#but it sped up going through his system because of the fighting

[nerdpoe]

Dick gets his drink mixed up with another persons in the library while visiting Barbara.

He was drinking some kale smoothie thing, for health and stuff, and he set it down to grab a book from the shelf. There was another guy next to him, who also had a smoothie in the same kind of shake-n-go bottle.

They swapped by accident.

Dick checked out his book, said goodbye to Barbara, and took a sip of his smoothie.

That's the last thing he remembers.

He wakes up two days later pinned down by a practically feral Jason, who's eyes are glowing a sickly Lazarus green, with Bruce, Tim, Cass, and Duke all showing signs of losing a fight. He's sore everywhere, and Damian is nowhere to be seen.

"Uh...." his voice cracks, and he's suddenly aware of how fucking painful his throat is. "Hi? What's going on?"

"...Is it really you, Dickwing? I swear to God if it isn't and this is another-"

"Jay I really don't know what's going on, man."

Jason doesn't believe him. Dick is cuffed with anti-meta cuffs and escorted to the cave, where Bruce demands test after test and Dick tells them the last thing he remembers.

Apparently, after taking that sip, his eyes had turned to Lazarus green, and he had beelined for the mansion. Along the way there, he had run into the Riddler.

He had broken most of the Riddler's bones.

That was when everyone had been called in to subdue Dick, who for some strange reason kept gunning for Damian. Hence, Damian was upstairs and not allowed down until they were sure Dick was okay again.

It's concluded that Dick drank some alternate form of Lazarus Water, lost his mind, proceeded to take everyone out with enhanced strength and speed except Jason, who had entered a Pit episode just to keep up, and worked through it two days after consumption.

But who the fuck transported a material as dangerous as modified Lazarus Water in a fucking shake-n-go bottle?

Danny, however, is a little sad that his ecto-shake was stolen by some rando at the library.

Their kale smoothie was pretty good though.

[endless-summer-soldier]

ice ice baby - chapter ten

pairing: CollegeHockeyPlayer!Bucky x CollegeFigureSkater!Reader

summary: Bucky is a college hockey player, Y/N is a figure skater without a partner. What's happens when these two opposites start sharing the ice...

warnings: enemies to lovers trope, some alcohol use

word count: 4.3k

 taglist: @sebsgirl71479 @whiskeyrosepoetry

series playlist

series masterlist

The team stood on the ice, idling in place as a member of the university acapella group sang the national anthem. It was the first round of the playoffs and Bucky was doing his best to fight off the nerves. He caught Y/N’s eye in the stands and smiled at her, excited that she was there to support him. But her presence made him more nervous because he wanted to impress her.

As the anthem ended and the crowd broke out into applause, the team skated to the sidelines for a drink of water to prepare for the start of the game. Then, an announcement came over the PA system.

“And now we have a very special presentation honoring all our graduating seniors.”

Bucky looked up at the screen in surprise. He peered around to his teammates, but their eyes were all glued to the screen. 

The first message was from Steve’s parents, talking about how proud they were of him and wishing him luck in the game. Then Sam’s sister and his nephews appeared, smiling big and gushing over Sam. As the messages continued, Bucky wondered who his message would be from. It could be from his mother, but they weren’t terribly close. Maybe his younger sister, but he hadn’t spoken with her in a while. His question was answered a moment later when he saw Y/N’s face on the screen.

“Hey Buck,” she smiled at the camera, “I don’t know if you realize how much of an impact you have had on me over the past few months. First you swooped in and saved me by agreeing to be my partner. You persevered through my perfectionism and high standards, impressing both of us, which is when you gained my trust. And then, you pushed me outside of my comfort zone. Aside from my mother, you are the only person that has challenged me to try new things and to just stop and appreciate life every so often. Now, I’m not a very sentimental person and I’m terrible at expressing my feelings, but I mean it when I say that I love you.” 

She gave one more genuine smile at the camera and Bucky subconsciously placed his hand over his heart. He looked up to find her in the crowd and she was already peering down at him, her bottom lip wedged between her teeth. She was nervous about putting herself out there. Bucky gave her the toothiest grin and mouthed “I love you too.” She drew a heart in the air with her two pointer fingers and smiled back at him. Now he was ready to play.

In the last period, the game was tied 2-2. Bucky was playing extremely well. He had to admit, his figure skating lessons had improved his speed and technique, and his opponents weren’t ready for it. 

The clock was ticking down under the two minute mark, and something had to happen. Bucky was not letting this game go into overtime. He looked toward Coach Selvig and made a small T with his hands, signaling for a timeout. Selvig nodded and called for time as the team skated over to the bench.

“I’ve got something,” Bucky told the coach. He dropped his gloves to snag the small white board and marker, drawing out the play he had in mind. As he looked around, his teammates were nodding and Solvig held a thoughtful hand to his chin.

“That could work,” he approved. The team took one final sip of water and then the whistle called them back to the ice. Clint positioned himself in the small circle for the faceoff while everyone else circled around the ice. 

The puck dropped and Clint flicked the puck to Peter, who sped down the ice. Bucky and Steve shielded him on either side, keeping defenders out of his way. Peter looked toward the goal and took a fake shot while actually passing the puck to Sam. Sam skated around the back of the net and attempted to sneak the puck into the corner of the goal. One of the defenders saw it happening too quickly, and got a stick on the shot. The puck spun out toward Steve and he effortlessly collected it, skating around to reset the offense. Bucky gave him space, skating back towards the neutral zone to get a read on possible plays. Clint moved opposite Steve and attempted to get open, but Steve didn’t have many options. He passed the puck back to Sam when Bucky saw an opportunity. He skated in to protect Sam, planning to slam the defender into the ice. But Sam had a different idea.

He passed the puck just ahead of where Bucky was skating to and Bucky sped up to claim it. He was expecting a defender to put some pressure on him any second now, but the moment never came. Bucky continued skating to a wide open goal and found he was playing chicken with the goalie. He leaned toward the right, waiting for the goalie to shift, and as soon as he did, Bucky took a shot to the left. The shot clinked off the goalpost and flew into the back of the net. The lights flashed above the goal and Bucky glanced up at the scoreboard. With a mere 15 seconds left, this game was as good as over.

His teammates pulled him into a tight group hug and he heard the crowd going wild. The refs broke up the celebration and asked the players to reset, preparing for the final faceoff. Clint stood in the middle of the circle and easily won the puck, passing to Steve who skated in a figure eight to kill the time. The air horn blew, calling for the final time and the team celebrated once again. They shook hands with the other team and the opposition quickly filed off the ice. The fans were tossing teddy bears, scarves, and mittens onto the ice to celebrate the team. 

Solvig approached Bucky and gave him a pat on the back before letting him know the broadcast crew wanted to do a quick interview with him. He skated over to the edge of the rink and answered a few basic questions from the anchor. As much as he was loving the victory, all he could think about was Y/N. He wanted to squeeze her tight in his big arms and tell her he loved her over and over again. As he skated away, he saw her standing behind the glass, smiling at him. 

“Come here,” he mouthed and motioned. She looked toward the bench, figuring out how to get past the glass and acted before thinking. She jumped over the barrier onto the bench, and then used the little door to let herself onto the ice. She was surprised to find she didn’t even bother to consider the consequences of this action. She honestly didn’t care if she was forcibly removed from the ice, she just wanted to be with Bucky. 

She trode carefully on the ice in her boots, and Bucky did most of the work, striding toward her with little effort. 

“There you are,” he said, cupping her face with his hands.

“You were amazing. I’m so proud of you!”

“Really?” He said reflexively. It had been a long time since someone said those words to him.

“Of course. Now I can brag to anyone that will listen about my stud of a boyfriend who scored the game winning goal in the playoffs.”

He smiled and bit his bottom lip as a blush spread to his cheeks, “Oh boyfriend, huh?”

“Don’t tell me now you have a problem with labels. I just announced to this whole stadium that I love you!”

He placed a hand around her waist and leaned in close, whispering “I love labels. Almost as much as I love you.” He closed the gap between them in a passionate kiss as her hand found the back of his neck. He leaned her back into a dip and she squealed in his mouth in surprise. 

“Get a room!” Sam yelled. They separated and Bucky returned her to vertical, before telling Sam to shut up. 

“Now the real question is, how are we celebrating?”

T W O  Y E A R S  L A T E R

“I can’t believe this is really happening,” Y/N whispered to Bucky. The two were dressed head-to-toe in red and blue Ralph Lauren layers that consisted of a sweater donning the American flag, a buffalo plaid puffer, blue and red boots, and navy blue beanies with the American Olympic Committee logo. The only difference in their ensembles was that Y/N had on a pair of sleek navy leggings, while Bucky was in white snow pants.

“I feel…puffy…” she managed to say.

“Well you look adorable. You know I can’t resist you in a beanie,” he said, planting a wet kiss on her cheek.

She blushed before pushing him away, reminding him that they were about to walk out with the rest of their country representatives. It was the opening ceremonies for the Olympics and all that was required of them for tonight was to walk out with their flag, smile, and wave at the crowd. Yet this was the moment that everything hit Y/N; not only was her dream coming true, but she was doing it with Bucky at her side. 

As much as she would’ve loved to compete with Bucky, it wasn’t possible with his hockey schedule. She found another partner who skated well and was easy to work with. She still turned to Bucky for music recommendations, wanting to keep the crowd and judges on the edge of their seats.

Bucky had made the US hockey team with ease. He’d been playing in the minor league and practicing with the national team whenever warranted. He was drafted by the Boston Bruins after graduation and was scheduled to start practicing with the team following the Olympic games.

Y/N had been training in Lake Placid, which was close enough to Boston for them to see each other when they had free time. It wasn’t ideal, but it worked fine. Bucky’s latest campaign was for Y/N to move to Boston and move in with him after the Olympics. She wasn’t convinced just yet. She had to figure out what her next step was career wise. This would likely be her only Olympics but she wasn’t quite ready to hang up her skates. 

“This is it,” Bucky interrupted her thoughts and grasped her hand, as they prepared for the big stage.

She turned to him and said, “No one I’d rather have by my side.”

Y/N had her headphones in and was stretching in an attempt to release the stress she was currently harboring. She was next up to skate and was feeling more nervous than she expected. This was the biggest stage she’d ever skated on and she was trying not to let the pressure get the best of her.

She felt a tap on her shoulder and turned to find her partner Scott, smiling at her. If he was nervous, he wasn’t showing it. He asked if she was ready because they were on next and she merely nodded. The routine was great, but technically challenging. Even the slightest misstep could ruin the whole thing. She pulled herself together and followed Scott to their on deck position.

She was practicing her deep breathing to center herself when Scott nudged her arm ever so slightly. She turned to him, curiously and he merely pointed out toward the crowd. Y/N peered out into the crowd and found the entire USA hockey team seated behind the judges at the top few rows of the arena. Her mouth turned upward into a smile when she saw Bucky leading the pack with a “Y/N for Gold” poster above his head. He never ceased to amaze her. After two years of being together, he still managed to pull off the perfect surprises. The butterflies in her stomach never quite went away when he was around. He caught her gaze and gave her a thumbs up as if to say “You’ve got this.” She carefully placed her fingers to her lips and blew him a gentle kiss. Bucky caught the symbolic kiss in his fist before placing it over his heart. 

Y/N turned to Scott with a nod and said, “I’m ready.”

Everything was a blur. Y/N and Scott completed the routine, but she did so without thinking about it. It was like she was commuting to work and all the sudden she pulled into the parking lot, realizing she hadn’t paid any attention to how she got there. On ice, the specifics of the routine weren’t on her mind; she was thinking about Bucky and the first time they skated together. It was a mess, he was all over the place. And yet, they built something out of nothing. Her mind then drifted to their routine at nationals. Bucky pushed her out of her comfort zone, creating an edge over the competition she didn’t realize was possible. Being on the ice with him that day felt magical. The only time she had felt like that before was the first time she skated with her mom. Now, being here on the biggest stage imaginable, she realized that the competition didn’t matter. All that mattered was her happiness. And Bucky gave her that.

She was released from her thoughts when Scott shook her shoulders and smiled at her. She mirrored his expression before glancing up at the rankings, where she saw their names at the top of the board, claiming the highest score of the competition so far. She glanced up into the crowd and saw the US hockey team cheering wildly and all she wanted was to climb up those stands and throw her arms around Bucky. 

Before she knew it, she was standing on the podium and they were placing an Olympic gold medal around her neck. This was the moment she had dreamed about her whole life, and yet something was missing. She smiled for the cameras and teared up imagining her mother cheering her on in the afterlife, but what she really wanted was Bucky by her side.

After the medal ceremony, there were several news interviews that she took with Scott and she provided the generic responses she had mentally rehearsed in preparation for this moment. Apart from wanting to find Bucky, she really just felt relieved that all the build up to the competition was finally over. She could finally relax and enjoy being across the world with her person.

Once the press frenzy was over, Y/N and Scott retired to their dressing room, where they would collect their things and head to the dormitories. They were both emotionally drained from all the attention, but they still had smiles plastered on their faces.

As soon as they opened the door, Y/N first noticed the “Y/N for Gold” sign propped up against the vanity and then she found Bucky sitting in her chair, phone out but head turned toward her. In a millisecond, he was up and had Y/N spinning off the ground in his arms.

“There’s my superstar!” he gushed, squeezing her as tight as he could. “You crushed it out there, Ace!”

When he put her down, he greeted Scott with a fist bump and complimented him on a flawless routine. Scott quickly collected his things and announced that he would head back so that they could have some time alone with each other, much to the couple’s appreciation.

Y/N nuzzled into Bucky’s shoulder, happy to be in his arms again.

“Can I tell you something?” he asked.

“Of course.”

“Watching you skate today took my breath away. I’ve seen you skate before, but it’s different being with you on the ice. I was always focused more on what my next move was. But tonight, I was able to focus all my attention on you and you were absolutely incredible. I love that I was able to be here to see years of hard work pay off. I am so unbelievably proud of you.” He kissed the top of her head and pulled her in closer.

His words were so genuine and kind that she didn’t know how to react. The only thing she could manage back was, “I love you so much.” She pulled her head off his shoulder and planted a sweet kiss on his lips. As they separated, Bucky held her eyes for a moment and he never felt so connected or so in love. 

“You know what, fuck it,” he muttered to himself. Y/N looked at him, confused, and it was only when he held her hands and got down on one knee did she realize what was happening.

“I had a whole plan for how I was going to do this. We were going to go out to a beautiful dinner on a yacht and the server would bring out a chocolate mousse for dessert and right on top would be the ring. But something about this moment just feels right. You’re standing in front of me in your team USA tracksuit with a gold medal around your neck and all I can think about is how desperately I want to marry you. And please know I don’t want to overshadow your Olympic victory at all, I just can’t spend another day calling you my girlfriend when I want you to be my fiance. So, Y/F/N Y/L/N, will you marry me?”

The tears had started dropping before he was finished. It wasn’t until Bucky lifted his eyebrows that she realized she hadn’t responded.

“Yes, absolutely yes. I would love to marry you.”

He nearly jumped up from his knee to pick her up and smother her with kisses. 

“I love you so much. Did I say that? I don’t think I said that,” Bucky rambled.

“I know Bucky. I love you too.”

He carefully put her down and slid the ring onto her delicate finger.

“Can we still go to dinner on the yacht? Because that sounds really lovely.”

He chuckled, “Hell yeah we’re still doing that. Now we have a reason to celebrate.”

“Okay good. We should get out of here though, you have a big game tomorrow.”

“Yeah okay, but only if you stay and cuddle with me tonight.”

“Now you know I can’t say no to my fiance,” she smiled up at him. He planted a kiss on her head before they collected her things and headed out.

Y/N was seated in the stands, a few rows behind the team, dressed in her team USA gear. The hockey team was warming up to face Canada, a major rival in Olympic hockey. USA and Canada had a history of facing each other in the gold medal game, and this year was no different. She sat there, twisting her engagement ring in an attempt to calm her nerves. Bucky was so close to achieving his goal and she wanted it so badly for him. He was the reason all her dreams came true and he deserved to win something too.

“Excuse me, are you Y/N?” An older man approached her side with a woman who she assumed was his wife. 

“Yes, I am,” she responded.

He extended his hand, “Hi, I’m Joe Rogers and this is my wife, Sarah. We’re Steve’s parents.”

Her expression changed from confused to delight, “Oh, hi! So great to meet you.”

“We’ve heard a lot about you,” Sarah said. 

“Likewise! I should probably thank you for all the support you’ve shown Bucky. He’s spoken so highly about you both and I know he wouldn’t be here today without you.”

“He’s always been a good kid, he just fell into the wrong group. Watching him grow up to be a wonderful young man has been priceless,” Joe said. It warmed my heart that they spoke so highly of Bucky.

“How lucky are we that our Stevie and James both made the team!” Sarah exclaimed. 

“Those two are inseparable. I don’t think they would’ve been able to function being apart for this long,” Y/N added. On top of both making the USA team, they had both been drafted by the Bruins.

Sarah and Joe chuckled and they continued chatting like old friends, keeping Y/N’s mind off her game day nerves. But that only lasted until the opening face off; once the puck was in play, she started twisting her ring again.

Into the third period, the score was 0-0. Both teams were playing extremely well on both sides of the ice, and both goalies saved several shots on goal. While Bucky and Steve were both playing really well, they had nothing to show for it on the scoreboard. It was easy to see why the two had been drafted together; they had a connection on the ice that was telepathic, each knowing exactly where the other was and what they were thinking.

And then, out of nowhere, Canada scored a goal. It happened so quickly that Y/N nearly missed it. One of the players took a shot on the goal and the puck skimmed one of his teammates skates, changing the angle ever so slightly that the goalie didn’t pick up on. It was rotten luck, but sometimes that happened in ice hockey.

There were only three minutes left in the game, but that was more than enough time. It only took a few seconds to score, but the team would have to keep the puck on the offensive side of the ice. Team USA pulled their goalie and added another man on the ice, knowing it wouldn’t make a difference if Canada scored again. 

They did a great job moving the puck around and clearing out space for their teammates, but the goalie stopped every attempt at a goal. This didn’t discourage the team, as they continued to attack on offense, but as the clock ticked down, the reality of the situation was setting in. The final buzzer rang and team Canada circled up in a big group hug. Y/N watched Bucky look up at the scoreboard before hanging his head in defeat.

“They put up such a good fight. At least they can be proud of how they played,” Sarah said. Y/N nodded, agreeing with her statement but knowing Bucky would still be crushed.

“A silver medal is still a great accomplishment,” Joe added.  

Both teams took off their helmets and lined up on the ice to receive their medals. The Canadians were all smiles while the Americans put on a brave face, but the disappointment was evident behind their eyes. Y/N couldn’t help but tear up a little when Bucky received his silver medal. It wasn’t exactly the outcome they wanted, but she was still incredibly proud of him for coming this far and never giving up.

Once the medal ceremony was over, both teams retreated to the locker room. Joe and Sarah asked Y/N if she wanted to go with them to meet Steve but she passed, knowing Bucky would want some space to process everything before socializing. She sat in the empty arena and watched the zamboni smooth the ice, wondering what she could say to cheer up Bucky.

Once a sufficient amount of time had passed, Y/N wandered out of the arena to find the locker rooms. She poked her head behind the door labeled Team USA and found silence. She took that as a sign to continue and wandered through the rows of lockers, looking for her fiance. She found him lying on the bench, staring at the ceiling tiles, recently showered and dressed in his team USA track suit.

“Hey you,” she said, taking a seat next to his head. Her hands instinctively found their way to the side of his face and she started lightly playing with his hair.

He didn’t say anything, but his eyes floated upwards to find her. 

“Let me see it,” she demanded.

“See what?”

“Your medal!”

“It’s not as cool as yours,” he said, handing her the silver medal that had been tucked in his palm.

“Honestly, this will make for a more interesting display in the house. We’ve got two out of three!.”

“It’s not even about the medal. Or losing for that matter.”

“What’s it about then?”

He let out a deep exhale before he sat up and swung his legs over the side of the bench so he was almost facing her.

“When you won that gold medal, I felt so full. I was proud of you and I was grateful that I was there to witness your achievement. And I wanted you to feel that way today with me. I wanted to see you smiling in the crowd as they put the gold medal around my neck.”

He hung his head and Y/N leaned into his shoulder and grabbed his hands.

“Bucky, I had that moment today. Despite my best efforts, I cried a little bit when you received your medal. Of course I am proud of you. I’m proud of you for just making it to the Olympics. Winning a medal is even more amazing. And most of all, I’m proud that you never gave up. You left everything you had out there on the ice. I know you didn’t get the outcome you expected, but there is still so much that you should be proud of.”

He turned to her, “How do you always know the perfect thing to say?” 

She placed a hand on his cheek, “Because I know you Buck. And I love you more than anything.”

He leaned into her and they shared a kiss that embodied their emotional connection. When the moment felt right, Y/N stood up and held her hand out for Bucky. He took it without hesitation and the two walked hand in hand out of the locker room.

“I’m sorry you didn’t get your gold medal,” she offered, as her final words of comfort.

“Don’t be sorry, I’ve got my gold medal right here.”  

[befuddled-calico-whump]

Wildefire AU: Out of Sight

cw: adult language, implied violence, implied starvation, bruises, the prison industrial complex lol

° ° °

Sarah swore she'd had a plan when she stepped through the doors to the prison, but it had all gone to shit pretty quickly. 

Hugo had helped her fabricate an identity as a journalist, fake ID and online credentials and everything, and posed as the director of a web-newspaper to get her an interview with a low-level criminal at the Fielding Detention Center.

She was really there for Uriah.

Alexei had been the one who'd found the CEO—former CEO—shut up in one of the dingy cells. He'd broken into Fielding to try and collect information from a different inmate, but happened upon Fox instead.

"He's… he's just in some cell?"

"Should count himself lucky he's not in the Tower. Bastard's got enough enemies."

"Maybe we can use him."

Lex's expression had become unreadable when she'd said that, but Sarah could hear the way his heart sped up, the slight hitch in his breath.

She didn't want to work with that asshole either, but their resources were few and far between when it came to anything that could stand against Corp, and someone who'd once held power—someone who'd been betrayed by the rest of the city's leaders—could be a huge asset. Even if that someone was Uriah Fox.

If she could just talk to him, maybe he'd give her something they could use. As unpleasant as the man was, everything Sarah had heard about him told her he was petty as hell. He'd probably jump at the chance to strike back.

To Alexei's credit, he didn't try and convince her otherwise when she told him her plan.

Sneak in, have a chat, get lost before anyone important knows I'm there.

"Do what you want. As long as I don't have to look at him, I don't care."

She'd agreed at the time, but now, selfish as it was, Sarah almost wished she'd asked Lex to come with her. If things went south, it would be nice to have someone whose powers were good in a fight.

"Zhang is Chinese."

"Good morning," she said brightly to the guard at receptions. "I'm Andrea Zhang, with Skyline Weekly?"

She'd complained to Hugo about that one.

"It's the only profile on here that even remotely matches you. No one's gonna know."

"What if the guy who lets me in is Chinese?"

"Yeah, right."

Yeah. Right. He was white. Maybe in his thirties, with close-cropped brown hair. He regarded her with a bored expression, flipping through some papers on the desk.

"Zhang… Zhang… ah, here." He nodded to the door behind him. "That way. I'll buzz you in."

That easy, huh? Sarah figured she'd at least have to have one of those through-the-glass phone calls like on TV, but here she was, going into the prison proper without so much as an escort.

Certainly simplified matters.

Lex had already given her a general direction to look for Fox. She walked past the reinforced doors leading to the common area, cafeteria, and yard, all connected by this one long hall to give the guards easier access. Sarah peeked through the doors' embedded windows as she went, scanning the scattered groups of prisoners for any sign of Uriah. 

She wasn't all that shocked when she didn't see him. If he was here, it was because the rest of the Corp bigwigs wanted to forget him. Out of sight, out of mind.

She pressed on down the winding corridor, past more doors leading to cell blocks and supply closets and… was that the fucking room with the chairs and the bulletproof glass and the phones? They did have one, but the lazy-ass guard would rather send a journalist in alone than do the work to keep a civilian safe.

She shouldn't have expected anything less from the prison system in this city. With that level of neglect shown to citizens, how badly were they treating the inmates? Sarah had to push aside her disgust.  She had a mission. Even beyond the task of meeting Uriah, she needed to take down Corp. Once the city was free from their grasp, she could worry about the state of the prisons.

The further she went, the emptier it seemed to get. She was passing single cells now. The one she peeked into was practically featureless. A grate in the floor probably served as the bathroom, but other than that, there wasn't even a mattress. And there were a ton of similar doors.

Fucking hell, did they put every prisoner in solitary? It was completely inhumane— nope. No. Later.

Sarah closed her eyes, sharpening her hearing. Listening for movement, for heartbeats, would be quicker than checking every single door.

Of course, she picked up the usual annoyances. The sharp buzz of the fluorescent lights above her, the roar of the AC unit, even the slight hum of electricity traveling the building's inner wires. But somewhere in the muddle of sound, she could hear it.

Thump-thump, thump-thump.

A heartbeat. Just one, so that was either a really great sign or a really bad one. She kept her eyes closed, running a hand along the wall to keep from running into anything, and followed the sound.

It grew louder and louder, until she had to re-dull her hearing to avoid being deafened by it. This was it. Fox was on the other side of this door.

And shit, there was only a single, small window in the door, high enough that she'd have to stand on her toes to peer in. And while she'd be able to hear him, he probably couldn't hear her. Did that mean she'd need to open the door? What if he tried something? Surely the asshole was desperate enough to—

Her thoughts were cut short as her ears picked up a small gasp inside. No, not a gasp, a wince.

Well that was almost to be expected. Someone like Fox was bound to incite a lot of brawls with his smarmy, self-important attitude.

But when she stood on her toes to get a look inside, she sucked in a sharp breath through her teeth.

Lex had told her Uriah was here. She'd never thought to ask what state Uriah was in.

The blond man was curled up in the furthest corner of the tiny cell, thin arms wrapped around his bare chest, head tucked against his knees. A good chunk of his hair was matted with dried blood, and his skin was covered in purpling bruises. She couldn't see his face, but she could still pick out the bruises lining his jaw, color trickling in towards his mouth. Something inside her twinged, and Sarah decided she'd allow it. She didn't have to like Fox, but right now, it was pretty easy to pity him. Poor guy'd had the rug ripped out from under him, only to find a flight of stairs at his back.

She sharpened her hearing again, kneeling to get eye level with the doorknob. It was locked, as she'd expected, but good hearing was for more than just eavesdropping, and careful listening paired with a bobby pin made for quick work of the lock. She could hear Uriah's heart rate suddenly speed up as she turned the handle, and immediately softened her ears against it.

He lifted his head as she pushed the door open and stepped inside, pulling it closed if only to escape notice. His eyes were wide—well, one eye was wide, the other was practically swollen shut—and his face was gaunt and bloodied.

Sarah let out a breath. "Uh. Hi."

"S-Spyglass?"

"Ah, so you do remember me." She crossed her arms, then remembered she wanted to get him to cooperate, not scare him, and uncrossed them. "It's nice to know you at least knew who I was when you sent an assassin after me."

Uriah raised a shaking arm, as if to shield his face. "Please— I'm sorry, I—I know sorry doesn't m-mean anything, but please, please don't hurt me—"

Shit, that had probably sounded vaguely threatening. "No, no. I'm… I'm not here for revenge or whatever." She sighed. "I… actually had a few questions for you."

"I'll tell you anything you want, I'll comply, please don't—"

"I'm not trying to hurt you," Sarah cut in. Had she sounded threatening again? Was it possible to not sound threatening to the poor guy right now? She tried again.

"I have some information I really need. I won't hurt you if you can't answer my questions, okay? They're just questions."

She waited for Fox to nod. He never took his eyes off her.

"First, do you know of any fail-safes in place for the Hero CEOs? Backup plans that let Corp get away scott-free if we do manage to pin something big on them?" Like how they used you as a scapegoat? She didn't say that part out loud. If that wound wasn't still fresh, it was constantly being re-opened in this environment.

Uriah nodded, but didn't actually say anything. She tried to keep her voice soft as she prompted,

"Like what?"

"I… I don't know, I… I can't remember. E-everything I had, everything good, was on my personal network."

"Network?" Sarah raised an eyebrow.

"Computer. A—a specific computer."

She sighed. "Which I don't imagine you currently have on you."

"I'm sorry—"

"Stop." Sarah pinched the bridge of her nose. "Do you know where this specific computer is?"

"Still at Titanium. In a—a vault."

"That I presume you know how to access?"

He nodded.

"Tell me." It would be a fucking doozy of a mission, but that computer could be a gold mine. Secrets, conspiracy, fail-safes… Corp's dirty laundry. If they could break in, maybe Hugo could hack the network.

"There's a code."

"Of course."

"A-and a fingerprint scanner."

"Of. Course." Fucking of course. Because there had to be something there special enough that Uriah Fox would just have to be brought along. It was entirely possible he was making that part up in a bid to get free. If Lex were here, he'd suggest just cutting off a finger, and she'd be hard-pressed to ignore the idea.

But despite her annoyance, despite knowing the truth of Uriah Fox, that he was a power-hungry, horrible man who was willing to send assassins after literal children to keep his reputation, she felt kind of queasy at the thought of hurting the trembling thing he'd become.

She… she needed time. She needed a new plan. The info about the computer was great, but she doubted Fox would be able to offer much more in this state. 

As she opened the door, peeking outside, Uriah piped up behind her.

"Where..?"

"I need to think. Thanks for the answers." She stepped out—

"Wait! Please… please, take me with you."

Her stomach sank, laden with equal parts dismay and pity. Yeah, his situation sucked, but the idea of keeping him around, of bringing him back to the team… no thank you. If the fingerprint bit was true, they'd find a way to synthesize it, and they shouldn't need Fox to get into the laptop.

"Sarah, please—"

"Using my name won't help." She did look back then, and wished she hadn't. Fox was on his hands and knees, looking up at her with teary, pleading eyes.

"You're a hero. Y-you save people."

Real heroes save everyone. Hadn't she told Lex that? Did it make her a hypocrite then, to want to turn her back on the person responsible for so much of her misery? Who'd killed her old team leader, who'd tortured one of her friends for a year?

Maybe it did. But it still felt justified.

"I was a hero," she said. "You made me a rogue."

She pulled the door closed behind her, dulling her hearing to lessen the sharpness of Uriah's pleas, and began to briskly walk back down the hallway.

With the uninspiring security, she probably could've walked right out the front doors without signing out, but Sarah stopped by the desk again anyway.

"Zhang," the guard mumbled. "Done so soon?"

"I got what I needed," Sarah offered, clutching the pen a little too long after signing her name in the visitor log. "I… heard a rumor while I was inside."

"A rumor?"

She set the pen down. "Yeah. Supposedly Uriah Fox is in here somewhere." What was she saying? Was she about to threaten the guard into treating Fox better?

"Is that what you heard?"

"It's what I heard. Though I didn't see any sign of him, so I don't know how true it is."

His eyes darted to the pen at her fingertips. "Off the record?"

Sarah nodded. "Off the record."

The guard leaned back in his chair. "Yeah, Fox is here, all right."

She feigned surprise. "Really? What did he do? I heard it was something about embezzlement?"

"Something like that," the guard agreed.

"Where is he?" Sarah ventured. "Like I said, I didn't see him."

"He's been in solitary for a while now," the guard replied.

A while. How long was a while? How long had it been since he'd been thrown out? Two months? Three?

"What did he do?"

"Existed." The guard chuckled. "They put a man like that---who's spent his entire life stepping on other people---in a cell block filled to the brim with men who've been screwed over by him and others like him. What'd you think would happen?" He thumbed through the stack of papers on his desk idly. "The first few weeks, it was all we could do to keep him alive. It's a miracle he's still kicking, honestly." He leaned in, conspiratorially. "Between you and me, there's at least two guards on staff who have beef with the guy, and I know they've been paying him visits."

Sarah grit her teeth, trying to make it sound casual when she replied, "And you aren't stopping them?"

"Why would I? It's Fox."

It's Fox.

That was her logic, too. Why would I? It's Fox.

Why would I?

Because real heroes save everyone. And whether Uriah likes it or not, I'm still a hero.

She forced a smile, rolling the pen back to the guard. "Well, have a great day," she said, not waiting for him to reply before turning on her heel and marching out the doors.

Whether she liked it or not, she'd be back. And Fox would be leaving with her.

She'd be back.

° ° °

@whumpacabra @enteredin2eternity @kixngiggles @whumpsday @kiichu @whump-for-all-and-all-for-whump @shywhumpauthor @distinctlywhumpthing , @bloodinkandashes , @fleur-alise , @whumpy-daydreams

and @whumpwillow @turn-the-tables-on-them this one's for you guys lol

[rosaren2498]

MASTERLIST:

Link to my Ao3 Account

Moon Knight:

The Little Scar - Lunar System x Reader

Her fingers made an aborted move towards her throat and her eyes took on a faraway look. When she snapped out of it, she'd signed that she wasn't ready to talk about it, and Steven had apologized before changing the subject.

Jake couldn't forget the look in her eyes; almost haunted.

Dead Man Walking - Lunar System x Reader

Part 2 of The Little Scar

With My Last Breath - Jake, Marc, and Steven (Platonic or Pre-Relationship)

After a fight with a wizard goes sideways, Jake finds himself in the headspace and a terrible feeling in his gut; he needs to find Marc and Steven.

The Sandman:

What Would You Dream - Dream of the Endless | Morpheus x Reader

"If you could control what you dream, what would you dream of?"

Nightmare or Memory - Dream of the Endless | Morpheus x Reader

You closed your eyes again as your breathing sped up. 'Please don't,' you thought. 'Please make it stop.' You gagged when something blunt and thick pressed against you, then everything went still. It was an unnatural stillness, accompanied by a preternatural silence interrupted only by your quick breathing, until someone suddenly spoke.

"Enough."

Part 1 of the 'It Isn't Abduction If You're Willing' series

Encouragement From Unsurprising Places - Hob Gadling & Reader, Death of the Endless & Reader

You talk to Dream's best friend and his favorite siblings.

They encourage you to talk to him.

Part 2 of the 'It Isn't Abduction If You're Willing' series

It Shouldn't Be So Easy - Dream of the Endless | Morpheus x Reader

"Oh. Teleute assumed that it was an excuse for you to see me again, but a claim makes much more sense."

He tilted his head to the side, blinking briefly at you. "You are aware of what an acceptance means, are you not?"

You nodded. "Means I'm yours, right? That I can't go back, that your realm is my home now?" He nodded again.

Part 3 of the "It Isn't Abduction If You're Willing' series

Touch Me, Please Part 1 - Dream of the Endless | Morpheus x Reader (MINORS DNI, 18+)

Instead, he was sitting on his throne, but you... oh, you were trying to drive him to his little sister's realm, surely. You sat lounged at the base of his throne, by his feet. At first, though the sight had made his mouth water, your position had been relatively easy to ignore because you weren't touching. Then, very slowly, as if he were an easily spooked animal, you brushed your arm against his leg, your shoulder brushing his thigh. He forced himself to ignore it, but over the course of several long minutes, your arm and shoulder slowly began pressing more and more firmly against his leg and thigh, a line of distracting warmth burning through his pants, until you were pressed solidly against him.

Part 4 of the 'It Isn't Abduction If You're Willing' series

Touch Me, Please - Part 2 - Dream of the Endless | Morpheus x Reader (MINORS DNI, 18+)

You bit your bottom lip, that itching, burning desire to touch rearing its head again.

"May I?"

His eyebrows furrowed, a pinch forming in the middle of his forehead. "May you what?"

You leaned in close to him, dropping your voice to a whisper. "Touch you? Explore you? Worship you as you deserve? As you did to me?"

Breath, which he did not require, hitched in his throat and he swallowed, his mouth suddenly dry at the look in your eyes. You looked just as desperate as he imagined he had the night before; how could he deny you? "Yes."

Part 5 of the 'It Isn't Abduction If You're Willing' series

Bodyguard or Best Friend - The Corinthian & Reader (Background Dream x Reader)

"I think I finally figured it out."

You blinked and grinned at your supposed bodyguard. "Figured what out?"

Corinthian shrugged his shoulders, affecting a casual attitude as you two walked; you were headed back to the palace after a walk around the Dreaming to visit various Dreams and Nightmares, including a brief visit with Cain and Abel. "Why none of this," he gestured around to the Dreaming, "bothers you."

You raised an eyebrow curiously. "Well don't keep me in suspense. What are your findings?"

Part 6 of the 'It Isn't Abduction If You're Willing' series

Sweet Dream or Beautiful Nightmare - Dream x Reader (MINORS DNI, 18+)

You turned and began making your way back to the doors of the library, freezing mid-step at the abrupt feeling of wrongness that flooded your awareness like ice. You heard a sharp intake of breath and a small thud as pain and panic, feelings that did not belong to you, thrashed in your head. You whipped around to see the books on the floor and Dream hunched over, the edges of his form blurring.

"Not... again."

You were confused for only a second, crying out for him as you quickly realized what was happening. No, no, not again! Don't do this to him again!! He was gone before you could close the distance, and as you felt that precious bond between you go completely silent, you s c r e a m e d.

Part 7 of the 'It Isn't Abduction If You're Willing' series

Family Dinner From Hell - Dream x Reader

"I don't want to go."

Dream didn't look any happier than you did. "Nor do I, but we are expected."

You scowled. "So what? Fuck Destiny's stupid book; we don't have to listen to it. This is going to be a disaster of epic proportions, Dream. And I'm probably going to be the cause."

Dream had looked like he was going to speak, but at your last sentence, he closed his mouth and tilted his head to the side, staring at you.

You sighed heavily, fighting a smile. "You look like a bird when you do that."

Part 8 of the 'It Isn't Abduction If You're Willing' series

My Love Has Teeth and My Devotion Has Claws - Morpheus x Corinthian (pre-relationship)

Dream stumbled back a step, His hand falling from Corinthian’s face, and then sand was whirling around Him and Corinthian knew something was very, very wrong. He could hear chanting, and his Lord seemed to be in pain, and then He was gone. His overwhelming presence had vanished, and so had the chanting. 

Someone had dared to summon his Lord. Whoever they were, they would pay.

Or, instead of Dream immediately choosing violence, he attempts to find out why his Masterpiece left The Dreaming. When Dream is summoned right in front of him, The Corinthian finds out that his devotion to his Lord has teeth and claws and it is hungry.

Desperate Desires - Morpheus x Hob Gadling (MINORS DNI, 18+)

He shouldn't be doing this; he knows he shouldn't. But even as he thinks it, images of Hob flicker through his mind again and he burns. He drags his nail over the piercing in his right nipple and has to stifle a groan, thinking of the look in Hob's eyes earlier that morning; his cock twitches in his sweatpants.

Or, Morpheus accidentally sees Hob's cock and now it's all he can think about. While Hob is at the University, doing his job, Morpheus is in their flat, desperately working himself over.

Pre-Relationship

Desires Fulfilled - Morpheus x Hob Gadling (MINORS DNI, 18+)

Hob's cock is straining against his pants - he's never been so hard in his life. When Morpheus only whimpers in response, he makes his way over to the bed, working his shirt open, letting it slide off his shoulders and fall straight to the floor.

Or, Hob catches Morpheus in a rather compromising position and decides to do something about it.

Part 2 to 'Desperate Desires'

In Plain Sight - Morpheus x Hob Gadling (Pre-Relationship)

He is still empty inside... he is still so cold. It only worsens when he finds that the White Horse Tavern has been shut down; she is barely standing anymore.

However, before he can slip into his sister's realm, he sees the red arrow on the fence and feels the dreams soaking the paint. It is a prayer, a plea, clear as day: Come back. Come find me. I'm still here. He follows the arrow, and the daydreams soaked into it until he reaches the New Inn; it is singing.

Forgotten and Discarded - Morpheus x Dark!Morpheus (MINORS DNI, 18+)

Morpheus swims back to consciousness slowly, not entirely sure what has woken him when nothing and no one should be able to reach him here, in this part of the Dreaming. A slow drag of something soft and wet up his exposed shaft has his back arching and his head tilting back into the mess of pillows with a breathy gasp.

"Ah."

Or, when Morpheus slips away to a hidden part of the Dreaming for some much needed rest, he discovers something rather strange waiting for him

Forgotten and Discarded Part 2 - Morpheus x Dark!Morpheus/Nightmare (MINORS DNI, 18+)

Instead of dropping into sleep, he thinks of what happened in this bed several weeks ago. He tries not to, oh does he try, but he can already feel his cock hardening beneath his robe. Shame and frustration fill him in equal measure; shame that he's getting aroused remembering how thoroughly he was taken apart, frustration that he can't seem to control himself enough to not be affected.

He doesn't hold out long.

Forgotten and Discarded Part 3 - Morpheus x Dark!Morpheus/Nightmare (MINORS DNI, 18+)

Normally, being so attached so quickly, even if it’s mostly physically, would worry him. However, as absurd as it had seemed at the time, Morpheus believes that Nightmare does care for him. It helps that he knows Nightmare is right, that he cannot chase him away; who knows him better than someone who used to be him? He knows that if he allows his feelings to develop. Nightmare will not reject them. He feels. Safe, with him.

As he steps into the cottage, he shudders. He cannot see Nightmare, but he can feel his gaze burning into him. He makes his way into the bedroom, gazing at the bed. He hesitates only a moment before he allows his clothes to melt into sand and disappear; his cock is already half-hard.

Forgotten and Discarded Part 4 - Morpheus x Dark!Morpheus/Nightmare (MINORS DNI, 18+)

“You are correct, it is unnecessary. But if you would give something, I would be a fool to turn you away. What do you seek to give, my King?”

Morpheus flashes a grin and surges to his feet, Nightmare’s wrist falling from his lips so he can instead devour his mouth in a possessive kiss. He swallows the moan Nightmare lets slip, sliding his tongue along his bottom lip and pushing inside the moment Nightmare opens to him. One hand tangles in Nightmare’s wild locks, the other gripping his hip and pulling him flush against him; Morpheus growls at how hard Nightmare already is.

He trails nips and kisses along Nightmare’s jaw, slowly turning them around as he goes. When he reaches Nightmare’s throat, he bites, grinning sharply when Nightmare’s hips jerk in response. He lathes his tongue over the bite, placing a gentle kiss over it before pulling back to look at Nightmare’s dazed expression.

“Everything.”

[local-void-creature-izzy]

ReWrite AU; SA2 Basis: Hero Story Mode

>>> 13:27- Above the capital city.

There's always two sides of a story, where do our heroes fit in all this? Well, it starts with a G.U.N. Helicopter flying over the city.

A solider was communicating from it. "Sigma-Alpha heading due south over the city."

The pilot of the helicopter ensuring that they were in fact on route, when the communications tower sent a signal up. "This is control tower. We have you on radar. Report cargo status of captured hedgehog aboard, over!"

"That's a 10-4. Cargo secured and-" Suddenly, a loud commotion could be heard from behind the pilot, he gasped when he turned his head to look. "-What the?!"

The Communications Tower couldn't make out what the pilot was saying, asking the pilot to clarify what was going on. "The hedgehog's gone, she's taken out everyone aboard and-" Again, the pilot cut off again.

This was sending the communications tower into a panic. "What's wrong! Come in, over!" The communications tower tried once again to get through to the pilot.

They could make out the pilot's shock, faint orders to grab the Hedgehog in question, followed by a loud bang and lots of wind cutting in.

It was none other than Amy "Rascal" Rose, classified hero of the world, so what in the world was she doing being escorted on a G.U.N. Helicopter? Honestly, it wasn't the time to ponder that as she snapped off a giant piece of metal from the helicopter, before jumping off it. "Talk about low budget flights, no food or movies? You soldiers really know how to treat a lady, See ya!"

With that said, she jumped towards the city, landing with a rough bumpy start as she started to essentially snowboard through the city streets to escape G.U.N.

As she twisted and turned through the city, a big G.U.N. Truck on her tail, she could hear over the P.A. System "Attention all units. Suspect seen heading south. Block all major roads and capture the suspect."

"Great now I'm a suspect?" She said out loud to herself, truck still chasing behind her. But she easily outsmarted the soldiers and turned a corner to a tunnel that the truck had no way of fitting through. Sure enough, the truck crashed at the entrance, allowing her to escape. "Piece of cake!" She exclaimed, hopping off the metal piece and making a run for it through the tunnel.

The whole situation was very strange to her, why was G.U.N. treating her like some big time criminal? "Whatever is going on, I need to find Tails and Knuckles." She said to herself, she was going to need some backup if she was going to figure this out, and to make sure G.U.N. wouldn't try going after her friends next.

Eventually she reached the other side of the city, it was nighttime now, and despite making it this far, G.U.N. was still on her tail. Sending a giant mechanism labeled "Big Foot"

"When a Lady says no, she means no. Looks like I'll have to beat some sense into you!" Amy summoned her giant Piko Piko Hammer, and began to fight the robot mechanism.

Clearly G.U.N. didn't account for reaction time on that robot, because it was slow. By the time it would land or attempt to charge up, Amy had gotten some good swings in. Until finally, she jumped up and smashed the top of it like a game of whack a mole, completely demolishing the robot.

"Hah…hah..Not so tough now are you-" Amy's ears twitched, she heard rustling behind her. She jumped away from the direction it came from and was prepared to fight.

But whatever it was, sped on right by her, making her ears ring. "Ow! Who or what on earth was that? It..kinda looked like a hedgehog-"

Amy didn't get much time to ponder, as once the dust debris settled and when her ears stopped ringing, she was surrounded by multiple G.U.N. Soldiers. "Don't move! Stay where you are! Keep your hands up in the air."

"Urgh- Crap, not this again." Amy dreaded, putting her hands up in surrender.

>>> 11:08 Cave in "Green Hill"

Earlier in the day, Miles "Tails" Prower was in the middle of investigating some strange readings he picked up.

He had been in the area, conducting some research for a project he was working on, when his radar picked up a huge spike in energy not that far away from him. Hopping into his plane, the Tornado, he dropped what he was doing to go investigate the source of the energy spike. "If it's Eggman, then we're in trouble." He said to himself.

The readings had lead him to a cave near the edge of Green Hill, the cave looked like it was man made, with how smoothed out the walls were, there was no way this cave was natural occurring. "How long has this been here?" Tails asked to no one in particular, venturing deeper into the cave.

Eventually the cave was morphing from somewhat natural, to a metal and technological structure. Tails wondered who had made this cave, the technology was dated but still clearly in tact for whatever its purpose was.

When he reached the center of the cave, there was a bunch of wiring along the floor, leading up to a cryogenic chamber capsule, in front of it was a computer monitor, big red flashing words of "Warning" appearing on the monitor.

Tails descended from the Tornado, making his way to the monitor, as he began to tap away at the keyboard attached to it. "Clearly whoever designed this, didn't want whatever this is to be found. But it's no match for me, with its dated system." Tails exclaimed, as within a matter of minutes, he got into the system and deactivated its protocols.

Doing so, caused the chamber capsule to unfreeze its capture. Seeing this, Tails approached the capsule as it descended from a vertical position to a horizontal one. The front popped open, as a mist of ice bursted out. Tails couldn't see inside really with all the ice fog, until a purple gloved hand reached out to pull its owner up.

When the mysterious figure sat up, it revealed a cobalt blue hedgehog, with white streaks around his eyes and forehead that extended down to his quills. The same white was wrapped around his left arm and leg, in a descending swirl, while the right side of his limbs mimicked water almost. He had white markings around his mouth, and when he opened his eyes, Tails was greeted by vibrant emerald green eyes.

"Who are you?" The hedgehog asked, a somewhat deep yet eerily calm voice coming out of the mysterious hedgehog.

"I'm Tails, who are you? How did you get in there?" Tails asked back, helping the other out of the capsule. When the Hedgehog was out, and standing, Tails saw the other was very much taller than him.

"…Sonic. As for why I was in there- wait where am I? This isn't the ARK? Where's-? Kid what year is it?"

The ARK? That space colony was shut down 50 years ago. Just how long was Sonic in there? "It's 2001, why do you ask?" Before Tails could further question Sonic, the Hedgehog was gone faster than he could blink.

"I see the name is very fitting." Tails said, coughing up from the dust cloud Sonic had created when he took off. "If Sonic is from the ARK…what's he doing in Green Hill of all places?"

Tails didn't get much time to ponder the what if's and questions going on in his head, as the radio on the Tornado came alive, with a broadcast of how Amy had been arrested as the prime suspect in a ongoing investigation of a missing chaos emerald. "How did she get herself arrested?!?!"

>>> Back in the City

It was nighttime when Sonic entered the city, it was overwhelming, after being so long on the ARK, seeing just what was down here on the planet he, Shadow, and Maria had admired from a distance.

He raced through the city, buildings after buildings that seemed endless, until he stopped in front of one with a tv playing. It was broadcasting the news. "We interrupt this broadcast for an important newsflash. There has been a break-in at the federal-reserve bank today. Mysteriously, the only thing that was stolen was the Chaos Emerald." The news reporter explained. "According to eyewitnesses at the scene, the suspect has yet to be identified beyond the fact it is a hedgehog. With no signs of the world renowned hero, Amy "Rascal" Rose on the scene, fear and worry grasps at the citizens hearts and minds. The suspect was seen fleeing the scene, destroying the reserve's guard robots in his path. Stay tuned for more details."

When the camera cut to where they had their suspect "cornered", Sonic gasped. "Oh Chaos…Is it really..?" He couldn't believe his eyes, it felt like a trick, because on the screen was Shadow. It brought back memories from the ARK.

"Shadow, my boy come here for a second." A blurred image of a man spoke. "This is Project Sonic. My friend made him to be your equal. He will always be by your side, so can you promise me you'll be by his?"

The surrounding scientists were on edge, they all had feared there would be hostility between the two, that Shadow might attack Sonic feeling threatened by his existence, that he would see Sonic as inferior to himself.

But it was as Professor Gerald Robotnik had predicted. Shadow approached the other first, and held out his hand. "If you are my equal, then I swear on my life I will protect you."

That was Sonic's first interaction with Shadow back then. The interactions had only grown from there, from awkward acquaintances, to friends, to lovers. Oh how they fell in love, and enjoyed their time on the ARK. Playing with Maria, the Professor treating them like family, it was happy times.

Until G.U.N. Happened. Sonic remembers getting separated from the others. His own creator dragging him away in a different direction, he wanted to go with Shadow, with Maria, but his creator wasn't listening. Just shoved him into a capsule and then nothingness.

It seems G.U.N. was still at it, as those were the vehicles surrounding Shadow. "Tch- They have some nerve." Sonic muttered, as he took off in what he felt was the right direction.

He twisted and turned through the city, until he came upon some G.U.N. vehicles blocking his way. And they were heavily armed as they turned their attention to Sonic with hostility. "FREEZE! HANDS WHERE WE CAN SEE THEM!!" Yelled a soldier.

Sonic merely stared at the soldiers and heavy vehicles surrounding the exit. Doing a count of how many they're were. "Only about 20 of you? That's kinda sad don't you think?" He mocked.

"SILENCE! SURRENDER NOW!" The Soldier yelled again.

Sonic chuckled, before he took off at high speeds. The soldiers barely had time to blink as their heavy armor and weapons where destroyed or completely disassembled within a millisecond as Sonic returned to where he stood, fake yawning.

The soldier stared in horror at the being in front of him. "WHAT ARE YOU?!"

Again Sonic chuckled, the white markings on his cheeks beginning to slightly glow. "I'm Project Sonic, and you have the key to what I want. So tell me, where is Project Shadow?" Sonic asked with a sickly sweet smile, but the soldiers weren't budging. "No answer? Alright then, honestly though your resistance is PATHETIC!!!" Suddenly, Sonic's voice increased in intensity, a shockwave of energy ringing through the surrounding area as the soldiers all screamed from how badly the screech's intensity was. The glass in the surrounding buildings shattered, as the vibration crushed any remaining equipment they had before crushing the soldiers under its intensity.

The exit went from being heavily guarded to nothing, as Sonic simply cleared his throat. "I tried to be nice, now we do this the hard way." With that Sonic was off, he didn't have time to waste, he had to know if what he saw on that news broadcast was true.

Yet clearly G.U.N. had no intention of letting him through that easily, the pathway to the Bridge was completely cluttered by their machinery and vehicles. Sure, his screech could easily take care of them, but Sonic hasn't been conscious that long, so he only got four screeches in before they had him cornered.

Sonic was dizzy, his vision was slightly blurry due to using his screech while not fully conscious, the white markings on his cheek that mimic the symbol used for volume was beginning to lose the glow, if he kept it up he'll surely overdo it, which will be indicated by the two markings each side becoming three markings.

Honestly he was prepared to push his limits when suddenly-- "CHAOS CONTROL!!" --a familiar voice, a powerful surge of chaos energy shook through the ground, causing an earthquake…no it shattered the ground beneath the soldiers and they all fell into the depths, a painful descent as the Chaos Energy sent pure electrocutions throughout them and their machinery.

A horrifying display of power, yet one Sonic knew all too well. When the cloud of debris settled, Sonic coughing and swatting away some the flew towards him, when he looked up, he gasped, eyes going wide, because standing in front of him…

Was Shadow, panting from such use of his strength, but it was Shadow. He was okay, he had made it off the ARK. Sonic didn't think twice about hugging the other from behind. "I'm not dreaming right? It's really you..?" Sonic asked.

He felt the other turn around and hug him back, those hands running through his quills again, holding him tight, the scent of lavender flooding his senses, the warmth that radiated from Shadow's body, his body practically melted into Shadow's hold. "I thought I lost you…" Shadow whispered into Sonic's ear.

"I thought the same." Sonic responded. "Waking up all alone in that cave. Shadow, what's going on?" Sonic asked.

"I'll explain later back on the ARK. It's not safe here." Shadow answered, as the two stood up, grabbing Sonic's hand and leading him to the ARK, away from all this mess in the city.

>>> Central Control Room: ARK, an hour before Eggman's arrival.

"So this Ivo Robotnik, is he truly related to Professor Gerald?" Sonic asked Shadow, the two were back on the ARK. Shadow had given Sonic a run down of what happened on his end, from Maria saving him at the cost of her life, to being awoken 50 years later by Eggman.

Honestly it hurt to hear that G.U.N. was truly that cruel and could not spare Maria, she was innocent in all this and they had no mercy for her. Sonic had nothing but fond memories of Maria, she was like a sister.

"He is, not only did he know exactly how to access the ARK and its password, but I did my research. The Professor was his grandfather." Shadow explained. "He clearly knew about Project Shadow but not what form I took when he had freed me. Mistaken me for some friend of a enemy of his I presume."

"What about me?" Sonic followed up, back on the ARK all those years ago, they kept Sonic's files pretty close to Shadow's. Two halves of a whole after all, so it was only natural that if Dr. Robotnik found out about Shadow, that he discovered Project Sonic.

Shadow gently cupped Sonic's cheek, the other leaning into his touch. "He didn't show any signs he knew of your existence. When I returned here, I immediately checked all files that remained, the ones locked behind the password. All and any files pertaining to you were gone." Shadow elaborated, Sonic couldn't believe they were wiped clean like that. Was it his creator's doing? "But this is good. The less who know the better."

"What does that mean exactly?" Sonic questioned, an eyebrow raised in Shadow's direction.

"G.U.N. shutdown the ARK because of us, our existence. But only my files remain, you're safer this way. I can protect you better this way." Shadow answered, Sonic went from skeptical to touched. Gently, he kissed the other.

"I can handle myself, but it's sweet how you're thinking about me and my safety." Sonic admitted. "I'll be your little secret the world will never expect, you're equal made just for you."

Shadow kissed Sonic's forehead. "We were made of each other, equals but unique. If we go down then we go down together, isn't that what we always said?"

The two didn't get to dwell long on the shared sentiment, as the entrance to the central control room opened, letting in a confused Eggman who demanded answers from Shadow.

>>> 11:56 Prison Island: Nearby airspace

"There's no mistake about it, this must be the island. It's a secret military base that is reinforced and super strong! It's called Prison Island. I heard the news about it on satellite TV. I still can't believe that Amy would destroy the military buildings or rob the bank! Wait for me, OK Amy! I'm on my way!" Tails exclaimed as he made his way down to the island.

Looking down below, he could see Eggman was already out and about on the island.

"What? Eggman is here? He must have heard about Amy getting arrested, I need to get to her first before he does! Tornado, Transform!" He yelled, the blue propeller plane transforming the closer got to the ground, before morphing into a vehicle that could walk around the area while staying on the offensive.

Tails quickly made his way through one of the side entrances, using the scanner that was hooked up to the tornado to track down just where Amy was, it looked like they had her somewhere secure. "Looks like I'll need a key card before I can get her out." Tails said, suddenly the alarms were going off in the building and multiple machines came bursting out from all sides.

That must have been Eggman's doing, but Tails wouldn't give up here, he bulldozed his way through the army of machinery and weaponry that G.U.N. kept sending his way, and luckily one had the key card he was looking for.

After a few more machinery popping up, he had finally made it to the cell Amy was being kept in. The sound of the tornado caused her ears to perk and she turned to face where it was coming from. "Tails?" She questioned.

"Keep your voice down Amy, I'm here to recuse you." Tails explained, hopping out and down from the Tornado to have easier access to the lock on the cell.

"How did find out I was here?" Amy asked, as Tails pulled out the keycard, sliding it through the locking mechanism, the internal mechanism of the lock rotating the cell door open.

"You were all over the news, how could I not find out? Hop on, Eggman is here so he must be up to no good!" Tails said, jumping back onto the tornado, Amy doing the same, hopping onto one of the wings and holding onto it.

"I wouldn't have been caught if that blue hedgehog didn't distract me in the city!" Amy exclaimed, recalling how he sped by her and the next moment she was surrounded by G.U.N.

"Blue hedgehog…? You mean Sonic?" Tails asked.

"You know him, Tails?" Amy questioned back.

"Not know him per say, but I did meet him, it's a long story. You don't think he's here with Eggman do you?" Tails pondered.

"I hope not, but with Eggman, anything is possible, let's go!"

>>> Back on the airspace

Unfortunately, when the two spilt up on the airspace to try to find Eggman, Amy saw that this "Sonic" was indeed with Eggman, as the two were discussing something before Eggman was trying to make a run for it.

Well Amy wasn't about to let that slide, as she threw her hammer towards him from behind, the only reason it didn't hit him was because Sonic reacted much quicker and kicked it away mid air.

"I knew you were behind this, Eggman!" She exclaimed, summoning her hammer back and got into a defensive position. "What are you doing here on a military base?!" She demanded, clearly he was up to no good as usual, but never to this extent.

"I'm the one who should be asking that question! Never mind that, I have more important matters to attend to, she's all yours Sonic, don't let me down." Eggman said, taking off in the opposite direction of the two.

"Hey! Where do you think you're going?!" Amy yelled, as she tried to give chase after Eggman, but was stopped by Sonic cutting in front of her. "What the- he's so fast…" Amy whispered in awe at the blue hedgehog's speed.

"That hammer of yours in no joke, used some seriously heavy materials for it. I hope you can put up a good fight." Sonic said, before taking off at his high speeds, attacking Amy from every side.

Amy was quick with her reactions, while she had trouble keeping her eyes on the blue blur, she could sense when he stopped to attack and she could then block him with her hammer. "How are you so fast?!" She questioned, still blocking his onslaught of attacks.

"Sonic is my name, which should be self explanatory of why I'm so fast. Enough talk." Sonic bluntly stated, before continuing to attack Amy. He was purposely trying to keep her from being able to properly dodge or attack.

It was sooner than later that he kicked her hammer out of her hands, and had his hand at her throat, prepared to stab through if she tried anything funny. "You're very impressive, only one other can block my speed attacks." He praised.

"Why?" Amy asked, panting from the constant attacks. "Why are you working with Eggman of all people? Don't you know he's the bad guy? And why don't you kill me?"

The question made Sonic hesitate, a barely visible startle came out of him, but Amy saw the way his eyes shook. "My orders were to keep you at bay, not kill you." Sonic answered, it was as simple as that.

But that didn't answer Amy's other question. The more she looked at Sonic, the more she could tell, feel, that he wasn't a bad guy. Sure he was rough around the edges, but she could sense a kind heart underneath that rough exterior. Those emerald green eyes held many secrets in them, but she could read his soul, he was conflicted more than anything else. "You don't look like a bad guy, so why are you helping one?" She asked again.

This caused Sonic to push his hand closer to her throat, his eyes widening as rage bubbled up within him. "I'm not helping HIM. Don't compare me to the likes of him." Sonic spat, clearly she hit a nerve there. But if he isn't helping Eggman like he claims then who?

Amy likes to think she was gifted with a sixth sense, that allows her to read and understand others, even they are technically her enemies. " --deep breath-- Why don't you help me stop him? You really look like you have a kind heart, so why not team up and defeat Eggman together?" She asked, slowly offering her hand to the other, a gentle smile on her face.

Sonic clearly didn't expect this. He dropped his hand from where he had it pointed at her neck, her kindness reminded him of someone familiar…her smile, it was like Maria's.

"I see why you're the hero of this world, your compassion is boundless." He said, Amy taken aback by the statement.

"I just believe everyone deserves a second chance if they are willing to try." She responded, watching as Sonic stared down at her hand, slowly reaching towards it.

"It's been years since I felt this level of compassion from someone like you." For a moment, it looked like Sonic considering the offer, taking her hand, but he smacked it away. Surprising the other. "I'm sorry, but you may not show my equal the same compassion. I will not fall victim to your tricks and deceptions."

Sonic jumped back, and was prepared to attack, when a vehicle suddenly landed between them. It was the twin tailed fox Eggman had mentioned, Tails.

"Boy, am I glad to see you! You're timing couldn't be more perfect Tails!" Amy exclaimed, relief that Tails showed up in the knick of time.

Sonic had a better look at Tails now compared to back in that cave where he was barely conscious. The fox wore a technical visor on his left eye, along with a dark blue jacket, he could also make out a mechanical right arm. "You're the one that was impatient and couldn't wait for my map to load in." Tails said sarcastically. Amy letting out a nervous laugh, as she shrugged in response to Tails. "Leave him to me Amy, you go after Eggman!"

"Roger that Tails." Amy took off after that, grabbing her hammer and leaving the mysterious hedgehog to Tails.

"You must be a friend of hers, I presume?" Sonic questioned.

"You would be correct, Sonic. Just like you have no intentions of letting harm come to this mysterious equal, I have no intentions of letting anyone hurt Amy!" Tails yelled.

Sonic sensed a fight coming, he could see in the fox's eyes that he saw Amy as a big sister figure, he knew the timer must be cutting it close, so instead of a fight, he returned to a more relaxed demeanor.

This confused Tails. "Are you not going to fight?" He asked the other.

"I respect your determination, you remind me of how someone used to be in the past. Our fight would be pointless, besides…" Sonic stretched his limbs, warming up to make a run for it. "Multiple bombs have been planted on this island, I'd say you have about 15 minutes to get yourself and her off the island before you go with it." And with that, Sonic took off, leaving a confused Tails behind.

But Tails didn't get to ponder what just happened, he had to find Amy quickly before this island went poof!

>>> In the White Jungle

"Shoot, where did Eggman go?" Amy questioned, as she ran through the jungle in pursuit of Eggman, but he must have gotten away because he was no where in sight.

As she continued running, she came upon a clearing and she could make out a figure in the trees, when she got closer she saw it wasn't Sonic but a different hedgehog.

This one was black with red stripes, they almost looked like scales, and his tail was long like a snake, spikes running along and down it. Just looking at him, it was clear he wasn't fully a hedgehog nor someone to mess with. Yet, could this have been who Sonic was talking about? "Are you Sonic's friend? The one he called his equal?" She asked, but was on the defensive, prepared to attack. Unlike Sonic, who seemed conflicted in his attacks, this one looked fully ready to kill without hesitation.

"You dare speak of him? Hah! You think you're worthy enough to speak of him?" Shadow spoke.

"Wow you're very egotistical for a fake hedgehog!" Amy retorted.

"Faker? I think you're the fake hedgehog around here." Shadow said, a smirk on his face.

"Well then, why don't you come down here and say it to my face!" Amy yelled.

Shadow jumped down to the ground. "If you insist." With that said, the two began to duke it out.

Shadow had to give it to Amy, she was a very skilled fighter. That hammer of hers was extremely heavy to the average person, but she wielded it like it was nothing, as she swung it with skill and grace at Shadow.

But Shadow was quicker, dodging each swing like nothing. He didn't have time for this, so with a swift kick, he knocked the hammer out of Amy's hands, before spin dashing towards her when she was distracted.

Amy was caught between a rock and hard place, the two hedgehogs panting from their fight. Suddenly, Shadow's radio starts to beep. It was the doctor again. "Shadow?! What are you doing?! Get back here right now before the island blows up with you on it!"

"I'm sorry- Blows up?!" Amy exclaimed in shock. Shadow looked at her, but then jumps back and runs off.

"I gotta find Tails and get out of here!" Amy exclaimed, making a run for it as well. Luckily Tails was not that far away from her, as she jumped onto the Tornado and told Tails to get them off island.

They had just barely managed to avoid getting blown up with the island.

>>> 17:30: In an mountainous region

While all this was going on, Knuckles had been in a race for the pieces to the Master Emerald, he had to hurry up and find them before that bat girl did.

His search for the missing pieces brought him to this mountain region, that the best way he could describe the atmosphere, it felt like it was haunted. "This place sure feels haunted... There's no time to lose! I have to hurry and find that Master Emerald!" Knuckles said, beginning to search around the creepy mountain region.

He is certain that, Rouge was it? Needed a radar of sorts to track down the emerald pieces, but that wasn't the case for the echidna. Because he was a descendant of Tikal, he had a direct connection to the Master Emerald, thus he just needed to explore around.

The stronger the feeling of energy felt within him, the closer he was to a piece of the Master Emerald. There were a few hiccups here and there, Eggman's tech running amok, and actual ghosts popping up from nowhere and trying to make things harder for Knuckles, but that didn't stop him.

Soon he collected three more pieces of the Master Emerald, feeling more relieved that the collection of pieces was growing. He was prepared to leave this haunted mountain top, when he felt another energy surge, coming from within the mine that was on the next mountain. "Guess I'm not through with this place yet." He said, gliding over the the entrance of the mines, and began to make his descent.

>>> 20:21 Mountainous region: Mine

Upon entering the innermost section of the mines, Knuckles saw multiple problems and set backs. "Hmm, I didn't expect the inside of the mines to be like this! This is going to be tougher than I thought!" He sighed, as since the mine was abandoned, it was a mess, some areas were completely flooded, and of course those damn ghosts were down here too.

He had his work cut out for him, but he wasn't about to call it quits now, the Master Emerald was at stake here.

>>> 9:03 In the capital city

Amy and Tails were currently hiding in a alleyway of the city, the whole place was crawling with cops and G.U.N. soldiers, making it near impossible for the two to get through the city.

This was beginning to annoy Amy. "Sheesh! This place is crawling with a lot of police around when you don't need them! Tails, anything yet? Why is Eggman after the chaos emeralds again?" She asked the fox who was typing away at the computer module in the Tornado that was now in walking mode.

"For some reason, I'm not getting a signal from the six remaining Chaos Emeralds... Maybe Eggman took the Emeralds into outer space." Tails answered.

"Outer Space? What could he want that's all the way up there?" Amy pondered, trying to figure out what was going through Eggman's head, she tried doing a tarot reading but the situation was too messy within it self for Amy to properly understand anything.

Suddenly, a manhole in front of them began moving about, before flying open. Amy had her hammer at the ready, until a familiar head of red fur popped up. "Hey guys, long time no see! I must have got lost in the mines! Looking for the Master Emerald pieces was tougher than I thought it would be. Where are we anyway?" Knuckles said, a smile on his face.

"Knuckles!" Amy happily exclaimed, putting her hammer away and quickly began to pull the echidna up from the manhole.

"Hey, where are you going?" He asked Amy.

"Move aside Knuckles! It's an emergency!" Amy responded.

It was truth, after all Eggman had the whole planet on a timer with that example he made of the moon. The computer module on the Tornado went off. "I managed to find the transcripts between Eggman and the President in the government computer. I'm following the President's limo right now! If we can get into the limo, we can trace the call to find Eggman!" Tails explained.

Amy nodded in response back. "We got no time to waste, let's go guys!"

Unbeknownst to the three, they were being eavesdropped on, by Sonic. Part of his artificial creation perks, was heightened senses, more specifically his hearing. He had been hiding out across the street from the three, but could hear them perfectly as if he was standing next to them. "They are determined to stop Robotnik." Sonic muttered to himself as he watched the three split up to catch up with that limo.

He wondered why they were so determined. Why they still had hope of stopping any of this, was that what made them heroes of this planet? He wondered why Robotnik was almost like a villain in this world, when he thinks back to the Professor, to Maria, he wonders how in the world was Ivo Robotnik related to them.

It was a lot of questions running through his head. "Maybe a run will clear my head." Sonic said to himself, before taking off. He started in the city, and raced through until he reached a coast line, completely opposite of where the city sat.

The calm waves, the sounds of nature, the blue sky, the smell of the ocean. These were things Maria had dreamed of seeing. "This is what you wanted to see, Maria…so why are we destroying it?" It was a question Sonic had on his mind the longest, but refused to ask, he clutched his right fist above where his heart was, as he gritted his teeth.

"I don't know what happened in your final moments. I know it was you who saved Shadow, but it cost you your life. I don't know what happened to the Professor, to my creator, I don't know which side is in the right and who is in the wrong…" The blue hedgehog vented to the open ocean, looking out onto the horizon, as the wind blew through his quills, his eyes becoming more disinterested.

"No…whether who's right or wrong isn't my problem. As long as I have Shadow, then that's all that matters." And Sonic was gone once again.

>>> In the President's limo driving through the city

"Mr. President, reports show that since the incident, three hours ago, the country is in turmoil. Our financial communities are impacted and our satellite communications are down. An emergency meeting has been called. Mr. President, this is a national crisis." The secretary on board the limo spoke.

The president in question remained unfazed, as he kept his attention on the monitor in front of him. "Spare me the details. Exactly what is it you want? Dr. Eggman?" He questioned.

Maniacal laughter could be heard from the video monitor. "Hahahaha! Well, let's just get down to business then, shall we Mr. President? I won't bore you with all the details since I know you are a very busy man. Mr. President, my demands are quite simple. Surrender to the Eggman Empire and make no attempts to resist! Otherwise…" The Doctor trailed off in suspense.

"Otherwise?" The President further questioned.

"Otherwise your country will cease to exist! You have 24 hours to give me your answer!" Eggman exclaimed.

"Like that's going to happen!" Spoke an familiar voice, the two in the limo were looking around before Amy rose jumped in from the moon roof of the limo, Tails right behind her, making his way to the monitor.

"You- YOU TWO JUST DON'T KNOW WHEN TO QU-" Eggman got cut off my Tails disconnecting the line.

"Eggman Empire, he's still on about that???" Amy questioned.

"What the heck is going on here?" The President demanded an answer, before realizing just what Tails did with the monitor. "Oh, no... What did you do?!"

"Don't worry, Mr. President, everything is under control. Just leave it to us! Got it Tails?" Amy said. Tails turned to face them with a disk drive in his hand, he looked pretty confident about it too.

"I got it! He's transmitting from the space colony ARK!" Tails exclaimed.

"OK! Let's move it!" Amy then took off from the way she came in, Tails following after and leaving a confused secretary and president behind.

The president wanted answers but it would have to wait, as they were now getting a call from their agent they sent out.

>>> 13:04 Desert area

The gang now stood in front of a pyramid. Amy was confused as to why they were here. "Are you sure that's where he is?" She asked.

Knuckles nodded in response, pointing in the direction of the pyramid's side. "I saw Eggman go inside the pyramid and more importantly, I saw that bat girl go inside with him as well. You saw those two hedgehogs as well, right?"

Amy began stretching her limbs. "We should be able to get into outer space from there! I don't know what's this space colony is all about but I'll find and destroy that cannon... and then kick their imperial butts!" She exclaimed, Knuckles joining in, and Tails saying he would go find the way into the pyramid.

And with that, the team was off.

>>> ARK: Abandoned room

Amongst the many rooms aboard the ARK, there was one in the farthest corner on the north side, it was empty and barren, minus a few nicknacks here and there.

It was where Sonic liked to come and hide away at, where he would avoid his creator, along with all the other scientists aboard the ARK at the time, no one knew this was his hiding spot except for one.

As Sonic stood in front of the window, looking down at the blue marble like planet, lost in his thoughts, the door opened. "I had a feeling this is where you were." A voice all too familiar, as the door shut behind him, warm arms wrapping themselves around Sonic's waist, as the one in question buried his face into Sonic's neck. "What's on your mind, Mi Amor?" Shadow asked.

"I went down there again, to the coastline. Pictures did it no justice, the view, the scent, the feeling of the wind, truly breathtaking…" Sonic admitted, still keeping his eyes glued on the planet that was about to be destroyed in a few more hours.

He remembers the promise he made to Maria, the promise of experiencing all that planet had to offer considering Sonic genetics originated from it, a clear opposite of the promise Shadow made. And having experience some of the beauty its nature could offer, he questioned if this truly was the right thing to do.

It hurt his heart because, this planet is the reason why Maria never got to experience its beauty in the first place. How if it had its way, they would get rid of Shadow as well. Sonic lost a lot that day as well, he lost a family, he couldn't bear to think what he would do if he lost his lover as well.

The thoughts running through Sonic's mind must have been obvious on his face, as he jumped slightly when he felt a kiss on the backside of his neck, that was visible under his inhibitor. "I see it in your eyes, you're conflicted." Shadow began, placing more kisses around the side of Sonic's neck. "I do this, because of the promise I made to Maria, to you, but all you need to do is say the word, and this all stops now." Shadow said, no hidden messages in his words like that Robotnik.

Just plain and simple, if Sonic said to stop all this, then this would stop. Sonic turned around in Shadow's arms, now face to face with the other, as emerald green met blood orange eyes. Sonic's hand reaching up to cup Shadow's cheek, the other leaning into his touch while maintaining eye contact.

It would have been easy to say yes, to say for this to stop, for him and Shadow find some corner on that planet where no one could find them. But it wasn't that easy, now knowing that Rouge was a double agent for G.U.N. he knew that even if they did stop, they would still come after Shadow.

Again, Sonic's thoughts and emotions must have been obvious, as Shadow reached up and wiped a tear away that had fallen down Sonic's cheek. "Even if we stop now, it doesn't change the fact that G.U.N. is after you, and whether you want to admit it or not, after me as well. They have already taken so much from us…" Sonic had subconsciously looked away while talking, but Shadow simply pulled his head in closer. "I couldn't bear it if they took you away from me too…"

"They won't get the chance, the image of their machines surrounding you still haunts my mind. If they wish to become my enemy then so be it, I'll rip their planet's very core out with my bare hands, I'll gladly suffer the worst pain imaginable before I let them get anywhere near you." Shadow confessed, his eyes holding nothing but seriousness and his heart that beat for Sonic.

Call it cruel irony, that one thing the other didn't want, is the thing they would go through before they let the other get hurt. Sonic remembers the words that were told to him on the daily back then."You were made to be Project Shadow's failsafe. Project Shadow is the solution, the ultimate goal." Yet, Sonic believes what the Professor told him is more true.

"You are his equal, his other half. Which means he is yours. Such a bond is not a one way street, Sonic. It goes both ways, and that, is something more powerful than you can ever imagine."

Sonic believes he's finally starting to understand what the Professor meant all those years ago, as he felt overwhelmed with Shadow's love, yet despite the overwhelming feeling, it wasn't enough. "How much time do we have before those two get back?" He suddenly asked the other.

"We have an hour or two at best, that Amy and her friends will probably have them busy for a while." Shadow responded, not needing any more indication of where Sonic was going with this. Sure enough-

"Then kiss me already."

Shadow didn't need to be told twice, pulling Sonic in close, closing what little distance was between them, and kissed him. A passion and desired filled kiss, as he leaned in more, as Sonic fell back onto the bed behind him. Shadow pinning the other down beneath him, devouring the soft moans that came from Sonic, his hand finding its way into Sonic's while the other hand made its way lower, much lower.

They both knew they didn't have a lot of time, but for at least an hour or so, Shadow could shower his beloved in all his love and undivided attention as Sonic deserved.

>>> Back at the Pyramid

It wasn't easy clearing through the base Eggman had set up, twists and turns, traps at every turn, and not to mention there were ghosts here too.

It was nauseating trying to navigate through the confusing mess, but eventually the three came upon a locked door. "Looks like we're heading toward the center of the base." Said Tails, getting a stronger signal of sorts the closer they got to the door to explain it.

"That egghead sure loves mechanical things doesn't he? I bet he has one or two spaceships lying around somewhere." Spoke Amy, who was trying to plan out how they would reach Eggman on the ARK.

"Well we won't get much farther at this rate, the door is locked. We need a key to get in there." Tails explained, who had tried to see if he could hack into the system but it was no use, it needed a key.

"No problem, we can find it, right Knuckles?" Amy patted Knuckles on the back.

"What? Why do I have to find the key?" Responded a confused Knuckles, how did he get roped into a search party.

"We're counting on you Knuckles! The world's greatest treasure hunter!" Amy praised the other, who simply sighed before going to search for the key.

The three once again split up to get the searching down faster, Knuckles doesn't know if it was luck or a coincidence that the key was in the area he had been searching, but he wasn't about to complain. This was one step closer to the Master Emerald.

As he grabbed the key and was about to turn back, he heard ominous laughter behind him. "What the- who's there?" He turned around once more and saw a giant ghost, way bigger than the ones they had stumbled upon.

"A ghost? You must be the boss then. Outta my way, I don't have time for this!" Knuckles exclaimed, jumping into battle. While the ghost had its size, and fire breathing apparently, it wasn't smart enough to keep up with what Knuckles was up to, has the echidna was purposely avoiding it and opening up all the skylights that were in the pyramid. Eventually causing the ghost to fade back away.

"Guess ghost hunting is now in my job description." Knuckles said, catching his breath from that game of chase, before returning back to Amy and Tails.

Their searches came up empty handed, but seeing Knuckles with the key in hand made them ecstatic. "Way to go Knuckles!" Amy cheered.

"Let's get going now." Tails spoke.

"You little thieves! Did you really think you could get out of here alive?" That voice-

All three turned around to see the locked entrance way open up, to reveal Eggman in his egg mobile, waving at them with a smug expression. Amy pulled out her hammer, gesturing to Eggman to come at her. "Want another butt kicking from me, Eggman?" Amy said, a smile of her own.

"Amy wait-" Tails began.

"You two go on ahead, I'll catch up." Amy told them, the two nodded before taking off.

"This time, I'll take your lives as well as the Chaos Emerald! I call on you to destroy these pests. Come out my servant!" Eggman exclaimed, as the ground began to shake.

The ground shook as Eggman summoned a giant Egg Golem, as it ascended from the center of the pyramid's ground.

"Gotta hand it to you Eggman, but that's just a giant piece of rock ready for my hammer!" Amy yelled, as it looks down at her. The Egg Golem easily towers over the room.

"Now go… and squash that thorn of a hedgehog, Amy!" Eggman commanded his golem. Watching as the battle commenced. This was it, this is where he gets his final victory against Amy and her pesky friends.

But Amy was smart, as she easily dodged the golems attacks, climbing up it from its blind spots, before she jumped at the Egg Golem's Head, smashing her hammer on top of its head, eventually destroying the device that was on top of it. "Ha! Home run!" She proclaimed victoriously, as the device began to self destruct.

The Egg Golem swivels its head around several time,. Amy taking her leave to catch up with her friends, leaving Eggman to deal with the fallout of his failed attempt.

While Eggman was dealing with the now freed Golem. The pyramid's top opens up, revealing a large rocket. An automatic voice could heard once the rocket was in place. "Green light for launch! Primary engine ignition on! Beginning lift-off countdown!" In the distance, Amy could be seen running onto the rocket. " 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. Shuttle lift-off!"

And just like that, the rocket took off for its destination. The ARK, with three unexpected guests aboard it.

"That must be the Space Colony ARK." Tails pointed out. The other two in awe at the space facility, but didn't get to dwell long on it as they were struck by an stray asteroid along the way. The impact caused the ship to shake, throwing the three off balance for a second.

"Is everyone alright?" Tails asked, once the rocket had stabilized. Both Amy and Knuckles were fine, but the sound of metal unlatching could be heard in the distance. "We should be landing soon." Tails reassured.

"Crap the hatch doors are open! The Master Emerald pieces!" Knuckles exclaimed when he saw the shards falling out of the rocket.

"Just a few more minutes Knuckles, we're almost there." Amy tried to reassure the other.

"A few more minutes?! No, let me out, I need to go collect those pieces!" Knuckles yelled back, pushing his way forward and was trying to take command of the rocket, his panicked state caused the rocket to start spinning wildly out of control.

"Knuckles stop it before we crash! No, don't touch that lever!" Amy screamed, as now they had completely lost control of the rocket thanks to Knuckles.

>>> Inside Space Colony ARK: Cannon countdown: 2 hours 11 minutes

Luckily, Tails was able to get the rocket to land without a hitch. Him and Amy were currently hiding in a spot within the ARK, Knuckles completely disappeared on them to go find the Master Emerald pieces that went flying out of the rocket.

"I know that emerald is important to him, but seriously, who does that knucklehead think he is, trying to take control of the rocket like that." Amy spoke, kinda annoyed by the slight hiccup in their sneaky approach. "This place looks completely deserted Tails, ah-ah-ACHOO! Ugh, dusty too."

"This place was shut down about 50 years ago because of a terrible accident. The first Bernoulli spherical space colony called, ARK. When it was operational, it was the most advanced research center of it's kind, but looking at it now.." Tails had begun to explain, but just by looking at the state it was in now, it was clear just how far this advanced center had fallen.

"Now it's like an abandoned ark…this is what Sonic and Shadow call home?" Amy asked, knowing the answer she wants, she wasn't getting any time soon. "There's not much time left before Eggman fires that weapon again... We've got to hurry! Let's find the cannon and destroy it!"

"Hold on Amy." Tails said, before Amy could take off running in whatever direction she felt was correct. He typed away at his computer in the Tornado, pulling up various diagrams and blueprints. "Someone designed that weapon to be impenetrable from outside attacks. Its defense system are super strong so we have to find a way to destroy it from the inside!"

With that being said, Tails pulled out a Chaos Emerald from the Tornado, this confused Amy, when did Tails get a Chaos emerald? "You had a Chaos Emerald this whole time?" She asked.

Tails chuckled. "It looks like one doesn't it? But in fact, it's a fake one that I created after researching the real Emerald! It has the same wavelength and properties but is less powerful than the real one. It's designed to reverse the energy field inside the Chaos Emeralds and blow up! It looks so real, even a machine can't tell the difference! I'll find the power supply and destroy it! Amy, you find the control room, okay?" Tails handed her the fake emerald, as she pocketed it away shortly after.

"So that's your plan, let's do it!" She exclaimed, as the two split off to take care of their respective tasks, completely unaware of who was listening in on their conversation.

Coming out from his hiding spot behind the wall, Sonic couldn't help but he impressed by Tails' capabilities. "A fake chaos emerald….well we can't have that now can we? Hope you don't mind if I spill the beans early." Sonic spoke to the air, before taking off towards the central control room, where he knew Eggman was waiting.

As Sonic walked towards the central control room, he paused, giving it some thought. If he let them install the fake chaos emerald, then the cannon won't function correctly, and if that happens then maybe, just maybe he and Shadow can leave this place and roam the planet…

"I'll give them more time before I rat them out, see if they follow through with their plan." Sonic said to himself, walking in the opposite direction of the central control room.

>>> Inside Space Colony ARK: Cannon countdown: 45 minutes

The ARK was quite a maze to navigate through, but eventually Amy reached the central control room. She looked around the room in awe of the technology that went into it, before seeing the slots where each chaos emerald was supposed to go in place. "I found it Tails, I just have to put this emerald into the slot?" She asked into her comms around her wrist.

"Yes, just put in place and the rest will-" Tails had started to explain but suddenly got cut off.

"What? Tails you're cutting out, what happened?" Amy asked.

"Ahem! If you want you're little fox friend to be okay then meet me in the research facility, now!" Eggman's voice suddenly cut through the feed.

"Don't listen to him Amy-" Tails tried to warn her but Eggman interfered with the transmission once more.

"Argh, Damn it Eggman, now you've done it!" Amy frustratedly said, pocketing the fake emerald and heading towards Tails location, like hell was she going to let Eggman hurt her little brother.

>>> Outside Space Colony ARK: Cannon countdown: 1 hour 26 minutes

Meanwhile, outside of the ARK, Knuckles had been gathering the pieces of the Master Emerald that had fallen overboard, he not only managed to re collect the pieces that fell overboard, but also found three more scattered around the meteor field that surrounded the ARK.

He was doing a count, but realized he was still short a couple pieces. "Shit, that Bat Girl must have the remaining pieces." Knuckles dreaded, and as if one cue to his predicament.

"Long time no see treasure hunter. Did you find MY Emeralds?" Speak of the devil, there she was, on top of the center tower that was on the meteor field. Knuckles was not happy to see her, flying up to match her level.

"That's a good one! YOUR Emerald. Talking to you is a waste of time!" Knuckles retorted, pointing his fist towards Rouge, he didn't care who she was, he would fight to protect and restore the Master Emerald.

It seemed the feeling was mutual, as Rouge retaliated first with a swift kick that Knuckles managed to block, seemed they were going to do this the hard way.

The two fought on that central tower, Rouge trying to fly around Knuckles in circles to catch him off guard, but she must have had the remaining emerald pieces, Knuckles could sense its energy, and he could block each one of her attacks.

She was tough, and quick thinker, as Knuckles only got a few hits in before both came to a standstill not much later from when the fight started. Both were panting to catch their breath. "Stop fooling around, and give me back MY Emeralds!" They both yelled at the same time, taken aback by the sudden synchronization.

"What are you blabbing about? You call yourself a hunter? Attacking a lady... Shame on you!" Rouge scolded the other, making Knuckles even more confused.

"What kind of lady goes around stealing gems anyway?" He questioned, still not understanding why she so desperately wanted the master emerald of all gems.

"Those belong to me!" Rouge had started again, secretly planning to get the jump on Knuckles mid scolding, but miscalculated her footing, causing her to trip and fall off the tower and to the lava pit that was below the central tower. "Aahhh!" She screamed.

She started to get closer, closing her eyes expecting this was the end, but it didn't come. She opened her eyes in confusion, looked up and saw Knuckles had grabbed onto her hand, hanging off the ledge himself. "What in the world?"

Knuckles pulled himself up to the beam, then Rouge, helping her get her footing back. When she was back on the solid beam, the two made eye contact for a brief few seconds before quickly separating. "Keep your hands to yourself! Don't touch me!" Rouge scolded again.

"Is that how you say thanks to someone who just saved your life?" Knuckles retorted with a bit of sarcasm.

"Saving my life, don't think I owe you one! You just wanted to to hold my hand didn't you? That's why you saved me! You're such a creep!" Rouge responded back.

Knuckles really didn't get this girl. "This isn't a joke, you know! Think what you want bat girl, I was saving the Master Emerald." He tried to reason with her once more. Rouge sighed, seemingly getting tired of this whole situation.

"No matter what you say, it sounds crazy!" She said, but dropped the remaining pieces that Knuckles needed before him. Knuckles was taken aback by this sudden behavior change. "Fine, then just take them. They stink like echidnas do."

Well that was rather rude, Knuckles liked to think he smelled wonderfully of grapes and other fruits. But he did feel better gathering the remaining pieces knowing it was no longer a race to gather them all. "If that's what you thought, you should have given me them in the first place!" He said, putting the pieces together in their rightful spots, a green glow began to appear from the pieces before a white flash engulfed it, when it faded away, the Master Emerald was back to its original form.

Knuckles felt so relieved seeing the gem once again, he looked over to Rouge who was pretending to not pay him any attention but was also clearly looking at him. "What?" She asked.

"I'm sorry...if I hurt you." The echidna whispered, taking the Master Emerald and running off, before Rouge could say or do anything else, also extremely thankful for his red fur, it could hide the blush that appeared one his face when he apologized to Rouge.

>>> ARK: Lower Levels.

Once Knuckles was away from Rouge, he took this moment to catch his breath. "Now I just need go help Amy, then I get the Master Emerald back to Angel Island." He spoke, double checking the Master Emerald was fully restored and wasn't going to self implode in anyway.

"So, this is the Master Emerald?" A new voice spoke, causing Knuckles to quickly turn into a defensive posture.

"Who's there?!" He called out, feeling a gust of wind go by, next thing he knew, there was a blue hedgehog exclaiming the Master Emerald next to him. "How did you- Who are you?" Knuckles questioned.

"You can call me Sonic." The hedgehog responded, leaning in closer to the Master Emerald, his eyes were a similar green to the emerald itself. He reached out to touch the emerald.

"Don't touch it." Knuckles demanded, prepared to fight the other, but saw the emerald react to Sonic, and not in a negative way. "The Master Emerald has never responded to an outsider like that before, what are you?"

The energy Sonic felt within the Master Emerald was calming, it was a similar energy to what was used to make him. "Nothing mortal, I can tell you that much. I'll keep it brief, you're going to have a drop in, in about 3, 2, 1-"

As if on cue to Sonic, Amy suddenly appeared from out of nowhere, falling to the ground, and would have hit the ground if Knuckles didn't catch her. "Amy! Are you okay? What happened?" He questioned.

"Woah, I wasn't sure if I could pull that one off. Somehow, I managed to use the Chaos Control." Amy tiredly answered, as Sonic walked over to the two.

"Chaos Control?" Knuckles questioned.

"That would be partly my fault, I was the one to tell Eggman about the fake chaos emerald. Didn't think you could use chaos control like Shadow though, that's impressive." Sonic partially praised.

Knuckles helped Amy get her bearings before she shook away the dizziness. She looked at Sonic with confusion. "Just who's side are you on? One minute you're helping Eggman, the next you're doing something to help us, I don't get you Sonic." She said.

"I was never on Eggman's side." Sonic answered, leaving Amy even more confused.

"Then who are you helping?" She further asked.

"Wait Amy, I think its this Shadow you told me about on the way here. Is that who you're helping?" Knuckles asked this time.

"Correct. Its like I said from the beginning to you, Rose. I was never helping Eggman, I have been helping Shadow." Sonic confirmed.

"Even if you know what Shadow is doing, is wrong?" She continued, seeing Sonic hesitant for a moment. "What's stopping you from stopping him?"

Sonic crossed his arms, taking a deep breath, realizing this wasn't the time to be holding out on secrets if he wants his reality to continue. "The truth is, I know he hasn't fully remembered what happened 50 years ago. My hopes were he would remember before things got this far, but it seems that might not be the case…"

"You really care about him, don't you?" Amy asked, feeling sympathy towards Sonic. She could see the look in his eyes, as he talked about Shadow. He truly loved Shadow, and just wants this to be over with, but not at the cost of either his or Shadow's life.

"More than anything else, Rose." Sonic answered.

Amy clutched her fist in determination. "Then it's up to us to end this! Leave it to me Sonic! I'll go knock some sense into him, then when this is all over we can all go out for strawberry shortcake!" She gave the other a peace sign with her iconic smile.

Sonic couldn't help but chuckle. "Despite everything, you still want to give me and Shadow a second chance?"

"Like I said to you, everyone deserves a second chance if they are willingly to try! Lets end this here and now!" With that said, she ran off towards the inner workings of the ARK.

"She always that enthusiastic?" Sonic asked Knuckles.

"When her friends are on the line? Yes." Knuckles responded.

Friends huh? Sonic could get used to that, it had a nice ring to it.

>>> Outside Space Colony ARK: Cannon countdown: 5 minutes 44 seconds

Amy was currently standing in a corridor that leads out of the ARK, she had a plan in mind, after she dealt with Shadow, she'll take the fake emerald and launch it into place before the cannon could go off.

She was determined until she heard footsteps approaching, she turned around and saw it was Shadow. "You never cease to surprise me pink hedgehog. I thought that the capsule you were in exploded in space." He said.

Amy chuckled. "What can I say, I'm a stubborn one." Picking up her running speed, and Shadow did the same. She took out the fake emerald from her pocket, showing it to Shadow. "I actually got the idea from you, so technically you saved me."

"It was a Chaos Emerald, wasn't it? But, there's no way you could have activated the Chaos Control using an Emerald that's fake.

So, there's more to you than meets the eye. What are you anyway?" He asked her.

"Just a girl that loves adventuring with her friends, Amy Rose! And don't you forget it!" She happily proclaimed.

"I see. But you know, I can't let you live. Your adventuring days are coming to an end." He gave as one final warning.

"We'll see about that, I promised your boyfriend that we get cake once this is all over, so I'll go easy on you!" Amy offered in response.And with that, the two began to fight once more.

>>> ARK: Abandoned lab: Cannon countdown: 1 minute 33 seconds

Tails stood in front of the window of the room where Eggman launched Amy into space, and after defeating the Doctor in battle. "Amy, I did it!" Tails said, pleased yet still upset, when suddenly his walkie-talkie came alive. "Huh?"

"Awesome job, Tails!" Amy praised from her end of the comms.

"Amy!" Tails happily exclaimed, relieved she was okay.

"Look outside!" Amy said, Tails doing so to see the Eclipse Cannon being destroyed. Shadow proved to be a stubborn obstacle, but Amy had made it in the knick of time, letting the fake chaos emerald do its thing before Eggman could activate the cannon once more. Amy looked towards the window she could see Tails from, hanging off the destroyed cannon, and gave him a thumbs up.

They did it! They won!

Or…did they really?

-End Hero Chapter-

[azikarue]

Life In Color : Chapter 27 : Beyblade

Emily, Mariah, Rick, Michael | FFN Rating: T | FFN Link ❖ The melodic trill of crickets was more grating than relaxing tonight, Emily realized with a frown. She had too many other things fighting for purchase in her mind, making tension run icy hot from her temples down into the set of her shoulders. She took a deep breath, forced herself to loosen the hold her fingers had on the case she was carrying, and soldiered on toward the river.

The footsteps behind her sped up to match her pace.

At the beginning of their journey, once they’d snuck through the minefield of snoring beybladers and out of the dojo, Mariah had attempted to start a conversation. Now it seemed that some of Emily’s seriousness had rubbed off on her; she hadn’t uttered a single word in the past few minutes. She would have felt bad for killing Mariah’s thunder if it weren’t for the gravity of the situation.

The future of beyblading was dangerously close to belonging to BEGA because, no matter what Tyson thought, there was no guarantee Kai was going to come back and battle.

Emily didn’t want to be the naysayer, but it was time somebody started exhibiting some common sense. They were three battles in and hanging onto their last shred of hope by a thread. If nobody else could master the Hard Metal System in the next twenty-four hours, there was every possibility they would never have a fifth blader and would lose the Justice Five Tournament.

As that thought burned itself into the back of her brain, Emily arrived at the crest of the hill leading down to the riverbank. Mariah came to a stop by her side. At the bottom of the grassy slope lay the river, slithering like a snake as light glistened on the surface like starry scales. Out here, away from the dojo and in the cool of the night, it would almost feel like everything was normal if it weren’t for the weight of the case in her hand.

“Well, well, well – look who finally turned up,” Rick said, staring up the hill with his arms crossed over his chest.

“Yeah,” Michael chimed in. Rick didn’t have his boombox, but there was no power on earth that could keep Michael from bringing his lucky baseball; he was tossing it into his glove with an air of impatience. “You certainly kept us waiting long enough.”

Emily rolled her eyes and started down the incline. “It didn’t kill you,” she said when she reached the bottom.

“Boys can be so impatient,” Mariah sighed, joining the group. “I told Lee that’s probably why he hasn’t been able to master the new beyblade yet. He wants it to spin like Galeon right away, gets mad when it doesn’t, and sends it flying out of control.” She shook her head ruefully.

“Speaking of Lee, when you said you were bringing someone else, he’s more who I had in mind.”

Leave it to Rick to be brutally honest. Emily admired that trait most days, but the way Mariah’s eyes snapped over to fix him with a warning look didn’t bode well.

“No offense,” Rick added, cocking one eyebrow when he sensed the mood shift and caught the look on her face.

“Rick’s got a point, though,” Michael said. “Statistically, Lee’s got the best chance of beating Garland or Brooklyn out of anyone else on the White Tiger team. If you don’t count Ray.”

“If we were going by team statistics, Michael, you wouldn’t be here,” Emily said firmly. “It was Max and Rick that represented the All Starz in the World Championships.”

Michael opened his mouth like he wanted to argue, gripping his baseball so hard that his fingertips were white. Rick snorted, an arrogant smirk on his lips. Michael shot him a glare and threw his ball into his glove with twice his normal force, but didn’t comment.

In reality, Emily’s data did point to Lee as an obvious choice to wield the Metal System effectively. She was on her way to wake him up when she ran into Mariah first. Her friend was eager to know where she was going and why and if she could help. Emily found herself changing her mind and inviting her along before she fully realized what she was doing.

However, the more she thought about it after, the better it sounded.

Mariah didn’t battle much in the tournament, which meant Emily’s data was woefully incomplete, but there was no doubting she was one of the best beybladers in the league. She was spirited and skilled and wasn’t as inclined to trip over her ego as the boys were. Emily thought she might end up being perfect for the Hard Metal System.

“So are we gonna take that puppy for a spin or what?” Rick was eyeing Emily’s case eagerly. “Or did we come all this way to wish on a star that Kai comes crawling back?”

Mariah tutted. “Impatient.”

“I prefer ‘realistic’,” Rick shot back. “If you think Kai’s gonna show his face after that thrashing from Brooklyn, you’re delusional. While we’ve been wasting our time waiting on him, BEGA’s put themselves in position to win the tournament!”

“Just because one of us isn’t man enough to own up to his mistakes for the sake of his friends, doesn’t mean Kai won’t,” Mariah argued with a narrow gaze. “Is that any way to talk about someone who stood up for you when your team was being booed?”

Rick was a whole foot taller than Mariah, but she wasn’t in the least bit intimidated by him. Emily liked that about her, even if she’d been hoping Mariah would act as a buffer for Rick and Michael’s inevitable bickering instead of perpetuating her own argument. She sighed and tucked the case under her arm so she had both hands free to clean her glasses.

A vein throbbed in Rick’s temple at Mariah’s insult. “If Kai cared that much, he wouldn’t have tried to join BEGA in the first place.”

“It’s not the first time Kai’s switched sides—”

“Surprise, surprise!”

“—but it wouldn’t be the first time he came to his senses and did the right thing either!” Mariah finished unflinchingly. “Although,” she added a sheepish afterthought, “I would’ve preferred to have Galux back before he returned Black Dranzer to BIOVOLT.”

Emily snorted. No kidding. She’d chewed all her nails down to nothing wondering if she’d ever see Trygator again. But dredging up Kai’s past shortcomings wasn’t getting them any closer to having a fifth beyblader on their team. As Rick detailed, with colorful language, how Mariah’s argument wasn’t winning her case, Emily walked over to the grass.

She set the carrying case down on the hillside and retrieved the Metal System prototype from inside. It was a generic, well-balanced beyblade that she’d whipped up last minute after helping Kenny build Dranzer. The Bladebreakers did seem sure that Kai would be back, but Emily definitely didn’t know him well enough to take that gamble.

“Hey, Michael, want to give this a shot?”

Michael, who had been watching Rick and Mariah bicker with interest, met her gaze with a spark in his eye. “Oh, yeah!” he said, tossing his baseball glove aside.

“Why does he get to go first?” Rick asked in outrage, suddenly willing to cut the argument short.

Emily ignored him – she didn’t answer obvious questions when she had better things to do – and instructed Michael to hand over Trygle. Carefully and efficiently, she transferred its bit to the new beyblade. It flashed when it clicked into place, ready for action.

“You’re going to want to launch away from the bridge, in case you lose control,” she told Michael as she handed over the beyblade with its launcher. “I’m not about to foot the bill for a new one. And do your best to steer clear of the water; that blade’s kind of irreplaceable.”

“No pressure, though,” Michael said sarcastically. He loaded the launcher warily.

“Don’t screw this up,” Rick interjected, a smirk appearing on his face as Michael’s expression grew irritated.

“Rick, you and Mariah can be his opponents.”

Rick snorted and reached into his pocket for his beyblade. “He won’t keep it spinning long enough to get close to Rock Bison,” he said while Mariah pulled Galux from her hair.

“We’ll see about that,” Michael said, his bravado resurfacing. He adopted a launching stance; feet apart, arms raised, ripcord gripped in his right hand.

Mariah and Rick followed suit, looking like odd mirrors of one another launching with opposite hands. Emily watched all three of them stare each other down, remaining stock still even as the nighttime breeze combed through their hair and clothing. After a moment, she realized they were waiting on her to count them down.

“Three… Two… One…”

“Let it rip!” they cried in unison.

Trygle exploded off of it’s launcher, sending Michael stumbling back. It looked like it might be over for him before it began, until he cursed under his breath and steadied himself. Impressively, his blade steadied with him.

“Trygle!” he called out, pointing straight ahead at where Rick and Mariah’s blades were spinning side by side. “Take ‘em out!”

With a burst of speed, Trygle charged Rock Bison and Galux. Clouds of dust flanked it like wings as it surged forward, maintaining a straight course. Michael had obviously taken the lessons the others learned whilst training with the Metal System to heart. Emily was impressed.

Unfortunately a head-on attack wasn’t going to cut it against the likes of Rick and Mariah, whose beyblades dodged in opposite directions just in time to avoid a devastating impact. Trygle flew right between them, making them wobble in its slipstream, but leaving them unaffected otherwise.

“C’mon, Trygle!” Michael’s hands balled into fists as he fought for control. He managed to get Trygle to slow down enough to turn around in a wide arc. Unfortunately, it leaned too far into the turn and its attack ring cut into the ground. “Aw, shit!” Michael spat as it dug a spiral into the dirt, before grinding to a halt in the center.

“Way to go!” Rick guffawed. “That’ll make BEGA run for the hills.”

“Shut up, Rick!” Michael snapped as he stomped over to pull Trygle from the groove it had carved for itself. “Like you could do any better!”

“Isn’t that why we’re training?” Mariah interrupted before the argument could really get going. She held out her hand and caught Galux deftly, without looking. “Not even Tyson mastered his new beyblade in one try.”

“I’m not waiting around all night for Michael to master that thing.” Rick recalled Rock Bison and walked over to Michael in a handful of long strides. “Hand it over. We’re taking it in turns.”

Michael frowned and looked to Emily for confirmation.

Emily sighed. “That’s probably the best way to do it since I only have one beyblade,” she answered apologetically. With parts being as hard to come by as they were, she was lucky they had enough material for her to scrape into a sixth blade in the first place. “Sorry, Michael.”

“Whatever,” Michael pouted and took Trygle’s bit chip out before handing the beyblade over to Rick.

Rick smirked smugly and the two of them readied their beyblades for battle.

“Whatever happened to ladies first?” Mariah asked as she watched the boys finish their preparations. Emily recognized it as an attempt to rile Rick up instead of the complaint it might have been mistaken for. She had a feeling this would be an interesting battle.

“Michael did go first,” Rick snarked.

“Hey!”

Emily sighed, mentally lamenting that this, of all moments, could be their final hope.

“Are you guys ready, yet?” she asked, crossing her arms over her chest and preparing herself to compare Rick and Michael’s trial runs. “Need I remind you that, even if one of you masters the Hard Metal System tonight, there’s only twenty-four hours before you’ll be facing one of the strongest beybladers BEGA has?”

“Yeah, yeah – keep your shirt on.” Rick rolled his eyes, but hunkered down for his launch nonetheless.

Across from him, Mariah and Michael got ready, too. Emily noticed Michael was launching left-handed this time and made a mental note to work the difference in power output into her calculations. Once they were all settled, she counted down and watched them launch.

The force of Rick’s launch sent him skidding back a few inches, but he managed to keep his footing better than Michael. Michael seemed to take that as a personal slight; when Rock Bison thundered toward him, he sent Trygle out to meet him head-on. Mariah followed suit and all three beyblades collided in a shower of sparks.

“Keep trying all you want,” Rick shouted over the sound of metal grinding, “but you’re no match for me and Rock Bison!”

“We’ll see about that!”

“Yeah, Rick – could your ego be any bigger?”

Emily bet it could be, especially if he mastered the Hard Metal System before either of the other two. So far he was doing a good job of battling with it like it was his normal beyblade. He landed a couple strong attacks that sent Michael and Mariah reeling. Emily was debating whether he was getting the hang of it or if it was the fact that his chosen attacks didn’t require much finesse when he got a dangerous gleam in his eye.

“All right, Rock Bison,” Rick cried, raising his arm and splaying his fingers out against the canopy of stars, “Drop Rock Attack!”

“Rick, be careful!” Emily called as rubble packed in around his beyblade. Drop Rock was a risky move when he hadn’t even proved he could handle the basics. “Don’t get cocky!”

“I know what I’m doing!”

The rocks around Rick’s beyblade morphed into a solid block of stone and hurtled toward his opponents. Michael and Mariah both poised themselves to evade the attack, but it turned out to be unnecessary.

With a few inches to go, Rock Bison’s movement stuttered and a mighty explosion broke the stone back down into dozens of smaller rocks that flew out in every direction like bullets. Emily shielded herself as best she could. Mariah and Michael dove out of the way. Rick swore. And all three beyblades went flying in opposite directions and landed completely still in the dust.

“If that’s knowing what you’re doing, I’d hate to see you completely clueless,” Michael grumbled as he got to his feet and tried to beat the dirt out of his clothes with his hat.

“I warned you,” Emily scolded, rushing over to make sure the beyblade was okay. “An attack like that when you haven’t learned to control the Metal System could’ve destroyed the blade!” Thankfully, it didn’t seem any worse for wear. She let out a sigh of relief.

“If you hadn’t distracted me, that attack would’ve landed fine!”

“Right, Rick.” Mariah looked wholly unimpressed with dirt smudged on her face and clothes. “We’ll be sure to tell the whole stadium to be quiet while you battle in the next round.”

Rick glowered at her and Michael snickered, returning his baseball cap to his head.

“Mariah’s turn,” Emily announced and handed Rick back his bit chip. “Maybe a girl on the team is what we need, after all.”

“Doubt it,” Rick mumbled as he put Rock Bison back together.

Emily pretended she didn’t hear him and got ready for their third attempt of the night. “Same rules,” she told Mariah, handing over the beyblade. “Launch away from the bridge, avoid the water, and don’t try anything fancy” –she shot Rick a look– “before you can battle without losing control.”

Mariah nodded resolutely and they all began the countdown together.

“Three… Two… One… Let it rip!”

Like the other two, the kickback hit Mariah hard. She fell back on her butt, catching herself with the heels of her hands. She seemed to have prepared for such an eventuality, because her eyes remained fixed on Galux the whole time and its path never wavered.

“Whoa, nice one!” Michael said. “Even steadier than Rick’s launch.”

“Shut up,” Rick grumbled, but even he looked impressed.

Mariah didn’t reply, too busy maintaining her concentration. Her sharp eyes never strayed from Galux as it glided around, dealing glancing blows to each of the boys’ blades in turn. The attacks spurred Rick and Michael into action and they set their blades on a course directly for hers.

Mariah got to her feet slowly, keeping her gaze steady, and watched their approach. When they got too close to correct their trajectory, she called out to Galux and it darted obediently out of the way, before pulling a tricky reversal and claiming the center of the battlefield once more.

Emily could feel the moment they all collectively held their breath, eager to see if Mariah would slip up after a maneuver like that. When her beyblade spun true, Michael let out an impressed whistle and he and Rick took up the offensive again.

And again, Galux dodged at the last second, then sprung back. If she kept going like this, Emily would nominate Mariah as their fifth team member and focus the training on her. With such little time to prepare, it made sense to pass the torch to whoever had the most control during their trial run.

She was about to say it out loud when something went wrong. After a third dodge, Mariah let out a gleeful cheer and her concentration slipped just enough that Galux didn’t pull off the reversal.

“Oh no – Galux!” Mariah cried out in alarm as the beyblade headed straight for the river.

Time moved in slow motion as they all rushed for the blade, trying to keep Mariah’s bitbeast and all of Emily’s hard work from being washed downstream.

Emily was closest so, using every ounce of skill from her toughest tennis matches, she dove for it. Relief flooded her veins when her fist closed around the beyblade right before it fell in the river. She hit the ground with a grunt. The bruises and dirt would be worth it. She could only hope to be able to say the same about their late night training session when this was all over.

“I’m so sorry!” Mariah skidded to a halt at her side, spraying her with more dirt. “I was so excited, but then it wouldn’t come back and I panicked. Blading with that thing is like trying to tame a wild animal!”

Emily let Mariah help her up, mostly because she didn’t want to risk dropping the beyblade when they were standing so close to the water. Once they were a safe distance away and standing in a circle with the boys, she uncurled her fingers and found, to her relief, that the beyblade was unscathed.

“No harm done this time.” She tucked it into her pocket so she could wipe off her glasses on a clean corner of her shirt, then fished it out again. “I guess we’re back to you, Michael.”

She did her best to keep the disappointment she was feeling out of her tone. She knew it would be an uphill battle. Knew firsthand from the hours she’d spent in secret trying and failing to master the beyblade on her own before admitting that maybe someone else would be better suited. Their failure still stung. Worst of all, it left her feeling like she could have done better for them, somehow.

“Don’t you want a turn?” Mariah asked with a gentle, if not tentative, smile.

In contrast, Rick was frowning, staring off into the middle distance. And Michael was hiding his expression with the brim of his hat, hands in his pockets. It seemed like they were feeling the same defeat that Emily was.

“I’ve tried plenty,” Emily admitted, the words sour on her tongue. “Taking the data into consideration, the three of you have much better chances of learning to use the Hard Metal System by our deadline. That’s where we should focus our efforts.”

Rick’s eyebrows drew closer together and Michael’s expression darkened. For the first time since creating the Hard Metal System, Emily was feeling hopeless.

Mariah looked around at all of them, a combination of confusion and exasperation on her face. “I thought the whole point of this was that the numbers don’t matter,” she said. “Tyson and the others didn’t master the Metal System because they were statistically better than us!”

“It didn’t hurt their odds,” Michael pointed out, sounding none-too-pleased about it.

“If they were that good, we wouldn’t be stuck between a rock and a hard place right now,” Rick grouched, using his attitude as a defense mechanism. “One more loss and the future of beyblading is shot.”

“The data doesn’t lie. Ray, Max, and Daichi are three of the best we’ve got.” Emily had known in the back of her mind, from the moment the challenge was issued, who would fight by Tyson’s side. Maybe trying to twist fate and add someone else to the mix was always doomed to fail, but it was the best option she could think of. “If Kai wasn’t defunct, he’d be the next logical choice. We don’t have the luxury, so it has to be one of you.” It wouldn’t be her.

“I’ve had about enough of this!” Mariah stomped her foot.

Emily, Rick, and Michael turned, in unison, to look at her like she’d lost it.

“If data was all that mattered, we wouldn’t be challenging BEGA at all,” Mariah said once she had all of their attention. Her hands were on her hips and her cheeks were flushed under the dirt, but her eyes were fiery. “It’s not the data that’s at risk – it’s the spirit of the game! It’s the love of beyblading that’s enough to make you want to practice and grow stronger and have fun doing it! That’s how battles are won and that’s how Tyson, Ray, Max, and Daichi mastered the Hard Metal System!”

She looked at each of them, one by one, breathing heavily.

“I don’t care what the data says and I don’t care if you’re feeling discouraged. It doesn’t matter how much time is left – we’re going to keep trying until we can’t anymore, because we all love beyblading too much not to. Or did you all forget that part?”

Maybe, Emily thought, she had forgotten. In the midst of all the failed attempts to master the Hard Metal System and the hours spent on the sidelines as others fought nerve wracking battles that determined the fate of beyblading and her own future… Maybe she’d forgotten that a strong beyblade wielded by a strong beyblader was only half of the equation.

But she remembered now.

She remembered being seven years-old and telling her parents she wanted to beyblade and play tennis when she was older and being told that, sooner or later, she’d have to choose one. She remembered being so determined not to pick, that she kept up with both – plus her studies, so her parents wouldn’t make her drop one of her extracurricular activities – until one day someone approached her about an opportunity with the PPB. She remembered Judy honing in on her analytic potential, but acquiescing when Emily refused to sacrifice training time because she wanted to play so badly that it made her hands itch for her launcher or racket when she didn’t.

Emily was fortunate to be where she was thanks, in no small part, to her love of beyblading. She wanted that to always be enough to ensure a future with the sport. The thought of other children never having the opportunities she had because BEGA wanted to replace the love of the game with a hefty paycheck was unthinkable.

“I knew I brought you along for a reason,” she said and reached into her pocket for Trygator. Its bit chip gleamed. “Thanks Mariah.”

She met her friend’s surprised gaze and watched it melt into a warm smile.

“Any time! We all need a reminder once in a while,” Mariah said with a wink.

“As heartfelt as this is, are you gonna take your turn or not?” Rick didn’t flinch when they all looked his way and any of the darkness in his stare was replaced with a familiar confidence. “Because it’ll be my turn that much faster if you wanna skip.”

“That’s only if I don’t master it on my next turn, Rick,” Michael interjected, turning his baseball cap around. “I’m feeling lucky.”

“No one’s that lucky,” Rick quipped with a cocksure smirk. “Least of all you.”

“I might be,” Emily said, a feeling of determination swelling inside of her. “I helped design the Hard Metal System, after all. I know it better than any of you.” When she looked around at the others, they were all grinning. “If any of us are going to master it and fight with Tyson in the final round, it’s going to be me.”

“That settles it, then,” Rick said as he loaded Rock Bison onto its launcher. “Don’t expect us to go easy on you.”

Emily took a moment to hand Mariah back Galux’s bit chip before fixing Rick with a challenging look. “You’re gonna need every ounce of power to even come close to beating me,” she said smugly. “So do yourself a favor and give it your best shot.”

“Don’t worry, I plan on it.”

Michael and Mariah flanked Rick on either side. They were each formidable opponents on their own; together, Emily knew she’d have her work cut out for her. Instead of feeling apprehension or dread, she just felt excited. This was what beyblading was all about, she thought as she clicked Trygator’s bit into the Hard Metal blade. And it was a feeling that, win or lose, BEGA could never take away.

Emily inhaled deeply and took her stance at the same time as the other three.

“Remember to aim away from the bridge,” Michael advised, a mischievous smirk on his lips.

“And watch out for the water,” Mariah chimed in cheerfully. “That beyblade’s irreplaceable, you know!”

“And no fancy moves before you master the basics.” Rick’s fingers flexed on his launcher and his lips curled up into a grin.

Emily chuckled and led them in the countdown one more time.

“Three… Two… One… Let it rip!”

[haloburns]

new chapter of my resistance was once much stronger (i can't go on like this much longer)!!

FINALLY onto some actual plot! (now with 20x more angst!!)

i can’t let that happen again (‘cause then you’ll see my heart in the saddest state it’s ever been)

They reached the Portal in no time at all. Mateo was a little sad, because he thought Danny was going to fly them to the warehouse and leave the new bike in the warehouse. Flying was fun, and he loved it, but riding the bike was… different and fun in a completely novel way. He was a little reluctant to leave it behind so soon.

Danny rode through the Portal with barely a change in his demeanor. Mateo’s shoulders sagged in disappointment as he expected Danny to pull them to a halt. But just as he was going to voice his dismay, Danny revved the bike and leaned further over the handlebars.

They were heading towards the stairs.

Mateo gave a delighted shout when he felt the vaguest tingle of Danny’s flight racing through the bike. And then he popped a wheel and they were racing up the staircase.

Mateo’s shout dissolved into laughter and he squeezed tighter against Danny. He whooped in joy and leaned over the handlebar, forcing them even faster.

They popped out into the kitchen, startling Maddie. She gave an annoyed, reprimanding shout as Danny turned on a dime and sped away, dislodging the papers scattered about the kitchen table. They ignored the reprimand as they squealed through the kitchen, the sound of fluttering papers lost to the roar of the engine.

As they approached the front door, Mateo clutched at Danny’s shirt, fear and excitement waging war in his chest. They obviously weren’t going to crash, but the anticipation of the thought pumped adrenaline through his system, giddiness following close on its heels because his Danny was obviously going to phase them right through it, no problem.

And as anticipated, that jelloey feeling that always accompanied intangibility washed over him and they were flying down the stairs. Their landing on the sidewalk was gentle, but it gave Mateo no reprieve. With another rev, Danny forced the bike forward. He leaned into the curve as they turned onto the street. Mateo shouted again, fear quickly replaced with pure joy. Danny opened the bike up again once the wheels landed on the empty pavement.

Danny, who was always so careful with Mateo, especially lately, seemed to throw caution to the wind as they raced towards the warehouses on the far side of Amity. He took corners a little too fast, forcing Mateo to plaster himself against his back so they moved together seamlessly. There was little traffic this late on a holiday weekend. What traffic there was, Danny wove through without hesitation.

It was amazing.

When they arrived at the warehouse, Mateo’s heart was racing and he was panting like he’d just run a race. Adrenaline coursed through him, and everything felt brighter, lighter, and he wanted to keep laughing. He wanted to go again.

Danny swung off the bike and hauled Mateo off before he could get his bearings, sweeping him into an all consuming kiss. The intensity caught Mateo off guard, and he gasped against his lips. Every kiss with Danny lately had been soft and sweet, gentle, and over too soon. But this. This felt like where they had been before everything that happened. It felt like Thanksgiving break, like the night Danny came back from a fight too amped up to sleep. Like something more.

Continue on AO3.

[lunartaeilx]

Free - Bang Chan (angst)

TW // blood, accident, implied death

a/n: I am so sorry all I seem to write is angst lol, its just what inspires me the most

This is another part of my song-inspired stories. This one was inspired by the song Free by Kevin Oh as well as Empty by Car The Garden :)

(also there is a part in here that I know was a different member (not chan) but it was the only thing I could think of lol)

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

It had just been a normal day, Chan went to work, stayed there for the majority of the day (and most of the night). He was exhausted, but finally heading home. It was too late to catch the bus, because the last one had already run. He was too broke to catch a taxi because he hadn’t quite made it in the entertainment industry yet. Because of this, he had to walk the few miles of dark street back to his dorm. Right now, most of his days consisted of training with the boys during the day and making music at night; sometimes with Jisung and Changbin, sometimes alone. Tonight had been one of the times that he was alone.

            While walking back he thought of everything that he had done today, including the fight he had gotten into with the boys (which is why he happened to be alone tonight). He was not in the right frame of mind, it felt like he hadn’t had a break in months. Bang Chan was the hardest worker that anyone could ever imagine, he made so many sacrifices to put his team first. Sometimes, because of this, it was easy for him to feel overwhelmed and depressed. Tonight was one of those times where he wished he could be with someone, he wished that he had just chosen a normal life. All he wanted was to go to his home in Australia and laugh with his family and eat his mom’s cooking. He wanted to have a normal job, normal hours, and freedom to do whatever he wanted without having to think of others first. He just wanted it all to pause, if even for a second, he wanted it to stop.

            He passed under streetlights, illuminating his path in small sections as he walked. It was a cool night, a little too chilly for just the t-shirt and sweatpants he was wearing. He put his earbuds in and kept walking, hoping that music would help to dull the darkening feeling of his heart. Instead, he found himself listening to songs which only worsened his mood, not feeling up to listening to happy-go-lucky pop music. He knew he had to get his sadness out before he got home, because he didn’t want to become a burden on the boys. They were going through enough already, and he didn’t want to weigh on them even more. So, he let the sad songs play, hoping that his emotions would run their course and he would be fine by the time he got home.

            Chan shivered in the cold, realizing that he had left his hoodie on the back of his chair, which was why he was freezing. He considered going back to get it, but decided not to, because he had already come almost halfway. He gathered his arms to his chest and kept on his path. When he came to the crosswalk, he pressed the button and diligently waited for the sign to change, telling him it was safe to cross. He looked to the left, and to the right, not seeing any cars, and he began to make his way across the street. His emotions were blinding him, his mind was hazy from feeling so much, all at once. He turned the volume up on his phone, hoping to drown his thoughts out even more, which is why he didn’t hear it coming.

            Until it hit him.

It was as if he was under a spell as he laid in the road, alone. The driver that hit him had sped off in a hurry, hoping to not get caught for what he had done. Chan could feel his systems starting to fail, he could taste the blood bubbling up into his throat. There was no one else around to help him, no one to call the ambulance, no one to save him. He couldn’t move, he could barely breathe, it was as if the universe had known what he was thinking.

He began to smile because finally, he could get a break. He thought of his members, and all the good times that they had shared. He remembered how they had always felt like family to him, even from the very beginning. All of the crazy late nights spent on the floor of the practice room eating takeout and talking about life. Every time Minho had gotten mad at him when he didn’t remember the names of his cats. Every night he had stayed up with Changbin to convince him that what the haters were saying to him was a lie. All the times that he had stayed in the practice room with Hyunjin helping him practice their choreography so he could be confident in his own abilities. Every time he had held Jisung when all he could do was sit and shake and cry from his anxiety. Every card game, rocket league match, and time he had spent crying about missing Australia with Felix. Every day he had spent with Seungmin in the studio, helping him to practice his vocals so he would be confident. Every time he had babied Jeongin and reassured him when he made mistakes, and how proud he had been to watch him grow up.

Every memory he had with them ran through his mind, the good and the bad, the times he had given up his own desires for those of his members. He coughed up blood, beginning to feel the pain his body was enduring. The shock of what had happened was starting to wear off, but it still couldn’t take from Chan’s high. He knew in his heart that he wanted this life, he wanted to live. All he wanted, now, was to be the leader for his team, even if it meant never getting his own way. He wanted to see the boys grow up, he wanted to grow with them. He knew he wanted to live, no matter what, but it was too late. As he laid on the road, music still playing in his ears, a smile resting on his face, he knew it was over. The memories playing like a movie in his head began to fade, until they were a pitch-black nothingness, as if they had never existed at all.

[suginami-division]

Sazanka Zombeez Drama Track 1 - Rise from the Dead

Part 2

【 Kuhara University Staff Meeting Room 】

Dean: For the last time professor Umemoto, a change in the curriculum is not necessary!

Maki: And again my dear Dean, I argue that we should change it.

Standing over everyone, the Dean for the history department gritted his teeth at the one professor sitting calmly amongst the table of the other professors. Everyone was on edge yet again, as Maki was once again fighting with both the Dean and the university professors.

Professor 1: Umemoto-kun, do we have to do this again?

Maki: Well, don’t tell me that you don’t believe this is of importance [Professor 1]?

Professor 1: W-Well I…

Maki: You’re a full-fledged professor and yet you stick to the old curriculum, allowing for the government to censor things that our students should be aware of. And I thought as one of the senior members of this department, you would know better, would you not?

Dean: Umemoto, stop berating [Professor 1]!

Professor 2: Y-Yeah Maki-kun. Quit blabbing. You’re only at an associate level. You shouldn’t be-

Maki: Fighting for an accurate system of learning? The world was in another great war and yet we still won’t talk about it accurately, much less publicly when we should understand how-

Dean: That’s enough!

A hush fell over the room when the Dean had lost his temper. In a shaky breathe, the Dean stammered.

Dean: T-This meeting is adjourned. If you want to complain to me about this matter, professor Umemoto, I’m willing to hear you out again in my office.

As all eyes looked to the bespeckled albino, the man in question could only grin at the Dean and sneer. 

Maki: You know I won’t show up. But I look forward to discussing this again in the next meeting. Have a wonderful day, everyone.

Swiftly standing up from his seat, Maki packed his things and strode out of the meeting room, leaving behind a collection of relieved sighs and gasps in his wake. Striding down the halls of the university, Maki pulled out his phone at the sound of the device vibrating. Ever so slightly, a frown graced his lips at the sight of the caller’s ID.

Maki: Ryuko…

With a deep breath, Maki stopped in the hall to answer the call, answering the phone.

Maki: Dear brother, you better have-

A loud shout echoed from his phone before he could finish his sentence, causing Maki to jerk back from the speaker momentarily as a futile attempt to save his eardrums. And after Ryuko had uttered the words “ma” to the man, Maki was all ears.

Maki: You found a way? This… Isn’t a joke, is it?

Listening carefully, Maki could only hum at whatever Ryuko had said. Eventually, the man sighed out.

Maki: Alright, I’ll meet you outside my work. I don’t need the security staff to throw you out again.

Again, Maki had to jolt away from the speaker as Ryuko had shouted his confirmation, hanging up as soon as he had called.

Maki: See you later as well, brother…

【 Outside Kuhara University 】

In the distance, Maki could make out the figure of Ryuko on his motorcycle basically speeding over to where Maki stood. Slightly cringing at the thought of having to get on the bike, Maki could only stand idly by and wave as Ryuko screeched to a halt.

Ryuko: Get the fucking helmet on and let’s go!

Maki: Why the rush, Ryu-Ryu?

Ryuko: Don’t call me that! And it’s a rush because this shit is important!

Maki: Alright alright… You know I’m only teasing you.

Adjusting the spare helmet over his pale head, Maki straddled the black and scarlet bike before Ryuko revved it up and sped away from the university.

【 Zenpukuji Park 】

After an unnecessarily long drive, the two brothers arrived at the Zenpukuji Park. The younger brother, Ryuko lead the way through the naturistic trails while the older brother Maki trailed behind with a frown adorning his face.

Maki: I’m sorry to pester you, but… Why are we going out here?

Ryuko: For the last goddamn time, I need someplace private!

Maki: And your apartment wouldn’t work? Nor mine?

Whipping around, Ryuko seethed at Maki, jabbing a finger into the taller man’s chest.

Ryuko: Fucking… Yes! We can’t! Those stupid walls are too thin and I don’t want some nosey neighbor to stick their head into business that doesn’t involve them!

Maki: Alright, alright, try to calm down a little…

Huffing exasperatedly, the animator continued to stomp down until the two reached a creek. It was far enough away from the public, but still close to the trail so the men could find their way back. While Maki marveled at the location his brother had chosen for their important family discussion, Ryuko went down to the edge of the waterside and set his rucksack down.

Ryuko: Quit gawking over there and come over here, moron.

Maki: Ah, sorry, sorry. You chose a very nice location for our meeting place, brother.

Ryuko: It’s nothing special. Some of my brothers liked to meet here for stuff.

Maki: S-So you say…

Maki frowned at Ryuko at the mention of his ‘brothers’, an obvious callback to Ryuko’s previous life. And Ryuko was quick to notice the disappointed look to his real brother’s face, immediately snapping at him.

Ryuko: I told you already, I severed all my ties with them!

Maki: I know, I know, but I still can’t help but worry about you. You’re one of my last family members after all.

Ryuko: Well, only one you can contact… Until now.

Ryuko’s words sparked a recollection of the earlier phone call that Ryuko had practically shouted into Maki’s ears.

Maki: Right, you said something about contacting mother? How did you figure it out?

Ryuko: I got an invitation to just waltz right in.

Right then, Ryuko pulled out the letter, now disheveled from how the man had violently packed it into his bag. Maki took the paper, smoothing out the wrinkles to read it while his brother continued to rant loudly.

Ryuko: The government were stupid enough to send that thing in straight to me, along with a set of real microphones. Real ones! Which means that we can go right into Chuuoku and fight our trashy mom and get some real fucking answers for why she threw us away!

Maki: You’re missing some important details, Ryuko.

Ryuko: Haah!?

Jerking his head to look at Maki, Ryuko began to snarl at his brother.

Ryuko: You doubting me? I got the letter and the mics, right here! You can’t tell me that this is some sorta prank!

Maki: No, you’re right. This is a real invitation and I assume, real microphones in that bag.

At this point, the older man’s glasses had turned to their tinted violet color, obscuring his eyes from Ryuko. But underneath them, Maki looked to the bag, then looked at his brother’s menacing scowl.

Maki: I don’t think you understand what this means though, Ryuko. You have to win your way to the top.

Ryuko: So? I don’t give a shit about the details. Far as I understand it, we gotta kick some ass and then we can see ma.

Maki: You’re partially correct. But-

Another growl erupts out of Ryuko, which pauses Maki for a moment. Still, he continues.

Maki: We need a proper team to compete and two is not quite enough. We need a third member.

After uttering those words, Ryuko relaxes exponentially, looking dumbfounded at his brother.

Ryuko: Team?

Maki: Yes, a team.

Ryuko: But you’re here.

Maki: That would be a partnership. We need a team, so a third member is needed.

Turning away from Maki, Ryuko silently contemplated on those words, before he raised his fingers up, counting up to two repeatedly. Maki could only watch in silence, shaking his head in disappointment of Ryuko’s slowness.

Maki: Do you have ideas for a third team member?

Ryuko: Sure, I do.

Maki: That isn’t one of your old yazuka friends.

Ryuko: …

Maki: Well?

Ryuko: S-Stop staring at me! 

Maki: Have you really not made any friends since your retirement?

Ryuko: Can you blame me?! Work’s been busy as hell!

Maki: Well, don’t you have any work friends?

Ryuko: Why would I be friends with those losers?! W-What about you? Don’t you have anyone to invite in?

Maki: I suppose I do, but you’re going to be our team leader, aren’t you?

Ryuko: Of course I am!

Maki: So you should choose a team member.

Ryuko: Rrgh… Why do you have to be such a dick?

Maki: Because I care, my little Ryuko.

The comment makes Ryuko visibly gag, to which Maki could only chuckle at. Maki was about to make another comment, but then Ryuko spoke up quicker than expected.

Ryuko: Wait, I think I know one guy!

Maki: Really? I thought you had no friends.

Ryuko: Could you shut your fucking mouth for one fucking second? I just remembered a guy that I’ve been getting along with online…

Maki: I don’t think online friends count.

Ryuko: No, no, the guy lives in the city. I did a commission for his business just awhile ago.

Maki: So you’ve met him?

Ryuko: N-Not yet, but I guess it’s better to do it now…

Opening up his phone, Ryuko began to tap on his screen, sending their potential team member a message. Out loud, Ryuko narrated what he was writing.

Ryuko: Can we… Meet up tonight? I really need… To meet you. Sent.

Maki: Tonight? Isn’t that too soon?

Ryuko: I used my last fucking sick day today, there isn’t any better fucking time do it…

Maki: So you say… Ryuko, you should really not slack off from your-

Ryuko: Aw, shut up already! The day turned for the better so that sick day isn’t going to waste, alright?

Maki: Alright, alright… I suppose you lucked out.

Ryuko: That's fucking right I-

Very quickly, a message dinged onto the phone. The brothers both looked shocked at the timing, with Maki urgently pressuring Ryuko to read out the response from this mystery man.

Ryuko: Its… Its a yes.

To be continued…

[boopsterliv]

For your prompt request: CanaryFire first meeting!

(So, at first, I made this a sort of flashback sequence. But then I decided that it could be its own standalone story. Not exactly a meetcute, but it was an idea that came to mind, and I loved it. Yes, the diamond thing was based off of the Bird of Prey movie. This was a lot of fun and I hope you enjoy! Also read on AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/38856489)

Rain hit the roof she was standing on as she surveyed the area. The alarms were going off like crazy. She tapped her fingers against the side of her thigh. It was a waiting game. Laurel was waiting for the signal from Cisco to head in, and it was boring to say the least. But she didn’t do this gig for thrills. She could be patient.

“You’re good to go, Canary.”

Laurel knew how to be quick and jumped down so she could head into the building. She ran silently through the halls and came to stop in front of the open vault. Her eyes widened at what she saw.

The typical robbers were all on the floor. Small flames were beginning to go out around the room, signaling to Laurel that the sprinkler system must’ve been somehow deactivated. And, in the center of the room, a bald man wearing a large coat and goggles knelt, digging through a drawer. 

Laurel narrowed her eyes, trying to decide the best approach. This guy was bigger than she was. But she didn’t train to get her ass kicked by a lowlife crook in a bank. She could take him down. He stood up, holding something in his hand.

“Alright, boss, got the diamond. I’ll meet you at the ship.” He walked out of the room, and right as he did Laurel raised her staff to hit him. Unfortunately, he noticed her and hit her before she could land the blow, knocking her back into a wall. Laurel sat up and groaned as he took out a gun and pointed it at her. 

“Look, ma’am, I would let you rob this place if the boss didn’t order me to keep anybody from doin’ so. So, run along, will ya?”

Laurel growled and stood up, readying herself. He thought she was a villain. He’d be singing a different tune when she handed him over to the police. “Like I’m letting you leave with that diamond.”

He grinned a little. “You’ll have to take it, sweetheart.”

“With pleasure.”

She lunged towards him, hitting him back a good few feet. He grunted, and responded with shooting his gun. Instead of bullets, it shot out fire, which explained the flames in the vault. She dodged the attack, managing to get behind him and hit him in the back. He went forward another few feet before he quickly recovered, starting to shoot flames again. Laurel took cover behind a pillar, finger going to her ear. However, she didn’t feel the earpiece.

Shit.

Alright, so facing a guy on her own, no pressure. Cisco probably saw the security cameras and alerted Barry, who was probably across town in a massive fight with a metahuman bad guy. Laurel would be able to fight this guy until Barry shows up. Hell, she might even knock him out herself and leave him for the police.

As the flames grew closer (she could only tell because of the heat), Laurel turned back to look at the guy. He stopped shooting his gun. “Last warnin’, lady.  Go home and I’ll pretend I never saw ya.”

Laurel stepped out. “I don’t think so.”

Then she activated her Canary Cry. The guy got pushed back across the room, dropping his gun but not covering his ears. That was new, but Laurel didn’t have time to dwell on it. She turned it off and dashed forward, hitting him back with her baton. He tried to hit her again, but she wasn’t getting another nasty bruise tonight. She caught his fist and retaliated with a punch in the face. She then grabbed his arms, lifted herself off the ground, and with both legs kicked him in the stomach. He went flying across the room, and was just starting to get up when a red and white blur sped into the room.

“Wait!”

Laurel stopped in her tracks as Barry Allen and her sister stood between her and the bad guy. She was obviously confused. “What?”

Sara, in her White Canary suit, stepped forward. “He’s not the bad guy. Cisco tried to tell you when he realized but couldn’t reach you through the earpiece. He’s a part of the Legends.”

Oh. Oh.

She quickly put her staff back in its holder and stepped forward, helping Barry help the man up. “Oh my god, I’m so sorry! I thought you were a thief! I didn’t hurt you too hard, did I?”

He just laughed as Sara brought his gun over to him. “You kicked my ass! Blondie, we gotta get her on the team.”

Sara shook her head and laughed as he took the gun. “I know, she’s totally awesome.”

Laurel blushed as Barry took it upon himself to do introductions. “Mick, this is Laurel Lance, Sara’s sister and the Black Canary. Laurel, this is Mick Rory, the Legends’ resident arsonist.”

It finally clicked. The fire gun, the towering figure. And then Laurel made an even more horrific realization. “Oh god, I just beat up my sister’s best friend.”

Mick laughed again. “Ya got nothin’ to worry about. We’re good. Besides, it’d be hard to hate Blondie’s sister. Heard a lot ‘bout you.”

Laurel finally joined in on laughing before nodding. “Same to you.”

“Mick was here to retrieve a diamond with some important codes. We’re taking it out of this time and delivering it straight to twenty-two thirty-four, where it’s supposed to be,” Sara explained. “I was hoping Barry would’ve mentioned we’d be in town tonight.”

The speedster went the color of his suit. “I was focused on the battle against Scudder and didn’t realize that she was near the bank the diamond was at. I would’ve told Cisco beforehand otherwise.”

Sara glared at him for a solid five seconds before turning back to Mick and offering her hand. He placed the diamond in it. “With that, Barry’ll speed me off back to the ship. The medbay is currently getting fixed up, so he’ll come back and take you two back to Star Labs-”

“No, I can take Mick to Star Labs,” Laurel interrupted. “I’m going back there anyways, and it is my fault he needs medical attention.”

Sara gave a smirk while Barry nodded, oblivious as ever. He handed her an earpiece. “Alright, that works! Just call if you run into trouble.”

“Mick, feel free to sleep over at Star Labs. We’ll drop off the diamond and pick you up in the morning.” Mick nodded, prompting Sara to secure the diamond in her jacket pocket and grab onto Barry’s arm. “Alright, kids, you two have fun.”

They were gone before either could respond to the comment. Instead, they silently agreed to start walking back to the lab. After a minute or so, Mick looked over at her. “Why not just let Scarlet take us back?”

Laurel looked up before looking back down, still embarrassed because of the whole fight. That black eye was starting to show. “It’s my fault you got hurt. Taking you to get medical treatment is the least you can do.”

He snorted but accepted the answer. “Fair enough. But the best way to make it up to me is by buying me a drink.”

She looked over, eyes widening. “Are you... flirting with me?”

Mick grinned. “Maybe.”

“... I don’t really drink, but I wouldn’t mind ordering some Big Belly Burger and eating it while Doctor Snow fixes you up.”

“They got beer at the nerd hangout, right?” Laurel nodded. “Works with me then.”

Laurel giggled, not noticing Mick’s soft smile. The rest of the walk and the time he was getting healed they talked about all sorts of stuff: her court cases, his greatest crimes, the amount of dumb things Leonard and Sara have done. The night had started with a fight and ended with a friendship.

[evilasiangenius]

He engaged the acceleration, hearing the slight gliss of the ship’s engines as they sped up. It was time to outmaneuver the pirates. For a pre-Empire ship the Razor Crest was surprisingly maneuverable. They didn’t make them like they used to. Literally, because ships these days were usually patched together by a bunch of droids and not carefully crafted by hand with exquisite perfection in a factory, built by the hundreds.

There were no places to hide out here, no asteroid fields to duck into, no haze from a gas giant to slip into, no planet fly down onto and play that nasty game of find the sandworm over rough terrain, and that made it hard for him. The pirates had chosen their place of attack with care, and as he controlled the ship with one hand, the Mandalorian marked it on the guidance system with the other that this was no longer a safe route to pass through as it had been in the past.

Things changed fast out here in the Outer Rim.

With a quick burst of speed from hot-firing thrusters, he feinted, zipping past one of the pirate ships, the other two hot on his tail. He knew he couldn’t outrun them, but he could at least cause them some trouble by making them outrun their fuel. Professional knowledge: he knew they had to have come some ways away from wherever their base was, and ships that light and fast held little fuel compared to an old patrol craft like the Razor Crest that was built to be self-sufficient over long periods. All he had to do was make sure they couldn’t get a good shot at the cockpit or the engines, and hope that they ran out of fuel before he did.

But trying to dodge them posed a problem. He quickly veered the ship into a tidy spin to try to shake off a particularly pugnacious pirate, wishing he could face them to shoot them and be done with it. But the laser cannons were mounted at the front of the ship near the cockpit and in order to shoot, he’d have to face the pirates directly and risk a depressurization if the windows were shot out. This would not normally be a problem as the beskar armour had enough life support built to get him through it. He had pulled this trick before in the past, and as long as he was strapped in tight to his seat it was not terribly dangerous. All he had to do was make it to an orbiting station for a reglass, and then he could safely go anywhere.

Things were different now though. He did not look to the Child but he could hear the Child’s gurgle of enjoyment as the ship spiraled through space, pirate ships hot on her tail.

Heart pounding, the Mandalorian wondered how long it would take for the pirate ships to run low on fuel as he abruptly reversed the thrusters, sliding the ship into a sharp halt to let the pirate ships overshoot him before jerking the ship into a different direction. He was surprised this maneuver worked; it seemed that whoever piloted the pirate ships had no more skill than an average Imperial freight pilot. Yet despite their lack of skill, they followed him with inexorable tenacity, just waiting for him to fuck up, and the Mandalorian knew that this was going to be that age-old game of Who Fucks Up First.

He was very familiar with this game. It had been one he had been playing almost his entire adult life.

Just as he was about to see if he could pull off a maneuver that would herd them one into the other and cause a vicious shunt, to his surprise, a pirate ship suddenly dropped out of the fight. It was as if its engine had cut out, the last push from their thrusters sending them into an uncontrolled spin out into the depths of space.

“That was odd,” he muttered to himself, teeth gritted, as he tried to buy himself some time to figure out if there was another maneuver that could be done with the two remaining ships, and then suddenly another pirate ship dropped out, this time cruising in a smooth linear line toward the dim light of a not-so-distant star. Only this time, the Mandalorian had seen the pulse of bright energy that had knocked the ship’s engines out. The only thing that could have caused that was an ion cannon.

This was a serious problem. He needed to buy some time if he was going to figure out who was shooting at pirates too. Another bounty hunter? Imperials? New Republic? As he maneuvered the ship past the last pirate, he checked the navigation and sensors.

Nothing.

No one else was here but the Razor Crest.

Brow furrowed, the Mandalorian tried to reason it out as he spun the ship around, trying to keep the last pirate ship on his flank instead of on his rear. What he had seen was distinctly an ion cannon burst. It didn’t make sense, unless somehow the other ship was invisible to detection both visual and electronic and-

“Oh.”

Surprised, the Mandalorian watched as the last pirate ship suddenly dropped out too. This time he had direct visual of the ship, just for a second before it veered off into deep space and it looked like…

“Is that frosting?”

x

[rcksmith]

Mine — Kaz Brekker

(photo not mine)

Requests: “9 from the fluff prompts with Kaz brekker please? It could be where they're keeping it a secret and it slips out? Thanks”

“Could you possibly do a kaz brekker and reader imagine where they are both like in their mid twenties. Number 9 from the fluff prompts “So you're saying that girl is your girlfriend?" "No, that girl is my wife”, I could just imagine him with the smuggest grin saying it. Your a very good writer and thank you if you decide to write this.”

“Could I get a kaz brekker x reader secret relationship with fluff prompts 5, 7, 12, and 14 please?”

Fluff prompts:

5. ”Don’t smile at me like that. You know it drives me crazy.”

7. “I feel like i cant breathe when i’m around you.”

9. “So you're saying that girl is your girlfriend?!" "No, that girl is my wife!”

12. “I’m not jealous! Its just...you’re mine!”

14. “I don’t like to pretend we’re not together.”

Couple: Kaz Brekker/ Fem!Reader

Warnings: swearing, mention of fights, mention of post-traumatic stress, fluff too.

Word count: 2k.

A/N: Thank you💖 I hope you guys like. I changed some details a little, hope you don't mind

Normal Rules. Smut Rules.

English is not my first language, so I so sorry if have a mistake.

Requests are open. Love you❤️

— — — —

Fissure. That's what mercenaries, thieves, assassins and his enemies were looking for. A fissure to drive Kaz Brekker to ruin. Burn his empire, wood for wood, until there is nothing left but funeral ashes swept away by the winter wind. Even the most infinitesimal fissure would ensure that his enemies infiltrate, like hungry parasites, into the heart of the dungeon of his deepest secrets. Swallowing, absorbing, any hint of what could do the infamous the Bastard of the Barrel down to his own knees.

And Kaz Brekker feared that if they looked into the most secluded corner of his dungeons, where it was reserved to hide the greatest truths of his soul, they would find the one only thing to beg on his knees for would be something he would do without hesitation.

You.

You were like the last summer solstice in a world ruled by darkness, cold and empty. Which he kept in a chest locked with seven chains.

If he had to describe you with the five senses, Brekker would remind that, when he was in the bitter cold of the ocean, clutching the stiffness of dead and putrefying flesh like a lifeboat, a ray of sunshine, warm as the summer, it opened up through the thunderclouds and came down to his face, warming that spot of skin like a kiss from the sun.

And it would be with that memory that he would describe you.

Kaz Brekker shouldn't have fallen in love with you. He was the person who most understood the disastrous consequences if he let himself get carried away by the way his heart sped up whenever he saw you. If he allowed herself to taste the way all of your heat radiated into his body and made him feel alive. But he fell in love.

Everything was all too much. The feeling of life every time you said his name, like a devotion, something religious, lyrical. The sweetness in your eyes, the warm voice. Everything had been too much.

And what should he do? Tell you he missed you every time you went on a mission? Saying that he were jealous and envy of Jesper because the man managed to make you laugh with a silly joke and hug you tight, something Kaz still hadn't been able to do? Tell you it was almost religious the way he venerated your smile? Of course not. Because all these things would have been sensible, and Kaz couldn't do anything sensible around you.

Because when he saw life offering him, with such joy, the one thing that had been denied him all his life, and that he swore never to crave, his first impulse was anger. Stupid, irrational anger.

So, for the first few moments, his entire reaction to you had been cold, distant, almost avoidant. Because the way his whole body shook in hot spasms when, in that summery tone, you called his name, it was too much for Kaz to handle.

“Kaz!” You call, one night.

He heard your voice from across the crow club, and had to close his eyes tightly at the way his heart leapt in his chest.

"Hey, hey." You appeared beside him, your cheeks chased away by coral red, the happy smile and the sparkle in your eyes as someone who have the path to true happiness. "Jessy said you were wanting to find a new way to invade that bank."

Oh perfect. In the same way his body exalted when he heard the sound of your name and your lips, hearing you call Jesper by that infernal nickname had a much more destabilizing effect. And fierce.

Kaz raised an eyebrow at you, in a nonchalant gesture but inviting you to keep talking.

“I happen to know of an underground path.” For an instant, the pride in your smile made Kaz want to smile too. “You and I can put together a map today and we'll be right tomorrow to go.”

That was one of the times Kaz should have made some dry, disinterested, trivial comment, something that made you not want to spend time with him, something that made you turn around and walk away. He should have turned around and left. He had done this over a thousand times with other people and knew it to be one of the best outings.

Still, the acid comment didn't come and he couldn't turn his back on you.

So, like the idiot he became whenever it came to you, Kaz couldn't help but spend an hour in your company. Even if it resulted in him lying in bed at the end of the day, alone and feeling the guilt gnawing at him more and more.

So, before he even knew it, Kaz was already in his office with you, listening to you chatter about things he knew he should have been paying attention to. But the way the crackling of the fire flames in the fireplace flashed across your face was a distraction of unimaginable proportions.

“Jessy and I…”

“You want to stop.” He found himself saying before he even realized it. “That nickname is already exasperating me.”

“Why? Jealousy?” You joked, oblivious to the truth.

Kaz looked at you like your comment was the most pathetic thing he'd ever heard. He wanted to screaming: ‘I’m not jealous! Its just...you’re mine!.’ But he didn't. Instead, the words that came out were:

“No. It's childish and immature, and it doesn't fit with...”

"What if I call you ‘Darling’?” You rested your chin on both palms of your hand, your elbows resting on his desk in his office.

Kaz's heart skipped a beat.

“That way you won't be jealous of Jessy's nickname and…”

“It's not jealousy!” He countered, and too late realized that he didn't disagree in the first instance about the nickname, but about the green color that emanated from his body.

And you didn't let that go either.

Your eyes took on a caustic gleam that you quickly hid, turning to the map on the table and going back to drawing the paths. “Okay, Darling.”

After that night, Kaz's self-control began to crumble.

He gave you death glares whenever you called him that nickname, but he never dared contradict or scold you. Much less deny it. The truth was, the core of his soul wanted this. He wanted every part of your caress warm as summer. He wanted to appreciate how perfect you looked when you called him that way. As if that nickname was born just to be used between you.

Something unique.

Over time, his body's physical reactions began to be stronger, coercive and overwhelming. Kaz felt dry, burning, and you soothed and inflamed him at the same time. You were the breath of peace, and also a glass of hot brandy.

And everything that he once felt dead, frozen or putrefying, slowly began to blossom, reborn and shine.

"Darling." You said, going behind the chair Kaz was sitting in, submerged in the Krisha security system sheets in front of he. “You've been there for hours.”

He ignored you, though his body was all too aware of yours behind him, the way your breath hit the top of his ear, how your heat hit his back like a high summer breeze. Kaz swallowed hard, ordering his eyes to stay on the pages.

“What are you reading?”

Your voice rang out from the top of his head, and Kaz felt his heart race into a cardiac arrhythmia the second your hands went to the back of the chair and your face tilted, chin hovering millimeters from his shoulder, your nose almost brushing his cheek.

Fucking Saints! You were hot! It was as if you had sun bathed, swam in the flames of fire, and been born into the summer.

Kaz lost his breath. His sanity. His soul.

“Do not do this.” His voice was no more than a whisper.

You looked at him, the furs not touching but breath hitting each other's cheeks. Kaz followed your gaze, and suddenly the world subtly turned hot. Pulsing and muffled.

“What?” You whispered, your heart so fast.

This was the time for Kaz to use the touche in a very valid argument. To make you move away as fast as you approached. To nip in the bud any path this interaction between you could take. He should have said about the touch. But he didn't remember. Kaz didn't remember his limitation, his traumas, his demons.

In that second, of insanity and magic, you couldn't do that just because…

"I feel like I cant breathe when I'm around you." He said.

After that day, Kaz realized that life no longer made sense without having you by his side to share it. Money didn't have the same value anymore if you weren't there, the robberies didn't make sense anymore if he couldn't tell you how it was at the end of the day, or have you by his side to fight.

Very quickly, Kaz Brekker realized that he had lost the battle against his own feelings. Loving you was inevitable. And having you close to him was made as essential as breathing. That's when things between the two of you developed faster, more solid, more right. The weeks turned to months, the months to years, and your relationship fortified as gloriously as the hilt of a sword.

Kaz still had very difficult moments with touching, days when a single brush of fur was unbearable and the mention of a kiss was impossible. But you stayed there. Firm and unshakable. Giving your summer smiles,your warm winks, and his nickname that had the power to soothe every nerve in Kaz's body.

However, the more Kaz understand that he was need you to he still live, the deeper he hid any trace of public affection for you. Any clue that could sparked the theory in someone that you were the reason, for Brekker, for the sun rose every morning. He couldn't bear the thought of losing you. Never.

Kaz Brekker became very aware that his soul was harnessed to yours. And there was nothing in the world that would take you away from he. Not while he lived, and even seven feet from land, Kaz would still find a way to fight for you.

It was a logical decision when he said you two should get married. Kaz was still trying to maintain his serene posture as his soul burned in a fire too eager and excited to make official anything that said you were his. That he had finally managed to have that ray of sunshine in the midst of the atrocious ocean. You, unlike him, exhaled your happiness in excited squeals, little jumps of joy and a passionate, quick kiss on the man in front of you.

And Kaz understood, as perfectly as the sky are blue, that he would do anything, for the rest of his life, to be worthy of that overwhelming happiness that sparkled in yours smiles.

“Don’t smile at me like that. You know it drives me crazy.” He said, feeling himself smile because your happiness for the wedding was exorbitant.

And you, like the little tease you were who loved to make him piss off, smiled even more and hugged him. He love you. Unconditionally.

But, just like the ocean waves, Kaz and you have had your ups and downs. He wasn't a man who had a lot of patience, and you weren't the most obedient, calm woman in the world. You found him exasperating and he found you as stubborn as a door.

"I already said you can't do that!" And there he was, once again, lecturing you because you showed too much affection, in his mind, for him in a public situation.

And, as Kaz fucking Brekker liked to point out, ‘all walls have eyes and ears’.

"We've been together for six years, Kaz!" You tried to keep your blood calm, but you weren't a person to put up with sermons. “Is this going to be our life? Living as if we have the same connection as a boss and an employee?!”

“And what do you want, Y/n?!” He placed both hands on his office desk, looking at you from the other side “Want us to have a party and tell everyone?! Or do you prefer to hang a red target on your chest?!”

"I did not say that!" You were starting to get really angry. “I'm not asking for a billboard saying we're married and you know it! The only thing I'm saying is that you let me choose to sit next to you, take your hand, or tell you I love you when any of us go off on a dangerous mission!"

Kaz shook his head, impassable, his gaze flashing with anger. How did you not realize he was trying to save you?! Save everything you two built, your lives! And all this for what? Walking hand in hand on the street? It was ridiculous!

“This is indisputable!”

“Kaz…”

“I said no!” He slapped his hands on the table.

A less brave woman would have cringed. But not you.

“I don’t like to pretend we’re not together!”

“And I don't like a fucking girl who complains all the fucking time about something I do to save her! But it feels like I've been put up with it for six years, doesn't it?!”

The words hit you like a slap. Crackling, burning and electrifying. You felt yourself holding your breath and your shoulders instinctively tightening back. The room was silent. Loaded with tension, as if lightning had just hit the ground.

You looked at Kaz in amazement. And he pursed his lips when he realized what he'd said.

“Put up with? And you call me ‘fucking girl’ ?” You repeated, your voice low, serious and in a mixture of hurt and outrage. “Good to know.”

You turned your back, walking out of the office and slamming the door behind you hard, making the thud reverberate through the corridors of Kaz's soul.

"Y/n!" He called you, striding to the door "Y/n!"

But when Kaz pulled the doorknob and took a few steps down the hall, it wasn't you he bumped into. It was Nina, trying to hide, in a very terrible way, her curious and shocked expression. In female hands she carried a small stack of documents, probably something important that Kaz needed to check.

He had to check that out. But his eyes, restless and quick, wandered the great hall of the crow club below, watching your figure pass between the bodies, advancing towards the exit.

"Sooo…" Nina started, even though the attention wasn't on her. "Couple fights, right?"

But Kaz didn't think before nodding, trying to get past Nina to catch up with you. But of course the girl wasn't going to let Brekker get away with it that quickly. She was betting with Inej how long you two would pretend to have nothing. And now she was going to get the truth!

"So you're saying that girl is your girlfriend?" The smile of shock and excitement was wide open on her face.

Kaz muttered a curse, gently pushing the girl aside and moving towards the stairs, aiming to catch up with you. But not before answering:

"No, that girl is my wife!"

[ghostboidanny]

A sister’s love

Ao3 link

Summary:  Oh no, Danny has been kidnapped! Except … these losers seem to be normal kidnappers without any knowledge of ghosts at all. This is hilarious to him and he’s so busy having his fun with them he doesn't even bother trying to escape. But Jazz doesn't find it nearly as amusing when her little brother goes missing and she would do anything to make sure he’s safe.

Prompts: Prompts used for this fic are: Danny Fenton has been kidnapped! Unfortunately for his kidnappers, he finds this hilarious. (PR 331) by  @currentlylurking Danny goes missing, and it's up to Jazz to find him. (PR397) by @zombiemerlin  The Fenton siblings aren't just formitable with different types of ghost hunting weapons; their black belt of a mother taught them better than that! (PR373) by @lunastarthecat Jazz, but make her terrifying. (PR249) by  @language-of-ghosts

It happened after school. Danny had been held up because of detention and was therefore walking home alone. He hadn’t exactly been paying much attention to his surroundings. Not when he had a built in early ghost warning system. And since he’d been Fenton there was no reason to worry about ghost hunters lurking about.

So he didn’t notice the men until they were already swinging a crowbar at his head.

Now, the thing with being a halfa is that even in human form he is a far bit more sturdy than a normal human. A blow to the head like this one would have knocked a normal human unconscious for a couple of minutes and given them a nasty concussion. But Danny was no normal human and he was used to being thrown into walls and hitting the ground with enough force to crack concrete. He also regularly battled beings with superhuman strength or ghost hunters that didn't hesitate to go for headshots. So all the crowbar really did was give him a light headache and daze him for a couple of seconds. 

However, those seconds were enough for the men to get him into a van and get a bag over his head. The van sped off with a screech from the wheels and the men that had taken him laughed about how easy a job it had been. Now, that was just mean! It wasn’t his fault normal humans didn’t register as a threat in his mind any longer! 

“The fuck!” He exclaimed, because apparently he had never learnt to keep his mouth shut either - which his many, many, fights testament to. “Did you seriously just kidnap me? Not cool, man. I have homework to do and I’m pretty sure my teacher won’t accept ‘I was kidnapped’ as an excuse as to why I can’t hand it in on time. I already get enough detention as it is!”

The kidnapper next to him startled at his voice and exchanged a baffled look with the kidnapper on Danny’s other side. Oh yeah! That was another perk with being a halfa. Better eyesight. If he could see in what should be total darkness then he could see through a measly little bag. It didn’t even have any anti-ghost properties. Amateurs. 

“Shut up!” kidnapper #2 said and hit him in the back of the head with his hand. Now if he’d been human that would have been a dick move, but it really just stung for a second. 

“You kidnapped me”, Danny reminded them, as if he wasn’t sitting in some random van with some random dudes with a sack over his head. Speaking of, when had they last washed this sack? It stank. Ghostly sense of smell could suck sometimes. “I’m your problem now.”

“I said shut up or I’ll tape your mouth shut!”

“Wow, rude, I’m just trying to make some small talk, to pass the time.”

“That's it!” kidnapper #2 said and ripped off the bag from Danny’s head. Which was a relief, cuz … the smell. He whipped out a roll of duct tape and then proceeded to tape Danny’s mouth shut. Taking the hint, Danny decided to keep quiet for now, at least so long as the bag remained off his head. 

A few minutes later the van came to a stop in front of an unfamiliar warehouse. Which meant they must be in Elmerton, cuz by this point Danny knew all the warehouses in Amity inside and out from the many times he’d have to chase Boxy out of one.  It was run down and dark, looking like such a stereotypical place to do shady business that Danny had to say something. 

When kidnapper #2 pulled him out of the car, he quickly chewed through the duct tape over his mouth and swallowed it before any of the kidnappers could notice. Didn’t taste half bad, actually. Far from the worst thing he’d tasted at least. A bit chewy and his mouth felt sticky afterwards but he’d had worse. 

“Seriously?” he said and the kidnapper startled next to him. Gosh they were easy to scare. Danny was seriously starting to wonder if this was their first rodeo. “This is where you’re bringing me? You could just as well point a huge sign at this place saying ‘kidnapping taking place’. Couldn’t you have brought me to a more fun place? An abandoned amusement park maybe? You’d fit right in, being such clowns. Oh wait, that's a circus. I’d rather not go to one of those, trauma, y’know?”

“How the hell did you get rid of the tape?” the kidnapper snapped, looking him over as if he’d expected it to just appear and tape his mouth shut again. 

“I ate it, obviously”, Danny said as if the man should have realized it already. The man gaped at him. Ugh, his breath did not smell nice. Seriously, ghostly sense of smell? Sucked ass. 0/10 would not recommend.  

The kidnapper didn’t seem to know what to say to that - huuuge surprise - so he just smacked Danny over the head again before dragging him into the warehouse. Danny sighed, starting to get annoyed over all these attempts to give him head trauma, but followed without resistance. Inside he saw another man and the first woman of this kidnapping - nice to know the kidnapping business was trying to become more diverse, but a lone woman made it feel more like a token attempt than any real progress. It also meant that with the two men holding him and the driver, there were at least 5 kidnappers. Though he thought there was at least one more, judging by the sound of someone walking around the other side of the building. These kidnappers were bad at their job, but he doubted they were so bad they wouldn't notice a whole other person being present. They were all wearing identical black ski masks, probably to make sure he won’t be able to identify them afterwards. It mostly made them look like a rejected boyband concept. 

Danny was pulled inside and then up two flights of stairs. He was pushed into a metal chair and before he could move away, kidnapper #2 and #1 were using zip ties to tie him to the chair. Normal zip ties. At least handcuffs would have been cooler, even if neither did much against him. 

“Ugh why did I get taken by the cheap ass kidnappers?” he complained. “And why’d you even take me for?”

Kidnapper #1 shuffled nervously. “Your parents-”

“Don’t answer him!” kidnapper #2 said, and hit the other man over the head. Ah, so it wasn’t just a Danny thing then? Well, since he was getting bored of referring to the kidnappers by numbers, he was going to call kidnapper #2 Crowbar, since he was pretty sure he had been the one to hit Danny with it. The other man he would call Bob. He looked like a Bob.  

“Aww why not? What harm could it do? I’m just a little guy.” Danny gave the kidnappers his best puppy eyes and he could see Bob slowly giving in to them. Even Crowbar seemed a bit affected. 

“We’re ransoming you for money, kid”, Bob said. Ha! Puppy eyes for the win! Too bad they didn’t really work on the ghosts. “Your parents have loads of money from their parents. As soon as we get the money we will let you go.”

Danny scoffed and rolled his eyes for good measure. “Sorry, but that’s a stupid plan. You have no idea what my parents are like. But this sounds like it could be a pretty hilarious disaster to watch go down so I’ll stick around. At least I’ll be able to get a nice nap in. Then it'd really be a kidnapping."

Crowbar stepped closer to him, trying to tower all intimidatingly or something. After you’d faced actual giants it was pretty pathetic. “Watch your tongue, kid. Your life lies in our hands.”

Danny couldn’t help it, he laughed outright at that. Full blown, head thrown back, hands clutching his stomach laughing. He kicked his legs out and almost fell off the chair all together. “Y-you guys are killing me!” He stopped laughing abruptly and grinned with far too many teeth at the kidnappers. They took an involuntary step back. “Well … not really. It's really hard to kill something that’s already dead.”  

“H-how’d you get out of your restraints?” Bob asked, smelling of fear. Danny looked down and saw that he very much had phased out of the pathetic zip ties. He shrugged. 

“Don't matter how he did it, just tie him up again, idiot”, Crowbar snapped. When Bob hesitated, he stepped forward to do it himself. Danny let him, smiling up at him. Crowbar bared his teeth in a grimace in return and took his roll of duct tape out again and put a new piece over Danny’s mouth. “And no more talking. Come on, let's go talk with the others.”

Bob glanced nervously at him, but Crowbar grabbed his arm and pulled him out of the room. Danny counted to 60 before he was so bored he couldn’t stand just sitting in an empty room any longer. He phased out of the restraints once more and pulled the piece of tape off his mouth. With nothing else to do he started examining the room he was in. 

He found Crowbar’s crowbar and a couple of guns. Real guns with actual bullets, not ecto guns. It was weird seeing them in reality. The cops in Amity still carried real guns, but since the ghosts appeared human crime had dropped like a rock. Seemed like thieves didn’t want to compete with ghosts and no one was stupid enough to murder anyone else in a town where the dead literary walked and talked. So the cops didn’t have much use of the guns nowadays, since they didn’t work on ghosts. 

Still, Danny didn’t like the look of the guns and phased his hands into them one by one to destroy the firing mechanism in all of them. After all, if the kidnappers had targeted anyone else but him, that person could have been seriously hurt. Anger and protectiveness flared in him at the thought and his eyes glowed green for a few seconds. 

Soon enough though, he had grown bored of this room too. It didn’t have much to give in the form of entertainment. So Danny decided it was time to go downstairs and see what the kidnappers were up to. At the last second, he decided to make his footsteps silent by floating right above the ground. No invisibility though, it would be much more fun to sneak up at them like this. 

He hovered down the stairs and phased through the locked door at the bottom. In front of him was the second set of stairs but to his right was another locked door. He could hear voices on the other side so he phased through it too. Inside was what looked like an old break room. Four kidnappers were standing around an old table with their backs to Danny. He saw Crowbar and Bob, but there was another man and the woman too. He’d have to make up names for them too. Later though.

It wasn’t hard to sneak up right behind the kidnappers, close enough that he could breathe cold air down the third man’s neck. He saw the skin there prickle and the man shivered. 

Grinning deviously, Danny loudly said: “Watcha doing?”

The four people startled, violently. The woman screamed and almost fell over. Crowbar and Bob jumped about a foot in the air and their screams were not much deeper than the woman’s. The man right in front of Danny practically climbed onto the table and screamed “Jesus fucking Christ!”

Danny grinned. "No I'm Danny, but some people have referred to me as their lord and savior. Mostly a group of Yetis, though they prefer to call me the Great One."

The kidnappers gaped at him, their eyes almost falling out of their eyes. Slowly, kidnapper #3 climbed off the table, straightening his clothes. Danny was gonna call him Jumpy. The woman rightened herself and sent him a glare. It was a very good glare, though no one could reach the levels of Scary Glare that Sam gave him when he was particularly stupid. Still, he would call her Glary - would be very sexist of him to call her the woman while giving all the men nicknames. 

Crowbar collected himself the quickest and stalked over to Danny. He could hear his teeth grinding to dust in his mouth. "How the hell did you get out of your bonds?" Crowbar barked.

Danny summoned his best Elle Woods. "What? Like it's hard? You should really invest in some better bonds than zip ties. Was child's play to get out of them. Literally", he said and gestured at himself.

“Get him back to the room! Tie him up again!” Jumpy yelled, obviously trying to gain control of the situation again. 

“Awww but it's so boring being up there all alone!” Danny complained, doing his best ‘whiny teenager’ voice. “If you put me up there again I’ll just break free again. Besides, I could easily have snuck away and instead I came here. Don’t I deserve some perks for good behavior?”

“You haven’t behaved for a second”, Crowbar growled. He pulled out his roll of duct tape again. “Now, shut up!”

Danny sighed but let the man tape his mouth shut. The moment Crowbar stepped back though, he quickly ate the tape. Crowbar blinked and then slapped a new piece of tape over Danny’s mouth. He ate that too. “Stop” a new piece of tape that Danny ate “eating” a new piece “the” another “tape!” He slapped one last piece of tape over Danny’s mouth and when he ate it too, Crowbar threw his hands up and yelled. 

“Yum, thanks!” Danny said, licking his lips and giving Crowbar his best, grateful smile.

“Why do you keep eating the tape!?”

“I’m a growing boy … in theory”, he glared down at himself. It was so unfair that he had a giant for a father and still remained so tiny. A short king, as Tucker said. “And I haven’t had my afternoon snack yet. If you buy me a jumbo combo meal from the Nasty Burger I’ll stop eating the tape.” 

“No way we're doing that!” Crowbar snapped. 

Bob held up a single sad banana. “I got a banana?”

Danny looked Bob straight in the eyes. “I love you, Bob, you are the MVP of this kidnapping.”

As he snatched the banana from Bob, he saw him mouth ‘Bob’ to himself, looking very confused. Silly Bob, not remembering his own name. Then, to really fuck with the kidnappers. He bit into the banana, peel and all. Jumpy actually gagged at that, which he felt very proud over. Besides, he was hungry. Halfa metabolism was crazy, growing or no growing. Sometimes he felt like he could eat a horse and have room over for dessert, other days he forgot to eat completely and didn't even notice. 

Once he’d swallowed the banana he jumped up to sit on the table, not caring that he wrinkled a bunch of paper that was on it. “Sooo, what are you guys doing? Like what’s the plan? You got me … kinda, and Bob told me you’re gonna try and get money from my parents - which, bad idea by the way - so how are you going to do that?”

Jumpy pulled him off the table by his arm. Danny decided to let him, even if it would have been funny to refuse and see him struggle to move a scrawny teenager. His noodle arms were great for hiding his true strength. Jumpy pushed him into a chair in a corner of the room but didn’t bother pulling out zip ties. Not yet. “We’re gonna call your parents and tell them we have kidnapped you. And you will sit here quietly or I will shoot you in the fucking knee, understood?”

He pulled a gun out of the back of his pants, like a gangster in a bad movie, and pointed it at Danny. Good to know they had more weapons on them, now he had to find a way to sneakily destroy them too, could be fun. Danny mimed zipping his lips closed. Jumpy looked him over once more, suspicious, but seemed to decide the threat was enough to make Danny behave.

Jumpy returned to the table and after one last long suspicious look at him, the other three kidnappers joined him. They all stood so none of them had their backs to him, keeping an eye on him. Wow, he really must have left an impression with that scare. Take that other ghosts! Danny could be scary!

“Alright, I’ll call the Fenton household now and demand a ransom”, Jumpy said, picking up a phone that had been lying on the table. Danny grimaced and wanted to warn them that it would end in disaster, but he had ziplocked his lips closed and couldn’t currently speak. 

"Hello, this is Jack Fenton, resident ghost hunter!" His fathers booming voice came through the phone. Almost yelling. Danny's ears burned in embarrassment. His dad somehow managed to shame him even in front of kidnappers.

"We have your son, Dan-' Jumpy started to say but was interrupted by Jack.

"YOU HAVE TAKEN MY SON?" If his voice was loud before it was nothing compared to now. "HOW DARE YOU TOUCH MY DANNO, GHOST?! YOU WILL PAY FOR THIS!"

The kidnappers startled at the loud sound and then stared in confusion at the phone. Danny buried his burning face in his hands, stifling a groan.

There was the sound of a phone being dropped at the other end, but considering sound kept coming through it, Danny guessed his dad had just let go of the phone without bothering to hang up. 

"MADDIE! A GHOST HAS KIDNAPPED DANNY!"

There was a loud crash and the sound of breaking glass and Danny winched, imagining his mom flipping a shelf or something over in the basement. He'd probably have to clean that up once he returned. "Danny has been kidnapped?!" 

"YES, THE WHILE ECTOPLASMIC SCUM JUST CALLED TO BRAG ABOUT IT! WE HAVE TO GO RESCUE HIM!"

"Go get the Fenton assault vehicle prepared and I'll grab all the weapons I can carry! No one takes our son and gets away with it!"

Then followed several minutes of loud crashes and booms as his parents apparently ripped the house apart to get ready. Then there was a loud squealing of wheels on asphalt as the car drove away. Then silence.

The kidnappers stared at the phone in astonishment, no one saying a word. They were broken out of their stun by Danny's loud groan. One by one they turned to him, mouth open and eyes wide. He blushed even redder.

"I tried to warn you, calling my parents is never a good idea."

"... what do we do now?" Glary asked. 

Danny shrugged. "My parents will be out looking for me all over town, screaming my name at the top of their lungs, attacking all ghosts they see and plastering my face on every available surface. No one will be able to miss that I'm gone, not even someone who's both blind and deaf."

"... ghosts aren't real"

Danny scoffed. "You obviously aren't from around here. But even if ghosts weren't real that wouldn't stop them from blaming ghosts for this. Sorry guys, but it seems like you're not getting any money any time soon." He grinned, showing off sharper than normal teeth. The kidnappers eyed him warily. "You're stuck with me."

The men shuddered and Bob even took a step away from Danny. Glary though whistled, almost sounding impressed. "Damn kid, what is your life?"

"A half one to start", Danny said with a snort. "But it's okay, I'm used to it. Being the town weirdo isn't the worst.”

"I'll take your word for it."

The four kidnappers all looked at each other, scratching their heads and seeming generally confused and at a loss at what to do. Jumpy took charge again after a few moments of silence. "Alright, so we should try the po-"

"Hello?" They all froze, staring at the phone. Apparently Jumpy had forgotten to hang up too, meaning the call was still ongoing. And Jazz had just answered it. "Who is this?"

Jumpy stared at the phone for a second longer before jumping into action again. He picked the phone up and spoke, lowering his voice to try to sound scary. "Who are you?"

"I'm Jazz Fenton. Who am I speaking to? 

"Who I am doesn't matter, the only thing that matters is that I have your brother, Danny"

"Danny?! What have you done to my brother?" Ah shit, Danny knew that tone. She'd had the same steel in her voice that time she had fought off an undead turkey with just a broom. As well as last week when Boxy had popped up right next to them and she had curb kicked him by herself, before Danny could even look around for a place to transform. This was not good.

"Jazz!" Danny began. "I'm f-"

Crowbar jumped into action, speeding to his side and slapping his hand over Danny's mouth. Danny glared at him, tempted to bite him. Here he was trying to help these fools and this was how they repaid him? Fine, they could suit themselves. 

"Danny!" If her voice had been steel before now it was harder than diamonds and sharper than a razor. 

Jumpy took that moment to continue. "We have your brother and if we aren't given 10-"

Before he could finish, Jazz cut him off. "I don't know who you are and I don't know what you want. But you will pay for daring to touch a single hair on my little brother's head. I will find you and I will ruin you." And with those ominous words echoing through the room, she hung up.

Shit. This is what he got for not just escaping when he had the chance. Now he either had to stay here, which meant Jazz would put herself at risk trying to save him. Or he would have to explain to her how he managed to get past six kidnappers without any weapons and not a single scratch on him. No way he could come up with a convincing enough lie. His secret would be out. 

And … if Jazz knew she would tell their parents. Just this morning they had been talking at the breakfast table about how they would dissect Phantom once they got their hand on him. He couldn't risk that. He had no other choice than to let Jazz risk herself. Though at least he could disable the rest of the guns before she got here. 

Danny pulled Crowbar's hand off his mouth. "Well … you're screwed."

“What is wrong with your family kid?” Glary asked, almost sounding impressed. 

“My parents are ghost hunters”, he emphasized, as that should be enough to clear that up for them. No family with actual for real ghost hunters could ever be expected to be normal. “You really should have picked like any other target than me.” A light bulb went on in his head and he fought to keep his face neutral. “Like the mayor for example, he’s a billionaire. Much better target than little ol’ me.”

Several of the kidnappers got a contemplative look in their eyes at that and Danny almost felt bad for them. Almost. 

“Alright, enough of this”, Jumpy said, taking control of the situation again. Danny was getting the feeling that he was the leader of the gang. “Take the kid back to the room and keep him there. I’ll need to think, find some other way to get the money out of this crazy family.”

Crowbar and Bob walked over to him. He stood up before they could grab him and dodged their hands. He lunged forward as if he was making a break for it but ‘stumbled’ so he instead fell right into Jumpy. From there it was simple to phase his hand through the man until he reached the gun and disable it. Before Jumpy could do more than startle, he was already pushing himself off him and then ‘stumbled’ into Glary. She grabbed one of his arms in a crushing grip and he let her, because that only made it easier to get to the guns in the holsters beneath her jacket. In seconds, he had made both kidnapper’s guns worthless without either noticing a thing. 

Glary glared down at him and he gave her his best ‘I didn’t do anything’ grin. “Thought you could escape, eh? Well you’re not getting through us that easily, kid.” She pushed him back towards Crowbar and Bob and this time Danny let them grab hold of him. 

He shrugged. “I had to try at least.”

Crowbar scoffed. “That was the most pathetic escape attempt I’ve ever seen.” Danny shrugged again, suppressing a grin. “Come on, punk. And no more funny business or I’ll just knock you unconscious.”

“Alright, alright, I’ll come quietly.”

“I’m not sure you’re capable of that”, Crowbar grumbled.

“Aww, you know me so well! I have a feeling that by the end of this, we're gonna be the bestest of buddies.”

Crowbar sighed as if he was regretting every decision he had ever made and Danny grinned. The two of them led Danny back out the door and up the stairs again. Crowbar pushed him into the chair and then went about binding him to it again. He paused for a second at the sight of the intact zip ties, but shrugged it off and soon Danny was tied up with new ones. He didn’t bother putting tape over his mouth though. Smart move. Though Danny probably shouldn’t eat any more, his stomach was starting to ache a little. 

Several minutes passed in silence before Danny groaned, bored out of his mind. “Ugh, this is so boring.”

“We’re not here to entertain you”, Crowbar snapped, not even looking at him.

 “Fine”, he whined. “Guess this kid is gonna nap then.”

Bob piped up for the first time in a while then. “You’ve already used that joke.”

“Yeah but considering you’re such a captive audience, you get to hear it again. Your fault for kidnapping me.”

Bob snorted. “I prefer to call it ‘surprise adoption.’”

Danny gasped and phased a hand out of the bonds to dramatically press it against his chest. “Bob! Did you just joke?”

“Maybe so.” His lips twitched. “But seriously kid, what’s up with calling me Bob?”

“Well I got to call you something. Kidnapper 1 and 2 got too boring. So unless you wanna tell me your real name…”

“Not a chance, kid”, Bob said with a grin. He pointed at Crowbar who was watching all this happening with a sour look, but wasn’t protesting it either. Probably knew it was  a lost cause. “What do you call him?”

“Crowbar.” 

“Ah, so the bar for names is very low.” Danny snickered in delight, especially when Crowbar gaped in outrage at them. 

“You shut up”, Crowbar said and pointed at Bob. Then he pointed at Danny. “And I should really tape your mouth shut again.” 

“Is it abduct tape? Or am I mis-taken?” Bob was outright snickering now. Meanwhile, what little skin Danny could see on Crowbar’s face grew red. 

“That’s it!” he snapped and stalked over to Danny. He basically slapped the tape over Danny’s mouth and then forcefully wrestled Danny’s free hand into a new zip tie. He was actually impressed by how many of those they had. Crowbar picked up his name sake from a nearby table and hit it threateningly against his palm. Behind him Bob was giving Danny an apologetic look. “If you even dare to think about eating the tape this time, I’m braining you with this.”

Danny rolled his eyes, but decided to play along for now. Besides, he could really use that nap. He never knew when he would get a chance to sleep next, so he had to take every opportunity he could. He closed his eyes and leaned back in the chair. Within moments he was slumbering. 

👻👻👻

Bill was very much regretting agreeing to this job. He never liked doing kidnappings, but there was something about this one who just didn't sit right with him. First, the city of Amity Park itself was weird. Roads and houses were trashed all over, from fresh craters to a patchwork of repairs scarring the city. He’d never seen an American city of this size look so run down before. It almost looked like there were constant turf wars between different gangs here, or something. 

Second, he hated it when the target was a kid. Always left a bitter taste in his mouth when he had to terrify some poor kid. Though in that way Danny had actually made it a lot easier than normal, considering he was not afraid in the slightest.

However, that was the third thing that didn’t sit right with him. What kind of life did this kid live if getting hit over the head with a crowbar, shoved into a van and driven into a murky warehouse didn’t even make him blink? Not to mention all the weird, sometimes outright creepy stuff about the kid. The way he kept escaping the zip ties without even breaking them. The way he had snuck up on Bill and three of his colleagues without none of them noticing - he’d made James jump for crying out loud! And he kept eating all the tape Chris put over his mouth! What? Who did that?

And … sometimes Bill got chills around the kid. The hair on the back of his neck would rise and there would be this feeling in his gut, as if there was a hungry predator close by and he needed to run, right now. 

Lastly, it was the kid’s family. What. The. Hell? What kind of people assume their kid has been taken by ghosts? And the sister? What was up with that threat? James had shown pictures and some info about the whole family and the daughter had only been two years older than Danny and looked like a normal girl. Nothing special. Yet the way she had talked to James was decidedly not normal. 

Yeah, something about this whole thing smelled rotten to him. Bill regretted listening to James and allowing him to talk him into this job. Sure, the money would be nice, but as things were looking currently, it didn’t seem like they would be getting any. 

Bill glanced over at Danny. He was fast asleep, snoring away in the hard metal chair. How the kid could sleep like that, surrounded by the people who had kidnapped him, Bill couldn't understand. Only made the kid creepier. Sometimes, he could have sworn that Danny was playing along, letting them push him around. He shivered. The boy exuded the feeling of a top predator resting in between hunts, well aware that nothing could hurt it. 

The walkie-talkie at his waist suddenly came to life with a burst of crackling. Bill pulled it out and put it against his ear. Similarly, Chris also raised his own walkie-talkie to his ear to hear better. Evan, the man James had patrolling the back entrance, started talking in a hesitant voice. “Uh, boss? I think there’s someone out here. Over”

James’ voice answered him. “Who? Is it the police? Over.”

“No, I … I don’t think so. I only saw one person, but they moved so fast I couldn’t tell you a bloody thing about them. Over.”

“Well, keep your eyes peeled and tell us if you see anything else. Over.”

“Alright I’ll- OH HOLY SHIT!” Bill startled as Evan suddenly began screaming, his heart jumping into his throat. There was the sound of something heavy hitting the ground and then the call cut out.

“Evan?” James called, his voice tense and an octave higher than before. “Evan what happened? Talk to me!” The only response was static. 

Then. “Found you”, a female voice said, and despite the static still coming through, it was unmistakably the voice of Jazz Fenton.  

“What did you do to Evan?” James shouted, sounding far from the collected team leader Bill was used to. 

“He will survive … probably.” Bill shivered at how cold and merciless her voice was. “And now, I’m coming for the rest of you.” With those ominous words the call cut off and despite James trying to call her again, there was no response. 

“I tried to warn you.” Bill jumped at the voice, twirling to face it. Danny was awake now, staring right at them. His eyes seemed to shine a radioactive green. The predator was awake, its eyes on him, and suddenly Bill was frozen to the spot. He couldn’t move. Couldn’t even breathe. “I tried to tell you what would happen if you dragged my sister into this, but you wouldn't listen. Now it's too late.”

“What the hell do you mean?” Chris said and took a threatening step closer to Danny, the crowbar the kid had named him after clutched in a white-knuckled grip in his hand. “What did she do to Evan?”

Danny grinned and Bill finally found himself able to move again, scrambling back from the boy. Even Chris stepped back. Those teeth were far too long and sharp to belong in the mouth of a human. “Jazz and I were raised by ghost hunters who were absolutely sure that one day we would be attacked by supernatural creatures far stronger than us and with not a smidgen of empathy left in their rotten souls. So they trained us accordingly.”

Bill couldn't take his eyes off the creature in front of him. His heart was beating so fast he was sure it would escape up his throat any second now. By the way the creature tilted its head towards him, he was sure it could hear it. 

A gunshot shattered the silence. Though it sounded like it came from the bottom floor, it seemed to echo loud as thunder through the pressing silence around them. The creature growled, completely inhuman. “Damn it, missed a gun.” Those green eyes turned sharper, deadlier. “If Jazz got hurt, no power in the mortal or dead realms can save you.”

“Bill! Chris!” James yelled through the walkie-talkie. Without breaking eye contact with the creature, Bill answered the call. He was certain that if he looked away for even a second, it would lunge for this throat with those horrible teeth. 

“Y-yes”, he answered, voice barely above a whisper. 

“Get your asses down here right now! Neither Evans or Frank will answer my call and I need back up!” Without answering, Bill slowly backed towards the door. He could barely breathe, afraid that any sudden move would set the creature off. 

The lights went out. 

One second a bare light bulb bathed the room in yellow light, the next it was completely dark except for what little light trickled in through a dirty window in the corner. That, and the glowing green eyes of the monster in the room. 

Chris bolted towards the door. The moment he moved, Danny broke the bonds holding his wrists down, two loud snaps in the darkness. Bill ran. 

The door shut behind him and Chris bolted it shut. They were both breathing hard, as if they’d run a marathon. Exchanging terrified glances with each other, they all but ran down the dark staircase to get as far away from the room as they could. No way the creature’s sister could be any more terrifying. Bill would rather face her any day than go back in there. 

They ran into the room they used as headquarters, James and Gladys startled at their sudden appearance. James looked them over from head to toe, frowning “The hell? What’s wrong with you two?”

Bill exchanged a glance with Chris before they unanimously decided not to mention the weird thing that happened upstairs. There was no possible way that had actually happened, right? Danny was just a kid. The green eyes and sharp teeth must have just been a trick of the light. No point in mentioning it to the others, they’d just laugh at them for being so frightened of a teenager. 

“Nothing”, they said at the same time. Bill closed his mouth, letting Chris talk. “We just came running cuz it sounded urgent.”

James looked at them for another second before shrugging it off. “Yeah it bloody well is! I can't get into contact with either Evans or Frank and somehow the bitch managed to cut the electricity. We need to find her, now. Grab a flashlight and lets go.”

Bill did as commanded and then the four of them walked out of the headquarters and down the stairs into the warehouse proper. It was just as dark down here as it had been upstairs, the four flashlights the only illumination they had. The brief flashes of light almost made the shadows seem darker, like anything could hide in there. Like the moment Bill looked away something would jump out at him. 

The hair at the back of his neck hadn’t relaxed since Danny’s eyes started glowing. There was a chill in the air and occasionally it felt like he walked right through ice, making him shiver. He felt watched, like something was following him, but every time he turned around he only saw his teammates. 

They searched every inch of the warehouse but didn’t find a trace of either the girl or their missing teammates. Bill did however find a couple flecks of blood by the entrance, visible only thanks to the cracked open door providing extra light. He swallowed at the sight, especially since he had been filled with the feeling of impending doom the moment he caught sight of it. 

But since the warehouse itself was empty, they had no other choice than to wander into the basement where the maintenance room and the light controls were. The stairwell was not very wide and felt extra cramped with all of them walking down it at the same time. At the end was an open doorway, the darkness on the other side total. Chris, who walked first, hesitated before walking inside. One by one his teammates were swallowed up. The light from their flashlights seemed to grow weaker, barely able to penetrate the dark. 

Bill stopped right inside the doorway, staring out into that darkness. The room was filled with big tanks and other junk, creating hiding places perfect for a teenage girl to ambush them from. He didn’t want to go inside. A call from James, and the fear of being left alone, made him force himself into the room. 

The feeling of being watched sharpened, the cold growing more intense until he could see his own breath. The silence was suffocating. 

“Spread out”, James commanded, but even his voice sounded weak and muffled. “Find the girl and get the lights working again.”

This is a bad idea, Bill thought. His mind conjured up images from the horror movies Gladys enjoyed watching. The group usually split up right before they were all brutally murdered. He shivered again and tried to push the thought away. It was just a single teenage girl! There were four of them and they had guns. She didn’t stand a chance.

A scream echoed through the room and Bill jumped so violently he knocked into one of the big tanks. He fell to the ground and lay there trembling as he listened to one of his teammates screaming in pain. Metal banged against metal and then against flesh. Again and again and again. Until the screams cut off. 

“CHRIS?” He heard James yell. No one answered. “GOD DAMN IT!”

Bill crawled forward on all four until he could find his feet again. Then he started to sneak forward, almost tip toeing to stay silent. His whole body was shaking. The girl had taken Chris out? Their best fighter? How the hell was that possible? And if she took out Chris, what chance did Bill stand? Not one in hell!

He pulled his gun out, hands shaking. The thought of shooting a teenager didn’t sit right with him but if it was her or him, he’d shoot her a million times. The gun strengthened his nerves and he started looking around the basement again, trying to find something in this darkness. 

“There you are!” He heard Gladys yell moments later and he startled again. “This is for Chris and the others!”

Immediately after, the sound of metal against metal echoed through the basement again and then Gladys screamed. “You bastard!” One more loud thud and then silence. Bill’s heart was beating so hard he could barely hear anything else. They were being hunted down one by one. 

The light. He just had to find the light switch and then they could take the girl down. She must be using the darkness to sneak up on his teammates and take them down before they could react. Once he could see again he would be safe. 

He had to be. 

Bill was so focused on finding the light switch, he almost ran into the other person. He yelled and jumped back, raising his gun to shoot. At the last second before he pulled the trigger he recognized James. Bill slumped over, almost falling to his knees as a wave of adrenaline and relief rushed through him. 

James clutched his chest, panting heavily. “Hell man, you scared me half to death.” An almost silent chuckle echoed at the edge of Bill’s range of hearing at those words. He tried to convince himself it was just his imagination. “That bitch is taking us out one by one. Let’s stay together for now.”

Bill nodded eagerly, all too willing to stay close to a friendly face. Together they started walking again. Bill stayed so close to James he practically stepped on the man’s feet. But with James here, he felt braver. No way the girl could beat the two of them at the same time. 

A shadow jumped out before James. The darkness seemed to hang onto it like a cloak, except for the flash of metal in their hand. Red glowing eyes met Bill’s and he turned tail and ran. 

He ran into tanks and walls and concrete pillars holding the ceiling up. He ran blindly, not caring for the bruises blooming on his skin, or the fact that he'd dropped his flashlight somewhere behind him. He just needed to get away. 

Behind him echoed the screams of James as the shadow monster threw itself over him. Bill thought he could hear the man be torn apart, flesh torn from flesh, bones breaking. James' screams urged him forward even faster. 

He had no idea for how long he ran, but it felt like hours. The exit was nowhere to be seen. He couldn't find it in the thick darkness. He was lost. Suddenly his foot caught on something soft and he was sent head over heels, tumbling to the ground. He whimpered in pain as something in his wrist cracked. The gun skittered away from him in the fall. 

Once he dared open his eyes again, he noticed he could see, if only barely. Crawling towards the light, he saw a dark mass lying on the floor before him. Swallowing the lump in his throat, he reached out to touch it and almost startled out of his skin when it moved. But the movement had revealed a flashlight beneath the lump and he pulled it out. His hands shook so badly it almost made it harder to see, but eventually he managed to turn the flashlight towards the dark lump. It was Chris. 

Chris was lying on his side, his face bruised and a huge lump on the side of his head. He was bleeding from his nose. Bill slowly reached out to touch his neck and only breathed a sigh of relief when he could feel a  pulse beating beneath his fingers. He was still alive. 

A sound from the darkness startled him and he was reminded that the girl was still out there somewhere. It must have been her that jumped out of the shadows and attacked James, even though she had barely looked human at all. Bill also realized that he hadn’t heard a gun go off the whole time they were in the basement. Had none of his teammates thought to shoot her? He started searching around Chris' body for a gun he could use. It took longer than he wanted but eventually he found one beneath a nearby metal thing he couldn't identify the darkness. 

The light, or the way out. Either, both. He had to find it. 

Climbing to his feet was a process, as his knees and his wrist hurt something fiercely, but he managed it. With the gun clutched in his hand - luckily he’d hurt his off hand - he started to sneak through the basement, trying to find something that could help him.

A few minutes of torturous silence later and flinching at every shadow, he found it. The control panel. 

With a triumphant smile, he opened it and switched the lights on. After the darkness it was blinding, but it was such a relief that he didn’t care about that. With a relieved sigh, he turned around to find his way out, only to immediately freeze into place. 

The girl stood before him.

She was dressed in some kind of weird black futuristic body armor, covering her from head to toe. Over her eyes were a pair of googles, glowing a menacing red. In her hands were a metal staff and she had a gun and a knife at her hip, all three weapons looking like something out of a sci-fi movie. 

It was pure instinct that made Bill raise the gun and pull the trigger. He yelled as he shot at the girl, all his fear and adrenaline coming to a peak. Therefore it took him several long seconds to realize not a single bullet was fired. Abruptly, he closed his mouth and could finally hear the clicking sound the gun made. It was broken. 

Slowly, Bill looked up into the red eyes of the girl - no, the warrior before him. She smiled. Bill immediately decided to take back the words he’d said before. Danny’s sister was infinitely more terrifying than him. 

She raised her weapon and before Bill could so much as blink it was coming straight for his face. Pain bloomed across his head and then he knew no more.

👻👻👻

Danny raced back to the top floor and into the room the kidnappers had kept him. He sat down in the chair and phased his hands into the unbroken pair of zip ties that was still connected to it. For a moment he contemplated putting tape over his mouth but decided that was overkill. 

Taking a deep breath, he schooled his face, forcing himself to stop grinning. It was honestly a struggle. Watching his sister being a badass, taking the kidnappers down one by one as if it was nothing, had been extraordinary. He’d had to press a fist against his mouth to keep from cheering her on or making commentary. 

Running footsteps echoed up the stairs and he took a deep breath, trying to look scared. It was hard, considering he hadn’t been scared for even a second during this whole deal. Well …maybe for a second when that gun he’d missed fired. He had been afraid Jazz had been shot. He might have gone a bit overboard with Bob and Crowbar for a moment there, but he’d been angry and afraid. 

The door was thrown open, smashing into the wall with a loud bang and almost hitting Jazz in the face as it bounced back. Her eyes were wide and wild, there was a fierce grimace on her face and in that body armor Danny could understand why the kidnappers had been so terrified by her. She looked like a seasoned warrior. 

The moment her eyes landed on him, however, all the fierceness disappeared and she gasped, relief and fear battling on her face. “Danny!”

She ran over to him and took his face in her hands, twisting his head this and that way to get a good look at him. He endured it for a couple of seconds before he pulled his head back. He gave her a small smile. “Hi Jazz, I’m fine, promise. Not hurt at all.”

“You were taken!” she exclaimed and to his horror there were tears in her eyes. She lunged forward and hugged him tight. So tight he would have been in trouble if he still needed to breathe like a normal human. “I was so worried for you!”

“But you saved me and everything is okay now”, Danny tried to reassure her. He wished he could just phase his hands out of the bonds and hug her back, but that would reveal too much.  

To his horror she sniffed. Was she crying? He hadn’t meant to make her cry! Jazz pulled back from him and rubbed her eyes. She looked him over once more, as if needing to reassure herself that he was alright. She froze when her eyes landed on his bonds. 

“Danny … are those zip ties?” She asked, drawing the words out. 

He frowned at her strange reaction. “Uh, yeah?” 

“Normal zip ties?”

“Yeah…? What else would they be?”

“... ghost proof zip ties.”

Danny started sweating and laughed nervously. “Whaaat? Why would some kidnappers need to use ghost proof zip ties on me? A regular human?” Fuck, that was terrible. He wanted to slap his forehead but that would only dig his grave deeper. 

Jazz's eyes were suddenly very sharp and he swallowed nervously. “Danny … were those people regular kidnappers?”

“Yeah…” Why was she asking him this? What did she know?

“And not ghost hunters in any way shape or form?”

“No…?” fuck fuck fuck. 

“I can't believe you!” She yelled, throwing her hands into the air. “You got kidnapped by regular humans and just let me think you’d been kidnapped by ghost hunters and was being vivisected? I was freaking out for your sake! And you could have escaped at any moment?”

“Y-you know?” Danny gasped, mouth falling open. There could be no other explanation why Jazz would have thought he had been kidnapped by ghost hunters. How? When? Had she told their parents?

Jazz grimaced. “I didn’t mean for you to find out like this but yeah, I’ve known since Spirit week.”

“That was months ago! Why haven't you said anything?”

“I wanted you to tell me on your own terms!” She crossed her arms and looked away, a light blush on her face. 

Danny took a moment to breathe and thought this over. Jazz had known for ages and had not treated him differently at all during that time. Well, that wasn’t entirely true. She had on several occasions helped him lie to his parents, supporting the stories he fed them. And several times when it was his time cleaning the lab he had walked down only to find it was already cleaned. Some of their parents' most brutal inventions had suddenly gone missing before Danny and his friends could get at them. Not to mention today, when she had stormed in and beaten six kidnappers up because she thought they were ghost hunters about to hurt him. Warmth blossomed in him. 

“So … you don’t think I’m a freak?”

Jazz’s face softened and she put a hand on his shoulder. “Of course not, Danny. You’re my little brother and I love you. I’ll always love you.”

She loved him. She knew he was half ghost and she loved him. Abruptly, Danny phased out of his bonds and threw his arms around her shoulders. “You're the best sister ever!”

She hugged him back and didn’t comment on the wet spot he was creating on her shoulder. “Of course I am.”

He laughed wetly. “I can’t believe you’ve known this whole time! I’ve told you so many awful excuses to hide my ghost shit and you knew!”

“Yeah, I had to bite my tongue not to laugh several times”, she said and began laughing too. “Like that time you were floating in your room when I walked in and you claimed ‘gravity just stopped working for a second.’”

Danny groaned, feeling his ears burn, but also laughed, more genuine this time. “Oh Ancients, don’t remind me!”

Jazz laughed, but suddenly pulled back, her hands on his shoulders and her face growing serious. Danny felt a flutter of nerves in his stomach at her expression. “Danny … I’m proud of you?”

He snorted and rolled his eyes. “About what? My terrible excuses?”

She shook her head, her face still deadly serious. “You’ve done so much good as Phantom and I’m proud of you for it.”

His smile was wobbly and he had to blink rapidly to not start crying again. When was he last time he’d heard a family member say they were proud of him? He couldn't remember. “Thanks Jazz. And you were really badass today, beating all the kidnappers up like that. I bet you could even terrify the ghosts!”

She laughed and the serious air was dispelled. “Well, now when you know that I know, maybe I can join the team and we can test that out.”

Danny grinned, his heart warming and his core buzzing with happiness. “I’d love that.”

[step-on-me-khun]

Okay, last one for this round. I don't really have concrete ideas for this, I'd just really love to read about Yato getting a good thorough blowjob.

Noragami is the only anime I have listed that I haven't written a scenario for, yet.

And I'm making this as a female reader thing...

NSFW - No minors pls

Warnings: Smut/lime

Word Count: 1552

Yato had had a drink, which had worked its way into his system, making his face red. His eyes were fluttering shut as he sat at the kotatsu. The two of you were alone. No one else was seen or heard. And that was how you wanted it.

"Do you think I'm pretty, Yato?" You ask, your elbow rested on the table, chin on the palm of your hand. His weakness was your boobs. It didn't matter how big or small you were. They were always enough to catch his attention. You were leaning on the kotatsu in a way so that Yato couldn't help but notice them.

But alcohol had got to him, even if it was only one can. He tried not to stare at you, but you made it impossible for him to do so.

"Yeah, of course, I do," Yato replies quickly, his hand on another can, opening it so he could drink it as fast as he answered you.

You stop him, your hand reaching for the can, smiling as you bought the can up to your mouth and drinking some of its contents.

Everything you did, it was all intentionally to mess with him.

You drank slowly, letting some of it drip down from your mouth, eventually reaching down your neck and onto your chest.

"This isn't fair," Yato whines, tapping both his hands on the table.

"What isn't?" You ask, placing the can behind you.

It was later in the day. Yato was a little stressed from slaying phantoms and all the chaos of being a god. You wanted to help him relieve some of the pent up stress he had.

Yato doesn't answer and instead continues to tap his hands on the table. A few groans of annoyance leave Yato's mouth. It wasn't like Yato would ever fight you over a can. Well, sometimes he felt like he could. But he was far too stressed and exhausted to stand up and retrieve it from you.

You stood up and moved to sit beside Yato.

The closer you got to him, the redder his face got. He was staring at your chest. The alcohol the streamed down you left a glistening trail down your skin. His face heated up, and he turned his head away from you before he could do anything.

How you acted, the way you spoke, Yato had just realized that you were up to something.

"What're you planning to do, (Y/N)?" Yato asks.

Your eyes widen a little, surprised that he had caught on.

He turns to face you again, his eyes looking off to the side. It was like he didn't want you to catch him staring.

In the mornings, Yato would always take the opportunity to clutch at your breast, waking you up if you weren't awake. Not like it mattered to him if you were awake or not. But Yato had made it pretty clear that he didn't just love your body. He loved everything about you.

You inhaled sharply before pushing Yato down back onto the floor.

"Maybe I want to treat you. Is that so bad?" You reply, your hand resting on his chest.

"If this was all you wanted to do, you could've done it earlier," Yato teases, looking away from you again.

"Oh, shush," your hands tilted his face, so he was facing you. You planted a soft kiss on his lips before moving off of him, sitting between his legs.

Yato's blue steely eyes watched you closely as your hands pulled down on his tracksuit and boxers, exposing his erect dick to the cool air. A hiss escapes his mouth as the air got to him. He covers his eyes with an arm, his teeth biting down on his lower lip as he waited for you.

He was handsome like this, even when he let you do whatever to him. He always kind of liked when you were a little dominant or if you wanted to try something. That wasn't to say that he couldn't be that way because when he wanted you, he made sure you knew it.

A hand gripped at the base of his dick loosely, your tongue slowly licking from where your hand was to his head.

A slew of shaky breath left Yato's mouth. They weren't inaudible, but you could hear them. In the right mood, Yato would be just as vocal as you. But when he felt playful or mischievous, he would make sure that people knew that the two of you were up to something. Which you never really liked.

Quiet groans escape Yato's mouth as you continue to lick slowly, and he wanted to buck his hips so you would take him all in your mouth already. He was becoming impatient.

Yato was so cute when he was needy, but you had to be careful, or he would make sure to punish you if you pushed your luck. That was rarely ever happened. But when it did, you were left sore for a good few days.

Your tongue stopped what it was doing and went to play with his head, swirling it around while you gave him eye contact.

Yato lets out a groan and places a hand on your face, "please use your pretty little mouth already," his voice was low. Damn, it sent shivers down your spine.

You didn't listen to him. Your tongue still played with his head, occasionally licking up and down on him, letting a hand play with his tip.

His hand fell from your face. All the impatience he had inside him was enough for him to buck his hips up, letting you know what he wanted you to do.

Maybe you had played with him enough. Your mouth moved away from him. That steely look from before had still been watching you. This time he looked more dangerous. Those eyes of his were enough to make you stop whatever it was you were doing.

You slowly took his length in your mouth, with every inch you took, the more vocal Yato became. Still, he wasn't too loud, and you enjoyed the noises he made.

Now and again, his hips would try to snap up into you, but you would end up pushing him down. You were trying to help with his stress, and it didn't feel right having him thrust into your mouth like this.

You sped up, trying to give Yato more of what he wanted but not forgetting that this was something you wanted to do in the first place. Even if Yato wanted to try to take the lead, you quickly stopped him from doing it.

While you left one of your hands to push his hip down, your other travelled lower, stopping at his balls and playing with them while you continued to bob your head up and down on him.

All the noises were getting a little louder, but it wasn't enough to grab anyone else's attention. Every sound that escaped from Yato's mouth ran through you, making you more aroused the louder he got.

You move your mouth away from him, letting your tongue flick at the head of his dick and its slit.

His knuckles were clenched and pale, eyes dark and lidded. You were driving him insane.

Once again, you bob your head on him. This time, his head reached the start of your throat. Choking was the one thing you didn't like but pushed it to the back of your mind as your movements sped up, breathing through your nose.

All Yato could muster were shaky breaths and hisses. You were doing good. You would tell from the way he was eyeing you.

Your cheeks hollowed around him, teeth scratching ever so lightly on him. It made you feel a bit proud watching Yato fall apart so easily.

As you took him all in your mouth, your hands continued to play with his balls. You were happy that you were helping him in a way. He made you happy, and you just wanted him to feel the same way about you. You told each other 'I love you' nearly every day, and you were giving him that love.

"Don't stop," Yato groans, "I'm nearly there,"

And you could feel his body tensing as his climax built quickly. His hands clenched up even more, and his head fell back as the overwhelming feeling of his orgasm hit him.

You quickly move your mouth up to the tip of his leaking dick. A long hiss erupts from Yato as he releases his load inside your mouth.

The feeling of bliss shot through Yato as he recovered from your actions, his mind and vision going blank as he comes back to reality.

"Thank you, my gorgeous girl," he praises playfully, his voice still low, pulling his boxers and tracksuit bottoms back up.

You glare at him, surprised by his mood change.

"What?" He asks.

"I just didn't expect your mood to change so much," you reply.

"Hmm," he starts, sitting up to be beside you again, "you have calmed me down a lot," he nuzzles his nose into your neck.

"Are you still stressed?"

"Not anymore,"

But he still had alcohol in his system. God knows what he could end up doing.

I have no taglist for Noragami ❤️

[dancingamongstdust]

Creepypasta Scenarios - First Meeting Part 2

Hoodie

The area where you lived had a ton of back alleyways that acted as shortcuts in a pinch. They were generally safe but you often got an uncomfortable feeling when using them so you preferred to take the busier roads if you could.

Unfortunately, when you had gone to leave work that day, you had spotted the customer who had been harassing you the entire day. It wasn’t anything creepy but it was over-the-top persistent and you weren’t in the mood to deal with it. You slipped out the backdoor as a result. At least you’d get home sooner.

For the most part, you didn’t encounter anything too suspicious and the light from the streets illuminated where you were going.

The large bins outside the grocer’s home indicated that you were getting close. You sped up and rubbed your eyes blearily.

Ahead of you, a dog was barking from inside one of the buildings. It was a pretty noisy animal and you began peering around to see what the source of its agitation was. Ironically, you ended up bumping directly into him.

“I’m sorry,” you apologised, rubbing your shoulder.

The guy was tall, wearing dark clothing and standing right in the shadows. You could have probably noticed him if you were a little more awake.

He turned and your breath caught.

His face was obscured by a dark mask with red features stitched onto it. His hoodie which originally seemed dark was now illuminated into a soft yellow or orange, stained with a dark substance.

“What are you doing here?” he asked. His voice crackled out, clearly coming through a voice changer of some kind.

“I – I was just taking a shortcut home. I live near here so I thought… I really didn’t mean to bump into you. I’m super tired.”

“Tired or not, you shouldn’t have seen me,” the guy said. “Do you have a phone or a camera?”

Slowly, you reached into your bag and pulled out your phone. “I don’t have any cash in my wallet –“

“I don’t want your money!” he snapped. “I’m not some petty thief, believe me, I have better things to do with me time. Unlock this.”

You did so and he went through it with a gloved hand. He didn’t have a weapon but something in your gut warned you to just go along with it. Nobody covered up everything, including their voice, when they were up to something good. This guy may not be a thief… but the alternative didn’t feel too much better.

He shoved your phone back at you. “Get out of here and don’t breathe a word of this to anybody. Consider yourself lucky that I’m in a good mood today.”

You swallowed nervously. “Thank you?”

“I’m serious,” he warned. “I can let you go just because you seem pathetic enough to not take this to the police but unless you want to catch a bullet in your back, you’ll keep quiet. My boss doesn’t like people getting involved with this nonsense.”

“A bullet?”

He didn’t answer and your heart thundered in your chest. Part of you wondered if he was going to kill you while you ran away but his attention seemed to have moved away from you. You hurried away, holding your breath the entire time. Every time you glanced over your shoulder, the guy remained unmoving.

When you reached your home, you locked the door tightly and slumped against it in exhaustion.

Homicidal Liu

The sunset was beautiful over the graveyard – the only beauty to an otherwise morbid place.

You stared at the purples and oranges dancing across the sky. The wreath pricked at your hands after a while and you stared down at it. Why did you still bother with bringing flowers? Hadn’t it been long enough? Still, you made your way down to the grave and placed them there, not even bothering to read the name on there.

Lately, your graveyard visits had becoming fewer and fewer. Time hadn’t been on your side recently and thus, your precious solitude had to suffer. You relished in the way that nobody really bothered you here.

An orange glow warned you when the streetlights came on. Perhaps you had been there for longer than you thought but this was to be your last visit.

Better to make it count.

Something caught in the wind made you raise your head. A piece of fabric was stuck in the nearby fence, identifiable as a scarf when you ventured closer.

You took it from the fence and looked around for its owner. Nobody was in view… maybe it had been blown off one of the graves? It did seem homemade.

Guessing, you began to place it on a grave when a voice startled you.

“I’m sorry to bother but I think you have my scarf?”

The man was standing far too close for you to have not seen him when you were glancing around but you blamed that on your night vision. He wore dark clothing and seemed awkward just to be speaking to you.

“Thank goodness,” you said. “I was just going to leave it on one of the graves because I didn’t know who it belonged to.”

He thanked you for it, wrapping it around the lower half of his face almost immediately. “That would be a waste,” he said. “Especially to leave it on this one. Thank you for grabbing it.”

A harsh wind blew through the graveyard, carrying with it the smell of an incoming storm. He grabbed his scarf just in time to prevent it from going flying away again.

“Seems like the weather is determined to steal it from you.”

“Far more powerful things have tried.”

You buried yourself further into your jacket and smiled. “I haven’t seen you around before, are you new in town or just coming to visit a new grave?”

“I’m not visiting a grave,” he admitted. “I just thought that this would be the way back to my house… I grew up in this town but only recently moved back and I’m already lost. It’s a little embarrassing if I’m honest.”

“Well, I like to know everybody,” you said. “What’s your name?”

“Su – I mean, Liu,” he said. “Liu. Sorry, I nearly gave you my surname.”

You laughed. “Oh that’s no problem. It’s nice to meet you but I really like your name. Is it Chinese?”

“I don’t know,” he said. He looked around and began walking away. “I really have to go. Thank you for getting my scarf and all that.”

“I’ll see you around,” you said with a wave.

It was only later when you realised how suspicious that entire interaction was. You had never seen Liu before in your life and he was just hanging around in the graveyard? He hadn’t seemed too creepy at least. Maybe you would see more of him in the coming days.

Jane the Killer

It wasn’t that you were unobservant or inattentive toward girls but nobody had really caught your eye until Jane.

She was stunning in a way that few people could ever match with dark hair that tumbled past her hips and soulful eyes. Her walk was always confident, her smile always perfect, and her attention always desirable. Your main regret about life was that you didn’t speak to her sooner – especially when you thought back on what happened not too long after your first meeting.

You organised with your friends to somehow bump into her but instead, you wound up getting treated for a pretty painful bruised hip. Your second plan didn’t work out either and your third never even left the drawing board.

“Just go up to her and say hi. Tell her that she’s beautiful,” your friend encouraged. “She’ll say thanks and then you’ll be able to talk to her.”

“That’s so boring though,” you said. “It’s not like something out of a romance novel.”

Your friend groaned and stood up. “Well, I’m going home. We have like three months left of high school and I’m not going to spend that time obsessing over how to speak to a girl. She’s literally a regular person.”

They were right and you knew that. No matter how you tried to set up a sweeping romance, it probably wouldn’t work out.

So you tried.

And you tried.

Two weeks later, you were about to give up on mimicking a romance novel and it appeared that your friend was thinking the same thing. She grabbed your arm and began to drag you somewhere, muttering about changing the topic. You had a vague idea of where you were going but you didn’t fight too much.

“What if she’s still dating that Woods boy?” you asked. “The older one.”

“They broke up after literally a month of dating. I don’t blame her – those Woods boys are pretty enough but the older one has something seriously wrong with him. And the younger one is always talking to himself…”

“I really don’t care about the Woods’,” you commented.

“No, you care about Jane who is honestly quite weird as well,” they said. “But that is going to be your problem and not mine.”

They dragged you directly up to her group. It wasn’t large – despite Jane’s beauty, she wasn’t incredibly popular due to her associations. Your friend wasn’t the only one who was a little scared of the Woods boys and Jane had hung out with them for quite a while.

“Hey,” your friend said before even letting you go. “You have no idea who we are but my friend here has a massive crush on you. Could you please just say hi so they can get it out of their system?”

You were sure that it was unhealthy to be as red as you were. It felt like your heart was about to leap from your chest.

Jane laughed, a soft and gentle sound. “I’m not really interested in a relationship,” she hummed. “But thank you. That’s very flattering.”

Somehow, your heart sped up still and you awkwardly rubbed your arm. “No problem?”

“Why don’t you join us for a little bit?” Jane offered. “Just because I don’t want to date anybody doesn’t mean that we can’t become friends. You look like my kind of person.”

You stumbled over your words but somehow, your conversation managed to go extremely well. Jane was brilliant in every possible way and you quickly grew attached to seeing her every day. That was why you mourned so greatly when she died.

Jason the Toymaker

The sun was so warm against your skin. You could stay there forever, stretched out on the grass and basking in the sunlight.

“It’s done,” your friend’s voice broke through your daydreaming

You opened your eyes and rolled over to see exactly what they had been working on for the entire trip. After realising the first few times that you weren’t going to get a reaction, you had decided to wait for them to finish working before you tried to have a conversation.

“I didn’t know you could draw,” you said. “That’s amazing.”

The hyper-realistic man was sketched to perfection with a top hat, a fur coat, and a small mouse sitting on his left shoulder. It felt like his eyes could piece into your soul.

“Who is that?” you asked them.

They stared blankly at the image and shook their head. “I don’t know,” they said. “He’s been in my dreams for so long. I think it has something to do with my amnesia. Maybe I knew him once before.”

“He’s a little intimidating,” you said. “I could imagine him to be a ringleader in a circus that’s like a secret cult. Maybe he’s why you lost your memory.”

“Maybe…” they said, tapping the picture. They suddenly shoved it into your chest and stood up. “You keep that. I don’t want it anywhere near me. I need to go talk to my parents.”

You watched them race out of the park in confusion. The man in the picture stared up at you with haunting eyes.

Folding it in half so it didn’t freak you out, you stood and dusted off your clothing. Maybe it would be best if you headed home. It was getting late either way.

Later on, you’d call your friend and check up on them.

About 10 minutes away from your house, the feeling of being watched snuck up on you. It hung heavily around your shoulders like a cloak. You glanced around but saw nobody.

Still, you didn’t feel comfortable leading whoever was following you back to your house. You made a point of walking amongst large crowds and headed for the police station.

They were watching you the whole way.

You sped up. A few people bumped into you and you apologised as best as you could. Your grip on the picture was getting tighter enough for you to tear it. The later it got, the fewer people were on the streets and so you were pretty much alone when you bumped into him.

It took you a few seconds to recognise the man from the drawing.

If you thought his drawn eyes were captivating, they had nothing on his real ones which glowed with an almost ethereal light.

“You’re him,” you breathed.

He stared at you, smile falling from his face in confusion. “Who?”

You shakily held out the drawing and he yanked it from your hands. “My friend drew that,” you explained. “They said that its of somebody from their past. They have amnesia you see.”

He was unmoving as he studied the picture. You began feeling a little uncomfortable and then his gaze snapped to you. “Is that so?” he asked.

You nodded and took a small step away from him. “Maybe you should go and talk to them? See –“ you swallowed nervously. “See if you can help them remember?”

“No need,” he said, dropping the paper on the ground. “Who are you?”

Your name came out as little more than a soft whisper. Something about the entire scenario made you uneasy. His appearance was too unnatural.

A gust of wind came by, picking up the drawing and whipping it away. You watched it go and when you looked back down, his eyes were locked on you.

“Such a pity,” he said. “You would have been the perfect doll.”

Wearily, you took a step backwards. His words made your stomach churn uneasily. “What are you talking about?”

He smiled. It was kind and warm but it only made you more nervous. His eyes looked like they had almost changed colour; shifted a shade darker than previously. “Thinking aloud my dear,” he said.

“About dolls?” you asked.

He tilted his head a little towards you. “I’m going to have to bid you goodbye. It seems I have other matters to attend to.” He brushed past you, stopping briefly when directly next to you. “Consider yourself lucky.”

He was gone before you could even spin around to face him.

Jeff the Killer

Pausing the song, you removed your earphones as quietly as possible and placed them down on your desk. According to the blinking numbers on your phone screen, it was nearing 2 AM. Far too late for anybody to make an excess of noise.

You listened closely. The music had been too loud for you to hear anything and you almost brushed the strange noise off as your sleep-deprived imagination. Until something squeaked like shoe soles on tiles.

In retrospect, you should have immediately called 911 but you didn’t want to sound a false alarm.

The light switch was thankfully directly outside your room. The hall illuminated most of the house when they were on and it steeled your nerves. Your roommate’s door was open, allowing you to confirm their sleeping state, curled up in their bed amongst the piles of mess. They had had to move to the spare room due to a faulty window earlier in the day and had clearly given up sorting items.

You glanced into the apartment’s other rooms before heading to the kitchen. There was nothing odd. The scuttling when you entered the kitchen just suggested that your neighbour’s rat infestation may be migrating.

Making a mental note to call the exterminator, you turned to switch off the kitchen light.

Something slammed into you, forcing your back to collide with a wall. A hand covered your mouth and the overwhelming scent of blood and decay invaded your nose. Something cold and sharp pressed against your neck.

“Shut up and stay still,” the man snarled at you. “I don’t think anybody will appreciate you getting blood in the kitchen.”

Your heart leapt into your throat and your body stilled. The man in front of you was terrifying. His skin pale and mutilated. Eyes far too wide for a normal person and dancing with an insanity that sent chills down your spine.

And his mouth… a bloody smile carved across his face, stretching halfway to his ears.

He studied your face carefully and his expression twisted. “You’re not the right one,” he snapped. The knife moved away from your neck, so he could point with it. “I had this all planned and yet when I came into that room, I found it empty. Why?”

Even if he hadn’t been holding your mouth shut, you doubted you would have been able to formulate an answer. The pounding heartbeat in your ears was nearly blocking out his voice.

He lightly tapped your cheek with his knife. “Not that it matters,” he said. “I’ll just have to adapt my original plan. You’re not the right target but I’m a huge fan of collateral damage.”

A small whimper escaped you and tears welled at your eyes. You didn’t want to die.

“Don’t blubber!” he ordered. “View it as a good thing. You’ll be all over the news. Another victim of Jeff the Killer. Hell, you might even be added to a Wikipedia page or something.”

You could recall that name from the news. Often followed by a lengthy list of deaths and the police chief begging for any information about the murderer.

Jeff stared at you for a long minute before he pressed the knife’s blade to your throat and moved his hand away from your mouth. “Scream and I will remove your vocal cords,” he threatened. “Who are you?”

It took several deep breaths and a flicker of impatience in his expression to give you the ability to talk again. You stammered out your full name as quickly as you possibly could.

He rolled his eyes and tilted the knife so it scratched your skin. A sticky and warm substance ran down your throat in small droplets. “Pathetic.”

“Sorry,” you whispered on instinct. “Please don’t kill me.”

“Why not?” he asked. “You ruined my earlier plans to take out my original target by interrupting me before I could find them. Why shouldn’t I settle for you instead?”

You didn’t have an answer.

He took the blade away from your throat. “If you call the police and report what happened here tonight, I will slice you into little pieces.”

It was almost twenty minutes after he left before you regained any movement in your body. You slumped into a heap on the kitchen floor and started sobbing.

Kagekao

Things had been going missing around your house.

Initially, you had thought it was just due to you forgetting where you’d plopped things because it was simple things. Drinks that vanished, keys turning up on the opposite side of the house, and random spills that you didn’t remember making.

But then it started getting weirder still.

You would make food and pack it away, knowing that you would eat it later, and find it gone. Picture frames disappeared, never to be seen again. Your rug half-unraveled during the night and you found it in a pile the next morning. A candle in your bathroom fell over and, somehow, the curtains on the other side of the house had caught alight.

It was suspicious, to say the very least. You began to think that you had some kind of intruder – once, the news reported that a woman found a homeless man living in her attic and eating her food when she wasn’t looking.

So you went out and bought cameras, setting them up throughout your house.

For two weeks, they caught nothing until one of them ended up breaking. You went to get it repaired and the company managed to recover what it had last seen. Which was nothing on your first glance.

But you were soon to realise, that was only because you had been looking at the floor.

While you were rewatching when you got home, you noticed something. The window was sitting wide open and the camera’s angle only allowed you to see half of it. Right toward the end of the feed, a gloved hand appeared on the side of the window and a slight shadow indicated something climbing through.

So you got reinforced windows and made sure that none were open unless you were in the room.

Things still continued happening.

You were beginning to get really annoyed by this. It was tempting to go to the police and let them just handle it but that was going to be a lot of effort that you really didn’t care for. You didn’t feel like you were in much danger. Nothing had happened in your bedroom.

Your next plan was to set up a trap of some kind. With a hidden camera set up, you made extra food and left it on the counter to see if something happened.

The next day, you watched as a plastic toy of some kind was thrown directly into the plate from somewhere off-camera, breaking it and leaving an absolute mess everywhere.

Still not considering it to be anything dangerous, you just cleaned up the mess and loudly cursed out anybody who was listening. You stalked the house after that, searching every nook and cranny with a bat in hand. The final place was the closet in your bedroom and you peered in, expecting nothing.

When you turned around though, you spotted something sitting in the corner of the room.

It was humanoid with arms twisted into awkward positions and a mask on its face. Half the mask was black and the other white, both sides bearing an unnaturally smiling expression. The creature cackled when you saw it and scuttled out of the door, stuck to the roof the entire time.

A second passed.

Then another.

You pinched your arm hard and waited to wake up. Surely there was no way… I mean, why would… humans didn’t generally crawl along the ceiling? Well, you were quite sure they never did that. You must have been imagining it.

A second laugh corrected you on that.

You swallowed thickly, walked over to your door as calmly as possible and locked it. Then you took out your phone and finally called the police.

Kate the Chaser

The day when Kate was sent away remained very clear in your mind. It was a moment that brought extremely change to your life, mixing up your friend group and sending you in a different direction.

The years has passed and you had never gotten over your best friend. They said that she had lost her mind and you knew it was true. All those games investigating the woods and ghost hunting must have put a toll on her mind. Sometimes, you blamed yourself for all the pranks and you knew that Lauren had similar doubts.

And now she was back.

Lauren and you hadn’t remained close, the entire situation feeling too real with one another. Your greeting was stilted but neither of you wanted to be the first to approach the house.

“Do you think that she remembers us?” Lauren asked.

“If she didn’t then her mom wouldn’t have invited us over,” you said.

You stood in complete silence, staring up at the house. Would you even recognise Kate? The last time that you had seen her was when you were both young children and her face remained at that age in your memories.

Eventually, you gained your confidence before Lauren and you walked over, knocking on the door before anxiety could find you.

Kate answered the door and you forgot why you had ever been nervous.

Time had slimmed her face and shortened her hair. Her eyes were still a gentle brown and the cockiness had faded from her smile, but it was recognisable from your nostalgia. It made you feel warm and known – an aura that you had missed without even realising it.

“Hi,” you greeted.

Kate pulled you into a tight hug and you returned it, clutching at her tightly as though she could slip through your fingers. It really had been too long and when you moved away, she held onto Lauren with the same enthusiasm.

“How have you been?” she asked. “You have to tell me everything.”

The three of you spent the rest of the afternoon having tea and just talking about the world at large. Kate didn’t have many stories from the hospital – she claimed it was because the place had been extremely boring and neither of you pushed to find out more about it. Honestly, it was more comfortable to act as though she had simply moved away.

Lauren had to leave first and you were going to go with her but Kate had looked so down that you remained just a little longer. That was when things got weird.

“I’ve missed music a lot,” Kate sighed.

“Did they not allow you to listen to music?”

She grimaced. “No, they did but often I couldn’t hear it over the static. Its mostly gone away now but it came back last night… it fills my brain and all that I can think of is a way to make the pain stop.”

The colour drained from your face as you stared at her. You didn’t know much about what happened to her but you had thought she would be okay now.

Realising it, Kate hurried to reassure you, “I really have recovered,” she said. “My hallucinations have faded and my medication keeps my emotions in check. You really don’t have to be scared of me.”

You stared down at your cup awkwardly. “I’m not scared of you,” you reassured her. “You’ve never done anything to me.”

She nodded. “It will be alright, you’ll see. I’m ready to get back to a normal life with my friends and not have to worry about that ghost stuff ever again.”

Laughing Jack

It was on your leg…

The glare you fixed the small child with could wilt plants. It didn’t care though and merely clutched at your clothing with a happy smile. “Come play with me?” it asked. “I can introduce you to all my friends!”

“How old is she again?” you grumbled at your friend.

Your friend laughed and ruffled their cousin’s hair. “I had an imaginary friend when I was 10. She’s only 6, she’s still at the stage where they’re a big deal.”

The child was oblivious to your conversation and reached out her arms. “Come on. The parents are being boring. I have candy that my friend gave me. We can share it.”

“I agreed to come along to your family get together to keep you company,” you said to your friend. “You know I don’t like children. Babysitting really isn’t my forte.”

All you received for your complaining was laughter.

By the time you had the 4th teddy bear had been introduced, you were done. Why did one kid have so many toys?

“Now which one of your friends gives you candy?” your friend asked. “Because if it’s from Princess, I don’t think it’s edible. What if she secretly puts glitter in it?”

Expected to play along, you sighed. “Unless it’s glitter from rainbows because then it’s got magic powers and allows you to fly.”

The child liked your thumb-sucked statement because she jumped up in excitement. “I don’t get it from Princess. Jack gives it to me! But if Princess can make me fly, I want to have that kind of candy instead!”

“Which one’s Jack again?” you asked, eyeing the line of toys.

“He’s not here right now,” the child said, biting her inner cheek. She turned in a circle. “Sometimes he hides in the cupboard though!” She ran over to her cupboard and pulled the doors open. “I don’t think – OW!”

She reeled backwards, clutching her cheek. Both you and your friend immediately jumped up and ran over to her. A tiny slice mark ran across the side of her face. It wasn’t anything serious, but she was sobbing as though it would kill her. You presumed a small edge on one of the boxes in the cupboard had been the cause.

“Do you want me to take you to mom, so she can kiss it better?” your friend asked. “Your new best friend can wait here and make sure all your toys are safe.”

The child nodded, and she got led out of the room. You rolled your eyes at the sensitivity and reached into the cupboard to push the box out of the way. A clawed hand reached out of nowhere and grabbed your wrist tightly.

Before you could even shout, it lifted you off the ground by your arm and a second hand had wrapped around your mouth.

The monster’s body appeared out of the closet.

It was a clown. Easily 7ft tall and comprised of monochrome colours with a sharp, pointed nose and long, greasy hair. Its black lips spread into a smile, revealing pointed teeth and a sickeningly sweet breath.

You writhed against its grip, trying to scream or do anything but it was insanely strong, and it just laughed at your efforts.

“How mean,” it purred, leaning in close to your face. “You ask who I am and then, when I appear to you, you insult my appearance. Awful etiquette. Your parents should be concerned about how rude you are to strangers.”

You strained your memory to think about what you had been doing before it grabbed you but the adrenaline was clouding your mind. What had you asked? You struggled more with the lack of memories.

The clown shook its head. “I haven’t revealed myself to somebody so old in a long time. You should be flattered but instead you choose to try and kick me. This is why I don’t do this. Children are far more polite.”

He released you suddenly and you landed hard on the ground. It winked and disappeared, right as your friend and her cousin returned.

“You met Jack!” the child shouted excitedly, pointing to the candy lying next to you.

You shoved it away from you as quickly as possible.

[boldlyanxious]

Mistaken Identity

@sailormarelda apparently your wish is my command

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Just her luck that some asshole on the subway dumped his sticky energy drink all over her. It wasn't just wet. It was sticky and soaking through her shirt. Somehow he managed to pour it on her front and back.

He didn't even apologize. He just shoved past her and got off on the next stop.

It was only a few more stops until her stop. She checked her directions again before she climbed the stairs to get to the street. Maybe luck was on her side because there was a vendor right there with shirts for sale and a very inviting looking coffee shop. She bought a shirt and hoped the coffee shop had a decent bathroom for her to clean up in.

She laughed in the mirror at the shirt and artfully tied it so the ab muscles drawn onto the Superboy shirt for where hers were and it still showed off her dark skinny jeans. It was the best she could do to show off her designs on her outing since her blouse was not currently worth seeing. She hoped she could get the drink stain out later.

The barista did a double take when she ordered and looked a bit confused. She clearly wanted to say something but she took a breath and told Marinette the total. They didn't know her here so they wouldn't know that she frequently ordered drinks like that. She could probably chug it and then take a nap but she definitely needed it for the rest of today.

---

Roy was by the back of the counter throwing away his paper cup when he heard a name he knew coming from the baristas,

"If she weren't clearly a girl I would think it was Tim Drake. It's the exact same order too."

"He was here earlier today. He was wearing the same shirt."

"Maybe there is an evil plot in the city and he got turned into a girl."

"Stranger things have happened for sure."

Roy pulled out his phone and tried to text Tim. Girl Tim was on the phone and definitely not reading any messages. He snuck closer to hear the conversation.

"... Definitely got a look for ordering my regular coffee.

…

I've got a new look though. It is guaranteed to protect me from villains.

…

Okay. Well I have my coffee and I'm on my way. I'll see you there."

She hung up and grabbed the coffee. But Roy couldn't just let her leave. Tim needed help and the Bat family would want to know about this right away.

---

Marinette walked down the street happy to have her coffee. It was exactly what she needed. She was already feeling better. She jumped back from the street when a car suddenly came right at her. So much for American traffic coming from the other direction. Luckily her coffee didn't spill.

"Hey, did you need anything?" the driver called out.

"I'm fine," she responded then muttered to herself, "You clearly need driving lessons."

She hoped he didn't hear her because he was suddenly getting out of the car. He was walking towards her and ask her alarm bells were going off in her head.

"Are you sure? We probably need to get you help."

Marinette looked around trying to make a plan. She looked one way and then took off running the other way. That didn't do enough to confuse his reflexes. He grabbed her quickly and closed her into the back seat of his car. She tried the handle and it was locked from the inside.

She had dropped her coffee and her purse before he pushed her back here. He had grabbed the purse off the ground before he got in and sped off but she didn't think she could reach it. He had a flashing light on the car so no one would question his erratic driving.

Maybe she had been confused with a criminal. She would just need to wait it out until she could explain who she was. Her stomach turned when he pulled off the street and into an underground parking area. He went all the way to the lowest level and to the back. There was only one other car and a door. No one was around.

---

Roy didn't know what had happened to Tim but he seemed to have no memory of who he was. Jason had probably contacted the others by now and they could figure out how to help him. Although it would be easier if she weren't fighting while he was trying. He ended up pulling her out of the car by the leg and throwing her over his shoulder.

She was still yelling at him and hitting his back but no one was around to hear before he entered the code and went through the door. He didn't even bother with greeting Jason. He deposited Girl Tim into a safe room and closed the door. They had a 2 way mirror they could use and an intercom system.

By the time he was finished, Jason was already looking through the glass.

"Damn, Tim makes a hot girl. And loud." Jason said.

"Do we have any idea what might have happened?" Roy asked.

"Oracle is searching and the others are coming. I'll let her know about the loss of memory too. That could complicate things for anyone else affected. If people don't know anything happened we will have to rely on missing person reports."

---

Marinette tried not to think of all the warnings she had gotten before moving here. They had been plentiful but she brushed them off. It couldn't be that bad. She knew people who had lived here for years and they said it was mostly over blown. But sure had been here under 3 days and had just been kidnapped in broad daylight.

She knew the guy had been acting weird. She should have run immediately. She should have stopped being polite and thrown her $12 coffee at his face before running away. She tried to be nice and it was going to get her killed.

---

They all took turns looking through the glass at their friend/brother/son. But Girl Tim didn't know any of them. Oracle had confirmed that the coffee shop was the last place Tim's phone had been and Steph had seen him before he left wearing the same shirt. Roy told them about the phone conversation he has heard and it all fit.

Now they just had to figure out what had happened and how to reverse it.

---

Eventually Marinette got tired of taking to the wall. Technically it was an intercom imbedded into the wall but it felt like it because they didn't seem to hear her at all. There were more of them now. She didn't know how many more but it had to be at least 4 separate people. She was pretty sure it was more than that though.

She didn't know what they could possibly want with her.

She flopped down onto the bed and covered her face with the, hopefully clean, pillow and screamed into it. It felt really good. It was exactly what she needed, aside from her coffee and freedom.

But apparently they choose that time to make a move. Hands were on her holding her and moving here. She saw a needle and she did everything she could to fight them. She definitely hit a couple of them but the needle still went into her arm.

She wasn't sure what they were expecting the result to be but she allowed herself to relax against the arms that still held her. One moved to lift her back in while the others filed out of the small room.

She waited until the doorway was clear before she moved. She jumped back up and hit his chin with her head. He was not dazed for nearly long enough but she ran for the door anyway. She was out of the room and halfway to the exit when he caught up with her and pinned her down.

It wouldn't have mattered anyway. Another man walked in right then.

"What is the deal with you all blowing up my phone? I'm trying to get some work done."

The room froze. They all just stared at him until the man pinning her down spoke.

"If you are there and perfectly fine. Then who is this?"

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