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duhragonball · 3 years ago

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[FIC] Luffa: The Legendary Super Saiyan (194/?)

Disclaimer: This story features characters and concepts based on Dragon Ball, which is a trademark of Bird Studio/Shueisha and Toei Animation. This is an unauthorized work, and no profit is being made on this work by me. This story is copyright of me. Download if you like, but please don’t archive it without my permission. Don’t be shy.

Continuity Note: This story takes place about 1000 years before 66 years after the events of Dragon Ball Z.

[2 September, Age 749. Earth.]

One story continues with a little girl pleading for help from an Invincible Old Master. So great is her desperation that she feels no one else can save her homeland. So great is her resolve that she has braved dangers on land and sea to find him.

Master Roshi was short, bald man of advanced age and poor manners. Living in solitude on a tiny island, the Turtle Hermit had long forgotten the social niceties. In the outside world, he would surely be put in jail, if any prison could possibly hold him.

As Pansy made her plea for assistance, his island was attacked by a submarine from the land of Gurumes. Roshi's house was destroyed, but he retaliated with an even mightier assault. Before Pansy's amazed eyes, the old man swelled to three times his size, and launched a beam of blinding light from his hands. The Kamehameha. The Turtle Destruction Wave.

It was an invincible power!

And he refused to use it on her behalf.

The Turtle Hermit claimed that he was far removed from worldly life and desires, as though this forbade him from interfering. Yet he advised Pansy that she did not need his assistance, for she already had wonderful friends who had already joined her cause.

"I'm certain there are times you feel all alone," he said. "But helping each other is what people do! I believe that bringing friends and strength together can always make any wish come true!"

Pansy found these words hollow and meaningless at the time. But she had the ride home to ponder their meaning. She had felt all alone, even as Bulma and Oolong and Son Goku had joined her crusade.

And her friends did have power. Besides Bulma's weapons and Oolong's shapeshifting abilities, Son Goku learned the Kamehameha technique on his first try. His blast was far weaker, but it was a testament to his boundless potential.

Roshi seemed to believe this would be enough to make the difference, but Pansy was not so sure.

"He can wax philosophic all he wants, but I say that old pervert is just too lazy to make the trip!"

That was Oolong's opinion of Roshi's decision. The pig-man was a cynic and a coward, so it made sense for him to project his own sentiments onto the Turtle Hermit. And yet... Oolong was going along, where Roshi had stayed behind. If Oolong wasn't too lazy to join them, then why not the Invincible Old Master?

Unless he was certain that Pansy and her new friends would be enough. His words had seemed like empty reassurances, but what if--in his infinite wisdom-- Master Roshi had sized up the situation and decided his power truly was unnecessary?

Was it really that simple? Was it just a matter of friends working together to help each other?

And if that was true, then why did Roshi live alone on an island?

Perhaps his brief contact with the outside world had been enough. It had been enough for Goku to learn the Kamehameha, and to receive the gift of the flying cloud, the Kinto'un. So the trip to his island had not been a waste after all. Each fateful encounter made subtle changes to the story, like the gears in a clock, or the cells in the body. Each corpuscle flowing through the veins, alone, but never truly alone.

The heart beats, and the blood of this tale continues another lap on its endless course.

*******

[16 May, Age 767. Earth.]

It was called, unofficially, the Ruby Loop. The Supreme Kai of Time and her agents, the Time Patrol, had been studying the phenomenon for two years. From the outside, the Ruby Loop looked like a chunk of red crystal that floated and glowed in one of the Kai's storage rooms. But it was possible to enter the crystal, and find a world that could only be described as a time loop. Events would proceed, then suddenly start over from the same date.

According to the Supreme Kai of Time, such time loops and other anomalies were able to form "naturally". As the divine steward of the timeline of the universe, one of her duties was to prune the flow of history, removing such anomalies when they proved dangerous to the main timeline. But the Ruby Loop had proven far too strange to be easily dealt with. Unlike other time loops, which could be trimmed down to under fifteen minutes, the Ruby Loop was neither brief nor consistent. Some cycles lasted mere days. Others spanned eighteen years or more.

Still, the Kai was unwilling to give up on the matter, and so she sent two Time Patrollers to explore the Ruby Loop once more. Excitebike was a Namekian from the Deep Time Investigation department. He had traveled the Loop a number of times, using a custom-built time machine designed around a motorcycle. He was condescending and anxious and irritable, but there was no more qualified expert on the matter.

His partner for this expedition was Luffa, an ancient Super Saiyan recruited by the Time Patrol to defend history from the evil machinations of Towa and Demigra. Luffa's power and ferocity were undeniable, but the Supreme Kai of Time harbored doubts about Luffa's fitness for Time Patrol duty. And so, she assigned Luffa to the Ruby Loop as a test of skill.

And so, Luffa found herself on an alternate version of the Planet Earth, staring at a large wall, while Excitebike lectured her about its importance.

"The Kingdom of Gurumes," Excitebike said. "In the real timeline, it's just a humble nation with an agrarian economy. But here? Oh, here here here... it's a mess. Why else would they build a wall around the place?"

Luffa rapped her knuckles on the surface and listened to the metallic clang they made. Then she looked up to take in the size of the structure. According to Excitebike, it was one hundred meters tall, and three meters thick.

"And you said this thing surrounds the entire country?" Luffa asked. "How did they build it? And why? If they're just a bunch of farmers--"

"Gurumes didn't build it," Excitebike said testily. "It's not there to keep people out. It's to keep him in. That's what the Capsule Corp. records show, anyway."

"Capsule Corporation?" Luffa asked. She only knew the organization through Trunks, the leader of the Time Patrol, whose family ran the business. "How are they wrapped up in this?"

Before Excitebike could answer, a patrol robot flew toward them. It bore a Capsule Corp logo, and a pair of laser-rifles mounted to either side of its body.

"Attention!" it said with a dispassionate, tinny voice. "Trespassing is strictly forbidden in the containment zone! This unit is authorized to use lethal force, as per Royal decree number KC9211900..."

"Well, come on," Excitebike said. "It'll be easier to show you in a different time period."

Luffa followed him back to the time bike he had used to bring them to this place, and the robot sentry did not follow, apparently satisfied that it had frightened them away.

*******

[1 September, Age 749. Earth.]

Because of the nature of the Ruby Loop, Excitebike could drive his vehicle forward ten days into the future, and end up seventeen years in the past. As surreal as Luffa found this, Excitebike seemed to enjoy the convenience of it. "Fuel economy" was something he cherished greatly.

They materialized in the same location on the borders of the Land of Gurumes, but this time the great wall was gone, and in its place was a wasteland. In the distance, Luffa could make out heavy machinery and other signs of heavy industry.

"Is that some sort of mining operation?" she asked.

"You're sharper than you look," Excitebike said. He stored the motorcycle in a Hoi Poi Capsule and stowed it in his jacket. "We'll fly over so you can see it up close."

Luffa knew little about Earth history, aside from what little she had picked up from Time Patrol missions. She had quickly determined that ki adepts were practically unheard of in this time and place. As the two Time Patrollers flew over the land, no one sensed their powers, nor did anyone think to look up.

Below them, Luffa saw construction crews and survey teams milling about in all directions. Some of them were erecting mining equipment, while others were demolishing houses and silos. Nearby, a crowd of civilians stood by and watched.

"It looks like they're building all of this on top of farmland," Luffa said. "And they seem to be in a big hurry."

"That's because they are," Excitebike replied. "King Gurumes brought in hundreds of contractors during this year. Every one of them is being paid handsomely to produce results as quickly as possible."

"But what are they mining?" Luffa asked. "Gold?"

"Gold. Hmph. Guess again," Excitebike sneered.

"Praseodymium?" Luffa asked.

"No, it's not--" Excitebike's smug grin suddenly fell into a confused grimace. "What the hell is that?"

"I did a tour on a planet where they fought a whole war over lanthanoid refining," Luffa said. "Everyone kept telling me praseodymium was worth a lot of money. Superconductors or something."

"Well it's not prase-- priso-- whatever you said," Excitebike muttered.

"Neodymium?" Luffa asked.

"It's rubies!" Excitebike shouted. Fortunately, they had moved far enough from the people below that he wasn't heard.

"Rubies?" Luffa asked. "I thought those were made synthetically."

"Not on Earth," Excitebike said. "Not in this era. Besides, these are no ordinary gems. The locals here call them 'Blood Rubies', and they're said to carry a curse."

"What kind of curse?" Luffa asked.

Excitebike waved his hand at the ground below. "What kind? Isn't this enough for you, Luffa?" he asked. "On New Namek, we were taught to take care of the land. The Earthlings use it to grow food, and yet these Earthlings are bent on tearing it all up for the sake of a few baubles! But if you really want to get into the heart of it, we need to pay a visit to the king..."

He pointed to the horizon, and began flying in that direction. Luffa took one last look below, then followed him.

*******

Minutes later, they arrived at the castle. It stood in the center of what had once been a majestic lake, but Gurumes had drained it and stripmined the lakebed for Blood Rubies. When the operation had finished, the miners moved on, leaving the castle surrounded by what resembled a crater.

Security in the palace was impressive for the era, but still no match for the Time Patrollers. Luffa and Excitebike could fly over walls and force their way through locked doors. As they approached the dining hall, they encountered a handful of guards, but these were easily dealt with.

"A few precision nerve strikes," Excitebike said as the soldiers surrounded them in the corridor. "I can render them unconscious and no one will ever know how it happened. I'm sure you'd rather blast their heads off and drink their blood, but--"

Before he could finish speaking, Luffa seemed to vanish, then reappear an instant later. The guards suddenly froze in their tracks, their eyes wide with shock. Then their limbs went slack, and they collapsed to the floor like puppets whose strings had been cut. Their weapons clattered on the stone cobble, and then all was silent.

Luffa looked at Excitebike and held up her left hand. Her fingertips glowed with a faint yellow light.

"Was this what you had in mind?" Luffa asked.

"Er... something like that," Excitebike said.

"Maybe they'll wake up in time for you to take them out as we leave," Luffa suggested. "I'd be interested in seeing it done in the Namekian style."

Excitebike muttered something under his breath as he stepped over the guards and led her into the dining hall. It was a spacious room with marble pillars, designed for elaborate banquets and glamorous occasions, but with most of the windows shuttered and all of the lamps doused, it reminded Luffa more of a mausoleum.

She sensed King Gurumes before she saw him. His ki was low, but it was still much stronger than she would have expected for an ordinary Earthling. More importantly, there was a peculiar darkness to his strength, which resembled the kind of wicked magic used by various demons and wizards Luffa had fought in past battles.

What little she could see of Gurumes was almost as unsettling. He was four times larger than any typical Earthling Luffa had seen. His ears were pointed and his skin looked rough and lumpy. His wide mouth hung open like the maw of some enormous fish, revealing a thick, slimy tongue that moved restlessly back and forth.

Luffa raised her hand and produced a brighter glow of ki energy to illuminate the room. She immediately regretted it, as this revealed the purple color of Gurumes' flesh. His entire body looked like a septic wound. His right eye was bulging out of its socket, while the left eye winced as he growled with discomfort.

"So... hungry..." he moaned. His voice was like the sound of the machines he had purchased to grind up his land.

"What... happened to him?" Luffa asked. "Are you saying the Blood Rubies did this?"

"We aren't sure how," Excitebike said quietly. "But it's almost a certainty. In the true history of Earth, King Gurumes never looked anything like this. And we've had geologists examining the land of Gurumes very carefully in the main timeline. There's no sign of anything like the gems found in this world."

Luffa held her hand in another direction, and noticed something shiny next to Gurumes' throne. It was a pile of rubies, scattered around his swollen feet.

"Those are the Blood Rubies?" Luffa asked. "I expected them to look... well, different. They're pretty enough, I guess, but they look like any other red gemstones. Hardly worth tearing up a kingdom over."

"The whole castle is full of them," Excitebike said. "I can show you storerooms with nothing but sackfulls of these things."

"But why?" Luffa asked. "You said he's spending a fortune to mine these things, but he has so many already. If no one wants to buy the things..."

"Buy? Buy?" Excitebike said. "Hmph. That's not it at all. I'm sure he could find a buyer, but King Gurumes doesn't want to sell. At least, not anymore."

Luffa looked back at Excitebike in surprise, then looked back at King Gurumes. "He's bankrupting his kingdom... mining all these gems, just so he can keep them?"

"We think the Blood Rubies have some sort of influence on the king," Excitebike said. "That's why we saw that wall around the entire country eighteen years in the future. In some of the cycles, Capsule Corp builds it to contain the Blood Rubies, so no one else will end up like King Gurumes here."

"S-so... hungry." Gurumes muttered. He began to cough, and for a moment Luffa thought he might drop dead that very moment. Instead, he opened his mouth and unrolled his tongue to reveal four Dragon Balls. They glowed orange, briefly illuminating the spittle gathered around Gurumes' inhuman mouth.

"He ate the Dragon Balls?" Luffa asked with growing disgust.

"They're his only hope now," Excitebike explained. "Gurumes has been cursed with insatiable greed. One Blood Ruby isn't enough for him. He wants them all. But he also can't be satisfied by anything else. He can't ease his hunger with food anymore. Whatever dish he tries, it can only satisfy him once. The next time he eats it, it's like he didn't even have a meal. And Gurumes had a passion for fine dining. So by the time he understood what was happening to him, he had already eaten almost every unique kind of food on Earth. His chefs had to get creative, inventing all new dishes for him, and when that no longer worked, Pasta and Bongo came to him, offering to track down the Dragon Balls for him. Gurumes believes the Dragon can sate his hunger once and for all."

Luffa was familiar with the Dragon Balls. It was the Eternal Dragon, Shenron, who had brought her to the Time Patrol in the first place. Trunks had wished for a powerful ally, and Shenron had chosen Luffa out of all of space and time. The Time Patrol seemed to trust the Dragon, but they still had doubts about Luffa herself. She wondered if Shenron could actually solve Gurumes' problem, or if the Dragon's solution might leave Gurumes' dream unfulfilled.

As she contemplated this, Luffa stepped closer to Gurumes' throne. Repulsive as he was, she was fascinated by his pitiful condition. She had grown up on folk tales, which often featured characters succumbing to gruesome fates because of their moral failings. To witness King Gurumes being transformed and consumed by his own avarice, for Luffa it was like seeing one of those folk tales brought to life.

Without really thinking about it, she crouched near his throne and reached out for one of the Blood Rubies that had fallen away from the pile. Luffa cared little for the gems' monetary or aesthetic value. It was their power that now intrigued her. Whatever they were, they had somehow dominated a man and compelled him to sack his own kingdom.

"Luffa, don't touch that!" Excitebike cried out.

Her fingers stopped less than a centimeter from the Blood Ruby when she noticed King Gurumes beginning to stir.

"Whoooo darrres--?!" he growled.

Luffa glanced up to find him staring straight at her. His right hand curled into a swollen fist, which he raised menacingly above his head. As he rose painfully to his feet, his left hand clutched at the side of his face.

"Those arrre... miiiiine!" he slurred. "Lousy... theeeeiivessss!"

"He... he's still conscious?" Luffa asked. "Before, it was like he didn't even know we were here."

"It's the Blood Rubies, you clod," Excitebike snarled. "After everything he's done, did you really think he would let you take one?"

Gurumes lurched towards Luffa with all the grace of a reanimated corpse. His regal clothing, tailored to fit his distended body, only made him look even more horrific. Drool spilled from his mouth as he grinned stupidly at Luffa. Then he stumbled and fell flat on his face.

"So... hungry," he wailed.

"We need to leave," Excitebike insisted. "If this keeps up, we might aggravate his transformation, and that could alter the timeline of this loop..."

"Aggravate?" Luffa asked. "You mean he gets worse?"

*******

Following their visit to King Gurumes' castle, Excitebike took Luffa to a forest, where they set up camp for the night. The time-cycle was supplied with Hoi Poi capsules containing a small dome-house for shelter, and enough rations to sustain them for a full year. Luffa built a fire and sat outside as she gobbled down servings of freeze-dried ham and vegetables. Nearby, Excitebike nursed a canteen of water.

"These things aren't half-bad," Luffa said as she wiped her face. "Put a little of this nutrient-paste on it, and it gives it a nice tangy flavor. Reminds me of some combat rations I looted from an enemy camp on Planet Bultran."

"Oh that's nice. Very nice. Well, we'll see if you still enjoy it after a few more days," Excitebike said. "After all, you won't be eating anything else for a while."

Luffa ripped open another tube of nutrient-paste and squeezed the entire serving into her mouth. "So why is that, anyway?" she asked after swallowing. "You and Chronoa acted like there was something wrong with the food in this place, but it seems normal enough to me."

"That's what Swepo thought too," Excitebike said. "Until he began to show symptoms."

"Symptoms?" Luffa asked.

"He's a Saiyan like you," Excitebike said. "No, not like you at all. He has some table manners. But he still liked to pack it away, and at the time there didn't seem to be any harm in it. Then he started acting funny. His appetite got out of control. He ate more and more, and it never did any good. And his skin started to look different, like he was bruised all over."

Luffa's eyes narrowed as she took in the Namekian's story. "You think he came down with the same curse that got King Gurumes," she said.

"We spent a lot of time in and around Gurumes' Land," Excitebike said. "If the Blood Rubies are responsible for what happened to their king, then Swepo could have easily been exposed to a Ruby or two. He might have inhaled some ruby dust. Some of the mining equipment can crush a Blood Ruby."

"What happened to him?" Luffa asked.

"We went back to the Time Nest," Excitebike said. "Then he made a full recovery in less than a day. After that, we made strict rules against eating and drinking anything in the Ruby Loop."

"But if it's the Blood Rubies that caused the problem," Luffa said, "then it should only be an issue in the Land of Gurumes, right? The rest of the world should be uncontaminated."

"The whole planet is contaminated," Excitebike said. "There may only be Blood Rubies in one small country, but the fact that they're on Earth at all is at odds with history! We can't take anything for granted here, not until we get to the bottom of this. And I doubt we'll be figuring that out anytime soon."

Luffa stood up and wiped the dust off her pants. "This all feels like one of Towa's schemes," Luffa said. "If she turned out to be behind all of this, it would make a lot more sense. Like she's corrupting and mutating King Gurumes as part of one of her bizarre experiments."

"Well, it's not Towa," Excitebike insisted. "I keep telling you, this is a natural anomaly."

"How can we be so sure?" Luffa asked. "You said it yourself. You've been studying this thing for years. It all comes back to Gurumes and the Rubies, but we can't even see the moment when they first came into contact. If I were Towa, and I wanted to cover my tracks, I might try to disguise my tampering... make it look like it happened naturally."

Excitebike replaced the cap on his canteen and took a deep breath. "Fine," he said. "Fine. Fine. Let's say you're right. Let's say there is someone behind all of this. How do we find them?"

"Neutralize Gurumes," Luffa said after a short pause. "Whoever it is, they wanted Gurumes to get cursed and turned into that... creature we saw. They wanted Gurumes to interfere in Bulma's search for the Dragon Balls. But Towa's spells would burn out after I beat up her victims, and Demigra's power sort of works the same way. I bet if I hit Gurumes hard enough, the curse would be lifted."

Excitebike shook his head. "Why do you think they walled him up in his own country?" he asked. "Left unchecked, Gurumes eventually becomes an unstoppable menace. Un-stop-a-ble! I've read enough reports from past loops to know that this planet has thrown everything they have at Gurumes. Conventional weapons don't put a scratch in him. He survived having Shenron emerge from the Dragon Balls he had swallowed. Goku even tried to fight him as a Super Saiyan. None of it works."

"But the wall does?" Luffa asked.

"By that time, he's practically mindless," Excitebike said. "He won't wander far away from his hoard of Blood Rubies. The wall is mostly there to discourage him, and to warn the authorities if he breaks out. No one seems to know how strong he really is, but he seems to be practically indestructible. And his hunger makes him lash out sometimes. So the wall is a safeguard, but no one knows how effective it really is."

Luffa held up her fist and grinned. "Yeah, well... I'm pretty sure I can dish out a little more than Kakarot could. And even if I can't do much damage to Gurumes, fighting him might flush out whoever's behind all of this. Or if that doesn't work, maybe separating him from the Blood Rubies would do some good--"

"There! Right there!" Excitebike said. He rose to his feet and began angrily pointing his finger at Luffa. "This is exactly why I can't stand rookies like you!"

"What'd I say?" Luffa asked.

"What, what, what? The same thing all of the others said whenever they learn about the Ruby Loop for the first time! 'Well if the Blood Rubies aren't supposed to be there, why don't we just remove them?' Don't you think we've tried that?"

Luffa crossed her arms and made an expectant face. "Well, what happened?" she demanded.

"Nothing! Everything!" Excitebike shouted. "We did a cleanup operation a long time ago, gathering up every single Ruby-- by force when necessary-- and everything seemed to go fine, until we found out we couldn't remove them from the Ruby Loop. The cargo container would be empty when we got back to the Time Nest. Then we tried to haul the Blood Rubies into outer space, but as soon as we reached the upper atmosphere, they vanished! And do you know where they ended up?"

He waited a moment for Luffa to answer, and when she shrugged he thew out his hand and pointed to the west. "They went right back to the Land of Gurumes!" he said. "And the whole loop started over again, like nothing had ever happened!"

"Oh," Luffa said.

"Ohhhhh," Excitebike groaned sarcastically. "We even tried using the Dragon Balls in this world to remove the Blood Rubies, but it ended up the same way. As soon as they're removed from the planet, the Loop resets. We think that's why the duration of the Loop changes from one cycle to the next. Either something happens to the Rubies, or something happens to the Earth. The cycles we've managed to chart always end at some major event. Vegeta and Nappa's invasion, the day Mecha-Frieza landed, and the whole mess with Dr. Gero's androids. Or maybe something else happens, but it seems unlikely that it's a coincidence-- What... what are you doing?!"

Luffa reached out with her left arm, and it began to glow with yellow energy. She then turned her palm downward at her feet. "You mean if I destroyed the Earth right now," Luffa asked, "I mean, right this very second. Then this would all reset to the beginning?"

"Nownownow cut that out!" Excitebike shouted.

"I'm not going to do actually do it," Luffa said with a mischievous smile. "Just answer the question."

"Yes!" Excitebike said. "The world would reset and we'd be standing right here, a few hours earlier! But it wouldn't change anything! So just put that away!"

Luffa nodded and the glow on her arm began to fade away. "All right, all right," she said. "You're too jumpy, Excitebike. I thought you Namekians were supposed to be calm and spiritual."

"And I thought you Saiyans were smart enough to control yourselves..." Excitebike muttered. "You might not be able to destroy the Earth we're standing on, but you'd probably kill me at least. So why don't you just knock it off with the theatrics you... you...!"

But Luffa was already busy considering her next move. "It sounds like all we've got is the change in history, which we can't even observe because it happened before the beginning of each cycle," she said. "Wait... the people in the Loop know what happened before, don't they?"

"What are you babbling about now?" Excitebike asked.

"I mean, Kakarot has a Dragon Ball because it's been sitting in his house," Luffa said. "And Bulma invented the Dragon Radar to find it. That all happened before the first day of the Loop, right?"

"Of course," Excitebike said. "Those moments aren't actually part of the Loop, but the outcomes of those events are still in tact."

"Then Bulma remembers things that happened before the beginning of the cycle," Luffa concluded. "We can't travel to the day she invented the Dragon Radar, but if we asked her, she could tell us all about it."

"That's true," Excitebike said, "but what does that get us?"

"I'm just using it as an example," Luffa said. "It's actually Pasta and Bongo I'm more interested in. King Gurumes may not have a clear memory of things, but Pasta could probably shed some light on all of this. From what you told me, it sounds like they never had anything to do with the Dragon Balls in the true timeline."

"That's right," Excitebike said, somewhat impatiently. "But what can they tell us? Gurumes hired them to track down the Dragon Balls for him. They're just mercenaries."

"Good," Luffa said. "Because mercenaries sometimes know things that their clients wouldn't want to share with the regular army. Pasta and Bongo could shed some light on things."

"Why should they talk to us?" Excitebike objected. "Unless you plan to force them, and that still wouldn't stop them from lying..."

"Oh, I have my ways," Luffa said with a smirk. "I just need to touch them, and--"

"What was that?" Excitebike suddenly said as he whirled around and began to scan the darkness around them.

Luffa was confused, but only until her Saiyan nostrils caught the scent that accompanied the noise picked up by his Namekian ears. For a brief moment, she expected to find an enemy, one of King Gurumes' soldiers, or perhaps even some demon wizard who had chosen to reveal himself as the mastermind of the Ruby Loop.

Instead, it was a small Earthling child who stepped out of the shadows. She wore a red dress with a white pinafore apron over it. The ensemble matched her red hair and the white meshback cap she wore. From under the bill of the hat, her inquisitive brown eyes scanned the Time Patrol Campsite and took in the pair of aliens. There was an awkward pause, until finally she took a step back and blurted out one question.

"Which one of you is Oolong?"

"Oolong?" Luffa asked.

"Better move along, kid," Excitebike said nervously. "Go on, get out of here!"

The child did not need to be told twice, and she turned and ran as quickly as her legs would carry her.

"What was that all about?" Luffa asked.

"That's Pansy," Excitebike said. "She's one of Gurumes' subjects. When they found Blood Rubies in her village, King Gurumes ordered it demolished so the mining crews could take over. She didn't like that very much, so she ran off to seek help from Master Roshi. She made it to this forest, where she eventually runs into Son Goku and Bulma."

"So that's another change from the genuine history, then," Luffa said. "Hmmph. She never would have gotten involved with them if it weren't for the Blood Rubies."

"Even if she had," Excitebike said, "she wouldn't have met Bulma and Goku here anyway. If Pasta and Bongo hadn't stolen the Dragon Ball from Goku's house, they would have taken a different route, leading them to Aru Village."

"Aru Village?" Luffa asked.

"One of the Dragon Balls was there," Excitebike explained. "The six-star ball. But Goku had to save it from Oolong first before they could get it. Oolong was terrorizing them with his shape-shifter powers. Apparently, in this altered time, Pasta and Bongo got to Aru first. They might have forced Oolong to prey on this forest instead. Of course, he didn't realize it was so close to Yamcha's territory. So in this timeline, they all met in one night."

"That seems like a strange coincidence," Luffa said.

"We can track down Pasta and Bongo in the morning," Excitebike said. "I doubt it's much of a lead, but it's better than doing nothing. Now let's get some sleep."

*******

Luffa wanted to follow Excitebike's orders. She was still sore from her loss to Beerus, even after Chronoa had partially healed her and given her time to rest. And while they had not spent long in the Ruby Loop so far, it had been a lot to take in. But sleep never came easily to Luffa, and so she found herself lying awake, staring at the ceiling of her small bedroom.

The entire mission frustrated her, and while Excitebike had done much talking and explaining, she felt just as confused as she was at the beginning. As irritating as Excitebike was, she suspected that he was just venting his own frustrations with the Ruby Loop. It was difficult for Luffa to grasp the problem, and even harder to suggest any actions that the Time Patrol hadn't already tried.

And yet, Luffa had to come up with something, for Chronoa believed she was the only one who could solve the mystery. She had sent Luffa back in time, with a note for the Chronoa-of-last-week. The note cryptically read "SHE'S READY", and the Chronoa-of-last-week concluded that this was in reference to the Ruby Loop. And past-Chronoa's guess must have been correct, or otherwise future-Chronoa would have written the note to be more clearly. This was Chronoa's reasoning, anyway.

At first, Luffa had been willing to play along, but staring at the ceiling in the dark had given her time to reflect on the absurdity of it. No one actually wrote the note. Chronoa had penned the words on the paper, but she didn't think of them herself. She was simply transcribing the note when it arrived from the future with Luffa. The whole thing depended on this idea that "SHE'S READY" was this profound, unmistakable message that had to be true, and yet no one actually sent the message; it was merely forwarded through time in an endless cycle.

Worse, it bound Luffa to a destiny she was now obligated to fulfill. Her impulse was to step back and support Excitebike as he took charge of the mission, but if that were possible, he would have solved the case on his own a long time ago. If Chronoa was right, then Luffa would have to do something, because she already had.

It was the certainty of it that Luffa found so paralyzing. If the outcome was so inevitable, then what did any of it matter?

It reminded her of the way Luffa's wife would speak of divine purpose. Providence, Zatte had believed, would use Luffa for some important role in the grand design. Apparently, the Dragon Balls must have agreed, as Shenron brought Luffa to the Time Patrol to grant their wish for a powerful ally. And now Chronoa had created a prophecy for herself, stating that Luffa was the key to an entirely different problem.

Luffa raised her left arm and looked at her knuckles in the faint moonlight from the window. All she wanted to do was fight. It was one thing to inspire people. That was just a matter of being a great warrior, and setting a standard that others could look up to. But this business of "special destiny" was something else completely.

As she mulled over this, and several other grim thoughts that had been on her mind for some time, she suddenly noticed a strange noise coming from outside the window. At first, she thought it was some wild animal lurking around their campsite. Then she saw a flash of light, which was followed by an obnoxious alarm.

Luffa sprang into action immediately. She clambered out of her room and headed straight for the door, slowing down only to check on Excitebike. The door to his room was wide open, and his bunk was empty, which did not surprise her. Namekian hearing was far more sensitive than her own, and he might have heard the intruder long before Luffa.

She stepped out into the night and found a figure squatting over his motorcycle. The glare from the headlights made the intruder look like an indistinct shadow, and the shrill horn of the timebike's security system drowned out whatever he might have been saying.

He was hunched over the side compartments of the cycle, rummaging through the bags of Hoi Poi Capsules that contained their supplies.

"Get away from the bike!" Luffa shouted. She would have thought Excitebike would have already intervened. He had beaten her outside, and yet there was no sign of him, even when a bandit was threatening his prized vehicle.

As she approached the raider, she wondered why Excitebike hadn't just stowed the timebike in its own Hoi Poi Capsule, the way he normally did. He seemed to cherish the machine like it was a member of the family.

And then she suddenly remembered that Excitebike had put the bike in its capsule. She remembered seeing him put the capsule in the pocket of his jumpsuit before they went to bed. Then what was it doing out here?

She reached out to grab the intruder by the shoulder. Whoever he was, he paid no heed to Luffa's warning. Judging from the size of him, he was probably used to intimidating people with his bulk.

"I said--!" Luffa growled, but as she pulled the intruder away, she finally got a look at his face, and her eyes went wide with horror.

"What?! What?! What?!" he snarled.

It looked like a pale-skinned Namekian, but his body had swollen, and the cuffs and legs of his orange jumpsuit had been torn to rags by the expansion. His mouth was covered with half-chewed food: freeze-dried ham, mixed vegetables, and nutrient paste. There was no mistaking it, as the wrappers that contained the rations lay scattered at his feet.

"Excitebike?!" Luffa gasped. "What's the matter with you?"

"Leave me alone!" he screeched. "Can't a man have a midnight snack in peace?!"

NEXT: Lonely Among Us.

#dragon ball #fanfiction #lssjluffafic #super saiyan #luffa #excitebike #pansy #king gurumes #master roshi #oolong #earth

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beewolfwrites · 4 years ago

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And When I am Formulated, Sprawling on a Pin - Chapter Thirteen: By a Thread

I know how much some of you love the original games, so I hope you enjoyed this one too :)

If you’re new here, hello - this is a Chishiya x OC/reader fic. You can find the full fanfic, including this chapter on AO3 here.

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Like always, the hotel lobby was crammed with people. I kept my head low as I moved quietly through the crowds, hoping to avoid the gaze of the militants dotted around. The last thing I wanted was to draw the attention of Niragi and his troupe. When I finally took my slip of paper, I went to stand by a corner before opening it.

Group four.

‘Looks like we’re together.’ An arm wrapped around my shoulder and Kuina appeared beside me. ‘It must be luck.’

‘I don’t know about that,’ I said. ‘We could end up with a Hearts game.’ Unconsciously, my eyes roamed the lobby for any sign of white.

‘Yeah, we could. But there’s only a one in four chance of that.’ She leaned in close, and I could practically hear the grin in her voice. ‘Speaking of hearts, he’s not in our group.’

I tensed, causing Kuina to giggle. She must’ve noticed me looking for him, but she’d gotten the wrong idea completely.

‘It’s not what you think,’ I told her, embarrassed. ‘He left some things in my room, kind of like a peace offering. I just wanted to thank him… and maybe apologise for being a brat and refusing to speak to him.’

I hid beneath my hood as Kuina began to slowly steer me through the crowded room. There were several of Niragi’s thugs standing around in their groups, but I hadn’t seen Niragi himself yet.

‘You can thank him after we win our game,’ Kuina said as we walked outside. Then in a low mutter, she added, ‘you werebeing a brat though.’

‘Hey, that’s not fair,’ I laughed. ‘He was in the wrong too, you know.’

Although I held onto moments like this, there was no covering up the anxiety I felt deep inside. It was an unfamiliar worry, one that had appeared only recently, having crept up on me when I was least expecting it. And Chishiya was at its core. I was wavering between wishing he were in our group, and the relief that he wasn’t. I was glad that he was somewhere else, just in case we actually did run into a Hearts game. But at the same time, I wanted him by my side just to know that he was okay, that he was alive. And the uncertainty would drive me mad.

But overlying all of this, I was terrified of the fact that I felt this way at all.

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

There were only five of us in our group, so the car ride was more comfortable this time. Behind the wheel was an intense woman in her thirties who kept chewing at her lip. In stark contrast, a young woman with long hair tied in a pale pink scrunchie was sitting in the front passenger seat. She was biting her nails nervously, the clipped sound overwhelming in the quiet car. The final member of our group was a teenage boy. He seemed calm as he stared out the window, but the way he kept playing with the hem of his t-shirt betrayed his fear.

Kuina and I didn’t talk much, but there was comfort in our quietness. It was never said aloud, but we were both worried about what lay ahead. Even though I trusted in Kuina’s strength, and she probably trusted in my intelligence, there were some games designed to ensure only one person survived.

The car took us further into the city’s outskirts, and I began to wonder whether our driver actually knew where she was going. A glance into the front revealed that she had a piece of paper with directions resting on the dashboard.

Eventually, the car pulled up outside a set of gateposts leading into to a suburban park. I mentally groaned at the sight.

Not another park.

Unlike Shinjuku Gyoen, this was smaller, with trees lining the edges and flat fields designed for football games. As I got out of the car, I could see the usual white sign pasted to a brick gatepost.

GAME – こちらです.

I spared a glance at Kuina, but her eyes were set ahead, and her jaw was tight with determination.

I wish I had her confidence.

There was no bleep as the five of us walked through the gateposts. That could only mean the park itself wasn’t the game arena.

But it soon became clear what was.

In the centre of the fields, a large circus tent – a big top – glowed red from within like a giant pinstripe cloud. Spotlights illuminated the space outside, staining the grass with splotches of primary colours. But there was something jarring about this circus, something subtly off. There was no music. There was total, deadening silence as we approached the tent entrance.

‘Do you think this is it?’ the woman with the pink scrunchie asked, biting her fingernail.

Our driver scoffed, pursing her lips. ‘What else would it be?’ Then she headed inside, followed by Pink Scrunchie and the teenage boy.

Kuina smiled reassuringly at me. ‘Let’s go.’

With a nod, I ducked into the tent, Kuina following close behind.

Inside, it was immense. The entrance led out onto a walkway between tall rows upon rows of empty seats. The tent ceiling stretched high above us like a shining red and white toothpaste sky. In the middle, on either side of the circus ring were two tall platforms, the space in the middle blocked from view by a strong steel fence.

Kuina and I found the others stood at the bottom of one of the tall platforms, where a pile of phones was set out on a white table. We both took a phone and held it to our faces.

‘FACE REGISTRATION IN PROCESS.

PLEASE WAIT FOR THE GAME TO COMMENCE.’

Now that I was at the base of the first platform, it seemed insanely tall. And if the rope ladder attached to the side was any indicator, we were going to be expected to climb to the top.

The teenage boy was looking anxiously at the steel fence obscuring the middle of the circus ring. ‘What do you think’s in there?’

Probably acid, or something equally deadly.

Our driver dismissed it with a shrug. ‘Guess we’ll just have to find out.’

‘REGISTRATION CLOSED. THE GAME WILL NOW COMMENCE.’

As always, I listened closely. I could only hope it wasn’t a Spades game. My arm was still wrapped in bandages, and while it was certainly healing well, I didn’t want to set it back yet again.

‘GAME – TIGHTROPE

DIFFICULTY – FOUR OF CLUBS

TIME LIMIT – 20 MINUTES.’

A tightrope?

I craned my neck, squinting up at the space above. Sure enough, a metal wire glinted, taut between the two platforms. It was so thin that I hadn’t even noticed it until now.

‘RULES –

PLAYERS MUST CROSS THE TIGHTROPE AND REACH THE OTHER SIDE.

ONCE ON THE PLATFORM, PLAYERS CANNOT LEAVE IT WITHOUT CROSSING THE TIGHTROPE.

THE GAME WILL COMMENCE IN TWO MINUTES.’

Clutching the phone, I felt some relief. It was a Clubs game, the best out of the lot. It meant there was likely a chance we could all survive.

‘So, what do we do?’ Pink Scrunchie asked, eying the rope ladder leading to the top. ‘Do we climb up?’

The driver huffed. ‘Do whatever you want—’

‘No,’ I interjected. The timing… it was just like the Tag game. ‘Not just yet. There’s a reason we’ve been given two minutes before the game starts. There must be something around here to help us cross it.’

Everyone looked at me, confused, before I realised I’d spoken in English. Luckily, Kuina came to my aid and translated as best she could.

The driver raised a brow. ‘And why would they bother doing that? The game-makers don’t exactly want to help us.’

I thought back to the Eight of Hearts, the teenage girl, the businessman’s body, his vest glowing yellow. ‘Because there’s always a solution, otherwise it’s not a game.’

Kuina adjusted her quit-smoking aide and nodded at me. Leaving the others at the base of the platform, we both jogged around the tent, checking between the seats and behind curtains to find anything that might help us. If this was a circus, that meant there had to be equipment. At first, it seemed like we were the only ones searching, until the teenage boy called out from the backstage area.

‘Hey, there’s some stuff over here!’

Running over, we ducked beneath some curtains into a backstage area before we found the boy, the driver and Pink Scrunchie all stood looking at a large storage unit filled with circus tools. Some of it, like the tricycles and spinning plates, was useless to us, but there had to be something in here.

‘GAME START.’

‘The hell?’ Kuina grumbled. ‘How has it already been two minutes?’

I began scrabbling through the pile, brushing aside a set of juggling clubs. ‘皆んな、何かを取る.’ Everyone, take something.

Truth be told, there wasn’t much that was useful, and some of it couldn’t be carried up a rope ladder. But in the end, I chose a set of vibrant purple aerial silks. Beside me, Kuina was holding a bungee cord, the teenage boy had a large hoop, Pink Scrunchie had taken a diabolo, and the driver was gripping a long pole.

‘Let’s go,’ she said, leading us back to the performance hall and the ring.

One by one, we each climbed the rope ladder leading up to the top of the platform. I put my phone between my teeth and draped the aerial silks over my shoulder before following Kuina up to the top, and once I finally clambered over the edge and stood up, the ladder dropped away.

Now, it was just us and the tightrope.

‘Guys…’

It was the teenage boy. He was peering over the edge into the center of ring below, the space obscured by the fence. I took a step forward and looked down. It was a pit, the edges raised before dipping again. It was brimming with murky brown-green water, like a neglected algal pond, except it was much, much more than that. Raised brown bumps poked through the surface like tiny islands, occasionally sliding and shifting as ripples tore through our reflections.

Crocodiles.

‘15 MINUTES REMAINING.’

‘There’s no time to waste standing around,’ the driver said. She pointed at Pink Scrunchie. ‘You were first up here, so you should go first.’

Pink Scrunchie flinched, her fingers tightening around the diabolo. I felt myself growing more and more irritated with the driver. From the moment we arrived she had been completely unhelpful, trying to boss everyone around when she had no idea what she was doing. It was really starting to tick me off, and from the looks of it, I wasn’t the only one. I opened my mouth to object, but Kuina beat me to it.

‘Oi! You don’t have any right to decide who goes first,’ she snapped. ‘If anyone goes first it should be you.’

Although meant well, it wasn’t a good idea to pick a fight now.

Really not helpful, Kuina.

‘Look,’ I began, but Pink Scrunchie cut me off.

‘It’s okay,’ she said nervously. ‘I’ll go first. I’ll do it.’

I wanted to tell her that she didn’t have to, but for some reason I couldn’t. One of us would have to go eventually anyway. Guilt stirred within me as she approached the edge of the platform, and even though I would never admit it, I was glad that I didn’t have to go first.

She crouched down and wrapped the strings around the diabolo, pulling it firmly so that the hourglass shape remained slotted around the wire as she pulled on the strings. I heard her take a deep breath as she put one foot on the tightrope.

The crocodiles stirred below.

Pulling the strings tight, she stepped fully onto the wire. Her body swayed, and she yanked harder on the diabolo, using its shape and the tension of the strings to balance herself.

As I watched, it became obvious that it wasn’t going to work. The diabolo couldn’t move unless she walked backwards and pulled it. But it was too late, it was much too late because when she took another step, the diabolo slipped.

As did her balance.

There was a shriek and a zip of metal as her body teetered off the edge. She hit the water with a loud clap, and the tent revibrated with her screams as the crocodiles sprung, slithering over each other until the screams stopped.

I closed my eyes, only to see the bodies of the two men from the Rummy game… the old woman crying as the collar ticked down… the businessman’s starched white collar. I opened them again.

‘That was your fault.’ The teenage boy was visibly scared, his hands shaking. However, his eyes were filled with pure anger and they were focused purely on the driver.

‘Maybe,’ the driver said. ‘But one of us had to go first.’

Kuina rounded up on her. ‘One of us has to go next, too, and it’s going to be you.’

‘Don’t,’ I muttered to Kuina. ‘そんな価値はない.’ It’s not worth it.

She looked at me with sadness and fury. ‘Why not? She practically killed that girl.’

I couldn’t deny this, and part of me did want the driver to go next just so she could experience the same thing that she had put the other girl through. But arguing like this would only get us all killed.

‘TEN MINUTES REMAINING.’

‘Actually, you know what,’ the driver said, ‘I’m not going to waste my time arguing with you. I will go next.’

The three of us stood back as the driver took off her shoes and stood up straight. She turned the pole horizontally and adjusted it between her hands until the weight was evenly distributed on both sides.

A balancing pole.

I almost wished I had thought of it, but then again, I didn’t trust my balance. Not with my life.

The driver stepped out onto the tightrope. She moved steadily, taking time to feel and test the wire beneath her feet. To my surprise, she was doing well, and she was now nearing the middle of the wire – the part where it was just ever so slightly more flexible. For a split second, I was rooting for her. I wanted her to succeed so we could all try it.

Then she took another step, and perhaps the rotation of her foot was slightly off, or maybe she hadn’t taken into account the flexibility in the middle.

Either way, the result was the same. Her body tilted, and the driver was whipped away, plunging into the pit below.

There was a rush of water and hisses as the crocodiles feasted.

I gulped, unable to bring myself to look down. ‘Kuina, what do we do?’

Her jaw clenched around the quit-smoking aide. ‘I’m not sure. Give me a minute.’

‘I’m not sure we have one,’ the teenage boy said, holding out his phone.

Only seven minutes left.

I glanced between the apparatus that we had left. A hoop… aerial silks… and a bungee cord.

Think, think, think…

My mind ran back over the rules. There might have been a clue somewhere in the wording. We had to cross the tightrope, and we were allowed equipment – that meant… it meant….

‘We don’t have to walk across it,’ I said.

Kuina blinked. ‘What do you mean?’

‘I mean we don’t have to walk across it. The rules just said we had to cross it. We could slide instead. If we tie ourselves to the wire for security, we could slide to the other side. Or maybe we could even crawl upside down, if that makes sense?’

Kuina mulled this over. ‘I get you. There’s a name for that, it’s called a monkey crawl.’

I stared at our collective equipment, before bending down over the edge to test the tension of the wire. It was thin, but with its metal casing, it was strong enough to hold us up. I gestured bungee cord. ‘You could tie yourself to it with that. I’ve got my silks.’

The teenage boy let out a sob. ‘I’m sorry, I’ve only got a hoop. I’m an idiot, I didn’t think.’

Kuina put a hand on his shoulder. ‘Don’t cry,’ she said. ‘Here, you can use the bungee cord.’ Turning to me, she nodded at the silks in my hand. ‘Can you rip that in half?’

‘Of course.’ I got to work, using my teeth and hands to tear at the elasticated silks until the fabric ripped in two. ‘Who’s going first?’

Kuina stepped forward and took the quit-smoking aid out of her mouth, throwing it away. ‘I’ll do it.’

I gave her the split piece of silk. She placed her phone between her teeth and got to the floor, dangling her legs off the edge of the platform. I wanted to tell her to be careful, but hesitated. A distraction could cost her life.

Gently easing herself down, she steadied herself with one hand as she leaned forward. Then with the other, she slid the silk around her torso and tied it in a messy knot. It was loose enough that she could still move freely, but if she let go, it would hold her weight long enough for her to grab the wire again.

She swung her body around until she was hanging upside down, suspended by her ankles and hands. And with a wink in my direction, she began crawling across the wire.

She was fast. Faster than I’d ever be. But it worked, and before I knew it, she had reached the other side. I watched as she untied herself and climbed onto the other platform.

‘FIVE MINUTES REMAINING.’

I looked at the teenage boy in silent question.

‘You go first,’ he said. ‘I’m still a little nervous.’

I nodded, trying to smile reassuringly. ‘Okay.’

Following Kuina’s lead, I placed my phone in my mouth and slid onto the wire, using one hand to tie a knot around the wire and my torso. Adrenaline shot through me as I swung upside down. And wrapping my fingers and ankles around the wire, I crawled.

Just breathe and focus on the ceiling.

When the wire became slightly lax beneath my fingers, I knew that I was halfway there. Below me, I heard a splash and a hiss. My hands stilled. I don’t know what possessed me to do it, but I turned my head, looking down to the pit.

It was a mistake. It was a huge mistake. The water was red, their teeth were red. There was a stained red scrunchie floating on the surface.

I felt sick.

‘Stop staring and get the hell over here!’ Kuina’s voice sounded from the other side.

I snapped my head back, blinking away the image of the pit.

‘Don’t you want to thank Chishiya?’

I do. The taser and the note flashed through my mind. I really do.

Taking a deep breath, I crawled fast, faster than I thought I ever could. That was, until my head hit the platform on the other side.

‘Idiot,’ Kuina said, helping me upright. I untied myself from the wire and scrabbled onto the platform with shaking limbs. I did it. I was safe.

‘TWO MINUTES REMAINING.’

But he wasn’t.

Back on the other side, the teenage boy was doing the same thing as Kuina and I. His hands quivered as he struggled to tie the bungee cord around himself. Eventually he managed to use the hooks on the end to haphazardly secure it in place.

Then he began to crawl, just like we did, except slower. Because his legs and hands were trembling, he was having a hard time hooking his ankles over the wire.

‘You can do it!’ Kuina shouted. ‘You’re almost halfway!’

He slowly approached the middle. Tears slipped down his cheeks, dripping to the pit below.

‘ONE MINUTE REMAINING.’

The boy gasped and hooked a leg around the wire, just as his bungee cord came loose. He cried out, fists clenching white around the wire as he relied solely on his hands and ankles to support his weight.

The bungee cord hit the water with a snarl and a snap of teeth.

‘大丈夫,’ I called out. ‘遠くないよ.’ It’s okay, you’re not far.

He’s not listening, I thought, as I watched his face contort in fear. He’s too terrified.

‘30 SECONDS REMAINING.’

It was the wake-up call he needed, and that little chime shocked him into action as he continued clambering along the tightrope. His movements were even slower now that he didn’t have the bungee cord to support him, and he was crying harder. The sound echoed through the tent, causing the crocodiles to hiss.

‘20 SECONDS REMAINING.’

My fingers clenched and unclenched. He was almost there; he was almost safe. I held my breath. I didn’t want to see any more people die like this.

‘You’re going to be fine,’ Kuina called out. ‘You’re so close now.’

‘TEN SECONDS REMAINING.’

He was close, nearly enough to touch. I reached out a hand and Kuina did the same.

‘FIVE…’

He’s not going to make it.

My fingers brushed his t-shirt.

‘FOUR…’

We both grasped his shirt, trying to pull him upright over the wire.

‘THREE...’

He gritted his teeth, his lip dribbling with blood from where he’d bit it.

‘TWO...’

He dragged himself up, hands splayed on the edge of the platform. I pulled.

‘ONE...’

The wire fell away from the platform. There was a yelp as his fingers slipped off the edge. For the tiniest second his eyes met mine, innocent and wide with realisation.

‘NO!’

I grabbed his outstretched hand, feeling the weight of him pull me forward. Behind me, Kuina shouted my name. Her arms came to wrap around my waist, anchoring me to the platform.

The boy grasped my hand with both of his, and I pulled. I pulled as hard as I could, even as my shoulder felt like it was being yanked from its socket and the skin of my palms burned with the friction.

Kuina’s arms were like weights, dragging me back and giving me the leverage I needed to tug the boy up to the edge. He released one hand from mine and gripped the platform. Then Kuina extended hers, and together, we hauled him up to safety. We collapsed onto our backs, panting with the exertion.

‘GAME CLEAR – CONGRATULATIONS!’

#alice in borderland #aib #chishiya #chishiya shuntaro #chishiya x oc #chishiya x reader #chishiya alice in borderland

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wiypt-writes · 4 years ago

Text

Stark Spangled Banner

Ch 28- Crossbones

Summary: The Avengers uncover the identity of the mysterious Crossbones and mount a mission to apprehend him in Lagos.

Warnings: Bad language, Smut! (NSFW, Under 18s) Bad Language words.

Pairing: Steve Rogers x OFC Katie Stark

A/N: NEW BANNER ALERT @angrybirdcr has made a DOOZY for the Civil War part of the Story.

Disclaimer: This is a pure work of fiction and classified as 18+. Please respect this and do not read if you are underage. I do not own any characters in this series bar Katie Stark and the other OCs. By reading beyond this point you understand and accept the terms of this disclaimer.

Chapter 27

Stark Spangled Banner Masterlist // Main Masterlist

January 2016

“Are you sure this isn’t a team call?” Katie asked Steve, watching as he picked up his shield.

“No.” He shook his head firmly as they walked down the corridor. “We don’t even know if he will be there.”

“But…”

“Katie, stop!” Steve chuckled, pushing the door open to enter the hangar. “We’ll be fine. This is intelligence gathering, I’ve no intention of heading straight off after this guy, not until we find out what his play is.”

“His play is arms trading.” Nat interjected dryly as she appeared at the side of the jet.

“Which we are going to gather intelligence on.” Steve looked at her sternly “Nothing more.”

Katie bit her lip, she wasn’t convinced.

“We’ll be fine.” Steve continued, putting both his hands on her shoulders before he deftly changed the subject. “Don’t you have an interview to be getting ready for?”

He watched as the gentle smile spread across her face, a surge of pride flooding his system. She’d recently found out that the author of one of the books SIP had published last year had worked their way onto the Pulitzer Nominee list for fiction. The book itself held a plot centred around a War Veteran and the letters he wrote to his girl back home, and she’d roped Steve into helping the author keep it as factually correct as possible, something he had found strangely nostalgic yet enjoyable. Upon publishing it had flown off the shelves, the original five hundred copies went within three hours causing a mad scramble for a second run and downloads had been off the scale. Other than the Thrombey book they had published, it was their biggest seller to date, shifting almost half a million copies in a month, and with a foreword from Steve Rogers, critics had raved about how poignant it was.

Whilst it hadn’t won the prize, simply being a nominee was an honour in itself according to Katie. The Publicists at SIP had arranged for the author to be interviewed in a few newspapers and magazines along with one of them also requesting Katie, to discuss the launch of her new charity The March Foundation, which would sit alongside Tony and Pepper’s latest initiative- The September Foundation, but instead of focusing on inventors and science, it would instead be centred around authors and the arts.

The name was a play on words, not only being another month to compliment Tony’s, but also to honour both the War Based fiction that had inspired it and the man who had saved her life as March was the month of Bucky’s birth. A decision that had really touched Steve.

She took a deep breath and sighed, as she eyed Natasha heading up the ramp into the jet.

“Just be careful…”

“I’m always careful.” Steve kissed her gently.

“Liar.” She mumbled against his lips. He grinned and pulled back, pecking her mouth once more before he started up the ramp. He paused at the top and turned to face her. “We’ll be back late tonight. Don’t wait up.”

“I won’t!” she teased.

He flashed her another smile and then he hit the button and the ramp started to close. A loud siren told Katie that the hangar door was opening and that was her cue to leave. She headed back over to the steps at the side, leading up to the mezzanine, and as she watched through the window she saw the jet fly out of the side and over the frosty compound grounds. It up through the clouds and gone from sight before she had reached the double doors at the top.

The base was a hive of activity already, despite it being little after seven am. Katie was heading for an hour or so in the gym before her day began properly. She stuck her Bluetooth headphones in, selected the usual work out play-list and began to run on the treadmill, slowly at first to ease herself in- she was a little bit stiff and sore from her sparring session with Natasha yesterday. Nat had really upped the ante on Katie over the last month or so, which was good as Katie was now pretty much on a par with her when it came hand to hand, something Steve had been completely astonished to see after walking in on the two women just as his wife floored Natasha with a well-placed leg swipe the red head didn’t see coming.

Forty minutes later, Katie swapped to the rower to finish off, and was approximately half way through the three-kilometre distance when her music cut off and the screen to the right of the machine switched over from the play-list to a visual of Rhodey.

“Hey Kiddo,” He smiled as she stopped rowing to look at him. “Sorry to interrupt, but we’ve had a sensor trip on the outer perimeter of the facility.”

“You send someone out there?” She frowned, catching her breath as she picked up the bottle of water that was to her right.

“Yeah, Sam is currently out there looking for it, just thought, well seeing as Cap and Nat are out, you’re technically the one in charge so…”

She let out a snort as she swallowed a mouth full of her drink. Being third in command was something she didn’t really care for, knowing full well it was Steve’s way giving her some kind of authority over simply being the Captain’s Wife, but she’d accepted the gesture simply because he’d been so excited when he had asked her she couldn’t refuse.

“Okay, I’ll go and check it out. “

Standing up she left the gym and moved quickly to the armoury, grabbing a gun, a coms piece and a fleece jacket before quickly making her way outside.

“What’s going on up there, Sam?” Rhodey spoke in her ear as she walked into the cold air, spotting Sam circling above.

“I’m at the location of the sensor trip, but I’m not seeing anything.” He said. “Oh, hang on…”

“What is it?” Katie asked, watching him as he circled above her.

“Roof top…”

“Gimme a lift?”

Sam swooped down from the clear, winter sky and she grabbed his arm as he effortlessly pulled her up, dropping them both onto the flat roof of one of the buildings.

“I can see you.” Sam called out loudly as they landed.

Katie frowned, as she didn’t know what Sam was talking about until out of nowhere a man in a red and silver suit, with an insect like helmet suddenly appeared. Katie cocked her gun and aimed it at him.

“Who the hell are you?” she questioned. As they watched the man started to awkwardly introduce himself to Sam, his mask lifted to reveal a shaky smile as he waved.

“Hi, I’m Scott. I know who you are, obviously, you’re Katie Stark, I mean Rogers…” Scott started trying to hold back his enthusiasm and motioning towards Sam and Katie with a chuckle. "I’m a big fan.”

"Appreciate it. But like the lady asked, who the hell are you?” Sam echoed Katie’s earlier sentiments.

“I’m Ant-Man.” Scott or Ant-Man answered confidently. Sam and Katie shared an incredulous look and Katie mouthed the name back to him and he shrugged. Katie lowered her gun slightly.

“Wanna tell me what you want?” She questioned Ant-Man as the man tried to explain why the two Avengers hadn’t heard of him.

Scott pointed towards a building to their left, maintaining eye contact with Katie as he spoke “I was hoping I could grab a piece of technology. Just for a few days, then I’d return it. I need it to, uh, save the world- you know how that is.”

“Yeah, we know exactly how that is,” Sam said to Scott and Katie felt her mouth twitching into a grin.

“What piece of technology, and what do you mean saving the world?” she asked.

“I’d love to tell you but Hank Pym said never to trust a Stark.” The man called Scott, or Ant-Man was almost apologetic. “Even though you’re technically a Rogers now.”

Katie frowned, she’d never heard of a Hank Pym before, but that was irrelevant now. Sam gave a sigh besides her and stepped forwards.

“We’ve located the breach.” he spoke “Bringing him in…”

“I’m really sorry about this.” Scott rushed out and as Sam reached out to him he vanished.

“What the…” Katie spun round and felt something hit her, hard in the back. She fell forward onto the gravelled surface of the roof before rolling onto her back, gun raised again just in time to see Sam flying backwards off the edge, tumbling through the air and grappling with something whilst flying over the lawns of the facility.

Katie could do nothing but stand and watch from her vantage point as Sam continued to wrestle with, then shoot at the man who could shrink and grow seemingly at will. And if she was completely honest, it was kind of entertaining to watch.

“This guy would actually be pretty useful.” Katie mused into the coms, trying but failing to hide the amusement in her voice “Are you recording this? For future, recruitment purposes obviously.”

“All over it.” Rhodey responded, a slight chuckle punctuating his confirmation.

It was when the two men crashed into the storage unit that Ant-Man had wanted to break into in the first place that she started to get concerned.

“Err do we have cameras in there?” she questioned Rhodey.

“Uh… negative.” Rhodey answered after a short pause.

“Shit.” Running to the side of the roof she scaled down the metal ladder at the side, dropping the last eight feet or so, landing gently before she ran towards the storage building. At that point Sam came crashing backwards through the metal door and Katie flung her arms up to shield her face from the debris before glancing up. Sam’s flight pattern was jerky and off and he was gripping at his pack on his back.

“He’s in my pack!” Sam shouted before he landed hard in the dirt and with a groan, pulled himself into a standing position, yanking off his goggles.

“You okay?” Katie asked as she ran over to him.

“Yeah, fine…” He sighed before he looked at her. “You know, it’s really important to me that Cap never finds out about this.”

Katie grinned and the pair of them scouted around but to no avail, there was no sign of Ant-Man, or Scott anywhere. Katie instructed Rhodey to get the door fixed and lock it down again and said she would speak to Tony to find out what was in there. Sam was luckily not hurt, just a slight bruising to his pride so Katie left him at the lab with Lawson to look at making the repairs to his pack before she headed off to get changed.

*****

Steve and Natasha landed in Sadove, Crimea and were instantly greeted by the man who was leading the investigation into the raid on the local police station. The last three out of six hits the guy had made had been on small, local outfits with less resistance than the other places he had hit but that was hardly surprising. The former SHIELD base he had hit in Mexico had been heavily guarded, which made Steve think that he had perhaps suffered losses to his team which was making him rethink his strategy. As Natasha chatted to the man in his local language, Steve hung back before the man nodded to Natasha and strode towards him.

“Captain Rogers.” he said, English thick with accent “Inspector Chernov.”

Steve shook the man’s hand “Pleasure to meet you in person Inspector.”

“So you are interested in the man who raided our local station?” “He’s been on our radar for a while.” Steve said, choosing his words carefully “But we don’t have much to go on.” “Well, I’m not sure we can help but I can take you down there and you can see for yourself.” Steve nodded. “That would be great, thanks.”

It wasn’t a long drive, and once they arrived Steve and Natasha were allowed to wander round the scene undisturbed, providing they didn’t interfere with the police and teams already swamping the area. Their search showed them nothing new and they moved to watching the CCTV which the Authorities had refused to send them. They could have hacked into it, but Steve was keen to keep the tentatively growing communication lines with Crimea and Russia as amicable as possible, especially in the light of Sokovia. The Avengers were not a political party, so by remaining respectful of their requests to meet only in person he hoped it went someway to proving they were here to help and had no ulterior motives.

As such they sat in the mobile control centre, scanning the CCTV. Steve watched the footage and sighed.

“This isn’t HYDRA.” Nat concluded and Steve agreed.

“I know, it’s not their MO. This guy is too haphazard.” Steve pondered. “Just wondering why, considering how well organised he is, he is leaving so much devastation behind.”

“Minimum effort leaving maximum casualties.” Natasha said, watching the footage “He simply doesn’t care who he takes out.” “Well he’s hardly gonna care about that if he’s dealing black market arms.” Steve sighed.

They watched the footage some more and Steve held his hand up to Natasha to play it at normal speed when they reached the bit where the key perps were on screen.

“What’s he doing?” He frowned, looking at Crossbones. The man was stood in the middle of the room, looking around.

“He’s scanning for Cameras.” Nat answered as they both watched.

There was something familiar about the way the man walked and held himself, but Steve couldn’t quite place it. As they continued the footage, Crossbones located the camera they were watching through and looked directly up at it, pulling his mask up a little to reveal his mouth, clearly saying something.

“Can you enhance that?” Steve asked. Natasha tapped at it.

It zoomed in on the man and Natasha spoke “looks like something about it being personal…”

She held her phone up to the footage and then pressed something, and the phone spoke to her in a robotic voice.

“Big Guy…I just want you to know, this aint personal.” Steve’s gut clenched. The last time he had heard those words were in an elevator in the Triskelion.

“Rogers?” Natasha looked at him, noticing the nerve which was twitching in his jaw “What is it? Does that mean something to you?”

“In a fashion.” He turned to face her. “It’s Rumlow.”

****** The interviews went well and once the photos etc were done Katie and Tony retreated to the living area of the Tower for a well-earned drink as they put the final touches of their tour together. They were to start visiting various Universities across the US to roll out their foundation grants. To ease them both in gently, the first University they were going to was Columbia, so not far from home. Tony and Pepper would be presenting and discussing to students within the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences and Katie in the School of the Arts for Students on the Writing Programme.

Their chatter moved from work to Tony asking how the Compound was going, and Katie remembered the events of that morning.

“You ever heard of a bloke called Hank Pym?” she asked suddenly.

Tony paused for a moment, frowning at her sudden change of subject, but something stirred in his mind. “The name rings a bell, hang on…FRIDAY, search all files reference Hank Pym.” He instructed, tapping at something on his tablet.

After a few seconds something flashed up in the corner of the screen.

“Yeah, here you go.” He pressed another button causing the image to reflect in front of them as a hologram. “He worked with Dad and SHIELD on a programme called Project GOLIATH.”

“What the hell was that?” Katie asked, taking a pull from her bottle.

“A research programme into some kind of Nano particle.” Tony said as the pair of them simultaneously ran through the information on the screen.

“Ahhhh.” Katie nodded, “makes sense…” “What does?”

Katie explained about the encounter with Scott and Tony gave a hum of agreement.

“That could actually be kinda useful.”

“I know.” she agreed “But he vanished after he got whatever he wanted. Any thoughts on what it could be?”

“That facility holds a load of crap that was Dad’s” Tony said simply “Could be anything.”

“Well, nothing we could see was missing, but it might be worth you taking a look.” she suggested.

He shrugged “I can do, but there was nothing remotely dangerous in there. Was just a load of old signal jammers and code breakers we don’t really need anymore.”

“Well, I did try and ask what him what it was he wanted, you know, on account of him saying he was saving the world, maybe we could have helped with that, being the Avengers and all, but he simply turned round and said ‘Hank Pym told me never to trust a Stark’.”

She drained her bottle of beer as Tony did the same and he stood up, taking the empties to retrieve 2 more from the fridge.

“Clearly one of many in the long line of people dad pissed off.” Tony rolled his eyes as he popped the lids, before he sighed “I’m actually surprised no one tried to kill him before, you know, he rammed their car into a tree.”

Katie looked at her brother and swallowed. Tony had no idea how close to the truth he was.

“Sorry.” he slid the beer across the bar, mistaking her guilty silence for one of upset “That was out of order.”

“For all his faults I don’t think Dad was a bad man.” Katie spoke quietly “And he did love us.”

“I know.” Tony nodded, squeezing her hand.

She stayed for another drink and then headed home. She had checked in with Sam before heading back to their apartment and she was settled on the couch with a glass of wine when Steve called.

“Hey Soldier.” she said, smiling at the screen as she flicked the phone to project the image in front of her, muting the TV.

“Hey Darlin’.” He smiled back

“So, how was it?” she asked

“Well we got the intel.”

“Solid?”

“Pretty solid yeah.” Natasha spoke, appearing by his side. “We think we know who he is anyway.” “Who?”

Steve sighed. “It’s Rumlow.” “What?” Katie spluttered into her wine glass. “Are you sure?”

“Oh pretty sure.” Steve nodded. “He left me a clear message.”

“Steve recognised him on the Video so I ran a crosscheck.” Nat picked up. “Turns out he was listed as severely injured and was taken to the hospital. After that, our trail runs cold.”

“Until now.” Katie sighed.

“We’ve also got a list of his associates, some known faces he’s been seen with.” Steve shrugged “So we’re putting out an alert.”

“Doesn’t give us much to go on though.” Katie rubbed at her temples.

“When have we ever had much to go on?” Natasha asked and Katie shrugged

“Fair point.” she conceded as Natasha moved off out of sight.

“So how has your day been?” Katie looked back at Steve as he spoke.

“Not bad actually.” she said, “Interviews went well, oh, and we had a bit of an incident at base before.” “Incident?” he frowned, “What kind of incident?”

“Attempted break in, nothing major.”

“Everyone ok?”

“Yeah, honestly it was no big deal, I’ll fill you in on when you get home. For the rest of the day once the interviews were done Tony and I drank beer.”

“Sounds pretty productive.” Steve raised an eyebrow, smile playing on his lips.

“Beer is always productive.” Katie informed him and he chuckled.

“We’ll be airborne in thirty minutes and then we should be home in about four hours.” He said, as Katie looked at her watch. It was almost 8:30 pm.

“Alright, I’ll see you soon.”

“Love you.”

“And you.” She blew him a kiss and cut the call with a yawn. She was tired. Really tired, so she headed off for a bath. After soaking and listening to music for forty minutes she dried off and shoved on one of Steve’s T-shirts before climbing into bed and laying there for a moment, flicking through the TV channels. She settled on an episode of Family Guy and snuggled down into the large bed, wrapping herself in the soft covers. It always felt odd sleeping without Steve being there. Sometimes she quite enjoyed being able to starfish in the middle of the Emperor sized bed but tonight she wasn’t enjoying being alone.

****

Steve was whacked when they arrived home. Bidding good night to Natasha, instead of changing in the armoury he headed straight back and let himself into their quarters. Crossing the hallway he made his way into the bedroom he paused, a gentle smile spreading on his face. Illuminated in the light from the hallway he could see Katie was curled up in the middle of the bed, using his pillow as a hugging buddy. He quietly crossed the room and perched on the bed, stripping off his boots and uniform top. He paused slightly as Katie stirred and he turned to look at her, gently brushing her hair of her face. He glanced down at the freckles he knew by memory, long thick lashes, soft pink lips, that familiar Stark nose…she looked so peaceful asleep.

She stirred again, and that nose he adored wrinkled in the way it did when she was waking up and she cracked an eye open before her face split into a smile at the sight of her husband.

“Hey.”

“Hey, baby girl.” He smiled, his hand cupping her cheek. “Sorry, didn’t mean to wake you”

“It’s Okay.” She yawned, leaning into his touch.

“Did I tell you how beautiful you are?” He asked, and through the tiny sliver of light coming from the hallway Katie could see his eyes were full of their usual warmth.

“I don’t think you did today, no.”

“Well in that case, you’re beautiful” He smiled and she chuckled slightly as he dropped a soft kiss on her head. “I’m gonna take a shower and then I’ll be right with you.”

She watched him appreciatively as he stood up and pulled his compression-shirt over his head, leaving him bare form the waist up as he headed into the en-suite. For a moment she was tempted to join him, but then decided against it, laying back onto her side, dozing.

It wasn’t long before the bed dipped and she felt him slide under the covers next to her. She turned over to snuggle up into the crook of his shoulder, her head laying on his chest.

“So, you wanna tell what the incident was today?” he asked, his right hand reaching up to play with the strands of her hair that fell over her shoulder.

“Oh yeah.” she grinned before she launched into an explanation about Scott-slash-Ant Man. He fell silent for a moment but in the end came to the same conclusion as Tony had, there was nothing in there that was dangerous so they just needed to remain vigilant.

“Yeah, well Sam seemed to be taking vigilant to the extreme as he’s already been on the phone to numerous contracts, trying to track him down.” she said “I think he’s a bit annoyed the guy basically kicked his ass. Rhodey caught it all on video but Sam told me never to tell you about it. He’s taken it quite personally.” “I’m not surprised, he had his ass kicked.” Steve sniggered. “Where do I get a copy of the CCTV?”

Katie grinned, “I have it on my phone, Rhodey sent it to me.”

“Play it.” he instructed.

“What now?” “Yes, right now.” he nodded, moving so he was sat up, jolting her off his chest.

“No Sam will kill me!” she laughed, propping herself up on her elbow

“Screw Sam!” he snorted “He plays those damned Phys Ed videos every chance he gets.”

“That’s true.” Katie pondered “Ok, hang on…”

She turned, reaching over for the phone and the TV remote. Blinking at the sudden light, once her eyes were accustomed to the change she pressed a few buttons on her phone and beamed the footage to the TV on the wall. She had to admit, it looked even funnier from the video play back than it had when she had been there.

Steve let out a huge, genuine laugh, his head thrown back, banging against the headboard, arm clutched across his chest as he laughed, and laughed.

“I’m so showing that at our next briefing.” he said, wiping tears of mirth from his eyes.

“You can’t…” “Oh, I can!”

****

The next morning the pair of them made their way to the briefing room both munching on a piece of toast and each carrying a mug of coffee. It was early, before 8, but Steve wanted the team to be prepared. Everyone filed into the room along with some good humoured grumbling about the time before they dropped into their preferred seats and looked to the front of the room.

“I know it’s early and I’m sorry…” Steve held his hands up, looking round at the team assembled in front of him “But this is important.”

“More important than sleep?” Sam yawned.

Steve ignored him. “Alright, here’s what we already know.” Steve began to explain how they believed Rumlow to be Crossbones, the masked man who had been causing a whole lot of chaos in the wake of what happened at the Triskelion. Katie knew he was annoyed at himself for not realising he had survived sooner, but even if they had, they’d so much going on, not to mention Ultron had been a much bigger threat in the immediate future

"He’s been targeting former SHIELD labs and police stations all over the country and selling products on the black market.” Natasha spoke.

“Police stations?” Katie asked.

“We think he suffered heavy losses at the raid prior to the last three, so he’s going for easier targets whilst he regroups.” Natasha answered.

“Still no intel on who his buyers are?” Wanda asked.

“No.” Steve shook his head, “He seems to have become an independent terrorist, and doesn’t appear to be working for anyone”

“Our recon yesterday told us that Rumlow seems to be operating with this guy.” Natasha explained as the photos flashed up “He’s known as the Black Mamba…” “Black Mamba?” Wanda deadpanned. “Cross Bones and Black Mamba?”

“NATO has every available pair of eyes out looking for them.” Steve ignored Wanda and looked at Rhodey.

“Soon as they break cover, we’ll know.” Rhodey nodded

“So then what?” Sam frowned

“More recon?” Katie asked

Steve looked at his wife and nodded. “Possibly, but for now we need to let intelligence do their job. But be prepared, when we get a lead I want to be ready to go.”

There were mumbles around the room and Steve let the team lead the discussion. Sam commented on the crap code names again, causing Wanda to laugh. Katie suggested they should compile a detailed profile on Rumlow, see if they could find a pattern to his behaviour, nodding to Vision. the AI had a knack for it as did Katie, so Steve and Natasha nodded, both agreeing it was a good idea.

“We need to be vigilant.” Steve instructed. “Keep our eyes open for anything that’s out of the ordinary.” He caught Katie’s eye, a wicked smirk crossed his face and she shook her head smiling as he continued “Speaking of which…FRIDAY, play the video”

“Certainly Captain Rogers.” The pictures of Rumlow and Black Mamba disappeared from the screen and suddenly the footage of Sam spiralling through the air started to play. The room started to snigger as Sam looked at Katie who held her hands up in an “it wasn’t me!” gesture.

“Oh come on Man!” He groaned as the room gleefully watched the film, laughter ringing round the room.

******

The next four months ticked by with no further information on Rumlow. They pulled together a potted history which tracked the hospital he had been in, when he had escaped (the local authorities had been searching for him for ages since he threatened his nurse upon waking before violently breaking out) his movements since (ones they knew about and some they hadn’t) but it didn’t give them anything new.

Katie and Tony were buried deeply in their Foundation work, which was taking up a lot of Katie’s time so she wasn’t as close to the investigations as she could have been. Steve was fine with that though, the further away she was from Rumlow frankly the better, but he still made sure she was involved with what they had found and she attended the briefings as best she could when she wasn’t travelling the country. Steve’s chest burst with pride every time he saw his girl on the news, in papers, as the press seemed to be lavishing praise upon the siblings for what they were doing.

Then, one day in the middle of May, they struck gold when one of the Facial Recognition Alerts they had set up pinged to Black Mamba being spotted in a Lagos, Nigeria. As a result Steve had scrambled them all to attention as soon as he could, which was four am. But there were no complaints about the time, not when they knew this could be their chance to bring him in. They all pitched round the screen as Steve and Natasha identified the local police station that they suspected of him hitting, given where the FR had pinged several times.

“We think they are scoping this area.” Nat said, drawing a red circle round a part of the town.

Katie moved the screen with her fingers, enlarging the aerial shots as she looked at them, her analytical brain going ten to the dozen.

“Layout looks pretty standard.” she said, scanning the map, frowning slightly. Something was nagging at her. And as she looked, she realised what it was.

“What is it?” Steve asked, recognising the tone of her voice and frown on her face.

“The Science Institute.” She nodded towards the screen. “Big white building at the end of the road.”

“Biological weapons are big on the black market.” Sam cottoned on, nodding slightly.

“Yeah but his recent previous hits and our pattern analysis don’t give us any reason to believe that’s what he’s going to be aiming for.” Nat suggested

“You said yourself that you suspected he was going for easier targets whilst he regrouped.” Katie bit her lip. “What if he has?”

“We have to assume Rumlow will go for the police station, it’s the best intel we have.” Steve looked at her and he noticed the expression on Katie’s face as she crossed her arms and opened her mouth to argue. “But we should be vigilant, keep alert.”

She exchanged a glance with Sam, who simply shrugged

“We do this with stealth.” Steve continued, “I want us on the ground and out of sight, we need to catch him with as little fuss or danger to civilians as possible”

"Yeah, and with that in mind Viz you may need to sit this one out.” Nat tossed out and Vision nodded deprecatingly

“We’re still working on him blending in.” Wanda added.

“Same for you too Rhodey.” Steve looked at him “We need someone back here, we could be gone a few days.”

Rhodey nodded. “No problem Cap.” “Get what you need. Wheels up in twenty.” Steve dismissed everyone who immediately went their separate ways to prepare for the upcoming mission leaving Katie, Natasha and Steve alone

“You think she’s ready?” Natasha looked at Steve, nodding to Wanda. He took a deep breath, staring at the door through which she had just left with Vision.

“You say she’s been training hard.” He spoke after a moments pause, looking at Nat.

“Yeah, she has but her powers are still largely impacted by her emotions.”

“Aren’t everyone’s?” Katie asked. “I mean I’m angry or upset I fight harder, as you know.” “Yeah but,” Nat sighed “It isn’t the same, she can do a lot of damage.”

“We have the bare bones of a team as it is.” Steve shook his head and Katie looked down, feeling slightly guilty. She had discussed this with Steve, she wasn’t going. The Stark Foundation Tour had another few visits to Universities this week. Steve spotted the look on her face and he gently nudged her arm “That’s not a criticism honey…” “I know…” she bit her lip. Maybe she should postpone…

“Throw in the fact that this is the first full team mission we’ve had since Ultron and I don’t see any choice but to take Wanda” Steve shrugged, ending the conversation.

Nat took a deep breath and nodded “You’re right. And maybe being in an actual mission environment might help her gain some control, I mean practice makes perfect.”

“You trying to convince me or yourself?” he asked, eyeing her

“Both.” she drawled, heading out of the door.

Katie took a deep breath as Steve turned to her. “You best go.” she smiled softly. Steve bit his lip before he pulled her into an embrace, kissing her softly.

“I’ll call as soon as I can.” He promised, pressing his forehead to hers.

“Stay safe, please.” She whispered as he kissed the tip of her nose and hurried out of the door.

Once he was gone, Katie sank onto a chair, her head in her hands. She was torn, really torn. For the last year or so, post Ultron, they’d had a pretty quiet time of it, mopping up any stray Hydra operatives that strolled into their patch. But this, this was big. Was the Foundation really more important than putting a halt to whatever shitty plan Rumlow was trying to pull off? She was still an Avenger after all, she’d never quit that, and would never quit that.

She’d always be Supernova, whether she wanted to be or not.

“I’m gonna regret this.” She groaned to herself as she jumped up, and headed after the rest of the team.

*****

Steve, at first, had tried to argue against her coming but when Natasha had pointed out they could do with the support he had relented and the team had been bolstered by Supernova’s return to active duty.

Their support staff had done a great job on such a short time, and rented the group a four bedroomed apartment overlooking the street the Police Station was on. It wasn’t fancy, but it was the last place anyone would think would house Avengers. They spent their first day setting up a command centre, with coms links back to base and the next morning they began their recon.

The first two days were completely uneventful. No sign of Rumlow or any of his associates. Nat was the expert at covert ops and so she took the lead, directing them to all the right places coaching Wanda along the way and Steve was pleasantly surprised to see how well the younger girl took to the task, blending in with the locals. Katie took to observing from up high with Sam, her attention on the Biological Institute, unable to shake the nagging feeling she had about the place. She hadn’t mentioned it since their brief a few days ago, but Steve knew when she had an idea in her head she wouldn’t rest so he left her to it. Between them they had the area covered, which was good enough.

On the evening of the fourth day Wanda, Sam and Natasha headed out for a little undercover work in the bars at night, “So you guys can have a little undercover activity of your own” Sam teasingly stated, patting Steve on the back as he left, drawing an exasperated sigh from the Soldier. Nevertheless, the door had hardly clicked shut before Steve had his wife pinned up against a wall, hands wandering all over her body, lips and teeth clashing, her hand fisting in the slightly longer strands of hair at the top of his head as they’d furiously taken advantage of their first time alone in days.

The next morning Katie woke at about five-forty-five am and rolled over only to find the bed empty besides her. Steve could never rest when they were in the middle of a case like this. The clothes they had shed and left scattered all over the floor the night before were now folded and placed on top of the dresser, and she had to smile. Even now he was a total neat freak. Knowing full well where he would be she climbed out of the bed, pulled on Steve’s T-shirt and a pair of shorts before making her way into the dark corridor. She stopped in the doorway of the small dining room which was functioning as a makeshift office and sure enough, there he was, the lamp softly illuminated his handsome face as he flicked through a file, crease evident between his brows.

“Soldier, you’re up so early.” She said gently. Steve had heard her coming of course. Smiling softly, as he was always pleased to see her, he turned to face her as she crossed the room.

“Yeah, sorry, I woke about half an hour ago and couldn’t get back to sleep.”

“You know, I get that you’re fed up of just waiting but sitting here re-reading all this isn’t going to help you know.” Katie sighed, taking the file off him and dropping it onto the wooden table, before she perched on the edge.

“I know, it’s just so goddamned frustrating.” Steve ran his hand over his face. After pondering for a moment Katie stood up and walked behind the chair and placed her hands on his shoulders. He let out a groan of satisfaction and leaned back in his seat as she kneaded the muscles with her hands. She found a particularly bad spot just under his shoulder blade and began to push harder with her thumb. Steve, unable to decide if it was pleasurable or painful, made a little noise which was half way between the two.

“God your shoulders are so knotty.” Katie mused and he left out a breath through his nose moving his head to the side.

“Yeah well, I did a lot of exercise last night.” He quipped back as her hands continued to work at his shoulders.

“I’ll say.” She grinned. “You know that thing you did with your mouth is actually illegal in several countries.” “Good job we live in the land of the free.” His voice was low as he fully relaxed under her touch. Katie carried on working at his muscles in silence for a moment, happy to let him bliss out.

“So… answer me a question?” She spoke after a short while, rousing him a little, and he hummed, unable to bring himself to be bothered to talk.

“If you couldn’t sleep why didn’t you wake me to help you?” Her voice was loaded as she leaned forward to wind her arms around his neck, running her hands up and down his chest from behind. Steve loved it when she touched him like that which was why he pouted slightly when she pulled away, but the pout didn’t last long and a smirk crossed his face as Katie walked round to the front of his chair

“And how, exactly, would you have done that?” His hands moved to rest on her hips as she lowered herself so that she was straddling him. She slid one of her hands around the back of his head to tangle in his hair the other settling on his chest.

“Reckon I can think of a few ways.” She smirked slyly before using her hand in his hair to pull him forward and connect their lips. Steve kissed her back immediately as one hand crept up the back of her top, the other on the side of her thigh, sliding up her shorts.

“Sleepy yet?” She murmured.

“Not exactly the word I would use.” Steve raised an eyebrow.

She grinned and then began to rock her hips on top of him grinding down on his growing hardness and he sighed slightly, kissing her harder as she pushed down again. With an automatic reaction he raised his hips, rocking up to meet her and this time she groaned as she could feel the friction of their clothes grinding against her clit. His hands were now firmly holding her hips underneath her, no, his top, and he sat forward so his mouth could cover the spot under her ear that drove her wild. With a soft sigh she titled her head to the side as he trailed kisses across her jaw until his mouth met her lips again. His hands reached down to grasp the hem of her top and he had just begun to slide it upwards when they were interrupted by a raspy voice.

“I thought all the making out fully clothed supposedly stopped when you reached the age of seventeen.” Natasha scoffed from the doorway. Katie looked up over Steve’s shoulder as he sighed, dropping his head onto her chest, letting out a groan of frustration.

“Don’t you know how to knock?” Katie sighed.

“Don’t you know how to lock a door?” She retorted, dryly.

“I take it this isn’t a social call?” Steve’s voice was muffled as he spoke into his wife’s chest, not bothering to move his head. Katie chuckled a little, her hand running through his hair.

“Half and half.” Natasha arched an eyebrow, “Unsociable hour it maybe but Wanda’s already up and wants breakfast, she was going to head out to the local bakery but I thought it might be an idea to start the re-con early.”

Steve’s head looked up to Katie’s as she shifted off his lap and straightened out her clothing and hair. Steve glanced down at his crotch and Katie raised an eyebrow slightly as he stood up and adjusted his sweats in an attempt to hide his slowly ebbing arousal before he turned to face the red head.

“Well, you’re the expert in this covert stuff.” He raised his brow. “What have you got in mind?”

*****

“All right, what do you see?” Steve was coaxing Wanda, as ever, to observe her surroundings, see and hear everything, on the job training he supposed you could call it.

Meanwhile, Katie glanced down from the rooftop on which Sam and her were currently stood, her scanners doing their usual work. No weapons spotted yet.

“Standard beat cops. Small station. Quiet street. It’s a good target” Wanda’s voice came through the ear piece Steve was wearing.

“There’s an ATM in the South Corner.” he replied “which means….”

“Cameras” Wanda said instantly.

“Both cross streets are one way.” He carried on

“So, compromised escape routes.”

“Means our guy doesn’t care about being seen, he isn’t afraid to make a mess on the way out.” Steve concluded. “You see that Range Rover halfway up the block?”

“Yeah, the red one? It’s cute”

“It’s also bulletproof,” Katie cut in as FRIDAY completed a scan on the vehicle “Which means private security…”

“Which means more guns, which means more headaches for somebody. Probably us” Nat finished

“You guys know I can move things with my mind, right? “ Wanda replied

“Looking over your shoulder needs to become second nature.” Natasha continued

“Anybody ever tell you you’re a little paranoid?” Sam asked and Katie turned to look at him, retracting her face plate to give him a grin.

“Not to my face. Why? Did you hear something?” the exchange continued.

“Eyes on target, folks” Steve spoke firmly with an air of authority, bringing them back to the job in hand. “This is the best lead we’ve had on Rumlow in six months. I don’t want to lose him.”

“If he sees us coming that won’t be a problem. He kind of hates us.” Sam replied

As Steve watched he noticed that a garbage truck was slowly pushing its way through traffic, with no regard to pedestrians or other vehicles. He frowned and kept his eyes on it as it continued to gather momentum as it went.

“Sam, Katie…see that garbage truck? Tag it.”

Sam’s small drone launched, swooping down to scan the vehicle as Katie instructed FRIDAY to do the same.

“Give me X-ray.” Sam spoke. There was a pause before he gave a little moan. “That truck’s loaded for max weight.”

“And the driver’s armed.” Katie concluded.

And in that second it dawned on Steve that his wife had been right all along. The Institute was the target after all.

“It’s a battering ram.” Katie’s voice mumbled on the coms, clearly having realised the same thing he had, and with that Steve turned from the window, running for the door.

“Go, now!” He yelled into his coms as he sprinted down the stairs. “There not hitting the station…” “The institute…” Sam spoke as Steve burst onto the street looking up in time to see Falcon and Supernova spiralling into the air.

And once more the fight was on.

**** Chapter 29 Part 1

**Original Posting**

#stark spangled banner #steve rogers #Katie Stark #steve rogers x ofc #steve rogers x original female character #steve rogers fanfiction #steve rogers smut #mcu #mcu fanfic #chris evans #chris evans characters

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the-sympathetic-villain · 5 years ago

Text

You Belong With Me - Chapter 15

AO3 | First | Previous | Next | Masterpost

Description: Much to his surprise, after being released from prison for a crime he didn’t commit, Logan has been appointed as a the prince’s new advisor.

Word Count: 5614

Chapter Warnings are at the end of the post to avoid spoilers :)

Roman’s lungs burned as he peaked the last hill and the water mill slowly emerged into view. He shivered, looking up at the old building. Peeking out from he darkening clouds, the shimmering moonlight cast an ominous halo of light off the edge of the waterwheel's silhouette and he felt a growing sense of dread in his stomach as he approached. A growl of thunder echoed in the distance as the sound of Virgil's footsteps came up behind him. His form blurred by as he overtook Roman, and taking three stairs at a time, Virgil climbed up the side of the river's embankment towards the building’s entrance.

Roman closed distance between them just as Virgil angrily stopped jiggling the locked door. Virgil took a step back and Roman flinched as he lifted his foot a loud crash sounded as Virgil brought his leg down to smash through the flimsy door. They rushed inside only to pause hesitantly staring into the dark room, taking in the many halls and doorways that branched off the main room.

“Where's the reservoir?” Roman wheezed, bending over to breathe as he came up to stand behind Virgil.

“It has to be underground.” Virgil reasoned, analyzing the layout of the first floor. His voice was steady and focused as he disappeared through one of the many doors, calling over his shoulder. “Look for a trapdoor, princey!”

At this moment, Roman truly envied Virgil's endurance. His gut twisted as he forced himself to keep moving. Heading in the opposite direction as Virgil, he started pulling open doors and ducking into the various storage rooms throughout the building. Anxiety welled in his chest as he passed through room after room of storage and maintenance supplies. Halfway down the hall, he stopped. His eyes had begun to adjust to the dim light and he could just make out a narrow staircase at the end of the hall.

A loud crack of thunder sounded above him and he could hear the waterwheel groan loudly in the wind outside. He hesitated, before bolting past half a dozen doors and cautiously starting down the steep stairs to the near pitch-black darkness of the partial lower floor of the water mill. Pushing open the door at the bottom of the stairs, he paused to allow his eyes a chance to adjust to the low lighting. Only a moment passed before he was able to make out the faint outline of a trapdoor on the floor.

“Virge! In here!”

Roman dropped down to the floor, trying to get a grip on the edge of the polished wood. Once he managed to get his fingers wrapped around the heavy door, he heaved upward with all his strength. Straining himself, he barely managing to lift the hatch a partway before heard Virgil’s quick footsteps behind him.

“I can't lift it on my own.” He groaned, trying desperately not to lose his grip. “Help me.”

“‘Kay, princey.” He stepped around Roman and pushed up on the heavy door. Together, they just managed flip the door over its hinges and it landed with a loud bang on the ground. As soon as the door was open, Virgil dropped down on his chest hanging his head down into the hole. He glanced around desperately for any sign of Patton in the lightless abyss below. Virgil exhaled as he spotted a dark shadow on the far side of the room. Virgil saw no movement, but he could just make out a small figure peeking up above the level of the water. “I think I see him, princey.”

Roman looked down into the hole to confirm for himself before he looked up at Virgil. “What's the plan?”

“I'm going down there, but I need you need to stay here." Virgil paused, nearly biting his tongue bitterly. "They got what they wanted, so I don't think they'll hurt us now. All the same though, I'd rather not take the chance of them shutting the door on all of us while the tank is filling."

“Okay, Virge.” Roman nodded seriously. "He's unconscious by the looks of it. So just grab him, and bring him close enough that I can lift him out."

Virgil nodded as he climbed down onto the first step of the ladder into the hatch. He looked up at Roman seriously. “Keep an eye out, princey. We don't know who's hanging around.”

“Got it. Go, Virgil.” Roman urged frantically

Virgil let himself drop off the ladder, knowing the water below would break his fall. He couldn’t help audibly gasping as he sunk into the cold water. Shivering, he nodded up at Roman before slogging through the waist deep water to the far side of the reservoir. He approached the shadow on the far wall, and exhaled a sigh of relief as he made out the silhouette of Patton’s face, slumped over on his shoulder. His eyes were closed, but Virgil could just make out Patton’s chest rising or falling as the water lapped up at his chin. Shaking, Virgil put his hands on Patton's cold cheeks, steadying Patton’s face between them.

“Can you hear me, Pat?”

Patton groaned quietly.

“It's okay, Pat. I'm here.” Virgil whispered, his voice quaking as he leaned his forehead down to rest on Patton’s. “We’re getting you out of here.”

Virgil leaned back to look down at Patton. Emotions threatened to overwhelm him as he stared down at his unconscious friend in the darkness. He bit his lip, pushing aside his feelings as he leaned down to work at the knots binding Patton’s hands behind the chair in which he was propped up. Tears formed in the corner of his eyes as he struggled to untie the ropes around Patton's wrists. His binds were tied painfully tight and working at them underwater was nearly impossible. Another booming clack of thunder resonated above him and Virgil choked, getting a face full of water as the knots finally started to give way to his prying. He leaned closer, refusing to let the water level slow him down. Once the last bit of rope fell free, he took Patton’s hands and gently tucked them across his chest. He slipped back around to Patton's side and wrapped his arms underneath Patton’s knees and back, pulling him out of the water.

He walked back to the ladder slowly. The added weight made it significantly more difficult to keep his balance as he made his way across the slippery base of the reservoir. As he neared the door, Virgil slowly lifted Patton up over his shoulder, freeing one of his hands to climb the ladderout of the reservoir . Stepping on the first rung of the ladder, he yelped as his foot slipped on the wet metal, nearly plunging them both into the cold water below. Virgil managed to steady himself, just as Roman called down to him.

“You okay, Virgil?’

He looked up at Roman's dark silhouette above him. “All good, princey. I’ve got him, but the ladder's slick. I'm going to try to get up a few steps and hand him off to you.”

“I'm ready for him. Be careful.”

“Always, princey.” A flash of lightning illuminated the space above Roman as he looked up. The thunder rolled in a few seconds later as Virgil adjusted his grip to try again. He managed to climb the first few steps of the ladder, careful not to lose traction as he gripped the ladder tightly. On the third rung, he lifted Patton as high as he could manage, relaxing as he felt Roman lift Patton out through the trapdoor.

Once Patton's weight was lifted from his shoulders, Virgil climbed the rest of the ladder with ease. He hopped out of the hatch, collapsing on his knees next to where Roman had laid Patton. Virgil’s face fell as he looked down at Patton shivering violently on ground beneath them, but thankfully, he couldn't see any visible injuries. He swallowed painfully and leaned back, knowing that didn't mean Patton hadn't been hurt. Virgil watched as Roman quickly took off his coat and laid it over Patton, tucking the edges underneath him.

“We need to get him somewhere warm.” Roman put a hand on Patton’s cheek. “He's soaked through and he feels like ice.”

“I know.” Virgil jumped to his feet and and began pacing the room.

“He won't make it to the castle without dry clothes.” Roman’s voice shook with uncertainty. They needed to act fast, but his mind was blank, out of options for their quickly paling friend.

“Can you carry him?”

Roman looked up to see Virgil had stopped moving and was staring down at him. One hand ran through his hair and he appeared to be tugging at the end anxiously, nervousness apparent on his face. Roman raised an eyebrow at him. “Of course I can, Virge.”

Virgil sighed, gesturing for Roman to pick Patton up and follow him. “We don't have to go all the way back. I know someone who’s local.”

“Who?” Roman tucked his coat tightly around Patton before picking him up to follow Virgil up to the main floor.

“Someone who's going to murder me for bringing you anywhere near him.” Virgil quickly crossed the main floor and pushed the broken front door open.

Roman hesitated, looking down nervously at Patton shivering in his arms. “I know we don't have a lot of options, but this place we're going is safe, right?”

“Definitely. I'd trust this guy with my life, princey,” Virgil stopped at the door , looking back at Roman hesitating behind him. “And he knows Patton. Even if he's mad at me, he'd keel over dead before he let anything bad happen to Pat.”

“He knows Patton?” Roman asked skeptically as he clutched his friend closer, shivering as Patton’s wet clothes soaked through his own.

“He knows everything, princey. He has for years.” Virgil stated plainly. “Patton is safe with him. I promise.”

Roman looked down at Patton, still hesitating. “How—

“Roman, he is going to freeze to death, if we don't start moving.” Virgil pleaded. “If I thought there was even a shred of a possibility he could get hurt, I wouldn’t take him.”

“I know.” Roman nodded tensely, carefully making his way across the main floor. “I’m sorry. I know you wouldn’t, Virgil. Lead the way.”

“Don't worry about it.” He glanced down anxiously at Patton. “Be gentle with him as we go, princey.”

Roman nodded as he followed Virgil out the busted front door. He watched as Virgil pulled up his hood over his as they exited the mill. A light drizzle of rain fell down on them as they dropped down the stairs, and the mill began to groan in the wind as the storm around them started to pick up in intensity. The path to town was dark and the lightning traveling through the clouds was the only light illuminating the road ahead of them as they made their way into the small town.

"Where the hell did this storm come from?" Virgil swore under his breath. "The sky was basically clear when we left the castle."

"I don't know, Virge." Roman muttered. "But it doesn't do much good worrying about it now."

Virgil exhaled, exasperated. "I know, but Logan's trail is going to go cold quick, if this doesn't let up soon.

Roman's silence was all the confirmation he needed to know the prince had been thinking the same thing. He ducked his head as they approached he town's gates. The gates hung open and no guards were posted as they entered the quiet streets. The residents clearly didn't fear attack as they slept peacefully in their beds. Virgil, on the other hand, appeared to be on edge as he led him through the town, glancing nervously at each house as they went by.

“I don't mean to doubt you but you do know where you’re going, right?” Roman asked as Virgil paused at an intersection of two roads, glancing around uncertainly before continuing.

Virgil glanced back at him anxiously before returning to scanning the houses. “I know where I'm going, princey. I'm just not popular around here and I'd rather no one sees me.”

“Great.” Roman muttered, huddling Patton closer as he followed Virgil.

“Here it is.” Virgil bounded up the stairs to the next house, leaving Roman stopped in his tracks, staring at what was the most bizarre house that Roman had ever seen. A cast iron pan was nailed the center of the door and the door frame was lined with iron horse shoes. Collections of bones and herbs hung from string off the roof all along the the edge of the building,

“Are you sure about this?” Roman asked hesitantly.

“Yes, he's a bit of an eccentric but this,” He gestured around to the various charms hanging from the buidling. “It's just to protect against the fae.”

“Right…” Roman reluctantly carried Patton forward, hovering a ways behind Virgil as he stepped up to the door.

“It’s fine. Have a little faith in me, princey.” He turned and knocked on the door. He heard no sound as they stood in the rain waiting. A full minute passed, before Virgil raised his hand to knock again, but as he did so, the door cracked open. Roman caught a glimpse of light from beyond the door as the moonlight reflected in the stranger’s eyes. Holding Patton tighter, Roman watched nervously as Virgil pulled down his hood.

“Virgil?” A gentle voice filled the air. Roman felt tension release from his body as a friendly-looking older gentleman pulled the door open. Subtle grey hairs peppered his golden hair and his demeanor was humble and unassuming. His eyes brimmed with concern as he took in Virgil’s appearance.

“Hey, Em. Can we come in?” Roman did his best to conceal his shock at Virgil’s sudden soft voice. He'd never know Virgil sound weak, even when he was intimidated, but as he stood there, he seemed almost timid looking to the stranger for help.

“You're soaking wet.” The words seemed to slip out unintentionally as he stared at Virgil.

“I know, and I'll explain soon. But, right now, I need your help.” Virgil paused, his voice apologetic. “Patton needs your help, Em.”

For the first time, the stranger seemed to pull his eyes away from Virgil to look at Roman. A flash of recognition crossed his face as his gaze landed on Roman. Roman frowned, noticing the stranger tense at the sight of him, but all hostility seemed to disappear when he noticed Patton resting unconscious in Roman’s arms. He rushed forward and Roman nearly instinctively pulled back as the stranger put a hand out to Patton, resting it on Patton’s face.

“Oh kiddo, what did you do?” The man cooed down at Patton, rubbing his thumb across Patton's cheek

“Em… please.” Virgil pressed.

“Of course I'll help him, Virgil.” He nodded, stepping aside for Roman to enter. “Lay him down on the couch next to the fire, and be very gentle with him.”

Roman flared up defensively, but he didn't even have a moment to speak before the stranger cut him off.

“I'm sure you're being careful with him,” The kind stranger’s eyes locked with his, staring at him seriously. “But his body is in shock right now. One wrong jarring movement is all it would take for his heart to give out.”

Roman nodded sheepishly, feeling a bit like a petulant child for getting defensive.

“Good. Move him as little as you possibly can.” The stranger looked to Virgil. “Virgil will show you the way, while I grab more blankets.”

Virgil nodded and gestured for Roman to follow him. Roman felt uneasy as the man stared at him with suspicion as he carried Patton into the house. After Roman had passed, the man disappeared into one of the nearby rooms, without a word and Roman couldn't help being relieved to be out from under his scrutiny.

Still, Roman's body was tense as he followed Virgil through the quiet house. Soon, the hallway opened up to a warm den. A small fire flittered lifelessly under the mantel on the far wall and Roman stared for a moment. The glowing embers seemed to swallow each little flame that dared dance along the edges of ashes. The fire barely gave off enough light to illuminate the silhouettes of the large supply of cooking supplies in front of the fireplace. Roman furrowed his brow seeing bins of toys all around the room, a detail that struck Roman as odd since he’d neither seen nor heard any other evidence of children in the house.

Roman forced himself to shake his wandering thoughts of the stranger and focus on Patton. He moved forward and delicately laid Patton down on the worn, pink couch on the far side of the room. He stared down at Patton, whose teeth were chattering lightly as he started to squirm uncomfortably. Roman's heart ached as he looked down at his friend twisting in discomfort, and he reached his hand up to Patton’s face. Patton seemed to settle, leaning comfortably into Roman's warmth.

“Who is he, Virgil?” Roman gestured in the direction of the stranger cautiously, unsure if he was truly ready for an answer.

Virgil looked at the door behind him with a hesitant look on his face, but eventually he turned back to Roman with a resigned smile. “His name is Emile, and it's complicated, princey.”

“That’s not an answer, Virge.” Roman stared skeptically at him.

“I, uh, stayed with him for a few years when I was pretty young.” Virgil blushed, running a hand through his hair. “He takes care of all the stray kids in this town. The ones who don't have a place to go.”

“Oh,” Roman muttered. His pondered for a moment, pieces of information finally settling into place. He glanced around the dimly lit room before turning back to Virgil. “But you were on the streets in the city when we first met, Virgil. Why would you move out of here to live on the streets?”

Virgil shrugged. “I was causing him problems."

“He kicked you out?” Roman couldn’t hide the sudden edge in his voice.

“What? No!” Virgil's eyebrows shot up and he moved to the back of the couch behind Patton. He looked at his shivering friend and ran a hand through Patton’s hair as he attempted a reassuring smile at Roman. “It wasn't like that, princey. I couldn't stand seeing him take heat for keeping me, so I took off on him. I...I hurt him pretty bad by leaving him, but it was better than what would have happened."

“What did you do, Virge?” Roman asked in shock.

“I didn’t do anything. I just—"

Virgil stopped, looking up as he heard the door open up behind Roman. Roman turned to see Emile carrying a pile of blanket quickly at them. He shrank at the icy stare on his face as he approached. Emile dropped the pile of blankets unceremoniously off to the side as he dropped down next to Patton. Putting a hand to Patton’s neck, he looked up at Virgil.

“Virgil, do you have a knife?”

Roman tensed beside him, gritting his teeth. Even Virgil looked taken aback, looking down at Emile. He opened and closed his mouth, trying to find his words.

“Yeah, I do." He finally muttered, glancing nervously at Roman’s reaction.

“Good.” Emile stood up and took a step back. “I need you to cut away his clothing.”

“What the—” Roman exploded, stepping protectively between Emile and Patton, but Emile stood his ground crossing his arms across his chest before interrupting Roman.

“If we don't get him out of his wet clothes, he's not going to be able to get warm.” Emile glared at Roman. “He's not safe yet. If we do nothing, he will still die.”

“If you think I'm letting you anywhere near him with a knife—” Roman bared his teeth at Emile as he yelled.

“Not me.” Emile interrupted flatly. “Virgil will do it.”

“What—” Virgil’s voice dropped, shocked. He shook his head in disbelief. “I don't want to do that.”

Emile ignored Virgil and his voice trembled bitterly as he stared at Roman. “It's clear you don't trust me, and quiet frankly, I don't trust you either, my dear prince.”

Roman raised an eyebrow at the acknowledgement of his title, surprised the man had recognized him.

“So, Virgil will do it, because I expect you trust Virgil as much as I do.” Emile's eyes traveled down to Patton and he sighed. His eyes flicked up to Virgil without lifting his head. “You need to hurry, Virgil. His pulse is already weak.”

A sudden gasp escaped Patton and he wheezed weakly. The room fell still and all eyes turned to Patton laying between them.

“I can't—" Virgil pleaded.

“Just do it, Virge.” Roman turned his head up to him, looking apologetically between Virgil and Emile. “He’s right. We need to act now or we're going lose him.”

Virgil looked frantically between Emile and Roman before nodding. He moved around to the front of the couch, his hands shaking as he looked down at Patton.

“Can't I just undress him?” Virgil looked to Emile nervously.

“No. You need to move him as little as possible.” Emile looked down at him sympathetically. “His heart's weak, and we can't risk straining him.”

“‘Kay.” Virgil bit his lip and numbly turned down to look at Patton. His hands shook as he pulled his knife from his pocket. Anxiously, he spun his knife on his pointer finger, trying to calm his growing panic before he slipped the blade under Patton’s shirt.

The fabric gave easily to the sharp edge of the knife. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Emile and Roman turn away. He hesitated, uncertain of what waited him underneath Patton's clothes. Virgil’s throat burned as he ripped Patton's shirt. Using his blade, he cut away the remaining seams, pulling the scraps of clothing away from Patton’s chest. He sighed with relief at the sight of Patton's chest. He could see faint bruising at his joints, but Virgil suspected the bruising was more consistent with being transported roughly, rather than being tortured. He reached out to Patton's chest and flinched as he brushed Patton’s ice-cold skin. Virgil looked at Patton's face. The sight of the blue tint of Patton’s lips sent new waves of panic racking through his body.

“Shit, Pat. Hold on just a little longer.” Virgil's voice cracked as he grabbed a small blanket and dabbed the water off of Patton’s chest and face. Patton wheezed as Virgil tossed a dry, blanket over his upper body and turned to clip his knife through the hem of Patton’s pants. He tore through them, using his blade to quickly work through the seams. Within seconds, he’d pulled the shredded pants free and dabbed Patton dry, relieved once again to see only faint bruising on his body.

“Roman,” Virgil called over his shoulder as he tucked a blanket around Patton. He glanced up as Roman came up behind him. “I'm going to lift him just enough for you to put a dry blanket underneath him. Okay?”

Roman nodded at him seriously, reaching behind Virgil to grab a thick blanket. Virgil waited until Roman was ready before gently lifting Patton just long enough for Roman to spread a thick, dry blanket underneath Patton before resting him back down on the couch.

“Put the rest of the blankets on top of him.” Emile's hand rested on his chin absently as he watched Roman help Virgil care for Patton. “Make sure you cover his feet and head, but not his face.”

Virgil looked up at him and nodded. They tucked Patton into the pile of blankets smiling faintly when he noticed Patton seemed to have stopped shivering. Virgil leaned down close to Patton, unable to pull his gaze from his face even as Emile kneeled down next to him and reached over to check Patton’s pulse.

“I think he'll recover just fine,” Emile started, uncertainly staring down at Patton. “but I'm a little nervous that he hasn't woken up yet.”

Virgil’s eyes narrowed and his face twisted into a snarl. “I think he was drugged, Em. I don't think he'll wake up until whatever is in his system wears off.”

Emile's sympathy vanished, replaced with indignation. “What did you get him into—”

“It wasn't my fault—” Virgil leaned back, his voice crushed.

“No, it was mine.”

Virgil turned his head up to Roman behind him. He tried to smile reassuringly up at Roman, but he couldn't find the will to curl the corners of his mouth. “It's not your fault either, princey.”

“I shouldn’t have gotten any of you involved.” Roman crossed his arms across his chest with a sigh.

“Logan needed us, princey.” Virgil insisted tiredly.

“Lot of good that's doing him now.” Roman said bitterly.

Virgil listened to the gentle patter of the rain on the roof for a minute before sighing, standing up. “I've got to go.”

“You’re going to leave him?” Emile looked up at him in shock. “He needs you, Virg—"

“Em! I'd do anything to stay until he wakes.” Virgil snapped. “But, we’ve got another friend whose in a lot of trouble. I've got to go get him.”

“I'll go, Virge.”

Virgil looked up to Roman. He frowned at the guilty expression on Roman’s face.

“You’re still soaked from saving Patton.” Roman smiled faintly at him. “Stay here and get dry. I'll go find him.”

“Princey, I'm faster, and I'm better at tracking than you. I'm Logan's best shot at coming home.” Virgil smirked apologetically at him. “I need to go before the trail goes cold.”

“You’re soaked, Virge.”

“I'll change before I go.” Virge shrugged nonchalantly, but a flash of hurt in Roman's eyes have him pause. He hesitated before turning to Emile. “Hey, Em. Can you give us a moment?”

Emile lifted his head up to look at them. He seemed to be lost in thought as he stood up from where he was kneeled next to Patton and nodded. He moved to leave the room, but Virgil stopped him.

“While you’re in there, is there any chance you have another amulet like the one you gave me a few years ago?” Virgil asked timidly.

“What happened to yours?” Emile looked at him sternly.

“I lent it to a friend.” Virgil admitted timidly.

“You shouldn't leave yourself open like that, Virgil.” Emile chided him softly, crossing his arms.

“He was being hurt in his dreams, Em.” Virgil pleaded. “He needed help.”

“Your good will is going to be the death of you, Virgil.” Emile sighed, but Virgil could see the subtle smile on his face. “I'll find you something.”

Virgil watched Emile go before turning back to Roman. “What's going on in that head of yours, princey?”

“You keep clothes here.” Roman said sadly.

Virgil looked at him in confusion, but nodded.

“How often are you here?”

“Once or twice a month.” Virgil shrugged, kicking at the ground. “Whenever I can manage really.”

“I never realized.” Roman’s words trailed off and his face fell.

Virgil smirked at him teasingly. “Aww, princey, are you jealous that I kept a secret from you?”

Roman’s face flushed and he turned his head away guiltily. “Sorry, no. You can have secrets. I just—”

“Princey, stop.” Virgil frowned with concern. “What's bothering you?”

��I have no right to be bothered by this.”

“Bothered by what?” Virgil took a step closer.

Roman lifted his eyes to look up at Virgil as he approached. He sighed, dropping his gaze. “I was already in a heightened state of emotion from losing Logan and nearly losing Patton. I'm just being unreasonable.”

“Stop dodging my question and tell me what's wrong, Roman.” Virgil’s hair hung partially over his eyes as he smiled reassuringly up at him.

Roman looked down at him with guilt in his eyes. He sighed, giving in to Virgil’s gentle pressure. “You have a whole life here, Virgil.”

Virgil nodded hesitantly.

“You never told me about this place.” Roman took a deep breath. “And, of course I'd never ask you to share something against your will, but I thought—"

“You thought what?” Virgil prompted as Roman’s words dropped off.

“I thought you trusted me, Virge.”

Virgil raised an eyebrow at him. “Is that all?”

“It's stupid. I know—”

“It's not stupid.” Virgil interrupted. “I trust you completely and I would have told you, Roman, but Emile asked me not to.”

“But Patton knows—”

“Roman, Patton knows for a different reason.” Virgil paused. “All those years ago, when you asked me to hide Patton, this is where I brought him. We would have been caught, if we'd been out in the open, and I knew Emile would help. So, I brought him here until things calmed down and we were able to bring him back into the castle.”

“Oh.” Realization suddenly washed over him, and suddenly Virgil's actions started to make sense.

“Besides, Patton's not a prince.” Virgil crossed his arms and shifted nervously, trying to keep a steady smile on his face.

Roman glanced at the door through which Emile had left. “He doesn't like royalty?”

“Emile doesn’t like anyone with authority really and you're basically the top authority in the country. So, of course, he's going to have some problems with you being in his house.” Virgil shrugged. “It's nothing personal or anything. It's just that the kids that come here usually have problems or cause problems. To protect them, he tries to stay under the radar of anyone who could hurt them, since your guard doesn't have a great track record, even with kids.”

Roman exhaled guiltily as understanding finally clicked into place. “That's why he's uncomfortable with me.”

“Luckily, Emile doesn’t have any kids right now, or he'd be much more upset with me for bringing you here.” Virgil thought for a moment. “Don't worry too much. He'll come around. I've told him about you, and he knows you’re not a typical royal.”

“That’s good, I think. I wouldn’t want to make him feel unsafe in his own home.”

Virgil cleared his throat. "I wish I had time to finish this conversation, but I have to go."

"You're going after Logan now?"

Virgil nodded.

"You're sure you don't want me to come with you?"

"No, Patton needs a familiar face when he wakes up and someone to explain what's going on." Virgil hesitated, looking up at Roman. "And I'll move faster on my own."

“Okay, but don't take any risks when you're out there. Just figure out where they’re holding Logan and come back. Don't try and rescue him yourself, unless you absolutely know you can get out safe.”

“Fine,” Virgil nodded. “But if I can, I'm getting Logan out. He’s been with Remus for too long already.”

“Just come home safe, okay?” Roman stepped forward and pulled Virgil into a hug. “I don't want to lose anyone else today.”

“I'll be careful, Roman.” Virgil closed his eyes, hugging Roman back.

Virgil pulled back as he heard a door crack open behind him. He turned to see Emile peeking his head out.

“I found a replacement for your amulet, Virgil.” Emile said cautiously.

“Come on out, Em. I'm about to leave.” Virgil gestured for Emile to join them.

“This should work better than your last. You should be basically undetectable.” Emile paused. “Your friend could probably even keep the old one, if he needs it.”

Virgil reached out and took the charm from Emile. He turned the amulet in his hand. Set into the dark metal was a deep, purple stone. His skin prickled at the contact with the powerful magic, as he pulled the chain over his head.

“Thank you, Em.” Virgil looked down at the amulet on his chest. He looked up a loud crack of thunder shook the house, before looking back at Emile. “I'm going to change and then go. Can they—”

“They can stay as long as you need, Virgil." Emile interrupted with a smile. He stepped forward and pulled Virgil into a hug as he whispered in Virgil's ear. “Just come back safe.”

"I will, Em." Virgil nodded as he hugged Emile back.

“Go change.” Emile encouraged, releasing him.

Virgil nodded as he disappeared through one of the doors, leaving Emile and Roman alone together. An uncomfortable moment passed as silence filled the air between them. Roman kneeled down beside Patton, whose breathing seemed steadier and he could hear that Patton had stopped wheezing. He sighed with relief at the fact that, at the very least, Patton seemed to be improving. He put a hand on his face, exhaling with relief that Patton's skin no longer felt dangerously cold. Roman stared at him, lost in thought for a moment before he heard a door open behind him. He looked up to see Virgil moving towards the front door. Roman followed Emile to the door just as Virgil turned around, pulling a hood over his head.

“Stay safe, and come back if it gets too cold out there.” Emile said tiredly, smiling over at Virgil.

“I will. Thanks for everything, Em.”

“Anytime, Virgil.”

Virgil turned to Roman. “Make sure Patton knows I'm coming back for him as soon as I can.”

Roman nodded. “Bring Logan home, Virge.”

“I'll get him, princey.” A flash of lighting illuminated the room as Virgil pulled up his hood, disappearing through the door into the drizzling rain.

Chapter Warnings: Hypothermia, Vague Non-sexual Nudity, Knife being used to cut away clothing (Non-Violent/Non-sexual) (Let me know if I need to add anything!)

You Belong With Me Taglist:

@cas-is-a-hunter @insert-cool-blogname @ironwoman359 @i-know-im-smart @imbadatnames8d @somehow-i-got-an-account @croftersphoenix @optimistic-violinist @chronicallynervouschild @dwbh888

#sanders sides #sanders sides fic #sanders sides fanfiction #ts #ts roman #ts virgil #ts patton #ts emile #cartoon therapy #platonic prinxiety #You Belong With Me #villain writes

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watchcryptomarket · 4 years ago

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should I buy Ethereum now?

Let's check that technically ...

Ethereum is a platform that is intended to allow people to easily write decentralized applications (Đapps) using blockchain technology. A decentralized application is an application which serves some specific purpose to its users, but which has the important property that the application itself does not depend on any specific party existing. Rather than serving as a front-end for selling or providing a specific party's services, a Đapp is a tool for people and organizations on different sides of an interaction use to come together without any centralized intermediary.

Should I buy Ethereum for its new technology?

It's better to know more about its new technology called smart contracts.

Contracts generally serve four purposes:

- Maintain a data store representing something which is useful to either other contracts or to the outside world; one example of this is a contract that simulates a currency, and another is a contract that records membership in a particular organization.

- Serve as a sort of externally owned account with a more complicated access policy; this is called a "forwarding contract" and typically involves simply resending incoming messages to some desired destination only if certain conditions are met; for example, one can have a forwarding contract that waits until two out of a given three private keys have confirmed a particular message before resending it (ie. multisig). More complex forwarding contracts have different conditions based on the nature of the message sent; the simplest use case for this functionality is a withdrawal limit that is overrideable via some more complicated access procedure.

- Manage an ongoing contract or relationship between multiple users. Examples of this include a financial contract, an escrow with some particular set of mediators, or some kind of insurance. One can also have an open contract that one party leaves open for any other party to engage with at any time; one example of this is a contract that automatically pays a bounty to whoever submits a valid solution to some mathematical problem, or proves that it is providing some computational resource.

- Provide functions to other contracts; essentially serving as a software library.

Contracts interact with each other through an activity that is alternately called either "calling" or "sending messages". A "message" is an object containing some quantity of ether (a special internal currency used in Ethereum with the primary purpose of paying transaction fees), a byte-array of data of any size, the addresses of a sender and a recipient. When a contract receives a message it has the option of returning some data, which the original sender of the message can then immediately use. In this way, sending a message is exactly like calling a function.

Why should I buy Ethereum??

Ethereum has these special features which make it unique in cryptocurrencies.

Sandwich complexity model: the bottom level architecture of Ethereum should be as simple as possible, and the interfaces to Ethereum (including high level programming languages for developers and the user interface for users) should be as easy to understand as possible. Where complexity is inevitable, it should be pushed into the "middle layers" of the protocol, that are not part of the core consensus but are also not seen by end users - high-level-language compilers, argument serialization and deserialization scripts, storage data structure models, the leveldb storage interface and the wire protocol, etc. However, this preference is not absolute.

Freedom: users should not be restricted in what they use the Ethereum protocol for, and we should not attempt to preferentially favor or disfavor certain kinds of Ethereum contracts or transactions based on the nature of their purpose. This is similar to the guiding principle behind the concept of "net neutrality". One example of this principle not being followed is the situation in the Bitcoin transaction protocol where use of the blockchain for "off-label" purposes (eg. data storage, meta-protocols) is discouraged, and in some cases explicit quasi-protocol changes (eg. OP_RETURN restriction to 40 bytes) are made to attempt to attack applications using the blockchain in "unauthorized" ways. In Ethereum, we instead strongly favor the approach of setting up transaction fees in such a way as to be roughly incentive-compatible, such that users that use the blockchain in bloat-producing ways internalize the cost of their activities (ie. Pigovian taxation).

Generalization: protocol features and opcodes in Ethereum should embody maximally low-level concepts, so that they can be combined in arbitrary ways including ways that may not seem useful today but which may become useful later, and so that a bundle of low-level concepts can be made more efficient by stripping out some of its functionality when it is not necessary. An example of this principle being followed is our choice of a LOG opcode as a way of feeding information to (particularly light client) dapps, as opposed to simply logging all transactions and messages as was internally suggested earlier - the concept of "message" is really the agglomeration of multiple concepts, including "function call" and "event interesting to outside watchers", and it is worth separating the two.

Have No Features: as a corollary to generalization, the dev team often refuses to build in even very common high-level use cases as intrinsic parts of the protocol, with the understanding that if people really want to do it they can always create a sub-protocol (eg. ether-backed subcurrency, bitcoin/litecoin/dogecoin sidechain, etc) inside of a contract. An example of this is the lack of a Bitcoin-like "locktime" feature in Ethereum, as such a feature can be simulated via a protocol where users send "signed data packets" and those data packets can be fed into a specialized contract that processes them and performs some corresponding function if the data packet is in some contract-specific sense valid.

Non-risk-aversion: the dev team is okay with higher degrees of risk if a risk-increasing change provides very substantial benefits (eg. generalized state transitions, 50x faster block times, consensus efficiency, etc)

Should I buy Ethereum because it's technically awsome?

Ethereum claims its platform can be simply used to “codify, decentralize, secure, and trade just about anything.” A number of projects and inventations are underway to test the concept.

Microsoft is in partnership with ConsenSys to offer Ethereum Blockchain as a Service (EBaaS) on the Microsoft Azure cloud. Microsoft Azure cloud widely use for AI technology and almost every new fields in tech.

Should I buy Ethereum because it's trend??

Unlike the Bitcoin blockchain, the Etherium blockchain was not created to support a cryptocurrency. The Ether cryptocurrency was created to provide an in-house currency for applications built on the Etherium blockchain.

In other words, Etherium has wider and greater ambitions. It wants to be a platform for all kinds of applications that can store information safely.

Should I buy Ethereum after all...?

actually it's totally depends on YOU. it's better to check the whitepapers, the basic informations, the technical aspects and other things that can effect on value of a crypto assets. So PLEASE read more, search more, think more, ask from people who is familiar with this field, then make conclusion and decide.

#should I buy Ethereum?

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wangxiangiftexchange · 4 years ago

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Winter Solstice Gift for koikoipond

For @koikoipond <3

Read on AO3

*****

Call it Crazy, Call it Meant to Be

The morning of the second day Wei Ying met his soulmate, he rolled out of bed and made it halfway to the bus stop before realizing he’d pulled on his bunny slippers, a gag gift from Jiejie, and left his slip-ons haphazardly discarded by the couch. He’d still made it to the bus in time, though just barely, and had to call in Mianmian to take over the newbie’s shift. All in all a normal start to any day he had to open up the coffee shop.

In short, the universe had not prepared his poor heart for the man who strode into Latte Mugs Cafe at five after six, riding the crest of the crisp December air like some sort of angel in a white wool sweater. The door’s bell rang far too muted than was usual.

Wei Ying stared for what his racing heart later deemed a good five minutes before his gaze, somewhat distorted by the glass of the display he was arranging, rose to meet the man’s golden eyes. Oh, crap.

He shot to his feet, waved nonsensically at the man, shouted some rendition of “We’ll be right with you!”, and bolted through the door to the back room, whisper-yelling for Mianmian.

As soon as the door swung shut behind him, Wei Ying put a hand on his wildly thumping heart and paused to calm his breathing. Why is he here? When Mianmian emerged from the storage shelves (only one unit of which was used to stock non-perishables; the rest were filled to the brim with what the employees could only assume were the owner’s personal items, or else the remains of some poor, traditional tea shop, based on the sheer number of handmade tea sets), he ran up to her, putting on his best pout and swinging an arm around her shoulders. She glared at him and he carefully removed it and took a step back. Right. No touching.

“Mianmian!” he panted, eyes swimming with both remembered beauty and mortification equally, “The man- the bell- his eyes- and he just came in!” His voice was rising dangerously, and Mianmian thankfully stopped him before the taco place next door banged on the wall again, or worse, Lan Zhan, heard him.

“Wei Ying. Bi Disaster. Whichever you prefer,” her flat voice cut through his panic and grounded him, like a mother forcing her child into a life jacket against his will. Mianmian was great. “First off, my name is Grandmaster Luo, as per our agreement if I won the bet. Which I did.”

An exclamation of protest came from Wei Ying. It was ignored which was completely unfair because the bet had been who could last the longest without getting drunk, and sure, technically, Wei Ying got drunk first, but Mianmian had just been sipping the same cocktail the whole night!

“Second, who are you talking about and why does it involve me?” Mianmian had closed last night, too. Usually, she was much more pleasant than Wei Ying was in the morning, but today he’d taken one look at her and offered to work the counter. He’d rather not have to file a witness statement for a murder he’d seen committed at six in the morning, thank you very much. His memory was bad on a good day. He contemplated for a moment if Lan Zhan would be able to handle her and vice versa, but he hadn’t seen so much as a wince from him when the man was literally blackout drunk, so Wei Ying was willing to chance it. Who could get mad at such a perfect face anyway?

“Luo-jie,” he whined, “it’s Lan Zhan.”

“What, another ex?” She looked unimpressed.

“No! I haven’t dated anyone since the guitarist, you know that!” The guitarist—Wei Ying had blocked his name, which he remembered to be just as sexy as the rest of him, out of his mind—had been a mistake to begin with; a summer hope that turned out to be all riffs and no harmony.

She just looked confused, now. Well, guess she wasn’t lying when she’d said she tunes him out.

“No, no! Luo-jie, this is Lan Zhan . From the bar. Last week?” He winced at the memory.

“Oh. Your soulmate,” she said, as if this was common knowledge to the man waiting outside.

“Shh! Not so loud, what if he hears?”

The look she gave him this time was beyond tired, the sort of look his old government teacher used to give him when he derailed the discussion for the third time. Fond memories.

She appears to give up on the conversation entirely, brushing past him and moving toward the door. “Wei Ying, we’re talking about this. Later.” She pauses, and before he can embarrass her for caring about him, she says, “I saw him. A man that beautiful doesn’t deserve to be stuck with a soulmark he can’t remember. Even if it is to you.” Ah, there was that smirk he knew and loved!

Mianmian informed him when Lan Zhan left only a few minutes later. Apparently, he had asked for a lemongrass tea and nothing else. He hadn’t said a word about Wei Ying, or even The Insane Barista. Wei Ying was not upset by this, truly. All it meant was that the call he’d received the morning after their...escapades...had been honestly meant. His mind drifted back to Saturday morning as he mindlessly retook his position at the counter and finished his shift.

Wei Ying bolted up, his cheap twin bed creaking in protest as his phone blared the opening bars of Britney Spears’ Toxic—his ringtone—far too loudly. (If he let it keep ringing, it was just the first, really annoying bars, repeated over and over. He was unbearably smug about it.)

He reached over, trying to ignore his pounding head, and nearly dropped the phone before managing to accept the call. He mumbled out, “Hi this is-” before a deep, slightly groggy voice cuts him off.

“I have called to apologize for last night.” Apologize? Wait, was this- “I do not know what I said or did after drinking the alcohol-” Lan Zhan? “-but my brother informs me that you brought me home.” It must be. Though, technically, Jiang Cheng did the actual driving. He, after all, had not been drunk.

“Well, actually-” he was cut off again. Funny, Wei Ying thought sardonically, he remembered Lan Zhan being more polite than this. Even when they’d vandalized the dumpster together, he’d insisted they leave room for future law breakers.

“I am grateful for that.” There was a pause, evidently for Lan Zhan to gather his thoughts. Wei Ying decided not to test his luck and gather his own as well. His brain typically didn’t wake up till at least nine on the weekends, but here he was—he checked his phone—at seven AM on a Saturday trying to have a conversation with a guy that refused to listen to a thing he said.

He didn’t remember much about last night, but that was normal for him. If past experiences were to be learned from, most of it would come to him later in flashes and pitfalls of regret. Still, he’d thought… He freed his left hand from where it was tangled in the sheets and—just sat there and blinked at it. Yeah, that was a fully-colored soulmark, to be sure. Which was—something he’d never had before.

Just yesterday, the twisting lines that covered his left palm and creeped though his knuckles were black and lifeless. Now, his hand looked like some sort of moving painting. The dull, monotone patterns had shifted, forming blue and white elegant clouds and delicate red lotus petals that swirled around each other as if moved by wind. He bent his fingers to trace the lines.

He hadn’t dreamed it then! He and Lan Zhan were soulmates and he was talking to his soulmate (or his soulmate was talking to him) and take that Jiang Cheng!

Lan Zhan was speaking, “-we should not contact each other again. Goodbye.”

No. No! Lan Zhan didn’t know! “Wait!” but the call had already ended.

He’d needed the whole weekend on his jiejie’s couch with ice cream and soup to feel better about the whole business. See, the thing was, he wanted to talk to Lan Zhan about it. Mianmian was right; it wasn’t fair that the man now had a soulmark and no clue who he was tied to for life—literally. Once found, soulmates lived and died together, unless a powerful enough rejection broke the bond.

Every time Wei Ying opened the contact he’d created on his phone, he found himself shying away, a knot of anxiety coiling in his stomach and threatening to boil over into panic as it bound his hands and prevented any communication with Lan Zhan. He’d studied soulmates before, had taken two elective classes on them his freshman year of college. He knew the fear of a severed bond was merely psychological, a flight reaction to rejection.

Severed bonds were permanent and caused by verbal or otherwise evident rejection of a relationship between soulmates. Physically, soulmarks kept their color but stopped swirling across the skin, an obvious sign which led to the Unmoving’s ever-shifting status in society. Emotionally, the soulmates often sank into depression. And so it was ingrained into the body that such experiences should be avoided. Wei Ying’s worry, the possibility of never seeing Lan Zhan again, the fear that his soulmate didn’t want him, pushed his body to such reactions. The whole thing made it frustratingly difficult to just talk to him.

Mianmian remembered to catch him just as he was leaving. She’d spotted him while on her way to her old mustang and had flagged him down like he was speeding in a school zone.

In typical Mianmian style, she gave him a once over, noted his stressed and slightly shaky appearance and declared, “You need to call him. I know you have his number.” Maybe she did listen, sometimes.

He sighed, a burst of warm air that puffed out before him and chilled, disappearing as surely as his prospects with Lan Zhan. “It’s not that I don’t want to.” A look. “I’m not being evasive! I really, really do want to tell him. I know he doesn’t-” a pause, and he continued quieter, “doesn’t remember me or our bond but he’s so kind, he might accept it anyway. He did seem enthusiastic when he was drunk. But…”

Mianmian’s eyes softened and her face looked completely different. “I know I don’t tell you because frankly your head is usually too large to make it through the door in the morning, but you’re not bad-looking or mean or stupid. I mean, maybe you are sometimes and you can’t expect to match your Lan Zhan for beauty, but it’s not like you don’t have a chance.” The last time he’d heard this tone from her was when he’d had a breakdown in their walk-in refrigerator. It was strangely calming, bringing to mind his sister and her gentle touches.

He smiled, chuckling softly. “It’s not that. I know I’m a catch! Though maybe a ten where Lan Zhan’s off the scale,” he joked, “But I just physically can’t confess or whatever to him. He- he almost rejected me once, though he didn’t know about the bond. And maybe it’s not fair, but I can only picture a still soulmark whenever I consider calling him.” He hated revealing that about himself, but he knew Mianmian. They went out for drinks most Fridays and she could sniff out a lie from him while drunk and flirting with a different dude. Besides, despite her thorny words and genuine annoyance with him, she did care. She’d even treated him to drinks on his birthday.

Mianmian looked at him consideringly and nodded. She understood. “You’re scheduled for most of the morning shifts now since those two students were hired. I’ll try to join you and work the counter for a while.” She turned decisively and got in her car, accepting his thanks with a nod. ”Don’t be late.”

*~*~*~*~*

During the following week, they established a routine. He and Mianmian would arrive at the coffee shop, baking and preparing together until six when they opened. Wei Ying would disappear into the back room, getting blends together and cleaning until Lan Zhan left at around 6:30. He showed up at 6:05 most days, give or take a few minutes. On one notable occasion, he had walked up (he walked! When it was literally freezing outside!) to the cafe at 5:55 and Mianmian had graciously let him in while Wei Ying made himself scarce.

Strangely, not once had Lan Zhan ordered coffee. In the coffee shop! Instead, he asked for infuriatingly healthy teas and protein bars which unfortunately did not include Wei Ying's prized creation: sweet habanero bars. Wei Ying had started to wonder why he even came. Their tea wasn't even that good! Not that Wei Ying liked tea, particularly, so he had to admit that he was perhaps not the best judge.

Still, he wondered if the punctual ringing of the bell had anything to do with the pull in his own hand, in his own mind, that wanted him to be closer to Lan Zhan. That wanted him to touch him, to talk to him, to accept him. Soulmarks, after all, did not care if one knew their soulmate or not. They were connected anyway.

One day, a week after the near-disastrous second meeting, Mianmian had to take off. She'd been applying for jobs recently, hoping to find a secretarial position with stable enough hours and pay to allow her to continue her schooling in law. A place nearby had allowed an interview and she didn't have time to take the morning shift.

So here Wei Ying was at six in the morning, working the counter as an exhausted student he wasn't letting within ten feet of the espresso machine stumbled around in the back room. He was stressed himself, but for once it seemed to work in his favor, tiring him out so completely that he'd fallen asleep while the clock was still on PM. He figured if he had to see his soulmate today, at least he wouldn't look like the zombie he normally did.

Wei Ying watched as a figure in a blue the color of his soulmark— their soulmark, as he'd learned the patterns and colors of pairs tended to be mirrors of each other—strode, sure and steady, through the door right as the grandfather clock in the corner struck 6:05.

A flicker of something passed through those golden eyes—surprise, maybe?—as he approached the counter. Just like before, Wei Ying's heart began beating wildly, echoing loudly in his ears and nearly deafening him. This time, however, he could also feel a slight tug, like a silk string had wrapped itself around his heart and was now gently pulling him closer to its other end. His soulmate.

A deep, quiet voice cut through his thoughts, and he quickly lowered the hand, his left one, that had been slowly reaching out. As he came back to awareness, he was suddenly beyond grateful for the gloves he'd decided to wear today. His mark would be a dead giveaway. "Good morning. Is there a certain tea blend you would suggest?"

For a moment, Wei Ying was taken aback, distracted by the man's voice and lost in his eyes, not completely comprehending the question. "Wh- What?" he stammered. "Oh, um, I'm more of a coffee guy myself, what do you usually get?" He spoke quickly, the words tumbling out of his mouth. Was he revealing too much? Now Lan Zhan knew that Wei Ying knew he was a regular customer! Should he have just said Citrus! Tried and true ?

Lan Zhan's brow furrowed, a minuscule movement that would have been lost had Wei Ying not spent the last eternity staring at his eyes. He opened his mouth and Wei Ying decided that it was best if he focused on something else, in the interest of his own health. "I will take whichever coffee you prefer."

Wei Ying was speechless, a feat not many had achieved. Over the last week, he had used Mianmian as a spy, asking detailed questions about everything that Lan Zhan did. She was a surprisingly good sport about. The point was, Lan Zhan had always ordered tea, a different blend each day, and never anything else.

Lan Zhan turned around, unbothered by Wei Ying's confused and flustered state, and sat down at a two-person table next to the bookshelf. He pulled out a laptop from his bag and began typing away. Wei Ying squinted at the screen in disbelief, but couldn't make out the words from this angle.

He shook himself and went about preparing the mocha, opting to skip over the spice he liked to add. A memory of a truth-or-dare game in which Lan Zhan admitted disliking spicy foods provided a hazy warning. A shame, if you asked Wei Ying, but he hadn't. Wei Ying had told him anyway.

He paused before bringing the drink over to his soulmate. It just looked so sad, both the drink and Lan Zhan, sitting quietly in an empty coffee shop as the sky only just began to awaken. He still didn't think he could properly talk to the man if his performance earlier was anything to go by, but maybe he could...

He reached into the display case, wrapped his gift in a napkin, and delivered Lan Zhan's drink, a little addition tucked neatly beside it. He turned and just about ran to the counter, pulling out a rag and cleaning non-existent spills until Lan Zhan left.

When he finally heard the door close, Wei Ying straightened up from his bunker and drifted, dazed, over to clean Lan Zhan's table, finding only an empty cup. Wei Ying smiled. His heart-shaped ginger cookie hadn't been abandoned, despite the bold way it was offered. Perhaps he wouldn't be, either.

Emboldened by his success, Wei Ying called Mianmian and resumed his position at the counter, a plan formed and ready to be completed. He wasn't sure if it was caused by the civil and promising conversation yesterday or sheer eagerness, but he thought, just maybe, that he'd be able to get himself to talk to Lan Zhan. Hopefully.

*~*~*~*~*

At 6:05, Wei Ying was doubting his chances. He watched as Lan Zhan walked up to the counter, just as confidently as he had the day before, steadily getting closer. As Wei Ying had found tended to happen when one moved. His breathing quickened, the now expected response to his soulmate's presence, and he responded to the sharp tug in his chest by stepping back, just slightly. He was distinctly reminded of a prey animal trapped by a predator.

Instead of biting his head off, Lan Zhan simply stepped up to the counter and examined the fresh pastries sitting in the display case, for whatever reason ignoring the barista's slightly gaping mouth.

Wei Ying swallowed, stood up straighter than he did when he visited Madam Yu, and summoned up this morning's courage that had so suddenly abandoned his poor self.

"Welcome to Latte Mugs Cafe! What can I get you?" There, his voice barely shook!

Lan Zhan hummed—wow, that was way hotter than it should have been—and tilted his head just the slightest bit to glance at the menu on the wall. "I will have a mocha."

He'd liked it then! Wei Ying hadn't pegged Lan Zhan as a chocolate person, but he supposed he might have a secret sweet tooth. "No problem. It'll only take a few minutes. Would you like to make it a Mexican mocha?" He couldn't help but recommend it, not after he'd worked so hard to get it on the menu. He'd written an essay to the owner. Besides, he'd taken Wei Ying’s mocha suggestion and eaten his cookie. He wondered what Lan Zhan would do with something Wei Ying knew he didn’t like.

His stomach turned a little at the thought that he was getting to know more about Lan Zhan and he wondered idly if he could really blame all of this on their soul bond or if he should take responsibility for his traitorous heart. He dismissed the thought. If anything, Lan Zhan should be the one taking responsibility merely by virtue of existing. That thought twisted his insides even more. Ugh .

Lan Zhan gave a little noise that Wei Ying chose to interpret as assent before sitting back down. He stared in surprise for a minute at his turned back before carefully preparing the drink. When it was done, he once again paused before rounding the counter. Surely, Lan Zhan needed to eat something with his coffee. Who knew if he'd even eaten breakfast? He bent down, scanning the available treats, and plucked one from the shelf, placing it carefully on a napkin before bouncing over to Lan Zhan's little table by the bookshelf, trademark grin in place. Courage, don't fail me now.

"Hello, Sir! One mexican mocha right here!" All of his best (and worst) decisions had been made by following his instincts. He pulled the chair around from the other side of the table, scraping it loudly across the rough tile, and decidedly sat down, holding out his bright red offering with only a moderate heart attack. "It's a habanero bar! I made the recipe and it pairs perfectly with the Mexican mocha, trust me. Oh, and I'll pay for it, of course." Technically untrue, but he didn't think he could steal something he'd made.

Lan Zhan looked a little surprised if Wei Ying had interpreted the meaning of that blink correctly. Was he regretting his spicy choices? Still, he reached out a hand and took the treat with an appreciative nod. "Thank you, Wei Ying."

What. "Eh? How'd you know my name?" Oh please for the love of all that is beautiful, don't bring up the bar. Lan Zhan had forgotten. He had! But if he hadn't, then...

"Your name tag."

Oh. Maybe the three coffees he'd had this morning in preparation had...altered his cognitive abilities. At least, that was the story he was going with.

"Well! You have me at a disadvantage, then!” Yeah, because he’s hiding a night of crimes and a soul bond from you. “What might the name of this handsome one be?" Should he be flirting? Where was the button to turn it off?? Then again, Lan Zhan was his soulmate . If there was one person in his life he was supposed to flirt with, surely it was him.

"Lan Zhan." Were his ears red? Was he hot? Was he blushing ? The rest of his face maintained its pale composure, but his ears were gently dusted pink. Lan Zhan had been inside too long to attribute it to the biting wind outside. Wei Ying's grin widened. Not even when the man had woken up wasted had he seen him blush!

"Lan Zhan, Lan Zhan," he rolled the well-worn name in his mouth, a teasing lilt to his voice as he tasted how his tongue completed a pleasant circle around the syllables. This time, their flavor was not regretful or drunken or stressed. Simply Lan Zhan.

Wei Ying did not leave. Instead, he just started talking about all sorts of things—his job, his siblings, Mianmian. As he fell into the familiar pattern of rambling for as long as people will listen, he found himself relaxing.

"You'd think we wouldn't be that great of friends. We're coworkers in a coffee shop! But even though she claims I'm an annoying gremlin who wouldn't know his head from a rock in a lineup, she still comes out to get drinks with me—at Marco's, a few minutes away—every Friday. Sometimes, she even brings her new boyfriends! Which is like taking your partner to meet the weird relatives. I think she might use it as some sort of test. I drink them under the table nearly every time, though, so I hope they failed." He realizes, belatedly, that he'd accidentally mentioned the bar. One of literally two subjects to avoid. He discreetly eyed Lan Zhan's face, but there was no reaction, no indication of familiarity, just two golden eyes, gazing at him with interest as his soulmate listened.

Wei Ying’s heart stuttered, dangerously close to giving out altogether.

Eventually, Lan Zhan had to leave, quick movements revealing just how late he was for music lessons—he taught children to play the guqin! For a living!—and Wei Ying smiled brightly as he watched him disappear down the street. See , he thought to himself, there was nothing to be worried about.

The plan had gone off without a hitch. Not only had he managed to talk to Lan Zhan, but he'd also been able to get several responses from him, filling up the part of his memory reserved for the man he wouldn't ever forget.

These new pearls of knowledge he kept close: Lan Zhan was a music teacher and occasional performer with a local traditional music group. He taught and played the guqin most often but had played the violin in his high school orchestra. During his studies for university, he had learned several other string instruments and the french horn. He had an older brother, Lan Huan. He liked rabbits.

During the course of the next week, he learned these things and protected them: Lan Zhan and his brother had been raised by their uncle. They were not religious, but his family was traditional. Lan Zhan had gone to a private school. He hadn't liked it. Lan Zhan's mother was dead. He spoke of his father in the past tense. Both of his parents were Unmoving, their soul bonds broken. Lan Zhan hadn’t known if they were meant for each other or not. He despised lying in all of its forms.

There were also these things which laid soft and fond in Wei Ying's heart: Lan Zhan did not, in fact, like spice. He enjoyed drinking tea and reading a book in the park when it was warm outside. He preferred mysteries. He did not mind Wei Ying's chatter. He adored his students, one of which had little natural talent but had gone to region-wide contests. He was a lover of poetry and a hobbiest composer. He said "Wei Ying" as if the world spun around his name.

Talking with Lan Zhan was an experience greater than words. Many things Lan Zhan meant, he did not say. None of the things he said were to be taken for granted. With him, silence was just as comforting a companion as the loud atmosphere Wei Ying tended to create. It settled peaceful and honest around them. They sat, drank, and ate together as if they were friends of many years and not relative acquaintances. Like there wasn’t a secret resting between them like a viper waiting for its prey.

*~*~*~*~*

A week after their first meeting, it snowed. Flakes drifted down beneath a grey sky, piling up in the cracks on the sidewalks, on the windowsills, dusting the beanie of a certain Lan Zhan that strode in slowly even as he shivered from beneath his coat. Rosy cheeks and ears adorned a normally pale, jade-like face, tousled hair falling down to frame it as he removed the beanie. Wei Ying fell in love a little more at the adorable scene.

Once he’d made Lan Zhan's spiced apple tea, Wei Ying drifted over with his own latte, a chocolate chip cookie in hand.

"Do you own a car, Lan Zhan?" Wei Ying was curious. Surely he could have simply driven here, or even gone straight to work and skipped the weather entirely.

"Mn. I have lessons all over the city and we often perform hours away from here." Then why , Wei Ying thought, would you come here when it’s below freezing outside? He did not voice the question, though, because Lan Zhan's jaw had shifted just slightly, the difference a clear declaration: his mind could not be changed about this. Fine. He’d let Lan Zhan live with his choices.

Wei Ying laughed and changed the subject, reaching out to draw patterns in the cream of Lan Zhan’s coffee with his straw . "When's your next performance?"

Lan Zhan sat for a moment, thinking. "We do not have one lined up. We've been practicing to release an album recently."

"Oh really? Why? Just earlier this week you mentioned that the group didn't have the resources for it." He really hoped they would, though. Maybe with a solo piece from Lan Zhan? He hadn't heard him play yet, a true shame.

"Mn. I found a sound artist." His voice was sure and steady as he stared at Wei Ying, who looked away and chuckled awkwardly.

"You should have told me that was all you needed! I would have done the job for free, as long as you played for me. I have a bachelor's in audio engineering, you know!" To be honest, Wei Ying was a little hurt that he'd not been considered, or else Lan Zhan had tuned him out during one of the times when he had just spewed whatever came to mind.

Before he turned around, he felt a hand on his through his left glove and he flinched at the sensitive contact on his mark. Still, he longed to grasp Lan Zhan’s hand and never let go . "Wei Ying. It is you," he paused, and slowly removed his hand, the echoes of his fingertips burning trails on Wei Ying's skin even through the fabric. "If you choose to accept." He takes a breath, and says, quieter, "I would like it very much if you did."

Like a lightbulb turned back on, Wei Ying brightened immediately, an obvious flush of embarrassment darkening his cheeks. He leaned forward, throwing his arms around Lan Zhan in a hug both to hide his face and to just get closer. Wei Ying mumbled into his shoulder, "Of course. Of course I accept. Thank you so much!" He leaned back after a too-short moment, looking Lan Zhan in the eyes and smiling. "When do I start?"

They settled all the details. Wei Ying would be attending their 6 PM practice three days a week for a month before recording and editing the final tracks. He would, actually, be paid, though they couldn't afford the usual rates. That was fine with him. Really, he just needed to put something in the ‘Experience’ section of his resume. Well, plus his overwhelming desire to hear Lan Zhan play his guqin.

When Lan Zhan opened the door to leave, Wei Ying called out for him to stop. He stepped forward exactly one step, in a completely normal and not-at-all-nervous way. He opened his mouth, closed it, and blurted out before he could change his mind, "Doyouwannagetdinnerwithme?"

Lan Zhan gave him a flat look, but the mischievous glint in his eyes betrayed his understanding. Wei Ying took a steadying breath, fought the urge to glare, and stated loudly and clearly, "Will you go out with me later tonight?” His face felt like it was on fire. “As thanks for the job?" No one would ever guess the stone-faced man had a sense of humor, but Wei Ying was living evidence of it.

Finally, after a beat of silence during which Wei Ying mourned his stolen heart, Lan Zhan nodded once. "I will pick you up at your house at seven. Where do you live?"

The pure excitement that filled Wei Ying at Lan Zhan’s acceptance prevented any protest about how he was supposed to take Lan Zhan out and gave the man his address. As the ever-present bell marked Lan Zhan's departure, all Wei Ying could think was that he had a date. That he had a chance .

His palm tingled in anticipation as he ran to the back room to tell Mianmian the good news, filled with all the details she couldn’t get while eavesdropping.

*~*~*~*~*

Five minutes after getting in the car, Wei Ying regretted letting Lan Zhan drive. He should have risked his unused license or else simply called a cab because they were nowhere near the restaurant he had suggested, and he didn't know what to tell Lan Zhan if the man picked a nicer place. A barista was only paid so much!

Still, Lan Zhan refused to turn the car around or even explain himself when Wei Ying asked. He simply kept his eyes fixed on the road, staring at it as if it might disappear if refused Lan Zhan’s attention (Wei Ying sympathized). That determined set to his jaw was firmly in place. His eyes narrowed, and Wei Ying had the distinct impression that he was a man on a mission. Wei Ying just wished he'd been given a briefing.

Cars passed in pools of red and white that blended well into the background of a late December metropolis. Only about a week was left until Christmas and the trees were adorned with brightly glowing lights that bathed the streets in a familiar mix of artificial fluorescence and beauty.

He liked this time of year, enjoyed how his apartment complex decorated its buildings, smiled when the granny next door brought him homemade cookies and hot chocolate. He didn't even mind the cold that much, not when branching frost framed the windows and Lan Zhan's cheeks flushed red.

They were stuck in Friday night traffic for longer than he suspected Lan Zhan had planned, based on the finger softly tapping on the wheel, but eventually, Lan Zhan drove into a parking garage a good distance away from any restaurant Wei Ying knew and got out.

They walked a few blocks, glad for the several layers of clothes (Wei Ying actually had a reason to wear gloves, for once), before stopping at the entrance to one of the city's parks. A stone path twisted through the trees, a canopy of a million white stars enclosing the area and welcoming the two of them.

He grinned, turning to Lan Zhan and teasing, "I think we skipped a step. Romantic walks through the woods go after dinner."

A drawn-out, "Mn," the one that meant 'ridiculous', was the only answer he received. Instead, Lan Zhan smiled , which—wow. Illegal.—and offered Wei Ying his arm with far too much confidence. He blushed, hoped it wasn't visible in the lighting, and took it, only feeling slightly like some sort of flustered Victorian maiden.

Did Lan Zhan know what he was doing? Did he take every friend and business associate out to fairy gardens when they asked him to dinner?

Thoroughly confused but aware that Lan Zhan wasn't going to answer any pointed questions, he decided to enjoy the evening and pester him about the food instead.

"Lan Zhaaan," he whined, staring at the way the lights gave Lan Zhan's face an ethereal glow, " “When are you going to feed your poor A-Ying?"

At this, Lan Zhan put his other hand on Wei Ying's where it was nestled in the crook of his elbow in a comforting gesture and reassured, his voice calm, "We are almost there."

Wei Ying spent the rest of the walk as he was accustomed to doing around Lan Zhan—talking his ear off. He admired the lights, expressed his appreciation for Lan Zhan's outfi—a dark blue coat over Wei Ying's favorite knitted white sweater—and asked about the songs his group had chosen for their concert.

He couldn't wait to hear Lan Zhan play. He suspected music was the quieter man's true outlet for expressing his feelings, a language without the burden of words.

Lan Zhan spoke too, not as often or as loud, but he answered and asked questions of his own. Did Wei Ying play an instrument too? He had—flute in high school, though he preferred the piccolo, all the better to annoy people with. Portable, too! Why did he like alcohol? It was the experience, more than the taste, especially at a cheap place like Marco's. Was he planning on getting his Master's? He wasn't sure. He wanted to pay off some of his student loans before getting deeper in debt.

The easy conversation made Wei Ying relax, happy as always to be around Lan Zhan. It was strange to think that a week ago, he’d never met the man. He didn’t think he could live without him now.

Finally, they took a smaller, branching path, and Wei Ying gasped at its end; a white gazebo bathed in soft purple lights sat like a fairy house among gleaming trees.

He released Lan Zhan's elbow and took a step forward before looking back at his companion with an open mouth.

"You...you arranged all of this?" he asked, wonder coloring his voice.

Another "Mn," accompanied by a self-satisfied tightening of the mouth.

Wei Ying had long since given up trying to understand any of Lan Zhan's actions, but he was hopelessly endeared all the same. He grabbed his arm again, this time pulling him up the wooden steps and squealing in glee.

To one side there was a table laden with all sorts of foods, including, he was overjoyed to note, many dyed deliciously red. On the other side of the gazebo, a long, low table sat, a intricately carved, dark guqin resting atop it. A cushion, metal heater, and blanket were laid before the instrument, ready for use.

Impressed, Wei Ying went to inspect the dishes closer, his growling stomach refusing to wait any longer. He wondered at what time today Lan Zhan had time to set all of this up. Had he canceled some of his lessons?

Sitting down, he voiced his question, mouth watering at the appetizing smells.

Lan Zhan filled both of their plates, picking out for him nearly exactly what Wei Ying would have chosen, and answered, "I reserved the gazebo, but my brother set this up less than an hour ago." Wei Ying was incredibly grateful for Lan Huan. His food was still hot!

The meal passed mostly in silence. Though Lan Zhan had no problem talking over tea, he did not like to have a conversation around bites of food. For once, Wei Ying was happy not to say anything, simply appreciating the companionship and good meal.

He tried not to think too much about why Lan Zhan was doing all of this. He wasn't stupid, was in fact painfully and adoringly aware of the romantic setting, but that fear he had thought long since gone crept around his heart, daring him to hope and be crushed in its vindication. So he swallowed his words and ate his food in borrowed peace.

By the time they finished, Wei Ying's stomach was pleasantly full and he beamed at Lan Zhan, thanking him for the meal. Lan Zhan nodded and stood up, helping Wei Ying to his feet and leading him to the waiting cushion and—Wei Ying hoped—the performance.

"You really prepared!" He teased, pulling the blanket over himself.

Lan Zhan turned on the heater—the quiet, expensive kind—and hummed.

Then, he lowered himself onto his own cushion (sans blanket) and reached out to his guqin, warming up for a moment before glancing at Wei Ying, a suddenly hesitant edge to his eyes. "Are you ready?"

Wei Ying's smile softened and he nodded, fondness for the talented man before him almost unbearable. Lan Zhan returned his focus to the instrument and began to play.

It felt like the constant tug around his heart, like the many words that lay behind them and the greater part left unspoken, like 6:05 in the morning and laughter that tastes like coffee beans.

He closed his eyes and let the music fill him, heart thrumming in time with the music and creating streams of pure feeling that branched out through his body until it reached his left palm. Wei Ying curled his hand in on itself. He wanted to memorize the sensation, its slight pain magnified and singular, but still a pull, a tug on his very soul. The feeling that encouraged him, warned him around Lan Zhan, his longing.

Wei Ying opened his eyes, simply gazing at where Lan Zhan kneeled behind his guqin, the gazebo’s lights framing his form as his graceful hands plucked at the strings, playing a song straight from his soul. He breathed in the cold air, letting it calm him and douse the burning in his veins.

As he played, Wei Ying felt his fear melt in the face of the pure emotion Lan Zhan channeled through the strings, felt his guilt harden into resolve because Lan Zhan didn’t know.

He kept silent for the moment, though. He needed to let Lan Zhan finish the piece, not only because silencing those strings now when all of Lan Zhan’s soul shaped the notes seemed cruel, but also because Wei Ying was greedy, and selfish. He wanted to keep this last, perfect memory, wanted to lock it in his heart like a golden thorn, a stolen parting gift if his words were not welcomed.

And so Lan Zhan played.

Wei Ying could not say how long it was before the song ended, could only center his mind around the swirling clouds that he knew curled across his palm, hidden like a shame when they were anything but. Finally, the last notes faded like acceptance into the cold night, and Wei Ying breathed in, and out, and longed.

“Lan Zhan.” It came out as a whisper, a ghost of a declaration. He needed a barrier between the song and his precipice of honesty. “What-” he stalled, biting back the hope, the despair. “What did you name it?”

Lan Zhan raised his gaze from where it had been fixed on the instrument, seeking out Wei Ying. He stood up in one smooth motion and crossed to where Wei Ying sat, pinned beneath golden eyes filled with something . An emotion he hadn’t seen, hadn’t categorized.

Carefully, Lan Zhan lowered himself to sit on the large cushion. He slid his gaze to Wei Ying’s left hand clenched on his knee, lifting his own and gently taking it, seeming to gauge Wei Ying’s reaction, but he only tilted his head in confusion. Why..?

Lan Zhan began pulling off his glove.

Wei Ying yanked his hand back. He couldn’t- why would he? He was going to tell him about the mark, but why did he want to know? Did he suspect he was Unmoving? Would he hate him if he knew the truth? That Wei Ying had played him for a fool, too cowardly to tell him about their bond?

At the stressed, almost wounded look in Lan Zhan’s eyes, Wei Ying made an aborted movement, reaching to comfort him. “Oh, Lan Zhan…” he breathed. He didn’t touch him, but after a moment of hesitation, offered his hand to his soulmate, palm up. Lan Zhan had merely been braver than he had, after all. The result would be the same.

Lan Zhan’s eyes softened and he carefully tugged off the glove, revealing the incriminating, promising, honest pattern. Twisting designs of blue clouds and red lotuses covered both their palms, side by side, blurred together as his throat closed and breath hitched. He made to move away, to leave Lan Zhan with the knowledge of his lie, but his wrist was gently but firmly held in place.

He sighed. Lan Zhan wanted him to say it, to confess, and suddenly the courage of a few minutes ago seemed out of his reach.

“Lan Zhan, you’re so good. Too good. Too good for me.” His breath caught. “I- I’ve known. This whole time.” He looked Lan Zhan in his clear, gentle eyes. “Lan Zhan. We’re soulmates. We have been since you got drunk at the bar.” He let out a shaky laugh, the first tear making its way down his cheek. “Well, I suppose we’ve been soulmates forever, but I found you then, and fell in love a little. You don’t remember, but you said you were happy. You went around showing random people your mark.” He was rambling again, but he couldn’t stop and nor could he leave.

He released it all, all of the caged words he should have laid at Lan Zhan’s feet a week ago. “I was so excited when you called me that morning. I thought you wanted to talk, to form a real relationship, but then you- you wouldn’t listen and it wasn’t your fault , you’d been drunk for the first time in your life, had a killer hangover I’m sure. But I- I thought if I called you, you’d just do the same thing again and leave me but then we became friends and I didn't want you to leave so I didn’t tell you and-”

“I am not.” Lan Zhan cut him off, voice quiet and pained, but firm.

“What?” he sniffled.

“I have not left you. I am not abandoning you, Wei Ying.” His eyes were pleading, filled with sincerity. He looked—so earnest and Wei Ying froze, uncertain.

“But—you hate lying.”

“I do not like hypocrites either. Wei Ying-” He looked away for the first time and Wei Ying panicked for a brief moment, what did I do wrong , before Lan Zhan spoke again, ears a deeper shade of red. “I knew too. This whole time.”

“What.” What?? Whatever Wei Ying had been expecting, it hadn’t been this.

“My brother was there at the bar. He...told me the next morning, but I did not handle the news well. I am sorry. I was simply surprised, and nervous. I did not remember you.”

Wei Ying was reeling. Lan Zhan knew and didn’t tell him but that was unfair because Wei Ying hadn’t told him either, so they’d both known, separately, and here they were, taking each other on a date and Wei Ying laughed, crazed at first, and desperate, but then an exclamation of pure joy. The atmosphere was romantic, after all.

He laughed and laughed and like a guqin string worn from loving use, the tension broke. He threw himself at his soulmate, at Lan Zhan, and hugged him until Lan Zhan hugged him back, until their eyes stung from tears and their voices grew hoarse from repeating the other’s name.

Wei Ying pulled back, cheeks flushed in the cold and eyes shining as he looked up at a soft smile. He reached out, cupping Lan Zhan’s cheek and resting their foreheads together, the contact burning, melting the longing that had become a permanent fixture inside of him. Breaths mingled, puffing out in this warm space between them for a timeless moment.

With confidence born not from instinct or daring, but rather a heart securely held, he closed the distance between them, brushing winter-chapped lips against Lan Zhan’s soft ones, his last confession a raw whisper, returned with the same gravity it was given.

From then on, he held this warm truth in his heart: Lan Zhan loved Wei Ying, his soulmate.

Breathless and overwhelmed, he entwined their hands, bared patterns moving against each other, together. Nothing lay between them now, no confessions and no secrets. Only these: a prayer, a completed promise, and a bright future.

Extra:

“So, how did you know?” Wei Ying asked, exploring Lan Zhan’s purse.

He hummed, amused. “You told me yourself.”

“I did not! I’m pretty sure that was, like, goal number one. ‘Don’t tell Lan Zhan!’” he recited, voice playfully serious.

Lan Zhan brushed the hair out of Wei Ying’s eyes and took his left hand, fingers tracing the evidence of their bond.

“You waved.”

“But I had on gloves- oh.” He hadn’t, not yet. He only started wearing them after Lan Zhan had walked in the first day. “So you walked into some random shop and saw your soulmate who immediately disappeared.”

“Mn.” Lips brushed the top of his head.

Wei Ying laughed at himself as he went back to the purse. You could learn a lot from what a person kept in theirs! He pulled out a piece of paper, a half-composed score, handing it to Lan Zhan and looking deeper. Some chapstick (no wonder his lips were so soft!), several pens, a book on music theory, and—what was this? He grabbed it and brought it to the light. One of the cafe’s napkins, something wrapped inside. What? He peeled away the months-old paper, a breath caught in his lungs as the object was revealed.

It was the cookie, the heart-shaped ginger crisp he’d given Lan Zhan the first time he’d taken his order.

“You! What am I going to do with you!” he laughed, the sound bright and joyful as he tackled his soulmate in a hug.

“Marry me.”

“WHAT?!!”

#koikoipond #wangxiansolstice20 #*fic20 #*gifts20

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nerd2614 · 5 years ago

Text

April’s Fall - Part 2

Suspicions & Secrets

Part One // Part Three

@write-it-motherfuckers prompt

Over the past three weeks you’d continued to have odd dreams about the stranger with glowing eyes. Every other night was a dream filled with incomplete visions of a distant past that never seemed quite real. For all the dreams you had, you had still not learned your stranger’s name. Whenever you had asked, he always told you that you would know soon enough.

Yet each time you met him in the dreams, you could never quite recall what it was. A name always dangled on the tip of your tongue, but nothing ever formed. Letters swirled around in your head, frustratingly out of reach.

You noted that each time you had a dream the once pure white glow of the rose faded slightly. Other than a hint of red leaching up through the base of the petals, the rose had not changed since the moment your stranger gave it to you.

The flashes of your initial dream were slowly being fleshed out over time.

A general feeling of happiness came from a picnic and being chased by a pale young boy. It came from playing games with him, with people who you could never quite make out the faces of. Deep laughter came from a kind old man with a circle of gilded flowers resting on his grey hair. The white roses that the boy always gave you. The twin white roses the boy, who now looked 16, placed gently on what looked to be a grave. After that the old man didn’t see the two of you anymore. He was always busy. You tried but could not figure out who died. You only knew that they were important to both you and the boy with Autumn hair.

Out of desperation you asked the mysterious man whom called you his love. Each time he smiled sadly and shook his head. “You are not ready yet, my dear.” He claimed that you would not believe him. Deep down you knew that to be true.

And so the cycle continued. The harder you tried to piece together the puzzle, the more elusive the answer was. The most confusing vision was the one in which the pale boy turned into a young man with flaming armour, screaming at you, pleading with you to run. You were also clad in light armour and carrying a thin blade. You had no memories after that.

With the dreams came doubts about your grandmother. Since they began, you’d been avoiding her as much as possible. It was a difficult endeavor as you were still under ‘house arrest’ in the small woodland home which the two of you shared.

Grandmother was becoming suspicious. Not only had you been quite successfully avoiding her, you had also not drank anything she gave you. You tried to avoid eating anything she made too. While your behaviour was out of the ordinary, your grandmother could not outright say anything about it lest you start asking questions. Questions that she did not want to answer.

The more you avoided her and her cooking, the more your mind seemed to clear. You noticed gaps in your memory and holes in your grandmother’s stories. Anything before age 10 was completely gone. Large gaps in your memory were present until you turned 16. You couldn’t recall your parents at all.

The more you focused on the gaps, the more desperate you became. How could this have happened?

After three weeks of unexplainable dreams and feelings, you were in dire need of answers. So you decided that whenever grandmother went out, you would search the house.

It took another week before you were left alone. You waited a few moments after she left in case she returned. After searching for hours, you found absolutely no mention of your parents at all. There were no pictures, paintings or even old diaries. It was like they never existed.

The more you looked around the house, the more confused you had become. You noted there was no historical books or anything of you as a child. Over the period of a fortnight, you searched the entire cottage from top to bottom. The only places you were unable to check were your grandmother’s bedroom and a locked door you had never taken notice of before.

It looked to be broom closet. You raked through your memories to see what it was. There were contradicting memories of your Grandmother saying that it was a broom closet, a little pantry, a storage cupboard, a coat room… it was different each time! You tried to pick the lock but it was no use. You would have to go into town in order to gather materials.

With your mind made up, you decided to come up with an excuse to go over to the town.

That night came yet another dream. By now, you were very familiar with the room in the trees. The scenery never changed. It seemed timeless. Caught frozen in time and space.

The man you saved would always be there; he coaxed you to remember. It was difficult. It seemed like there was nothing to remember. There was something in your mind encouraging you to forget.

It was the man who gave you an idea of how to convince your grandmother to let you go to town. As the two of you sat at the table, you drew a deep breath.

Smiling, you asked, “Can I go to town tomorrow please, Grandmother?”

She blinked slowly. “Why?”

You put your spoon down, “Oh, I wanted to get a few books.”

She copied your action. “On?” Your Grandmother narrowed her eyes suspiciously.

“Nothing much…” You trailed off. Seeing that wouldn’t be enough, you elaborated. “I’d like some more cooking books.”

Grandmother contemplated for a moment before conceding, “Very well. Ensure that you pick up some lemon-thyme whilst you are in town.”

“Thank you, Gran.” You forced yourself to smile despite the bitter taste that the word left in your mouth.

“You may go at sunrise tomorrow. Remember to not stray from the path, child. I expect you to be back the following day.” She said dismissively.

“Yes, Grandmother.”

It was the first time you’d been allowed into town since that fateful day in the woods and you were almost paranoid. You thought you saw the man in the woods as you walked the path to town. A flash of brown and fire. A rustle in the bushes. A sigh.

When you stopped for a break at midday you were certain that there was a voice calling you to wander off the path. You hurriedly finished your bread and continued at a fast pace to town. There was something wrong. You just knew it.

It was late afternoon when you arrived. The first thing you noticed was that everyone was acting rather odd. When you interacted with some of the townsfolk, they seemed guilty and danced around topics. They had an overall aura of fear.

Thankfully the blacksmith had some of the tools you needed in stock. He was quite suspicious and nervous about allowing you to purchase them. When you insisted they were to help you fix the lock at the front entrance, he reluctantly sold you the tools. They were exactly what you thought you would need to unlock the strange door. The townsfolk acted even stranger than they had been when you exited the smithy. Pitying, whispering, fear, apprehension, were all words to describe their behaviour towards you.

You dismissed their behaviour to be deconstructed at a later time and made your way to the little herb shop to get lemon-thyme. The old man in there had always made you feel welcome. You felt a sort of kinship with him for some reason. When you asked for the herb your grandmother requested, he looked incredibly sad and guilty. It was a similar expression to the one the old man had in your dreams.

“Take zis.” He said gruffly. ‘This’ was a small vial of a white swirling cloud. “Have it next time you meet ‘im.”

You had to stop yourself from taking a step back. “Yo- Wha- I have no idea what you are talking about.” It was impossible to meet his eyes.

The small, sad smile faded from his face before you could look at him again. He pressed the vial into your hands. “It will ‘elp. I promise you.”

You were confused, but complied with his wishes.You bid him farewell, promising to see him next time. After you left he whispered a final farewell. He would not live to see your next visit, not if you did the right thing.

From the small apothecary, you headed to the small library. The sun was starting to set now, so you made sure to hurry. The old librarian almost always closed at sundown.

There was a new person that greeted you when you entered. He was pretty cute with his brown hair, blue eyes and glasses. But something inside you rejected the thought, was disgusted by him even. That little part inside you warned you to run. It kept niggling at you, but you pushed it to the side.

“Good evening.” He smiled. His voice sent a cold shiver down your spine.

“Hello.” You looked around for the old man but couldn’t see him. “Is there any chance that Mister -”

“He’s gone. How can I help you?” The young man interrupted. His smile was just a little too wide, just enough that it was unsettling.

“I need some cooking books.” You conceded warily.

His smile widened further, as if he knew exactly what you were going to say. “Of course, Miss April. They should be over here.”

It was bigger than you remembered. There were many more rows to weave between. The library was more of a maze. A sinister feeling was starting to creep its way through you.

“Here you are.” He spun around quickly, trying to catch you off guard. You maintained the careful distance between the two of you. He watched over your shoulder as you browsed. After picking a couple of books, you hugged them close to your body. They were another barrier.

You looked down and mumbled a question. He tilted his head to indicate that he didn’t hear.

“Do you have any books on history?” You repeated, refusing to look up from the ground.

“Here you are.” He said, leading you to the next shelf.

You shook your head after reading some of the titles. “No, I mean factual history.”

Something sparked in the young man’s eyes. An odd emotion flashed across his face but he quickly covered it with a horrifyingly charming smile. It must have been a trick of the light. “Please follow me around to the back. We keep all those types of books in there.”

“Why?” I stepped forward and he turned his back to me.

His shoulders tensed. “I just haven’t put them out yet.”

“But…” you trailed off as he started walking back towards a slightly hidden door. What he said didn’t make sense. He hasn’t put the books out yet but they belong in the back room? Again, you shook off the uncomfortable feeling that seemed to linger.

“Are you coming? You don’t have to.” He called from behind the counter. There was something strange in his voice. He almost sounded like he was hoping that you would just leave. That made you more determined to find out the truth.

“I’m coming.” You said firmly.

You walked through the door and

- woke up in a bed.

You shot upright, noting that the room was simple. There was a chair with a folded dress and cloak, the bed, and a nightstand. It looked like a room at the inn. You stood up and promptly fell on the bed when your knees buckled. The open window allowed a cool breeze to run over your exposed skin. Sunlight also weakly filtered into the room. You couldn’t recall changing into your nightclothes, yet that was what you were dressed in. As you reached towards your satchel, your muscles ached in protest. There were red marks on your wrists that disturbed you.

With urgency, you rifled through your satchel, breathing a sigh of relief when your rose was still there. You were deeply confused. Though you searched, you could find no clear memories of last night.

You clutched the rose tightly. A thorn pricked your finger and you hissed in pain.

“We’ve got to stop meeting like this. Come with me, my love.” My pale hero whispered to me.

“How do I know that you’re not the one messing with my mind? Grandmother has been nothing but kind to me. Harsh sometimes, but that’s necessary.” My head was spinning. Nothing made sense. My wrists throbbed. He noticed and softly kissed them.

“My dear April, please.” He was begging.

I shook my head.

Startled, you thrust the rose gently into the satchel and held your pricked finger. Your heart was thudding fast. It continued its frantic beat as you dressed quickly and rushed out of the inn. You made eye contact with no-one as you hurried out of the town. If you kept up a steady pace, you would make it home by sundown.

Tags: @scuzmunkie @wordsaremylife @inuhuffclaw

#April's fall #prompt response #fae x reader #manipulation #hmm I wonder what happened to April last night #fem!oc #I don't know how to tag #sorry it took so long

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ask-de-writer · 5 years ago

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DARING DO and THE GRYPHON’S QUEST! : MLP Fan Fiction : Part 16 of 19

Return to the Master Story Index

Return to MLP Fan Fiction

DARING DO

and

THE GRYPHON’S QUEST!

De Writer (Glen Ten-Eyck)

and

Carmen Pondiego

Cover art by Aranel the Cyborg, now Wind the Mama Cat

29584 words

Writing begun 03/29/16

This is a Fan Fiction based on My Little Pony. Canterlot, Princess Luna and the name Daring Do are owned by Hasboro Inc.

//////////////

Users of Tumblr.com are specifically granted the following rights. They may reblog the story. They may use the characters or original characters in my settings for fan fiction, fan art works, cosplay, or fan musical compositions, provided that such things are done without charge. I will allow those who do commission art works to charge for their images.

All sorts of fan art, cosplay, music or fictions is actively encouraged.

///////////////////////

Chapter 16. Presentation Before The Empress

The train slowed substantially as it encountered the grades and curves of the Sunset Mountains. What could be seen of the morning’s predawn and dawning sky was glorious. Rounding curves cut into mountain sides frequently blocked or revealed the changing light and clouds of the advancing morning.

Grata, watching the changeling’s eager window watching, was deeply moved. She reached out and pulled the changeling into a hug. Her crest showing her curiosity, she asked, “My friend, I have never thought to ask this before, for which I apologize. What is your name?”

The changeling gave Grata a confused look. “Name? I/we do not have a name. May I/we share mind to see what a name for me/us may be?”

Grata leaned her forehead against the changeling’s horn without hesitation. She felt the same caring and love that she had felt before, as their minds met.

The changeling pulled her head away from contact and said with assurance, “I/we are Friend. I/we are Friend to you, Friend to Daring Do, Friend to Rahak. You say Friend to me/us and we/us know you mean me/us. I/we are named Friend.”

At that moment, an Eagle veered sharply by the open window, letting the fish in its claws fly through to flop on the floor! A second fish and then a third joined it! Friend happily leaped on one and began to eat it!

A bundle of grasses hit the window’s frame and bounced in. Daring Do caught it and raised her head to where the Eagles outside, accompanying the train, could see that she had got their kind offering of breakfast. One of the Eagles swooped close and bobbed its head as it passed the window. They all heard a scrabbling noise overhead.

Rahak’s crest shot up in Gryphon grin! “Those Eagles are REALLY smart! They are riding on top of the car!”

Friend looked up from finishing her fish and stated proudly, “My/our Eagles are GOOD nymphs!”

Daring Do had to ask, “Friend, why are Gryphons and Eagles nymphs?”

Friend looked up in surprise. “I/we hatch the egg. The young comes out of the shell as a nymph. When the nymph grows well, it becomes an adult changeling. If it does not grow into a changeling, it stays a nymph. A nymph is only failed if it does not develop properly. Some of my/our Gryphon nymphs are failed. Their bodies live but they have no love. That is sad.”

Grata nodded, crest set to thoughtful consideration. “It has been generations beyond counting since your nymphs left Eagle’s Vale, Friend. Why do you still count us as your nymphs?”

Friend shrugged. “Your whole kind came from my/our eggs, that I/we loved to living forms. You have not changed in the time since you left me/us. You have not become grown changelings. You are still the nymphs that I/we loved into being.”

Grata nodded acceptance. “This will be interesting to bring out at Court. Somehow, I suspect that most of the Court will be either amused or offended. It should be fun!”

The train entered a long valley with many Aeries clinging to the steep cliff sides. At the head of the valley was an enormous Aerie, built all of stone. The Imperial Aerie.

Slowing gradually, the train pulled up to a platform of stonework with Gryphon type terminal buildings. There were terminal level warehouse doors and curtained passenger entryways. These had doors that could be sealed but were presently open. Along the front of the structure was an awning protecting a set of raised Gryphon perching platforms. One had an auxiliary raised platform with three perches, the center one highest.

Both the center and right platforms had Gryphons of regal bearing. The left platform was empty. Grata paced forward to the foot of the dais and sat, spreading her wings.

The Empress of the Empire returned the spreading of her wings, crest smiling. “Welcome back to the Imperial Throne, Grata, my strong Left Wing.”

Grata ducked her head, crest set to acceptance. “If it please your Majesty, Empress of Us All, I will reserve my ascending the Throne until I have both presented our party and given a public preliminary report of Our Expedition.”

The Empress was just starting to speak when a Gryphon wearing a purple pectoral necklace adorned with two flames done in gold, waived a fat book while screaming, “Blasphemy! This is all blasphemy! They went nowhere near to the so called Sunlord temple!”

Two burly Imperial Guards hooked his feet out from under him, dropping him flat on the platform’s stones. One clamped his beak shut with a claw, gripping like iron.

The Empress glared down at the fallen priest. “Krabee, this is Official Court business. Should you dare to interrupt again, regardless of your feelings, you will be publicly beak clamped and publicly given five lashes in every Aerie of the Empire!”

Turning back to Grata, the Empress’ crest smiled, “Pardon the interruption. Some appear to believe that their diarrhea of the beak is more important than the Empire or its rulers. Do go ahead, Grata, my Strong Left Wing.”

Grata nodded, crest showing thanks. “Your Majesty, first I would like to present Wing Commander Rahak, who made the sightings that so excited us of the Throne.

“Next, is this fine pegasus, the world renowned Antiquarian, Doctor Daring Do, of the Equestrian Royal University. Her brilliant research work formed the core of our expedition.

“Without her expertise, we would have entirely missed the existence of an ancient Sunlord supply road leading in the direction of the possible temple complex.

“Her work proved that the road dates to the earliest of times. Krabee was correct in his fact. We did not get to the possible temple. All maps of the Eagle’s Vale, up which the road went, are seriously in error.

“What showed as a fairly shallow round valley proved to be a deep crater protected from sight by randomly combining and breaking vaporized rune fragments that Doctor Do has tentatively ascribed to some huge military mage weapon detonations of the last Nightmare War.

“Much study will be needed to be certain of this, but it is possible that such mage weapon fallout may have forced our ancestors to flee northward along the Sunset Mountain range.

“We know from our Legends that they were seeking a safe place to raise their chicks. The Nighmare Wars destroyed so much else that it appears likely that they were forced from an ancestral home by that fallout.

“Wing Commander Rahak can verify that there are still parts of the Shattered Valleys that are dangerous from that same fallout. That is one reason that the Empire has not even tried to annex them.

“Doctor Do ascertained that the crater was safe to enter except for simple physical danger. The Sunlord road down the crater side is long destroyed by some ancient cataclysm. Only a few turning points remain.

“Having got our cart of artifact and relic preservation supplies down into the crater, we found the old road and some associated artifacts and relics. The opposite side, toward the temple complex, was totally impassable with the equipment that we had along.

“While there, we found this changeling who was astute enough to realize that her lack of a name bothered us. She has chosen the name Friend.

“What is important enough to bring her to the Imperial Throne? Two things. One, Eagles are believed to be bearers of good fortune. We have no way to know how many years she has lived there, raising the Eagles of Eagle’s Vale but it is a long time. Many generations of Eagles for certain. She refused to leave the clutch of Eagle’s eggs that she was tending. We brought them along in our cart. The Eagles followed their mother here, to the Empire.

“The other reason is more esoteric. As a relic of her destroyed hive, besides modern Gryphon which she she has learned to speak from us, she speaks, writes and sight reads Early Middle Equestrian. As scholars know, that is the language in which the earliest form of our Legends was written. Already, just on the train ride here, she has resolved to perfect sense, four passages that have raised huge disputes among scholars from the religious community.”

The Empress, crest raised in approval, offered, “A most concise report, Grata. Please resume your proper place as My Left Wing.”

Grata ascended to sit regally beside her Empress.

Krabee managed to free himself enough to shout, “That changeling will devour our love and kill us all!”

Before the Empress could respond, Friend raised a hoof. “Your Majesty, may I/we answer that?”

Grata chuckled, crest rippling. The Empress nodded, crest showing curiosity. Friend stalked across to the now cowering priest Krabee. Glaring down at him, she declared in a sick sounding voice, “Take Love from you? I/we would starve!”

She turned her back and returned to Daring Do’s side. Friend made the comfortable sort of crooning purr that Daring Do had only heard once before, when Friend was sitting with her precious eggs, and all were encased in her soft, loving magic.

She said softly but heard by the sharp ears of the Empress, “You are best of all for Friend. You are not changeling nor nymph but formed whole and still have love to share.

“You remind me/us of eigmatunin, I/we mean queen.”

The Empress made up her mind. The religious nuts, however dangerous, must be put into their place. Crest set to inquiry, she asked, “Doctor Do, you may omit honorifics. We, the Throne of the Empire, wish to know how swiftly you can prepare your finds and data for public viewing? Our first showing will be in the Imperial Court. After that, we shall have traveling exhibitions throughout the Empire. This work of yours moves the oldest known connections of our race back further than any other. We regard this news as vital to our Imperial Flock.”

Daring Do considered her answer carefully. “Empress, I can have something ready in about two weeks. It will be delicate work to prepare some of the relics that demonstrate the age of your race.

“If I may be so bold, there are elements who object to delving into the past. We have them show up at the Royal Museum from time to time. Therefore, let the exhibits for the public be replaceable duplicates of the originals, which can be safely preserved for scholarly study.”

She nodded, crest raised in approval. “So be it. You may have any work space or facilities that you need. Your budget is unlimited.

“Grata has informed me by magic net mirror about some of your finds. For an expedition that did not even reach its goal. You produced extraordinary results.

“You may count upon the generosity of the Imperial Throne for your labors.”

Grata whispered to the Empress.

“Well thought on, my Left Wing. Doctor Do and Friend shall stay together.”

Under heavy guard, bearing very modern weapons, the cart was unloaded from the rail car. Daring Do settled herself into the harness. Grata dismounted from the throne. She guided both Daring Do and Friend away from the railroad station. They came to a door of armor plate set into the side of the mountain. Daring Do almost expected it to be a door to the Great Library but it swung open on concealed hinges.

“Supply entry for the Imperial Aerie,” Grata explained.

Spiraling up through solid stone, they came to a very solid strong room door. As she opened it, Grata’s crest shot up into a grin. The Empress asked Princess Luna to arrange for your assistant. We can be sure of his discretion.”

From the depths of the room came a familiar voice. “Hi, Sis!”

“Blendin?”

Daring Do’s half brother stood by a carefully arranged copy of her Antiquities Lab at the Royal University. Over to one side was a well appointed nest of Gryphon style. There was a small heater beside it.

Friend lighted up at the sight and began to carefully transfer her precious eggs to it. She serenely fussed with the arrangement of them and climbed in, surrounded by her eggs and the soft glow of her pale green magic. She began to croon to them, the very picture of happiness.

In awe, Blendin said, “An egg tender? A real changeling egg tender? I have never even heard of one outside of a Hive. The changelings guard them like the crown jewels.”

He grinned and added, “That may be a bad example, considering how many crown jewels mom has in her collection!”

Turning to the cart, he asked, “Now, what exactly do you have here that drew the attention of TWO sets of Royalty, the establishment of the Twin Flames of Creation Church, and the Manifest Destiny Party?”

Daring Do was carefully removing the first of the carefully packaged remains. She placed it on a work table and replied, “We found the exact origin of the Gryphon race. Not only the general area, the precise physical location, along with the exact timing of the event and the direct causes.

“That is what.”

Blendin stared at the innocent looking cart and mused, “That is going to blow the only dam holding back the whole river of excrement!”

He began to help transferring the precious and delicate remains that might trigger a war.

<==PREVIOUS NEXT==>

Return to the Master Story Index

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#DARING DO AND THE GRYPHON'S QUEST!#Part 16 of 19 #MLP Fan Fiction #Written by De Writer and Carmen Pondiego

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curious-minx · 5 years ago

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Robbery @ My Former Dunkin

Prior to giving up my dream of the silver screen I was giving up on a whole different kind of dream. A dead end dream at one of my last “real” jobs where I partially served as and adjunct assistant manager. Honest, hard, and legitimate work. That’s fast food work. Unfortunately, these skills do not effortlessly translate over into working in a chic boutique pulling the espresso bean third wave bars in Brooklyn, but it was a pleasure to sling swirls of chemical confections at a wayward and loyal public. Recently this Dunkin that I used to work at has experienced an attempt of robbery by a white man wearing a face mask, a grey hoodie and gym shorts. This is my Marky Mark Wahlberg styled what if I was on the 9/11 Flight story.

///

Simo, the Moroccan manager, is fasting and lifting weights in the donut, proteins and tots walk-in freezer, frost panes his glasses. Perennial opening shifter Mamadoo is praying on a promotional pop-up deal mat as a makeshift prayer rug. He is surrounded by paper products and plastic cups. An acoustic “Sirius coffee shop” cover of Michael Jackson’s “Bad” performed by the Missing Jonas Brother is playing softly overhead. Business as usual. I am busy memorizing the finer details of the “Charli” hoping that the Tik Tok sensation will drive up past this random Western North Carolinian Dunkin Donuts and feel drawn like a moth to the sucrose. I don’t have a tik Tok account and shame the rest of my kindergarten coworkers who film themselves on the app doing dabs and blowing smoke through donut holes. A young blonde co-worker has quit today and shamed me for being in my late twenties working at a Dunkin Donuts.

One of my beloved customers, and stalkers, Ames, a taller than average in height woman always seen wearing jogging clothing and sun glasses. When I felt her presence bump behind me at a local concert Tune-yards concert I turned around to confirm that it’s her, and yep, she’s still wearing her sunglasses even inside at a dark concert, and when I turn around to clock her presence again she had already moved to the complete opposite side of the theater. Ames, in general, had been causing controversy since the pandemic by trying to order exclusively while riding on her hover board, insisting that she was trying to boost staff morale. When she got up to the window she would awkwardly light up a joint and make sure to shake it all around to make the smoke’s presence known and then blow smoke into my face through her face mask. She wanted pumpkin flavoring all year round and would encourage me through excessive tipping to hide pumpkin syrup inside the storage room walls so that I could slip some in her iced latte. Then without fail after receiving the drink, she then pretends that she has forgotten that she no longer likes the taste of the pumpkin flavoring and bats her eyelashes for another drink. Turns out that she truly wanted the salted caramel and molasses Dunkachino with two room temperature shots of espresso, and sometimes she would order exactly what she wanted, but other times , like today, she was in a mood to play.

Before Ames has a chance to get up to the window, her kneepads clacking together as she struggles to stay balanced on her hover board. A man who refused to leave the cordoned, blocked off former lobby seating area. He ordered a black coffee with twenty creams on the side and kept getting up indicating that he was about to leave, but then set back down on top of an overturned chair. Suddenly, he gathers momentum and approaches the cash register, both hands shoved into his hoodie’s front pocket cradling a pistol.

“Open up the safe and empty everything into this bag. Be careful, it’s a sentimental mesh. Oh yeah, also, I have a gun!”The man widens his own eyes as if he’s surprised by the possession of his own gun and tries to stare down my coworker Afternoon Honey (actual name). She’s about to beat him down, but thinks better of it and hits the under the panic button inside of the base of the Coolatta machine.

Officer Casey Chowderfell, an over bearing cop that has been driving up to this particular Dunkin for decades holding his mouth open to have scalding hot coffee poured down a funnel into his mouth, quickly arrives. According to Officer Casey he tried to eat a taser mistaking it for a Ham and egg salad and ruined the lining of his mouth and can only taste the hottest coffee possible. He is pulling up behind Ames ready to honk and harass her, but because she was a harmless wealthy white woman he gives her another one of her infinite warnings, before his cop car sirens start bleeding ears. The cop car itself appears to be fuming steams as if outraged by the act of attempting to rob a sacred temple of coffee and donuts.

I am attempting to get Simo to listen to me about the robbery that is in progress, but the manager, and fellow Moroccan, Aziz is speaking to him in a musical Arabic language and all I can do is wait patiently. They begin to playfully wrestle each other, they abruptly stop, and put on face masks and resume the wrestling. Fellow co-co manager, the towering beanpole Dickies, tries to get into the wrestling fun, but Simo and Aziz stop and look ashamed at themselves and resume speaking to each other, but at a barely audible whisper volume, and go into the office and lock the door. Money is being exchange, insider Dunkin secrets are being slipped away.

“Gosh Dickie you can never really tell with those guys.” I start cracking myself up. “Oh yeah, someone is trying to rob the store.”

Simo and Aziz burst out of the office the widescreen security camera frozen on the gym short wearing assailant in the lobby.

“Someone is robbing the store! Grab the safe Simo!”

“No one is robbing the store on my watch. Hush Aziz! Let’s get you a cruller and get you on your way. I’d hate if you brought corporate into this mess. Dylan and Dickie what are you standing around for? Go help Afternoon deal with this robber man!”

Afternoon whizzes past us and swings open the back exit. She mumbles, “The cops are already here.” She runs out to the parking lot and gets into her car and drives away to another parking lot to lay low.

I take Dickies’ hand and we both quietly creep up to the front of the store where Officer Casey, Deputy Bumkiss, Sheriff Huffer and the German Shepherd drug enforcer and community outreach supervisor Buttercup. Buttercup is finishing up leaving bite marks on the attempted robbers testicles, it’s her signature touch. Officer Casey rips his face mask off and thrusts himself over the counter. He pushes me out of the way and starts pulling coffee pots out from their stationed burners and drinking the coffee liquid as it pours straight from the percolator. A filthy metallic spigot that has never been properly cleaned in the history of its installation. He goes back around the counter, swinging his hips, and takes the attempted robber by the scruff of his neck. Around the neck of the would be robber is a necklace with a dangling vial of some kind of brightly red colored gas. Buttercup barks at the gas and immediately inhales the vast majority of the gas cloud. The dark lies limp and urinates on the floor. Simo stifles a moan of disgust and tells me to go get a mop bucket ready.

Buttercup goes on a rampage and does not stop until she finishes eating the most vital organs out of each of the three police officers. And none of us doing anything about it. Once Buttercup snaps down on Officer Casey’s heart she’s thrown out of her rage induced trance, whimpers and runs away darting away from traffic, sprinting into a thickly forested area lining the nearby high school. The robber takes the guns out of the police officer’s holsters and looks at us and then starts running away from the Dunkin, but he is stopped by Ames on her hover board. She demands that we name a new drink after her, an official Dunkin drink that gets announced on the company’s social media page. She’s given more to Dunkin than any pre tween starlet!

Simo gnashes his teeth and thanks Ames and tells her that he’ll see what he can do. The Dunkin closes early for the day for a deep cleaning. I am my hands and knees mopping up cop blood off of my Dunkin Donuts lobby. Fast food is real work and it is hard work that goes beyond the essentials.

#dunkin #Fuck corporations #tik tok #robbery #short story #fiction #short fiction #memoir #food #fast food #tater #coffee #barista

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retroandreal · 5 years ago

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Hanging by a Moment (Lucien Rivercrest x MC)

Hey guys, its ya girl with another ficcy fic. So while I was writing this one here, I unconsciously took a massive left-turn and this turned into a “His POV” type of situation. I’m not even mad because I loved when Lovestruck did those little extras for the characters. I was also jumping for joy when they brought them back for Havenfall is for Lovers. Tagging @official-alex-cyprin

AN: Four snippets of Lucien’s POV from when he first met MC to winning the bake off, the most iconic scenes that stuck out in my opinion. Especially that spat with Vallia. (lil biss). This is inspired by the song ‘Hanging by a Moment’ by Lifehouse and this called for major fluff feels. TBH, all my fics have had major fluff feels. Guess it’s time to change my Tumblr banner name…

Sweet Enchantments café; my second lifeline. I’ve basically be annexed from my family after I landed myself in this rehabilitation center. I don’t resent it; I love to bake since it was what my grandmother raised my brother and I with. Now, It seems like my brother doesn’t even know me as well. Once you’re charged with a federal offence, I guess not even your family will back you up. Grandma was really the only one that believed in me. I was meant to inherit the Rivercrest business, but I knew it wasn’t ever going to be for me. Grandma knew that baking was all I had and that’s exactly how it led me to be the pastry chef at Sweet Enchantments. The owner and coordinator, Liora, has been more than welcoming of my desires and use my magic for presentation. Every day done; I would make the daily sweets for the display case but save the dessert acrobatics for the crowds of women that formed my fan-base. They feed my confidence and my ego, I know I’m good at what I do but it’s all on a day-to-day basis, no sustenance or real joy but I know I have to make the most of this second chance.

“Lucien! Pay attention!” Runa snaps at me, she’s the head waitress here at the café. I respect her as a coworker and a friend; we’re all in the same boat here

“Yeah yeah, sorry. I need to prep anyway before we open” I stand up abruptly and the chair that I once occupied screeches across the tiled floor. Another day, another day closer to the end of my sentence and I promise you, grandma, I will make you proud.

The afternoon rush hits; and my pastry counter is the busiest in the café in exception to the main dining floor

“Hello ladies, ready for today’s spectacle?” Met with squealing cries of excitement, I begin my magic-filled performance. ‘Oooohs’ and ‘ahhhs’ overcome my senses as my ego is constantly being fed, this is fine. The temporary bliss of adoration is enough to get me through the day, never more but only just enough. That’s when I see her; lost, wide-eyed, in awe of her surroundings. Like a lost puppy looking for its owner, or maybe in hopes of finding something… or someone. She is probably a first-timer here. I turn my back to fetch one of my enchanted whisks and cast a spell to beat my egg-whites into soft peaks to form the perfect meringue.

I turn back, she’s there

Looking just as starstruck as she did before

Then meets my eyes as I finish the final touches on the tarts just assembled for the crowd in front of me.

The wind subtly shifts around me

“She’s different” I murmur under my breath

“I-I was looking for my scarf and I stumbled across this café! I’m sorry” she stammers, as if she’s in the wrong. I shake my head in disbelief, this girl is so naïve. I hold out the last of the batch of tarts.

“Try one” I offer her

She accepts gratefully and our hands briefly touch, with little jolts of energy travelling between us.

“She’s different”

~~~~~~~

“Lucien! Come join me!” as she pats the bed just beside her energetically. She’s always been one for stories; telling and reading them. Standing still in my place, I debate whether I should join her since, lately, I have been growing some sort of feelings for her. I cannot fathom what these feelings are yet. I wouldn’t say I love her or even have a crush on her, but I’ll say that I do care for her.

“Ok, I’ll take your invitation” I make myself comfortable next to her. God, I can still smell the buttery pastry scent on her from when we were preparing the tart base for tomorrow’s day.

She smells like home, not the home where my parents are.

But the home where grandma raised me.

Surrounded by the same scents.

She smells like home, and I feel the most at ease with her presence here.

The sound of her voice and narration just becomes white noise in my ears as all that I can concentrate on is the engulfing scent radiating off her clothes from today she still has on, refusing to change until we have finished our platonic pillow-talk. She’s constantly pulling me in with how much she eases my incomplete heart with just her being beside me. I have not felt this way in a long time. She’s filling a void within me that hasn’t even been filled by my daily ego boosts but yet she makes me feel like I can conquer the world with just a whisk, oven and a few ingredients.

I’m closer to where I started, I was desperate for changing, but now I’m chasing after you

She swats my shoulder closest to her

“Hey! Get your head out of the clouds! Are you even listening to me?”

I chuckle deeply at her childish whining

“Don’t laugh, Lucien! It’s not funny! How long was I even talking to myself” she complains as she makes a god-awful attempt at an angry, threatening face and burying her face into my pillow

Dammit, is this what I’ve been missing? Comfort? I find myself not missing the presence of grandma as much ever since she’s been appointed my pastry apprentice. She’s made baking for me an enjoyable experience again, not just some monotonous chore just to by myself time throughout my sentence. She’s learnt so much within the past few days, she reminds me from back when I used to learn how to bake with grandma and my brother in the kitchen when I was just a kid. I’ve learnt how to accept and share my love of baking with other people and not just put on a show for my own reputation, to share my love of baking with her.

She forgets all that I’m lacking, how I’m completely incomplete

I’m done living for the tedious days in and days out, I want to make her life as filling as mine has become with her in it. I feel a little bit self-conscious and guilty that her basically being held hostage in Sweet Enchantments is my fault; If I had not shamelessly tried to show off my magic in front of her on that very day I met her, she would probably be home safe and sound. Not stuck here, illegally, glamoured, and awaiting the official response from the government which is, frankly, taking a decade and a half.

I have this need inside me to keep her happiness. Selfish as I am, I hope to wake up to that smile of hers for as many mornings as I can.

~~~~~

Vallia is relentless. Giving her a piece and half of her mind. But she’s not taking it herself.

My headstrong angel. The way Vallia is giving her a threat. Maybe it’s the way she’s looking at her, or maybe how long she’s been tormenting her. She doesn’t back down. Instead, she holds her own against the force of nature which is Vallia. She advances on Vallia, thrusting one of her perfectly delicate fingers towards her.

“I did NOT do anything to you, and I don’t deserve the way you have been treating me”

“Well, it’s not my fault that you are a screw up”

Oh my, Vallia. You couldn’t have said anything else as wrong as that to her. The bickering goes back and forth. I want to defend her. I really do. But I know I have to trust her that she can stand up for herself, because I have full faith in her self-defense as much as her ability to keep up with me; in the café as my apprentice as well as dealing with everything that has been dumped on her… because of me.

My mind is running and not quite sure where to go, so I continue to stand there. Proud of her, and her willingness to stand up for her own rights, self-worth and our relationship that was ungratefully exposed by Vallia herself.

“You’ve pushed and pushed me. I should CRUSH you”

I’m shellshocked by the hardness of her words, usually in the place of words of encouragement and love for me. But now, she’s furious. I try my hardest to hold back a small grin but fail when she catches the corners of my mouth twitching, unable to hold back the proud feeling I have toward this woman at this very moment.

I haven’t stepped in yet. I’m surprised I haven’t, But I trust her with my life. I’m letting go of all that I’ve held on to; my reputation, my image… for her. But I don’t care, I would give up a lifetime of fangirls and temporary loyalty just to make sure she’s the only one standing by my side at the end of the day. If the previous weeks haven’t proven anything to me, at this moment, I know that she is the one that I want; to support me throughout the rest of my sentence and the rest of my life.

I was living for the only thing I ever knew

But now, I want to live to make her happy

Right beside me

And I don’t intend on letting her get away

She’s taken all of me now, and I’m damn lucky to have her

Since that fateful day she literally stumbled into my life, till even now, I don’t know what I’m diving into. My little firecracker, she ignites a new light within my self to continue, to continue to grow. I want to grow and learn alongside her. Life has become so unpredictable with her in it, from the slight points of contact while we work in perfect harmony behind the pastry counter. To the secret rendezvous in the café storage room. While I run my hands through her hair and place soft, peppery kisses into the junctions of her neck where I know will ignite the most delectable of reactions from her. Those little moment where I can be myself with her in my room makes me proud to stand next to her. Hanging onto these little moments that I’ve had with her urge me to keep going. And I’m going to make sure that she is with me, every step of the way.

~~~~~

“And the winner of the bake-off is…”

I’m nervous. The most uneasy I have ever been in my life, but not for my own sake. For her sake. She encouraged me to compete as a new baker and, frankly, I fear to disappoint the love of my life. The past few days on the island have been the most emotionally tiring time in my life, but I know I’ve grown as a person, for the better… for her sake. Everything up until now I have done for her. To reconnect with my brother, bring myself closure from the passing of grandma… Grandma. I know you would have loved her. She brings as much joy in my life as baking did when you were still here. You would have loved her, maybe as much as I do now. She’s urged me to move on, to become a better man. She’s made me a better version of myself that I, if you would have asked me the same question a few months back, I would have laughed in their faces.

But it’s true

“LUCIEN RIVERCREST!!!”

She’s my rock

Cheer from all around me invade my ears and a seawall of loyal and new fans have gathered around me to celebrate my victory over that vindictive pixie.

I’m closer to where I started

I lock eyes with her from an opening in the crowd

I’m chasing after you

I part the crowd and make a hasty beeline towards her. I could spot her from a mile away.

I’m standing here until you make me move

As I get closer, she starts to push through herself in hopes of meeting me halfway. But I get there first, because I’ve been chasing after her since the beginning.

My new beginning.

My new life.

With her.

But right now, as she barrels into my arms, I lift her up into a Hollywood worthy kiss in front of the floating camera orbs.

I’m hanging by a moment here with you

#Voltage #voltage games #voltage usa #voltage inc #voltage otome #sweet enchantments #lucien rivercrest #runa amberthorne #liora skyheart #emeril everbloom #lovestruck smut #lovestruck fluff #roman tarrenglade

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xb-squaredx · 5 years ago

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Pokémon Sword and Shield: A Franchise Turning Point

The Pokémon franchise has been around for over 20 years, and in that time it has proven to be more than a passing fad and has carved out a massive multi-media empire. Outside of some rare spinoffs like the Pokémon Stadium games or the likes of Colosseum or Pokken Tournament, the series has stayed primarily on handheld consoles. For years fans dreamed of what a true, mainline Pokémon game could be like on a home console. During E3 2017 when Game Freak announced that such a title was in development for Switch, people got excited. The resulted games, Let’s Go Pikachu and Eevee were not quite the main leap people expected, instead being a strange hybrid of Pokémon GO and remakes of Pokémon Yellow. However, the announcement that a true new generation of Pokémon would hit the Switch in 2019 reignited that hype. While at first excitement was high, over time a dark cloud hung over the titles, Pokémon Sword and Shield. Controversies erupted over the announcement that not every little critter would be featured or transferable to the game, and as time went on any new announcement was met with pushback. Everything from visuals to new features was criticized all the way up to launch day. Now that Sword and Shield are in players’ hands, at the end of the day…how did it all turn out?

A WHOLE NEW WORLD

This time around, trainers embark across the Galar region, basically the Pokémon equivalent to the UK. I do like Galar as a setting; it has a ton of character, with probably the most interesting aspect to it that Pokémon battles are treated as a major spectator sport. If you want to join in the Gym Challenge, you need a sponsor, and your Gym battles take place in massive stadiums filled to the brim with roaring fans. It’s an interesting deviation from past games, even if the basic formula is about the same. The characters within Galar also have a fair amount of charm from your main rivals to the Gym Leaders, to the undefeated Champion. A lot of people give Hop, your main rival, a lot of flak, but I found he had a lot of hidden depth to him and he has a satisfying arc as the story goes on. As he loses to you again and again, he doubts himself and subsequent battles have him throwing in random Pokémon and strangely his signature partner, the adorable Wooloo, is absent. Once he gets his act together, however, he forms a pretty balanced team, and Wooloo’s back front-and-center. It was a neat moment of character growth shown off through gameplay. As far as Champions go, Leon has a lot more presence throughout the game than a lot of past Champions. His flair, his awful fashion sense, his inability to follow directions…it all made him a bit more endearing. Most of the Gym Leaders are pretty much just there as stepping stones, but they all are fairly memorable either for designs or flashes of personality. It helps that everyone gives you neato trading cards too!

Galar’s main claim-to-fame is the Wild Area, a huge collection of different biomes located smack in the middle of the map. It has far and away the largest collection of Pokémon within, with different monsters appearing depending on the weather or time of day. It’s a place you’ll be returning to time and time again, and it made a big impact. It’s the only area in the game with a controllable camera, for one, and rather than follow a linear balance curve, the Pokémon you encounter in the Wild Area are often far too strong to handle. You’re even forbidden from catching Pokémon if you lack a certain number of Gym Badges, so the place is full of Pokémon you can only really admire from afar until you’re “worthy” of getting them.

Take the Wild Area away though, and Galar feels pretty small. With only ten Routes in the game, Galar is among the smaller regions. Most Routes are very straightforward, not many branching paths or hidden goodies, and there isn’t any neat new areas opened up after beating the game either. The Wild Area, from a franchise standpoint at least, is pretty impressive, but looking at the game on the whole it feels a little lacking. That’s not to say Sword and Shield don’t bring in new mechanics to mess around with, but whether they make up for what’s been taken away is going to vary with people.

GO BIG OR GO HOME

Since the games went 3D, each region tends to have its own core “gimmick” to differentiate it with older titles. X and Y had Mega Evolution, Sun and Moon had Z-Moves and for Sword and Shield we have Dynamax. Something in the air in Galar can allow Pokémon to grow to colossal size for a short time, granting them extremely powerful Max Moves for its duration. While Dynamaxing seems cool at first, the spectacle kinda wears off after your first few uses of it (not to mention the animation lasts forever), and upon further inspection it’s not as great of an upgrade as you’d think. For one, a Dynamaxed Pokémon only gets a health increase, and all other stats stay the same. Abilities and their elemental types stay the same too, so it’s not a game-changer like Mega Evolution was and it really has more in common with Z-Moves. The Max Moves can be nice, as they’re usually a good deal more powerful when it comes to raw damage, and can come with nice side-effects, but it’s kinda inconsistent. The stronger Fighting-type moves actually become weaker as Max Moves, for one. On top of the base Dynamax ability, some Pokémon can use “Gigantamaxing” instead. This changes their look overall and grants them a unique G-Max Move, though considering how hard they can be to acquire I’m not sure it’s all that satisfying. It doesn’t help that rather than having a certain species of Pokémon capable of Gigantamaxing, it comes down to unique Pokémon themselves that have the trait and it can’t be passed down through breeding either. Overall, Dynamaxing has its uses but I highly doubt it’ll become a staple of the series and will likely be replaced with something else for the Generation 9 games, and I can’t say I’ll miss the mechanic much.

One big addition to the series is Max Raid Battles, found in dens littered all over the Wild Area. Teaming up with up to three other players, locally or online (or team up with awful CPUs if alone), your goal is to take out a permanently Dynamaxed Pokémon. You get a limited amount of turns and if you suffer more than four knockouts, the Raid will end in failure. Victory, however, enables you to get rare and powerful Pokémon, some even coming with really great stats and difficult-to-obtain Abilities, and it’s practically the only way to get Gigantamax Pokémon. The difficulty of the Raids increases as you progress through the game, however, and the Five Star Raids can be brutal. The rewards are great though, getting a lot of extra loot. Bonus moves to teach Pokémon, EXP candies that eliminate a lot of grinding, and more, even if the capture attempt fails. The one real issue with Raids is that some Pokémon can be pretty stingy with appearing in Raids, and you’ll have to use somewhat rare items, Wishing Pieces, to kick some Raids off. There are also the occasional connection issues, but I have more to say on that later.

Outside of these new features, there are the standard quality-of-life changes that each game has, though some can be harder to notice and appreciate than others. You can send Pokémon in storage out on Jobs, to get some neat rewards and some EXP for them, though I find them to be a bit underwhelming. Being able to swap Pokémon on the fly now is a godsend, and together with the EXP Share built into the game, it allowed me the freedom to switch up the monsters in my party and get newcomers up to speed quickly. Most games I barely bother with more than the maximum six, but the sheer variety of Pokémon in Galar let me feel more comfortable with constantly swapping around. On that same note, no National Dex aside, there’s a LOT of choices in Galar. Route 1 alone has over ten Pokémon you can catch right at the start, as opposed to the common mammal, common bug and common bird. It was nice to see some under-represented Pokémon make the cut, but I won’t argue with anyone bummed that their favorites aren’t allowed in. It is a regrettable decision overall, even if it might have been unavoidable here.

Now, you’ll notice I didn’t mention the story much at all because…there isn’t much of one. Pokémon as a franchise isn’t known for its storytelling, despite the Black and White and Sun and Moon games existing and having very well-done stories. Overall, Sword and Shield seems to focus more on characters than an overarching plot and that isn’t too bad overall, but it makes the eventual climax more than a little disappointing. Team Yell, our villainous organization this time around, are just a bunch of hardcore fans for another rival of yours, a girl named Marnie. The conclusion to their story felt very flat, and the eventual main problem involving the Legendary Pokémon is tacked onto the end of the game with little build-up. It doesn’t help that the main villain’s motivation doesn’t make sense. He wants to avert an energy crisis that’s 1000 years from actually happening, and for some reason he refuses to let you get your shot at fighting the Champion because apparently putting things off for one day is unacceptable. It’s just very sloppy. And honestly, “sloppy” can describe a lot of this game, sadly.

WHY Y-COMM WHY

No game is without flaws, and Sword and Shield are far from the first Pokémon games to have their fair share of issues, but it’s hard to shake the feeling that these games in particular are a victim of compromise. Game Freak doesn’t have the luxury of delaying games and polishing them up to a fine sheen, not when the multimedia empire has merch and anime to launch at the same time. I’m also certain that working on this game alongside the Let’s Go games AND Little Town Hero did them no favors. So there are areas in the game that lack polish. The story’s abrupt conclusion, the visuals in general, and Galar itself feeling a tad empty; these are all compromises that had to be made to get this game to ship on the date decided well in advance. I can sympathize with the developers here, and really they’re in an un-enviable position. But at the same time, I’ve been playing Pokémon games for over twenty years, and I kind of expect better, you know? Far too many times I have to shake my head and question why something is designed the way it is, or why it feels at times like the games are going backwards in quality. Problems that were solved several games ago rear their ugly heads again, and for this being a brand new generation and the “proper” debut on a powerful home console, I can’t help but feel that this is just a 3DS game that’s been blown up onto my TV.

NPC character models and the Pokémon themselves look fine, as does the sleek UI, but environments look kinda rough. The Wild Area itself, I say with no exaggeration, looks like it was ripped out of a GameCube game. Those trees are a meme, but at the same time, they also look that bad. Some of the main towns are pretty grandiose, be it the giant castle theme of Hammerlocke, or the steampunk designs of Motostoke, while others feel incredibly barren. It’s kind of intentional with Spikemuth, but I was more than a little disappointed with how small towns feel. While it’s great that HMs have been officially retired (starting from Sun and Moon), Galar itself feels like it has little to offer those that want to explore. You don’t get access to a way to cross water until near the endgame, but there are only a small handful of areas you’d need to backtrack to with that ability. There’s not even a Victory Road in this game, or a rough equivalent.

Sword and Shield, from a competitive standpoint, seems to be trying to make strides in breaking down barriers and allowing more casual fans to dip their toes into competitive play, which I really appreciate, but I think there’s still room for improvement. While on the one hand, it’s never been easier to tweak and customize your Pokémon to your heart’s desire, the game is still not as transparent on certain subjects. You can view a Pokémon’s Effort Values, extra points you can place towards stats, on their stat screen, but only if you hit the X button on that screen, and there’s no indication that’s a thing you can even do. I was more than fifty hours into the game before a friend even told me that! There have been some pretty major strides to reduce the time commitment however, so I have to give the game credit there. As far as game balance goes, having less Pokémon to choose from does inspire creativity, though from what I hear, a fair few Pokémon are a bit of a problem, but that’s no different than any other game. Honestly, even attempting to balance a game with so many moving parts and possible strategies is pretty admirable. I’m not deep into the meta of competitive Pokémon though, so I feel there’s not much I can add to the conversation. If there’s one thing I can’t defend however, it’s this game’s connectivity features.

Starting from the DS era, Pokémon has had online features, but Sword and Shield marks the first time that the Global Trade Station, or GTS, has not been available. This means it’s impossible to put up a posting for a desired Pokémon, or fulfill other’s requests. This wouldn’t be so bad if the way to trade with friends wasn’t such a chore. Rather than being able to freely select a friend and initiate a trade or battle with them, players must enter four-digit codes and HOPE the game pairs them up. This is in every way a downgrade from the past several games. X and Y released over SIX years ago and solved this very issue with the Player Search System. Y-Comm, as it stands, is an awful replacement and there’s not one thing about it that other systems didn’t do better.

If you connect online, the game will have “stamps” appear that show you what friends are doing, alongside broadcasting trade or battle requests from random people, but often those requests are out of date, and trying to join in will result in error messages, the requests fulfilled long ago. Trying to join friends in Raid Battles is an exercise in trial and error, and if online in the Wild Area, other players constantly appear within it and as a result the game begins to chug along. What could have been a neat way to interact with other players across the world results in the game becoming worse to play, so I mostly left it off. Connecting with others has always been a franchise selling point, way back to the days of the Game Boy Link Cables. To see this game drop the ball so severely is worrying. I care about this far more than the graphical issues, far more than the National Dex, and it makes me hesitant to try out the next titles if they can’t solve these issues and KEEP them solved.

AN UNCERTAIN FUTURE

Pokémon Sword and Shield are not bad games; they’re in fact filled with charm and fun. I’ve logged over 80 hours into the game over the past few weeks and the hours flew by. There’s a lot of work that’s clearly been put into the game. The Pokémon designs and concepts this time around are really creative, for one. There’s the Applin line, dragons that hide in apples, and the abominations that are this game’s fossils; carelessly stitched together pieces of incompatible fossils resulting in a freak of nature. I love them. My heart goes out to Game Freak, because it’s clear people worked hard here, but this simply can’t be the game they wanted to make. I think Sword and Shield are turning points for the series, but it’s unclear if that’s a good thing or not.

For all the backlash and negativity surrounding these games, they’re still the fastest-selling Switch games ever. Many fans are pretty satisfied with the game as-is, and the real bitter pill disgruntled fans need to swallow is that…these games have no real reason to improve in quality. Think about it; sales aren’t down, and there’s not a true rival to these games anymore, so why would the hire-ups at Nintendo and The Pokémon Company give these games more time and resources? On top of this, remember that these games are only one part of the massive whole that is the Pokémon brand. Pokémon GO makes a frankly disgusting amount of money, the anime has been going strong for two decades, merch is in no short supply, and now we can likely add major Hollywood films to the list as well. If Game Freak was any other developer, behind any other franchise, they’d likely be able to delay the games to polish them up and add in content that would otherwise be cut, but they can’t do that when they MUST launch simultaneously with the anime, the card games, the merchandise, etc.

The series has been around for so long now as well, while many fans have likely moved on from the franchise, new ones are lining up to take their place. On top of that, there are Pokémon diehards that will likely always support the series. Pokémon is a constant for them; it’s almost like comfort food in game form. They’re not WRONG for feeling that way, and I’m kinda in that same boat. I knew going in that these games were going to be somewhat disappointing, but I still bought the thing! For all the rage directed at these games, many people still gave them their money, and I think the message has been read loud and clear: Pokémon can get away with cutting Pokémon, so it’s unlikely Game Freak will change course any time soon.

Now, of course, that’s one way to look at things. A negative way to be sure. It’s also possible that Game Freak can learn from issues they had with developing these games and push past them. As they get used to console development, to HD development, and get a better idea of what fans want, the next games might actually surpass all expectations. Pokémon as a franchise has always had feature creep to deal with, and Sword and Shield is clearly where it all boiled over. So maybe if they don’t have to worry about accommodating nearly 1000 critters in every single game, they can make larger strives towards higher quality. I don’t want to count them out, but at the same time, I won’t hold my breath either. I’ll always be open to what path this franchise takes, even if they stumble a bit to get there.

In the end, Sword and Shield feel more than a little rough, but there’s some real bright spots glimmering in what might be the franchise’s Darkest Day. The Pokémon themselves are still fun to use and capture, the characters and world of the games are still wholesome fun, and I’ll reiterate that pumping over 80 hours into this game didn’t feel like a chore and I was largely engaged for the entirety of that time. Here’s to hoping that brighter days lie ahead, and a few years from now we can look back at the Dexit controversy and laugh.

-B

#pokemon #pokemon sword and shield #zacian #zamazenta #applin #scorbunny #sobble #sobblesquad #grookey #nintendo switch #blog #review #xb-squaredx

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shanie-the-toyaddict · 5 years ago

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Shanie’s Dream Fic: A Masterpost

The following is a Masterpost of all my various finished, started, and sketched out dream stories. They are listed here as the dreams originally were, not as the stories the dreams became. Listings are by Saga/Series, Story Title, and Month/Year of original dream. Also listed are the fandoms of the dreams and any specific warnings the fics might carry. For the record, this isn’t a post really for anyone on here. It’s mostly for my own records. I do have a copy on my cloud storage but I’m putting it here as well on the off chance anyone is curious. BTW: I’m putting this here so that I don’t have to list it every time. As far as the WWE dreams go. Absolutely NONE of them are Kayfabe compliant. That’s the problem with not watching the shows regularly. I don’t dream about the TV side of it often. The Zowens dream is close though. It’s sort of a hybrid. The rest? Well, all of them are some level of NKC, but some are not only non-kayfabe, they are straight up AU. BTW2: In every single one of these stories involving me I am some manner of queer. I’m pretty sure in all but maybe one or two. I’m either wlw, ace, or both. NOT ONE of the first person dreams contains romance between me and another character. The best you get is a single platonic fake-relationship story. (That one did have a smut scene in it but it isn’t romantic.)

Anyway, list behind the cut!

ADVENTURES IN DREAMLAND Master Post

SAGA A Family Beyond Blood

Part 1 Darkness Fallen (August 2019) I find myself trapped in a world where I died as a child. Now as a spirit I must find a way to restore the universe to it’s proper order. (Somehow my young death caused the entire universe to splinter) *McMahon Family and MCU Dream* Part 2 Death and Life on Planet Earth (August 2019)

Having saved the universe but not ourselves, I vow to do whatever it takes to return Shane to his rightful place with his family. *McMahon Family and MCU Dream*

Part 3 A World Restored to Fall (August 2019)

The universe has been reset again, and I have been returned to my proper timeline. Or have I? There’re odd happenings in a local bookshop and it’s up to me to figure out how to stop them *Original Dream Featuring IRL People*

Part 4 World War Winter (August 2019)

Nuclear Holocaust has occurred. The world is at war with the machines. As a soldier in the CAMP forces, I must leave everything I know behind and face down the android army. But, maybe there’s a familiar face or two in CAMP after all... *McMahon Family Dream* *VIOLENT*

Part 5 Of Queens and Kingdoms (August 2019)

The world is reset. AGAIN. This time, it’s me, Shane and Marissa in a new land where the middle ages and modern times are happening simultaneously and women are the dominant gender. And, somehow, I’m the bloody queen. *McMahon Family and WWE Universe Dream*

Part 6 Titans Reign (August 2019)

Having ascended to the throne and filling the royal court with WWE superstars, I must now find a way to rule over a land I barely know. Meanwhile, a sinister plot is brewing to put the patriarchy back in power. *McMahon Family and WWE Universe Dream*

SAGA That’s What Friends Are For

Part 1 Death of a Fangirl (and Birth of a Friend) (October 2019) [Only Published Story on List]

I find myself being given the chance to meet Shane. Unfortunately, my mental illness turns the dream into a nightmare and my life unravels. But don’t worry. Shane will save the day. He always does. *Shane O Mac Dream*

Part 2 With A Song In Her Heart (October 2019)

Shane has been ignoring my texts, so I hunt him down. My search finds me at a pride festival where a spontaneous song catches his attention a little too well. *Shane O Mac Dream*

Part 3 One Last Birthday to Celebrate (November 2019)

It’s Christmastime in Squirrel Hill. For some dumb reason, Shane McMahon has decided to visit me the day before his birthday. Naturally I surprise him with a present. The other surprise (getting caught in a domestic dispute) is far less pleasant. *Shane O Mac Dream* *VIOLENT*

Part 4 The Pink Rose (Not a Dream)

I survived the shooting. Waking up in a hospital, I find my mother and a room full of flowers from the WWE Superstars. But one flower, a lone pink rose, is unlabeled. Wanna take a wild guess who sent that one? *WWE Universe Story NOT Based on A Dream*

Part 5 Dreams and Demons (December 2019)

So, it seems that watching your friend nearly die in a hail of bullets isn’t the best for your mental health. At WrestleMania 37, Shane is presented with a choice. Me, or TV. Of course he chooses me, this is my dream, what other choice would there be? *WWE Universe Dream*

[Are you starting to see why I never publish any of these. They are painfully bad self inserts and woefully self-indulgent. But they are also therapy, hence the writing]

SERIES Trippy Shorts

Story 1 A Little Fall of Acid Rain (August 2019)

The world is ending – but only in NYC. I’m there. So are the McMahons. Destruction and danger abound. *McMahon Family Dream*

Story 2 I Know Who I Am (September 2019)

All of my favorites from TV, movies, music, and wrestling are turning up murdered. Each time, a cryptic message is left behind, written in blood. Can I figure out the connection before everyone I like is killed? *General Pop Culture Dream* *EXTREMELY VIOLENT AND DISTURBING*

Story 3 Fixed Points and Fixed Pairings [An Unfinished Symphony] (September 2019)

One night, outside the bar, I am approached by an older version of myself. She brings a time machine and a mission – go back to the attitude era and change time so Shane remains the heir apparent. But some people are just meant to be together, and others just refuse to listen – even to an angel from the future. *WWE Universe Dream*

Story 4 A Song of Summer [A Snapshot] (October 2019)

As an Agent of SHIELD, it doesn’t take a genius to see that Black Widow and Hawkeye are in love. So, through the power of music, I decide to try and hook them up. *MCU Dream*

Story 5 Journeys Beginning [A Snapshot] (December 2019)

One day at school, I find myself amid an alien incursion. But don’t worry, the Doctor is on the case. Also, Shane is involved because of course he is. *Shane O Mac and Doctor Who Dream*

Story 6 Arson, Murder, and Revolution (January 2020)

At a Hollywood LGBTQ party, I find myself caught in a plot by the Trump administration to commit mass murder. When it goes awry, revolution stirs and it’s up to me and several other progressive celebrities to light the fuse *General Pop Culture Dream* *VIOLENT*

[See, they aren’t all about Shane. Just... most of them]

STAND ALONE STORIES

Once Upon a Dream (August 2019)

I black out drunk in an alley one night and awake to find myself in a dream. It’s 1990 and I’m somehow a middle-aged black woman. Also sharing the dream is a young and angry Shane McMahon. Together we use the circumstances of the dream to fuck shit up for the NYPD. *Shane O Mac Dream* *VIOLENT*

The Many Deaths of a Tabhead (August 2019)

Five years after getting hooked on a new drug called Tabs, I find myself in an endless loop of getting murdered. The only way out is to survive. Too bad I have no memory, and everyone wants me dead *Original Story Featuring IRL People* *VIOLENT AND DISTURBING*

Champion of the Faerie Queen (December 2019)

Did you know that Marissa McMahon is the Faerie Queen and Shane is her consort? Neither did I. And, it seems, when war comes a calling, it’s up to me to save the McMahons and the country. But I’ve got superpowers now, so that helps. *McMahon Family, MCU, and DC Universe Dream*

To Earthquakes, Lovers, and Newfound Friends (May 2020)

In lovely SoCal, I’m watching a movie when an earthquake strikes. I soon find myself both blind and badly burned. The only hope I have to survive is a certain pair of lovers who just happen to be in the area for some R&R. *Zowens Dream*

Penny and Kicks vs The World (June 2020)

As a longtime WWE employee, I’ve been best friends with Shane for years. But in the fallout of Coronavirus, the public is looking for a scapegoat. Vince is more than happy to offer up my father. Now, the entire wrestling world is in turmoil and Shane and I are just trying to weather the storm. *WWE Universe Dream* *VIOLENT*

Virginia Gothic (October 2019)

In a world where my highschool sweetheart and I never broke up, we must forge a path on our own through hardship and rejection. But what is the meaning of the mysterious Jesus statue? And why is Bacchus being so damn shifty? *Original Dream Featuring IRL People*

Uzil (January 2020)

An mystical being from the horsehead nebula takes up residence in a little boy’s guinea pig. The miracles come quickly and soon they are inseparable. *Original Third Person Dream* (I wasn’t in this one)

The E-Manual (February 2020)

The end of days is drawing near. I have been chosen as a prophet of the end times by the Almighty himself. I must go out into the world armed with only scripture and a mystical magazine, trying to convert as many people as possible before time runs out. *A Mostly Original Dream* (Shane’s in the last two pages)

Seraphina and the Seven Wishes (April 2020)

The world is a video game and the McMahon’s are the Addams family. It only gets weirder from there. *McMahon Family Dream*

A Matter of Science (And Opinion) (May 2020)

I accidentally set fire to my apartment during a spell. I’m promptly arrested and call The Doctor as my defense. Sadly, the call is rerouted to Stormcage and SpongeBob SquarePants ends up on the case instead. This one is every bit as absurd as it sounds. *Doctor Who and SpongeBob SquarePants Dream*

A Revolution In This Century (Enter Me) (November 2019) The year is 2027. Climate Change has decimated the globe and revolution has reduced the Ruling Elite to food reserves. However, absolute power corrupts absolutely, and soon the new ruling poor become as ruthless as the 1% had been. In this horrible dystopia, I am a powerful government official who has taken on the McMahons as consorts for the sole purpose of saving their skins. *McMahon Family Dream* *VIOLENT, DISTURBING, AND A BIT SMUTTY*

Crystal Vision – A Dozen Birthdays (December 2019)

After showing kindness to an enchantress, I am given my hearts greatest desire – a place in Shane’s life. I am sent back in time to 2005 as a WWE Makeup tech and given 12 years in the life of my childhood heroes. But a lot happened in the WWE from 2005 to 2017 and not all of it good. How much can and do I dare change? *WWE Universe Dream* *Painfully NKC. Disturbing subject matter involved because 2007 is a thing.*

Dr. Slime and the Wondernerds (August 2019)

Three high school nerds find themselves in possession of a mysterious green substance. When it explodes during an experiment, they find they have been given superpowers. However, this is the real world and super-powered “freaks” get picked apart, not celebrated. Can the teens resist using their powers? *Original Third Person Dream* (I’m not in this one)

Planeswalking Like A Grecian (October 2019)

After death, Xena finds herself on the Astral Plane. Promptly running into Joxer, they must find a way to survive the dangers of the afterlife. But don’t worry. Gabrielle has a plan. *Xenaverse Dream* (I’m not in this one)

The Foresight Curse (June 2020)

The problem with knowing the future is that you usually don’t have the ability to change it. So when Radar O’Reilly realizes Henry’s fate the day before it happens, he has to spend the next day trying to drown out the feelings of dread and sorrow, if only for the Colonel’s sake. Funny thing though, sometimes fate takes a left turn and you get a second chance to say goodbye. *M*A*S*H Universe Dream* (I’m not in this one) Vampires, Wraiths, and Shades, Oh My! (December 2019)

In the middle ages, I am orphaned at a very young age by vampires and taken in by Vampire Hunters (AU Shane and Stephanie). Now a teenager, I fight alongside them to protect the world from the dangers of the night. *McMahon Family Vampire AU Dream*

WHEW! I’m pretty sure that’s all of them! I have so dang many dreams it’s hard to keep track of them all! Anyway, out of all of these, only a handful are finished, ONE is published (Death of a Fangirl) and a ton of them aren’t far past the sketch stage. So, this is my list. Every story on here I at least have sketched out. I doubt I will ever even bother writing many of these, but the intent is present.

#Shanie's Dream Fic Masterpost

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blueboxesandtrafficcones · 6 years ago

Text

Queen of Hearts - Chapter 12

Thirty-year-old Rose Tyler’s matchmaking business is doing very well indeed, bringing her clients such as celebrities, athletes, and the now-happily-married son of the mayor. All of which brings her to her newest client - one whose royal rank is a far cry above her own title as Queen of Hearts.

Ian, King of Gallifrey, calls off his wedding four weeks before the happy day as he realizes he can’t spend another minute of his life with his betrothed. The catch - he must take a wife before his Coronation, only a month away. In desperation, his sister and aunt conspire to find him is happy ever after - and it’s going to take a master matchmaker to do it.

Based on the Hallmark Movie ‘Royal Matchmaker’. Chapters will be posted every Sunday.

As always, beta’d by the wonderful @stupidsatsuma! @doctorroseprompts

Masterlist | AO3

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Friday, April 19th

The next morning found Ian slumped in his desk chair, back to the door as he stared out the windows. The glass went from floor to ceiling, wall to wall, providing the best view possible of the lake and Alps behind it. When the conditions were right, he could see straight across to the Swiss village that occupied the far shore.

Today, though, the sky was as opaque and threatening as his mood, dark clouds promising storms by day's end.

“What’s wrong?”

He didn’t turn to look at the sound of his sister’s voice, trusting she would enter and bend his ear regardless. “Why do you assume something’s wrong?”

“Because it’s eleven in the morning and no one’s seen you. Sarah said Rose was at breakfast in the kitchens for the first time. So, tell me. What’s wrong?”

Donna came around the desk to crouch in front of him, steadying herself with a palm on his knee and staring up at him with the most sympathetic look possible.

Wiping his hand down his face, he sighed heavily, trying to subtly hide the bottle of scotch he held before she spotted it. “She’s engaged.”

“What? That’s ridiculous – why show up then? All she had to say was ‘no thanks, already engaged, not interested, but thanks anyway’. Why show and waste our time, then?”

Ian stared at her blankly, and she matched his expression, until it melted back to its previous level of sympathy.

“You’re not talking about Reinette.”

He slowly shook his head.

“You don’t want to marry Reinette.”

Another shake.

“You want Rose.”

This time, a tentative nod.

“And she’s engaged? She doesn’t wear a ring… I thought she was unattached?”

“So did I,” he sighed, sinking further in his chair and turning his attention out the window to a bird circling above the lake. “But last night, when I was coming back from dinner, I found her on the patio. She didn’t see me, but she was on her mobile, talking to a bloke, saying they’d start planning the wedding when she got back.”

“Maybe-”

“She said she loved him,” he cut Donna off, grimacing when her face twisted in sympathy.

“I’m sorry.”

Ian nodded sharply, crossing his arms. “It’s fine,” he lied, “I’ll… I’ll marry Reinette, and we’ll produce an heir, and you can go back to being the ‘spare’.”

“Have you considered asking Rose about it?” she asked carefully, standing. “Maybe it’s not how it seemed? Maybe you misunderstood.”

“It’s not the kind of thing you misunderstand.” He smiled wistfully, picturing Rose in his mother’s coronation regalia, or her favorite tiara. She would make a wonderful queen. “Think nothing of it, and don’t even consider trying to do something about it. I expressly forbid it.”

“All right,” Donna agreed easily enough, smirking when his eyes narrowed in suspicion. “Whatever you say, Your Majesty. But might I recommend a shower? You reek of that scotch you’re trying to hide.”

And she swept out of the room, leaving him alone.

Damn her, he thought, more sad than angry. Why must she see right through me?

Sunday, April 21st

After introducing Reinette to the King, Rose saw neither for days as she was utterly abandoned. No meal invitations, she never saw him in the halls. With nothing to do she was free to roam to her heart’s content, waiting on word that never came.

Friday and Saturday passed unremarkably, and Sunday was headed that way as well when Princess Donna knocked on the door around three in the afternoon.

“Come in,” Rose called, looking up from the Gallifrey-specific version of Monopoly they’d found in the game room.

“Yes, please come and save me,” Mel muttered, scowling down at the board – for all her bubbly personality, the redhead was a sore loser, and a loser she would soon be if she landed on one more hotel.

Princess Donna stepped into the room, and they both stood and curtseyed to her.

“Rose, I was hoping perhaps you could assist me?” she asked, and Rose’s eyes lit up.

“Of course Your Highness, how?” Ditching the blanket she was using as a shaw, she shoved her feet back into her heels and stepped closer.

Leaving Mel behind they stepped out into the hall, the Princess leading her away from the direction of the King’s suite, making Rose’s hopes fall.

“The King has decided to propose to Reinette,” the redhead said bluntly, as they headed into a section of the Palace Rose had never seen. “He’s tasked me with picking a ring for her. Given that you likely know her best from your thorough vetting processes, I thought you might be able to guide me.”

“Oh,” Rose said softly, heart sinking like a stone. “Of course.”

Within two minutes they reached the basement, continuing on through several storage rooms until they came upon a guarded vault.

“Good afternoon Anthony,” the Princess said warmly to the soldier on the right, “I need to remove something from the Archive.”

“Certainly, Your Highness,” he bowed, “I’d be happy to get it for you. What is it?”

The Princess shook her head. “A ring, but I’m not sure which one yet. Miss Tyler here is to help me choose.”

They had to sign a book to get into the room, Princess Donna muttering, “This is where we keep all the Crown Jewels, Coronation Regalia, and the like. Copies of some things are kept in the Museum in town, but all the real items are kept here. In any case of emergency, this is the place to be. It’s the most secure spot in the kingdom.”

She led her down rows filled with gorgeous, priceless items, mostly various types of jewelry. Crowns and tiaras, scepters and swords, necklaces, earrings, medals, broaches, one twinkling item after another, dozens of each, hundreds, each more spectacular than the last until they finally reached a cabinet a jeweler could only dream of. Several hundred rings must have sat in the combination-locked case, covered in diamonds and gemstones. Rubies, emeralds, sapphires, tanzanite, diamonds of every color, all sparkling in the overhead lighting.

“This is amazing,” Rose said softly. “Does this all get used?”

“Most of it,” the Princess said, undoing the lock. “Over time, at least. I try to wear something different on every State occasion, within my taste and size. We keep a log of when and by whom everything is worn, and sometimes I’ll pick what hasn’t been seen in the longest time and base my outfit around that, just to keep it in circulation. Does no good being kept hidden down here.”

Rose tentatively ran a hand over the top of the case, staring down at rings. “You’re very lucky,” she said softly. The Jewel House at the Tower of London’s got nothing on this.

“I know.” Then the Princess stepped back. “Take a look, try some on if you like. Have fun. But keep in mind, they do an inventory after every time someone enters the Archive, so we’ll know if you pocket something.”

Rose’s head snapped up, horrified, only to find a teasing smirk on the Princess’s face. “Oh very funny,” she muttered, before going pink. “Sorry.”

Trying to decide where to start, she asked, “How are these organized?”

“Ring size, metal, type of stone. Reinette’s a size six,” she pointed to a section a third of the way down from the left wall, “but I’ll leave the rest to your discretion.”

If she weren’t heartbroken at the thought of picking a ring for the man she loved to give to another woman, Rose would be having the time of her life sorting through the rings. Reinette had a clear preference for gold jewelry based on her Instagram posts, and Rose started there.

The problem, she quickly realized, was that she had no idea what Reinette would prefer. Something gaudy? Something understated? Traditional diamond or a different stone? What cut?

A second problem, one she refused to acknowledge, was how much she wanted to be picking a ring for herself.

Finally choosing one slightly at random, she held it out towards the Princess. “This one, I think. Sorry, I match people to people, not jewelry.”

“She can always choose something else,” the other woman shrugged, sliding it on her pinky for safe keeping. “I expected we’d be down here longer, so if you wanted to play around with them…”

“Really?” Despite her heartbreak, Rose lit up. “These are all so gorgeous…”

“Go ahead,” the Princess grinned. “Have fun.”

Humming to herself, Rose abandoned the gold section for the white gold. “God these are stunning.”

“Which would you choose for yourself? If you were getting married, I mean?” Princess Donna asked, leaning on the cabinet nearby and watching her try rings on.

“Me?” Rose held her hand up to the light, admiring the sparkle on a diamond the size of her eye. “Probably not a diamond – or at least, not white. Maybe something pink, or blue. White gold.” She tried on another, this time an emerald. “I’m not sure.”

Then, she spotted it. “Oh,” she said, very softly, reaching a trembling hand into the case and plucking the ring out. “Oh my.” Tears pricked at her eyes, even as her heart ached. “Oh, if I could… This would be it.”

Sliding it on her finger, she turned towards the Princess to show her, who gasped softly as well.

“It suits you.”

Rose nodded, staring down at her finger. The band was white gold, the top half cut out into a celtic lover’s knot. A large, bright princess-cut sapphire sparkled from the center, surrounded by tiny white diamonds. It was elegant and clean, the stone large enough for a royal bride but not heavy enough to break her finger.

It was perfection.

But the only man who could give it to her, who she would want to give it to her, was giving a different ring to a different woman. One she herself had just picked.

“We should get back.” Rose yanked the ring off her finger and set it back in its spot, turning her back on the case and stepping away. “Thank you for- well.”

“Of course.” The Princess locked the case again, and they made their way back to the vault entrance, stepping out to where the soldiers still stood, both snapping to attention at the sight of their Princess. “Shoot! I forgot to pick a tiara to go with it,” she snapped her fingers. “Can you find your own way back?”

Rose nodded, wrinkling her nose. “D’you need any-”

“No, I’m good, thanks. See you later!” And the Princess disappeared back inside the vault, leaving Rose standing awkwardly with the guards, who stared at her impassively.

Clearing her throat, Rose pointed towards the stairs. “I’ll just be going, won’t I?”

Turning on her heel, she walked up the flight sedately – then ran back to the suite, trying desperately to hold back the tears until she reached the safety of her bed.

Monday, April 22nd

He spent the next three days courting Reinette at every turn, doing his best to charm her as he made preparations to propose.

She wasn’t his first choice by any means, but she was the best he had, and since he’d sent all the others away, really his only option. Abdicating, as appealing as the idea was, wasn’t feasible – besides, it wouldn’t look good for Donna’s first act as Queen to be throwing him in the dungeon and having him executed.

If nothing else, his niece and nephew would cry and miss him – he hoped.

So, out of time, options, and the will to keep fighting the inevitable, he put his best foot forward. He took her into Geneva for the Opera, some horrible thing all in Italian he detested and she adored. Sarah arranged for them to go into the Gallifreyan History Museum afterhours to wander through the exhibits, and he told her some of his country’s origins and legends. They went horseback riding and picnicking, taking a horse-drawn carriage along the border road that ran along the boundary between Gallifrey, France, and in a few spots, Switzerland.

Conversation came fairly easily, and he found they had a great many things in common, including views on policy and politics.

She was just as Rose had promised – technically perfect, with one glaringly obvious fault.

She wasn’t Rose.

Well, and that she was French. Okay, two faults.

He could learn to live with her nationality, given that they shared a border and her language was the country’s second official, after English and even before Gallifreyan.

If only he could forget about Rose, then everything would be almost perfect.

He’d tasked Donna with picking a ring from the Archives, reasonably certain that if he thought too hard about any of this, he would run for the hills and never return, or fake his own death, or something equally dramatic to get away from it all.

The box it sat in burned in his pocket as they walked along the lakeshore. His heart was pounding, breath catching, stomach rioting – and not in the happy way Rose promised.

Rose.

He stopped dead at the thought, his heart quietly breaking as considered what he’d been trying to make himself do since they reached the shore.

“Your Majesty? Is something wrong?” Reinette asked, turning back to where he was frozen. Genuine concern colored her tone, but he could barely hear her through the rushing in his ears.

Yes – you’re not who I want. What do I do? What do I say?

In the end, he had no choice. Unable to make his knee bend, he merely fished the box out of his pocket and held it towards her, trembling. “Will you marry me?”

She didn’t immediately respond, eyes darting between himself and the box, and when she finally met his gaze, a softness rested there he didn’t appreciate. “Are you sure? That I’m the one you want?”

“Yes,” he choked out, unable to say anything more.

After a moment she nodded, sighing softly. “Then, yes. Yes, I will marry you.”

It wasn’t anything like the movies, or like he might have, on very rare occasions, pictured. No crying, no kissing, no declarations of love. He slid the ring on her finger, kissed her knuckles, and they turned back towards the palace.

Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown, indeed.

#bbatcfic #doctorroseprompts #ficandchips #Doctor Who #12xRose #12th Doctor #Rose Tyler #AU #Queen of Hearts #royalty AU

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