my documentation.”

“How perceptive of you. Most try a few pseudonyms first.” His smile was serene. “This just might be fun.”

“What might be fun? Torturing and killing me? Throwing my body out to sea?” she bit back, the fury in her gaze never wavering, but he raised an eyebrow.

“What would make you think such a thing?” Mocking offense saturated his voice.

“I know you’re part of Jefferson’s fucking mob.” She yanked at her handcuffs; they clanked loudly against the chair. “I’ve heard about what you do to people.”

“Oh, have you? Thomas will be pleased with our notoriety.” As if on cue, three pairs of footsteps echoed behind Y/N — one of them must have been Aaron’s, as he was suddenly nowhere to be found, but the satisfied smile the man in front of her wore told her that she wasn’t going to like whatever came next. “Well, speak of the devil.”

Her eyes widened. Surely, they didn’t bring Jefferson himself to come see her, right? Dealing with captives was grunt work, not the responsibility of a mafia boss. She tugged and picked aggressively at her handcuffs, desperate to find a lock she’d be able to release.

“James.” The voice came from just behind her, a sadistic mirth in the man’s tone as he addressed the man who stood before her (James, apparently). The footsteps stalled at the exact moment Y/N grunted, throwing her shoulders forward with the link of the handcuffs caught on the chair’s edge. To think that she might actually be able to break her hands free was a desperate hope, but the man behind her laughed — not a taunting, mocking laugh, but one that made it clear how genuinely entertaining he was finding her pathetic struggle.

“I gotta say, when you told me you got one of Hamilton’s crew, I didn’t believe you at first.” A chill ran down Y/N’s spine when he circled her, and though she didn’t have any desire to look him in the eye, her curiosity overwhelmed her. When he reached her front, Thomas Jefferson, in the flesh, blood, and magenta business attire, crouched before her, and she swallowed roughly. He still managed to dwarf the chair to which she was tied. “But that mark is unmistakable, huh?”

Her skin burned as his gaze fixed on her neck, where she’d been branded just above her collarbone upon being sworn in as a member of Alexander’s mob. She turned her head away from him.

“She isn’t just any of his soldiers, either.” While James’s voice came from her left, Jefferson didn’t move, watching her with pleased intrigue. “She’s a Hamilton by blood.”

His eyes flashed with delight; his grin widened. “Oh, is she, now?”

With her head turned, Y/N inadvertently met James’s content stare, and though she didn’t waste a moment in tearing her gaze away, Jefferson occupied the remainder of her line of vision. She couldn’t help it when he caught her eye, and she couldn’t seem to look away. The way he watched her was predatory.

James hummed in confirmation. “His sister.”

“No.” His surprise was unmistakable, as was his perverse triumph. When she sneered back at him, he finally drew himself up to his full height, giving a satisfied chuckle. He turned to James. “Where would I be without you?”

“Same place, worse administration.”

“You got that right,” Jefferson said. “Just think about everything we’re gonna be able to do with her. She’s just the leverage we’ve been lookin’ for.”

“We searched her when she arrived, but nothing she had on her person gave us any new information. Her phone was a burner.”

“Normally, I’d call that disappointin’, but,” —Jefferson glanced back at her with a smug smile, if only for a fleeting moment— “we don’t needa dig up any of their communications when we’ve got the primary source all to ourselves.”

“If she’s really a Hamilton, I doubt she’s just going to talk that easily.” A feminine voice came from behind Y/N; she’d assumed Jefferson had entered flanked only by men. “Don’t get overconfident.”

“‘Course not, Maria. I know the limits of my own strength.” Y/N resisted rolling her eyes. “But I can tell she’s gonna be fun to break.”

She shuddered, squeezing her eyes shut; she wasn’t sure if she was more disgusted by the words they were saying or by how they were talking about her as though she wasn’t even there to listen. Maria scoffed. “Be careful. We need her responsive if we’re going to use her as bait.”

“Please. Bait’s thinkin’ too short-term. We can do a whole lot more with her than that.”

“Seriously? But if we keep her around—”

“I’m sitting right here, you know.” Y/N cut them off forcefully, looking up unabashedly with rage in her gaze. No one seemed so much as taken aback by it, hardly reacting to her outburst, and Jefferson met her eyes with an entertained smile, taking a step toward her.

“Oh, believe me, sweetheart, we know.” As he leaned down, Y/N could feel him looming over her, and any of her confidence in her actions was leveled. He hooked his fingers under her chin, forcing her to look up at him, and she grit her teeth.

“No one’s forgettin’ about you, here. After all, you’re the guest of honor,” he cooed, and his soft, condescending tone made her skin crawl. When she tried to jerk away from his touch, he gripped her chin. “And such a pretty little thing, too. ‘S a shame you’re a Hamilton, ‘cause I wouldn’t mind havin’ you all to myself.”

“Get your hands off me,” she snarled, and he laughed.

“You’re adorable, actin’ as though I’m gonna listen to a word you say.” He plastered on a pout, and she was shaking when he reached up to cup her cheek, run his thumb across her bottom lip. “Y’know, it’d do you well to learn who’s in charge here. As of today, I own you, and you’re lucky I like a challenge.”

“You don’t own shit,” she spat, but her voice trembled, and he raised an eyebrow. She could feel her eyes welling up. “My family’s coming for me. And when they do, you’re gonna be sorry.”

“Now, don’t tell me you really think that?” Mocking pity saturated his voice, and when Y/N only stared back at him blankly, he went on, “Nobody’s comin’ for you. If they really cared about you, they wouldn’t have fled so easy at the docks at the first sign of trouble. They wouldn’t have abandoned you there.”

“Excuse me?” was all she managed to say in a shaky, breathy whisper. He nodded sympathetically.

“That’s right. I know all about how your family left you for dead.” Her eyes stung when the first tear rolled down her cheek, and Jefferson brushed it away. Despite his contrived pout, satisfaction shone in his eyes. “Aw, no need to cry. ‘M sure all that hurts to hear, but you’re with us now. Your family’s the least of your worries.”

“I fucking swear,” she said, and despite the determined look she wore, her tears were now falling freely, “I swear, no matter what you do to me in here, I’m not going to break. I’m not going to let you break me.”

“Oh, sweetheart, no need to be scared. I have every confidence in you,” he assured her, “but I don’t intend to try and break you.”

“I’m not scared,” she hissed, and he smiled.

“I’m sure you aren’t.” He leaned in closer to her, and as he eyed her expression, he smoothed a piece of her hair back, wiped the tears from under her eyes. “And you don’t have to be. If you can be a good, obedient little girl and behave yourself, I think you’ll be surprised at just how gentle we can be.”

“And if I don’t?”

"You will.” The words were spoken with a degree of authority that sent chills down her spine; he spoke as though this were an inexorable truth. “I’m not gonna have to break you, and I won’t bother to try. You’re gonna give in to me all on your own, and it’s gonna be so much sweeter that way.”

“You’re delusional,” she seethed, and the smile that split his expression was wide, confident, but above all, unsettling.

“We’ll see about that.”

With that, he finally pulled back from her, looking beyond smug as he redirected his focus to the group, but he quickly adopted a harsh tone. “James, Aaron,” he barked, nodding toward the chair she was bound to. He caught her eye one final time, and while panic flashed in her gaze, he was beyond satisfied. “Set up a room for our guest. Looks like she’s here to stay.”

[scarletraven1001]

Retribution: 4

[Book 1] [Chapter 4]

Summary: An unlikely ally volunteers to help Vegeta and his crew. With a new source of information at hand, things seem to be going well... until something suddenly goes horribly wrong.

A Vegebul Mafia AU Fic, for the @vegebulocracy Big Bang Challenge, 2018

Story Rating: E

Chapter Warnings: Violence, Swearing

All Chapters: 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8

Also on Ao3

8-8-8-8-8

Notes: I would like to thank everyone who has commented on this story so far! Here is the next chapter, and I hope you like it!

8-8-8-8-8

Chapter 4

8-8-8-8-8

Bulma stared, mouth agape, barely daring to believe her ears.

“Did you… did you just say-”

“Tch!” Vegeta answered, snidely turning away from her to glare out the open door of the bedroom that had been her prison for the past five days.

“Vegeta,” she treaded carefully, voice barely above a whisper, “Did you honestly just agree to let me go out into the garden?”

His ears looked nearly red from where she was standing, and she saw him bristle as he turned away from her, beginning to walk out into the hall.

“Hurry up,” he hissed, “before I change my mind.”

She squealed excitedly, jumping up and down in place for a few seconds before she practically flew over to the door, unbelievably happy to be allowed out for the first time in days.

“Thank you!” she exclaimed, hands waving around in merriment.

“Don’t thank me, woman,” he said. “I am only letting you out because you are turning rather pale. It would not do for you to get sick. Your father will not negotiate with me if I hand him a dying hostage.”

She hid a wide smile behind her hands as she looked at his back, at the fine hairs that bordered the nape of his thick neck.

She had only been asking him for a small gap in a window so she can breathe in some fresh air, but his sudden decision to allow her to see the sun outdoors shocked her beyond anything she had seen in her entire life.

It was almost euphoric, the feeling of walking along a hallway, and she beamed as she saw the sun streaming in through the wide open windows of the extremely unassuming house.

It occurred to her then, that this could be a good chance… a chance to find a way to worm herself into Vegeta’s graces so that she could make it out alive, unharmed. Perhaps all she needed was to simply play along…

The small structure, like she had previously observed when she was first dragged in, looked nothing like what one would expect from a secret hideout of gangsters.

It was a typical home, with white walls and smooth wooden floors, and the upper floor that she had been on had a long hallway lined with several bedrooms. Downstairs, a standard set of comfortable-looking armchairs sat in the living room. A round wooden table, able to seat six people, sat in the middle of the dining room, and beyond it was a nondescript kitchen that Bulma could see had a simple stove and a large refrigerator.

As she walked a few paces behind Vegeta, she once again saw the picnic table that she had seen before, where a small group of men sat, huddled seriously over a laptop computer.

The thin, dark-haired man with the narrow, icy blue eyes looked up, and she watched as clear surprise flooded his stoic face at the sight of her.

“Prince,” he said, turning to Vegeta, who had stopped walking before her. “What is going on here?”

Vegeta sniffed, moving his hands into the pockets of his pants, his matching dark gray suit jacket bunching up slightly with the movements.

She thought she heard a light, tinkering sound as he moved, like keys coins moving around in a purse…

Or keys jiggling around in a pocket.

She was suddenly reminded of her keys, her keys that held her beloved memento of her childhood friend Vegeta, the tiny space pod toy that she had clutched to herself during all of her darkest hours.

She dearly hoped that they had just left her keys in her flat, instead of throwing them away, because whatever may happen now… she wanted that toy back. Needed it back.  

“She needed exercise,” Vegeta answered, pulling her thoughts back to the present, and Bulma nearly grinned as she saw the remaining men shoot questioning glances at their leader.

Goku, who had been sitting near the edge of the table, was the only one who looked up and beamed at her without hesitation.

“Come on out, then!” he called with a slight wave. “The weather is great!”

“Chaotzu,” Vegeta barked, and she watched as a short, pale man with small round eyes bounded up from behind the other men.

Vegeta gestured to her. “Watch her.”

With a nod, the man walked up to Bulma, while she looked back up at Vegeta with a wide grin.

“Thank you,” she said, following Chaotzu, until she stood happily in the middle of the small garden, a few meters away from the men.

She walked aimlessly around the yard, quickly removing her shoes so she could feel the grass between her toes, and with a small, happy sigh, she looked skyward.

Tilting her head up, she closed her eyes, and spread her arms.

She knew what she looked like at the moment: a ditzy girl who was focused on nature, simply enjoying the feel of the sun on her skin.

Yet, she did not grow up in a crime family for nothing.

Though she seemed outwardly oblivious, she discreetly strained her ears back towards Vegeta, trying to listen in on the conversations.

She had been locked up with nothing to do for far too long, and in that time, she had repeatedly gone over the events of the night of her abduction in her head, replaying the vivid memories of what was an admittedly terrifying night.

If only they had given her a book or a TV, like she had asked, maybe she wouldn’t have had the time to analyze them! She should be thankful that they denied her requests then, because due to their stubbornness, she had all the time in the world to think, and now, she knew those men, and had an idea as to what their functions were in the team.

Vegeta was the clear leader.

Goku, his brother, was their gopher.

The dark-haired man, whom she could recall as having been called Lapiz, was their tech and weapons expert.

The tall man with the white turban was Piccolo, their executioner.

Only the other bald man, with a strange X-mark on his forehead, was unknown to her.

Breathing softly, but deeply, Bulma listened.

8-8-8-8-8

“Are you trying to tell me,” Vegeta growled, “that we are now certain that Freiza’s crew is on the move?”

“Unfortunately, yeah,” Tien responded, the X-shaped scar on his forehead wrinkling as his brows furrowed. He turned towards Vegeta, handing him an A4-sized sheet of paper.

Kakarot moved closer to him, reading the contents of the sheet over his shoulder, and both brothers grew panicked as they read the contents.

It was an email, containing a few, vital words:

The Dark Prince has risen.

They knew that he was back. And that was not good. Not good, at all.

Briefs, the snitch, had apparently gone to the Syndicate with the information, in spite of the clear threat on Bulma’s life.

Vegeta seethed, hands tight on the edges of the paper. It seemed that nothing truly was sacred to Briefs, who would risk his own daughter’s life just to remain in the mob’s graces.

“Don’t look so glum, fellas,” Tien said. “At least the information had not gotten to Frieza, himself, as of yet.”

“I don’t understand why they didn’t tell Frieza. And I can’t believe that Briefs would just tattle,” Kakarot said, eyes wide. “I mean, we have his daughter here!”

“And Briefs clearly does not give a fuck, whatever happens to her,” Vegeta hissed. “What kind of a fucking father is he?”

He turned to Piccolo, whose narrowed eyes were scanning the contents of Lapiz’s laptop, while Lapiz sat before the computer, madly typing onto only the Gods knew what.

“Piccolo, are you done checking out Tao Pai Pai’s lead? Is it any good?” he asked.

Piccolo nodded. “It is a solid lead. But we need to be careful. Frieza’s crew could easily pay off anyone with ties to that building, and as much money as you have, Vegeta, the Syndicate still has deeper pockets.”

Kakarot blanched. “Well, now what? If they know that Vegeta is searching for Raditz, then they would definitely want to get to him first!”

“Perhaps they will try searching for Kakarot first, and this will divert them?” Vegeta said, cringing at the desperation he could hear in his tone. “After all, they do not know that he is back yet, right?”

“Not quite,” Lapiz butt in with a heavy sigh, as he finally stopped assaulting his keyboard. “Come and see this.”

It was another email, a coded one from the looks of it, but Vegeta recognized a few key words that made his blood run cold.

The Bard’s son walks with the Prince.

The Bard.

Bardock.

Kakarot’s birth father.

“Fuck,” he snapped, angrily turning away from the screen to take his head into his hands.

Had it been happening to anyone other than him, he would have laughed at how juvenile the code words were.

Prince?

Bard?

How much more obvious can they get?

Yet, he failed to find amusement in the rampant stupidity, as he was troubled at how quickly the information had spread.

Kakarot’s earlier question was yet another undetermined factor in the whole thing…

Why did no one let Frieza know?

It was as if the entire Syndicate itself was in their own little conspiracy, keeping something as huge as the knowledge of his return a secret from the big boss, himself.

What did it all mean?

“If the whole crew knows by now,” Vegeta said, a hand still anxiously rubbing the center of his forehead as he felt the stirrings of a headache start to come forth. “What do you all suggest we do?”

Lapiz laughed. “Are we being democratic now?”

“Fuck you, Lapiz,” He spat. “Anyone with any ideas?”

Piccolo straightened. “We need to create a diversion, but it needs to be one that will serve more of a purpose than simple bait.”

“I think,” Kakarot said, “That we need to find a way to prevent them from knowing more about us.”

“Should we try to confuse them? Leave a false trail?” Lapiz asked.

“No,” Vegeta answered. “We cannot run the risk of getting in contact with anyone, because we do not know exactly who is in league with the Syndicate. We need to ensure that we do not mistakenly run into someone who is loyal to Frieza.”

“That we do,” Tien said. “But how do we do that when the entire criminal underground is on Frieza’s payroll?”

Vegeta’s brows shot further down. “Men, we need to expedite our Plan C.”

A grin spread across Piccolo’s face. “Now, we’re talking.”

Vegeta nodded. “It’s time to disable them. If we get rid of his main source of income, the cash stops-”

“And the proverbial shit will hit the fan,” Tien nodded sagely.

“But are we ready?” Kakarot asked. “Wasn’t Lazuli still trying to get more intel?”

“I may already have enough to go by,” the said dark-haired man answered. “We know that the Casino is the Syndicate’s front for their high-end prostitution ring. But we still have yet to figure out how to make this explode so that the authorities can get enough evidence in their hands to prosecute.”

“The Oasis.”

Vegeta stiffened as a loud, but profoundly feminine voice suddenly entered their conversation.

He rapidly spun around, and found none other than Bulma, standing several meters away from them, hands on her hips, while she kept her face up to the sky.

His furious eyes quickly turned to Chaotzu, who had paled considerably, before they shot back to the woman one again.

“What,” Vegeta hissed, “Did you say?”

He watched as she shook her head, before she turned around, infuriatingly slowly, to face them all.

She lifted an eyebrow as she faced them, a smug expression on her face as she looked pointedly at each of them in turn.

“Do you guys have any idea how loud you were being?” she asked. “You were ruining my sunning time!”

He grit his teeth in rage. “Bullshit. You were actively listening in!”

“And you should be glad I was!” Bulma answered, leaning her weight onto one leg as she glared at him. “Because I know exactly how to screw with the Casino.”

Vegeta sputtered. “You crazy woman! You think we need your help-”

“You have to destroy the Oasis,” she insisted, walking closer to them as she spoke. “The Oasis is the mainframe that holds all of the Syndicate’s confidential information, and it has the list of all the businesses involved in their protection rackets. It also has a complete list of all the people that benefit from the Syndicate.”

Vegeta was about to protest, when he felt a firm hand land on his shoulder.

He turned to see Lapiz, whose cold blue eyes had grown wide as he stared intently at Bulma.

“The Oasis is the database that I have been trying to access,” Lapiz said. “It is an impenetrable system. I can barely bypass two firewalls.”

Bulma beamed. “I can help you with that.”

“Woman!” Vegeta yelled. “You think we will trust you with such a thing?”

She shrugged. “I have nothing to gain other than my freedom.”

“You-”

“I will help you find Raditz,” she said, shooting Vegeta a determined glare.

Vegeta crossed his arms before his chest. He was rather dumbfounded at how she could still manage to speak so dominantly in spite of being a hostage, but he supposed, this was Bulma. It was to be expected.

“You could just as easily send a signal to them regarding our whereabouts,” he said. “Double-cross us all… your family certainly has the history.”

She stomped her foot, arms in tiny fists at her sides. “We did not double-cross you! Vegeta, I will do everything I need to do to prove to you that my family and I had nothing to do with neither your parents’ deaths, nor with the abduction of Raditz and Kakarot.”

“We could certainly use her mind, Vegeta,” Lapiz interjected. “If what we know of her is correct, then she may very well be what we need.”

“Ridiculous,” Vegeta hissed, “You know what she did.”

Lapiz shook his head. “What Nappa said… you never did manage to verify the information, did you?”

“No, but-”

“Can I… say something?”

Vegeta turned around to see Kakarot, and he raised a brow at the unreadable look in his brother’s eyes.

“What is it, Kakarot?”

“I think… I think we should give it a shot,” he said, swiping his unruly bangs from his face. “She’s right, she has nothing to lose. Besides, Lapiz will be right with her.”  

“Also,” Piccolo chimed in, “If she tries anything funny, now that we know that her father would rather have her die than give us the information, we could always just kill her.”

“Umm, you know what, you don’t need to plan my death, really,” Bulma said, waving a hand above her head. “I won’t sell you out, I swear.”

“I don’t like this,” Tien said. “She’s the enemy, isn’t she, Vegeta?”

Vegeta looked askance at Tien then, and considered.

She was…

Wasn’t she?

“Listen,” Bulma tried again, taking a few steps closer to them with her hands held out placatingly before her. “I seriously just want this all to end. I want my freedom, not just from you, but from the entire Syndicate. Believe me, helping you take down the Syndicate is in my best interests too.”

Vegeta scoffed. “You were raised as the spoiled rich daughter of a politician. Why would you want to take down the people who had given you everything you could ever wish for?”

They were all taken aback when Bulma began to laugh.

“You think I liked it?” she said, shaking her head as she almost cackled with ironic glee. “Vegeta, you and I… we had known that we were surrounded by criminals since we were in first grade. I had to live with the knowledge that everybody knew what kind of family I came from, but were too afraid to say anything.”

Vegeta narrowed his eyes at her, and he was about to just order someone to drag her back into her room when she hurriedly resumed speaking.

“I may not have gone through what all of you here,” she gestured at all of them, “had endured, but I promise you that my life has been nothing but a good one. I just…”

She sighed. “I just want out. I want a normal life. Where I work to pay my bills, and I don’t have to be flanked by men whose idea of a friendly competition is outnumbering each others’ body counts.”

Vegeta glared at her, trying to see if his lifetime dealing with questionable people could detect even a tiny sliver of deceit in her.

However, all he could see in Bulma was determination, and against his better judgment, he found himself nodding.

He saw her eyes widen in elation, lips stretching into a blinding smile.

Vegeta turned away from her to address Lapiz. “You can keep an eye on her?”

Lapiz nodded. “I will be looking over her shoulder the entire time.”

“Good,” he said. Then, without turning to look at her again, he asked, “Woman, what do you suggest?”

“I am an excellent hacker,” she bragged. “Plus, I have accessed the Oasis before. I am sure that I can find you a vulnerability to exploit, so we can use an implant to duplicate and then clear out the entire system.”

“How did you ever manage to peer into the Oasis?” Lapiz asked.

“I am the daughter of one of the Syndicate’s top men,” she spat, and he could practically smell the distaste in her tone. “It may not be obvious, but I observe and know a lot of things about Frieza.”

He narrowed his eyes at her. “If you even consider the possibility of selling my men out-”

“I will not,” she cut him off. “I swear to you, Vegeta. I swear upon the grave of my mother… I will not sell you out.”

8-8-8-8-8

Lapiz led Bulma into one of the rooms, and she felt a brow rise as she looked appraisingly at the equipment.

“Impressive,” she commented, as she approached a particularly expensive-looking terminal. “You have quite a bit of tech here.”

He smirked. “My father was a scientist, as yours is. However, he declined to join the Syndicate’s plans, and he was summarily executed for it. I have been using my inheritance to finance my toys.”

Bulma blanched, even while his face remained calm and cool in the face of such a revelation.

“I- I’m sorry,” she stuttered. “I had no idea.”

He simply shrugged. “It is the way of things. I have accepted my father’s death. But it does not mean that I have no plans to avenge him. This is the reason why I am here.”

She gulped as she looked down at her hands, suddenly unable to meet his eyes. “Do… do all of you here have… similar circumstances?”

She felt him move around to stand behind one of the larger monitors.

Lapiz sighed loudly. “Yes. We are all victims of the Syndicate. I and my sister have lost our father. Piccolo had his parents taken away, never to be found again. Tien was tortured, his wife abducted and murdered. And you know of what happened to the Saiyans.”

Bulma gulped, feeling tears rim her eyes as she thought of how all these men, and many, many others, had been wronged by the Syndicate as it reached for power, grasped wealth while leaving all who oppose it to either suffer or die helplessly.

It was madness.

They had to be stopped.

“I will help you destroy the Syndicate. I swear to all of you. You,” she paused. “And to a certain extent, I, will have justice.”

He smirked at her again, and she grinned slowly as she found a strangely teasing glint in his eyes.

“Well then, we had best get to work,” he said, pointing her to a chair in front of the main computer. “Let me see what you’ve really got in that brain of yours, Princess.”

“Can people please stop calling me that?” she growled, rolling her eyes. “I hate it. I have always hated it.”

He laughed. “Then I shall see to it that I use it at every possible turn.”

8-8-8-8-8

Vegeta looked worriedly at Piccolo, watching as the stern man shifted his eyes towards Lapiz’s computer room for the hundredth time in the past three hours.

“What?” he finally snapped, pulling the tall man out of his musings.

Piccolo clucked his tongue, his small eyes finding Vegeta’s. “I am uncomfortable with our little Mafia Princess being in there with Lapiz.”

Kakarot looks up, confused. “Why? She looks like she really wants to help.”

Piccolo scoffed. “She is still a Briefs. Have you both forgotten her part in your parents’ death?”

“That,” Vegeta growled low, “remains unproven.”

“You had been swearing your absolute loathing of her since we met,” Piccolo countered. “What changed? Why are you suddenly so eager to trust her? I think you’re letting your past friendship cloud your decisions.”

Vegeta refused to let go of his glare, but Piccolo’s question gave him pause.

Indeed… why was he acting so… lenient?

Bulma had been part of the mess, she was the one who had given the signal, whether or not there had been malice intended.

Was it her?

Was it her mere presence, the disarming look in her wide blue eyes, that had him acting like a fool?

Was he endangering his men because of his stupid recollections of their happy past, risking their entire mission all because the touch of her skin sent tendrils of pleasant shock to run up and down his spine?

Did he dare admit…

That he could feel an unmistakable pull of attraction…

That in spite of his suspicions, in spite of how his logical mind insisted that he should in truth hate her, his insane heart had never let go of his affection towards her, even after all those years?

It was not the time to contemplate on such meaningless things.

“I am not,” he finally responded. “But we do need her inside information. And whether we like it or not, she is a brilliant woman. We need all the help we can get, now that the Syndicate knows that we are on the move.”

“You are absolutely right,” a smooth, feminine voice suddenly cut in, and all turned to see a gorgeous, statuesque blond woman with very familiar icy blue eyes approaching from the garden.

“Lazuli,” Kakarot greeted. “I thought you would be with Krillin today.”

She shrugged. “My boyfriend is off training for an upcoming police drill, so I snuck out.

“We haven’t seen you since you drove Vegeta’s getaway vehicle at the condominium,” Piccolo said. “Did you need to see Lapiz?”

“No. I just spoke to that brat of a brother of mine earlier,” she answered, flipping her hair back as she sat beside Vegeta at the table. “But I dropped by because I needed to tell you all something.”

“What is wrong, Lazuli?” Vegeta asked.

She frowned deeply. “Well… I am pregnant.”

“What?!” Kakarot shrilled, and Vegeta watched as he jumped up from his seat in his excitement. “Wow, congratulations! Why didn’t Krillin tell me?”

“Because he doesn’t know yet,” she hissed. “But I needed to tell you because unfortunately, I can no longer join you in your heists. I am really sorry to bail out on you like this, but I need to… I need to take care of my child, and Krillin. I will still keep an eye out, still try to find more information when you need it, but I can no longer commit to this, not anymore. ”

“That’s right,” Vegeta nodded thougtfully. “Krillin does not know of your little adventures with us.”

“No, he does not,” Lazuli answered. “I don’t want to compromise him and his job at the force. Krillin… he is a genuinely good man.”

“Yeah, he is,” Kakarot responded. “I’ve known him for over a decade. It would be unfair to rope him into this.”

“He is the best thing that ever happened to me, since I met you all,” she smirked.

“Are you sure about this?” Piccolo asked. “We’re not done yet, you still have yet to avenge your father. Also, you have been a huge asset to this operation, and it would be difficult to have you leave the team now.”

“No, she is right. Her family needs to be her priority. All of us here know what it is like to have no family. We cannot deprive Lazuli of a chance to build hers,” Vegeta said. He knotted his brows as he considered Lazuli, their femme fatale, who had helped them with their underground operations with the use of her impressive looks. “You had best go on then. Stay as far away from the operations as possible. We have almost made it, and we owe much of that to you.”

“Well, I had wanted to do one last thing before I disappear,” she said. “Lapiz called me about possibly retrieving something from the Princess’ apartment. I think he needs it for a program he is working on with Bulma Briefs. Did I understand him correctly? He is working with Briefs on a code?”

Vegeta nodded, along with Piccolo and Kakarot, and Lazuli simply shrugged.

“What did he ask you to retrieve? And why did he not run it through me, first?” Vegeta asked.

“He wanted to, but he said he could not leave the girl alone in his computer room,” she responded. “He asked me to see if I can retrieve Briefs’ keys.”

Vegeta stiffened.

His hand snuck slowly into his pocket, where he still had the said keys, hung with the small spaceship toy and a mini flash drive.

The small, round toy felt strangely comforting in his palm, and he clenched his fist around it, his chest lurching at the thought of letting it go once again.

“Why does he need the keys?” Kakarot asked.

“The woman apparently told him that the keychain holds a flash drive that has some codes she can use to access Oasis,” Lazuli answered.

Vegeta straightened at that. “No need, Lazuli. I can provide them with this flash drive.”

Piccolo looked surprised. “You wanna go out to the condo now? We leave for the warehouse in a few hours.”

“Just leave it to me,” Vegeta answered, getting up to move towards the computer room. “Keep on working on the plan. I will not be gone for long.”

He turned to Lazuli, giving her a small salute. “Thank you for your assistance. Now, go. Your growing family must be your utmost priority.”

As he approached the door that held Bulma and Lapiz, he took a deep breath, hoping that the woman does not ask too many questions, as he was not sure how he could possibly answer.

He did not know himself, why he had kept the keys, after all.

8-8-8-8-8

Bulma was growing anxious.

It had been several hours since Vegeta had dropped by to see her and Lapiz, stiffly handing her keys to her.

She had been shocked, and she had stared at him, eyes wide and unblinking, as she wondered aloud at how he had gotten her keys so fast.

He had turned away, leaving without a word, and it was as she watched his reddened cheeks disappear behind the hastily slammed door that she realized…

He had taken her keys.

He had taken it, kept it, after they had abducted her.

Her heart leapt with joy as she grinned widely, looking down at the spherical trinket that she had treasured for years, incredulous understanding washing over her.

He had recognized the toy. He remembered.

Surely he remembered how he had marked it with his initials using one of their kitchen knives, and she had chastised him about how using a knife in such a way was dangerous.

How he had carried it around all the time, even when they were at school.

How he had accidentally left it behind in her bedroom as they played a video game, and she had kept it on her desk so she could hand it back to him the next time he visited.

How she had never had the chance to return it, because on the following evening, she had been on the edge of a gunfight, the gunfight that they later told her had claimed the life of her dear friend.

That toy had helped her pull herself together, as she had clutched it reverently in her palms every night for months after Vegeta’s supposed death, crying her eyes out at the painful knowledge that she would never see him again.

Shifting her focus back to the present, she stared blankly at the screen, distracted.

It had been too long, with no message from any one, and she knew that Lapiz, beside her, was also concerned.

“Where, exactly, did you say they went, again?” she asked him, trying to see if conversation can put her at ease.

“They went to the edges of the city to scope out an abandoned building that had once been used by the Syndicate for their trafficking operations,” he said. “Tien said that they may have some files there that could contain information on Raditz’s whereabouts.”

This did not assuage her worry at all, as she felt the beating of her heart refuse to slow.

She had gotten a sudden jolt about an hour ago, an inexplicable shot of adrenaline that came from out of nowhere.

She was… worried.

She had a sinking feeling that the mission was about to go terribly wrong.

That is, if it hadn’t, yet.

“And they haven’t called you yet?” she asked.

He shook his head, his face a placid mask.

Bulma had spent enough of her life with hardened criminals, and was easily able to tell when a person was feigning nonchalance.

He was worried, too, and this set Bulma on edge.

She was about to speak again, when a sudden commotion coming from downstairs had them both shooting to their feet, and she saw a look of worry flit through Lapiz’s face before he quickly covered it up with a frown.

She turned her attention to the door, and the panicked voice of Goku yelling something made the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end.

“Lapiz,” she turned back to him, feeling her blood drain from her face.

He nodded, before he hastily grabbed her by the arm, pulling her along with him to the entryway downstairs.

As they reached the landing, the sight that greeted Bulma nearly made her scream, but she clamped a firm hand over her lips, the other moving to hold her chest, as she felt her heart try to lurch out through her ribs.

It took only a moment for her to assess the sight.

Goku was madly pulling the small cushions off the couch, while Piccolo stumbled in, a bloody, unconscious body slung heavily over his shoulder.

The dark, flame-like hair fanning limply over the slumped head was unmistakable, and Bulma felt her throat catch, unable to keep her hysteria in as her eyes widened in horror.

“Oh no,” she whispered, before her voice broke in a horrified scream…

“Vegeta!” she cried, flying down the stairs, tripping over herself in her haste to get to him while Piccolo and Goku laid him down on the couch.

“Vegeta!” she called again as she knelt down beside him, staring in horror at the blood that flowed fluidly down his temples, unaware of anything else as she stared in desperation at his closed eyes. “No! Goku, what happened?!”

She dared not take her eyes off of her injured friend while she listened to Goku.

“The small building… there really were files about Raditz,” he said, “but the place was rigged, and Vegeta got caught in the debris from the explosion while we tried to get away.”

She pressed her hand to a particularly ugly wound on Vegeta’s arm, watching as he stayed still as death upon the couch.

Tears filled her eyes, and she shook her head in denial.

“No,” she gasped, feeling numb inside as memories of the last time she had believed him to be dead rushed through her mind.

“Please tell me he’ll be alright!” she heard herself begin to lose control as she stared, helpless, while Lapiz ran forward with an assortment of bandages, panic clear in his usually calm blue gaze.

It was too much, and Bulma’s eyes overflowed with tears when Vegeta remained unresponsive.

“I can’t lose Vegeta,” she cried, “Please! Not again!”

Yet, he remained unmoving…

8-8-8-8-8

To be continued…

 Read Previous

[libraryofrewrita]

Chapter 13: Preparing for the Confrontation

After discussing it, they decided to head to the construction site and see what exactly they had to deal with. If there was going to be a lot of people at the site, it was going to be a problem. They rode their bikes to the construction site and saw a green door with a C. They flashed the light onto the door, making it disappear and showing the group that there were only two people at the site.

“Well, it looks like it’s just us for today. I’m going to Everymart to pick up something, so I want you to get some work done while I’m out.”

The boss of the construction crew had left the site and Nate and Katie were confused about something.

“Do normal people not run into the Watch Lock doors or something?”

Whisper just shrugged.

“I would think so, otherwise people would be curious about the strange barrier keeping them away from some places.”

“Were we immune to Watch Lock doors before we got the Yo-kai Watch or are we just coming across them recently?”

“Well, this one was at a construction site, which is a dangerous place in general, so it might be just a coincidence. The other one we saw kept us from trespassing into someone’s yard, but it was also in a hidden alcove near Shoten Temple, so that one is kinda debatable.”

As they were discussing the logic behind the Watch Lock doors, they heard the worker sighing to himself.

“I wish I was stronger than I am right now.”

“Excuse us? Is anything we can do to help?”

“Hmm? Oh, you heard that? Yeah, if you know a way for me to get stronger, I’ll gladly listen.”

The worker turned away from them and started carrying some lighter items into the site.

“Whisper, is there anything you can think of?”

“Maybe Liver and Chives? It would work for me. If that doesn’t work, we can try having Mochismo inspirit him.”

“We’ll give it a try, Whisper.”

They pulled out a Liver and Chives and handed to the worker.

“Here, we heard that this dish can make you stronger.”

“Okay, I’ll give it a try.”

He ate the Liver and Chives and for a few minutes, it seemed to work. He was at least carrying slightly heavier items into the site, but he eventually got tired again as he leaned against the doorway, facing away from the group.

“Man, I can’t handle this much longer.”

“Quick! Inspirit him before his boss gets back!”

Nate summoned Mochismo and after a quick explanation, he inspirited the worker and by the time the boss of the construction site came back, the worker had almost finished clearing out the site.

“Wow! I can’t believe you managed all this while I was out!”

The worker smiled as he kept working and the group left the construction site, hoping that inspiriting the worker will get him away from the site for the night and walked to Nom Burger for lunch. When they got there, they ordered their food and sat down in a corner booth, and they discussed some things that they could do for the rest of the day until nightfall.

*****

Meanwhile….

Kyubi was getting impatient as he waited for night to come.

“Ugh! Why can’t it be night already?!”

“Honestly, Kyubi, elementary schoolers are more mature than you.”

“I really don’t understand why you gave up a life of lesuire to teach human children, Kit.”

“You’re the one asking two elementary schoolers for help.”

Kyubi glanced at the ground in embarassment and said,

“Look, it’s personal, okay?”

“Just don’t forget that you agreed to talk to the Koma Brothers about helping them with living arrangements today.”

“Yeah, yeah…wait…of course!”

“Kyubi…what are you planning?”

“Oh…you’ll see…”

*****

“Matt, come on! The clerk is worried about you! There’s an angry mob forming!”

Whisper looked behind him and said with surprise,

“Wait, really?”

Matt wasn’t paying attention to the group, so Nate cleared up the confusion.

“Nah, I said that to see if he was listening. I guess not.”

The group had headed to the arcade to kill some time, but when they went to the counter to see if there was any new games put in, they were told that one of their classmates, Matt, was spending too much time and money on one of the crane machines. They decided to check on him, worried that there might be something wrong with him.

“I’ll form an angry mob myself if that kid doesn’t start listening to us, nya.”

Whisper started dragging Jibanyan away from the scene as he said,

“Jibanyan, you stay out of this. We don’t need to bring violence into this.”

“Fiiine, but can I at least attack the Yo-kai inspiriting Matt?”

“Wait, what?!”

After a quick scan, they found a Yo-kai and Whisper quickly looked him up.

“Chansin, a Yo-kai that inspirits people to take chances, although he has run some people into debt through gambling. We might want to get rid of him. I don’t think it would be healthy for your classmate to develop an addiction to gambling at a young age.”

“Let me fight him! See if he’s willing to take any chances after I’m done with him!”

“Not in the building, Jibanyan! Take it outside!”

“Weren’t you against using violence, Whisper?”

“I thought Matt was just being stubborn. I didn’t know that he was being inspirited. Jibanyan, go get Chansin outside. See if being away from Matt will stop the inspiritment.”

“Okay!”

Jibanyan poked Chansin’s leg and he knelt down. Jibanyan whispered something to Chansin, who then went outside with Jibanyan. Matt seemed to calm down when Chansin and finally left the crane machine alone and left the arcade. They went to the counter to tell the clerk that they managed to get Matt to calm down with the overspending and as Nate started up one of the arcade machines, Jibanyan walked back in with a few bruises and Chansin’s medal in his paw and said,

“I managed to talk him into being friends after defeating him and giving him a few tips on battling. Here you go.”

He handed the medal to Katie as Whisper dug through the bag to get Jibanyan something to heal him up.

*****

Kyubi had managed to convince the Koma Brothers to meet him at the construction site when it got dark and went back to wondering about if his plan would work.

“Kyubi, I swear to Lord Enma, if those kids get hurt…”

“Calm down, I’m not going to let them get hurt.”

Geez, this is the second Yo-kai that’s threatened me.

“You better not…those are my students you’re sending in there.”

*****

After dealing with a few things in Blossom Heights, Whisper had found a box near Everymart with a spirit symbol. Out of curiousity, he placed one of the bronze dolls they had collected and placed it in the box. The bronze doll disappeared and was replaced with ten dollars.

“Okay, I guess the new selling system is finally in. Do you guys have anything you want to sell?”

After looking through the bag and discussing what could and couldn’t be sold, they sold the other bronze dolls they had collected, the books they had collected, and a few battle items they had no use for, the amount of money making up for all the food they had bought earlier.

“Woah…where was this box earlier?”

“I honestly have no clue. I guess it was still being set up.”

“Okay, we’ll head to Mount Wildwood to take care of the Mad Mountain at the Abandoned Tunnel and be one more step closer to a new upgrade.”

*****

A quick bike ride later, they were at the steps leading to the shrine. They hopped off their bikes and were about to walk them up the steps when Whisper held his hand out.

“Let me try something.”

“Are you going to teleport us up there?”

“If I could teleport all of us, we wouldn’t have had to worry about being caught by Gargaros that one night.”

Whisper opened the bag, picked up one of the bikes, and let it drop into the bag. Even though they all knew that the bag was bottomless, they were half-expecting to hear it hit something.

“Geez, is there an entire universe in there or something?”

“I would say it’s more like a very organized void.”

Whisper took the other bike and repeated the same process. As the group started walking up the steps, Whisper pulled out his Yo-kai Pad and started looking something up.

“Whisper, we know where the Abandoned Tunnel is. You don’t have to look it up.”

“That’s not what I’m looking up. I want to see if there’s an easier way of storing your bikes. It would be a pain to keep taking them in and out of the bag, but we don’t know when and where we might need them.”

“Fair enough, Whisper.”

They had gotten to the small shrine when Whisper found something.

“Okay, I found a charm that can help.”

Whisper showed them a picture of a white and rectangular charm with a clasp and went back to examing the charm.

“While it’s mainly used for making moving heavy furniture easier, we can easily use it for carrying your bikes around. All you would have to do is keep it on your person and you can summon your bike whenever you want.”

Whisper scrolled down a little and his eyes widened.

“Price too high?”

“No, it’s decently priced. It’s just if I order it, it won’t come until tomorrow morning. I was planning on having you guys ride your bikes to the construction site so that we could save some travel time, but that plan’s not going to work.”

“Isn’t there an instant delivery option?”

“I’m looking, but I don’t see one.”

Whisper opened a few more tabs and looked around.

“I can’t find it anywhere else! We’re going to have to-”

A small package fell out of a tree near them and after opening the box and examining the contents, Whisper realized that these were the charms they needed. There was also a note that read,

It has come to my attention that you might be in need of some assisstance. I just happened to have some extra charms that I am willing to give to you. I trust that you will use them responsibily.

- A Friend

While the group was rightfully confused, they were also thankful for the charms.

*****

Hiding in the leaves of the tree above the group was Mr. Barton in his true form. (Imagine Kyubi wearing glasses and a white overcoat.)

I might as well help you since Kyubi won’t let me help him with his problem and is very persistant about having you two help him.

*****

Nate and Katie had taken one charm each and pocketed the charms, planning to use them later as they walked to the Abandoned Tunnel.

“How do these work?”

“You just tap the charm against the object of your choosing and keep the charm on your person. When you need the object, you just have to squeeze the charm and the object will appear and disappear at will.”

“Is that it? But what if people notice when we make a bike appear and disappear out of nowhere?”

“Well, you can always say that you’re praticing your magic. At least that claim you made to that idol will seem less crazy.”

Whisper chuckled at Nate and Katie’s faces and he continued,

“Relax, you two. I’m just joking. No one will notice.”

“This might be just because I’m still new to being a Yo-kai, but how can anyone not remember a child making their bike appear and disappear?”

“Everyone else’s memories will just be slightly altered to remember whether Nate and Katie had their bikes on hand or not. It’s like with the Yo-kai Watches. Haven’t you two noticed that no one close to you has ever questioned where and when you suddenly got these strange watches?”

Both Nate and Katie realized that Whisper was right. Their parents and closest human friends had never once asked them where they got their Yo-kai Watches from since the day they got them. The Yo-kai Watches were pretty strange in design, even if they didn’t allow you to find and summon Yo-kai, so you would think that someone close to them would’ve gotten curious and asked by now.

“As far as your friends and family know, you two have always owned these strange watches. Everyone else either already knows about the world of Yo-kai in one way or another or they’re just not interested in finding out more about your weird watches.”

The group was becoming more curious about how Whisper knew about all of this. Sure, he might’ve just looked it up at some point as he did admit that he had to catch up on a lot of things he missed, but for some reason, it felt like there was more to him than they originally thought. However, before they could ask him about whether or not he had just looked the information up, they had found themselves in front of the Abandoned Tunnel.

“Okay, no one else is around. Let’s use the charms on the bikes now.”

Whisper started to dig the bikes out and Nate had to get the question off his chest.

“Whisper, be honest. Did you just look all that up?”

“For some of the information, yes. A few things have changed since my imprisionment.”

Whisper didn’t specify what he had to look up, but the group was at least satisified with his answer. Whisper finally got both bikes out and said happily,

“Okay, take your charms and tap them on your bikes.”

Nate and Katie took the charms out of their pockets and tapped their charms against their bikes. The bikes glowed bright blue and disappeared into the charms. Both charms now had a light blue outline and a picture of their bikes, Nate’s charm having his Breeze Bicycle and Katie’s charm having her Sakura Bicycle.

Wow, this makes things a lot easier!

They squeezed the charms and saw their bikes in front of them in perfect condition and squeezed the charms again to make them disappear. They pocket the charms as Whisper and Jibanyan went forward.

“Okay, now that we’ve tested the charms and seen that they work, we can start looking for Mad Mountain.”

They walked further inside the Abandoned Tunnel and found Whisper and Jibanyan looking over an old minecart.

“If it wasn’t broken, we could ride it to the other side and solve some ancient puzzles left by the past generation!”

“Wow, Whisper. I was under the impression that you were a play-it-safe kind of guy.”

“I am, but as long as I can find a way to keep Nate and Katie from getting too badly hurt, I don’t mind them having some excitement.”

The group walked to the right and found another minecart and after checking to make sure it was operational, they hopped in it and they traveled on the track it was on, seeing where it lead.

*****

After a couple of false turns on the tracks, picking up a few items, their biggest find being a dark blue Crank-a-kai coin, they started walking to an area where they believed that Mad Mountain was hiding. Just as they were walking by an A rank Watch Lock door, a Leadoni showed up from out of nowhere and yelled,

“You’re here to uncover our secret, aren’t you?! No one can know! Get out of here!”

It was admittedly a quick fight, since Jibanyan just took him out in two hits, mostly out of annoyance that he was keeping them from exploring the rest of the Abandoned Tunnel and finding Mad Mountain. When Leadoni was defeated, he disappeared and left behind a Leadoni Wheel, or at least, that’s what Whisper was able to find out about it despite the terrible reception in the tunnel. They threw it into the bag and continued on. They were relieved to finally see Mad Mountain and got ready to battle with him.

*****

After the battle, Whisper was doing flips.

“That was the second to last Yo-kai we needed! We can go to Timer’s and More and get the B rank soon!”

The group made their way out of the Abandoned Tunnel, befriedning a Leadoni and Babblong along the way, only to find that it was early evening.

“Whoa, we spent a lot of time in there. We better head back before our parents start to worry, or worse.”

Since for this group, ‘worse’ meant running into Gargaros, they started to make their way home, only stopping to catch a Rhino Beetle for the one request at Jungle Hunter. When they got to the bottom of Mount Wildwood, Nate handed Katie the Whapir medal.

“Use this to sneak out like we did for the Hot Springs. We’ll meet in front of my house when our parents are asleep, so maybe around ten. I’ll send Whisper to you when I’m outside.”

“Best of luck, Nate.”

“Best of luck, Katie.”

They summoned their bikes and made their way back home. Thankfully, their parents weren’t too worried about them arriving home close to evening since they expected that to happen with having a new bike and all. The kids had their dinner, Nate sneaking food to Whisper and Jibanyan when his parents weren’t looking, and stayed in their rooms, Nate writing about what had happened that day and Katie drawing the Yo-kai they met and befriended. However, as they rested to have the energy they needed and to keep their parents from worrying, they were both excited and worried about what this late night adventure would bring.

Previous Chapter: https://libraryofrewrita.tumblr.com/post/162296210754/chapter-12-the-guardian-of-flower-road Next Chapter: https://libraryofrewrita.tumblr.com/post/164382578774/chapter-14-the-komainu-brothers-and-the

[coeur-dun-pirate]

Bio and Rules

Rules:

I’ll try my best to answer reblogs and asks as quickly as possible, but no guarantees because my class load is pretty heavy right now. I’m usually pretty slow with replies. My name is Jess, so if you’d like to ask me something OOC, just refer to me by that and I’ll get right back to you! I’ll reply to most anything, including smut, angst, fights, etc. Just be nice to others is all I ask! I am in the American Central Time Zone, if that is helpful, but I normally reply in the morning or evening when I have the time to. 

Bio for Main Verse (Pirate au):

Name: Captain Félix Antoine Nihilon (though he prefers the last name Babote)

Gender: Male

Sexual Orientation: Pansexual

Age: 25 (Born June 18, 1657)

Hair: Pale blond, pooled in wild, fluffy curls on his head

Eyes: Blue/Green

Height: 5'11". He’s very lanky and tall, and he’s not heavy enough to hold his liquor too well.

Other details: Very thin and gaunt face, tanned skin (this is due to him being mixed-race, but to better conceal his identity, he claims that it’s due to his exposure to the sun). His eyes are crystal clear, owl-like and observant, and the centerpiece of his face. His voice is soft, but clear and calming.

Father: Lazare Nihilon-- a harsh tempered, French slave-driver. He is unforgiving and pessimistic. He meets the world with a glare.

Mother: Kinsalababote-- a wise, kind woman of the BaKongo people, and a slave under Lazare’s command. (Within BaKongo customs, last names aren’t given based on family, but instead are based on which groups of people that person chooses to identify with. So instead of a family last name, there is a lastname/suffix name given to the person based on who they identify as. The suffix name Babote corresponds to a group that does good deeds)

Born: The french slave colony of Saint-Domingue, which is present-day Haiti

Likes: The sea, above all things. He loves the wind in his hair and the sound of the waves and the rocking of the ship. He loves his crew like they are his family, and seeks out those he sees as misfortunate or lost to be a part of his crew, such as those with disabilities or those suffering from poverty. He loves warm weather. He is very particular to finding clothes that look nice on him (he’s rather vain). He loves music, and plays a flute every now and again to raise morale amongst his crew. He also has an incurable sweet tooth, and is a bit of a show-off when it comes to swordsmanship.

Dislikes: Slavery. He is entirely against it and spends most of his time out at sea hunting down slave ships and tracking slave trade routes. He also hates excess violence, and prefers to use evasion, defense, and trickery before resorting to more offensive fighting. He hates cold weather and isn’t too fond of people showing ownership over things like the sea or land.

Other: Although he’s the captain of his ship, he spends most of his time in the crow’s nest because he enjoys looking out over the ocean. He can speak multiple languages very fluently, such as English, Portuguese, French, and Kikongo. However, he isn’t very efficient at reading those languages. He tries to hide the fact that he was born as a slave, not because he is ashamed of his identity, but because his time as a slave was the most traumatic for him and he doesn’t like to be associated with it.

Background: Kinsala was kidnapped from her home in Congo and shipped to work on the sugarcane plantations on Saint-Domingue. She gave birth to Félix after Lazare had raped her, and Lazare demanded to name her child and gave him the name Félix, which meant “lucky”, as he thought the child would be lucky to survive in the harsh conditions of the plantation.

Félix did survive, however, as Kinsala took great care to shield him from the harsher field work and gave him as much of her food as she could to keep him growing. Félix learned French, but he grew up with the traditions and beliefs of the BaKongo, and he loved his mother more than anything.

However, as Félix grew, his father treated him the same way he treated all of the slaves, and Félix was regularly and horrifyingly beaten along with his mother. As he grew older and began to take on the workload of his mother, he began to resent his father. He dream of escaping from the colony with his mother.

One night, when he was 15, Lazare was in a rage. He battered Félix to the ground and beat Kinsala until she died. Blind with anger, Félix wrestled Lazare’s sword from his belt and stabbed Lazare to death with it. He took the sword and ran, stealing Lazare’s small supply boat and sailing off into the sea. He jumped from port to port, building a crew, until he was able to raid a French navy ship and steal it for his own. For 10 years, he built up his reputation, hiding his origins away and becoming a fearsome pirate.

The sword he carries with him presently is Lazare’s sword, which is why he refrains from using it as much as he can, because he is haunted by his past and doesn’t want to kill ever again.

Bio for old verse (FBAWTFT au):

Name: Felix Virgil Nihilon (Nihilo is the Latin word for “Nothing”, if you’re wondering C:)

Age: 31 (Born June 18, 1895)

Hair: White/Silver, pooled in fluffy curls on his head

Eyes: Blue/Green

Height: 5'11". He’s very lanky and a lightweight. He would lose so hard during a fist fight, smh

Other details: Very thin and gaunt face, pale skin, wears thick glasses. His eyes are crystal clear, owl-like and observant, and the centerpiece of his face. His voice is soft, but clear and calming.

Parents (both no-majs): William and Grace Nihilon. Both of his parents were complicated people: his father was heavily involved in crime, while his mother was a terrified woman who hid away in her home.

Born: Brooklyn, New York

Wand: 14.5", Hornbeam wood, Unicorn Hair, Rigid Flexibility, Carved lilac designs run down its sides

(Due to the Hornbeam, it is very disobedient to other users besides him, and will never project any of the unforgivable curses)

Ilvermorny House: Pukwudgie

Patronus: Unicorn (Not trying to be OP, this is the result I got on Pottermore)

Favorite Colors: Blues, Greens, and all pastels

Likes: Using a typewriter, despite his ability to enchant a pen or a quill. He makes excellent tea. He always decorates his small clinic with flowers. He enjoys nature, despite how little of it there is in the city, and spends a lot of time in Central Park. He loves holding casual conversations with others, and picking up clues as to what they’ve been through. Spring is his favorite season. He likes quiet people; he views them as a challenge or a riddle. In his free time, he paints, although he doesn’t think he’s any good at it.

Dislikes: Legilimens (he’s SUPER jealous of them), loud noises, isolation, cold weather, Grindelwald/his ideals, and the weird no-maj laws that MACUSA has. He hates when his appointments are unsuccessful, and blames himself.

Other: He’s bisexual, and also a huge dork that likes showing off how much he observes about others. He wakes up early and goes to bed early, but takes frequent naps. He’s got an enormous crush on Newt, but knows that it will never work and keeps his mouth shut. He can get lost in thought very easily, and is seen as spacey by his relatives. He’s also a huge cuddler so watch out.

Background: He was always the mediator in his family. His parents fought constantly, sometimes violently, and he had no other siblings to stand up for him. His parents never meant to hurt him, but he was always caught in the crossfire of their arguments and sometimes came to school with bruises on his face. As such, he taught himself at a young age to observe how his parents ticked, and how he could draw out certain emotions in them to make them happy and content with each other. He loved spending time outside, because he never had to say a word to make the flowers be kind to the wind. His parents were always proud of him, loved him a lot, and supported his magic, but the emotional pressure that they put on him to hold their relationship together was too much, and for a while after attending school he was a cocky little punk and spent life as a criminal. He didn’t want to exhaust himself over making other people happy, so out of spite he did the opposite: he used his knowledge of psychology to work his way inside the heads of mob bosses and hustlers and make their lives miserable. He rose to the top of the criminal foodchain simply by scaring and threatening his enemies into submission, even driving them to suicide. He never killed anyone as a criminal, and when fights became physical, he got beat up quite often. He was angry and manipulative, but still had a code of honor, and never picked on those who were weaker than him. During this time, his parents tried to re-establish contact with him, but he ignored them. Then, they were killed in an attack by Grindelwald fanatics. Torn apart by his own actions towards them and the suddenness of their deaths, Felix failed to find comfort in his empty title as criminal. He remembered how good it made him feel when he got his parents to hold hands again for a while, and he made the decision to reform himself, disappearing from the underground and using the money he had built up to buy books and materials to finish up medical school. He hid himself away in his apartment, finishing up his doctorate and becoming a certified healer and psychologist. He dyed his hair and worked full time until he had earned enough money to buy his clinic, lying low and working to become a better person. He now dedicates his life to understanding other people.

That’s all folks!