#beam caused explosion caused smoke

[milkybishop]

[midnightloversmusic]

"A Kiss?"

Sirius Black x Reader

"It's not that you don't like Sirius, you do, that's the problem.

that's why being chest to chest with him in a cramped storage closet is not the most ideal situation for you right now."

Masterlist

————————————————————————

It's not that you don't like Sirius, you do, that's the problem.

that's why being chest to chest with him in a cramped storage closet is not the most ideal situation for you right now. Especially when you can smell his woody cologne, the leather of his jacket, and the lingering scent of the cigarette he smoked earlier.

How I got in this situation? A Marauders prank gone wrong. You never really cared about the pranks they loved to pull because they never concerned you. This one went wrong, very wrong, Hence your current situation.

There were only supposed to be a few fireworks outside apparently, of course you didn't know that when loud popping noises disrupted you in the middle of your walk to charms. Professors all came running out of their classrooms, students were shrieking and ducking down, you were just plain confused because, what the fuck? No really, what the fuck?

You were even more confused when Sirius Black, of all people, came hurdling towards you and virtually flung himself onto of you hurdling you both towards the ground. Narrowly avoiding an off track flaming firework that went off into a dazzling explosion resulting in colorful sparks just mere feet away from you. Covering the hallway in a thick fog that made your eyes water.

The shock of it all made you not fight when two strong hands plucked you up off the floor and pushed you into the nearest storage closet.

When you finally come back to your senses and realize, really realize, that you're practically glued to a guilty looking Sirius's chest, lets Just say you flip out to put it lightly.

"What the fuck was that!"

"Those were fireworks."

"No fucking shit Black, why were they inside?"

You don't hear him sigh as much as you feel the breath softly brush against your neck

"Because Remus messed up the spell that he's been working on for months and gave James the wrong instructions causing the prank we have been planning for months to fall apart. I honestly can't believe them, I for one would have never-"

"Sirius! I Don't care about your stupid prank! I care about the fact that I just got tackled to the ground like I was in a quidditch match, burst both my eardrums from the noise, and went blind for at least 2 minutes out their, and you're complaining about how your prank didn't work? Are you serious right now?"

He smirks, and well you pretty much walked yourself right into the next thing he's going to say. It doesn't make it any less annoying.

"I'm always Sirius" he says with the goofiest, boyish grin on his face, and if it weren't for your situation right now, you probably would have smiled back considering Sirius Blacks smile is as close to a beam of sunlight as humanly possible.

you internally scream and give him a deadpan look. He goes back to looking sheepish.

Now that you are calming down, or at least not absolutely fuming anymore, you get a chance to really look at Sirius. You notice the freckle on his cheek, the slight crease in his eyebrow, the scar on his upper lip. He's very pretty, though you'd never say it to his face. Not willing to inflate is already massive ego.

You find yourself slowing your breathing down to match the breaths you feel him taking against your chest. And god his chest, its firm against your body and now you are picturing all the times you saw him by the lake in the warmer months in nothing but his swim trunks and- god is it hot in here? when did it get so hot?

there really isn't much room in here.

Sirius must sense the sudden shift in the room because he opens his mouth to say something, then immediately shuts it.

"Have you seem Sirius, James, Remus, or Peter? I know they had something to do with this. Once I find them they are dead meat. All of them. Detentions, perhaps for the whole year. Find me immediately if you see them. That goes for all students, If you see something say something! I will get to the bottom of this!"

You feel Sirius’s chest start to shake against yours and muffled giggles start coming out of his mouth until he can't hold back anymore and starts cackling.

“What are you doing? its like you want to get caught! Sirius be quiet. I'm not kidding! They are going to hear you!" You quickly give up your antics when you realize they are no use to sirius's implacable case of the giggles.

So you take your hand and promptly slap it over his mouth.

His eyes widen, but then go back to their normal devious state of unmistakable mischief and he licks your hand. He. Licks. Your. Hand.

"ugh, gross" You snatch your hand away immediately and wipe it down on his shirt without thinking. The problem with not thinking? You're rubbing your hand that was over his mouth on his chest. You are rubbing Sirius Black's Chest.

When you look back up you expect to see his teasing gaze ready to poke fun at you for touching his "Magnificently toned pecs" but his face is, pun not intended, serious. His cheeks are even tinted a little pink, and that just can't be right because Sirius doesn't blush. He gets flirted with by the hottest girls and boys at school and doesn't even bat an eye. There is just no possible way you could have made Sirius black blush, but yet here you are.

Looking up into his eyes you find him staring right back at you.

"You know your eyes are really pretty up close, its kinda hard to see them from across the classroom in potions" Sirius says quietly, voice almost a whisper

and you practically melt on the spot because that was such a nice thing to say. And he said it to you. Perfectly average you.

"Thank you" you breathed out "your eyes are very beautiful too."

"Are they now?" he smiled and quirked his eyebrow

you roll your eyes, "In that case I take it back-"

"No! You can't just take it back, I'm sorry! How can I make it up to you?"

"Make up what?"

"My awful teasing, and me being part of the reason you had to miss charms class and be stuck in a closet with me for twenty minutes"

"being in a closet with you wasn't that bad, but I can think of a way you can make it up to me"

"Anything."

"A kiss?" you whisper

He smiles. "I was hoping you'd say that" and he leans down to softly attach his lips to yours.

[merakiui]

Imagine if Azul got turned into a baby and MC won't stop cooing at him even if he doesn't have the mind of a baby

Omg that would be quite the nightmarish situation for Azul.

It's what happens when Azul's lab partner is Floyd, who never bothers to read the lab instructions and just empties whatever materials he wants into the cauldron in hopes of getting an interesting reaction, much to Azul's annoyance. And interesting is certainly the reaction he achieves as, once the smoke has cleared and Professor Crewel has readied himself to put the bad puppies in their places, he's momentarily stopped when he notices Floyd standing beside a pile of clothes. Emerging from the oversized lab coat and uniform, tentacles writhing in a panic, is baby Azul.

If the explosion didn't draw everyone's attention, then the sight of the little, chubby octopus fry who is now thrashing around in Floyd's arms, horrified and on the verge of sobbing and inking, definitely will. Professor Crewel can only sigh as he scolds Floyd, his admonishment going in one ear and out the other. For now, while he works to whip up a cure to reverse the effects of the potion Floyd had concocted, Azul will have to be kept in a saltwater tank and dutifully monitored. Floyd doesn't want to do all of that work, so he hands Azul, who is hiding curled and camouflaged in the tank, off to Jade, who also doesn't wish to be burdened with this at the moment. Both twins joke about how delicious Azul looks, and though Azul can only communicate in high-pitched cries and gurgles and whines (typical baby language), his mind is damning the both of them to the deepest sea trench.

This is where you come into the picture. The twins happily carry the tank over to Ramshackle, insisting that you open the door because they have a surprise for you. You're not sure what you were expecting, but this definitely wasn't it. They ask you to watch Azul while they gather the supplies Crewel needs to create a cure. Jade even went out of his way to write up a list of things to keep baby Azul occupied and placated while he's gone. Azul is absolutely mortified that you have to see him like this. It was one thing to be seen by classmates and the twins; it's another to be seen by his crush! He thrashes so wildly in the tank that water slops over the edge and drenches Grim in the process, who was already very against keeping someone as dangerous as Azul in the comforts of Ramshackle.

"He's even more troublesome when he's little!" Grim complains, sticking his tongue out at Azul through the glass, who scowls darkly at him in response.

Like you're any better, Azul thinks, recalling every instance Grim has caused trouble. He could probably tick each off on a tentacle.

"It's only for a few hours," Jade says, as if that's meant to be consoling to a soaked, unamused Grim. "He's mostly harmless in this form."

"Mostly?" Grim looks to you, shaking his head (and the rest of his body to dry himself) in hopes that you'll mirror his disagreement.

For once, Azul agrees with Grim. He does not want to be here with you for the next few hours, where you'll have to look at such an ugly, squishy, gross form! But before any other negative thoughts can wedge themselves in his brain, you shrug and say, "Okay. Just a few hours, right? I don't have anything planned, so we can watch him."

Azul knows it's impossible for him to drown when he's a child of the sea, but he really wants to in this moment.

"Yaaay! Thanks, shrimpy!" Floyd beams at you, and Azul glares at him. How can he smile like that when it was his carelessness that got Azul into this predicament in the first place?! Floyd peers down at Azul in the water, teasing as always. "Be good for shrimpy and baby seal, 'kay?"

Jade chuckles when Azul splashes a giggling Floyd square in the face. Though he can't verbalize his thoughts, he's cursing him in every language he knows. "Now, now, Azul," Jade chides lightly, a wicked smile stretching on his lips. He hides it behind a gloved hand. "Try not to miss us too much."

He rolls his eyes and turns away from Jade, curling in on himself. This day has only gotten worse. He's so miserable.

After the twins have placed the tank on a table in your room, which is actually decorated quite nicely, they leave to retrieve the ingredients. Azul stares at the interior, committing everything he sees to memory. Maybe this situation isn't too terrible; it's allowed him to be inside your room, a very sacred space he never would have gotten to see under normal circumstances. But then the nature of what he is comes creeping back when he spies his tentacles and it reminds him that anything would be better than this.

You lower into the chair and peer at the glass, placing your finger on it. He reacts without meaning to, affixing the sucker-lined side of his tentacle upon the place where your finger rests. You smile at him, but it isn't a cruel, ridiculing smile.

"Alchemy accident, huh?" you venture calmly, and he's about to respond when he realizes he can't exactly speak actual words when he's in this form. "Don't worry, Azul. You'll be back to your human form in no time."

"Let's hope he stays far away from us after this. He and those shady look-alike brothers," Grim grumbles, sitting atop the table, paws crossed in defiance. "Ya think we could get somethin' free at the lounge for doing a good deed like this? Hmm. Probably not. He's greedy, so he'd make us pay no matter what."

Please, Azul thinks sardonically, hating the idea of being indebted to you and Grim. I'd rather pay for your silence than make you cough up anything.

"Maybe. Maybe not," you reply before turning your attention back to Azul, your eyes glittering excitedly. "So this is what baby Azul looks like. He's actually really cute."

Far from it, Azul thinks bitterly before the realization sinks in. Cute. You called him cute. You think he's...cute.

On one hand, getting called "cute" by his crush is a very good thing! But when it's the form he dislikes most that's called cute... Azul isn't sure if he should just accept it and act like a cute fry to get more compliments from you, or if he should just curl in on himself and hope he vanishes from your sight so he won't feel so embarrassed.

At least he gets to spend some time with you. That's certainly one positive to come out of a very negative situation.

[thr0wnawayy]

AU Ideas and other Concepts. 1/?)

Authors Note: I apologize for the delay for the upcoming chapters of Crownless Monarchy, I have been working on the next three chapters (at once) and hope to release them sometime soon.

××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××

Hey y'all. I figured I'd let some of these ideas see the light of day. Perhaps one of you can make something of them.

A bit of disclaimer: The way "s/i" isn't the typical. A Self Insert is usually the author putting themselves as a character.

In the MHA Community this is usally done through projecting ones personality through an existing character (ex: Midoriya)

The way I use S/I is a either:

A: A OC with knowledge or awareness of MHA's canon in some form (visions, reincarnation, intution) These characters are usually made up from a collection of different people and experiences, rather than just my own personhood.

A Character like Seven fit this bill.

B: S/I but Ingrained. Aka a S/I that blends and adapts to the world of MHA, their past self is not as relevant (if it's brought up at all) however may play a role in their perspectives and world views.

A Character like Arachne fits this bill (for another post)

With that out of the way, let's start small and work our way up:

Bonuses: (Minor prompts and concepts)

Dabi uses the PLF's connections to give Rei better treatment/conditions at the Hospital, or just transfer her all together to somewhere safe.

The Hood Enji fights is a Twice Clone while the real Hood is elsewhere.

S/I wakes up as Touya after the 3 year coma.

This one's out there: Hood meets Rei and causes a realization through his blunt honesty (f-flowers, iss the bar t-that low?)

Gigantomachia rewrite/replacement (idk, mine said make them motivational rather than denouncing, also make them smart)

a Vigilante group inspired by the 50 Blessings Organization from Hotline Miami

_______________________________________

Event Swap: At Kamino, Enji's crimes are exposed (how is up to you)

Funfact: The above prompt was originally a time travel fic, here's the unfinished script & notes

HPSC gets exposed as well [ Child soldier project] ) (Perhaps this can be added as well?)

Zero was disguised as AFO and sheds her disguse for her grand reveal

Zero twirled around in place, glittering in the moonlight, taking deep breath "Come and serenade with me, Uncle Toshi." she was wild, wild and yet so meticulous.

They were speechless, shell shocked, They were running to the smoke and lost themselves in the fire.

"You're looking glum Endeavor, y'know for someone who's just achieved No1 status, Ya really need to brighten up!" She jeered.

A canon formed out of her forearm, quickly firing a beam of energy. An explosion rocked the district, some heroes barley fleeing in time, others not so fortunate.

She barked a manic laugh, her eyes wide as saucers, onslaught never ceasing, never to falter.

And as she made her great adeau, the nation finally knew that the age of heroism was torn asunder.

_______________________________________

Bonus: After Ms.Curious is killed, S/I posses her body and lives again (Type A: S/I)

Bonus: Strike Back

Class of Aldera is done with Bakugo's shit( Students stand up for Midorya and try to redeem themselves)

( Fingers calls himself a coward for giving into pressure and fear [ was forced to attack Midorya, threatened verbally and physically by Bakugo and became numb to it], is inspired by a David Shield interview to become a scientist )

Star and Stripes' (Cathleen Bate's) Neice, Head of the W.H.A, travels to Japan following AM'S retirement/ Kamino and begins to take over the reigns from the HPSC. Starting with U.A's internships.

Profile: Mary-Ann Bate

Dirty Blonde, 6,2 ft , wavy blonde hair slightly past shoulders, well kempt, suits and pants

Stern attitude, takes no shit, willing to ground Endevour and Hawks's hero licenses

Q: Reality

Bonus: Replaceable

During the sludge incident it's not Bakugo whom Midorya pulls out

A New Course Of Action:

Following the disaster (Pointless Kamakaze raid), Dabi's expose video and Twice's death at Jaku, The civilians of Tokyo decide to take matters into their own hands, it all starts with one after all.

And lastly a character profile of a background character turned OC

If you need reference, this is the girl seated next to Midoriya at Aldera, her quirk is pretty rad with the possibility of being better than Hellflame (because she seems to have fine control over the flame itself, becoming it). Of course she needs professional training first

I imagined them (her and Mido) here as friends who met halfway through middle school and have stuck together since.

Much like her quirk and namesake, Ryukka has a fiery disposition and doesn't take kindly to people* harassing her friend(s) (*read Bakugo)

She's one the only people at Aldera willing to stand up to him (her flames cause his quirk to overload)

As hinted at in her quote, she does get into UA and thanks to her and Midorya's study sessions (Quirk and academic wise) she gets in with high scores (beating out Bakugo's score in the Entrance Exam)

Has beef with Aizawa

===============================

As I stated, everything in here is up for grabs so feel free to use it in your works if you so wish.

Just remember to link it here in the comments

-Thr0wnawayy

[melishade]

Number 87?

This ask game

asked so far.

So this was an old draft that I had written for something that was never going to pass. I wanted to write it for fun at the time. But I think this would be a good draft to use on how to end the Revenge Timeline. I have nothing in between, but I think this would be a great way to have an ending.

(But the events that do happen prior to this, the Survey Corps and the Autobots do have a final confrontation with Starscream and his bounty hunters. And during the scuffle, I don't know how yet, Eren ends up protecting Optimus from a strike of the Dark Star Saber, killing him and destroying the power of the titan permanently because of the dark energon. As Optimus is grieving over Eren, Megatron survives and has one final moment with Starscream.)

The Dark Star Saber fell out of Starscream’s grasp as he crashed into the ground. The others watched to blade in freefall…and Megatron grabbed it by the handle. The sword began glowing under his touch, but Megatron ignored it before walking over to Starscream.

The Decepticon groaned in pain as he held his side. He saw that he was leaking energon from his wound and didn’t know what to do. He tensed in fear when Megatron held the tip of the blade against his neck.

The Survey Corps grew worried in regards to Megatron’s situation while the Arcee and Wheeljack weren’t sure on what to do.

Starscream chuckled nervously. “Well, even when I had the upper hand, you still managed to best me. But I guess you never took me seriously. Even after everything I did for the Decepticon cause, you did nothing but belittle me, abandoned me. You never once took me seriously.”

Megatron didn’t respond as the blade continued to glow brightly.

“Well, what are you waiting for ‘O high and mighty Megatron’!” Starscream challenged, “Are you going to kill him?! Cut me down like you should’ve done instead of sparing me from Dreadwing?! No matter what you say, you’ll always be the psychotic warlord you’ve always been! Like you would know anything about oppression!”

Arcee saw that Megatron didn’t waver to Starscream’s word. She picked up a soft ‘click’ and looked over to see the Survey Corps aiming their weapons…at Megatron. Arcee grew concerned as she looked over at Armin, but she could see the hesitation in his eyes as his fingers moved towards the trigger.

Megatron raised the Dark Star Saber in the air as the Survey Corps prepared to fire. Instead of swinging at Starscream, he swung the sword at Starscream's fallen ship. A purple beam was released and it cut through the base, cutting through energon lines and blowing it up. The Survey Corps and the Autobots covered their faces from the explosion as smoke rose into the air.

Starscream was in complete shock as Megatron lowered his arm and let the Saber fall to the ground. Megatron raised his foot and stomped on the blade hard, shattering it to pieces. The Dark Star Saber stopped glowing, and the remnants of the blade faded until the handle remained.

“W-why?” Starscream stuttered.

“The path I walk, no longer leads there,” Megatron declared.

Megatron walked away from Starscream, allowing the Survey Corps to breathe a sigh of relief. Starscream; however, was pissed off. That was it. That was it?! How dare he?! How dare Megatron turn his back on him?! How dare Megatron change?! How dare Megatron find peace and contentment?! Tormentor! Liar! He doesn't deserve to live! He forced himself to stand up and held his side from his wound.

“YOU DON’T GET TO MOVE ON!” Starscream shouted, and in an act of desperation and fury, he leapt towards Megatron to rip out his spark.

Megatron turned to see Starscream charging at him while the Survey Corps flew to his defense. Megatron was ready to let Starscream cut him down, but the seeker was kicked in the face by Optimus. The Prime tackled him to the ground and punched Starscream in the face twice.

“Optimus?!” Hanji shouted.

“Prime, stop!” Megatron shouted as he bolted towards Optimus.

Optimus clasped his servos together and smashed them in Starscream’s face. “GIVE HIM BACK! GIVE EREN BACK!”

Optimus transformed his servo into his blade and rammed it at Starscream's face. Starscream lifted his servo in defense, and the blade pierced through his servo and struck his optic. Starscream cried out in pain as Megatron pulled Optimus off of the ‘Con.

“Optimus, enough!” Megatron shouted as he struggled to keep Optimus back.

“I’LL KILL YOU!” Optimus roared, “I’LL DESTROY YOU!”

Megatron thought fast and placed immense pressure on two vital energon veins in the back of his neck. Optimus’ systems immediately shut down and he fell into stasis. Megatron quickly caught Optimus’ body before it hit the ground. Arcee and Wheeljack ran over to the distressed Starscream and quickly handcuffed him before he could do anything else. Hanji and the others rushed over to Optimus as Megatron carried him in his arms.

“He’s-,”

“In stasis,” Megatron explained to Hanji before turning to Arcee and Wheeljack, "Check if those bounty hunters survived!"

"We killed two of them! Shadelock's still at large!" Wheeljack informed.

"Locate him!" Megatron barked at him.

“Can someone do something about my optic!” Starscream demanded.

Levi aimed his energon spear at the ‘Con. “Gladly.”

Mikasa, realizing that the threat was neutralized, quickly flew over to where she last saw Eren, but nothing of his body remained. Not even dust. It was if he never existed at all. He was gone.

"Mikasa." Armin flew over to her side. He had also tried to find Eren with his own eyes, but...there was nothing left. Armin heard whimpers beside her and turned to see Mikasa crying, clinging to her scarf before falling to her knees. Armin couldn't help it as he started crying as well. He fell to his knees and wrapped his arms around Mikasa in comfort, the two grieving over the loss of their childhood friend.

(That was the idea. I'll definitely need to do some clean up when I get around to it. Whatever is left is free game.)

[jumpywhumpywriter]

Trapped -- Crush Injury Whumpee

Warnings: physical trauma, crush injury, shattered/broken bones, building collapse

(This is a scene from my in-progress fantasy trilogy! For reference all the characters in this scene are bird-like people with wings, who have basic magic. They are in an enemy building, and after they ambushed the enemy... the enemy had a creative solution to dispose of them all at once.)

The explosion rocked the whole building's foundation, and it shuddered ominously, supports creaking with threat of failure. Then another boom sounded, and concrete started raining from the sky.

Almost out... just a little further... through the haze of concrete dust and smoke, Shadow could see light. The exit. A hole in a wall caused by the explosion.

She squinted as heat stung her eyes, running as fast as she could without tripping, dodging nimbly around giant chunks of rock and metal that collapsed in her path.

She could barely make out the blurry outline of a bird-man standing at the hole in the wall, backlit by sunlight, gesturing frantically at her and looking like they were shouting, though the words were drowned out by the screeching of failing metal supports and more small explosions.

Shadow's chest heaved as she coughed and choked on thick smoke, forcing her legs to keep moving forward, fueled by adrenaline. The figure at the exit became clearer as she neared the opening, revealing Connor's terrified face, covered in soot and ash.

A wave of relief washed over her as she ran to join him in safety. But then there was a deafening crack somewhere above her. She didn't have time to glance up before a large wooden support beam came crashing down. She threw herself forward, hoping to make it through the exit in time, but was a fraction too slow.

Something heavy and hard slammed into her back, smashing her to the ground and knocking the breath from her lungs. More pieces of wood rained down around her, dislodged by the giant beam's unexpected failure, and she covered her head with her wings, protecting herself from the worst of it.

Then she pushed herself up with her arms to keep running... only to realize she couldn't move. She couldn't move. There was a massive weight pressing on one of her legs, and she looked back in shock to see the wooden beam completely crushing her left leg, burying all but her upper thigh. She was trapped.

"Shadow! Are you okay? You have to hurry! The building's about to collapse! They're trying to bring it down top of us!" She heard a voice call from somewhere close.

"I can't! I'm pinned!" She shouted in answer. The beginnings of genuine fear and panic twisted her gut into a knot of dread, and she struggled to tamp down the rising alarm.

She strained forward, desperately trying to pull her leg free and escape, but the beam didn't budge an inch. She was shocked it didn't hurt more. Perhaps it was numbed by the adrenaline, or by the circulation being cut off.

She coughed and wheezed as the fire in the room intensified, smoke thickening until she could hardly see, her field of vision darkening with shades of black and gray.

So this is how I die...

Her body ached terribly and her lungs burned with the blazing heat of the flames that were progressively creeping closer to her like predators stalking prey, inching over every bit of exposed wood in the failing structure.

Struggling was pointless. But right when she was losing hope, there was a disturbance in the air next to her, and a pair of hands appeared through the smoke, which fumbled across the beam until they brushed one of her wings.

"Kff-- Over here! I found her!" She recognized Connor's voice. Barely a millisecond later another blurry figure appeared next to the beam on Shadow's other side.

Two pairs of hands grabbed the wooden beam and lifted, and Shadow could feel the pressure on her leg start to lift. Muscles straining, she used her arms to pull herself forward with all her strength, and finally, she managed to drag her leg out from under the beam, which thudded loudly to the floor again the instant she was free.

She lurched to her feet, but her left leg buckled as soon as she put weight on it, and a sharp cry of pain tore loose from her as broken splinters of bone ground against each other. She could definitely feel the pain sinking its jaws into her now that she was free.

A strong hand grabbed hers, and her arm was promptly slung across a set of broad shoulders, supporting her weight. Someone else took up her other side, and soon she was being braced between two people, who half-dragged half-carried her through the rubble.

Eventually they burst out into fresh air, just as the building behind gave way completely, folding in on itself in a huge cloud of dust and black smoke that rose high into the sky.

Shadow craned her head to the side to see Tanner's soot-covered face on her right, almost unrecognizable, and Connor's on her left. The two of them lowered her on a patch of grass and collapsed right after, both coughing violently and wheezing, same as her as they all caught their breath, suffering severe smoke inhalation.

Shadow tried to sit up to examine her injury and barely bit back a piercing cry of sheer agony as a fiery jolt of pure pain sang through her leg, radiating through her whole body.

She pulled back the shredded leather of her suit pant leg with a muffled gasp, biting her tongue hard to keep from making any loud sound. Every bit of visible skin was mottled with deep blacks and purples, creating one giant bruise. Her whole leg was badly crushed, small slivers of white showing amidst the bloody mess wherever shards of bone had broken through the skin. Shivering with physical shock, she reached with shaky hands and pressed pieces of her own bone back into place, blue sparks of magic coming to mend them. The agony was almost unbearable, every slight movement sending lightning bolts of white-hot pain through her leg again.

But she moved consistently from one sliver of bone to the next, patching herself up piece by piece like some messed-up jigsaw puzzle, using her magic as sparingly as possible. Finally, she snapped one last piece of bone into place, right as her magic fizzled out. She'd reached her body's limit.

Next to her, Connor and Tanner got up from where they'd been resting, mostly recovered. Shadow forced herself to join them, doing her best to stand up while heavily favoring her left leg. Her face was twisted with pain, and Connor rushed to her side to help support her weight and keep her balance.

"...Thank you..." Shadow rasped with another racking cough. "Thank you for coming back for me..."

Connor's expression was surprised. "Of course. You would have the same for any of us in a heartbeat."

"Darn right I would have." She managed a weak laugh before wincing at the pain it cost her. "Let's get to the safehouse..."

Connor nodded his agreement, assisting her as she limped and hobbled away toward a dark alley, while Tanner trailed behind, keeping an eye out for danger, or anyone who might attack while they were vulnerable.

Masterlist

@scoundrelwithboba

@lumpofsand

@isikedmyself878

[gadandzooksooc]

The @asktwilighteclipse story, Chapter 4

“Hello, Grandpa.” Draco was momentarily rooted to the ground where he stood. The same paralysis extended to the soldiers under his command, who were waiting for orders from their frozen commander. Gad and Zooks, in the back, could only just about make out what was happening, but they were in a similar state. And so it was that Draco took a magical blast straight to the face. He was instantly enveloped in a blast of green flames that knocked the closest knights a few feet back into the air. “Draco!” Light shouted, immediately shaking herself free from the paralysis. The spot Draco had been standing was wreathed in thick smoke for a few seconds before Everyone heard a short cough. Draco was still standing, despite taking the brunt of a blast that would have reduced a lesser pony to dust. “Stand Down.” Draco said to his opponents through his bared teeth.

“No.” Midnight said, a grin on her face. “Your time as Prince is done. We will take your place.” Another shot of magic came from Midnight’s horn, this time a deep purple. Draco’s sword was seemingly conjured from nowhere and deflected the blow. The beam hit a wall, leaving a worrying crater. “Don’t make me fight you,” Draco said, “I’m here to save you!” “We don’t need saving! We’re more powerful than we’ve ever been!” Midnight said as Lunar broke a stalactite from the ceiling and propelled it forward with ballistic force. Draco’s blade came down on the incoming spike, shattering it into a thousand tiny pieces of shrapnel. A few Knights near the front of the group covered their faces with their armored hooves to avoid getting hit. “That power is a curse! Let it go!” Draco said staunchly. “Oh, you would say that, wouldn’t you?” Midnight replied. “After all, you’re the one who kept us from it in the first place!” With a flash of Midnight’s horn, the walls of the cave broke and slammed inward towards Draco. “Get Back!” Draco shouted to the Knights behind him, instants before the incoming rocks slammed into a sparkling force field that surrounded him. Two massive magical forces struggled against eachother, causing the air around them to fill with sparks. A moment later Draco Slammed a hoof into the ground, and the rocks flew outward in an explosion of sharp gravel. The cave walls and ceiling gave a groan and a crack before settling down again. Draco Gritted his teeth. “Knights… retreat.” “Sir… we’re trained to-” Ice began. “Retreat! Now!” Draco repeated. And this time none of the knights hesitated. Gad and Zooks hesitantly followed. Draco kept his eys trained on his grandchildren as he backed away, and only turned when he broke line of sight. “Sir, we’re trained to take down rouge alicorns!” Phoenix said as soon as they were out of earshot. “I know.” Draco said. “I also know that Twilight and Solar are no match for you; maybe too much so.” The knights looked at eachother with confusion until Zooks spoke up. “They weren’t using any wards; no protection magic.” Pheonix cursed. Gad was confused. “Uh… isn’t that a good thing?” Gad asked. “Not if we want to take them alive.” Ice replied. Granted, We might still be able to do it-” “But that would take too long, potentially giving the cultists time to escape.” Draco said. “We don’t have time to take Twilight and Solar down and catch the cultists before they escape.” “Are we absolutely sure the cultists can escape? We might have them backed into a corner.” Light Peice offered.

Night shook his head. “No; If they knew we’d come after them, they would have fled, not retreated back into the caves. Not unless they had another escape route down there.”

The whole group was quiet for a moment. “So… we have to let them go.” Nature finally said. “We can’t save the Prince and Princess and get the cultists.” “Well… Maybe…” Said a certain blue hippogriffin. Everyone looked at Zooks.He wilted a bit under their attention. “Uh… um…” “Look out, everypony! My brother is going to come up with the best plan ever!” Gad said as he put his arm on Zooks’ back reassuringly. Zooks gave a not-quite-sure smile. 

“Right… well, uh… We could get past Midnight-Eclipse with a teleport spell, right?” Ice shook his head. “Not gonna work; Twilight would detect that, and then we’d be caught between them and the cultists.” “Right!” Zooks said, with no sign of discouragement. “So we’ll need to keep her distracted while we’re doing it.” “I’m not sure giving her a good book to read would work, Hippogriffin,” Phoenix said. “In this state, They’re dead-set on killing Draco and taking the throne.”

“Exactly,” Zooks said, “Draco could be our distraction.”

All eyes stared incredulously at Zooks, Except for Draco, who was looking thoughtful.

“Sorry, are you suggesting we abandon our prince to fight a corrupted, two-headed alicorn alone?” Light piece demanded.

Zooks wilted again. “Uh, well… when you put it like that…”

“It’s a good plan.”

Everyone looked to Draco, who was nodding appreciatively.

“You can’t possibly be considering…” Light said.

“I’m doing more than that, Light.” Draco replied.

“At least let us leave you with some backup, Your highness!” Phoenix said.

Draco shook his head. “You’ll need all the forces you have to take on the cultists. Don’t forget, they were organized enough to take you by surprise once already. You can’t risk being outnumbered once you get there, especially without Alicorn backup. Besides, this battle won’t be pretty, and any force you could spare would be at risk of becoming collateral damage.”

Phoenix sputtered wordlessly, clearly not liking where this plan was going, but not having anything more to say. Light simply had her muzzle agape at Draco, and Ice and Night seemed to be having a conversation between each other composed entirely of worried stares. Nature was the only pony who seemed to be nodding in agreement.

“Let me make this clear,” Draco said, “This is no longer a discussion. I will face my grandchildren, alone, to give you all enough time to capture the cultists. Is that clear?”

“Sir, yes sir!” Came the unified replies of the knights, even if some of their faces still held concern for their general.

[yumieio]

ok so what if the cross guild you know the tents and stuff caught fire and mihawk got stuck inside cause he happened to be in the room with the fireworks and you know fireworks/bombs + fire mean explosion he used his haki to the best ability to protect himself but he still got injured cause a burning wooden beam fell after he was knocked back cause of the fireworks pinning him to ground he coughs smoke filling his lungs he feel his eyes drooping he felt tired very very tired he tried one more time to get up but he couldnt he felt the heat and smoke surrounding him "i guess this is it" he thinks he eyes shutting as he loses consciousness. crocodile , buggy and the others escaped they looked around to check if everyone was ok but mihawk couldnt be found anywhere they thought he must have been lost in the panic but the more they look the more worried they get the fire is still burning strong then the realization hit them mihawk was checking something in the circus tent and there was a huge booming sound that came from there so the bombs/ fireworks must have went off and he could still be in there and now the fire has spread crocodile runs in buggy follows crocodile makes sure his outer body is made of sand and buggy separates to dodge the fire and the falling beams they call out hoping to hear a call back but theres nothing in response they make it to the circus tent and they spot mihawks hat on fire but mihawk isnt wearing it they look around trying to spot Mihawk praying that he somewhere anywhere then buggy spots a hand under a wooden beam he rushes towards the wooden beam trying to pick it up but he couldnt crocodile sees the hand too and joins buggy he tries to pick it up he feels smoke filling his lung but he pushes through with the last of his remaining strength he picks up the beam their fear was correct there was an injured and unconscious mihawk underneath the wooden beam buggy quick grabbed him and crocodile let go of the beam they ran as fast as they could out of the tent dodging more falling beams they could see the worried faces of the cross guild workers outside of the tent even dazs normally stoic face was twisted with worry when they finally got out of the burning tent they couldnt even let out a breath of relief the unconscious mihawk was now in crocodiles arms crocodile pants with his last breath go get a doctor before him and buggy pass out from all the smoke that has filled their lungs when they woke up they were in the doctors tent that was luckily far away from the burning ones they were groggy and felt like shit but quickly looked around looking for mihawk if he was ok or not the doctor quickly calmed them down saying mihawk was injured but he will be ok right now he's in a comatose state but he is stable and that they should rest though they were worried they breathed a sigh of relief that he was stable which ended in a coughing fit cause of all the smoke they inhaled eventually mihawk ended up to be ok and woke up but he had sever burns and a few broken bones which healed but now he had a few burn scars which deeply upset crocodile and buggy not cause how he looked but cause he was injured in the first place they had a few nightmares about the incident afterward in the healing process there was good day and bad days mihawk didnt mind the scars but he also hated them they showed weakness he hated that he tried to cover them up as much as possible crocodile and buggy put a stop to that quickly they werent about to let him hurt himself more trying to cover them and plus they both had scars and when they felt bad about them sometimes mihawk always made them feel better so why shouldnt they do that same they made sure mihawk felt comfortable at all times in his own skin if anyone makes a comment about it they will fuckin end them even when mihawk healed buggy and crocodile still feel a little worried but in the end he was okay and they rebuilt everything that was burnt and replace everything that was lost in the fire which luckily wasnt anything important (sorry idk how to end things)

[pin-crusher2000]

Injustice: SuperMoves

Here’s the supermoves that I have come up with for the characters of Earth-66.

FireWing (Jake Grayson)

StarBolt Fist: does a short range StarBolt “shockwave blast” stunning the opponent to start it. Jake then throws a smoke bomb in their face to distract them & then does the spilts & punches them in the crotch, causing the opponent to hold that area. Jake does a backwards roll back onto his feet, charges up a StarBolt & runs & punches the opponent causing a green explosion.

NightStar (Mar’i Grayson)

StarBolt Fury: Mar’i flys at the opponent with a double fist punch. She then uppercuts the opponent, sending them to space & mar’i unleashes some starbolts at them. After that, she quickly fly past the opponent & charges up a StarBolt in her hand & presses the energy ball into her opponent sending them back down to earth.

ThunderHeart (Irey West)

Better than the West: Irey shoulder charges her opponent. She then strikes her opponent multiple times with her super speed, & the camera gets real close to the opponent’s face, & on the side shows Irey’s. Irey then gives the opponent a wedgie, & she giggles.

Surge (Jai West)

Here comes the Boom: Jai unleashes lighting onto the ground to hit the opponent. He then rubs his hands together really fast to create electricity & starts thunderclapping at the opponent saying: you’ll get a thunderclap!

WonderBoy (Robert Long)

Bring the Thunder: Robert does a dashing slash at the opponent. Robert then gains blue electric hair & eyes & tackles the opponent (raiden’s move from MK) & flys them into the air. He quickly moves above his opponent & says: “Thunder!” A lightning strike hits the opponent & sends them back to the ground.

Red Cat (Lian Harper)

Bow-and-Baton: Lian does a baton spin at the opponent. Lian shoots a boxing glove arrow at the opponent’s face, sending them onto their back, & Lian gets on top of them & starts hitting them with her baton. (Yup that’s it XD)

Kid Tempest (Cerdian)

Purple Pain: Cerdian launches a water ball at the opponent. Cerdian shoots fire at the opponent, knocking them on their back, he then jumps up into the air & shoots purple laser beams causing an explosion.

SunSlinger (Jon Kent)

Sun-Noon: Jon does a super/freeze breath at the opponent. Jon whips out his revolvers, twirls them & aims the opponent, (camera shirts to fps) Jon moves the gun & shoots the opponent: foot, knee, & shoulder, knocking them onto their back. Jon then superleap towards them & charges up his gun & launches two shots at them causing an explosion.

Robin V (Damian Wayne)

Lazarus Assassin: pretty much Damian’s super move from injustice 2 but with a green aura around him XD

WonderLad (Hunter Trevor)

Pretty much the same as Robert’s but red/orange; god of war mode. Shouts War & a meteor hits his opponent.

AquaBoy (Arthur Curry Jr.)

Pretty much Aquaman’s super move from injustice 2 but with a megaldon shark instead.

HawkBoy (Hector Hall)

Sky Hawk: Hector does a downward slam with his mace, hitting the opponent. Hector grabs the opponent & takes them to the sky, & starts hitting them with his mace in different directions. (hawk girls super move from injustice)

Green Canary (Connor Lance Queen)

The Green Canary (XD): Connor does a short burst canary cry & hits the opponent. Connor shoots a bomb arrow into the sky & another at the opponent knocking them on their back, connor then uses the canary cry on top of the opponent & then jumps away to safety when the other bomb arrow comes down to hit the opponent causing an explosion.

PhantomWing (Chris Kent)

The Nightwing: Chris does a short burst heat vision that hits the opponent. Chris then wraps his opponent’s legs with his dark powers & slams them on the ground behind him & back in front of him. Chris flys into the air & summons the NightWing entity & it shoots out a giant blue & black ball of “dark flames” at the opponent causing a blue explosion.

StarChild (Otho-Ra)

Star Wrath: Otho-Ra does a flying blue energy “Superman punch” hitting the opponent. Otho then summons a blue energy sword & a shield that’s in an S symbol shape & begins to attack the opponent with them. After shield bashing her opponent, knocking them fall on their back, she jumps up into the air & shoots out blue heat vision at the opponent causing an explosion.

Red Son (Osul-Ra)

Fight Master Fury: Osul-Ra does a flying red energy “Superman punch” hitting the opponent. Osul-Ra summons a red energy battle axe & begins hacking at the opponent. After the final hit, the opponent is laying down on their back & Osul jumped into the air & slammed the battle axe onto the opponent, causing a red explosion.

Valor (Connor Kent)

Brave Rage: connor does a short range telekinetic blast & hits the opponent. Connor then grabs the opponent & flys to the glaciers & slams the opponent into it, & starts rapidly punch the opponent as fast as he can. He then finishes the beat down with a blast of heat vision causing an explosion. (The beat down at the glacier is from the tv series Young Justice where superboy beats down mammoth.)

Animal Girl (Maxine Baker)

Red Rage: just cheetah/vixen’s super move from injustice 2 but with a red energy glow around her.

Animal Boy (Clifford Baker)

Same as his sister’s.

Red Bird (Mara Al Ghul)

Demon Assassin: pretty much just like Damian’s but with a red aura.

Nobody (Maya Ducard)

Nobody Assault: Maya does a short burst Sonic blast at the opponent. Maya takes out a sword & starts slashing the opponent, & then turns invisible. The camera shifts towards the opponent & shows Maya behind them. She then kicks the opponent in the crotch, dropping them to their knees & Sonic blasts between their head. (One hand on one side & another hand on the other side.)

Beacon (Kathy Branden)

Purple-Telekinetic: Kathy does a short range telekinetic blast to hit the opponent. She then lifts & throws the opponent into the air (with the background changing to a farm) & quickly flys above the opponent & blasts them down. Kathy then does a massive shockwave released from her Body.

Crowly (Colin Wilkes)

Pretty much his “punch fatality” from the mortal kombat post of mine except more kid friendly. (He does get big & grabs the opponent & “super-punches” them across the screen to start it.)

FlameBird (Suren Darga)

Flaming FlameBird (XD): Suren does a short range fire blast at the opponent. Suren “summons” the FlameBird & they both grab the opponent & fly up into the air, the FlameBird does a pose in front of the sun & then Suren does a energy wave sending the opponent to the ground with a FlameBird logo. (Think of Liu Kang’s dragon symbol after you preform his fatal blow from MK1)

[hlvrai-stuck-together]

He's late.

It's the big day, and he's already fucking it up. Awesome. Leave it to Gordon to continuously make everything harder for everyone around him.

Under stress, panicking, and annoyed to hell and back, he pushed the cart into the beam. As soon as the crystal touched the laser, it sparked, electricity zapping out across the large chamber. Smoke started to rise from the machine, and the creak of radiation filled the air.

Gordon took a few steps back, looking up at it in horror. Shit, they did it too fast, didn't they? They could hear their coworkers screaming behind them, but their attention was locked on the giant machine.

The security guard who'd followed him in suddenly vanished from his peripheral. Gordon looked away for just a moment to try and find him again- there! Standing on top of the platform where the controls were, there was the "non-human" guy who'd been following him all day. The radiation beams were shooting right next to him, ohh fuck he was going to die up there.

"Get off the top of the- you're gonna wanna be on the floor, what if the fuckin' rafters fall?!" they shouted up at him. "You gotta-"

With a flash of light, the test's sample started glowing an intense, neon green color, cutting Gordon off. He threw his hands up over his eyes, catching a glimpse of the chat as he did so. He couldn't make out any of the words, but he could see that people were speaking in all caps now. He yelled a swear at the pain.

He spun around to look at the window, shouting for help, only to watch helplessly as one of the other scientists overseeing the project launched himself down into the chamber. He shouted in fear, running around in panic before seemingly tripping over his own feet and knocking himself out on the floor.

The guard was just fuckin' gone by now. He must have gotten trapped in the beam or something, there was no way to tell and no time to find his body. The crystal started rocking in the cart, and with each shift there came another explosion, with atoms crashing into each other and splitting in ways that should not have been possible with humanity's current tools. Gordon could only look up at it, frozen in fear.

With one final shift of the crystal, it shattered. With it went the whole experiment, lighting the entire room up in harsh green. Gordon threw his hands up in front of him, screaming as his world was changed forever.

Then... nothing.

Gordon blinked a few times, looking around themself at the pitch blackness that had enveloped his world. He couldn't even see himself in it.

...Was he dead?

No, that couldn't have been right. He was still breathing, right? That had to count for something.

He squinted into the dark, trying to see anything. As his eyes adjusted, he swore he could see faint lines of green running lengthwise down his vision. Whether that was caused by the bright light of radiation or if that was actually SOMETHING, he couldn't tell yet.

He opened his mouth to yell, but instead of screaming out into the dark like he'd planned, he let out a simple, friendly greeting.

"Howdy."

No one answered him.

As his eyes continued to adjust, he began to make out what the lines were- numbers. They were lines and lines of numbers, wrapping all around him.

...Where was he?

"Howdy," he continued to call out. "Howdy. Howdy. Howdy. Howdy."

Still, no answer.

The world around him began to flash, green as the radiation from the test gone wrong. Gordon spun around, trying to find the source of it. The numbers lit up under the flashing lights- illuminated by shots of lightning- ones and zeros.

It was the same light from the Resonance Cascade. Aw fuck, was he still in the test chamber? Shit, he had to wake up, he was going to get hit.

He struggled to move, only to realize there was a pull on his arm. Looking towards it, he could see green strings attached, pulling him nowhere and in five different directions at once. It hurt, oh GOD it hurt, but no amount of pulling was freeing him. He pushed against it with his left hand, his free hand, and no avail. Nothing.

Before he could do much else, the strings yanked, and with this tug went his hand. He screamed in pain and surprise, everything going dark again, but only briefly.

He was in the garbage compactor. His hand was gone.

He wanted to stop, but something compelled him forward. He wanted to lay down and go back to sleep, but something wouldn't let him. He wanted to give up. Something in him made him grit his teeth.

He kept going through Black Mesa, lead on by Tommy this time. He wanted to collapse. Something forced his legs forward.

He kept getting kicked back down when he tried to climb out of the water, the clone's heels relentless. He yelled for Tommy, trying in vain to pull himself out. He only could with Tommy's help.

His friend was caught up in the tide of clones, too, and was quickly shoved away from Gordon. The shots from his gun continued to echo through the room, adding to Gordon's massive headache.

"I've unleashed the power of all 300 clones," Dr Coomer's voice boomed from somewhere. It was near impossible to tell if he was far away or close by with all the noise. Gordon's head swiveled quickly, trying to pinpoint where the hell he was.

"There's an entrance in your suit, Gordon, AND I WANT IN."

There! He was shoving his own clones aside, slowly making his way closer. He had the look of a crazed man about him, eyes too wide, grin too large. He was shaking, too, like he was high on adrenaline.

Green lines were starting to creep along the walls, down down down like a watercolor painting. Gordon squeezed their eyes shut, shouting Tommy's name.

He was backed into a corner, swarmed by clones as the real- main?- Coomer crept closer and closer. "I've been outside Black Mesa, Dr Freeman. There's nothing there. But you..." He shoved his way in front of Gordon, grabbing his stub of an arm. "I KNOW there's a world in your dreams, AND I NEED TO GO THERE."

Gordon screamed.

Berdey shot up, startled out of xeir nightmare. Fuck... nightmare. At least it wasn't real.

Just to be sure, they pinched themself. Yep. That hurt.

They flopped back down on the bed with a sigh. Gordon could never escape these, either- of COURSE Berdey would inherit them from him. Couldn't catch a break, in this life or the next.

It was still dark under the door, implying the darkness outside, too. Night. Well, they didn't wanna go back to sleep, not after that.

Looking at xeir left hand, they saw no new messages aside from the "goodnight"s that had been there before they drifted off.

They didn't wanna get up, but they also wanted to check on Coomer, just to make sure he was okay. Gordon had never managed to figure out what the fuck he'd meant by the whole "world in your dreams" thing. His dreams were a nightmare. Literally this time around. Why would Coomer want to go there?

It was anxiety talking. Coomer hadn't brought it up in a long time. Maybe he'd finally gotten over it. Besides, he didn't exactly want to see him right now.

With a sigh, he laid back down. It was gonna be a long night.

[liviavanrouge]

Views

'Davino POV'

"Needle and the thread"

Davino(4): *Stares at the poisoned water*

Davina: *Pouts, taking a sip of the milk he swapped with the water*

Davino: *Takes a sip of the water then coughs, dropping it*

Satan: *Looks over from Sitri* Hm?

Davino: *Stares at his bloodied hands silently then looks up his eyes widening* Ah...

Satan: *Stares, slowly lowering his hand* Davino...

Davino: *Falls backwards, his eyes closing*

???: DAVINO!!

"Gotta get you outta my head"

Davino(8): *Silently reads his book, flipping to the next page*

Davina(8): Big brother! Get ready to go see Daddy!

Davino: Huh, it's already time?

Davina: *Giggles* You're invested in that book, big brother!

Davino: *Stands up then stops smelling smoke*

Davina: Davino?

Davino: GET DOWN!! *Shoots forward grabbing her as an explosion went off*

"Needle and the thread"

Lesley: Thanks for inviting me!

Davino(10): No problem, you're welcomed back anytime

Lesley: *Beams and hugs the two*

Davina: *Pats her back then waves as Lesley left*

Davino: Let's head back before Papa throws a fit...

Davina: *Giggles then freezes, her eyes wide*

Davino: Sis?

Davina: *Throws up blood, her eyes glowing*

Davino: *Reached forward then coughs blood up*

Paimon: *Hurries forward* KIDS!!!!

"Gonna wind up dead"

~~~~

'Satan POV'

"Needle and the thread!"

Satan: *Shoots up, reaching forward* DAVINO!!

Davina: Big brother!

Satan: *Holds Davino close, his eyes wide* WHAT WAS IN THAT CUP!

Sitri: *Picks the cup up then looks over* Poison...

Zagan: *Hurries over startled*

Satan: *Shoots up and bolts away* Find the culprit! Zagan bring Davina! I'll stabilize Davino!

"Gotta get you outta my head!"

Belial: *Moves back as the flames raged*

Mammon: *Stares in shock* What happened here...

Sitri: Gabriel.

Satan: *Runs past, vanishing into the flames*

Mammon: Satan!?

Sitri: *Steps forward* He's fine...

Satan: *Bursts out, shielding the twins*

Satan: *Looks up* GET THEM HELP!!

"Needle and the thread!"

Satan: *Perks up as Leraye rushed past with Astaroth* What's going on...

Leraye: *Looks back* THE TWINS!!

Satan: *Chases after them, his eyes wide*

Sitri: Everyone stay back or you'll get snagged!

Satan: *Stares in disbelief at the shadowy aura*

Belial: *Dodges a spike, quickly moving back*

Satan: *Hurries forward*

Sitri: Satan don't-!

Satan: *Snatches his arm away* GET OFF ME!!

Satan: *Hurries into the shadow aura, causing an explosion to go off*

Paimon: SATAN! DAVINO, DAVINA!!

"Gonna wind up dead!"

[lovelytayforce]

The Amusing Novelty Of Photography - Chapter 2: Rush of Rain

Dot found herself moving before she could think her plan through. She pulled herself up and dashed upwards on what felt similar to the steepest hill she had ever hiked up! Her Ion blaster dangled and swung wildly at her side until she took it into her hand and didn’t hesitate to warm it up. “Megatron,” It was scorching, even the mist below that formed between their firepower seemed to slowly turn into a sauna between two hot-blooded machines. “I need you to trust me and move to the left.” She could almost hear his audible “What?” echo from below in her earpiece. Her brown eyes shimmered in the direct beam of the sun as she watched Starscream’s signature null ray attempt to outshine their own planet’s star above before she took a shot at Soundwave’s head. “Just trust me.” There was no moment of hesitation in those harsh few seconds as the smoke of her overworked blaster was blown to the wayside as Megatron made a feign of attack before backing away. Before the null ray could even flash their way, Soundwave’s optics met her eyes. It was strange being seen by him, noticed to the point of looking between each other’s souls. She could see even with his visor there was nothing there but unbridled rage, hurt, and something so recognizably human, that it almost pained her to keep gazing into them. Wistfulness. Her finger clicked on the trigger and she silently wondered what he witnessed within her eyes. Did he also feel as if they had connected, or was he too blinded by his pain to see who and what she was. ‘Because I saw the living being that you are…’ Dot thought. ‘Dr. Meridian was wrong…’ The shot missed his head by mere seconds, and the null ray caused a huge explosion of water and electronics in the area to spring to life only to stop in a frozen state. Dot stood up, never looking away from the blue mech as Megatron looked back up into the sky, putting the dots together for the eventual assassination attempt. “Which means you can’t use your signature move.” It was a risky but smart plan if Megatron had been alone, nullifying them all on equal terms with a two-on-one. The failure of their plan rained upon them. The sound that was usually comforting was eerie around the anger-induced smoke that spilled from Soundwave’s vents. Despite that, he kept pushing his frame to make noise even if it rattled his frame painfully as he kept staring holes into her person. Megatron for once, did not exist in his peripheral vision. It was just Dot and Soundwave. Her hands shook as she watched him, no one seemed to know what to do. It all depended on how he reacted. Through rain and smoke, Soundwave lifted his right servo, his sharp digits pointed toward her and she could see the shine of Megatron’s bright red optics reflected in the metal of them. They were in the form of a gun. Skywarp teleported in shortly and that was when Megatron moved. The sound of jet engines blasting off in the distance was loud. Soundwave made a gesture of shooting her with that servo of his and before Megatron could properly shoot at them. They disappeared. The rain stopped. And all the soldiers' guns slowly fell to the wayside to cool off for the day. Okay, cool,

And like that

We really mean it this time

I guarantee another era is upon us

~ Link for the full story: https://archiveofourown.org/works/52059640/chapters/131659042

[existential-muffin]

KNIVES X READER Imagine part 2

A Grain of Sand

Slow burn, reader is ex-earth solider, enemies to lovers.

Part 1 Part 3

Months have passed after Knives had killed the Plant from Earth. What a disappointment. He could have used her knowledge to prevent Earth from ever coming into contact with his planet while working together to create a paradise for them. Maybe even convince Vash to finally leave the humans. But no. She was also a human-lover. Killing her had been a mercy. Her human pet, who'd 'swore vengeance', never even caused a stir after that day.

He is lost in thought when the Human's image pops into his head. He lets out a snort, wondering why he even let their memory re-surface. You were all bark and no bite. Worthless, lying human. You never cared. He wanders around his airship, alone, strategizing the next steps for his 'war'. The Human was just another small grain of sand in the vast desert of No Man's Land, and what little impression they had given him was almost completely faded.

He makes it to the roof, looking out over the edge of the airship and staring down at the human city in the far-off horizon-- the parasite city--- lights burning bright in the darkness of the night. Another reminder of the life they were slowly siphoning from his dependent sisters. It was only a matter of time. Their memory too, would fade from this world.

He turns his cold gaze from the view, heading back inside, when his mind is bombarded with static so loud it makes him curl into himself. Almost brings him to his knees.

Images and laughter, the kind from a fond memory, filter bit by bit through his mind. None of them coherent and none of them familiar feeling, like the thoughts he would occasionally get from his sisters, encased in their glass prisons. But the voice... it was familiar. It was HER voice. The traitor. The Plant he killed months ago. But that was impossible. He had felt it when she died.

The images started to shift and piece themselves together, the way a radio settles into the right station. The dead independent Plant murmurs something softly, "as--ong---- to-ge--ther-----right--?" Its meaning seemingly lost to time and space when a different voice comes through. Knives’ head snaps up.

"For her,"

Miles below on the peak of a sand dune in the moonlight, a figure can be seen hoisting a type of large missile launcher, aiming straight at the airship. Pressurized air escapes the back of the mechanism, metal parts lock into place, while in front a ball begins to form. Light flows like a stream towards it's center. At first, it’s a trickle, then rapidly comes together like a burst dam, absorbing the moonlight of the 5 moons.  A silence settles over the desert. The stary night sky and the city leagues away, are submerged in true oblivion for a heartbeat. Even the lights on the airship dim. And then the tension shatters.

Knives only had enough time to stand when the light beam made impact with the right engines of the airship and streaks across its port. It leaves him unsteady, but he makes it to the side of impact and sees the melting line raked across his ship. He looks up, trying to find the source in the sea of sand and dim blue light. It takes him a moment, and then his keen eyes see it. Sees you. Next, he's met with heat and debris that send him flying into the railing on the opposite side of the ship.

You watch the thin line of light domino effect, with explosion after explosion. The air ship swerves and dips in the night sky. With smoke and embers following behind. Its descent is slow and fast at the same time. You let out a disappointed huff. It was too much to hope that the whole thing would just explode into pieces, as it manages a crash landing. But even from where you stand, the damage to the airship is immense and will take time and effort to fix.

You finally let the Ion laser prototype fall from your shaking hands. Its unstable power melting away at the internal core. It had already left your palms with blisters through your seared special ops unit gloves. You take off the gloves and toss them into the metal heap that is catching fire. Watching as the flames eat away the embroidery on the gloves. "PLANT Enforcer - Unit A2-6  CALL NAME: Courier"

You glance back at the airship and wonder if Knives had missed you. While Knives, standing upon his burning ship is facing your direction. If you had seen his expression, you would understand that he would never forget you.

And Vash in the city at the horizon, snaps his eyes open as Knives' scream of frustration echoes in his ears.

[rinniewrites]

Frontlines of Reality- Ch.1: Takedown

Task Force 141 x OC! Noir (platonic)

Summary: After a failed mission to retrieve Makarov 141 finds themselves 6 years into the past... and in another timeline. 

A/N: Nadia “Noir” Amadis is a Haitian-American Seargent on Task Force 141. She, like Alejandro, has a special force of her own called. “Eskopyon” (scorpion) She is in her mid-20s and has been in the 141 for the past 2 and a half years. She joined after the events of Hassan and is the youngest member. She is the closest with Gaz and the boys treat her like family. In the 2011-2016 timeline she has been with the 141 for over 5 years.

October 11th, 2024

“Bloody hell.” Gaz curses as shots zoom past. The safe house in Rio De Janeiro they thought Makarov was in turned out to be a trap and the 141 were ambushed. They could feel the heat from the fire that has left the dummy safe house in shambles. The thick smoke starts to hurt their eyes and longs but they have to push through. Price grabs his radio attempting to clear the smoke from his throat, “Ghost this is Bravo Six how copy?” A gruff Manchester voice spoke back to him, “Solid. I have a visual on Soap and Noir. Noir seems to be injured and might need to call in evac.” 

Price curses before he inhales more smoke and turns to Gaz. he tries to speak over the violent sounds of gunshots.  “Gaz there is a pick-up truck a couple of hundred yards South if we can get there we can round up everyone else on the back and attempt to escape because evac won’t make it in time.” Gaz turns and squints to find the truck his captain was talking about. Once he sees it he turns back and gives a firm nod. “On your mark, Captain.” 

A few moments of silence and a couple more gunshots were exchanged before the words were finally said. “Now!”. The British Soldiers took off running toward the truck dodging bullets and grenades. Price dives in the driver seat starting to hotwire as Gaz keeps the enemies from getting close. “Ghost, Soap, Noir, Price, and I are hotwiring a pickup, and coming to your position we have to retreat.” A chorus of copy flows through the radio while Price finally hears the engine come to life. “Come on, son!”

The pick-up truck almost didn’t make it. With multiple bullets penetrating the sides, a busted-out tire, and three soldiers on the back trying not to fly off, you can say they barely escaped. Noir had taken a bullet to the leg and soap popped his left shoulder out of place. As the truck drove past an abandoned house there was a familiar whistle. Fear struck their bodies as they see the rocket heading toward the truck. “RPG!” An explosion went off right beside the truck causing it to flip over. Soap, who was covering Noir flew from the back and hit his head on a tree. Darkness took over the Sergeant before he could even process what was happening. 

“Johnny! Get the hell up!” Soap gasps as he sits up nearly head-butting his lieutenant who was kneeling over him. He carefully looks around his surroundings. They were laying in the grass of someone’s backyard. It was bright and the summer sun was beaming down on them which didn’t help Mactavish’s migraine. “Holy hell L.T. what happened? Where’s Noir? Price? Gaz?” Ghost huffs before looking around. “I don’t know Johnny. I can’t reach them from the radio and we have not been in this place before.” Soap attempts to stand up, supporting himself on a nearby tree. “It seems we are deeper in the city instead of the outskirts.” Soap looked down at himself before looking at the masked soldier. “We don’t have any weapons on us, Ghost. If the enemies are still nearby we are completely defenseless-” screams and gunshots were heard from the front of the house. The two men run through the gangway of the house and see two vans and three bodies in front of the building across the street. “The bloody hell is going on?” Ghost asks as he observes his surroundings. During the chaos, he sees a familiar hat and cap helping a woman and her children down the street. “Come on Johnny I see the Captain.” 

Price and Gaz were helping a woman and her son off the ground as more shots were going off in the background. She was frantically yelling in Portuguese distress clear on her face. Price couldn’t understand what she was saying but he tried his best to console her. “Ma’am you have to get somewhere safe okay? You can’t be here right now.” Gaz notices two figures coming towards them. “Ghost! Soap!” Price looks up before sighing in relief. He turns his attention back to the woman but sees she has already started running in the opposite direction. 

As the men regroup they start asking each other questions. Wondering what was happening, what injuries did they endure, are they still under enemy attack, or if was this the work of a gang? But an even bigger question was at hand, where is Noir? Price said they didn’t see her when they first woke up. “Us either.” Soap was holding his head. This whole situation was making his head spin. As Ghost and Price start to think of a plan for what to do they hear a familiar accent coming from a nearby alleyway. “I’m heading back to the safehouse this mission is a bust-” They enter the alleyway just in time to see Noir running with a limp toward the back of a building with a garage connected to it. They shout towards her but she doesn’t notice them distracted by the garage door that won’t budge open. Soap runs forward and reaches her before she completely opens the garage door. She jumps when she sees him,  but then she scrunches her face in confusion. “Soap what the fuck are you doing here?” Soap looks at her equally confused. She opens the door before turning back to Johnny surprised to see Ghost standing next to him as well. “Ghost, what the hell happened to your mask?” “What-” “Jesus fuck what is going on with you two Rojas is going to escape if you don’t act fast.” Noir ushers into the garage where multiple computers sit with different maps and documents. Noir walks towards the back of the garage and pulls out a gun. Ghost and Soap glance at each other before Gaz and Price run in behind them.

The four men look around the garage before their gazes fall back on their comrade. Noir seems to notice the presence of two others as she turns and points her gun at the newcomers. But she nearly drops it as she sees who is in front of her. 

“Hey!”

“Woah, lass!”

“Noir what are you doing? Are you crazy?”

Noir stands with her hands shaking and her eyes widened. She was looking directly at Gaz exhaling a shaky breath. “Gaz?” She breathes and her eyes start to water. She drops her gun and walks up towards him. She carefully observes him as he does the same. He notices Noir looks... Older? Her brown skin had more scratches than when she did a couple of hours prior. Her uniform also looks different but he can see the 141 patches on her arm. Suddenly he is pulled into a bone-crushing hug. He looks at the other's eyes laced with confusion and only got just as confused looks in return. Price steps in her line of few. “Noir.. are you alright?” She breaks from the hug and stands in front of Price. “Captain? What happened to you? What’s going on? Is this a twisted joke?” 

At this point the men are concerned. Maybe she hit her head and is suffering from a head injury. But that doesn’t explain how she knew about this place that looks like a safe house. They also took note of her uniform. Even more, questions swirled in their head as they attempt to decipher what is happening. Soap grasps her attention again. “Noir please help us understand what is going on. Are you hurt?” Noir looks frustrated, “No, I’m not fucking injured I want answers Mactavish starting with why you and Ghost aren’t tracking down Rojas as we speak.” Soap was starting to get frustrated his voice was beginning to raise. “Who is Rojas? What is this place?” 

Ghost pulls Soap back seeing Noir was getting angrier by the minute. He holds her shoulders and looks her dead in the eyes. Price glances at a nearby table and sees the header of a newspaper. It was in English. RUSSIA AND THE US ARE ON THE BRINK OF WAR. He passes the newspaper to Gaz who also takes a look at it. Suddenly, Noir’s radio goes off and they are met with… Soap’s voice? “Noir how copy?” Noir glances down at her radio before looking at Soap. the others do the same. They send Soap questioning glances. Soap puts his hands up and shrugs. The radio comes to life again. “Noir how copy?” “Solid.” She answers as she raises her hands again. She uses one of her hands to turn off her radio. “Who are you? Why are you here?” She asks the group. 

Price takes a slow step forward, “Noir, we are 141 we are your comrades we have been for the past year.” Noir just shakes her head, “The real Ghost and Soap are with Roach tracking down Rojas. Price has been M.I.A for God knows how long and Gaz has been dead for years you are not my comrades.” She spits venom as she speaks. 

Silence. No one spoke a word. They tried processing what the youngest had said. Soap was the first to break the silence. “What day is it?” Ghost's head snaps towards him. “Johnny what-” “I have a theory L.T. it may seem crazy but trust me.” Noir’s brown eyes look between “Soap” and “Ghost” before hesitantly answering. “August 13th.” Johnny looks at Ghost with wide eyes before looking at the other two Brits who were just as surprised. Gaz's jaw dropped. “Bloody Jesus did we time travel or is this just a very weird lucid dream?” Price shook his shock away before he points to the newspaper in Gaz’s hand. “Gaz read the date on that newspaper. It’s new right?” He asks Noir who had her gun trained on him. She squints her eyes and nods. Gaz looks around the front page before his eyes land on the numbers. “August 13th, 2016.” He scoffs in disbelief. “This can’t be right. Russia and the US weren’t at the brink of war in 2016 hell our team wasn’t even a thought in 2016.” Ghost looks at the computers mounted on the wall. August 13th, 2016 displayed in the bottom right corner. Soap stumbles back a bit “This is just like Noir’s comics. The marvel ones. Where there are different dimensions and shit. The multiverse!” Noir looks at him skeptically. “You know about my comics?” Soap takes a step toward her. “Yes, it may sound crazy but I think we somehow traveled the multiverse. That’s why Price is here and Gaz is… alive.” Price is the only one who was still struggling to keep up. “So you think we not only time traveled but somehow traveled to a different universe?” He asked Soap. “Yes, obviously this is not our Noir she looks like it but she also looks different,” he points to her clothes, “She also has a  different version of our uniform. This is not our universe. That is why she is talking about a mission that we have never heard of. It makes sense if you think about it.”  

Noir thinks about it before putting her gun in her holster. “Okay, I believe it.” Price looks at her baffled. “You believe this?” She just shrugs “I am an avid believer of the multiverse theory. But it also explains why you look exactly like the 141 I’m used to.” 

Ghost, Soap, and Price looked at each other in disbelief. Yeah, this was Noir alright. Gaz spoke up, “We are from October 2024. In our.. Dimension? We were retreating from a mission where we failed to find Makarov.” Noir hums in understanding before opening a drawer with balaclavas. “Guess you can tell from the newspaper how things are going here.” Noir holds out the masks. “Put these on, I’m not sure when the others will be back but we don’t know what will happen if you meet your alternate selves.” Oh, she was dead serious. 

They moved to the living room area of the safe house. They sat on the couches while noir Took the chair across the table from them. Noir began to explain to them what was going on. “A couple of days ago an American soldier was sent undercover to pose as one of Makarov’s goonies. Makarov started a mass shooting killing everyone at Zakhaev National Airport. He killed the American soldier and left his body at the airport while he escaped. So obviously the Russians assumed the Americans planned the terrorist attack. Russia wants war and we are trying our hardest to keep that from happening. 141 investigated the site and found the bullets used in the attack could be traced back to Rio. The supplier’s name is Alejandro Rojas which is who Soap, Ghost, and Roach are chasing down now. I’m supposed to be resting my ankle so it can heal that’s why I headed back here.” 

Price took his hat off and set it on the table. “So you’re telling me we’re on the verge of World War 3?” Noir sighed. “I’m afraid so, Captain.” Soap looks distraught and he curses in his native tongue. Gaz looks distraught and she couldn’t tell what Ghost was thinking but he was tense. Price started up again, “A-And you say me? Your Price has been missing?” She nodded solemnly. “Yeah 3 years ago. It was Operation Kingfish. Me, Price, Soap, Ghost, Roach, and Delta Force were sent to scout out a house we thought was housing Makarov in Ukraine. Mission went to hell and Price had to cover us while evac came but he never made it on the plane with us.” Noir looked everywhere but at the men. She can feel them staring at her.

Gaz was nervous. Anyone could tell. The way his hands shook, how he would open and close his mouth like he is trying to say something, he would look at Noir but then quickly look away. She knew what he wanted to ask but also knew it was a sensitive topic. 

Noir took a deep breath making sure she was mentally prepared for the image of Gaz’s body lying on that bridge. “You died a while back, in 2011.” Noir sees Gaz’s and the rest heads snap in her direction. They could hear the sadness in her voice and the grief on her face. “We were infiltrating a Russian base attempting to stop two missiles from hitting the east coast of the USA. the mission was successful but escaping was the hard part. We were about to be ambushed by Russian Nationalists and had to use a bridge to escape. They boxed us in on the bridge. An explosion went off knocking us down. You were thrown right in front of Imran Zakhaev, the man we were targeting at the time. He did not hesitate to shoot you in the head as soon as you hit the ground not even a foot away.” 

The soldier's jaws dropped at the story. Price was pissed as well as Ghost. Soap who was seated on the right of Gaz put a hand on his shoulder in hopes to provide some sort of comfort. Gaz was shaking even more. The air was tense. Noir decided to turn her radio back on to focus on something else besides the memory. “Captain, how copy?” Soap… well your Soap’s voice came through the radio. “Solid. We gained information on a prisoner that is Makarov’s greatest enemy. He is sure to help us lure Makarov out and he could be useful for information. He’s being kept in a gulag in Russia.” The Haitian quickly processed the information given. “You and the team should get in contact with Nikolai and have him take you to Russia.” She quickly glances at the men still sitting on the couch. “I still have some things to finish here and will ask    one of my soldiers to get me to Russia as soon as I’m done.” “Roger, Bravo Six out.” 

She walks back towards the couches. The men waiting patiently for her to speak. “Ghost, Roach, and Soap are heading to Russia to free a prisoner. I will have one of my Soldiers fly us out later or tomorrow.” Price looks puzzled, “Your soldiers?” He asks. Noir blinks before responding. “Yes, I have a special force called, Eskopyon. They are currently on the Outskirts with my second in command, Mercy.” The men look at her with astonishment. They were gonna ask questions when an alarm goes off back in the garage. Noir and the boys quickly usher towards the garage where multiple monitors were sending signals. Noir quickly heads to the main monitor and sees the signals coming from the Navy Seals and 75th Ranger Regiment. She tunes into the comms where a conversation between Seargent Foley and Private Ramirez. The 141 stands behind her looking at the multiple screens that had frantic messages coming in. 

“- taking heavy losses from ground fire!” Noir pushes the speak button on her microphone to talk. “Sergeant, Private what the hell is going on?” The pinged location on the monitor shows they were in Washington D.C. The garage filled with sounds of explosions and gunshots from both of the soldier's radios. Ramirez was the one to answer, everyone could hear the utter fear in his voice, as the response they get makes their blood run cold

“RUSSIA IS INVADING THE CAPITAL!” 

[ak47stylegirl]

Thunderbirds meets Thunderbirds: The Rewrite. 

— Chapter 1 —

Next 

Okay, this is how this is going to work; I’m writing this fic in big chunks at a time and splitting them into chapters, so you guys get somewhat regular chapters. So without further ado, here’s the first chapter of 7. Updates will be once a week.

Hope you guys enjoy 😄

(Also huge thanks to @janetm74 for bata reading for me ❤️ and @tsarinatorment for letting me ramble to her as I was writing this ❤️ I may have also stolen her method of writing, opps 😏😂)

—

Virgil pov (Movie-verse)

Thunderbird Two flew over the coast of Europe, heading towards a laboratory fire that had erupted early this morning (but because of time zones, it was the afternoon for them). No one knew what had caused it or who had started it, but the Thunderbirds had been called in to assist with the rescue.

Gordon had joked that they should keep an eye out for Alan, seeing as their kid brother was known for starting laboratory fires. Virgil had chuckled, imagining the outrage on Alan’s face if he had heard that…

As it was, there was no way Alan was in that building. But it was a good joke. 

“Thunderbird Two to Thunderbird One, we're almost at the rescue site now.” Dad reported over the intercoms, sitting next to him in the co-pilot seat, “what’s the situation like down there, Scott?” 

“The local rescue teams have gotten most of the people out, but there are still people trapped inside…” Scott reported from mobile control in perfect military fashion, “The firefighters don't have the equipment to go any farther…” 

“Then it's up to us then…” Dad sighed, turning to look at him and Gordon. “Gordon, you will be in the firefly, Virgil you will follow on foot and funnel any survivors out to Scott, while I man mobile control, understand?”

“FAB!” 

--- 

Virgil wiped his brow as he handed off a slightly lightheaded, but otherwise conscious survivor to Scott. “How many more people are still left inside, sir?” he questioned over the comms, heading back inside the smoke-filled building. 

“There are still two more people unaccounted for, Virgil…” Dad replied, his voice firm and steady. “They were last seen in the far left of the facility but be careful, the firefighters believe that is where the fire originated…”

So the chances of them finding survivors and not corpses were slim, but they had to look anyway. Just in case, Virgil thought, as he jogged his way back to Gordon. 

“I’m reaching that area now, sir!” Gordon reported from the firefly. “And wow, it’s a mess! Looks like an explosion went off in here, you’re sure Alan wasn’t here?” 

“Gordon, focus on the mission.” Scott scowled over the comms, his field commander voice on full display. “Do you guys see any survivors yet?” 

Virgil brought his hand up to his comm piece, coming to stand next to the firefly. “No Scott, nothing ye-” He spotted a leg or two under a fallen beam, his eyes widening as he moved, “wait! I think I found one of them!” 

There was indeed someone under the beam, two individuals in fact but it was obvious as Virgil got closer that they were both dead, charred and impaled by debris. “I found the two missing persons but they’re both dead,” he reported, closing his eyes briefly in sorrow for the lives lost, looking down at the ground. 

“FAB…” His brothers replied, a sombre feeling flooding the comms as they felt a sense of failure. They hated losing people, it just wasn’t fair, Virgil thought as he stepped back, taking in the destruction around him. 

He heard his father sigh deeply, “Boys, it’s time to pull out now -” The building shook around him, causing Virgil to stumble slightly, the debris shifting around him, revealing something he hadn’t seen before “- we have done all we can -”

“Wait! There's still someone else in here!” Virgil shouted as he spotted a blue uniform figure laying in the distance. There was debris surrounding the person, stopping the fire from reaching them but it also stopped him from reaching them easily as well.

“They’re unconscious but I think they may still be alive!” He ran forward as far as he could, trying to get a better look, the debris made it hard. “But there is debris blocking me from getting to them to check!” 

“Is it the person that started the fire?” The anger in Scott’s voice could be cut with a knife. But Virgil ignored it in favour of figuring out how to get to the person, if he maybe moved this beam, he could climb through, he thought to himself as he pushed the beam slightly to the side. 

Virgil looked up in alarm as the roof creaked and groaned, not liking what he was doing one bit. 

“Scott, don’t jump to conclusions without facts…” Dad lightly scolded, his commanding voice echoing through their comms. “Virgil, that part of the building is becoming very unstable, if you boys are going to get that person out, you need to do it now…” 

He nodded as Gordon joined him in shifting debris, “FAB, we’ll be as fast as we can..” 

“Okay, I’m going to climb through and see what we’re dealing with…” he explained to Gordon once they had cleared away a big enough hole for them (and a stretcher) to climb through. “While you stay here in case I need you, okay?” 

Gordon nodded, “FAB Virg…” 

Virgil climbed through the gap he and Gordon had made, making his way towards the blue-dressed person. He didn’t know why but something was telling him not to leave with this person, no matter what. 

It was like his gut was tied into knots. 

And as Virgil knelt down next to the person, the first thing he noticed was that they were small and male, and definitely young…

Too young. 

TBC...

[ethereal-and-vaguely-threatening]

DWC Day 3 Forest - Mortality

Fire. 

All consuming,  all ruining fire.

A simple job,  destroy the competition of the client and leave a lasting impression. What should have been cake for the two veteran Sparrows and one unmarked Carrion, hoping to earn his place in the flock, turned into an abrupt reminder of their mortality. A miscalculation on the time needed to escape the building before charges blew and engulfed the building in flame, putting the team in jeopardy.

“Oi!” Dax shouted, coming to an abrupt stop as the explosion shook the building’s rickety foundation and caused beams to collapse, blocking the way out as the fire spread rapidly throughout the storehouse. “Fuckin’ Slim! Damn count was wrong, look at this mess!” Dax wasted no time getting to work moving the beams to get them out before the roof came down, although each beam weighed nearly twice as much as he, the hulking mass of muscle grunted and grimaced until he lifted the first beam and set it to the side to prevent more rapid damage.

The building groaned as smoke filled the burning walls. “Keep at it Dax!” Amytheisa coughed, raising her mask to hopefully breathe better in the burning fog.

The second fallen beam was removed and the building did not react well to the shift as the back half that took the brunt of the explosion began to fall and crash to the ground. Dax barreled through the opening shouting “GET OUT!!!” His voice boomed, the heavy as he beam still above his head, the Carrion Hugh following close behind.

As the smoke outside cleared the group, it became obvious that their threesome was missing a key player. “Shit, She be inside!” Dax choked, wheezing from the smoke and exertion, leaving Hugh with a split second decision.

It was easy as breathing, these were the people he was fighting to join; starting off hanging around for parties and then lending a hand at the bar until he was invited to earn a spot; this was where the real work began, the heavy lifting and shit jobs fell on the Carrion as well as some light hazing from the veteran flock, the ones that stood where he stood. A deep breath in and Hugh ran back into the flames to rescue his moody superior.

Minutes past, leaving Dax a mountain of worry as the building was caving in on itself and the opening for their escape along with it. “Shit…” Using his large mass Dax held open their path as fire licked his arms and hands. “SHIFT IT!” His voice boomed in competition with the thunderous crackle of the flames.

Bursting from the collapsing building with Amytheisa over his shoulder, Hugh paused only to make sure Dax had let go and was running behind him and the group made for their escape as the smoke would have signaled the surrounding area that trouble was afoot and they had best be clear of it quickly.

Hours later…

The Felfire Eye, a formally rundown tavern in the corner of the Mage District of Stormwind, neglected by time until new ownership returned it to life, now bustling with marked and unmarked members of the Conspiracy of Ravens and those that spent their time in the organization’s orbit. The crew from the misbegotten job had since returned and were patched up and all marked members of the flock returned to the bar to take a very important vote. 

Behind a hidden bookshelf door, down a long low lit corridor a large circular room with what looked like a fighting pit in the middle; on the far side of this room was a heavy set of wooden double doors, an ornate raven with wings and talons extended carved into the face, within voices and laughter could be heard.

“Alright alright.” Valanthriell spoke through a pleased laugh, smacking her hand on the large table they gathered around to quiet the group. “Now then, we’ve some last minute business.” Valanthriell spoke with a serious tone. “It seems Job No. 367 hit a snafu with its pyro and it went off less than stellar and ended with some near death experiences. Dax, the floor is yours.”

With a grunt Dax stood slowly, his bruised hulking mass casting a shadow across the large table, his gruff voice sounding more rough than usual from the excessive smoke inhalation. “Tell ya the truth, it was Charlie Foxtrot if I ever saw one, and I fer one don’t plan on a repeat performance. No more of this mates, if the pyros gotta bounce out of a job fer some reason or another,  we pause. I ain't blamin' Slim, he sent us with the good stuff,  but unexpected differences will screw the pooch faster than it can bark. First order of business is ta make this fact, if a trigger or a pyro has ta bounce out,  we pause and replace. Princess Pain over there nearly didn't make it outta there." Dax began to sit down and paused to gesture toward Amytheisa who sported a bandaged cheek, right arm, and a withering stare focused on the much larger man, not saying a word. 

"Then we shall vote," Valanthriell spoke matter-of-factly. "All in favor of putting a new rule into place, if a trigger, pyro, or otherwise necessary cog is MIA a hold will occur until they are replaced. This also means placing others on backup should this situation arise.  All in favor?"

The first hand to rise was that of Amytheisa, who in the past would draw out her answer,  now was point blank open for the change causing hands to rapidly follow. 

"Very well, all placed on backup will be expected to remain near the job location and ready to arrive at the drop of a hat. Stay alert. Dax, the floor is yours again."

Dax stood once more, proudly speaking with wide open arms.  "Hugh MacArthur. He hasn't yet finished his two year with us as Carrion, but the balls on this lad!” His words were disrupted by a few cheers. “I'll tell ya! The shit was hittin' the fan an' that young man didn't take a second thought before he rushed back in and hauled our Isa outta that fire and ta safety.” The cheering grew thunderous the more Dax spoke, calming as he motioned for them all to settle. “He's a stand-up guy that takes all the shit, does all the jobs an' never bitches. I move to mark Hugh MacArthur as one of our own!” The crowd erupted in cheers and the pounding of fists on the table until Mitharios stood. 

“Remind us all, Historian, how far from his two year is Hugh?” Mitharios was a lawless man, however stuck to his personal code like glue, and knew full well that the young man was nowhere near close. 

A young Pandaren woman spoke out behind the crowd from her corner as she flipped through the pages of a certain book. “Let’s see here, he's served one year and four.”

“Tisk tisk, shame. At a year and six I would consider it.” Mitharios grinned. “Shame, unless you plan on sponsoring him Dax? Feel like staking your seat on him holding true?” Challenging the larger man’s resolve on the topic, but before Dax could even speak another voice spoke up.

“I will sponsor him.” Amytheisa stood as she spoke, glaring toward Mitharios as those gathered were struck silent by surprise.

“Isa? You, of all people? Interesting, I’ll have to test his merit if he’s enough for you to stand for a stranger.” Mitharios provoked, although Isa didn’t rise to the occasion.

“Her reasoning matters little, Mitharios. Your condition is met and therefore makes this vote unanimous. Hugh MacArthur will be marked tonight.” Valanthriell spoke over the exchange, her word final. “Dismissed.” With that the group dissipated, slowly moving up to rejoin the goings on in the bar above.

To be continued...

Mentioned: @snapshots-inthe-shadows

(Should make a page for the support characters, though Isa might get a permanent page in the future.)

@daily-writing-challenge