#we all flyin away and here I am.

[unhingedlesbear]

Oh shit!

it's like the party is ending but I'm still here and don't plan to leave!

[teshadraws]

Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Seekers of Soul

[Chapter 56]

<< First | < Previous | Next >

-

Nia and Tobias fly across the Obsidian Sea, and reunite with a couple of familiar faces!

-

The next day dawns cold and clear. As Nia and Tobias make the walk to the flying outpost, Nia is quickly woken up by the delicate frost coating the leaf-littered forest floor and the foliage they have to pass through. Her fur feels soaked through within minutes and her paws are chilled, but the brisk pace of the walk helps to warm her up. Well, that and walking a bit closer to Tobias. The charmander seems equally disgruntled about the approaching winter, but he doesn’t snap at Nia for bumping into him once or twice as she leeches off his bubble of warmth.

The sun is just starting to cut through the trees in rays of orange light, melting the frost, when Nia spots the tall structure of the flying outpost ahead of them. She picks up the pace, trotting ahead until it’s fully in sight in the middle of a small clearing. Something like canvas has been tied down to block the open gaps of the structure, acting as makeshift walls to cut off powerful gusts of wind. They billow and blow in the breeze like sails, flapping loudly.

There are only a few Pokemon waiting near the bottom of the structure, but Nia’s eyes lock onto one in particular, large and maroon with a fluffy mane of white.

“Fliss!”

The braviary’s head lifts from where she’d been talking to a smaller, bright orange Pokemon. Even with the intimidating scar where her right eye should be, the way Fliss’ face lights up is nothing short of adorable. “Nia! Well, I’ll be! You looking for a ride?”

“Yes!” Nia slows to a stop in front of the braviary, bouncing on her toes. Both because she’s excited to see the large flying type again and to stay warm. “Are you flying today?”

“Sure am! A little frost ain’t gonna stop me. Where’s that partner of yours? You two still a team?”

Nia turns, just in time for Tobias to emerge from the brush with a sour look. He takes a moment to shake melted frost from his foot. “Here. Just hating winter.”

Fliss laughs and jerks her chin up at the pieces of canvas. “You ain’t the only one. Half our crew’s hiding away until the sun comes out to warm everything up.”

“They’ll have to face the winter eventually,” a new voice says, crisp and even. The bird Fliss had been speaking with before steps closer, and Nia can’t help staring at his feathers a bit longer than is probably polite. He’s a bright orange, the color ending in flame-like tapers and fading into a light gray underbelly. His wings and tail are a striking black at their tips, and streaks of bright yellow band his tail feathers and ring his eyes and beak. He looks like the embodiment of fire, just a head or so taller than Nia and Tobias.

“This ball of sunshine is Comet,” Fliss says, amused. “If you’re lookin’ for a long flight, then he’ll be joining us for the trip.”

Tobias frowns, looking between Fliss and the new Pokemon. “Why?”

Fliss and Comet exchange a loaded look. Then, Fliss sighs. “Was hoping you wouldn’t ask, little flame. We’ve just been flyin’ in pairs lately. Extra safety and all that.”

Nia blinks. “Safety?”

“The winds are more volatile than they used to be,” Comet says. “I promise you we can handle it. It’s just a precaution.”

Nia can’t help wondering what had to happen for such a precaution to be put into place. She shuffles worriedly on her feet, glancing at Tobias. He doesn’t look any more soothed than she feels. No wonder, considering they’ll have to fly over the Obsidian Sea again. An accident over the open ocean is basically a death sentence for a charmander.

“We need to head back to Ghatha,” Nia says, locking eyes with Fliss. “So we would need to go over the ocean. Are you sure it’s safe?”

Nia knows this is technically Fliss’ livelihood, but she trusts the flying type not to lie to her just to make some extra money. Not about this.

The braviary ducks her head in a bow. “I’m as confident as a victini in my flight. But if ya aren’t comfortable, you could always find some water transport.”

“Though the ocean is becoming just as unstable,” Comet mutters.

Tobias shakes his head. “No. No, we’re on a tight schedule. I’ll be fine.”

Nia wonders if he’s reassuring her or himself.

“Neither Felicity or I have had any incidents,” Comet says. “Going together is just extra assurance. New protocol.”

Nia exchanges an uncertain look with Tobias. Normally she wouldn’t want to risk it, but they don’t really have any other option. They need to talk to Will as soon as possible, and using water transport would take far too long.

“We’ll fly,” Tobias says, deciding for the both of them. “If you’ll take us.”

“Gladly!”

The cost for travel is a bit higher than it was before—to compensate two ‘mons’ time rather than just one, Fliss explains—but luckily August gave them more funds than he’d thought they’d need. Tobias splits the payment between the two flying types, dropping the coins into the little pouch tied around Fliss’ leg and the small bag tied to Comet’s back.

Finally, it’s time to fly.

“Welcome aboard!”

Fliss crouches low, belly brushing the grass, to let them crawl on. Tobias doesn’t hesitate before taking a firm grip of the bird’s feathers and pulling himself up onto her back. He offers a hand, and Nia gives him a smile of thanks before letting him help her up. She sits behind him, wrapping her arms around his middle and grateful for his sturdy warmth.

“Smoother start than last time,” Fliss teases. “Ready to fly?”

Tobias nods. “Ready.”

Nia takes a deep breath. “As ready as I can be.”

Fliss laughs. “That’s what I like to hear! Just hold on tight now. Promise we’ll get ya to Ghatha safely.”

With that, Fliss pushes off the ground with powerful legs, giant wings beating hard to get into the air. She bobs once, then slowly lifts up and up and up. They rise past the outpost and the trunks of the trees, until they’re surging past leaves and into a sky that’s a robin’s egg blue.

Immediately, the wind buffets them, cold and biting.

Nia feels her stomach drop. She ducks her head into the warmth of Tobias’ shoulder, clinging tightly to him. She feels more than hears him sigh, but he doesn’t argue, just patting her arm twice once before holding once more to Fliss’ feathers.

Fliss rises higher and higher until she catches the air current she wants, then levels out to ride the wind. While the bone-deep fear clutching at Nia’s gut doesn’t disappear entirely, it does ease a bit once their jerky flight smooths out.

Nia almost wants to peek out at the world, recalling the brief glimpses of gorgeous, breathtaking views from last time. Plus, Tobias clearly loves this whole experience. It’d be fun to share it with him.

But as soon as she squints open an eye and catches sight of the sprawling forest below, looking as small as a carpet of moss, and the sheer openness of the sky around them, terror grabs her again.

She buries her head back into Tobias’ shoulder, taking deep breaths of his soothing scent to calm herself.

Nia still can’t remember if she’d flown before as a human. She knows planes are a thing, but her memory has only returned in bits and pieces. Much of her history is still blank, like a tapestry that’s more moth-eaten holes than actual thread. Was she afraid of heights in the human world too? Or is her body’s fighting type nature really enough to put such fear into her?

It’s hard to describe the feeling, especially as it engulfs her and makes her feel lightheaded. It’s like as much as she knows they’re (probably) safe with Fliss and Comet taking care of them, her body trembles with the knowledge that if she fell from here, she’d likely die. Her chest feels tight, her heart pounding hard against Tobias’ spine, and panic simmers quietly in the back of her mind.

“You breathing back there?” Tobias asks, head turning enough for Nia to catch the words.

Nia takes a gulp of air. Then another, slower, to try and follow his unspoken suggestion. Deep breaths. Just don’t think about it. You’re fine. Tobias is here, and Fliss is here, and if something goes wrong then Comet is here too.

“C-Can you talk?” Nia asks.

“Uh. I guess? About what?”

“Anything. I-I just need a distraction. Um. What kind of Pokemon is Comet?”

“Oh. He’s a talonflame. Fire and flying type, like a charizard. I don’t know too much about them, but he’s the final evolution in a three-stage form, and I can tell he’s fast. He keeps having to pull himself back so he doesn’t leave Fliss behind.”

Nia can’t bring herself to answer, breath stolen from her chest, so she nods.

Tobias keeps talking. “Uh. I think the first form is called a fletchling? They’re little things, about Junie’s size. Don’t remember the middle form’s name, though. Um…they’re probably pretty warm, if they’re anything like other fire types. That’s likely why he’s comfortable flying so early in the day, when it’s still cold.”

Comet must catch onto what Tobias is doing and what they’re discussing, because when Tobias starts running out of tidbits to share, Nia hears the talonflame’s voice shout to them over the wind.

“Talonflame are certainly a warmer species. We even create fire with our feathers, rather than a flame sac like most fire types. We produce an oil that’s flammable, and generate heat and friction through flapping our wings to ignite.”

“Watch,” Tobias says, tapping Nia’s arm.

Nia whines, but peeks open an eye in the direction of Comet’s voice.

Comet is sailing easily along on an air current, framed by blue sky. Upon seeing that he has her attention, he flaps his wings—once, twice, three times—and small embers spark to life from his feathers, leaping behind him to be carried away by the wind.

Nia’s curiosity just barely wins out over her fear. She lifts her head to watch more clearly as Comet does it again. He flaps once, hard, and flames burst to life around his wings, hot enough that Nia feels a brief wave of warmth. Then he shoots forward, zipping past Fliss.

“Show-off!” Fliss shouts, laughter in her voice.

“She was curious,” Comet counters, voice now on their other side.

Nia turns to look at him, mouth open to ask questions about how they can choose when to ignite, and if fletchlings can do that too, and a hundred other things—

But she catches sight of the Silenfroar Mountains behind the talonflame, remembers where she is, and icy fear grips her again. She buries her face with a whimper, feeling pathetic.

Tobias sighs.

“Want me to take a turn on distraction duty?” Fliss calls.

Someone must give her the affirmative, because she starts talking. “Did ya know that there’s another variant of braviary out there? Psychic and flying type! I met one once, and he could blast enough psychic energy to knock out a wailord. I can pack a punch myself, so I was mostly just jealous that he could use his powers to write! This old gal is forever cursed with illiteracy.”

“You can read,” Comet says, dry.

“Half-illiteracy, then!”

“That’s not how it works.”

Nia giggles despite herself, grateful for her travel companions as they fall into more animated conversation. Like this, if Nia keeps her eyes closed and takes deep breaths, if she lets the breeze soothe her and imagines she’s just on a windy hillside rather than hundreds of feet in the air, it’s not too terrible. Although Nia wishes she could whip out her blanket without risk of it blowing away. It’s much colder than the last time they flew.

The three Pokemon keep the conversation flowing, shifting from one topic to another, until Fliss finally asks why they’re returning to Ghatha so soon.

“We’re actually going to Stonebrook, a bit south of Ghatha,” Tobias says. “We’re meeting someone there.”

“Oh, Stonebrook!” Fliss crows. “Nice little place. Quaint. We could drop ya off there if you’d prefer, for a bit of extra poke to compensate our time.”

Tobias makes a thoughtful sound that rumbles in his chest. “How much extra?”

“Let’s say 150.”

Tobias mulls it over, and Nia can feel him turn his head as if to get her input.

“Whatever you think is best,” Nia says into his shoulder.

Tobias hesitates for a moment longer before turning forward again. “100 poke and you’ve got a deal.”

Fliss laughs, loud and booming even as the wind snatches the sound away. “Haggler, eh? You know what? Sure. I like you two, so 100 poke it is. Comet, you can have the larger share since I took the lower deal.”

Comet doesn’t answer, so Nia assumes he agrees with those conditions.

Time passes in a blur after that. Nia knows that they have at least a few hours until they reach the land across the sea, but she tries to distract herself by listening to the snippets of conversation around her and thinking about what they have waiting ahead of them. They’re going to find Junie! And see Will again, as well as his human settlement. Excitement mixes in with the nerves in her stomach.

However, it's hard not to let her mind drift to more panic-inducing thoughts too, like their current situation in the air, or their mission from Giratina, or even how much she misses her family in the human world when she has the time to think about them.

Nia wants them here. She wants her mom to stroke her hair and soothe her fear. She wants Clay to make stupid jokes to distract her. She wants Toni to stick her obnoxiously large headphones over Nia’s ears to drown out the quiet roar of the wind.

She misses them so much. Longing aches like a bruise inside her chest.

Nia sniffs and hopes that Tobias doesn’t notice her shaky breaths. Tears prick at her eyes, hot and insistent.

Nia misses them, and she doesn’t even have the full story. She’d hoped that after getting sick and remembering some of her life as a human, the rest of her memories would follow. But after the initial deluge, they’d slowed to a stop. She knows she’s still missing a lot, still has giant gaps in her memory that feel impossible to focus on for too long. What was the last thing she even did with her family before showing up here?

Nia is pulled out of her thoughts when Tobias speaks up, tapping her arm. “We’re at the ocean.”

Nia doesn’t think he means for her to look up, just to update her, so she nods her thanks into his shoulder.

After that, Nia tries to let the loud howl of the wind and the roar of the waves drown out her thoughts and anxieties. Tries to let the sensations surround her in a fuzzy haze.

She’s snapped back to reality by the sudden tilt of the world.

Nia squeaks, clinging to Tobias as Fliss’ considerable mass is knocked sideways by a sudden gust of wind. The braviary flaps wildly to correct herself, and Nia’s stomach flips. Oh, they’re gonna die they’re gonna die they’re gonna die—

Fliss finally manages to catch a gentler air current, leveling out her erratic flight. Nia keeps her face hidden away, focusing on her death grip around Tobias’ ribs and the way he’s clutching at her arm in return.

“Are you two all right?” Comet yells, sounding more tense than Nia would like. His voice is closer too, as if hovering near enough to catch them if they fall.

Tobias squeezes Nia’s wrist, whether to reassure her or himself that she’s still hanging on. “I don’t know if I’d say all right, exactly, but we’re still here. What was that?”

“Rogue wind,” Fliss calls back. “I’ve sailed these currents for more than twenty years, and I’ve never seen anything like ‘em. They like to pop up out of nowhere and throw us off course.”

“A symptom of the increasing natural disasters, as far as we can tell,” Comet adds. “It certainly makes travel more difficult. Dangerous, particularly for the smaller flyers.”

Nia’s heart sinks. This is just one more reminder of what they’re trying to stop. Of what will come to pass if they don’t fix the world. Nia can imagine the winds growing untamed enough eventually to ground flyers completely, whipping up storms and typhoons to wreak havoc alongside earthquakes and droughts.

Nia takes another deep breath to ward off fresh panic. This is why they’re going to see Will. They’re going to fix this. All of it.

“Don’t you worry—I’m much tougher than any rowdy wind!” Fliss calls, trying to sound upbeat. “You two just hold on tight and we’ll be sure to get you to Stonebrook safely.”

Tobias nods, but doesn’t respond. Nia, still trying to calm her racing heart, simply holds onto him tighter. She already didn’t like flying, but the thought that the world could suddenly flip and toss them into the ocean at any time is ten times worse. Not that she doesn’t trust Fliss, but she distrusts the current state of nature even more.

“I’ll scout ahead to make sure that doesn’t happen again,” Comet calls, just loud enough to hear, before Nia feels another burst of warmth from his flames. He must’ve jetted forward to fly just ahead of Fliss.

Unfortunately, conversation stops after that as Fliss and Comet focus on navigating the rough air currents. Time passes in tense quiet, aside from the rush of the wind and the roar of the waves. Every time a gust of wind shakes up their flight even the slightest bit, Nia’s heart jumps into her throat.

When Tobias finally speaks again, it’s quiet and almost to himself. “Huh.”

Nia tightens her grip on her partner. “W-What? Is something wrong?”

“No. I don’t think so, at least.” Tobias leans slightly, as if peering over Fliss’ side. “Giratina’s following us.”

That’s interesting enough to make Nia look up. She debates with herself for just a moment before steeling her courage, tightening her grip, and following Tobias’ gaze down, to the choppy ocean below.

Sure enough, Nia spots Giratina’s giant, serpentine shape in the broken reflections on the ocean’s surface. He’s following alongside Fliss’ quick pace, winding like a snake through black water.

Fliss notices the legendary’s presence, but she must think it’s another Pokemon because she just gripes about nosy water types before flapping higher to catch a different current. Nia stiffens at the reminder of how high up they are and burrows back into her safe space.

“Surely he has better things to do than follow us around,” Tobias says.

“Maybe we should give him an update?” Nia suggests. “To be fair, he doesn’t know what we’re doing. We could try talking to him through a reflection later?”

“Maybe.”

And with that, they fall silent again.

____________________________________________________________

It’s late morning when they finally make it back to land, and almost noon by time Fliss calls out that they’ll be landing in Stonebrook in a few minutes.

The rest of their flight had been uneventful after that first incident. Comet had successfully steered them around any other severe turbulence, and the cold weather had warmed with the sun beating down on their backs. Still, Nia is beyond relieved to have the end of their flight so near, and she manages to lift her head and take a peek at where they’re going.

The forest below looks different from the one in Bethoc’s Haven. The trees back home are a range of species, mostly deciduous, with spreading boughs and wide leaves that change colors and wither away with the seasons. These trees, even from a distance, stand tall and pointed, a rich palette of greens despite the approaching winter. Evergreens?

Fliss and Comet aim for a notable gap in the trees. As they start to descend, Nia realizes they aren’t just settling in a small grove or clearing, but instead at the edge of a tiny village nestled amongst the trees. There are small buildings scattered throughout the space, built from boulders and slabs of stone propped against one another. Other than a few purposeful openings that are clearly windows, any gaps are filled in with smaller, carefully stacked stones. A stream winds through the town, stepping stones bridging its two halves, and even this late in autumn the whole place feels green and lush, each building topped by a grassy roof. They must be farther south than Nia had realized.

Pokemon are scattered around the village, going about their day. Children are chasing each other down dirt paths, shrieking with laughter, while a couple of adults talk and watch the kids from outside stone homes. Others appear to be doing chores or running errands. One building is seemingly the home of a merchant, and a few Pokemon are crowded around the little window where he’s exchanging goods. Smoke rises from another building, and Nia catches the savory scent of something cooking. Some Pokemon are even riding a cart out of town on the main path, heading who knows where.

Fliss finally touches down, and Nia wastes no time in sliding off her back. The cool, pine needle-strewn dirt below her feet is blessedly solid.

“Oh, thank God,” Nia breathes, sinking to the ground. Her legs are somehow both stiff and flimsy as jelly.

Fliss laughs, lowering herself so Tobias can slide down much more gracefully.

“You good?” He asks.

Nia groans, leaning forward to press her forehead against the dirt. Tobias gives her a patronizing pat on the back.

“Apologies again for the rough flight over,” Comet says, stepping closer.

“But we did get you here in one piece!” Fliss says, giving an exaggerated wink with her one good eye.

Tobias helps Nia to her feet. “That you did. Thanks.”

“We’re planning to head to Ghatha right away for our next job, so you may need to make the journey north on foot if you need a return flight,” Comet says.

“That’s fine!” Nia says, giving Comet a weak smile as she starts stretching out her stiff legs. “We probably won’t need a flight ‘mon for a while, anyways. We need to find someone here in town, and then we’re heading south.”

“Fair enough,” Fliss says. “Well, it was good seeing you two again, despite the rocky weather. Be careful on your travels and be sure to find us again if you need a flight! It’s always a pleasure having you as riders.”

“Thanks, Fliss,” Nia says, smiling warmly at the braviary. “I can’t say it’s been, um…fun, exactly, but I appreciate you doing your best to make it easier for me. Both of you.”

Comet dips his head. “Of course. It was nice meeting you both.”

With that, Fliss and Comet step back and take flight again, flapping up and into the sky. Nia waves them off until they’re out of sight.

Then it’s just Nia and Tobias standing at the edge of the village. Stonebrook is absolutely tiny, maybe ten or twelve small buildings in all, and Nia can see clear to the other side of town from where they’re standing. While the inhabitants of the village aren’t approaching them, there are one or two Pokemon watching them curiously, clearly wondering who they are and why they flew to Stonebrook of all places.

“Well, we’re here. Now what?” Tobias asks.

“Well…” Nia trails off, looking around. “I guess we just ask around until someone can point out where Junie lives? It can’t be too hard to find her in a town this small.”

Tobias shrugs, clearly not thrilled about socializing with a bunch of strangers, but follows as Nia wanders into the village proper, towards the merchant shop she’d spotted earlier.

“This place is nice,” Nia says, smiling as one of the children she’d seen before runs past her. The kid, a brown chipmunk Pokemon with a leafy green bonnet, does a double-take at the two strangers in his village, and skids to a stop. The Pokemon that had been chasing the little guy slams into him, and the two fall into a squirming, squabbling heap.

“It’s definitely not where I expected Junie of all Pokemon to settle down,” Tobias says, stepping around the kids. “It’s too…”

“Peaceful?”

“I was going to say boring, but yeah.”

Nia elbows him to be polite, still looking around as they approach the merchant’s shop. The village is open to the sun, but it’s surrounded by a thick wall of pine trees. Nia can’t decide if the forest feels reassuring or confining. Then again, she lives inside a giant tree, so she doesn’t really have room to talk.

“Nia?”

Nia stops in place, ears perking at the familiar voice. She spins to find it, beaming when she sees Junie stopped mid-step mere feet away. The rookidee is clearly shocked, beak open and wide ruby eyes flicking between Nia and Tobias in disbelief.

“Junie!” Nia says.

Junie blinks once. Twice. Then she finally seems to register that this is really happening. She tweets an excited, shrill noise before rocketing into Nia’s open arms. Nia falls to the dirt and moss, laughing.

“What’re you doing here?!” Junie says, nuzzling into Nia’s fur. “Where did you even come from?”

“We flew!” Nia laughs, hugging her. “Did you not see us? Half the village has been staring at us since we landed.”

“I just got into town!” Junie leans back just enough to meet Nia’s eyes, feathers fluffed with excitement.  “What’re you doing here?!”

Nia feels her smile falter a bit. She sits up, and Junie resettles in her lap. “We have business south of here, so we thought we would stop by and visit you on the way.”

“I’m so glad you did! I missed your adorable face.” Junie’s gaze flicks behind Nia to where Tobias is standing, and she perks up all over again. “And Toby’s here too!”

“I told you not to call me that,” Tobias growls.

“Good to see you haven’t lost your charming personality!”

Nia giggles, while Tobias just rolls his eyes.

“Ahem.”

Nia and Junie look up to see a pink cow Pokemon standing over them, a basket full of linens held against her hip.

Oh. They decided to have their reunion right in the middle of town, didn’t they? And right in the middle of one of the walking paths, too.

Junie laughs and flaps her way out of Nia’s lap. “Sorry, Marie!”

Nia scrambles to follow. “Sorry, ma’am!”

Marie shakes her head, but she’s smiling as she passes. “Good to see you so happy, Junie. Just keep the paths clear, all right?”

Junie salutes the Pokemon’s back, sending Nia a wry smile.

Huh. Nia had gotten the impression back in Ghatha that Junie didn’t talk to her neighbors much, but that was a pretty casual exchange with Marie. Maybe she’s grown more comfortable with them since then?

Once the cow Pokemon is out of earshot, stopping outside of her home to hang the linens on a makeshift clothesline, Junie turns to Nia. “Come on, we can go back to my place.”

“Oh, sure!”

Nia and Tobias follow as Junie hops down one of the village’s dirt paths, then leaves the trail entirely to head into the woods.

Nia hesitates at the tree line, watching Junie’s dark feathers get nearly swallowed up by the forest’s heavy shade. The three of them are dwarfed by the tall evergreens here.

“You don’t live in town?” Nia asks.

“Nope! I live with Bo now! He should actually be stopping by the house soon with some lunch.”

Nia’s brows rise at the bird’s easy answer, but she dutifully follows before she can lose sight of the rookidee.

Junie had seemed so stubbornly independent back in Ghatha. When did that change? Nia did tell her she should try connecting more with her neighbors, but this feels like a big step.

“Bo?” Tobias asks when they catch up.

“Yeah! He’s a dork, but he’s the best. A real metal guy.”

Nia tilts her head, hearing the joke in Junie’s voice but unsure of what to make of it. A pun, no doubt.

“Is he your, um…”

Junie must pick up on what Nia is asking, because she scrunches up her face and sticks out her tongue. “Ew, no, gross. He’s like. A dad. Or an older brother, maybe. Oh! No, wait, he’s definitely an uncle!”

“How do you just decide that someone’s an uncle?” Tobias asks.

“When they have uncle energy, duh. Keep up, Toby.”

Tobias sends Nia a look that makes it clear he’s already done with Junie for this visit. Nia bites back a laugh.

The rookidee leads them farther into the forest than Nia expects, until Stonebrook is out of sight behind them and they’re surrounded by the quiet of the trees. It’s heavily shaded here with the canopy of evergreens so thick, and the air cools notably. At first, Nia almost finds it unnerving, used to the dappled sunshine of the forest in Bethoc’s Haven, but the peaceful quiet and gentle, dark colors grow on her quickly. The ground underfoot is a soft mix of dirt, moss, and soft pine needles, and the air is fragrant with the scent. The trunks of the pines tower above them. There’s less foliage to wade through, which is nice. It’s not bad, necessarily. Just…different.

Finally, Nia sees something up ahead, an out of place gray amongst the cool browns and greens of the forest.

“This is where we live!” Junie chirps, hopping ahead to present it with a wide flourish of her wings.

It’s a small abode made of stone, much like the homes back in Stonebrook proper. One of its walls seems to be made up of the large tree it’s propped against, and its roof is a grassy slant of soil atop a slab of stone. The other walls are made of smaller, carefully stacked rocks, with only two rectangular gaps left on either side of the wooden door—windows, most likely, seeing as they’re currently covered by leafy blinds. There are a few flowers and paint doodles decorating the outside, almost certainly Junie’s doing, that brighten the gray exterior. The little house is cushioned by moss and framed by more giant pine trees, but there are a few slices of sunshine in this part of the forest, making the whole place look homey rather than unwelcoming.

“It’s lovely!” Nia says, charmed.

“You sleep on the ground?” Tobias asks, sounding more confused than anything.

“Hey, what’s wrong with that?” Junie asks, giving him a glare. “You sleep on the ground!”

“We literally live in a tree.”

Junie stops mid-retort, blinking. “Huh. Guess you do. Still! Lots of Pokemon sleep on ground level!”

“Not flying types.”

“We’ve had some rough storms around here, okay?” Junie huffs. “Besides, I used to sleep in trees before moving in with Bo, and it’s not all it’s cracked up to be. I kept falling out, and it got so drafty! This is much cozier.”

“Or maybe you’re just a weirdo.”

“Maybe it’s just your human side talking,” Nia suggests, biting back a laugh at the cross look Junie sends her partner. “Humans do like being cozy.”

“Because it’s the best!” Junie says with a decisive nod. She opens her mouth to say something else, then pauses, glancing up through the trees as they rustle with the wind. “Oh! I think Bo’s home!”

Nia peers up through the pine branches and the slivers of sunlight, but she can’t see much of anything through the thick boughs.

“I’d step back if I were you,” Junie says, hopping back against the house. “I’ve been knocked over by his tailwind more times than I can count.” 

Finally, Nia sees him: a silver bird diving through a gap in the evergreens. He flashes bright when he cuts through a ray of sunlight, like the sun reflecting off a car, and the undersides of his wings are a scarlet red. As he descends, Nia realizes just how big he really is, and scrambles back to make room, Tobias right on her heels.

The bird slows down with a few powerful flaps right before he meets the forest floor. The gust created from his wings makes Nia brace herself against the house and squint her eyes shut as he settles heavily onto the mossy ground.

Nia blinks grit from her eyes and trails her gaze up from huge talons and a bulky silver body until she finds the bird’s face. He’s gotta be over two times their height, and he’s seemingly covered in…metal? The wings he tucks against his sides almost seem to be tipped in blades, sharp as they are, but they don’t cut through the satchel strapped around his body. His head is an equally sharp thing, with a wicked beak of sharp teeth and a spike of metal atop his head, almost like a helmet. He meets Nia’s gaze with keen yellow eyes.

“You didn’t tell me we were having visitors, Junebug,” the bird says, voice more playful than Nia expects. “I would’ve cleaned the place up a bit. Now I just look like a bad host.”

Junie laughs, hopping forward to gesture with her wings. “I’m just as surprised as you are! These are the friends I told you about, from Ghatha! Nia and Toby.”

“Tobias, actually,” Tobias corrects. It’s halfhearted, though, as he sizes up the Pokemon in front of them.

Nia gives the large bird a smile and a shy wave.

The bird squawks a laugh. “You two are just like Junie described! Nice to meet you. I’m Bolat. Local mail ‘mon and self-appointed wrangler for this little impidimp.”

Bolat reaches out a taloned foot to nudge Junie, surprisingly gentle. The rookidee trills an annoyed sound as she’s still nearly knocked over, but she’s smiling.

“I keep your life exciting and you know it!”

“Can’t argue with that.”

“It’s nice to meet you,” Nia says, bowing lightly. Tobias doesn’t say anything, but Nia sees him give the bird a respectful nod.

“You too.” Bolat tilts his head, looking at them consideringly. “Do you two plan to bunk with us tonight?”

“Oh! I-I mean, we can find somewhere else to sleep if it’s any trouble, but—”

Bolat laughs and shakes his head. “No no, you’re fine. We have room. We’ll just need to get you some bedding for a proper nest. Guessing you haven’t done that yet?”

“They just got here!” Junie says. “Gimme like an hour. There’s some decent stuff in that glen west of here, right?”

Bolat hums, eyeing the two of them again before turning back to Junie. “How about I just grab some bedding for the night while I’m out on my second run? I’m sure you want to catch up anyways.”

Nia almost protests out of pure politeness, but glances at Junie instead. This is her home, after all. Even if Nia is surprised that the little bird isn’t immediately insisting she can do it herself.

After a moment of thought, though, Junie just nods. “If you don’t mind, that’d be awesome! Thanks, Bo.”

“Eh, no big. It’s a slow day anyways. Ah, here.” Bolat lifts a wing to dip his beak into the satchel looped over his body, rummaging around through…letters? He finally re-emerges with a small sack, which he drops in front of Junie. “Grabbed some lunch. Make sure you eat a few of the chestnuts and greens—you need more bulk if you want to carry more than a letter at a time.”

Junie groans and butts her head against Bolat’s leg with a thonk. “I know, I know! I’ll eat my stupid veggies. Thanks.”

Bolat laughs again and looks at Nia and Tobias. “There should be enough in there for all three of you, if you haven’t had lunch yet. I’ll pick something else up for myself.”

“Are you sure?” Nia asks, ears lowering. She can’t help feeling like they’re imposing, showing up so suddenly and making Bolat do so much for them.

“Of course!” Bolat waves them off with a giant wing. “Any friend of June’s is a friend of mine. Make yourselves at home.”

“Well…thank you, then.”

“’Course.” Bolat squints up through the trees at the midday sunshine. “I’d better get going if I don’t want to be late, though. Can you hold down the fort until I get back, Junebug?”

“Aye aye, cap’n!” Junie says, saluting with her little wing.

“In that case, I’ll see you all this evening with bedding in tow. See you!”

Bolat barely waits for Nia and Tobias to say their own goodbyes before he’s flapping hard at the ground again and lifting up into the air. Nia watches, kind of awestruck that a bird seemingly made of metal can appear so light and graceful as he flies up between the trees and out of sight.

Then Nia squints, looking down at Junie. “’A real metal guy?’”

Junie chirps a laugh. “I wasn’t lying, was I?”

Tobias snorts. “A skarmory’s about as metal as a flying type can get.”

“Exactly! Now, come on in. I can’t make you guys proper nests until Bo brings back some fluff, but we can still catch up and eat!”

Junie grabs the lip of the sack of food and drags it along behind her, flapping furiously against its weight. Nia holds open the front door so Junie can get inside, watching as the little bird pulls open the blinds on the two small windows to let in some fresh air and sunlight. Then Nia follows her, surprised by how the inside of the little home feels both cozy and more spacious than she expects.

It’s clearly a space built for just one or two Pokemon, but it’s organized. There’s a small basin off to one side of the room, with bowls, cloths, and other supplies resting near it on a small, flat boulder. On the other side, there’s a larger slab of stone, where two nests sit. One is clearly Junie’s, a tiny bowl of moss and pine needles perfectly sized to cup her body. The second nest is much, much larger, and Nia has to stare at it for a moment to try to understand what she’s looking at.

Are those…thorns?

Junie notices Nia’s expression and twitters a laugh. “Yeah, Bo sleeps in a nest of brambles. Apparently lots of skarmory do it to protect their chicks and toughen up their feathers or something? Or he’s just a freak, I dunno.”

“That’s, um…really intense,” Nia settles on.

“Right?! I’ll stick with my soft, squishy nest, thank you very much. I’m a delicate lady, after all.”

Over near the table, Tobias snorts.

“Oh, what?” Junie says, playfully challenging. “Something you want to say, Toby?”

“Lots of things. But then Nia would scold me for being rude.”

“Like that ever stopped you before.”

Nia smiles as the two go back and forth. She trails closer to the nests, which are sitting right next to one another, almost touching.

“You two seem close,” Nia says, glancing back at Junie.

“I mean…I guess? I haven’t really been here that long.”

“Yeah, but you seemed really against letting anyone help you back in Ghatha. So I guess I’m just glad you found someone here you trust.”

“Yeah…” Junie starts preening her wing, visibly embarrassed. “I was being kind of dumb about that, in hindsight. Like. Bo can be ridiculous, but he’s super nice, y’know? I really like living here. He’s been teaching me a lot, too! Like getting me to fly higher without freaking out.”

Nia turns to look at Junie. “Really?”

“Yup! I can even fly above the trees now! Not by much before I panic again, but I’m definitely better than before. Bo thinks he can get me over my fear of heights in under a year!”

“See if he can teach Nia, too,” Tobias jokes, picking up a bowl to inspect it.

“This…seems like a big deal to you,” Nia says slowly, a little confused. “I-I mean, don’t get me wrong! It’s great! But your fear of heights didn’t seem to bother you that much before?”

“Well…” Junie hops over to fiddle with the tie on the sack of food, clearly looking for something to keep herself busy. “I couldn’t help you in the fire at Ghatha because I was too scared of flying, and I only ended up living with Bo because I was too weak to navigate a storm. So I guess I just want to get better at being a flying type so I can actually do things and not be scared all the time. Plus, I’ll need to be able to fly for real if I want to have a more exciting job than just running errands around Stonebrook.”

“A job?” Tobias asks, frowning. “Like as a Seeker?”

Junie bursts into laughter. “Absolutely not! Fighting’s the worst. Don’t know how you do it, Nia. And dealing with clients and guildmasters? Ugh. No thanks.”

“What’re you hoping to do instead?” Nia asks.

“I’m thinking a mail ‘mon like Bo!” Junie says. She abandons the sack and hops up onto the windowsill to better meet Nia’s gaze. She looks excited, chest puffed and eyes bright. “It’ll take me a few years to learn the landscape well enough to find my way around, and I have to build up enough strength to actually carry a few letters long distance—especially since I have to stay a pipsqueak forever—but I think I’d really like it! Bo’s let me tag along on a few of his runs and it’s the best. He gets to go everywhere and he meets so many funny people!”

Nia blinks at Junie’s enthusiasm, surprised. That’s…quite the long-term goal. Without thinking, she says, “Years? But what about getting back home?”

Junie seems confused for a moment, but then she pouts. “Oh. Right. You still want to be human again, don’t you?”

Nia jerks back. She remembers Junie mentioning something like this in Ghatha, but— “You don’t? You want to stay here? Like this? Forever?”

Junie’s pout deepens into something more genuinely troubled. Her eyes flick to Tobias before resettling on Nia. “Yeah? Just because you want to go back to the boring old human world doesn’t mean everyone does.”

“But…” Nia trails off, at a loss for words. She looks at Tobias, wondering if he’s as surprised as she is. He’s pointedly fiddling with the bowl in his hands, not meeting Nia’s eyes. Oh. Right. Leaving would mean…leaving him behind. And everyone else, too.

But even with that in mind, Nia still can’t help her shock. When she thinks of the human world, she doesn’t think of how boring it can be. She thinks of her family, of going home and reuniting with them. She thinks of her brother pulling her into a crushing hug and lifting her off the ground. She thinks of her mom crying and cooking a big meal for the family to eat together. She thinks of Toni refusing to leave her side for a week straight and catching her up on everything she missed.

Does Junie not have people like that to go home to?

“Do you not remember anything yet?” Nia asks. “About your old life?”

Junie hops down to the soft dirt of the floor and back over to the sack of food. “No, I remember. Not a lot, but enough. It just isn’t good enough to convince me to go back.”

“Wait, doesn’t Will have some theory about humans having to get close to death to regain their memories?” Tobias asks, narrowing his eyes at Junie. “Did you get your memories back after the fire in Ghatha?”

“Nope! Not there. I got pretty hurt right after I got back to Stonebrook, so it must’ve been then. I didn’t know about the whole near-death thing, but it did happen while I was recovering, so.”

“You got hurt?!” Nia asks, alarmed despite knowing that Junie has been totally fine the entire time they’ve been talking. She still can’t resist stepping closer and crouching to scan the delicate little bird’s body. “It had to be serious if you remembered something.”

Junie chirps a laugh. “Sure was! A nasty storm hit the woods and a branch fell on me. Almost flattened me like a pancake! Funny how that’s almost happened twice now, huh? Anyways, that’s how I met Bo! He helped me get back on my feet. Oh! And look at this!”

Junie ignores the distress surely painting Nia’s face to hop back a step. Then, with a furrow in her little brow and a few moments of quiet, a bubble of bright orange energy flickers to life around her.

Aura. Junie’s aura. Nia can sense it immediately, even if she hadn’t been able to see it herself. Her jaw drops.

The bubble around the rookidee only lasts for a second or two, weak and faint, before vanishing again. Junie pants, clearly exhausted from the little display, but beams at Nia and Tobias’ gobsmacked expressions.

“I used protect when the branch landed on me! Though apparently not very well, since I still fractured some bones. Definitely not as strong as the one you used in Ghatha, Nia. But still! Isn’t that cool?!”

“You can use aura now?” Tobias asks, looking horrified. He’s probably thinking about Junie possessing all of the intimate soul-reading powers that Nia has.

Junie shakes her head. “Nah. Just this one move. But I still thought it was neat!”

“It is neat,” Nia offers a beat too late, feeling off-kilter. That one book in the archives did mention that all humans could use protect, but it’s still strange seeing it in action.

Junie puffs out her little chest, proud, before realizing something. She glares at Nia. “Wait, you also got some of your memories back? That means you almost died again, too! I thought I told you guys not to get into any more trouble!”

Nia winces, holding out her hands in a placating gesture. “T-To be fair, I just got really sick?”

“That’s an understatement,” Tobias grumbles, walking over to flick Nia with his tail.

“Oh.” Junie’s irritation deflates. “That sucks.”

“A little,” Nia laughs. “Although…Junie, do me a favor and promise to go to a doctor right away if you get sick, okay? It can get pretty serious for humans.”

Junie opens her mouth to make a lighthearted quip, but something about the expressions on their faces stops her. She tilts her head, clearly curious, but eventually chirps, “Yeah, okay. I promise.”

After that, they settle on the ground outside to eat, where the dirt and moss has been warmed a bit by the sun. Tobias opens the sack Bolat brought back, where a small feast of berries, veggies, and some spiky chestnuts await them for lunch.

Junie gets to work carefully cracking open the chestnuts with her beak while Nia and Tobias divvy up the rest of the food for their impromptu picnic. It’s still chilly out, especially in the shade of the forest, but it’s not as cold as it was while flying over. The wind smells like fresh pine as it rattles through the trees, and dappled sunlight plays across the ground.

“I still feel bad eating the food Bolat got specifically for you two,” Nia says as Junie passes them some of the unshelled chestnuts to add to their meal.

“Don’t be. Bo’s really generous, and he finds lots of food while he’s out on the job. He took me in when I got hurt and took care of me without a second thought.”

Nia smiles as she takes a bite of a carrot-like vegetable, crunching away at it. Bolat does seem awfully nice, and Nia’s beyond grateful that Junie found someone like him to take care of her when she was so injured. She doesn’t want to imagine what would’ve happened otherwise.

“So, catch me up,” Junie says around a mouthful of food. “Any leads on the whole ‘returning to the human world’ front?”

Nia feels Tobias’ eyes on her, and tries not to look too eager at the prospect. “Um…a few? I have some ideas, but nothing solid yet.”

Junie hums, clearly sympathetic but not at all upset on her own behalf. “That sucks. Sorry, Nia. Let me know if I can help, okay? Although I don’t know what I could add that you and Will don’t already have covered.”

Nia slowly puts her own food back down. “Junie, you…you really don’t want to go back home, do you?”

Junie shrugs, looking uncomfortable. ��I mean. I miss some stuff, I guess, but most of my memories are just…blah, you know? And I’m happy here! Even though I’m gonna be a little shrimp forever, I’m much happier here than I ever was as a human.”

Nia sits back, torn. On one hand, it’s not like she can argue with Junie’s feelings. And just because Nia wants to see her family and friends so desperately doesn’t mean everyone does. But to just abandon her old life entirely? Just like that?

“You aren’t worried that somebody will miss you?” Nia can’t help asking.

“Not really. They aren’t my problem anymore.”

What in the world does that mean?

Nia tries not to visibly slump, and starts picking at her food again. She’d been so excited to share her recovered memories with the rookidee, but now she isn’t so sure she wants to. Would Junie even want her to, or would it just be awkward?

“So is that the mission you’re doing south of here? Figuring out human stuff?”

“Um, no. Not really. We are going to see Will, but not about that.”

“What for, then?”

Nia glances at Tobias. He’s munching on a chestnut, and gives Nia a wave of his hand that clearly says it’s Nia’s prerogative how much she wants to share.

“Okay, your little telepathic communication thing is adorable, but what’s with the serious face?” Junie asks. She looks between Nia and Tobias. “You’re not telling me something.”

For a moment, Nia considers brushing off Junie’s concerns. She hadn’t told Xander’s team or Andyn’s team about the whole “world ending” thing, but…well, quite frankly, she doesn’t think Junie will let it go now that she’s picked up on it.

Plus, she’s human like Nia, as much as she apparently doesn’t want to be anymore. She didn’t have a life here before all of this started happening. It feels right, to let her in on the secret too.

Nia puts her food down again. “You’re right. Sorry. We, um…we found something out recently. Something big.”

Junie frowns. “Bad big?”

“Certainly not good big,” Tobias huffs.

“We met Giratina,” Nia says. “He—"

“Wait, back up. Giratina? The scary nightmare creature that Will explicitly told us not to talk to?”

Nia winces. “Yes? He’s, um…actually pretty civil. If a bit of a grouch.”

“So like Tobias, then,” Junie says. She doesn’t even bask in his reaction, adding, “Okay, hold up, start from the beginning. I need the whole story.”

Nia hesitates, but crumbles quickly under Junie’s insistent gaze.

So Nia tells the story yet again, from the moment when Tobias noticed Giratina following them, all the way up to their talk with August when they returned to the guild. She’s getting better at summarizing after telling the story twice before, but Tobias still jumps in occasionally to add any important details that she forgets. Junie is surprisingly quiet for most of it, aside from when she chastises them for being idiots, jumping down into dangerous mines with criminals and meeting up with crazy bugs who want to send them to the distortion world.

Finally, voice raspy and meal still only half-finished, Nia says, “And that’s the gist. This world—the Pokemon world—is basically in danger of falling apart entirely if we don’t do something to stop it. And the human world will go down with it.”

“Nia thinks Will might have some human connections who can help us find Xerneas, so that she can strengthen the barrier,” Tobias adds. “Or fix it afterwards, if it’s predetermined to break. Either way, we don’t have much go to go on, so we’re checking with him just in case.”

Junie’s expression is somber when they finish. She stares long and hard at the dirt, clearly deep in thought. Finally, she sighs and looks up. “Well. That’s a fine pickle. And just when I was getting comfy here, too. I guess we’ll just have to see what Will has to say, right?”

Nia blinks, then echoes the little bird. “We?”

“Well, yeah! I’m coming with you two to Will’s place, of course.” Junie says. “I just got you back. You aren’t ditching me again while you go off to save the world!”

Nia straightens up, heart lifting. “Really?”

Tobias groans. “Really?”

“Yup! You’re stuck with me, lizard-breath.”

“Greeeaaat,” Tobias drawls, using his flames to char a pecha berry cupped in his palms. 

“But what about Bolat?” Nia asks.

Junie waves Nia off. “He’ll be fine! He was on his own forever before I showed up. As long as I come back eventually to show him I’m not dead I’m sure he’ll be cool about it. And I can keep training while we head south so I’m not slacking!”

Nia smiles, something in her relaxing. “That’d be great, Junie. We’d be happy to have you.”

“Happy is a strong word,” Tobias says.

Nia glances at him, afraid for a moment that she’d just made a decision for the both of them that he’s genuinely upset about, but he doesn’t actually look bothered by this development. He bites into his berry with a casual movement, his tail flame its usual calm flicker and his expression even. Just their usual banter, then.

“Aw, c’mon! I’m excited to be traveling with you guys again! I guess we should leave right away tomorrow morning since this is kind of time-sensitive, huh? We’ve got mysteries to solve, worlds to save, eldritch horrors to meet—oh! Nia!”

Nia jumps, nearly dropping the peeled chestnut in her hand. “Y-Yeah?”

“I wanted to ask earlier, but I didn’t want to interrupt. If you can communicate with Giratina through reflections and he’s on our side now, could we like. Call him?”

Nia stares at Junie, chestnut forgotten. “You want to talk to him? He’s…kinda scary.”

“That’s even better!” Junie says, hopping up excitedly. “It’ll be like we’re trying to summon demons at a sleepover. Wait here!”

Junie darts inside her and Bolat’s home, and Nia looks at Tobias, bewildered.

The charmander shrugs, apparently more or less unphased. “You did suggest we get in touch with him so he knows what we’re up to.”

“I…guess?”

Junie flaps out the front door in an unsteady bob, a small stone bowl barely gripped in her tiny claws. She drops it on the ground in front of Nia, then lands clumsily on the other side.

“There! Will that work? You can use your canteen water, right?”

Okay, guess they’re doing this right now. Nia sighs, once again putting the last of her food aside to grab her canteen and pour an inch of water into the bowl. Sunlight bounces across the water’s surface as it settles. The whole thing is about the size of Nia’s hand, just large enough to see faint reflections of the trees above them.

“Now what?” Junie asks, practically vibrating. “Do we have to chant or something?”

“I don’t actually know,” Nia says, frowning. “We haven’t tried to call him like this before.”

“He can’t be far,” Tobias says, leaning closer to the bowl. “He was following us on the trip over.”

Just as Nia’s about to try calling for Giratina, Junie shouts, “Hey, lord of nightmares! Get your butt over here!”

“Junie!” Nia hisses, wide-eyed.

“What?! You said he’s on your side now!”

“He is, but he’s also a god with a temper!”

“Uh, hey,” Tobias says, pointing. “He’s here.”

Nia looks down, surprised. Sure enough, she can see the faint reflection of Giratina’s silhouette in the surface of the bowl. Just his head, really, the rest of his body likely unable to fit into view.

“Whoa,” Junie breathes, feathers ruffled but expression delighted.

Giratina’s eyes narrow slightly, as if to ask what they want. Nia can practically hear his rapidly thinning patience.

“W-We saw you following us earlier, over the ocean,” Nia explains. “So I thought you were maybe wondering what we were doing? I figured we could give you an update. I-If you’d like.”

“We also wanted to see if we could contact you,” Tobias adds. “Which I guess is a yes.”

Giratina nods, looking back at Nia. Waiting.

She jerks. “O-Oh! Okay. Um. So we’re looking for a friend of mine, a human, who has been gathering other humans. We think he might have an idea of where to find Xerneas, since I know he’s been researching a lot of stuff and talking to a lot of people. So that’s why we’re, uh. Here. And traveling.”

Giratina seems to mull that over for a moment, before nodding his approval.

“Can he not talk?” Junie whispers, loudly.

“He talked to me in his dimension,” Nia says, feeling weirdly rude speaking about Giratina in the third-person when he’s right there. “But I don’t think he can speak to us through reflections?”

“But what if he has something important to tell you?”

Giratina shifts, catching their attention before Nia or Tobias can answer. He brings up a tendril-like wing, the giant talon at its tip settling close to the surface of the reflection and blocking out Giratina himself.

“Does he want you to…touch him? E.T. style?” Junie asks. “Can you even do that?”

Nia frowns, staring at the talon seemingly right on the other side of the water’s surface. “I…don’t know. He did pull me through a reflection in Shivergleam, but I kind of assumed that was like…a special ritual that Edme set up?”

“He did it at the river near the guild too,” Tobias grumbles.

Huh. He’s right. Which means…

Curious, and knowing that the legendary would have been able to kill her easily last time they met but decided not to, Nia lifts her hand and holds it over the water.

“You sure?” Junie asks.

Tobias reaches out and grabs Nia’s free arm, as if to make sure he isn’t left behind this time if she’s yanked through again.

With a deep breath, Nia dips her finger gently into the chilled water, trying not to disturb the reflections on the surface. Sure enough, after an inch or two, she hits not the smooth stone of the bowl’s bottom, but the dulled point of something else, ice-cold.

Giratina.

Nia’s brows raise. Curious, she dips the rest of her hand into the bowl. While she can’t wrap her hand around the sheer size of the claw, it’s undeniable that she has surpassed the depth of the bowl itself. Like a magic trick.

“Whoa,” Junie murmurs again.

Satisfied for now, Nia pulls her hand free, amazed to realize her fur isn’t even wet. She blinks down at the water as it settles. Giratina has pulled away so they can see his face again.

“So when you’re around, you can make any reflection into a portal to the distortion world?” Tobias asks.

The legendary nods.

“Does that only work for Nia? Or for anyone?” Junie asks.

Nia doesn’t know how Giratina does it, but she can practically feel his exasperation through the reflection.

“Oh, r-right. Yes or no questions, Junie.”

“Fine, fine! How about this—can anyone go through a portal you open?”

Giratina nods again.

The three of them sit back as one.

“Huh,” Nia says. “I’m not sure that really changes anything? But I guess it’s good to know that we can check in with you any time if we need to.”

“Could be a helpful escape route in an emergency,” Tobias muses, hand at his chin. “As long as we find a reflection large enough.”

Giratina suddenly jerks, looking off to the side. His eyes narrow. He looks back at them, as if asking if they’re done here. There must be another one of those rumblings in the rift that Nia had experienced while there. A sign of the coming disaster. He probably wants to check it out to make sure it’s nothing more serious.

“I think that’s all we know right now. Um. Thank you for answering?” Nia says, feeling awkward about how exactly she’s supposed to sign off with a legendary.

Giratina nods, then slips out of sight. The reflection of the trees overhead and Nia’s curious face, leant over the bowl, flicker back into sight.

The three of them are quiet for a moment, digesting that experience.

“Okay, so. World-ending terror aside, that was pretty awesome,” Junie says. She hops up, looking all too excited. “We should try to summon more horror monsters before we have to get on the road tomorrow! Bo told me about this Pokémon called Darkrai who gives you nightmares. I don’t think he does it to mess with people, but let’s pretend he does because that’s much scarier.”

Nia can’t help laughing. The tension that had settled over them breaks instantly.

“Darkrai’s a legendary, feather-brain,” Tobias says. “He’s probably already dormant.”

“But he’s the god of nightmares or something! So maybe he’s immune to sleep stuff!”

Nia relaxes and finishes the last few bites of her meal as the two of them start up another silly argument. The exhaustion of the flight and the day’s antics are finally starting to weigh on her, but for at least tonight they can rest here with Junie and Bolat.

Suddenly, with just one more friend at their side, everything ahead doesn’t seem quite as scary.

[azlan-snow]

With My Life(RadioApple)

Year Three

(Warning for Mild Gore: Gunshot Wounds.)

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------a

Two years later, Luci had fallen for his guard. And he knows it to be true. Everytime he falls asleep at his desk, Al takes him to bed and sleeps on the floor, even though he has his own chambers. Alastor also tends to enjoy the meals he shares with the king, since they are rare as he’s naturally busy. Luci, when he can’t think, (which is often), sits on Al’s lap, taking in account of his height, and continues to work, which Al takes much pride in. 

–

Today, Lucifer plans on taking Al out to eat.

“Luci, I don’t think that’s such a good idea. Who knows how much trouble we could get into?”

“Relax, beloved. It won’t be forever.”

“Beloved?”

Lucifer froze at the question, not realizing that he had said it. “Sorry, Al.”

“I’m not judging you for it. I quite like it. I was just curious.”

“You like it? Does that mean I can finally date you, or are you going to keep saying no?”

“I never told you no. I said give it time. You asked me two weeks after you employed me. Two!”

“To be fair, you are fuckin’ sexy, Al.” Alastor blushes at the compliment, not expecting and expecting such a thing from the king.

“Reelax, Al. No one’s going to give two flyin’ hoots about us on the mortal plane! I bought out the entire restaurant so no one will disturb us!” The king’s smile was large, filled with glee, while Alastor bears one of shock.

“My king, I still strongly advise you to reconsider your idea. Going to earth can be dangerous,  Especially if your relatives in Heaven find out.”

“Relax, Al. No one’s going to care. It’s one night! Okay?”

Alastor sighs heavily, forfeiting his side of the verbal battle. “Fine. We’ll go.” Luci squeals, but gets interrupted. But, if we’re going to the mortal plane, I suggest taking a stroll down town. We might find something interesting.” “That’s a great idea! Sounds like a plan.” 

“Shall we?”

“Thank you.” Luci opens a portal and steps through, but Alastor doesn't, his confidence wavering. 

“Perhaps I’ll reside in your shadow, my king.” He steps through, entering the king’s shadow, and giving it his signature deer ears. They stop at a mom-and-pop butcher shop to grab some venison and other cuts, a Cannibal shop to grab some of Al’s delicacies like organs, which disgusted Luci, and a small candy store for some cookies for Luci and chocolate for Al.

After running errands, the two prepared to head to the mortal plane. With a snap of Luci’s fingers, they are dressed in human guises, Alastor, looking how he was when he was alive and Lucifer a tanner version of himself. 

Lucifer stares at Al, finally getting a glimpse of what he had looked like in the past. Al looks back at him, noticing he looks similar to his clown-like self, with the same rosy cheeks, blond hair, and short stature and Luci blushes red instead of gold, 

“Damn, Al. Didn’t think you could get any sexier.” Al blushes at the comment, turning away from him. 

“Such a rude thing to say, my King.” 

“Whatever, weirdo. Come on.” Luci opens the portal, not showing the other side of it. He steps through dragging Alastor through it. As Alastor looks around he smells a familiar scent. 

“Am I…home?”

“Yep! Welcome back!” Al took a look around before taking Luci’s hand and intertwining it with his, and leading them off down the road. As they go, Al tells him all about his childhood, but is saddened that none of the places he would show him are there, due to decades past in New Orleans. As he looks, he notices a restaurant that is familiar to him from his time among mortals. 

“There! This was my mother’s favorite restaurant. She loved their beignets. She used to make them for me at home all the time.” He drags him towards it, curious why it’s starkly empty. “How come there’s no one here?”

“I told you I bought out the restaurant for the night! You didn’t believe me?”

“We’re eating here?”

“Yeah! I figured we should go somewhere familiar, right? My favorite part is the swamp puppies! They’re always so cute!”

“Swamp puppies? You mean alligators?”

“Yep! They’re adorable, aren’t they?” Alastor laughs wholeheartedly at the statement before looking at Luci softly. 

“Adorable? Are you right in the head, my King?”

“Shh! Don’t call me that here! Just Luci.”

“Of course, Luci.”

"Thanks, Al. After you.” He gestures to the door, the pair standing in front of the double doors. They enter the restaurant Luci taking them to their seats. He leaves the restaurant for a few moments and plenty of people walk in, smiles on their faces. They thank him as they walk in and sit down. Alastor shifts in his seat, uncomfortable by the large amount of people. When Lucifer returns and sits in his seat, he notices his guard’s discomfort.

“What’s wrong, deer boy?”

“I thought we were eating alone.” 

“Yeah, but it was too quiet.”

“So you decided to invite all these strangers here, putting you in potential danger.”

“Relax, Al. No one’s coming after us while we eat. Now come on and order something.” He glances down at the menu, before flagging down a waiter.

“Can I get a red beans and rice and a crawfish and oyster plate?” The server nods and looks at Alastor, waiting for him to tell him his order.

“May I get a plate of Jambalaya and a bowl of gumbo?” He nods and walks away, leaving the two to themselves as they stare awkwardly at the floor. Once the food arrives, the begin to eat in silence, making the occasional small talk, and when they finish, they leave in an open hurry. They head back towards the edge of town, but as they slowly walk, two men appear in front and behind them. Yes, ladies and gentlemen. We have a shakedown.

The four men guide the two into alleyway Alastor’s too familiar with, as many of his victims had been gouged out then and there. As Alastor was about to use his abilities, Lucifer stops him, his eyes ice cold. “We can’t use our powers up there. The Archangels will sense it and kill us both, understand?” He remembers, then goes to reach for his knife in his vest, but BANG! One of the thug’s guns shoots him, through and through his thigh, causing Al extreme pain, knowing his abilities are half of what they were in Hell up here. He falls to the floor: another bullet in his abdomen. Luci calls his name: another bullet in his forearm. 

“Ya’ hand us the money an’ we won’t shoot ya’ pal anymore!” Another bullet, this time, at Luci, a rapid fire at the both of them, only the head shooting Luci, and the rest at Al, leaving him bloodied, but still alive and conscious. He gets in front of the King, beats all the men to a pulp, impaling and all, then uses his powers, masking them, and teleports them back to the edge of the city. He uses his emergency portal pin crafted Lucifer to summon a portal to the palace, rushing through, appearances reverting back to normal, and lying the king flat on the floor before staggering, catching Lucifer’s attention.

“Alastor!” He sits up quickly; too quick; and catches the injured buck.

“I’m fine, my King,” He lies, summoning bandages to begin treating his master’s wounds. His healing finally kicks in, stopping blood from ruining his bloodied uniform any further. As Luci gets bandaged up, (even though he told Al he would heal), Luci tries to pry info about the redhead through his delirious state.

“Al?”

“Yes, my King?”

“How did you end up in Hell? You’re a true gentleman, which is why it doesn’t make any sense.”

“Mama raised me right.” His expression softened as he continued.

“She always ensured that there was food on the table. Made sure there was an education for me. Made sure I was successful. When I became of age, I began to do the same for her as she was getting along in years.” Tears spilled down his face as he began to wrap the third bullet wound. 

“What about your dad?” Alastor's hands stop and drop like stones and return to his side. He stands up and moves away from Luci towards the bathroom to switch clothes. When he comes back, Luci is simply staring at him.

“Did I cross a line, Al? I’m so-”

“Don’t apologize, my Liege. It’s alright. It was just sudden is all.”

“You don’t have to, Al.” “He just wasn’t a good father is all.” A lie, but he didn’t want to make his impression on Lucifer worse. Above all, Lucifer can tell he’s lying.

“So. New question you should like: How would you kill me if you could?” The mood instantly darkens as a sinister smile appears on both of their faces.“With my bare hands.” Alastor walks out the door, excusing himself, much to Lucifer’s dislike.

[cricketnationrise]

4:24pm jack's apartment tater

:D

okay for some reason my instinct is to write sad tater but i battled against that bc i didn't want to be sad today. thanks for the prompt, hope you like it!

want your own ficlet? TWO DAYS LEFT rules here.

🏒🏒🏒🏒

jack's apartment, 4:24pm

“But consider this,” Jack is saying, as Bitty pushes him towards the door, “I could stay here instead.”

“You are just the sweetest thing, aintcha? But we both know you’ll melt if you’re away from ice any longer you big Canadian moose. Go skate with Shitty – I know you’ve missed him somethin’ fierce since he was here after the Cup.”

Tater sniggers into the couch cushions at the sight of Jack Laurent Zimmermann – college graduate with honors, top five for the Rocket Richard and Art Ross, runner up for the Conn Smythe, Calder Cup Winner, and Stanley Cup Champion – pouting at his boyfriend.

“Bits—”

“Get out of here, Mr. Zimmermann,” Bitty laughs. “We’ll be just fine on our own, and we’ll be here when you get back.”

“Fine.” Jack leans in for one more kiss and Bitty pushes up into the contact so easily that Tater actually looks away, feeling a little like he’s intruding – only looking up again at the sound of the door closing.

Bitty collects Tater’s evening meds and a slice of pie for both of them before making his way back into the living room, shaking his head fondly. “Never thought I’d see the day when Jack Zimmermann was whining about going to the rink. Somewhere pigs are flyin’.”

“Seem to me like good reason to pout: Little B staying home.”

“You’re sweet as all get out.”

“Am best,” Tater confirms before shoveling blueberry pie into his mouth with a groan of pleasure.

“How’s your leg today? Still sore after PT today?”

“Da. But feels stronger. I’ll be back to start next season I’m thinking.”

Bitty does a little dance in his seat in celebration. “Tater, that’s fantastic! I’m so pleased for you, hon.”

“Is rough, no skate, no running, only bike and swimming sometimes. Feel с ума – not sure what English is – like not wanting to sit still, but forced to.”

“Oh, stir-crazy?” Tater nods. “I totally get that – I got a bad concussion my frog year, couldn’t do anything with impact until the start of the next season. I didn’t think I would miss running in the Georgia heat, but Lord, I would have given anything just to go for a jog, I was so bored.”

Tater lifts his plate and waggles his eyebrows. “Pie helps lots. Would be sad without.”

“Well we can’t have that,” Bitty says, mock seriously before sitting up straight. “Now, to business. Jack will be gone for at least two hours, probably closer to three since Shitty will drag him out for dinner after.”

“We have time to finish Drag Race?”

“We do indeed.”

“Was wrong before. Little B is best.”

Bitty doesn’t say anything, just smiles at Tater fondly, grabs the remote and settles himself against Tater’s side, tucked safely under Tater’s arm. His leg is sore, he’s itching to get back to the ice and conditioning, but Bitty has a way of making all his frustration melt away. 

[ask-caine]

I want to change the world

Keep on holding on your desire

You will get our shining love

That you can't wait to know

If you go on to get your goal

It's wonderland!

I felt so worried when I spout all the time

After all, the future's not lost

Because I know that there's nothing that I really want to know.

And that I met you so I could feel

What you should know

I finally find a love

And now I'm really feeling her right

'Cause the matter is gone

This is the way to love you!

I want to change the world!

Walk again, never miss the way

Don't be afraid, I'm with you

And we can fly away

If you can stay with me forever

Change my mind!

Won't get lost if your passion's true

I'm gonna fly with you again

So you can spread your wings

And you will fly with me away

It's wonderland!

Every single thing

The time and the flyin'

Til the day, I won't let you go

You will see that your desire will be granted again

It's just the feeling

You understand the travel life

It won't be too bad to face

And then it probably you will see will not be to heart

If we could walk beside you

I Want To Change The World

Walk again, Fight against the wind

Don't be afraid to be true

Cause now you have to bring

The power of your smile in your face

Change my Mind

Keep on holding on your desire

You will get our shining love

That you can't wait to know

If you go on to get your goal

It's Wonderland!

I Want To Change The World

Walk again, never miss the way

Don't be afraid I'm with you

Now we can fly away

If you can stay with me forever

Change My Mind

Won't get lost if your passion's true

I'm gonna fly with you again

So you can spread your wings

And you will fly with me away

It's Wonderland!

https://www.letssingit.com/inuyasha-lyrics-change-the-world-english-version-full-1zqj55m

[OOC post]

Excuse me, what the fuck. I'm sick and tired of @the-amazing-digital-moon and I not being respected when we ask for the simple common courtesy of people respecting our fucking boundaries.

Please do not impersonate the person I am in a genuine, real-life, committed, long-term romantic relationship with.

That should be basic common sense.

If you need a reminder of the rules, here they are, with one extra and a little more emphasis on a few you might've missed.

⚠️ Rules ⚠️

Basic DNI.

No NSFW.

No gore.

Hate speech will not be tolerated.

We ask that you keep cursing to a minimum, although it is generally allowed.

Do not send in flirtatious asks ❌

Do not impersonate @the-amazing-digital-moon or @shys-circus

If you do not support Bluetooth, instead of sending in hateful asks bashing the ship, please feel free to click off this blog, as the majority of my posts are related to it.

Respect the Mods and the characters we portray, we are not your punching bags. That should be a given.

I don't want to have to make a post like this again. It is genuinely tiring and draining to have to deal with things like this.

I don't believe that you haven't seen the other posts like this we've been making recently. Ever since the Randy incident, it feels like everyone wants to chip in and push the boundaries.

Please remember, we are real people behind these blogs, with real lives outside of what you see here on Tumblr.

If you've ever wondered why other TADC blogs disappeared and went dormant, I can say with absolute certainty that this is one of many reasons why.

[gachag0d]

Blasting Joji at 3 A.M. ANGST | Obey Me x Joji Nectar pt. 1

Synopsis: Sorting the Obey Me characters into which Joji Nectar songs I think they would blast at 3 A.M during sad hours.

Characters: The Brothers and The Dateable (-Luke)

CW: Joji's music is explicit and contains Swearing, Mentions of Self Harm, Thoughts of Suicide, Alcohol and Drug Abuse, Implied Violence, Unrequited love, & Possessiveness.

A/N: Ngl, this is my favorite album. It's just *chief kiss* I love it so much. Thank you to everyone who has given my posts a like! It means so much. <3 Also, I know Mammon is in so many of these. I guess I just headcannon he is obsessed with Joji songs. He just gets him, ya know? Spreading my angsty Mammon agenda, haha.

Ballads 1 | In Tongues | Nectar pt. 1 | Nectar pt. 2 | Smithereens

"Ooh, teach me to love just to let me go I can't believe that I'm not enough Not enough And so long, no one will be here to save you And no one will be here to let you know Let you know This is your world (This is your world) This is your world (This is your world)"

LEVIATHAN, Mammon, Asmodeus, Simeon

"Speed it up, slow it down I need control, I need it now I need to live a thousand times I cannot stop, I cannot cry I will not fret, I will not die I am a machine, I stay alive Sometimes I think, sometimes I think Sometimes I think, sometimes I- oh I've got no aim, a million rounds, it's nothing real A hundred pounds of heavy steel, it feels so loud Tied to my chest, it feels so loud I'll take a peek to across the peaks The grass is neat, I'm quite unique But I'd like to be, but I'd like to be"

BEELZEBUB, Barbados, Satan

"Tick-tock Gimme, gimme big bucks That is all I do, girl I just hit the jackpot I wish you were here with me now so I could feel some I wish you were here to hold me down like a real one, Live long Wanna be a big shot Should've stayed away But always had a weak spot I've been on the road, And I'm sorry for the mix-up If you still love me, can you see me during liftoff?"

MAMMON, Asmodeus, Diavolo

"And I've been a hero Helpless I'm in hell And I've cried Up and down in these hallways Blamed myself Bad luck, I don't wanna be home at midnight Sun's up, I don't really wanna fight the daylight I don't care if you moved on I'm not laying in bed with a fucked up head I'm not laying in bed with a fucked up-"

SIMEON, Mammon, Solomon, Lucifer, Belphegor

"Guess I'm flyin' international We can meet, but no more lies at the Oriental Now I'm so professional I just need you one more time to get it right, you know? Won't you upgrade? I know it hurts You deserve it, I know your worth If you think you can't make it happen We'll keep it optional (Keep it optional) We don't make sense, we don't make sense We don't make sense enough to give this time But if you'll be mine We'll keep it optional"

DIAVOLO, Lucifer, Solomon, Satan

"Swinging out front, let me inside Playing my song into my sides It hurts, I can't lie, Remember those times I fought to get out? I want to get out Those pictures so clear, they fade in my mind You leavin' me here with ashes and fire These people don't heal, these people don't feel These people aren't real so make me this deal Won't you gimme, gimme love Gimme, gimme love Gimme, gimme love"

MAMMON, Beelzebub, Simeon, Asmodeus

"I fell for your magic I tasted your skin And though this is tragic At least I found the end I witness your madness You shed light on my sins And if we share in this sadness Then where have you been? I know you're not in love Like you used to be Guess I'm not the one Like you used to think So you just run I know that I'm stuck In this misery Guess I'm not enough Like you used to think So I'll just run"

SOLOMON, Lucifer, Simeon, Belphegor

"If you’ve been waitin' for fallin' in love Babe, you don’t have to wait on me 'Cause I've been aimin' for Heaven above But an angel ain't what I need Not anyone, you're the one More than fun, you're the sanctuary 'Cause what you want is what I want Sincerity"

LUCIFER, Simeon, Mammon, Diavolo, Beelzebub, Asmodeus

"A little messed up, do you feel it? A little bit of this and a little bit of that She wanna know which way I'm leanin' Am I really made of this, am I really made of that? And is it so bad if you need me? Just a little bit, woah, don't get rid of me, ayy But love is so blind when you feel it (So blind) Can't defeat it, hope you feelin'"

SOLOMON, Belphegor, Barbados

[Flip to Side B]

[i-was-bored-so-this-happened]

Sanchez & Scoresby Chapter Two: Ma

Fandom: His Dark Materials Wordcount: 4.5k Warnings: Canon-typical violence, funeral

The Gyptians travel across the North in search of their missing children

Read on AO3 Previous Chapter | Next Chapter

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“I’m cold, Lee.” Kit bites out, her shoulders shuddering.

“Hell, Kit, I can’t control the weather.” Lee replies, and Kit pulls a hand out of a pocket to hit his arm with. She sidesteps so that she bumps into Lee and stays there as she walks, hoping to leech some of his body heat. Eli, sitting on the balloon as it’s dragged along, curls into a tighter ball as Hester shuffles closer to him.

“I’m not cold.” Lyra interjects.

“We’re from Texas, kiddo, we ain’t made for the cold.”

“Isn’t the wind cold up in the sky?”

“That’s a dry cold, the wind. Down here, it’s damp cold.”

“Why aren’t you up in the balloon now?”

“Savin’ it for when it’s needed.” Lee answers.

“Wouldn’t it be useful to have a view of what’s ahead?” Lyra asks. Pan hops up onto the folded-up balloon to nose around Eli’s head.

“We have.” Lee points upwards. Serafina Pekkela’s daemon, Kaisa, has been following them since they left Trollesund. Lee’s free fingers close around Kit’s wrist, “A witch’s daemon is a better eye in the sky than I’ll ever be. A witch would be even better.”

“Drop it, Lee.” Kit mutters.

“Mr Scoresby-” Lyra starts.

“Call me Lee.”

“We’re going to win this one, aren’t we? We’re going to get those children back?”

“Well, if I was a bettin’ man, I’d say no. And I am a bettin’ man. If I was Kit, I’d say yes because she’s stubborn. And I can tell by your face that you want me to say yes, so...yes.”

“You’re not an easy man to like, you know that, Lee?”

“So people tell me. But Hester likes me, Kit likes me. That’s something.”

“Hester don’t count, she don’t have a choice.” Eli mumbles, earning a hard stare from the hare.

“Why do you travel together, Miss Sanchez?” Lyra asks.

“Kit.” Kit corrects her.

“Kit.”

“We grew up together, kiddo. We were next-door-neighbours and our fathers were friends. Either we got on or we’d end up murdering each other, and he isn’t dead yet.”

“Hell, Kit, you’re makin’ me blush.” Lee says, in the hope it’ll make Kit smile, and it does.

“We left home together, been flyin’ ever since.”

“Why did you leave?” Lyra asks, and in a second she knows this was the wrong question to ask. They stop smiling and they break apart. Kit shoves her hands back into her pockets and Eli jumps down from the balloon’s sled.

“I’m going to go see if there’s any bread floatin’ around.” She announces before marching forward, her daemon bounding after her. Lee shakes his head.

“You ask a lotta questions, Lyra. They’re not always good ones.” It’s all he says before he takes off after Kit. She hears Lyra call an apology before Lee catches up with her.

***

Lee, of course and exactly as Kit expects, disappears the moment he’s needed to help put tents up, leaving Kit with a contraption neither she nor her daemon have ever understood. She’s trying to palm the task off to someone else, reaching Ma Costa and her elder son at the same moment Lyra does. Ma’s younger son, Billy, is one of the children taken by the Gobblers.

“Tony, look after the food.” Ma tells her son so she can turn her full attention to Lyra.

“I’ll burn it.” Tony tells her.

“I don’t care.”

“I’ll watch it.” Kit offers, crouching beside Tony and shoving the tent pack at him, “If you put up my tent. Food for shelter.” She takes cooking utensils from Ma and pokes at whatever stew is in the pot while Tony, grumbling to his daemon, marches away with the tent. Seal stew, probably, Kit thinks. Iorek had caught one earlier that day to use the blubber for armour polish and the Gyptians are not a wasteful people. Another advantage of helping Ma now is that Kit will be able to hear what Lyra’s saying to her, what she’s planning. Too many things in the world are revolving around this little girl for Kit to ignore.

“What do you think might be in this village?” Ma Costa asks the young girl.

“I’m not sure, but it might be some sort of ghost, I think. Something awful has happened there.” Lyra’s trying to explain as best she can. How she knows this, Kit has no idea...she’ll have to ask Farder Coram. He’s more likely to answer than John Faa.

“Why’s this ghost important?” Ma asks.

“I don’t know, but it might be a vital clue. It might help me find Roger and Billy.” Billy, Ma’s son. Roger, a kitchen boy from Oxford Lyra had known all her life. She’d told Kit and Lee all about Roger before she’d started asking questions.

“You’re asking me to trust you over-”

“No. No, I’m not. I’m asking you to trust this.” Lyra pulls out an odd, flat box that looks like it might be made of gold. The glint of it catches Kit’s attention, and Eli’s eyes follow it. Kit can understand what Ma Costa is saying. Lyra’s asking her to go against the person she trusts most, her leader. How this little box would sway her…

“You ask a lot. I need to think.”

***

Night falls quickly in the North. Tony, bless him, had done a good job with the tent, setting it next to where Ma and Lyra would be sleeping. Kit and Lee lean against their tent, a donated blanket around their shoulders as they pass a tin bowl of stew to each other between spoonfuls. Eli is curled up on the snow between Kit’s feet, and she can feel the chill of it on her back. Ma Costa and Lyra are lying on their stomachs in the mouth of their tent, talking to Serafina Pekkela’s daemon Kaisa.

“D’you know what an alethiometer is, Lee?” Kit speaks slowly, watching the fire crackling between the tents.

“Can’t say that I do.”

“Lyra’s got one. She talks about it, it’s what makes Coram and Faa trust her.” Kit explains. “Must be that little gold box she’s got…” Her voice trails off and her head tilts back a little.

“You’re thinkin’ too much, Kit. We’re here to get the kids, get paid and fly away.”

“I dunno, Lee. I gotta feelin’ about her. Lyra.”

“Like a premonition?”

“I don’t get premonitions, Lee.”

“Well, what kinda feeling?”

“There’s something about her. The Gyptians think she’s important. I think the witches do too.”

“The witches?” Lee asks as a weight tips onto his shoulder. Kit’s head.

“A witch wouldn’t send her daemon to tail us for days if we didn’t have something she wanted.”

“And you think that thing is Lyra?” Lee asks. He doesn’t get an answer. “Kit?” Her legs fall to the side, bumping into his. She’s fallen asleep. He lifts his hat off his head and places it over Kit’s face to prevent the light of the fire from waking her up and takes the empty tin bowl from her hand. When the aeronaut next looks at the fire, Ma Costa and Lyra have wriggled into their tent, as have many of the other Gyptians. Kaisa is still perched in the same place, his eyes fixed on the sleeping Kit.

***

The next day, as the Gyptians make their way up a snowless hill, the sky is a beautifully clear blue. Perfect flying weather. Lee and Kit are shouldering the balloon sled up the hill.

“Authority above, when are we gonna get a lunch?” Lee asks the clouds.

“You just had breakfast, Scoresby. Or did Lyra nick it again?”

“You’re a real comedian, you know that, Sanchez?”

“I’m taking that as a compliment.” Kit tells him.

“I’m just going to-”

“You’re just going to keep pushing the damn balloon, Lee Scoresby, you ain’t leavin’ me with it like you did yesterday.”

“You sound like my mother.”

“I knew your ma, that is a compliment.” Kit laughs. She watches Lyra, Lord Faa and Iorek talking as she and Lee pass with the balloon, but her gaze drifts past them to another well-respected Gyptian. “Eli, go and talk to Farder Coram, tell him I wanna speak with him when we make camp.”

“About that feeling?” Lee asks.

“Something like that.”

***

Kit takes perhaps a little too much pleasure in dropping the tent in Lee’s arms and marching towards Farder Coram. He smiles a little when he sees her, though there’s sadness in his eyes.

“What is it you wish to ask, child?”

“Lyra talks about an alethiometer. She says it’s what told her about this ghost in the fishing village. Thing is, Farder, I don’t rightly know what an alethiometer is and I’d like to find out.”

“I expected this. There were only ever six alethiometers made. The Magesterium has one, Lyra another. The whereabouts of the other four are unknown. An alethiometer is a truth-teller. There are...symbols around its circumference. You ask it a question and it answers using those symbols.”

“Then why is it so special that Lyra can understand it?”

“Alethiometers take a long time to understand, Miss Sanchez. Only a certain few can read them, and it takes years of study and isolation for the device to talk to them. Even then, hours are usually spent trying to decipher what the symbols mean. Lyra is special because she hasn’t done any of that study and she has no guide to it, but she can communicate with it perfectly.”

“I’m guessin’ no one’s ever done that before.” Kit pushes her hands into her pockets as her fingers grow icy again.

“You would be right to guess that.” Farder Coram nods.

“And that’s why y’all trust her so much.” Kit decides, “Why you’re letting her go to the village.”

“We can’t afford to turn all of the Gyptians around.”

“I understand, but she can’t go alone.”

“Iorek Byrnison is going with her.” Fard Coram is watching Kit expectantly, waiting for her judgement on this.

“Iorek’s the best protection she could have.” Kit nods, “We can hold until they return.”

“They’ll be leaving soon, I advise you say your goodbyes.” Farder Coram tells her, tapping his hat in farewell as he stamps through the snow away from her. From what Serafina Pekkela had told him the night before, Kit Sanchez was the next best thing to the armoured bear, though she hadn’t told him why.

Kit reaches Lyra and Iorek at the same time Lee does.

“What happened to the tent?” She asks, noting the ceramic mug in his hand.

“Tony’s doing it.”

“Tony did it yesterday!”

“Well, I wasn’t gonna miss this. Iorek’s first ride!” If Iorek could roll his eyes like a human, he would.

“I’m not heavy.” Lyra assures the bear.

“I’m not a horse.” Iorek counters. Lee is trying to disguise a laugh with his mug, but Iorek sees it.

“Kid, promise me this alethiometer thingy isn’t lying to you.” Lee says.

“It can’t. Tells the truth, don’t it, Lyra?” Kit cuts in, and Lyra nods.

“I trust it too.” Iorek agrees, outnumbering Lee’s doubts.

“Ghosts, I heard. You’re going to find a ghost?” He asks.

“Think so.” Lyra answers.

“Is that a sensible thing to do, look for ghosts?”

“I’ve never heard Lee Scoresby talk about being sensible before.” Iorek remarks, and this time it’s Kit that laughs. Lee laughs, but sarcastically, elbowing Kit.

“Kit?” Lyra asks, pulling the woman’s attention to her, “I’m sorry for asking questions.”

“Kiddo, you did nothing wrong, hear me? Ask as many questions as you like.” Kit pulls a yellow scarf from around her neck, “Now, you’re going to a fishing village. Be careful on the ice, I don’t want you fallin’ through.” Kit’s voice has hardened now. This isn’t just a suggestion. “And take this,” Kit hands her scarf to the girl, “Wrap it around your head. You’ll be able to see through it, but it’ll keep the cold and ice and stones out.”

“And don’t leave Iorek.” Lee adds, aiming a finger at Lyra, “There’s Tartars out there.”

“I will bring her back.” Iorek assures them, lifting a paw to help Lyra climb aboard. “I won’t be gentle.” He warns her.

“You two be good to each other, alright? Be careful.” Lee calls after them as Iorek pads away. Neither of them take their eyes off the bear. “You do like her, that was your favourite scarf. I got you that.”

“I’m not the only one going soft, Lee.” Kit points out quietly. Eli’s tail wraps around her ankle. Kit shakes her head. “Now, where is that sweater? I’ve been wearing it for three days but this morning it was gone…” Lee’s hand goes up to the back of his neck to try and hide the high neck of the jumper he’s wearing under his jacket, but Kit catches it, “Lee Scoresby, you-”

***

Kit pulls the sleeve of her newly-retrieved jumper over her hand to take a pot off the fire. It’s been a long, long time since she’s had eggs of any kind, and she’s rather looking forward to it.

“They’re just eggs, Kit. Boiled eggs.” Eli reminds her.

“Oh shush, you’re excited too.”

“Excited? Over eggs?”

“Yes, Eli, over eggs.” Kit tells him, pushing herself up to scoop the pair of eggs out of the pan. She drops them in the snow and rolls them around for a moment until they’re cool enough for her to pick up and chip away at. “I’m happy, I can be excited. I’m happy here. With Lee and Iorek and the Gyptians. And Lyra.” It sounds like she’s trying to justify something. There’s a niggling, familiar voice in the back of her head.

“It feels nice, don’t it? Having more than just Lee?”

“But that’s selfish…” The end of Kit’s sentence trails off. Eli lets the silence hang for a moment before he stretches out on the snow, wriggling contentedly.

“I like it here too, Kit. Ma is a good person. They’re all good people. Good pay, good food, a good cause and good people. You don’t have to feel bad for enjoying that.” Eli rolls over onto his back to stare up at the stars, but Kit has all but forgotten her boiled egg. The odd little fizzy feeling of excitement has dissipated. She feels guilty and Eli is trying to counteract that. Eli rolls back over, rubs his head into Kit’s hand. “Eat your eggs, Kit. Eggs are good too.”

Kit starts peeling at the shell of her egg again, her breath steaming in the cold air. Her nose feels like a marble of ice, and she shifts so that she sits on top of her feet. Around her, all the other Gyptians have settled down to their own dinners. She doesn’t know where Lee’s gone, and Lyra and Iorek are still gone. Kit is alone with her soul. Neither she or her daemon speak as Kit eats her hard-boiled eggs, but her eyes are burning with unshed tears.

Maybe an hour after Kit is finished eating, she’s still sitting in the same spot, her eyes still hot and stingy. Her eyes have been fixed on a distant tent for half an hour or more, but she doesn’t realise it. One of her feet has fallen asleep. The stumps where her right pinkie and left index fingers should be ache more than the rest of her, but she takes no notice. Takes no notice of anything until a new feeling washes over her. Something not unlike dread. 

“Ma!” Kit is on her feet in a moment, stumbling towards where Ma Costa and Tony are huddled around their fire.

“Kit? Kit, have you been-”

“Is Lyra back yet?” Kit blurts.

“No, no, she-”

“Where’s Lord Faa? Where’s Kaisa?”

“Kit?” Hester’s voice. Hester. Relief for a brief moment, “Kit, what’s happened?” Hester asks, hopping closer to Eli. His ears are flat, his tail bushed out.

“Something’s wrong. I need to speak to Kaisa!” Kit yells the last part into the night, knowing that wherever the witch’s daemon is, he’ll hear her.

“Kit, what the hell-” Lee’s caught up with Hester.

“Something’s wrong. I don’t know, I don’t…” She can’t form the words. She hears the flap of wings. “Kaisa, tell me-”

“I feel it too, child.”

“Feel what, for star’s sake?” Lee demands as Ma rises to her feet.

“Something’s wrong, and it’s coming this way.”

A bird call pierces through the heavy, uncomfortable silence that had fallen, and all heads turn. Iorek is back. Lyra is back. And…

“Billy? Is that my Billy!” Ma’s already crying as a little boy who can’t be more than seven is helped down from Iorek’s back. “Where’s Ratter, where’s his daemon? Is that my Billy?” The boy wobbles when he’s set onto his feet. “Billy, where’s Ratter?” The boy falls as Kit’s heart drops. Billy Costa has no daemon.

Deafening silence fills Kit’s ears as Ma lifts her younger son, carries him into a tent. Her sobs are the only sound to be heard. Everyone else has been stuck dumb by the shock of it. Everyone but Lee. Lyra had tried to go after Ma and Tony, but he’d stopped her. Kit doesn’t hear what he says, doesn’t hear anything until Lyra speaks,

“He was...he was without his daemon. Like a ghost.” Lyra’s voice is brittle, as if she’s already been crying, “The alethiometer was right. It was like...like he wasn’t there. Like he couldn’t even hear me.” Lyra. Lyra is too young for this.

“This must be what they do, this is what they take.” Lee says. His voice is level, but Hester’s ears are quivering. Eli is standing stock-still, like his human.

“It’s horrible.” Lyra croaks out.

“It’s worse than death.” Kit says the words without thinking.

“Why would they take someone’s daemon?”

“It’s about control, isn’t it? Because if you can remove someone’s soul, you can do anything.” Lee explains, still calm while Kit’s shoulders are inching their way up to her ears, her hands balling into fists. That burning feeling behind her eyes is back. She doesn’t ever register Iorek shuffling away. “Hey. You did a brave thing, kid. A good thing. I am proud of you.” Lee tells her. This is what makes Kit turn. She crouches in front of Lyra, holding onto her hands.

“You did the right thing, Lyra. You found Billy. You will find Roger. Lee’s right to be proud of you. I am too. You did good. Now we’re going to get you into the tent and get you warmed up, alright?” Kit sniffs loudly, waits for Lyra to nod before she stands again. Kit keeps her hands on Lyra’s shoulder as she guides her away.

***

Lee doesn’t want to wake either of them up. Wishes he didn’t have to. Eli lies at Lyra’s feet, curled around stoat-formed Pan. He can’t see Lyra’s face, but Kit always looks at her most peaceful asleep. He knows that there are tear tracks on both of their faces. Kit had been near tears before Lyra had come back, but when Lee had asked why, all she’d said was, “Eggs.”

“Kit. Kit. C’mon, Kit.”

“I don’t want to.” Kit replies, her face screwing up.

“You gotta.”

“Shit.”

“Yep.”

Kit has never experienced a Gyptian funeral before, and she wishes she didn’t have to experience this one. Billy Costa had been seven years old. He didn’t stand a chance out there on his own. Lee and Kit stand, watching, waiting, as Lyra steps towards the pyre Billy’s little body has been laid on. Ma Costa watches the girl as she lifts the blanket, looks at the little boy’s face. Both of them stand as John Faa and Farder Coram approach them, Lyra turning to Ma to be held. Kit is close enough to hear the words exchanged between Lord Faa and Ma Costa.

“Now we know what terrible wickedness these people are capable of. Now we can see our duty plainer than ever. We have to fight.”

“We have to kill.”

Ma lets go of Lyra, who turns and shuffles slowly away from the pyre. When she reaches Kit and Lee, Kit’s arms are already open, pulling the girl close to her. At the touch, Lyra’s face crumples and everything she’d been holding onto since she had returned spills out in tears. Kit can’t remember the last time a child had hugged her, cried in front of her. Lyra can’t remember the last time she’d turned to an adult for this kind of comfort, this kind of release. Kit pulls her closer, her head bent over Lyra’s. She can feel her own scarf beneath her fingers, knows Eli is pushing himself against Lyra’s legs to support them.

“Ma’s right. Kill the buggers. They deserve it.” Kit’s words are harsh, her tone hard as her chin wobbles and tears spill over. Lee’s head rests against hers as his own arm goes around Lyra, a familiar gesture of comfort usually shared between himself and his daemon. The Gyptians have formed a semi-circle around the pyre, a semi-circle of solemn faces most likely holding back tears. Billy wasn’t just Ma’s son. He was a son to all of them.

After several minutes, Lyra breaks the little huddle to wipe angrily at her tears, as if she’s ashamed of them. She sandwiches herself in between Lee and Kit to watch Ma light the pyre as everyone pulls their hats off, the universal symbol of respect at a funeral. Ma breaks down into sobs, has to lean on Tony as all the Gyptians around Lee, Lyra and Kit start to hum the same tune. None of them know the words, so the three of them stand in silence. This is not how funerals are done in Texas. Lyra is as stiff as the snow around them, refusing to show the weakness she sees crying to be. Unbeknownst to her, the adults either side of her are doing the same thing.

No one moves until the fire dies. Lyra is almost dropping from exhausting, but she’s fighting sleep. Eli picks up stoat-formed Pan as gently as if he were his own kitten as Lee wraps an arm around Kit, resting a hand on Lyra’s shoulder. In the tent, Lyra sits between them. Hester hops to the mouth of the tent to keep some kind of watch. Lyra’s head falls onto Lee’s shoulder, and Kit’s hand goes to the girl’s hair. There’s silence for what feels like too long.

“Once upon a time, there was a man who lived on the moon.” Kit blurts. Lee frowns at her, confused, but Lyra doesn’t move. Kit repeats herself, “Once upon a time, there was a man who lived on the moon.”

“He didn’t always live on the moon. He used to live on Earth, but on Earth he had no family, no friends. He was lonely. And every night he would look up at the moon and think to himself, If I’m lonely down here, there must be people lonely up there. The man worked and worked and built a special blimp that he could sail through the clouds and past the stars to land on the moon…”

By the time Kit is halfway through the story, Lyra has slid down onto the floor, asleep. Kit keeps going, but falters at a certain point and looks to Lee, who had been watching her since Lyra fell asleep.

“Man on the moon. Not quite how Ma used to tell it.” He says after a moment.

“I couldn’t remember all the words.”

“You didn’t give it an ending.”

“We never stayed awake long enough for an ending.”

“True.” Lee hesitates before asking, “Since when did you like kids enough to tell ‘em bedtime stories?”

“Since when did you?” Kit counters pointedly, but then she takes her hand away from Lyra’s hair. “I know. This is just another job worth far more than the gold they’re givin’ us. It’s not like I’m getting attached or anything-”

“No. No, Kit, I don’t think it is.” Lee interrupts, and Kit frowns at him. “Whatever this is...it is so much bigger than us. I know we like to tease the Magesterium, but this...this is fightin’ ‘em head-on.”

“They deserve it, Lee. What they’re doin’,” Kit doesn’t want to have to say it again, “it ain’t right.”

“That’s true too.” Is all Lee says. Words aren’t really needed beyond that point. They’re thinking with the same mind. This is a fight they’ll see through to the end.

***

Lyra wakes up at the sound of Pan’s voice. Her eyes open to see Kit’s face. For the first time since she’d met her, Kit’s brow isn’t furrowed. She looks at peace, one of her hands reaching out over Lyra’s head. Lyra turns her head to see Lee still asleep too, though he’s wriggled halfway out of his blanket.

“I heard something, Lyra.” Pan reminds her. Whatever it was, it’s got him worked up. Lyra crawls out of the tent and pulls her hat on. She wanders towards where a tin teapot still dangles over a dead fire, but she doesn’t see anything. Pulling her gloves on, Lyra turns in a circle. At least, she starts to turn. She stops when she notices a man lying on the ground, and in an instant knows he’s dead. She registers some kind of noise behind her, but she can’t move. Something heavy slams into her head, and Lyra doesn’t know anything anymore.

A few hours later, the breeze through the still-open flap of the tent gets too cold for Kit to ignore anymore. Lee had pulled off her blanket and covered his head with it a while ago, and she’s been getting colder and colder since. She registers that Lyra is no longer lying in the space between herself and her friend, and mutters.

“Gee, Lyra, thanks for closin’ door after yourself.” Kit’s words come out fluffy, not fully formed. She reaches out, pulls the flap shut and tugs her blanket off Lee, shuffling closer to him in an effort to find more warmth. She’s in that odd limbo where her eyes are too heavy to keep open but she isn’t fully asleep when Eli sticks his head out under the now-closed flap of the tent.

“Kit!”

“Wha? Eli, ‘s too early.”

“There’re bodies.”

“Bodies?!” Kit sits up as she asks the question, but Eli’s already wiggled out of the tent. Kit can feel the cold of the snow on her feet. She pokes Lee’s shoulder. Eli comes back, a red glove in his mouth. Lyra’s glove. “No. Lee. Lee!”

“‘M asleep.”

“Lyra’s gone.”

“Huh?”

“Lyra’s gone. Eli says there are bodies outside.”

“Kit, what’re you-” Kit huffs and rips the tent open, crawling out into the snow without her outerlayers. Eli’s right. Directly across from their tent is a dead Gyptian man. Some other Gyptians are awake, crowding around the body. His wife is crying. The words Tartar and Gobbler are being thrown around. Kit reaches back and pulls at Lee’s foot.

“Lee, the Tartars found us.” She tells him. He uses her shoulder to pull himself upright, his face sticking out of the tent next to hers. A Gyptian sees them then, calls out to them,

“Where’s the girl?”

Kit knows the answer. It’s a terrible answer. But if the Tartars have been here...

“Bolvanger.”

[my-chaos-radio]

Release: April 28, 2023

Lyrics:

Far beyond region

′Tis the season for pleasin'

What happens here, stays here

Am I loud and clear

Or is the smoke fuckin′ with your ear?

Rollin' on the sofa, smoke another bowl 'til I black out

Floatin′ on the ceiling, sink into the feelin′, I'm spinnin′ out

Flyin' over Venus, all the space between us just melt away

The sweetest dreams are waitin′, chasin' my temptation to the Milky Way

Last night I got higher than a satellite (ah)

I took a one-way ticket, it′s a one-man mission to paradise (ah)

Last night I got higher than a satellite (ah)

I made a bad decision, baby, now I'm startin' to feel alright

Get left or get right

Seatbelt on, prepare to take flight

I′m the captain here, my dear

No veers, just steer, through the atmosphere

DP, GC, weepy, Snoopy, Bebe

More smoke would averse your life

It′s private, no more commercial flight (ah)

I'm cool with the Neptunes and Mars

Stratosphere, outta here

What a night, what a year, what a life

Sat her down, sat her right, satellite (ah)

You can get it if the ticket is right

Long day, afternoon, we can kick it tonight (what?)

Yeah, you know I love this shit

But I gotta get back to the mothership

Last night I got higher than a satellite (ah)

I took a one-way ticket, it′s a one-man mission to paradise (ah)

(We can do it again, we can do it again)

Last night I got higher than a satellite (ah)

I made a bad decision, baby, now I'm startin′ to feel alright

(We can do it again, we can do it again)

Dancin' outside my body, don′t even try to stop me

Dancin' outside my body, ground control, do you copy?

Dancin' outside my body (say what?), don′t even try to stop me (woah)

Dancin′ outside my body (woah)

Dancin' outside my body, don′t even try to stop me

Dancin' outside my body, ground control do you copy? (woah)

Dancin′ outside my body, don't even try to stop me

Dancin′ outside my body (ah)

Last night I got higher than a satellite (ah)

I took a one-way ticket, it's a one-man mission to paradise

(We can do it again, we can do it again)

Songwriter:

Last night I got higher than a satellite

What you thought you was gon' get fuckin′ with me?

Calvin Broadus, Joe Janiak, Maya Kurchner, Dominic Perfetti, Samantha Derosa, Bleta Rexha

[kilannad]

As the Stars Burn On Chapter 25

Masterlist. Ao3.

Rocketman

“Lucy!” Gajeel skidding to a stop on his knees, pressing his hands against her face and tilting her this way and that. “I thought you said you were fine.”

“I am.”

Laxus dropped down next to her, burying his face into her shoulder. Even muffled, she could hear his worry. “Then why the fuck can we smell your blood?”

She cringed, looking away. The absolute smack down they'd received at the hands of CP9 still smarted; she didn't care much for the pain outside of how it might slow her down in the coming fight, but the fact that she hadn't even managed to get a hit in ate at her. Surely after how far she'd come, she should be able to do better.

“Chopper's already patched me up,” she promised. She ran her hand through Gajeel's hair, coming back soot covered. Laxus, now that she looked, was similarly disastrous. “What the hell happened to you two?!”

“We helped evacuate the docks,” Laxus explained. His face shuttered, something haunted in his eyes. “It...wasn't pretty.”

She swallowed, closing her eyes. She prayed whatever souls had passed would find their way to peace. Next to them, the train roared to life with a rumble that echoed her own rage. Likely hundreds dead, all so CP9 could leave without being seen.

Kokoro had directed them all towards another underground storage area. Unlike Franky's base, this one was filled, though not with a ship. Instead, a short, gleaming silver sea train with a pointed shark figurehead awaited them. Rocketman had been a prototype to Puffing Tom but Kokoro got it up and running and was certain she could get them through Aqua Laguna and to Enies Lobby. Chopper had patched everyone up best he could, and Nami had sourced food and booze for them all to refuel on. All that was left was for Luffy to give the order.

“Oi, wait!” Zambei, Franky's right hand, stumbled in with the twins right behind him. “Straw Hat, is it true? Was big bro really taken?”

“Yes,” Lucy answered, Luffy busy stuffing his face. “But we're going after our crewmate anyway, so we'll bring him back.”

“We can't let you do that alone,” Kiwi argued.

“He's our big bro!” Mozu agreed.

“Let us come with you,” Zambei added. “We just need to hook are King Yagara's to you and the Franky Family will have your back.”

Pursing her lips, Lucy considered the offer. It would be undeniably helpful to have more people, yet she didn't think the Franky Family had the high level fighters the Straw Hats boasted. Enies Lobby wasn't any marine base; it was one of the three pillars of the World Government, a fortress of fighters and tactitians. In short—the Straw Hats were going into a death trap.

“Eh, sure,” Luffy said. “Why not?” The three dismantlers took off before Lucy could argue the point, but in the end it wouldn't matter. What Luffy said, Luffy got. With a contented sigh, Luffy stood with a stretch. “Yoish! Let's go.”

“Before you go,” Paulie announced, stepping down the staircase. He tossed something over to Luffy. “Give that to Lucci. And tell him he's fired.”

“You aren't going to insist on coming?” Zoro asked.

“Normally I would. But Water 7 is a mess and we need all the help we can. As Vice President, I have to stay.” He bit down hard on his cigar. “But make no mistake. You make it clear that Galley-La will kill any of those CP9 assholes that show their faces again.”

“Noted,” Laxus said. “Good luck.”

“Says the man sailing straight towards hell.”

With all the interuptions taken care of, the remaining Straw Hats loaded onto Rocketman, Kokoro settling into the conductors room. “Alright, pirates! Rocketman is taking off, final destination the Judicial Island, Enies Lobby! When I get us on the tracks, we'll be set. Until then, hold on to your everything.”

“Here,” Nami announced as the doors closed. “I got everyone a change of clothes.”

Rocketman began moving, steam building and releasing with a loud whistle. Laxus and Gajeel both downed the pills Chopper gave them like two men dying as they went flying out of the warehouse and down into the ocean itself. Rocketman traveled above the water, Kokoro masterfully handling him as she guided him towards the rails that floated just under the water. The storm was a full living thing now, filled with wrath and hatred as they went straight into the heart of it. The Franky Family, with two massive, sea king-sized yagara's, attached themselves to the rear of the train.

Laxus and Gajeel changed into the clothes they'd warn to meet Franky in, while Lucy switched into a black skirt and purple sweetheart cut shirt with a white shawl over it. Zoro had taken off the shirt he usually wore under his haramaki and thrown on a tan leather jacket he wore open; Nami had switched to a crop top and jean jacket with a skirt and Luffy, in true Luffy fashion, had only another version of his usual shorts and shirt. Usopp and Chopper, similarly, had stuck to their old comfort clothes, adding only a cape and pink vest, respectfully.

After everyone had changed, Lucy realized that Usopp had retreated to a back corner, face buried in his hands as he trembled all over. She took a step, only to have Laxus hold her back, shaking his head as he approached Usopp himself. Trusting him to have it in hand, she checked on the rest of the crew. Zoro and Luffy had gone outside to deal with an incoming wave, just as Rocketman landed on the rails, speed quatrupling easily. Kokoro joined them in the main cart, easily revealing they were now on a runaway train with no chance to stop. Lily was comforting Chopper while Nami checked her Climatact.

With nothing else to do, Lucy started prepping her own arsenal.

☉

Sanji hissed a breath between his teeth, cracking his spine. Cipher Pole agents were no joke, and these idiots weren't even the big wigs. The boxer, shitty as he was, had gotten a few too many good hits in, leaving Sanji aching and bruised. Puffing Tom pierced through the storm easily, sending them all closer and closer to Enies Lobby and Robin's execution. Lucy had dropped contact with him, opting to save as much of her magic as possible; it meant he was going in blind, the calvary charge to rescue a lady in need.

Six seas, he hoped she was okay. And if she wasn't? Not even the fire of hell would stop him from exacting vengence.

☉

Jonathan was glad that he was taken to one of the upper offices in the Tower of Law. It was well known among the upper ranks that if you were called to judgement by Judge Baskerville, the decision had already been made. Instead though, he sat down with a very severe looking but pleasant CP1 agent. While CP1 was likely the weakest in terms of strength, they were especially hated by marines for one simple reason; they conducted internal affairs.

“Vice Admiral 'Chessmaster' Jonathan,” Agent Linna began, serving tea. “Why don't you start by telling me how you managed to let not one, but two captured POI escape your prison?”

Ah. Perhaps not as pleasant as he hoped.

☉

Sanji slammed into the wall, groaning. The smell of ramen was nearly overwhelming, second only to the offence he felt at this CP7 idiot daring to use food as a weapon. He'd had a fairly good feeling after he'd managed to free Franky and the two of them had disconnected the last two cars; of course, then he'd walked in to someone who'd dare to call himself both a cook and a fighter.

Needlessly to say, he'd sent Franky ahead via the top of the train car. This idiot was his.

☉

“Is that the sea train?”

“No way,” Nami countered. “It's way too soon.”

Laxus tilted his head, focusing his hearing in. He could make out two floating train cars, but as he sorted through the noise they were making, it quickly became clear it wasn't any of their people. “Only marines.”

“Okay,” Luffy hummed. “Zoro, cut it.”

“Sure.”

It probably said a lot about their life that no one even blinked at the order—

or the following destruction.

“Hold on,” Gajeel called, pulling his head back in the car. “There's someone walking up ahead on the tracks.”

“Huh,” Laxus grunted, listening to the truly empassioned rant of someone who announced himself as Captain T-Bone. “I didn't realize there was such a thing as a marine that actually cared about civilians.”

Above, standing on the tip of the train, Zoro tied his bandana on. “Too bad he's standing in our way.”

☉

Franky grunted at the slash of razor air to his chest. The weasel looking freak—Nero, some rookie CP9 ass—was too fast for him to hit but too weak to do any real damage. It left them in an awful standstill, neither able to get something over on the other, but equally unwilling to back down. Franky was doing his best to conserve cola, but there was only so much he could do.

☉

“Nico Robin is still unsconscious in the first car,” Corgy announced. Kaku didn't say anything, only watched as Lucci dismissed him. With Nico still sedated and them closing in on Enies Lobby every second, it was only a matter of time before this mission was over. He'd be assigned another soon enough.

He closed his eyes, only to have blood flash behind his eyelids. Kaku had killed and been witness to enough death that few things haunted him anymore. (A lie he told himself to get through the day.) Iceburg...Iceburg might be the only one he regreted. He hadn't spoken against Lucci when he'd decided to kill the man—they had a mission and they would complete it at any cost. He just wished things had turned out differently.

He hoped his next assignment had something to do with ships. He'd enjoyed being a shipwright more than he probably should have. It was dangerous, they'd always been lectured, to get attached to a cover. They were just faces and weapons on which any story could be told. Getting attached to somewhere meant getting attached to someone and that meant weakness. Weapons with weaknesses broke and the World Government didn't waste resources fixing them.

Across the isle, Kalifa caught his eye. They'd grown up together, had gone on so many missions that they could talk without a single word passing between them. Lucci trusted Kaku as his second but Kalifa was probably the closest thing to a friend Kaku had.

This is our job, her eyebrow said.

This mission is shit, his rolled shoulder pointed out.

Our lives are shit, her pressed lips shouted. He had to conceed the point. Kalifa was a legacy CP9 agent going back three generations; the second she was conceived, her life had been chosen for her. Kaku, as the bastard result of a CP7 agent disobeying orders and going AWAL, had been paying for his father's sins since he was dropped on River Island at five. They'd been forged for the sake of justice and, as Lucci was so fond of reminding them, Justice was what the Government decided.

He tilted his head, the barely there movement conveying more than he could ever bring himself to say. Kalifa looked away, recrossing her legs. It was the only response she could give.

Do you ever wonder if we could be free?

Dreams don't come true for monsters.

☉

Lucy rerolled her whip, as ready as she'd ever be. She'd learned the extent of Hóu's abilities when she'd brought Shé out earlier; Gemini knew their job should the worst happen; she'd rested and conserved as much of her magic as possible; and Chopper had stuffed her full of more pain pills than he'd wanted, knowing as he did that her sitting out wasn't an option.

There was still a miniscule chance of Sanji managing to grab Franky and Robin both before they caught up with the sea train, but they all knew how likely that was. The sheer power of CP9 couldn't be overstated; they were stronger than anyone she had ever seen before, except Gildarts and Gramps. She trusted that they would win, though. A second failure wasn't an option.

☉

Kuzan pulled his sleeping mask down, ignoring the saluting marine at his door. The marine—one of Garp's newest protogees—didn't seem to care.

“Admiral Aokiji, sir! Fleet Admiral Sengoku would like you to report to his office.”

“Tell him I'm doing paperwork.”

The kid, admirably, did not point out how this was a bold-faced lie. “He says it has to do with Nico Robin, sir.” Kuzan went very still. When it was clear he still wasn't going to get up, the kid added, “He, uh, also told you to say, quote 'He can either help bring Nico Robin in or he can take her place in Impel Down' end quote.”

Kuzan considered the likelihood of that being an exageration compared to Sengoku's tendencies to be a hardass.

With a sigh, he got up.

☉

Sanji slammed into a wall; he was honestly getting sick of the feeling. He and Franky had managed to defeat their opponents and get to the second car, where all of CP9 was stationed. The only problem? When wonderful Lucy had warned him that CP9 was strong, she had undersold them. They were downright monsters and there was no way he and Franky could get through four of them. Franky seemed to have the same idea.

“Your crew is on the way right?”

“Yeah. We're not letting them keep Robin.”

“Alright. Then this probably won't kill you.” Before Sanji could react, Franky had picked him and tossed him out of the train, straight onto the tracks. Unable to stop, Sanji landed in the ocean, coming up sputtering, just in time to see Kaku restrain Franky as the Puffing Tom sped away.

Cursing, he found the train tracks and held on desperately, fighting against the storming ocean. Luckily for him, it didn't take long for the Rocketman to become visible and for Luffy to offer him a hand up.

Getting in was easy, but facing the reality that he'd failed? That was harder.

“I just don't get it,” Usopp spit out. “Why take Robin specifically? Or Franky?”

“Pluton,” Lucy murmured. “They...They asked Franky where the blueprints for Pluton were.”

“What's Pluton?” Zambai asked.

“It's a battleship,” Nami explained. “But not just any battleship. One of three ancient weapons from the Void Century said to be able to destroy the world.”

“Did Robin tell you?” Lucy said.

Nami nodded, sitting down heavily. “Yeah. Her nightmare that I saw it...it was horrifying. She told me, the next night when she woke up screaming, what the story was.” Tearing up, she shook her head. “There is nothing that scares Robin more than the World Government hurting us. Especially CP9.”

“But why?” Sanji demanded. “She has to know we'll always come for her.”

“Because she's already dealt with CP9 before,” Nami told them. “When they destroyed her home island with a buster call.”

☉

When Nico Robin was two years old, her mother left. If she ever had a father, she didn't remember him. Professor Clover took care of her sometimes, but he was old and more of a crazy uncle than a true dad, so her mom left Robin with her aunt and uncle. Uncle Oak was kind, and gentle, but he let Aunt Roji take control and Roji hated Robin. It was not a nice childhood and when she ate her Devil Fruit it got even worse.

Ohara was a beautiful island in the West Blue with an easy going mayor and scholars that stayed cloistered within the five thousand year old Tree of Knowledge. None of the civilians knew what a Devil Fruit was and the other children called her a freak for her powers. She spent all her days at the Tree, learning to be a scholar and archiologists just like her mother in hopes that, one day, she would go out to sea with her. But Ohara had a secret and it was a deadly one.

The scholars studied all history but what they studied most of all was the Void Century using the Poneglyph they'd hidden away beneath the tree. Robin, being curious and with her powers, had long since learned of the stone and taught herself to read to secret language in hopes of impressing her professors. It didn't work out so well.

Professor Clover was furious and terrified when he'd learned what Robin had done, just after she'd officially been declared a scholar of Ohara. He and the rest of the professors stopped letting her in the tree or encouraging her curiousity. She was truly and deeply alone.

Which is when she met Vice Admiral Jaguar D. Saul.

Saul was a giant and a marine that had gone AWAL in objection to the execution of Nico Olvia's entire crew and her own arrest. But when he met Robin he didn't call her a devil or freak or any other nasty thing. He was her friend and he taught her to laugh even when times were hard.

There was one problem though; CP9, led by an awful man named Spandine, had discovered what the scholars were researching and had come to put a stop to it. In pursuit of that, they called a buster call; a marine attack featuring ten battleships and five Vice Admirals with the soul purpose of annihalating everything in their way. Usually, only Admirals and above had the power to order one using special golden den-den but just that once, CP9 had been given permission. Every man, woman and child on that island was killed, Olvia, having just returned, included. Saul was frozen by then Vice Admiral Kuzan but, in keeping with Saul's final wishes, let Robin escape.

Eight years old, having watched her mother and everyone she had ever cared about killed by the so-called Justice of the world, Nico Robin ran. And for the last twenty years, she hadn't been able to stop.

☉

Nami paused, wiping at her eyes. “That's the story. That's why they want her so bad. She's the only survivor of a genocide they commited and they're set on finishing the job.”

The entire train wobbled with the force of Luffy's punch. His face was cast in a dark shadow by his hat, visibly steaming in anger. “They're taking her to Enies Lobby?”

Lucy nodded sharply, pulling her hair back into a high pony tail. She felt raw and exposed, like someone had peeled back her skin. There were few things she hated more in this world than slavery but she decided that the World Government just went to the top of her shit list. “Two gates block the way into the central island, where 10,000 soldiers are stationed; beyond that, we need to access the courthouse to drop down the bridge to the Tower of Justice which guards the way to the Bridge of Hesitation. From there, the Gates of Justice from which there are only two destinations; the underwater gallows, Impel Down, and Marine HQ, Marineford. Either is a death sentence.”

“Do you all get that?” Nami asked sharply. “If Robin crosses the Gates of Justice, it's over. She'll be out of our reach.”

“Got it,” Luffy announced. “Laxus?”

“Right. Lucy managed to get her hands on a map of Enies back on Navarone, and it llookssomething like this.” Nami offered up the loose sketch of an island for Laxus to spread on the floor before them all. Of course, what Nami declared mediocure sketch, Marine cartographers declared their magnum opus. Laxus dragged his finger across as he talked. “The island is floating above a giant hole in the ocean, nd is made of two parts. But step one is crashing to a stop.”

“We're crashing?!” Chopper shreeked.

“There aren't any breaks,” Zoro pointed out. “Besides, best way to do it.”

“Sure, except it's not that easy. There's a seastone fence that surrounds the entire entryway. Lily will fly himself and Gajeel over and pull it down.”

“Hate to say it, but I can't break seastone, and it'll take too long to eat it.”

“You don't have to take it down all the way. Just angle it.”

“So we can use it as a ramp,” Sanji concluded. “Smart.”

“That should get us past the island gate. While Luffy goes ahead—beccause we all know he's not waiting around—we'll help the Franky Family clear the inner gate. Half of their numbers will stay behind to hold the exit with one of their yagaras. The rest will move forward through the island to take the courthouse. The Straw Hats will spread through the streets and rendevou there, so we aren't a sitting target. We're not sure what the mechanic for dropping the bridge is, but we'll need to find it so we can get over to the Tower of Law. This is probably where CP9 will be holding Robin—and Franky—until the escort from Marine HQ arives and opens the Gates. We spread out and take them down, one by one.”

“The pigeon guy is mine,” Luffy snarled.

“I have dips on Discount-Usopp,” Zoro added. At the various raised brows, he said, “He's a swordsman.”

Lucy didn't know how Zoro knew that, but she wasn't about to argue with him. The same way they all knew Luffy always got the strongest oopponent, Zoro got the swordsman.

Laxus nodded. “So be it. Lucy will gather what information she can as we move through while Usopp moves to the top of the Tower. You're our lookout; if they get Robin on that bridge, you use a mini-den den to call Lucy, and she contacts the rest of the crew. Buy us as much time as you can, Usopp.”

Swallowing heavily, he nodded. “I'll do what I need to.”

“What happens when we get Robin and big bro?” Kiwi asked.

“We retreat,” Laxus said immediately. “We aren't reavers—our objective is to save Robin and Franky and get out alive. This isn't like G-8, where there's only a single high-ranking officer. There is no telling who or what is on that island outside of CP9. We take one of the ships and circle around to pick up the Franky Family before getting out of dodge.” Pulling back, he looked up at Luffy, deadly serious. The tension spiked. “Before this, we've been pests in their ears, just another crew of pirate rookies. But this?” He waved his hand at the map, the crew, the invasion they'd planned. “This might as well be a declaration of war.”

Luffy didn't flinch. “They took Robin.”

It was as simple as that. The Marines had taken one of theirs, and they weren't leaving until they got her back.

“I'm glad that's all settled,” Kokoro declared with a laugh. “Because we've reached our final destination. Welcome to the Judicial Island, Enies Lobby!”

“Whoa, it looks really cool!”

“Meow!”

“Chimney! Gombei! What are you two doing here?!”

[hitchell-mope]

Just like fire by the Facillier’s

Uma: Ah

I know that I am runnin' out of time

I want it all,

Celia: mm-mm

Uma (tapping her right temple): And I'm wishin' they'd stop tryna turn me off

I want it on,

Celia: mm-mm

Uma: And I'm walkin' on a wire, trying to go higher

Feels like I'm surrounded by clowns and liars

Even when I give it all away

I want it all,

Celia: mm-mm

Uma’s family: You came here to run it, run it, run it

Uma: Uh-huh

Uma’s family: You came here to run it

Uma: Yeah,

Uma’s family: run it

Uma: Uh

Uma’s family: run it

(They start circling her like vultures)

Uma’s family: Just like fire, burnin' up the way

If you can light the world up for just one day

Watch this madness, colorful charade

No one can be just like you anyway

Just like magic, You'll be flyin' free

Uma: I'ma disappear if they come for me

Uma’s family: You’ll kick that ceiling, what you gonna say?

Uma:No one can be just like me anyway

Morgana: Just like fire

Uh

Now.

(They pull her into different dances)

Celia (pulling Uma into a folk dance): And people like to laugh at you

‘Cause they are all the same, mm-mm

Uma: Uh

Freddie (pulling Uma into a swing dance): See I would rather we just go a different way

Uma: Yeah?

Freddie: Than play the game

Uma: Uh-uh

Freddie: mm-mm

(She twirls Uma over to Gramma Odie who proceeds to pull her into the famous Staircase Dance from Stormy Weather)

Odie: And no matter the weather, we can do it better

Morgana (dancing with Uma like a parent would with their child at a wedding): You and me together, forever and ever

Facillier (pulling Uma into a father daughter dance wedding dance): We don't have to worry 'bout a thing

Uma: No?

Facillier: about a thing

Uma: Not a thing?

Facillier: no

Uma: Hah

(Her family starts circling her again. Only now she’s enjoying herself)

Uma’s family: You came here to run it

Uma: Yeah

Uma’s family: run it

Uma: Uh

Uma’s family: run it

Uma: Mm-hmm, mm-hmm

Uma’s family: You came here to run it

Uma: Run it

Uma’s family: run it

Uma: C’mon

Uma’s family: run it

Uma: Oh, oh

All: Just like fire, burnin' up the way

If I can light the world up for just one day

Watch this madness, colorful charade

No one can be just like me anyway

Just like magic, I'll be flyin' free

I'ma disappear when they come for me

I kick that ceiling, what you gonna say?

No one can be just like me anyway

Just like fire, fire, fire

Run it, run it, run it

Uma’s family: We came here to run it

Uma: Ay, ay

Uma’s family: run it, run it

Uma: Uh, uh)

(She takes centre stage)

Uma: So look, I came here to run it

Morgana: Yup

Uma: Just cause nobody's done it

Morgana: Uh-huh

Uma: Y'all don't think I can run it

But look, I been here, I done it

Impossible? Please

Watch, I do it with ease

You just gotta believe

Come on, come on with me

(The electricity starts surging through her body again)

Freddie (leaning against the piano): Oh, what's a girl to do?

Odie: What, what?

Celia (sitting on the piano): Hey, what's a girl to do?

Facillier: What, what?

Freddie: Oh, what's a girl to do?

Odie: What, what?)

Freddie and Celia: Mmm, what's a girl to do?

(Uma collapses face down on the stage, all the wind knocked out of her)

Morgana (whispering encouragement in Uma’s ear): Just like fire, burnin' up the way

If you can light the world up for just one day

Watch this madness, colorful charade

No one can be just like you anyway

(Uma gets her second wind, grips the trident, gets up and sends glaringly bright turquoise lighting into the air)

Uma: Just like fire

Morgana: Just like fire

Uma: burnin' up the way

If I can light the world up for just one day

Odie: One day

Uma: Watch this madness, colorful charade

Facillier: Hey, hey

Uma: No one can be just like me anyway

Oh, just like magic, I'll be flyin' free

I'ma disappear when they come for me

I kick that ceiling, what you gonna say?

No one can be just like me anyway

Just like fire, fire

Uma’s family: Run it, run it, run it

(It didn’t work)

Uma: Just like fire

Uma’s family( disappearing one at a time until only Morgana is left): We came here to run it, run it, run it

[lucygraysboy]

“excuse me? what’s that supposed to mean?” billy huffs, a flash of anger passing over his features. he might have made a wrong turn here and there, but it’s not like he’s completely lost his marbles, and she’s making it sound like that’s the case. “and do you think that i just didn’t want to come and check on you? well, it was the first thing that crossed my mind, but i couldn’t hop on the next plane back home ‘cause i had school and an audition next morning. besides, flyin’ back and forth costs a lot of money and i don’t have all that much.” he wonders if she has even just a remote idea of how difficult life in new york city is when you have to fend for yourself and have no one to support you. “what would you have me do? cut all ties to my childhood friend? pretend that i don’t know him?” billy doesn’t want to go down the road that jesse’s steering towards, but he can’t just erase the man who used to be like a brother to him. “if i owe them, i’ll deal with it. no one’s comin’ to you to pay my debts, alright?” he grumbles, walking across the room to peel the curtain back and check the weather outside. anything to avoid meeting lucy gray’s angry glare. it’s still snowing, and now it’s really not looking good.

“yeah, sure… you dated him but didn’t kiss him. makes sense.” it doesn’t dawn upon him that maybe he’s projecting — it’s what he did to cope so surely she must have done the same thing, right? “hey!” he’s too distracted to duck and the pillow hits the back of his head before landing at his feet. pale blue eyes throwing daggers at the girl on the bed as he picks it up and contemplates his next move. it would be so easy to just throw it back at her, but he’s not that kind of person so he sets it on the empty bed, away from her. “i’m not callin’ you names. if you slept with him, you slept with him. end of story. i’m just surprised!” and now he’s not sure if she’s telling the truth or just trying to make herself look more like a saint. “fuck. why are we arguing over billy taupe?” he’s clearly not worth it and billy’s head is already pounding. “well, you’re doin’ an excellent job bein’ his defense attorney, what else am i supposed to think?” his tone deflates. he sits down on the edge of his bed and cradles his head in his hands. he knows exactly what she’s saying, understands why she craved billy taupe’s attention — it’s what he wanted from his dates, too. they both just wanted to feel loved and adored. “all we do is fight. we’ve been here for a day and i feel like it’s a constant battle.”

“yeah, yeah, i GOT you weren’t thinkin’ straight. you haven’t done any thinkin’ straight a lot here lately.” the brunette growls, “mhm, i guess so. the better option would’ve been you flyin’ in to check on me, not act out of impulse.” she corrects, doubting he’ll be LOGICAL and agree. “YOU associating with them, means you are an accomplice of doin’ illegal shit with them.” and what about jesse and how he got billy sent to detention back in school? it’s getting worse now that they aren’t kids in school, but dumb young adults getting closer and closer to jail time. “that ain’t what they said. you definitely do owe them now.” she shakes her head then he makes her jaw tighten even more, staring an angry hole through him, “you don’t know if we kissed or not,” her features contort in disgust, “and what else?! WHAT else? what the hell’s that mean?” coming out of her spot where she was resting against the headboard, inching closer to the edge of her bed, “you’re sayin’ i was his trailer park whore of the week? that me an’ him did sexual stuff? you’re an IDIOT if you think i let him put his grimy hands on me.” jaw clenching, she grabs a pillow and flings it at his head with anger. “you don’t fuckin’ get it or you wouldn’t STILL be accusin’ me of havin’ FEELIN’s for him! i’ll say it again— and AGAIN. until you understand why i went out with billy taupe, cause when you’re in a dark place, you’ll do things you don’t normally do. and you put me in a dark place, i felt ugly cause i cared way too much what you thought about me. so i took attention wherever i could get it and until he got violent, he made me feel like i was pretty again. while you just stayed silent. i liked his attention, i didn’t like HIM. there’s a difference!”

[lalalovezfrenchfriez]

Flyin' Frydays-Pt. 2 :p

author's note: this activelybroke my heart writing and I was uh totally not goin thru something. yep. EVERYTHING GETS BETTER LATER TRUST! I love writing this like it's a fanfic. I just care about rio ok. :3

When Laura leaves to her party, my phone buzzes. I open my phone, clicking answer. 

“RIO!” A voice screams at me.

I grin widely. “Emi!” Emi Bando is my best friend, besides Laura. Laura is a childhood friend, and we are very close, but Emi no doubt takes the cake. We smoke together, she helped me cheat my chemistry final in high school, and she was the first person I came out to. She’s the best.

“You free?” She asks, her voice obviously trying to hint at something.

“Uh, yeah. Yeah I am.” I look around the college campus. Its dim glow illuminates the fog rolling in at a snails pace. “Just dropped off Laura at some frat party. Still at Nerd Town. Come pick me up?”

“Sure sure! Me and your brothers will be there in a bit.”

I laugh, stepping on the curb at the edge of campus. I pull out a pack of cigarettes while ignoring the no smoking sign. “Em, I only have one brother. Is he there with you?

“Oh,” I can hear JD in the background, “Hola manzanita,”

Emi continues, “Well aren’t his friends like your brothers?”

I chuckle as I place a cigarette in my mouth, “Sure - come pick me up in a few. Love you babe.”

“Love you more!” Emi squeals when I shut my phone. I hope she doesn't find that weird, but instead of thinking too much, I light my cigarette.

The campus has such a darkness to it, it began to almost whistle a haunting tune as the wind flew by my hair. I never liked UCLA, Máma wanted me to go here for years, but I refused. Pápi wanted me to go to USC. I don’t think I ever liked the idea of college. Or school. But the campus' light glows as if it is fading and dying. Like it was hurt.

I inhale. I exhale out my nose and close my eyes. I don’t even think I want to continue beauty school.

“Rosalinda?”

My eyes shoot open and I look at her. She looks so different. How?

Her hair is pink at the ends. Her eyes shout with passion as she waves to me. She smiles so widely, her lipstick shines of sunset orange. She looks so bright in this dark night.

I gulp. “May…”

She is wearing a white dress with embroidered sunflowers growing from the hem. She’s wearing brown sandals. It’s winter. It’s cold.

“Rosalinda, what are you doing here?”

I drop the cigarette, putting it out underneath my shoe. I smile awkwardly, hiding the knot in my throat. “Heh. Yep. Yeah.” I know I’m turning red as I look away from her striking green eyes. “Helped Laura.” I try and put out words to the air. To her. I barely succeed.

May nods, walking to me with such power. She’s still as pretty as when I met her. Jesús. “So, how have you been, Rosie?” Her accent is so soft, yet so clear to my ears.

I have to look away from her and swallow the nervousness away. “I go by Río,” I mutter quietly. But I look at her and raise my voice, which is still troublesome to my body. “Okay.”

May smiles. Her cheeks are red already. Why is she blushing? “I’m glad you helped Laura. Always a good friend. I love that. I’ve always loved that about you, Rosa.”

My mouth dries. What do I say. What do I even think? She’s so beautiful. May is so amazingly gorgeous I feel the same way as when she first asked me out. Her confidence. Her eyes. Her blonde hair that smells like the sun. Her. May Thomas. Mi vida, mi amor, mi cielita...

Yet she still. Looks at me that way. So simple. So judgmental. So posh. She touches my hair, and I freeze. “I never meant to hurt you, mon feu,” she whispers as she leans in close. I step back.

“You broke up with me.” I finally spit out as my eyes fill with tears. I push through the crack in my voice. “You wanted this to end. Leave me- leave me alone! You treat me like your stupid doll all the time! Even though- even though I’m so smart! I gave everything I could to make you happy and you find someone to play with for the fun of it?” My mind is not clear. But I have to say it. I look at her. “I won't be your toy anymore. I don’t want anything to do with you anymore. I don’t love you anymore. Go.”

May Thomas looks at me with her big leafy eyes. Finally they relax. Like she’s been waiting for me to say it. Like she has just wanted me to crack. “I will always love you, Rosalinda.” Her accent irks me. It hurts the r in my name. She looks at me, waiting for me to crumble to her skirt.

I roll my eyes and grab out another cigarette. “You hurt me, May.” My hand shakes. I can't feel it but I know I am crying. I don’t know why. I just am. “You don’t want to be with me? Fine. Go be with your new novia,” I let out a soft choke, but I turn away from her. I light the cigarette. “I’m deleting your number- blocking you. Don’t ever contact me or my family.” I walk away. I don’t look back.

But she takes my arm. “That’s all you say?!"

“Stop it!” I cry out, trembling at her soft touch. “Please!” I'm shaking uncontrollably and the puff of smoke is falling out of my mouth like a dragon.

May lets go. “I loved you!”

“Then why are you doing this to me?!” I keen back, turning to her finally. “What did I do?!”

“Nothing!” Her hair is going static like a banshee as she is hiding her own tears. Her makeup is ruined. Her lipstick is getting slimy. Her eyes scatter all over my body. “I just don’t want to be with you anymore.”

I stare at her. She’s desperate. Clinging onto me. She is also shaking. I stay still for a few moments. “So what do you want?”

“For us to be friends. For us to be,” she takes a deep breath as the thick curtain fog rolls in between us. She finally looks angelic. Just like how I met her. “To know we still care...about each other.”

The cigarette is hot in my mouth. I hear a honk. “Río!” I hear someone cry from the distance.

The words come out of me; Clear. Stern. Unshaken. Spoken. “I can’t care to think about you, May. Not after how you’ve treated me. I do not want us to talk. I do not love you. I cannot love you. Have fun with your girlfriend. Do not treat her like a toy. She is a person. I was a person.” I inhale the cigarette, turn, and the fog blankets us, pushing me away from her.

[multi-mused-menagerie]

     HE’S REALLY FUCKING LATE TO THE PARTY BUT...

     “Mammon rights, fuckers.”

[austinsmutler]

Just Pretend | Austin!Elvis x Reader | One-Shot

Summary: Elvis calls you up while he's on tour to tell you how much he misses you.

Pairing: Austin!Elvis x Reader, Elvis x Reader

What you’ll like: Oh, this is just tooth-achingly fluffy. I've met pomeranians less fluffy than this one. For added points listen to Just Pretend while you read.

Warnings: None, Elvis just really misses you and you miss him so it's a lil sad but it's also cute.

Word Count: 776

A/N: Written because I had a crappy day at work and I needed it.

Masterlist | Requests are currently open (Please tell me everything you want! Confess your sins! Have a good time with it!)

“Baby?”

Elvis’ hand shook just holding the phone. Just waiting for an answer. 

“Elvis?” Your voice crackled through the receiver, and he breathed a sigh of relief.

“It’s good to hear your voice.”

“I missed you too.” On the other side of the state, your fingers played with the telephone wire. “How’s the tour?”

“We're in Mississippi, heading to Alabama next week. They love me here.”

“You don’t sound happy about it.”

“I am! I just…” He took a breath loud enough for you to hear on the other end of the country. “Haven’t heard your voice in so long, angel.”

His voice had you leaning up against the wall and smiling sadly to yourself. Every day the papers came out with a new theory on who Elvis could be dating- or worse, saying he was having flings left and right with fans all across the country. The way he sounded, though, made it feel like he’d been feeling all the same things you had. You missed him so much it felt like a piece of you was missing. Like someone’d taken the red out of every bouquet of roses, no matter how many he sent from five states away.

“I just wanna come flyin’ back to you.” He said after a while. “I love the music. I love performing. But I…”

I love you more. It was the phrase he could never quite bring himself to say. You bit your lip, knowing it wasn’t true. Nothing could compare to the love he felt when he was up on stage, or the adrenaline rush that came after. But you were lucky enough to come close, and sometimes that was enough. Hearing his voice made it enough.

“Just pretend I’m right there.” You whispered into the receiver, closing your eyes and picturing the last time you’d seen Elvis. He’d hugged you so tight, made a million promises to be home soon. “Or that you never left. We’re back in Memphis, walking down Beale street together. Window shopping for things we can’t afford.”

“You’d look so pretty in any of those dresses, baby.”

“And you’d cut a mean figure in any of those suits.” You bit your lip. How can pretending to be together hurt more than being apart? It hurt more than remembering the countless days spent just like that, wandering Beale street and taking in all the brightness and beauty of Memphis.

“Can I take your hand?” He breathed into the phone. “I’ve missed doing that.”

You couldn’t be seen in public together. Colonel’s orders. If you did go out together, it had to be as part of a group, with multiple women. Fans and a few male bandmates. Someone else would hold your hand to throw reporters off the scent, or pull you close to make it look real in the photographs- and it killed both of you every time, so eventually you’d stopped going out. Now you had to be snuck into Graceland through the side-door just to hold him.

“Yes.” Tears were in your eyes now, and part of you was glad he wasn’t there to see them. Another part wanted nothing more than for him to be there, wiping them away with soft touches. “I love it when you take my hand.”

A long moment of silence let you savour the feel of his fingers lacing with yours. Just pretend.

“It’s so sunny out.” He chuckled, but you heard the vulnerability in it. He’s as close to tears as I am. “S’nice.”

You looked out of the window in your bedroom. It was dark out, but you were picturing Beale Street on a July day, packed with people.

“It’s hot, though.” A smile crept to your lips and he knew what you were thinking before you said it. “Club Handy?”

“Club Handy, baby.”

“Club handy always has the best music.”

“You been goin’ without me?”

“Never.” It hurt too much. As much as you missed BB King, as much as you loved the music from Little Richard, Sister Rosetta, and Big Mama Thornton, it was impossible to see the club without Elvis-coloured glasses, and it hurt. He was everywhere, from the moves on the dancefloor to the sounds of the stage, but he was nowhere at the same time. Too far away to touch. “I miss it sometimes. But the music doesn’t sound the same when you’re not with me.”

The other end of the line was quiet, and for a moment you worried something was wrong. Maybe Elvis had left the phone, or run out of quarters, if it was a pay phone; maybe he’d just decided it wasn’t worth him feeling like this anymore just to be with you. Phone calls never felt like enough. 

Then his voice came through, clear and soft and melodic. 

“Just pretend, I'm holding you

And whispering things soft and low

And think of me, how it's gonna be

Just pretend I didn't go

I will hold you and love you again

But until then, we'll just pretend.”

[llamagoddessofficial]

Thank you so much @nugget4550 for commissionin Red being a flirty bastard with their OC. It’s always such a joy to write this saucy fella!

“... well, hello there.” Red purred.

... The human sitting at the Grillby’s bar looked up from their drink, visibly taken aback as the large skeleton slid into the stool beside them. Despite being dressed appropriately for a casual bar like Grillby’s, in loose jeans and a black top, their body language gave away that this wasn’t their usual place. 

“O-oh,” they gave him a quick once-over, the slight flush rising to their ruddy cheeks giving him the confidence boost to continue his advances. “Erm... I...”

Red reached into his own almost-empty drink with two phalanges, plucking out an ice cube. He pinched and the little transparent block cracked into several pieces- he had a stupid grin on his face, golden tooth winking in the low warm light.

“there we go. that was an icebreaker. i’m red, what’s yer name?”

... The joke took a moment to register. But once it did, their eyes lit up, and an attractive laugh burst out of them. His grin hitched up his cheekbones... he liked how they looked tough, dressing in dark colours and with a tattoo peeking out over their collarbone from under their shirt, but their eyes and lavender Soul betrayed someone who got easily flustered when their guard was down and liked to smile. 

“N-Nova...” they fiddled with their fingers like know what to do with them. They seemed... not used to being flirted with? “My name is Nova.”

“pretty name fer a pretty human.” Red purred, propping his elbow on the bar and leaning in closer. “can’t say i’ve seen ya around here before. what made you pick this hovel?”

Grillby crackled, noticeably, from his position behind the bar. But if he was really upset about Red’s jab at his establishment, he didn’t say anything.

“This isn’t a hovel.” They teased, giving him a look that made his chest warm. They folded one leg over the other; Red could see that they were wearing black combat boots with a slight heel, laces tied with the stray ends tucked into the sides. This was an organised, professional person. “... I wanted to try monster alcohol. I asked around, and everyone said this was the place to be.”

They spoke somewhat formally, but with a tilting edge of casualness that probably only came on with the drinks. Red chuckled, deeply- he was a few drinks in, too.

“so... how does our liquid poison compare, then?”

His chuckle had clearly elicited a reaction in them, but they tried to play it off. “I-it tastes completely different. Nowhere near as bitter. And the effect is a lot more pleasant.”

“glad to hear it.” He mused. “you mind me askin’ what a stunner like you does for a livin’? you go around makin’ poor innocent monsters fall for you all the time, or am i special?”

An attractive pinkish colour flooded their cheeks, voice almost shaking. “I-I’m a pilot. A flight instructor. A-and you?”

“a pilot?” Red’s brows raised. “shit, that’s why we really took off, isn’t it?”

More laughter bubbled out of them, infectious and pleasant. He really liked that sound, leaning in even closer. 

“you asked about my job...” He winked, voice lowering playfully until only they could hear him. “i’m actually ground crew. if you want, i’ll handle your baggage anytime, doll.”

They put a hand over their face, letting out a flustered “O-oh jeez,”, but they leant in too... like the two of them were sharing a secret.

“you’re jus’ a high altitude person, nova. that’s why you keep takin’ my breath away.”

“Th-these jokes are really landing, Red.” they managed to squeeze out.

He all but glowed. “speakin’ of flyin, doll, you wanna make an early departure? back to my place, maybe?”

They giggled. “One more drink. On me. Then... we can see if you like your landings soft or hard...?”

Red felt his eyelights light up as their proud laughter continued. This one... oh, he liked this one.

//--//--//

Nova woke up on a couch. 

...That wasn’t actually all that unusual- who hasn’t woken up one morning sprawled on their couch with vague regrets swirling around in their head? The unusual part was that they could immediately tell it wasn’t their couch. It smelled different, it was a different colour. They could hear a TV, they could feel a fuzzy thudding hangover sensation in the back of their head... and they could smell someone’s smokey scent.

... They opened their eyes to find themselves cuddled against a large, warm skeleton monster’s chest.

... And they were wearing his shirt.

Nova sat up, immediately, a zap of confusion and panic going through them- what did they do? They went home with the guy from the bar!? Looking down, they were still wearing their boots and jeans, but the oversized grey shirt swallowing them certainly was not theirs.

“... Oh no. Crap.” They whispered, sharply, swinging their legs over the side of the couch and preparing to stand. “Crap, crap...”

...

A snort, from the couch.

Nova turned and looked over their shoulder, bright red already, to see... well, Red, shuffling slightly to sit up. He had an easy grin resting on his face.

“I-I,” they wanted to melt into the floor. “I apologise, I-”

“relax, cutie.” His voice was husky with morning sleepiness. “we didn’t smash parts, if that’s what yer worried about.”

...

“... O-oh.” They visibly relaxed. “Then, erm... what...?”

“the only thing you smashed was a whole glass of firewhiskey. which is admirable, definitely hot to watch, but also... a terrible idea.” He rested his arms on his knees, grinning. “grillby makes those things strong enough to stagger me. y’got pretty messed up pretty quickly, couldn’t tell me where you lived, so you ended up crashing at my place.”

“... Why am I wearing...?”

“ah. yeah,” his eyelights twinkled with mirth. “you kinda blew chunks on your home clothes.”

... Nova was utterly mortified, burying their head in their hands. Red chuckled again, getting up off the couch and stretching back, spine audibly popping.

“how’s the hangover?” He asked, voice easy as he changed the subject to spare their feelings, raising one hand over his back and letting the joints crack.

“... My hangover isn’t that bad, to be honest.” They rubbed their temple. If they’d had that much human alcohol they would’ve been borderline comatose by the time morning came. “... I don’t feel very ill, or particularly unwell. Just...”

“weird ache in yer head and chest?”

“... Yes. Exactly.”

“it’s cus monster alcohol is mostly magic,” a yawn that showed off his jagged teeth. “doesn’t affect humans all that much, mostly scrambles your brain and soul for a few hours.”

“... Thanks for looking after me, Red.” Nova said, gently. “I really appreciate it.”

“course. anythin’ for the pilot who hijacked my heart.” He purred. 

Nova immediately flushed again, and Red couldn’t help but laugh.

“anyway. whaddya want for breakfast?”

[eliseinmemphis]

Elvis and Austin!Elvis Ask Game

I was tagged by @sapphirescripts, @aconflagrationofmyown, @blurredcolour, @loving-elvis, @mesbouquins, @heisatroubleinapinksuit, @lindszeppelin, @powerofelvis, and @karamelcoveredolicity! Thank you all so much 💕

These questions were put together by @aconflagrationofmyown, and the original post can be found here.

When and what was your first exposure to Elvis Presley? I genuinely do not remember. He's always been there, since the very beginning; I don't think there was ever a time when Elvis wasn't a part of my life.

And what was your first impression? I never really had a first impression since he was always just sort of there, but I've loved Elvis for such a long time. When I was younger I viewed him as a sort-of guardian angel. Other kids had imaginary friends, and then I had Elvis.

Lace shirts or jumpsuits? It's gotta be jumpsuits. Something about them makes me go absolutely feral. They're so sexy for absolutely no reason. Yes, even the gaudy ones.

You can steal one of Elvis/Austin’s outfits, what’s it going to be? There are so many good ones! This is such a hard question! The red blouse with the belt is such a good outfit for both real Elvis and Austin!Elvis that I'm going to have to pick that. And as for Austin himself, I love a Canadian tuxedo.

C’mon, we know you’ve been watching/reading old interviews and random footage of the man, so what’s your favorite random Elvis quote? That one about how being in the army didn't change his opinion on rock n' roll music because he was in tanks and they rock and roll quite a bit. He was so damn proud of himself for that joke and it's terrible. And this isn't a quote, but I love how much he calls people boy. He's Southern Southern.

Did you find Austin Butler’s lips distracting despite them being in a movie about the King of plush upper lips? (Be honest now) Who didn't! That shot of him putting the ice pack over his eyes as they're seguing into the Burning Love montage had me laser-focused on his lips. He needs to drop the name of his injector fr.

What’s an aspect of Elvis’ character you wish more people appreciated? His kindness, his generosity, his humour, his gratitude. There are just so many aspects of him that should be appreciated more that it's hard for me to list them all, let alone without getting emotional.

You meet Col. Tom Parker for the first time, forewarned with the knowledge of what a scumbag he is, what do you do?: A. nothing, you’re a coward who doesn’t care about abused golden-hearted men B. you give the Colonel a stern telling off C. you encourage Elvis to leave him and break the contract E. you slap a legal document against that fat suit and declare “Mrs. Claus is bringing you a lawsuit” F. you waste no time with formalities, it’s a letter opener to the jugular for that piece of trash A real toss up between E and F here.

What was your favorite aspect/scene from the Elvis 2022 movie? I loved what a spectacle it was. Everything was so overwhelming and fast-paced, which is perfect for telling his story. I can't imagine how overwhelming his life must have been.

As for my favourite scene, the Vegas rehearsal just makes me so joyful, and that moment right before the Lousiana Hayride where he's nervous at the water fountain and then starts singing "I'm flyin away". Seeing that the first time in theatres I was so taken aback by how perfectly Austin captured Elvis.

You can choose only one song or piece of media to convince someone to become an Elvis fan, what is it going to be? Either the '68 Comeback Special or Elvis (2022).

How many children would you give Elvis Presley from your own -or theoretical- womb? (listen to the beast in ya, your feminism won’t serve you here) As many as he goddamn wants. I am a dead man's whore.

Where are you hanging out with EP, his bedroom with the teddy bears, Club Handy, his private jet or Graceland? Graceland! It was his safe space. His haven. I would love to be able to witness him in complete comfort like that.

What is the peak Elvis era? warning, this says an awful lot about you… 70s!!!!!!!!

How long have you been an Austin Butler fan (be honest now, God is watching) I'm gonna come clean -- only since I saw the movie. I did not even know this man existed before that. Austin, sweetie, I'm so sorry.

What kind of Elvis chick are you? -a 1950’s prospective wife material that he’s already sampled, a 1960’s filmset fling or a Vegas torrid backstage affair? I've said it before and I'll say it again: I am anything he wants me to be. The Vegas affair do be hitting different though.

Is Austin Butler an honorary southerner now? Answer options: A. hell no, California can keep his sweet cheeks. B. hell yes, he’s practically been possessed by the soul of the King of the South I'm not even American (even though I am moving to the South in about three months), so I don't think I'm exactly qualified to answer this, but I'm gonna go out and say no. He's too Cali at heart.

Pick your poison in the fan-fiction realm: angst, fluff, smut, fluffy smut, angsty fluff, angsty smut?…or is reading about Elvis Presley an acknowledged health hazard? Besties, it's me. Smut.

Spit or swallow for this man? (And if you don’t understand this question move right along) I AM SWALLOWING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Would Gladys approve of you? Take your above answer into consideration Probably not 💀

Which of Elvis’ cars is your favorite? His Stutz Blackhawk III. I don't often think cars are sexy, but that shit's sexy.

What are your odds for besting this man at karate? Less than zero; he would body me. And I'd thank him for it.

If you could meet Elvis and have enough composure to tell him something, what would it be? I would thank him. He means so much to me, and it hurts that I'll never be able to thank him, or even let him know. And I'd want to listen to him. We share an interest in the spiritual, and I would love to discuss it with him. But mostly thank him.

What’s a hobby or pastime of yours you wish you could share with Elvis/Austin!Elvis? I'm not too sure! I think it would be interesting to read his tarot, though.

What’s the Elvis 2022 quote you’ve been mumbling to yourself ever since you heard it? "This isn't Christmoos!"

What are your top 3 go-to Elvis songs? This is so hard to pick omg. I'm gonna go Suspicious Minds, Power of My Love, and either Burnin' Love or Heartbreak Hotel.

If you could spare him one tragedy what would it be? His death. The drugs. The ridicule. So many things.

Is there a modern artist that sorta scratches for you the itch that Elvis’ absence leaves? Not at all. He was gone for decades before I was born, but I miss him more than I think I've ever missed anyone. It feels like a piece of me is missing.

How did you react at the end of the movie when In the Ghetto started to play A. I got up and fixed a snack because I have no soul, B. I left feeling alarmingly horny, C. I was impressed but didn’t realize how affected I was until days later when it was still with me D. I cried buckets they had to bring in a mop E. I may have appeared emotionless but in fact my soul was leaving my body and I don’t think it’s returned quite yet A solid D. I've seen the movie around 15 times now, and it still makes me bawl like a baby every time.

If you’ve got a favorite gif or photo insert it here and bless us all There are so many it's hard to choose. This has me acting up, though.