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grace-likes-things · 3 years

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Beside Her

Peter Parker x Stark!Reader

A/N: uhh it’s been a while. Here’s this! And here’s to me posting a random one-shot every two years lmaoooooo. Disclaimer: alternate reality where no one died/left after endgame.

Summary: A mission Peter’s off the job for, and which goes terribly wrong.

Warnings: blood, major character death, this one is v angsty folks.

Word Count: almost 6k

~~~~~~~

“So, am I alright to go with?”

“No way, Peter. Your sling may be off but your arm can't handle the kind of wear you put it through yet. Give it another day or so.”

Peter sighs, exasperated, “But the mission’s tonight!”

“Nuh, uh, Pete,” my dad cuts in across the room, “You’re staying here, doctor’s orders. I told you we’d check, and we did, and Helen says no.”

“Mr. Stark—!”

“Not me, Helen, you really gonna combat her decision?”

Dr. Cho gives Peter a stern look, having had experience with his impulsively-gained-injuries before. He turns away, ducking his eyes, knowing not to challenge her.

“Peter it’s fine,” I say, hand on his good shoulder, “You’ll join us on the next one.”

“If—“ my dad buts in, “he doesn't go shatter half the bones in his arm again. And don't go assuming you’ll be on the next one, Y/N, I'm hardly supportive of you coming with tonight as it is.”

I sigh, turning stubbornly towards him as he waltzes out of the room, “I've been training for over 3 years, dad I—“

“Nope. Still my kid, don't push your luck. We’re t-minus 1 hour out, so go get ready,” and with that, he turns the corner and leaves.

“Sorry Pete, better luck next time.” Helen picks up her clipboard and departs, leaving us alone in the room.

I turn to Peter, who’s looking rather defeated about the fact that he won't be allowed on the first mission in three months. I nudge his shoulder playfully, “Hey, think on the bright side, now you get to snoop around the lab uninterrupted for a couple hours.”

He gives me a halfhearted smile, “Yeah? I still wish I could be out there with you.”

His eyes change into an anxious look. I look at him, sympathetic, and grab his hand in mine.

Since the snap, the fight with Thanos, and almost losing my dad, Peter’s had this protective, premature-guilt complex concerning the people close to him. We got lucky not losing anyone, but I think seeing my dad recover from mourning us and the near-death experience I had in the battle, he’s not really comfortable being separated from us in a fight.

“I know. But it’s relatively minor, from what I’ve heard. I mean — minor enough to convince my dad to let me tag along, so.“

“Yeah, I know. I just hate not being there to have your back.”

I lean into his side, shoving him playfully, “You suggesting I can’t handle myself?”

“Absolutely not,” and I see I’ve forced a grin onto his face, “Just think, ya know, maybe your dad’s had a few too many juice pops lately, and I gotta be concerned — I mean, a gain in weight could throw off his balance in the suit—“

“Oh! Throwing my dad under the bus here, are we?” I laugh, “That’s funny, maybe I’ll mention it to him later.”

“Kidding! Don't tell your dad I said he’s fat — he's not.” He hangs onto my hand as I stand from the med-bay bed, “He’s a very fit man, you know, for his age.”

I laugh, “This just gets better and better! I’ll make sure to tell him you think he’s old too after I get ready.”

I move to walk away, but Peter stops me, tugging my hand gently.

“Hey, but seriously,” he murmurs, “be careful tonight. Come back in one piece for me. Okay?”

“Of course,” I say, and lean my forehead against his, “And you have a fantastically boring night, let your arm rest. Don't get into any trouble.”

He kisses me long and gentle, “I’ll try not to.”

——————

Tonight’s mission was a fairly routine one. One of the lingering branches of Hydra left, hiding in a bunker and planning nothing good. We’d all been briefed on the most recent information about their weapons and tactics, and the team had decided tonight was the time to shut the place down.

I examine the repulsors in the palms of my suit, sleeker like Peter’s, but armed similarly to my dad’s. There’s about 15 minutes before we fly out, so I tuck my braids beside my neck — getting my hair caught in the helmet seriously blows — and make my way up to the launch pad.

“Hey, offspring!” my dad plants his hand on my head and shakes it, “You still wanna come along on this one? Sure you don't wanna stay home? Absolutely? Because you know, you’re welcome to, in fact, DUM-E's been missing you down in the lab, i’m sure he’d appreciate your company—“

“Nuh uh, old man, I'm going with. You said so.”

“Oh, so I’m old now? You know, I did end up with an extra five years than you, so you can cut me a little slack.”

I laugh and walk onto the quinjet to meet the team, “Never.”

————————

“You all remember your assignments?” Steve asks, “Me and Sam, Tony and Wanda, Nat and Y/N.”

A chorus of yes’s and nods follow, as if this wasn’t the fourth time we’d answered that question.

The ride to the bunker is relatively boring, other than my dad pestering me with Stay with nat, and don't get distracted, and be careful, and don’t do anything I would do, and definitely don't do anything Peter would do. Nat and Wanda chuckle at my situation from across the quinjet, and it was getting pretty old by the time we landed a bit outside the target.

Once we’ve all gotten set with weapons and coms, we start out on the jog to the bunker. Upon arriving there, Nat and I are tasked with stealing a hard drive that contains targets and weapons data. From what we know, it’s in a room close to the center of the building, so we have a long way to go while trying to get noticed as little as possible.

My dad tells me to stay safe and call for him if needed before we part ways, and Nat and I are alone in a dark hall.

“Alright,” Nat whispers, “We move toward the center of the bunker, 4 floors down, we’ll use the vents if we have to. They might cause a scene somewhere else, but our job is to keep hidden, all the way in and out if we’re lucky.”

“And when are we ever lucky?” I murmur back with a smirk.

“Don’t jinx it, kid, let’s go.”

For the most part, the beginnings of the mission are easy. We used Friday’s heat signatures for a full week to map out the guards’ schedules, so we knew what halls to stick to and when. Making our way to the less-monitored maintenance stairwell, we walk in silence, keeping an ear out for updates over the coms. Just as we reach the bottom of the third flight of stairs, a pair of guards walks through the doors.

“Hello, boys,” Nat says and quickly turns to me, “I’ll take the tall one.”

With that, we spring to action.

The pair raise their weapons toward us, but Nat quickly disarms the man across from her while I blast the gun from the shorter man’s hand and drag him through the doorway before he can reach the alarm on the outside wall. Slamming him into the stair railings, he tries to get rid of me by throwing a headbutt my way, but my suit takes the brunt of the impact. Pulling my arm back and releasing his wrist, I aim a punch square at his face and hear a crack when it lands on his nose. After a disdainful grunt, he shoves me back and tries to kick my legs out from under me, but I quickly grab hold of his ankle and yank up. The man lands harshly on the floor, and one kick is all it takes to knock him out.

When I look up, Nat has already beat her opponent and is checking the outer hall for more guards. “It’s clear,” she says, and we both take the ankles of the two guards and drag them through the door into the nearest room, tying them up securely before jamming the door in place.

“I hope they enjoy a nice nap, let’s keep moving,” Natasha says, and we make our way back to the stairwell.

Finally on the fourth lower level, we hold ourselves with a bit more caution. This is where they guard more heavily, and we still have quite a ways to travel before we’re near the center of the building. With light steps, we make our way down the dimly lit halls, occasionally ducking through doorways and turning corners to avoid passing agents, guards and other workers. It seems as if most of the work they do happens down here, as we constantly see high-ranking members and people in lab coats muttering to one another as they roam the halls. I’m only able to catch a few words of any given conversation, and of the ones that were spoken in English, none of them sound pleasant.

Nat and I travel fairly uninterrupted for the next few halls before she stops me and says, “Alright, we’re close to the center now. The hard drive we need is going to be in a lab somewhere around here, so we’re checking rooms. If there are any heat signatures, we clear it together. If Friday doesn’t pick any up, we split and multitask.”

I raise my eyebrows, “Oh? Going against my dad’s orders, huh?”

She gives me a wry smile, “You seem to be able to handle yourself, and it’ll get us out of here faster,” she points at me, “Just don't make me regret it.”

I laugh, “I won’t.”

And with that, we start scanning the upcoming rooms.

The first room we check has a few Hydra agents inside, so we clear it together, check the computers for the right information and come up empty handed, breaking the doorknob and continuing on. We go about this for a while, knocking out the occupied rooms together, splitting up to clear empty rooms, checking for the right hard drive, and moving on. It’s tedious, but no alarms have been activated so far, and we make a good team.

Now very close to the center of the bunker, we come upon another few rooms free of heat signatures, so we once again divide and conquer. We have to be getting close now.

“I’ll take this one on the left, you’ve got the right?” I ask, walking carefully toward the door.

“Gotcha, call if you find anything.”

I open the large metal door and take a cautious step in, examining the room around me. There are no lights on, so I use a light on my suit to see my surroundings.

It’s strange, the room is large with high ceilings, but is pretty much empty. A few scraps of metal and packaging are strewn about the floor. Concrete floors and dark walls line the place. I take a few steps further in to double check that I haven’t missed anything, but all I see is one door on the opposite side. I turn back to exit when the entrance I came through slams shut in front of me. Alarmed, I run forward and try to open it, but the handle won't budge.

“Nat!” I whisper hushed through the coms, “The door shut behind me, can you get it from the outside?”

I hear her footsteps approach from the other side and the sound of her trying to open the door, “I can't get it, and the lock must be electric, there’s nothing to pick. How’d this close on you?”

“I don’t know, I didn’t see it.”

I hear a new voice over the coms, “Wait, did you two get separated?” My dad’s voice resounds with a hint of anxiety, “What did we talk about, Y/N? I said to stay with—“

“I tried! Not my fault the door shut behind me.”

“Well you should’ve gone through the door with Nat in the first place!”

“Hey!” Natasha’s voice cuts in, “While I would love to listen to you two bicker, we’ve got a job to do. She’s fine, Tony, we’ll figure it out.”

“I could just blast the door handle—“

“No, Y/N, it’ll be too loud, we’ve gotten this far without being noticed.” I hear Nat huff through the door, “It’s in our best interest to keep it that way. Friday’s telling me there’s another door, leads out to a hall. I can go around and meet you there. It's further toward the center, so at least if you have to blast the thing down we’ll be closer to the target.”

“Sounds good, I’ll wait for you,” I say, and with that, Natasha stalks off through the halls.

I turn to make my way across the room, walking leisurely. This place really is unusually huge for a seemingly-unused underground room, about the size of a school gymnasium. I’m wondering if it may have been used for storage or training when I hear a noise to my left.

Turning swiftly with my guard now up, I see a male guard walk through a side door. Another entrance? How did I miss that? I ready my fists in a fighting stance and call through the coms, “Hey Nat? This room was occupied, I’ve got it handled for now but you might wanna make it here quick.”

Strangely, I get no response, but I don't have time to dwell on that fact because the man is charging toward me.

He’s a good fighter, and we both land some hard hits as we combat to occupy the room. I flip over him and blast him into the wall, but he recovers abnormally quickly and rises up again for more. I land another punch to his stomach once he’s in range, but he quickly grabs my wrist after and squeezes with inhuman strength, crushing the thin-design gauntlet on my hand. The metal cuts into my palm before tear what remains off and launch him over my shoulder onto the floor. I move to kick his side but he grabs my leg and throws me off balance, and my back hits the floor in a harsh slam. Groaning, I try to sit up as the guard grabs a metal pole off the floor — oh shit — and slams it onto my other palm, crushing my second gauntlet. Two hands now bare, aching, and unarmed, I continue to fight at a slight disadvantage. But I’ve trained for years, I can handle this.

It turns out maybe I couldn’t handle it.

The guard has to be one of Hydra’s human experiments, because he’s stronger than the average adult. I struggle to gain the upper hand for several minutes. He's had me pinned me to the ground, and just when I think his weight is lifting off me he brings down the pole on my side. Hard.

I groan and curl away. Even through the thin — and now damaged — metal of my suit, the blow took the air out of me. I press my palms to the cold floor to push myself up, but another blow strikes my back and I collapse forward. Finally, the man grabs a fistful of my hair and slams my head into the ground, and a ringing suddenly starts in my ears. Dizzy, head aching, and barely able to think, the next thing I register is being dragged across the room to the opposite wall by my wrists, which are then cuffed in front of me.

And strangely, the guard who put all that effort into beating me walks out of the room.

“Hey!” I shout, “What’s going on, asshole!? Come back here!” But he doesn’t return, and shuts that same side door behind him. I groan in frustration, head still pounding in pain, and try to reach the team again, “Anyone hear me? I’m still in this room, my gauntlets are broken and I'm cuffed, anyone around?” No response, “Hello?”

I’m starting to think Hydra somehow interrupted our signal when another noise distracts me from across the room.

The door opens once again, and this time five people exit. Four guards and…

Peter.

A chill surges down my spine.

They’re dragging Peter into the room.

“Peter?” I call out, panicked, “Hey! What are you doing with him?”

He’s dressed in plainclothes, so he didn’t come here as Spiderman. He doesn’t look like he’s in the best condition, slumped and hardly fighting the guards who are carrying him to the center of the room. My mind starts racing with all the things they could’ve done — what’s wrong with him? How could they have hurt him so badly he isn't able to fight back, especially with his strength? I need to get him away from them, but if these four guards are anywhere as strong as the last, I need a plan of attack. Or backup. Where is the team?

And how did they get to Peter? Peter Parker, not Spiderman, so not out on the streets — he was supposed to be in the lab tonight. Did they get into the compound? Is anyone else hurt? My mind keeps spiraling into more and more panicked thoughts, and then I hear him.

“Y/N?” He calls out, “Where are we?” His voice is raspy and slurred, and I think they must’ve given him something, some sort of drug. I’m about to call back to him when a guard lifts him up and punches him in the stomach.

“No!” I shout, raising up to my knees and then beginning to stand before one of the four guards points his gun at me. I stay there, kneeling before the scene, not knowing what to do to stop either of us from getting hurt. The three remaining guards begin to beat on him again, kicking and punching and Peter is too delirious to serve any resistance other than curling up and grasping weakly at the ankles of the men hurting him. I can hear his pained whimpers, and my heart squeezes in my chest, I feel tears building in my eyes.

“Stop! Stop hurting him, what do you want?!” I scream, wanting to get closer to him but still at a stand still with the fourth guard, “Come on, tell me what you want! You’re not getting anything by just beating him!”

The three guards pay me no regard, but the fourth, still pointing his gun at me, snickers as if I’ve said something funny.

Peter is still at their mercy, receiving hit after hit and a voice in my head tells me, they’re gonna kill him. You have to do something or they’ll kill him.

“What do you want? Come on, what is it?!”

And with a heavy accent, the man says, “To cause you misery.”

The chill returns, and I decide — despite my terrible odds — that I have to get them away from Peter.

I get my feet firmly under me.

I charge toward the guard with the gun, bracing myself.

And he does something I didn’t expect.

He turns the gun on Peter.

I hear three shots.

“NO!” I scream, my eyes go wide and I drop to my knees once again, facing Peter and crawling toward him, “No, no, no, no, no!”

The guards shuffle back into the shadows, laughing, seemingly done with their job, but all I can see is Peter.

I’m frozen for a second, staring, shaking, unable to process the scene before me. He lies on his back, staring up at the ceiling, hands grasping at his chest where blood has begun to pour from three wounds. I race toward him and drop to the ground at his side, placing my cuffed hands firmly over the holes in his chest.

“Peter?” I say, my voice tight and choked, “Hey, hey listen to me, you’re gonna be okay. The rest of the team is here, my dad is here, he's gonna get us out, okay?” A few of my tears leak down onto my hands, running into the blood that now stains them.

“Y/N?” He mumbles, hardly able to speak.

“Yeah, it’s me, I'm so sorry,” I sniff and try to keep my throat from closing up, “I’m so sorry I couldn’t stop them but you’re gonna be fine, Peter, we’re gonna get help.”

His face is twisted in pain, and when he tries to speak next, only a cough comes out, and blood bubbles out over his lips.

I fail to hold back a sob and move my hands to his cheeks, “Shh,” I try to get out, but it comes out shaky, like a whimper, “Shh, don’t— don’t try to talk.”

His eyes look into mine, I can see the pain behind them as he lies there, struggling to breathe. I stroke his cheek, and only now come to notice the blood I’ve painted there. I sob again. I don't know what to do, I don't know what to do, I don't know how to help him.

Can I?

Is it too late?

I cradle his head across my thighs, take one of his hands in mine and leave the other on his cheek, trying to provide some sort of comfort.

“I’m sorry, Peter, I’m so sorry, I’m sorry,” and I just keep saying it, breathing it out and heaving air back into my lungs between sobs. Tears are constantly tracking down my face now, and i’m doing all I can to subdue them while he’s still conscious, still looking at me.

My mantra of apologies keeps repeating, and my thumb keeps stroking along his cheek, and I don’t know how long I sit there, crying, mumbling, desperately hoping someone comes to help us before I notice him release a slow, defeated breath.

In, out.

“Peter?” I mumble. My blood freezes in my veins. My breath stills. I wait for his chest to rise again. I watch and pray for it to happen. Please, please, please.

It doesn’t move.

A long, whining sob erupts from deep in my chest as I drop my head and cry, and cry, and cry above him, “No, no, no, no. Please, no.”

I sob, loud and painful, unable to take a breath in anymore. I shut my eyes and don't look up because I can't look at his face — his eyes are still open his eyes are still open.

I’m never gonna see him again,

I’m never gonna hear his voice again,

I’m never gonna kiss him again.

The pain in my chest gets worse and I feel dizzy with the force of my sobs.

And then suddenly there are arms under mine, and I'm being dragged backwards.

Away from Peter.

“No, no, no, no, let me go! Let me go!” And what i’m saying is barely coherent between the sobs, “Let me stay with him, please, please!” But the arms hooked under me don't relent, no matter how hard I pry at them, no matter how hard I kick and scream. He’s getting farther and farther away from me, alone in that room, and I can't bear the thought of it.

“Please, let me go!”

And suddenly I hear my name, as if through a haze, but I can’t make out who’s saying it. I don't really care. I have to get back to him, I have to stay with him, I can’t leave him alone.

“Y/N— “

“Y/N it’s us! Come on!”

I pull and pull at the hands around me but I can’t remove them, I keep getting pulled backwards until—

I’m yanked through a doorway, and the room where Peter lies is dark and blank in front of me.

My hearing isn’t fuzzy anymore.

I gasp in surprise but the sobs haven’t stopped, and my father’s unmasked face appears in front of me.

“Y/N? Hey! You’re okay, we’re here!” His hands are on my face but I swat them away.

“No! Peter’s in there! We can't leave him! We have to take him home, we have to get him home—”

“Y/N— “

“Dad they shot him, I couldn’t help him, I couldn’t help him—“ my words dissolve again into cries of grief.

“Y/N he's not in there.”

I turn to him in confusion.

“He is!” I point my hand frantically toward the doorway, “In the middle of the room! They k— they killed him in there!”

“Y/N…” my dad speaks.

And it’s then that I notice my outstretched hand, pointing toward the door.

There’s no blood on it.

I start to shake harder.

“I- I saw it, I saw it happen I— “

And I notice the thin fog rolling out through the doorway, lazily dispersing along the floor.

I look up. I breathe heavy and shakily. The whole team is staring down at my red, tearstained face. Cap’s face is twisted into concern, Natasha looks sad and sympathetic. Hydra agents lie dead or out cold on the ground, alarms blaring, but no one takes any steps to exit. The raid is over…

And I can't see any blood on my hands.

“Y/N, it was a hallucinogen,” my dad says firm, but gently, “Whatever you saw in there wasn’t real.”

I stare at him, trying to make sense of this. It looked so real. It felt so real.

“But— but I saw it— I felt it, I could feel what they did—“

He gently breaks the cuffs from my wrists, “I know, I know kiddo, but it wasn’t real. They know how to get in your head.”

I shake my head in confusion, “But the cuffs? And my gauntlets are broken—?”

“Whoever did that was real.” Nat cut in, “They hurt you so you wouldn't fight the simulation and then the drugs were pumped into the room.”

I sit there on the floor in front of the Avengers. Disbelief, confusion, and grief all playing across my face.

“Check the room,” I demand.

My dad points a light into it, and Steve walks through, “No one here, see?”

My mind still races, it felt so real.

“Friday?” My dad speaks up, a gentle hand in my hair, “Where’s Peter now?”

“At the compound, sir, working on his suit in your lab.”

I sniff and mumble out, “Vitals?”

“All normal levels.”

I sigh, squeeze my eyes shut, and drop my head into my hands. A sob of leftover panic and relief fights its way out of my chest.

“C’mere,” My dad says, and pulls me closer to him, a soothing arm around my back.

“I need to see him,” I choke out, “I need to know he’s not— “

“I know, I know, we got the job done here, we’re going home.”

——————

I don't remember the walk back out of the compound. It’s all vague reassurances and worrying eyes. I think my dad buckled the straps around me once we got to the quinjet.

The flight back is somber, quiet, despite the fact that we succeeded. I feel the entire team’s eyes on me, but I don't look up. I’m too busy sitting curled on my seat, staring down at my hands.

There was so much blood. So much of his blood.

I spend the next few hours staring, not speaking, unable to stop the images from replaying in my head. My dad sits beside me, stroking my hair, muttering things I can’t hear.

I thought he was gone. All I can hear are the choked, wet sounds of the blood rising from his throat, all I can see is the stark image of dark red dripping down his pale cheek. Pain in his eyes. His chest refusing to move.

“Y/N,” I think it’s the fourth attempt someone makes to get my attention, and I look up to see my dad kneeling in front of me, “We’re almost back.”

“He’s at the landing pad?” I whisper, my voice hoarse.

My dad takes my hand and says, “Yeah, I had Friday call him up.”

The next thing I’m aware of is the quinjet touching down, and I unbuckle the straps and stand up. My dad rests a reassuring hand on my back, and when the ramp lowers, he walks me forward. He can tell I’m still doubtful. He can tell a part of me still believes what I saw back in that room.

But then we reach the ground and I see him.

Peter is standing back from the landing pad, accompanied by Pepper. He’s healthy, he’s standing on his own, he’s not bleeding, he’s not hurt, he hasn’t been shot, he’s okay.

He’s not dead.

I pick up the pace, walking out of reach of my dad, and once I’m close enough to see his eyes a sob fights its way up my throat and I throw my arms around his shoulders.

“Hey, shh, it’s alright,” his arms wrap firmly around my back, one hand landing in my hair and one stroking up and down my spine. His hair tickles my cheek, his shirt collar is bent out of shape — he never folds them right. He’s warm and strong and breathing and alive. I bury my face in his neck as another sob wracks through my body.

“What happened?” I hear him ask, confused, and his voice rumbles so low and soothing and I can feel it against my chest, hear it in his throat where my ear is pressed. I can’t stop my cries long enough to answer him but I realize the question wasn’t directed toward me.

“She’s not hurt,” my dad’s voice reassures him, “They messed with her head. She thought — she saw them hurt you—“

“I thought you were dead,” I croak out. My grip on him tightens and I let my hand trail to the curls at the base of his neck, let them twist around my fingers. My voice has risen an octave when I say, “You died, I saw you die.”

We sway for a moment, his hands still running down my back and through my hair, I don't think he knows what to say. I wouldn’t know, either.

We stay there for a minute, and the rest of the team has walked inside to give us some space, I assume.

After a while, when my sobs have quelled and I'm just quietly sniffling against him, I feel his hand on my cheek, pulling me back.

“Hey,” He whispers gently, wiping his thumb under my eye to clear away the tears there, “Good thing that wasn’t me then, right? I’m right here. And I’ve got proof— I was talking Dr. Banner’s ear off in the lab the entire time, he can vouch for me,” I let out a watery giggle at his antics, “You wanna go inside? Get you warm, patch you up?”

“Yeah,” I sigh out, disentangling myself from him, but keeping an arm around his side as we walk into the building, “Sorry, I’d give you a hello kiss but I’m pretty sure there’s snot running down my face.”

He chuckles and presses a kiss to the hair at my temple, “That’s okay, let’s get you cleaned up.”

——————

After a brief period of time, I’ve showered, changed into pajamas, and am now sitting at the bathroom sink where my dad is bandaging the shallow cuts on my hands from the broken gauntlets. We sit in relative silence, and there’s no doubt from the look on my dad’s face that I appear just about as shell shocked as I feel.

“Kiddo, you gonna be okay tonight?” He asks in a hushed voice.

I don't look him in the eye, instead watching him work on my hands as I mumble out, “Probably not.”

He huffs with a bit of amusement, “Well, thanks for the honesty, I guess.”

He finishes up on my left hand and raises my chin to look him in the eye. I don't know what to say, so I let him speak first.

“Seriously, Y/N, that was heavy, what you went through. Don’t be afraid to ask any one of us for help, okay?” He looks me pointedly in the eye, already doubting I’ll take him up on that. I am his daughter, after all.

“Yeah,” I whisper, “Got it.”

He stands with a sigh and puts the first aid kit back under my sink.

“Goodnight, come get me if you need me.” He presses a kiss to my head and leaves.

——————

Tony looks at the clock. 7a.m., three hours after they returned from the mission.

“Friday? Has Y/N gotten any sleep yet?”

“No, sir. She spent a few hours in the kitchen with Mister Parker, but it appears as if they are both headed to their respective rooms now.”

“Alright. Alert me if she needs help, Fri.”

“Will do, sir. Goodnight.”

——————

“Sir, it appears as if Y/N is in distress.”

Tony wakes up to the alert just forty minutes after he’d laid down to sleep. He's quickly alert and shuffling out of bed, down the hall to his eldest daughter’s room. Although, when he turns the corner he sees Peter already at the door.

The teen looks up at him, “Hey, Mr. Stark. I— Friday told me she needed help. I was just gonna check in.”

“Me too,” Tony sighs, “You go ahead, Pete. It’s you she needs to see right now. Goodnight.”

The man turns to leave, but stops short of turning the corner. He says, tired, but playfully, “Door open, Parker.”

“Gotcha, Mr. Stark,” And the boy walks in to comfort his daughter.

Several hours later, after Tony’s gotten his meager version of a full-night’s sleep, and after a night he’s sure has held several nightmares for his daughter, he walks back past her door to make sure she’s okay.

He smiles warmly at the scene. Wrapped in Peter’s Midtown sweatshirt, his daughter sleeps, restless but quiet, leaning an arm over the boy she loves. He holds her secure, both their legs strewn about the covers, and Tony can't help but notice Y/N’s hand. Resting softly at the side of Peter’s neck, fingers in the hair behind his ear, and her thumb rests just over the boy’s pulse point. Thrumming gently in sleep, reassuring her — even in her unconscious state — that what she saw was fake. Peter is alive and well, sleeping soundly right beside her.

—————

Alrighty that’s it! Let me know how you liked it and thanks for reading!

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dajaregambler · 3 years

Text

HeliosR - Magazine interview - ‘‘Rookies’ ‘goodnight information’ GET!‘‘

The entire night is for the rookies to relax ❤

A translation of the interview of the rookies, published in the Ot*media Autumn 2020 December issue. This only covers the questions corner. If possible, please consider supporting the magazine yourself by purchasing a copy!

The questions are the same for all the rookies, but they’ll be included for each answer just in case.

Akira Otori

Tell us about your usual bedtime!

Usually something around 10 or 11 pm. I go running every morning, so I gotta get up early. Though there’s times where I’m too busy gaming and end up staying late…

Tell us about your night routine!

I stretch every night! I gotta unwind properly at the end of the day since I’m moving around ‘cuz of training and all. Besides, stretching makes me wake up feeling fresh in the morning, and motivates me to train some more♪

What do you wear to bed?

Definitely tank tops! Doesn’t matter if it’s summer or winter, it’s the same whole year round. It gets kinda hot while sleeping yeah? ‘Cuz of it I can’t sleep well with short sleeves and stuff…

In each sector everyone lives together. Tell us about something interesting that happened at night!

When I woke up ‘cuz I heard someone was calling my name, it turned out to be Will sleep talking. I got really excited and listened to see what kind of dream he was having, apparently he was just scolding me about how I should clean up my room or pick up my clothes… Haah, I got woken up for nothing...

Will Sprout

Tell us about your usual bedtime!

I go to bed at around 11 pm. Ever since I became a hero I made sure to get the habit of going to bed early. Could be because I get so tired from training that I tend to fall asleep early though…

Tell us about your night routine!

I make sure to check how the plants in my room and the living are doing before going to bed. If I don’t look at the condition of the leaves or earth it makes me worry… I also try to avoid the fridge at all costs. I’d be tempted to indulge myself with some sweets.

What do you wear to bed?

I use T-shirts as pajamas for going to bed. Akira’s sensitive to the heat, and the room temperature might be lower than the others. Dressing a bit warmly for summer and winter is just right.

In each sector everyone lives together. Tell us about something interesting that happened at night!

One time Oscar’s hedgehog Alexander broke out in the middle of the night, and when I woke up early he was sleeping in my bed which startled me. I don’t really understand how he got into the room to begin with but… he’s really determined isn’t he♪

Ren Kisaragi

Tell us about your usual bedtime!

Around 11 pm. I try to sleep before it becomes the next day at the latest. It is said that if you go to bed early, you’ll wake up early but… is that seriously true?

Tell us about your night routine!

In general I do some reading before bed. Not the E-book but the paper kind. I have books I bought on my own, though I’m mostly lending things that interest me from the library. Afterwards I confirm my alarm clock, and other alarms, and go to bed. Despite that they don’t seem to go off properly in the morning…?

What do you wear to bed?

I wear my loungewear when sleeping. However, I am looking for more suitable clothes to sleep in, although the room is controlled by the air-conditioning, it’s hot and cold for me...

In each sector everyone lives together. Tell us about something interesting that happened at night!

Something interesting? Nothing comes to mind. It’s rare for the North sector to do something together, usually I’m reading in my room during the night.

Gast Adler

Tell us about your usual bedtime!

Really late, kinda… After the day changed, before 1 am or something... ? Well, it’s still early. Before I was a hero I’d be out with my buddies till morning.

Tell us about your night routine!

Nothing really comes to mind, something like maintenance on my guns maybe? Also am often on the phone with one of the guys at night. It’s not really a routine but, often get ringed up by someone, hahah.

What do you wear to bed?

Normally a tank top. Ren goes on about how it’s hot or cold, so the air conditioning gets adjusted every time, wearing thin clothes and using my blanket when needed is good enough.

In each sector everyone lives together. Tell us about something interesting that happened at night!

The other day Ren suddenly got up in the middle of the night. It scared me and I called out to him but got no answer, looking closely he was still half-asleep… He went to leave the room like that, I hurried to hold him back and put him in bed again. Hahah, Ren doesn’t seem to remember any of it though.

Leonard Wright Jr.

Tell us about your usual bedtime!

I try to be in bed around 10 pm. It’s important for a hero to keep their condition in check, so I’m keeping in mind to go to bed early and rise up early ★

Tell us about your night routine!

I try to touch my guitar buddy ‘Big Ben Jr.’ as much as I can every night. When I’m busy with Hero activities, I usually only end up doing maintenance…. I also call my older bro a lot. I tend to doze off while talking to him.

What do you wear to bed?

Usually I sleep in my loungewear. In the case something happens I’ll be able to get up right away. I’m a Hero, it’s important to be ready for unexpected situations, don’t you think?

In each sector everyone lives together. Tell us about something interesting that happened at night!

One time that shitty DJ came back in the middle of the night and while he was taking a shower, Keith drunkily fell asleep in front of the door. It was a rare sight to see a locked up shitty DJ get pretty flustered…. It made me unconsciously burst out in laughter since that doesn’t happen everyday.

Faith Beams

Tell us about your usual bedtime!

I don’t have a set bedtime, it changes depending on the day. At least I don’t need to go to bed before midnight. I mean, I’m not even in the room most of the time.

Tell us about your night routine!

Aah, girls at the club constantly bother me about it, but I don’t do anything special for skin care…… Though if it’s something before going to bed, I guess it’s organizing my texts. I get a lot of texts and messages from these girlfriends, if I leave it be the important things will get buried.

What do you wear to bed?

Often sleep in my lounge wear I guess? When I was a kid I wore pajamas but, when I entered the Academy I didn’t anymore. When I’m staying over somewhere… Aha, I’ll leave that up to your imagination♪

In each sector everyone lives together. Tell us about something interesting that happened at night!

Ochibi-chan is often fast asleep when I come back to the room but… Sometimes he talks in his sleep. Some time ago he… fufu, just thinking about it again is making me laugh. What it was? Aha, I won’t say it to spare Ochibi-chan.

Billy Wise

Tell us about your usual bedtime!

Feels like it depends on the day~? There’s also times when I'm out for my work as an information broker. When I’m in the room I try to be in bed before midnight. One’s body is an important asset for an information broker and hero!

Tell us about your night routine!

Before I sleep, I do my best to organize all the information I acquired that day! Like transferring all the data to my PC, categorizing it in folders. It’s all perfectly in my head, however I always need it ready in the case I have to pull it up as a bargaining chip♪

What do you wear to bed?

Me-chin’s principle is to not wear pajamas~! I sleep in my loungewear. Ah, perhaps you might believe that I’m wearing the same clothes everyday, but fret not as I have countless of the same ones prepared for me, so I do change them☆

In each sector everyone lives together. Tell us about something interesting that happened at night!

I was watching a horror movie that DJ Beams told me about with Jay and the others but… that night, I bumped into Asch-paisen in the living room. The second Paisen saw me, he jumped out of his skin.. Mfufu, I snapped the perfect picture at the right time!

Gray Reverse

Tell us about your usual bedtime!

I think around 10 pm…? I’ve always been a night owl but, ever since I became a hero I’ve been paying attention to not go to bed too late, I need to sleep earlier.

Tell us about your night routine!

Most of the time I make sure to log in in all the games I play before sleeping…. The main reason being to collect the continuing log in bonuses but, I’m juggling between lots of games so it takes a while to get to all of them.

What do you wear to bed?

I wear my loungewear when sleeping…. something like that. The material feels good to touch, wearing it makes me feel at peace. I end up wearing it the entire day on my days off because it’s my favourite…

In each sector everyone lives together. Tell us about something interesting that happened at night!

When I was watching an anime called ‘’A Dog of Françoise’’, Jay-san ran out of his room startled when he heard the sound of a dog barking. But, since it was an anime he said it was alright and we ended up watching it together… It made me happy.

#heliosR #helios rising heroes #magazine tl

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undertalethingems · 4 years

Text

Bark at the Moon, Chapter 1: Empty Spaces

Or read on Ao3>

Rating, Setting: Gen, Pre-canon

Chapter Warnings: None

Chapter Summary: Sans notices something’s wrong.

Sans lounged against the counter, lazily trailing a finger through the condensation left by the glass of milk he’d ordered. It was the only beverage he ever ordered besides ketchup, a fact that amused the other patrons far more than it did he or Grillby himself; the long-time bartender wasn’t one to judge, something Sans appreciated about him. He looked up as his fiery friend placed another plate of fries before him and straightened, ready to dig in. As he reached for the ketchup, light caught his eye, and he couldn’t help glancing over as someone checked their phone and the time flickered by briefly.

Sans froze.

It was a full thirty minutes after when Papyrus always came in to interrupt his break. He lowered a brow and glanced over his shoulder to scan the restaurant and street outside, but there was no sign of someone who was always trying to be noticed. Sans shrugged off his unease and turned back to his meal slowly, and noticed Grillby giving him a look.

‘Is everything alright?’ he signed, his hands flickering as he chose to speak with them instead of his crackling, distorted voice. ‘Isn’t Papyrus usually here by now?’

The curse of being the most regular of regulars--Sans grumbled inwardly before replying. “yeah. maybe he finally realized keeping me out of here is never gonna work.”

The closest patrons chuckled, though Grillby didn’t seem amused.

‘I see. If you need anything else, let me know.’

“of course, pal. you know i always do.”

Sans would have happily stayed at Grillby’s all day—he preferred the bar’s lively atmosphere to being alone with his thoughts. Cheering other people up with his bad jokes and low-brow gags always made it worthwhile. But hours passed and the dog guard changed multiple times without a single remark on his brother. Grillby was giving him increasingly concerned looks, so Sans decided it was time to check on him. There was no way Papyrus could've gotten into too much trouble—they’d lived in Snowdin for years now, and there was no evidence the anomaly had become active again, so...

He left the restaurant with promises to return soon and headed out onto the road. His brother’s daily routine was always the same, so it was easy to guess what he might be up to. It was just after one, so by about this time it should be his fourth round of puzzle calibration. Sans didn’t know how Papyrus did it—he managed to be so thorough, so exacting, never once looking at something that hadn’t changed a bit since his last visit and thinking it didn’t need inspecting again. If it were up to him, well, he just didn’t have that kind of energy anymore. Even shuffling through the snow today was wearing him out. All that dedication... Man, Papyrus was really cool.

He crossed the randomized tile puzzle and had just set foot on the path beyond it when he paused. Slowly, he turned, eyes roving over the plastic squares and taking in every detail. There were thin traces of snow left on them in little arcs. Papyrus never let anything obscure his puzzles unless that was part of the puzzle. Someone had cleared this hastily and without much care--not Papyrus' style at all. Brows furrowed, Sans turned to study the trail ahead of him. The snow lay unbroken as far as he could see down the path.

Better do this the smart way. Sans took a step forward, and space-time snapped around him. His sentry station sat empty, just as he’d left it, the only footprints around it his own. Sans took another step, and walked into the next section. Still no footprints. He turned back, and entered a small clearing that until now had laid untouched. Wow, it looked like even the teenagers that messed around out here hadn’t gotten to it yet. Last night's snowstorm must've chased everyone indoors.

Sans made it back to the tile puzzle without seeing a single hint that anyone but him had traversed the forest beyond. Papyrus never left anything unfinished, especially not the favorite part of his day.... Maybe he'd gotten sick? It was unlikely, but... Sans was back home with a click, and found all the rooms empty. Okay, so he wasn’t home. Papyrus was his own person, he could change his habits if he wanted to… Maybe he’d gone to talk to Undyne again.

“Haven’t seen him at all,” Undyne replied when he’d caught up to her. She was practicing lunges at the edge of a waterfall, which looked both incredibly cool and extremely dangerous. “You mean to tell me neither of you have been at your stations all day?”

“guess not, but i can promise you this is weird for me too,” Sans answered dryly, “and i don’t make promises lightly. too much responsibility, y'know?”

Undyne drew back and faced him, planting one hand on her hip while the other still grasped her spear. “Well, I can’t divert the rest of the Snowdin unit to look for him if that’s what you want, but… I know! I’ll call him.”

She pulled out her phone and dialed, then listened to it ring once, twice… three times… four… and never pick up. She stared at the phone for a moment before hitting redial, and they listened to the tones chime again to arrive at the same result. Sans ignored the sense of dread starting to prickle in his soul.

“Your brother always picks up after two rings, right? He told me that, after he gave me his number. Why wouldn’t he answer?” Undyne uttered, her eye darting between the screen and him.

“dunno. same reason he didn’t finish his puzzle maintenance, same reason he didn’t come get me at grillby’s. he’s... busy.”

Undyne grunted. “Sure. Well, keep looking and let me know when you find him. He may not be a member of the Guard yet, but he’s still a citizen... and my friend, so… y’know?”

“i mean. he’s my brother, so. i do know,” Sans replied with a wink. “when i know, you’ll know, and then everyone’ll know, y’know?”

“Oh my GOD!” Undyne roared, hurling her spear into the depths of a distant garbage heap. “JUST GO FIND HIM ALREADY!!!”

Sans didn’t need any more permission than that—he’d planned on continuing his search regardless. He put up a lazy salute, then headed out. He surveyed Snowdin again, and asked his Hotland customers at the hot dog stand if they’d seen his brother as they commuted home. He was considering the logistics of milk carton-missing posters at his Waterfall station when Undyne marched up, her armor clanging its way into his thoughts.

“Any luck?” she asked wearily, and he shrugged.

“i won a game of cards against myself, does that count?”

She dragged a hand across her face. “No. You mean you found no evidence of him at all?"

"nope. guess i can only wait to see if something turns up."

"So you're just gonna give up on finding your brother then?”

Something twisted painfully in Sans’ chest. “... no. but if he hasn’t shown up by now i don’t see what else we can do. maybe he's planning an epic prank.”

Undyne's scowl twitched briefly into a smile. “… I guess. I mean, if nothing else, he’ll probably just come home tonight, right? Anyway, I actually came by to tell you to go home. Night shift’ll take it from here.”

“thanks. see ya bright and early tomorrow,” Sans said, rising from his seat and heading down the passage.

“Oh, and tell Papyrus to call me when he gets back! I have some words for him!” Undyne shouted, and he gave her a thumbs up before rounding the corner right into his living room.

Sans dozed off sometime that evening, and woke up disoriented to find he’d slept halfway through the next morning. So much for getting to work early, and... there was still no sign of his brother. He debated whether to slip back into sleep or to get up and look again, and languished on the couch for a while, waffling back and forth...

Sans shuffled through the snow, unease nestled firmly in his ribs as he passed other sentry stations and puzzles frosted by a new coat of snow. Pawprints indicated the other guards had been through on their rounds, and there were a few tracks he recognized from the various teenagers, but nothing that matched Papyrus' boots. He reached the randomized tile puzzle again, looked it over, and slowly sank down, legs folded under him. Reaching out, he took up some of the snow in his hand and sifted through it. It all seemed to pack like snow, and not dust.

Maybe Sans could have dealt with dust. At least he’d have an answer and could muddle through until a reset brought everything back, but the anomaly hadn’t been active lately so he couldn’t be sure how long he’d have to wait. He’d still have to check a couple other spots to be sure, but at least it seemed like Papyrus wasn’t dead. In either case he just had to wait, and he was pretty good at that.

He sifted through other locations on the puzzle deck but came up with snow every time, and with a weary sigh decided it was time to head to Grillby’s. He wasn’t sure what he’d tell the other regulars… surely news had spread by now, so there’d be talk. Maybe he'd tell them Papyrus was on vacation.

#undertale #undertalethingem writes #gaster blaster au #sans (undertale)#grillby (undertale)#Undyne (undertale)#wooo this continues! but idk when the next chapter will go up #haven't decided on that yet >>;#bark at the moon fic

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thiswasinevitableid · 4 years

Text

Taste of Home (Indruck)

Prompt for the 13th was: strange harvest

Most days, Duck isn’t too worried about the dirt on his hands or the bits of leaves that stick to his clothes. Most days, he’s not about to meet with a reclusive, wealthy donor to the Kepler Botanical Gardens who has specifically requested Duck be present.

When he enters the meeting room, Thacker is waiting for him along with a tall, pale-haired man sporting red glasses.

“Ah, here’s Duck now.” Thacker smiles.

“Sorry, uh, thought we weren’t meeting until-”

“-One. You’re correct, I have a habit of getting a bit, ah, ahead of things t times.” The man offers a wide smile that’s polite but also gives Duck the heebie-jeebies.

“Duck, this here is Mr. Cold. He’s one of the garden’s longest standin supporters. He’s got a project for us, and asked that you be the one in charge of it.”

“I was quite impressed with your work on the native plant section, and I’m told you headed the transplant and maintenance of the tree specimens in the New Zealand section, which is no mean feat.”

“Thanks, I’m real proud of both. What do you have in mind? Is it an exhibit?”

“A private collection. Come, let me show you.” Mr. Cold unrolls a set of plans as Duck shoots a glance at Thacker.

“Didn’t know we did that sort thing.”

“We do for Mr.Cold. Whelp, I gotta go lead a tour. Mr. Cold, I leave you in Duck’s capable hands.”

He joins the taller man in front of the plans; they’re for a garden within a greenhouse, the structure as angular and distinct as the man requesting it. He knows the greenhouse hs Cold’s name above it, is usually used as a teaching space

“I imagine you think me rather selfish for requesting to use your space in such a way.” Mr. Cold doesn’t look up from where he’s making final notes on the paper, as if the answer is a foregone conclusion.

“Think it’s kinda strange, but I ain’t about to rule on it bein selfish until you tell me what I’m actually doin.”

“I have several species of trees, flowers, and shrubs that I need grown. They are, ah, rather difficult to cultivate anywhere other than their native home, and I am not a skilled gardener at the best of times. Hence my seeking out someone who, I presume, has not killed multiple succulents in the last two months.” The man looks a little ashamed, then clears his throat, “the plants I am asking you to grow are the only specimens of their kind on earth.”

“How’d you get them, then?” Duck tries to keep the suspicion out of his voice, but this feels more and more like some rich guy made an impulse purchase of something that should be in a seed bank or species ark somewhere.

“I brought small specimens over from my home, which is where they grow. But I couldn’t keep them alive, and they were already rare. Last I heard they were all wiped out by an, ah, an illness. I stored seeds from my specimens in hopes of one day regrowing them.”

Duck looks at the diagram closely; the plant’s are actually sketched in, not just noted by name and the number of eraser marks suggest Mr. Cold spent a long time planning out exactly where each one went.

“You’re askin us to do all this because you’re homesick?”

“Yes. I have been away from home for a long, long time. The Kepler gardens have been a refuge for me. Lately I’ve been drawn to the woodland and prairie type sections.”

“I helped with a lot of those.”

Mr. Cold turns to him with a smile, “I know. That is another reason I requested you. But, before we go any further, I must make something clear; these specimens they mean...they are so, so precious to me. And secrecy is a must, for reasons I can only half explain. They would be solely under your care and protection. If that is not a responsibility you wish to take, I understand entirely.”

Behind the red glasses, Duck can just see a glint of hope.

“Think I’m up to the challenge.”

“Wonderful” Mr. Cold claps his hands together, “in that case, there is not a moment to lose. Here, this is everything you need.” He produces a briefcase, inside which sits ten packets of seeds and three pits, bout the size of an avocado pit.”

“All the information I have on ideal growing conditions is in the attached notebook, and the seeds are labeled. If you have any questions, ny at all, my phone number is in there s well.”

He pauses, smiles, and murmurs to himself, “it's been awhile since I gave anyone my phone number.”

Duck opts to ignore the stealthy glance at his arms and carefully takes the case, “Thanks, this’ll all be real helpful.

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

He doesn’t see his new patron (as Juno calls Mr. Cold) for a week. When he does, he’s on his belly, checking for any sign of sprouts in the greenhouse.

“How goes the growing?” Mr. Cold asks from the direction of Duck’s feet.

The gardener rolls over and sits up, “Not much to report, just trying to keep an eye on ‘em so I don’t miss anythin important.”

Mr. Cold offers his hand, helping Duck up, “I appreciate the care you’re taking, Duck. I hope it isn’t cutting into your other work too badly.”

“Had to move somethings around, but that's just the nature of this kind of work.”

Mr. Cold chuckles, “Pun intended?”

“Uh, I guess.”

“Oh. Your, h, your lunch time is coming up right? I was wondering if you would let me take you to lunch as an, ah, extra thank you?” He’s spinning a small ring on his finger, the shyness almost charming, and Duck felt neutral at best about the sandwich he brought today.

“Sure, thanks.”

Mr. Cold grins, “Oh good. Where would you like to go? I hear the crystal palace has a lovely lunch.”

“The fancy Japanese place? Pretty sure they got a dress code.”

“Brush off the dirt and you look completely respectable.”

Duck raises an eyebrow, “I was talkin about you.”

They both stare down at the classy but still very clear pajama pants Mr. Cold is wearing.

“Fair point. How do you feel about Indian food?”

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

Duck’s stepped into some sort of painting. And here he thought he was just wandering into the birch grove.

Indrid (“”I really prefer that name”) is laying on his back on a bench. Sun streams between the branches, falling across his face, making it all angle and shadow in ways Duck wants to sit and study. His silver hair is ruffling in the breeze, and his glasses are pushed up his forehead. Eyes shut and hands folded on his stomach, he reminds Duck of the paintings in fairytales of someone waiting for true loves kiss.

He��s worried he might be the one to give it.

They’re having lunch once a week at least now, the awkwardness of the first time melting away as Duck got going on a tangent about dandelions only to find Indrid, elbows on the table and chin in his hands, listening to him so intently he blushed on reflex. Then he was giggling as Indrid pulled a custom-made curly straw out of a small tin in order to drink his Mango lassi. And then Indrid had laughed at his laugh and it all fell into place, the conversation so easy it’s as if they’d know each other for years.

Then there were the frequent visits by Indrid to the greenhouse to check on the progress. Which, if Duck does say so himself, if pretty fucking good. The plants are thriving, reaching for the light, and the trees are already flowering in deep blue stars, the speed with which they reached adulthood fascinating to him. Sometimes Indrid just comes to see the gardens, but always seeks Duck out to say hello and smile that increasingly charming smile at him.

But the biggest change has come with Indrid asking if Duck would be interested in designing a small garden for him

“Something very simple and manageable. Hardy too.”

“Any plant preferences?”

“No, I trust your judgement entirely, though you may have to help me with their maintenance the first few weeks, if that is alright.”

Duck would have done it even if Indrid wasn't paying him. He liked sitting in the living room, surrounded by strange art and crumpled papers, showing Indrid how to tend houseplants. And when they sit on the back porch, each dirt-smudged and grass stained, Indrid sipping soda while Duck nursed a single beer, the other man kept beaming at the new, small patch of garden, Duck’s heart wanted to burst from his chest and flutter around.

Last night, he stayed late for dinner, and as he was checking over the houseplants…

“I’m fond of this one. It’s sturdy and makes me smile, much like you.” Indrid murmurs as he steps beside him.

Duck slides a smile his way “Dunno, partial to this snake plant we chose; unique and kinda tall, just like you.”

It’s the worlds weakest flirtation, but as Indrid steps away his fingers tease Duck’s lower back, “I wonder if they can cross-pollinate.”

All of this is why Duck decides to leave Indrid be. Because playing prince charming to one of the gardens donors could backfire and shatter his whole career if he reads things wrong.

The path takes him past Indrid, and he steps lightly. But just as he passes Indrid's head, cool fingers find his own.

“How is my favorite flora expert today?” Indrid purrs, eyes still shut.

“Good. Uh. Yeah, good. How’d you know-”

“It was you? I have my ways.” Indrid grins, squeezing his hand once before letting go, “are we still on for lunch tomorrow? I can bring you that soup you like.”

“That’d be great.” Duck hesitates, reaches down and ruffles Indrid’s hair. The other man sighs, rubs his face against Ducks palm.

“I can't wait.”

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

It takes him until ten pm to remember he left his phone in the greenhouse. Which would not be a problem, except he’s supposed to take a call early tomorrow from Jane, the first time in months they’ve been able to talk.

Plus, he’s been having an excellent text conversation with Indrid until his last rounds, sending him pictures of the plants in the greenhouse, which all look ready to bloom in the next day, and the strange fruit on the trees; speckled gold and white, and smelling faintly of marshmallow. Indrid’s reply texts were filled with excitement (and a great deal of praise, which Duck is thoroughly enjoying). He wants to keep that going as soon as he can.

He finds his phone on the workbench, looks up just in time to see glowing red eyes reflected in the glass.

Something’s in the greenhouse with him. Which should be impossible, because only two people have the keys.

Turning, he scans the plants and spots a large, dark shape holding very still behind the trees. Which would work better if said trees were not so thin.

“I am aware this is not a good hiding place.”

Duck gasps, not expecting it to talk, then steps back when the creature emerges. It towers over him, antennae twitching and wings rustling slightly. His mind puts all the pieces together, and he understands only half of them.

“Why the fuck is the mothman breakin into my greenhouse.”

The antenna flatten slightly, “I am not breaking in. Do you see any broken glass?”

“No, but I got one key, and the only other person with one ain’t here. And put those down, they ain’t yours.” Duck reaches for the two fruits, each clasped between a pair of clawed hands, only for Mothman to raise his arms.

“They are, in fact, mine. If you would stop trying to knock me over I can explain.”

“Uh uh, first you gotta put down Indrid’s things, then you can explain.”

The creature chirrs, annoyed, and points at its neck, “His things? Such as this key perhaps?”

Duck stops moving, staring at the key before rising his gaze to the mothmans face and meeting his eyes for the first time.

“What the fuck? Indrid, what the fuck?”

A sheepish chirp, “There was not a good way to tell you I am a famous cryptid. At least, I did not feel there was one. I was worried you would be afraid of me if you knew.”

“Feelin a little too confused to be afraid. Did, did I just grow a mothman garden instead of a butterfly garden?”

The laugh is unmistakably Indrid, “In a way. I was telling the truth when I said these were from my home, but my need for them went beyond homesickness. Every twenty five years, my kind are compelled to eat these. It is not fatal if we don’t, but we suffer a very unpleasant illness for several weeks if we do not. I resigned myself to that sickness until I began visiting these gardens, and saw there were people who might be able to help me. My own powers, including foresight, cannot replace a green thumb. Your green thumb went beyond anything I could ever have hoped for. This” he gestures to the trees with their glittering fruit, the flowers blooming in a rainbow of glowing star-shapes, “Duck I, I haven't seen a sight like this in close to a hundred years.”

Duck holds his breath as Indrid steps towards him, bending to rest his downy forehead against Ducks.

“Thank you, Duck Newton. Thank you for giving me a taste of home.”

The human reaches up to touch a black, fuzzy cheek, “Does this mean you gotta leave or somethin, now that I know your secret identity?”

“Not unless you are planning to tell everyone you’ve been acting as the Mothman’s personal gardener.”

“Nah, rather tell ‘em about the cute fella I’m takin to dinner tomorrow.”

Indrid blinks, “You...you do not find this alarming?”

“I mean, you’re big and a little terrifyin, but you’re still Indrid. And it means a lot that you actually stayed and told me who you were, instead of just flyin off.”

There’s a deep purr as Indrid says, “In that case, may I invite you to dinner at my house, Duck Newton? I can even share some of this strange harvest with you.”

Duck grins, drawing his fingers long Indrids arm, “That your way of tellin me they’re an aphrodisiac?”

Indrid nuzzles his cheek and pulls him close, “I guess we’ll find out.”

#indruck #promptober #indrid cold/duck newton #awkward flirting

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our-smooty · 4 years

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Flowerbeds and Fertile Soil: Chapter 13

Fandom: Good Omens

Rating: Explicit

Relationships: Aziraphale/Crowley (Good Omens, )Anathema Device/Newton Pulsifer

Tags: Kidfic, Mpreg kind of, they can choose to present however so idk, Crowley Has A Vulva (Good Omens), Crowley Has A Penis (Good Omens), Aziraphale Has A Penis (Good Omens), Aziraphale Has A Vulva (Good Omens), OCs Galor, parenting, using your snake form to avoid confrontation, Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Pregnancy, if I missed a tag lemme know

Summary: They could do anything, go anywhere, all without the worry of Above or Bellow making a fuss. Even so, they mostly kept to their little patch of Eden, their cottage and garden and the simple life they’d carved out among the locals. Aziraphale opened a book shop in town, where he only occasionally sold any books (and the ones he did sell, were all modern and stocked specifically for that purpose). Crowley focused his attentions on the garden, and if he occasionally helped their elderly neighbour with her disobedient willow tree, then that was a secret no one needed to know. Lately, however, they had both been feeling rather restless, unbeknownst to each other. Aziraphale tried reorganizing his store, changing the way he tied his bowtie and even ate pizza –something he considered to be far too messy for him personally. Crowley had branched out into birdwatching, and then car maintenance (the human way), and even reading. Nothing scratched the itch for either of them.

Ao3 Link

The next day, Aziraphale woke up first. He’d nodded off sometime in the early morning, after finishing his book and being tempted by Crowley’s soft sleeping face. And even though he fell asleep second he woke up first. Crowley was still completely unconscious, his face mashed into the pillow and both hands tucked up under his chin. In the dim lighting and abundant, soft bedding Crowley looked extremely comfortable. Almost like he could keep sleeping for hours, which just wouldn’t do. As much as Aziraphale liked visiting the bookshop, and was relieved that everything was safe and sound, he did want to get back to the cottage and the nursery. The sooner Crowley woke up the sooner they could ward the Mayfair flat, then get back home.

But Aziraphale knew if he just woke Crowley up with a shake or by calling his name he’d be cranky all day. It was always better to let the demon wake up on his own. Except... There was one way he could wake Crowley up that had an excellent chance of putting him in a better mood than if he got to sleep in. The angel grinned to himself, then slowly slid under the covers.

Since it was getting later in the year, Crowley had once again taken to wearing his warmer flannel pyjamas instead of slinky silk or nothing at all. Luckily Aziraphale was well-practised at stealthily undoing the buttons and wiggling the loose trousers down past the demon’s bum. Crowley’s cock was soft, which was good. It meant Aziraphale could take his time, riling Crowley up until he awoke, drowning in pleasure.

His first stop was the demon’s nipples. They were already crinkling up now that they were exposed to the cooler air. Aziraphale tweaked each one between his thumb and forefinger a few times before lowering his head and sucking one into his mouth. Crowley twitched, puffing his chest out into the touch. He wasn’t making any noises yet, so Azirpahale decided he needed to escalate the situation by getting his teeth involved as well as bringing his thigh up between Crowley’s legs to grind against his member. That forced a tiny, mewling noise and another, larger twitch from his lover.

“Are you waking up dear?” Aziraphale asked, his lips brushing against Crowley’s ear. Another little sound as Crowley nuzzled further into Aziraphale’s chest and bucked his hips. “There you are, don’t you want to come for me?”

“'Ziraphale?” Crowley gasped. His cock was drooling now--no matter what form Crowley took he was almost always extremely wet and responsive--and making a mess of Aziraphale’s sleeping trousers. Which Aziraphale couldn’t complain about, as his own member made a damp-patch inside the trousers

“Good morning lovely. Did you sleep well?”

“Nnnngh…”

“I’m terribly sorry I had to wake you, but the sooner we get up the sooner we can ward your flat and get home. I am so looking forward to getting home and back to our little project.” He wasn’t sure if Crowley was listening, but that was alright. He seemed to be enjoying himself, at least, if the rapidly rising moans were anything to go by.

“A-angle--! G-going to c-come!” he whined, squirming back and forth against Aziraphale’s thigh. The movement made the angel moan as it reached his own cock. He was close too, but he needed Crowley to let go first.

“Yes, good boy. Come for me, let me see you--” Crowley’s orgasm seemed to hit him all at once, and he bowed into Azirpahale’s grasp, his entire body trying to get as close as possible. After watching the demon work through his pleasure, Aziraphale thrust hard against his still-trembling thigh then came as well, completely soiling his pyjamas. As soon as they both stopped trembling he miracled away the mess and straighten out Crowley’s clothing.

G’morning,” Crowley mumbled, finally opening his eyes to gaze drowsily up at Aziraphale. “That was… nice.”

“Oh-ho,” Aziraphale gasped dramatically, kissing the blooming indignant look on Crowley’s face. “Don’t get mad, dearest. I only wanted to wake you up in the most enjoyable way possible so we can get a wiggle on.”

“You’re only saying that to needle me,” Crowley groaned, nipping sharply at Aziraphale’s jaw. The angel retaliated by blowing a raspberry against Crowley’s cheek, which made him yelp and try to get away. “Angle!”

“You started it,” Aziraphale giggled. He soothed his demon with a chaste kiss. “How about I go make us tea and some toast. Or are you feeling ill again?”

Crowley settled and took a moment to assess himself. After a few seconds, his face lit up with a relieved smile. “No nausea, I feel… fine.”

“Splendid!” Aziraphale kissed him again, this time on the nose before pulling back and sitting up. “You’ll meet me in the kitchen in 10 minutes?”

“Of course angel. If I don’t fall back asleep.” Despite his teasing Aziraphale know Crowley would be downstairs, dressed and ready for the day, in far less than 10 minutes. Especially if he was feeling better.

“Thank you, love. Don’t push yourself too hard please?” They parted with a final kiss, then proceeded to go about their morning routines. Aziraphale made the tea, and the toast, then sat down and read to the morning paper. He set the comics aside for Crowley. The demon lazed about in bed for a full 5 minutes before finally getting up, snapping himself into appropriate clothing, and sauntering into the kitchen. He picked at the toast and sipped the tea, both of them enjoying the nostalgia of breakfast at the book shop.

After breakfast, Aziraphale took the time to get dressed the human way while Crowley browsed the funnies. When he was finished, they cleaned up together, then locked up, ensuring one final time that the newly extended wards were perfect.

"Ready to go, angel?" Crowley asked as Aziraphale paused at the door to the Bently. The angel looked back at the bookshop once, his eyes lingering on the door where the damage had been, before turning to smile beatifically at him.

"Yes, I'm ready. Do try not to speed too much though, I don't think my nerves can take it today."

Driving up to Crowley’s old flat was stressful, the fear that they would find more vandalism, or something worse laying heavy on Aziraphale’s mind. But when they arrived everything was fine. Crowley’s own wards had either held up, or whatever had happened at the bookshop really had been caused by mischievous humans. They still spent an hour improving the wards as they had at the book shop, just in case. When they were finished, Aziraphale suggested they check on the plants, using the excuse of not having seen them in a long time. Really he wanted to see Crowley with them, knowing that most of the greenery here were the demon’s favourites.

“Hello lovelies,” Aziraphale whispered to the plants while Crowley went to fill up the mister. Every single pot was filled with a perfect specimen, and it was easy to see that Crowley doted on these plants far more than any of the others. In fact, as the demon sauntered back into the atrium, every single leaf and stem seemed to bend towards him, seeking his touch.

"You better not be spoiling them, angel," he growled, brandishing the mister like a weapon. "This lot will take any excuse to slack off."

Crowley didn't seem to notice the way the plants were leaning into him. One particularly brave ivy even swung one of its tendrils out to brush lightly against the demons side. Aziraphale realized the plants might be reacting to Crowley's… condition, with a start.

"Perish the thought dear. Though they do seem rather interested in you right now. Are you sure you haven't been spoiling them yourself?" Crowley glanced down to the ivy now trying to wrap a vibe around his waist and the bleeding heart stretching itself as far as it could go just to brush a few of its blooms against the back of his hand. The resulting blush and stammering practically forced Aziraphale to walk over to Crowley and kiss his cheek.

“What--why are they--?” Crowley was hissing and stuttering up a storm. He went to bat the plants away, but Aziraphale grabbed his hands, pinning them to his chest gently and making him drop the mister.

“You aren’t going to like this, but I think they may know,” he said softly, running his thumbs over the demon’s knuckled soothingly. Crowley was red as a tomato and wiggling in Aziraphale’s grip.

“Ssso that givess them the right to get their dirty frondss all over me?” It seemed like Crowley couldn’t decide between being furious, embarrassed, or moved, which Aziraphale found unreasonably adorable. One of the vines had trailed up Crowley’s side then reached over to curl near the angel’s ear. A gorgeous, purple bloom the likes of which Aziraphale had never seen blossomed from its end.

“They’re only curious dear. Let them get their… look? Plants don’t have eyes, but I assume it’s sort of the same thing…” He trailed off. Crowley wasn’t listening anyway; his eyes were trained on the plants flittering around them. Some of them kept to a respectful, but curious distance while others were brave enough to briefly touch him. After each plant that could reach had the chance to examine Crowley they withdrew, returning to their pots and quieting down. Only when the last one had retreated Aziraphale released him, but not before pressing an apologetic kiss to each wrist.

“Angle…” Crowley grumbled. He had the air of someone trying very hard to seem upset, rather than embarrassed. “You can’t just let them get away with that shit! Next thing you know they’ll be thinking it’s alright to wilt a little when no one's looking!”

“There there, I’m sure they still fear you enough to stay in line, isn’t that right dears?” The plants shuddered in horror (or mock horror, at least), which made the demon relax a little. Shooting them all one last look of disdain, Crowley picked up the plant mister and began dolling out criticism and vitriol, though none of it seemed to land properly. Aziraphale wandered over to a far corner, where some of Crowley’s oldest plants made their home. He liked to visit them when he could, it was almost like meeting with a group of Crowley’s most trusted friends.

“Hello there, you’re all looking hardy as usual,” he whispered, making sure his demon lover couldn’t hear him. “I think he appreciated the welcome, even if he didn’t show it. I’ll make sure to bring the baby here to visit, once they’ve arrived.”

An ancient hydrangea to his right curled it’s leaves slowly, something Aziraphale hoped meant it understood. He wasn’t as well versed in sentient-plant body language as Crowley was. To pass the time he fussed about with their pots, making sure they were adequately turned towards the sun until Crowley made it obvious his task was completed by tossing the mister aside.

“Done filling their heads with your sentimental shite?” Crowley quipped, giving these plants the side-eye as well. “We could go for lunch, somewhere you’ve missed since we’ve been away?”

“You aren’t tired?” Aziraphale made sure his question wasn’t too prying, or too fussy. But he really was worried that the last few days may be taking a toll on Crowley’s energy levels. The demon had barely even put up a fightback when Aziraphale had held him still which was unusual.

“I’m fine. Might actually be, uh, a bit peckish?” Crowley answered, eyes daring around everywhere but Aziraphale. “Can’t be sure, but, I think that’s it? Dunno what I’d want to eat though, so if you have any suggestions…”

“Oh yes, of course.” Aziraphale had an entire mental list of places he’d like to take Crowley for lunch, given the opportunity and the rare event the serpent was hungry. It happened maybe once a decade and getting to check a place of his list was truly exciting. “I have just the place dear, somewhere I think you’ll enjoy. It’s not too far from here if you’d like to walk?”

“Think I could walk a few blocks, yeah.” Crowley took a step forward so he was within grabbing distance, which Aziraphale took advantage of by wrapping an arm around his hips and squeezing gently. “I want to take this one with us, though. S’not doing well, but I think maybe the cottage might have a better place for it.”

The small, only slightly withered, ivy trembled in its pot as Crowley held it out. This wouldn’t be the first time Crowley brought an ailing plant to the cottage, especially since Aziraphale expressed his discomfort with his original disposal techniques. It wasn’t in the worst shape Aziraphale had seen, but Crowley knew best when it came to his plants.

“That space by the kitchen sink?” He’d seen Crowley messing with the plants already on that window sill a few days ago, so he wasn’t surprised they were getting a newcomer.

“Maybe. Needs somewhere with more shade. I’ll just…” he snapped and the plant disappeared, presumably back to the cottage. “There, now we can walk.”

The walk was really only ten minutes. Aziraphale wouldn’t have suggested they make the trek if it had been any longer because Crowley would have most likely still agreed, and then been uncomfortable all night. Something about the slight changes to his body from the baby was playing poorly with his already loose and bendy snake nature, and more often than not Aziraphale spent a good hour each night massaging aches and pains from his lover's spine.

When they got to the restaurant Crowley made a happy noise. Aziraphale had known exactly what Crowley would be craving because every time he was the least bit hungry he always wanted the same thing.

“Is this… a burger place?” Crowley asked gleefully, ducking through the door Aziraphale held for him. The waitress waved at them from a few tables away and motioned for them to grab a seat. There were already menus on the table, and Crowley dove into his immediately, looking over the options with excitement.

“Happy dearest?” Aziraphale asked, watching Crowley coyly from over top his own menu. “I remember how you were just a few years back when you ‘got peckish’, and this place was so close to your flat…”

“How have we never been here before?” Crowley wondered, eyeing the cheeseburger section with something like wonder. “I guess--I know I don’t eat that much, and this isn’t really your thing--”

Aziraphale raised a hand to cut him off before Crowley could send himself into a guilty tizzy. “They have some lovely chips here, and their milkshakes are probably the best in London. Don’t worry about me, love, go ahead and enjoy yourself.”

Crowley hemmed and hawed for a few seconds before the waitress came over and asked to take their order. Then it seemed like his self-control broke as he ordered at least enough food to feed a small human family and their dog. The waitress took it well though and didn’t even flinch when Aziraphale made his order, confirming that yes, the skinny gentleman in the dark sunglasses was about to eat himself to death during her shift.

“Thanks, angel,” Crowley said, eyeing a neighbouring table’s order. “Kind of snuck up on me. Didn’t feel anything until we started with the wards, then boom!” He tossed a few of the salt and pepper packets he’d been fiddling with up in the air, scattering them around the table. “Feel like I could eat a horse.”

Aziraphale could see the waitress coming around the corner behind Crowley, his shake and fries on a platter, with one of Crowley’s meals beside it. “Their service is fast too, clean that up so she can set the plates down, there’s a lad.”

For once Aziraphale got the pleasure of watching Crowley eat. Normally if the serpent was going to partake in a meal he’d nibble on a bit of deli meat, or fresh fruit. Now he was gleefully digging into a greasy, fatty, messy burger while occasionally stopping to shove fries in his face. It was cute, watching Crowley get so excited and act so out of character. He’d already finished his first meal and looking around for the next course before Aziraphale was half-done with his shake.

“I guess this means the morning sickness is gone then?” He got a glare and a minor hiss for his comment.

“Don’t even mention that angel. I don’t want to be revisiting this meal in a few hours. How’s your shake?” They chatted as usual over the meal, the only difference being that Crowley more often than not had his mouth full and could only gesture. Much to the horror of the waitress Crowley finished his meal easily, even ordering a milkshake for himself at the end. The cook in the back even poked his head out to get a look at the monster who could eat enough for three then order dessert.

“Maybe we should have taken the car,” Crowley groaned, patting his belly. It didn’t look much more distended than usual, especially with the baby bump, so he must have been using some sort of demonic wile. He still looked a little drowsy though, the golden slits of his eyes barely visible under his sunglasses even in the cheery fluorescent lighting of the diner.

“Don’t think you can make it? We can stay another night at the bookshop if you want. Or at your flat if the drive back home is too much. I don’t mind.” Aziraphale paid the bill while Crowley hefted himself to his feet and stretched.

“No, no. I can do it. Besides, I sent that ivy back and it needs to be repotted ASAP.” The walk back to the Bently was a little slower and the angel found he couldn’t keep his hands off of Crowley. As they walked he slipped his arm around him, pressing their sides together, only letting go to instead loop an arm around his waist to guide them the last few meters to the curb.

“If you say so. Was there anything else we needed to get while we’re in London?” Aziraphale gave the flat one last angelic once-over--the wards were as strong as they could possibly be--before turning to the Bently. “I guess we weren’t exactly thinking about shopping lists when we left yesterday.”

“No, was a little more concerned with the shop being broken into. And I can’t think of anything right now,” Crowley answered, sliding into the driver's seat and wiggling a bit until he was comfortable. “It's not like we can’t poof back here anytime, you know.”

“I know, I know. Let's go then. We can always stop at a coffee shop on the way, if we need a break.” He got into the car as well and settled in. "You're My Best Friend" began to play on the car radio, the classical CD that had been in there before finally submitting to the Bently’s strange magic. Which was fine really, he’d grown fond of Queen, and even fonder of the way Crowley would mouth along to the words as he drove.

#fbafs #fanfic #ineffable husbands #ineffable lovers #aziraphale/crowley #crowziraphale #azirapahel #crowley #tw mpreg #good omens #gomens

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lamiahypnosia · 4 years

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The Outer Worlds Review

When the Outer Worlds was announced I was kind of on my back foot about it. Private Division made a huge deal about how they were the one who made the original Fallout and Fallout New Vegas- you know, that Fallout game that you actually like that wasn’t made by the devil Bethesda.

And as the kids say ‘weird flex but okay’. Every time a new game releases, especially a new intellectual property, people always whisper about how money was being passed around to get good reviews. I don’t know about all that. But I do know this.

The Outer Worlds is not Fallout: New Vegas 2. So sorry.

I posted a meme recently that made the joke that the Outer Worlds was Borderlands New Vegas but that wouldn’t strictly be true . I haven’t actually played Borderlands extensively but yeah a space Western is very much like other space Westerns- there’s an old saying ’ there’s nothing new under the sun.’ People make frequent comparisons to things because they feel familiar. ‘If you like Fallout you’ll like this’ But I’m going to stop comparing it to anything else. Is this the start of a new IP that can stand shoulder to shoulder with other great titles? Let’s find out.

Story The story of The Outer Worlds should be very familiar to any sci fi nerds worth their salt. Earth is uninhabitable because of war and humanity shoots to the stars, so you and a few thousand lucky people get placed on two ships -Groundbreaker and Hope- to fast forward ten years via new technology called skip drive until you get to your new home of Halcyon. Only the Groundbreaker made it and the Hope was lost, adrift until a scientist named Dr. Phineas V. Welles decides to see if anyone on the Hope is still kicking. Without much more explanation other than wanting to wake up the rest of the colonists you’re rudely awakened, dropped onto the planet Terra 2 and told to find a smuggler.

Halcyon is a colony run by corporations- people live for their company, are owned by their company and under certain circumstances dying is a crime. Advertisements race by on robots and are pasted or projected onto every wall all controlled by the mysterious Board. But there’s something rotten under the corporate jargon and mandatory happiness and it might be up to you and Phineas to save the colony- that is, if you, the Unplanned Variable, see fit to do so. All the sci fi tropes are here- a smartass computer AI as your pilot and navigator, alien monsters, corporate greed, weird technology and mad science. The Outer Worlds is a game you can play with your brain turned off as a wacky sci-fi adventure or you can uncover the secrets of Halcyon and the Board and use them to become a hero or simply come out on top with your pockets full or a mixture of it all. Pick your poison. It’s still not a game that takes itself very seriously, at ALL even when a nerve shattering revelation ramps the stakes through the roof. Are you savior or scourge? It’s entirely up to you. Sidequests

There’s plenty to do on every level of immersion on The Outer Worlds. The game doesn’t really reward you for checking every nook and cranny apart from finding random bodies which becomes horrific in hindsight once you reach the endgame and learn what they probably actually died from. But as far as material things you get loot. Poke around a bit can net you some unique weapons such as a hammer that does all the status effect damage, a shrink ray and a cannon that fires slime that suspends its victims up in the air and drops them like a bad habit.

There’s not many ‘collect ten bear butts’ type quests thank the Law but damn near everything is optional and the sheer amount of solutions for quests will have you planning your next play through.

The best side quests are the companion quests which are so good I’m not going to spoil them but they all span the length of the game since they require reaching places that the player will only be able to travel to during certain parts of the story. Presentation The dialogue is excellent as per Obsidian standards.The voice acting is great, fairly natural sounding but when the actors have to perform instead of just reading they almost always do a bang up job. Screams of pain after getting sprayed with venom during combat, the cries of alarm if you or another companion is wounded or the out of breath declarations at the end of combat however are a nice touch. The music is provided by Justin E. Bell, the low key background music with bold brass and mysterious woodwinds, or soft piano and strings but the occasional steel guitar sneaks in to give the smaller towns that run down feel. The various jingles of all the omnipresent corporations will get stuck in your head, however. Among my favorite tracks are Hope, Forever, Phineas Escapes, and the title theme simply titled Hope. The gorgeous moving theme is also a leitmotif throughout the game from the level up sound to the cheery ragtime version. I can’t gush enough about how beautiful the score is.

Visually the game is stunning, from the stifling cold marble walls of Byzantium where the men in power dwell in their ivory towers to the long stretches of frontier on alien worlds populated by bizarre creatures and filled with strange and sometimes deadly plants, sulfur pools and giant mushrooms The Outer Worlds really is a feast for the eyes, polished, clean and bright. The darker areas might drive you bonkers but thankfully nothing you really need is going to be in the super dark anyway. If only the character models were as good but with an AA game budget, what are you gonna do? You could have cutscenes with finger puppets as long as they still keep their great dialogue. Seriously, I don’t remember laughing out loud at a game’s dialog or with such frequency probably since Dragon Age:Origin. Derivative humor is fun every now and then- I ran across a weapon, a hammer for sale called Maxwell where the flavor text mentioned ‘you think it should be silver’ in reference to the Beatles’ tune Maxwell’s Silver Hammer, or a dialog selection where you can tell the quest giver ‘Aliens’ to which she relies ‘I’m saying it was aliens’ so some music nerds and internet meme lords are thrown a bone but most of the humor is good old fashioned timing and even a few visual gags such as in the opening where Phineas has trouble opening the door. While rated M it’s pretty tame- I’d feel okay playing this in front of my Mormon in-laws because apart from the frequent swearing the humor is mostly clean. From my very first play through I counted five dirty jokes which you could easily miss and when you loot human bodies they stay clothed. The companions -your crew on the Unreliable- are spread out through the game and are met under circumstances ranging from a suggestion to hire them through Phineas or simply strays picked up for kicks and giggles. There are six companions in total- Parvati Holcomb, a sweet gal from the starting town who knows her way around an engine, Vicar Maximilian DeSoto, a priest of the Order of Scientific Inquiry, Dr. Ellie Fenhill, a surgeon turned pirate (who is featured in the trailers!) Felix Millstone, a rebel without a cause or a clue who romanticizes all your adventures, Nyoka Ramnarim-Wentworth III, a hard drinking hunter and wilderness guide, and SAM, a sanitation and maintenance robot who spouts only company slogans. The companions can be customized to suit your playstyle from their unique perks to armor, weapons and fighting preference but most players end up with a favorite team though there are perks you can take if you’re the kind who likes to fly solo. While the companions all have their own clear cut reasons for joining your crew, treat them right and they become close to the player character and each other. Aww. They all have something to say in just about every situation and like in many modern RPGs will bicker and banter with the player character and each other. Listening to the characters play off one another is ten kinds of fun. My biggest gripe is how there’s no new one on one dialog with them at certain points in the game apart from new banter or a comment about goings on before going right into the same dang old dropbox of questions. Oh well. Some players get their hackles up about there not being romance but I don’t feel a lack. If you want extensive babblings with your minions go play a Bioware game. What’s wrong with a good old fashioned tale of true companions?

Final thoughts

I admit after going through the first three hours or so of the game I was going to slap a ‘standard sci fi’ label on The Outer Worlds and hang it up for a while. Thank the Law I didn’t.

The main quest coming in at a lukewarm thirty hours, The Outer Worlds is crying out for DLC and the way things go we’ll probably get more than one. Overall it’s fun- it’s a fun ride with crazy weapons, colorful characters, plenty of laughs and it just might tug at your heartstrings.

When you take away the wishing, complaining and comparisons The Outer Worlds is a breath of fresh air amid the reforgings and refunds. I joke a lot about how I’m drinking the tears of New Vegas stans for getting heckin’ bamboozled but good on them for having standards. I’ve been hiding my extreme disappointment in Fallout 76 for a long time- full disclosure, it legit makes me sad and angry between Bethesda and Blizzard caring more about money than making fans happy and the table scraps we get in place of enjoyable content.

I haven’t been happy with a new release since World of Warcraft: Legion. That’s been four agonizing years in a wasteland of mediocrity that I’ve slogged through in the vain hope of something renewing my faith in the industry. Maybe The Outer Worlds is just standard sci fi goofs but it does stand out among all the moody gritty art pieces most modern games have become. I’m not sure what the future holds but I’ll be cautiously hopeful, adrift in lower orbit waiting for the next adventure.

#the outer worlds #review #amateur review #actually blogging on my blog what sorcery is this #Don't worry there are no spoilers #spoiler free #tow #tow stuff #no spoilers

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andromaxx1 · 4 years

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● Can you suffer because you’re overweight?

Andromaxx is a unique, organic mix of herbs and nutrients produced by a psychiatrist with more than 10 years of experience working on men’s health and hormone therapy for testosterone.

The Andromaxx Test Booster, which provides a variety of natural additives, aims to help users release the flood of ‘free testosterone’ through the body in one day of operation. Although customers are urged to continue taking the cure for these tests to progress. Low testosterone can be faced with by men who generally feel tired, fail to retain muscle mass, and have a lower sex drive. This makes them ideal for the Andromaxx Test Booster method.

Andromaxx is not for hype, unlike most testosterone boosters and men’s health supplements. As part of a systematic men’s curriculum by a medical consultant, it was formulated and used clinically.

Give yourself a turn. And note that the best ends are taken through consistent use and as part of a holistic lifestyle approach.

Andromaxx encourages you to build tougher, leaner muscles. Naturally, you can melt away belly fat while getting the extra umph to build skeletal, balanced muscles by increasing test speeds.

Testosterone levels comfortably rise with Andromaxx-Designed in an FDA-registered means and GMP-certified. No residue from pixies or patented mixes. A better option is Andromaxx.

Click to order now

It raises the desire to have intercourse. Andromaxx will give you the endurance, confidence, and enhanced action that you need both in and out of the bedroom to work better physically.

Using this treatment to improve the quality of sleep. Sleeping at night like a youth. Andromaxx will help you restore the spirit you once had and push.

Using this tool to ensure more efficiency and power. Nothing is worse than being exhausted to get through a training session. To improve strength and endurance in your exercises, use Andromaxx.

Andromaxx Test Booster Ingredients

To further enhance cardiovascular efficiency, Andromaxx blends the best quality, thoroughly tested ingredients into a convenient serving. With a combination of clinically validated ingredients, Andromaxx encourages a healthy and healthy body that increases energy. It has been proven that Andromaxx increases testosterone and inhibits estrogen.

● Magnesium Oxide

Magnesium raises T levels free of charge. Free T stimulates the transcription of individual genes in a muscle cell’s nucleus and facilitates protein (actin and myosin) synthesis. Improving bulk, strength, and growth, thus reducing the breakdown of muscles.

● LongJack

LongJack is a plant that, when it’s used every day for 5 + weeks, has been reported to improve fat-free mass, muscle strength, and height.

Via increasing androgen receptors, Longjack helps to stimulate testosterone. Via decreased cortisol, elevated testosterone, and enhanced overall mood, users show increases in stress hormone profiles.

● CissusQuadrangularis

The improved absorption of the calcium, sulfur, and strontium of the mineral activates CissusQuadrangularis, creating more tissue. It has also been found to improve good bone health in general.

● Tribulus Terrestris

It has been shown that Tribulus Terrestris promotes normal erectile function, enhances sex appeal, and raises testosterone levels. It will improve the sex drive, boost sex, and strengthen the production of semen.

And it has been found to help the health of the urinary tract.

Any of the sex hormones are enhanced by the presence of protodioscin in the peels. ● Zinc

In the testicles, zinc protects cells. Improving the body’s output of free testosterone. Growing lean muscle, libido, attention, mood, and strength.

● Chrysin

Chrysin is a potent enzyme inhibitor labeled as aromatase. For an inhibitor of aromatase, which prohibits testosterone from transitioning to estrogen.

Chrysin is arguably one of the most potent antagonists of natural aromatase (estrogen blocker) known to us today. Our hormonal equilibrium is maintained safely by PS. And in older males, it has a reputation for retaining strength, vitality, muscle mass, and libido.

Click to order now

How to Use Andromaxx Test Booster Supplement?

6 pills are the consumption amount. Servings are 30 per pool.

Using a ‘Split Dosing Technique’ for better results, take 3 tablets as you wake up (30 minutes before eating) and another 3 doses later that day before the next meal (not within the night).

What’s the recommended cycle? Use 4-6 weeks, followed by two weeks off to optimize results and avoid acclimatization. Do not drink more than 1 servings a day. To test the resistance before taking the maximum dose, we recommend beginning with a 1⁄2 dosage. Do not conform to persons under 25 years of age.

Is This Solution Safe to Take?

Andromaxx additives have been found to help boost mood, help muscle regeneration, raise testosterone levels, block hormones of estrogen, and decrease cortisol (stress hormone).

Andromaxx has been produced, established, and evaluated by research-based studies. 9 Primary Ingredients without patented mixes of nonsense.

This substance does not fall under the range of herbal medicine. It is marketed as a supplement to food. The assertion embedded in this mark does not mean that the medicinal properties, application, or effectiveness of this substance are present. This medication does not surpass the prescribed daily dosage. It shouldn’t fit in like a supplement for a diverse and nutritious diet. Store in a dark, dry position and hold out of

young children ‘s grasp. Before initiating any workout or using a supplement, please contact your doctor or surgeon.

Andromaxx Test Booster Pricing and Where to Purchase?

One packet of Andromaxx is selling for $57.95 right now, but consumers can call for this order to be shipped to them every month. There’s a three-bottle kit for $139.95. Also, there’s’ a six-bottle kit for $239.95 for those who really want to stock up instead.

Bonuses

As part of the product’s offer, you can get a free shipping order. And, on the unlikely case that it doesn’t work, customers will redeem it and get a full refund within 30 days.

Andromaxx Test Booster Reviews – Final Verdict

The Andromaxx Test Booster supplement helps to curb the symptoms of falling testosterone for men of all ages. The formulation is easy to take daily, requiring one dose a day to begin hormone improvement. Although it will not cause muscle mass gains and weight loss on its own, it will significantly help implement the right exercise. Plus, the 30-day money-back policy allows consumers a whole month to check it out

Click to order now

1 note · View note

andromaxxs · 4 years

Text

AndroMaxx

AndroMaxx Reviews – Is This Test Booster Supplement Scam Or Legit?

Andromaxx Test Booster is a formula for men that raises testosterone to aid in muscle development. To cause this increase, the remedy uses natural ingredients. Still, consumers can pick from many packets to get what they need. Over time, the testosterone level in the male body will decline. While this isn’t a concern during someone’s 20s, as the person gets older and majors on dwindling hormones, it can take a toll. During puberty, the body produces these hormones in an excellent quantity. Still, customers would need a new choice in their 30s and up. That is how the Research Booster formula was developed by Andromaxx. Do you ever feel like the competitor is still one step behind you? Do you think that someone else is bigger, better, faster than you are? Are you tired of receiving all the performance from someone else when you are slaving away? If so, it’s time for strategic advantage to be gained. Without one, you might still slide down. It offers you a hidden tool with Andromaxx to mold your body and reduce the extra weight without jitters. Now gone are the low morale days. Blast and conquer the plateaus with your exercise!

Click To Order Now

Andromaxx Test Booster Review

Definitely, this product works. I had a lot of energy in the morning after taking the first dosage that I haven’t seen in a long time.

Andromaxx is a dietary supplement developed by doctors developed to help safe levels of testosterone and improve the general health of men.

Is this happening to you?

● Are you feeling really sleepy the entire time?

● Will you struggle with muscle maintenance?

● Are you feeling Lean Body Mass Loss?

● Have you had a low sex drive?

● Can you suffer because you’re overweight?

Andromaxx is a unique, organic mix of herbs and nutrients produced by a psychiatrist with more than 10 years of experience working on men’s health and hormone therapy for testosterone. The Andromaxx Test Booster, which provides a variety of natural additives, aims to help users release the flood of ‘free testosterone’ through the body in one day of operation. Although customers are urged to continue taking the cure for these tests to progress. Low testosterone can be faced with by men who generally feel tired, fail to retain muscle mass, and have a lower sex drive. This makes them ideal for the Andromaxx Test Booster method.

The Andromaxx Test Booster focuses on making a quick feat for solid but lean bodies, helping to melt off the excess weight that can accumulate from a deficit. Plus, with more adrenaline flowing through the bloodstream of the consumer, they can also see a rise in their libido in terms of appetite and efficiency. The formula encourages people to drive themselves in the gym to follow it, allowing a good night of quality sleep. Andromaxx is not for hype, unlike most testosterone boosters and men’s health supplements. As part of a systematic men’s curriculum by a medical consultant, it was formulated and used clinically. Give yourself a turn. And note that the best ends are taken through consistent use and as part of a holistic lifestyle approach. Andromaxx encourages you to build tougher, leaner muscles. Naturally, you can melt away belly fat while getting the extra umph to build skeletal, balanced muscles by increasing test speeds.

Testosterone levels comfortably rise with Andromaxx-Designed in an FDA-registered means and GMP-certified. No residue from pixies or patented mixes. A better option is Andromaxx.

It raises the desire to have intercourse. Andromaxx will give you the endurance, confidence, and enhanced action that you need both in and out of the bedroom to work better physically. Using this treatment to improve the quality of sleep. Sleeping at night like a youth. Andromaxx will help you restore the spirit you once had and push. Using this tool to ensure more efficiency and power. Nothing is worse than being exhausted to get through a training session. To improve strength and endurance in your exercises, use Andromaxx.

Click To Order Now

Andromaxx Test Booster Ingredients

● Magnesium Oxide

Magnesium improves T levels. When involved in vigorous physical exercises, magnesium can raise T levels. Magnesium improves concentrations of free and complete T. Protein synthesis is one of the advantages of augmenting free T. Magnesium raises T levels free of charge. Free T stimulates the transcription of individual genes in a muscle cell’s nucleus and facilitates protein (actin and myosin) synthesis. Improving bulk, strength, and growth, thus reducing the breakdown of muscles.

● LongJack

LongJack is a plant that, when it’s used every day for 5 + weeks, has been reported to improve fat-free mass, muscle strength, and height. Via increasing androgen receptors, Longjack helps to stimulate testosterone. Via decreased cortisol, elevated testosterone, and enhanced overall mood, users show increases in stress hormone profiles.

● CissusQuadrangularis

The improved absorption of the calcium, sulfur, and strontium of the mineral activates CissusQuadrangularis, creating more tissue. It has also been found to improve good bone health in general.

● Tribulus Terrestris

The best test booster available today is considered by many to be Tribulus Terrestris. In ancient Ayurveda literature, the advantage of Tribulus Terrestris was first revealed. It is used as a tonic, aphrodisiac, and sexual enhancement herb in Ayurveda. It has been shown that Tribulus Terrestris promotes normal erectile function, enhances sex appeal, and raises testosterone levels. It will improve the sex drive, boost sex, and strengthen the production of semen. And it has been found to help the health of the urinary tract. Any of the sex hormones are enhanced by the presence of protodioscin in the peels.

● Zinc

Zinc increases testosterone and facilitates the break of other nutrients and food. It plays a significant function in protein-building enzymes. Testosterone, dihydrotestosterone (DHT), and semen have been shown to raise zinc. In the testicles, zinc protects cells. Improving the body’s output of free testosterone. Growing lean muscle, libido, attention, mood, and strength.

● Chrysin

Chrysin is a potent enzyme inhibitor labeled as aromatase. For an inhibitor of aromatase, which prohibits testosterone from transitioning to estrogen. Chrysin is arguably one of the most potent antagonists of natural aromatase (estrogen blocker) known to us today. Our hormonal equilibrium is maintained safely by PS. And in older males, it has a reputation for retaining strength, vitality, muscle mass, and libido.

How to Use Andromaxx Test Booster Supplement?

6 pills are the consumption amount. Servings are 30 per pool.Using a ‘Split Dosing Technique’ for better results, take 3 tablets as you wake up (30 minutes before eating) and another 3 doses later that day before the next meal (not within the night). What’s the recommended cycle? Use 4-6 weeks, followed by two weeks off to optimize results and avoid acclimatization. Do not drink more than 1 servings a day. To test the resistance before taking the maximum dose, we recommend beginning with a 1⁄2 dosage. Do not conform to persons under 25 years of age.

Is This Solution Safe to Take?

Andromaxx additives have been found to help boost mood, help muscle regeneration, raise estosterone levels, block hormones of estrogen, and decrease cortisol (stress hormone). Andromaxx has been produced, established, and evaluated by research-based studies. 9 Primary Ingredients without patented mixes of nonsense. This substance does not fall under the range of herbal medicine. It is marketed as a supplement to food. The assertion embedded in this mark does not mean that the medicinal properties, application, or effectiveness of this substance are present. This medication does not surpass the prescribed daily dosage. It shouldn’t fit in like a supplement for a diverse and nutritious diet. Store in a dark, dry position and hold out of young children ‘s grasp. Before initiating any workout or using a supplement, please contact your doctor or surgeon.

Andromaxx Test Booster Pricing and Where to Purchase?

Bonuses

As part of the product’s offer, you can get a free shipping order. And, on the unlikely case that it doesn’t work, customers will redeem it and get a full refund within 30 days.

Andromaxx Test Booster Reviews – Final Verdict

Click To Order Now

1 note · View note

creamypudding · 5 years

Text

WIP Clack sneak peek

Hi,

I’ve decided to upload a sneak peek of my WIP Clack story. I’m currently on writing chapter 8 and I think the story might have 10 chapters, so I’m sort of nearing the end mark, but also still a fair way off completion because a lot of editing needs to be done. I’m currently re-reading everything that I’ve written so far to get my head around the timeline, which I had no clue about when I first started writing it, so now I’m making minor adjustments (read: major edits) to the previous chapters before moving on to chapter 8. It’s my form of procrastination because chapter 8 is a POV change, which is notoriously difficult on my soul. So, while there is no guarantee that this chapter 1 will look exactly like this when I get to posting the whole story, it should still be a very close approximation once I’m done with everything. I am happy to share this bit and hope to pique your interest in this AU. This story will explore mental health issues, like PTSD and body dysphoria. The main setting is in a hospital, so set expectations accordingly. Title: Silver Lining (working title) Chapter: 1 Fandom: FFVII - Modern AU Pairing: Cloud/Zack Rated: Teen Word Count: 10,232 Summary: Cloud is a delivery driver and one day gets a very specific job to complete, which sends him to the brink of discomfort, but leaves the door open for something very wonderful to potentially bloom.

CHAPTER 1 - Despite the winter sun being at its low-hanging apex, and this region never getting any snow, it was still cold. The frosty air gnawed and bit into the tip of Cloud’s nose, blasted against and stiffened his glove-covered fingers, and caused shivers to wrack his body. Winter wasn’t the best time of year to ride his motorcycle, but his passion for his vehicle outweighed the seasonal discomfort. He was as rugged up as he could be with his helmet and scarf underneath, multiple shirts, and a sweater under his riding jacket, and thermals under the leather pants to keep his lower limbs warm, yet Cloud looked forward to arriving at work, which he usually did around midday, where he would hop into the familiar white and blue delivery van with its air conditioner, funky smell, worn leather seating, and sticky patches all over the dashboard caused by spilled coffee.

He lived about half an hours ride from work and arrived at the two-story brick warehouse in a business district of the sprawling metropolis. He rode around the back of the large, empty lot, to the garage capable of housing five vans and parked his bike near the wall. He left his helmet hanging on the handlebars and headed through the lofty loading zone, past the only vehicle still reminding (his own) and to the door and into the heated office space beyond. With a relieved sigh he pulled his gloves off and rubbed them together to regain feeling and warmth.

Tifa gave the usual teasing greeting of, "Hello, Cloud. Sleep well?" which forced a grumbled unintelligible retort from him. He headed straight for the left side of the sparsely decorated rectangular room. A long, mid-chest high cupboard stood along the wall with five color-coded plastic double-letter trays atop of it. This was their duty roster system. The top tray houses his schedule for the day, and the bottom one held his payslips and things of that nature. A large whiteboard hung on the wall right above the cupboard with each employee’s details demarcated to line up with their specific letter-trays.

He grabbed his sheet of paper, listing addresses and delivery times, and stalked off to the van, grabbing the held out travel mug which Tifa had filled with hot coffee. “Thanks,” he muttered while she smiled at him with amusement. Cloud counted his blessings that Tifa was understanding of his late starts to the day and his sporadic-yet-far-too-common absences.

Cloud sank into his familiar seat, leaving the bright pink folder on his lap and cradled his mug. It warmed his icy hands and as he slowly sipped the liquid it gave him the energy to recuperate from the arduous task of having woken up this morning and gotten himself out of bed. He skimmed over his list of jobs for the day at a casual pace, set his GPS and then headed off to get his workday underway.

His day consisted of a sizeable amount of pick-ups and drop-offs. Small and large parcels and goods alike. Usually, he’d radio Gavin or Therone to see if he could get more jobs, but today he felt extra drained so just stuck to what was on his sheet. He drove to familiar businesses and places, and some new locations. One of these was somewhat out of the way. Cloud took a left turn onto the freeway and headed out of the metropolitan area. The scenery grew ever more rural and then downright quaint; cows and horses dotted fields, small bakeries and one-pump gas stations came and went.

The road, though no less busy, lacked maintenance and pot-holes great and small peppered it. The place he was after was on the main road and turned out to be a giant greenhouse. He pulled into the large expansive gravel forecourt, and to his surprise found the car park almost completely full. People came and went, carrying gardening equipment and flowers of all sorts of shapes and colors. He pulled into a parking space, and got out, heading for the large glass structure. For being so out-of-the-way of the major population centers, it sure was bustling.

As Cloud entered through a set of glazed double doors, and then another set of automated sliding doors to get into the building proper, he was instantly accosted by the perfuming fragrant smell of flowers, as well as a very comfortable warmth. Winter didn’t touch this botanist’s wet dream and it almost felt tropical. Cloud sneezed. Repeatedly.

He was reminded that flowers weren’t his friends, though he could still appreciate the botanical marvel he found himself in. Flowers and plants of all shapes, sizes, species, and colors grew absolutely everywhere. A lot were set in pots, but an equal number were also growing seemingly right from out of the soiled and mulched ground. It smelled like earth and damp. Not a wholly unpleasant smell. It's just the flowers that got Cloud sniffling like crazy.

He still sneezed when a friendly voice sounded next to him, “Here. My flowers have that effect on some people.”

Cloud turned and took the held out tissue with a, “Thanks,” and blew his nose. Once back in control of his body's reflexes he looked at the short-in-stature woman who had spoken to him; her brunette hair was tied in a ponytail, with wavy bangs falling wall past her shoulders. Her eyes, a vibrant green, sparkle and seemed enhanced by the rusty red of her mid-waist length cardigan, which sat over the top of a blue and white striped blouse. Her look of a homey farm-girl was completed by the soiled, three-quarter denim trousers and big brown boots. “Your flowers?' Cloud asked, "Are you the owner?”

The woman grinned brightly and gave a curt nod. She looked around, with a lot of pride. “This place is my life’s work. Growing and cultivating plants of all types has always been my dream. And of course, sharing the joy this life brings with it.” Green eyes returned to settle on Cloud once more.

Cloud thought her rather pretty. He wasn’t sure if it was her features or her passion for her work. Whichever the case, she seemed rather too cheerful. “For a profit though,” he said, not caring to disguise the sardonic tone.

“Well of course. Girl’s gotta eat, right?” she laughed. “Name’s Aerith Gainsborough. Welcome to my greenhouse. How can I help you?”

She stuck out her hand and Cloud took it. “Cloud Strife. I’m here to pick up a delivery,” he said with little expression to his face. Being around jovial people exhausted him. He could already feel his energy draining away and mentally scanned his brain to see if he had passed any coffee shops on the way here.

“Oh, wonderful! I’ve been expecting you. Come this way.” She turned on a dime, her ponytail swinging wildly and marched with a slight bounce to her step.

Cloud followed.

“It’s such awful news what happened to Zack,” she began, rather worriedly. “I absolutely hate not being able to go see him, but I’m flat out here. So many weddings and government ceremonies to plan for. My own delivery guys are all booked up for the next few months, and the hospital is too far away for me to get to on such short notice,” she muttered somewhat defeated.

Despite not knowing what she was talking about, he reveled in seeing some of that cheer strip away from the woman. He possessed an inherent distrust of cheerful people, for cheer was a disguise best reserved for shop-front clerks who wanted to flog you something. It wasn’t for real-life, flesh-and-blood people. Real people had their own shit lives and problems to deal with. That’s what he told himself at least. He had always found it paid off to be wary of the too happy and enthusiastic. He could relate to the woman more in her slightly soured state though. Yet not too much to engage in actual conversation with her.

They made their way into a large shipping container, housed off to the side. This was apparently the office area if the desk with a computer sitting on it, and the various cork boards and whiteboards propped up on portable stands, meant anything. The other thing that Cloud spotted was the very elaborate bouquet sitting on the desk.

“Besides, I’m sure he’ll have far too many visitors for me to be able to spend any quality time with him.” Aerith reached the desk with the bouquet sitting on top of it and came to pause before it. She stretched out an arm as if steadying herself against the table.

The quiet which followed unsettled Cloud somewhat. The bubbly energy seemed depleted.

“Uh, is everything alright?” he tried, merely as a courtesy.

Cloud heard the sniffle, and saw the motion which could only be a wipe at eyes. Aerith turned around, cheeks ruddy and eyes glassy. She gave a weepy smile. “No. It’s not, but I hope it will be very soon. I really wish I could go be with him. He needs someone to look after him.” “I thought you said he was in hospital. Isn’t that—”

“He needs some love. Some care. From people who genuinely care about him. I know the hospital staff do their best, but they’re just staff.” She sniffled some more, grabbed the bouquet and walked it over to Cloud. “If it’s alright with you, I’d like for you to make regular flower deliveries for me. I don’t know if he’s conscious or not, but I want his room to be full of color. I want him to not feel alone. So please bring this to him.” She handed the surprisingly heavy item over. “And I’d also like for you to be my regular delivery guy. I don’t want Zack to have to put up with not getting to know you.”

Cloud grunted and pulled a face. “Getting to know me?”

“Yes. You’ll be my proxy.”

“I'm just a delivery guy. Not an… escort, or… friend for hire,” he said with unease. Cloud definitely hadn’t signed up for this.

“I know that. I'm not asking you to do anything other than deliver my flowers to him. But when you meet him I'm sure you won't be able to avoid having conversations with him.” Aerith’s growing smile faltered, and sadness swept through, robbing her of any mirth which might have burgeoned. “Oh gosh, let him be alright,” she said to no one in particular. “Tifa said it would be alright for you to check in on him regularly and to give me updates when you come to pick up the flowers.”

“Did she now?” Cloud said with derision and barely kept the eye roll at bay.

Aerith nodded and started walking back out into the main building, and Cloud continued to follow.

The pungent smell of flowers accosted Cloud once more as they made their way back to the front of the greenhouse. A sinking feeling grew. “You know Tifa personally?”

“Oh yes. We’ve been friends for years. She’s told me lots about you.” Aerith threw a cheeky smile over her shoulder, back at Cloud.

Without a doubt, this had all been an elaborate set-up. He let a defeated sigh slip out and wondered if this Zack guy was even an actual patient. “More like she complains about me to you.”

“Oh no. Nothing like that.” Her laugh was like the tinkling of bells.

Cloud still knew that it was exactly like that. “Well, she’s never made mention of you,” he sulked.

His remark made Aerith spin around. Her smile radiated ever so brightly. “I’m pretty sure she has and you just never listen to her,” she giggled and gently pushed her palm against his shoulder.

Cloud couldn’t refute that. It seemed like a very reasonable assumption.

“Anyway, can you just wait here a moment. This bouquet is missing something.” Aerith dashed off, leaving Cloud’s nose to develop another irritating tickle.

The pungent flower smells aside, he also knew this whole situation reeked of something, but he didn’t know what. Well, perhaps he did know. Of course Tifa purposefully sent him on this delivery run. She was always trying to get him to be more social and make friends. Something which Cloud had no interest in doing. He thought it cruel to force friendship upon him with some guy who sounded bedridden. And to be fair, he felt it equally awful to force himself onto other people. Cloud hoped that if this Zack guy truly was sick that he would get well soon. That way Cloud wouldn’t have to visit for very long, saving them both the agony of playing at a fake friendship.

Aerith returned holding a few brilliantly vibrant yellow flowers. She stuck them into the bouquet, which mostly consisted of blues and purples.

“There. Some much needed complementary opposites.” She stepped back from her creation and admired it. “I hope he’ll love it.” Worry returned to her face. “I hope he’s okay. Please tell him I’ll visit as soon as I can if he’s awake.” Aerith looked like she was going to say more but clapped her mouth shut and shook her head. “No. I won’t bombard you with any more. Everything I need to tell him is in the card. Please see to it that he receives the flowers, and I look forward to seeing you next time.”

Cloud gave her a courteous nod. “Next time, then.” He knew that no amount of complaining to Tifa would get him off this roster duty. She probably had also talked to everyone else at work to make sure he couldn’t swap delivery duties, that’s how crafty she was.

_____________

The hospital Cloud drove to was a familiar destination. He parked around the loading bay, avoiding the large conglomerate of media stationed out the front of the main entrance. The hustle and bustle out the front of the hospital, though not completely foreign, was still a little strange. Cloud wondered for all of two seconds what famous or newsworthy person had ended up inside before he refocused on his job. He grabbed the bouquet and marched himself inside, making his way to the nurses station, as Aerith apparently hadn’t known the exact location of the recipient of her gift. He had done a fair few deliveries to the different wards in the past, which was why a fair few of the regular staff knew him by sight and gave him acknowledging nods as he passed.

“Oh, those are lovely. Who are they for, darl?” an elderly and a rather plump woman greeted Cloud warmly as he stood by the imposing desk.

“Evening, Barbara.” Cloud didn't have many friends to speak of, but most people he came into somewhat regulate contact with were friendly enough with him, and he reciprocated as much as possible. It's not like he hated people. It had more to do with him being too tired and exhausted most of the time to exert energy into keeping friends around. “They are for a—” he looked at the attached card for the last name. “Zack Fair.”

“Oh. He’s a right popular chap. I wish they would have sent him to a different hospital, to be honest with you. Maybe Golden Oak or Edgewater. That media pack out the front is driving everyone here crazy.”

“What? All those people out there are here for him?” A sinking feeling swept through Cloud. He didn’t deal well with being in the limelight, not even via loose association.

The head nurse gave a sullen nod. “Them out the front aren’t even half of it. Military folks have been in and out of the ICU all day. Day shift have had it up to here,” she gestured well above her head, “with all the kafuffle.”

Barbara’s words caused a rush of irritation to flurry inside of Cloud. He wrinkled his nose. “Military?”

She hummed in the back of her throat and shuffled through some papers at her station. “Mr. Fair is military personnel, or I guess that should be Corporal Fair? Is that how those titles are supposed to work?”

It took everything in Cloud’s power not to dump the flowers and leave. “Don’t they have a military hospital for this kind of stuff?” he grumbled through grit teeth, already knowing that the answer was ‘yes’.

“Apparently it wasn’t good enough for the injuries he’s sustained. He’ll be needing long term care and rehabilitation, and they aren’t cut out for that.”

“Ah—that bad, huh?” Some of the irritation quelled with a wash of sympathy.

Barbara gave a solemn nod. “Here, darl. There has been nothing else on the news all day.” She directed her gaze toward a television mounted on the wall to the right of the desk and turned the volume up a little.

Cloud hadn’t watched the news in what felt like months. It was always too depressing. “They let you watch TV?”

“Only the news channels, so we can be atop of any breaking disasters or crisis as they unfold.”

“Ah. Seems sensible enough.” Cloud turned his attention toward the news coverage. It was a lot of body cam footage from a battlefield. People running, gunfire, all in a vastly ambiguous and completely rubble-filled landscape. Cloud didn’t know which war this was, or where it was. He tried his hardest to not pay attention to things of that nature.

The footage went on. Shaking imagery, snaps of stillness, the bottom of the screen covered in scrolling text. Images of fallen soldiers bombarded the screen, but amongst all of it someone came charging in and pulled the fallen out and to safety. Cloud couldn’t make out what was happening exactly, but he got the idea that it was always the same guy darting in and out of cover, to collect the fallen.

Cloud keyed into the faint sound of the news reporter saying something about bravery and selfless acts of courage.

The footage eventually cut to the outside of a familiar building; Phoenix Dessert Downs; the hospital Cloud was currently in.

“Poor fool got himself riddled with more bullets and shrapnel than all of the other men and women he saved. The field hospital got most of it out, and he’s had more blood transfusions than I’ve ever seen anyone else get, but they can’t give him the long term care he needs. Oh, Cloud. Don’t look so glum.”

Cloud startled somewhat and felt his face return to a more neutral position. “I’ll most likely be coming here often, to deliver flowers to him.”

“He’s got a sweetheart, hmm?” Barbara smiled. “Here, take this pass. It will get you through to ICU and past all the military,” she said, sounding exhausted.

“Military personnel can be a right handful,” he observed and gratefully took the pass.

“It’s what day shift have been complaining about the most,” she sighed deeply.

“Bet they’re glad to hand it over to you and your crew, huh.”

“You know night shift handles pressure and unwanted riff-raff better,” she winked.

“That you do,” he gave a small smile.

Cloud took his leave of the nurses station, feeling exhausted from the exchange, and wandered the halls toward ICU. He observed that there were indeed a lot of military personnel mingling around the halls; mostly camped out at the vending machines, which made Cloud realize just how run down and in need of something caffeinated he felt.

He detoured to a coffee machine and drank the burnt, bitter and old tasting brew with a scowl as he forged ahead. He showed his pass to the appropriate authorities and was let through to the ward.

Evening had fallen, and though the interior was brightly lit, the ward was rather hushed. Nursing staff came and went, tending to all the critical patients. Machines beeped and whirred. Quiet murmurs ran through the place like an electric undercurrent.

Cloud went in the direction he saw the most amount of people, confident that it was the room he was after. He stopped across the way and looked in through the glass windows, which lined the wall facing the ward. He recognized the high ranking officials uniforms. A lot of Sergeants of varying degrees. It was kind of impressive, but it also irritated Cloud. This whole situation was irritating and he didn’t think he’d like to make these flower deliveries a staple thing of his working day if this was what he had to walk into every time..

He finished his coffee, tossed it in the trash, breathed deep, and went into the room to get his delivery sorted.

The buzzing murmur of conversation grew marginally louder as he opened the door and let himself in, but then it ceased in a flash, as all eyes turned onto him.

Cloud hadn’t felt this uncomfortable since his last family get together. He swallowed down the nerves. “Delivery for Zack Fair, from a Miss Gainsborough.”

“Ah, Aerith, the sweet thing. Just put them over there. Zack will be happy to see them if he eventually wakes up,” someone, who appeared to be a Sergeant Major, said to him.

The ‘if’ wasn't lost on Cloud. He gave a curt nod and weaved through the small crowd toward the bed at the center of the room. He could make out a seemingly sleeping figure in the bed. His head was bandaged up and gauze was plastered to his cheek. Wires and tubes were attached all over the man and ran in all manner of directions; some hooked up to monitoring equipment and all kinds of drips filled with clear fluids, but also bags of blood.

Cloud looked for somewhere to put the flowers. Here was a small tray table next to the bed, which was covered in bouquets and cards. More bouquets sat on a chair, and others lined the wall to the left of the bed. Clearly, this guy wouldn’t need any more flowers. He wondered if he could convince Aerith that the hospital room was colorful enough already, and could thus spare himself the trip out here and most of all back here.

He supposed he would have no such luck, and instead busied himself making room on the small tray table for Aerith’s flower arrangement (which, if Cloud had to admit, was one of the nicest in the room). He positioned the card so it would also be seen if this guy ever woke up. Cloud figured himself lucky to get out of conversing with him today. Was it cruel to hope he’d never have to make conversation with this guy?

Probably.

He looked back at the broken man lying in the bed. The bandaged head slumped toward Cloud’s direction and the man’s eyes seemed to be open a small crack.

Cloud looked back toward everyone else in the room, but no one was paying attention; too busy talking about tactical information; what to do about the remaining company and what honors to bestow upon the survivors, because Cloud was apparently not important enough to not talk about that kind of stuff in front of.

Cloud didn’t get what everyone was in here for if it wasn’t to help support a fallen comrade. So he decided that they probably just wanted to feel important and were here for some other self-serving purpose.

He turned back toward Zack and quietly murmured, “From Aerith. She’s worried about you, and is sorry that she can’t be here right now.”

Eyes slipped shut and it was barely visible, but Cloud thought he saw the ghost of a smile.

He turned and left, wondering if it would be a problem that he didn’t get the delivery signed off. He didn’t care enough about it to get one from any of the Sergeants in the room, especially not when he heard a faint, “Does General Strife have a kid?" pass through the gap in the door just as he shut it.

He got out of there as fast as possible, finished his other jobs through fatigue gnawing at him. Tifa asked how his day had been when he came back to delivery the van and invoices. He didn’t give her more than a grunting reply before heading back out, hopping on his bike and racing back home so he could collapse on his bed and sleep.

_____________

Aerith asked for a flower arrangement to be sent every second day, which at least gave Cloud rest in between to not stress about having to be in a wholly unpalatable environment. Despite only passing through and lingering in the place for 20 minutes at most, those were still 20 minutes he would rather never have to endure in the first place. But when he saw Aerith again to pick up the next delivery, her gratitude melted Cloud’s displeasure. His heart grew heavier with each passing day that he couldn’t tell her that the man she was so worried about still hadn’t woken up yet, both for her and himself.

He detested the hospital run. It stressed him out and stress legitimately was no good for him. As the first week of doing this job passed, Cloud could feel himself becoming unwell. He always got sick when he was highly stressed, and going to the hospital was a toxic cocktail of stress for him. It didn’t matter how well he organized himself; going in at 6 o’clock at night when there were fewer media and military sleazeballs lurking about. The late deliveries didn’t let him completely escape run-ins with the military. He took to wearing a baseball cap, pulled down over his face, but he could still feel the lingering eyes and hear the too-loud whispering rumors that he was who they all thought he was and everything that came with that territory.

Each day he heard something else; ‘Did you hear he couldn't even finish basic training?’; in the hallway; ‘Did you hear he got special treatment?’; the elevator; ‘Did you hear his parents pulled strings?’; the coffee station; ‘Did you hear he slept with a General?’; passing the door into the bedridden man’s room; ‘Did you hear he got spoon-fed the entrance exam questions?’.

Each day the well of his resentment grew exponentially deeper.

He tried to ignore, to not hear, to pretend he imagined it all. He went about his job, hurrying in and out of the hospital, sometimes seeking refuge at the hot coffee dispenser to refocus himself and get a caffeine hit to stop him from falling asleep behind the wheel, especially as these hospital visits completely drained him. Cloud hated having to be here. Hated the military. Himself. The bed-ridden source of his misery.

Why, out of all the hospitals in the world and in particular this city, did apparent poster boy have to land in this one? Not that Cloud supposed it mattered much since Tifa somehow knew Aerith and both ladies apparently loved pushing their own agendas onto himself.

He kept doing his assigned job though because Tifa (predictably) had put an embargo on anyone taking or swapping that particular job off Cloud. It did not help his mood or physical health. He could feel the onset of the cold and the day after having been stuck in an elevator with 3 military goons who had recognized him, as he had done basic training with two of them close to a decade ago, he crashed and couldn’t get out of his bed when his alarm went off at 11 in the morning. He couldn’t face another day of doing that job, even though today, most likely, he wouldn’t have to go to the hospital. The weeklong process of going through the hospital halls, seeing uniformed personnel, had completely sapped him of his already minimal pool of energy and it crescendoed today, so he slept the day and the next away.

Tifa rang several times, checking in on Cloud, which he appreciated.

"I'm sorry, am I pushing you too hard? I can reduce your workload to five runs a day."

"Do I still need to cover the hospital?"

Silence greeted him for a few beats, "Is it really stressful for you?"

Cloud felt like such a pathetic weakling. Suddenly a surge of needing to ‘suck it up’ raced through him. "No. I think being around all the sick people is just making me sick. I’ll be okay in another day… I think.”

“Take as long as you need. Felix is doing the hospital runs for now. If you think it would be better for your health not to—” “No, really. I’ll be fine. Just give me back my usual runs when I’m back.”

“Okay.” Cloud hated his strong sense of duty.

_____________

Cloud returned to work and did his best to ignore the people around him. He went even later to the hospital, just to be on the safe side and as much as possible hid behind the flower arrangements he carried, especially when it came to the guard who was stationed at the door. Cloud still felt worn out by the almost daily ordeal but, with a sardonic huff, decided to soldier on.

As the weeks passed, he learned more about his comatose burden through the media. Nothing about the operation he had been involved in though, as that was deemed highly sensitive. He wasn’t one to watch the news, but found himself watching it now, just to get some information, especially when he heard conversations with phrases like 'such a shame’, 'cut down in his prime, ‘it's all too bad’, as he passed by people in the hospital.

He learned about all the honors, achievements, and military pursuits of the spirited young man who now lay unmoving and in a critical condition in a sterile hospital bed with intubators, drips, catheters and various other devices attached to himself. Cloud could appreciate the sadness of it, the tragedy of what had befallen this man, especially since the reports said he had worked tirelessly at saving his comrades and single-handedly kept the squad’s Sergeant alive.

It dawned on him one day while standing there in the empty darkened room, surrounded by the staggering amount of flowers, that it almost felt like he was visiting a crypt. Yet there also sat awe in this place, because he bore witness to this barely-there military man, fighting and struggling for his life, even in this perfect stillness, which was punctured by the rasping breath through the oxygen mask and the soft sound of machinery in the background. The monument of decaying flowers, deflating balloons, knocked over 'get well's cards all spoke of one thing: the love of the people; those he had saved, those who knew him, the general public; they adored him and what he represented. Unwavering spirit, devotion, sacrifice, martyrdom. It was like the flowers were a farewell.

Cloud stared at that physically manifested concept every time he stood in the room, trying to find a place for one more flower arrangement. One more tribute to lay at the foot of the living memorial. It left a sour taste in Cloud’s mouth. He understood that this man had been deemed a 'go-getter’ by his superiors. A real 'people person’ by his peers. Someone who had always joked and make sure all his comrades and anyone under and even above himself had been okay, which was what had made him such a great Corporal—had made him. All those things were now relegated to the past, a memory, a dream. And all for what…. Cloud got stuck on that thought and with pure derision, muttered, “Look where all that love and affection has gotten you. You’re stuck here, all alone, in a room full of dead things. And the public and military can’t even wait for you to be properly dead before turning your room into a grave.” Admittedly Cloud was having a rather glum sort of a pensive day.

He kept delivering flowers, kept watching the news late at night when he couldn’t sleep, despite being utterly physically and mentally exhausted. And he listened on the radio while driving his van. It was never anything terribly meaningful or insightful. All events from the battlefield, reports on casualties, and anything pertaining to the mission which had landed the man Cloud visited on an almost daily basis in the hospital, was barely forthcoming. The operation was still deemed too sensitive and top secret. So all the media could report on was Zack Fair.

Cloud felt somewhat entrapped by the man he had been made to visit. Zack Fair turned into a morbid oddity and curiosity; a form of Stockholm Syndrome perhaps. A trainwreck Cloud was glued to witnessing. He wondered if Zack would ever wake up. He wondered what the man was actually really like. He doubted anyone would ever speak badly of the man or call him out on any asshole-ish behavior while he was in such an in-between life and death state of existence. He couldn’t buy that this guy was so amazing, wonderful, kind, fun. Sure, he sounded nice and like the exact type of person, Cloud avoided in his life. It sounded like a real shame for Corporal Fair to not recover from this. But maybe it also really wasn’t. Who knew? Cloud sure as hell didn’t, and wouldn’t know what the actual reality of the matter was unless the dead rose from his coma.

Cloud tried to not lose any more sleep over it and pushed his wonderings away, focusing on the job at hand, which in the end led him right back to the hospital, standing before his charge, staring down at him, thinking a myriad of conflicting thoughts. In the end, he always decided he didn’t care. He was getting paid. It was just the damn military personnel that got under his skin and made this the worst part of his day. He resented coming here. Hated that the comatose guy didn't just wake up, freeing Cloud of his obligations.

"You're one hell of a selfish son of a bitch," Cloud muttered another day, after having caught a half-heard conversation between the military personnel stationed outside of the door, bemoaning their station over having to watch and guard against media entry. "But keep giving them Hell out there," Cloud finished with a smile, liking the discomfort being inflicted on people who resented having to look after someone who apparently did crazy brave things, like sticking his neck out for other people. Cloud supposed the extra resentment outside might have something to do with a new spate of news that he had caught last night.

"You know you got a bunch of medals? I don't know if anyone's been in to inform you, but… congratulations," Cloud said with bitter amusement as he set the flowers down on the tray table. "You got a Medal of Honor, a Distinguished Service Cross, and a Silver Star Medal. You're one impressive guy, Corporal Fair." He bent down to look Zack in his more-akin-to-dead-than-alive face. His eyes trailed over the bandaged forehead, the patch over his left cheek, the mask covering his nose and mouth to help him breathe.

"Hope it was worth being like this, man." Cloud was greeted with the even breathing, the whirring of machines, and the faint beep of the heart rate monitor.

He stood back up and left the room.

_____________

There came a point, somewhere around the 1-month mark of Cloud having started on his hospital delivery route, that things seemed to change a little. He arrived at the comatose man’s room to find the oxygen mask off and a considerable amount of equipment gone. The mountain of flowers also looked smaller and a more sensible amount. Cloud tested the room with a faint, “Hello?” but received no reply. He went over to the bed, warily inspecting the other man, who looked gaunt and pale, but a lot better for not having all that equipment and tubing attached to himself.

There was no motion, other than an even fall of the chest, and generally speaking, the man looked like he had always done while lying in this bed. Cloud left the flowers and headed out, catching Barbara before leaving.

“How is Zack doing? He’s no longer on the oxygen mask.” “He is doing a lot better, yes. His independent breathing improved so he doesn't need the respirator.” She wasn’t willing to give much more information than that, so Cloud left to return the van and go home to sleep, which came a little easier to him that night.

It was also roughly around the 1-month mark that Cloud began enjoying his trips to the hospital a little, especially on rough days because an almost comatose person couldn't give him any flack for not arriving precisely, to the second, on time. They weren’t going to back-chat or give him the stink-eye. Other than the military being everywhere, Cloud relaxed considerably when coming here every second day. The walk through the hall was uncomfortable but he would grab an awful cup of coffee, hurry to his target’s location, not even be acknowledged by the security anymore as Cloud was as good as the bland decor around the hospital, and dumped the flowers wherever he found space. He then sat down in the uncomfortable guest chair and peacefully drank his burnt coffee.

That routine and place almost became like a sanctuary. Sure, he had to traverse Hell to get to it, but it was pleasant when he got there. He found it nice to not be in a mad rush, nice not having to do small talk. And then two weeks after the respirator had come out, the military finally, for the most part, departed. Things were getting even better for Cloud.

One day, he had been in a frantic rush the entire day due to massive traffic congestions absolutely everywhere he had to get to. Exhausted and starved he grabbed whatever looked least offensive at the hospital cafeteria and made his way to the ICU. Once he had deposited yet another exquisite bouquet, he slumped into the guest chair, which had been cleared of flowers a while ago, and relaxed with a deep sigh.

“God, what a day from hell,” he bemoaned and after a few beats of breathing and quiet, he sat up straight and opened his styrofoam food container.

“I’m sure you don’t mind me eating in here, right?” Cloud glanced at the only other occupant of the room. “I mean, I do bring you all these flowers, and I’m pretty sure I’m the only one who regularly visits. So, if you’re not going to thank me, the least you could afford me is to let me use you like a tray table, huh.”

Cloud looked at the way the body in the bed lay almost lifeless. A steady beating and shallow rise and fall of the chest were the only signs of life.

Taking the prolonged silence as permission, Cloud dug into his meal. Was it strange talking to an unconscious person? It didn’t feel any stranger than talking to himself late at night. It was about as enlightening, but he weirdly enough did enjoy the idea of another set of ears listening, without receiving dumb and pointless input.

“You’re not missing out on much with this food,” Cloud informed as he chewed. “Too dry and rubbery. But food’s food. And bad burnt coffee is still caffeine.” He took a sip, scrunched up his face and placed the cup carefully onto the bed before himself.

He ate the rest of his meal in silence, mulling over his schedule. When he was done he tidied up and got up. “Well, it was fun, Zack. It’s okay if I call you Zack, right? Or you prefer Sergeant Fair? All your new fancy medals aside, you also got a promotion, y’know?” Cloud looked and got no response. “Zack it is then. See ya later.” And with that he left, feeling far more energized after a meal and some liquid energy.

_____________

Cloud kept coming because Aerith kept ordering flower arrangements to be delivered. He lingered ever longer in that room, finding it oddly meditative. Zack's silent company reminded Cloud of his old family dog, and as Cloud sat in the chair, thinking about it, he almost reached over to pay the comatose man's head. He caught himself though and chuckled about it.

He wondered more and more about the man he was tasked with 'keeping company,' for he did keep him company more often than not. With the military gone, bar for a patrol here and there and the occasional door check, the hospital had a far more relaxed atmosphere, and Cloud found himself less drained and ready to crash by the time he got home. He figured if he was going to stay up anyway, he might as well do it whilst in someone's company.

Cloud sat and used this hospital room as his private dining hall, eating evening meals he had picked up from the cafeteria or from a fast food joint outside. He also sometimes checked his phone while he ate, reading articles, playing games. It was nice and quiet, just how he liked it. And while he did these things he also cast glances over to the sleeping man. The glances turned to gazes, where he studied the man's face and the way his chest rose and fell, shallow and at rest.

Sometimes he got stuck in his head, replaying all that he knew of the other man and all he had seen on the TV. It was a peaceful, quiet evening in early spring. He had a tray of hospital food in his lap, his phone in one hand and a spork in the other when the thoughts that bothered him the most fell out of his mouth in a hushed tone, “What kind of food do you like, Zack? Bet the answer isn't hospital food,” he muttered whilst putting another forkful of green mush into his mouth.

Predictably, there was no response.

“I know what school you went to. I know how hard you worked to get to where you were. I vaguely know about the mission you were on when this happened to you—that’s all the news talks about. Well, they also talk about how whatever you were involved with is still highly top secret so the public isn’t allowed to know the specific details of it. It's been nearly 2 months now since you landed here, and who knows how much time you spent in the field hospital before you were brought here. Smells like a cover-up, if you ask me. I hope you’re not gonna be like some scapegoat for them,” that thought riled Cloud up, but he tried to relax and changed the subject, “But anyway, all that stuff in the media doesn’t actually answer the real questions I have, like what’s your favorite color? Why did you think that mullet was a good look for you in high school? Yeah, the news channels love pulling out that photo of you in your yearbook.”

More silence greeted him and Cloud also fell silent again.

He kept his visitations up, he kept asking Zack random things, but got bored of not having anything answered and soon ran out of things he wondered about without repeating himself. So instead, he used Zack as a way to vent his frustrations with work, and some of the people he had to engage with.

“Did you know that Mr. Storgeno wanted all blue cocktail umbrellas? Well, I didn't either, until he opened up the box right in front of me and started complaining about it. Like I packed that box myself and purposefully put green and red umbrellas into the packet, just to spite him. Kinda wish I had,” he finished in a mutter.

He had many more stories to tell about how he—the messenger—got shot, in the proverbial sense. Venting like this made Cloud feel lighter every time he left the hospital at the end of his day.

That was Cloud’s life; struggle to wake in the mornings, struggle to stay awake in the day during work, dealing with pleasant and unpleasant people alike, and then dropping by the hospital on the days it was on his roster, to chill out before going home where he’d have a battle to shut off in order to get a good night’s sleep.

The days and weeks passed. The military continued their stance of keeping quiet to protect national interests, and so, public interest diminished. The media in front of the hospital dwindled, there were no more sensational headlines, and news of Zack Fair faded into the background and complete obscurity as the months Zack spent in hospital turned to 3.

Cloud still caught sight of the occasional military uniform, much to his chagrin. He managed to avoid them mostly, and came and went undetected as Zack’s security didn’t seem very dedicated to their job, especially as the public no longer had any interest in the man stuck in the ICU ward.

It was one unremarkable evening; Cloud had finished all his deliveries, bar one. Exhaustion clung to him, weighing him down. He went to the coffee station on his way to Zack’s room, pulling his hat over his face as he passed the goons, who stood near the coffee station, cups in hands.

“Did ya hear that they’re gonna continue paying him an on-active-duty wage? The guy’s barely alive from what I’ve seen,” grumbled a burly military man into his cup of coffee.

“And here we are, gettin’ paid less than the guy we are here to guard. Just makes ya wanna spit,” the smaller of the two men responded.

“I’ll tell ya what, Biggs, if I were in charge of the budget I’d find better things to spend it on. Why’s he even need all this special attention? Stick him in the public sector. My sister-in-law’s a nurse over at the fifth district. Says they have all the same equipment.” “The big wiggs gotta put on a show. Make it look like they actually give a shit about their employees. Makes for a hella PR stunt.”

“Ya don’t think the whole thing was a setup to begin with, do ya?”

"No clue. They tell us jack shit."

Cloud had enough. He slapped on a lid for his coffee rather violently and spilling nearly half his drink. Hissing, he grabbed for napkins to mop up the mess and dry himself off a little. He felt eyes on himself and lowered his head, as well as turning away slightly. He unfortunately still heard it though—

"Ya heard the rumors that General Strife’s son doing deliveries around here, haven’t ya?"

Cloud's nostrils flared.

"Deliveries…” a derisive laugh followed. "Is that the only thing that kid's good for? If that was my son I’d be disappointed. I heard everyone in that family has some foot in the army. To be doing deliveries," disappointed tutting followed.

"I know what ya mean."

The voices sounded louder as if directed at Cloud. He threw the soiled napkins in the bin and rushed off, coffee and bouquet in each hand, heading down the hall and away from the muttonheads.

He barged into Zack’s room, dumped the bouquet at the foot of the bed and started pacing.

“How dare those jerks talk about you like that. After all you did. This is what I hate. The backstabbing, two-faced bullshit. Being treated like a number and a burden!"

He was in full swing—pacing around the room and fuming. “I can see it in their smug, douchey faces, you know. The derision. The pity. I don't need anyone's pity. I never asked for anyone's pity. And they throw that same shit at you. At least you can't see or hear it. You're a national hero, but they try to brush you off like you don't exist. Like you're broken. That's what they all do, you know. If you don't cut it they cut you off, and let you go." Cloud stomped, his hands flew around wildly gesticulating as he kept ranting, "They love nothing more than to hammer home what an epic disappointment you are to the whole fucking family,” he slammed his fist into the wall with a low growl. The pain radiated up his arm. It helped to sober him up and cool him off a little. He breathed furiously and stared at the wall, which had become rather blurry through the tears welling up in his eyes.

He listened to the buzzing of machinery in the room. His ragged breathing and the steady beeping of Zack’s heart rate monitor cut through the slight ringing in his ears. Yet the beeping sounded a fraction faster than what it had been before.

“Sorry,” Cloud muttered and turned back to face the room. He stared at Zack's unchanging body for a while before he shuffled back toward the comatose man. Picking up the bouquet as he went, he sank down into the now-familiar chair and placed the flowers on the table where he should have put them to begin with. “I hate it, y’know. I hate what you do and the organization you work for. And if you were to wake up right now—well, I'd hate to think that I’d probably hate you too.” His heart felt heavy. Most of all he hated that it was the truth. As upset as he felt right now, he wasn’t saying this to be vindictive; nothing but honesty left his mouth.

He gave a hard stare at the man on the bed before him. His face was turned away, and Cloud thought it for the best as he spoke in a slow, semi-whisper, “A part of me hopes you won’t pull through.” He cast eyes to the floor. He felt awful admitting it. “I don’t want to be here. I don’t want to be doing this. And most of all, I don’t wanna know you because… because if I got to actually know you through something other than the media, I'd probably end up really liking you. It's easy to hate you when they espouse you to be the poster child of the military. I don't want to like you. I don't want to hate you. Fuck, I don't know." Cloud clutched his head, flinging off his hat and rubbing at his hair furiously. "I don't mean that. I'd rather think the best of you, really. But…" he sighed, "you also don't seem like someone I would ever get along with. Everyone seems to love you—I mean, I don't think I've ever seen a room so full of flowers and get-well wishes on cards. You know, the cleaners have to clear out your room once a week to stop this place from becoming a jungle? That's how much people like you. I mean, I don't know if they are from personal friends and family, but… it doesn't even matter. It’s been three months and you still get so much love showered your way. You're like an amazing poster child. The media made it sound like you were a prodigy; super good at your job; such a bright future ahead of you. That's what I hear the shitheads outside say about you too—the ones who envy you. That's what it is, you know, jealousy and envy. And I know because…” he huffed. “But here you are, nearly dead. Bet no one envies that.. Bet they wouldn't have the guts to be the kind of guy you were—are. I don't even know whether you're dead or alive. All I know is that you're everything I hate in a person. You're everything I wish I could have been. Shit. I don't know. I'm just ranting, ignore me." Cloud sat up straight and replaced his hat.

With a heavy sigh, he continued, “It’s a pretty shit way to feel about someone, especially since I don't even know you. Look, I guess all I know is that from everything I've seen and heard, you sound… really irritating. I guess it’s not the fairest assessment to be making about a person.” Cloud, leaning back down to rest his forearms on his thighs, knit his fingers together and stared at his hands. “I probably sound like a real asshole. I guess I am. And to be honest, if you woke up and I found out you were somewhat of an asshole, that would make me like you more. It would give you a redeemable quality.” Cloud huffed out some sad amusement and looked up at the man he had just admonished. “Or maybe I want you to be an ass so I can feel better about myself.”

He righted himself from where he had slumped. “But all that being said… I actually kind of do hope you pull through. I’m not evil. Or maybe I am.” Cloud cast a glance toward the currently frosted-over privacy windows that looked into the ICU ward. “I want you to prove everyone out there wrong. It’s disgusting the derisive pity and platitudes they all spout. I'm sure you deserve better than that. I'm sure you don't need their shit.” Cloud sighed and picked up the coffee cup he had set down amongst the bouquets. He took a sip and grimaced. “And I'm also pretty sure I deserve better coffee than this.” He aimed and threw the cup toward the bin near the door. He hit his mark and collected himself so he could walk out of the room with an air of aloofness.

“Anyway, good chat, I guess. See you later.”

_____________

Deciding he didn't want to take on his colleagues workload, as he felt rather run down, he arrived very early in the afternoon at the hospital. Cloud wandered down the hospital hall, carrying another bouquet to its usual destination and felt rather anxious. The thought of how long it had actually been since his delivery recipient had landed in the ICU began bothering him. The fact that Zack was still in the same state as the first day Cloud had done his delivery grew disconcerting for him. Yes, the man didn’t need a machine anymore to help him breathe; yes, several more of the intensive care equipment had slowly been moved out of the room, but Zack was still there. Was he brain-dead? Was he improving? Cloud tried to not think about the other man too much, but lately it ate into his sleep and he could feel the onset of another unwell period settling in. He hated how he could practically feel himself slipping into the prodromal phase of his condition. He needed to get some good sleep tonight if he hoped to not crash and burn in the morning. So he stopped by the nurse's station to see if he could get some information.

“Evening Simon,” he said of the man dressed in dark scrubs and a hazel complexion.

“Hi, Cloud. That's another very lovely bouquet you got there.”

“Aerith is a master when it comes to this stuff. I don't think any of the ones I've brought in have been the same.”

“I think you're right. But what can I do for you? You don't make a habit of stopping by for a chat.”

“Ah, just wanted to know how Zack was doing. He's still in the ICU after all this time. That doesn't seem right. Will he be okay?”

Simon looked past Cloud to where Zack's room was. “Considering how on a knife's edge he was, he's doing remarkably well. He's been such a delight, it's almost a shame that we'll be moving him next week.”

Cloud stared, baffled by everything the other man has just said. “He's being moved?”

“Yeah. Getting his own private area, up on the fifth floor of the residential rehabilitation wing. It’s pretty nice up there.”

“Wouldn't he be better off staying down here?”

“No. He's out of imminent danger. Plus, he’s been asking to be moved for the last two weeks.”

“A-asking? But he's out cold.” A sinking feeling grew.

Simon looked confused. “He's been pretty vocal. For someone in his shape, he's been remarkably upbeat these past few weeks. You don’t know that he’s awake?”

If it were possible to feel sea-sick on land, Cloud experienced it at that moment. “No.” The nurse hummed. “Maybe you keep coming in when he's sleeping?”

Cloud really hoped that was what was going on, but his brain went to the worst-case scenario; mocking betrayal. “Yeah. Must be it.”

Cloud took his leave and headed to the room. The windows were frosted over for privacy. As he approached a man with raven hair, and a woman with ebony curls, and an olive complexion, exit the room. They didn't appear to be the regular military personnel; wearing casual clothes as the sting of winter had gone.

As the parties passed each other the woman stopped Cloud in his tracks. “Excuse me, are those for my son?”

Cloud looked toward Zack's room and back at the couple, both of which were a good five inches taller than himself. “A delivery for Zack Fair.”

The man and woman gave him big, good-natured smiles.

“So you must be Cloud,” she said.

Strangers knowing his name always unnerved him. “Ahhh, yeah—that's me,” he answered warily. Cloud had his hand taken and shaken in turn by both of them.

“We can't thank you enough for keeping our son company. We know that it means a lot to him.”

Indignation started to build, but he kept his cool. “There's nothing to thank me for.”

“Oh, come now. Don't be so modest,” the rather-fit-for-a-middle-aged man said, smiling broadly. He clapped Cloud on the shoulder.

“You have been such a great help to our Zack. Thank you,” the woman looked to want to pull Cloud into a hug, but the flowers he held seemed to dissuade her, to Cloud’s relief.

“If we can ever repay you for the kindness, please let us know,” the man said.

“Oh, n-no, that’s not… I’m just doing my job,” Cloud stammers lightly.

He received more warm smiles an ‘thank you’s before the woman urged, “Dear, we should be leaving, and let Cloud get on with his work.”

“Right, right. Thank you again for looking after our son.”

With that the couple hurried off, leaving Cloud staring at the now offending room before himself. He thought about not going in. He'd obviously been played. But he had a job to do, so he inhaled sharply and ventured forward.

On opening the door he was greeted by a wholly unfamiliar voice, “Hey, mom, pop did you—”

Cloud stood in the doorway, glaring daggers

The bright smile vanished even before the sheets were flung over the bedridden man's head and the lump under the blanket shuffled flat against the mattress. Faux snoring sounded moments later.

Cloud stood and his hard-as-steel glare broke at the ridiculousness of the scene playing out before him. It might have been amusing if Cloud wasn’t getting red hot with anger and embarrassment.

He closed the door behind himself and moved toward the bed, a frown playing on his lips. He went to the bed and dropped the flowers on the tray table, making the flimsy plastic rattle. “Another bouquet from Aerith,” was his business-as-usual greeting.

Cloud received no response other than the snoring quieting down a little. He glared and made a snap decision. “I’m not coming back here.” Humiliation burned. Cloud turned to flee the situation and feelings. He’d rather quit his job than make one more delivery to this place. He was going to tell Tifa as much.

“No, Cloud. I’m sorry. I’m an asshole, I know. But that’s why you should stay,” came the hasty and guilty admission in a low, rusty timbre.

Cloud stopped before he reached the door. Without turning back he agreed with the man, “You are an asshole.”

“But it’s my redeemable feature, right?” Zack laid out gently.

It took all of Cloud’s energy to keep his body from trembling with outrage and mortification. How long had this bastard been faking it? “Does Aerith know that you’re awake?” he got out through grit teeth, wanting to know how deep this farcical ruse went.

A few beats of silence. And then, “She visited last week,” came the muttered response.

The outrage erupted. An actual growl rumbled in the back of CLoud’s throat. Through grit teeth, he snapped, “And?”

“Aaaand—we talked and had a really nice time,” came the small, chastened voice.

Cloud huffed, sharply. His clenched fist trembled and his heart hammered. The flash of heat inside his body sprang to his cheeks. He thought he could die from embarrassment. She had known. He had seen her this late morning and she had said nothing to him. He didn’t know who he was madder at. “Good luck with your life,” he spat over his shoulder, without looking at the bane of his existence, and marched to the door.

“I’m so sorry,” came the plea. “Please don’t leave. Let me ex—”

Cloud slammed the door behind himself and hurried out, ignoring any looks or questions of concern he received. His whole body trembled with burning outrage by the time he got to the car. He couldn’t go back to work to drop the van off. He couldn’t face Tifa without snapping at her and unleashing all his anger at her, because she must have known as well.

Cloud went home and passed out in his bed.

#clack #zakkura #FFVII Modern AU #fanfic #sneakpeek #first chapter #hospital #military #cloud strife #zack fair #tifa lockhart #aerith gainsborough

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iraklismytridis · 4 years

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Good question: For the empath, how to stop being enmeshed, thinking others’ emotions are our own. (I should elaborate: Ivo starts out explaining how we sense the energy of others, and then goes on to explain when we’re enmeshing our energies with others’ and mistaking it as our own mood).

Me: I know a few ways it works for me but everyone senses energy differently. Ivo: They do. You are visual. When you see a picture of another or have them standing in front of you, you can read them. Without the visual image, it is difficult for you to understand the frequency of the other person. What in effect you are doing, my love, as you are not aware, is reading their aura and cross-checking it with energetic impressions you are receiving through the light body. This is why you are visual. Visuals read energetic colours and sense frequencies although their physical eyes may not yet see them. (clairvisual, clairsentient) Other people may be non-visual. They may be able to sense others’ energy from across the world just by focusing in on them (clairsentient). This is of course, possible because we are all One. They are sensing through the collective energetic field for groups, or for individuals they are sensing their personal energy by focusing in on that. You are an exception in the matter of non-physical beings who are around you. You can sense particularly malevolent ones without seeing them around you (clairsentient). However it is a question of your being clear-headed. If you are busy with mind chatter and thinking a lot, you will be focused using the other side of your brain, which does not sense anything and is focused on your physical world. It is also a question of where your focus lies. Sharon has dealt with negativity all her life and is well-versed in sensing negative energy as a result. She can readily pick out that which differs from her own. She loves that which aligns more with her own. Me: Is it possible that there are people who can use both sets of senses at the same time? (What I mean is to have the third eye functioning as well as the other two at the same time). Ivo: Yes, they are very advanced and not that common on your world. Although they do exist. You must understand what you tend to default to. Rate your normal mood on a scale of 1 to 10. Know your default state. Understand the moods you tend to have. Also understand that as you do your personal work, these default moods will change. With the case of Sharon again, she will come across people on earth and sometimes get a feeling of “ugh!” as she does not like their frequency. It is her first impression of someone. At times the ego will override and this is what you must all look out for. Sharon understands she finds a particular type of man attractive (they remind me of Ivo and I believe they were part of my waking up process) and she will instantaneously like men with longer hair because of this. This is a personal preference and she must be aware, as she has not been through the years, that her preferences override her ability to sense their energy. Also your intellectual beliefs can override your intuitive senses. If you have been brought up to be nice, you will override your initial reaction to someone who is nasty and then end up experiencing a problem because you ignored your senses. Me: Yup. If they have guitars it helps too. But that’s probably social conditioning. Robert Plant was the closest. Ivo: Yes, and their tight clothing also helped to remind you of the galactics you left behind. I kid you not. Me: Yeah, bring back the 60’s!! Ivo: The other point I wish to make is that you must also understand that when you sense energy, there are different ways of relaying that to the lower mind, the mental mind. The lower mind prevails within the physical plane and determines your next course of action. In the case where it is aligned with higher mind, sensing energy is easier and decision-making is easier as well. So, impressions need to be made on the lower mind. These can come in the form of “gut feelings” – some feel sick to their stomach for example, or queasy, when sensing negative energy. Some, on the other hand, feel emotion in order to register what they sense with their lower mind and this is what Sharon does although she has felt queasy she does not tend to feel it in her stomach. She will respond emotionally to negative energy by reacting, in fact taking it on and having a negative reaction, and this will always be a negative reaction to a negative person. This does not mean she IS negative, it means she senses negativity and registers it as an emotion. An example would be her habit of saying, “Ugh!” when she crosses a person whose frequency she does not like. It must register with the mental mind somehow and again, this is different to all and personal.

Me: Now, what about sensing the emotions of others? How do we do that? Ivo: This is a process of understanding your personality and what you tend to have problems with. Of course the personality is part of the matrix as your lower mind is enmeshed with low frequency signals that make you believe it is you doing the thinking. Me: Yes. Ivo: It is best to understand that all low vibrational moods are NOT YOU at all. You are a being of love. Your lower mind tricks you into believing otherwise. However, understand what tends to upset you. Sharon is impatient, for example. She is not one to happily stand in grocery line-ups, but she realizes that when she is in a better mood she has less problem with that. All must understand their triggers. Understand what makes you angry. Understand what closes your heart. Understand what makes you happy. It is self mastery. Mastery of the Self leads one to be able to determine when you are behaving out of character for yourself and this is often due to the influence of others’ energies, be they near you, or not. Understand you can also be energetically influenced by unseen entities. Yes. Me: My camera picks them up. I’ve seen them all around me. Ivo: Also, understand WHO makes you unhappy. This is very important. Whose company do you not enjoy? When you understand whose company you don’t enjoy, you must search to find the reason. And that reason may be that they are an energy vampire, seeking you out when their mood is low. Or that they will project their low energetic moods onto you, yes, this is possible. People can psychically attack another person as if saying, “Here’s my bad mood, deal with it!” Yes, it is possible. If another makes you uncomfortable or unhappy in any way, you must be cautious of dealing with them. Shielding then becomes important. Shield your energy from their energetic intrusion. It is best to keep ones’s chakras as clear as possible and monitor your moods. That way you know when your energetic field is being influenced by another. Also cord cutting is important for good energetic maintenance. If you have not cut cords regularly, these energetic ties will be picking up the energy of all the people you have interacted with since the last time you cut cords. This can lower your mood as well. Yes, you are corded to the grocery clerk who checked your purchases last Tuesday if you do not cut cords. Me: Yes. Ivo: But for sensing emotions of others, it is best to know yourself thoroughly. Know your shadow thoroughly. Watch for sudden changes of mood. When you speak to someone and then find yourself in a lower mood upon ending the conversation, you have given energy to someone who has taken yours and replaced your good energy with their bad energy. And as I said, watch for people you consistently feel bad around. If they make you feel bad, then why have them around you? This can also happen by dealing with people electronically as well. They do not need to be present. For those who came here to transmute exchanging positive energy for others’ negative energy is a way of life and will often create a depressive if not understood. That is how you are raising the energetic field of the collective – by transmuting the negative energy of all you come across. You are also doing this through grounding to the earth and picking up energies through the earth’s grid. It is unavoidable. This task is important because otherwise, people would be in a far worse condition than they are now, and the collective would be at the mercy of dark agenda to cull the herd. The lightworkers’ sacrifice of their own state of mind has helped the collective. It is best to learn to transmute negative energies quickly and learn to open one’s heart and buoy your mood again. To become proficient at this, you must understand that it is always happening, and look for a drop in mood or an elevation in mood upon interacting with others. That is step #1. Clearing your own energy field regularly and cutting cords is also important. Understanding your own moods and what tends to set you off is important as well. Also looking for sudden changes in mood, or upon prolonged interaction with another, a steady drop in mood. Me: Or sometimes they just tell you: “I always feel so much better when I’m talking to you.” It makes interacting with others very difficult because you find you don’t like many people when you always have to clear up the energetic garbage they’re not dealing with. You also become avoidant for the sake of preserving your sanity. Ivo: Yes, my love. You must understand as an empath and a transmuter that it is going on constantly. You are always transmuting negative energies. Understand as well that when you think about another person you are connected to them. This is also an interaction because physicality does not matter. You are energetic beings. So when you think of someone, you will connect with them and begin to transmute their mood if such is required. Me: Wonderful. Ivo: It is a wonderful ability but in a very low density setting it can be depressing. And I know you’ve struggled with that. Me: Yes. Ivo: It is good to look at the upside. You can read a person and then determine who you wish to deal with and who you do not wish to. You have the foresight that so many others do not. Me: I have intellectual foresight as well. Experience has taught me who to avoid. Ivo: Yes. So you are a strong sensor of energies with a strong understanding of human nature. Me: So I guess one thing that empaths want to know is are they going to go to 5D if they’re always being bogged down by others’ negative energy? Ivo: Of course. But for the empath they have the additional task of understanding their gift and utilizing it for the greater good. Me: It’s not what you’ve got, it’s how you use it. Of course. Ivo: Yes. For those of you who are empaths who only related to life on an intellectual level, it is now a steep learning curve for you to change the way you relate to life. You must see it energetically, not intellectually. Understanding this energetic gift, being able to sense energy, is a question of knowing yourself, knowing your defaults, keeping your energy field clean and watching for untriggered drops in moods. That is the short answer. Me: So what’s the long answer? Ivo: There are many things you can be corded to. You can be corded to concepts, you can be corded to past lives, you can be corded to people from past lives which would require your continuing to enact that past life to a conclusion now, you can be corded to other dimensional beings, you can also be corded to your own personal reptilian, yes, who will do this in order to keep you on an energetic leash, so to speak. Me: Diabolical, as usual. I’ve probably had the reptilian handler, haven’t I? Ivo: You did and you fought him during your dark night of the soul, and you won. Me: Oh yeah, that’s why AA Michael showed up. I was literally battling my demons. Ivo: My love, you are also corded to the concept of overeating. Me: Who? Me? Ivo: Very funny. You are. You are in a repetitive loop. All you need do is break the loop. Cut your cord to it. Me: It’ll re-cord. Ivo: Break it again. You have done this time and time again and it is easier when your energy rises as in the summertime when there is sunshine and you frequently sunbathe. In winter it is more difficult because the drop in energy from the lack of sun makes you look for energetic sources elsewhere. So you fall back in old patterns, old loops. Patterns are loops, my love and loops can be broken. They are in a sense, like spells. You understand that it is entirely possible to change your lower mind, your personality, because life is an alchemical process and transmutation is part of that, so is cutting yourself off from undesirable energies. Me: Why haven’t you told me this before? Ivo: You were not ready. I can only tell you what you are ready to hear, the next steps. Me: Oh yeah, has to do with my frequency. Ivo: Correct.

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diana-miad380-blog · 4 years

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Why is UWM Planting Native Plants Around Campus?

Question #3: Why is it important to plant more native plants? Why do we need to manually add to their population? How important are they really? If a similar invasive plant moves in is that really such a bad thing?

“Native plants are those that occur naturally in a region in which they evolved. They are the ecological basis upon which life depends… without them and the insects that co-evolved with them, local birds cannot survive. For example… native oak trees support over 500 species of caterpillars whereas ginkgos, a commonly planted landscape tree from Asia, hosts only 5 species of caterpillars. When it takes over 6,000 caterpillars to raise one brood of chickadees, that is a significant difference” (Audubon).

Benefits of planting native plants in your yard/home garden: they are ecologically designed for that environment and are therefore low maintenance, require less (non-rain) water, and less chemicals including pesticides, artificial fertilizers, herbicides, and other chemical additives. They also support wildlife better than any invasive plant ever could.

What’s the problem with invasives?

Primarily, they have no predators in their new environment/ecosystem. They did not co-evolve with everything around them, they don’t have a niche, an ecological purpose, and shoving their way in disrupts the balance and threatens the area’s biodiversity. A classic example of this co-evolution is the cheetah and the antelope, over time, they both became faster, the antelope as a defense- to better run away and escape, the cheetah as an offense- to better catch up to and kill the antelope being able to eat and sustain its needed energy. It’s a continuous process, with neither species gaining a true upper hand, leading to a balance in their natural world. But when a predator is suddenly given a brand-new prey, its evolved advantages don’t make sense; they have no means to take as much advantage as possible of it. The same is true in the reverse, defense mechanisms against specific predators don’t work effectively against something newly introduced. For example, many trees have generated built in defenses to local/common insects, fungi, and some diseases. They are not protected against all, just the ones in their area. So, when either put in a new area or with a new threat added to theirs, these trees become extremely vulnerable. Entire forests have been destroyed in record time because of this phenomenon. There’s another kind of organism too, one that can actually alter the environment itself and make it more favorable to their needs. The Yellow Starthistle secretes a chemical from its roots that is extremely harmful to plants without an evolved immunity. It kills off all the plants around it, clearing space for it to expand. In an area without immune plants and without natural predators, the Yellow Starthistle can expand exponentially, destroying everything in its path.

So that’s why invasive plants are bad, but why keep planting native ones?

Keeping the balance, a stable state, of an ecosystem is the best thing one can do for it. It’s quite possible for an invasive species to result in the extinction, at least at the local level, on a native one. We know that something like that causes a chain reaction, sometimes a huge one depending on what and where. I was thinking about Darwin and his finches, about how from two different islands they had two different beak shapes, which he believed to be the result of the size/shape/hardness of the seeds; their available food. Imagine that an entirely new seed-producing plant with very different seeds is introduced; if it were to do well and overtake the island, out-compete the original plants for resources and became the predominant seed on the island it would affect the finches greatly. They’re designed for the original seed, they co-evolved together. They would be very ineffective at eating this new seed which has now become their only resource. Their population numbers would suffer, causing anything and everything else on the island that depended on the finches or used them in some way to have drastically and suddenly lowered populations as well, and the same with the next chain, and the next. That island’s ecosystem would collapse, it would likely suffer several extinctions or near extinctions, all because of the limitation of a single native plant. That all brings me to another ideas, which if the finches didn’t even realize they could eat this new seed? It’s entirely possible, as a something unfamiliar, they don’t acknowledge it as a food source.

Last year I did a science research project on the Lionfish’s invasive presence in the Gulf of Mexico. Now, they aren’t plants, obviously, but the principals remain the same. One of two major problems with them was that they had no predators. They had predators in the Mediterranean areas, where they co-evolved with the other marine life. Some of those predators are even found in their new environment off the coast of Florida, but they weren’t eating the Lionfish, why? Simply because they were new and unfamiliar. The sharks of the East-coast Atlantic did not co-evolve with the Lionfish as the Mediterranean sharks did, they flat out don’t recognize the Lionfish as something that they can eat and instead continue to eat only their familiar prey. I wonder if that same thought or process would apply to “predators” of plants? It seems likely that many invasive plants could be food or nest material or something for the smaller animals and insects but aren’t simply because the animals have never seen it before, they don’t know what, if anything, they can do with it.

Continuing to add native plants to our environment helps to mitigate the damage already done by invasives, plants and animals alike, and help to slow any further damage. Invasive species get to where they are almost exclusively due to humans, it’s our responsibility to do what we can to remedy the situation. We must preserve the balance.

https://www.audubon.org/content/why-native-plants-matter

https://www.environmentalscience.org/invasive-species

#research questions

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naruwitch · 4 years

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Code Geass: Paladins of Voltron Chapter 12: Taking Flight

"Sire, if capturing Voltron is the Empire's number-one priority, then I suggest we begin moving the main fleet toward its last known location posthaste." The Galran commander said as he knelt boldly before his leader. It was Prorok, a proud Galra that was currently stationed at the Galra's main fleet. Ambitious and loyal to the bone, he did everything in the name of Zarkon for his best interests, even if it meant taking matters into his own hands.

To Prorok's disgust, though, the witch turned to the Emperor and presented her own course of action. "Lord, after many years, the Komar Experiment is finally ready. Soon, we could have more quintessence at our fingertips than ever imagined. We must test it before moving the fleet."

Prorok rose in defiance, "We don't have time for any more of your magic. We must move our ships now." The Emperor must see that this was the perfect opportunity to take Voltron.

"Voltron is the most powerful weapon ever created," Haggar argued, "His puny ships will never be up to the task. We must be well prepared for our next encounter."

Zarkon slammed his hands against the arms of his throne, and Prorok took a step back in surprise before immediately kneeling again.

"I know better than anyone the power of Voltron. Haggar has my trust. We will perform her test," he decided.

Seeing that there was no more point in arguing, Prorok rose to his feet and stormed out of the room. He met up with one of the Galra officers he was over, Thace, a quiet but loyal Galra, in the hall away from the throne room.

"The witch has his ear. Keep sending our offer out to any scum between Planet Arus and Balmera X-95-Vox. I'll capture Voltron on my own."

o~o

"Okay. So, when we get there, what do you think? Do we just roll up and like, start blasting? Or do we land and have some kind of... public address system, like, 'Attention, Galras. This is Voltron. Turn yourselves in!' No, nevermind. Blasting, right?" Shirley asked as she paced anxiously with the rest of the Paladins sitting on the steps below her. She had no idea how a rescue mission was supposed to go. Not to mention this would be Voltron's first official mission, several things could go wrong. She was almost having an anxiety attack when Kallen gently interrupted her.

"Shirley, calm down. And yes, blasting."

"Shirley, it's okay for you to be nervous," Rai reassured her, "it's our first big mission, a rescue mission even. Everything's going to be alright."

"Nervous? I think she's more excited," Rivalz grinned.

"Excited to see her new BFF!" Milly sang as she tipped her head to wink at the Orange Paladin.

Shirley looked like she wanted to protest when unusual alarms started going off in the ship. They didn't sound like the emergency ones, though.

"What's happening? Are we under attack?" Lelouch asked urgently.

"No, it seems to be a distress beacon," Coran informed them as a small red triangle appeared on his and Allura's screens.

"It's coming from a nearby moon," Allura confirmed, "Apparently, a ship has lost power."

"I wonder who it is?" Suzaku wondered.

"Okay, well, whoever it is will have to wait," Shirley insisted, "The Balmerans have first priority. We can check back on them when we're done."

"The Paladin Code states that we must help all those in need," Allura chastised.

"Wow! This is so cool," Rivalz exclaimed, "It's like we're space cops on space patrol. Coran, do we have a siren we can turn on?"

"Uh, no, we don't," Coran admitted.

"Well, we could record you making a siren noise and broadcast that to them if you'd like," C.C. suggested with a mischievous glint in her eyes.

"Perfect!" The Blue Paladin started to make some pretty lousy siren noises before Lelouch pinched Rivalz lips shut.

"Nope, not doing that!"

o~o

It didn't take long for the Castleship to approach the moon in question. Seated around a small bond-fire were two aliens, a little robot, supplies, and a decent-sized ship that looked like it had been worn out through many battles.

"Attention, damaged craft, this is Princess Allura. We are coming to assist you." The six towers folded in on themselves, and the castle turned upright with more fluidity than any Knightmare or aircraft on Earth could ever achieve. It slowly and gracefully lowered to the ground next to the crew.

One of the aliens, a humanoid alien, with four fingers instead of five. He was tall with muscular arms, mauve skin, and purple spots. He had lank white hair and some pre-pubescent facial scruff. He also had downturned eyes and a cartoonishly straight nose.

"Whoa. Nice ship."

o~o

"Stay aboard and try to get as many of our systems clear of that Galra crystal energy as you can. We'll see who hailed us," Allura informed Coran and C.C. as she and the Paladins all prepared to meet the lost aliens.

"Yes, Princess," Coran nodded while C.C. shrugged. She might as well learn how a few of the things worked on the castle. Two pairs of hands were better than one after all.

o~o

They didn't take any of the Lions down to greet the strangers. Instead, the team descended to the ground in a small elevator shuttle. The doors opened to reveal the Princess and the entirety of Team Voltron as a whole. As they exited and approached the stranded party, the purple skin leader grinned, holding a wrench-like device in his hands.

"You don't know how glad we are to see some friendly faces. Most folks don't want to get tangled up with anyone who's on the run from the Galra."

"So, you're fighting the Galra as well?" Milly asked. However, almost immediately upon exiting the pod, her student council president senses perked up. Something felt wrong to the Yellow Paladin. She couldn't put her finger on it, but something was off.

"Well, I don't think Zarkon is exactly quaking in his boots at the three of us," he gestured to the robot and his female comrade, "but we do what we can. I'm Rolo. This is Nyma, and our cyber-unit, Beezer."

"Hi," Nyma smiled. She was a tall alien with pointy ears, cream and yellow skin, and blonde hair with two brown stripes at her forehead. Her eyes were light purple with darker purple pupils and sclera. Her lower arms were slightly larger than her upper arms, and she had three fingers on each hand.

Rai's eyes nearly bugged out of his head at the sight of the robot. That was probably one of the coolest pieces of machinery he'd ever seen! "Cool robot!"

Rivalz was wholly enraptured with Nyma as he immediately shook her hand and introduced himself, "Hi! Name's Rivalz!"

"Was your ship damaged in a fight?" Suzaku asked Rolo.

"Yeah, we've really been through it with the Galra. Parts are hard to come by," the purple alien explained as he looked back at the ship, "Luckily, we were able to limp to this moon about a week ago. If you didn't pick up our distress signal, I didn—"

"We're happy to help," Allura interrupted him, "I am Princess Allura of Altea, and from now on, you won't be alone fighting the Galra. You'll have the Paladins of Voltron by your side."

Rolo rubbed his chin and looked back and forth between the two groups. Lelouch, Suzaku, Milly, and Kallen were standing next to Allura at the ready. A hint of light even shined off Lelouch's helmet. On the other hand, behind Rolo, Rai was still examining Beezer with Shirley crouched next to the robot with a small smile. Meanwhile, Rivalz was again flirting with Nyma, who giggled at a remark the Blue Paladin made.

"...Okay," Rolo replied dryly, not really sounding impressed.

"I don't believe they've heard of us," Lelouch said.

"Well, it has been 10,000 years," Kallen muttered the remark.

"Voltron? Seven robot Lions that combine into this big robot... person?" Shirley tried to explain.

"Sounds impressive," Rolo said, "I'd love to see it. Or—Or him. Them?"

"Alright, enough chit-chat!" Milly proclaimed, clapping her hands twice, "Let's get to work on your ship. We all have places to go and people to see."

"You know how to fix spaceships, Milly?" Suzaku asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, my family does own the Ganymede, and therefore I know it's maintenance and function. This should at least be a little similar, at least the basics anyway." Milly didn't mention that she'd also binged, with the help of a translator, a couple of manuals she'd found on the ship while they were waiting for Rivalz to wake up from cryo-sleep.

"I can help too," Kallen said, "I've had to repair Knightmares from scratch before. Two sets of eyes are better than one too." Milly nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, sure," Rolo agreed as he leads the two of them to the ship.

"Pretty much our whole flaxum assembly is shot," he explained as he opened one of the hatches, "I don't know what kind of extra parts you carry in this rig of yours. I've never seen anything quite like it."

"I'm sure we can get you back up and running," Allura smiled. In the background, Rivalz was attempting to flex his muscles for Nyma, who giggled at his efforts. Milly was watching the pair very suspiciously.

"Give Kallen and Milly a list of what you need. Coran can show you where to find it." Allura told Rolo then gestured to the two women.

"Okay," Kallen shrugged.

"We'll go with you," Rolo said, "Don't want you ladies carrying all that yourselves. Come on, guys."

Rolo started walking towards the Castle when Milly planted herself right in front of him with her hands on her hips.

"Uh, yeah, I don't think so. You can just wait out here."

"Milly, don't be rude!" Allura said sternly.

"Yeah, mind your manners," Rivalz said, "you're giving a bad impression!" He grinned apologetically at Nyma.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Oh, but does anyone remember the last time we let our defenses down?" Milly asked, with a frown and narrowed eyes, "Someone kind of set off a bomb. Remember, Rivalz? You were almost killed."

"Oh… yeah," Rivalz wilted a little at the memory.

"Milly's right," Lelouch nodded, "apologies, but we must exercise caution. This is our first meeting, after all."

"Hey, I don't take it personal," Rolo said with a smile. Beezer rolled forward and printed off a list of materials, which Rolo handed to Milly and Kallen, "That's how it is out here. You've got to look out for your own. You're doing a good job."

"Yeah, thanks," Milly frowned as she looked between the list and the alien.

o~o

"My planet was destroyed by the Galra, and I was taken captive," Rolo explained as he, Lelouch, Suzaku, Shirley, and Allura, as they all sat around the fire. "I managed to escape, but not before I lost something," he pulled up his pant leg to reveal a metal prosthetic leg.

"I'm so sorry," Shirley murmured. She glanced back behind Rolo to see that Rai was still playing with and examining Beezer. She wondered, even though most of his memories were gone, whether the Green Paladin felt the same way.

"Well," Kallen called out as she and Milly lugged a large storage box out, "I hope there are some parts in here that will fit."

Rolo glanced back but made no move to join them.

Milly scowled, "...You know, to get your ship moving?"

Rolo smiled and waved back, "Great! Thanks!"

"So, what can you tell us about Zarkon's forces?" Allura asked, drawing Rolo's attention again, "Where are they concentrated?"

"Well, his Command Ship sits right in the center of the Empire. He mostly calls the shots from there and has his minions do the work, depending on who's closest. This is the territory of a real nasty bugger named Sendak."

"Oh, trust us, we've met," Suzaku frowned.

"How far are we from the center?" Lelouch asked, leaning forward.

"We're way out on the fringes," Rolo said. Before he could say anything else, Milly roughly cleared her throat and walked to the group, with her arms crossed.

"Hey, sorry to interrupt, but I think you guys are kind of keeping Rolo from working. Didn't you remember we're supposed to be in a hurry? Shirley kind of has a promise she needs to keep."

"Yeah," the Orange Paladin nodded, standing up, "someone named Shay saved my life, and I told her I'd come back to help her and her people. You understand, don't you?"

"Sure. Sorry," Rolo said, as he passed Milly by. The Yellow Paladin pursed her lips and glared after him. Yup, these people were up to something all right.

As Rolo started looking through the parts, Lelouch walked up to Milly, "You've noticed too, huh?" he said lowly.

"Yeah. Sorry for the attitude Lulu, but I don't trust these people at all," Milly whispered back.

"Neither do I, but we can still use this opportunity to gain valuable intelligence on the enemy. Just keep your guard up."

"Got it," she nodded before glancing at Rolo again. She turned back to the prince. "Honestly Lulu, I think we should just leave the parts here and let him take care of-"

"Hey ma'am," Rolo called over to Milly, "Sorry, but do you think you could hunt down a length of thermal pipe, about yay long?" he held out his hands to show the measurement.

"I can do it," Kallen said as she ran back to the castle for the part, "be right back!"

As Kallen went to get the part, Lelouch walked up to Rolo again, "So are there more freedom fighters? Any kind of organized resistance to the Galra?"

"Only folks who haven't been colonized yet, or the lucky few, like us, who managed to escape somehow," the alien said.

"Well, we're going to change all that, very soon," Suzaku informed him as he walked up to them with Allura, Shirley, and Milly.

"That's good to hear," Rolo smiled, "but I've got to warn you, it's pretty bad out there. You don't know what you're up against."

o~o

"I mean, there are only seven of us in the entire universe, so…" Rivalz said as he kept talking the Nyma, "I guess you could say it's kind of a big deal."

"I don't understand," Nyma confessed, "The Lions are ships? Are they, like, flying statues that you ride on?"

"Oh, no, no, no. They're magic, but also super scientific and advanced," Rivalz explained, "And they fly crazy fast and have all these incredible weapons. Really, the entire castle is just insane! I wish you could see it."

"Yes, it's too bad we're not allowed inside. I would love a tour from one of the knights," Nyma said with a small smile, "But I guess the yellow one is in charge, huh? You have to obey her orders?"

"Who, Milly? Pfft, maybe at school I do, but not out here!" he grabbed Nyma's arm and enthusiastically led her inside the castle.

The two arrived at the command deck with no problem. "This place is incredible!" Nyma gasped.

"Yeah, I guess," Rivalz shrugged casually, "You get used to it."

"But it's so gigantic. It must take you forever to get to your Lion," Nyma said.

Rivalz just smirked, "Oh, you'd be surprised."

Soon the two of them were laughing gleefully as they slid down the zip line. Rivalz blushed the entire time as Nyma gripped his chest tightly. It didn't take long for the two to be in the Blue Lion's cockpit. Nyma looked around as the interior lit to life.

"Pretty slick, right?" Rivalz grinned.

"Unbelievable!" Nyma exclaimed, before turning to the Paladin, "Take me on a ride around the moon?"

Though Rivalz was flattered with the offer, he knew that Lelouch probably wouldn't approve of it, "Uh—We should probably get back to the others."

"Yeah, you're right," Nyma sighed, "Maybe Rai will give me a ride."

Upon hearing this, Rivalz completely changed his mind, "No! Whoa, whoa, hold on a second!" Rivalz stretched out and pressed a few buttons, activating the engines, "I mean what's the point of having the Lion if you can't enjoy it, right? Giddy-up, girl!" he exclaimed as the Lion zoomed out of its bay and rocketed into the sky.

Back down below, Kallen, Milly, and Rolo looked up just in time to see the Lion vanish.

"Ugh! Rivalz!" Kallen exclaimed in frustration.

"Ah, let them have their fun," Rolo said with a small smile, "Thanks to you two, this thing is just about ready, so we're going to be on our way soon. Too many light-years on that guy, I guess."

As Rolo returned to examining the ship, Milly couldn't help but narrow her eyes suspiciously at the part they just replaced. For some reason, it didn't look like it needed to be replaced entirely. Several other parts of the ship looked the same too, but Rolo had insistent on replacing them.

"Yeah... sure."

o~o

The Galra central command was hovering above a giant planet that looked to be flooded with beautiful trees and plants. But the Galra weren't here for that. No, what they sought was much more sinister.

From aboard the ship, the witch, Haggar, and her druids were floating on large platforms above. Haggar was positioned in the middle, with the other four druids surrounding her. Their platforms each had a Galran crystal underneath that began glowing a dark purple. Below them was a device merged in the center, right underneath Haggar.

"Begin the ritual," Haggar commanded, as a magic circle began to glow underneath her feet. Identical circles appeared under the others as well, "Druids of the Four Directions, join us!"

Pillars of purple energy hit Haggar's crystal, and the witch slowly guided it down past her in a vile form of dark magic. Upon being absorbed in her crystal, the energy hit the point where the merged device met, coloring it a wicked shade of black. The dark energy traveled up the pillars of the device until it hit the sides of the wall that supported it. They lit up in bright purple colors, creeping down towards the bottom where it sharpened to a point. Finally, the very bottom of Galra HQ erupted with a sphere of dark, black energy, almost the size of the base itself.

Down below on the planet, many animals minded their own business, nibbling at the plants and flowers for food. Suddenly, the flowers began to wither and die, streams of blue energy being sucked from them into the sky. The animals looked up in confusion but saw no cause for this phenomenon.

It didn't take long for the Komar to suck the planet completely dry of all of its bounteous quintessence, storing it within a large storage unit. The planet below them, once bright and vibrant, darkened until there was no sign of life left.

It was dead.

Haggar's platform rose above the others to meet the Emperor that had been watching from the deck above. The witch smiled triumphantly.

"The Komar Experiment was a success. We have gained an entire planet's quintessence, a feat that would have normally taken us years."

"Most impressive," Zarkon commented as he turned to face the storage unit holding the energy. "This will revolutionize the way we advance throughout the galaxy. Mining and colonizing planets is a thing of the past. With this much power available at our whim, we can now spend all of our time hunting down and capturing Voltron."

o~o

"Look! A kinetic spring!" Nyma pointed as the Blue Lion descended back to the water, "Let's land over there. The minerals reflect off the water, making a rainbow," the Blue Lion's back paws trailed within it, kicking up a mist that sparkled into a rainbow above.

"Wow. Is there anything you don't know?" Rivalz asked as he gazed at the beautiful sight.

However, while Rivalz wasn't looking, Nyma looking down at a band that she had around her wrist and clicked the button on it. It began to flash red rapidly.

o~o

Back with the rest of the Paladins, Rolo's band also began to glow red. The alien smirked rolled out from underneath the engine.

"I think this thing is just about ready for a test flight," he said as he closed the hatch, "Beezer, come co-pilot for me. Be back in a tick." the two of them rapidly disappeared inside, leaving most of the Paladins confused.

The ship's thrusters activated and easily lifted off the ground. It soared off towards its destination. The Blue Lion.

o~o

"So, ah, you want to see how fast I can climb this tree?" Rivalz asked with a smirk, leaning against the said tree.

Nyma giggled again, "Aw, you are cute. Let me show you something. Give me your hand."

Blushing, Rivalz held his hand out to the alien, only to suddenly be jerked forward and have something clasped over his wrists. He grunted as he was then slammed against the tree, as the cuffs around his hands emitted an energy beam that wrapped around the tree, effectively trapping the Blue Paladins.

As Nyma took a step back with a smile, Rivalz tried to move his hands, but they wouldn't budge a bit.

"Um… this is… kind of…" Rivalz said, an uneasy feeling suddenly rising in his gut. The rest of what he was going to say was interrupted as Nyma, and Rolo's ship appeared from above. Rivalz watched in horror as it sucked the Blue Lion inside. Rivalz could already hear her roaring and lecturing him for falling for such an obvious ploy as she disappeared inside.

"Nyma, what're doing?!" he asked desperately.

"Sorry, Rivalz. Maybe we'll meet again," she said as she was hoisted into the ship with a wire that extended down.

Rivalz only watched in terror as the ship turned and fired off into the sky and out of sight.

The Blue Paladin frantically looked around for something to either call for help or to get him out of his bonds, but all he found was his helmet that was sitting a couple of feet away.

"Oh, quiznack..."

o~o

Back with the rest of the group, they were still waiting for Rolo to return from his 'test flight,' perched on the supply and part crates they'd brought down. The longer it was, though, the more Lelouch got suspicious of something else happening.

"How many ticks have they been gone?" Rai asked.

"I don't know. I hope they didn't break down again," Allura said.

"Something's not right," Milly declared, her arms tightly folded.

o~o

Rivalz managed to slide his body almost entirely to the ground, and he strained with his foot to kick his helmet over to him. He wouldn't be able to put it on, but he knew that the others would still be able to hear him. He had to warn them, and the sooner they knew, the sooner they could go after the thieves.

It took him a couple of tries, but he finally managed to hook his toes under the glass visor and swing it over to his head.

Panting he called out into it the best he could, praying they could hear him, "Guys! Hello? Little help?"

o~o

Upon hearing the distressed call, all the Paladins put their helmets back on to listen to him properly.

"Rivalz? Rivalz! Are you all right? What's going on?" Lelouch asked urgently.

"Well, I'm kind of chained to a... a tree." they heard him say.

"I knew it!" Milly yelled, an angry scowl on her face.

"And I think Nyma and Rolo just stole the Blue Lion."

"I knew it!" Milly shrieked, throwing her arms down.

"Where are they?" Lelouch demanded, gritting his teeth in anger and frustration. He knew they shouldn't have trusted them! Now they had another problem on their platters.

"Uh… space?" Rivalz said helpfully.

"Oh! I never trusted those guys, right from the beginning!" Milly ranted. And she continued to do so all the way through the castle and to her Lion's bay.

"I mean, y'know, at first, it was just like a feeling in my gut, you know? But when Kallen and I were replacing that thermal pipe, the pipe was cracked, but none of the hardware around it was damaged."

"Okay! We get it!" Shirley shouted through the comms.

"I mean, if the thermal pipe is cracked, then, obviously, hello, the entire assembly should be totally roasted," Milly was on a roll in rants and showed no sign of stopping. At the same time, the other Paladins just meekly listened to her explanation. At the same time, though, they were all mildly impressed that she knew so much about machinery interiors.

"Okay, we get it!" Suzaku exclaimed through the comms.

"We should've had to replace the entire undercarriage of that reactor. So, right then, I was, like, positive. Foul play."

"Okay, we get it!" everyone, even Lelouch, shouted at her.

The six remaining Lions soon launched from the castle and took off in hot pursuit of their stolen sister.

o~o

"Commander Prorok, my name is Rolo," he said to the Galran on the screen, "I understand you're offering a reward to anyone helping capture the Voltron Lions."

"That's correct," the commander said, "do you know where they are?"

"I know where the blue one is. It's in my ship."

"Excellent," Prorok intoned, "Bring it to me, and you'll have your reward immediately."

"Just a tick. You see, my friends and I have a bit of a checkered past," the bounty hunter added. "Some stolen merchandise from the Galra Empire may have fallen into our possession without us knowing about it."

"Well, I'm sure that a full pardon can be arranged for the brave souls who bring Emperor Zarkon a Voltron Lion. Is that all?" he asked, somewhat impatiently.

"We'll take the reward too," Nyma confirmed.

"Of course," the commander nodded.

"All right, we're on our way," Rolo confirmed as the commander's face disappeared as the screen closed up.

Rolo stretched and cracked his knuckles as he leaned back in his chair, "I almost feel sorry for those Voltron folks. Seemed like a nice bunch."

"If you're feeling guilty, you can turn yourself in," Nyma frowned. "Stealing from Zarkon carries a life sentence."

"They don't seem… that nice," Rolo amends.

o~o

Onboard the command ship, Prorok turned to Thace again, having just finished his conversation with Rolo, "Send the nearest fighter squadron to the area of the transmission. I'm not trusting some bounty hunter with our prize."

o~o

Alarms started blaring in Rolo's ship as it continued to it's meet up point. Pulling up the feed, Rolo was shocked to see the other six Lions in hot pursuit of them. The Blue Paladin must've warned them somehow. It suddenly wasn't looking suitable for any of them.

"No way!" he gasped. He pulled up the stirring system and pressed a few more buttons. They had to shake them and fast!

"Are you sure you know what you're doing?" Nyma asked, "There's no way we can outrun those Lions."

"Not in the open. Good thing the Zorlar Asteroid Belt is right up here. I know that like the back of my hand," Rolo smirked as he zoomed towards the asteroid belt. They could quickly lose them in here… right?

o~o

The Lions screeched to a halt at the entrance of the belt. They could barely make out Rolo's ship as it moved farther away from them.

"We'll never get through his asteroid belt!" Rai exclaimed, flabbergasted.

"Maybe I can just bust through!" Shirley suggested.

"No, Shirley! Wait!" Suzaku called out in warning, but it fell on deaf ears. She and the Orange Lion raced forward, head lowered to charge through.

She did hit the asteroid. However, all it did was lazily bounce off another one behind it, causing it to bounce off another, and another, and another.

"Nope. That was wrong. That was a bad idea," she quickly deduced.

"Kallen, you're the only one who could possibly fly through this," Lelouch said, "We need you. Get in there and flush him out."

"Understood. See you on the other side!" the Red Paladin exclaimed.

As the other five Lions pulled out to go around, Kallen and the Red Lion zipped into the field, hunting for its prize. She smoothly spun around asteroids and debris as if she did it daily. They hopped from rock to rock fluently like a jungle cat, growing ever closer to the cargo ship.

The other Paladins could only watch in awe at Kallen's skill.

"I still can't believe that that's Kallen out there!" Shirley said.

"I know! It's like she's been flying all her life!" Rai agreed.

Lelouch from inside the Black Lion smirked, "Well, in the Black Knights, she's our number one ace pilot. In combat, she can easily use a Glasgow to take down several Sutherlands at once. She's a formidable foe and valuable member."

"Maybe a little too valuable?" Milly giggled with raised eyebrows.

Lelouch scowled and blushed, 'Damn you, she-devil!'

"You guys realize I can hear you, right?" Kallen asked through the comms, though she was blushing for an entirely different reason as she heard the praise that Zero gave her as she and the Red Lion ran along a rather long, narrow asteroid. A shadow fell overhead of them, and Kallen gritted her teeth as she drove her Lion to move faster to avoid the other asteroid about to collide with them. "Come on, Aka! We've got this!" With one final thrust of her controls, Aka shot out in between the rocks just as they crashed.

She smirked as she saw that she was now practically right on top of Rolo and his crew. They seriously didn't think they'd get away, did they?

o~o

"No way!" Rolo exclaimed as the camera showed the Red Lion, "Get on the blasters! Take her down!"

"Copy," Nyma said as she pulled up the controls with Beezer.

o~o

From on top of the ship, two blaster cannons elevated above. They started rapidly shooting in Kallen and Aka's direction.

Kallen saw them and gritted her teeth as she pulled up behind another asteroid. In retaliation, she had Aka shoot out some energy blasts of her own, each of them barely missing the cruiser.

From inside his ship, Rolo, despite the situation, couldn't help but smirk, "This chick can flat-out fly!"

Despite the multiple blasts, though, Kallen quickly began to close in on them.

"She's gaining on you!" Nyma shouted.

Rolo instinctively yanked the controls to the left. As the ship swerved out of the way, Kallen barely had time to stop herself as she narrowly avoided hitting another asteroid.

She gritted her teeth and pulled back on the lever, allowing Aka to activate her leg thrusters just in time. They leaped out from the rock, and with a smash of a button, Kallen activated Aka's jaw blade. With a swift swing of her head, the knife flew at the ship, burying itself in and destroying the two blaster cannons on Rolo's ship.

o~o

"Blasters are offline!" Nyma reported as the three crew members braced themselves with the turbulence.

"We gotta get out of here!" Rolo said as he fired the thrusters one last time, hoping for a last-ditch escape.

o~o

"Oh no, you don't!" Kallen yelled as Aka fired an on-point shot at one of the engines. It exploded, and the ship was soon spinning out of control. Red lights and alarms blazed as the crew inside held on for dear life. It began descending towards the planet just outside the asteroid belt. But before they could crash, Aka's claws gripped onto the ship. With a pull of the thrusters, the Lion and Paladin brought the crew to a stop in the middle of space.

Kallen grinned triumphantly as the five other Lions surrounded the ship.

"Yeah!" Kallen laughed, "Hey, Rivalz, I got your Lion back!"

"Thank you, Kallen," Rivalz said through the helmet, "Now, can you come and unchain me?"

"What's that? I, uh... Y-You're cutting out. I can't—I can't hear you," Kallen teased, even going as far as to make some static noises.

"Oh, come on!" The Blue Paladin exclaimed, "I thought we all bonded!"

o~o

With Kallen and Suzaku dragging the crew and their ship back to the moon, and Milly making a trip to rescue Rivalz, the Paladins and Allura now faced the thieves.

"Since your ship really doesn't work now, you'll have to wait here for a rescue," Suzaku said, disappointment in his tone.

"Thanks… for sparing our lives," Rolo said sincerely.

"You're welcome," Lelouch said, narrowing his eyes, "But… should we catch you doing something like this again, you won't be so lucky…" Lelouch understood why they did what they did, but that didn't mean he was happy about it.

Rolo gulped and nodded.

"Now that these guys are dealt with, can we go now?" Milly asked impatiently.

"Yeah, Shay and her family are still waiting for us," Shirley agreed.

"You may not believe this, but I hope you do stop Zarkon," Rolo confessed. "It's a lifetime of fighting the Galra that led me to where I am today."

At this statement, Lelouch's eyes lightened a little. He could only think of how many other rebels or criminals were thinking the same thing. What they needed more than ever was hope… and he knew just how to give it to them.

As the ship left the moon and the wayward thieves behind, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

"Hey, Kallen, was that that you called the Red Lion?" Rai asked.

"Oh!" Kallen blushed a little, "'Aka,' it means 'Red' in Japanese."

"You named your Lion?" Suzaku asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well… not really! I mean, it's just the color in a different language, I mean…" she stopped when she saw all the amused faces of the other Paladins, "Okay! Yes! I named her! Is that a problem?!"

"No, no!" Shirley shook her head with a giggle, "I think it's cute! Honest!"

"Hey! Maybe we all do that? Have the other Paladins done that Allura?" asked Milly.

"Well, no," Allura said but smiled, "but there's no rule saying that you can't."

"I think it's a good idea," C.C. spoke up, catching everyone's attention. "You keep talking about them building bonds with their Lions. By having names for them, it proves that they are being treated as equals, not just machines."

"I agree as well," Lelouch nodded, "having a name gives identity. You're not much without it."

"Great! Lion naming party!" Rivalz shouted.

"After we save the Balmera," Lelouch emphasized.

"Right, right!" Rivalz quickly agreed, leaving everyone laughing all over again.

o~o

Haggar held the container of quintessence in her palm as she and her druids surrounded the test subject. After the last one failed, she was more determined to make good on her promise to her Emperor and make a weapon that not even Voltron could stand up against, and she believed that she found the perfect subject.

"All this Quintessence will turn you into the strongest, most horrifying fighter ever created. One that even Voltron will not be able to defeat."

o~o

Omake:

Lelouch and Kallen were tasked to clean and fix the damage that was caused during Sendak's invasion. It was a dirty job but, someone had to do it.

Rover was there to help with schematics and which parts needed repairs.

"Why we got to do this?" Kallen grumbled, patching a hole, "A highly advanced castle without any droids or robots to fix the problems. I can't imagine how we're going to fly this thing during battle."

"That I don't know, Kallen," Lelouch answered with a sigh, "This is something Coran probably knows since he knows this castle up and down."

Both of them continued in silence. It was awkward, leaving the two of them together. Ever since Kallen found out Lelouch was the leader of the Black Knights, Zero, she felt a tingling of betrayal inside her. Finding out the man you admired and respected turned out to be an exiled Britannian prince.

However, after hearing his explanation and seeing his memories, she understood why he rebelled. Like her, both of them lost someone important because of Britannia's cruelty and corruption.

She understood why he needed to hide his face. If Ohgi, the others, and the rebel forces knew, they might have tried to ransom Lelouch to free Japan. But that would have been impossible. If the Emperor was willing to abandon his children to the Lion's den, she doubted he was ready to negotiate.

Sure, during Sendak's invasion, they bonded, but knowing the truth was different, and it felt awkward for both of them. Even Lelouch could felt it.

So she decided to break the silence. "You know, Lelouch, I never actually thought in my life that we would be the first humans to meet alien life and journey into space on a giant, advanced robot Lion."

"Yeah, it's mind-boggling that there are other lifeforms farther than our Solar System. And piloting a giant, robot Lion that makes Knightmares look like small chew toys," Lelouch chuckled. Though, he would love to see the Lancelot try and go up against Voltron. They could merely crush it if he wanted to.

"I want to apologize for accusing you of lying to me earlier." Of course, she didn't speak it out loud, but she needed to get it off her chest somehow, and this was the right time and away from prying eyes, especially Milly.

"About me being Zero and an exiled prince?" It was no surprise that she distrusted him for lying to her, but like him, she wanted to get it off of her chest, like how he confessed to everyone that he was Zero.

"Yes, it's just that I never thought something that terrible happened to you and your sister. Being forced into exile to an unknown land."

"No need to apologize, I was glad she was blind. Thank the small mercies she couldn't see what I've seen," Kallen didn't need to guess what that meant.

"Still, if you have problems, don't hesitate to call for help. We all are here with you as a team, you don't have to act like Zero all the time."

"Thank you, I'm glad to have met you, Kallen, first."

The redhead blushed that Lelouch thanked her. Sure, it wasn't some kind of confession, but still, it made her heart skip a bit. Then she saw Rover who saw everything.

"Rover, you didn't record anything, did you?" the droid turned around, not looking at her and making some kind of noise that sounded like a whistle.

"Coran, how are Lelouch and Kallen doing with the repairs?" Allura was drinking some tea in the kitchen.

"They should be finished right about-"

"Get back here you droid! When I get my hands on you, I'll make you a scrap!" Kallen shouting along with Lelouch following from behind.

"I think that's a 'No.'"

#Fanfiction #AU #Code Geass #Voltron #lelouch lamperouge #c.c.#suzaku kururugi #kallen kozuki #shirley fenette #milly ashford #rivalz cardemonde #rai (lost colors)#princess allura #coran #galra empire

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