#LOve Conquers All

[gleafer]

To make up for the possibly trauma I have caused with the ANGSTAGEDDON comic.

And They Lived Happily Ever After.

[natalievoncatte]

“Are you sure you want to do this?”

Kara looked at the chunk of oily black crystal sitting in front of her and said, “No, not really, but has that ever stopped me?”

Lena frowned. Kara’s levity was strained, brittle. There was a tension between them, like the invisible pressure formed by pressing the wrong end of one magnet to another. It made Lena more than nervous, she was scared. They had both seen so much since the cyborg returned to their world, carrying a dying copy of Lena, the same woman who was now waiting in a ship full of Lena dopplegangers, watching over the unmoving form of the love of her life, weighing the decisions she had to make.

“Something is bothering you, Kara. What is it?

Kara sighed.

Lena arched her brow. “It’s not as if you’re good at keeping secrets from me, now is it?”

Kara smiled wistfully. The big secret had almost destroyed them, nearly torn them apart. It had driven Lena down a dark path but Kara had never abandoned her.

“If it was you, if the only way to save me was what they wanted to do with that empty shell, would you do it?”

The major part of Lena, the part of her that wanted to believe in her own goodness as ardently as Kara believed in it, would immediately say no. It was grotesque and wrong, no different from, say, stealing an organ. It might even be murder.

Lena couldn’t say no.

“You know what’s been on my mind since… since that night?”

Kara meant the night that Lena had a few two-finger glasses of whiskey and flat out told Kara how she felt, the night when Kara, ever the knight in shining armor, refused to take advantage of Lena’s inebriation while making her reciprocal feelings very clear. The night that Lena felt those last pangs of dead and doubt flow away and she could finally sleep, a sleep so deep and so sound it was like the first real sleep of her life, sheltered in Kara’s loving embrace.

“Tell me,” said Lena.

“That I might be immortal and you’re not. That one day you’ll be gone and I won’t, and what that will mean for me.”

Lena swallowed hard, trying not to choke up.

“I have to find a way then, I guess, because I won’t let you live on without me. I can’t leave you.”

Kara blinked a few times and Lena saw she was crying.

“I don’t want my love to be the thing that destroys you,” Kara whispered, taking Lena in her arms. “I love you so much. I love you with every cell in my body, it’s etched into every fibre of my being like the sunlight of my new home. You’re more to me the a red sunset. You’re my everything.”

Lena choked back her own tears, burying herself in Kara’s powerful embrace.

They took a moment for themselves, alone in the chamber, and stretched it out while Lena helped Kara change. She unclasped her cape and folded in her arms, surprised by the weight of the dense alien fabric, and set it aside.

She then found the hidden zippers and catches and helped Kara strip until she was bare, her sudden vulnerability making Lena’s chest clench. For all her muscles and surprising number of scars, she looked soft, almost delicate. Lena found herself touching those scars, feeling the hurts that had been so terrible that not even Kara’s invulnerability had saved her from them. The worst was the long but healed gash that ran from above her hip to just under her breasts, a gift from Reign.

Lena then helped her slip into a simple, loose white dress.

Old Lena- she had rejected taking a number and called herself that- joined them a few minutes later.

“Are we ready?” She said.

“We’re ready,” said Lena. Kara nodded in assent.

The lab was set up with three beds, each with their head aligned to the pedestal that held the sample of Harun-El that Lena had synthesized just for this. Kara would lie on one, the cyborg on another, and hopefully, the third would be occupied by a new body in a few minutes.

“I’ll start bringing her in.”

The life support for the cyborg’s body came first, and then they brought her in, using the same stasis pod that had carried Old Lena here from the Fortress of Solitude. Once they disabled the stasis field they’d have minutes.

More Lenas piled into the room, most notably 938, who stood aside to merely watch, and 1610, who could hopefully guarantee that transference was possible.

Only Lena and Old Lena worked on wiring Kara up and preparing the bed for the cyborg.

Neither of them had spoken of it, but somehow they had mutually agreed that they didn’t fully trust 938 or the others that came with her.

It was time. Lena rushed to help Old Lena move the broken body of the cyborg, with Diana stepping in for the literal heavy lifting. Lena could feel her brow burning with sweat as they worked.

Finally, they were wired up and that extra bed was waiting.

“It’s time,” said Lena.

Old Lena nodded and threw the switch.

Power and alien radiation cascaded through the dark crystal and Kara arched on the bed, the cyborg matching her movements with mechanical whirring sounds and the grinding of damaged joints.

“Kara?” Lena said. “Are you alright?”

Kara answered her by screaming. Her entire body arched, heels and shoulders lifting her up, and she screamed a wordless cry of agony as the her skin paled and black veins thickened down her limbs, swelled under the skin of her face.

“Oh God,” said Old Lena. “We can’t do this! Shut it off!”

“NO!” Kara shrieked, “I can take it! I can take it!”

“Look,” 938 said, “Look!”

Something was happening on the third bed. A circulatory system was weaving itself through the air, black veins sliding through invisible flesh. Astonished, Lena watched a brain grow itself from thin air as a brilliant purple energy formed an aura around it. A skeletal structure soon followed.

1610 made strange gestures and her hands took on a strange glow as she concentrated on something Lena couldn’t see.

Kara was grinding her teeth. “I can feel her, I can hear her thoughts, it’s like when I touched Red Daughter.

A full on nude Kara lay on the third bed now. Her chest slowly began to rise and fall and her eyes twitched beneath their lids, as if she were breathing. Her mouth formed silent words.

The cyborg went totally limp, whatever left of the will and energy that kept her alive fading as her head tilted to one side and her form went slack, her remaining eye gone glassy and lifeless.

Finally, Old Lena broke the circuit and the machine powered down. The room was utterly silent except for Kara’s soft, pained whimpers and the steady breathing of an immaculate copy of her lying on the bed. Old Lena rushed to cover her, sweeping a blanket over her to her chin.

Kara slowly rolled off the bed, leaning on Lena. Alex and Diana rushed in, crowding in to support her.

“I’m alright, I’m alright,” she panted. “I’m okay, it just stung like hell.”

Lena felt a wave of relief followed by a sudden terror. What if it hadn’t worked? What if there was simply an empty shell lying there on the bed and the cyborg, after everything she’d experienced, after all that suffering as she combed the multiverse for her love, as just… gone? Over? Nothing left but a few chunks held together by old wires and broken bumps?

“I want everyone else out,” Lena said. “Kara stays. Everyone else goes.”

“You heard her,” Alex piped up.

It was Diana that herded them all out. 938 was the last to go, tears hot on her cheeks.

The clone was not moving, just breathing.

“Please,” Old Lena murmured between sobs. “Please don’t leave. Not when we’re so close. I can’t do this aga-“

She went silent, then looked up.

“She squeezed my hand.”

Slowly, the clone’s eyes fluttered open.

“Where am I? Lena?”

“I’m here, baby.”

Kara grabbed Lena’s hand and their eyes briefly met.

“I couldn’t see,” the clone whispered. “I was falling, falling, I could hear you but you were always slipping away but now… great Rao, I can feel. I can feel.”

Slowly, she opened her eyes. The pair looked at one another and Old Lena pulled her into an embrace, the clone lunging into her arms. Moments later they were kissing each other relentlessly.

“Let’s give them some space,” said Lena.

Neither seemed to hear them, or even recall that they were there. As they hurried out of the room, Old Lena was pressing the clone back onto the bed.

Lena stepped out into the warm air of a Themysciran hotel evening and took a deep breath, the sweetness filling her lungs.

“I feel like someone dropped a prison asteroid on me,” Kara said, wryly.

“You smell like burnt rubber, too,” said Alex. “You need a bath.”

938 stormed up to them. “Did it work? Did it work? Did it bring her back?”

“Yes,” said Lena. “It worked.”

938 looked frantic, almost manic. “Do you think you could do it again?”

Lena felt a pang of unease.

“It’s too much strain on Kara. I won’t let her risk it.”

938 swallowed hard. “Give me the formula. Or just a sample. Anything. Please.”

Lena looked at Kara.

938 grabbed her shoulders. “We could save so many Karas with this. We could help them. So many that wouldn’t need to die.”

“The Harun-El is dangerous,” said Lena. “It has almost magical powers. Honestly, after I saw you and your group being so nonchalant about mindwiping a Kara variant, I’m not sure I can trust you with it.”

938’s face fell.

“You don’t understand,” she pleaded. “I can’t watch any more of them die. Every time it happens it’s like I’m watching my Kara fall all over again. I need to help them. Please.”

The doors opened behind Lena and she turned. The clone, once the cyborg, strode out of the temple in bare feet and a plain white gown, her Lena walking proudly beside her.

Old Lena looked down from the apex of the marble steps.

“I’m older than most of you,” she said, her voice carrying over them all. “I’ve seen things you wouldn’t believe. I escaped the Phantom Zone myself and tumbled through more worlds than I can count, looking for my Zhao, trying to find her before she suffered the consequences of my actions. The woman I loved was a rotting corpse kept alive by science created to kill her, because I couldn’t let her go.”

938 scowled, her voice strained. “It’s not fair for you to lecture us. You got yours back. You got yours back. I’ll never see mine again, except I do, every time I close my fucking eyes I see her falling and falling and it’s my fault! I killed her! I KILLED HER!”

938 sagged to her knees, burying her face in her hands.

“If I’d just jumped after her instead of using her webs… if I hadn’t been so focused on beating my brother… I lost everything.”

Diana, who had been silent the entire time, walked over and towered above 938.

“Lena,” she said. “Look at me.”

She looked up.

“It’s not your fault.”

“But I didn’t catch her.”

“Did you throw her off the bridge?”

“No, but it was my fault she was there, any way you slice it. He killed her to hurt me.”

Diana knelt.

“You are not responsible for her death.”

“You don’t understand,” 938 said. “With great power must also come great responsibility.”

Resting a meaty hand on her shoulder, Diana said, “Perhaps, but you are not a god. You are not responsible for everything.”

Old Lena and her Kara strode down the temple steps and joined Lena and Kara.

“Fine,” 938 finally said. “I can’t make you give it to me and I’m not going to fight any of you. We’ll go, but take this.”

She offered Lena a small device, a copy of the one she wore on her wrist. Lena tentatively took it.

“You can use that to call us if you need us.”

Without another word, she turned and fell in with the others, boarding their ship. When she reached the top of the ramp, she stopped and took a long look at both Karas before disappearing inside.

The ship lifted silently into the air and then winked out of existence with a blast of air rushing in to fill the vacuum.

“We should start looking for a way home, as well,” said Old Lena.

Lena turned to her.

“Don’t.”

Old Lena looked her in the eye.

“Don’t do that to yourselves,” said Lena. She turned to the clone. “Especially you. Whatever debt you think you owe, Kara, whatever guilt you have from being the last survivor of your home world, you’ve paid it. You’ve suffered so much, and your kindness has meant so much to me. Stay here.”

“This world already has a Supergirl.”

“Exactly,” said Kara. “That’s why you should stay. I can handle the cape stuff. You can just rest.”

“You can remain here,” said Diana, rising to join them. “Remain here on this island, beyond the reach of man’s world.”

Old Lena and the clone looked at each other.

“I want to stay,” said Old Lena.

“That’s all I needed to hear,” said the clone. “I just… if you really need me, you’ll call, right? You’ll ask me for help.”

Lena looked at her Kara, then at old Lena.

“No. I don’t think we will.”

“Even the mightiest warrior dreams of laying down sword and spear,” said Diana. “Rest.”

“Yes, Kara rest. We’ll be taking your new body for a test drive soon enough.”

The clone blushed beet red. “Ah. Yes. I see. May I speak with Lena? Alone?”

“Come on, Kara,” said Alex. “Give them some space.”

The others left. Lena was alone with the clone, the cyborg, whatever she was now, the breeze tugging gently at their clothes.

“Am I really her?” said the clone.

“What?” said Lena.

“I can’t help but wonder. I remember Lex running me through with the harpoon. I remember fading out, then waking up with the machinery in my body and a sobbing Lena greeting me full of grief and joy. Then it happened again. How many times can I be remade before I’m not me anymore? What if-“

“Kara,” Lena interrupted. “Do you feel the breeze on your skin? Is that real? Is your love for her real?”

“Yes.”

“Then so are you. We’re on Paradise Island and the love of your life is waiting for you. Go get her.”

The clone smiled. “I’m going to. You go get yours.”

“I will,” said Lena.

She did.

[loveforthefeminineenergy]

Channelled Love Messages From Your Future Boo🌹🧡🤎

Welcome to the Love For The Feminine🦋

Channelled messages from your future boo!

For all kinds of channelled messages⤵

https://youtube.com/@loveforthefeminineenergy?si=PdUFUSigqc4QiebG

............... Love For The Feminine 🦋 ..................

🌹Pile 1:

Hey Baby,

I am thinking about you non-stop. I can't forget you. I wanna see you again in my dreams because this is the only place I know that you are exist.

It's hard for me being without you. I wishing upon the stars everyday to meet with you.

I love feeling this energy around me. I am so ready for love and I am so ready for you. I am being patient. I am preparing myself for this connection, so when we will be together in the physical it will be mind blowing and just amazing.

We are going to be such an iconic couple. Movie stars. Powerhouse. I will love you until the day I die.

Yours faithfully

Future Lover Forever💜

............... Love For The Feminine 🦋 ..................

🧡Pile 2:

Dear Love of My life,

I do not think you know who I am, but I already know you. I saw you before but I was too shy and afraid to approach you. I thought, you will not like me and I did not have the strength yet to face with you.

Now I am thinking about it I lost the opportunity to actually ask you out.

It was not the right time for me at all. I had a lot of things going on with me and I am not writing this to you because I want to find excuses. No! It's because my life was hectic and at that time for this beautiful relationship to grow it was not a very good space to it.

I needed to work on myself and becoming a better person, also a much more stronger one so I can be 100% there for you as your forever person.

My Love!🧡

The time we did not spend with each other until this point is not wasted. It just gave us some time and space to grow, evolve and become the person who we are wish to become.

Now the time is so close.🧭

I can feel this in my bones. I am counting the days, when I will spot you in the crowd. I can feel your energy already. Inviting me, like a sweet honey and I am hungry. 💥

I am going to be honest I am celibate for a while. I only want my beautiful lover, no one else.

If you think that I only want the have fun with you, please just think it through. It's the part of me and it's the part of you and also it's natural.

My best trait is discipline, so I can contain myself, because I want to enjoy with you every moment. We do not need to rush. I am dedicated myself to you, so I would like to take it slow with you.

If I can wait until this exact moment, I can wait more as well. Take your time. When you are ready to receive the love (my love😎) I will show up in your life.

Just do what you do and love yourself every day, because I will love you even more.

Your Devoted Knight in Shining Armor,

Future Spouse

............... Love For The Feminine 🦋 ..................

🤎Pile 3:

Dear My Future Spouse,

I am really glad that I can communicate with you and tell you that I am successfully single and ready to be in the love game again.

I am not going to lie. That was a period of time, when I did not felt at all that I would like to be with someone.

I just couldn't find the connection with any one.

I had a few attempt and I tried a few things as well, so I have a knowledge and the experience, but it was all a learning curve.

I always felt that the person who was meant to be with me is not who is around me. I felt the disconnection so many times.

It's like something was always missing. Sometimes it was the emotions and the love, sometimes the conversation was not for my liking or even the chemistry in the bedroom.

Have you felt this before as well?

I can't wait to share those stories with each other, I think it will be very fun, because I would like to know everything about you. What you have been through? What are your interest? I would like to connect with you, more deeper than anyone else.

I would like us to be best friends and lovers as well.🤎

Love You to the Moon and Back!

Your True Love

PS: Be Your True Love to yourself first, I do not mind being the second if it's about loving yourself fully and truly and I will do the same and I am already doing it.

I love this and I might can be a shy person but I will fight for you and for the love what we have!

When you are not giving up on yourself you are not giving up on me as well, because this is how we will meet.

In the High Vibrational Realm of Love itself!

I will talk with you soon, I can feel it.

Love You💕

[ghoulishgrimstrike]

waiter!!! waiter!!! more old man rot yaoi please!!!

[camdog215]

I love that Gavv is about love. Like every Rider is motivated by love. Like Shouma loves Hanto humanity and his mom, Hanto loves Shouma and wants justice for his mom, Lakia loves his brother. Every main Rider fights for love and Shouma, specifically, fights because he only ever experienced love from his mom. His grudge against the rest of the Stomach family is because they couldn't love him. They constantly abused and rejected him so he fights both for the love he found and the love he never had. The infighting in the current arcs is because the Stomachs couldn't love each other and especially not Shouma. If they had ever loved Shouma, the story would never have happened. Love is the key to everything in the series and the villains will inevitably lose because they'll never understand it. Love is the key to everything and will be the end of the Stomachs

[oliveoomph]

Aaliyah & Cruz | Luce & Rachel

Special Ops: Lioness (2023) | Imagine Me & You (2005)

[koremakaria]

Embracing the Shadow.

There's still good in him! I know. There's still ... good in him.

And so we come to an end but then all ends are just another beginning. I simply adore this drama and how it deals with embracing the dark side of human nature.

In the epic final fight against the Supreme God, we have both the first incarnation of the Chaos Pearl and Saint Emperor Zhaoming together with the current incarnation of the Chaos Pearl and Demon Lord Zhaoming. It's the beginning and the end working together to effectively end an oppressive regime.

You have on one side the beginning of the cycle and you have on the other side the current/ end product of the great cycle of fate.

When the Supreme God is defeated, the Demon Lord has to make a decision. Endure punishment again or let the world burn. I love that he gets to see his old work station once more. Hello paperwork! .... how I miss you? Said the Demon Lord ... probably. In any case, he got to see the beginning of his life again and be reminded of who he was before Fate effectively cursed him with false memories.

Then he gets to meet his love, again. Pearl is different from Mu Xuanling because she represents innocence, good will, and optimism. While they are the same soul, they are in different stages of life experience. Here, the Demon Lord is glad to see his love but said that he's not the man she loves because he harbors dark thoughts. To be fair, Zhaoming probably had them too but he didn't let the darkness take over the goodness in him.

Demon Lord: 'what if I don't care about the world?'

Pearl: 'then I'll accompany you to the very end. Even if the world throw curses at you. I accept you for who you are'

She embraces the darkness in him knowing that there is still good in him. That's why she's crying the whole time because she has an unbreakable trust in his goodness even when he had already endured so much. Even when he stops believing in himself, she never did. She already knows what he would do. In turn this allows him to embrace his own darkness. Rather than letting it control him, he controls the darkness. Darkness then becomes just another part of him. All three incarnations of him shares one soul and so they are the same person with different experiences. By embracing the shadow he gets to decide who to be and eventually how to live moving forward. Embracing the shadow made whole once more.

I just love that the drama was allowed to portray this. Because the shadow represents dark thoughts and negative emotions we often feel we have to repressed but that we all have. To be human is to have feelings both positive and negative and be mature enough to exert control over them.

My ONE criticism is that they should have included the epilogue from the novel. I only peeked at the end but I really wanted to see the children. Hao Yi and Hao Er ... maybe another time.

[howtomakeyousee]

Twin flames fuel each other to burn brighter.

[thicc-astronaut]

I've gotten differing answers about this so I figure I should put it to a vote

reblog for sample size or whatever

[seizehopesworld]

Stay alive, even if your disability takes you down. Keep climbing that mountain, even if the chill burns your fingers and your feet grow tired.

Stay alive, even if it’s hard, even if your brain constantly tells you aren’t good enough or you’re better off dead.

Honestly, just stay alive because we need you. The world needs your special strength of mind and love. What if your heart touches someone else’s and that wouldn’t have happened if you weren’t here? We need you here.

Stay alive. We need you here. Fight back any thought that says otherwise.

[natalievoncatte]

Lena watched their new visitor as she, in turn, watched the bier that lay beneath the healing power of the Purple Ray. It had been almost a full day and while she was breathing shallow breaths, Lena’s counterpart on the table was still not awake.

The cyborg stood just outside the perimeter of the beam, as still as a statue, just watching. At various times Kara, Nia, Alex, and Diana herself had all taken up silent watch next to her, along with the honor guard of Amazonian warriors.

Lena looked at… herself. Her doppleganger tapped the name tag on her leather jacket.

“It’s easier if you just call me by my number- 938. That’s how we keep track of each other.”

Lena nodded. “Others?”

“The other Lenas. There’s about fifty on the ship right now, the core membership. There’s about three hundred of us in total. We’re the ones who can’t, or won’t, go home.”

“I see,” said Lena. “Why can’t you go back?”

938 looked at her. “It’s not a fun story.”

“I’m listening.”

“Let me show you something.”

She held out her wrist. There was a piece of tech on her arm, like a bulky smart watch. When she activated it, a three dimensional holographic display appeared above the smooth surface. 938 pointed out the branches of what looked like a huge tree.

“The multiverse is much larger than you can imagine. I’ve spent some time charting a small section of it. See this branch?” she indicated one with a sweep of her finger. “This the reality cluster I come from. Our worlds are different from yours. I believe it’s because the divergence point, where the two universes split on a quantum continuity level, is further back in history. I think some of the changes can go all the way back to the Big Bang.”

“There’s so many,” said Lena.

998 nodded. “There are. There are worlds like yours, but many others like mine. We have no protectors. No Kryptonians. No Lanterns. There are worlds out there where no one has powers at all.”

“But not yours,” said Lena.

938 turned off the device, and turned away from the scene behind them. “For me it started with a lab accident. A genetically modified spider was irradiated and bit me before it died. It’d escaped from an enclosure in another lab and got zapped by my own experiment. I was sick for three days. When I came out of it, I had the proportionate strength, speed, and agility of an arachnid, plus a precognitive danger sense and spinarettes in my wrists.”

“You became a superhero?”

“Yes,” said 938. “For all the good it did. I fought the good fight for a few years and eventually ran afoul of a new gang in town. The problem was that it was led by my own brother.”

“Lex,” Lena spat.

“He’d experimented on himself. Used an unstable steroid. It drove him utterly insane and he started wearing a goblin costume and flying around on a rocket powered glider.”

“Oh God,” said Lena.

“My universe doesn’t have a Krypton. My Kara was human, only human, and I loved her with all my heart. I couldn’t breathe without her. She was my everything. I tried to keep her safe, so I kept my identity and my feelings from her, but it didn’t matter. Lex knew. He abducted her and threw her off the George Washington Bridge.”

938 looked away. “I thought I had her. I tried to use my webs to catch her but I didn’t think and the shock… I’m the one who killed her really. The sudden stop snapped her neck.”

Lena stared at her.

“I’m so sorry.”

938 shook her head. “I fought Lex after that. I was in a rage. I killed him in front of thousands of witnesses. I broke his neck, almost twisted his head off. It didn’t matter. She was still gone, and nothing would ever fill that void. I hung up my costume and turned back to science, trying to build something meaningful in Kara’s name, but no matter how many labs and fellowships I named after her it was never enough. That was how I stumbled across the multiverse, working on a portal device in my lab.”

“You found yourself, I take it. Or ourself.”

“No. I found another Kara, and in a world with no Lena. She was alone. I crossed over with some of my tech, never planning to go back. Then I realized, that woman wasn’t her. All I could ever be to her was someone grooming her to be a dead woman from another world. I despaired for a while, jumping from ‘verse to ‘verse, trying to find some reason to keep going.”

“What did you find?” said Lena.

“Lena 1467, the Sorcerer Supreme of her Earth. She’d lost her Kara too, in a car accident when they were med students. That was when the League of Lenas got going. We found more of us, started assembling a team.”

“To do what?”

998 looked at the cyborg. “Fix it. Save her.” She sighed. “Our main mission is to help out and protect as many Karas as we can, but also to protect the multiverse from rogue Karas or rogue Lenas that might breach the barriers between universes.”

“I’m assuming that’s to prevent wars between timelines.”

938 shook her heads. “No. Not long after I started traveling I had… an experience. I only vaguely remember it but there were these yellow aliens and they told me that we had to protect the branches from each other so that some kind of corruption won’t reach what they called the ‘core world’ or the ‘Ab-Juda-Earth.’ The multiverse needs superheroes. We have to exist to keep it alive.”

“So you’re here to help the cyborg?”

“Both of them.”

“You know,” said Lena. “The cyborg Kara mentioned something about yellow aliens when I first met her, but I didn’t think to ask-“

“She’s awake!” The cyborg was saying. “She’s awake, let me see her!”

Lena turned and found both her Kara and Diana holding the cyborg back.

“Shut off the Ray,” Diana commanded.

Once it was off, the pair released the cyborg. She lunged across the space, limping as her metal foot clacked on the floor, slowing as she reached the bier.

“Kara?”

Lena watched, 998 standing next to her. The cyborg kept her distance, suddenly apprehensive. The other Lena slowly sat up, finally prompting the cyborg to move.

“Lena?” she rasped.

The other Lena- thinner, visibly older with strands of gray shot through her hair, smiled and cupped the fleshy side of Kara’s face with her hand.

“You found me.”

“I found you. My love. My zhao. My red sunrise. I found you.”

“It’s going to be alright, baby,” said the other Lena. “I can fix you up. I’ll make you better.”

The cyborg took a deep, rasping breath, closed her eyes, and collapsed to the floor in a boneless heap.

“Move!” 938 shouted. “We don’t have time, we have to help her now. Princess, I need to jump my ship into your airspace. Please.”

“Who are you? What’s happening?” the other Lena demanded.

“Trust us, please,” said Lena. “You’re among friends here and we want to help you.”

938 was speaking into her watch.

“I need you now, hurry.”

Outside, a booming shockwave sent a blast of air through the open, airy temple, almost gusting Lena off her feet. Her Kara steadied her, then lifted her cyborg counterpart gently in her arms.

“Get her aboard my ship,” said 998.

[stinabthe1]

[small-z24]

One-Shot: A Dance with Danger

Summary:

Y/N and Azriel are forced to take shelter in a secluded cabin after a mission goes awry. As they fend off a surprise attack from Hybern soldiers, their long-hidden feelings come to the surface during a heated argument.

Word Count: 1713

Warnings: This story contains intense battle scenes, descriptions of injuries, emotional turmoil, and moments of vulnerability. Readers should be prepared for dramatic confrontations and raw emotional exchanges.

The mission had gone smoothly—too smoothly. As Y/N and Azriel made their way back to the Night Court, a sense of unease settled over them. The forest around them was eerily quiet, the usual sounds of nocturnal creatures conspicuously absent.

"We need to keep moving," Azriel said, his voice low and urgent. "I don't like this silence."

Y/N nodded, her hand tightening around the hilt of her sword. "Agreed. Let's hurry."

They picked up the pace, their footsteps muffled by the thick underbrush. Just as they reached a clearing, a group of Hybern soldiers emerged from the shadows, surrounding them with weapons drawn.

"Well, well, what do we have here?" sneered the leader, a tall fae with a cruel smile. "The Night Court's spymaster and his little friend."

Azriel's shadows flared protectively around him, his wings spreading wide. "Stay behind me, Y/N."

She stepped forward, her eyes blazing with determination. "Not a chance. We're in this together."

The Hybern soldiers attacked, and the clearing erupted into chaos. Y/N and Azriel fought back-to-back, their movements perfectly synchronized. Y/N's blade flashed in the moonlight as she parried and struck, each movement a testament to her skill and training. Azriel's shadows lashed out like living weapons, disarming and incapacitating their foes with deadly precision.

Despite their efforts, the enemy's numbers were overwhelming. Azriel was struck by a glancing blow to the side, blood seeping through his tunic. Y/N's heart lurched at the sight, but she couldn't afford to be distracted.

"Azriel, are you alright?" she shouted, slashing through another attacker.

"I'm fine," he gritted out, his eyes never leaving the enemies surrounding them. "Just focus on the fight."

They fought on, but the tide was turning against them. Y/N's movements were slowing, exhaustion creeping into her limbs. She knew they couldn't keep this up much longer.

Suddenly, a sharp pain exploded in her shoulder as an arrow found its mark. She stumbled, her vision blurring. Azriel's roar of rage and anguish cut through the chaos, and he surged forward, his shadows enveloping them both in a protective cocoon.

"We need to get out of here," he said, his voice tight with worry.

Y/N nodded weakly, her strength waning. "Lead the way."

With a powerful beat of his wings, Azriel lifted them both into the air, his shadows forming a barrier against further attacks. They flew through the trees, the wind whipping past them as they raced against time and danger.

When they finally landed near a secluded cabin, Azriel gently set Y/N down, his hands trembling. "Stay with me, Y/N," he pleaded, his voice breaking. "Don't you dare leave me."

She managed a weak smile. "I'm not going anywhere, Azriel. Just... need to rest."

Azriel carefully carried her into the cabin, laying her down on a makeshift bed. He worked quickly to tend to her wounds, his hands steady but his eyes filled with fear.

"You're going to be okay," he murmured, more to himself than to her. "You have to be."

Y/N reached up, her fingers brushing his cheek. "Thank you, Azriel. For everything."

He captured her hand in his, pressing a kiss to her palm. "Rest now. I'll keep watch."

As Y/N drifted into a fitful sleep, Azriel stood guard, his shadows coiling around them like a protective shroud. He couldn't shake the fear gnawing at his heart, the thought of losing her more than he could bear.

Hours passed, and Y/N awoke to find Azriel still by her side, his eyes red-rimmed but vigilant. "Azriel," she whispered, her voice hoarse. "You should rest."

He shook his head, his expression fierce. "Not until I know you're safe."

She smiled softly, her heart swelling with love for the shadowy warrior who had risked everything for her. "I'm safe with you."

Azriel's gaze softened, and he leaned down, pressing a gentle kiss to her forehead. "And I'll always keep you safe, Y/N. No matter what."

The moment was interrupted by a loud crash as the cabin door was kicked open. Hybern soldiers flooded in, their eyes gleaming with malice.

"Found you," their leader sneered. "Did you really think you could escape us?"

Azriel's shadows flared to life, and he stepped in front of Y/N, his wings spreading protectively. "Over my dead body."

The battle was fierce and relentless. Azriel fought with a ferocity born of desperation and love, his shadows striking with deadly precision. Y/N, despite her injuries, found the strength to rise and join the fight, her determination unwavering.

But the odds were against them. Just as it seemed they would be overwhelmed, a blast of magic erupted from the doorway, sending the Hybern soldiers sprawling. Rhysand and the Inner Circle had arrived, their faces grim with determination.

"Need a hand?" Rhysand called, his magic crackling around him.

"Glad you could make it," Azriel replied, relief flooding his voice.

With the added strength of their allies, the tide quickly turned. The remaining Hybern soldiers were dispatched, and the cabin fell silent once more.

Rhysand approached Azriel and Y/N, his gaze assessing. "You both look like hell."

"Feel like it too," Y/N muttered, her legs threatening to give out.

Feyre rushed to Y/N's side, her healing magic already at work. "Let's get you patched up."

Azriel watched with a mix of gratitude and worry as Y/N was tended to, his own wounds forgotten in his concern for her. Rhysand placed a hand on his shoulder, squeezing reassuringly.

"You did well, Az," he said quietly. "She's strong, and she'll be alright."

Azriel nodded, his eyes never leaving Y/N. "I know. But I can't lose her."

"You won't," Rhysand promised. "Not if we have anything to say about it."

As the night wore on, the storm outside finally began to abate. Y/N, now fully healed thanks to Feyre's magic, sat beside Azriel, their hands entwined.

"You scared me," Azriel admitted, his voice barely above a whisper. "When I saw you fall..."

"I'm sorry," she said, her eyes filled with love and regret. "I didn't mean to worry you."

He shook his head, a small smile playing on his lips. "Just don't do it again."

Y/N laughed softly, the sound like music to his ears. "I'll do my best."

They sat in comfortable silence, the events of the night a stark reminder of the dangers they faced. But in each other's arms, they found solace and strength, knowing that together, they could face anything.

As dawn broke, casting a golden light over the cabin, Azriel pressed a gentle kiss to Y/N's lips. "We'll get through this, Y/N. We'll make it through every storm, every battle. Together."

"Together," she echoed, her heart swelling with love and determination.

And as the new day began, they knew that their bond, forged in the heat of battle and the depths of their love, would guide them through whatever challenges lay ahead. For in each other, they had found not just a partner, but a soulmate, a love that would endure through any storm.

Weeks passed, and their bond grew stronger. They continued to face missions and challenges together, their partnership growing seamless. One evening, as they prepared for another mission, an unexpected argument erupted.

"You need to be more careful out there, Y/N," Azriel said, his voice tinged with frustration. "You can't keep putting yourself in danger like this."

Y/N crossed her arms, glaring at him. "I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself, Azriel. I don't need you hovering over me all the time."

Azriel's jaw clenched. "I'm not hovering. I'm protecting you."

"Protecting me?" Y/N's voice rose. "It feels more like you're smothering me. I'm not some fragile flower that needs constant guarding."

"I'm trying to keep you safe!" Azriel shouted, his shadows flaring around him.

"And I don't need you to!" Y/N shouted back, her eyes blazing with anger.

The room fell silent, the air thick with tension. They stood there, breathing heavily, staring at each other. And then, without warning, it happened.

A powerful, unmistakable bond snapped into place between them, a connection so strong it took their breath away. Y/N's eyes widened in shock, and she saw the same realization mirrored in Azriel's gaze.

"Azriel," she whispered, her voice trembling. "The bond..."

"I know," he replied, his voice hoarse with emotion. "I've known for a while."

Tears filled Y/N's eyes. "Why didn't you tell me?"

Azriel stepped closer, his hand reaching out to cup her cheek. "I was afraid. Afraid of complicating things, of dragging you into my world of shadows and danger. I thought you deserved better."

"Better than my mate?" Y/N's voice broke, tears spilling down her cheeks. "Azriel, you're everything to me."

He pulled her into his arms, holding her tightly. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I never wanted to hurt you."

Y/N buried her face in his chest, her sobs shaking her body. "I love you, Azriel. I love you so much."

"I love you too," he whispered, his voice filled with raw emotion. "More than anything."

As they stood there, wrapped in each other's embrace, the bond between them solidified, a promise of love and devotion that would never be broken. They had faced so much together, and now, they would face the future as mates, united by a love that had defied all odds.

The next day, as they prepared for their mission, there was a newfound sense of peace and determination between them. They knew that whatever challenges lay ahead, they would face them together, their bond unbreakable.

As they flew over Velaris, Azriel's wings carrying them through the sky, Y/N felt a sense of exhilaration and hope. They were stronger together, and nothing could stand in their way.

"Ready for this?" Azriel asked, his eyes sparkling with love and confidence.

"With you by my side, always," Y/N replied, her heart swelling with joy.

And as they soared into the horizon, hand in hand, they knew that their love would guide them through any storm, any battle. For they were mates, destined to be together, their bond a beacon of light in the darkest of times.

[mybellabellabella]

“Love, Mr. Carbone. Love conquers all.”

[saltavista]

[fenharelsfang]

The Wolf's Heart (3/5)

Previously: The Wolf's Heart (2/5)

Warning: This chapter touches on themes of rape, abuse, and death. Read at your own risk.

Solas

I’ve failed … again.

Time slowed to a crawl around him. The last of Ellana’s beautiful visage faded from his view as she plummeted to her death. He lay on the ground, his chin throbbing in time with his stuttering heartbeat. 

She was gone, slipped right through his fingers.

Memories that had been forced into the darkest recesses of his mind came forth, unbidden. Mythal, lying dead on the ground before him. His oldest friend. In the thousands of years they had known each other, she was his constant companion. He revered her, gave up the Fade for her, sacrificed his morals for her, enacted vengeance in her name. For so long that’s what he thought love meant, to give all of yourself to someone without expecting anything in return. To lap eagerly at the little scraps of affection dangled over your head because all you could ever have. It was all you could ever deserve. Love was greedy. Love was cruel. It was a tool, a means to an end and it was all he knew.

Then he met Ellana and she showed him a different kind of love. Affection wasn't a rarity, it was the norm. Love wasn't a callous transaction. He was never required to cut himself to pieces to please her. She treated him with kindness and tenderness as if the abuses of his past were bruises on his skin. She actively sought him out to listen to his stories, if only to hear the sound of his voice. When he isolated himself to suffer in silence, she reached out a hand to let him know he wasn’t alone. She asked for his wisdom on matters both big and small. He found a missing part of himself in her, the spirit that was almost forgotten. Cracks developed in the walls around his heart. 

He lived for her smile and it came so easily to her face in his presence. He didn't have to fight for it. She kissed away the doubts and insecurities plaguing him. Her touch healed the broken pieces of his soul. But he would never allow himself to take more from her than he was willing to give himself and he would not lie with her under false pretenses. 

When he refused to take her, he was afraid of punishment. Instead, she reacted with patience and understanding.

“I just want to be with you,” she said with a smile before resting her head on his chest. “No matter what form that takes.” 

That warmth was something he had never known before. It was certainly undeserved. She loved him and he loved her. Despite wanting to break the cycle, however, he ended up inadvertently taking everything from her: her heritage, her arm, her happiness.

Now her life.

“No, no, no, no,” he cried, crawling forward on his stomach to peer through a crack in the floor. At this angle, he couldn’t see her.

Solas pushed himself to his knees and clutched at his chest. His breathing was ragged, erratic, agony in his lungs. His heartbeat was deafening in his ears. Ellana was gone and with her went any hope of a different path he could take. 

When Mythal died, the elven empire burned in retribution. And now?

A cry of despair uttered from the depths of his soul and ripped through his throat. The palace quaked beneath him. His magic, so entwined with his emotions, flared out in response to his anguish. It swirled around him like a tornado, growing wider with each passing moment. Elgar’nan tried to breach it, to run his sword through Solas’s gut, but the force of his magic flattened the tyrant against the wall. The archdemon screeched and tried to cover its ears to silence the noise. 

So immense was Solas’s pain that his physical form struggled to contain it. It was a living thing, hammering against his body until cracks formed. They glowed with a blinding white light, as did his eyes. Tears cascaded down his cheeks. The Veil sundered in response to his agony, ripping open a hole in the sky. Demons surged forth, drawn to Solas like stars caught in a black hole. They plunged into his body through his open mouth, filling him up and spilling out through the cracks. Still more wrapped around him, fusing together until they warped him into an amorphous abomination. Its mass blocked out the only sliver of sunlight in the sky, casting the city in an impenetrable darkness and when it spoke, it was a thousand voices speaking at once.

“It is clear to us now that this world is beyond saving. Prepare to face oblivion for your transgressions."

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

Ellana

I have regrets.

Wind rushes past me as I fall. My blood is a crimson streak trailing behind me. Minrathous rises on either side. To my left is the Blight stalk anchoring the Archon’s palace to the ground below. Rook and his team are near the top. He looks my way and I can see his hardened resolve. I've failed, but he won't.

Suddenly, I’m standing in a clearing, staring down at the charred remains of my parents as the Brecilian Forest burns around me. Columns of smoke and ash blot out the sun. Flames still flicker in the palms of my hands.

‘It wasn't your fault!’ a voice in my head screams. It's not mine. It belongs to a young man and it feels so familiar somehow.

Wasn’t it my fault?

The scene shifts, traveling back in time to when the sky was blue and the lea was filled with life. Two little elves, sisters, laugh as they chase each other through the tall grass. They gather flowers that they weave into crowns and place on each other’s heads. The older sister ventures farther than her parents told her to. The younger sister frets about breaking the rules, but the older sister assures her everything is safe. 

Then the humans come. The little sister disappears into the safety of the forest. The older one is surrounded. Her parents rush to her rescue and cover her escape.

‘Run,’ says her mother. ‘Run and don’t look back.���

She doesn’t listen. She runs, but looks to see if her parents are behind her. They lie on the ground with arrows in their chests. The world explodes.

‘You were just a child. You couldn’t have known the humans were there. Your parents were already dead. The fire didn’t kill them.’

Little fists beat against her chest. ‘Mamae and Papae are gone! They’re gone because you didn’t listen!’

‘She was too young to understand. It wasn’t your fault.’

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

The real world comes into focus again. I feel the water of the harbor curl around me like a blanket. This is to be my grave. It's quiet here. The water churns above me, painted red with the eclipse's light. It reminds me of the aftermath of a shark feeding frenzy. 

There's a bright light in the sky above me, blinding in its intensity.

I blink and suddenly I’m waking in my bed. A blanket of halla wool is draped over my naked body. I'm in my aravel. There's art on the walls. Herbs hang from the ceiling. Trinkets from my clan's travels are spread across the dresser. I’m warm, happy, and satisfied. Something has irrevocably changed within me. 

I roll over to see the other side of the bed empty. After dressing, I step outside into the early morning light and make my way to the center of camp where he stands with the other apprentice hunters. He is handsome with short black hair and blue eyes, all muscle and a smile that can make any woman swoon.

I wrap my arms around his waist in greeting and he jumps away from me.

‘What’s wrong?’ I ask. He couldn’t touch me enough last night.

‘What do you think you’re doing?’ he asks. The other hunters snicker and sneer behind him. My cheeks warm in embarrassment.

‘I just wanted to say good morning, vhenan.’

‘Vhenan? What makes you think that’s what I am?’

‘Because we– I thought you loved me.’

He tosses back his head and laughs. ‘Love you? The clan freak?’

‘But you said–’

‘I lied. We made a bet on how fast I could get you into bed, that’s all. It was easy. All I had to do was smile at you, pretend to be interested, and tell you I loved you and you were willing to bend over backwards for me.’ He waggles his eyebrows at his friends.

The other hunters snort. Some of the girls walk by and whisper to each other, staring at me with contempt and disgust. Now I’m filled with shame and my heart is broken.

I will never be the same.

‘You didn’t deserve what he did to you. He didn’t deserve your kindness.’

Who are you? Why am I seeing all of this?

‘His pain is seeping into you.’

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

I'm in Wycome, standing before my grandmother. My face is bare, my left hand replaced by a gauntlet made of iron bark. 

‘Keeper, please,’ I beg. ‘I speak the truth. Our histories are wrong. Our gods are undeserving of our worship. They enslaved us!’

‘Silence!’ she shouts at me in response. ‘You come here, bare-faced, speaking blasphemy! Tell me, did that shemlen Chantry convert you, Herald of Andraste?’

‘No! That's not it at all. I met Fen'harel. The legends are wrong about him. He freed us from the Evanuris!’

‘He destroyed us! Our gods are lost to us because of him! He is a deceiver! A snake! If you truly crossed his path and allowed him to remove everything that makes you Dalish, then you have betrayed your people.’

‘I love my people! Solas loves our people!’

‘Solas?’

‘That's his true name. He was a part of the Inquisition. He helped us save Thedas. He's a hero.’

Keeper Deshanna understood, then. She could see it as plain as day on my face. I loved him.

‘Did you not learn your lesson the first time, Da'len?’

I'm stunned into silence. Everyone’s eyes are on me. 

‘He loves me,’ I whisper in protest.

‘Leave,’ my grandmother orders. ‘You are no longer a part of Clan Lavellan. Return to your trickster Dread Wolf. I expected better of you.’

But there was no one to return to. I didn't tell her he was gone, that I came of my own accord. Now I'm alone.

Some time later I sit by the pond in Crestwood where I learned the truth. I bring out the knife and cut away my hair. It billows into the wind and sinks in the water.

I am no one.

‘Your Keeper was wrong to banish you. You sacrificed so much to keep them safe. Your love for them burns brightly within you.’

There's the silhouette of a person in the light now, swimming towards me. It's a man, no, an elf. Dark hair. Violet eyes. Tattoos of tree branches framing his face. Then darkness blots out the sky and I succumb to its embrace.

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

I stand in front of a throne made from a dragon’s skull. Many have stood before it in anticipation of judgment, all passed by … me.

Did I make the right choices?

‘You did your best with what you had. You gave hope to so many, Inquisitor: the mages who stood as equals instead of prisoners, Empress Celene and Briala who were reminded of the value and power of their love, and the Grey Wardens who were given a chance at fulfilling their purpose to save the world again. Your capacity for forgiveness softened the edges of the world's suffering.

You were the single ray of light in a very dark night for those who knew you. You encouraged Cullen to let go of the lyrium and regrets that caged him. You urged Dorian to mend his broken relationship with his father, to feel seen and accepted. You helped the Iron Bull break free of his chains of duty and find a family instead. You gave Blackwall the chance at redemption. You reminded Leliana that compassion is not a weakness. You renewed Cassandra’s faith. And you reminded me of who I really am.’

Wait, Cole?

‘Yes! I came to help. You are Hope, Inquisitor, the last bastion of your kind … and you are desperately needed. Only you can save him.’

Save who?

Solas! The world is drowning in his despair and if you don’t reach him, darkness will consume everything.

Only I could save him? No, how could I hope to do that? I already failed to save him twice now. There's really only one person who can and I will never measure up to her. My grandmother was right: I'm a fool. I can't reach him, Cole. His heart belongs to Mythal. All of this he did for her. His grief is for her.

‘You're wrong. He didn't want to do this. He never wanted any of this to happen. She carved him into a weapon of war and then she died, leaving him with their mess to clean up alone. You were the first thing he ever chose for himself. Can you hear his heart? It's crying out for yours, not hers. You were his light, his hope for a better future. He knew true happiness because of you. Do not lose yourself to despair, Hope.’

His face flashes across my mind, all sharp angles and lupine features. Steel gray eyes that danced like firelight when they met mine. Full lips curving into a crooked grin reserved only for me. A scar over his right brow the only imperfection, but even that was beautiful. He is my vhenan and I am his. I will be better than Mythal. I will never forsake him.

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

Ellana bolted upright before bending over and expelling water and blood from her lungs. Painful coughs wracked her body as she fought to breathe in fresh air. She was drenched and shivering. Someone had draped a blanket over her that she immediately gripped tighter around her body. A hand patted and rubbed her back as she cleared her lungs from the last remaining fluid.

“That’s it, lethallan, get it all out.”

More of the world came into focus. She was sitting on a beach with only the light of the campfire nearby and the glow of lanterns in the city to see by. All natural light was gone. There was only darkness. The ground trembled violently like an earthquake that wouldn't stop. Minrathous was collapsing in the distance, buildings falling into the harbor.

“What's happening?” she asked. 

“Oh, you know, the Dread Wolf is just throwing a tantrum,” the elf beside her answered. 

She snapped her head to look at him, noticing his dark locks dripping water. She recognized his violet-colored eyes and Mythal's vallaslin. 

“You were in the water,” she said, bewildered. 

“As were you, lethallan.”

“And you … saved me? Who are you?”

He smiled at her. “My name is Felassan.”

Felassan? That name seemed familiar somehow. 

“You know Compassion.” He tilted his head towards a young man crouched nearby. His face was obscured by an enormous hat, but she recognized the blonde locks and patched-together leathers.

“Cole!”

Ellana threw herself against him, her arms embracing him in a fierce hug. It had been years since she last saw him. A part of her feared he returned to the Fade. Though he belonged there, it didn't lessen the sadness she felt in his absence. 

As always, the young man was a little awkward when it came to affection. He gave her a little pat on the back, but then threw caution to the wind and returned the hug. It was brief, she didn't want to soak him with her wet clothes.

“What are you doing here? How did you even get here?” 

“We used the eluvians,” Felassan said.

“You have access to them?” Ellana asked.

“I would hope so. I led the Dread Wolf's armies through them.”

That's why his name was so familiar! Harding mentioned a Felassan from Solas's memories.

“You're his general.”

“Was his general, among other things.”

She cocked a brow. “‘Among other things’?”

Felassan sighed. “Solas was my best friend. Then he murdered me. Now it's complicated.” He chuckled ruefully and stood up, hands on his hips.

“... Oh.” Hold on, that didn't make sense. “Wait, if he murdered you, then how are you alive?”

“I suppose he technically didn't murder me so much as render me Tranquil. I ask you which is worse: death of the body or death of the soul?” 

She peered at him skeptically. “You don't act like a Tranquil,” she ventured.

“Oh, I'm not anymore.” He jerked his thumb in Cole's direction. “Compassion found me drifting in the Fade. He touched my mind and I returned to myself.”

“I wanted to help,” Cole said.

Her gaze met Felassan's and she could see the pain of betrayal in his eyes. Solas had broken his mind and, though he recovered, it left scars on his soul. What must it have been like to lose all sense of emotion, trapped in your own mind? To be unable to dream? It was a fate worse than death. His friendship with Solas was ruined.

Or was it?

“He destroyed your mind,” she said quietly. “But you’re here. Why? Did Cole ask you to come?” 

“No,” he said, his smile somber. “I came for the same reason you did: to save him. I should hate him for what he did to me. I'm certainly furious at him for it. Instead, I pity him. He was angry and grieving. Imagine waking up all alone to a world worshipping the very evil you fought so hard to rid it of. He tried to tell the Dalish the truth of their gods and they attacked him. He must have felt like nothing he did mattered. That Mythal died for nothing. He was bitter. I befriended the people who scorned him. Perhaps I was the one who betrayed him first. Perhaps he was envious that I moved on while he was trapped in his regrets and loneliness. I don't know.” His eyes shimmered with tears. “But he's my best friend. I miss him. And now … now he has become … something else.” Felassan stared up towards the Archon's palace. “He watched you fall to your death and it shattered what remained of him. Now a pit of all-consuming darkness spreads across the sky. It will devour the world. But he has to be in there … somewhere.”

His words sparked a panic in her. Ellana's hand flew to her sternum. There was a hole in her tunic, but not one in her chest. “I should be dead. Why am I not dead?” 

“That would be the combined efforts of Felassan and yours truly.”

A raven descended from the tree nearby and disappeared in a puff of black smoke and purple flames. Morrigan landed next to Ellana and extended a hand to her, pulling her to her feet.

“Morrigan,” Ellana breathed. “Thank you, both of you – all three of you – for saving me.”

Morrigan smiled at her. It was softer, lacking its usual snark. “‘Twas close,” she said, “but you have a remarkable will to live, Inquisitor, as you've no doubt proven in the past.”

Ellana grinned at her, but a horrible wrenching sound drew their attention to the city. The Blight stalk was falling. As it did, it took part of the Archon's palace with it. The shockwave of its impact with the ground knocked the four of them over. They quickly scrambled to their feet and jogged further inland as a wall of water washed ashore.

“There goes our way up,” Felassan said in annoyance.

Ellana looked to the sky. “We need to get up there! How did people get up before that thing?”

“I assure you the infrastructure that was put in place for such a purpose is no longer intact,” Morrigan said. 

“Cole, can you read anything from Solas? Maybe we can speak to him!”

“There are too many voices,” Cole said, his voice strained. “They are all screaming.”

“Shit!” she cursed. She paced back and forth on the rocks before cupping her hands around her mouth as an amplifier. “SOLAS!!”

“Marvelous effort, but you are a whisper amongst a hurricane,” Felassan said. He seemed oddly amused, all sadness from a minute ago gone. Ellana got the sense that he tried not to take anything too seriously.

He is Joy.

She wasn't sure why that came to her mind, but it did. 

“Do you have any bright ideas, General?”

He shrugged in response. 

Morrigan grimaced before releasing a sigh. “I can get us up there, but we must never speak of it.”

The elves and Cole exchanged confused glances as Morrigan moved further along the beach. Her dark magic swirled around her as her form began to grow. In a bright flash of light, a dragon stood before them, her magenta and ivory wings outstretched. She threw her head back and roared, testing the form she hadn't used since her fight with Corypheus's archdemon. Her talons flexed, digging into the sand. Smoke billowed from her nostrils.

Then she lowered herself to the ground and looked back at the trio expectantly.

“Oh,” Felassan said with a delighted grin, “now we're talking!”