#''You shouldn’t have come down from the sky ... You’re only doing us harm.'' - *gets wrecked*

[cosmic-navel-gazin]

“Rumata felt a strange sense of painful ambivalence. He knew that he was right, yet in some strange way, this rightness lowered him before Arata. Arata was clearly somehow superior to him— and not only to him but to all those who had come to this planet uninvited and who, full of helpless pity, watched the tumultuous bustling of its life from the rarefied heights of dry hypotheses and alien morality. And for the first time Rumata thought, There is no gain without a loss. We’re infinitely stronger than Arata in our kingdom of good and infinitely weaker than Arata in his kingdom of evil.”

— Arkady and Boris Strugatsky, Hard to be a God    

[smuggsy]

heyo! If you feel like a prompt, I'll offer up one for the flyboys? How about, “Am I going to die?" pls <3

Thank you! I always feel like writing for these two! Two prompts in a day, wow, this is unheard of. I would feel accomplished except I should've been working on an essay for my medieval history class so I only feel guilty lmao.

Anyway. Here, have some pining idiots. Bit of angst sprinkled in but really this is just Collins biting off more than he can chew. You know I love putting him in these situations #sorrynotsorry.

Collins has always been the heavier drinker. He's more easy-going, always accepting pints from the younger lads and beating them at cards and joining in on their bets when dark clouds loom close to the ground and they're allowed to leave for the day.

It's usually Farrier keeping him in check, walking him back to base late at night and watching carefully from behind, giving him space but close enough to grab in case he trips over his feet after a good amount of beer has numbed his reflexes.

Collins naively assumes Farrier isn't a booze lover. Isn't that into alcohol in general; he never has more than two pints, not even when Collins refuses to indulge in it does Farrier let himself get too comfortable at the bar or at a table.

Never when Collins is with him, anyway. This is a thought that has just recently taken form, as in, about ten minutes ago when Collins caught up with the group at the local pub after returning from his daily rounds.

Today he walks into the crowded place brimming with pilots as a thunderstorm announces itself outside, and when he takes a seat next to his wingmate on the far-off corner from the door he finds Farrier doesn't look up to meet his gaze.

"Evening," Collins greets, but he's not sure he's heard him over the music and incessant chatting of their peers.

Even if he does, Farrier pays him no mind.

To say that Collins is instantly bugged by it is an understatement. Farrier stares down at something in his lap, he's hunched down and sports a permanent frown and the overall sight of him just looks wrong.

"Ey, alright?"

He realises, but only once Farrier snaps his head up, that his eyes are a bit too glassy, his breath smelling a bit too strong when he sighs in Collins' direction.

"What? Oh, hey."

Collins only sees the paper in a flash, before Farrier tucks it back into the inner pocket of his jacket. The quick motion clearly meant to keep it away from prying eyes is the only reason Collins doesn't ask. Yet.

"Having fun?" he says instead with a smile, trying to brush away the sudden heaviness of a conversation that hasn't even started, and he leans back on his own seat and surveys the table in front. He counts at least five empty pints close enough to Farrier's side.

"Fun," Farrier scoffs with a shake of his head.

Collins finds the irony dripping from the word so strong and uncharacteristic that he leans over and takes a chug or two of his own beer.

"Let them have fun," his mate continues, gesturing vaguely towards the youngest recruits fooling about on the dancefloor, "they don't know what's fucking coming."

At that, Collins can't help but stare.

He gently places his pint back on the table and doesn't tear his eyes away from Farrier, now stumbling out of his chair looking much drunker than he did just a second ago.

"M'gonna head back," he says, trying to walk past Collins who only manages to move his chair back once Farrier's already on the other side.

"It'll be pouring outside!"

Just then, a thunder rumbles low and menacing under the sweet voice of The Andrews Sisters coming off the gramophone. Farrier stops dead in his tracks for a moment and just when Collins thinks he's going to turn around and sit back down, he shrugs and walks away.

"Ah, s'only a bit of rain, innit..."

He only stops by the bar to pay for his round of drinks, pushing through one or two excited couples dancing away the night and apologizing to one of the gals for almost stepping on her foot.

Collins watches the whole exchange from his spot, a bit taken aback by Farrier so easily brushing him off.

He gives himself a few moments to feel hurt and then he stands up and pays for his own unfinished pint, only catching up to him as he rounds the corner and the first droplets of rain start announcing a hell of a storm.

"Yer gonna be wet straight through if ya walk back now!"

"Yeah," Farrier says over his shoulder, lighting a cigarette and sending a sour smile Collins' way, "I am."

His gaze seems only a bit clearer as he stares Collins down, giving him a once over and taking in the sight with an approving nod. It makes something in Collins' stomach turn.

In a good way.

"You go back though, get yourself a nice bird to dance with. Put in all that effort to walk me back like I'm your granny?"

With the dragging of his words and the cigarette he keeps firmly placed in between his lips, Collins almost doesn't understand him.

He lets out an emotionless laugh and starts walking again when Farrier does.

"What effort? I always look like this."

Farrier blows away the smoke and nods again.

"You do."

"Something happen?"

There it is. He asks.

Farrier almost halts, just almost. He looks like he's about to answer but then the cigarette is back in his mouth and he openly ignores his question for a whole minute. Collins gets the cue but he still doesn't turn back. He figures he can play chaperone tonight, like Farrier's done with him so many times before.

Except, he's always ranting on after his round of pints and his wingmate's not much of a talker. No way to fill in the awkward silence. Collins can't help himself.

"You got mail," he tries again, a statement, just a simple comment that doesn't mean any harm and it definitely doesn't mean to make Farrier turn around like that - like he's properly annoyed at him for asking. For caring.

"Just go back," Farrier bites out, harshly, "you just got 'ere. Go on, don't lemme spoil your night."

"You're not."

"Collins..."

"I'll go if you really want me to."

That makes Farrier look at him again, truly look at him like the words have taken a bit of the alcohol off his blood and sobered him up. He stares for a long moment and then starts walking again without a word. Failing to answer again but answering nonetheless.

The lamp-posts they walk past light up the heavier drops of rain as if warning them of what's to come. Collins' hair is still wet from the shower so he doesn't feel much of a difference.

"You're a good kid, Jackie," Farrier says after a while, hands in the pockets of his trousers and looking up to the moonless sky. When he does, he seems to lose a bit of balance that he quickly regains before Collins can actually grab his arm to steady him.

He reckons it's better he didn't get to, judging by Farrier's general snappiness tonight. Can't be completely sure his help would be welcomed. 

"What did you just call me?" he teases with a grin.

He sees a smile tug at Farrier's lips.

"A good kid."

Jackie.

"I'm twenty-fuckin'-five, thank you very much!"

At last, Farrier lets out a laugh. Collins feels like a heavy weight's been lifted off his shoulders.

"You're a fuckin' tease, s'what you are."

It's just as well that mother nature stops him as he intends to give an answer, because the words get stuck in his throat at the implication of that sentence.

The sky goes white for a split second, lightning flaring up above their heads before the cracking of thunder seems to switch on the merciless pouring rain once and for all. They're already far enough that they'd still end up drenched from head to toe even if they walked back to the pub.

"Shit, come on!"

Farrier starts running forward, where there's a couple of leafy pines by the road before the clearing starts the path back to the airbase: a very long and tree-deserted runway and training field.

In short, they're fucked.

Farrier beats him to the cover of the canopy and Collins thinks that perhaps he wasn't that drunk after all.

"Quicker in the air than on the ground, eh lad?"

"Want to race me, old man?"

"Nah, wouldn't want that spotless suit wrecked with mud."

Collins turns to answer and finds Farrier grinning at him playfully, looking him up and down again for the second time in twenty minutes - the spark in his eyes doesn't go unnoticed because he's never caught him staring so openly before. It makes his pulse quicken and turns his filter off.

"You really like me in my suit, dontcha?"

Farrier's next words sound fuelled by beer, as does that almost imperceptible lick of his lips.

"Why, of course I do."

He looks away to the curtain of falling rain in front of them, pooling down on the grass, and he shakes his head and talks so low that Collins almost doesn't hear him again.

"Don't do that."

"Do what?"

"I'm drunk."

"Yeah, I know. Ye keep lookin' at me like ye want to eat me or somethin'."

Farrier snaps his head back to look at him, mouth half-open like a fish out of the water - like he can't quite believe what he's just heard, and Collins panics, thinks he's misread the situation completely (thinks that even if he didn't, he really shouldn't have called Farrier on it because, as his wingmate so bluntly put it, he is drunk). Thinks that's a very reckless and stupid thing to say and that he hasn't even downed half a pint of beer so he can't even use that as an excuse.

Collins stares back, for a moment he considers stepping away, jumping over that poodle increasing in size and running away in whichever opposite direction Farrier means to walk.

Try and pretend he didn't fuck this up royally.

"Well, would you want me to?" Farrier blurts out all of a sudden, openly staring at Collins' lips and neck and cheeks and hair now.

"What?"

"I said, would you want me to."

Another lightning. Farrier's face is so close that Collins can count the scattered freckles on his nose and cheeks where stray drops of rain slide down on his skin. He has very long eyelashes.

"Eat you or something."

The thunder following the light drowns out that pitiful noise that escapes Collins' throat. He feels drowsy like he's the one who spent hours sitting down at that table in the wet sweet air of the pub gulping down pint after pint.

Farrier is very, very drunk even if he doesn't look like it anymore.

He must be.

Collins wonders: if he answers truthfully, will Farrier remember it tomorrow?

"Yeah," his wingmate snickers, and after what feels like ages he takes the slightest step back and smiles that sour smile from before, fishing another cigarette out of his pack and putting it between his lips, "thought so. Pretty boy like you."

Pretty boy like– what the fuck's that supposed to mean?

"Answer me this, Collins. Am I going to die?"

And just like that, the conversation steers away from longing looks and unspoken words. Farrier's back to smoking that ciggy that's already wet and his hands return to his pockets and Collins feels he's just lost an opportunity that isn't going to arise again any time soon.

"What?" he repeats, like a broken record, refusing to let his own eyes derail from Farrier's face, refusing to look away to the falling of rain, the runway, the clearing, the town far away like Farrier himself is doing. Refusing to let the moment go.

"What are my chances? What are our chances?"

Collins shakes his head in frustration.

"Surviving this shit. Let me tell you: they're very thin. So it's better this way. I mean, it's me but– well it's just not worth it, is it? Forget it."

"Forget. Forget what? Tom, the fuck are you on about? Is this about that letter?"

"Fuck that letter."

He tosses the cigarette to the ground.

There's no remorse in the words, no hatred despite Farrier turning back to him and suddenly standing up straight, shoulders broad, gaze unwavering and challenging. Collins is still a bit taller but that doesn't mean he feels taller.

"I– sorry I– didn't mean to–"

"My fiancée," Farrier cuts him off, cocking his head and studying Collins' reaction for a moment before continuing, "got killed. A bombing over Portsmouth."

He drags the paper out and almost shoves it in Collins' face, who just stands there at a loss for words, again. Stammering like a broken record, again.

"I–," didn't know you were engaged, "–sorry, I'm sorry that happened."

He wants to kick himself for his lack of eloquence but it's the least of his concerns because he was just flirting with Farrier a moment ago, and Farrier was leading him on for some fucking reason – a fiancée?

That tends to mean one's attracted to women.

A dead fiancée.

"Sorry, Tom."

"Don't be."

Another lightning, another thunder, more heavy rain and Collins is already starting to feel the cold reach through his layers of clothes.

"I'm not. Fuck, I'm relieved!"

Farrier runs a hand over his face.

"I'm– fuck."

"It's okay," Collins offers uselessly.

"She's dead and I'm relieved I don' have to marry her. How fucked up is that?"

Collins thinks he hears a cry, and when Farrier tries to look away again he knows he heard a cry, and he doesn't let him turn around and steps forward to hold him in a tight embrace instead. Farrier wraps his arms around him tightly like he'd been waiting for Collins to hug him.

"I'm fucking horrible," he says, words muffled in the fabric of Collins' suit and sniffing through a runny nose. Jack keeps a hand rubbing at Farrier's back in what he hopes is an empathetic touch.

"No you're not, you're not."

They stay like that, holding onto one another against the trunk of a tree that's doing a really poor job of sheltering them from the rain at this point, but is better than nothing. Farrier doesn't really cry, stubborn as he is even in this state of inebriation, and after a while Collins feels his stubbly chin brushing against the side of his neck and smells the scent of alcohol again.

"I like it when you use my name," Farrier mumbles, words still muffled and burrowing his nose in Collins' shirt like it belongs there.

Collins' only thought at that moment, frozen and unable to say anything back, is that Drunk Farrier is a real piece of work. He thinks he understands, now, why he doesn't drink.

[yn-dreamlife]

Can you hear me?

Bakugo Katsuki x reader (hero name: Elementas)

Quirk: Quantification of Emotions (shorten to QoE), basically whatever emotion your feeling strongest (out of six) will allow you to control that element. Your hair also changes to that color. 

Emotions: 

Anger, vivid red, wind

Sadness, pastel blue, water

Longing/Love, white, light

Happiness, pink, fire

Loneliness, black, darkness

Confusion/Anxiousness, green, earth  

Summary: There was a villain attack and as your about to die you think of your last words to Katsuki.

warings: yelling, swearing, angst, like ANGST, character death, blood, villan attack, blood, depression, fluff?

Song: Train Wreck, James Arthur  (I hope that works, I've never done this before) 

Word count: 3206

Laying in the silence Waiting for the sirens Signs, any signs I'm alive still

Coughing I look around me. “Wha-” I place a hand on my forehead feeling a liquid underneath my palms. “What’s happening?” I speak as my ears ring and I see a red fluid on my hand. 

I look around and see the chaos around me. All around me is ruble, I can't see an inch of sky. I look around seeing the dust flying around the air, the small fire scattered around trying to find anything amongst the concrete to consume and stay alive with. 

At least I can't see any civilians around me, thats a good sign. As I continue to assess my surroundings, even with my blurry vision and ringing ears know that the villain is gone, or at least not near me. 

When I finally look down at my own body I wince. There was a giant metal rod sticking out of my abdomen, I guess the adrenaline must be preventing the full brunt of the pain. As I look at it and see the amount of blood being lost I know I won't be saved. 

I don't wanna lose it I'm not getting through this

Tears well in my eyes as the regret swims into my heart. I don't want to die like this. I don't want to die not knowing if everyone is safe. I don't want to die not knowing if Katsuki is okay. I don't want to die in pain. 

Of course every hero knows the risk, we’ve known since we where in high school. But it doesn't mean anyone actively wants this to be there way out. 

Everyone deep down hopes for a peaceful death. Or at least to die with those we love. 

Hey, should I pray? should I pray To myself? To a God? To a saviour who can Unbreak the broken

What if I could make it? What if I scream loud enough? Can I even scream right now? And even if I can who's to say it'll get to the surface? And I would want them to get the civilians first. “Damnit!” I try to yell but all I can manage is a weak whimper. 

“I should be stronger than this!” I said as my throat constricted. ‘God I sound just like Suki.’ the thought of him makes my heart clench. ‘I shouldn't have said all those things. I shouldn't have-’ I was swept up in the memory of my last conversation with him. 

Unsay these spoken words Find hope in the hopeless

“Jesus y/n what is wrong with you?!” He screamed at me. “Like can you calm the fuck down for once?!” 

I scoffed at him whirling around on him. “I need to calm down?! Don’t you tell me to calm down!”

“You're the one who started all of this!” He screamed at me. 

“And you’re the one who flirts with other people!” I fire back. 

He scoffs again, “I wasn't flirting with her! It’s not my fault you're so insecure that you think that you shitty woman!” 

My face drops slightly more sadness seaping into my heart. “Why do you think im so insecure Kasuki? You call me shitty woman every other sentence! You talk about how great other girls are and how strong they are! You-” 

“You know thats just how I am! And I don't talk about them romantically im taking about them from a hero stand point! Shouldn't you be happy now that I don't look down on every single person!” He screamed his quirk popping off in frustration. 

“Yeah I know thats how you are but it still an hurt me you dick! And it’s different when those girls are clearly in love with you!” he scoffs “If you tell me they aren't I swear to god you must be really blind!” I scream again. 

“Of course I don't notice because why would I when I have a girlfriend!|?!” He screams. 

“Do you?!” I shout the words spilling out of my mouth. “Because it doesn't always feel like you want to!” his next words break my heart. 

“Maybe I don't!” I watch his face drop the second the words leave his mouth. “y/n- wait I didn't-” But I cut him off as my alarm goes off. 

“I have to go to work. At least I know they need me.” I whisper bitterly. 

“Y/n wait! We can't leave it like this!” he calls frantically after me. 

“You never had a problem leaving me heartbroken before. Why care now?” and with that I got in my car driving away as the tears streamed down my face. 

Pull me out of the train wreck Unburn the ashes

When I got to work I quickly dismissed anyone at my hero agency as they asked what was wrong. I even ignored Kirishima, who was one of my best friends. “Go ask you ‘Bakubro’” I muttered bitterly at my fellow hero. 

I looked to my side kick, she was nice. She wasn't a cocky self assured teen like me and my classmates where. Both me and her quickly left to patrol. I was happy when she started rambling about the latest guy she found an interest in instead of asking me what was wrong. 

Not that I didn't appreciate my colleagues concern I just didn't want to think about it. Or I didn't want to talk about it, theres no way im not thinking about it. Even now, I couldn't help but tune out my sidekick/intern as my thoughts where consumed with my final words. 

“You never had a problem leaving me heartbroken before. Why care now?” Damnit I know thats not true and yet I still said it. Katsuki always at least texts me after wards, and he’s never left without muttering some form of I love you. I moved to pull out my phone when I suddenly heard screaming. I look up to see five of our most wanted villians up ahead wreaking havoc. I stop my phone Turing to my intern who looks ready to fight.    

Unchain the reactions, I'm not ready to die, not yet Pull me out of the train wreck Pull me out, pull me out, pull me out

”No.” I said placing a hand on her shoulder. She looks at me shocked as I continue. “I need you to help civilians.” 

She hesitates,”But I can help-” 

“I know but these guys are to strong. Please trust me, I want you making it out of this alive. Go help the civilians. If you have to I give you my permission to use your quirk for defense and defense only. Do you understand?” No response 

“Minako!” she stares at me “Please, you're like my kid, don't make me beg.” Tears well in her eyes and she nods before running off and I run onto the scene.

I should have known the second I asked her not to fight that this wouldn't end well. I should of said something to him before I left. I should have- 

  Pull me out, pull me out Underneath our bad blood We still got a sanctum, home Still a home, still a home here

I was pulled from my thoughts as coughs ripped there way through my throat. the pain in my stomach worsening. Was I really going to die like this? Filled with regrets and what ifs? 

No. I still have people to live for. I still have things I need to do, things to say. A man to kiss and marry and love all I can do know is hope. 

‘Please, damnit if someone is out there please help me. I know I don't pray enough, hell I know I don't deserve this but god damnit Im selfish. Im selfish and I want to live longer. I want to get married and have kids. I want to at least kiss him one last time. I don't even have to live, just let me hear him say I love you one last time. let me hold him again.’ 

As these thoughts consumed me I didn't notice the light blooming around me becoming brighter and brighter. 

It's not too late to build it back 'Cause a one-in-a-million chance Is still a chance, still a chance

“Y/N!!” I heard someone scream. “Y/n baby hold on!” he screamed again. My light glowed brighter. 

“Katsuki!” I cried. 

“Thats right! Im here princess I’m gonna get you out of there okay?!” I dint respond knowing he wasn't really answering. 

“Hurry Deku please!” Deku was here? after a moment he spoke again “Riot! Cellophane! Thank god you are here! Please you have to help me I can't blast through the rubble I might crush her!” He cried frantically. 

I saw some rubble begin falling next to me and screamed on instinct. “Oi be careful!!” He screamed. 

“Ground zero!” I heard a familiar voice. 

“S-sensei?!” 

‘What? Easers here? But- he's retired.’ 

“You need to stop shouting, your friends are here trying to help you. We both know they mean her no harm.” I can only assume he nodded because there was no more shouting, but there was also no more anything. Not a single sound. 

And I would take those odds Unbreak Unsay these spoken words

“H-Hello?” I called 

“Don't worry Y/n-chan we’re still here!” I heard deku yell. I sighed relieved. 

“Y/n!” I heard red riot or as I know him Kirishima call out. “Pop quiz whats Eraser heads child named?!” He yells out, and confusion builds in me. 

‘What? He has a kid? Oh my god is the kid here?!’ I thought anxiously. 

“Now!” I hear cellophane or Sero scream and before I knew it the rubble was being ripped away but I saw some coming towards me before I could think I manipulated the earth around me into a ball. 

“Yes!” I heard them all collectively say, except for katsuki. 

“Y/n! You're okay its okay!” He said as I placed the earth back and he ran over to me. He went to touch me but stopped short. “Oh god, princess!” he exclaimed looking down at my abdomen. 

Find hope in the hopeless Pull me out the train wreck 

“We need some help over here! Anyone who has a strong healing quirk get over here now we have a hero down!” He screamed but I didnt care about the pain, I didnt care about the medic. All I cared about was him. 

“You came.” I whispered he looked to me and cupped my cheek. 

“Im always gonna come for you.” He said softly smiling down at me as tears leaked from both our eyes.  

“Im sorry.” I whimper out and he shakes his head. My eyes begin feeling heavier. 

“no no no!” he says shaking me slightly “Don't apologize just keep your eyes open for me, yeah?” 

“Can you hold me?” I whisper. 

“I can't move you if I do-” 

“Please suki, I want to feel you hold me one last time.” I whimper my eyes getting heavier. 

                                                                                       Unburn the ashes Unchain the reactions, I'm not ready to die, not yet

“Well then I have great news, and that’s the fact that I’ll hold you for the rest of our lives but I can't move you princess.” I shake my head smiling sadly. 

“Katsuki.” I hear a soft voice whisper and look to see a teary eyed Kirishima.

“N-no!” he screams at him. “She’ll be fine!” he looks to me now. “you’ll be fine!” I shake my head my hair turning a murky blue. 

He relents and eventually very quickly pulls me off of the pipe. But I don't make a sound, I don't even wince. I don't feel the pain at all my body to numb.  

Pull me out the train wreck Pull me out, pull me out, pull me out Pull me out, pull me out, pull me out                                                              

I smile as he pulls me into his arms, “Thank you.” I whisper. 

“Anything for you princess.” He cups my cheek and wipes the tears that are still slipping from my eyes. 

“Im sorry.” we say in unison. 

“I shouldn't have been so insecure.” I whisper, and he shakes his head.  

“No baby no. I shouldn't have been so insensitive and I shouldn't have said what I said. I never question my love for you, or me wanting to be with you.” He says placing his forehead on my own. 

“I love you.” I whisper. 

a sob leaves his throat. “I-i love you too.” he sobs holding me to him. I try to lift my hand but I can't. I feel a gentle material curling around my wrist and pulling it around his neck. I look to see Mr. Aizawas capture weapon I smile up at him. 

“Damnit where are they!” Katsuki yells pulling away from me. I see a team frantically running to us but before they get to me I feel my eyes growing to heavy. 

“Be happy...Suki” I whisper as the darkness envelops me. 

You can say what you like 'cause see, I would die for you

I, I'm down on my knees and I need you to be my God Be my help, be a savior who canUnbreak the broken

Katsuki watches as you eyes close, “N-No!” He screams. “Hurry up , please!” He calls out to the people who run impossibly quicker. Once they get there and he has to place you down he automatically wants to hold you again. But he's held back and he sees its Deku who’s holding him back. 

He wants to rip his hand off of him but he can't find the strength in himself so he relents and allows the freckled boy to pull him away. He sees his red haired friend and doesn't hesitate to accept the hug he gives him. 

he balls his hands against the gears of his friends hero costume. “Damnit kiri I can't lose her!” he sobs. No one says anything, theres nothing they can say. No words can comfort the fiery blonde except for your own.  

but he does pull away from his friend as he sees them placing you on a gurney and begin rushing away. 

“Wait!” he calls after them. 

“Sir you can't come with us you have to meet us there its to risky!” A female medic says as sets pumping oxygen into your lungs. 

“I can drive you!” He hears a voice behind him say quickly. He turns to see who only to see your side-kick Minako. He nods and quickly runs to her car. 

The drive there was silent, he isn't even mad at her which shocks both of them. She breaks the silence whispering, “She begged me to help the civilians.” he nods still remaining silent. “I should have- I should have been there.” just then a sob rips through her throat. 

Katsuki looks to her remaining silent for a long moment. “She would have been devistated if you had you gotten hurt.” he whispers. 

“huh?” she glances over to him quickly before looking back to the road. 

“she talks about you all the time, she feels a motherly bond to you.” he whispers. 

“s-she was serious about that?” She asks wiping her cheeks.

“Yeah, maybe because she never had a mother figure or maybe because you remind her so much of herself. But she does, and I know she's tankful for all the civilians you helped save.” The girl nods smiling softly.  

Unsay these reckless words (find hope in the hopeless) Pull me out of the train wreck

When they arrive to the hospital they both quickly run to the front desk. 

“Elementas, I need to know what room elements is in!” Bakugo cries. 

“Mr. Ground zero sir you can't see her yet.” the nurse states standing up and stopping him from running off. 

“Why the hell not?!” He screams fist firing off slightly.

“She had to go straight into surgery.” the woman states calmly. Bakugo grunts as he sits down. 

twenty minutes later the same nurse approaches. “Sir they've already set up her room you tow may wait for her there but when they ask you to leave you-” before she could finish Minako interrupts. 

“Understood.” she says quickly. The nurse nods giving them the number and they make there way there. 

It was another half hour when Kirishima showed up with a spare change of clothes for Bakugo and offered to drive Minako home so she could rest. She only left when he promised to keep her updated. He changed into his civilian clothes before he finally sat down on the chair next to the bed you would soon be in and before he knew it he was asleep. 

Unburn the ashes Unchain the reactions, I'm not ready to die, not yet

When he woke he looked around confused but he perked up when he saw a nurse. “Sir we need to get her settled and then you can come back in.” He nods quickly heading back t the waiting room. The quicker he left meant the sooner he would see you. 

It was fifteen minutes later when a doctor approached him. “How is she? Is she okay?” He asks anxious. 

“she sustained grave injuries. A head wound which concussed her. Five broken ribs, a punctured lung. Not to mention the damage from the pipe in her abdomen. But other than these things she is fine.” The doctor said as he walked away. Katsuki quickly made his way back to your room as he saw your eyes blink open. 

Pull me out of the train wreck Pull me out, pull me out, pull me out Pull me out, pull me out, pull me out

“Y/n!” he called happily. You looked pail, and honestly an inch from death, but never in his life had he been so happy to see you. 

You smiled at your boyfriend as he walked into the room. “Suki.” You whispered holding a hand out to him. He quickly came to your side taking it and covering it in kisses before moving up your arm and kissing your face. He placed a loving kiss on your lips before placing his forehead on your own. 

“Don’t you ever scare me like that again.” He whispered. 

You chuckled but winced. “easy there princess your ribs might not be happy with you for a while.” he says cupping your cheek and you nodded. It was a long day between all the visitors. Wether it was a crying Minako who had heart felt apologies and confessions with you. Or a group of your former classmates coming to make sure you where alright. Or even a soft spoke Mr. Aizawa who came once Katsuki had left to get you and himself some food. 

By the end of the day you where exhausted and you where more than happy to allow your boyfriend to carefully lay next to you only intertwining your legs and holding your one hand with his own while the other rested on your cheek. 

“Hey y/n, what you said about me being happy,” Katsuk whispered and you hummed for him to keep going. “I’m going to be... with you.” with a soft exchange of I love you’s and a sweet kiss after that you where both asleep. 

[taxicabinmemphis]

Prince Charming - Chapter 4

chapter one - chapter two - chapter three - chapter four - chapter five - chapter six

Word count - 4,094 Pairing - Intrulogical, Prinxiety (I didn’t plan it, it just kinda happened and I rolled with it), pre Moceit Warnings - some characters are a lil insensitive in spots but I wouldn’t call them unsympathetic, creativitwins angst ig, swearing, food mention, self-deprecation from most sides bc they’re all wrecks, character injury, pining, and then there’s Remus-typical behavior (body horror mentions, sexual innuendo/mentions of sexual stuff, and other stuff heh), if there’s anything else that should be tagged or put in the warnings, tell me!

The six sides and their horses eventually arrived in Azeria. Remus had abandoned his plan that would allow Janus to escape and instead was pondering his best friend’s love life. Logan and Janus were tired of the adventure and wanted to leave, while Patton and Virgil were hoping to finish so they could treat their injuries. The brothers, however, were having fun and expressed no desire to leave.

“Well, we’re here!” Roman stated as they got to the stables. He dismounted.

“Finally,” Virgil muttered under his breath, before dismounting. “Where should I put Sally, Roman?”

“Over there is fine.” He pointed to where Virgil should leave his horse.

All the other sides dismounted and left their horses in the stables. They walked into the castle, entering the tower where they kept the crown jewels.

“Care to do the honors, Patton?” Roman offered, as Patton was currently wearing the backpack which held the jewels.

Patton walked over to the open glass case. He opened the backpack, removed the jewels, and placed them carefully onto a velvet blanket which covered the bottom of the case. Roman closed the case after Patton finished, and Virgil clapped a hand on the fatherly side’s shoulder.

“Good work, Dad,” Virgil praised. “Thanks for carrying the jewels and keeping them safe.”

“Out of our dirty hands, you mean?” Remus teased.

“As a matter of fact, yeah,” Virgil said, malice in his tone.

Janus put an arm around the emo’s shoulders. “Oh come now, Virgil. You’ve beaten us once, we know not to try again.”

“Hmmph,” Virgil huffed, shrugging off Janus’ arm. He glared at him, suspicion evident on his features.

Janus gave a small laugh and turned to Roman. “What happens now, Roman?”

“Does this scenario end?” Logan asked, masking the hopefulness that would otherwise have been clear in his tone.

“There’s so much more we can do in this adventure!” Roman argued.

“We’re already having dinner way later than normal….” Patton objected quietly. “We shouldn’t hold off on it for much longer.”

“Patton is right,” Logan agreed, “we wouldn’t want to eat too late and end up having trouble getting to sleep on time.”

Roman rolled his eyes. “How about we go to the courtyard and clear everything up. You know, finalize what happened and such.”

“That sounds acceptable,” Logan said.

The sides then left the tower, exited the castle, and went to the courtyard, the flowers surrounding it making Patton’s face light up. The pristine white walls of the castle surrounded them fully on one side and partially on two sides, and the grass was a healthy shade of green. The darker, evening sky inhibited a clear look at their surroundings, though the pretty blues and purples above them seemed to make up for it. The sun would set soon, and the six would likely get the pleasure of watching it, depending on how long it took to end the adventure.

“May I sit on that bench?” Virgil asked, pointing to an ivory-colored bench near where they were standing.

“I’d like to as well,” Patton added, raising his arm slightly.

Roman nodded. “Of course. We can talk near the bench.”

Virgil and Patton sat next to each other on the bench. The four others stood in front of it, each of them standing where they could see each other.

“Okay, so we have the crown jewels, Remus and Janus are in custody, Virgil has been released and is now a citizen of Azeria, and us knights are okay. Anything else we should clarify?” Roman said.

“I was given full permission to annoy Logan while in custody.”

Roman rubbed his temples in annoyance. “No. Logan is a valued knight and respected citizen, we wouldn’t subject him to your company.”

Remus laughed. “Logan visits me in prison, then we fuck-”

“Remus!” Patton exclaimed, hitting his arm.

“Sorry, Pat, but yeah.” Remus shrugs. “That’s what happens.”

The sides looked at Logan, whose face was ducked and buried in his hands.

“No, it isn’t,” Roman disagreed firmly. “Anything else?”

“Reptania and Azeria eventually work out their problems and become allies?” Patton suggested.

Roman stared at him for a few moments, blinking a few times before answering. “I mean, sure. We don’t want these crazies in our dungeons for too long. They would get annoying.”

Virgil snorted. “True that.”

Silence surrounded the group.

“Well then,” Janus said, breaking the silence. “It seems that we’re fini-”

“Look,” Patton interrupted with a gasp. “The sunset.”

The five other sides trained their gazes on what Patton was looking at, and their faces all contorted to an expression of surprise and wonder. The sky was painted in a beautiful display of reds, oranges, yellows, pinks, and purples which contrasted with the canvas of dark blue incredibly well.

“Preeeeeeeetty,” Remus commented softly, holding out the ‘e’.

“As pretty as Logan?” Roman mused, glancing at his brother shortly, before returning his eyes to the colorful sky.

Remus’ face pinkened. “As pretty as Virgil?” he shot back with a scowl.

Roman let out a low sound of annoyance, but he left the conversation at that, preferring to appreciate the sunset than argue with his brother.

The sides spent a good five to ten minutes admiring the sunset, Patton making sure to snap pictures.

Janus cleared his throat. “We really should get going, as it seems that we’re finished.”

The others nodded, slowly tearing their eyes from the sky. Roman snapped his fingers and his fellow sides returned to their normal clothes.

“We could’ve just done that instead of changing earlier?!” Virgil asked incredulously.

Roman shrugged. “Not sure. Maybe, but I don’t think so. Who knows? But now you don’t have to struggle with removing chainmail.”

Virgil groaned and threw his head against the back of the bench.

“Next time, Roman, you should play the villain!” Remus said teasingly, leaving the castle grounds and walking towards the door out of the Imagination, his fellow sides joining him. “Bet you’ve never done that before!”

Roman shook his head. “I am a prince, not a villain. And why not let the resident villain play the part? Besides, I’m the only side here who knows how to be heroic, romantic, and charming.”

Remus’ footsteps slowed, but he eventually reached the door, his mood having soured immensely. He left the Imagination, leaving the door ajar behind him.

Patton, Janus, and Logan followed him out the door, Roman walking towards it himself. His hand grasped the doorknob, and he opened the wooden door slightly, only for his efforts to meet an opposing force that stopped the door from opening further.

The prince looked behind him to see Virgil standing there, left hand on the door.

“Hey there, Princey,” Virgil greeted quietly.

“Virgil,” Roman replied, showing clear confusion.

The purple-clad side took a deep breath. “I was hoping we could discuss something.”

Roman’s eyes widened in surprise, his grip on the doorknob slipping. He hardly registered Virgil closing the door after his hand fell to his side. Roman quickly concluded that Virgil’s previous statement was a softened and less anxiety-inducing version of the phrase “we need to talk”.

The realization made his stomach drop.

He followed Virgil away from the door and back over to the courtyard. They stopped at its entrance, and Virgil turned to face Roman.

“Roman, I have a few questions about some of today’s events,” Virgil said slowly. “As you know, I’m anxiety. I pay attention to behavioral red flags and abnormal actions and they will bother me until I get answers. So to spare future Virgil insomnia, could I please get clarification on a few things?”

Roman took a moment before answering. “And...none of the other sides’ behavior bothered you? Just mine?”

“Afraid so, Princey,” Virgil replied with a grimace. “At least when it came to the way they acted with me. Everything with Patton and Janus followed, except for one thing I managed to figure out. And no one else talked with me much.”

“Alright then,” Roman said, clearing his throat. “Fire away, I guess.”

Virgil shifted his feet. “I suppose I should start with the most recent source of alarm...back during the ride from Reptania? We were talking, and I rejected the idea of riding faster due to my soreness, and you said you wouldn’t cause me any harm or some cutesy shit like that, and then you ended up speeding up? I’m not mad by it or anything and I was eventually able to get used to the added pain it caused but I’m still confused by your actions.”

Roman felt a pang of guilt in his chest. Virgil’s sarcasm towards his care for the anxious side had angered him and slightly hurt his heart, so he sped up to be petty. He didn’t take Virgil’s injured state into account when committing the action, but now wished he did.

“Was that nice thing you said before you sped up sarcastic or something? I mean it was very dramatic like sarcasm often is, but you’re extremely dramatic so I thought it was you being you...maybe I read you wrong-”

“No, Virgil,” Roman finally spoke, raising a hand to halt his companion’s spiraling speech. His head was ducked down and he refused to meet Virgil’s eyes. “The comment was sincere.”

“Then why…”

“I…” Roman really didn’t want to answer this question, “I’m sorry. Your sarcasm after my comment wounded me when it really shouldn’t have because you’re such a sarcastic person by nature. I then forgot all about your injuries and sped up to be petty. I’m so sorry Virgil, and I am absolutely disgusted by myself for causing you pain. Especially after declaring I wouldn’t. You must be so angry...so rightfully angry.”

Virgil looked at the prince for a few silent seconds, blinking while he contemplated his dramatic and apologetic exposition. “I...I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings. I was flattered and didn’t know what to say so I reverted to my normal sarcasm. I should’ve realized what I said might hurt you. And...I’m not angry, Princey. I was just confused and maybe a little annoyed.” Virgil paused for half a second, pondering whether or not to say his next words. “Don’t be angry at yourself, or...disgusted. Lashing out without care is normal, especially for someone as passionate as you. I’m fine now, the additional pain has faded, and I’m not annoyed anymore.”

Roman slowly lifted his head and let himself make eye contact with Virgil. “I...But you still suffered, Virgil, at my hand.” Roman clenched his fist and closed his eyes.

Virgil let out a tiny laugh. “Seriously, Roman. I’m fine. I didn’t suffer or anything that dramatic. Stop beating yourself up about it.”

Roman stopped, looking back to Virgil. He took a deep breath. “Okay. I acted insensitively out of anger. It was stupid. I apologize. I understand that you were...wait, flattered?” Roman stopped, remembering what Virgil said earlier.

Virgil’s eyes widened. He forgot he’d said that. “Yeah,” he admitted, rubbing the back of his neck with his left hand. “‘Your safety is my priority’? ‘I will instigate nothing that will cause you harm’? Those are some pretty sweet words you said there, Roman. I guess it, uh…—” he lowered the volume of his voice, “—made me feel a little special.”

Roman’s face had reddened at Virgil repeating Roman’s declaration from the horseback ride and emphasizing its kindness. But he smiled too. He made Virgil feel special.

“Not to say I’m not aware of how drama and bold declarations of action and emotion are basically your main way of interacting with others,” Virgil started to backtrack, “and maybe it shouldn’t have flattered me the way it did, considering you always act like that, but it did, and I’m sorry it made me say something that hurt you.”

“You needn’t apologize further, Virgil,” Roman said, a fond smile adorning his features. “I am aware of how passionate I am, especially towards you, and I should have considered that before I did what I did. If what I say bothers you, please tell me. I have no desire to hurt you.”

Virgil’s gaze was on the grass from Roman’s offhanded flirtatious comment. “What you say doesn’t hurt me or anything, and I know it’s just you being you. Compliments aren’t something I navigate well either and it’s not like anyone else speaks half as dramatically as you, so if you say something nice, it’s really nice and I don’t know how to respond. That’s all.”

Roman chuckled, the smile staying on his face as he glanced over and internally marveled at Virgil’s lovely facial features. “Hmm, flustered Virgil. Something that seems so alluringly impossible but is existing before my eyes. Truly, a wonderful sight.” Roman’s smile only widened at Virgil blushing, and he got back on topic. “What else did you wish for us to discuss, Virgil? I remember you mentioning that there was more than one worry on your mind.”

“I, uh, yeah,” Virgil said weakly, still bashful from Roman’s words. “Roman...Patton’s hit to my stomach didn’t knock me out. It couldn’t have, to be honest. And I remember everything that happened. Everything that was said.”

Roman frowned. “What are you trying to say here, Virgil?”

“Why were you so angry?” Virgil asked softly, looking into Roman’s eyes. “You were so mad, so incredibly furious at Patton…. No one else was. And you didn’t know the whole story.”

“Virgil…”

“Again, I’m not mad,” Virgil clarified. “Or disappointed, or anything of the sort. I’m just confused. I mean, as soon as you learned Patton was the one who knocked me down, you were so angry! You didn’t even listen to his defense...it took Janus yelling at you and his explanation to shut y-- to stop your anger. Your apology was fine and sincere and Patton understood your actions so, again, I’m not mad. Why were you so angry, though? No one else was. But you were. Why?”

“I…” Roman trailed. “I care about you, Virgil. You know this.”

Virgil’s eyebrows creased. “Is this your way of telling me the others don’t?”

“No!” Roman exclaimed. “I just...didn’t like to see you hurt. My fight with Remus, while it got a bit angry verbally, neither of us were injured. The same happened in Janus and Logan’s sword fight. It was as if there was an unspoken rule that no one should be hurt. I didn’t think that you getting hurt was fair. And so I lashed out at Patton...the person who seemed to break that rule. I know it was wrong to do so as I didn’t have all the information and am very aware of how much he loves and cares for you, but I wasn’t thinking. I was just angry. I apologize. I know how much Patton means to you, and I’m sorry for making him feel bad when he shouldn’t. When he didn’t deserve it.”

Virgil nodded. “I get that, I guess. You don’t need to apologize any more though, you already did. Again, I’m just...shocked that you were the one who got so mad at him….”

“Is that really so hard to believe, emo nightmare?” Roman asked with a smile. “I’m the one in the group who goes after those who I believe have done wrong, I’m the one who doesn’t listen when I should—”

“Roman…”

“—and I’m also the one who tries to valiantly protect people. Not anyone else.”

Virgil chuckled, shaking his head. “You don’t need to protect me, Roman. I’m fight or flight, right? I can do the fight part for myself, you know.”

“Aww, but what if I want to protect you from harm?” Roman teased.

Virgil hit Roman’s shoulder lightly. “You don’t need to. Besides, the harm had already been done.”

Roman chuckled, taking a tiny step closer to Virgil. “Don’t try to stop me from protecting you, My Chemically Imbalanced Romance. There’s nothing you can do about it.”

Virgil snorted. “I can try.”

Roman laughed, shaking his head. “Why can’t you let me show my love for you the way I know how to?” The question was light, joking, casual. It meant next to nothing to Roman when it left his lips.

However, it had the opposite effect on Virgil. He looked down towards his feet, noticing how Roman was four feet away from him. The anxious side didn’t know whether to be happy the creative side couldn’t see his blush or sad he wasn’t closer.

“Y-Your love for me?” Virgil asked quietly, still looking at the grass.

“Of course, my raisin oatmeal cookie. You are my fellow side, my friend, my lovely Incredible Sulk! Don’t we all love you?” Roman replied, more nervous than he let on.

“O-Oh, yeah.”

“And even still, how could anyone not love you?” Roman said with a laugh.

Virgil’s face reddened further. “Can’t be too hard. I seemed to do it without trying.” The nervous side chuckled, approaching the worrisome comment casually, trying to impart sarcasm. He figured a joke would divert any possible attention from his blush.

Roman frowned, looking at the ducked head of Anxiety. “Well, that just won’t do.”

“...What?”

“My wonderful Charlie Frown, we can’t have you not loving yourself,” Roman said, dramatic but soft. He then put his hand under Virgil’s chin and delicately lifted it so he could meet his eyes. He gazed into them, admiring the beautiful shades of purple and green.

“Oh, Princey, it wasn’t that serious-” Virgil started to object, glancing away from Roman.

“No no no,” Roman silenced him, moving his hand from Virgil’s chin to in front of his lips, his index finger pointed up as a signal for him to stop talking. “You have to know how amazing you are, or at least learn.”

Virgil shook his head rapidly. “No. No, no. We are not doing this. It’s not that important anyway. Please don’t do this.”

Roman shook his head. “Do what? Tell you how spectacular you are?” His hand dropped from in front of Virgil’s mouth.

“Spectacular is subjective,” Virgil objected. “But yeah. Don’t do that.”

“Hmm…” Roman seemed to be pondering this. “Considering we are supposed to be talking about other topics, I guess I’ll do so another time, my dazzling Doctor Gloom.”

Virgil exhaled lightly. He was free of compliments for the time being. He didn’t dare argue, as that might cause Roman to take back what he said and say nice things about him. Virgil didn’t think he could take all of Roman’s dramatic sweetness, especially considering it was all platonic...right? He did say ‘friend’….

Roman looked at Virgil, his friend, his former enemy, with overwhelming love in his eyes. While it would be wrong of him to compliment him now, he couldn’t just leave that at that. He had to do something to demonstrate that Virgil should love himself. At least, that he was loved by others.

“Oh, Roman, look.” Virgil’s voice was small with wonder. His eyes left Roman’s and rested on the night sky above them. “The sun has set and the stars are out. There’s so many of them!”

Roman turned his head from Virgil to look. “Indeed. It’s quite beautiful.”

“Yeah…”

“Almost as beautiful as you.”

“You corny son of a bitch!” Virgil exclaimed, whacking Roman’s arm. “You said you’d stop complimenting me. And gosh, even if you still did, that was too cliché.”

“What? You walked right into it,” Roman defended with a shrug. “I’m not wrong either.”

Virgil took a deep breath, repressing his annoyance and a blush that wanted to crawl across his cheeks. “No more, Princey.”

Roman laughed, glancing at Virgil. His eyes lingered on the anxious side and the unique way the stars lit up the face Roman already adored so much.

Virgil glanced at Roman, doing a double take when he noticed the creative side’s eyes already on him. “What is it, Roman?”

Roman chuckled, placing his hand and laying his gaze on Virgil’s jaw, finger grazing over the white foundation that covered the emo’s face. He flicked his eyes up to meet the purple and green ones of his companion. “Oh, Virgil. Sweet Virgil.” Roman could see the red even through the makeup. He took a few steps closer to him. “May I kiss you?”

Virgil’s eyes widened. This was one of, no, the last thing he ever expected to leave Roman’s mouth. He stared at Roman—looking so absolutely majestic in the moonlight, so unbelievably attractive. His prince, his creativity, his talented, charming Roman was asking if he could kiss him.

“Please,” Virgil whispered, the one word laced with clear desire.

Roman smiled widely, looking down at his emo and placing his lips against his. They both closed their eyes, Roman’s hand not leaving Virgil’s jaw and his other arm encircling the purple side’s waist. Virgil wrapped his left arm around Roman’s neck and rested his right hand on the prince’s chest.

The kiss was delicate and so incredibly loving. It was purposeful, but soft. There was no lust but oh so much romance, no need for more but also quite desperate. The kiss wasn’t short—and it seemed just long enough—but it still had the two treat every second of it like precious gold as they savored the other like rich chocolate consumed on a warm evening. It left the two addicted to the other in a way that made sure what had just occurred would happen many more times in the future.

The two pulled away at the same time, letting their lips part so terribly slowly it was as if they were trying to make the most out of the last couple of seconds. Their eyes stayed closed, their arms not moving from where they were positioned on the other, and their faces flushed from the kiss.

Roman opened his eyes first: slowly, and with reluctance. He swept his thumb under Virgil’s closed right eye lightly, across his eyeshadow, and smiled at the beauty that was his emo. A part of him wanted him to lean down and kiss him more but another wanted to watch his radiant romance process what happened.

Roman watched as his purple prince opened his eyes slightly and smiled at him. Roman, already smiling, just looked at Virgil with fond wonder, always thinking the side couldn’t get more attractive and then constantly being proved wrong.

“Was it nice?” Roman asked after a comfortable silence, voice low and quiet. He moved his hand from Virgil’s jaw to brush hair out of his face.

“Nice? No,” Virgil replied at the same volume, sliding his right hand up Roman’s chest and around his neck. “Wonderful beyond words? Definitely.”

Roman put his forehead against Virgil’s, humming as he placed the hand formerly resting on his love’s face around his waist. “It is my sworn duty to make you happy.”

Virgil chuckled. “I suppose I shall have to take that ‘sworn duty’ upon myself in reference to you now, hmm?”

“Oh, my darling, you don’t have to do anything for me except exist happy and healthy in my arms.”

Virgil snorted. “You’re such a sap, you know that?”

“Yes, I do.”

The two stayed where they were in comfortable silence. Admiring the other, admiring the stars in their peripheral vision, relishing the magnificent feeling that came from being in each other’s arms.

“I had another question, you know.”

Roman hummed in acknowledgment.

“Why did you cast me as the cursed prisoner?”

“You were being annoying. Endearingly so, yes, but the fact still stands.”

“I’m always interrupting you with sarcasm,” Virgil said, shaking his head. “You wanted to save me, didn’t you? The prince, rescuing the prisoner. Very ‘damsel in distress’-esque, wouldn’t you agree?”

“Oh, give me a break. Who can blame me for wanting to save you, and what did you expect when I was given the opportunity?”

“It’s fine, Princey,” Virgil stated with a laugh. “It’s cute. Adorable, really. Very romantic.”

Roman groaned and gave his Virgil a kiss on the jawline. “Take it as a way to tell you that I will protect and save you from harm, especially throughout...whatever we have going on here.”

Virgil chuckled. “I can’t wait.”

The two heard the door to the Imagination open, but they didn’t move away from each other.

“Aww, you two,” Patton cooed. “I finished making dinner. Come now, kiddos, we’re already eating way too late.”

Virgil and Roman gave Patton a nod of acknowledgement and gave each other a short and final kiss before heading out of the Imagination.

~

Prince Charming Taglist -  @the-sympathetic-villain @justanotherhumanstuff @thistledown15

~

Hope you liked the next installment of this fic! Feel free to ask to be on the taglist, if you want.

[dal3ks]

secrets

pairing: peter parker x female reader 

word count: 2.3k

warnings: attempted rape, attempted sexual assault, cursing, crying, fluff

you let out a sigh, putting in an earbud. it was a dark, rainy night in queens. the sky was a solid blanket of black, the lights of the city reflecting in puddles as you walked down the block. you were heading home from a friend's house, as you had to work on a presentation for your spanish class. it was well past nine o'clock, but you still had enough time to make it home before curfew.

luckily, no one was out since it was a tuesday night. it made your walk home extremely peaceful, as the city usually bustled with people daily.

a hand grabbing your elbow shook you out of your trance. wildly, you turned to notice it was a tall, hooded man.

"give me your wallet now!" he barked.

shakily, you fumbled for your keychain in your pocket, terrified. you had a can of mace on you, dangling from your keychain, but you weren't sure if this man was carrying a gun or not.

with a slight dread, you remembered you left your wallet at home. what were you supposed to say? anxiety racked your brain, sending waves of adrenaline over you. what the fuck where you supposed to do?

"i-i, don't have my wallet, sir," your voice trembled with fear.

"looks like you're going to have to pay me another way then sweetheart," he crooned, yanking you towards him.

"hey!" a new voice came into your field of hearing, "leave her alone!"

you glanced up, relieved to see spider-man standing on the rooftop of a nearby building. he swung down, shooting a web at your attacker. he was thrown into the wall, confined by a large mass of sticky web. you felt the tears overflow from your face. this man was about to take advantage of you and you somehow were saved by spider-man. what were the chances of that happening?

"are you okay?" his voice was gentle. remarkably soft for such a strong individual. you immediately inferred spider-man was a lot younger than you thought.

you nodded, your hands still shaking, "yeah, i'm okay."

"i'll keep you safe until the police arrive, okay?" you felt a gloved hand place itself on your shoulder, "you're safe as long as i'm here."

spider-man didn't leave your side until the police came. he even stayed as you conferred with the police, remaining quiet throughout the entirety of the procedure. once they drove away, with your attacker, he turned back to you.

"would you like for me to walk you home?"

you nodded, "i-i'm about to miss curfew. i'll save you the trouble."

spider-man offered you his hand, "i have a quicker route. do you trust me?"

you nodded, taking his hand. god if your parents found out about what happened tonight, they would never let you out at night ever again. as long as you made curfew you would be all right.

he wrapped an arm around you, slinging a web onto a building. you became frozen with fear, as you were scared of heights. spider-man must have sensed your fear, because he wrapped his arm tightly around your waist.

"don't worry, i got you. you're safe with me."

with your directions, you got home in time for curfew. you said your goodbyes to the masked hero, and he slung off into the night, disappearing into the glittering lights of the city.

as you slept that night, the only thought on your mind was how familiar that voice was. who was spider-man? was his identity easier to crack than you thought?

******

you slid your lunch tray onto the table, already exhausted with the school day. your best friends, peter, ned, and m.j., were already chowing down on their lunch. peter and ned were in a heavy discussion about their LEGO Death Star model, while m.j. was silently sketching in her notebook.

"so i was almost raped last night," you stated, your tone solemn.

"WHAT?" ned choked on his sandwich, "what happened? are you okay?"

you nodded, picking at your salad, "yeah, I'm fine. spider-man swooped in and saved me. he even stayed with me until the police arrived, and then took me home."

peter immediately perked up at the mention of spider-man, "i'm glad you're okay. maybe you should start walking home with somebody, just to be on the safe side."

you scoffed, "peter i have been roaming the streets of queens since i was eleven. my parents raised me well. i know how to protect myself. that's why i carry mace with me. but thank you, for the suggestion. last night was just some weird encounter with some weirdo. the good thing is that i am safe and without harm."

"yeah," m.j. agreed, "we've all been running the streets since we were in middle school, peter. we all know how to protect ourselves. i think last night was just weird for (y/n)."

peter frowned, "i just care about my friend, that's all."

"hey," ned began, "i was thinking that maybe we could all hang out friday night? my mom and pops are going to be out of town for the weekend so all of you guys could stay the night."

you felt yourself smile, "that sounds fun! can i bring some snacks?"

"you know i wouldn't turn down snacks," ned laughed, "but yeah, i think i'll order some pizza for us, and we can watch trashy romantic comedies all night."

"i won't be over till later," peter mumbled.

"how late is later?" you felt yourself frown again.

"like ten," peter replied, not looking at you or any of your friends.

"weird but okay," m.j. shrugged, "just means there's more pizza for me. you're going to be missing out parker but it's cool. do whatever you gotta do for that internship or whatever."

"see you guys tomorrow night," ned flashed us a wide smile, "it should be a lot of fun."

******

"hey, shouldn't peter be here by now," m.j. glanced at the clock. it was 10:08 p.m., and still no sign of peter.

so far you, ned, and m.j. were all having tons of fun. you guys had ordered pizza, watched a movie or two, talked about your future plans, and also made another time to hang out. the only person that would complete the group was peter, and he was nowhere to be found. he wasn't answering any of his texts or calls.

ned and m.j. didn't seem too concerned, as they were just chatting happily about what to name the kitten ned was about to adopt from a shelter next week. you sighed, "i'm going to go call my parents really quick, i'll be right back."

"okay," ned nodded, "take your time."

since they were in ned's room, you slipped out of the apartment, heading towards the roof. you just wanted some peace and quiet for a second. you also wanted to call peter and make sure he was still coming. ned was dying to eat the last few pizza slices, but you guys were saving those for peter.

once you were on the roof, you noticed a figure sitting on the edge. you felt your throat tighten, and you instinctively clutched your can of mace on your keychain. you didn't want wednesday night to happen all over again. the memory frightened you too much.

"hey," your voice was firm, "who are you?"

as you approached the figure, you felt yourself soften. it was spider-man, donned in his red and blue suit. he must not have heard you, as he kept his head focused on the city skyline.

"hey!" you called again, and this time he turned.

you felt yourself stiffen. there sat peter, a cut on his lip, along with a slight black eye. suddenly, everything clicked into place. you remembered why spider-man's voice was familiar. spider-man was peter parker, one of your best friends.

"oh my god," you choked out, "peter?"

he sprang up, "listen, (y/n), i can explain everything, i promise."

"how?" you suddenly felt guarded, "how are you going to explain to me this huge fucking secret that you've been hiding from everyone?"

peter's voice was quiet, "ned and m.j., they know. they both know."

you felt tears spring up in your eyes, how could they all be hiding this big secret from you? you guys had all been friends since middle school. the four of you had been through a lot: the first year of high school, the death of peter's uncle, a couple of divorces between parents. how could they be hiding something like this from you?

"great," that was the only word that came out of your mouth, "so how was i supposed to find out? because i assume you guys were going to just keep sneaking this behind my back. you guys are some pretty crappy friends you know that? it really shows what kind of friend you are, peter."

peter flinched, as if your words were pure venom, "(y/n), i didn't just tell them. ned was at my apartment, in my room, when he found out. m.j., she was smart enough to fit all of the pieces together. i didn't tell them just because i wanted to hide it from you. i wanted to keep this part of me hid away from everyone. it's a lot safer that way. no one is targeted or harmed."

"does your aunt know?" your lip trembled, and you wiped your nose with your sleeve.

the tears were spilling over onto your cheeks. a flash of embarrassment passed through you. this was the first time in a while peter had seen you cry. you felt like you looked like a wreck.

"she found out the hard way," he stated, "she walked in on me in my suit. i had to explain everything to her. besides, she's the only family i have. of course i'm close with the avengers, and tony stark, but she's my family. she had a right to know sooner, and i felt guilty for never telling her in the beginning. hell, i felt guilt everyday because you guys didn't know. you, ned, and m.j., you guys are my best friends. you guys deserved to know, too. but i felt safer hiding the truth because if other people find out, really evil people, you all could be the first to get hurt. and i don't want that. i don't want my family hurt. i don't want my friends hurt. i don't want the girl i love, hurt."

“and who’s that,” you sniffled, “m.j.?”

"no," peter shook his head, approaching you, "the girl i love is you, (y/n). i love you."

pink spread into your cheeks at his words, and you bit your lip. you had the biggest crush on peter, and you had feelings for him almost the entirety of your friendship. that's why you always cared about him so much and his disappearances. it worried you sometimes when he wasn't at school, or when he never showed up to hangout with the friend group. but now, you had an explanation to everything. and you weren't sure how to feel.

a part of you was extremely hurt that your friends hid this big secret from you. you guys told each other everything. you even talked about your previous boyfriends, sex life, etc. to them. the least they all could have done was sit you down and explain everything.

yet, a large part of you wasn't hurt. you were relieved that peter felt the same way about you. you wanted to start a relationship with him, but you were never sure how. now, was your opportunity, especially since he feels the same way.

"peter," you drew in a breath, cupping his cheek with your hand, "i love you too."

he smiled slightly, "that makes me really happy to hear."

"i'm still kind of upset about this," you admitted, your eyes locking with his.

"i understand why," he assured you, "it was wrong of me to exclude you from this part of my life. it's just all because i want to keep you safe. more than anything i want you to be safe. if something ever happened to you, god, i don't know what i would do. i would be so lost."

"you don't have to worry about losing me or anything like that," you reassured him, placing a gentle kiss on his cheek.

"something almost happened the other night," peter mumbled, "i was so relieved that i was able to stop that guy from hurting you."

"me too," you murmured, "thank you for saving me."

"you don't have to thank me for protecting you," peter chuckled, "i want to protect you regardless."

"peter!" a voice made you freeze. you both looked over to see m.j. and ned had found their way onto the roof.

"hey guys," peter waved, "how's the sleepover?"

"it's okay," m.j. shrugged, "i could tell (y/n) was going through a crisis waiting for you. she looked like a lost puppy."

"hey," your voice was indignant, "it's not my fault. i care about him a lot."

"so it comes out," ned teased you, "well how about you clean up, peter, and then we can start a movie. maybe i'll be nice and let you two share the love seat."

you four walked back to ned's apartment, peter's arm wrapped around your shoulders. once you guys were back in the apartment, he changed out of his suit. once peter was all changed and fed, you guys settled in the living room. peter let you curl up against him on the couch, and you guys cuddled all night long.

you felt safe in peter's arms, and you knew he would keep ensuring you felt safe for a very long time.

[sonicringbond]

Sonic Ring Bond: The Journey - Scene 47

Well, I’m going to keep this intro short today. There isn’t really a lot of ways I can set up leading into today’s scene. So, please jump straight into...

    “Hee-hee! It’s really you!” Rosy giggled and could not keep herself still. She fidgeted all about and her tail was wagging with more energy than usual. Then, in an explosion of joy she flung herself at who she was speaking with. “TAILS!”

    “Ha-ha!” Tails laughed and struggled to keep himself balanced as Rosy embraced him in a huge diving hug. “It’s good to see you too Rosy! Woah!”

    Spun about by the force of Rosy’s embrace, Tails put his namesake twin tails to use and flew up with Rosy joyously hanging on to him. The sight was almost too much for Draw and Blister.

    “My, he’s an interesting one, isn’t he?”

    “Is he… I mean… how exactly…,” Draw stammered in comparison to Blister’s smooth handling of her surprise. Though that could have been partly due to her being a pirate and a merchant, or just the deliberate and sleepy sounding way she spoke.

    To calm Draw down, Sonic gently rapped his knuckles against his head. Clutching his head, the koala angrily turned onto Sonic. “What was that for!”

    “Just lending a hand,” Sonic laughed as he really did mean Draw no harm. As Draw was blunter than Blister and was not familiar with Tails like Mighty and Gill, Sonic did have to take a moment to be a little more serious. “And you can help him out by not making a fuss about them. Until you’re used to them enough to consider them normal, and by then you shouldn’t have a reason to.”

    “I get it, just don’t hit me!” Draw complained, even though he knew Sonic meant him no harm. Still, he had to get the last word in. And Sonic let him, though his smug smile told Draw it was not his victory. There was no time to keep at it though as everyone fully disembarked from Blister’s airship and moved to greet Tails.

    ~I’m so happy to have caught up with Tails, and of course he’s being as amazing as ever!

    ~Picking up his Ring Radio was a total surprise as Blister was simply trying to make sure hers was properly integrated with her ship. It’s something we can ask Tails to double check on later, but he’s been pretty busy. Being amazing of course~♥

    ~The last we knew, Tails was looking for another pit of radio signal boosting crystals like the ones at Radio Point. What he found instead was a whole medieval castle town, and not a normal one! This one was built entirely upside down on the underside of a giant land bridge. Maybe…~

    “It’s pretty wild Sonic,” Tails happily explained to Sonic as he gave the whole group a tour of where he had been researching. Despite having been separated for so long, it was impossible to tell with how naturally he talked about his findings. “It looks like the city was built upside down, but what purpose would that serve. If my research is right, then it was actually put here by a Ring Shift.”

    “So, what about the people who lived here?”

    Looking around as Tails led the group across the underside of a bridge, Sonic was not wrong to ask. The castle town itself looked like it could have easily supported quite a large population, however, there was no sign of anyone. Tails was more than glad to share his latest hypothesis though.

    “That’s the thing Sonic, there’s no way they should have tried living here, but it looks like they did and probably moved out on their own when it got to be too much.”

    “How is that possible Tails?” Rosy asked, genuinely curious.

    “You want to find out?”

    “Yeah!”

    “You two aren’t about to cause us a lot of trouble, are you?” Sonic asked, scratching inside his ear.

    “It’ll be fun, I’m sure!” Rosy threw all her faith into Tails. “Tails wouldn’t tease it if it wasn’t.”

    “Why do I have a bad feeling about this?” Draw asked and received a comforting hand on his shoulder from Mighty.

    “I would say it’s because it’s what those two do. Keeping them out of trouble is as hard as keeping the wind out of a storm.”

    “That’s impossible,” Draw stared at Mighty disbelieving as he replied.

    Mighty’s smile and lone bead of sweat down his cheek did nothing to alleviate his concern, and Gill spoke up to make matters worse.

    “That should give you an idea lad. Last time I accompanied them things just kept getting worse. And I still don’t see how they’ve gotten better.”

    “If you’re so worried about being in danger, you could always leave,” Blister suggested and earned a scowl from Gill.

    Rosy was too distracted to keep the mouse and frog off each other as she took Tails’ offered hand as the fox took off. Flying up towards the deserted city street above, Rosy suddenly felt gravity shift and would have fallen into Tails if he were unprepared.

    “W-O-W~!” Rosy squealed with delight. “This is amazing Tails! But what’s going on?”

    Looking up past the now gravitationally righted Tails, Rosy saw Sonic and the other’s standing on the underside of the bridge above her, and the cloudy sky beyond.

    “It’s some type of anomalous gravity field,” Tails explained. “But it doesn’t affect the entire city equally. And you can tell people tried living here for a while after the shift due to the various twisting roads and bridges throughout the city.”

    “If they were building things–”

    “Then they must have lived here for a while,” Tails finished Rosy’s thought. “But that isn’t the only thing that could have driven them out. Do you remember where the others are standing?”

    “Yeah,” Rosy answered confused and looked back towards Sonic and the others. She missed Tails’ smile and thus was shocked when she turned back forward to see Tails flying straight for a brick wall. “Kya~! Tails watch out! We’re going to crash!”

    ~The crash never came. Ooh~! I’m so mad at Tails for giving me such a scare, even if it turned out to be fun as we flew at the wall but almost crashed into Sonic and the others.

    ~According to Tails, the whole city is full of these weird little ‘dimensional disturbances’. He figures its part of what has been interfering with Ring Radio signals in the lands under Yolk since they transmit across dimensions. It isn’t what he was looking for when he headed out from Radio Point, but it was a great find for him.

    ~I’m so happy for Tails, and I know that he could study this stuff forever, but now that we’ve met back up… Well, it means we have to find Zooey and Fang and get back to working on going home. Though we may need to figure out the Gear Star Ring in my eye first. Hee-hee! It hasn’t replaced my left iris at all since finding Tails, so I nearly forgot about it. Really, seeing Tails again after so long, I nearly forgot about everything.

    ~Reality is such a bully though!~

    “So, that’s your ship Ms. Blister?” Tails asked as they made their way back around the undersides of bridges and roof eaves to where the half avocado shaped airship was effectively moored.

    “It is,” Blister nodded proudly. “It’s my pride and joy! The Avocado Green I call it!”

    “That name is certainly… flavorful,” Tails nervously attempted to be kind about the strange name. Not having the courage to look the mouse who captained it in the eye, Tails looked at the ship and found a topic of conversation to switch to.

    “And it looks like you have quite the crew. I can hardly believe your ship can hold them all.”

    “What are you talking about?” Blister asked and turned her eyes onto her ship. “Oh dear, it looks like I’m being raided actually.”

    “Raided!”

    Tails shout drew everyone’s attention and in no time, they were all aware of the variety of autogolems crawling all over Blister’s vessel.

   It was not Draw’s first time seeing autogolems that looked like they were crafted to resemble the armor of medieval knights, and he knew there was troubling waiting for them and reached for his bow. “Those aren’t yours, right?”

    “No, but I’d appreciate it if you didn’t wreck my ship. Ms. Rosy has told me about your penchant for explosives.”

    “I guess that’s your cue, Sonic,” Mighty offered Sonic a smile and received a confident smirk in return.

    “Why not. Bashing bots is kind of my thing.”

    “Can I join you!” Rosy clasped her hands together and asked with excited eyes and wagging trail.

    “Sorry kid,” Sonic denied her request and ruffled her bangs. “In this terrain we can only risk Tails having to catch one of us.”

    “Ooh~! Well, you better put on a show then!”

    “Heh,” Sonic laughed and pointed a thumb at himself. “You know you don’t have to worry about that. Just who do you think I am?”

    “Sonic the Hedgehog of course!” Rosy cheered and thrust her balled up hands into the air. Opening her eyes and bringing her arms down, she cheered Sonic on. “Go get them!”

    “No problem!”

    With an instinct that bordered on supernatural, Sonic took off for the airship at a pace none could match. And not because they didn’t have his speed, but no one could use it like Sonic. Surely the auto golems would soon be helpless scrap before the coming streak of blue. Except…

    “Ho!”

    It was the first time any of them were seeing Claymore the Purple in person, and the towering purple autogolem at his full three meters did not disappoint as he stopped Sonic in mid-air.

    “What in the–?” Sonic questioned as a force pressed him tighter into his curled form and kept him rotating.

    “Impressive to see a Ring Mage choose to enter a melee,” Claymore remarked, as his outstretched hand kept Sonic held in a slowly shrinking ring of purple light. “But no matter. I’ve come for the medium. Well, having interrupted your Ring Radio transmission. Ho! How fortuitous I am this day!”

    With a flick of his wrist, Claymore launched Sonic deep into the castle town and turned his glowing purple eyes on Rosy.

    “Ho! Forgive my rudeness Lady Medium. I am Claymore the Purple, Knight of the Order of the Swords. Now be so kind as to come along peacefully.”

Scene 47 · CLEARED Reunion Knight, to be continued

----

I find myself wanting to laugh just like Rosy did at the start of this. Obviously by the end it wasn’t too cheerful anymore, not with Sonic being yeeted off to who knows where. But, Tails is finally here again. It’s actually kind of wild writing with him involved as he really feels like the glue of the AU. His smarts and enthusiasm for his research; it’s just amazing to write really. Hopefully in the future it will be just as easy and he’ll help tie everything together nicely with that Sonic feel I sometimes feel like I’m missing.

Thank for reading everyone! I hope you’ll be back for the next scene!

-----

Special Thanks to Cutegirlmayra Story by @JoshTarwater/SonicFanJ Inspiring Song – Blue Skies – Tsutomu Narita – Granblue Fantasy Story Music Tracks

Fair Use Disclaimer

Sonic the Hedgehog and all affiliated characters and logos are the express property and Copyright© of SEGA SAMMY HOLDINGS used without permission under Title 17 U.S.C Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976 in which allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. “Fair use” is use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be considered copyright infringement. The Sonic Ring Bond: The Journey alternate universe (AU) consumer written work of fiction is a non-profit transformative work primarily for personal use and can and will be taken down without warning or prior notice at the request of the copyright holder(s) should it not be recognized under “fair use”.

*Sonic Ring Bond logo created by DEE Art – twitter.com/daryliscute.

Sonic Ring Bond AU and Sonic Ring Bond: The Journey are the creation of Joshua David Tarwater/ynymbus/sonicfanj/@Joshtarwater and is to be, including all contents herein considered for all legal purposes the property of the Sonic the Hedgehog intellectual property (IP) and copyright owners, SEGA SAMMY HOLDINGS. All story contributors via prompt, suggestion, written scene, art, and all and every other contribution acknowledge that all contributed material is forfeit for legal purposes to SEGA SAMMY HOLDINGS upon official request from SEGA SAMMY HOLDINGS.

[yanara126-writing]

Death and the Sunrise (1/2)

Berath has always known their role, they are the axis on which the Wheel turns. They are stability. They are not mortal, not alive, not a being with a family. And yet, as Eothas once again goes against all they were created for, they only watch.

-

Read here or on Ao3. (1451 words)

Have fun! Comments always welcome! :)

-

Your eyes are open, though something tells you they shouldn’t be. You look around. The world is purple. How strange, you could have sworn it was dark just a second ago. Did Berath call you again?

“I have not. Your soul is bound to this place now however, and sometimes it seeks the way back here on its own. You will not remember this once you wake.”

You blink in surprise.

“You wanted to ask.” Berath says, looking at you with the same stoic face she has always presented at your meetings. Is the deity even capable of something else? And how did she know the question that never quite formed enough to be asked?

“You are one of my creatures now, hound, as much as you were his. There is nothing of you I do not know.” At some point in your life that may have intimidated you, but at this point, what is one more ominous claim.

Perhaps it’s wishful thinking, but for a moment you think Berath’s feature softer, an odd tinge of fondness appearing and vanishing in the blink of an eye.

“Indeed. You have come far from your days spent cowering in his protection.” You blink again. Cowering seems an unfairly harsh choice of words for a childhood.

Berath remains steadfast. Her hands on her sword, towering over the tiny spectral form before her. Unfaced. Unmoved.

“For someone who knows so much, you understand very little, child.” And what should you understand? It’s not like any of them ever explain things! Except for Woedica now apparently, and you are very hesitant to believe anything that woman tells you. You doubt Woedica has ever done anything without an ulterior, self-serving motive since the day she was born.

“You know better than most that we were not born, Watcher, no matter what my brother likes to pretend. Why do you insist on referring to us like this?” Because- because they are alive too, in their own way. Aren’t they?

“We are not, Watcher. We weren’t born but created, each of us had a purpose they were crafted for.” Something remains hanging in the air. Something aside from the ever-present soulfragments flitting about as if searching for a new body already. Had a purpose?

Berath’s gaze remains hard and cold, ever the world’s constancy, but it seems farther now, almost looking through you. Seeing something her own wheel had long crushed.

“Most of us have long lost that original purpose. You see what my brother has become, do you think Eora would still stand had he always been like this?” And how should you answer this? You see the destruction your god wrecks in his path every day, and each time break a little more. For all those come to harm, and for Him, for you know just how much it breaks him as well. Could it really be worth it? Could it be worth what would come after? You feel your head tilt up to the looming figure, like a child seeking affirmation from a parent. A strange way to think of Her of all the gods, but it seems appropriate.

“I have no answer for you.” How can She not? Does She not think it will work? Why does She still let Eothas go free if She doesn’t?

For the first time Berath’s stoic façade moves. The goddess of death sighs, a long sigh, deep and filled with more emotion than you have ever felt from Her. She sounds tired. But the crack in her composure is already gone the next second.

„My brother is a soft-hearted fool. And I am too for allowing him his weakness.“ You don’t understand. How could you?

“I have told you that we have lost our original purpose, my brother is not the only one for who this is true.” Berath’s gaze is almost expectant as it settles on you more deeply. You feel like a young acolyte again, being tested in school. But for once you think you might know the answer, even if you’re not entirely clear on the question. Woedica?

Berath nods and you feel a strange rush of satisfaction.

“Woedica was created as our queen, but her power and ambition posed a threat to us and kith, and so we dethroned her. She still is, still holds her title above us, but the truth is, her role has changed. She is no longer queen or judge, though she pretends to be. We have accommodated to this change, and the years have not passed us by either.” You stare up at her, more confused than before. It was more than she’s ever told you, and yet it’s far too little to truly make sense of her words. Why is she telling you this?

“Because you won’t remember regardless. You never do.” A wave of defiance floods through you. Why shouldn’t you remember? This is the one time you actually seem to get some answers, and you will make sure to write down every one of them later.

Her odd choice of words passes you by, unnoticed as defiance makes you stare upwards.

Berath is as unmoved as ever. Obviously, she doesn’t believe you. You will make sure to prove her wrong.

“What you believe is of no significance to me.” Then why tell you?

Berath looks at you. To others it might seem like any other time she’d looked at you, but you know better. She looks at you like Eothas once did, standing in an ocean looking back at you. Brows pinched just so, her shoulders a tad lower than before, and her eyes the matt black of a starless night sky, you feel a vague sense of regret settling over you.

“Because I do not wish for my brother to die.” At any other time, you might have rejoiced at the words, but now they are only infuriating. What does it mean? Why should He die? How will you knowing this help Him? Especially if, as Berath claims, you won’t remember it?

“You won’t remember, no, but perhaps, if I just tell you often enough, He will.” Something presses against you, sharp and insistent. The purple in your sight becomes darker, denser, and you feel the weight of an uncountable amount of soul pieces pulling closer, latching onto you, as they recognize your turmoil. You understand, they are confused, and you are familiar, something alive, stable. It doesn’t make bearing their attention any easier.

Berath takes one hand off her sword far above you and swipes it through the air, as if flicking away insects, and perhaps for her it is. The souls clawing at you are ripped away, scattering back into the beyond, and for a moment you stumble after them from the force of the command.

The next moment you find yourself back in the spot you stood before, without remembering any movement on your part. You glance up to Berath, confused and frightened at the reminder that this is not your realm. You have no power here. You are as much at her mercy as these souls around you.

You want to keep asking, but you feel your throat close up and no sound comes through. Vaguely you are aware that you have no throat here, but logic has no power against the fear welling up inside you. The world around becomes unfocused, her face alone takes up your sight. White, bony skin stretching across high cheek bones, eyes blacker than the void surrounding you, stringy hair just as dark hanging limply over her ears.

You feel cold. Your surroundings are too loud and too quiet at the same time. Something pulls at you. Is it her? Has she finally grown sick of you? You can’t die again! You have to know! You have to ask! You have to-

You hear quiet thumps and feel a soft swaying beneath you. A familiar queasy feeling already settles in your stomach and you swallow down a groan. Your body feels heavy and sluggish, much like you felt almost every day five years ago. Whatever you dreamt last night, it can’t have been good.

You throw your arm over your face, the coolness of your skin helping somewhat against the headache building behind your eyes. Any dream or nightmare you had is long gone from your memory, so you’re fairly certain it wasn’t another memory. Your brain always made sure you’d remember those.

With a sigh you pull yourself from the bed, putting a hand against the ship’s wall to steady yourself. There is work to be done. You only hope you’ll hit land today.

The strange feeling of urgency stays with you the whole day.

[foxfire-midnight-wings-writing]

The Sky Burns with Fire

Second part of the Spider Virgil series! 

For those of you who enjoyed these so far, this is going to be part of a series! You can find the series under the fanfic masterlist, if you’re interesting in looking at that one too. If you’d like to talk more about this AU, you can send me an ask at @foxfire-and-midnight-wings​ or on here.

[first] [next]

[Fanfic Masterlist]

Warnings: Hinted panic attack, mention of spider traits, anxious/depressive/intrusive thoughts, mental breakdowns, self-blame/self-hate, unhealthy coping mechanisms, allusion to self-harm, overworking/overexertion and mention of the collapse that happens afterward,

[Argument Aftermath]

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

Virgil goes into his room to see Janus and Remus already there, the former who looks pretty guilty

Virgil is still shaking, and when Janus sees the state he’s in, his guilt increases by tenfold

Both Janus and Remus back off to give him space, and Janus ask Virgil if he wants them to leave

“Please, don’t.” “... Alright, but if you change your mind, please let us know.”

Virgil goes into his side bathroom and takes off his makeup, and then changes into his hoodie that Remus made specifically to let his spider legs through too

He goes out and climbs into his hanging hammock, and just curls up underneath the covers for a while

He has to forcefully remind himself to do the 4-8-7 exercise, which he is very thankful about because it helps him try to get his mind off of what happened

His anxiety keeps throwing thoughts through his head that he knows aren’t true, but it still made it hard for him to focus at times

Janus makes them all some tea, and starts to try and make Virgil a snack to eat

Remus remembers about how Virgil would sometimes have worse panic attacks if he was around others in a quiet room, so he starts to hum really loud

Janus eventually joins him, and after a couple minutes they’re both quietly singing an abundance of different musical songs

The singing mixed with the breathing exercise helps Virgil have something else to distract him from his thoughts. He was tempted to blast music through his headphones to try and drown out the anxious thoughts, but once Remus started humming he decided against it

After around 30 minutes, Virgil is calm enough to come back down, and he takes the tea gratefully

It’s silent for maybe a minute, before Janus apologizes

He goes on to say that he knows they all said Virgil’s name was something that could be talked about and revealed, but that the situation was not the best place to say it.

“I know that this entire situation was agreed upon so we could help the others not know about our friendship, and so they wouldn’t question you about us. By making it an intentional topic of ‘tension’, it would deter them from asking about us, and in turn would prevent them from asking about your spider traits. But if you want us to stop or to bring back the intensity, please let us know. I know that the acting can get intense, and that it may feel too real at times, and I want you to know that it’s okay if we need to change our plans.”

He goes on to say that he knows Virgil may need time away from them after some of their “arguments” to help calm down, and that it’s perfectly okay with both him and Remus.

Virgil is just sitting here drinking his tea after the first 5 minutes of this internally going “alright, okay, I know.”

After Janus is done with his long talk, Virgil just looks him in the eyes and goes “bitch”

At first, Janus isn’t sure how to react. Because he just spent over five minutes telling Virgil that if he needed the plan to change, it was perfectly fine with them. And the first thing Virgil says is “bitch.”

There’s like. A moment of silence before Janus just goes “Does that mean okay?? What????”

Virgil starts laughing at this, before nodding

The whole reason Virgil is doing this, which Janus and Remus catch onto, is because he’s scared to confront the problem in a serious talk due to his anxiety

It isn’t even the fact that he doesn’t want to talk about it, no, he really wants to!

But his anxiety just keeps screaming “serious talk = bad”

He doesn’t even know why, but that’s why he tries joking. Almost as a way to lift the atmosphere a little and to help him calm down a little bit

They spend a couple more minutes joking around a little before Remus goes “Seriously though, Virge, if you need us to stop we can.”

After that, they actually start to talk about it

Much to Virgil’s reluctance, because his anxiety is constantly screaming at him. Fears about them wanting to leave him, hating him, and them telling him they don’t want to be friends anymore swirl around in his head

(What if they want to use this as a cover-up to stop talking to me? What if they’re using it as a way to try and tell me they hate me? To let me down gently? What if, what if, what if-)

They agree that they’ll continue the plan (much to Janus’ reluctance because he still feels bad), and they will meet up after every argument to talk about what was said and how to move forward.

Janus keeps reiterating to them both that if they need a break after an argument that it’s fine and they just need to say so.

Janus makes them some halloween themes cookies with Virgil’s help, and Remus decorates (after he promises to only use icing)

Virgil admits while eating the cookies that the name reveal did make him a little anxious, but that he knew it was one of the topic that would come up eventually (even if it wasn’t from Remus or Janus)

He says that he just needed the time in his hammock to recharge mentally and to calm down a little

He doesn’t blame Janus, and just says that it “gives him more of a reason to be on bad terms with the ‘dark sides’”

Basically, he says “it’s cool, it just sped up the other sides being uncomfortable talking about you two around me”

Eventually, they eat an actual meal before going to hang out in Janus’s room underneath his heat lamp

They all accidentally fall asleep there, but none of them mind (it’s not the first time they did this)

(But they always make sure to not let ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ know what’s going on. No one bothers to try telling him what happened.)

[How is Patton after all of this?]

well, Patton is very clearly wrecked.

He doesn’t take well the fact that Virgil was hiding something like that from them. Why? Because he worries that Virgil didn’t feel safe enough around them to say his real name and that they just pressured him into saying it

He feels bad because this was revealed and knows that Virgil is probably taking the reveal as bad as him

Which makes him feel guilty because he feels like he shouldn’t be feeling this bad because it wasn’t him who had a secret revealed after a huge argument

Needless to say, he cries more than a few tears

He slowly starts to get some intrusive depressive thoughts

Mainly, self-hatred and blame

He starts to blame himself for what happened, for not being able to stop it. He basically ends up arguing with himself over the entire situation

‘You should’ve done more, now look what happened. Virgil and Janus are both hurt, Virgil had a secret revealed and is probably having a panic attack over it, and you’re not even there to comfort him. What kind of father are you if you’re not even able to be there for your family?’

‘No, there wasn’t anything I could do to stop it. They were already too far gone when I tried to intervene.’

‘Oh? Then why didn’t you intervene earlier?’

‘...’

‘Why didn’t you stop them sooner? Why didn’t you?’

‘I-... I don’t know...’

‘That’s a lie. You know exactly why. You just won’t admit it.’

‘Shut up. You’re not real, and you’re wrong. That wasn’t why’

‘Ah, but you know why, you just admit it. You just don’t want to face it.’

‘You were scared. But of who?’

‘See, that’s the thing! I don’t have a reason to have been scared.’

‘But you still didn’t do anything. You could’ve, but you didn’t. You were scared. You were a coward,’

‘Shut up! Just shut up!’

Patton, unlike Virgil or Remus, doesn’t have any way he’s found to fully drown the voice in his head out. He tries music, but it rarely works.

It’s a good thing that they’re not real, otherwise he definitely would’ve damaged his hearing by how loud he would play it.

There’s one other way that he’s tried to get it to stop but... he really doesn’t want to resort to that. He knows it’s unhealthy, and he really hates doing it

But sometimes it feels like it’s the only escape

So this time, when he spends 10 minutes blasting his music through his earbuds at maximum volume and the thoughts are still racing through his head, he makes up his mind

He takes off his earbuds and turns his phone off before locking his door. After all, he doesn’t want anyone to find out what he’s about to do

[How is Roman?]

He’s not taking it well. Like, at all. And that’s putting it lightly

He feels extremely mad at himself, but he feels overwhelming anger at Janus

‘How could he just say that?! Has he no pride or respect?’

Hidden underneath all the layers of anger, is guilt, shame, and fear

He blames himself for Virgil hiding his name, and he fears that his nicknames and teasing was actually taken seriously

He knows it probably wasn’t, considering Virgil often engaged in the banter and they rarely got into an actual argument. Most of the time they were small, teasing arguments. 

He fears that what he perceived as fun banter was actually being taken seriously and to heart. And that scares him most of all

Following the guilt of the possible miscommunication is shame

‘I’m the hero, I should’ve realized it was making him uncomfortable! And I should’ve seen if he was truly hurt by it,’ he thinks, ‘But I’m not, am I? There’s bound to have been signs that he was taking it seriously, but if I don’t really know him as well as I thought, how could I expect those little cues that I’m familiar with to have been true?’

‘Just how much was shown, but brushed off? Did I really fail to notice all of this for so long?’

After this, the anger is quickly drown out by the overwhelming guilt and shame.

It only takes a few more minutes for the tears to start to fall

Distantly, he wonders what else Virgil felt he had to hide from them just to avoid being ridiculed or hurt

The crying slowly morphs into a full-blown mental breakdown.

It lasts maybe 15, maybe 30 minutes. He’s not fully aware of how much time passes, but he knows that afterwards he is exhausted.

He takes a good 4 to 5 hour nap after he finishes, the mental and physical drain having finally taken its toll and making him basically pass out

When he wakes up, he still feels just as drained as before, but now he has a headache to accompany it

He feels super shitty, but knows that Virgil probably was also having a rough time with his anxiety and was probably worried that they would think of him differently, so he makes up his mind on what to do

After all, he couldn’t tell how much time had really passed (and was frankly too tired to bother checking), so he rules out trying to go to the Imagination

Normally, when he needed something to distract himself with, or he needed to let out some pent-up anger, he would go into the Imagination. He didn’t always go there, but when the thoughts were all-consuming and he needed a physical outlet, the Imagination was the best coping mechanism he could find

He knew it was much better than any other possibly more harmful alternatives (but he sometimes still succumbed to them. Not often, but sometimes he couldn’t help it.)

While his weren’t obvious in how they were harmful, if you saw how he looked afterwards you could tell it was hurting him. 

What did he do? 

He overworked himself. 

Painting until his fingers hurt too much to move, making music on different instruments until his mouth hurt and his fingers refused to move in time, creating drawings until his tools broke or his hand hurt too much to continue, dancing until he collapsed, the list goes on.

Basically, he worked himself until he either was in too much pain to continue or until he collapsed

In addition to all this, he didn’t want his creations to see him like this, or worse, be influenced by his state. That would only lead to disaster, and he knew that from experience.

What he decides to do isn’t much better than what he normally would’ve, but he’s going to make a large painting with Virgil’s full name displayed and a bunch of different designs around it

Storm clouds, purple and black striped hearts, gothic architecture, spider webs, etc.

He promises himself not to work himself to the point he normally would’ve, just to make sure no one else noticed. He wanted to give Virgil something to help him know that he’s loved and appreciated

If Virgil saw him absolutely wrecked because of it? He knew that Virgil would just blame himself for it

So he gets to work on the painting, which is huge.

Like, it’s probably ~8 by ~6 feet. Like I said, it’s huge

And he basically holes himself up there for multiple hours. He doesn’t bother checking the time, he just wants this done and to be the best it can be

Which, honestly, isn’t good. He almost works himself down like he normally would, but then he stops to think about what to do as a “break”

He doesn’t want to stop being productive because he hates the feeling of not doing anything, or having anything to focus on, and he knows that if he is left alone with his thoughts he will probably spiral again

So he goes to Logan to ask if there’s anyone famous in history with the name Virgilius, hopefully someone with written works so he can put different quotes there

He’s rewarded with Logan’s research (but he’s too caught up in his own work to notice how frazzled Logan looks) and goes to add on little quotes from the poets Publius Vergilius Maro and Virgil Carianopol, along with the writer Virgil the Grammarian

It takes him another couple of hours to figure out which quotes he wants to find, because he wanted some that he felt Virgil would like, which was fairly hard at times. 

It helped give his hands a little bit of a break, but honestly? Not much. Instead of drawing and painting, they were typing. He considers it a break, though, so that’s what matters to him.

He finished the painting, at last, and finally looks at the time

Turns out he spent almost a full 24 hours just on the painting and research. He knows that it’s probably not good that he completed such a large project in such a short amount of time, but he’s just glad it’s done

[What about Logan? How is he coping with all of this?]

Logan is the definition of unhealthy coping mechanisms

He writes down Virgil’s full name and starts to research anything and everything relating to the name

Astronomy, philosophy, psychology, everything.

he writes down every single person and makes sure to take time after he writes down all their names to actually look into them as people, and not just their works.

This is how he copes a lot of the time, actually

He tries to drown out the thoughts in his head threatening to make him finally break distract himself by finding out different or unusual facts about anything he can

This leads to him often researching and theorizing about the most obscure things. For example, once he was going down the rabbit hole fo snake research and started wondering just how much of the stuff he had found out applied to Janus. Could he unhinge his whole jaw, or at leas the snake part? Could his snake mouth even open? Did he have fangs? Venom?

(it wasn’t because Janus just revealed his name after he was forcefully silenced in an episode, and he couldn’t face the fact that it had actually happened just yet, it wasn’t.)

So, that’s how he was coping. The problem with his method is that he tended to get... too into what he was researching

This means that he often neglected anything else that wasn’t his work. If he wasn’t researching, he was planning and graphing, and if he wasn’t doing any of that? You could probably find him doing his own experiments in his room

(Some of which could get dangerous and explode, but that was the point, wasn’t it?)

The other sides call this his “Scientist Mode”, because they’ve caught him in the middle or at the end of the time he did this enough times that they just thought it was part of him being ‘logic’

They failed to look anywhere past that, but if they looked just a little closer, they would’ve seen what it had done to him.

To be fair, he was really good at covering it up. After all, when you’re an actor you have to use logic to figure out the best way to either hide something, or to highlight it

Many people, and even the other sides themselves, seemed to forget how much logic you have to use when acting and preforming

Sure, you do have to use creativity and you are essentially lying to the audience, but you also have to know how humans work to get the correct points across.

So anyways, Logan is also a really good actor, but instead of pretending to be happy like Patton or self-assured like Roman, he focuses on hiding all his emotions from the others

Which also means hiding anything he knows may cause them to be concerned for him

Hiding dark circles, straightening and ironing his clothes when he actually slept in them, standing straight instead of slouched down, etc.

He knows exactly how to hide all the details that the others would look for when trying to make sure he’s okay, and that’s what can get so dangerous

Because no one sees the exhaustion pulling at his bones, the way his mind is hazy and barely there, or the way that he takes maybe a second to long to respond

But if they looked close enough, they could see the glazed and distant look in his eyes. The way his movements were a little too stiff or a little too slow. Some of the smallest, but still noticeable details

Only two sides have confronted him about it, the third watching with silent concern. But he convinced them not to say anything. So they offer him a place to rest and recover, but they all three know that if they say something to the other sides, no one will listen

Maybe that’s what makes them reach out to him. Maybe it was something else

But those three sides are not there to see what he’s doing. They’re not there to see the mess he’s slowly becoming and the way he is throwing himself into his work this time

Which also means that there’s no one there to stop him and make him take a break

So, internally grateful that they’re not here to pull him away from his work, he dives headfirst into the research

Hours pass, and he hasn’t slowed down in the slightest. His hand starts to cramp, but he ignores it. They’re not real, so it shouldn’t hurt him in the long run.

He knows it’s not healthy, but he can’t bring himself to stop

He doesn’t get anything to eat or drink, opting to stay in his room. ‘It’s to maximize productivity’ he tells himself

Sometimes he wonders if this is the reason why Thomas has such a hard time getting and staying on a schedule

He does this more than he’d ever willingly admit, and he knows that it’s not good. So he limits himself to 5 hours at the max on days or nights when they have something important coming up.

After countless hours of research, when his hands are screaming in pain and barely able to move anymore, Roman comes to his door asking for his help

“I need anything you have on famous writers or poets with the name Virgilius. Don’t ask why yet, just please give me anything you’ve got.”

“How do you know I’ve got anything?”

“Logan, you’re surrounded by papers. Plus, this is an important reveal, I wouldn’t be surprised if you heard his name and geeked out because it matched the name of someone you know existed.”

“Okay, and?”

“And, while I probably would do that too, I need the name and information you can give me. It’s for a project.”

“... Fine”

Logan makes copies of his notes and hands Roman the papers he thinks would be helpful for whatever it is he’s doing, but makes sure to try and cover up the exhaustion and pain in his body and voice.

Luckily for him, Roman grabbed the papers and ran back to his room immediately afterwards, not even sparing him a second glace

He secretly wishes that he had. Wishes he noticed the pain he was in and forced him to take a break, while helping keep him distracted still. 

But he knows that won’t happen, so he turns back to his computer and gets back to work

No one sees him leave his room for the next 36 hours

Only three people grow concerned, but they know they can’t talk to him about it because they worry it would make his situation worse. They know he was using it to get his mind off what recently happened, so they knew that seeing any of them would only remind him of what he was trying to ignore

All of them, even Logan himself, know that he’ll have to face it eventually. But something about having a lot of knowledge and facts about a situation is comforting to him. So, he continues to work until he passes out, at which point he knew he couldn’t put off facing what had happened

[What about the last side, ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛?]

He doesn’t care much for what’s happening, honestly

Janus, Remus, and Virgil always ignore him and try to keep him away from everyone as much as possible

He doesn’t really know exactly what’s going on, but he has a vague idea due to over hearing Remus talking once

He also had heard Janus shush him as soon as he started speaking, not wanting ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ to know what was happening

The other ‘light sides’ know who he is, but make sure to avoid him at all costs... well, they knew him at one point

He hasn’t seen some of them in so long, he wouldn’t be surprised if one or more of them forgot he existed

Correction: he wouldn’t be surprised if they forgot who he is. He knows that they remember what he is

All in all, ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛’s not really involved much in this. He doesn’t really care about it either way

[Why was Virgil's name such a big deal?]

As we've seen, names are usually something that aren't given away immediately

For Virgil, when he was giving them his name, it was a sign of trust

Now, everyone's reactions may seen to have been... Over the top, right? A little dramatic, maybe, or too much?

The reason all of this happened though, wasn't just because of his name

It was because this was just one small part, the tipping point, of a longer series of events

By the time that Virgil and Janus finally got into an argument, tensions had already been running high between them

Not only had the events of Selfishness v Selflessness been a trainwreck on their own

Add in the fact that tensions continued to rise between the sides afterward? It’s a recipe for disaster to occur eventually

The Roman, Logan, and Patton had been forced to watch as things slowly started to spiral out of control

For Patton, this means he kept having doubts and insecurities that slowly piled up

He always feels like he needs to be the "more responsible side" because he knows Thomas listens to him the most, and that was something that affected him a lot during the courtroom scenes

He tries to be the best he can, even if that means trying to repress the negative feelings and thoughts he has, but he still doesn’t feel like it’s enough

And while they did have the talk earlier in the series about Patton's repression, that doesn't mean he immediately stopped

After repressing things for so long, you get into the habit of hiding it. You make it your default, and that's an incredibly hard habit to break

The problem is, no one else has realized that, while Patton said he would try, he is still repressing things. Which leads to his doubts, insecurities, and stress multiplying exponentially

For Roman, he had insecurities about his creations and placement among the other sides

Knowing that Virgil hid something considered so important from all of them?

Not only does it hurt, it feels like a stab in the chest of 'you're the reason he doesn't trust everyone'

No one else has noticed his self-destructive tendencies because he always makes sure to hide everything behind the egotistical persona he uses

Both Patton and Roman struggle with feeling like they're not good enough

They feel like they have to be perfect in everything they do, hence Patton's repression and Roman trying to always "be the hero", even when it hurts them more in the end

For Logan, he already has struggled with his emotions for a while. Having this event just makes some of his coping a little more obvious in its detriment

He is another example of the sides not realizing another one of them is hurting, mainly because they've been doing it for so long that they thought that was normal for them

Hell, Logan knows it's bad for his health, but because he's always preaching about good routines, everyone assumes he knows what he's doing

(Note: he doesn't. He hides his emotions so much from the others that when he gets like this, it's everything coming out all at once. There's just too much that he repressed that when it finally breaks through he can't do anything to stop it)

[sincerelybluevase]

Careful, Madam Chapter Three

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Mrs Danvers helped me out of the tub and began to towel me dry. “Your husband,” she said as she rubbed the towel between my toes, “shall go down to the wreck and see if he can be of assistance. I must make myself useful, too.”

I put a hand on her shoulder. “But why?”

She looked up at me. “Because Mr de Winter might bring the crew here. They’ll need to be fed. Perhaps they need to sleep here, too. Some might require medical assistance. There’s no saying with a wreck.”

“Oh.”

That strange, tender woman I had made love to had retreated once more, and now she was brusque, business-like, efficient. The woman dressed in silk stockings and scarlet slips I might have asked about her scars; the Manderley housekeeper I could not.

She misconstrued my unease, for she straightened, rested her palm against my cheek, and said, “You needn’t worry, Madam. It won’t touch you, I promise. I’ll give orders for the library to be readied for you. Unless you wish to sleep a little?”

I shook my head. “No. The library will do. Thank you, Mrs Danvers.”

“Shall you be able to dress yourself, Madam? Only I must see to the servants.”

I mustn’t show her I was hurt. I turned my face away from her and nursed that throbbing spot of nausea inside of me so I need not feel the disappointment, the yearning, the desire. “Of course. I won’t keep you.”

She went with silent step, already lost to me. Or so I thought; on the threshold she turned and rushed back to me. She did not falter, did not doubt, but clasped my face between her lean hands and kissed me. “Fear not,” she whispered, and I did not know what she wished me not to fear, and I did not care.

When she was gone I dressed myself and brushed my wet hair. Mrs Danvers had whisked away my dirty clothes. Would she, I wondered, mend that tear in the heel of my stocking for me?

Frith was in the hall downstairs. “Good morning, Madam,” he said. Did he think it unrespectable of me to walk around with wet hair? I realised that I did not mind if he did.

“Did you hear the rockets?” I asked.

“Indeed, Madam. Robert and I were just talking about it, wondering where exactly she has run aground. The fog does strange things to sound.”

“Yes. Yes it does, Frith.”

“A good thing we had none of that last night, or we shouldn’t have been able to see the fireworks. A good thing, too, that she did not run ashore then, or we should never have heard her call of distress.”

“Mr de Winter…?”

“Has gone to see if he can be of help, Madam.”

I was so tired I saw black spots dancing in front of my vision. I put a hand out to steady myself. Frith took hold of my elbow. “Steady, Madam. Are you not well?”

“I don’t know,” I confessed.

He guided me to a chair. I sank down heavily and sat with my head lowered until the clusters of darkness faded. I half expected Frith to bring me smelling salts, but he did no such thing, simply standing at my side, ready to run to my every command.

“I’m better now,” I said after a while.

“It’s the excitement,” he said.

“It’s the heat, this beastly heat. Why won’t it rain?”

“Shall I get you a glass of brandy, Madam?”

I shook my head. “No. No, Frith, I’m quite all right now.” I pushed a wet lock of hair behind my ear. “I shall be in the library. Please tell Mr de Winter to come find me there once he’s home.”

He nodded. “Madam.”

The library was cool, pleasantly so. I sat down on the sofa, feeling tired and drawn. The fancy dress ball seemed to have taken place a long time ago, but not even a full day had passed. I still had to apologise to Maxim. Strange; it was no longer such a pressing need. Perhaps I was simply too tired to think.

Despite everything, I must’ve slept then. When I woke, the mist had gone. The sky was bruised, still that filthy yellow colour that heralded a storm. The library had grown hot. I opened the windows, put my hands on the sill and leaned out. The air was oppressive, thick. There could be no tea on the lawn that afternoon, no raspberries and cream under the chestnut. I smelled the cloying scent of roses mixed with the bitter salt of the sea, strong enough to make my stomach spasm. My senses had heightened at Manderley; before, I had not such an acute sense of smell, nor such a sensitivity to scent. When I withdrew from the window, my palms left damp prints on the sill.

I thought to ring for tea, but then the door opened and Maxim came in.

His mouth was drawn, his face haggard. His skin had taken on a strange greyish hue I had only ever seen in the very sick or dying. We locked eyes. For a moment we simply stood and stared, taking the other in. Then he rubbed his face in that unselfconscious way that men have, roughly and all knuckle. The spell broken, I found I could move.

“Maxim,” I said.

“It’s over,” he said.

“What’s over, darling? How grey and tired you look. Come, you must sit.” I went to him and touched his arm, but he would not be guided. He went to the open window instead, picking up the ashtray on his way, and lit a cigarette. He smoked it quickly, eagerly, and with it some colour came back into his face so that it was no longer a waxen mask. I went to stand with him, unsure of whether to touch him, whether my affection would be welcome.

“You must forgive me,” I said.

“Forgive you?” he asked, staring at the cigarette held between his beautiful fingers. “What must I forgive you for?”

“My choice of dress. I swear I didn’t know Rebecca wore the same thing last year. If I had, I’d never have chosen it. It was a mix-up, a rotten, damnable mix-up.”

He crushed the cigarette in the ashtray. “I was very angry with you, wasn’t I?”

“Dreadfully so.”

He smiled. “Funny. It’s not important anymore.”

I didn’t know what to do with him. He seemed a stranger to me. “Maxim, darling, what has happened? Why are you acting like this, so strange, so funny? Was it terrible, the wreck? Is that it? Please, you must talk to me.”

“They found Rebecca’s boat,” he said. “The ship from Hamburg came too close to the shore and hit it full on. It’s wrecked, the ship is, though none of the crew were harmed. They couldn’t have known, of course; she was underwater.”

A twisting deep inside of me. “But how? I thought she was lost at sea, not near the shore.”

“Yes. That’s what everyone thought, that Rebecca took the boat out sailing in a storm and perished. Only now they’ve found her boat, and worse, they’ve found a body, and now all shall come in the open.”

Despite the heat, my hand and feet were numb and cold. “A body? I don’t understand. She went sailing with another? Oh, Maxim, how dreadful, how…”

He opened his mouth and began to laugh. It was a horrible sound, all rough and hollow. It petered out into a hoarse chuckle, only to start up again, louder and more forceful than before. On and on it went. I thought I should go mad, listening to that deranged laughter.

“Maxim, don’t,” I begged, and tried to put my hands over his mouth. “Darling, please don’t laugh, you shouldn’t laugh…”

He grabbed my wrists and pulled my hands away. He looked at me. His eyes were bloodshot, the irises rimmed with white, like those of a wild animal. I thought of him then as he had been on that mountaintop in Monte Carlo, when I had thought him to be not quite sane and had feared he might push me over the precipice. He looked like that now, even more so.

“You’re scaring me,” I whispered.

“You don’t understand, now do you? Of course you don’t. You live in your own little head, and no one is allowed in there, not even me, your own husband. Rebecca’s boat was not lost at sea, and she wasn’t sailing with another. I killed her. I killed Rebecca.”

And he told me.

He told me how their marriage had been a farce from the start, how she had made a deal with him to bring Manderley to glory if allowed her freedom, how her infidelities had tormented him. He told me how he had gone to the boathouse that night to scare her and her lover with the gun, and how he had found her alone. With his deep, calm voice he told me how she had confessed her pregnancy, and how he had shot her and then disposed of her.

I listened, feeling more numb all the while. It was as if I was dreaming. Soon, I’d wake up, and none of this madness would’ve happened. These things didn’t happen to me. You read about them in newspapers sometimes, but they never happened to one personally, not even to people one knew.

“But now it is all over,” Maxim went on, “They’ve found her, and they’ll know. She’s only bones, but there are things there to identify her, her rings… If only I had never identified that poor, unnamed woman as my wife…”

“It was a mistake,” I said automatically. “You must say it was a mistake. Corpses that have been in the water for so long, they’re unrecognisable, aren’t they? And you were mad with grief.”

He frowned, and then he laughed again. “Mad with grief? Did you think I loved her? I’ve never cared for her. I hated her. She was a vicious little bitch. She wasn’t even normal, rutting with men and women alike. But you, my little love, my darling…”

If he ever finds out about Mrs Danvers and me, I thought, and it was a clear thought, thin and swift, he’ll break my neck.

He began to kiss me, hungry little kisses, nipping at my lips. I stood like a dummy in his arms. I felt his mouth on mine, his breath, his arms tight around my body like winding sheets, yet the sensations were curiously dulled.

He’s doing it to someone else, I thought. Then, I wished he was doing it to someone else.

He noticed my stiffness and thrust me away from him, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. “It’s too late,” he said, “I’ve left it too late. You don’t care for me now.” He began to pace, muttering under his breath.

“Maxim,” I whispered.

He looked at me, and now he truly was a stranger. My feelings returned, the strongest of them fear. “Why did you not tell me sooner?” I whispered.

“Do you think it’s an easy thing to admit, that my wife slept around like a cheap slut? Do you not understand how ashamed I was, and still am?”

I forced myself to go to him. I put a hand on his shoulder. “I’m so sorry.” I kissed him with a dry mouth, wishing that I felt nothing. He tasted of smoke, of hunger. He put his arms around me and fell to kissing me again. His hands roamed over my body, squeezing and grasping, all done roughly.

“God,” he moaned, “how I want you. I must have you, my girl.” He moved me to the windowsill.

“Maxim, no!” I gasped. “Not here, the servants…”

“Servants be damned!” he growled. “I must have you, I simply must.”

I felt so weak I could hardly stand. I stumbled, leaned heavily against him, my wet fingers clutching at his shirt. Those dark spots were back. I trembled. I could hardly keep my head up, it was so heavy. “I’m not well. Please, I’m not well,” I said, and started to cry.

He clasped my face with both hands and made me look at him. What he read in my face must have convinced him, for he helped me to the sofa. I curled up, feeling faint and weak and sick. I couldn’t stop shaking.

“This must have come as a shock to you. I understand,” he said. He rang for a servant, then poured himself a drink. He came to sit with me, the sofa dimpling under his weight. His hand was hot as he stroked my face. Not even a day ago I would have welcomed this sudden sign of intimacy, this little bit of affection, but I was not the girl of yesterday anymore. I was so much older now I might as well have lived another ten years. His hot, demanding hand revolted me now, yet I had to convince him somehow that this sudden illness was not his doing, or else he might suspect, he might know how I feared him.

“I’ve been feeling poorly for weeks now,” I murmured. “I just feel so nauseous all the time, and I can’t eat…” My teeth were chattering. I pressed my hand against my jaw to make them stop.

His hand stopped petting me. “Nauseous? For weeks?”

I nodded; I couldn’t speak.

The door opened with a soft snick. I could not see who it was, and I did not care; as long as there was someone with us, he would not harm me.

“Ah, there you are,” Maxim said. “Mrs de Winter is feeling unwell. Help her to her room, will you? She must rest. I’ll call the doctor.”

“Sir.”

Gooseflesh erupted over my body. It was Mrs Danvers.

“I’m not that ill,” I whispered.

He leaned over me, kissed me with his wet mouth tasting of drink. “I don’t think you are, my little darling. Far from it.” His face, so gaunt and hollow and cruel half an hour before, had come alive now. It seemed to burn with a desperate, triumphant happiness that I didn’t understand.

“What are you talking about?”

He rocked in his heels, rubbed his mouth again in that harsh way peculiar to men. “What an innocent you are.” He looked over his shoulder. “Bring her to her room. Take care she doesn’t stumble on the stairs; we must be very careful with her, now. Women in her condition are fragile.”

Mrs Danvers felt my forehead with her cool, sweet hand. “Can you stand?”

I nodded; I could not look at her. She might read the truth of Maxim’s crimes in my eyes, and then we would both be lost.

She helped me up, an arm around my waist. My head felt heavy again, as if it was a flower and my neck a ravaged stalk. The blood returned to my head. I felt it thump, heard the stutter of my heart. I clutched at her hand; like mine, it was cold.

Up the stairs we went, slowly, carefully. I sensed a humming energy to Mrs Danvers, a desire for movement, for speech, that she smothered down. She must’ve heard about Rebecca’s boat, I thought, panic and pity mingling.

How could I tell her what I knew?

How couldn’t I?

Once in my room, she helped me sit down on the edge of the bed, undid my shoes for me. How many people, I wondered, had seen the top of her head? I touched it now, her thick hair wound up and tucked away, held into place with pins.

“You mustn’t make a fuss over me. I’m truly not ill. What happened this morning was a moment of passing weakness. I don’t know why Maxim insists on a doctor seeing me. There’s no need.”

She took my hand and rubbed it against her cheek. “Oh, Madam,” she said, moving her face against my fingers, my knuckles and palm, cat-like. “Oh, Madam.”

When she looked up at me, her face was soft with emotion, her eyes liquid with it.

“What?” I asked, “What is it?”

“Madam, I think you might be with child.”

It began to rain.

[howtodrawyourdragon]

Lost no More: Chapter 2 - Taken

Summary:  After three years Hiccup’s sudden disappearance remains unsolved. A grieving father is forced to move on for the sake of his village, a blacksmith has yet to choose a new apprentice, children grow up missing the face they’ve known since birth. The Dragon Master and a fated reunion may finally give them the answers they seek.

Author’s Notes: And this is two out of three chapters that I have finished. The third one will be uploaded tomorrow and after that I will go ahead and start on the fourth one.

@coneygoil, @renkocchi, @softhairstark, @daglout, @just-call-me-emrys, @let-the-wind-carry-us and @only-girl-on-a-dragon if you guys are still interested and haven’t seen me post these chapters on Ao3.

"Toothless!" The shout left him before Hiccup could stop himself when an arrow came whizzing by much too close for comfort. It had almost hit the Night Fury's tail.

Glaring into the direction where the projectile had come from, Toothless snarled with his teeth bared as he came to face one of the men from the ship. His wings unfurled somewhat to make his size and strength be known in a show of intimidation, telling the unwanted human that he wasn't a dragon to be messed with.

Their new foe wasn't taken off guard in the slightest. As a matter of fact, he simply took another strange arrow from his quiver. He was adamant in bringing his prey down.

"Maybe we should go, Bud, back to Berk. My dad needs to know about this." Hiccup's hold on his saddle tightened. Should Toothless decide to suddenly take off into the forest, he would be ready.

It had been by pure luck alone that the dragon managed to avoid injury. Right as the arrow flew, he had turned to run deeper into the forest in search of a clearing and that move was what had saved him. This time, however, the hunter wasn't going to let them escape.

And he wasn't alone.

"Toothless..." The worry in Hiccup's voice caused the Night Fury to take a look around himself. In the growing darkness, he could see a whole group of the invaders surrounding them. There wasn't much of an escape to be made on foot.

"Get off the dragon, boy." One of the men spoke to him, but it only made Hiccup want to hold on tighter. No way was he going to let them separate him and Toothless. Even if it didn't mean much harm for him, it would be bad news for his dragon, who couldn't fly on his own.

"Get off that dragon now, boy, this is your last warning!" That same man seemed to cry out, though Hiccup couldn't pinpoint his location in this darkness.

It was becoming harder and harder to see and the boy felt more and more unnerved with the fact that he wouldn't be able to trust his eyes for much longer.

"Toothless, we have to get out of here. What do we do?" Hiccup would be lying if he said he wasn't scared in that moment.

"Shut your mouth, boy, and get off the damned beast!" Strings were pulled back and Hiccup once again sunk lower on his dragon, who glared at each of the men in front of him like a skittish animal. They were cornered and Toothless wasn't quite sure how to get them out of this.

Well, there was one thing a dragon did best, wasn't there?

Quickly gathering the gasses in his mouth, a blueish and purplish light ignited inside the Night Fury's throat before he shot a blast of fire into the direction of where Hiccup could only assume the majority of the uninvited visitors were standing.

Instead of letting their arrows fly, the targets in Toothless' range dove for cover with a shout just like he had hoped. And while then praying just as much that Hiccup was still secure on his back, he lunged for the newly created opening and in the blink of an eye disappeared into the vegetation.

As the moonlit ocean came into view in the distance, the rider realized they weren't running away from the other intruders, but straight for them.

"Uh, Bud?" Was there even time to question his dragon's motives?

"There they are!"

"Look! A boy on the dragon's back!"

"Don't let them escape!"

"Get them!"

A whole choir of voices broke out once Toothless left the safety of the forest and chose for the silent promise the sky gave them. Spreading his wings and beating them once or twice for lift off, Hiccup quickly knew that charging for the beach was simply a faster way of reaching for the air than searching the woods for a clearing would've been. Positioning the artificial tailfin, the two were off the ground soon enough.

But amongst the flurry of voices, there was one that stood out the most in how utterly gleefully they spoke.

"A Night Fury." The bald stranger said and he did so with a malicious smile, like a spider that found a squirming insect in its web.

"Capture that dragon alive! Even juveniles like that one will fetch us a hefty price of this species!" Hiccup and Toothless barely made it high enough before a series of bolas were thrown their way. One of them got hold of the reptile's tail while a second one wrapped around Hiccup, the impact of which caused him to lose his grip on the saddle and plummet to the ocean down below.

"Toothl-" The boy couldn't even finish before he fell into the freezing saltwater and accidentally swallowed almost a complete mouthful in his shock.

His dragon landed into a shallower part near the shore. Though it wasn't hard enough to hurt him, it was closer to the group of intruders and they did not wait to act. While Toothless struggled to go further into open water to search for his Viking boy, who had not yet resurfaced, chains were thrown around his neck by their attackers.

Roaring to be let go, Toothless felt himself be pulled back by the strength of several men. No matter how much he struggled, he wasn't getting anywhere like this, not with all those people pulling him back.

His urgent search for Hiccup had to wait until he could free himself first. He was already pulled up on the beach and continuing to fight them meant wasting the precious time that Hiccup might not be able to afford to lose.

So turning around to face those wretched invaders, Toothless charged with a plasma blast charging in his open maw.

While the Night Fury had been struggling, Hiccup fought to free himself from the bola wrapped tightly around his arms and middle. His mind was wrecked with panic and his legs kicked wildly to bring him closer to the ocean's surface, but the burning yearning of his lungs for air remained unfulfilled. His eyes stung with the amount of salt in the water and the boy thought it was impossible to tell up from down in this darkness.

Only one other time had Hiccup ever experienced what it was like to drown and it had been at the hands of Dagur, the son of Chief Oswald the Agreeable of the Berserkers. What had seemed like an 'innocent' request from the older boy to go swimming had quickly taking a dark turn when all Dagur was really interested in was to torment the smaller boy some more.

Hiccup, aged ten at the time, had blacked out and didn't know who had saved him. Whoever had, had not made his dad aware of what had happened in the lake that day. For all he knew, it was Dagur who had grown bored and allowed him to breathe again.

Either way, that incident had not failed to give him the occasional nightmare once in a while and the teen had actively avoided going near lakes or any bodies of water whenever Dagur was visiting Berk. Swallowed by the dark sea now only served to further fuel his night terrors for the future.

But eventually he found salvation. Using the dagger he somehow pulled from the leather belt around his waist, Hiccup cut himself free from that infernal rope and he swam upwards for air as fast as he could.

Breaking through the calm waves, Hiccup gasped and coughed loudly. He tried his best to stay up and calm down now that he could finally breathe. Rubbing fervently through his stinging eyes, he longed to see what had become of Toothless while he was underwater.

If that draconic whining was anything to judge by, their situation had gone from bad to worse.

"Tooth-"

"I got the boy!" Cut off once more when a heavy hand pushed him back under, a distant and muffled cry of anguish reached Hiccup's ears when he disappeared from the Night Fury's sight.

That same hand grabbed hold of his brown hair and, writhing with all his might, Hiccup could not prevent this man from pulling him up on the beach. Before long he was thrown at the leader's feet.

"Hiccup..." Leaving the jovial 'master' behind him, Trader Johann addressed the teenaged boy and he, coughing and wheezing, looked up to his apparent captors.

"You know this boy, Johann?" The bald man asked with his heavy accent, pointing his blade towards the trembling youth.

"Yes, indeed I do. This is the scrawny heir I was telling you about. Stoick's runt." Hiccup tried to ignore the stinging in his chest at being insulted, but nothing could compare to knowing this longtime friend of Berk had every intention to betray him and his home.

The cold touch of the blade to his chin chilled his already freezing skin and Hiccup was forced to look the more intimidating man in the eye.

"An heir, huh? He doesn't look like much." Their words were simple in their cruelty, but were not any less effective in making him feel small and powerless.

But when had Hiccup ever let these kinds of belittling words stop him before?

Pushing the blade away from him cautiously, he gazed up at the seafaring merchant.

"Johann, I-I don't understand... What're you planning on doing to Berk? To me? What do you want from my dad? What's this 'King of Dragons' you're talking about?" His questions remained unanswered.

"Oh, he doesn't, does he? He's the son of an incredibly powerful chief and he just came riding in on one of those flying lizards. I hate to say it, but this boy may prove useful to us after all." Johann was stroking his beard in a way Hiccup shouldn't have liked, but his attention was elsewhere.

Scanning the beach, boy found his dragon pinned down, chained, and muzzled. They had overpowered him.

A powerful creature such as a Night Fury, rendered to such a sorry state in an amount of time as short as this? The sight made him both angry and fearful.

"Are you listening, boy?!" A painful kick to his ribs send Hiccup sprawling on the sandy shore. They were sure to bruise later and his chest was already hurting so bad.

Toothless growled in the background, but all it did was amuse the man further.

"My name is Ryker Grimborn and I'm a Dragon Hunter. And you, Hiccup Haddock, are going to tell me just how you managed to tame a Night Fury." The man, who Hiccup now knew for sure was called Ryker, spoke in such a decisive manner. He was apparently very certain he was going to get every dirty little secret out of the teen.

Well then, he hadn't truly met Hiccup Haddock the Third yet. His lips were sealed.

"Okay, sure, I'll tell you everything that I know." No matter how much it pained his tired body, Hiccup pushed his scrawny self up on his feet, removing the sand from his hands and person.

"Starting with the fact that I didn't 'tame' Toothless. And that my father, Stoick the Vast, is going to notice I'm missing and he will search for me. He would search for any missing Berkian, no matter who they are." At least, Hiccup hoped this threat would work. If just enough to buy him the time needed to think of a plan.

"I don't know why he'd go through such trouble for the likes of you, but one thing's for sure. Once you and your dragon are loaded onto the ship, your father won't find you unless we want him to." There was an awful truth to Ryker's words.

Stoick the Vast did not set foot off his island unless it was to search for the Dragon's Nest or to meet allied tribes for peace treaties. Hiccup hadn't been lying when he boldly stated his dad would come looking for his son, Gobber had often stated how he'd move heaven and Earth to make sure his only child would stay safe. The real question here was how long it would take the man to find him.

Hiccup wasn't so happy with his odds.

"Bring them both onboard the ship. We're setting sail for our home base immediately, so don't leave a single trace. We don't want Berk to have anything that can tie us to the disappearance of their heir. If they'll even look for him." After one last cruel chuckle, Ryker bid his farewel to Johann and the two went their separate ways.

Toothless struggled against his bonds as he was forced into an oddly coloured cage, but his efforts were in vain. Likewise, Hiccup couldn't fight the two men who grabbed him by the arms and lifted him from his feet, but as he wasn't tied up, he managed to land at least on solid hit with his left ankle.

"Oof! You damned brat!" The man groaned as he sunk to his knees with his hands on his groin, where the boy had effortlessly kicked with all the might his thin body had.

Hiccup would've grinned mischievously if he had the time, instead he tried to pull himself free from the second Dragon Hunter, all the while calling for his dragon.

"Toothless, shoot! Fire! Do something about that cage!" For a brief moment he managed to wiggle his arm free after stomping on his captor's foot. His arms may not be much, but dragonriding had already done wonders for his legs. He ran for his Night Fury next, hoping he could come up with something plausible before he reached him.

However, that short moment of freedom was over all too soon.

"Oh for Gods' sake, just knock the brat out and be done with it!" The order barely had to roll of Ryker's tongue or Hiccup felt someone bash him on the back of his head.

Toothless, still muzzled, released a cry as he watched helplessly how his Viking fell limp to the sand.

Hiccup didn't understand why, but Johann had watched it all happen and he had done so in glee. He didn't know what he'd done to make the man hate him so, but it was the last thing he saw before blacking out.

[greetingsfromthebottomofthewell]

11 MILES

[source] [triggers]

are you one of them?

Do you have something that you truly, relentlessly desire? Despite your state of life, is there something else that you would go completely to the end of the world to get? Well lucky for you, there's a way to achieve what you're looking for, and you won't need to go to the end of the world to get it. But you will need to go somewhere, and the place may be too out of reach for some. It's not far away, closer than one may believe but there're requirements that some individuals may not meet.

First, whatever it is that you seek, know that you must seriously desire what you want. In your eyes, it should be something you need. If you begin the journey without the correct state of mind, you will surely fail, as it will be near impossible to turn back once the journey starts. The second requirement is that you will need a vehicle of sorts. Most use a car, as it's the most comfortable choice. There have been a select few that have used small motorized vehicle, such as an ATV or motorcycle, but this has proven to be quite difficult, as the conditions of the journey can prove to be too bothersome.

Do not use a vehicle too large or noticeable, as you will need some of the cover of night to be most safe. Also, while any sort of car will do, you may not want to choose the most expensive or cherished vehicle. You can take your slick new black Mercedes for the drive if you'd like, but don't expect it to come out in a pristine state. Make sure your vehicle is completely fueled before beginning the drive.

The first task to accomplish is to locate the road. It doesn't have a name, it's not on the map, and technically, it doesn't even exist. It will only show up if you're looking for it at the right time, and you will only spot it if you know what to look for. Finally, you must be alone during the journey. You didn't think you'd be able to go with a group, did you?

It must be night when you begin. Choose the time of the night where you believe the roads are the least populated. Drive to any area that is just a stretch of road surrounded by woods. Here's where you want to start paying close attention. If you're looking for the road, it will turn up eventually, but you need to search for the road's hint in order to pull down the right one. Once you're close, you will see or feel its signs but what the signs will be will depend on what it is you desire. For example, if you're in search of wealth, you may spot shimmers on the empty branches of trees as if they resembled the shine of gold or diamonds. If you seek love, you may begin to see rose petals slowly dance in the light breeze, blowing in the road's direction. If you seek revenge, you might sense an ever growing feeling of heat or anger in your body as you approach. Just know what it is you really want, and you'll have no problem finding the turn.

Once you're sure you've found the revealed road, take a deep breath, and turn down onto it.

At this point, you have officially started down the nameless road which brings you through 11 miles, leading to whatever it is you seek. Each mile will test your desire, and will expose if you really do want what you're searching for. Before you go any further, stop the car and be wary of a few advisements:

Do not turn on a radio during the drive.

Do not use a phone during the drive (reception would be cut off anyway).

Do not open the windows during the drive. Make sure they are closed before you continue. If you are riding a vehicle without windows or a top, then prepare for the worst, as the odds are heavily against you.

Do not attempt to leave your vehicle at ANY time.

You'll never want to exceed 30 miles per hour, unless you're desperate to make it through a section of the road.

And most importantly, as with any drive, buckle up.

Feel free to prepare and make sure you're ready. Once the road has been entered, time has stopped so you don't need to worry about losing the night. Though you may not notice, you're not actually in your own world anymore. Take one last moment to realize that once the first mile is over there is no turning back. If you ponder turning back at all, know that you shouldn't even be on the journey in the first place. Once all is done, continue on the road.

On the first mile, you won't see much change. The road passes through mostly woods with a few miles being an exception. The air will turn a bit colder, in which you should turn on your heating system if the vehicle has one. You won't want to take your eyes off the road later. Take some time to calm any uneasiness by admiring some of the night sky. You'll see it completely lined with stars, more than what you would ever believe possible. If the weather was cloudy beforehand, you'll also notice that the sky is now clear.

On the second mile, the air will become even colder. This is primarily the reason why traveling in an open vehicle is very difficult. With each mile, the air will drop in temperature even if the season should be warm. If the air is too cold to bear, even with the heat on, your only option is to speed up. With each mile the road also becomes more complex, taking more turns and showing an increasing amount of road hazards. Be sure to always keep focused on the road in front of you in order to avoid as many bumps or obstacles as possible. Hitting a few rocks and potholes won't hamper your progress too much, but you'll want to keep in the best condition for as long as possible. If you're vehicle is forced to a stop because of damage, then there's nothing left you can do but eventually freeze to death.

On the third mile, you may begin to spot silhouettes of human figures in the linings of trees. Pay no attention to them, even if they seem to get closer. It will be hard to resist peeking at their unnerving, distant appearance but know that they will reveal themselves later. At this mile, the road will become dirt if you weren't driving on it in the beginning. Keep to the center of the path as it will become narrow and wide at random intervals. On a quick side note, should you ever attempt to turn around (despite the previous warnings) you'll be left on a path which never ends. You would simply run out of fuel eventually, and be left to freeze in the cold conditions.

On the fourth mile, you will not only see more of the figures but you will begin to in a sense hear them. In the back of your mind, a very faint unintelligible whisper will echo. These will come and go, but you can't stop them. If they become bothersome or distracting, try and tune them out by thinking of what it is you desire. Attempting to listen and determine what the voices are saying will only attract them to you, and you want to be as far away from them as you can. They'll be closer later, so there's no use bringing them near you this early.

On the fifth mile, you will come to a clearing. The lining of trees to your left will disappear to reveal a lake with no end with a beaming, great moon over the water. The illumination from the moon will be so spectacular that the vehicle's headlights will no longer be required. Restrain yourself from gazing at it. If you look at its light for even more than a few seconds the road in front of you will end, throwing your vehicle into the water in which you will freeze in mere minutes. The voices will be gone for this mile, but don't rejoice yet. They'll be back.

On the sixth mile, take into account that you are more than halfway done. Despite the progress, you may lose hope here. The stars will have disappeared at this point, leaving the sky an empty, black abyss. The clearing will have ended, leading you back into the woods. The only light you will have will be provided by your vehicles headlights, but they will flicker from time to time even if you're sure they're in perfect working order.

If you have a radio in the vehicle, it will turn on here automatically. If you didn't turn it off beforehand, it will produce an overwhelming screech that will send you off the path. A calm voice will then begin to speak about your greatest fears, what it is you are horrorified of in your life. It will speak in a way that will cause you to visualize the words in your mind, so don't listen to it. If you begin to comprehend what it's saying, the horrors will prove too much for you to stay on the road safely. Attempting to turn off the radio will prove no use. Speed up if you need to, just keep your mind off the voice as much as you can. As you approach the end of the mile, the voice will fade out of the speakers, leaving your ears at peace (for now).

On the seventh mile, the voices from the figures will return. It won't sound like a whisper this time, but more like distant screams, growing closer with each second. At some point on this mile, you'll hear one of them in your ear, as if one of them were right behind you. This is because one of the figures have found their way into your vehicle. Do not turn around. Their faces will shock you to a paralysis, leading you off the road. If you don't draw attention to it, it will become uninterested, and hopefully leave. These beings are said to be ones who have travelled down this road before, but were not successful. They live the remainder of their existence suffering, in the darkness with their only goal being to bring other travelers down with them. It has been said from experience that these beings can't physically harm you, so as long as they don't cause you to wreck, you should be fine.

On the eighth mile, slow down if you're going too fast. The road here takes very sharp turns, which if overshot will throw the vehicle into a pit through the trees. The cold is near fatal here. If you were to have a glass or bottle of liquid in your vehicle, it would be solid in seconds. The heating system will have become completely obsolete. Your headlights will flicker more, sometimes shutting off for a few seconds. You should break if this happens, but do not completely stop. The figures will be following you at this point, and should you stop for too long, they will surround and trap your vehicle. More of their screams can be heard from outside your doors, sometimes even sounding of maniacal laughter. Their hands will claw at your windows, desperate to reach in and feel something living. Do not look at them. They won't block your windshield, and the last thing you want to happen is to crash and be trapped with them. If you don't make it from here, pray that it's the freezing that ends you.

On the ninth mile, your vehicle will stall. The headlights will shut off, as will all other systems inside. There's nothing you can do to prevent this. What you will need to do is close your eyes and immediately attempt to restart the vehicle. Keep your eyes closed, as the figures would have surely surrounded you at this point. The starting of the vehicle will frighten them, and they will all back away temporarily. This will give you a chance to start moving forward again. If you begin to hear the windows crack from their struggle, don't lose focus. The beings can alter the vehicle but remember that they still do not have the strength to physically affect you. You will hear nothing but their voices rampage in your mind, as there could be anywhere between a dozen or a hundred after you now. Once you start the vehicle, floor it. Floor it so long as you can stay on the path. When the mile's done, the beings will retreat.

On the tenth mile, the voices of the beings will stop. If you were to look in your rear-view mirror (do not actually do this), you will see them following you but not as if they were chasing. They're watching you, as if they were seeing you off. As you go down the tenth mile, the road will be smoother, as if you were back on the first mile. The figures will be lining the sides of the path ahead of you. They won't be after you, but they will watch you as you pass. Some have theorized that the beings are impressed here, that you have come a long way on the journey to what you desire. This is false. They are not impressed, but they are happy. They are happy you are about to approach the next mile. They are happy because you are most likely going to your death.

On the eleventh and final mile, everything in your vehicle will lose power, as it did on the ninth mile. The vehicle would normally be immobile, but you will still be moving. An unknown force will be pulling you forward. In the darkness, you will see a glowing red light up ahead, as if it were a light at the end of a tunnel.

Close your eyes, and cover them. Do whatever it takes to make sure you do not see what you are about to go through. Covering your ears would also be helpful, but keeping your eyes covered should be a higher priority.

The red light is another clearing, but there's no moon or lake this time. Once it's entered, unrelenting and inconceivable noises will sound from all directions. No amount of bravery and conditioning will spare you from these sounds. The cold will turn to a merciless heat, burning all parts of the vehicle. You will feel the illusion of the flesh being burned off your bones, that every part of you is being destroyed as you travel through screams and audible suffering. As long as you keep your eyes closed, and resist the urge to see where you are, you will survive through the suffering. This will last a total of 31 seconds but many fail to keep their vision closed during that time and are left to the worst fate of the road. Where is this mile located? Those who have survived do not know. Some have named it "the transmission from hell" but whether it's part of hell is debatable.

After the final mile, power will return. Stop the vehicle. Take a moment to possibly regain some of your sanity. Let the screaming in your ears begin to fade and know that you have nearly completed your journey with the hardest task overcome.

Breathe, and begin to drive forward once again.

After only a kilometer, your vehicle will arrive at a dead end. Stop here and don't attempt to move again. Nothing will happen right this second but do not be disappointed. Relax and close your eyes. Imagine in your mind what it is you've desired the entire time. It will most likely still be the same as when you entered, but with some this desire may actually change through making this journey. Think about what it was that you went through such terrifying and difficult means to acquire and imagine possessing it in your hands.

Once you have completely visualized this, slowly open your eyes.

You will then find yourself at the beginning of the unnamed road, where you first began. This may confuse you, but know that you are finished. Your task is done.

Your mind will then turn to your reward. If what you desired was material, check in the back seat or in the trunk if the object is larger. If the object was small enough it might already be in your pocket. If what you desired was nonmaterial, then do not be disappointed if the change is not immediate. Turn back to where you came from, and you will find in your life that what you wanted is there. You may have found the love of your dreams. You may have gained unnatural, unimaginable power. You may have put your most hated enemy to the most satisfying revenge possible. You will have no doubt gained what you deserved.

So now that the task is done, what's the catch? Is your vehicle cursed? Is there something you're about to lose? Is your death imminent? The answer to all is no, of course. You've done the challenge. You've proved worthy of what you desire. As stated before, the sounds of the eleventh mile will continue to exist in your mind, potentially causing you some vivid and unusual nightmares but these should prove as nothing compared to what you've gained.

Now, one last question: Is there something else you desire? Are you not yet satisfied? After all, you're left right back where you started. The road's right in front of you, so are you up for another drive?

If so, buckle up, and just move forward.

[myshipsalwayssink-fanfic-blog]

Spaces Between Us, Chapter 2

The only thing that surprised Fury was that it had taken her this long to track him down. Sure, he was holed up in an unregistered black-site, completely off the grid but one didn’t simply take something away from a woman like Melinda May and expect to have to wait two weeks before she came inquiring after it. And Agent Philip Couslon had never been just ‘something’ as far as she was concerned. The wreck of a woman standing in front of him proved that.

“Take a seat Agent May”. When she didn’t respond,he continued, “Come on, I know you didn’t break yourself out of that civilian hospital and travel across the country by yourself just to stand in my doorway”. Even in the darkened room, he saw the raw emotion flicker across her face before her eyes steeled over once more.

“Don’t play with me, Fury. You know what I want and you know damn well what I’d do to get it”. The effectiveness of her threat was slightly undermined by the crackling hoarseness of her voice. To her outrage, a small smile played across Fury’s lips.

”I hate to say it Melinda, but you don’t exactly look up to doing much of anything at all at the moment”. The unmistakable ‘click’ of a disengaged safety pin was all he got in response. Wordlessly, Fury kicked the empty chair across from him, sending it skidding to a halt in front of the shaken agent. “I don’t have him, Melinda, this isn’t coming from S.H.I.E.L.D”. He was expecting the warning shot that whistled over his head and didn’t dare so much as flinch as he held her gaze with a mixture of sincerity and pity. The words hung in the air between them, and the moment stretched almost beyond breaking point before her shoulders dropped and May sagged soundlessly into the chair in front of her. Taking a moment to study her, now that she had stepped forward from the shadows, Fury could see the effects on his colleague that no amount of intel he received over the past two weeks could accurately describe. Her run in with Agent Coulson’s mysterious captors had left her in a critical state in a nearby hospital. The rest of the team had not been harmed and he suspected her time spent in the frame work was the true culprit of her injuries. Muscles atrophied, airway damaged, starved within an inch of her life, the move that was probably meant only to restrain her dislocated both her shoulders and succeeded in nearly crushing her chest, and that was only the physical. She was no longer a S.H.I.E.L.D agent, both her and her team were lucky not to be publicly branded as terrorists but years of friendship and the weight of debts unpaid made his next decision for him. They may not be able to work for S.H.I.E.L.D. but there was no reason they couldn’t work alongside it.

 Fury’s words echoed through my mind as I paused hesitantly in the hallway of the cramped motel, before finally knocking on the faded blue door.

“…I may not be able to help Coulson but I believe you recently gained the responsibility of some people that I can…” Those words had decided it, after all it had been the final thing Phil had asked of me. Take care of our family. When the door finally swung open, Daisy stood in the doorway, looking at me with the murderous accusation I deserved for abandoning her before her eyes swam with tears and she flung herself unexpectedly into my arms. I let my own tears fall and held her as tightly as I could even as my body protested. Jemma’s pale figure appeared around the door frame and I quickly dried my eyes as she ushered us into the tiny room, where the rest of the team sat, divided between the floor and two small bed frames. The next few minutes were a flurry of activity that almost out-matched the long journey here. I found myself being pushed towards the edge of the closest bed, where as soon as I sat Jemma immediately began fussing with my bandages and the wounds I had left untreated over the past few weeks, I barely registered Elena whipping around the tight space until a cup of tea was pushed into my hands and Mack began a thorough briefing of their current situation and their movements in my absence. Pride and sorrow sent a stab of pain through my already aching chest; they had pulled together admirably but I could see the strain in each of them - could feel the weight of the atmosphere between a group of raw people barely holding it together. A wave of tiredness I almost forgot I was fighting washed over me and I was beginning to lose focus before a small voice from behind me snapped me painfully back into focus.

“You can’t just leave”. Daisy was still standing in front of the now closed door, her arms crossed defensively, fear and betrayal reflected in her large brown eyes, still burdened by tears.

“Daisy, please - “, Jemma began pleadingly.

“No Jemma, she’s right”, standing I turned to face them all, briefly meeting each pair of eyes that looked back at me, “I shouldn’t have left you like that, put my own grief ahead of what I know you’re all feeling, that’s not what Agent Coulson would have wanted and it’s not what I intended to do. This team is a family and families don’t abandon one another. We will find Coulson and we will keep this family together but first we need to take care of one another. I can’t take back what I’ve done but I - I -, my voice faltered as I met Daisy’s gaze, hot tears stinging the back of my eyes, “I can promise that from now on nothing will come between or go before my family”.

The rest of the night was short but peaceful. The young agents had been vigilant, even in the absence of a leader. Their nightly routine involved taking shifts in groups of two’s while the others slept and making supply runs at night as they attempted to lay low. I was glad security was still in their concerns, it was probably the reason they accepted my cautiously vague plans, devoid of any detail accept that they would travel at first light and I would explain everything I could then.

The next morning, I sat in the passenger seat of the mini bus Elena had ‘acquired’, as Mack insisted on driving. I explained as best I could, skipping over some of the more troubling details of how I came me to Fury’s safehouse and the equally unpleasant journey back. But the team were satisfied; I had returned with a set of co-ordinates and the promise of a new life, that if they played their cards right, would provide everything they needed to find Phil.

The night sky was paling into a new day when the bus stopped outside a tall set of gates, a pair of gentle hands shaking me awake as we arrived at was to become our new home.

 At first I was furious. Fury had sent us to the HALO headquarters, an organization that had made its business ‘re-purposing’ the talents of displaced special agents from a variety of agencies. They weren’t anywhere on a map because people didn’t need to find them, they would find the people they needed, regardless of whether those people wanted to be found or not - I should know, I’d recovered the bodies of enough former S.H.I.E.L.D agents to know how these people did business. But it soon became clear that he may be a bastard, but Fury was a smart bastard. New identities, secure lodgings and access to advanced technologies and systems most people didn’t even know about. His comment about playing our cards right had not been a figure of speech, this was a game we were all going to have to play if we wanted to get Phil back. It would take time but it was our best shot.

As we always did, the team adapted. We were each assigned to divisions that matched our skill sets, silently thankful our security levels didn’t clear us for active missions. The layout of the facility was not unlike a university, different buildings housing the operations of different divisions - and a large apartment block for the housing of new ‘residents’. As much as I disliked being kept on such a short lease, it kept the team secure and it kept us together. The spacious four bedroom apartment on the fifth floor didn’t take long to feel like home. We worked separately but returned each evening to share dinner and whatever intel we had managed to gather. It was on an evening like this, two weeks after our arrival, an impossible five weeks after the day that led us here, that I could here snatches of the groups laughter and rambling conversations from the kitchen through the small gap in my door. The uncontrollable trembling that had over-taken my body had nothing and everything to do with my collapse on my evening run. The jarring sickness had been building all week, I’d hoped the cool air might help clear my head as I set off on my usual route outside the compound. I hadn’t felt my legs falter beneath me and the hard shock as the pavement rushed to meet me jolted me back into awareness. Still, as I stood, a fresh wave of nausea overtook me and I was forced to lower myself back to the ground. As I sat there my stomach settled but my mind wandered, landing on something that forced me back to my feet as my chest constricted.

I made one stop on my way back to the apartment, declining dinner when I returned and retreating to the privacy of my room. That had been almost an hour ago and in that time - minus three excruciating minutes - my world had simultaneously fallen apart and come together again. I knew what I had to do, yet still, I remained rooted to my bed, the offending piece of plastic still gripped in my hand. I looked down at it once more, the results already beginning to fade and set it aside as I reached under the bed, pulling out the go-bag I had packed our first night here. It didn’t have much, some clothes, a weapon, cash but then again I didn’t have much else. Gathering up the packaging still strewn on the floor of the small ensuite she shared with Jemma, I stuffed it into the bag and hoisted it over my shoulder, slipping silently out the door of my room. At the end of the hallway, I paused but a shout of Daisy’s laughter masked the sound of the key turning in the front door before it clicked softly shut behind me. The weight that pressed down on me as I made my way out of the complex had nothing to do with the bag slung across my back. The guilt brought tears to me eyes that I didn’t bother rubbing away. Even though it would break a bit of me and possibly all of them, I knew that I was willing to break every other promise in order to keep this one. Because this wasn’t just my decision. It was the last thing he had asked me to do. Take care of our family.

AN: Thanks for all the lovely feedback! And sorry for the late upload, life got real life-y there for a minute. Feedback always appreciated x

[spookypastatoo]

11 Miles

Do you have something that you truly, relentlessly desire? Despite your state of life, is there something else that you would go completely to the end of the world to get? Well lucky for you, there’s a way to achieve what you’re looking for, and you won’t need to go to the end of the world to get it. But you will need to go somewhere, and the place may be too out of reach for some. It’s not far away, closer than one may believe but there are requirements that some individuals may not meet. First, whatever it is that you seek, know that you must seriously desire what you want. In your eyes, it should be something you need. If you begin the journey without the correct state of mind, you will surely fail, as it will be near impossible to turn back once the journey starts. The second requirement is that you will need a vehicle of sorts. Most use a car, as it’s the most comfortable choice. There have been a select few that have used a small motorized vehicle, such as an ATV or motorcycle, but this has proven to be quite difficult, as the conditions of the journey can prove to be too bothersome. Do not use a vehicle too large or noticeable, as you will need some of the cover of night to be most safe. Also, while any sort of car will do, you may not want to choose the most expensive or cherished vehicle. You can take your slick new black Mercedes for the drive if you’d like, but don’t expect it to come out in a pristine state. Make sure your vehicle is completely fueled before beginning the drive. The first task to accomplish is to locate the road. It doesn’t have a name, it’s not on the map, and technically, it doesn’t even exist. It will only show up if you’re looking for it at the right time, and you will only spot it if you know what to look for. Finally, you must be alone during the journey. You didn’t think you’d be able to go with a group, did you?

It must be night when you begin. Choose the time of the night where you believe the roads are the least populated. Drive to any area that is just a stretch of road surrounded by woods. Here’s where you want to start paying close attention. If you’re looking for the road, it will turn up eventually, but you need to search for the road’s hint in order to pull down the right one. Once you’re close, you will see or feel its signs but what the signs will be will depend on what it is you desire. For example, if you’re in search of wealth, you may spot shimmers on the empty branches of trees as if they resembled the shine of gold or diamonds. If you seek love, you may begin to see rose petals slowly dance in the light breeze, blowing in the road’s direction. If you seek revenge, you might sense an ever-growing feeling of heat or anger in your body as you approach. Just know what it is you really want, and you’ll have no problem finding the turn. Once you’re sure you’ve found the revealed road, take a deep breath, and turn down onto it.

At this point, you have officially started down the nameless road which brings you through 11 miles, leading to whatever it is you seek. Each mile will test your desire, and will expose if you really do want what you’re searching for. Before you go any further, stop the car and be wary of a few advisements: Do not turn on a radio during a drive. Do not turn a phone during a drive (reception would be cut off anyway). Do not open the windows during the drive. Make sure they are closed before you continue. If you are riding a vehicle without windows or a top, then prepare for the worst, as the odds are heavily against you. Do not attempt to leave your vehicle at ANY time. You’ll never want to exceed 30 miles per hour, unless you’re desperate to make it through a section of the road. And, most importantly, as with any drive, buckle up. Feel free to prepare and make sure you’re ready. Once the road has been entered, time has stopped so you don’t need to worry about losing the night. Though you may not notice, you’re not actually in your own world anymore. Take one last moment to realize that once the first mile is over there is no turning back. If you ponder turning back at all, know that you shouldn’t even be on the journey in the first place. Once all is done, continue on the road.

On the first mile, you won’t see much change. The road passes through mostly woods with a few miles being an exception. The air will turn a bit colder, in which you should turn on your heating system if the vehicle has one. You won’t want to take your eyes off the road later. Take some time to calm any uneasiness by admiring some of the night sky. You’ll see it completely lined with stars, more than what you would ever believe possible. If the weather was cloudy beforehand, you’ll also notice that the sky is now clear.

On the second mile, the air will become even colder. This is primarily the reason why traveling in an open vehicle is very difficult. With each mile, the air will drop in temperature even if the season should be warm. If the air is too cold to bear, even with the heat on, your only option is to speed up. With each mile the road also becomes more complex, taking more turns and showing an increasing amount of road hazards. Be sure to always keep focused on the road in front of you in order to avoid as many bumps or obstacles as possible. Hitting a few rocks and potholes won’t hamper your progress too much, but you’ll want to keep in the best condition for as long as possible. If your vehicle is forced to stop because of damage, then there’s nothing left you can do but eventually freeze to death.

On the third mile, you may begin to spot silhouettes of human figures in the linings of trees. Pay no attention to them, even if they seem to get closer. It will be hard to resist peeking at their unnerving, distant appearance but know that they will reveal themselves later. At this mile, the road will become dirt if you weren’t driving on it in the beginning. Keep to the center of the path as it will become narrow and wide at random intervals. On a quick side note, should you ever attempt to turn around (despite the previous warnings) you’ll be left on a path which never ends. You would simply run out of fuel eventually, and be left to freeze in the cold conditions.

On the fourth mile, you will not only see more of the figures but you will begin to in a sense hear them. In the back of your mind, a very faint intelligible whisper will echo. These will come and go, but you can’t stop them. If they become bothersome or distracting, try and tune them out by thinking of what it is you desire. Attempting to listen and determine what the voices are saying will only attract them to you, and you want to be as far away from them as you can. They’ll be closer later, so there’s no use bringing them near you this early.

On the fifth mile, you will come to a clearing. The lining of trees to your left will disappear to reveal a lake with no end with a beaming, great moon over the water. The illumination from the moon will be so spectacular that the vehicle’s headlights will no longer be required. Restrain yourself form gazing at it. If you look at its light for even more than a few seconds the road in front of you will end, throwing your vehicle into the water in which you will freeze in mere minutes. The voices will be gone for this mile, but don’t rejoice yet. They’ll be back.

On the sixth mile, take into account that you are more than halfway done. Despite the progress, you may lose hope here. The stars will have disappeared at this point, leaving the sky an empty, black abyss. The clearing will have ended, leading you back into the woods. The only light you will have will be provided by your vehicle’s headlights, but they will flicker from time to time even if you’re sure they’re in perfect working order. If you have a radio in the vehicle, it will turn on here automatically. If you didn’t turn it off beforehand, it will produce an overwhelming screech that will send you off the path. A calm voice will then begin to speak about your greatest fears, what it is you are horrified of in your life. It will speak in a way that will cause you to visualize the words in your mind, so don’t listen to it. If you begin to comprehend what it’s saying, the horrors will prove too much for you to stay on the road safely. Attempting to turn off the radio will prove no use. Speed up if you need to, just keep your mind off the voice as much as you can. As you approach the end of the mile, the voice will fade out of the speakers, leaving your ears at peace (for now).

On the seventh mile, the voices from the figures will return. It won’t sound like a whisper this time, but more like distant screams, growing closer with each second. At some point on this mile, you’ll hear one of them in your ear, as if one of them were right behind you. This is because one of the figures have found their way into your vehicle. Do not turn around. Their face will shock you to a paralysis, leading you off the road. If you don’t draw attention to it, it will become uninterested, and hopefully leave. These beings are said to be ones who have travelled down this road before, but were not successful. They live the remainder of their existences suffering, in the darkness with their only goal being to bring other travelers down with them. It has been said from experience that these beings can’t physically harm you, so as long as they don’t cause you to wreck, you should be fine.

On the eighth mile, slow down if you’re going too fast. The road here takes very sharp turns, which if overshot will throw the vehicle into a pit through the trees. The cold is near fatal here. If you were to have a glass or bottle of liquid in your vehicle, it would be solid in seconds. The heating system will have become completely obsolete. Your headlights will flicker more, sometimes shutting off for a few seconds. You should brake if this happens, but do not completely stop. The figures will be following you at this point, and should you stop for too long, they will surround and trap your vehicle. More of their screams can be heard from outside your doors, sometimes even sounding of maniacal laughter. Their hands will claw at your windows, desperate to reach in and feel something living. Do not look at them. They won’t block your windshield, and the last thing you want to happen is to crash and be trapped with them. If you don’t make it from here, pray that it’s the freezing that ends you.

On the ninth mile, your vehicle will stall. The headlights will shut off, as will all other systems inside. There’s nothing you can do to prevent this. What you will need to do is close your eyes and immediately attempt to restart the vehicle. Keep your eyes closed, as the figures would have surely surrounded you at this point. The starting of the vehicle will frighten them, and they will all back away temporarily. This will give you a chance to start moving forward again. If you begin to hear the windows crack from their struggle, don’t lose focus. The beings can alter the vehicle but remember that they still do not have the strength to physically affect you. You will hear nothing but their voices’ rampage in your mind, as there could be anywhere between a dozen or a hundred after you now. Once you start the vehicle, floor it. Floor it so long as you can stay on the path. When the mile’s done, the beings will retreat.

On the tenth mile, the voices of the beings will stop. If you were to look in your rear-view mirror (do not actually do this), you would see them following you but not as if they were chasing. They’re watching you, as if they were seeing you off. As you go down the tenth mile, the road will be smoother, as if you were back on the first mile. The figures will be lining the sides of the path ahead of you. They won’t be after you, but they will watch you as you pass. Some have theorized that the beings are impressed here, that you have come a long way on the journey to what you desire. This is false. They are not impressed, but they are happy. They are happy you are about to approach the next mile. They are happy because you are most likely going to your death.

On the eleventh and final mile, everything in your vehicle will lose power as it did on the ninth mile. The vehicle would normally be immobile, but you will still be moving. An unknown force will be pulling you forward. In the darkness, you will see a glowing red light up ahead, as if it were a light at the end of a tunnel. Close your eyes, and cover them. Do whatever it takes to make sure you do not see what you are about to go through. Covering your ears would also be helpful, but keeping your eyes covered should be a higher priority. The red light is another clearing, but there’s no moon or lake this time. Once it’s entered, unrelenting and inconceivable noises will sound from all directions. No amount of bravery and conditioning will spare you from these sounds. The cold will turn to a merciless heat, burning all parts of the vehicle. You will feel the illusion of the flesh being burned off your bones, that every part of you is being destroyed as you travel through screams and audible suffering. As long as you keep your eyes closed, and resist the urge to see where you are, you will survive through the suffering. This will last a total of 31 seconds but many fail to keep their vision closed during that time and are left to the worst fate of the road. Where is this mile located? Those who have survived do not know. Some have named it “the transmission from Hell” but whether it’s part of Hell is debatable.

After the final mile, power will return. Stop the vehicle. Take a moment to possibly regain some of your sanity. Let the screaming in your ears begin to fade and know that you have nearly completed your journey with the hardest task overcome. Breathe, and begin to drive forward once again. After only a kilometer, your vehicle will arrive at a dead end. Stop here and don’t attempt to move again. Nothing will happen right this second but do not be disappointed. Relax and close your eyes. Imagine in your mind what it is you’ve desired the entire time. It will most likely still be the same as when you entered, but with some this desire may actually change through making this journey. Think about what it was that you went through such terrifying and difficult means to acquire and imagine possessing it in your hands. Once you have completely visualized this, slowly open your eyes.

You will then find yourself at the beginning of the unnamed road, where you first began. This may confuse you, but know that you are finished. Your task is done. Your mind will then turn to your reward. If what you desired was material, check in the back seat or in the trunk if the object is larger. If the object was small enough, it might already be in your pocket. If what you desired was nonmaterial, then do not be disappointed if the change is not immediate. Turn back to where you came from, and you will find in your life that what you wanted is there. You may have found the love of your dreams. You may have gained unnatural, unimaginable power. You may have put your most hated enemy to the most satisfying revenge possible. You will have no doubt gained what you deserve.

So now that the task is done, what’s the catch? Is your vehicle cursed? Is there something you’re about to lose? Is your death imminent? The answer to all is no, of course. You’ve done the challenge. You’ve proved worthy of what you desire. As stated before, the sounds of the eleventh mile will continue to exist in your mind, potentially causing you some vivid and unusual nightmares, but these should prove as nothing compared to what you’ve gained. Now, one last question: is there something else you desire? Are you not yet satisfied? After all, you’re left right back where you started. The road’s right in front of you, so are you up for another drive? If so, buckle up, and just move forward.

[subcutaneous7]

Hi! can you do Supercat 34 and 46 together? Also! You are an amazing writer and I'm glad you share it with all of us!

Thank you so very much! Sorry this took a while, but hopefully it will be worth the wait. Here on A03.

***

Kara searched high and low, frantically scouring every damn drawer in the tiny French powder room, leaving no stone unturned. Sunscreen wasn’t something she ever had to worry about herself, but she knew her hostess did, so where could it be? This was the first request she’d made of her in quite a while, and definitely the simplest task she’d ever asked Supergirl to tackle, so if Cat Grant wanted her to pack a bag for the beach, she was determined to get it right. The fact that the other woman still didn’t know her two identities were one in the same, however, was almost a joke at this point. Ever since the CEO called for her after a nasty fall in the Andes, Cat kept in close contact with the Girl of Steel. Kara couldn’t help but check on her as she recovered in a Chilean hospital, or again a few weeks later in Greece, the next month in Barcelona. As soon as she was back on her feet, Cat commenced with the globetrotting, making the best of her sabbatical, even if she did seem a bit lost in every place she landed. Not that she wasn’t an extremely adept tour guide, and Kara certainly loved getting to see the sights and taste the cuisine in each locale. They never ventured far from Cat’s hotel for appearance’s sake, but what little they did explore was remarkable, the view from her suite never failing to stun. They’d sit out on the balcony like nothing had changed, Cat pointing out the Parthenon or the Sagrada Família, pretending to just be two ordinary people who enjoyed catching up with each other, despite all the unanswered questions and secrets left between them. As the months passed and they got closer, Kara had a more difficult time returning to her everyday life. Anywhere in the world with Cat began to feel more like home than National City did these days. Even if she stayed only for an hour or so, Cat seemed to have her spirits lifted, so Supergirl did her best to keep the visits coming.

Which is why she knew it was ridiculous to be panicking over something as basic as sunscreen, but she also didn’t want to leave it out. Finally, she made her way back downstairs in Cat’s lavish vacation home, deciding there was no harm in asking. “Hey, have you seen the…? Oh,” she froze, shutting her eyes, turning around quickly, though not before getting a clear glimpse of Cat’s naked shoulders, bare breasts sitting perfectly beneath chiseled collarbones, small pink nipples staring back defiantly from across the kitchen.   Kara felt like all the air had been knocked out of her lungs. She forced herself to keep breathing. “Oh my god,” she gasped. “I am so…so sorry…” “You don’t have to hide,” Cat told her nonchalantly. “Nothing you haven’t seen before, I’m sure.” “Yes, but…not on you.” “Well, when in Nice,” Cat shrugged. Kara could hear her continuing to move about the room, opening the refrigerator, taking out a bowl of grapes for the road. “I thought you knew topless sunbathing was the custom here.” “I did not,” Kara shook her head emphatically, shifting a little in her own bathing suit and cover up. “Does it make you uncomfortable? Surely where you’re from they aren’t as puritanical as most of Earth’s…” “Actually, we wore a lot more clothes on Krypton,” Kara shared. “Believe it or not.” “Really?” Cat mused. “If you’re that embarrassed, I can…” “No,” Kara assured, not wanting to make her feel insecure in the slightest. “No it’s…it’s fine, really. I just might not join you in…I mean…I might keep mine on if that’s…” “Of course,” Cat smirked a little, drying her hands on a towel before popping another grape into her mouth. “Shall we?“ 

Kara followed her down the dusty steps built into the side of the cliff. It was late in the day, the sun still hot and heavy in the sky, though the orange haze of evening hung over the shimmering water. It was so perfectly picturesque Kara was sure it was just as pretty as any postcard, if only she could have focused on it for more than a second. Instead, her eyes kept wandering back to the small framed woman in front of her, leading the way as they approached the semi-private beach. Her linen pants clung to her hips, blonde, messy hair tossed by the wind as she attempted to sweep it out of her face. Kara could make out the bones in her spine, coupled by strong muscles on either side, tan skin glistening beneath the oil she’d somehow managed to apply on her own. Kara was partly relieved, another, larger part disappointed she wouldn’t be asked to smooth the liquid over her shoulders, across the nape of her neck, making sure she didn’t miss a spot. After a few more yards, Cat spread out the blanket she’d brought for both of them, motioning for Kara to sit. It was a gorgeous day, in one of the most breathtaking spots she’d ever laid eyes on. The sand felt toasty beneath her bare feet. She was happy she’d traded her suit and cape for something more comfortable, though the wrap she wore felt obscenely prudish given the circumstances. She imagined how nice the warm breeze must have felt on Cat’s skin, though she dared not look again as much as she could help it.

They sat in silence for a long time. Kara wondered what the point of this was, asking her to come here, showing her the beach, appearing mostly nude in front of her without any warning. If she wasn’t such a wreck inside about her own feelings, she might have been angry. But the truth was, this is exactly where she wanted to be. For months, she’d felt like they were sailing towards something other than friendship, and maybe this was the first taste of that. She just hadn’t thought seeing more of her would be this…easy.

Then again, what if Cat didn’t really want the girl she’d gotten to know back when things were simpler? What if she thought the person she’d been sharing so much time with, barreling closer and closer to the edge with, was just a superhero, a refugee from another planet, not the clumsy, often awkward woman who’d bent over backwards to make her life easier for the past three years? Suddenly, this, all of this, felt like a betrayal.

She turned back towards Cat, then away again, knowing she had to say something before things got any more complicated.

“Cat?”

“Mm?” the older woman hummed.

“I…” Kara swallowed. “I feel like…I need to tell you something.”

Cat sat up a little, brushing off some of the sand stuck to her forearms. Kara stole another glimpse, not wanting to stare, but knowing she owed it to them both to make eye contact. Her eyes trailed down to her chest automatically, taking in the soft, subtle curve of her cleavage, the color and texture, the sweet freckles she’d never seen before peppered with flecks of sand still lingering there. Quickly, she forced herself to look back up, meeting Cat’s green, patient eyes and gentle smile. She exhaled, letting herself relax, knowing in that moment that the time had finally come.

“I’m not…just Supergirl,” Kara whispered, voice threatening to break, hands wrapped around her knees. “I'm…”

She almost stopped, but then Cat’s hand met hers on top of the blanket, just barely making contact, urging her to continue.

“I’m…me,” the younger woman continued. “Kara.”

“I know,” Cat’s smile widened, even as she rolled her eyes a bit wistfully. “But thank you. For finally telling me. That does mean a lot.”

Kara sighed deeply, letting out another breath as she looked back at the ocean, feeling like the weight of the world had just fallen from her shoulders. She shifted her feet against the sand, feeling her skin tingle where Cat’s hand still rested on top of hers.

“Well, that’s two revelations today. Three, technically,” Cat glanced down at her chest, crossing her arms as the wind picked up. “Should we go for broke with four?”Kara turned to her again, watching goosebumps sprinkle down the length of her arms.

“What do you mean?” she asked.“I think I made a mistake, leaving like I did,” Cat admitted quietly. “I miss CatCo. I miss going into work every day, getting to do something I care about, and more than that, I miss you.”

Kara felt her throat twinge, threatening to close as she felt her heart throb against her lungs.

“These meetings…” Cat kept going. “As much as I appreciate them, just don’t cut it. I find myself…aching to go back to when we spent every day together, even if it was just work. I don’t know why I thought this was the answer, but it’s not, and now I just…want my life back.”“Why did you leave then?” Kara needed more. “Why didn’t you call me…I mean, call…Kara…” “I’ve been avoiding it,” Cat shook her head. “I was afraid…I’d messed things up too much to repair. Afraid of what you might say, or not say…”

Cat’s face was practically white, she looked so raw and uncertain, like maybe she’d just opened up a wound she couldn’t possibly have known was still so fresh. They had spent all this time together, but it couldn’t undo the fact that she’d ignored Kara for the past several months, pretending like she didn’t need her, not asking how things were with Snapper or James or any of that, because it didn’t seem to matter, when clearly it did.

“You should have called,” Kara’s eyes watered as she bit her lip.

“I shouldn’t have left,” Cat told her firmly.

And that was all she needed to hear.

Kara reached across the blanket, taking her face in her hands, bringing their lips together in a crushing kiss.

Cat let out the tiniest noise, almost as if to protest at first, but then her fingers were in Kara’s hair, stroking her cheeks, wiping away her tears as she let herself be kissed like she had never been kissed. Kara’s tongue begged for more, and Cat gave it to her, letting her in as she allowed herself to be wrapped up in strong, shaking arms. Cat pushed them back onto the sand, coming up for air only for a moment before returning to Kara’s lips, marveling at their sureness, holding on to her waist with enough fervor to let her know she was just as sure.

She leaned over the younger woman, feeling her hands, a little less certain than her lips, make their way up her back, touching and teasing her skin before pulling away. Cat smiled down at her, tracing her jawline, blushing for the first time that afternoon as Kara very openly, very consciously stared at her breasts hanging between them. “If you keep looking at me like that…” she swallowed. “…we won’t make it to a bed.“

“Yes we will,” Kara breathed, smiling as she pushed some of Cat’s hair behind her ear. “I’ll make sure of it.”Slowly, she sat up, kissing her again, wrapping her arms around the other woman as she hoisted her into the air, letting Cat’s feet dangle, hands draped around her neck as she carried them back to the house.

[abutterflyobsession]

Doctor Who AU: Part 19

prelude/one/two/three/four/five/six/seven/eight/nine/ten/eleven/twelve/thirteen/fourteen/fifteen/sixteen/seventeen/nineteen/ao3

“Yoohoo! Us again! Having a little problem with non-native plant toxins! Thought you might be able to help!”

Aura Plum opened the front door of the cottage, looking suspiciously around for any sign of the dark-haired Time Lord. But there was only the other one, the blonde one, looking cheerful and slightly out of breath.

“You parked on my marigolds.”

Dawn glanced back at the TARDIS, “Yeeeah . . . sorry about that. Kind of an emergency, bit of a rush, sort of an army of evil plant soldiers wrecking havoc in the city, stabbing people and spreading some nasty toxins around. Sort of need to whip up an all-purpose antitoxin and I remembered you had a pretty fantastic lab setup, so . . . hi.”

“Plant army?” Aura folded her arms, rings and bangles catching the light, “How did that happen, pray tell?”

“Someone that shouldn't have sort of got hold of the primrose pendant and used it to grown an army bent on causing destruction and chaos. Very unfortunate. We got the pendant back, though!”

“Where is it? And where is Broden?”

“Uh, Bog has the pendant. He's with my sister. Trying to shut down the army. We were helping, but the toxin situation is kind of becoming critical so we got sidetracked. He's perfectly safe.”

“Yeah,” Sunny called, dragging out a plastic-shrouded form from the TARDIS, “We're the ones running around trying to get samples without getting stabbed. Dawn, I feel like a grave robber over here.”

“Help you in a minute!” Dawn assured him.

“I'm calling Broden,” Aura started to shut the door, “I'll see what he says before I let either of you back into my house.”

“Yeah, wait, wait, wait,” Dawn waved her hands until Aura paused with the door still open a crack, “He's kind of in the middle of a thing. The primrose pendent? Kind of a massive database of Cheem history. He's a bit . . . plugged in right now, trying to stop the army. Psychic thing, you know?”

The door swung all the way open, “The pendant is a database?”

“Yup! You'll have a lot of fun going through it, I bet. After we stop the city from getting poisoned, yeah?”

“I suppose you'd better come in,” Aura sighed, waving for them to follow.

“Yippee,” Dawn ran over to Sunny and helped him pick up the body, “I do love a good scientific collaboration!”

“Don't touch anything!” Aura called from inside the house.

“Well, that's not fun at all.”

“You need to stop them from spreading any more toxins.”

“Yeah, you said that.”

“It's important.”

“I know that.”

“Then maybe you should hurry up and stop it.”

“It's a little hard with you jabbering in my ear!”

Bog was still getting the hang of being split up among multiple locations. He was standing in the forest, but he was also flicking through hundreds of sets of eyes, trying to find soldiers in immediate danger of harming people and stopping them. It was tedious searching and wrenching control away from the AI was difficult.

As well, there was more pressure than ever after the Doctor told Bog that Dawn had been unable to find a way immediately unplug him and had to redirect her efforts to stopping the spread of toxins. Removing him from the machine would have to be done later, when there was time to do it slowly and carefully. In the meantime it was on Bog to halt the army.

“Stop channel surfacing and work on reclaiming the AI entirely. You control that, you control the whole army, not just one soldier at a time.”

“I already tried doing that, remember? It didn't work.”

“Then try again! Try harder! Try better!”

Bog ground his teeth together and shut his eyes, turning off the rapid changing of channels and giving himself a moment to breathe. The Doctor was right, this wasn't working and he was getting tired. Just shutting his eyes for a moment to think made his mind attempt to shut down and sleep.

A smack to the side of Bog's head made him come to with a start.

“AI. Override it. Now.”

“Wee monster,” Bog mumbled under his breath, shaking his head and readjusting his hands over the amber, trying to keep his rising temper in check. There must have been some sort of mental bleed-through because although the Doctor did not look it, Bog knew she was feeling desperate and helpless, prompting him to remark, “You're not used to letting anyone else drive, are you?”

“Just—just do the thing!”

“Why do you keep assuming I know what I'm doing?”

“Call up the AI,” the Doctor closed her eyes, taking a moment to compose herself before adding, “please.”

“Since you asked nicely,” Bog rolled his head back dramatically and shouted up at the trees, “Summoning the mighty black cloud of death currently piloting a small army of plant people! You there? We need to talk.”

“No need to shout, I'm right here!”

Bog almost took his hands off the amber when he heard Roland's voice.

The Doctor automatically smacked his hands back down.

Shifting awkwardly around, Bog saw that Roland was indeed there, looking disapprovingly at the various forms of nature that were daring to deface the bright polish of his shoes

“He's supposed to be sleeping it off!” Bog looked accusingly at the Doctor.

“Oh,” Roland waved a hand and laugh a superior little laugh, “I'm not actually Roland! I'm merely a reflection of his brilliant mind and exemplary face.”

“You're the reprogrammed AI,” the Doctor looked disgusted, “I'm not even slightly surprised. Just really, really tired.”

“I'm here to keep you from cheating,” the AI said with a wink, “The rules were set out, sweetheart, and there are still only two choices. You either push the button . . . or you don't. Save countless lives or your precious houseplant. That's it, those are all your options, sweetpea. Anything else is just wasting your time. Oh, and putting thousands of lives at risk.”

Bog looked away from Roland's beaming face and asked the Doctor, “So we have to get past him, then? I don't suppose he's punchable?”

“Try giving him an order.”

“Hey, Marilyn Monroe, turn off the plant army.”

“No can do!” Roland shook his head cheerfully.

“Unplug me from the program.”

“Completely impossible!”

“Um,” Bog hesitated, trying to think of another order worth trying.

“Send him away,” the Doctor ordered.

“Can I do that?”

“You can try.”

“Beat it, prince smarmy.”

Roland vanished without even flashing a parting smile.

“Huh,” the Doctor said, hand on her hip—her other hand still on Bog's, “wish that worked in reality too.”

“In a perfect world . . .” Bog nodded in wistful agreement, “Anyway, if I try and deal directly with the AI I'm dealing with him?”

“Essentially. He's a layer of protection that you have to get past. Your previous attempts to override the AI you tried doing it roundabout, through the part specifically controlling the soldiers. This was direct contact with the new interface.”

“Lovely. What are our options, aside from the dumb ones we're not using?”

The Doctor walked away and sat down on a a tree stump, elbows on her knees and chin propped up on her fists. She stared hard at the empty space of the small clearing. Her face and hands were covered with dirt and grease even though she was in a strictly mental plane of existence and could probably look how she pleased. Bog wondered what that said about her, that her clothing was still dusty, boots scuffed, and hair stuck up in tufts.

Bog left her to her thinking.

He decided to try again at switching off the part of the AI controlling the plants. When that didn't work he tried going through the interface directly.

The next thing he knew the Doctor was guiding his sudden descent to the ground so that he didn't hit his head on anything. Roland's laughter over the failed attempt was still ringing in his ears. The Doctor shoved him around so he was sitting with his back to the tree and dropped herself next to him.

“That way is going to kill you without doing anybody any good.”

“I'm beginning to see that,” Bog replied, his heart racing and ears ringing, “I really hate that AI. I liked it more when it was just a black cloud of death. What do we try next, then?”

The Doctor was staring at the clearing again.

At a box, a couple of feet tall, topped with a large red gem the size of Bog's fist.

“Big red . . . button? Is that supposed to be the kill switch?” Bog asked, still breathing hard, “That better not be the kill switch.”

“It's in my pocket, in reality,” the Doctor said, not taking her eyes off the box, “I've got my hand on it now. I could press it this moment if you told me to.”

“I'm telling you not to!” Bog said quickly, “Definitely not!”

“I assumed. But that's our option, so far as I can see. Don't press the button. Press the button. Save one or save many.”

“He's doing this on purpose,” Bog realized, “This is because--”

“I know why he's doing it,” the Doctor cut him off, “and I might even consider him justified if he didn't keep dragging other people into it! And he knows what choice I'll make, he knows that I'll talk and I'll talk until I have you pressing the button and think it's your own idea, that you're a noble martyr through your own choice. I might as well push the button myself because your death would be on me anyway. Maybe even I'll believe it for a second, the noble philosopher, making hard choices for the greater good, standing on the high moral ground of her principles.”

Coat dragging over the roots of the tree, the Doctor rolled to her feet and went to walk around the box, leaving Bog at the base of the tree, listening dumbly to her ranting.

“And you were only picked and shoved into this dilemma because, apparently, in some aborted time line we would have known each other and that would have been important somehow. Us knowing each other is important, something comes from that which contributes to a fixed point in time so . . . I can't let you die! Because that would break a fixed point in time and have all of time happening at once and that is never fun, let me tell you!”

Clouds were rolling across the sky, casting the clearing into darker shadows, the sunlight outlining the clouds with a halo of red fire.

“If . . .” Bog found his throat was dry and he had to swallow hard before he could continue, “If I died . . . that would save my mom. My aunt Aura. I can't wrap my head around the whole city, but . . . my mom. My band. My boss at the bar.”

“It would,” the Doctor's words were blunt, “it would save them. Everyone like them. But, time--”

“I can't imagine that I'm so important to history that it can't do without me,” Bog laughed, “I'm just some rock star wannabe that no one will ever hear about. And we met. Maybe you'll do something important because you met me, and that's what was meant to happen. Maybe you take my guitar and use it to smash Roland over the head and save the world.”

“It isn't . . . it's not impossible.”

“Then there is a choice. I'm not saying I've made up my mind about it, but that's . . . still a choice. A choice that might, well, make up for some things.”

Some things that could never be undone, or even fixed. But maybe it could just be a little better. Make up for that little boy bleeding out on the floor, dead by Bog’s hand, because he thought the room had been cleared, but . . .

The Doctor dropped back down next to him and leaned her forehead on his shoulder. Bog rather thought there might have been more mental bleed-through and that she had picked up on his train of thought.

“Stop being noble. Being dead doesn’t help anybody.”

“I'm really not. It's just . . . a hard choice. And somebody has to make it.”

“You should never have been put in this position.”

“All because I might have known you someday, huh? I assume the whole, um, romantic angle is just in Roland's head?”

“I can only suppose,” the Doctor shrugged, still leaning on Bog, her fingers playing over the wrinkles in the sleeve of his jacket, “Anything is possible, but some things are more unlikely than others.”

“How unlikely? Because I've believed six impossible things before breakfast today, so, I've not really got a good grasp of probability right now.”

The Doctor lifted her head and squinted at him with an expression of deep confusion, “Sorry, been a stressful day, have to forgive me for not quite keeping up . . . but for a second there it sounded like . . .”

The Doctor struggled to find the proper words, waving her hands slowly around as if she might snatch something out of the air to help her complete the question.

“. . . flirting?”

Bog burst into laughter even as his face turned hot with embarrassment.

“Knew I was wrong,” the Doctor folded her arms and shifted herself to sit forward facing, “This is awkward.”

“I'm sorry!” Bog wheezed through his laughter, “Your face was just amazing! You looked like you were in agony!”

“I am now.”

Bog covered his face with his hands, still choking on his laughter, “You should push that button now, I want to die.”

“Glad to oblige.”

The Doctor began to stand up.

Bog grabbed her arm and she fell back down again, tangled up on the ground next to him, their faces inches apart.

“Look,'” He said, aware that his pale complexion must have been red as a tomato at that point, “It's either the end of the world or the end of me, so . . .”

“So?” the Doctor asked, looking thoroughly lost.

“So, um, I'm going to do something stupid.”

“How stupid--?” the Doctor was asking when Bog leaned down and kissed her.

[miss-creepling-blog]

11 miles

Do you have something that you truly, relentlessly desire? Despite your state of life, is there something else that you would go completely to the end of the world to get? Well lucky for you, there's a way to achieve what you're looking for, and you won't need to go to the end of the world to get it. But you will need to go somewhere, and the place may be too out of reach for some. It's not far away, closer than one may believe but there're requirements that some individuals may not meet.

First, whatever it is that you seek, know that you must seriously desire what you want. In your eyes, it should be something you need. If you begin the journey without the correct state of mind, you will surely fail, as it will be near impossible to turn back once the journey starts. The second requirement is that you will need a vehicle of sorts. Most use a car, as it's the most comfortable choice. There have been a select few that have used small motorized vehicle, such as an ATV or motorcycle, but this has proven to be quite difficult, as the conditions of the journey can prove to be too bothersome.

Do not use a vehicle too large or noticeable, as you will need some of the cover of night to be most safe. Also, while any sort of car will do, you may not want to choose the most expensive or cherished vehicle. You can take your slick new black Mercedes for the drive if you'd like, but don't expect it to come out in a pristine state. Make sure your vehicle is completely fueled before beginning the drive.

The first task to accomplish is to locate the road. It doesn't have a name, it's not on the map, and technically, it doesn't even exist. It will only show up if you're looking for it at the right time, and you will only spot it if you know what to look for. Finally, you must be alone during the journey. You didn't think you'd be able to go with a group, did you?

It must be night when you begin. Choose the time of the night where you believe the roads are the least populated. Drive to any area that is just a stretch of road surrounded by woods. Here's where you want to start paying close attention. If you're looking for the road, it will turn up eventually, but you need to search for the road's hint in order to pull down the right one. Once you're close, you will see or feel its signs but what the signs will be will depend on what it is you desire. For example, if you're in search of wealth, you may spot shimmers on the empty branches of trees as if they resembled the shine of gold or diamonds. If you seek love, you may begin to see rose petals slowly dance in the light breeze, blowing in the road's direction. If you seek revenge, you might sense an ever growing feeling of heat or anger in your body as you approach. Just know what it is you really want, and you'll have no problem finding the turn.

Once you're sure you've found the revealed road, take a deep breath, and turn down onto it.

At this point, you have officially started down the nameless road which brings you through 11 miles, leading to whatever it is you seek. Each mile will test your desire, and will expose if you really do want what you're searching for. Before you go any further, stop the car and be wary of a few advisements:

Do not turn on a radio during the drive.

Do not use a phone during the drive (reception would be cut off anyway).

Do not open the windows during the drive. Make sure they are closed before you continue. If you are riding a vehicle without windows or a top, then prepare for the worst, as the odds are heavily against you.

Do not attempt to leave your vehicle at ANY time.

You'll never want to exceed 30 miles per hour, unless you're desperate to make it through a section of the road.

And most importantly, as with any drive, buckle up.

Feel free to prepare and make sure you're ready. Once the road has been entered, time has stopped so you don't need to worry about losing the night. Though you may not notice, you're not actually in your own world anymore. Take one last moment to realize that once the first mile is over there is no turning back. If you ponder turning back at all, know that you shouldn't even be on the journey in the first place. Once all is done, continue on the road.

On the first mile, you won't see much change. The road passes through mostly woods with a few miles being an exception. The air will turn a bit colder, in which you should turn on your heating system if the vehicle has one. You won't want to take your eyes off the road later. Take some time to calm any uneasiness by admiring some of the night sky. You'll see it completely lined with stars, more than what you would ever believe possible. If the weather was cloudy beforehand, you'll also notice that the sky is now clear.

On the second mile, the air will become even colder. This is primarily the reason why traveling in an open vehicle is very difficult. With each mile, the air will drop in temperature even if the season should be warm. If the air is too cold to bear, even with the heat on, your only option is to speed up. With each mile the road also becomes more complex, taking more turns and showing an increasing amount of road hazards. Be sure to always keep focused on the road in front of you in order to avoid as many bumps or obstacles as possible. Hitting a few rocks and potholes won't hamper your progress too much, but you'll want to keep in the best condition for as long as possible. If you're vehicle is forced to a stop because of damage, then there's nothing left you can do but eventually freeze to death.

On the third mile, you may begin to spot silhouettes of human figures in the linings of trees. Pay no attention to them, even if they seem to get closer. It will be hard to resist peeking at their unnerving, distant appearance but know that they will reveal themselves later. At this mile, the road will become dirt if you weren't driving on it in the beginning. Keep to the center of the path as it will become narrow and wide at random intervals. On a quick side note, should you ever attempt to turn around (despite the previous warnings) you'll be left on a path which never ends. You would simply run out of fuel eventually, and be left to freeze in the cold conditions.

On the fourth mile, you will not only see more of the figures but you will begin to in a sense hear them. In the back of your mind, a very faint unintelligible whisper will echo. These will come and go, but you can't stop them. If they become bothersome or distracting, try and tune them out by thinking of what it is you desire. Attempting to listen and determine what the voices are saying will only attract them to you, and you want to be as far away from them as you can. They'll be closer later, so there's no use bringing them near you this early.

On the fifth mile, you will come to a clearing. The lining of trees to your left will disappear to reveal a lake with no end with a beaming, great moon over the water. The illumination from the moon will be so spectacular that the vehicle's headlights will no longer be required. Restrain yourself from gazing at it. If you look at its light for even more than a few seconds the road in front of you will end, throwing your vehicle into the water in which you will freeze in mere minutes. The voices will be gone for this mile, but don't rejoice yet. They'll be back.

On the sixth mile, take into account that you are more than halfway done. Despite the progress, you may lose hope here. The stars will have disappeared at this point, leaving the sky an empty, black abyss. The clearing will have ended, leading you back into the woods. The only light you will have will be provided by your vehicles headlights, but they will flicker from time to time even if you're sure they're in perfect working order.

If you have a radio in the vehicle, it will turn on here automatically. If you didn't turn it off beforehand, it will produce an overwhelming screech that will send you off the path. A calm voice will then begin to speak about your greatest fears, what it is you are horrorified of in your life. It will speak in a way that will cause you to visualize the words in your mind, so don't listen to it. If you begin to comprehend what it's saying, the horrors will prove too much for you to stay on the road safely. Attempting to turn off the radio will prove no use. Speed up if you need to, just keep your mind off the voice as much as you can. As you approach the end of the mile, the voice will fade out of the speakers, leaving your ears at peace (for now).

On the seventh mile, the voices from the figures will return. It won't sound like a whisper this time, but more like distant screams, growing closer with each second. At some point on this mile, you'll hear one of them in your ear, as if one of them were right behind you. This is because one of the figures have found their way into your vehicle. Do not turn around. Their faces will shock you to a paralysis, leading you off the road. If you don't draw attention to it, it will become uninterested, and hopefully leave. These beings are said to be ones who have travelled down this road before, but were not successful. They live the remainder of their existence suffering, in the darkness with their only goal being to bring other travelers down with them. It has been said from experience that these beings can't physically harm you, so as long as they don't cause you to wreck, you should be fine.

On the eighth mile, slow down if you're going too fast. The road here takes very sharp turns, which if overshot will throw the vehicle into a pit through the trees. The cold is near fatal here. If you were to have a glass or bottle of liquid in your vehicle, it would be solid in seconds. The heating system will have become completely obsolete. Your headlights will flicker more, sometimes shutting off for a few seconds. You should break if this happens, but do not completely stop. The figures will be following you at this point, and should you stop for too long, they will surround and trap your vehicle. More of their screams can be heard from outside your doors, sometimes even sounding of maniacal laughter. Their hands will claw at your windows, desperate to reach in and feel something living. Do not look at them. They won't block your windshield, and the last thing you want to happen is to crash and be trapped with them. If you don't make it from here, pray that it's the freezing that ends you.

On the ninth mile, your vehicle will stall. The headlights will shut off, as will all other systems inside. There's nothing you can do to prevent this. What you will need to do is close your eyes and immediately attempt to restart the vehicle. Keep your eyes closed, as the figures would have surely surrounded you at this point. The starting of the vehicle will frighten them, and they will all back away temporarily. This will give you a chance to start moving forward again. If you begin to hear the windows crack from their struggle, don't lose focus. The beings can alter the vehicle but remember that they still do not have the strength to physically affect you. You will hear nothing but their voices rampage in your mind, as there could be anywhere between a dozen or a hundred after you now. Once you start the vehicle, floor it. Floor it so long as you can stay on the path. When the mile's done, the beings will retreat.

On the tenth mile, the voices of the beings will stop. If you were to look in your rear-view mirror (do not actually do this), you will see them following you but not as if they were chasing. They're watching you, as if they were seeing you off. As you go down the tenth mile, the road will be smoother, as if you were back on the first mile. The figures will be lining the sides of the path ahead of you. They won't be after you, but they will watch you as you pass. Some have theorized that the beings are impressed here, that you have come a long way on the journey to what you desire. This is false. They are not impressed, but they are happy. They are happy you are about to approach the next mile. They are happy because you are most likely going to your death.

On the eleventh and final mile, everything in your vehicle will lose power, as it did on the ninth mile. The vehicle would normally be immobile, but you will still be moving. An unknown force will be pulling you forward. In the darkness, you will see a glowing red light up ahead, as if it were a light at the end of a tunnel.

Close your eyes, and cover them. Do whatever it takes to make sure you do not see what you are about to go through. Covering your ears would also be helpful, but keeping your eyes covered should be a higher priority.

The red light is another clearing, but there's no moon or lake this time. Once it's entered, unrelenting and inconceivable noises will sound from all directions. No amount of bravery and conditioning will spare you from these sounds. The cold will turn to a merciless heat, burning all parts of the vehicle. You will feel the illusion of the flesh being burned off your bones, that every part of you is being destroyed as you travel through screams and audible suffering. As long as you keep your eyes closed, and resist the urge to see where you are, you will survive through the suffering. This will last a total of 31 seconds but many fail to keep their vision closed during that time and are left to the worst fate of the road. Where is this mile located? Those who have survived do not know. Some have named it "the transmission from hell" but whether it's part of hell is debatable.

After the final mile, power will return. Stop the vehicle. Take a moment to possibly regain some of your sanity. Let the screaming in your ears begin to fade and know that you have nearly completed your journey with the hardest task overcome.

Breathe, and begin to drive forward once again.

After only a kilometer, your vehicle will arrive at a dead end. Stop here and don't attempt to move again. Nothing will happen right this second but do not be disappointed. Relax and close your eyes. Imagine in your mind what it is you've desired the entire time. It will most likely still be the same as when you entered, but with some this desire may actually change through making this journey. Think about what it was that you went through such terrifying and difficult means to acquire and imagine possessing it in your hands.

Once you have completely visualized this, slowly open your eyes.

You will then find yourself at the beginning of the unnamed road, where you first began. This may confuse you, but know that you are finished. Your task is done.

Your mind will then turn to your reward. If what you desired was material, check in the back seat or in the trunk if the object is larger. If the object was small enough it might already be in your pocket. If what you desired was nonmaterial, then do not be disappointed if the change is not immediate. Turn back to where you came from, and you will find in your life that what you wanted is there. You may have found the love of your dreams. You may have gained unnatural, unimaginable power. You may have put your most hated enemy to the most satisfying revenge possible. You will have no doubt gained what you deserved.

So now that the task is done, what's the catch? Is your vehicle cursed? Is there something you're about to lose? Is your death imminent? The answer to all is no, of course. You've done the challenge. You've proved worthy of what you desire. As stated before, the sounds of the eleventh mile will continue to exist in your mind, potentially causing you some vivid and unusual nightmares but these should prove as nothing compared to what you've gained.

Now, one last question: Is there something else you desire? Are you not yet satisfied? After all, you're left right back where you started. The road's right in front of you, so are you up for another drive?

If so, buckle up, and just move forward.