#we barely get a glimpse despite knowing how close knit the team black

[rhaenyra-first-of-her-name]

I need some fics where I just get to enjoy the family dynamics in the Rhaenyra 's household.

[bcbdrums]

Waterfall!!! And also I appreciate the font!#

You thought I forgot...  You thought it would never happen...  Well friend, I never delete anything!!!  Enjoy waterfalls, and adventure galore.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, @gothicthundra!!!

FFn     AO3

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Lost World

Shego pushed her hair out of her face as she gave Drakken a sidelong glance from where she sat piloting the hover-car low over the ocean, rapidly approaching an island—their first sign of land in hours, when their destination should have presented itself early that morning. Drakken's brow was lifted in a furrow as he held the large map out in front of him, the corners flapping in the breeze as he turned it clockwise once, and then again. Shego let out a groan.

"Do you even know where we are?" she asked, licking her lips against the slight chapping that was beginning from the hours in the wind.

Drakken seemed to startle and he brought the map close to his chest, turning an innocent and far too broad grin on her.

"Eh, heh-heh..."

There was a pause as Shego blinked at him before groaning.

"Ugh, fine. You fly, I'll navigate."

"But you said I'm not allowed to fly because the last time we were over islands we—"

"Ugh."

They traded roles, with Drakken handing her the fluttering map as she shifted over one seat so he could take the center in front of the steering column. It wasn't too long after the change that they descended through the remaining cloud layer, and in following the small chain of islands a more promising destination soon came into view—a massive island the size of Iceland.

"All right," Shego said decisively, "Hench said it was near the—"

She was cut off as a shadow suddenly covered them, and they had but a second to look up and then duck before what could only be a living creature swooped in to attack them. As a the hover-car was rocked in the air and a horrendous scraping sound filled her ears, Shego registered a glimpse of brown leathery wings and teeth within a beak.

The sound and shadow gone, Shego lifted her head and whirled around in her seat, hands ablaze and ready to defend them. But their adversary had vanished, presumably up and into the clouds.

"Was that a pteranodon!?" Drakken sputtered, spinning in his seat and leaning over the dash in search of the creature.

"No. They're extinct, dingus," Shego said, her ire misplaced as her heart pounded for fear.

"But it looked just like one!"

"As if we really have a clue what any extinct thing looks like," Shego scoffed, peering over her side of the hover-car. There was no sign of their attacker. "It was probably some kind of condor."

Even as she spoke, their eyes locked together on broad scratches into the back of the hover-car that appeared to have been made with talons. Shego swallowed nervously and rolled her eyes, turning to quickly sit down again.

Drakken was frowning and appeared quite anxious, but he sat back in his seat, Shego hoped noting the logic in her words. She herself realized that the map had been lost when she ducked, and she tapped the control console to hopefully distract Drakken's attention from that fact and the bizarre attack. She had definitely seen skin, not feathers...

As Drakken gripped the controls again, another shadow suddenly covered them, but as they looked up this time and gasped in unison, it wasn't a single creature, but a flock. Distinctly triangular wings with claws at their apex drove the creatures directly toward them, and Shego barely had time to throw her hands over her face before Drakken was clinging to her, and somehow together they fell to the floorboards as the hover-car was scraped, rocked, and spun during what Shego could only call a bird strike. Or in this case, a seemingly-not-extinct pteranodon strike.

It ended with a loss of sound and a gaining of black smoke that billowed up around them as Shego felt her stomach suddenly float. They were falling out of the sky, fast, and Drakken realized it as she did when they gasped again.

"Get off!" she cried, shoving at his arms even as he was scrambling away, both of them reaching for the controls as the craft plummeted.

They ended up both half-seated in the center as they pulled back on the control stick, trying to level the hover-car. But whatever the creatures had done was making it nearly impossible.

"Rrghh! What's wrong!?" Shego shouted over the wind, and after moment of blinking out of his panic, Drakken turned and started looking around at the damage to the craft.

"Nnh! The right engine is out and I think the gyroscope was damaged, among other things!"

"Can you fix it?"

"Not in the air!"

Somehow, the craft was beginning to respond, and as Drakken slid back into the seat and rejoined Shego in pulling on the control stick somehow they started to level out. But they were still rocking violently and Shego finally noted the blaring of alarms from the instruments. The smoke from the flamed-out engine was no longer choking them and they all but fell through the last wispy layer of clouds as they moved too quickly toward the nearest island, upon which trees and cliffs were beginning to gain definition.

"We need a place to land!" Drakken called above the wind.

"If we can do anything but crash I think we should call it good!"

Shego internally felt the grimace that Drakken displayed, and they fell into silence for several minutes as they fought the controls in an effort to bring the craft safely down. The cliffs and trees that came into focus were revealing a tropical paradise, which was in fact the type of location they had been looking for, but whether or not it was even the right island anymore was in question.

"I think we can make that ridge over there," Shego said, risking taking a hand from the stick to gesture to the only visible clearing they could see as the hover-car continued to rapidly descend despite their joined efforts.

"Then what? Nyaaaaahh!"

Shego let out a scream herself as below them, out of the trees emerged a massive barrel-shaped head, a gaping mouth full of razor-sharp teeth, and short limbs that reached for them as they soared past. A deep yet deafening rumble sounded from the giant creature, and whether it was from both their efforts or only one Shego didn't know, but the control stick was yanked violently away from their new adversary and the hover-car started to flip.

Shego grabbed onto one of the restraints just as Drakken grabbed onto her, and as the craft spun wildly beyond any hope of control they fell back to the floorboards in a heap where Shego tried to brace herself inside to keep from being ejected as their usual place of security became a violent ride worse than any rollercoaster she'd ever braved.

She heard Drakken scream her name, but he was still holding onto her so she didn't acknowledge him but with a pointed cry.

"Hold on!" she said and then grit her teeth as the hover-car slammed into things, rocks and trees and who knew what else, until it finally hit ground hard and slid to a stop beneath some cooling shade.

Shego realized she'd closed her eyes and opened them as she tried to calm her breathing and assess her situation. She was bruised, but nothing felt broken, and she felt like she'd been through the worst of the old Team Go training routines that Global Justice had ever designed.

She had a flash of panic as she realized Drakken was a dead weight atop her, and she elbowed him hard as the first instinctive reaction she could muster.

"Owww, Shego!" he complained.

She breathed a sigh of relief. "How badly are you injured?"

"Well thanks to you I have bruised ribs."

Shego rolled her eyes and gave him a gentle shove, and was further relieved as he slowly climbed off of her, wincing but seeming to be in no worse state than she was. She sat up slowly and together they peered at their surroundings.

They were deep in a tropical forest, the trees rising high and cool, lush greenery surrounding them. There was a distant sound of water along with the cries of unfamiliar birds and the buzzing of insects. Shego grimaced and watched Drakken's concentrated frown as he slowly looked around them, probably mentally asking all the questions she was.

Where were they? Were they okay? Could the hover-car be repaired? If not, was there another way off the island?

"Was that a T-Rex?" Shego blurted out before she could help herself.

Drakken blinked down at her. "No. That thing was much...larger."

Shego blinked in surprise as Drakken offered her a hand up, but she took it. She suppressed her groan of pain as she righted herself and then they both climbed out of the hover-car and took a few steps away to truly assess the damage.

Their trustworthy vehicle certainly looked battered beyond repair, with numerous gashes from the talons of the winged creatures they'd encountered and dents and scrapes from the impact of the crash. The right engine had flamed out entirely and was definitely inoperable, and from the look on Drakken's face when Shego glanced at him, there was far more wrong with the craft than the superficial damages.

"I'm guessing we can't fly that out of here?" she asked.

"Nghn... Help me get the hood open," Drakken responded.

After forcing the hood up and feeling the start of a headache from the disapproving scowl on Drakken's face, Shego decided to do some quick scouting.

Looking all around, she could only see trees and lush greenery that seemed to grow thicker in every direction except one. She headed that way, and after cautiously pushing past several trees she thought she recognized she spotted the high ridge they had previously been seeking for landing. She also saw smaller cliffs nearer and others beyond, all covered in the same tropical vegetation. Distantly, she thought she could hear the roar of a waterfall.

She felt her brow knit as she turned back. The new lair they had been heading to—a specialty design and first of its kind from HenchCo, fully equipped with a variety of automated defenses and standard super-villain tech—was supposedly on that island, if they had navigated correctly. But there had been nothing, absolutely nothing in that brochure...about dinosaurs.

As Shego returned to the hover-car where Drakken was bent deep within the engine and grumbling, she wondered if Drakken's map-reading had been that bad or if Hench had pulled one over on them. When she reached the still-smoking vehicle Drakken stood up, wincing in pain as he slammed the hood closed.

"Can you fix it?"

Drakken glared at the craft. "Not here."

"Well...great, just great. Now what?"

Drakken rubbed his neck, wincing again as he cast his eyes over the wreck. He reached down to the dash and pushed a button Shego couldn't clearly see.

"We still have the map... Let's just...go to the lair."

"Uh, we lost the map," Shego admitted.

Drakken's brow twisted and he reached back to the rear of the vehicle. Shego's eyes widened as he pulled the map she'd let go during the first attack, tattered and soot-stained, from the ridiculous tail fin of the center engine. She rolled her eyes.

"Yeah... Maybe the water's turned on at that lair. I could use a shower."

Drakken was turning the map over and then seemed to startle as he took in Shego's words. She watched as he assessed his own appearance, his coat twisted and a bit dirty from the smoke, but not damaged. His hair was unkempt as hers was, and her own suit was a bit dirty. But more notable was the sweltering heat that reached them even beneath the shade of the trees. Sweat had already beaded on her brow and was worse on Drakken's.

As she took the map from him and turned it the right direction, leading them back the way toward where she'd seen the ridge, she wondered if the quest and impulsive purchase of a new lair wasn't a fool's venture to begin with.

-----------------------------------

The grade was at least forty-five degrees, Shego decided, after a mere three minutes into the more difficult part of the hike. They had navigated through thick trees, across a trickle of a stream that Drakken had wanted to follow, but Shego reminded him their new lair was on a cliff, and up a hill densely packed with shrubbery. They had both been slapping insects off of their faces more than once, and Shego was grateful for the suit she wore and even for Drakken's coat, if it meant that much less complaining.

"Shegoooo," he whined.

She rolled her eyes. "What?"

"You said we'd find a break fifteen minutes ago," he said pointedly.

Shego grimaced. The 'hill' they were ascending had turned into a mountain and the incline had grown steeper by the minute. After almost an hour she was ready to acknowledge the need for a break, but there truly was nowhere to stop. However the trees were thinning and the sun was becoming brighter—good for the possibility of a rest stop, but bad for their mildly injured condition.

"Okay, we'll stop once we get through these trees," Shego compromised, adjusting her step to be more towards the light. Unfortunately it meant changing her gait to walk more sideways, and she wondered if Drakken would catch on. "Hey, Dr. D.—"

"Ahhh!"

Shego rolled her eyes and shook her head as Drakken slipped and fell, tumbling several feet before smacking into a tree trunk. Shego winced sympathetically and carefully started toward him.

"You all right?"

Drakken waved away her offer of a hand up as he used the tree for leverage.

"I'm beginning to wonder if Hench wasn't just feeding us a line about this...state-of-the-art lair..."

"You think?" Shego scoffed.

Drakken stumbled past her and began climbing the mountain again. Shego noted the sweat dripping down the side of his face before wiping her own brow as it suddenly began to itch. She followed him in silence, the map useless in their present endeavor since they simply needed to reach the top.

"Shego! Look!"

Drakken had paused and was leaning back against a tree, and when she reached his side she saw what had caused him to grin.

Not a flat area, but a sharp cliff's edge awaited them, rocky and just as thick with trees as the part of the hill they were walking. But more telling was the view beyond, where a thin, sparkling waterfall fell from a higher ridge and down beyond view.

Drakken cast a smile toward Shego as he pushed off the tree and started toward the cliff. She followed quickly, worried he might slip and fall over to a horrible end, but as they reached the edge a few minutes later she saw...while a dangerous fall, it wasn't sheer. The rocky cliff was peppered with vegetation, and it appeared one could climb down if determined. The waterfall emptied into a shimmering blue pool below, looking like something out of a dream.

Beyond the tiny oasis, the larger ridge was in view through the trees, and Shego could hear but not see a thundering waterfall somewhere beyond what the tropical forest concealed. She wondered if they were still heading in the right direction, since the map did indicate a fall near the lair. But the map hadn't said anything about dinosaurs...

As if in reminder, a sudden deep rumble echoed off the cliffs, the sound bouncing over the mountain in menacing waves and seeming to even vibrate Shego's bones. The birds nearby responded in flight, scattering from the trees in zig-zag patterns and revealing their bright, foreign colors for a moment before returning to their havens.

"I'm going for a swim."

Shego did a double-take as Drakken picked his way to the edge of the cliff, looking up and down the smaller ridge for a convenient way down.

"Excuse me?"

"I'm hot, tired, bruised, and smelling a bit ripe. We can take a break here," he said decisively as he climbed a bit further up the edge of the cliff. Shego's breath caught as his foot slipped on loose rock dangerously near the edge, and then she started up after him.

"Dr. D., we're lost, probably trapped, and there's dinosaurs on this island. I don't really think there's time to be getting caught with your shirt off."

Drakken had fairly tripped his way several more feet up the incline, Shego cringing with his every step, and he had apparently found a place he thought suitable and was beginning a climb down the cliff.

"Stop being such a panic-Nancy."

"That's not the phrase, and—"

"You could always join me, you know. You're not exactly smelling like roses this afternoon either."

Shego's jaw dropped in a gasp, and she watched with wide eyes until Drakken had descended out of sight beneath the cliff face. She was so busy processing the insult and the request and trying to understand which had made her face suddenly flushed beyond the heat of the sun, that she forgot she needed to keep an eye on him. When she finally picked her way to the cliff's edge, Drakken had already reached the bottom where dense shrubbery surrounded the pool. Drakken was peeling off his lab coat.

"Dr. D., you realize that there could be parasites or something in that water."

Drakken's gloves were stuck inside his boots along with his socks, and Shego narrowed her eyes at the button-up shirt he was wearing beneath his lab coat...and was beginning to unbutton.

"We don't even know if this is the right island, Shego. If we have to climb this mountain I'd rather be at least mildly comfortable doing so. And I'm fairly certain I lost some skin in the crash."

Shego was about to protest, but Drakken's shirt had come off very quickly and had been tossed atop the lab coat on a bush and she found her mouth had gone dry. The white tank top beneath his shirt was sweat-soaked and showed the definition of his muscles quite well. She was staring at his broad shoulders and the way sweat seemed to glisten on his biceps, when the telltale sound of a buckle being undone suddenly sent her heart racing.

Shego reached blindly for a tree to hold onto as her breath caught when Drakken stepped out of his pants, folding them carelessly and tossing them on the bush, and then he pulled off the tank top. He even removed his hair-tie and sat that atop the pile. When his thumbs hooked beneath the elastic of his boxers, Shego spun around and gripped the tree trunk with both hands, noticing suddenly how heavy her breathing had become.

"Wait! Sh-Shego, you're not peeking are you?"

Shego rolled her eyes before gritting her teeth. It took him until he was naked to think about that? Was he...trying to get her to look at him or something?

"No I'm not," was what she managed, her mouth still dry.

"Good... Oh, Shego..."

Her heart leapt to her throat at the way he moaned her name and she stepped nearer the tree, as if it could protect her somehow.

"What?" she snapped.

"The water is perfect!"

Shego swallowed anxiously and slowly turned around. Drakken was over waist-deep in the water but she could still see far too much pale blue beneath the ripples than was decent. She drew her gaze upward to his face, but at that moment he ducked his whole body beneath the water and swam toward where the tiny waterfall was splashing down softly, the white foam further disrupting the clarity of the water to Shego's relief.

She watched as Drakken stood beneath the fall, tilting his head back and letting the water run over his face and wetting his hair down into a shiny black curtain over the back of his neck. When he reached his arms high under the stream and stretched, Shego's heart began to pound.

Drakken... Drakken was...startlingly attractive.

As if without permission, Shego's eyes drifted down to where the water rippled and obscured the pale blue beneath the surface. Strong legs held him up, and atop them she saw the healthy curve of his rear and...

She looked away again, swallowing the lump in her throat as her eyes stared without focus at the trees. Yes, he was very attractive.

"Shego? This is very refreshing. Are you sure you won't join me?"

Shego let herself slide down the tree trunk to sit. It gave her less of a view of the pool, but she could still just see Drakken from where she had settled in her frustration. He had taken a few steps out from beneath the falls and was peering up at her.

"No thanks," she said, crossing her arms and legs. It was then that she suddenly noted just how itchy her skin was, the sweat even worse for Drakken's antics, and she grabbed up her tangled hair and piled it atop her head in an attempt at some small relief.

The desire to peel out of her own suit and slip beneath the waters was suddenly very strong as she felt the heat under her collar, the way her suit was sticking to her in places, and the way too many of her muscles and joints were aching from both the crash and the prolonged exertion of the climb. But Drakken's seemingly friendly request had her heart pounding and her head racing in confusion. Was he actually expecting her to strip and swim naked with him? Was it some kind of...awkward proposition or come-on, disguised in an innocence he hoped she wouldn't see through?

She couldn't find an answer that made sense, so she let her eyes fall back to where Drakken was still standing next to the small waterfall, rubbing and scratching at his skin with a small grimace on his face. Shego wondered just how banged up he was from the crash and considered again how amazing it was neither of them had come out with worse injuries. After a few minutes of 'showering,' Drakken stepped fully out from beneath the sparkling fall, the sunlight seeming to accentuate his best features both above and below the water, and then he turned to float on his back. Shego's cheeks reddened and she looked away.

"Ah...Shego?" Suddenly his tone was anxious.

"What?" she said tersely, studying the dirt on her boots.

"I think...uhm. Ah... That is. Were you going to join me?"

"No," she said just as curtly, not daring to look down. "Someone's gotta keep an eye out for prehistoric nightmares."

The hesitation in his voice suggested he might have realized his state of indecency, and that the waters were crystal clear rather than the gray-blue that surrounded their usual lair. It allowed her heart to calm just slightly, knowing he hadn't in fact been propositioning her in any way. Although it didn't erase the images she was trying not to picture, the revelation of just how appealing her boss was from head to toe still at the forefront of her mind.

"I, ah...think I'm done actually, if you...wanted to clean up? A-After I get dressed," Drakken added quickly.

The tiniest of smirks curled Shego's lips upwards, knowing Drakken had figured out just what he'd done and he was hopefully now as embarrassed as her. She could make it worse with a quip thanking him for the show, but before the thought could leave her lips another occurred. If she accepted the admittedly tempting offer to slip into the waters, would Drakken then be perched atop the cliff ogling her?

It seemed unlikely, given his present nervousness, but...he was only a man, right? Would he be tempted to watch her? Or perhaps simply notice by mistake...

Of far, far greater concern was the heat rising in her chest and pooling deep in her core, and in fact...that she was leaning towards going down to the waters to see if he would peek at her. And the sudden, unthinkable desire for him to actually do so...

"Shego?"

She startled, drawing her knees up to her chest and hugging them, letting her hair fall as she stared wide-eyed at Drakken's face suddenly less than ten feet from hers as he had ascended the cliff. He was fully clothed once again, his wet hair pulled back into its usual ponytail.

"What?" she snapped far too harshly, and he recoiled.

"Did you...want to clean up, and I can keep watch?"

Her heart pounded. Her lips parted even as she still mentally tripped over the choice she suddenly found desperately difficult to make, but then...

Another deep rumble, closer than the last, sent birds vacating the trees and this time many of them didn't return, but headed toward the higher ridge. Shego swallowed the lump in her throat and ignored the rising heat in her body as again the sound seemed to shake her to her core.

"I think my turn's gonna have to wait, Doc," she said, pulling herself upright.

Drakken climbed the rest of the way up and over the cliff, and Shego watched him with a wary eye even as she glanced around over the dense trees that were likely hiding unknown horrors.

"So you feel better now, huh? Can't be comfortable to have gotten dressed while wet."

Drakken glanced at her a bit nervously and then after wringing out his hair, resumed the trek ahead of her up the cliff.

"I used my under shirt to dry off. It's better than being itchy," he tossed back over his shoulder as Shego paused to consult the map again.

They still didn't even know if they were on the right island, so she wondered if there was even a point. But the ridge that was hidden beyond the tiny oasis would seem to line up with what they had been told, if the distant sound of a larger waterfall was any indication.

Puzzling over the map and their location helped Shego refocus on their present circumstance, and not the brief show she'd been witness to minutes before. Not to mention Drakken's renewed grumbling as he half-stumbled up the ridge ahead of her. But if she needed a further distraction, it was quick in coming as a few steps later had her nearly crashing into Drakken's back.

"Uh, what's the big—?"

"Hsshh! Shego!" Drakken whispered in a hiss, turning and nearly knocking her down the steep cliff. Their mutual grabbing of each other's arms was her saving grace, and she was about to protest when he suddenly pointed to the top of the cliff which was the source of the thin waterfall. Shego's jaw fell open.

At the top of the cliff was a herd of small creatures, perhaps the size of a retriever dog, but distinctly dinosaur-like in appearance. They looked like sauropod dinosaurs, gray-green and scaly, and they were all moving about the cliff in apparent ease, drinking from the unseen waters above and foraging in the bushes.

Shego swallowed slowly. She was about to make a comment when from somewhere behind the ridge, a massive head rose up into view on an even more massive neck, at least three times the girth of a giraffe's by her estimation. She had no idea where the ground was below the creature, but if the head and neck were any size indication then the thing was over twice the height of a giraffe as well.

"Drakken..." she heard herself choke out, though she wasn't sure why.

"It's...it's a sauroposeidon!" he whispered gleefully. "And her tiny broodlings!"

Shego turned to him with a grimace. "You just made that up."

"I did not!"

A shadow passing overhead caused them to both look up, and the massive silhouette of a pteranodon was clear as it blocked out the sun momentarily, then flying away and down past the cliff that concealed the greater body of the sauropod.

"Okay, I think we're on the wrong island," Shego said, trying to lean out of Drakken's grasp. "Unless DNAmy got here first..." she added in a mutter.

"What?"

Just then, the sauropod raised its head high and it let out a low call. All of the young ones turned and vanished into the bushes and trees, and Shego and Drakken watched as the massive creature seemed to turn before also disappearing beneath the cliff. A foreboding worse than had already been swimming around Shego's mind took over with a pounding in her head and chest.

"Should we be worried about that?"

Before Drakken could answer, the birds in the trees around them all took flight, and they turned just in time to see the massive barrel-shaped head from before with its gaping mouth of teeth moving through the trees on the steep hill they had already traversed. Shego could see more clearly now the gray-brown color of the creature's scaly skin, the life in its amber eyes, and the way it moved with purpose towards them.

"Drakken..."

"Okay, maybe it is a T-Rex," he said through a nervous laugh. "A very, very...very big one."

Not one coherent thought ran through Shego's head except 'run', which was useless as there was absolutely no way they could.

"Run!" Drakken cried, pushing past Shego and moving down the hill and toward the dinosaur.

"What...?"

She didn't have long to wait as Drakken started scrambling down the cliff again and toward the pool. She followed, having no other recourse, and she noted with rising anxiety that the dinosaur was advancing on them with ease.

"It'll probably just get us more easily down here!" she protested as she caught up to him, and together they attempted to push through the dense foliage and move along the perimeter of the pool. Beyond were more trees, and presumably a stream or some other outlet for the waters. Shego knew there must be another cliff just out of sight somewhere, given where the large sauropod had been.

"Well it definitely would have caught us up there!" Drakken retorted.

Shego couldn't argue, and as she glanced behind them to where the sounds of breaking branches and a heavy thudding that were surely the creature's footfalls indicated its continued its pursuit, her eyes widened at how close the animal suddenly seemed.

"Dr. D. it's gaining!" she alerted him, and he paused to glance back with a frown.

Shego moved past him then, escaping some of the thicker shrubbery and wading through a shallow stream that was revealed as the small pool's outlet, her boots sinking into the heavy silt.

"Hey be careful crossing this," Shego cautioned, turning back as she left the less than knee-deep waters.

"I think the Tyrannousaurus is of greater concern, Shego!"

She rolled her eyes and shook her head at him as he stumbled into the waters, still moving forward herself. But then she gasped as suddenly the ground gave way beneath her and yet didn't as her feet and calves were engulfed by a viscous material. Her arms flailed as she fought the momentum trying to send her face to the ground while her feet remained suspended one in front of the other in a run. Managing to stay upright, she looked down at the same time she heard Drakken's strangled cry from behind her.

"Quicksand..." she muttered.

"Don't move!"

Shego twisted her torso to face him.

"You think? Get me out!"

In crossing the stream they had moved beneath some taller trees, which Shego hoped would give a momentary shelter from the pursuing beast. She held stock still, knowing the slightest movement would increase the rate at which she was sinking, and that there was a point coming soon at which there would be no escape.

"How!?" Drakken said, looking around frantically.

The thudding of massive footfalls and the snapping of branches was growing nearer, and Shego felt panic begin to grip her heart as she realized that without movement, she was almost defenseless against the terrible lizard. But would it go for the stationary target, or the moving one?

"Oh, Shego! There's vines!"

Her worried gaze that had come to rest on Drakken lifted to follow where he was pointing upward, well out of reach, to where some vines wound around the trunks and branches of the tall, tropical trees. She grimaced as she realized they were useless, but it was a short-lived thought as at that moment, the dinosaur stepped into view.

Its head was about level with the vines, at least twenty feet off the ground, and its sharp eyes fixed first upon her and then down to the nearer target of Drakken. Shego instinctively tried to move, but that only resulted in her lifted leg sinking further and feeling cemented down. She ignited her hands and fired a massive, glowing blast at the face of the creature.

The dinosaur recoiled, and an unsettling rumble so low in frequency it was scarcely audible shook Shego so violently that she stopped firing and held her hands to her ears, Drakken doing the same even as he stumbled away in attempt to flee the creature. Shego realized the sound had come from the dinosaur, and she grit her teeth and resumed firing, ignoring the painful vibrations in her chest as she sought to defend them against certain death.

To her dismay, the beast only shook its head against the flames and continued forward and in her direction. Her eyes widened at the sight of its gaping maw, every tooth sharp and glistening as it sought to make a meal of her.

"Drakken!" she screamed as she fired blasts into the fearsome animal's open mouth.

It recoiled again against what she hoped was a worse pain, and then out of the corner of her eye she was stunned to see Drakken had also apparently attacked the creature, though merely by slapping and kicking at it repeatedly as he was doing in the glimpse she caught. Whether or not it distracted the beast she didn't know, but the situation took a startling turn as the T-Rex took a foul step and sank deep within the quicksand.

A strangled shout left Shego's throat as the beast's body fell less than ten feet from her in the quagmire, it not being able to maintain balance as she had.

"Drakken!" she screamed again as its head wagged toward her, and she resumed firing to hopefully discourage it.

"Shego, cut these vines!"

Drakken's voice suddenly came from somewhere above, and she blinked in surprise to find he had climbed up onto the tail of the dinosaur after it fell. Drakken was pointing to the vines still out of reach on the higher branches, but before Shego could fully process his request the dinosaur thrashed in attempt to free itself. Drakken was tossed upward by the unexpected action and Shego gasped as he smacked into the trunk of the tree. She fired at the nearest vines to where he'd hit and was surprised again as Drakken had the wherewithal to grab onto not just one, but two of the pieces of loosed vegetation.

One vine slipped from his grasp, but he managed to hold onto the other and get both hands on it as it spun and fell, bringing him down in a spiral toward both Shego and the dinosaur. He cried out incoherently, his eyes wide as he sailed so near the T-Rex's face he could have touched it, but then the length of the vine ran out and he began falling back the way he'd come, still spinning and looking dreadfully out of sorts.

"Shegoooo..." he called helplessly, sounding almost sick. But before Shego could reply Drakken had crashed into the tail of the dinosaur once more and this time he held on.

"What...what are you...?"

Drakken had climbed up on the felled creature's back and was traversing it towards her.

"Tie the vine around you, and...I'll pull you out," he said, stopping his approach near the creature's hips. He was still a good ten feet from Shego, but apparently found it near enough as he hurled the vine toward her. Unfortunately, the dinosaur chose that moment to thrash again, and Shego watched in horror as Drakken was propelled up and back, this time falling hard on the ground beyond her sight somewhere behind the large creature. But she had caught the vine.

"Dr. D.!?" she called even as she began pulling the vine into a make-shift harness, unwilling to reject the one opportunity of escape that had been presented.

As she tied the vine she glanced over to where the horrible beast was likewise trapped, its bright amber eye staring at her with intelligence and menace. Her heart beat faster for the look of threat, and as she finished securing the vine she tore her eyes away from the massive creature and back to the jungle, her gaze darting to and fro searching for blue.

"Dr. D.?"

Silence was the only response. And it was with that uncertainty that for the first time since even before the crash, she felt true fear begin to weave its dark tendrils around her heart.

"Dr. D.!?"

"Hold on!"

Shego craned her neck until she saw Drakken ascending a tree behind the dinosaur. She was confused until she saw that the tree's branches were just as overgrown and entwined with those of the larger wild tree where her vine was anchored. She realized he was trying to reach the vine in attempt to free her, but the other tree would have been impossible to climb.

The dinosaur slowly wagged its head toward Shego, and she noticed that it didn't seem to be sinking any further into the quicksand though its hind legs were completely submerged. She wondered if there was a bottom to the deadly pit she had unwittingly stumbled into, and for the moment hoped not because it might save her from the T-Rex. It had moved its head to within fifteen feet of her, lolling in the quicksand and staring at her with a fierce, calculating glare. She ignited her hands to see if it would see her as a threat, but it only continued to watch her. It reminded her of a wolf sizing up its quarry.

She glanced upward cautiously to where Drakken was crawling along a twisting branch, and she followed the vine with her eyes. It wound around the branch he was on several times, and then seemed to grow from the other. She narrowed her eyes.

"I'll cut it loose," she called up to him, and as soon as he affirmed the decision with his eye contact, she shot a blast up to sever the vine between the two branches. As soon as it fell, end still smoldering, Drakken grabbed it and started unwinding it from the branch while his other arm gripped the limb desperately.

The dinosaur brought its head nearer to Shego, within ten feet, and she leaned away instinctively. Its upper body had sunk somewhat into the quicksand, but perhaps because of the greatness of its surface area it hadn't gone in too deep. The beast appeared to be smiling due to the natural set of its jaw, and Shego grimaced. It would just be her luck, to be gobbled up by a smirking dinosaur.

"Hold onto the vine!" Drakken's voice sounded from above, drawing her focus. She complied, noting how Drakken had wrapped the vine around his waist and one arm. She was concerned he would injure himself, but had no chance to warn him before he suddenly let himself fall from the branch.

The shortened vine caught him quickly where it was still draped over the branch, and she felt the tug as his weight was the force trying to heft her up out of the restrictive quicksand. But it still gripped her legs like a vise despite the slight give she could feel, and the resulting pull of the harness was painful as she took all of Drakken's weight. She glanced at his face which was twisted in pain, his arm clearly being pulled to its limit where he had wrapped the vine around it, and she started trying to move her legs back and forth to create space around the confining substance. At first she only felt herself sink further, but her persistence coupled with attempting to pull herself up on the vine finally resulted in some upward movement.

"It's working!" she called to Drakken, who acknowledged her with a brief look even as he struggled against the restraint he'd put himself in. Shego wondered if his arm wasn't going to end up dislocated, but then she felt an even greater give in the quicksand.

Shego turned her focus almost entirely to escaping, peripherally watching the dinosaur that seemed to be eyeing her now with anger. She wondered if it was intelligent enough to understand that she was going to be free, while it most certainly was going to meet its end. The seemingly growing menace in its eye, mere feet away from her, seemed to imply just that, and it gave her the adrenaline she needed to hasten her escape.

After what felt like forever but was probably just over five minutes, she had fully extracted one leg. The release of the one vise-like grip let Drakken's weight settle even more, and the tug against her other leg was increased and it took even less time to fully free that leg.

She maintained eye contact with the dinosaur as she ascended, Drakken's weight bringing him to the foliage-covered ground where he didn't even bother trying to stand, laying on his back as he tried to extract himself from wrapping of the vine. Shego looked down at her legs, dripping with the thick, wet sand, and despite the sudden trembling of her frame she began pumping her legs powerfully.

As soon as she had enough momentum and before Drakken could unwittingly drop her back into the quicksand, she leapt from the vine and landed next to him, mere feet from the tail of the T-Rex.

Drakken peered up at her, seeming to assess her, while she did the same to him. His arm didn't look dislocated, and he was looking at her in a mxiture of pain and confusion.

"You have quicksand in your hair," was what he finally said as he lay panting on the ground.

Shego rolled her eyes, ignoring her own heaving chest and shaking limbs as she reached down to give him a hand up.

"We should get out of here."

"I don't think it can get out... Shego..." He had let go of her hand after standing, and she turned back to see him staring at the dinosaur in childlike awe. "It's a Tyrannosaurus rex."

"Yeah, and it has no interest in small talk. Let's go."

Drakken acquiesced with only a small frown of dismay, this time following when she grabbed onto his wrist. As they moved with utmost care around the massive wash of quicksand, the dinosaur opened its jaw mere inches and another bone-shaking rumble caused them to stop and cover their ears, the low-frequency vibrations causing even Shego's hair to hurt.

When the sound stopped, Shego grabbed Drakken's wrist again and hastened their departure. As they left the dangerous mire behind and approached what appeared to be a break in the trees for the sun shining through, she paused to look back at the beast one more time. She felt unease as it made eye contact with her again, and she suddenly realized why: it wasn't behaving like a trapped animal. It seemed wholly calm, and was clearly intelligent enough to know it was trapped.

Shego swallowed nervously and decided to put the creature out of her mind as they turned to leave the denser part of the jungle behind. As they approached the sunlight the sound of water grew louder, and it wasn't long before they saw why.

"Whoa..." Shego said as they exited the trees and came upon another cliff, this one sheer and dropping away to another lower plateau. It was there that a massive waterfall poured down over yet another far larger cliff, which gave way to a valley beyond. The tributary that the falls were flowing from ran along the plateau, and as Shego followed its shimmering line further she could see the large sauropod in the distance, having made its wise escape. The plateau extended far, and the fast-flowing waters curved around the other side of the mountain they had been previously ascending. She wondered briefly if there was a spring at the top, or if it was simply snow melt that fed the various falls.

Suddenly her senses were assaulted by the familiar rumble which was the T-Rex's bizarre and unnerving vocalization. She stumbled from the pain it caused, sending vibrations through every fiber of her being, but then she gasped in fear as Drakken's own pained stumbling brought him to the edge of the cliff.

"Drakken!" she shouted, lunging for him in time to grab his shoulders, but not too late to prevent them from both going over the edge. They half-fell, half-slid down the cliff face, knees and elbows bumping painfully against the jagged rock while Shego tried to keep one hand on Drakken and grab for anything to slow their fall with the other. He was apparently doing the same, as suddenly their fall was broken by an impact against thin tree branches, which they then tumbled through until Shego managed to get a strong grip on one of them. Drakken slipped out of her grasp, but she was relieved to see him get his hands on another branch moments later.

They made eye contact through the falling leaves, again assessing one another, and when Shego released the breath she was holding Drakken let out a small whimper. She expected him to complain afterward, but he merely gritted his teeth against obvious pain and turned to start descending the tree.

"You all right?" Shego heard herself say as she moved to follow suit.

"Never better," was Drakken's sarcastic yet flat reply. Shego's only response was to grimace until they were on the ground again, and she looked around to be sure this time it was solid. There was no sign of quicksand, and the plateau was far more open than the higher part of the mountain had been, the trees more sparse and the foliage less dense.

Shego discovered she was still trembling as she started toward the fast-flowing waters of the broad tributary, intending to clean off the quicksand that was somehow spreading from her legs over the rest of her. Drakken was clutching his left arm as she passed him, and he followed quickly.

"Are you okay? Shego?"

"If this is the right island, Hench had better give us our money back," was her reply.

They reached the silty bank and Shego paused, second-guessing the decision as she wondered if the slick ground was going to prove to be another death trap.

"Shego?"

"I'm all right..." she muttered absently, wondering again what they were going to do. The map had most definitely been lost during the last misadventure, before she'd even stumbled into the quicksand.

"Shego!"

She looked down as Drakken's hand was suddenly on her arm, and then she was yanked forward along the bank of the stream. She had no need to protest as looking up she saw his cause for alarm. Less than ten yards away, one of the winged creatures—a pteranodon, if she remembered right—was standing beneath a tree and had begun walking toward them, the claws at the apex of its wings suddenly turning the creature into a quadruped. Standing, the creature was taller than they were. As she was processing this, another movement at the corner of her eye attracted her attention, and what had seemed merely like gray-green rocks suddenly became living forms that she soon recognized as more of the winged creatures.

Drakken stopped running and she nearly crashed into him. Peering over his shoulder she saw he had stopped about ten feet from the edge of the next cliff, next to the massive waterfall. He looked nervously between the waters, the drop off into nothingness, and the advancing pterosaurs. Shego stepped up to the edge and looked down. This was the waterfall she had been hearing, over thirty yards in width and falling what appeared to be nearly two-hundred feet to a broad, sparkling river in the valley below.

Shego looked back up to where the creatures were still advancing.

"I don't suppose there's any chance these ones aren't carnivorous?" she asked.

Drakken took a step back toward the cliff, shaking his head as he frowned in worry. One of the animals spread its wings then, their extended length reaching nearly twenty feet.

"Nrrgh!" Shego groaned in pain, her face twisting as she yanked at her hair in frustration. She noted then the quicksand that Drakken had mentioned earlier, tangling the ends of her dark tresses. She would worry about that if they survived. She turned and grabbed Drakken's face and forced him to look at her.

"What? Shego—"

"Don't flail too much because you need to stay upright. Right before you hit, straighten your legs and press your feet together, point your toes, and press your arms down to your front."

"What? I don't underst— Shegooooo!"

Fearing there was no time to lose, she had simply picked him up as she ran the last few feet and leapt off of the cliff, letting go as soon as they were in free-fall. It had been the right decision, as seconds later a pteranodon passed over their heads, its talons closing on air as it sailed past.

"Don't forget!" Shego called, catching his fearful gaze just before he accelerated past her.

She grimaced and grabbed hold of her hair as it whipped around her, keeping to herself that they would hit the water below at over one hundred miles per hour and that her instructions on how to fall could mean life or excruciatingly painful death. But there was no more time even if she wanted to, as the water was approaching faster than she could process. She pressed her feet together hard as she held her hair in front of her with her arms down, holding her breath at the last second.

Just as being trapped by the quicksand had been like being stuck in cement, entering the water felt like slamming into concrete, and for a moment she almost forgot to hold her breath as pain arrested her every sense. But as time seemed to slow she gradually felt the encompassing wetness, her hair floating away from her body as she had somehow let go of it. As her momentum decreased and she became aware that her limbs, though feeling like jello, were still attached to her, she remembered to move them and started pushing against the water that seemed determined to pull her downward. Then she opened her eyes and started looking for Drakken.

Turning all around she finally saw a dark blue shape amid the lighter blue waters, descending rather than ascending. She mentally cursed as she pushed her pained body toward him, hooking her arms under his without taking too close a look at him as she kicked her aching legs to bring them to the surface. If he was dead, or terribly injured...she couldn't bear to see it.

When finally air hit her face, she gulped in a breath even as Drakken's head lolled onto her shoulder. The spray from the waterfall kept her face from drying and she feared her voice would be lost in its roar, but still she filled her lungs again and fairly shouted.

"Drakken!?"

His closed eyes pinched more tightly shut before sliding open to peer deliriously into hers.

"Shego?"

That was all the response she had time for as her strength was giving out. She turned to look all around them, but the riverbank was at least fifty feet distant or more on both sides. She nearly felt like crying at the effort it would take to swim them both to shore, but then Drakken's hand lifted slightly out of the water and pointed.

"There," he said through a cough, and she looked to where behind the waterfall there was a clear space along with rocks and foliage, and the hint perhaps of a cave. It was far closer than the banks, and so gritting her teeth she held onto Drakken with one arm and began to swim.

After several strokes which brought them nearly to the crash of the falls, she felt resistance and was surprised to find Drakken pulling away from her, beginning to swim on his own power. She watched as he pushed his hair out of his eyes and appeared to be in great pain as he swam with purpose toward the mossy rocks behind the falls. She wasted no time in matching his stroke, and before long they were climbing up to safety side by side, the thick moss providing easy handholds for her shaky grip, and then gratefully she found herself on an almost flat surface.

Having slid her body up to be face down, she leaned up on her elbows to watch as Drakken did the same. They made eye contact in that same way they had been for the last several minutes of chaos, assessing one another, searching for the assurance from the other that everything was okay. Receiving it again, despite all odds, Shego let her strength give way as she fairly dropped her cheek down upon the thick, soft moss that covered the rock. Drakken did the same, holding her gaze even as they both blinked in exhaustion from the ordeal of the fall.

"Shego..." Drakken said quietly.

"Mmh," she fairly grunted in reply.

"If this is in fact...the right island... How should we kill Hench?"

A laugh that sounded more like a cough left her lips in reply, and despite the desperate urge to simply close her eyes and sleep, she lifted her head again to peer around at their surroundings. The mossy rocks gave way to the familiar, lush foliage and the darker rocks of the cliff, eroded away after years of being beaten upon by the waterfall. There was a tall, narrow crevice that could be a cave or merely a trick of the eye. And as she turned to look on either side of the falls, she saw that on one side the cliff rapidly grew steep and more jagged, and was completely impassible. On the other side however, it looked as though they may be able to walk their way out to the opposite bank rather than swim, if they were careful.

A light misty spray from the falls was still hitting them, and Shego slowly rolled to her back and was amazed at the sight that met her eyes. The sun was shining directly on the falls, the thicker parts looking gray but the rest a brilliant white as the cascading water droplets reflected the light. She let herself lay down fully, the pain from impacting the water finally settling in as the shock diminished, and she might have slipped into an exhausted sleep right then if not for a slight tugging she felt at her scalp.

"You still have quicksand in your hair," Drakken said quietly, his gloved fingers pulling at the ends of one thick tress and dirtying with the remnants of the sand and scraping up bits of the giant moss in the process.

Shego withheld a groan as she painfully pushed herself upright. Astonishingly, she didn't think she had any injuries that were easily detectable. No broken bones, at least.

"Are you all right?" she asked Drakken as he continued to be distracted by her hair.

He blinked at her and slowly sat up, grimacing in pain as he did so.

"Something's wrong with my arm," he said, and she noted he all but let the left one lie limp—the one he'd wrapped the vine around.

"Can you move it?" she asked.

He cautiously lifted it and began testing its limits, each movement accompanied by a fresh wince of pain.

"You might have torn something," Shego continued, shifting closer and taking his hand, starting to feel his joints for anything that might be out of place. She entirely missed the startled look on his face while she did so, and for a minute as she felt up his arm, searching for torn muscles or ligaments and anything that might give more pain and an indication of how badly he was hurt, she was unaware of his other hand still trying to clean the quicksand from her hair.

When her hands reached his shoulder he let out a hiss of pain, narrowing his eyes at her for a moment before the look suddenly softened. She was surprised by this, and as he held her gaze she suddenly found her cheeks flushing, though why she did not know. She pushed on his shoulder again to distract him from it, and a distinctive 'ow' left his lips.

"Yes, that's where it's the worst!" he affirmed, leaning back from her slightly.

"You might have torn something, but it's not bad," Shego said. "It would be best to immobilize this arm."

"And just where are we going to find an ACE bandage out here, Shego?"

She rolled her eyes and shifted away, sliding her shaking legs back into the water.

"Same way we got a harness and pulley?" she said.

Drakken half-frowned as he watched her dip her hair into the water and run her fingers through it, removing as much sand as possible. But after a glance around them showed no vines or other suitable binding material nearby, she simply climbed back on the rock and returned to his side. Her legs still felt like rubber beneath her and her body ached, and she wondered how Drakken was managing to sit upright enduring at least the same pain as she was, if not more.

When she was next to him again the fatigue suddenly hit her like a weight, and she looked from beneath heavy eyelids to where he cradled his arm, his wet hair plastered down to his forehead as he looked at his limb worriedly. She was surprised as the emotion was suddenly transferred to her, his brow rising as he looked at her in concern. This time when her face flushed she didn't look away, but merely marveled at how well Drakken had endured everything they had been through. She was frankly surprised that she had survived, let alone her boss.

"Are you cold?" Drakken asked.

Shego realized she was hugging herself and shaking, her muscles tensed. It was probably a combination of shock from all that had occurred, but she was indeed cold.

She nodded to the affirmative as Drakken let out a huge yawn, his teeth chattering when his jaw closed again. The look he gave her then caused her heart to beat harder, though it wasn't any different that she could tell from his prior worry and assessment. But before she could analyze it further he was unbuttoning his sodden lab coat.

"What are you doing?"

Drakken paused. "Did you...want to keep moving?" he asked, appearing a bit dismayed at the prospect.

Shego's brow rose, and knowing that he must be at least as pained and exhausted as she was, it was clear then that a rest was apparently in order. Especially since all danger seemed to have passed. At least for the present.

"Not yet," she said, shaking her head. "Let's...break here for awhile."

She lay down on the moss and watched as Drakken got out of the lab coat, unbuttoning a few buttons of his shirt beneath as well. There was no sign of the tank top he'd worn before, and she wondered if it had been left behind at the pool or was simply shoved into a coat pocket.

As her eyes lingered on his sculpted collarbone and his broad, muscled shoulders revealed through the wet shirt, she almost missed him spreading the coat out over his legs like a blanket, wet though it was. She was surprised then when he moved to spread it over her too.

Her first thought was actually how much warmth the coat suddenly brought, despite being wet. The second was a further flushing of her face and pounding of her heart, which she knew had been encouraged by Drakken's physique being put on display again. But it was hidden again as he settled down on his back on the moss and closed his eyes, pulling the coat up to their shoulders and then holding his injured arm across his chest.

Shego watched him for a moment, but then as rational thought caught up to the emotions that had seemed to rule over her since the hover-car crash, she realized that he was probably just as concerned for her as she was for him. The insecure part of her wanted to cast off his kindness and say she could take care of herself. But the more mature part was eager to accept the small offer of comfort and safety; it was all they had at the moment, after all.

She moved nearer to Drakken on the moss until she was almost touching him, and she caught his suddenly nervous gaze just before she let her eyes slip closed. It would serve him right to be a little uncomfortable, after the show he'd given her earlier...

With her mind racing with images of every moment between the crash and the present, and with her body feeling so heavy that it might simply dissolve, she fell fast asleep.

---------------------

Shego nimbly undid Drakken's shirt buttons with one hand while her other pushed his collar aside. She bent forward to place a soft kiss on his shoulder as her fingers continued to explore his physique. A thrill ran through her as his hands slid into her hair at the back of her head, his fingertips running gently under her jaw to draw her face up toward his. She looked at his lips, smiling softly, and as she leaned forward to meet his kiss her gaze lifted to his eyes, warm, and full of love...

---------------------

Shego woke up. Her racing heart was the first thing she was aware of, and the roar of the waterfall second. Next she realized that somehow, she had moved nearer to Drakken in sleep and was pressed up against his side.

A flash of imagery from her dream caused her to hesitate, but only for a moment before she backed away. Drakken was still sleeping, unmoved from when she had closed her eyes before. She wondered how long she had been out, suspecting only a brief period because her hair and suit were still very damp. Of course, the lab coat retaining heat and thus moisture could have something to do with that.

As images from her dream came back to her again, she stared at Drakken's still face. She thought back to when he had decided to bathe in the pool, unaware of her watching him. That had to be the reason for the dream... Nothing else. She had no other feelings for him, besides...

She blinked at herself as she watched him sleep, wondering at herself. What were her feelings exactly? Protectiveness... She wanted to keep him safe. It was her job, after all. And she supposed there was a sort of caring and friendly regard that had developed over the years. But nothing deeper. Nothing like the lust she'd felt in the dream, or like...that look in his eyes.

She rolled over to face away from Drakken, her face twisting in worry. He didn't...have feelings for her, did he? He couldn't...

And yet despite all the uncertainty and fear the idea brought her, she couldn't deny the warmth trying to seep into her heart at the idea. A sudden, sharp inhale from behind her alerted her to Drakken's waking, and she felt a fluttering in her chest and stomach. She groaned internally before rolling back over to face him again.

He was blinking in confusion, and when she took a deep breath his eyes flashed to hers in fear.

"Dr. D.?" she asked quietly.

His expression calmed and his cheeks colored—from embarrassment, she was sure, nothing more—and then he moved his hand over his injured arm.

"Shego... If this island really is some sort of lost world...we could make a fortune—"

"Whoa, hold it right there Chief," she said, pressing a finger to his lips to silence him. "We are not selling, cloning, mutating, mind-controlling, nothing with these dinosaurs."

"But Shego—"

"Nope. Has the...what, hour and a half at most that we've been here taught you nothing?"

Drakken's face fell. "Fine..." he said, more disappointed than angry. It surprised Shego, especially as she'd been hoping for a tantrum to try to bring more normalcy back to her thoughts.

She was saved then by a gurgle from Drakken's stomach, and she carefully pushed herself upright, every joint and muscle protesting the action.

"You hungry?"

Drakken likewise started to sit up, slower than she had and grimacing with the movement.

"Like there's a Chez Couteaux around here..." he muttered.

Shego rolled her eyes. "We can catch some fish from the river," she said, gesturing broadly.

"Oh."

"After we find some place with more sun so we can dry off," she continued, slowing standing to her feet.

Drakken winced doing the same, and Shego noted how he still held his left arm to his chest as he fumbled with his coat.

"Wait... What about using your belt as a sling?" she suggested.

Drakken blinked back into focus as he peered at her curious.

"My belt?"

"Yeah. Here, I'll do it," she said, reaching for the black belt of his lab coat and pulling it out from the loops. She buckled it and then reached up to put it around his neck. She couldn't help but blush from the closeness, and when she glanced at his face it had colored too. She frowned and looked down to his wrist, carefully looping the belt around it several times until it was elevated and held close to his chest. She then draped his coat over his shoulders so he wouldn't have to fight with it, fastening the collar so he could wear it like a cape, though he slipped his right arm into the sleeve regardless.

Drakken cleared his throat. "Ah... Thank you."

"Just be careful," she said, regretting how harshly the words came out. He hadn't actually done anything... It was her own mind to blame if she was having any confusing thoughts. "Let's look for a place we can start a fire and get dried off."

Drakken nodded his agreement, and Shego took the lead as they picked their way over more moss-covered rocks and others that were simply slick from the surrounding mist. The sun still shone brightly, and it helped in their carefully moving out from behind the thundering fall and back into familiar, lush foliage, birdsong eventually reaching her ears as they moved further and further from the waters.

It occurred to her then that there was no guarantee of safety down in the valley. In fact there would probably be more creatures near the water in the more forgiving terrain. But thus far there were no signs of dangerous animals, and she decided to relax while she had the chance. There was no telling how long the peace would last.

Several minutes later found them in a slightly more arid part of the forest, the shrubbery less dense and the air not so damp. There was no sign of anything she could use as kindling, but she could always cook a fish on a rock if it came to that. She paused and squeezed down the length of her hair, but only a few drops fell from the ends as the sun was doing a good job of drying it.

"All right..." she said, sighing lightly. "Dr. D. if you wanna wait here and maybe look for something to start a fire, I can go— ...What is that?"

Drakken was several paces behind her and trying to hide something under his coat. But with the one arm immobilized he wasn't very successful, and she could see what he held was white and about the size and shape of a melon. He smiled nervously as she narrowed her eyes at him.

"Ah...lunch?"

Shego realized the object in his hands was in fact...a massive egg. Which could only mean one thing... She rubbed her temples as the ache in her head grew.

"Where did you get it? Wh-When did you get it?" she fairly stuttered, in awe of the man's ability to not only get into trouble but also to find a loophole in the litany she'd given him earlier.

"Over there by that boulder," Drakken said, nodding back to a massive, gray-lavender rock partly concealed by the shrubs.

At that moment, the boulder seemed to rise several inches and then sink down again, the process taking several seconds. Shego and Drakken had both frozen upon seeing the action, and then Shego tiptoed next to Drakken who was chewing his lip nervously.

"That's...not a boulder, eh-heh...is it..." Drakken muttered.

"No, it's a big mama dinosaur!" Shego hissed. "Put...the egg...back!"

Drakken favored her with sad, pleading eyes, but she only frowned at him in response. He grimaced and started tiptoeing toward the new potential threat. The creature let out what could only be a snore, and Shego held her breath as Drakken crept nearer.

Suddenly, the 'boulder' rose again, and Drakken scurried quickly back to Shego's side where together they slowly began backing away. The dinosaur took shape and Shego recognized it as a triceratops, at least ten feet tall and twice as long.

She expected the beast with its impressive frill and threatening horns to turn on them, but it only gave them a momentary glance before trotting away at a brisk pace.

Shego felt tension drain from her frame as she relaxed and Drakken did the same next to her, both heaving sighs of relief.

"You would steal from the one dinosaur on this island that isn't carnivorous... Still gotta put the egg back."

"But...but Shego—"

"Nope, I know you don't actually want to eat it. And an angry mama dinosaur is the last thing we need right now."

Drakken looked like a hurt child as he started toward where the triceratops had rested. But at that moment, a familiar bone-shaking rumble sounded through the valley. Shego held her ears as Drakken cried out in pain, clutching tightly to the large egg.

"You've got to be kidding me!" Shego shouted. When the sound stopped and the pain diminished, she ran forward and yanked on Drakken's shoulder, nearly causing him to trip as she started running after the triceratops.

"Shego, why are we...? Oh, yes, good plan!" he said, smiling in approval as they ran through the thinning forest.

"Makes sense to follow the natives. That...long-necked one knew how to escape, maybe this one will too!" she said, voicing the thought that Drakken had already figured out.

They moved through the thinning trees until the valley opened up into a vast grassy field. They stopped short at not only the sight of the triceratops, but also more sauropods and other dinosaurs of varying species and sizes, some in herds, others alone or in small groups.

Shego and Drakken turned to look at each other simultaneously.

"Wrong island?"

"Kill Hench anyway?"

They nodded to each other just before another low rumble caused them to cringe, and they continued forward into the field having nowhere else to go. Shego hoped the T-Rex would have more of an appetite for familiar saurian prey than new.

They had passed the triceratops and noted other smaller dinosaurs fleeing, some heading away into the trees and others looking to shelter with the larger specimens. Shego paused as she realized, there was no shelter in the field, and she doubted a dinosaur would recognize them as friend.

A sound between a snort and a roar caused her to turn around, and she gasped in shock as a T-Rex burst through the treeline out into the field. Whether it was the one that had threatened them before or not, she didn't know, but it was running faster than she and Drakken were and if it chose them as its target, there would be no escape.

To her surprise, the triceratops then turned around to face the advancing predator, sounding its annoyed snort again in challenge.

"Doc, look!" she called, and he stopped running and turned in confusion, his brow rising as he saw what appeared to be about to happen.

Shego watched as Drakken's face morphed from fear to shock and then unbridled joy. Her own brow furrowed in confusion until she realized...the scene unfolding was probably a childhood dream come true. Two prehistoric creatures, inexplicably living, and about to engage in epic combat.

"Is this all just a dream...?" she mused to herself as she turned back, just in time to see the T-Rex commence its attack.

The beast opened its mighty jaws and lunged down toward the triceratops's neck. The slightly smaller dinosaur turned, its frill and one horn meeting the attack and sending the T-Rex recoiling in pain. The triceratops advanced then, thrusting forward with its long horns. The larger bipedal dinosaur stepped aside with shocking agility and went again for the neck of the shorter one.

Shego was just as transfixed by the scene as Drakken, but as a dinosaur that looked like an oversized ostrich suddenly ran in front of them, she realized they were missing their opportunity for escape.

"Dr. D., I hate to interrupt this childhood fantasy, but we really need to go."

He made a sound of protest as he looked at her in dismay, still clutching the massive egg to his chest.

"Look, I know this is a unique situation, but we're really exposed out here."

She watched as Drakken's expression became torn between the wisdom of what she had said, and watching what was surely a once in a lifetime display.

"Nyeh... Nnh, nragh!" he cried out, his face twisting in frustration, and Shego breathed a small sigh of relief at his acquiescence.

They glanced around together and then made a broad circle around the battling dinosaurs, heading back toward the treeline and the high cliffs beyond. Everywhere else around them was too distant, and too uncovered. And besides...there was far more prey for the T-Rex in the field.

When they reached the treeline, panting for breath, they paused to watch the fight once more. The triceratops still seemed to be an equal match to the predator, thrusting its horns toward the T-Rex's belly as the larger creature continued to try to gain a fatal bite.

"I wish we'd brought the camera," Drakken grumbled.

"These probably aren't the last dinosaurs we're going to see today. Come on."

They pushed back into the foliage, leaving the valley with its herds and the fierce battle of the legendary beasts behind them.

The next several minutes were a silent journey, following the sound of water again until it led them right back to where they'd left, albeit from a different angle. They found the side of the foliage-covered cliff, beautiful and entirely impassible, and then moved along its rocky base back around to the waterfall which had proven their one place of respite. Shego was considering the cave-like crevice they had seen, wondering if it too would hold terrors or if it would be one place on the island devoid of prehistoric creatures come to life.

Drakken either guessed her thoughts or trusted her without question, because he didn't say a word when they arrived back at the river and she began leading them back across slippery and precarious moss-covered rocks. Her hair hadn't fully dried yet, but she tried to keep them nearer the cliff wall to avoid the spray and the mist, sure that Drakken in his damp layers was far more uncomfortable than she was.

When they arrived back at the flatter place where they had had a brief nap, Shego paused to look at the waterfall. The sun was still shining through them, the waters cascading down like waves of liquid lace, taking form and then vanishing, the sequence restarting and never ending as the waters emerged from the top and joined the river at the bottom.

She grimaced, the sight suddenly unsettling in that it wasn't something tangible she could exert any will over, just like waves across the ocean.

"Shego?"

She startled slightly hearing Drakken's voice right at her ear, and she turned to see him still holding the melon-sized egg, and then looked up to his concerned face. He backed off slightly when she raised her brow in question.

"Ah...were you...thinking we should try the cave?"

"Yeah," she said, hurrying to move past him and climb higher up the rocks to where the crevice began.

Was she just imagining that Drakken seemed softer and more attentive toward her, or was that a result of all they had been through on the island? Or was he perhaps always that way, and she was only just noticing it now?

The thoughts sent her heart racing again, and she put them aside as she hefted herself up the final rock and onto the ledge where the crevice began. She turned, realizing Drakken would need help, and reached down to take the egg. He looked reluctant before handing it off to her.

"Don't break it!" he cautioned fearfully.

"Not yet. You said we could eat it, well...we're going to."

Drakken looked dismayed as he used his one arm to raise himself up, Shego tugging at his coat with one hand to provide some aid, and she shook her head at his expression.

"No taking dinosaur eggs home to experiment on, either. If we're not eating this thing, then stop carrying it around."

"Ngh... Fine," Drakken said sadly, again surprising Shego with his lack of fire and protest.

Her brow furrowed as she handed the egg back to him and then turned to examine the crevice. It ran at least fifty feet up the side of the cliff beneath the fall, narrowing at the top, and was scarcely six feet wide at the bottom. But Shego could see now, it ran deep under the mountain and there was light coming in from somewhere else, which meant it at least had a 'window' if not another outlet.

"Let's go," she said, striding forward confidently.

Drakken followed close behind, the damp rock beneath their feet soon becoming dry, and no less than twenty paces in did the path broaden and two paths diverged. One grew more wide and seemed to get darker the further it went. The other seemed to be the source of the other light and was narrower. Shego looked over her shoulder at Drakken, who was glancing between the two paths.

"I...would prefer light right now, if...that's an option," he said.

Shego silently agreed and turned to go down the narrower path where light still shone on the ground. The ceiling above grew lower and soon the path was a mere crack, and Shego paused wondering if it was worth continuing and if it would open up at all. But distantly...she could still see light. Drakken made no objection when she turned sideways to continue squeezing through the narrowing passage, and she noted Drakken struggling to keep the large egg from bumping on the walls as he did the same.

"Oh... Whoa," Shego finally said as their efforts were rewarded and the tiny passage suddenly opened into a vast cavern. But it wasn't the space, but the cavern's contents that caught her attention.

"Amethyst?" Drakken said as he stumbled out to stand next to her, the both of them gaping at their surroundings.

A hole in the ceiling was providing the light, and the walls of the cave were entirely covered in sparkling crystal formations. Even parts of the floor were adorned with the majestic-looking stones, and Shego wondered if it was safe to walk on. She had never seen anything like it, and glancing at Drakken's face she was sure he hadn't either.

"Well..." she finally said, swallowing dryly. She took a few steps forward and then sat down on some of the normal stone in the cave. "Want to crack that baby open?"

Drakken blinked back into focus and sat down, his expression morphing into a pout. He leaned forward awkwardly to set the egg down, his left arm still restricted slightly due to its partial-immobilization, and the large egg bobbed slightly on the stone ground before coming to rest between them. Shego lit her hands as she stared at it.

"I guess roasted in the shell would be easiest?"

Drakken grumbled something incoherent, twisting uncomfortably on the ground until he finally reached up to unfasten his collar and then shake the coat off of his right arm. Shego noted that his shirt and pants were still quite damp, and she wondered if since there was an outlet in the ceiling, an actual fire wouldn't be useful.

"I could go grab some firewood?" she suggested. Drakken looked confused, so she continued. "You could dry off a bit more."

"Nngh...all right," he agreed, and Shego rose again, taking a moment to look around at the sparkling purple of the cave before making her way back out through the narrow passageway.

She glanced back to see Drakken gather up the egg into his lap, and she shook her head. She could understand his feelings about the situation... Granted, harnessing dinosaurs for evil would be pretty impressive. But knowing Drakken, ultimately he would likely get bored with the endeavor and simply want one as a pet.

As she moved back out of the passageway and toward the waterfall, she considered the prospect. Where would they even keep a pet dinosaur? And the egg Drakken had taken, from the triceratops... If the size of the mother was any indication there was most definitely no room for a full-grown specimen at the Caribbean. Not to mention, it probably needed food sources that could only be found on that island.

No, a pet dinosaur was simply impossible. Unless...

Shego let the roar of the waterfall mix with her thoughts, the sensation somehow calming as she considered their entrapment. If Jack Hench had really sold them a lair on a lost world, there were a lot of questions to be answered. How had he managed to build it? Why hadn't he mentioned the dinosaurs? If they were truly on the right island, as the map had seemed to indicate, was all of it nothing more than...a plot by Hench to get rid of them? They had ripped him off plenty of times over the years, one time even destroying his entire inventory via accidental explosion when they stole a neutronic laser.

Shego had gathered a number of branches in her arms as she mused over the possibilities, but nearly all were still green. Not that she couldn't ignite them, but Drakken would certainly find the heat uncomfortable. The thought struck her then, that if it was too hot he might take off his shirt.

Her face flushed and she almost stumbled over a mossy rock at the idea. She really, really needed to get those thoughts out of her mind. And yet, the image of a broad blue chest and muscled arms was suddenly filling her vision.

She groaned at herself and shook her head in attempt to banish the thought. So her boss had an attractive figure, so what? That fact wasn't about to change anything between them, and she certainly didn't want it to, so it was best to forget all she'd seen before.

She awkwardly shoved her way back through the passageway, the branches and twigs in her arms making the task more difficult, but finally she managed to push through and returned to the sparkling purple cavern. She was surprised upon entering to find the dinosaur egg sitting alone atop Drakken's open lab coat, the man himself standing next to one of the walls and apparently just staring.

"It's gonna get hot in here," Shego said by way of greeting.

Drakken jumped and whirled around, and a tiny smirk curled at the corners of Shego's mouth. Even with all the noise she'd made in returning, she had still been able to startle him. It was a welcome familiarity, and she focused on that to be rid of her other thoughts as she began arranging the branches and sticks into a pile.

"Oh. Ah...Shego, would you...like a crystal?"

Shego looked up to where Drakken was still standing next to the wall, and holding his right hand behind his back.

"I'm guessing you already got one somehow?"

Drakken then revealed a tiny laser cutter in his left hand, and Shego rolled her eyes as her smirk grew. He stepped back over and sat down carefully, next to her rather than across from what would be the fire, and then he opened his right hand to reveal a beautiful, sparkling amethyst.

Shego felt her face grow inexplicably warm again, and she plucked the golf-ball sized crystal from his palm and pretended to study it in hopes he wouldn't notice the pink in her cheeks.

"This is another volcanic island," he commented as he pocketed the laser cutter and shifted to be more comfortable.

Shego grimaced. "I think we are in the right place... But I'm thinking Hench just sent us here to get rid of us."

Drakken glowered. "Should leave him stranded here..."

Shego leaned back, grinning pleasantly at the idea. "Sounds like a plan. All right, how about lunch?"

Drakken's face fell, but he leaned over and rolled the egg toward him from where he'd left it on his coat.

"So...just set it in the sticks and we can roast it, I guess," Shego commented.

Drakken moved to do just that, but then he gasped and held the egg out in front of him, almost dropping it before he managed to set it on the ground where it rolled until hitting the sticks.

"What?" Shego asked.

"It moved!"

Her brow furrowed. "Eggs don't... Oh...oh no."

A small cracking sound was heard, and Shego stared in horror while Drakken gasped in glee as a small hole appeared in the egg, something gray starting to poke through. Drakken reached down and began trying to pry away pieces of the shell.

"Ungh... Dr. D., you know it probably needs to do that itself to...build strength or something, I dunno..."

Drakken gasped again as he pulled his hand away.

"You're right! Ohh I wonder how long it will take!"

Shego grimaced as she idly looked at the large amethyst still sitting on her palm.

"Look, Dr. D.... I already thought about this. We can't have a pet triceratops. Or any kind of pet dinosaur. It wouldn't fit back at the lair, and it probably needs some food that can only be found on this island."

Drakken turned to her with expectant eyes. "But if we find the lair that Hench sold us here..."

"I don't think there is a lair. And if there was, there's no way we're living on an island filled with dinosaurs."

"But...but Shego—"

"No buts. It's not happening."

Drakken's frame diminished as he sighed, and he turned to watch the egg thoughtfully as he began scratching at his shoulder. Shego considered the pangs in her stomach and considered that they would still need food, especially since it looked as though they would be there for awhile.

"I can still catch us some fish. Want me to start the fire now?"

Drakken considered and then nodded, picking up the egg and moving it several feet away, near part of the amethyst-adorned ground. He then scooted back himself as Shego shot a continuous blast at the stick pile, the heat rising instantly in the cave as it took quite a bit to ignite the green wood.

Shego stood once she was sure the sticks were ablaze and shook her hair out, eager to finish drying off herself. Drakken's scratching had reminded her of her own discomfort, and she wondered if it would be out of place to take a purposeful dip in the river and let her suit dry next to the fire.

She opened her mouth to suggest the idea and ask if she could borrow Drakken's coat for modesty, when her words caught in her throat at the sight of him peeling out of his shirt. But he got stuck due to the belt wrapped around his wrist.

"Ah, Shego could you help me with this?"

Her heart was pounding.

"Help yourself," she answered, a slight edge to her voice. As her eyes lingered on his bare shoulder while he carefully extracted his left arm from the makeshift sling, she thought again about wanting to clean up further... And then her mind recalled the image of Drakken under the waterfall, this time adding herself to the picture.

She closed her eyes and shook her head, the heat she was feeling having nothing to do with the fire she had built. She sat down again, this time on the opposite side of the fire from Drakken.

The flicker of the flames was creating a fascinating effect on the rich purple crystals of the cave, making them shimmer like waves, some slow and others quick and fleeting, matching the chaos of the tiny blaze. It was distractingly beautiful, and she forced herself to focus on that as it became clear to her that her imagination couldn't be trusted for even a second.

"Shego! It's hatching!"

She looked down to where an impressive amount of progress had been made, and she could see a broad curved beak and scales within the much larger hole in the egg. Its sides were also cracking as the creature seemingly pushed against its entrapment, and she let herself slip into the distraction of watching the process, the sounds of the fire and the shimmering surroundings of the cave becoming a mere backdrop to the magic occurring in front of her.

It could have been minutes or even half an hour, but Shego didn't care as long as it provided distraction. Drakken had all but laid down as he stared at the egg, a broad grin on his face as he occasionally muttered encouragements to the creature within. And then finally, the shell gave way to reveal the baby dinosaur.

Drakken apparently couldn't resist any longer and began pulling pieces of the shell away as the baby triceratops, about the size of a chihuahua, rolled over and wobbled up to its feet. It fairly matched the cave, being gray-lavender in color, and it blinked between Shego and Drakken and let out a cry that sounded something like the moo of a calf.

Shego straightened up as her brow furrowed. An internal war began as she looked between the creature and Drakken's excited face, and it was with an annoyed growl that she rapidly came to a decision.

"Oh, look Shego! It's so cute! I'm going to name her...Crystal, after the cave where she was born," he said happily.

Shego's brows knit together.

"How do you know it's a girl?"

"Well—"

"Never-mind. Dr. D.... We have to take it back to its mother."

Drakken looked devastated. "But...but Shego, can't we—"

"Doc... Have you ever seen a baby...anything, born before? What's the first thing they do?"

The little dinosaur let out another cry, louder than the first, and Drakken frowned as it stumbled across the floor and continued looking around.

"They eat," Shego finished the thought. "If you want...little Crystal to survive, she has to go back."

"We don't even know if the mother survived..." Drakken protested faintly.

"Yeah, but this thing'll still stand a better chance out there than it will in here with us."

Drakken frowned, but sighed with the logic of her explanation. As he started to re-dress she looked down to the amethyst crystal she still held and suddenly wondered...why had he given it to her?

Finding no suitable answer, or at least none she wanted to entertain as her cheeks flushed again, she put the gem away in her leg pouch and then hesitantly made to pick up the little dinosaur. Drakken wouldn't be able to manage a squirming creature with his injured arm, and he watched in surprise as she grabbed it and held it away as it began wiggling violently in protest.

"Wild animals don't make good pets..." she muttered as Drakken shrugged into his coat, putting both arms through the sleeves but leaving it open as he put his arm back in the makeshift belt-sling himself.

"Sometimes..." he said sadly.

"Well not this time. Leave the fire, this is still probably the safest place to spend the night."

"Spend the night?" Drakken said as he started leading the way out of the cave.

"Well yeah, unless you have some brilliant escape plan?"

The conversation paused until they had traversed the more difficult part of the passage, and then Drakken glanced at her as they began moving back toward the waterfall.

"It shouldn't take a full day for the henchmen to reach the wreckage. It only took us about...six hours, to get here from the lair?"

"Wait...what are you saying? Why would the henchmen come looking for us?"

Shego very nearly dropped the baby triceratops as it renewed its struggling, and Shego could tell by the look on Drakken's face that he wanted to hold it. She would have gladly handed it over if not for the risk of further injuring his arm.

"They'll just follow the hover-car's tracking device."

"But why? How would they know we need help?"

"Because I activated the distress signal," Drakken said plainly as he began moving over the moss-covered rocks behind the waterfall.

Shego's eyes widened and she felt anger begin to boil in her veins.

"You...you what!?" Shego cried, almost dropping the baby dinosaur in her rage.

Drakken nearly slipped on a rock as he looked at her in confusion and fear.

"Yes, before we left to look for the new lair..."

It was the sheer bewilderment in his expression that caused Shego's fury to diminish as she realized...it made sense. They were supposedly in search of a new lair, and wasting time standing around a pile of wreckage for hours when there was a promise of modern comforts made no sense. It had just been their bad luck that they had most likely been crossed by Hench, and of course Drakken would have activated the distress signal.

Shego scoffed and stared down at the dinosaur, its fearful wiggling continuing while it also appeared to briefly take in their surroundings every few seconds. The small creature reminded her of all the pain and extremely near-death experiences they had been through in their hours on the island, not that she really needed reminding; her body still ached from the death-defying cliff jump.

"Okay, after we get this thing back, we're going to the hover-car. If there is a lair on this island, we're not finding it today, and I wouldn't want to even if there is."

Drakken's face fell again, but she knew he would eventually see it her way. A lost world with all of its unknowns was not the place for a super-villain's lair...

At least, not until it was better understood.

She considered this for the first time as she followed Drakken back through the trees toward where they had first encountered the mother triceratops. Yes, the island was rife with danger... But Drakken said it was volcanic, and that was a plus. They could easily build a defensible lair on an active volcano; they'd done so before, after all. It was doubtful that dinosaurs would be a problem in that harsh an environment, and the fearsome creatures would provide a natural defense against any intruders. Not to mention the island's other hazards, quicksand and giant cliffs, and who could know what else...

Shego's thoughts were broken as Drakken stopped short, and she looked beyond him to see that the mother triceratops was about twenty yards distant, rooting at the ground with her snout and seeming either ill or confused as she turned in large circles and moved back and forth over the same spot of ground. It was clearly looking for its egg.

Shego looked at the slightly-calmer creature she held, and then to Drakken's sad but awed face.

"You...want to pet her before we let her go?"

Drakken startled and looked down at the baby dinosaur. He hesitated, and then reverently ran his fingers over its frill. As he did so Shego looked back to the massive creature in the trees ahead of them. She noted the lines of red blood over its frill and back, indicating where the T-Rex had gotten a few bites in. She wondered if the battle had ended in a stalemate, or a triceratops victory, but she wasn't about to voice the thought and give Drakken the idea of going further into the valley to find out.

She looked down to where Drakken was still petting the small creature, which had amazingly stilled in her hands. Its curious eyes were teal in shade, she noticed for the first time, and its gray scales definitely had a lavender tinge. It really was...cute, with its small nubs of horns and tail that was swinging idly as Drakken gently felt over the creature's skin.

Shego looked up at his face. He was in pure awe of the creature, and there was longing in his eyes as he even ran his gloved hand over the sole of its small foot, seeming to try to memorize everything about it. Shego was tempted to sigh and hurry him along, but...she decided to let him have the moment. It was surely one that would never come again.

"All right," Drakken said with a sigh, his eyes sad as he retracted his hand.

Shego set the baby triceratops down and faced it the right direction, giving it a nudge to get it to start stumbling forward. It let out another of its moo-ing cries, and the mother triceratops immediately looked up and started in their direction.

Shego began backing away, setting a hand on Drakken's shoulder to make him move with her. But the flash of fear she'd felt was apparently unnecessary, as the hatchling and its mother were united in moments, the large dinosaur's attention turning solely to its baby. But then, it lifted its head again and looked directly at them.

Shego held her breath, seeing the same intelligence in the creature's eyes as she'd seen in the T-Rex's before. But it apparently bore them no ill will as after regarding them for a moment it turned to head deeper into the forest, its small baby running at its feet. She sighed in relief, and turned to see Drakken looking almost as if he would cry.

"Come on, you big marshmallow, let's go."

"It was a baby triceratops, Shego! A baby triceratops! Do you understand what this means? The implications of this very island?"

"No, but I'm sure you're going to tell me."

As Shego walked back through the trees toward the river, Drakken began going on about theories being proven and dis-proven, and how the scientific community would be forever changed by the discoveries that could be made on the island. She couldn't help but smile at his excitement, but he stopped suddenly when they broke through the trees and saw the waterfall in its full glory.

The sun had begun to set, making the falls look like liquid fire as they thundered over the cliff and down to the blue of the river below. And then near the top of the fall, a ripple of purple shone through and broke the brilliant gold, and Shego realized that somehow the amethyst cave or perhaps another was also catching the sunlight.

Drakken seemed transfixed by the sight, and Shego's smile grew. It had been an adventure...but one she knew she would remember fondly.

"So..." she began, "let's say we strand Hench here as punishment, and then...in return for getting him out safely, he finances our new lair here."

Drakken did a double-take, his entire form brightening as he fully comprehended her words.

"You mean it? We can have a lair here?"

"Long as it's in a volcano."

Drakken let out a gleeful cackle and raised both fists triumphantly, recoiling slightly as pain arrested his left arm. But as they began walking along the river and in the direction of the hover-car, she knew he would be fine as his prattle about scientific discoveries changed to that of how everyone would soon fear 'Dr. Drakken, prehistoric menace.'

Shego grinned as she listened to his ideas. A T-Rex with a mounted laser cannon did sound like quite the idea.

-----------------------------------

Drakken ran his hands back over his head beneath the thin, sparkling falls, the water shimmering over his blue skin. And then he reached forward to set his hands on Shego's bare shoulders as she stepped under the fall to meet him, his fingers beginning to trail downward sending a thrill to her heart...

-----------------------------------

"Hey Boss? Miss Shego?"

Shego startled awake and sat up, hands ablaze. The startled henchmen recoiled with cries of fear, and the vision in Shego's mind started melting away as she took in her surroundings.

She was seated in the ruined hover-car, apparently snuggled up against Drakken's side where he was still asleep. In front of them stood three henchmen and not too far beyond, two more hover-cars sat parked. The sky around them indicated that twilight had fallen.

Shego's face flushed with embarrassment and she shoved Drakken hard.

"Wake up, you blue dolt. We're rescued."

Drakken let out an annoyed grunt as he was startled awake and likewise looked around them to gain his bearings. Shego moved away from his side and climbed out of the wreckage.

"Hey Boss, can we get going? Schwartz said that he saw a velociraptor, and even though I know dinosaurs are extinct I definitely saw something prowling around in the trees."

Drakken's confusion turned into a smirk as he climbed out of the hover-car and started toward one of the two rescue craft.

"Oh ye of little faith," he said, wagging a finger at the frightened trio. "While we haven't seen velociraptors, there are a great many species of dinosaurs on this island, where we shall be setting up our new lair inside of a month if all goes well. You know, there is a long-held belief that dinosaurs are in fact no more than the dragons of legend and ancient history..."

"Dinosaurs?"

"New lair?"

"But first," Shego interjected as she followed after Drakken, grateful for the distraction, "go kidnap Jack Hench and bring him back to the lair."

"R-Right away, Ma'am."

The three henchmen scurried toward the other waiting hover-car as Shego and Drakken stepped into theirs, Drakken pausing and looking at Shego in confusion.

"You don't want to get him yourself?"

Shego's face flushed, and she hoped the dim light would hide it.

"We can torture him later. I had something else on my mind..."

"Oh... What is it?" Drakken asked as he settled in behind the controls.

Shego made a show of yawning as she sat down. "I'm still tired. Can you set the auto-pilot?"

Drakken looked at her in confusion, but complied with the request as Shego settled in and with a race of her heart moved nearer to his side. He looked at her again in surprise, and she ignored the look as she reached down to her leg pouch to pull out the amethyst he'd given her. It looked different in the twilight, but no less magnificent as she turned it over in her hands.

"Thanks," she said, indicating the gem, and then yawned again before boldly leaning into his right side and setting her head on his shoulder where it had lain before.

Drakken tensed, and for a moment Shego wondered if she'd misread the gesture of the gift, and the looks he'd been giving her throughout the day. Or the way in which he'd snuggled nearer to her before when he thought she was asleep... But then he relaxed as he pressed the button to activate the autopilot, and Shego noticed the flush to his face when he leaned forward slightly. He took his left wrist out of the sling and settled comfortably against the back of the seat, and then hesitantly set his arm around her.

"Sh-Shego...?"

"So. Dragons?" she asked, giving him a soft smile.

His expression relaxed, and he began exhorting about some legend from the middle ages, gesticulating with both hands as he grew more animated doing so. Shego looked down at the gem she was turning over in her hands as her smile grew, and she settled her head back on his shoulder as the hover-car began taking them back home. The next time the dream came she would let it continue, and hoped that someday...it would become reality.

[walls-dmc5]

Walls - 2nd chapter “Arrival”

Words: 4,2k

Warnings: slight angst, canon-typical violence

Hope you enjoy! 🌹

The first things that reached Cara’s ears once they got as close to the tree as possible were horrifying screams and cries mixed with the deafening sounds of gunfire and blood spilling.

Cara’s eyes widened as her mind tried to take in and process what was happening in front of her, but the flashing lights, the inhuman screeches of the demons, the people screaming for their lives and the fleshy mess of the tree threatened to overwhelm her immediately. The young woman gripped the weapon in her hand tighter.

Breathe, she told herself and Cara closed her eyes. She took a deep breath through her nose, held it there and then slowly exhaled through her mouth. She was in the midst of a life threatening danger but granting herself a second to focus on her breathing allowed her to shove the overwhelming noises and visuals into the background, allowed her to remember the mission at hand and to focus on her goals. Her heartbeat slowed a bit.

When she opened her eyes again Cara had a chance to take in the situation properly.

The tree was huge.

From afar it didn’t seem this big and even though she had the measurements of it from the military it was still an entirely different thing to be standing in front of it. Just the roots alone seemed to cover an entire district… if not more.

A sense of nausea settled in the pit of her stomach as Cara took in the disfigured corpses and remains of the civilians who couldn’t outrun those vile demons, pierced by these fleshy roots and tentacles of the tree. Demons were never kind to people, there was no mercy in their attacks and killings, but even so, Cara has never witnessed such a massacre before. There were still people running around here right now, the military was still here despite their failed operation earlier…

… but how many people have already lost their lives in this city?

“Alright, let’s keep going. No use hanging around here.”, Cara heard Dante’s voice as he already walked past her. There was a calm confidence in the way he carried himself over this battlefield which upset but also amazed her. She desperately wanted to know if he really was such a carefree person that none of this affected him or if this was another layer that kept her and other people at a distance.

The tattooed man, V didn’t really seem to fit into this group with his lean frame and the cane as Cara noticed when the man approached Dante to tell him something that Cara couldn’t understand. And yet he seemed to know about the happening and horrors around them because Dante changed his direction after V’s mouth stopped moving.

The others followed Dante, so Cara did the same, but not without noticing that the other two women looked at the situation around them with disdain all over their face. Despite what they may have seen and gone through in their lives, this didn’t seem to be something they have come across before.

More than anything though did it surprise Cara to see the blonde woman like this. She wasn’t wrong about her, about what she sensed earlier. No way. Now that they were in the midst of all this chaos and fighting the energy that this woman emitted was almost buzzing, Cara could’ve sworn one could see it if the lighting had been better. Not to mention this huge fleshy sword on her back which looked incredibly heavy, and it rested on her back like Cara’s bag pack which she left in the helicopter in which they arrived. It made Cara incredibly curious about her and what her involvement with the others was.

This was not the time to ask or let her mind wander though.

Bullets from two pistols dug themselves so fast into the tentacle root that suddenly shot up from the ground in front of them that Cara could barely follow what just happened. She just caught a glimpse of two pistols in Dante’s hands which he put back under his red leather coat as fast as he pulled them out. The speed impressed Cara immensely. And for the first time she caught a glimmer of assurance that there may be a reason behind Dante’s laid back, seemingly uncaring, attitude. Maybe he really had the skills to carry himself so confidently forwards. Maybe that was all his attitude was… an attitude. Maybe he did care after all…

Dante dealt with more of the roots the same way as the first and Cara admitted that she was amazed by it. She could take these things on herself, no doubt and no problems there, but she wasn’t that fast nor effective. She didn’t have a gun, so she would have to engage in close combat, which again, was not a problem but it would take a moment longer.

A moment they probably did not have.

They barely encountered any other demons on the way as they seemingly climbed up the roots of the tree until they seemingly reached something that could be considered an entrance to the tree. A pathway leading into pure darkness that was surrounded and kept closed by fleshy living roots. The roots were covered up by thin red strings, creating a layer of bright red veins that seemed to flow together in the middle. It looked like a very macabre and abstract eyeball.

Cara has seen this phenomenon before. In different shapes and forms but the purpose was always the same:

Protecting a demonic entity from enemies.

And if this is here, Cara thought as she scanned their surroundings. The roots created an almost hilly environment, giving any demon enough space to vanish and spawn again without getting seen by them. Cara tried to keep as much as possible in her field of view, her hold on her weapon relaxed, ready to tense and swing it whenever it was needed. The sounds of the gunfire from the military were quite distant from where they were now. Cara really hoped these guys would be alright. She should’ve known they would dive back into battle after she left. They didn’t have any other option. They needed and wanted to do what they could to protect to the people. If she had done a better job earlier maybe there wouldn’t be a need for them to be here anymore. They could be home. With their families…

Cara gritted her teeth.

She would make this right again. She would take the goddamn tree down.

She looked at the covered entrance to the tree, a burning determination in her blue eyes. Whatever was lurking inside of there she would face it. And Cara could not deny the pulsing curiosity inside of her. Despite everything, this was something new, something she’s never seen before. The prospect of learning and getting new information about demons and hell was exciting, even though it was anything but a priority in this moment.

Dante and the two women approached the entrance, hands on their weapons, and Dante swung the sword on his back once down the red veins and roots, the end of his red coat swirling up. A move that looked so easy, almost boring to him. There was no tension in his muscles from what Cara could tell, there was no effort in swinging such a heavy sword like this. That feeling of a hidden energy was all over him, tangible to anyone who ever had any experiences with the supernatural, but it was still completely different to Trish. She was carrying that energy openly, no hiding or suppressing it, but Dante seemed to hide it… it was covered up by so many layers and Cara wondered if it was intentional or if he wasn’t aware of it himself.

The red veins fell apart, bled out until they lost their color and turned to dust in front of Dante. But even now there was barely anything visible from the inside of the tree. In fact, it seemed as if the entrance was still covered up. The entrance of the tree looked like a foggy black night, no stars or moon as a guide, no promise of finding the sun at the rise of dawn, and for the very first time since this whole mission started did a cold shiver run down her spine. She took a deep breath to keep it from affecting her too much.

“Alright. Then let’s get going.”

Cara made an attempt to walk up towards Dante but his raised palm stopped her dead in her tracks. She knitted her brows.

“We had a deal, miss. Remember?”

Cara stared at him. She did remember his earlier words, but he couldn’t be serious, right?! He would bring her here just to keep her from coming with them now?!

“I can help.” She stated. It wasn’t a question nor a plea. Cara knew what she could do. If she couldn’t take on the demons inside there, she could lend them some strategic ideas. Maybe they would face something she actually knows about – theory or not.

But most of all, she wanted to go with them. She wanted her shot at this. She wanted to learn about what was happening inside of there.

And she felt like she literally achieved nothing by just staying outside here while they fought to get this mess right.

She was supposed to do that.

So many people died because she made too many analytical and strategic mistakes today.

She needed to go in there.

“Listen,” Dante started, his voice hard but friendly “I get that. But this is my gig.”

“Leave this to us. We’ve been doing this together for many years,” Trish smiled at her, one of her arms on her hips. Her smile was genuine

“Yeah. This is not the time and place to rethink our plans and strategies because someone joins the team. We know each other. Let us handle this.” The black haired woman adjusted the huge weapon on her back. She smiled, a fiery determination in her eyes that told Cara that she didn’t mean to offend her but that she was just confident in her own and her partner’s skills to do this. And Cara understood this. They haven’t seen her fight before, they weren’t aware of her skills and abilities, and this was a life and world threatening situation.

She probably wouldn’t want to experiment and let a stranger join them in her situation either. It could prove to be fatal for them and the mission.

And still…

“Maybe you’re better off clearing the path here,” Dante smiled at her, something glistening in his blue eyes that Cara couldn’t quite identify.

But as soon as the words were spoken a hideous screeching sounded behind Cara. She gripped her weapon tighter on instinct as she was fully aware of the demons spawning around them.

“Get rid of those things for us, so when we come back we can celebrate,” Dante elaborated his earlier words, clasping his hands together.

Cara felt as if she was being cast aside. As if they tried to find something to do for her so that she wouldn’t feel useless, but deep down she knew they were probably right. Maybe helping out here and killing the demons that spawned from the tree was the right and only thing she could do right now.

She sighed.

“Alright.”

“Nice! Now, lets get going.” Dante made a waving gesture over his shoulder and simply stepped forward into the tree, no doubt, no hesitation, not even a second glance at the roots still surrounding the entrance. Cara really wanted to know if he was affected by any of this or if this really was just another job and nothing new at all.

“Keep your head up. Also, seems like you got work to do as well.” Trish walked past her, nodding behind Cara where the demons were still spawning, before she vanished inside the tree as well.

The other woman, Lady, walked behind them without looking at Cara again. There also was nothing left for her to say. They didn’t know each other. If one looked at it rationally then Dante and Trish were overly nice to her by letting her tag along this far and even gifting her some encouraging words.

V walked after them last, cane in hand, steps slow and head lowered. He did not look at Cara nor did he say anything. Cara got the very distant feeling that he also wasn’t that close to them. Either it was because he kept them at a distance with his walls and barriers around him or Cara was missing the bigger picture of this entire situation.

But he was also the one that kind of convinced Dante to let her come along. Even so… he also simply said some help on the ground might be useful. He also never mentioned her tagging along with them.

Cara sighed defeated once they all vanished inside the tree.

Maybe they were right.

Maybe she should stay here and get rid of these vile demons. Maybe this way she could help the civilians and the soldiers fighting for everyone’s lives better this way.

And she would let Dante and the others handle whatever was causing this.

Because despite his weird attitude, there was something about Dante and these other people that at least told her about the potential in these people. Trish was not human, Cara was certain of it, and there was something going on with Dante too, but she couldn’t put her fingers on it yet.

But Cara was sure, these people were probably their best shot at dealing with this right now.

Cara turned around, gripping her Kama in her hand and facing those disgusting insect-like creatures that screeched and focused their entire attention on her.

Cara raised her weapon.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

A veil of darkness settled around his heart and soul when he passed that invisible barrier separating the pits of the hellish environment from the human outside world. Dense, suppressive air hung heavy around him, keeping him reminded of the dread and severity of their fateful situation.

Blood covered by thin skin engulfed by grey and black roots stretched over the ground, creating a twisted nightmarish image of a thick forest soil. And yet it was anything but lively nature.

His steps were slow, his eyes were lowered, a stark contrast to the blue-feathered demon now at his side burning with electricity. Eagerness and enthusiasm in every flap of his wings, drive and ambition in his strong posture, determination shining in those bright yellow eyes.

V looked up at the feeling of a vibration wandering through the air, a faint red glow illuminating the colorless roots for the length of a heartbeat.

He paused.

Wrong. This was wrong.

Too many roots twisting and growing, too much blood spilling and flowing. It fueled the darkness around him, creeping into his bones and grabbing a hold of his heart and mind.

“This is far worse than I thought,” his tongue tingled, and words spilled from his mouth without control, his lips refusing to close again, his brows raising.

Dante and his two companions stopped walking and turned around to him. V stared at the man, his expression open and sincere as he felt reality claiming his hopes and their chances of success in this grim situation.

You can not win, he wasn’t able to banish the thought from the dark corners of his mind as he stared at the devil hunter, proud and confident as usual but incapable of comprehending the hopelessness of their fate.

“There’s no crime in turning tail, V,” Dante told him as V stared with too much openness, too much sincerity into his light blue eyes. V’s mind wandered to the one option he still had, the one shot at raising their chances, the secret he kept hidden from Dante, the one secret he needed to keep hidden…

“These things might be a little too much for ya.”

V lowered his head to the side, retaking control over his emotions; the openness disappearing, leaving only the cold resolve behind that allowed him to face the severity of their reality without faltering, without abandoning his goal, while also refusing to show Dante and his companions to see through the darkness that clouded his mind and soul.

“You’re right.” He spoke deliberately, “I’ll leave the rest to you.”

He turned around, face lowered, his steady voice sending his words into the heavy dreadful air, leaving nothing but a decision behind that was made without a doubt.

“What, what... what?! Oh, oh, oh, my, my V… all the way down here and turning tail, really?! Hu?!” the feathered demon complained, his determination and eagerness shining through in his words, not understanding his master’s decision but not going against him either.

“One must always have an insurance policy,” the summoner replied as he walked back outside of the tree, his choice of words just hinting that his last words to Dante were not truthful. He would leave this hellish Nightmare and return.

And hopefully return with hope and a new chance of loosening the strings of darkness that settled around him as this horrid scenario turned out to be much worse than he could have imagined.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Cara pressed her knee into the demon’s head, keeping it pinned to the ground as she twisted the blade of her Kama inside its thin neck until the sound of flesh snapping and blood spilling reached her ears, effectively ending another demon’s life.

The amount of demons was dwindling fast. She almost got rid of the entire wave of minor demons that spawned before Dante and the others went inside the tree. While she was certain the demons could spawn endlessly usually there was a pattern visible after some time. They would spawn, fight until they’ve either won or were all killed and then there would be a period of calm. A moment in time that allowed a fighter to take some deep breaths, to rest the strained muscles, to calm the racing of the heart. Sometimes demons didn’t spawn again in that place.

She was sure, though, that this wasn’t the case in this situation.

She rolled to the side to avoid the claw of another minor demon from stabbing her through the head. Luckily this already put her into position to ram the Kama inside its insect-like back. These demons could swing their claws pretty fast, but they were slow and not agile at all in their movements. It was easy to overcome them.

The demon screeched in agony and Cara groaned as she effortfully pressed the blade deeper down into its body until the demon finally disintegrated in a fleshy and bloody mess.

She turned her weapon in her hand facing the last two demons that remained. They kept their distance to her, not charging at her right away; not because they were thinking or capable of coming up with a strategy but more a natural instinct to preserve their own lives as they know and have realized that most of their kind has been eliminated already.

“Don’t you think this is too time-sensitive?! We’ll probably be too late and if we are it’s gonna be the end.”

“Well, we have to take the risk.”

Cara turned around, the demons still in her field of view, as she heard two voices behind her. She has heard V’s deep voice before, it was hardly confusable even after listening to it for only a very words, but the other voice was totally unfamiliar; high, a bit pitched, and slightly panicked.

Cara’s brows furrowed as she spotted the tattooed man walking out of the tree, but alongside him was a… bird? No. That was not a bird. The blue glowing feathers, the unusual beak and most of all its capability of human speech. This was a demon. A demon that did not enter the tree with these people.

Where did it come from?

Who was that demon?

And V seemed to be… friends with it?

But what made Cara question the unexpected situation even more was the fact that only V and that blue bird came out of the tree. No one else. And not enough time passed for Dante and the others to have made any significant progress. And Cara also couldn’t imagine that they may have lost. V’s calm composed posture didn’t speak of that. Neither did the bird demon’s earlier words.

What was going on?

V noticed that she was still there of course and for just a moment he stared at her. Though the moment was so short, so brief that it seemed as if he had just let his gaze glide over his surroundings and just happened to linger on here for an instant.

V tapped his cane on the ground once and Cara stared in undeniable wonder and fascination as black smoke appeared seemingly out of nowhere and gathered under his feet, engulfing them in clouds of smoke and lifting them barely noticeable off the ground. It intrigued her. This demon at his side, this smoke under his feet; there was something going on with the man but again, she could not see past what he offered visually. He did not have the same sense of energy around him as Dante or Trish, but the feel of distance he created around him was still intimidating.

But in this moment it sparked Cara’s curiosity and at the same time she wanted to get away from this intimidating atmosphere around him.

And then V quite literally took off.

Cara stared a bit baffled after him as the man slid on these black smoky clouds over the ground, much faster as if he just walked, the bird flying after him. She looked after him until he vanished behind some destroyed buildings and the screeching of the two remaining demons pulled her back out of this unexpected scene.

Taking on the last two demons took the young woman longer than it should have.

They actually tried to coordinate themselves to only charge at her at the same time to raise their chances. It wasn’t an issue for Cara dodging their attacks, but it was much harder finding an opening to take them out.

Once again Cara used her knees to keep the demon pinned on the ground, her feet stopping it from moving its claws. She gritted her teeth at the effort it took to keep the creature in this position. It was a minor demon, but its physical strength succeeded her easily. So she had to make this quick.

“That’s how we get inside?! This better be worth it,” an unfamiliar voice reached Cara’s ears as she pushed the blade into the demon’s skull, flinching at the sound of bones cracking and blood starting to flow from the wound.

She looked up to see V with the demon bird but ahead of him was another man. The same silvery white hair as Dante caught her eyes immediately. Such an unusual hair color it surely was an eye-catcher. He looked pretty young, though his expression was something between suspicion and annoyance as if he didn’t want to be here at all. He was much more open than any of the other people she met today; there were no walls or barriers he created around him to keep her and other people at a remarkable distance. He actually seemed… approachable. Cara also noticed real quick that the man was missing his right arm and to her it didn’t look like he was born with this condition. The way it was bandaged made it look like a rather fresh injury.

The young man noticed her and looked at her, then staring at the demon that was slowly disintegrating underneath her. She met his gaze only for an instant before he turned, his hand on the handle of his sword on his back and went ahead into the tree.

Cara looked after him before she looked back to V while she was standing up, finally no more demon arounds for the moment. V’s brows furrowed the tiniest bit for an instant as he looked around the area which was completely free of demons now.

“V, come on, we gotta hurry,” the blue bird chimed in, a sense of panic evident in his unusual voice.

“You, come along.”

Cara’s look on her face turned to one of utter surprise. This was the last thing she expected to hear right now. V’s expression was unreadable. She knew he was analyzing her again just like he tried earlier but nothing about him allowed her to do the same yet again. Maybe it was also because it was really dark around them that she could barely see his face, not to mention his eyes. His deep voice also did not allow her to take a guess why he was saying this now. Earlier he was also the one who sort of persuaded the others so she could come along, but now…

She didn’t know why, she only knew it wasn’t out of sympathy, he had something in mind, but right now she also wouldn’t ask or complain. She never would’ve entered the tree on her own, she wouldn’t survive this, but now…

She simply nodded and followed after the tattooed man, her heart thumping loudly in her chest as she entered the tree.

[insideabunker]

The Games: Chapter 4

Despite Clarke's two prior trips to the winter games, the opening ceremony had lost none of its magic for her. The significance of it all still gave her first day of school butterflies, making her feel six years old again, awestruck and overwhelmed as she drifted through a sea of unfamiliar faces.  Red, white and blue-clad bodies shuffled past her, as the sprawling cluster of American athletes followed the Mongolian delegation through the tunnel leading onto the parade grounds of PyeongChang Olympic Stadium.  A colorful delegation of Bermudians trailed close behind them as they made their way into the open air of the parade grounds.

From its epicenter, the spectacle radiated with an intoxicating spirit that consumed the senses, filling Clarke with a nervous energy that eclipsed even the nastiness of the chilling wind that had picked up an hour earlier.  Exiting the darkened tunnel, she made her way into the multicolored splendor of the stadium; her thoughts immediately drowned out by the deafening roar of 35,000 cheering spectators.

It took a moment for her to process fully.  It seemed unbelievable that thousands of people had been willing to brave the sub-zero temperatures just to catch a glimpse of their Olympic champions, but as the enormity of that fact sank in, Clarke felt overwhelmed with a responsibility to them.  She forced herself to stare up into the stands, her face straining against the icy sting of the air as she smiled and waved towards the masses of fans.

"It feels like my eyeballs are going to explode," Raven growled through her forced smile.  "It's fricking cold!"

"Just keep smiling."  Clarke grinned at her assistant captain, her voice just as strained, as she flashed two rows of perfectly straight, snow white teeth.  "Millions of people are watching, Rae.  Don't spoil it for them."

"You can't be serious?"

"This has got to be a joke."

A chorus of complaints had erupted the second the Canadian athletes had learned their number in the ceremony's progression.

"We're sixty-ninth?"

"Oh g-d, as if these uniforms didn't make us look ridiculous enough."  Echo looked dour as she fiddled with her long red parka and knitted cap.

"I don't know," Lexa shrugged, forcing small talk to make nice with her captain.  "I mean the jackets aren't great, but some of the other stuff they gave us is ok."  She waited for Echo to respond but was met with steely silence.  "I mean, I like the flannels."

"Of course you do."

"What is that supposed to mean?"  Lexa tensed, wondering if she should be offended, and readying herself for an argument.

Echo only rolled her eyes, looking bothered.  "I didn't mean it that way," she spat. "I was referring to the fact that someone from the NWO would love that our uniform issue includes a Kenora Dinner Jacket."  She turned to Lexa, exasperated with the tall girl behind her.  "Obviously. I play women's ice hockey, Woods. You think I'm not used to teammates who enjoy the company of curvy, Swedish blondes with long legs?"

Echo shot her a knowing glance, noting the nervous, slightly guilty look on Lexa's face.  

"How do you know about that?"

"You're not exactly discrete. I saw you coming out of that Swede snowboarder's room this morning, half dressed."

Lexa swallowed hard, her cheeks flushing a subtle rosy color.  "Coach Freeman... You aren't going to?"

"Rat you out to her and get you kicked off the team?"  Echo dipped her head, cocking one eyebrow. "No, not for that. I may not like you, but you're hardly the first player on this team to dip their toes into international waters.  Besides, I have my own foreign diplomacy to conduct."  Echo shot a glance towards the crowd behind them, piquing Lexa's curiosity.

"What sport's she in, eh?"

Echo rolled her eyes.  "Woods, I'm not even a little bi-curious."  She stared far back in the procession.  "I've got my eyes on that scruffy, freestyle skier from France."

Lexa screwed up her face.  "Ugh... Typical Queeb, going for some priggish French ponce."

Echo shoved the girl behind her with an elbow.  "Toton."

"Beaver-beater."

"Lumberjack."

"Maudit sans-dessein."  Lexa fumbled through the only French Canadian swear she remembered from grammar school.

"It's pronounced dé-sa," Echo growled, drawing out the final A. G-d, your French is shit, Woods."

"I'm from northern Ontario!"

"T'es pas une lumiere!  Believe me, it's apparent."

In spite of their bickering, Lexa realized that the argument was probably the longest conversation they'd managed since she'd joined the team.  "Well, that's something," she thought to herself, thankful that they hadn't come to blows again.

Consumed as she was by their banter, Lexa lost her situational awareness, snapping out of it only when the world around her erupted into flashing lights and noise.  They'd finally reached the inside of the stadium. The freezing night air hit her in the face, and her breath caught.  Lexa's eyes strained against the bright lights and icy wind as she stared up at row after row of waving fans, and did her best to wave back.

The wind picked up again, making Lexa's eyes sting and tear. The goalie shielded her brow from the cold, wiping them with the back of a gloved hand and doing her best not to smear the makeup, applied for the sake of the cameras.  She checked the back of her mitten for smudges of mascara and, happy to find none, peered into the crowd in front of her.  For a split second, the column of bodies parted just enough for a small figure became visible up ahead.  Lexa caught a brief glimpse of golden hair and azure eyes before the crowd swelled again, and the American captain disappeared amidst a sea of taller, more substantial bodies.

"I think I saw the Team USA captain up ahead."  She turned to Echo, hoping to coax a little more conversation out of her.

"What, Clarke Griffin?  I would doubt it unless she's being carried on somebody's shoulders."

Lexa smirked.  "Yeah, she was pretty tiny in person."

"You've met?"

"Just the other night, in passing.  She seemed..."

"Like an irritating homunculus?"  Echo continued to scan the crowd for her Frenchman.  "That girl had been a pain in my ass for years."  She stared at Lexa for a moment, her expression concerned.  "You didn't notice if she was limping, did you?

"I don't think so." The question seemed odd, but Lexa thought it over, none the less. "I mean not that I could tell at least.  Why?"

Echo turned back towards the procession, her expression unreadable.  "We were playing an exposition game about a year and a half ago.  Griffin had been a menace all night, picking up the puck before I could get to it at the point and forcing it back into our zone. She's small, but she lighting fast."  She paused.  "Well, she was. Anyway..."

Something about the story made Lexa feel immediately uneasy.

"Third period, I finally caught her heading up the boards on a breakout.  I was going to try and pick her off, but she veered towards center ice at the last second.  My leg was out, and I ended up catching her at the knee."

"You went knee to knee?"

"I told you, she veered at the last second.  I was trying to play the body the best I could."  Echo bit her lip. "I might have let my leg drift out a bit far to try and knock her stick off the puck..."

She glanced at Lexa for a moment, her expression barely hiding the guilty conscience of someone who knew their actions had been less than defensible.

"But, I didn't intentionally cheap shot her."  She grimaced.  "Anyway, I felt her leg bend back in the wrong direction, and she flipped, ass over teakettle across my thigh.  The second she hit the ice I could tell it was bad.  I've never heard someone scream that hard."

Lexa's stomach sank just thinking about it. In hockey, a knee to knee collision often resulted in injuries of the most devastating kind.  That exact scenario had ended many a career before its time, and it made the goalie cringe thinking about the tiny blonde girl writhing in pain on the ice.

"MCL sprain?"

Echo shook her head.  "ACL. Grade three at that, a complete tear."

"Holy hell."

"Yeah, honestly I'm surprised to see her back on skates at all."

"So, that's why she looked so sluggish in the game footage we watched."

Echo nodded.  "To be sure.  I genuinely thought she'd retire after that.  I mean, she'd been playing for the national team since she was seventeen, so she was already getting up there."

They rounded the corner and slowed to an abrupt halt, nearly crashing into the Kenyan athletes ahead of them.

"That footage was from just after she was cleared to start training again.  I hear she's gotten some of her speed back since then, but if you ask me, she shouldn't even be playing."

Lexa's jaw tensed at the utterance, a conviction that her Québécoise teammate seemed to hold frequently.  "You seem to think that of a lot of people."

Echo sighed.  "I mean because of the risk of re-injury. Not everything is about you, Woods."

With that, Echo pushed forward, disappearing amongst the shuffling mass of red and black jackets.

The ceremony had ended in a spectacle of blaring music and bursting fireworks, that latter of which still rang in Clarke's ears as her feet pounded against the whirring belt of the treadmill. Hours after the lights had dimmed in Olympic stadium she was still wide awake, to filled with excitement, and too unaccustomed to the fifteen-hour time difference to sleep.  In her restlessness, Clarke turned to the one standby that faithfully calmed her down when pressure and anticipation turned her into a live wire of nervous energy.

She leaned forward into a sprint, increasing the incline on the Cybex another three degrees and watching as her numbers climbed.  Time: 48:36:23, Speed: 9, Incline: 10, Heart Rate: 184.  Perspiration poured from her brow, matting stray bits of flyaway hair to her forehead.  Clarke's burned, her legs ached, and her heart pounded in her chest as she continued to increase the incline.  Up, up, up until her hands flew to the bars to keep herself from flying backward off the machine.  Just as she felt her body about give out, she punched the large red button in the center of the display, cutting the power and hopping off in a flash, careful to land with her weight on her good knee.

Fighting the urge to double over and gasp for air, she threw her hands behind her head, lacing the fingers together and forcing herself to continue taking deep, measured breaths as she paced around the room.  Clarke closed her eyes and waited for her heart rate to slow, relishing the way her muscles ached and trembled with exhaustion. She wiped the sweat from her temples with the back of her hands realizing how utterly drenched she was.

After a week of buildup to the opening ceremony, fifty minutes of alone time had provided her with some much need respite from the hum of the crowds, the strings of interviews, and the exhaustion of the reassuring pep talks her more novice teammates had needed on a near constant basis.  Save for an unseen weightlifter banging heavy metal plates around in another corner of the complex; the nearly empty gym had provided the forward with a silent sanctuary from the turmoil of her otherwise overwhelming week.  For Clarke, there was nothing like a long, grueling run to clear her mind and ease her tension, and after an hour of beating herself down, she was finally feeling relaxed and ready to sleep. 

Not before a shower though, Clarke thought as the smell of her sweat drenching clothing suddenly filled her nostrils.  She peeled off her soaked Under Armour shirt and shivered as the chill of drafty gym air hit her flushed skin, giving her goosebumps.  Back inside the women's locker room, she made quick work of discarding her soggy PT gear in her sports duffle, sliding her feet into flip-flops as she wrapped herself in a towel and headed for the open shower bay.

She breathed a sigh of relief as she stepped into the empty shower bay, covered from top to bottom in polished white tiles.  Despite a career of dressing and undressing in front of teammates, Clarke had never been entirely comfortable with public nudity, though it wasn't the sight of others naked that unsettled her so much as it was her insecurities about her own body.  A lifetime of struggling with her weight, first baby fat and then added curves, had made her shy to the point of timidity.  Unlike Raven, who was a walking human hanger and had posed naked for ESPN The Magazine's body issue, Clarke grappled with body confidence. She struggled to dress for the formal events the team attended, balking at the idea of being stuffed into a dress that accentuated her cleavage and hips. Unfailingly, the captain elected for more conservative numbers, downplaying her appearance as much as possible in the hopes that she could fly under the radar and not tempt the press into present her in an overly sexualized light.  The tactic had worked for the most part, though comments about her looks did surface, every now and again, internet trolls be damned.

Clarke turned on one of the shower heads lining the wall and let it run until the water turned warm.  She discarded her towel on a nearby hook, stepped into the stream and closing her eyes as the warm liquid poured over her aching muscles.  The blonde let it pound against her skin, relaxing her even further until finally, her exhaustion caught up with her.  She yawned, running a hand through her matted mane as she pulled out the elastic that had pinned it haphazardly to the top of her head. She let it cascade over her face and filled her hand with shampoo, massaging it into her scalp.

The sound of another shower head bursting to life nearby startled Clarke out of her euphoria. She pushed her soapy hair out of her face, freezing the second she saw who occupied the spot two places down. Lexa Woods stood less than ten feet from her, eyes closed, face turned up into the steady stream of water cascading over her body.  Clarke's eyes were fixed, unable to look away for the physical specimen beside of her.  Even in a parka and jeans Lexa cut an imposing figure, but bare to the world, the goalie was physically alarming.

She was tall to be sure, 5'11 if she was an inch, but what was more startling was the sheer amount of muscle that hung on her frame.  Every inch of her was ropey sinewed flesh that, somewhat surprisingly, held a subtle softness to it.  Clarke watched as beads of liquid slide down Lexa's olive-skin, slipping over her curves and pooling at every angle on her frame. The water clung to the tawny girl like it was heartbroken at the thought of having to drip off of her.

Clarke ignored the way her pulse quickened, and her breathing slowed, too captivated by the way the impressive musculature moved, stirring underneath a visage adorned with intricate tattoos that shifted as though they were alive.  A combination of body writing and black and red abstracts covered half her back, running over her shoulder and snaking down the full length of her left arm. The outside of her right thigh was similarly ornamented.  The edges of the artwork wound up her hip and caressed her waist before ending just above her perfectly toned backside, which Clarke realize she was gawking at a moment too late.

"What the fuck?!"

Clarke jumped, so alarmed by the green eyes staring her down that she couldn't reply. 

"Were you just staring at my ass?"

"What? No! I mean, yes but..."

"Yes, or no?"

"I was staring at your tattoos."

"The one right over my ass?"

"I wasn't staring at your ass!"

Lexa turned to face the smaller woman, her figure even more flawless from the front.  Small but firm breasts sat high on her chest, perfect and round, and the lines on her tight stomach were sculpted into a frustratingly well-defined six-pack.

"You get a good look?"

"I wasn't staring." Clarke felt herself blushing as she turned back into the jet of water pouring over her, and rushed to work the remaining shampoo out of her hair.

Lexa leaned into the tiles, propping herself up on a tattooed forearm.  She pushed the brown hair out of her eyes and slicked water from her face.

"You're full of crap, Griffin. Admit it; you were staring at me."

"I wasn't staring!" Clarke venture a quick glance at the goalie, too embarrassed to look for more than a moment.  "I wouldn't ogle someone in a public shower. That kind of behavior is abdominal."

Lexa smirked at the Freudian slip, cocking an eyebrow smugly.

"Abominable. Shit!"  Clarke screwed her eyes shut, sure that her face was now bright red.  "Besides why would I be staring at you."

"For the same reasons lots of girls do," Lexa wiggled her eyebrows, turning back to the water as she lathered herself with soap.  "You think you're the first person to stare at me in a shower?"

Clarke growled as she rinsed the last of the soap from her face.  "G-d, you're so completely egotistical!"  She shut off the water, wrapping herself in her towel as she retreated from the shower bay.

Lexa rinsed off quickly, grabbing her towel as she followed Clarke toward the lockers.

"And you're a hypocrite! You tear into me with some big feminist speech when I try to pay you a compliment, but when I catch you creeping on me, you act all innocent.  What garbage!"

"I wasn't staring at you!"

In the middle of the argument, Clarke became aware of how exposed they still were. Her towel clung to her precariously, barely covering her unmentionables, while Lexa's dangled from her hand, unused. She realized she was staring at Lexa's abs again and clenched her teeth, sure that that fact hadn't escaped the brunette's attention.

"Would you put on some clothes, please."

Lexa leaned forward, grinning conceitedly. "You sure that's what you want?"

She cleared her throat, forcing herself to look the girl hovering over her in the eyes. "I'm not interested, Woods."

“In anything other than my ass, you mean?

"I was... I'm not... Your Tat... Ugh!"  Clarke grabbed her sports duffle, clinging to the last shred of her dignity as she forwent undergarments and scrambled to pull on her team sweats as quickly as humanly possible.  She yanked her socks halfway up, making a slapdash effort to shove her feet into her Adidas.

"I'm not having this argument with you, Woods!  I have bed checks to do."

"Sounds good. Mine is in room 704B."

Lexa heard the exasperated groan all the way down the hall as Clarke stomped out of the room, failing to notice that her sneakers were on the wrong feet.

Next Chapter ->

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[viakook]

Way Down We Go | 01

pairing ▸ hoseok x oc (Youna Mei) words ▸ 4.650 genre ▸ angst, apocalypse!au warnings ▸ graphic depictions of death, gore, cursing preface ▸

“There are 45 million people left on the planet, give or take a couple hundred thousand, and most of them are killing each other to survive,” she deadpanned. “How can you expect us not to worry about strangers in a world like this?”

parts ▸ 01. | 02. | 03.

It was late June when the first bomb had been dropped. The explosion had been seen for miles off the coast of the Red Sea, the large charcoal cloud being replayed on loop by every news station around the globe. It was sudden and bright, a translucent shade of purple flourishing from the epicenter as nuclear radiation soaked the flattened cityscape. Faces of those who had been on the receiving end were entirely morphed, skin peeling from the bone until they looked like nothing but skeletons that had collapsed in on themselves.

There was no grace period for these people, though. Retaliation was next to instantaneous, a large shell bursting from the remains of a poisoned desert until it had soared across the Atlantic. Millions waited in baited silence as the news broke, the warning insufficient for the chaos that was 10 minutes off the coastline. Arms wrapped around loved ones, silent tears streaking flushed cheeks until the grand and free skyline of New York City was plunged back into the sea.

For weeks these weapons of complete annihilation cascaded from every corner of the planet until there was nobody left to press the buttons, to declare a meaningless war on a defenseless country. So when the dust had settled and billions of people had been driven into the ground by forces outside them, the worst had made itself apparent.

The signs appeared where the first bomb had landed, or on the far outskirts of the catastrophe, where a small farm had been tainted by the translucent mist. Livestock collapsed, vegetation infected before dying far before the season had reached its climax, and the people, simply shells of their living selves, bubbled with red and dark blues. The first glimpse of the radiation that would later poison 85% of the world’s population.

When the story hit the general public the world seemed to move in double speed, a calm chaos ensuing as the wealthy insured their lives and the poor scrambled to live in the rich's shadow. Within the first month, 78 bunkers had been built with hidden coordinates given only to those with a formal invitation to live. The military dispersed itself to government held locations across the planet with a majority taking to life beneath the water, favoring metal confines in the unknown to a hole in the ground. Perhaps the most distinguishable were those who fled to space with people from all walks of life, a community of every hierarchy now suspended in zero G biding their time until the Earth recovered.

Those with privilege lived. Those who had connections or something to offer humanity were given a free pass to a life earned. And if you were one left behind, given up on and left to suffocate in air contaminated by those now saved, well that was just tough shit.

The world is not catered to the deserving when you're already left to die. It's a reckoning for those who refuse to give up and damn it all to hell if you were to let go now.

Radiation was about to be your bitch.

° ° °

“Mei! Are you even fucking listening to me?” The static voice of the troop leader was blaring through every nerve in her ear, but the scene before her left her mouth void of a single word. “I swear to fucking god if you took your earpiece out again...”

The empty threat fell on deaf ears as her fingers clenched around the barrel of the gun tucked under her arm, scope at her eye as she stared at what humanity had come to. At the end of the crosshairs of the gun were two women who looked to be nothing but bone, yet the splattering of red coating their clothes said that they were far from the weak frames they carried. Two daggers peeked out from the grip of one woman’s hand as she stared down at the large body spread in the dirt at her feet.

Yet, as gruesome and inhumane the killing of someone as innocent as Wonho was to watch, it was the revolting action that the two women had done after that had panicked breaths heaving from Youna’s lips.

The other woman who had climbed onto his back and mercilessly, almost happily slit Wonho’s throat, was now bent over him with the same knife, cleaving away at his arm until blood spit into the air as the limb fell from his body. They continued on like this for what felt like hours until he was nothing but chopped slabs of meat being shoved into a backpack, the slap of a high five following the zipper as the women celebrated the collection of their dinner.

When they had turned away and jogged off with Youna’s supply partner diced in their bag, the gun fell from her fingers and she crumbled into the bushes around her with a heavy sob wracking at her body.

This was what the world had turned into when the privileged left those behind, when the world now made uninhabitable by the same hands who had abandoned everyone, became a battle ground. True colors shined radiantly with the demise of a stable society and a rift drew in humanity until those who wanted to live properly came across those willing to do anything if it meant surviving. Those people with a ruthlessness etched into their eyes began to do things in cold-blood without so much as a second thought, the world was a battle royal and they were here to claim victory by any means possible.

That’s what those women were, who took a single look at the brooding man approaching them with his hands in the air and made the split second decision to dismantle him for a week's worth of food. So when tears began to streak down Youna’s cheeks with muffled wails tumbling from her lips, the once shimmering hope for humanity she held crumbled to ashes. This world burned dreams, purged them until all that was left was a fueling desire to grip onto only one’s own life and leave the rest behind without batting an eye.

Yet, it was only seven months later when that same girl who had collapsed in the woods now stood tall in front of a group of nine others who obediently listened to her every command.

“I thought we were just a supply group.” Namjoon’s arms crossed over his chest as his eyes scanned over the map splayed on the table in front of the group.

“We are and that’s why we’re going,” Youna stated as she braced her hands against the wooden surface. “The camp north of here agreed to trade cured meat in exchange for weapons and a month’s worth of protection courtesy of yours truly.”

“A month?” Taehyung’s mouth hung open and his eyes were alarmingly wide.

However, she only nodded back at him with a tight lipped smile. “Our people need this meat. If it’s portioned out correctly it can last us for almost three months and that’s not something we can afford to pass up.”

“I understand that, but why are we becoming rent-a-guards? We have people who were trained just for that purpose and all they do is sit around at the hub playing video games,” Namjoon huffed, hands twitching from their position tucked under his arms as he spoke.

“Because we need them here in case anything happens. We’re not the first line of defense, if anything the third behind Shownu’s group, and securing food is what we do.” Her explanation met the ears of the people around her with a sense of finality, and even Namjoon tilted his head downward in compliance. “Look, I know the idea of leaving for a month isn’t exactly warm and fuzzy, but this place needs our help until they can get themselves on their feet. Besides, be glad it’s this short, they initially asked for five months and double the people.”

A momentary silence fell over the small tent as looks were exchanged from every angle until a girl at the back stepped closer to the table. “When do we leave?”

“I’m glad you asked,” Youna grinned and pushed away from the table. “Say your goodbyes and pack yourselves up. We leave tonight.”

° ° °

The beam of a single flashlight cast over the brush of the forest, guiding ten sets of feet as they trekked silently through the debris. They were split into teams of two and arranged in a close-knit V, voices kept low and eyes alert despite the pitch black engulfing them with each step they took.

At the head of them was Youna, whose fingers were wound tight on the flashlight, free hand grasped on the gun at her hip with her finger loosely hovering over the trigger. Her face was void of emotion and only an occasional hum would meet the air in response to the quiet chattering of Taehyung as he strode beside her with his gun at the ready. As much as he may have feared her, they found a solace in each others company when it came to night missions, his nervous talking supplying her with the comfort of background noise.

Yet at the sound of a rock clattering against another from their left, his voice halted and the light quickly flickered as the rest of the group swiftly gathered behind Youna. Every head was perked toward the noise, the baited silence only being filled with the sound of hushed breaths while they all sat with a knee to the ground awaiting command.

“Do you think it’s hunters?” Namjoon was the only one who dared to speak, his voice barely above a whisper as he leaned in from her right.

She quickly shook her head and Namjoon could barely make out the crease between her brows as her eyes continued to peer out in the direction of the noise. Without even glancing at the group she motioned their guns up and crouched into a slow walk toward the sound. Behind her, Taehyung resumed his position except his hand quickly latched onto the fabric of her backpack as if to anchor himself in case something happened.

They continued on into the dark in a slow walk, maintaining a chained line and ducking behind fallen trees as the sound of shoes shuffling over hardened dirt abruptly punctured the silence a few meters ahead. In an instant, Youna signaled the group to spread into a crescent until they had surrounded whoever or whatever was lingering ahead, and with a silent countdown, her flashlight along with nine others flooded the area with light.

The sound of a gun being loaded echoed from the center of the illuminated area but the group was quick to load and aim their own with an unwavering precision on the man whose barrel was aimed at Youna’s head. Without a second thought, her gun swung from her hands and clapped against her thigh as her hands went up in defense, eyes glancing at the others before settling on the man in front of her.

“Who are you?” His voice was firm but the ripple of his fingers along the casing of his gun spoke to his nerves.

“We’re a supply group from a camp a few miles south of here,” she spoke sternly, tilting her head slightly to get a better look at him. “Who are you?”

“What are you doing out here so late at night?” He quickly evaded her question and lifted his head from the gun but kept it directed at her.

“I could ask the same,” she swiftly deflected. “What is a lone man doing out in the woods at this hour?”

“Who says I’m alone?”

“Only someone alone would nervously make the mistake of giving away their position the way you did.” This time a smirk played at the corner of her mouth and with the hesitant drop of his gun she had called his bluff. “Guns down.”

“My name is Mei Youna. We’re headed to a camp up north who we made a deal with,” she explained with ease, daring to step forward despite the gun still aimed at her skull. However, at the explanation of their business, the man lowered his gun and a heavy breath escaped his lips.

“Thank god,” he sighed out, pushing his hair from his face with a single hand. “I was sent out here to intercept you. Name’s Jung Hoseok, nice to meet you.”

“You know, I honestly thought you were going to kill me when all your lights turned on,” he chuckled a few minutes later from a few strides ahead of her.

They had quickly resumed their formation after Hoseok further explained himself and why he was the one sent out, which ultimately boiled down to him being the only one with any reputable experience holding a gun. Within seconds of the revelation all the lights but Youna’s went out and he smoothly gestured them along with a nod of his head and the swing of his gun back into the crease of his arm.

“We don’t kill others unless they pull some stupid shit,” Youna hummed quietly. Despite having met up with someone from the camp her senses were still on edge with being in foreign lands, especially ones which were so open such as the dead forest around them.

“Noted.” He briefly grinned back at her with a nod of his head.

“How far is your camp?” She queried after a moment.

His shoulders rolled forward as he adjusted the strap of his gun before falling into step beside her. “We’re about a quarter mile away now. The camp is set up on this island in the middle of a river, but I’m sure you already knew that.”

“Yeah,” she smiled tightly with a nod. “That was a pretty smart move on your founder’s part.”

“Ji Soo knows his stuff,” Hoseok shrugged. “I mean, don’t get me wrong, it’s dangerous as hell with the water being completely saturated with nuclear radiation, but without a boat there’s no way anyone is getting on that island.”

“Then why do you need us?” Namjoon quickly piped up from behind the pair. There was no need to look at him to know that he was analyzing every single word Hoseok uttered as Namjoon’s skepticism not once wavered.

“Well, aside from Ji Soo, a few others, and myself, we really have no means of protecting ourselves,” Hoseok explained with ease and it was easy to see the frustration of his situation written all over his face.

Before Namjoon could press the matter further the dead trees broke away to reveal the river running smoothly ahead of them. Everyone stopped in their tracks at the smell exuding from the water which was akin to gasoline and dead fish, the scent overwhelming but contained only to the breeze the surf created.

There wasn’t a moment for anyone to comment on the stench, though, Hoseok quickly waving them over to a boat tucked between a stack of collapsed trees whose branches hid the bulky vehicle in the dark.

“Careful when you get on, the water will burn through anything that isn’t steel.” There was a grin on his face as he spoke but he no sooner stuck out his hand toward Youna who swiftly grabbed it before being pulled on board.

When Taehyung was tugged up Hoseok excused himself to go and start the boat, leaving the two of them to get everyone else on just before the engine stuttered and hummed to life. As everyone spread across the boat, Youna found herself hovering behind Hoseok who was guiding the boat into the river until easily maneuvering the machine upstream with a spin of the wheel.

With her hand braced on the edge of the boat, she let her eyes wander from the water, which was a murky brown, up to the silhouette of a large island sat just off the center of the river. However, her attention drifted back to her group who had since splayed themselves out in varying make-shift seats on the deck, speaking in hushed voices with glances toward the island. She couldn’t blame their hesitance of the mission, especially given the fact they had gotten onto a boat that had them floating in the middle of a death trap. There was no way out if something happened that put them in danger and that in itself was a gamble.

“I know that the world isn’t exactly the most wonderful place right now,” Hoseok started softly, dragging Youna’s gaze to him. “But I promise you we aren’t going to ambush you the second you step on the island. You can relax.”

Her eyes slimmed at him and her head cocked to the side as she peered at him with an expression he couldn’t decipher. It was easy to see from the get go that Hoseok was a very laid back character who was only serious when absolutely necessary and to say the least, it raised dozens of red flags for Youna. People nowadays never smiled just to smile and they were rarely ever happy to see strangers, especially when a majority of them were out for the kill. Yet, Hoseok seemed overjoyed at their presence.

“So how did you end up here?” She asked and let herself lean against the side of the boat.

He rose his shoulders in another shrug and his lips turned down. “The same way most people end up in troops and camps, I guess. A few of us ran into Ji Soo, he asked us some questions then invited us to the island. We’ve been here ever since the winter, doing supply runs and warding off anyone who gets too close.”

“I take it the camp was defenseless until your group showed up?” He nodded.

“What about you? If you’re from the place I think you are, then you’ve got a lot of people to take care of,” he laughed in exasperation, shooting her a half hearted smile before shaking his head. “How the hell do you do it?”

“The same way most people do,” she ghosted a grin at the recitation of his own words. “A lot of us came from the survival program the government started at the beginning of this shit show. Learned how to shoot, hunt, boil water, how to stay alive when everything else is dead, you know.”

“Damn, I didn’t think people actually went to those things,” he scoffed in his own surprise.

“Trust me, a lot of people did.” Her head bobbed as memories of the training camp came to mind. Weeks spent with survival experts from every field possible were the only reason she had lived this long, otherwise, she surely would have been either on the ground with a bullet in her head or resting in someone else’s stomach by now. “I left with a few people in my training crew before the program shut down and we met up with others later on. Before we knew it we turned a temporary camp into a permanent one and more and more people started showing up offering to help.”

“How many of you are there?” He asked after a pause, turning his head just enough to look at her from his peripheral.

However, she gave no response to him, her precautions holding her back from giving him her full trust. Numbers was not something to be shared carelessly, it could make or break a camp with the right amount of pressure.

“I get it,” he nodded and brought his attention back to the water. “In this world, it’s tough to give others your trust, but there’s not many of us around to be too worried about.”

“There’s 45 million people left on the planet, give or take a couple hundred thousand, and most of them are killing each other to survive,” she deadpanned. “How can you expect us to not worry about strangers in a world like this?”

The air between them was met with silence as her words fell over his shoulders and he provided her with nothing but the pursing of his lips and downward gaze. His attention turned fully onto the wheel, foot pressing down the gas and sending the boat slowly hopping over the waves until the island was looming overhead. A large shadow cast across the boat as the moon disappeared behind the peak of the rocks atop the large hill, but all eyes were on the flickering light no more than two hundred feet ahead.

With a single swing of his palm on the wheel, Hoseok edged the boat beside a small makeshift metal dock and swiftly tossed a heavy rope onto the surface with a thud. The engine simmered into a silence as he slid the keys into his pocket and turned to face Youna, a tight smile traced on his features before he slowly made to move past her. Yet he paused in the frame of the small gate she was stood in, taking a moment to closely peer down at her where, for the first time, she saw the details of his face.

There was a small layer of grime coating his skin, the sweat beading from under his hair smudging the brown in varying directions over his face. His eyes were dull as they met hers and for a fleeting moment, the most simplified sense of their position fell over her, breath hitching at the proximity.

“We got lucky with the blood we were born with,” he said quietly, diverting his gaze to the floor for a second before he brought them back to her with a brightness that had her brows raising. “I’d rather live the rest of my life trusting those doing the same as me, even if it means being killed so they can go on.”

His words echoed in her head as he continued past her and off the boat, unknowingly sending her hurdling to the moment she had made the same promise to herself all those months ago. Although he chose to trust far more gracefully than she could ever bring herself to, she wasn’t naive to the fact they both were living for the same reason: those around them.

She slowly gathered herself in the silence she stood in, adjusting her gun once more and taking a heavy breath before ducking to the lower deck and joining the rest of her group who stood in waiting. Casting her gaze over each of them she could easily tell that they were exhausted from the night, but there was a finger on every single trigger awaiting whatever order she called.

“Alright, stay close to each other until I meet with Ji Soo. When we’re cleared we’ll do a round of the camp then settle down for the night,” she smoothly explained, giving each of them a reassuring nod before climbing off the boat.

At the end of the dock Hoseok was speaking quietly with another man who was listening intently, head moving along with each word Hoseok said. As Youna approached with her group tagging close behind, Namjoon at her side, the two ahead of them stopped and turned toward them.

“This is Mei Youna, leader of the group sent by the camp we did a meat trade with last week,” Hoseok rattled off, his hands now pulled behind his back as he grinned at the man beside him who took a step forward with an extended hand.

“It’s nice to meet you, I’m Kim Ji Soo.” There was a smile poking from the corner of his lips as she took his hand, her eyes dancing over his broad shoulders and lean figure in surprise.

Back at their own camp, Ji Soo was described to her as a man with many capabilities with experience in many fields, someone to not be toyed with under any circumstances. Although she was never given any physical description of him, what was before her was not what she had imagined in the slightest. He was still very youthful, maybe only a few years older than her if not the same age.

“Thank you so much for coming,” he continued, placing his other hand over hers. “We’re in a bit of a rough spot at the moment. Our supply runners, who have most of our weapons, haven’t returned in several days and there’s a lot of action on the other side of the river.”

“Action?” Her brow quirked and he let out a hesitant laugh.

“We can talk more about it tomorrow, I’m sure you’re all tired from the hike here,” he stated with a look at the others behind her. “There’s a cabin set up for you at the base. If you’ll excuse me, I have a few things to look at so Hoseok can show you the way.”

With that he politely bowed his head before turning down a trail to the left of the island, quickly disappearing behind the foliage and into the darkness. However, all attention swiftly moved to Hoseok as he gestured for everyone to follow him up a trail ahead, finger clicking on a flashlight to guide the way.

The walk was silent and short, the hill dipping back down at the top and giving way to lit up lamps that illuminated the center of the empty camp. Nobody spoke as Hoseok lead them through pathways and up another small hill until a long building appeared with a lamp hanging loosely above its main door.

“There’s running water, beds, and some food stacked in the pantry that you’re welcome to. It’s not exactly a five-star hotel but it’s comfortable enough for how long you’ll be here,” Hoseok explained as he shoved a key into the doors lock and pushed the wood open. As he turned around he held out the key to Youna with a halfhearted smile. “If you need anything, my house is on the right at the bottom of the trail.”

“Thank you,” she replied with a nod, gripping the key tighter in her hand.

He quickly stepped away from the building with a wave, bidding everyone a final goodnight before he took off back down the hill. In seconds of his leave the group stole into the building only to freeze as the lights flickered on and the inside was exposed.

A long hallway stretched to the left with a door on either side with one at the very end. To the right was a common room, cork board nailed to the walls and cabinets lining the floor with a chair and a few couches splayed around. It was more than just comfortable, it was better than anything they were given even at their own camp.

After an exceedingly long pause of silence, Taehyung piped up before bolting down the hallway. “If there are bunk beds in there, I call bottom!”

In a flurry, everyone rushed to the rooms, pillaged through the cabinets, and crowded into the full-size bathroom with eyes full of wonder and excitement. However, amongst the roars of laughter and exclamations of potato chips, Youna remained at the door, closing it softly and staring out at the men and women around her.

As amazing as this was, as it could potentially be, this was not their home nor the people they wholeheartedly protected, and whether they liked it or not, they would have to leave at some point. These were strangers that they were protecting, people who would do anything for some form of protection and she wouldn’t put it past them if they tried to bribe her group with all of their amenities. But where there is good, there is always something lurking in the unknown, waiting for its chance to strike, and Youna would be ready to fight no matter what.

[multi-pursuits]

Posting a list of starters :) feel free to reply or talk to me some more about it and we can get going.

1. Admittedly, being back on earth was refreshing. The idea of getting a taste of his mother’s cooking was more than enticing for Lance to stay. As well as the memorial he’d ended up making for Allura. It was the least he could do, after all. Living on the farm was great, not to get him wrong, but at the same time? He didn’t exactly feel like a paladin.

Lance leaned against the wall, watching with an amused glint in his eye as Shiro and his new husband talked to everyone there. Lance himself was currently in the middle of telling an exaggerated story about Kaltenecker escaping on the farm to Pidge and Matt. It was nice to at least see everyone again. Pidge, Hunk, Shiro, of course, and definitely Keith. Speaking of which, his eyes scanned over the crowd and he didn’t see even a hint of the darker haired former paladin. He furrowed his brows, now intent on making sure he didn’t leave already. Seeing as Shiro made him the best man, Lance sincerely doubted he would’ve just up and left. A familiar glimpse of mullet was what had the brunet relieved, then glancing to the crowd. Of course, he recognized him to be more in the less busy side, where Hunk stood talking to Shay, and Veronica stood next to them with the most interested look on her face.

He could afford a quick break away. Being an entertainer was more than enough stress for him. He adjusted his suit subconsciously, just ignoring the fact he was only stepping away from his dance pad to see Keith. Not anyone special, definitely not someone who hadn’t seen him in terrible conditions. He ran a hand through his slightly curled hair, pushing past the familiar people he knew. It was refreshing to not feel everyone’s hot breath in one area, not to mention the crowded dancing of everyone who didn’t dance like an angel— AKA, everyone but Lance.

Content with that, he found himself sidled up next to Keith, arms crossed lazily over his chest. “Hey,” his eyes glinted with pure amusement, almost mischief. “Not gonna break a move? I’d like to see you on the dance floor.” He snickered, elbowing the other slightly.

2. Things weren’t going the greatest. Shiro was captured, left probably into the clutches of the Galra. First, the Paladins were stuck in quite the hole; they couldn’t form Voltron.

They needed a black paladin, a leader, someone who they could rely on for an idea. It was practically deja vu when everyone was in front of the black mech, staring at it, intimidated. Allura tried first, to which Lance encouraged her, but it didn’t work. Despite her father’s creation of it all, clearly, she wasn’t one to lead.

Hunk, Pidge, they both tried it, yet to no avail. Keith had quite promptly refused to try out, and Lance had laugh that off, as if it were a challenge for him to go first. The real challenge lied *inside* the Lion. He entered with a breezy hum to his undertone, gloves finger tips sliding across the fabric of the pilot seat. Oddly enough, he felt a little less like he could connect with his lion today. As if she were shutting him out.

Really, Lance hadn’t thought much of it. The inside was dark, unlit, creepy as ever. “It’s like a ghost town in here.” He murmured, of course to himself. Finally, he stopped fooling around, settling into the seat of it all. Still, nothing. He let out a huff, placing both hands near the controls. Of course it wouldn’t work, why would it? He wasn’t— well, maybe he was. The dead inside lit up a hue of purple, illuminating his face a mixture of shadows and violet, jaw dropping nearly to the floor. His eyes widened drastically as well, pressing his lips in a flat line.

This really was the choice?

Lance pushed himself out of the chair, tense, almost afraid to leave the cockpit. Still, clenching his fists, he braved a smile and exited out of the open jaw of black, looking to the awestruck paladin’s. Hell, Keith would probably be mad. This was Shiro’s Lion, and Lance definitely wasn’t that close to him. Voltron made its choice, he supposed, crossing his arms with a nervous laugh. “Well... Keith, you wanna try?” He asked nonetheless, eyes landing on the red paladin. “Maybe the sensors are off.” He suggested lamely.

3. Lance really didn’t like Lotor. To say the least, he liked him a lot less than he liked Keith. Which, wasn’t saying much because he actually... really liked keith. Anyways, that’s besides the point.

This mess of quintessence, Zarkon, rebelling, taking the Galra over— it was a lot in his head. It was probably even worse for Shiro, the head of them all. Of course, he seemed a little off lately, but it wasn’t like Lance really had the courage or evidence to bring it up. The alpha had gotten snappy lately, to anyone. Lance wasn’t about to get the brunt of that too.

Nonetheless, things were going alright. Lotor was helping them through (more so Allura), Shiro was making plans, and Keith had discovered his true heritage. Allura was pissed beyond belief at their current black paladin, but Lance didn’t understand why— it wasn’t his fault. No one could control their heritage, for fucks sake. For once, he took Keith’s side on this. Not to mention he was seeing less and less of the hotheaded paladin.

It was late in the day, early in the day, hell it didn’t even look like day since they were floating in space. Lance had been comfortably lounging around on the couch, watching over Pidge’s shoulder in complete boredom of her constant tapping. He was definitely about the go insane. Huffing, he gained the brilliant idea to find Keith. First, he checked the training room; nope. Then, he meandered through the halls just on case, before his feet dragged him to the doors that he knew lead to Keith’s room. He clenched a fist and rose it upwards, knocking on the door and quirking a brow as he listened closely.

“Keith? It’s Lance,” Lance greeted, hurriedly adding on before he was told to leave. “Just wanted to talk. I’ve... been thinking I’m about to explode if I hear another one of Hunk’s rants about specific cooking techniques.”

4. Lance wasn’t jealous. Of course he wasn’t. Why would he envy the asshole king of all assholes at the Garrison? He didn’t. He hated him. Every bit of praise that he saw Keith get was line stepping on glass for Lance. He stood in his spot as Iverson judged the flying simulation, and Lance was practically boiling.

There was no way he should still be making it this far! This guy was impulsive, hot headed, and a dick.

Hunk lightly nudged Lance’s shoulder, snapping him out his irritated daze. His blue eyes shot over to his friend, and was meant with a ‘chill the fuck out’ look. Sheepishly, he grinned, turning ahead more eagerly when he saw Iverson stepping in to give his feedback. He listened closely, but he could barely hear what he said. Even more irritating. Lance eyed Keith simply as he got back in line, and the rest of the cadets were pushed up after that.

Lance did alright... unfortunately, not as good as Keith. He was agile, yes, but the constant firing of ships had him overwhelmed. He’d dived down among the simulated stars, trying to throw off the balance of the beams that shot towards. A cocky smirk slipped across his lips, and just as he pushed the ship forward, everything cut off. He slumped back into his seat with a frown, dreading to turn around and meet Iverson’s gaze.

It was already unamused, and the Commander shook his head. “Control your ship.” He said simply, and Lance pushed himself to stand, brushing past their instructor and stepping back in line. He couldn’t have been the one to do the worst, right?

Waiting up for Pidge and Hunk, he huffed, glad to hear the bell for lunch. Lance didn’t think he could stand looking at Iverson’s wrinkly, one eyed face. “Okay, granted, you aren’t a cargo pilot anymore,” Pidge was already sidled up beside him, Hunk on the other side as they walked through the halls towards the cafeteria. “But you seriously need to stop flirting with half the girls in this school and work on your piloting.”

Lance shot her a glare, muttering something indistinctly about how he didn’t even succeed anyway. “What else am I supposed to do?” He asked, knitting his brows together in genuine thought.

“Here’s an idea; get some help.” Pidge more sarcastically replied, warning an eye roll from Lance.

“Easier said then done.” He grumbled, grabbing a tray and hopping in line, taking the pathetic excuse for food and letting it be dumped on his plate. His eyes shifted over to where he thought he saw Keith, just faintly. Maybe... this whole tutoring thing wasn’t such a bad idea. Sure, he doubted he could stand much more than an hour with the insufferable, well trained pilot, but it was worth a shot. Hunk was already grinning knowingly at him, the trio settling at a table. With an exasperated sigh, he stayed standing, grabbing his tray and looking narrowly at his two friends, as if they betrayed him. “I’ll be back. Hopefully.” He mumbled, with a little laugh, and soon enough he was sitting right beside the asshole himself; Keith Kogane.

“Hey, Kogane.” Lance greeted smoothly, lips quirking up into a charming grin. Friends close, enemies closer. He slapped a hand on Keith’s back, as if they were friends beforehand. Lance nearly shuddered at the thought. “You know, I’m a pretty good pilot. You’re decent too. I bet we could make a great team and give each other some good flying tips.”

5. They had planned this. They’d gone over this a hundred times, even Shiro. Allura had even confirmed that Lance’s idea was pretty solid. Of course, Keith wasn’t enthused with the idea of having him for a partner- all the guy did was joke and laugh it off. Then again, as he thought, he was serious person. He knew what to do, and he was his right hand. The best he could ask for. Also the best sharpshooter he could ask for.

A grunt passed by his lips as the cool, metal material of his bayard sword sliced through a Galran body. They crumpled to the ground, and he didn’t get much more of a reaction to feel another blade grazing the small of his back. The one dammed place he didn’t have an armor plate. He growled lowly in frustration in pain, spinning on his heels to wham his sword back into the enemy who had hit him like that. He could feel the bloody heat trickling down his backside, but he couldn’t dwell on it. He skidded his feet across the floor as he dodged a couple shots, sighing in relief at Lance’s save. He had really saved his ass too many times.

Keith knew he was right. They had no chance of getting out of there alive- it seemed that Zarkon had an unlimited supply. He swore audibly, glancing out the large, thick glassed windows. At least the alien prisoners had escaped.

“Lance, I—“ he didn’t get to continue because he was promptly yanked into an escape pod, thudding against the metal wall with a grunt. He winced, sliding his hand back to feel his back. Pulling it forward, his gloved hand was dripping with blood.

Violet eyes shot over to Lance, darting down to his injury. He couldn’t exactly slump back, but he knew they both really needed to get back to Voltron. The jolt of the pod had the back of his head slamming against the side, letting a soft ‘ow’ emit as he glared out the small window. “Hold on!” He finally got out.

His gut twisted into something terrible. This was quite possibly the worst situation he could’ve been in. The pod was spiraling downward at an alarmingly fast rate, and before he knew it, they were slamming into a planet river, the momentum from the crash carrying them forward to the land beside the riverbed, more sturdy luckily. Everything in his body ached. Head to toe, his muscles were tensed, and he could only imagine how bad his- well, probably both of theirs -concussion was. Not to mention the wounds... and the fact they fucking stranded on another planet.

Blinking away the dizziness, Keith groaned quietly, raising his index finger to press into the comms. “Voltron? Voltron, we crashed-“ nothing on the other side. “Dammit.” He slammed a fist against the seat of the pod, sliding his helmet off. Reaching forward, he gripped the handle tightly, pushing it forward to open the pod. The air was breathable, at least.

Keith shakily stepped outside, gripping onto the top of the sideways pod. “Lance...” he breathed worriedly, turning his head quickly which ended up in another spell of dizziness. “You okay? Please tell me you’re still alive.”

I have more, just ask!

[idornaseminary]

Chapter Seventy-Four: Unlikely Company

So far, the forest wasn’t as bad as anticipated. Based on all of the warnings and horrors they had been told about, Natasha would have expected to be attacked the moment they crossed past the first trees. But so far, everything was quiet save for the sound of their footsteps against the pitch-black leaves on the ground.

They had been walking for awhile now; Natasha wasn’t quite sure how long. But she knew that they were likely going to have to go all the way to the middle, which really didn’t sit well with her. It meant that if something happened, if they were attacked or otherwise compromised, they would be miles from any way out of the Gladur. But she pressed forward with the other two next to her, her wand raised and lit while theirs were at the ready in case of an attack. She wasn’t giving up now.

Calix followed closely behind Natasha, Mel by his side and their wands raised chest-high. The moonlight was filtered out by the clawing blanket of stygian leaves above their heads, the mastication of the dying leaves beneath their feet and the flow of their breath the only sounds in the silence.

Alone. For now.

Moving deeper and deeper into the forest, towards its corrupted heart, Calix tapped his wand against his thigh occasionally, pink sparks tumbling to the ground with every shielding charm, his mind offering transient moments of mania in the darkness, suffocated by the need to continue.

The only light that guided their way was self-produced - the canopy of trees was too thick to give way to any moonlight. So when Mel caught sight of a blue, wispy light dancing through the trees ahead, she came to an abrupt halt.

“What is that?” she whispered frantically, wand trembling in her hand. As it got closer, the tension in her chest unravelled hen she realized it was a patronus, a swan to be precise. “A patronus? Does that belong to someone we know?” She looked at her companions expectantly.

Mel’s frenetic voice ricocheted inside Calix’s skull like a bullet, his muscles reacting to the worry and the fear as he turned his head towards the darkness, his wand emitting a bright light. Obliviating the darkness, he saw a translucent, ethereal blue swan settling silently on the forest floor.

He recognised the superlunary creature instantly: “That’s Beatrice’s…”

Enzo stuffed his hands into his jacket pockets, only now noticing how cold the air had become; his fingertips had began to numb. “How much longer is this going to take?” he said. “We need to be at the ready when they come.” Of course, Enzo knew the others would come. It wasn’t as if they would leave them behind - especially Calix when it came to his beloved.

Chantal, hand still pressed against the mountain, sighed. “Not long,” she replied hesitantly. “He only taught me how to do this once before.”

“He?” Enzo said, knitting his eyebrows together.

“As if I’m telling you. I don’t know how strong those charms are.”

Enzo sighed, looking over to Beatrice who looked cold, sitting on the dirt in a thin dress. Of course, he knew that in his right mind, he would never do this, but now, looking at her, he could not care less.  

Staring up at the edge of the canopy above their heads, Beatrice sat looking up at the stars, trying to divine a meaning behind the few constellations she could see ahead of her. She inhaled the frost infused air slowly, causing her body to release a violent shiver, her teeth chattering. Sat in her sweat soaked evening gown on the hard, damp floor of the forest beginning to close in on her like a grave, she struggled to keep her eyes open.

Maybe I can get a few moments of rest.

Beatrice shook her head, limp curls swaying softly back and forth, and sat up as straight as she could, though her muscles protestation was nearly enough to make her cry out in pain. Biting down on her bottom lip, she forced her eyes open, keeping them trained on the sky above. If this was to be her last night on earth, she wanted to remember the way the night danced in the heavens above.

The three of them stared at the patronus, as if waiting for the swan to give them a more direct signal. But after a bit, it dissipated, the faint bluish-white glow turning into small wisps that were soon completely gone. Natasha had to admit, it was a bit disconcerting, but it was a symbol that Beatrice was still alive, and that she needed help.

“Come on,” she insisted, looking at the other two. “If she was able to send a patronus, she must be in a situation we can rescue her from.” Calix especially seemed terrified as he looked at where the ethereal bird had been sitting just moments ago. “The longer we wait, the less likely we will be to find her alive. Let’s go.” Her voice was commanding and insistent, but the tightness in her throat gave away that she was worried about her fellow Seer and the whole situation.

“Nat is right,” Mel said resolutely, giving Calix’s shoulder a squeeze. “We’re close, I can feel it. Let’s keep moving. For all we know Enzo is with her.” She stepped aside, giving Calix the go ahead to lead the way.

Calix uneasily watched the translucent wisps vanish into the all-devouring darkness, sweet memories of Beatrice ebbing at the edges of his mind. He sighed heavily, determined despite the biting paranoia about their companions’ safety.

“Yeah,” he said with a fiery staunchness, stepping forward tenaciously towards the centre of the forest, “Let’s go and get this done. The sooner we’re out of this damn forest the better.”

“Bellerose,” Chantal snapped, looking back from where she rested her palm on the mountain, her dim chanting coming to a halt.

Enzo looked up from where his eyes scanned the dark leaves on the ground, writhing at his feet. “Done?”

“Nearly,” she replied, nodding towards Beatrice. “Get her. Now.”

Enzo walked over to Beatrice, grabbing her harshly by the arm and hauling her to her feet. “C’mon, princess,” he said gruffly. “Up.”

He led her messily towards Chantal, the hooded figures on the edges of the clearing all turning their heads towards them. He knew who they were, of course, but the way they hardly spoke… it was unsettling to say the least.

“Madame,” he said with a grin, shrugging Beatrice towards Chantal, who caught her other arm.

“Could you please shut the fuck up?” Beatrice wheezed, her breath shallow and weak as she struggled for air in the bitter near winter breeze. “If you're gonna kill me, I'd rather the last words ever spoken to me not be a scathing remark about my life. It obviously means something to you, otherwise you wouldn't be trying to take it away from me,” she babbled senselessly, body wracked with shivers as she teetered on the border of hypothermia.

Enzo rolled his eyes, walking away from the scene. “Get it over with,” he muttered, looking back into the forest.

Chantal, with one hand on the mountain and one hand on Beatrice’s bare skin, closed her eyes, exhaling softly. She began to chant. Icelandic, it was clear, was the language in which the chant was being recited, but it sounded distant, like the language had been dead for centuries.

As the end of the chant neared, the focus flushed from the mountain, through Chantal, and into Beatrice. Blue wisps of smoke-like magic trailed around her arms, leeching into Beatrice’s skin, draining her energy. “Thank you for your offering,” Chantal said, her voice barely a whisper.

Beatrice’s already weakened body sagged as she felt the remnants of her strength, replenished by her magic, started to dwindle. Her heavy eyelids fluttered, offering a glimpse of her eyes rolling back into her head, her clammy, frost-blistered skin exhausting of all color. Her feet gave out under her and her head hung so low her lethargic breaths barely allowed her chin to touch her chest. She forced her eyes open and looked under her left arm back at the forest, a feeble smile cracking her raw pale lips open in the frigid air when she thought she saw three figures emerge from the bowels of the forest, remaining hidden in the shadows. Feeling her knees buckle beneath her as well, she sank down onto the decaying bedrock of the forest, a hideous voice suffocating the last wisps of her consciousness with two little words that squashed whatever optimism was left in her heart: You’re alone.

The further they got in, the more unnerved Natasha felt. But there was a point when she stopped, gesturing for the other two to stop as well. Her eyes widened a little. “Shh,” she breathed. “Do you hear that?” Not too far ahead was the sound of voices, which she knew had to mean Beatrice and whoever was with her.

Calix nodded his head slowly, holding dead air tightly in his lungs. The sound of sinister chanting cut through the stillness as they stepped towards Natasha, the chanting intensifying. He motioned towards the dense treeline with his wand, a hidden site of cover, whispering to the German witch to extinguish her illumination charm.

“Are they there?”

Mel edged towards the treeline to see a group dimly illuminated by nothing more than wandlight and the dull beams of moonlight that managed to break through the trees. She was able to make out a group of cloaked figures, and a blonde girl she vaguely recognized as the captain of the Aquilen Quidditch team. Enzo stood nearby, a bored, lifeless expression on his face that made Mel’s throat tighten.

“Look,” she breathed, motioning towards a huddled figure on the ground. “I think that’s Bea.”

Natasha shot a glance over at Calix; he was a clear-headed person for the most part, at least as far as she could tell, but she knew how people got when those they cared about were in danger. “Stay here,” she said, creeping around towards the side, trying to get a better view of what was going on. She knew that they had to figure out what was happening before they could go in, but the moment she saw Beatrice on the ground, looking like she had almost no life left in her, she realized they didn’t have time to spare.

Calix considered the feasibility of possibilities as eyes focused on his girlfriend, cadaverous and gaunt, hand gripped tightly by the Aquilen Quidditch Captain. Her vitality was obscured, every sensed beat of her weakening heart filled Calix with a dread that threatened to drive away his adrenaline-induced sangfroid. However, Calix’s perception of her waning lifeblood was masked by the overwhelming difference in Enzo, his blood chemistry dichotomous to his usual indifference.

Chantal. Enzo. Beatrice. Five others.

We have to do this. Now.

His mind scrambled for a solution, stepping closer to the clearing despite Natasha’s warning. They didn’t have a moment to lose.

“Take those guys out,” he whispered, slipping his jacket off, “Cast from the treeline, never from the same place twice. Pick them off one by one, do whatever you need to wipe them out. Then, one of you, get Beatrice. I’ll get their fucking attention.”

“I’m on it,” Mel mouthed, slinking along the treeline to get herself within clear firing distance of the figures. She gave Nat and Calix a short salute, barely visible in the darkness, and immediately fired off a hex at the nearest figure.

The hooded figure crumpled into a black mass on the forest floor. The group in the clearing came immediately alert, and Mel crept away from her hiding place before they could pick her out.

As Mel slinked away into the darkness, Calix nodded at Natasha: “Keep firing, no matter what. Your spells will go through my shields, unlike theirs. Now, go - get Bea!”

Ripping the cave inimicum charm from around him, Calix stepped angrily into the clearing. Pink mist began to spill forth, covering the fallen leaves, as Calix gestured with his wand in a wide circle.

“Aegis!”

A shimmering perimeter formed around the clearing, sealing Calix inside and affording Mel and Natasha the chance to fire unperturbed at the hooded figures, while they made their way for Beatrice and Enzo - who seemed sickeningly more unlike himself, the closer Calix got - and unknowingly severing Chantal’s connection with the mountain.  

Natasha didn’t like taking orders, but for once, she didn’t give a single snarky comment and listened immediately. She darted to the opposite side of where Mel had gone and started firing spells at random as she moved, thankfully taking out two more of the hooded figures. She kept an eye on her two allies as they moved, as well as the positioning of those in the clearing. Chantal and Enzo were still right next to Beatrice, and she didn’t know how she was going to grab her like Calix said unless they were drawn pretty damn far from the girl.

She darted behind a tree when a spell was returned in her direction, since she had hesitated for too long after trying and failing to stun one of them. She sent a glance towards Mel, as if asking for any ideas, before her eyes landed on Enzo in the middle, who didn’t seem like himself. If nothing else, she couldn’t see him doing anything like this.

As Enzo watched two of their comrades crumple to the dirt, he spun, drawing his wand. His lips pulled back into a sneer, and he called out to Chantal. “They’re here!”

Groaning, Chantal dropped Beatrice’s arm, letting her slump to the floor as she drew her own wand. “That was faster than I had anticipated. I thought you said they were slow.”

Enzo didn’t answer; he tucked and rolled, narrowly dodging a spell being fired his way. He positioned himself behind a tree, laughing loud enough for the others to hear him. “I’m surprised, my friends,” he hollered, sending a stunning spell towards Calix. “I didn’t think you would come.”

He didn’t watch, but he heard Chantal scream curses at the others, trying to penetrate the shields.    

A gasp of relief escaped Beatrice’s cracked, bleeding lips, her eyes splitting wide open, as dark smile brightening her grey face when she looked up at Chantal, who had her back to the captive. “Fuck you,” she wheezed, wincing and grinding her teeth together as she turned around. She squeezed her eyes shut and forced herself to block out the rest of the world, the screams of the hooded figures and her friends’ daring attempt to rescue her. Her frozen body trembled, shaking like a city ravaged by an earthquake, as she wriggled her frostbitten fingers, aiming them at her blonde captor. She inhaled deeply, the icy air biting her weak lungs that wanted to give out.

“Stupefy.” Beatrice tried to sit up straighter, letting out a pain-filled whimper as she turned her head to look behind her. She knew that was likely the last thing she’d ever do, watching the incensed bitchy witch turn and focus her wrathful attention on her, pissed that the weakened woman even tried to fight back.

Bea yelped loudly and closed her eyes as her body flew into the air feet first, immediately blacking out as the wind rushed past her ears, knotting her black hair in twisted tangles. Chantal ceased her levicorpus charm once the Samoan woman was about twenty feet off the ground or so, watching with morbid pleasure as she crumpled with a sickening snap on the forest floor like a rag doll.

Natasha hid out for another moment before darting to the side, getting close to the mountain and feeling an aura off of it that she didn't like. It was something deep-rooted, old. Something that she wanted to run as far away from as possible. But even if her survival instincts told her to get the hell out, she forced herself to stay, to fight.

She heard Beatrice's weak voice, then suddenly the Samoan woman was being thrown in the air. Natasha scrambled to remember any sort of spell to slow her fall, to prevent too much injury, but nothing came, and she was forced to listen to a familiar sound of a body hitting the ground.

She gasped softly, suddenly struggling to breathe as she stared at Beatrice's body. Please be alive. Please be alive. She didn't think she cared that much for the other girl, but she couldn't see her die. Not like that. Not again.

“We don’t give up on friends!” Calix roared, as Enzo’s stunning spell reflected effortlessly off his protego charm, colliding cannon-like with one of the hooded figures, who slumped paralytically to the ground. The corrupted sound of Enzo’s voice and the intense sensation of abnormality Calix could feel culminated in a sudden realisation about Enzo.

But, before he could say another word, Calix watched in horror as Beatrice’s body rose into the air before gravity dragged her down with a stomach-churning crunch, her frail form nauseatingly broken on the forest floor.

The world stilled. Calix’s heart failed. Grip tightened. Breath stopped. The mist swirled violently at his feet. The perimeter of magic groaned as Calix let out a guttural scream, pain-filled and seeped in fury that shook the Gladur to its core.

The protective barrier suddenly contracted, rushing past Calix’s shoulders and collapsing inward towards Chantal and Enzo as the perimeter tightened around them like a hangman’s noose.

The sound of Beatrice’s body hitting the ground and the resulting surge from her companions was like a slap in the face for Mel. She stopped short, still concealed in the trees and feeling a lump building in her chest and throat.

Something snapped and she stormed forward, letting out a cry as she wordlessly pointed her wand in the direction of all who stood left, its shaking tip switching from Chantal and then to Enzo, who she turned pleading eyes on.

“If she’s dead you have even more to answer for you bastard,” she seethed, eyes hot with tears.

Enzo licked his lips, watching Beatrice’s body slam into the ground. He could feel the others’ rage pounding forwards like a tornado. He groaned, sending a few basic curses their way, which were easily deflected.

“Now what?” he hollered towards Chantal who took cover behind a nearby tree, firing a green bolt of energy towards the three students that Enzo recognized as the killing curse.

“Keep casting!” she replied back angrily. “We can’t afford to let this one slip through.”

At her command, Enzo’s charm began to burn against his chest, willing him to obey every word, dripping with desperation. He nodded, stepping out of the treeline and firing back, ignoring the screams from the others.

“Avada Kedavra!” The sound was foreign on his lips. He studied the killing curse many times, but he had never once uttered it. The bolt was sent directly for Natasha, aimed between her eyes.

Natasha had no issue deflecting the curses that were first being sent, but she suddenly saw a flash of green from Chantal’s wand that made her eyes dien. This was serious now - they clearly didn’t want any survivors. The Cucurrion looked at Enzo and saw his wand aimed directly at her, diving to the ground with less than a second to spare as the same green bolt shot towards where she had been moments before. She scrambled back to her feet, and ducked behind a tree, trying to catch her breath. Maybe...maybe this was a good thing.

“Bellerose!” she shouted, moving back into sight and trying to Stun him. “What the hell are you doing? What happened to all that Aqulien nonsense about being brave and doing the right thing?” She knew this was idiotic, that it was putting herself at great risk, but with Calix drawing focus with his own powers and Mel getting closer to Beatrice on the ground, this might just give the blonde the chance to get Beatrice and get out.

“Change of heart, chéri,” he replied, watching Natasha scramble on the ground.

As soon as he spoke, he felt a wave of energy slam into his gut, sending him backwards. He rolled, tar-black leaves picking up around him as he came to a halt next to his cover. He looked up, teeth bared. He looked to his right, expecting to see Chantal behind her cover, backing him up, but she was no longer there. His eyes darted around the clearing surrounding the mountain, but the only blonde was the whore who knocked him off his feet.

She abandoned me…

He secured his wand before they could get closer, and he raised it, aiming it directly at Melanie’s wand. “Expelliarmus!”

Mel’s wand flew out of her hand as the red light hit her. She cursed, mentally weighing her options as quickly as she could. She’d made it so close to Beatrice, but there was no way she was going to survive without a wand to defend herself, especially if Enzo was throwing out killing spells now.

Cursing again, she doubled back, scrambling to the spot where her wand had flown.

Enzo eyed Calix, approaching his girlfriend now. He knew he did not have time to toy with Melanie, so he pointed his wand at her back as she ran back for her wand. She was never the brightest... “Finite Incantatem.”

He did not watch to see the damage the spell caused, instead aiming his wand towards Calix, firing the same counter-spell.

Calix, stormy eyes fixed on Enzo, summoned a shield around Mel as she crawled frantically across the forest floor. The counter-spell shattered the shield into mist and explosively fragmented Calix’s outermost protection into a million swirling shards.

Raising his wand, the shards formed a wall of mist beside Enzo, which Calix sent crashing into the Aquilen’s shoulder before he could cast another shield-piercing curse.

“Cop the fuck on, Enzo!” Calix roared, waving his arms in a wide arch, sealing both of them in a protective circle. He threw a quick glance at Natasha, close to Beatrice’s crumpled body, and Mel still searching, before turning his attention immediately back to Enzo. “Cop on! You’re possessed! Bewitched! She’s using you, you idiot!”

“Where are you!?” Enzo hollered to Chantal as he took his cover once he regained his footing from Calix’s attack, his voice booming around the Gladur.

She told him she had a plan for him, that she was going to make this right, that this was the only way to stop it. She lied. She lied to him and now he was alone, left for dead.

Seething, he watched Calix step towards Beatrice’s limp body. He raised his wand, his vision already blurry. “Avada Ked -”

Natasha saw her chance when Enzo was distracted by Calix, and she cut him off before he could finish the spell. “Stupefy!” She watched red bolt shoot from her wand and hit the boy, thankfully causing him to collapse. She looked around quickly for a sign of any of the others, but they were gone. She walked towards where Enzo was on the ground, looking him over. “What did she do to you?” she said quietly to herself, as she looked down at him, trying to figure out how he was being controlled. It wasn’t the Imperious Curse. He was acting far too normal for that. But it was something.

Mel breathed a silent thank you to Calix when Enzo’s spell shattered the barrier around her instead of causing any harm. She finally reached her wand and lunged for it, clutching it to her chest as she swivelled to get a better look at the action.

Enzo was on the ground, Natasha standing over him threateningly. Bea was still unconscious. The rest had disappeared. Mel breathed a sigh of relief. She dragged herself to her feet and joined Natasha, staring down at Enzo with a tight throat.

What have they done to you?

As Enzo fell gracelessly to the floor, Natasha’s spell cutting him down, Calix ignored the blatant attempt at murder and turned towards Beatrice. He pointed his wand at the Aquilen behind him, uttering accio under his breath and robbing the stupefied wizard of his last defense. Calix tore across the forest, muttering about possession, before falling to his knees beside Beatrice, dropping both wands and jabbing his mist-covered fingers against the cold skin of her neck.

Come on. Come on. Don’t you dare… Don’t you dare…

A small beat sent wracking shivers through Calix’s weakened body, heavy tears falling down his cheeks. “She’s okay… she’s okay…”

Natasha glanced at Calix when she heard his voice, nodding a bit at the notification that Beatrice was alright. “We need to get out of here,” she noted, hearing sounds start to pick up in the forest around them. They had been lucky enough not to run into anything that might kill them before, but now it seemed like the grace period was over.

“Agreed,” said Mel, giving Calix a nod. “Grab your girl. I can levitate Enzo out of here and we can figure out what to do with him once we get back to Idorna.” Before anyone could protest, she pointed her wand at his limp form and muttered, “mobilicorpus,” slowly lifting him into the air.

“Mobilicorpus,” Calix whispered shakily, pointing his wand at Beatrice. Her body floated off the floor, shrouded in healing mist that Calix didn’t really have the energy to cast. He trudged back towards the girls, his breathing heavy.

“He’s possessed,” he muttered, Enzo unconscious body swimming through the air before Calix, “We’ll need to keep him under control until we can sort all this out. Fuck knows what he’ll do. I say, we bring them to the Den, no one knows it’s there. We need that - we really can’t explain any of this yet.”

Natasha listened to the two of them, but didn’t respond to anything. She had her wand raised, but kept her gaze focused out towards the trees around them. The other two were occupied, and she knew they couldn’t fight off any attacks that may come. Thankfully, although the walk was long, they didn’t face any of the alleged horrors of the forest. The sun was nearing the horizon, and they made it out alive.

“We cannot tell anyone where we were,” she said, looking at the other two finally. “I don’t know what you can do with Beatrice, Calix, but she cannot go to the hospital wing.” She looked at them, a hardness in her expression that hadn’t been there before. “If they find out we went into the forest, it will seem like we were the ones responsible for all of this. Or we’ll get expelled for going into the Gladur. Either way, both of you need to keep your mouths shut. Understood?”

Mel nodded. When she finally spoke, her voice crackled like parchment.

“Understood. I’ll get Enzo to the Den like we discussed.”

Natasha was right. The infirmary was the best place for Beatrice, but Calix knew he couldn’t explain anything. He glanced at his girlfriend, floating sombrely beside him. The pink mist had fallen away long before they had reached the edge of the forest, his magic spent on protective spells.

I keep my promises…

“I can look after her myself,” he whispered, “I’ll keep Enzo’s wand with me, until we figure all this out. Make sure you restrain him, Mel. He can’t move a muscle or a make a sound.”

Natasha nodded, noting that the two of them really did seem to understand. “Good. We’ll meet at midnight in the Den sometime soon.” She knew they all needed time to recover and process, but they didn’t have time to do that now. People would start to notice they were gone if they stayed out longer. She didn’t say anything else, just leaving the two of them heading back to her common room to get some much-needed rest.