#turtle rush part 9

[tulipatheticee]

chapter one; welcome to pandora

<story index>

previously -> prologue

up next -> chapter two

summary;

Estella Morello awakens from cryosleep on Pandora, eager to study its flora. Surprisingly, she's informed humans are being expelled after a conflict with the Na'vi. However, with Norm's advocacy, she's allowed to stay to conduct her research under strict guidelines, respecting the Na'vi and their connection to Eywa.

word count; 1.8k

Estella Morello told no one she was leaving Earth, she had no one she wanted to tell anyways. Honestly she did very little research into what she actually was getting into but she assumed anything would be better than the life she has led for the past 18 years. 

Estella woke up from her cryosleep, 5 years, 9 months, and 22 days suspended in a state not quite living, yet not dead. She had departed Earth with a heart full of hopes and dreams, none of which included being sent right back home before even stepping foot on Pandora's soil. As soon as she woke the intercom buzzed with a captain's dispassionate announcement: due to the recent war that happened during their travel and the natives' victory, all humans were being repatriated. Her heart sank; she hadn't even seen the alien world she had dreamed about for so long. She had such high expectations for this new life, and to not even have a chance at it?

The shuttle’s cold, metallic interior felt more claustrophobic than ever as she shuffled towards the exit, her body weak from the extended sleep. She watched the line move slowly, filled with disgruntled RDA and military, many of whom murmured about wasted years and lost opportunities. Despite her disappointment, Estella couldn't help but feel a touch of empathy towards the natives. She had seen enough of humanity's greed and destructiveness on Earth to understand why they would want them gone. Her dream might be deferred, but at least the world she had longed to see would be spared further human ravages.

As the last of the humans boarded the ship set to return to Earth, Norm Spellman, an avatar, a human who worked closely with the Na’vi throughout the war, approached Jake Sully, the new leader of the Omaticaya clan and former human. Norm was agitated, his usually calm face creased with concern. "Jake, there's a young, promising botanist on that ship, Estella Morello. She was supposed to be part of Grace’s new science program. She was the only one that applied.. I’ve seen her work, her passion. She could be useful. She seems different than the rest"

Jake, towering and imposing in his Na'vi form, exchanged a glance with Neytiri, his mate and the fierce protector of their people. Neytiri’s eyes narrowed, her instinctive distrust of humans flaring up. "Different? They are all the same. We are sending them all away for good, not letting any more demons in."

Norm persisted, the urgency clear in his voice. "She could help, Neytiri. Her focus is purely on plants, on learning from them without harming them. I believe Grace would have wanted her to stay, or she would have scrapped the program seeing she only had one applicant."

Neytiri looked skeptical, but Jake seemed to consider Norm's words. He misses Grace Augustine deeply, her dedication to Pandora’s ecology, her respect for the Na'vi way. "If Grace believed in her, maybe we owe it to Grace to give her a chance."

Neytiri sighed, her features softening slightly. She cannot deny her wish to honor Grace one last time "She’s your responsibility, Norm. Our home isn’t a place for human recklessness. If she steps out of line, I'll handle it myself."

Norm nodded gratefully. "Understood. I’ll go get her."

Rushing back to the departing shuttle, Norm called out as he entered, "Estella Morello?" His voice echoed slightly, catching the attention of a few remaining personnel who were double-checking the shuttle before departure.

In a quiet corner, a young woman looked up, her distinctive fashion choice on the warm planet, turtle neck, shorts with tights, gloves, making her stand out even among the diverse crowd. She hesitated for a moment before approaching Norm. "You called me? I’m Estella," she said, her voice soft yet clear.

Norm smiled warmly, trying to ease her evident anxiety. "I’m Norm Spellman. I was a friend and colleague of Dr. Grace Augustine, whom you were supposed to work with."

Estella’s eyes widened slightly. "Was? Dr. Augustine? Is she...?"

"Yes…I’m sorry," Norm said gently. "She died during the war. I worked closely with her and, with her passing, I’d like to continue her work with you, if you’re willing."

"But the announcement said we were all being sent back to Earth," Estella interjected, confusion written across her face.

"That’s true for most," Norm explained as he led her off the shuttle. "But selected scientists who had no part in the conflict have been allowed to stay. You’re one of them."

Estella couldn’t hide her confusion “Selected to stay? But how? No one here has even met me before, how could they know to select me?”

Norm let out a light laugh “Lets just say this is our final way in honoring what Grace would have wanted.”

Norm guided Estella out of the spacecraft, leading her into the heart of what appeared to be a typical RDA base; steely, industrial, and devoid of any natural charm. To Estella, it looked much like the urban sprawls back on Earth: grey, extensive, and utterly lifeless. But as they moved, something else caught her attention, something far from lifeless.

The Na'vi.

Tall, strikingly blue, and with a presence that felt both unsettling and awe-inspiring. Norm had mentioned them briefly during her briefing, the indigenous inhabitants of Pandora, the Na'vi. She remembered hearing about them, about some 'Avatar Program' meant to bridge the gap between human and Na'vi interactions. She hadn't paid much attention; her focus was always on the botanical prospects of Pandora, not its people. But seeing them now, Estella couldn't believe she had overlooked such a crucial aspect of her new environment. How had she missed that they were... EIGHT FEET TALL, and overall so vividly different?

As they walked, Norm commented on the dreariness of the RDA constructions, a sentiment Estella shared deeply. "You see, they've managed to make even a place as vibrant as Pandora look drab when contained within their compounds," he said, his voice carrying a mix of disdain and regret.

But as they approached an exit, a visual shift occurred. The concrete barriers began to give way to glimpses of what lay beyond—a stark contrast to the monochrome world inside. The closer they got to the natural environment of Pandora, the more Estella felt a stirring within her. The oppressive feel of the RDA base melted away, and the verdant, thriving life of Pandora's wilderness began to seep into her view.

Towering trees, lush and robust, stretched upwards, brushing the skyline with vibrant hues of green and foreign colors she didn't yet have names for. The air grew fresher, filled with the sounds of an ecosystem teeming with unseen life. It was a sharp pivot from the sterile corridors she had just walked through, and with every step closer to the forest, Estella's spirit lifted.

"This," Norm said, gesturing broadly as they finally stepped out into the open, "is the real Pandora. It's more than just a backdrop for our research, it's a living, breathing world. And it's nothing like the grey walls back there."

Estella took a deep breath, her eyes wide with wonder. She had expected to study a rich ecosystem, but the reality of Pandora's vibrant life was overwhelming. The majestic beauty of the forest beckoned, promising secrets and wonders of the natural world that Estella had only ever dreamed of exploring. Here, perhaps, she could finally find her place, a place where her passion for botany wasn't just relevant, but essential to understanding and respecting this new world.

"This... This is incredible," Estella breathed out, her eyes wide with wonder as she took in her first real view of Pandora.

Norm chuckled softly. "It never gets old. The beauty of this place is unmatched. But it’s not without its dangers, which is why your work will be crucial here. We need to understand this ecosystem to coexist with it, not conquer it."

As they walked towards the science outpost, Norm outlined the guidelines for Estella's stay on Pandora. "You'll need to keep a low profile regarding the Na'vi," he explained. "The Omaticaya Olo'eyktan, their clan leader, has asked you access is restricted; they've had enough disruptions from our side. You're here to observe and study, not to interfere."

Estella listened intently, nodding. "And you mustn't wander too far from the outpost unless accompanied by an Avatar for protection," Norm continued, his tone firm yet informative. "Pandora is beautiful but it's also perilous, more than anything you've encountered on Earth."

"The Na'vi live in harmony with Eywa," he said, noticing Estella's puzzled look at the mention of the name. "Eywa is... think of her as the life force of Pandora, their deity, a network connecting all living things. That's why the Na'vi only use what Eywa provides and nothing more. Digging or extracting resources without a clear sign from Eywa is forbidden. Now I know at first that may be hard to understand"

Estella absorbed every word. And cut him off "To me, it makes perfect sense," she responded earnestly. "On Earth, I advocated for respecting and preserving natural life, not harming it. I can't imagine working any other way here."

Norm was pleasantly surprised by her perspective. "It's rare to meet a human who values our home planet's ecology as much as you seem to. Most come here driven by profit or curiosity without regard for the consequences." His expression softened. "It's refreshing, really."

They finally arrived at a stark, metallic structure that starkly contrasted with the lushness surrounding it. "This is our scientific hub," Norm pointed out as they approached. "The Omaticaya clan, the group most impacted by our earlier activities, lives not too far from here. It’s crucial to keep a respectful distance and minimize our impact."

Estella looked at the building, feeling a mix of excitement and responsibility. She was finally at the threshold of her new life, one filled with the promise of discovery and the weight of coexistence. Her commitment to tread lightly on Pandora's soil felt more like a vocation than a directive. As she stepped inside, her heart held onto the hope that here, in this alien world, she might finally belong.

Norm showed her around the outpost, the place that would serve as her home, he showed her the lab, living quarters and her bunk. "You’ll find everything you need here to start your research. I’ll give you some time to settle in, then we’ll discuss your projects in detail."

Left alone, Estella felt a profound sense of destiny. Despite the unexpected turns her journey had taken, she felt a deep, almost spiritual connection to this alien world. As she unpacked her few belongings, her heart felt lighter than it had in years. Here, in this strange, beautiful place, she might finally find a purpose that had eluded her on Earth. Here, she might finally belong.

a/n; yayyy chapter one DONE, what are your thoughts? i will slowly build estella's realtionships with jake and neytiri seperatly, as well as norm's but i really love world building so i just gotta set the scene first! but trust in the next chapter i will give more neytiri and jake promise!!

if you want to be put on a taglist let me know!!

lots of love!

[lostsyren]

The scene in season 3 episode 9 paralleling rafe and Sofia’s storyline in season 4??

~ Sofia looks out for herself by going to Hollis and agreeing to help her, after she realises Rafe doesn’t have her back. Her words here directly reflect her actions in season 4, Sofia only resorting to that deal when she felt threatened.

~ the roles are flipped from s3 and s4. Where rafe was the one debating what to do in s3, in s4 it was Sofia who was faced with a similar dilemma (of course not the exact same because rafe being rafe was debating on whether or not to kill his dad😭). But the principle was still the same– should they betray someone they love to make up for that person hurting them?

~ Sofia clearly doesn’t follow her own advice. Her guilt was instant, even when she did the act of “nudging him to accept the deal” you could she was regretful. Her whole arc in part 2 was trying to right her wrong, before Rafe said she didn’t need to worry when he got down on one knee. You could see the wash of relief in the proposal scene. And then the return of the regret, seen in her reaction to him telling her to “pack her shit away” …it was like she thought she deserved it, realising her actions had come back to bite her.

~ Sofia clearly has a strong sense of right and wrong, seen in her aversion to her dad’s request to help Hollis, her dismay in the turtle scene and her own regret at doing the “wrong” thing and “betraying” her boyfriend.

I think it’s sad that people write off her character as being boring or badly written. I do agree though her storyline was rushed, but her character is consistent and lucid (as much as a side character in outer banks can be). She’s sweet, kind and good, a direct opposition to Rafe’s persona. And those characteristics don’t mean she’s weak/badly written, it just means she’s different, and that’s not a bad thing.

And i like that she doesn’t mirror Rafe’s boldness and extroversion– it’s nice to see him interact with someone softer. Sometimes it makes him become softer, and other times it intensifies his harshness, both “humanising and villainising him” (as the creators put it).

I think if he was with someone like kiara, or someone who paralleled his intensity and fervour, it would give him less nuance. Sofia balanced him out, she shows him there’s another option. It provides a moral choice for him– to dwell on his anger and resentment, or become forgiving and hopeful.

And Rafe provides a dilemma for Sofia too– between her identity as a pogue and her love for Rafe seemingly contradicting that identity. (Very much John B and Sarah season 1 coded)

Final words: idk sorry for the ramble and over analysis!! @beautyinsteadofashes mentioned the comparison of this scene with season 4 and it got me thinking!!

Finished my assignment and got straight back to analysis and character study😭

[gonetoforks]

Introducing; my version of Rise’s Venus de Milo! (OUTDATED; adding the canon design for BM’s assistant!)

(she/her/thon/thons) She’s about 9 ft tall since she’s equally based off of Frankenstein, IDW Venus and the OG Venus de Milo. more info about her and her life under the cut! (Like, a lot more info, she’s been living in my head since last April) (She’s a year old and I’m only now revealing her info!) (HBD Venus!!)

Her Family in the Hidden City

Big Mama had her made by a scientist/patron of hers during the first 2 seasons as a synthetic competitor for her Battle Nexus, but after her change of heart in the S2 finale, she took thon in as her heiress and daughter to try and do something right for a change. It’s very hard for her. Her parenting style is a good balance of gentle and stern but she thinks praise is a good replacement for emotional vulnerability and it’s turned Venus into quite a megalomaniac. Venus just calls her “Mama” and BM calls her “Veedee” (If she calls thon “Venus,” thon’s in deep shit)

Time wise, after the movie she’s physically at age 1.5, 2 years old, though mentally thon’s about where Leo and Donnie are, 16. (Still very young, please keep in mind she is a child and has big eyes like the teenagers in the show, she’s just tall. If you sexualize her I will send you to the shadow realm. BEHAVE.)

Venus also sees the doctor that made her, Dr Shelly, as her father, and they’re quite close. She spent the first few weeks of her life in his home, mostly in his library where she filled her head with everything most people know intuitively. She often can recite information she has no memory of learning, these first few weeks were less like learning and more like remembering information but from no memories.

Venus’s closest friend & surrogate older sister is Jennika, who works as Big Mama’s assistant (and a fine artist!) under the codename “Frida.” The 2 spend most of their days on diplomatic missions in the Hidden City mafia underworld and managing/restructuring the Battle Nexus to be more ethical. Venus is a naturally studious academic who loves philosophy, literature, and of course, renaissance art, so adults tend to think she’s mature, but only Jennika really knows how naive she can be. Jennika misses her human family, so they’ve really latched onto each other.

She picked her name out herself. When thon was first revived, Shelly rushed up to her and almost addressed her with a name starting with V but stopped himself before he could say it in full. Changed his mind and said that he supposed that name probably wouldn’t fit right now. So she had a preference for a V name.

Thon’s Physiology

It’s quite the mystery how he did it, but the secret to Venus’s sentience is a machine that manages to convert any matter she digests into energy in the form of empyrean. This is why she was mostly kept a rapunzel-like secret for the first few months of her life before she had Jennika as a bodyguard. Nobody knows about her heart except herself, Jennika, Shelly and Big Mama.

If she bleeds or cries, it glows bright green, so she hates both because thon feels like she’s drawing attention to herself. She’s insecure about most of her organic parts anyway and pushes herself to appear stoney, inorganic and perfect. (The consequences of idolizing and wanting to emulate a literal goddess statue, skill issue) It’s not like her fears are completely unfounded though, she has no idea where Shelly got her dead body parts.

If she’s too stressed, the seams on her upper arms bleed and they fall off like a gecko tail. She kinda looks like the og Venus do Milo statue when that happens, it’s a bit gruesome.

To represent her need to balance the organic/inorganic parts of herself, thon’s biggest dreams vs realistic expectations for herself, her right hand is organic (and based off the 2012 turtles) while her left is robotic. (& made to look like big mama’s claws in her spider form)

Goals & wants

She wants to overthrow the council of heads and rule the Hidden City as president. (Through a democracy of course!) She sees them as ineffective and useless, she went to them during the Kraang invasion to tell them something needed to be done about the alien invaders but they did nothing and said to let the turtles handle it. She’s grateful everything turned out well but she still has a grudge against them and the way they run things. Big Mama thinks she’s silly and Jennika thinks she’s a mentally unwell, workaholic, megalomaniac but pizza supreme as her witness, thon’s gonna do it.

Thon wants to be a good, ethical leader/politician (oxymoronic, I know lmao) and sees the increasing amount of Battle Nexus estate Big Mama entrusts her with as practice for managing yokai society. She would love “the Good Place.”

She also wants to know more about Jennika and for her to reconcile with her father.

Venus’s arc

“Your life is your own, ok?!” She struggles with dehumanizing (de-turtle-izing?) herself because she believes it makes her greater, more fit to achieve her goals. When the fact that she’s a mortal, breathing, living being, that can’t possibly be anywhere near divine like thon thinks she needs to be hits her, she spirals. Thon desperately needs to learn that being imperfect is a necessary gift, that she is “the protagonist of her own life” and that you don’t need to be a great person to do great things, you just need to be a person.

She’s very studious and seen as intelligent and mature for her age, but when she’s put in real life situations after meeting her cousins, the turtles, she has to learn to to manage imperfections and embrace them.

She’s quite based off of MP100 and Barbie haha.

For this internal conflict I was inspired by how the original character’s depiction back in the 80’s was really,, dehumanizing? if that’s the right word? Misogynistic very much too. I find the message that; “no matter what other people think of you or what you think of yourself, you will never be anything more or less than a regular being” both comforting in itself and a neat subversion of the original VdM since one of my favorite aspects of Rise’s writing is how subversive it is.

I can’t wait to show you more of her! Esp how she interacts with the Mad Dogs!

Bonus; Design Details!

All the turtles have shape motifs; square, rectangle, circle, triangle, her’s is a Raindrop shape! Combined with her electric motifs she’s a bit of a storm cloud lol

The Turtles’s shells are s-shaped and follow the curvature of a human spine, I draw Venus’s shell really distorted and disproportionate to this since she’s inorganic.

Similarly, while the other turtles shells and plastrons are like boxes that contain their whole torsos, thon’s kinda just sits on top of her torso, where her plastron ends and her legs begin don’t line up. It started out as an anatomical error but i liked how it made her look distorted and off somehow. (Kinda gruesome, but it kinda helps her look like a bloated corpse, which is what she is aksjks) To be clearer, the difference between how the mad dogs’ shells/plastrons/bridges(sides) are attached to their bodies vs Venus’s is like the difference between a bodysuit and a t-shirt.

[topsyturvy-turtely]

✨The Sherlock Holmes Museum✨

221b Baker Street, London

!!! this is part 2 !!! (link to part 1, part 3)

continuation of Holmes' bedroom

above Holmes' bed hang these pictures (1). the guide didn't tell us anything specific about those.

opposite of the bed hang portraits of people (2&3). you might think they'd be from family members or friends. this is not the case with our lovely Mr. Holmes'. These portraits picture (serial? can't quite recall) murderers. They hang on Holmes' wall, because he wants to fully understand them, know how their minds work.

funfact about the woman in (4) (the guide just said "that woman over there" - there are two pictures of women tho... i assume she meant the woman that hangs higher... because her photo is bigger but i am not sure): she killed part of her family. but nobody believed a woman could do such a cruelsome act, so she was never arrested... and lived with the other part of her family until she died. (victorian sexism is almost funny ngl)

oh and my ABSOLUTE FAVOURITE PART was that SHERLOCK FREAKING HOLMES owns a TURTLE STATUE (5) and it CHILLS THERE IN HIS BEDROOM. (guys it's me. i don't know if you realize but trust me... sherlock holmes has a pet turtle/tortoise and it is me. )

now to Mrs. Hudson's room (6)

(please forgive me for the people in this picture. i felt kinda rushed and way too excited to take a better picture...)

after the living room and Holmes' bedroom (see part 1), the tour ended. imo this room is the most like a museum. it doesn't feel personal like the living room or the bedrooms (yes Dr. Watson's room will be included in the part 3), instead there were show cases and some decorations... i didn't get a picture of it all but here are my favorites. (focusing on the more personal items in this post)

oh! and if you look at (6) between that person in pink and that person in red, you see a little desk. on this desk was "Mrs. Hudson's guest book" (right underneath the window) and you could write your name in it!!! i loved that little detail! 🥰

there was a hat (7) and spinning wheel (8).

then the fireplace in victorian style with a painting above (9),

and before i move on to the more museum-like items in the next post, here is a (bad and blurry, with people in it - i am sorry 😭) wide-angle shot of the room (10) from the opposite side of (6).

this post is part 2 of a series.

-> part 1

-> part 3

(other parts will be linked once they have been uploaded)

keep reading - tag list

tag list! @justanobsessedpan @helloliriels @catlock-holmes @fluffbyday-smutbynight @inevitably-johnlocked @hisfavouritejumper @rhasima @forfucksakejohn @ohlooktheresabee @turbulenttrouble @so-youre-unattached-like-me @totallysilvergirl @peanitbear @train-mossman @loki-lock @smulderscobie @timberva @grace-in-the-wilderness @chinike @jawnn-watson @whatnext2020 @escapingthereality @missdeliadili @kettykika78 @musingsofmyown @7-percent @speedymoviesbyscience @astudyin221b @francj15 @ladylindaaa @we-r-loonies @mxster-jocale @sherlockcorner @noahspector @our-stars-graveside @jobooksncoffee @baker-street-blog @macgyvershe @myladylyssa @battledress @a-victorian-girl @dreamerofthemeadow @oetkb12 @ohnoesnotagain @mutedsilence @jawnscoffee @raenchaosandcozyadashofmurder @lisbeth-kk @quickslvxrr @safedistancefrombeingsmart

[sealofarchives]

Oneshot scenario: Leo x GN!Reader - Late Hour Conversations

Prompt: A surprise visit from Leo when the reader couldn't make it to the lair due to pms (tone can be viewed as platonic or romantic)

Warnings: mostly towards the topic of pms (nothing too graphic though) and a slight mention of throwing up (again not too graphic)

Close to 2 am...

You just woke up from an accidental nap in attempt to get rid of the monthly menstrual headaches. Your phone was a few inches away as you winced grabbing it.

Sorry Leo, I can't make it to the lair today.

I couldn't sleep because of pms and I still have a terrible headache because of it...

The electronic screen laid out the messages you sent a few hours ago. You looked for some other video to watch while adjusting your head back onto the pillow.

The sound of a light blue portal appearing close to your bedside immediately caught your attention. As you tried to sit up while the red slider turtle almost dropped a plastic bag, slightly startled that you were still awake at this hour.

Leo cleared his throat but, still held on the bag filled with menstrual products, attempting to hide the worried look on his face.

"The store ran out on what you usually use so... Think you can manage a few days with these?"

"Its fine thanks but, you're not using this time to skip out on the night patrols?"

"Its been kind of a slow week so not much was happening. Until we all saw your message."

"When you mentioned the headache part, we didn't want to risk making it worse. Since we can get a bit rowdy and I dunno, just one turtle checking up on you seemed like the best idea."

"I'm guessing you guys were panicking when it happened to April."

Leo rolled his eyes as he made himself comfortable sitting in a nearby chair.

"I wouldn't call it panicking if we ended up getting pale faces with how Splinter explained it. At least April can make it sound like something out of a scary movie."

The turtle took notice towards a cup by your desk before looking back at you.

"I'd hate to bug you about staying hydrated at this hour but, if the headache's back, I could go grab a refill for you."

A sly smile showed up on your face as you briefly paused the video.

"When you say it like that, you're almost starting to sound like Raph."

Leo got up from the chair as he stuck out his tongue at you, taking the empty drink.

"You and Donnie always forget to eat breakfast right before Raph or Mikey wake up. Just be lucky I haven't told them about it."

The turtle returned back with the glass of water just as you readjusted yourself sitting by the edge of your bed. You briefly muttered a thanks with a remark.

"If you did, you'd be whining about missing a few hours for your well needed beauty sleep."

Leo sat beside you but, ignored the comment. Feeling his face heat up as you sipped your drink.

"You still kind of scared us when you were close to throwing up in the turtle tank. Just taking a shortcut away from reaching your favorite fast food place."

You muttered a geez under your breath, realizing it was a month ago when that happened.

"Don't remind me, I would have to be Donnie's helper for a few weeks if I ended up making a mess on his prized vehicle."

Leo lightly chuckled relaxing his shoulders as he began to stretch.

"I'm pretty sure Donnie will ease up on the workload. The fact you can keep up with his neverending tangents helps a lot. But, in case he gets a little too over his head, just get a spare beach ball-"

You lightly pinched Leo's cheek before going back to finish your drink.

"Yeah no, I can hold my ground against Donnie if he's gonna be stubborn about taking breaks."

"When he claimed, he can surpass my messed up sleep schedule by noon. Around 9 am, when I placed a pillow close to his keyboard. He was already snoring on top of it."

Leo rubbed his cheek while crossing one of his legs on to the edge of the bed.

"I guess any beach ball pranks are out of the question because..."

"I can already imagine you rushing to defend Donnie from those 'dreaded colorful spheres.'"

A light hum and smirk surfaced your face as you pretended to ignore Leo.

"If you keep bringing up it, I'll mostly spare Mikey and Raph and just aim for your face instead."

"Hey, I was kidding about that?! I wouldn't go that far to scare Donnie!"

The red slider turtle pouted as you laughed but, not loud enough to draw attention to your room.

"I know, just wanted to see if you're still keeping up to being the face man of the group~."

"Uh duh, its still part of my image. I don't need to be reminded-"

"Unless you want to keep pestering me about it~."

You playfully pushed Leo away but, grinned back at him.

"I guess I owe you a pizza since my headache hasn't come back to bite me."

"So, thanks Leo..."

Leo almost froze from the hug but, nuzzled near your shoulder because of your high body temperature.

"Are you gonna hate me if I really want pineapple toppings?"

You poked his face with your empty cup as Leo hid his head from your annoyed smile.

"I'll glare at you if you don't give me something in return..."

Leo gave a quick thumbs up before hurrying out of the door to refill your drink.

After a couple of days, both of you reached a compromise on an empty rooftop building, trading the pizza box for your favorite food. You still silently judged Leo's choice of pizza toppings.

However, he was more content that he got to see a genuine smile from you.

Bonus drawing:

I couldn’t draw the body without making it too wonky so here’s a quick sketch of a POV where you don’t notice Leo acting almost soft around you > /// <

[theyhavetakenovermylife]

Shadows Entwined: part 9

BatmanVsTmnt!Leonardo x sidekick!reader

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 / Part 10 Part 11 Part 12 Part 13 Bonus (18+)

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A/N: I just passed my exam and finished yet another part of Shadows Entwined!🤩💙 It’s not super long this time. Due to my exam I decided to cut it a little short this time around, but I hope it’s still enjoyable😘💙

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Warnings: None💙

The reader and the turtles are 19.

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That day, all up on till the sun disappeared below the horizon, was relatively uneventful. While the sun stood in the sky, the turtles slept away in their rooms, while you, Damian and Barbara stayed in the Batcave with Alfred, keeping an eye on Bruce, and working away, trying to figure out where Ra’s al Ghul and Shredder was hiding out, and the much more pressing question; what were they working on? Why were the two villains working together?

You, Barbara and Damian had all decided to stay in costume, just in case any of the four terrapins would wake up. But as you pulled on your mask in your room, you couldn’t help but feel a rush in your stomach at the thought of the night before. What Leo had said about your face made you smile like crazy, and the thought of how close you had been to… how close you had been to kiss Leo made you gitty. Of course you couldn’t help but wonder what would have happened if you had kissed, finding yourself daydreaming on your way down to the Batcave with a small skip in your step, thinking of how Leo’s lips would have felt against yours.

But then the sobering reality hit you as soon as you entered the Batcave, the sight of your still unconscious father reminding you of all the other things that happened the night before. The towering gothic halls of Arkham. How terrified you had been while Leo had been under the influence of the Crane Gass, unable to do anything as he seemed terrified that you wouldn’t look him in the eyes, even though you had never said such a thing. And how your father, the dark knight, was turned into a mutant bat before your very eyes. Suddenly your little daydream about the almost kiss with Leo wasn’t the only thing on your mind.

It was around dinner time that the turtles woke up. At that point the dark had already fallen over Gotham, the sun being hidden behind a thick layer of dark clouds, the city rarely having more than a few hours of life during the day.

Sitting down next to Leo as you ate, your heart couldn’t help but flutter at the small smile he shot at you, his blue eyes twinkling a little as they searched for yours. It was clear that he also remembered the night before, both the good and the bad parts, seeming a little unsure if he was still in your good grace. But the smile you sent back at him, made him relax with a silent sigh, finally letting him eat without his heart jumping like mad.

After dinner, all of you went straight back to work, looking through any possible leads on where Ra’s and Shredder could be, while Alfred continued his care of Bruce, in the company of a worrisome Robin and a curious yet slightly scared Mikey. And then, lo and behold, Batgirl struck gold, showing you all her findings on the big screen of the computer.

“The Wayne Enterprises’ container ship that was moving the Cloud Seeder to Bludhaven, was hijacked last night”, Batgirl explained, reading up from her findings. “The thieves then smuggled the Cloud Seeder back into Gotham port”.

Raph grumbled with his arms crossed and his teeth clenched. “While we were dealing with those freaks in Arkham”. He was right. Arkham had been nothing but a distraction.

Donatello, who was seated in the chair right in front of the big computer, looked at the screen in thought, a finger tapping on his chin, before he seemed to have a realization, tapping away on the keys.

“With the machinery the Foot has stolen, I think they’re building something that’ll mix the ooze with Joker’s formula, and launch the Joker-ised ooze into the clouds above the city”, he said, pulling up pictures of the machinery for you all to see.

“And when it rains down, it’ll turn everyone in Gotham into a monster mutant like Batman”, Leo said, dreading in his voice. Having fought against mutant Batman was one thing, but a whole city? And not just any city, but your city. Yet another reason for Leo to hate everything the Foot and Shredder stood for.

“Dudes!”, Mikey yelled in eagerness from Batman’s table, causing all of you to turn, fearing the worst. Even Robin jumped from his chair, seemingly ready to fight whatever threat Mikey had seen. But there was no threat. Just Mikey screaming beside Bruce Wayne. “I’m freaking out here!”, he said, placing both hands on his head, as if he was trying to keep his mind from exploding. “Did everyone else know that Batman is Bruce Wayne?!”

The silence that followed, only broken by the smack of Raph’s face palm, spoke for the situation itself. You might not have been the biggest fan of Raph’s way of doing things, but you could not deny how much you related to that smack against his forehead.

“I mean, you knew the Batcave was under Wayne Manor”, Donnie said with a raised brow bone. He knew that his little brother wasn’t the sharpest knife in the draw, but he had never thought that such a revelation would take so long for Mikey to realize.

“I’m just saying it’s a lot to take in”, Mikey said, stretching his face in thought, before he rested his elbows against Bruce, causing Alfred to see red in the corner of his eyes. “Rich and cool! Like leave something for the rest of us guy!” Alfred let out a loud sigh, before he started moving Mikey away from Bruce, causing the orange clad turtle to yell out in protest at the butler. “I’m going, I’m going, okay!”

You looked at Leo with a questionable look, and all he could do was sigh with a small nod. Yes, Mikey was always like that.

“Do we have any idea where Shredder and Ra’s are building this machine?”, you asked, turning back towards Batgirl and Donnie, feeling Leo’s eyes on you, along with the small tug at the corner of his mouth. Apparently you were asking the right questions. And much to your luck, that question sparked a thought in Batgirl’s head.

“I don’t know exactly how Joker makes his venom, but I do know where the components would be”, Batgirl said, leaning over Donnie in order to press on the computer keys. His small flustered expression made you choke down a chuckle. Oh, how you were going to press Batgirl with your knowledge. Even Leo seemed to notice, enhancing small glances with you. Both of you knew something, that much was obvious. Leo poked at Donnie with a small finger, causing the purple clad turtle to scowl at him. “Ace Chemicals”, Batgirl continued, pulling up a picture of the facility. “It’s where the Joker was created, when he fell into a vat of, you know, chemicals. So if they need venom, they’ll be there”.

“But it’s walled off”, Leo pointed out, noting the high walls and barbed wire. “Easy to defend”.

“So what?”, Raph said, sounding frustrated. “If they’re dugg in and ready for a fight, then we bring them a freaking fight”, he continued, slamming his fists together with a dark smile.

“We aren’t doing anything”, a deep voice sounded behind you. You turned in joy, seeing Alfred helping your father up to stand, Robin running to his side in order to help.

“Master Bruce you’re not well”, Alfred said in concern, wishing Bruce would sit down once again.

“I’m as well as I need to be”, Bruce grumbled, taking the drop out of his arm, his gaze turning to the turtles. He stared at them for a moment, before walking to his neatly folded costume on a nearby table. “Batgirl and Robin are coming with me to Ace. (H/N) stays in the manor. The turtles are going home”.

“What?”, Mikey exclaimed in sadness and shock as Bruce pulled on his costume over his head. “C’mon, we know your secret identity now! Our team up have been surmounted!”

“I gave you a change”, Bruce said in a stern voice, turning directly towards the terrapin brothers. “You four are impulsive, and you don’t follow orders”. His eyes narrowing at them. “I want you out of Gotham!”

“Uh, father”, Robin said, his small frame stepping between them. “Look, it pains me to say this, but the turtles saved you in Arkham. They are valiant allies! Even the dumb one! Michelangelo”.

“Hey!”, Mikey exclaimed in a displeased expression. “Not cool!”

“If it wasn’t for them, Joker would have never gotten close enough to inject me in the first place”, Bruce said in a scowl as he closed the clasp on his cape, before pulling the mask up over his head, once again becoming the dark knight of Gotham City, before turning his back to them. “This is not up for discussion”.

Leo felt the burning stair from Batman, telling him to do exactly as he had been told too. To leave Gotham. But Leo’s heart stung at the thought, because leaving Gotham meant not just leaving the city, but leaving you. Leo once again thought back to the visions he had seen under the influence of the Crane Gass. How he had scared you. How you had feared him. He still did not know if these visions had been real, but never did he wish for those visions to be real. He hoped that none of it had been true and just his mind playing tricks on him. But in reality, Leo did not know. He remembered how scared that you had been when you entered Arkham, and how fearful you had been when you walked the halls, and the more Leo thought about it, the more it unsettles him. Maybe Batman was right. Maybe it was best if you stayed in the Wayne Manor where you could be safe while Batman, Robin and Batgirl headed out. And maybe, just maybe it was best if Leo and his brothers left. Leo had scared you once and he did not wish to do it again, even if it was going to hurt him.

“Maybe he’s right”, Leo mumbled, looking down at his feet, not wanting to meet your confused eyes. He could almost hear your heart crack just a little inside your chest, not wanting to believe what you were hearing as he turned towards his brothers. “Following Batman’s lead took us to Arkham and distracted us from Shredder”, he said, not noticing the deepening frown on Raph’s face. We’d be better off on your own”.

“No! No! He ain’t right!”, Raph yelled, pushing back his brothers so he could storm forward. He pushed the leader in blue so hard that he tumbled, only just catching himself before he fell onto you, your eyes meeting once again, sending shock waves through the two of you. Leo felt his mouth dry out as he stared into your eyes, knowing full well that they would be the hardest thing for him to leave behind. The hurt in your eyes and the way his heart was aching, making him freeze in place, unsure of what to do or say. Leo did not want to go. He did not want to leave you. Could he just stand there and look at you forever he would, but sadly, your father did want it to be like that.

“Look, Batman”, Raph said, making his way to your father, who was busy assembling his beloved utility belt. “I get it! The whole brooding loner thing, sitting on top of roof tops, mumbling about how you’re the only one that can stand up to evil in your own city. That’s my whole deal! I love that stuff! And I totally agree that my brothers are annoying, unbearably so sometimes”.

“Uhm”, Leo said, finally realizing that Raph had been talking the whole time the two of you had been locked in each other’s eyes. “Where are you going with this?”

“Teh!”, Raph said annoyed, turning back to Batman. “That’s why. When things get though, I don’t even bother with them. I go off on my own and do things my way!”

“He does do that”, Donnie said, Mikey agreeing with a sounding nod.

“Still doesn’t explain where he’s going”, you whispered, making Leo hum in agreement.

“Yeah, but here’s the thing”, Raph continued. “Every single time, I just get into more trouble and my brothers have to bail me out”.

"It's true!”, Mikey chimed in. “Every time”.

“Sure we make mistakes. Sure we make the wrong moves”, Raph went on, ignoring his little brother. “But we can’t get better-”. Raph grabbed onto Batman’s arm in order to turn him around to face him, making you, Batgirl, Robin and Alfred gasp in surprise. No one just grabbed onto Batman nor Bruce Wayne like that. That was just not how it worked. “-If you don’t trust us”. The turtles, seeming to understand the severity of Raph’s actions, watched with wide eyes. Donnie even covered his mouth, Leo’s eyes going wide and Mikey gasping out loud. Batman said nothing but just narrowed his eyes at the square jawed mutant, almost daring him to continue. “We’re a family, and learning from your mistakes together, is how a family works”.

“This is not a family”, Batman rumbled, bumping his shoulder against Raph’s as he walked past him. “It’s a team”.

“Ain’t that the same thing?”

That comment made Batman halt in his actions. It was as if those words had touched a nerve deep within him. Batman said nothing but stared forward, his thoughts running wild in his head. Raph’s words echoing in his head as he looked to Alfred, Robin, you and Batgirl and then to the turtles, only to notice how close all of you were standing. And how you and Leo seemed to seek each other out in the small crowd. Just like he had noticed the two of you do in Arkham. And on the roof. Even during your first meeting and fight together.

“You’re right”, he finally said, making you all stare at him in disbelief. You felt your palm begin to sweat as Batman made his way towards Leo, determination in his eyes. “Let’s stop Ra’s and Shredder”, he said, before extending a hand to the leader of the turtles. “Together”.

Leo looked at Batman’s hand, extending his own hand in order to shake it, when suddenly…

“Awesome! Dips on the Batmobile!”, Mikey yelled, jumping over the head of a growling Raph, skipping right by you in a rush and right through Leo and Batman’s handshake.

“Uh, we have our own ride”, Leo said after Mikey, not sure if his forgetful lille brother actually was able to remember it.

“You do?”, Batgirl asked Donnie in confusion, causing Donnie to beam with innocent pride, thinking of the van he had tuned up.

“Yeah, we didn’t walk here from New York”, Donnie smiled, secretly hoping that Batgirl would ask about the van.

“Don’t care!”, Mikey yelled, already inside Batman’s car, fastening his seatbelt. “Called the Batmobile!”

Batman looked from Mikey to Leo, his eyes lingering at him for a moment before giving him a small nod. It was time to find Shredder and Ra’s.

[arctic-space-penguin]

"Uh, did Hope ever have a gap tooth?" Don asked.

"Obviously not!" Sterling hit Don's arm. "I would have one if she did!"

Draxum seemed mildly concerned when he overheard and hurried over. "We have to get Michelangelo's spirit out of her before her body changes completely."

"No shit," Sterling muttered under her breath.

Casey pulled away from Michael and leapt away like he'd been burned. Michael stared blankly at in front of him in stunned silence. Draxum pinned his arm's to his currently-not-but-somehow-becoming-his body.

"A precaution," the goat explained for the glare he got. "Someone get a jar or something to contain his spirit after I remove it."

"...Is this gonna hurt?" Michael asked, not just for himself.

"Yes and no," Draxum replied. "Mostly no."

"Wha--"

Draxum placed his large hands on Michael's shoulder and chest, cutting the box turtle off. Both their eyes glowed as the group watched. Sterling scrambled off the couch, remembering the jar, and yanked open a cabinet to grab one.

Hope's body sagged, vines vanishing, the second Draxum got Michael's spirit out. Sterling arrived back just in time to capture the shimmering, burning thing in a jar.

Everyone released the breath they didn't realize they had all been holding. Sterling held the jar up.

"This'll hold, right? His spirit's kinda... made of fire," the woman asked, pausing as the jar heated up a tad. "And this is made of glass."

"It will have to for now. His spirit might fade without it," Draxum replied.

"Can't you mystically enhance it or something? Make it fireproof or whatever?" Don asked. "Rather not lose my brother twice, thank you."

Draxum sighed but nodded. Sterling shoved the heating jar into his hands and rushed to the sink just in case. The goat closed his eyes in focus. Slowly, through the spell he was muttering, the glass cooled in his hands. Don took it when Draxum was finished.

"What about his body?" Leo wondered curiously.

"Draxum can just make him one," Sterling shrugged. "He'd do anything for Mikey, present or future."

"Making a mutant is not easy," Draxum warned her.

Sterling narrowed her eyes. "Are you saying you won't do it?"

"No," Draxum said. "Don't put words in my mouth as you humans say."

Hope suddenly gasped awake and nearly fell off the couch if Sterling didn't catch her with her foot. All eyes turned to her.

"I never want to be stuck in a spirit plane ever again," Hope dragged a hand tiredly down her face.

Don held out the jar. "Say hello to the guy who was in control of your body for twenty-ish minutes give or take."

Hope did a quick double-take before turning to Mikey. "Of course future you did it."

"What-- hey! What's that supposed to mean?" Mikey squeaked in protest.

Hope rolled her eyes. "I didn't say anything."

Mikey opened his mouth to protest again, but the look Leo gave him made him shut it again. Sterling cleared her throat.

"Let's get back to talking about the whole giving-Michael-a-body-again situation please," she requested.

"I can do it, but it will take time for it to grow to the right size even if I speed up the process by a few months," Draxum explained.

"We'll wait as long as we have to," Don nodded resolutely.

---

Yeah, now Hope's back too! :DDD

Also please, I know some reading have probably been waiting for them all to finally get back to the past, and I wanted to make this part a little longer to fit in Michael getting his body, but I ended up deciding not to, BUT IT WILL HAPPEN NEXT CHAPTER

Realizing now that would leave the perfect amount of chapters left for the others, so here's the rundown:

Part 4 - Michael comes back

Part 5 - Leon comes back

Part 6 - Red comes back

Part 7 - Yarrow comes back

Part 8 - Apes comes back

Part 9 - A final hurt/comfort part to tie it all together

Prev | Next

[pbandjesse]

Oh man I am so tired. Today was a pretty excellent day but jeez didn't take it out of me. It didn't help that it was very grey and rainy out. But I still had a really nice day.

I didn't sleep to bad. But I woke up at 7 with a pretty painful nose and even with putting water in it, which usually helps, didn't alleviate the pain. And I wasn't able to fall back asleep.

So I was up through almost 9. I had cereal. And I took a hot shower and felt so incredibly spoiled. But I would get back in bed. Where I did finally fall back asleep.

I woke up around 11. Which was honestly perfect because I wanted to get fries from McDonald's because I had a coupon. I would spend a little time gathering myself. Put Ruby the Roomba to work. Fed Crabcake. Put away the dishes. And soon I was off.

I ordered my food and picked it up. I ate in the parking lot and watched a video. And I was feeling a lot better. More like a person. And more capable of going to target to get my items.

The big thing was to investigate the bottles I've researched. Get a trashcan with a good lid. A few other small things. I had a good podcast to listen to and was enjoying walking around the store.

And I think I did a pretty good job. I got some baskets for bottle storage. And I got 5 bottles that I think will be good. I ended up with plastic instead of glass? That was an accident but I may go back for the glass version as well. See what works better.

I ended up finding more post c section care things. And a cute turtle baby toy. Still no black crew neck for a baby. Which is so frustrating. But it was fine.

I was surprised at how long the line was when there had been none when I got there. But I didn't mind waiting. And when I paid I put everything I got in the new trashcan for safe keeping. Since it was raining a bit.

After I took everything to the car I walked over to the Ulta to look for eyeshadow primer. But no luck?? I also was looking for a round brush but couldn't find what I was imagining. Annoying but bit a huge deal. I didn't buy anything there.

Instead I went to five below and got a bunch of snacks. I also got a new glitter nail polish. I have been enjoying just a clear with glitter for a while now. Keeps them from breaking but even if they chip it doesn't look bad and I don't pick at them. The line there was also really slow but it was fine. I wasn't in a rush. Mostly I was just feeling tired.

I would pay and went home. Where I spent some time putting things away. I would paint my nails and draw for a bit. And eventually laid on the couch and had a little Mac and cheese and chilled.

But eventually it was time to go meet James at the museum. I brought a nice shirt and deodorant for them so they could feel fresh for the holiday party.

And I would have a nice drive over. Listening to music. I was in a good mood. And I would end up having a really nice time this evening.

When I got to the museum I had a good time talking to Meril and Stanley. James was finishing closing up the museum. And soon we would all walk over to Little Havana.

And I had a great time there! We were in the same room that we had had our wedding rehearsal dinner. And the food was excellent. And the staff was super nice. But I mainly just loved talking to my coworkers, especially since I havnt seen some of them in forever.

The best parts were meeting Jessica's new baby, Remi James. Who was such a sweetie. Another great part was seeing Estelle who I love. And she got to learn our baby Sylvia's name. And she told me that her husband's dad has a lady friend named Sylvia that was a wonderful joyful person who lived to be 104 and was apparently just the best. So now our baby has a lot to live up to!!

And the last best part was meeting the new director of marketing! Her name is Chelsea and we hit it off like a house on fire. We talked for almost a solid hour. And it was just awesome. She's around our age, super smart, and we just talked about marketing ideas and she let me tell stories and it was just a blast. I really hope we can work together and collaboration because she was awesome. She also is interesting in pushing for the museum to bring my workshops back! Hopefully when I'm back to work after Sylvia is born we can talk more!

James was getting tired. I had eaten to much but it was all really good. And I was also ready to go home. We said goodbye to everyone. And headed back to the museum where we had left the car.

It was raining but not to bad. I enjoyed just walking and holding James's hand. But I was very very ready to go home.

And that's where we are now! I am ready to get cleaned up and go to sleep. Baby is moving a whole bunch but I am just ready to rest, even if she's not.

Tomorrow I have an event. It's a Hopkins thing, those usually go easy. So fingers crossed. I hope to just rest in the morning and have lots of energy for the evening. Fingers crossed!

Sleep well everyone. Until tomorrow!!

[shaotie]

Chapter 9: The Scoundrel Booth

~Later that Day~

Bully was busy rotating pizzas in the giant brick oven when Yolinda came in the kitchen. He took one out, turned around to put it on a pizza tray, cut it into slices, and told her: “Order up!”

Instead of taking the steaming hot pizza to the waiting customers, Yolinda rested a hand on her hip and sternly inquired: “Alright Bully, you’ve been talking with your pirate accent all day and Tío hasn’t left his office once. Something’s wrong, what is it?”

Bully stopped his busy work to smile fondly at the fox he viewed as a beloved niece, and gently cupped his top left hand over her right cheek.

“It’s nothing you need to worry your pretty little head over,” he told her in an overly soft tone. “Ok now I’m really worried,” Yolinda objected.

Before the conversation went any further, a part-time hired server came in the kitchen and loudly called out: “There’s a kappa out front, says he’s here for his cape and mask!” “Seat him in the scoundrel booth!” Bully ordered, referring to the small, unrenovated booth in the corner near the men's room that X sat in when he ate there, and was nicknamed the ‘scoundrel’ booth because only crooks and lowlife thugs ever voluntarily sat there.

“You got it!”

The server left, and Bully patted Yolinda's shoulder and softly ordered her: “Stay here,” because he didn’t want her to see whatever poor state Baron Draxum’s turtle slave was no doubt in. She eyed him with anxious suspicion as he walked across the room, to the phone on the wall that had a direct line to Hueso’s office.

“He’s here,” Bully told his boss. But after he hung up and turned around, Yolinda was nowhere in sight.

“If that girl don’t learn to stay put I’m gonna glue her feet to the floor!” Bully cried out in anger. Then, when he saw she left the pizza behind she was supposed to take out to the customers, he pointed at a random hired bever server bringing in a pile of dirty dishes from the restaurant, and aggressively yelled: “Get that pizza out to table seven!”

“Yes chef!” The yokai rushed to drop off the dishes, and Bully huffed out in frustration when he laid the pile of plates containing uneaten leftover food in the empty sink instead of beside it, where they belonged.

“Don’t put those plates in the sink, don’t you know you gotta scrape off the food first!” Bully yelled at the frantic server. “Yes chef, uh, no chef,” he exclaimed and ran back to the sink. “Not now! Get that pizza out while it's still hot!” “Yes chef!”

The nervous server did a full one eighty at the sink, rushed over to the pizza, and Bully watched in disappointment as he left the kitchen through the wrong door - using the one labelled ‘in’ instead of ‘out.’ He put his lower hands on his hips and shook his head at the teenage server's ineptitude while muttering: “Yeah, that kid's sumthin' special alright,” and went back to his workstation to tend to the pizzas in the oven and work on a fresh one, at Hueso’s request.

Meanwhile, Yolinda stepped out through the kitchen door and smiled when she saw ‘Scrubs’ walking behind a server who was leading him to the scoundrel booth at the back.

But her smile fell when she saw the slow, stiff steps he took, favoring his left leg as he walked with a slight limp because of a swollen red welt on his right knee; and appearing to be in a great deal in pain.

She also noticed how his shell front and back was covered by a dark gray cloak like the one he wore yesterday, that he was clasping in the front with both hands underneath the fabric, to keep it closed over his plastron.

The cloak he had on today was a ragged one that had been ripped off at the bottom at some point, with the tattered, uneven end coming down just far enough to cover the back of his shell, save for a single strip on the back left reaching just past his prosthetic knee. The large hood was also up over his head far enough that - with the way he was looking down at the floor as he walked - his face was completely obscured from view by a dark shadow.

Unlike yesterday when he carried a shiny new odachi, the belt sheath on his left hip was empty like the right one; and what worried her just as much as the slow, ginger steps he took was the way he was concealing the front of his shell - like he was hiding more injuries underneath (and only holding it that way because he was far too tired to be bothered with the effort it took to clasp the black cape attachment over his plastron).

All of this combined painted a grim picture that ‘Scrubs’ had been through something terrible.

Yolinda waited until her new turtle 'friend' was seated in the same old ‘scoundrel’ corner booth where he ate the day before. After the server left, X sank back in the booth with his back and head resting on the cushion and his hands limp at his sides, looking completely spent and appearing like he might have drifted off to sleep with the way he didn’t budge an inch while he sat there.

Yolinda grabbed a chair from a nearby empty table and brought it over to sit at the end of table at the 'scoundrel booth.' She sat silently with him for a moment, noticing how he took shallow, labored breaths, how the little bit of his hooded face she could see from this angle revealed a busted, swollen lip; and when she leaned ahead to get a look at the part of his plastron that was exposed between both sides of his cloak, she saw evidence of what looked like some sort of burn marks - but she couldn't be sure because she didn't know what a burned shell looked like.

"Get a good look?"

Yolinda sat back in her chair at his words and looked at his hooded face. She was starting to believe X was asleep until he spoke, and when she didn't reply, still without moving or opening his eyes, he added: “Your Tío’s gonna be mad if he sees you sitting with me.”

Yolinda noticed X said that in a tired voice that seemed so done with everything. Instead of replying to his comment, she softly asked him the serious question: “What happened?”

X raised his hand to push the side of his hood back far enough to see her from the corner of his left eye when he replied: “Don’t ever try to ride a wild ashmouth hound. They have a nasty habit of tearing through the magma fields.”

X could sense by the look in her eyes she wasn’t buying his lie, and she asked softly but a little firmer this time: “What really happened?”

He huffed out a single laugh, weakly smiled at her, and lowered his hand while putting his head back and closing his eyes again.

“I don’t know if that snoopy fox nose of yours is adorable or annoying,” he replied without in any way answering her question. Then he huffed out another laugh when she demanded a little aggressively this time: “What. Happened?”

“You better watch that temper of yours or it’ll get you in big trouble one day,” X told her in a snarky tone; dodging the subject while teasing her with a 'friendly' warning.

“Answer the question!” she snapped, louder than before.

“Persistent, too. And a little fierce. Remind me never to sell you a faulty portal chip,” X calmly replied.

“Just answer me!”

The amusement he felt over the cute way her voice squeaked on the ‘s’ in ‘answer’ was overshadowed by the annoyance he was beginning to feel over the fact she wouldn’t take the hint; and this time he sounded a little angry when he replied:

“Learn how to take a hint, sister, I'm not gonna tell you!”

“I'm not your 'sister' and I'm not gonna stop until you do!”

"Why should I!?"

"Because I asked!"

“That’s not a reason," X said calmly this time. He slowly sat ahead, leaning on the table with his elbows, and dragged a hand down his face; groaning when it became evident this senseless debate wasn't going to end anytime soon when she persisted.

“Why won’t you tell me!?”

“Because it’s none of your business.”

“I want to know what happened to you!”

“Iiiii barely know you so back off!”

“I’m not backing off until you tell me!”

X sat up and inadvertently show off the shiner he had on his right eye when he glared at her and yelled: “Why SHOULD I!?” But then he scrunched his shoulders and repositioned the hood over his head to hide away a little more when he realized his teasing backfired; because somehow she managed to push his buttons instead of the other way around; making him so angry he got a little too loud and drew the attention of the entire restaurant to their argument.

‘How’d she do that?’ he wondered; not having lost control like that since he was younger and adamantly refused to return to the Battle Nexus after a particularly gruesome fight against a giant razor-fanged terrorworm. He tugged on the cloak a little, making sure it completely covered both shoulders, and then, sounding more annoyed than angry, he asked in a quieter voice: “Why does it even matter to you?” “Because I want to help.”

The genuine kindness that he heard in her soft voice prompted X to snap his head up to look straight at her in surprise. The same kindness he heard in her voice radiated from her dark eyes, making him feel uncomfortable because no one ever looked at him that way.

Not even his ‘doting auntie,’ Big Mama ever once had genuine kindness in her eyes when she looked at him, he suddenly realized for the first time.

X lowered his eyes to break eye contact and said a firm but quiet: “There’s nothing you can do.”

And the arguing started all over again.

“I can patch it up, put on some salve.”

“You don’t need to know what happened to do that.”

“Will you let me?”

“Let you what? Patch it up or know what happened?”

“Both.”

“No. Thanks.”

“To which one?”

“Both.”

“Why are you being so stubborn!?”

“You’re the one who's stubborn!”

“No I’m not! And that’s only because you won’t tell me!"

“You just contradicted yourself." This time his voice sounded amused.

“Uuughh! Stop changing the subject!”

“Your voice squeaks when you’re mad.”

“It does not!”

“Heh, you did it again.”

“Just tell me!”

"I already told you."

"That's a lie!"

“There’s nothing to tell.”

“You’re lying again!”

“No I’m not.”

“That’s IT!”

Yolinda abruptly stood up and slapped her hands on the table, leaning over it to glare at him. X looked up at her from beneath his hood with a tiny grin on his face; but his smile fell when she smugly smiled at him in return and playfully said the calm, condescending words (sounding more like a little girl bulling a classmate at school for her crayons): “If you don’t tell me what happened then maybe Tío Hueso will overhear me telling one of my friends I waited around for you last night and you kissed me on your way home.”

X's jaw dropped open.

“You wouldn’t!” He exclaimed.

He watched in shock as she casually straightened up, rested a hand on her curvy hip, and gave him a smug grin that was infuriating but somehow also made him really want to kiss her at the same time.

“Try me,” Yolinda said with an air of confidence that he knew meant she wasn't making an idle threat.

No one ever stood up to him like that! Especially not one of those 'chickies' he regularly hooked up with! They were all afraid of the hardened ninja 'street thug' who knew how to throw his weight around and pretty much got away with whatever he wanted because of his connections in high places to Baron Draxum and to a lesser degree, Big Mama (but only because not everyone knew he was her profitable masked ninja Battle Nexus warrior).

(He wondered for a second if she normally got away with whatever she wanted because of her connections to ex-pirates)

It was like there was something different about her. If he wasn't so overwhelmingly, frustratingly annoyed he might even go so far as to admit he found her fiery temperament attractive.

‘How does she keep getting in my head like that!?’ X lamented in his mind. Then his shoulders dropped and he hung his head, conceding defeat. This time.

Yolinda: 1, X: 0

Yolinda waited patiently while X shifted his body so he was facing the table again instead of her, with his head hanging low and his hands laying limp in his lap.

The silence stretched on and X self-consciously pulled his hood down over his forehead so it covered his eyes, to ensure himself she couldn’t see any inch of his face whatsoever (and he couldn't see any inch of her). Then he rested his ninja-wrapped hands on the table, let out a sigh, absently picked at a chipped piece of paint with his right index finger, and hinted he had been through something like this before when he quietly told her in a sad tone of voice:

“The truth’s humiliating. You’ll laugh at me.”

“No I won’t,” Yolinda immediately replied without a second’s hesitation. She slowly sat down again and kept her eyes on the hood covering his face; waiting.

The ninja raised on the cold, hard Hidden City streets couldn’t see the kindness or compassion in Yolinda’s eyes but he could hear it in her voice, so he started off by curtly saying: “I don’t get you.” Then he took in a deep breath - clenching his left arm and fist from a shot of pain that caused - and slowly exhaled through his mouth before telling her everything she needed to hear with the simple words:

“Draxum’s not just my boss . . . he’s my owner.”

'and I was punished for breaking curfew last night,' were the unspoken words that didn't need to be uttered.

X knew Draxum’s punishment hadn't been so severe because he angered his owner by being out too late, but he left out the part where Draxum was already angry about something else and took it out on him. And the part about being punished because of his incompetence in missing what was right in front of his nose.

He immediately tensed his fists again, but not as tightly this time, and when she didn't reply he sternly asked: “Now do you see why I didn’t want you to know?” 'But you're too stubborn to listen,' he thought but didn't say.

Yolinda stretched her arm out to put a soft hand on his and kindly told him: “That’s nothing to be ashamed of.”

X didn’t give her the response she was expecting when he yanked his hand away at the same time he snapped his head up to glare at her and exclaim in anger:

“I don’t need your sympathy!”

“I’m trying to help!” she yelled in return, squeaking her voice when the last word came out high-pitched.

But he was too angry to think it was cute this time, waved his left arm out, gesturing to the restaurant as a whole, and snapped: “If you want to help someone why don’t you start with those customers you’re supposed to be serving! That guy’s been trying to get your attention since you came out of the kitchen!”

Yolinda turned her head to join X in looking at a yokai sitting at a nearby table who he pointing out; and when the guy looked back at them and motioned as if to say something, the slider rudely snapped: “Close your mouth, can’t you see we’re talking here!?” The yokai made an annoyed-sounding huff but shut his mouth and returned to his food.

X put his eyes back on Yolinda when she stood up and firmly asked in a half-annoyed, half-angry tone, that sounded like a mother scolding her child:

“Do you want to know what your problem is?”

He glanced down at her petite finger with a small grin when she pointed it at him, and then sarcastically 'requested': "Oh pleeease tell me.”

She crossed her arms and told him in a confident ‘I know better than you’ tone:

“You won’t let your guard down for a second because deep down inside you're just a scared little turtle who wants his mommy and you're afraid if anyone gets too close they might hurt you. Or maaaybe you're scared you might find someone you actually like. But you don't know how that feels because you don't like anyone, not even like yourself!"

'Ouch, that hit pretty close to home. She's one clever fox, more than I gave her credit for. I gotta keep my eyes open around her.'

X in no way gave away his inner thoughts with his body language, facial expression, or tone of voice. Instead, he leaned ahead with a cocky grin, and rested his right elbow on the table but left his other one free so he could gesture with his left hand as he talked. He glanced up for a second when he saw Seňor Hueso come out of the kitchen he had gone into a few minutes prior, holding up a pizza and a glass of water in addition to the mask and carefully folded cloak tucked under his arm.

X noticed 'Tío Hueso' was watching them but maintained a respectful distance - and that he didn't look angry at all, but rather tired as he gazed at Yolinda - so he felt relatively safe putting his eyes back on hers and calmly saying with his own air of confidence:

“Listen sister, nobody in this world gives something without getting as much in return." He leaned his face closer to hers with a big, smug grin and added: "And I already know what you want from me.”

X leaned back with his left arm resting on the back of the cushion and calmly grinned at the fox yokai who was glaring at him in return; so angry she was left speechless and her entire body was tense. Her stiff arms went straight down by her sides with her fists clenched so tightly they were vibrating, and her jaw was likewise clamped shut, with a few wrinkles on the top half from the snarl she was trying to hold back (that X found adorable to look at and made him smile more).

The calm turtle leaned back again, huffed out a laugh, and said a casual: “If I knew that’s all it took to shut you up I would’ve said it long ago.” He snickered to himself over the high-pitched whining that came out of her mouth and calmly watched as she thrust her hand out to grab a glass of lemonade on the table of the occupied booth beside his, behind where he was sitting.

Although he knew what was coming, he merely watched casually with his cocky grin, not reacting in the slightest beyond shutting his eyes at the appropriate time when she chucked the entire contents of the full glass right in his face.

X opened his eyes and ignored the sticky liquid dripping down his face and neck and soaking into his cloak to continue smiling at her with that same relaxed cocky grin. Then, for the iceing on the cake (whatever that was) - or rather cheese on the pizza (yeah, that's better) - in a very relaxed way he snarkily told her:

"Thanks, I was too hot."

Yolinda was so furious all she could do in return was let out a few high-pitched: “Ugh! Uuugh! UUUGGGHHHH!" Then she fumbled over her words before finally getting out a coherent sentence.

"You…You… . . . I HOPE DRAXUM REALLY DOES CUT OFF YOUR OTHER LEG AND SELLS IT TO BULLY SO HE CAN PUT IT IN TURTLE SOUP AND MAKE YOU EAT IT!!!”

Yolinda: 1, X: 1

X only infuriated her more when he dismissively shrugged his left shoulder and calmly replied: “Then I’d have a matching pair.”

To his utter amusement, she squealed even louder than before, aggressively spun around, and he leaned his head out of his booth to look behind his back, so he could watch her all along the way as she stormed through restaurant to leave through the open front portal, where she inadvertently banged into a couple of patrons on their way in.

X took his eyes off the portal at the front of the room and turned back around when the owner of this fine establishment calmly walked up to him with a frown on his face, still holding the pizza and glass of water in his hands.

“I didn’t ask her to come over, Seňor Hueso, she did that all on her own,” he calmly told the bone man who had the authority to ban him for life. "That doesn't surprise me, pepino,” Hueso replied in an equally calm voice while setting the glass down so he could hold out his stuff to him. “Here.”

X accepted his cloak and mask from the skeleton yokai with a polite: “Thanks for holding onto it for me.” He laid them in his lap and sat forward in the booth to reach out for a napkin on the table to wipe off his face. But after he wiped off around his eyes and moved on to his nose, he froze in place with the napkin still covering his nose and mouth when Seňor Hueso unexpectedly pushed the tempting glass of ice cold lemon water further down the table, to make room for the steaming hot pizza in front of him.

X was so parched and dehydrated he instantly dropped the dirty napkin and reached his right hand ahead for the glass without thinking; but came to his senses and stopped himself short of picking it up. Instead, he let his fingertips brush against the pleasantly cold surface full of condensation, not able to take his eyes off the refreshing liquid he hadn’t tasted once since the previous day, and asked as respectfully as he could considering his tense, defensive tone: “What’s this?” “It’s for you, pepino.”

Still without taking his hand or his eyes off the tempting glass of ice water, X curtly replied: “I don’t take anything for nothing and I don't have human cash on me." “I don’t do handouts kappa, you already worked for it,” Hueso sternly replied in a tone of voice that told him refusal wasn’t an option.

X kept his hand where it was, huffed out a laugh, and let the corners of his mouth curve upward slightly, before saying: “I guess that makes us even then.” “I guess it does,” Hueso softly replied, before turning around to leave the famished (injured) turtle to his meal. “Wait!”

Hueso turned around again to look at the slider as he put his right hand down and turned his torso to respectfully make full eye contact, showing Hueso his busted eye and cut lip for the first time.

There was nothing more X could do in regards to fixing Draxum's lab because everything left involved rebuilding complex machinery and working with mutagen, two things X had absolutely no understanding of and ended up getting in the way more than being a productive help. And since Draxum was so swamped for the time being, he didn't have any side jobs for his slave, so settled on keeping him busy by ordering him to work for his ex-pirate 'business' associate, 'Bones'; which was why X informed him:

“I don’t know if he told you yet, but Draxum ordered me to work here until he needs me again.”

“Ordered?” Hueso questioned with an eyebrow raised, not wanting to give away what he already knew about the ninja turtle being Baron Draxum's personal slave; and likewise hoping he would volunteer the information to get it out in the open, so there was no unnecessary uncomfortableness surrounding this particular situation during his long workdays here.

X took his eyes off the skeleton yokai to sit ahead in his booth, so his hood would cover his face from Hueso’s view. As he did so he reached out with his right hand to gently grasp the bottom portion of the glass again, hoping this conversation would be over after bluntly saying: “You know what I am to him.”

The fact Hueso didn’t reply verified X’s suspicion that he was right and had been checked out by the skeleton 'Bones' - likely via his pirate contacts in the Hidden City. And among the ruffians on the wrong side of town in the Hidden City it was no secret that X was also the warrior mutant turtle experiment of Baron Draxum; so if Hueso knew about his lowly position in yokai society, he most definitely also knew that the turtle in front of him was not a yokai.

Once he felt sufficient time passed for Seňor Hueso to object, he told him: “I start tomorrow,” without moving a muscle except for his index finger, which was repetitively rubbing the smooth surface of the cold, wet glass, somewhat like a nervous tick.

"Si. Your shift starts at one," Hueso replied with a single nod. "The five weapons rule doesn't apply to staff. And what’s your name, pepino? I'll put it on the schedule."

Hueso watched as the turtle quietly rubbed his finger back and forth on the wet glass before pulling his hand back, forming it into a fist, and then resting it in his lap with the other one, while shifting his head down a little more so the top of the hood would block the water from his view - clearly having a hard time resisting the urge to drink it right here and now.

"Scrubs,” X replied with a half grin the skeleton yokai couldn't see.

Hueso recognized that the turtle slave was politely waiting for this conversation to end (and likely for him to leave) so he had ‘permission’ to eat and drink. So without another word, he turned around and left.

X turned his head just far enough to the side to get his hood out of the way so he could see his new boss walk away. As soon as Hueso went through the kitchen doors, he grabbed the glass of lemon water, thrust it up to his mouth, and downed the entire contents in one gulp, before spitting out the lemon wedge into his hand and laying it on the napkin.

One glassful wasn’t enough to satisfy his thirst, but it did help enough with the dehydration for him to be able to eat his pizza without a dry mouth; and what helped even more was when a server came by to refill his glass and left the glistening jug of ice cold water behind on the table just for him.

Just like with most human restaurants, tap water was always free in yokai ones, so X didn’t question it and kept refilling his glass until he more than satisfied his thirst. But every time Hueso came out from the kitchen to serve customers in Yolinda’s place, he discreetly stopped eating and sat quietly with his hooded head down and his hands resting in his lap until he left.

Luckily, Hueso must have noticed this behavior because eventually he came out one last time to go upstairs to his office. Shortly thereafter a different yokai who X recognized as a kitchen staff member took his place.

Just to be on the safe side, X pulled the hood down off his head to see the stairwell in his peripheral, and kept his keen ninja senses attuned to movement on the stairs. But now that the annoyingly cute Yolinda - who was in no way intimidated by his 'ninja fighter street thug' look - wasn't here to distract him and Seňor Hueso retired to his office, he finally felt he could relax and enjoy his hard earned and extremely delicious meal.

Unfortunately, that was the moment a yokai sitting in the booth behind him - whose lemonade ended up on his face - picked to speak up; saying loud enough for X to hear: "You do not know how to talk to women."

*Bang!* X slammed both fists on the table, left his seat to go over and stand in front of the booth where the busybody was sitting, aggressively reached out to grab a slice of pizza, and shoved it in the surprised yokai's mouth.

"Eat your food," he curtly ordered, before sitting back down again to finally be able to enjoy his meal in peace.

But for some reason, he couldn't get that annoyingly clever fox - who was so fun to pester yet so frustrating to argue with - out of his head.

Chapter 10: Punching Bag

“AAAUGH!”

“You’re only making this harder on yourself.”

🔹🔹🔹

Just throwing out a friendly reminder before the next chapter that this is a *HEAVY ANGST* fic and is rated mature for graphic depections of violence, please see tags in the summary for more info.

<<ch 8 || ch 10>>

🐢 blurb about Yolinda, Leo, and the overarching story

🐢 chapters list

🐢 Where Loyalties Lie masterpost

🐢 masterpost for my rottmnt ao3 fanfics and art

[katarena]

Living Well Is The Best Revenge, Part 28

Sequel to Raphael's Big Mistake.

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, Part 23, Part 24, Part 25, Part 26, Part 27

"Well, well." The same man who menaced Taylor outside the apartment steps forward. "Looks like we've got a jailbreak, boys."

Taylor takes the bat back. It makes the Dragons chuckle, and she knows how much trouble they're in, but she doesn't want to just give up.

Even though looking at the number of Dragons facing them makes her heart sink.

"Look, guys," April says. "This is a really, really bad idea. You don't want to do this, 'cos we've got friends. Really big friends, and they're probably on their way over here right now, so..."

"Well, I don't see them," the man says, shrugging. "Do you?" He turns to the others. "Hun only wants the brunette."

A chill runs through Taylor's heart and she grips the bat tightly.

"Wait," April says. "I'll go with you. Just don't hurt Taylor. Let her go."

"You don't get it, do you?" the man says. "We're the ones in control here, not..."

Raph lands beside him and punches him so hard he goes flying into a wall. Leo lands beside the girls; one flash of his katana and April's hands are free.

"Are you both OK?" he asks.

Taylor almost sobs with relief.

"Leave the girls alone," Leo says, coming to stand beside his brother.

The Dragons look terrified - then they look disgusted and angry. Most of them raise their weapons and rush forward, but Donnie and Mikey are there as well. The turtles are larger and stronger, but more Dragons are pouring out of nowhere with knives, bats and chains.

Mikey stands in front of April and Taylor, nunchucks whirling fiercely. Taylor's got the bat ready, just in case.

"We need to get out of here!" April yells.

The noise is bound to attract attention, and the last thing they need is the police turning up...

Someone grabs Taylor from behind. Her cry of alarm is suddenly smothered by a large hand seizing her throat.

"Drop your weapons!"

It's Hun. It has to be.

"Drop your weapons, or I'll snap her neck." The hand tightens, and Taylor gasps for breath. "Do it!"

Slowly, one by one, they do.

[jasminegazer]

Chapter 6 Part 2

Raph stopped.

Usually he didn’t let anyone interrupt him during a fight. But this wasn’t usual. Donnie had never yelled at him like that before. Sure Raph got on his brothers nerves and got into loud arguments but not like this.

His purple branded brother had never let anyone see him so openly upset before. Not since they were like 9. Usually he would just stay in the tent and wait until he was fully collected to let anyone see him. The only person who ever got to see Dee like this was Mikey.

But Raph couldn’t think about that. That brought emotions and ‘mushy’ feelings and those made him look weak. They made him feel weak. And Raph wasn’t weak. He couldn’t be.

“Dee-” Of course Leo would change the entire subject in 2 seconds. He had the better traits of a big brother. The ones people respected. Raph was just stuck with being a bully.

“No! You guys are gonna make him upset again!” Tear tracks laid deep on his face. He looked so tired and his voice was so strained it was a miracle he wasn’t sobbing. His look shocked Raph just as much as the words and voice coming out of his mouth.

“Wait. Who?” Raph tried not to look concerned but his change of aggression was an obvious give.

“Mikey!”

Both Leo and Raph froze looking back and forth from each other. Confusion and utter disbelief crossed their faces.

“. . . Dee”

“All you ever do is fight! And everyone around you has to deal with it!”

“Donnie”

“You just keep on going on and on and”

“Donnie!”

“What?! What do you want me to do?! What do you want me to feel?!”

“Mikey isn’t here.”

The truth was well known but it still stung to have to hear it. Raph had to close his eyes and hide tears that burned at the tips of his eyelids. No Stop that It won’t help.

Donnie’s expression softened after realizing his mistake. He eyes shot to the ground, tears running down his face.

Everyone froze in the choking silence of their room. The sound of their dad doing the dishes was faint and seemed to slip further and further away. No one knew what to do.

Leo turned to Raph for guidance. Why did he do that sometimes? How was Raph supposed to know what to do? But somehow he always knew what Leo was thinking or tried to tell him. Even without words they knew each other too well.

Donnie was the first one to break the ice this time. “I-I mean-what I was trying to say was-” Hiccups interrupted his warbled speech. But the current youngest turtle was interrupted by the sound of Leo’s phone buzzing.

The blue turtle quickly answered eager to break the silence and awkwardness of the situation. “Hey April. This isn’t really the best time right now.”

“Have you guys seen the news?” She sounded so excited and enthusiastic that it contradicted the old vibe of the room.

“Nooooo.” Leo looked at his brothers in confusion. Donnie wiped his tears and leaned in closer to hear the conversation.

“Well you’re gonna wanna see this!”

April sent Leo a link as they remained on call. He opened the link to see the headline blaze into view in the news website’s signature animation.

SHIPPING DOCK SECURITY GUARDS AT EAST HARLEM FOUND WOUNDED BY MYSTERIOUS FOOT FIGURES

2 security guards are rushed to the hospital after being found with lethal wounds. The only clue police are left with is a piece of ripped fabric from the attackers’ clothing.

“Scroll down and look at the picture!”

Leo did as told and gasped at the sight before him. The picture was badly lit but the red circle containing the emblem of a foot was clearly seen on the dark clothing.

“Is that it?! Is that what the emblem from your attackers looked like?!”

They couldn’t believe how easily this had just appeared. It was both horrifying and relieving to find their first point in the right direction.

“Holy fucking-”

“Oh my-”

“Yes! Yes! It is! April you’re a genius!”

The turtle brothers celebration was brief as they got ready and geared up. Raph was rushed more than he usually did. Hold on Mikey. We’re coming.

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

Pain.

What a great way to wake yourself with. Mikey didn’t even have the strength to open his eyes for a while. But that didn’t matter in their eyes. They just kept on asking question after question until they rendered him useless.

At this point it was a good thing Mikey wasn’t dead. But that wasn’t quite comforting enough to fight the pain. He assumed he had two black eyes again(Great yet another reminder of the whole super duper fly fight).

He couldn’t take it anymore. He had to at least see what was going on. It took effort and he definitely had 2 black eyes but he did it. It was dark only the moonlight lit the large room. It looked like one of the old abandoned warehouses him and his brothers used to explore before rendering them boring. Back when they weren’t allowed to be a part of civilization and were forced to live in the sewers.

He was sitting with his legs crossed. Partially hovering over the ground because of the chains that pressed into his skin and kept his arms and shell tightly bound to the pillar behind him. Sharp movements made his head spin and his face distort in pain that followed.

“Look who decided to wake up.”

Mikey craned his neck up to see his captor. It was the same one from last night. 2 other figures stood guard lurking around the now confirmed warehouse.

“Good mornin” Whenever a situation was unexpected, Mikey usually saw comedy as a good ice breaker.

“So the freak thinks it’s funny.” It was easier to see that the people of the room were leaning against or sitting on old tables.

“Is that a bad thing?” He was using that tone where he was trying to be polite but it always was seen as rude by his dad and adults. Mikey probably shouldn’t have kept talking but the teenager had a bad habit of rambling in these situations.

The main person who was talking- whom of which Mikey found to be an older teenage boy- was obviously not amused. His expression was very similar to the expression of the milk lady, dull and obviously stuck up in themselves yet also threatening. Looking like at any moment he would pounce.

“I mean isn’t like laughter the best medicine? So what’s so bad about being funny?” Mikey shuffled in his uncomfortable position. Hoping that for some reason his struggle would release him from the figurative and literal chains of this moment. But that only made the tight literal chains more and more unbearable as blisters formed. He needed to get out of here.

His thoughts were interrupted when on of the other figures delivered a sharp blow to his stomach causing him to double over. At least as much as his restraints allowed. It felt like his guts were flipped inside out and then hit with a speeding highway vehicle. The older teen then waltzed over as Mikey groaned and gagged. He yanked Mikey’s chin up firmly only letting the turtle look at him and him alone. His face was scrunched up in pure hate and disgust the turtle.

“Now you listen to me smartass. I-”

“Enough!”

Towards Mikey’s right a fourth figure leapt in through a broken window. At closer glance Mikey found that they were a she. Her raven black hair shone in the moonlight with white streaks with repelled the light. She stood tall with authority and grace. The other 2 guards addressed her by bowing.

“Lieutenant, what did I say about beating the target?”

The Lieutenant growled before shoving Mikey’s face down and turning to face the girl. “Come on he was being a brat. Besides aren’t there 3 oth-”

“What did I say?” Raising her voice made even the Lieutenant flinch. Mikey could tell she was definitely the boss here(definitely super badass). The Lieutenant glared at Mikey, as if he had intentionally caused this, before turning and bowing. “Not to. You told me not to beat the freak. I apologize General.”

He recognized her voice from somewhere. He realized where when she set her backpack on the table.

“Hey aren’t you Aprils new friend?! What was your name? Oroku something? What the heck Oroku?!”

She was definitely pissed now but she kept her dull tone and hid her annoyance. “First of all it’s Oroku Karai. Second of all it’s Japanese so the last name is said first. And third of all if you know what’s best for you than you will keep your mouth shut.”

Mikey decided that he would do just that. Karai was definitely not someone to be messed with. At least she won’t let them hit me anymore.

“And as for you Lieutenant” Karai turned and marched in front of him and the Mikey’s other captors. “Yes we do need his three accomplices thanks to your incompetent job on the initial attack. But how do you expect us to find them if they’re aware of our initiatives?”

Mikey sat there not liking the sound of how this was going. His head still swam and left his thoughts loosely floating in a sea of confusion. Accomplices?

Karai was obviously growing impatient by the silence. Another thing he noticed was that she never really looked at him. And when she did and Mikey noticed, it was never for more than a second.

“I spoke with Master Shredder. He said that to draw them out we must use something that they want.”

Mikey could hardly keep in the shock of his realization. They aren’t talking about my brothers, are they?

“Well what do they want?” The Lieutenant was obviously not as smart as his leader.

“From my understanding they call each other brothers.” Shit. She really was just a toxic snake wasn’t she. And she was good too. But for some reason her expression broke into something softer. Something filled with guilt and pain.

The Lieutenant however hadn’t given Mikey the mercy of guilt. His face twisted into a cruel smirk as he turned to face Mikey’s fear filled face. No no no no no no. This can’t be happening.

“Then lets test that brotherly loyalty.” The Lieutenant continued staring with a sickening smile that put gasoline on Mikey’s fire of fear. “When do we leave to get their attention?”

“Troops were already sent this afternoon.” Karai continued with a full expression on her face. “They’ll bring back the targets when their job is finished.”

No no no no no no no.

“Now if you excuse me I have . . . business to attend to.” She marched out from the warehouse arms plastered behind her back. Once she left the Lieutenant slip back into his freedom without Karai overhead.

Mikey was stuck in the shock his captors cruel plan. Leo Raph Donnie. Please.

He hung his head low in defeat knowing that soon his brothers would have to go through the same pain he did.

Please be ok.

Finally back to this au. Have a Hoppy Easter and Cowabunga turtle fans.

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[ao3feed-ncislosangeles]

Intersection lines book 1

by Batman200 Lieutenant Olivia Benson investigates a case of a young girl murdered as the case progressed she teams up with other detectives and super heroes Words: 9, Chapters: 1/100, Language: English Series: Part 1 of Intersection lines Fandoms: X-Men (Comicverse), Law & Order: SVU, Bakuretsu Tenshi | Burst Angel, Justice League & Justice League Unlimited (Cartoons), Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, Power Rangers in Space, Power Rangers Samurai, Power Rangers Time Force, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV), Runaways (TV 2017), Batwoman (TV 2019), Supergirl (TV 2015), Arrow (TV 2012), Avengers (Comics), Castle (TV 2009), Rizzoli & Isles, Martial Law (TV), Rush Hour (TV 2016), Tekken (Video Games), Spider-Man (Comicverse), The Boys (TV 2019), Street Fighter, Kyonyuu Fantasy, Blue Bloods (TV), New Mutants (Comics), G.I. Joe - All Media Types, Gen13 (Comics), WildC.A.T.S. (Comics), Catwoman (Comics), Jessica Jones (TV), Scream (TV), I Know What You Did Last Summer (TV 2021), The 100 (TV), NCIS: Los Angeles, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TV 2012) Rating: Mature Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence Categories: F/F, F/M, Multi Relationships: Jean Grey/Xi'an Coy Manh, Olivia Benson/Alexandra Cabot, Xi'an Coy Manh/Emma Frost, Nyssa al Ghul/Laurel Lance, Jubilation Lee/Rachel Summers, Ichiki Hisako/Laura Kinney, Karolina Dean/Nico Minoru, Jemma Simmons/Skye | Daisy Johnson, Grace Choi/Diana (Wonder Woman), Grace Choi/Pamela Isley, Jo/Meg (Bakuretsu Tenshi), Celeste Cuckoo/Ichiki Hisako, Chun-Li/Cammy White, Kazama Jin/Christie Monteiro/Nina Williams, Kazama Asuka/Emilie ''Lili'' de Rochefort, Julia Chang/Kazama Jin/Ling Xiaoyu, Felicia Hardy/Cindy Moon, Margot Gilbert/Alison Grant, Emma Duval/Audrey Jensen/Brooke Maddox, Cassandra Cain/Zatanna Zatara, Nadira/Trip Regis, Trip Regis/Katie Walker, Trip Regis/Jennifer Scotts, Adam Park/Tanya Sloan, Emma Goodall/Kimberly Hart/Gia Moran/Trini, Melinda May/Natasha Romanov, Diana (Wonder Woman)/Melinda May, Lauren Shiba/Mia Watanabe, The Female | Kimiko Miyashiro & Original Female Character(s), Diana (Wonder Woman)/Skye | Daisy Johnson, Karai/April O'Neil (TMNT) Additional Tags: Girl Penis, Lesbian Sex, Alternate Universe via https://ift.tt/h7w0INr

[mykingdomforapen]

For the fic writer game,#9 please?

Also it’s hard to pic a fav scene/title/line cuz I adore your fics and have for years (and maybe Hello Hurricane hit so hard I wrote it on my notebooks/shoes in my teen years) but the title In Her Garden Grew Hyacinths has really stuck with me and it sometimes sneaks up on me when I don’t expect it and idk why.

Thank you for asking, anon!

What’s your favorite line(s) or scene(s) that you have written?

A handful of favorite lines and scenes over the +10 (!!) years of writing fanfic...Whether or not they're my best scenes, they're definitely the ones that have stuck to my own mind, whether it's because of fondness or because other people bring it up.

Vash and Nai's dreamscape sequence, particularly the last three parts from under the tree to the plummet in greater love has no one than this (Trigun Stampede)

The Avengers daisy-chaining into the River Styx, as Sam Wilson likes to put it, in May you bury me (MCU)

Ginnie telling Will Schofield she will be sent overseas into war in here be dragons (1917/Dunkirk)

Zuko and Katara sitting by the turtle-duck pond and then rushing to Azula in Lovable (Avatar: The Last Airbender)

Favorite lines:

To be Sokovian was to spend your whole life burying, giving back to the earth that had fed and housed and protected you, and shall one day swallow you whole in one last loving gesture.

(irreplaceable) The Falcon and the Winter Soldier

“Are you Kermit the Frog?” said Roy. “I–what? No!” “Then it’s none of your fucking business.”

(today is such a good day) Ted Lasso

Mikey would always say, oh, shit, wait, and run to the fridge to get something like powdered parmesan cheese or sundried tomatoes. Almost forgot–and he would spoon it onto Richie’s plate as if Richie didn’t already know enough that he was loved under this roof.

(finally) The Bear

Thor would have done everything to protect his people, and die for them, wherein lies the rub, because Thor is more useful alive than dead, and the sun shines brighter when Thor is alive rather than dead. If Loki could do anything that he would be proud of, it would be to keep Thor alive, even if Thor will spend the rest of his life cursing him.

(a land flowing with milk and honey) MCU

Also omg Anon!! Thank you so much for following my fics all these years....I'm so chuffed <3.

Fic writer ask meme!

[laresearchette]

Friday, April 25, 2025 Canadian TV Listings (Times Eastern)

WHERE CAN I FIND THOSE PREMIERES?: WONDLA (Apple TV+) EDGE OF TOMORROW (Paramount + Canada) PAW PATROL: BIG TRUCK PUPS (Paramount + Canada) RAMPAGE (Paramount + Canada) MORIMOTO'S SUSHI MASTER (The Roku Channel) FRÉWAKA (Shudder) GOLD RUSH: WHITE WATER (Discovery Channel Canada) 8:00pm

NEW TO AMAZON PRIME CANADA/CBC GEM/CRAVE TV/DISNEY + STAR/NETFLIX CANADA:

AMAZON PRIME CANADA SUPERBOYS OF MALEGAON

CBC GEM THE MARVELOUS MRS. MAISEL (Season 4)

CRAVE TV CLASSIFIED DRIVE BACK HOME LAW & ORDER (Seasons 13-17) MARCEL THE SHELL WITH SHOES ON MY HUSBAND’S BABY NINE BODIES IN A MEXICAN MORGUE (Season Premiere) SICARIO: DAY OF THE SOLDADO   SUNCOAST TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES: MUTANT MAYHEM UNIVERSAL BASIC GUYS (Season Premiere) WIND RIVER

DISNEY + STAR JESSICA KIRSON: I’M THE MAN

NETFLIX CANADA DEN OF THIEVES 2: PANTERA HAVOC THE HEARTBREAK KID INDIANA JONES AND THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL INDIANA JONES AND THE LAST CRUSADE POKÉMON HORIZONS (Season 2) – THE SEARCH FOR LAQUA PART 2 (JAPAN)   PRIMAL FEAR SHOOTER

MLB BASEBALL (Apple TV+) 6:30pm: Red Sox vs. Guardians (SN1) 6:30pm: Jays vs. Yankees (Apple TV+) 9:30pm: Rangers vs. Giants (SN Now) 10:00pm: Pirates vs. Dodgers

NHL HOCKEY (CBC/SN) 6:30pm: Capitals vs. Habs - Game 3 (SN360) 8:00pm: Hurricanes vs. Devils  - Game 3 (CBC/SN) 10:00pm: Kings vs. Oilers - Game 3

NBA BASKETBALL (TSN4) 7:00pm: Celtics vs. Magic - Game 3 (TSN5) 8:00pm: Pacers vs. Bucks - Game 3 (TSN4) 9:30pm: Lakers vs. Timberwolves - Game 3

NLL LACROSSE (TSN2) 7:30pm: Seals vs. Bandits

MODELED WITH LOVE (Super Channel Heart & Home) 7:56pm:  Olivia believes that she's the obvious pick to take over when her father retires from their modeling company. Newcomer Simon threatens to upend Olivia's comfortable bubble along with her role as successor.

2025 IIHF U18 MEN'S HOCKEY CHAMPIONSHIP (TSN3) 8:00pm: Latvia vs. Canada

INTIMATE & INTERACTIVE (CTV) 8:00pm (SERIES PREMIERE):  Grammy-winning country superstar Keith Urban joins VJs Teddy Tong and Georgia Kolev for a deep-dive into the stories and inspiration behind his music, along with some electrifying performances.

CLASSIFIED (Crave) 9:00pm:  A CIA hit man uses the classified section in newspapers to receive his assignments. When he learns the shocking news that his boss has been dead for years, he tries to find out whose orders he's been executing.

[strengervinay]

Adrenaline Rush Dive: Scuba in Goa!

Are you ready to dive into the vibrant world of Goa's underwater wonders? Whether you're looking for your first dive or you're an experienced diver seeking a new adventure, scuba diving in Goa offers unforgettable experiences. From breathtaking marine life to the crystal-clear waters of Goa’s beaches, this guide will cover everything you need to know to make the most of your scuba diving course in Goa, and much more.

Best Place For Scuba Diving In Goa: A Treasure Awaits

Goa is home to some of the best scuba diving spots in India, offering a combination of diverse marine ecosystems, historical shipwrecks, and vibrant coral reefs. The most popular locations for scuba diving in Goa are scattered across the north and south coasts, each offering unique experiences. Whether you're in north Goa near Baga Beach or exploring the quieter waters of south Goa, you're bound to find an incredible diving site that suits your adventure style. For a more thrilling experience, explore the renowned Grand Island that remains the best place for scuba diving in Goa.

Scuba Diving in Goa Age Limit: Who Can Dive?

While scuba diving in Goa is accessible to most people, there are some important restrictions. Typically, participants need to be at least 10 years old to take part in the dive. This scuba diving in Goa age limit ensures safety, as younger children may experience discomfort with the pressure changes underwater. It's also crucial that divers are in good health to handle the physical demands of diving, so a medical clearance may be required for individuals with certain health conditions.

Scuba Diving in Goa Charges: What’s the Cost of Adventure?

The scuba diving in Goa charges vary depending on the dive package you choose. Basic packages start at around INR 2,990, which includes an introductory session and a 20-minute dive. More advanced options, like the double dive package, offer extended time underwater for around INR 6,990. 

These scuba diving in North Goa prices include all necessary equipment, safety briefings, and even a certificate of completion, making it an incredible value for anyone looking to explore the deep blue. For those interested in underwater photography, there are additional services available to capture your diving moments.

Scuba Diving Course in Goa: Start Your Journey

If you're looking to get certified, a scuba diving course in Goa is an excellent way to learn the ropes. Many centers offer PADI certification courses that teach you everything from the basics of diving to more advanced techniques. Whether you're a beginner or want to enhance your skills, completing a course will open up opportunities to explore deeper dive sites safely. The courses are typically spread over several days, including theory lessons, pool training, and real-world dives in the ocean.

Underwater Scuba Diving: A Thrilling Experience

For those who want to venture beyond the typical dive, underwater scuba diving in Goa offers the chance to explore wrecks, submerged caves, and the rich marine life that call Goa's waters home. Depending on the package, you could dive as deep as 60 feet, encountering colorful coral reefs, tropical fish, and even larger marine animals like turtles and rays. The calm and clear waters of Goa provide an ideal environment for such explorations, ensuring a safe and exhilarating experience.

Safety Tips for Scuba Diving in Goa

Safety is paramount when participating in scuba diving in Goa. All divers are given a comprehensive safety briefing before the dive, which includes instructions on the use of equipment, how to communicate underwater, and emergency protocols. It is crucial to follow the guidelines provided by the instructors, especially if you're new to diving. Also, remember to refrain from diving if you’ve consumed alcohol or are feeling unwell.

More to Know: Essential Information Before Your Dive

Before you head out for your dive, it’s important to carry essential items like identification documents, sunscreen, and a towel. Depending on the package, you might also need to bring your transportation to the dive site, as many operations don’t offer pick-up services. Lastly, remember to check the weather conditions before booking, as poor weather may affect the dive schedule.

Scuba diving in Goa is more than just an adventure—it’s a gateway to discovering an entirely new world beneath the waves. Whether you're a first-time diver or an experienced pro, Goa offers some of the best diving experiences, making it a must-visit destination for any diving enthusiast. Dive in, and let the underwater journey begin!

[xuchiya]

"stuck in this fairytale || choi san || series || eight part

| genre: prince! san. fluff. angst. adventure | mentions: cursing. | here's the first part

back to masterlist | chapter 9

After the unsettling events, you and the guards decided it was best to set up camp for the night. San needed time to recover, and you couldn't push forward while he was in such a vulnerable state. The air felt thick with tension, and although the night was quiet, an odd sensation lingered, as if the darkness itself was watching.

San lay close by, his breathing slow and even, though his face was still pale. His usual strength seemed drained, and seeing him like this stirred a pang of worry deep in your chest. You knelt down beside him, your hands busy as you pulled a blanket over his form, making sure he was warm and comfortable. As you did, you couldn’t help but notice the scales that had shimmered earlier from his arms, now some crawled its way to his neck.

He had been so strong through it all, but tonight had exposed his vulnerability in ways you weren’t prepared for. You’d never seen him like this—so fragile, so human. You swallowed the lump in your throat, trying to focus on the task at hand.

With the campfire crackling softly behind you, keeping a close watch. Your thoughts drifted to Wooyoung and the Kims. How are they faring with their curses? The symptoms San displayed were so eerily similar to Wooyoung’s episode after the festival. It was more intense, and the transformation was now physically visible.

You felt a chill run down your spine as the thought crossed your mind: Wooyoung mentioned his other cousins are cursed as well. Who are they? Where are they?

The uncertainty gnawed at you, but you knew that tonight wasn’t the time to dwell on unanswered questions. Right now, you need to be here for San. Closing the old book about Dragon Mountain, you placed it gently on the ground beside you. The story felt too close to home now, especially seeing San’s curse manifest in such a terrifying way. The weight of it all settled over you like a thick fog, but then, a memory surfaced—a moment of calm amid the storm.

It was late one night when San had called you, his voice hoarse and weak over the phone. He’d been running a fever and asked if you had any herbal tea that might help him feel better. Without hesitation, you had rushed to his place, but instead of just bringing tea, you’d packed a bag full of random snacks. You hadn’t thought about it much at the time, but looking back now, you realized how instinctively you always care for him.

When you arrived at his doorstep, San had opened the door slowly, his movements sluggish like a turtle. His face had been flushed from the fever, and his eyes dull with exhaustion. You didn’t hesitate to take charge, gently pushing him back into bed and tucking him in as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

You could still picture the way his head had tilted slightly as you placed the cooling pad on his forehead, his body jerking slightly at the cold touch before he relaxed. The smile that had tugged at your lips in that moment felt bittersweet now. You had stayed with him, patting him down with a cool washcloth to ease his fever, watching over him as he slept.

His face, even now as he lay beside you, looked so peaceful. Brushing up his chestnut hair as you pat down his body with the washcloth to cool down his body temperature.

Despite everything—the curse, the pain, the fear—there was something undeniably serene about him. You reached out, almost unconsciously, brushing a strand of hair— much longer than before— away from his face, just like you had that night.

“Even back then, you never let anyone know your struggles, did you?" Your voice was a whisper, as if afraid to disturb the quiet. You thought back to that day, when the news of his grandfather’s passing had left him shattered inside, though he'd tried so hard not to show it. You hadn’t been close with San back then, but you had accompanied Wooyoung and Jongho to Namhae, dressed in black, offering your quiet support.

You remembered how he greeted everyone with a smile, even though tears streaked his cheeks. That smile—it hadn’t reached his eyes. Behind the façade, a part of him had burned away, leaving only ashes. That image haunted you now as you sat with him once again.

 You sighed, the tightening in your chest a painful reminder of how deeply you wished you could have been there for him more, asked more questions, pushed harder to understand. But it was too late for regrets. All you could do now was remain by his side, determined to protect him in whatever way you could.

San shifted slightly, letting out a soft sigh as he settled deeper into sleep. The night camp was quiet, save for the soft crackle of the fire and the distant murmur of the guards standing watch. You gazed up at the stars above, their faint glow barely cutting through the night’s darkness. You made a silent vow, staring into the endless sky. 

You wouldn't rest until you unraveled the full truth behind the curse that plagued San and his family. You were drawn into this journey for a reason, and now, more than ever, you were determined to find the answers that could save him. Save them all.

When morning came, the camp was bustling with activity as everyone packed up to continue the journey. You struggled to mount your horse, the weight of your satchel making it difficult. After a few failed attempts, trying to hoist yourself up, which fails miserably as your other leg can’t go over, you felt strong hands on your hips, effortlessly lifting you up onto the saddle.

Looking down, you saw San smiling up at you. "Comfortable?" he asked, his tone light despite the intensity of the days before.

You nodded, a blush creeping up your cheeks. "Yeah, thank you, San."

He walked backward, keeping his eyes on you for a moment before spinning around to mount his own horse, aided by his guards. As you adjusted yourself in the saddle, you return your gaze in front of you, you were met with a horrifying sight. Your eyes widen as the small flying figure, in the fast pace, flew over your head heavily, startling everyone on the way.

“Dragon!” One of the guards yelled as chaos erupted around you, as most of them hoisted themselves up on their horses. Some horses bolted, leaving their riders scrambling and running off leaving some guards. Some in standy by to protect the prince. 

Flinching as it flew once again, and that is not the only one— Murks came in. Your head snapped towards San, “We have to go!”

“Your highness, we’ll make an opening for you and Miss Brigid! Go!” The chief head guard, Seonghwa, appointed guard of San— which you half-jokingly convinced he was the same senior from your university in another life. 

And you were right because his undercut hair that swooned many girls inside the campus and looks at you and San with the same look he shows when playing soccer with his friends, “Go!”

San looked at you and nodded, snapping the reins as he took the lead.

You look back at Seonghwa, who grunted as one of the Murks flew over him, swinging his sword, “Go Miss Birgid!” Your throat slump in nervous, “Be careful Seonghwa-ssi!”Your horse reared, front legs kicking up before galloping after San’s, leaving Seonghwa baffled.

“H-How did she know my name?”

The noise of chaos soon calmed down as you rode further and further, following the river. You were ducking as each of the branch trees were lowered more than you expected, as you two thought were in the clear,your heart lurched as more Murks descended from the sky. 

You were taken off guard as it grabbed you by your clothes and threw you off your horse. Your horse neighs rather loudly in panic and fear of the Murk and runs in a different direction. With a panicked cry, you collided with a tree branch, the impact knocking the wind out of you before you crumpled to the ground. 

“Brigid!”  San’s voice rang out in desperation. He leapt from his horse, slicing through the Murk that had attacked you. Dust filled the air as the creature disintegrated. You groan, sitting up. San heard your soft cries and helped you sit against the tree, you turned to San and saw another one coming by San’s back.

“San watch out!” You pushed San to the side as the Murk, an unexpected claw came and scratched your arm which you used to shield yourself as it was not time for you to move because of your first injury. You hissed as the claw was deep enough to draw out blood.

San panted and came towards you, he saw you cringing at the pain. He tore a strip of cloth from his tunic and wrapped it around your wound. “They’re getting stronger.” You whisper. San looks at you confused, “Does it mean something?”

Nodding slowly, “It means we’re nearing your answer, San.” You whisper. 

San's expression hardened, an unreadable look flashing across his face. He pulls you up on your feet. He helped you to your feet, his arm around your waist to steady you.“The answer could be here since this is where the river meets the sea and in a few more days, you'll be at Prince Yunho and Yeosang’s kingdom.”

From the mention of the two prince brothers, your ears perked up not because of the nearing kingdom but from the heavy flaps of wings. You looked up and saw the dragon flying up in the sky freely, but you were met with a Murk as it went, grabbing you by the shoulders and lifting you into the sky.

“San!” You screamed San's name, thrashing helplessly as the ground became a distant blur beneath you.

“Fuck, Brigid!” San stood there helplessly but he did not have much time to dwell when an army of Murks came out of nowhere. You struggle on the grip of the Murks, trying to un-claw it or loosen its grip by scratching it but to your dismay, nothing happens. You were a few feet above ground and you were nearing the river, knocking your heart out of your chest as the water was no longer calm but heavy and aggressive.

“Let me go you fuck fart!” As you shriek, the dragon— just a few yards away made a turn before drafting towards your direction. Closing your eyes to prepare before you heard the Murk cried loudly and that is where you felt light weighted and gravity pulling you down. Your eyes widen as your hand thrashes, clawed like as if it would help you fly your way up.

It felt like wind was knocking off of you as you were caught by the claw of the dragon who swooped down and rolled you down back on the ground. Safely. You pushed yourself up from the ground, watching the dragon fly over your head and somewhere else. 

Dazed, you barely had time to process what had happened when Seonghwa appeared, rushing to your side. "Miss Brigid?" he called, his armor clanging as he approached.

“Miss Brigid!” You turn around to see Seonghwa with the other guards. You sigh in relief but it left you all stiff when you remember San by himself. You shakily pointed where you left San, “San! He’s fighting off Murks, please help him!”

Seonghwa nodded, with a signal all of the guards ran off towards where their prince was. You wince when the wind nips on your claw wound on your arm, Seonghwa stayed by your side, you were limping march towards you with a concerned look, his armour clanging yet his gloved hand had taken your wrist gently and looked at your arm.

“That’s quite deep, mind if you tell me how it happened?” He grabs his handkerchief inside his armor and wraps it around your arm, “Murks. They’re getting stronger.”

His eyebrows furrowed, “They were never like this. Just harmless flying things in the sky.”

You nodded, “It was told to me they appeared when the answer was nearing.” 

“The nearing kingdoms and their people are aware of the curse on the family. They tried to help but it never neared one step and everyone stopped.” 

You hummed thoughtfully, nodding as you observed the people around you. They tried to help, but without knowing the true history of the curse, their efforts fell short. “It only takes a brave soul to conquer,” you mused, voice quiet but steady.

“That brave soul must be you then.”

You turned to face him, startled by the softness of his words, only to find Seonghwa already gazing at you. His hand cradled your wrist with a gentleness that sent warmth through you. His lips parted as he drew in a breath, his tongue darting out to moisten them. "Everyone else might be wary of you, might question why you appeared out of nowhere, but I don't. I’ve grown up here, these princes—these kingdoms—they are my solace. I can’t bear to see it all crumble because of this curse."

His eyes, full of a desperate plea, met yours as he carefully clasped your hands in his. There was an unspoken weight in the way his fingers curled around yours, as if the hopes of an entire kingdom rested between your palms. "If you are here for a reason," he whispered, his voice thick with emotion, "please save my friends."

For a moment, silence fell between you, broken only by the soft rustling of leaves in the wind. His gaze never wavered, searching your face as if you held the answers to everything he feared. Slowly, you nodded, the fire of determination sparking within you. You could feel it growing stronger, like a flame being stoked into life.

“I’ll do my best, Seonghwa-ssi," you whispered, your grip tightening slightly on his hands, grounding both of you in the moment. The resolve in your voice mirrored the promise in your heart. Whatever lay ahead, you would face it together.

“How did you—”

“Watch out!” You shouted, shoving Seonghwa to the side just as a Murk lunged from behind him. The shadowy figure’s claws barely missed him by inches. Without thinking, you grabbed his hand and bolted, pulling him with you as you darted in the direction where you last saw San. “I know I said I’d save everyone, but let’s help San first!”

As you arrived, the scene was pure chaos. Murks swarmed the area, their ominous forms moving like dark clouds, while guards swung their weapons, doing everything they could to fend them off. You were panting heavily, sweat dripping down your face. “I should’ve gone to the gym with San and Jongho,” you muttered under your breath, glancing around desperately.

Your eyes frantically searched the battlefield, scanning through the murky haze of the attacking creatures. And then, you saw him—San, standing his ground, fierce and determined, but unaware of the danger creeping up behind him. Your heart skipped a beat. The Murks advancing toward him weren’t like the others—they were faster, more deliberate in their movements, and they were closing in fast.

Your instincts kicked in before you could think. Letting go of Seonghwa’s hand, you sprinted toward San, adrenaline surging through your veins. “San!” you called out, but he couldn’t hear you over the noise of battle.

Without hesitation, you tackled the nearest creeping Murk to the ground, sending both of you crashing onto the dirt. It writhed beneath you, squirming like a trapped worm as you struggled to hold it down. Puffing your cheeks in frustration, you yanked at the hood covering its face, determined to see what lay beneath. But what you saw made your blood freeze.

“Jongho-yah?!” you gasped in disbelief.

The figure beneath you stopped struggling, his head snapping up at the sound of your voice. Wide, familiar eyes met yours, just as shocked. “Bookie?!”

Only one person called you that nickname.

“Jongho?! What—what are you doing here?!” You stammered, scrambling to your feet as realization hit you like a tidal wave.

Jongho’s brows furrowed, still lying on the ground with a look of pure confusion. “Wh-what do you mean? I was just out for a walk, minding my own business, when this stupid book hit me in the head!” He sat up, pointing toward the very book you had been carrying with you throughout your journey. It was lying nearby, pages rustling as if taunting you with the impossibility of the situation.

“What—no, Jongho… You transported here?!” You exclaimed, eyes wide as you looked between him and the book.

Jongho rubbed the back of his head, still frowning. “More like I entered into whatever world this is.”

Before you could even process what he said, something shifted around you. The atmosphere became heavy, the tension thickening. The Murks’ presence changed. Their previously grayish-green aura began to shift—turning to an eerie blue, almost translucent, like they were fading in and out of existence. You weren’t the only one who noticed. Everyone around you, from the guards to Seonghwa, paused as the air crackled with energy.

The Murks drew closer to one of the guards, but before it could even touch him, it was thrown back as if an invisible force had repelled it.

Your breath hitched. “This isn’t good,” you whispered to yourself, snapping out of your shock as you turned back to Jongho.

Scrambling to your feet, you rushed over to him, pulling him up by his arm. “Jongho! Get up!” He blinked, disoriented and still clearly trying to understand what was happening around him. His panic was evident, and he spun around to take in the chaos.

“Jongho,” you grabbed his shoulders, trying to anchor him to the moment, trying to make him focus. “Look at me, bearie!” you urged, using his old nickname to snap him out of it. His wide, trembling eyes finally locked onto yours.

“You have to trust me on this. If things go wrong, you’ll be safer with Seonghwa,” you said, your voice urgent but steady.

His eyes widened in confusion. “S-Seonghwa-hyung is here?” he stammered, licking his lips out of nervous habit.

“Yes, Seonghwa, Hongjoong—Wooyoung is here too. All your friends, my friends, we’re all here! But listen to me, okay?” you said firmly, gripping his shoulders tighter to keep him grounded in the moment.

Jongho swallowed hard, his chest rising and falling rapidly as he tried to calm down. He nodded, though his eyes were still wide with fear and confusion.

“You’ll be okay,” you reassured him, your voice softening. “It might seem like this whole thing is crazy, out of this world, but I know you. You adapt well—you always have.”

Jongho let out a shaky breath, nodding again, though he still looked like he had a thousand questions swirling in his mind. “Okay,” he sighed deeply, “but promise me you’ll explain everything.”

“I will,” you said, giving him a small smile despite the chaos surrounding you. You weren’t sure how this whole situation would unfold, but you knew one thing for certain—you weren’t letting your best friend face it alone.

The battle with the Murks intensified, and as you looked around, you could see how outnumbered your group was. Exhaustion had set in, especially after your powers began to flicker like a dying flame— not even an ounce of power was surging through your body like it was before. And it was slowly scaring you.

Were those flames just a spur of the moment? They just appeared in the first chapter for nothing? Or were you slowly engaging more of the story that you lost connection to yourself?

Your eyes widen in realisation, maybe that it could be it. But how? Now that you were nearing the answer and nearing danger.

You had been told stories of how San’s lineage was powerful, how their ancestors once warded off entire armies. But now, standing in the valley surrounded by these shadowy creatures, you could barely muster the strength to summon your flames.

The valley echoed with the sound of clashing steel and inhuman roars as the battle raged on, the Murks growing stronger with each passing moment. Their shadowy forms weaved through the mist like dark phantoms, relentlessly advancing despite the guards’ best efforts to fend them off. You were panting, your breath uneven, and sweat dripped down your temple, stinging your eyes. Every muscle in your body screamed in exhaustion, yet the fight wasn’t over.

San was holding his ground nearby, his movements swift yet increasingly desperate. His blade sliced through the air, striking down Murks that came too close, but he was tiring. You could see it in the way his shoulders drooped, how his steps faltered for a split second too long.

Your heart clenched painfully at the sight. The memory of the first ambush flashed in your mind—the way you had been so helpless, your powers barely flickering like a weak candle in the wind. That day, on the way to the Kim Empire, you’d felt that same sense of inadequacy as the Murks descended upon you, and now, even with all the battles you had faced since, your power still felt fragile, slipping from your grasp.

“Not again…” you whispered under your breath, refusing to let history repeat itself.

You forced yourself to focus, gathering what little energy you had left to protect San and the others. But just as you prepared to unleash a spell, you heard Jongho’s voice—loud, confused, and terrified.

“Bookie!” he called out from behind you. 

Your heart stopped. Jongho—your best friend who’d been thrown into this chaos—was in danger. You whipped around just in time to see a group of Murks closing in on him. They were different from the ones before—faster, more deliberate, their shadows pulsing with a sickly blue hue. They moved like hunters stalking their prey, eyes locked on Jongho, who stood frozen, unsure of what to do.

“No!” you shouted, your body moving before your mind could catch up. Without hesitation, you threw yourself between Jongho and the advancing Murks, raising your arms to shield him. The first blow hit you hard, knocking the wind from your lungs, but you stayed on your feet. Your powers flickered—weak, barely a spark—but you held on, determined to protect him.

“Go Jongho!” You screamed, blocking the Murks attack, Jongho shook his head, “No– No I’m not leaving, give me the sword!”

The second strike came faster than you anticipated. One of the Murks lashed out with its shadowy claws, catching your side. Pain exploded through your body, and you gasped, stumbling backward as blood trickled from the wound. The world around you blurred, but you pushed through the haze, refusing to let go.

“Bookie, move!” Jongho’s voice was frantic, but you couldn’t leave him unprotected, spinning around to push him off as you both were slowly edging towards the cliff and he might fall and hurt himself. And you wouldn’t forgive yourself for letting one of your friends hurt. You braced yourself, preparing to cast a flaming barrier around you, but your powers faltered again, flickering out like a candle snuffed by the wind.

San saw it coming and with a final blow to the Murks. His face etched in worry and determination, as his feet dashed as fast as he can towards you. His heart pounding in his chest as each step but what it did lost all his hope when the Murks took advantage of your moment of weakness. A particularly powerful one struck your side again, sending you tumbling down the steep hill.

His breath caught in his throat as he watch your body rolled uncontrollably, crashing against rocks and debris as you twisted your ankle.

"No ... No! NO! BRIGID!" San’s voice cracked with desperation, and you could picture the look on his face—wide-eyed, filled with terror as he fought to reach you.

A sharp pain shooting up your leg. You tried to scream, but the air had been knocked out of your lungs. Your vision blurred with each impact, and when your head finally struck a large stone, the world tilted violently before going black.

In those final moments of consciousness, you could hear them—faint, but there, calling out for you.

Seonghwa saw what happened, hurriedly went beside San, “Prince San...” Seonghwa’s more formal tone as he place a hand on his shoulder, halting him on his further actions.

“Bookie!” Jongho’s panicked shout was the last thing you heard, tinged with confusion and fear for his best friend who had just saved him.

Their voices grew distant, like echoes fading into the void. Darkness closed in around you, your body too weak to respond. The world grew quieter, colder, and as the pain dulled, your last thought was of them—San, Jongho, Seonghwa—and how you had tried to protect them, even if you had failed.

And then, everything went silent.

Days had passed, yet there was still no sign of you. The once hopeful search had turned into a frantic race against time. The valley where the battle had taken place had been scoured multiple times, the rough terrain yielding no answers, no trace of you. Every passing hour felt like a weight on the hearts of those who cared for you, especially San.

San had returned to the Kim Kingdom, battered and bruised from the battle. His body was marked by the signs of combat—deep cuts, bruises, and the weariness of a warrior who had fought hard. But these injuries were nothing compared to the wound festering in his heart. He had come back without you. He had no words to offer, no explanation for what had happened. His silence spoke volumes, but it wasn’t until Wooyoung saw him that the full gravity of the situation came crashing down.

Wooyoung had been waiting eagerly for the group’s return, expecting to see you among them, perhaps a little scraped up but smiling as you always did after surviving a battle. However, when San arrived, limping and eyes shadowed with guilt, something in Wooyoung shattered. His chest tightened with dread when he realized—you weren’t there.

“Nerdy girl? San, where’s Brigid? Where is she?” Wooyoung’s voice wavered, barely holding back the panic threatening to rise in his throat. Wooyoung had expected news of a victory, of a safe return from the mission, but instead, he found San sitting in the quiet of the room, his eyes dark and hollow. The tension was suffocating, and when Wooyoung asked about you, the silence that followed was more terrifying than any answer.

“Where is she?” Wooyoung asked, his voice soft but filled with an underlying urgency.

San didn’t respond at first. He swallowed hard, unable to meet Wooyoung’s eyes, his hands clenched into fists as if trying to hold back the flood of emotions threatening to break free. His lips parted as if to speak, but no words came out. And then, with a voice that was barely above a whisper, San muttered, “I’m sorry, Woo.”

Wooyoung’s world seemed to tilt on its axis. His eyes flickered, full of anguish. That’s when Wooyoung saw the truth in his silence. You were missing. The weight of the realization hit him like a punch to the gut, his legs almost giving out beneath him. 

“We … We couldn’t find her.” He froze, staring at San in disbelief, his heart sinking as the words registered in his mind. “What do you mean you couldn’t find her?” But he was met in silence. With wobbling bottom lips and tears ready to burst again, “Choi San! What do you mean you can’t find her?!” he demanded, his voice growing louder, panic creeping in.

San’s face was pale, and for a moment, it looked as though he might break down completely. But it wasn’t San who broke first.

Wooyoung’s breath hitched, his emotions crashing down all at once. Tears welled in his eyes, and before he could stop them, they began streaming down his face. “No, no, no…,” Wooyoung whispered, shaking his head in denial as if he could somehow undo the truth. He wiped at his tears angrily, but they kept falling, uncontrollable. He had always been the emotional one, but this—this was different. The thought of you missing, alone and lost in the wilderness, was unbearable.

As Wooyoung tried to compose himself, his gaze landed on Jongho, who was standing by the doorway, confusion etched on his face. Jongho held something in his hand, something that looked painfully familiar. Your satchel—worn and dusty, as if it had been through the same battle that had claimed you.  Jongho handed over to Wooyung and fresh tears began to fall.

Jongho’s brow furrowed. He looked at Wooyoung, searching for answers, but Wooyoung’s tear-streaked face only deepened his confusion. “What is this?” Jongho asked, his voice shaky. “What happened? Where is she?” Jongho’s face was pale, his confusion deepening. 

Wooyoung inhaled deeply, trying to steady himself before he spoke. He reached out and placed a comforting hand on Jongho’s shoulder, squeezing it gently. “I’m not sure how to explain this,” he began softly, his voice thick with emotion, “but you’re not where you think you are, Jongho. You were transported here to this place, just like nerdy girl and… she protected you. She saved you.”

Jongho blinked, his mind racing to piece together the fragments of information he’d been given since he’d appeared in this strange world. His confusion was palpable, but Wooyoung could see the flicker of understanding in his eyes. Despite the chaos, despite the overwhelming circumstances, Jongho had always been the calm one—the one who could take in new information and process it logically.

Wooyoung inhaled deeply, trying to steady himself before he spoke. He reached out and placed a comforting hand on Jongho’s shoulder, squeezing it gently. “We don’t know where she is, Jongho,” Wooyoung explained softly, his voice trembling with unshed tears. 

“She sacrificed herself,” he continued, his voice trembling. “She kept you safe, Jongho. We don’t know where she is.” Jongho’s eyes widened as the weight of Wooyoung’s words settled in. His lips parted, but no words came out. He looked down at the satchel in Wooyoung’s hand, as if it suddenly carried the weight of the entire world. He inhaled sharply, trying to keep his composure.

The memory of the battle flickering back to him. His face twisted with guilt and confusion. “She… she saved me,” he whispered, his voice barely audible. “She threw herself in front of me. I didn’t even realize… I didn’t know…”

Wooyoung could see the guilt creeping into Jongho’s eyes, the same guilt that was eating away at San. He pulled Jongho into a tight embrace, despite knowing the maknae does not like close physical touch but in this moment, they knew they needed it and allowing him a moment to release the tension. Wooyoung felt Jongho’s shoulders shake as he tried to hold back his tears. “It’s not your fault,” Wooyoung murmured, squeezing him a little tighter.

For a long moment, the two of them stood in silence, the gravity of the situation sinking in. Then, with a heavy sigh, Jongho nodded. He wasn’t one to panic. He would wait for answers, stay calm, but the fear in his heart was undeniable. Wooyoung could see it in the way his shoulders tensed, the way his jaw clenched as he held back his own emotions.

“We’ll find her,” Wooyoung whispered, more to himself than to Jongho. “We’ll bring her back.”

When night falls,  in the solitude of his room, San sat on the edge of his bed, staring blankly at the floor. The guilt gnawed at him, an ever-present weight that suffocated him more with each passing second. His mind replayed the moment over and over—the way you had thrown yourself between Jongho and the Murks, your powers barely holding out as you fought to protect everyone but yourself. He had watched, helpless, as you sacrificed yourself, rolling down the steep hill, disappearing from sight.

It should have been him. He was the warrior, the protector. It was his duty to shield you, to fight by your side. And yet, in that crucial moment, all he had done was stand there and watch as hope vanished right before his eyes.

Tears welled up, but San clenched his jaw, refusing to let them fall. He couldn’t break—not yet. But the image of you, your last desperate act of courage, haunted him. The silence of his room was unbearable, pressing down on him until he couldn’t breathe. Finally, when the weight became too much, a single tear slipped down his cheek, followed by another, and another. He cried silently, his shoulders shaking as he buried his face in his hands.

The night stretched on, long and unforgiving, as Seonghwa remained vigilant, his jaw set in determination. His entire guard team was out searching for you, combing through every inch of the valley, the mountains, and beyond. They wouldn’t stop until they found you, but the search was long, and the darkness offered no clues.

Seonghwa’s heart ached as he looked out over the kingdom from his vantage point, the moon casting a pale glow over the landscape. He hadn’t slept in days, his mind consumed with thoughts of you—where you were, if you were safe, if they would ever see you again. The guilt weighed heavily on him too, but Seonghwa refused to give up hope. His entire guard team was searching for you, and they wouldn’t stop until they found you.

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