#recharge because getting up is too overwhelming without them. oops

[maplemaplemaplemaplemaple]

what do you mean i have to take off my noise cancelling headphones in order to recharge them

[spoopybcbe]

this has been sitting in my drafts for like four months oops. so !! here are some celeb plots i’d love! please check out my guidelines before contacting & message me if you’re interested!

muse a is a huge celebrity. a few years back, they took the world by storm and now they’re one of the biggest names in hollywood. it’s a bit overwhelming, though, and muse a needs to get away. so they head back to their hometown with the hopes of laying low for a bit, recharging. while they’re there, they run into muse b - their childhood friend. they haven’t spoken in years, not since muse a left to make it big, but they’re both surprised at how easily they can fall back into old habits. what was supposed to be a one or two week trip turns into a few months, and muse a doesn’t know how they’re going to leave muse b behind to go back to their career this time around. 

muse a and muse b are costars on a popular television series. their characters have a lot of on-screen chemistry, but off camera muse a and muse b can’t stand each other. they put on a good show during interviews and fan events because they know fans love their characters, and that they ‘ship’ muse a and muse b together as well. it’s good for ratings and keeps their jobs safe, and it makes them look a bit more professional. eventually, muse a and muse b get sent on an international tour - just the two of them - to promote the new season, and things get a little sticky when a storm hits and they’re stuck. two people who hate each other stuck in a suite in an unfamiliar city in an unfamiliar country for who knows how long - what could possibly go wrong?

basically the same as above except producers/p.r. basically force muse a and muse b to pretend to be a couple. fans love that their on-screen ship is also a real-life couple and it boosts ratings and viewership. as much as they hate it, its muse a’s first big role and they don’t want to get blacklisted so they try their best to make the most of it. muse b, though, is over it and has a tendency to make the whole situation harder than it needs to be.

muse a is a popular singer on tour and muse b is a musician or background singer on tour with them. ever since muse a came onto the scene as a teenager, they’ve been forced to make music that they’re not really happy with. they don’t get to showcase their talent and that, unfortunately, means that those who tour/record with them don’t either. one day, they hear muse b (either playing or singing) something original, or just a really cool spin on one of muse a’s songs, and muse a loves it. they love the sound and originality and over the rest of the tour, they keep meeting up with muse b to just blow off steam and sing/write music for fun. it’s the most creative that muse a has ever had the chance to be and they love performing with muse b - even if it’s just the two of them who will ever hear any of it. when the tour ends, muse b invites muse a to come record with them and as much as they want to, muse a feels like they’ve just been given a choice between their steady career and happiness.

muse a is an up and coming actor that is finally getting their big break. they’re going to be in a movie that’s projected to be a box office hit or a well-promoted tv show on a popular network. most of the project’s filming is on-location in a small town that’s fairly off the map. muse b is a local that isn’t too thrilled about the sudden influx of outsiders - especially because it means a lot of extra work for businesses that aren’t staffed or equipped to support this many people at once. so muse b is never particularly kind to muse a whenever they stop into the cafe/diner/motel/etc where they work. but the more muse a comes around, the more they start to win over muse b without even trying. 

alternatively, muse a is a pretty big name in hollywood and they’re filming on location in a small town. muse b is a business owner/employee in town who is completely clueless. they know that something is being filmed there, but they have no idea who muse a is. muse b treats them just like anyone else - something that hasn’t happened to muse a in a long time. at first, it annoys them but they keep coming around, eventually realizing that they enjoy the change of pace. eventually someone brings muse b up to speed, but nothing changes. they continue to grow fairly attached to one another until filming comes to a close, and they both have a very difficult decision to make.

muse a and muse b grew up together in the spotlight. they were both child stars, whether they were in the same group or show, etc. is open - but they were a part of a very tight knit circle that supported each other as young celebrities. when they started to step into adulthood, muse a started going a bit off the rails. they started making bad decisions, and muse b’s professional circle tried to steer them away. trying to maintain their clean image drove a wedge between muse b and their long time friend. eventually, they lost all contact with muse a - and they watched from afar as muse a’s life continued to fall apart. muse b continued working and managed to find success while muse a’s name was completely reduced to the occasional ‘where are they now?’ headline. years pass, and muse a starts to get their life under control and wants to make a comeback. eventually, this is what leads them to cross paths with muse b again and a lot of feelings come bubbling back to the surface.

[tuffduff]

Dead Batteries (Izzy Stradlin x Reader)

Paring: Izzy x Reader

Words: 1,517

Request: @tonightiggypop “Hi! Could you write an Izzy Stradlin imagine where he meets you after becoming sober?”

A/N: So...I wrote all of this only to realize you had said “meet” (oops) so this is slightly different, but I hope you like it anyways! I know the least about Izzy out of the original five, so I also hope he comes across right. Thanks for requesting beautiful!

You had been Izzy’s companion for years. Maybe companion wasn’t the best word; companions got the luxury of being side by side with someone, right? But that wasn’t always the case.

Growing up in Lafayette, Indiana, there wasn’t exactly a lot to do. You were there before Axl came into the picture. And even when Izzy started spending more and more time with the unpredictable firecracker redhead, he would come back to you. He needed to, he would say when he turned up at your bedroom window late at night and you had to sneak him in so your parents wouldn’t hear. “I need to recharge my batteries.” He would explain after spending days on end with Axl.

“Then why did you come to me?” You would ask. Surely, recharging batteries was a solo kind of thing. He would merely shake his head.

“You’re the only person who really gets me.”

He talked about moving away all the time, to LA was what he reckoned. By the time you both graduated, you were heartbroken; you always knew he was going to do it. It was bittersweet. It was time.

“I wish I could pack you up and take you with me in my suitcase,” he would joke. You would never forget the day he left. There was a long moment of silence between the two of you, along with long looks that always led to you both looking away, only to look back helplessly. It was as if you both wanted to say something, but that something might have changed his plans, and you weren’t about to let that happen. So, you put your own feelings on the back burner and kissed his cheek and hugged him tightly, allowing yourself a tear or two to fall when he couldn’t see, making sure they were gone when you pulled away to look at him one last time.

“Make me proud,” you whispered. He nodded solemnly, still unable to share anything he had inside of him.

Did you love Izzy? Probably. You would actually be lying if you said anything otherwise, it was almost like you didn’t have a choice. He seemed to be a fixture in your life, like furniture that had always been there. “How’s Izzy doing?” Was what your parents would ask you second to how you were doing. You knew in your heart you loved him; it was a truth weaved into the fabric of your very being.

You were still in Lafayette when Guns N’ Roses made it big. Of course, Izzy had kept you updated on every band he played with up until that point, the gigs that had been shitty, the ones that made him feel like he was actually doing the right thing. The low points, the moment of doubt, asking your opinion on lyrics he had written, playing you “Happy Birthday” over the phone on his guitar when he couldn’t be there. You cherished those phone calls, but over time, something changed. He sounded different, after all, you would know. Izzy didn’t sound like your Izzy anymore.

Soon the calls stopped coming altogether. You watched from afar as Guns N’ Roses really made it big. You were absolutely shattered. It was more bitter than sweet now; yes, he had made it. Yes, you were proud. But making it also apparently meant leaving you behind. With fame and fortune and success, you were a part of his life he seemingly no longer needed, or wanted. Forgotten. Or so you thought.

It was raining one night, a downpour so violent you couldn’t really relax in your lone apartment. You almost thought you imagined the knocking on your door. You almost thought you were going crazy entirely when you finally opened it to see Izzy, soaked to the bone and looking as though it were hard for him to breathe.

“Izzy?” You managed to get his name out of your mouth. “What are you doing here?” Any other person would’ve pushed their way inside to take shelter from the rain, but as he stared at you, it was like he didn’t feel it. His eyes softened, and you could see them glistening despite the rain. Finally, he stepped inside silently, dripping water onto your floor, and pulled you tightly against him, effectively soaking you too. You let him.

“You look exactly the same,” he whispered into the crook of your neck. His voice was breathless, and thick with relief. His embrace was tight, keeping you bound to him, refusing to let go.

“What are you doing, Izzy...” You asked, holding him back. The moment felt surreal. He was a big rockstar now, he shouldn’t be standing in your apartment.

“I got your address from your parents.” You pulled back finally to give him a bewildered look. He sighed, shrugging and avoiding your gaze. “I’m here because...I’ve got a lot of explaining to do. And my batteries have been dead for a long time.”

He didn’t want to get your furniture wet, so the two of you sat together on the floor of your apartment as he explained how he got mixed up in heroin. How exhilarating it was to have a taste of success, but how he knew in the back of his head he needed to cut the shit. How he felt like he couldn’t. How he was too ashamed to call. How it got worse and worse.

“I thought you got too famous for me,” you admitted, now being the one to avoid his gaze. After a long moment of silence, Izzy grabbed your hand.

“You have no idea how much I missed you this entire time, Y/N. I wanted to call, I just couldn’t. Axl would try to get me to call, to fly you in to see us play, but I just felt so...ashamed. I didn’t feel good enough for you to see me. I didn’t want you to see me like that.”

He explained he was sober. That he came back home, for good.

“I needed to get away from LA. And this is the only place that has you in it.” He smiled a little as he looked down, playing absently with the bands around his wrist. “I’ve got a lot of good memories here.”

Maybe there was something about having him back physically in front of you, maybe it was the vulnerable spilling of emotions, the way it felt like the two of you were teenagers sitting in your room again, but you finally grew the courage to suck in a breathe and spit out the only thing you had been thinking for the last few years.

“I should’ve gone with you.” He looked surprised. You wondered for a second if he didn’t feel the same until he squeezed your hand that he was still holding.

“I had the same thought every day. But really, I shouldn’t have left without telling you how I really felt.” The pounding rain had softened outside the four walls of your apartment, allowing you to really focus on his light words, on the weight they carried. “Y/N, I’ve been in love with you since we were 12, I’m pretty sure. And there were times I thought maybe you felt the same, or at least hoped. Like the time you made me come with you to the junior high ball and we slow-danced, but never talked about it again. You wouldn’t believe how many songs I’ve written that were inspired all by you. And leaving you behind that day was the hardest thing I had to do.” Overwhelmed, you grabbed the other hand you weren’t already holding.

“But you did make me proud,” you reasoned. He chuckled, shaking his head.

“It never felt like it to me. But I’ve decided that’s up to you—you’ve always believed in me anyways. I don’t care who I make proud anymore. I’m happy with what I’ve accomplished, but I want to move forward. I don’t want to make you proud, Y/N, I want to make you happy. And I want you.” All prior feelings of hurt completely evaporated. It was as if the old and rusty lock to the gate of your heart’s emotions had been cut loose, freeing you to feel only unwavering love, empowering love—love that made you feel like you were soaring.

“I wanted to tell you too, before you left. God, I wanted to stop you but I didn’t want to keep you from your dreams. I love you, Izzy, I always have.” He pulled you towards him by your interlaced hands into a kiss, your first kiss together, making up for lost time with years of passion, longing, and love fueling it. He pulled back finally, taking one of his hands to smooth down your hair.

“Screw dreams, once you’ve lived them you realize what matters in life is something real. My heads never been more clear than now. No matter where life takes me next, I know I want you with me. I love you.” It was an apology, an affirmation, and a promise all in one, and better than any song to your ears.

[that-is-where-they-wait]

That is Where They Wait Ch 14: The Letter

previous / next all chapters AO3 FFN

[so funny story I actually posted this on FFN and ao3 forever ago but not here. oops. but posting here is a hassle, in my defense. hope everyone is doing okay? also check the notes for some Haha Funny Jokes because I don't want to add them to the. actual post.]

Perhaps the way to answer the present is with the past.

The metal of the hinge was cool under his finger, intricate design branching onto the actual door. It should've been smooth, but instead it was rough and red.

Rust.

Kai frowned. Rusty metal was usually brittle — but the door hadn't come down, even when he and Karlof rammed into it repeatedly. That plan of ripping at its hinges and hoping it came down was starting to look flimsy.

Ech. Well, they had to keep trying and hope for the best. It wasn't like they could stay in the small, dark room much longer. Kai had cobbled together a makeshift flame with pieces of rope and cloth from his gi, but it would definitely not last much longer.

Plus, he was getting really antsy, and it'd be just plain stupid to be so isolated when they weren't safe. When he'd asked about Lloyd and found out he was, in fact, both inside the mansion and unaccounted for, he had been about ready to knock Karlof's helmet off of his head.

… In hindsight, maybe he'd been a little forceful.

But hey, in return, he'd informed Karlof about everything they knew on the mansion and the spirit so far. So he didn't feel too bad about it.

"Psst." He went over to where he'd left Karlof and poked. "We gotta go."

No response.

Ohhhh, perfect. The guy had to go and fall asleep on him. They'd already spent so much time staying put! He was itching to get moving again, and Lloyd and Skylor were still out there, who knew where! Not to mention, if the others woke up and noticed him missing … (It occurred to him, a little belatedly, that they might blame Jay for that. Another twinge of guilt. But he could apologize for that when they went back.)

But it had been an exhausting trek just to get here. Karlof had endured that, and no sleep to recharge afterwards …

Kai sighed, seating himself next to him. Yeah, they weren't going anywhere until Karlof finished his beauty sleep. But then there came the issue of having nothing to distract himself with. Already he could just feel himself tiredly debating whether to indulge the pessimistic trains of thought forming in his head in all their bleak glory.

Abruptly, something slammed against him. Okay, so it didn't slam into him, but it definitely felt that way, because oof! It was heavy. Kai squirmed briefly, but a moment later, he realized he shouldn't even bother. Instead, he hissed an irritated puff of air through his teeth and tried to pull an overly-cuddly Karlof off of him. Why in the name of the First Spinjitzu Master was he—

An exposed part of his bandaged arm made contact with Karlof's for a second, before Kai drew it away and grimaced at how cold it was.

… Oh.

The way Karlof's arm was draped on him, Kai couldn't reach his face with his hand. He settled for a drawn-out groan instead. Just because he was the human toaster … and now he couldn't move!

Oh well. If nothing else, he could totally hold it over Karlof's head later. Blackmail material or something. But what was he supposed to do now?

A bleary yawn escaped his mouth.

There was one idea.

Nope, he thought to himself immediately. No way, José, someone had to stay awake, and he'd already bailed out on that once. But the door was locked, and the whole day and the effects of staying up so long were finally catching up to him …

Kai tried to debate the point a little longer, but as it turned out, he was pretty tired. Too tired to properly argue with himself, and before he could, he'd already fallen asleep.

The tiny flame winked out and left the room engulfed in black.

Lloyd wrapped up a summary of the search he'd just gotten back from.

Considering that depressingly little had changed since the last time they'd looked, it didn't take very long. The ever-encroaching cocktail of panic and despair clawed at his guts and his chest, made his throat tight, and he could feel it radiating off of Jay and Cole near him, optimistic as they tried to remain. At least Skylor had gotten some work in on fixing her bow while they'd been gone, although she hopefully wouldn't be needing it anytime soon.

The light trickling from the windows had become thin, silvery moonlight and long, fragmented shadows streaking across the floor and cutting into each other. Cole glanced at everyone in the room and declared that it was probably about time they slept; both searches had taken quite a while, even with how much of the mansion was still closed off to them. It didn't seem likely that much more would happen that day.

Zane took in everything they said solemnly, then pulled something out from beside him.

"It's disheartening to know that the two of them are still missing. But perhaps I can offer something else to think about before we rest for tonight?"

On closer inspection, it appeared to be a faded eggplant-colored satchel.

"I found this on the mantle while you were investigating in the tunnels. I didn't want to look through it without you …"

"Can I?" Lloyd reached out, opening the bag and peering into it for a moment. Then, as the rest of them watched, he stuck his hand in and, one by one, set its contents onto the floor for better examination.

On the carpet, there currently sat a small black inkwell, a quill stand, a bound book, a faded set of folded purple clothes, an assortment of large and small weapons, and a few loose pieces of parchment with writing on them. Maybe it all belonged to the person that owned the place, ages ago?

Evidently, they were all wondering a similar thing.

Lloyd set aside the empty bag and stared at the various items he'd placed down. "Hm. They were carrying weapons …"

"Whose stuff is all this?" Skylor finally voiced the question.

"It likely dates back to the Serpentine war," Zane said. "The antiquity of all the items would fit."

"Well, then, we should find out, shouldn't we?" Jay grabbed the book, slowly teasing open the binding and riffling through the pages. Lloyd caught a glimpse of inky letters over paper lightly yellowed with time; all things considered, it was pretty well-preserved.

"Careful, Jay, that looks heavy. Wouldn't wanna pull a muscle lifting that thing." Cole's mouth twitched up in a smirk, Jay briefly peering over the book with narrow eyes.

"… I mishandle an empty packing crate one time."

"Yeah, well," Lloyd huffed. "You nearly dropped it right on my foot. I still get splinters from that crate when I'm not watching my step."

"Thanks, Lloyd!" Jay looked supremely offended. "I didn't ask!" Still a little sullen from the disappointing results of the day, Lloyd didn't bother sassing him back. He scoffed when he noticed Jay looking helplessly at Zane — they all knew full well that never worked, so when the nindroid minutely shook his head there was hardly any surprise.

"Silly zaptrap," Cole shook his head and tsked. "Once is all it takes on this team. You of all people should know better."

Jay hmphed and nearly went back to skimming the book he'd picked up, but his head popped up curiously when Skylor spoke.

"Isn't it kind of late? If we're going to look at anything, maybe we should read one of the loose sheets instead. I feel like trying to get into something that long when we need to sleep isn't the best idea. I want to stay in-the-know, but I'm not sure how much longer I can pay attention to anything right now …" She shrugged, looking a little self-conscious. "Sorry."

Oh, right. It was usually Lloyd's job to be one of the voices of reason.

Looking around, he was certain that last sentence didn't pertain to just Skylor, though. The banter was being tossed rather lazily and there was a sluggishness to everyone's movements, even Zane's. As for himself, the temptation to just plonk onto the next piece of bedding he picked up while cleaning up the aftermath of the pillow-and-assorted-accessories fight and sleep on it right there had been overwhelming.

"It's quite alright," Zane reassured her. "You have a point, at that. Perhaps something like this would suffice for tonight?" He held up a messily rolled piece of paper, and pulled it open. Lloyd eyed it and nodded; seemed interesting enough. Most likely, they could learn a thing or two, discuss, and then go to bed without too much further ado.

"Looks good to me," Cole said. "Let's see about this person, then."

Zane's eyes fell to the paper for a few seconds before freezing, glowing ever so faintly brighter, and doing a funny skip between Lloyd and the paper before settling back on the paper. Lloyd frowned, unsure he liked the new furrow in Zane's brow.

"What is it, buddy?"

Zane coughed awkwardly. Amazing how even nindroids did that when they were nervous.

"This appears to be a letter addressed to Garmadon."

Lloyd's eyes widened, breath hitching. Abruptly his heart felt less like it was beating and more like it was trying to break itself out of his chest.

Dad.

It had been, safe to say, a little while since he'd thought about his father. The same father he'd gone through hell and back to finally have by his side, only to banish and then drown for good.

He'd kept himself good and busy, helping the team move base to the abandoned Temple of Airjitzu. Warded off the lingering pain from remembering, during the Day of the Departed, pretty well with dusting and heavy lifting and organizing what needed to be packed.

Lloyd had always done his best to draw strength from his father's memory. Like he'd told his mother during Day of the Departed: "Sometimes it feels like he's still with me."

It sure didn't feel like he was with Lloyd now.

"Lloyd?"

He blinked.

"Lloyd, you good?"

He looked over. Cole and the others were all watching him with concern, trying to gauge his reaction.

Quietly, he took a deep breath. He was supposed to have gotten past this. It wasn't supposed to still sting so much when he'd moved onto something healthier, more bittersweet than the more raw, consuming pain he'd known for a while.

Maybe the mansion's atmosphere was digging deeper than he'd thought, ripping open old wounds on top of slashing new ones.

"Yeah." Then, to ensure they couldn't press him about it, "Are you sure, Zane? Lemme see." Zane obliged, handing him the letter. Lloyd took it and held it up to the firelight, careful not to wrinkle the aged parchment, and skimmed it silently, feeling everyone's eyes still on him.

Having caught his reaction to Garmadon's name, they were probably a little surprised when he chuckled.

"What is it?" Skylor tilted her head. "What did they say?"

"It's just the first paragraph. Listen to this!" Clearing his throat, all too glad to focus on the letter, he read it, the ninja going from attentive listening to confused snickering as he did.

"My dearest friend, Garmadon, it seems fitting to start with the most important subject here—thanks a lot for letting me blunder into that whole mess, you absolute withered honeysuckle. I was delayed two whole days trying to firstly explain how I accidentally deposed a chieftess, and then restore some semblance of normalcy to the village. I don't," Lloyd had to catch his breath, barely managing to stop snickering long enough to finish the sentence, "I don't even know why we're still friends." "What in the world is this talking about?" Cole wheezed.

"Absolute withered honeysuckle," Jay mimicked, cracking up himself.

"Well. They were friends, we've learned that much," Skylor stated, desperately trying to regain a straight face.

"Absolute chums, from the sound of it. Just the best of buddies. Like you and me, huh, Cole?"

"If this whole 'accidentally deposed a chieftess' stuff is anything to go by," Cole said, still laughing, "they were even better."

"I wonder what they got up to if this was forty years ago." Zane set about tidying up the remaining letters and the bound book earlier held by Jay, probably figuring he might as well get it over with while they were all distracted. "Or who this was, to be so evidently close to Garmadon."

"Uh, am I the only one wondering what a honeysuckle is?"

Metaphorical crickets, much to Jay's chagrin.

"Just me? Okay."

A sigh. "They're flowers, Jay."

As the room got quiet enough to hear the crackling fireplace again, Lloyd went back to skimming the letter. The little smile that had lingered on his face fell flat again as he took in the words.

"What's the holdup?" Jay complained after a moment.

"Honestly, with the way this is written, if I read it verbatim you'd probably fall asleep," Lloyd muttered over the page. "Shut up and let me summarize."

"I … okay."

Lloyd squinted at the words. "This is an awful lot to take in. What's a … Shhh … Shuuuuravansha?"

"A what?" A confused chorus met his ears; evidently the rest of the room only knew about as much as he did.

"Maybe the word comes from the local language," Cole suggested. "I did hear a lot of the villagers speaking something I didn't recognize."

"Probably. Zane, you wouldn't happen to have that language in your databases or anything, would you?" Jay asked.

"I'm afraid not," Zane said apologetically. "What is the rest of the sentence, Lloyd? Perhaps the proper context will make it easier to guess."

"'I spoke with the Shuravansha and revised the contingency plans based on the information I got from them, as well as reports from you and our spies on the Serpentine's movement.' How do you even say that?"

"I guess the jury stays out on that one," Cole replied. "But I don't think that's a person. It says 'the Shuravansha'. I don't call Jay 'the Jay'; it'd be weird."

"So a group of some sort?" Jay suggested. "The word 'the' implies more than one."

"But it could be a title," Skylor pointed out. "Like 'the chief' or 'the sensei'."

"Either way, it reveals little about the nature of this Shuravansha," Zane said. "All that sentence gave us is that they had information about the Serpentine relevant to the author of this letter."

"Whatever it is, it's probably important," Lloyd muttered, rubbing his eyes and going back to the letter. "But maybe we'll find more clues about them later."

"Then we should remember it," Skylor muttered. "How do you spell that?"

He spelled it out and kept reading. The room went back to quiet anticipation, until Lloyd sputtered, squinted at something on the page, then looked up at them.

"What the heck, Cole?"

"Huh?" All eyes were now on a flabbergasted Cole. "Wh-what'd I do?!"

"I, it's not you, it's just — since when was the last master of earth a traitor?"

"Whoa whoa whoa, what?" Jay piped up. "That's kinda a heavy accusation to just bandy around!"

"What is this coming from, Lloyd?" Zane asked.

"It literally says right there, 'Earth went traitor on us'! There's only one way to read that!"

Skylor was scribbling like mad.

"Wha—well, don't look at me!" Cole said. "I don't know anything about this!"

"Maybe that's not all there is to it." It was difficult to see Skylor's eyes behind the shades. "My father turned the Anacondrai and the other tribes against humans to start the whole war in the first place. Then he turned the elemental masters against themselves."

"Maybe that was the case here too. Is there anything else about the master of earth, Lloyd?" Zane spoke up.

"Full sentence is 'The Constrictai among them can burrow, and ever since Earth, the weasel, went traitor on us, we lost our best protection against that tactic.' So they're really still talking about the Serpentine."

"Hmm."

"Mmmaybe we should go back to the rest of the letter?" Jay said tentatively.

"I dunno. I kinda wanna hear about this." Cole curiously poked his head closer, wanting to get a look at the letter. Lloyd drew back and immediately felt bad when Cole regarded him a moment before scooting back, hiding a yawn behind his hand.

Right. It was late.

"I mean, there isn't anything else in the letter about them … just the one sentence."

"Fine. What's the rest of it say, then? We really don't have the rest of the night here."

He had a point. Lloyd was pretty ready to be done with the letter and get some rest, by now.

"Wait a sec," Jay said. "'Went traitor on us.' Who's 'us'?"

"Oh." Cole's eyes widened. "Oh my god, you actually have a point. Yeah, that sounds an awful lot like … they called him 'Earth', not his name."

"How do you know that's not his name? Maybe his mom had a weird taste in names."

"... I'm pretty sure that wasn't his name, Jay."

"The word 'us' does seem to suggest camaraderie," Zane mused. "Given that and their knowledge of elemental power, perhaps they were acquainted with the elemental masters, or worked alongside them in some manner."

"That makes sense," Lloyd agreed, not looking up from the paper he held. "Or maybe they even were a master!"

"There's nothing to confirm it yet …" Skylor pointed out. "I'll just write down that they probably knew about the elemental masters. I think that's a safe conclusion."

"Fair enough," Zane said. "I think we should hear the rest of the letter now, before it gets much later. Lloyd?"

"Okay, so. Basically, my dad sent this person, whoever they are, info about Serpentine movement in the area. There were more loose gangs causing trouble than anything, they were just harder to predict because they weren't associated with the Anacondrai commanders. But according to them, the Southern Woodlands were in too strategic a location to risk—"

"Southern Woodlands?" Jay interrupted.

"That's probably what this forest is called. The villagers called it that on our way here."

"Yeah, I think I remember hearing that from someone," Cole said.

"Anyway. Like I was saying." Lloyd coughed pointedly and continued. "The Woodlands were too risky to leave unprotected because the thick plant life would give the Serpentine a naturally-sheltered base to recover and hide in. And they didn't have a lot of time left because … wait." The loopy handwriting in thick black ink cut off abruptly near the middle of the page, the last sentence never to be finished. "It just cuts off mid-sentence."

"Why did I ever think I'd have an easy time of this." Skylor sounded disappointed. "There wouldn't happen to be a name or anything at the bottom, would there?"

Lloyd shook his head. Of course there wasn't; that'd be too easy for them, now, wouldn't it?

"So why didn't they have time, exactly?" Jay said.

"An abrupt end of that nature would suggest some kind of interruption, would it not?" Zane said. "They never had the chance to finish writing this letter."

"If this is from the same era as everything else we've been seeing, then there was a war on. I imagine that'd do it," Cole said.

"Okay, but there's no signs of a fight in this room," Jay pointed out.

"... Ah. That is. Also true."

If he were a little less tired, Lloyd would've chuckled at Cole being caught off-guard without even a witty defense.

"I wonder what they were expecting not to have a lot of time for …" Lloyd wondered. "There's no signs of a fight here, but it's super messy everywhere else, especially downstairs. Maybe something happened there."

"And maybe it's related to the spirit." Cole ran a hand through his thick, messy hair, eyes dark. "There's no way something like that came out of nowhere."

"Given what we know, it is still impossible to gauge exactly what took place in this mansion," Zane said. "It does seem likely that the Serpentine activity this person mentioned had something to do with it, though. The only way to know for sure would be to find more information"

"So we don't know that, either," Jay muttered. "Write that down as a solid 'maybe', I guess."

Skylor nodded. "Anything else I should put down?"

Lloyd shook his head, and Skylor gratefully flipped the notepad closed and set it aside. Her words had actually begun to slur together with tiredness, so even if there were, he wasn't about to put her through writing it.

"Well, if that's all, then." Cole yawned, again. "Let's call it a day. How long's it been?"

"My internal clock is completely frozen," Zane sighed. "And PIXAL says she can't start it up without any connection to the outside world. But according to my timer, it's been approximately 15 hours since Jay woke me and Cole up to inform us Kai was missing."

Yep. Definitely time to wind down.

The mood dipped briefly at the mention of Kai, but Cole determinedly moved on to the topic of keeping watch, and whether they should do it tonight.

Eventually they decided that it definitely needed to stay, but split it up into two equal shifts. Two of them weren't even options to be considered. Lloyd offered to take shift, but given that he'd gotten out of a tough scrape with the spirit earlier and gone on both search expeditions, everyone else refused to let him, arguing he needed the rest. That left just Cole and Jay, but Cole, having gone through the mansion both times, was tired too. Jay would have to keep watch first.

Then came sleeping arrangements, which also worked themselves out quickly enough. Zane, for whatever reason, stayed in a corner to recharge, Skylor was on one bed, and whoever wasn't on shift would be sharing a bed with Lloyd.

"Alright, Jay, don't do anything stupid this time," Cole ribbed Jay, who was shifting around burnt kindling and trying to keep the little bit of fire left alive.

Jay stuck his tongue out.

"You have sooo much faith in me. Come on, I've learned my lesson here."

"Your timer's working, right? Make sure to wake me in … four hours?"

"Four and a half," Jay corrected him. "And yeah, I will."

"Cool. Night." And with that, Cole left him to his current task: striking a match onto a pile of kindling and hoping for a fire big enough to last.

Soon enough, everyone had bid each other goodnight and settled down.

Lloyd pulled his blanket a little closer to himself, still feeling a residual chill seep into his bones. With nothing to keep preoccupied with, ugly thoughts about the mansion, the horrors of its obscure history, their current conditions, his own utter incompetence, the way he'd just let Karlof get lost, Kai came creeping in far too readily. He tried to push them away.

Not now. Couldn't think about all of those things now or he'd never rest. Even tired, falling asleep was a challenge with sore limbs and unceasing nerves scratching away at him and a bitter resentment towards it all beginning to sink into his bones.

Lloyd closed his eyes regardless, trying to empty his mind. He could faintly hear Jay's breathing under the familiar crackle of the flames that were only too reminiscent of their missing piece.

Shadows twisted and danced on the walls.

Exhaustion won out eventually.