#(after all they always did have trouble logging in on the same time heh........... but I'll be heartbroken if that happens)

[hgduo]

Some say that Quackity feels suspicious of everything because since he didn't have Luzu by his side (the first person who treated him well) that's why he's now paranoid. I think it could also be that obviously, all of that is suspicious but :(

Yeah I'm seeing that theory around too :( The one that's like Q y L still have some memories just not of each other and so all k!Q is left with is mostly unpleasant memories since before the betrayal Luzu really was the only one he felt like he could trust so from his pov he has no one on his side- like it's no wonder the first thing he thought of after the mind-wipe was seeing his cousins again since his family is the only people he really has- it must have been very distressing to see that image of Cochi and Beni in prison and not knowing why and not being able to contact them ( I hope they show up again- though a part of me fears for their safety if they do because they aren't just gonna put up with their cousin having his memories erased and being pals with the person they were fighting against.)

It is pretty neat in a way though seeing Luzu and Quackity sort of flip in disposition from how they were at the start of k5, back then Q being more open and bright (even if he was still putting on a facade even back then, he was at least genuinely enjoying his time there... and a large part of that was having Luzu by his side) compared to Luzu who was wary of the others and quickly latching onto his desire to protect Quackity- without that stress and obsession of worrying over Q Luzu now seems more calm and light in comparison while Quackity is the more uneasy quiet one- (Lowkey I kinda get the vibe that Luzu lost more memories then Q because his unhealthy fixation on Q was a major part of his character this season- leaving him with just things like his time with Titi, time as a psychologist, and the wedding fiasco, and some other things I'm forgetting rn lol- in turn Quackity has more memories they just aren't pleasant ones leaving him feeling more jaded)

However they both still seem very suspicious of everything though and quick to pick up on how things aren't adding up.

I wonder what we'll see next from them and what the future holds.

[theheraldsrest]

oddly specific request, but how would varric, cullen and solas comfort the inquisitor after they've had really bad nightmares and they wake up in a panic? i suffer from them and those are my boys (though varric is my platonic boi)

and if not too much trouble, lavellan!inquisitor, perhaps?

sorry if this is too specific heh— ^^;

“Varric, Cullen, and Solas comforting lavellan!Inquisitor after they wake in a panic from nightmares” Yeah never mind about being away. I did say I would do this and honestly need a distraction. You’re all good, anon, and Varric is the best boi. -Cabot

Varric

Your group was taking watch in rotations while the others got some sleep and being the Western Approach, your tents were set securely and at an advantage on one of the hills, overlooking the desert for miles, which was what Varric was doing while polishing Bianca. It was quiet, all except for the occasional sounds of wind and creatures hiding further in the dark away from your campfire. Varric glanced behind him, looking to Cassandra’s and Blackwall’s tents, making sure everything was alright there before looking around for your tent. For the past few times you made camp, you had been setting up your tent away from the others and it didn’t help that everytime it was your turn for watch duty, you were found wide awake. Varric was staring at your tent when he saw you step out of it quite quickly before walking over to the watering hole nearby. Concerned, Varric stood up and made his way over, trying his best not to startle you. As he got a few feet from you, he could see you were splashing your face, visibly shaking as you gripped the edges around the water. “You alright?” You jumped, looking wildly around before relaxing once you saw who had spoken. “Varric! You almost gave me a heart attack!” “Please, if I wanted to do that, I would’ve taken a page out of Sera’s book and released some bees.” He tried joking, but his own smile dropped as you gave a half-hearted chuckle. He didn’t say anything else but sat down next to you, waiting for you to tell him to go away. After a few moments in silence, he spoke again, “How you holding up?” Surprised, you looked at him, before dropping your gaze to the water. “Is it that noticeable?” “Well, when the leader of a group hasn’t slept in a couple days, it’s gonna get noticed. Plus, I knew someone who might’ve been going through the same thing you’re being put through.” He glanced at you as you pulled your knees to your chest to comfort yourself. “Wanna talk about it? Or just need company?” He watched as you mulled over it in your head, adding on “Listen, it’s not my place, but even the greatest leaders to the smallest person have problems or are tired or scared. The more they bottle it up and say that they can handle it, the further they fall. It’s better to have someone to lean on or even to confide in before you break. I’m willing to help if you need it. Wouldn’t be my first time helping a friend.” He gave you a warm smile which you returned. After a moment of silence, you took a breath before talking to him. He let you talk, never interrupting, only giving encouraging words when you paused. “Well I don’t think you need to worry about running everything. You got Curly, Josephine, and Lelianna to back you up, not to mention Seeker and everyone else,” or “And Corypheus is just another person trying to achieve godhood. Compared to you, who’s fought now, what, ten dragons? Yeah I think we’re safe.” He stayed and listened, trying his best to comfort you, until you were practically falling asleep. “Don’t worry, you don’t always have to be the one watching over everyone. Now get some sleep. We got another dragon to add to the list tomorrow.”

Cullen

He couldn’t help when he’d sleep or wake up since he was constantly plagued with nightmares. Some nights were pretty bad where you had to console him, telling him what he had seen were just dreams, they weren’t real. Other nights, he slept like a log, unable to be woken up until late in the morning. Those nights were usually when you were with him, a reminder to ground himself, just for you. It was one of these nights where he felt movement next to him and almost ignored it if it wasn’t for the sharp kick he received to his side. He sat up rubbing his hip, saying “Y/N, what in the world was that fo-” but cut himself off when he turned to see you weren’t there. Confused and slightly panicked, he looked around the room to see where you went, only to hear from the other side of the bed a sharp intake of breath. Cullen stood up and made his way around, only to find you on the ground, curled up and shivering as you let out a quiet sob. “Y/N?” You snapped your head up, looking to Cullen who now stood at the edge of the bed, looking worried. “Cullen! I’m sorry, I d-didn’t mean to wake you! I-I was just -there was -I-I was just having a bad nightmare and-” He kneeled next to you and silenced you as he pulled you into his arms. He didn’t say anything as he held you, letting you cling to him and rubbing the small of your back to try and calm you down. Once he made sure he had a grip on you, he lifted you up and climbed back into bed, holding you close. Cullen waited, making sure you were alright before asking “What happened, love?” You took a shaky breath before you explained to him the horrible nightmare you just had, all your worries coming out through these visions. He listened to you, waiting patiently for you to get it all out. You could feel his arms get tighter around you when you got to the part about him, your fear of losing him making your voice catch. When you finished, you added on “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t bother you with this. You already have enough to deal with, you don’t need to add on my own nigh-” His chuckle cut you off as he kissed the top of your head. “Love, it’s alright. You don’t have to shoulder the world all on your own. It’s alright to have these fears, no one’s great enough to not have nightmares, but that doesn’t mean you need to bottle them up. You are there when I have my dreams and nightmares, at least let me return the favor. I’m still here and that won’t change.” He turned you so that he could kiss the side of your face before laying back down with you, holding you close and tightly, making sure you knew he was there and that he would never let you go.

Solas

He walked the same path that he always did in the Fade, looking carefully around. It had been awhile since he saw you here, usually waiting for him without that familiar and beautiful smile but he hadn’t been able to find you as of late. He even questioned you, you’re only reponse being that he might have missed you or that you didn’t sleep but you would tomorrow. You had said that three days ago and still there was no sign of you. But tonight was different, he had seen to it that you actually got sleep, having witnessed you almost smack into the rear end of a horse, saying you didn’t see it move though it was stationary the whole time. He had even chuckled when you kept refusing, claiming you didn’t need sleep, only to fall instantly unconscious as soon as your head hit the pillow. Tonight, he knew you were dreaming, for the Fade had taken shape into Skyhold but with a winding forest surrounding it. Once he was sure that he had checked everywhere in this Skyhold facade, he stepped out into the forest area, a charming and peaceful place you had created. He continued his search until he stopped dead, looking down upon the remains of what seemed to be an elven camp. The tents were torn, the boats set aflame, and bodies massacred across the ground and in the river nearby. There he saw you, bloodied and bruised, kneeling over a body with fade demons surrounding you having taken the shape of hunters and templars. His fury rose as he made his way down to you, reaching the circle around you and dispelling the demons. He turned to look at you, about to ask what had happened, but stopping himself when he saw the body. With the demons gone, it left you to crumple in tears onto Solas himself, his eyes open but life gone from them. His heart sank to see how you clung to his lifeless form, knowing that these feelings were bad and that he should at least silence these visions, give you a peaceful sleep and to forget this dream ever happened. He shouldn’t reach out to you and take your hands, making you look up in surprise that would turn to relief as he spoke to you. He shouldn’t be pulling you to your feet and leading you away from these visions and back to Skyhold, all while speaking calmly and promising that he would always be there for you. But he did and, for now, he didn’t care that he knew he wouldn’t be able to keep that promise. All he knew was that he wanted you happy, to smile again and to stop your tears. As you stepped through the arch of Skyhold’s entrance, it changed to a serene and quiet pond that you both sat at the edge of, Solas pulling you closely to him and wiping the tears from your face, humming. After a while, you spoke up. “I thought you said you didn’t like the minstrel maiden’s songs? Especially ‘Sera was Never’?” He looked down at you, confused, his heart seeming to warm as he watched the smile grow on your face. Realising he was, in fact, humming the tune, he pretended to ignore your face. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.” You started laughing, which soon had him chuckling as well, placing a kiss first to your forehead, to your nose, and then your lips. As he pulled away, your foreheads still touching, he whispered “You will never lose me in battle, ma vhenan. I will always be here, by your side, to fight with you. Nothing will take me away from you.”

[timbertumbr]

Boneafide Gamer (A Reverse Harem Fic)

Chapter 3, Merchants and Mascots

First chapter

Quotev Link

Thank you to my friend for helping me with the puns.

List of Usernames with Nicknames-

Blue (Underswap Sans): Magnificent Blueberry

Stretch (Underswap Papyrus): Carrot

Edge (Underfell Papyrus): Captain

Red (Underfell Sans): Red

Mal (Swapfell Sans): Maleficent 

Rus (Swapfell Papyrus): Rus

Oak (Horrortale Sans): Oak

Willow (Horrortale Papyrus): Willow

Papyrus (OG or Undertale Papyrus): Coolskeleton95

Sans (OG or Undertale Sans): Sansational

-The next day- 

Since you didn’t have to go into work today, you decided to properly grind gold and EXP(erience) in Basic so you can explore a bit more without fear of dying and losing everything. You log into the virtual world and see that there were still a lot of people on the server. Shrugging it off, you are navigating the starting town back to the fields when you pass a certain street and a pair of VERY familiar skeletons.

You backtrack and take a proper look at them, they looked practically identical to Blue and Stretch. The tall one was moving around crates while the short one was… snoozing? In a game? You decided not to question it as you looked at their makeshift stand that had a sign reading “Oak and Willow’s Merchant Stand” Huh, that’s their usernames.

“Straight to the point. Nice,” You complimented aloud, the tall skeleton flinched and turned around quicker than you could say “What the fuuuuu-”

“You!” He said excitedly. You look around the street before pointing to yourself.

“Me?” You ask, earning a nod from the skeleton.

“You’re The Game Store Employee That Made Puns With My Cousin And Brother!” He states matter-of-factly. Wait a minute-

“Yeah, that’s me. But how did you know?” 

“I Never Forget A Face, Nyeh Heh Heh! Er… Voice, In This Case,” Impressive. He holds out a hand and you take it.

“My Name Is Willow! And This Is My Brother Oak!” He Introduced.

“Sup,” You hear a familiar deep voice say as you jump from surprise, Oak chuckles.

“Sorry ‘bout that,” You calm your racing heart and accept his apology. Wait, they look different from when you saw them at the store. Oak didn’t have his head wound or big red eye… Perks of being able to make customizable avatars.

“Nice to meet you both, I’m Fart!” The brothers snickered before Willow returned to moving crates.

“Likewise! Unfortunately, We Cannot Talk For Long. We Have Much Work To Do!” You nod and look at the small amount of crates.

“Anyway I could help?” You offer, Willow stacks a crate onto another before looking at you.

“I Appreciate The Offer But I Wouldn’t Want To Trouble You,” Willow explains, you shake your head.

“It’s no trouble for me at all. I’m going to the fields anyway. You DO need more supplies right?” You ask, uncertain if your hunch is right or not. Willow tapped his foot with a thoughtful expression before nodding.

“W-Well, If You Insist. But, With One Condition,” You nod, showing you were listening.

“You Be Our Friend! O-Only If You Want To, Of Course,” Awww, how could you say no to such a gentle kind soul?

“You got yourself a deal buddy! I’ll be back with LOADS of stuff!” You exclaim before running off. Willow squeaked after they left and a rush of excited energy rushed through him.

“Sans! Sans! Did you hear that?! They Called Me ‘Buddy!’” Oak smiles at his brother before letting Willow talk his metaphoric ears off while putting that excited energy to good use by stocking their current items.

Meanwhile, you were excitedly picking up any herbs, creature drops, and anything you could find really. Plus, you’d be able to get the EXP and Gold you needed while helping someone else so it was a win-win!

“SAAAAAAANS!” You hear someone yell from within a nearby cave. Confused and concerned, you place the supplies in your hand into your bag before making your way into the cave. You stop when you see a large cavern with two skeletons surrounded by spiders. WHY IS IT ALWAYS SKELETONS?! “SANS, HELP ME WITH THE SPIDERS!” 

“Can’t. ‘M stuck,”

“THERE IS ONE WEB ON YOU!”

“I know, how will I weave my way out of this sticky situation?”

“SAAAAAAANS!” AS much as you wanted to keep hearing their amusing banter, they were about to die from low level spiders. So without wasting any more time, you slayed the spiders and collected the drops.

“WOWIE! THAT WAS NEAT!” Complemented the tall skeleton named “Coolskeleton95.” You smile at him.

“Thanks, but please try to be careful next time. You would’ve lost your stuff if you died,” Coolskeleton nods.

“WILL DO! THANK YOU FART!” The short skeleton named “SANSational” started snickering.

“Yeah, glad you caught wind of our situation,” You snort at the pun while Coolskeleton glared at SANSational. Wait- have you seen Coolskeleton95 somewhere? Hmmm…

“Well, it was nice to meet you two but I gotta drop some supplies off to some new merchants,” You explain, about to leave when Coolskeleton speaks up.

"YOU'RE HELPING OAK AND WILLOW?" He asks excitedly, dumbfounded, you nod.

"WOWIE! SO ARE WE! IS IT ALRIGHT IF WE GO TOGETHER?" So many sweet skeletons!

"Of course!" And off you three went when you suddenly remembered where you saw Coolskeleton95 from.

"Wait a minute, are you Papyrus? The monster mascot?" You suddenly ask, He smiles widely. 

“INDEED I AM!” Papyrus exclaims, you stare up at the skeleton in awe.

“Oh wow! It’s such an honor to meet you! You’re the coolest!” Papyrus chuckles.

“WHY THANK YOU! IT’S ALWAYS A PLEASURE TO MEET A FAN!” You smile widely when you realize something. Didn’t Blue call Carrot “Papy?” And Papyrus looks strangely like Willow, Edge, Stretch and Rus! The heck is going on…

Before you could come up with a possible explanation, you all arrived back at the town and in front of Oak and Willow’s Merchant Stand, huh, that was… quick.

“Wowie, You’re Back Already? And With Sans and Papyrus too!” Willow exclaims. Heh, Sansational…

“Yup, and I got some good stuff!” You say as you hand him the bag full of supplies to him, Papyrus doing the same with a small bag. Willow’s eye lights seem to light up.

“Goodness, This Is Quite The Haul. Thank You All So Much!” Papyrus nods proudly, wait, they all have the same avatar with different clothes? This is getting weirder and weirder by the minute.

“YOU’RE WELCOME WILLOW! BUT I MUST BE OFF! I HAVE TO HELP NEW PLAYERS GET USED TO THE GAME! (THIS GAME COULD HELP FURTHER THE BOND BETWEEN MONSTERS AND HUMANS!)” And off he went towards the hub of the town. 

“I’m glad I was able to help, do you guys want my Discord?” You ask, Willow squeaks.

“Y-You Don’t Have To-”

“Well, I insist,” You counter quickly, Willow sighs but smiles.

“If That’s The Case, Yes Please!” You friend each other on Discord while Oak was having a quiet conversation with Sans.

“Oookay! Now we can talk whenever we want! It was nice meeting you all but I gotta go get back to grinding,” You explain, Willow smiles.

“Alright, Good Luck Friend Fart!” Willow says as Oak waves. And off you went to the fields again with a short skeleton in tow, Sans. You raise a brow as you look over your shoulder.

“Do you need something?” You ask confused, the short skeleton shrugs.

“Just want to know who my cousins are interacting with,” He states, ah, that makes sense.

“And with that being said, mind me asking some questions while you ‘grind?’” Oh, he’s being cautious. Understandable.

“Sure, I don’t mind,” You answer as you bring out your multiweapon to attack the nearby slimes. And while you attacked slimes, he asked questions. At first the questions were simple, like “favorite food” or “favorite color.” Then it moved to more specific questions like “What is your view on monsters?” “What do you do for a living” You tried your best to answer the questions as vaguely yet informative as you could since, well, he was a stranger. He seemed content with the answers. 

“Welp, that’s all I needed to know. Thanks for letting me rib ya pal. You have fun with your ‘grinding.’ See ya,” Sans says before walking away. Okay… that was odd. You shrugged it off and continued grinding until the crack of dusk.

Right, now onto the fun part. Actual Plot.

Next Chapter

[thevoidwriting]

GOD FUCKING DAMN IT. NOT THIS SHIT.

Warning peeps, somophilia, shadow dicking, poor reader is not ready, mild noncon with slight dubcon.

You look around the old antique store, you were on a road trip, noting special but you wanted to see something's before you finished college and got a full time job. You were also a collector of porcelain dolls, they always facinated you, the hollow life like eyes, the smooth skin or glass, the bouncing locks, how it went from delicate to rough fabric and lastly the clothes.

But not ordinary doll would do it this time you were looking for a boy to add and break up all the girls you had. The numbers if you remembered right was 15 girls to 1 boy, you had 6 boys so you need to get at least one more. As you browsed the shelves you weren't finding what you were looking for. As you go to leave you see behind the counter what you think is a unruly mop of short blond hair.

The girl at the counter was muttering under her breath at how he needed to get in the damned box, you ended up transfixed on it and walked right in to the glass display counter. "Ouch, my bad." You startled the poor girl who looked like she'd been crying. "Hey sorry I didn't see you there... H-how can I help you?" She asked having turned around. "Oh I just thought I saw a doll behind here I must be seeing things." You reply. Then a soft thud is heard as beautifully done male doll falls out of the box the girl was trying to close. "Is he for sale or personal?" You ask. "Not really I was going to trash him since no one can keep Chision for more than a few days." Was her hushed response. He was a blond doll, with green eyes, thin lips, a well sculpted nose, light in complexion like most of his kind, his clothes were a white button up shirt, blue coat and matching blue shorts with lace socks and black leather shoes. Very old by the looks of it. "Can I see it closer, also I don't live around here so he'd never darken your door step." I smile at that. I got a heh as she bent down to pick him up.

Once in hand I looked over his face better I saw cracking in the paint but it was odd they looked more like vains full of black blood than cracking but I could live with that seeing as everything else was pristine and well taken care of, maybe a previous owner painted him for Halloween. Could probably wash it off or lightly scrape it off with out damaging the paint underneath.

"How much for Chrision, he look fine other than the face being painted on." I said feeling excited like I usually do when I get a rare find. "Just take him I was going to trash him as I said previously. Makes no sense to charge for him." She shrugged. "Really are you sure?" I just double checking. "Yeah, he's been trouble since we got him in four years ago so getting rid of him would be for the best." And with that she got me out of the store, when I got in my car I noticed that he was now in a setting, he was just standing I brush it off as again a previous owner gave him joints so as not to freak out.

This weekend I'm staying at a friend's cabin located in the woods, it's cosy not to far from town but still isolated enough that's I'd feel safe to just chill in a towel on the couch. As I drove I felt eyes one me the whole time, when I stoped at the next red light I saw he had moved without making a sound and was looking right at me with vivid bright green eyes, if it weren't day light I would have said they were glowing but its just the sunlight catching the glass right? I brush it off and go as soon as the light turns green and make the last turn to get on the dirt road to the cutesy log cabin at the end of the road.

Aw the woods burred around me as I drove, pine, ceder and oak. Staples of my childhood, seeing the sprawling woods with an antique doll by her side but last time wasn't as creepy.

She'd have to check for a voice box as well so not to startle of it talked out of the blue, ya know cover your bases and what not. As she approached the small two bed, on bath cabin all she could think of is how many times she hitched a ride with he friend and stayed the weekend with said friends family, good times.

After pulling into the kinda made driveway, grabbing the doll which is now standing. "Mr Chision can you please stop doing that, I need to focus on getting all my supplies in the house sir." She didn't know who she was talking to but could have swore that it's eyes blinked as if to say 'I'm innocent' but again she could be wrong.

"Get it together girl." You spoke, you went to the door, unlocked it and set Chision on the table, once again he was in the sitting stance. But your paid no mind and got the supplies and food out of the car, got it out away for the most part and decided to take a nap on the couch.

As you were falling asleep you could swear you could feel something gripping your thighs to pull them apart to see up your skirt and something not quite there slithering up your shirts to play with your nipples but you ended up aroused but asleep much to your dismay.

A few hours pass and you wake to a sticky mess between your legs at your core, "I'm going to shower then.... Well it's dark out might make some food." So you shower than make a simple salad with pre grilled chicken. It's was ok but you were sleepy so you head to the master bedroom and get in the king sized bed, sinking in to the memory foam. "This has to be heaven." Is the last thing you say before knocking out, but as the night progressed you kept waking up to feel eyes on you which was strange but you went back to sleep, the second time it was the same feeling from before and once again you knocked out, third time you could see bright pupiless eyes glowing a unnatural yellow, then knocked back out you stayed asleep the whole time the shadow demon prepared you for its apendge.

This time you woke for you feeling filled and full in both holes but slightly hazy as you hear the rhythmic slapping of someone slipping on the d, thats not right but it hit like a ton of bricks your came all over the shadow creature, "good little owner, you make the cutest faces when I got certain spots, damn you feel so good, right and tight for me. I wish I could say the same for the others." You hear a growl next to your ears it sounded male and female at the same time. When finally got a little bit of strength you turn your head and see Chision the doll next to you.

"oh sweet owner you, that's my hiding place from the light." When it said that it thrustws just a bit deeper and harder making you groan out, "why?" You barely croaked out. "Why indeed, well I need to feed off of fear and lust so why not both at the same time." It suddenly came and that hazy fuzzy feeling came back ten fold making you cum again.

As the night progressed you got more and more filled til you looked like you going to pop and the thing broke you mind so you could be it food source and it's cute little cum dump the last thing you remember before waving sanity good bye was this, "so cute, my little owner thinks she can fight back let's see how much cum it takes before you break or be come my mindless little sex doll only good for me and my cum alone. You know no human can satisfy you now." With an evil cruel chuckle at the end, and break you they did. It only took 17 rounds of cum to do so, in the morning you could kinda feel it drip drip lazily out of you, buy that didn't matter cause you blacked out the windows so it could just shove it back in to you with either it's cock or shadowy not quite there fingers to plug you up nice and good or when you had to leave to get food a thick based dildo. Cause you were to bare it offspring.

That's your life now because you couldn't leave well enough alone you just had to pick up that stupid doll and take it on your trip with you. Now a once innocent toy has make you its perfect lil toy.

[magicianapprenticelyra]

One Last Time

A/N: At the end of everything, what is a magician of her age to expect to see when her time comes? Upon reaching the other side, who’s waiting for her? Is it her late spouse? Is it one of her dearly departed relatives, of which she’s rekindled relationships with?

Oddly enough, no. It’s someone she’s met before, once upon a dream.

⁂ ⁂ ⁂ ⁂ ⁂

It's strange to see this woman, who was blessed with both luck and misfortune in spades during her life, being so calm in my presence.

She’s staring at me quizzically, blinking as she turns her head this way and that, trying to discern what sort of face I have under my hood.

“Either I am looking into a mirror making me look sixty years younger,” Miss Nguyen chuckles, raising a wrinkled eyebrow, “or you have my face from when I was sixty years younger!“

"I must admit I did not mean to wear your face from your youth," I tell her, holding one hand up, chuckling as I lower my hood with the other.

I am not that much taller than her when we last met; Miss Nguyen’s shrunk since then. Humans have a funny way of doing that when they go gray, fuzzy and wrinkly.

“It was an unintentional thing, I assure you.”

“You’re a funny creature.”

“Thank you, I do my best,” I reply, dipping into a sweeping bow. She laughs at this. Even if she had the image of a grandmother, her laughter still rings the same as when I first encountered her...

"I... I feel like we’ve met before,” Miss Nguyen murmurs, looking me up and down.

"Do you remember at all?" I ask, blinking as I stand upright again.

"No," the magician shakes her head, her silvery-white hairs gently loosening from the messy bun they were in. "However, your presence makes me think you're an Arcana. Granted," she concedes, shrugging, “I’ve only met a few Major Arcana that I remember in all my years. Some I’ve met with more than others. You, on the other hand...”

Miss Nguyen’s hand dips into the purse-belt she wears around her waist. After rummaging around, she retrieves a familiar item: her former teacher’s deck.

It’s been so long; while the edges are worn and more than a few cards have been lovingly bent with all the shuffling, it is a beautiful deck as it ever was.

She remains standing, cards flying between her hands with ease, brows furrowed with concentration. Eventually, she stops, flipping over the topmost card.

“...The Fool,“ she names me.

I smile, trying to ignore the odd tingling sensations fluttering from the top of my head down to my feet.

I’ve missed her. I’ve missed her so much...

"Right you are."

⁂

“I... never expected to me seen off to the other side by an Arcana,” Miss Nguyen admits.

“You do know you’re special, right?” I counter. “You’re certainly not like everyone else.”

We’re having a lunch together. I promised her there was no strings attached with this arrangement: we’re just two friends catching up. We’re at either end of a table; she’s the one doing most of the eating. I never had a taste for anything she likes, but watching her eat is intriguing.

“Where did you go during all that time?” Miss Nguyen asks me, drinking some tea. “I mean... I eventually did figure out I had your body...”

“I don’t know,” I say, astonishing her. “Last I remember, I was with Asra. He was bargaining with me to help get you back and to screw over Lucio, and then poof!” I clap my hands together, startling some of the nearby fauna of my realm. “I am unaware of anything, until... about an hour before you arrived here?”

Time travels differently between the physical and the arcane realms. Who knows how long I was truly waiting?

“...huh.” Miss Nguyen murmurs. She fiddles with the remaining crust of a pastry, once filled with caramelized apples.

Strange, I thought she liked those. Before I can wave away the dessert, she holds up her hand,

“...Does it bother you?”

“Does what bother me?” I reply, watching as she fidgets with her fork.

“That you don’t remember?”

I let out a pff, shaking my head. “While I appreciate your concern, Miss Nguyen, I’ve experienced a lot of strange things. Blacking out for as long as you’ve been alive—after your resurrection no less—is novel, but not surprising.”

“It was quite the spell,” she nods, bemused.

“Yes it was...”

With a wave of my hand, I summon some more platters of food. She marvels at each one I put in front of her, taking a little bit here and a little bit there...

I could spoil her forever. I’m pretty sure I could, if it weren’t for the Laws...

"...you know,” I state, trying to drag my mind out of those thoughts, “even when we had met multiple times in the past, you never really let me know about your life. A lot of what I knew of you then was cobbled from a lot of guesswork. Still is.”

“Too bad I can’t know what our conversations were like then,” Miss Nguyen shakes her head, sighing. “I wonder what we talked about...”

Bits of your life you didn’t mind talking about. Why you came to Vesuvia. How much you struggled but you were so optimistic, I wanted to scream. She deserved to know. I could fill her head with my memories of her: how she was always curious, how she was always willing to learn something. How much she cared for the other meat-bags she called people...

“Maybe it’s a good thing you don’t,” I reply instead. “Not everything in the past needs to be remembered. Sometimes it’s better to learn from it.” I nudge one last plate of ice cream to her, adding softly, “I know I did.”

“You learned stuff from me?”

“Is it that impossible?” I counter, my mouth quirked into a smirk. “As I find it, you helped to guide your spouse to better paths, to better choices.”

“We did it together,” Miss Nguyen reminds me. “They’re the ones who changed for the better. They put themselves up to it in the end.”

“All because of you, my dear.”

“Heh, if you say so.”

“You have quite the habit of underselling your abilities. I thought you got better with accepting compliments.”

“Being humble and being able to accept praises are two completely different things.”

“Is it now?”

“...You’re as bad as Magician.”

“Hey!”

⁂

When she’s had her fill, we take a walk together. As we make our way, creatures that haven’t seen me in so long greet me in excitement: they’re tackling me, they’re going up and down my cloak, they’re running circles around Miss Lyra and I...

In fact, I’m still amazed my realm managed to survive without my presence for all this time.

At the moment, I am currently being accosted by a certain bunch of creatures I would rather not have ever met nor existed with in the first place.

“They really do adore you,” Miss Lyra laughs as I struggle to get out from under a mass of fluffy, furry creatures. Their color ranges from white, gray, black, and a scattering range of patterns between brown, orange and yellow. There’s no discernible features on them beyond their round, furry appearance and the adorable sounds they make.

The last bit there, of course, is of the opinion of the too delighted grandma standing behind me, wickedly allowing the creatures to snuff me out with their cuddling.

“They’re trouble is what they are,” I grunt. When I’m able to grab a hold of one or three, I fling them back into the trees. Struggling a bit more, I finally find the leader of this pack and chuck them deep into the treeline. I can hear a splash of water, and the sounds of drowning. The rest go after their far-flung friend, squealing in distress.

“You didn’t have to do that,” Miss Nguyen tsks.

“I was boiling under all that fur!” I shake out the hairs littering my cloak, grumbling as she moved to help me pick them out. I end up peeling it off of myself, beating the article of clothing against a nearby rock. Hairs fly into the air as cloak meets rock, the errant strands drifting down to the ground.

I stop when I realize she’s staring at me.

“What?”

“You got my face, but the rest of you...” she’s marveling at me.

I glance at what she means, and I realize the rest of me has remained the same from when I first popped into existence. My body is a solid, but I’m translucent. Visible within me are arrays of stars and streams of magic, constantly twisting and turning within me. Toward the center of my chest resides an opalescent sphere, gently beating.

“Huh...” Her eyes are still on my body, curious.

I have to take my chance and say it now. I have to. It’s too easy.

I fold my cloak up a moment, standing so she has an unobstructed view of me. “You... do realize I am essentially naked?”

“Oh for the love of—!”

I dodge the shoes thrown at my head, putting my cloak back on before she decides to kick me in the crotch.

The few minutes of her chastising me afterwards is worth it.

⁂

We take a break under a shady area of the forest ahead.

Miss Nguyen’s tucked under a thin blanket I found stashed away in a false log nearby. A bunch of little, glowing creatures are settled atop of her, getting their whiffs of her as they rest from their activities. I’m glad they’re all careful to not disturb her.

I watch over her; even if this is my realm, I know there are dangers to a spirit such as her.

Miss Nguyen’s a special case. At the very least, it’s my duty to get her to where she needs to be safely.

I know Scout is far ahead of us, getting things in order. Bless that little innocent, I wouldn’t be able to do this without her.

As I shift, the contents of my cloak’s pocket jingle. There are six disks; by themselves, they’re nothing much. What each individual disk represents however is one of the six possible partners she decided to settle down with after the defeat of Devil.

Miss Nguyen will need to pick one of the tokens in order to pass on. From there...

Well, we’ll get there when we get there.

I’m envious of whoever her partner is... or would it be was? I asked her earlier: she didn’t remember who her Chosen was, or whether or not her Chosen died before her, but she knew she was very happy with them.

Whether or not they had children together is a completely different matter. We even had an argument about it!

“I think I had one to two of them...”

“One to two? Shouldn’t it be one or two? You, you can’t have half a baby!”

“Shut up, my brain is old...”

I didn’t dare to concur or disagree. I just laughed.

I’ll need to wake her up soon... but a few more minutes couldn’t hurt. She’s so peaceful.

Whenever she did fall asleep here in the past, Miss Nguyen curled up into a tight ball, almost like a dead bug. Her eyebrows were always furrowed, jaw fiercely clenched as if she were prepared to go into battle. Tension riddled her body like a string of an instrument wound too tightly, as if she were ready to snap at any moment.

More than once, I offered her a permanent residency in my realm. We wouldn’t be able to leave the realms of the Arcana, but we could visit the rest of the Majors, meet creatures no one from the mortal plane could dream of, and learn from texts that would have melted her brain if she were just a visitor.

If she was willing to stay, forever, she’d be able to unlock that knowledge.

Miss Nguyen always declined. I never understood it; I still don’t. That’s what makes her... her, I suppose.

I shift, stretching myself with a great big yawn. With the racket I make, she stirs from her slumber. The little creatures on her person immediately take flight, or scurry to the underbrush as she sits up, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.

“...How long was I out?” Miss Nguyen mumbles.

“Not too long,” I reassure. I glance to the direction we’re heading. My gaze meets with the beginnings of a slope in the distance.

For some reason, my chest feels too tight...

Getting to her feet, she gently pads her way over to my side. Looking to where my gaze is directed at, she asks, “We’re almost there?”

“We’re almost there,” I echo, nodding.

Arm in arm, we make our way to that slope.

The annoying clenching continues in my chest as we walk. I half wonder if this was what Miss Nguyen’s body felt like when she used to be all scrunched up in her sleep.

⁂

“Why is there a giant cliff in your realm?”

“It was here before I existed, or maybe it existed at the same time I came to be,” I hypothesize.

We’re still arm in arm, slowly ascending this slope. The incline isn’t too bad, but Miss Nguyen continues to hang onto me, lest she take a nasty tumble.

I am not ashamed to say I am happy about this arrangement.

We’re about two-thirds the way up when it gets too much for her. We stop off on a protrusion of the slope, just a few meters away from the very edge of this cliff.

The top of this rock mound is smoothed out, save for several sets of hand prints pressed into the rock. Upon their discovery, Miss Nguyen cannot help but marvel at them.

“Whose are these?” she asks me.

She had to fucking asking me. She had to fucking ask me—!

“They’re yours,” I murmur. “They’re... they’re all yours.” I take one of her wrinkled hands, guiding them over each and every hand-shaped indent of this rock face.

I tell her everything I knew that was related to those hand prints. When it happened, why she came to my realm this time or that time, how long she stayed...

I couldn’t help myself, I really couldn’t. I try to keep the emotions roiling in my chest at bay—I really did my damnedest—but it isn’t working. They’re bleeding up, up from my crucible of a heart and into my throat, into my voice.

If you could color my voice with smoke as it billowed out from between my lips, it’d be the colors of pining, of the most forlorn love that someone could experience, of an immortal loving one that was not...

I’m so overwhelmed I fail to realize my whole realm is reacting with my emotions. I try to right myself, but I miscalculate where my feet are in relation to the jolting rock face.

“FOOL!” Miss Nguyen cries when I slip off the edge.

“AH!” I thrust my arms out, scrabbling to get a grip before I fall to the ground far, far below us.

One of my hands completely misses it, but my other hand catches onto edge. I desperately dig my nails into the rock face, grimacing as ichor bleeds from my torn skin.

Miss Nguyen grabs my wrist before I completely lose my grip, but she is old. She cannot hang onto me.

My weight is going to drag us down and kill us both!

“RUFF!”

I gasp as a pair of paws help her yank me from certain doom. Before I can orient myself, the top of Scout’s staff swats me in the head, each smack punctuated with chastising barks, growls, and more barks.

“OW! SCOUT, STOP—!” I plead, but I earn another five smacks to the cheeks of my face in return.

Scout’s giving me the chew-out of the eon, smacking some part of me if I try to make a rebuttal. Nothing is off limits to the reach of her walking stick: my head, my torso, my arms and legs!

“Scout!” Miss Nguyen grabs Scout’s stick before she can aim it a delicate place when I make a particularly disrespectful retort. “I’m for discipline, but this is too much!”

I’m afraid to verbally concur with Miss Nguyen. Preemptively I slam my thighs together, scooting away from Scout as the two of them argue.

Scout growls and yips at the spirit, gesticulating to herself, back to Miss Nguyen, and then the peak of this cliff. I can see the realization dawning upon her face...

I cannot go with them.

“Wait, what do you mean they can’t see me off?” Miss Nguyen looks at me, back to Scout, and to me again, confused.

“...It’s a preventative measure,” I finally explain. I get up, dusting myself off. I wince as my hand brushes over the marks Scout’s stick left on me. They’ll smart for a while, but they’re nothing in comparison to... to this...

“Preventative measures?” Miss Nguyen echoes.

“I’m not going to lie,” I begin, exhaling.

“Arcana can’t lie in general,” she retorts, a small laugh puffing out of her. I can only give her a small smile.

“Anyway...” I look to Scout, who waves me off. Thankfully, she’ll leave us alone for a bit. “...I’ve been tempted in the past to keep you here, forever. I like you a lot, Miss Nguyen. I like you enough to not let any sort of harm come to you.” I reach out, gently tucking away a stray hair from her face.

“I will admit I actually begged you to stay when you told me the Red Plague reached Vesuvia. You had a chance of getting it and dying and... well, we know what happened...” I shrug.

“Scout is going to take you to the top, and you’ll meet a door,” I add, fishing my hand into my cloak’s pocket now. I pull out the disks, presenting all six of them to her.

“One of these keys are going to lead you to your partner.”

“These are keys?” Miss Nguyen looks at them skeptically.

“Picking one will turn it into a proper door key,” I reply. “The rest I’ll dispose of.”

“...How will I know which one is right?” she asks, her aura warbling with anxiety.

“You won’t be wrong,” I reassure her, jingling them in my palm. “Pick one, and then you can go...”

“...hm..”

“What? What’s the matter?” My directions are clear, aren’t they? Even a human toddler—or wobbler??—could understand what I said.

She places her hand over my upturned palm, gently lowering my arm.

“Miss Nguyen?”

She exhales, her gaze momentarily to the side before looking back to me. “You still have my face.”

“...yes at this juncture I can see it being problematic,” I murmurs, rubbing my neck with my free hand. “Unfortunately, I’ve tried to reverse it on my own in the past, and with Scout’s help, and some of the other Arcana, to no avail.”

“Even The Devil?” Lyra balks.

“Oh stars and moons, no!” I shudder. I swear I can hear his menacing, husky laugh in the far, far distance. The choking smell of ash, smoke and sulfur irritate my senses, making me sneeze.

After the courtesy ‘bless you’—and I manage to not feel that dreaded unease anymore—I reply, “I may be The Fool, but I am not a fool.”

“Fair enough,” Miss Nguyen chuckles.

“What haven’t you tried?”

“I don’t remember,” I say. “We tried magic, pinching and punching my face in to try and get it to reform my original one, and other methods, but none of them worked.

“How about a kiss?”

My realm freezes with me. The Winds halt, and together blades of grass and the creatures of my realm are stopped mid-motion.

“W-what? I beg your pardon?”

“You heard me: a kiss!”

“Aren’t you a married woman!?” My voice is so unlike what it should be for an Arcana. Scout’s laughing her tail off, rolling in the dirt and limbs flailing in wild abandonment with amusement.

...I’m temped to zap that fluffy tail of hers, but her stick is not merciful.

“I am!” she laughs, “I don’t mean the kind you’re thinking though.”

“Oh? What am I thinking?” I stand tall, eyebrow raised.

“Nothing decent, at least in that head of yours. By my case however, I mean platonically.”

...

....

.....

She will be the end of me.

I exhale. “Where, and... what kind?”

I still asked, even if I knew. I knew intimately which one she was going for.

It was how she bade me farewell after our first encounter:

It was before she ever befriended Asra.

It was before she ever met Muriel, a boy forced to grow up in the most harsh, violent ways imaginable.

It was before she apprenticed under Julian, hoping with all her heart and soul they’d find the cure, together.

It was before she ever glimpsed Portia in the Marketplace

It was before she ever entered the Palace at Nadia’s invitation.

It was before she ever met Lucio, and wondered at his motivations for everything.

She’s silent, stepping towards me with her arms outstretched. Out of habit I scrunch myself down, so she wouldn’t need to strain herself. Her soft, wrinkled hands cup either side of my face.

As she observes my expression, my thoughts run amok. Could she see? Could she see...?

I close my eyes, dipping my head a bit further as she graces my forehead with a gentle kiss.

I feel... light. I feel so light a gnat could’ve easily knocked me over if it landed on me.

I open my eyes, and I know from both Scout’s and Miss Nguyen’s expressions I had returned to my former self. I’m significantly taller than her now, though I would still be shorter than Magician. They’d get a laugh out of this, I’m sure.

I smooth my hand over my too-short cloak, extending the fabric enough to cover my limbs. Reaching back, I tug on my hood like stubborn dough, widening the space in it. Once satisfied with the size, I throw it over my head. With my face fully hidden in the shadow of my hood, I offer her a grin.

“тнιѕ ιѕ wнy yoυ’re мy ғavorιтe,” I say. When I speak, I sound like I have multiple voices overlapping each other. Male, female, in between and neither, my voice never sounds the same from one moment to the next.

Miss Nguyen is startled to hear my true voice, falling down on her behind. Scout comes over, helping her back up to her feet.

The Innocent Guide looks at my closed fist, snorting.

I nod, extending my hand to Miss Nguyen once more. I open up my palm, and the six discs shine in the light of my realm.

“pιcĸ тнeм any wнιcн way yoυ lιĸe,” I tell her. “yoυ won'т go wrong wιтн any oғ тнeм."

She closes her eyes, reaching out to my palm. She feels the different discs with the pads of her fingers. Finally, she pulls one disk out of my hand and into her palm. As the disc transforms into a key in, I shatter the rest. I only needed to close my palm around them, crushing them down into dust.

The sound like glass breaking, but my skin remains intact.

A gentle wind breezes past us, ruffling cloaks, tickling through Miss Nguyen's hair...

Finger by finger, I let the multi-colored dust in my palm drift off into the four winds. They’re indiscernible from dirt, at first. The winds carry them off, going faster and faster as they leave us.

Once the particles gain enough speed, they explode into lights. They squeak and squeal as they burn through the air, joining the blanket of ever-shifting stars above us.

Turning back to Miss Nguyen, I see she’s drinking in the view overhead.

I wonder if where she’s going, they’ll have stars like these?

“тιмe тo go,” I nudge her toward Scout, not too unlike a mother cat coaxing her kitten to walk. “ιт waѕ a pleaѕυre тo ѕee yoυ, one мore тιмe...”

She surprises me with a hug, squeezing me tight. I reciprocate, laughing a little as her old bones creak. As we sway in place, arms wrapped around each other, I can feel my selfishness creeping in the back of my mind; it’s urging me to keep her here, to keep her ‘safe’.

Reluctantly, I release her into Scout’s care.

“нave a nιce тrιp!” I wave them farewell. “ѕay нello тo yoυr вeloved ғor мe!”

[johannstutt413]

Catapult had finally finished with her work and training for the day, and it was time for her to get some time to herself. She threw off her clothes, poured herself a bath, grabbed a bottle of wine and a glass to drink while she was in there, and set herself in for a long soak.

After about two and a half glasses, however, there was a knock at her door. Sighing, she stepped out of her bath, dried herself off enough that she could wear her bathrobe and not leave water on her floor, and went to pester her visitor away. “Look, you caught in the middle of my- Doctor?”

“Hey, Cat.” He’d clearly just gotten done with a shower himself - his hair was still wet. “I can come back later, if you want to finish.”

“...No, it’s fine; come on in.” Catapult let him inside, closing the door behind him, before walking over to the bathroom and draining the tub.

When she walked out, she found him on the couch, looking at the ceiling. “Sorry to bother you, I really am.”

“I told you, Doctor, it’s alright.” Which it sort of was - if it’d been anyone else, they’d still be outside. She sat down next to him. “Something on your mind?”

“You could say that...You’re sure it’s alright?”

Catapult nudged him with an elbow. “Come on, Doctor, what’s gotten into you? I’ve never seen you so tense before.”

‘Sorry, it’s just...“ He sighed. “As much as I want to talk about this, I’m worried it’s not a good decision.”

“Why not?”

The Doctor turned to look at her, a pained expression on his face. “I um...You remember the town you blew up the vault in?”

“Yeah.” She cocked her head. “What about it?”

“It um...they sent troops in recently.”

Her face fell. “They what?”

“When the mayor didn’t step down, the citizens started clamoring for him to. There were riots, some of them got violent, eventually it turned into a full-blown rebellion.” He leaned forward, hands clasped in front of him. “The other towns nearby worried it would catch on, so they convinced the next-highest administrator to call in some Knights to deal with it. It...went as well as you’d expect.”

“How many?”

The Doctor tried to look her in the eye, but he couldn’t hold his own open for more than a second. “All of them.”

“...I need a favor.” She got up from the couch and walked to her room. “Take me somewhere outside any city jurisdiction. I need to let off some steam.”

“Alright.” He sighed, rubbing his forehead.

A few minutes later, Catapult re-emerged, decked out head-to-toe in extra grenades for the launcher in her hands. “Ready to go?”

“Let’s do this.” The Doctor walked to the door, keycard already in hand. “Already rented a vehicle, just have to grab it at the dock.”

“You knew how I’d take it, huh?”

He shrugged. “I thought we could use a drive at least.”

“Ah. Well, thanks.” She sighed. “Whatever happens while we’re out, don’t tell Dobermann about this, okay?”

“Wouldn’t dream of it.”

Catapult smiled. “Heh...You’ve always got my back, don’t you?”

A few hours’ drive later, and they were sitting on the hood of their car in the middle of nowhere, the latter with a grenade launcher as well.  About an hour later, and she’d exhausted her supply of explosives...but it didn’t feel like enough.

“I don’t think we have enough charge for that,” the Doctor explained after she suggested they run to LGDHQ and get some from their armory. “Even if we did, do you really think it would make it better?”

“...No. Sorry for wasting your time.” She flung herself onto her back, letting out a loud bray as she did.

He patted the car near her head. “You didn’t waste anything, Cat. I wanted you to hear the news from me, and to be here for you to make sure you expressed it healthily.”

“You call that healthy?” She gestured to a series of craters in the wasteland around them. “That was a dozen Operations’ worth of ammo I used on nothing!”

“We all deal with our demons and feelings differently.”

Catapult sighed. “Well, how do you deal with yours, then?”

“I hang out with you.” The Doctor laid down next to her. “If that doesn’t work, I talk to you about it; if that’s not enough, I cry once I get back to my room, and if nothing else does the trick, that does.”

“No way.”

He smiled at her. “Really. So, whatever’s on your mind, you can tell me. Sometimes all you need is someone else to listen.”

“...How many more?” She turned her head to look at him. “How many other people are going to die because of me?”

“...”

She brayed again, albeit more quietly. “I single-handedly got a town killed, but that’s nothing on what I might do on accident one of these days. You guys send my team on missions where you aren’t afraid of a little collateral, but some of those places still have people in them. I don’t care that people think I’m a washout, or barely better than cannon fodder with a cannon, but it’d be nice if I didn’t think the same way...”

“Did someone tell you that?” He knew this line of thinking. “Did someone call you ‘cannon fodder with a cannon?’”

“Not RI, no...Some of the refugees say things like that to me, to us. They’ll mock me for being a Kuranta who looks like a Feline, they’ll proposition me, they’ll bitch at us for not being able to save one more who died three days before we got there, and that’s just the field work. Admittedly that’s the worst of it, but then I get home and it’s all critiques and reviewing combat logs for ‘self-improvement’ or some bullshit when I’m already doing the best I can, and then Dobermann or Orchid get on my ass for something, and the rest of my team causes their own trouble, and I can’t keep my mouth shut, and...and...and I know I cause a lot of trouble, I could probably do more work, I could be easier on Instructor Dobermann and Miss Orchid, but then I’d just be bottling myself up until I explode like tonight, but in front of people. Not that you’re not people, it’s just...you know. God, I’m rambling, aren’t I? Stupid wine will do that, I guess.”

The Doctor couldn’t think of anything to say beyond, “That sucks.”

“Yeah...it does...Gaaaaah!” She yelled at the sky, flying into a stream of Kazimierz expletives that would’ve made Zima blush. “All I want is some fucking peace for once...Love and peace, for just one minute. Is that so much to ask?”

“Well, I don’t know about peace...but I might be able to help with the first part.”

Her ears twitched. “Come again?”

“Part of my- no, that’s ridiculous. I...I mean...” He sighed and simply grabbed her hand. “I’m always gonna be here for you, Cat. Whatever happens.”

“What was that about love, though? Or did I just hear things?”

Every fiber of his being told him to just say it. Just. SAY IT. “...I want to, but I’m scared.”

“Scared?” She squeezed his hand. “Of me?”

“Of me. I don’t have nearly as many people telling me I’m screwing up, but they don’t need to; I count my mistakes in real time. Hell, I’m still kicking myself for interrupting your bath.”

Catapult’s brow furrowed. “But...Doctor, I only let you in because it was you.”

“I know, and I appreciate,” he replied, “but still-”

“If you can’t say it yourself, then it’s fine, just...answer me, yes or no. Do you like me-”

“Yes.”

She blushed. “That was fast.”

“You know how to make me laugh, and you know how to bully me into being better.” He sat up. “You listen to me when I feel like bitching, and you join in when I feel like joking around. I...I’ve been letting myself get hung up on the word ‘love’ too long. So yeah, I like you, Cat. I like the sound of your voice and your laugh, the way you refuse to compromise when it comes to your work but only take on what you know you can handle, the way your eyes sparkle when you catch me in the hall but don’t say anything more than ‘Hey...’ I love your sense of style, and your Kuranta ears, and...and your curves, too.”

“...I just needed a yes.” Catapult sniffled, the dry air clearly getting to her as her eyes began tearing up.

The Doctor nodded. “I know...Sorry.”

“Don’t be.” She sat up, still holding his hand. “You like my curves, huh?”

“Yeah.” Why had he said it like that?

She walked her free hand along his arm. “Are you busy tonight?”

“...Not in the slightest.” Thank God he’d said it like that. “Do you have something in mind?”

“Well, I didn’t finish my bath, and I still have most of the bottle I took in there with me. How about you help me finish both of ‘em?”

He coughed over his other side to try to avoid being too enthusiastic. “Fuck yes.” Didn’t work.

“Heheh.” Catapult let go to push off the hood of the car. “Good talk, Doctor.”

“No kidding,” he mumbled, still having trouble believing things had worked out so cleanly.

As they settled back into the vehicle, a thought passed through the Kuranta’s head; before he could actually start the car, she reached over and tapped his shoulder. “Before we go, do me a favor?”

“Sure.” This was more normal. “What is it?”

“Does this thing have autopilot? I know some of them do.”

He nodded. “Yeah, it does.”

“Cool.” She looked at the backseat. “Could we turn it on and sit in the back?”

“Sure.” The Doctor pressed a couple buttons, and the car started moving as he crawled to the back.

Catapult made her way to the backseat and snuggled up to him. “Ahh...I can’t remember the last time I got to do something like this.”

“This might be my first.” He wrapped around her in return. “But I already want to make this a habit...”

[nightwolfomega]

Heart of a Lycan Chapter 3

                                                  Lycus family

  It was dark out now, the crescent moon shining brightly above the night sky. Lycus drove up to his driveway to his large log cabin that he built with his own two hands. When Lycus came back to society he did become human again, But that didn’t mean he abandoned the ways he was partially raised with. After high school he managed to build a log cabin that would suit him and his family without the worry of people being around.

Shutting the truck off and headlights he walks up to the door and pulls out his keys, the loud sounds of barking and howling made him chuckle as he finally found the right one and unlocked the door. Stepping inside and making a twirl shutting the door loudly to get everyone's attention. Before getting their attention the wolves barked and played around happily, probably had a successful hunt

Lycus pressed his hands together and held them up to his lips taking in a deep breath “My mate is back!!” he shouts out excitedly. The wolves howl and bark wagging their tails excitedly as they rush up to Lycus, he kneels down petting and nuzzling with everyone he howls with them in a fit of excitement. The pups make little yips as he nuzzles and pets them.

A one of the wolves bark at him as they had a playful stance to them he was much leaner than the others “I know I couldn’t believe it either!” now wrapping his arms around the wolf lifting them up “I’m so happy right now!” spinning around as the wolf felt a bit dizzy now fidgeting to get out of his arms before Lycus could do another spin “Oh sorry little bro.” he chuckles, placing him down.

“Where’s mom? I have to tell her about this. She'll be so happy to know.” Lycus spoke standing up and rushed over to the master bedroom and opened the door “Mom are you in here?” he spoke trying to keep his voice down. 

Glancing at the bed he saw her golden orange eyes gaze back to him, fur was as pure as fresh fallen snow, His mother the large white wolf resting quietly from the pack, “Hi mom, You’ll never guess what happened to me today.” closing the door behind him. “Olydia, the girl I would always talk to you about? She’s back mom and now I can finally give her a proper courting like I wanted to all those years back!” climbing on the bed and sitting next to her. 

“You should have seen her mom, she was still the same beautiful human I fell in love with all those years back. Before I knew she was there I thought it was someone else that was trying to take their territory when I was working. ” he spoke nuzzling his face under her neck. “The best part was that she was thinking about me too before I got there. Can you believe it? Olydia even asked me if we could have lunch together tomorrow.” his eyes welling up a bit with tears. 

The wolf blinks and licks his face giving him reassurance, her tail lightly tapping on the bed showing she was pleased to hear that. “You think she likes me too mom? I’m just so scared if I do this she’ll react badly to it.” feeling unsure about the courting. 

A low growl emits from the wolf snarling at Lycus, he looks up at her “Heh, sorry mom guess I’m still a little nervous.” he spoke out with a smirk hugging close to her. She chuffs and gives him a few licks on the cheek.

It was always traditional for a wolf to give their mate a gift that would appease them, similar to getting a perfect gift for a significant other. These gifts however had to impress her and show his love, strength, and devotion. Lycus already knew what she liked, Olydia loved to get art supplies more over than clothes or jewelry. She also loved the scent of candles such as the autumn scented ones and buttercream, she had a good few of favorites. Then the big finale is getting her books, that would be the key gift to show how much reading together meant so much to him. 

 Getting her those kinds of stuff wouldn’t be too difficult, but what preys would he need had to equal the gifts worth. “Do you think I should start off with squirrels or rabbits for the first?” he asked curiously.

She looks at him giving her left ear a flap as she lays her head down, Lycus nods “Rabbit, good idea mom.” he sighs happily, He always went to his mother for advice on anything. Whether it be about complications with another human or even having troubles in his own life, Besides Olydia he could confide in his mother wolf. 

“I wish you could meet her mom, Olydia is so kind and loyal she’d make such an astonishing member of the pack” he spoke happily. The more he thought about her and the thought of them spending time together tomorrow made him feel restless,

Mother wolf lets out a soft sigh, scrunching her brows at Lycus, she knew very well when he would get like this, he had to get it out of his system. Nudging her head on his shoulder and shifting her view to the window. 

He looks out the window with her and smiles “That'd be so great to do that right now but I gotta get back to work. I have to cover somebody for a night shift.” getting up from the bed. She huffs out some barks, “Hmm, maybe a little run wouldn’t hurt. Pulse it’ll be faster to patrol around.” he spoke scratching the back of his ear like a dog would. 

“I’ll see you later okay mom and please please don’t over do it again with the hunts, I’ll try to see if I can pick up fresh roadkill-” she growls annoyed “Oh come on mom the others thought the doe tasted good.” 

The wolf huffs “It’s not going to make the other wolves lazy mom, trust me I’ve had some too and look at me now.” flexing his arms “It’s helped me get stronger.” grinning at her. She tilts her head and lays it on her paws letting out a soft grumble. He blushes “Well yeah I did other stuff to get big but come on it doesn't hurt to just have some home delivery sometimes.” he jokes grabbing the door knob “I’ll see you later mom, love you.” the wolf lets out a soft howl, Lycus smiles cheerfully leaving the room. 

Walking back into the living room he rubs his neck “Alright guys I gotta head back out. Try to behave yourselves while I’m gone.” Shooting a glare at two somewhat larger male wolves playfully fighting each other “That goes especially for you two!” he barks making the two stop as their ears droop “I know it was you two that broke the lamp from your little “playful” roughhousing this morning.” making quotations with his hands. “You’re lucky I’m in such a good mood tonight or I’d be asking mom to chase you fatheads all over the forest.” crossing his arms. 

The two wolves pull apart with their heads down whimpering, “Don’t give me that, That’s the third time you idiots have broken that lamp. And I just got that one to replace the one you two already broke!” his tone stern. A young pup walks up to Lycus pawing at his pant leg giving him innocent looks, Lycus sighs with a smirk and lifts her up “Don’t worry I’m not yelling at all of you guys, just my two big dumb hairball brothers that seem to love giving me and mom a hard time.” he chuckles nuzzling his head to the pups. She yips happily licking his face, he licks her head to give her reassurance and places her down carefully “Alright see you guys later.” The wolves howl as they bid Lycus a temporary farewell. 

Out in the cool night he gets in his truck and drives to a special part of the forest that he can change into a more comfortable attire. Standing in the middle of the woods he starts to strip his clothes off and folds them neatly, he takes a deep breath closing his eyes then exhaling as they now glow a bright yellow. 

Lycus' body slowly starts changing, bones snap and mend into new limbs as his body grew larger with thick black hair sprouting his muscles expanding feeling hot steam emanating from the cold air. His face elongates to a muzzle as sharp teeth slowly sprout, his nails lengthening into large sharp claws growling softly as his ears become more to a point. Becoming a large powerful Lycan.

His heart pounded loudly in his chest, he had to run. Get the fresh air into his lungs and use the overdose of adrenaline to sprint on the earthy grounds. This night felt all too perfect for him, raising his head high he let out a loud long howl feeling the overwhelming joy of seeing his mate again. 

He bounds into the woods, wind flowing through his fur feeling so elated to see Olydia tomorrow.

[fireintheforest]

Behind the Blue, chapter 22

Although he didn’t get the need for servant corridors (something about “servants aren’t to be seen” and “great houses work like a clock, with parts in the back for the face to be seen” and other crockshit sentences Aubry said when Toivon started), Toivon was certainly thankful for them. They allowed freedom of movement, anonymity, shortcuts and most importantly for him, the chance of eavesdropping without being seen. Hawkcroft’s house wasn’t big enough to have servant corridors in every corridor, just in four strategic places: the long stone corridor connecting the kitchen, laundry room and servants quarters to the dining room, the stairs on the far south end of the house that connected the top and bottom floors (we can’t have common servants going up and down the stairs the good people use, are you crazy?), the smaller stairs that went to the attic, which housed the once Hawkcroft’s nannies’ bedrooms (close to the children’s bedrooms for easy access in case of a night emergency) and the corridor that snaked around the west wings’ rooms and down to the first floor.

When Toivon had first arrived, Sorcise had shown him these architectural secrets, to be used for the daily work without being seen. Most of the maids and footmen used them. Sorcise had confided that the west wing had this longer corridor because Hawkcroft’s personal office and library were in it.

Thanks to these corridors, Toivon had heard the most mudane fucking conversations he’d ever heard (and never cared of hearing in the first place), trivial “troubles” Avelle had with her clothes and her friends, long business monologues between Hawkcroft, his secretary, and sometimes Armellon and Bertraug, and what (in his mind) was Louis’s and Katherine’s dangerously monotonous marriage. They needed help there. As soon as possible.

That morning, Toivon opened the passage, stepped inside and closed the entrance behind himself. Headed down the simple corridor that contrasted with the one he’d just left behind. Down he went, walking past walls that contained faint voices, muffled steps, and even one that had music coming out of it (probably the one where Avelle was at, getting piano lessons from her tutor).

A strong thud on his left caught his attention, as did the subsequent noise that came from the other side of the wall. He should listen to this.

“Maybe something just fell.” He wondered, a fleeting thought that fluttered through his mind.

A blunt, strong noise again, that sounded like a heavy object being pulled on the ground, came from the same place. He should listen to this.

He took a step to the wall, taking care to distribute his weight  to avoid any sound from creaking floorboards of the servant corridor. He leaned and cupped the hand next to his ear to listen.

Due to the thickness of the walls, he couldn’t clearly hear what was being discussed on the other side, unlike what novels and theatres liked to pretend happened. Still, just the kind of movement that had happened had caught his attention. Which room was this? He had to find out as soon as possible. There was just some muffled low speech going on at the time, not high enough for him to listen. Let’s see, he’d entered this corridor next to one of the sitting rooms, the pink one. That was between Avelle’s room and the music room, and he’d walked past said music room since Avelle was now practicing. And down the corridor, the other rooms were…

“…asking too much!”

A voice, a sad one, was clear. Another familiar voice replied with just as much feeling, but Toivon couldn’t place who he was talking to. He hadn’t been there this morning to receive any guests; that had been Aubry. He’d been outside cutting logs and pulling the tanks of milk to the cool storage. Toivon silently pressed himself to the wall, straining to hear something, cheek against cool stone.

Footsteps. Someone was pacing back and forth, back and forth, back and forth, while another set of steps travelled to the right (the same direction where Toivon was facing) and then came the sound of a scraping. Something heavy being dragged on the ground, the same noise as before. A chair? Too heavy to be a chair.

“…not the way I wanted it to go”, The sad voice said again

Toivon felt himself get surprised at the fact that he could hear conversations from the other side of this stone wall. Could it mean that there was a hole in the wall, an opening of some sort?

“Nothing is.” The familiar voice replied. Toivon would bet his fingers he’d heard this voice before, but the haughty tone eluded him as to where. It was only when the voice continued talking that it hit him that that was Emmanuel. The first voice said something in a low, pitiful way.

“And you think I don’t know that, Verloin? Do you think me stupid?” Emmanuel hissed, “Of course I am aware of foul play! Damned the gods, do you think I was born yesterday?”

“I didn’t mean that-”

“A dead thief, stolen jewels and the little high elf tramp giving Armellon doe eyes. All in less than a week.” Toivon felt a skipped heartbeat and a face flushed of anger.

“But, she hasn’t been out since Edwinne passed away. She’s kept safe. They bit the bait, this means you know who sent them?” A pause. Toivon held his breath.

“Avelle.” Emmanuel said, this time his voice had sourness that didn’t quite cover hurt, “My own daughter.”

“I could’ve never believed it.”

“I guess I could. I always gave her everything she wanted. EVERYTHING. Why not her mother’s sapphire? But to humiliate me in front of guests, on her party…I don’t see where the piece fits.” Another pause, “Suppose that what hurts me most is that she doesn’t have the decency to wait until I pass.”

“Now, Emmanuel.” The voice chided, “I’ve told you time and time again, you’re healthy as a horse. This obsession of yours with your death is not normal.”

“Told you…you’re healthy” could this be Bertraug, if he knew of Emmanuel’s health intimately?

“You call it obsession, I see it as being a cautious man. I spent years on the sea, battling scurvy, pirates, hunger, thirst and storms, fought the circus that is the Merchant’s Council and their every ridiculous request to amass my wealth and I won’t lose it to some impatient brat or, or…a bunch of dirty, lice-filled bastards and smooching whores.”

“Hmm.” The voice replied, then added in a low volume that Toivon had to strain to hear, “Orsen is very ill. I don’t think he’ll make it. Never again ask me to do that.”

Toivon frowned. Do what? What does Bertraug (assuming it’s him) have anything to do with this person?

“Oh, please. The lad is young, he’ll be fine. At his age- what, how old is he, 21?”

“24”

“They’re fit as a fiddle at that age. He’ll live.” A nonchalant answer for a topic that was setting off alarms in Toivon’s mind.

A shuffle from the men in the room.

“Anyhow-” Emmanuel began, but was interrupted by the visitor.

“I think, if you truly wish to protect your money, you should listen to Armellon’s advice.”

“Why would I listen to advice from an elf with his tendencies? You know I have a deep gratitude for him, you know how close we are, but his request…this request…is irrational to me.”

Heh, tendencies. Toivon nodded to himself. He knew that one.

“He believes that to be possible, just because of his, his Isles upbringing and how he did it. He just assumes it’ll be normal!”

“But that’s not just in the Isles, Emmanuel. People could talk. He wants-he wants, see, he’s your lawyer. He-that is, we- are looking to minimize risk…to avoid a scandal. Plenty of people would jump at the first chance to grab your bones if you fell from public favor. And you know how he prides himself on his discretion, in professional and personal matters. He kept the whole issue of the ba-”

“Shhh!” a pause of silence. Never before had Toivon wished houses be made of thinner material than at that moment, “Didn’t I tell you not to discuss that topic here?!” Emmanuel whispered angrily.

“You have, I’m sorry.” Again Toivon had to strain to hear.

“The less people know of this, the better for everybody. You saw what happened when Edwinne…” and the voice quieted until they were a murmur, despite Toivon’s  best effort to listen. But slowly, the volume rose again.

“-been taking a fancy to him.”

“Do you think so? I never thought Armellon would go for someone so young.”

“While he talks about being discreet. He’s lucky nobody knows his expressions like we do.” Emmanuel laughed, “Armellon, you old fox.”

“He would-” whatever Bertraug was about to say was suddenly interrupted by a loud CLACK! of an object falling to the wooden floor of the servant’s hallway, mere meters away from Toivon. He felt his face turn cold and looked around himself. Had he dropped something?! His floor was clear. A dead silence got settled.

“What was that?” Bertraug asked

“It came from the servants’ passage.” Two sets of footsteps and the sound of a door opening. Quick, Toivon separated himself from the wall and looked around. Empty. He decided to go around the corner and see who had ruined the eavesdropping for everybody when he heard the passage’s door open and someone step in. The force of his steps made Toivon almost fall, but some comical arm-flailing kept his balance. He turned around and started down the dim hallway, as quick as possible in soft steps so as to not make much noise. Though the passage was dark, these were Bretons and it was a sure bet that they’d have a light spell. He had to get out of here. By the time the two Bretons came to the hallway he was in, he was a silhouette against the dark.

“Someone’s there!” Bertraug cried out, and now the footsteps ran after him. Toivon sped up.

“Stop!” Emmanuel ordered, but Toivon kept going. Left, right, jumped up the three steps in one part, left, left, now right.

“Stop there!” they kept up with him, he could tell. The blue light of a spell they produced by magic to guide them danced at the edge of Toivon’s periphery, behind him like a nagging ghost or a guilt that never goes away, no matter how hard Toivon ran.

“There he goes, left!”

Don’t turn around, no chance for them to get his face. Could they see his ears? His skin tone? The blue hue told him they were close but not enough to see him. Was he sure of that?

“STOP!”

The narrow, curved staircase with its 8 inches of tread and 9 inches of rise, was right ahead. Placing a hand on the wall and another on the banister, risking getting seen by the light and his pursuers, Toivon ran down them. Easy considering the shortness of the tread, hard in the event that a fall would break his hips, get him caught and ruin the mission.

Taptaptaptaptaptaptap, his feet ran down

Creakcreakcreakcreak, the wooden stairs replied under his feet

ToptoptopPORORORORMPOMPOM went, at first, the Bretons’ feet until th

ey, with a strangled gasp and an “Augh!”, fell down the stairs, rolling in themselves and each other, hitting step after step, a human boulder barreling to Toivon as it released cries and curses.

Toivon ran down the stairs to avoid joining the rolling boulder, his breath in gasps burning his throat, tempted to look back in a panic but also frozen into dashing down in the same feeling. The human boulder crashed behind himcursing and groaning and banging on every step, and Toivon could now hear it approach his ankles (and only hear, since the minute they lost their footing, the Bretons’ spells died down, leaving them in darkness). The lack of light seemed to amplify the speed of everyone involved, or so Toivon felt the chase. The boulder was coming closer, his thighs burned, he was getting dizzy, PROMPOROMPORMPOM faster coming to him, run Toivon run!

A landing straight ahead! And a wall! If he hit the wall, the boulder was sure to follow!

In a desperate move, Toivon turned to his right, in a movement he’d done a thousand times and had taught Marcello a thousand more, and separated his left hand from the wall to place it on the bannister. He jumped, pushed himself up and tucked his knees into his chest and his feet above the bannister. Then he stretched them forward to pass the other side, now releasing himself, as the boulder passed him and continued to the landing with a strong, dry hit. Meanwhile, Toivon landed on the narrow stairs, which didn’t provide him much of a proper landing space. Toivon felt his feet touch wood for a fraction of a second, then air, and then it was his body the one that touched the step.

Well, steps, since the fall caused Toivon to keep falling down in a vulgar speed, up until the next turn, where the Dunmer was able to get back up and keep running down, without looking back. He heard Emmanuel’s sharp tone of voice and Bertraug’s groans fade as he went on. He left the servants’ passages at the first chance he got, drenched in cold sweat.

[fandom-necromancer]

1165. Part 3

This was prompted by an awesome anon, the lovely @aurea-b and the amazing @rufina72! Please heed the warnings. This chapter isn’t nice, but I promise, the next part will be super fluffy! I will try to finish it today too, so it will come anytime in the night (at least for my timezone). If you don’t want to read this part because of the warnings, you can skip it and still read the next one!

Fandom: Detroit become human | Ship: Reed900 (Warnings: violence, kidnapping, graphic description of android dismantling, mentions of physical and mental abuse) [Part1]   [Part2]   [Part4]

‘No, no, please, no! No! Ahhhhh!’ Gavin was awake, but that static scream jolted him from unconsciousness in mere milliseconds. His sight was still hazy, but a small red light smeared over his vision as he rolled his head from one shoulder to the next. Everything was turning around him and refused to stay still, there was a weird cheeping sound and he felt like he might throw up. The hit to his head must have done some damage, but despite all of this, his detective senses told him the situation was bad. He was still alive, that had to be good? But it was so dark, and his head felt like a cannon ball on a toothpick. Phck.

He heard the buzz of electric motors and soon there was the scream again. Right. Little red circle, robot sounds… Nines? The damn toaster had been run into by a car. The memories were coming back one after the next. And with it his vision. Two thugs stood a few metres away from him and towered above him. But they had their backs to him and were working on something. He frowned and tried to focus. He was sitting, hands bound behind him and back leaned against a pillar. He leaned to one side and his nausea got worse, but he could spy through their legs. There was a lot of blue. Blue liquid flowing down on a white surface. It dripped to the ground and gathered in a puddle. Gavin tried hard to piece it all together, but a great percentage of his will was focussed on not vomiting all over himself.

The thugs helped him assess the situation as they stepped back in a laughing fit. It gave the bound man a better view on the other figure on the ground: A human shape, naked, completely white, bleeding blue from a circular hole. Red lights pulsing through the armour plates and panicked, pleading grey eyes darting around. Dirty human hands on a cylinder that looked about the same size as the hole. What did it mean, what did this shit mean? The one time Gavin needed his braincell and it was unavailable.

The weird white human opened his mouth, the blue liquid flowing from it. There should have been words coming out, but it sounded more like a radio without connection. It was pained and it was loud, earning him a kick to his chest that let him fall to his side.

‘Come on, stick it back in, we don’t know if the boss needs it’, one of the thugs said. It. Suddenly it clicked. He had been with Nines when he was hit unconscious. It made sense he would wake up with him. But… was this really the android? Gavin had never seen him without skin. But there on the ground, this had to be him, hadn’t it? He tried to will his brain to function and focussed on the android’s face. Shit. It was Nines. No doubt. ‘Urgh, fine. But let’s be real, what would she want with a fucking android, huh? She’ll kill it anyways.’ ‘Yeah, then let her do it. Wouldn’t want to get in any trouble. Stick it back and let’s go.’ The other man seemed to be hesitant, but then kneeled down to slam the thirium regulator back into its socket. Nines pulled his eyes and mouth wide open, but it was a silent scream this time.

When the thugs took their leave, Gavin pretended to still be out cold. It wasn’t that difficult, with a headache that made thinking unbearable. He heard the door slam and lifted his head again. Motions still made him feel sick, but at least he had recovered enough that they were possible now. Nines laid on his side remaining in the position the two men had kicked him into and staring straight ahead. Gavin would have thought the android had shut down if it weren’t for the slow red flash of his lights. He had never seen the android in such distress and that counted in the times he had threatened the thing. He didn’t like the RK900. He hated him. He hated the whole of androidkind. But to his own surprise seeing the ever uptight, nose-in-the-sky android like this brought him no satisfaction. He didn’t know what he could do in his bound position, so he just sat there, staring at the oddly calming red pulse of Nines’ body.

When he finally snapped out of it, he tried to move his hands. They were bound behind his body, but not too tight. Maybe he could work the knot loose. He knew pulling would only fasten it more, so he felt with his fingers for the knot and fumbled with the strands of rope they used. It wasn’t the most efficient way, but it showed slow progress in widening the loop. With time he maybe could get his hands free.

He worked on his confines while he was watching the android. Thirium still dripped from the regulator and his mouth. Maybe the thing wasn’t fully connected, Gavin mused, or maybe them slamming it back in broke it. No matter what the cause was though, it didn’t look too good. He was nearly sure he could get free in the next minutes, as he froze. There were voices outside.

‘…with them?’ ‘Ugh fine, have some fun. But don’t touch the pig. We have no use for the bot, but the guy could be useful as a hostage. I’ll be out for today. See you tomorrow.’ A door outside slammed shut and a few moments later the door to this room opened. Gavin again mimed the unconscious man, watching in silence how they pulled Nines back up. Upon touch the android’s LED blinked faster, but other than that there was no sign he was still alive. One of the thugs snapped his fingers in front of him and as that didn’t work, took a pipe from the ground and hit him with it. Nines’ head flew to the side, but he remained silent.

‘Let’s try this next.’ The second man announced and knelt down. Something blinked in his hands, then Gavin identified it as a pocketknife he pushed in between two plates on the android’s chest and angled upwards. The plate resisted, then gave in and fell to the ground. ‘Please, stop, I didn’t-‘ He was interrupted by the same knife hastily slammed in between the plates over his heart. ‘Please, don’t. Stop!’ The next plate fell to the ground with a dull plastic sound and light flooded the ground. Gavin got a good look of the fast beating pump glowing red in his chest and the surrounding Thirium pipes. There were a lot of air bubbles in the liquid and the lights were stuttering. ‘And why should we?’, one of the thugs asked, adding an ugly laugh afterwards and prying the next one off. Expecting another plea, they stood there waiting as the android remained silent. ‘What? No more begging, huh? Come on, we want to hear your beautiful voice, tin-can!’

They worked the knife between the next plates, as Nines eyelids fell half shut not unlike with a broken doll. ‘This unit is damaged severely. Please contact Cyberlife for repairs.’ ‘Oh, that’s good, that’s good!’, one of the thugs exclaimed excitedly. ‘I nether managed to push deviants back into their machine routines! Didn’t even knew they still had them in them!’ ‘Did this unit fail its mission?’, Nines asked, not answering to the thug’s discovery. His voice was completely level and void of any emotion. Gavin had never heard him like this. It didn’t even sound like the android he knew anymore. ‘Guess so.’ The android nodded as if understanding. ‘Is this correcting this unit’s errors?’ ‘Heh, yeah, it is.’ ‘Registering failure and correction in mechanics log. Please continue.’

Gavin didn’t believe what he just heard. He wasn’t able to think through what he was about to do, it just happened: ‘Nines! Nines, what the hell?’, he shouted from his position, gathering the attention of the two thugs. ‘Oh, so the pig is finally awake? Missed one hell of a show, buddy!’ ‘Show? What the hell are you assholes doing…’ Just then Gavin realised he hadn’t only had the full attention of the criminals. Nines looked at him and he seemed to be more afraid than he had been at any point in this torture. Even in his utterly damaged, panicked state, he tried to get away from him.

‘Gavin!’ His voice was wavering. ‘What are you doing here, this isn’t possible. Only Cyberlife personal is allowed in here. Please. This unit doesn’t need repairs just yet, Gavin. This unit is still functioning! This unit can complete the tests! Please, Gavin, don’t do this to me!’

The two thugs looked at each other in confusion, but Gavin tried to ignore their conversation about what this meant. He was too occupied being shocked. He got that the android was delirious from depleting Thirium levels and the pain. But he couldn’t understand why he was afraid of him of all people. Yes, he had been a bit rough with him from time to time, but that wasn’t enough for him to be afraid of him, right? But when he thought back to these occasions now, Nines had always been afraid of him, hadn’t he?

The two thugs seemed to come to the conclusion, that it didn’t matter. They shrugged and continued with their cruel work. Gavin couldn’t see the android, but he could hear his pleas over the clunk of hull pieces falling to the floor and thirium dripping down. He had gone back to talking about himself as “I” and his intonation had come back, but that didn’t make things any better.

‘No, Gavin, please! Don’t do this to me! What did I do to you? I-I never told anyone, please! I never told anyone what you did to me! I know I’m not what you want me to be. I know I’m not enough for you. But please, I didn’t do anything! I just tried to be your friend, please, stop. Gavin. No! You are killing me. Stop. Please.’

‘Goddamnit, this thing is creepy as hell! I think we should leave it alone’, one of the thugs said and the other nodded, taking a step back. ‘I agree. It’s gonna deactivate soon anyways. Let’s just get out of here.’

Gavin would have joined them, if that was possible. He was rightfully mortified, watching his work partner hanging in his confines, whispering the words over and over again, static thick in his voice: ‘I never told anyone. I didn’t do anything. Gavin. I never told anyone. Please. Stop. I didn’t do anything.’

But it wasn’t his place to run. His hands were free for a long time now, he only had to find the strength to stand up. His knees were weak from the realisation that this android had been afraid of him for as long as they had worked together, and it had needed criminals torturing the tin-can for him to realise that. He owed the android, if only because he had ignored his warnings and let him run into this trap blindly.

In a soupçon of determination, he wiggled free and stood up. He scurried over to the android and let himself fall on his knees next to him. He used the knife the thugs had left behind to cut the rope, all the while muttering: ‘Everything will be fine, Nines, listen. Everything is fine. See? It stopped. I’ll get you out of here. Just hold on. Stay with me, okay? We’ll get out of here.’ He got more and more desperate to cut the thick rope. They had done a far better job on binding the android than him. But Gavin was thankful for that mistake. ‘Nines, it will be fine, you hear me? It will be alright again, stay with me. I will change, okay? I don’t know what has you so scared but shit, I will try to be better. I promise you. We’ll get out of here and then you will kick my ass for being such an asshole, okay? We’ll get you back in order, I swear. I phcking swear!’

Finally, the rope gave in and the android plopped to the ground. Apparently, that had pulled him from his trance and the android was lucid for a few moments. He looked up at Gavin, pain evident on his face. His LLED was impossibly dark, near to no colour left in it. ‘Don’t… Touch… Me…’, he struggled to whisper just before he deactivated.

Gavin winced at the words cutting deep. But still he looked at the lifeless android. ‘No can do, tin-can. I’ll get you out of here.’

[>next part]

[proxylynn]

Lynchtale: File Name Game of Death #2

Chapter 2: Pay the price for your betrayal

WARNING: THIS IS A MATURE STORY THAT WILL HAVE BLOOD, GORE, PSYCHOLOGICAL SURVIVAL HORROR, HEAVY CURSING, AND LIKELY SEXUAL THEMES/BONING. I DO NOT OWN UNDERTALE, THAT BELONGS TO LORD TOBY FOX. I DO NOT OWN DEAD BY DAYLIGHT, THAT BELONGS TO BEHAVIOUR DIGITAL INC.. I DON'T OWN THE AU'S THAT SOME OF THE CHARACTERS COME FROM, THEY BELONG TO THEIR RESPECTIVE CREATORS. I DON'T OWN THE IDEA FOR LYNCHTALE, THAT BELONGS TO PUNNYSIDEUP (AKA. SANSFULPUNS). WHAT I DO OWN IS MY SELF-INSERT OC ANOMALY LYNSIE AND THE LOVE OF FAN PARODY. IF YOU'RE STILL READING THIS, THEN CONGRATULATIONS ON EITHER BEING ONE WITH STRONG DETERMINATION OR AN ENDLESS WILL TO OVERCOME THE CHALLENGE OF STOMACHING WHAT I HAVE IN MIND. EITHER WAY, IF YOU LIKE THIS AND/OR MY OTHER CONTENT, SIT BACK AND ENJOY THE ETERNAL PUNISHMENT. HAVE FUN SINNERS. ^_^

With each step taken the fog ebbed and flowed back, never revealing the solid surface under its misty shroud. In fact, nothing was capable of being seen. At least, for now. Such is how the Entity makes these spaces between realms. The soft footfall of sneakers barely audible. Though one body walked this path, it castes four shadows. This was the Legion. Four souls bound together in a single body, with only one ever in control at a time. They don't remember much before they were taken by the Entity, but they know one thing. They oddly all share the same name. So to break any confusion they each bare a nickname. Dead-Eye is the impulsive one, quick to show off and enjoys doing so in the most hardcore of ways. Boo is the shy and naïve one, usually only doing things because they're forced or afraid to disobey. Chops is the demanding one, thinking they are deserving of more than they get and taking pleasure in earning such rewards. Then there's Bones the opportunistic leader of the bunch, they are as crafty as they are charismatic yet loyal to a fault. They are Legion. And they are on the move. Or more accurately...Bones is on the prowl.

{where are we going? this isn't the way back to the cabin.}

Boo questions.

{weren't you paying attention, twerp? there's new meat in this game. we're gonna go see if they're worth any trouble.}

Chops barks.

{oh...sorry.}

{leave the kid alone. we need to pay attention.}

Dead-Eye makes his point. To which Chops scoffs in annoyance.

"will you guys knock it off. we're almost there. and i want all of you to focus."

It's not easy to keep one's mind centered when three other voices tend to chatter on, but Bones had managed to get used to it. This was what it was like for them all the time. The only exceptions were in trials and if the Entity was feeling they earned a generous reward. In trials, the other three would be held back and allow the one in control to be fully themselves. And the generous reward...temporary separation for a short limited time. Moments to themselves are rare, so any chance to have them is highly sought after. This wasn't one of those moments, but could potentially lead up to one, so scouting out the meat was very important.

The fog begins to lessen. Tress start to come into view. The realm of the Survivors' campsite finally draws near. A sinister grin creeps up Bones' face as the sight of a speck of light is seen in the distance. His pace quickens with a sudden eagerness. A feeling of excitement like a child rushing to open their gifts on X-mas day. The light getting closer the faster he went, almost going into his Feral Frenzy state.

{geez, man, chill. ya don't wanna give away that we're here.}

Chops for once was being logical.

"i can't help it. wraith did hype me up a little bit."

{she is merely another human. there is nothing to get so worked up about.}

Dead-eye states coldly.

"that's not the part i'm hyped for."

{it's her soul, isn't it? wraith said it had more colors than the others.}

Boo innocently chimes in.

"heheh...call me curious, but a human with more than one trait to their soul is a rather interesting surprise, to say the least."

{*chuckles* bet she's some kind of freak.}

{don't be so mean.}

{we are all freaks. the only difference is if you embrace it or not.}

"shut up! all your yammering is pissing me off. i need concentration."

Their murmurers in his mind settle down as the density of the forest wanes and the smell of smoke becomes as clear as the light source creating it. Bones' movement now was but a crawl of its former speed as he crouched into the bushes near the humans' untouchable safe zone.

"okay...now, where is the new face?"

Mimicking the stealth of the very prey he's eyeing, Bones silently moves from one shrub to the next to circle the site and better spy the new odd human out.

{this has to be a record for the closest any killer's gotten to the camp.}

{what about that time one enraged huntress and she charged them?}

{i think he means closest without the entity interfering.}

{oh. then yeah. totally a new record.}

{bones, look over by that log in the back. i think that is her.}

"huh?"

From his current spot, all he can see along this log in question is a pair of arms locked behind a pony-tailed brunette head in relaxation. An easily missable sight if not paying attention. Creeping more around grants him the first view of her at a side angle. Yep. This was her. No one like her has been here before.

"bingo."

While different from what he's used to seeing, she wasn't out of the ordinary and just only contrasted from the other humans. Wearing a simple black shirt with weird white symbols across the chest, faded gray camouflage cargo pants, a dark hoodie tied around her waist, and old worn-out white sneakers that look like they've seen better days. She was new, but nothing special.

{that's her? *scoff* wraith must be losing his mind. the only thing she looks like is an easy kill.}

{i don't know. she looks nice enough.}

{boo, i swear, sometimes ya make me want to beat the shit out of ya.}

{what? why?}

{you're both being stupid. don't dismiss the prey by of how it looks. meat is tricky. do not trust it.}

"if only there was a way to get her to expose her soul."

{we can always get a look during trial. we just need to use our moris on her and bing bang boom, it's soul time.}

"true. but there's no telling when we'd get a crack at her."

{oh! i know!}

"what, boo?"

{we can do as wraith did. we get her to come into the woods and then kill her.}

{it does sound like a reasonable idea.}

{for once, the baby said something i can agree with.}

{hey!}

"fine, let's say we do try to lure her out. do any of you know how?"

{we can always chuck a rock at her head.}

"you've got to be fucking kidding me?}

{i don't see you suggesting anything. and besides, it's not like i said we throw our knife.}

"*sigh* i swear, the more time passes the dumber we get. i mean, what the fu..."

{bones...}

"what?"

{she is looking this way.}

His attention returning to what's in the camp, Dead-eye was right, and her head was now facing his hiding spot.

"...you don't think she heard me, right?"

{no one else is looking. so my guess is no.}

{so weird.}

{weird bitch. i don't like the way she's staring at us.}

For once the shoe was on the other foot. The killer was nervous about being spotted by the prey. But he knew she couldn't possibly know that he's there. Even if he was talking to himself, she was too far away to have heard him and the fog coated bush hid him too well to be seen. So why then was her gaze just strongly locked on him to the point he could feel her eyes picking away at the leaves to find him.

{what do we do?}

{what do ya mean what do we do? it's only a human. she can't do squat to us.}

{then why does this feel so...?}

{intense?}

{yeah. like, super intense.}

{you two are pussies. bones, can ya believe the lack of balls on these dorks? ...bones?}

Bones didn't hear his companions. For that matter, he couldn't even feel their presence. He was too lost in the eyes staring into his very soul from afar. Something held him there and compelled him to keep staring at her. Then she moved. Standing up yet never breaking contact. She tilts her head, as if unsure of if she indeed sees something. But once her mind is made up, she starts to head his way and he hears something that will surely give his cover away.

lub-dub...lub-dub...

{wait...is that...?}

{our heartbeat?}

{why is our heart beating ominously?}

"i don't know."

lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...

"'ey Luv..."

She stops at the call and approach of one of the male survivors.

"You're not really wanderin' off again, are you?"

lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...

When she doesn't respond to him, the man looks to where she's looking and Bones feels awkward.

"What's wrong, Luv? Somethin' over there?"

lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...

She rolls her shoulders and turns away.

"Nah. Just my imagination."

The man puts his arm around her shoulders and guides her back toward the log.

lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...

Bones lets out a quiet sigh.

lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...

Whatever the reason for this strange feeling, he's at least glad it was going away.

lub-dub...lub-dub...

A few beats more and internal silence fell once again...not counting the three voices in his head.

{uh...i don't know about you guys, but i say we go home before something else weird happens.}

{agreed.}

{you guys are such bitches. *huff* man...fuck this place. was a waste of time anyway.}

Bones found himself grinning. This human was already proving themselves to be interesting. She was going to be fun in trials. Every killer knows about the Terror Radius. The warning sound survivors hear when a killer draws near. But no killer could ever hear it...till now and only for her. And the thrilling part was that she probably had no idea of the effect that befell him at her coming closer, which means for him, finding her will be as easy as finding a cat in an empty fish tank.

"heh heh heh...this is going to be fun."

Having seen enough, for now, Bones made his way deeper into the forest and headed out into the dense fog. Now knowing what he did, it was time to return to their territory and go over a plan for this new meat. Perhaps he could make a rare offering to the Entity and ask for a small favor? It's worth a shot.

(UNKNOWN AMOUNT OF TIME LATER)

Time is annoying here. There's no way of knowing what is going on. Is it day? Is it night? Who knows! It's always this weird form of dark but isn't dark. Makes no damn sense. Then there's this good and bad stuff. The good, there's no need to sleep. The bad, trying to sleep because dreaming is awesome is nearly impossible due to assholes in this fucking camp! The good, there's no need to eat. The bad, I would kill for a Big Buford meal from Checker's/Rally's right now. It's a paradox! An evil and twisted hell! Only hell would deny me my favorite food! And to add to all of this...I'm so damn bored! I mean, you can only stare into a fire for so long till it feels like it's burning your very soul away with the power of absolute bullshit! Even when the others come and go, the tireless drain on my mental state remains. The only thing moderately entertaining is David. The guy, when not being a dumb flirt, has no filter when it comes to fucked up stories, that are obviously fake, and I love it.

"I went to this girl's party the week after she beat the shit out of my mate. While everyone was gettin' trashed, I went around puttin' tuna inside all the curtain rods. So weeks go by and they couldn't figure out why the house smelled like festerin' death. I only got caught because this bloke snapped a couple of shots where these guys at the party were singin' while I was in the background with a can of tuna."

"*snickering* Heheh...That story smells fishy. Cast a wider net next time."

David groans.

"Luv...Must you do that?"

"What?"

"Puns aren't funny."

"You sir just aren't sophisticated enough to appreciate the complexity of a well-made pun."

He rolls his eyes.

"Anyway...This one time, my whole class got detention because I drew a penis with a glue stick on the whiteboard. When the teacher went to wipe off the board, all the fluff came off and stuck to the glue. I never got in trouble for it because everyone found it too funny to rat me out."

"Sounds like a sticky situation."

His groan is even louder.

"Wow. Tough crowd."

"Oh? Okay, Luv, why not you give it a go."

"What? You want me to make you laugh, huh?"

"Make me? No. I want you to try."

I glare.

"Oh, you are so on. *ahem* A priest was driving along and saw a nun on the side of the road. He stopped and offered her a lift which she accepted. She got in then crossed her legs, forcing the habit slip to open and reveals some of her legs. The priest looks and nearly has an accident. After shifting gears, he lets his hand slide up her leg. She immediately says, 'Father, remember Psalm: 129'. The priest says sorry and removes his hand but is unable to remove his eyes from her leg. Later on, when he shifts gears again and has ogled at her leg for like the trillionth time, he lets his hand slide up her leg again. The Nun once again says, 'Father, remember Psalm: 129'. Arriving at the convent, the nun gets out and the priest goes on his way. Once he's at his church, he rushes to his trusty bible and looks up Psalm: 129 and it said...GO FORTH AND SEEK, FURTHER UP YOU WILL FIND GLORY!"

He just stares at me. As do some others that were in the range of my overly dramatic finish. It's actually a little embarrassing. But then...He chuckles.

"Heh. Alright, Luv. I'll give you credit, that was funny. Shame I heard somethin' like it before."

My joke pride is dashed.

"Really? Damn."

"Eh, no worries. Better luck next time."

"Oh! I got a good one. So one day this fly is flying over a pond..."

[It is time, little worm. Time to run and hide from the monsters. Do not disappoint The Entity.]

"Luv? You okay?"

Suddenly the air chills. The trees bend as if to look away. And the fog gets so thick around camp that light is inescapable. An unknown impulse beyond my control has me make myself stand. Joining me in this weird stand is Dwight, Meg, and Jake. My comprehension of what is happening is as cloudy as the black smoke that consumes us. And just like that, we are taken from camp to an unknown place.

The transition of this smoke's transportation is one that chokes the very breath out of you. The feeling of these unseen claws skim along exposed flesh and just add this creepy unsettling factor that makes this even more fucked up. Yet just as the cringe factor feels like its approaching hentai levels of uncomfortable, it all stops. The smoke clears and a very Earth looking place in before me. It's bright, cold, and snowing. Things that normally bother me. But honestly...It makes me smile.

"Psst..."

Reality comes back to me in the form of Dwight.

"Get down and follow me."

He crouches and I shrug before doing the same.

"What is this place?"

"Mount Ormond Resort. This is Legion territory. But that doesn't mean it would be the killer though."

"Yeah, I was told it can be random."

He nods and I follow behind while taking in as much of the area that I can soak in. The hollowed summit of Mount Ormond looms over desolate patches of dead trees. The abandoned ski facilities litter the ground among large patches of snow and natural rock clumps with other land bumps. Random snow machines, barrel fires, and a freaking watchtower. There's even an impressive chalet in the center, albeit it's not in good condition as far as I see and we are pretty far from it. The stale air makes the rough winds drape a heavy blanket of isolation over the bleak landscape. Oddly though, the area seems to be fenced in and gives me these dropping mice in a snake tank vibes. Humans being the mice and the snake being the killer monsters. Though seeing this barrier, it doesn't look very difficult to climb. Surely one can simply do so if given the chance. Eh, maybe I'll try it after learning more from Dwighty-boy. We continue to creeping along in tall patches of grass till we reach this weirdly positioned assortment that is almost maze-like but not quite. There are colorful pallets of wood on two sides, this red locker that is conveniently large enough to fit a person, and a hook post that looks like a miniature ski lift pylon with a yellow rubber mat surrounding the lower half. Though he ignores these things to take me to a massive generator that is connected to a light post.

"This is what we need to fix to open the gates and leave. Well...leave without dying."

I just blink in confusion.

"Dude. I don't know about you guys, but I don't know jack shit about mechanical work."

"You don't have to. Take a look."

He moves to one side and I do the same.

"The Entity made these simple. The only thing that needs fixing is the wires. They need to be reconnected to their other half. Just find two that have the same color and splice them back to make the connection. Just be careful not to rush or cross the wrong wires together."

"As dumb as it is to ask...Why?"

"It'll make the gen spark and alert the killer to our location."

"That sucks."

"It does. But not as bad when the killer attacks the gen to undo an amount of progress."

"...Now that's just shit."

"Help me with this one. Repairs go quicker when more than one person in on a gen."

"Fine. Just keep explaining things to me. I don't intend to die here."

He nods as he puts his hands in the generator. I doubt my skills are good here but I at least try and do the same, attempting to repair while keeping watch over his blind spot.

"The goal is to repair the gens to open the gates. But aside from messing up, even repairing the gen can alert the killer."

"Let me guess...The lights?"

I point up.

"Yep. They shine bright enough to be noticed and make a sound when turned on. So...It's best to run and hide when that happens."

"Is that what the locker is for?"

"Yeah, they're good for quick hiding or long-time avoidance."

"That last one sounds like a bitch move to pull."

"...It helps when your team is better than you are and you don't want to get int the way."

Ouch...That actually made me feel bad. Uh...Quick! Change the subject!

"And the pallets?"

"Oh, you use those for a few things. Mostly to block the killer. But if they grabbed someone before they dropped it, you can drop it and make the killer lose their grip and they can escape."

"Neat."

"But the killers can break dropped pallets and there's only a set number in the whole area."

"Damn."

"Other than that, there's not much else we can do. Hide, work on gens, and try not to die."

"Gee. That's depressing. So there's no way of, I don't know, fighting back?"

"Well, there are trunks scatted around that you can find one of four items in at a time."

"What?"

"A med-kit, toolbox, flashlight, or key."

"Wait...So we don't get a weapon?"

"Nope. We can't even use the hatchets that are in the lockers."

"...Say what now?"

"We've tried. They can't be removed by survivors. Only the Huntress can take them. The only 'weapons' we get are the flashlights because it can temporarily blind them, and a shard of glass to stab them with to get out of their grip. That's it. The other items are just to help us get through this."

So wait, if humans are limited that much, then does that mean...?

"...So I take it trying to jump the fence is a no go too?"

"Nea tried that. The Entity raised it higher as a warning. She didn't listen and kept trying. It killed her automatically."

Damn. There goes that plan.

"*sigh* Any other helpful tips you can give me?"

"Keep your eyes peeled and listen out for the killer's Terror Radius."

"The huh?"

"Terror Radius. When the killer starts to get close, your heart will beat loudly. The louder it is, the closer the killer is to you. Thankfully, it's only a sound we can hear. Aside from the sound, beware of the Red Stain. It's a light that shines from their eyes when they target someone."

"I'm starting to see which side the Entity favors more. Is it too late to switch teams?"

We share a small awkward laugh. But I wasn't joking.

*CLANK*

We pause at the sudden sound and notice no added light above us. Scanning the dense further out, a small blip of it is just marginally lighter than the surrounding area.

"That's one down."

"How many do we need to power the gates?"

"Five."

I pale.

"You're joking."

"I wish."

"We have to do five of these things and avoid a killer while being completely helpless? That is the most bullshit of all bullshit I have ever heard!"

"Shhhhh! Keep your voice down."

I take a deep breath to settle down.

"Sorry. It's just I can't handle stupid. Like, no joke. My mind literally can't take it."

"I'm sure you're just..."

"I once put my head through a wall after punching it to avoid hitting someone that was stating the most illogical load of crap like what they were saying was fact."

He just stares at me.

"I'm not a violent person, dude. But when my brain can't comprehend utter lack of sense, it goes primal and demands a way to unload."

"...By hitting things?"

"By hitting things."

"That...doesn't sound healthy."

I merely shrug and connect the last couple of wires on my side.

*CLANK*

Light beams down on us as the generator purrs with life.

"Now we need three more."

"Got it."

"This is where I leave you now."

"Why?"

"Increases the odds of us not being taken down in a bunch."

"...Makes sense."

"Take care, Lynsie."

"Same to you, Dwight."

Dwight crouches off in one direction and I crawl away in the opposite. The misty nature of this place and the snowfall makes for good coverage but also obstruct my sight as well...especially when it flies in your eyes.

*HIGH-PITCH SHIRK*

Unless the killer just ripped the balls off one of the guys, that had to be Meg. What sucks is I feel I should do something. What that something is? Fuck if I know. Maybe if I find one of those chests I can get a med-kit and heal her if she's hurt. Great. Now I have to multitask. Find gens, fix gens, avoid death, and save others. Is it really too late to change sides?

*LOW-PITCH YELL*

The fuck? Nearly no time passed and a second was attacked? This isn't looking so good.

"Nope! Nope! Nope! So much nope!"

Dwight comes rushing this way.

"Dude?"

He speeds past me with a look of "I'm going to wet my pants" and I don't like that one damn bit. His urgency kicks me into "screw this" mode and I bolt. Now the idea of hiding is my only goal. Something I can effectively feel safe in or at. The chalet looks to be three stories, so maybe. The watchtower seems to be missing a ladder, that's never stopped me before. There's a shack that is very out of place. Wait...What did they tell me about that again? Oh, I remember now. And...Nope! Not going there! That's a bad spot. Uh...Fuck it! Going for the trees! I pick one near one of the odd obstacle places and use it to get up to the reachable branches since the trunk is too big around.

lub-dub...lub-dub...

That sound...

lub-dub...lub-dub...

I climb up higher and try to mold into the branch work. Maybe I can think of a plan from here. It's not like the killer can climb up here...right?

lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...

Shit, that's closer. Where is it? What am I even looking for? Just saying "monster" or "killer" doesn't mean I know what it looks like. God, I hate my teammates...except you, Dwight. You actually tell me useful stuff.

lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...

A moving light gets my attention. From the height and angle that I'm at, I see the noticeable sight of a gingered haired maiden speed limping while trying to use a flashlight on someone in a dark blue hoodie. Such a human piece of clothing. A big contrast to the Wraith.

lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...

Meg's efforts to shake this killer have her darting around like mad. Soon though she heads my way.

lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...

I watch as she vaults through window arches and withholds from using the pallets until just the right moment. She even smacks the killer over the head with one and she gains some time to get ahead, adding more escape time by blinding the killer when he recovers. What kind of OP flashlight is that?

lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...

Though the killer can still see Meg hobbling away, it for some reason lingers here. Taking small quiet steps.

lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...

Why is it still here? Why won't it go after her? It doesn't see me, does it?

lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...

It approaches a locker and flings it open, only to not find me...but Dwight. Unable to escape, the killer grabs Dwight and the poor guy weakly wriggles on the shoulder of the monster as it carries him over just past this obstacle thing.

lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...

*LOW-PITCH SCREAM*

By how loud that scream is that had to be him going on the hook. Now's my chance to do something helpful! If only the killer would leave! I don't know what it's doing. But the thing won't stop stalking around this damn spot! It's making my heart go nuts!

lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...

I'm about to lose my shit when suddenly something sparks on the other end of the zone. The killer pauses, looks around, goes over to Dwight and hits him before leaving to check it out. I wait till my heart has stopped racing then slowly make my way back to solid ground and move to Dwight.

"Dude, how's it hanging?"

He cringes with a groan.

"Please don't make fun right now. I'm in a lot of pain."

"I see that. It's just how I deal with things. Now think light thoughts."

I embrace his legs and lift. He on his end pulls up with one hand and move the hook away with the other. The blood falling and the sloshing noise of the nasty hook moving through his shoulder. When freed he slumps down on me and brings us both crashing to the snow.

"*muffled* Mind getting off my head?"

"Sorry."

He rolls off me and I shake the snow from my hair.

"Thanks for the save."

"Anytime. So long as I'm not being chased."

He smiles and picks himself up, holding the gaping wound with his good hand. Doing so makes his extra wound at his side stretch and bleed harshly.

"Say...You wouldn't happen to know where Jake is?"

I shake my head.

"Oh well. Here's hoping I find him or my own med-kit before Legion gets me again."

"That was Legion?"

"One of them. You better get going now. It's not good hanging around a wounded survivor."

"Wait, what do you mean by one of them?"

He limps off, groaning and dripping blood.

*HIGH-PITCH SHRIK*

Sounds like Meg is getting into trouble again. I got to do something. Anything productive. Where's another generator at?

*HIGH-PITCH SCREAM*

Holy shit! Okay, I need to do something. I'm too far judging by that scream. I need to buy them time to save her. I need to...

"LEGION!"

Not yell out the killer's name like a fucking idiot!

lub-dub...lub-dub...

Well, that's to be expected. Time to run now. With basically having painted a "come kill me" target on my dumb ass, I don't hold back on the speed. Rushing as if Legion were right behind me instead of just trailing from somewhere.

lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...

Need to duck it. Need to find something to disorient it. In my haste, I grab some snow and ball it before chucking it at a passing pallet. The thud sound it makes should pull its attention.

lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...

Unfortunately, it seems I'm not going to be so lucky. It's not falling for this trick.

*CLANK*

That sound means we only need two more generators to power the gates and no one has died that I'm aware of. So far I'd call this a good trial. Scary as fuck, but still good.

lub-dub...lub-dub...

It's going after the others again. I can use this opportunity to find a spot to rest for a bit. My lungs are burning from so much running. The watchtower again seems like a tempting hideaway, but if I try climbing now I'll make too much noise with all the huffing and puffing. The shack is again, something I'm not going near due to basement reasons. So the chalet will be my rest stop for the moment. Sneaking in is easy, what with all the broken spots that anyone can use. The inside is trashed. Giving off the vibes of a place used to crash in to get away from the world. Ah, teenage memories. Sadly such destruction makes some parts of it crippled or just plain blocked by debris. Which sucks because that top area is where I want to go and I'm not in the mood to go parkour crazy.

*LOW-PITCH YELL*

Jake or Dwight just got nailed. The way things are going another hit or hook will happen.

*HIGH-PITCH SHIRK*

Oh, come on!

lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...

You've got to be kidding me.

lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...

Son of a...Not much to go on and needing somewhere to hide, I throw myself behind one of the random couches...only to end up skidding into a downward going set of stairs and I tumble head over heel into a wall.

lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...

I shake away the stars in my eyes and come to find I'm in the one spot I've been trying to avoid. I'm in the basement. But how? I thought they said it shows up in the shed. What kind of retards am I dealing with here?!

lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...

Oh yeah, that's still a thing. Since going back up will get me spotted for sure, I hobble deeper down the steps and find the light seeping through the walls to be very unnerving. The eerie sounds don't help either. The Basement contains four lockers, a chest, and a special set of four hooks hanging all from a center post that looks more wicked than the one's topside.

lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...

With not much time, I slip around one of the spaces in the back and hold my breath.

lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...

The sound of grunts and footsteps get louder from above as they move towards the stairs. The grunts aren't coming from the killer. I know the voice. It's Jake and, much like Dwight, he's struggling to get free from the killer.

lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...

There's some shuffling as the steps get closer and closer.

lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...

*LOW-PITCH SCREAM*

I think everyone's been hooked at least once except for me. Maybe I have some luck about me after all. Now when the killer leaves I can unhook Jake and the last couple of generators will be done with ease.

lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...

Wait...Why is the killer's steps getting closer?

lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...

Why isn't it leaving?! What the fuck?!

"here's...legion!"

A dark menacing figure with eyes glowing blue rounds the opening of my little hideaway and I in panic, lack of air, plus pure adrenaline flip the fuck out. Much like the reaction that came from meeting the Wraith, instinct has me utter random shit in hopes of stunning the threat with confusion.

"*loud hiss*"

I don't wait to check if this works. I merely listen to the screaming signals my body is making to charge forward. This move takes the killer and knocks it back a bit as I do the animalistic approach to running for my escape. Sorry Jake. Maybe someone else can get you.

lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...

"this is no place for cowards!"

That voice makes my spine shiver. Though nothing freaks me out more than the rapid sprinting behind me.

"where do you think you're going?"

"Anywhere I can!"

"smartasses get killed. we always see to that."

lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...

Bounding out of the chalet, it keeps chase with me and even vaults the pallets that I leap over.

"we know this place better than anyone. what makes you think you can avoid us?"

"Two words..."

Leaping over another pallet, I return to a bipedal run and grab some snow in my haste. I ball the snow hard and once I lead the killer into a straight line, I turn back then hurl it into its face.

"Snowball's chance!"

The resulting assault stuns/blinds it and I, not knowing how long this will last, rush for the watchtower. Doing what I can to scramble up some of the supports after jumping off a generator by the time it catches up to me and is not happy. Though now that I'm out of reach, I can get a decent look at this killer. He is in a deep blue hooded jacket that's partly zipped, the hood covering his head is black and there's white fur around the collar. His black pants have a white stripe that runs down the side of the legs, the ends have been rolled up near the knee. He has finger-less gray gloves that match his gray socks. He spots black sneakers with blue accents and laces. The limbs of his outfit are battened down with tape like practitioners of parkour which is done to lessen wind resistance. In his hand is a sharp hunting blade-like weapon with a jagged saw back made of bone. Such a thing is fitting since this killer is a living skeleton, the open part of his jacket showing off his ribcage. He has no eyes, just black sockets with blue eye-like lights. Other than some bloodstains here and there, there's this odd dark mark on the right side of his face. Or should I say skull? You know what I mean.

"there's no getting out of this now. we're too good at it. so why don't you be a good girl and come down here, excepting your death with some dignity."

"Hmmm...I don't know. Seems to me I have the high ground. The way I see it, I can just chill out here and be completely fine."

He attempts to climb up to get me. Though his skeletal digits can't get a real grip and he keeps slipping off on the first board. He gives up on climbing in annoyance and growls at me but then snickers.

"we wouldn't be so sure about that. once your twerpy friends get a gate open or we shut the hatch, endgame collapse starts. and if you can't escape within two minutes...regardless of your health or hiding spot, any survivors remaining in the trial grounds will be sacrificed by the entity itself."

I groan and claw my face.

"You assholes don't tell me shit!"

I shout into the air and Legion laughs.

"sucks to be you. shame you can't trust your teammates to even inform you on basic things."

"I know!"

I slump against the cold wood as he positions himself under me. Maybe he'll try to throw his weapon at me to knock me down.

"if you come down now, we might be willing to forgive that snowball thing and kill you quickly."

This is so not my day.

"Any chance we can work out a deal where I don't die?"

"heh...we think not."

What is it with this we stuff? I hate words games. It's just as bad when assholes play the pronoun game when talking about someone.

*CLANK*

Another generator goes off and we both look out to where it alerts.

"shit."

Not sure he meant to say that out loud, but it gets me an idea. An awful idea. A wonderfully evil, awful, and just plain fucked up idea.

"Say there, killer, you look a bit worried."

He glares up at me.

"worried? *scoff* what's to worry about? we can easily take down all of you before that last generator gets popped."

"Care to make a little bargain then?"

He eyes me.

"Hear me out. You want us humans dead, right? But currently, three of them are causing you some annoying trouble."

"three? not counting yourself among them?"

I hook my legs around a beam and swing down to dangle just out of reach.

"With this lot? No. It's like you said, they can't be bothered with helping me...So why don't I help someone else instead?"

This gets a grin to smear his skull.

"okay. we're listening."

I smirk.

"You let me live, and I'll make sure they don't get away from that weapon of yours when you come running. Sound fair?"

He chuckles smugly.

"you think quite highly of yourself for someone in their first trial. what makes you think we need your help?"

"Fine. Risk it. Risk them getting away while I stay here and let the Entity get me."

He flinches.

"Risk not making them scream."

He fidgets a bit.

"Risk not spilling their blood."

He gets more anxious.

"Risk..."

"alright! alright! we get it...we have a deal. but on one condition."

"That is?"

"if this messes up and they getaway, we're going to kill you. yet if this works, we'll let you live...but not without some damage."

Beggars can't be choosers. I don't think I'm getting a better offer than that.

"Deal."

I swing away and drop unsteadily. Part of me thought he'd use the opportunity to stab me the moment I came down. I guess there is some honor among killers...I hope.

"I saw some movement west of here. Not sure if other gens are there, but it's where I'm going."

He shrugs.

"go for it. we'll be lurking behind. we can't have them hearing our terror radius, now can we?"

I nod and sprint away. Not really sure if this is a good idea. Morally speaking this is worth my ass burning in hell for eternity. But in terms of not winding up on a hook or as Entity food, I'll sell out the world if I have to. Especially when they knew shit and didn't bother telling me. Granted, I will feel bad for Dwight as he did help me. But only he has my humanity attached to him. The rest are as good as dead.

Running without the need to be sneaky is a nice little perk in all this. The cold was doing a number on my hands. Taking a moment to pause, I listen for any sounds of movement or repairing.

"What are you doing? Don't run around like an idiot."

Jake moves from behind a clump of large rocks.

"Glad to see you too. Where're the others?"

"Not here, obviously. While you were running distraction, we got another gen done."

"I know. We just need one more, right?"

"Yeah. There are three others available. So we've split up to ensure one gets done."

Crap. This is going to be harder than I thought. I didn't anticipate there being more generators than the required amount. Change of plans.

"Mind if I help?"

He sighs.

"Come on. There's one around here."

I will not regret you dying, asshole. He leads me behind some trees where a generator has a shit placement. A boulder and a tree block two sides of it. I guess it's somewhat helpful. He takes a side and I take the more open side...not that he gave me a choice. He starts to tinker and I begin grabbing wires, picking opposites. I wait a few moments then make bad connections, causing the generator to blow in a loud show of sparks.

"Damn it. Be careful will you?"

"Don't pressure me. I don't do well under pressure."

I repeat this same move. Wait a little bit and then spark explosion!

"Screw this."

He crouches off and I follow in a crawl.

"Go away."

"We're a team, right? We need to stick together."

"I don't need you messing this up. Go run distraction since you're so good at it."

"You sir, need to watch your tone."

*HIGH-PITCH SCREAM*

So Legion either didn't follow me or found Meg along the way.

"There goes Meg."

"See? Go distract the killer so we can get her. That way someone useful can actually help."

That was the straw that breaks me. I tackle him to the ground and slam his head repeatedly.

"*snarling* Do...Not...Ever...Disrespect...Me...You...Stupid...Mother...Fucker...!"

After about the tenth bash, I stop because of the sickly wet sloshing sound of a cranium on slushy snow snaps me to my senses. Jake isn't dead but he is bleeding like crazy and knocked the fuck out. I've never unloaded like that before. It was so primal and yet...so satisfying. Looking around to make sure no one else saw this, I am relieved that nobody did though for some reason I find my eyes locking on to a nearby hooking post.

[Interesting, little worm. You made the meat bleed. Keep going. Do not resist. Offer it to The Entity.]

My head hurts at the whispers invading my mind. I don't like it. I move off of Jake and drag myself from this scene. It's harder than it seems. Something wants me to do it. To finish the job and hook him. It feels sick. I wander around trying to regain myself from the numbness clawing at my brain. The cold is suddenly worse on my hands, only now do I understand the reason why. Jake's blood is on my hands. Literally and figuratively. I frantically try to clean them off in the snow. Less for the reasons of this is a bad "Oh my god, what have I done" thing but more for "I can't let them see this or they'll know something isn't right" thing. Well, that and the longer I see the blood the stronger the messed up impulses get.

*YELP*

The shocked sound gets me back in my normal mindset. Finding the others.

*YELP*

"Dwight, just stop. That's only making it worse."

Meg shoos Dwight from trying to heal her while taking cover in bushes.

"I'm sorry. I get really nervous near endgame."

Poor guy looks so scared.

"Yeah, about that..."

They nearly jump at my arrival.

"So nice of you lot to tell me about endgame collapse. Real helpful. It's almost like you're not telling me shit on purpose so that you'll have better odds. But that would be a massive dick move that only lowlifes would do. And you guys aren't lowlifes...Are you?"

My tone is spiteful. Not caring for whatever the answer that comes.

"It's not like you needed to know right away."

I glare daggers at them.

"We believed you were able to avoid the killer. So we were going to gen rush for a speedy victory. We weren't counting on Legion being so aggressive. Its deep wounds aren't normally so hard to mend."

"What I'm hearing is a lot of crap. One, my so-called team made a plan and didn't let me in on it. Two, said team leaves out useful information on the killer and trial effects. And three, you thought this wasn't going to bite you in the ass."

They look at me confused when suddenly the sky rumbles. Our gaze goes upward as the part of the white clouds turns black and opens to obsidian spider-like appendages reaching down to the ground.

"What the fuck is that?!"

"That's the Entity. But it only comes into trials to claim a sacrifice. Why is it...?"

The spindly claws retract back to wherever the fuck that shit came from, but it's not leaving empty-handed. The shade of Jake is in its grasp. A small glow of cyan in his chest. Once the thing returns to the clouds, the sky returns to normal and I'm speechless.

"It...It took Jake?"

"How? He was only hooked once. If he was hooked again we would've heard him yell."

Unless he was so knocked out that he was completely incapacitated.

"We need to get that last gen."

"But you need to mend. You'll bleed out otherwise."

"I'll do it myself. You two get to a gen. I'll be fine."

Dwight looks worried but he nods and takes my arm.

"Let's hurry before Legion finds us."

I merely follow. Still too dumbstruck to comprehend the thing I just saw.

"Are you okay?"

"Big thing came out of the sky...Head very fuzzy..."

He frowns.

"I'm sorry we didn't tell you everything. We're just...You get so used to things around here that it's easy to forget what it was like in the beginning. Back when this was new and hard to understand. Back when we wished there was someone to teach us what to do. I'm sorry, Lynsie."

Oh no...Not genuine sincerity! How am I supposed to let him die now after all that? God damn evil plans! He finds a generator and he begins to work on it while I pretend to do so. There's already been some progress made on this thing. That's not good. Fuck, I'm conflicted. I can get out of here at the cost of their lives and risk them finding out. Or I can help them escape and risk pissing off Legion who will hunt my ass down for betrayal. I've doomed myself. Like wielding a double-edged sword, no matter which way I swing the damn thing, I'll end up stabbing myself when the backswing returns. Fuck...I've already got Jake killed. Can't puss out now. I slowly begin undoing the connections on my side, effectively making it seem like any progress he's making like it's going nowhere.

"Weird."

"What's wrong?"

"I'm repairing, but nothing is happening."

"Really? You too?"

I'm such scum.

"Hmmm...Maybe the killer is using Hex: Ruin."

I stop and leer at him, making him laugh nervously.

"Um...It's a power that killers can use to affect our ability to repair generators."

"Let me guess...It wasn't worth mentioning at the time that killers have special powers?"

He gulps.

"Have I mentioned that I'm sorry?"

And there goes the guilt that I was having about killing you, Dwighty-boy.

"Come on, dude. Let's find a gen that isn't bugged."

"But..."

*HIGH-PITCH SCREAM*

Dwight jumps.

"Oh no!"

"What?"

"That's Meg's third time being hooked."

"So let's go get her."

"We can't. A third hooking results in instant sacrifice."

Sure enough, the sky does its freaky arcane Hellmouth thing and the talons of the Entity take Meg up into its unknown lair.

"Oh, this is bad. If we can't fix gens then we're done for."

"How many times have you been hooked?"

"Once. If it hooks me now, I'll have to struggle against the Entity as it tries to kill me for sacrifice."

So does that mean if his stamina runs out or he's tired, it'll kill him on the hook?

"We have to get this gen running. It's the only way."

I feel dumb for thing but the question leaves me without much filtering.

"What about the hatch?"

He frowns and shakes his head.

"While it's probably spawned in since we're the last two left...Only one can go through it."

"Oh."

"Unless we had a special key. Then we both could escape so long as we get in within thirty seconds of opening it."

Again? Again with the very important and useful info that could've been told to me way earlier at the damn camp that I'm only hearing about now? Know what...Fuck it! Fuck you! I blatantly connect the wrong wires and the generator blows in loud sparks, freaking Dwight out.

"What are you doing?"

I growl beastly.

"I will not be toyed with by you people."

lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...

With the threat of running into a killer or dealing with a pissed off woman, Dwight decides the killer is his worst problem and tries to flee past me. Big mistake. I grab the back of his shirt and yank him hard, giving him a choke before he falls back.

lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...

"Are you insane? The killer is..."

"Not your biggest problem."

I smack him so hard that his glasses are knocked off.

"I am not to be fucked with! Not by you. Not by them. Not by anyone! You will learn! You will all learn! You will all learn that your actions have consequences!"

[Yes, little worm. Teach them of their wrongs. Make them learn. Unleash the beast that dwells within.]

A sharp pain grips me. I grab my head and roar out trying to fight this unknown force. My vision is blurring, something is attempting to take control and I fear it might win.

lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...

"Holy crap..."

Dwight, understandably afraid for his life, scrambles to get as far from me as he possibly can. But his efforts and lack of good eyesight have him running right into the blade of the Legion to get a critical deep wound.

*LOW-PITCH YELL*

Dwight goes down and Legion grins to himself.

"too easy."

He goes to pick Dwight up but pauses when it notices me harming myself. My nails are clawing into my arms and I'm ramming my head into some wooden fencing, hoping this trauma will make the force cease its efforts. These actions blind me to his approach and my system gets knocked out of it at this sudden sting in my back.

"don't move."

The feel of his blade leaving me is strangely painless and I can't help the smile that comes to me as things feel so much clearer...even if I drop to my knees.

"stay put. we'll be right back."

He retrieves a futilely crawling away Dwight and goes to hook him somewhere. If I were a more sane individual, I probably would be trying to run away at this moment. But I think that's been proven not to be who I am. What I'm more focused on is figuring out what the hell was happening to me.

*LOW-PITCH SCREAM*

Dwight's on the hook now and no one is around to help him. I know I'm not doing it. I am all out of fucks to give.

lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...

Legion makes his return and I don't blame him for looking shocked that I remained where he left me.

"Surprised to see me?"

"a little bit. normally you humans try to getaway. even when in the dying state."

I look at him funny and he sighs.

"wow. they really don't tell you anything. okay...um...that guy we just hooked..."

"Yeah?"

"remember him being on the floor and only able to crawl? that's the dying state."

"Oh. Kind of a disappointing name."

"well if left alone he would bleed to death."

"Now that makes more sense."

He snickers.

"you are a really weird human."

"As I told Wraith, I prefer quirky."

"quirky doesn't even begin to start with what we'd call you. but it's fine for now."

He huffs a small laugh and closes the distance between us before hiking me over his shoulder. The sky rumbles and we look as the Entity comes once more to claim another victim. With that done, he starts wandering off and I'm amazed that something with no muscle mess whatsoever is this strong. Makes me wonder how his bony body works.

"Can I ask a somewhat personal question?"

"depends."

"Well...and you don't have to answer...But you're a skeleton, right?"

"last we checked."

"But are you completely skeletal?"

He pauses.

"...where are you going with this?"

"I'm just curious is all. I'm not a light girl. For you to pick me up and be walking so comfortably with no muscle is amazing."

He shakes his head in amusement while starting to walk again.

"What? It's a legitimate reason to be curious."

"oh, like you humans are so normal? what with your weak fleshy bodies full of blood and guts."

"I'm not saying it's normal. Normal is overrated."

"then would you be willing to answer one of our questions?"

"Only if you explain this usage of plural terms you've been using."

"we are legion. four killers in one. only one can be in a trial at a time but we're never alone."

"That is fucking cool. So do you all call yourself Legion or...?"

"ah ah ah. you answer our question first."

"Sorry."

"what was happening back there? you know...when you were going nuts?"

My head hurts thinking about that.

"I'm not sure. I got really mad and this creepy voice started talking to me."

"creepy voice you say?"

"I've heard it a few times. But that was the first time...I...Argh, my head is killing me."

"we bet it does. after all, you were hitting it into shit."

"Yeah, but it's fine. I'm thick-skulled."

His body shakes a little with held in mirth. Is he...?

"ah, there's that pesky thing."

Apparently, he's been carrying me this whole time for a reason. He's been listening for this odd and very ominous sound. Funny enough, we find this strange cue at the location of the watchtower where this deal of ours was made. The cause of this sound is the hatch, open and full of dark fog.

"Spooky."

He drops me off of his shoulder roughly near it and then very blatantly gets his weapon out.

"Um...Nice bone you got there."

"thanks. it does its job well."

I am not going to like this.

"you look worried."

"Only because I know what's going to happen next."

His grin is bone-chilling.

"a deal's a deal, human. you held up your end and now it's our turn. the hatch is your way out. but like we told you...you're not leaving unharmed."

He twirls the blade so that it's stabbing end is downward in his grip.

"This is going to hurt like hell, isn't it?"

"only if you struggle. but please do...it's more fun that way!"

He lunges at me, weapon aiming my chest. I panic. My hands come up to grab his wrist but I'm not one that knows how to properly do this in quick time. I do stop the blade from hitting its target. But now the thing is skewering my hands to give them stigmata. The grinding of the blade on bone is nerve shocking. He uses this to grab my wrists and pin them above my head with his free hand before removing the weapon, his lower half pinning my legs with his.

"now this is a tempting moment. we could do just about anything to you and nobody will stop us. the only limit is our imagination."

With the blade, he slices open my shirt and the smugness he has makes my insides churn.

"Dude, don't be a creepy pervert like this."

His grin falters and color faintly comes to his skull. Is he...is he blushing?

"that is not...we are not like that! this is strictly sadistic torture and nothing more!"

"But doesn't that mean you're getting pleasure out of causing pain?"

The blush gets worse.

"quit making this weird!"

The blade comes down into my stomach and the sound of pain I make is guttural. This keeps up for quite a few more stabs done to my side, ribs, shoulders, and this really painful one at the hip.

"no more talking! understood?"

I nod weakly through whimpers and a sense of impending death.

"good. now behave and this will be pleasant for all of us."

Like an artist with a sculpting knife, he takes his blade and slowly begins carving into the top of my chest. There are many things my pain tolerance allows me to handle. Cuts, stabs, falls, blunt force, sprains, piercings, and some other stuff I can't think about at the moment. And that's because it all happens typically very fast or instantly. This? No. This isn't fast. This is slow and painfully delicate. My eyes are drowning in tears and melting snow. My hands claw at the ground. And my heels dig into frozen soil. This reaction doesn't go unnoticed. Legion enjoys it. His smile coming back and growing with each wince the blade brings out of me.

"there we go...just a little bit more...almost done."

I feel a chill as the blade leaves me for a moment and hope fills me that he's done. Only to be shattered with a quick slash that has me roar in anguish.

"perfect. the entity may heal it away but you'll feel it even if it's gone. you'll never fort it. you'll never forget who you belong to now."

He nudged my head up with the hilt of his weapon so that I can see what he's done. He's etched the word "LEGION" into me. He's marked me as his. Well...at least this is over.

"now say it."

I eye him and he quickly stabs my side.

"say who you belong to!"

"Legion! I belong to Legion!"

It almost sobs out of me. My dignity and strong will were turned to dust way back at the start of all this. His delight is written all over his face. A twisted smile and eyes that burn with gratification.

"good girl. now we want one last thing from you before you can go."

"*whimpers* What?"

He leans down and I feel the pressure of his aura. Dark, threatening, and very very heavy.

"show us your soul."

I bite my lip and gulp.

"I...I don't know how."

The bone blade is stabbed right beside my face.

"you're not leaving till we see it. so you can either figure out how to bring it out...or we can have more fun cutting into you like a pumpkin on halloween."

"How am I supposed to...?"

He yanks the weapon from the ground and rears back ready to slam it down wherever on me he sees fit. Visions of any of the possible ways that bone blade can end up sinking into me flash before my eyes. My heart races and times seems to slow down as he brings it down. My eyes shut tight and all I can do is pray. Pray that this isn't the end. Because I don't want to die. I don't want to die!

"heheheh...we knew that would work."

My eyes open to see the tip of his weapon hovering over the colorful heart that springs from my body.

"fear is a motivator like nothing else."

I think I just pissed myself. It's either piss or blood from the stabbings.

"wraith was right. your souls is interesting. so many colors all swirling around like crazy. it's almost what we'd call pretty."

He gives my souls a small teasing touch before he sits up and moves off of me, letting me go.

"you can go now. we've had our fun this trial."

I'm not sure what to do. Part of me knows better and should leave while given this chance. The other part wants to beat the shit out of him. And another part is too broken to do anything.

"hey, we said you can go."

"Give me a moment...I...I'm trying to remember how to move."

He can't help but laugh at me.

"you can't be serious? did we really scare you that bad? your shitty teammates aren't even that easy."

"Hello, I'm new. Sue me for freaking out when a skeleton has a knife aimed at me!"

He just keeps laughing.

"*chuckling* and here we thought we were the ones without guts."

I flinch with recognition.

"Was that...a pun?"

His brow cocks.

"maybe?"

I smirk.

"I hope that wasn't your only one. Because I have a skele-ton of them."

His face blanks and I feel like I may have messed up. Either that or I'm bleeding out to the pint this might be a hallucination. But then...He busts a metaphorical gut in laughter. This is a reaction I'm not used to getting when I pun. It feels nice. And he seems different when he laughs. Like, a guy that you wouldn't think enjoys killing people.

"that...that was a good one."

"Thank you. The idiots at camp don't appreciate them. So I'm glad someone has a working funny bone."

That again cracks him up. But that isn't the only thing cracking. My sides aren't doing so well. It's time to go. Regaining the use of my arms, I press my soul back into me and then pull myself to sit up which I immediately regret what with the amount of coughed up blood that is being forced out of me.

"yeah. you're going to want to go now. not sure how much longer you've got before your body quits on you."

"Probably a good...*coughing* A good...*wheezing* I go now."

Crawling my fucked up form to the hatch, I share one last look with this killer.

"what? there something in our teeth?"

I meekly snicker.

"My name...*gagging* It's...*hack* Lynsie."

He smirks.

"so that's the name of our new plaything? heh...good to know."

He averts his gaze and I move to enter the hatch feet first.

"human..."

He's still not looking at me.

"Y-Yeah?"

"...call me bones."

Something about him telling me his name fills me with this oddly warm feeling. The kind of feeling that makes you smile even when you know you shouldn't.

"Later...*coughing* Bones."

I hope that does something for him. Not sure why or what, but it's something I hope for as I slide into the hatch's dark unknown.

*CLUNK*

The hatch closes and Bones leans back on his hands, an amused grin on his face as the fog of the Entity begins to consume the realm. Time for the world to be reset for the next trial.

"heh...not a bad time. not a bad time at all. the guys are going to get a kick out of this one."

Maybe the Entity won't care that one got away. He did feed it three humans. That should be enough for a decent snack. It's not like one of the other killers can't finish the job of feeding it. He just hoped that after such an exhausting trial that he'd have a chance to rest for a while. The fog rolls over him and takes him away. The world entirely disappearing into the darkness. Now it wouldn't be long before it was to reform as the Entity fed. No matter the reset, the chalet remains and in there so will the Legion.

(AT THE SURVIVOR'S CAMPSITE)

I wake up gasping for breath and gripping my chest. The hatch was an escape of sorts, but the feeling of slipping through the intangible grasp of something I can't even begin to describe is horrifying.

"There she is!"

Jake shouts and my attention is gotten. The others cast judging eyes at me. David not so much. But the others for sure. Thank god my clothes are healed. Otherwise, this would be even more awkward.

"Is it true? Did you attack Jake?"

Bill asks but it doesn't feel like a question. This is not how I wanted to wake up.

"Answer the question, kid."

I glare.

"I don't have to answer shit."

"So you admit it? You cost us the trial!"

Jake shouts and I snarl.

"No! You did that the moment you decided to use me!"

I get off the ground but I'm wobbly as hell. Something isn't right.

"We're the Survivors. We're supposed to help each other make it out alive. But none of you want to help anyone else but yourselves. And I'll be damned if I'll let you get away with trying to use me as a damn distraction for your gain!"

I start seething and Dwight steps forward.

"Please, don't get her mad."

"The hell do we care if she gets mad?"

"You weren't there, Nea. You didn't see what I saw. You didn't see her change."

I settle down out of curiosity but it's not like that helps the others.

"Oh, she changed? Big fucking deal! That doesn't excuse her for attacking Jake in the trial."

"You don't understand. It was the Entity...it was turning her into one of them."

My confusion is shared with the rest of them and Dwight looks at me.

"It's true. Your eyes...Your eyes were making the stain. Only killers make the stain but they can't see it."

This...this makes some sense for what was going on at that moment.

"That explains the voice..."

I think aloud to myself.

"Voice?"

Claudette repeats in puzzlement.

"Talk to us, Luv. What happened back there?"

Not sure if David cares. But he's at least giving me a chance to explain.

"Since I get here, I've been hearing this strange voice sometimes. Calling us meat and other things. During trial..."

Recalling the events makes my head spin and I drop to a kneel, not able to keep balance enough to stand. David and Dwight move to approach but others hold them back till the story is told.

"During the trial, I got so mad. I kept finding out you guys were or had withheld important things from me. It was just building this raw feeling inside. One that boiled over into something...I can't really put it into words. I had these urges..."

I grip my head in pain.

"I wanted to make a point...but IT wanted that point in blood. *groan* Fuck, don't make me remember any more. It hurts."

I feel so weak. Like being here is draining me. I don't understand what's happening to me.

"What do you think? This kind of sounds like your line of work."

Bill asks Ash.

"Hmmm...It does sound something close to possession. Maybe corruption? Influencing her to kill when angered. That's a theory anyway. Anything is possible in this place. Not knowing the Entity's full ability scope or what her soul is capable of really makes this a hard question to answer."

Nea doesn't like this one bit.

"Are you guys for real? It doesn't matter if she's possessed, corrupted, or some other bullshit. The fact is she attacked another survivor. She's a threat and a liability. I say we kick her out of the camp."

Nea is only pissing me off. Not a good thing to do.

"You don't get to make that call, Nea."

Detective Tapp calls her out.

"After all, the same can be said about you when you act so toxic that the killers try to attack us here despite knowing that they can't."

David comes over and kneels with me.

"You alright, Luv?"

"I...I don't know...I don't feel very good..."

"Take it easy. You look like 'ell."

"Legion...had fun with me...lost lots of blood...great sense of humor..."

"'umor? Luv, killers can't make jokes. 'ell, they can't even talk."

But...they can talk. What does he mean that they can't?

"Luv? 'ey, what's wrong? Why aren't you 'ealed?"

My kneeling trembles. I'm getting weaker. My mouth moves but no words come out.

"'ey! Somethin's wrong with her!"

My eyelids are so heavy. It's getting harder to stay conscious. Their bodies look like blobs to me. I don't even know who's coming over to aid David. Everything's getting dark.

[Do not think you can escape, little worm. The beast hungers. It will feed. It is only a matter of time.]

Yay! This got done super fast and I had fun. Now to establish some stuff and clarify things that went down in this chapter.

#1: Killers/Monsters have better relations than the Survivors/Humans...I hinted this one in chapter one, but I think it really shines here. Even if some killers piss off other killers, they still communicate and teach their skills to their allies. Where as the humans share very little and assume others will get good. This leads to toxicity among the survivors and it's not unheard of for survivors to turn on each other. This happens in game too.

#2: The Survivors can't communicate with the Killers...In game, no one talks. All you get are sounds like screams, grunts and other basic noises. For the story, I'm making it so that both sides can speak but the humans can not understand the monsters. This langue barrier keeps tension high and further divides them. All the humans hear are monster sounds. The monster hear English but think the humans are just ignoring them because they're assholes. Lynsie is the exception to this rule and for one reason, which leads into out next point.

#3: The look and feel of Legion/Sans...For this, we turn to this AU's creator punnysideup who has made some awesome pics of our bone boys. Since ffnet won't let me post links, I recommend looking him up on twitter to see all 4 sides to our killer. Though note one thing, I will be changing the look of Dead Eye from what his creator depicts him. It doesn't really fit well, while looking cool, so expect something close to the other 3 in terms of looks.

#4: The Corrupted Survivor...This was a concept I made up for the game and think it makes things a bit more interesting here. Since Lynsie is the anomaly and her soul is all wonky here, the Entity with its crazy powers can influence her into becoming a pseudo-killer. If fully unleashed, this state allows her to hunt and sacrifice like a normal killer, but she still counts as a survivor and there for can be killed by real killers. There are triggers for her entering this state and snapping her out of it. We shall see them done in time.

#5: The Terror Radius...As in here and in game, only survivors can hear the Terror Radius. But...The story has an anomaly that the game doesn't. Due to Lynsie's ties to the Entity and being a pseudo-killer, this gives her a unique radius that only the killers can pick up on...The Tainted Radius. With this, killers can locate her and trigger her into her killer state in trials to terrorize the other survivors.

Other than those points, I can't think of anything else. If there are any questions or if you want to see a certain killer show up in the next chapter, feel free to let me know. Thank you all for reading and I hope you have awesome days/nights. Laters! ^_^

[jehilew]

In today’s edition of Jessi Spoils Her ‘She’s…’ Readers

This is a thing I wrote around Christmas, and it has been killing me not to show it to everyone. Because it is seriously adorable. And I have less than zero ability to just sit on finished work. I was still pretty iffy about sharing, because it’s pretty far into the series and a good sized spoiler, but @roguesboobfreckles a.k.a. the world’s worst enabler, had the goddamn nerve to point out that I hadn’t started this thing in a linear fashion to begin with, anyway, and that everyone already knows this is a Romy-gets-their-sunset fic, so what’s one more teeny tiny lil’ peek at the relationship endgame, eh??? It’s not like I’m anywhere even close to giving up any big plot points running the series, so??? Anyway, go thank her if you like being so spoiled, because she’s actually the very best.

Also, the song Remy is singing? It’s ‘Catch A Falling Star’ by Perry Como. My grandpapa used to sing it to me and my cousins when we were little, so it’s always got it’s spot with me.

‘Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse…

Except this old rat, anyway. And the young'in on my shoulder, fightin’ sleep with all five pounds, thirteen ounces of her being. So really, Anna’s the only one sawin’ any logs around here tonight. It’s alright, though, me and the little one here, we gonna hang tight for a bit. Anna’s already been up with her, and now that the little bit’s tanked up and boob drunk, I’ve got her so Anna can get some sleep.

Nora turns her tiny, scrunched up face into my chest and squirms herself clear down to my belly, making all those little hissy noises that always herald a good squallin’ fit. “Non, non, chere-baby, none of that cryin’ eh?” I scoop her up just as she lets out a little shriek. “My pretty little Cotton-ears, come back up here and listen to your papa sing y’ favorite song, yeah?”

Adjusting the blanket back over her, I start hummin’ this song that’d stuck with me, something I’d heard coming off of Anna’s playlist the night our girl was born. Nora can’t hear me, found out a bit over a week ago that she’s deaf as they come, but it don’t matter none. I’ve put this little lady to sleep many times over the past three weeks just like this. It ain’t the sound of my voice she’s lookin’ for, it’s the vibrations in my chest, the thump of my heart, the rush of my breath, the empathic connection, things she can feel is usually what settles her down with me.

“Shh, shh, bebe,” I shush right over her ear, flinging myself wide open to her, projecting all the love and warmth I can throw at her, but she ain’t havin’ it, and starts sputtering and rootin’ around on me.

So much for being tanked up, yeah?

Nora pulls in a shaky little breath and tries to lift her head, lookin’ for the world like it’s about to roll clean off her shoulders, and sniffles a couple of times. I reach up to steady her (goddamn, she’s so little, her head don’t even fill up the palm of my hand!), leaning forward a bit to kiss her bright, orangey-red hair. She squawks again, kickin’ out her legs and throwing her head into my cheek.

“Ah, now, lookin’ to eat again so soon?” I swear it, Nora’s like a tick on Anna’s tit, much as she nurses. “C'mon, little milk monster,” I hike her up on my shoulder and get up out of the chair, “let’s you and me go look in the fridge, see if maybe your mama left y’ something to eat, neh?”

Nora screws up her face and lets it rip, turning red as a Coke can before she pulls her next breath, and fusses all the way to the kitchen, and through every second of me getting her milk out of the fridge and into a bottle.

“Catch a fallin’ star and put it in y’ pocket, never let it fade away,” I go back to that song, giving the bottle a low charge to heat up the milk, “catch a fallin’ star and put it in y’ pocket, save it for a rainy day.” I pause to kiss the side of her head. “Snowy days work for you, ma petite etoile filante? ‘Cause that’s all it’s doin’ out there tonight, yeah?”

Nora don’t let up a beat, screamin’ her little heart out at me. Chuckling, I give her another smooch over ear and check the milk’s temperature with a drop on the inside of my wrist. “Alright, Nora-chere, let’s get you this bottle, yeah? Maybe that make you happy?”

I talk to her all the way back into the living room, her squallin’ with every step I take. After I get us situated in the chair again, and Nora’s happily chowin’ down, I lean my head back and close my eyes, humming that song, feeling both of us relaxing and settling in.

Shit, I’m tired. Ain’t nobody ever lied when they said a newborn don’t sleep. Nora’s up about every couple of hours, ‘round the clock, needing a diaper change and lookin’ to eat. And by eat, I mean stay on Anna sometimes a handful of hours on end, nursing and napping in spurts til that woman’s about to lose it for some sleep.

That’s where I been comin’ in. Anna’s been bringin’ the baby to bed so she could maybe get some sleep that way, but Nora, soon as she pops off the boob, she’ll decide about two seconds later that she ain’t done at the all-night-buffet after all. Every now and again, like tonight, she really is still a bit hungry, but most of the time, she’s just lookin’ for someone to snuggle up into, so I been gettin’ up with her. It ain’t the most ideal situation, I don’t guess, but seein’ as how Nora doesn’t like to be put down, this is what’s gettin’ us all the most sleep around here.

I really ain’t complainin’ too loudly, though. Never thought I’d get any of this, and look at me now, eh? I can’t help smiling a little at that, 'cause guaranteed, there’s a fuckload of folks who’d shit themselves out if they saw me now, happily up all night at the beck and call of an itty-bitty dictator.

Heh, they ain’t even seen the best of it yet- Raven’s been hidin’ all along a mother-hen streak as wide as her life is long, and in her eyes, Nora can do absolutely no wrong. And she looks “just like my Anna-Marie”. (Except she don’t- 'tite-chere’s got the shape of my eyes and my chin. And don’t even get me goin’ on the whole, 'my Anna-Marie’ bit. Raven’s forever on my shitlist for her treatment of Anna.)

It don’t take long for Nora’s guzzling to turn to faint sucking noises, and I lift my head to find her eyes closed and her lips lax, dribbling milk everywhere. “Alright, little bit,” I murmur low, taking the bottle away and easing her up on her belly, “c'mon up here wit’ your papa, and lets you and me go night-night, yeah?”

A couple of thumps on her back later, and Nora burps, stretches, and curls up right in the middle of my chest, her ear over my heart, her little humped-up back curved into my hand, completely tapped out for the next little while. Reachin’ up to cup the back of her head, I lean over to kiss her.

“Catch a fallin’ star and put it in y’ pocket, save it for a rainy day,” I sing low into that bright head, “for when your troubles start multiplyin’, and they just might, it’s easy to forget them without tryin’, with just a pocketful of starlight…”

I finish out the song, just…just starin’ at her. Nora Poppy. All orange fluff, big, blue eyes, and her ears full of cotton. She’s beautiful, perfect, and she’s mine. How the hell I’d managed to spawn such a sweet, cute little thing…

She didn’t get any of that from me, that’s all her mama. I’ll make damn sure she don’t get none of the hell I did, either. Or any of what Anna’d caught, for that matter. Nothing but the very best for this little one, neh?

That still trips me up, that I’ve got a kid, I’m someone’s papa. Hell, I’d given up on this kind of thing ever happening for me, what with all the shit muckin’ up my past. Then, along comes Anna, and she don’t care about any of that, but was lookin’ like she didn’t ever want any kids, so it was still a no-go… Til she goes and decides she wants a baby, after all, gets knocked up on the first try, and just a handful of weeks later, gets a lung-full of terrigen mist. Seven months after that, here comes Nora, who for all counts, shouldn’t have even survived the mist, or at least not without severe complications. Or the meds Anna’d needed just to stay alive, herself…

I’m a real lucky bastard right now, to have gotten it all in the end, anyway- the incredible woman snoring in the back room, grouchy, desperate for sleep, and alive, and this tiny little thing keepin’ me up all hours of the night, and her only complication is she’s deaf.

Naw, I ain’t complainin’ a bit. I’ll take it all, and just fuckin’ live in it. Especially since we’re one and done. Whatever chances of more babies the mist might’ve left us, Anna’s medication took care of. Nora’s it us.

“You’re my very own fallin’ star, yeah?” I ask her, lightly runnin’ my thumb over the top of her head. Nora don’t even stir, just keeps on drooling a wet spot on my shirt while cuttin’ the tiniest snores I ever heard. “Ah, ma chere-baby,” I smile real big down at her, “you sleep just like your mama, she does the same thing, snoring and droolin’ all over your papa.” I pause, feelin’ that smile go a bit quiet, while at the same time, feelin’ like I’m about to either choke on my heart or my breath, 'cause my chest ain’t big enough for both right now. “Your mama, she’s my other fallin’ star, you know that? It’s just you two for this old boy.”

Nora’s lips twitch and her tongue clucks as she makes a few sucking movements with her mouth, like she’s nursing, finishing it off with a snore. Goddamn, she’s adorable! And it’s moments like this right here, where she’s passed out a squishy little heap on my chest, that I don’t give a fuck if I don’t ever sleep again if it means I can stretch this time out with her just a little longer, 'cause it’s all only for a short little while, anyway…

“You two’s more than enough, though,” I tell her, layin’ my head back, eyes closed and smiling. “Give me my two fallin’ stars to love on, and I’m a happy man, no?”

Catch a couple of fallin’ stars, my ass; more like they both dropped in on me, smashed me flat, and lit up my whole fuckin’ world.

Never say I don’t love you people, okay?? 💕

[cosmiicorvid]

Alcohol

A/N: Hi so uhhh i kind of just wrote this without looking back. So I have no idea if it’s good or not XD, but i would like it if you took a look at it :3

Chase poured another glass of Whisky into his cup. It was his fifth one that night. At this point, he was finally starting to feel a little more loose, a little buzzed. He did this every night. It was the only thing he actually looked forward to every day. But his body had gained so much tolerance to alcohol, it took a lot to get him to feel anything. He had to buy a new bottle almost every day, but he didn’t care. He didn’t care about the money.

After finding out about Jack, Chase felt like he had just lost the fight to life. His best friend was in a coma, his wife had just divorced him, his job had just demoted him, nothing was going right for him. He got to see his kids on the weekends, but what was the point if all they did was remind him of Stacy and Uncle Jack? He always made himself put a fake smile on for them hoping he might feel the happiness that was supposed to come with it, but it never came.

He poured himself one more glass before heading up to the recording room to film something for Jack’s channel. He turned the monitor on, the brightness making him squint for a second, and logged in. It seemed to have a sort of lag to it, but Chase just ignored it, not really caring. He tried to click on the first game he saw, but nothing happened. He tried again and got the same result.

The monitor turned off, going black and the sound of the computer working suddenly slowed to a stop.

“Having technical difficulties?” The sound of an almost raspy voice sounded from behind Chase, and he whipped his head around.

“What- who are you? How did you get in here?” His senses weren’t at their best due to the alcohol, so he wasn’t as guarded as he usually would be. The other guy shrugged his shoulders.

“It’s not that important. You seem troubled, what’s your name?” His arms were comfortably crossed, waiting for a response.

“Chase…?” He looked down, still not entirely sure what was going on.

“Well, Chase, it’s nice to meet you,” He held his hand out, offering to shake. Chase just stared, not really moving.

“O...kay… Nevermind then. Anyway, what’s going on Chase?”

“Nothing that you should be concerned about. I still have no idea who you are or why the fuck you’re here.”

“Just think of me as a friend, cause that’s what I am. A friend.”

“I don’t even know your name…”

“Just call me Anti,”

“Okay?”

“Now,” Anti grabbed a nearby chair, setting it next to Chase.

“What’s up?”

“Well… It’s just been kind of rough lately. I just went through a divorce and only get to see my kids on the weekends, my best friend is in a coma and the other one is missing in action with no warning, and I just got downgraded at work. On top of all that, I have to take care of my friend’s channel while he’s in his coma. I am way past my breaking point and I honestly don’t know how much longer I can keep this up. And I’m telling all of this to a guy I don’t know who somehow got in my house.” Chase looked up at Anti, exhaustion apparent in his eyes.

“Hm…” Anti looked down, thinking.

“Chase, I am very truly sorry for everything you are going through.” Chase just stares at him, nodding. There is a silence for a moment.

Anti looked back up at him.

“What if I told you I could help you?” He suggested.

“...How?” Chase looked at Anti confused.

“I have… Special abilities. I could help you. I could help wake your friend up, find your other missing friend, help you get back with your ex wife?”

“Why would you do that?”

“Well I assume that you might have something I want. If I help you, you might be able to help me.”

“What would you want…?”

“Just your promise that you could help me execute certain… tasks from time to time.”

“What kind of tasks?”

“Delivering messages, small things like that. It’s simple.”

“Hmm…” Chase pondered for a moment. The deal didn’t seem too bad, or demanding. Maybe it was the right thing to do… He looked up at Anti.

“Okay. I’ll do it. But you have to promise me that none of them will get hurt. And you have to stay true to your word. I get my Jack back, Stacy, the kids, Henrik. All of them. Understand?”

“Heh,” Anti let out a small giggle.

“Of course, Chase. But that also means you must complete all tasks that I assign you, no matter what. Fair?” Chase nodded, holding hand out to shake on it. Anti grabbed and shook it, making it official. It was the biggest mistake he had ever made in his life.

[black-strike-otp]

part 91

♫♪ I get hit and I might start bleeding, but I’m not on the floor staring at the ceiling. I’ll give you something to believe in. ‘Bout to show you now that it’s more than just a feeling I was born for this. Baby, I was born for this.. Never met a match I couldn’t handle. No one else could ever hold a candle. Get ready for a battle ‘cause you know I was born for this~ ♫♪

This song always reminds me without fail of these two shitheads, Primus bless ‘em.

“I can’t believe this, you’re still functioning? How? The reports stated you were... offline.”

“Those chronicles were published before anyone checked to see if I was dead or alive,” Blackout proclaimed with a grimace. “I was left behind by Megatron and the Decepticons in the Beta Quadrant’s Andromeda Galaxy. They issued my records as being stated as offline because it was too much trouble to drag my wreckage on board the Nemesis when they followed after the Ark as it made an escape.”

The bot cringed with sympathy. He took a few steps towards Blackout, smiling faintly as he gave a slight sweeping gesture of his servo to him.

“Well it’s certainly good to know those logs weren’t true. But that’s pretty cold of Megatron, though I can’t say I’m surprised. I know you two were close even before I met you.”

Shrugging his shoulders, the dark armored mech gave a gruff sound in the back of his throat. His servo extended out to the mech before him with as he came closer, grinning.

“True as that may be, those times are past. He certainly doesn’t win the aware for ‘most genuine friend’ at any rate,” he chuckled. “It’s good to see you again, Barricade.”

Violet hued flashed brighter in Barricade’s optics. With a wide grin he reached out to clasp his servo in Blackout’s. The two stepped forward at the same time to partially wrap an arm around and pat each other on the back.

“Mech, I thought the next time I’d be seeing you is in the Pits, being tortured by Unicron,” ‘Cade laughed as he slowly pulled away from the hug.

A hearty laugh rumbled out of Blackout’s chassis as he looked down at the smaller mech. They released servos, and he took an opportunity to glance Barricade over.

Compared to the rogue bots they’d met who were somewhat frail and clearly ravenous over energon, Barricade looked like he was in much better shape. The light blooming out of his optics was bright. In fact, almost sickeningly bright. Purple light pulsed through them and out of his biolights with sharp contrast to his bleakened dark slate, orchid, and black armor.

It was a strange observation compared to the other bots they’d witnessed so far. But he had a sinking suspicion he knew why he was in such good shape. Frag, even his armor appeared in better condition than his own; hardly a scratch upon him.

“You look like you’ve been paying a lot of credits for a good wash and wax,” Blackout observed with a thin smile.

All the eagerness and joy melted out of ‘Cade’s expression instantly. He took an uncomfortable step back, looking over to the scorpion based minicon as he came shuffling over to his master.

The corner of his mouth pulled back up as he bent down, patting Scorponok on the helm. He answered with an appreciative whirl, leaning in to his servo.

Raising an optic ridge, Blackout cross his arms in front of his chassis. There was something shady and off-putting about the sudden shift in attitude. Barricade had always been the louder, more boisterous, more outgoing of the two of them. For him to choose silence rather than gloat about a compliment, even jokingly, was rather odd.

Letting out a heavy vent, the small mech stood up and full and grinned with half the amount of joy he had previously showed. His optics moved over Blackout like he was inspecting him as well. After a nanoklik, he noticed the confused looking figure standing by his side.

“What’s in Primus’ name is that?” he asked, jutting out a digit.

“Barricade, this is-”

“What am I?” Novastrike barged in hotly. “What are you? How rude.”

Curiosity drained from ‘Cade’s faceplate to vexation as he leaned down, snorting, “Some punk aft little thing, aren’t you? I’m Blackout’s best friend, femme. Name’s Barricade. Mind telling me what you’re doing with my best friend?”

Swishing her tail, Novastrike offered a deviously sly smile as she taunted, “You sure your name’s Barricade? You sound an awful lot like desperately jealous to me.”

“Why you little-”

“‘Cade,” Blackout warned, throwing up his arm to hold off the mech. “This is Novastrike.”

“She sounds like a punk to me,” he hotly retorted, sneering at the little femme as she stuck her glossia out at him.

“Novastrike, this is Barricade. He’s-”

“Your best friend?” Nova offered somewhat sarcastically.

“I guess you could put it that way,” Blackout mumbled with embarrassment.

Hurt flickered in the violet-toned black armored mech’s gaze. With a vent, Blackout shrugged his shoulders and nodded as he placed a servo upon Barricade’s shoulder.

“Yes, he’s my best friend.”

“Damn straight!”

Scorponok produced a pathetic, sad whirl as he slumped into the ground.

“As is Scorponok,” the large mech sighed with exasperation. “And you as well, Nova.”

“I gotta share that title with this femme?” Barricade grumbled, waving a servo to the white armored femme. “Scorponok I understand, but this? I gotta say mech, you really must have loosened up over the years. We both know you were never one to make friends.”

Clearing his vocalizer, Blackout shifted on his pedes as he muttered, “Barricade, she’s my significant other.”

“Holy shit,” the police cruiser breathed, looking between the two of them in rapid craning of his helm that had to make his neck sore. “Blackout I mean, I never knew you had such a... size kink.”

“It’s not a size kink!” Blackout defended in a bellowing voice of annoyance.

“Whatever you say, mech.”

“Everybot I’ve ever met with is shorter than I am!”

“Yeah but I mean,” ‘Cade lifted his servo up with a whistle, and dropped it low with a lower whistle. “I don’t even want to think about how that works.”

“By the Allspark Barricade,” the large mech snarled loudly.

Barricade leaned back and gave a short laugh, shaking his helm. The talons of his servo pressed against his chassis as if to steady himself as he calmed himself slowly.

The crackling static had Blackout glancing to Scorponok and Novastrike with confusion. They turned her gazes back to Barricade as he raised his servo in the air, pressing a digit to the comm on the side of his helm.

“Sorry, have to take this,” he stated with an apologetic dip of his helm to Blackout. “Hey babe. Yeah. No, sorry, you’ll never believe who I just found. Here, I’ll give you a beacon.”

Blackout tried to swallow down his deep, resounding laughter as the lights flashed on Barricade’s hips in a brilliant sequence of red and blue. ‘Cade offered him a cross glaring look of daggers as he tried to hold back his snickering.

“You see it? Good. Alright, see you in a moment beautiful.”

The nanoklik Barricade retracted his servo, Blackout let out a rich, rolling wave of laughter. Pressing one servo against his chassis, he pointed to the smaller mech as he bent halfway over, wheezing.

“You call those police lights beacons?”

“I don’t think I’ve seen you ever laugh this hard,” Barricade remarked, looking between a mix of confusion and humiliation.

Gradually, Blackout began to pull himself together again. The barest of snickers still escaping him every time he looked into Barricade’s perplexed faceplate. He couldn’t seem to decide if he liked the idea of him laughing, or was too embarrassed by his flashing police lights.

“Who’s ‘beautiful’?” Blackout finally managed to exhale as he righted himself. “I bet I have a good guess.”

Smugly, Barricade glanced off to the side with a proud smile. He rubbed his knuckles against his shoulder casually as he practically blurted out, “Yeah, I managed to steal a gorgeous femme’s spark. What of it?”

“It’s Venus, isn’t it?”

“The one and only thief who could ever get away with stealing my spark.”

“You’re still a disgusting romantic,” Blackout teased, reaching out to gently shove the smaller mech with a grin.

“Heh! This coming from the mech who for the first time committed himself to a bot,” ‘Cade rebuked, rubbing his shoulder idly. “Your room was always sealed, but when it was open to invitations, you had a bot in and out of your room within a jour; two max.”

Stiffening slightly, Blackout glanced down slightly to look at Novastrike. Her expression was calm and intrigued as she placed her servo against her cheek, audios forward and listening intently.

Turning his gaze back to his old partner-in-crime, the enormous mech growled quietly, “Why would they stick around any longer?”

“I mean- at least have the courtesy to cuddle.”

“They knew what they were getting into.”

Raising a servo defensively, the small mech gave a slight shrug. “I’m just saying mech, some snogging and curling up together, touching every inch of a gorgeous femme, feeling her servos fondle-”

“I wasn’t asking your advice,” Blackout clipped as heat waves baked off of his armor.

Giving Novastrike an unsure sideways glance, ‘Cade placed a servo against his mouth to conceal his words as he breathed, “If you really like this one, at least don’t disappoint her. Take from a bot with experience.”

“I can hear you just fine,” Novastrike expressed loudly, pointing up to her audio stacks.

“Hush small fry.”

“What did you call me?”

Crumbling metal and dirt cascaded from nearby. As the four bots turned their helms, a quick footed raven and fuchsia colored femme dropped down from a nearby collapsed mass of warped metal. She looked over them all with magenta optics, before placing her gaze on Barricade and smiling warmly.

“Hello good looking,” she purred, sauntering over to wrap an arm around Barricade’s shoulders.

Giving off a pleasant sigh, Barricade wrapped his arm around the stellar femme’s waist and dragged her closer. A quiet ‘click’ resounded from their armor as it tapped together and he leaned in, pressing a kiss against the side of her throat.

His joy was shortlived however, as Venus swiftly dropped away from ‘Cade’s arm and pulled away. With a stricken, devastated face, he watched as she walked up to Blackout with wide optics.

“Blackout! By the stars, we thought you were a goner.”

“So everyone keeps telling me,” he stated softly, inclining his helm with respect.

“You’re as handsome as you were the day you left,” Venus stated with a laugh. “I still don’t understand why you could never find someone when you were always such a gentlemech.”

“Babe,” Barricade whined, reaching out to her.

Turning around, Venus winked her digit to her bad cop as she sweetly reminded him, “Don’t worry, you’re still by far the most fetching bot I’ve ever seen.”

With a soft, melody laughter, she reached out to caress the side of Barricade’s faceplate as he pouted. Like a love-strick pup, his sorrows seemed to evaporate into thin air at the brush of her digits. A goofy smile tugged on his lips as he stared at her with wonder and reverence.

As Venus eagerly greeted Blackout, Barricade turned his optics upon Novastrike. The young, small femme twitched her ears in his direction after a moment, casting him a look of slight irritation.

With a forced grin, ‘Cade hissed through his derma at the small femme, “You break his spark, I’ll break you into itty bitty pieces. You got that?”

Narrowing her optics, Novastrike frostily hissed, “Thanks for the tip, copper, but you don’t scare me. I have no intentions of breaking his spark-” she grinned triumphantly- “I plan on stealing it.”

Blinking his optics slowly, the short mech snorted softly. “Smooth little fragger.”

Nova’s grin grew more proud and cocky as she slid her gaze away from his, turning to look up at Blackout and Venus as her mech released Venus’ servos he had been holding in his own.

“Isn’t this great, sweetspark?” Venus sang, leaning in to Barricade’s side as her hip clipped against his affectionately.

“Mmmhm,” he droned with a nod of his helm towards Scorponok. “Brought his little friend along too.”

Gushing with bubbly excitement, Venus bent over to greet the small bug as well. Blackout gave a slight shrug, stepping out of the way of the femme a few steps. As he did so, Novastrike curiously moved closer to the larger femme, looking her up and down with awe.

With a sideways glance, he noticed Barricade indicating for him to follow. The two mechs scooted further away from the other three and towards the edge of the remains of the building.

“So, how long has that been serious?” ‘Cade murmured, jerking his helm back slightly to the three.

Drawing his optic ridges together, Blackout glanced back over to where Novastrike hovered near Venus and Scorponok. He turned to look back, meeting the shorter mech’s lilac optics with a vent.

“A couple of years...”

“Did you know her before the exodus?”

Blackout remained silent. Shifting uncomfortably, he moved his gaze down slightly.

“Primus Blackout, and you never told me about her?” Barricade huffed, gently pushing at him with a sympathetic grin. “I’m sorry if I ever made it hard for you to talk to me about. I know I was always raving about Venus to you...”

Giving a short chuckle, the huge mech shook his helm. “You didn’t make it difficult for me. I made it difficult for myself. It took her saving my spark for me to realize I had any feelings for her at all.”

“She saved your life?”

“From the battle I was telling you apart. She was part of a rogue organization that had taken a ship and left Cybertron. It was Novastrike who encouraged her squad to take me aboard and fix me.”

“Damn. I guess I owe that femme a lot of gratitude. Kinda feel bad for being an aft to her.”

“No you don’t.”

“No, you’re right, I really don’t.”

The two exchanged a snort laugh.

“Get to know her before you start breathing down her back,” Blackout offered, smiling slightly. “I know you probably find it hard to believe that I’ve found someone...”

“Just a bit,” ‘Cade dryly remarked, sobering as he smiled thoughtfully. “But I’m glad you did.”

Nodding his helm, the obsidian titan smiled slightly as he patted the short bad cop on the shoulder. “And I’m happy that you finally managed to open up to Venus about your feelings.”

“Yeah, about that,” he drawled, rubbing the back of his helm anxiously. “I might have uh, confessed to her when I was a bit drunk on highgrade.”

“You poor, stupid bastard,” Blackout snorted, shaking his helm.

“Shut up you ugly fragger. I’m sure you did much better.”

“I may have set up a romantic atmosphere when I proposed my feelings to her.”

“Alright alright,” ‘Cade growled. “You don’t have to one up me.”

Grinning, the former Decepticon Hound could only be bothered to shrug his shoulders. Maybe he did sound a bit too proud of himself, but it had taken him a lot of nerve to open that part of himself. He could have spent years fighting the urge to do so. He could have waited for her to speak up; frag he could have never said anything.

But once he knew, he had to do it. He felt compelled to. Otherwise, every bot who whispered to him that he was a coward for holding back would have been right. And he was certainly no coward.

“Liquid courage helped calm me down a bit,” Barricade stated with an edge. “And I revealed... probably a bit more than she should have been dealt to handle in one night.”

“You told her about your infection?” Blackout asked quietly.

“I couldn’t not tell her,” vented the smaller mech. “Eventually, she would need to know. It was just- a lot to dump in one evening.”

“You didn’t try eating her first or anything, did you?”

There was a light of mischief in Barricade’s optics as he sensually purred, “No, that came later.”

“Please don’t give me those visuals,” Blackout deadpanned with a frown. “I quite like Venus. I don’t need to imagine those things.”

“You best not mech, or I’ll whoop your aft.”

Grinning, a bold light flashed in Blackout’s optics as he growled, “I’d love to see you try, little mech.”

Sniggering quietly, ‘Cade let out a lengthy sigh as he placed a servo to his faceplate. Blackout raised his optic ridges, hesitantly reaching out to lay his servo against the small bot’s shoulder. As Barricade’s violet optics turned up to him, he offered a supportive smile.

Brushing his arm away, the small mech looked down to the ground with defeat.

“She stayed behind with me, you know,” he breathed quietly.

“What do you mean?” the ebony mech rumbled in the depths of his baritone voice.

“Venus had the opportunity to leave Cybertron with all the other bots. I stayed behind. Shockwave offered me... an alternative I couldn’t refuse. Said he could fix me.”

Blackout narrowed his optics slightly. He glanced over Barricade’s frame with renewed interest. It looked just the same as his memories recalled. There was no new spec designs, no interesting or flashy additions, no strange malformations.

“What did he do to you?”

“Oh he fixed me, alright,” Barricade bitterly laughed.

As he turned his faceplate up, Blackout stared with a blank expression as his old friend’s faceplate morphed. Sections of metal unhinged. A new, seamless line that he hadn’t been able to pick up on his jawline popped open so that his maw opened excessively wide with four large areas of his face peeling back. His optics grew unbearably strong in their glow, nearly as pink as Venus’.

Shuttering his optics slowly, the massive bot didn’t even flinch. He’d seen worse. He was just glad to be blocking Novastrike’s view of the small mech so she didn’t witness the feral transformation in the mech’s face. As he glanced down, the pulsating veins of light running over his form appeared to have grown just as bright. Sections of his armor hissed softly as they pulled away from his protoform in a ‘relaxed’ posture, like a monster ready to pounce and consume.

“Attractive,” he said slowly. “Does uh, Venus get off on the glossia thing?”

In a rare occurrence, Barricade did not respond to his playful mockery. The four panels of metal folded back closed and he turned to the side as he looked away.

“I don’t know what he did to me,” he said softly. “I was locked on a berth the majority of the time. No explanations. Sometimes I was active for procedures, and sometimes I wasn’t. Venus actually broke into Shockwave’s lab and rescued me after she came to the conclusion something was wrong. I hadn’t left the lab in weeks to see her and she realized something was wrong.”

“I think he was aiming to make me into one of those super solider projects,” he admitted. “But I can’t control my Terrorcon effects as well as I used to.”

Blackout didn’t know what to do. He wasn’t a mech of comfort. But he’d discovered sometimes simple actions spoke more than words.

Jumping slightly, Barricade glanced up to him as Blackout wrapped him up in a careful hug.

“You’ve always been a Pit spawn demon,” he stated firmly. “But you didn’t deserve that. I’m sorry.”

“Heh, look at you, being soft,” ‘Cade grumbled, shifting awkwardly in his grasp.

Rumbling in his chassis, he slowly released the little mech and nervously went to rub at his arm. Comforting others was weird. He should really leave the practice to Nova.

“Is that why your optics are... so much more vibrant than any others?” Blackout cautiously asked.

Slowly, ‘Cade gave a nod of his helm. “I’ve got a lot more stamina and energy than any bot; I’ve gotten a lot stronger, too. I don’t burn energon near as fast. Then again I... I sometimes have found myself feeding on...”

Blackout raised his servo in a gesture that he didn’t have to explain further. He got the message.

“I’d never hurt Venus though,” he said quickly, looking appalled at the very idea that Blackout might consider it.

“I know you wouldn’t.”

“I wouldn’t hurt you, either.”

“I know, ‘Cade, I know.”

Bringing his optic ridges down, the small mech ran his servo over his faceplate and vented loudly. He cast a gaze around Blackout, trying to look at what the other three were doing.

“You think your femme’ll get along with Venus?” he asked suddenly.

Surprised by the question, Blackout positioned himself out of the way of Barricade’s gaze. He turned around, looking to the three standing together.

“Wow, you’re so gorgeous!” Novastrike exclaimed loudly, her optics shimmering as she looked up at Venus. “You look like a goddess! Your armor is so shiny!”

“Awww, thank you, aren’t you the most precious, cutest femme,” Venus returned in kind, smiling thoughtfully.

Blackout turned a smirk over to Barricade. “I think they’ll be fine.”

Gesturing vaguely, ‘Cade let out a strained whine.

“Fine?” he whined. “How is this fine? Now Venus; the rhythm of my spark, the angel to my demon, the good cop to my bad, the beauty to my ugly deformed mug, is going to be distracted and hanging out doing girly things!”

A snort of amusement emitted from Blackout as he whacked his servo on ‘Cade’s back. “Just think of it this way: more guy time.”

“I think I’d rather have my sweetspark,” he grumbled.

Retracting his servo, the enormous mech let out a snort. “Now that just hurts, ‘Cade.”

“You’ll get over it, buy guy.”

“Get fragged.”

“I sure do hope so. Scream the goddess of beauty’s name as I-”

Venus, Novastrike, and Scorponok turned their helms with some alarm as Barricade gave out a sharp yelp, rubbing the back of his helm as Blackout offered him a deadened glance.

“Sorry,” he stated without real sympathy. “Reflex.”

“Yeah we’ll see reflex you oversized tin can!” Barricade barked, jumping on to Blackout and clinging to his chassis.

Thrown off balance, the giant mech was thrown to his aft.

“Should we uh, do something about that?” Nova asked nervously, gesturing.

“Nah,” Venus stated with a grin, placing her servos on her hips. “Let them figure it out. It’ll be good for them.”

[ask-dr-knockout]

Perfection through Deception

(Oneshot Takes Place after the events in @tyrantofthefirmament  and @ask-dr-knockout “Reunion” RP Story)

Previously: Knockout had just arrived back at the Autobot base after coming across the gravely Injured Starscream out in the wastes of Cybertron. Soon after he leaved the Seeker behind but only after secreting him away to his once old base of black market operations. For his trouble in helping the former Air Commander he is covered in scratches and rust dust grime while forced to contend with an very irritated Ultra Magnus upon his return.  As discipline for his negligence to report in to the rest of the Autobot team while on patrol Knockout is sent off to monitor duty without the opportunity to clean up his damaged pride first.  A punishment detail Knockout is remiss to follow.

Knockout stormed into the monitoring room barely containing his ire! His claws raked across the border of the entrance with an unpleasant shriek. The sound alone causing the occupant in the room to startle in their seat. “What the Scarp!? Oh… Knock Out… It’s just you… You mind not defacing the brand new base I thought you were the one saying we need to wax every surface…” Arcee had only briefly glanced back to catch the other in the corner of her optic between monitoring what looked like a shadow on the west perimeter. After a zoom in yielded only a wayward turbo mouse she continued. “Sooo…Judging from the entrance… What has you grinding gears this time?- Wait don’t tell me, you ran out of polish? or Ratchet had you pulling a double shift?… hurm No?… OH Smokescreen stole your buffer again!” Arcee shot off with practiced interest. Her speech dry as per tradition between their interactions during their shift changes.

Knockout rolled his optics at her for good measure. There was something familiar however… and almost welcoming about the unwarranted sass that Arcee brought to the table it reminded him of simpler times sometimes… Knockout relaxed slightly despite himself. He fell into a new but somewhat normal routine with the warrior Fem and that was one of the few things he could appreciate.

“Maybe if you turned around to greet me like a normal civilized Cybertronian you could see it for yourself!” he huffed back crossing his arms indignantly. “Oooo… Yep that’s bad.” Arcee cringed in sympathy for once as she spun around having finished her log to see what terrible oh so horrible thing had befallen the ever dramatic Knockout this time. 

“YES IT IS! And the Big Blue himself has deemed it acceptable for THIS-” he motioned to his entire body exasperated. “ –to remain until my monitoring shift is over so~ if you wouldn’t mind hurrying up and vacating the preemies!!! ~Please my dear~ I would like to get on with it!” “What no elaborate story telling today Knockout? I’m Shocked! Surely this all must come with a long winded tale that should garner my sympathy? I’m so disappointed in you!” Arcee gave a fake pout. Getting up from her seat in her ever typical way she tilted her hips while crossing her arms with an amused smirk.

“I could always tell you about the time Rats Infeste a Vehicons Interior again if you like seems right up your interest with organics and all… Arcee…” He scoweled. “heh so its going to be like that tonight I see… It’s a shame I might have fetched you your Buffer.” She flashed Knockout a knowing look.  “Arcee…Trust me when I say a BUFFER isn’t enough for this atrocity to my finish! Now in the words of our esteemed rusty CMO “YEP YEP YEP” and get out of this room before I throw you out!” “Careful I will tell Ratchet you stole that from him.” Arcee giggled lightly amused.

Knockout didn’t reply but simply ex-vented waving a hand to shoo her away he was done talking. He took a seat as dignified as he possibly could manage while picking at his back or rather trying to… Arcee’s optics softened a bit as she got a look at him when the doctor turned his back to her. She never had seen Knockout in this state before; well not since New York and the Train incident that shall not be named. Something out of the ordinary was definitely going on with him. Perhaps later when he had a chance to clean up he would come back to air his grievances like he usually did. It wasn’t like him to hold back like this. “You know my com is always open if you get bored.” Arcee smiled patting Knockout on the shoulder as she left.

“Watch the Fin-“ Arcee had already exited, the door sliding shut. “-oh why do I even care at this point…” he sighed while logging into the monitoring systems at least now he had some peace and quiet.   Suddenly an image of Starscreams broken dead body laying out in an abandoned scrap pile shot across his processor. He flinched.

That was right… He, had bigger things to worry about now. Knockouts processor raced with all the possibilities of how he could be punished for this and for a moment Knockout wondered if he should even go back. “who can blame a monster for acting as a monster would”

Uhg Right, so how to go about this then.

…

Knockouts fingers rapt the keypad in bored chorus the glow of the monitors playing out before optics that stared out into the vast space of thought beyond. He realized his greatest risk would be his location beacon. If he simply returned to the same place he had been before it would raise far too much suspicion putting him and Starscream at risk of discovery. But if he simply switched off his locator beacon that would be suspicious and call his loyalties into question too.

Think Knockout think! He inspected the scalpel like edges of his finger tips as he idly spun in his chair.

There was always a way to play the system he used to do this all the time. If only he could just be in two places at once this wouldn’t be an issue! He groaned leaning back the metal chair conforming to his weight its mechanisms creaking slightly with its constant use.  

A few seconds later and Knockout Snapped his talons! That was it!

He Spun in his chair around excitedly using the motion to make sure nothing, or no one was watching him besides the security feeds above him.

Of course he could not be in two places at once physically speaking, but~ he was certainly capable of creating that illusion.

Soundwave wasn’t the only hacker with a few tricks up his subspace pocket.

Typing away at the consul he accessed the security feed logs. Once inside the mainframe Knockout began to work as if he was simply reviewing the previous surveillance data as per usual.

Unbeknownst to the surveillance above him a small data cable had slipped out from his wrist holding a compact data chip. The width of his Door panel easily concealed the device from view while it plugged in with a barely audible click. The screen flickered so quickly it was nearly undetectable to the untrained optic. A classic little hacking trick that faked signals and then some! he contained his excitement behind a bored looking demeanor. He had never dared try this before on the nemesis. Deceiving Soundwave the spymaster in favor of his infamous racing jaunts; however tempting it had been would never have gone over well. But~ that wasn’t to say the current team of Autobus weren’t exactly adept at this type of cunning.

They wouldn’t detect this… he smiled as it loaded and disappeared into the endless weave of data. With this little program he would be able to directly control the security signals wirelessly! The hacking ware was already made to blend in with the normal source code and did nothing to interfere with the original data. Rather it simply manipulated its existing contents in a way that prevented undesired security data from being recorded at all by replacing it with loops or old content!

He could even set notifications to inform him where his teammates were at any given moment in relation to his proximity protocols. Though the latter would be a bit more difficult to multitask given the number of mechs on base currently not mentioning the drones. He wasn’t Soundwave after all, but given Ultra Magnus’s strict and highly predictable duty roster it would be easy to at least predict to a degree and play with the data accordingly. With a wireless uplink encrypted into his own comn system he would be able to manipulate the data from anywhere he could hold a signal! He could even mess with the visual feeds all he had to do was plan a little in advance. He smirked proudly at himself for his cunning. He knew stealing this tech from that one bounty hunter would be worth the risk some day! There would be no proof of when or who interwove this secondary program into the network.  Sure one could pick apart the encrypted code but that be no easy feat given who this code was originally designed by. Knockout inwardly mused.  In fact the tech had the mechs signature style and fingerprint all over it within the data. It was his work not Knockouts.

With no direct way to pin this back on him it would be highly unlikely the Autobots would have a leg to stand on. If they did find out and decrypt everything the data instantaneously erased its own contact code upon discovery. He would just have to be careful in how he used it and make careful calculations when best to leave the base undetected, AND when to return. He realized with a sinking feeling… The safest time would be during his off shifts… well there went his personal time… He felt tired just thinking about this…

Why did Starscream always have a way to make him feel so tired? He sighed. “because personal time is so important when you left a mech to blead out in the middle of nowhere” Knockout remembered the supplies he left would only last the seeker so long… He supposed he could rest some of the time at the secret facility he had left to Starscream when he had to. This could work, if he played his cards right… it had to work. Now if this would just hurry up and finish uploading already! Every second he sat waiting was a second he could be caught in the act. “Com on Com on…” he internally chanted.

A few minutes later the chip ejected itself from the access port and Knockouts data cable retracted the chip to tuck safely away under his armor compartment once again.

Well… only one way to find out if it actually worked…

with a test.

Knockout relaxed finally as he leaned back in his seat propping his foot onto the consul like he normally would before crossing them and making himself comfortable. One couldn’t be too hasty he still had to check his options after all. For a while He watched the normal boring evening events of the Autobot base. Drones chatting in the barracks and sharing energon rations. The guards outside the base carving the occasional Decepticon logos on the side of the base to be rebellious little punks. Knockout Laughed at that.  

Then he chanced the feed. He noticed with an irritated twitch of his optics that smokescreen was currently in the rec center buffing his finish in plain view of the cameras. He was doing it on purpose to taunt him… he knew it! Oh he would pay for this! Somehow…Eventually… However that gave him a thought.

Of course! Knockout sat forward and rubbed his chin guard a smirk forming on his porcelain face. “Now THAT is an idea!~” He cooed with a sly lilt in his tone. The perfect means to test out his little trick AND get his justified disserts! As the saying went He could have his Energon Cake and eat it too! Knockout checked the monitors and signal beacons once more as he devised his personal mission. “hummm Bulkheads in the Training bay… So is Wheeljack. Typical, they probably will need repairs tomorrow, oh goodie.” Knockout mumbled aloud to himself without fear of the security feed he had just set to loop above him.  Its protocols making it appear as if he was still leaning back in his chair unmoving as he was just moments before. “Signals indicate Arcee is in the recreational room talking to Ratchet and Bumblebee is in recharge. Meh… Ultra Magnus is in his office… Big surprise!” Knockout pretended to pinch the mechs helm between his pointer and thumb repeatedly before his optics caught the dreaded sight of that blue and yellow glint on another feed once more. “Now what is that kid doing… uhhhgg of course NOW Smokescreen is going to join the two Thick Helms in training! Doesn’t he know you are supposed to buff AFTER training NOT BEFORE! THAT DEFEATS THE PURPOSE YOU DOLT!” Knockout yelled at the tiny image of smokescreen and flicked the screen where the guard mech’s face resided.

Plink! He paused however when he noticed curiously that Wheeljack and Bulkhead were shaking their heads and pointing to Smokescreens arm, undoubtedly at the phase shifter.   “Hello… what is this? Only willing to play fair with buddy bruisers I see.” Knockout hummed intrigued as Smokescreen did the unthinkable and complied to his friends requests by taking off his “Signature weapon” and placing it within the nearby weapons locker in favor of sparing with Wheeljack.

“Well that’s interesting… never thought you took it off~ Primus knows you even bathed with it.” Knockout sneered but all the same storing that knowledge for a later time. He flicked the screen three more times for good measure, one for each Bolt Brained Bruiser.  

Plink, Plink, Plink!

With one last data sweep and every mech and fem accounted for on base Knockout finally activated his cryptic signal and began to input his subtle commands.

The security feeds leading directly to his personal quarters began to loop footage just as he had made the monitor rooms do. The footage being taken from the previous nights displayed nothing but empty halls all while his signal remained stationary in the monitor room. He shifted getting up from his seat Starscreams left over coolant stains dribbling down the back of the chair and mixing with the caked on dust falling off with each movement.

“Well, well it would seem there has been an unforeseen shift change for this evening Ultra Magnus” Knockout chuckled mockingly at the image of the unsuspecting Commander diligently logging reports from the confines of his office. Setting the monitor chair spinning casually Knockout sashayed to the exit. Before the door could close behind him he turned to giving one final mock salute, “See you Bright and SHINEY in the morning Sir~ HAH! HAHAHAH!” Oh he was going to savor this! His footfalls echoed unnoticed in the abandoned halls just as he had planned.

Operation OilBath was a go.

[fearofaherobrine]

Roleplay Server Log #219

“Pinwheel sitting, Ashes Flying Lessons”

[gem] -flies next to splenderman's house and knocks on the side of the door-

[Slender] Sighs- Come in

[Gem] -flies in then lands she is holding two stacks of sugar cookies- oh hello I heard Splenderman was sick so I wanted to help cheer him up I didn't know someone else was here

[Slender] - Yes, I am his brother- He's looking Gem over, finding her attributes a bit odd

[Gem] well I brought sugar cookies

[Splender] Groans and rolls over- Nooo...

[Slender] - You may as well put them with the other food which has been brought, in that chest over there

[Gem] -puts them in the chest- will splenderman be ok?

[Slender] - In about a week or so, he doesn't like having to kill humans

[gem] -flies up a little- I understand so are you doing staying on the server must be tough it being so different I would guess

[Slender] - Having to restrict my EMP field is annoying but necessary.  Speaking of I wouldn't get to close to me unless you wish to be affected.  And I'm staying here to help make certain Splender is alright

[Gem] -flies back a little so she further from slender- is restricting it hard?

[Slender] - After some time it does become difficult, but I should be able to do it for the length of time I'll be here

[gem] -is just talking out loud- I just realized I should check on aven and ben later before I go back to building the track system

[Slender] - Ah yes, them and their child

[gem] I live with them but I have recently been busy with building I haven't been home as often

[Slender] - I see, I am curious about how their child is coming along

[gem] oh he is just the cutest he is very healthy too

[Slender] - I know Painter and Angel desire a child, but I'd like more data, preferably a second successful child

[gem] well ben is quiet protective of hyrule to the point of not wanting to give him baths

[Slender] - Of course he wouldn't want to do that, you can always get Jeff and LJ to hold him down, they've gotten very good at that over the years

[gem] I believe they had to do that once already and my guardians also did once

[Slender] - And his mate is still doing well?  There have been no ill effects of having the child?

[gem] no aven has been good

[Slender] - I see...

[Splender] - Brother...

[Slender] - Yes?

[Splender] - Don't let father get us...

[Slender] - I won't, I promise

[gem] what would happen if they did?

[Slender] - It's nothing, he's just dreaming of a memory

[gem] oh well if there is anything you need for me to get splenderman I will gladly help

[Slender] - I will keep it in mind

[gem] well I should be off to check on the couple -starts flying to the door-

[Slender] Lets her leave before pulling a book out of his jacket pocket-

[Deer] Has shifted into her dragon form and is playing with Yaunfen in the water-

[Doc] Does a graceful roll a little farther out and breaches in a gentle arc, using the air to make it higher before plunging back down-

[Deer] Laughs and nudges Yaunfen to swim a bit more-

[Doc] Does some little zigzags under the water near them. Just keeping an eye out for trouble.

[Yaunfen] Paddles about-

[Endrea] Flies past them over head-

[Doc] Looks up- I wonder where the babies are?

[Deer] - Probably with their uncle, I'm more curious as to where she's going

[Doc] The void hole we covered up is in the ravine over there. But that's it. I doubt she wants to hang out with the villagers over the water.

[Deer] - Odd...

[Yaunfen] Paddles towards the shore-

[Doc] I'll check on her and come right back. Will you two be okay?

[Deer] - Absolutely, besides, I think it's time for a nap

[Doc] On the sand, by our sea, in this lovely morning sunshine perhaps?

[Endrea] Heads down into the ravine and starts scrapping up loose rocks-

[Deer] - Oh absolutely

[Doc] Oh good! -Xe leaps out of the water and chases Endrea. On the other side it doesn't take long for hir to sniff out the bigger dragon and peek down into the ravine. - Endrea? Are you doing okay?

[Endrea] - Need to brood...

[Doc] Oh! I guess the kids are with the sitter?

[Endrea] - Yes- she then lays down, huffing a little-

[Doc] Can I get you anything?

[Endrea] - No, I'll be fine- Already the first egg is emerging

[Doc] How long will it take? Just so I can let the others know.

[Endrea] - A few days at the least- She grunts as the egg pops out

[Doc] Okay. I'll leave you too it. Let me know if you need anything, or if anything unusual hatches. Heh.

[Endrea] - It's always the same every time, twelve eggs, for twelve eyes of ender

[Doc] You never know... I've come to believe anything is possible around here. - grins-

[Doc] Takes a little leap off a cliff by the sea and spins out over the water, dragging a foot to make a huge plume of water. Hir other paw wiggles as xe chats to Deerheart - Gotta make one more stop -

[Deer] - Okay

[Doc] Hits the shore running and vaults over Stevie and Alexises house landing a chunk away with a thump in Lie's yard-

-There's a grumpy looking red cat on the bridge-

[Doc] Stops short. - Uh oh. What did you do?

[[Lie] Walks past the bridge- SOMEBODY left HG out in the real world...  With Jeb...

[Doc] Oh for... well. I guess it's better then leaving him at the manor. And he did want to go.

[Lie] - Still...  He made me mad

[CP] Mews at his wife-

[Doc] I hate to say it - shuffles hir claws a bit in the dirt- But I actually think that's pretty funny. I mean, Jeb is terrified of us. I don't think he'll screw up intentionally. I'm sure he knows Cp would punch his dick so hard he couldn't have a second kid.

[Lie] - Pretty sure he threatened to stab Jeb's dick off

[Doc] See? Besides, who else could we even leave him with? Do you want to be out there for at least two weeks? I don't.

[Lie] - You have a point...

[Doc] I mean, he knew he'd be out for a while right? You guys warned him?

[Lie] - CP didn't give me the chance to

[CP] Is looking a bit smug-

[Doc] You told him it would be painful? Yeah?

[Lie] - Again, a certain someone didn't give me the chance

[Doc] Looks a bit skeptical. - I think one or both of you need to check on his house then.

[Lie] - I will after I take care of my animals

[Doc] Good. And for what it's worth. I don't think this should be a lengthy cat-i-fication. He's done way worse. And he might be needed anyway.

[Lie] Sighs- You're right, I just got pissed at him...

[Doc] He has that effect on people, - winks- and he is a really cute little kitty.

[Lie] - That he is

[CP] Hisses-

[Doc] And so are you.

[Lie] - So, why might he be needed?

[Doc] Endrea went off to lay a clutch of ender eggs. And of course, Slender is still here.

[Lie] - Slender's here?

[CP] Tries to look innocent-

[Doc] He came to take care of Splender. Trust me, the whole thing makes me massively uncomfortable, but the server is holding steady with just some tiny errors in the 2-3 pixel range from his skin. And his waves are making any humans in a 6-8 block radius feel ill.

[Lie] - I see...  I think I'll just keep my distance for the time being

[Doc] I don't blame you, he's a downer anyway. But the Steves, Alexes, and even the villagers have been going down there with food and get well gifts all day.

[Lie] - Well of course, they love Splender, it's amazing that the two are related, they're as different as night and day

[Doc] All of them are, it's almost like someone took a whole personality and split it into several parts.

[Lie] - True, maybe they all were originally one person

[Doc] Or one old God...

[CP] Jumps down and rubs against Lies legs- [Lie] - An old god?

[Doc] why not? I think Cp was the one that told me their strongest Allie is some kind of demon.

[Lie] - They've probably been called that themselves

[Doc] Then who knows? Your world makes the one I'm used too look sane and normal most of the time. Irregardless, even if you want to avoid Slender you should at least send him a note or something. There's a trunk on the shore people have been using as a mailbox all day.

[Lie] - Got it, I'll have to think about what I'll want to say though

[Doc] Take your time, he's gonna be laid up for a few days. And you, make sure you check in on Hg.

[CP] Considers it-

[Doc] gives Cp the hairy eyeball- you get to aggravate Jeb....

[CP] Yowls a little-

[Lie] - I'll let Notch know since Jeb will probably call him

[Doc] Thank you Lie. -gives Cp a tiny lick on the ear- behave...

[CP] Attempts to scratch Doc-

[Doc] Withdraws hir forked tongue with a teeny slurp- naughty. See you guys later, my own little family is waiting on me.

[Doc] Canters back home with a spring in hir step-

[Deer] She and Yaunfen are happily curled up by spawn in the sun-

[Doc] Makes a circle around them as if fluffing up the grass with hir claws and lays down as well, hir body a loop with hir beloved and child protected by the kinked coils of hir golden form. Before long, Xe is also asleep.

[Deer] After a few hours she begins to whimper in her sleep some and shift around far more than usual-

[Doc] Opens an eye at hir mates distress and cradles her head - Shhh, I'm here love.

[Deer] Whimpers and curls up a bit more-

[Yaunfen] Wakes as well and looks at Deer with concern-

[Doc] Huddles closer- Wake up love...

[Deer] Slowly wakes up-

[Doc] Were you having a nightmare?

[Deer] - No...  I think... Ugh, there's some interference nearby...

[Doc] Probably Slender.... It looked like the server was distributing his load pretty well considering. But if he's moving around it might be having some issues.

[Deer] - He's close, not with Splender

[Doc] Periscopes like a snake- looking around-

[Slender] Is in the shade of the tree's near the water-

[Doc] Yeah, he's on the next chunk. Should I get Flux?

[Deer] - What for?

[Doc] Well she has experience, and you said she was teaching you a lot of server maintience stuff? I thought it might help?

[Deer] - Oh, right...  Maybe you should, I don't seem able to think straight right now

[Doc] Tapping in the chat already - Flux? Can you please come to the spawn?

[Flux] - Certainly- Within seconds she has arrived, forming near them- What did you call me for?

[Doc] Server issues actually. Slender is here, and even though the server is holding up underfoot it's still making Deerheart feel scattered. Can you give her a hand?

[Flux] - Absolutely, but perhaps you could convince  him to step a ways away?  It would be helpful

[Doc] Okay... -Xe puts hir head down for Yaunfen- Just hop on -

[Yaunfen] Crawls on- Mada!

[Doc] Smiles- Yep, and you're my baby. - Purrs- Lets go see if we can straighten things out a bit. - trots toward Slender.

[Slender] Noticed their approach and turns towards them- Hello Doctor

[Doc] Hey.... um.... not to be a pill, but I need a little favor....

[Slender] - What would that be?

[Doc] I just need you to move. - Looks at the ground and counts - about twelve blocks that way.

[Slender]- Why so specific?

[Doc] It's kinda complicated. Basically my mate is the embodiment of the server. And you're too close to her physical part. She was napping away from our house to stay out of your interference and then you moved closer to her. So I just need you to back up a bit.

[Slender] - Ah I see, she must be very sensitive then since I am repressing my waves as much as I can

[Doc] She can't not be. She's part of everything around you.

[Slender] - I see- He does begin moving away- I would have stayed with my brother, but he requested a bit of time alone

[Doc] That's okay. I don't mind you exploring. Just give the spawn a wide berth. - Indicates with a paw- The little valley down there with the spooky tree and the gravestones.

[Slender] - Very well, you know, you are quite lucky to have ever even met my Splender

[Doc] Yeah. Cp told me about him, I basically insisted on meeting him. I'm damn glad I did, he's an excellent friend.

[Slender] - That is not what I meant.  Had I not brought him and my other brothers into the realm of the humans, then he would not even be alive

[Doc] Everyone is running from something I suppose. I take it your home... dimension? Isn't a safe place to exist?

[Slender] - If one looks like me, then it is fine, but those born with a face are considered a very large disgrace.  Considering how our family is one of the most distinguished, well, it would have been a blow to how our family was viewed

[Doc] Aw. Well he's found the right pack of kindred souls. We're no strangers to discrimination. To most of the NOTCHs we're all just a pack of filthy glitches, no better then rats. Not to mention those who were spat on for being gay or otherwise outside the norms. Poor Gem was pursued and the world she inhabited destroyed just because she was mistaken for a Herobrine.

`[Slender] - I suppose in a way he has...

[Doc] It's why I'm so hellbent on helping the creepypastas too. They're much the same, ejected from human society or worse, and I just feel like... they're not used to anyone being nice to them... at least nice with no ulterior motives.

[Slender] - I try my best, but they do make it difficult

[Doc] I just keep trying. It makes the triumph all sweeter when they finally come around. I - I don't know where I came from, or if I had an original purpose, but fixing things makes me happy.

[Slender] - I've heard Jeff's complaints over it

[Doc] Wilts a little. - Jeff is hard... I thought I knew what he wanted most and tried to give it to him, but....

[Slender] - Oh you did, but his mind is set into thinking that he doesn't deserve it or that it could be given to him

[Yaunfen] Yawns-

[Doc] Go back to sleep little one, Just curl up between my spirals. I'll keep you safe.

[Slender] - I see they have grown bigger...

[Doc] I hope you're right about Jeff and he'll eventually come around. In the meantime at least Liu has a second chance at life and he's making Smile happy too. And yes, they had a growth spurt. My little one is just a bit too big to pick up in my human shape anymore. It's bittersweet. Soon a few words will become sentances and then, that's when the real fun will begin.

[Slender] - Watching others grow up is bittersweet

[jewel] -approaches the three quietly-

[Doc] It's okay. I can't wait to see what they'll have to say....

[Slender] Senses her- Hello Jewel

[Doc] Brushes her gently with hir tail fluff- Nice to see you Jewel.

[jewel] hello doc and hello slender

[Slender] - Are you well Jewel?

[jewel] yes

[Doc] You seem subdued. Is everything okay?

[jewel] I am fine I and just slightly surprised slender is here and this place isn't messing up

[Slender] - It is not my first time in a digital setting Jewel, I have learned a few tricks in my years

[jewel] I understand

[Doc] Plus we buffered the server when Splender was invited in. BEN and Cp worked really hard on it.

[Slender] - Yes, those two were the best at coding, at least amongst my digital pasta's

[Doc] And Dawn gave Splender a charm to tamp his field down as well.

[Slender] - So he keeps telling us and showing off to us

[Doc] chuckles- I get the feeling he hasn't met many witches.

[Slender] - No, most are not very fond of our kind.  Jewel, have you seen Jeff or Jane?

[Jewel] no but they might be some where around

[Slender] - I know most of you probably felt my arrival, so I am surprised they haven't shown themselves yet...

[Doc] They might have just gone exploring. This world is near infinite in scope. Much bigger then earth.

[Slender] Sighs- I'd like for them to at least check in with me...

[jewel] would you like me to go look for them?

[Doc] I can just send out a message in the chat, no need to go running around.

[Slender] - I do not mind when, so long as it happens while I am still here

[Doc] Wiggles hir claws, typing with one paw. Just a general call for the creepypastas to come over by the koi pond to check in with Slender.

[CP] Over chat- Fuck off

[Doc] Mutters, but it's a loud thought too - Not you ding dong, he know's you're okay. -accidently aloud -Unless you're still a cat?

[Slender] - A cat?

[Doc] Weeeellllll....

[jewel] can't cp's wife turn him into a cat?

[Doc] Yeah... He wouldn't stop murdering people when we brought Lie here... it was a way to contain his worst impulses.

[Slender] - An option not available to me

[Doc] You met TLOT right? The brine with the gold armor?

[Slender] - Yes, he and I had quite the talk while within CP's dream

[Doc] He's had a lot of time for quiet contemplation and honing his powers. He can actually grab someone and squash them into a smaller or completely different shape. He helped me make the body I'm wearing. Actually, he made me a Herobrine too.

[Slender] - Is that how your kind creates more?

[Doc] What do you mean? More brines?

[Slender] - For lack of a better word, reproduce, create more of your kind

[Doc] Oh, no. Herobrines spawn naturally in this game. We're not sure why. Every world gets one Steve. Most worlds will have a Steve and an Alex. She's a bit rarer, and only a small percentage will spawn a Herobrine. And when one is detected, the system will automatically create an AI NOTCH to check the brines powers.

[Slender] - Like the one which my brother helped destroy?

[Doc] Yes. They vary a lot. His original father was a decent NOTCH. But the one they helped kill was a monster. Mad, bloodthirsty and relentless. The admin of their world was ready and willing to delete everyone on it if we didn't agree to kill it for him.

[Slender] - Yes he was very enthusiastic about how he helped with that

[Doc] And rightfully so, it was one hell of a battle. The Testificates were certainly impressed. Did he tell you they added him to their pantheon?

[Slender] Sighs heavily- No, he did not, but I'm sure I'll hear about it once he feels better

[Doc] They have a thing for making statues, but they seem to prefer his image carved into walls. I guess it's too tempting to cover the space with curly knots of tentacles.

[Slender] - Has he seen?

[Doc] Not directly, but it will happen. TLOT likes to go check on them periodically. He just needs to tag along on the next trip.

[Slender] - I see... You said something earlier about being made a brine by another, I'm still somewhat confused by that statement since you also said your kind are a natural spawn

[Doc] Oh, that's because I'm a unique case. I'm a digital entity by nature, but I aquired a glitch when I was injured by a rather aggressive Herobrine. I had a mental breakdown because of some... personal issues... I suddenly developed an ability that I couldn't control and TLOT shared his powers with me to save me. The more powerful Herobrines can give of themselves to create life or sustain it. You met Steve right? TLOT made him.

[Slender] - So almost as a vampyr would create another of its kind, how odd

[Doc] That's more right then you know in his case. His own blood is full of life. He likes to make butterflies out of flowers when he's nervous. Him just breathing on them is enough to bring them to life.

[Slender] - I can see why his followers refer to him as a god then

[Doc] Yes. And the more they believe, the more leverage he has to shift the world. His powers here are immense. They grow with the fevor and number of his followers

[Slender] - Has he made any brines other then you?

[Doc] He made Lie. She was in horrible pain as she got closer to becoming fully digital. He gave her of his power and licked out her eyes.

[Slender] - Licked out?

[Doc] A formality almost, he used his tongue to clean the colored pixels in her eyes from the inside of her player skin. It was a kiss that made Cp rather... annoyed. But his husband Steve will certainly sing the praises of TLOT's expertise in that area.

[Slender] - I'm surprised he did not try to attack the golden brine for that...

[Doc] He was rather worn out at the time, I'd just fixed his respawn and cleaned all the junk files out of his system, he'd puked. And right after that I cut off his hand in the process of removing Insanity, he was a bit too weak to do much more then growl.

[Slender] - Ah, yes she was far from happy about that

[Doc] Too bad, as soon as Cps head was cleared of Insanity he and I were in perfect agreement. He likes Lie just how she is. Kind. And becoming a brine has its own attendant special powers as well.

[Slender] - How so?

[Doc] We usually develop special abilities that fit our personalities. Lie can make magick plants, I think because TLOT changed her, she got a bit of his ability to give life.

[Slender] - Is plants all she can create?

[Doc] Heh, you say that like its a small thing. Her greatest work took a house sized bite out of a NOTCH with a gigantic pod full of venomous teeth.

[Slender] - How interesting...  But surely the lack of diversity in her abilities leaves her weak in many other ares

[Doc] She's also psychic and she can teleport. She can turn into a cat as well.  He cuteness level is very persuasive

[Slender] - As can her mate, but there is nothing else unique to her?

[Doc] She carries a cleansing white fire that can burn Insanity out of a person.

[Slender] - Ah yes, I do seem to recall seeing that when she and I met on the witches beach

[Doc] She's young anyway, still learning. She'll probably figure out how to fly at least. Most brines can.

[Slender] - A trick CP uses often to avoid the others since the ceilings in my home are so tall

[Doc] It's handy for that. I cheated my way around it. I determined that the empty space is still enough of a part of the grid that I can use the air blocks. Zero is still a number, after all.

[Slender] - I, do not understand what you mean by that

[Doc] This world is a three dimensional grid and gravity only affects certain types of blocks. So if I do this- places a dirt block and then another on top- and I take this one away- knocks out the underneath one and the top one stays floating-  then this one is fixed and I can jump on it all I want and not fall- presses the block from above and to the side- so if I want to go up, I place my feet where a block would go and just climb up like its solid stairs-

[Slender] - This would certainly explain some of the pranks CP was able to pull off...

[Doc] oh do tell!

[Slender] - He's managed to place tree's that touched the ceiling but not the floor, random blocks just right at head height for the others to run into if they're not paying attention...  He's gotten BEN with walls of water outside of his door many times

[Mix] -in chat- I'm gonna hop out for a bit to check on something if its alright Doc?

[Doc] also chat- Aww. Mix, you don't have to ask permission. But if you want to come over here first I'll send you off with a bit of code so you can contact me if you get in trouble out there.

[Doc] That sounds about right, we are tricksters by nature, and this games strange physics just make it easier. Good example. One plus one is two, correct? Unless it's water, then one plus one can equal infinity. Two buckets of water arranged in the right way can be drawn from indefinitely.

[Slender] - That would also explain why it's sometimes impossible to empty the giant bath...

[Doc] Most likely. The dev team put in a sponge block specifically for cleaning up Griefer-created water messes.

[Slender] His face seems to shift a little as if he is annoyed-

[Doc] Something amiss?

[Slender] - My other brother's, they are near constantly contacting me to check in on Splender

[Doc] Awww, it's nice to know they care. Is Splender the youngest brother?

[Slender] - Yes, he is

[Slender] Rater suddenly and loudly- Offender no!

[Doc] No pants again?

[Slender] Groans- No, he's currently watching Splender's pet and has gotten bored of poking it, so he wants to put it in clothes now...

[Mix] -In chat- I'll stop in a sec, gotta grab my bag

[Doc] Poor Pinwheel. I have the anti venom, if he wants to pass her back here.

[Slender] - I cannot open a way

[Doc] Oh, I might be able too. Where is he specifically? Can you get him to go in the living room? I know that space decently well. And I can use the tv.

[Slender] - If you're certain...

[Doc] She already hates everyone and I don't want to make it any worse a situation. Besides, there's a chance she's spent her venom for the day biting Offender.

[Slender] - Very well, give me a few moments

[Doc] Let me take care of Mix real quick first. - Xe pulls a book from the creative and starts adding a bit of code to it.

[Mix] -Trudges up, eyeing Slender a bit, shes got her bag and her elytra on- Hey! Sorry it took a bit

[Doc] No problem, it gave me a minute to fix this for you- Offers the book. - Just write 'Doc' and then whatever you need to say and it will email me and ping my carrot phone.

[Mix] -Takes it- Just that? Alright -Stuffs it into her bag-

[Doc] Be careful out there and let me know if you need help okay?

[Mix] I will, don't worry! Be back,, soonish? -she gets a thoughtful look before shrugging and turning. She takes a few steps and hops, with a swift glow and snapping sound she's gone from the server. She's out. Bye Felica n' stuff-

- / player Mixminer has left the server /-

[Slender] - Offender is ready

[Doc] Okay, just give me a sec... - Doc would take a running start, but Yaunfen is sleeping soundly on hir shoulders. Hir eyes narrow with concentration and xe suddenly slams hir head forward as if headbutting a wall. The opening is ragged, crackling, and won't hold for long, but it is there.

[Offender] Is standing there buck naked with his hands on his hips and pinwheel in his tendrils over his crotch- TADA!

[Slender] - OFFENDER!

[Offender] Cackles-

[Doc] Please, please tell me you didn't fuck her?! She's only a baby!

[Offender] - Nah, I'd never do that to Splender's pet

[Doc] Thank goodness... Just kinda, set her on the grass please.

[Offender] Puts her down while Slender mutters over his brother's inappropriateness-

[Pinwheel] Slinks back into the server, going back into a lower resolution-

[Doc] She's not really a pet anyway. When she's grown theres a strong chance she'll have human-level intelligence.

[Slender] - Yes well that's how Splender views her currently...

[Pinwheel] Hisses and growls a little-

[Doc] I think it's an issue with her behavior. He'll likely feel different when she's learned a few words. -At Pinwheel- It's okay, you're safe.

[Pinwheel] Snaps at Doc-

[Doc] Scoots back a bit. - How about... some nibbles? I know, maybe a challenge?

[Pinwheel] Curls up a little-

[Offender] - Hey, where's Splender?

[Slender] - He wished to be alone

[Doc] Puts a small circle of half-slabs around them and pulls out a teeny egg before tapping it lightly near Pinwheel. - Want a mouse? - the little creature goes scurrying along the edge of the slabs.

[Pinwheel] Focus' on it immediately-

[Doc] Maybe more then one? Multitask a bit. - Taps out two more and they scrurry around randomly-

[Pinwheel] Stands up a little, eyes dialating-

[Doc] That's more like it. She just needs a bit of playtime. Her strikes are so fast they're a bit hard to follow.

[Pinwheel] Strikes out at one of the mice in a blur-

[Mouse] Pops with a tiny squeak into a morsel.

[Other two mice] scatter in a panicky way.

[Pinwheel] Chases after them-

[Doc] Is just watching with a happy expression.

[Offender] - I think I'll check on Splendy myself!

[Slender] - YOU WILL NOT!  YOU KNOW THAT HAVING TWO OF US HERE IS A DANGER ENOUGH AND I WILL NOT HAVE YOU RUNNING AROUND HERE NUDE!

[Offender] - Oh come on!

[Doc] Yeah, please don't. You guys can, switch out later if need be.

[Slender] - You are more than welcome to close the portal...

[Offender] - Awwww...

[Doc] Anything you want passed on?

[Offender] - Nah, if I think of anything I'll tell bro here

[Doc] Later then! - Closes the portal. - I swear if he didn't have such a messed up idea of consent, him and TLOT would be best friends forever.

[Slender] - In a small way he does, his victims have to accept his rose in order for him to have his way with them.  I imposed that rule a very long time ago

[Doc] Is obviously uncomfortable- I prefer more then that. And TLOT nearly ruined the best thing that ever happened to him by taking advantage of someone sexually without their permission. He still regrets it.

[Slender] - It's the best I could do considering his feeding habits

[Doc] I gathered as much. But apart from that, nothing wrong with being naked. My mate does it quite freqently. She's just comfy that way.

[Slender] - It gets annoying after a few millennia

[Pinwheel] Kills the second mouse-

[Doc] Pfft. I guess it's different when it's someone you like seeing naked too... Aw, not gonna eat the prize at least Pinwheel?

[Pinwheel] Chases after the third-

[Doc] She's gonna so deadly when she's bigger...

[Slender] - Especially with that venom of hers...

[Doc] Curls into a more comfortable loaf and puts hir tail fluff over Yaunfen like a blanket. - I hope she gets big enough to give Splendor rides, I can only imagine how thrilled he'd be.

[Slender] - If she'll let him on her

[Doc] Considering how lovingly he's taken care of her despite her biting him all the time... I'd be suprised if she was unwilling.

[Slender] - Yes, he's been talking about her non-stop

[Doc] It's hard not to get excited. We all did so much travelling in dangerous places to rescue the eggs we brought in. And then I set them up so they could be hatched by being walked in peoples inventories, so that was more time and effort.  And it takes a long time for them to mature to the talking phase too. My little one was the last to hatch.

[Yaunfen] Sleep talking- Burp...

[Doc] Snickers- Such a silly word. But it was their first.

[Slender] - Well, I should return to my brother, would you like me to take Pinwheel?

[Doc] No, it's okay. Unless you think Splender is well enough to watch her; let her have her fun with that last mouse.

[Slender] - Very well, let me know if you need help with her however

[Doc] I will, thanks.

[Gk] Notices that the little dragons are all bloody from stalking the local wildlife. - We should go over to the desert area for a bit, I think. Take a breather. Follow me.

[Ashe] - The desert?  Why?

[Gk] Because I can't wash you little guys.

[Ashe] - Oh...  Uncle GG?  When do I get to learn to fly?

[Gk] Hmm? We can practice that today. The desert is also a good place for that. Sand is nice to land on if you faceplant.

[Ashe] - Okay!- His tail is wagging around in excitement

[willow] -jumps to get on gk's back-

[Gk] Clops down from the narrow cobble road into the warm sand- ahhh, okay, you guys roll around and it'll get some of that blood off. Flap your wings like me- Lays down and fluffs sand everywhere like a sparrow taking a dust bath.

[Ashe] Sneezes from some sand getting in his nose-

[oak] -sneezes and flops on to his back-

[Ashe] Tries wiggling in the sand-

[Gk] Fluffs even more sand since they seem to need help-

[willow] -jumps off of gk's back into the sand and start kick some up to make a hole then jump into stick her head out of it-

[Gk] If nothing it feels good! - Gets up and shakes off. - You ready to strech those wings a bit?

[Ashe] - Yeah!  Yeah!

[Gk] Okay. Since we don't want to leave Willow and Oak alone, you're just gonna stay low to the ground. Copy my movements and then we'll try- makes a show of flexing his wings in the right postures slowly so Ashe can see.

[Ashe] Tries mimicking the motions-

[oak] -tries to squeeze into willow's hole with her-

[Gk] Does it a few more times, correcting Ashe gently and repositioning his little wings.

[Ashe] Flaps a bit-

[Gk] okay, now I wan you to run and flap just like that. Don't strain yourself, just get an idea how the wind moves over and under your wings.

[Ashe] - Okay!  Starts running and flapping-

[Gk] Is keeping an eye on all three babies. At Willow and Oak- Haha, you two comfy in there? Like two silverfish in a block.

[Ashe] Squeaks in surprise as he accidentally gets a bit of lift and tumbles into the sand- Oof!

[willow] -tries to get out from under oak making a little squeak as she pops free-

[Gk] Whoops! Well at least you know you're doing it right kid!

[Ashe] Stands up looking determined- I'm gonna do it!

[Gk] Keep going then! Just don't go up! Try to stay around 5 blocks or lower to the ground. And don't go out over the water either!

[Ashe] - Okay!

[Ashe] Continues running and flapping, but only getting airborne for a few seconds at a time-

[willow] -make a second hole next to the one oak has clamed and settles into it-

[Gk] Stops him for a minute to adjust his movements - Try it like that!

[Ashe] Tries some more, staying up a bit longer- This is hard!

[Gk] It's only because your muscles aren't used to the movement! And when you get up high you can glide, but I don't want you to fall while you're still learning.

[Ashe] - Okay...

[oak and willow] -have another growth spurt and are now to big for there holes only there back feet are in them-

[Ashe] - UNCLE GG LOOK!

[oak] -runs over to ashe and gk with willow close behind-

[Gk] Heeeeey! Check you kids out!

[willow] look I am scary rawr

[Ashe] - Willow!

[Gk] And a full sentance! Your mom is gonna flip!

[oak] -plops his head on top of ashe's- big brother ashe -nuzzles him-

[Ashe] - Yes Oak?

[oak] you are my big brother best big brother

[Gk] Is beaming he's so proud.

[Ashe] - Uncle GG!  Can we go show mama?

[Gk] I guess we could? But we should walk to be safe. The bridge is a long way and over water.

[Ashe] - The scary water bridge?

[willow] yay let see mama

[Gk] Yeah. It's safe. Just no horseplay allowed.

[oak] -is bouncing- yes mama lets go to mama

[Gk] Leads them out of the desert and around the little bay.

[Mb] Is sitting outside the little building he's claimed and watches them go by curiously.

[Celine] Stops playing in the grass to squeak at them-

[Ashe] Excitedly bounces around GK- Mama's gonna be so happy!

[oak] -bounces after ashe-

[Gk] Trots down the hill and stops at the foot of the bridge- Okay, this is it. Stay in the middle of the path and I'll take the rear. - He folds his wings over the little ones so his tendrils brush the raised walls on both sides.

[Testificates] Watch them a bit nervously from the walls of the village that floats below the bridge.

[Ashe] Huddles close to GK- There's so much water...

[willow] -looks at the village- rawr

[Gk] Don't look at it. Just walk straight forward-

[Testificates] Some jump, a little startled-

[oak] -walks slowly down the middle of the bridge-

[Ashe] - Willow come on- He keeps bumping into GK's leg

[Gk] just uses his wings to shelter them and nudge them along.

[willow] -walks quickly down the middle of the bridge-

[Ashe] Spots the small island checkpoint near the end and races for it-

[willow] -tries to race ashe to it-

[Gk] No running!

[Ashe] Huddles in the small building there-

[Gk] It's just a teeny bit farther Ashe.

[Ashe] - Okay...

[willow] I am going to get there first -keeps going over the bridge-

[oak] wait for me willow -follows after-

[Ashe] Cautiously follows-

[Gk] Looks up the hill - We're going up there. It's an easy climb, but again don't run, there's a big gap in the ground with a long fall up there.

[Ashe] - Okay, Willow?  Oak?  Stay close

[willow] ok big brother

[oak] -is right behind ashe- I am close

[Gk] Gets to the summit and looks down at them. -You stay right here, I'm just going to holler down - Creeps over to the edge- Hey Endrea?

[Endrea] Is exhausted having only just finished laying her eggs- GG?

[Gk] I come bearing good news! Can we come down?

[Endrea] - What is it?  And yes, you may- She protectively curls around the twelve jet black eggs she just laid

[Gk] Okay give me a sec. - Turns back to the babies- You guys climb on me, I'll just fly down-

[Ashe] - Okay Uncle GG!

[willow] ride -climbs on to gk-

[oak] -follows after his sister-

[Gk] Wiggles his wing tentacles and floats softly up and then down into the ravine like a gently deflating balloon before landing with a click of hooves on stone.

[Endrea] Gives off a pleased hum at the sight of her children-

[GK] Stoops so they can get down-

[willow] -jumps off and runs to endrea- mama yay we came to see you

[oak] -slowly climbs down and follows- yay mama is here

[Endrea] Perks up a little- You're speaking more, and you grew!

[Ashe] - Mama!  Uncle GG gave me flying lessons!

[Gk] Told ya. Ashe pulled off some gliding in the desert too.

[willow] I am big and scary now rawr

[Endrea] - Yes you are my little one

[oak] I am cute but bigger more cute to love

[Endrea] - Yes indeed, and Ashe, I'm proud of you

[Gk] And they were all so brave, they walked the whole length of the bridge to see you.

[Endrea] - Brave indeed- She sniffs the air a little- I smell clouds...

[willow] I made it to the other side first

[Gk] That's bad... You kids step back. Uncle GG's gonna show off a little bit...

[Endrea] Lifts her wing for her children-

[willow] -runs under endrea's wings-

[oak] -runs under as well-

[Ashe] Joins his siblings-

[Gk] Turns to the nearest wall and sucks in a massive amount of air. He blows it back out with a roar of nearly blue flames, cooking the stone wall and turning it first to magma blocks, then lava, and making a huge dark hole lined with obsidian.

[Ashe] - Cool!

[Endrea] Sniffs at her children- GG...  Why are my children covered in blood and sand?

[Gk] coughs a little- we went hunting... and then took a sand bath. I can't lick the little buggers clean like you. Got too much spit.

[Endrea] Sighs and starts cleaning them-

[Gk] Don't do that now! Let em come in here before it starts raining!

[willow] evil rain

[Endrea] Nudges her children towards the hole- Go on, get in there

[Ashe] Hurries in-

[willow] -hops into the hole- rawr rain fear me and run

[oak] -goes into the hole as well and goes to the back-

[Gk] Also goes in. The walls are nicely warm and he loafs with his wings open in case the kids want to snuggle under them-

[Endrea] Stays with her eggs-

[oak] -flops under gk's wings-

[willow] -keep rawring at the sky and rain-

-It slowly begins to drizzle-

[Gk] Admit it. You don't mind them being close. Even with the new enders due.

[Endrea] Grumbles a little- I'm mostly just exhausted right now, laying twelve eggs is hard

[Gk] I can imagine. I've had plenty of bowel disturbances with all the garbage I ate in my homeless days...

[Endrea] - Well at least you have a home now

[Ashe] - Mama you're getting a bit wet!

[Gk] Yeah. - Looks fondly at the little dragons. - Times got better.

[willow] rawr rain get away from mama

[Gk] It's okay kiddo's, your mama's tougher then diamonds.

[Endrea] - I'll be fine little ones, when you get all grown up then you can handle some water

[Gk] Good thing too with how much it storms around here...

[willow] but the rain must be scared I will get it to go away. RAWR!

[Endrea] - The rain is to far away to hear you Willow

[Gk] Oh! I'm a dumbasss...!

[willow] how do I get the rain to hear me from here

[Endrea] - What is it GG?

[Ashe] - When you can fly Willow

[Gk] I know how to make it stop raining!

[willow] I want to fly now so I can scared the rain

[Endrea] - You need to be bigger Willow

[willow] aw

[Gk] in chat- Hey Deerheart? Can you turn off the waterworks on the chunk at the end of the bridge near Sunakagure?

[Deer] - Huh?  Oh yes, may I ask why?

[Gk] The baby dragons are hiding from the rain and Endrea's getting drizzled on cause she can't move at the moment.

[Deer] - Oh absolutely!- After a moment the rain stops

[Gk] Looks proud of himself- See Willow, you just gotta have friends in the right places. Important lesson!

[willow] the rain is gone did the friend scare the rain away

[Endrea] Checks on her eggs-

[Ashe] - Mama what are you doing?

[Endrea] - I'm checking on my eggs

[Gk] Close enough. Deerheart made it stop.

[willow] whoa

[oak] -has fallen asleep under gk's wing-

[Ashe] - Eggs like ours?

[Endrea] - No, endermen eggs

[Gk] You know, like Enderbro.

[Ashe] - Oh!  Is that where they come from?

[Endrea] - Well, at least mine do

[Endrea] - You might as well stay here for now, it's safe.  After all, who would attack a nest full of dragons?

[Gk] Fluffs up - And one of them a Herobrine. No one would dare-

[Endrea] Giggles a little before laying down with a huff-

[willow] if anyone attacks I will stop them they will fear me

[Endrea] - You will sleep like your brother, I already know that

[willow] they wouldn't dare try to come near when I sleep because they have no chance because if they wake me up no mercy I will attack them

[Endrea] - Yes yes my little fierce one. now sleep, mama will watch over you

[willow] -walks over to oak and plops down next to him and falls asleep-

[Endrea] Reaches over and nudges Ashe towards them too- You too Ashe

[Gk] Come on, it's nap time. - He wiggles down against the ground and focuses on being warm for them so they'll get sleepy-

[Ashe] Yawns- I'll watch over Oak and Willow

[otp-is-at-it-again]

11 Questions

Rules: 1. Always post the rules 2. Answer the questions given to you by the person who tagged you 3. Write 11 questions of your own 4. Tag 11 people I was tagged by @crookedlovestory ! Thanks so much for tagging me! I love answering questions aha ♪( ´▽｀) Emily's Questions: 1. what tv show are you currently bingeing? who are your favorite characters? Um I'm not watching anything currently cause I'm on vacation, but the last show I binge watched was the Flash. I'd have to say my fav characters are between Barry, Iris, and Cisco. Barry cause he's cute and dorky at times, Iris because of her determination and friendly nature, and Cisco because of the puns :^) and overall that he can play both the clown and show everyone up with a scientific explanation for happenings 2. what is your guilty pleasure? Russel Stouffer eggs hhhh. I only get them if they go on sale, around the holidays, and even then it's not always easy so get my favorite flavors (because they sell out quick when cheap enough). My favorites are red velvet, truffle, and coconut cream. 3. what’s your biggest character flaw? (just being me in general) Um I'd have to say my depression is probably the biggest flaw I have currently. It comes up when people (my parents) yell at me, because I'm trying my best but even that never seems to be good enough. And when I get into that state I shut down physically, and mentally loop on the negatives on how useless I am as a person. It usually also comes up when I'm in a stressful situation, for ex when I'm overloaded with school and social and home problems at the same time. Though recently I've noticed I get it at random times now too, so idk. I just go along with it at this point. 4. did you have an imaginary friend as a kid? what were they like? what was their name? Ha.. Yeah I had an imaginary friend, when I was a little on the older side of childhood (middle school), though there's kind of a backstory to him. I was ahead of the curve with relationships amongst my friends, starting as early as 5th grade (compared to most who started in 7th or 8th). But the ones I had at the time sucked because the guy got bored or stopped caring or was too far away for anything to happen. I tried to move onto other guys, but when I tried to ask them out (yes I was /that/ kind of person) I always got rejected. Of course to my friends I played it off as no big deal, but each time I got rejected, each time after I asked a guy out he would ignore me like I wasn't even there despite us having classes together, it got to me and wore me down. So to compensate I guess my overactive imagination came up with the "perfect guy" so I wouldn't have to worry about being rejected any more, because he would always be there for me.. His name was Marcus. He's Japanese/White mix, about 6 feet tall with a slight muscular build. I used to have trouble sleeping at night because of the insecurities that built up after the rejections, after seeing my other friends have successful relationships so easily despite how much effort I put into starting my own and being shot down.. But in those times- again my overactive imagination came into play- I felt a presence on me that I manifested into Marcus, so that I could imagine someone being there with me, someone who could comfort me and make me feel like everything would be okay. For a while that helped, but it got out of control pretty quickly. Into high school I stopped imagining things like that, or having dreams about him and I, where I could experience a healthy relationship. At that point I gave up on trying to have a relationship, and figured it would be easier just to fill in that spot on Facebook so people would stop bugging me about finding someone. So I made a Facebook account under his name, Marcus Takahashi (I deleted the actual account, but I made a fictional character page that a lot of people have begun to like recently ?) and made it look like we were in a relationship. What I didn't expect was my mother-like friends to come on and start asking a bunch of questions like 'how did you two meet?' and 'where are you from?' and other informational stuff that I didn't want to answer so suddenly.. so I just knocked it off and told people it was just a joke. After that I ditched the idea of Marcus as my imaginary friend and adopted him more an an original character. So he's still around, it's just the context of his character is different now. 5. if you could tell your past self anything, what would it be? Don't fret so much over relationships. That is by far the most destructive thing you can do so early in life (at least speaking from my past experiences). If you express interest in someone and they don't put as much effort as you do into maintaining the relationship, drop them right then and there. It isn't worth the emotional and mental stress of blaming yourself for things you're not even at fault at. Just focus on the friendships you have and things will work out fine in the end. 6. what’s your favorite flower? why? ohh hmm. I think the plumeria would be one of my favorites. My grandma used to have a yellow plant in her backyard, near her pool, and I always thought it was the prettiest thing.. And as I got older and my family and I took walks around the neighborhood, I noticed a lot of people had them in their yards in a bunch of different colors. I think nowadays my favorite one of that species is the pink plumeria because it looks and smells really nice. 7. recommend one of your favorite books. what is it about? why do you recommend it? Boy oh boy. I have a lot of favorite books, but recently my favorite has been Ready Player One by Ernest Cline. The pov from the main character is nerdy and dorky, but relatable a lot of the time. Plus it has a bunch of old, obscure video game references which is pretty cool. I grew up with the games mentioned in the book, so it's kinda nostalgic reading about them. Totally would suggest others to read it. 8. what is a quote that has resonated with you? why is it important to you? Okay this is going to sound kinda stupid compared to all those inspirational quotes out there, but I really like this quote I found in a fan fiction, where the character says, "my sexual desires can be equated to the thirst of a camel". It was a pretty bad fanfiction (not really bad, just too cheesy even for my taste) but I thought that quote was absolutely perfect. Even after I dropped reading it, I kept a screenshot from that for the last three years because it's pretty accurate for me. I joke about it a lot with my boyfriend (which makes him cry a bit but it's still pretty funny). 9. what’s your favorite emoji? Hm. I think 👌🏼 or ✌🏼 would be my favorite ones because I use it a lot in my twitter posts. Like I'll update with something and be like 'this cool thing happened to me dudes 👌🏼👌🏼' or whatever. And I use the peace sign a lot irl so they're pretty useful. 10. what’s the weirdest dream you’ve ever had? *inhales* boi I have a bunch of weird dreams haha.. Um I think one of the weirder ones was from when I was younger.. It was the tail end of elementary school and I had a crush on these three boys that were best friends. I had a dream where I found them at Soak City, but it was super distorted (because almost all my dream places are). So we stood at the top of the colored slides and instead of being their normal height, they were probably 3-4 times that, and on rickety stilts instead. Of course one of the guys told me is was okay to slide down the red slide, so I made a jump for it (scary af). We went on another ride after that (I forget which) and then I followed the guys to the log ride. The guys went in, but I got sidetracked because I saw a cat in the planters next to the entrance. I went over to pet the cat and next thing I know there's a bunch of them surrounding me and meowing. I thought that was awesome at first cause I love cats, but next thing I know they're all scratching me and I kept flinging them off me because I was freaking out. I ended up backing into this room which turned into a distorted version of Chuck E. Cheese. The cats were gone, and I was at the entrance standing in front of an attendant. She said I was a special customer so I got a bunch of free tokens and some food, but at one point I got sidetracked again when exploring. I guess I found the entrance to the employee lounge, which was a maze, and went in because I wanted to see if I could find the end. Turns out an employee found me and asked what I was doing, so I fibbed and said I was looking for the bathroom. They escorted me out, and I ended up in this place that looked like a gift shop with stuffed animals and random toys on shelves. And I think the dream ended there. Pretty weird lol 11. which planet is your favorite and why? Hmm I think Jupiter is pretty cool because it's gaseous and has a bunch of different swirling colors on its surface, plus since it's so large it has a bunch of moons in its gravitational pull (and I think moons are neat). Though speaking in terms of connection to Roman mythology, I also like Neptune because of its relation to the god of the sea heh. I'm not going to do the questions because I already did them on my other blog ʅ（◞‿◟）ʃ My main blog is @turqouiseorange if my other followers here want to check that out. Thank you again Emily for the tag <3 Even though I already did this and tagged you from my main, I answered your questions here because I thought they were really interesting and fun! Nice way to end the day heh ╰(*´︶`*)╯