#wh *s m a c k* // crack

[whitedragoncoranth]

A Handful of Hope...

In his quarters - a snarl drawing back his lips - Rocket Raccoon browsed the Terran Internet. The worthless flarkin' bald-bodies may have been primitive when it came to just about everything--but flark their stories, art, and music were somethin' else. Even now, he sifted through some random site - Tumble-something-or-another - his eyes glimmering as he soaked up artwork and stories; art and stories with him and Star-Munch; with him and some humie named Jolie, a story where Drax acted as a Dad to him, and on, and on...

Around the others, he'd made sure to sneer and scoff and snarl and insult it all - that ain't me, that's not how things work, this is all flarkin' stupid - but when he was alone... secretly, he longed for the next post, whether it was a story or piece of art. The stories and art of him and Lylla made him laugh, made him cry, made his heart flarkin' ache--and the latest bit of art by hibata (what kinda dumbass name was that?) - the one where Petra Quill was holdin' him, sorta buried in her hair - filled him with longing. The bit of black and white art where he was listenin' to Pete's Walkman and dancin' with Lylla's ghost hit especially hard, and he cried silently for maybe five minutes or more.

The stories written by that whitedragoncoranth guy, however, were just plain weird! That story where he had a servant lookin' after him and takin' care of him, where the humie had adopted Cosmo, and then Lylla had been brought back to life--then the humie had become the newest flarkin' High Evolutionary?! That one was way out there, but Rocket loved that one, too, secretly wished he could be there, cuddled up with his princess and Mama Cosmo. The newest stuff this humie wrote was even weirder. Stories where he was cared for by a powerful humie and his pet giant gold liza-drag-whatever? That one where he'd become a Dragon-Rac - a hybrid? Now there was this other one where - somehow - the powerful humie and his dragon had rescued Lylla from the High Evolutionary, and then the dragon had brought her back to life with a song!

That one was way, way out there, and had brought him to tears when he'd read it. Rocket sniffled, wiped his tear-filled eyes. "... gotta stop doing this..." With a harsh sigh, the little raccoon spun away from his holopad, then laid his head in his paws, breath hitching in a sob. "'s not real, none of it's real. Damn it, stop pinin' for somethin' you can never have, d'ast it! It's not..." Suddenly, Rocket inhaled a breath, his fur briefly fluffing up and standing on end as the room seemed to grow warmer. In front of him, the air shimmered... and then, his little jaw dropped open as reality gently cracked in light of cyan-blue.

Rocket gasped as the crack widened, a little, then further and further. "... it ---king, R-cket?" came a humie's voice from the other side. Jaw dropping open, Rocket gasped as someone answered with his own voice! "Loo---- good, Pa--, I th--k we're n--rly there! --- good -ver --ere, Mama? Fl--- this -----ference!" Rocket snuffled back a sob, now, as a gentle female baritone answered--a voice he swore he heard in his head! ~Tu--ing, tuning... adj--ti-g -arp m-tri--... Oh, c-me on -ou ruth firok, work!~ With frustration, the humie responded. "We--- t- f-cking close to th-- rip, da-- it! -ut this is the -nly pl--- wh-re th- -eil --tween --iverses -s thin --ough f-r th-s to w-rk. Th-t ----ains th- ----rference. L-t me try someth---..." By now, the crack in reality had widened enough to become a door, but suddenly it began to destabilize!

"No-no-no!" Rocket's breath hitched as he heard his own voice again, from the other side. "Back th-t one off - bit, lemme tr- som-th--- GOT IT!" The bizarre reality door suddenly stabilized, and Rocket goggled at what he saw. The other side of the doorway exited to a colossal laboratory, but inside it--here, Rocket's breath froze in his throat! Dark brown hair done up in a peculiar braid framed a weathered face; hazel eyes, nose and lips drawn up in a curious little smile. A hand attached to a pink-skinned arm, dusted with a light coating of hair slowly drew away from a pattern of holographic glyphs towards his body, which was clothed in some kind of amazing teal robe covered with runic designs; beneath that was some kind of golden-bronze armour.

The powerful, not-quite humie from the stories Rocket had just been reading! Now Rocket squeaked - withdrew from his belt a small stunner that he held with shaking paw - because next to him... The creature measured about forty meters from snout tip to tail tip, with a wingspan that matched the length of her body. Thick and leathery golden hide, devoid of scales or hair, covered her body. The membranes of her gigantic wings were the exact same golden colour as her body but veined with streaks of dark golden bronze. Her large three-meter head looked smooth and streamlined; she had a sleek snout and up-thrust, mobile ears. A line of bronze-coloured spines ran from the base of the dragonesses’ skull to the base of her tail. These spines arched up-and-back in a slight curve, and were small at the base of her skull, but became bigger toward the middle of her back, before becoming smaller, and finally smoothing into a slight ridge that ran all the way to her tail spade.

The dragoness, the mama dragon who'd looked after him in those stories... She looked at Rocket-on-the-Milano, utterly stricken, then sniffled sadly, trilled and called to him--and Rocket looked at the weapon in his paw. What the flark am I doin', this... this is Mama in the stories he thought, horrified, then he made the weapon safe and nearly tossed it away! In despair he sobbed and tried to call back to Mama... and his heart lightened as the gentle dragon smiled at him in understanding and forgiveness, cooed and purred gently to him.

The dragoness lifted her wing... and Canon Rocket sank to the floor in tears again, for beneath her raised wing was Dovah Rocket, and next to him... Now Rocket truly cried, sobbed, wept, because he saw his beloved Lylla, but she was larger, with golden-bronze fur, a huge pair of white-feathered wings growing from her back. Dovah Lylla looked to her beloved; he smiled and nodded, and she moved towards the portal. Canon Rocket opened his mouth to speak to Lylla - there was so much he wanted to say to her - but soon, he closed his mouth as she started to sing with all the power of her thu'um...

That song... Rocket stood, frozen, body shaking, bawling like a baby as his - their - beloved Lylla sang with the voice of an angel; the ship - hell, it was as if the whole flarkin' universe - became brighter, yet a li'l sadder at the same time. As the song ended, Dovah Lylla gently put a paw to one of her wings, plucked from it a huge primary feather, then passed it through the reality door to Canon-Rocket, who took it with shaking paw, with utter reverence. Lylla was alive, somewhere out there--he had flarkin' PROOF, PROOF IN HIS PAWS! As Rocket held the feather to his chest, over his heart... Dovah Lylla's expression grew sad, as did the expressions of David and Ieesha. The dragoness buried her head into David's robes, Dovah Rocket and Lylla held each other gently, nuzzled, cried too. Because the portal, gradually, was closing...

Before the doorway - now once again a reality-crack - sealed forever, Canon Rocket, clutching Lylla's Feather, heard his beloved Otter's voice one last time. “Impossible connections made possible, my beloved raccoon!” she cried, joyously. “Reach through and grab a handful of hope!” Later, Rocket would go to his work bench and construct a display case for the feather so flarkin' indestructible, it would survive the end of the universe - and he would modify all his clothing such that there was a thickly armoured section with an internal pocket so he could carry the feather in its case with him, against his heart, no matter where he went - but for now... Rocket Raccoon - Canon Rocket Raccoon - alone in his quarters aboard the Milano, held tightly to Lylla's Feather as he laughed and cried.

[hunters-vs-hunted]

Bombastic: Let's watch Shark boy and Lava Girl Bloom: Ok Bombastic: And make out during the scary parts. Bloom: The- The scary parts. Bloom: Of shark boy and Lava girl

[undertalethingems]

Bark at the Moon Chapter 19: Darker Yet Darker

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Or read on my Ao3>

Rating, Setting: Gen, Pre-canon

Chapter Warnings: None?

Chapter Summary: If Alphys is going to help the brothers overcome their inability to shift forms, she needs more information. Information that lies in the grim, long-abandoned sections of the lab she never knew about. The lab where the brothers were made.

Alphys breathed. In, and out. She meshed her fingers together, then snapped them outwards with a crackle. She picked up a hammer, a blowtorch, and lowered the welding visor over her eyes.

It was time to 'hack' into the abandoned labs.

Of all the floors listed on the elevator, all but two seemed to be operational--the entry floor, and the lowest, where she'd conducted her experiments. She'd wondered about the others, of course, but had never been able to verify that they existed. As far as she could tell, they'd been dummied out, so to speak--placeholders in the elevator's control panel that weren't actually connected to anything.

Thanks to a couple of skeletons, she knew that wasn't true. There were whole sections of her facility that had been sealed off, and who was she, as a scientist, if she didn't investigate? This was supposed to be her lab, what if there was important equipment to salvage? Not to mention the implications it might have for her friends. So she'd gathered her tools and her courage, turned off most of the elevator's safeties to keep its doors open, and began lowering it manually so there'd be no bypassing whatever floors lay between. Slowly sinking downwards, her heart leapt when a door finally rose into view in the dim light--but she quickly got to work.

The blowtorch hissed and sparked, and a clang announced it had done its work. Alphys shut it off and switched to the hammer, using it to knock the doors loose and slowly pry her way through. She could really use Undyne's muscles right now... Her strong, broad shoulders... those powerful biceps covered in glimmering scales... No! She could dream later. There were people counting on her. She wedged herself in the half-open door, braced herself against the other, and pushed with her leg. It grated open, and finally, she set foot on a floor it seemed no one had used for decades.

The landing was nondescript, lit by the weak emergency lighting she was familiar with. Even so, she exchanged the welding mask for a headlamp and flicked it on, illuminating the rest of the hall down to a doorway. She took a deep breath--and tried not to choke on the stale air. Even the ventilation system seemed to have been cut off here... She'd have to be careful. Gripping her hammer, she shuffled forward into the gloom.

A greyish-white mass erupted from the wall. Alphys shrieked, backpedaling so fast she tripped over her own tail. She landed on her back and rolled, scrambling on all fours for the elevator--and then she stopped. She recognized that electronic buzzing...

She turned, looking over her shoulder. "M-m... Memoryheads?"

The mass screeched, coalescing into a more familiar appearance, and Alphys turned over and sat as she tried to catch her breath. What were they doing here...?

"U-um, hi... you know you can leave the lab now, i-if you wanted," she said, slowly recovering from her nerves. "S-sorry I yelled, by the way, you just startled me. It's... k-kind of spooky down here, huh?"

The memoryheads buzzed like an old computer's disk drive.

"W-well, maybe not to you, ha ha... U-um... I sure hope you're the only thing lurking down here! I-I... I'm going to keep going now, okay?"

She got to her feet, brushed off her coat, and picked up her scattered tools before proceeding back down the hallway. She passed the memoryheads, and looked back to see they'd begun following her a few feet behind. What Undyne had shared about them popped into her head, and she had to wonder... Maybe they could help her.

"H-hey! So, I... I didn't make you, did I? You weren't part of my experiment."

A harsh grating sound emanated from the amalgamate. Oh, that's right--Alphys dug into her pocket for her phone. The speaker crackled with static, and she listened.

"NEGATIVE RESULT."

"O-Oh, that means, no, right?"

"That is correct."

"O-oh... Oh man... so my hypothesis... C... Can you... show me where you were made?"

"One moment, please."

The memoryheads phased through the floor.

"H-hey! I can't do that!" Alphys spluttered, then sighed. She should have known... the memoryheads were the more enigmatic of her charges... and they weren't even hers! What had she gotten into...?

"You may join us now," the phone suddenly crackled, and she jumped.

"Wh-where? What floor? What number?"

"666666666666666666666666666666666666--"

She shut the phone off, ending the harsh screech. Was there even a sixth floor? She turned back for the elevator once more--though she definitely wanted to check out all the abandoned labs had to offer, she had a priority. Back inside, she checked the panel--and there was indeed a sixth level. She'd head there, and could only hope the memoryheads actually had something for her.

A bang, clang, and scrape, and Alphys forced another set of doors open. The air here was even stuffier--a lingering chemical trace intermingled with decaying tile and carpet. She coughed, and hoped the air coming down the elevator shaft would be enough until she got the ventilation working. She'd take it slow until then.

"O-okay, I'm on the sixth floor, Memoryheads," she spoke into the phone, and static rose on the line.

"Come join the fun." "Come join the fun." "Come join the fun."

She sighed. They were helping, in their limited way. There was nothing for it but to venture into the dark, and see what she'd find. She shuffled forward, feet padding along warped linoleum--the first monster to tread these halls in years.

No.

Alphys' breath caught in her throat. There, in the dust--there were footprints. She swallowed hard, and followed them. The hall opened into a room, and she passed by rows of deteriorating machines. She could only guess at their purpose--all rotten rubber tubing, peeling paint, and oxidizing metal. Generators, perhaps. The footprints passed them by, and so did she. Another hall lead to another room, this one lined with all kinds of monitoring equipment, their paneling and readouts coated with years of dust and stained by a burst pipe. But nothing here seemed to have a means of storing information--there wasn't much to be gleaned here. So she continued on.

She finally came to a room that looked like a laboratory, with workbenches and cabinets on one side--and a pair of operating tables on the other. There was also some kind of device on the floor--it had been shattered by an incredible force. The footprints seemed to stop by it before moving on.

The next room made Alphys gasp--and not because the air was thin. It was U-shaped, and tall cisterns lined the walls, nearly reaching the vaulted ceiling. The memoryheads waited here.

"Th... This is...?"

"It's a real get together," the memoryheads stated, apparently confirming her unfinished thought.

Alphys hurried over to examine the nearest tank, pouring over its construction. The craftsmanship, the expert tooling! What she wouldn't give for a set of blueprints or schematics or--a chill suddenly ran down her spine. No. This wasn't anything to get excited about.

She looked back up at the cracked glass walls of the tank before her. This was where the brothers had been... made. They'd both come from one of these--not sparked from a parent's soul like any other monster. If Gaster had stopped there, he might have been alright, but then he'd...

She turned back to the memoryheads. "C-can you show me... Do you know where the brothers lived down here? Sans and Papyrus?"

"Invalid statement. Please try again."

"Oh, you don't know... O-okay, I can figure it out. Thank you for leading me here."

"Our pleasure."

She nodded to them, and headed back the way she'd come. It seemed the owner of the footprints had done the same--but then had seemed to stagger... and then the trail vanished...? Weird...

Wait. Alphys squinted, and found a clear print. She placed her own foot beside it to compare. It was just a little smaller, left by rounded footwear... These were Sans' footprints. She should have known...! She sighed. What had Sans been looking for down here...? In any case, his trail went cold. Alphys only had her own guidance to go on now.

There was another doorway opposite of the tank room, so she headed for it--and thanked her luck as rows of ancient computers greeted her. Finally! This was what she'd been hoping for. She headed for the nearest one, and booted it up--or, tried to. It briefly wheezed to life, only to die, and she swore under her breath as she dove under the desk to open it up. These were built into the floor?! Oh come on... Maybe she could remove the hard drives and take them back to her lab for analysis. She pried the side panel open and took a look--well, that was unusual.

And bad.

The main drives had melted together somehow, the plastic and metal a bubbled mess. She swore under her breath again, and reached in to see what her magic could tell her. The spark of magical electricity raced out, laying the computer's wiring bare in her mind's eye. It was the skill that had made her such a mechanical genius, and as she sensed the magic's ebb and flow, she sighed. She'd salvaged many a broken machine others had written off, but the chances of getting anything more than parts out of this were slim. She squeezed back out from under the desk, and surveyed the room. There were at least a dozen more... She had to hope she could get something out of those. She dusted herself off, moved to the next station, and got to work.

Three hours later, and Alphys had pulled as many drives from the remaining computers. She didn't have high hopes for these either, but they'd seemingly suffered the least damage from whatever event had fried an entire room of computers. She suspected the events leading to Gaster's disappearance might have been it... but that didn't help her now. She put the drives in her tool satchel, took one last look around the room, then headed back for the elevator.

The memoryheads burst from the floor again, and Alphys shrieked.

"G-guys! I know I sh-should be used to that by now, but please--"

The amalgamates buzzed, and she pulled out her phone to listen.

"Right this way."

"O-oh, you know of... more stuff?"

"CORRECT."

"Okay. Um, lead the way then."

Alphys shuffled after the memoryheads as they flit down the hall and into the elevator. She gave them a quizzical look--and jumped as the elevator started without any input--any visible input, at least. It rose to the next floor up, and Alphys dug for her tools, expecting another round of cutting her way in. But the doors dinged and opened smoothly onto a wide landing, and she watched the amalgamate glide out. But she shook her head and followed.

The hallway opened into a larger room, with windows along one side and a door to another hallway that continued on straight. Of chief interest to her was the large computer terminal set into the wall, but there was also a monitor near the windows, and she could just make out another placed in the hallway. If nothing else, this looked promising.

She padded over to the terminal, then blinked and turned back to the memoryheads. "Hey, u-um... thank you."

"DON'T MENTION IT." "You're welcome" "be seeing you."

They phased out, leaving Alphys alone in the abandoned lab once more. She took a deep breath, and turned back to the main terminal. This looked more advanced than the computers she'd already raided, and she hoped it had been better shielded from damage. She gathered her nerves, and turned it on. It flickered--and command-line text spurted across the screen. Alphys grinned, cracked her knuckles, and got to work. Alphys dug into the files, many of which, though corrupted, still held tantalizing fragments of data.

"O-okay, this said something about behavioral sources, and that other file mentioned cross-referencing a natural history encyclopedia with the behaviors observed in a study group... A study group of what though...?" Alphys muttered to herself as she wrote her own notes on what she'd pieced together. She'd copied down a few tables of measurements, and found parameters for the tubes she'd seen in the other rooms. But there was still more to comb through, and amid the gibberish of corrupted text more complete phrases stood out, forming a log of observations.

"...UBJECT REQUIRES FOOD. UNFORTUNATE. I WAS HOPING IT WOU..."

"...BEAM OUTPUT UNDER EXPECTED PERFORMANCE. SUBJECT CONTINUES TO EXHIB... URTHER TESTING REQUIRED..."

"...SUBJECT EXHIBITS UNUSUAL BEHAVIO... NGE OUTSIDE PREDICTED... NOT FOLLOWING MY INTENDED..."

"Y-yeah, of course they didn't, you jerk," Alphys muttered to herself as she continued to scroll through the files and copy whatever had survived. She already didn't like Gaster very much, but these files were doing nothing for his reputation. She found a proposed recipe for whatever he'd used to feed the brothers and grimaced. "Just plain food-grade magic and a few basic vitamins...? Really? That would have no flavor... No wonder Sans loves fast food and Papyrus can't cook... Oh, this log looks pretty complete! Let's see what it says..."

"I HAVE NOW CONFIRMED IT... BOTH SUBJECTS EXHIBIT TROUBLING ABILITY. PHENOTYPE EXPRESSION IS VARIABLE... SEEMINGLY AT WILL. MORE TESTING WILL BE NEEDED TO DETERMINE IF THIS COULD BE... PREVENTED IN SOME WAY. FOR NOW, UNDESIRABLE ATTRIBUTES WILL BE MITIGATED."

Alphys shuddered. "M-mitigated... I guess that's a nice way of saying he made them be what he wanted... ugh. Well... there's another entry, so..."

"PHENOTYPE ISSUES PERSIST. NO PROGRESS MADE ON SUPPRESSING THE ABILITY. IT APPEARS TO BE A FUNCTION OF THEIR... DESIGN FLAW."

Alphys stared at the words before her. "Design flaw... what does he... wait.... Does he mean their souls?!"

Disgusted, she pushed away from the terminal and paced. Suggesting a soul was a flaw... she couldn't understand it, couldn't comprehend the callousness this log boasted. She bristled, and static crackled across her scales--oh, the last time she'd been this angry it had been watching Mew Mew Kissy Cutie 2! But as angry as she was, she needed to keep looking. She needed whatever information this place still held. She took a few more deep breaths, ran her hands over her face, and returned to the computer to keep digging.

As it so often did, the time flew as she worked. She only realized how long she'd spent browsing and recovering files when her stomach growled, signaling it was well into the night and she'd forgotten to eat. She sighed, and rubbed at weary eyes... She'd collected so much, but there was still more, dozens of files she hadn't gotten to. She'd have to come back and keep looking at this--at least she knew where it was now. And all she'd read was enough to start formulating a hypothesis.

She shut the computer down and gathered her things, then shuffled over to the windows to have a look before she headed up. She couldn't make out much in the dim light, but the room beyond seemed... huge. She looked around and... oh! There was a light switch here. She pressed it, and overhead lighting clicked on, revealing the room beyond. It was huge--perhaps twice the size of the main floor upstairs, if not bigger. The walls were stained--but had clearly once been a stark, sterile white. Was this where the brothers had been... tested?

Alphys pursed her lips, and backed away. The lights had also been turned on in the hallway, showing more rooms. She wasn't sure she wanted to, but... she was curious. She shuffled on, and came to the first door. It was reinforced, and she could only just see through the window if she stood on her toes. More stark walls, though the room was much smaller--then she realized it was subdivided, with a thick window and another reinforced door splitting the room...

A pit grew in her stomach. This... had to be...

She wouldn't have believed anyone could keep a fellow monster like this. But, considering what she'd just read she wasn't surprised Gaster had only provided the bare essential to the brothers. She glanced up at the monitor set into the wall nearby. If it was anything like the ones she'd used herself... She waved her hand in front of it.

"HOLDING ROOM 1. CONTENTS: UNOCCUPIED."

"A-ah..." she uttered, and shuffled to the next. It was identical to the first.

"HOLDING ROOM 2. CONTENTS: UNOCCUPIED."

She supposed it was better they were empty... but she wanted to see them all. The third room was slightly different--it was a bit larger, and had a raised shelf on one side. If she squinted, she could just make out what seemed to be a ragged scrap of fabric laid on top of it. Was that... supposed to be a bed? Maybe this was where the brothers really lived... At least it had more space than the holding rooms, but there was nothing to make it any more comfortable. It was just bare, featureless metal walls. She grimaced, and activated the nearby monitor.

"ENCLOSURE 1: SUBJECT 1. WARNING: DO NOT APPROACH. SUBJECT IS KNOWN TO BE DANGEROUS. DO NOT PERMIT INTERACTION WITH SUBJECT 2. EXPERIMENT CONCLUSION: FAILURE."

Alphys shuddered, then turned to the next room. It was similarly barren.

"ENCLOSURE 2: SUBJECT 2. WARNING: DO NOT APPROACH. SUBJECT IS KNOWN TO ESCAPE, MAY BE DANGEROUS. DO NOT PERMIT INTERACTION WITH SUBJECT 1. EXPERIMENT CONCLUSION: FAILURE."

Alphys clenched her fists. Her friends weren't failures... they were incredible for holding together for so long, getting through so much, and then doing nice things for her and trusting her to help them. They had survived all of--this. Her goal was clearer than ever--but she was too tired to work on it now. She turned her back on the abandoned lab and headed for the elevator.

Reaching the fresh air of the main floor was a relief. As tempted as she was to immediately plug the hard drives she'd collected into her computer and start recovering them, she opted to fix some instant noodles and catch up on the Undernet instead. It had been a long day... she'd get back to work tomorrow, after she'd had some time to recharge.

The drives she'd recovered from the lab were plugged into her main computer as she heated up breakfast, and she sipped at a mug of coffee as she poked at them virtually. If she could coax more information out of them, it'd bolster her suspicions. To say the code structure was archaic was... an understatement. But, it meant the password protection was easily bypassed with a few tricks--she was better at actual hacking than the 'hacking' she'd done to get into the abandoned lab floors, and in moments she'd begun browsing whatever files remained. There were plenty to choose from, many of which seemed to relate to details of the Core and other technological projects. But none seemed to relate to the brothers' origins, and after thoroughly checking the rest of the available files, she moved to the next drive.

It seemed these computers hadn't been used for anything relating to the brothers, however. Barring any damage or corruption, each drive contained essentially the same files. Alphys' best guess was that that room of computers had been used by everyone in the lab... and perhaps not everyone was allowed access to the files detailing Gaster's little project. She sighed, setting the old disks aside. She'd have to go back to that main computer after all, see what else she could get, and collect her own data to compare. And that would mean calling the brothers in for some tests.

"O-okay, just, hold still please!" Alphys said, trying to steady her own hands as Papyrus fidgeted.

"Are all of these really necessary?" he griped. "They're making me, itchy, I think."

"I n-need them so I can properly read your magic! Th-these sensors are the only way to tell what's going on with it, and they won't work if I don't get them placed just right," Alphys explained.

"think of it like one of your puzzles bro," Sans suggested helpfully from where he half-dozed nearby. "do it in the wrong order and ya gotta start over, right?"

Papyrus sighed. "I suppose. Very well!"

He finally sat perfectly still, allowing Alphys to place the rest of the sensors.

"Okay! There! That's it for that--now I need to make sure they work, and then we can get, um, some data. You guys ready?"

"Finally! We're doing real science!"

"instead of being the science done," Sans joked--was it a joke? Alphys hoped so as she flicked the electro-magical field reader on.

"Okay, just like we did for S-Sans, I'm going to need you to hold still and wait for a minute so we can get a baseline," she explained.

"Of course! I was paying attention!" Papyrus huffed. "I'm just excited! To think, after all this time, we might find out why... I'm tall, and Sans isn't!"

"well, that's one possibility," Sans said, and Alphys couldn't help but laugh.

"I sure hope we find out more than that. O-okay, just a little bit longer, and...!" She watched the timer count up to one minute, then cut the data collection off. "Okay, now, I'm going to start it again, but I'd like for you to cast a few attacks. I-it can be any pattern or bullet type, you just have to keep it up for thirty seconds!"

"A simple task for someone as great as me! I'm ready!"

"Target's over there--aaand go!"

Papyrus obliged, sending a flurry of bones at the dummy Undyne had loaned them for the day. He started with a basic array, then quickly built up to a complex pattern before finishing with a blast from his own jaws. Alphys gave him a smile as she cut the reading off.

"Okay, that was great! Sans, are you sure you can't give me at least a couple attacks to compare...?"

"Yeah, come on, Sans! Your patterns may not be as good as mine, but you don't want to mess up Alphys' data, do you? I know you can do it!" Papyrus encouraged, and his brother gave a drawn-out sigh as he got up and trudged over.

"alright, alright. i'll throw you a bone."

"Sans! You better throw more than one! You have to fill thirty seconds of data!"

"geez, don't remind me."

Alphys finished disconnecting the wires that had linked Papyrus to her machine, and reconnected the lines that were still attached to Sans from his first round of tests. "Okay, everything should be hooked back up. Are you ready?"

"as i'll ever be."

"And... go!"

Sans immediately opened with a pair of blasters before tearing into the dummy with a bone maze, then sent alternating blue and white bones at it before summoning another round of blasters. As she watched, Alphys wondered if they would have a training dummy to return to Undyne by the time this was through. She gave the signal for him to stop, and he flopped to the tile floor panting.

"Sans, you showoff! Alphys, I want to do mine again, I can do better than my troll of a brother," Papyrus said, indignant. Despite his breathlessness, Sans chuckled from the floor.

"U-uh, well, maybe later--I only needed to see you guys using your attacks, it didn't really matter how, um, flashy they were," she replied, holding up her hands. "That should be good enough for now. Th... There's one other thing I wish I could test, b-but, I think I can just use the old... the old data I was able to recover for that."

"I thought the point of this was to collect brand new, un-possibly-corrupted data?" Papyrus said, fiddling with one of the wires trailing from his skull.

"W-well, yeah, but... I can't ask you guys to do it, not when you guys have worked so hard to..." Alphys fidgeted. "I don't want you to feel like you have to do anything you don't want to, and I can't imagine you'd want to do, um, this potential round of testing... so, f-forget it! It's fine."

"you wanna know what our magic's doing when we slip," Sans surmised, pushing up into a sitting position. "isolating those patterns might tell us how to turn 'em off... that's what you're thinking, right?"

Alphys sighed. "Y-yeah... but... I know how hard it is for you guys to break out of it. And... I don't want to make you do anything you don't want to. I... I saw where he kept you. I... I read at least... some of what he did to you... And I don't want this to be anything like what you went through down there."

The brothers exchanged looks. After a moment, Sans sighed. "we want to get this figured out as much as anyone. if that means... letting go... well, with any luck it'll be worth the trouble, right? plus, i'll have you guys to pull me out of it."

"Oh no you don't Sans, you are not sacrificing yourself! I mean, it's very selfless of you, but! You also have the worst time with it. So I volunteer!"

"no way papyrus, i'm not letting you do that to yourself. i'll feel better knowing you're looking out for me."

"And! You'll be looking out for me! It's fair either way!"

"no, you're not doing it. end of story bro."

"Guys," Alphys interrupted, "we don't have to do it! I shouldn't have even mentioned it, ugh."

Papyrus turned to her. "Doctor Alphys, if this is going to help us figure out how to never do this again, then I think we should. I... I want to know what he did to us."

Alphys looked at his earnest expression, and turned to Sans. "Is... Is that how you feel too?"

Sans closed his eyes and rubbed his face with a claw. "... yeah. everything we've tried... it hasn't worked. i have no idea how we figured it out as kids. so... anything that might help us get this over with... we gotta try all our options, right?"

"O-okay... If you guys are sure... then, I'll take care of my side of things. If you need a few days to decide who's going t-to... do the tests, or if we're doing them at all, that's fine. I can analyze what we collected today in the meantime."

"I think that may be best!" Papyrus replied, and Sans nodded. "You'll hear from us soon enough! You can count on it!"

"J-just, take care, okay?" Alphys said as she hurried to help remove the sensors from the brothers' skulls. "I d-don't want you guys to get hurt because of me..."

Papyrus turned to pat her head. "Don't worry about us, Doctor Alphys! We've gotten through far worse! And! This time! It's on our terms!"

She bid them farewell, hoping they hadn't all just made a terrible mistake... but she had to trust the brothers. They had gotten through worse, and come out on top every time. They were counting on her to do her job--so she ought to do it. She gathered up the lines from the EM reader, and wheeled it closer to the computer so she could input the data and begin her analysis. She'd compare the brothers' readouts to samples she'd taken of herself, some of the engineers from the Core, and her friends--all to see if anything differed between them. It was bound to be interesting.

The days passed, and even as she continued trawling through the data collected by a cruel man, she realized she was having fun doing science again. Watching the numbers come together, formulating a hypothesis, tweaking variables to monitor the effects... This was so much more up her alley, finding how all the pieces fit together. And as she collected more pieces, she was getting a clearer picture of just what state the brothers' souls were in, and what Gaster's experiment had been meant to achieve.

She just needed was one last piece to confirm her idea and start working on a solution. She could only hope she'd hear from the brothers soon...

Finally, Sans called her one afternoon, sounding especially weary. "heya alph."

"Oh! H-hi, Sans! What's up?"

"i, uh think we're ready."

"... I guess Papyrus won the argument, huh?"

Sans managed a laugh. "yeah. i couldn't stand up to his flawless logic... which was 'go into the woods for a few days to loosen up' before i could get around to it myself."

"Uh. Wow."

"yeah. he's always really on top of things."

"He's... okay, right?"

"oh yeah, my bro's fine. it's just... rough, seeing him like this, y'know?"

"I bet. A-anyway, I'm ready whenever you guys are."

"ok. we'll be right up."

"Okay! I'l be ready!"

Sans hung up, and she scrambled to actually be ready, because whenever Sans said he was about to be somewhere, he was almost always already there. She pulled the EM reader away from the wall, and gathered a bundle of sensors and draped them over the top just as there was a knock at the door. She squinted, because that was an automatic door...

"Come in!" she called, and the door slid open.

"you're supposed to say 'who's there'," Sans replied as he ambled in, Papyrus in tow. "alright, good luck getting him to hold still this time. don't think he's, uh, as far as he could be, but, should be enough for your tests."

Alphys looked from him to Papyrus, who was warily sniffing the floor. She could already tell in how he carried himself and studied the room that he really had fallen back on instincts. Which was what they needed for the test, but... like Sans had said. It was rough seeing him like this.

"O-okay. Papyrus?"

He perked up, and swung his head around, tilting it to one side.

"Um, hi. Can you come over here, please?"

He looked to Sans, who nodded before walking slowly over to the machine. Papyrus followed, and scrutinized the device thoroughly before sitting down and studying her patiently.

"Okay, now, I need you to hold still while I stick these on," she explained, feeling like she was repeating herself--but she wasn't sure Papyrus remembered the last time he'd been here. "Th-they might get a little itchy, but, I need you to let them stay on, okay?"

Papyrus made an uncertain warble as she approached, but Sans gave him a reassuring hoot and laid down. Alphys gave him a look.

"U-um... you're not... slipping too, are you?"

He gave her a weary shrug. "doing my best not to, but... we stick close, y'know?"

Alphys pursed her lips, but continued with her task. Papyrus was surprisingly patient despite his former concern, only fidgeting a little as she pasted the sensors onto his skull and sternum. He tried to scratch at them once--but Sans batted his hand down with a gruff rasp, and though Papyrus shot him an annoyed look, he settled down.

"Okay, they're all hooked up! I'm starting the test now--just, hang in there okay?"

Well before the minute was up, Papyrus got too fidgety again, and risked pulling away from the machine--but before Alphys could scold him, Sans started a game with him. He summoned a small bone just within the reach of Papyrus' neck, and Papyrus snapped at it--missing as Sans pulled it away at the last moment. Papyrus uttered a playful growl, his tail flicking before he lunged at the bone's new spot--and missed again. Sans evaded him a few more times before Papyrus caught the bone in his jaws and it fizzled out of existence. Sans summoned another bone, and the game began anew.

"Alright, that should be enough!" Alphys announced, and the two looked up--though Papyrus took the opportunity to catch the latest bone Sans had been taunting him with. "I think I can work with this--thank you so, so much you guys. I should have more info in a week or two... Are you really going to be okay?"

Sans shrugged. "we're going to undyne's after this, she'll get him to shape up. we'll see ya later, alph."

"O-oh, okay! Tell her I said hi," Alphys said, hoping she wasn't blushing as she peeled the last of the sensors off Papyrus. "With any luck, I'll be able to help you with a different kind of shape."

"heh, good one. ok bro, ready to see undyne?"

Papyrus warbled an affirmative, and with a click, and a blink, they were gone.

Alphys shook her head, and turned to begin analyzing her results. She still didn't get how Sans did that. Maybe there'd be something in the data.

There certainly was a lot of data to go through. Alphys had been building her hypothesis, but as she got deeper into the numbers, she realized there was more to it. She dug back into the abandoned lab's computers, hacked and reconfigured her way in, and scraped every last bit from the broken registries and hidden backups. She cheered when she found a nearly complete log charting the brothers' growth, only to feel sickened by Gaster's actions yet again as she read the suggestions on how to alter their physiology and diet to get better results--whatever that meant.

"Subject had human-derived willpower substance drawn today..." Alphys read, squinting. "Human derived... willpower substance? What does he mean by..."

A chill seized her. Surely it wasn't the same...? She scrambled back through the readouts she'd taken from the brothers, and cross referenced them. Oh. That would explain... why that part of the wavelengths had looked so odd. She sank back in her chair--it really was the same. Determination... Really, knowing the memoryheads hadn't been her doing, and the blueprints she'd found, she shouldn't be so surprised. Somehow, the brothers were stable--thank god. But, why...? Why add that to... a living weapon? Or a monster? She kept digging, trying to understand the man who'd created life just to use it as a tool.

But before she could make much progress or come to any conclusions, Undyne called her.

"Alphys, are you busy?" she said ugently, and Alphys dropped the stack of papers she'd collected.

"N-no, why?"

"It's Papyrus. We can't get him back."

Alphys froze, heart racing instantly. "...Wh-what? It wasn't too b-bad when he was here--what's going on?"

"It's," she started, frustration clear, "it's like he just keeps sliding, no matter what we do. Sans won't say anything but I can tell he's worried. We thought you might be able to tell us something..."

Alphys gave a shuddering breath. "I... It's too early, I haven't had a chance to analyze everything yet. I-I only have a guess as to why the brothers can change at all, not--not how to help them yet..."

Undyne grunted. "Okay, well, we'll help him as much as we can. Let us know as soon as you find something, okay? Please."

"I-I'm working as fast as I can. Just.. just tell them to hang in there, I should have something soon."

"Okay. Thank you, Alph."

She hung up, and Alphys was left staring ahead at her desk. It... was... probably okay? The brothers had been stuck in their feral states before, and both had snapped out of it eventually. It was the pattern--even if they stayed in the blaster form for a while, they'd get back to their true selves...

A pattern.

The idea seized her. Scrambling through the papers before her, she began compiling all the notes, charts, anything that was relevant. She hoped her hunch was wrong, dread coiled tight in her chest as she began running the numbers.

A week of nearly constant work later, and she had her results in hand.

Alphys stared at it, threw it aside to pace, then came back to it. This couldn't be right. But it explained... too much about the problems they'd had. She couldn't bear the thought of telling them... but she had to, didn't she? They deserved to know. But if she told them, wouldn't they hate her...? No, they might hate her more if she didn't say something, tell them that they...

She had to tell them.

"Th-thanks for coming," she uttered, trying not to let her voice shake as Undyne and the brothers entered her lab again. Papyrus balked at the doorway, and only scuttled in once Sans had plodded into the center of the room, proving it was safe. His gaze darted around his surroundings, and he chittered nervously. Alphys frowned. They really hadn't gotten him back, and today... she'd be telling them why.

"Uh, so, how's it going?" Undyne said, trying to lighten the mood with small talk as they gathered around a fold-out table. "You said you had something for us, right? Not gonna lie, I've been super excited for the results."

Alphys sighed, and Undyne's smile fell.

"Alph... what did you find?"

"I-I," she stammered, "I found... well... I found a lot. Not everything, but, enough to figure some things out. I was able to piece together what Gaster did to make the brothers the way they are, b-but... I also found something... that's... bad. And it has to do with why Papyrus isn't back to being himself... but I didn't find out any way to help you... I'm sorry."

"s'ok. you did your best," Sans said, his head laid on the table and eyes dim. What was happening now had clearly taken its toll.

Undyne grimaced. "Well, it's only been a little bit since you started working, right? Maybe you just haven't found the answer yet. But, I think you should tell us what you did find."

"Maybe," Alphys said, trying not to sound defeated. It was true she'd only had all the data for a little while, but... she wasn't sure it would matter. "I... I want to be more honest about my work, s-so... I'll tell you what I found, even though it's bad news... If... if you don't want to hear it, I don't blame you..."

Sans closed his eyes. "Papyrus... isn't going to understand it. So... you can say whatever."

"We're not gonna be mad or anything just because you did your job," Undyne reassured her. "Tell us what you found out."

Alphys grit her teeth, and turned to Sans. "S-so... I guess I'll start with why you guys are like this to begin with. The beginning's usually a good place to start, right? Ha ha... Anyway... I'll, um, try not to ramble but... I think the gist of it... is that, Gaster tried to make a living... bullet. You know how some monsters can cast attacks that, um, seem like their own entity, right? That sort of construct is uncommon, but not unheard of--but, they're not truly living things, they're attacks the same as any other. It seems like... Gaster wanted to take this idea further, and make attacks that could potentially think for themselves and last outside of battle a long time. All to hunt humans...

"He constructed some extremely advanced attacks--based on what I could find, he figured out their most intricate workings, even how to 'program' them with certain traits or behaviors--ones he learned hunting animals on the surface have. It looks like he spent years refining this technique. But... he still couldn't get them to last outside of battle like he wanted. The way he saw it... the next step was to add a little bit of soul energy. H-he, um, apparently didn't expect... that even a small amount would become a full soul. S-so... the soul formed inside this... programmed attack format.

"It was easiest for the magic to flow along these pre-constructed paths... but the soul... still contained the genetic format for a skeleton monster--a bipedal form with intelligence and skills beyond what Gaster had intended. So... without realizing it... he ended up with a sort of... hybrid, of his specialized attack, and a monster that, um... technically... was his... child."

"Gaster should count himself lucky he's erased, because if I got my hands on him..." Undyne growled, her fists clenched tightly, "he'd WISH he was."

"Y-yeah, seeing all this, I was furious too," Alphys breathed. "He... in what little I read, he just... talked like he was working with animals. M-maybe... he'd convinced himself that's all you were. B-but... so... that's... where your instincts, and ability to transform, come from. It was all him--he, unwittingly, gave your souls this ability by trying to fit them into another form."

"...huh," Sans uttered. "guess that does explain it... why we can do it, and why the instincts only come up when we're like this."

"So is there any way to like... turn it off?" Undyne said. "It's not really a part of them, so maybe--"

"I-it is, though" Alphys said, downcast. "It's as much a part of their soul as, I dunno, bone magic. A-and, turning it off, w-well... Gaster wanted to do the opposite, and take away their other form... He never actually succeeded, obviously, but... that... brings me to the bad news."

"Wh... What do you mean?"

Alphys heaved another sigh. "I didn't think anything of it at first. It just seemed like... like a coincidence, or maybe Gaster just wore you guys down over time, but... You've said it was easier to change back and forth when you were younger, right? And you just... did it less as time went on... B-but... well... with Papyrus being unable to get back from even a relatively mild slip with your guys' help... I got to thinking...

"Maybe... maybe there was actually a pattern to it. Th-that... as time has gone on... it really.... It really is getting harder for you guys to switch back and forth. Like... like the forms get more entrenched as time goes on, a-and, the longer you stay in them. S-so... I plotted all the times it mentioned you guys switching forms on a graph... a-and..."

She slid a pair of papers across the table for Sans and Undyne to study. Each was labeled with their names, and the points on the graphs plotted lines--but they looked more like waves, the crests and troughs of which increased in amplitude as time went on as their frequency decreased. A fainter line projected the waves' path into the future--and it went off the page.

"I-I... I think... W-well, the data suggests, that, if... if we can't get you guys changed back soon... you... you might... slip, and... not... not be able t-to break out of it... e-ever... ever again."

Sans' eyes blinked out. "... papyrus is going to be stuck like this forever?"

Alphys had never heard his voice break like that before. She could barely speak herself, but she couldn't leave things there. "I-I don't know, there's--there's still a chance we can bring him out of this. We just--we can't let it get too far, o-or... A-and I mean, I could be wrong! God, I hope I'm wrong... My d-data is probably pretty incomplete, I don't have much f-from, when you were younger or before all this... B-but, it's... It's a possibility, and, when you called and said you hadn't gotten him out of it, that's when I realized what might be going on, why you might not be able to change back like you did a long time ago... and, I... I'm so sorry..."

Undyne clenched her fists. "I... I really hate Gaster. ALL of this, ALL of your guys' suffering, is because of HIM, and hearing it might not be something you can escape? I WON'T accept that. Alphys, if I can help you, just tell me what to do--I'm NOT letting this guy take my friends away after he's already DEAD."

"we'll still be around," Sans uttered, voice subdued. "just won't be like we used to. i... i dunno what we'll do to live, but... h... hey, just... keep being nice to my bro, ok?"

"Sans, we're not giving up! I can't give up! I WON'T give up! I--" Undyne was interrupted as Papyrus, seeing her upset, had put his head against her arm and nuzzled it. She grimaced, and patted him with a hand as she continued. "I said it before, I'll say it as long as I need to. I won't rest until you guys are back the way you want to be. Alphys hasn't finished her research, so there might still be something we can do. For your brother's sake, don't you DARE slip, or give up, or let go. Okay?"

Sans looked up at her, beleaguered. "dunno... i was never good at fighting the inevitable..."

"Well it's not inevitable yet," Undyne stated firmly. "Alphys, if we get the bros changed back soon, what will happen?"

She thought. "I-it... it should mean it's their other forms--the regular skeleton monster form--that becomes dominant. A-at least, at least on this scale. I didn't plot ahead like... decades, s-so it's possible this doesn't show every outcome... B-but... the sooner we avert the current trend, the better..."

"so... how much time... before we're too far gone?" Sans murmured, and Alphys winced. Despite Undyne's words of encouragement, he was obviously doing pretty badly.

"I can't be sure--it, I think it depends on how much you keep exercising your mind, since that seems to be what's helped you break out of it. I'd... I'd keep trying with Papyrus too. I... I'm with Undyne on this one, I... I don't want to give up, even though it looks really bad... S-so, please... you can't give up, Sans. I know that's really hard for you, b-but... one of the other things I discovered, that I'm still researching is... that... You both have artificially elevated levels of Determination. I... I think that's something else he figured out--how to give Determination to monsters in a safe way. It might be another factor in why you haven't been able to change back, but... It might help keep you going, too."

Sans studied her for a while, then closed his eyes. "i dunno. all this... sounds like there was never anything we could do about it. the moment either of us changed this last time... our fate was sealed. i'm... i'm just so tired. all the work we've done to keep ourselves together... it didn't get us anywhere. i... i'll try to keep it together, for papyrus... i don't want to leave him hanging. but... it's been real hard. and if it's only going to get harder... i don't think i can keep it up for much longer."

Undyne reached over to pat his shoulder. "Look, we'll get through this. You just keep holding on to yourself, I'll help with Papyrus--done that before--and Alphys will keep looking for a solution. Monsters didn't get to where we are today by giving up, so you can't either."

"Yeah Sans, I promise I'll keep looking," Alphys stated--Undyne's will was bolstering her own. "Now that I have an idea of what's going on... maybe I can figure out how to undo it--not, not all the way. Like I said, this... this is a part of your soul. But... if we can figure out how you can change back, then, it should stay dormant for a long, long time. And, that's worth going after."

Sans opened his eyes, their lights returned as he studied them both, then looked to his brother, who had gotten bored and wandered off to bat a piece of crumpled paper across the floor. "i... to be honest? i dunno if i care how we end up. all i want is for papyrus to be happy. but... i guess... if i slip too, i dunno who's gonna take care of him. if i can't hold a job, we can't pay for a house, or good food, or... he couldn't do any of the stuff he really loves. i, uh, remember how it was when we lived in the forest, and... i don't want him living like that ever again. so... i guess i do have to keep it together, huh?"

Alphys smiled with relief. "Y-yeah, you do. I still have a lot of data to go through, s-so, nothing's decided yet, b-but... I figured you should know what might be happening, and... hopefully... do something about it. I know I'm going to try."

"Yeah, don't worry! We've got your backs, okay?" Undyne said, grinning widely. She wound up to slap him on the back, but he dodged out of the way.

"ok, don't make that literal," he said, sounding a little better as he squinted at her. "i, uh... won't make any promises. but... hey, maybe i should help with the research too. if there's anything good i inherited from gaster, it was his smarts. science stuff is still cool, despite him."

"I'm glad he didn't totally ruin it for you," Alphys replied, heart soaring as her own hopes returned. "I certainly could use the help, and it would help keep your mind sharp, s-so, if it's not too much for you... that might be good for both of us."

"heh... using gaster's own specialty against him? can't say i don't like the sound of that," Sans replied, something like spiteful glee shining in his eyes now. "yeah. count me in."

"Aw man, all of us working together!" Undyne cheered. "It'll be great!"

"Yeah... yeah, I think that'll be nice. I'm... I'm sorry I couldn't give you guys good news today, but... That's hardly the end of it," Alphys said. "We'll see where the data leads us, and go from there, and not give up until we're sure we've thought of everything. Until then... I'm not through with Gaster's work. He... he's dead... But I won't let him win!"

[whump-tr0pes]

Honor Bound 4 - 2

Honor Bound 4 - 2 (Sleep deprivation), requested by anon

~

This is a series. Start here. 

This is a sequel to Honor Bound, Honor Bound 2, and Honor Bound 3.

AO3

Cw: thoughts of death, surgery mention/brief description, noncon mention, narcotics, vaguest mention of dissoci@tion, emesis mention, broken bones, death mention (but it’s Colleen Stormbeck so yaaaay), blood, panic attack mention, needles

~

Sam’s head lolled on Finn’s shoulder. They weren’t asleep, not even close, but exhaustion dragged at their body, ate away into their bones until they felt like they would shatter with a single touch. They were miles from sleep. The agony pounding through their arm every single moment made sure of that.

Finn was dozing against the seat, their head tilted back. Their mouth was open and they snored softly, little noises with each breath that wouldn’t have bothered Sam at all on any other day. Right now, every sound was a blow to Sam’s skull.

They hadn’t slept properly in weeks. Almost a month. Almost a month of lying on a cold cement floor in chains with lights that never turned off. Almost a month of starting awake with nightmares of Colleen holding her knife to Isaac’s throat, to Vera’s, to Gavin’s. Almost a month of crying themself to sleep as Isaac whimpered softly beside them, or Tori sobbed in the next cell. They hadn’t slept at all, the last night they’d been in Colleen’s captivity. When Isaac didn’t come back from Gavin’s room, Sam was terrified to their soul. She’s been torturing him all night. She’s killed him. She’s made Gavin kill him. They’ve hurt him so badly he needed a doctor, one who can do surgery and set bones and sew up his insides. When Isaac returned, Sam had wailed with relief. They’d cried harder when Isaac told them he had a plan to get them out.

They wouldn’t have slept that night anyway. They’d heard what Leo said about them when he was threatening Finn. They understood what Leo meant. They understood Leo wanted them in the worst possible way, wanted to hold them down as they screamed and fuck them. Leo wanted that the whole time. And Gavin stopped it. Gavin stopped it, even back when he was so twisted. That’s what Gavin saved them from, even then.

Vera drove over another bump, and a scream tore from Sam against their will. They didn’t mean to. They knew it was making it harder for everyone to sleep. They pressed their lips together and whimpered. Isaac stirred in the front seat and turned to look back at them.

Sam hated themself for making the sound. The pain that twisted in Isaac’s eyes, the guilt, was more than Sam could bear in that second. They couldn’t take the burn of Isaac’s gaze as Sam read what he was thinking, as clearly as if he was saying it out loud: this is my fault. I should have taken the bullet. I should have been the one to bleed out, be cut open, scream. Sam had always been able to see it. They just never realized how deep that pain really went.

Another bump. Agony lanced through Sam, through their arm, their back, their chest… everything. They clenched their teeth against the scream that forced its way up out of their chest. They fell back against the seat, cradling the arm that was tied against their chest. Something was wrong in their arm, they could feel it. Something in their hand. They just didn’t want to think it. Didn’t want to know.

The road to the farmhouse was bumpy, and it was excruciating. The directions had been right: up to Burmingham, take a right, a fork, a lake. They couldn’t see in the dark, but Sam thought they might be halfway around it by now. They prayed. They desperately waited for the next pill that would dull the pain. Make it simply unbearable, instead of something that would crush them alive. Sweat soaked into their clothes. Made them shiver. They could feel the sweat and blood on their skin. The pain rose, like a spike was being driven through their arm. They moaned and pressed themself against Finn.

Finn’s head shot up and their hands flew out towards Sam. Finn scrubbed drool from the corner of their mouth and blinked slowly. “W’s happ’nin?” they slurred.

Sam shook their head and squeezed their eyes shut, sending a cascade of tears down their cheeks. “S-sorry,” they whispered.

“No, no… it’s okay.” Finn checked their watch. “It’s… fuck, it’s four. Jesus.” They rubbed their eyes. “Wh-when was your last pill? Ten?”

“I th-think so,” Sam whimpered. Please, Finn, please take the pain away.

“Hm.” Finn fumbled at their pockets and pulled out the bottle of pills. It was halfway gone already. They poured out one into their hand and passed it to Sam. Finn reached for a mostly-empty bottle of water.

“Finn, please,” Sam whispered. “Please, can I have… just one more, please…”

Finn’s hands shook. “I c-can’t,” they said desperately. “Sam, the… the Tylenol…”

“I don’t care,” Sam said, a little louder. “Please, Finn, I don’t care. It hurts.” They bit down hard on their lip.

“Sam, I…” There was a rustle of fabric as Finn slumped against the seat. “I can’t.”

Sam shuddered as the car went over another bump. They looked up and saw everyone in the car turned back, looking at them, pain tightening all of their faces. All except Tori. Sam looked down. Their cheeks flushed with shame.

“M-maybe I can find you something else,” Finn said weakly. “Something without Tylenol. Maybe I can do that.”

Sam’s head dropped back against the seat. Bitter rage curled around their chest, dug claws into their heart. The pain stole every thought from their head, every plea, every moment of sanity. They were sick with pain. They dropped the pill into their mouth and washed it down with the water Finn held out to them. They held very still, waiting for the pill to make it all the way down. They prayed they wouldn’t vomit it up. They closed their eyes and leaned their head against the window. The glass was cool on their cheek. They drifted in the pain.

The car rolled to a stop. Sam sat up, then cried out as it jostled their arm. They whimpered as the cry grated their cracked and aching ribs. For a moment, they nearly went out of their mind with the inescapable agony. It froze their chest. They felt a chill down their neck, and their head swam. They fell against the seat, stunned. The light in the car turned on as someone opened the door. A black spot appeared in Sam’s vision.

Someone gently touched their shoulder. “Sam?”

Sam tried to turn their head, but they could see nothing. Were their eyes open, or shut? There was a buzzing in their ears, so loud they momentarily couldn’t hear anything else. The world spun and they fell sideways. Directly into someone’s arms.

Sam was pulled from the backseat. They screamed raggedly against the hands that tugged at them. They fell roughly out of the car, still half-supported by the arms that wound around them. They stumbled over the uneven ground as they were dragged towards the house.

“I-it’s okay, Sam,” someone murmured into their hair. Finn.

“We’ve got you, honey,” someone else said softly from their other side. Vera. Sam whimpered and slumped in their arms. They stopped, and Sam nearly disappeared into the blackness then. Three dull thuds echoed through their brain. They couldn’t lift their head. They could barely keep their eyes open.

“Wh… wha…” Their lips were numb. Their arm was on fire.

“We’re at Gray’s house,” Vera said at their side, with something like a whimper in her voice.

Sam sagged against their hold and let out a broken sob. Maybe I can sleep. Maybe I can rest. Their arm flared with pain and they quivered, leaning their head against Finn. I’ll never sleep with my arm hurting like this. Their eyes burned, but no tears came. They were out of tears to cry. It felt like they’d been crying for days. Maybe they had been. They weren’t sure where they were, or what day it was. They weren’t sure how they were still standing.

Someone knocked on the door again, three louder thuds that pounded in Sam’s head. They flinched and staggered back. Finn’s arm tightened around their waist, and they didn’t fall.

“What if they’re not home?”

“What if it’s not really their house? Maybe we followed the directions wrong…”

“We weren’t wrong. Those directions were exactly right. Maybe they—”

Sam’s head spun. They couldn’t tell who was talking. There was a rustle behind the door and everyone fell silent at once. There was the scrape of the turning bolt of a lock, and the door swung open. Sam opened their eyes. Light streaming out from inside the house made them blink. They wobbled on knees that threatened to give out.

There was a gasp. “What… what happened…?”

Gray.

Sam collapsed forward with a thin wail, nearly pulling out of Finn’s grasp. They stumbled forward, searching for Gray, willing their eyes to focus until they could see them. They fell hard against someone and the air was forced from their lungs in a startled cry. They felt warm arms around them. They pressed their face into someone’s shirt and unraveled in their embrace.

“Sam,” Gray murmured, their chest rumbling against Sam’s ear. “Sam, you’re… Isaac… Vera… what happened?” Sam nearly fell and Gray moved with them, guiding them into the house. They saw warm wood floors and painted white walls and deep purple curtains all mixed in with copper and dark furniture. Then everything was a swirling mess.

“We… C-Colleen Stormbeck,” Isaac rasped. “We… she took us. And we—”

“She… what?” Gray cried, their voice thick with distress. They eased Sam down onto a couch and let them lay flat. The room stopped spinning, just a little bit. Gray sat down at their head.

“She, um, took us,” Isaac said miserably. “K-kept us. She… um…” Sam’s eyes were able to focus and they saw Isaac standing over them, one hand reaching hesitantly towards them, tears rolling down his cheeks. “…she tortured us. But we… we got out. We k-killed her. She’s… she’s dead.”

Gray’s fingers moved gently through Sam’s hair. Sam grimaced at how it stuck to their scalp. “Colleen Stormbeck… is dead?”

“Yes,” Isaac said. He bit his lip and turned to Vera.

“I put a bullet in her head,” Vera said harshly. “And in Leo, too. And in half her guards.” Vera’s arm tightened around Tori’s shoulders as Vera guided her onto the couch beside Sam. “I killed Colleen.”

“But…” Gray looked down at Sam. Their gaze moved over Sam quickly, taking in the sling, the bandages, the blood still staining their skin. They sucked in a breath through their teeth and turned to Finn. “What—”

“They were shot,” Finn said tightly. Gray gasped and turned back to face Sam. “They were sh-shot in the, in the arm. I we-went in and, um, I, uh, fixed it.”

For a moment, there was no sound in the room but Sam’s ragged breathing.

“You… fixed… it?” Gray’s voice cracked.

“Um…” Finn hung their head. “Y-yeah, I, um, I did.”

“…how?”

“Um…” Finn flushed red and looked at the floor. “I… um… I know I’m not a surgeon, but I didn’t see any other option, since Beringer was almost two hundred miles away and there wasn’t anyone we could trust and we were still in Fort Meyers, and they were, were, um, b-bleeding out so we, uh, went to Tori’s friend’s house and he, Topher, he’s a vet tech so he ha-had the stuff I needed so I, um, went in and… I, um, I sewed up the ar, ar, artery and I sutured the muscles and I, uh… stopped the bleeding and I know that was dangerous and I know I could’ve m-messed it up, but Gray there was so much blood and I didn’t know what else to do and—”

Gray got to their feet and drew Finn into a crushing hug. Finn sobbed and their head dropped onto Gray’s shoulder.

“I am so proud of you,” Gray whispered. “Proud of all of you.” They released Finn and looked around at them all. Their eyes fell on Tori and stayed.

Sam shuddered and whimpered as the pain flared. Why won’t that pill start working? Please… please… Everyone’s eyes turned at once towards Sam.

“Oh, god,” Gray breathed. “You all must be… you must be exhausted. How long have you been—”

“Since yesterday afternoon,” Isaac said heavily. He swayed on his feet.

“Jesus.” Gray looked around at all of them. “I should have enough rooms for all of you. Sam, I can—”

“Please don’t move me,” Sam sobbed. “Please. I want to be here. Please… please just… let me sleep here.” The couch was quite possibly the softest thing Sam had ever lain on. They thought they maybe might possibly be able to fall asleep right this second… if only their arm would stop feeling like it was being stabbed, over and over and over.

“Gray, do you…” Finn whimpered desperately. “I only have Vicodin, and I can’t double up doses. Do you…?”

“I have morphine,” Gray said softly.

Sam’s heart lifted for a moment at the thought of relief. Their chest ached.

“You have… what?”

Gray pressed their lips into a line, their eyes swimming with tears. “I thought… I worried… that when you came back… you would be in, um… rough shape,” Gray said softly. “So while you were gone, I got some things. Some medical supplies, fluids, and painkillers, and some, ah, Ativan for panic attacks…”

Finn rushed forward and nearly tackled Gray into a hug. “Thank you,” Finn whispered.

Gray rubbed circles into Finn’s back, then pulled away. Gray disappeared behind the couch. The room wavered around Sam’s head.

Isaac knelt beside Sam on the couch and took their hand. Finn stood by, nervously wringing their hands. Ellis was stuck to their side like glue. Vera had her arms around Tori. Sam could see the cracks in Vera’s iron mask, the strength she carried like a shield starting to fall. They were safe now. They were with Gray. Vera could afford to fall apart now and as she looked at Tori, Sam realized she was crumbling hard.

“Th-thank you, everyone,” Sam groaned softly. “For, um… you got m-me up here, and I… Finn…” Sam swallowed, the pain latching onto them and threatening to pull them down again. Sam’s eyes rolled back as they tried to find Finn. They felt a hand in their hair and peeled their eyes open to see Finn looking down at them, smiling brokenly with tears in their eyes. “You…”

“I’m s-sorry I couldn’t help with the pain, Sam,” Finn said. The tears spilled over and they swiped them away.

“You—” Sam croaked. They swallowed drily. “You… s-saved me.”

Gray reappeared holding a few things: a bag of fluids, a pile of IV supplies… and an orange bottle that rattled in their hands. Finn snatched the bottle up and checked the dose. They poured one pill out and looked around. “Gray, could I get some water for…?”

“Of course.” Gray set the supplies on the table and went to the kitchen. Finn knelt at Sam’s side and tore open the packets of IV supplies.

“I want to get you more fluids,” Finn said softly. “Morphine’s got vasodilator properties and I wouldn’t want it to—”

“Sounds good,” Sam whimpered as Gray reappeared with the water. They sat beside Sam and held the cup to their lips. Sam took a sip and took the pill Finn gave them. As soon as it was down, they fell back against the cushions, and the jolt dragged a cry from them. Sweat beaded on their forehead.

Finn had the tourniquet on, the needle in, and the extension set attached before Sam could even blink. Their head swam again as they swirled downwards, circling a drain that would pull them under into blackness again. They moaned as they watched Finn hang a bag of fluids from the tall lamp that stood beside the couch. The world darkened, the sounds muted, the pain fading. Sam knew it wasn’t from the pill yet. They walked willingly towards the oblivion.

From above them, they heard words that passed sluggishly through their mind.

“I want to stay with them. Make sure the morphine doesn’t—”

“No, Finn. Go sleep. You look half-dead. I’ll stay up with them. It’s alright. It’s pretty close to when I get up, anyway.”

“I want… Do you think we should get them to bed? They’ve been… we haven’t been able to sleep with the lights off in weeks. Maybe we could—”

“I’ll turn the lights off, and just use a reading light to read my book. They can be in the dark. If they wake up when the sun comes up and they feel up to it, we can get them to bed then. For now I just want to get a few hours of sleep in them. The pain won’t get better if they don’t sleep and start to heal.”

“O— Okay. I guess we…”

“…worry about anything. I’ll make sure you…”

“…no, I’m… I’m not hurt…”

“…don’t care about me, I just want to make sure they…”

“…to sleep, Isaac. They’ll be here when you…”

“…want them to know that I love them. And I’m sorry.”

Sam stirred, and the world lurched around them. Their head fell back against the cushions. “Love you, too, Isaac,” they whispered. The darkness claimed them.

Continued here

@untilthepainstarts, @womping-grounds, @free-2bmee, @quirkykayleetam, @walkingchemicalfire, @inpainandsuffering, @redwingedwhump, @burtlederp, @castielamigos-whump-side-blog, @insomniacscoprio, @cursedscribbles, @whumpywhumper, @stxck-fxck, @omega-em-z-02, @whumps-the-word, @justwhumpitwhumpitgood, @justplainwhump, @moose-teeth, @slaintetowhump, @finder-of-rings, @inky-whump, @thatsthewhump, @orchidscript, @insanitywishes, @this-mightaswell-happen, @newandfiguringitout, @whumpkitty, @pretty-face-breaker, @cinnamonflavoredhugs

[mk-tozier]

HELP| IT ONE SHOT

Help/IT ONESHOT

Losers are 15 here, Bev came back from her aunts because i can, x reader

warnings: swear words, a bit heated and just Richie being richie, sorta fluff? plot twist, kinda short because I’m just trying to get out some writing. ok peace

Here I was sitting in Bill’s room, carelessly staring at him, I have a huuuge crush on Bill. He’s adorable, he has a great personality and he’s just so ughhhh 😍. I sat up from Bills bed, sitting criss cross apple sauce. “So Bill?” I look down at my legs. “Yes Y/n/n” Bill says almost immediately, my name flowing with the sweetness of his voice. Something about hearing him say my name makes me flustered.

“I was wondering, do you u-um like anyone?” I ask looking up at him. Bill looks off to the distance for a second. “I don’t know, maybe.” He shrugs a bit. “D-Do Y-you?” “Yea, he’s the most amazing boy I know.” I smile slightly. Bill smiles at my comment. “W-well who is the m-m-mystery boy?” He asks beaming happily. This is it. I’m going to admit my feelings to him. Little do I know, I wouldn’t be the only one who would decide to do this. Before I could say anything the doorbell rang, echoing through the whole house. “I-I’ll get it, but y-you’re telling me a-afterwards.” Bill giggled and winked, swarming my stomach with butterflies once again.

Bill went downstairs and I waited patiently, sitting on his bed, smiling and thinking. After 5 minutes I realized he was taking awhile. I got up from the bed and began walking down the hallway and down the stairs. I stop at the bottom of the stairs. “Hey Bill! What’s up it’s been taking awhi-“ I cut myself off seeing Bill and Beverly, lips locked, pull away. “O-oh.” I say lowly. “S-s-sorry, I didn’t mean to d-ditch you, this k-kinda just h-h-happened.” He blushed madly. Tears swell up in my eyes, I feel a lump in my throat. “N-no it’s fine Bill, I h-have to meet up with Richie at the arcade a-anyways” My voice cracks a bit. “A-are you o-okay?” Bill asks. “Yeah, you seem a bit upset Y/n/n?” Bev says worry In her eyes. “No, I’m fine, I really have to get going though, wouldnt wanna be late or Richie might kick my ass” I joke, faking a smile, running up the stairs, into bills room.

Of course he likes her, I don’t hate Bev, its the exact opposite. She’s sweet and funny, she’s soo beautiful, just the dream girl, perfect for any guy, I don’t exactly hate myself, but I’m obviously not enough for Bill. I grab my back quickly, wiping my cheeks and swallowing the lump in my throat. I go downstairs. “Bye guys” I say quickly before walking out the door, not even waiting for their goodbyes.

Time skip

“Tozier!” I exclaim, hugging him from behind. “Your day just got a thousand times better!” I giggled, trying to get the thought of Bill Denbrough out of my head. Richie turned around and faced me, looking down and grinning. “You bet it fucking did sweetheart.” I hugged him again, tightly, smiling into his chest. “I missed you Rich” I say. “I missed you too sweet cheeks.” He chuckled slightly. My smile died down as I pulled away from the hug. “You okay there y/n/n?” Richie bites his cheek slightly. When he says my nickname, its different from Bill, my name flows with the sweetness of his voice, meanwhile with Richie, My name just fits with his raspy voice, like a puzzle piece. “Y-yea I’m fine!” I fake a smile. “Don’t lie to me, I’ll beat your ass if you don’t tell me” Richie looks at me sternly. “F-fine.” My voice lowers.

“Bill” is all I can let out before I get the same lump in my throat. “Did he hurt you, I’ll beat him up, wh-what’d he do to you?” Richie’s eyes fill with worry. “No, not that. He, he kissed Beverly” I say lowly. He frowns looking into my eyes. “Your amazing doll and if he can’t see that, he’s fucking blind, Blinder than me. I need glasses and i can tell you’re beautiful Don’t be sad over a dumbass like him, I’d pick you over any girl any day.” Richie hugs me. “Thanks Rich.” I sigh slightly. “I just wish it were him who would pick me over any girl, you’re  my best friend, that’s different, obviously you would pick me.” Richie sighs lowly, biting his lip slightly, he looked hot with his lip tugged between his teeth,concentrated- ohfuckno, I did NOT just call Richie Tozier HOT. Okay maybe I’d be an idiot if I didn’t realize my best friend was cute, not only cute tremendously hot but I don’t like him, I’m just smart enough to know he’s got good looks. Richie put his hand under my chin, making me look up at him. “Then let’s make him jealous, show him what he’s missing, sound good doll?” He smirks, licking his lips slightly. I smile up at Richie. “Sounds great Rich, but how.” “Okay so you get a makeover right? Look like a whole art piece, not like you don’t already” Richie winks at me before continuing. “And follow my lead.” I nod and smile at him.

Time skip to a couple days later.

I rode my bike next to Richies. “are you sure this is gonna work?” i ask him. “Of course its gonna work, and if it doesn’t then its still a win, we get to pretend to date. I get to act like I’m with the most beautiful girl in the world and you get to act like your with me, the hottest and funniest guy ever.” Richie smirks. “yeah yeah” i roll my eyes, smiling. We pulled over by the quarry, about 2 feet away from everyone else. I got off my bike, laying it down next to a rock. “its way too hot out today, if we go in the water, there’s about 20 diseases we can get but if we stay in the sun, we could get heat strokes” Eddie rambles. “It’s hot out because of me and Y/n!” Richie exclaims. I roll my eyes again, this kid is something else. “shut up Richie” Stan groans. “Eddie we’ve been in the quarry billions of times and every time we come put fine, why are you still worried” i say, reassuringly. “you never know” He replies. “hes just making up excuses because hes too afraid to jump” Richie smirks. “whatever” Eddie says, going back to doing whatever. I look over to see Bill sitting on a rock, staring at me and Richie, i give him a small wave before turning around so i can undress, my swimsuit under my clothes. I watch Richie take off his shirt, his skin pale but slightly toned, he has slight abs which is confusing since the kid almost never works out. I eagerly take off my shirt and shorts/skirt, I feel eyes on me, i look over, seeing Richie looking me up and down. “eyes to yourself Tozier” I giggle. “Hey! I’m just admiring the beauty! Cant a guy look at his girlfriend!” Rich snaps. “girlfriend!?!” Everyone mutters from behind us, shocked. He winks at me. “called it!” Bev says. “its about time you two got together, the sexual tension is unbelievable” Sexual Tension? But there’s nothing between me and Rich, what is she talking about? This whole thing is fake. “Yeah seriously, I’m surprised you guys havent fucked by now” Stan says. What the hell are they talking about? But I’ve always liked Bill. Yeah, Me and Rich flirt all the time but there’s no feelings involved, right? I feel my cheeks burning, not from the sun either. Richie smirks, staring at me. “Who says we havent” He shrugs, the smirk staying on his face, as if it were glued there. “RICH!” I squeaked, my cheeks burning even more. “forget i ever said anything” Stanley gagged. “DO YOU GUYS NOT KNOW THE AMOUNT OF DISEASES-“ “yes we know, we know, and Richie is only joking” i roll my eyes. “Bill, you okay?” Ben asks. Rich winks and elbows me softly. “y-yea I’m fine” he replies. “you sure? You’ve been awfully quiet” Ben asks again. Richie nudges me again. I don’t wanna make Bill jealous anymore, what if this whole time, i only told myself that i like Bill to cover up the fact that i like Richie? No I’m just being stupid now, I’ve never liked Richie. Hes just my best friend and hes just helping me out, thats all. “i-I’m okay, l-l-lets just swim!” He says, smiling slightly.

Time skip

The whole time, me and Rich splashed each other and messed around, flirting a lot too. Richie dunked me under the water before pulling me back up, grabbing my waist, our bodies touching, our faces inches apart, his lower body brushed against my leg,holy shit,rich was hard. My face heated up, why is he hard, he doesn’t even like me.Just breathe, its probably just a teenage boy thing. His thumb rubbed circles on my bare waist, our faces inched closer,only about 2 inches away from eachother now, i felt his warm breath against my lips. This can’t be happening, worst part is I’m not stopping it. “RICH! Y/N! C’MON WE’RE GETTING OUT! WE’RE GONNA GET ICECREAM” One of the losers yelled. Me and Richie pulled away, both of us blushing, Richie blinked before swimming away. My face heated up thinking about what happened in the Quarry. Why’d I allow us to get that close. “H-hey Y-Y/n can i t-t-talk to you for a s-s-sec?” Bill asks. I look over at Richie, who sends me a smile. His eyes look sad, why would he be sad? This was his plan afterall.

I followed Bill into a small opening away from the losers. “I-i know I’m k-k-kinda later but i l-like you. It’s o-okay if y-y-you dont like me. i-i k-kn-know your with richie.” Bill admits. “actually I’m not with Richie, it was to make you jealous because i liked you but what about Beverly, I wouldn’t want you to lead her on, she obviously likes you” i say. “y-yeah i kn-know. the k-kiss happened o-o-out of nowhere. i t-t-told her I wasn’t s-sure of m-m-my feelings” He says. “w-wait...l-liked?” “yeah...i- i think i like Richie.” i say softly. “o-oh. okay..” Bill says. “he d-d-definitely likes you b-back. You sh-sh-should shoot your shot” i smile. “thanks Bill” “o-of c-course! G-g-good luck!” he says

I walk back over to Rich, who was trying to put on his shirt but was failing miserably, i giggled. He finally got on his shirt. “Jesus this damn thing hates me or something” He mutters, causing me to giggle again. “oh hey! sooo how’d it go with Bill” Richie smirks. “um...i actually rejected him” I say. Richies eyebrows furrowed, he frowned, but i could tell he was trying not to smirk. “why? i thought you liked him?” he asks. “Beverly likes him, it wouldnt be fair to her. aaaand I’m pretty sure i like someone else.” i say. “oOoOoO and who might that be” Richie smirks. I put my hands on his shirt, pulling him closer to me, connecting my lips with Richies. This was a Kiss waiting to happen, Richies eyes went wide but they soon relaxed as he put his hands on my waist, kissing me back. I pull away, out of breath. “does that tell you who i like?” i ask. “nah, i think you’re gonna have to try again.” Richie smirks. I roll my eyes smiling before connecting our lips once again. This kiss was much more rough and passionate, our lips glided against eachother, smoothly as if our lips were made for eachother, like puzzle pieces connecting. His tongue glided against my bottom lip, asking for entrance, i part my mouth slightly, Richie entering his tongue right away, exploring my mouth. The kiss got more heated and rough, both of us out of breathe but not wanting to pull away. “THATS DISGUSTING” Eddie yells. “hey lovebirds we’re gonna get icecream” Beverly chuckles. I pull away from Richie, panting. “we’ll catch up, i still have to put on my clothes” i say. The losers start to get on there bikes and talk amongst themselves. I grab my shirt and short/skirt putting it on quickly. “sucks those have to go back on” Richie winks. “RICH!” i squeak. “whaaat? I’m only telling the truth, I’d rather watch you in your swimsuit” he replies. I roll my eyes. “so...Wanna be my girlfriend?” Richie asks. “no because i just made out with you for no reason. Of course i wanna be your girlfriend Rich” i reply, he rolls his eyes smiling. “Now lets go before the losers forget about us!” i say hopping on my bike.

[frauleinjustice]

Saiouma Week Day 6: Fluff

Hey there, everyone!! I decided to do this day’s prompts for saioumaweek ( @saiouma-events ) : angst/fluff, where I chose to do fluff, of course~!

Summary: It’s a lazy afternoon for the boys, and so they do what they usually love to do: play around and chase each other around the house! They both always have a fun time when they let loose and play around like that, adoring the laughs and smiles they can get out of each other.

Heheh so as you can see, I pretty much wanted to make a simple, but cute oneshot for this prompt! I hope you all will enjoy the floof as well~ and as always, thank you so much in advanced if you give it a read! ღ

Today was a lazy afternoon. Shuichi and Kokichi were doing their own thing as they hung out in the former’s living room, with Shuichi reading a book on the couch, while Kokichi was sitting on the floor playing a video game on the TV. At one point, Shuichi got up so he could use the bathroom. That’s when Kokichi got an idea for a small, but funny prank to play on him. Snickering, Kokichi rushes over to another room to grab a toy mouse. Quickly but carefully, he stuffs it in between a few pages further than Shuichi left off on. When Shuichi comes back, Kokichi was already back at his game, acting as if he didn’t do anything… but he was silently awaiting the moment Shuichi reacts. So after a few more pages… Shuichi sees the toy mouse in between the pages, and-

“GYAH?!” With a loud and confused shriek, the book flies out of Shuichi’s hands when he leaps off the couch. When he takes a closer look at the mouse, he realizes it’s fake and picks it up. “W-What the!?” 

“P...Pffttt….” Almost instantly, Kokichi bursts out in laughter, almost missing the pause button before he drops his controller. “Hahaha!!” He’s almost leaning over with how hard he laughs, turning his head back to look at his extremely puzzled boyfriend. “Hahaha!! I-I got you good, Shuichiii~! That scream was worth it! Ahahaha!!” 

“O-Oh my god, Kokichi: you are sooo funny!” Despite blushing slightly in embarrassment, he still chortles. “A-Allright, I’ll admit: you got me good. You nerd.” He was going to playfully bop him on the head with a couch pillow, had Kokichi not quickly dodged and flew up to his feet. 

“Miiissed! Come catch me, Mr. Detective~! Nishishi!” Taunts the snickering Kokichi before he dashes off. 

“Hoh! I’ll apprehend you, criminal-!” Declares Shuichi before he quickly chases after him, already failing to keep a straight face. “Wh...When I get you, you shall finally, h-hehehe, p-pay for all your crimes, Ouma Kokichi!” 

“You’ll never catch me aliiive, Saihara Shuichi! H-Hahaha!” Playing the roles of the ‘hot-boiled detective chasing the infamous phantom thief’: this was something they loved to do often, always having a blast when they did. Even as they tried staying in their roles, boisterous laughter roared from the two as Kokichi navigated through the corridors and different rooms, just barely slipping past Shuichi’s grasp when he needed to run right back out. Kokichi adored seeing his boyfriend’s playful side come out like this: that it didn’t annoy Shuichi when he wanted to play like this.

Eventually, Kokichi enters the bedroom. He’s slowly walking backwards as Shuichi nears him. “You’re cornered, mister: there is no escape…” 

Even as Kokichi’s leg eventually hit against the foot of the bed: that confident smirk doesn’t leave his face. “Ohh? If you think you’ve got me that easily, you’re wrong-!” Kokichi was going to attempt to reach for a pillow to throw at his face, so he can make for a quick exit once again… but with quick thinking and sudden movement, Shuichi leaps forward, and…. “Ah-!!”

Pins Kokichi down to the bed, hovering above him with an unusually smug smirk on his face. “Hmhmhm…. You were saying?” 

Kokichi’s breath hitches. This wasn’t the first time Shuichi ‘caught’ him like this. Yet each time, the heat rose to his cheeks and his heart raced even more. Not only from how much and how fast he was running, but also being pinned down by Shuichi. Even if he was just playing his role: hearing his boyfriend look and act so confident like that… he found it madly attractive. “S...Someone’s cocky. What’s Mr. Detective going to do to me now, hmm? Gonna tie and rough me up? Since you pinned me to the bed…”

“Y-You and your wild imaginations! But no: rather, I’ll punish you with…” A smile widening on his face, Shuichi leans his head further down, and… starts pelting Kokichi’s face with kisses in between giggles. “...This! Take that-hehehe-a-and that, and that!”

“Ahhh~!” Kokichi starts playfully squirming around, giggling at the barrage of kisses. “N-Nishishi, hahaha! M-Mercy, detectiiiiive!” 

“No mercy for youuu, h-hahaha!” And this was always how their little chase ended, with the detective delivering his fierce punishment of barraging his beloved ‘criminal’ with kisses. He loved the adorable giggles he got out of him, and before he would stop… he always leans in to plant a slow, deep kiss to Kokichi’s lips as he slowly closes his eyes.

“Mmm…” He utters a small hum into the kiss once his giggles die down, eye coming to a close as well. The blush on his face darkens and he leans more into the kiss, feeling his heart flutter softly in his chest. Once Shuichi moves his head back up when they need to break from the kiss, Kokichi gives him a warm, loving gaze. “Shumai…” A hand reaches up to comb through Shuichi’s hair. “I love when my beloved plays with me like this. It’s so exciting, being chased by him..” The smile he gives Shuichi is innocent and genuine… the rare kind of smile that he’s only willingly presented to Shuichi…. before it turns into his usual big, bright, and mischievous one. “....And when I catch him by surprise, too!” He chimes, before wrapping his arms around him and proceeds to start making them roll around on the bed.

“I have lots of fun, too, Koki…” He smiles warmly, leaning against his hand. Then when Kokichi suddenly wraps his arms around him and makes them start rolling- “Woah-!” He lets out a surprised yelp before he quickly finds himself wrapping his arms around Kokichi in turn, laughing. “Eheheh, hahaha! Oh nooo, you got me!” And as they’re rolling around, Kokichi’s the one sneaking kisses to his cheeks this time, making Shuichi giggle even more. “K-Kokichiii-ehehe!”

“Nishishi~! That’s right! Diieeee!” He also loved making Shuichi crack up like this, adoring the cute giggles he makes. 

“A-Ahaha, c-careful though, we don’t want to accidentally roll off the be-auh!” Before he could get the full warning out, the two really do end up rolling off the bed, with Shuichi’s back hitting the floor. Luckily a pillow that got knocked down when they were rolling around wildly on the bed was right there to cushion Shuichi’s head so it wouldn’t hurt from the impact of hitting the ground. “Oh…!” The two look at each for a few seconds, before they both start laughing. “G-Geez, thank god that pillow was right there!”

“Eheheh… I made sure it was! Even a supreme leader can be merciful to his boyfriend sometimes.”

“Aren’t you sooo sweet…” He sarcastically remarks with a smile, nuzzling their foreheads together. They still had their arms wrapped around each other with Kokichi laying on top, but even while they were still on the floor, they felt comfy enough to not need to get up just yet. Right now, they wanted to be in each other’s hold, and get lost in the other’s eyes. “Kokichi… I love you.”

“I… love you, too, Shuichi.” Three words that the supreme leader would teasingly say a lot before they got together, yet was incredibly shy on saying it genuinely and that directly. Overtime, he’s been able to without feeling as shy. It makes him happy… “I always want to be with my beloved… and that will never be a lie.”

“Yes…” He places soft kisses on his lips. “We will always be together, Kokichi: that, I can promise for a fact. You’re the… only one for me, after all.” 

“G...Geeez… i-if Shumai’s that blunt about it...n-nishishi…” Despite the rising heat to his cheeks, he gives an even brighter smile and a nod. “Mmhm! That’s right! I’m the only one for him, just as Shuichi is the only one for me! Him, and no one else!”

“Hehe… good… I love you so much…” Kokichi leans his head even closer, to help close the distance between them in a deep, loving kiss as their eyes slowly come to a close. The two adored their lazy afternoons for many reasons, but it was especially when they had their soft, intimate moments like this.

[quickspinner]

Hey Gorgeous - Under Your Skin 16

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 |  Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18

A continuation of Hey Gorgeous Part 1| Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Bonus Scene | Now on AO3

Once upon a time, he would have been over the moon excited for his daughter to bring a boyfriend to meet them. He’d have made them an elaborate, sweetheart themed meal, gotten out the good candles, decorated the table.

Tonight Tom was...okay with the meal he created, but he knew his heart hadn’t been it. He just couldn’t muster the enthusiasm he’d had before. He didn’t really understand why his amazing daughter had such bad luck with boys. They’d always seemed perfectly nice...he’d been particularly hopeful about the artist boy but that hadn’t lasted long at all. 

He was tired of seeing Marinette’s heart broken and this new boy...well, Marinette certain had the happy glow of new love, but...a musician? That didn’t sound...stable. A rock musician, at that, a guitarist. Tom had seen enough Behind the Music interviews to be worried. Tom’s concern had been enough to make Sabine take him aside and remind him that Marinette was an adult now, that her choices were hers to make, including who she chose to date and what she chose to do with them (Tom hadn’t needed his brain to go that direction) and that it was okay to be worried but that they were going to smile and support Marinette and be kind to the boy she loved.

He was polite enough, Tom would give him that. Jittery, which he hadn’t expected. Tom took in every detail, black nails and dyed hair and pierced ears and the leather bracelets that he fiddled with constantly. The boy was clearly nervous, but his joking manner and casual way of addressing Marinette rubbed Tom the wrong way. Two courses in and Tom was only more worried than he had been in the beginning.

Luka’s eyes flicked to Tom and down to the table, picking at his food. Tom felt a trickle of irritation. Why didn’t the boy just eat his damn food. It was good food! Food that Tom had made and prepared for him. Well, for Marinette, but still. Ungrateful. 

Tom felt Sabine kick him under the table and hastily smoothed the frown away from his face. 

He tried, he really did. He tried to join in the conversation, to ask questions, to get to know the kid. But every time he spoke, Luka jumped, and his answers were confused and rushed. Shifty.

Tom didn’t like him. 

“We’ll c-clear the table,” Marinette said shortly, and Tom jolted at the dark look she sent him. “Why d-don’t you go ssset up dessert in the living r-room where we can all b-be comfortable?”

“That sounds lovely, dear,” Sabine said, grabbing Tom’s arm and tugging sharply. He grudgingly followed her out to the living room, where she rounded on him. “You are scaring the tar out of that poor boy,” she hissed. 

“I’m not doing anything,” Tom insisted.

“Papa.” Tom turned and cringed a bit at the look on Marinette’s face. She stood with her hands on her hips, her lips thin, and Tom knew they were in trouble.  “You aren’t even g-giving him a ch-chance,” she growled. “W-why? B-because he d-doesn’t hide who he is? B-because he’s in a “s-s-soft” major? B-because he d-d-doesn’t c-come from mmoney? I d-didn’t think you w-w-would c-care about any of that. Wh-what is it?” 

Tom looked at Sabine for help, but Sabine folded her arms and looked at him with a cocked eyebrow and Tom knew he was screwed.

“I’m sure he’s a perfectly nice boy,” he said desperately. “I just—I’m not sure he’s right for you. You deserve someone exceptional. Someone who won’t ask you to put your dreams on hold for his. I just...he doesn’t seem like your type, sweetheart.” 

Marinette’s eyebrows lowered and her bottom lip pouted out and Tom took a step backwards, half-expecting some kind of ultimatum. For a moment, she just stood there and he could see she was fighting a block, and his heart plummeted into his stomach. She must really be upset. He wasn’t at all prepared for what she said next, nor the hurt, almost teary voice she said it in.

“He sssspeaks three languages,” she told him. She looked at Sabine. “One of th-them is his mmother’s n-native t-tongue.” She looked at Tom. “He’s on a full ssscholarship for his mmmusic. I’ve p-personally heard his p-professors call him a p-p-prodigy.” Tom’s eyebrows rose. “Yet he still works a day j-job and p-plays gigs on the w-weekends to help put his sssister through school and k-keep their appartment, plus he ssssells some of his original m-music. He’s sssold music to C-Clara Nightingale and t-two tv shows that I know of.” Tom gaped at her. “Yes, he’s f-f-focused on mmusic sssometimes to the exclusion of everything else, but who else d-do we know like that?” She glared at him, and then looked at Sabine.

“Ask him about t-traditional Chinese mmmusic,” she challenged, and then back at Tom. “Or Italian. Or any culture of mmmusic. T-talk to him about history and how it influenced the mmmusic that was mmade at the t-time.” She smiled wryly. “D-don’t ask him about Ssscottish m-music though, he’ll never ssstop. He’s as b-bad as Papa with his p-pastries.” Tom cracked a smile at that.

“He w-wanted to take out his earings and take the polish off his n-nails and I told him nnnnot to b-because he shouldn’t have to ch-change for us. He’s insecure and reserved and he h-hides it b-by t-t-talking big,” she said, her shoulders coming down a little. “H-he hasn’t sssaid so b-but I think his f-family nnever had m-much and he’s sself-conscious ab-bout it. P-people have mmmisunderstood him h-his whole life because he c-can’t relate outside of mmusic ssometimes. But he’s educated and sssmart and sssweet and thoughtful and k-kind, and I l-love him.” She blinked back sudden tears, and Tom felt like he’d swallowed a rock. “Sso p-please show him the P-papa I love, so he can be the L-luka I love in f-front of you.” She turned on her heel and went back into the kitchen.

Sabine sighed. “I warned you. I told you before he even got here that she was serious about him and you’d better keep an open mind.” 

“I know, I know, I just...he just looks so…”

“Tom,” Sabine shook her head. “What do people say when they look at you? When they look at us? You’re better than this.” She shot him a glare that made him wither. “You’re better than your father.”

Suddenly a male voice rang out loudly from the kitchen, and both of them jumped. “So sing it back if you’re with me, I wanna hear how your heart speaks, while we’re young, while we’re young—”

Tom and Sabine looked at each other and then moved toward the kitchen, peeking in. Luka had Marinette in a waltz hold, swaying her around the kitchen, looking at her with absolute adoration. She giggled as he grabbed her around the waist, lifting her feet off the ground as he continued to sway with her. “And I’ve been so lost without you,” he sang, putting his forehead against hers. “And are you lost without me too, while we’re young, while we’re young—” 

Sabine giggled, and Luka’s head snapped around to them, a blush spreading over his face as he set Marinette back on the floor. “Oh, um, we were just—she just looked a bit sad, and—I’m sorry, I was probably loud—”

Tom smiled slowly. “Finish up, kids,” he said, tone softer than it had been all evening as he slipped his arm around Sabine. “I have cookies in the living room for dessert.”

I can’t get this damn song out of my head, suffer with me.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tCcZJ7-5n5Y

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 |  Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22

A continuation of Hey Gorgeous Part 1| Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Bonus Scene | Now on AO3

@thethirdwheelfriend @mystery-5-5

[unofficialkfamtranscripts]

King Falls AM - Episode 5: Night of the Living Dread

View on Google Docs

Summary: July 1, 2015 - Sammy & Ben learn of some breaking news regarding the Lake Hatchenhaw John Doe, but not everyone is as pleased as the broadcast duo.

[Podcast intro music]

Announcer Dear listeners, please note that the following program may contain views that do not reflect that of King Falls AM, its management, or its subsidiaries. Listener discretion is advised.

[KFAM intro music]

Sammy You’re listening to King Falls AM, that’s 660 on the radio dial. I’m your host, Sammy Stevens, and as always we are joined by producer and co-host extraordinaire, Ben Arnold.

Ben [trying not to be amused] You’re so- you’re so happy, aren’t you? You’re a child. Getting so giddy over that message.

Sammy Listening to a warning before a radio broadcast I’m on has literally been on the bucket list for a long time. Thanks Merv!

Ben *laughter* Ridiculous. A glutton for punishment.

Sammy What can I say? I enjoy a nice game of hard ball! Uh, y’know, but enough about what Merv doesn’t want you to hear, let’s talk about what he does want you to hear. And what do we have cooking tonight, Ben?

Ben Dude, it’s stacked alright? Stacked. We’ve got the- lovely Miss Emily Potter from the King Falls Library giving us her picks for enlightened summer reading.

Sammy Terrific! We always love speaking with Emily!

Ben You and me both.

Sammy I said “we,” Ben.

Ben Uh, I know. I- *breathes in* [stilted] I- We-We-uh, We’ve got some really cool news! here. We-we are announcing the line-up for the first annual King Falls Ambient Music Festival. That’s coming up the second hour.

Sammy Wait a second. The King Falls Ambient Music Festival? Is this town even big enough for a festival?

Ben Oh yeah! It’s like Coachella[1] but for hipsters that just want to relax. It’s all about “setting the mood.”

Sammy You know, I’m wondering if they’re gonna make it to a second annual.

Ben And then, um, [reluctant and slipping into mumbling] opening up the show we-we’ve got the- doctor *mumbling*

Sammy I-I’m sorry, Ben, what was that? You’re trailing off, buddy.

Ben We have that umm, *sniffs, lets out breath* one… guy. You know that- fo- w- talking about that *deep breath* one thing—

Sammy [trying to cut him off] Ben—

Ben —from a month ago or so—?

Sammy What? What are you talking about?

Ben You know— May- maybe we should start it with Uh, callers first! [mildly frantic] Just-uh-Give us a call at 424-279-3858 and let’s talk about… *tsk* anything! Let’s uh, whats your-whats your-whats-whats on your mind King Falls?

Sammy Ladies and gentlemen, put down your phones for a second. What Ben is trying to say is we’ve got a scoop here this evening on King Falls AM. We’re gonna be speaking with—

Ben [cutting Sammy off]Or you can tweet us! @kingfallsam. I-I-I will literally talk about anything right now. Even to Mr. Derschwitz about that weird toenail thing. Let-lets-lets go, people!

Sammy I thought we agreed—

Ben I know. Sammy, I’m sorry it’s just, [slightly more frantic] I’m-I’m not feelin’ the best here. Alright? my stomach, is all… knotted up, just thinking about this.

Sammy That is journalism. That feeling is journalism—

Ben [speaking over Sammy] I think it might actually be an ulcer! It Tastes, like Fear and Feels, like Cancer . It’s way more than anxiety. I-I’m gonna call Dr. Raúl, at break.

Sammy He’s a chiropractor!

Ben Maybe he can refer me?

Sammy Power through it, buddy! Look at this folks, we got somebody dialing into the hotline right now! You ready for this Ben? Come on.

Ben Please, be Reverend Hawthorne so we can talk about the Revival next month.

Sammy Oh stop it. You know he isn’t even scheduled!

Ben I just thought— maybe that’s how prayers work, I don’t know, I’m not a reverend!

Sammy King Falls AM, you’re on the air.

Dr. Rosenblum [Dr. Rosenblum’s voice is measured and monotonous and mildly creepy at all times] Good evening, this is Dr. Jeffery Rosenblum, with the, King Falls County Coroner’s Office.

Ben C-can I please just say—

Sammy Dr. Rosenblum, it is a pleasure to speak with you this evening.

Rosenblum Excited to be here, Sammy. Ecstatic even. We listen on slow nights.

Ben That’s the scariest thing I’ve ever heard.

Sammy Much appreciated, Doc. Now, as fate would have it, you were the overseeing physician working on the Lake Hatchenhaw John Doe, is that correct?

Ben Doc? Can you just, hold on for- one- moment- please?

Rosenblum Of course, Ben I—

Sammy Don’t start, Ben! We agreed to see this through.

Ben All I’m saying i- lemme finish- a- i-is that maybe it’s not our place *deep breath* to break this kind of news.

Sammy Fine. You know what? You’re right! Let’s just give this to our friends down at Channel 13 and let them be the ones to alert the public about this.

Ben [journalist voice] Doc, Ben Arnold. Tell us about cracking open the mystery body.

Sammy [quietly] Oh.

Rosenblum It’s true that I was the operating physician on that particular John Doe, y-es, irrefutablyy

Sammy Now, as I understand, your official report was released yesterday morning, doctor, but amazingly enough, not one publication or news station in our town- including King Falls AM- reported on it.

Rosenblum You are correct. Busy news day- one would assume.

Ben So, that means, you are— free to talk about it on air.

Rosenblum I would be elated

Sammy First and foremost on everyone’s minds: were there any signs of, uh, y’know, the lake mo- *sighs* I can’t.

Ben Did Kingsie make the body, bite the big one?

Rosenblum There was no evidence that a creature large or small had anything to do with the deceased.

Ben *sigh of relief* That- I knew Kingsie didn’t have it in her.

Sammy Now, Dr. Rosenblum, can you tell us if there was any foul play involved at all?

Rosenblum During our first autopsy we were not able to distinguish with certainty the cause of death. But there were no signs of foul play

Sammy I’m sorry, did you say “first” autopsy?

Ben [confused] Is that normal? Did you- find out the cause of death during the… second autopsy?

Rosenblum Indeed. It was six individual gunshot wounds to the victim’s head. Three shots to the temporal lobe, two to the mendulla oblongata—

Sammy What?! Six gunshot wounds?!

Rosenblum To the cranium, yes. One to the frontal lobe, another to—

Ben So the Lake Hatchenhaw John Doe was, murdered?

Sammy I can’t believe this! This is big! Why didn’t one news outlet report this thing yesterday?!

Rosenblum Well, the cause of death was inconclusive and with no signs of foul play, it was not exactly a juicy story.

Ben and Sammy Wait a second.

Rosenblum …yes?

Sammy I’m sorry, doc. I’m not in the medical orrr criminal fields but, how is six gunshots not foul play?

Rosenblum Well, that was between the first autopsy and the second. The gunshots were self-defense administered via Deputy Kreighauser at my behest.

Sammy Ben, we’re gonna wanna get Troy on the phone and see what he’s got to say about this.

Ben “Things Ben Arnold would never think under ordinary circumstances for 800, Alex.”[2]

Sammy Doc, while we’re getting Deputy Troy on the line, would you mind if we took a quick break to hear from one of our sponsors?

Rosenblum That’s just- Dandy.

[light bg music]

Greg Frickard After a long day’s work or a tough day’s play, you probably just wanna come home and relax. No need to slave over a hot stove for hours on end. Well that’s where we come in! Here at Granny Frickard’s, we know that the less time you spend doing the things you don’t like, is the more time you spend with the ones you love. So come get some of the best frog legs that money can buy. Granny Frickard’s French-fried farm-fresh never-frozen filleted-and-fricasseed fried-and-flambeed frog legs. Mm-mm-mm. So get on down to Granny Frickard’s Froggery at the corner of Main Street and 7th Avenue. We’ll put some pep in your step and some hop in your heart.

[KFAM intro music]

Sammy And we’re back on King Falls AM, here with King Falls County Coroner, Dr. Jeffery Rosenblum.

Rosenblum A Pleasure.

Sammy Do you have Troy, Ben?

Ben He’s booking one of the Williams boys for mooning. He’ll call us in a few.

Sammy I’m a little out of sorts here, doc. Can you explain what happened between the first inconclusive autopsy and the point where Troy filled the cadaver full of lead.

Rosenblum Of course. As I was finishing the initial post-mortem, it came to my attention that the deceased began to emit a hissing sound, fluctuating between the lower thorax and the larynx.

Ben Oh my God.

Rosenblum I called for Deputy Kreighauser and he entered, as I wanted someone else to see this- phenomenon. That’s when the John Doe began a slight, thrashing about the upper torso.

Ben Um… are you saying—

Rosenblum The deputy began to fumble for his sidearm while we both discerned that something was wildly- amiss. The deceased opened its eyes and instantly grabbed for the lapel of my lab coat with voracious tenacity.

Ben Wh- ah- go on.

Rosenblum It gnashed its teeth as I emitted a terrified, albeit, high pitched, scream. And that’s when Troy unholstered his sidearm and administered six lethal shots to the reanimated corpse’s cranium.

Ben A zombie.

Sammy Alright, is there- [fumbling] Let’s just say- is there-

Ben We’ve got Troy on the line.

Deputy Troy [in bg] I don’t care if he was only joshin’. You can’t show your G-D derriere out in public! [car door slams] [pleasantly] Hey boys, what’s goin’ on tonight?

Sammy You tell us, Troy, holy geez! Uh, we’ve got Dr. Rosenblum on the line here and—

Deputy Troy Is this about the zombie?

Ben Yes! So-so you’re confirming this story, Troy?

Deputy Troy Well, hell yeah I’m confirming! I had to do three hours of damn paper work from unloadin’ my pistola into a corpse! Sheriff Gunderson was not the happiest of campers.

Ben [excited and awed] This is amazing… This is unprecedented .

Sammy [skeptical] This is a little unbelievable, Troy.

Rosenblum It is a first in my profession. Believe you me. [still tonelessly] Wowzers.

Deputy Troy Honest engine[3] boys. I capped the all get out of that thing! It had the doc by the face ‘bout to start chewing!

Rosenblum You’re my hero, Deputy Troy.

Deputy Troy Shucks, wasn’t nothin’ special.

Ben [slightly sullen] Except killing the first instance of a zombie in King Falls since—

Sammy Don’t say “since”.

Ben … Well… Since that one time at the mall in the '80s.

Sammy No, that’s not a real thing, Ben. That’s a film.

Ben [worked up] Sammy? How many extraordinary things are gonna have to SLAP you right in the face to make you buy into this? KING FALLS, MAN.

Deputy Troy You know me, Sammy. I always shoot ya straight. But it was the craziest sh[bleep]t I’ve ever seen. I mean it was like my-ex-wife-needs-alimony-money crazy.

Ben See? Even Barney Fife[4] saw it.

Sammy *sighs* I just—

Rosenblum I don’t want to cause an uproar here, but since that exam, there have been, other cases.

Ben Of frickin’ zombies?

Rosenblum Of reanimation among corpses… yes.

Deputy Troy Doc, you just give me a call if you need. I’m more than happy to go Clint Eastwood if the situation arises.

Rosenblum Will do, Deputy. Thank you so much for your- assistance. Without you, there may not have been this- interview.

Deputy Troy [proud] To protect and serve.

Sammy I can’t take all this in right now, Dr. Rosenblum I- e- Thank you so much for your insightful information.

Rosenblum As they say, [still monotone] “you got it, duude.”

[click, dial tone]

Ben You okay, Sammy? You… don’t look so well.

Deputy Troy Ah, hell, boys.[siren whoop] I gotta go. I’ll call you back later tonight! One of the Williams boys is tryin’ ta saw through the bars outside the jailhouse? [sirens in bg] [through megaphone] Jacob Williams put your hands UP and the file DOWN.

[click, dial tone]

Ben Alright King Falls, you’ve heard our story, let’s hear yours. Have you or anyone you know experienced anything like what the doctor spoke of? Reanimation? The walking—

Sammy Don’t.

Ben You know what I mean. Give us a call or tweet us.

Sammy Looks like the board is lighting up!

Ben Um…

Sammy What’s up? Okay, it can’t be any crazier than what we just heard, Ben.

Ben Line One, Sammy.

Sammy Welcome to King Falls AM, you’re on with Sammy and Ben.

Line 1 [female, almost sounds automated] Good evening, Sammy—

Sammy Do I know you ma'am?

Riley — please hold for Mayor Grisham.

Ben He… Probably just wants us to— mark these tapes as, evidence. *nervous laugh* Right, Sammy?

Sammy Or burn them.

Riley Sammy Stevens, Mayor Grisham.

Sammy Mayor?

Mayor Grisham Sammy… Ben.

Sammy You’re on live on King Falls AM, sir.

Mayor Grisham [commanding] Take me off and go to break. We need to chat.

Sammy No can do. Ben says we aren’t scheduled for break for another- uh- at least ten minutes.

Mayor Grisham Ben. Cut. To. Commercial.

Ben Uh- uh- uh- the thing is- I- I- I can’t- do that. Sir.

Mayor Grisham [threateningly pleasant] You boys want to talk live on air? We can talk live on air.

Sammy [challenging] Nothin’ to hide on this end of the phone, Mayor Grisham.

Mayor Grisham I hear your snide remarks, Sammy. I’ve read the transcripts.

Sammy Which! let’s be honest, is pretty weird. We’re a late night AM talk show, why are you bothering with us?

Mayor Grisham Oh, I don’t bother with you. I try to keep up to date with all the local news and entertainment. I gotta say, I was really happy a big city radio guy decided to come play host at our little radio station.

Sammy Well, I’m more than happy to—

Mayor Grisham I wasn’t finished… But I have to say, I’m a little less than thrilled with [accusingly] all the excitement you brought with you.

Sammy I’d hardly call reporting the news “excitement”, sir—

Mayor Grisham It’s interesting to me that I don’t see Channel 13 breaking these crazy stories.

Ben [quickly] No offense, your honor, but those idiots don’t know their a[bleep]holes from their elbows.

Mayor Grisham And you boys being on site when these “events” happen? [softly, still accusing] It’s a little bit of a coincidence don’t you think?

Sammy Are you insinuating that we are staging these events, Mayor?

Mayor Grisham I’m stating facts. I’m sure your ratings are way, way up there since all these sensational events seem to coincide with your broadcast. Why do you think that is? Furthermore, I mean who’s up listening to you at this ungodly hour of the night?!

Sammy Seemingly most of the town, Sir. As well as whomever you’ve hired to keep an ear on us.

Mayor Grisham I’ve tried to be nice about this… And I tried to be civil… but I think it’s about time that you troublemakers changed formats. No more of this funny business. It’s not good for the listeners. It’s not good for the residents. And honestly? it’s not good for me. I don’t appreciated being painted in this light, gentlemen.

Sammy Oh! You mean the light where you as a public service,[sic] try to quell the voice of the people.

Ben It’s not your right to tell us what we can and can’t report on, sir. All due respect.

Mayor Grisham [rudely] All due respect, Ben Arnold. Just a couple of months ago you were digging up old records on eBay for Chet Sebastian to run on about. Now you’re a media star?? That’s worrisome! Seems you fellas have All the reasons in the world to fabricate these issues, and I have to say I’m not gonna sit here and listen to this, while you LIE TO THE GOOD PEOPLE OF KING FALLS.

Sammy Well, when we start “fabricating” and “making things up,” you can come throw the book at us. But until then- [click, dial tone] Whoops! Looks like you just got disconnected. I’d wait for you to give us a call back and all, but with it not being an election year I probably shouldn’t hold my breath.

Ben Line One iiis lit up again, Sammy.

Sammy [insincerely] Oh, sorry about that Mayor! I must have fabricated accidentally dumping your call when-

Esther Rollens [heavy metal music in bg] [voice old and wavering] Did you boys fund a lavender ball of yarn in there? Been looking for it all week! [click, dial tone]

Ben [shaken] Sammy, I think that commercial might do us some good right now.

[KFAM outro]

[CREDITS]

References

[1] Coachella - The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival (commonly called Coachella or the Coachella Festival) is an annual music and arts festival held at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California, in the Coachella Valley in the Colorado Desert.

[2] Reference to the TV game show Jeopardy!

[3] I honestly can’t tell if he’s saying “honest engine” or “honest injun” but i’mma go with the one that’s technically incorrect but also not super racist.

[4] Barney Fife - Deputy from the Andy Griffith Show. Calling a police officer or authority figure "Barney Fife" has become an American slang term for gross ineptitude or overzealousness.

[writer-and-artist27]

Chocolate Seashell Ch 9 Preview

Because writing this has been distracting me all school day, and I have a midterm this Friday.

Time to get something out before this plot bunny kills my studying.

@wingbladeweaver1357, @langwrites, @owlsofstarlight, @fangoverdang. I can’t help but think of you four right now. I hope you don’t mind being tagged to this monster of a thing.

Edit: Oh, and @chiefladylightyay? Here’s more Ty bashing if you were looking for it. :p

Even in My Hero Academia, Tomo has baggage. Lots of it.

I think I should take this as a sign that I’m too stressed and needed the break.

Trigger Warnings are in order for panic attacks and implied past abuse.

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

“HOSHINO-CHAAAAAAAN! LITTLE LISTENER! WAAAAAAAAAAIT!” 

It took a lot to not flinch at the sound of Present Mic’s infamous voice, but even then, I found a squeak leaving my lips as the hallways quickly cleared for the Pro Hero. It didn’t even take a second for his yellow mane of a hairdo to come close to poking me once he skidded into view and I clutched my schoolbag to my chest. “M-Mic— I mean, Yamada-sensei? Um, hello! What are you doing?” left me in a flurry of squeaking, because it was not every day Present freakin’ Mic himself called for your attention.

“Calling out to you, little listener, what else am I doing!” He wasn’t even deterred by my high-pitched squeal, grinning like it was his birthday come early. “I finally found you!”

“F-For what?”

I was not expecting him to get in my face, grabbing my hands in his. Oh no. “How do you feel about joining my radio show tonight, little listener?”

It took about an extra second or so for me to realize my face was starting to heat up. “Wh-What? Me? Why me, Yamada-sensei?” 

“Ohmigod, LISTEN UP, LITTLE LISTENER! MY REASONS!” Yamada-sensei pulled back just as fast as he had grabbed my hands, pointing a finger into my face. Was he angry? “One! You are absolutely adorable!” 

Oh no. “Oh gosh no, Yamada-sensei, I’m not that…!” 

“Hey, hey, LISTEN TO ME! Number two!” The finger in my face increased to two. “You have a lovely singing voice!”

“Th-Thank you?”

“AAAAAAND Number three!” There were three fingers in my face now. “You could definitely reach more people than the school if you perform on the radio with your singing! Maybe even,” he winked at me, what the heck— “reach a person you love?”

It took a second for me to realize my face was burning. “…Where did you hear that?” I said slowly, trying not to squeak at the last part because holy shit, did Yamada-sensei actually listen into my heartbeat or something?! “Because I thought I was a lot more discreet than that, Sensei.” 

To my surprise, the big and boisterous grin on his face softened for something that I could only call “fatherly” as he reached over to pat my head. “Hoshino-chan. You take after me like Shinsō does Eraser. Why wouldn’t I know?” 

The hallway seemed so much smaller and tighter once he said that. There was no missing the now obvious gold ring dangling around Sensei’s neck either.

Wait. 

Aizawa-sensei had the exact same gold band around his neck on a string too.

The dots connected and my heart was racing. 

Aizawa-sensei is married to Yamada-sensei, and now Yamada-sensei is trying to help me out. 

He knows that I— that Shinsō might be— 

The memory of short black hair and leering brown eyes flashed through my thoughts.

Ohmigod. Someone kill me.

My cheeks were on fire. “S-Sensei…” my voice cracked. “I-I, I-I dunno, I—” My throat was closing up, what was going on— “I—”

What was going on with me?

“Holy shit, Hoshino.” Present Mic is back as suddenly as Yamada-sensei was there, and he’s yelling something I can’t make out. Something like, “NOTHING TO SEE HERE,” before he was pulling on my arm and I was stumbling after him, clutching my schoolbag. “Are you okay with Midnight?” was running through one ear and out the other and I found myself blinking. When— when did I start tearing up? “We’re going to see Midnight for a little bit, kid, take deep breaths for me, okay?”

“K-Kayama-sensei is okay,” I somehow stuttered, but even when taking in a breath, it felt like my lungs were on fire, why was I acting like this? What was going on with me? My legs felt like stone, but I was still moving. “B-But, but, sensei?”

“Yeah?”

I should’ve said Kei’s name. Nii’s too, even. But instead, all my lips could flap was a meek and weak, “C-Could I see Aizawa-sensei instead?”

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

Aizawa was not one to like getting called out of his class. Sure, Class A was filled with problem children, one after another, but that didn’t mean he liked leaving them unsupervised. 

But when his own husband came through the door, an uncharacteristic stormy expression on his face, everything had to stop.

The students staying behind for remedial classes stared at the door like it was some kind of savior.

Aizawa put down his chalk to stare too. “What is it, Mic?”

Mic shook his head and walked over, wrapping an arm around his neck and pulling him into a side-hug of sorts to whisper vehemently. Aizawa probably would’ve shivered if not for the words Mic specifically said. “Hoshino’s outside the classroom door and in the middle of a panic attack. She asked for you.” 

Aizawa jolts. The day had proceeded to devolve into a hot and burning fuck of a mess. “What the fuck did you do, Hizashi.” 

“Tried the radio show proposal. Then I think I said something and she started breathing too hard.” Mic’s expression, while lovable, read clear panic and uncertainty. “She asked for you, Shouta. She asked for you.”

Aizawa shakes his head, feeling his cheekbones harden into that of his hero persona before swiftly turning to the students. Kirishima, Kaminari, and Ashido all stare back at him in shock, having taken the time to huddle together in some kind of teenage talk. He barks as calmly as possible, “Study hall. I’ll be back. Mic’ll be watching you.”

“O-Oi—” But Hizashi isn’t complaining since the slight bit of shame shining in his eyes is enough approval for Eraserhead.

Aizawa steps out of the classroom and nearly slams the door behind him if not for catching a glimpse of the shivering girl standing in the hallway. For everything that she stood for in his students’ eyes, squirrel was not one of those things. 

Hoshino Tomoko looked like she had seen a ghost. The blue hair ribbons framing her face barely seem organized with how they flopped forward to brush her slumping shoulders. Her head was down, but there was no mistaking her eyes. Her blue eyes were unfocused, the light in them nearly gone. Her school bag looked like a teddy bear in how tightly she was clutching it to her chest, and she was inhaling and exhaling deep enough to where she sounded like she was on a ventilator. 

This was already delicate. 

Aizawa was not good at delicate. Shinsō might’ve been, but he wasn’t here. 

Still, Hizashi said she asked for him. For Shouta. So he could try. 

Aizawa took a careful step forward, loud enough to let Hoshino know he was there. She absently raised her head, and then some kind of spark glowed in the blue eyes. “A-Aizawa-sensei…” then there are tears. She sniffles. “I-I’m sorry, I—”

He shakes his head, walking over faster to stand in front of her, kneeling slightly to be at her height. If not for her being in General Studies, she could’ve been another problem child. “You’re okay, Hoshino. Listen to what I’m saying, alright?” He waits for her to nod, and then Aizawa takes a breath. “Breathe in, like me.”

She does that. Shaky, but breathes anyway.

Aizawa holds his breath for a moment before letting it go, and this time he gives up any pretense of a tense Hero to hold a student’s shoulder. Her shoulder. “Now breathe out, like this.”

She does that too.

“Keep breathing with me, alright?” Aizawa keeps his voice soft and gentle. “Slow and deep.” 

Hoshino does that, and with each breath, the light is coming back. With each gesture, she’s starting to look more like the Fairy his class paraded around and less like the squirrel he found, color returning to her face in the usual pink blush, and once the tears are gone, she blinks. “A-Aizawa-sensei, I—”

“Hey.” Aizawa squeezes her shoulder. She’s flinching, but he keeps her steady. “What happened? What did Hizashi say?”

Hoshino blinks at him. She could have resembled a frightened cat with the shocked face she was making. “I-It wasn’t Yamada-sensei,” she confessed, and it was as if someone had pressed the pause button with how her breathing had stalled. “I… I want to go to his radio show, but, but,” she puts a hand to her chest, over where her heart would be, to breathe out, “I’m worried about saying something wrong.”

“You don’t know what will happen until it does, Hoshino,” he says rationally, and Hoshino hugs her school bag tighter. “Something is hurting you more than this show.”

Hoshino flushes. The tears are back in her eyes, one very close to tipping past the corner of her eye and falling. “I-I’m afraid of hurting Hitoshi-kun, Sensei.” 

Aizawa blinks. “Shinsō is part of the Hero Course now, Hoshino,” he says mildly. “He should be able to handle a simple radio show.” 

Hoshino still fumbles with the straps of her school bag, and now she’s averting her gaze from him. “B-But, I know you’re raising him to be a good Hero, and, and—”

“And what?” Aizawa tries.

“AndI’mafraidofconfessingtohimifIreallydolikehimbecausehe’saHeroandhedoesn’thavetimeforlove!”

That… was a mouthful.

“I…” Hoshino could beat a cherry in how red she was turning. “Idon’tknowwhattodo.”

Aizawa blinks, mulls over the recent mumbles, and reaches over to rest his palm atop Hoshino’s head. “You love Shinsō.”

Hoshino flushes a darker red, but nods hesitantly.

“You’re afraid,” Aizawa deduces quietly, “of hurting his upcoming career and reputation if you say something wrong on Mic’s show.”

She nods again.

That left just one thing. “Why?” Aizawa says softly.

Hoshino looks away, ducking her head, and her hands shake. “B-Because, Sensei.” She stumbles, and this time that lone tear does fall from her eyes. “I hurt someone I loved before and I don’t want to do it again.”

Aizawa’s heard bits and pieces of this from Shinsō. Gekkō too even, when thinking back on it. Ty was one of many UA applicants this past spring, but for far too many reasons, he failed. Aizawa made sure of it before Hoshino even made it through UA’s doors. But this. This. It was the first time Aizawa could see the shadow of a lanky boy hanging over this girl, and he hated the look on her face from it. 

Even after Shinsō had gotten the boy to punch himself, Ty was still here. Hoshino wasn’t truly free.

“Hoshino.” Aizawa didn’t know when one of his walls fell, but he was talking and he couldn’t stop himself. “There’s a difference between love and abuse. And the person you loved before clearly abused you.”

[notafightr]

It fic exchange!!!

so here's my reddie fic for @disneyfan567​ for the it fic exchange event! no trigger warnings, sorry for any mistakes or lack of skill this displays as i havent written in a long time and this is the first time ive written in this fandom

(°﹏°)

  Eddie was 13 when he moved to Ohio. Sonia decided she had had enough of Derry, and the small town was doing more harm than good to her delicate son. To describe Eddie's reaction, reluctant was an understatement. He was leaving his 6 best friends, his only real friends, all because of his mother's glorified temper tantrum.

  The past 3 years were (in)arguably the best years of his life. He met his best friends, more of a family than his own (which really just consisted of his overbearing mother), he had irreplaceable experiences and memories with his best friends, these friends entirely shaped and nurtured his character. So to have his mother rip all of that away from him, well it understandably upset him. Most of all, he didn't know how he was going to cope with the frequent flashbacks and nightmares that taxed him emotionally and mentally several times a week, dutifully owed to that short, albeit rather traumatic summer of 89’.

  For 3 long, yet oh so short years, Eddie coped with these strains through the support of his friends, especially a loudmouthed, annoying boy with Coke bottle glasses and slightly bucked teeth, named Richard Tozier, who couldn't find it in him to ever stop annoying Eddie, or stop telling him how much he loved him, or stop picking flowers for him on walks because he knew even though Eddie denied it, they really did make Eddie happier than he cared to admit.

  How do you cope with a demon clown terrorising you and your friends’ lives for an entire summer, haunting you as your worst fear, using unholy tactics to scare you in unimaginable ways, trapping you in its crack den, and almost killing you miles below land level, all at the ripe age of 10? Hopefully you found yourself down there with your 6 best friends. You also let your mind do the forgetting. Well, what it can. There's some things you can't forget.

  Until you leave Derry.

  Eddie started forgetting the moment the plane took off, whether he realized it or not. He managed to remember his friends for a short while, but vaguely. He didn't remember the poems Ben gave him every birthday, or that the friendship bracelet on his left wrist was made by thee Beverly Marsh. He didn't remember that the reason his room was always so tidy was because Stan Uris couldn't help himself every time they chose Eddie’s place as the hangout spot (when Sonia wasn't home of course), or all the scary stories Bill liked to tell at their weekly sleepovers at the ass crack of 3 am. He didn't remember how Jessica and Will Hanlon were by far the superior parents of the friend group and the snacks they so generously provided to said group were the best he ever had, no doubt that Mike directly inherited their kind and generous traits.

  When he woke up at the end of his plane ride, he didn't even remember that the lily flower in his hand was given to him as a parting gift by Richie, whose parents picked him up from the airport after he gave one last hug goodbye at the gate and waved Eddie off with flower in hand. Even after intently looking down, confused, and finally remembering it was indeed Richie who gave him the flower, he still didn't remember Richie’s endearing flower giving habit.

  He promised them he'd stay in touch, but it wasn't long before the initials BH, BM, SU, BD, MH, and RT were just meaningless letters next to a series of unknown house phone numbers.

  It wasn't until he forgot one particular conversation with Bill during a sleepover one night in 6th grade that he forgot Richie completely.

  “Bill?” Eddie whispered, lying down in Bill’s bed, not even sure if Bill was awake.

  “Y-yeah?” Bill replied after some silence.

  “So, we're best friends right?”

  “Well y-yeah, I m-mean all-” Bill started before being interrupted.

  “No I mean like, I know the seven of us are best friends obviously, but I mean, we’re best-best friends, you know what I mean? Like even before the lucky seven it's always been us right?”

  “Oh. Yeah I s-suppose.” Bill reassured him.

  It took Eddie a second to try and gather his thoughts and articulate what he was trying to say.

  “Well, I feel like, Richie’s different from all of you.”

  “Yeah n-no sh-shit Eddie, that k-kid can't k-keep his mou-” Bill was again interrupted.

  “No, that's not what I mean. I mean,” Eddie again had to organize his thoughts in his head, which proved to be difficult when not even he knew what he was thinking. “I mean I feel different with him. Like when he gives me flowers and stuff, and he's the only one that calls me Eds. But I know you're my best friend. My best-best friend. Am I wrong? Maybe Richie is my best-best friend?” At this point it felt like Eddie was just saying it out loud for himself.

  After a few seconds, which felt like several minutes to Eddie, Bill giggled.

  “What?” Eddie asked, almost panicked.

  While Bill didn't necessarily believe this, the thought amused him greatly. “It s-sounds like you have a c-cr-crush on h-him.”

  “Wh-... you th-” Eddie just about got whiplash from Bill’s statement. “You think I have a crush on him?!”

  “I n-never said that… I j-just said it s-sounds like you do.”

  “I'm not… I don't like boys like that. My mom told me what it means if you do and what happens, and I don't think I do,” he backtracked.

  At this point, Bill was almost asleep. “Okay Eddie, that's fine,”

  “I think maybe you're just both my best friends,” Eddie assured, but undoubtedly he said this more for himself than for Bill. Bill probably succumbed to slumber before Eddie could even start.

  Once any evidence of this conversation having occurred left his brain, any trace of Richie was buried deep under newer things. The others were already long gone. The nightly nightmares he experience fizzled out eventually, but they did resurface every once in a while. On the other side of the same coin however, he did have dreams about the good times with the losers. He never remembered them when he woke up, though.

  Not to mention, he was frequently frustrated at his lack of motivation to clean his room properly, wondering why his always clean room in Derry suddenly had no place in his new life in Ohio. Where's a Stan Uris when you need him?

  He tried to make friends. For a bit he was even in a nice friend group of people he clicked fairly well with, they were funny and kind and they welcomed him with open arms. But nothing felt right. They were funny, but it hurt to laugh at their jokes, they were nice, but almost too nice. If anyone so much as cracked a your mom joke, Eddie's first thought was an annoyed “Stop trying to be-” but always stopped short right there.

  Stop trying to be who?

  He didn't know. He didn't remember.

  So at the end of his sophomore year, when he asked his mom to sign his permission form for the classes he wanted to take the upcoming school year, his mom declined.

  “Eddie Bear, we're moving back to Derry this summer.” Sonia said apologetically, understanding he'll have to say goodbye to the friends he doesn't have.

  “Wait, what?” confused was an understatement. He had to rack his brain for a moment to even remember what “Derry” meant.

  “It’s getting difficult for me to support us financially here, so we're moving back near your Aunt Jodie and she's going to help us a little bit. We should start packing no later than the end of May, we’ll be out of the house and into the new one at the beginning of July in time for you to to get settled and start school at Derry High.”

  Eddie had never felt more indifferent in his whole entire life, while also feeling an inkling of hope he didn't quite understand. If anything, his biggest curiosity was why he didn't feel even a whisper of sadness for leaving the people he knew in Marietta, Ohio. While Eddie didn't care about moving back to Derry, and it meant almost nothing to him on the surface, the Eds inside of Eddie couldn't help peeking through.

  So they moved back. Eddie finished packing up his belongings before the deadline his mother gave to start packing had even passed, and he didn't bother telling any of his “friends” (perhaps acquaintances is a more applicable word) that he was leaving because the truth was, it was more trouble than it was worth. They would no doubt care more than twice as much as he did, so he left without so much of a trace of a goodbye.

  Now that Eddie was 16, he could drive. While Sonia wouldn't buy Eddie his own car, not over her dead body, she did allow him to use hers when it was available, and given her physical state and social life, it was almost always available. After a solid 8 hours of unpacking his things in his new, snug room on an otherwise uneventful July evening, he picked up his mom's keys.

  “Bye Mom!” he shouted loud enough for his mom to hear without bothering to hear her response as he shut the door.

  He shoved the key in ignition. Despite not having been in town for 3 years, he was still able to navigate the area without assistance. He drove to the coffee shop that he had vague memories of visiting during middle school winters for hot chocolate with some friends whose faces he couldn't quite remember yet.

  Walking in it didn't look much different. Not that Derry would care enough to update the coffee shop, or any shop for that matter, for any reason.

  “Hi, how can I help you?” a blonde girl at the register asked uninterestedly.

  She definitely hates her job, Eddie thought while pointlessly perusing the menu, already knowing what he planned to order. Sophomore year was not academically kind to Eddie, and a caffeine addiction to compensate for the mass amount of all nighters pulled did occur.

  “Can I just have a black coffee with sugar?” he asked while digging through his tattered black wallet he received as a birthday gift in seventh grade. He then flinched his head up in response to hearing another employee drop an entire pitcher of coffee on the floor.

  “Oh, fuck,” said worker pointedly exclaimed, which not only stirred a giggle out of Eddie, but his voice in combination with his oddly familiar black curly hair caused his heart drop, though completely lost as to why.

  “Your name?”

  “Hello?” She asked after a moment.

  “Hello!” the blonde girl repeatedly nagged, trying to catch Eddie’s lost attention.

  “What? Sorry I missed that,” Eddie finally grounded himself. Unfortunately his attempt to catch the other employees face failed as he stayed turned away and then hurried to his hands and knees on the floor.

  “I need your name for your order.”

  “Oh yeah of course, Eddie.” Not even seconds after his response, he heard something nearly inaudible, completely not understandable from the employee on the floor, which was confirmed by the blonde girl, which Eddie now gathered from her name tag to be Sarah, who exasperatedly asked about the other employee’s struggle.

  “You alright down there?”

  “Yeah, I’m just peachy, Sarah,” hearing the voice even clearer instilled a visceral reaction even stronger in Eddie once again.

  Sarah took Eddie’s cash, distributed his change, and set his cup down on the back counter for when the other employee to make when he was done cleaning up his mess. He picked a seat close by the counter and waited. After a few minutes, longer than probably usual, given time dedicated to cleaning up the coffee on the floor, Eddie heard his name called by the same antagonist and saw his coffee set on the counter, but employee was again out of sight. Eddie grabbed the coffee and with no reason to stay he made his way back to the car.

  Drinking his iced coffee on his way home, at a stop light he picked up his drink and studied it curiously. He noticed the boy who made his drink must have added his name for some reason because when Sarah set it down for him to make, there was nothing written on it. However, clearly on the cup, was his name:

  While looking at the little flower next to his name made him smile, it was a cute gesture, it filled him with a familiar sense of longing and loneliness, as if he was missing something. He got home, finished his coffee, continued unpacking, dreadfully argued with his mom about leaving the house without telling her where he was going, and went to sleep. It was less of a need for caffeine but more of an eagerness to learn about a curly headed, clumsy employee that brought him back to the coffee shop the next day.

  So he came back. He came back at the same time too, to have his best chance of the boy being on shift.

  “How can I help you?” Sarah asked.

  “Black coffee with sugar, Eddie.” successfully staying on track with Sarah this time around.

  Again, she set the blank cup on the counter and just like before, his name with a dainty doodle of a flower beside it. Unfortunately, even if he wanted to say anything to the employee which Eddie now knew wears a big pair of glasses, his introverted nature wouldn't allow it. Back to home it was, to continue setting up his new room.

  The next couple of weeks was the same routine, and quite lonely. Being in the middle of summer, with no school to be his vessel of socializing, and no friends, it was him, his lonely self, and his mom. For all intents and purposes, him and his lonely self.

  However one morning, in a hurry as he had a family gathering for brunch to attend to, he knew he wouldn't be able to get to the coffee shop in the evening so he came in the morning, despite knowing the shift would likely not be the same.

  He walked in and noticed it was in fact not Sarah at the register but didn't look further.

  “How can I help you?” The boy at the register was looking down.

  “Just a black coffee and sugar. Eddie.” He got the cash from his wallet and told the boy he could keep the change as he was already late to his aunt's house and confident he could do without the dollar and 74 cents. As he walked to the counter to get his coffee as soon as it was ready, he noticed the boy scribbling his name and a flower on the cup but his brain didn't process anything other than how late he was. He took his coffee eagerly and made his way back to his car, knowing his mom (who was already there after being picked up by her sister) was no stranger to yelling at Eddie for “caring more about himself than his family”.

  On the drive to his house he allowed himself time to think and thought about the boy at the register. He was familiar to Eddie and not just because he's seen him every day for two weeks, making his regular order with ease.

  The Coke bottle glasses.

  The flower.

  The unkempt, black, curly hair.

  But that was still too out of reach for him. He thought about it for as long as he could without having an aneurysm from working his brain too hard and decided he would come back the next morning for the same shift.

  Sonia greeted Eddie outside before he was able to come inside.

 “Eddie bear, why are you so late?”

  “Sorry ma, I was up late finishing my summer assignment and I stopped to get coffee when I left,” Eddie started despite knowing this wouldn't be enough to appease his mom.

  “Aunt Jodie is being very kind to help us out and this is the first time seeing family since we've gotten back, you should show your gratitude properly. Say thank you when we come in.”

  “I will, Ma. Why didn't you just wake me up and take the car here?”

  “Aunt Jodie wanted to catch up with me before everyone else got here. She took us to breakfast. I figured you'd have enough autonomy to drive yourself here on time. Are you feeling well? Did you sleep enough?”

  “Yes, ma!” Eddie spoke as he got out of the car and locked it, handing the keys to his mom. “I just overslept. Sorry for being late.”

  However, while his cousins and aunts and uncles were asking him how Ohio was and if he was sad to leave his friends and if he left a broken hearted girlfriend back in Marietta, all he could think about was the coffee shop employee who never failed to doodle a flower next to his name.

  He got home late, worked on his summer assignment, because against what he told his mom, he had in fact not started yet. He made sure to wake up at the same time as the morning before and headed to the coffee shop. To his pleasure, the boy was at the register.

  “How can I help you?”

  Eddie stared at him.

  “Uh,” He couldn't help but chortle as Eddie stared, wordlessly, and then it appeared as though a freight train of memories hit him square in the head.

  “Oh my God,” Eddie nearly dropped to the floor. “Richie? Richie fucking Tozier? Is this a joke?”

  “Ya know Eds, I was starting to think you really forgot me. Or maybe you just hated me.” Richie allowed himself to laugh.

  “I… I did forget you? But how? We-” and at that moment Richie could visibly see It creep itself back into Eddie’s memories.

  “Holy shit? You forgot about that too? Do you have amnesia? What happened to that pretty little head of yours?” Richie put his hand on Eddie's forehead and pretended to feel his temperature.

  “Oh my God,” whiplash had struck Eddie again. “I need to sit down,” He started to move to a chair nearby when he remembered more. “The others! Beverly, and Ben, and Stan and Bill and Mike!” he quite literally felt like someone waking up from a 20 year coma, rediscovering everything that happened before he fell asleep.

  “They're peachy. Stan's actually getting back from visiting his family in Florida today.” Richie informed him. “Any reason you never stayed in touch like you said you would? Left a man hanging.”

  “It's like, wait- those initials were yours!” Suddenly three years of wondering who those house numbers in his binder belonged to clicked. “It’s like I forgot you guys as soon as I left,”

  “That soon? Ed's, you wound me,” Richie teased. “But you're still wearing the friendship bracelet Bev made.” He held out his wrist and displayed a bracelet of the same pattern but in different colors. “What’s she got that I don't?”

  For the first time in 3 years, Eddie let out a genuine laugh.

  “Are you busy, cutie? I'm on break in 15 minutes and I can get someone to cover the rest of my shift,” Richie asked, hopeful.

  “Yeah that's fine.. uh.. have you been working every day? All day?” Eddie asked, concerned.

  “Well the past couple of weeks at least a couple of us from the gang has been visiting family or doin’ some crazy shit so I figured I'd make use of time and make some money, we're doing a road trip in a couple of weeks.”

  “Oh that's cool-”

  “You're invited, if you want, obviously. What better way to celebrate you coming back than a road trip? Ed's, just wait till’ they find out you're back-” Richie cut himself off when he noticed another man walk into the shop and they both decided to end the conversation there so he could order. “Okay hold on I'm gonna take his order, and I'll be out in 10 minutes, you can wait here if you want?”

  “Sounds good,” Eddie couldn't help the smile on his face, it's contagiousness showing in Richie's smile.

  After waiting for a bit, Richie came from the back out of his uniform, a bag on his shoulder, and a rose in his hand. He held it out to Eddie.

  “Do you just, carry flowers with you?” Eddie looked at him curiously.

  “No but I- after I saw you yesterday morning and I passed this one on my way to work, something told me I should grab it.” Eddie took it. “Flowers still get ya goin’?” Eddie punched him in the shoulder.

  “Thanks, Rich.” He smiled.

  “Where to now, spaghetti?” Richie put his arm around Eddie.

  “For 3 glorious years I never had to hear that, don't call me spaghetti!”

  “Okay Eds, answer the question!”

[hunters-vs-hunted]

Just like- "What do you think of Bombastic?" Internally: Ah he's really tall, very handsome, but also kinda brash- and snarky....

Externally: "Beloved Coworker"

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

"What do you think of Bloom?" Internally: HOLY SHIT FUCKING GIRLBOSS??? CAN STEP ON ME LIKE PLEASE STEP ON ME MOMMY-

Externally: "Wonderful Woman. Don't underestimate her."

[imagine-darksiders]

So, I came up with this idea based on the song Creep by Radiohead, where Strife is absolutely in love with his S/O but doesn't think he's good enough to be with them because of his past, his appearance and what he has done and what he is capable of doing. Do I think you and your amazing writing skills could expand upon this? Yes. So please, m a k e m e s u f f e r ❤

Hi hi! Did my best but I’m rushing off this morning, so sorry if this seems hasty.

Strife has always hated the mirror in your bedroom - A big, ugly thing hanging on the wall opposite your bed, all sharp edges and clumsy, badly made details carved into its frame.

When he first looked into it, he made a revolted noise in the back of his throat and you explained that it was a family heirloom, passed down to you from your great, great grandfather. 

You’d thought Strife was referring to the mirror….

He didn’t bother to correct you. 

Everything else about your bedroom, he loves. From the messy pile of clothes on your chair to the large, sliding window that he treats as his personal VIP entrance.

Tonight, like many nights before it, the horseman picks his way up the side of your house, his bulky armour proving no obstacle given his inexhaustible strength. He clings to your sill with one gauntleted hand and uses the other to nudge your window open carefully. 

You do have a door, as you’re constantly reminding him, but he isn’t about to admit that he lost the spare key you’d given him, and he’s long since learned that you take exception to having your front door bashed in. 

He clambers through the window as gracefully as he can, lamenting that he wasn’t gifted with Death’s agility, before thudding dully into your bedroom, his blood-drenched boots leaving dark, coppery footprints in the carpet. 

You would no doubt be annoyed in the morning, though right now, he couldn’t care less. 

Ambling over to your bed, the horseman stops beside the headboard and stares down at you, his brows pinched together and fists clenching so hard, the metal gauntlets creak under the pressure. 

He’d done something…..bad. Well, you’d call it bad, and that stung at his heart worse than anything. 

He hadn’t cared about anyone’s opinion until you came along. 

It was just another mission, but it went so wrong. Yes, he accomplished the task he set out to do, but innocents had been caught in the crossfire. Far too many civilians died needlessly today, all because he grew impatient and moved too early. A rookie mistake. 

From the day he became a horseman of the apocalypse, Strife never gave collateral damage a second thought. He did what was necessary to succeed and if people got in his way, more fool them. 

But then, he met you….

It’s funny. He’d never appreciated the value of life until he found one he wanted to protect. 

You patiently showed him sympathy, empathy and a myriad of other human emotions that far exceed his abilities to feel. But with a little time, he began to learn. 

Despite only having the lifespan that barely touched a century, you were never in a rush, like he would be if he only had a hundred years to live. Oftentimes, he feels as though he’s always in a hurry, constantly riding on the high of adrenaline and giving himself no time to slow down….

With stiff fingers, Strife brings his hands up to undo the clasp on the back of his helmet and tugs it off, allowing it to drop onto the floor at his feet. 

Meanwhile, you lay sound asleep in your bed, one arm tucked underneath your pillow and the other tangled up around something he can’t quite make out in the darkness. Squinting, the mighty horseman collapses to a knee beside your bed - still managing to tower over you - and leans closer to see that it’s the shabby, green old scarf he’d left at your home months ago.

The horseman recoils and lets out a choked grunt. 

He didn’t know you kept the thing, let alone cuddled it in your sleep. 

Your small fingers curl around the scarf in your sleep, twisting up the scratchy, threadbare ends. 

Strife’s yellow eyes blink slowly. Had you…missed him? He’s only been gone for a few weeks… 

The stench of blood, sweat and entrails finally snatches his attention from your sleeping face and he scrunches up his nose. His silver armour is so stained with blood - innocent blood - that he can’t escape its oppressive odour. It slithers up his nose like smoke and settles there. The taste of it on his tongue is hot and rancid, although any traces of stray droplets that had seeped through the cracks in his helmet have long been washed away by saliva. But the memory of its lingers like a bad aftertaste and churns his stomach. 

The horseman’s teeth clench. He needs something - anything familiar that can abrogate the coppery stench invading his nostrils. 

Swallowing thickly, he runs his hand blindly over your carpet, knowing that you have a habit of leaving your day clothes where they drop after changing into your pyjamas. 

It doesn’t take long before his searching fingers find something soft and he immediately brings it up to bury his broad nose in the fabric. One of your shirts, the one depicting that ‘band’ you like so much…

Your beautifully familiar scent rushes into his nostrils with a long, loud inhale,  his chest expanding to accommodate so much air. It’s so strong, chasing out the acridity of burnt flesh and gun-smoke and replacing them with something far more pleasant. So overwhelmed, Strife’s mouth opens and takes a piece of your shirt between his sharp canines. Biting down hard, eyes squeezed shut, he nudges his face in deeper, huffing in breath after blessed breath until he can’t even remember what blood smells like. 

When the stench of innocent liquid  no longer threatens to overtake his senses, he finally lifts his nose out of your shirt. 

His anguished expression falls slightly as he glimpses your peaceful face, your eyelids fluttering restlessly, caught in the swell of a dream. 

Indulging himself in a moment of selfishness, Strife dares to believe that you might be dreaming of him…

Suddenly, he blinks upon noticing that his hand has crept steadily towards your face of its own accord, so he snatches it back, frowning at the treacherous appendage. How could he think to wake you when you’re sleeping so peacefully. He’d say you looked angelic, but doing so would be an insult to you. You’re ten thousand times more extraordinary than any angel he’s ever met. 

Creator, he feels like such a beast. This whole act of climbing in through your window, watching you sleep and smelling your clothes…It all just seems so….perverse. 

You know he does this, of course. You’ve woken up enough times to find his fingers stroking reverently through your hair, or his ear pressed to your heart, seeking the comforting beat. There have even been a few occasions where you’d been roused from sleep by the sound of contented grunting and the sensation of your horseman’s gentle mouth suckling tenderly on the sweet spot between your legs. You knew better than to ask questions during those particular instances. They always seemed to precede a bad occurrence, though Strife would never tell you what happened to him, only that he just needed to forget. 

But tonight, there’s a tangible heaviness that’s settled over his hard chest. He didn’t know it was doubt until he thought long and hard about his relationship with you. 

When you met, you’d hit it off surprisingly quickly. 

You liked him, you even said as much, and it didn’t take long for him to warm up to you in turn. A few weeks later, and you called him your ‘best friend’ for the first time. Something stirred in the horseman’s immortal soul at that moment, something foreign and unfamiliar. Three months later, he found out what it was. 

Love. 

And that baffled him more than any other mystery the universe had ever thrown his way. A hundred years ago, if someone told him he would one day fall hard and fast for a human, he might have shot them. 

Gradually, Strife wills himself stand up, tearing his eyes off you and catching sight of his own movement in the mirror. Lip curling into a cruel sneer, the horseman stalks over to it, stopping just shy of a foot from his reflection. 

Muscles quivering, he stares into his own eyes, a terrible rage roiling in his chest that slowly builds to a violent crescendo. 

Damn that mirror. Damn it to Oblivion for making him see what he is; Big and loud and dangerous, a force of nature so destructive, it has no business being in the home of someone as trusting and golden-hearted as you. 

He curls his hands into tight fists and snarls, teeth gnashing frustratedly as he finds himself stuck, trying to gaze at you through the glass but only seeing his huge brutality standing in the way. He can’t see past himself to you. With an enraged bellow, Strife draws his fist back and - before he can register what he’s about to do - hurls in right into the surface of your mirror. 

The resounding ‘C R A C K !’ shatters the peaceful serenity of your home.

Behind the horseman, you bolt upright in bed with a sharp gasp, followed by a slurred stuttering of, “Wh-who’s there!?” 

After a few seconds of fumbling around in the dark, your hand finds the bedside lamp and you flick the switch, one hand clasped around the pocket knife that Death made you keep under your pillow. 

Blinking rapidly in the sudden, harsh light, you gasp when you spot Strife, hunched over on himself, his shoulders heaving and his right arm elbow-deep in your bedroom wall. 

Despite the state you woke up in, you instantly relax at the sight of him and nearly flop back onto the pillow. Brain still fuzzy with sleep, you scrub at your eyes. “Strife? What’re you doing here?” 

Hearing your soft voice, his body goes rigid, though he doesn’t reply. Instead, he remains stock still, glaring down at the hole he’d punched through your mirror. Sharp little fragments of glass litter the carpet and he balks at the sudden thought of one getting stuck in your bare feet. 

“Strife?”

Letting a breath of air hiss out through his teeth, he wrenches his hand out of the wall and slowly turns to face you, his once glittering eyes now subdued and morose. 

“What am I doing here?” he spits, echoing your words back at you before dragging his gaze off your perplexed face, “S’a damn good question…”

You’re about to reply when you notice the shattered mirror and your expression droops considerably, igniting Strife’s self loathing that burns like a furnace in his throat. He braces himself for the inevitable, for you to look up at him with those big, sleepy eyes and ask in a soft voice, why he had destroyed your precious family heirloom. 

But, once again, you surprise him. How is it you always managed to do that? Swinging your legs over the edge of the bed, you get to your feet and pad softly across the room. “Something happened,” you murmur, slowly reaching out to the usually invulnerable horseman, “Strife, whatever it is, it’s okay. It’s okay.” 

You can see his lips twitching up over his fangs, a clear sign that your words aren’t having the calming effect you want them to. 

Suddenly, with all the force of a whirlwind, he surges forwards, forcing you to stop in your tracks and stumble back a few steps, away from the broken glass. “What are- unf!” 

You let out a grunt, finding your shoulders gripped by unshakable hands as you’re guided backwards into the wall beside your bed with a dull thud. Blinking, you crane your neck back and catch his yellow glare boring into you, relentless. 

A tense moment passes between you before he abruptly lowers his pale face down to your shoulder and takes his hands off your shoulders, pressing them into the wall on either side of your head. Licking your lips uncertainly, you lift one of your own hands and slide it around the back of his neck, carding your fingers up through his spiked, black hair.  

So softly, you barely hear him, Strife hums against your skin, “You tell me…. why I’m here…” 

“I-What?”

His tone takes on an urgent lilt. “Tell me, what the Hell something like me, is doing with someone like you.”

Shocked, you open your mouth to speak only to find your throat too clogged to get any words out. Swallowing around a lump, you try again, desperate to rectify the situation. Whatever had happened, had it made him question his willingness to be in a relationship with you; a human? You knew some in other species look down upon humans as ‘lesser beings’ on account of their shorter lifespan and general inexperience with existence, but you never imagined Strife would be one of them. 

“I-I…I know I’m just a human,” you manage to stammer, winding your fingers into his hair, unwilling to let him go but terrified of making him stay if he doesn’t want to, “And..and if you want to leave, then….then you should. I don’t know what happened tonight, but I want you to be happy.” 

Strife’s mind reels, struck with the realisation that you think this is about him not wanting to be with you. Groaning, he bares his teeth against your neck and presses closer to you, caging you to the wall as though afraid you’d try to escape if he moved even an inch. “Creators, no,” he growls, “No, no. You’ve got it all wrong, Kid. Why are you with me!? Why don’t you hate me?!” Inhaling the smell of you through his nose, he grumbles gently, “I do.” 

Oh….Oh that’s….not what you’d been expecting. You knew he struggled with self doubt a lot of the time, but this?…..“You h-…Strife? You hate yourself?” 

“I didn’t hate myself until I met YOU!” He slams his closed fist into the wall and you flinch, unable to withhold a gasp of shock. In an instant, he pulls his head away from your neck and meets your round, startled eyes. Ever so slowly, his thick, black brows knit together and he groans, teeth bared as he drops his head again, this time pressing it gently into your forehead. “M’sorry,” he mumbles, “I didn’t mean that…I just…-” He exhales roughly, his breath gusting roughly over your lips. “- I didn’t know there was anything about myself to hate until I started wanting to be liked. And…I only started wanting to be liked after I met you.” 

He shakes his head when you try to speak, cutting you off. “I don’t give a goddamn shit about anyone else’s opinion of me,” he rasps, drawing his head away again, “just yours.” If his eyes blazed with anymore desperation, you fear they might burn out entirely. “You’re my compass, kiddo,” he whispers behind a shaky exhale, “You know about some of the things I’ve done. You know I’ve got all kinds of blood on my hands. I don’t tell you half of the heinous things I did in the name of ‘balance,’ but I think you know. I think you more than you let on.” The horseman’s chest rises and falls. “So, why the hell are you still here? I need you to tell me….why you’re with me. Please? I just -… need to…to-” 

He growls at his own awkward explanation. In his ears it sounds clumsy, like the ramblings of a drunken maker, but you get the gist of it, your face twisting up with worry. 

“Oh, Strife,” you sigh, both of your hands finding his thick shoulders and guiding him down until he has to remove his hands from the wall in order to kneel before you, his head still coming up to your collar bones. You always privately marvelled at his size. Carefully cradling the back of his skull, you pull him forwards and tuck his head underneath your chin, inadvertently flattening the spiked ends of his ebony hair. “What have you been telling yourself?”

Heaving in an almighty breath, he lifts his enormous hands to your waist, steadying himself against you and asking defeatedly, “How long before you leave me here on my own?”

“Strife,” you say in a stern voice, pushing his head off you so he can look you in the eyes and see the sincerity glistening in them, hard as steel, “I’ve only got a hundred years, and I wanna give them all to you, okay? I want you to have them all. You’ve saved my life so many times, it might as well belong to you. I’m not going anywhere, big guy…” 

It doesn’t feel like you’ve conveyed just how irreplaceable his friendship is to you, but you hope it’s enough. 

For several, long moments, he remains in place, breathing considerably more shallow than it had been earlier, and his grip on your sides a damn sight less vice-like. Eventually, the large horseman rumbles contentedly deep in his throat when you snake your hands further around his neck and lean forwards to rest your chin on his shoulder. “Sorry about your mirror,” he mumbles lamely, incapable of forming the grateful words he needs desperately to tell you. 

“Eh, it was ugly as sin anyway.” 

That pulls a rumbling chuckle from his throat. “Yeah. It was, wasn’t it?” 

You allow him to remain slumped over on his knees against you for some time, until his massive weight finally begins to wear on you, and you grimace, his hard chest plate digging uncomfortably into your torso. “Come on. Let’s get you into bed. You look like you need a rest.” 

And Strife, the sharpshooting, loudmouthed horseman of the apocalypse, only nods gladly, letting a comparatively tiny human take him by the hand and guide him onto the too-small bed that he can never quite fit his feet onto, no matter how protectively - possessively -  he curls himself around you. 

[poppyknitt]

Bio-Bots- A JSE Egos Fanfic

Android!Chase AU

-Post explaining how the hell i came to make this beautiful, blessed, but also cursed au in the first place

-Canon developments in the story as of writing this

[April 11th, 2017, our time]

Schneep and Jackie knew Chase wasn’t going to make it. His head was shot clean through, and his brain was damaged badly. Even if it did heal, he’d be in so much tremendous pain that he’d probably be begging to be “put to sleep”, as they call it in the veterinarian world. They stared hopelessly at the heart monitor next to Chase’s bed, which had a relatively steady pace at the moment, but, on occasion, faltered.

“... What should be done, Jackie..? He only has a little bit of time left. You and I, we-.. we both know this.”

“... I say we work together on blueprints.”

“Blueprints? What-Whatever for?!”

“... An android, of sorts. One that works and looks totally human. It may take a few weeks, but we’ll make it happen.”

“And what would I do? You are the one with the technological know-how; I, on the other hand cannot configure even a Raspberry Pi for the life of me!”

“You’ll help me make him look human. You’ll help me pull this off. We can do this, Henrik. Nothing is holding us back. No one will have to know that he died.”

“... Alright, then. Just give me heads up, yes?”

Jackie smiled sadly, “Will do, ‘doc’.”

~~~

[April 24th, 2017, our time]

Chase woke up groggily, his head spinning as his vision flooded with blindingly bright light, and he slowly pushed himself up into a sitting position. The heart monitor on his left beeped steadily, and his head was wrapped in bandages.

“Chase! You- You’re awake!” A voice, similar to his, cried out in joy, and next thing he knew, he was being glomped by a man in a black cape and strangely colored cat mask.

“Wh..Who..?” He slurred, taking a moment to figure out that this was Marvin, “Oh! ...M-Marv..?”

“Yep! That... That’s my name! Don’t.. wear it out!” Marvin said, putting on the best cheerful face he could, thought, Chase knew it wasn’t sincere, even as he laughed wryly in response. He could tell that the magician was distressed greatly by his attempt to kill himself.

~~

“Okay, so, he’s gotta be good at reading people, right? I mean, come on, even if we are just doing this to prevent further heartache, then why not take a few creative liberties that chance making social interaction and stuff like that easier?”

“Is up to you, Jackie. I for one did not know him very well beforehand, so you may wind up on your own for the programming part of this.”

“M’kay. Cool. I’m gonna do it.”

~~

[April 30th, 2017, our time]

“Stacy? Hi... It’s me, Chase... I was just calling to ask when you’re gonna let me see the kids next... I really miss them... S-Sorry for bothering you... I’ll... just go now..” He sighed, and hung up the phone.

“She still being petty?” Marvin asked, his face reading nothing but slightly amused sympathy.

“Yeah.”

“Damn. Well, cheer up, pal! She’ll have to listen to ya some day!”

“Maybe...”

~~~

“Greetings, Chase. I’m Jackieboyman! But, uh, I’d prefer being called Jackie.”

“... Uh... hey..? Good to meet you!” As the android spoke, his face lit up, as if he were just registering the name, and felt like he recognized it. Or something. Either way, it seemed like a good thing that he showed recognition, because it meant that at least one of the features he’d implemented into the android was working.

Jackie grabbed his clipboard, and checked off “Name recognition” from the list.

“What is that?” Chase asked, peering over his shoulder from behind. Jackie hadn’t even noticed him move! Weird. But cool!

“Um, it’s a list of functions you’re supposed to have. I have to make sure you function like a normal human if we’re gonna get the others to believe there’s nothing wrong.”

“Oh. Is silent footsteps one of them?”

“Not intentionally, no. I think it’s a byproduct of the materials we used.”

“Cool.”

“Hey, not to change the subject or anything, but how’re your tricks for the bro average channel going so far?”

“Pretty good! I can do a triple flip now! Wanna see?”

“Heck yeah, man! That sounds epic!”

Chase grinned cheerfully, and, going a fair bit back so he didn’t risk bumping into his older brother. He jumped up several feet, backflipped, landed on one hand, and did it twice more, landing on both hands the second, and on his knees the third. Jackie watched, eyes wide in awe, and applauded him excitedly when he finished.

“Wow! That was awesome!”

“Aw, shucks, Jackieboy! You’re too kind! Too kind!” Chase grinned, bowing humorously.

~~~

[Sometime in August, 2017, our time]

“Seán... Please... I-I don’t know if you can hear me, but... please... wake up.. We need you now, more than ever...” His voice broke as he pleaded for his old friend to wake up. Between the loss of Henrik, and Jack’s coma, he didn’t know if he was gonna be able to keep it all together.

~~~

Jackie watched Chase from a ways back, his heart breaking at the sight of his youngest brother melting down by the side of their creator’s bed in the hospital. He was about to go hug him and tell him it was gonna be okay, but Marvin ran in, pushed past him, and practically glomped poor Chase. The magician was clearly upset about the loss of Henrik and Jack, but he seemed to understand that the best they could do about it right now was help each other keep it together. Chase seemed shocked by the sudden hug, but he quickly returned it, appearing to be holding back tears.

~~~~

“Hey! Jackie! Look over there!” Chase exclaimed gleefully, hoping his brother was gullible enough to fall for it.

“What? What am I looking for?” Jackie asked in confusion as he looked where Chase had pointed. Chase grinned mischievously, and ran up to him while he was distracted, grabbing the hero’s goggles and yanking them down so they covered his eyes. Jackie yelped in surprise, and scrambled to adjust the goggles so he could see, as Chase made a break for it, darting away from him as fast as he could. Jackie yelled at him, and gave chase, catching up to him quickly, and tackled him to the pavement.

“Hey! No fair! Let me go!” Chase yelped, surprised by the strength of Jackie’s grip.

Jackie grinned, and stole his hat, letting go of him as he spoke, “Fine! But you’re still gonna pay for that”, and shot up, darting off in the direction of home. Chase laughed, and ran after him, yelling for him to give his hat back.

~~~~

[October 2018, our time]

Chase clutched onto his abdomen, coughing every now and then, as a strange, orange-ish liquid oozed around his arm. He didn’t understand why his blood looked so unnatural, but he didn’t think about that, as he let himself sink into a blind rage, and ran at the foreign glitch that was attacking Marvin.

“Chase, no!” Jackie screamed at him, desperately trying to drag himself after him, but the hero collapsed, his own wounds making him too weak to hold himself up anymore. Chase’s instincts screamed at him to go back for Jackie and flee this place, but he had to save his other brothers, too. Everything he knew about biology told him he shouldn’t even be able to run right now, but he didn’t care; Obviously, he could, which meant he was the only one able to do anything right now.

He tackled the glitch to the ground, and started throwing punches at his face, glad he was able to take him by surprise, since he probably wouldn’t have been able to pull that off if he hadn’t. The Anti screamed in anger, violently throwing him off, and stood up, as Chase caught himself. The vlogger stood as well, his eyes burning with hatred.

“Chase..! You..! You’re hurt! Wh-What-?!”

“He’s an android, Marvin.” Jackie wheezed.

“W-Wh-?! S-Since when?!”

“Since April...”

“W-Who else knew?!”

“... Henrik knew. He helped me create him...“

“Where- What happened to the Chase we knew?!”

“... He didn’t survive. The day Chase woke up was really just... the day after he had died..”

Chase listened silently, his heart heavy. He’d always had an underlying suspicion that he wasn’t as human as they’d said, but he didn’t realize he wasn’t human at all. He sighed, and opened his mouth, interrupting the conversation, “Marv, take Jem and the doc, and run. Don’t go home. Just... run. Make sure you never look back, and most importantly, don’t stop running until we meet again, okay?” The order came out dry and empty, his hate-filled gaze never leaving the glitch as he spoke.

“B-But what about you and Jackie?!” Marvin yelped, eyes wide, as tears began spilling from his eyes in small streams.

“... We’ll be fine. We’re gonna fight this guy off, and then we’ll run, too. I dunno how, or where, but we’re not stay here. Our world might as well be toast.”

“Chase..” Jameson’s speech slide appeared, and Chase gritted his teeth, squeezing his eyes shut as he, too, began to cry.

“Go, god damn it! Go before I do something really fucking stupid!” He sobbed, not paying any mind to the sadistic grin plastered on the glitch’s face, as his voice cracked and broke. At that, Marvin didn’t take another warning, and, as he helped Schneep up, he cast a spell. Soon enough, it was just him, Jackie, and the monster that had invaded their world.

Speaking of the damned, the glitch began laughing his mentally unstable laugh, and held up his knife, which was stained with orange, “Oh̶,̧ ḩo̧w҉ a͟do͝rable̢!́ You real̴l̷y ́t̀h̨ìnk͜ ͜they̶ ̴c͢a̕n ͠ęsc͟ap͜e̡ me f̨o̵r l҉o̡n̢g͢ ̨j̀ust ̶bec̸ausę ̷y͘o͞u ͢tol͟d́ ̸t͡he̵m to҉ r̷u͏n?! ̨Oh, ҉d͢e͏a͏r͞ ̀r͡ób̶ot̛, ̕I ͞h҉àte to ̡say ̀ít,̢ b͘u͘t́ ̡as͜ ̢s͡o͜on͠ ̢as̵ I͏’m done ͟w̵i҉th̀ ́yo҉u? I’̀m̛ g̷o͏i͡n̴g straight for ͡t͏h̀em̸!̛”

“That’s why you’re not getting a chance to do that.” Chase said, smirking a little. The Anti paused, looking utterly dumbfounded by his statement. They stood there quietly for a moment, until Chase subtly signaled to Jackie, and the hero yelled at the glitch.

“Hey, doofus! You forgetting someone?!” Jackie taunted. The glitch growled in annoyance, and turned to him. Chase took the chance his brother had given him, and used his soundless footsteps to his advantage. He sprinted at the glitch, and withing moments, he was on top of him once more, punching the ever living hell out of him once more. It took until Jackie yelled for him to stop for him to realize he’d knocked the Anti unconscious.

He got off of the demon, and ran to Jackie, picking him up in an almost-bridal style fashion, despite his brother’s adamant protesting, “Shut up, dad. You’re too weak to walk.” He joked, knowing Jackie would be embarrassed by the spontaneous new nickname.

Without looking back even once, he used a little spell Marvin had taught him a while back, and opened a portal to another world.

———————————

Help i’ve been writing this story practically nonstop for like 8-9 hours and i’m already attached to Android!ChaseSo, yep! This is basically all of the super major parts in Android!Chase’s story that I’ve made yet! Also, random note, but uh, the Anti that came in at the end was indeed Monitor (the anti from one of my other aus, if this is the first fic of mine that you’ve read), and he most definitely destroyed the universe they came from. Whether Chase & Jackie ever reunited with Marvin, JJ and Henrik is currently unconfirmed, but don’t loose hope, because I’d absolutely love to be able to expand upon their stories later on! Though, I think my favorite part of this au is Jackie and Chase’s QPR father/son dynamic-

taglist:

@antis-loyal-puppet @tiny-septic-puppet @chaoticcrimsonrose (yes i know you hate the angst but this is only like 50% angst) @rorald-spooks @septic-dr-schneep

Additional tags:

@hotcocoachia @insaneangel18-blog @aquaticember06

[personagf-moved]

alphabet & soft questions ✨

I was tagged by my bb’s @prksjmiin (alphabet ask) and @joonieblossoms (soft ask) and i didn’t want to make two separate posts so im gonna apologize in advance bc i decided to stick both posts together :’) dkdkkdkd yall aint gotta read everything but if u do ily and im sorry i write novels on novels dlfksdkf

i’ll tag @koyasdad, @1ovegf, @joonlit, @sleepyyyoongs, @constellationstars and @capgi 💘

honestly feel free to do either one or both or none if u want dkkdkdkd i just wanted to tag u guys bc ily

Alphabet ask:

a // age: 21

b // birthplace: new jersey!

c // current time: 1:17 am

d // drink you had last: coffee

e // easiest person to talk to: my brother when he isnt being an absolute fool

f // favorite songs: 

aint it fun - paramore

trivia love 

honey - kehlani

abbey - mitski

moonlight - ariana grande

g // grossest memory: i was in the city one time and a bird shit on my forehead. i think about it at least twice a week 

h // horror yes or horror no:  H O R R O R   Y E S   B A B E E E Y Y Y Y Y Y Y im the absolute worst person i’ll dead ass watch a scary movie/video or read horror stories by myself just bc. 

i // in love: with my whole ass soulmate namjoon. i luv u string bean man

j // jealous of people: im not even gonna try to lie i am a very jealous person and i am so sorry about it but i really cant help it lmfao. blame my scorpio venus i guess

k // kids of your own someday: when i say i have been thinking about this everyday.........! i wanna have it all i want the kids the white picket fence the dream house everything. i cant wait to be a mommy one day and love n support my bb’s :’)

l // love at first sight or should i walk by again: we a whole ass fool on main and believe in love at first sight!!!! i really do believe soulmates are a true thing and if a love is destined to be across an infinite span of lifetimes and universes then it will always find its way back. when you know, you know, and i genuinely believe that. 

m // middle name: padilla

n // number of siblings: 1 older brother, 1 half brother (older), and 1 half sister (older)

o // one wish: to find true love

p // person you last called: my manager bc i had a work question lol

q // question you’re always asked: “why are you like this” (usually friends @ me when i wild out...which is like everyday), “are you mad?”, “how old are you REALLY?”, “how’s your brother?” (bc he ghosts all family n i have to speak on his behalf like always fsdfjksdf)

r // random fact about you: i once used a horrible bootleg copy of the force awakens to make a star wars crack video dubbing the part in shrek when he first meets donkey over the scene when rey first met bb-8 and it went viral and has like 200,000 notes and even had articles written about it. also i had a weird fascination with jar jar binks and danny devito when i was in high school and i had a habit of making either one of them my icon on school accounts so i could make people laugh when they emailed me or saw me in a word document skfkkkfkf

s // song you last sang: “abbey” by mitski :’(

t // time you woke up: exactly 10 this morning and it was weird bc i picked up my phone and it had JUST turned 10 when i looked i was so shook lol 

u // underwear colour: she be black 

v // vacation destination: paris bc im a basic bitch :’) also japan/all asian countries. i wanna connect with my roots more :/

w // worst habit: yeeting the fuck outta people’s lives when i think they’re getting too close/when i get overwhelmed. im sorry im a flighty bitch @ anyone i’ve ever ghosted :( i love anyone who’s ever tried to talk to me and its never ur fault, i just get the urge to escape sometimes and i’m trying to fix it 

x // x-rays: omg @ tori dead ass me too tho, i had x-rays when i broke my arm when i was around 6 :o

y // your favorite food: my mom’s spaghetti! and sushi. also i love any and all filipino food but specifically i like nilaga and kare-kare oooo baby

z // zodiac sign: we’re a proud libra sun 

Soft ask:

What’s the smell of your shampoo?

we got them fruity scents up in here we keep that shit smellin like a goddamn strawberry field take a fuckin whiff babes

What’s your aesthetic?

the moon and stars, soft pink and purple sunsets with a burning red on the horizon, sunrises as well, paintings and generally all art revolving around flowers and the celestial, pretty pastel pink and yellow, the sound and smell of rain falling against the window while being curled up in bed uwu 

What’s your favorite time of the day and why?

lately it’s been night time. i generally get more creative and feel more at home during the night. i miss being a morning person tho. 

What do you most like about the beach?

not a lot fklsjdjfkslkdflksdlkf i usually only go to get a tan and walk the boardwalk with my friends, but if i had it my way i would never step foot in the ocean for the rest of my life sdjdjdjdjsj we dont trust her!!!!!!!!!

What do you worry about constantly?

when i’m gonna figure out what i wanna do with my life lol. i took a year off to think about it but all i ended up doing was working myself to exhaustion and getting comfy in a work only mindset and now i’m only even more confused about what i want to pursue. i’m just glad im going to chicago next week because i feel like a change of setting for even just a week could give me a much needed reset on my mindset going into the next year. i worry about the future but the problem is i worry about the present too lol. oh well, we’ll figure it out!

What is a song you’ve cried to before?

oh boy...

trivia love

moonchild

first love

she used to be mine - waitress soundtrack

20 something - sza

26 - paramore

the letter - kehlani

landslide - fleetwood mac

when you see my friends - mayday parade

and many........many many more...... skskskks music is my main emotional outlet so naturally im gonna cry over anything that reflects my heart

What are some relaxing tips for your followers?

as The World’s Number One Most Stressed Out Human Being™️ i am definitely in no way fit to give advice on how to relax LMFAO 

but i guess something that always works for me is putting on music i KNOW will make me sing a long or make me happy to distract me from the nerves i’m feeling. also putting on my favorite comfort movies to make me feel better (they’re big fish, scott pilgrim vs the world, and spirited away btw lol)

 What are some things that make you tear up?

the ending of coco, seeing my mom cry, or anyone i love cry tbh, when children are neglected/abused, thinking about the world i’ll have to bring my future children into and how i’m going to be able to teach them to stay strong and bright in the face of it, lyrics that hit too close to home, absolutely anything tbh i cry easy

What is your favorite from each sense?

sight - the view of my cherry blossom tree against a pink sunset in the spring of my childhood home, a person’s eyes and how they light up when they smile, especially when they crinkle as they laugh

smell - the earth after rain, a forest in autumn

taste - my mom’s cooking, good coffee on an early morning

sound - beautiful melodies and harmonies to accompany them, a baby cooing, birds chirping at sunrise

touch - my pillow when its nice and cool, a cat’s tummy, a baby’s cheeks, fingers running through my hair

What is an alternative reality you’d like to live in?

one where im married to namjoon n we have a lot of smart musical prodigy babies who have his dopey smile and i live comfortably in our big ass home in korea where i raise our babies n get that good pipe down every night like i should

jk i wanna live in a reality where magic is real and i can cast spells and live my best life as the true witch that i am

What are some troubles you face on a daily basis?

for starters im ugly as shit so theres one

if we mean practically then i have really bad knees and i recently busted them again so its been really hard getting up and down stairs lately and bending over 

but idk theres not really much. emotionally i just tend to get withdrawn and timid in public so it can be hard for me to speak up when i go out

What is one scene from a book that makes you really sad?

unfortunately i haven’t read as many books lately as i did when i was younger...so a lot of my memories are from books that i read like as a kid lol......THAT BEING SAID i think rue and finnick’s death in the hunger games was truly heartbreaking to read, the spine of my copies of both books have cracks on those pages bc i had to read it several times just to really believe it. also i thought it was written so heart wrenchingly well that i had to go back.  also in looking for alaska when pudge, a man who loved to know people’s last words, realized that he would never know alaska’s last words. im also really thankful for that book bc it introduced me to wh auden’s poetry and to this day he’s still one of my favorite poets of all time.  

Say something to your followers:

thank you thank you thank you thank you THANK YOU for following me and for some reason deciding to stay after how many times i act up on the daily. all jokes aside i really appreciate every single one of you no matter the number and i sincerely hope that you always have love and joy in your heart and that 2019 treats you well. i HONESTLY mean it when i say that i am always here if you guys want to talk or send me things or roast me or talk shit seriously i wanna hear it all and talk about it all i think all of you are so interesting and so beautiful and i’d love to get to know more about you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I LOVE YOU GUYS! yeet!

[mystisnykoto]

The Outsiders - Chapter 24

Weight of the World

'Warning: Chassis damage detected. Emergency combat mode enabled.'

Iris shuffled up to her feet, stepping backwards and trying her best to keep on her feet. Perraux moved forward, each step causing sand to blast away from her foot.

“You... pushed me too far...” Perraux's voice boomed. “You... will die...” Perraux clenched their fist tight, dashing forward in a near instant to punch Iris in the gut. Her frame cracked, small shards of her chassis shattering off from her back and side. Iris tumbled back, rolling back to her feet as pieces of her mechanical insides began to crumble and fall out from her back. Iris grunted, dropping to a knee, bracing herself on the sand beneath her.

'Alert: Escape is advisable in the current situation.'

“I'm... aware...” grunted Iris, looking up to see Perraux flying in with their knee shoved forward. Iris fired off her leg jets, propelling her clear from the strike aimed at her face. Iris landed on her feet, trying her best to analyze the situation for a way to fight back. Perraux slid to a halt, quickly snapping their sight back to Iris. “How c-can I f-fight ba-ack...” Perraux dashed in again, Iris preparing to dodge once more, only to feel her body because extremely heavy and sluggish.

'Warning: Battery levels at ten-percent, seek a charging source immediately.'

“Y-yesss, I-I kn-now...” spoke Iris, her voice echoed and mechanical, her feigned attempt to avoid the attack caused her to take the brunt of the attack to the face, shattering her shell and exposing her metal skull beneath. Iris slid down the dune, never falling off of her feet, and came to a stop once the surface leveled out. “I'm... t-too sl-slow... H-how c-can I do th-this...” Iris spoke aloud to herself.

“What's wrong Iris!?” Perraux taunted, walking down the dune with their arms out to their sides. “Lost the will to keep fighting?”

“Ha-hardly...” Iris responded as she readied the cable from her back of her hand, remembering her time from inside The Net and accessing the data of others. “Br-i-ing it...” Iris called back. “What if I d-don't fight, a-and access-s their d-data directly... G-gods I-I hope thi-is works...” Perraux rushed in punching Iris in the stomach again, their fist burst out from Iris' back. Iris yelped in pain, moving as quick as she could to shove the end of the tether into Perraux's neck.

'Establishing connection...'

                                                                                                                Iris slowly opened her eyes, her form restored and complete, seeing a endless expanse of white before her with several standing panels seeming to frame a sort of walkway.

“Do it!” cried out a voice, Iris recognizing it as her own. “Destroy the panels and erase Perraux from our body!”

“STOP IT! DON'T YOU DARE APPROACH!” Perraux shouted back, Iris running forward to the first group of panels, seeing all of them with Perraux on display. Iris

“Smash his panels!” the voice of the original Iris shouted. Iris slammed her fist into the first panel, causing it to shatter and burst into pieces. A cry of pain sounded out from Perraux, echoing across the white space. Iris smiled with delight, rushing over to the next panel to see Perraux, with a quick flicker of her own original face. She smashed through the panel again, hearing the same scream from Perraux, as well as a loud grunt from the original Iris. Iris looked around, scared for a moment after hearing her own scream from all around her. “D-don't stop! You have to keep going and erase him!”

“R-right...” Iris stammered, running between the panels. She smashed the glass-like panels, each causing Perraux's cries to grow progressively weaker.

“Please... sss-stop this... I... I'll do wh-whatever you want... g-give you what y-you want...” Perraux begged, as Iris run up to one of the last two panels seeing a scared and terrified Perraux reflected within. “P-please! Don't... don't k-kill me...Bygones... a-and all...”

“You had your chance to be civil and let bygones be bygones...” spoke the original Iris, her voice extremely weak as well.

“... but your lust for power brought you passed redemption,” Iris spoke, smashing the panel and watching as the image of Perraux fragmented within. Perraux's image faded from each shard, a silent and pained scream on his face. Iris slowly turned to look at the last panel, stepping over to it to see a crying, but still smiling original Iris standing within.

“Y-you... you did it...” the original Iris spoke, her voice soft and weak. Iris placed her hand on the panel, touching softly as a glow began to emanate from within. The original Iris stepped out from the panel, collapsing into Iris' arms with a soft squeak and smile. “Aaah! Th-thank you...” Iris helped her original self stand back to her feet, as the two smiled at each other.

                                                                                                              The pair stepped through the white space as panels rose up from far beneath, settling near the pair, each panel displaying a different memory and moment from their life.

“Oh gods, r-remember this-s one!” the original Iris cheered out, her form glitching a bit as she trotted over to a nearby panel. “When L-Leo firs-st started-d to teach u-s-s...” Both versions of Iris let out their own soft chuckle, as android Iris approached the panel.

“Leo didn't quite know how to control his own strength, whacked us pretty hard on the head,” spoke android Iris, touching the panel. “He sat there apologizing for almost two hours! It... it was how I knew he was truly a kind and gentle person... That... he really did care about me and others, and wasn't just some bodyguard for my... our, father.” The pair laughed a little more, sharing a smile to one-another. “I really do miss him...”

“He's... alive, actually...” Android Iris quipped. “Something about Mystis bringing him back and being recruited into the Light Brigade.”

“R-really!?” the original blurted out, looking on in shock. “He... he really made it onto the squad, finally... He always said he was going to one day...”

“Yeah, he met with me just yesterday,” the android started. “He... he told me that the Brigade was... they were going to hunt after us... b-because of the amount of power and aether you had been pulling in...” She paused a moment, touching the glass. “He was the only one standing between them and us. So he made one last move to try and keep them off our back...”

“I... I s-see...” the original spoke softly. “I-I alm-most want t-to... n-no, this has to be done... Y-you have to stop me...” The original turned on her heels, pacing over to the next panel to see Ruri's bright smile. “When-n... we f-first met-t...I miss-s her s-so much... m-more than an-nything else...”

“She fixed our jacket, it looked turned out perfect... and gave her an excuse to see us again,” the android giggled. “Her smile was so warm... so genuine!” The pair giggled happily, walking between each panel and sharing in the memories, as the original Iris continued to fragment further. “Oh gods! This one! This is right after Ruri made herself a digital paintbrush! That... well, that was quite an interesting experience,” android Iris giggled, biting softly at her lip as the original Iris flushed bright red.

                                                                                                              “Th-is-s is-s one of my n-new f-fav-vorites-s, b-but n-not for-r the obv-vious r-reason...” stuttered the original Iris, touching a panel to show the memory. On the panel showed a scared android Iris, staring in through a window. “I-it is when-n Perr-raux f-first s-saw y-you, a-and I kn-new th-that in a-a way, I-I was s-still aliv-ve a-and I-I lived-d on.” The pair looked over the panel, as the original Iris began to glitch and distort even more erratically. Tear fell from her eyes as she looked over to her android self. “I kn-new... th-that Ru-Ruri would-d b-be prot-tected-d... sh-she would-d b-be w-with me...”

“I... I don't...” android Iris spoke, stumbling over her words as she began to cry even more.

“I-I kn-now...” the original Iris touched a hand to the cheek of her android self. “I-I'm n-not g-going to l-last m-much longer... A-all of-f Perr-raux is g-gone, b-but h-he had int-tegr-rated t-too deep i-into m-me. H-his presence r-remo-oved i-is causing m-me to slowl-ly er-rase...” She held up her hand, watching her hand scramble and fade as the fragmentation started to spread slowly up her arm. “Wh-hen I'm gone... p-please... sm-il-le when-n you th-think of-f m-me...”

“You... you could...” spoke the android Iris, touching over her original selves cheek. A warm glow spread from her hand, flowing into the original's cheek and slowing the glitch effect. “You... can integrate into me. My... you... could be safe with me, we could... could b-be whole...” She cried as the original leaned into the touch, her body beginning to fade from sight as the glitching ended.

“Mmm... would be nice... if it... would work...” the original spoke, closing her eyes as she was almost completely gone. “Please... tell everyone, I love them all... I-I... I have to leave...”

                                                                                                              Android Iris collapsed to the floor after her original disappeared, the white light of the space surrounding her starting to glitch with static and fade to black. Tears fell from her eyes, looking over her hands as a small glowing light floated above them. A weak smile crossed her face as she pressed the light to her chest. She pulsed with a warm light as the rest of the world around her faded and disappeared. Iris blinked, finding herself on her knees back in the Sagoli Desert. Her tether still connected to her old body, feeling the connection had closed and all data transfer ended. She tried to stand, feeling the arm still shoved through her gut and pinning her in place. Iris wiggled away, the arm pulling several small component pieces out from her. She slowly stood, staggering away as she walked through the desert.

“I-it's... it's over...” Iris muttered, smiling softly as she shuffled and kicked through the sand.

'Warning: Temperature lev-vvvvvlls-sssssssss rissss- ss---kkskssssss. Ex---ksssssnal-- detec—ksss' her system voice spoke, crashing and distorting as her systems began failing. Her vision fragmented and distorted, her tether dragging through the sand. 'Batksssss-ry levvksss-- wo perce---kssss...'

“Y-yes... I kn-now...” Iris spoke, her voice dulled and monotonous. Iris made it ten yalms from her old body before collapsing to her knees, her vision crashing and shutting off.

'Criticksssssssss-l sssssysssksssss... failure... Sysssskssssss-tem terminating...'

“R-Ruri... E-everyone... I love you all, I h-have to g-go...I'm... I-I'm sorry...”

(First Chapter)          (Previous Chapter)           (Epilogue)

(Other Tales)

[lets-imagine-danganronpa]

Do Robots Believe In Ghosts?

Things have gotten quiet around here, so I’ll be posting a Kiibouma story I did with @crybabysapphire on here. If it has conflicting writing styles, that’s because it was a RP. Enjoy!

"Kiibo~ I need someone to go in this haunted house with me, and you're coming with me. Kay?" Kokichi said as it wasn't really an option.

"O-ok...?" Kiibo sounded really confused. "What for?" Kiibo wondered what his boyfriend did NOW.

"Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeell..." Kokichi drawled out. "I may have lost a bet with Kaito and now he wants me to go into a haunted house with a camera." The smaller boy clinged to Kiibo's arm. "And I need you to hold the camera for me."

"Kokichi!" Kiibo scolded. "I thought I told you not to make bets anymore!" Kiibo sighed and shook his head. "But I will hold the camera... Just don't wander off. The building could be very unstable."

"Nishishi~ Okei Dokie Kiiboy!~ You can always cling to me if you get scared." Kokichi said with a wink.

“Do not mock me!”

"Sorry..." Kokichi muttered loud enough to be heard. "Now let's go!" He exclaimed as he began to tug Kiibo's arm in the direction of the haunted house.

*timeskip*

The house was abandoned. Cobwebs littered the outside, and the wood was rotting. "I wanna go home..." Kiibo muttered. "This is a horrendous idea..."

"Well I don't!" Kokichi lied, he really wanted to go home and forget about the already creepy scenery. "Now come on, let's get this over with." He said with what little bravery he had.

"R-right!" Kiibo walked over to the old door and opened it slowly. It was pitch black inside. "I've put the camera on flash so we have a light..." Kiibo walked a few steps inside, his robotic heart pounding.

"W-well, get to it!" Kokichi demanded, his heart felt like it was beating out of his chest. "Here. You can hold onto my hand so that way you don't get lost." Kokichi said as he outstretched his hand. He thought that if he held his boyfriend's hand, it would help calm his nerves. Kiibo sighed and grabbed his lovers hand. "Let's go." They walked further into the house, with Kiibo noting the damaged structure and dusty photos.

 "I wonder what happened to the people who lived inside this house?" Kiibo mused. 

"I heard that one of them went crazy and killed everyone in their family. Some say their spirits still haunt this house to this day, looking for revenge." Kokichi stated, remembering the story Kaito told him about the place. "But that's just one story, no one really knows what happened..." He finished the story.

"Ghosts don't exist!" Kiibo protested. He was about to go into a rant when he heard a sound. ".....Did you hear something?"

Kokichi jumped slightly. "M-m-maybe it was the wind?"

"Shh! Be quiet!" The sound was much louder this time. Kokichi froze in fear, clinging to Kiibo's arm like his life depended on it.

"...Let's go check that noise out." Kiibo started moving towards the source, which seemed to be in the dining hall area.

"This is how people get killed in the movies Kiibo..." Kokichi muttered but followed Kiibo nonetheless.

"This place is abandoned, don't worry!" Kiibo puffed out with confidence. "I'm sure it's just part of the building collapsing!"

 "Yeah. That's probably it." Kokichi said, gaining some confidence. "It was probably nothing. But I wanna make sure."

Suddenly, the noise went from a faint rumble to a... child's laughter? Kiibo froze on the spot. "A child... in here? Oh no, they must be in shock!" Kiibo tensed up, about to take off.

Kokichi grabbed Kiibo's arm. "H-Hey! At least wait for me!"

Kiibo heeded no attention and took off, leaving Kokichi in the darkness. "Do not worry, little one! K1-B0, the Ultimate Robot, is here to help!"

 Kokichi ran after the robot, feeling a little upset that Kiibo didn't pay attention to him. But he knew how impulsive Kiibo got.Kiibo's voice can be heard in the dining hall yelling in shock. 

"W-what?! This cannot be!"

Kokichi finally made it to the dining hall, he placed his hand on the door frame to support him while he started to pant heavily. "K-Kiibo... You need to wait for me..." He didn't even look up. 

"I'm sorry, but that's not the issue!" Kiibo's eyes looked fearfully around the hall. "There's no one here!”

Kokichi looked up and was immediately filled with dread. The dinning room really was empty, it was full of dust and nowhere stable enough to hide a speaker. "Th-then... Where did that voice come from?"

Kiibo shook his head. "I don't know! There has to be an explanation for this-" Kiibo suddenly broke up, looking at something behind Kokichi. "K-Kokichi... Whatever you do, DO NOT move." 

Kokichi froze in place, fear keeping him in place. Kiibo saw the outline of a little girl, her body covered in stab wounds. "I found the source..... You may not like what it is, though."

Kokichi began shaking slightly. "Wh-what is it?" He wanted to run to Kiibo and hold onto him, but his body wouldn't move.

"Honestly, I didn't think ghosts existed, but I was just proven wrong."

Kokichi paled and ran to Kiibo in a flash. "What-what the hell?!" He exclaimed in shock.

Kiibo seemed to be stunned. "This is crazy... None of this is real....." He started to shake. "We still need to explore the rest of the house! We were probably just hear and seeing things that weren't there."

Kokichi clinged to Kiibo, but refused to let any tears fall. The camera was still on after all. Yeah. That's the reason. "O-Okay, just don't run off like that again." Kokichi whispered. "I need you with me..."

"I understand." Kiibo whispered back.  Kokichi didn't want to leave the comforting hug, but he had to if he wanted to continue with the dare.

 "L-let's go check out some of the other rooms..." 

Kiibo nodded and pulled away. "There seems to be a second floor in this house."

"Let's hope it doesn't collapse on us..."

Kiibo grabbed Kokichi's hand again and walked up the stairwell to the second floor. The creaking sound was unsettling to Kokichi. 

"S-so... Which room should we check out first... The left or right hallway?"  he asked.

"The left. There seems to be a noise similar to someone tapping a wall in one of the left rooms. I want to investigate what is causing that sound." Kiibo responded, pointing towards one of the several rooms.

"You are insane..." Kokichi said as he headed to the room making the noise.

"That's robophobic!" Kiibo hissed as they stopped in front of the room.

 "This is where the sound is coming from. We will NOT enter the room. We will just open the door so we can see inside." Kiibo twisted the knob and slowly cracked open the door so they could just see almost 3/4 of the room.

"It's not Robophobic, it's a fact." Kokichi muttered. He looked around the room, but didn't see anything suspicious, which unsettled him.

"Hmm...That's odd... Should we go in there after all?" Kiibo wondered.

Kokichi took a deep breath already regretting his answer. "Yeah... What's the worst that could happen?" 

A lot... A lot a bad things could happen, but he didn't voice it.  Kiibo nodded in agreement and thumped into the room along with his boyfriend. The instant they were in the room, the door slammed shut, causing Kiibo to drop the camera in shock. 

"AH!" 

Kokichi jumped and clinged to Kiibo before heading to the door to try to open it up. "I-it's locked!"

"W-what you'd say?" Kiibo thought he was on the verge of crashing at this point.

"I said it's locked, Kiibo." Kokichi took a moment to observe the door. "WHAT THE HECK???" he exclaimed in disbelief. Kiibo looked at him with fear and confusion.

“W-what is it...?”

"THERE ISN'T EVEN A LOCK ON THIS DOOR!"

Kiibo lost it at that moment. He started babbling out random strings of letters. His neck visor started flashing with numbers. Kokichi’s eyes widen with shock.

"Kiibo, listen, I love you, but you got to pull yourself together." Kokichi said placing a hand on Kiibo's shoulder. "We will get out of here... We just have to be creative." Kokichi wanted to curl up and cry, but he had to put on a brave face for his boyfriend. 

Kiibo almost snapped out of it. He tried to calm down. But it was just too much for his AI to handle. And he promptly crashed.

"Kiibo? Kiibo!" Kokichi called, shaking his boyfriend. "Pl-please don't leave me... Not right now..." He felt himself have a panic attack, a strange feeling that the walls were closing in on him didn't help.

Kiibo seemed to be rebooting. "S Y S T E M R E B O O T I N G. W I L L G O B A C K O N L I N E I N 1 2 H O U R S"

Kokichi was already curled into a ball, crying out of fear. He couldn't wait that long, it would be too scary. 

"Please... Hurry..." he whispered. Eerie voices could be heard approaching the room.

 Kiibo was still knocked out. Kokichi was still curled into a ball. He wanted to scream and tell them to go away, but he didn't want to be found by the voice. He didn't want Kiibo to wake up to see him dead.

Kiibo twitched. He went back online for a couple minutes. He grabbed Kokichi's hand and squeezed it. "I'll protect you....." he murmured.

Kokichi looked up to see Kiibo and immediately tackled him in a hug. "Kiibo... I'm scared..." he whispered.

"I know..." Kiibo squeezed his boyfriend tightly. "I am too.......... Just get some rest, ok?" Kiibo went back offline.

Kokichi took some deep breaths and closed his eyes, holding the unconscious robot as he tried to get some rest.

The voices were in the room now. They whispered death threats and torture plots. Then they knocked Kokichi out cold.

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

Kokichi woke up first. "Mmnmn... What the hell? Why... Why is it so dark out?And why are we outside?" Kokichi looked around and saw Kiibo. "Kiibo! Are you okay?"

Kiibo started twitching slightly at Kokichi's voice.

"Kiibo! Please wake up!"

Kiibo opened his eyes slowly. “K..Kokichi...?”

"Kiibo!" Kokichi tackle hugged him. "Oh thank god you're safe!"

"I'm more concerned about YOU." Kiibo hugged back gently. "Are you hurt?"

Kokichi shrugged. "Other than a huge bump on the back of my head and a few scrapes, I'm fine." He snuggled closer to Kiibo heavily relieved to see his boyfriend safe. "Wait... Where's the camera?"

Kiibo held it up. "It's right here. Strange that the ghosts didn't dispose of it..."

"Maybe they just don't show up on camera. Or they don't know what cameras are. Or both... That'd suck." Kokichi sighed. "I'm just glad you're awake and well."

Kiibo smiled and turned on the camera feed. "Let's see if we captured any ghosts on camera."

"I hope not... I don't wanna relive that experience..." Kokichi muttered but looked at the video anyway.

Kiibo yelped at one point. "Look!" he pointed at the screen.

Kokichi leaned forward. What he saw was the whole ghost family as the door was opened to kick them out. "Ho... Ly... Shit..."

Kiibo watched in shock as the family grabbed the two boys and hurled them outta the house in one go. The camera went black.  Kokichi was in stunned silence.

"This never leaves this house..."

"Hmm?"

"We will never tell anyone about this ever..."

"Why not?"

"If we tell anyone, the word would get out to Korekiyo, then out to Kaito, who will freak out, and then with the evidence of this video tape, then everyone will want to see the ghost for themselves. And if everyone comes to see these ghosts, they'll never get any rest and become more hateful to humans."

"O-oh... Should we dispose of the camera then......?" Kiibo asked with a shake in his voice.

Kokichi paused. "No... Let's just make a phoney video of just static. That'd be convincing enough."

"I’ll simply edit the video so it looks like static.”

"See you in my nightmares, ghost family..." Kokichi said as he witnessed the static video. "Unless..." Kokichi muttered.

"Unless what?"

"Well... It's a dumb idea... But it would be a semi permanent solution for the ghosts in the house..." Kokichi started speaking.

"What if we bought the house when we're older... That way no one will trespass and the ghosts would only have to deal with us..."

"Hmm........... That seems like a logical choice." Kiibo nodded. "But in any case, let's get a ride home. You must be tired."

Kokichi let out a yawn. "Alright, but only if you cuddle me in bed."

“Of course!” Kiibo would never refuse an offer like that.

The couple stayed to their word and never told anyone about what had happened that fateful night. They hoped that no one else would bother the ghostly members of the place so they could finally get some rest. 

Key word is “Hoped.”

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

Shuichi and Kaede stuck closely to each other as they walked towards the room on the left of the second floor.

“T-this is where that sound was coming from....” Shuichi breathed out as he opened the door to the room. He took some shakey glances around. “I don’t see anything.. Let’s go inside to investigate further.”

Kaede nodded fearfully and followed the detective inside.

The door slammed shut behind them.

They woke up outside with headaches not long afterwards.