#and preemptively: yes the wires are severed

[psychopathic-moves]

Going back & moving forward

(Prints)

[ernmark]

Juno Steel's Season 3 Finale Thoughts

Whoooooo boy.

Lots of thoughts. Lots of questions.

(spoilers under the cut)

A lot of this might be cleared up when I get my hands on that script, but until then:

Why was Sasha willing to destroy the Curemother Prime in order to kill Juno? That is a specific shot she made, and an incredibly valuable asset to destroy in the meantime. If killing him was more important than preserving the Curemother Prime, why did she attempt to spare him earlier-- or was it one of those 'bring him in alive' situations?

Is the Curemother Prime dead? Dead-dead? Or might some of it have splashed into Juno's open wound and hitched a ride in that weirdo blood of his?

Ruby is a Transformer now??? Like a T-2/Transformer hybrid? Is Juno gonna park on Io and then have the Ruby turn into like a necklace or a belt and just hang out with him so he has someone to monologue to? (Please!!!)

Who's waiting for him on Io (not waiting for him, per se, but he knows that somebody is going to be there)? Alessandra and her wife? Khan and family? Falco? Diamond?

Who set off the signal that lured Dark Matters to them? Right now the implication seems to be Peter, but I'm always up for a twist in the plot. (Peter's collector wanting to push him to actually get his ass in gear, perhaps?)

Who's side is Peter on, really? Was his preemptive escape him going along with that initial deal, or an act of cowardice and betrayal?

-------

Beyond that:

Alien road trip!

Seriously, though: we've seen Juno brought to his absolute lowest when he went out into the desert. We've seen him built back up again surrounded by support and loved ones and learn solid coping mechanisms. Now the scaffolding of that positive environment has been ripped away, and he's left to fend (almost) for himself. But this Juno Steel isn't the same one who came back from Miasma's tomb. He's taking the idea of Peter's betrayal in stride and then setting it aside-- not locking it away, but agreeing to deal with it when the circumstances permit. He's not resorting to self-blame or self-destruction, but taking an active role in getting out of there. He's trusting in himself and his family. And yes, he lashes out at the Ruby 7 for a moment, but it's a fairly brief moment, and then he calms down and they set out to work together.

Holy shit, you all. It's so amazing to see how he's grown.

-----

And really seeing the extent of that growth does in fact require pulling away those supports he's been holding onto. It's the real test, and that means he can't rely on Rita's ingenuity or Jet's wisdom, etc. This is going to be the larger, more extensive version of what we saw in the sewer with Small Fry, and I am so here for it.

But oh god, I hope the others are gonna be okay. Jet has the kind of faith that moves mountain ranges, but he's the one I most fear won't survive this.

Rita... I nearly cried when Rita admitted that she wasn't going to come with them. And of course she made out like it was no big deal, she just needed to take a detour, and of course Juno saw right through it and fought against her plan. But he trusts her, as much as she trusts him. It's a heartbreaking inversion of what we saw in Soul of the People.

And you'll notice that I keep circling around back to the end of the previous season, because there's a lot of parallelism going on. With the vibe I'm getting, this next season might just be the penultimate, if not the last season. It depends on how this next season is going to play out.

We've got this neighboring galaxy thing going on, with the Curemother Prime's origins, the memetic plague, and the Ruby 7-- all of which hearkens back to Season 1 with the Ancient Martians and Miasma.

We've also got a lot of untied strings involving the past. Peter's past, with his first love and his unspeakable debt; but also Diamond, Falco, and Hijikata; we've got the severing of Juno's relationship with Sasha, and what exactly happened that made their paths diverge. We've got Annie Wire-- I don't think we're done with her yet. And I'm still not about to let go of Marcus (aka, the mystery of the person who was mentioned in a S1 throwaway line that you can't even actually hear unless you're holding the script in front of you).

That's a lot of material to pack into a single season, but who knows?

[nothisis-ridiculous]

Duplicity

An AU where Kaidan joins Cerberus for the events of ME2.

Chapter Seven: None of Your Damn Business

The world exploded in a bright blast of color and piercing sound that had him clawing for his ears. The nerves fired and radiated pain from his lower back secondary to the assault on his headspace. His skull would soon burst because of the pressure that welled up inside of the cavity—the pressure and noises from within distorting his world into blurs of shape and color. Namely, a concoction of blues, a familiar burst of color to any biotics. Moreso that it belonged to a certain biotic that he recognized by frequency alone.

Even if those biotics collided into him. Sending him ass over tea kettle and painfully into a crate behind him. Shields and barriers depleted from the head-on collision.

The scion went down, but another took its place, yanking the dazed vanguard from the ground. The cannon exploding at point-blank range into her torso. The Commander went limp, and her corpse tossed aside as the abomination lumbered forward.

Was her barrier up?

He prayed her barrier was up.

Not that his thoughts of her fate were ultimately helpful in the moment, the creature lumbered toward him. His shields tried to reactivate, and his biotics faltered, ebbing away with another painful kick to his temples. He could do nothing but scramble against the metal crate and hope it was distracted or his shields would reactivate in time.

The scion lumbered forward, he couldn't find a set of eyes to focus on. Between the bar piercing through his skull and the pain radiating from the left side of his body, he struggled to face this creature. His gun was off somewhere, knocked out of his hands on contact with a charging vanguard, and his biotics refused to budge still. The Commander's stunt wasn't so lucky this time.

The abomination shredded, bits of wiring and oddly cold flesh coating his front.

"Shepard!" Kaidan cried.

Luckily some of the incessant ringing had faded far enough that he could find Mary's body, pulling it into his lap. Clutching it tightly against him until he felt the faintest trickle of breath against his neck. It hadn't stopped a few premature tears.

"Alenko! Incoming!" Jacob screamed over his comm.

Kaidan raised a protective dome, preemptively swaying the insectoid machine that dropped from the sky. His other arm held Shepard against his chest, hoping the delayed deployment of medigel would not worsen her state. He wouldn't risk the creature descending upon them; it would spell the end for the injured party. Luckily it stuck to a smaller group somewhere behind him where he had initially come in. The other group wasn't on his list of priorities, and only Mary mattered at this moment- the shallow, almost imperceptible breaths that slipped out of her mouth.

It was almost enough to ignore the strain such a bubble put him under, especially after the duress of being slammed by a biotic train.

Something pounded against the barrier, forcing Kaidan to look up.

"Kaidan, we're clear," Garrus shook his talons, mandibles vibrating as the turian examined both of them, "she's-"

He wouldn't accept the placating notion, "alive."

Kaidan finally administered a dose of medigel, blessedly her breathing deepened, but she remained unconscious. Probably for the best. He moved to his feet, cradling the body in his arms, "Joker, we need a pickup stat!"

"Who died and made you-"

"Joker," Kaidan snapped.

"Aye, Aye Sir!"

The next interruption was a little more welcome, even if he could not salute.

"Make sure you visit the Citadel," Anderson said slowly, looking over the pair of them slowly. His pupil's narrowed, and the corner of his lip flickered downward, "humanity could use the return of a spectre. Try to keep her safe, Alenko."

"Aye, Aye Sir," Kaidan returned reflexively.

Anderson's eyebrows creased, his gaze leaving to watch the Normandy pull into view. A slow smile crawling across his features, "keep yourself safe as well. The Alliance will want their report on this."

Garrus spoke once the Councilor had moved out of view and earshot, "that could have gone a lot worse."

Kaidan eyed the turian, "yeah, I guess."

~~~

He waited patiently beside her cot, long past the time Shepard had been changed into something more breathable. But he still sat in full armour, the swelling of the left side of his body ignored in his watch. He recalled Chakwas asking, probably several times over, if he needed anything. But he refused it, refused to do little more than swipe at the dried blood beneath his nostrils.

This was a little pathetic, a little beneath him.

But he stayed. Worried.

Worried over a woman that would snarl at him for staying at her bedside.

"Kaidan," an icy voice snapped, "what the hell happened down there?"

"Coming from the woman that couldn't keep up," he huffed, rolling his eyes as he looked away from Miranda, "rich."

Miranda folded her arms, the weight of her glare heavy on the back of his head. But what could she say? Did he need to bring up the rumor that she had been stuffed into a closet? This mission had spiraled far out of control, it was only because of Anderson's fondness for Shepard that they walked out of there without irons. And that was the best-case, worst-case scenario. The Alliance would let them live, the Collectors had enigmatic plans for the kidnapped humans; he doubted it was kind.

"Look, it went bad- quickly. There's, there was nothing any of us could have done better," he sighed heavily, "intel was bad. We were caught with our pants down."

"That's not-"

"Besides, we know Shepard is particularly bullheaded," even when she's trying her damndest to hate you, Kaidan counseled.

"Fair enough," Miranda conceded, dropping an arm, "the Illusive Man wants to see you in the briefing room."

"Me?"

"You were the only Cerberus operative on the ground."

"Can't this wait?" flinching at the whine within his tone.

"Shepard won't go anywhere," she deadpanned.

Miranda would not ask twice. But Kaidan was in no hurry to answer his summons. Neither did it mean that he would take the time to change either, by the way the woman looked him up and down, he could tell how awful he looked. Standing up reminded him of how awful he felt. His balance was still off, and his head resumed a momentarily dull thumping. It would spell a migraine later. The entire left side of his body felt stiff and awkward, the soreness multiplying unpleasantly.

Eventually, he reached the briefing room, pausing before he got within range of the sensor. It wasn't his first meeting with the man, but each discussion had started and ended with the same kind of dread. Straightening his back, he stepped into the room to find the Illusive Man already awaiting him.

"Alenko, G-" the figure stopped, looking him at with a hint of disgust, "good work on Horizon. You proved to be a valuable asset."

Kaidan's arms folded, "yeah. Could have used better intel."

The Illusive Man's eyebrow raised. Taken back by the bite coming from the usually gentle biotic, but not enough to pull an honest reaction to the accusation.

"The Alliance members stationed on Horizon, how did you miss that one? They don't make a habit of sticking around in the Terminus Systems."

"I may have let it slip that Shepard was with Cerberus and that Horizon might be next," the hologram waved off casually after a drag from his cigarette.

Kaidan's eyes rolled, "so you used the human Councilor as bait?"

"I couldn't be sure he would be there personally, but it proved the Collectors are interested in anyone connected to Mary," he continued dismissively.

Rage coiled in his gut, how could he use that name so casually? After using her to lure in a Collector vessel? His assumption that Mary was a puppet seemed more accurate with each turn, "and about that... did you want her abducted? Great timing with having the shore party arrive just before the Collector attack. Did you see the ship lurking or had hoped they would show?"

"Kaidan," the inflection in the other man's voice grew dark, the butt of the cigarette flying off screen, "I wouldn't risk a several billion-dollar asset so lightly."

"You'll have to prove that one to me," Kaidan chuckled, "we got lucky. Lucky isn't going to cut it."

"Good thing I provided Shepard a team that cares so deeply about her well-being," the Illusive Man's tone caressed anger, "which frankly I worry about your attachment."

"That's none of your damn business!"

"It is my business when the two of you try and destroy my ship, and threaten the resources I have poured into defending humanity," he produced another cigarette, "I had doubts about you coming on this mission. So far collateral has remained minimal- I know the two of you are at odds. I'm only allowing you to stay because I know how much you are willing to sacrifice for her sake. Don't become a detractor from our mission, or I will personally see to it that you are removed."

Both men waited in baited silence; the hologram gave up first, "can I assume you will fall in line?"

"Yes, sir," the biotic hissed from behind his teeth.

"Dismissed."

~~~

Mary struggled to keep her back against the shuttered bay of the medical facilities, an arm pressed against a still tender torso. She had been assured the Illusive Man wasn't expecting her to stand at attention and that he expected her bedridden state. It would be a casual debrief. Casual her ass. She couldn't show him an ounce of weakness.

The Illusive Man sprung into being in the center of the medical bay, a slight smile playing across his lips, "I'm glad to see you survived the encounter with the Collector forces."

"The Reapers will have to try much harder than that to kill me," Mary smirked, "I thought they already learned that lesson."

The man returned a smirk, "they will think twice before attacking another colony. The Collectors will be more careful now, but I think we can find another way to lure them in."

"We have to make sure they don't abduct anyone else," she warned gently.

"I want the Collectors stopped for that very reason. That's why we're doing this, Shepard."

"A little by the seat of our pants, but yes."

The man's eyes narrowed, otherwise moving on as if the barb was silent, "I'm devoting all resources to finding a way through the Omega 4 relay. We have to hit them where they live. Your team will need to be strong... as will their resolve. There's no looking back."

The Illusive Man made sure he held her gaze, demanding every bit of her attention, "the same goes for you. Can I assume your past relationships will not impede our mission?"

"None of your damn business."

For the briefest of moments, he looked amused, "I was beginning to wonder when your temper would return. Here I thought Alenko would be the compliant one... if it affects the mission, better you should leave it behind. Unless you want that distraction removed."

Mary set her jaw hard, the narrowing of her pupils the one true sign of her feelings. Not that her feelings around the biotic were completely clear, to begin with. Obviously, she cared, proving that by how she rushed in blindly to save Kaidan. But in the same heartbeat, there was hesitation, a gnawing sense of betrayal to find him in league with Cerberus.

"Shepard, once you find a way through the Omega 4 relay to the Collector homeworld... there's no guarantee you'll return. To have any hope of surviving, you -and your entire team- must be fully committed to this alone."

"Let me worry about them. You just find us a way to the Collector homeworld," Mary fought a growl, her eyes moving to a noise outside the flickering image before her.

"I just want to be upfront about your odds. You''ll need everyone at their best," he threw done a spent butt, "I've forwarded three more dossiers. Keep building your team while I find a way through the relay. And be careful, Shepard. The Collectors will be watching you."

The image flickered away, leaving Mary to face the physical man in the room.

[deaclbeat-blog]

“I’ve had worse.”

@becomedeviantInjured/Bleeding Sentence Starters

❝I’m aware I’ve literally seen you with your fucking heart ripped out alright? But that doesn’t make this okay!❞ He shoved Connor, none to gently, back into the chair and knelt down beside him. Holding your partners severed arm in your hands was probably a bit traumatizing, it definitely seemed traumatizing to Hank, so he felt he had the right to be freaked out just the smallest bit. His hands were shaking, his head felt like it was a mess, and he was struggling really hard to not get up and fetch a bottle from the cabinet. But he was holding it together, he was reading through the RK800 manual on arms, and he was sure he could do this.

❝I’m gonna have fuckin’ nightmares after this shit.❞ He placed Connor’s arm on his lap and leaned up, cleaning out the cavity that held the wires and bolts to Connor’s arm. According to him his own arm was still in working condition, it was severed yes but he preemptively disconnected his arm to prevent damage. He didn’t even want to think about that, his head was struggling to keep up with the fact that he had picked up Connor’s arm and was now going to reconnect it. 

He pulled his hand away and reached down for the arm, picking it up and shifting it around. Standing up he angled himself behind Connor and carefully moved the limb into place like the picture had showed. ❝Hey can you grab my phone with your working arm, Con’? I need to see the picture to do this right. I’m not fuckin’ you up.❞ The android complied and Hank leaned over to look at the picture before looking back to the arm. He angled it like the picture, felt it slot into place and then had Connor let his phone go to hold his arm in place. Now came the hard part, that he read over about fifteen times and made Connor quiz him on. 

He could do this, he could do this. 

Grabbing the tools he knelt back down and reached under Connor’s arm to the small holes to start connecting wires and bolting this in place. He took it slow, asking questions about everything he did before doing it. Connor was patient and calm, working with him on it and Hank was proud really proud when he finally finished it ten hours later and Connor could move his arm again. Heaving a sigh he drooped to the floor exhausted, his forehead pressing against the others knee. He would move in a moment, he was exhausted. 

❝Don’t ever lose a limb again.❞

[exceedinglyregular]

Prompt: Andrew finds out that Steven likes men with beards so he decides to grow one. Although he does learn that Steven loves him regardless, Steven still is quite into beard burn and he won't say no to Andrew growing his stubble/beard (Not necessarily NSFW, kinda up to you on the frontier).

Title: Growing on Me

(ao3 link for those who prefer: here)

Andrew’s trying his best to focus on this video he’s supposed to be editing but it’s hard to when his boyfriend is literally sitting across him, laughing his sweet ass off. Steven and Jen are going through a bunch of BuzzFeed quizzes just for the fun of it and they are having an absolute blast.

After a few more failed attempts at concentrating on the task at hand, Andrew decides to stop here for now. He yanks his headphones off and just when he does that, he hears Steven commenting on one of the options in the quiz.

“…definitely the bearded guy. Men with beards are HOT!” That’s information Andrew definitely needed to hear.

Andrew walks around the desk to cross over to where Jen and Steven are sat. As he approaches, Jen looks up from the screen to greet him, Steven is still too consumed by the questions laid in front of him.

“What’s this?” Andrew asks, intrigued. He rests a hand on the table and leans forward, trying to read what’s being displayed.

“Pick your favorite looks and we’ll tell you who’s your true soulmate,” Steven reads right off the screen. “I wonder who I’ll get…” Steven must see something in Andrew’s face that isn’t there as he immediately starts backtracking. “I mean y-you-… you! …you are the one for me, of course! I just- this is just- The quiz mean nothing, Drew!”

Andrew cackles loudly, causing a few heads to turn. He honestly can’t believe what just happened, they should’ve been filming it.

“I’m not mad, don’t worry.” And Steven breathes a huge sigh of relief, Jen is clearly amused by this exchange as she’s giggling away. Andrew gestures at the laptop. “Keep going, I’m curious too.”

After several minutes of in-depth pondering, Steven finally reaches the last question and…

“OH MY GOD!” Steven jumps out of his chair, and is stumbling over the wires running across the floor. Jen is screaming like a crazed sports fan whose team just won. The entire office is looking over at them but only for a brief moment, these kinds of outbursts are more than common around here.

Andrew reaches out and turns the laptop to face him so that he can get a better look at the result. It reads…

You got: Andrew Ilnyckyj! BuzzFeed’s very own ‘creepy’ guy. Don’t let that cool, stoic exterior fool you, he is secretly a lovable goofball. A man of many talents, Andrew is more than capable of whipping up a scrumptious dinner for you, and can even charm your socks off with his wide history and geography knowledge. Plus, he loves animals too! Who said the perfect guy doesn’t exists?

That little snippet put a hot blush on Andrew’s face. He doesn’t even think he’s that much of a catch, much less being ‘the perfect guy’. Steven appears to disagree as he pulls Andrew in for a kiss, hands wrapping around his waist.

“So does the quiz still mean nothing?” Andrew asks when they part. Steven’s grip on his waist tightens, and he brings his face in closer. Their breaths mingle as Steven replies in a low voice.

“Yes. I don’t need a dumb quiz to tell me anything.”

—

So that soulmate quiz thing may actually be accurate but… Andrew’s not taking his chances. It took him so long to finally get into a relationship with Steven, he’s going to do everything in his power to see it through. Even if said ‘everything’ is going to get uncomfortable for him.

Andrew has scratched at his jaw over twenty times for the last few minutes, so it’s no surprise that it caught his boyfriend’s attention.

“Beard problems?” Steven asks the next time he sees Andrew scratching away. Andrew stops mid-scratch, he smiles, hoping to make it look like less of a problem than it actually is.

“No, just…” He then continues scratching when he can’t stand the itch. “…really itchy”

“Why don’t you shave it off then?” Steven suggests nonchalantly, taking another bite of his pizza. Andrew feels his heart sink, if Steven is suggesting that… Does he think Andrew can’t handle a little prickling? Granted, what he has on his face is more stubble than beard, and he already has this much difficulty living with it. Maybe he should just- No. Andrew shakes his head, he’s not giving up.

“N-no, it’s fine. Just needs some time to get used to it, that’s all.” Andrew replies, aggressively rubbing the side of his face in hopes of ending the irritation.

“Oh-kay…” is all Steven says, continuing with consuming his lunch.

Damn the itchiness, Andrew’s just gonna have to grin and bear with it. He’s going to make Steven swoon so hard with his beard, and no amount of irritation is going to stop him.

Andrew picks up another slice, focusing on the chewing and the swallowing and the flavor, and pushing any thoughts of his facial hair to the back of his mind.

—

It’s been two whole weeks since Andrew has seen his boyfriend, and he wants to make Steven’s six-hour flight from New York completely worth the time. Andrew went ahead and tracked down the very quiz that Steven took to find that specific image of that bearded man. It took hours of preparation but Andrew thinks he has the look nailed down.

Andrew watches as waves of people pass him, he checks the time. Steven should be out by now. Just as he thinks this, Steven steps out of the arrival hall looking all around like a lost child searching for their parent at a mall. Andrew chuckles to himself and walks over to the bewildered man who is still looking the wrong direction.

“Hey kiddo, are you lost?” Andrew puts on a comically deep voice and a playfully concerned face. Steven spins around immediately, not yet recognizing his own boyfriend standing in front of him.

“No sir, I-… Andrew?!” His eyebrows rise up so high that they almost disappear into his white cap. Steven’s checking him out up and down, and Andrew is feeling just a little self-conscious to have that kind of attention on him, in public no less. “Is this your Halloween costume? Are you going as Adam?”

“What? No…” Andrew looks down at his clothing, which Steven is now thoroughly inspecting and oh god. He has a red and blue plaid shirt on, black skinny pants and with the beard… it’s the holy trinity of the iconic Bianchi look. All he’s missing is the glasses, which he fortunately doesn’t need. “I just… I heard that you’re really into guys with beards so…”

Steven laughs at that and it’s the most cute, innocent laughter Andrew has ever heard. Steven’s bent at the waist and doubled over, shaking with mirth. When he finally regains his composure, they are tears in his eyes that he has to wipe away. Andrew doesn’t understand what’s so funny.

“Oh my god, Drew! I wasn’t trying to hint at you or anything!” There’s a little tingle that runs down Andrew’s spine, like always when Steven calls him by that nickname. It’s sorta distracting him from the moment.

“I… I didn’t think you were, just thought that maybe I should take a little initiative…?” Andrew shrugs, unsure of how to explain his thought process.

“Even so, I don’t think Adam is a good look on you.” He frowns and yeah, Andrew already has thoughts to rework his style. Still, he feels it’s important to explain his intention here.

“I just want to make you happy,” Andrew kinda mumbles, not moving his lips as much as he should, as if he’s ashamed to admit it. He stares down at the floor like a shy high-schooler asking someone out to prom.

When he finally gathers enough courage to sneak a look at Steven… he is looking at Andrew like he’s the biggest dummy on the planet. He takes a step towards Andrew and brings a hand up to cup his face, soft fingers gently stroking his beard.

“And you do. I love you, Andrew… beard or no beard, it doesn’t matter.” Steven’s smiling at him with the intensity of a thousand suns, and the warmth bursting through Andrew’s heart matches it in magnitude. It’s sappy but true.

“I know. I love you too.” Andrew closes the distance between their lips, and maybe it’s from missing him so much but Steven’s lips taste way sweeter than Andrew ever remembered. Even over the hubbub of the airport, Andrew can distinctly hear the tiny noise of satisfaction coming from Steven. When they pull away, it’s Steven’s turn to look embarrassed.

“You know what? I actually really like it, it’s really rough but…” Steven leans way in, bringing his lips next to Andrew’s ear, the hot breath almost making him shiver. “…that kinda turns me on.”

Before Andrew can formulate any sort of response, Steven’s walking off with the baggage cart. What a tease. Andrew catch up to him with double-wide strides, returning to normal once he’s side-by-side with his man again.

“I didn’t really like it at first either but it’s growing on me.” Andrew pauses for dramatic effect, Steven is already preemptively rolling his eyes because he knows where this is going. “Literally!”

Andrew’s pointing finger guns at a very done Steven, he even pretends to fire a few shots. The taller man lifts one hand off the handle of the cart to slap him on the arm, but he’s chuckling at the pun regardless.

“Not your best work. I give it an 8.”

“Out of 10? That’s a pretty good score.” Andrew wrestles for control of the cart away from Steven, who initially resists but gives up to yawn.

“No, out of a 100. You’re failing miserably.” That’s what he claims but Andrew knows better. The fondness that’s on full display on Steven’s face tells him all he needed to know: he succeeded perfectly.

Closing notes:

Some of you may notice that I actually teased the title in the last prompt fic.

[inquisitorradcliffe]

Senticous - Radcliffe

Drabble Prompts- Senticous: prickly; thorny

The air was stale. The low thrum of oxy-recyclers contested with the annoying whine from a single strained lumin globe that was too old to competently handle the responsibility of lighting the whole room.. The room itself was as monotonous as the combined drone. Black tiles floor met four white walls, one of which boasted what was clearly a two-way mirror. The furnishings included a simple table and two steel frame chairs.

Aizal Coleman occupied one of those chairs as he drummed his fingers against the tabletop. Eyes shifted from the fidgeting digits every so often to cast sporadic glances at the mirror. Coleman was a natural recluse, but not a dumb one. The notion that he was being observed by someone, potentially several someones, unnerved him. His anxiety was made evident through several chewed fingernails and bloody cuticles. He muttered quietly to himself, cursing the desire that prompted him to leave his apartment and seek out this place.

“I maintain that I have done nothing wrong.” Coleman raised his voice ever so slightly to ensure those on the other side of the glass heard him. He glanced around, expecting to find a chronometer on the wall but coming away with only disappointment. Still, if he hadn’t missed a beat in his head, they had held him here for the better part of twenty minutes, alone and without counsel.

“He did come here of his own volition.” Kadmiss leaned over and whispered into his counterpart’s ear. Counterpart was a loose term. In reality, the second man far exceeded him in both rank and power. Kadmiss was all too aware of this. Still, sometimes it paid to ride on coat tails.

“That proves nothing,” Radcliffe snapped. He was dressed in black from his trousers to his jacket. A cravat of dark navy poked out of his collar, cushioning a silver brooch in the shape of a stylized I. He rubbed his chin with a gloved hand as he studied Coleman through the glass.

“But sir,” Kadmiss protested. “What sort of criminal would willingly alert the authorities, much less the Inquisition, to their own crimes?”

“The incredibly stupid,” came the reply. “Or the terribly clever.”

The Arbiter opened his mouth to respond but he suddenly found himself alone.

Coleman jumped visibly as the door clicked and swung inward. Radcliffe swept in and took a seat across the table from the fidgety man. He raised a preemptive finger to keep Coleman from speaking. The man snapped his agape mouth shut. “Mister Coleman.” Radcliffe produced a dataslate from his jacket and thumbed it on. “Fourteen counts of murder. That is more than enough to earn summary execution without taking into account the ritualistic aspect of it. Such a thing suggests something far fouler than a simple killer.”

Coleman blanched. “I didn’t…” he whispered. “I wouldn’t.”

“It appears you did.” Radcliffe looked up briefly. “Who else has access to your crawl space?”

“I alerted you to the presence of the corpses! Why would I do that if I was the culprit?” Coleman’s voice rose in pitch as he spoke.

“That is why I am here. Answer the question.”

“N-no one. No one that I know of.”

“The only access is in your basement?”

“Yes.”

Radcliffe flipped the slate around so Coleman could see it. The screen displayed a wire frame representation of the man’s house below the foundation. “A sonogram scan revealed something you might find interesting.”

Coleman’s eyes went wide as his brain registered what he was looking at. Beneath his single bedroom home was a monstrous cavern that extended for miles beneath the earth. “What is this?” he whispered, half to himself.

“Your salvation, it seems,” Radcliffe said. “I am more inclined to believe you given this information.” Coleman looked as if the Emperor himself had risen from his Throne and spoken to him. “But,” Radcliffe continued. “I must ask again. Who else has access to the crawl space?”

“I don’t know,” Coleman repeated.

Radcliffe sighed. “You brought this upon yourself, Mister Coleman.”

The light overhead burst, the white flash vanishing almost as quickly as it appeared, leaving nothing but an afterimage across his vision every time Coleman blinked. He was astonished really, at just how complete the darkness was. It was as if reality had ceased and there was simply nothingness. But that couldn’t be right, could it? Someone was banging on something. Muffled shouts could be heard. Coleman strained to hear them, but he felt he could make out the words stop Radcliffe. He was cold. When had it gotten this cold?

Something slapped wetly in the darkness and Coleman froze. It was a footstep. He had no idea how he knew, but he was certain of it. It came again and again, drawing nearer each time until he felt clammy breath on the back of his neck. A slimy hand gripped his shoulder.

Coleman screamed.

And reality came back.

“That is our culprit then.” Coleman recognized Radcliffe’s voice. He opened his eyes to find himself sprawled on the floor. His skin was soaked with cold sweat and he had wet himself. Radcliffe was standing by the door with a man dressed in an Arbiter’s uniform. The Arbiter looked down at Coleman with concern.

“What of him then?” Kadmiss asked.

“Keep him. His memories might still be of use, even if he has suppressed them. When we have eradicated the creature, his mind will be wiped and he may return to his life as per usual.”

Kadmiss frowned. “Is that justifiable?”

Radcliffe gave the Arbiter a deadpan look. “I am an Inquisitor,” he replied. “Everything I do is justified.”

[kingturtlemusings]

Tremor - Chapter 1

Doctors and nurses bustled about, all too many of them pulling double shifts, and yet they were still outnumbered ten to one by patients. Ven Rial hadn’t suffered this critical of an attack in over a generation, and it showed in the strain and numb grief on many of the caretakers faces.

But even with the overwhelmed staff, there was still those visiting, and the few patients that didn’t require much care. Molly Cresswood was one such patient. Despite the once severe nature of her injuries, she was now well enough to get around the hospital by herself for the most part. In fact, it was almost commonplace to see the amputee mechanic blazing down the hall in her wheelchair.

Most of the nurses loved her, because many of the patients knew that she was a part of the Allied Agency team that fought back in the attack. When she visited patients, she could brighten their day, and keep them comfortable with idle conversation that few others had the time for.

Even with her volunteered duties, she still returned to her shared room several times throughout the day. It was less to do with her needing rest, and more to do with her wanting to check in on the patient there, as many suspected.

Nearly everyone in the hospital knew who Willow Clarkson was. Many people knew the role the agent played in defending the sylian city. Graviton did not win that day, despite the large, mysterious group’s efforts. The Allied Agent was found in the damage to one of the Ven Rial’s key power plants with extreme injuries, along with the corpse of the Graviton agent’s mission leader.

She had been unconscious for three weeks now. Three weeks that the city had been conducting repairs, trying to recover from the shock and the damage from the attack. The sylian people had done well to accommodate her and her team, but compared to Willow and Molly, the other’s injuries were minor at best. At least, their physical injuries.

Molly hated seeing Willow on life support. Ever since they’d met, Willow had seemed nearly invincible, never hesitating to run into danger if it meant achieving her goals or saving someone. Now, she seemed almost fragile, laying there with so many cords attached to her for life support. Every day that passed made it seem more and more like she’d never wake up.

A scarlet-orange skinned ciani teen slipped quietly into the room, catching Molly’s eye. The scout smiled at the newcomer. “... Hey Chickadee.”

Raven offered a small smile, folding her arms over her chest and looking to Willow again. Her smile faltered. “... Hey.”

“How’re the others?” Molly asked, leaning a bit forward to catch Raven’s eye.

The ciani turned to her, hesitating. “... Dion’s still working to try and retrofit an emergency generator for the hospital. Apparently their original blew up in the attack, and he was worried the- power drain in the city? He thought if he fixed it, it could help to support the hospital, or something. I didn’t understand most of it.”

Molly huffed faintly. “... They need to fix the power situation quick. They’ve had three weeks to fix it.”

Raven nodded slightly, moving to sit next to Willow’s bed. “... Any- change?”

Now it was the scout’s turn to hesitate. Molly looked back to Willow, biting her lip. “Nothing significant, according to the doctors.”

“... How lo-.”

Raven’s question was interrupted by the lights in the room shutting off, plunging them into relative darkness. The sounds of Willow’s life support disappeared, the only light filtering through the blinds of the window. The teenager gasped softly, and Molly could see her stand up and walk up to Willow, tense.

Molly felt panic grip her chest. “Raven, get a nurse, now.” She spoke as clear and authoritative as she could, wheeling herself a bit further away from Willow preemptively. Raven jumped, but gave a shaky nod, darting out of the room.

A sylian nurse and a doctor rushed in after a moment and began checking over Willow, Raven at their heels. The doctor turned to Molly and Raven. “Could you wait outside, please?”

The scout stared at the doctor, ready to justify her presence nearby her friend, before she spotted the glance to the ciani teen. The statement wasn’t for her. If they had to do anything extensive, Raven shouldn’t have to see it. “I-... yes, of course.” Molly beckoned for Raven, angling herself toward the door. Raven stared at her, a shocked and almost panicked look in her eyes as the doctors set to work. The scout reached up and gently touched her forearm, giving her a gentle, but firm look. “... Raven. I could use a hand in wheeling out. Come on.”

Raven was tense, clasping her hands in front of her in worry. It took a second, but she finally nodded, unrooting her feet from the floor and moving behind Molly, pushing her out of the room. Worry gnawed at the back of her mind, seeing the staff run around, trying to handle this new emergency. The scout bit her lip. “Chickadee-, come on, let’s go see Dion. I might be able to help with retrofitting that generator.”

“But- I want to stay close to Miss Willow.” Raven spoke so softly that Molly almost had to strain to hear over the shouts.

“I know, Chickadee, but the best way to help Willow is to get the power back on.” The scout looked up at her, trying to reassure her, but worry was still in her expression. “If you want to stay here, then you can, but just try to stay out of the doctor’s way, alright? And come find me if you need me.”

The ciani bit her lip, giving an anxious nod. “... A-alright.... But how are you getting to the basement? You’re-....” She looked down to the wheelchair, and the missing prosthetic leg.

Molly giggled softly. “The last thing you gotta worry about is me, Chickadee. I’ll be fine.” To solidify her point, she started wheeling away, down the hallways. It wasn’t too hard to navigate around the doctors, but once she got to the stairs down to the basement, she hesitated, biting her lip. Molly took a deep breath to steady herself, locking her wheels with her hand before pushing herself up, swaying on her single leg. She instinctively braced herself with her bad arm as well, pressing it against the wall and grimacing at the pain that smarted. Taking another deep breath, she grabbed the railing next to the stairs, hopping down to the first step.

She swayed again, but gritted her teeth against it this time, letting herself ride it out with the railing as her support. Willow needed help. Every moment counted. Molly hopped down each step a bit easier than the last, until she got to the bottom, where the railing ended. She braced herself, spotting a shelf a couple yards away. The scout leapt from the bottom step, stumbling and barely catching herself with the shelf, but she caught a sharp edge of it. Molly yelped softly as the palm of her hand started to sting. The impact caused something to fall, creating a clatter.

“Alright, whoever’s there, I’m in no mood for games.” A familiar voice called out, tinged with annoyance and slightly muffled.

“But are you in the mood for some help?” Molly called back, giving a tired smile as she hopped slightly slower, along the shelf. She nearly tripped over the box that fell, stumbling, but she used her injured arm to stabilize herself.

“Molly?” Dion called, footsteps signalling his nearness just before he appeared. He looked dreadful, his eyes tinged blue around the edges, and his scales seeming almost chipped and dry. How long had it been since he last slept? But when he neared, wrapping her bad arm around his shoulders and slipping a gentle hand around her waist. She could feel some form of tool in the palm of his hand, but the support let her release the shelf. “What are you doing here? H-how did you even get down the stairs?”

“Hippity hopping, Scaley.” Molly attempted to chirp, but it came out a little strained as he helped her hop toward where he appeared from. “The power for the whole building is out. Including Willow’s life support. We gotta get the generator working, like yesterday.”

“You have one hand and one leg, Molly.” Dion drawled. “How are you going to help me get the generator working, exactly?”

“Scaley, I thought from knowing Willow, you’d know a thing or two about human ingenuity. Come on.” Molly blinked as she spotted the generator. It looked- more like a mess than a generator. Wires everywhere, some exposed, some even tangled. The whole thing looked like it’d been hit by a Roach shuttle. Molly couldn’t help but stare. “... Dion.”

The mechanic looked to her, hesitantly. “... Yes, I know it’s a mess. The real generator got blown up in the attack. I’ve just been trying to make something work by pulling in spare parts, but-.” He sighed, looking over the generator.

Molly braced herself against a part that seemed sturdy, balancing and slipping her arm off of Dion’s shoulders. “... Well, we’ve got some work to do. Let’s get to it.”

Time passed with barely a few words between them, often just a ‘could you hand me that’, or ‘I need a T junction cable’. Molly sat on top of the generator, using her elbow to brace herself so that she could use her good hand, hooking things up as best she could, as fast as she could. A thud shook the structure, making her miss connecting a wire with its holding, followed shortly by a hissed word in a sylian dialect.

“Think I can guess what that means, Scaley. You alright?” Molly didn’t look up from her work, curling her leg underneath her to lean further into the generator.

“Yes, I’m fine, just-... hit my head is all.” Dion grumbled. “Any progress up there?”

“I think I’m almost done.” Molly connected a few more wires before starting to try and push herself out from the generator, hopping onto her foot and supporting herself. “Done. What about you? Fuel line patched up?”

“Just about.” Dion grunted. He was tightening something with a tool, underneath the generator. “... How was Raven handling it, last you saw?”

Molly sighed, kneeling down and supporting herself with her hand. “... Not well. She was terrified. She practically imprinted on Willow, y’know.”

“It- it might be too late. You know that, right?”

The scout looked away. “... You should know Willow doesn’t quit, Dion. She just- doesn’t. She’ll hold on, til the life support comes back, then she’ll wake up. You’ll see.”

“... You don’t sound convinced.” Dion shifted out from underneath the generator, rolling onto knees and standing, offering a hand to Molly to help her stand. The scout frowned, not taking it for a moment before giving in, pulling herself up with his help. Dion let his hand hover on her waist to see if she wobbled, which she did. He supported her once more until she gripped onto the generator’s structure.

Molly bit her lip, exhausted from all the movement, leaning against the generator to catch her breath. “And you need to have a little faith, Dion. You’ve known Willow the longest out of all of us. You know how stubborn she is.”

Dion shook his head, leaning down to start up the generator. It roared to life, making Molly flinch, before it slowly quieted to a thrum, clanking every now and then. He looked to the scout, his eyes tired and dull. “... Stubbornness only goes so far, Molly. And for me? Faith is in short supply.” He held out a hand for her to take.

She stared at it for a moment, wiping the sweat off her brow. “... Well, trust in me, then. After all, we got the generator working. Have a bit of trust that I know what I’m talking about with this too.” She took the mechanic’s hand, letting him support her again and wrapping her bad arm over his shoulders. He didn’t meet her gaze again, but helped to support her as they walked through the basement.

Dion took the stairs slow for Molly, but the scout could hear the difference in tone up on the main floor. There were still shouts of concern, but emergency power was back on. Molly grinned tiredly as Dion lowered her into her wheelchair, unlocking the wheels and steering it down the hall. She was grateful for the assistance, leaning back in her chair.

Raven stood sharply at seeing the two, hands clasped in front of her. “The- the power’s back.”

“Told ya I’d fix it, Chickadee.” Molly smiled at her, giving a tired laugh.

“We fixed it, Cresswood.” Dion interjected quietly.

“Like I said, I fixed it.”

Raven smiled at the banter, her eyes still worried, but a little bit less tense. However, the tension returned tenfold when a doctor appeared from Willow’s room. The three stilled, banter set aside as three sets of gazes were on the doctor, looking for any hint of news. The sylian doctor looked between them, hesitant for a moment that seemed to last forever, until he spoke two words that resonated with the three of them. Molly looked to Raven in shock. Raven stared at the doctor for several fast heartbeats before she bolted into the room, tears welling up in her eyes.

“She’s awake.”