#this happens if you're not convincing enough about going through the city and killing people 'for his own good'

[writeforfandoms]

Shadows 1

Find the John Price masterlist

My entry for @glitterypirateduck O Captain challenge! This one starts with #3, a rescue takes place. This is part of the larger zombie AU, but you don't have to have read the other fics.

About a year and a half after the end of the world, you're unexpectedly rescued by a group of four men. Time to find out what you can make of life now.

Warnings: Violence, canon typical violence, forced captivity (not by the 141), unnamed bad guys, blood, references to medical stuff, swearing, grief, allusions to deaths, not all monsters are zombies.

Word count: 1.4k

You'd lost track of the days in this place. Well. Not this particular place, you'd been moved around a few times. 

But these places were all the same. Abandoned, with varying levels of light, never unpacking. 

Not that you were allowed to keep much. Mostly just supplies. 

You shifted your position, crossing your legs carefully against the hard floor. The heavy duty strap around your ankle dragged the chain across the floor, an unnecessary and loud reminder that you couldn't go anywhere. 

The house around you was quiet and still. No footsteps coming towards you. No shouting. No smashing glass. 

Considering the world had all but ended, you'd think these guys would want to keep their living area clean. But no. They'd proven to and again that they didn't care about anything except themselves and getting what they wanted. 

Unfortunately for all of you, safe places were becoming harder to find. The cities were all unpassable, filled with infected. Which left towns and other areas. 

This group had gone through at least three towns since they'd grabbed you. They didn't care about anyone else. They didn't do anything to help. They just took what they wanted, killed anyone who got in their way, and kept you alive to sew them back up after. 

Considering they often attacked in the night, and guns were not readily available to most people, you didn't have too many injuries to deal with. 

Honestly, if throwing yourself off a building was an option, you'd consider it carefully at this point. 

The first sign you had that all was not well was a thud, so muffled you almost didn't hear it. You probably wouldn't have, except you were actually awake and sort of paying attention. 

Now you wished you'd sat closer to the window. Just in case. 

Silence held for long enough that you felt almost confident relaxing again. Whatever you'd heard was a fluke, or someone moving, or something simple like that. None of your  concern… unless someone had managed to break a bone or something. 

You really hoped not. You hated setting bones without the modern conveniences. 

A door downstairs creaked, and you went still, heart rabbiting in your chest. All the doors in this house creaked, that's just what happened with neglect. It wasn't a big deal.

But if the men were up and moving, you needed to be alert. You couldn't simply trust that they'd leave you alone. 

But you didn't hear footsteps or further signs of life. Which was different. Unusual.

Unusual was probably bad. 

Moving slowly, you got to your feet, trying to minimize how much the chain dragged against the floor. Maybe you were wrong. Maybe this was nothing. Maybe there was nothing to be upset about. 

Then the shouting started, one voice that you recognized yelling for the others to get up, to fight. Soon other voices joined him, chaos erupting downstairs. The first gunshot still made you jump, loud and unexpected. Your fingers twitched at your sides, anxiety thrumming through you, leaving you jittery. More gunshots followed the first, and you winced. 

Well. Undoubtedly you'd have people to fix up after this. Whatever this was. 

The chaos downstairs lasted mere minutes that felt like hours. Gunshots and shouting and meaty thuds, the occasional creak or squeal of a door. When you convinced yourself to creep to the window, you couldn't see much outside. 

Then a flash of movement in the bushes outside. Could be nothing. Could be a person. You moved to the side, trying to hide. The cuff around your ankle tugged sharply, reminding you of your limitations. Heart beating wildly in the sudden silence, the sudden absence of violence, you knelt to scrabble at the material. 

The stairs squeaked as someone ascended them. 

Rapidly running out of time, you gave up on freeing yourself, and instead scrambled over to hide behind the door. That would give you a moment or two, maybe, and had the added bonus of leaving you enough loose chain to hold as a makeshift weapon. 

The door eased open, but nothing else happened for several moments. You couldn't hear anything over the pounding of your heart, your fingers clenched so tight around the length of chain your fingers ached, metal digging into your skin. 

The other person moved suddenly, stepping into the room and twisting to look right at you. You didn't notice much initially, too focused on the gun suddenly pointed directly at you. You made a choked off kind of noise, swallowing hard, fingers gone numb. 

But there was no gunshot. No pain. No noise. 

The gun lowered slowly, and you finally looked past it to the man in front of you. The first thing you noticed were his eyes - the kind of blue that stuck with you, intense but warm. The facial hair drew your attention next, mostly because not only had he made a bold choice in muttonchops, but they were clean and maintained. 

He clearly had access to supplies. 

Finally, you realized his lips were moving. He was talking to you. You just hadn't heard him. Blinking rapidly, you breathed in deep, trying to think, to focus past the lingering fear. 

“I'm sorry, what did you say?” Your voice came out quieter than you intended, a little raspy. Your throat still felt tight and dry. 

His lips quirked in an almost smile. “I asked if you were injured,” he repeated patiently, voice soothingly even. 

“No.” You swallowed, looking down at the chain still clutched in your hand. “No, I'm fine.” 

He raised one eyebrow, chin tipping like he really wasn't sure about that, but he didn't argue. “Take it you're not with the gents downstairs.” 

You scoffed. “Could say that,” you agreed, loosening your grip but not letting go yet. You could finally hear again, could hear someone else moving in the house, the gentle creaks and groans of the old house helping you track them. “What happened?”

He looked at you for a moment, impassive, before he nodded once. “Most of them are dead. They attacked our town. Tracked them back here.” 

You nodded, leaning back a bit. Clearly this man was dangerous. Him and whoever he had with him. It was strange though that you couldn't hear more, unless he'd left most everyone else outside. The group downstairs was impossible to miss when they were moving, at over a dozen members. 

The two of you stood for a few moments at an impasse before he shifted the gun to his side, holding it with one arm. His free hand drew a knife.

For a moment, a bare second, you stared at the shining blade and wondered if this was finally it for you. 

But he surprised you, kneeling in front of you. “Gonna cut this off you,” he told you, motioning to the strap around your ankle. “Hold still.” 

You didn't move a muscle as he worked, lips pressed tight together. The metal was cool against your skin, but you felt no pain. 

Just a loosening, a sudden lightness. 

“Done.” He rose back to his feet, knife safely tucked away again. “Sure you're not injured?” His gaze swept over you, cool and assessing. 

It finally clicked what he thought you were doing here, and your lips twisted in an almost smile. “They didn't rape me,” you said, finally letting go of the chain, letting it fall with a loud clatter. “I'm a nurse. Or I was, anyway.” 

Comprehension dawned, and his shoulders settled a little lower, a little more relaxed. “Handy to keep around,” he surmised. 

“And keep well enough to work,” you agreed with wry humor, flexing your fingers. 

“You have anywhere to go? Anyone waiting for you?” 

Grief stuck in your throat, the flash of blood and bodies and cruel laughter taking all your attention. But only for a moment. You shoved it back down to deal with never, breathing in slowly. Controlled. You were fine, you had this handled.

“No.” You cleared your throat, clearing away the remnants of grief. “Much like everyone at this point, I suspect.”

No pity darkened his eyes, understanding in the tilt of his lips. “Could always use someone with your skills in town.”

You tipped your head, looking at him. He stood patiently under your scrutiny, giving you all the time you needed to note how clean he was, his clothes in good repair, his weapons seemingly working fine. Wherever he called home must have been in pretty good shape, especially to have guns and enough people to spare to go after a threat. 

“A town, you said? Tell me more.”

[frost-eyed-autumn]

Homecoming || starsburned

@starsburned

Standing outside of here now was a weird feeling. It wasn't as though he'd ever been to this place before - Dazai's place, the one he'd taken up in after leaving the Port Mafia. He'd never once visited it or even given it a glance, hardly even knowing it existed. Even when he did learn about it, he never made a point to come by.

Yet, standing here now was surreal in a way. The Black Lizard and a scattering of their men were on standby elsewhere, watching and blocking off every street and alleyway leading in and out of this city block, to make sure no one they didn't want could get through while the two of them worked. Not the police, not civilians, and certainly as fuck not the ADA.

The latter was highly unlikely at this hour anyway. The deep hours of night had always belonged to the Mafia; that never changed. Once morning hit, it wouldn't matter if they knew. Everyone here would be long gone with a job well done.

But...

"You're really sure about this?"

Dazai, dressed to conceal his identity as just another Port Mafia grunt, stood beside him. Chuuya's hands were shoved into his pockets, his coat customarily hanging off his shoulders with the sleeves dangling loose.

They'd discussed it at length ; Dazai's leaving the ADA. More importantly, faking his death so that he could do so without hassle. They didn't need those Agency toddlers getting some kind of bullshit in their minds about staging some rescue operation over something that was inevitably Dazai's choice and Dazai's choice alone. As much as Chuuya would deeply enjoy the Agency giving him an excuse to crush them, he knew better than to instigate anything if it wasn't on Mori's order.

Everything was set to make this night happen. They'd discussed every step at length and how to make it look convincing. Both Dazai and Chuuya had plenty enough experience killing people, so it wasn't hard to imagine just how a murder scene should look.

The biggest complication in all of that would be potential civilian witnesses, which was the largest hole in their plan they would have to cover, and the part they'd spent the longest discussing, but they'd come to a reasonable way to handle that too.

"You know, once this is final, there's no going back. I have no doubts the Agency would be fine taking you back and I'm sure you could come up with a convincing excuse for your absence if you ever decide you liked being with them better after all,--"

After all, the Agency were soft and, frankly, gullible. If Dazai fabricated some story about how he'd been attacked and taken prisoner or held against his will, likely they'd believe it. It wouldn't be hard to trick them into letting him come back with few, if any, questions.

"--but the Port Mafia isn't going to let you get away with betraying them twice. Matter of fact, I'd hunt you down and kill you myself, for real this time. You'd better be absolutely certain this is what you want."

[deerabigailhobbs]

Hi!!!!!! It's me, back with more Adamgail-siblings!!!!!!!!!

So, in the version of events where Adam gets Abigail back with him in Saw-city (or wherever saw takes place I don't think it's ever confirmed) for them to try and live somewhat normally, would Hannibal figure out a series of events to follow them?

I don't think persuading Will would be difficult, all he would have to say is 'there's a messed up serial killer killing people, don't you think that's a dangerous place for Abigail to be?' and Will would probably think yeah that's bad and then he and Hannibal would try and convince Jack to let them go and solve the Jigsaw killings.

Jack would probably want to solve the jigsaw killings and this could also help him maybe get more opportunities to find out if Abigail did help Hobbs kill those girls. He'd probably get worried about leaving Bella behind though. Alana would probably go to make sure Jack doesn't try anything related to Abigail even though it isn't her job. (I just like her and want her there). And Beverly, Jimmy, and Brian would go because it's their job.

Do they read up on what happened and learn Abigail's older brother is a victim of Jigsaw beforehand? Or do they get there and be like 'yeah lets go speak to all survivors' and then start freaking out when Adam walks through the door?

And when they get to the station, they're going to get bad vibes from about half of the detectives there, due to the whole 'most of the department is corrupt' thing.

Then because of story purposes, most of them would get put in a trap.

Will is probably there because he's 'reluctant to use his gifts to help others' or something. Jack is there because he's to focused on work and not on other people's feelings. Hannibal ????????? Bumped into Hoffman and didn't say sorry????????? Everyone else is probably fine.

And, uh, yeah! I had more thoughts but I've forgotten them.

Hope you're doing well!

Hello friend! I hope you're doing well too!

First of all, so real of you to want Alana to be there because you like her, I'm the same haha.

The interactions between all the Saw and Hannibal characters would be so cool!! Particularly Hannibal and John's. They're both artists in their own way, Hannibal more classical, while John more industrial (if that makes sense?). Hannibal views most humans below him while John thinks everyone can be redeemed if they value their life enough, would those ideas clash? Would they hate or respect each other's work? I can definitely imagine John putting Hannibal in a trap, purely out of a personal interest because Hannibal isn't like any other man he's come across. Maybe to show him that he's just like everyone else deep down, no matter what he thinks. If you cut hard enough you'll bleed, if you cut deep enough, you die. Hannibal isn't an exception. You can't take a human life for your own personal gain (of course, this is coming from the mind of John Kramer so his ideology is all over the place and hypocritical).

Hannibal would probably find out who Adam was through family records, find out about his test, and assume Abigail has gone to him. He'll tell Will they're going to New Jersey (which is where Saw takes places apparently, but icl Saw-City is so much funnier haha!) and, well, off they go. They'll find Adam at a survivor meeting, where he's adamant that he hasn't seen his sister in years, knowing that she's currently hiding away at his house, that other agents and detectives from out of state have asked about her whereabouts, and Adam has to take caution in getting home, knowing anyone of these people could be following him.

Adam would probably feel bad about keeping Abigail hidden, wondering if he's turning into his father, concealing her from the rest of the world, but he tries not to look too deep into that. And having Abigail insist that he's not, that she's thankful, that she missed him and hugs him like it'll be their last embrace, takes the weight of his shoulders.

Now, if we want to get really angsty, what if Adam were an apprentice? What if he also took part, not in killing people, but finding out their locations... Maybe being friendly with them so he can find out where they live... Doing it not necessarily because he believes in Jigsaw's methods, but because the man he loves does, and he doesn't want to lose that affection so he goes along with it... Seem familiar?

And oh, the absolute guilt that would wreck him. Finally having Abigail back, knowing that where she is now isn't any better. That he's putting her in danger again, surrounded by more crazy people, and suddenly he can't stop seeing his father's face when he looks in the mirror. All he wants is to shield her from pain but it's near impossible, it's like tragedy simply follows her wherever she goes and Adam can't do anything about it. Besides, well, killing her. And he can't do that. He thinks.

Semi related but I think Hoffman and Will would absolutely DESPISE each other, he would put Will in a trap for breathing too loudly lol. I'm not sure why I think this but I do. Suddenly Bedelia is number 2 on Will's hit list lol

[tadpolejourney]

Day 3

I found a lute. Not a great one, but it plays in tune. Good enough for me. I already miss my guitar. I found a letter between lovers (on a corpse, quite tragically) that mentioned traveling to Baldur's Gate. It must be nearby. City of my cruel upbringing, my sorrows, my ire, and my ghosts. I'd rather go back to the Hells.

I also found the apparently renowned “Gale of Waterdeep”. Yes, he introduced himself to me with a title rather than his simple name. Already encountering some serious characters, or rather characters taking themselves very seriously. He's very intelligent and charming, but likely prone to arrogance which other people would (naturally) find off-putting. Despite the fact that I discovered him, as a supposedly adept wizard, stuck inside his own portal, he still had the audacity to call his rescuer 'unlettered'. Why bother to use manners if you're just going to insult people anyway? Annoyingly, I think he's quite handsome. Of course I'd never tell him so. His ego clearly needs deflating, not inflating. He could be projecting all that bravado to mask deep insecurity though. I can't tell yet. He wasn't the least bit judgy about me picking through crates, barrels, and corpses for useful items. And out of everyone I've met thus far he seems to be the most trustworthy. We'll see.

We encountered the githyanki woman snared in a trap by a pair of tieflings. I had to convince them that she was intelligent and not some thing to be trapped and killed as you would a wild animal. They were easily swayed and I freed her. Her name is Lae'zel. She mentioned a githyanki creche would hold a cure for our infection. She's grumpy, callous, and impatient, but she's extremely dependable in a fight. She seems too literal in her speech and truly believes in what she promises, which tells me she is not being deceptive. However, convictions do not always hold actual truths. Gale seemed intrigued by her, though I suppose anyone would be in this realm. I know I am.

A pale elf named Astarion lured me into a trap and held a knife to my throat. I've heard it's a great way to make friends, but I've never tried it myself. He's gorgeous, but assuredly deadly. Eyes of a predator. What I saw when our minds collided confirmed what I suspected. He was hunting something or someone. He was predictably coy when I asked him about himself. Claimed to be a magistrate. Yeah, and I'm a fucking queen back home. He's hiding a hell of a lot. Another alliance which I shall be extraordinarily wary of. I suspect my other allies will be on their guard around him as well, at least they should be.

We happened upon an old crypt. According to Gale it used to be dedicated to Jergal, Scribe of the Dead. I found a button, which is to say I immediately pushed a button I found. Turned out to be a trap. We were ambushed by skeletons, which we promptly dispatched. They were guarding a tomb with a peaceful mummified undead inside. He seemed to have premonitions about my fate, and said he could revive me or any of my 'companions' should one of us perish. He refused to elaborate on anything. Okay, weird skelly boy.

We camped at the crypt and there was an ornamental piano, filthy but miraculously still in tune. I annoyed Lae'zel, who called my music 'hellish screeching and clanging'. Clearly uncultured. Astarion and Gale spent the evening separately brooding. I didn't feel like singing, but it was nice to play for a while. I played through bits and pieces of what I've been putting together for Act V, and it sounds just fine to me. I hope I'll get to finish it.

Get this, all of my newfound allies have their fucking stuff. Bags of holding with tents and all the creature comforts you'd want for camping. I'm the only one without. Fuck my life.

I haven't seen Shadowheart yet. I wonder if she made it. No sign of the creature called Us either.

<<< Day 2 | Index | Day 4 >>>

[12pt-times-new-roman]

c3e45

this episode was pre-recorded and these guys are probably under contractual obligation to plug DDB. please do not subscribe to D&D Beyond. in fact, if you're already subscribed, cancel your subscription.

"I done made 'em curse!"

Apparently any kind of conflict can set off FCG's kill switch. So the question now is whether this thing is an intended feature of a Care and Culling automaton, or if it's a short circuit that happened some time in the past millennium. And if it really is just a short circuit that could be fixed by someone skilled enough to work on Aeormatons, that really does put a different spin on the Bells Hells going to the Feywild instead of to the Seminary.

Ashton recognized somebody in the airport casino -- Violet is someone who does a lot of things, they're very good at convincing people to do things and at finding people who don't want to be found. They went to make sure the Hells weren't being followed by Violet's people, but they got compelled to spill a bunch of secrets about the group, so Ashton agreed to go do a job with Violet in exchange for them not turning the group in. "There were cops, there were mobsters, I may have kidnapped a mobster, a lot went down." So it sounds like the Bells Hells now have a reason to get out of Yios fast.

Violet was in town to get information out of one of the local mobs -- the Baneful Brood -- and Ashton agreed to be some hired muscle while they tried to prove that the mob was dealing with stolen and/or smuggled artifacts. "Turns out he doesn't keep a ledger, he has a kenku, so we kidnapped the kenku, tied up the kenku, rolled them up in a very expensive rug... there are a lot of rooms, and next thing we know, we're unconscious, tied up in the kitchen."

That was the most Rube Goldberg story and I love it so much for them. This would be such good material for a one-shot.

According to Violet, there were some "weird Dwendalian people" calling themselves the Ruby Vanguard coming through town a few weeks ago, and they pissed off every criminal in town.

FCG, Fearne, Imogen, and Laudna head into the Seminary to meet with Professor Ishal, who they were told might know something about Aeormatons.

He's a young firbolg, tall, thin, with soft maroon fur and red hair.

"Sorry, we're not supposed to let people--- oh." His accent is similar to Ormid Haas, I think?

He knows Joe, who he calls "one of the best minds in automaton mobility in Marquet." They write to each other sometimes.

"You are an Aeormaton, and specifically, a harmonious Aeormaton. A very particular design of the old Arcanum city, they were designed as peacekeepers and diplomatic associates, often used as guides and communicators in the city... I've heard rumors of Aeormatons emerging, but none have come to Yios before." He's heard of the Care and Culling and has apparently read "many books" about it.

In FCG's power core, where Joe stopped before, they are "fitted with quite the unique arcane power accumulator. It's far larger than what is needed for an Aeormaton of your size, which may confirm that you were created for the Care and Culling event... destructive [spells], that makes sense, but healing, that's a bit confusing."

Ishan pulls the power core out of FCG's chest. It's a large sphere of deep blue, almost purple color. It looks very much like the other arcane cores they've seen, but it looks stranger, more intricately connected, larger. "I think this might be the source of your [arcane] powers, but I caution, it could be unstable due to age or damage... if it were to overcharge with arcane power, it would take out most of this building." There's no power leaking, and it's very safe as long as no one goes fiddling with it, connecting exterior arcane terminals to it, etc.

"The enchantment technology that was utilized in the creation of Aeormatons was specific to Aeor, and were lost with the city. No one can make new beings like you. You are from a time when this secret was known and utilized, but that time is passed. You are both a relic of history, and a very unique, special person... A lot of Aeormatons worked very hard during that time to establish themselves as equal to their creators. As much as Aeor gets a lot of negative information written about it, and rightfully so, there is a beauty in some of what they made. You are not defined by what you are told your purpose was -- you carve your own path. You are not defined by a binary answer. Being alive, being conscious, free will -- it's frightening. But it's worth everything."

FCG is being fitted with an EZ-Bake Oven inside their chest. This is the most fitting end to this encounter I could possibly have thought of.

Meanwhile, Imogen and Fearne head off to find Kadisha Sumal's office. There are, like, 7 different locks, and she only opened the door because Fearne mentioned Ruidus-born.

She's an older orc with long braided hair and grey-green skin, with heavy bags over her eyes and casual clothes. Her office has a window with a curtain drawn, shelves filled with books and papers, little baubles.

Sumal appears to recognize Imogen's mind powers. Liliana was one of the first people who came to the Omen Archive, and she was instrumental in many of the earliest breakthroughs they had.

The exaltants had the most powerful abilities, and Liliana was the first one who came to the Archive. There isn't a large history of exaltants, there are very few historically, but that number has been growing exponentially. There were 12 at last count that the Archive knew of.

As the Archive was trying to test the extent of the exaltants' abilities, it became more and more uncomfortable as outside forces were peering at them. Members of the Verity began to disappear, so they scattered and buried their research.

Exaltants were the first to speak of the "railora," beings they think come from beyond Exandrian cosmology -- some of the exaltants began having shared dreams where they met a collection of entities, crimson beings that referred to themselves as the railora. The further the Verity pushed into their research, the more alarming it became, so they pulled back.

They theorize that the flares are a way for the railora to connect and tether themselves to Exandrians, "reaching out to someone and holding that tether." Their intelligence was hard to understand and the Verity had no concept of their morality, so their studies became more about finding proof beyond the dreams.

Liliana was trying to develop her abilities regarding entering other peoples' dreams. The Verity guided her through it using induced dream states, and her progress was "incredble," but it became so worrying that the Verity stopped helping her and told her to stop trying.

"There's only so far you can reach into the unknown until the unknown starts pushing back."

Some railora were solid flesh, others were made of energy. They were intelligent, alien, always in a crimson hue similar to the landscape of the dreams. Some enticed with promise, others demanded, others brought empathy and comfort. They speak wordlessly, with imagery and emotions.

THEY ARE INTERRUPTED BY LUDINUS DA'LETH.

Fearne is going to get herself killed.

......okay, he tried to charm her first.

(to Sumal) "You have ignored Assembly requests for an audience for weeks now, and we are on a short timetable." Ludinus is the nightmare she's been waiting for for a very long time. (to Imogen/Fearne) "Sit. You might learn something."

"The archive we recovered is extremely important to our research, but there are excerpts missing." He charms Sumal. "I do hate robbing them of their will... but some things are more important."

He turns to Imogen. "She was right... you do look just like your mother. It is, genuinely, a pleasure to meet you. I've heard of your prowess."

Then to Fearne. "And you... not quite an exaltant, but definitely of the red moon. How fortuitous."

god, Ludinus is so cool. This intimidating, calm demeanor, so confident in his abilities, so full of wizard hubris and selling it. Lawful evil at its fucking best. And that makes it all the more impressive that he was genuinely off-put and shaken by Jester.

Liliana has been working personally with Ludinus for a long time, and her contributions have been integral to the Vanguard's research. This is from Ludinus himself, though, so take it with a grain of salt.

"Do you feel the pull? Northward? [Do I? Yes.] Then follow the instinct. Both of you, if it's there."

"I know you've had dalliances with the masses who try to meddle in our work. I know you've confronted my associate, Thull, and I'm not blind enough to believe you're seeking entry to our merry band. But I also know you only speak from a place of ignorance, misunderstanding. I'm not the one doing this. There are many of us working together to make this happen. This is important work, it's my life's work. [Liam's alarm bells go off here.] So. Do you want to know how to help? Stop resisting."

[Are you Ruidus-born?] "I have my connections to the red moon." [Insight check: 17, contested.]

"I think your mother would like to see you. She talks about you. She's sad that her destiny took her on a different path, and she hoped it wouldn't lead you to the dangerous threads of fate that tug her ever away. But it seems you share a similar destiny."

"Do you know what we're doing?" [We're learning bits and pieces. The power's pretty enticing, though. I gotta say.] "The power is just a tool. All power is just a tool. Fools throughout history use it for personal gain, for forgotten means." [If you succeed, will it go away?] "Parts of it will, for those who have cheated through boons unearned beyond just faith. This society is borne on those who have gained power through transactions, unearned except for granting their succor and obsession to these gods. We don't need them. They've always needed us." [It's happening soon, right?] "Sooner than I'd like. But we'll be as ready as we can be." [Well, maybe we'll find you to the north.] "I think you will." [What are you doing with those papers?] "Don't want to spoil the surprise."

"I watched the world burn at their behest. I saw the ruin their gains left of our people, the destruction they brought down to stunt the potential of mortal minds and hearts. They act only to preserve themselves. So, if there is even an ounce of you that finds faith in them, there is no place for you amongst us." [How old are you?] "Old enough... you're not of faith either, are you? Why?" [They don't mean anything to me.] "Good."

"We are the seeds they plant, and till, and water. We struggle in the maze they shaped. Then, when we expire, they return to their private gardens to harvest, because they told us there was no alternative. They tell us this is how it is, and we thank them for it. We may be their creations, but all children outgrow their parents. The Age of Arcanum, the Matron... they feared our developments, the growing power of the mortal mind. The Divergence, it wasn't to protect us. It was to protect them from us."

I'm pretty sure Ludinus cast feeblemind on Sumal.

Orym sees Ludinus walking down the steps of the seminary as they're waiting outside. He walks into the crowd, is joined by the two Vanguard operatives who escaped, and teleports away.

The Bells Hells regroup in Sumal's office.

"Was he looking for you? This is her office, it's always here, why did he come now?" FCG's getting at it.

Sending to Ryn: "We're in Sumal's office. We need a fast exit. She's been hurt." "Well, shit. I was really hoping that she was elsewhere. On my way."

Man, I'm learning so many new words today.

Ryn arrives. "Oh, my dear... this is a bit far from my purview." Sumal needs a greater restoration -- Ryn can't do it, but she knows people who can.

"As far as I know, the remaining pieces of the Archive that were part of those papers included the names of all known living exaltants in Exandria, the rotations of Ruidus, and the pattern of its orientation during each flare through recorded history."

....great.

To the Feywild!

Morri lives in a place called Ligament Manor. Fearne neglected to tell anybody this.

"You find yourself in a creepy magical marshland of gnarled trees that form a web-like ceiling of corkscrew branches and trunks. You don't even see any leaves, it's just a latticework of trees, with the faintest gaps of pinkish-purple skylight that peeks through." Welcome to Fearne's home!

"Does anyone else feel like they've taken too much?" Ashton (/Talisein), I love you.

oooooo Matt definitely took inspiration from Subnautica for this

"When you look at Fearne, she's Fearne, but there's something different about her. Her features are sharper, her eyes are deeper and bluer. The ears are longer, her limbs seem to be slightly exaggerated. There's an otherworldly air about her that's just... unique. It's upsetting at first glance, but everyone else looks normal."

this is super interesting. b/c to me it seems like the Bells Hells are only okay here at level 9 because of Fearne -- like she's some kind of fey lord or royalty who's tethered to the land like Morri is.

Friendly reminder that Fearne can indeed speak Sylvan

"Roll persuasion with disadvantage." "26."

I think I've said this before, but Matt has gotten so creative with his encounter design. It's super fucking cool, of course, but it also fits very well with the campaign -- the Hells are a control party, they want to twist and manipulate encounters instead of using brute force or subterfuge, so encounters with multiple solutions are their jam, but it's enhanced all the more by the absolute trust that the players have in Matt and that Matt has in his players.

if anyone wants an approximation of this, here is what a jazz pan flute might sound like.

Through the forest, Fearne picks up a familiar scent -- the oils Morri uses, the lanterns she burns.

The find a domed, circular clearing, ringed with thorny walls and thicket. In the middle, a massive tree covered in hundreds of hanging vines, like a frozen waterfall of deep green and teal streamers, completely obfuscating the center of the tree. It rises over a hundred feet, just scraping the top of this dome; the shape implies a dozen or more branches with the vines draped over them like a weeping willow. Within, there are hundreds of small nests, empty wooden cages, lanterns, and many, many unique wreaths tied throughout, subtly decorating it. The air hangs heavy with a presence that leaves breath thick and chilled.

Fearne feels that chill in the air as a warmth in her chest.

As Fearne gets within 5 feet of the tree, the vines furl apart like drapes, letting through the faintest flicker of firelight.

The tree is comparable to the Sun Tree in its thickness. 30 feet up, it splits into two trunks that corkscrew around each other; the branches off the trunks each hold a hut, a room.

"Enter. We knew you were coming." (Note that whoever is speaking had to invite Fearne into the home -- she didn't just enter.)

"It's hard to grasp a solid presence. At times, it's beautiful, and at times, it's borderline nightmarish."

There are knit dolls, animal skeletons posed in dancing positions, alien-looking potted plants that seem to guard their side of the room with ferocity.

"Oh, Fearne. How we have missed you." Fearne leaps into the arms of a... shape. The shoulders sit at 7 or 8 feet; the torso is like a barrel; swathed in a large, blue-green, patchwork dress, there are no feet visible, and the Hells can hear them like a sack of flour with each step. The shoulders are thin, pointed, skeletal. Around the top of the dress is a mantle of chiffon, from which emerges a head on a stretching neck, craning like a giraffe, framed in long white hair. A wrinkled old woman's face, a terrifying wide smile of jagged teeth, eyeless sockets with sunken golden glow, nostril slits with no nose. "Fearne, with your friends, like a cocktail... welcome, welcome. We have guests."

She pulls open the front of the dress, and in the chest is a massive pair of sunken eyes, a mouth that curls into a smile across the torso. "We haven't had guests in a while... come. Let me show you to my tiki bar."

[electrasev5nwrites]

Ninja Daily: AIC 18

"So, this is what you've been doing for the last month?" Raidou rubbed the back of his neck. "Gotta admit, I was expecting more thumbscrews. And less…" He squinted at the compass Yamato was using to change a detail on his plans- they were adding lateral braces to increase the likelihood of the building making it through a tsunami intact. "Less whatever that is."

Yamato's brow furrowed. "Me too," he admitted, drawing the addition carefully and scratching out a bit of math to figure out what that would do to the load-bearing wall adjacent. He glanced at Terumi, who was probably close enough to hear. "I think that was on the schedule, but there was a change of strategy. Welcome to your indefinite working vacation. Today we're making the first foundation. Are you helping me? I've not been assigned a lot of assistance for some reason. Almost like they don't trust their genin around me."

"That would be hurtful. You're a very trustworthy guy." The older man shook his head. "So, our working vacation, huh?" Raidou's mouth twisted. "That sounds familiar. You spoke to the…." He glanced at their Kiri escort and clearly decided against whatever he had wanted to call Uzumaki-san. "The Godaime Mizukage?"

If Yamato had to venture a guess, he'd say that Raidou had been leaning more towards 'the slightly crazy person' than the term of respect. Or maybe he was projecting. Maybe Raidou had had a perfectly reasonable interaction and she hadn't done anything creepy or abruptly nonsensical in the time they'd spent together. He did notice that the Kiri ninja didn't seem to know Raidou's name yet, so probably not.

"Yes," he answered belatedly. "That's the one. You know, she's been bringing me books." He paused. "From a library in Grass. I'm not sure what to think about that. I didn't know they had an architectural college, to be honest. That seems like a thing that I would know. I'm a little embarrassed that she knew and I didn't."

Raidou paused, probably wondering the same things. How was this person apparently all over the continent? Could that woman actually be the Mizukage, kami, who would have voted for a person like that to rule their country? When had that happened, anyway? Why had she chosen to fight the Yondaime Mizukage in her city and cause so much damage? Why was she pretending to be in Konoha?

Or… the other way around, maybe the one in Kirigakure was the body double or whatever was going on?

He didn't see her frequently enough to say definitively. And one would think that long-term visitors to Konoha would enjoy at least half the scrutiny that long-term visitors to Kirigakure did. Someone should have noticed whatever was going on if it wasn't more convincing in Konoha.

"When I was enjoying the city," Raidou said, dryly side-stepping around the espionage-y truth that all of them knew, "I did hear rumors that the new Mizukage defeated the fourth in battle and sealed away the Sanbi. It all sounded rather heroic. She's pretty directly credited with saving a lot of lives. People get a bit poetic about it."

Well. Actually, that was a pretty good reason to approve of someone's nomination to kage.

But was it true or just propaganda? Terumi's posture didn't change at all, making it impossible to gather any information from a reaction.

"Sealed the Sanbi?" Yamato wondered. "I hadn't heard that bit. You would think that we would know about a seal master of that caliber."

'Jiraiya-sama would, for certain. That could be very useful information. If I can get it out. If they don't kill me once I've outlived my use.'

If she was a seal master, that was probably how she was doing… whatever it was she was doing that allowed her to practically be in two places at once. Was it some type of clone sustained through seals that allowed her to continually feed chakra to it? Or.. Well. The only other explanation he could think of would be some kind of transportation technique. He wasn't an expert, but it was difficult to see how sealing could work to overpower a shunshin or anything like that safely. How had the fourth Hokage's transportation technique worked? There must be some way to do it if he'd done it, but…

Yamato had a horrible, sinking feeling.

It was just… The Uzumaki were supposed to be legendary seal masters, right? And if both the Nidaime and Yondaime Hokage could come up with hiraishin, then maybe it wasn't so crazy to think that a determined Uzumaki could be inspired by them and replicate it, or come up with something similar.

It wasn't- it didn't seem likely, but none of the options he could think of did. If she truly did have an instantaneous travel technique, that would account for the few and odd hours that she seemed to keep in Kirigakure, as well as the surprising amount of autonomy that Terumi seemed to have.

Working with that theory, the most compelling question was why she wanted to be in Konoha so badly that she would delegate reconstruction that she was obviously invested in. That… couldn't possibly be good.

"That's enough gossip." Terumi's voice was hard, but she wasn't looking at them. Was that- was that Kirigakure's rogue jinchuuriki approaching?

Yamato blinked hard, but the well-coiffed man really did appear to match up with his memories.

"Terumi-san," Utakata said, voice cold. "Good morning."

The smile she gave him was equally icy. "You must be very pleased that Mizukage-sama has decided you are fit to assist with something that matters." She indicated Raidou. "Try not to lose track of him, or banish him to the borders while he is in your care."

'That is incredibly unfortunate.' Yamato kept his expression blank throughout the sniping. 'If I'd been the one assigned to Utakata, I would have been out of here weeks ago, and Raidou wouldn't have had to stay and get captured himself. Bad luck.'

The blue-haired young man at Utakata's shoulder shifted uncomfortably, not looking directly at Terumi. Yamato could sympathize a bit. He wouldn't like standing between, say, Kakashi-senpai and Nara Shikaku, if they were acting like this.

Why was Utakata even here? He wasn't a recent deserter- he appeared to have left for personal reasons, not Kirigakure's political maneuverings. So there was no reason that the death of the Fourth would have brought him back into the fold, as far as Yamato could tell.

'Which means that there's something I don't know.'

Well. That was nothing new. Glumly, he watched Raidou leave with the jinchuuriki. They hadn't gone very far before Raidou obviously tried to strike up a conversation, body language friendly and open. He was rebuffed.

'Maybe he'll be able to get something out of Utakata.' Yamato turned his attention back to his work, making sure everything was in order before he would begin actually working with his jutsu. He didn't like the idea of using it for Kirigakure, but they couldn't seal away his chakra if they wanted him to use it. 'Terumi is far too clever for me to learn anything useful from her. But Utakata is younger, and seems less experienced.'

To be honest, one of the most intimidating things about the Godaime Mizukage was the fact that Terumi Mei seemed to take orders from her. He'd never seen Uzumaki-san in a fight, but he knew enough about Terumi to be very, very nervous. What that implied about the holes in his knowledge was concerning.

Really, in this line of work, it was what you didn't know that would make you miserable down the line. For example, what the Kirigakure shinobi didn't seem to know. He hadn't dared ask Raidou what had happened to their third, but he could guess. A guy like that would be halfway to Konoha by now, since the mission had ended with both of the senior members captured.

He couldn't be too smug, or relieved that things would work out. The thing that Yamato didn't know, sadly, was whether their junior member would be reporting to the Sandaime or to Danzo.

XXX

Gai stopped with the chopsticks halfway to his mouth, caught in a rare moment of open calculation. Kakashi glanced over to see what had caught his interest when food was on the line.

Oh.

He leaned over and stole some of Gai's soba on principle. Genma was staring shamelessly through the windows, and it was starting to become incredibly unsubtle. Didn't matter. She wouldn't be able to see in, anyway.

"Oh look, it's your incredibly shifty friend," Asuma said, noting what they were looking at. "The children-hating one."

Kakashi considered expressing his derision for that. "Whose friend?" he asked, legs tense under the table. "She seems to respect Gai a lot more than Genma."

Genma's nose crinkled, but he didn't actually disagree.

Gai practically beamed. "I am pleased to hear of the assessment you overheard! It was quite flattering." But he went back to polishing off his food, giving only a momentary frown when he noticed that he was missing noodles.

"It was suspiciously flattering," He ignored the wounded look Gai shot him. That wasn't what he meant, and Gai knew it.

"It's not exactly a secret that Gai's exceptional with taijutsu, but it's a little odd that some random Kiri-nin would know it off hand," Asuma agreed. His eyes were narrowed in dislike, even though Uzumaki had disappeared into the crowd. "They're isolationists. I know she could have investigated him after her initial confrontation, but the way she acted that first time is… concerning."

"By her behavior, it would not surprise me if she had heard of me before," Gai agreed. His brows were drawn low. "It was done so casually that I did not think to be suspicious when she redirected me from a fight to a race. In retrospect, this does fit very well with her recent admission that she would not like to fight me. It was cleverly done. She reminds me of my very excellent Eternal Rival, in fact."

Kakashi felt his back stiffen.

Asuma choked. Genma threw his head back and actually laughed.

"What."

"It's true," Gai protested, enjoying it just a little. "She is not as Cool and Hip-"

Asuma started laughing too.

"but she took similar postures, and she certainly feels the fire of a competitive spirit!"

"I can see it." Kurenai sat down, back from the restroom. "She does act like Kakashi-san on the clock. Maybe more when he was a little younger- a bit cocky, on edge. Before he mellowed a bit with age."

None of that was at all flattering. He glowered, feeling his shoulders creep upwards.

Kurenai was entirely unaffected. "She uses similar misdirection in conversation, although I think her general attitude may actually be worse than Kakashi-san's."

Asuma stopped laughing long enough to posit, "So, she's the female version of Hatake. Only she threatens her genin a lot instead of ignoring them to read when they irritate her."

Genma made a speculative face. "I really wouldn't be surprised if she was into Icha Icha. She just seems like the type, you know?"

That set Asuma off again.

Kakashi kicked him under the table. When Asuma made a wounded sound and looked over, he was already hiding his face behind a book. "Fascinating," he said, in his least interested tone.

"Do you think it's time to try again?" Genma fiddled with his senbon, picking at his teeth. "For Gai, I mean."

"I don't think there's any reason to wait longer. Our window isn't unlimited." Kurenai casually reached over Asuma and took his tea. "If Genma can't convince her to stay in Konoha, we should gather as much information as possible while we have her in the city. She is a figure of some concern. We should know about anyone who could compete with Gai or Kakashi."

"So, don't challenge her to a spar," Asuma said sensibly, taking Kurenai's cake in retribution. "She'll turn that down. But if you try smaller things- things that she thinks are harmless- you might be able to work her towards something more telling. And you could still learn about her personality and problem-solving to construct a profile."

"I had been thinking the very same thing," Gai said gravely. "I will try in the afternoon, once she has eaten with her team. Is it not noble that she spends so much time with them? It is inspiring."

"Is that what it is?" Kurenai asked under her breath. She didn't exactly approve of pushing your genin into a river. It had appeared to be completely unprovoked.

In Uzumaki's defense, Kakashi had contemplated the same thing many times. And the kid was fine, anyway. His teammates had laughed themselves nearly to hysterics when Uzumaki leaned over the bridge railing and made a rude gesture. It had seemed to help the team dynamic, actually. He was leaving town with Sasuke tonight for concentrated training, but perhaps once they were all together again he could give that a try.

The only hard part would be deciding which genin to dunk. Water might improve any one of them.

"She's got quite the routine planned for them," Asuma pointed out fairly. "She's clearly thought towards advancing their skillsets in a complementary way that plays to each of their strengths. I know she doesn't seem like she's been their sensei for a long time, but-"

"She's an experienced teacher," Kakashi agreed absently, drawn from considering the benefits of pushing each genin in a river. Maybe he'd just soak all three of them. It'd be satisfying. But would it serve the same purpose? Probably not.

Kurenai nodded, conceding the point. "And she's invested, in a way she wasn't just two weeks ago when she came here. That speaks to responsibility, doesn't it?"

"Like she's so used to being in charge that she couldn't help it." Genma leaned back, tipping his chair off the floor. "Maybe I've been trying the wrong tactic by trying to romance her."

"She does seem more interested when you're not acting invested," Asuma agreed. "Casual."

Genma shook his head. "No, not that. I meant that if she's really the type of person who accumulates responsibility wherever she goes, she's gotta be incredibly stressed. She doesn't confide in people- at least, no one here. So what she's been doing with me was just letting pressure out of that toxicity when she's about to boil over. That's why she wasn't interested in the dinner- romance isn't in the cards." He grinned, like a shark. "What she needs is a friend. A controlled release of that stress, by someone close enough to sense when she's weak and prod it out."

"Kami wept," Kurenai said under her breath. She might have rolled her eyes, if she was a less controlled person. "I never want to hear you talk about making friends in that tone again. You sound very strange, Genma-san."

He shrugged. "I think I'm right," he said. "I made romantic gestures, and I tried implying that I could help her by feeding her students and empathizing with them. She doesn't want or need a partner in that, or a love interest. She won't want my help. I think I'd be better off trying something that distracts from all that instead of convincing her that she'd have a support system in Konoha. Or if I let her think that I would take orders from her, but I don't think I'm that good of an actor. It's hard to imagine that she gave up independent work for a village- she's controlling. I'm not sure what Kirigakure offered her, but I hope we can match it."

Kurenai sighed. "I'm choosing to believe that you are not quite this calculating about your interactions with that lovely chuunin in Intelligence. Michiko?"

Genma made a noncommittal sound.

This wasn't a productive area of discussion, so Kakashi laid his chopsticks down. "Come on, Gai." He dug in his back pocket for enough to pay the bill and began meandering to the counter. "Try challenging her again, while I can watch. I've got to leave soon."

"YES!" Gai shot to his feet, and then actually jumped over the table to beat Kakashi to the counter. "That is an excellent suggestion. Surely this time she will accept."

Asuma reached for a smoke, shaking his head. "I know you're not going to let her see you, but that might be interesting," he said amiably. "She was twitchy about your team, and she deliberately spent that time with you in Wave. She wants something from you."

Kakashi gave him a bored look. "Surely you're not implying there's some reason that no woman would spend time with me without an ulterior motive. That would hurt my delicate feelings."

"I'm straight-out saying that," Asuma agreed. "I imply nothing." Then he winced, which was probably Kurenai digging her heel into his foot.

She gave the two leaving a polite smile, resting her chin on her palm. "Good luck."

Kakashi let Gai go ahead once again, being the flashy one drawing attention while he came in a moment later from another direction. Uzumaki had made it back to her training area and was sprawled on the grass. She was clearly in the process of picking up papers to keep them out of view, her attention focused on Gai as if she'd predicted his arrival.

'Is she a sensor? Or did she just react quickly enough that it looked like she knew ahead of time that he was approaching?'

Kakashi tuned out Gai's bellowing in favor of watching the Kiri-nin. The genin were watching Gai with more interest and less incredulity than before, so they weren't entirely hopeless. The pointy-faced one was actually looking a bit unfriendly.

It was Uzumaki's body language that was odd. She seemed comfortable enough around Gai. If he hadn't heard her admit that she was wary of him, he wouldn't know that she considered him anything other than a mildly pleasant acquaintance.

'She didn't categorically deny that she was stronger than Gai when her genin claimed that,' he considered, thinking over what that might mean. 'She just said that he was better than she was at taijutsu and that she doesn't want to fight him. That doesn't mean she thinks she would lose in a fight with Gai. Was she boasting? Or downplaying her abilities to teach her students the lesson about underestimating enemies?'

To be fair to everyone involved, her taijutsu was sharp. He'd not been at his best when they'd fought, but it was still clear to him that she was formidable in that regard. She considered herself a taijutsu specialist- but did that mean it was her only advanced skillset?

"an invigorating test of strength and perseverance!" Gai finished bellowing.

There was a moment of shocked silence, as the genin worked to process the fullness of Gai's enthusiasm. Uzumaki's face was calm, professional, distant.

Until it wasn't. She broke out into an incredulous smile, though her body language didn't warm. "Konoha-san. Do these look like the arms of someone who does more than a hundred push-ups for any reason other than direst necessity?" She pushed up her loose sleeves, revealing the outline of a muscled but slim bicep. Kakashi had seen less muscle on shinobi before- genjutsu and ninjutsu specialists, mostly.

But she absolutely did not look like she could perform exceptional feats of upper body strength.

"I would not presume strength by such a thing!" Gai put his hands on his hips. "I am well aware that the most graceful form can conceal strength. You need not think further than the emitable Tsunade-sama, or indeed, many of my lither coworkers and peers!"

Uzumaki's eyebrows moved up as she made a little pout, seeming to concede that he had a fair point. "Still, I prefer not to."

Gai hummed, which was the first time that Kakashi realized that he had suggested that competition fully expecting it to be rejected. "Then let us do glorious battle with cartwheels! I can do them with perfect form, until-"

"No, thank you," she interrupted, almost sounding bored.

"Jumping jacks! Tic-tac-toe! Janken! Or perhaps we will race-"

Her mouth opened-

"in the trees," Gai finished mischievously, which was a competition hilariously biased towards a Konoha nin. He was hoping she'd pick one of the games, then, and begin to relax.

Uzumaki made a considering sound and tilted her head. "Can't touch the ground, three times 'round?" she asked casually. "I think that the full village circuit would be an enjoyable run. And I've been sitting a lot today."

Kakashi frowned. Was she truly so cocky about her speed that she would agree to a race in an environment where her opponent had such a large advantage? Did she think she could win?

Gai was similarly surprised that she took him up on it, taking a minute to nod in furious agreement. "As you say!" He began stretching. "From the gates."

"Why don't we add a friendly wager," Uzumaki said genially. "Loser brings the others' team lunch tomorrow. I think it's fitting, since you're interrupting mine."

Gai actually flushed, because it was entirely possible that he had failed to notice that Uzumaki was in the middle of eating. He rallied quickly. "Acceptable!"

"We eat a lot," Uzumaki said, and for the first time, Kakashi realized that, actually, she was not being pleasant. This was her retributive streak."And I think that we'd like steak."

Her genin had developed concerning shark-like grins with the crudely sharpened teeth you could expect from Kiri-nin.

She was intending to wreak revenge for being interrupted, possibly because she was well-aware that Gai would continue to return unless she truly put him off.

'She absolutely believes that she will win,' Kakashi realized. His jaw clenched. 'That's… is it arrogant?'

It was not. It was not arrogant, because he knew she would win by the second lap. He wasn't sure how she did it, because he couldn't expend the chakra necessary to keep up in the race without being noticed. But she definitely did something.

He saw it once- she was running neck and neck with Gai, teeth gritted and limbs flying. Then she was simply ahead- no handsign, no chakra rising. She was keeping pace with him and then she was four inches ahead. Gai roared, gained speed, and gradually began to gain ground again, feet pounding.

It wasn't that it was an effortless victory- she was clearly working hard, and he would have said she was exceptionally fast even without…. whatever she was doing.

'And when he catches up, she'll do it again. She's doing that again and again to rub it in. Or maybe so that he can't say she cheated by leaving the route. She'd lose without it, but not by much. I think Gai's setting a personal best right now.'

He waited by the gate, leaning in clear sight with his book up as if he was waiting for Sasuke already. So he was in good position to see the finish. Uzumaki went a good ten meters past the finish line before dropping out of the trees and swinging in a slightly wavered walk towards the city line. Her fingers were trembling, a bit, when she lifted the hem of her shirt to mop at her face. He looked away so she didn't catch him staring.

Gai had barreled a good forty meters past the line in his failed charge to regain the lead, so it took him a moment to make it to the gate.

"Gai-san?" She cut him off before he could begin a speech about the nature of defeat and how he would learn from this experience. "I'm not changing my mind about the steak, but I want ice cream tomorrow, too."

"Are you certain you wouldn't like bath salts instead?" Kotetsu said under his breath inside the gatehouse.

His partner huffed. "Or a hospital stay," he muttered back.

"Those would be good too," Uzumaki allowed. She was too busy trembling and trying to breathe to notice them startle at the fact that they had been overheard at that distance.

Kakashi felt his mouth curve into a humorless smile. That was an interesting piece of information. They'd learned a lot from this.

'And it lends credence to what Genma said earlier- that it seemed like she could hear us on his headset. That means that we can't trust her reactions were as real as they seemed. She could have been feeding us information. And she's almost certainly realized she's under surveillance.'

"Hatake?"

She'd noticed him, and her expression was calculating enough that she'd probably guessed it wasn't a coincidence he was there.

He rallied by waving his book at her. "Afternoon," Kakashi said lazily. "Waiting on a student. So lazy. Late. Very inconsiderate to his poor sensei." Then he went back to his book as if he didn't care in the slightest.

There was a slightly hysterical giggle from one of the gate chuunin.

XXXX

She felt like hell. That was the best run she'd ever had, and she apologized to Hoseki in her mind for even thinking it. But it was true, she'd never ran that hard in her life. By the time she'd started to need that kind of speed, she'd been able to compensate with hiraishin. And she'd done that just a bit today, but only just a little. Just enough to be sure that she'd win.

Aiko stretched again, putting her forehead directly on the cool grass between her spread feet, arms sprawled over head. She pretended not to hear Yuusaku asking Keisuke if they should find a doctor.

Oh, wait. That required a response.

"I'm fine." She turned her head just enough to make the words clear. "I'm going to be recovering for the next two days, but I'm fine. Go back to work. You should be inspired. That's the kind of speed I want you to aim for."

"I would die," Yuusaku said matter-of-factly. "I would rather die. People aren't supposed to do that."

"Work, child."

They went back to working. Or at least they stopped chatting, which, whatever.

"I think I bought us a few days without Gai-san," Aiko said to the grass. "He's only a human, too." That wasn't said with quite as much confidence as she'd like. "He'll take some time to reevaluate and think of a new challenge. If he comes back. Maybe he's done."

She paused.

"Or maybe he'll propose a new challenge when he brings lunch tomorrow," she allowed. It was hard to tell with him. "Anyway, be proud of sensei. I got you a great lunch, I bet. A Konoha nin would know the best places to go, and he seems like he'd be generous in defeat."

She considered getting up. Briefly, she considered dying instead, because it would take less effort. But somehow she managed to pry herself to a sitting position, and then to standing. Aiko surveyed her team. "How is that jutsu coming, Yuusaku?"

"I think I'm going to get it today."

Aiko nodded weary approval. "Good, good." Before he could get too proud, she continued, "That's the first part of the technique I want to teach you. The easy part. The part that when I learned it, I spent about an hour on. I'm a little concerned," she said, words spilling out easily. "Once you're done, I want you to practice your control. I was thinking that running in the trees would be good practice for all of you, actually. It's a good control exercise, and faster travel in this environs. Plus, when else will you get the chance to practice it? If you need to fight a Konoha nin in the trees, you're not in a good place to stop and ask for tips."

"Oh my god," Keisuke said quietly. But no one actually argued, so she considered it good enough.

"Do that after I leave." She somehow picked up her knapsack. Her back was aching. "Until six. Once you all finish your current exercises. I'm going to go shower."

"And collapse?" Ryuusei asked.

Aiko nodded. "That too."

She didn't really remember the walk back to her hotel. It was a little embarrassing, but she was actually tired enough that she couldn't sense her observers. She was definitely not going to finish reading the last of those reports before five. Some of them were just going to have to wait.

A shower helped, a bit. She might have fallen asleep standing there if someone hadn't knocked at the door.

"No," Aiko said mournfully.

The knock came again, a cheery little tap-tapa-tap.

She sighed and turned off the water. She wrung her hair out, and wrapped herself in a towel without actually toweling off. When she opened the door, she immediately realized that she should have expected this.

"Heard you raced Gai." Genma seemed spectacularly amused. "Thought you could use some painkillers, dinner." He held up a brown box, spinning lazily from twine. "Maybe company."

Aiko considered it.

"That's…really thoughtful," she said slowly. It was suspiciously thoughtful. She knew perfectly well that he had ulterior motives for spending time with her, but it was still… too nice. She didn't trust it.

His face started to lighten, tension she hadn't noticed lifting.

She reached out, snatched the box, and slammed the door shut. Just to see what he'd do.

Genma coughed. "That's how it is?"

She narrowed her eyes. He sounded like he wasn't really that phased.

His sigh was heavy, but resigned through the door as she opened the box to see if it had what he said it did. By the heft and smell, it was probably dinner- for two people. "You know, I'm really not sure I deserve this kind of disregard. If you don't want me around, say so."

"I don't want you around," Aiko said absently, leaning back and beginning to untie the twine. "You're spying on me."

"Am not." Genma actually managed to sound indignant, though he kept his voice low. "My job is to convince you to stay in Konoha, not to report on your activities. I certainly haven't said anything about all that paperwork you're getting from nowhere, or the fact that you weren't in your hotel room when I tried last night. The ANBU probably think we had sex last night, by the way. It would have been pretty suspicious if I'd left instantly."

Was he telling the truth? Aiko felt her jaw grit and she set the box aside without getting the flaps open. "That's ridiculous."

"Which part of it?"

"All of it," she lied, but she opened the door and gestured for him to enter. "I think that someone would know if I was leaving my hotel room. Unless Konoha shinobi don't watch all the exits. Or you think I've dug a tunnel out underneath the bed?"

"I don't think that," Genma agreed genially. He reached into a pocket as he stepped in, bringing out a little bottle of pills with a clatter. "I don't know what I think, other than that you'd spook and my mission would be a bust if I came clean to Konoha about what I think I know."

She felt her lips twist into a smile that lacked humor. "You're terribly candid."

"I think it's been proven that you're a valuable resource," Genma corrected. He tapped the bottle against his palm twice, letting it rattle. "Too valuable for me to alienate over standard chuunin-exam espionage. You said you were a free agent just months ago." He raised an eyebrow. "And here you are, wearing a Kirigakure uniform. I think you're flexible."

"I'm wearing a towel," Aiko pointed out, but it was obvious that she was on the defensive.

"That's a pretty weird way of answering the door," Genma acknowledged, tone light. "Would you like to take a moment to get dressed?"

She considered it. Honestly… she was so sore that the thought of dressing was miserable. And it wasn't that she felt threatened by Genma. If she needed to fight him, weaponless, in a towel- well. She'd come out on top, or at least be able to leave.

Besides, he'd seen more. So had half of Kirigakure. Whatever.

"Too much effort," Aiko said bluntly. "I was hoping that nudity would make whoever was at the door uncomfortable enough to leave."

"Plus you're sore as hell?" he asked bluntly.

She didn't want to admit weakness. But yes, obviously.

Genma made a tsk sound. "I'd offer a massage, but I imagine that you're not in the habit of letting near strangers sit on your back and do things you can't see."

Her expression must have been answer enough.

"Why Kirigakure?" Genma opened. He leaned against the wall. "Any of the five great nations would provide more security than a smaller one, or none at all. But Kirigakure- they're isolationists, they're in political turmoil, and they're not friendly to bloodlines. Not very friendly at all."

"I'm not worried about that." Aiko took a few steps away, considering doing something about her dripping hair.

He smiled. "And that's interesting, because it really wasn't that long ago that Kirigakure came to Uzushiogakure and killed nearly all your clan." There wasn't anything kind about the way he said that unfortunate truth. "Even if you're not holding a grudge, they can't possibly trust you."

Aiko remained silent. No, they didn't trust her, exactly. But they were in too desperate straits to protest against semi-competent leadership. If she was going to have problems with dissidence and sabotage, it would come after the worst had settled down.

"Konoha is traditional allies with the Uzumaki." He tapped the pills again. "And you'd know that we weren't just hoping to stick a bijuu in you- we've only got one of those. And as I'm sure you're guessed, it's nicely sealed away in an incredibly appropriate host." Genma raised his eyebrows. "A host who you're interested in. You have family in Konoha. Do you have family in Kirigakure?"

No. Aiko felt her lips thin, because that was a low blow. "It's pretty of you to say that Konoha is preferable based on old treaties with a country I'm obviously too young to have lived in," she parried. "Tell me again of what good friendship with Konoha did for Uzumaki in the last hundred years?"

He looked uncomfortable enough at the hostility that she had a thrill of victory. He'd made it personal, but he hadn't been ready for her to take it personally?

"Poor Kushina-san met a sticky end in Konoha," Aiko said, knowing she was going too far even as she did. But this was an old bitterness, something she'd been choking on since her cradle. "She made a sacrifice purely for Konoha's benefit, and what did that loyalty get her? Had she stopped breathing yet when someone made the decision to put that bijuu in her infant? Kushina-san consented to a terrible burden, but that child never did. He was just convenient, a subhuman vessel for Konoha's burdens and bitterness. Why would any Uzumaki want to live here, seeing how that boy is treated? I knew he was malnourished and unloved the moment I saw him. Do you ever wonder what Kushina-san would say?"

Genma was pale.

It felt like she should be shaking with fury, but her tone was low and cold and perfectly steady. "Keep that forked tongue behind your teeth, Konoha. Don't talk to me about how Konoha loves the Uzumaki."

'He looks like he's never considered that an Uzumaki might be bitter about the jinchuuriki business,' Aiko thought incredulously. 'Like he's never empathized with Naruto long enough to realize how monstrous it is to make that decision for an infant.'

And that, more than anything, was the final straw.

"None of you deserve to wear that." She nodded at the shoulder spiral standard to the Jounin uniform of Konoha, Uzushio's mark proudly displayed on people who callously used her family. "Get out."

His jaw clenched. She could hear the metal senbon click against his teeth. Slowly, Genma set the pills down on her bedside table and put his hands in his pockets. "Alright, then. I'll leave. I'm sorry that I took the conversation there."

She watched him, dislike heavy in her chest.

He waited a moment or two for a response. When he didn't get one, he gave her an awkward little nod and let himself out.

Aiko stood, simmering for a time. She could feel the Sanbi paying attention, rising to the upper limits of her consciousness in a way that he hadn't deigned to for weeks. He was angry too, he was the tempest and the fury and he was darkly satisfied just as she was to have lashed out at someone representing the hellhole where her kind had first been imprisoned, bound to this path by the actions of someone who hadn't the right to make that decision for so many, no right to set that precedent.

She blinked. She took a moment to sort through that feeling, not entirely certain if it was hers or if it was the Sanbi's. It…

'It applies to both of us,' Sanbi said definitively.

Aiko couldn't disagree.

In that moment, with fury giving her energy, it was clear that she couldn't sit around for the rest of the day. She considered her options. It wasn't terribly difficult as a choice- she got dressed in a cold, precise anger. She put on full makeup, she put her hair up, she pulled on the dress uniform and took a moment to check the full effect. Professional, polished, impressive enough for what she needed to do today. It ought to strike the right first impression.

There was actually very little chance that Konoha would think she had any energy to go sneaking out today. Not with the way she— she didn't hurt, actually. She didn't hurt at all.

Aiko paused, straightening her back just a bit.

'Don't get too used to it.' Sanbi wasn't friendly, exactly, but the old hostility wasn't there. 'It costs me nothing to help you heal. This doesn't mean I'll be giving you my blood and bones for your jutsu.'

Slowly, she nodded. "Thank you." Her voice struck the still air more loudly than it really should be.

He made a low sound that might have been a grumble, a deflection of the generosity he'd displayed. 'Don't you have a village to visit?'

"I do," Aiko said under her breath. "I think it'd be politer to deliver this letter in person, don't you?"

Fuck Konoha. They were slow, and she couldn't afford to wait on them and choke on their hypocrisy. Kirigakure was going to be leaner and meaner and they were going to get that way with or without Konoha's help.

XXX

When they got into the office, Sandaime already looked tired.

Genma slightly regretted that.

"Is she gone again?" the Sandaime asked, sounding like he expected very little.

He nodded. "Probably. And no, we don't know how yet," he added deprecatingly, before that could be asked. "We did, however, get an outpouring of information."

"Oh?" The old man was giving his full attention, eyes brighter. "What kind of information?"

"Our first emotional response," Hatake butted in. He looked and sounded about a hundred times calmer than he must be, because that was how he reacted to stress.

Genma didn't sigh, but it was close. "I got her angry," he admitted. "That wasn't my intention, but it was a significant break from the public face she's been presenting. I believe it was legitimate. I also believe that we now know why she went to Kirigakure, and that it was largely that it was the first opportunity she had to ally with a village she had no grudge against."

The caveat there was obvious. The Sandaime's gaze flicked to Kakashi, who had encountered Uzumaki before she'd joined Kirigakure.

Hatake shoved his hands in his pockets, apparent disregard rising in proportion with how uncomfortable the topic made him. "Uzumaki-san has comments about how we might improve our treatment of Uzumaki in general and Naruto in specific."

Lines slowly deepened on the Hokage's face.

"She was rather familiar and well-informed," Genma added. "Referred to Kushina-san by first name. She appears to have strong opinions about the relative morality of an adult choosing to become a jinchuuriki and an adult making that choice for an infant." His lips twisted, remembering the tongue-lashing. "Her feeling about the latter is 'no'."

"With a side of 'fuck Konoha,'" Hatake mused. "Her strong feelings cannot be emphasized enough."

"But she knew enough about the situation that I can only conclude she investigated." Genma steered the conversation back on track. "She was interested in Konoha. What she found made her angry and disillusioned, but she wants to be here." He paused, because this bit was risky. "If only for Naruto. She only lost her temper once I brought up the fact that she has no family in Kirigakure. She's very aware of that. I think that she could be convinced to tie herself to Konoha, if we allay her fears."

Her discomfittingly accurate fears, unfortunately. The track record between Konoha and Uzumaki that she rattled off had been well-considered.

Hatake sighed. "Well, I'd better be off."

The Sandaime eyed him incredulously, and Genma felt himself doing the same. Dismissing yourself from a meeting with the Hokage was rather impudent.

"Oh, it's nothing important." Hatake fluffed up his hair. "Sasuke-kun can wait a little longer if you prefer. He's a the gates, waiting to leave for training." He paused. "Probably. It's only been an hour."

XXX

It took some doing to get herself into a meeting with Nadeshiko's leader. They were small, and didn't have the large administration or -apparently- an especially busy day.

It was still, however, rather ballsy on her part to even hope to meet with the country's leader on the first day that she made contact. So Aiko was entirely blasé about being asked to wait four hours, shuffled from building to building and taken on one flustered tour of a historical landmark just to kill time.

She didn't have anything better to do in Konoha. And so what if they dared open the door and discovered she wasn't in there- were they going to accuse her of something? What grounds did they have?

'When we attempted to invade the privacy of a foreign delegation that we allowed in under strict treaty conditions, we couldn't locate them or any proof that they were engaged in any activities counter to our interests. We cannot speculate about how they escaped our notice, but we can't outright disagree if they say we must just have not noticed them walking out the door.'

Mm. That's the kind of statement every country wants to issue. Everyone else who caught wind of that would laugh themselves sick. The only thing that would accomplish would be making Konoha's security look weak.

The thought that the ANBU might have dared check in by now and that Konoha would be running the same calculations she had kept Aiko in a fairly good mood.

The meeting went well.

"I would not call you a liar, but I would need some assurance." Shizuka was hiding her nervousness, but not quite well enough. "It is… rather fantastical to think that Kirigakure's administration has changed so much in such a period of time. One of the great nations has never had a female leader. Among the smaller nations, Nadeshiko still stands alone. Have the times changed so much?"

Aiko didn't let her irritation show, because the other woman was being perfectly reasonable in thinking she was possibly an opportunist. "I understand your caution," she said. "I'm afraid that for a variety of reasons, we are not yet ready to publicly announce the change in leadership."

Shizuka eyed Aiko in a way that implied she could think of a reason or two that might be true. She probably didn't know that Aiko was pretending to be a jounin in Konohagakure in hopes of taking advantage of the chaos Orochimaru's invasion would cause. So she probably was not thinking of the correct reason. Still, she could think what she liked.

"We could, however," Aiko shifted on her zabuton, "make public that the Yondaime Mizukage has perished and that the Godaime has been decided. Would that be enough reassurance?"

The other woman took a moment to think it over, swallowing.

Nadeshiko wanted an alliance with one of the great nations. She was wavering. But she was suspicious of Kirigakure's motivations and honesty. It would not be the first time that a great nation used and discarded a smaller country.

"You are suspicious," Aiko said, ignoring the polite deflection that came. "That is reasonable. Without transparency in our agreement, you lack the protection of the international community's awareness of Kirigakure's proposed responsibility to Nadeshiko." She smiled, and it was a pleasant one, because she actually wanted a respectful, mutually beneficial relationship. "I propose a bonder. The nation of Iron is honorable, powerful, and removed from shinobi politics. Together, you and I, or our representatives, will deliver a copy of our agreement to the great samurai lord of Iron. He will keep it in trust, and know if Kirigakure is remiss in our duty."

Shizuka was still, calculations flickering behind her eyes. "Iron." She flexed her fingers slightly. "Iron is acceptable. I understand that this is a matter of some haste? We could draft up a preliminary agreement today and begin the exchange of humanitarian relief as soon as Mifune-sama has the papers."

"We can do that tomorrow, if the draft is made satisfactory in time," Aiko said, because keeping hiraishin a secret was not worth the human cost that would be lost by delivering the communication by foot. "I possess some small skill at crossing great distances quickly."

From the look on her face, Shizuka might not believe it. But she would when it was demonstrated. And she would see the benefit of tying herself to Kirigakure even more.

[mrneighbourlove]

Glass Love and Desire: Ch 3. Folded into the Empire

Chione's garden had expanded massively when the spring season came along to Al-Daidan. The waters were higher and flowed from the Aaru River to many farms near the riverbanks. As ridding the garden of weeds, Chione gathered the many vegetables to start canning to save for provisions. There were plenty of herbs to sell and flowers for the upcoming festival to celebrate the goddess of bountiful harvest, Haneen. It was going to be a good day at the market to sell all her goods.

A few suitors had tried to approach Chione with intentions of a courtship, but she had turned them down, saying she was not ready for a relationship. In reality, Chione did not want to be a concubine for a noble. Some were only interested because of her looks. Others pursued her because her father was famous for making maps across the continent. She was happy with her flowers, the garden grown by her mother, and the memories of her family here.

Al-Daida was rather quiet for another pleasant afternoon. What the people didn’t know was that the Hasai Civil War was about to come to a vicious and climatic end upon their land.

On this day, Prince Malakath dueled the last of the Dream Dragons. The creature had transformed into a living nightmare, taking on wings, fiery scales, and venom tripping from its fangs. 

Battling the creature over the sea, through the skies of Danjur, the battle came to an end in Al-Diada. Everyone, including Chione, saw a comet of fire fall to the earth. In a fantastic display, a detonation of flames and embers scattered across the earth. Across the impact zone, sand turned to glistening glass, the radius of a small town having formed. And, in the middle of it all, Malakath stood over the dead dragon.

"What was that?" Chione had no clue it was Mally and a dragon. She thought it was perhaps a meteorite that fell to earth. It was too far away for her to tell what was truly going on but she had other matters to attend to for the day.

As the day went by, news quickly spread in town on the matter. 

“Did you see what happened? It was like God fell to earth!”

“No! It was a beast fighting a man!”

“The matriarch sent out guards to investigate.”

“There’s a holy demi-god of emerald and fire! He killed a dragon! The guards are bringing the body and the being here!”

Chione was never truly interested in gossip, but the rumors about a green man certainly caught her attention. Yet, she never voiced such and merely listened. Her people were still unsure of the newcomers. Were they a threat or were they a friend? It was best to leave these matters to the Patriarch and his council.

Soon enough, however, she didn’t have to hear rumours. 

Adorned in armour, a scimitar at his side, and tattered flowing cape, Malakath was paraded through the city to the Matriarch’s palace with the body of the dragon being dragged behind him by guards. 

The prince had managed to convince the local Militia he was a Royal blessed by god, and that the dragon would be a gift for their people as a sign of good will. He had managed to learn a basic amount of Chione’s language to communicate with them.

Chione had heard the rumors of the green man visiting the palace of the Patriarch and Matriarch. She wondered if it truly was Mally or someone else from his race? She hoped it was not his sister. Either way, if it was him, Chione wondered what his intentions were. The bontanist never thought she would meet him again after he returned home. Still, it was not her place to question things. So, she waited... waited to see if he would visit her or if he even remembered her at all. 

Tending to her garden in the early hours of the morning, Chione found a black snake, hiding in the growing strawberries. 

"Oh, it's good to see you here," Chione spoke to the snake. "You're eating the pests which try to devour my plants, aren't you?"

Of course, there was no reply from the snake. It merely laid there in the shade, fat and happy from so many mice. 

She told the snake, "You may stay. Enjoy your feast."

The snake simply hissed back at her.

"Now, now, don't be fresh." Chione left the snake to gather fruit from the growing mango trees. She took a few from the lower hanging limbs and gave a small sigh. Looking at her finger where the faintest of a scar resided, Chione wondered if Mally still enjoyed mangos. He ate so many when he was here. Going to her bench, she decided to peel a mango to enjoy as a snack. After slicing it into pieces, Chione nibbled on the juicy fruit and looked out upon her garden. Maybe it was time to... actually find someone, to have a relationship. Loneliness was starting to creep up on her. After her parents passed away, for the longest time, she just wanted to be left alone to process her grief. Now, she wondered if it was a sin to want to move on.

Suddenly, a voice spoke behind her in Hasai. “Hello Chione.”

Coming back into her life with a new freshly pressed cape and armour Malakath smiled brightly at the Nara.

Chione was so startled by the voice, having been deep in thought, almost dropping her fruit. Hurriedly standing from her bench, she whirled around and saw... Mally?! He was really here?! What was he doing back in Al-Daida? The rumors were obviously true of a man coming to the palace with a dead dragon as a tribute. 

"Mally?!" Chione's surprise was evident across her face. "You're here?!"

He took her hand, and gave it a gentle kiss. Then, he spoke in her language. “I came back. To see you again.”

"You came back to see---wait." Chione realized her was speaking in *her* tongue. Her mouth fell open as he kissed her knuckles, charming as ever. She was so stunned, but only for a moment, before asking questions. "How did you... where did you learn to speak Naran?! How did you find your way back?! Why were you fighting---no, no, no, wait a minute, I'm mad at you." The Naran crossed her arms, giving a small pout. "You kept me waiting and worrying that something was wrong."

“Mad? At me?” Malakath held his hands up, a sarcastic defense. “I took the time to learn. I understand well, but still need practice… speaking.”  

Malakath held her by the waist and led her to a couch, sitting down with her. “I was engaged… in a civil war. The other side were godless, devil worshipers. Stop them, I did.”

"You left, and then I hear rumors about a green man fighting a dragon, of course I'm mad at you! Doing something so reckless!" Chione swatted his arm lightly, not enough to hurt, but to get her point across to Mally. "Civil war or not, you need to be careful! I was thinking I was going to have to fish you out of a crater this time instead of the river."

As he led her to sit once again, Chione then supposed she could at least recognize his feat to learn her language. "Though, I am grateful you took the time to learn Naran. If you stopped these devil worshippers, then..." She asked, "Why did you come here to see me?"

“Because I came to realize something. Over this last year, there’s only one thing I could think about. After all the fighting. That’s you Chione. I can’t get you out of my head.”

"Fighting dragons and evil devil worshippers, you've certainly been busy." Chione was a bit flustered when he openly admitted that he had thought of her. It was very forward of Mally, for sure. "Me? You're a general, Mally, I'm just... a botanist."

"Militarily, I hold the rank of General. But I am actually a prince."

"... A WHAT?!" 

Chione was absolutely mortified. He was royalty?! She had him pull weeds! Wash dishes! Scrub dirty clothes! The Patriarch and Matriarch never lifted such a finger for trivial work! She scolded him like a child for being stubborn! What he must think of her!

Malakath chuckled at her reaction. "I'm a prince. Prince Malakath of the Kikai Empire."

"I... I..." Chione had no idea how to express her feeling of absolute surprise and extreme mortification. She had no idea he was a prince from another nation. If she had known, then she would have taken him to the palace for proper accommodations. The Nara was confused as to why he did not make his way there and stayed with her. Yet, at the moment, more than anything, she felt... incredibly small. 

Finally, Chione spoked, very quietly. "I... I'm so sorry." She apologized, her head bowed and staring at the ground. "I didn't know or I would have taken you to the palace."

"Hold your head high." Malakath spoke more boldly. When she followed his instructions, he lifted her up more with a gentle hand under her chin. "There we are. Straight and beautiful. When you found me, you saved my life. I'd have asked nothing more. I am grateful to you. I had no knowledge of where I was. My life was in your hands."

Mally was not... angry with her? Looking up at the prince of the Hasai, Chione supposed she should have realized he was of great importance. Yet, the armor she took off him at the river made her think he was a soldier or a general. The thought of Mally being royalty never crossed her mind since the noble families never donned armor for fighting. No, there were always guards or soldiers to protect them. 

"It was the right thing to do," Chione told Mally softly, "I didn't want to see you suffer, but I did not have enough money for a doctor."

"And yet, your actions brought me back to health. Without you, I would be dead. My people, I, have you to thank for aiding us." He held her hands in his own, his light smile upon his lips as he looked fondly into her eyes. "I must ask, have you thought of me since our departure?"

"Thought of you? Of course, I have!" Chione almost laughed at his question as his calloused fingers rubbed over her hands. How could she forget him? The green man she found in the river? "You flashed into my life like a lightning strike. You were here, and then you were gone."

"Have you thought of me... on a deeper level?"

"... do you mean the kiss you gave me?" Chione asked, her cheeks turning a touch pink. "That was... unexpected, but not unwelcome."

Malakath enjoyed the sound of that. “Welcomed. Is that an experience you want to go through again?”

"I... don't know the customs of Hasai culture, but usually affection, true affection, in such a manner of kissing is reserved for those who wish to court one another." Chione did not want to offend him but she did not want to assume either. "It's different than just... a night of passion."

“And, what if my true intentions in coming back here were to make you my wife?”

"...! But... I-I..." Chione was flabbergasted. Her? The wife of a prince? A prince of a foreign nation? "I... I have nothing to offer you." She appeared to be incredibly shocked but also a touch sad. The stories always told nobility marrying within their status. Families arranged marriages from an early age. A commoner marrying into a noble family or even royalty was unheard of in Al-Daida. "You're a prince and I... I'm just me."

Malakath looked slightly disappointed.  “Where’s that confidence you had when I first met you? This self pity is not your true character. I have seen it. You have strength in you. I have seen your Matriarch. I am not impressed. They will not do anything for themselves. If they consider themselves a royal, you must be holy above them.”

Confidence? Perhaps Chione had a touch of confidence before she knew he was a prince. He was just an everyday man then to her. But now, the knowledge of him being royalty, it did make her feel inferior. The royals were not cruel to their commoners, but knew how to keep them in place. Yet, here Mally was, comparing her to divinity. It was almost too sweet for him to say such words. If the guards of the palace heard, it would surely cause a ruckus! 

"I meant status and a dowry, Mally," Chione explained to the prince. "I'm not a noble. I have neither of those. Is it... different in Hasai? Do I not have to have these things to... to be with you?" She carefully placed her hands on his chest, leaning in a little closer. "You compare me to the divine, but I want no place among them. I'd rather be mortal, be here with you."

“My family only if we continue our line. Someone of your strength, and who is willing to do work, they would accept you. Hasai royalty do not sit on their chairs. We lead and forge the future.” Malakath, held her hands close to her chest. “Come with me. Marry me and I will help you achieve your best self. All I need from you is your love.”

Would his people really accept her? Mally had no reason to lie. If he did not have intentions toward her, he would have never returned at all. She would have just been another stranger in his life which was lost to time. Al-Daida held nothing for her here. Perhaps taking a chance would result in a better future besides loneliness. 

Leaning forward, Chione nuzzled her forehead against his. This was the deepest gesture of affection within Naran culture. She had thought of Mally often, and she did miss him. While love could blossom within time... was it wrong to deny the fact that she did feel something for him?

"... I'll become one with you, Mally." Chione agreed to Mally's request of her marrying him. She did not want him to leave, and he did not want to leave her. Perhaps, happiness was in her future after all.  "... may I take my plants?"

Malakath was overjoyed. Rubbing his forehead against hers, he purred. "You may. Chione, there's something I wish to show you. Consider it an engagement gift." 

Reaching into a sleeve in his cape, the prince took out a rectangular device. This box was carefully crafted to capture real to life images, printing out pictures of said images. Scrolling through the selection of images that had been recorded, the prince found what he was looking for; a massive glass house ready to be filled with plants. 

"See here? I had a greenhouse built for you. I hope you like it."

"An engagement gift?" Chione repeated, realizing Mally had been so confident that she was going to say yes, he had already prepared a present for her in his homeland. It was rather confident of him in manner, but it only caused her to laugh. The entire time Mally had spent with her, he had oozed confidence. "You are definitely sure of yourself."

When Mally pulled out the strange looking object, Chione gasped in surprise as floating images suddenly appeared. What kind of magic was this? The greenhouse was absolutely marvelous and gargantuan in size. This was... all for her?

Her eyes were transfixed on the image of the greenhouse as she murmured, "It's mine?"

“It’s all yours. Say the word, and I’ll take you to your new home.” Malakath smiled with wonder as he put the pictograph away. He knew this gift was the perfect idea.

"I want to go with you." Chione knew this place held nothing for her but memories. Her parents would have wanted her to be happy, whether it was in Al-Daida or somewhere else. Maybe now, her fate was intertwined with Mally's. "But... will your people accept me? I don't know your language, your customs... I will have to learn."

“The Empire is made of different species. We are all Hasai. You marrying me, an Ocho, will not be looked down upon. For the matter of blood, God has a way of working things out for the Ocho.” Malakath lifted her up by the hands, grinning. “You will be given the time and care to learn much. Now that matters of engagement are settied, is there anything you need to take with you? Any goodbyes?”

"Besides my plants?" Chione thought of her few items in the humble home she had. "Just my clothes and my mementos of my parents. It shouldn't take long to pack."

“I have transportation that’s ready to retrieve us. Gather your things while I signal them here.” Giving her a kiss on her cheek, the prince made his way outside as he readied to launch a firework into the air with his pyrokenesis. His mind wandered to his encounter yesterday with the Dragon. With its final breath, it cursed him. “You will never know true happiness, Prince Malakath. Nor glory. Your bonds will be tainted, and your children shall inherit the power you can only dream of. May that fact drive you to envy and doom.”

Malakath sneered at the thought. He was going to have all the happiness he could dream of. And with Chione as his wife, the next great link in his family's chain was secured.

~

The Kikai Empire was located on a continent far from Al-David’s across the sea. It was known for lush farmland, beautiful mountains, and the most beautiful trees. Mt. Frey, a dormant volcano, stood as a monument overlooking the empire. A month into arriving, Chione was being drilled on Hasai culture and language on the boat ride over.

She learned about the caste system of different Hasai. The blue skinned and purple eyed Romtan, who couldn’t conjure fire themselves, but still supplied much contribution to the empire through engineering and metal work. The snow white skinned Skurge, the main source of protection of the Empire, fire benders who made good soldiers, but also bakers. There was a quick lesson on the Waku, traitors and devil worshippers who had to be expunged. Then finally, the Ocho. Demi-Gods who had their bloodline blessed by Exodrum, God of Fire and Evolution.

Malakath was excited when he finally saw his home in the distance on the final day of the trip. Rushing into Chione’s tutor lesson on Hasai language, he smiled brightly. “Come to the deck, we’re here!”

There was so much to learn. In the days leading up to the arrival, Chione had done her best to learn about the Kikai Empire. The caste system, the culture, the customs, the traditions, the dos the don'ts, and what would be required of her as the role of Princess Consort. There was so much to memorize. Honestly, Chione felt a little overwhelmed but so much information, but did her best. Learning the Hasai language was a bit challenging for her, but once she understood the basics, it became easier. 

Currently, Chione was trying her best to write in the Hasai language, but her penmanship was sorely lacking. Writing in Naran and now Hasai was completely different. While she was grasping speaking the language, writing it was harder than she anticipated. Still, the Naran kept trying to make the correct strokes.

As Mally busted into the room, Chione nearly dropped her quill from the sudden intrusion. Nonetheless, she was delighted to see her intended. The tutors had kept her quite occupied with lessons.

"Mally!" Chione never did drop the nickname. It was her endearment for him. Others, of course, she could tell disapproved, but she did not care. She would use proper titles only if necessary. Yet, when it was just him, she wanted to express love in her own way. "We are almost to the... ah..." She had to pause to translate the word in her head. "Island?"

“Very good.” Taking her hand, Malakath promised to speak with her in Hasai when around others, but he would speak Naran when alone with her. Reaching the deck, she pointed to the bay they were driving into. “This is my homeland. The very origins of the Empire are located here.”

"It is beautiful," Chione was amazed at the sight from the blimp. Malakath described how it was just simply one of the newer wonders his people had recently created. Never in her life had she seen so many plants. Yet, she had never been so high in the air before either. A sand ray could only leap so far into the sky. "It is so... green."

She looked around, a little confused and gestured to the sky around them and the land ahead. "You said you were the blood of a dragon, yes? Where are the dragons?"

Malakath held his breath, slowly talking and choosing his words carefully. “They’re gone Chione. They became corrupted by the Waku. It wasn’t the outcome we wanted, but we had to destroy them. It was them, or the rest of the Empire. My subjects, their children, their futures.”

"Oh... I'm sorry it came to that." Chione sounded disappointed as she looked out at the sky. "I was really hoping to see one," She explained to Mally, not meaning any offense, just curious. "I've seen Daidan Drakes, but I've never seen a dragon."

Malakath gave his fiancé a pat on the back. “We have Wyverns, as well as creatures far more unique than a dragon. Put them out of your mind my dear.”

"There is so much to see and so much to learn too." Chione asked Mally as the blimp continued inland. "I want to know, but sometimes, it feels so daunting---oh my goodness! Is that your palace?!"

Descending downwards onto the landing pad, the Red Palace was in full display. A marvelous piece of architecture full of towers and arches. Built in a courtyard she could see a massive greenhouse that was ready for her. “Welcome home Chione.”

"This is... home?" Chione was dumbfounded. This was far larger than the Matriarch's palace. As Mally led her off the landing platform, the Nara stared in wonder at the regality of the Hasai Palace. "How do you not get lost?"

“You’ll learn.” Malakath could see his family approaching. He braced himself , but was quick to brace Chione. “You have met my sister, so you know what she’s like. My mother, Empress Keara, is a Romtan, married into the family. She might take interest in you, she might not. She’s rather aloof these days. My father, Emperor Chillowack, is the type of man who uses friendliness as a weapon. Don’t show any weakness around him, he might use it against you.”

This certainly was a lot to process. It did not seem that Mally's family would hold any love for her. Then again, Chione expected that the royals would not outright welcome her. She was a foreigner, she held no immense power, and she had no titles. There was nothing the Nara could offer to Mally's family. Though, Chione was not foolish enough to believe every issue would be sunshine and rainbows either. She knew the life of a royal was harsh, never knowing who to trust. If Mally told her to be careful, she would do so. It was a rather frightening feeling to realize that within these walls, it was a high possibility that he was the only one that she could trust.

"Is there anyone besides you that I can rely on?" Chione asked Mally rather quickly in Naran as she held onto his arm tightly. "... I will be careful."

“I have a close friend, a colonel Bellum. Loyal, and wise. You can trust him as well. In time, you might find others.” 

Landing, a red carpet was rolled out for the prince. Standing at an impress, 6’7ft, Emperor Chillowack, another Ocho, opened his arms to the couple. “At last, the Hero of the Civil War has arrived! Welcome home my boy!”

The Emperor spoke in a very proper, upper class accent, unlike his children. The Empress eyed Chione, but it was almost robotic, glazed over in her analysis of the Nara. Silvia merely folded her arms, a small squint at Chione forming. With a flamboyant wave of his hand, the Emperor cheerfully addressed his son. “Malakath. Please introduce me to your chosen mate.”

With a graceful bow, the prince gestured to his wife as if she were a precious treasure. “This is Chione, my fiancé, and soon to be princess.”

The Emperor smiled, offering a hug to his son, then Chione. “You have exquisite taste in jewelry.”

Chione felt a prickle at the base of her tail when setting eyes on Mally's father. There were no indications the man was a threat. Yet, there was a part of her instincts which screamed to run, to avoid this man at all costs. Was he even a man... or perhaps a monster? While Chillowack gazed at her up and down, she felt physically sick, like he viewed her as inferior, as a specimen, as some *thing* to be under his heel. No, no, Mally warned her not to show weakness. She had to put on a mask, even if the man unnerved her. Figuring out Mally's mother and sister could come later, for now, Chione had to tangle with this... beast. There was no way she'd lose.

"Your son heat sand and make for me." Chione spoke in the Hasai language as best as she could, giving the Emperor a polite bow as the tutor had taught her. To accept a hug from him, that was not a line she wanted to cross. But weakness... she could not show it. So, instead, she would show strength. Squeezing the Emperor tightly, not enough to cause pain, but enough for display, Chione actually lifted him off the ground slightly. "It nice to greet you, soon father-in-law!!!"

Emperor Chillowack immediately hugged her back, letting out a chortle. "Oh my! Excellent form on this one~" 

When he was set down, he gestured to the palace behind him. "I look forward to having a daughter who might be able to throw her strength around! Please! Unload your belongings, then join us for dinner! We have much to discuss about ourselves!"

"I discuss what can." Chione agreed with a smile, not letting her guard down in front of the man. It was easier to play along for now. Perhaps, if he needed her worthy, the Emperor would eventually leave her be. "The Hasai tongue is... what is word? New? I do best to answer questions."

"I'm sure you will." The Emperor and the Empress were the first to turn to leave. Princess Silvia glowered a little more at the pair, then turned to leave.

Malakath was quick to take his wife's hand, leading her in. "I think that went rather well."

As Silvia glared at her, Chione did not allow the disdain to get a rise out of her. She merely smiled in return.

"... I did squeeze him rather hard." Chione murmured into Mally's ear as he led her inside the palace. "Maybe I shouldn't have?"

"No, you showed him your strength. That's won you over a great deal in his eyes. I don't know if you'll ever win over my mother, so don't worry about that."

"As long as I have you, I believe I'll be fine," Chione leaned in to rub her forehead against his once more. "I still have more to learn to become known with your culture."

~

At the dinner table, a large sushi dinner was presented for the prince and his fiancé. Sitting closer to the head, Malakath made sure his wife was being treated fairly. Silvia, however, couldn’t stop going back and forth with daggers in her eyes at her brother, Chione, and her father.

As the servants brought out the food, Chione was stunned by the amount of uncooked fish placed in front of her. Did the cooks think her too skinny? Surely, all this food was not just for her on this plate. Glancing at the other plates, Chione realized it seemed similar to the others, and wondered how she was going to eat all of the food. Wasn't fish supposed to be cooked before eating? The last thing she wanted to do was be rude or insulting. It was probably a good idea to at least try the food. 

"Thanks prepare food for me." Chione tried her best to express gratitude to the servants in her limited Hasai language, and then to Mally's family, despite his sister's constant scowl. "Thanks for invite to table. What is called?" She pointed to the plate of sushi in front of her. "In Al-Daida, fish... uh... heated? No, no..." She took a moment to try to think of the correct translation. "In pan. In fire. Prepped?"

"Oh! That's adorable! No, this is sushi! The rice and fish is okay to be eaten raw! What you do is pick up the food like so with these utensils." The Emperor raised the chop sticks, showing off. "Then you dip the food into sauces like so! It adds flavour darling." 

Malakath slowly eyed his wife, giving her a nod. He had prepared her for the use of the dinner ware in his culture. He hoped she had practiced enough.

"Su-shi?" Chione repeated, looking at Mally for clarification. Once he gave an approval, the Nara reached for the utensils. It was rather odd not using her hands to eat food. Most of what she used to fix at home required only the usage of her hands as a utensil. Yet, she learned rather quickly how to use the chopsticks. Copying the motions of Chillowack, Chione tried a bite of the sushi with the brown sauce. It was... very salty, and the texture of the fish mixed with rice was certainly different. It was not a bad taste, she was just unused to such food. "Different than Al-Daida. Different but good."

"Oh that sounds wonderful dear! I'm glad you can enjoy our culture! Oh do tell us about yourself! I noticed your parents didn't join us. I hope they weren't closed off to an interspecies romance." 

Malakath held his breath, watching closely at how his father tested Chione's boundries. His language, while playful, had a hidden edge to it. While the Ocho often needed to mate with other factions of Hasai, or even species to not inbreed, there was still a great deal of care to not sully their genes with completely inferior beings. They were always blessed to have full blooded Ocho children, but the wrong partner could breed weakness. Malakath knew that, and his father would look out for that. 

"I sad to inform Emperor parents are um..." Chione expected such a question. It was only natural to be curious about her parents just as she was about Mally's. She quickly realized she did not know the Hasai word for death. Using words she did know, Chione explained to the Emperor, "Not on earth. Not here. With Amek, in not life."

"Oh, my condolences dear. I suppose death comes to us all at some point. Perhaps they would want to hear about how you've come to love my son? It is so good that one of my children could find love."

Silvia scowled for a moment, but continued to eat her sushi.

"Your son, I fish out water in river." Chione figured there was no reason to lie. The Emperor would find out one way or another even if Mally had not told him all the details. "He ready go leave, not rest to heal. I fix and feed. Time spent together good. He leave. I miss. He come back," She then gave Mally a soft smile, "Then take me Kikai with him."

“That’s such a wonderful story. Thank goodness you found him. Without my darling little Angel, we would have never turned the tide of the war. I am so grateful to you my son. You ended the dreadful dragons and brought us peace! I am so thankful that on top of this special occasion, you’ll be able to continue to bloodline with your wonderful marriage. Truly a prime candidate for the throne.”

While Malakath beamed brightly, Silvia actually looked hurt for a moment, then turned away in disgust.

Evidently, the Emperor struck a nerve with Silvia when referencing the fight and a lover, Chione could tell by her future sister-in-law's disdain for the topic. The Nara felt a bit of pity for Silvia. Yet, she had to keep up appearances for now in front of Mally's father. It would not be easy to keep this man on his toes since he was so invested in his son's future. More than likely, Chillowack would have his nose in every detail of their life. It was best to be careful and to be cautious. 

"I want Mally," Chione told her future in-laws, "Be happy."

“Oh. Don’t we all.” Chillowack smiled, but for none of the right reasons.

Malakath simply took his gin and basked in his sense of accomplishments. He knew that his sister would certainly try to triple her efforts to obtain the throne, and of course he’d have to be careful, but that was for tomorrow’s worries. In a week, he would be married. Then it would only be a matter of time of having twins of his own. In his eyes, he was the prince victorious.

The Emperor wiped his mouth with a napkin, before shifting the subject. “I heard you have quite the green thumb. Malakath insisted on constructing you quite the greenhouse. I expect you to fill it up.”

"My mother garden. She teach me." Chione was eagerly awaiting to see the greenhouse, but exercised patience. Perhaps she could keep his attention off Silvia for now if he was interested in her. It would not hurt to be a little talkative, as much as she could, right? "Many plants. Kamazu plant best for injuries. It grow in water."

“If you need water, we can hook up irrigation for you.” It was the first time the Empress spoke. Seemed that the conversation had taken a turn to capture her interest. Even Malakath was surprised by this.

"I thank for kindness." Chione smiled brightly at Mally's mother. Maybe she liked to enjoy the presence of every plant beautiful and green as well? It could be an attempt to know her better, to earn her favor. "You and me, garden? I grow flowers for you."

“Perhaps. I just like tinkering.” And just like that, the attachment to the subject was leaving her. 

Having finished his meal, Malakath listened to his fiancé, proud of her being able to keep the conversation up. However, that was muddled when his sister had to put in a snide remark.

“It’s you and I. Even then, it’s not a full sentence. Hope you do learn better.”

Malakath cleared his throat, then spoke out an insult he hadn’t taught Chione yet. “Maybe you need to learn some manners first sister. But then it’s very much like you to be a soulful skank when you feel upstaged by someone prettier than you.”

Silvia rose from the table with a slam, but her father didn’t seem bothered by it. If anything, he was entertained. The princess pointed a finger right at Malakath. “Anything can happen. To you or your desert peasant. You’ll regret choosing her, as she’ll come to regret choosing you.”

“I very much doubt that. And I doubt, if you want to even have a chance at the throne, you have a choice in your love.”

At that comment, Silvia sneered and turned to leave. “We’ll see how long until she gets sick of you, brother.”

The rest of the family merely shrugged as she left. Chillowack in particular yawned. “Well, I would love to smell your roses every now and then.”

"You welcome visit greenhouse." Chione still smiled at Mally's mother, despite her sudden disinterest. "You welcome with me."

Though with Silivia's snide remark, Chione felt embarrassed at her butchering of the Hasai tongue. She was trying her best to grasp the language, but only had a couple of weeks practice while traveling to the island. Though, when Mally spoke up on her behalf, she did not quite understand all the words, but knew from his tone it was certainly an insult to his sister. Yet, the threatening insinuation from Silvia certainly caught Chione's attention. It made her angry. She did nothing to deserve such treatment! There was no way the Nara left her homeland for such hostility from others she barely knew!

Frowning at Silvia, Chione watched as she tromped away in a huff.

Malakath held her hand, giving her a reassuring smile. “Would you like to see your greenhouse?”

"Yes, please!" Chione wanted a positive note to the beginning of her time at the palace. "And my plants?"

“Already taken there. You two love birds go have fun!” 

Malakath stood and gave his father a respectful bow. “Thank you for the early dismissal.”

"I thank for food and talk." Chione copied Mally's mannerisms and then followed him outside. Giving a sigh of relief, she felt comfortable to speak Naran to Mally now in the absence of many watchful eyes. "That was exhausting. Your mother is disinterested, your father is too interested, and your sister hates me. I suppose it couldn't have gone better, no?"

“Perhaps. If we were in another world. My mother is apathetic to most things. I think she liked you, in her own way. You got her able to talk about a subject. For my father, you kept him engaged and happy. That’s good enough. As for my sister, Silvia will be a rival. Her anger stems from her need for the throne. She will have to sacrifice much to be Empress if she hopes to catch up to my success.”

"I suppose that is acceptable for now, though your sister could be a problem in the future," Chione seemed a little nervous about that aspect. "When we do have... um..." She could not believe she was saying this aloud. Children were a future thought, not one of the present! The Nara wanted some time with Mally before a family was started. "A family one day, I don't want her trying to harm our children."

“I will not allow that to happen. We may have been born from the same womb, but I will not hesitate to tear out her heart before she harms the ones who I have given my own to. As for when we have children, I believe we should wait until after our marriage.”

“I would never dream of it.” With that comment, he trailed a finger along one of her horns. “When I take you, it’ll be at the height of passion as husband and wife. You, my princess. Me, your prince.”

"Hrrrrnnhhhmmppppnnnn." Chione could not suppress the delighted purr at Mally gently tracing one her horns. It was instinctual, not something she could control. Even her tail started to wrap around his leg to pull him closer. Still flustered, she relaxed her head on his shoulder as she linked arms with him while walking to the greenhouse. "Only if I don't jump you first."

“When Hasai bond, they bond for life. We especially value our first times. I’m sure you ‘jumping me’ would be memorable, but let’s do so somewhere with some space.”

"... oh." This was new information. Then again, she supposed Mally probably wanted to inform her of this instead of the tutor. While she knew Hasai were a monogamous culture, Chione did not know of the bond. "I... um... does it matter if it's... my first time?"

“No. Just for us.” Malakath raised a curious brow. “Would it be your first time?”

"... no." Chione admitted, looking downcast. "There was a man who my parents fancied for me to marry and I did like him, but... he turned out to be more interested in the opposite sex than me."

“Ah. His loss I suppose.” Malakath reached the door of the greenhouse, and opened it to a fantastic sight. “Our gain.”

"... oh!!!" Chione was not expecting to see her plants already prepared for her in the greenhouse. She was expecting it to be mostly empty except for the plants she had brought from home. Yet, here it was, full to the brim of some species the Nara had never seen before. "This... this is..." She struggled to find the words, absolutely amazed. There was even a fountain in the middle! With fish! "This is something from one of my dreams..."

“And I can make all your dreams come true. Go. Enjoy yourself my dear.”

"Are you coming with me?" Chione looked around the greenhouse in complete and utter awe. Never before had she seen such splendor in the form of plants. She could not stop the smile from spreading across her face. "Some species I do not know yet from your island. You could tell me!"

Malakath allowed himself to be swept up in the euphoria of Chione’s love for life, chuckling as he swaggered over. “Very well. I’m a particular fan of cherry blossoms and dragon lilies.”

Giving her a pat, the prince breathed in the air around him. There was nothing that was going to stop him from having the perfect life he wanted. ______________________________________________________________

Written with @ridersoftheapocalypse Prequel to War of Fire.

Previous Ch. https://mrneighbourlove.tumblr.com/post/739289093975031808/glass-love-and-desire-ch-2-return-to-home

Next Ch. https://mrneighbourlove.tumblr.com/post/741968339918848000/glass-love-and-desire-ch-4-love-desire-and

[fablewritesnonsense]

Lost in the Commonwealth

Chapter 9: Broken Clocks

“A little birdie told me you spent the entire afternoon entertaining Kent with the Silver Shroud,” Hancock said, sidling up next to them at the bar at the third Rail. Bentley nodded.

“It was nice,” they admitted, and a bittersweet memory rose to mind. “I uh, my… god it’s not going to get any easier saying this. My late husband and I met when we were young, attending a live showing. We had seats right next to each other, his buddies left to do some Jet part way through and my date fell asleep. So he and I were excitedly whispering to each other. When the show was over, I just left my date there and went to get a Nuka-Cola with him. We talked about our favorite episodes and got so deep into theories that I was out so far past my curfew that my parents came looking for me.”

Hancock looked at them sadly, with a hint of a smile.

“That’s a beautiful memory, it seems you two had something special. But, I’m sure he’s glad you’re out here looking for your son, he’d be proud of you,” Hancock said, and Bentley felt their gut twist. They propped their head up in their hands and gave a shaky sigh.

“Maybe, but he should be the one here, not me,” they said.

“Now don’t say that,” Hancock said, leaning over and putting a hand on their shoulder. “Oh, that’s three bottles, come on, let’s get you upstairs.”

He gently led them upstairs, and they lost track of the number of stairs, but after a moment they were sitting in one of the State House rooms in a plush chair, and cracked a window open next to them.

"Do you know what a lawyer is?" They asked him as he took a seat across from them.

"I have a vague idea," he said, grabbing a Nuka-Cola out of a cooler and handing it over to them.

"I used to be a lawyer," they said. "Went to school for it and everything. Never thought I'd see a day where a law degree would be worthless but here we are. It requires you to be smart enough to know the laws and to be persuasive enough to convince about two dozen people not to put your client. Or deceptive enough in some cases."

"Sounds like politicians," Hancock snorted.

"Many politicians had law degrees. It was by no means a job requirement but," they shrugged. "But, that skillset is all but useless here. But Nate, he was a war hero-" their voice broke and they took a moment to compose themself.

"Before Shaun was born, he was in the army. He was highly decorated and… he would be able to handle this world so much better than I've been able to," they said with a sigh, falling back into the chair. "If I'd been the one to grab Shaun, he'd be the one looking for him. He might have already found him by now and they'd be back in Sanctuary in our old house with a lovely life getting the Minutemen back on track. Meanwhile I'm here and it's been two months and I have nothing to show for it."

"Survivor's guilt is a bitch," Hancock said with a heavy sigh. "Bentley, if your husband loved you half as much as you seem to have loved him… Had he survived, he would be singing the same song. Wishing you'd been the one to survive to find your boy. But you're here, and he's on the other side glad you survived and are doing everything you can to find him.

"Fuck, if I were in your position I'd have given up. You don't know when he was taken or where he was taken or by who, but you're still going. Bobby was telling me you had a small panic attack after fighting that first batch of super mutants but you still made sure he and Dogmeat got into Diamond City first. He said you were ready to go down fighting Swan, when the rest of us would have just given up and let it happen. I saw you threaten to take Finn's balls off then almost pass out when I killed him. You're not weak, not by any means. You're just overwhelmed… Shit don't go crying on me now, I can handle pretty faces crying like that."

Bentley gave a wet laugh and smiled at him, and he smiled back warmly.

"Thanks," they managed after a moment. "I don't feel strong but, thanks."

"I don't think anyone worth a shit actually feels strong," he sighed. "If you feel strong then you're full of yourself. Knowing you've got your weaknesses, and going forward anyways, that's strength."

Bentley smiled, pulling their legs up underneath their skirt and holding them close.

"Did you learn that the hard way or did you learn from someone else's mistakes?" They asked softly.

"Bit'a both," he said. "But it got me here, wouldn't have it any other way."

***

In that room, those two chairs, sitting across from Hancock, Bentley found a bit of peace and began building themself together. He sat and listened as they worked out the barbs that had dug into their soul, and helped them come to grips with the world. With the future they’d been thrust into. Occasionally offering the odd piece of advice while looking at them with a look in his eyes that they couldn’t quite understand.

Eventually, their caps began running out, and they realized they had been there for over two weeks.

“Daisy, you wouldn’t have any work I could take up, would you?” they asked one day, and the ghoul looked at them in surprise.

“I have something, you’re not going to like it,” she replied with a wry grin. “Honestly honey, you’re not going to like any work you find here in Goodneighbor.”

“I need caps,” they said with a shrug.

“Well, you know the Boston library?” she asked.

“Yeah, spent a bunch of long days studying there,” they replied. “Back in college.”

“Well, it’s currently over-run with Super mutants, yeah that’s about the face I was expecting,” Daisy laughed as their eyes popped open. “Yeah, I was going to pay MacCready to go clear it out for me, but he hasn’t come out of the Third Rail lately. It’s yours if you want it.”

“I’m going to have to think it over…” Bentley breathed, and Daisy laughed.

“No worries honey, why not go ask Hancock? I’m sure he’ll find some excuse to give you some caps,” she teased. Bentley rolled their eyes and walked out, thinking about how if they could just get back to Sanctuary, they’d have their stash of chem ingredients. Goodneighbor was a solid place to sell them, even if part of them was still remembering when that was extremely against the law.

“You’re looking better,” MacCready said, from their left. They looked up as he walked through the front gates, a hefty bag over his shoulder.

“Thanks, I didn’t realize you’d left town,” they said.

“Yeah, had some errands to run,” he grunted, dropping the bag to the ground as various residents started trotting up. They heard the state house open up behind, and MacCready produced a stack of papers from the bag. “The kid’s taken over the paper last week and oh my god some of this stuff is pure gold.” Hancock chuckled, taking the stack away.

“And as for you,” MacCready said, pulling a note out of his jacket pocket and handing it to Bentley. They frowned as they took it. “You didn’t mention you’d been leading the Minutemen, they’ve been looking for you for a while.”

“Ha! They like me more, I already knew,” Hancock teased MacCready while Bentley read over the note from Garvey.

“Shit, yeah, I told them I’d be back soon or send word…” they muttered.

“I sent word back with the guy I ran across that you were safe in Goodneighbor recovering after a nasty run-in with Swan. Don’t worry, I made you sound way cooler,” MacCready said, poking them in the arm. They took the top paper and whacked him across the arm.

“Don’t go putting ideas in their head, I’ve heard of the shit that hangs around their old fortress,” they grumbled. Hancock grinned at them as they replaced the paper. “I’m going to have to leave soon, I forgot all about Nick and I was supposed to meet him in Diamond City three weeks ago.”

“Hey now, you seemed so confident a second ago, what happened?” MacCready asked, handing off the bag to someone else. Bentley snorted and waved at the doors.

“Out there I’m a goddamn disaster. I got lost three times before I ended up here, I almost died ten times, and I would have died two of those times if you hadn’t been there,” Their head began to swim as panic set in. Hancock took their shoulder and squeezed it, which brought them back to earth.

“Hey, you’ll be fine, don’t worry,” he said. “Tell you what, go get everything together, and I’ll make arrangements for you, yeah?”

“You don’t have to-”

“Nope, but I want to. Just gotta make sure you swing by here pretty often and say hi,” he said, squeezing their shoulder again. They gave him a grateful smile and nodded.

“Thank you so much, I really appreciate this,” they breathed. He let go, and watched them run off with Dogmeat at their heels.

“I don’t envy whoever’s stuck with them,” MacCready muttered. HAncock reached over and took the younger man by the scruff of the neck and led him into the state house.

“Well today’s your lucky day,” Hancock said.

“Oh for f- really Hancock?” MacCrady snapped as he was dragged upstairs.

“Yup,” Hancock said, depositing him in the chair in front of his desk. He turned and leaned against it, and looked at MacCready, who raised an eyebrow and rolled his eyes.

“No, I don’t do charity work, Hancock,” MacCready said with a laugh.

“I’m not expecting charity, I’m waiting for you to name a price,” Hancock said, straight-faced. MacCready studied him for a moment.

“You’re serious,” MacCready realized. Hancock nodded. “What do you get out of this?”

“In a material sense? Jack shit,” Hancock said, taking a deep breath and sighing. “But I’ve become quite sweet on them since they arrived here. And I’ve been rather at risk at acting on my feelings, which they’re definitely not ready for. I was going to hire you to help them as they did their good work around the Commonwealth anyways. This was just fortuitous timing.” MacCready gave a melodramatic sigh.

“I can name any price?”

“Yup.”

“And you’ll pay it?”

“Yup.”

“Over what period?”

“Let’s say two weeks, gives you time to wander and bring them back around so I can see how they’re doing,” Hancock said. MacCready groaned and rubbed his face.

“250 a period?”

“Sounds good. Be ready to go in the morning,” Hancock said, clapping the boy on the shoulder on the way out.

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Have a wonderful day!

[figurativepieceoftrash]

“ what happened to you? huh? what happened to you to make you this way? “ izuku to yoichi (but with a twist)

Hope this is enough of a twist for you Blou :)

------

"What happened to you, huh?" Izuku finally mutters, eyes trained on the sparse, dim lights that dot the ruined city outside. "What happened to make you this way?"

Yoichi blinks. He's been working tirelessly to convince his nephew to talk to him for the past week; he's tried begging and bargaining, insults and compliments, appeals to nostalgia, and goodwill, and guilt. He's tried everything.

And now for whatever reason, entirely unprompted after what feels like countless days of silence, his nephew poses one of the most difficult questions he's ever been asked in his life. Well, aside from the one his brother had asked him the moment before everything had gone to absolute, irreparable shit.

Family is difficult.

"Do you mean what happened to make me care about you?"

Izuku scoffs, fingers coiling tight against his palms. "You're just like him, you know that?"

Yoichi flinches, the motion causing a thin white curtain of hair to close over his left eye. He can't see Izuku now, but maybe that's fine. He doesn't really want to.

"Please don’t say that. You know it isn’t true."

A sigh.

"You aren't very self-aware, are you?" Izuku steps, deliberately, back into Yoichi's field of vision. "You're doing the exact same thing to me that he did to you, and even worse than that, you're trying to convince me that it was for my own good. You don't have any right to decide what's best for me just the same as he didn't have any right to decide what was best for you."

Yoichi swallows, twisting his chin to avoid his nephew's strikingly accusatory eyes. "If I hadn't made that deal, then your friends would be dead. Your father might have some reservations about hurting you physically but he has absolutely none about hurting you psychologically."

"You don't think I know that?" Izuku’s voice breaks on the last syllable, and although he doesn’t force himself back into his uncle's vision, the raw edge to his voice makes it obvious that he's fighting back tears. "All Might is dead. All For One might’ve been the one to put the nail in the coffin, but he wouldn't have been able to if our quirk hadn't been linked to his. You informed on us. You killed All Might."

"Izuku..." Yoichi's resolve buckles at that, but only for a moment. What he did was right. He saved his nephew from a worse fate, he knows it. "Eight's death was inevitable. You heard his sidekick. My actions didn't change anything."

"How can you say that?" There are sounds of sniffles now, interjected with the occasional scratchy breath or harsh sob. "How can you possibly absolve yourself of any of this?"

"Because you're safe!" Yoichi places all the power in his voice that he can muster. He's trying to convince himself as much as he is Izuku. "You're safe, and your friends are alive, and you may not be happy now, but you can learn to be! Hisashi was always going to win this, and the fact that I ever expected anything different is honestly laughable. If it's a matter of me verses him then I'm always the weak one! I put on a show for you, all of you, and I never expected anyone to fall for it! You weren't ever supposed to actually believe in me!"

His voice is reaching a fever pitch now, but he doesn’t care. He's right, after all. "I've watched the people I love most in life die because I stood my ground, and I am not letting you make the same mistake!"

"So this is about Second and Third?" A beat of silence. "It's funny that you're blocking me from speaking to the other vestiges, then. I assume that means that you can't speak with them either. Are you afraid that once they learn what you've done, they'll hate you?"

Yoichi begins twining a strand of hair through his fingers. It's a nervous habit, and he knows it, and he hates that he knows it.

"They'd understand." A lie. "They would want me to protect you." Not more than they would want him to protect Japan. "They... they care about me." Not anymore.

But if he doesn't give them a platform to refute him, then it can all be true. As long as they're shoved back in the dark recesses of One For All where they can't see, or hear, or speak, or know, then they still trust Yoichi. They still love him.

And he doesn't have to acknowledge anyone or anything that says otherwise.

"Sure," Izuku snorts, tone as bitter as Yoichi has ever heard it. His nephew is trying to hurt him, and as long as Yoichi has known him, he's never tried to hurt anyone. Not like this. "Keep telling yourself that. Just like your brother keeps telling himself that I care about him."

Yoichi feels tears rising to his own eyes now, but they're silent ones. They slide down his face and cling to his hair in quite, solemn tribunal, betraying the fears that he still isn't willing to confess.

"What kind of deal did the two of you make?" Izuku asks coolly. "When you decided my life for me? When you determined the future of Japan?"

He pauses, walking back into Yoichi's field of vision before planting himself directly in front of his uncle's face. "Am I going to be stuck in this penthouse apartment for the rest of my life, with a disabled quirk, and my father's constant visits, and a complete lack of sharp objects, walled in with laminated glass, and metal doors, and cinderblock, and absolutely no communication with the outside world aside from you? Are my friends even alive? Is my mother?"

He steps forward. The tears have dried on his face, leaving nothing but red, bloodshot eyes. "All For One lies, you know. If you weren't specific, if you left out even one detail, one contingency, he'll take advantage of it. My friends might be nomu, or comatose, they could be being tortured, and I can't do anything to stop it. Even though my mom is probably unharmed, she's with him, and I can't imagine any universe where that can be considered safe. And I'm here, sitting in the lap of luxury, completely unable to act. This is Hell for me, you have to know that. And you've trapped me here. Forever."

Izuku’s gaze is so intense and pointed that Yoichi immediately snaps his gaze away. Or at least he tries to. Because for whatever reason, he can't.

Izuku seems just as surprised as he is. He blinks, gazing down at his hands in evident awe. "It's my quirk."

His eyes narrow then, something dark and vengeful worming it's way into the spaces left by the compassion and understanding that Yoichi had never intended to exterminate.

"It's my quirk, not yours." His mouth twists into a bitter smile. "And here I thought you were the one in control."

Yoichi tries to speak, but he can't. His mouth won't open.

"It doesn't feel great, does it?" Izuku asks, head tilting to one side. "Being manipulated. If you're allowed to be a hypocrite, then I might as well be one too. There's no one here to judge me for it. You made sure of that."

Izuku turns his gaze away from Yoichi, eyes falling once more on the darkened and crippled city resting below. "I'm going to talk with the others, but first, I think some karma might be in order. Say hi to Second and Third for me. You three are going to have a very long chat."

Izuku smile widens as he looks out the window, and in that moment, Yoichi sees Izuku very clearly for what he is. Someone who's world has burned to the ground, and has been given a target and a match. A match they intend to use.

"Don't try to lie to them. I'll know. And before you go, I'd like to remind you... I'm not stuck in here with you, Uncle. You're stuck in here with me."

The last thing Yoichi sees before the world fades to black around him is Izuku’s slow, mocking wave. Then, he opens his eyes in a room. A very familiar one.

"Yoichi, what happened?" He freezes, going completely limp in the too-tight hug that envelopes him from either side.

"We were watching after Ninth, and then everything just went black! We've been stuck in here for..."

"Days?"

"Weeks, maybe?"

"Everyone but you-"

"And now it's no one but you-"

"Well, you and us."

Yoichi opens his mouth to lie. The words don't come. He feels something burning into his skin, from the sky, the floor, the walls, every angle...

Eyes.

In that moment, Yoichi knows that Izuku wasn't lying. He is a hypocrite. And so is Izuku. It's funny, how the imprisoned can still manage to make a vault.

[half-bakedboy]

blue lips and rosy cheeks

read on ao3 Pairing: Nancy Gillian/Marjan Marwani Rated: Teen Bingo Square: Blizzard Contains spoilers for 3x02 and spec for 3x03

"Wait, you're leaving? Going out there with just a car and some medical supplies? Then what, Nancy?” Carlos shouted before lowering his voice to a more hospital-appropriate tone. “You don't even know if anything has happened to her,” he reasoned.

"You saw what happened to TK, Carlos. To Paul, to– to however many more people that got caught out there," Nancy paused only to stare into his eyes as she spoke, "I'm not going to let the same thing happen to Marjan."

With a heavy sigh, Carlos seemed to accept Nancy’s words. She was ready to fight against him, argue with him until he had no choice to let her go, but he stared into her eyes and must have seen the intensity she felt inside of her. Nancy wasn’t changing her mind, not even with one of her best friends in a hospital bed a few rooms away.

“Will you at least take a radio? Cell service is out and I can’t lose another one of the 126. Owen would kill me,” Carlos said. It was meant to be a joke but both of their faces went solemn at the station name.

“I’m gonna find her and I’m going to bring her back here. Then we’re going to wait for TK together, okay? Keep him company for me,” she requested before tacking on, “and then maybe tell me why the Hell you two are pretending you’re not in love.”

Carlos glanced down and shook his head but Nancy swore she saw a small smile tug at the corner of his lips. He hadn’t smiled since he walked through the hospital doors and Nancy couldn’t blame him. Any worry she had in her that wasn’t focused on Marjan was sitting not-so-patiently beside TK’s hospital bed. She reached over and took Carlos’ hand for a moment, dropping it before he had the chance to convince her to stay.

“Please be safe, Nance.”

She nodded, only because she couldn’t promise that, and made her way out the front door. She was grateful that the lovely old couple that helped them during their last call stayed long enough to drive her back home so she could get her own vehicle. She already wasn’t sure exactly how to drive in the horrific blizzard that covered the city, let alone if she didn’t have her own wheels. At least she knew she would be relatively safe on her journey with the giant truck her parents insisted on gifting her.

As she made her way through the parking lot, she could already feel the cold seeping through her multiple layers of clothing. The thought alone terrified her when she thought of where Marjan might be. She had a tiny car and never wore enough layers when the weather turned even slightly cold. It was something Nancy frequently teased her for. Marjan would always wave her off with one of her signature eye rolls and remind Nancy that she always had an extra layer on her anyway because of her faith. Who was Nancy to argue with that, really?

The drive left less than to be desired. She could barely see a foot in front of her, the brief flashing of hazard lights and the sounds of fellow first responder’s sirens the only indication of potential danger ahead. She managed to avoid the highways, figuring that if Marjan was on her way to Owen’s wilderness escape, she would’ve avoided the dangers of main roads.

Nancy knew that Marjan was smart like that. She was always a step ahead of everyone, ready to act at a moment’s notice while simultaneously thinking everything through. Her mind might have been the first thing Nancy noticed about her—well after how absolutely beautiful she was.

She tried to shake that thought from her head, wanting to focus on finding her friend, instead of finding the person she hadn’t had the courage to confess her feelings to yet. That only got Nancy thinking more about how she got herself into that situation, loving someone so much only to keep it inside.

It was slow, at first, the way her feelings grew.

After years of being just outside of the popular circle during childhood, she saw her career as a paramedic as her chance to be part of something bigger. She would save lives and people would remember her name, think of her when they were in their darkest moments and be grateful she was there.

When she first joined the 126 and had met Tim, she felt like she was finally finding herself in her little group. She had a family outside of blood—but just as important—in Tim and Michelle which only grew when Captain Strand came to town and brought in the most impressive firefighters Nancy had ever met. From then on, she had wanted with everything in her to be a real part of the 126.

Michelle leaving had her stumbling, unsure how to handle a new Captain that already seemed to bond with the firefighters more than her own team. Then Tim’s death broke her into a million little pieces and the family she had held onto so tightly for that feeling of home seemed to slip right out from beneath her fingertips without a chance for her to stop it.

She truly became part of the 126 when TK became a paramedic–though she would never admit that to him. With him, he brought his ridiculously bright smile and his annoyingly capable hands along with the rest of the firefighters that had learned to respect him and what he stood for. Slowly, they invited Nancy, too, and she found herself leaning into the incredible friendship they had all started to form.

They often told Nancy that she was like the final piece fitting into the puzzle. They didn’t have a lot of room in their hearts for outsiders but soon, Nancy couldn’t call herself that anymore. She was an outcast in a former life, as she had found out the rest of them had been, with her own insecurities and hardships that no one had ever understood. But together?

Together they fit.

And none of them fit as much as Nancy and Marjan.

The more Nancy attended the classic 126 hangs, she realized that Marjan was more than just an unreasonably pretty face. She was smart, almost enough to rival Paul with random literature facts, and not to mention witty as Hell. Every word that came out of her mouth surprised Nancy, whether it was something wise, something sarcastic, something hilarious that had soda threatening to spout from Nancy’s nose.

Every moment they spent together just encouraged Nancy’s feelings to develop. Outside of the 126 hangs, she felt like Marjan would go out of the way to see her. No one in Nancy’s life had ever done that and it was the most exhilarating feeling. Finally, someone was making Nancy a priority and she wasn’t about to stop it.

Sometimes they would clean the rigs side by side, playfully flicking water at each other to cool off from the usually simmering Texan heat. Other times, Marjan would sit at the back of the ambulance while Nancy restocked the supplies, snacking on the salty chips she always made sure to hide away from Captain Strand. They would talk and tease and just… learn each other.

Nancy knew what made Marjan happy, what made her sad, what made her angrier than she had ever been, and what made her feel loved. From that moment on, Nancy vowed to see Marjan in every one of those emotions, to be able to understand her and continue to fall in love with her for everything she was—for everything they could be together.

Staring through the windshield at the cloud of snow in front of her, she thought of the fear that Marjan must have been feeling. Nancy wasn’t sure she was ready to learn what that looked like on Marjan’s beautiful features. It might hurt Nancy too much to keep the feelings she hid so deeply in her heart to herself.

It wasn’t until she was sliding along one of the backroads she had never driven on that she was thrown from her thoughts by an almost grateful sight; a large white van on the side of the road. Well, at least it was as much on the side of the road as it could be with the amount of snow that piled beside it. It wasn’t Marjan’s car but something inside of Nancy froze even through the blasting of her heat. She pulled around the van, sliding into the small divot on the side of the road before taking a deep breath to prepare herself.

She went into this rescue mission as just that—a rescue—but she was all too aware of how quickly it could become a recovery.

Arming herself with heavy gloves, a wool hat she had rarely had to wear in Texas, and warmers she had bought from the hospital gift shop before she left, she threw open her door. She tried not to get her hopes up, continuing to walk forward while letting her mind wander away from the woman she didn’t realize she had loved so much.

She slammed it shut behind her to hopefully keep some of the heat in before making her way to the van, pushing aside every thought except to find Marjan. When she found it empty and covered with at least a few inches of snow, she wandered a little further.

Nancy could barely hear anything besides the roaring wind thundering in her ears, her own thoughts barely a whisper through it. She was trying to keep them calm, hoping for the best while preparing for the worst. Whenever the wind settled long enough for her to think, the worst seemed to burst to the forefront of her mind.

During one lull, though, she felt a familiar tickle in her brain, one that only occurred when Marjan was near–as cheesy as that might sound. Her hopes spiked as she saw a scarf that was too thin for someone to have worn out in the treacherous weather swinging from an unbroken tree branch a few feet away.

Nancy grabbed at it and her heart skipped a beat when she saw the speckles of blood staining right through the sheer fabric. She clutched it to her chest and took a deep breath, hoping with everything in her that Marjan would hear.

“Marj? Marjan?” Nancy shouted.

She put all of her built-up emotions, her wishes that Marjan was okay into the repetitive screams of her name. She knew it was risky to continue moving forward but her eyes caught sight of what looked too much like one of the green cardboard coffee cups from their favorite cafe for her to give up.

A few more dangerous steps forward down a too-steep incline, Nancy confirmed her suspicions and hope settled a little further in her mind. She grabbed the cup, even though she probably should have just left it, and shoved it into her coat pocket for safekeeping. When her eyes glanced up again, she saw a sight that had her blood curdling underneath her skin.

The front of Marjan’s car was embedded into one of the trees that lined the bottom of the hill and all of the lights were off. Fear sunk deep in her stomach at the realization that the car must have been totaled, the engine unable to keep the woman inside warm. The windows were shut and the car was covered in at least an inch of snow, less than the van at the top of the hill but still enough for Marjan’s worry to fester.

With heavy feet, Nancy surged forward through the blizzard, slipping on the ice that had formed underneath the heavy snow as she tried to run. It was taking too long for her to get to the car and Nancy knew that every moment she left Marjan alone was another second closer to her ending up beside TK in another hospital bed.

“Marj! Marjan, I’m coming!” Nancy shouted even though she was unsure if Marjan could hear her. If she could, Nancy hoped it gave her enough faith to stay alive. “Marjan!” She yelled again once she had reached the car.

She brushed off the forming ice from the handle of the driver’s side door and tore it open, her heart freezing when she saw no one in the front seat. She shouted again, staving off tears as she took a few steps away from the car to try and track where Marjan could have gone. Nancy thought that if Marjan did leave, it would only be because she was saved or she saw solace somewhere in the distance.

With the wind picking up and the snow still falling heavily in her eye line, she raised her hand and squinted her eyes to attempt to search the distance. She cursed to herself when she realized that it was useless before sitting down in the front seat of the car and slamming the door behind her. It was freezing but at least she was shielded from the wind so she could think.

“It’ll be n-no use if we both fre-eze to d-death in here, Nance.”

She jumped when she heard a voice behind her, whirling around quickly to see Marjan bundled up in a blanket, her lips practically blue and her body quaking in shivers.

“You’re here. Y-You’re okay.” Nancy breathed a sigh of relief following the words.

“O-kay m-might be p-pushing it,” Marjan joked. Nancy didn’t understand how she could joke at a time like that but was grateful for it all the same. “G-Got any h-heat to share?”

“Fuck, I mean, shit— Yes,” Nancy fumbled as she grabbed the unused warmers from her jacket, rubbing them together in her palms until they started to generate a minuscule amount of heat. “Here, take these,” she ordered.

Marjan tried to hold a hand out for the warmth but they were shaking too badly to get a solid grip. Nancy took Marjan’s frozen hand in her own and pressed two of the warmers in her palm. The sigh of happiness that left Marjan’s trembling lips hurt Nancy more than she cared to admit. Quickly, Marjan brought the warmers beneath her blanket as if trying to heat up her entire body with them.

“P-Please tell me you’re g-gonna get me out-ta here,” Marjan asked, almost pleading in her tone. Nancy had never felt as cold as Marjan looked and she nodded quickly, hoping it was enough anticipation to keep Marjan holding on just a little while longer.

“My car is just up the hill you crashed down. If you didn’t look so pathetic right now, I’d ask you why you chose one of the only hills on this road to slide down, but alas,” Nancy teased half-heartedly as she tore open the other few warmers she had brought with her.

“You’re an… ass,” Marjan retorted, the first sign of a smile gracing her lips.

“Never thought I’d be so happy to hear you say that,” Nancy said mostly to herself even though Marjan could definitely hear her. “Put these in your boots, okay? And take this,” Nancy instructed, shrugging off one of her jackets.

“You’ll f-freeze,” Marjan responded. The shake of her head was barely noticeable through her shivers.

“I think one of us has already got that covered, Marj.” The laugh that rung out, though breathless and full of pain, eased Nancy as she cracked open the door to check the weather outside. “It isn’t stopping out there, not even slowing down. I wouldn’t— God, I would have us stay here until it’s over if I didn’t think—”

“That I was o-one temperature d-decline away from certain d-death?” Marjan finished, a sad smile on her lips. “I can do this, Nancy.” Her voice didn’t stutter that time.

“If anyone can, it’s you,” Nancy replied truthfully. She took a deep breath in, closing her eyes to calm herself as images of a joyful, bright Marjan flipped through her mind like a storybook. “I’m going to get you out of here, okay? Do you trust me?”

“More than,” Marjan all but whispered like a confession Nancy needed to hear.

“Lean on me the whole way. Let someone else be the hero for a change, hmm?” Nancy practically ordered with stern eyes on Marjan who rolled her own in return.

“If y-you get me outta here and I survive, you can b-be my hero any day,” Marjan promised.

Nancy nodded and took one more deep, preparatory breath before swinging her door open. She braced herself as best she could from the wind that suddenly seemed a little more impactful with one less jacket covering her and shuffled her way to the back door, prying it open so Marjan could exit.

“Fuck, it’s cold out here,” she swore, leaning into Nancy as soon as she took her first step.

“Really? I didn’t notice,” Nancy joked as she wrapped her arm around Marjan to keep her steady. “Don’t focus on the cold. Think of Miami. It’s warm there all the time, right? Tanning beds, beaches, sun rays. Think of that, okay?”

Marjan nodded but she didn’t speak and that worried Nancy more than she already was. Urgently, she heaved forward, dragging Marjan like a dead weight behind her because she couldn’t do it herself. She had never seen Marjan so injured, so incapable of what should have been a simple task, and it terrified her enough to keep adrenaline rushing.

“I need you to talk to me, Marj,” Nancy requested if only for her own sanity.

“I d-don’t know what t’ say other than curses or pointing out how fucking c-cold it is,” Marjan said.

“Then curse,” Nancy said, “be pissed off and angry if that’s what it takes for you to get up this hill. What are you mad about, huh? How it never snows in Texas and it chooses this year of all years to break a record? How you could be warm in Miami right now if you hadn’t moved here?”

“I’m n-not mad-d about th-that,” Marjan muttered after a moment.

“Then what are you mad at, Marj, because I need you to talk.”

Nancy could feel the ice starting to freeze the muscles that struggled to drag Marjan up the final few feet to safety. She needed a distraction and she couldn’t do it herself. Marjan was her distraction from all of the things that sucked in the world and she needed that now more than ever.

“You don’t t-talk to me… any-m-more.”

“What?” Nancy asked, trying not to pause in her step at the admission.

“Ever since… The 126 d-disbanded and TK and Carlos b-broke up, you d-don’t…” Marjan trailed off and Nancy wasn’t sure if it was because she was at a loss for words or because she was losing her. “I miss you. I m-miss everyone but… mostly… you.”

Nancy felt it first; the way Marjan’s weight grew heavier with each painstaking step and the way her arm went lax around Nancy’s shoulders. She saw her truck in the distance and made the executive decision—no matter how much it pained her—to get Marjan to the warmth and safety the vehicle would provide.

“Hang on, Marj. I promised you I’d get you out of there and I don’t break promises,” Nancy said sternly like she was convincing herself to continue on.

She used every ounce of strength left in her to hook her arm underneath Marjan’s legs and hoist her off of the ground, carrying her the rest of the way to the truck. She could barely feel her own coldness anymore, couldn’t register the pain that was bound to spread once she was in the warmth of the car; all she could focus on was the woman she loved with everything inside of her and making sure she was safe.

Ripping open the back door of the truck, she all but tossed Marjan flat onto the seat, rushing to the front to turn on the car and blast the heat as high as it would go. She made her way to the back, slamming her doors shut to contain the warmth, before straddling Marjan’s waist and pressing the heels of her palms onto her chest just like she had done to so many others in the past.

She realized, with an almost thankful mind, that she had never had to do this on someone she loved. She had patched up her coworkers, stood too far away from her best friend’s dead body, and comforted her friends over their losses many times before, but this? She never wanted to have to do this again.

She pushed and pushed, following the silent beat in her mind, and begged Marjan to wake up, to breathe again so that their future wasn’t cut so short. Her future, Nancy corrected herself. Their future didn’t matter at a time like this, just Marjan’s. Nancy would give her own life to be in Marjan’s position if she could turn back time and that realization was more than she bargained for when she left the hospital on this adventure.

One last compression to Marjan’s steady chest had the woman gasping for air, her blue lips brightening only a shade, but enough for Nancy to breathe out a sob of relief. Marjan opened her eyes, staring into Nancy’s as if she had never seen a more soothing sight, and her trembling hands attempted to move.

Nancy stopped her, grabbing the blanket from the floor of her truck before laying down so every inch of their body was pressed together. She draped the blanket over the two of them, hoping their combined body warmth would keep Marjan’s now working heart beating in her chest. She could almost feel it against her own as she pressed her face into Marjan’s neck, whispering comforting words against the slowly warming skin there.

When Marjan was able to, she wrapped her arms around Nancy’s back and they sighed together, both eternally grateful for the other in different ways.

Or not so different as Nancy found out when Marjan had enough strength to speak again.

“In case you didn’t realize, you just saved my life,” she whispered, her hand pressing to Nancy’s damp hair to urge her to pull back just a little.

Nancy did exactly that, gazing down into Marjan’s eyes, ready to shake the sentiment away when Marjan lifted her head just enough for their lips to meet. A gasp of surprise left Nancy’s mouth only to be muffled by Marjan’s insistence, the hand on the back of Nancy’s head not letting her pull away—as if she would have tried.

Instead, she pressed back, making sure Marjan’s head was resting comfortably on the seat below her so any extra energy she had wasn’t wasted. It wouldn’t have been a waste, Nancy knew, because the kiss was everything she wanted to tell Marjan and more. When they pulled away, Nancy was speechless, something she didn’t usually experience on a day-to-day basis, especially after being kissed.

“And in case you didn’t hear it earlier, I miss you, not because you’re my friend, but because I’m in love with you.”

Nancy kissed her again because she still couldn’t bring herself to speak, too enamored by everything that had happened between them. In such a short amount of time, everything had changed for the better, and Nancy wasn’t quite used to that.

So instead of saying I love you a million times over to Marjan as she wanted, she said, “Sometimes, cold can make you hallucinate.”

“Just admit you’re in love with me, too,” Marjan demanded playfully with a roll of her eyes.

“Yeah, okay,” Nancy agreed. She leaned in for another kiss but Marjan turned her head, her lips pressing against Nancy’s ear instead.

“That didn’t sound like a love confession,” she whispered. Nancy pulled back and smiled widely at her, holding her face between her palms as delicately as she could.

“I’m in love with you, Marjan,” she admitted, out loud–finally.

Marjan grinned and just before Nancy could kiss her again, she teased, “Sometimes, cold can make you hallucinate…”

“Oh, shut up,” Nancy groaned but kissed Marjan all the same.

[liltaz-asatreat]

Day 10 of @taznovembercelebration : Sick, sweet

There's a soft knock on Lucretia's door, and she groans, curling in on herself on her bed. Her abdomen is killing her, and her head isn't doing any favors for her either. Maybe if she ignores the knocker, they'll go away and leave her to her misery.

There's another knock on her door, a little louder this time, and Lup's voice comes through the door. "Lucretia? I brought you brownies, a heat pad, water, and Fantasy Tylenol. Are you awake?"

Lucretia opens her eyes to her dark room. Fantasy Tylenol sounds great, and so does Lup's brownies. She makes really good brownies.

"Yeah, I'm awake. You can come in." Lucretia says just loud enough for Lup to hear.

Lup opens the door quietly and quickly shuts it behind her before too much hallway light can filter its way into the room. She walks to Lucretia's bedside, and Lucretia scoots over a little to give her room to sit down. Lup places the plate of brownies on top of a book on her nightstand before sitting down and helping her up to a sitting position, so she can take her medicine and eat the brownies. She gratefully swallows the pills with some water before taking the heat pad from Lup and carefully placing it over the blanket and on her pelvis. She sighs a little at the warmth. Her pain will go away soon.

"I'm sorry your organs hate you," Lup says softly, and Lucretia chuckles.

"It's not your fault. I had hoped that this would stop happening after living with it for over 50 years, but I guess menopause doesn't come for people who keep resetting back to their early 20s every year." Lucretia says in a hushed tone.

Lup laughs a little as Lucretia reaches for a brownie. She bites into it and melts a little more at the taste. It's still warm, freshly pulled from the oven, and it's a rich, sweet, dark chocolate flavor with warmed chocolate chunks bursting with melted softness as she chews. She closes her eyes and savors it before swallowing and taking another bite.

Lup grabs a brownie too. "Does it have enough chocolate?"

Lucretia nods as she finishes chewing. "Your brownies are always amazing, Lup, but I swear this is the best batch you've baked so far."

Lucretia can barely see Lup's smile as she says, "Natch. I added chocolate chips to the batter this time because I know how much you're craving that right now."

"Thank you," Lucretia says softly.

She takes another brownie off the plate and bites into it as Lup positions herself to more fully face her. "Taako and Magnus came back from their scouting mission while I was waiting for the brownies to finish baking, so I took notes down for you."

Lucretia nods with a sad frown. "No Merle? Is he-"

Lup shakes her head and snorts. "No, he's not dead. He's... well... he's on a date."

Lucretia slowly lowers her half eaten brownie to her lap. "He's on a date? With who? We just got to this planet a week ago."

Lup snorts again and covers her hand with her mouth, and her shoulders shake with quiet laughter. When she's gotten her giggles under control, she lowers her hand and says, "I'll get to who in a minute. So he, Taako, and Magnus went down to the city to ask about the Light, right? And they tracked down a museum who was holding the Light for safe keeping. But when they got there, the Governess of this province was already there, and she was there to collect it too. And apparently somewhere between them trying to explain to the Governess why we needed the Light and negotiations to convince her to let it go with them-"

"Don't tell me-" Lucretia begins, but Lup cuts her off.

"Merle was trying to flirt with her, and it actually worked!"

Lucretia's mouth drops open in disbelief. "Merle... Merle's dating the Governess now? But he comes across so creepy when he tries to flirt with anyone!"

"I know! Apparently there was something about him that she found interesting. Taako and Magnus said she didn't seem to mind the borderline rude comments and seemed actually happy that he was treating her with an irreverent sort of attitude."

"Wow. Well, I'm glad Merle is having fun, but does that mean the other boys were able to come back with the Light?" Lucretia asks hopefully.

"Well, that's the bad news." Lup taps her pointer fingers together. "The Governess said she's willing to give it up only if her date goes well with Merle."

Lucretia groans and puts her head in her hand not holding the brownie. "Well, it may not be a lost cause. She did agree to go on a date with him after all."

"He also ends all of his meetings with John with him killing him though," Lup points out.

Lucretia frowns. "I think at this point that's more to do with John than it has to do with Merle. From what Merle's said, it actually sounds like they're kind of getting along nicely which is weird to think about."

Lup hums in agreement. "Anyway, Davenport wants to come up with a game plan tomorrow morning if he doesn't come back, and me, Taako, and Magnus have bets going on how long his date lasts before the Governess has him killed for treason or something. So far there's thirty gold in the pool if you want to place your bid."

Lucretia laughs loudly but then very quickly stops and grabs her head and her pelvis, dropping the brownie in the process as she doubles over her arm and heat pad. She moans softly in pain and stays hunched over for about thirty seconds before slowly straightening up again.

"You good?" Lup asks softly, and Lucretia nods.

"Y-yeah. It's just... ow." She says quietly. Then she frowns down at her brownie slightly mushed into the heat pad. "Damn it, I wanted to eat that."

Lup waves her hand, and the mess disappears. "There's still half a batch left that I have reserved for you once you're finished with that plate if you want more. I can't make any promises that the others won't dip into them anyway, but they'll most likely be there still by the time I go check on them again."

Lucretia smiles faintly. "Thank you. I really mean it. You always know how to make me feel better."

Lup smiles back. "Of course I do, and I'm glad I can help. I'll let you get some rest, and if you need anything, just send me a message."

"We really need to come up with a better way to communicate with each other without having to burn a spell slot every 25 words," Lucretia says.

"Yeah, maybe the locals have a portable communication system or something. We're bound to come across a plane that's figured that out." Lup says.

"Or maybe talk to Davenport about giving it some serious thought. I know he likes to tinker in his spare time." Lucretia says.

Lup stands up and walks to the door while looking over her shoulder to say, "I'll definitely run it past him. Hope you rest easy."

"Me too," Lucretia chuckles, and she watches her slip through the door and close it again with a decisive click.

[destroy-the-4th-wall]

I FINALLY MANAGED TO WRITE THIS AS MORE THAN JUST A SCRIPT OUTLINE, HELL YEAH! >:D

And I might've taken too many creative liberties with this. As I. Often do. >_>" Oops. And I wish I had actual names for the other Addisons.

Well, I hope people like it, anyway.

Under the cut, Spamton stands up to Kris (in a way) and refuses to kill Blue Addison, thus aborting the Salt Route. That doesn't happen in what @beabigshot described, but the thought of Spamton basically turning around and going "fuck your Salt Route" was an interesting thought to me-

I also figured this might happen if you fail to convince him that you're doing this for his sake, and he sees through your ruse clear as day.

This does end well, but I do have a bad ending for this in mind that I may post later. :)

It felt like forever since Kris told him to go around the city and check for any survivors.

They told him they would wait for him to come back with updates, but this particular feeling of uneasiness was enough to tell him that they lied to him. Again. As they had been from the start.

...ha. How sad is that? After only spending part of a night with Kris and going around the city, he had quickly picked up on what his different feelings of uneasiness meant. It wasn't even that hard, considering how often he felt these ways.

He could tell when someone was lying based on them. When he was being followed. When someone just wanted to run away. When he was about to deliver a killing blow. When he was about to find... someone he would have to...

Oh no.

Who would it be this time?

How much longer would he have to do this? How much longer could he do this?

Well, the answer to the latter is probably not much longer at all.

He tried his best to pull himself out of his depressing thoughts. He shook his head and lightly bonked the side of it. "G-GET IT TOGETHER SPAMTON G. SPAMTON," he nagged himself, then laughed nervously.

Speaking of laughing, will he ever be able to laugh out of true joy after all this?

...no. No, there was no way.

He stopped being able to do that a long time ago.

Just like he stopped in his tracks when he came up on the block with all the flashing lights and advertisements.

This was where most of the Addisons lived. His siblings. The ones who cast him out, and for good reason.

He hoped they were all inside, safe and sound.

One thing he noticed about Kris was that they would never try to go through any locked doors unless they had an easy way to unlock them. They wouldn't force any doors down, and they wouldn't pick the locks. Were they just not strong enough and didn't know anything about lockpicking? Lacked the tools for either method of entry?

Or, perhaps the darkest explanation, did they just lose interest when they had to put in that much effort to kill people?

Ha. As if they even did that. No, they made HIM do it. To them, he was just a puppet for them to use to their heart's content.

He balled his hands into fists at the thought. It was clear why they really agreed to look for his keys. He was just a means to an end, like he always was.

How could he have been so blind?

He sighed heavily and continued walking. Best not to make his disdain for Kris too obvious right now. Maybe later. Maybe if he could find a reliable way to get away from them.

He peeked around a corner, and there he saw someone standing outside of a store. One of the Addisons. Blue Addison, arms crossed and clearly hypervigilant as they scanned the area around them.

What? Why were they outside?! Even they should know better!

...Okay, chances are, they did. They just almost always threw caution to the wind, unless it was for business.

In any case, they need to go inside as soon as possible.

But he froze. What should he do? They all made it very clear that they wanted nothing to do with him all those years ago. They made it very clear that they hated him. If he suddenly just showed up there, so many things could go wrong! They might yell at him to leave, they might make fun of him for bragging about being a big shot and then having to live in a god damn garbage can, they might rub their own accomplishments in his face...

They could call him a disappointment to the Addison name.

And he might be told to kill them. Hell, if they did any of those, Kris would have more ammo to try to convince him to do it.

"Spammy? Is that you over there?"

Oh shit, they saw him. What should he do?

...Against his better judgement, he walked out into the light and looked at them, unsure of what to do next anyway.

At this, Blue smiled and ran over. Then they picked him up and gave him a hug. "Oh my god, it's been so long! How have you been?" They gasped and pulled away. "Wait, are you hurt?! I heard there were a couple of people going around and killing everyone in the city. You didn't run into them, did you?"

He flinched as they began checking him for injuries that would be readily visible. Other than that, he just stood there, staring off in the distance.

Did they just forget what happened? Were they really showing him genuine concern?

He wanted so badly to ask them what the hell they were doing out here all alone, and tell them to go inside and stay hidden.

But nothing came of those thoughts. It was as if his throat just shut right then and there.

They soon stopped and ruffled his hair. "Well, you seem alright. Physically, that is." They tilted their head. "But you look like you've seen a ghost."

Spamton's eyes widened and looked away.

His vision started getting blurry again.

Blue crouched down and wiped his cheeks of... his tears? Wait, was he crying?

"Spammy, how about you go inside, and-"

Actually, never mind all that. He swatted their hands away and looked back at them. "WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING OUT HERE?!" He covered his mouth, not realizing he was as loud as he was.

Shit, Kris probably heard that.

"What?" Blue leaned back in surprise.

He lowered his voice and stated, "GO BACK INSIDE [[Right Now!]], IT'S NOT SAFE TO BE OUT HERE." He did his best to push them toward the door, but almost fell over himself instead.

They helped steady him. "I'm on watch right now, so I can't. And Spammy, I could easily say the same for you." Something seemed to click then and they narrowed their eyes at him. "Why are you so insistent on getting me to go inside, anyway? Why not say that we need to go inside?"

He froze. "UH..."

Footsteps.

At that sound, Spamton immediately tried with all his might to push Blue through the door. "GO!"

"So, 'Spammy,' who are you talking to?" Kris's voice sent chills down Spamton's spine.

He could already hear their smirk.

He instantly turned toward Kris. He laughed nervously again and greeted them, "KRIS, BUDDY, [Little Sponge], UH, I THOUGHT YOU SAID YOU'D WAIT FOR ME AT THE EDGE OF THE CITY!"

Kris shrugged. "Well, you know, you were taking a while. Wanted to see what you were doing, make sure you were safe, you know?"

Blue looked up at them. They glanced down at Spamton and then back up at Kris with a smile. "Oh, it's you again!" They laughed and slowly pushed Spamton behind them. "Glad to see you were, em," they gritted their teeth briefly, but kept talking, "looking after my brother? What happened to that reindeer girl you were with earlier?"

Spamton's eyes widened and he tried stepping back out. "[Blue], NO," he said, his voice barely above a whisper.

They pushed him further behind and glanced at him again before paying attention to Kris.

Spamton felt them shaking.

"Oh, is Spamton your brother?" Kris laughed, with a slight twinge of... pain? "Seeing you guys side-by-side, I think I can see the family resemblance, now."

Blue stepped fully in front of him. "Why is that important?"

Oh no.

"You have absolutely no reason to bring that into the conversation!"

Stop.

They started raising their voice, "Just who the hell do you think you are?!"

"BLUE!!"

Blue jumped and looked back at Spamton to see him clinging to them. "Spammy?"

Spamton stayed silent for a moment before answering, "JUST... GO INSIDE." He clung tighter. "Please..." Then he let go and stepped back.

"Wh..." They stumbled over their words for a few seconds. "Why are you so insistent that I go inside? I already told you, I'm on lookout duty, I can't."

Kris perked up at this and chuckled. "'Lookout duty,' huh? You must be a pretty bad lookout."

They froze and slowly turned toward Kris. They glared. "And what the hell is that supposed to mean?"

Kris shrugged. "I dunno. How about you ask HIM what it means?"

Spamton flinched at the statement.

Blue's eyes widened and looked at Spamton. "Spammy, what- what are they talking about?"

"Go on, Spamton," they prodded, "tell them about how many people you killed tonight."

He inhaled sharply and teared up.

Blue glared back at Kris. "Wha- he'd never do that! You're just trying to make him look bad!" They patted Spamton's head. "Isn't that right, Spammy?"

Silence.

Kris smirked.

Blue's eyes widened and they looked back down at Spamton. "Spammy?"

He couldn't even look at them. He didn't even have to. He knew they were going to disown him right then and there. They would be right to.

Kris shook their head and clicked their tongue. "Can't even own up to your own actions. Shameful." They shrugged. "Pretty cowardly, if you ask me."

...

Spamton's hands clenched into fists.

'I only want to keep you safe. I want to help you get stronger. I'll help you break free of your strings.'

They're only saying all of that when it's convenient for them. Now that it serves them no benefit, they're throwing him under the bus.

Figures.

He shook his head and laughed weakly. He buried his face in his hands and plastered on a smile. "YOU'RE [completely right]. KRIS, [[You are a winner!]], YOU KNOW THAT?"

Kris frowned and narrowed their eyes at him. "What are you getting at?"

He took a deep breath and stood up straight again, staring them directly in the eye. "SO MAYBE I DID. ALL OF THOSE PEOPLE ARE [[Dead]] BECAUSE OF ME." Another small laugh. "HELL, YOU- YOU [Didn't Even Have To Lift A Finger]] FOR ANY OF IT."

Blue turned toward Spamton in shock. "Wait, what?"

Spamton ignored them and continued, "WHY DIDN'T YOU DO ANYTHING, KRIS? THAT IS SUCH A CONUNDRUM." He quickly dropped the smile and his voice grew sharper. "OH, WAIT, I'LL TELL YOU WHY." He glared at Kris and began shouting at them, "YOU [manipulated] ME INTO IT! YOU [Pulled the strings] AND MADE ME DO YOUR DIRTY WORK FOR YOU! ALL OF IT!" He then pointed at them and his vision started getting blurry. "ALL OF THAT [[Get Strong Now With This One Simple Trick]] TALK WAS ONLY FOR YOUR OWN BENEFIT. [While Supplies Last], THAT'S WHEN YOU TELL ME THAT. BUT AS SOON AS [[Our Inventory Gets Wiped Out]], YOU WANT TO PIN ALL THE BLAME FOR THIS ON ME?!"

His normally hotheaded sibling stepped back and just looked between them for a little bit.

Kris faked a wince. "Ooo, looks like they don't know what to believe at this point." They chuckled. "Might as well kill them now, right?"

Spamton stood silently and wiped his tears while glaring at them.

"What? Don't give me that." They smirked. "It's not like they'll forgive you at this point, even if you choose mercy."

'Fool,' he thought, 'I accepted that long before I met you.'

"You... you..." Blue suddenly ran at Kris and shoved them to the ground. "YOU'RE still the one who made Spammy kill those people!" They continued shouting, tears flowing down their cheeks, "I don't care what you say at this point, HE'S STILL MY LITTLE BROTHER!"

He looked at them with wide eyes, mouth slightly agape.

Did... did they really still see him that way?

Kris slowly began to get back up.

Spamton gasped at this. "SIBLING-"

Blue growled and stormed over to Kris. "And you know what? I'm proud of him for his past success, and I'm proud he managed to break free from you on his own." They turned back toward Spamton and started walking back over. "For all I care, they can burn in hell."

As they ranted, they got to their feet, then Kris glared at him. "Fine. You said I made you do all of my dirty work? You said I would only pin the blame on you if it suited me?"

They ran over to Blue, grabbed them from behind, and held their sword to their neck. At the first signs of struggle, they braced themself and covered his sibling's mouth. "Then let's make a deal. If you don't kill them, I will." They smirked.

It felt like an eternity watching his sibling squirm and struggle to get away from them. Watching them try to elbow them while minding the sword, trying to back up and slam them into a wall, screaming into and possibly attempting to bite Kris's hand... and all of it in vain.

Finally, he thought of something.

He looked up at Kris and simply stated in a low voice, "FINE. I'LL DO IT."

It wasn't a deal, but Kris seemed to buy it. They lowered their sword and shoved Blue down.

Sadly, however, it seemed as if his sibling also bought it, because they instantly stopped struggling and just stared at him, shaking and with their jaw somewhat dropped.

"Good." They readied their sword. "I'll make sure they don't run while you-"

Suddenly, they stopped and began scratching at their wrist, then multiple parts of their arms and hands.

"Ugh, damn armor. This shit's so itchy..." They continued scratching.

Spamton gasped quietly, then looked at Blue. 'Play along,' he mouthed and subtly gestured to Kris.

His sibling said an almost audible 'Huh?' They turned to look at Kris, who was clearly distracted by their frustrating armor.

Once it clicked, they turned back and slowly nodded at him.

...Their expression barely changed. Maybe they don't completely trust him? Could he maybe find a way to-

No. No time. He has to do this now.

Spamton gave his sibling a brief uncertain smile before quickly regaining composure.

He kept an eye on Kris while trying not to scream in agony from summoning his Heart Breaker attack.

He hoped he had enough control over it for this.

As dramatically as he could, he repeated that... damned phrase Kris kept feeding him this whole time they were in the city.

"THIS IS FOR YOUR OWN GOOD."

Blue cowered and pleaded, "No, please! Don't do it! I-I'm sorry for everything, brother!"

Spamton winced at how well they acted.

Kris only managed to look back for a split second before Spamton's attack started lunging at them. They tried to jump back, but it managed to scrape their lower leg, thus knocking them back down.

He rushed over to his sibling and helped them up. "GO, GET INSIDE!"

They nodded and bolted in. They mostly closed the door, but not fully.

Damn it! Close it already!

He turned back toward Kris and yelled, "AND ONLY THE PEOPLE I [Love] ARE ALLOWED TO CALL ME SPAMMY!"

"You... you TRAITOR!"

He got in a fighting stance as Kris was getting back up.

When they were up, they ran at him with their sword drawn and attempted to swing at him.

Right before they could land the hit, he felt an arm grab him and yank him inside the building.

Orange shut and locked the door as soon as he was in.

He heard Kris yelling and banging on the door, demanding they open it. Instead of listening, Orange leaned against it to make sure they didn't make it inside, even if they did bust the door down.

Pink let go of his arm and then hugged him. He felt his shoulder getting wet in the process. "Spammy! You're okay!" They squeezed him a little more tightly.

"ACK- YOU'RE SQUISHING ME TOO MUCH."

Pink pulled away and rubbed the back of their neck. "Oh, uh, sorry about that." They smiled awkwardly and wiped away their tears. "It's just... been so long."

Orange called out over to Pink. "Hey, can you come over here and stay against the door, please? You're the strongest one here and-" Another bang. "This person's definitely trying to get in."

Just as soon as Pink and Orange swapped places, the banging stopped. Just in case, though, they didn't bother to move.

After a few more moments, Yellow patted him and ruffled his hair.

He squeaked and tried his best to fix it. His siblings chuckled.

Orange moved over by him and opened a book. Then they gently nudged him. "We might not have left on good terms, but it's good to see you're okay." They gave him a slight smile.

Blue finally came over and knelt down in front of him. "Yeah, we were worried sick about you." Then they sighed and looked away. "And... the stupidest thing we ever did was let our jealousy get in the way of things."

Spamton frowned at this. "I WAS THE ONE WHO CONSTANTLY BRAGGED ABOUT BEING A [[BIG SHOT]], THOUGH."

"Were you truly happy?" Pink asked.

He froze at the question.

...

He shook his head. "NOT EVEN FOR ONE SECOND."

All the others uncomfortably looked down and avoided eye contact.

Orange broke the silence, "So, what you're saying is... when we thought you didn't need us anymore, that's when you needed us the most?"

He gasped silently and teared up. Then he looked down and nodded.

...

Suddenly, Yellow announced, "Alright, you little bastard, you're getting a group hug!"

They all hugged him right then and there.

Until now, he never realized how much he missed them all.

And of course, Spamton couldn't move to hug any of them back if he even wanted to.

...Which he did. He wanted to. Such assholes. How dare they not let him move so he can hug them?

After a while, one by one, they each pulled away and just sat or lay down near him.

He sat down, as well. Then he looked at Blue. "HEY, [Blue]?"

Blue looked over at him. "Hm?"

Spamton fidgeted with the collar of his shirt for a moment before asking, "WHEN YOU SAID ALL OF THAT EARLIER, ABOUT BEING [[Proud]] OF ME FOR LEAVING KRIS AND BEING SORRY ABOUT THE PAST..." He let out a deep breath. "DID YOU REALLY MEAN ALL THAT??"

Everyone looked at Spamton.

Blue smiled softly and replied, "Spamton, you know how I am. I don't say things like that unless I mean it." They gently rubbed his shoulder. "And I meant every word."

He teared up at that and smiled a little.

Were these tears of sadness or joy? He couldn't even tell at this point. Was he relieved? Happy? In denial?

There was a light chuckle from Orange that broke him out of his thoughts.

Blue looked over and asked, "Orange, what's so funny?"

Orange jumped and looked at Blue. "Oh!" They grew a smug grin on their face and poked Spamton. "So, Spammy, what you said earlier." They stifled some laughter. 'Only the people I love are allowed to call me Spammy?'"

Spamton's eyes widened and he faked a pout. "OH, SHUT THE [?!?!] UP."

They all laughed, and he smiled a little.

Maybe he couldn't break the strings, but he wasn't about to let them go again without a fight.

[crashdevlin]

Swan Song

Author’s Note: This is part Twenty-six of The Best Laid Plans series

Summary: Y/n is living life without marks and without alpha influence...but the End is nigh...sacrifices must be made.

Pairing: Alpha!Dean x Omega!Reader, mentions of Alpha!Dean x Omega!Lisa

Word count: 3583

Story Warnings:  angst...A/B/O dynamics, canon divergence, mentions of physical violence against the reader, canon major character deaths and resurrections

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"So, where are we this week, girl? Hawaii, Puerto Rico?" Bobby asked and you smiled, looking around the dirty Canadian dive bar.

"Santo Domingo. Gotta love the Dominican," you lied.

"Where you really?"

You took a drink of your beer and picked at the peeling vinyl of the table top. "Saskatoon. Cursed church bell, drives people to suicide when they hear it."

"Need help?"

"Nah. I've got this. Just need to convince the vicar to let me melt down a bell that's been part of their church since the 1800s. No big deal." You sighed and scratched at your turtleneck. "How are they?"

"Thought you didn't wanna know about them, Y/n."

"Didn't want to be attached to them. Not the same thing."

Bobby sighed. "They took a trip through Heaven a few days ago...got a message from the big man Himself."

"God? They talked to God?" you asked, eyes wide.

"Talked to someone talks to God...and God said they're on their own."

"Sounds like God...handle it yourself but worship me for 'guiding' you." You rolled your eyes. "Sam isn't taking that well, is he?"

"Dean's taking it worse."

"What? Dean doesn't care about God."

"Think it's more that God was the last hope and He ain't playin'. What are we even supposed to do now, right?"

"Right." A hopeless Dean Winchester was a problem. No telling what he might do. “I’m sure everything will work out. If God isn’t worried, then I guess we shouldn’t worry.”

"Well, I hope you're right, Y/n." You nodded. You were hoping the same. "I'll call next time we got something new."

"Okay. Good luck, Bobby."

"You too."

You slid your phone into your pocket and took a drink of your beer. Things would be fine...or they wouldn't. Only time could tell.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

You didn't answer when the call came in from Dean's number. You didn't answer five minutes later when the call came in from Dean's other number. You pulled off into a gas station when your phone dinged with a voicemail message.

"Shoulda known you wouldn't answer...but I really wanted to hear your voice, Y/n. Guess your outgoing message will have to do." He cleared his throat. "I've been thinking about you since you left. Nothing is ever right when you're gone. I think you need to know that. I know why you left. I know I was never really good at being with you. I didn't give you a reason to stay. I should have. But you...you had to leave. You had to make that hard decision and I love you for that. Nobody wanted you to make that decision, to free us, but it was the right choice and I love that you made it. I love you for calling me out on my bullshit. You always did that for me." He sniffled and you could imagine him wiping at his eyes. "And you always kept tryin', even though I pushed you away all the time. You should have given up on me a long time ago and you didn't. I love you, Y/n. I should have said it a long time ago...but more I should have showed you. I should have showed you."

You wiped at your eyes and bit your bottom lip. "I really hope you got to see the world, but if you're on the home continent…stay away from the Midwest. I don't know how big the fight's gonna get."

"Oh, God. Dean, what are you doing?" you whispered as you clicked out of your voicemail to call him back. He didn't answer. "Damn it, Winchester!" You called his other cell, but still didn't get an answer. So you called John's cell. "Where’s Dean?"

John sighed. "Indiana. He's on the goodbye tour."

You rolled your eyes. Indiana meant Lisa. Of course. "He's going to say 'yes', isn't he? After everything, he's going to give up?"

"We aren't going to let him. Sam, Castiel, and I are on our way to stop him."

"You better. He does not get to give up."

"We won't let him," John promised.

"How?"

"We've got an angel on our side, remember? And Castiel really isn't happy about Dean throwing away his sacrifice. We'll keep him safe."

You let out a sigh of relief and nodded. "Let me know if anything bad-"

"Don't worry. We're gonna take care of him."

"Thank you, John."

"Maybe you should call him, though."

"I tried," you responded. "He didn't answer." You shook your head. "It's fine. Get his head on straight. It'll be okay."

"Right. It'll be okay."

"Bye, John." You hung up and set the phone on the passenger seat. You looked up at the sky through your windshield. "I know you don't care about what your angels are doing, but please don't let Dean say 'yes'. Please. I don't ask for a lot but please give me this."

~~~~~~~~~~~~

"You should come to Detroit." Bobby's words didn't seem worried. Everything about the tone said it was past time to worry.

"What happened?"

"Sam said 'yes' and-"

"What?!"

"It was supposed to be the end of it, Y/n. He was supposed to get control back from Lucifer and jump into the Cage. It was a good plan. Dean and John even approved it, much as they could, ya know, and it-"

"He really thought he was gonna get control from the Devil? Of course it didn't work!" You ran your hand down your face and dug your fingers into your collarbone through your shirt. "So Lucifer has his perfect vessel...what about Michael? Dean didn’t…"

"No, but John's other son did. Heaven brought Adam back from the dead."

"That was nice of 'em. The dumbass said 'yes' because of course he did. So...the fight is...is happening."

"Yeah." He waited a moment. "Come to Detroit."

You sighed. The End. The end of the fight. The end of trying to stop it. The end of the End. "I'm on my way, Bobby."

There was a dark cloud over the city when you pulled the Firebird in next to the Impala in the alleyway outside their hotel. You could feel the hopelessness in the air as you opened the door Bobby indicated in an earlier text and walked in. Dean's eyes raised to meet yours as Bobby rushed to you and wrapped you in a hug. You dropped your duffel and wrapped the redneck in your arms, happy to see him up out of the wheelchair.

"Since when do you walk again?"

"Oh." He looked down at his body as he stepped back. "Demon deal. Added perk. It's a long story."

"Family tradition, those demon deals. At least you got something good out of it."

"Fer a few days."

You patted his shoulder and smiled. "Comes down to it, all we got is a few days at a time."

Dean stood and stepped toward the doorway. "Hey."

"Hey. I'm sorry...about Sam. I know you were all hoping-"

Dean opened his arms but didn't hug you. He waited for you to step into the embrace, green eyes shining with unshed tears as he waited for you to make your choice. There wasn’t a big choice there. Hold a grudge...or hold the man you love. You stepped into him and wrapped your arms around his chest. His arms closed around you and you felt warmth and anguish in the way he held you. There was pain in his scent, anger and hopelessness, but there was a little niggle of comfort as he pressed his lips to your forehead.

There wasn’t a lot said. It was the first time it really felt like a last night on earth. Even the Angel seemed to recognize that things were done. The fight was over. Everything was about to be over.

“I want you to know,” Dean whispered as the sun started going down.

“I know,” you answered. You knew what he would say. It held different significance on a night like that one.

“No. You don’t. You really don’t know...I’ve apologized for pushin’ you away, Y/n, but I need you to know...I thought I was doing the right thing for you. I love you.”

“Dean. I know. Shhh.”

“You’re everything I ever wanted.”

“Everything you ever wanted Sam to have,” you corrected. “Now, shush.” The silence lasted for a few minutes before Dean left, saying he needed some air.

“We did everything right and it doesn’t even matter in the end,” John said, staring at the ceiling.

“Nah. We didn’t do everything right...and it does matter. What we do is more important than anything.” You sighed and leaned forward, resting your head on your knees. “I should have gone to Thailand.”

“Don’t you want to be here with us in your last moments?” Bobby asked.

“Yeah. But I wish these weren’t the last moments.”

Castiel nodded in agreement, before standing. “We should go down...Dean is-”

“Leaving,” you guessed, rushing down to the alleyway without waiting for the others, approaching as he looked in the trunk of the Impala. “Dean?”

“You goin’ someplace?” Bobby asked. “You’re goin’ to do somethin’ stupid. You got that look.”

“I’m gonna go talk to Sam,” Dean answered, heading for the driver’s door.

“You just don’t give up,” Bobby chastised.

“It’s Sam!”

“If you couldn’t reach him here, you’re certainly not going to be able to on the battlefield,” Castiel tried.

“Well, if we’ve already lost, I guess I got nothing to lose, right?” Dean reasoned.

“Boy, this is a bad idea. I don’t wanna lose both of you,” John said.

Dean shook his head. “Too late.”

“I just want you to understand...the only thing that you’re gonna see out there is Michael killing your brother,” Castiel said.

“Well, then I ain’t gonna let him die alone.”

You watched Dean drive away, knowing that he was on his way to his death. “Fuck. We should follow him, right?”

“No. We need to figure out how to even up the chances a little,” John offered. “Hail Mary brainstorm session. Come on. Let’s do this.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“So...we’re all gonna die,” you said, looking around the room. “We are going to this fight...the fight...to pull distraction long enough for Dean to maybe get through to Sam long enough for Sam to sacrifice himself and throw himself and Lucifer into the Cage. We’re going to die.”

Everyone took deep breaths and nodded. “It’s our only shot,” Bobby said. “For the whole planet, Dean is our only shot.”

“And like the boy said...if we’ve already lost, what do we have to lose?” John said.

"Might as well go down doing something potentially beneficial,” you whispered. “Okay...let’s do this.”

Castiel teleported you to Stull Cemetery just in time to hear Dean tell Michael that he needed five minutes with Lucifer. “Hey, assbutt!” Cas called out, holding up his Molotov cocktail of Holy Fire. The bottle exploded as it hit Michael and he went up in flames. The Angel didn’t last long after that. Lucifer didn’t appreciate the Angel from the lower choir ‘dick’ing with Michael. Castiel exploded into blood and chunks of Angel.

Dean demanded Sam’s attention, but only Lucifer could hear. He grabbed Dean, intent to beat him to death, but Bobby shot at the Archangel, which earned him a snapped neck. John launched himself at Lucifer next and he was thrown across the cemetery, hitting a large stone angel statue. Michael reappeared as Lucifer was beating Dean’s face in with Sam’s fists. You grabbed Adam’s jacket, trying to keep Michael from stopping the altercation. Dean was getting through. You could see it in the hesitation on Sam’s face. You couldn’t let Michael stop it.

“You stupid fucking monkey!” Michael growled, wrapping Adam’s hand around your throat. You sputtered and kicked as he clenched his fist around your neck, cutting off your air. The sound your hyoid made when your throat was crushed like a soda can followed you into the darkness.

So did the sound of crickets. But that wasn’t right. There shouldn’t be crickets in Heaven.

Your eyes blinked open slowly, a sky full of stars greeting you before being filled in by the vision of hazel eyes and a smile. “John? Why are you in my Heaven?”

“Not Heaven, kid. We’re alive, Y/n. Castiel brought us back.” He offered you his hand and you sat up, allowing him to pull you to your feet.

“Who brought Cas back?” you asked. “Because didn’t Lucifer blow him to shit?”

“Yeah. Can only assume God brought him back, just like last time he was blown up by an Archangel.”

“Well, that’s...very nice of God considering that he...didn’t want to help.” John nodded, but he seemed distracted as he let his fingers move to encircle your wrist. “What’s wrong?”

“You...smell really good,” he whispered, his cheeks going pink. “I should…” He cleared his throat and stepped back away from you. “Think everything got renewed.”

You reached up and gingerly touched the area where your concave scars were. You were met with plush, plump skin under the fabric of your turtleneck. When you pulled the shirt away from your neck, you were met with completely smooth skin. No marks, no scars. Pristine.

"I'm…"

"Omega again." John licked his lips and stepped further back. “Unmarked, pure omega.”

“I’m...this is insane. I can’t believe he just...made me...a normal omega again.”

John nodded and cleared his throat. “I think it’s a real good thing, don’t you?”

You nodded and smiled. “I think it’s an amazing thing.”

“Why don’t we go ahead and see if we can find Dean.”

You smiled a bit sadly. “I know where Dean is.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Watching Dean through the front window of Lisa Braeden’s Cicero home made your heart crack. The pain was immense, a longing taking up residence in your chest as you watched Dean hold her, his nose buried in the crook of her neck. Scenting her...his omega.

“You could knock,” John suggested, shoving his hands in his jean pockets. You were sure he was trying to keep from physically comforting you. As much as you wanted the comfort, you appreciated John trying to keep his distance more. “You know he’d be happy to see you alive.”

You shook your head. “No. He’s dreamed of this, John. He dreams of her.” You clutched at your shirt collar. You'd changed into a v-neck on the way to Indiana, excited to show Dean but you knew now that it didn't matter. "He deserves her...and the kid...and any kids she might give him of his own. He deserves to be happy. Let's just...let's go."

"Are you sure?" John asked as you turned away.

"My car is in Detroit. Let's go."

You stared out the window as John drove. It was a blow but not one you couldn't overcome. Dean wasn't ever going to be yours and it was best for you to recognize that and move forward. You were a brand new omega. No marks, no scars from cutting the old marks out. No Dean. No Sam. John, well, he was being nice now but it was going to be best for you to stay away from him, too. You would do best by yourself just like you had since you cut your marks out. You were better alone.

"Don't leave yet," John said as he pulled the stolen car in beside your Pontiac. "You should get some sleep. Get a room, get some rest. Don't drive on this."

You reached over and set your hand on his cheek. "Underneath it all, you're a good man, John. I really appreciate it when you let that man out for me." You swiped your thumb across his cheekbone and smiled. "I'll get a room...but not here. Detroit is not a good place...it's where we lost Sam. Get some rest yourself, though."

"You've got my number. If you ever need anything, Y/n, I'll be there."

You nodded and smiled tightly. "I'll try not to need anything." You got out of the car and headed for yours. Maybe you'd actually travel the world this time. Maybe you'd just hunt the same as always. But you were going to try to not need a damn thing.

You drove out of Detroit and headed South, not stopping until your eyes began to vibrate with lack of sleep. You pulled over into a rest stop and turned off the car, lying the seat back and curling up on your side, waiting for sleep to take you.

Dean would be happy. That was the important thing. Dean was going to be happy with his normal life and you could be happy saving lives...without an alpha. Without anyone. Just you and the road and a good hunt...until you died.

You dreamed of Dean. You dreamed of taking Lisa's place in the normal life...so that you could be what Dean deserved. But even in your dream, Dean made excuses. "I love you...but I can't mark you." "I love you but I can't be with you." "I love you but…"

You blinked your eyes open a few hours later and gasped to see a figure in your passenger seat. You sat up and stared wide-eyed at Sam. "Am I still asleep?"

"Well, I'm not Dean so I'm guessing you're awake."

You ignored the gut shot about Dean and reached into the back, quickly splashing holy water on him and waiting for the sizzle that never came. You pulled your silver knife next and Sam dutifully offered his hand. "Why do you idiots always go for the most nerve-heavy extremity when getting cut? Take the jacket off and give me your bicep or roll your damn pant leg up, you jerk," you snapped. Sam just smirked as he pulled his jacket and flannel off. You were really expecting him to burn with the silver but he didn’t...and moreover, he smelled like Sam. He was not a ghoul. You laughed as you dropped the knife in the center console. "How in the world did you get out of the Cage? I know how hard it is to get out of Hell, but you went into Lucifer’s Cage."

"Can't tell ya." Sam shook his head. "Just woke up in Stull Cemetery, went to check on Dean, saw you and Dad...decided to follow you."

"Why didn't you say something in Cicero?" you asked, analyzing Sam's face. He seemed off. Why would he follow you instead of talking to you and John? Talking to Dean?

"You were with Dad...and I could smell you from across the street, Y/n...I knew you came back all new and improved. Wanted to see what you would do about that. Turns out...nothing."

"You didn't tell Dean you're back?"

"Neither did you." Sam tilted his head and smirked. "He thinks we're both dead...and that means he's gonna stay in Cicero with Lisa. He's going to live a normal life with a normal woman. He's not going to die on some job before he reaches forty. He deserves that...and that's why neither of us knocked on that door."

"So, you're just gonna dive back into the work headfirst and...forget about Dean?"

"Forget? No. But I'm going to leave him the Hell alone. He left me alone at Stanford for years until Dad disappeared and Jess died. Don't you think he deserves the same treatment?"

You looked away and pulled your seat up straight. "Of course he does. He deserves everything.”

“So, we’re going to let him have it, right?”

You nodded. “Yeah.”

Sam reached out and set his hand on your knee. “And we can have what we deserve.”

You looked down at his hand, disgust filling you. “Remove it, or I will remove it for you.”

“Come on. You don’t really have a reason to deny me. Not with Dean with Lisa.”

You reached down and pulled his hand off of you. “Dean is not the reason I denied you, Sam. Why are we backtracking here? You seemed to understand this before.”

“We had fun before, didn’t we?” Sam asked.

“It doesn’t matter if we had fun...because the fun stopped mattering as soon as you marked me.” The discomfort you were feeling in his presence made you slip your hand under your seat and pick up your pistol. “You were going to rape me, Sam. That kinda ruins any future fun.”

“You would have liked it, Y/n. I wasn’t planning to hurt you too much.”

Having him admit to it so nonchalantly, with a smirk on his lips, filled you with an angry fear. He didn’t even seem to care. It was worse than when he was hopped up on demon blood. You pulled the pistol out and pointed it at Sam’s temple. “Get the fuck out of my car, Winchester.”

He chuckled and put his hands up. “I’ll see you when you get your panties out of that twist, Y/n.” He backed out of the car and turned, a bit of a skip in his step as he walked away. You hit the lock on your doors and turned the engine over. You’d have to do your best to avoid the resurrected Winchester...just like his father...just like his brother. Best to stay alone. Best to get away.

~~~

The Kitchen Sink - @emoryhemsworth @flamencodiva @wasabiwitteks @rainbowkisses31 @rissbennett @mariekoukie6661 @officiallyunofficialperson @dolphincliffs @mrs-meghan-winchester @gayspacenerd @foxyjwls007 @ilovefanfic86 @marvelfansworld @f-yeahfandoms @wonderlandfandomkingdom @hhiggs @sev3nruby @hobby27 @paintballkid711 @divadinag @thewhiterabbit42 @fantasymyth-1 @queenoftheunderdark @cosicas-cuquis @superfanficnatural @letsby @supernatural-bellawinchester @onethirstyunicorn @swinchester27 @chalicia @screechingartisancashbailiff @death-unbecomes-you @dayasvalkyrie @paryl @wereallbrokenangels @the-american-witch @that-one-gay-girl @tatted-trina6 @sunshineandwings86 @lunarmoon8 @wheezyeds @vicmc624 @couldabeenamermaid @vulgar-library

[sebstanseabass]

Afterglow (A Bucky Barnes AU fan fiction) - Chapter 9

Afterglow chapters

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x reader

CHAPTER NINE

For the first time in your life, you awoke in your own pool of sweat and with the fresh thoughts of Bucky as he managed to scoop you up with his strong lean arms and take you right then and there at the kitchen counter in your wild, vivid memory of dreams.

You blamed Nat for this. If it wasn't for her, you wouldn't even have inappropriate thoughts towards Bucky. Yes, you did notice his strong masculine exterior, jaw sharp as a killer's knife, body as strong as a boulder, and legs that could easily kill but did you have any thoughts on advancing towards him? No, absolutely not. He was Peter's stepbrother for crying out loud. But last night, something changed in the laws of physics. It was as if two resting bodies silently reacted to one another without a sudden force acting upon the two.

That morning, you didn't dare find out if Bucky was still in your apartment. You skipped your morning run and headed up towards the rooftop using the ladder right outside your window with a hot cup of coffee in your hand (which spilled a bit on the way up, by the way) and enjoyed the scent and sight of the dirtier part of New York City -- all its damp, cigarette covered pavements.

For the next few days, you saw no sign of Bucky. He hadn't been in the bar or in your apartment, as much as you wished he would stop by once in a while. But then, you would hear Peter talk to him on the phone every single night.

You never thought Bucky's lack of presence would start to bother you. It wasn't just the feelings of sudden desire you had for him but also the weird time you shared together -- as if you were just old friends catching up. You found it absolutely crazy how a lot of things just happened in the course of a day.

You wanted to ask Peter about Bucky's whereabouts, just a casual slip of "Hey, where's Bucky?" but you never dared to ask. So when Peter blabbed during a movie night that Bucky had been way too busy managing some business meetings, gatherings, and whatnots ever since he got back in the city, you were more than glad.

Nat had been coming to the bar every night ever since Tuesday, picking up extra shifts. She kept badgering you about Bucky this and Bucky that. She was one of the reasons why you couldn't keep Bucky out of your head. Her sudden long shifts at the bar wasn't only because she was so invested with your nonexistent dating life or, to her, a possibility of one with Bucky, but because she and Steve were secretly hooking up. Of course, she didn't tell you that. It's not like she needed to, anyway. It only took one sniff of Steve's strong scent on hers for you to find out.

Every passing day at the bar felt so slow and the same. The only thing that changed was Peter rejecting a drink on one Thursday night.

"Woah, what got your knickers on a twist?" You asked as soon as he approached the counter.

"I'm just not in the mood, y/n." He sighed. "Can I just have a glass of water, please?"

"Of course. Coming right up." You slid the glass of water on the counter towards him, your fingers drumming against the thick wood. "So, what's bothering you?"

He looked up at you with sulky eyes. "Oh god, you really are a bartender."

"And your best friend. So, what's up?"

He shook his head nothing, sipping the glass of water like a scotch.

His little act was unconvincing. Especially that he didn't try hard enough to conceal whatever he was feeling.

"Parker." You insisted. "Come on, what's up?"

"You see right through me, y/n."

"Don't flatter me too much," you rolled your eyes, "you're just easy to read."

But Peter was also stubborn as a bull. He wouldn't budge or give you any clue on what was bothering him. You thought that leaving him as you tended to other bargoers would eventually give him time to change his mind but you were proven wrong. It itched your brain that he wouldn't tell you whatever it was. You usually told each other everything. But then again, you haven't really been open with him with your growing desire for his stepbrother -- which, you hoped you never would, as you hoped all those feelings would eventually go away and keep it in a state of latency.

Peter stood by his ground, consuming no ounce of alcohol and keeping his mouth shut the rest of the night. You knew when to keep away from other people's business, even if it was your best friend's. You did try to make his evening lighter though, checking up on him and telling some old, classic bartender stories, seeing as he was clearly in an uncomfortable state but all he kept telling you was: "You're killing me, y/n. You're absolutely killing me."

You felt a heavy feeling on your chest with his surprisingly fierce tone. You urged him to go home after that, so he did.

"Dick." You mumbled after he left.

Nick walked towards the counter. "What's wrong with your roommate?"

"Wish I could tell you."

You and Nick have been getting along well despite you rejecting him. Nat kept telling you it was a way of manipulating you or some sort, to get you close to him but nothing has really happened ever since he asked you out. There wasn't a change in mood in the atmosphere, or even the way he treated you. Just some good colleagues working together.

The next night, Peter was more in the mood and even apologized to you for the way he behaved last night. "Now, for some great news."

"Does this mean you're having a drink?" You asked.

He nodded eagerly and patiently waited for his beer. Once he got his cold sip, he continued talking: "So, I've been really in a slump lately because I'm kind of lovesick. But then -- "

"Wait, what did you say?" You knitted your brows together, catching the last word he said. "Did you say lovesick? You son of a bitch, are you in love?"

"Language!" Out of nowhere, Steve yelled over the buzzing noises inside the bar. You snickered and he just gave you a look before he disappeared back into his office.

He is such a grandpa.

Peter chuckled. "To be honest, I have been for a very long time."

Your jaw dropped on the floor, ears all perked up, wanting to hear every detail of this. "And you never thought to tell me? Parker, I've been your best friend since forever. Why the hell wouldn't you tell me?"

"Because..." He trailed off, avoiding your stare. "It's not that big a deal."

"Okay, was this after that bitch Denise?"

"Actually, waaaay before that."

"Oh wow, that long, huh?" You replied. "Oh my god, is it someone we know from college? Shit, is it MJ?"

"No, it's not!" He replied. "And I'm not telling you who because I don't have actual plans on pursuing her." He sighed through his nose while taking a big sip of his beer. He brought down the bottle on the counter with a loud thud.

"So, it's a girl."

He grunted in reply.

You laughed. "So, why not pursue her?" You asked while multitasking. You handed a bowl of peanuts to the man beside Peter who was asking for it. "Is she taken? Does she have a boyfriend? A girlfriend?"

"No, she doesn't."

"So, why the hell not, Parker?"

You impatiently waited for an answer from Peter as it took him a couple of minutes to do so.

"Because I don't think it's a good idea. I don't think it will ever work." He answered, scratching the label on his beer bottle with much frustration. "I've thought about all the probabilities, but every single one of them ends the same."

"And what is that?"

"That it won't work out."

The thing about Peter was he never dive into things headfirst. Even though he was a dumbass, he was always a man of intellect who calculated everything in his head before committing to something.

"Why is it always statistics and probabilities and all that crap with you?" You let out an exasperated sigh. "What if for once in your life, follow your goddamn heart? You keep treating everything with a business mind. Go with what your gut tells you to do. Don't think too much about it because the heart wants what it wants, Parker."

Peter gazed at you for a few moments, perhaps finding the right words to say but he just shook his head and fought against his feelings. "I can't do it, y/n. I badly want to, like, it's already at the tip of my tongue. I badly want to tell her but I can't. I don't want to know what's gonna happen next. I'm just scared of what's gonna happen. I don't think I can take it."

As much as you wanted to convince him to go for the girl, you let it go. You've said what you had to say but it was always up to him whether he takes your advice or not. "So, what now?"

"Well now, I'm going to tell you the good news, the one you robbed me off when you batted in."

You rolled your eyes. "What's the good news, Parker?"

"Me and my colleagues will go on a corporate retreat for at least a week!"

You raised an eyebrow, writing a confused expression on your face. "How is this good news?"

"I'll be gone for a week, away from the city, away from my love problems and all that. I think it'll be good for me." Then, a smile started to form on his lips. "There, I'll leave all my worries behind."

"Parker, it's just a one-week corporate retreat, not a sabbatical." You grimaced, unimpressed with the whole thing. "You're not gonna get over this thing in just seven days."

"You don't know that." He scoffed. "I'll be a new man once I get back. You'll see."

"Sure." You replied, a hint of sarcasm laced in your tone.

"Oh, one more thing!"

"What, another corporate retreat?" You snickered, amused with all the clever remarks you were throwing at him. Peter, on the other hand, wasn't.

"No!" He gave you a look. "Bucky will look after you while I'm gone!"

Shock crossed your face. "Bucky?"

"Yes, me."

And on cue, a figure emerged behind Peter.

You were so bewildered with Peter's troubles that you hadn't noticed Bucky creeping up towards the counter. He was wearing what seemed like a navy blue tailored Hugo Boss suit, paired with a nice, sleek tie. His whole fit, illuminated by the iridescent lights made his blue eyes pop even more. Like last time, he opened up a button on his waist, tossed the end flaps in the air and sat down beside Peter on a high stool.

Watching him, you could feel the air around you tighten, paired with a clump of saliva caught in your throat. He placed his elbow on top of the counter and tucked his chin on his palm.

"B-bucky," you finally breathed, silently choking up on your own saliva, "hey, it's been quite some time."

"Hello, doll." The vowels on his words seemed to drop, accompanied by that rhythmic sound he usually does when he speaks. Oh god, one day with Bucky and I've already picked up on that, you thought. "Missed me?"

You felt some blood quickly rushing to your cheeks but you played it cool. "Don't flatter yourself, James." You pretended to get quite busy, wiping some clean glass off the counter then faced Peter. "So, what's this thing about Bucky looking after me?"

"Well, I'll be gone. You'll be alone. Bucky will look after you." Peter tried to "expound." "What's not adding up, y/n?"

You rolled your eyes at the two and scoffed, placing the glass on the counter. "No, thanks. It's just one week. I can take care of myself."

It was true. You once spent a two-week vacation all by yourself to California after high school and you came home in New Jersey without a scratch -- like a brand-new car. You walked around the place as if it was your turf, and blended in with the locals while basked in the glorious heat of the California sun.

"Bucky insisted." Peter chimed in defensively.

"Oh. Bucky insisted." You said, your gaze averting to Bucky's eyes. "Again, I appreciate the offer but I can handle myself. I'm not a baby."

Bucky, clearly amused with the whole situation, leaned back with careful eyes fixed on yours. "Come on, y/n, don't you want some company?"

"Aren't you busy with your company?" You retorted.

"Yes, I have been but not anymore." He replied. "Unless something comes up. A week without Peter must be somewhat lonely. Come on," he insisted once again, "it's also for me. It'll give me something to do for a week."

"Wait, what?"

"You guys could get to know each other better and get along!" Peter blurted. "And without me around, Bucky won't have someone to hangout with. Please, y/n? I'd feel so much better."

"Hang out? What are you guys, like sixteen?"

Your mind was still set on Bucky's last choice of words but you saved it for later.

"Pleaaaaseee?"

You sighed, knowing you could never refuse your best friend's pleas. "Fine."

"Great!"

"Just for the record," you said, holding up a finger, "I'm just agreeing because of Peter, not because I can't take care of myself."

Peter rolled his eyes while pulling out his phone from his pocket. "Yeah, yeah, you're an independent woman. Okay, I gotta take this call. I'll be right back."

And all then there were two: you and Bucky. While making two grasshoppers for a couple of girls who just entered, you could feel Bucky's intense stare towards you. Your mind, clouded with thoughts, wished it could tap into his and take a sly look at what was going on inside.

You locked eyes as soon as you handed the girls their drinks. Bucky wearing such a neat, tailored suit made you forget about all his child-like ways in Peter's countless stories. All you saw was a man favored by all the gods and at the same time sent by the devil to test you in so many ways imaginable. You wondered if he felt the same. Of course, you weren't like him or any other people carved perfectly by the gods, but his vehement stare said otherwise.

"Are you gonna order a drink?" You asked, breaking the silence, and also your train of thoughts.

"No." He replied. "I'm good."

"Okay."

Peter, where the hell are you?

"Hey, y/n?"

"Yes?"

"You look beautiful tonight."

A plain black tank top, paired with some old jeans, minimal makeup and this man just told you that you looked beautiful. "Well not just tonight. You've always been beautiful. I just hope you know that."

"Okay what has gotten into you? You're being... weird."

He shrugged. "I'm just stating facts."

You hummed, a look of confusion spread across your face. "Thank you, I guess. Y-you look good yourself. Very different from when I first met you." You chuckled.

"Well, I was naked the first time we met so yeah."

Peter got back from his phone call and for the whole night, you spent your time working your shift while Bucky and Peter moved on to play some billiards and darts as well. Nat kept shifting her eyes between you and Bucky and you just shrugged her off, flipping your middle finger on her in which she reciprocated.

The next day, Peter was all set for his corporate retreat, surprised he didn't need any help from me at all. You helped him with some of his bags towards the sidewalk ("Jesus, Parker, are you going out of the country?"). While you waited for his Uber to arrive.

"You better take care of yourself, Parker." You said, standing beside him on the side of the street. "I'm gonna miss you."

"Really? I'm gonna miss you too."

"Well, yeah, of course. You're like a little brother to me." You smiled, ruffling his brown locks even though he was taller than you.

He looked down on the pavement with a tight-lipped smile. "Right, right."

Smiling, you grabbed his hand and leaned your head on his surprisingly broad shoulders. "Come on, cheer up. You needed this, right?"

"Yes, I definitely do." He whispered. "More than you know."

A few seconds later, the Uber arrived. Before climbing in the black vehicle, you were pulled into Peter's embrace with a soft, fluttery kiss landing on your forehead. Taken aback, you just smiled at him and watched the car get tinier and tinier as it drove further.

You got back in the apartment and five minutes later, there was a knock on the door. Behind it was a smiling Bucky wearing some casual clothes. "Good morning, doll. Missed me?"

You rolled your eyes letting him inside the apartment. Closing the door behind me, you replied: "You've already used that line last night. Pick another one."

"Aw, you haven't heard the rest of it."

You went to the kitchen, grabbed some water from the fridge, and took a drink. "Which is?"

"Miss me, miss me, now you gotta kiss me."

With unsteady hands, you choked on your water and felt the liquid on your skin as soon as those words left Bucky's mouth. Great now I spilled the drink on my chest.

You turned around only to be faced by Bucky. "Now I gotta what?"

His laughter echoed in the kitchen as he backed away from you. "I'm just messing with you. So, what's for breakfast?"

He left you there standing flabbergasted, with some water dripping down your top and shorts, down to the floor. You bore your eyes into the back of his head as he turned on the television.

Bucky tilted his head towards you, eyed you up and down and finished it with a swipe of his tongue on his lower lip.

Oh, this was going to be a long week.

A long, agonizing week.

[lanland04moure]

미안해 •| ᶜʰᵒᶤ ʸᵉᵒⁿʲᵘⁿ |• [ ᵖᵃʳᵗ ⁵ ] αlтєяηαтινє ƒιηαl

Very long text, the end of a series

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we тaĸe ιт ғroм нere;

The door burst open giving way to the rushing sounds caused by the boys entering the room. I took a seat on the bed and they were all there.

Taehyun was the first to speak.

—They've found them. They've been put to safety.— He paused unnecessarily, should I celebrate? You were safe now.

—Yeonjun was not with them.— Soobin's words broke my heart again.

•×•

I woke up, not sure what was going on, without moving I managed to look around, the building collapsed on top of us. Could we die here, would they find us?

I have no idea how much time has passed or if they are even looking for us. I try to stand up. But a great pain in my left shoulder stops me.

It hurts a lot.

I don't remember where I am in the building and it's killing me that I left those girls alone and now we are in this situation. I try again, this time slower. Pain travels up and down my back but this time I don't stop.

I glance around again and remember that it was just that that got me into this mess.

A column. A column was what kept me from being crushed to death. I see no way out, everything is collapsed, I'm trapped.

I need to get out, I need to get out of here, I need you.

I move around the place looking for a way out. There must be a way, there must be a way out.

Please wait, I'm on my way to you.

•×•

We left the apartment immersed in a silence that was not normal for us. Especially the guys.

We were all willing to check on our own if it was true that you were not among those who were rescued.

Because if it was true, if you were not there, where were you? Where did you go?

I needed to convince the rescuers to look some more.

Please hang in there!

The rescue teams are already leaving the site by the time we arrive. It's over for them. They found most of the victims, that's all that matters to them.

For them the testimonies of these girls who claim that you saved them were not enough. I see them crying, I see them begging you to continue the search. They cry for you, they are worried about you. And that's enough for me to take their word for it.

But they don't really care.

They insist, they claim that you are there, they claim that it was you who saved their lives.

Where are you Choi Yeonjun?

I don't want to give you up for lost. I don't want to think that I have lost you. I don't want to get the idea that I lost you.

If they don't look for you, I will. I'm going to get you out of there.

I made sure that no one was watching me, that everyone was distracted so I could sneak through the concrete debris. Not far from where I was entering, the television stations were interviewing the rescued women.

A group of trainees and stylists from the agency.

They asked them the same questions, made them repeat their story over and over again. But they still didn't believe a word of it.

But I do, I really believe them.

My heart knows they are not lying. Whatever happens I will rescue you.

"He was there, I can swear it. He was the one who saved our lives".

"He saved us, he was willing to give his life for ours."

"I owe him my life, that's why I refuse to end the search. He is out there somewhere."

Once upstairs I heard my name being called. I didn't turn around though. Nothing would stop me. I would get to you.

But Kai's screams were getting louder and louder. Which would draw attention. I had to be quick, I had to keep them from reaching me.

—Noona what are you doing? Noona you're going to hurt yourself!— Seeing that I wasn't going to stop Heuning carefully climbed up after me. All the while wailing.—My hyungs are going to be upset.—

—Noona is going to get hurt, but she doesn't care.—

—Soobin Hyung is going to lose his mind when he notices Noona is gone.— Lost in his words we made it to the top of that huge concrete mountain, there were so many places to start looking.

You could be anywhere. They swear you helped them so we have to find you.

We can't give up.

We split up and started moving and searching through the rocks. We will find you, don't worry.

After about 20 minutes a distant scream caught my attention.

They were calling me, was it you? I stood still with the intention of listening clearly. But it wasn't you and it wasn't just me they were looking for.

The boys had already noticed our absence.

I tried to ignore them, tried to silence them in my mind. But I found it impossible the boys were insistent and I knew Kai wouldn't ignore them.

—Min where are you?—

—Heuningkai where did you go?—

—Hyuka!!!—

—Min!!!—

I still continued my search. If the rescuers quit, we wouldn't. At least I haven't

—Huyng!!! Hyung!!!—

—Heuning damn it! What are you doing up there?—Beomgyu's shout echoed through the place.

—I went up following Noona.—

—What?!!! MIN IS UP THERE?!!!—The unmistakable voice of Soobin reached my ears. After his shout all was silence again.

I continued my search, the concrete pieces were heavy, too heavy to tell the truth. But it didn't matter because I just wanted to get to your side.

I felt in my heart something that told me we were close. We were close to you. I leaned down again to move another rock when something abruptly brought me back to my full height.

—Are you crazy? What do you think you can do up here alone? You're only going to hurt yourself!—he was clearly angry and about to lose his mind.

•×•

I was worried about you, how ironic isn't it? I'm the one at risk of being buried to death, but I still can't be selfish, I can't think only of myself. Every minute here I was flooded with worry about how you were doing.

The more time passed, the more it became a torture to keep my eyes open for long periods of time. I was resigned to the fact that I would never get out of here.

Time seemed to move so slowly that it made me think about the probability that maybe I was already dead, but it was not possible, how did I know?

Because of the pain. I once heard that it was pain that made us human or something like that. Because of that and the immense pain that spread through my body I knew I was still alive.

But what I wasn't sure yet was if I would still be alive to remind you how much I love you.

What did we do to deserve this, is it some kind of lesson to make you value what you have and those who are with you, is it some kind of punishment? Thousands of questions come to me in the moment, but so does your image.

Your smile.

It was your smile that made me fix my eyes on you, did I ever tell you that?

Your smile was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen and of course it still is. That was the first time I saw you.

It was right after our debut.

Soobin was very tired and looked sick, but he wouldn't admit it. One day just like that you appeared in our practice room, carrying some lunch boxes with you.

Beomgyu immediately stood up to help you and Soobin pulled you to him in a tight embrace. His face and yours glowed with happiness as you were in each other's arms.    And something stirred inside me.

It turned out that you brought some snacks for everyone, soobin bragged that you were the best cook. I can't deny it, your food was delicious.

Remembering that day I had an immense craving for that rich food that was your favorite, something typical of your city. Some time later it became mine too.

  •×•

One by one each of the boys came up behind us.

Soobin was still upset, but I knew he would help us, he would support us. We would find you, we would.

We basically split into groups so we could move the rocks. About 20 minutes passed and there was definitely no trace of you.

Come on Jun, you can't do this to us.

Time went by and little by little more people joined our search. The girls you rescued, agency staff. Even MOA was coming from different parts of the city to help us find you, we all wanted you back.

The authorities were completely opposed to what we were doing, because there was a possibility that someone would suffer some kind of injury. But we didn't care.

More MOA's slowly arrived to help. Girls who had taken a train, or taken a plane ride to help find their idol. I would love for you to see the love everyone is showing you right now.

Why wouldn't we let you, wouldn't we.

The newsreels were all about filming us. They were broadcasting us for hours, broadcasting as much as they could of our search work.

In the headline you could clearly read ;

THEY ARE THOSE WHO STILL HAVE HOPE

And boy, did we have hope.

No one was giving up. We are fighting for you. Hours went by, endless hours in the sun. And now I was really losing hope. We had moved tons of debris and nothing to show for it.

Should we resign ourselves?

I took a moment. A moment to admire all these people who took the risk of joining our search. What will happen will happen. Whether we found you or not, I was going to be eternally grateful for it. Maybe it was time to take a break. Or maybe it was time to give up and stop.

The sun was killing me.

The heat was intense and the glint of something was burning in my eyes. I covered them for a moment, it was bugging me.

Where was it coming from?

I slowly withdrew my hand and looked around for it. I couldn't believe it. It had to be. It had to be. It was your watch.

Your watch was barely peeking through the rubble.

—It's here, it's here."—

•×•

The more time passed the stronger the pressure I felt.

My heart ached so much, I ached so much from how much I missed you and the fear I felt about leaving you alone. I was desperate to get out. To come back to you.

My body slowly stopped responding, maybe because I was tired. Maybe because of the hunger I felt or maybe because of how damaged and hurt it was.

And just now that he was so close to freedom. It was a matter of minutes, a matter of moving a few more rocks. But it was impossible, I reached my limit. I saw the light, I saw the light of my freedom but everything went black.

I wish I could turn back time and not fight with you. Or failing that take Soobin's advice and stay with you the whole day.

•×•

Taehyun ran beside me as soon as he heard my screams.

We had finally found you!

In a matter of seconds there were dozens of hands moving and throwing the rocks in the area where you were. All treading cautiously but in a hurry to get you out of there as soon as possible.

I'm not going to lie to you. I was praying to God that you would be okay, that he wouldn't take you away from me. When we finally managed to get you out of that place, the paramedics snatched you from our arms.

They did not allow us to see you, they immediately transferred you to the nearest hospital, they had to make sure you were okay, that you were not hurt in any way.

I don't know how long we spent in the waiting room of that hospital, they didn't allow us to see you, they didn't want to give us any report.

We didn't know anything.

Was it so serious?

Doctors came in and out of your room non-stop, but they kept ignoring our pleas for information, it got to the point where they forbade the nurses to come near us.

And just like that, one day when we were still waiting for some details about your health condition, this girl came up to us.

It was a nurse, she asked me to accompany her, without hesitation I went after her.

She would take me to you.

You had woken up, after a week, you had woken up and the first thing you did was to ask for me.

•×•

I woke up once again.

I was alone and without further ado I began to remember everything I had experienced being trapped in the building.

A nurse came into the room, not once did she look at me.

—Park Min, I need to see Park Min.— The nurse left the room without giving me a word or even a small glance. Time marched on, but nothing was happening.

Or so I thought, because within seconds after my thought the door to the room opened again.

But this time it showed me someone totally different. This time it was your beautiful eyes peering out from the other side of that door.

You crept in. Neither of us uttered a word. Then you threw yourself weakly onto the gurney crying and with what little strength I had I clung to you even tighter.

I was afraid that we would be separated again. And now we would not be able to find our way back like this time.

—All the time I was so worried about you.—

—Why? It was you who was stuck in that place, you should have left that for us. I was so scared I'd never see you again, that we'd get separated like that after that stupid fight.—

—I was worried about getting to leave you alone, I knew you'd be scared and I was so mad at me for turning down that dinner the other night.—

—That's in the past, let's try to forget about it. We're here together now.—

—Please never forget how much I love you.—

[jjk-anime-horray]

A Call in the Night

Dazai Osamu x reader x Oda Sakunosuke

Series Summary: While Dazai finally gets over the death of his friend and moves on with his life, he has to watch him unnaturally return into the world, and now he has to watch him turn twisted and into everything he hated in a way.

Chapter Summary: The Armed Detective Agency gets a call about an warehouse incident that happened in the middle of the night, and send two detectives to respond to it.

Notice: This fic series is going to have some dark themes in it so be warned, and in this AU Dazai and the reader are members of the armed detective agency, and this is a spiritual successor to “Late Night Tickets, and Meeting Him.” So I recommend reading that first even though you don’t need to. This is going to be a series!

Trigger Warnings: Blood, mentions of extreme violence, and description of illegal activities.

Getting a call about a mandatory and emergency investigation in the middle of the night, to be specific 2:32am, was something no one at the Armed Detective Agency wanted to do. So what's the most logical solution? Draw straws and the two people who draw the shortest are forced to go.

Unfortunately for you, you were one of the two unfortunate souls that drew a short straw. At least the other person who drew the short straw was Dazai Osamu, your coworker but most importantly the first friend you made in this city, so maybe you would be able to get a kick out of the bad situation at hand.

But when the two of you emerged from an alley to meet the crime scene at hand, that would by no means be the case because by the sight of the horror that layed out infront of you two it was enough for the both of you want to hurl.

Crime scene would describe the atrocity in front of as much as the phrases bloodbath and massacre would. No wonder this was an emergency for the ADA there were probably more than 30 people dead killed in various atypical ways.

First walking into the warehouse the most out of the ordinary sight would be a round wooden table with a duffle bag on it, but once someone took a closer look the rest of the ware house was completely empty other than the congealing crimson liquid that was pooling everywhere.

The five chairs around rickety table were matched with four bodies of executives of some sort laid face down on the table or dangling of the chairs.

But the most appalling sight was what was inside the duffle-bag, you were wishing it would be something tame like left behind money, however, much to your displeasure, they where severed off human heads. That by the looks of it were cut off with some sort of serrated knife my the edge markings.

"What are you thinking (Y/N)?" Were the words that Dazai spoke to snap you out of your spiraling train of thought. "I sure as hell am thinking this isn't the way I would have wanted to go."

"I'll have to agree with you on that one, this shit is something right out of a cheesy crime or horror movie.The only thing I can think of is the heads were a message of some kind to the people who were sitting at the table, and either the person at the empty seat with accomplices who killed everyone or are the only survivor, but it could be either. Were you able to identify anyone bodies or do you recognize anyone?"

"I don't recognize anyone, and most of the bodies are too mangled to be identified, but everyone at the table is wearing a customized Rolex, so I suspect that they were all executives of a organization of some kind, probably an illegal on based on all the gun men that were probably guarding the meeting before they got taken out."

"The only lead we have is the Rolex I guess, so Daz, will you take one for reference, we can visit all of the watch makers in the city to try to find out who was the person who commissioned these watches to be made, and then maybe through that we kind find out who the soul survivor was."

"Agreed."

Honestly the two of you would have been a little more playful and chatty if the events that took place tonight weren't so gruesome. The two of you were used to having to see and do brutal things, but Dazai had this gut feeling that this wasn't the typical violent act, and things weren't as the seemed.

The brown eyed detective just wanted to go take a nap after this, which was something you also wanted to do after see all the blood. Deciding to leave the true start to your investigation for a decent time the two of you swiftly communicated with the responders about the potential situation at hand. Then left to go deal with is mess the next day.

Timeskip........

After a horrible night's sleep and about three cups of coffee you were finally able to be semi-functional, so then you decided to grab your partner Dazai after dressing to impress and make for the horrible mood you currently were in from multiple factors. Dazai was even in a worse state than you where, you found him at the trying to convince Kunikida to go on the investigation for him, which was ultimately denied by the blonde haired man. Also leaving you to drag the genius yet idiotic maniac out of the office.

Walking down the streets in-between visiting different watchmakers and jewelers, you noticed some was off each time your boots hit the ridged pavement. In particular something about Dazai, his face was contorted into a being in deep thought, not to be disturbed for any reason. It was so out of character you were going to ask what he was thinking about, but then opted out.

"I know you were going to ask what I was thinking, I am a detective you know." He said his face morphing into one not of deep thought but of cockiness with a smirk. Damn, sometimes you really loved and hated that smirk, but right now you didn't know what to think of it. "I was just thinking of how now I know exactly who made the watches, and where is is for your information."

"Really who would that be? For my information."

"His name is Opāru Shokunin, he's done a lot of custom jewelry for Elise-chan and the port mafia in the past, but recently he's been doing a lot of foreign commissions for gangs and syndicates outside of Japan my word of mouth. When I first saw the watches I was initially reminded of how it looked like his handy work, but since the first three places we've visited were a bust, i'm confident it's him."

"Alright Mr. Mic-cocky, lead the way by all means." You scoughed lightly.

Unfortunately for the two of you, your desired destination was all the way across yokohama, so you had to hail a taxi which you knew you were going to be the one paying or it. The icing on the shitty cake was that you got stuck in rush hour traffic, so, the total time until arrival was three time longer than it should have been. At least you got dibs on the radio choice.

When the two of you arrived at your desired destination you now witnessed a normal looking office building, unfortunately, there was no elevator so the two of you had to work your legs up three flights of stairs to make it to Opāru's workshop.

Before you went in however you whispered to Dazai "how do we know he's even gonna be willing to talk to us?"

"He's going to be willing...."

"Why?"

"Simple you're gonna pay him."

"Um no you're going to pay him because I payed for the cab!"

"Um no."

"Yes!"

"No."

"Yes!"

"You realize I can hear you two bickering right?" was the raspy voice of the man you were looking for that ended your whisper argument. He was actually younger than you expected, about 38, but he looked older than his body by his eyes, the eyes of someone very worn out. Which would explain the smoking. "He's right i'll talk if you pay me, just come in before ya give everyone else a headache."

The two of you swiftly made your way into the working man's shop room. The room was a lot nicer than you thought it would be, and a lot lighter too. The man possessed a very nice view from his wall because his wall was almost completely filled with by windows. Dazai did mention something about the craftsmen liking natural light in the cab on the way here, so it wasn't too surprising and really lightened the room up.

You followed Dazai to the two chairs across from the white tufted sofa that Opāru was already occupying. Then Dazai placed the watch and a thick wad of cash on the coffee table separating the two parties of people.

"Oh, so you're here to ask who paid me to customize this for them? No surprise there they were particularly nasty."

"How where they particularly nasty?"

"I'm pretty sure that they were doing things even nastier than the port mafia, like taking kids of the streets and shipping them off."

"So, supposedly by word of mouth were human traffickers."

" Yeah, supposedly, but I didn't ask when the guy approached me."

"The guy?" You reconfirmed.

"Yeah, the guy, he had this weird tattoo on his wrist. The guy's name was Zinnnnnng, THUMP.

The two of you didn't even have time to blink or create when the bullet zipped through the head of the craftsman from. The crimson liquid from his head pooling on the couch were he was just alive a few seconds ago. The blood seeping into the fabric like the disparity of situation into Dazai and yourself.

Glimpsing out middle window now tainted with a hole you see the silhouette of the person responsible for this.

Dashing up without a second thought you sprint to pursue the culprit of the murder that just took place infront of you. Eyeing your target through the broken window.

Ahhhhhhh! Okay I’m literally really proud of how this came out! I’m really hope people like it. I’m really new to writing full fanics so if any experienced writer is reading this will you please give some pointers, that would be very helpful!

-Ellie