#I do not respect Moth Flight or any of her choices

[bonefall]

What? Gorsestar is still around? Damn I was glad it was just Windstar cause her and Mothflight didn't get along. Now that I know he's still around he's probably getting Windstar to be nice to her, ugh. Poor Acorn Fur deserved to have kits.

Yep. It's super funny too because in Onestar's Confession, right? Windstar comes down to give Onestar a life and he's like, "OMG WINDSTAR?? OMG WHAT AN HONOR, CAN I GET UR AUTOGRAPH OMGG!!"

And then Gorsestar comes up right after

And Onestar's like, "...um, hi."

[arch-archivars]

@wxrgirl​     :     character development questions that are weird: If your muses were animals what kind of animal would they be and why? What traits of said animal would they like to have / hate to have? Who's the Gregor Samsa of your muses and would just, you know, roll with becoming a giant insect with a rotting apple stuck in his side and worry about getting to work on time?

aleksander   .   stag   .   this feels like an obviousy choice  ,  it is the animal used to represent him in canon also  .  v majestic  &  private  &  capable of stabbing you thoroughly with its antler  .  he would  ,  in fact  ,  love the antler  .  wouldn’t love that he doesn’t look at all dangerous  &  that i would pet him 

kaz   .   crow  ,  duh   .   mysterious  ,  associated  with death  &  disease  ,  capable of flight  ,  look badass  .  there is nothing kaz wouldn’t like about being a crow

yuri   .   praying  mantis   .   he may not look as creepy as they do  ,  but he looks just as inconspicuous until he strikes  &  eats you alive  .  metaphorically speaking  .  physically  ,  he couldn’t harm a fly which is a trait he desperately needs given his chosen career path

felicity   .   corgi   .   they are a bunch of rich kids  &  will never quite get that out of their bones  ,  even though felicity would absolutely hate being associated with a corgi  .  very fluffy  ,  tho  .  &  she would like to get her head scratched  ,  maybe

victor   .   hawk   .   idk if hawks hold their grudges for ten plus years  ,  but they look like they do  .  aside from that victor needs some of that deadly precision because then we wouldn’t have to deal with the entire plot of either novel because  . . .  he would have been better at stabbing eli first time around

jonathan   .   moth   .   drawn by the light  ,  easily manipulated  ,  fluffy  &  friend  -  shaped  .  that’s jon alright  !  he would hate having any of those traits   ( even though he already possessed them )   but he would like to have the wings i think

peter   .   seal   .   listen  ,  seals are great  ,  they get to chill most of their day  &  sometimes brutally murder some fish for dinner  .  i love seals  .  peter loves seals  .  let him be happy  &  lonely on his ice floe  ,  please

mordecai   .   hare   .   have you seen hares  ?  they always look panicked  &  a little bit on drugs  ,  which is about what i expect from a gay man in the 1800s  .  also means he could flee any social interaction pretty damn quick  .  god  ,  now i want to be a hare

cecil   .   golden  retriever   .   they are both fluffy  &  filled with love  .  enough said  .  the world needs more golden retrievers in it

malik   .   peacock   .   beautiful  ,  nice to look at  ,  but ultimately probably rotten to the core  .  have you looked at peacocks  ?  if arrogance was a bird it would be a peacock  .  though malik would kill for a full set of tail feathers  .  he would be insufferable  .  prefers to float over actually flying  ,  tho

thana   .   owl   .   wise  ,  nocturnal  ,  predators even though they do not look like it  .  thana may be the kindest person you ever meet  ,  but at least the wisdom part kind of applies  .  she doesn’t eat meat  ,  though  ,  so there may be some complications regarding the diet

nathanael   .   rabbit   .   100 %  innocent  ,  deserves to be held  &  petted at all times  ,  will pee on your carpet if scared  .  please do not stress your local nathanael  ,  he has been through enough

xayun   .   fox   .   sly  &  smart  ,  but ultimately not dangerous as long as you treat them with the respect they deserve  .  also fluffy  (:  i like foxes  &  more people should represent them

nyala   .   cheetah   .   quick  &  deadly  &  graceful  .  nyala will have your throat faster than you can blink  &  she would love to be able to do that  .  also as a cheetah she would no longer be required to communicate  &  i genuinely love that for her

eleadora   .   wolf   .   edgy  ,  loner  ,  doesn’t understand what’s good for her  .  ela desperately needs to learn that hunting in a pack is more successful than hunting alone  ,  though  ,  so please give her more traits a wolf has

river   .   deer   .   very much like a stag  ,  but softer somehow  .  shy at first  ,  will be your best friend if you offer them food  (:   

rosalyn   .   house  cat   .   comforting presence  ,  everyone tells their secrets to their cats  ,  happy to just sleep eighteen hours a day  .  also rosie is the type to throw things off her desk out of spite  .  she feels bad  &  apologizes for it immediately  ,  so perhaps she could use some of the pride  &  elegance  &  arrogance every cat kinda has

florence   .   dove   .��  wants to get out of her cage but can’t  ,  very pretty to look at  ,  will tear your eyes out if she thinks you deserve it  .  florence is a fantastic dove  .  cinderella needs to sit down with her

felix   .   snake   .   but like in the biblical sense  .  fucking deceiving liar  ,  deserves to choke on the fucking apple  .  no  ,  i do not hate my own character why do you ask  ?  if only felix was actually venomous  ,  he is just stupid enough to poison himself

oskar   .   apparently  the  gregor  samsa  of  my  muse  list  .  need  i  say  more  ?  just let him lie in his room  &  slowly decompose  ,  he wants nothing more   ( somebody please help him )

[one-leaf-grimoire]

“triad”

Chapter 8: the septad

In this chapter you can find discussion of fate, the Tree of Qliphoth, and... a moth goddess?!

AO3 link

Dear Lyra,

I’m sorry for being so out of touch lately. To be fair, it wasn’t entirely my fault, since this recent incident basically halted all mail movement around the kingdom. However, I got your most recent letter today, and I’m so glad that you and the others are safe! And it seems the town suffered minimal damage, and you were able to take down the one attacker all together. 

Anyway… I’m sure you’ve heard the news by now. I would have invited you all to my coronation, but it was all over so fast, there was hardly time to plan a trip. Plus, the castle and capitol is still in shambles, so it wouldn’t have been fun. Don’t worry- I’m alright, with many friends and advisors by my side. I’ll have time to be sad once the situation has stabilized, whenever that will be.

Please write back soon. I miss you.

Love…

My pen pauses above the page before I sign my name.

Should I tell her… about the baby?

After a moment, I move again. My name appears, then is quickly concealed as I fold the letter up. 

“Are you almost done?” Marx pokes his head into my office, just in time to see me press my finger into a disc of wax and start to heat it up. “Oh, you are. You wanted to head out soon, right?”

“Right!” I watch the wax melt, then shake the excess off of my finger. “As soon as you send this off, I want to leave.” I grab one of the seals sitting on the desk, the official seal of the Wizard King, and press it into the wax. “Hopefully this won’t take long… they either have the information I need or they don’t.”

I stand up, holding the sealed letter out for him to take. Marx quickly receives it, waves his hand, and sends out a signal. Within seconds, a small portal appears at his side; belonging to one of our many postal mages downstairs. He throws the letter inside, and that’s that. “There we are. Now, where’s Adeline?”

“She’s delivering orders to the squads,” I tell him, motioning for him to follow me out of the office and down the hall. “She’ll be back soon, we’ll probably run into her on our way out.”

“Oh, good!” Marx smiles a little, his eyes narrowing. “You know, I’m sorry for being so hesitant about her… she ended up being very efficient and hard-working. Although, I can’t blame her-” He glances over at the back of my head. “She’s devoted to you entirely… as far as she’s concerned, you saved her life.”

“Well, that’s what a good leader should do, right? Find talent, in unexpected places, and bring it into the light.” 

That’s what Julius would have done, anyway.

Just as I predicted, we run into Adeline a few minutes later. She skids to a stop in front of us, out of breath from her previous chore, but a big smile appears on her face as she spots us. “Your majesty! And- Marx!” She quickly bows her head out of respect. “I’ve completed the task you gave me!”

“Please, no more your majesty! I like you enough that you can call me by my real name.” Adeline looks up in time to see me shoot her a little wink. “Thanks for doing that, now come on!”

Adeline quickly joins my side, and before long the three of us reach an open window. Marx immediately winces. “Oh no… you can’t possibly-”

“It’s the quickest way! Come on!” I grab his hand and hold the other out to Adeline. “Hold on tight, alright? It’ll just last a couple seconds.”

Her eyes widen, but she nods quickly and takes my arm. Without another moment passing, I turn back towards the window.

“Flame Creation Magic: Sun God’s Leap.”

Tiny wings burst to life around my elbows and ankles, fluttering delicately but with more power than ever before. This is my only flight spell, and when paired with my time acceleration, there’s no way to travel any faster. 

“Here we go!”

I push off the ground, and the three of us shoot off out of the window. Marx and Adeline both hold on tighter, Adeline letting out a little scream of surprise. Land and air courses past our bodies, faster and faster, the feeling so familiar. I can remember it… just like it was yesterday. The first time Julius showed me his power… I was going to be late coming back to the base, and he just swept me up and- in a moment, we were there.

Those simple days… what I wouldn’t give to have them back. When my biggest worry was whether or not Julius liked me back. 

Because… of course he did. It was so obvious, even back then… we were meant to be together.

A few seconds later, we crash down to earth, a little less elegantly than usual since I have two passengers. The moment I let go, Marx stumbles away, extremely dizzy, but Adeline keeps clutching at me, stunned and dazed by the experience. “W-W-Wow…” she stutters, blinking owilishly. “That was… really… cool…”

“Ah, thanks-” I cut myself off when I realize just how… close she is. Adeline is a good few inches taller than me, and having her pressed against me like this. “Ah- er- Adeline-” I feel my ears start to heat up. “Do you think you could-”

“OH! Sorry!” She lets go and steps back, seemingly back to normal. “Thanks for the ride… now…” She turns to look around. We’re standing outside a small town, a very humble town in the middle of nowhere. This place is close to the border with the Heart Kingdom, the land fertile and rich with natural mana. This is where the remnants of the Simulcian race live… where my family lives. “This is the place?”

“It sure is.” I suck in a breath, a little worried about what was to come. “Now.. don’t be frightened by them. They’re going to be nosy, and they don’t really understand personal space,” I explain as we start to walk. “They’re all brothers and sisters, making them my aunts and uncles.”

“Right… and, what exactly do we need from them again?” Adeline asks.

“They could have information about the Devils- don’t you remember that big lecture I gave you about it yesterday?”

Adeline laughs nervously. “Oh, right… ah, to be honest, there was so much information, and I’m sure I forgot some of it-”

“Nevermind, I’ll tell you later.” She’s honest though, at least…. I sigh heavily.  About most things. I can’t help but remember our first meeting, that look of surprise on her face, and those words-

“Your eyes…”

Well, if she was off-put by these eyes of mine, then she’s got a big shock coming…

“OH! LOOK! IT’s OUR NIECE!”

And… here they are.

A small crowd of people run up to us as we reach the town. All of them look a bit like me, with slightly varying shades of hair. However, all of them seem to be about my age, and all of them have the same, empty black irises. When they were united into Septads, those eyes glowed an eerie blueish white. “Hey guys… long time no see?”

A few pairs of hands immediately grab my arms, just like I anticipated, and start to drag me away, all chatting all at once.

“A visit from our Wizard King!”

“The first Foreign Wizard King!”

“This is a great victory for the Simulcians!”

“The first non-human Wizard King!”

“We’ll have to build a statue of you next!”

Luckily, they ignore Adeline and Marx, who jog behind us. Adeline looks a bit worried about me, but Marx is used to this by now. “Hmm? Statue?” I repeat, still trying to get used to this newfound hospitality. 

“Oh, right! Come look at our most recent project!” one of my uncles says excitedly. “We had to put it on hold after the attack, but it still looks great so far!”

Huh? I wonder what it might be-

We turn the corner to enter the “town square,” and the hands finally release me. “Don’t run off like that!” Marx scolds, hurrying up to my side with Adeline. What? It’s not like I had a choice! I almost respond, but Adeline catches my attention when her eyes widen. “W-what is that supposed to be?”

Hmm? I turn to follow her gaze, finally spotting the unfinished statue in the middle of the square. It’s made of wood, part of it painted dark blue, but it looks like it’s been on hold for a long time. I recognized the figure immediately. “Oh… this is your deity, isn’t it?”

“Yep!” an aunt answers in unison with a few others. “Aren’t they beautiful! Simulcia, in all her glory…”

The populace of the Clover Kingdom tends to believe in God. Churches and convents are located in almost every town, and most people worship in their own homes. My mother made me and my cousins go to church every week, but I never really absorbed any of it. Maybe I was trying to emulate my father, who never joined us for worship. Little did I know, even he must have had some underlying allegiance to… her. 

If the concept of God is ridiculous to me, then it’s even harder for me to believe in Simulcia. According to my family, she was a giant woman who took the form of a moth. Parts of that are evident on the statue; her inhuman face, her tall, feathered antennae. She had wings, too, but they haven’t gotten around to carving those yet. Her two giant eyes are painted black. The finishing touches are her marks, seven of them, carved into her palms, her knees, her stomach, her heart, and finally, her forehead. Apparently she broke into seven parts upon her death, and is the “mother” of all Simulcians. I’m not exactly sure how accurate all this is…

“A… a pagan god?!” I look over to see Adeline staring at the statue again, looking very distrubed. “You didn’t tell me they were pagans!”

“Pagan?” I repeat, for some reason finding this kind of funny. “Adeline, it’s fine… they’ve been worshipping that goddess longer than the Kingdom worshipped their God.”

“I know… but-” Adeline finally looks over at me. “Their?”

“Ah, You know, I don’t believe in God or that thing- I mean, Simulcia. So what does that make me?”

Adeline opens her mouth to answer, but she can’t. She’s probably lived a very sheltered life... I chuckle before turning to my family once again. “Well, if it isn’t too much trouble, may we stay for lunch.”

“Of course!!! We’ve got plenty of potatoes!”

“Oh… great!”

The Simulcian Colony works day in and day out, using all their mana to produce nutritious crops… mainly potatoes. The crops get sent out to poor areas, so the operation is going full throttle now more than any other time. The potatoes are good, I can’t deny it, but they taste earthy, almost tangy. But they’re moist and rich in mana, so I don’t complain when it’s the only thing I’m served at lunch. The whole town is extremely communal, so everyone is gathered here to eat. There’s about 40 of them living here, all chatting together in small circles as I sit down with Adeline and Marx to eat.

“With respect, we didn’t come here to socialize-” Marx reminds me, glancing around, clearly a little uncomfortable.

“I know, I know, I’m going to ask right now,” I whisper, turning to smile at some of my aunts as they suddenly come and sit down near us. “Hi! So, about this visit-”

“Is this about the Curse in the Heart Kingdom?” one of them cuts me off, already chewing a mouthful of food.

I blink, a little stunned by the quick response. “Kind of… wait, how do you even know about that?”

The aunts share a little look, holding back a chuckle. “You didn’t feel it? My, your human genes are really strong, aren’t they?”

Huh? I repress a frown, a familiar sense of unease permeating my heart. Marx gulps quietly, and Adeline stares at me like I’ve grown another head. They had to bring it up now, didn’t they? Ah- I clear my throat. “So, Simulcians can sense Devil Curses?”

They all nod in unison. “Yes! We just know it’s there, not anything else though.”

“Oh, well…”

I quickly explain the situation to them: the Attack in six months, the Devil Megicula’s link to the Heart Kingdom, and Zagred’s reaction to me. “Hmm… a link between SImulcians and Devils…?” One of my aunts taps her chin as she thinks, her eyes not betraying her inner thoughts. “Well… we wouldn’t know anything about that off the tops of our heads. That would be ancient knowledge… because the last time we would have contacted Devils is during the last opening of the Tree.”

The phrase catches my attention. “Tree? What Tree?”

“The Tree! The Tree of Qliphoth!” Even the name sends an unpleasant shiver down my back. “It was millenia ago… but the channel between this world and the underworld was opened, and Devils reigned destruction upon the Earth!” My other aunts nod along in unison. “However, I don’t think our history went back that far… we didn’t move to our island until after… huh…” Her brow furrows in concentration as I stare in shock, not sure what to make of this new information. The Tree of Qliphoth… that sounds bad. How come I’ve never heard of it before? If Devils really reigned destruction upon the world, that should be big news… unless it was so long ago that it was erased from written memory… and yet…

“So…” I catch the attention of my aunts once I speak again. “You knew that… you’re able to subconsciously delve into Simulcian history, right?” I smile a little, feeling hopeful. “If you remembered something about the Tree, then Simulcians must have been around during its opening, right?”

To my surprise, they shake their heads. “Not necessarily… I thought you would understand by now.” My aunt motions out the door, towards the time square. “Our power comes from our shared consciousness… her consciousness. She broke herself apart, but she still exists in us. In you.” She reaches out and grabs my shoulder. “Your Dyad… a Dyad concentrates the entire consciousness into two people. She was a goddess of fate, and her power concentrated fate into you and Julius…” Her voice trails off as she feels me tense up at the mention of that name. “I’m sorry-”

“No, no, it’s fine!” I shake my head and give her a smile. “Tell me more… do you think I could tap into that history?”

“Maybe…” Her eyes light up. “Maybe, if you get into a Septad, you can uncover the information you seek!”

Uh oh- The last time I entered a Septad, it didn’t end well… You probably remember. Well, if it’s the easiest way to get information…

“Fine, I’ll do it.”

I feel someone tug on my sleeve, and I look down to see Adeline looking up at me with concern. “Um… I don’t really understand what any of you are talking about, but… uh… is this… safe?”

… oh, Adeline… I don’t have any idea.

“Yeah, sure!” I give her a thumbs up. “I’ve done it before, don’t worry!”

Well, that’s not a lie.

Adeline’s worry melts into a smile. A very… cute smile.

She was worried about me…

“Good! I’m sure you’ll be fine!”

My aunts take my hand and drag me away. The rest of them have already stood up, clearing an area in the middle of the room. Six women already stand there, as if they knew what we meant to do. I recognize them immediately- they’re the six Simulcians that I was forced to synchronize with, to form a Septad. Just seeing them, and being close to them… I feel a spark of mana in my forehead, as if it yearned to be together with someone again… anyone. 

“...hi…” I laugh awkwardly as I shed my cloak and pull out my Grimoire. “Can I do it? So I can break it when we’re done.” I don’t expect to get trapped again, but I’m not taking any chances.

The six of them nod all at once, giving me identical smiles. These six were together for years, and now they operate like they’re all one unit. “Ok… let’s go then.”

My Grimoire floats up, and I utter the spell.

“Dyad magic… Septad Creation!”

All at once, our marks start to glow, and I feel the mana start to cycle around. Faster and faster, so fast that it seems to inhabit us all at once. It’s not nearly as powerful as a Dyad, but I still have to plant my feet into the ground and will my hands to keep from shaking. The other's eyes start to glow a whitish-blue, the same light overtaking my own vision. The room melts away, and then-

Darkness.

This place… is really the mind of an ancient goddess? I don’t get it… so she really did exist?

...are you here?

There’s not even a whisper of a soul left. Just an empty mind, pinned here against the tides of time and space, entrusted to a doomed race of people.

But… are there memories here?

The earth quakes, and I feel the bond start to slip.

What?! Already! I’m not that weak, I should be able to last longer than this!

FInally, the tremor stops. 

Good… now… someone…

Show me a Devil.

I’m not sure what I expected to see, but a scene finally fades in. I look around, spotting the setting sun over the mountains to the west. There’s buildings close by, familiar buildings.

This is… Raque?

But, there aren’t any devils here! This is modern day… I need something farther back in time! So-

I’m cut off as I hear a familiar voice.

“Look at it… the sea… it’s so beautiful.”

I turn towards the source, and spot two people sitting in the sand, staring out at the dark waves. The blackness of the water, so deep and mysterious, so cold… just like their identical black eyes.

This is… this…

It’s the Dyad. My grandparents. They sit here, hand in hand, staring at the sea.

What is this… are they supposed to be the Devils? Or is this something completely unrelated-

“Oh! Look!”

My grandmother’s gaze is caught by something to her right. She points, and both my and grandpa look.

“I see…”

A moth flits towards them, riding the sea breeze with delicate grace.

“That’s it then… it’s her.”

A moth… 

Simulcia?

The moth continues its slow approach.

“So… that’s it, then.”

My grandpa’s words echo in my ears. The scene melts away once again.

“Our fate.”

The void begins to shake once again. I try and reach out to the others as they tremble away from me, farther and farther, stretching our link so far it might snap.

Wait! What’s wrong? Why is this hurting you?

I can’t reach them. They disappear, and a blinding light shoots through my body.

I don’t understand… what was that supposed to mean?

I blink, and I’m back in the room with everyone. I almost fall over once my consciousness is restored, but Marx and Adeline catch me. “Oh god! Are you alright?”

“Huh? Yeah!” I nod vaguely in response to Adeline’s question. “I don’t get it though, I…”

My voice trails off as I spot the other six women. 

All of them have fallen to the ground, crumpled into little heaps. And each one of them holds their face in their hands, tears and sobs flowing freely.

I watch in silence, my mind reeling from this sudden turn of events.

Wait… so… the reason the bond was broken was because they were being hurt… not me? But why? 

One of them lets out a shriek, and inhuman, emotionless scream.

Why… w-why…

I know what they saw within me. They saw the void: a deep, insurmountable gap, one that I’m slowly but surely sinking into. A darkness deeper than any on this earth, a cold more piercing than a thousand knives. 

But… I don’t see it.

As long as I keep my sight fixed on the light above… as long as I keep moving forward… I will drag myself out.

So… for now… I won’t look down.

It takes a while for things to settle down, so we just sit awkwardly until the others stop crying and return to normal. “I’m sorry… we ruined that bond,” one of them says, glancing over at me. “I don’t even remember what was so sad… but all at once, I felt like I couldn’t breathe at all.”

“Oh… I-I’m sorry… I don’t know what that was either.” I smile awkwardly and glance at Marx, who still is staring at the ground with a pained expression on his face. Adeline still looks confused. “Well… I guess we shouldn’t try again?”

“I mean, we probably can.” Another one sits up to look at me. “But… we could all feel it; the storm of emotions inside you. You need to learn to quell that storm, to travel to its eye… only within that calm will we be able to fully sink into our consciousnesses.”

I feel a pang of anger. “Quell my storm? I don’t know about that, I think I’ve been handling everything pretty well, considering the circumstances, right Marx?”

There’s no answer. “Marx?” I look over to see him looking like he’s a deer in the headlights. FInally, he shrugs. Great… “ANYWAY- how am I supposed to do that any more than I already am?”

“Meditation!” one of my uncles pipes up. “If you do a little every day, you should be able to clear your subconscious before entering the Septad.”

“Ooh! I meditate all the time!” I look over as Adeline of all people speaks up. “I can teach you, I know I can!”

For some reason, that idea makes me a bit nervous. “Oh…. okay. Well-” I cross my arms and scowl. “I don’t know if it’ll be any help. It kept showing me a scene from just a few years ago, I need something from back when the Tree of Qliphoth was being opened!”

A few of the Simulcians exchange glances before looking at me again. “That might be impossible… you see, no matter how hard we try, it’s still her mind. She only shows us memories she deems important to us.”

“Important to us?! WHy- AH!” My bottled up frustration suddenly bursts out, for just a moment. I ball up my fists under my robe as I keep talking. “I don’t know whether to believe any of this shit anyway… I mean, it all sounds good, but really? A moth goddess is telling me that my grandparents’s little love scene is more important than the DEVILS?!”

My uncle shrugs. “I don’t make the rules… but the sooner you go back, with a clear mind, the sooner it will all be answered.”

I feel a hand on my arm, and once again it’s Adeline, giving me a calming smile. “I got this, okay? When I’m done with you, you’ll be able to do this with no problem!”

…

“You can do this! I know you can. You’re the strongest person I know, after all!”

For some reason, her words do the impossible. I feel a strange… peace within me. For a brief moment, the void ceases to scare me.

“...ok. I’ll do it.” 

I let out a deep sigh before looking back at my family. “Thank you… we’ll be back soon, is that okay?”

“Of course!” They all answer at once, a little enthusiastic. “We can’t wait to see you again!”

“Good!” I manage to smile. “Marx, Adeline… lets go.”

We leave soon after, but those brief moments within the Septad still stick with me. One sentence in particular circles my mind, the soothing, accepting tones of my grandmother’s voice springing up more and more questions in its wake.

“That’s it then… our fate.”

Next time! Chapter 9: the long night. Adeline begins her crash course in meditation, but derails it when she starts talking about the stars. Maybe... maybe there IS something special about her. :)

[starfaring-princelotor]

First Sight

Summary: It has been a year since Emperor Lotor’s disappearance. The Medic has been trying to survive.

★ Disclaimer: I do not ship Lotura and I respectfully ask that this story to not be tagged as Lotura. This is a Lotor x Reader/Self-Insert OC story which is in no way related to Allura at all. Please be respectful of my chosen pairing. ★

Warnings: Blood, light gore, mentions of death.

A/N: Wow, in this blessed year of 2019, I still hate S8 with a burning passion.

Also, a special thank you to @legendofcarl and @fairy-cat-mother for beta reading this long chapter!

Touch Series: Part One___Part Two___Part Three___Part Four___Part Five

Taste Series: Part One___Part Two___Part Three___Part Four___Part Five

Sight Series: Part One ___Part Two___Part Three___Part Four

“Captain Shirogane. Whittaker didn’t make it.”

Another soul lost, another day of war continued. The captain’s back was towards you, but his face was watching the sun rise over the silent, desolate hills. He has been standing guard for most of the night and you took note of this one important detail. Even a captain needed rest, even a doctor needed to put the scalpel down once in a while. Shiro sighed heavily then turned towards you, his expression stoic like a hardened soldier but eyes...his eyes told you everything.

“You stayed with him?” he asked, avoiding the red dotting your coat.

“Until his last breath.”

“They don’t teach you about that in training.”

“No, sir. No, they...they do not,” you crossed your arms, “I don’t think that it is possible to teach something like this, Captain.”

A pregnant pause, a few seconds of Shiro’s gaze studying the restless sunken sockets on your face.

“Takashi. I told you to call me Takashi. We’re well acquainted enough by now. It’s been what? A year since I pulled you out of that ditch?”

“A year and 3 days, exactly,” you cautioned a step closer, heart hurting and hands dirtied with blood, “We make it out of here alive and I’ll start listening to you, friend.”

As a friend. As a comrade. As a pair of fractured misfits trying to cozy up in society again like the war overseas didn’t already kill their souls. We can’t leave this behind us, no matter how many bullets we take. We can’t die, but we can’t live like nothing happened. We can’t be doctor and captain, yet we can’t remember who we really were before all of this. The idea that we made it would be enough for us. It would be enough.

There was a red dot between his brows.

BANG!

BANG!

Jolting from your sleep never felt so real before. You swore, you were back in the barracks with your nerves and hackles raised in defense at...nothing. It was just a dream. A memory, a time that you would have preferred rather than now. Another loud bang made you clutch the scratchy blanket tighter to your chest, moth eaten and too thin to really keep you warm in the cold cell.

The lights flicked on, revealing you and the rest of the prisoners huddled together. Mere foot soldiers to flight fighters to ion cannon engineers from Lotor’s ship. Hostages to Haggar’s will and interrogation. Zarkon’s witch. No, you recall that those who were summoned never once returned. It didn’t take a genius to figure out what happened to them.

“You.” Sendak’s voice alone had you cringing from the sheer resolution behind it, “Your trial has come.”

You narrowed your eyes at him like a mouse trapped in a corner with other scared, meek beings. And they were right to be afraid. By all technicality, you and the Galra under his ward were the last to see Emperor Lotor alive. You specifically saw him leave and you knew this very fact would be held against your case.

When you made no movement, only to delay the inevitable, he approached you with a condescending look, “Come of your own free will or High Priestess Haggar will come here instead.”

He really didn’t like humans. Small, frail, weak. Emotional. And that bite mark on your neck signifying more than you were aware of? Sendak almost sneered at you. Almost.

You stood up and allowed yourself to be cuffed without a fuss. No word, no flinch, not even bothering to meet his challenging gaze. Your eyes were on the ground, trying to calculate how you could use your words and turn the evidence to be on your side. The side that won’t end up with your corpse launched into the vacuum of deep space. Each step down the hall felt as if you were walking to your own death.

The door opened, but this was no court. That was a medical table, those were physical restraints hanging down from the ceiling, and there, standing under the halo of light, was Haggar. This was the first time you saw her.

“State your name.”

You gave it with a bitter taste on your tongue.

“You are hereby being charged with the complicit assassination of the Emperor of the Galra Empire - Emperor Lotor,” she announced, voice throaty yet evident of her power, “We have recorded evidence that you willingly allowed Emperor Lotor to return to the hands of Voltron alongside with his generals. How do you plead?”

How do you plead? What a loaded question. They already had solid evidence against you. Now they just wanted to hear you say it. Hear you say you were guilty. You let him go. In doing so, you unwittingly forfeited your own safety to the fates of Galra Court. Or rather, whoever was next in charge. Whoever was left after the Empire became fractured in civil war.

You trusted Lotor to return. It has been nearly a year. The odds were stacked against him, against you, that either would be staying alive for long.

“Guilty. I plead guilty.”

Honerva narrowed her eyes into thin slits, critically studying your surrendering form. You gave in without her taking what she needed from your mind. You were compliant, too compliant, and yet this fact alone showed her one thing: you were smart. You knew how their system worked and you knew what unfortunate side you were on. Now, only one thing remained.

The crime must fit the punishment. Victory or death, right?

“You are hereby sentenced to a lifetime in prison without parole.” Haggar glanced at Sendak, “Take the inmate away.”

“I know where Lotor is.”

Lie. She knew it was a lie, indicative by the way the corner of her lips dipped lower in a barely contained snarl. Prisoners would say anything to change the outcome of their fate, and Honerva was not one for mercy - not where her rightful son was concerned And yet, those five little words were the perfect ones to make her raise a hand, halting Commander Sendak.

“I know where the Emperor is.”

The thin paper in your hand felt heavier than anything you’ve ever carried before in your life. Your eyes skimmed over familiar writing - your father's words etched out in dark ink, but not nearly as dark as the shadows growing in the corner of your mind.  Prisoners were becoming soldiers. Ultimatums were set and no matter how much you begged your father to change his mind, begged for him to understand that he was being used, he still made the worst possible choice.

It’s funny, now that you think about it. He once told you that he wanted to be a soldier when he was younger. To make sure there was a future for children, for you. Now, he got his wish. But it shouldn’t be like this, never like this.

The tears blurred your sight before you were able to take a hold of yourself. And how could you? Your father, the only family who saw you as a person instead of a physical investment for others, was walking onto the battlefield as live bait. Helpless couldn’t even begin to describe the fateful situation thrust upon your shoulders and a fleeting thought that karma was out to get you passed through your mind. This was wrong. This was wrong and everyone knew it.

Your grip on the paper crinkled it, nearly tearing it where your fingers dug in. Sobbing, you were sobbing so much, chest constricting as the thoughts of being powerless attacked your mind. It’s a system. There’s a system, maybe you could talk to someone, talk to the higher ups about switching camps? Just don’t panic. Your father will be fine, you can save him still. Maybe there was still time to -

“Doc?”

It was Shiro.

“Doc!”

The sight of you crying, choking on your own tears and leaning on the the wall for support, instantly alerted your captain. He has seen you post breakdown, eyes red-rimmed and composure regained like nothing had happened. But this? This was worse. It was worse seeing you crumble to the ground with teeth gritting, lip quivering, and streaks of painful tears dripping down your face. The stuttering breaths, the whimpering, the breaking. It. Was. Much. Worse.

Shiro rushed to you, arms pulling you in to his chest, “Talk to me.”

You couldn’t.

“Please, say something.”

You didn’t.

“We can get through this.”

You can’t.

All you could do was weep for what was to come.

“I worked alongside Emperor Lotor as his private medical officer for the last four years. From his time as a prisoner in Voltron’s hold up until his disappearance, every injury and sickness I assessed are logged in the medical database at the Galra Headquarters.”

“Do you know where he is?”

“I know where he was going.”

Honerva was never one to be impatient. She was calculating, much more than Zarkon ever was. It was how she survived this long, through being poisoned by quintessence, mourning her husband’s death, and withstanding the Empire’s eternal disgust with her. But she also knew when the floor was shrinking around her and soon, her conniving ways would end up with her dead.

She needed allies to find her son and right now? You were as good as any. The witch can torture the information out of you to get what she needed, but logically that wasn’t the most efficient choice. Space was huge, there was a gamble that the your words would lead to a firm dead end, but Honerva was on borrowed time to search for her only child. Limited on necessary resources. Those under her command were spread thin.

“Emperor Lotor managed to pierce the Rift. He succeeded in starting to supply the Empire and the rest of the universe with unlimited quintessence, but there were...complications.” You took a deep breath, “I am already sentenced to a lifetime in prison, but I guarantee you, I’m more useful alive than dying in a cell wall.”

Yes, this seemed almost too perfect to Honerva, but the more the doctor spoke, the more this plan made sense. If - when they find her son, he would no doubt be in critical condition after all this time. Even if he wasn’t, having a medical team attend to him immediately would ensure his survival. Time was wasting, she couldn't assign another druid to read the entirety of Lotor’s medical history when there was someone who already knew it standing right in front of her.

“You will be under Commander Mar’s ward and accompany him on his search for Emperor Lotor,” she approached you then, closer for intimidation, “You are to report any and all information you gain during your mission directly to me. Emperor Lotor must be found.”

Yes, his Empire needed him. The universe needed him to continue working for an era of peace and prosperity. Right now, with the warlords loose and slavery still persisting, you knew all of this would eventually end up in total and complete destruction. You were not excluded from such a fate. Even though you had options, you could run, you could hide, you could corner yourself, but how long until you perish by conflict or by choice?

That is how you found yourself here, standing on the bridge besides Commander Mar. He accepted his mission with honor, accepted your partnership, however temporary it may be. The Commander was no fool, none of the higher-ups were. While some sought power for themselves, the Galra understood power was not only for security, but for survival as well.

He turned to face you, that sullen, empty look reminding him of a tired soldier who fought too long, “Doctor, do we have a heading?”

You stayed silent for a moment before raising your sunken eyes to focus on his scarred expression,   “To the remnants of Daibazaal, Commander Mar. The trans-reality gate is there and that is the last place Voltron was located. That is where Emperor Lotor traveled to.”

He nodded to his subordinate who punched in the coordinates. A few jumps through hyperspace and they would arrive in less than two weeks. Two weeks for you to prepare either the worst or the best outcome. Two weeks for you to plan an escape and flee for your own good. Two weeks…

Before he turned to leave, you asked, “Commander Mar, can I speak to you in private?”

The taller Galra grunted, granting your wish, then led you into the hallway just outside the command center, “What is it, Doctor? You have time to gather supplies we have on the ship, if needed.”

“I appreciate the generosity, Commander. But…” you crossed your arms, “If I may ask, why did you accept this mission?”

“You question my loyalty to the Empire?”

“No, no, not at all. I...apologize for my disrespect.” You glanced to the floor, debating in that mind of yours, “I am not blind. I’m aware of the fractured state the Empire has been in since Lotor’s crowning at the Kral Zera.”

“A human knows of the Kral Zera?”

“While he was working alongside Voltron, yes, Lotor informed me of the Kral Zera.”

His eyes narrowed to slits, “And your team was the one who killed Emperor Zarkon.”

“Yes. Yes, we did. My captain and I gave Lotor the tools needed to take down Zarkon.”

You expected disgust, even fury or an attack, yet all you received was a calculating look from Commander Mar. He had his own thoughts about Voltron working with the Empire and how it was run. At the same time, he had his own grievances when it came to working under Zarkon, as well.

“Voltron has been a smear on the Empire. Now that they have killed not one, but two Emperors, I swear to never align with them again,” there was a certain conviction in his voice, one that held truth with hidden malice, “I am loyal to the Empire and the Empire alone. That is why I took this mission because Lotor is the Emperor. Retrieving his body will bring closure to those in charge and we may finally proceed with another Kral Zera ceremony.”

“And if there is no body? How long will the Empire stand on it’s own two feet? How long until he is officially announced deceased?”

“Five years.”

The Empire did not have five years to last. No leader, no one taking charge until either five years pass or a dead body arrives. The system can only hold as long as the council would allow it, but even that was in shambles. Options were becoming more and more limited. Even after five years, if Lotor comes back, there won't be an Empire for him to run.

“Why did the witch let you live?”

No more. No more standing aside. Lotor made you choose.

“Because I am loyal to the Emperor. And right now, his return means more than just ensuring the future of the Galra Empire. His return ensures the end of war.”

You were tired. Exhausted, like the life was drained out of every pore of your body. You didn’t want to do this anymore. Now, you wonder what drove you to do it in the first place. Be a medic for war. Be a healer. Battle death on a daily basis. Was it for money? For financial security? Or just to prove you were good? Save those who couldn't save themselves? Either way, you couldn’t handle it anymore. Not now. Not for a while or never, if you decide to put the white coat back on again.

“Where will you go?”

Zipping your backpack shut, you placed both hands flat on top of the table. It was the only support you had from collapsing into another painful cry, mourning for the death of your father. No headstone. No body. Hard to find a body when a bomb is dropped. Your eyes drifted up to see Shiro, your captain, your friend, the one who held you so the dark promise of grief didn't get a chance to consume you whole.

“I don’t know.”

“Will you be back?”

“I was discharged. I'm not coming back,” you spoke, emphasizing your dismissal.

“The war is over. Treaties were signed, now we’re just working on bringing soldiers back to their home. Are you sure - “

“Find another medic.”

He paused.

“Find another medic. I’m not doing this - ” your weary voice, once strong and dignified, now whispered, “I can’t do this.

Shiro’s silence spoke volumes, but nothing meant more to you than when he approached you with a soft, understanding gaze. He picked up your bag, the weight more unbearable than he could imagine, before gently handing it to you. And you took it. You took this burden, but he never wanted you to feel like you had to deal with it alone.

“I understand,” he pulled you in for a hug, “Take care of yourself out there. And if you need anything…”

You returned the hug, needing this more than you realized, “I’m sorry, Takashi.”

“Don’t apologize. Never apologize for anything, least of all this. Take your time. You deserve that much.”

You needed time to heal. And before you left through the tent, you turned to look back at  your dearest friend once more.

“Come find me after you’re back.”

“Cease fire! Cease fire! I surrender!”

You huddled behind your shield, barely large enough to defend yourself. Commander Mar was dead, as was most of his crew, and standing across from the battlefield were three people you didn't expect to see again. Three people who left with the Emperor on that fateful day months ago. All of them were equally wounded, exhausted, and still raging with the fiery spirit of battle.

“Zethrid!” Ezor’s pained scream echoed the hangar, gaining her ally’s full attention.

Immediately, the behemoth Galra rushed to her aid, hands out and unsure exactly how to help her friend. There was blood profusely gushing from Ezor’s thigh, entire leg now missing due to the recent battle. Axes were weapons not to be underestimated, a lesson she will ingrain in her mind well if she survived after this. Zethrid snarled as her thoughts became conflicted with worry, with hatred, with the burning will to seek revenge.

“Kill them! Kill them all!” she ordered Acxa, “Do it, now!”

Acxa’s options were limited, too. They always were in the heat of battle. Yes, the three of them managed to take down Commander Mar and his warriors, sans you. She was smart. She knew to leave the medic the last one standing because medics had moral obligations to their crew. You were no Galra doctor, you were human. Humans were susceptible to being compassionate.

“What are you waiting for? We have to get Ezor out of here!”

Take the fleet, hide in the deepest part of the galaxy, find someone who could aid Ezor, but...but she may not have the time. She may not survive. In her critical condition, none of them knew how to properly handle decapitated limbs, and the chances of living after such a fatal blow was already haunting the general. Acxa saw your gaze flicker to their wounded companion then back to her own steely glare.

“I can help her.”

Acxa gripped her gun tighter, barrel pointing directly at you as she pressed the lightest of pressure on the trigger.

“I can save her. You kill me now, she dies. It takes nearly three days to find the nearest planet. She doesn’t even have 30 minutes to live.”

Desperation. Acxa hated feeling desperate. All of them did. Hated leaving the fate of others in the hands of unknown, hated feeling powerless in the face of danger when their friends were concerned. Hated trusting Lotor to protect them and guide them like a good leader. You were on Lotor’s side, but he wasn’t here.

Acxa lowered her gun, signalling her consent for your aid, then you rushed to Ezor’s side while pulling out a syringe. It had an ominous, black liquid in it. You would never consider using this on her, but she was going to die, and the Witigue drug has been proven to bring back those on the brink of death.

You tugged the rope to pull your dingy into port. The wooden pier was nearly desolate of life except the spare few locals. All who initially hesitated at the mere sight of you, but took you in regardless, granting you a place to live among their home. Clear blue waters with equally clear blue skies. It was paradise, the place your father was born, far away from the city life and all it’s deadly toxicity.

No, not really toxic. Just the politics. Just the corruption.

“A fisherman, huh? Never took you for a fishing type.”

At that voice, that one voice you knew so well, your head shot up to see those familiar mirthful grey eyes staring straight at you. And that smirk, that smile that told you everything will be okay, everything is okay. It was infectious, incredibly infectious. You felt your lips and your heart smile at the mere sight of Shiro. He was here, your friend, he was really here.

“Captain - “ “Takashi. Don’t think I forgot that promise.”

You jumped off your boat and stumbled in front of him. His eyes took in all of you, from your humidified hair to your toes fitted in flip-flops. You looked healthy enough if that small laugh after his comment was anything to go by. Not even a second passed before he embraced you in his comforting arms, your own winding around his midsection in a tight hold.

“Takashi! What in blue blazes are you doing here? How did you even - “ you shook your head then took a step back, grinning at him with honest joy splashed over your face, “It’s good to see you, my friend.”

“Thought I’d travel a bit, check in on you. I have to say, you picked a nice place to hide.”

You scoffed at the situational convenience of it all, knowing damn well he used some resource to seek you out. But he wasn’t wrong. This was a nice place to recover and, although you will never fully heal from the scars that the war left behind, you could say your body felt...better. Your mind, however, was a different thing altogether.

“It's a humble life, y’know. Fishing, selling, adapting to a new place. How about you? Where have you been living at now?”

“The Galaxy Garrison called me a year ago and I’ve been working on becoming a space explorer,” he saw the way your eyes lit up at that, “And sometimes I go to local schools to inspire young minds.”

“A space explorer, hm? What do you think you’ll find out there?”

“Honestly? I don't know. Guess I’ll find it when I go up there.”

You two chuckled at that, the familiar conversation refreshing you like time itself hadn’t even passed since the war. He was still Shiro, and you were still...you were still you. He had a good thing going for him and hearing the excitement in his voice when he spoke about it, well, it left you feeling elated for your friend.

“It really is good to see you again, Takashi. How long are you in town? No friend of mine is going to stay in a hotel when he can stay with me in my straw hut.”

Shiro would love nothing more than to stay and catch up on the recovering years. Share thoughts, share pains, share funny stories that happened while both of you were away from each other. But the twinge in his right hand, the tingling feeling in his fingertips, reminded him of the real reason why he was here.

“I’ll take you up on that hut for a few days. I’ve got to head back by the end of the week,” he explained before his expression slowly became solemn, “There’s...there’s something else, too.”

“Something else?” you asked, now your brows were knit in confusion, in wariness, “Something...good, I hope?”

Shiro sighed before pulling his right hand out of his pocket. At first, you saw nothing out of the ordinary. Then, a twitch, followed shortly by a few uneven shakes, like he was shivering. That was all you needed to see before your wide eyes shot up to stare at him dead in the face. He couldn't possibly -

“I knew you’d hate me if I never told you - ” Shiro took a deep breath, steeling his nerves, “ - I’m sick. It’s...incurable.”

You dabbed a cloth over Zethrid’s eye to stop the bleeding and, to your surprise, she didn't even flinch. Her gaze was stuck on Ezor, her stump bandaged and her breathing stable, but she couldn’t bring herself to find a smidgen of relief. Even with you tending to her wounds, there were internal pains that you could not heal. That was out of your skill range. To comfort a victim of survivor’s guilt.

You grabbed a different cloth and soaked it in a blue liquid, squeezing out the excess medicine, “Keep this over your eye. I can’t save your sight, but this will soothe it and prevent infection until you are fully healed.”

Zethrid obeyed. Still numb, still in shock that you had actually managed to save Ezor. Deciding to leave the room so they could have a moment of silence, you saw Acxa follow you into the hallway. The crew that were still alive were tossed into holding cells and the only people controlling the ship were the three women before you. Acxa watched the way you dried your hands on a towel before you stuffed it back into your pocket.

“Who sent you?” she asked, straightforward and still hesitant on why you were helping them.

You don’t blame her. You would be just as suspicious.

“Haggar. She has sent fleets out in search of Emperor Lotor. I can only assume she wants him back so she can have another puppet to control on the throne.”

And you were not going to let that happen, but there was a sign of confusion flickering behind Acxa’s eyes at your statement. A bit of disbelief, as well. Though, she understands that if she and her generals returned to Haggar, things will not end up well for them. They would be tortured for days on end, or worse, killed. Not a fate she would allow to fall on Ezor and Zethrid.

“Lotor is dead and so is Voltron. Both of them disappeared into the Rift and have not returned after all this time. There is no Emperor anymore.”

“That’s...impossible. Both of them?” you repeated just to make sure the reality of the situation wasn't a lie, “Are you sure? How could you be sure?”

Both of the universe’s defenders were gone? No...no, no, this was worse. This was going to end terribly, not just for you, but for everyone. A thousand scenarios flashed through your head, already thinking about what will happen now. Not just after five years, but the entire future that would be left in ruins.

“We were stranded for a year with no sight of them. They aren’t coming back,” her eyes focused intensely on you, “And I’m not risking our lives by returning to Haggar.”

Ah. The thinly veiled threat.

“We have to find both of them. If not them, then Lotor. Only he could restore the Empire - “

“It is over. Lotor swore to wipe out the entire Galra Empire. All three of us heard it with our own ears,” her expression hardened in betrayal, “Even if he did return by some small miracle, I would not ally with him again. You’re on the wrong side here.”

You ran a hand through your hair, “And what side are you on?”

“Whatever side protects my crew.”

And now, what side were you on?

Part of you argued that there was no happy ending if you returned to Haggar empty handed. Part of you argued that your continued search would be fruitless now that Acxa explained both Lotor and Voltron were finished. And another part...another part of you argued to find another way. Don’t run, there has to be another way, there’s always another way. And if not? You MAKE your own way.

“Acxa,” you interrupted her thoughts, “Do you know where the Alteans are?”

Her eyes narrowed in suspicion, “You still look to bring him back? He isn’t right for the Empire.”

“Do you or do you not know?”

Silence. After a scrutinizing minute, a single nod.

And that small bit of hope was enough for you to keep trying to find the rightful ruler of the Galra Empire.

“Take me there. Do this, then we can part ways and you’ll never have to see me again.”

Then, Acxa added, “And you never tell Lotor about our survival, if you find him.”

“There was an interesting kid I met today,” Shiro spoke after swallowing his spoonful of cafeteria food.

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. He stole my car.”

Shiro always had a weird sense of humor, but it was humor nonetheless. You slowly raised a brow at him, of course expecting him to expand a bit on his story now that he had you hooked. Maybe you should have joined him today, just to get a breath of fresh air and see some new, young faces.

“Well?”

“Hm?” he asked, knowing damn well what you were asking.

“Takashi, you wouldn’t even let me drive that thing. It’s your ‘baby’ and you let an actual baby steal it from underneath your nose?”

Now, he laughed out loud, “Listen, I’m impressed he didn’t crash and injure himself.”

“What’s the little thief’s name?”

“Keith. Keith Kogane,” another scoop of food, “If he joins, I’m going to be his guardian.”

A guardian, huh? Fitting, you suppose, for someone like him. Shiro seemed proud, encouraged even, and a little bit of his light shined on you. Even with his illness, he had more moments of happiness than impending doom. You respected that about him. Part of you wondered if you, too, would one day be rid of your own personal grief.

The Galra ship landed on the docking station, kicking up dust and debris from all around. Acxa’s code given to enter the base went through, but you knew that Lotor was one to have at least two means of security. You knew he wouldn’t put all his trust in one person. He always had a back up plan somewhere, somehow, and years of living as an exiled Prince no doubt ingrained that in him.

Three. There were three Alteans who approached you and Acxa when crossing to the entrance of the mountain. Each of them were equipped with a shield much like your own and a broadsword, one you recall Lotor training with long ago. Shields up, weapons prepared, it put Acxa on edge. It put you on edge, so much so that you summoned your own shield for protection.

“Who are you?”

“How did you find this place?” “Where is Lotor?”

You studied each of them, taking in their marks, their hair, their skin. Warriors, defenders. These were the protectors of the base. It...it was a true sight to behold. Lotor succeeded. He achieved in saving Alteans from extinction, something everyone doubted was even possible considering Zarkon’s wickedness. He saved a part of his history, his culture, when no one else could have. 

He succeeded where the Princess failed.

“We do not wish to fight,” you announced, hoping they obeyed the diplomacy first rule, “I - We need your help. Lotor needs your help.”

At Lotor’s name, they immediately lowered their guard as a grave expression fell upon their faces.

“You have news of Lotor’s disappearance?” one of the men asked as he stepped forward, “Where is our leader? Has...Has he been captured?”

The other two murmured under their breath, dreading the worst. Of course they knew about the Galra Empire. Of course they knew of Zarkon. Of course they knew of the exiled Prince. And of course they knew the danger he was in, they all were in. If their leader was caught, then they would do what they must to ensure his survival. They were not idiots sitting around with twiddling thumbs. 

They know damn well about the war.

Now, your lowered the shield completely, your own face grim at the news you were about to share, “Lotor is missing. I need your help finding him.”

“Captain, how do we know they are not spies? I’ve never seen that one with Lotor before,” the other soldier asked, hinting at Acxa.

“We are not spies. I am a medic that aided in healing Lotor and she is - “ you paused, unsure of the actual relationship between Acxa and Lotor, “She was part of his...crew. What can I do to prove it to you?”

The leader of the trio’s stare bore into your shield. The shape of it was the same and the stance you held was similar to their own. Their battle culture was once lost to time, generations of hiding and fleeing reduced their numbers, and the knowledge was wiped out. Lotor was the one who retaught it to them. Only Lotor knew about them.

“If you aren’t a spy, then you will need to prove it through combat.”

There was a soft knock at your door, followed by a “Hey, it’s me.”

“Me” being Shiro. Of course you let him in your room. It was impeccably clean and equally as bland save for one memento. A picture: old, wrinkled, the edges torn and frayed—showing how long it has stood against the test of time. It was you and Shiro in your old military outfits. Typical soldier uniform for him and a white medic coat for you. Dirtied cheeks and tired eyes, but both of you were smiling. Hopeful for the future.

“Ready for tomorrow’s launch?”

“Are you?”

“Waited all my life for this moment,” he sat on the edge of your bed, elbows on his knees and hands entwined with each other, “I wanted to thank you...again. For coming with us. For all this.”

“You know, the more I thought about it, the more I’m surprised I am even...here. It’s hard to believe, actually. I’m a pilot. I’m back to being a medic. I’m healing and I think...I think that’s what my father would’ve wanted for me in life.”

Shiro raised his eyebrows, surprised to hear you even mention your father after all these years of avoiding the topic. He was careful to talk about your deceased dad, even more so when your mother was involved. You never told him about her and he never pushed to know. To hear you open up, well, it...shocked him. He always hoped to be a good influence to you, a good partner, a good friend.

“I should be the one thanking you, Takashi.”

Oh, he was humbled. You gave him a honest smile, one full of fondness and appreciation. Grateful that he stuck around and helped you start walking again, step by step. Where would you be without him? Fishing, living a humble life, never returning to heal the wounded. Takashi showed you that there was something better out there for you. All you had to do was see it.

“What do you think will be up there?” you gazed out the window, night stars twinkling promises of a new future for you.

“I don’t know - ” Shiro’s eyes reflected the midnight sky, “but it’s going to be amazing.”

[nezzfiction]

ENMY Chapter 89 - Fourth Crusade (Part One)

Chapter Synopsis: The Kingdom of Vacuo is about to enter its most daunting challenge since its conception. Salem is launching the Fourth Crusade. A war to end some of Remnant’s greatest warriors, including Team ENMY. Assistance from Atlas is on its way, but will the Fleet arrive in time to make a difference?

Only one thing is certain. Whatever happens in Vacuo will echo the events to come for the rest of Remnant.

Series Synopsis: Team RWBY is disbanded, and Yang must find herself new allies. For her, that might very well be yesterday’s enemies. Joining up with the likes of Emerald, Mercury, and Neo, the four will comprise Team Enemy(ENMY).

Links to read the series: Ao3 or FF.net

Or hit the jump below

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Fourth Crusade (Part One)

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Well, I looked my demons in the eyes, laid bare my chest,

Said, “Do your best. Destroy me. You see, I’ve been to hell and back so many times, I must admit,

You kind of bore me.”

.

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“Have you finished relaying the situation?” Temujin asked.

“Ran your people the basic play by play,” Emerald answered. “Cuckoos gone, some of their loved ones gone, hordes of Grimm, plus, a giant freakin’ butterfly making a beeline for us.”

“Moth.”

“What?”

“It’s a moth.”

“Right. Behemoth. I get it.”

“Have you modified their emotions?”

“Tweaked them just a touch. They were as angry as you wanted them to be and ready to war without it.”

“That will do. Wake them. And connect my thoughts to theirs.”

“From sweet dreams to full-blown nightmare. This is gonna be a scene.”

As the mental connection secured, Temujin stepped onto the balcony of the Hanging Gardens. She sat on her small stool, and took her familiar horse-fiddle in her hands. As she touched the bow to the strings, her throat opened and she drew strength from her diaphragm.

Another tragedy to carve in these old bones one last time.

One last burden.

One last sin.

Temujin bore her soul bare to the untethered sun and the desert’s hot air.

Answer me, one last time.

My Kingdom of Blades.

A low, soulful song reverberated into the skies above Vacuo. Its volume began low, but slowly and surely, its melody became a crescendo that shook the heavens. The citizens roused to its sound. The voice of their Great Khan, the voice of their Kingdom. It called them to arms.

I failed you.

I deceived you.

I betrayed the Code I set for you all.

But will you answer me once more?

If this is our end, will we stand together?

How will we march into the darkness?

With fear?

Or will it be with Wrath in our hearts?

A single command coursed through the minds of her people. A pure emotion of most unmitigated rage. A sweltering draught that drowned away their sorrows.

All across the city, the citizens of Vacuo stirred. They stood tall with their chests out. Their weapons drawn and raised high.

“An Eye for an Eye.”

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X  X X  X  X

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Despite the conference room in Atlas HQ being something the size of a small theater, all its occupants were struck silent. None could watch the floating projection, and not be horrified by what was displayed.

Finally, a lone, timid voice spoke what they were all thinking.

“They’re doomed.”

The digital map zoomed out to show the Vacuo capital and its surrounding lands. Rounding to hit the city from the North and South were hosts of Grimm almost twice the city’s size A flood of red markers filled the edges of the map, but the more imminent threat was displayed by the monstrous Behemoth flying directly from the West.

Murmurs began flooding the room. Mutterings of disbelief and fear rose with a rising tide.

“How can that many Grimm be controlled?”

“If something like that attacked us, would the Aegis and Javelin System be enough?”

“We should order our Fleet back. Strengthen our defenses here.”

“It’s all over for them.”

A hand slammed loudly onto the table. Cinder’s furious gaze silenced the room and brought order to the staff.

“How far is the reinforcement Fleet?” she asked.

None made a move.

“How far are they?!”

They all jumped, and one officer rapidly tapped her tablet.

“Still a day’s flight, ma’am! Twenty hours estimated!”

“Is there any way to shorten the travel time for the remaining distance?”

“They could possibly cut down a few hours by traveling at maximum thrust. However, that would only be possible for a small portion of the Fleet.”

“…”

“It would be advised not to separate—”

“I know that!” Cinder shouted in exasperation.

“……Ma’am, I think we should consider withdrawing the reinforcements.”

The Black Queen offered no response to the suggestion. She remained quiet, studying the scales and balances in her head. There was a tough call to make in this. The future of Atlas, and more importantly Remnant’s, would hinge on the actions she took now.

We didn’t expect Salem’s resources to be so extensive.

Can Vacuo hold until the Fleet arrives?

Even with the little aces up our sleeves, the chances of victory are too low to entertain.

Initiating the fight with Salem backfired.

No, it would have been worse to wait. At least, the Cuckoos have been removed from the board.

Is the situation still salvageable?

…

The smart move would be to recall our forces.

By the time they arrive, Vacuo will likely be overrun to a point they cannot recover.

…

…

Team ENMY must be evacuated.

Cinder looked up to the officer-in-waiting.

“Sortie the light-traveling transport marked Swordfish ahead to retrieve—”

“Belay that order.”

Cinder turned in surprise to Weiss’ sudden interruption. Her surprise quickly transitioned to smoldering fury.

“What do you think you’re doing?”

“We aren’t sure Vacuo is lost yet,” Weiss answered.

“With all due respect, my fellow Queen, Vacuo can’t possibly hold out against that,” Cinder motioned to the projection. “Not until reinforcements arrive, and even then, the chances of victory are too small to consider.”

“We need to contact Team ENMY.”

“We will give them the order to evacuate—and they will follow it.”

“Cinder…”

“…What?”

The Black Queen squinted, as the White leaned closer to speak loud enough so only they could hear.

“You know, better than I, the things Team ENMY is capable of.”

“I do,” Cinder nodded. “They can perform the impossible given the right circumstances. With adequate preparation and strong mental grit, they can and will perform outside expectation. But what Salem has brought to the board is completely out of their depth.”

“I want to hear what they have to report first.”

“And we shall, but do not hold out hope.”

“At this point, hope might be all we have.”

Cinder went quiet for a moment.

“I detest the idea of abandoning our allies more than you would believe, and this miscalculation frustrates me to no end—but we cannot afford to be stubborn at this juncture. I thought you were smarter than this.”

“I doubt we can outsmart the Witch, if that’s what we’ve been trying to do.”

“…”

“She’s had decades to prepare and plan and manipulate the variables, Cinder. We can’t win that way.”

Weiss’ words rung deep with the Black Queen. It was a thought she fought hard to abate, but seeing the might Salem brought live on the projection, Cinder could only face the truth. If this was a chess game, it wasn’t fair to begin with. The Witch had too many pieces from the start and moved several times before her first turn came.  

It was enough to dishearten anyone.

But that was not what Cinder saw when she met her coregent’s eyes.

“…What are you thinking?” she couldn’t help but utter, almost disbelievingly.

“I’m not sure myself,” Weiss shook her head. “I think we have a choice, Cinder. It’s the choice you and I have been dreading without really knowing what it was.”

“…”

“I can feel it. We have to make a stand here. We have to.”

“…Is that your head speaking, or your heart, I wonder?”

“Both.”

“Very well, Weiss. We will delay ordering the retreat.”

Weiss blinked in surprise.

“Really?”

“As I said before, your counsels are always welcome. No matter how naïve or ludicrous they may be.”

“Hmph!”

Seeing her fellow Queen pout brought a slight smile, as well as lighten Cinder’s mood. She turned to the adjutant and gave the following order,

“Mobilize all the light transports. Few reinforcements sooner are better than none too late. Have the rest of the Fleet maintain course. Inform Trafalgar and Ironwood of the situation and our decision.”

“Ma’am, yes ma’am,” the officer saluted, and tapped at her tablet.

“And open a direct channel with Team ENMY in real time. Priority one.”

“Ma’am, it will take some time to construct a secure line.”

“It doesn’t need to be encrypted. I don’t care if Temujin eavesdrops on our conversation.”

“Yes, ma’am. Right away.”

Cinder breathed a quiet sigh and glanced at Weiss beside her.

“This is quite the gambit, my Queen.”

“You could have overruled me easily. You are, as you’re so fond of reminding me, director of all affairs military.”

“Indeed. But if I had to say…”

“I also think, a stand must be made.”

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X  X X  X  X

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The throne room of the Hanging Gardens was instantly converted into a war room. Various communication equipment had been rigged around the chamber to coordinate their armies.

Ilia was busy giving sortie orders to the city wall’s hangars and garages to mobilize airships and other modes of transport. Nai had left earlier to join the battalion heading North. Minerva was dividing her students between those transported to the safety bunkers and those who would join the battle in the South.

Meanwhile, Temujin, the Rakis siblings, and Team ENMY had their attentions concentrated on the bigger picture.

“You’re sending an awful lot of your people to cover the armies at the flanks,” Emerald commented.

“Yes,” Temujin answered simply.

“But Behemoth was going to hit the city first. You want to take the fight to the other fronts, outside the walls.”

“Yes.”

“We were supposed to be locking down siege defense after we got rid of the Cuckoos.”

“We were.”

A tense silence filled the atmosphere.

“……You’re abandoning the city?” she whispered low.

Temujin didn’t give Emerald an answer. She rechecked how Vacuo’s military was being divvied up. It appeared none of the staff officers noticed how none of their forces were being devoted to Behemoth. The only way that was possible was if…

Emerald felt the stares of the Rakis siblings on her. Mouse and Knives were the most senior commanders just below Temujin. Minerva and Nai weren’t around, hands full with their own tasks.

“You knew you would have to abandon the city?” Emerald asked, remembering the Precognition Semblance the siblings had. “This was a future you guys saw?”

Mouse and Knives nodded slightly.

“So, what?! We went through with Operation Gun Dog for nothing?”

“It served its purpose. We also believed it might cause a deviation in the future they saw,” Temujin explained. “But it seems our gamble did not pay off on that venture.”

“Great! Thanks for clueing us in this late in the game. We knew Salem’s army wasn’t fucking around, but the wonder siblings didn’t see that big ass, Mothra-fucker coming?”

“The Witch did well to hide it. If you studied the material on our Grimm, you know Behemoth was outside expectation.”  

“Yeah, it’s only in its adult form seven days out of the whole year. It also works on a strict timeclock, so you spawn-kill it as soon as it hatches out of its cocoon, far away from the any settlement.”

“There were measures to exterminate it months from now. In the worst case, we would have waited until it exhausted its lifespan.”

“Looks like there’s a new worst case now.”

“It is near impossible to defeat in fair, open ground. If the brunt of our forces were used to counter it, there would be nothing left when Salem’s main army arrived.”

“FUCK!”

Emerald continued to trade glares from Temujin to the large moth taking up the monitors. Poisonous powders spread beneath the Grimm’s shadow. Its toxins carried into the gusts of its wings. Once in a while, a few scales would drop from its body, unrolling into giant, armored caterpillars.  

In addition to its other absurd traits, the Grimm possessed one other ability.

“You guys see any new visions of the future?” Emerald asked.

“…Yes,” Mouse squeaked out an answer.

“Let me guess. If you kept all your people behind the walls, and concentrated your attacks on Behemoth, it would’ve suicide bombed the city.”

Upon the Grimm’s death, it shed all of its scales, which caused an unfathomable amount of carnage in the surrounding environment. It was another reason the Vacuo military tried to lessen the damage by disposing it elsewhere.

“Salem won’t waste time. She’ll have it belly flop the city anyway,” Emerald bit her thumbnail. “That’s what I’d do. It’s too slow to wipe a good percent of a moving army, but it can level a lot of your standing fortifications. Salem’s trying to weaken the siege defense for the later game.”

“We have come to similar conclusions.”

“Any chance we can bring it down before it gets inside the walls?” Emerald continued to press.

“My sister and I foresaw something else, which our scouts have since then confirm.”

Mouse touched a nearby monitor and enhanced the image on the screen. Zoomed onto the back of Behemoth was a small army of Grimm. The groups seemed to be crowding something at their center like a shield wall. When the image was further enhanced, Team ENMY saw what was there.

A few of the Grimm Clan Leaders were identified. Camlann, Azkaban, and Combine were commanding their brethren from afar, while riding Behemoth’s back. The combination of area effects between Azkaban and Combine alone were enough to deter any real resistance. Their abilities were much more potent than the average Cuckoo or Daemontor, and their effect radiuses even wider so.

“…Crap. Then, what’s the plan?” Yang spoke up. “You guys do have a plan, right?”

Temujin looked to her goddaughter strangely, and sighed.

“A course of action is in place. Behemoth will be allowed to detonate within the city. After its death, our armies will retreat back behind whatever is left of the fortifications and initiate siege defense as planned.”

Yang threw Temujin an accusatory look.

“But the other citizens…!”

“Some will survive.”

“More will die!!!”

“Our warriors will fight all the harder.”

“You can’t be serious!”

Just then, Yang felt the oxygen empty from her lungs. She coughed violently from Temujin’s sudden activation of her territorial Semblance.

“I am deadly serious, my foolish goddaughter. It is the only way my people will survive.”

“By offering some of them on a silver platter…!” Yang forced her voice through. “I didn’t know you had such an ego…! I didn’t know you were so cold…!”

“You have no idea.”

“You’d sacrifice anything to win! What makes you so different from Salem?!”

“…Not much I suppose.”

“Bullshit!!!” Yang turned, and stormed from the throne room. Her team followed after.

Once ENMY was gone, Temujin bade a forlorn gaze to Knives and Mouse. Both were positively fuming and biting the edges of their lips to keep silent.

Good job holding back, you two.

We can’t have them staying behind, if they knew the truth.

Yang is right, though.

I would sacrifice anything to win…

Even myself.

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X  X X  X  X

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As Yang stomped angrily out into the hall, her team caught up to her—right as she punched a hole through the nearby wall.

“Yang,” Emerald said with a hint of disappointment.

“I know what you’re going to say, Em.”

“Yeah, well. I’m going to say it anyway. Temujin’s making the right call.”

“I don’t know about ‘right’.”

“Either some die, or they all die together. Minus one is better than minus a hundred. The math isn’t hard to figure.”

“Or, we can make it’s minus zero.”

Yang stared at Emerald meaningfully, while the team leader narrowed her brow in return.

“Yang…”

“We can bring down Behemoth, Em.”

“Not after the gas we just spent on Operation Gun Dog. Not in time, anyway.”

“We can do it.”

Emerald held her head like she was massaging a migraine.

“Do I have to remind you how this is supposed to work? We frontload our hand on Operation Gun Dog. THEN, we rest a tic to recover what we spent. And only after, do we actually get in on the real fight with Salem’s army.”

“Except there’s no time to rest, because Behemoth is going to cannonball the city! We’re the only ones with enough firepower and mobility to stop it!”

“Alright. So tell me, what happens when we burn ourselves down to the felt taking down Behemoth—which is a little more than an impossible ask, by the way? You think Salem’s gonna pass up the chance to ghost us while we’re catching breaths in-between suicide missions? We know a certain somebody won’t.”

“We have to, Em! Innocent people will die!”

“You and I both know the safety bunkers might hold up,” Emerald crossed her arms with a suspecting stare.

“We don’t know that,” Yang argued back.

“Some of them will.”

“A lot of them won’t!”

“Yang.”

“What?!”

“I should be asking you that.” Emerald stepped close to Yang’s face. “What’s with you? Since when were you so touchy about people dying?”

“Since always!”

“No, not when we had to fight on Dracul. Not when we were making enemies in Vale. And definitely, not when we were taking over Atlas. I mean, you did, but not like this. So, what gives?”

Yang gave Emerald a long, pleading look, before answering.

“…Because this was our chance to do some good.”

“…”

“Hehe…! Stupid me, right?” she chuckled sadly. “After all the shady things we’ve done, I just wanted to do some good—some actual, honest good. Save lives instead of being the reason people lost them. Guess I should’ve known better.”

“Yang.”

“I know, Em.”

“It’s not how our team does things.”

“Yeah. We’re the enemy. We attack. Protecting and saving people isn’t our rep.”

“I’m…sorry.”

“No. Nothing to be sorry about.” Yang gave a vague shake of her head. “I’ll get my game straight in a second. Just let me know when we’re moving out of the city. Till then, I’ll take a rest. Gotta refill the reserves, right?”

As the girl dragged her feet off with drooping shoulders, Neo braced her waist with a comforting hand. Together, they went to look for a private room. Emerald and Mercury were left alone in the hallway.

“…Don’t say anything,” Emerald said, after a time.

“What?” Mercury put his hands up innocently. “I wasn’t going to say anything.”

“Stop. You go weak whenever Yang pulls that ‘puppy dog that just got kicked’ look.”

“More like, ‘you just kicked that puppy dog’s dreams’ look, but same difference.”

“UGH!”

“What are we gonna do?”

“What do you mean?! I just said what we were going to do!”

“Yeah…but what are we really going to do?”

Emerald glared fiercely at Mercury’s passively waiting demeanor. The staring contest lasted for a couple of unblinking seconds.

“AAARRRGGHHH!!! DAMMIT! FUCK!!!” the team leader vented her curses.

“You’re getting softer, boss.”

“And who’s fault is that?! Stupid, moral, nobility craphat. Annoying, blonde, bullshit, punchy…”

As Emerald continued to mutter endless profanities under her breath, her scroll gave a soft ring.

“Welp, saw this coming.” She coughed to clear her throat, before answering. As soon as the line went live, Emerald tried to make her tone as professional as possible. “Let me guess, we’re being ordered to ditch Vacuo?”

“…The matter isn’t finalized,” Cinder’s voice came from the other end. “There is no shame for you and your team to retreat.”

“Yeah, I’ll say. Shit’s not about to just hit the fan here, it’s going to—am I on speaker?”

“Yes.”

“Whole room?”

“Fortunately, only Weiss and myself.”

“Great.”

“Your report.”

“It’s bad, Cinder. Real bad. I know you probably have an idea, but it’s nowhere close to what we’re seeing here.”

“So, Vacuo is lost?”

Emerald thought for a moment.

“……These people are strong,” she gave an uneasy laugh. “I saw Salem’s army with my own eyes—it’s like signs of the freakin’ apocalypse! But these people, they want to fight. They will die fighting.”

“You cannot let their behavior influence your own.”

“I know, I’m trying to say something different. Cinder, Vacuo is worth saving. We shouldn’t abandon them. We need them on our side.”

“They are that valuable an asset?”

“They are. This alliance is the most important investment Atlas needs to make.”

“Sounds like a sales pitch. Tell me what truly whispers in your heart.”

“…” Emerald braced a hand to her chest. “Team ENMY is going to take down Behemoth.”

“So soon after your previous mission?”

“I know we were supposed to take a power nap before the next big fight, but you see that thing.”

“You intend to accomplish this by yourselves?”

“Temujin’s diverting all her forces to the North and South.”

“She plans to forfeit the city. A calculated choice.”

“We’ll manage.”

“This is reckless,” Cinder ended with a short pause. “What would you do if I ordered you from doing so?”

“……I’ll always listen to you, Cinder. If you tell me to take my team, and get the hell out of Vacuo, I’ll do it. I’ll drag Yang back, even if she hates me. You say the word, I’ll listen. Always.”

“…”

“But I’m asking you to trust me. Let me make this call. My team can swing this.”

For a moment, Emerald swore she heard Cinder’s breath stifle with emotion. A second later, the other spoke again.

“You are ordered to return to me,” the Black Queen commanded almost angrily. “Alive and in one piece—but at a time of your choosing.”

“I promise!” Emerald answered quickly. “I promise I’ll come back!”

“Hmph. You are aware any infidelity towards your Queen’s orders incurs the highest of penalties.”

“Don’t I know it.”

“So, how do you plan to perish the creature?”

“…”

“Emerald?”

“I have an idea.”

“So, speak it.”

“You guys might not like it.”

“……Speak it.”

Emerald took a searing deep breath between her teeth.

“We might have to use a couple of the aces we’ve been banking.”

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X  X X  X  X

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A few miles south of the capital, Vacuo’s military made first contact with the Grimm army. The battalion was tasked with eliminating the enemy’s first wave and slowing their advance towards the city. A part of them knew it would be no easy task.

But they did not know how difficult it would be until they saw the head of the horde.

“My, aren’t these some familiar faces?” the cold voice lingered.

While countless Grimm smashed into the lines of Vacuo’s warriors, a smaller battle was waged in the midst of chaos.

“Tai!” Glynda called.

“I know!”

The head of a Grimm King Taijitu struck at Glynda and Minerva, trying to snap the pair of sorcerers in its jaws. But Taiyang was able to position himself in time. His hands gripped each fang firmly, and slid his feet to a stop. Tattoos covered every inch of his arm, signaling the activation of his Semblance.

While their vanguard held down the threat, Glynda and Minerva aimed a set of spells at the source. A storm of raining ice and flames fell before them. Their target, pelted with blizzardous hellfire.  

“Hm. That was much less than I expected,” the chilling voice came again.

Undaunted by the Magic spells, an enormous tortoise shell remained when the sand clouds dissipated. It was white, bony, and jagged.  And as the Grimm barrier cracked open, it revealed a dark silhouette underneath. Their arm still connected to the King Taijitu head grappling with Taiyang.

“It seems my Crusade will be easier than I anticipated,” Salem taunted. “I knew you would be lost without Ozpin—but I didn’t quite know how lost.”

She gave her arm a tug, and from atop the Taijitu’s skull, a scorpion’s tail sprouted. The stinger snapped towards Taiyang’s head, but the man was able to dodge the blow at the last second. The tip caught his collar, but even then, it only left a small mark on his reinforced skin.

“That all you got?!” Taiyang shouted.

“Typical,” Salem scoffed.

The Witch materialized a long, ornamental hairpin from her robes. Its end was decorated with an elegantly jewel-crafted butterfly. Then, without any hesitation, stabbed the point of the needle into her collar bone, matching the placement with the scratch inflicted on Taiyang.

At the same time, blood spewed both their bodies. The man let out a scream of panicked anguish before steeling himself enough to leap back to safety. His hand clutched the base of his neck, where blood dribbled between his fingers.

The Witch on the other hand, showed only indifference to the curse-inflicted wound. She continued to observe her three opponents without paying mind to the black liquid spraying out. Only after a few seconds passed, did Salem spin a web from her fingertip to bandage the gash.

Taiyang badgered himself for his carelessness and forced his wound close with his Semblance. Though it stopped the bleeding, the fix was only skin deep. Regardless, he took a fighting stance, showing he was ready to go, but a gentle hand rested his shoulder.

“Assist the others, Tai,” Glynda spoke with consolation in her voice. “Leave this to me and Minerva.”

“This battle will no longer take place within the confines of this realm,” the Headmaster of Shade added.

Taiyang wanted to argue back, but prior experience held his tongue.

“Yes, run along now, little lionheart,” Salem condescended with a brushing gesture.

“Only certain performers are allowed to share this stage.”

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X  X X  X  X

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“This is the best we could do, huh?” Yang asked.

“Yep. Everything’s zeroed on this spot,” Emerald replied.

“Couldn’t make it any farther out?”

“Considering all the last-minute strings we had to pull to make this puppet show dance, I’m surprised we made this much space at all. Let’s just be happy and take what we can get, shall we?”

On the farthest edge of Vacuo’s western wall, Yang and Emerald plopped down to take a seat. Their feet dangled off the side. Neo and Mercury joined them shortly. The four stared passively at Behemoth encroaching their position. They could see armies warring at the corner of their peripheries to the left and right.

Although they were aware of the violent events transpiring, and those to come, the team basked in the oddly-serendipitous moment of peace. For them, nothing would happen for the next few minutes. All manner of dangers were far or on their way. All they could do was wait. And likely, due to repeated instances of high intensity, even a few minutes of waiting was enough to bring a calmness to their nerves.

Neo pulled out an apple, and sliced off a few pieces with her sword. One by one, she passed the slips of fruit to her teammates. And the four munched on the small snack, while watching Behemoth beat its wings towards them. Nothing left, but to bide their time until the omen of destruction’s arrival.

“So, everyone around’s been cleared out?” Yang started.

“Yup. Zero possible casualties, except for maybe us. Just the way you like it,” Emerald replied.

“See? Doesn’t it feel nice to do the right thing?”

“Fuck the right thing. That’s not why I did this.”

“Oh? Then, why did you do it? I thought your self-proclaimed moral compass was broken.”

Emerald glared at her silently.

It is broken.

I mostly did this cause of you…

“Still, thanks for doing it.” Yang beamed with a warm smile. “I mean it, Em.”

Yang was about to pop another apple slice in her mouth, when Emerald snatched it midair. Taking it as some abstract price exacted, the girl didn’t make a fuss. Only taking replacement from Neo, who was performing her own magic trick of producing endless fruit out of thin air.

“Hey, Em?”

“Yeah, Yang?”

“Did Temujin seem…weird to you? You know, back there?”

“Temujin’s always weird.”

“Yeah, but… evasive.”

“Temujin’s always evasive.”

“You know what I mean,” Yang groaned. “Back when she told us she was abandoning the city, and even when we told her our plan, she just okayed it like it was nothing.”

“You prefer she argue with us? We practically handed her a ‘we’ll save your city for free’ card. Maybe, she just didn’t want to look a gift horse in the anus.”

“Uh, it’s teeth.”

“What is?”

“The saying. It’s ‘gift horse in the teeth’.”

“Oh. Mercury lied to me.”

“No, it’s definitely anus,” Mercury mumbled, stuffing more apples into his mouth. “That’s how you tell the horse’s age.”

“Okay! But you know what I’m saying,” Yang brought the topic back. “What futures did Mouse and Knives see? And what else aren’t they telling us? Temujin doesn’t seem the type, but she looks kind of like she’s given up. What else are they hiding?”

“Who knows,” Emerald shrugged.

“I know you’ve thought about it.”

“I got a few ideas, but nothing concrete.”

“This isn’t the time for our sides to keep secrets.” Yang let out an exasperated groan before popping another slice into her mouth. “Cinder and Weiss are ready to pull us out. Temujin has to know that. She needs to be open with us.”

“It’s not like we tipped all of our hand to her either. Still gotta play a few things close to the chest. Distrust goes both ways.”

“I thought we were in an alliance.”

“I think this is about as much two Kingdoms can trust each other without actually merging. And that’s without all the bad blood between Vacuo and Atlas.”

“We need to be on the same page, Em. Salem found a crack in our team, and pried it apart. What do you think she’ll do to two Kingdoms?”

Emerald paused, and then bit into the next crunchy morsel Neo handed her.

“True. If Vacuo somehow gets out of this intact, I wouldn’t put it past Salem to turn one of the Kingdoms against the other. You have an idea bouncing around that noggin? Or do you just like adding new problems to my ‘shit I gotta figure out’ list?”

“We need to have a sit down with Temujin. At the least, we need to hear everything the siblings predicted so far.”

“Yeah, she’s kept us in the deep dark about their visions. Not just us, but her own people, too.”

“And if we’re learning anything, whatever Temujin hides is worth finding out.”

“Emerald,” a voice came over the Enchantress’ mental link. “Are we ready to begin?”

“Yeah. Just about,” she responded, and got up.

At that moment, a number of transmissions reached Team ENMY’s communications.

“Alrighty. Time to set the world record for taking down a bunch of Nightmare Class Grimm in a row, maybe!” Emerald announced.

“All boss speedrun!” Mercury fake cheered.

Yang turned to Neo with a loving stare.

“Got my back?” she winked.

Neo smiled widely.

Yup.

.

X  X X  X  X

.

(An hour ago)

“Are we sure this is wise?” General Ironwood couldn’t help voicing his doubts. “We were supposed to wait until we were closer to attempt this.”

“Drastic measures, General,” Trafalgar answered, next to him on the bridge. “Sometimes, all we can do is take a leap of faith.”

“There are countless variables which can skew the accuracy.”

“That’s why it’s called a leap and not a step, or a modest crawl.”

Ironwood breathed a sigh, before speaking into the console.

“Alright, Penny. Permission to arm.”

“Armed and READY, Mr. Ironwood!” the girl answered with a chipper.

“Execute.”

.

X  X X  X  X

.

“……. What the hell are you kids thinking?” Qrow muttered his disbelief.

“I’m thinking we need your help to bring down Behemoth. Is the wax building up in your ears, grandpa?” Emerald replied.

“Don’t call me grandpa!”

“The other guy is definitely a grandpa. As a matter of fact, he’s the grandest of grandpas. So, you gonna help us or not?”

“I thought the plan was to surprise Salem with an ambush.”

“Plans change. Roll with it.”

Qrow breathed one of the most soul-draining sighs in his life, before centering himself to continue.

“Okay. So, let me make sure I got this right. You need me to use Titan’s power to help you kill Behemoth.”

“Yup!”

“But before that, you need me to stick my neck out.”

“You got it.”

“I immediately don’t like this…”

.

X  X X  X  X

.

“I think I’m going to like this,” Raven gave a soft chuckle.

“I thought you would,” Emerald shared in the mental laugh. “Shouldn’t be a violation against whatever your contract is with Salem, right?”

“Only you brats could come up with something this sloppy and effective.”

“Compliment received.”

.

X  X X  X  X

.

Out in the ocean separating Atlas from Vacuo, the acting reinforcements of the Atlesian Fleet came to a full stop. While the airships hovered as still as possible, their artillery battery raised to a high angle. Tapped into each vessel’s control system and calculating a complex aiming algorithm was a certain android.

“Coordinates fixed. Real-time calculations complete. Trajectory courses confirmed!” Penny cheered.

“FIRNG ALL ORDNANCE!”

.

X  X X  X  X

.

(Back to the Present)

Team ENMY turned their gazes eastward, where a flock of glistening projectiles soared towards their position.

“Whoa, that’s gonna be close,” Yang commented.

“Yeah, well. It’s supposed to be,” Emerald sneered, as she elbowed Mercury’s side. “You’re up, top gun. Make sure it’s not us that gets our ass fricasseed.”

“On it, boss.”

Mercury activated his Semblance and felt the surrounding atmosphere come under his control. His senses extended to the oncoming shells. Their trajectories mapped out in his mind’s eye.

Damn. Not a bad shot from fifteen-thousand plus kilometers away.

Just need to sharp it just a little…

Mercury adjusted the turbulence and atmospheric pressure to suit his needs. He played out the simulation in his head, and matched it to the present. Their “back-up” fire would land exactly where they wanted it to on the dime.

“Merc,” Emerald elbowed him a few more times. “Hate to interrupt your beautiful mind moment, but the big bad bug is coming up faster. Maybe, short the fuse on lighting this candle?”

“Sure, just gotta speed up the momentum on more than a thousand combustible Dust shells. No big deal.” The sarcasm exaggerated in his voice.

“I had to hallucinate a whole Kingdom. Don’t get cute with me about making the big plays.”

The crying flock of whistling missiles screamed across the sky ever closer. At the same time, the great shadows and winds kicked up by Behemoth brushed the team’s backs.

Despite being caught between an arsenal of hellfire and the largest Grimm ever recorded, ENMY showed no signs of panic. Once Mercury finished his modifications, he expelled a small sigh of relief.

“Nice,” Emerald smirked, while putting on the sunglasses she took from Coco so long ago. Yang, Neo, and Mercury were producing their own pairs, when she also took out her scroll. She then, held it out and struck a smug pose.

“Are you actually taking a selfie right now?” Yang asked in slack-jawed awe.

“I wanna send a picture to Cinder. It’ll also make a good memory.”

Without wait or permission, the rest of the team crammed into the camera shot. They made random faces, while throwing up a series of hand gestures and middle fingers.

Meanwhile, high-pitch whistling from the Fleet’s artillery was at the peak of its cries when they were suddenly muffled. Bellowing explosions cut the sound off with its own. Raining hellfire engulfed Behemoth’s back in clouds of inferno. It was a carpet bombing of a creature that could have been a small island onto itself.

“Sweet fireworks,” Yang grinned. “Did you get the shot?”

“Got it!” Emerald confirmed.

“I always wanted to help destroy something beautiful,” Mercury shed a single tear.

Neo threw her hands up, cheering with mute excitement.

Fire! Fire! Burn!

“Okay, okay,” Emerald called their attention. “I know that just made the inner pyros inside us cream, but we still got work to do.” She tapped her in-ear communicator. “You there, OG?”

“I’m here.”

Flying above the incinerating back of Behemoth, a black bird swooped down. Its feathers shed upon its descent, giving way to a human form. He aimed the landing of his dive before the intact form of Combine, Chief of the Cuckoo Grimm.

The parasitic bird gave a gross chirp, as it recognized its bodyguards were burned away by Penny’s fire bombing.

“This… really sucks!” Qrow complained.

Sweat dripped down his face. He could feel the life being siphoned from him, leaving his skin cold. If he didn’t possess the Old One’s longevity, he might have died instantly in Combine’s presence.

Azkaban was somewhere near, so Qrow couldn’t activate his Semblance to save himself. But if things went according to plan, he wouldn’t remain vulnerable for long.

…

“How much could I pay you not to save my brother?” Raven posed to Emerald via their telepathic link.

“Discount low five figures,” the quick answer came.

“That was a joke.”

“Was it, though~?”

From her cliffside in the Black Oasis, Raven gripped the hilt of her katana and went into a low iaido stance. Her senses attuned to the combination of Emerald and Neo’s information. There, she saw her brother’s back turned towards her.

“Now, don’t flinch, little brother.”

…

“Neo?” Emerald prompted.

The petite girl poised her estoc in a thrusting motion above her shoulder. A silver light gleamed in her irises. She made out the positions of three key figures: Combine, Qrow, and Azkaban, before sealing the sight into her blade.

Neo took a long-drawn breath, and then emptied her lungs of all its air. She concentrated a majority of her Aura into the ultimate technique she created herself, leaving just a little in reserve. It was the most powerful move in her arsenal, and she would only be able to perform it once for a long while.

The small swordswoman felt traces of Yang’s influence swell in her soul. A bright fire of her beloved’s sun licked heat on her fingertips.

Neo’s hand moved quicker than the naked eye could catch. The sounds of shattering glass only followed after the fact.

In the same moment, Raven freed her blade from its sheath. Her bloody double-slash was going to cut a blazing X across the sky and Qrow’s back. But at the very last second, the move collided with Neo’s.

It was a clash of ultimate sword techniques that resounded across the entire continent. A piercing blade of blinding, silver glass and a cross drawn by a sinisterly, crimson paintbrush cut the sky into pieces. The world itself seemed to tear briefly, like it was made of paper.

Raven’s attack was barely deflected enough from her brother’s back, and guided in the direction of Combine instead. Likewise, Neo’s thrust was diverted towards Azkaban. Both their blades struck their marks down, slaying the Nightmare Grimm with their god-like skill.

Hmph, Raven scoffed with an impressed thought.

Out of the four brats, she might be the one who grew the most in all this…

“Not that I’d tell her that.”

…

“Uncle Qrow!” Yang shouted.

“On it, kid!”

With Combine and Azkaban down, Qrow felt the burden on him lifted. He tapped into Titan’s ability, while harnessing his own Semblance. A pair of great scythes unfolded in each of his hands. A familiar green glow permeated from his body to envelope the burning Behemoth.

The Grimm’s flying motion slowed to a crawl. Time slurred in the space it occupied until the creature stopped just above the wall and Team ENMY. Wind, fire, poison, and intermingled with it, falling caterpillar Grimm froze midair.

Yang and Mercury stared up, before bumping their fists.

The Spring Maiden felt adrenaline rush her veins. A crystallized crown formed its halo around her head. Her eyes blazed with the fire of her Semblance. She watched lightning crack across her vision, outlining Behemoth’s multiple weaknesses caused by redundancies in its anatomy.

“Wouldn’t be easy if we could just strike one spot. We’re gonna have to hit them all.”

The pair rocketed into the sky.

Mercury and Qrow went to work first. The young man summoned a storm to carry him across the Grimm’s expansive mass. Every kick he delivered made the floating island shudder. Likewise, the veteran Huntsman used his Reaper’s Semblance to sow death from atop. Together, they layered a cacophony of craters and trenches into Behemoth’s exoskeleton.

And then, Yang rose to join them.

“Many search the meaning of the shape given to their soul,” she heard Nai’s words echo the depths of her mind.

“I am Poison.

I am a Weapon.

I have lived and learned to become the agent that destroys my enemies’ bodies.

What does your life embody?

What meaning does its shape give?”

Yang jumped from falling debris to falling debris, making her way to the belly of the beast.

For my friends, I’ll be their warmth.

When they are lost, I’ll be their light.

And for anyone who tries to hurt them,

I’ll be the banisher of their darkness.

Yang’s Ember Celica shifted its form. Pistons fired across her entire arm. It rumbled with all the power and force of a jet engine.

I am the Fight that Life brings.

I am Fire.

And I Burn.

The exact moment, the noon sun reached its highest crest, the Spring Maiden’s punch let loose a flame likened to the birth of a new star. A supernova erupted in the center of Behemoth’s stomach, scorching constellations across the vulnerabilities of its body.

The halting of time was no small feat, and Titan’s ability only lasted a breath before reality resumed. But it was enough for Behemoth’s annihilation to be realized.

“Alright! It’s gonna pop!” Emerald shouted. “Clear the area!”

Yang, Mercury, and Qrow escaped the burning wreckage’s vicinity, as the Grimm plummeted down. Its body decomposed into countless scales, which combusted on any contact. The repeated detonations and weight of its carcass drove a crag into the wall and a small part of the city.

…

Yang let herself freefall. Burning cartilage still flew around her. Much of her energy was spent, but not all of it, per Emerald’s orders. But there was no denying the weariness setting into her nerves.

“Well, that was a thing.”

She looked to the side, and saw Mercury speed down to Emerald. Their leader stood on what remained of the wall. Her Uncle was nowhere in sight.

*Sigh* “I really want this day to be over…”

Just then, among the falling scraps, Yang spotted an oddity. It was a little singed, but it stood out from everything else with its white-colored design and the way it spun sharply through the air.

Yang squinted her eyes, and saw it was a playing card.

The Ace of Spades.

.

X  X X  X  X

.

“Is this truly all the strength you can muster?”

Salem gave a wave of her hand, and the bright projectiles Glynda and Minerva cast her way dissolved into squirming maggots. As they writhed uselessly on the ground, the Witch made a claw with her hand. Her long nails thrusted in the direction of her opponents.

Suddenly, the sand beneath the sorcerers’ feet coiled like tentacles, pulling them into its embrace. Salem’s hand squeezed, and the prison of silt closed tighter.

“You’re spellcasting is rather rudimentary compared to what I’ve seen over the ages. But I suppose that is the folly of mortals. Not enough age to hone that wisdom, no matter the potential exhibited.”

“Then, perhaps another challenger is in order? One you can’t bully with your tricks.”

A crow flew down, before expanding its form into a man. He snapped his fingers once, and the “living sand” about to suffocate the sorcerers was dispelled.

Glynda blinked, not believing her eyes. The image of the man before her seemed to phase in and out of existence, as if their identity wasn’t solidified.

“Ozpin?”

“Apologies for the tardiness, Glynda,” the white-haired man with small glasses said. “There was an issue that required our assistance.”

“But, how…? What about Qrow?”

“Also, here,” the figure of Ozpin replied with a voice that was not his. “This body sharing thing is more complicated than it looks.”

The immortal’s body flickered between Ozpin’s visage and Qrow’s, and then another Glynda recognized as Beacon’s past Headmaster Myrddin’s. Reality bent, and several iterations blinked in quick succession. Some figures she remembered from historical texts, more of them she did not. The spinning of the forms continued until the image settled onto a small, hunched-back old man. He had the look of a retired farmer and had to use a cane to support him like a third leg.

“Titan…!” Salem snarled with rising furor.

“…Wicked,” the Old One spoke in a grounded tone. His voice was crass, but it dissipated into the surroundings like an earthquake. “Must we continue this vicious cycle?”

“Oh, it will not continue. Not for you.”

“So, it was inevitable. You and I must battle once more.”

“Immortal versus immortal,” the Witch gestured to herself, then Titan. A bloodthirsty Magic coursed her veins, making them pulse black across her pale skin.

“There can only be one.”

.

X  X X  X  X

.

Yang was in no position to react. The playing card spinning outside her reach was practically a calling card for her death. All she could do was leave her fate to another’s hands.

…

Fortunately, those hands were the ones she trusted the most with her life.

The sound of shattering glass scattered pieces of Neo’s mirror portal into the falling sky. Her sword was held, outstretched. Its point pierced through the card as a bullet punched a hole through the same middle.

It should have been a perfect killshot. Yang and Neo read the trajectory, and it would’ve drilled right through Yang’s forehead, but Neo’s interference skewed its course.

“Shit!”

Yang whipped her neck as fast as she could, just in time for the bullet to tear a chunk of her hair off along with part of her right ear. Blood stained her cheek and a sharp ringing noise penetrated her eardrum.

“Hey, you. Can you hear me?” Emerald’s voice came from her comms, as Yang could see her leader smirking in the distance. She flipped her the middle finger.

“Told you she’d try.”

“Really, Em?! Now?!”

“Hey, you were the one who wanted to do this, despite my fair and wise warnings.”

“Can we save the ‘I told you so’s for later?”

“Say hi to her for me,” Emerald waved.

“WILL FREAKIN’ DO!!!”

Yang flashed an angry glare to Neo, who gave her a quick nod.

A second later, and her partner conjured a mirror for her to drop into. The portal pushed her into another, and then another, and so on. Each segment accelerated her into the distance.

Yang didn’t aim her fist. She knew Neo would do that for her. All she had to do was swing when the time came.

And at the last shuttle interval, she threw her fist.

Yang’s landing struck the terrain like a miniature meteorite. The target and source of her bullet wound was knocked off her feet, and onto her back. The shooter could have put up resistance, but the looming Spring Maiden erased any thought of that.

Instead, Inna Kao simply smiled.

“Hey, Yang.” She tipped her hat, still on the ground.

“Hey, Inna. Long time no see,” Yang replied unenthusiastically. “Em says, hi.”

“Oh? Tell her I said hi back.”

Yang did a quick sweep of her surroundings.

“No Bean?”

“Nah. I wanted to take my shot away from him just in case. Guess I made the right call on that.”

“Too bad. I wanted to see him.”

Inna stared at Yang for a while, before tilting her hat down.

“Heh… Well, you got me good. Don’t tell me ya’ll fixed that trap for lil ‘ol me?”

“It was Emerald’s idea. We’ve been ready ever since we heard you and Bean were around. We know we can’t underestimate you.”

“Shucks, Yang. Now, yer just makin’ me blush.”

Yang stared long and hard at the cowgirl.

“……I heard about your team. Sorry.”

“Yeah, well. I’ll be joinin’ them soon.”

“Funny thought that.”

Yang grabbed Inna’s rifle laying on the ground, and snapped it in half across her knee. It pained her a little to destroy someone’s personal weapon, but the bad feeling disappeared when she remembered she was missing part of her ear because of Inna. The gun would be repaired eventually. As far as she was concerned, they were even.

“Nothing to worry about if you don’t have your rifle,” Yang tossed the remains at Inna’s feet. “I’m done killing people, especially people I like.”

“…I can’t stop coming for you, Yang.”

“Yeah, you can. All you have to do is stop,” Yang shrugged. “But if you really want to keep trying, go ahead. I’ll be ready.”

“Hm hm! Told you, you’d be sorry, Inna,” Raven chuckled, as she stepped through her portal.

“Mom. Why am I not surprised you’re here?”

“Your little girlfriend actually matched my favorite move.”

“She’s a keeper.”

“I guess.”

“I’m totally telling her you approve.”

“I don’t. And another thing—”

Just then, Raven and Yang’s heads were flooded with an amalgam of information. Rather information, they were a bit like actual memories, but of events that had yet to occur. It was disorienting to say the least, but one thing was clear.

“Hey! Did you get that?!” Raven asked Yang.

“Yeah. What the hell was that, Em?”

“It’s the visions the Rakis siblings have been seeing. Don’t know why, but Knives was suddenly in a sharing mood. But after seeing what was in them, I think we can make a guess!”

“That vision…Temujin…!”

“That’s why you and Raven should get your asses back here on the double!”

“Mom!” Yang turned to Raven, and saw fear there like she never had before.

“Let’s go.”

.

X  X X  X  X

.

“Hm. They brought down Behemoth,” Temujin rubbed her chin with an even composure.

The throne room, which was once a bustling war room, was now vacant. The lone ruler of Vacuo sat on her chair with only the Rakis siblings for company.

“Any deviations?”

“With almost all our fortifications intact, more of Vacuo’s citizens will survive by the end,” Mouse answered.

“Haha… They are truly something. Troublemakers. The perfect enemy against Salem and fate.”

The old woman smiled ear to ear, before breathing a contented sigh.

“Everything else is proceeding according to script?”

“……Yes.”

A nearby monitor showed an endless replay of Team ENMY’s assault on Behemoth. Right before the artillery from the Atlesian Fleet struck, a wisp of dark mist engulfed Camlann, and seemingly warped it out of the area.

On a security monitor, three figures made their way through the Hanging Gardens. The colossal armor of Camlann was recognized. Beside the Grimm were Adam and Blake. It wouldn’t be long until they reached the chamber.

“You two should go,” Temujin said to the siblings.

“No,” Mouse refused shakily. “We won’t leave you.”

“You have to guide our people.”

“We won’t leave you!”

The boy now had tears streaming his eyes. He wanted with everything to overturn the future he and his sister saw. A future where the Grimm overran their land. A future where their closest friends died…

…A future where Temujin offered her life to further incite the rage of her people.

“Oh,” the old Faunus put a hand on Mouse’s head. “You know, I faced a lot of criticism for adding that Eye for an Eye thing at the end of the Code. Mostly from Minerva, but whatever.” she smirked. “Who knew it would be the strength our people needed in their weakest hour? Surely, not me.”

Gentle sobs continued to escape Mouse, as Temujin continued.

“No, definitely not me… But if the death of one old woman past her prime can be the rally cry of our Kingdom, I will answer my duty with a full heart.”

“…”

“Go. My time is over.” Temujin announced proudly. “This is goodbye.”

“We won’t leave you!!!” Mouse cried back.

Temujin scratched her ear in frustration, before turning to her other side.

“Knives. I entrust you with your brother. You know what must be done. The both of you must regroup with Nai and Minerva. Notify them of my death. The first waves of the Grimm should be dealt with by then. Fall back here with Team ENMY, and eliminate Camlann. Hold the siege until Atlas’ Fleet arrives.”

The younger Rakis made no move to respond.

“Knives? Did you hear me?! Knives!”

Temujin shook her shoulder, and saw the girl’s expression turn with surprise.

“Oh, right!” Knives answered with wide eyes. Her tone was different from her usual. “Actually, I agree with Mouse there. You really shouldn’t be so quick to sacrifice yourself.”

The elder Faunus was struck speechless.

“There’s a lot of people who would mourn your death, Temujin. They’d be heartbroken,” the girl continued. “I know one person especially!”

“Who…?” the old Faunus could only mutter. “Who are you?”

The girl with the appearance of Knives could only smile brightly.

“There’s always a way to change fate, as well as those who are willing to fight it. You said it yourself.”

“…”

“But they can’t help you if you don’t believe in it too,” Knives held Temujin’s hand in both of hers. “This girl loves you so much. She begged for a way to save you, even in her dreams. That’s how deep her resolve is.”

Temujin continued to stare blankly at the girl. Knives met her gaze, unabashed. The young girl’s eyes seemed to glint with a brighter silver than usual.

Then, Temujin remembered where she heard this speech mannerism before, as well as this unflinching determination.

“Summer Rose?”

[thefreckledone]

Your choice: i was all kinds of fucked up a few weeks ago. you’re all kinds of fucked up all the time. we all are. and that’s why we’re together. i just want to let you know… i am possibly the worst person you’ve ever met.

The scent of smoke wakes her, dragging her from slumber, the onlyplace where she truly feels at peace. Sakura blinks against the heady lull ofsleep that clings to her persistently, seeking out the source. It comes frombeyond her cracked window. She throws open her apartment window fully, gaspingat the sight before her.

The heavy tree line beyond the town is rimmed in brilliant colorsas smoke billows high into the sky, obscuring the stars and moon. The telltalecrackling is all Sakura needs to know of just how pervasive this problem is.

Forest fire.

Sakura curses under her breath, glances once more at the fire, andturns back to her room, rummaging through her closet for the necessary tools.Clothing spelled with fire retardant, thick goggles to block the sting ofsmoke, a few trinkets that hold stores of her powers, her small witchery kit,and comfortable boots to allow for maneuverability. She checks over thesethings, whispering under her breath as she tries to make sure she isn’t missingany crucial items. Sakura redresses quickly, stuffing her feet into the bootsbefore running out the door.

She reaches up to her neck as she runs, clutching at somethingthat isn’t there. Sakura stops, hurries back into the apartment, and picksup her pendant of aquamarine, before again running out the door.

As she turns the key in her car, Sakura spares a brief moment tomourn the fact that she doesn’t have more conventional abilities, ones that willgrant her the power of flight or, at the very least, levitation. No, Sakurathinks as her blood sings in her veins as she tears out of the parking lot, shereceived different abilities, ones that didn’t grant her powers that most grade schoolers mastered easily.

Still, this at least issomething she can do. She knows already that this is beyond the capabilities ofthe county’s fire department. The flames now roar above the tree line,consuming all life in their path. This fire is unnatural.

Thankfully, Sakura thinks as her hands clench around the steeringwheel, she is, at this point, almost a connoisseur of the unnatural.

She drives out past the town’s limits, passing the signinviting her to come back around sometime soon as she makes her way up into theforest. The forests outside of Konoha are wildly untamed and, in fact, arecelebrated for that very thing. Many come from all around the world to travelthrough the mountains and explore the great unknown. The rugged wild draws inthe tourists and really, they can’t complain. Though they do certainly mock theoutsiders who think that their short-winded scampering about the forest areanything to be celebrated or feel accomplished for. No, the tourists who travelthrough are mere children playing pretend in the face of what truly lies withinthe great forest.

Everyone from Konoha has a healthy respect for the forest, mostavoiding going out into it if at all possible. The unofficial town motto is “Discretionis the better part of valor,” for good reason.

Still, Sakura knows that this is something that she can fix.Besides, she doubts that those within the forest will be angry about herassistance.

Hopefully.

She parks her car at the low overlook that hovers only a littleway into the forest. The fires have yet to touch the edges, but Sakura can hearthe crackling of the fire deep within the underbrush. She knows better than totempt fate or the forest entities with her vehicle while the forest is soagitated.

So instead, she stuffs her keys into her pocket and takes off onfoot further into the forest after pulling on the goggles. Her lungs burn thefurther in she goes and her skin begins to heat with the towering blazesomewhere ahead. Sakura closes her eyes for a moment, blood boiling, as shepulls a stone knife from her kit. It is a small, crude thing, nearly just asharp bit of rock, if not for the carved handle. The stone is a dark, dull redand the edge only barely sharp. Sakura doesn’t wince as she digs the knifeinto the meat of her right palm, watching expressionless as blood wells upthrough the cut and coats the blade. The knife is slick and pulses with magicas the blood disappears across the surface, brightening the color of the stonewith the fresh blood.An ancient song pulses in Sakura’s ears as her sight is heightened and her feetare suddenly fleet as she travels deeper into the woods. The forests of Konohaare strange; the further in one goes, the higher and larger the trees stretch.Sakura knows, as do all the diligent residents of Konoha, that the deeper theforest, the more dangerous. Where she is now, she can no longer see the nightsky, obscured as it is by the leaves and smoke above her head.

She pauses as, above the sizzle of the fire, Sakura hears anunearthly buzz. The hair at her neck stands on end as the buzz is echoed by ahigh scream. Sakura swallows convulsively, hand clenching further against theblade and drawing more blood.

Why, oh why did she have to be right about the unnatural nature ofthe fire?

Sakura glares down at her cut hand, biting her lip furiously. Whatcan she do? She’s just barely a hedge witch, unable to complete even the simplestof spells. Her lungs ache, reminding her again of how little she can do.

The buzz transforms into a howl of pain and Sakura cannot remainidle.

She continues forward, following the sounds of fighting. As shedoes, she comes upon parts of the fire and she calls on the magic in her blood.The knife flashes and the fires near her go out, leaving behind blackened, deadwood. She keeps casting magic as she moves deeper into the forest, drawingcloser to the sounds of fighting.

A glint of glowing purple catches her eyes and Sakura ducksagainst the deadened trunk of a tree, peeking around at the alien glow. Sheclutches at her bit of aquamarine as she watches the purple appear anddisappear around the thick copse. Among the flashes, there are two…beings. Oneof tall and lanky in nature, its body furred finely in motley greys and browns.It has two sets of arms and antenna. Currently, parts of its body are blackenedand a soft, pained chittering noise emits from it as it dives back into thepurple magic.

It is pursued by a shorter, dark figure, covered in resplendentblack feathers that flash blue in the fire. This being’s eyes are abright, spinning red and from its mouth emerges flame.

Rage builds within Sakura as she watches the birdlike creatureburn down the forest around her and attack the moth being. Sakura has no lovefor this forest, rather a healthy dose of fear, but still this is her home thatthe creature is desecrating. The bird creature catches the moth one with atalon-footed kick, knocking it free of its feet. The moth falls to the ground,buzzing feebly. The bird plants its foot against the moth’s shoulderblade and grabs its wing, lifting and pulling and Sakura cannot bear it anylonger.

Slicing down her palm and wrist, Sakura darts forward, throwingherself bodily against the birdlike monster. It is much lighter than sheexpected and they go tumbling into a tree. The monster beneath her grunts, butSakura keeps it pinned. It turns its head and Sakura can make out human-likefeatures, those of a surprised and volatile man. He opens his mouth, preparingto light her aflame. Sakura doesn’t give him the chance, stuffingher wrist past his lips into his mouth. He splutters and the flames die away.

“What did you do, witch?” hedemands, folding in on himself in a grotesque manner as he brings his legs upand shoves Sakura away with the talons.

The claws catch and pierce her skin, drawing blood and furtherelevating Sakura’s magic as she is thrown into the air. She braces for a hardlanding, blinking as she slams into a soft, furred surface. Sakura looks up,finding herself looking into the face of the moth creature. It wears a strangemantle, a visor really, shielding its eyes, though Sakura feels its gaze uponher. She glances around, surprised to see that she is cradled in three of itsarms. The free hand reaches up, brushing an errant lock of hair behind her ear.

“I thank you for yourassistance, Sakura Haruno.” His voice is slow and soft, gentle in a way thatbelies his visage.

“How do you know-?”

“Aburame!” the bird manshrieks.

The moth man, Aburame,grunts in pain and clutches her closer as fire sears his back. Sakura seesbeyond his shoulder that the bird man is on his feet again and glaring at them.He spits and Sakura can see her blood mixed with the saliva.

“I apologize for this,” Aburamesays.

Before Sakura can question his apology, they are surrounded inbrilliant purple light. She blinks against the harsh light, eyes streaming asit disperses and Sakura finds herself in a calm glade. She looks around wildly,scrambling out of his grasp. The grass here is a vivid pink and the gladeitself is lit with phosphorescent mushrooms and crystals. The air here tastesof magic and the iron in her blood dances with it.

Sakura falls to her knees, playing mindlessly with the grass. Itpossesses a different texture, softer and hardier than the grass back home.Every hair on Sakura’s neck and arms stands on end at the sheer alien quality of thisplace.

“Where are we?” she askssoftly.

Aburame kneels beside her, a strangely furred hand coming to restright beside hers. He doesn’t touch her, but Sakura can feel his warmth.

“We are at my home, on anotherplane of existence,” he says. He moves his hand closer, stroking across hers. “Thankyou for your kindness tonight. The Uchiha was certainly not expecting anyquarter from Konoha this night.”

Sakura can hear the pain in his voice and remembers again hisinjuries. She looks to him, seeing the pale blue glow of his blood as itsplatters his torso and mats his fur. “How do I go home?”

“Again, I must apologize. Ifear you’ve some incredibly poor luck, Sakura. I am possibly the worst personyou could’ve met tonight.” He pauses, drawing away his hand and fiddling withhis fingers in both sets of hands. He looks nervous. “I’m afraid you can’t gohome.”

And with that, Aburame slumps forward, losing consciousness.

Sakura looks at the prone eldritch creature, shocked. As she pullsout her witchery kit and sets about bandaging his wounds, Sakura again isreminded of Konoha’s motto.

“Discretion is the better partof valor.”

Why, oh whydidn’t she listen?

[roxy-davenport]

The Game of Love

Pairing: Crowley x Reader  Guardian angel!Gabriel x Reader

Character: Crowley, Sam, Dean, Reader and Gabriel

Word Count: 3,870 (Whoops)

A/N: Reference to 5.08, Switching Channels, one of my fav episodes. Slight crackfic (humorous, over the top but not ridiculous). This story is yet again hard to classify as either angst or fluff. I suppose gun to my head I choose fluff? This was written for the following challenges

Also on A03

This was written for:

@atc74 Angelina’s 100 Follower Challenge with the prompt, “Everything Has Changed”- Taylor swift ft. Ed Sheeran

@notnaturalanahi 600 Follower Crack Challenge with the prompt, “I think you may need an intervention.”

@deals-with-demons Sarah’s 200 Follower challenge with the prompt, “Another great discovery by captain obvious.”

@revwinchester Rev’s Birrthday Challenge with the prompt, game show host

             [Taylor Swift]

All I knew this morning when I woke

Is I know something now, know something now I didn’t before.

And all I’ve seen since eighteen hours ago

Is green eyes and freckles and your smile

In the back of my mind making me feel like

“What am I doing here exactly?”

“We summoned you.”

“Another great discovery by Captain Obvious. I’m standing in a bloody devil’s trap after feeling the ground shake in hell. I know I was summoned. The question is why, Moose?”

Dean cleared his throat and waved briefly at Crowley signaling to him that he too was also sitting on the couch. Crowley gave him a death stare.

“Don’t look at me. This was Sam’s idea.”

Crowley rolled his eyes.

“Moose working alone?”

“Not quite alone.”

The second that Gabriel came out of the shadows there was an uncomfortable silence that fell over the entire room. Everyone was frozen in place, deathly silent. The sound of rustling drew everyone’s attention. Crowley and Dean looked up at the same time to see a banner above the couch. Dean and Crowley shared an equally unamused look.

“I think you may need an intervention, both of you.”

 “An intervention. Are you two morons bloody serious? An intervention for me and Dean? Jealous that he’s still my bestie? Sorry, Moose. It’s not my fault, Squirrel can’t get enough of me. Squirrel’s are known to like n-.”

“I’m not your bestie.”

“Thank god you cut him off. Let me jump in here, Sam. You two crazy kids are here because of Y/N. Sam and I are getting sick and tired of you both moping around after the poor girl. It’s actually quite ridiculous. So I have a plan.”

You walked into the room in your Winnie the Pooh pajamas, fuzzy socks, a tooth brush in your mouth, hair askew and your eyes wide as everyone turned to you. If you had known there would be guests, you wouldn’t have just barreled out of your room. You mumbled, “What the hell.” But with the toothbrush in your mouth it sounded more like, “rart ta haall.”

You noticed the devil’s trap under the couch and then the intervention sign. You ran to the bathroom to spit out your toothpaste. The scene in the living room froze, everyone unsure of what to do or say.  You weren’t meant to just burst into the meeting. You looked at yourself in the mirror, fixing your hair at least so it didn’t look like you grew a mushroom on the top of your head. You would have run out of the bathroom to change but you had no idea what was happening and thought it best to return ASAP so you didn’t miss the mother of all explanations. Your top was hella tight and made your breasts look huge – not like you were complaining really. The two men that intrigued you the most were out there.

                     [Taylor Swift]

I just wanna know you better, know you better, know you better now

I just wanna know you better, know you better, know you better now

                     [Both]

I just wanna know you better, know you better, know you better now

I just wanna know you, know you, know you

The second you saw Crowley your heart sped up. You bit your lip. He looked just as handsome as always. You ran over to the devils’ trap. You didn’t like the idea of him being trapped here. You wanted him here with you but not trapped. You bent down in front of him giving him a good show of your cleavage. Crowley groaned as he looked down at you, his pants getting tighter by the second. You wiped the paint off ignoring whatever it was that Gabriel was telling you. Your face was in Crowley’s crotch at this point. You noticed his hard on and blushed profusely. Crowley bent down and ran his thumb on your cheek.

“All for you, pet.”

Your eyes traveled slowly down from his intense gaze to his crotch and up to his lips. You blushed even more as everyone’s attention on you continued. Crowley could hear how fast your heart was beating. He wanted nothing more than to kiss you right there and then.

Dean groaned at the scene before him.  Your eyes jumped over to Dean’s. Truthfully, you hadn’t even noticed him there. You liked Dean, too, but were undeniably drawn to Crowley like a moth to a flame. There was amazing chemistry between you two but Crowley wasn’t the sensible choice. Dean treated you with the utmost respect and would make a fine boyfriend. You were a hunter as well and much preferred to hunt with the boys so it would be a perfect, sensible fit. But when is love and attraction sensible? You and Dean both understood the risks and limitations of your job. You couldn’t have a family it was way too dangerous but he could love you, grow old with you. You could have as close to a fairy tale ending as possible. But then why did your heart want Crowley? He made you nervous and excited. You felt alive when you were with him even if it was just to talk over cases. The second he came into the room, your eyes would light up and there was never anyone else that could ever get your attention. You couldn’t reconcile the two men in your mind. How does one choose? Your head or your heart? It’s not like you knew a lot about either of them? They weren’t the most forthcoming with their feelings or opinions. For all you knew maybe they just liked you. You smiled nervously at Dean wondering what the intervention was when the ground shifted.

You fell backwards from a crouching position to find your head meeting a pillow. You looked behind you to see a gorgeous King sized bed. Sam appeared on the far side of the room. You quickly got up and walked over to Gabriel about to demand an explanation when he held up his hand to you and Sam.

Gabriel could feel your apprehension. He placed a calming hand on your shoulder and turned you around slowly so you could take in the room. You appeared to be in a sound booth. There were controls near you and a person with headphones on manning them. Glass surrounded the booth. A candy-covered carpet was at your feet. Sam looked at you nervously. You moved forward and looked down to see a set of some sort. The big screen in your room was off for now and the only thing on was someone’s ipod and it was playing, Everything has Changed by Taylor Swift ft Ed Sheeran.

                              [Taylor Swift]

Cause all I know is we said, “Hello.”

And your eyes look like coming home

All I know is a simple name

Everything has changed

All I know is you held the door

You’ll be mine and I’ll be yours

All I know since yesterday is everything has changed

                  [Ed Sheeran]

And all my walls stood tall painted blue

And I’ll take them down, take them down and open up the door for you

                  [Taylor Swift]

And all I feel in my stomach is butterflies

The beautiful kind, making up for lost time,

Taking flight, making me feel right

 “I know who has your heart. I’m you guardian angel for Pete’s sake. I have to know. But none of you are acting on it. They haven’t told you how they feel and you haven’t made a decision. Consider this a platform to start a dialogue. Listen carefully and make a decision. Heart or head. I refuse to see my charge alone and upset over her love life. Please allow me to make you happy. If you say no then I’ll just make everyone appear back at the bunker. If we proceed it’s on your say so. We can pull the plug at any time.”

“This is insane, Gabriel.”

“What exactly is this?” You inquire diplomatically

“We’re in TV land and this my dear is a game show. Instead

of a man choosing for the lady, I will give them a venue in which they can reveal themselves to you and you choose the man. I will stay by you whatever you choose. I promise you.”

“Am I meant for one of them?”

“You choose your destiny not my father.”

“That doesn’t answer my question. Am I meant for one of them?”

“Yes, but humans were given free will. Choose for yourself; don’t let destiny choose for you.”

“Will you harm them because I heard from Dean what you did the boys last time and-.”

“What? The nutcracker? He’s still sore about that?”

Sam gave Gabriel a death stare.

“That was last time and in all fairness I was trying to teach them a lesson and in turn they taught me one. No agendas, no destiny, no harm just questions. I promise.”

Sam gives him an incredulous look.

“There’s a TV in here so you can watch them both. If you ever want to stop the show, all you two have to do is press this red button and I will suddenly appear. Any concerns, you let me know.”

You sighed heavily before nodding.

“Proceed, Gabriel.”

“As you wish, milady.”

Gabriel winked and disappeared in the blink of an eye. The TV monitor in your room came on. You heard a theme song and then heard applause as Gabriel came out wearing a gold suit. Gabriel waved to the studio audience.

                   [Both]

I just wanna know you better, know you better, know you better now

I just wanna know you better, know you better, know you better now

I just wanna know you better, know you better, know you better now

I just wanna know you, know you, know you

                [Both]

‘Cause all I know is we said, “Hello.”

And your eyes look like coming home

All I know is a simple name

Everything has changed

All I know is you held the door

And you’ll be mine and I’ll be yours

All I know since yesterday is everything has changed

“This is ridiculous.”

“This is Dean and Crowley, Sam. They aren’t exactly very forthcoming with their feelings. And I am lonely. I’ve been conflicted for a year now. I haven’t met anyone on a hunt. I always leave early from the bar because I don’t want to sleep with random people. I want a relationship. I want a future. I need to know. I deserve to be happy and so do they.”

“And Dean can move on.”

You give Sam a confused look.

“I see the way you look at Crowley but you have to be sure. If you need a game show to do so who am I to stop you?”

“Hello, party people! Welcome to the Game of Love. I’m your host – Gabriel. Yes, like the angel ladies.”

The applause go crazy.

“You are too much. Stop the applause. I know I’m awesome. But this isn’t about me. This is about Y/N and our wonderful contestants. So lets pull up our preverbal sleeves and dig right in. On our left we have Dean Winchester a hunter.”

The crowd boos.

“And on our right we have the King of Hell. How awesome is that, an actual King.”

The crowd cheers. Dean tries to move but can’t and Crowley notices yet another devil’s trap but this time on the ceiling. He rolls his eyes at Gabriel and actually growls at him.

“Now, ladies and gentleman, let’s begin. Dean, what is your favorite movie genre?”

Dean stared at Gabriel confused.

“Action, I guess – if I had to choose.”

“Same question to you.”

“You kidnapped us to ask me about movies. The second I can get out of here I will have your head. I am a King and you know I have a lot of appoint-.”

“Are you forfeiting your answer?”

Rolling his eyes, Crowley grumbles “Horror.”

“Is Y/N an insomniac?”

“Yes.”

“Well that’s not fair is it? Y/N lives with the Winchesters. How, pray tell, would I know that. If the Winchester says yes, so will I.”

“Noted. Okay so Y/N is having a bad day. What do you do?”

“Take Y/N out and try to get her mind off whatever it is that’s bothering her. We’d have a fun time. I would try to make her laugh as much as possible even if I had to act like a clown the whole night. It would be low key and all about her.”

“Oh, Squirrel. I’d pop in and hold her while I ask what’s wrong. I would listen intently to everything she says. I’d let her talk for as long as she needs to. I wouldn’t take her out. I would spend the night reminding her that she has a King who cares for her deeply. Sex and booze won’t fix the problem. It will still be there in the morning and now you’re adding a hangover to the current problems.”

“Sometimes things are too big to talk about or think about. Sometimes it hurts too much and you need a distraction and where did I say anything about sex?”

“Perhaps it is too big to talk about but let the lady choose the course of action, hmm?”

“Calm down, boys. Next question. What three words would you use to describe Y/N?”

“Gorgeous, strong and loyal.”

“Unlike my predecessor. I can’t relate three words but I understand this is a game show that we’re stuck in so very well. Sensitive at times, tough most of the time, and sassy just like me.”

Dean rolls his eyes.

“What are her favorite magazines and food?”

“She lives with the Winchesters. Hello – unfair advantage bird brain.”

Gabriel scowls at the King.

“Careful, this is my show. Show respect where respect is due.”

Crowley rolls his eyes.

“What is her ideal date?”

Dean smiles, “I’d take her to a nice restaurant. Somewhere where the food is great but quiet enough to talk. Then we’d move to the bar.”

Crowley scoffs. “You would take her there. I am a King and can offer her anything in the world. I would take her not to a nice restaurant in some stupid Podunk town, no. I’d take her to the best restaurant period. She loves Italian food and I know the perfect place. The owner knows me well so I can get the best table away from prying eyes or I can simply buy out the restaurant for the night. Or we could eat in a nice street café in Paris. Anything that would put a smile on her face. Nothing loud, no obnoxious music.  And my attention would be on her, work be damned. Afterwards we would go for dessert again anywhere she wants.”

“So you would let her lead?”

“In terms of where to go, I would indeed, Squirrel. In terms of other things I know what to do to make her happy and she should trust me to do that.”

“That leads us perfectly into the next question. Sex on the first date?”

“Sure why not? If we’re having a good night, what’s better than sex to end it off? If we’re feeling it, let’s do it. I would never think anything less of Y/N if she said yes.”

“I disagree with my occasional comrade here.”

“We went from besties to occasional comrades.”

“My apologies for delivering the truth. Y/N is a one-in-a-million girl and I would take great pleasure in getting to know her. Sex is great but I’m hundreds of years old so sex in and of itself gets a bit old after a while. Having sex with someone you know, love, and respect – now that’s when it’s amazing.”

“What kind of future could you offer her?”

“Well we’re both hunters. I don’t really know if kids are in the cards. But if she wanted them I would try and make it work. It’s a bit early to tell and being a hunter is a dangerous job. All I can offer her is my heart.”

“I can offer her the Kingdom of Hell. She can rule by my side as a Queen. I would prefer that she stop hunting but I know Y/N very well and that’s part of who she is so I’ll just have to be okay with worrying about her constantly. I will always be there for her, whether it’s to hear about her day, to get revenge on whoever made her cry, relieve her stress, make love to her or remind her how much I love her. I could offer her a family if she wanted and would always have her back in any hunt. My Queen would never be hunting alone and I would never allow her to be in any real danger. She would hunt with my trusted demons. Contrary to popular belief, Dean demons can love just as strongly as humans. And I have the resources and ability to pamper her every second of the day.”

“Wow. That’s not fair. What? I can’t pamper her?”

“With what? Your pool hustle money? Nice clothes nice dinner, makeup. Nail polish, sexy bras, vacations, presents etc? You can do that?”

“Those are material things. What about cooking dinner for her? Being the one who senses she’s depressed or can’t sleep and do whatever it takes to make her feel better. How about doting on her when she’s sick. Or singing a stupid song to make her happy at karoke?”

“Now wait a minute here. Are you seriously suggesting all I can offer are material things? You think I can’t dote on her when she’s sick or sing at a karoke bar? I can give her the world as well as all the same gesture humans need, You can’t give her the world, she has to settle for you.”

“Settle for me? You’re a demon. I’m a human. She’d be settling if she picked you.”

“Do I need to get a ring in here? This isn’t verbal wrestling. You both answer the questions period. Stop being knuckleheads and just answer the questions? Got it? Good. Now what is she afraid of?”

Crowley and Dean spoke at the same time, “ Y/N is afraid of losing the people she loves – either from death or from them walking away. “

“She can only choose one of you. How will each of you react if she doesn’t choose you?”

“It’s not that she wouldn’t be choosing me. It’s that she would be choosing the King of Hell over me. He’s evil and I question whether anything that he’s said today is actually true. Y/N, you can’t possibly be attracted to him.”

“I can hear your heartbeat Y/N when I wake into a room, see your eyes light up when I smile back at you. I would understand if you wanted a normal life with Dean but never question how deeply I care about you. Regardless of who you choose I will care for you and look out for you.”

“You can’t want him? Please Y/N please choose me. We hunt demons. How can you be his Queen and a hunter at the same time? I love you Y/N. I have loved you for a long time.”

“And that’s all the time we have for today folks. Some serious confessions here. We will return from a commercial break to reveal the winner.

                                              [Bridge]

Come back and tell me why

 I’m feeling like I’ve missed you all this time, oh, oh, oh.

 And meet me there tonight

 And let me know that it’s not all in my mind.

                                                [Taylor Swift]

I just wanna know you better, know you better, know you better now

I just wanna know you, know you, know you

The commercials consisted of a very reluctant Dean and Crowley reading from the teleprompter for venereal disease, two movie trailers, a promo of Hell featuring the King, a MacDonald’s commercial, and two clips from a talk show with David Letterman featuring both Crowley and Dean.

Gabriel appeared in the booth while the commercials played. You had your answer. You were worried how Dean would react but everyone knew you would pick Crowley. You loved him. You knew that choosing him would make you life hard but you wanted a future with him. You didn’t care about being a queen or being pampered. You loved the man that loved you and was fighting for you clearly in every answer he gave. Dean was a great guy and his answers were great but not what you needed at this moment. You hoped that you didn’t lose Dean but you couldn’t lie to yourself anymore. Crowley held you heart. Sam nodded to you knowing that you’d choose Crowley.

You felt the room shift and you stood in front of Crowley in a nice hotel room. You looked around and laughed.

“There goes Gabriel and his presumptions. I argued with the game because you two are tight-lipped when it comes to feelings but I choose you.”

“You really needed a game show to decide?”

“Would I have gotten those answers out of you if I just asked you the questions? Would you have answered the same if you didn’t feel like you were competing with Dean?”

“I love you.”

“And I love you. It’s always been you. Instead of what usually happens in hotel room how about you and I just stay up and talk really talk. How does that sound?”

“I’d love nothing more.”

               [Both]

All I know is we said, “Hello.”

And your eyes look like coming home

All I know is a simple name

Everything has changed

All I know is you held the door

You’ll be mine and I’ll be yours

All I know since yesterday is everything has changed

                [Taylor Swift]

All I know is we said, “Hello.”

So dust off your highest hopes

All I know is pouring rain and everything has changed

All I know is a new found grace

All my days I’ll know your face

All I know since yesterday is everything has changed

Unknown to the two of you there was a small red envelope from Gabriel in the night stand. It read: 

                          Dear Y/N

“I wanted you to be the one to choose but just so you know Crowley is your soulmate.”              - Your guardian angel, Gabriel

Tagging

Forevers: @atc74​, @purgatoan @killerofthesouth​, @charliebradbury1104​, @chaos-and-the-calm67​, @chelsea072498​, @everyday-supernatural-af​, @kalliravenne​ @toogardenenthusiast​, @winchesterprincessbride​, @one-shots-supernatural​, @take-me-tonirvana​, @hellsmother​, @ellen-reincarnated1967​@, @faegal04​ @deals-with-demons​, @mamaredd123​

Crowley and Gabriel Folks: @jesspfly @ellen-reincarnated1967 @singingflames. @wayward-mirage, @faith-in-dean, @mrswhozeewhatsis, @vintagevalentinexx, @thinkwritexpress, @mysupernaturalfics, @itsemmyb, @crzcorgi, @thebunkerismyhome, @feelmyroarrrr, @tia58, @not-so-natural-spn, @skybinx-blog, @notnaturalanahi, @babypieandwhiskey, @shelovesallthethings, @sleep-silent-angel, @thing-you-do-with-that-thing, @whispersandwhiskerburn, @impala-dreamer, @deathtonormalcy56, @captain-princess-rose, @imadeangirl-butimsamcurious, @kayteonline, @ilovedean-spn2, @memariana91, @ohwritever, @winchester-writes , @deals-with-demons, @maraisabellegrey, @supermoonpanda, @sis-tafics, @deerlululucy, @manawhaat, @growleytria, @thegleegeneration, @samtomydeanwinchester, @i-never-said-a-pilot, @kreborn17, @for-the-love-of-dean, @kittenofdoomage, @gadreelsforbiddenfruit, @howmanytuesdaysdidyouhave, @maraficrecs, @klaineaholic, @bkwrm523, @whywhydoyouwantmetosaymyname, @jpadjackles, @wi-deangirl77, @sinceriouslyamellpadalecki, @fandommaniacx, @revwinchester, @castieltrash1, @mysaintsasinner, @oldfashioncdvillain, @lucibae-is-dancing-in-hell, @deanwinchesterforpromqueen, @ackleslaugh, @the-morning-star-falls, @winchesterswoonathon, @castiels-forbidden-angel, @jencharlan, @curliesallovertheplace, @chrisatplay, @lilyoflothlorien, @ferferelli, @winchesters-princess, @beachy2014, @jotink78, @cici0507, @katnharper, @impossible-box, @deansleather, @sunriserose1023

[bonefall]

I'm sitting and looking at somebody's take about the scene of Willow Tail's death

"Clear Sky is fabulous here, and the deaths look karmic. Willow Tail dies blind bc she was so blinded by her wish of revenge she put innocent cats under threat and led to deaths of a medicine cat and an innocent kit. And Wind Runner, who prevented Moth Flight from saving Tiny Branch, lost a life to an injured leg just like he did. Beautiful."

Ig I'll just leave it here like a tribute

"the deaths look karmic" is the only correct thing in this passage. Yes, the writers ARE obsessed with punishing women, gruesomely zooming in on how much pain and suffering they're feeling when those horrible bitches finally get their comeuppance. Glad they can at least recognize torture porn when they see it.

Go one baby step further-- why do the writers keep choosing to frame the women as primarily responsible when Clear Sky is the same violent, egotistical tyrant he always was?

Willow Tail does die blinded-- by Clear Sky. The way he is constantly brutalizing every woman and foreigner in front of him. Just like how he was smacking Moth Flight before he ordered Red Claw to go up into the tree to beat the shit out of Micah and confiscate medicine, because he doesn't care when people die of treatable illness.

But, sure. Sure, it's Willow Tail who caused the death of Micah, when she sees Moth Flight's face sliced open by a known serial murderer and jumps to her defense, and then learns that Red Claw has been ordered to attack a doctor.

For those who haven't read Moth Flight's Vision, btw, Willow Tail is revealed to be the villain all along because she was planting rabbit bones on the border. This made Clear Sky mad because Wind Runner said "make your cats respect the borders YOU invented, bc MY cats didn't eat those rabbits" and she didn't just accept his answer of "nuh uh."

That's why it's totally the WOMEN'S fault that Clear Sky was throwing this tantrum, and not his own. Being offended is a totally valid reason to deny medical treatment and do assault and battery. Why would you ever hold a man in a position of power accountable for his own actions?

Wind Runner also didn't kill Tiny Branch through medical neglect. Clear Sky did. Can't believe I'm still saying this.

HE was the one who prevented Acorn Fur from getting help. He keeps insisting that he never needed Micah or any other foreigner to heal Tiny Branch's ailments. He didn't want Micah when it was a cough, and he didn't want Moth Flight when it was a fox attack.

-Said in the Sap Confiscation Scene

-Said as Tiny Branch is dying, confirming that yes, he DID stop her from getting the help right away.

Wind Runner PROPOSED an embargo at a meeting that SkyClan was absent for, AFTER Clear Sky had already insisted on denying medical treatment to Rocky and got Micah killed. Wind Runner's hypothetical embargo was broken less than a minute later when it's revealed SkyClan was late by several hours because Tiny Branch got attacked by a fox.

Here's how long they're held up by Wind Runner, though. All 214 words, less than a full page in dialogue, of it.

How long would you guess this took? Was everyone here speaking at 0.025 speed? Did someone hit the slow motion button? Were they escaping out of a time bubble?

Why's Shattered Ice never mentioned as killing Tiny Branch, btw? The one who actually did physically hold up Moth Flight (but not the other three Medicine cats, Dappled Pelt, Cloud Spots, and Pebble Heart), even if it was for less than 30 seconds? When he's not even from Wind Runner's Clan? CURIOUS INNIT?

I need to remind you that he was also responsible for preventing Acorn Fur from being fully trained. That was HIS choice. HE closed the border. HE stopped Moth Flight from completing Acorn Fur's training. HE is in the middle of a book-length hissy fit about being told what to do.

And, yet, Moth Flight is held up for less than 5 minutes after Clear Sky forced Acorn Fur to save his son alone until signs of infection set in, and this is all Wind Runner's fault.

So he later kidnaps Moth Flight, expecting Wind Runner to just trust that THIS time he takes a hostage he's not starving them like he did to Jackdaw's Cry, and not launch the two Clans into war. Redemption arc, btw.

And then he gets to be framed like a hero even though he is 100% responsible for every single one of his actions and escalated the situation at every turn. ZERO consequences for him, because him letting his own baby suffer and die was "punishment enough."

The bloodthirsty tyrant, child abuser, woman beater, and known liar was totally justified because It Made Him Sad When Wind Runner Didn't Trust His Word :( This was all actually an evil, scheming woman's fault for planting bunny bones, lol. So she totally deserves getting her eyes ripped out.

At MOST, the narrative considers Wind Runner and Clear Sky "Equally Bad", but only Wind Runner and Willow Tail get personally punished. With death and agony. Surely, SURELY this is not because of writer misogyny? In the Arc of 7 Fridgenings? Perish the thought.

Anyway, glad that I've curated my dash enough to not see that take out there in the wild. Who would even write something so ridiculous, Gray Wing?